Hubert Howe Bancroft
The Native Races [of the Pacific states], Volume 5, Primitive History The Works of Hubert Howe Bancroft, Volume 5

PREFACE TO VOLUME V

This volume concludes the Native Races of the Pacific States. During the year in which it has been going through the press, I have received letters of encouragement from the most eminent scholars of Europe and America, and flattering commendations from learned societies. None but an author can know the value of such cheering words. This, my first attempt, was made in a new field; the scope of the work was very extensive; the system and machinery by which alone it could be accomplished were untried; and the subject was not one of great popular interest. It was not, therefore, without misgivings that I sent it forth.

That the work had been so planned as to embody practically all information extant on what I had come to regard as an important subject, and that the plan had been faithfully executed, I thoroughly believed. But that others would, to any great extent, share my opinion; that the subject would interest so many classes of readers; that mine would be so quickly and cordially recognized by men of science and letters throughout the world as a work worth doing and well done; and that it would be at once accorded a place in literature, I had not dared to hope. The leading journals of England, France, Germany, and the United States, have deemed the volumes as issued worthy of extended reviews; and criticism for the most part has been liberal, and just – save a tendency to what might seem, to a mind less prejudiced than mine, extravagant praise. Minor defects have been fairly pointed out; and in the few instances where fault has been found, either with the plan or its execution, one critic condemns what another approves, so that I am led to believe no serious error of judgment has been committed.

I cannot here make proper acknowledgments to all to whom they are due; but let those who have manifested their kind good-will, and those who have not, so long as they feel it, accept my grateful thanks.

San Francisco, November, 1875.

CHAPTER I.
ON THE ORIGIN OF THE AMERICANS

Spirit of Inquiry in the Middle Ages – Unity of Origin – Flood Myths – Aboriginal Traditions of Origin – Culture-Heroes – China – Japan – Hindostan – Tartary – The Egyptian Theory – The Phœnicians – Votan's Travels – The Carthaginians – The Hebrew Theory – The Mormon Story – The Visits of the Scandinavians – Celtic Origin – The Welsh – Scotch – Irish – The Greeks and Romans – The Story of Atlantis – the Autochthonic Theory.

When it first became known to Europe that a new continent had been discovered, the wise men, philosophers, and especially the learned ecclesiastics, were sorely perplexed to account for such a discovery. A problem was placed before them, the solution of which was not to be found in the records of the ancients. On the contrary, it looked as if old-time traditions must give way, the infallibility of revealed knowledge must be called in question, even the holy scriptures must be interpreted anew. Another world, upheaved, as it were, from the depths of the Sea of Darkness, was suddenly placed before them. Strange races, speaking strange tongues, peopled the new land; curious plants covered its surface; animals unknown to science roamed through its immense forests; vast seas separated it from the known world; its boundaries were undefined; its whole character veiled in obscurity. Such was the mystery that, without rule or precedent, they were now required to fathom.

And what were their qualifications to grapple with such a subject? Learning had been almost exclusively the property of the Church, and although from its fold many able writers and profound thinkers had been evolved, yet the teachings of science and the speculations of philosophy were ever held subordinate to the holy scriptures. Now and then it is true some gleams of important truth would flash up in the writings of some philosopher disconnected with the religious orders illuminating the path of intellectual progress, but such writings seldom made any permanent impress upon the literature of the age. It is to the priesthood almost exclusively we have to look for any advancement for many centuries in literature, science, and art. The universally adopted view of the structure of the universe was geocentric, of the world, anthropocentric. To explain such ordinary phenomena as that of day and night, preposterous schemes were invented, like that of Cosmas Indicopleustes, who asserted that in the northern parts of the flat earth there is an immense mountain, behind which the sun passes and thus produces night.¹ Any assertion that seemed to clash with preconceived notions of the teachings of holy writ or the writings of the fathers was looked upon with doubt and disfavor. Indeed the bible was regarded as the all-sufficient manual of science, containing all that was necessary to be known, and to inquire further was thought to be prying into the secret things of the most high.² The learning of the masses consisted not in the acquisition of knowledge, but in the blind and meaningless repetition of prescribed maxims, in forms of rhetoric, in anything except that which would enlighten the mind and impart true wisdom; it was, in short, a systematic course of leading men as far as possible away from the known, and leaving them lost and bewildered in a labyrinth of uncertainty and doubt.³

SCIENCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES

When, therefore, the questions arose, whence were these new lands peopled? how came these strange animals and plants to exist on a continent cut off by vast oceans from the rest of the world? the wise men of the time unhesitatingly turned to the sacred scriptures for an answer. These left them no course but to believe that all mankind were descended from one pair. This was a premise that must by no means be disputed. The original home of the first pair was generally supposed to have been situated in Asia Minor; the ancestors of the people found in the New World must consequently have originally come from the Old World, though at what time and by what route was an open question, an answer to which was diligently sought for both in the sacred prophecies and in the historical writings of antiquity.⁴

But if the more modern writers on this subject have been less hampered by unanswerable and impassable dogmas; if they have been able to believe that there may be some difficult questions upon which the Bible throws no light; if they have felt themselves free to discuss, without impiety, the possibility of all mankind not having sprung from one pair, their theories are scarcely less wild, their reasoning is but little sounder, their tendency to establish maxims by which any given problem may be solved is no more satisfactory.

SPIRIT OF INQUIRY

Theories in themselves are good things, for they lead us to facts; it is often through the doubtful or the false that we attain the truth; as Darwin says: "False facts are highly injurious to the progress of science, for they often long endure; but false views, if supported by some evidence, do little harm, as every one takes a salutary pleasure in proving their falseness; and when this is done, one path towards error is closed, and the truth is often at the same time opened."⁵ But the value of inquiry depends much upon the spirit in which it is made, and therefore it is that the manner in which most of the writers who have speculated on the origin of the Americans have conducted their researches, is greatly to be deplored. Their work does not impress one as being a steadfast striving to develop unstable postulates into proven facts, but rather as a reckless rushing, regardless of all obstacles, to a preconceived conclusion. They do not offer a theory as a suggestion of what might possibly be, but as a demonstration founded upon an unassailable basis. Each imagines that he has hit upon the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth; he asserts that the Aztecs were of Hebrew descent – that is settled; to prove this he clutches at the lightest straws in the way of analogies, and if the facts obstinately refuse to fit his theory, then —tant pis pour les faits– he warps them till they do fit.

But analogies, even when fairly drawn, are by no means conclusive evidence. So much depends upon the environment of a people, that a similarity in that particular is of itself sufficient to account for most of the resemblances which have been discovered between the customs, religion, and traditions of the Americans, and those of Old World nations.⁶

For my own part I have no theory upon the subject – would have no theory. The problem of the origin of the American aborigines is, in my opinion, enveloped in as much obscurity now as it ever was; and when I consider the close proximity of the north-western and north-eastern extremities of America to Asia and Europe; the unthought of and fortuitous circumstances that may at any time have cast any people upon the American coasts; the mighty convulsions that may have changed the whole face of the earth during the uncounted years that man may have dwelt upon its surface; and lastly, the uncertainty, perhaps I might say improbability, of the descent of mankind from one pair; – when I think of all these things it seems to me that the peopling of America may have been accomplished in so many ways that no more hopeless task could be conceived than the endeavor to discover the one particular manner of it.

In the following résumé I wish neither to tear down nor to build up, but simply to give an account of what has been thought and written upon the subject, and to show, with as little criticism as possible, the foundation upon which each theory stands. Of the comparative value of the opinions the reader must be his own judge. Of the value of this discussion of the subject there is this to be said; as a curiosity, showing the color given to mind by its environment, showing the blind and almost frenzied⁷ efforts of different men of different epochs, creeds, and culture, to fathom a hitherto unfathomable mystery, – this, together with the collateral light thrown upon the subject of aboriginal America, if there be no other advantage in it, will amply repay the investigation.

DESCENDANTS OF NOAH

The earliest writers required three propositions to be taken for granted:⁸ First, that the entire human race are descended from one original pair, and from Noah through Shem, Ham, and Japheth; second, that America was peopled from one of three sources – Asia, Africa, or Europe; third, that all knowledge arises from one of four sources – knowledge pure and absolute, from a knowledge of causes; opinion more or less uncertain; divine faith, sure and infallible, based upon the holy scriptures as interpreted by the Church; human faith, dependent upon the statements of men. The first of these four sources of knowledge throws no light upon the subject; the third is equally useless here, since the scriptures are silent after the time of Noah, though, as we shall presently see, huge endeavors have been made to make them speak; as for the fourth, Europeans, even if they conjectured the possible existence of an undiscovered continent, were certain that it was not inhabited,⁹ while the Americans were entirely ignorant of the part of the world from which they sprang.

UNITY OR DIVERSITY OF ORIGIN

The first of the three propositions mentioned above, namely, that all mankind are descended from one original pair, seems to have been taken for granted by almost all the writers, ancient and modern, who have had some theory to sustain respecting the origin of the Americans.¹⁰ The question of the unity of the human race, as considered without bias by modern scientific men, remains, however, undetermined; though it may be fairly said that the best of the argument is on the side of those who maintain the primitive diversity of man. It happens that those who are most earnest in upholding the biblical account of the creation, and consequently the unity of man, must, to be consistent, also uphold the biblical system of chronology, which teaches that man has not existed on the earth for more than six thousand years. This is unfortunate, since it is evident that the higher we believe the antiquity of man to be, the easier it is for us to admit the unity of origin of the strongly marked varieties that now exist.¹¹

The honor of peopling America has frequently been given to Noah and his immediate descendants. But even were we sure that the tradition recorded in the Bible of Noah's strange doings is accurate in every respect, the narrative does not throw any definite light upon his subsequent proceedings, and we must invent wonders to add to wonders if we make anything more out of it. The subject cannot be discussed intelligently, but I will give some of the opinions that have been held on the subject.

Noah's ark, says Ulloa, gave rise to a number of such constructions; and the experience gained during the patriarch's aimless voyage emboldened his descendants to seek strange lands in the same manner. Driven to America and the neighboring islands by winds and currents, they found it difficult to return, and so remained and peopled the land. He thinks the custom of eating raw fish at the present day among some American tribes, was acquired during these long sea voyages. That they came by sea is evident, for the north, if, indeed, the continent be connected with the old world, must be impassable by reason of intense cold.¹² Ulloa, although he would not for a moment allow that there could have been more than one general creation, does not attempt to account for the presence of strange animals and plants in America; and I may observe here that this difficulty is similarly avoided by all writers of his class.¹³ Lescarbot cannot see why "Noah should have experienced any difficulty in reaching America by sea, when Solomon's ships made voyages lasting three years."¹⁴

NOAH'S DESCENDANTS

Villagutierre,¹⁵ on the contrary, thinks it more probable that Noah's sons came to America by land; an opinion also held by Thompson, who believes, however, that the continents were not disconnected until some time after the flood, by which time America was peopled from the Old World.¹⁶ Orrio remarks that many have supposed that Noah, in order to be able to people the New World as well as the Old, must, during his three hundred and fifty years of post-diluvian life, have had more children than are mentioned in the bible; but in his opinion there was no necessity for more progenitors, since one woman can in two hundred and ten years become the ancestor of one million six hundred and forty-seven thousand and eighty-six persons. He thinks that Ham was the father of the American race.¹⁷ Montanus considers it quite in accordance with Noah's character and mission that he should have attended to the peopling of the world during his long life.¹⁸ L'Estrange is of opinion that Shem and his children, who were not among the builders of Babel, moved gradually eastward, and were, further, forced in that direction even to America, by the progeny of Japheth.¹⁹ We read in one of the Abbé Domenech's works,²⁰ that Ophir, one of Noah's descendants, went to Peru and settled there, ruling those who went with him. Sigüenza and Sister Agnes de la Cruz, conjectured that the Americans were descended from Naphtuhim, the son of Mizraim and grandson of Ham, whose descendants left Egypt for America shortly after the confusion of tongues.²¹ Piñeda thinks the same.²² Clavigero considers it proven by the native flood-myths and traditions of foreign origin that the Americans are descendants of Noah. He quotes the tradition of Votan,²³ who is declared to have been closely connected with the Babel-builders, the originator of that enterprise being his uncle.²⁴

ABORIGINAL FLOOD-MYTHS

Let us see, now, what these flood-myths are. This I may say first, however; some of them are doubtless spurious, and few have escaped the renovating touch of the Spanish priests and chroniclers, who throughout their writings seem to think it their bounden duty to make the ideas and history of the New World correspond to those of the Old. And what the old writers have added or invented, the modern writers are, in most cases, ready and glad to accept as genuine, without doubt or question. "It is impossible," says Viscount Kingsborough, "when reading what Mexican Mythology records of the war in heaven, and of the fall of Zontemonque 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 Yztlacoliuhqui, 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 recognise Scriptural analogies. But the Mexican tradition of the Deluge is that which bears the most unequivocal marks of having been derived from a Hebrew source."²⁵

We have seen in a preceding volume how, according to the common version of the Mexican flood-myth, Coxcox and his wife Xochiquetzal were the only human beings who escaped from the great deluge which covered the face of the earth in the Age of Water. How, when the waters went down, the ark in which they had saved themselves – the hollow trunk of a bald cypress – rested upon the Peak of Culhuacan; and how the dumb children that were born to the rescued pair were taught many languages by a dove. We have also read the reputed Tarasco legend of Tezpi, which so closely resembles the biblical legend of the deluge that it cannot be discussed as a native tradition at all, but must be regarded simply as the invention of some Spanish writer who thought it his mission to show that the Hebrew traditions were familiar to the Americans.²⁶ In Guatemala, among the Miztecs, and in Nicaragua there were also traditions of great and destructive deluges.²⁷ The Pápagos tell of a mighty flood that destroyed all life on the earth, except the hero-god Montezuma and his friend the Coyote who had foretold the deluge. Each of these made for himself an ark, and when the waters subsided and they met on the small patch of dry land that first appeared, Montezuma dispatched the Coyote four times to find out exactly how the sea lay.²⁸ Very similar is the Pima legend which relates how the prophet who would not heed the thrice repeated warnings of the Eagle was destroyed by a flood, and how Szeukha, the son of the Creator, saved himself by floating on a ball of gum or resin.²⁹ The Mattoles of California regard Taylor Peak as the point at which their forefathers took refuge from a destructive flood.³⁰ Other Californian tribes have a tradition of a deluge from which the Coyote, with his usual good-fortune, was the only living thing that escaped, if we except an eagle who was miraculously formed from a single feather that floated on the face of the waters.³¹ Lake Tahoe was formed by a flood which destroyed all mankind but a very small remnant.³² The Thlinkeets relate that many persons escaped the great deluge by taking refuge in a great floating building, which, when the waters fell, grounded upon a rock and was split in twain. From this moment men spake in various tongues, for there remained in one fragment of the divided ark those whose descendants speak the Thlinkeet language, and in the other those whose descendants employ a different idiom.³³ The Chipewyan deluge covered all the earth except the high mountain-tops, upon which many of the people saved themselves.³⁴ The Isthmians believed that the world was peopled by a man who with his wife and children escaped the great flood. The Peruvians had several flood-myths. One of them relates that the whole face of the earth was changed by a great deluge, attended by an extraordinary eclipse of the sun which lasted five days. All living things were destroyed except one man, a shepherd, with his family and flocks. It happened in this wise. Some time before the flood this shepherd, while tending his flock of llamas, remarked that the animals appeared to be oppressed with sadness, and that they passed the whole night in attentively watching the course of the stars. Filled with amazement, he interrogated the llamas as to the cause of their concern. Directing his attention to a group of six stars, massed closely together, they answered that that was a sign that the world would shortly be destroyed by a deluge, and counseled him, if he wished to escape the universal destruction, to take refuge with his family and flocks on the top of a neighboring mountain. Acting upon this advice, the shepherd hastily collected his llamas and children and proceeded with them to the summit of mount Ancasmarca, where a crowd of other animals had already sought safety. The warning had not come a moment too soon, for scarcely had they reached the mountain-top, when the sea burst its bounds and with a terrible roaring rushed over the land. But as the waters rose higher and higher, filling the valleys and covering the plains, behold, the mountain of refuge rose with it, floating upon its surface like a ship upon the waves. This lasted five days, during which time the sun hid himself and the earth was wrapped in darkness. On the fifth day the waters began to subside, and the stars shone out on the desolate world, which was eventually re-peopled by the descendants of the shepherd of Ancasmarca.

PERUVIAN FLOOD-MYTHS

According to another Peruvian legend, two brothers escaped from a great deluge which overwhelmed the world in much the same manner, by ascending a mountain which floated upon the flood. When the waters had retired, they found themselves alone in the world; and having consumed all their provisions, they went down into the valleys to seek for more food. Whether they were successful in their search, the tradition does not say; but if not, their surprise must indeed have been agreeable when on returning to the hut which they had built on the mountain, they found food ready prepared for them by unknown hands. Curious to know who their benefactor could be, they took counsel together and finally agreed that one should hide himself in the hut, while the other went into the valley. The brother who remained concealed himself carefully, and his patience was soon rewarded by seeing two aras with the faces of women,³⁵ who immediately set about preparing a meal of bread and meats. But it was not long before the aras became aware of the presence of the concealed brother, and they instantly essayed flight; but the man seized one of them, and she afterwards became his wife. By her he had six children, three sons and three daughters, from whose union sprang the tribe of the Cañaris, whose descendants to this day hold the ara in great veneration.³⁶

"The Peruvians were acquainted with the Deluge, and believed that the rainbow was the sign that the earth would not again be destroyed by water." This somewhat startling announcement is made by Lord Kingsborough, and he shows that there can be no reasonable doubt on the subject in an eminently characteristic manner. "This is plain," he says, "from the speech which Mango Capac, the reputed founder of the Peruvian empire, addressed to his companions on beholding the rainbow rising from a hill; which is thus recorded by Balboa in the ninth chapter of the third part of his Miscellanea Antarctica: 'They traveled on until a mountain, at present named Guanacauri, presented itself to their view, when on a certain morning, they beheld the rainbow rising above the mountain, with one extremity resting upon it, when Manco Capac exclaimed to his companions, This is a propitious sign that the earth will not be again destroyed by water.' … Proof having been afforded in the passage quoted from the History of Balboa, that the Peruvians were acquainted with the history of the rainbow, as given in the ninth chapter of Genesis, it may be interesting to add, that according to the account of an anonymous writer, they believed the rainbow was not only a passive sign that the earth would not be destroyed by a second deluge, but an active instrument to prevent the recurrence of such a catastrophe: the latter curious notion proceeded upon the assumption that as the water of the sea (which, like the Jews, they believed to encircle the whole earth) would have a tendency to rise after excessive falls of rain, so the pressure of the extremities of the rainbow upon its surface would prevent its exceeding its proper level."³⁷

THE TOWER OF BABEL

Many of these flood-myths are supplemented with an account of an attempt to provide against a second deluge, by building a tower of refuge, resembling more or less closely the biblical legend of the tower of Babel. Thus a Cholultec legend relates that all the giants who inhabited the country, save seven, were destroyed by a great flood, and adds that when the waters were assuaged, one of these seven began to build an artificial mountain. But the anger of the gods was aroused, and they slew many of the builders, so the work was stopped.³⁸ In like manner, in the Pápago legend to which I have referred, Montezuma, after he and the Coyote had been saved from the flood, so incensed the Great Spirit by his ingratitude and presumption, that an insect was sent flying to the east to bring the Spaniards, who, when they came, utterly destroyed Montezuma. After the deluge spoken of in the Lake Tahoe myth, the few who escaped built up a great tower, the strong making the weak do the work. This, it is distinctly stated, they did that they might have a place of refuge in case of another flood. But the Great Spirit was filled with anger at their presumption, and amidst thunderings and lightnings, and showers of molten metal, he seized the oppressors and cast them into a cavern.³⁹

These myths have led many writers to believe that the Americans had a knowledge of the tower of Babel, while some think that they are the direct descendants of certain of the builders of that tower, who, after the confusion of tongues, wandered over the earth until they reached America.⁴⁰

Many of the tribes had traditions through which they claim to have originally come from various directions to their ultimate settling-place in America. It will be readily seen that such traditions, even when genuine, are far too vague and uncertain to be of any value as evidence in any theory of origin. To each tribe its own little territory was the one important point in the universe; they had no conception of the real size of the world; most of them supposed that after a few days' journey the traveler could if he chose jump off the edge of the earth into nothingness. What their traditions referred to as a 'country in the far east,' would probably mean a prairie two hundred miles away in that direction. Nevertheless, as these traditions have been thought to support this or that theory, it will be well to briefly review them here.⁴¹

ORIGIN OF THE TOLTECS

The tradition of the Toltecs regarding their travels before they reached Huehue Tlapallan has been the theme of much speculation, especially as connected with their descent from the Babel builders. Ixtlilxochitl writes of this tradition as follows: They say that the world was created in the year Ce Tecpatl, and this time until the deluge they call Atonatiuh, which means the age of the sun of water, because the world was destroyed by the deluge. It is found in the histories of the Toltecs that this age and first world, as they term it, lasted seven hundred and sixteen years; that man and all the earth were destroyed by great showers and by lightnings from heaven, so that nothing remained, and the most lofty mountains were covered up and submerged to the depth of caxtolmoletltli, or fifteen cubits;⁴² and here they add other fables of how men came to multiply again from the few who escaped the destruction in a toptlipetlacali; which word very nearly signifies a closed chest; and how, after multiplying, the men built a zacuali of great height, and by this is meant a very high tower, in which to take refuge when the world should be a second time destroyed. After this their tongue became confused, and, not understanding each other, they went to different parts of the world. The Toltecs, seven in number, with their wives, who understood each other's speech, after crossing great lands and seas, and undergoing many hardships, finally arrived in America, which they found to be a good land, and fit for habitation; and they say that they wandered one hundred and four years in different parts of the earth before they arrived at Huehue Tlapallan, which they did in the year Ce Tecpatl, five hundred and twenty years – or five ages – after the flood.⁴³

TRADITIONS OF QUICHÉ ORIGIN

The Quiché traditions speak of a country in the far east,⁴⁴ to reach which immense tracts of land and water must be crossed. There, they say, they lived a quiet but uncivilized life, paying no tribute, and speaking a common language. There they worshiped no graven images, but observed with respect the rising sun and poured forth their invocations to the morning star. The principal names of the families and tribes at that time were, Tepeu, Oloman, Cohah, Quenech, and Ahau.⁴⁵ Afterwards, continue the traditions, they left their primitive country under the leadership of certain chiefs, and finally after a long journey reached a place called Tula. Where this Tula was is uncertain, but Brasseur de Bourbourg places it on the 'other side of the sea,' and asserts that it was the region from which the wanderers came, from time to time, to the north-western coasts of America, and thence southwards to Anáhuac and Central America.⁴⁶

The Yucatecs are said to have had a tradition that they came originally from the far east, passing through the sea, which God made dry for them.⁴⁷ An Okanagan myth relates that they were descended from a white couple who had been sent adrift from an island in the eastern ocean, and who floated ashore on this land, which has grown larger since then. Their long exposure on the ocean bronzed them to the color of which their descendants now are.⁴⁸ The Chilians assert that their ancestors came from the west. The Chepewyans have a tradition that they came from a distant land, where a bad people lived, and had to cross a large narrow lake, filled with islands, where ice and snow continually existed.⁴⁹ The Algonquins preserve a tradition of a foreign origin and a sea voyage. For a long time they offered an annual thank-offering in honor of their happy arrival in America.⁵⁰ According to Careri, the Olmec traditions relate that they came by sea from the east.⁵¹

AMERICAN CULTURE-HEROES

The native traditions concerning the several culture-heroes of America have also been brought forward by a few writers to show that American civilization was exotic and not indigenous; but, though these traditions are far more worthy of serious consideration, and present a far more fascinating field for study than those which relate merely to the origin or travels of the people themselves, yet, strangely enough, they seem to have excited less comment and speculation than any of those far-fetched and trivial analogies with which all origin-theories abound.

Although bearing various names and appearing in different countries, the American culture-heroes all present the same general characteristics. They are all described as white, bearded men, generally clad in long robes; appearing suddenly and mysteriously upon the scene of their labors, they at once set about improving the people by instructing them in useful and ornamental arts, giving them laws, exhorting them to practice brotherly love and other Christian virtues, and introducing a milder and better form of religion; having accomplished their mission, they disappear as mysteriously and unexpectedly as they came; and finally, they are apotheosized and held in great reverence by a grateful posterity. In such guise or on such mission did Quetzalcoatl appear in Cholula, Votan in Chiapas, Wixepecocha in Oajaca, Zamná, and Cukulcan with his nineteen disciples, in Yucatan, Gucumatz in Guatemala,⁵² Viracocha in Peru,⁵³ Sumé⁵⁴ and Paye-Tome⁵⁵ in Brazil, the mysterious apostle mentioned by Rosales, in Chili,⁵⁶ and Bochica in Columbia.⁵⁷ Peruvian legends speak of a nation of giants who came by sea, waged war with the natives, and erected splendid edifices, the ruins of many of which still remain.⁵⁸ Besides these, there are numerous vague traditions of settlements or nations of white men, who lived apart from the other people of the country, and were possessed of an advanced civilization.

CHRISTIANITY IN AMERICA

The most celebrated of these are Quetzalcoatl and Votan. The speculations which have been indulged in regarding the identity of these mysterious personages, are wild in the extreme. Thus Quetzalcoatl has been identified by some with St Thomas, by others with the Messiah. Carlos de Sigüenza y Góngora⁵⁹ and Luis Becerra Tanco,⁶⁰ in support of their opinion that he was no other than the apostle, allege that the hero-god's proper name Topiltzin Quetzalcoatl closely resembles in sound and signification that of Thomas, surnamed Didymus; for to in the Mexican name, is an abbreviation of Thomas, to which pilcin, meaning 'son' or 'disciple,' is added; while the meaning of Quetzalcoatl is exactly the same as that of the Greek name Didymus, 'a twin,' being compounded of quetzalli a plume of green feathers, metaphorically signifying anything precious, and coatl, a serpent, metaphorically meaning one of two twins. Boturini tells us that he possessed certain historical memoranda concerning the preaching of the gospel in America by the 'glorious apostle' St Thomas. Another proof in his possession was a painting of a cross which he discovered near the hill of Tianguiztepetl, which cross was about a cubit in size and painted by the hands of angels a beautiful blue color, with various devices, among which were five white balls on an azure shield, 'without doubt emblems of the five precious wounds of our Savior;' and, what is more marvelous, although this relic had stood in an exposed position from the days of heathenism up to the time when it was discovered, yet the inclemencies of the weather had not been able to affect its gorgeous hues in the least. But this is not all. Boturini also possessed a painting of another cross, which was drawn, by means of a machine made expressly for the purpose, out of an inaccessible cave in Lower Mizteca, where it had been deposited in the pagan times. Its hiding-place was discovered by angelic music which issued from the mouth of the cave on every vigil of the holy apostle. Besides this, the saint has left the tracks of his holy feet in many parts of New Spain. There is also a tradition that at the time of his departure he left a prophecy that in a certain year his sons would come from the east to preach among the natives; which prophecy, Boturini, following the track of the native calendars, discovered to have been 'verified to the letter.'⁶¹ After this who can doubt that St Thomas preached the gospel in America?

Foremost – as being most modern – among those who have thought it possible to identify Quetzalcoatl with the Messiah, stands Lord Kingsborough, a writer and enthusiast of whom I shall speak further when I come to the supposed Hebraic origin of the Americans. To this point he has devoted an incredible amount of labor and research, to give any adequate idea of which would require at least more space than I think, as a question of fact, it deserves. In the first place it is founded mainly upon obscure passages in the Prophet and other parts of Holy Writ, as compared with the equally obscure meanings of American names, religious rites, ancient prophecies, conceptions of divinity, etc. Now, the day is past when the earnest seeker after facts need be either afraid or ashamed to assert that he cannot accept the scriptures as an infallible authority upon the many burning questions which continually thrust themselves, as it were, upon the present generation for immediate and fair consideration; nor need his respect for traditions and opinions long held sacred be lessened one iota by such an assertion. It is needless to state that the analogies which Lord Kingsborough finds in America in support of his theory are based upon no sounder foundation.⁶²

VOTAN THE CULTURE-HERO

Votan, another mysterious personage, closely resembling Quetzalcoatl in many points, was the supposed founder of the Maya civilization. He is said to have been a descendant of Noah and to have assisted at the building of the Tower of Babel. After the confusion of tongues he led a portion of the dispersed people to America. There he established the kingdom of Xibalba and built the city of Palenque.⁶³

Let us turn now from these wild speculations, with which volumes might be filled, but which are practically worthless, to the special theories of origin, which are, however, for the most part, scarcely more satisfactory.

