THE KNICKERBOCKER.
VOL. X. OCTOBER, 1837. NO. 4.
AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES.
NUMBER THREE.
'EVEN in thy desert, what is like to thee?
Thy very weeds are beautiful; thy waste
More rich than other climes' fertility;
Thy wreck a glory, and thy ruins graced
With an immaculate charm.'
IF, as has been stated in previous numbers, this continent is
distinguished by the remains of great cities, magnificent structures,
and innumerable other ingenious specimens of ancient art; and if, as
has likewise been shown, these things existed at a period of time
unknown to history or tradition, the inquiry, 'Who were the people
that inhabited these cities, who constructed these edifices, and
who executed these varied arts?' becomes of intense interest to all
men of curiosity and of learning. The inquiry is also inseparably
connected with the description of these arts; and, as a consequence,
demands attention, as we proceed with the subject of American
Antiquities.
For a long time, the majority of men were satisfied with the reputed
discovery of this continent by Columbus, even though they were
acquainted with the fact that he found the 'new world' thickly
inhabited by different varieties of mankind, and though subsequent
researches proved these inhabitants to have existed ages before, and
from one end of the continent to the other. So little reflection
is still manifested upon this subject by many, that they blindly
assent to the opinion, that Columbus was, indeed, the first European
discoverer of America; forgetting, seemingly--to say nothing of
its repeated discovery by the 'North-men,' and probably by others,
from the ninth to the twelve century--that, according to the same
popular idea, the primitive inhabitants must themselves have been
the discoverers, time immemoriably past, and, like Columbus, have
sailed from the eastern continent, across a wide and trackless ocean,
to _our_ far-famed 'new world.' The truth is, men are too prone
to consider that which is new to themselves, as actual discovery;
and, during the novelty of the occasion, and in their love of
praise, are very little inclined to reflect upon the evidences
of antiquity, though they stare them full in the face. Should we
concede the correctness of the common opinion, as to the origin of
these inhabitants, the discovery of America by them must have been
a much more eventful circumstance in the history of man than that
by Columbus. How many and how exciting must have been the incidents
attending that discovery! How bold the enterprise, how long and how
perilous the voyages! How startling the hair-breadth 'scapes, and
how imposing to them must have been a '_new world_' indeed! What
strange objects, animate and inanimate, must have been presented to
them, on first reaching, and while traversing, the great continent
of America! How little knowledge, in fine, did Columbus possess of
this continent, compared with that acquired by the observations of
the millions who had occupied it for time unknown! These were men,
reasoning and feeling men, like ourselves; why, then, should we not
reason upon the times and the events which marked _their_ discovery
of the 'new world?' We might imagine, perhaps, something like those
events, or conceive of the records to which they might have given
birth, when, without the compass that guided Columbus, or the means
which safely protected him against the fury of the elements, they
made successive discoveries of, and peopled, so vast a continent.
It is not impossible that the African, the Malay, and the Tartar,
found here by Columbus, 'monarchs of all they surveyed,' possessed
such a knowledge of the arts and sciences as to have enabled them to
navigate the boisterous ocean with equal security, as certainly they
had done with equal success. History, in fact, informs us, that the
remote knowledge of many of these people was of a superior order.
It might have equalled that of the Caucassian, at the time of _his_
discovery of America. The event proves that it even did, in many
important particulars, notwithstanding our boasted prëeminence. Let
the records of the ancient Chinese, Arabians, and East Indians, the
monuments of Asia, and of the Peloponnesian Islands, and the arts of
Palenque, speak for the early condition of the human intellect. But a
long night of darkness has intervened; and, like men at all ages of
the world, 'we reason but from what we know.'
It cannot be inferred from evidences derived from the relics hitherto
discovered in the United States, that the primitive inhabitants
of our country were not, for centuries, contemporaneous with the
Tultecans. That they were, indeed, will appear extremely probable,
in solving the question as to their ultimate destiny. It is a very
common and a very important question, 'What became of the numerous
people who once populated our western valleys?' Though we may not
give a conclusive answer to the inquiry, yet it may be shown that,
in the final overthrow of the Tultecan nation, and synchronous with
the desertion, and perhaps destruction, of the city of Palenque,
the barbarous northern nations of Aztiques and Chichimecas, before
alluded to, were none others than the primitive inhabitants of the
Mississippi valley; who, in the order observed in the rise and fall
of nations, were expelled from their country by hordes of a still
more northern and warlike nation of Tartars.
