THE KNICKERBOCKER.
VOL. X. DECEMBER, 1837. NO. 6.
AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES.
NUMBER FOUR.
'KINGDOMS are shrunk to provinces, and chains
Clank over sceptred cities; nations melt
From power's high pinnacle, when they have felt
The sunshine for a while, and downward go.'
IN view of the reasons heretofore suggested, why it is improbable
that either the Egyptians, the Carthaginians, or the Romans, were the
first inhabitants of this continent, and why, from the present state
of our knowledge, no other distinct nation of people is entitled to
the exclusive reputation of having been the primitive discoverers
of America, the reader is very naturally led to inquire for the
evidences assigned by the advocates of particular theories for the
sources of their origin. These evidences, although important to the
antiquarian, cannot, from the brevity and popular mode proposed
by us in treating this subject, be critically stated. We have,
nevertheless, offered some reasons and inferences of our own, why
those evidences cannot be conclusive; and we would refer others to
our own or other means of information, should they feel disposed to
make farther investigations. However plausible the story of Votan
may have appeared, as testimony in point, the reader shall judge,
from a few facts which will be here noticed, whether even that has
much probability to support it. No one at least can deny the greater
safety of doubting, where there is no better proof, should he not,
with others, arrive at the ultimate conclusion, that the best
evidence of all may be in favor of the opinion that these people
originated where their relics are now found.
It has been said that the occasional resemblance observed among the
ruins of Tulteca to those of the Egyptians, Romans, etc, affords
no just grounds for attributing their origin to those nations, any
more than to others whose remaining arts they equally resemble.
Almost every ancient people might, in fact, from similar points of
resemblance, claim the same distinction. Beside the particulars
noticed in previous numbers, it might be mentioned, _en passant_,
that had the Tultecans been Egyptian, they would most certainly have
retained the language of Egypt, the signs, the worship, etc.; but
this was not the fact. Had they been Romans, they would likewise have
continued the language, the customs, and the religion of Romans;
yet this was not the case; and so it would have been, had they been
derived from any other nation. Above all, perhaps, would they have
borne a personal resemblance to their progenitors, a circumstance
far from truth. Religion, without doubt, is the last thing in which a
people becomes alienated; yet we see no cöincidence in this respect
between these people and their reputed originals. How then shall
we account for their origin, but by supposing them, _sui generis_,
Tultecans? Finally, it will be admitted, that unless the story of
Votan presents some clue by which to solve the problem--and we do not
see that it has even the claim of probability--we are not permitted,
by the facts in evidence, to attribute the first American population
to any other people of the earth.
The illustrious Fegjro, quoted as the best authority by the
very author of Votan's story, and himself as much interested in
propagating a theory favorable to popular Catholic opinions as any
one of his clerical brethren, says upon this subject: 'After long
study and attentive examination of so many and such various opinions,
I find no one having the necessary appearance of truth, to satisfy
a prudent judgment, and many that do not possess even the merit
of probability.' Again, Cabrera says: 'To the present period, no
_hypothesis_ has been advanced, that is sufficiently probable to
satisfy a mind sincerely and cautiously desirous of arriving at the
truth.' And yet this is the man who holds forth the story of Votan
as a true 'hypothesis.' It is plain, in all this writer says, by way
of comment, that he himself doubts the truth of the whole matter,
although he has pompously styled his treatise 'The Solution of the
Grand Historical Problem of the Population of America!' The bishop,
we will do him the justice to say, manifests much candor in speaking
of the conduct of his brotherhood toward the relics of the people
whose religion they had resolved to destroy. 'The injudicious and
total destruction of the annals and records of the American nations,'
says he, 'has not only proved a most serious loss to history, but
very prejudicial to _that religion_ whose progress it was supposed
would thereby have been accelerated.' He asserts what is very true,
in this; and also in his conclusion, that 'both in the means and the
object, this practice is too frequently the result of prejudice or
of ignorance.' Antonio Constantini, also cited as primary authority,
declares, that 'whatsoever may be advanced upon this subject does not
pass beyond the limit of mere opinion, as we have neither histories,
manuscripts, nor traditions of the Americans!' And with the design
farther to prevent all belief by posterity that their conquered
subjects, whose admirable relics and records they had destroyed,
possessed any knowledge of the arts, or the means of governing
themselves, he says, 'when they were discovered, they were ignorant
and uncultivated!' etc. Clavigero justly concludes, likewise, that
'the history of the primitive population of Anahuac, (Central
America,) is so obscure, and so much involved in fable, as to render
it not merely a most difficult matter for solution, but totally
impossible to come at the truth.' These and similar declarations of
the most accredited writers upon the early history of the inhabitants
of Central America, one would think quite conclusive. If there had
been other facts to be obtained, calculated to settle the question as
to the origin of the first Americans, these, or other writers would
have obtained them. Instead of this, however, they merely speak of
works which '_probably_' contained the facts announced as truth,
without ever having seen them themselves, or stating plainly that
they had, in reality, _any_ facts within their reach. Thus numerous
authors, whose means of information are _said_ to have been complete
on this subject, are mentioned by Cabrera; yet he professes to know
nothing beyond conjecture or hearsay of the contents of their works.