Beginning with eastern Asia, we find that the Americans, or in some instances their civilization only, are supposed to have come originally from China, Japan, India, Tartary, Polynesia. Three principal routes are proposed by which they may have come, namely: Bering Strait, the Aleutian Islands, and Polynesia. The route taken by no means depends upon the original habitat of the emigrants; thus the people of India may have emigrated to the north of Asia, and crossed Bering Strait, or the Chinese may have passed from one to the other of the Aleutian Islands until they reached the western continent. Bering Strait is, however, the most widely advocated, and perhaps most probable, line of communication. The narrow strait would scarcely hinder any migration either east or west, especially as it is frequently frozen over in winter. At all events it is certain that from time immemorial constant intercourse has been kept up between the natives on either side of the strait; indeed, there can be no doubt that they are one and the same people. Several writers, however, favor the Aleutian route.⁶⁴

DIFFUSION OF ANIMALS

But there is a problem which the possibility of neither of these routes will help to solve: How did the animals reach America? It is not to be supposed that ferocious beasts and venomous reptiles were brought over by the immigrants, nor is it more probable that they swam across the ocean. Of course such a question is raised only by those who believe that all living creatures are direct descendants of the animals saved from the flood in Noah's ark; but such is the belief of the great majority of our authors. The easiest way to account for this diffusion of animals is to believe that the continents were at one time united, though this is also asserted, with great show of probability, by authors who do not think it necessary to find a solid roadway in order to account for the presence of animals in America, or even to believe that the fauna of the New World need ever in any way have come from the Old World. Again, some writers are inclined to wonder how the tropical animals found in America could have reached the continent via the polar regions, and find it necessary to connect America and Africa to account for this.⁶⁵

The theory that America was peopled, or, at least partly peopled, from eastern Asia, is certainly more widely advocated than any other, and, in my opinion, is moreover based upon a more reasonable and logical foundation than any other. It is true, the Old World may have been originally peopled from the New, and it is also true that the Americans may have had an autochthonic origin, but, if we must suppose that they have originated on another continent, then it is to Asia that we must first look for proofs of such an origin, at least as far as the people of north-western America are concerned. "It appears most evident to me," says the learned Humboldt, "that the monuments, methods of computing time, systems of cosmogony, and many myths of America, offer striking analogies with the ideas of eastern Asia – analogies which indicate an ancient communication, and are not simply the result of that uniform condition in which all nations are found in the dawn of civilization."⁶⁶ Prescott's conclusions are, first: "That the coincidences are sufficiently strong to authorize a belief, that the civilization of Anahuac was, in some degree, influenced by that of Eastern Asia. And, secondly, that the discrepancies are such as to carry back the communication to a very remote period; so remote, that this foreign influence has been too feeble to interfere materially with the growth of what may be regarded, in its essential features, as a peculiar and indigenous civilization."⁶⁷ "If, as I believe," writes Dr Wilson, "the continent was peopled from Asia, it was necessarily by younger nations. But its civilization was of native growth, and so was far younger than that of Egypt."⁶⁸ That "immigration was continuous for ages from the east of Asia," is thought by Col. Smith to be "sufficiently indicated by the pressure of nations, so far as it is known in America, being always from the north-west coasts, eastward and southward, to the beginning of the thirteenth century."⁶⁹ "That America was peopled from Asia, the cradle of the human race, can no longer be doubted," says Dupaix; "but how and when they came is a problem that cannot be solved."⁷⁰ Emigration from eastern Asia, of which there can be no doubt, only "took place," says Tschudi, "in the latter part of the fifth century of the Christian era; and while it explains many facts in America which long perplexed our archæologists, it by no means aids us in determining the origin of our earliest population."⁷¹ "After making every proper allowance," says Gallatin, "I cannot see any possible reason that should have prevented those, who after the dispersion of mankind moved towards the east and northeast, from having reached the extremities of Asia, and passed over to America, within five hundred years after the flood. However small may have been the number of those first emigrants, an equal number of years would have been more than sufficient to occupy, in their own way, every part of America."⁷² There are, however, writers who find grave objections to an Asiatic origin, the principal of which are the absence of the horse, the "paucity and the poverty of the lactiferous animals, and the consequent absence of pastoral nations in the New World." For, adds a writer in the Quarterly Review, "we can hardly suppose that any of the pastoral hordes of Tartars would emigrate across the strait of Behring or the Aleutian Islands without carrying with them a supply of those cattle on which their whole subsistence depended."⁷³

THEORY OF ORIGIN FROM CHINESE

THE COUNTRY OF FUSANG

The theory that western America was originally peopled by the Chinese, or at least that the greater part of the New World civilization may be attributed to this people, is founded mainly on a passage in the work of the Chinese historian Li yan tcheou, who lived at the commencement of the seventh century of our era. In this passage it is stated that a Chinese expedition discovered a country lying twenty thousand li to the east of Tahan, which was called Fusang.⁷⁴ Tahan is generally supposed to be Kamchatka, and Fusang the north-west coast of America, California, or Mexico. As so much depends upon what Li yan tcheou has said about the mysterious country, it will be well to give his account in full; as translated by Klaproth, it is as follows: In the first of the years young yuan, in the reign of Fi ti of the dynasty of Thsi, a cha men (buddhist priest), named Hoeï chin, arrived at King tcheou from the country of Fusang; of this land he says: Fusang is situated twenty thousand li⁷⁵ to the east of the country of Tahan, and an equal distance to the east of China. In this place are many trees called fusang,⁷⁶ whose leaves resemble those of the Thoung (Bignonia tomentosa), and the first sprouts those of the bamboo. These serve the people of the country for food. The fruit is red and shaped like a pear. The bark is prepared in the same manner as hemp, and manufactured into cloth and flowered stuffs. The wood serves for the construction of houses, for in this country there are neither towns nor walled habitations. The inhabitants have a system of writing and make paper from the bark of the fusang. They possess neither arms nor troops and they never wage war. According to the laws of the kingdom, there are two prisons, one in the north, the other in the south; those who have committed trifling faults are sent to the latter, those guilty of graver crimes to the former, and detained there until by mitigation of their sentence they are removed to the south.⁷⁷ The male and female prisoners are allowed to marry with each other and their children are sold as slaves, the boys when they are eight years of age, the girls when they are nine. The prisoners never go forth from their jail alive. When a man of superior mark commits a crime, the people assemble in great numbers, seat themselves opposite the criminal, who is placed in a ditch, partake of a banquet, and take leave of the condemned person as of one who is about to die. Cinders are then heaped about the doomed man. For slight faults, the criminal alone is punished, but for a great crime his children and grandchildren suffer with him; in some extraordinary cases his sin is visited upon his descendants to the seventh generation.

The name of the king of this country is Yit khi; the nobles of the first rank are called Toui lou; those of the second, 'little' Toui lou; and those of the third, Na tu cha. When the king goes out, he is accompanied by tambours and horns. He changes the color of his dress at certain times; in the years of the cycle kia and y, it is blue; in the years ping and ting, it is red; in the years ou and ki, it is yellow; in the years keng and sin, it is white; and lastly, in those years which have the characters jin and kouei, it is black.

The cattle have long horns, and carry burdens, some as much as one hundred and twenty Chinese pounds. Vehicles, in this country, are drawn by oxen, horses, or deer. The deer are raised in the same manner that cattle are raised in China, and cheese is made from the milk of the females.⁷⁸ A kind of red pear is found there which is good at all seasons of the year. Grape-vines are also plentiful.⁷⁹ There is no iron, but copper is met with. Gold and silver are not valued. Commerce is free, and the people are not given to haggling about prices.

This is the manner of their marriages: When a man wishes to wed a girl, he erects his cabin just before the door of hers. Every morning and evening he waters and weeds the ground, and this he continues to do for a whole year. If by the end of that time the girl has not given her consent to their union, his suit is lost and he moves away; but if she is willing, he marries her. The marriage ceremony is almost the same as that observed in China. On the death of their father or mother, children fast for seven days; grandparents are mourned for by a fast of five days, and other relations by a fast of three days' duration. Images of the spirits of the dead⁸⁰ are placed on a kind of pedestal, and prayed to morning and evening.⁸¹ Mourning garments are not worn.

The king does not meddle with affairs of government until he has been three years upon the throne.

In former times the religion of Buddha was unknown in this country, but in the fourth of the years ta ming, in the reign of Hiao wou ti of the Soung dynasty (A.D. 458), five pi khieou or missionaries, from the country Ki pin, went to Fusang and there diffused the Buddhist faith. They carried with them sacred books and images, they introduced the ritual, and inculcated monastic habits of life. By these means they changed the manners of the people.

Such is the account given by the historian Li yan tcheou of the mysterious land. Klaproth, in his critique on Deguignes' theory that America was known to the Chinese, uses the distances given by the monk Hoeï chin to show that Fusang, where the laws and institutions of Buddha were introduced, was Japan, and that Tahan, situated to the west of the Vinland of Asia, as Humboldt aptly calls Fusang,⁸² was not Kamchatka but the island of Tarakai, wrongly named on our maps, Saghalien. The circumstance that there were grape-vines and horses in the discovered country is alone sufficient, he says, to show that it was not situated on the American continent, since both these objects were given to the New World by the Spaniards. M. Gaubil also contradicts Deguignes' theory. "Deguignes' paper," he writes to one of his confrères in Paris, "proves nothing; by a similar course of reasoning it might be shown that the Chinese reached France, Italy, or Poland."⁸³

CHINESE EXPEDITION TO AMERICA

Certain allusions to a Chinese colony, made by Marco Polo and Gonzalo Mendoza, led Horn, Forster, and other writers to suppose that the Chinese, driven from their country by the Tartars about the year 1270, embarked to the number of one hundred thousand in a fleet of one thousand vessels, and having arrived on the coast of America, there founded the Mexican empire. As Warden justly remarks, however, it is not probable that an event of such importance would be passed over in silence by the Chinese historians, who rendered a circumstantial account of the destruction of their fleet by the Tartars about the year 1278 of our era, as well as of the reduction of their country by the same people.⁸⁴

The strongest proof upon which the Chinese theory rests, is that of physical resemblance, which, on the extreme north-western coast of America, is certainly very strong.⁸⁵ I think there can be no doubt of the presence of Mongol blood in the veins of the inhabitants of that region, though it is probably Tartar or Japanese rather than Chinese. Indeed, when we consider that the distance across Bering Strait is all that intervenes between the two continents, that this is at times completely frozen over, thus practically connecting America and Asia, and that, both by sea and by ice, the inhabitants on both sides of the strait are known to have had communication with each other from time immemorial, a lack of resemblance, physical and otherwise, would be far more strange than its presence. In spite of what may be said to the contrary, there can be no doubt that the Mongolian type grows less and less distinct as we go south from Alaska, though, once grant the Mongols a footing on the continent, and the influence of their religion, languages, or customs may, for all we know, have extended even to Cape Horn.

MONGOLIAN ANALOGIES

Analogies have been found, or thought to exist, between the languages of several of the American tribes, and that of the Chinese. But it is to Mexico, Central America, and, as we shall hereafter see, to Peru, that we must look for these linguistic affinities, and not to the north-western coasts, where we should naturally expect to find them most evident.⁸⁶ The similarity between the Otomí and Chinese has been remarked by several writers.⁸⁷ A few customs are mentioned as being common to both Chinese and Americans, but they show absolutely nothing, and are scarcely worth recounting. For instance, Bossu, speaking of the Natchez, says, "they never pare their finger nails, and it is well known that in China long nails on the right hand are a mark of nobility."⁸⁸ "It appears plainly" to Mr Carver "that a great similarity between the Indian and Chinese is conspicuous in that particular custom of shaving or plucking off the hair, and leaving only a small tuft on the crown of the head."⁸⁹ M. du Pratz has "good grounds to believe" that the Mexicans came originally from China or Japan, especially when he considers "their reserved and uncommunicative disposition, which to this day prevails among the people of the eastern parts of Asia."⁹⁰ Architectural analogy there is none.⁹¹

BUDDHISM IN THE NEW WORLD

The mythological evidence upon which this and other east-Asiatic theories of origin rest, is the similarity between the more advanced religions of America and Buddhism. Humboldt thinks he sees in the snake cut in pieces the famous serpent Kaliya or Kalinaga, conquered by Vishnu, when he took the form of Krishna, and in the Mexican Tonatiuh, the Hindu Krishna, sung of in the Bhagavata-Purana.⁹² Count Stolberg,⁹³ is of opinion that the two great religious sects of India, the worshipers of Vishnu and those of Siva, have spread over America, and that the Peruvian cult is that of Vishnu when he appears in the form of Krishna, or the sun, while the sanguinary religion of the Mexicans is analogous to that of Siva, in the character of the Stygian Jupiter. The wife of Siva, the black goddess Kali or Bhavani, symbol of death and destruction, wears, according to Hindu statues and pictures, a necklace of human skulls. The Vedas ordain human sacrifices in her honor. The ancient cult of Kali, continues Humboldt, presents, without doubt, a marked resemblance to that of Mictlancihuatl, the Mexican goddess of hell; "but in studying the history of the peoples of Anáhuac, one is tempted to regard these coincidences as purely accidental. One is not justified in supposing that there must have been communication between all semi-barbarous nations who worship the sun, or offer up human beings in sacrifice."⁹⁴

PHALLIC RELICS

Humboldt, who inclines strongly toward the belief that there has been communication between America and southern Asia, is at a loss to account for the total absence on the former continent of the phallic symbols which play such an important part in the worship of India.⁹⁵ But he remarks that M. Langlès⁹⁶ observes that in India the Vaichnava, or votaries of Vishnu, have a horror of the emblem of the productive force, adored in the temples of Siva and his wife Bhavani, goddess of abundance. "May not we suppose," he adds, "that among the Buddhists exiled to the north-east of Asia, there was also a sect that rejected the phallic cult, and that it is this purified Buddhism of which we find some slight traces among the American peoples."⁹⁷ I think I have succeeded in showing, however, in a previous volume that very distinct traces of phallic worship have been found in America.⁹⁸ An ornament bearing some resemblance to an elephant's trunk, found on some of the ruined buildings and images in America, chiefly at Uxmal, has been thought by some writers to support the theory of a south-Asiatic origin. Others have thought that this hook represents the elongated snout of the tapir, an animal common in Central America, and held sacred in some parts. The resemblance to either trunk or snout can be traced, however, only with the aid of a very lively imagination, and the point seems to me unworthy of serious discussion.⁹⁹ The same must be said of attempts to trace the mound-builders to Hindustan,¹⁰⁰ not because communication between America and southern Asia is impossible, but because something more is needed to base a theory of such communication upon than the bare fact that there were mounds in one country and mounds in the other.

It is very positively asserted by several authors that the civilization of Peru was of Mongolian origin.¹⁰¹ It is not, however, supposed to have been brought from the north-western coasts of America, or to have come to this continent by any of the more practicable routes of communication, such as Bering Strait or the Aleutian Islands. In this instance the introduction of foreign culture was the result of disastrous accident.

MONGOL CIVILIZATION IN PERU

In the thirteenth century, the Mongol emperor, Kublai Khan, sent a formidable armament against Japan. The expedition failed, and the fleet was scattered by a violent tempest. Some of the ships, it is said, were cast upon the coast of Peru, and their crews are supposed to have founded the mighty empire of the Incas, conquered three centuries later by Pizarro. Mr John Ranking, who leads the van of theorists in this direction, has written a goodly volume upon this subject, which certainly, if read by itself, ought to convince the reader as satisfactorily that America was settled by Mongols, as Kingsborough's work that it was reached by the Jews, or Jones' argument that the Tyrians had a hand in its civilization.

That a Mongol fleet was sent against Japan, and that it was dispersed by a storm, is matter of history, though historians differ as to the manner of occurrence and date of the event; but that any of the distressed ships were driven upon the coast of Peru can be but mere conjecture, since no news of such an arrival ever reached Asia, and, what is more important, no record of the deliverance of their fathers, no memories of the old mother-country from which they had been cut off so suddenly, seemingly no knowledge, even, of Asia, were preserved by the Peruvians. Granted that the crews of the wrecked ships were but a handful compared with the aboriginal population they came among, that they only taught what they knew and did not people the country, still, the sole foundation of the theory is formed of analogous customs and physical appearance, showing that their influence and infusion of blood must have been very widely extended. If, when they arrived, they found the natives in a savage condition, as has been stated, this influence must, indeed, have been all-pervading; and it is ridiculous to suppose that the Mongol father imparted to his children a knowledge of the arts and customs of Asia, without impressing upon their minds the story of his shipwreck and the history of his native country, about which all Mongols are so precise.

But our theorists scorn to assign the parts of teachers to the wrecked Mongolians. Immediately after their arrival they gave kings to the country, and established laws. Ranking narrates the personal history and exploits of all these kings, or Incas, and even goes so far as to give a steel-engraved portrait of each; but then he also gives a "description of two living unicorns in Africa." The name of the first Inca was Mango, or Manco, which, says Ranking, was also the name of the brother and predecessor of Kublai Khan, he who sent out the expedition against Japan. The first Inca of Peru, he believes was the son of Kublai Khan, and refers the reader to his "portrait of Manco Capac,¹⁰² that he may compare it with the description of Kublai," given by Marco Polo. The wife of Manco Capac was named Coya Mama Oella Huaco; she was also called Mamamchic, "as the mother of her relations and subjects." Purchas mentions a queen in the country of Sheromogula whose name was Manchika.¹⁰³ Thus, putting two and two together, Ranking arrives at the conclusion that "the names of Mango and his wife are so like those in Mongolia, that we may fairly presume them to be the same."¹⁰⁴

PERUVIAN AND ASIATIC ANALOGIES

Let us now briefly review some other analogies discovered by this writer. The natives of South America had little or no beard, the Mongols had also little hair on the face. The Llatu, or head-dress of the Incas had the appearance of a garland, the front being decorated with a flesh-colored tuft or tassel, and that of the hereditary prince being yellow; it was surmounted by two feathers taken from a sacred bird. Here again we are referred to the portraits of the Incas and to those of Tamerlane and Tehanghir, two Asiatic princes, "both descended from Genghis Khan." The similarity between the head-dresses, is, we are told, "striking, if allowance be made for the difficulty the Incas would experience in procuring suitable muslin for the turban." The plumes are supposed to be in some way connected with the sacred owl of the Mongols, and yellow is the color of the imperial family in China. The sun was held an especial object of adoration, as it "has been the peculiar god of the Moguls, from the earliest times." The Peruvians regarded Pachacamac as the Sovereign Creator; Camac-Hya was the name of a Hindu goddess; haylli was the burden of every verse of the songs composed in praise of the Sun and the Incas. "Ogus, Ghengis' ancestor, at one year of age, miraculously pronounced the word Allah! Allah! which was the immediate work of God, who was pleased that his name should be glorified by the mouth of this tender infant."¹⁰⁵ Thus Mr Ranking thinks "it is highly probable that this (haylli) is the same as the well-known Hallelujah." Resemblances are found to exist between the Peruvian feast of the sun, and other similar Asiatic festivals. In Peru, hunters formed a circle round the quarry, in the country of Genghis they did the same. The organization of the army was much the same in Peru as in the country of the Khans; the weapons and musical instruments were also very similar. In the city of Cuzco, not far from the hill where the citadel stood, was a portion of land called colcampata, which none were permitted to cultivate except those of royal blood. At certain seasons the Incas turned up the sod here, amid much rejoicing and many ceremonies. "A great festival is solemnized every year, in all the cities of China, on the day that the sun enters the fifteenth degree of Aquarius. The emperor, according to the custom of the ancient founders of the Chinese monarchy, goes himself in a solemn manner to plough a few ridges of land. Twelve illustrious persons attend and plough after him."¹⁰⁶ In Peruvian as in Chinese architecture, it is noticeable that great care is taken to render the joints between the stones as nearly imperceptible as possible. A similarity is also said to exist between the decorations on the palaces of the Incas and those of the Khans. The cycle of sixty years was in use among most of the nations of eastern Asia, and among the Muyscas of the elevated plains of Bogota. The quipu, or knotted reckoning cord was in use in Peru, as in China. Some other analogies might be cited, but these are sufficient to show upon what foundation this theory rests. I may mention here that the Incas possessed a cross of fine marble, or jasper, highly polished, and all of one piece. It was three fourths of an ell in length and three fingers in thickness, and was kept in a sacred chamber of the palace and held in great veneration. The Spaniards enriched this cross with gold and jewels and placed it in the cathedral at Cuzco; had it been of plain wood they would probably have burnt it with curses on the emblem of 'devil-worship.' To account for this discovery, Mr Ranking says: There were many Nestorians in the thirteenth century in the service of the Mongols. The conqueror of the king of eastern Bengal, A.D. 1272, was a Christian. The Mongols, who were deists, treated all religions with respect, till they became Mohammedans. It is very probable that a part of the military sent to conquer Japan, were commanded by Nestorian officers. The mother of the Grand Khan Mangu, who was brother to Kublai, and possibly uncle to Manco Capac, the first Inca, was a Christian, and had in her service William Bouchier, a goldsmith, and Basilicus, the son of an Englishman born in Hungary. It is therefore highly probable that this cross accompanied Manco Capac.¹⁰⁷

PERUVIAN GIANTS

I have stated above that the Peruvians preserved no record of having come originally from China. They had a tradition, however, concerning certain foreigners who came by sea to their country, which may be worth repeating; Garcilasso de la Vega gives this tradition as he himself heard it in Peru. They affirm, he says, in all Peru, that certain giants came by sea to the cape now called St Helen's, in large barks made of rushes. These giants were so enormously tall that ordinary men reached no higher than their knees; their long, disheveled hair covered their shoulders; their eyes were as big as saucers, and the other parts of their bodies were of correspondingly colossal proportions. They were beardless; some of them were naked, others were clothed in the skins of wild beasts; there were no women with them. Having landed at the cape, they established themselves at a spot in the desert, and dug deep wells in the rock, which at this day continue to afford excellent water. They lived by rapine, and soon desolated the whole country. Their appetites and gluttony were such that it is said one of them would eat as much as fifty ordinary persons. They massacred the men of the neighboring parts without mercy, and killed the women by their brutal violations. At last, after having for a long time tyrannized over the country and committed all manner of enormities, they were suddenly destroyed by fire from heaven, and an angel armed with a flaming sword. As an eternal monument of divine vengeance, their bones remained unconsumed, and may be seen at the present day. As for the rest, it is not known from what place they came, nor by what route they arrived.¹⁰⁸

There is also a native account of the arrival of Manco Capac, in which he figures simply a culture-hero. The story closely resembles those told of the appearance and acts of the apostles Cukulcan, Wixepecocha, and others, and need not be repeated here.¹⁰⁹

THE CHINESE FROM PERU

Mr Charles Wolcott Brooks, Japanese consul in San Francisco, a most learned gentleman, and especially well versed in Oriental lore, has kindly presented me with a MS. prepared by himself, in which are condensed the results of twenty-five years' study of the history of the eastern Asiatic nations, and their possible communication with American continent.¹¹⁰ He recognizes many striking analogies between the Chinese and the Peruvians, but arrives at a conclusion respecting the relation between the two nations, the exact reverse of that discussed in the preceding paragraphs. His theory is that the Chinese came originally from Peru, and not the Peruvians from China. He uses, to support his argument, many of the resemblances in customs, etc., of which Ranking and others have availed themselves to prove an exactly opposite theory, and adds that, as in those early times the passage of the Pacific could only have been made under the most favorable circumstances and with the assistance of fair winds, it would be impossible, owing to the action of the SE. and NE. trade-winds for such a passage to have been made, either intentionally or accidentally, from China to Peru, while on the other hand, if a large craft were placed before the wind and set adrift from the Peruvian coast, there is a strong probability that it would drive straight on to the southern coast of China.¹¹¹

JAPANESE WRECKS ON THE AMERICAN COAST

A Japanese origin or at least a strong infusion of Japanese blood, has been attributed to the tribes of the north-west coasts. There is nothing improbable in this; indeed, there is every reason to believe that on various occasions small parties of Japanese have reached the American continent, have married the women of the country, and necessarily left the impress of their ideas and physical peculiarities upon their descendants. Probably these visits were all, without exception, accidental; but that they have occurred in great numbers is certain. There have been a great many instances of Japanese junks drifting upon the American coast, many of them after having floated helplessly about for many months. Mr Brooks gives forty-one particular instances of such wrecks, beginning in 1782, twenty-eight of which date since 1850.¹¹² Only twelve of the whole number were deserted. In a majority of cases the survivors remained permanently at the place where the waves had brought them. There is no record in existence of a Japanese woman having been saved from a wreck. A great many Japanese words are to be found in the Chinook jargon, but in all cases abbreviated, as if coming from a foreign source, while the construction of the two languages is dissimilar.¹¹³ The reasons for the presence of Japanese and the absence of Chinese junks are simple. There is a current of cold water setting from the Arctic ocean south along the east coast of Asia, which drives all the Chinese wrecks south. The Kuro Siwo, or 'black stream,' commonly known as the Japan current, runs northwards past the eastern coast of the Japan islands, then curves round to the east and south, sweeping the whole west coast of North America, a branch, or eddy, moving towards the Sandwich Islands. A drifting wreck would be carried towards the American coast at an average rate of ten miles a day by this current. To explain the frequent occurrence of these wrecks Mr Brooks refers to an old Japanese law. About the year 1630, the Japanese government adopted its deliberate policy of exclusion of foreigners and seclusion of its own people. To keep the latter from visiting foreign countries, and to confine their voyages to smooth water and the coasting trade, a law was passed ordering all junks to be built with open sterns and large square rudders unfit to stand any heavy sea. The January monsoons from the north-east are apt to blow any unlucky coaster which happens to be out straight into the Kuro Siwo, the huge rudders are soon washed away, and the vessels, falling into the trough of the sea, roll their masts overboard. Every January there are numbers of these disasters of which no record is kept. About one third of these vessels, it seems, drift to the Sandwich Islands, the remainder to North America, where they scatter along the coast from Alaska to California. How many years this has been going on can only be left to conjecture. The information given by Mr Brooks is of great value, owing to his thorough acquaintance with the subject, the intelligent study of which has been a labor of love with him for so many years. And his theory with regard to the Japanese carries all the more weight, in my opinion, in that he does not attempt to account for the similarities that exist between that people and the Americans by an immigration en masse, but by a constant infusion of Japanese blood and customs through a series of years, sufficient to modify the original stock, wherever that came from.

I have already stated that traces of the Japanese language have been found among the coast tribes. There is also some physical resemblance.¹¹⁴ Viollet-le-Duc points out some striking resemblances between the temples of Japan and Central America.¹¹⁵ It is asserted that the people of Japan had a knowledge of the American continent and that it was marked down on their maps. Montanus tells us that three ship-captains named Henrik Corneliszoon, Schaep, and Wilhelm Byleveld, were taken prisoners by the Japanese and carried to Jeddo, where they were shown a sea chart, on which America was drawn as a mountainous country adjoining Tartary on the north.¹¹⁶ Of course the natives have the usual tradition that strangers came among them long before the advent of the Europeans.¹¹⁷

The theory that America, or at least the north-western part of it, was peopled by the 'Tartars' or tribes of north-western Asia, is supported by many authors. There certainly is no reason why they should not have crossed Bering Strait from Asia, the passage is easy enough; nor is there any reason why they should not have crossed by the same route to Asia, and peopled the north-western part of that continent. The customs, manner of life, and physical appearance of the natives on both sides of the straits are almost identical, as a multitude of witnesses testify, and it seems absurd to argue the question from any point. Of course, Bering Strait may have served to admit other nations besides the people inhabiting its shores into America, and in such cases there is more room for discussion.¹¹⁸

THE EGYPTIAN THEORY

We may now consider that theory which supposes the civilized peoples of America to be of Egyptian origin, or, at least, to have derived their arts and culture from Egypt. This supposition is based mainly on certain analogies which have been thought to exist between the architecture, hieroglyphics, methods of computing time, and, to a less extent, customs, of the two countries. Few of these analogies will, however, bear close investigation, and even where they will, they can hardly be said to prove anything. I find no writer who goes so far as to affirm that the New World was actually peopled from Egypt; we shall, therefore, have to regard this merely as a culture-theory, the original introduction of human life into the continent in no way depending upon its truth or fallacy.

The architectural feature which has attracted most attention is the pyramid, which to some writers is of itself conclusive proof of an Egyptian origin. The points of resemblance, as given by those in favor of this theory, are worth studying. García y Cubas claims the following analogies between Teotihuacan and the Egyptian pyramids: the site chosen is the same; the structures are oriented with slight variation; the line through the centre of the pyramids is in the 'astronomical meridian;' the construction in grades and steps is the same; in both cases the larger pyramids are dedicated to the sun; the Nile has a 'valley of the dead,' as at Teotihuacan there is a 'street of the dead;' some monuments of each class have the nature of fortifications; the smaller mounds are of the same nature and for the same purpose; both pyramids have a small mound joined to one of their faces; the openings discovered in the Pyramid of the Moon are also found in some Egyptian pyramids; the interior arrangement of the pyramids is analogous.¹¹⁹

EGYPTIAN AND AMERICAN PYRAMIDS

The two great pyramids of Teotihuacan, dedicated to the sun and moon, are surrounded by several hundreds of small pyramids. Delafield remarks that the pyramids of Gizeh, in Egypt, are also surrounded by smaller edifices in regular order, and closely correspond in arrangement to those of Teotihuacan.¹²⁰ The construction of these two pyramids recalls to Mr Ranking's mind that of "one of the Egyptian pyramids of Sakhara, which has six stories; and which, according to Pocock, is a mass of pebbles and yellow mortar, covered on the outside with rough stones."¹²¹ In some few instances human remains have been found in American pyramids, though never in such a position as to convey the idea that the structure had been built expressly for their reception, as was the case in Egypt. It is but fair to add, however, that no pyramid has yet been opened to its centre, or, indeed, in any way properly explored as to its interior, and that a great many of them are known to have interior galleries and passages, though these were not used as sepulchres. In one instance, at Copan, a vault was discovered in the side of a pyramidal structure; on the floor, and in two small niches, were a number of red earthen-ware vessels, containing human bones packed in lime; scattered about were shells, cave stalactites, and stone knives; three heads were also found, one of them "apparently representing death, its eyes being nearly shut, and the lower features distorted; the back of the head symmetrically perforated by holes; the whole of most exquisite workmanship, and cut or cast from a fine stone covered with green enamel."¹²² In the great pyramid of Cholula, also, an excavation made in building the Puebla road, which cut off a corner of the lower terrace, not only disclosed to view the interior construction of the pyramid, but also laid bare a tomb containing two skeletons and two idols of basalt, a collection of pottery, and other relics. The sepulchre was square, with stone walls, supported with cypress beams. The dimensions are not given, but no traces of any outlet were found.¹²³ There are, besides, traditions among the natives of the existence of interior galleries and apartments of great extent within this mound. Thus we see that in some instances the dead were deposited in pyramids, though there is not sufficient evidence to show that these structures were originally built for this purpose.

ARCHITECTURAL ANALOGIES

Herodotus tells us that in his time the great pyramid of Cheops was coated with polished stone, in such a manner as to present a smooth surface on all its sides from the base to the top; in the upper part of the pyramid of Cephren the casing-stones have remained in their places to the present day. No American pyramid with smooth sides has as yet been discovered, and of this fact those who reject the Egyptian theory have not failed to avail themselves.¹²⁴ It is nevertheless probable that many of the American pyramids had originally smooth sides, though, at the present day, time and the growth of dense tropical vegetation have rendered the very shape of the structures scarcely recognizable.¹²⁵ It is further objected that while the American pyramids exhibit various forms, all are truncated, and were erected merely to serve as foundations for other buildings, those of Egypt are of uniform shape, "rising and diminishing until they come to a point,"¹²⁶ and are not known to have ever served as a base for temple or palace. It is, however, not certain, judging from facts visible at the present day, that all the Egyptian pyramids did rise to a point. Again, it is almost certain that the American pyramid was not always used as a foundation for a superimposed building, but that it was frequently complete in itself. In many of the ruined cities of Yucatan one or more pyramids have been found upon the summit of which no traces of any building could be discovered, although upon the pyramids by which these were surrounded portions of superimposed edifices still remained. There is, also, some reason to believe that perfect pyramids were constructed in America. As has been seen in the preceding volume, Waldeck found near Palenque two pyramids, which he describes as having been at the time in a state of perfect preservation, square at the base, pointed at the top, and thirty-one feet high, their sides forming equilateral triangles. Delafield¹²⁷ remarks that a simple mound would first suggest the pyramid, and that from this the more finished and permanent structure would grow; which is true enough. But if we are to believe, as is stated, that the American pyramids grew from such beginnings as the Mississippi mounds, then what reason can there be in comparing the pyramids of Teotihuacan with those of Gizeh in Egypt. For if the Egyptian colonists, at the time of their emigration to America, had advanced no further toward the perfect pyramid than the mound-building stage, would it not be the merest coincidence if the finished pyramidal structures in one country, the result of centuries of improvement, should resemble those of the other country in any but the most general features? Finally, pyramidal edifices were common in Asia as well as in Northern Africa, and it may be said that the American pyramids are as much like the former as they are like the latter.¹²⁸

In its general features, American architecture does not offer any strong resemblances to the Egyptian. The upholders of the theory find traces of the latter people in certain round columns found at Uxmal, Mitla, Quemada, and other places; in the general massiveness of the structures; and in the fact that the vermilion dye on many of the ruins was a favorite color in Egypt.¹²⁹ Humboldt, speaking of a ruined structure at Mitla, says: "the distribution of the apartments of this singular edifice, bears a striking analogy to what has been remarked in the monuments of Upper Egypt, drawn by M. Denon, and the savans who compose the institute of Cairo."¹³⁰

SCULPTURE AND HIEROGLYPHICS

Between American and Egyptian sculpture, there is, at first sight, a very striking general resemblance. This, however, almost entirely disappears upon close examination and comparison. Both peoples represented the human figure in profile, the Egyptians invariably, the Americans generally; in the sculpture of both, much the same attitudes of the body predominate, and these are but awkwardly designed; there is a general resemblance between the lofty head-dresses worn by the various figures, though in detail there is little agreement.¹³¹ These are the points of analogy and they are sufficiently prominent to account for the idea of resemblance which has been so often and so strongly expressed. But while sculpture in Egypt is for the most part in intaglio, in America it is usually in relief. In the former country, the faces are expressionless, always of the same type, and, though executed in profile, the full eye is placed on the side of the head; in the New World, on the contrary, we meet with many types of countenance, some of which are by no means lacking in expression.

