DISCOVERY OF TALISMANIC PENATES.--RETURN BY NIGHT TO TAMPICO.
Speculations upon the images.--Superstitious reliance of the
natives upon them in seasons of sickness.--Blending of
idolatries.--Clue to the solution of a great
problem.--Far-fetched theories.--The New World peopled from
the Old.--Similarity in the objects and forms of worship,
good evidence of similarity of origin.--Peculiar ugliness
and obesity of many of the idols of Asia.--Ugnee, of
Hindostan.--Gan, of China.--Fottei, of Japan.--Conclusion to
be drawn from these facts.--Confirmed by the claims of the
Chinese to the first discovery of America.--Still further by
the analogy between the languages of America and those of
Tartary.--Predilection of idolatry for ugliness.--Return by
night to Tampico.--Rumors of war.--French retailers.--Mexico
backing out.
In the course of my explorations among these interesting and melancholy
relics of by-gone ages, I discovered two very singular and grotesque
looking images, which have given rise to no little speculation in my own
mind. I have the pleasure of presenting, at the close of the chapter,
correct drawings of these to the reader. The originals are deposited in the
museum of the New York Historical Society. I had little doubt, when I
discovered these images, that they once figured in the idolatrous worship
of the aboriginal inhabitants of the country; but what place to assign them
in that mysterious Pandemonium,--whether to call them god or devil, whether
to class them with the deities that preside over the affections, or to give
them rank with those of a more intellectual character, I have been utterly
at a loss to conjecture. I have been somewhat inclined, of late, to lean to
the opinion that they belong to the former class, as I found images of the
same kind in use among the Indian women, who wore them suspended about
their necks, and attributed to them something like a talismanic influence.
They are especially relied upon in seasons of sickness,--but, whether
supposed to have power to frighten away, by their pre-eminent ugliness, the
ugliest shapes of disease, or to conciliate the genius of health, by
awakening his sympathies for the dreadful ills which flesh is heir to, and
the monstrous deformities in human frame, which are often the result of
disease,--or whether the contemplation of them is intended to sustain and
solace the sufferer, in any condition, however lamentable and hideous, to
which she may have been reduced, by keeping continually before her eyes the
representation of one more hideous and lamentable still, I was not able to
determine; nor is it, perhaps, material to the interests of science or
religion, or the melioration of suffering humanity in a more enlightened
age, and among more civilized races of men, that this point should be
settled beyond the possibility of a doubt; since it is by no means
probable, even if it could be proved, by the most incontestable evidence of
numberless personal certificates, and well authenticated cases of positive
relief, or almost miraculous cures, that the ladies of our day, and in our
highly favored country, could be induced to substitute them for the
infallible, health-imparting, life-restoring panaceas, catholicons,
medicated lozenges, sugar-crusted pills, vegetable anodyne restoratives,
medicinal rejuvenescent cordials, magnetic rings, _et id omnes genus_,
whose name is legion, promising immortal life and beauty to all who are so
fortunate as to secure a seasonable share of their influence. It was not
with any view to set up an opposition to this well disciplined army of the
inveterate and the veteran enemies to the continued reign of death and
disease in our world, that I brought home with me some of these remarkable
images: nor is it with any hope of raising a successful competition with
regularly-educated, duly licensed and long established physicians, whether
of the old school or the new, whether they administer their homoeopathic
infinitesmals upon the point of a cambric needle, or shovel in their
allopathic doses by the cartload, that I have ventured upon this learned
and profound disquisition upon the remarkable discovery, which it was my
fortune to make. And I beg leave here to give due and solemn notice to all
the world, that, if this singular accident should chance to be the means of
introducing a new epoch in American therapeutics, I hold myself, my heirs,
executors, administrators and assigns, utterly and for ever exempt from all
and singular the consequences and results thereof.
In the present use of these talismanic images, there is a very singular,
and, I am inclined to think, an unexampled blending of the old pagan
idolatry of the Indians, with the image worship of their newly adopted
religion. They are all, as the reader is no doubt aware, regarded as
converts to the Christian religion, under the instruction of the Priests of
the Church of Rome. They are, for the most part, very scrupulous in
observing all the customs and requirements of that church. The images I
here refer to are hollow, with a small aperture near one of the shoulders.
They are filled with balls, about as large as an ordinary pea, which are
supposed to have been made of the ashes of victims sacrificed, in former
days, to these gods. In this manner they were consecrated to demon-worship.