We will notice one or two instances, to show what confidence can be
placed upon his assertions and gratuitous inferences in relation to
Votan, and as samples of the whole.
After parading the titles of a great number of works, which may or
may not exist, so far as his own knowledge of their contents is
concerned, or perhaps that of any one else, he says: 'There is in the
Jesuits' College of Tepozotlan,' (preserving the same particularity,
as to titles, localities, dates, etc.,) 'a history of the voyages
of the Aztecas to the country of Anahuac, written by a noble Mestee
Mexican. The _title_ of this manuscript,' he continues, 'shows it to
be one of importance, as it _very probably_ contains an account of
the voyage of the Mexicans, who are the Aztecas, and of the primitive
families of the _Culebras_, (snakes) who, _I shall demonstrate_,
were from the old continent to the new, with an account of the first
empire they founded in America, its duration, and their _expulsion_
from the first settlements of Anahuac!' Again, after enumerating
a list of works, to which he would have the reader infer he has
had access, he says: 'The fourth is some historical memoirs of the
Tultecas, and other nations of Anahuac, all of which works _were_
preserved in the library of the college before-mentioned. _It is
probable_, that the last production treats of their coming from
the old to the new continent, of their _expulsion_ from the first
settlement at the city of Palenque, in the kingdom of Amaguemecan,
and the cause thereof,' etc. Thus there is, from beginning to end,
the same ambiguity, the same want of personal inspection, and yet the
same display of authority. How important such works would have been
to him and to the world, had they existed, in satisfactorily settling
this question! The author of Votan's account does not seem to have
known a solitary fact himself, which bears upon the subject matter of
his story, though he proposes to '_demonstrate_,' etc. The several
representations, of a mysterious character, which he has so wofully
distorted to an agreement with the said story, mean and represent, in
fact, any thing else than the incidents of that story; indeed, this
is the lamest part of the fabrication. Truly unfortunate is it for
all the materials concerned in the case, 'that they were,' to use his
own language, '_unfortunately_ lost;' 'did not appear, in consequence
of his death,' etc., 'very probably,' so and so. Again he says: 'It
is to be regretted, that the place is _unknown_ where these _precious
documents_ of history were deposited, but still more that the _great
treasure_ should have been _destroyed_!' And, in the next paragraph
he says: '_It is possible_ that Votan's historical tract, _alluded_
to by Nunez de la Vega'--for he is indebted, after all, for the sum
total of this now simple _historical tract_, to the _allusions_ of
some unknown writer--'or _another_,' he says, '_similar_ to it, _may
be_ the one now in the possession of Don Ramon de Ordonez y Aguiar,'
(though before pronounced to have been destroyed!) So much for the
proof of this story, good, bad, or indifferent. To have continued out
these observations, we could have more clearly shown its folly and
untruth; but, though necessary to satisfy the mind of the curious on
so important a subject, yet we would avoid unnecessary minutia, and
deem what has already been stated, quite sufficient to establish our
position.
Now for the story itself. This, he says, was 'communicated' to him by
some 'valuable notices,' (how, we are left entirely to conjecture,)
'by the above writer,' (Aguiar,) 'who' he says, 'is engaged at this
time in composing a work, the _title_ of which I have seen!' The said
title is '_Historia del Cielo y de la Tierra_!' (History of Heaven
and Earth!) 'that will not only embrace the original population of
America, but trace its progress from Chaldea, immediately after the
confusion of tongues, its mystical and moral theology, its mythology,
and most important events!' Such a work we should be glad to see,
and so would all the world beside; but 'unfortunately' it has never
appeared, though 'this time' spoken of, was more than forty years
ago! The title of the work, and the abilities which he ascribes to
its author, he says, 'lead us to anticipate a work so perfect in its
kind as will completely astonish the world!' Let the reader notice
the agreement between this source of 'communicated' information, and
that 'alluded to' by Nunez de la Vega. 'The memoir in his possession,
(Aguiar's) consists,' he continues, 'of five or six folios of common
quarto paper, written in ordinary characters in the Tzendal language;
an evident proof,' he farther adds, 'of its having been copied from
the original in hieroglyphics, shortly after the conquest.' We do
not see, in this circumstance, the 'evident proof mentioned, or 'the
shadow, thereof;' but this is in keeping with all his 'proofs.'