If there were any hope of evidence that the civilized peoples of America were descendants, or derived any of their culture from the ancient Egyptians, we might surely look for such proof in their hieroglyphics. Yet we look in vain. To the most expert decipherer of Egyptian hieroglyphics, the inscriptions at Palenque are a blank and unreadable mystery, and they will perhaps ever remain so.¹³²

Resemblances have been found between the calendar systems of Egypt and America, based chiefly upon the length and division of the year, and the number of intercalary and complementary days. This, however, is too lengthy a subject to be fully discussed here. In a previous volume I have given a full account of the American systems, and must perforce leave it to the reader to compare them with the Egyptian system.¹³³

Of course a similarity of customs has to be found to support this theory, as in the case of others. Consequently our attention is drawn to embalmment, circumcision, and the division of the people into castes, which is not quite true of the Americans; some resemblance is found, moreover, between the religions of Egypt and America, for instance, certain animals were held sacred in both countries; but all such analogies are far too slender to be worth anything as evidence; there is scarcely one of them that would not apply to several other nations equally as well as to the Egyptians.

THE PHŒNICIAN THEORY

Turning now to Western Asia, we find the honor of first settling America given to the adventurous Phœnicians. The sailors of Carthage are also supposed by some writers to have first reached the New World, but as the exploits of colony and mother-country are spoken of by most writers in the same breath, it will be the simplest plan to combine the two theories here. They are based upon the fame of these people as colonizing navigators more than upon any actual resemblances that have been found to exist between them and the Americans. It is argued that their ships sailed beyond the Pillars of Hercules to the Canary Islands, and that such adventurous explorers having reached that point would be sure to seek farther. The records of their voyages and certain passages in the works of several of the writers of antiquity are supposed to show that the ancients knew of a land lying in the far west.¹³⁴

VOYAGES OF THE PHŒNICIANS

The Phœnicians were employed about a thousand years before the Christian era, by Solomon, king of the Jews, and Hiram, king of Tyre, to navigate their fleets to Ophir and Tarshish. They returned, by way of the Mediterranean, to the port of Joppa, after a three-years' voyage, laden with gold, silver, precious stones, ivory, cedar, apes, and peacocks. Several authors have believed that they had two distinct fleets, one of which went to the land since known as America, and the other to India. Huet, bishop of Avranches,¹³⁵ and other authors, are persuaded that Ophir was the modern Sofala, situated about 21° S. lat., and that Tarshish comprised all the western coast of Africa and Spain, but particularly the part lying about the mouth of the Bœtis or Guadalquivir. According to Arius Montanus, Genebrardus, Vatable, and other writers, Ophir is the island of Hispaniola. It is said that Christopher Columbus was induced to adopt this idea by the immense caverns which he found there, from which he supposed that Solomon must have obtained his gold. Postel and others have believed that the land of Ophir was Peru.¹³⁶ Horn¹³⁷ claims that the Phœnicians made three remarkable voyages to America; the first, under the direction of Atlas, son of Neptune; the second, when they were driven by a tempest from the coast of Africa to the most remote parts of the Atlantic ocean, and arrived at a large island to the west of Libya; and the third, in the time of Solomon, when the Tyrians went to Ophir to seek for gold. According to those who believe that there were two distinct fleets, that of Solomon and that of Hiram, the first set out from Eziongeber, sailed down the Red Sea, doubled Cape Comorin, and went to Taproban (Ceylon), or some other part of India; this voyage occupied one year. The other fleet passed through the Mediterranean, stopping at the various ports along the coasts of Europe and Africa, and finally, passing out through the straits of Gades, continued its voyage as far as America, and returned after three years to its starting-place, laden with gold.

The Periplus of Hanno, a Carthaginian navigator of uncertain date, contains an account of a voyage which he made beyond the Pillars of Hercules, with a fleet of sixty ships and thirty thousand men, for the purpose of founding the Liby-Phœnician towns. He relates that setting out from Gades, he sailed southwards. The first city he founded was Thumiaterion,¹³⁸ near the Pillars of Hercules, probably in the neighborhood of Marmora. He then doubled the promontory of Soloeis,¹³⁹ which Rennel considers to be the same as Cape Cantin, but other commentators to be the same as Cape Blanco, in 33° N. latitude. A little to the south of this promontory five more cities were founded. After passing the mouth of the river Lixus, supposed by Rennel to be the modern St Cyprian, he sailed for two days along a desolate coast, and on the third day entered a gulf in which was situated a small island, which he named Kerne, and colonized. After continuing his voyage for some days, and meeting with various adventures, he returned to Kerne, whence he once more directed his course southward, and sailed along the coast for twelve days. Two days more he spent in doubling a cape, and five more in sailing about a large gulf. He then continued his voyage for a few days, and was finally obliged to return from want of provisions. The authenticity of the Periplus has been doubted by many critics, but it appears probable from the testimony of several ancient authors that the voyage was actually performed. But be the account true or false, I certainly can discover in it no ground for believing that Hanno did more than coast along the western shore of Africa, sailing perhaps as far south as Sierra Leone.¹⁴⁰

VOYAGES OF THE PHŒNICIANS

Diodorus Siculus relates that the Phœnicians discovered a large island in the Atlantic Ocean, beyond the Pillars of Hercules, several days' journey from the coast of Africa. This island abounded in all manner of riches. The soil was exceedingly fertile; the scenery was diversified by rivers, mountains, and forests. It was the custom of the inhabitants to retire during the summer to magnificent country houses, which stood in the midst of beautiful gardens. Fish and game were found in great abundance. The climate was delicious, and the trees bore fruit at all seasons of the year. The Phœnicians discovered this fortunate island by accident, being driven on its coast by contrary winds. On their return they gave glowing accounts of its beauty and fertility, and the Tyrians, who were also noted sailors, desired to colonize it. But the senate of Carthage opposed their plan, either through jealousy, and a wish to keep any commercial benefit that might be derived from it for themselves, or, as Diodorus relates, because they wished to use it as a place of refuge in case of necessity.

Several authors, says Warden, have believed that this island was America, among others, Huet, bishop of Avranches. "The statement of Diodorus," he writes, "that those who discovered this island were cast upon its shores by a tempest, is worthy of attention; as the east wind blows almost continually in the torrid zone, it might well happen that Carthaginian vessels, surprised by this wind, should be carried against their will to the western islands." Aristotle tells the same story. Homer, Plutarch, and other ancient writers, mention islands situated in the Atlantic, several thousand stadia from the Pillars of Hercules, but such accounts are too vague and mythical to prove that they knew of any land west of the Canary Islands. Of course they surmised that there was land beyond the farthest limits of their discovery; they saw that the sea stretched smoothly away to the horizon, uncut by their clumsy prows, no matter how far they went; they peopled the Sea of Darkness with terrors, but they hazarded all manner of guesses at the nature of the treasure which those terrors guarded. Is it not foolish to invent a meaning and a fulfillment to fit the vague surmises of these ancient minds? Are we to believe that Seneca was inspired by a spirit of prophecy because we read these lines in the second act of his Medea:

"Venient annis
Sæcula seris, quibus Oceanus
Vincula rerum laxet, et ingens
Pateat tellus, Thetysque¹⁴¹ novos
Detegat orbes; nec sit terris
Ultima Thule."

Or that Silenus knew of the continent of America because Ælianus makes him tell Midas, the Phrygian, that there was another continent besides Europe, Asia, and Africa? A continent whose inhabitants are larger and live longer than ordinary people, and have different laws and customs. A country where gold and silver are so plentiful that they are esteemed no more than we esteem iron. Are we to suppose that St Clement had visited America when he wrote, in his celebrated epistle to the Corinthians that there were other worlds beyond the ocean? Might we not as well argue that America was certainly not known to the ancients, or Tacitus would never have written: "Trans Sueones aliud mare, pigrum ac propè immotum ejus cingi cludique terrarum orbem hinc fides." Would the theological view of the flat structure of the earth have gained credence for a moment, had antipodes been discovered and believed in?

VOTAN'S TRAVELS

The mysterious traveler, Votan, is once more made to do service for the theorist here. In his somewhat doubtful manuscript, entitled "Proof that I am a Serpent," Votan asserts that he is a descendant of Imox, of the race of Chan, and derives his origin from Chivim. "He states that he conducted seven families from Valum Votan to this continent 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, in order to discover his relations the Culebras (Serpents), and make himself known to them, he made four voyages to Chivim;¹⁴² that he arrived in Spain, and that he went to Rome; that he saw the great house of God building;¹⁴³ that he went by the road which his brethren the 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 other families of the Tzequil nation, who had joined the first inhabitants, and recognized 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 the having taught them refinement of manners in the use of the table, table-cloth, dishes, basins, cups, and napkins; that, in return for these, they taught him the 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 these united families."¹⁴⁴

THE TZENDAL TRADITIONS

Cabrera supposes Chivim to be the same as Hivim or Givim, which was the name of the country from which the Hivites, descendants of Heth, son of Canaan, were expelled by the Philistines some years before the departure of the Hebrews from Egypt. Some of these settled about the base of Mount Hermon, and to them belonged Cadmus and his wife Harmonia. It is probably owing to the fable of their transformation into snakes, related by Ovid in his Metamorphoses, that the word Givim in the Phœnician language signifies a snake.¹⁴⁵ Tripoli of Syria, a town in the kingdom of Tyre, was anciently called Chivim. "Under this supposition, when Votan says he is Culebra, because he is Chivim, he clearly shows, that he is a Hivite originally of Tripoli in Syria, which he calls Valum Chivim, where he landed, in his voyages to the old continent. Here then, we have his assertion, I am Culebra, because I am Chivim, proved true, by a demonstration as evident, as if he had said, I am a Hivite, native of Tripoli in Syria, which is Valum Chivim, the port of my voyages to the old continent, and belonging to a nation famous for having produced such a hero as Cadmus, who, by his valour and exploits, was worthy of being changed into a Culebra (snake) and placed among the gods; whose worship, for the glory of my nation and race, I teach, to the seven families of the Tzequiles, that I found, on returning from one of my voyages, united to the seven families, inhabitants of the American continent, whom I conducted from Valum Votan, and distributed lands among them."¹⁴⁶

The most enthusiastic supporter of the Phœnician, or Tyrian, theory, is Mr George Jones. This gentleman has devoted the whole of a goodly volume to the subject, in which he not only sustains, but conclusively proves, to his own satisfaction, whatever proposition he pleases. It is of no use to question, he demolishes by anticipation all possible objections; he "will yield to none," he says, "in the conscientious belief in the truth of the startling propositions, and the consequent historic conclusions." The sum of these propositions and conclusions is this: that after the taking of the Tyrian capital by Alexander, B.C. 332, a remnant of the inhabitants escaped by sea to the Fortunate Islands, and thence to America. The author does not pretend that they had any positive foreknowledge of the existence of a western continent; though he believes "that from their knowledge of astronomy, they may have had the supposition that such might be the case, from the then known globular character of the earth." But they were mainly indebted for the success of their voyage to the favoring east winds which bore them, in the space of a month straight to the coast of Florida.¹⁴⁷ "There arrived in joyous gladness, and welcomed by all the gifts of nature, – like an heir to a sudden fortune, uncertain where to rest, – the Tyrians left the shore of Florida and coasted the gulf of Mexico, and so around the peninsula of Yucatan and into the Bay of Honduras; they thence ascended a river of shelter and safety, and above the rapids of which they selected the site of their first city, – now occupied by the ruins, altars, idols, and walls of Copan!"

The more effectually to preserve the secret of their discovery and place of refuge, they subsequently destroyed their galleys and passed a law that no others should be built. At least, this is Mr. Jones' belief – a belief which, to him, makes the cause "instantly apparent" why the new-found continent was for so many centuries unknown to Asiatics or Europeans. It is possible, however, the same ingenious author thinks, that, upon a final landing, they burned their ships as a sacrifice to Apollo, "and having made that sacrifice to Apollo, fanatical zeal may have led them to abhor the future use of means, which, as a grateful offering, had been given to their deity. Thence may be traced the gradual loss of nautical practice, on an enlarged scale; and the great continent now possessed by them, would also diminish by degrees the uses of navigation."¹⁴⁸

MR JONES' REASONING

Jones ingeniously makes use of the similarities which have been thought to exist between the American and Egyptian pyramids, and architecture generally, to prove his Tyrian theory. The general character of the American architecture is undoubtedly Egyptian, he argues; but the resemblance is not close enough in detail to allow of its being actually the work of Egyptian hands; the ancient cities of America were therefore built by a people who had a knowledge of Egyptian architecture, and enjoyed constant intercourse with that nation. But some of the ruins are Greek in style; the mysterious people must also have been familiar with Greek architecture. Where shall we find such a people? The cap exactly fits the Tyrians, says Mr Jones, let them wear it. Unfortunately, however, Mr Jones manufactures the cap himself and knows the exact size of the head he wishes to place it on. He next goes on to prove "almost to demonstration that Grecian artists were authors of the sculpture, Tyrians the architects of the entire edifices, – while those of Egypt were authors of the architectural bases." The tortoise is found sculptured on some of the ruins at Uxmal; it was also stamped upon the coins of Grecian Thebes and Ægina. From this fact it is brought home at once to the Tyrians, because the Phœnician chief Cadmus, who founded Thebes, and introduced letters into Greece, without doubt selected the symbols of his native land to represent the coin of his new city. The tortoise is, therefore, a Tyrian emblem.¹⁴⁹

The American ruins in some places bear inscriptions written in vermilion paint; the Tyrians were celebrated for a purple dye. Carved gems have been found in American tombs; the Tyrians were also acquainted with gem-carving. The door-posts and pillars of Solomon's temple were square;¹⁵⁰ square obelisks and columns may also be found at Palenque. But it is useless to multiply quotations; the absurdity of such reasoning is blazoned upon the face of it.

At Dighton, on the bay of Narraganset, is, or was, an inscription cut in the rock, which has been confidently asserted to be Phœnician. Copies of this inscription have been frequently made, but they differ so materially that no two of them would appear to be intended for the same design.¹⁵¹

INSCRIBED TABLETS

In the mountains which extend from the village of Uruana in South America to the west bank of the Caura, in 7° lat., Father Ramon Bueno found a block of granite on which were cut several groups of characters, in which Humboldt sees some resemblance to the Phœnician, though he doubts that the worthy priest whose copy he saw performed his work very carefully.¹⁵²

The inscribed stone discovered at Grave Creek Mound has excited much comment, and has done excellent service, if we judge by the number of theories it has been held to elucidate. Of the twenty-two characters which are confessedly alphabetic, inscribed upon this stone, ten are said to correspond, with general exactness, with the Phœnician, fifteen with the Celtiberic, fourteen with the old British, Anglo Saxon or Bardic, five with the old northern, or Runic proper, four with the Etruscan, six with the ancient Gallic, four with the ancient Greek, and seven with the old Erse.¹⁵³ An inscribed monument supposed to be Phœnician was discovered by one Joaquin de Costa, on his estate in New Granada, some time since.¹⁵⁴ The cross, the serpent, and the various other symbols found among the American ruins, have all been regarded by different authors as tending to confirm the Phœnician theory; chiefly because similar emblems have been found in Egypt, and the Phœnicians are known to have been familiar with Egyptian arts and ideas.¹⁵⁵ Melgar, who thinks there can be no doubt that the Phœnicians built Palenque, supposes the so-called Palenque medal¹⁵⁶ to represent Hercules in the Garden of the Hesperides, attacked by the dragon. Two thousand three hundred years before the worship of Hercules was known in Greece, it obtained in Phœnicia, whither it was brought from Egypt, where it had flourished for over seventeen thousand years.¹⁵⁷

THE CARTHAGINIAN THEORY

García quotes a number of analogies, giving, after his fashion, the objections to each by the Spaniards. The builders of the Central American cities, he says, are reported by tradition to have been of fair complexion and bearded. The Carthaginians, in common with the Indians, practiced human sacrifices to a great extent; they worshiped fire and water, adopted the names of the animals whose skins they wore, drank to excess, telegraphed by means of fires, decked themselves in all their finery on going to war, poisoned their arrows, offered peace before beginning battle, used drums, shouted in battle, were similar in stratagems and exercised great cruelty to the vanquished. The objections are that the language of the Indians is not corrupt Carthaginian; that they have many languages, and could not have sprung from any one nation; Satan prompted the Indians to learn various languages in order to prevent the extension of the true faith. But why are the Indians beardless if they descended from the Carthaginians? Their beards have been lost by the action of the climate as the Africans were changed in color. Then why do they not lose their hair as well, and why do not the Spaniards lose their beard? They may in time. And so he goes on through page after page.¹⁵⁸

The theory that the Americans are of Jewish descent has been discussed more minutely and at greater length than any other. Its advocates, or at least those of them who have made original researches, are comparatively few; but the extent of their investigations and the multitude of parallelisms they adduce in support of their hypothesis, exceed by far anything we have yet encountered.

Of the earlier writers on this subject, García is the most voluminous. Of modern theorists Lord Kingsborough stands preëminently first, as far as bulky volumes are concerned, though Adair, who devotes half of a thick quarto to the subject, is by no means second to him in enthusiasm – or rather fanaticism – and wild speculation. Mrs Simon's volume, though pretentious enough to be original, is neither more nor less than a re-hash of Kingsborough's labors.

García,¹⁵⁹ who affirms that he devoted more attention to this subject than to all the rest of his work,¹⁶⁰ deals with the Hebrew theory by the same systematic arrangement of 'opinions,' 'solutions,' 'objections,' 'replies,' etc., that is found all through his book. A condensed résumé of his argument will be necessary.

TEN LOST TRIBES OF ISRAEL

The opinion that the Americans are descended from the ten lost tribes of Israel, he says, is commonly received by the unlettered multitude, but not by the learned; there are, however, some exceptions to this rule. The main support of the opinion is found in the fourth book of Esdras, according to which these tribes, having been carried into captivity by Salmanassar, separated from the other tribes and went into a new region, where man had never yet lived, through which they journeyed for a year and a half, until they came to a land which they called Arsareth, where they settled and have dwelt ever since.

The most difficult question is: how did they get to America? to which the most reasonable answer seems to be, that they gradually crossed northern Asia until they came to the straits of Anian,¹⁶¹ over which they passed into the land of Anian, whence they journeyed southward by land through New Mexico into Mexico and Peru.¹⁶² That they were able to make such a long journey is amply attested by parallel undertakings, of which we have historical proof. It is argued that they would not travel so far and through so many inhabited countries without finding a resting-place; but we read in the Scriptures that when they left the country of the Medes, whither they had been carried by Salmanassar, they determined to journey beyond all the gentile nations until they came to an uninhabited land. It is true some learned men assert that they are still to be found in the cities of the Medes, but a statement that disagrees with the book of Esdras is unworthy of belief; though of course some of them may have remained; besides, must not Mexico be included in the direct declaration of God that he would scatter the Jews over all the earth? The opinion that the Americans are of Hebrew origin is further supported by similarities in character, dress, religion, physical peculiarities, condition, and customs. The Americans are at heart cowardly, and so are the Jews; the history of both nations proves this.¹⁶³ The Jews did not believe in the miracles of Christ, and for their unbelief were scattered over the face of the earth, and despised of all men; in like manner the people of the New World did not readily receive the true faith as preached by Christ's catholic disciples, and are therefore persecuted and being rapidly exterminated. Another analogy presents itself in the ingratitude of the Jews for the many blessings and special favors bestowed on them by God, and the ingratitude shown by the Americans in return for the great kindness of the Spaniards. Both Jews and Americans are noted for their want of charity and kindness to the poor, sick, and unfortunate; both are naturally given to idolatry; many customs are common to both, such as raising the hands to heaven when making a solemn affirmation, calling all near relatives brothers, showing great respect and humility before superiors, burying their dead on hills and high places without the city, tearing their clothing on the reception of bad tidings, giving a kiss on the cheek as a token of peace, celebrating a victory with songs and dances, casting out of the place of worship women who are barren, drowning dogs in a well, practicing crucifixion. Both were liars, despicable, cruel, boastful, idle, sorcerers, dirty,¹⁶⁴ swindlers, turbulent, incorrigible, and vicious. The dress of the Hebrews was in many points like that of the Americans. Both are fit only for the lowest kind of labor. The Jews preferred the flesh-pots of Egypt and a life of bondage to heavenly manna and the promised land; the Americans liked a life of freedom and a diet of roots and herbs, better than the service of the Spaniards with good food.¹⁶⁵ The Jews were famous for fine work in stone, as is shown by the buildings of Jerusalem, and a similar excellence in this art is seen in the American ruins. The Mexicans have a tradition of a journey undertaken at the command of a god, and continued for a long time under the direction of certain high-priests, who miraculously obtained supplies for their support; this bears a striking resemblance to the Hebrew story of the wandering in the desert.

THE JEWS IN AMERICA

JEWISH ANALOGIES

It has been argued, in opposition to the Hebrew theory, that the Jews were physically and intellectually the finest race in the world, while the Americans are probably the lowest. But in answer to this it may be stated that the finest among the Jews belonged to the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, which were not among the so-called lost tribes; though, even if we admit that the ten tribes were physically and intellectually equal to these two, may we not fairly suppose that their temperament and physique would be changed by dwelling for a length of time in the different environment of America. True, Dr San Juan attempts to prove that the good effect of the manna on which the Israelites lived for forty years, was such that it would take four thousand years to obliterate it; but though this might hold true in the case of those Jews who went to Spain and other temperate climes, it would probably be different with those who came to America; it is, besides, likely that the change in the race was a special act of God.¹⁶⁶ In answer to the assertion that the Americans are an inferior race, it may be said that there are many exceptions to this rule; for instance, the people of Mexico and Michoacan were very ingenious, and excelled in painting, feather-work, and other arts.

Again, it is objected that while the Jews were skilled in letters, and indeed are said by some to have discovered the art of writing, the Americans had no such knowledge of letters as they would have possessed had they been of Hebrew origin. But the same objection would apply to their descent from any race of Europe, Asia, or Africa. It is urged that the Americans, if of Jewish descent, would have preserved the Hebrew ceremonies and laws. It is, however, well known that the ten tribes from whom they are supposed to be descended were naturally prone to unbelief and backsliding; it is not strange, therefore, that when freed from all restraint, they should cease to abide by their peculiarly strict code. Moreover, many traces of their old laws and ceremonies are to be found among them at the present day. For instance, both Jews and Americans gave their temples into the charge of priests, burned incense, anointed the body, practiced circumcision,¹⁶⁷ kept perpetual fires on their altars, forbade women to enter the temples immediately after giving birth, and husbands to sleep with their wives for seven days during the period of menstruation, prohibited marriage or sexual intercourse between relatives within the second degree, made fornication with a slave punishable, slew the adulterer, made it unlawful for a man to dress like a woman, or a woman like a man, put away their brides if they proved to have lost their virginity, and kept the ten commandments.

Another objection is, that the Americans do not speak Hebrew. But the reason for this is that the language has gradually changed, as has been the case with all tongues. Witness the Hebrew spoken by the Jews at the present time, which is much corrupted, and very different from what it originally was. There do actually exist, besides, many Hebraic traces in the American languages.¹⁶⁸ And even if this were not so, may we not suppose that the Devil prompted the Americans to learn new and various languages, that they might be prevented in after years from hearing the Catholic faith? though fortunately the missionaries learned all these strange tongues, and thus cheated the Evil One.

Acosta questions the authority of Esdras, but, answers García, although the book of Esdras is certainly apocryphal, it is nevertheless regarded by the Church as a higher authority than the Doctors. Acosta urges, moreover, that Esdras, even if reliable, states distinctly that the ten tribes fled from the Gentiles for the express purpose of keeping their law and religion, while Americans are given to idolatry; which is all very true, but might not the Jews have set out with these good resolutions, and have afterwards changed their minds?

Such is the manner of García's argument; and turning now to Lord Kingsborough's magnificent folios, do we find anything more satisfactory? Scarcely. The Spanish father's impartiality and profound research does not appear in Kingsborough; and moreover, we find that the work of the former is much more satisfactorily arranged than that of the latter. García does not pretend to give his own opinions, but merely aims to present fairly, with all their pros and cons, the theories of others. Kingsborough has a theory to prove, and to accomplish his object he drafts every shadow of an analogy into his service. But though his theory is as wild as the wildest, and his proofs are as vague as the vaguest, yet Lord Kingsborough cannot be classed with such writers as Jones, Ranking, Cabrera, Adair, and the host of other dogmatists who have fought tooth and nail, each for his particular hobby. Kingsborough was an enthusiast – a fanatic, if you choose – but his enthusiasm is never offensive. There is a scholarly dignity about his work which has never been attained by those who have jeered and railed at him; and though we may smile at his credulity, and regret that such strong zeal was so strangely misplaced, yet we should speak and think with respect of one who spent his lifetime and his fortune, if not his reason, in an honest endeavor to cast light upon one of the most obscure spots in the history of man.

KINGSBOROUGH'S ARGUMENTS

The more prominent of the analogies adduced by Lord Kingsborough may be briefly enumerated as follows:

HEBREW AND AMERICAN ANALOGIES

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.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.¹⁷⁰ There are striking similarities between the Babel, flood, and creation myths of the Hebrews and the Americans.¹⁷¹ Both Jews and Mexicans were fond of appealing in their adjurations to the heaven and the earth.¹⁷² Both were extremely superstitious, and firm believers in prodigies.¹⁷³ The character and history of Christ and Huitzilopochtli present certain analogies.¹⁷⁴ It is very probable that the Sabbath of the seventh day was known in some parts of America.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.¹⁷⁶ No one but the Jewish high-priest might enter the Holy of Holies. A similar custom obtained in Peru.¹⁷⁷ Both Mexicans and Jews regarded certain animals as unclean and unfit for food.¹⁷⁸ Some of the Americans believed with some of the Talmudists in a plurality of souls.¹⁷⁹ That man was created in the image of God was a part of the Mexican belief.¹⁸⁰ It was customary among the Mexicans to eat the flesh of sacrifices of atonement.¹⁸¹ There are many points of resemblance between Tezcatlipoca and Jehovah.¹⁸² Ablutions formed an essential part of the ceremonial law of the Jews and Mexicans.¹⁸³ The opinions of the Mexicans with regard to the resurrection of the body, accorded with those of the Jews.¹⁸⁴ The Mexican temple, like the Jewish, faced the east.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."¹⁸⁶

The Yucatec conception of a Trinity resembles the Hebrew.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.¹⁸⁸

The Mexicans, like the Jews, saluted the four cardinal points, in their worship.¹⁸⁹ There was much in connection with sacrifices that was common to Mexicans and Jews.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.¹⁹¹

The Mexicans say that they wrestled at times with Quetzalcoatl, even as Jacob wrestled with God.¹⁹² In various religious rites and observances, such as circumcision,¹⁹³ confession,¹⁹⁴ and communion,¹⁹⁵ there was much similarity. Salt was an article highly esteemed by the Mexicans, and the Jews always offered it in their oblations.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.¹⁹⁷ The spectacle of a king performing a dance as an act of religion was witnessed by the Jews as well as by Mexicans.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.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.²⁰⁰ The painting of Boturini seems actually to represent Huitzilopochtli appearing in a burning bush in the mountain of Teoculhuacan to the Aztecs.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.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.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."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.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.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.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.²⁰⁸

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,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."²¹⁰

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."²¹¹

MORMON DOCTRINE OF ORIGIN

The account given by the Book of Mormon, of the settlement of America by the Jews, is as follows: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.

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.

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,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, 1827.²¹⁴

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.²¹⁵

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."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.²¹⁷

Eric the Red, in the spring of 986,²¹⁸ 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.

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.²¹⁹ They put out to sea and soon came to another land, which they named Markland.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.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.

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,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).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.²²⁴

In the latter part of the tenth century,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."²²⁶ Here, also, one Biörn Asbrandson is said to have ended his days.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.²²⁸ In 1824, a stone engraved with Runic characters was found on the island of Kingiktorsoak, on the western coast of Greenland.²²⁹

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.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.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.²³²

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,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.²³⁴

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,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,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.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,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.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."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.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.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.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."²⁴⁴

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."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,'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.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.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.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."²⁵⁰ Brasseur de Bourbourg seeks to identify certain of the American gods with Greek deities.²⁵¹ Jones finds that the sculpture at Uxmal very closely resembles the Greek style.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.²⁵³

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."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.

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.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.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.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.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.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.²⁶⁰

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.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.²⁶²

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.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.

CHAPTER II.
INTRODUCTORY TO ABORIGINAL HISTORY

Origin and Earliest History of the Americans Unrecorded – The Dark Sea of Antiquity – Boundary between Myth and History – Primitive Annals of America compared with those of the Old World – Authorities and Historical Material – Traditional Annals and their Value – Hieroglyphic Records of the Mayas and Nahuas – Spanish Writers – The Conquerors – The Missionaries – The Historians – Converted Native Chroniclers – Secondary Authorities – Ethnology – Arts, Institutions, and Beliefs – Languages – Material Monuments of Antiquity – Use of Authorities and Method of Treating the Subject.

The preceding résumé shows pretty conclusively that the American peoples and the American civilizations, if not indigenous to the New World, were introduced from the Old at a period long preceding any to which we are carried by the traditional or monumental annals of either continent. We have found no evidence of any populating or civilizing migration across the ocean from east or west, north or south, within historic times. Nothing approaching identity has been discovered between any two nations separated by the Atlantic or Pacific. No positive record appears even of communication between America and the Old World, – intentionally by commercial, exploring, or warlike expeditions, or accidentally by shipwreck, – previous to the voyages of the Northmen in the tenth century; yet that such communication did take place in many instances and at different periods is extremely probable. The numerous trans-oceanic analogies, more or less clearly defined, which are observed, may have resulted partially from this communication, although they do not of themselves necessarily imply such an agency. If scientific research shall in the future decide that all mankind descended from one original pair, that the centre of population was in Asia rather than in America, and that all civilization originated with one Old World branch of the human family – and these are all yet open questions – then there will be no great difficulty in accounting for the transfer of both population and culture; in fact the means of intercontinental intercourse are so numerous and practicable that it will perhaps be impossible to decide on the particular route or routes by which the transfer was effected. If, on the other hand, a contrary decision be reached on the above questions, the phenomena of American civilization and savagism will be even more easily accounted for.