We find, to begin with the human family in Central America, and
the earliest arts which are at present revealed to us, that the
Tultecan people, or a people analogous in their arts, customs, etc.,
inhabited, at the period of their glory, the provinces of Yucatan,
Chiapa, and Guatemala. Which of the two first named portions of that
delightful country was the scene of their primeval history, does not
clearly appear. Should it be determined that this people actually
traversed the great Atlantic, agreeably to the somewhat plausible
and ingenious story of _Votan_, of which we shall hereafter speak,
the province of Yucatan may be supposed to have been the spot where
they first established themselves, and reared their stone edifices;
and, indeed, if the fact goes for any thing in illustrating this
position, the ruins of their architectural monuments are actually
found strewed along the province, from near its eastern point,
toward the famous city we have mentioned. But if the Tultecan
metropolis, situated on an elevated paradisian plain, far removed
from any other similar ruins, was _de facto_, the first residence
of man in America, we shall be at a loss to assign any other than
an indigenous origin for the Tultecan people. On a question thus
undecided, there can be no cause of wonder, if there are those who
are conscientiously _Pre-Adamites_. But, without designing to favor
one opinion more than another, independent of the evidence actually
offered, it may be confidently affirmed, that there does not appear
any satisfactory proofs adduced by those who have attempted to trace
the origin of that people, that they partook more of the character
of one eastern people than another. There has been, in truth, no
distinguished nation of people with whose ancient history we are
acquainted, who had not manners and customs resembling those of
the Palencians. It is not strange, therefore, that men, influenced
by preconceived opinions, should have assigned various reasons to
account for the commencement of human population in America, and
that, in the height of their zeal to reconcile all things with those
opinions, they should have propounded their own imaginings, and the
sheerest inventions, as sober matters of fact. Such, melancholy as
is the fact for moral truth, has too often been the case, whenever
favorite theories have been in jeopardy, or have stood in need of
opportune evidence to render them plausible or reconcilable with
popular dogmas. The story of Votan, though ingenious, and though
accredited by many, for the same reason, is indebted, we may believe,
to the same ideal source for its origin. This story, however, claims
notice, and a mention of the circumstances on which it is founded,
in speaking of the beginning of our race on this continent. With
history, as with science, there have been at all times those who
have stepped forth, and gratuitously proposed theories, probable and
improbable, in aid of opinions involving individual interests and
sectarian views; but, in the case before us, we are left alone with
facts and probability to establish our conclusions, which we are not
at liberty to warp by prejudice, or the favor of others' opinions.
There are found among the ruins of Palenque, of Copan, and of several
places of ancient grandeur in Central America, specimens of arts
so closely resembling the Egyptian, the Carthaginian, the Romans,
the Grecian, and the East Indian, that many have thought the people
of each have, at different times, visited America, and instructed
the Tultiques in useful and ornamental knowledge. Some suppose that
the Romans remained just long enough to afford the Tultecans the
knowledge of building their dykes, aqueducts, bridges, etc., and
then to have returned to the eastern continent. The Hindoos must
also, for the same reason, have instructed these American people
in their religion and their arts; and so with those of some other
nations. Thus it was, according to this hypothesis, but a trifling
affair for the people of transatlantic fame to make visits to this
continent for the purpose of giving its ancient inhabitants the
requisite information for the construction of their edifices, etc. A
singular difficulty would seem, however, to stand in the way of this
supposition; and this is, that the ruins of these arts themselves
indicate a greater antiquity than those of the eastern world, in
the execution of which these sage school-masters are supposed to
have acquired all their skill. May it not be equally probable, from
this view of the subject, that the Americans instructed the people
of Asia in a knowledge of the arts, sciences, and mysteries, of
which their history so much boasts? The fact is conclusive, that the
Tultiques, were highly proficient in both the arts and sciences,
at an immeasurably distant period of time; even more so, as far
as we are enabled to learn, than most nations of men on the other
continent. The science of astronomy, by which this people was enabled
to calculate time with a precision, which, as is thought, it is
the pride of modern science alone to claim, need only be cited as
evidence in point. Their knowledge of the useful and ornamental arts
was not behind that of any other people of the earliest times, as we
shall see by reference to the ruins which, for thousands of years,
have survived them. Were we, in fact, to compare that knowledge,
as indicated by those ruins, with that of the Chaldeans, and other
remote people, as evinced by theirs, we could not hesitate to return
a uniformly favorable decision for the great antiquity of the
Tultiques. It is unhesitatingly admitted, that the Mexicans derived
all their knowledge of art and of science from these people, whom
they succeeded; and it is equally certain, that they were a barbarous
and ignorant race of men, long after the extinction of the Tultique
nation. Admitting the Mexican people, then, to have had their origin
in the northern nations, existing, as we have reason to suppose,
within the vast extent of country between the ancient Tultiques and
the present south-western boundary lines of the United States, the
lapse of a long period of time must be supposed necessary for their
acquirement of that extraordinary proficiency of which they were
found to be possessed by the tyrant invader, Cortes.
