Professor Wyman. — Indian Antiquities. — Concord. — Mr. Ralph
Waldo Emerson. — Margaret Fuller. — Note upon a visit to Mr.
Longfellow. — Saturday Club. — Dinner at Harvard University.—
Shell Mounds at Concord and Damariscotta. — Note upon the
Ancient Inscription upon the Dighton Rock.
Upon the day arranged for my visit to Cambridge, I found Professor
Wyman prepared to employ several hours in examining the Indian
collections. He proposed that we should begin by looking carefully over
the contents of a case within which was placed everything that had been
discovered in a burial mound in Illinois. The mound had contained the
bones of nine adults, several fragments of rude stone implements, and
some arrowheads. The skulls had been flattened and shaped by pressure.
We then examined the collections of human skulls that had been received
from all parts of the continent. Amongst these, were several of an
important character, obtained by Mr. Squier in Central America. They
were long and flattened upon the top, and were supposed to have
belonged to the race that built the stone temples in Yucatan. Other
groups were then compared. It was observable that some tribes had the
custom of pressing in the back of the head to such an extent as to make
it nearly perpendicular. Others pressed the skulls so as to give them
great length. In a few instances, they were given a tall, oval form.
The Californian Indians appear to have given their children a high,
receding forehead. This method of shaping the head is still followed by
the Flathead Indians in the West. It is done by the pressure of boards
tied together in such a manner that the infant gets its skull shaped
when it is in the cradle.
A question arose as to the effect of the artificial shapes of the
head upon the character of the tribes; and particularly, whether, in
accordance with certain theories, there was any known difference in
disposition between the tribes who flattened the forehead and those who
flattened the skull at the back. The Professor said that the matter
had been the subject of inquiry. It was considered, as far as could
be ascertained, that the alterations in shape made no difference in
the character, and that the Indians, whether with long, high, or flat
heads, were similar in their savage nature.
Amongst the Mexican antiquities were a number of terra-cotta figures
which were thought to be emblematic of the worship of serpents,
lizards, and other reptiles. There were also idols carved out of
hard, volcanic stone. After having seen these, and also quantities of
rudely shaped stones, which were probably used by the Indians on the
north-east coast for sinking their nets, the Professor began to examine
the various things that had been taken from the American shell mounds.
First, in order, were the collections that had been brought from Maine
and Massachusetts. There were oyster shells, the bones of wolves, deer
and birds, fragments of coarse pottery, layers of charcoal, and bone
awls. In the shell heaps at Concord there had been discovered various
stone weapons and flint arrowheads. In the Florida mounds there were
found the remains of crocodiles, implements made of stone, the bones of
deer, and numbers of small sharp needles, made from bird bones, which
had been used by hand.
It appears from the evidence obtained by the investigation of the
shell banks, that tribes of similar habits dwelt on the cold coasts
of New England and the almost tropical shores of Florida. It is also
clear, that in many of their customs and methods of obtaining food they
resembled the races that formed the kitchen middens in Denmark. Their
stone and flint implements and their bone awls and needles were of the
same shapes as those used by the prehistoric people who lived upon the
shores of the Swiss lakes.
Many of the stone axes and arrowheads that have been found in
the burial mounds, or in the neighbourhood of the ancient Indian
encampments in North America are of the same type, and show the same
system of workmanship as those that were made by the aboriginal tribes
in Western Europe. The similarities in form, size and methods of
adaptation for use are remarkable, for, although it may be expected
that men, in an uncivilised condition would, in all parts of the
world, have the same wants or necessities, yet it must be considered
surprising that in the construction of the implements for war and for
domestic purposes, the methods of design should be so singularly alike
amongst the savages of the old and new continents.
Upon a subsequent occasion, when the doubtful question of the influence
of the formation of the skull upon the mind was discussed, Mr. Ticknor
mentioned the singular fact that the head of Daniel Webster[7] grew
larger after he had passed middle age. His attention had been drawn
to this circumstance by observing a change in the likeness of that
statesman, and, as he knew Webster intimately, he asked him about
the matter, and Webster said, “Yes, I find that I have constantly to
increase the size of my hats.”
Towards the latter part of my stay in Boston, I received a letter from
Mr. Ralph Waldo Emerson, asking me to dine with him at Concord, and
mentioning that he had also invited Mrs. Julia Ward Howe. Upon the day
he had fixed for the purpose, we travelled down to the station, and
were met by Miss Emerson, who drove us home in her quaint old-fashioned
carriage. The pony, she told us, was a friend who had been in the
family for twenty years. We were received by Mr. and Mrs. Emerson. A
few other guests came from Cambridge, and then we went in to dinner.
