The religion of the Mexicans strongly resembled that of the Jews,

in many minor details, as will be presently seen, and the two were

practically alike, to a certain extent, in their very foundation;

for, as the Jews acknowledged a multitude of angels, archangels,

principalities, thrones, dominions, and powers, as the subordinate

personages of their hierarchy, so did the Mexicans acknowledge the

unity of the Deity in the person of Tezcatlipoca, and at the same

time worship a great number of other imaginary beings. Both believed

in a plurality of devils subordinate to one head, who was called

by the Mexicans Mictlantecutli, and by the Jews Satan. Indeed, it

seems that the Jews actually worshiped and made offerings to Satan

as the Mexicans did to their 'god of hell.' It is probable that the

Toltecs were acquainted with the sin of the first man, committed at

the suggestion of the woman, herself deceived by the serpent, who

tempted her with the fruit of the forbidden tree, who was the origin

of all our calamities, and by whom death came into the world.[I-169]

We have seen in this chapter that Kingsborough supposes the Messiah

and his story to have been familiar to the Mexicans. There is reason

to believe that the Mexicans, like the Jews, offered meat and drink

offerings to stones.[I-170] There are striking similarities between the

Babel, flood, and creation myths of the Hebrews and the Americans.[I-171]

Both Jews and Mexicans were fond of appealing in their adjurations

to the heaven and the earth.[I-172] Both were extremely superstitious,

and firm believers in prodigies.[I-173] The character and history of

Christ and Huitzilopochtli present certain analogies.[I-174] It is very

probable that the Sabbath of the seventh day was known in some parts

of America.[I-175] The Mexicans applied the blood of sacrifices to the

same uses as the Jews; they poured it upon the earth, they sprinkled

it, they marked persons with it, and they smeared it upon walls and

other inanimate things.[I-176] No one but the Jewish high-priest might

enter the Holy of Holies. A similar custom obtained in Peru.[I-177] Both

Mexicans and Jews regarded certain animals as unclean and unfit for

food.[I-178] Some of the Americans believed with some of the Talmudists

in a plurality of souls.[I-179] That man was created in the image of

God was a part of the Mexican belief.[I-180] It was customary among

the Mexicans to eat the flesh of sacrifices of atonement.[I-181] There

are many points of resemblance between Tezcatlipoca and Jehovah.[I-182]

Ablutions formed an essential part of the ceremonial law of the Jews

and Mexicans.[I-183] The opinions of the Mexicans with regard to the

resurrection of the body, accorded with those of the Jews.[I-184] The

Mexican temple, like the Jewish, faced the east.[I-185] "As amongst

the Jews the ark was a sort of portable temple in which the Deity was

supposed to be continually present, and which was accordingly borne on

the shoulders of the priests as a sure refuge and defence from their

enemies, so amongst the Mexicans and the Indians of Michoacan and

Honduras an ark was held in the highest veneration, and was considered

an object too sacred to be touched by any but the priests. The same

religious reverence for the ark is stated by Adair to have existed

among the Cherokee and other Indian tribes inhabiting the banks of

the Mississippi, and his testimony is corroborated by the accounts of

Spanish authors of the greatest veracity. The nature and use of the

ark having been explained, it is needless to observe that its form

might have been various, although Scripture declares that the Hebrew

ark was of the simplest construction." And again: "it would appear

from many passages of the Old Testament, that the Jews believed in the

real presence of God in the ark, as the Roman Catholics believe in the

real presence of Christ in the sacrament, from whom it is probable the

Mexicans borrowed the notion that He, whom the heaven of heavens cannot

contain, and whose glory fills all space, could be confined within

the precincts of a narrow ark and be borne by a set of weak and frail

priests. If the belief of the Mexicans had not been analogous to that

of the ancient Jews, the early Spanish missionaries would certainly

have expressed their indignation of the absurd credulity of those who

believed that their _omnipresent_ god Huitzilopochtli was carried in an

ark on priests' shoulders; but of the ark of the Mexicans they say but

little, fearing, as it would appear, to tread too boldly on the burning

ashes of Mount Sinai."[I-186]

The Yucatec conception of a Trinity resembles the Hebrew.[I-187] It is

probable that Quetzalcoatl, whose proper name signifies 'feathered

serpent,' was so called after the brazen serpent which Moses lifted

up in the wilderness, the feathers perhaps alluding to the rabbinical

tradition that the fiery serpents which god sent against the Israelites

were of a winged species.[I-188]

The Mexicans, like the Jews, saluted the four cardinal points, in their

worship.[I-189] There was much in connection with sacrifices that was

common to Mexicans and Jews.[I-190] It is possible that the myth relating

to Quetzalcoatl's disappearance in the sea, indicates a knowledge of

the book of the prophet Jonah.[I-191]

The Mexicans say that they wrestled at times with Quetzalcoatl,

even as Jacob wrestled with God.[I-192] In various religious rites

and observances, such as circumcision,[I-193] confession,[I-194] and

communion,[I-195] there was much similarity. Salt was an article highly

esteemed by the Mexicans, and the Jews always offered it in their

oblations.[I-196] Among the Jews, the firstling of an ass had to be

redeemed with a lamb, or if unredeemed, its neck was broken. This

command of Moses should be considered in reference to the custom

of sacrificing children which existed in Mexico and Peru.[I-197] The

spectacle of a king performing a dance as an act of religion was

witnessed by the Jews as well as by Mexicans.[I-198] As the Israelites

were conducted from Egypt by Moses and Aaron who were accompanied by

their sister Miriam, so the Aztecs departed from Aztlan under the

guidance of Huitziton and Tecpatzin, the former of whom is named

by Acosta and Herrera, Mexi, attended likewise by their sister

Quilaztli, or, as she is otherwise named Chimalman or Malinalli,

both of which latter names have some resemblance to Miriam, as Mexi

has to Moses.[I-199] In the Mexican language _amoxtli_ signifies flags

or bulrushes, the derivation of which name, from _atl_, water,

and _moxtli_, might allude to the flags in which Moses had been

preserved.[I-200] The painting of Boturini seems actually to represent

Huitzilopochtli appearing in a burning bush in the mountain of

Teoculhuacan to the Aztecs.[I-201] The same writer also relates that when

the Mexicans in the course of their migration had arrived at Apanco,

the people of that province were inclined to oppose their further

progress, but that Huitzilopochtli aided the Mexicans by causing a

brook that ran in the neighborhood to overflow its banks. This reminds

us of what is said in the third chapter of Joshua of the Jordan

overflowing its banks and dividing to let the priests who bore the ark

pass through.[I-202] As Moses and Aaron died in the wilderness without

reaching the land of Canaan, so Huitziton and Tecpatzin died before the

Mexicans arrived in the land of Anáhuac.[I-203] The Mexicans hung up the

heads of their sacrificed enemies; and this also appears to have been

a Jewish practice, as the following quotation from the twenty-fifth

chapter of Numbers will show: "And the Lord said unto Moses, Take all

the heads of the people, _and hang them up before the Lord against

the sun_, that the fierce anger of the Lord may be turned away from

Israel."[I-204] In a Mexican painting in the Bodleian library at Oxford

is a symbol very strongly resembling the jaw-bone of an ass from the

side of which water seems to flow forth, which might allude to the

story of Samson slaying a thousand of the Philistines with such a bone,

which remained miraculously unbroken in his hands, and from which he

afterwards quenched his thirst.[I-205] They were fond of wearing dresses

of scarlet and of showy colors, as were also the Jews. The exclamation

of the prophet, "Who is this that cometh from Bozrah?" and many other

passages of the Old Testament might be cited to show that the Jews

entertained a great predilection for scarlet.[I-206] It is impossible, on

reading what Mexican mythology records of the war in heaven and of the

fall of Tzontemoc and the other rebellious spirits; of the creation of

light by the word of Tonacatecutli, and of the division of the waters;

of the sin of Ytztlacoliuhqui, and his blindness and nakedness; of the

temptation of Suchiquecal, and her disobedience in gathering roses from

a tree, and the consequent misery and disgrace of herself and all her

posterity,--not to recognize Scriptural analogies.[I-207] Other Hebrew

analogies Lord Kingsborough finds in America, in the dress, insignia,

and duties of priests; in innumerable superstitions concerning

dreams, apparitions, eclipses, and other more common-place events; in

certain festivals for rain; in burial and mourning ceremonies; in the

diseases most common among the people; in certain regularly observed

festivals; in the dress of certain nations; in established laws; in

physical features; in architecture; in various minor observances, such

as offering water to a stranger that he might wash his feet, eating

dust in token of humility, anointing with oil, and so forth; in the

sacrifice of prisoners; in manner and style of oratory; in the stories

of giants; in the respect paid to God's name; in games of chance; in

marriage relations; in childbirth ceremonies; in religious ideas of

all sorts; in respect paid to kings; in uses of metals; in treatment of

criminals, and punishment of crimes; in charitable practices; in social

customs; and in a vast number of other particulars.[I-208]

[Sidenote: HEBREW RELICS.]

Relics unmistakeably Hebrew have been very rarely found in America. I

know of only two instances of such a discovery, and in neither of these

cases is it certain or even probable that the relic existed in America

before the Conquest. The first and best known instance is related by

Ethan Smith, according to Priest,[I-209] as follows:

"Joseph Merrick, Esq., a highly respectable character in the church at

Pittsfield, gave the following account: That in 1815, he was levelling

some ground under and near an old wood-shed, standing on a place of

his, situated on _Indian Hill_. He ploughed and conveyed away old chips

and earth, to some depth. After the work was done, walking over the

place, he discovered, near where the earth had been dug the deepest,

a black strap, as it appeared, about six inches in length, and one

and a half in breadth, and about the thickness of a leather trace

to a harness. He perceived it had, at each end, a loop, of some hard

substance, probably for the purpose of carrying it. He conveyed it to

his house, and threw it into an old tool box. He afterwards found it

thrown out at the door, and again conveyed it to the box.

"After some time, he thought he would examine it; but in attempting to

cut it, found it as hard as bone; he succeeded, however, in getting

it open, and found it was formed of two pieces of thick raw-hide,

sewed and made water tight with the sinews of some animal, and gummed

over; and in the fold was contained _four_ folded pieces of parchment.

They were of a dark yellow hue, and contained some kind of writing.

The neighbors coming in to see the strange discovery, tore one of the

pieces to atoms, in the true Hun and Vandal style. The other three

pieces Mr. Merrick saved, and sent them to Cambridge, where they were

examined, and discovered to have been written with a pen, in _Hebrew_,

plain and legible. The writing on the three remaining pieces of

parchment, was quotations from the Old Testament."[I-210]

[Sidenote: HEBREW TABLETS.]

The other discovery was made in Ohio, and was seen by my father, Mr

A. A. Bancroft, who thus describes it: "About eight miles south-east

of Newark there was formerly a large mound composed of masses of

free-stone, which had been brought from some distance and thrown into

a heap without much placing or care. In early days, stone being scarce

in that region, the settlers carried away the mound piece by piece to

use for building-purposes, so that in a few years there was little

more than a large flattened heap of rubbish remaining. Some fifteen

years ago, the county surveyor (I have forgotten his name), who had for

some time been searching ancient works, turned his attention to this

particular pile. He employed a number of men and proceeded at once to

open it. Before long he was rewarded by finding in the centre and near

the surface a bed of the tough clay generally known as pipe-clay, which

must have been brought from a distance of some twelve miles. Imbedded

in the clay was a coffin, dug out of a burr-oak log, and in a pretty

good state of preservation. In the coffin was a skeleton, with quite

a number of stone ornaments and emblems, and some open brass rings,

suitable for bracelets or anklets. These being removed, they dug down

deeper, and soon discovered a stone dressed to an oblong shape, about

eighteen inches long and twelve wide, which proved to be a casket,

neatly fitted and completely water-tight, containing a slab of stone

of hard and fine quality, an inch and a half thick, eight inches long,

four inches and a half wide at one end, and tapering to three inches

at the other. Upon the face of the slab was the figure of a man,

apparently a priest, with a long flowing beard, and a robe reaching to

his feet. Over his head was a curved line of characters, and upon the

edges and back of the stone were closely and neatly carved letters.

The slab, which I saw myself, was shown to the episcopalian clergyman

of Newark, and he pronounced the writing to be the ten Commandments in

ancient Hebrew."[I-211]

[Sidenote: MORMON DOCTRINE OF ORIGIN.]

The account given by the Book of Mormon, of the settlement of America

by the Jews, is as follows:[I-212]

After the confusion of tongues, when men were scattered over the whole

face of the earth, the Jaredites, a just people, having found favor

in the sight of the Eternal, miraculously crossed the ocean in eight

vessels, and landed in North America, where, they built large cities

and developed into flourishing and highly civilized nations. But their

descendants did evil before the Lord, in spite of repeated prophetic

warnings, and were finally destroyed for their wickedness, about

fifteen hundred years after their arrival, and six hundred before the

birth of Christ.