The Tultecan people, it has been observed, were completely isolated
on a mountainous plain, more than five thousand feet above the
level of the sea, where they enjoyed a climate more temperate and
genial, an air more salubrious, and natural productions more rich
and abundant, than it has been the lot of any other people of the
earth to enjoy. It is therefore from this paradisial location that
we are to date our knowledge of this people, since we are provided
with no facts which prove them, or any other people, to have had an
anterior existence on this continent. The ruined arts of Yucatan
and of Guatemala do not satisfy us that those provinces were
inhabited previous to that of Chiapa, and the delightful vale upon
the Cordillera mountains, where we now find the astonishing remains
referred to. On the contrary, their present condition shows them to
have been constructed long posterior. The people whose they were,
should be considered as _colonists_ from the great Palencian city,
which must have overflowed with population. The arts and customs of
these colonists are seen to have been precisely those of the parent
city, as well also as their religion. So late, in fact, was the
origin of Copan, that we are led to believe it to have been a city
built subsequent to the destruction of the Palencian capital. Some of
the edifices, and many of the monuments, still remain: the coloring
matter used in the drawings upon the obelisks is also as fresh and as
bright, apparently, as it was when first put on; notwithstanding the
materials of which the buildings, etc., are composed are more exposed
to moisture, and consequently, more liable to disintegration, than
those of Palenque. In these obelisks, we have a novelty among the
arts preserved for our admiration, as relics of the ancient American
people. Nothing resembling them has yet been found at Palenque,
though it is possible such may have existed, both in that city and in
the province of Yucatan; but they long since crumbled in the general
wreck of ruins. It may be in place here to introduce a notice of some
of these ancient structures, now existing in a state of tolerable
preservation in the city of Copan, in the Province of Honduras, and
on a river of the same name.
From the bay of Honduras, the traveller proceeds up the river
Matayua, two hundred and fifty miles, when he arrives at the mouth
of the river Copan, a tributary to the Matayua. Entering this river,
he ascends it for about sixty miles, when the ruins of an ancient
city are presented to his view on its banks, and running along its
course for several miles. Masses of stone fragments and crumbling
edifices stretch along the river as far as it was explored. One of
the principal objects of attraction, is a temple of great magnitude,
but partially in ruins. This magnificent building stands immediately
upon the bank, one hundred and twenty feet above the river. _It is
seven hundred and fifty feet in length, and six hundred feet broad!_
Stone steps conduct from the base of the rock on which it is situated
to an elevation, from which others descend to a large square, in
the interior of the building. From this large square you pass on
and upward through a small gallery to still higher elevations which
overhang the river. A splendid view of the extended ruins is here
presented to the admiring observer, traversing the banks as far as
they can be followed by the eye. Excavations were here made, in order
to lay open passages which had been blocked up by the crumbling
fragments of the building. At the opening of the gallery into the
square, a passage was discovered which led into a sepulchre, the
floor of which was twelve feet below the square. This vault is ten
feet long, six high, and five and a half broad, and runs north and
south. It contains great numbers of earthen dishes and pots, in good
preservation. Fifty of these were filled with human bones, closely
packed in lime. Several sharp and pointed knives, made of a hard
and brittle stone, called _itzli_, were also found; likewise a head
representing _Death_, the back part of which was perforated with
small holes; and the whole wrought with exquisite workmanship, out
of a fine green stone. There were also found in this sepulchre two
other heads, numerous shells from the sea-shore, and stalactites from
a neighboring cave, all of which indicated the superstition of the
people who placed them there. The floor was of stone, and strewed
with mouldering fragments of bones.
Great numbers of other rooms were entered, all of which, as far
as they could be traced, showed the most singular customs of the
people, and the most grotesque specimens of sculpture. Many monstrous
figures were likewise found among these and neighboring ruins. There
was one representing the head of a huge alligator, having in its
mouth a figure with a human face, and paws like an animal. Another
was discovered of a gigantic toad, in an erect position, with claws
like a tiger, on human arms! Numerous obelisks were seen in various
directions, both standing and fallen. These were generally about ten
feet high, and three feet thick. One of them, still standing, is
covered with representations of human figures, sculptured in relief,
all presenting a front view, with their hands on their breasts,
sandals on their feet, caps on their heads, and otherwise richly
adorned with garments. Opposite to this, and ten feet distant, were
stone altars, which are likewise covered with sculptured designs.
The sides of the obelisks contained numerous phonetic hieroglyphics.
There was one of these curious obelisks in the temple before
mentioned, the top of which was covered by forty-nine square tablets
of hieroglyphics. The sides were occupied by sixteen human figures in
relief, sitting cross-legged on cushions, carved in the stone, and
holding fans in their hands. On a neighboring hill stands two other
obelisks, which were also covered with hieroglyphics. These were
painted red, with a paint made of a rich deep-colored stone, obtained
from a neighboring quarry. Unlike any other pyramidal monuments of
the kind among the antiquities of the eastern continent, these were
both broader and thicker at the top than at the base; and the colors
with which they were richly ornamented, were still of the brightest
hues.