Whether, in their present accommodation to a species of Christian idolatry,
these balls are regarded as a substitute for "beads," or as "relics" of
martyrs to a faith in an "unknown god" and an unknown form of worship, I am
unable to say. I only know that the images, with their contents, are
regarded with a profoundly superstitious interest, and relied upon in
seasons of peculiar peril.
It may, perhaps, be thought, that I am making too much capital out of a
very trifling circumstance, if I should say, that in the course of my
meditations upon these ugly little demons, I imagined I had found in them,
the means of solving one of the great problems which have divided and
perplexed philosophers, ever since the discovery of our continent. But I
deny "the soft impeachment;" I protest strenuously against the unkind
imputation. If the falling of an apple led Sir Isaac Newton to the
discovery of one of the great first principles and fundamental laws of
nature,--if the clattering of the lid of his mother's tea-kettle, unfolded
to the inquisitive mind of Watt, the powers and mysteries of _steam_, that
semi-omnipotent agent in the affairs of our little world,--if the earth's
profile, as sketched on the disc of the moon in an eclipse, convinced the
sagacious mind of Columbus, that he could get round on the other side,
without danger of falling off,--who shall presume to say, that this
discovery of a pair of ugly little personages, belonging to the system of
idol divinities of an unknown race of people, will not prove to the
inquiring mind of some other, though less profound philosopher, the clue by
which the great mystery of their origin shall at length be effectually
solved?
I will not answer for it, that my theory in this case shall be as far
fetched, ingenious or elaborate, as many others that have gained the favor
and support of learned and worthy names. I only engage to make out as good
a case as some of my predecessors in the same wide field;--those, for
example, who have undertaken to show that the abroginal inhabitants of
America, are the descendants of Abraham and probably the lost ten tribes,
who were carried away into Assyria, in what is termed the first captivity
under Shalmaneser. These learned theorists have considered their case
fully, and incontestably made out, when they have discovered ten words in a
thousand of the language, to bear some distant, and, in many cases,
fanciful resemblance to words of the same import in the ancient Hebrew; or
when they have traced, in their religious rites and usages, some slight
analogies with the imposing ceremonials of the Mosaic ritual. In drawing
their sage conclusions from these attenuated premises, they have not
troubled themselves to consider what an overwhelming effect it would have
upon their theory, to weigh the nine hundred and ninety words in a
thousand, which have not the most distant resemblance to the Hebrew, or the
multitude of idolatrous rites, and heathenish mummeries, which were utterly
and irreconcilably at variance with the spirit and letter of the ancient
Scriptures. It is easy enough to make a theory, and to support it manfully,
as long as you can keep your eyes shut to every fact that militates against
it. But alas! the great majority of such creations vanish as soon as the
eyes are opened, even as the pageant of a dream vanishes before the morning
light.
But, not to lose sight of my own good theory, let us return to my little
images, and to the thoughts which they have suggested, in relation to the
long agitated, and still unsettled question of the origin of the first
inhabitants of this continent. In the first place,--I take it for granted,
that the new world, as it is called, was peopled from the old. For, no one
who takes the Bible as his guide, will suppose that more than one pair was
created, or doubt that the residence of that first pair, and their
immediate descendants, was in Asia. And if any one rejects the testimony of
the Bible, my argument is not intended for him.
In the second place,--it will be admitted that a close correspondence in
the forms of worship, and in the appearance and character of the objects of
worship, is one of the best grounds for supposing a similarity of origin in
any two races of people. There is scarcely any thing of which nations are
more tenacious, and by which they can be more safely recognized and
identified, than the forms and ceremonies of their religion. Strange and
inexpicable as it is, they change oftener and more easily in matters of
_Faith_, than in matters of _Form_. Nearly three thousand years ago, it was
laid down as a principle not to be questioned, that the religion of a
people, especially of idolaters, was not liable to sudden and voluntary
change. _Pass over the isles of Chittim and see, and send unto Kedar, and
consider diligently, and see if there be any such thing. Hath a nation
changed their gods, which are yet no gods? But my people have changed their
glory for that which doth not profit._
Now, to bring these principles to bear upon the object I have in view, let
it be observed,--First, that, in the mythology of all the pagan nations, in
Asia, many of the idols they worship, are the most monstrous and hideous
deformities imaginable. Ugliness, in every conceivable shape, is deified.