The tract is then stated to go on by means of a painted description,
on the first leaf, in different colors, of the two continents. This
is declared to be characterized by the letters _s_ and _ss_, with
works which _he_ made, (Votan, it is supposed,) signifying on the
margin, the places he had visited on the old continent. Between
these squares stands the title of his history, viz: 'Proof that I
am Culebra,' (a snake) which title he proves in the body of his
work, by saying, that he is Culebra, _because_ he is Chivim.' This
is 'demonstration,' of course! He then states that _he_ conducted
seven families from Valum Votan to this continent, so says Cabrera,
and assigned lands to them; that _he_ is the third of the Votans;
that having determined to travel until he arrived at the root of
heaven! (who can tell where the _root_ of heaven is, and what road
should be taken to get there?) in order to discover his relations,
the Culebras, and make himself known to them; (mark, his relations
in America,) he made four voyages to Chivim, which is expressed by
repeating four times from Valum Votan to Valum Chivim, from Valum
Chivim to Valum Votan; that he arrived in Spain, and that he went
to Rome; that he saw the great house of God building; that he went
by the _road_ which his brethren Culebras had bored; that he marked
it, and that he passed by the houses of the thirteen Culebras. He
relates that, in returning from one of his voyages, he found seven
families of the Tzequil nation, who had joined the first inhabitants,
and recognised in them the same origin as his own, that is, of the
Culebras. He _speaks_ of the place where they built their first town,
which from its founders received the name of Tzequil. He affirms that
he taught them refinement of manners in the use of table-cloths,
dishes, basins, cups, and napkins; that, in return for these, they
taught him knowledge of God, and of his worship, his _first_ ideas of
a king, and obedience to him, and that he was chosen captain of all
the united families!
Having announced all this badinage from a work not read nor even
written, with as much confidence as if he had seen the narrated
circumstances, he says: 'Let us now follow the progress of this
celebrated chief of the first inhabitants of the American continent!'
He then goes into the descriptions of Del Rio, and his ingenious
but labored and wordy commentaries. How much there may be to
'demonstrate' with these premises, we shall not undertake to prove;
but it would excite a smile in the reader, to notice with what
avidity he seizes hold of the supposed hieroglyphical drawings of
the before-mentioned explorer, and explains what they mean, from the
wonderful light thrown in his path by the _title_ of a work not then,
nor yet now, written, and also from the 'allusions' of some reputed
writer, unknown even to himself!
What the curious specimens of sculpture and of phonetic
representation, before referred to, actually mean, is alike unknown
to all inquirers, notwithstanding Bishop Cabrera's commentaries.
The 'historical treasure' respecting Votan's Voyages, etc., is
represented by the author first mentioned, viz. Vega, among other
historical manuscripts, to state, or rather _he_ states _for_ Votan,
that 'Votan is the third gentile placed in the calendar; that he
wrote an historical tract in the Indian idiom, wherein he mentions
by name the people with whom, and the places where, he had been.
Up to the present time,' says he, 'there has existed a family of
the Votan's in Teopizca.' He says, also, that 'he is lord of the
Tapanahuasec; that he (Votan) saw the great house,' meaning, as the
writer says, the Tower of Babel, 'which was built by order of his
grand-father, Noah! from the earth to the sky; that he is the first
man who had been sent hither to divide and portion out these Indian
lands.' (How came the Indian here so soon after his grand-father
Noah's flood?) We had thought himself and his seven families were
the first; and that, at the place where he saw the great house, (the
Tower of Babel,) a different language was spoken!' This 'historical
tract,' so invulnerable to the effects of time, under the varied
circumstances to which, 'it is very probable,' it had been exposed,
was indeed a treasure; but the venerable prelate, not having the fear
of antiquity before his eyes, and intent only on destroying all 'the
means of confirming more strongly an idolatrous superstition,' says,
'he did give them up, when they were publicly burned in the square at
Heuguetan, on our visit to that place in 1691!' (One hundred years
before Cabrera wrote.) The Indian tradition of this treasure, says
Cabrera, though he omits any reference to authority, 'was, that it
was placed by _himself_ (Votan,) as a _proof_ of his origin, and a
memorial for future ages, in the _casa cabrega_, 'house of darkness,
that he had _built in a breath_!' He committed this deposite to a
distinguished female, and a certain number of plebeian Indians,
appointed annually for the purpose of its safe custody. His mandate
was scrupulously observed by the people of Tacoaloya, in the province
of Socanusco, where it was guarded with extraordinary care, until,
being discovered by the prelate before-mentioned, he obtained and
destroyed it.
'It 'consisted,' observes Vega, who now speaks for himself, 'of
some large earthen vases, of one piece, and closed with covers of
the same material, on which were represented, in stone, the figures
of the ancient Pagans, whose names are in the calendar, with some
Chalchihnites, which are solid, hard stones, of a green color,
and other superstitious figures!' All this looks a good deal like
a 'historical tract,' as Cabrera calls these earthen pots, etc.
These 'historical treasures' were taken from a cave by the Indian
lady herself!' Quite an accommodating and antique-looking lady, we
imagine, having held in charge the venerable relics from the time
of Votan, the grandson of Noah, according to the document itself,
until delivered in person to the trusty and veracious bishop, and by
him burned as aforesaid! This, then, is the whole of the story of
Votan! Forbid, Muse of History! that we should weaken or destroy one
syllable of the description, or a jot of its meaning--its force or
probability!