These first inhabitants of America were replaced by an emigration

of Israelites, who were miraculously brought from Jerusalem in the

first year of the reign of Zedekiah, king of Judah. For some time

they traveled in a south-easterly direction, following the coast of

the Red Sea; afterwards they took a more easterly course, and finally

arrived at the borders of the Great Ocean. Here, at the command of God,

they constructed a vessel, which bore them safely across the Pacific

Ocean to the western coast of South America, where they landed. In

the eleventh year of the reign of this same Zedekiah, when the Jews

were carried captive to Babylon, some descendants of Judah came from

Jerusalem to North America, whence they emigrated to the northern

parts of South America. Their descendants were discovered by the first

emigrants about four hundred years afterwards.

The first emigrants, almost immediately after their arrival, separated

themselves into two distinct nations. The people of one of these

divisions called themselves Nephites, from the prophet Nephi, who had

conducted them to America. These were persecuted, on account of their

righteousness, by the others, who called themselves Lamanites, from

Laman, their chief, a wicked and corrupt man. The Nephites retreated to

the northern parts of South America, while the Lamanites occupied the

central and southern regions. The Nephites possessed a copy of the five

books of Moses, and of the prophets as far as Jeremiah, or until the

time when they left Jerusalem. These writings were engraved on plates

of brass. After their arrival in America they manufactured similar

plates, on which they engraved their history and prophetic visions. All

these records, kept by men inspired of the Holy Ghost, were carefully

preserved, and transmitted from generation to generation.

God gave them the whole continent of America as the promised land,

declaring that it should be a heritage for them and for their children,

provided they kept his commandments. The Nephites, blessed by God,

prospered and spread east, west, and north. They dwelt in immense

cities, with temples and fortresses; they cultivated the earth, bred

domestic animals, and worked mines of gold, silver, lead, and iron.

The arts and sciences flourished among them, and as long as they kept

God's commandments, they enjoyed all the benefits of civilization and

national prosperity.

[Sidenote: NEPHITES AND LAMANITES.]

The Lamanites, on the contrary, by reason of the hardness of their

hearts, were from the first deserted of God. Before their backsliding

they were white and comely as the Nephites; but in consequence of the

divine curse, they sank into the lowest barbarism. Implacable enemies

of the Nephites, they waged war against that people, and strove by

every means in their power to destroy them. But they were gradually

repulsed with great loss, and the innumerable tumuli which are still

to be seen in all parts of the two Americas, cover the remains of the

warriors slain in these bloody conflicts.

The second colony of Hebrews, mentioned above, bore the name of

Zarahemla. They also had many civil wars, and as they had not brought

any historical records with them from Jerusalem, they soon fell into a

state of atheism. At the time when they were discovered by the Nephites

they were very numerous, but lived in a condition of semi-barbarism.

The Nephites, however, united themselves with them, and taught them

the sacred Scriptures, so that before long the two nations became as

one. Shortly afterwards the Nephites built several vessels, by means

of which they sent expeditions towards the north, and founded numerous

colonies. Others emigrated by land, and in a short time the whole of

the northern continent was peopled. At this time North America was

entirely destitute of wood, the forests having been destroyed by the

Jaredites, the first colonists, who came from the tower of Babel; but

the Nephites constructed houses of cement and brought wood by sea from

the south; taking care, besides, to cultivate immense plantations.

Large cities sprang up in various parts of the continent, both among

the Lamanites and the Nephites. The latter continued to observe the

law of Moses; numerous prophets arose among them; they inscribed their

prophecies and historical annals on plates of gold or other metal, and

upon various other materials. They discovered also the sacred records

of the Jaredites, engraved on plates of gold; these they translated

into their own language, by the help of God and the Urim Thummim. The

Jaredite archives contained the history of man from the creation of the

world to the building of the tower of Babel, and from that time to the

total destruction of the Jaredites, embracing a period of thirty-four

or thirty-five centuries. They also contained the marvelous prophecies

which foretold what would happen in the world until the end of all

things, and the creation of a new heaven and a new earth.

[Sidenote: THE BOOK OF MORMON.]

The Nephites were informed of the birth and death of Christ by certain

celestial and terrestrial phenomena, which had long before been

predicted by their prophets. But in spite of the numerous blessings

which they had received, they fell at length from grace, and were

terribly punished for their ingratitude and wickedness. A thick

darkness covered the whole continent; earthquakes cast mountains into

valleys; many towns were swallowed up, and others were destroyed by

fire from heaven. Thus perished the most perverse among the Nephites

and Lamanites, to the end that the blood of the saints and prophets

might no longer cry out from the earth against them. Those who survived

these judgments received a visit from Christ, who, after his ascension,

appeared in the midst of the Nephites, in the northern part of South

America. His instructions, the foundation of a new law, were engraved

on plates of gold, and some of them are to be found in the Book of

Mormon; but by far the greater part of them will be revealed only to

the saints, at a future time.

When Christ had ended his mission to the Nephites, he ascended to

heaven, and the apostles designated by him went to preach his gospel

throughout the continent of America. In all parts the Nephites and

Lamanites were converted to the Lord, and for three centuries they

lived a godly life. But toward the end of the fourth century of

the Christian era, they returned to their evil ways, and once more

they were smitten by the arm of the Almighty. A terrible war broke

out between the two nations, which ended in the destruction of the

ungrateful Nephites. Driven by their enemies towards the north and

north-west, they were defeated in a final battle near the hill of

Cumorah,[I-213] where their historical tablets have been since found.

Hundreds of thousands of warriors fell on both sides. The Nephites were

utterly destroyed, with the exception of some few who either passed

over to the enemy, escaped by flight, or were left for dead on the

field of battle. Among these last were Mormon and his son Moroni, both

upright men.

Mormon had written on tablets an epitome of the annals of his

ancestors, which epitome he entitled the Book of Mormon. At the command

of God he buried in the hill of Cumorah all the original records in his

possession, and at his death he left his own book to his son Moroni,

who survived him by some years, that he might continue it. Moroni

tells us in his writings that the Lamanites eventually exterminated

the few Nephites who had escaped the general slaughter at the battle

of Cumorah, sparing those only who had gone over to their side. He

himself escaped by concealment. The conquerors slew without mercy all

who would not renounce Christ. He tells, further, that the Lamanites

had many dreadful wars among themselves, and that the whole land was a

scene of incessant murder and violence. Finally, he adds that his work

is a complete record of all events that happened down to the year 420

of the Christian era, at which time, by divine command, he buried the

Book of Mormon in the hill of Cumorah, where it remained until removed

by Joseph Smith, September 22, 1827.[I-214]

* * * * *

[Sidenote: SCANDINAVIAN THEORY.]

Much has been written to prove that the north-western part of America

was discovered and peopled by Scandinavians long before the time

of Columbus. Although a great part of the evidence upon which this

belief rests, is unsatisfactory and mixed up with much that is vague

and undoubtedly fabulous, yet it seems to be not entirely destitute

of historical proof. Nor is there any improbability that such daring

navigators as the Northmen may have visited and colonized the coasts

of Greenland, Labrador, and Newfoundland. I find in this opinion an

almost exact parallel to the so-called 'Tartar theory.' It is true the

distance between Europe and north-eastern America is much greater than

that between Asia and north-western America, but would not the great

disparity between the maritime enterprise and skill of the Northmen

and Asiatics, make the North Atlantic as navigable for the former as

Bering Strait for the latter? It is certain that Iceland was settled

by the Northmen from Norway at a very early date; there is little

reason to doubt that Greenland was in turn colonized from Iceland

in the tenth century; if this be conceded, then the question whether

the Northmen did actually discover the country now known as America,

certainly ceases to wear any appearance of improbability, for it would

be unreasonable to suppose that such renowned sailors could live for

a great number of years within a short voyage of a vast continent and

never become aware of its existence. It would be absurd, however, to

believe that the entire continent of America was peopled by Northmen,

because its north-eastern borders were visited or even colonized by

certain adventurous sea-rovers.

All that is known of the early voyages of the Northmen, is contained

in the old Icelandic Sagas. The genuineness of the accounts relating

to the discovery of America has been the subject of much discussion.

Mr B. F. De Costa, in a carefully studied monograph on the subject,

assures us that there can be no doubt as to their authenticity, and

I am strongly inclined to agree with him. It is true that no less

eminent authors than George Bancroft and Washington Irving have

expressed opinions in opposition to De Costa's views, but it must be

remembered that neither of these distinguished gentlemen made a very

profound study of the Icelandic Sagas, indeed Irving directly states

that he "has not had the means of tracing this story to its original

sources;" nor must we forget that neither the author of the 'Life of

Columbus,' nor he of the 'History of the Colonization of the United

States,' could be expected to willingly strip the laurels from the brow

of his familiar hero, Christopher Columbus, and concede the honor of

the 'first discovery' to the northern sea-kings, whose exploits are so

vaguely recorded.[I-215]

[Sidenote: THE ICELANDIC SAGAS.]

De Costa's defence of the genuineness of the accounts referred to is

simple and to the point. "Those who imagine," he writes, "that these

manuscripts, while of pre-Columbian origin, have been tampered with and

interpolated, show that they have not the faintest conception of the

state of the question. The accounts of the voyages of the Northmen to

America form the _framework_ of Sagas which would actually be destroyed

by the elimination of the narratives. There is only one question

to be decided, and that is the _date_ of these compositions." "That

these manuscripts," he adds, "belong to the pre-Columbian age, is as

capable of demonstration as the fact that the writings of Homer existed

prior to the age of Christ. Before intelligent persons deny either of

these points they must first succeed in blotting out numberless pages

of well-known history. The manuscripts in which we have versions of

all the Sagas relating to America is found in the celebrated _Codex

Flatöiensis_, a work that was finished in the year 1387, or 1395 at

the latest. This collection, made with great care, and executed in

the highest style of art, is now preserved in its integrity in the

archives of Copenhagen. These manuscripts were for a time supposed to

be lost, but were ultimately found safely lodged in their repository

in the monastery library of the island of Flatö, from whence they

were transferred to Copenhagen with a large quantity of other literary

material collected from various localities. If these Sagas which refer

to America were interpolations, it would have early become apparent,

as abundant means exist for detecting frauds; yet those who have

examined the whole question do not find any evidence that invalidates

their historical statements. In the absence, therefore, of respectable

testimony to the contrary, we accept it as a fact that the Sagas

relating to America are the productions of men who gave them in their

present form nearly, if not quite, an entire century before the age of

Columbus."[I-216]

The accounts of the voyages as given in the original manuscripts are

too numerous and prolix to be reproduced in their entirety here; but I

will endeavor to give a résumé of them, following, to a great extent,

an 'abstract of the historical evidence for the discovery of America

by the Scandinavians in the tenth century,' given in the Journal of the

Royal Geographical Society.[I-217]

Eric the Red, in the spring of 986,[I-218] emigrated from Iceland to

Greenland, and founded a settlement there. One of his companions

was Heriulf Bardson, whose son, Biarne, was at that time absent on a

trading voyage to Norway. Biarne, on his return to Iceland, resolved

"still to spend the following winter, like all the preceding ones,

with his father," and to that end set sail for Greenland. But, owing

to the northerly winds and fogs, and to the fact that neither he nor

any of his followers had ever navigated these seas before, Biarne lost

his way. When the weather cleared up they found themselves in sight

of a strange land, which they left to larboard. After two days' sail

they again sighted land; and once more standing out to sea, they, after

three days, saw land a third time, which proved to be an island. Again

they bore away, and after four days' sailing reached Greenland.

[Sidenote: VOYAGES OF THE NORTHMEN.]

Some time after this, Leif, a son of Eric the Red, having heard of

Biarne's discoveries, bought his ship, manned it with a crew of thirty

men, and set out from Greenland, about the year 1000. The first land

they sighted was that which Biarne had seen last; this they named

Helluland.[I-219] They put out to sea and soon came to another land,

which they named Markland.[I-220] Again they stood out to sea, and after

two days came to an island. They then sailed westward, and afterwards

went on shore at a place where a river, issuing from a lake, fell into

the sea. Bringing their ship up the river, they anchored in the lake.

Here they settled for a time, and finding vines in the country, they

named it Vinland.[I-221] In the spring they returned to Greenland.

This expedition to Vinland was much talked of, and Thorwald, Leif's

brother, thought that the new country had not been thoroughly enough

explored. Then Leif lent his ship to Thorwald, who set out for Vinland

about the year 1002. There he and his crew wintered, and about the

year 1004 they set sail to the eastward. On this voyage Thorwald was

killed by the natives. At his request his followers returned to Vinland

and buried his remains there. In 1005 they sailed again to Greenland,

bearing the sad news of his brother's death to Leif.

Thorstein, Eric's third son, soon afterwards set out in the same ship

for Vinland, to fetch his brother's body. He was accompanied by his

wife Gudrida, and twenty-five strong men, but after tossing about on

the ocean during the whole summer, they finally landed again on the

Greenland coast, where Thorstein died during the winter.

The next voyage to Vinland was made by one Thorfinn Karlsefne, a

man of noble lineage, who occupied his time in merchant voyages and

was thought a good trader. In the summer of 1006 he fitted out his

ship in Iceland for a voyage to Greenland, attended by one Snorre

Thorbrandson and a crew of forty men. At the same time another ship was

fitted out for the same destination by Biarne Grimolfson and Thorhall

Gamlason, and manned with a crew of forty men also. All being ready,

the two ships put out to sea, and both arrived safely at Ericsfiord in

Greenland, where Leif and Gudrida, the widow of Leif's late brother,

Thorstein, dwelt. Here Thorfinn fell in love with the fair Gudrida, and

with Leif's consent, married her that winter.