Secondly,--some of the ugliest of these deities are distinguished for their
obesity. Thirdly,--as an example of these, take _Ugnee_, the regent of
fire, among the Hindoos, who is represented as a very corpulent man, riding
on a goat, with copper colored eye brows, beard, hair and eyes. His
corpulency is held by the Brahmins, as an indication of his _benevolence_,
and his readiness to grant the desires of his worshippers. Fourthly,--among
the idols of China, some are described as monstrous figures, hideous to
behold. Among the number is _Gan_, who has a broad face, and a prodigious
great belly. Fifthly,--_Fottei_, who is sometimes called _Miroku_, one of
the best, and most prominent of the Japanese deities, is represented with
the same deformity, a huge distended belly. Another circumstance, not
inapposite to our purpose is this, that the worshippers of _Miroku_, in
Japan, expect to receive from his benevolent assistance, among other good
things, _health_, riches, and _children_.
Now, put these facts together, and associate with them the facts of the
existence of similar images of worship among the natives of America, and of
the reliance of those natives upon them for aid in times of sickness, and
will it not go far to prove a positive relationship between them and the
inhabitants of Hindostan, China, or Japan? I trust no one will presume to
dispute it, after the pains I have taken, and the learning and research I
have displayed in proving it. The problem of ages may be considered as
settled. It is no longer a vexed question.
The reader will be pleased to observe, that the Japanese god Miroku, is
expected to give to his votaries _health_ and _children_. Does not this
last circumstance bear with unanswerable weight and significancy, upon my
position; and prove, beyond the possibility of doubt or peradventure, that
the Aborigines of America, emigrated from Japan? The images which I have
discovered, and which form the subject of this erudite disquisition, are
worn, as I have before remarked, by the _women_ of America, in the time of
sickness. Now, it is an established fact, that, in all nations and in all
ages, the one great and laudable desire of woman is, that she may be
blessed with children. For this she suffers, and for this she prays. The
reliance, therefore, of the women of Japan and the women of America, upon
these ugly-looking, corpulent little demons, to assist them in attaining
this one prevalent, paramount desire, establishes the sameness of their
origin, and leaves no lingering doubt in my mind, and, of course, none in
the mind of the intelligent and candid reader, that, wherever the _men_ of
those almost exterminated races may have come from, they certainly brought
their _wives_ from Japan.
If it were desirable to go farther to prove my point, I might allude for
strong confirmation, to the fact, as laid down in an old writer, that the
Chinese claim to have discovered America, more than two hundred years
before Columbus attempted to cross the Atlantic. It was in the year 1270,
that China was overrun by the Tartars; and it is given out, that a body of
one hundred thousand inhabitants, refusing obedience to their new masters,
set sail, in one thousand ships, to find a new country, or perish in the
enterprise. The origin of Mexico is thus accounted for. And nothing is more
natural than to suppose, that, in making up so magnificent an expedition,
they would find some of their Japanese neighbors desirous to accompany
them.
In addition to this, the learned philologists, who have investigated the
languages of the Aboriginal nations, with a view to tracing their origin,
have found, in the names of places and things, many striking
correspondencies with the language of Japan. And Barton, one of our own
countrymen, has published a very elaborate treatise on the subject, in
which he undertakes, and, as he thinks, successfully, to prove, that the
language originally spoken in both the Americas, are radically one and the
same with those of the various nations, which are known by the general name
of Tartars.
Having got my hand in, and feeling somewhat encouraged by the singular
success of the above triumphant philosophical disquisition, I am strongly
tempted to trespass upon the patience of the reader, while I proceed to
inquire into the probable reasons why the worshippers of idols, who have
the choosing of their own gods, so generally delight in those of grotesque
and ugly shapes, and unseemly proportions. Since our fellow-creatures, even
our wives and our children, are loved and cherished in proportion as they
are rendered lovely to the sight by the graces of form, feature, complexion
and expression, how happens it that those objects of adoration, who are
supposed to preside over and control the interest and destinies of men, in
all their relations to each other, and the dearest objects of their
affections, should be clothed in forms of the most unnatural and disgusting
appearance? But I forbear.
I had passed several days among the ruins of Panuco. They were days of
unusual mental excitement, and bodily fatigue. There was enough around me
to occupy and interest me many days longer. But I was unprepared for the
investigation. I had gratified, but by no means satisfied, my curiosity;
and my attention was now necessarily turned from the sepulchres of the
dead, towards the dwellings of the living. I gathered up my little stock of
relics, consisting chiefly of idol images, found among the dilapidated
temples and dwellings of the departed, and, with no little difficulty,
conveyed them in safety to "the lady's room." Taking a last farewell of
this apartment, and of the friends who entertained me there, I betook
myself again to my canoe, bestowing my little demons carefully in the
bottom, and covering them, with my hammock, and other travelling apparatus.