THE MYSTERY OF ANTIQUITY

Regarding North America then, at the most remote epoch reached by tradition, as already peopled for perhaps hundreds of centuries, I propose in the remaining pages of this volume to record all that is known of aboriginal history down to the period when the native races were found by Europeans living under the institutions and practicing the arts that have been described in the preceding volumes of this work. Comparatively little is known or can ever be known of that history. The sixteenth century is a bluff coast line bounding the dark unnavigable sea of American antiquity. At a very few points along the long line headlands project slightly into the waters, affording a tolerably sure footing for a time, but terminating for the most part in dangerous reefs and quicksands over which the adventurous antiquarian may pass with much risk still farther from the firm land of written record, and gaze at flickering mythical lights attached to buoys beyond. As a rule, nothing whatever is known respecting the history of savage tribes until they come in contact with nations of a higher degree of culture possessing some system of written record. Respecting the past of the Wild Tribes by whom most of our territory was inhabited, we have only a few childish fables of creation, the adventures of some bird or beast divinity, of a flood or some other natural convulsion, a victory or a defeat which may have occurred one or a hundred generations ago. These fables lack chronology, and have no definite historical signification which can be made available. The Civilized Nations, however, had recorded annals not altogether mythical. The Nahua annals reach back chronologically, although not uninterruptedly to about the sixth century of our era; the Maya record is somewhat less extensive in an unbroken line; but both extend more or less vaguely and mythically to the beginning of the Christian era, perhaps much farther. Myths are mingled in great abundance with historical traditions throughout the whole aboriginal period, and it is often utterly impossible to distinguish between them, or to fix the boundary line beyond which the element of history is absolutely wanting. The primitive aboriginal life, not only in America but throughout the world, is wrapped in mystery. The clear light of history fades gradually, as we recede from the present age, into an ever-deepening shadow, which, beyond a varying indefinable point, a border-land of myth and fable, merges into the black night of antiquity. The investigations of modern science move back but slowly this bound between the past and present, and while the results in the aggregate are immense, in shedding new light on portions of the world's annals, progress toward the ultimate end is almost inappreciable. If the human mind shall ever penetrate the mystery, it will be one of its last and most glorious triumphs. America does not differ so much as would at first thought appear from the so-called Old World in respect to the obscurity that shrouds her early history, if both are viewed from a corresponding stand-point – in America the Spanish Conquest in the sixteenth century, in the eastern continent a remote period when history first began to be recorded in languages still in use. Or if we attach greater importance to Biblical than to other traditions, still America should be compared, not with the nations whose history is traced in the Hebrew record, but with the distant extremities of Asia, Europe, and Africa, on whose history the Bible throws no light, save the statement that they were peopled from a common centre, in which populating movement America has equal claims to be included. To all whose investigations are a search for truth, darkness covers the origin of the American peoples, and their primitive history, save for a few centuries preceding the Conquest. The darkness is lighted up here and there by dim rays of conjecture, which only become fixed lights of fact in the eyes of antiquarians whose lively imagination enables them to see best in the dark, and whose researches are but a sifting-out of supports to a preconceived opinion.

The authorities on which our knowledge of aboriginal history rests are native traditions orally handed down from generation to generation, the Aztec picture-writings that still exist, the writings of the Spanish authors who came in contact with the natives in the period immediately following the Conquest, and also of converted native writers who wrote in Spanish, or at least by the aid of European letters. In connection with these positive authorities the actual condition, institutions, and beliefs of the natives at the Conquest, together with the material monuments of antiquity, all described in the preceding volumes, constitute an important illustrative, corrective, or confirmatory source of information.

TRADITION AS AN AUTHORITY

Oral tradition, in connection with linguistic affinities, is our only authority in the case of the wild tribes, and also plays a prominent part in the annals of the civilized nations. In estimating its historical value, not only the intrinsic value of the tradition itself, but the authenticity of the version presented to us must be taken into consideration; the latter consideration is, however, closely connected with that of the early writers and their reliability as authorities on aboriginal history. No tribe is altogether without traditions of the past, many – probably most – of which were founded on actual occurrences, while a few are wholly imaginary. Yet, whatever their origin, all are, if unsupported by written records, practically of little or no value. Every trace of the circumstances that gave rise to a tradition is soon lost, although the tradition itself in curiously modified forms is long preserved. Natural convulsions, like floods and earthquakes, famines, wars, tribal migrations, naturally leave an impression on the savage mind which is not easily effaced, but the fable in which the record is embodied may have assumed a form so changed and childish that we pass over it to-day as having no historical value, seeking information only in an apparently more consistent tale, which may have originated at a recent date from some very trivial circumstance. Examples are not wanting of very important events in the comparatively modern history of Indian tribes, the record of which has not apparently been preserved in song or story, or the memory of which at least has become entirely obliterated in little more than a hundred years. Oral tradition has no chronology that is not purely imaginary; "many moons ago," "our fathers did thus and so," may refer to antediluvian times or to the exploits of the narrator's grandfather. Among the American savages there was not even a pride in the pedigree of families or horses to induce care in this respect, as among the Asiatic hordes of patriarchal times. But the traditions of savages, valueless by themselves for a time more remote than one or two generations, begin to assume importance when the events narrated have been otherwise ascertained by the records of some contemporary nation, throwing indirectly much light on history which they were powerless to reveal. Three traditions are especially prevalent in some form in nearly every section of America; – that of a deluge, of an aboriginal migration, and of giants that dwelt upon the earth at some time in the remote past. These may be taken as examples and interpreted as follows, the respective interpretations being arranged in the order of their probability.

The tradition of a flood would naturally arise, 1st, from the destruction of a tribe or part of a tribe by the sudden rising of a river or mountain stream – that is from a modern event such as has occurred at some time in the history of nearly every people, and which a hundred years and a fertile imagination would readily have converted into a universal inundation. 2d. From the finding of sea-shells and other marine relics inland, and even on high mountains, suggesting to the natives' untutored mind what it proves to later scientific research – the fact that water once covered all. 3d. From the actual submersion of some portions of the continent by the action of volcano or earthquake, an event that geology shows not to be improbable, and which would be well calculated to leave a lasting impression on the minds of savages. 4th. From the deluge of the scriptural tradition, the only one of the many similar events that may have occurred which makes any claims to have been historically recorded. The accompanying particulars would be naturally invented. Some must have escaped, and an ark or a high mountain are the natural means.

A traditional migration from north, south, east, or west may point to the local journeying of a family or tribe, either in search of better hunting-grounds, or as a result of adverse fortune in war; in a few cases a general migration of many tribes constituting a great nation may be referred to; and finally, it is not quite impossible that a faint memory of an Old World origin may have survived through hundreds of generations.

INTERPRETATION OF TRADITION

So with the giant tradition, resulting, 1st, from the memory of a fierce, numerous, powerful, and successful enemy, possibly of large physique. No tribe so valiant that it has not met with reverses, and the attributing of gigantic strength and supernatural powers to the successful foe, removes among the descendants the sting of their ancestors' defeat. 2d. From the discovery of immense fossil bones of mastodons and other extinct species. It is not strange that such were deemed human remains by the natives when the Spaniards in later times have honestly believed them to be the bones of an extinct gigantic race. 3d. From the existence of grand ruins in many parts of the country, far beyond the constructive powers of the savage, and therefore in his eyes the work of giants – as they were intellectually, in comparison with their degenerate descendants. 4th. From an actual traditional remembrance of those who built the ruined cities, and intercourse with comparatively civilized tribes. 5th. From the existence in primitive times of a race of giants.

Numerous additional sources for each of these traditions might doubtless be suggested; but those given suffice for illustration, and, as I have remarked, they are arranged in each case in what would seem the natural order of probability. The near and natural should always be preferred to the remote and supernatural; and the fables mentioned should be referred to Noah's deluge, Asiatic origin, and the existence of a gigantic race, only when the previous suppositions are proved by extraneous evidence to be untenable. The early writers on aboriginal America, using their reason only when it did not conflict with their faith, reversed the order of probability, and thus greatly impaired the usefulness of their contributions to history. The supposition of a purely imaginary origin, common to aboriginal legend and modern romance, should of course be added to each of the preceding lists, and generally placed before the last supposition given.

Passing from the wild tribes to the civilized nations of Mexico and Central America, we find tradition, or what is generally regarded as such, much more complete and extensive in its scope, less childish in detail, and with a more clearly defined dividing line between history and mythology. Theoretically we might expect a higher grade of tradition among a partially civilized people; but on the other hand, what need had the Nahuas or Mayas of oral tradition when they had the art of recording events? In fact, our knowledge of Aztec and Maya history is not in any proper sense traditional, although commonly spoken of as such by the writers. Previous to the practice of the hieroglyphic art – the date of whose invention or introduction is unknown, but must probably be placed long before the Christian era – oral tradition was doubtless the only guide to the past; but the traditions were recorded as soon as the system of picture-writing was sufficiently perfected to suggest if not to clearly express their import. After picture-writing came into general use, it is difficult to imagine that any historical events should have been handed down by tradition alone. Still in one sense the popular knowledge of the past among the Mexicans may be called traditional, inasmuch as the written records of the nation were not in the hands of the people, but were kept by a class of the priesthood, and may be supposed to have been read by comparatively few. The contents of the records, however, except perhaps some religious mysteries which the priests alone comprehended, were tolerably well known to the educated classes; and when the records were destroyed by Spanish fanaticism, this general knowledge became the chief source whence, through the 'talk of the old men,' the earlier writers drew their information. It is in this light that we must understand the statement of many able writers, that the greater part of our knowledge of early American history is traditional, since this knowledge was not obtained by an actual examination of the records by the Spaniards, but orally from the people, the upper classes of whom had themselves read the pictured annals, while the masses were somewhat familiar through popular chants and plays with their contents. The value of history faithfully taken from such a source cannot be doubted, but its vagueness and conflicting statements respecting dates and details may be best appreciated by questioning intelligent men in the light of nineteenth century civilization respecting the details of modern history, withholding the privilege of reference to books or documents.

HIEROGLYPHIC RECORDS

Of the Nahua hieroglyphic system and its capabilities enough has been said elsewhere.²⁶⁴ By its aid, from the beginning of the Toltec period at least, all historical events were recorded that were deemed worthy of being preserved. The popular knowledge of these events was perpetuated by means of poems, songs, and plays, and this knowledge was naturally faulty in dates. The numerous discrepancies which students of the present day meet at every step in the investigation of aboriginal annals, result chiefly from the almost total destruction of the painted records, the carelessness of those who attempted to interpret the few surviving documents at a time when such a task by native aid ought to have been feasible, the neglect of the Spanish priesthood in allowing the art of interpretation to be well-nigh lost, their necessary reliance for historical information on the popular knowledge above referred to, and to a certain degree doubtless from their failure to properly record information thus obtained.

But few native manuscripts have been preserved to the present time, and only a small part of those few are historical in their nature, two of the most important having been given in my second volume.²⁶⁵ Most of the events indicated in such picture-writings as have been interpreted are also narrated by the early writers from traditional sources. Thus we see that our knowledge of aboriginal history depends chiefly on the hieroglyphic records destroyed by the Spaniards, rather than on the few fragments that escaped such destruction. To documents that may be found in the future, and to a more careful study of those now existing, we may look perhaps for much corrective information respecting dates and other details, but it is not probable that newly discovered picture-writings or new readings of old ones will extend the aboriginal annals much farther back into the past. These remarks apply of course only to the Aztec documents; the Maya records painted on skin and paper, or inscribed on stone, are yet sealed books, respecting the nature of whose contents conjecture is vain, but from which the future may evolve revelations of the greatest importance.

THE SPANISH WRITERS

Closely connected with the consideration of tradition and hieroglyphic records as authorities for my present subject, is that of the Spanish and native writers through whom for the most part American traditions, both hieroglyphically recorded and orally transmitted – in fact, what was known to the natives at the Conquest of their own past history – are made known to the modern student. These were Catholic missionaries and their converts, numerous, zealous, and as a class honest writers. Through an excess of religious zeal they had caused at the first irreparable harm by destroying the native records, but later they seem to have realized to a certain extent their error, and to have done all in their power to repair its consequences by zealously collecting such fragments of historical knowledge as had been preserved among the people. Their works have passed the test of severe criticism, and the defects of each have been fairly pointed out, exaggerated, or defended, according to the spirit of the critic; but the agreement of the different works in general outline, and even their differences in detail and their petty blunders, show that in their efforts to record all that could be ascertained of the history of the New World and the institutions of its people, their leading motive was the discovery of the truth, although they were swayed like other writers of their time, and all other times, by the spirit of the age, and by various religious, political, and personal prejudices.

The prevailing weakness of Spanish writers on America is well known – their religious enthusiasm and strong attachment to church dogmas, which, in view of some of its consequences, is pronounced at least mistaken zeal even by devoted churchmen of the present day. They believed in the frequent miraculous interposition of God in the work of converting the native pagans; in the instrumentality of the devil in the spiritual darkness preceding the Conquest. In their antiquarian researches a passage of scripture as commented by the Fathers brought infinitely stronger conviction to their minds than any sculptured monument, hieroglyphic record, historical tradition, or law of nature. In short, they were true Catholics of their time.²⁶⁶ The prevalence of this religious spirit among the only men who had an opportunity to clear up some of the mysteries of the American past is to be regretted. They could have done their work much better without its influence; but, on the other hand, without such a motive as religious enthusiasm there is little probability that the work would have been done at all. It is not only in American researches, however, that this imperfection prevails. As we recede from the present we find men more and more religious, and religion has ever been an imperious mistress, brooking no rivalry on the part of reason. Reliance on superstition and prejudice, rather than facts and reason, is not more noticeable perhaps in works on ancient America than in other old works. The faith of the Spaniards renders their conclusions on origin and the earlier periods of primitive history valueless, but if that were all, the defect would be of slight importance, for it is not likely that the natives knew anything of their own origin, and the Spaniards had no means not now accessible of learning anything on that subject from other sources. We may well pardon them for finding St Thomas and his Christian teachings in the Toltec traditions of Quetzalcoatl; the ten lost tribes of Israel in the American aborigines; Noah's flood and the confusion of tongues in an Aztec picture of a man floating on the water and a bird speaking from a tree; provided they have left us a correct version of the tradition, a true account of the natives and their institutions, and an accurate copy of the picture referred to. But it is not improbable that their zeal gave a coloring to some traditions and suppressed others which furnished no support to the Biblical accounts, and were invented wholly in the interests of the devil. Fortunately it was chiefly on the mythological traditions supposed to relate to the creation, deluge, connection of the Americans with the Old World peoples, and other very remote events that they exercised their faith, rather than on historical traditions proper; fortunately, because the matters of origin and the earliest primitive history were entirely beyond the reach of such authorities, even had they been represented with the most perfect accuracy.

The writings of the authors in question were moreover submitted to a rigorous system of censorship by Spanish councils and tribunals under the control of the priesthood, without the approval of whose officials no work could be published. The spirit that animated these censors was the same as that alluded to above, and their zeal was chiefly directed to the discovery and expurgation of any lurking anti-Catholic sentiment. Many valuable works were doubtless suppressed, but such of them as were preserved in manuscript, or those whose contents have since been made known, have not proved that the censors directed their efforts against anything but heterodoxy and unfavorable criticism of Spanish dealings with the natives.

Spanish credulity accepted as facts many things which modern reason pronounces absurd; shall we therefore reject all statements that rest on Spanish authority? Do we reject all the events of Greek and Roman history, because the historians believed that the sun revolved about the earth, and attributed the ordinary phenomena of nature to the actions of imaginary gods? Should we deny the historical value of the Old Testament records because they tell of Jonah swallowed by a whale, and the sun ordered to stand still? Do we refuse to accept the occurrences of modern Mexican history because many of the ablest Mexican writers apparently believe in the apparition of Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe? And finally, can we reject the statements of able and conscientious men – many of whom devoted their lives to the study of aboriginal character and history, from an honest desire to do the natives good – because they deemed themselves bound by their priestly vows and the fear of the Inquisition to draw scriptural conclusions from each native tradition? The same remarks apply to the writings of converted and educated natives, influenced to a great degree by their teachers; more prone, perhaps, to exaggeration through national pride, but at the same time better acquainted with the native character and with the interpretation of the native hieroglyphics. To pronounce all these works deliberately executed forgeries, as a few modern writers have done, is too absurd to require refutation.

The writers of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries who derived their information from original sources, and on whose works all that has been written subsequently is founded, comprise, 1st, the conquerors themselves, chiefly Cortés, Diaz del Castillo, and the Anonymous Conqueror, whose writings only touch incidentally upon a few points of ancient history. 2d. The first missionaries who were sent from Spain to supplement the achievements of Cortés by spiritual conquests. Such were José de Acosta, Bernardino Sahagun, Bartolomé de Las Casas, Juan de Torquemada, Diego Duran, Gerónimo de Mendieta, Toribio de Benavente (Motolinia), Diego García de Palacio, Didaco Valades, and Alonzo de Zurita. Of these Torquemada is the most complete and comprehensive, so far as aboriginal history is concerned, furnishing an immense mass of material drawn from native sources, very badly arranged and written. Duran also devotes a large portion of his work²⁶⁷ to history, confining himself chiefly, however, to the annals of the Aztecs. The other authorities named, although containing full accounts of the natives and their institutions, devote comparatively little space to historical traditions; Sahagun is the best authority of all, so far as his observations go in this direction. All have been printed, either in the original Spanish or in translations, except Las Casas, whose great historical works exist only in manuscript. 3d. The native writers who after their conversion acquired the Spanish language and wrote on the history of their people, either in Spanish or in their own language, employing the Spanish alphabet. Most of them were thoroughly imbued with the spirit of their converters, and their writings as a class are subject to the same criticism. Domingo Muñoz Camargo, a noble Tlascaltec, wrote, about 1585, a history of his own people, which has been published only in a French translation. Fernando de Alvarado Tezozomoc, descended from the royal family of Azcapuzalco, wrote the chronicles of Mexican history from the standpoint of the Tepanecs, represented at the time of the Conquest by the kingdom of Tlacopan. Fernando de Alva Ixtlilxochitl was a grandson of the last king of Tezcuco, from whom he inherited all that were saved of the records in the public archives. His works are more extensive than those of any other native writer, covering the whole ground of Nahua history, although treating more particularly of the Chichimecs, his ancestors.²⁶⁸

SECONDARY AUTHORITIES

In this class should be included the reported but little known writings of Juan Ventura Zapata y Mendoza, Tadeo de Niza, and Alonzo Franco.²⁶⁹ There are also many manuscripts by native authors whose names are unknown, brought to light by comparatively recent researches, and preserved for the most part in the Brasseur and Aubin collections in Paris. Their contents are unknown except through the writings of the Abbé Brasseur. The Popol Vuh is another important document, of which there are extant a Spanish and a French translation. 4th. Spanish authors who passed their lives mostly in Spain, and wrote chiefly under royal appointment. Their information was derived from the writers already mentioned, from the official correspondence of the colonists, and from the narratives of returning adventurers. Most of them touched upon aboriginal history among other topics. To this class belonged Peter Martyr, Francisco Lopez de Gomara, Antonio de Herrera, and Gonzalo Fernandez de Oviedo y Valdés. 5th. Catholic priests and missionaries who founded or were in charge of the missions at later periods or in remote regions, as Yucatan, Guatemala, Chiapas, Oajaca, Michoacan, and the north-western provinces of New Spain. They wrote chiefly in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and treat principally of the conversion of the natives, but include also in many cases their historical traditions and their explanations of the few aboriginal documents that fell into the possession of the converts. The number of such works is very great, and many of them have never been printed. Among the most important writers of this class are Diego de Landa, Diego Lopez Cogolludo, Padre Lizana, and Juan de Villagutierre Soto-Mayor, on Yucatan; Ramon de Ordoñez y Aguiar,²⁷⁰ Fuentes y Guzman,²⁷¹ F. E. Arana,²⁷² Francisco García Pelaez,²⁷³ and Domingo Juarros, on Guatemala; Francisco Nuñez de la Vega,²⁷⁴ Francisco Ximenez,²⁷⁵ and Antonio de Remesal, on Chiapas; Ribas, Alegre, and Arricivita on the north-western provinces; and Francisco de Burgoa on Oajaca. To the above should be added the regular records kept in all the missions, and the numerous letters and reports of the missionaries in distant provinces, many of which have been preserved, and not a few printed. There may also be included in this class the writings of some later Mexican authors, such as Boturini, Sigüenza y Góngora, Veytia, Leon y Gama, and Clavigero. Their works were mostly founded on the information supplied by their predecessors, which they did much to arrange and classify, but they also had access to some original authorities not previously used. Clavigero is almost universally spoken of as the best writer on the subject, but it is probable that he owes his reputation much more to his systematic arrangement and clear narration of traditions that had before been greatly confused, and to the omission of the most perplexing and contradictory points, than to deep research or new discoveries.

The preceding classes include all the original authorities, that is, all founded on information not accessible to later writers. These works have been the foundation of all that has been written since, except what has been developed from linguistic and other scientific researches. All that modern authors have done may be followed step by step, their facts as well as their conclusions.

Of the secondary authorities already alluded to, the condition and institutions of the natives, with the material relics of their past, not much need be said. It is only indirectly by means of comparisons that these authorities can help us in the study of history. How little they can teach unaided is illustrated in the case of the wild tribes, for whose history they are practically the only authorities. In Mexico and Central America the state of civilization as shown in native art, religion, government, or manners and customs, may indicate by resemblances or dissimilarities a connection or want of it between the different civilized tribes, and may thus corroborate or modify their written annals; it may even throw some light on the unity or diversity of its own origin by showing the nature of the connection between the Nahua and Maya cultures, in which striking resemblances as well as contrasts are observed. Outside of the regions mentioned, where there were no tangible records, we can only search among the wilder tribes for points of likeness by which to attach their past to that of the civilized nations. It may be foreseen that the results of such a search will be but meagre and unsatisfactory, yet on several important branches of the subject, such as the relation borne by the Mound-Builders and Pueblos to the southern nations, it furnishes our only light.

LANGUAGE AS A HISTORICAL AUTHORITY

Of the historical aids now under consideration, ethnology proper, the study of physical and mental characteristics, has yielded and promises apparently the least important results. In fact, as has been already pointed out in another part of this work, it has hardly acquired the right to be classed among the sciences, so far as its application to the American people is concerned. Theoretically it may, in a more perfect state of development than now exists, throw some light on the route and order of American migrations, possibly on the question of origin; thus far, however, ethnological studies have been practically fruitless. Results obtained from a comparison of the miscellaneous arts and customs of various tribes have likewise furnished and will continue to furnish but very slight assistance in historical investigations. Resemblances and dissimilarities in these respects depend intimately on environment, which in comparatively short periods works the most striking changes. Strongly marked analogies are noted in tribes that never came in contact with each other, while contrasts as marked appear in people but a short time separated. Under the same circumstances, after all, men do about the same things, the mind originating like inventions; and coincidences in arts and customs, unless of an extraordinary nature, may be more safely attributed to an independent origin resulting from environment, than to international identity or connection. That language is by far the best of these secondary authorities is conceded by all. No better proof of relationship between native tribes can be desired than the fact that they speak the same language, or dialects showing clear verbal and constructive resemblances. The most prominent abuse of this authority has been a disposition to connect the past of tribes in whose languages slight and forced verbal similarities are pointed out. There is also some difference of opinion about the use of the authority. That two tribes speaking the same languages or similar dialects have had a common origin, or have at least been intimately connected in the past, as tribes, is evident; but how far back that origin or connection may extend, whether it may reach back through the ages to the first division of the human race, or even to the first subdivision of the American peoples, is a disputed point. Fortunately the doubts that have been raised concern chiefly the question of origin, which for other reasons cannot yet be settled.²⁷⁶

Having thus given a sketch of the sources to which we may look for all that is known and has been conjectured respecting the American past, I shall proceed to place before the reader in the remaining chapters of my work what these authorities reveal on the subject. I have not, I believe, exaggerated their value, but fully comprehend the unsubstantial character which must be attributed to many of them. I am well aware that aboriginal American history, like the ancient Egyptian and Hebrew annals, differs materially in its nature and degree of accuracy from the history of England since the expedition of William the Conqueror, or of Mexico since the Conquest by Hernan Cortés. I do not propose to record such events only as may be made to conform to the modern idea of chronologic exactitude, rejecting all else as fabulous and mythic. Were such my purpose, a chapter on the subject already given in the second volume would suffice, with some contraction for the earlier epochs, and a corresponding expansion, perhaps, for Aztec history during the century immediately preceding the Conquest. On the contrary, I shall tell the tale as I find it recorded, mingled as it doubtless is at many points with myth and fable, and shall recount, as others have done, the achievements of heroes that possibly never lived, the wanderings of tribes who never left their original homes. It is not in a spirit of real or feigned credulity that I adopt this course, – on the contrary, I wish to clearly discriminate between fact and fancy wherever such discrimination may be possible, and so far as an extensive study of my subject may enable me to do so – but it is in accordance with the general plan of the whole work to record all that is found, rejecting only what may be proven false and valueless rather than what may possibly be so.

TREATMENT OF THE SUBJECT

I have compared the American past to a dark sea, from the bluff coast line of which projects an occasional cape terminating in precipitous cliffs, quicksands, and sunken rocks, beyond which some faint lights are floated by buoys. The old authors, as Torquemada, Clavigero, and Veytia, had but little difficulty in crossing from the headlands to the tower of Babel beyond the Sea of Darkness; they told the story, fables and all, with little discrimination save here and there the rejection of a tale infringing apparently on orthodoxy, or the expression of a doubt as to the literal acceptation of some marvelous occurrence. Of modern authors, those who, like Wilson, refuse to venture upon the projecting capes of solid rock and earth, who utterly reject the Aztec civilization with all its records, are few, and at this day their writings may be considered as unworthy of serious notice. Other writers, of whom Gallatin is a specimen, venture boldly from the main coast to the extremity of each projecting point, and acknowledge the existence of the rocks, sands, and buoys beyond, but decline to attempt their passage, doubting their security. These men, in favor of whose method there is much to be said, accept the annals of the later Aztec periods, but look with distrust upon the traditions of the Chichimec, Toltec, and Olmec epochs; and hardly see in the far distance the twinkling floating lights that shine from Votan's Empire of Xibalba. Then there are writers who are continually dreaming they have found secure footing by routes previously unknown, from rock to rock and through the midst of shifting sands. Such are the advocates of special theories of American history resting on newly discovered authorities or new readings of old ones. They carefully sift out such mythic traditions as fit their theories, converting them into incontrovertible facts, and reject all else as unworthy of notice; these, however, have chiefly to do with the matter of origin. Finally, I may speak of Brasseur de Bourbourg, rather a class by himself, perhaps, than the representative of a class. This author, to speak with a degree of exaggeration, steps out without hesitation from rock to rock over the deep waters; to him the banks of shifting quicksand, if somewhat treacherous about the edges, are firm land in the central parts; to him the faintest buoy-supported stars are a blaze of noon-day sun; and only on the floating masses of sea-weed far out on the waters lighted up by dim phosphorescent reflections, does he admit that his footing is becoming insecure and the light grows faint. In other words, he accepts the facts recorded by preceding authors, arranges them often with great wisdom and discrimination, ingeniously finds a historic record in traditions by others regarded as pure fables, and thus pushes his research far beyond the limits previously reached. He rejects nothing, but transforms everything into historic facts.

In the present sketch I wish to imitate to a certain extent the writers of each class mentioned, except perhaps the specialists, for I have no theory to defend, have found no new bright sun to illumine what has ever been dark. With the Spanish writers I would tell all that the natives told as history, and that without constantly reminding the reader that the sun did not probably stand still in the heavens, that giants did not flourish in America, that the Toltec kings and prophets did not live to the age of several hundred years, and otherwise warning him against what he is in no danger whatever of accepting as truth. With Wilson and his class of antiquarian sceptics I would feel no hesitation in rejecting the shallow theories and fancies evolved by certain writers from their own brain. With Gallatin I wish to discriminate clearly, when such discrimination is called for and possible, between the historic and the probably mythic; to indicate the boundary between firm land and treacherous quicksand; but also like Brasseur, I would pass beyond the firm land, spring from rock to rock, wade through shifting sands, swim to the farthest, faintest, light, and catch at straws by the way; – yet not flatter myself while thus employed, as the abbé occasionally seems to do, that I am treading dry-shod on a wide, solid, and well-lighted highway.

CHAPTER III.
THE PRE-TOLTEC PERIOD OF ABORIGINAL HISTORY

Subdivision of the Subject – Tzendal Tradition of the Votanic Empire – Votan's Book and its Contents as reported by Nuñez de la Vega, Cabrera, and Ordoñez – Testimony of Manners and Customs, Religion, Languages, and Monuments of the Civilized Nations respecting the Primitive Maya Peoples – The Quiché Record, or Popol Vuh – Civilizing Efforts of Gucumatz and his Followers – Exploits of Hunahpu and Xbalanque – Conquest of Xibalba – Migration from Tulan Zuiva, the Seven Caves – Meaning of the Quiché Tradition – Nahua Traditions – The Toltecs in Tamoanchan according to Sahagun – The Codex Chimalpopoca – Pre-Toltec Nations in Mexico – Olmecs and Xicalancas – The Quinames – Cholula and Quetzalcoatl – The Totonacs – Teotihuacan – Otomís, Miztecs, Zapotecs, and Huastecs – The Toltecs in Huehue Tlapallan – Migration to Anáhuac – The Chichimecs in Amaquemecan – Ancient Home of the Nahuatlacas and Aztecs – Primitive Annals of Yucatan – Conclusions.

TREATMENT OF THE SUBJECT

DIVISION OF THE SUBJECT

In order to render more vivid than it would otherwise have been a picture of Nahua and Maya institutions as they were found in the sixteenth century, I have devoted one chapter of a preceding volume to an outline view of aboriginal history; to fill in so far as possible its details, is my remaining task. The sketch alluded to will prove convenient here, since it will enable me at various points to refer intelligibly and yet briefly to events somewhat in advance of their chronologic order. As has been stated, the sixth century is the most remote period to which we are carried in the annals of Anáhuac by traditions sufficiently definite to be considered in a strict sense as historic records. Prior to the sixth century there were doubtless other periods of Nahua greatness, for there is little evidence to indicate that this was the first appearance in Mexico of this progressive people, but previous development cannot be definitely followed – in a historical sense – although affording occasional glimpses which supply interesting matter for antiquarian speculation.