The discovery of Vinland was much talked of among the settlers,

for they all believed that it was a good country, and that a voyage

there would be very profitable; and Thorfinn was urged and at length

persuaded to undertake the adventure. Accordingly, in the spring

of 1007 he fitted out his ship, and Biarne Grimolfson and Thorhall

Gamlason did the same with theirs. A third ship, commanded by one

Thorward, also joined the expedition. And on Thorward's ship a man

named Thorhall, 'commonly called the hunter,' who had been the huntsman

of Eric in the summer, and his steward in the winter, also went.

[Sidenote: THE NORTHMEN AND SKRELLINGS.]

As this is probably the most important of all the Northmen's voyages to

America, I will give it in full: "They sailed first to the Westerbygd,

and afterwards to Biarney. From thence they sailed in a southerly

direction to Helluland, where they found many foxes. From thence

they sailed again two days in a southerly direction to Markland, a

country overgrown with wood, and plentifully stocked with animals.

Leaving this, they continued sailing in a S.W. direction for a long

time, having the land to starboard, until they at length came to

Kialarnes,[I-222] where there were trackless deserts and long beaches

and sands, called by them Furdustrandir. When they had past these, the

land began to be indented by inlets. They had two Scots with them, Hake

and Hekia, whom Leif had formerly received from the Norwegian King

Olaf Tryggvason, and who were very swift of foot. They put them on

shore, recommending them to proceed in a S.W. direction, and explore

the country. After the lapse of three days they returned bringing

with them some grapes and some ears of wheat, which grew wild in that

region. They continued their course until they came to a place where

a firth penetrated far into the country. Off the mouth of it was an

island past which there ran strong currents, which was also the case

farther up the firth. On the island there were an immense number of

eyderducks, so that it was scarcely possible to walk without treading

on their eggs. They called the island Straumey (Stream-Isle), and

the firth Straumfiördr (Stream-Firth).[I-223] They landed on the shore

of this firth, and made preparations for their winter residence. The

country was extremely beautiful. They confined their operations to

exploring the country. Thorhall afterwards wished to proceed in a N.

direction in quest of Vineland. Karlsefne chose rather to go to the

S.W. Thorhall, and along with him eight men, quitted them, and sailed

past Furdustrandir and Kialarnes, but they were driven by westerly

gales to the coast of Ireland, where, according to the accounts of

some traders, they were beaten and made slaves. Karlsefne, together

with Snorre and Biarne, and the rest of the ships' companies, in all

151 (CXXXI.) men, sailed southwards, and arrived at the place, where

a river falls into the sea from a lake. Opposite to the mouth of the

river were large islands. They steered into the lake, and called the

place Hóp (_í Hópe_). On the low grounds they found fields of wheat

growing wild, and on the rising grounds vines. While looking about

one morning they observed a great number of canoes. On exhibiting

friendly signals the canoes approached nearer to them, and the natives

in them looked with astonishment at those they met there. These people

were sallow-coloured or ill-looking, had ugly heads of hair, large

eyes, and broad cheeks. After they had gazed at them for a while,

they rowed away again to the S.W. past the cape. Karlsefne and his

company had erected their dwelling-houses a little above the bay; and

there they spent the winter. No snow fell, and the cattle found their

food in the open field. One morning early, in the beginning of 1008,

they descried a number of canoes coming from the S.W. past the cape.

Karlsefne having held up a white shield as a friendly signal, they

drew nigh and immediately commenced bartering. These people chose in

preference red cloth, and gave furs and squirrel skins in exchange.

They would fain also have bought swords and spears, but these Karlsefne

and Snorre prohibited their people from selling them. In exchange for

a skin entirely gray the Skrellings took a piece of cloth of a span in

breadth, and bound it round their heads. Their barter was carried on

this way for some time. The Northmen then found that their cloth was

beginning to grow scarce, whereupon they cut it up in smaller pieces,

not broader than a finger's breadth; yet the Skrellings gave as much

for these smaller pieces as they had formerly given for the larger

ones, or even more. Karlsefne also caused the women to bear out milk

soup, and the Skrellings relishing the taste of it, they desired to

buy it in preference to everything else, so they wound up their traffic

by carrying away their bargains in their bellies. Whilst this traffic

was going on, it happened that a bull, which Karlsefne had brought

along with him, came out of the wood and bellowed loudly. At this the

Skrellings got terrified and rushed to their canoes, and rowed away

southwards. About this time Gudrida, Karlsefne's wife, gave birth to a

son, who received the name of Snorre. In the beginning of the following

winter the Skrellings came again in much greater numbers; they showed

symptoms of hostility, setting up loud yells. Karlsefne caused the

red shield to be borne against them, whereupon they advanced against

each other, and a battle commenced. There was a galling discharge of

missiles. The Skrellings had a sort of war slings. They elevated on a

pole a tremendously large ball, almost the size of a sheep's stomach,

and of a bluish colour; this they swung from the pole upon land over

Karlsefne's people, and it descended with a fearful crash. This struck

terror into the Northmen, and they fled along the river. Freydisa came

out and saw them flying; she thereupon exclaimed, 'How can stout men

like you fly from these miserable caitifs, whom I thought you could

knock down like cattle? If I had only a weapon, I ween I could fight

better than any of you.' They heeded not her words. She tried to keep

pace with them, but the advanced state of her pregnancy retarded her.

She however followed them into the wood. There she encountered a dead

body. It was Thorbrand Snorrason; a flat stone was sticking fast in his

head. His naked sword lay by his side. This she took up, and prepared

to defend herself. She uncovered her breasts, and dashed them against

the naked sword. At this sight the Skrellings became terrified, and

ran off to their canoes. Karlsefne and the rest now came up to her and

praised her courage. Karlsefne and his people were now become aware

that, although the country held out many advantages, still the life

that they would have to lead here would be one of constant alarm from

the hostile attacks of the natives. They therefore made preparations

for departure, with the resolution of returning to their own country.

They sailed eastward, and came to Streamfirth. Karlsefne then took one

of the ships, and sailed in quest of Thorhall, while the rest remained

behind. They proceeded northwards round Kialarnes, and after that were

carried to the north-west. The land lay to larboard of them. There

were thick forests in all directions, as far as they could see, with

scarcely any open space. They considered the hills at Hope and those

which they now saw as forming part of one continuous range. They spent

the third winter at Streamfirth. Karlsefne's son Snorre was now three

years of age. When they sailed from Vineland they had a southerly

wind, and came to Markland, where they met with five Skrellings. They

caught two of them (two boys), whom they carried away along with them,

and taught them the Norse language, and baptised them; these children

said that their mother was called Vethilldi and their father Uvæge;

they said that the Skrellings were ruled by chieftains (kings), one of

whom was called Avalldamon, and the other Valdidida; that there were

no houses in the country, but that the people dwelled in holes and

caverns. Biarne Grimolfson was driven into the Irish Ocean, and came

into waters that were so infested by worms, that their ship was in

consequence reduced to a sinking state. Some of the crew, however, were

saved in the boat, as it had been smeared with seal-oil tar, which is a

preventive against the attack of worms. Karlsefne continued his voyage

to Greenland, and arrived at Ericsfiord."

During the same summer that Karlsefne returned from Vinland, a ship

arrived at Greenland from Norway, commanded by two brothers, Helge and

Finnboge. And Freydisa, she who had frightened the Skrellings, went to

them and proposed they should make a voyage to Vinland, and she offered

to go with them on condition that an equal share of what they obtained

there should be hers; and they agreed to this. It was arranged between

the brothers and Freydisa that each should have thirty fighting men,

besides women. But Freydisa secretly brought away five men more than

the allotted number. They reached Vinland and spent the winter there.

During their stay Freydisa prevailed on her husband to slay the two

brothers and their followers; the women that were with them she killed

with her own hand. In the spring of the next year they returned to

Greenland.[I-224]

In the latter part of the tenth century,[I-225] one Are Marson, of

Iceland, was driven by storms to Hvitramannaland, or Land of the

Whitemen. This country, which was also called Great Ireland, has been

thought to be "probably that part of the Coast of North America which

extends southwards from Chesapeak Bay, including North and South

Carolina, Georgia, and Florida."[I-226] Here, also, one Biörn Asbrandson

is said to have ended his days.[I-227]

I do not propose to give here all that has been said about these

voyages, as it would not be pertinent to the question which we are

reviewing, namely, the origin of the Americans. Indeed, the entire

subject of the Northmen's voyages and colonization, might almost be

said to be without our province, as it is not asserted that they were

actually the first inhabitants of the New World.

The relics that have been thought to prove their former presence in

the continent, are neither numerous nor important. One of these is

the Dighton Rock, of which I have had occasion to speak before, in

connection with the Phœnician theory.[I-228] In 1824, a stone engraved

with Runic characters was found on the island of Kingiktorsoak, on the

western coast of Greenland.[I-229]

[Sidenote: SCANDINAVIAN THEORY.]

Priest is strongly inclined to believe that a glass bottle about the

size of a common junk bottle, "having a stopple in its nuzzle," an

iron hatchet edged with steel, the remains of a blacksmith's forge, and

some ploughed-up crucibles, all found in the town of Pompey, Onondaga

County, New York, are of Scandinavian origin.[I-230]

Brasseur de Bourbourg has found many words in the languages of Central

America which bear, he thinks, marked Scandinavian traces; little

can be proven by this, however, since he finds as many other words

that as strongly resemble Latin, Greek, English, French, and many

other languages. The learned Abbé believes, moreover, that some of

the ancient traditions of the Central American nations point to a

north-east origin.[I-231] Viollet-le-Duc is struck with the similarity

that existed between the religious customs and ideas of the ancient

Northmen and of the Quichés as expressed in the Popol Vuh.[I-232]

[Sidenote: A WELSH COLONY IN AMERICA.]

We come now to the theory that the Americans, or at least part of them,

are of Celtic origin. In the old Welsh annals there is an account of

a voyage made in the latter half of the twelfth century,[I-233] by one

Madoc, a son of Owen Gwynedd, prince of North Wales. The story goes,

that after the death of Gwynedd, his sons contended violently for

the sovereignty. Madoc, who was the only peaceable one among them,

determined to leave his disturbed country and sail in search of some

unknown land where he might dwell in peace. He accordingly procured an

abundance of provisions and a few ships and embarked with his friends

and followers. For many months they sailed westward without finding a

resting-place; but at length they came to a large and fertile country,

where, after sailing for some distance along the coast in search of a

convenient landing-place, they disembarked, and permanently settled.

After a time Madoc, with part of his company, returned to Wales, where

he fitted out ten ships with all manner of supplies, prevailed on a

large number of his countrymen to join him, and once more set sail

for the new colony, which, though we hear no more about him or his

settlement, he is supposed to have reached safely.[I-234]

[Sidenote: THE AMERICANS OF WELSH ORIGIN.]

The exact location of Madoc's colony has only been guessed at. Baldwin

says it is supposed that he settled 'somewhere in the Carolinas.'

Caradoc, in his history of Wales,[I-235] has no doubt that the country

where Madoc established his colony was Mexico; this he thinks is shown

by three facts: first, the Mexicans believed that their ancestors

came from a beautiful country afar off, inhabited by white people;

secondly, they adored the cross; and thirdly, several Welsh names

are found in Mexico. Peter Martyr affirms that the aborigines of

Virginia, as well as those of Guatemala, celebrate the memory of an

ancient and illustrious hero, named Madoc. Harcourt, in the preface

to the account of his voyage to Guiana,[I-236] says that that part

of America was discovered and possessed by the Welsh prince, Madoc.

Herbert, according to Martyr, says that the land discovered by the

prince was Florida or Virginia.[I-237] Catlin is inclined to believe

that Madoc entered the Mississippi at Balize and made his way up the

river, or that he landed somewhere on the Florida coast. He thinks

the colonists pushed into the interior and finally settled on the Ohio

river; afterwards, being driven from that position by the aboriginal

tribes, they advanced up the Missouri river to the place where they

have been known for many years by the name of Mandans, "a corruption or

abbreviation, perhaps, of Madawgwys, the name applied by the Welsh to

the followers of Madawc." The canoes of the Mandans, Mr Catlin tells

us, which are altogether different from those of all other tribes,

correspond exactly to the Welsh _coracle_,[I-238] the peculiarity of

their physical appearance was such that when he first saw them he "was

under the instant conviction that they were an amalgam of a native,

with some civilized race," and the resemblance that exists between

their language and Welsh, is, in his opinion, very striking.[I-239] There

have been several reports that traces of the Welsh colony and of their

language have been discovered among the native tribes, but none of

them seem entitled to full credit. The best known report of this kind,

and the one that claims, perhaps, the most respectful consideration,

is that of the Rev. Morgan Jones, written in 1686, and published in

the _Gentleman's Magazine_ for the year 1740. In 1660 the reverend

gentleman, with five companions, was taken prisoner by the Tuscarora

tribe, who were about to put him to death when he soliloquized aloud in

Welsh; whereupon they spared him and his companions, and treated them

very civilly. After this Mr Jones stayed among them for four months,

during which time he conversed with them familiarly in the Welsh

language, "and did preach to them in the same language three times a

week."[I-240]

A certain Lieutenant Roberts states that in 1801 he met an Indian chief

at Washington, who spoke Welsh "as fluently as if he had been born and

brought up in the vicinity of Snowdon." He said it was the language

of his nation, the Asguaws, who lived eight hundred miles north-west

of Philadelphia. He knew nothing of Wales, but stated that his people

had a tradition that their ancestors came to America from a distant

country, which lay far to the east, over the great waters. Amongst

other questions, Lieutenant Roberts asked him how it was that his

nation had preserved their original language so perfect; he answered

that they had a law which forbade any to teach their children another

tongue, until they were twelve years old.[I-241]

Another officer, one Captain Davies, relates that while stationed at a

trading-post, among the Illinois Indians, he was surprised to find that

several Welshmen who belonged to his company, could converse readily

with the aborigines in Welsh.[I-242] Warden tells a story of a Welshman

named Griffith, who was taken prisoner by the Shawnee tribe about the

year 1764. Two years afterwards, he and five Shawnees, with whom he

was traveling about the sources of the Missouri, fell into the hands

of a white tribe, who were about to massacre them when Griffith spoke

to them in Welsh, explaining the object of their journey; upon this

they consented to spare him and his companions. He could learn nothing

of the history of these white natives, except that their ancestors had

come to the Missouri from a far distant country. Griffith returned to

the Shawnee nation, but subsequently escaped and succeeded in reaching

Virginia.[I-243] There are many other reports of a similar kind, but

these will be sufficient to show on what manner of foundation the Welsh

theory rests, and to justify in a measure the outspoken opinion of Mr

Fiske, that "Welch Indians are creatures of the imagination."[I-244]

[Sidenote: SCOTCH AND IRISH THEORIES.]