Mr. Emerson talked much of De Quincey, whom he had known at Lasswade,
near Edinburgh, and then referring to our English poets, mentioned
with admiration, Tennyson’s poem, “Tithonus.” One of his daughters
spoke with enthusiasm about Professor Agassiz’s deep sea dredgings, the
lectures upon which she had been attending.
Finally, the (always) absorbing topic of American politics was dwelt
upon, especially with respect to the effect of democratic institutions
upon the character of the people. Mr. Emerson alluded with much sadness
to those evil influences of political corruption and office-seeking
which appeared to be inevitable blots upon all systems of democracy,
but he said that he thought things would come right in the end. Upon
the various occasions that I met and conversed with leading politicians
(amongst whom was Chief Justice Chase), I observed that they usually
spoke of the future of their country with the same anxiety.
There was much doubt and uncertainty as to what was going to happen
in the Southern States, which had so recently been made desolate.
Men’s minds were still agitated by the memory of the serious events
that had happened during the Civil War. That great national convulsion
had engaged the thoughts and actions of all American citizens to the
fullest extent, and had necessarily diverted the conduct of affairs
from the ordinary channels. There was consequently a feeling of
disquietude amongst those who loved their country, their freedom and
their laws. But this temporary form of misgiving was always accompanied
by the firm conviction that in some manner, not then quite clear, the
nation would ultimately triumph over all difficulties.
After dinner, Mr. Emerson took me into the library, and began to look
over his books and point out his favourites. He said that what he most
delighted in were the translations from Persian and other Eastern
works. Finding that I was interested in his Oriental studies, he did
not care to quit his books, and so we remained in the library until it
was time to leave. In the meanwhile, he had taken down from the shelves
many volumes. He also showed me photographs of his friends, and drew my
attention to a likeness of Margaret Fuller, whom he had known for many
years, and for whom he had felt great regard and esteem.
Margaret Fuller, who must have been a woman of extraordinary
genius, was one of the leaders of the school of thought called
Transcendentalism. Her end was as strange as her life. She crossed
the Atlantic, travelled in Italy, married the Marchese d’Ossoli and
was in Europe when the Revolution of 1848 broke out. Her sympathies
being entirely with the cause of Italian freedom, she took a prominent
part, under the direction of Mazzini, Garibaldi and other patriots, in
the defence of Rome, doing much good service in the hospitals. After
the adverse events of 1849, she embarked with her husband on board a
sailing vessel bound for her own land, on the shores of which she was
wrecked in a storm and all perished.
Before we went away, Mr. Emerson suggested that I should look at the
exterior of the house, in which he seemed to take great interest. He
told me that he had lived in it thirty-five years and had only made one
change—the addition of the drawing room. It was an unpretending plank
building of two stories, standing in its own small grounds, and was
chiefly noticeable in consequence of having some fine chestnut trees in
front between the door and the road.
Upon our return to the city, the President of the University asked me
to be the guest of the Alumni of Harvard. His letter ran thus:—
“_June_ 23.”
“MY DEAR SIR,”
“On behalf of the Alumni of Harvard College, I invite you to be
present at the Commencement Dinner in Harvard Hall, Cambridge,
on Tuesday, the 29th inst. The Alumni and their guests will
assemble in Gore Hall, the Library, at 2 p.m. on that day. I
hope to receive your acceptance, and to have the pleasure of
meeting you on the occasion.”
“Very respectfully yours,
WM. GRAY,
_Pres. of Alumni Assoc._”
At one of the customary afternoon meetings of the members of the
Saturday Club, I dined with them as the guest of Dr. Howe. Among
those present were Mr. Sumner, Professor Wyman, Mr. Lowell, Judge
Hoar, Mr. Oliver Wendell Holmes, and Professor Gurney, the editor
of the North American Review. Mr. Emerson was the chairman. The
possibility of spontaneous generation, was the topic that happened to
be chiefly discussed. Professor Wyman had been carrying out a series of
experiments at Cambridge, and he told us what had been the results of
his experience. He said that he had ascertained that the theory that
boiling water killed life was, to a certain extent, erroneous. A first
boiling killed some of the living creatures, a second boiling killed
more, living organisms being reduced gradually in quantity. After a
fourth severe boiling he failed to trace any life whatever. Finally
after having carried out with great care, tests of all natures, he
doubted the possibility of creating life where no life had previously
existed.