The voyage down the river was as quiet and beautiful as can be conceived.
The greater part of it was performed at night, under favor of a full moon,
through fear of being surprised by the natives, who, in that event, either
from superstition or jealousy, would, no doubt, have deprived me of my
small collection of idols.
[Illustration: TRAVELLING BY NIGHT.]
I arrived at Tampico in the early part of April. Mine host of the French
Hotel was as ready to receive me, as on my first arrival in the city, and
his "accommodations" were equally inviting. The city was in a state of
considerable excitement, in consequence of the daily expectation of the
declaration of War by France. The Mexican Congress had, sometime before,
passed a law, forbidding any foreigner to carry on a retail business in
Mexico, after a certain specified time, on peril of confiscation. This law
deeply affected the interests of a considerable number of Frenchmen, who,
under the protection of the previous statutes, had established themselves
in the country, investing their little all in the retail business. It was,
in fact, a decree of banishment, without any alleged fault on their part,
and with the certain sacrifice of all their property.
The day arrived when the invidious law was to go into effect. The French
retailers, acting under instructions from their government, and a promise
of protection in any event, took a careful inventory of their goods, locked
up their stores, placed the keys, with the certified inventory, in the
hands of their Consuls, and waited the result. It was a quiet and dignified
movement on the part of France, a sort of silent defiance which could not
be misunderstood. But it was amusing to witness the different effects of
this state of things, upon the different classes of French residents. Some
of them, with an air of perfect nonchalance, as if fearing no power on
earth, and knowing no anxiety beyond the present moment, improved the
season as a holyday, a sort of carnival extraordinary, devoted to visiting,
dancing, and all kinds of sports. Others, of a more mercurial temperament,
blustered about the streets, flourishing their arms with the most violent
gesticulations, scowling fearfully, swearing huge oaths of vengeance, and
seemingly taking the entire affairs of the two nations into their own
hands. It was a windy war. And sure I am, if the Mexican rulers had seen
the fuming, and heard the sputtering of all these miniature volcanoes, they
would have felt the seat of power tremble beneath them.
The result of this movement proved, as thousands of similar movements have
done before, that "wisdom is better than weapons of war." The Mexicans were
completely _non-plus'd_. The offensive law was not violated in any case,
and they had no handle for a further act of oppression. The foreign
residents only stood on the defensive, and thus put the government in the
wrong. They felt their position, and made a precipitate retreat. After a
few days of awkward dalliance, they issued new instructions to the local
authorities, informing them that they had misinterpreted the law, and
misunderstood its purport. It was thus virtually abrogated, and the
business of foreigners has since been suffered to flow on in its ordinary
channels.
It is not, perhaps, quite as awkward a matter for a _nation_ to _back out_
from the position it has deliberately taken with reference to another, as
for an _individual_ to find himself compelled to do the same thing with
reference to his antagonist. The responsibility is divided among so
many--the body politic having no soul of its own--that there can be little,
if any, personal feeling in the matter. And patriotism, which is a personal
virtue wherever it exists, has generally so little to do with such
movements, that we leave it out of the question altogether. But, agreeable
or disagreeable, backing out is the only safe course, where the weak have
given offence to the strong. It is a position and a movement that poor,
divided, distracted Mexico, has become quite familiar with. And there is
good reason to apprehend that she will yet have more experience of the same
kind. Her present relations to the United States, and the ground she has
taken in reference to the independence and annexation of Texas, leave
little room for doubt, that she will, ere long, take another lesson in the
tactics of retreat. As long as private ends are to be promoted by it, or
the interests of a political clique advanced, so long she will bluster and
threaten. More than this she will never even attempt to do. For the most
selfish of her political leaders, and the most violent of her blustering
patriots, knows too much to stake his all, and the all of his country, upon
the cast of a die, which might, by possibility, turn up a war with the
United States.
The probability is, with regard to this very law, of which I have before
spoken, that it was never intended to go into full effect. It was a mere
money-getting experiment--a contrivance to levy black mail, in the name of
the state, upon the foreign residents. They took it for granted, while
passing the law, that the parties against whose interests it was aimed,
would at once propose to buy off, and that large bribes would be offered to
secure exemption from its effects. And the only chagrin they experienced,
in finding themselves out-generaled by a sagacious adversary, arose from
the necessity of relinquishing the expected booty.
But let me not longer detain the reader from his promised introduction to
the Talismanic Images, the ugly little divinities of the ancient dames of
Anahuac. _Ecce Dii Penates!_
[Illustration]