Among the mountainous piles of stone ruins which are to be seen in
the country round about, no very great difference is observable
in the style of workmanship or of architecture, so far as could
be observed, from that noticed among the relics at Palenque. This
similarity is a striking feature, and is calculated at once to induce
the opinion, as we have before suggested, that the first inhabitants
of this city were colonists of the Tultiques, or that they fled
thence on the fall of their metropolis.
The name of _Palenque_, it would seem, had, long before the conquest,
passed into oblivion, while a part of the city of Copan, then
offering a shelter for the natives, was occupied by them at the time
of Columbus' discovery of America, three hundred and forty-five
years ago. The materials of the Copan edifices, were, however,
evidently much less durable than those of Palenque. The former, being
constructed of sand-stone, disintegrated by exposure to the action
of the atmosphere, though not more readily, perhaps, than ordinary
building stone, of the same geological character, yet obviously
more so than the materials of which Palenque was built, which are
remarkable for their indurated quality. Hence our astonishment
is increased, on reflecting, that _neither the Palenquans_ nor
the _Copanians, had any knowledge of the use of iron tools_, but
nevertheless quarried, shaped, and planted, those massive blocks
and pillars of stones, which composed their magnificent Teöculi,
and all the great works which adorned and defended their cities.
But one solitary hut, beside the fabrics mentioned, now stands on
the ruins of Copan! The present natives deserted it only about
seventy-five years ago. Many of them, hereabout, were engaged in
the cultivation of tobacco, for which the soil was very good; and
this ancient place was celebrated as a dépôt for that article, under
the Spanish conquerors. It is worthy of notice, that the water of
this place is remarkable for its great purity, and the climate is
equally distinguished for its healthfulness; circumstances which the
primitive inhabitants of America would seem to have considered of
primary importance in the location of their cities.
We have already said that the people of whom we are speaking enjoyed
a felicity unequalled by any other. This is attributable to their
peaceful character, their simple yet effective government, their
industrious habits, conjoined with their choice location, uniting as
it did almost every natural advantage of situation and production.
But the present period exhibits their successors the most wretched
of the human species. The Indian race, once the most happy and
numerous of mankind, may be traced from the vigor of youth through
the strength of its manhood to the present decline and decrepitude
of old age. Total extinction, in the usual course of events, will
soon follow. It is indeed fast approaching at the present moment
urged on as it is by the mad ambition of the Caucassian, who, in
_his_ turn, is rapidly approximating the zenith of his power and
numbers. Throughout the world this may now be seen at a glance. The
native of India is rapidly falling before the gigantic power, the
cunning, and the oppression of England, now herself at the acmé
of her strength and numerical force. Ignorance, superstition, and
imbecility, press the Indian forward to his last hopes. Availing
itself of these inevitable results of old age, the power that is
slowly but effectually crushing him, rises elastic and buoyant upon
the dead body of the old native. The free Indian of United America,
in like manner, is fast closing the scene of his glory and the
fulness of his manhood. He too is declining into old age; and already
are the marks of death observable upon his withered visage. He too
was flushed with the hopes of youth, and spread out his vigorous
energies like the green bay tree. He too realized the measure of his
glory, and proudly exulted in his power and possessions. But, alas!
he too is fast wasting in the last stages of decline and death. So
it is with the Indian of Central America. From the fruition of his
hopes and numbers, and the full consummation of his glory, he has
sunk to the deepest degradation, to numerical insignificance, and to
the most abject wretchedness. A stronger contrast in the relative
condition of a people can nowhere be found. Turning from the period
of which we have been speaking, that saw the Tultecans the happiest
people of the earth, to the present, that reveals their miserable
descendants tamely bowing their necks to the galling yoke of their
Spanish masters, and how forcible are the marks of distinction!
Take this people, amalgamated with the reputed barbarous Aztiques,
or Chichimecas, and constituting the Mexican nation at the time of
Cortes' mad invasion, and how deplorable is their present situation,
contrasted with what it then was! Where are the promised blessings of
the 'Christian,' the boasted charms of civilization, etc.? Away with
the idle and superstitious fantasies, and the base schemes of the
selfish and ambitious, under the garb of reason and of philanthropy!
Let truth and justice speak for themselves. How much better, we would
ask, is the poor Indian of Central America, how much more rational
and how much more numerous is he now, than when the proud Caucassian,
'the most honored of the free,' first essayed his renovating
influences? Let the past and the present answer! Suffice it to
say, that like his native compeer of our own states, he is rapidly
disappearing under the operation of these causes, and oblivion,
meanwhile, closes over his history. Like the ill-fated Indian, it
will be in turn for the oppressor to yield to the force of recurring
circumstances. Yes! time, too, will bring along _his_ destiny, and it
will be that of the oppressed, the cheated, the extinct Indian!