In the southern regions, where the Maya culture flourished, or what may be considered geographically as Central America, we have seen that the chronologic record is much less extensive and perfect even than in the north, taking us back in an oft-broken line only a few centuries beyond the Conquest. Yet we have caught traditional glimpses far back in the misty past of a mighty aboriginal empire in these tropical lands, of the earlier and grander stages of Maya culture, of Votan, of Xibalba, of even the early periods of Nahua civilization and power. Palenque, Copan, and their companions in ruin, the wonderful material monuments of the ancient epoch, proving it to be no mere creation of the imagination, have been described and pictured. With the breaking-up of the Maya empire into separate nations at an unknown date, the aboriginal history of Central America as a whole ceases, and down to a period closely preceding the Conquest, we have only an occasional event, the memory of which is preserved in the traditions of two or three nations.

The history of the Native Races may be most conveniently subdivided as follows; – 1st. The Pre-Toltec Period, embracing the semi-mythic traditions of the earliest civilization, extending down to a date – always preceding the sixth century, but varying in different parts of the territory – when the more properly historic annals of the different nations begin, and including also the few traditions referring to pre-Toltec nations north of Tehuantepec. 2d. The Toltec Period, referring like the two following periods to Anáhuac alone, and extending down to the eleventh century. 3d. The Chichimec Period, extending from the eleventh century to the formation of the tri-partite alliance between the Aztecs, Acolhuas, and Tepanecs in the fifteenth century. 4th. The Aztec Period, that of Aztec supremacy during the century preceding the Conquest. 5th. The annals of such Nahua nations outside the limits of the Aztec Empire proper as cannot be conveniently included in the preceding divisions. 6th. Historical traditions of the Wild Tribes of the north. 7th. The Quiché-Cakchiquel nations of Guatemala. 8th. Miscellaneous nations and tribes of Central America. 9th. The Maya nations of Yucatan.

The first division, the Pre-Toltec Period, to which the present chapter is devoted, will include the few vague traditions that seem to point to the cradle of American civilization, to the Votanic empire, to Xibalba, and to the deeds of the civilizers, or culture-heroes, in Tabasco and Chiapas. Who can estimate the volumes that would be required for a full narration of all that actually occurred within this period, had the record been made or preserved; – the development, from germs whose nature is unknown, of American civilization; the struggles and misfortunes of infant colonies; the exploits of native heroes; plots of ambition, glorious success, utter failure; the rise and fall of princes and of empires; wars, triumphs, defeats; oppression and revolt; political combinations and intrigues; religious strife between the fanatic devotees of rival divinities; seasons of plenty and of famine; earthquake, flood, and pestilence – a tangled network of events spread over the centuries; – to relate all that we may know of it a chapter will suffice.

VOTAN AND HIS DEEDS

I have told in another volume the mythic tale of Votan,²⁷⁷ the culture-hero, how he came to America and apportioned the land among the people. He came by divine command from Valum Chivim by way of Valum Votan, built a great city of Nachan, 'city of the serpents' – so called from his own name, for he was of the race of Chan, a Serpent – and founded a great empire in the Usumacinta region, which he seems to have ruled over as did his descendants or followers for many centuries. He was not regarded in the native traditions as the first man in America; he found the country peopled, as did all the culture-heroes, but by his teachings and by the aid of his companions he firmly established his own ideas of religion and government. So far as his memory was preserved by tradition he was a civilizer, a law-giver, the introducer of the Maya culture, worshiped moreover, after his disappearance, as a god. He came by sea from the east, but with the locality whence he started I have nothing to do here; neither is it necessary to indulge in speculation respecting the four mysterious visits which he paid after his arrival in America to his original home in the Old World, where it is gravely asserted he was present at the building of Solomon's temple and saw the ruins of the tower of Babel. His reported acts in the New World, whose people he came to civilize, were; – the dividing or apportioning of the lands among the people; their instruction in the new institutions they were required to adopt; the building of a great city, Nachan, afterwards the metropolis of an empire; the reception of a new band of disciples of his own race, who were allowed to share in the success already achieved by his enterprise; the subdividing of his empire after its power had become wide-spread in the land into several allied monarchies subordinate in a certain degree to Nachan, among whose capitals were Tulan, Mayapan, and Chiquimula; the construction of a subterranean road or 'snake hole' from the barranca of Zuqui to Tzequil; the deposit of a great treasure with tapirs as sacred animals in a 'house of gloom' at Huehuetan in Soconusco, protected by guardians called tlapianes, at whose head was a Lady Superior; and finally the writing of a 'book' in which was inscribed a complete record of all he had done, with a defense or proof of his claims to be considered one of the Chanes, or Serpents.²⁷⁸

THE BOOK OF VOTAN

This document is the authority, indirectly, for nearly all that is known from Tzendal sources of Votan and his empire. Francisco Nuñez de la Vega, Bishop of Chiapas, claims to have had in his possession²⁷⁹ and to have read this historical tract. He does not describe it, but from his having been able to read the contents, it would seem to have been, if genuine, not the original in hieroglyphics but an interpretation in European letters, although still perhaps in the Tzendal language. Of the contents, besides a general statement of Votan's coming as the first man sent by God to portion out the land, and some of his experiences in the Old World, this author says nothing definite. He claims to have had much knowledge of Tzendal antiquity derived from the work mentioned and other native writings, but he feared to perpetuate this knowledge lest it might "confirm more strongly an idolatrous superstition." He is the only authority for the deposit of the treasure in the Dark House at Huehuetan, without saying expressly that he derived his information from Votan's writings. This treasure, consisting of aboriginal relics, the bishop felt it to be his duty to destroy, and it was publicly burned in 1691. It is not altogether improbable that a genuine Maya document similar to the Manuscript Troano or Dresden Codex,²⁸⁰ preserved from the early times, may have found a native interpreter at the time of the Conquest, and have escaped in its disguise of Spanish letters the destruction that overtook its companions.

The next notice of this manuscript is found in the writings of Dr Paul Felix Cabrera,²⁸¹ who in the last part of the eighteenth century found it in the possession of Don Ramon de Ordoñez y Aguiar, a native and resident of Ciudad Real in Chiapas.²⁸² He describes the document as consisting of "five or six folios of common quarto paper, written in ordinary characters in the Tzendal language, an evident proof of its having been copied from the original in hieroglyphics, shortly after the conquest."²⁸³ The manuscript, according to Cabrera, recounted Votan's arrival with seven families, to whom he apportioned the lands; his voyages to the Old World; and his reception of the new-comers. Returning from one of his voyages "he found seven other families of the Tzequil nation, who had joined the first inhabitants, and recognized 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 the having taught them refinement of manners in the use of the table, table-cloth, etc.; that, in return for these, they taught him the 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 these united families."

Ordoñez, at the time of Cabrera's visit, was engaged in writing his great 'History of the Heaven and Earth,'²⁸⁴ a work, as the learned Doctor predicts, to be "so perfect in its kind, as will completely astonish the world." The manuscript was never published, part of the historical portion was lost, and the remaining fragments or copies of them fell into the hands of Brasseur de Bourbourg, whose writings contain all that is known of their contents; and it must be confessed that from these fragments little or nothing of value has been extracted by the abbé in addition to what Nuñez de la Vega and Cabrera had already made known. Ordoñez was familiar with the Tzendal language and character, with the ancient monuments of his native state, and was zealously devoted to antiquarian researches; he had excellent opportunities to collect and record such scraps of knowledge as the Tzendal tribes had preserved from the days of their ancestors' greatness;²⁸⁵ but his enthusiasm seems rather to have led him to profitless speculations on the original population of the New World and "its progress from Chaldea immediately after the confusion of tongues." Even after rejecting the absurd theories and speculations which seem to have constituted the bulk of his writings, one cannot help looking with some distrust on the few traditional statements respecting Votan not given by other authors, and thinking of possible transformations that may have been effected in Tzendal fables under the pens of two writers like Ordoñez and Brasseur, both honest investigators, but of that enthusiastic class of antiquarians who experience few or no difficulties.

TZENDAL TRADITIONS

The few items of information respecting the Votanic period not already mentioned, some of them not in themselves improbable, but few traceable to any very definite native source, are the following: The date of the foundation of the empire, according to Ordoñez, was about 1000 B.C. Whether he had any other reason for this supposition than his theory that the building of Solomon's temple, attributed by some writers to that period, took place during Votan's life, is uncertain. The name Tzequiles, applied to Votan's followers by the aborigines, – or rather, it would seem, by the first to the second division of the Serpents – is said to mean in Tzendal 'men with petticoats,' and to have been applied to the new-comers by reason of their peculiar dress.²⁸⁶ To them was given, after the permanent establishment of the empire, one of the great kingdoms into which it was divided, with Tulan as their capital city. This kingdom with two others, whose capitals were Mayapan in Yucatan and Chiquimula, possibly Copan, in Honduras, were allied with, yet to a certain degree subordinate to, the original empire whose capital was Nachan, built and ruled by Votan himself and his descendants. The only names which seem to have been applied in the Tzendal traditions to the people and their capital city were Chanes, or Serpents, and Nachan, or City of Serpents; but these names acquire considerable historical importance when it is noted that they are the exact equivalents of Culhuas and Culhuacan, names which will be found so exasperatingly prevalent in the Nahua traditions of the north. Ordoñez claims, however, that the name Quiché, at a later period that of a Guatemalan kingdom, was also in these earlier times applied to Votan's empire.²⁸⁷

Of Votan's death there is no tradition, nor is anything definite reported of his successors, save, what is perhaps only a conjecture, that their names are recorded in the Tzendal calendar as the names of days,²⁸⁸ the order being that of their succession. In this case it is necessary to suppose that Votan had two predecessors, Igh and Imox; and in fact Brasseur claims to find in one document a statement that Igh brought the first colony to America.²⁸⁹ Chinax, the last but two of the line, a great soldier, is said to have been put to death by a rival of another nation.²⁹⁰ Nuñez de la Vega notes the existence of a family of Votans in his time, claiming direct descent from the great founder; and Brasseur states that a wild tribe of the region are yet known as Chanes.²⁹¹

THE VOTANIC EMPIRE

Such are the vague memories of the Chiapan past so far as they were preserved by the natives of the region, and collected by Europeans. The nature of the traditions themselves, the sources whence they sprang, the medium through which they are given to us, are not such as to inspire great confidence in the accuracy of the details related, although some of the traditions are not improbable and were very likely founded on actual occurrences. But whatever value may be attached to their details, the traditions in question have great weight in establishing two general propositions – the existence in the remote past of a great and powerful empire in the Usumacinta region, and a general belief among the subjects of that empire that the beginning of their greatness was due to a hero or demi-god called Votan. They point clearly to the appearance and growth of a great race, nation, or dynasty; and they carry us no farther. Respecting the questions who or what was Votan, man or mythic creation, populator, colonizer, civilizer, missionary, conqueror, foreign or native born? When, how, and whence did he come to the central tierra caliente? Who were the people among whom he wrought his mighty deeds, and what was their past history? we are left to simple conjecture, – conjecture of a class which falls without the limits of my present purpose, and to which the first chapter of this volume has been devoted. Doubtless the Votanic was not the first period of American civilization and power, but none earlier is known to us. In addition to the Tzendal traditions there are several other authorities bearing more or less directly on this primitive empire, which I proceed to investigate.

In the second volume of this work I have described the physique, character, manners and customs, arts, and institutions of the civilized nations of our territory, dividing them into two great families or groups, the Mayas and the Nahuas, "the former the more ancient, the latter the more recent and wide-spread." The many contrasts observed between the institutions of the northern and southern nations seemed sufficiently marked to outweigh the frequently recurring resemblances, and to justify me in the opinion there expressed that their culture had either been distinct from the beginning, or – what is more probable and for my purpose practically the same thing – that it had progressed in different paths for a long time previous to the coming of the Spaniards. The contrasts observed were attributed to a distinct origin of the two national groups, or, with more probability, to their long separation; while the analogies were to be referred either to unity of origin, to the tendency of humanity to like development under like circumstances, to frequent communication and friction by commerce or war, or still better, to the influence of all these causes combined.

THE MAYAS AND NAHUAS

The picture presented in the third volume of the myths and languages of the same nations favored the view previously taken. In the religious fancies, divinities, forms of worship, ideas of a future state, physical, animal, and creation myths, to which the first part of the volume was devoted, the analogies, it is true, seemed somewhat stronger and the contrasts less striking than in the characteristics previously portrayed; this was perhaps because the myths of any people point farther back into their past than do the so-called manners and customs; but in the consideration of languages which followed, the contrasts between the two groups came out more distinctly marked than at any previous stage of the investigation. A very large proportion of the tongues of the civilized nations were found to belong more or less closely to one or the other of two linguistic families. Finally, in the fourth volume a study of material relics tended very strongly to confirm the opinion before arrived at respecting the development of Maya and Nahua culture in distinct channels, at least during the historic period. I need not repeat here even en résumé the facts exhibited in the preceding volumes, nor the lessons that have at different points been drawn from them; but I may briefly mention some general conclusions founded on the preceding matter which bear on my present purpose of historical investigation. First, as already stated, the Maya and Nahua nations have been within traditionally historic times practically distinct, although coming constantly in contact. Second, this fact is directly opposed to the once accepted theory of a civilized people, coming from the far north, gradually moving southward with frequent halts, constantly increasing in power and culture, until the highest point of civilization was reached in Chiapas, Honduras, and Yucatan, or as many believed in South America. Third, the theory alluded to is rendered altogether untenable by the want of ruins in California and the great north-west; by the utter want of resemblance between New Mexican and Mexican monuments; by the failure to discover either Aztec or Maya dialects in the north; and finally by the strong contrasts between the Nahuas and Mayas, both in language and in monuments of antiquity. Fourth, the monuments of the south are not only different from but much more ancient than those of Anáhuac, and cannot possibly have been built by the Toltecs after their migration from Anáhuac in the eleventh century, even if such a migration took place. Fifth, these monuments, like those of the north, were built by the ancestors of the people found in possession of the country at the Conquest, and not by an extinct race or in remote antiquity.²⁹² Sixth, the cities of Palenque, Ococingo, and Copan, at least, were unoccupied when the Spaniards came; the natives of the neighboring region knew nothing of their origin even if they were aware of their existence, and no notice whatever of the existence of such cities appears in the annals of the surrounding civilized nations during the eight or nine centuries preceding the Conquest; that is, the nation that built Palenque was not one of those found by Europeans in the country, but its greatness had practically departed before the rise of the Quiché, Cakchiquel, and Yucatan powers. Seventh, the many resemblances that have been noted between Nahua and Maya beliefs, institutions, arts, and relics, may be consistently accounted for by the theory that at some period long preceding the sixth century the two peoples were practically one so far as their institutions were concerned, although they are of themselves not sufficient to prove the theory. Eighth, the oldest civilization in America which has left any traces for our consideration, whatever may have been its pre-historic origin, was that in the Usumacinta region represented by the Palenque group of ruins.²⁹³

It is not likely that Américanistes of the present day will disagree materially with the preceding conclusions, especially as they do not positively assert the southern origin of the Nahua peoples or deny their traditional migration from the north. The general theory alluded to of a great migration from north to south, and the theory of a civilized race of foreign origin extinct long before the Conquest, will find few defenders in view of the results of modern research. It is true that many writers attribute more or less positively the grand ruins of Central America to the Toltecs after their migration southward in the eleventh century; but their decision has been generally reached without even considering the possible existence of any other civilized nation in the annals of American antiquity. Their studies have shown them that Palenque was not the work of an extinct race, and they have consequently attributed the ruins to the oldest people mentioned in the popular version of American traditional history – the Toltecs, and the more naturally because that people, according to the tradition, had migrated southward. Mr Stephens, who arrived at this conclusion in the manner indicated, admits that from a study of the ruins themselves he would have assigned the foundation of the cities to a much more remote period.²⁹⁴

MONUMENTS AND INSTITUTIONS

Thus the monumental relics of Central America by themselves and by comparisons with other American ruins, point directly to the existence of a great empire in the Palenque region; and the observed phenomena of myths, language, and institutions agree perfectly with such a conclusion, which, however, unaided, they could not have established. We may then accept as a reality the Votanic Maya empire on the authority of the native traditions confirmed by the tangible records of ruined cities, and by the condition of the southern civilized nations in the sixteenth century. It is more than probable that Palenque was the capital, as Ordoñez believes – the Nachan of the Votanic epoch – and not improbable that Ococingo, Copan, and some of the older Yucatec cities were the centres of contemporaneous, perhaps allied powers.²⁹⁵

TRADITIONS OF THE QUICHÉS

I pass next to the traditions of the Quiché nations as preserved in the Popol Vuh, or National Book, and known to the world through the Spanish translation of Ximenez and the French of Brasseur de Bourbourg.²⁹⁶ These traditions, the authenticity and general accuracy of which there is no reason to doubt, constitute a hopelessly entangled network of mythic tales, without chronology, but with apparent although vague references here and there, to actual events in the primitive history of the peoples whose descendants were the Quichés and Cakchiquels, and with a more continuous account in the closing chapters, of the Quiché annals of a much later period, immediately preceding the Conquest. In the introduction we read: "This is the origin of the ancient history of Quiché. Here we write the annals of the past, the beginning of all that has taken place in the city of Quiché, among the tribes of the Quiché nations. Behold we bring about the manifestation of what was in obscurity, its first dawning by the will of the Creator and of the Former, of Him who begets and of Him who gives being. Their names are Hunahpu Vuch – 'shooter of the blowpipe at the opossum,' Hunahpu Utïu – 'shooter of the blowpipe at the coyote,' Zaki Nima Tzyiz – 'great white pricker,' Tepeu – the 'dominator,' and Gucumatz – the 'plumed serpent;' Heart of the Lakes, Heart of the Sea, Master of the Verdant Planisphere, Master of the Azure Surface. Thus it is that these also are named, sung, and celebrated – the grandmother and the grandfather, whose names are Xpiyacoc and Xmucane, preserver and protectrice; twice grandmother and twice grandfather, as it is stated in the Quiché annals; concerning whom was related all that they did afterwards in the light of life, in the light of the word, (civilization). Behold that which we shall write after the word of God, and in Christianity; we shall bring it to light because the Popol Vuh, the national book, is no longer visible, in which it was clearly seen that we came from beyond the sea – 'the narrative of our life in the land of shadow, and how we saw the light and life,' as it is called. It is the first book, written in olden times; but its view is hidden from him who sees and thinks. Wonderful is its appearance, and the narrative of the time when he (the Creator) finished everything in heaven and on earth."²⁹⁷

Then follows an account, which has already been presented in a condensed translation,²⁹⁸ of a time when all was silent, and there was yet no earth, and no living thing, only the immobility and silence of a boundless sea, on the surface of which floated the Creator and his companion deities named above, including Gucumatz, the 'plumed serpent.' Then the light appeared and the earth with its vegetation was created by Gucumatz and the Dominator at the word of Hurakan, Heart of Heaven, the Thunderbolt. Life and fecundity were given to the animals and birds, who were distributed as guardians of the forests and mountains, and called upon to speak and praise the names of those that had made them; but the poor animals, after efforts twice repeated, could not obey, and were assigned a position far below that which they had been intended to fill. Two attempts at the creation of intelligent beings followed, both failures. First man was made of earth, and although he could speak, he was intellectually stupid and physically clumsy, unable to stand erect, and soon mingled with the water like a man of mud. He was destroyed by the disgusted creators. The sorcerers, Xpiyacoc and Xmucane, grandmothers of the sun and of the moon, were consulted in the second creation, and the 'chief of Toltecat' is mentioned in addition to the names already given. Lots were cast, all needful precautions were taken, and man was made again of wood and pith; but he lacked intelligence, led a useless life, and forgot the Heart of Heaven. They became numerous on the face of the earth, but the gods were wroth and sent upon them a flood, and a resinous shower from heaven; their houses refused to cover them, the trees shook them from the branches where they sought shelter, the animals and even the household implements turned against the poor wooden men, reviling and persecuting them, until all were destroyed, save a few who remained as a memorial in the form of apes.²⁹⁹

At this point the character of the narrative changes somewhat, and, although an account of a third and final creation of man, given on a subsequent page,³⁰⁰ should, in the opinion of Brasseur, be introduced here, I proceed with a résumé of the Quiché tradition in the order of its arrangement in both the Spanish and French version, devoting a paragraph to each chapter of the French translation.

There was sky and earth, but little light; and a man named Vucub Cakix, 'seven aras, or paroquets,' was puffed up with pride and said, "those that were drowned were like supernatural beings;³⁰¹ now will I be great above all created beings. I am their sun and their moon; great is my splendor." He was not the sun, nor did his view reach over the whole earth, but he was proud of his riches. This was when the flood destroyed the wooden manikins. Now we will tell when Vucub Cakix was defeated and man was made.

VUCUB CAKIX AND ZIPACNA

This is the cause of his destruction by two young men, Hunahpu (or Hunhunahpu) and Xbalanque, 'little tiger,' who were really gods, and thought it not good that Vucub Cakix should swell with pride and offend the Heart of Heaven; and they plotted against his life and wealth. He had two sons, Zipacna and Cabrakan, the 'earthquake,' by his wife Chimalmat. Zipacna's work was to roll the great mountains which he made in a night, and which Cabrakan shook at will. The death of the father and son was resolved upon by the two young men.

Vucub Cakix was shot by them while eating the fruit called nanze in a tree-top, and his jaw broken, although in revenge he carried home the arm of Hunahpu, which he hung over the fire. But an old man and an old woman, Zaki Nim Ak and Zaki Nima Tzyiz – divinities already named, in human disguise – were induced by the two young men to volunteer their services in curing the jaw of Vucub Cakix, who seems to have been a king, for they found him on his throne howling with pain. They pulled out his broken teeth of precious stones, in which he took great pride, substituting grains of maize; they dimmed his eyes, took away his riches, and recovered the missing arm. Then the king died as did his wife, and the purpose of Hunahpu and Xbalanque was accomplished against him who was proud and regarded not the will of the Heart of Heaven.

These are the deeds of Zipacna, son of Vucub Cakix, who claimed to be creator of the mountains. Bathing at the river-side he found four hundred young men striving in vain to carry away a tree which they had cut. Generously he bore the burden for them, and was invited to join their band, being an orphan; but they soon plotted against him, casting a tree upon him in a deep pit they had employed him to dig. He cunningly took refuge in a branch gallery, cut off his hair and nails for the ants to carry up to his foes, waited until the four hundred had become intoxicated in their rejoicing at his supposed death, emerged from the pit, and toppled over their house upon them so that not one escaped.

But in his turn Zipacna was conquered by Hunahpu and Xbalanque, who were grieved that the four hundred had perished. Zipacna, bearing the mountains by night, wandered in the day by the river and lived on fish and crabs; by an artificial crab his two foes enticed him in a time of hunger to crawl on all fours into a cavern at the bottom of a ravine, where the mountain, previously mined, fell upon him. Thus perished and was turned to stone, at the foot of Mt Meavan, the self-styled 'maker of the mountains,' the second who by his pride displeased the deities.

One only now remained, Cabrakan. "It is I who destroy the mountains," he said; but it was the will of Hurakan, 'the thunderbolt,' that his pride also should be humbled, and the order was given to Hunahpu and Xbalanque. They found him at his favorite employment of overturning the hills, enticed him eastward to exhibit his skill and overthrow a particularly high mountain which they claimed to have seen, killed a bird with their blowpipe on the way, and poisoned it with earth before it was given Cabrakan to eat. Thus was his strength destroyed; he failed to move the mountain, was tied, and buried.

THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION

Thus ends the first of the four divisions of the Popol Vuh.³⁰² Next we are to hear something of the birth and family of Hunahpu and Xbalanque. The recital is, however, to be covered with mystery, and only half is to be told of the relation of their father.³⁰³ Xpiyacoc and Xmucane had two sons, Hunhunahpu and Vukub Hunahpu, the first being as the French translation unintelligibly renders it a sort of double personage. The former had also by his wife Xbakiyalo two sons, Hunbatz and Hunchouen, very wise, great artists, and skillful in all things; the latter never married. All four spent the day in playing at dice and at ball, and Voc, the messenger of Hurakan, came to see them, Voc who remained not far from here nor far from Xibalba.³⁰⁴ After the death of Xbakiyalo, the two played ball, journeying toward Xibalba, having left Hunbatz and Hunchouen behind, and this became known to Hun Came and Vukub Came, monarchs of Xibalba, who called together the council of the empire and sent to summon them or to challenge them to a game of ball, that they might be defeated and disgraced.

The messengers were owls, four in number; and the players, after a sad parting from their mother, Xmucane, and from the young Hunbatz and Hunchouen, followed them down the steep road to Xibalba from the ball-ground of Nimxob Carchah.³⁰⁵ Crossing ravines and rivers, including one of blood, they came to the royal palace of Xibalba, and saluted two wooden figures as monarchs, to the great amusement of the latter and the assembled princes. Then the brothers were invited to a place on the seat of honor, which proved to be a red-hot stone, and the contortions of the guests when they sat upon it provoked a new burst of laughter which well-nigh resulted in apoplexy. Five ordeals are here mentioned as existing in Xibalba, to the first of which only, that of the House of Gloom,³⁰⁶ were the brothers subjected; then they were sacrificed and their bodies buried together. But the head of Hunhunahpu was hung in a tree, which at once became covered with gourds from which the head could not be distinguished, and it was forbidden to all in Xibalba to approach that tree.

But Xquiq, a virgin princess, daughter of Cuchumaquiq, heard of the tree, and went alone to taste the forbidden fruit. Into her outstretched hand the head of Hunhunahpu spat, and the spittle caused the young girl to conceive, and she returned home, after a promise from the head that no harm should result to her. All this was by the order of Hurakan. After six months her condition was observed by her father, and in spite of her protestations that she had known no man, the owls, the royal messengers, were ordered to sacrifice her and bring back her heart in a vase. She persuaded and bribed the royal officers, however, by the promise of future emoluments, to carry back to the kings the coagulated sap of the blood-wort instead of her blood and heart, and she escaped; thus were Hun Came and Vukub Came tricked by this young girl.

Xquiq, far advanced in pregnancy, went for protection to the place where Xmucane was living with the young Hunbatz and Hunchouen. The old woman was not disposed at first to credit the stranger's tale that she was with child by Hunhunahpu, and therefore entitled to protection as a granddaughter at the hands of Xmucane; but by calling upon the gods and gathering a basket of maize where no maize was growing, the young girl proved the justice of her claim, and was received by the great grandmother of her unborn children.

HUNAHPU AND XBALANQUE

The virgin mother brought forth twin sons, and they were named Hunahpu and Xbalanque. From their very birth they were ill-treated. They were turned out of the house by their grandmother for crying, and throughout childhood and youth were abused by Hunbatz and Hunchouen, by reason of jealousy. They passed their time shooting birds in the mountains with their blowpipes, while their brothers, great musicians, painters, and sculptors, remained at home singing and playing the flute. But at last Hunbatz and Hunchouen were changed by the young heroes into monkeys. Xmucane was filled with sadness, and she was offered the privilege of beholding again the faces of her favorite grandsons, if she could do so without laughing; but their grimaces and antics were too ludicrous; the old lady failed in three interviews to restrain her laughter, and Hunbatz and Hunchouen appeared no more. Hunahpu and Xbalanque became in their turn musicians and played the air of hunahpu qoy, the 'monkey of Hunahpu.'³⁰⁷

The first work undertaken by the twins was the clearing of a milpa or cornfield. It was not very difficult on the first day, for their enchanted tools worked by themselves while the young agriculturists went hunting, taking care to put dirt on their faces and to pretend to be at work when their grandmother brought their lunch at noon. In the night, however, the wild beasts met and replaced all the trees and shrubbery that the brothers had removed. Hunahpu and Xbalanque watched for them the next night, but in spite of their efforts the beasts all escaped – although the deer and rabbit lost their tails – except the rat, which was caught in a handkerchief. The rat's life was spared by the youths and in return this animal revealed the glorious deeds of their fathers and uncles, their games at ball, and the existence of a ball of India rubber with other implements of the game which they had left about the house. All of the implements and the ball came into their possession with the knowledge of the secret.

Joyful at their discovery Hunahpu and Xbalanque went away to play in the ball-ground of their fathers, and the monarchs of Xibalba, Hun Came and Vukub Came, heard them and were angry, and sent messengers to summon them as their fathers had been summoned to play at Xibalba. The messengers came to the house of Xmucane, who, filled with alarm, dispatched a louse to carry the summons to her grandsons. On the way the louse consented, to insure greater speed, to be swallowed by a toad, the toad by a serpent, and the serpent by the great bird Voc. On arrival a series of vomitings ensued, until the toad was free; but in spite of his most desperate efforts he could not throw up the louse, who, it seems, had played him a trick, lodged in his gums, and not been swallowed at all. However, the message was delivered, and the players returned home to take leave of their grandmother and mother. Before their departure they planted each a cane in the middle of the house, the fate of which should depend upon their own, since it would wither at their death.

The ball-players set out for Xibalba by the route their fathers had followed, passing the bloody river and the river Papuhya; but they sent in advance an animal called Xan, with a hair of Hunahpu's leg to prick the kings and princes. Thus they detected the artificial men of wood, and also learned the names of all the princes by their exclamations and mutual inquiries when pricked. On their arrival at court they refused to salute the manikins or to sit upon the red-hot stone; they even passed through the first ordeal in the House of Gloom, thus thrice avoiding the tricks which had been played upon their fathers.

The kings were astonished and very angry, and the game of ball was played, and those of Xibalba were beaten. Then Hun Came and Vukub Came required the victors to bring them four bouquets of flowers, ordering the guards of the royal gardens to watch most carefully, and committed Hunahpu and his brother to the House of Lances – the second ordeal – where the lancers were directed to kill them. Yet a swarm of ants in the brothers' service entered easily the royal gardens, the lancers were bribed, and the sons of Xquiq were still victorious. Those of Xibalba turned pale, and the owls, guards of the royal gardens, were punished by having their lips split.

Hunahpu and Xbalanque were subjected to the third ordeal in the House of Cold, but warmed by burning pine-cones they were not frozen. So in the fourth and fifth ordeals, since they passed a night in the House of Tigers and in the House of Fire without suffering injury; but in the House of Bats, although the occupants did them no harm, Hunahpu's head was cut off by Camazotz, 'ruler of bats,' who came from on high.

The beheading of Hunahpu was by no means fatal, but after a combination of events utterly unintelligible, including an assemblage of all the animals, achievements particularly brilliant by the turtle and rabbit, and another contest at ball-playing, the heroes came out uninjured from all the ordeals to which they were subjected in Xibalba.

DEATH OF THE TWIN BROTHERS

At last, instructing two sorcerers, Xulu and Pacam, that those of Xibalba had failed because the brutes were not on their side, and directing them also what to do with their bones, Hunahpu and Xbalanque stretched themselves voluntarily face down on a funeral pile, still in Xibalba, and died together. Their bones were pulverized and thrown into the river, where they sank and were changed into fine young men.