The pious bishop, it should be said, in proof of his blind devotion,
whatever may be thought of his acts by liberal-minded men, faithfully
expressed his reckless bigotry and wild fanaticism, by destroying
all the valuable remains of the Tultecan people, 'lest,' as he
says, 'by being brought into notice, they should be the means of
confirming more strongly an idolatrous superstition!' History weeps
over the ruins created by such mad and superstitious zealots; and
no where with more reason than in Central America. The history of
man is, indeed, but a record of persecution for opinion's sake, the
result only of peculiar yet mainly unavoidable circumstances; and
that record is black with deeds of shame and bloodshed. Poor human
Nature!--we could almost wish that oblivion had hidden for ever thy
acts from posterity!
Having, as we presume, satisfied the curious in respect to the
foundation of the 'hypothesis' for peopling America, as proposed by
the story of Votan, we shall next notice some interesting particulars
in the early history of the Tultiques, which may shed light upon
our inquiries. After this, we shall describe other and not less
remarkable ruins of ancient time, in the various provinces of Central
America; notice their connection with the relics and people of North
America, the singular works of art, and the primitive inhabitants of
portions of this country.
The Tultecan people, or Chiapanese, being the original inhabitants
of America, and having quietly dwelt within the central provinces
before-mentioned for an unknown period of time, all intelligence
respecting them--if, in fact, we have any thing on which to
rely, save the remains of their magnificent arts--is completely
disconnected from all other people prior to the destruction of their
capital. At what period this occurred, we are equally ignorant,
notwithstanding the assurance with which some have given dates,
and attempted to establish epocha in the history of the primitive
American people. It is certain that the evidences of their antiquity
are coëval at least with the most ancient of the human family.
Tradition, at best, is a very uncertain guide for the antiquarian;
that, therefore, of the grandson of Noah coming 'from the north' to
people this continent by express command of God, may be regarded as
hypothetical. Still, if the first Americans were to be considered the
immediate descendants of Noah, the ruins of Central America might be
aptly compared with the date at which the deluge and the dispersion
at the Tower of Babel are reported to have occurred. Votan, according
to this tradition, is said to have been one of those who built the
great tower, which was to reach to heaven, that he was selected from
among those which tradition likewise made to attempt building so high
a structure, and that he was commanded to travel 'off north,' with
a colony of the people, for the purpose of inhabiting this unknown
land. How he and his colony got here by travelling north, we shall
not attempt to explain, and particularly with a trackless sea, of
three thousand miles in extent, intervening. This colony, it is
said, also divided on their arrival at _Soconusco_, South America, a
part remaining in the province of Chiapa, and the others proceeding
on to Nicaragua. But from what we have already stated, this colony
consisted, according to Votan's records, of only seven families;
each colony, therefore, comprised three whole families! The form
of government of this people thereafter, until they numbered many
millions, was vested in two military chiefs, chosen by the priests.
So says tradition.
Humboldt thinks that there existed other people in Mexico, previous
to the arrival of the Toultecs, the date of whose appearance in
Mexico he has put down at 648, of the Christian era. It matters not
by what name the people who first inhabited America are called; nor
does this writer name the people he supposes to have preceded the
Toultecs. We have called the primitive inhabitants _Tultecans_; and
we are justified by the best authorities, certainly by the most
numerous, in giving them this appellation. But we think Humboldt was
mistaken in the antiquity of the Tultiques. The date assigned by
him for their appearance may have been when they were driven by the
northern nations of Chicemecks, or perhaps by the Olmecas, from their
ancient city, and forced to mingle with the other nations that about
that time made their appearance in Mexico, from the north. It is
possible that the dates given by writers, and purporting to have been
derived from the hieroglyphic paintings of the ancient inhabitants,
may have some truth for their bases; but these, liable as they were
to misinterpretation, have induced writers to come to the conclusion,
that no certainty exists in the dates which have been given for the
population of Central America. Whether the inhabitants of Palenque,
the famous ruins of which we have noticed, are the _Toultecs_ known
at a subsequent period, or whether the name of that people is 'past
finding out,' our means do not allow us to determine at present. That
they had a different name, prior to the appearance of the Toultecs
in 596 of Clavigero, or 548 of Humboldt, may be admitted. Still,
it is not improbable that they may have left their country in 544,
as thought by some, arrived in the valley of Mexico in 648, and
founded the city of Tula in 670; but to suppose that this people
afterward reared the monuments we have before mentioned, is not at
all probable; on the contrary, the period of their origin supposed
by the 'hypothesis' already mentioned and some three thousand years
since, would be altogether more in accordance with their ruins. The
Tultiques were evidently the first people known in Mexican history;
but from whence they came, and the date of their first establishment
in Central America, is unknown. Humboldt himself says, 'We do not
know on what authority these dates are founded.' We shall speak
of the people here mentioned as the _Toultecs_, and as entirely
distinct from the ancient inhabitants of Palenque, though we have
designated the latter by a similar name, for the sake of preserving
cöincidence with others. All must be agreed, in accordance with our
statement, and with Humboldt, that a people existed in Anahuac long
previous to the appearance of these Toultecs we now speak of, though
this distinguished traveller had no knowledge of the great ruins of
Palenque.
The history of the Toultecs, like that of all the nations which
have subsequently peopled Central America, is involved in fable.