Lord Monboddo, a Scotchman, who wrote in the seventeenth century,

quotes several instances to show that the language of the native

Highlanders was spoken in America. In one of the English expeditions

to discover the North Pole, he relates, there were an Eskimo and

a Scotchman, who, after a few days practice, were able to converse

together readily. He also states "that the Celtic language was spoken

by many of the tribes of Florida, which is situated at the north end of

the gulf of Mexico; and that he was well acquainted with a gentleman

from the Highlands of Scotland, who was several years in Florida, in

a public character, and who stated that many of the tribes with whom

he had become acquainted, had the greatest affinity with the Celtic in

their language."[I-245]

Claims have also been put in for an Irish discovery of the New

World; St Patrick is said to have sent missionaries to the 'Isles

of America,'[I-246] and early writers have gravely discussed the

probability of Quetzalcoatl having been an Irishman. There is no great

improbability that the natives of Ireland may have reached, by accident

or otherwise, the north-eastern coasts of the new continent, in very

early times, but there is certainly no evidence to prove that they

did.[I-247]

* * * * *

The nations of southern Europe have not been entirely forgotten by

the theorists on the question of origin. Those who have claimed for

them the honor of first settling or civilizing America, are not many,

however; nor is the evidence they adduce of a very imposing nature.

Lafitau supposes the Americans to be descended from the ancient

inhabitants of the Grecian archipelago, who were driven from their

country by the subjects of Og, King of Bashan. In every particular, he

says, the people of the New World resemble the Hellenes and Pelagians.

Both were idolators; used sacred fire; indulged in Bacchanalian revels;

held formal councils; strong resemblances are to be found in their

marriage customs, system of education, manner of hunting, fishing, and

making war, in their games and sports, in their mourning and burial

customs, and in their manner of treating the sick.[I-248] García knew a

man in Peru who knew of a rock on which was what looked very much like

a Greek inscription. The same writer says that the Athenians waged

war with the inhabitants of Atlantis, and might therefore have heard

of America. That the Greeks were navigators in very early times is

shown by Jason's voyage in search of the Golden Fleece. Both Greeks

and Americans bored their ears and sang the deeds of their ancestors;

besides which, many words are common to both peoples.[I-249] Like García,

Mr Pidgeon also knew a man--a farmer of Montevideo, in Brazil--who

in 1827 discovered in one of his fields a flat stone, upon which was

engraven a Greek inscription, which, as far as it was legible, read as

follows: "During the dominion of Alexander, the son of Philip, King of

Macedon, in the sixty-third Olympiad, Ptolemaios." Deposited beneath

the stone were found two ancient swords, a helmet, and a shield. On

the handle of one of the swords was a portrait of Alexander; on the

helmet was a beautiful design representing Achilles dragging the

corpse of Hector round the walls of Troy. "From this discovery, it is

evident"--to Mr Pidgeon--"that the soil of Brazil was formerly broken

by Ptolemaios, more than a thousand years before the discovery by

Columbus."[I-250] Brasseur de Bourbourg seeks to identify certain of the

American gods with Greek deities.[I-251] Jones finds that the sculpture

at Uxmal very closely resembles the Greek style.[I-252]

The vastness of some of the cities built by the civilized Americans,

the fine roads they constructed, their fondness for gladiatorial

combats, and a few unreliable accounts that Roman coins have been found

on the continent, constitute about all the evidence that is offered to

show that the Romans ever visited America.[I-253]

* * * * *

[Sidenote: THE ANCIENT ATLANTIS.]

The story of Atlantis, that is, of a submerged, lost land that once

lay to the west of Europe, is very old. It was communicated to Solon,

according to Plutarch, by the Egyptian priests of Psenophis, Sonchis,

Heliopolis, and Saïs; and if we may believe Plato, Solon did not

hear of the events until nine thousand Egyptian years after their

occurrence. Plato's version is as follows:

"Among the great deeds of Athens, of which recollection is preserved

in our books, there is one which should be placed above all others.

Our books tell that the Athenians destroyed an army which came across

the Atlantic Sea, and insolently invaded Europe and Asia; for this sea

was then navigable, and beyond the strait where you place the Pillars

of Hercules there was an island larger than Asia (Minor) and Libya

combined. From this island one could pass easily to the other islands,

and from these to the continent which lies around the interior sea. The

sea on this side of the strait (the Mediterranean) of which we speak,

resembles a harbor with a narrow entrance; but there is a genuine sea,

and the land which surrounds it is a veritable continent. In the island

of Atlantis reigned three kings with great and marvelous power. They

had under their dominion the whole of Atlantis, several other islands,

and some parts of the continent. At one time their power extended

into Libya, and into Europe as far as Tyrrhenia, and, uniting their

whole force, they sought to destroy our countries at a blow; but their

defeat stopped the invasion and gave entire independence to all the

countries this side of the Pillars of Hercules. Afterward, in one day

and one fatal night, there came mighty earthquakes and inundations,

which ingulfed that warlike people; Atlantis disappeared beneath the

sea, and then that sea became inaccessible, so that navigation ceased

on account of the quantity of mud which the ingulfed island left in its

place."[I-254]

It is only recently that any important signification has been attached

to this passage. It was previously regarded rather as one of those

fabulous accounts in which the works of the writers of antiquity

abound, than as an actual statement of facts. True, it had been

frequently quoted to show that the ancients had a knowledge more or

less vague of the continent of America, but no particular value was

set upon the assertion that the mysterious land was ages ago submerged

and lost in the ocean. But of late years it has been discovered that

traditions and records of cataclysms similar to that referred to by

the Egyptian priests, have been preserved among the American nations;

which discovery has led several learned and diligent students of New

World lore to believe that after all the story of Atlantis, as recorded

by Plato, may be founded upon fact, and that in bygone ages there

did actually exist in the Atlantic Ocean a great tract of inhabited

country, forming perhaps part of the American continent, which by some

mighty convulsion of nature was suddenly submerged and lost in the sea.

[Sidenote: BRASSEUR DE BOURBOURG'S THEORIES.]

Foremost among those who have held and advocated this opinion stands

the Abbé Brasseur de Bourbourg. This distinguished Américaniste goes

farther than his fellows, however, in that he attempts to prove that

all civilization originated in America, or the Occident, instead of in

the Orient, as has always been supposed. This theory he endeavors to

substantiate not so much by the Old World traditions and records as by

those of the New World, using as his principal authority an anonymous

manuscript written in the Nahua language, which he entitles the _Codex

Chimalpopoca_. This work purports to be on the face of it a 'History of

the Kingdoms of Culhuacan and Mexico,' and as such it served Brasseur

as almost his sole authority for the Toltec period of his _Histoire

des Nations Civilisées_. At that time the learned Abbé regarded

the Atlantis theory, at least so far as it referred to any part of

America, as an absurd conjecture resting upon no authentic basis.[I-255]

In a later work, however, he more than retracts this assertion;

from a sceptic he is suddenly transformed into a most devout and

enthusiastic believer, and attempts to prove by a most elaborate course

of reasoning that that which he before doubted is indubitably true.

The cause of this sudden change was a strange one. As, by constant

study, he became more profoundly learned in the literature of ancient

America, the Abbé discovered that he had entirely misinterpreted the

_Codex Chimalpopoca_. The annals recorded so plainly upon the face

of the mystic pages were intended only for the understanding of the

vulgar; the stories of the kings, the history of the kingdoms, were

allegorical and not to be construed literally; deep below the surface

lay the true historic record--hidden from all save the priests and

the wise men of the West--of the mighty cataclysm which submerged

the cradle of all civilization.[I-256] Excepting a dozen, perhaps, of

the kings who preceded Montezuma, it is not a history of men, but of

American nature, that must be sought for in the Mexican manuscripts and

paintings. The Toltecs, so long regarded as an ancient civilized race,

destroyed in the eleventh century by their enemies, are really telluric

forces, agents of subterranean fire, the veritable smiths of Orcus

and of Lemnos, of which Tollan was the symbol, the true masters of

civilization and art, who by the mighty convulsions which they caused

communicated to men a knowledge of minerals.[I-257]

I know of no man better qualified than was Brasseur de Bourbourg to

penetrate the obscurity of American primitive history. His familiarity

with the Nahua and Central American languages, his indefatigable

industry, and general erudition, rendered him eminently fit for such

a task, and every word written by such a man on such a subject is

entitled to respectful consideration. Nevertheless, there is reason to

believe that the Abbé was often rapt away from the truth by excess of

enthusiasm, and the reader of his wild and fanciful speculations cannot

but regret that he has not the opportunity or ability to intelligently

criticise by comparison the French savant's interpretation of the

original documents. At all events it is certain that he honestly

believed in the truth of his own discovery; for when he admitted that,

in the light of his better knowledge, the Toltec history, as recorded

in the _Codex Chimalpopoca_, was an allegory--that no such people as

the Toltecs ever existed, in fact--and thereby rendered valueless his

own history of the Toltec period, he made a sacrifice of labor, unique,

I think, in the annals of literature.

Brasseur's theory supposes that the continent of America occupied

originally the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, and extended in

the form of a peninsula so far across the Atlantic that the Canary

islands may have formed part of it. All this extended portion of the

continent was many ages ago engulfed by a tremendous convulsion of

nature, of which traditions and written records have been preserved

by many American peoples.[I-258] Yucatan, Honduras, and Guatemala, were

also submerged, but the continent subsequently rose sufficiently to

rescue them from the ocean. The testimony of many modern men of science

tends to show that there existed at one time a vast extent of dry land

between Europe and America.[I-259]

It is not my intention to enter the mazes of Brasseur's argument here;

once in that labyrinth there would be small hope of escape. His _Quatre

Lettres_ are a chaotic jumble of facts and wild speculations that would

appal the most enthusiastic antiquarian; the materials are arranged

with not the slightest regard for order; the reader is continually

harassed by long rambling digressions--literary no-thoroughfares, as it

were, into which he is beguiled in the hope of coming out somewhere,

only to find himself more hopelessly lost than ever; for mythological

evidence, the pantheons of Phœnicia, Egypt, Hindostan, Greece, and

Rome, are probed to their most obscure depths; comparative philology is

as accommodating to the theorist as ever, which is saying a great deal;

the opinions of geologists who never dreamed of an Atlantis theory, are

quoted to show that the American continent formerly extended into the

Atlantic in the manner supposed.

I have presented to the reader the bare outline of what Brasseur

expects to prove, without giving him the argument used by that learned

writer, for the reason that a partial résumé of the _Quatre Lettres_

would be unfair to the Abbé, while an entire résumé would occupy more

space than I can spare. I will, however, deviate from the system I have

hitherto observed, so far as to express my own opinion of the French

savant's theory.

Were the original documents from which Brasseur drew his data

obtainable, we might, were we able to read and understand them, know

about how far his enthusiasm and imagination have warped his calmer

judgment; as it is, the Atlantis theory is certainly not proved, and

we may therefore reasonably decline to accept it. In my opinion there

is every reason to believe that his first interpretation of the _Codex

Chimalpopoca_ was the true one, and that the 'double meaning' had no

existence save in his own distorted fancy.[I-260]

* * * * *

[Sidenote: AUTOCHTHONIC ORIGIN.]

It only remains now to speak of the theory which ascribes an

autochthonic origin to the Americans. The time is not long past when

such a supposition would have been regarded as impious, and even

at this day its advocates may expect discouragement if not rebuke

from certain quarters.[I-261] It is, nevertheless, an opinion worthy

of the gravest consideration, and one which, if we may judge by the

recent results of scientific investigation, may eventually prove to

be scientifically correct. In the preceding pages it will have been

remarked that no theory of a foreign origin has been proven, or even

fairly sustained. The particulars in which the Americans are shown to

resemble any given people of the Old World are insignificant in number

and importance when compared with the particulars in which they do

_not_ resemble that people.