Civilization, as some one has observed, is and ever has been
travelling westward. We believe it. The relics of America go far
to prove it; and those of the Pacific Islands, if possible, still
farther. Giving then to America an indefinite antiquity, its earliest
monuments should have mingled with the soil on which they were
erected. They should have crumbled before the all-crushing power of
time. And such is the fact. Its people should have passed onward to
Asia; and they should have left other monuments by the way. Such
appears also to have been the fact. Remains of magnificent structures
are still to be seen on the islands which intervene, even those
of great and splendid cities. These, too, defy the scrutinizing
inquiries of mankind, at this so distant date. The arts are those
of ancient America. To one conversant with the specimens now to be
found in some of those islands, the inference will appear conclusive.
It belongs to the geologist to prove, that the intervening land has
undergone extraordinary revolutions. We are prepared to say, that
he is enabled to prove that many of those islands are of recent
geological epocha, and that most of them are of volcanic origin.
By the way of these islands, then, it was both easy and natural to
have peopled India, China, and those nations claiming with them the
most distant antiquity. The arts of those times are nearly the same
in execution and design. The Chinese Tartars, those wandering hordes
that stretched along the Pacific, in time again found their way to
this continent, by means of the continuous chain of the Fox Islands
and Alaska, and across Behring's Straits. Farther notice of this fact
will accompany some remarks on the present race of North American
Indians, for they are the Tartars referred to. If we are to do credit
to a recent philological work, published in London, displaying
great research and learning, we shall be struck with the general
proposition, that man had a common ancestry, far east of the hitherto
reputed source of his origin. The evidence adduced from the analogy
of the Arabic, the Chinese, the Tartar, and generally the Asiatic
languages, with the Greek, etc., throws much light upon the subject
of our inquiry. Late researches, also, among the Pacific Islands, and
those more particularly bordering on the Asiatic coasts, are replete
with interest touching the antiquity and former character of their
inhabitants. Ruined walls, monuments, and sepulchres, of antique and
massive masonry, of which tradition has preserved no memorial among
the descendants of the people, clearly prove the existence of a
different state and character of people at some very remote period.
But recently there have been discovered the buried walls of an
extensive city, and also a strange race of people in New Holland. A
colony hitherto unknown, speaking the English language, with European
countenances, manners, etc., has quite lately been discovered in the
interior of that yet unexplored continent. These facts are exciting
no little inquiry and astonishment among the curious of Europe.
Still farther, and it is hoped and presumed still more important,
discoveries will, ere long, reveal new truths upon this subject,
and tend, in a striking manner, to enlighten mankind in relation to
their early history. To effect this, means more effective could not
be devised than 'exploring expeditions.' That now contemplated by
this government, if conducted in part with reference to this subject,
cannot fail to be highly fruitful of discovery.
The ancient Aztec cities, on the vast and beautiful plains, and
upon the southern banks of the _Rio Gila_, in New California, with
numerous other remains of arts, and evidences of former civilization,
now to be seen among what have been denominated the 'Independent
Indians,' on the north-west coast of America, from the thirty-third
to the fifty-fourth parallels of latitude, will be seen to throw much
light on the original people, both of Mexico and of our own country.
For the present, attention is still farther called to the origin of
the Tultiques, the first and the most remarkable people, ancient or
modern, that have inhabited the American continent.
In reflecting upon the period at which the Tultiques flourished, one
cannot but smile at the determination of some to give comparatively
modern dates to the Palencian city, and its ruined arts; as if it
were impossible that it should have preceded a certain time to which
previously supposed data had limited their faith or comprehension.
Some give its origin but about two hundred years anterior to the
conquest by the Spaniards. Others, again, extend, their views
several hundred years beyond this; but such are careful, at the
same time, to circumscribe their belief within a definite period,
viz: the Christian era. The majority, perhaps, derive their dates
from the dispersion at the tower of Babel. Again, there are those
who place entire confidence in the theory given by Cabrera, derived
from another source, and paraded with the utmost assurance as having
been obtained from some 'precious documents,' found in a cave, where
they had been hid by Votan himself! From the tenor of the facts
in this case, but more particularly from the language used by the
Bishop of Chiapa, Don Francisco Nunez de la Vega, whose book was
printed at Rome in 1702, we are forced to think that many, very
many, important memorials, and those which would have afforded us
the means for discovering the history of this people, were destroyed
by the bigots of his sect. In this superstitious crusade, he himself
gave the most distinguished example, by destroying, according to
his own confession, the 'precious documents' in question. It is
important that the truth or falsity of this 'memorial for future
ages,' as Cabrera calls it, should be inquired into; as it is either
to be considered hereafter as settling the great question, 'Who
were the Tultiques,' or it is to be thrown aside as an idle and
credulous story, got up by the bishop himself, for the purpose of
giving himself eclat, and of confirming those who otherwise might be
sceptical upon so interesting a point in history, or, perhaps, in his
own peculiar faith.