On the fifth day they re-appeared, like man-fishes; and on the day following in the form of ragged old men, dancing, burning and restoring houses, killing and restoring each other to life, and performing other wonderful things. They were induced to exhibit their skill before the princes of Xibalba, killing and resuscitating the king's dog, burning and restoring the royal palace; then a man was made the subject of their art, Hunahpu was cut in pieces and brought to life by Xbalanque. Finally, the monarchs of Xibalba wished to experience personally the temporary death; Hun Came, the highest in rank, was first killed, then Vukub Came, but life was not restored to them; the two shooters of the blow-pipe had avenged the wrongs of their fathers; the monarchs of Xibalba had fallen.

Having announced their true names and motives, the two brothers pronounced sentence on the princes of Xibalba. Their ball was to appear no more in the favorite game, they were to perform menial service, with only the beasts of the woods as vassals, and this was to be their punishment for the wrongs they had done; yet strangely enough, they were to be invoked thereafter as gods, or rather demons, according to Ximenez. The character of the Xibalbans is here described. They were fond of war, of frightful aspect, ugly as owls, inspiring evil and discord; faithless, hypocritical, and tyrants, they were both black and white, painting their faces, moreover, with divers colors. But their power was ruined and their domination ceased. Meanwhile, the grandmother Xmucane at home watched the growth of the canes, and was filled alternately with grief and joy, as these withered and again became green according to the varying fortunes of the grandsons in Xibalba.³⁰⁸ Finally, to return to Xibalba, Hunahpu and Xbalanque rendered the fitting funeral honors to their fathers who had perished there, but who now mounted to heaven and took their places as the sun and moon; and the four hundred young men killed by Zipacna became stars in the skies. Thus ends the second division of the National Book of the Quichés.³⁰⁹

MIGRATION FROM TULAN

The first chapter of the third division relates another and final creation of man from maize, in Paxil, or Cayala, 'land of divided and stagnant waters,' and has already been translated in full in another volume.³¹⁰ According to Brasseur's opinion it should follow the account of the preceding creations,³¹¹ and precede the narrative of the struggle with Xibalba; but was introduced here at the beginning of the Quiché migrations intentionally in order to attach the later Quiché nations more closely to the heroic epochs of their history. The remaining chapters of the division have also been translated in substance.³¹² In them are related the adventures of Balam-Quitzé, Balam-Agab, Mahucutah, and Iqi-Balam, the product of the final creation by Gucumatz and his companion deities, and the founders of the Quiché nations. The people multiplied greatly in a region called the East, and migrated in search of gods to Tulan-Zuiva, the 'seven caves,' where four gods were assigned to the four leaders; namely, Tohil, Avilix, Hacavitz, and Nicahtagah. Here their language was changed or divided, and the division into separate nations was established. Suffering from cold and endeavors to obtain fire while they were awaiting the sun, are the points most dwelt upon during their stay in Tulan, and in connection with these troubles the coming of an envoy from Xibalba is mentioned,³¹³ which circumstance may indicate that Tulan was in the Xibalban region. But they determined to abandon or were driven from Tulan, and after a tedious journey, including apparently a crossing of the sea, they reached Mt Hacavitz, where at last they beheld the sun. Mt Hacavitz was apparently in Guatemala, and the events mentioned in the record as having occurred subsequently to the arrival there, although many are of a mythical nature and few can be assigned to any definite epoch, may best be referred to the more modern history of the Quiché-Cakchiquel nations in Guatemala, to be treated in a future chapter.

The events preceding the rising of the sun on Mt Hacavitz, are not easily connected with the exploits of Hunahpu and Xbalanque; but to suppose that they follow in chronologic order, and that the traditions in question reflect vaguely the history of the heroes or tribes that prevailed against Xibalba is at least as consistent as any theory that can be formed. The chief objection is the implied crossing of the sea during the migration from Tulan, which may be an interpolation. A lamentation which they chanted on Mt Hacavitz has considerable historical importance. "Alas," they said, "we were ruined in Tulan, we were separated, and our brothers still remain behind. Truly we have beheld the sun, but they, where are they now that the dawn has appeared? Truly Tohil is the name of the god of the Yaqui nation, who was called Yolcuat Quitzalcuat (Quetzalcoatl) when we parted yonder in Tulan. Behold whence we set out together, behold the common cradle of our race, whence we have come. Then they remembered their brothers far behind them, the nation of the Yaqui whom their dawn enlightened in the countries now called Mexico. There was also a part of the nation which they left in the east, and Tepeu and Oliman were the places where they remained."³¹⁴

A Cakchiquel record of what would seem to be the same primitive traditions contained in the Popol Vuh, exists but has never been published. It is only known through an occasional reference or quotation in the writings of Brasseur de Bourbourg. From one of these references³¹⁵ we learn that the barbarian Utïu, Jackal, or Coyote, that conducted Gucumatz to Paxil where maize was discovered, was killed by one of the heroes or deities; hence the name Hunahpu Utïu, 'shooter of the blowpipe at the coyote.' The following quotation from the same document refers to the name Tulan, which with its different spellings occurs so perplexingly often in all the primitive traditions of American civilization. "Four persons came from Tulan, from the direction of the rising sun, that is one Tulan. There is another Tulan in Xibalbay and another where the sun sets, and it is there that we came; and in the direction of the setting sun there is another where is the god: so that there are four Tulans; and it is where the sun sets that we came to Tulan, from the other side of the sea where this Tulan is, and it is there that we were conceived and begotten by our mothers and our fathers."³¹⁶

MEANING OF THE QUICHÉ TRADITIONS

Such in a condensed form are the tales that make up the primitive annals of the Quiché nations of Guatemala. We may be very sure that, be they marvelous or common-place, each is founded on an actual occurrence, and has its meaning. That meaning, so far as details are concerned, has been doubtless in most instances lost. We may only hope to extract from the tenor of the record as a whole, a general idea respecting the nature of the historic events thus vaguely recorded; and even this would be perhaps a hopeless task, were it not for the aid derived from the Tzendal traditions, with monumental, institutional, and linguistic arguments already considered, and the Nahua records yet to be examined. It is not altogether visionary to behold in the successive creations by Gucumatz, the 'plumed serpent,' and his companions, as we have done in the coming of Votan, the introduction or growth of a new civilization, new forms of government or religion, new habits of life in America; even if we cannot admit literally the arrival at a definite time and place of a civilizer, Gucumatz, or hope to reasonably explain each of his actions. It is not necessary to decide whether the new culture was indigenous or of foreign origin; or even to suppose it radically different from any that preceded or were contemporaneous with it. We need not go back to ancient times to see partisans or devotees attach the greatest importance to the slightest differences in government or religion, looking with pity or hatred on all that are indifferent or opposed. Thus in the traditions before us opponents and rivals are pictured as the powers of darkness, while tribes that cling to the freedom of the forests and are slow to accept the blessings of civilized life, are almost invariably spoken of as brutes. The final creation of man, and the discovery of maize as an essential element in his composition, refer apparently to the introduction among or adoption by the new people or new sect of agriculture as a means of support, but possibly to the creation of a high rank of secular or religious rulers. Utïu, the Jackal, a barbarian, led Gucumatz and his companions to Paxil Cayala where maize was found, but was killed by the new-comers in the troubles that ensued. Early in the narrative, however, the existence of a rival power, the great empire of Xibalba, almost synonymous with the infernal regions, is explicitly indicated, and a large portion of the Popol Vuh is devoted to the struggle between the two. The princes and nations of Xibalba, symbolized in Vukub Cakix, Zipacna, Cabrakan, Hun Came, and Vukub Came, were numerous and powerful, but, since the history is written by enemies, they were of course bad. Their chief fault, their unpardonable sin, consisted in being puffed up with pride against the Heart of Heaven, in refusing to accept the views of the new sect. Consequently the nations and chiefs that had arrayed themselves on the side of Gucumatz, represented by Xbalanque and Hunahpu, of several generations, struggle long and desperately to humble their own enemies and those of the supreme god, Hurakan. The oft-repeated struggles are symbolized by games at ball between the rival chiefs. The ball grounds or halls are battle-fields. The animals of the forests often take a prominent part on one side or the other; that is, the savage tribes are employed as allies. Occasionally men are for some offense or stupidity changed to monkeys, or tribes allied with the self-styled reformers and civilizers prove false to their allegiance and return to the wild freedom of the mountains. It is difficult, if not impossible, to determine the meaning of that portion of the narrative which recounts the immaculate conception of the princess Xquiq; but Brasseur, not without reason, sees in the birth of Hunahpu and Xbalanque from a Xibalban mother, an indication that the rival nations became more or less mixed by intermarriage. The same author conjectures that the quarrels between the two twins and their elder half-brothers record dissensions that arose between the chiefs of pure and mixed blood. After a long series of wars with varying results, symbolized by the repeated games of ball, and the ordeals to which Xbalanque and his brother were successively subjected, the princes of Xibalba were defeated. From the terms in which the victory is described in the tradition, the general impression is conveyed that it was not a conquest involving the destruction of cities and the extermination or enslaving of the people; but rather the overthrow of a dynasty; the transfer of the supreme power to nations that formerly occupied subordinate positions. The chief feature in the celebration of the triumph was the apotheosis of the heroes who had fallen during the struggle.

After the triumph of Gucumatz' followers, the written tradition is practically silent. Of the greatness of the newly constituted empire we know nothing; the record only re-opens when misfortune has again come upon the nations and they are forced to abandon Tulan for new homes. Neither their defeats nor the names of their conquerors were thought worthy of a place in the annals of the Quiché nations, afterwards so powerful in Guatemala; yet we can hardly doubt that the princes of Xibalba contributed to their overthrow. Forced to leave Tulan, spoken of as the cradle of their race, they migrated in three divisions, one towards the mountains of Guatemala, one towards Mexico, and the third toward the east by way of Tepeu and Oliman, which the Cakchiquel manuscript is said to locate on the boundary of Peten and Yucatan.

CONQUEST OF XIBALBA

The Quiché traditions, then, point clearly to, 1st, the existence in ancient times of a great empire somewhere in Central America, called Xibalba by its enemies; 2d, the growth of a rival neighboring power; 3d, a long struggle extending through several generations at least, and resulting in the downfall of the Xibalban kings; 4th, a subsequent scattering, – the cause of which is not stated, but was evidently war, civil or foreign, – of the formerly victorious nations from Tulan, their chief city or province; 5th, the identification of a portion of the migrating chiefs with the founders of the Quiché-Cakchiquel nations in possession of Guatemala at the Conquest. The National Book, unaided, would hardly suffice to determine the location of Xibalba, which was very likely the name of a capital city as well as of the empire. Utatlan, in the Guatemalan highlands, is clearly pointed out as the place whence Xbalanque set out for its conquest, and several other names of localities in Guatemala are also mentioned, but it should be noted that the tradition comes through Guatemalan sources, and it is not necessary even to suppose that Utatlan was the centre of the forces that struggled against the powers of darkness. Yet since we know through Tzendal traditions and monumental relics, of the great Votanic empire of the Chanes, which formerly included the region of Palenque, there can hardly be room for hesitation in identifying the two powers. The description of Paxil Cayala, 'divided and stagnant waters,' "a most excellent land, full of good things, where the white and yellow maize did abound, also the cacao, where were sapotes and many fruits, and honey; where all was overflowing with the best of food," agrees at least as well with the Usumacinta region as with any other in Central America. The very steep descent by which Xbalanque reached Xibalba from Utatlan, corresponds perfectly with the topography of the country towards the Usumacinta. The statement that in the final migration from Tulan to Guatemala, two parties were left behind, one of which went to Mexico, and the other was left in the east, also seems to point in the same direction. The Cakchiquel Manuscript tells us that there was a Tulan in Xibalba, evidently the one whence the final migration took place, and from the Tzendal tradition through Ordoñez we have learned that Tulha, or Tulan, was one of the great cities of Votan's Empire. Finally there is absolutely nothing in the narrative which points to any other location.

XIBALBA THE VOTANIC EMPIRE

Xibalba was then the Empire of the Serpents, to which tradition assigns Votan as a founder; the same name was applied also to its capital city Nachan, probably identical with Palenque; and Tulan, or Tulha, the centre of nations which were successively subjects, allies, rivals, and conquerors of the imperial city, may be conjecturally identified with the ruined Ococingo or Copan. Vukub Cakix, the last but two of the Xibalban monarchs, was perhaps the same as Chinax who occupied the same position in the Tzendal tradition and calendar. But who were the followers of Gucumatz, the nations before whose leaders, Hunahpu and Xbalanque, the pride of Xibalba was humbled, and to whom the traditions thus far studied have assigned no name? It is most natural to identify them with the Tzequiles, who, according to the tradition, arrived during Votan's absence, gave his followers new ideas of government and religion, were assigned lands, and became a powerful people with Tulan as their capital. This makes the Tzendal tradition much more intelligible and complete, and agrees much better with the Quiché record, than the opposite one adopted without any apparent reason by Brasseur de Bourbourg. According to the Quiché chant of lamentation, one division of the refugees from Tulan went north to Mexico, where they found their 'dawn,' their greatness. This seems to point toward the Nahua nations, which alone achieved greatness in Mexico during historic times. The tribes which migrated northward are called, in the Popol Vuh, Yaqui, a name which according to Brasseur de Bourbourg, has much the same signification etymologically as Nahuatl, and was commonly applied by the Maya-Quiché peoples of Central America to the Mexicans. Moreover, their god, Tohil, was called by these Yaqui tribes, even while they were yet in Tulan, Yolcuat Quitzalcuat, while the most prominent of the Nahua divinities is well known to the readers of the preceding volumes to have been Quetzalcoatl. Chanes, the only name given to the subjects of Votan and his successors, is the equivalent of Culhuas, a word which, especially in composition, is of frequent occurrence in all the native tongues. Culhuacan was one of the most celebrated cities of Anáhuac, as the Acolhuas were among the most noted peoples. Again Tulan Zuiva is defined as the Seven Caves, in the Nahua tongues Chicomoztoc, which the Aztecs are well known to have claimed as a former home. One of the divinities engaged in the creation, or in the propagation of the new doctrines in the region of Xibalba was the chief of Toltecat, another name prominent in all Nahua traditions as that of their most famous nation, the Toltecs; and finally Gucumatz, the great leader of Xibalba's conquerors, was identical with Quetzalcoatl, since both names signify equally the 'plumed serpent,' the former in Quiché, the latter in Aztec. These facts seem significant and naturally direct our attention to an examination of the early Nahua records.

THE NAHUAS IN TAMOANCHAN

The records of the Nahua nations, so far as they relate to the pre-Toltec period, if more extensive and numerous, are not less confused than those of the south. To bring into any semblance of order this mass of contradictory semi-mythical, semi-historic details, to point out and defend the historic meaning of each aboriginal tale, is an impossible task which I do not propose to undertake. The only practicable course is to present the leading points of these early traditions as they are given by the best authorities, and to draw from them, as I have done from the Tzendal and Quiché records, some general conclusions respecting the most probable course of primitive history; for conclusions of a very general nature, and bearing on probabilities only, are all that we can expect to reach respecting pre-Toltec America. Sahagun, justly esteemed as one of the best authorities, speaks in substance as follows:³¹⁷

Countless years ago the first settlers arrived in New Spain. Coming in ships by sea, they approached a northern port; and because they disembarked there it was called Panutla, or Panoaia, 'place where they arrived who came by sea,' now corruptly called Pantlan (Pánuco); and from this port they began to follow the coast, beholding the snowy sierras and the volcanoes, until they reached the province of Guatemala; being guided by a priest carrying their god, with whom he continually took counsel respecting what they ought to do. They came to settle in Tamoanchan, where they remained a long time, and never ceased to have their wise men, or prophets, called amoxoaque, which means 'men learned in the ancient paintings,' who, although they came at the same time, did not remain with the rest in Tamoanchan; since leaving them there, they re-embarked and carried away with them all the paintings which they had brought relating to religious rites and mechanical arts. Before their departure they spoke as follows: – "Know that our god commands you to remain here in these lands, of which he makes you masters and gives you possession. He returns to the place whence he and we came; but he will come back to visit you when it shall be time for the world to come to an end; meantime you will await him in these lands, possessing them and all contained in them, since for this purpose you came hither; remain therefore, for we go with our god." Thus they departed with their god wrapped in blankets, towards the east, taking all the paintings. Of the wise men only four remained, Oxomoco, Cipactonal, Tlaltetecui, and Xuchicaoaca, who, after the others had departed, consulted together, saying: – A time will come when there will be light for the direction of this republic; but during the absence of our god, how shall the people be ruled? What order will there be in all things, since the wise men carried away their paintings by which they governed? Therefore did they invent judicial astrology and the art of interpreting dreams; they composed the calendar, which was followed during the rule of the Toltecs, Mexicans, Tepanecs, and Chichimecs. By this calendar, however, it is not possible to ascertain how long they remained in Tamoanchan, – although this was known by the paintings burned in the time of the Mexican ruler, Itzcoatl, in whose reign the lords and princes agreed that all should be burned that they might not fall into the hands of the vulgar and be unappreciated. From Tamoanchan they went to sacrifice at Teotihuacan, where they built two mountains in honor of the sun and moon, and where they elected their rulers, and buried the lords and princes, ordering the tumuli, still to be seen, to be made over their graves. Some description of the mounds follows, with the statement that they were the work of giants. The town of Teotl, or god, was called Teotihuacan, because the princes who were buried there were made gods after death, and were thought not to have died but to have waked from a sleep. From Tamoanchan certain families went to settle the provinces called Olmeca Vixtoti. Here are given some details of these Olmecs and of the Huastecs, to be spoken of later.

After the centre of power had been a long time in Tamoanchan, it was afterwards transferred to the town called Xumiltepec. Here the lords and priests and the old men discovered it to be the will of their god that they should not remain always in Xumiltepec, but that they were to go farther; thus all gradually started on their migration, having first repaired to Teotihuacan to choose their leaders and wise men. In this migration they came to the valley of the Seven Caves. There is no account of the time they remained there, but finally the Toltecs were told by their god that they must return (that is towards Teotihuacan, or Anáhuac), which they did and came to Tollancingo (Tulancingo), and finally to Tulan (Tollan).

THE NAHUA TRADITIONS

In the introduction to the same work³¹⁸ we are told also that the first settlers came from towards Florida, followed the coast, and landed at the port of Pánuco. They came in search of the 'terrestrial paradise,' were called Tamoanchan, which means 'we seek our house,' and settled near the highest mountains they found. "In coming southward to seek the earthly paradise, they did not err, since it is the opinion of those that know that it is under the equinoxial line."

In Sahagun's version of the tradition we find Tamoanchan,³¹⁹ the first home of the Nahua nations in America, definitely located down the coast from Pánuco in the province of Guatemala. The coast region of Tabasco was probably included in this author's time in Guatemala; at least it is as near Guatemala as the new-comers could get by following the coast. The location therefore agrees with that of Xibalba and the Votanic empire as derived from other sources; and in fact the whole narrative may with great plausibility be applied to the events described in the Quiché tradition – the arrival of Gucumatz and his companions (although Sahagun does not name Quetzalcoatl as the leader of the immigrants), the growth of a great power in the central region, and the final forced migration from Tulan Zuiva, the Seven Caves. The absence of the name Tulan, as applied to a city or county in Central America, from the northern traditions as they have been preserved for our examination, may be very satisfactorily accounted for by the fact that another great city founded much later in Anáhuac, the capital of the Toltec monarchy, was also called Tollan; consequently such traditions as the Spaniards gathered from the natives respecting a Tulan, were naturally referred by them to the later city. It is to be noted, moreover, in this connection, that the descriptions given by the Spanish writers of Tollan, with its luxuriant vegetation, and birds of brilliant plumage, often apply much better to the southern than to the northern Anáhuac. In addition to the points mentioned in the Quiché record, we learn from Sahagun that the Toltec calendar was invented or introduced during the stay in that southern country of Tamoanchan;³²⁰ that the Nahua power in the south extended north to Anáhuac and embraced Teotihuacan, a holy city and religious centre, even in those remote times; that the Olmecs, Miztecs, and Huastecs belonged to the same group of nations and their rise or appearance to the same period; and that from the Seven Caves the Toltecs migrated – that is their centre or capital was transferred – to Tulancingo, and later to Tollan. All these points we shall find confirmed more or less directly by other authorities.

THE CODEX CHIMALPOPOCA

A very important Nahua record, written in Aztec with Spanish letters by an anonymous native author, and copied by Ixtlilxochitl, which belonged to the famous Boturini collection, is the Codex Chimalpopoca.³²¹ Unfortunately it has never been published, and its contents are only known by occasional references in the works of Brasseur de Bourbourg, who had a copy of the document. From the passages quoted by the abbé I take the following brief account, which seems of some importance in connection with the preceding:

"This is the beginning of the history of things which came to pass long ago, of the division of the earth, the property of all, its origin and its foundation, as well as the manner in which the sun divided it six times four hundred plus one hundred plus thirteen years ago to-day, the twenty-second of May, 1558." "Earth and the heavens were formed in the year Ce Tochtli; but man had already been created four times. God formed him of ashes, but Quetzalcoatl had perfected him." After the flood men were changed into dogs.³²² After a new and successful attempt at creation, all began to serve the gods, called Apantecutli, 'master of the rivers,' Huictlollinqui, 'he who causes the earth to shake,' Tlallamanac, 'he who presides on the earth,' and Tzontemoc, 'he whose hair descends.' Quetzalcoatl remained alone. Then they said, "the vassals of the gods are born; they have already begun to serve us," but they added, "what will you eat, O gods?" and Quetzalcoatl went to search for means of subsistence. At that time Azcatl, the 'ant,' going to Tonacatepetl, 'mount of our subsistence,' for maize, was met by Quetzalcoatl, who said, "where hast thou been to obtain that thing? Tell me." At first the Ant would not tell, but the Plumed Serpent insisted, and repeated, "whither shall I go?" Then they went there together, Quetzalcoatl metamorphosing himself into a 'black ant.'³²³ Tlaltlauhqui Azcatl, the 'yellow ant,'³²⁴ accompanied Quetzalcoatl respectfully, as they went to seek maize and brought it to Tamoanchan. Then the gods began to eat, and put some of the maize in our mouths that we might become strong.³²⁵ The same record implies that Quetzalcoatl afterwards became obnoxious to his companions and abandoned them.³²⁶

In this document we have evidently an account of substantially the same events that are recorded in the Tzendal and Quiché records: – the division of the earth by the Sun in the year 955 B.C., or as Ordoñez interprets the Tzendal tradition, by Votan 'about 1000 B.C.'; the formation of the earth by the supreme being, and the successive creations of man, or attempts to introduce civilization among savages through the agency of Quetzalcoatl, – acts ascribed by the Quiché tradition to the same person under the name of Gucumatz; the flood and resulting transformation of men into dogs, instead of monkeys as in the Popol Vuh, symbolizing perhaps the relapse into savagism of partially civilized tribes; – the adoption of agriculture represented in both traditions as an expedition by Quetzalcoatl, or Gucumatz, in search of maize. According to the Popol Vuh he sought the maize in Paxil and Cayala, 'divided and stagnant waters,' by the aid of Utïu, 'the coyote;' while in the Nahua tradition, aided by Azcatl, 'the ant,' he finds the desired food in Tonacatepetl, 'mount of our subsistence.' Finally, the Codex Chimalpopoca identifies the home of the Nahua nations, whence the search for maize was made, with Tamoanchan, which Sahagun has clearly located in Tabasco.

PRIMITIVE NATIONS OF MEXICO

Before considering the traditions that relate the migration of the Toltecs proper to Tollan in Anáhuac, it will be most convenient to give the little that is known of those nations that are supposed to have preceded the Toltecs in Mexico. The chief of these are the Quinames, Olmecs, Xicalancas, Totonacs, Huastecs, Miztecs, Zapotecs, and Otomís.³²⁷ The Olmecs and Xicalancas, who are sometimes represented as two nations, sometimes as divisions of the same nation, are regarded by all the authorities as Nahuas, speaking the same language as the Toltecs, but settled in Anáhuac long before the establishment of the Toltec Empire at Tollan. As nations they both became extinct before the Spanish Conquest, as did the Toltecs, but there is little doubt that their descendants under new names and in new national combinations still lived in Puebla, southern Vera Cruz, and Tabasco – the region traditionally settled by them – down to the coming of the Spaniards. They are regarded as the first of the Nahua nations in this region and are first noticed by tradition on the south-eastern coasts, whither they had come in ships from the east. Sahagun, as we have seen, identifies them with certain families of the Nahuas who set out from Tamoanchan to settle in the northern coast region. Ixtlilxochitl tells us they occupied the land in the third age of the world, landing on the east coast as far as the land of Papuha,³²⁸ 'muddy water,' or in the region about the Laguna de Terminos. Veytia names Pánuco as their landing-place, and gives the date as a few years after the regulation of the calendar, already noticed in Sahagun's record.³²⁹ Their national names are derived from that of their first rulers Olmecatl and Xicalancatl. Two ancient cities called Xicalanco are reported on the gulf coast; one of them, which flourished nearly or quite down to the time of the Conquest, and whose ruins are still said to be visible,³³⁰ was just below Vera Cruz; the other, probably the more ancient, stood at the point which still bears the name of Xicalanco at the entrance to the Laguna de Terminos. This whole region is also said to have borne the name of Anáhuac Xicalanco.³³¹ Mendieta and Torquemada³³² relate that the followers of Xicalancatl peopled the region towards the Goazacoalco, where stood the two cities referred to. The people of that part of the country were generally known at the time of the Conquest as Nonohualcas. The chief development of this people, or of its Olmec branch, was, so far as recorded in tradition, in the state of Puebla further north and inland.

OLMECS AND XICALANCAS

This tradition of the arrival of strangers on the eastern coast, and the growth of the Olmec and Xicalanca powers on and north of the isthmus, in view of the facts that these nations are universally regarded as Nahuas and as the first of the race to settle in Anáhuac, cannot be considered as distinct from that given by Sahagun respecting the Nahua race, especially as the latter author speaks of the departure of certain families from Tamoanchan to settle in the provinces of Olmeca Vixtoti. It is most natural to suppose that the new power extended gradually northward to Puebla as well as inland into Chiapas, where it came more directly in contact with its great rival. This view of the matter is likewise supported by the fact that Quetzalcoatl, the culture-hero, is said to have wrought his great works in the time of the Olmecs and Xicalancas – according to some traditions to have been their leader when they arrived on the coast. Sahagun also applies the name Tlalocan, 'land of riches,' or 'terrestrial paradise,' to this south-eastern region, implying its identity with Tamoanchan.³³³

Our knowledge of Olmec history subsequent to their first appearance, is confined to a few events which occurred in Puebla. Here, chiefly on the Rio Atoyac near Puebla de los Angeles and Cholula, they found the Quinames, or giants, a powerful people who long kept them subordinate in rank and power, or, as the tradition expresses it, 'enslaved them.' These Quinames, as Ixtlilxochitl states, were survivors of the great destruction which closed the second age of the world. They were, according to Veytia, "more like brutes than rational beings; their food was raw meat of birds and beasts which they hunted indiscriminately, fruits and wild herbs, since they cultivated nothing; but they knew how to make pulque with which to make themselves drunk; going entirely naked with disheveled hair." They were cruel and proud, yet they received the strangers kindly, perhaps through fear of their great numbers, they being so few, and magnanimously permitted them to settle in their lands. The Olmecs were treated well enough at first, although they looked with terror upon the giants. The latter, aware of the fear they inspired, became more and more insolent, claiming that as lords and masters of the land they were showing the strangers a great favor in permitting them to live there. As a recompense for this kindness they obliged the Olmecs to serve as slaves, neither hunting nor fishing themselves, but depending on their new servants for a subsistence. Thus ill-treated, the Nahuas soon found their condition insupportable. Another great cause of offence was that the Quinames were addicted to sodomy, a vice which they refused to abandon even when they were offered the wives and daughters of the newcomers. At last it was resolved at a council of the Olmec chiefs to free themselves once for all from their oppressors. The means adopted were peculiar. The giants were invited to a magnificent banquet; the richest food and the most tempting native beverages were set before the guests; all gathered at the feast, and as a result of their unrestrained appetites were soon stretched senseless like so many blocks of wood on the ground. Thus they became an easy prey to the reformers, and perished to a man. The Olmecs were free and the day of their national prosperity dawned.

THE QUINAMES, OR GIANTS

The Quinames, traditionally assigned as the first inhabitants of nearly every part of the country, have been the subject of much discussion among the Spanish writers. Veytia indeed rejects the idea that a race of giants actually existed, and Clavigero considers their existence as a race very doubtful, although admitting that there were doubtless individuals of great size. Most other writers of this class accept more or less literally the tradition of the giants who were the first dwellers in the land, deeming the discovery of large bones in various localities and the scriptural tales of giants in other parts of the world, to be sufficient corroborative authority. Veytia thinks the Quinames were probably of the same race as the Toltecs, but were tribes cast out for their sloth; Ixtlilxochitl records the opinion entertained by some that they were descended from the Chichimecs. The former fixes the date of their destruction as 107, the latter as 299, A.D. Oviedo adopts the conclusion of Mendoza that the giants probably came from the Strait of Magellan, the only place where such beings were known to exist. Boturini saw no reason to doubt the existence of the giants. Being large in stature, they could out-travel the rest of mankind, and thus became naturally the first settlers of distant parts of the world. Torquemada, followed by Veytia, identifies them with a similar race that traditionally appeared at a very early time in Peru, where they were destroyed by fire from heaven.³³⁴

The Quinames were of course not giants, and it is not at all probable that they were savage tribes. Such tribes are described as animals rather than giants in the American traditionary annals. The spirit of the narrative, the great power ascribed to the Quinames, their kind reception of the strangers, their growing insolence, even their vices, point clearly, here as in Chiapas, to a powerful nation, at first feared as masters, then hated as rivals, but finally ruled as subjects by the newly risen power. While it is impossible to decide authoritatively in the matter, it may be regarded as more than likely that this foe was a branch of that overthrown in the south; that the Xibalban power, as well as that of the Nahuas, extended far towards Anáhuac in the early days; that the great struggle was carried on in the north as well as in the south.