As I have remarked elsewhere, it is not impossible that stray ships of

many nations have at various times and in various places been cast upon

the American coast, or even that adventurous spirits, who were familiar

with the old-time stories of a western land, may have designedly sailed

westward until they reached America, and have never returned to tell

the tale. The result of such desultory visits would be exactly what

has been noticed, but erroneously attributed to immigration en masse.

The strangers, were their lives spared, would settle among the people,

and impart their ideas and knowledge to them. This knowledge would

not take any very definite shape or have any very decided effect,

for the reason that the sailors and adventurers who would be likely

to land in America under such circumstances, would not be thoroughly

versed in the arts or sciences; still they would know many things

that were unknown to their captors, or hosts, and would doubtless be

able to suggest many improvements. This, then, would account for many

Old World ideas and customs that have been detected here and there in

America, while at the same time the difficulty which arises from the

fact that the resemblances, though striking, are yet very few, would

be satisfactorily avoided. The foreigners, if adopted by the people

they fell among, would of course marry women of the country and beget

children, but it cannot be expected that the physical peculiarities

so transmitted would be perceptible after a generation or two of

re-marrying with the aboriginal stock. At the same time I think it

just as probable that the analogies referred to are mere coincidences,

such as might be found among any civilized or semi-civilized people

of the earth. It may be argued that the various American tribes and

nations differ so materially from each other as to render it extremely

improbable that they are derived from one original stock, but, however

this may be, the difference can scarcely be greater than that which

apparently exists between many of the Aryan branches.[I-262]

[Sidenote: CONCLUSIONS.]

Hence it is many not unreasonably assume that the Americans are

autochthones until there is some good ground given for believing

them to be of exotic origin.[I-263] To express belief, however, in a

theory incapable of proof appears to me idle. Indeed, such belief is

not belief; it is merely acquiescing in or accepting a hypothesis or

tradition until the contrary is proved. No one at the present day can

tell the origin of the Americans; they may have come from any one, or

from all the hypothetical sources enumerated in the foregoing pages,

and here the question must rest until we have more light upon the

subject.

FOOTNOTES:

[I-1] He affirms (in a work entitled _Christian Topography_) that,

according to the true orthodox system of geography, the earth is a

quadrangular plane, extending four hundred days' journey east and

west, and exactly half as much north and south; that it is inclosed by

mountains, on which the sky rests; that one on the north side, huger

than the others, by intercepting the rays of the sun, produces night;

and that the plane of the earth is not set exactly horizontally, but

with a little inclination from the north: hence the Euphrates, Tigris,

and other rivers, running southward, are rapid; but the Nile, having

to run up-hill, has necessarily a very slow current.' _Draper's

Conflict between Religion and Science_, p. 65.

[I-2] In answer to the question: 'What was God doing before he made

the heaven and the earth? for, if at any particular moment he began to

employ himself, that means time, not eternity. In eternity nothing

happens--the whole is present.' St Augustine caustically remarks: 'I

will not answer this question by saying that he was preparing hell for

pryers into his mysteries.'

[I-3] The teachings of the Church were beyond controversy, the

decisions of the Church were final; and not only in religion but in

legislation and in science 'the pervading principle was a blind

unhesitating credulity.' See _Buckle's Civilization_, vol. i., p. 307.

The Bishop of Darien once quoted Plato in the presence of Las Casas.

"Plato," Las Casas replied, "was a Gentile, and is now burning in

hell, and we are only to make use of his doctrine as far as it is

consistent with our holy Faith and Christian customs." _Helps' Life of

Las Casas_, p. 120.

[I-4] As an example of the intolerance displayed by these early

writers, and of the bitterness with which they attacked those few

thinkers who dared to theorize without letting theological dogmas

stand in their way, I translate the following passage from García, who

is one of the most comprehensive writers upon the origin of the

Americans: 'We would like not even to remember the unworthy opinions

of certain veritable blasphemers, more barbarous than the Indians,

which do not even deserve the name of opinions, but rather of follies:

namely, that, perhaps, the first Indians might have been generated

from the earth, or from its putrefaction, aided by the sun's heat, as

(Avicena allowing this production to be easy in men) Andres Cisalpino

attempted to make credible, giving them less perfection than

Empedocles, who said that men had been born like the wild amaranth, if

we believe Marcus Varron.... Of the formation of man, though of straw

and mud, the people of Yucatan, had light; which nonsense is not

inferior to the attempts of those who made men by means of chemistry,

or magic (described by Solorcano) giving it to be understood that

there may be others besides the descendants of Adam, contrary to the

teachings of scripture: for which reason Taurelo feels indignant

against Cisalpino, whose attempt would be reprehensible even as a

paradox. Not less scandalous was the error of the ignorant Paracelso,

according to Reusnero and Kirchero, who left to posterity an account

of the creation of two Adams, one in Asia, and another in the West

Indies; an inexcusable folly in one who had (though corruptly)

information of the Catholic doctrine. Not less erroneous is the

opinion of Isaac de La Peyrere, who placed people on the earth before

Adam was created, from whom, he said, descended the heathen; from

Adam, the Hebrews; which folly was punished with eternal contempt by

Felipe Priorio, Juan Bautista Morino, Juan Hilperto, and others,

Danhavero giving it the finishing stroke by an epitaph, as Dicterico

relates: although some of the parties named state that La Peyrere

became repentant and acknowledged his error, and did penance, which

the Orientals, from whom he took that absurdity, have not done. These,

and others of the same nature, may not be held as opinions, but as

evidences of blindness published by men of doubtful faith, wise, in

their own esteem, and deceivers of the world, who, with lies and

fraud, oppose the divine word, as St Clemens Alexandrinus says,

closing their ears to truth, and blindfolding themselves with their

vices, for whom contempt is the best reward.' _Orígen de los Ind._, p.

248. García spent nine years in Peru, devoting himself to the study of

three points: the history of the natives before the arrival of the

Spaniards, the origin of the natives, and the question as to whether

the apostles preached the gospel in America. On his return to Spain,

he concluded to write only upon the second topic, leaving the others

for a future time.

[I-5] _Descent of Man_, vol. ii., p. 368.

[I-6] The value of proof by analogy has been questioned by many

eminent authors. Humboldt writes: 'On n'est pas en droit de supposer

des communications partout où l'on trouve, chez des peuples à demi

barbares, le culte du soleil, ou l'usage de sacrifier des victimes

humaines.' _Vues_, tom. i., p. 257. 'The instances of customs, merely

arbitrary, common to the inhabitants of both hemispheres, are, indeed,

so few and so equivocal, that no theory concerning the population of

the New World ought to be founded upon them.' As regards religious

rites, 'the human mind, even where its operations appear most wild and

capricious, holds a course so regular, that in every age and country

the dominion of particular passions will be attended with similar

effects.' _Robertson's Hist. Amer._, vol. i., p. 269. Warden remarks

that nations known to be distinct, to have had no intercourse, breed

similar customs--these, therefore, grow from physical and moral

causes. _Recherches_, p. 205. 'In attempting to trace relations

between them and the rest of mankind, we cannot expect to discover

proofs of their derivation from any particular tribe or nation of the

Old Continent.' _Prichard's Nat. Hist. Man_, vol. ii., p. 494. 'To

tell an inquirer who wishes to deduce one population from another that

certain distant tribes agree with the one under discussion in certain

points of resemblance, is as irrelevant as to tell a lawyer in search

of the next of kin to a client deceased, that though you know of no

relations, you can find a man who is the very picture of him in

person--a fact good enough in itself, but not to the purpose.'

_Latham's Man and his Migrations_, pp. 74-5.

[I-7] Certainly many of the writers must have been either fools or

demented, if we judge them by their work and arguments.

[I-8] _Garcia_, _Origen de los Ind._, pp. 7-12.

[I-9] When De Gama established the globular form of the earth by his

voyage round the Cape of Good Hope, in 1497-8, 'the political

consequences that at once ensued placed the Papal Government in a

position of great embarrassment. Its traditions and policy forbade it

to admit any other than the flat figure of the earth, as revealed in

the Scriptures.' In 1520 Magellan discovered the strait which now

bears his name, and 'henceforth the theological doctrine of the

flatness of the earth was irretrievably overthrown.' _Draper's

Conflict_, pp. 163-5. St Augustin affirmed that the world beyond the

tropic of cancer was uninhabited. 'Ea vero veterum sententia,

perspicua atque inuicta, vt ipsis videbatur, ratione nitebatur. Nam vt

quæque regio ad meridiem propius accedit, ita solis ardoribus magis

expositam animaduerterant, idque adeo verum est, vt in eadem Italiæ

prouincia Apuliam Liguria, & in nostra Hispania Bæticam Cantabria

vsque adeo feruentiorem nota re liceat, vt per gradus vixdum octo

grande frigoris & æstus discrimen sit.' _Acosta_, _De Natura Novi

Orbis_, fol. 27. 'Lactantius Firmianus, and St. Austin, who strangely

jear'd at as ridiculous, and not thinking fit for a Serious Answer the

Foolish Opinion of Antipodes, or another Habitable World beyond the

Equator: At which, Lactantius Drolling, says, what, Forsooth, here is

a fine Opinion broach'd indeed; an Antipodes! heigh-day! People whose

Feet tread with ours, and walk Foot to Foot with us; their Heads

downwards, and yet drop not into the Sky! There, yes, very likely, the

Trees loaden with Fruit grow downwards, and it Rains, Hails, and Snows

upwards; the Roofs and Spires of Cities, tops of Mountains, point at

the Sky beneath them, and the Rivers revers'd topsi-turvy, ready to

flow into the Air out of their Channels.' _Ogilby's America_, pp. 6-7.

The ancients believed a large portion of the globe to be uninhabitable

by reason of excessive heat, which must have greatly deterred

discovery.

[I-10] Touching the question whether the Americans and the people of

the old world are of common origin, see: _Brasseur de Bourbourg_,

_Hist. Nat. Civ._, tom. i., pp. 1-31; _Tylor's Anahuac_, p. 104;

_Clavigero_, _Storia Ant. del Messico_, tom. iv., pp. 14-24;

_Torquemada_, _Monarq. Ind._, tom. i., pp. 1-31; _Ramirez_, in _Soc.

Mex. Geog., Boletin_, 2da época, tom. iv., p. 54; _M'Culloh's

Researches on Amer._, pp. 175-8; _Mayer's Mex. as it Was_, p. 260;

_Domenech's Deserts_, vol. i., pp. 66-80; _Prescott's Mex._, vol.

iii., p. 389; _Bradford's Amer. Antiq._, pp. 237-49, 351, 354, 420-35;

_Charlevoix_, quoted in _Carver's Trav._, pp. 197-8; _Fontaine's How

the World was Peopled_, p. 17, et seq.; _Crowe's Cent. Amer._, p. 61;

_Williams' Enquiry into Tradition_; _Chevalier_, _Mexique_, p. 134;

_Wilson's Pre-Hist. Man_, pp. 611-14, 485-6; _Carli_, _Cartas_, pt i.,

p. 16; _Chamisso_, in _Kotzebue's Voyage_, vol. ii., pp. 405-6;

_Prichard's Researches_, vol. v., pp. 541-6; _Humboldt_, _Vues_, tom.

i., pp. 22, 31. Innumerable other speculations have been made on this

point, but in most cases by men who were but poorly qualified to deal

with a subject requiring not only learning, but a determination to

investigate fairly and without bias. Adair's reasoning in this

connection will serve to illustrate: 'God employed six days, in

creating the heavens, this earth, and the innumerable species of

creatures, wherewith it is so amply furnished. The works of a being,

infinitely perfect, must entirely answer the design of them: hence

there could be no necessity for a second creation; or God's creating

many pairs of the human race differing from each other, and fitted for

different climates; because, that implies imperfection, in the grand

scheme, or a want of power, in the execution of it--Had there been a

prior, or later formation of any new class of creatures, they must

materially differ from those of the six days work; for it is

inconsistent with divine wisdom to make a vain, or unnecessary

repetition of the same act. But the American Indians neither vary from

the rest of mankind, in their internal construction, nor external

appearance, except in colour; which, as hath been shewn, is either

entirely accidental, or artificial. As the Mosaic account declares a

completion of the manifestation of God's infinite wisdom and power in

creation, within that space of time; it follows, that the Indians have

lineally descended from Adam, the first, and the great parent of all

the human species.' _Amer. Ind._, pp. 11-12. To the works of those

modern scientists, such as Lyell, Darwin, and others, who have treated

of the unity of the human species at large, I need not refer the

reader here. An excellent résumé of the subject will, however, be

found in _Foster's Pre-Hist. Races_, pp. 353-67.