The evidences already presented of the antiquity of the Tultecan
monuments cannot, we must suppose, but destroy all the statements,
(for they are mere statements, without one clear and rational fact
to support them,) which have been made, giving a comparatively
modern date to the Tultique nation. It is true, that the monuments
of Tultecan greatness bear a striking resemblance to those of the
Egyptians and Romans, not to say several other eastern nations of
people. But what does this prove? Just nothing at all. If the relics
which so much astonish us at Palenque, give evidence of age cöeval
at least, if not greatly anterior, to those of Egypt, from which, it
has been affirmed they were copied, the Cyclops cannot be supposed
to have been their authors. A long period of time should have
elapsed from that in which these 'wandering masons,' for such it is
said the Indian traditions of Central America style the builders of
their ancient edifices, were exterminated from Egypt, wandered to
the Atlantic coast, prepared themselves for a long voyage--totally
unacquainted, as they were, with marine navigation--and actually
traversed the unknown sea for three thousand miles! How long, will it
be supposed, they were engaged in thus acquiring a taste so unsuited
to their habits, and in contriving suitable vessels, which, in
Upper Egypt, they never could have seen, to embark on the trackless
sea for America, without a compass to guide them, and without the
possibility of their knowing whither they were going? Is it to be
presumed, that vessels of theirs, at that time, if they built any
at all, or were, in fact, in a situation to build them, if they had
a mind, were furnished with the requisite materials, provisioned,
etc., to navigate the Atlantic ocean? Should we admit all this as
probable, for the sake of speculation, it would appear remarkable
if they, first and fortunately, touched upon the coast of Yucatan,
and located, at once, in the finest country on the globe, and that,
too, in sufficient numbers to have built and peopled even one of
its large cities. We shall not venture to name the time required at
that stage of man's history to have accomplished all these things,
or attempt to explain how the mouldering arts which this people have
left from unrecorded time, could exhibit still greater antiquity than
those of the Egyptians. This discrepancy between supposition and fact
is better referred to those who, rather than doubt what they have
previously believed, adopt as truth the most inconsistent theories.
The Carthaginians, although more adventurous, and more accustomed
in their belligerent prows to the dangers of the sea than any other
ancient maritime nation of people, are as little entitled to the
credit of having first peopled America, as the native Egyptians,
so far as positive evidence is concerned. The latter will not be
supposed to have inspired their successors with the requisite
information and skill, nor will it be presumed that they were so
far the masters of navigation themselves, as to have accomplished
voyages to this continent. The reasons which apply to these people,
are equally applicable to all others during the early conditions of
society. Neither the Greeks nor the Romans, ambitious as they were
of fortune and of fame, can be conceived capable of having executed
voyages of three thousand miles on an unexplored ocean. Nor will
the colonies of the Carthaginians and Romans, said to have been
established by them upon the sea-coast and on neighboring Islands, be
imagined to have afforded the parent nations the necessary impetus
to embark in quest of discovery on an ocean, ever considered by them
of boundless extent, or have prompted them to plant colonies at the
distance of four thousand miles, admitting them to have conceived the
existence of another continent. Were we so credulous as to believe
this, we should be driven to the admission, that they not only
made one, but numerous voyages across the Atlantic; and eventually
reared a great nation under their auspices. And if so, why, we might
very naturally inquire, is all history silent upon the subject,
and without even a hint of its truth, or the possibility of the
performances?
The wreck on our shores of some solitary vessel, a circumstance
dwelt upon by all who have attempted to get over the difficulties
in accounting for the origin of the American people, is equally
unsatisfactory; for it is but a bare supposition at best. We might as
reasonably suppose any other means of peopling this continent. It is
even less probable that a female was upon such a wreck, and survived
the catastrophe, to constitute an American Eve. Yet supposing even
this to have been the case, how long a time would have been required,
from the earliest history of Carthaginian or Roman prow navigation,
for the luckless navigators of their craft, with each a surviving
partner, a circumstance still less probable, to have explored Central
America, built numerous cities--one containing at least two millions
of people--reared the most stupendous and durable edifices, and
other monuments, and then to have become extinct, or identified with
other species of men, and all their monuments of 'eternal rock' to
have crumbled into one general wreck of matter? Could all this have
happened, we ask, even supposing, for the love of conjecture, that
all the rest actually did happen? We leave reasonable men to answer
for themselves. But there is another reason why the Tultiques are
derived from no such reputed stock, and one which every scientific
man will deem conclusive, if his prejudices preclude all other
sources of evidence. There are physical peculiarities, we all
know, by which species of men, as well as all lower animals, are
contradistinguished. These in the Tultique have so little resemblance
in common with other species of mankind, ancient or modern, that no
effort of the physiologist can give him, according to distinctive
criteria, a homologous arrangement. He is completely alone in this
respect, and consequently could not have been indebted to the people
in question, from whom he most of all differed, for his origin.