About the time the Quinames were defeated, the pyramid of Cholula was erected under the direction of a chief named Xelhua. The occasion of its being built seems to have been connected in some way with a flood, probably that mentioned in the Quiché tradition, the reports of which may or may not be founded on an actual inundation more than usually disastrous in a country subject to periodical overflow. The authorities are not agreed whether the mighty mound was intended as a memorial monument in honor of the builder's salvation from a former flood, or as a place of refuge in case the floodgates of the skies should again be opened; neither is it settled whether Xelhua was an Olmec or a Quiname chieftain, although most authors incline to the former opinion. Pedro de los Rios tells us that the bricks for the construction of the pyramid were manufactured at Tlalmanalco and passed by a line of men from hand to hand for a distance of several leagues. Of course the Spanish writers have not failed to connect this pyramid in some way with the Hebrew traditions respecting the tower of Babel, especially as work on the Cholula tower was stopped by fire, sent from heaven by the irritated deities.³³⁵

QUETZALCOATL, THE CULTURE-HERO

During the Olmec period, that is, the earliest period of Nahua power, the great Quetzalcoatl appeared. We have seen that in the Popol Vuh and Codex Chimalpopoca this being is represented as the half-divinity, half-hero, who came at the head of the first Nahuas to America from across the sea. Other authorities imply rather that he came later from the east or north, in the period of the greatest Olmec prosperity, after the rival Quinames had been defeated. To such differences in detail no great importance is to be attached; since all that can be definitely learned from these traditions is the facts that Quetzalcoatl, or Gucumatz, was the most prominent of the Nahua heroes, and that his existence is to be attributed to this earliest period, known in Mexico as Olmec, but without a distinctive name in the south. Quetzalcoatl was a white, bearded man, venerable, just, and holy, who taught by precept and example the paths of virtue in all the Nahua cities, particularly in Cholula. His teachings, according to the traditions, had much in common with those of Christ in the Old World, and most of the Spanish writers firmly believed him to be identical with one of the Christian apostles, probably St Thomas. During his stay in this region his doctrines do not seem to have met with a satisfactory reception, and he left disheartened. He predicted before his departure great calamities, and promised to return in a future year Ce Acatl, at which time his doctrines were to be fully accepted, and his descendants were to possess the land. Montezuma is known to have regarded the coming of Cortés and the Spaniards as a fulfillment of this prediction, and in his speech to the new-comers states further that after his first visit Quetzalcoatl had already once returned,³³⁶ and attempted unsuccessfully to induce his followers to go back with him across the sea. The first part of the prophet's prediction actually came to pass, as traditions tell us, for only a few days after his departure occurred the earthquake which destroyed the pyramid at Cholula, the American Babel, and ushered in the new or fourth age of fire, according to Ixtlilxochitl. On the ruins of the pyramid was built a temple to Quetzalcoatl, who was afterwards worshiped as a god.³³⁷

We shall find very similar traditions of another Quetzalcoatl who appeared much later, during the Toltec period, and who also made Cholula a centre of his reform. As we shall see, the evidence is tolerably conclusive that the two are not the same, yet it is more than likely that the traditions respecting them have been considerably mixed both in native and European hands. After the time of Quetzalcoatl we know nothing of Olmec or Xicalanca history down to the establishment of the Toltec empire, when these nations were still in possession of the country of Puebla and Tlascala. Boturini conjectures that, being driven from Mexico, they migrated to the Antilles and to South America. There is not, however, the slightest necessity to suppose that the Olmecs ever left the country at all. Their institutions and language were the same as that of the Toltec peoples that nominally succeeded them, and although like the Toltecs they became extinct as a nation, yet there is no reason to doubt that their descendants lived long in the land, and took part in the new political combinations that make up Nahua history down to the Conquest.³³⁸

THE TOTONACS AND TEOTIHUACAN

APOTHEOSIS OF NANAHUATZIN

The Totonacs are included by the authorities among the primitive, or Pre-Toltec nations in Anáhuac. At the time of the Conquest they occupied central Vera Cruz, their chief city being Zempoala; but they claimed to have migrated from the valley of Mexico, and to have lived long near the banks of Lake Tezcuco, where they built the pyramids at Teotihuacan, a place already noticed as a religious centre in this early period. Torquemada seems to be the original authority for the Totonac traditions respecting their primitive history, having obtained his information from an aged native. His brief account, quoted in substance by all others who have mentioned the subject, is as follows: – "Of their origin they say that they set out from the place called Chicomoztoc, or Seven Caves, together with the Xalpanecs; and that they were twenty divisions, or families, as many of one as of the other; and although thus divided into families, they were all of one language and of the same customs. They say they started from that place, leaving the Chichimecs still shut up there; and they directed their journey towards this part of Mexico, and having arrived at the plains on the lake, they halted at the place where Teotihuacan now is; and they affirm that they built these two temples which were dedicated to the sun and moon. Here they remained for some time, but either not contented with the place, or with a desire to pass to other places, they went to Atenamitic, where Zacatlan now stands." Thence they gradually moved eastward until at last they settled on the coast in their present location. That the pyramids of Teotihuacan³³⁹ were built by the Nahuas – the Olmecs or one of their companion nations – and became their religious centre and the burial-place of their kings and priests long before the establishment of the empire of Tollan, there can be but little doubt; nor is it improbable that the Totonacs were, as they claim to be, a pre-Toltec tribe in Anáhuac; but that they were in this early time a Nahua tribe, a nation contemporaneous with the Olmecs and of the same institutions, that they were the builders of Teotihuacan, is only proved by their own claim as recorded by Torquemada. This evidence must probably be regarded as insufficient in view of the fact that the Totonac language is wholly distinct from the Nahua.³⁴⁰ It is true that, as will be seen later, all the ancient tribes, that adopted more or less the Nahua institutions, and joined in the struggle against the rival Maya powers, did not speak the same language; but it is also very probable that many nations in later times, when the Nahua power as represented by the Aztecs had become so predominant, claimed ancient Nahua affinities to which they had no right.³⁴¹ In addition to what has already been said respecting Teotihuacan, only one event is mentioned in its pre-Toltec history, – the apotheosis of Nanahuatzin, an event which probably preceded rather than followed the erection of the pyramids. The strange fable respecting this event, already related in a preceding volume,³⁴² is, briefly, to the effect that the gods were assembled at Teotihuacan for the purpose of inducing the sun to appear and illumine their darkness. A great fire having been kindled, and the announcement made that the honors of apotheosis would be given to him who should give himself up as a living sacrifice, Nanahuatzin threw himself into the fire, was instantly devoured and transformed into the sun, which at once appeared in the east. Metztli followed the example of Nanahuatzin, and took his place in the heavens as the moon, less brilliant than his companion, since the heat of the fire had somewhat abated before his sacrifice. The true historic signification of this account we cannot hope to ascertain, yet it is of great interest, since it seems to point to the introduction in these regions of sun-worship and of human sacrifice; indeed, the Codex Chimalpopoca, according to Brasseur, expressly states that "then began divine immolation at Teotihuacan." The same authority gives this event also as the beginning of a new chronologic period called Nahui Ollin Tonatiuh, 'the sun in its four movements,' thus suggesting some connection between this assemblage and that mentioned by Sahagun as having taken place in the south, when the new calendar was invented. The remark in the same document that "on that day the kings did tremble," may point to this epoch as that of the great revolution – carried on chiefly in Chiapas, but which may have extended to Anáhuac – by which the kings of Xibalba were overthrown; especially since the narrative of the sacrifice at Teotihuacan bears a striking resemblance to the apotheosis of Hunhunahpu and his fellow-heroes at Xibalba.³⁴³

So far as the other so-called primitive nations of New Spain are concerned, little can be said, except that they claim and have always been credited with a very ancient residence in this land, dating back far beyond the beginning of the historic period. The Otomís, one division of whom are known as Mazahuas, differ entirely from the Nahua nations in language, having possibly a slight linguistic affinity with the Totonacs, and although far from being savages, they have always been to a certain extent an outcast and oppressed race, the 'Jews of Anáhuac,' as one writer terms them, down-trodden in succession by Toltec, Chichimec, and Aztec. They probably occupied a very large portion of Anáhuac and the surrounding mountains, when the Toltecs proper established their power. Ixtlilxochitl, followed by Veytia, represents the Otomís, though differing in language, as having been one of the Acolhua tribes that made their appearance in Anáhuac many centuries later, but the event referred to as their coming to the country at that period, may probably be their coming down from the mountains and adopting more or less the civilized life of the Acolhuas at Tezcuco.³⁴⁴

The Miztecs and Zapotecs are simply mentioned by the authorities in connection with the Olmecs and Xicalancas as having occupied the south-eastern region during the primitive period. Later they became powerful nations in the country now constituting the state of Oajaca, and were probably at least the equals of the Aztecs in civilization. Their own annals do not, so far as they may be interpreted, reach back to the pre-Toltec times, and although they may very likely have come in contact with the Olmecs in Puebla, or even have been their allies, receiving from them or with them the elements of Nahua culture, yet the fact that their languages are distinct from the Nahua, shows that they like the Totonacs were not, as some authors imply, simply a branch of the Nahua people in Tamoanchan. It is more natural to suppose that these three nations were either wild tribes, or, if partially civilized, connected with the Maya, Xibalban, or Quiname nations, and that they accepted more or less fully the Nahua ideas after the Olmec nations had risen to power in Anáhuac. The statement of Brasseur that the tribes of Oajaca received their civilization from the two brothers of Xibalba's conquerors, Hunbatz and Hunchouen, is probably unfounded, since nothing of the kind appears in the chapter of García's work to which the abbé refers.³⁴⁵

THE HUASTECS IN VERA CRUZ

To the Huastecs of Northern Vera Cruz, the preceding remarks may also be applied, save that their language, while distinct from the Nahua, is also very evidently connected with the great Maya linguistic family of the south. Yet the ruins of Huastec and Totonac Vera Cruz,³⁴⁶ are more like the Nahua monuments than like those of Yucatan or Chiapas, showing how powerful was the influence of the Nahua element in the north. The only historical tradition relating to the Huastecs is the following from Sahagun: – In the time of the Olmecs, after the art of making pulque had been invented in the mountain called thereafter Popoconaltepetl, 'mountain of foam,' the inventors prepared a banquet on the same mountain. All the principal old men and old women were invited, and before each guest were placed four cups of the new wine, – the quantity deemed sufficient to exhibit the excellence of the newly-discovered beverage, and to cheer without inebriating the dignitaries present. But one chief, Cuextecatl by name, was so rash as to indulge in a fifth cup, and was moved thereby to discard the maxtli which constituted his court dress, and to conduct himself in a very indecorous manner; so much so that after recovering his sound sense, he was forced by very shame to flee with all his followers, and all those of his language, to the region of Pánuco, where they settled, and were called from their leader Cuextecas, afterwards Guaxtecas or Huastecs.³⁴⁷

THE TOLTECS IN HUEHUE TLAPALLAN

I now come to what may be termed the regular annals of that branch of the Nahua nations which finally established a kingdom in Anáhuac with Tollan for a capital, and which acquired the name of Toltec. These annals will be found not more satisfactory or less mythical than the traditions that have been given in the preceding pages, although in their more salient points they seem to agree with those traditions. They were recorded in a most careless and confused manner by the native writer Fernando de Alva Ixtlilxochitl, who derived his information from the documents which survived the destruction by the Spanish priests. The comments of later writers, and their attempts to reconcile this author's statements one with another and all with scriptural traditions and with the favorite theory of a general migration from the north, have still further confused the subject. I have no hope of being able to reduce Ixtlilxochitl's statements to perfect order, or to explain the exact historical meaning of each statement; still, by the omission of a large amount of profitless conjecture, scriptural comparison, and hopelessly entangled chronology, the tradition may be somewhat simplified so as to yield, as other traditions have done, some items of general information respecting the primitive Nahua period.

At the end of the first age of the world or the 'sun of waters,' as we are told by Ixtlilxochitl, the earth was visited by a flood which covered even the most lofty mountains. After the repeopling of the earth by the descendants of a few families who escaped destruction, the building of a tower as a protection against a possible future catastrophe of similar nature, and the confusion of tongues and consequent scattering of the population – for all these things were found in the native traditions, as we are informed – seven families speaking the same language kept together in their wanderings for many years; and after crossing broad lands and seas, enduring great hardships, they reached the country of Huehue Tlapallan, or 'Old' Tlapallan; which they found to be fertile and desirable to dwell in.³⁴⁸ The second age, the 'sun of air,' terminated with a great hurricane which swept away trees, rocks, houses, and people, although many men and women escaped, chiefly such as took refuge in caves which the hurricane could not reach. After several days the survivors came out to find a multitude of apes living in the land; and all this time they were in darkness, seeing neither the sun nor moon. The next event recorded, although Veytia makes it precede the hurricane, is the stopping of the sun for a whole day in his course, as at the command of Joshua as recorded in the Old Testament. "When the mosquito, however, saw the sun thus suspended and pensive, he addressed him saying, 'Lord of the world, why art thou thus motionless, and doest not thy duty as is commanded thee? Dost thou wish to destroy the world as is thy wont?' Then seeing that he was yet silent and made no response, the insect went up and stung him in the leg, whereupon he, feeling himself stung, started anew on his accustomed course."

Next occurred an earthquake which swallowed up and destroyed all the Quinames, or giants – at least all those who lived in the coast regions – together with many of the Toltecs and of their neighbors the Chichimecs. After the destruction of these Philistines, "being at peace with all this new world, all the wise Toltecs, both the astrologers and those of other arts, assembled in Huehue Tlapallan, the chief city of their dominion, where they treated of many things, the calamities they had suffered and the movements of the heavens since the creation of the world, and of many other things, which on account of their histories having been burned, have not been ascertained further than what has been written here, among which they added the bissextile to regulate the solar year with the equinox, and many other curiosities as will be seen in their tables and arrangement of years, months, weeks, days, signs, and planets as they understood them."

One hundred and sixteen years after this regulation or invention of the Toltec calendar, "the sun and moon were eclipsed, the earth shook, and the rocks were rent asunder, and many other things and signs happened, though there was no loss of life. This was in the year Ce Calli, which, the chronology being reduced to our systems, proves to be the same date when Christ our Lord suffered" (33 A.D.)

Three hundred and five years later, when the empire had been long at peace, Chalcatzin and Tlacamihtzin, chief descendants of the royal house of the Toltecs, raised a revolt for the purpose of deposing the legitimate successor to the throne. The rebellious chiefs were after long wars driven out of their city Tlachicatzin in Huehue Tlapallan, with all their numerous families and allies. They were pursued by their kindred of the city or country of Tlaxicoluican for sixty leagues, to a place discovered by Cecatzin, which they named Tlapallanconco or 'little' Tlapallan. The struggle by which the rebels were conquered lasted eight years, – or thirteen, according to Veytia – and they were accompanied on their forced migration by five other chiefs. The departure from Huehue Tlapallan seems to have taken place in the fifth or sixth century.³⁴⁹

EXILE OF THE TOLTECS

THE TOLTEC MIGRATION

They remained at Tlapallanconco³⁵⁰ three years, and towards the end of their stay the seven chieftains assembled to deliberate whether they should remain there permanently or go farther. Then rose a great astrologer, named Hueman, or Huematzin, saying that according to their histories they had suffered great persecutions from heaven, but that these had always been followed by great prosperity; that their persecutions had always occurred in the year Ce Tecpatl, but that year once passed, great blessings ensued; that their trouble was a great evil immediately preceding the dawn of a greater good, and consequently it did not behoove them to remain so near their enemies. Moreover, his astrology had taught him that towards the rising sun there was a broad and happy land, where the Quinames had lived for many years, but so long a time had now passed since their destruction that the country was depopulated; besides, the fierce Chichimecs, their neighbors, rarely penetrated those regions. The planet which ruled the destinies of that new country yet lacked many years of carrying out its threats, and in the meantime they and their descendants to the tenth generation might enjoy a golden and prosperous century. Again, the threatening planet did not rule their nation, but that of the giants, so that possibly it might do no great injury even to their descendants. He advised that some colonists be left here to people the country, become their vassals, and in time to turn upon their enemies and recover their native land and original power. These and other things did Hueman counsel, and they seemed good to the seven chiefs; so that after three years were passed, or eleven years from the time when they left Huehue Tlapallan, they started on their migration. The first stopping-place, about seventy leagues distant and reached in twelve days was Hueyxalan – 'great sandy' as Veytia interprets it – a place discovered by Cohuatzon where they remained four years. They next halted after a journey of twenty days at Xalisco, a country about a hundred leagues farther east – or as Veytia says west – near the seashore. They lived eight years in this land, which was discovered by Ziuhcohuatl. Other twenty days and hundred leagues took them to Chimalhuacan Atenco on the coast where there were certain islands, and here they dwelt five years. At the start they had taken a vow, under penalty of severe punishment, to have no intercourse with their wives for twenty-three years; but as the time was now expired they began here to increase and multiply. After the five years they resumed their journey eastward for eighteen days or eighty leagues to Toxpan, discovered by Mezotzin, where they lived for five years also. Quiyahuitztlan Anáhuac, discovered by Acapichtzin – was twenty days' journey or a hundred leagues east of Toxpan, also on the coast, with inlets so that they were obliged to pass in boats from one place to another. They remained here six years suffering great hardships. The next halting-place was Zacatlan, distant eighteen days or eighty leagues in a direction not stated. Chalcatzin was the discoverer, and during the first of their seven years' stay here – just fifty-two years, or a xiuhtlalpilli, after their wars began – a son was born to the chief, and named from the place Zacapantzin. At Totzapan, eighty leagues distance from Zacatlan, they lived six years, in the last of which a son named Totzapantzin was born to Cecatzin, who discovered this place. This was just fifty-two years after they left their native country. Twenty-eight days or one hundred and forty leagues brought them to Tepetla, Cohuatzon being the discoverer for the second time, where they remained seven years. At Mazatepec eighteen days or eighty leagues distant, discovered by Ziuhcohuatl, they tarried eight years; at Ziuhcohuatl, at the same distance, discovered by Tlapalmetzin, also eight years; at Yztachuexucha, twenty days or one hundred leagues northward, discovered by Metzotzin, twenty-six years. Finally a journey of eighteen days or eighty leagues brought them to Tulancingo – written also Tulantzinco and Tollantzinco – discovered by Acapichtzin. Here they built a house sufficiently large to contain all the people, and remained eighteen years before transferring their capital to Tollan farther east and establishing what was afterwards known as the Toltec empire. The third year of their stay in Tulancingo completed an age, or one hundred and four years since the departure from their country.³⁵¹ According to Ixtlilxochitl, the Toltecs reached Anáhuac in the sixth century, or according to Veytia and others who have attempted to reconstruct his chronology, near the end of the seventh century.³⁵²

This tradition of the Toltecs affords in itself no sufficient data from which to locate accurately Huehue Tlapallan, their most ancient home in America. The name is interpreted as 'ancient red land, or land of color,' and might perhaps apply as well to the north as to the south. Pedro de Alvarado writing from Santiago, or Old Guatemala, to Cortés in 1524, announces his intention to set out in a few months to explore the country of Tapalan "which is in the interior fifteen days' march from here. It is pretended that the capital is as large as Mexico."³⁵³ This indicates that at the time of the Conquest the name was still applied to a region which may correspond very well to Honduras, Peten, or Tabasco. Ixtlilxochitl himself, in relating the expeditions on which his ancestor of the same name accompanied Cortés, mentions one to "Tlapalan, a province which lies toward Ihueras," or Ibueras, being the former name of Honduras.³⁵⁴ Brasseur says that "Mexican geography at the time of the discovery applied this name only to the provinces north of Guatemala, between the tributaries of the Rio Usumacinta and Honduras;" and also that the country was spoken of by authors at the time of the Conquest as Tlapallan de Cortés, on account of Cortés' expedition to Honduras, but he mentions no authors except those I have referred to.³⁵⁵ The same author believes that the name Tlapallanconco given by Ixtlilxochitl to the first station, sixty leagues from Huehue Tlapallan, should be Tlapallantzinco. He tells us that the Guatemalan histories mentions such a city conquered by the Quichés in Soconusco on the coast, at a point not far from sixty leagues distant from the Ococingo region.³⁵⁶ Again, according to Sahagun and Torquemada, when Quetzalcoatl, the second of the name, who flourished while the Toltecs were at Tollan, left the country, he embarked or disappeared on the gulf coast near the Goazacoalco River, announcing his intention to go to Tlapallan. This would certainly favor the idea that Tlapallan was a southern country.

THE COUNTRY OF HUEHUE TLAPALLAN

On the other hand, the eastward direction attributed to the migration from Tlapallanconco to Anáhuac is not consistent with any Central American location of the starting-place; but, in connection with the fact that Xalisco is given as the second station about a hundred and seventy leagues distant from Tlapallanconco, would agree somewhat better with the theory generally adopted by the Spanish writers that the original home of the Toltecs was in the north-west, probably on the Gulf of California; yet the name Tlapallan has never been found in the north-west.³⁵⁷ Material relics of any great empire are wanting in that region, at least beyond Quemada in Zacatecas, and the itinerary is full of inconsistencies which prove it to be unreliable as a historic record. For instance, an eastern course of a hundred leagues to any point on the coast of Jalisco would be an impossibility; the next two moves led a hundred leagues down the Pacific Coast, and then across the continent to Toxpan, or Tuxpan, on the gulf coast in Vera Cruz; then, although Tuxpan is on the eastern coast, the migration continued still a hundred leagues eastward, another impossibility of course. How they returned to the states of Vera Cruz and Mexico, where the other stations would seem to be located, does not appear. In fact the tradition of this migration as it reads, so far as directions, distances, and names are concerned, is meaningless, a fact due either to the carelessness of the compiler or the scantiness of his materials. Intrinsically then the evidence, while not conclusive, favors the idea that Huehue Tlapallan was in the south.

Comparing the Toltec tradition with those that have been already given, we find, except in names, a strong resemblance in general features. In the successive creations and destructions of men; the apes that peopled the land after one of the destructions; the ancient settlement and growth to power of the Toltecs in a fertile country named Huehue Tlapallan; the destruction of a rival power, that of the Quinames; the regulation or invention of the calendar by an assemblage of wise men in Huehue Tlapallan; and a final forced migration to new homes – in all these features the tradition seems to represent a vague memory of events already familiar to us as having occurred in the central region; in the Votanic empire of the Tzendal traditions; in the Xibalba, Paxil, and Tulan Zuiva, or Seven Caves, of the Quiché record; and especially in the Tamoanchan and Tonacatepetl of the annals gathered by Sahagun.

SOUTHERN ORIGIN OF THE TOLTECS

In opposition to those analogies we have the fact that the Spanish writers locate Huehue Tlapallan in the north, as they do also the original homes of all the nations that are reported by native tradition to have migrated successively into Anáhuac. It is not probable that this idea of a northern origin was a pure invention of the Spaniards; they doubtless found among the Aztecs with whom they came in contact what seemed to them a prevalent popular notion that the ancestors of the race came from the north. Yet the tradition given by Sahagun – and referring to a time long prior to the Toltec migration of the fifth or sixth century – relating to the first appearance of the Nahua civilizers on the gulf coast, whither they had come by sea from the north-east, probably from Florida, would have been perhaps a sufficient foundation for such a popular idea; and the not improbable fact that the Aztecs proper and some other nations, prominent in rank and power at the time of the Conquest, did actually come into Anáhuac from the region immediately adjoining it on the north or north-west, would certainly have contributed to confirm that idea. In other words the Aztecs when questioned by the Spaniards may have replied that they came from the north, referring in most cases to the latest move of their nation into Anáhuac, but possibly in some instances to the vague traditions of their fathers respecting the very earliest periods of their existence as a race. The Spaniards at once connected the reported northern origin with the world-peopling migration from Central Asia after the confusion of tongues; and since the old and new world were supposed to be connected or nearly so in the north, they found the native tradition strongly confirmed by the scriptures. When the theory of successive migrations from the north, thus confirmed, had once been established in their minds, nothing could overthrow it; it became in a certain sense a part of their religion. Each migration subsequently found recorded in the native annals, as means of communication between the conquerors and conquered became perfected, was at once given a north-to-south direction. The natives themselves were in many instances not unwilling to please their masters by orthodox interpretations of their picture-writings. Finally the ruins of Quemada, the Casas Grandes of Chihuahua, and the adobe buildings on the Gila were discovered – doubtless traces left by migrating nations, and thus the last doubt on the subject, if any could exist, was removed even from the minds of later and more intelligent class of Spanish writers, like Clavigero and Veytia.³⁵⁸

THE PRIMITIVE CHICHIMECS

In the Toltec tradition we have found the Chichimecs mentioned as a powerful and fierce people and their neighbors in Huehue Tlapallan. Since this is the first mention of that famous people, since all the best authorities insist that the Toltecs and Chichimecs were of the same blood and language, and since the Chichimecs afterwards succeeded the Toltecs in Anáhuac, we naturally turn to the Chichimec traditions of their early home for additional information respecting Huehue Tlapallan, although the Chichimec migration occurring several centuries later would come chronologically beyond the limits of this chapter. Our search in this direction for data from which to determine the location of the ancient Nahua empire is, however, fruitless. Although Ixtlilxochitl is still the chief authority, we have no mention of Huehue Tlapallan. The country – or a country, for it is not certain that it was the original Chichimec home and not one located in central Mexico, although some of the traditions seem to point to primitive times – of immense extent, is called Amaquemecan; one of its chief cities seems to have borne the same name, and another city was Oyome. The names Necuametl and Nacuix are also applied to the country by Ixtlilxochitl, and he further states that the Chichimecs came like the other nations from Chicomoztoc. Some fourteen kings are named as having ruled over the kingdom, beginning with Chichimecatl who brought the people to the country and from whom they took their name. Nothing is known of the reigns of any except the last three, the first of whom is reported to have sent his son at the request of the Toltecs to become the first king in Tollan. Ixtlilxochitl in his account of the sending for this king says that the Chichimecs were at that time in the region of Pánuco, and that fear of hostility from them was the chief motive of the Toltecs in inviting a Chichimec to rule over them. It is not, however, stated that the Chichimec capital was in that part of the country. When at last the empire came into the hands of two brothers, one of whom Xolotl, with all his people, decided to migrate, not one of their halting-places is named, until they had journeyed for a whole year and reached the vicinity of Anáhuac; consequently there is no clue to the course of their migration. Besides the statement that the Chichimecs came from the Seven Caves, and another by Veytia that the kings wore quetzal-feathers, there seems to be absolutely nothing in the tradition to indicate whether Amaquemecan was in the north or south. Yet the Spanish writers have no hesitation in fixing the direction, although disagreeing somewhat about the locality. From two to three hundred leagues north of Jalisco, beyond New Mexico, and in Alaska are some of the decisions in this matter, – decisions resting on authority that the reader already understands. It seems probable that the great original Nahua empire whether it be called Huehue Tlapallan, Tamoanchan, Tulan, or Amaquemecan, was the Chichimec empire – that is, that the Toltecs or revolting branch constituted but a small portion of the Chichimec or Nahua people.³⁵⁹

MIGRATION FROM THE SOUTH

The Chichimec migration was followed by many others at irregular intervals, ending with that of the Aztecs, all of which will be spoken of in their proper place. The chronologic order attributed by tradition to these migrations is not to be relied on, giving, as may be supposed, only a vague idea of the order in which the different nations acquired some prominence in and about the valley of Mexico. In its ancient centre – not in Anáhuac, whether it was in the north or south – the primitive Nahua power was overthrown, or from that centre it was transferred to be re-established by exiled princes and their descendants on the Mexican plateaux. This transfer, whose nature we may vaguely comprehend, but of whose details we know nothing, is the event or series of events referred to by the various migration-traditions. The recollections of these events assumed different forms in the traditions of different tribes until each nation claimed or were deemed by the Spaniards to claim a distinct migration from its former home. The accounts of the migrations following the Toltec will be given in their proper place, and here we have only to notice that the Seven Caves are mentioned as a starting-place or station in most if not all of these migrations, and that the only names that appear in the traditions applied to the ancient Nahua dwelling-place are Aztlan, Culhuacan or Teo Culhuacan, and Aquilasco. These names are perhaps applied to cities in the ancient home, but it is by no means certain, as will appear later, that they did not all belong to localities in central Mexico. At least neither the names nor the events of the migrations as reported afford any proof of geographical location. The analogy between Culhuacan and Culiacan is not a strong argument in favor of a north-western location, or at most does not outweigh the identity of the names Culhuacan and Nachan. A palm-tree painted on the picture-writing supposed to record one of the migrations, in connection with the starting-place, as has been remarked by several authorities, seems to favor the idea that the point of departure was in the south rather than in the north, and would certainly be a circumstance of considerable weight against an extreme northern location for Aztlan.

The Abbé Brasseur de Bourbourg attempts to reconcile the general fact shown by all the earlier traditions that the primitive Nahua power was in the south, with the idea of a migration from the north apparently entertained by each of the nations of Anáhuac and by the Spanish writers. According to his idea the Nahuas, overcome by the monarchs of Xibalba, were driven from Chiapas, dwelt a few years on the Pacific coast at Tlapallantzinco, and thence migrated north-westward in different bands, following the general direction of the coast, to Sonora and Upper California. Along this route, as this author claims, distinct traces of their migration are apparent, referring perhaps, although he does not say so, to linguistic traces. In this northern region, about the Gulf of California, they established great kingdoms and built great cities, each Nahua colony becoming a centre of civilization to the wild tribes with whom it came in contact. From this region, to places in which the names Teo Culhuacan, Aztlan, etc., of the traditions may be applied, the different Nahua nations descended into Anáhuac in successive migrations from the seventh to the twelfth century, impelled by civil convulsions or the pressure of outside and warlike tribes.³⁶⁰

I am inclined to find in the abbé's theory a statement – too definite perhaps – of a general fact. That is, the Nahua power – established in eastern and south-eastern Mexico by the Olmec tribes almost simultaneously with its growth in the south – was after its overthrow in Central America established by exiled nobles over western and north-western Mexico. I find no evidence, however, that the Nahua power ever became settled and flourishing farther north than Durango and Sinaloa, although the influence of their institutions may, not improbably, have extended to the Sonora tribes; into California and the far north-west the Nahuas never penetrated. If a Nahua empire or political power ever really existed in the north-west, its centre was probably in the region of Quemada, in Zacatecas and Jalisco. Soon, however, the valley of Mexico became the political centre, and the subsequent history of the country was essentially a history of Anáhuac. The modern aboriginal annals of each nation dated from its rise to notice in Anáhuac, and in the traditions of previous history imperfectly communicated to the Spaniards, their former greatness in the south, their defeat and exile, their life in outside provinces, and their settlement in the valley were sadly confused.

ANNALS OF YUCATAN

Mendieta, Torquemada, Gomara, and others, record the popular tradition of the settlement of Mexico as follows: An old man Iztac Mixcohuatl, by his wife Ilancueitl, in Chicomoztoc, or the Seven Caves, had six sons, Xelhua, Tenuch, Ulmecatl, Xicalancatl, Mixtecatl, and Otomitl. Tenuch's descendants were the Aztecs; Xelhua gave his name to no nation, but his followers settled at various points in the south-east; the others founded the nations which took their names. Mendieta adds that by another wife the same old man had a son named Quetzalcoatl.³⁶¹ Piñeda tells us that a nephew of Votan divided the land of Anáhuac.³⁶² According to Arlegui the Toltecs came from the west and divided New Spain between their seven families.³⁶³ I believe I have now given all the important traditions that seem to belong to the pre-Toltec period in Mexico, and I deem it unnecessary to refer to the authors who merely give an abridged version of the same accounts, many of them confining themselves to the simple statement that the Toltecs, a very skillful people, came first from the north and settled in the region afterwards known as New Spain.