[I-11] 'We find on the earliest Egyptian monuments,' says Sir John

Lubbock, 'some of which are certainly as ancient as 2400 B.C., two

great distinct types, the Arab on the east and west of Egypt, the

Negro on the south. These distinct types still predominate in Egypt

and the neighbouring countries. Thus, then, says Mr. Poole, in this

immense interval we do not find "the least change in the Negro or the

Arab; and even the type which seems to be intermediate between them is

virtually as unaltered. Those who consider that length of time can

change a type of man, will do well to consider the fact that three

thousand years give no ratio on which a calculation could be

founded."' Crawfurd, also says: the millions '"of African Negroes that

have during three centuries been transported to the New World and its

islands, are the same in colour as the present inhabitants of the

parent country of their forefathers. The Creole Spaniards, who have

for at least as long a time been settled in tropical America, are as

fair as the people of Arragon and Andalusia, with the same variety of

colour in the hair and eye as their progenitors. The pure Dutch Creole

colonists of the Cape of Good Hope, after dwelling two centuries among

black Caffres, and yellow Hottentots, do not differ in colour from the

people of Holland."' _Pre-Hist. Times_, pp. 587-8. We find 'upon

Egyptian monuments, mostly of the thirteenth, fourteenth, and

fifteenth centuries before the Christian Era, representations of

individuals of numerous nations, African, Asiatic, and European,

differing in physical characteristics as widely as any equal number of

nations of the present age that could be grouped together; among these

being negroes of the true Nigritian stamp, depicted with a fidelity as

to color and features, hardly to be surpassed by a modern artist. That

such diversities had been produced by natural means in the interval

between that remote age and the time of Noah, probably no one versed

in the science of anatomy and physiology will consider credible.'

_Foster's Pre-Hist. Races_, p. 357.

[I-12] _Noticias Americanas_, pp. 391-5, 405-7. On pages 286-304, he

has an argument, backed by geological evidences, to show that America

is the oldest continent.

[I-13] 'Were we to admit,' say some ethnologists, 'a unity of origin

of such strongly-marked varieties as the Negro and European, differing

as they do in colour and bodily constitution, each fitted for distinct

climates, and exhibiting some marked peculiarities in their

osteological, and even in some details of cranial and cerebral

conformation, as well as in their average intellectual

endowments,--if, in spite of the fact that all these attributes have

been faithfully handed down unaltered for hundreds of generations, we

are to believe that, in the course of time, they have all diverged

from one common stock, how shall we resist the argument of the

transmutationist, who contends that all closely allied species of

animals and plants have in like manner sprung from a common

parentage?' _Lyell's Antiq. of Man_, pp. 433-4.

[I-14] _Lescarbot_, _Hist. Nouv. France_, lib. i., cap. iii.

[I-15] _Hist. Conq. Itza_, pp. 26-8.

[I-16] _Pamphleteer_, 1815. Thompson calculates the spreading of

Noah's children up to the time of Peleg, when the Bible declares the

earth to have been divided. He also shows that this division happened

earlier than is generally supposed.

[I-17] _Orrio_, _Solucion_, p. 41, et seq. Torquemada also believes

Ham to have been the father of the race. _Monarq. Ind._, tom. i., pp.

21-30.

[I-18] _Nieuwe Weereld_, p. 37.

[I-19] _L'Estrange_, _Americans no Jewes_.

[I-20] _Deserts_, vol. i., p. 26. 'The Peruvian language,' writes

Ulloa, 'is something like the Hebrew, and Noah's tongue was doubtless

Hebrew.' _Noticias Americanas_, p. 384.

[I-21] _Clavigero_, _Storia Ant. del Messico_, tom. iv., p. 17.

[I-22] In _Soc. Mex. Geog., Boletin_, 2da época, tom. iii., p. 343.

[I-23] See vol. iii. of this work, p. 450, et seq.

[I-24] _Storia Ant. del Messico_, tom. iv., p. 15. Heredia y Sarmiento

follows Clavigero. _Sermones_, p. 84.

[I-25] _Mex. Antiq._, vol. vi., p. 401. Priest, _Amer. Antiq._, pp.

142-3, thinks that an ivory image representing a mother and child

found in Cincinnati, may have been taken to Britain by the Greeks or

Romans, who knew of the prophecies concerning the Virgin and Child

Jesus, and thence brought to America. See, also, concerning religious

belief, baptism, circumcision, and other Christian-like rites in the

New World: _Tylor's Anahuac_, pp. 279-80; _Prescott's Mex._, vol.

iii., pp. 378-85; _Schoolcraft's Arch._, vol. i., pp. 17-18;

_M'Culloh's Researches on Amer._, pp. 111-40; _Latrobe's Rambler_, pp.

205-6.

[I-26] See vol. iii., pp. 66-9, and comments in accompanying notes.

[I-27] _Id._, pp. 72-5.

[I-28] _Id._, p. 76.

[I-29] _Id._, pp. 78-9.

[I-30] _Id._, p. 86.

[I-31] _Id._, p. 88.

[I-32] _Id._, p. 89.

[I-33] _Id._, p. 103.

[I-34] _Mackenzie's Voyages_, p. cxviii.

[I-35] 'Ou plutôt deux femmes, portant le nom d'Ara,' says Brasseur de

Bourbourg; I prefer, however, the original reading. The Ara is a kind

of parroquet, common in South America, and so called because it

continually repeats the cry _ara, ara_. Beings half bird, half woman,

are as likely to figure in such a legend as the above as not. Besides,

shortly afterwards the narrative speaks of 'les deux oiseaux,'

referring to the aras.

[I-36] For both of these flood-myths see: _Brasseur de Bourbourg_, in

_Landa_, _Relacion_, pp. xxx-xxxii. Herrera, _Hist. Gen._, dec. v.,

lib. iii., cap. vi., gives a native tradition which relates that long

before the time of the Incas there was a great deluge, from which some

of the natives escaped by fleeing to the mountain-tops. The mountain

tribes assert, however, that only six persons escaped this flood in a

balsa.

[I-37] _Kingsborough's Mex. Antiq._, vol. viii., p. 25.

[I-38] See vol. iii., p. 67.

[I-39] See vol. iii., pp. 77, 89.

[I-40] According to Ixtlilxochitl, the Toltec tradition relates that

after the confusion of tongues the seven families who spoke the Toltec

language set out for the New World, wandering one hundred and four

years over large extents of land and water. Finally they arrived at

Huehue Tlapallan in the year 'one flint,' five hundred and twenty

years after the flood. _Relaciones_, in _Kingsborough's Mex. Antiq._,

vol. ix., p. 322. See also another account, p. 450; _Boturini_, _Crón.

Mex._, pt ii., pp. 5-8; _Id._, _Idea_, pp. 111-27; _Veytia_, _Hist.

Ant. Mej._, tom. i., pp. 24, 145, 212-13; _Mendieta_, _Hist. Ecles._,

p. 145; _Hist. y Antig._, in _Soc. Mex. Geog., Boletin_, tom. i., p.

284; _Juarros_, _Hist. Guat._, (Guat. 1857) tom. ii., pp. 55-6;

_Delafield's Antiq. Amer._, p. 34; _Humboldt_, _Vues_, tom. i., pp.

114-15; _Prescott's Mex._, vol. iii., pp. 380-1; _Davis' Anc. Amer._,

p. 31; _Tylor's Anahuac_, p. 277.

[I-41] They had also, as we have seen in the third volume, a great

many curious ideas as to the way in which man was created, and as in

attempting to prove their theories many writers are apt to draw

analogies in this particular, I give a brief résumé of the

creation-myths here for the reader's convenience: The grossest

conceptions of the mystery of the beginning of man are to be found

among the rude savages of the north, who, however, as they are quite

content, in many instances, to believe that their earliest progenitor

was a dog or a coyote, seem entitled to some sympathy from the latest

school of modern philosophy, though it is true that their process of

development was rather abrupt, and that they did not require very many

links in their chain of evolution. But as we advance farther south,

the attempts to solve the problem grow less simple and the direct

instrumentality of the gods is required for the formation of man. The

Aleuts ascribe their origin to the intercourse of a dog and a bitch,

or, according to another version, of a bitch and a certain old man who

came from the north to visit his brute-bride. From them sprang two

creatures, male and female, each half man, half fox; and from these

two the human race is descended. Others of the Aleuts believe that

their canine progenitor fell from heaven. The Tinneh also owe their

origin to a dog; though they believe that all other living creatures

were called into existence by an immense bird. The Thlinkeet account

of the creation certainly does not admit of much caviling or dispute

concerning its chronology, method, or general probability, since it

merely states that men were "placed on the earth," though when, or

how, or by whom, it does not presume to relate. According to the

Tacully cosmogony, a musk-rat formed the dry land, which afterwards

became peopled, though whether by the agency of that industrious

rodent or not, is not stated. Darwinism is reversed by many of the

Washington tribes, who hold that animals and even some vegetables are

descended from man. The human essence from which the first Ahts were

formed, was originally contained in the bodies of animals, who upon

being suddenly stampeded from their dwellings left this mysterious

matter behind them. Some of the Ahts contend, however, that they are

the direct descendants of a shadowy personage named Quawteaht and a

gigantic Thunder Bird. The Chinooks were created by a Coyote, who,

however, did his work so badly and produced such imperfect specimens

of humanity, that but for the beneficent intervention and assistance

of a spirit called Ikánam the race must have ended as soon as it

began. Some of the Washington tribes originated from the fragments of

a huge beaver, which was slain and cut in pieces by four giants at the

request of their sister who was pining away for some beaver-fat. The

first Shasta was the result of a union between the daughter of the

Great Spirit and a grizzly bear. The Cahrocs believe that Chareya, the

Old Man Above, created the world, then the fishes and lower animals,

and lastly man. The Potoyantes were slowly developed from Coyotes. The

Big Man of the Mattoles created first the earth, bleak and naked, and

placed but one man upon it; then, on a sudden, in the midst of a

mighty whirlwind and thick darkness, he covered the desolate globe

with all manner of life and verdure. One of the myths of Southern

California attributes the creation of man and the world to two divine

beings. The Los Angeles tribes believe their one god Quaoar brought

forth the world from chaos, set it upon the shoulders of seven giants,

peopled it with the lower forms of animal life, and finally crowned

his work by creating a man and a woman out of earth. Still farther

south, the Cochimís believe in a sole creator; the Pericúis call the

maker of all things Niparaja, and say that the heavens are his

dwelling-place; the Sinaloas pay reverence to Viriseva the mother of

Vairubi, the first man. According to the Navajos, all mankind

originally dwelt under the earth, in almost perpetual darkness, until

they were released by the Moth-worm, who bored his way up to the

surface. Through the hole thus made the people swarmed out on to the

face of the earth, the Navajos taking the lead. Their first act was to

manufacture the sun and the moon, and with the light came confusion of

tongues. The Great Father and Mother of the Moquis created men in nine

races from all manner of primeval forms. The Pima creator made man and

woman from a lump of clay, which he kneaded with the sweat of his own

body, and endowed with life by breathing upon it. The Great Spirit of

the Pápagos made first the earth and all living things, and then men

in great numbers from potter's clay. The Miztecs ascribe their origin

to the act of the two mighty gods, the male Lion Snake and the female

Tiger Snake, or of their sons, Wind of the Nine Snakes and Wind of the

Nine Caves. The Tezcucan story is that the sun cast a dart into the

earth at a certain spot in the land of Aculma. From this hole issued a

man imperfectly formed, and after him a woman, from which pair mankind

are descended. The Tlascaltecs asserted that the world was the effect

of chance, while the heavens had always existed. The most common

Mexican belief was, that the first human beings, a boy and a girl,

were produced from the blood-besprinkled fragments of the bone

procured from hades by the sixteen hundred fallen gods sprung from the

flint-knife of which the goddess Citlalicue had been delivered.

According to the Chimalpopoca manuscript the creator produced his work

in successive epochs, man being made on the seventh day from dust or

ashes. In Guatemala there was a belief that the parents of the human

race were created out of the earth by the two younger sons of the

divine Father and Mother. The Quiché creation was a very bungling

affair. Three times and of three materials was man made before his

makers were satisfied with their work. First of clay, but he lacked

intelligence; next of wood, but he was shriveled and useless; finally

of yellow and white maize, and then he proved to be a noble work. Four

men were thus made, and afterwards four women.

[I-42] 'This nice agreement with the Mosaic account of the height

which the waters of the Deluge attained above the summits of the

highest mountains is certainly extraordinary; since we read in the

twentieth verse of the seventh chapter of Genesis: "_Fifteen cubits

upward_ did the waters prevail, and the mountains were covered."'

_Kingsborough's Mex. Antiq._, vol. viii., p. 25.

[I-43] _Relaciones_, in _Kingsborough's Mex. Antiq._, vol. ix., pp.

321-2.

[I-44] 'Un orient lointain,' says Brasseur de Bourbourg; but he must

either mean what we call in English the Orient, the East, or

contradict himself--which, by the way, he is very prone to do--because

he afterwards asserts that Tula is the place 'on the other side of the

sea,' from which the Quiché wanderers came to the north-west coast of

America.

[I-45] _Brasseur de Bourbourg_, _Hist. Nat. Civ._, tom. i., pp.

105-6.

[I-46] _Id._, pp. 167-8.

[I-47] _Cogolludo_, _Hist. Yuc._, p. 178; _Montanus_, _Nieuwe

Weereld_, p. 258.

[I-48] _Ross' Adven._, pp. 287-8.

[I-49] _Warden_, _Recherches_, p. 190.

[I-50] _Domenech's Deserts_, vol. ii., p. 4; _Schoolcraft's Arch._,

vol. i., p. 19.

[I-51] _Warden_, _Recherches_, p. 213.