It is said, however, that their history relates that they were
banished from their own country of _Huehuetapallan_, in their year
1, (Teepatl,) which is likewise said to correspond with our year
596; that proceeding southerly, under the direction of their chiefs,
they arrived, after sojourning at various places on the way, for
the space of one hundred and twenty-four years, on the banks of a
river, where they built a city, and called it Tollan, or Tula, which,
as Clavigero thinks, was the name of the kingdom they had left,
situated north-west of Mexico. This then was the oldest, as it was
one of the most celebrated cities in the history of Mexico, and the
capital of the Toultec kingdom. This kingdom lasted three hundred
and eighty-four years, which was divided into cycles of fifty-two
years each; and each cycle was occupied by the reign of one king.
Seven kings had thus ruled the people, when, during the twenty-eighth
year of the reign of the eighth monarch, the nation was destroyed
by a pestilence. If a monarch died during one of these cycles, the
government was administered by the nobles. Tradition, as well also
as the paintings of this people, beside Tollan and Huehuetapallan,
mention _Aztlan_ as their first residence. This fact, in connection
with the remaining arts of a numerous and highly civilized people,
now found in Wisconsin Territory, and near St. Louis, Missouri, have
given rise to the opinion that there was their first residence. It
has been contended that the Castine Ground, in the vicinity of that
city, was the identical Aztlan of the wandering Toultec nation. We
shall hereafter refer to the facts which induced us to announce in
our first numbers that a connection existed between the inhabitants
of Mexico and the original people of the western valleys of the
United States.
The Toultecs, as has already been said, exhibited a high state of
civilization, and an astonishing knowledge of the arts and sciences,
at the earliest periods of their history. Their government was the
most permanent, efficient, and happy; and to them have all succeeding
nations acknowledged their indebtedness for their knowledge of the
arts, and of agriculture. They were familiar with the working of
metals, cutting gems, with hieroglyphical paintings, etc.; and in
their divisions of time, they were much more perfect than the Greeks
or Romans. 'But where,' inquires a distinguished writer, 'is the
source of that cultivation? Where is the country from which the
Toultecs and Mexicans issued?' If we have no evidence that they came
from the United States, nor from Asia, is not the query solved, by
supposing that they were the Palencians? dispersed by the pestilence
which deprived them of their eighth and last monarch, with the bulk
of the Toultec people. The magnificent arts still presented to the
curious traveller in Mexico, are the work of this people, and they
exhibit a degree of skill, industry, and intellect, which astonish
those of our times. But they differed from all others in these
arts. Where then shall we find their analogue? Did they come from
China, as De Guignes would prove from the Chinese annals, subsequent
to 458? Horn, in his 'De Originibus Americanis,' and M. Scherver,
would make this by no means difficult, nay, extremely probable.
They 'might have been a part of those Hiongnoux, who, according to
the Chinese historians, emigrated under Punon, and were lost in the
north of Siberia; or, were they the Indians of North America? The
pastoral character of the Toultecs resembled that of the Asiatics,
and their arts those of Egypt; but they cultivated no other gramina
than maize, while the Asiatic tribes cultivated various cereal
gramina, at the earliest periods of their history. To the Chinese,
and particularly the Japanese, they bore a striking similarity, so
far as regards the state of civilization; yet, in their facial and
cranial characteristics, they differed materially. On the whole, it
is much more reasonable to suppose that the people of whom we are now
speaking, were of the Mongol race, than that the Palencians were any
particular race now known.
Whether the last mentioned people, after their dispersion from their
great capital in the province of Chiapa, were or were not the nucleus
around which the many distinct tribes that afterward constituted the
people of the great Mexican empire, all our inquiries are unable
clearly to establish; still, there are strong evidences in favor of
that opinion. Hence the name Tultecan, by which we have designated
the primeval inhabitants of this continent, and the authors of
the extensive arts, the ruins of which have been noticed, may be
identical with the _Toultecs_. All agree that there was a race of
people existing for an unknown period of time in Central America
before the Toultecs, the Aztecs, or the Chichimecas appeared in
the beautiful Mexican valley. This agreement, in connection with
the antique relics found on the site of the famous Palencian city,
and the indisputable evidences of the superior knowledge of the
ancient Palenquans, renders the conclusion to which we have arrived
inevitable.
It is also extremely probable, from the analogy observed among the
arts of succeeding inhabitants of Mexico, the similarity of their
manners and customs, and their knowledge of the arts and sciences,
in which the original Tultecans were so highly distinguished, that
a part of the latter people, after the destruction of their great
capital, was united with the former. This probability, though
unnoticed by writers upon the early inhabitants of Mexico, amounts,
in our mind, to conviction. It forms a basis to the only conclusion
which presents itself in attempting to explain the origin of the
extraordinary arts now found throughout the Mexican valley, and in
other parts of that once extensive empire. The inference is not less
conclusive in relation to the people with whom the original Tultiques
became united, and with whom they in part constituted the subsequent
great nation of Mexicans. This people were clearly the previous
inhabitants of our own western states. Their arts are distinctly
traced from Wisconsin and Missouri Territories, all the way into the
valley of Mexico. Among those which now characterize that valley,
are to be seen numerous specimens so closely resembling the relics
of the United States, that no other inference can be drawn from the
fact, than that they were the work of the same people. Still, it
will be observed that others exist in Mexico, which as plainly show
the existence of a distinct and peculiar class of men. The most
remarkable of these are found among the ruins of Palenque, Copan, and
at other places in the province of Chiapa, Yucatan, and Guatemala.