The fact also, if it needs be, that the Carthaginians visited parts
of the United States, either from choice or necessity, as is believed
by many archæologists, would go far to prove that they were not
the people of Tulteca. If this be still supposed, where, we would
inquire, are _their_ descendants? They would have been as likely to
have peopled this country as any other. The reasons why they did
not flourish here, would answer alike for their not peopling Central
America. The same remains of great cities would appear here as in
Chiapa, Guatemala, etc., had they or their descendants been the
authors of those in the latter places. Faint evidences do exist, of
the presence of a peculiar people in this country, at some distant
period of time, other than those who raised the tumuli of the western
states, the Tartars, the Scandinavians, or Welch. The most remarkable
of these--perhaps these are the only evidences worthy of note--are
inscriptions on rocks in various parts of the United States. The
characters are believed to be Carthaginian. In not less than twelve
places are they to be seen at the present day. But whatever others
may think, in relation to the authors of these blind, though
curious inscriptions, we are ourselves little inclined to believe
them Carthaginian. It is quite as probable, in fact, that they
were the work of the original inhabitants of the western valleys,
as of any other people, for they are there to be seen, as well as
upon the Atlantic coast. Similar characters have been discovered
on specimens of arts left by that people. Confidence may have been
obtained for the supposition that they were Carthaginian, from the
fact that the remains of a vessel, clearly Carthaginian in form and
style, are said to have been discovered imbedded in the soil not far
distant from where inscriptions are now to be seen on rocks, near
our Atlantic coast. But at that time, these were supposed to be the
only inscriptions to be found in our country; many others, however,
are now known to exist, as far distant even as Georgia, and in the
interior.
The walls of cities lately discovered at the west, in Wisconsin,
Arkansas, etc., prove nothing in respect to the ruined cities of
which we have been speaking in Central America, except that they are
entirely unlike in every particular, and were built by people as
different in their character and knowledge, as our present Indians
and ourselves. They prove much, however, in relation to the remains
of cities on the north-west coast, heretofore noticed, and also to
the temples, cities, etc., of the valley of Mexico. These with others
equally remarkable, will be fully discussed in subsequent numbers.
NAPOLEON.
HE won the laurels, and with them renown,
But lost them both, to shape them to a crown;
And, sworn to conquer kings, self-conquer'd fell,
When he himself the royal list would swell;
And, with the fasces, for the sceptre made
A sorry change--the substance for the shade:
Untaught what madness to the million clings,
Who forms to facts prefer, and names to things:
Triumphant for a space, by craft and crime,
Two foes he left unconquered--Truth and Time:
Oh! had he for true glory shaped his course,
He'd 'scaped repentance living--dead, remorse!
THE DEATH OF SOCRATES.
GIVE me the bowl!
The boon of freedom to my weary soul
Hath come at last; the hour of calm release,
When all the restless storms of life may cease,
And time's dark billows, as they onward roll,
Shall sweep above my silent grave in peace.
Long, long in sadness hath my spirit yearn'd
For freedom from the heavy bonds of flesh;
And earthly hopes and earthly pleasures spurn'd:
And while the quenchless fire within it burn'd,
Hath sighed for streams immortal, to refresh
Its drooping wings, that it might upward soar,
Beyond the curtains of the vaulted sky,
Within the veil that hides Eternity;
And drink the tide of bliss, and weep no more!
* * * * *
It is a bitter draught!
Meet emblem of Death's cruel bitterness;
To those who love life more, or loathe it less;
Yet in its mingled poison have I quaff'd
The fountain, whose undying strength shall waft
The heir of life immortal to those shores,
Where the full tide of its bright glory pours!
Yet may this be a vision! I have dream'd
Of future time--of years beyond the grave;
Of brighter worlds far o'er the whelming wave;
And on my raptured fancy there hath gleam'd.
The image of a thousand hidden things,
That reason may not trace; and wisdom brings
No clue to read; and weary thought turns back,
All hopeless from the dark, bewildering track.
* * * * *
'Tis drain'd! and mingled with the streams of life,
The venom pours through every swollen vein:
The race is run--fought is the field of strife;
And bleeds the vanquish'd now upon the plain,
No more the conflict to essay again!
* * * * *
Oh, Source Eternal! Being Infinite!
To whom--though blindly, from this darksome prison,
Where doubt and error reign in ceaseless night--
The worship of my spirit long hath risen;
No more I doubt--no longer wavering,
I offer incense to a God unknown,
But, from the altar of my bosom, fling
Its fragrance at the footstool of thy throne;
And as the film of death obscures my sight,
The vision of thy presence grows more bright!
* * * * *
'Tis almost o'er! My wildered senses roam--
A thousand harps the balmy air are filling!
A thousand angel voices wildly thrilling,
Are calling, 'Kindred spirit, haste thee home!'
Speed, speed, my ling'ring soul!--'I come! I come!'
_Wilmington, (Del.,) August, 1837._ J. T. J.
NOTES OF A SURGEON.[1]
NUMBER TWO.
THE INCENDIARIES.