In the following year I accepted the invitation of Mr. Ticknor
to stay a few days with him before leaving America, and I was
fortunate in meeting at his house, Mr. Longfellow, who, at
the time of my previous visit to Boston, was away from home,
travelling in England, chiefly, as he afterwards told me,
amongst the English lakes and in Devonshire. He proposed that
I should go and see him at Cambridge, and this was arranged,
and I went down there upon the first available day. I found
him in his study, a small room looking out upon the lawn, and
commanding a view of the country towards the bridge.
Before dinner, he showed me a bill of fare which had been
given to him at a public banquet in London, which was framed
and placed on the mantel piece of the dining-room. It was
a coloured drawing of a scene described in his poem of
“Hiawatha.” The sun was shining on the still waters of a
lake, or inland sea, and a group of Indians were gazing at
it. I think it was meant to represent the final departure of
Hiawatha, westwards towards the sunset.
Mr. Longfellow said that he was much pleased with this mark of
attention, not only on account of the merit of the picture, but
because he appreciated the feeling that prompted the gift, as
“Hiawatha” was the poem by which he most cared to be remembered.
He expressed strong sympathies with the poetical legends and
traditions of the Iroquois and Dakota Indians. His conversation
was, however, chiefly directed to the question of the future
social and political condition of the negroes in the Southern
States.
Later in the day, I witnessed a most important triumph of mechanics,
as applied to the removal of a heavy building. The house that was
being moved was large and strongly constructed of stone. It stood at
the corner of a street which was about to be widened, and therefore it
was necessary, either to pull it down or place it in another position,
and it had been decided to execute the latter operation. The building
had a frontage of seventy feet and a depth of one hundred feet. It was
composed of a basement, five principal stories and a Mansard roof.
The engineer in charge of the works told me that his calculations
were based upon having to move a weight of fifty thousand tons. At
the time I saw the house, it was full of residents, many of whom were
looking out of the windows and watching the proceedings. The contractor
permitted me to go underneath and observe the process of moving. The
weight was taken by a vast number of screw jacks, and the building was
lifted off the foundations. It was progressing towards its new site at
the rate of fourteen inches in one hour.
On Commencement Day I went down to Cambridge early in the afternoon,
and after being received by the President, fell into my place in the
ranks of the procession formed in the college grounds. We then marched
into dinner and I took my seat at the table. My immediate neighbours
were Mr. Lowell, Mr. Oliver Wendell Holmes, Judge Hoar and Judge Grey.
About six hundred were present in the hall and three hundred dined in
another room. The gradations of age corresponded with the positions of
the tables. The seats towards the left were occupied by comparatively
young men, but on the right, were successive rows of heads, showing
advancing years, until upon the extreme right were the white haired
seniors.
At the conclusion of the dinner, in accordance with an ancient custom,
all stood up and sang a Psalm to the tune known by the name of St.
Martin. The President then gave his annual address and the usual
speeches followed. Mr. Adams made a good speech and referred to his
late absence as the United States Minister to Great Britain. The
President then rose and told the Alumni that a “representative of Great
Britain” was present and called upon me to respond. This I did as
briefly as possible, and upon resuming my seat I was astonished at the
enthusiastic manner with which the said representative was received.
After much cheering, the band played “God save the Queen,” which was
again the occasion for a strong outburst of cordial good feeling
towards England. As I looked down the hall I saw the slight, tall form
of Mr. Emerson bending forward as he joined in our National Anthem. Mr.
Holmes then recited a poem and Mr. Lowell gave a speech in which he
alluded to the question of the Alabama which was causing such bitter
feeling in America, and after speaking of the volcanic ground into
which he had wandered, said
“O matre pulchra filia pulchrior,
Pout if you will, but sulk not into war.
Had Adams stayed, this danger had not been,
This less than kindness of two more than kin.”
The singing of “Auld Lang Syne” was the fitting conclusion to an
interesting day.