Others again exist, scattered throughout both Peru and Mexico, among
the Pacific Islands, and west of the Rocky Mountains, which differ in
many striking particulars from those of this country, from those of
Palenque, and among themselves. This is strongly in evidence of the
historical fact, that the ancient Mexicans were composed of numerous
and very different tribes of people. That various tribes have also
dwelt in our western valleys, is quite certain; and that our whole
country has, at remote periods, been the theatre of strange events,
and the residence of peculiar people, cannot admit of doubt. While
some of that people were unacquainted with the use of metals, others
must have possessed a very good knowledge of them, and withal the
mode of working them. A well-finished steel bow, found in one of
the western tumuli, and the scoria, evidently the product of forges
discovered among the works which have been left by some previous
inhabitants of the Ohio valley, are among the proofs of this fact.
Hieroglyphical writing, long a desideratum among the remains of the
primitive inhabitants of the United States, has also been discovered.
Descriptive paintings similar to those executed by the Mexicans, may
in like manner have been left by this people, but they would have
disappeared, had they been so left, from the effects of time. No
stone edifices resembling those of Mexico have however been found
among us; no piles of rude masonry, stone fortifications, bridges,
viaducts, etc., as at Palenque and other places. There are some
traces, if recent accounts be true, of tumuli and walls in this
country, which were built in part of burnt bricks, not unlike those
with which the great pyramid of Chollula was built; yet there are
none in the same style and magnificence. Enough, however has been
noticed, among the ancient arts of this country, to satisfy us that
our primitive inhabitants may have been among the builders of that
stupendous structure. The same form may now be noticed in a tumulus
near Cincinnati. Others have been destroyed, which had the same
pyramidal form, with regular off-sets. On the tops of these, and
particularly those of a large size, it has been conjectured that
structures similar to those of Mexico were built. The one ruthlessly
destroyed at Circleville, Ohio, affords strong evidences of its
having been devoted to the worship of the sun, and to the offering
of human sacrifices. But more of this anon. Subsequent remarks will
tend to show, when we shall have furnished other particulars of
newly-discovered ruins in Central America, how far those of our own
country agree with the ancient arts of Mexico.
THE ENCAGED BIRD TO HIS MISTRESS.
LADY, sweet lady! let me go,
To breathe again my native air;
Where mountain streams unfetter'd flow,
And wild flowers in profusion bear;
Where mingled notes of feather'd throng
Pour forth their free, harmonious song,
In praise to Him who bids them fly,
Bound only by the lofty sky:
I pine! I pine! to stretch my wings,
And feel the sun's enlivening glow--
To join the lay the free-bird sings;
Kind lady! let thy prisoner go!
Long have I cheer'd this summer bower,
Where oft thy fairy footstep treads;
Beguiled for thee the tedious hour,
And chased the tear that sorrow sheds:
Or, when beneath these clustering vines,
Thy lovely form for rest reclines,
I charm thy spirit still, in dreams,
Wakening by music heavenly themes.
And, lady, thou hast charms that win
Even the bird encaged to love;
Without so fair, sure all within,
To meek compassion's touch must move.
Yes, thou art fair; but those blue eyes
Are not to me the azure heaven;
Nor is the food thy hand supplies,
And in such rich abundance given,
Sweet as the crumbs by labor earn'd,
Ere I of luxury had learn'd;
Nor is this splendid cage a home
Worth the free woods I long to roam:
Think'st me ungrateful for thy care--
That all thy fondness I forget?
No! songs my warmest thanks shall bear;
But, lady, I'm thy prisoner yet!
Say, is there not some kindred-one,
Absence from whom 'tis pain to bear--
And thus, when thou art here alone,
So often falls the pearly tear?
Lady, I too had once a mate,
When freedom was my happy state;
And for that mate I yet do pine,
And sorrow oft at day's decline:
God hath ordain'd that nought which lives
Should live alone, far from its kind;
Not only man the bliss receives,
Which he in fellowship doth find.
Birds of the air are paired above,
By Him who hears the raven's cry;
And shall man break the bonds of love
'Twixt harmless songsters of the sky?
No! let the little life we live
Enjoy the sweets that God doth give;
Unshackled sail the ambient air,
And carol forth our music there.
And thus, by thine own freedom blest--
By all the kindness thou canst show,
And by the love that heaves thy breast,
Lady, sweet lady! let me go!
_Cedar-Brook, Plainfield, (N. J.), 1837._ E. C. S.
THE SOUL'S TRUST.
'WHY art thou cast down, O my soul, and why art thou disquieted
within me? Hope thou in GOD; for I shall yet praise HIM, who is
the health of my countenance and my GOD.'
PSALMS.