I WAS aroused from my sleep one morning about three o'clock, by the
alarm of fire. A bright light was shining into my room, and casting
its tinted rays in flashes over the wall, pallid by the beams of
a December moon, like the flickering glances of hectic over the
consumptive cheek of beauty. On going to the window, I discovered
that the fire was but a short distance from the hospital, and
in broad view. A brilliant fire so near me, overcame my natural
apathy, and packing on some extra habiliments, I sallied out to see
what havoc this mighty element was making among the time-worn and
thickly-tenanted buildings of the purlieus of L---- street.
The engines were already at work, when I reached the spot. A
dwelling-house was on fire, and the flames were shooting merrily up
from the roof and windows, tinged or obscured for a brief moment by
the occasional flood of water which the bounteous hose lavished upon
the most flagrant portions of the enkindled domicil--a powerful and
efficient _antiphlogistic_, as it struck me at the time. I made my
way, with others, into an alley which led to the rear of the house,
with some faint hope that I might be of service in arresting the
flames, or at any rate, enjoy a fair and near view of the fire,
without the danger of being trodden under foot. The whole back part
of one wooden building was in a blaze, and the persons in the yard
were pointing to it with evident marks of interest and agitation. I
did not have long to wait, to be informed of the subject of their
solicitude. Presently, a figure shot through the second-story window,
sash and all, and bounded to the ground. He rolled and plunged about,
and endeavored to tear off his burning garments; for, singularly
enough, he was dressed in pantaloons, boots, and vest, as if he had
not been in bed; his hair was entirely singed off, and his shirt was
fast consuming from his arms. In a moment, another one similarly
dressed, but without shoes, rushed down stairs, and tumbled into
the middle of the yard, uttering most pitiable cries. Astonished
at such a sudden apparition, the spectators scarcely knew what to
do; and I was equally at a loss, for an instant; but running up to
the one who lay prostrate on the ground, where he had just pitched
from the door, with the aid of some of the more wakeful beholders, I
extinguished the fire about his neck and shoulders, as effectually
as was practicable. He would hardly permit any one to touch him,
but kept thrusting his burning arms up to his face, and thus adding
unconsciously to the mischief. Having smothered the flames, and put
him in charge of some of the by-standers, who had now generously
volunteered their assistance, I went to take a view of the other. I
found him lying in the dirt, without any fire on his person, (it had
been put out by others,) and rolling ceaselessly from side to side.
When spoken to, he answered in a hurried and impatient manner.
Having made a rude litter out of boards, we had them laid on it, and
carried to the hospital. As we emerged from the rear gate, the crowd,
who had learned the nature of the occurrence, made way, and we were
soon at the corner, around which the store was situated, from whence
these unfortunate individuals had issued in the rear. Here their
mother joined us. She made no violent manifestations of grief, as
the litter went along, but walked by its side, occasionally coming
nearer, and addressing a word to her sons, as they seemed to be more
sharply tortured.
Having deposited them in one of the wards of the hospital, reserved
for the reception of such cases, the first dressings were put on,
and a slight anodyne and cordial were administered to them both,
as they were greatly prostrated, especially the one who seemed to
be the younger. Bottles of hot water, and bags filled with heated
sand, were applied around their extremities. It was not long before
one of them was restored to his natural warmth, and to a full sense
of his wretchedness. But the other never recovered from the shock
given to his nervous system, and rapidly sunk, as will be seen. His
senses were in full activity, until near the last, and with a little
agitation, attributable to the severity of his bodily injury, and
to the prospect of the near approach of death, there was a degree
of emotion, which was not to be assigned to so obvious a cause, and
which led to the belief that something lay heavily on his mind, which
he wished, yet hesitated to declare. His father appeared but once,
and going to his bed, whispered a few words in his ear, and left him.
He seemed not less distressed after this visit.
His mother came frequently, but was unable to remain constantly,
or even a considerable part of the time, by his bed-side, from the
distress which the view of his calamitous situation, and his terrible
writhings under the agony of his burns, produced in her mind. She
said very few words to him; and those only in the way of soothing
and comforting his momentary distresses; but sat by the side of his
low bed, and at every half unconscious toss that tore off strips
of skin from his body, and exposed patches of the bleeding surface
to the view of the mother, she raised up her arms and face, in the
most pitiable excess of grief that the mind is capable of imagining.
She might have been a study to the unhallowed gaze of an ambitious
devotee of sculpture.
The patient (the younger, who is here alluded to, the other being
comparatively out of danger,) tossed and turned so incessantly in
bed, that it was almost impossible to keep any dressings on the
excoriated parts. At the approach of night, his agitation increased.
He continually complained of _rigor_, or chilliness, and inquired
for some warm drink, which, when presented to him, he rejected, with
appearances of disgust. I determined to set up with him a part of
the night, in the hope of being able to relieve his sufferings, if
not by bodily remedies, at least by such anodynes to the mind as
might be administered in words. I was not without some expectations
that he might be induced to make me the participator of the secret
uneasiness, which various circumstances had led me to believe he was
laboring under.