Professor Wyman told me that, before leaving the States, I ought to
visit the shell mounds at Damariscotta in Maine and also those near
Concord. The latter were considered to be remarkable on account of
their being composed of fresh-water shells. Mr. Emerson had offered to
help me in my examination of them, but not wishing to occupy his time
in this unusual manner, I went down to Concord and tried to find them
by myself. In this attempt I failed, and, finally, I decided to obtain
his help. Fortunately, he was at home and at once put the harness on
his pony and drove me down to the place. We crossed some fields and
found the shell heaps near a sharp bend of the river. They were about a
hundred and fifty yards long, twenty yards wide and twelve feet high,
and were chiefly composed of mussel shells. For more than an hour we
worked zealously and made slight excavations at different parts of the
banks, and found some fragments of bones which had been shaped by hand,
but we were not successful in seeing any stone celts. We then went to
an adjoining hillock upon which the Indians were accustomed to encamp
and there we picked up three rudely-made arrow heads which had been
formed out of hard porphyritic stone.
After finishing the inspection of the middens, we went back to the
house, and remained for an hour or two in the library where we had tea.
Mr. Emerson told me that in order to pass through, with comparative
comfort, the long winter, he and others had formed a society of
twenty-five members and arrangements were made for meeting at their
respective houses. Each member gave a reception in turn upon Tuesdays.
When the time was at hand for going to the train he went to the stable,
and again harnessed the pony, and drove me to the station. When saying
“Good-bye,” he expressed many kind wishes with regard to my projected
journey.
Americans must naturally feel interested in whatever relates to the
past history of the native races who were the original inhabitants of
their country, and who possessed, in combination with their savage
nature and cruel practices, certain qualities of honour and fortitude
which seem to point to the existence of latent conditions of mind
placing them upon a different footing from other ordinary savage races.
Theories which relate to the migrations of the tribes who entered
Mexico from the North have also much attraction. As years roll onwards,
and the events, that then occurred, are more distant or obscure, the
causes of those movements and the origin of the influences that created
the subsequent advance in civilisation amongst those Indians are
becoming almost incomprehensible.
On the way from Concord towards Canada I stopped at Portsmouth for
the purpose of seeing the Navy Yard,[8] which was the last naval
establishment that I had to visit on the eastern coast, and then
proceeded to the remotely situated village of Damariscotta.
The shell mounds near the adjacent river far exceeded in magnitude
what I had expected to find. They were placed about twelve miles from
the sea within the limits of the ebb and the flow of the tides, and
formed the banks of a small promontory round which the river made a
sharp bend. Within these banks was a flat space of land which had been
used by the Indians for their camping ground, and which is known to
have been visited by small bands of them as late as the end of the last
century. The heaps extend along the shores of the river and round the
promontory for a length of about six hundred yards, and vary in height
from fifteen to thirty-five feet. It was difficult to estimate their
average width, but in many places it was not less than twenty-two yards.
The mound that I chiefly examined rose directly from the beach close to
the line of the present high water mark. It was thirty-three feet high,
sixty feet wide and one hundred and fifty feet long. Looking from the
river, it presented the appearance of a steep cliff formed of compact
layers of large oyster shells. In consequence of the face of this cliff
being exposed, it was possible to trace all the horizontal strata.
Beginning from the top of the bank there was, in the first place, a
deposit of shells closely packed about eighteen inches thick. Then
there was a well-defined layer of earth or mould, averaging a thickness
of half-an-inch throughout the whole length of the bank without any
break or change in its width. The next layer was not so deep as that on
the top, and was one foot thick. Then came another deposit of mould,
half-an-inch in thickness, resting upon another layer of shells. In
this manner, the alternating deposits of earth and shells succeeded
each other down to the base.
There were not any signs of kitchen midden refuse amongst the shells,
but in the intermediate layers of earth I saw fragments of broken
pottery, charred wood, several rounded stones, small quantities of
bones of animals, and one bone awl which had evidently been much used.
A portion of the cliff which had been undermined by the action of the
river had slipped down upon the beach, consequently the interior of the
mound was exposed. I made an excavation into this new face and found a
stone knife, or scraper, and a small stone chisel. In another part of
the bank I discovered a plank lying flat upon the third layer of mould
below the surface. It was made of fir, and was four feet six inches
long, six inches wide and half-an-inch thick.
These shell heaps, the relics of the feasts and food of the Indians,
although interesting as evidences of the habits of life of the savage
races that once occupied this part of America, prove but little more
than the fact that those races have existed and passed away. The
successive layers of earth in the heaps would enable an estimate to be
made of their age, if the length of the intervals of time that elapsed
between the encampments could be known. The saw-cut plank, resting upon
the third layer is an evidence that the two upper deposits of shells
were made since the arrival of the English colonists. The Indians then
dwelling on these lands were called the Abenakis. These oyster heaps
may have been raised by them when they visited the coast of Maine after
leaving their hunting grounds.[9]