THOUGH troubles assail me, and dangers surround,
Though thorns in my pathway may ever be found,
Still let me not fear, for thou ever wilt be
My God and my guide, while I lean upon thee.
The sweet buds of promise may fade ere they bloom,
The hopes which are earth-born, lie low in the tomb;
And though my life's pathway seem weary to me,
I shall gather new strength, as I lean upon thee.
Though bound to the world by the heart's dearest ties,
Though earth's fairest scenes are outspread to my eyes,
Oh never, my Father! permit me to be
Found trusting to reeds--let me lean upon thee.
And in that dread hour when my aw'd soul may stay
No longer on earth, but is summon'd away--
Amid those great scenes which no mortal may see,
Let me know naught of fear, as I lean upon thee!
G. P. T.
MR. AND MRS. TOMPKINS.
A SIMPLE TALE.[1]
BY THE LATE ROBERT C. SANDS, ESQ., AUTHOR OF 'YAMOYDEN,' ETC.
IN a certain village--pleasant enough to behold, as you ride or
walk through it, but abominably unpleasant to remain in, on account
of the unconquerable propensity of its inhabitants for scandal and
tittle-tattle, which prevails to a degree infectious even among
decent people--in this village, about ten years ago, a man and his
wife, of plain appearance, both in person and dress, came to reside,
having the fear of God before their eyes; and in that fear, I trust,
they died. But they were the subjects of much speculation; and the
presidential question has not, to my certain knowledge, called forth
so much original argumentation among the people of that village,
as did the arrival of this couple; unpretending, unquaint, and
inoffensive as they were.
They came in a stage, with but small incumbrance of luggage for
persons who meant to remain in one place for any long time; and
according to an arrangement previously made, took up their quarters
in the house of a respectable widow, whose modest mansion afforded
to them the only room they wanted, and whose modest circumstances
made their coming to board with her, in that single room, a decided
convenience.
The fact being ascertained, in an hour's time, throughout the
village, that the widow Wilkins had got two boarders who were to
occupy her spare room, it became a subject of conversation at the
post-office, the tavern, the grocery, the prayer-meeting, and in
every domestic circle. But nobody was able, that evening, to throw
light upon the question of who the new comers were; and conjecture
was left free to range through the mazes of its own world of
imagination.
Three ladies, a widow, a widow bewitched, and a middle-aged single
woman, namely, Mrs. Steele, Mrs. Hawkins, and Miss Cross, had gone
immediately, on observing that the stage had dropped two passengers
with the widow, to ascertain who they were, where they came from,
what they had in view, and whither they were going next. All the
information, however, that Mrs. Steele, Mrs. Hawkins, and Miss Cross
had been enabled to obtain, (albeit they would have wormed the one
secret which a man ought to keep from his wife out of him, after
the Holy Inquisition had given him up in despair,) was, that Mrs.
Wilkins had taken a man and his wife to board at her house; and that
their name was Tompkins. They had retired to their own apartment,
and had not been seen by the respectable triad; yet Miss Cross said,
she thought from the looks of an old pair of boots, which were
tied to one of Mr. Tompkins's trunks, which was standing in the
entry, that 'they were no great shakes.' As to this point she had
a right also to speak her opinion, seeing that her father had been
a respectable retail shoe-maker. So, therefore, the report of Mrs.
Steele, Mrs. Hawkins, and Miss Cross, did but whet the curiosity
of the congregation as to the private history, present estate, and
future prospects of poor Mr. Tompkins and his wife. Many supposed
that his name was assumed for the occasion. So many, they urged,
were indicted or sued, who had such an alias, that he must have
broken out of the state prison, or run away and left his bail in the
lurch. An inveterate reader of all the newspapers observed, that
a Mr. Tompkins was advertised as having left his wife without any
means of subsistence, who would pay no debts contracted by him. It
was probable that he had a female partner of his flight; and the
circumstance of his coming in such a clandestine way to the house of
the widow Wilkins, was certainly a singular coincidence. It would
be endless, and scarcely amusing, to mention all the suppositions
broached on the subject. One, which was quite popular, was, that this
Mr. Tompkins must be the man who had been hanged in Alabama some
months before, and who, it was rumored, had been resuscitated.
The most speculatively benevolent hoped that these people would
be able to pay their board to the widow, as she was a good sort
of woman, though none of the wisest, and could not afford to lose
it. The most scrupulously decorous hoped this couple were actually
married, and had not come to bring disgrace into Mrs. Wilkins's
house, as she had always passed for an honest woman, as had her
mother before her, though there had been some strange stories about
her aunt and the Yankee doctor.
The next morning, after breakfast, Mr. Tompkins came forth from the
widow's house, and walked through the village to the barber's shop.
His gait was that of a grave gentleman who has passed the meridian
of life, and has nothing to excite him immediately to unnecessary
action. There was nothing in his manner that was at all singular,
nor was there even the inquisitive expression in his countenance,
which would be natural in that of an entire stranger in the place. He
walked as a man walks who is going over ground he has trodden all his
life, in the usual routine of his occupations. His clothes were plain
black, cut after no particular fashion or fancy, but such as old
gentlemen generally wear. His walking-stick was plain, with a horn
handle. He wore apparently no ornaments, not even a watch. Those whom
he met in the street, or passed as they stood in their doors, looked
hard and sharply at him; but he neither evaded nor responded to their
glances of interrogation.