[I-52] The reader will recollect that the story of each of these

heroes has been told at length in vol. iii. of this work.

[I-53] The legend of Viracocha, or Ticeviracocha, as he is sometimes

called, and his successor, is, according to Herrera, as follows:

'Cuentan tambien los Indios, segun lo tienen por tradicion de sus

antepassados, y parece por sus cantares, que en su antiguedad

estuuieron mucho tiempo sin ver Sol, y que por los grandes votos, y

plegarias que hazian â sus dioses, saliô el Sol de la laguna Titicaca,

y de la Isla, que estâ en ella, que es en el Collao, y que pareciô

luego por la parte de medio dia vn hõbre blanco de gran cuerpo, y de

veneranda presencia, que era tan poderoso, que baxaua las sierras,

crecia los valles, y sacaua fuentes de las piedras, al qual por su

gran poder llamauan: Principio de todas las cosas criadas, y padre del

Sol, porque dio ser a los hombres, y animales, y por su mano les vino

notable beneficio, y que obrando estas marauillas, fue de largo hâzia

el Norte, y de camino yua dando orden de vida â las gentes, hablando

con mucho amor, amonestando que fuessen buenos, y se amassen vnos â

otros, al qual hasta los vltimos tiempos de los Ingas llamauã

Ticeuiracocha, y en el Collao Tuapaca, y en otras partes Arnauâ, y que

le hizieron muchos Templos, y bultos en ellos â su semejança, â los

quales sacrificauan. Dizen tambien, que passados algunos tiempos

oyeron dezir â sus mayores, que pareciô otro hombre semejante al

referido, que sanaua los enfermos, daua vista â los ciegos, y que en

la prouincia de los Cañas, queriendo locamente apedrearle, lo vieron

hincado de rodillas, alçadas las manos al Cielo, inuocando el diuino

fauor, y que pareciô vn fuego del Cielo que los espantô tanto, que con

grandes gritos, y clamores le pedian, que los librasse de aquel

peligro, pues las venia aquel castigo por el pecado, que auian

cometido, y que luego cessô el fuego, quedando abrasadas las piedras,

y oy dia se ven quemadas, y tan liuianas, que aunque grandes se

leuantan como corcho, y dizen, que desde alli se fue â la mar, y

entrando en ella sobre su manto tendido nunca mas se vio, por lo qual

le llamaron Viracocha, que quiere dezir espuma de la mar, nõbre que

despues mudô signification, y que luego le hizieron vn Templo, en el

pueblo de Cacha, y algunos Castellanos solo por su discurso han dicho,

que este deuia de ser algun Apostol: pero los mas cuerdos lo tienen

por vanidad, porque en todos estos Templos se sacrificaua al demonio,

y hasta que los Castellanos entraron en los Reynos del Pirû, no fue

oìdo, ni predicado el santo Euangelio, ni vista la Santissima señal de

la Cruz.' _Hist. Gen._, dec. v., lib. iii., cap. vi.; _Acosta_, _Hist.

de las Ynd._, p. 82.

[I-54] Sumé was a white man with a thick beard, who came across the

ocean from the direction of the rising sun. He had power over the

elements, and could command the tempest. At a word from him the trees

of the densest forest receded from their places to make a path for

him; the most ferocious animals crouched submissive at his feet; the

treacherous surface of lake and river presented a solid footing to his

tread. He taught the people agriculture, and the use of maize. The

Caboclos, a Brazilian nation, refused to listen to his divine

teachings, and even sought to kill him with their arrows, but he

turned their own weapons against them. The persecuted apostle then

retired to the banks of a river, and finally left the country

entirely. The tradition adds that the prints of his feet are still to

be seen on the rocks and in the sand of the coast. _Warden_,

_Recherches_, p. 189.

[I-55] Paye-Tome was another white apostle. His history so closely

resembles that of Sumé that it is probable they are the same person.

_Id._

[I-56] 'In former times, as they (the Chilians) had heard their

fathers say, a wonderful man had come to that country, wearing a long

beard, with shoes, and a mantle such as the Indians carry on their

shoulders, who performed many miracles, cured the sick with water,

caused it to rain, and their crops and grain to grow, kindled fire at

a breath, and wrought other marvels, healing at once the sick, and

giving sight to the blind,' and so on. 'Whence it may be inferred that

this man was some apostle whose name they do not know.' Quoted from

Rosales' inedited _History of Chili_, in _Kingsborough's Mex. Antiq._,

vol. vi., p. 419.

[I-57] Bochica, the great law-giver of the Muyscas, and son of the

sun, a white man, bearded, and wearing long robes, appeared suddenly

in the people's midst while they were disputing concerning the choice

of a king. He advised them to appoint Huncahua, which they immediately

did. He it was who invented the calendar and regulated the festivals.

After living among the Muyscas for two thousand years, he vanished on

a sudden near the town of Hunca. _Warden_, _Recherches_, p. 187;

_Klemm_, _Cultur-Geschichte_, tom. v., p. 174, quoting _Stevenson's

Travels in South America_, vol. i., p. 397.

[I-58] _Torquemada_, _Monarq. Ind._, tom. i., p. 35; _Acosta_, _Hist.

de las Ynd._, pp. 67-8; _Montanus_, _Nieuwe Weereld_, p. 13.

[I-59] In a work entitled _Fenix del Occidente_.

[I-60] _Felicidad de Mej._, Mex. 1685, fol. 55.

[I-61] _Boturini_, _Catálogo_, in _Idea_, pp. 43, 50-2. Although the

opinion that Quetzalcoatl was St Thomas, 'appears to be rather

hazardous, yet one cannot help being astonished at the extent of the

regions traversed by St. Thomas; it is true that some writers do not

allow of his having gone beyond Calamita, a town in India, the site of

which is doubtful; but others assert that he went as far as Meliapour,

on the other side of the Coromandel, and even unto Central America.'

_Domenech's Deserts_, vol. i., p. 50. 'Apud Iaiaobæ Indos in Occidenti

tradita per avos viget memoria S. Apostoli Thomæ, quam retinent a

transitu ejus per illas plagas, cujus non levia extant indicia:

præcipuè quædam semita in illis solitudinibus hactenus perseverat, in

quâ non oritur herba nisi valdè humilis et parvula, cum utrumque latus

herbescat ultra modum; eo itinere dicunt Apostolum incessisse, et inde

profectum in Peruana regna. Apud Brasilienses quoque traditio est, ibi

prædicasse. Apud alios barbaros, etiam in regionem Paraguay venisse,

postquam descendit per fluvium Iguazu, deinde in Paranam per Aracaium,

ubi observatur locus in quo sedit defessus Apostolus, et fertur

prædixisse, ut a majoribus acceptum est, post se illuc adventuros

homines qui posteris eorum annuntiarent fidem veri Dei, quod non leve

solatium et animos facit nostræ religionis prædicatoribus, ingentes

labores inter illos barbaros pro dilatione Ecclesiæ perpetientibus.'

_Nieremberg_, _Historiæ Naturæ_, lib. xiv., cap. cxvii.

[I-62] Following are a few points of Lord Kingsborough's elaborate

argument: 'How truly surprising it is to find that the Mexicans, who

seem to have been quite unacquainted with the doctrines of the

migration of the soul and the metempsychosis, should have believed in

the incarnation of the _only_ son of their supreme god Tonacatecutle.

For Mexican mythology speaking of no other son of that god except

Quecalcoatle, who was born of Chimalman the Virgin of Tula, without

connection with man, and by his breath alone, (by which may be

signified his _word_ or his will, announced to Chimalman by word of

mouth of the celestial messenger, whom he dispatched to inform her

that she should conceive a son,) it must be presumed that Quecalcoatle

was his only son. Other arguments might be adduced to show, that the

Mexicans believed that Quecalcoatle was both god and man, that he had

previously to his incarnation existed from all eternity, that he had

created both the world and man, that he descended from heaven to

reform the world by penance, that he was born with the perfect use of

reason, that he preached a new law, and, being king of Tula, was

crucified for the sins of mankind, as is obscurely insinuated by the

interpreter of the Vatican Codex, plainly declared in the traditions

of Yucatan, and mysteriously represented in the Mexican paintings.' If

the promise of the angel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary,--The Holy Ghost

shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow

thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall

be called the Son of God--be couched in the language of ancient

prophecy, 'it is not improbable that the head of the dragon which

forms the crest of three of the female figures (in one of the Mexican

pieces of sculpture), as it may also be presumed it did of the fourth

when entire, (if it be not a symbol which Chimalman borrowed from her

son's _name_,) was intended to denote that she had been overshadowed

by the power of Huitzilopuchtli, whose device, as we are informed by

Sahagun in the first chapter of the first book of his History of New

Spain, was the head of a dragon.' _Kingsborough's Mex. Antiq._, vol.

vi., pp. 507-8. See, more especially, his elaborate discussion of

Quetzalcoatl's crucifixion and identity with the Messiah, vol. viii.,

pp. 5-51. As we have seen in a preceding volume, Quetzalcoatl is

compared with the heathen deities of the old world, as well as with

the Messiah of the Christians. See vol. iii., chap. vii.

[I-63] See vol. iii., p. 450, et seq.

[I-64] Though the presumption may be in favor of communication by

Bering Strait, yet the phenomena in the present state of our

knowledge, favors the Aleutian route. _Latham's Comp. Phil._, p. 384.

The Aleutian archipelago is 'probably the main route by which the old

continent must have peopled the new. Behring's Straits, though ...

they were doubtless one channel of communication, just as certainly as

if their place had been occupied by solid land, were yet, in all

likelihood, only of subordinate utility in the premises, when compared

with the more accessible and commodious bridge towards the south.'

_Simpson's Nar._, vol. ii., p. 225. 'There is no improbability that

the early Asiatics reached the western shores of America through the

islands of the Pacific.' The trace of the progress of the red and

partially civilized man from Oriental Asia was left on these islands.

_Willson's Amer. Hist._, pp. 92-3. The first discoveries were made

along the coast and from island to island; the American immigrants

would have come by the Aleutian Isles. _Brasseur de Bourbourg_, _Hist.

Nat. Civ._, tom. i., p. 10. To come by Aleutian islands presents not

nearly so great a difficulty as the migrations among Pacific Islands.

_Prescott's Mex._, vol. iii., p. 374. Immigration from Asia 'appears

to have taken place mostly by the Aleuthian islands.' _Smith's Human

Species_, p. 238.

[I-65] Some of the early writers were of course ignorant of the

existence of any strait separating America from Asia; thus Acosta--who

dares not assume, in opposition to the Bible, that the flood did not

extend to America, or that a new creation took place there--accounts

for the great variety of animals by supposing that the new continent

is in close proximity to if not actually connected with the Old World

at its northern and southern ends, and that the people and animals

saved in the ark spread gradually by these routes over the whole land.

_Hist. de las Ynd._, pp. 68-73, 81; _West und Ost Indischer Lustgart_,

pt i., pp. 8-9. See also _Montanus_, _Nieuwe Weereld_, pp. 38-42;

_Gottfriedt_, _Newe Welt_, p. 4; _Villagutierre_, _Hist. Conq. Itza_,

pp. 26-8. Clavigero produces instances to show that upheavals,

engulfings, and separations of land have been quite common, and thinks

that American traditions of destructions refer to such disasters. He

also shows that certain animals could have passed only by a tropic,

others only by an arctic road. He accordingly supposes that America

was formerly connected with Africa at the latitude of the Cape Verde

islands, with Asia in the north, and perhaps with Europe by Greenland.

_Storia Ant. del Messico_, tom. iv., pp. 27-44. The great objection to

a migration by way of the cold latitude of Bering Strait, says a

writer in the _Historical Magazine_, vol. i., p. 285, is that tropic

animals never could have passed that way. He apparently rejects or has

never heard of the theory of change in zones. See farther, concerning

joining of continents, and communication by Bering Strait: _Warden_,

_Recherches_, pp. 202, 221; _Humboldt_, _Exam. Crit._, tom. ii., p.

68, et seq.; _Snowden's Hist. N. and S. Amer._, p. 198; _Taylor_, in

_Cal. Farmer_, Sept. 12, 1862; _Priest's Amer. Antiq._, pp. 62-3,

82-3; _Valois_, _Mexique_, p. 197; _Adair's Amer. Ind._, p. 219.

Bradford denies emphatically that there ever was any connection

between America and Asia. 'It has been supposed,' he writes, 'that a

vast tract of land, now submerged beneath the waters of the Pacific

Ocean, once connected Asia and America.... The arguments in favor of

this opinion are predicated upon that portion of the Scriptures,

relating to the "division" of the earth in the days of Peleg, which is

thought to indicate a physical division,--upon the analogies between

the Peruvians, Mexicans and Polynesians ... and upon the difficulty of

accounting in any other manner for the presence of some kinds of

animals in America.' After demolishing these three bases of opinion,

he adds: 'this conjectured terrestrial communication never existed, a

conclusion substantiated, in some measure, by geological testimony.'

_Amer. Antiq._, pp. 222-8. Mr Bradford's argument, in addition to

being thoughtful and ingenious, is supported by facts, and will amply

repay a perusal.

[I-66] _Exam. Crit._, tom. ii., p. 68.

[I-67] _Mex._, vol. iii., p. 418.

[I-68] _Prehist. Man_, p. 615.

[I-69] _Human Species_, p. 238.

[I-70] _Rel., 2de expéd._, p. 28.

[I-71] _Peruvian Antiq._, p. 24. America was probably first peopled

from Asia, but the memory of that ancient migration was lost. Asia was

utterly unknown to the ancient Mexicans. The original seats of the

Chichimecs were, as they thought, not far to the north-west. They

placed Aztlan not in a remote country, but near Michoacan. _Gallatin_,

in _Amer. Ethno. Soc., Transact._, vol. i., pp. 158-9, 174. There are

strong resemblances in all things with Asiatic nations; less in

language than other respects, but more with Asia than with any other

part of the world. Anatomical resemblances point the same way.

_Carbajal Espinosa_, _Hist. Mex._, tom. i., pp. 196-203. The Americans

most probably came from Asia soon after the dispersion and confusion

of tongues; but there has been found no clear notice among them of

Asia, or of their passage to this continent. Nor in Asia of any such

migration. The Mexican histories do not probably go so far back.

_Venegas_, _Noticia de la Cal._, tom. i., pp. 72-3. If a congregation

of twelve representatives from Malacca, China, Japan, Mongolia,

Sandwich Islands, Chili, Peru, Brazil, Chickasaws, Comanches, &c.,

were dressed alike, or undressed and unshaven, the most skillful

anatomist could not from their appearance separate them. _Fontaine's

How the World was Peopled_, pp. 147-9, 244-5. The people of Asia seem

to have been the only men who could teach the Mexicans and Peruvians

to make bronze, and could not teach them to smelt and work iron, one

thousand or one thousand five hundred years before the Spanish

Conquest. _Tylor's Researches_, p. 209. It is almost proved that long

before Columbus, Northern India, China, Corea, and Tartary, had

communication with America. _Chateaubriand_, _Lettre aux Auteurs_, p.

87. See also: _Smithsonian Rept._, 1866, p. 345; _Veytia_, _Hist. Ant.

Mej._, tom. i., p. 20; _Brasseur de Bourbourg_, _Hist. Nat. Civ._,

tom. i., pp. 23-4; _Simpson's Nar._, vol. i., p. 190; _Gregg's Com.

Prairies_, vol. ii., pp. 250-1; _Macfie's Vanc. Isl._, pp. 426-7;

_Saint-Amant_, _Voyages_, p. 245; _Malte-Brun_, _Précis de la Géog._,

tom. vi., pp. 290, 295-6; _Warden_, _Recherches_, pp. 118-36;

_Macgregor's Progress of Amer._, vol. i., p. 24; _Mühlenpfordt_,

_Mejico_, tom. i., p. 230; _Dodge_, in _Ind. Aff. Rept._, 1869, p.

590; _Whymper's Alaska_, pp. 278-85; _Prichard's Nat. Hist. Man_, vol.

ii., p. 519; _Mitchill_, in _Amer. Antiq. Soc., Transact._, vol. i.,

pp. 325-32; _Vigne's Travels_, vol. ii., p. 36; _Latham's Man and his

Migrations_, p. 122; _Sampson_, in _Hist. Mag._, vol. v., p. 213.

_Robertson's Hist. Amer._, vol. i., pp. 280-1; _Snowden's Hist. N. and

S. Amer._, p. 200; _Stratton's Mound-Builders_, MS.; _Bradford's Amer.

Antiq._, pp. 208, 215-16, 432; _Pickering's Races of Man_, in _U. S.

Ex. Ex._, vol. ix., pp. 287-8; _Carver's Trav._, pp. 209-13;

_Kennedy's Probable Origin_; _Davis' Discovery of New Eng._;

_Hellwald_, in _Smithsonian Rept._, 1866, p. 334. Herrera argued that

as there were no natives in America of a color similar to those of the

politer nations of Europe, they must be of Asiatic origin; that it is

unreasonable to suppose them to have been driven thither by stress of

weather; that the natives for a long time had no king, therefore no

historiographer, therefore they are not to be believed in this

statement, or in any other. The clear conclusions drawn from these

pointed arguments is, that the Indian race descended from men who

reached America by the nearness of the land. 'Y asi mas verisimilmente

se concluye que la generacion, y poblacion de los Indios, ha procedido

de hombres que passaron a las Indias Ocidentales, por la vezindad de

la tierra, y se fueron estendiendo poco a poco;' but from whence they

came, or by what route the royal historiographer offers no conjecture.

_Hist. Gen._, dec. i., lib. i., cap. vi.

[I-72] _Amer. Ethno. Soc., Transact._, vol. i., p. 179.

[I-73] _Quarterly Review_, vol. xxi., pp. 334-5. The communication

between Anáhuac and the Asiatic continent was merely the contact of

some few isolated Asiatics who had lost their way, and from whom the

Mexicans drew some notions of science, astrology, and some cosmogonic

traditions; and these Asiatics did not return home. _Chevalier_,

_Mexique_, pp. 59, 56-8; _Viollet-le-Duc_, in _Charnay_, _Ruines

Amér._, pp. 87-9; _Fossey_, _Mexique_, pp. 120-1; _Democratic Review_,

vol. xi., p. 617; _Lafond_, _Voyages_, p. 133.

[I-74] Deguignes writes: 'Les Chinois ont pénétré dans les pays

très-éloignés du côté de l'orient; j'ai examiné leur mesures, et elles

m'ont conduit vers les côtes de la Californie; j'ai conclu de-là

qu'ils avoient connu l'Amérique l'an 458 J. C.' He also attributes

Peruvian civilization to the Chinese. _Recherches sur les Navigations

des Chinois du côté de l'Amérique_, in _Mémoires de l'Académie des

Inscriptions_, tom. xvii. Paravey, in 1844, attempted to prove that

the province of Fousang was Mexico. _Domenech's Deserts_, vol. i., p.

51. 'In Chinese history we find descriptions of a vast country 20,000

le to the eastward across the great ocean, which, from the description

given, must be California and Mexico.' _Taylor_, in _Cal. Farmer_,

Sept. 12, 1862. 'L'histoire postérieure des Chinois donne à penser

qu'ils ont eu autrefois des flottes qui ont pu passer au Mexique par

les Phillippines.' _Farcy_, _Discours_ p. 46, in _Antiq. Mex._, tom.

i., div. i.

[I-75] A Chinese li is about one third of a mile.

[I-76] '_Fou sang_, en chinois et selon la prononciation japonaise

_Fouts sôk_, est l'arbrisseau que nous nommons _Hibiscus rosa

chinensis_,' _Klaproth_, _Recherches sur le pays de Fou Sang_, in

_Nouvelles Annales des Voy._, 1831, tom. li., p. 55, note. Others

suppose the fusang to be the maguey, and, indeed, it was used for much

the same purposes. It was, however, most probably, the mulberry;

_fu-soh_, the Japanese equivalent for the Chinese _fusang_, being

compounded of _fu_, to aid, and _soh_, the mulberry, a tree which

abounds in a wild state in the province of Yesso, and which has been

cultivated by royal command in other parts of Japan, where, as the

reader will presently see, Fusang was probably situated. Mr Brooks,

Japanese Consul in San Francisco, also tells me that Fu Sang is a name

used in Chinese poetry to mean Japan. In Japan it is also thus used,

and also used in trade marks, as 'first quality of Fu Sang silk

cocoons,' meaning Japanese cocoons.

[I-77] I follow Deguignes in this sentence; Klaproth has it: 'Ceux qui

peuvent recevoir leur grace sont envoyés à la première (méridionale),

ceux au contraire auxquels on ne veut pas l'accorder sont détenus dans

la prison du nord.' _Recherches_, in _Nouvelles Annales des Voy._,

1831, tom. li., p. 55.

[I-78] Deguignes translates: 'des habitants élèvent des biches comme

en Chine, et ils en tirent du beurre.'

[I-79] 'Il y a dans l'original _To Phou thao_. Deguignes ayant

décomposé le mot _Phou tao_, traduit: "on y trouve une grande quantité

de glayeuls et de pêches." Cependant le mot _Phou_ seul ne signifie

jamais _glayeul_, c'est le nom des joncs et autres espèces de roseaux

de marais, dont on se sert pour faire des nattes. _Thao_ est en effet

le nom de la pêche, mais le mot composé _Phou tao_ signifie en chinois

la vigne.' _Klaproth_, _Recherches_, in _Nouvelles Annales des Voy._,

1831, tom. li., pp. 57-8.

[I-80] 'Les images des Esprits,' &c.; _Id._, p. 59.

[I-81] 'Deguignes traduit: 'Pendant leurs prières ils exposent l'image

du défunt.' Le texte parle de _chin_ ou génies et non pas des ames des

défunts.' _Id._

[I-82] 'C'est une analogie curieuse qu'offre le pays à vignes de

Fousang (l'Amérique chinoise de Deguignes) avec le Vinland des

premières découvertes scandinaves sur les côtes orientales de

l'Amérique.' _Exam. Crit._, tom. ii., p. 63, note.

[I-83] _Nouv. Jour. Asiatique_, 1832, p. 335, quoted by _Humboldt_,

_Exam. Crit._, tom. ii., pp. 65-6.

[I-84] _Warden_, _Recherches_, p. 123.

[I-85] It is enough to look at an Aleut to recognize the Mongol.

_Wrangel_, in _Nouvelles Annales des Voy._, 1853, tom. cxxxvii., p.

213. 'The resemblance between north-west coast Indians and Chinese is

rather remarkable.' _Deans' Remains in B. Col._, MS. 'I have

repeatedly seen instances, both men and women, who in San Francisco

could readily be mistaken for Chinese--their almond-shaped eyes, light

complexion and long braided black hair giving them a marked

similarity.... An experience of nearly nine years among the coast

tribes, with a close observation and study of their characteristics,

has led me to the conclusion that these northern tribes (B. Col. and

surrounding region) are the only evidence of any exodus from the

Asiatic shore ever having reached our borders.' _Taylor_, in _Cal.

Farmer_, July 25, 1862. Grant, _Ocean to Ocean_, p. 304, says that the

Chinese and Indians resemble one another so much that were it not for

the queue and dress they would be difficult to distinguish. 'The

Pacific Indian is Mongolian in size and complexion, in the shape of

the face, and the eyes,' and he wants many of the manly

characteristics of the Eastern Indians. Morelet, _Voyage_, tom. i., p.

148, says of the Yucatan Indians, 'leur teint cuivré et quelquefois

jaunâtre présente un ensemble de caractères qui rapproche

singulièrement leur race de celle des tribus d'origine mongole.' This

point of physical resemblance is, however, denied by several writers;

thus Kneeland, _Wonders_, p. 53, says that though Americans have

generally been accepted as Mongolians, yet if placed side by side with

Chinese, hardly any resemblance will be found in physical character,

except in the general contour of their faces and in their straight

black hair; their mental characteristics are entirely opposite. Adair

writes: 'Some have supposed the Americans to be descended from the

_Chinese_: but neither their religion, laws, customs, &c., agree in

the least with those of the Chinese: which sufficiently proves that

they are not of that line.' He goes on to say that distance, lack of

maritime skill, etc., all disprove the theory. He also remarks that

the prevailing winds blow with little variation from east to west, and

therefore junks could not have been driven ashore. _Amer. Ind._, pp.

12-13. 'Could we hope that the monuments of Central and South America

might attract the attention and excite the interest of more American

scholars than hitherto, the theory of the Mongol origin of the Red-men

would soon be numbered among exploded hypotheses.' _Nott and Gliddon's

Indig. Races_, p. 188. 'MM. Spix et Martius ont remarqué la

ressemblance extraordinaire qui existe entre la physionomie des colons

Chinois et celle des Indiens. La figure des Chinois est, il est vrai,

plus petite. Ils ont le front plus large, les lèvres plus fines, et en

général les traits plus délicats et plus doux que ceux des sauvages de

l'Amérique. Cependant, en considérant la conformation de leur tête,

qui n'est pas oblongue, mais angulaire, et plutôt pointue, leur crâne

large, les sinus frontaux proéminents, le front bas, les os des joues

très saillants, leurs yeux petits et obliques, le nez

proportionnellement petit et épaté, le peu de poils garnissant leur

menton et les autres parties du corps, leur chevelure moins longue et

plate, la couleur jaunâtre ou cuivrée de leur peau, on retrouve les

traits physiques communs aux deux races.' _Warden_, _Recherches_, p.

123. The Americans certainly approach the Mongols and Malays in some

respects, but not in the essential parts of cranium, hair, and

profile. If we regard them as a Mongol branch, we must suppose that

the slow action of climate has changed them thus materially during a

number of centuries. _Malte-Brun_, _Précis de la Géog._, tom. vi., p.

289.

[I-86] This will be best shown by referring to Warden's comparison of

American, Chinese, and Tartar words. _Recherches_, pp. 125-6. The

Haidahs, are said, however, to have used words known to the Chinese.

_Deans' Remains in B. Col._, MS. Mr Taylor writes: 'The Chinese accent

can be traced throughout the Indian (Digger) language,' and

illustrates his assertion with a comparative vocabulary of Indian and

Chinese. _Cal. Farmer_, Sept. 12, 1862. The Chinese in California 'are

known to be able to converse with them (the Indians) in their

respective languages.'! _Cronise's California_, p. 31.