The barber who shaved him, extracted from him the facts that he
had come last from York city, where there was no news; and that he
meant to stay for some time in the village. After leaving him in
possession of this valuable information, Mr. Tompkins sallied forth,
and strayed, at the same leisurely pace, up a hill, the summit
of which commanded a picturesque view of the village, and of the
adjacent country. The barber observed something like a cicatrix, in a
rather suspicious part of his neck, but he did not feel justified in
pronouncing an opinion as to whether he had ever been actually hanged
or not.
In the mean time, or not long after, Mrs. Steele, Mrs. Hawkins, and
Miss Cross, paid a visit to the widow, to tell her not to forget
to come to a charitable sewing society that afternoon, and to make
another effort to relieve their minds about the case of poor Mrs.
Tompkins. They found the latter lady sitting with her hostess. She
was knitting cotton stockings. She was a plain middle-aged woman,
forty years old or upward, attired in a dark-colored silk dress, with
a cambric ruff and cap, not exactly like those worn by the straitest
sects of Methodists and Friends, but without any ornament. An
introduction having been effected, the ingenuity of the three ladies
was immediately exercised in framing interrogatories to the stranger.
She was civil, amiable, and apparently devoid of art or mystery;
but never was there a more unsuccessful examination, conducted
with so much ability on the part of the catechists, and so much
seeming simplicity in the witness. Without resorting to downright
impertinence, these ladies could extract no more from Mrs. Tompkins,
than that she had come with her husband last from New-York, where
they had left no family nor connexions, and that they meant to spend
some time in the village.
'Had she always lived in New-York?'
'No--she had travelled a great deal.'
'Was it her native place?'
'No--she was born at sea.'
'Had her husband been long settled in New-York?'
'No--he had lived there some time,' etc., etc., etc.
With this highly unsatisfactory result, the fair inquisitors were
compelled to return from their mission. Something, however, in the
placid manner of Mrs. Tompkins, had produced an influence upon them
which counteracted the natural effects of the irritability arising
from ungratified curiosity. Their hypotheses in relation to her were
by no means so uncharitable as might have been expected. Mrs. Steele
actually maintained that she believed her to be Mrs. Fry, travelling
incog. through the United States. Mrs. Hawkins had no doubt it was
Dorothy Ripley, a woman who had a call to straggle through the
country, vending her religious experience; and that her escort was
no less a personage than Johnny Edwards, a lay enthusiast of great
notoriety. Miss Cross, the least complimentary in her conjectures,
supposed it was Mrs. Royal, a travelling authoress, and bugbear to
book-sellers and editors.
After a walk of two hours or more, Mr. Tompkins returned from his
perambulations, and stopped in at the tavern or stage-house, where
he seated himself in an unobtrusive place, and began to read the
newspapers. He perused these budgets of literature systematically
and thoroughly; and the anxious expectant of the reversion of any
particular journal he had in hand, waited in vain for him to lay
it down. When he had finished one broad-side, and the fidgetty
seeker after the latest news had half thrust forth his hand to
grasp the prize, Mr. Tompkins, gently heaving a complacent sigh,
turned over the folio, and began to read the next page with the
same quiet fixedness of attention, and unequivocally expressed
purpose of suffering nothing it contained to escape his attention.
It thus took him about two hours to finish his prelection of one of
the issues of that great moral engine, as it is called, by whose
emanations the people of this country are made so wise and happy.
Advertisements and all he read, except poetry, which he seemed to
skip conscientiously, generally uttering an interjection, not of
admiration. Notwithstanding he thus tried the patience of those who
wanted a share of periodical light, he was so quiet and respectable
a looking man, that not even a highwayman, or a highwayman's horse
(supposing that respectable beast to be entitled to its proverbial
character for assurance,) would have attempted to take the paper away
from him by violence. His person was in nobody's way. His elbows and
knees were kept in; and there was no quarrelling with his shoe or his
shoe-tie. There was a _simplex munditiis_--a neat-but-not-gaudiness
about him, which every body understood without understanding Latin.
When he had apparently exhausted the contents of all the periodicals
that lay on the bar-room table, just as the village clock struck one,
Mr. Tompkins asked for a glass of cider, which he drank and departed.
I need make no apology to an intelligent reader for a detail of these
minute particulars; because they engrossed the attention of many at
the time, and were severally the subjects of conflicting hypotheses.
And beside, the history of his first day's residence was so exactly
that of every other which followed, that it is expedient to be
particular in recording it.
He returned then to his lodgings, and after dinner was seen sitting
in the porch of the widow's house, smoking a cigar, and reading in
an ancient-looking volume. Toward sundown he again walked forth,
with his wife (if wife she was) under his arm; and they strolled to
some distance through the lanes and among the fields adjacent to
the village. Thence they returned at tea-time, and at an early hour
retired to their apartment.