Returning to the south, it only remains to examine briefly the primitive Maya annals of Yucatan, which confirm in a few points those of other peoples, so far as they relate to the great American centre of civilization in the south. These annals will be given in full elsewhere; a very general view, with especial reference to the points referred to, will suffice here. A prevalent belief among the Mayas at the time of the Conquest was, that the peninsula was settled in ancient times by two races, one from the east, the other from the west. It is not implied that they came at the same period, but rather that the migration from the east preceded that from the west by many centuries. Lizana tells us that in ancient times the east was called cenial, or 'little descent,' and the west nohenial, or 'great descent,' believing that these names indicate the comparative numbers of the respective colonies. Landa and Herrera record a tradition that the oldest inhabitants came from the east, the sea being divided to afford them a passage. Cogolludo concludes, contrary to the opinion of Lizana, that the colony from the east must have been much more numerous as well as more ancient than the other, because of the universal use of the Maya language and of Maya names of places throughout the peninsula – a conclusion that carries little weight, since it rests mainly on the assumption that those who came from the west spoke the Aztec language, an assumption for which there is no authority whatever.

ZAMNÁ'S EMPIRE

The personage whose name appears first in the Maya tradition is Zamná, son of the chief deity, who taught the people, invented the hieroglyphic alphabet, and gave a name to each locality in Yucatan. His rôle, so far as anything is known of it, was precisely the same as that of Votan in Chiapas. Zamná is reported to have lived long in the land and to have been buried at the close of his career at Izamal. During his life he founded Mayapan, 'standard (or capital) of Maya,' – Maya being the native name of the country and signifying according to some authorities 'land without water' – a city which was several times ruined and rebuilt after its founder's time. Zamná may be most naturally connected with the traditional migration from the east. Cogolludo, it is true, states that he was at the head of the other colony, and this statement is repeated in one place by Brasseur, but as the Spanish writer directly contradicts his statement on the same page, not much importance is to be attached to it. Vague as it is, the tradition of Zamná and his followers from the east seems identical with that of Votan. If we suppose that such persons as Zamná and Votan actually had an existence – a supposition which like its opposite forms no part of this chapter – it would be impossible to determine whether the two were the same, or Zamná the companion, disciple, or descendant of Votan; but we may well believe that the period, the empire, the institutions alluded to in the Maya record are the same as those connected with the Votanic or Xibalban traditions. The ancient power whose centre was in Chiapas, Tabasco, and Honduras, extended north-eastward into Yucatan as it did north-westward into Anáhuac. Ordoñez states, as usual without giving his authority, that Mayapan was one of the allied capitals, which with Nachan and Tulan constituted the Votanic empire. The fact that the name of the Cocomes, the most ancient people, or at least the oldest line of kings and nobles, in Yucatan signifies in the Nahua tongue 'serpents,' like the name Chanes applied to Votan's followers, may have some significance, although in the Maya tongue Cocome is also said to mean 'listener.'

At an unknown date, but subsequent to that of Zamná's rule, we find three brothers, the Itzaob, reigning at Chichen over a people called from them the Itzas, as the city also was called thereafter Chichen Itza. They came from the west, were just and chaste men, and their reign a long and glorious one. One of them, however, having finally left the country, the others gave themselves up to immoral practices, and were put to death. Notwithstanding the fact that the brothers came, according to the Spanish writers, from the west, there is much reason to suppose that the nation whose capital was at Chichen, was an ancient people dating back to the time of Zamná, since the most satisfactory interpretation of the name 'Itza' is that it came from 'Ytzamna,' the more ancient form of the great founder's name. Connected with the three brothers in a manner not clearly defined by the tradition – either ruling conjointly with them or more probably coming into power immediately after their downfall – was Cukulcan, who also came from the west, who was also famous for the purity of his life, and whose teachings in fact were identical with those of Quetzalcoatl among the Nahua peoples. He also is credited with the founding, or re-founding of Mayapan, which under his rule became the political centre of the whole country, although Chichen still retained great prominence. Cukulcan having raised the country to a condition of the highest prosperity, finally abandoned Yucatan for some unknown motive and returned westward, disappearing at Champoton, or Potonchan, on the coast, where he dwelt for some time and where a temple in his honor was afterwards erected. After his departure the Cocome princes came into power, their capital being still Mayapan.

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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.

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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.'

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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.

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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.

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5

Descent of Man, vol. ii., p. 368.

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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.

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7

Certainly many of the writers must have been either fools or demented, if we judge them by their work and arguments.

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8

Garcia, Origen de los Ind., pp. 7-12.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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14

Lescarbot, Hist. Nouv. France, lib. i., cap. iii.

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15

Hist. Conq. Itza, pp. 26-8.

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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.

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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.

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18

Nieuwe Weereld, p. 37.

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19

L'Estrange, Americans no Jewes.

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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.

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21

Clavigero, Storia Ant. del Messico, tom. iv., p. 17.

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22

In Soc. Mex. Geog., Boletin, 2da época, tom. iii., p. 343.

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23

See vol. iii. of this work, p. 450, et seq.

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24

Storia Ant. del Messico, tom. iv., p. 15. Heredia y Sarmiento follows Clavigero. Sermones, p. 84.

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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.

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26

See vol. iii., pp. 66-9, and comments in accompanying notes.

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27

Id., pp. 72-5.

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28

Id., p. 76.

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29

Id., pp. 78-9.

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30

Id., p. 86.

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31

Id., p. 88.

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32

Id., p. 89.

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33

Id., p. 103.

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34

Mackenzie's Voyages, p. cxviii.

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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.

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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.

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37

Kingsborough's Mex. Antiq., vol. viii., p. 25.

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38

See vol. iii., p. 67.

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39

See vol. iii., pp. 77, 89.

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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.

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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.

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'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.

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43

Relaciones, in Kingsborough's Mex. Antiq., vol. ix., pp. 321-2.

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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.

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45

Brasseur de Bourbourg, Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. i., pp. 105-6.

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46

Id., pp. 167-8.

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47

Cogolludo, Hist. Yuc., p. 178; Montanus, Nieuwe Weereld, p. 258.

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48

Ross' Adven., pp. 287-8.

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49

Warden, Recherches, p. 190.

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50

Domenech's Deserts, vol. ii., p. 4; Schoolcraft's Arch., vol. i., p. 19.

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51

Warden, Recherches, p. 213.

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52

The reader will recollect that the story of each of these heroes has been told at length in vol. iii. of this work.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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58

Torquemada, Monarq. Ind., tom. i., p. 35; Acosta, Hist. de las Ynd., pp. 67-8; Montanus, Nieuwe Weereld, p. 13.

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59

In a work entitled Fenix del Occidente.

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60

Felicidad de Mej., Mex. 1685, fol. 55.

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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.

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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.

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63

See vol. iii., p. 450, et seq.

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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.

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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.

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66

Exam. Crit., tom. ii., p. 68.

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67

Mex., vol. iii., p. 418.

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68

Prehist. Man, p. 615.

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69

Human Species, p. 238.

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70

Rel., 2de expéd., p. 28.

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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.

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72

Amer. Ethno. Soc., Transact., vol. i., p. 179.

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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.

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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.

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A Chinese li is about one third of a mile.

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'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.

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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.

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Deguignes translates: 'des habitants élèvent des biches comme en Chine, et ils en tirent du beurre.'

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'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.

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80

'Les images des Esprits,' &c.; Id., p. 59.

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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.

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'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.

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83

Nouv. Jour. Asiatique, 1832, p. 335, quoted by Humboldt, Exam. Crit., tom. ii., pp. 65-6.

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84

Warden, Recherches, p. 123.

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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.

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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.

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Warden, Recherches, pp. 127-9, gives a long list of these resemblances. See also Ampère, Prom. en Amér., tom. ii., p. 301; Prescott's Mex., vol. iii., p. 396; Faliés, Études Hist. sur les Civilisations, tom. i., pp. 380-1. Molina found (in Chili?) inscriptions resembling Chinese. M'Culloh's Researches on Amer., pp. 171-2. Bossu found some similarity between the language of the Natchez of Louisiana, and the Chinese. Nouveaux Voyages aux Indes Occidentales, tom. i., let. xviii.; cited by Warden, Recherches, p. 121. The last mentioned author also quotes a long list of analogies between the written language of the Chinese and the gesture language of the northern Indians, from a letter written by Wm Dunbar to the Philosophical Society of Philadelphia, and comments thereon. Recherches, p. 176. Of the value of these philological proofs the reader may judge by the following fair sample: 'the Chinese call a slave, shungo; and the Naudowessie Indians, whose language from their little intercourse with the Europeans is the least corrupted, term a dog, shungush. The former denominate one species of their tea, shousong; the latter call their tobacco, shousassau.' Carver's Trav., p. 214. The supposition of Asiatic derivation is assumed by Smith Barton on the strength of certain similarities of words, but Vater remarks, these prove only partial migrations. Malte-Brun, Précis de la Géog., tom. vi., p. 290. 'On the whole, more analogies (etymol.) have been found with the idioms of Asia, than of any other quarter. But their amount is too inconsiderable to balance the opposite conclusion inferred by a total dissimilarity of structure.' Prescott's Mex., vol. iii., p. 396. Barton, New Views, gives a comparative vocabulary to show that Asiatic traces have been discovered in the languages of South as well as North America. Latham, Man and His Migrations, p. 185, has proofs that 'the Kamskadale, the Koriak, the Aino-Japanese, and the Korean are the Asiatic languages most like those of America.' 'Dans quatre-vingt-trois langues américaines examinées par MM. Barton et Vater, on en a reconnu environ cent soixante-dix dont les racines semblent être les mêmes; et il est facile de se convaincre que cette analogie n'est pas accidentelle, qu'elle ne repose pas simplement sur l'harmonie imitative, ou sur cette égalité de conformation dans les organes, qui rend presque identiques les premiers sons articulés par les enfans. Sur cent soixante-dix mots qui ont des rapports entre eux, il y en a trois cinquièmes qui rappellent le mantchou, le tungouse, le mongol et le samojède, et deux cinquièmes qui rappellent les langues celtique et tschoude, le basque, le copte et le congo.' Humboldt, Vues, tom. i., pp. 27-8. Prichard, Nat. Hist. Man, vol. ii., pp. 512-13, thinks that the Otomí monosyllabic language may belong to Chinese and Indo-Chinese idioms; but Latham, Varieties of Man, p. 408, doubts its isolation from other American tongues, and thinks that it is either anaptotic or imperfectly agglutinate.

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Nouveaux Voyages aux Indes Occidentales, tom. i., lettre xviii. Cited by Warden, Recherches, p. 121.

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Trav., p. 213.

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Hist. of Louisiana, London 1774.

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91

Speaking of the ruins of Central America, Stephens says: 'if their (the Chinese) ancient architecture is the same with their modern, it bears no resemblance whatever to these unknown ruins.' Cent. Amer., vol. ii., p. 438.

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Humboldt, Vues, tom. i., p. 236. Speaking of the Popol Vuh, Viollet-le-Duc says: 'Certains passages de ce livre ont avec les histoires héroïques de l'Inde une singulière analogie.' In Charnay, Ruines Amér., p. 40. See also, Brasseur de Bourbourg, Quatre Lettres, pp. 212-13, 236-42.

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Geschichte der Religion Jesu Christi, tom. i., p. 426. Quoted in Humboldt, Vues, tom. i., p. 256.

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Vues, tom. i., p. 257. Tschudi, again, writes: 'As among the East Indians, an undefined being, Bramah, the divinity in general, was shadowed forth in the Trimurti, or as a God under three forms, viz., Bramah, Vishnu, and Sciva; so also the Supreme Being was venerated among the Indians of Mexico, under the three forms of Ho, Huitzilopoctli, and Tlaloc, who formed the Mexican Trimurti. The attributes and worship of the Mexican goddess Mictanihuatl preserve the most perfect analogy with those of the sanguinary and implacable Kali; as do equally the legends of the Mexican divinity Teayamiqui with the formidable Bhavani; both these Indian deities were wives of Siva-Rudra. Not less surprising is the characteristic likeness which exists between the pagodas of India and the Teocallis of Mexico, while the idols of both temples offer a similitude in physiognomy and posture which cannot escape the observation of any one who has been in both countries. The same analogy is observed between the oriental Trimurti and that of Peru; thus Con corresponds to Bramah, Pachacamac to Vishnu, and Huiracocha to Siva. The Peruvians never dared to erect a temple to their ineffable God, whom they never confounded with other divinities; a remarkable circumstance, which reminds us of similar conduct among a part of the inhabitants of India as to Bramah, who is the Eternal, the abstract God. Equally will the study of worship in the two hemispheres show intimate connection between the existence and attributes of the devadasis (female servants of the Gods) and the Peruvian virgins of the Sun.

All these considerations, and many others, which from want of space we must omit, evidently prove that the greater part of the Asiatic religions, such as that of Fo, in China, of Buddha, in Japan, of Sommono-Cadom, in India, the Lamaism of Thibet, the doctrine of Dschakdschiamuni among the Mongols and Calmucs; as well as the worship of Quetzalcoatl, in Mexico, and of Manco-Capac, in Peru, are but so many branches of the same trunk; whose root the labors of archæology and modern philosophy have not been able to determine with certainty, notwithstanding all the discussion, perseverance, sagacity, and boldness of hypothesis, among the learned men who have been occupied in investigating the subject.' After remarking upon the marvelous analogy between Christianity and Buddhism as found to exist by the first missionaries to Thibet, he goes on: 'Not less, however, was the surprise of the first Spanish ecclesiastics, who found, on reaching Mexico, a priesthood as regularly organized as that of the most civilized countries. Clothed with a powerful and effective authority which extended its arms to man in every condition and in all the stages of his life, the Mexican priests were mediators between man and the Divinity; they brought the newly born infants into the religious society, they directed their training and education, they determined the entrance of the young men into the service of the State, they consecrated marriage by their blessing, they comforted the sick and assisted the dying.' Finally, Tschudi finds it necessary to 'insist on this point, that Quetzalcoatl and Mango Capac were both missionaries of the worship of Bramah or Buddha, and probably of different sects.' Peruvian Antiq., pp. 17-20. Domenech, Deserts, vol. i., p. 52, has this passage, nearly word for word the same as Tschudi, but does not mention the latter author's name. There is 'a remarkable resemblance between the religion of the Aztecs and the Buddhism of the Chinese.' Gentleman's Magazine; quoted in Washington Standard, Oct. 30, 1869. In Quetzalcoatl may be recognized one of the austere hermits of the Ganges, and the custom of lacerating the body, practiced by so many tribes, has its counterpart among the Hindoos. Priest's Amer. Antiq., p. 211. Quetzalcoatl, like Buddha, preached against human sacrifice. Humboldt, Vues, tom. i., p. 265.

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'Il est très-remarquable aussi que parmi les hiéroglyphes mexicains on ne découvre absolument rien qui annonce le symbole de la force génératrice, ou le culte du lingam, qui est répandu dans l'Inde et parmi toutes les nations qui ont eu des rapports avec les Hindoux.' Vues, tom. i., p. 275.

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Recherches Asiatiques, tom. i., p. 215.

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Vues, tom. i., p. 276.

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98

See vol. iii., p. 501, et seq.; see also Brasseur de Bourbourg, Quatre Lettres, pp. 202-8.

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See vol. iv., p. 163, for cut of this ornament. 'D'abord j'ai été frappé de la ressemblance qu'offrent ces étranges figures des édifices mayas avec la tête de l'éléphant. Cet appendice, placé entre deux yeux, et dépassant la bouche de presque toute sa longueur, m'a semblé ne pouvoir être autre chose que l'image de la trompe d'un proboscidien, car le museau charnu et saillant du tapir n'est pas de cette longueur. J'ai observé aussi que les édifices placés à l'Est des autres ruines offrent, aux quatre coins, trois têtes symboliques armées de trompes tournées en l'air; or, le tapir n'a nullement la faculté d'élever ainsi son museau allongé; cette dernière considération me semble décisive.' Waldeck, Voy. Pitt., p. 74. 'There is not the slightest ground for supposing that the Mexicans or Peruvians were acquainted with any portion of the Hindoo mythology; but since their knowledge of even one species of animal peculiar to the Old Continent, and not found in America, would, if distinctly proved, furnish a convincing argument of a communication having taken place in former ages between the people of the two hemispheres, we cannot but think that the likeness to the head of a rhinoceros, in the thirty-sixth page of the Mexican painting preserved in the collection of Sir Thomas Bodley; the figure of a trunk resembling that of an elephant, in other Mexican paintings; and the fact, recorded by Simon, that what resembled the rib of a camel (la costilla de un camello) was kept for many ages as a relic, and held in great reverence, in one of the provinces of Bogota, – are deserving of attention. Kingsborough's Mex. Antiq., vol. viii., p. 27. 'On croit reconnoître, dans le masque du sacrificateur (in one of the groups represented in the Codex Borgianus) la trompe d'un éléphant ou de quelque pachyderme qui s'en rapproche par la configuration de la tête, mais dont la mâchoire supérieure est garnie de dents incisives. Le groin du tapir se prolonge sans doute un peu plus que le museau de nos cochons; mais il y a bien loin de ce groin du tapir à la trompe figurée dans le Codex Borgianus. Les peuples d'Aztlan, originaires d'Asie, avoient-ils conservé quelques notions vagues sur les éléphans, ou, ce qui me paroît bien moins probable, leurs traditions remontoient-elles jusqu'à l'époque où l'Amérique étoit encore peuplée de ces animaux gigantesques, dont les squelettes pétrifiés se trouvent enfouis dans les terrains marneux, sur le dos même des Cordillères mexicaines? Peut-être aussi existe-t-il, dans la partie nord-ouest du nouveau continent, dans des contrées qui n'ont été visitées ni par Hearne, ni par Mackensie, ni par Lewis, un pachyderme inconnu, qui, par la configuration de sa trompe, tient le milieu entre l'éléphant et le tapir.' Humboldt, Vues, tom. i., pp. 254-5.

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Squier's Observations on Memoirs of Dr Zestermann, in Amer. Ethno. Soc., Transact., April, 1851; Atwater, in Amer. Antiq. Soc., Transact., vol. i., pp. 196-267.

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In this, as in all other theories, but little distinction is made between the introduction of foreign culture, and the actual origin of the people. It would be absurd, however, to suppose that a few ships' crews, almost, if not quite, without women, cast accidentally ashore in Peru in the thirteenth century, should in the fifteenth be found to have increased to a mighty nation, possessed of a civilization quite advanced, yet resembling that of their mother country so slightly as to afford only the most faint and far-fetched analogies.

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Manco 'afterwards received from his subjects the title of "Capac," which means sole Emperor, splendid, rich in virtue.' Ranking's Hist. Researches, p. 56. He cites for this, Garcilasso de la Vega, book i., chap. xxvi., a work on which he relies for most of his information.

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A relation of two Russe Cossacks trauailes, out of Siberia to Catay, &c., in Purchas his Pilgrimes, vol. iii., p. 798.

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104

Ranking's Hist. Researches, pp. 171-2.

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Quoted by Ranking, Hist. Researches, p. 183, from Abul Ghazi Bahadur, History of the Turks, Moguls, and Tartars, vol. i., p. 11.

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Du Halde, Empire of China, vol. i., p. 275. Quoted by Ranking, Hist. Researches, p. 197-8.

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Concerning the Mongolian origin of the Peruvians, see: Ranking's Hist. Researches. Almost all other writers who have touched on this subject, are indebted to Mr Ranking for their information and ideas. See also Humboldt, Exam. Crit., tom. ii., p. 67, et seq.; Malte-Brun, Précis de la Géog., tom. vi., pp. 293-4; Forster's Voyage Round the World. Grotius thinks that the Peruvians must be distinct from other American people, since they are so acute, and believes them, therefore, to be descended from the Chinese. Wrecks of Chinese junks have been found on the coast. Both adore the sun, and call the king the 'son of the sun.' Both use hieroglyphics which are read from above downwards. Manco Capac was a Chinaman who gave these settlers a government founded on the Chinese system. Montanus, Nieuwe Weereld, pp. 32-3. De Laet, replying to these arguments, considers that the acuteness of the Peruvians does not approach that of the Chinese. Nowhere in Peru have the cunning and artistic works of Chinese artificers been seen. The Chinese junks were too frail to withstand a storm that could drive them across the Pacific. And if the voyage were intentional they would have sought nearer land than the coasts of Mexico or Peru. The religion of the two countries differs materially; so does their writing. Manco Capac was a native Peruvian who ruled four hundred years before the coming of the Spaniards. Novus Orbis, in Id., pp. 33-4. Mr Cronise, in his Natural Wealth of California, p. 28, et seq., is more positive on this subject than any writer I have yet encountered. I am at a loss to know why this should be, because I have before me the works that he consulted, and I certainly find nothing to warrant his very strong assertions. I quote a few passages from his work. 'The investigations of ethnologists and philologists who have studied the Hindoo, Chinese, and Japanese annals during the present century, have brought to light such a chain of evidence as to place beyond doubt that the inhabitants of Mexico and California, discovered by the Spaniards, were of Mongolian origin.' Hindoo, Chinese, and Japanese annals all agree that the fleet of Kublai Khan, son of Genghis Khan, was wrecked on the coast of America. 'There are proofs clear and certain, that Mango Capac, the founder of the Peruvian nation, was the son of Kublai Khan … and that the ancestors of Montezuma, of Mexico, who were from Assam, arrived about the same time… Every custom of the Mexicans, described by their Spanish conquerors, proves their Asiatic origin… The strange hieroglyphics found in so many places in Mexico, and from California to Canada, are all of Mongolian origin'… 'Humboldt, many years ago, conjectured that these hieroglyphics were of Tartar origin. It is now positively known that they are… The armor belonging to Montezuma, which was obtained by Cortez and is now in the museum at Madrid, is known to be of Asiatic manufacture, and to have belonged to one of Kublai Khan's generals.' It is unnecessary to multiply quotations, or to further criticise a work so grossly misleading. The following unique assertion is a fair specimen of Mr Cronise's vagaries when treading on unfamiliar ground: '"Alta," the prefix which distinguishes Upper from Lower California, is a word of Mongolian origin, signifying "gold."' The most superficial knowledge of Spanish or of the history of California, would have told Mr Cronise that 'alta' simply means 'high,' or 'upper,' and that the name was applied to what was originally termed 'New' California, in contradistinction to 'Baja' or 'Lower' California.

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This relation, says Ranking, 'has naturally enough been considered by Robertson and others as a ridiculous fable; and any reader would be inclined to treat it as such, were it not accounted for by the invasion of Japan, and the very numerous and convincing proofs of the identity of the Mongols and the Incas.' Hist. Researches, p. 55. He thinks that the giants were the Mongolian invaders, mounted upon the elephants which they brought with them. 'The elephants,' he says, 'would, no doubt, be defended by their usual armor on such an extraordinary occasion, and the space for the eyes would appear monstrous. The remark about the beards, &c., shows that the man and the elephant were considered as one person. It is a new and curious folio edition of the Centaurs and Lapithæ; and we cannot wonder that, on such a novel occasion, Cape St. Helen's did not produce an American Theseus.' Id., pp. 53-4.

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See Ranking's Hist. Researches, p. 56, et seq.; Warden, Recherches, pp. 187-9.

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Origin of the Japanese Race, and their Relation to the American Continent, MS.

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See report of a lecture read by Charles Wolcott Brooks before the California Academy of Science, in Daily Alta California, May 4, 1875; San Francisco Evening Bulletin, same date.

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See report of paper submitted by Mr Brooks to the California Academy of Sciences, in San Francisco Evening Bulletin, March 2, 1875. In this report the details and date of each wreck are given. The author of the paper assures me that he has records of over one hundred such disasters. Every one of these wrecks, when examined, proved to be Japanese, and not one Chinese. See also Irving's Bonneville's Adven., p. 427; Smith's Human Species, p. 239; Roquefeuil, in Nouvelles Annales des Voy., 1823, tom. xviii., pp. 248-9; Anderson, in Hist. Mag., vol. vii., pp. 80-1; Lassepas, Baja Cal., pp. 45-6.

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Id. Lord's Nat., vol. ii., pp. 216-7. 'Looking only at the forms and endings of the words, their ring and sounds when uttered, we could not but notice the striking similarity, in these respects, between the proper names as found on the map of Japan, and many of the names given to places, rivers, etc., in this country.' (America.) Rockwell, in Hist. Mag., n. s., vol. iii., p. 141.

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There were in California at the time of the Conquest, Indians of various races, some of the Japanese type. Vallejo, Hist. Cal., MS., tom. i., p. 3; Vallejo, Remin. Cal., MS., p. 6. The Aleutian Islanders resemble the Japanese in various respects. Simpson's Nar., vol. ii., p. 228. Priest, Amer. Antiq., p. 214, thinks that Quetzalcoatl may be regarded as a Japanese, as comparatively white and bearded.

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Introduction to Charnay, Ruines Amér., pp. 28-31.

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Nieuwe Weereld, p. 39.

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Lord's Nat., vol. ii., p. 217.

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See: Ampère, Prom. en Amér., tom. ii., pp. 300-4; Atwater, in Amer. Antiq. Soc., Transact., vol. i., pp. 212-14, 338-42; Montanus, Nieuwe Weereld, pp. 38-42; Priest's Amer. Antiq., pp. 58-9; Religious Cer. and Cust., vol. iii., pp. 4-10; Robertson's Hist. Amer., vol. i., pp. 277-81; Vigne's Travels, vol. ii., pp. 37-8; Gage's New Survey, p. 162; Domenech's Deserts, vol. i., pp. 7-9; Farcy, Discours, in Antiq. Mex., tom. i., div. i., p. 45; Humboldt, Essai Pol., tom. i., pp. 79-80; Adair's Amer. Ind., pp. 12-13; Norman's Rambles by Land and Water, pp. 215-16; Humboldt, Vues, tom. i., p. 267; Vater, Ueber Amer. Bevölkerung, pp. 155-69, cited in Humboldt, Vues, tom. i., p. 175; Laplace, Circumnav., tom. vi., p. 156; Warden, Recherches, pp. 201-2; Josselyn's Two Voyages; Williamson's Observations on Climate; Hill's Antiq. of Amer.; Ixtlilxochitl, Relaciones, in Kingsborough's Mex. Antiq., vol. ix., pp. 392-3, 450; Foster's Pre-Hist. Races, pp. 334-5; Volney's View; Bossu, Nouveaux Voy.; Slight's Indian Researches; Carver's Trav., pp. 187-96, 208-19; Fontaine's How the World was Peopled, pp. 241-5; Las Casas, Hist. Apologética, cap. ccix., quoted in Kingsborough's Mex. Antiq., vol. viii., pp. 398-9; Delafield's Antiq. Amer., pp. 13-104; Malte-Brun, Précis de la Géog., tom. vi., pp. 293-4; Monglave, in Antiq. Mex., tom. i., div. i., p. 60; Heylyn's Cosmog., p. 947; Norman's Rambles in Yuc., p. 174.

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Ensayo de un Estudio comparativo.

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Delafield's Antiq. Amer., p. 57.

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Ranking's Hist. Researches, p. 356.

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See vol. iv., pp. 88, 95-6, for further description, also plan of Copan ruins, p. 85, for location of vault. Jones, commenting on the above, remarks: 'This last sentence brings us to a specimen of Gem engraving, the most ancient of all the antique works of Art. Not only is the death "Chamber" identical with that of Egypt, but also the very way of reaching it – viz., first, by ascending the pyramidal base, and then descending, and so entering the Sepulchre! This could not be accidental, – the builders of that pyramidal Sepulchre must have had a knowledge of Egypt.' Hist. Anc. Amer., pp. 116-17. Stephens, who in his first volume of travels in Central America, p. 144, describes this vault, writes in vol. ii., pp. 439-40: 'The pyramids of Egypt are known to have interior chambers, and, whatever their other uses, to have been intended and used as sepulchres. These (American pyramids), on the contrary, are of solid earth and stone. No interior chambers have ever been discovered, and probably none exist.' Mr Jones criticises Mr Stephens very severely for this apparent contradiction, but it is customary with Mr Jones to tilt blindly at whatever obstructs his theories. Stephens doubtless refers in this passage to such chambers as would lead one to suppose that the pyramid was built as a token of their presence. Löwenstern is very positive that the Mexican pyramid was not intended for sepulchral purposes. Mexique, p. 274. Clavigero is of the same opinion: 'quelli degli Egizj erano per lo più vuoti; quelli de' Messicani massiccj; questi servivano di basi a' loro Santuarj; quelli di sepolcri de' Re.' Storia Ant. del Messico, tom. iv., pp. 19-20. Foster, on the other hand, writes: 'There are those who, in the truncated pyramids, see evidences of Egyptian origin. The pyramids, like the temple-mounds, were used for sepulchres, but here the analogy ends.' Pre-Hist. Races, p. 187.

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See vol. iv., p. 474.

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Stephens' Cent. Amer., vol. ii., p. 440.

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The reader can compare the various accounts of pyramidal structures given in vol. iv. on this point. See heading 'pyramid,' in Index.

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Stephens' Cent. Amer., vol. ii., p. 439.

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Antiq. Amer., p. 56.

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Humboldt reviews the points of resemblance and comes to the conclusion that they afford no foundation upon which to base a theory of Egyptian origin. Vues, tom. i., pp. 120-4. 'There is much in the shape, proportions and sculptures of this pyramid (Xochicalco) to connect its architects with the Egyptians.' Mayer's Mex. as it Was, p. 186. Bradford finds that some 'of the Egyptian pyramids, and those which with some reason it has been supposed are the most ancient, are precisely similar to the Mexican Teocalli.' But he only sees Egyptian traces in this; he shows that similar pyramidal structures have been found in very many parts of the world; and he believes the Americans to have originated from many sources and stocks. See Amer. Antiq., p. 423.

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See vol. iv., chap. v., vii., and x. Quoting from Molina, Hist. Chili, tom. i., notes, p. 169, M'Culloh writes: 'Between the hills of Mendoza and La Punta, upon a low range of hills, is a pillar of stone one hundred and fifty feet high, and twelve in diameter.' 'This,' he adds, 'very much reminds us of the pillar and obelisks of ancient Egypt.' Researches, pp. 171-2. Jones, Hist. Anc. Amer., pp. 122-3, is very confident about the obelisk. He asks: 'What are the Obelisks of Egypt? Are they not square columns for the facility of Sculpture? And of what form are the isolated columns at Copan? Are they not square, and for the same purpose of facility in Sculpture with which they are covered, and with workmanship "as fine as that of Egypt?"… The columns of Copan stand detached and solitary, – the Obelisks of Egypt do the same, and both are square (or four-sided) and covered with the art of the Sculptor. The analogy of being derived from the Nile is perfect, – for in what other Ruins but those of Egypt, and Ancient America, is the square sculptured Column to be found?'

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Essai Pol., tom. i., p. 265. Notwithstanding certain points of resemblance, says Prescott, 'the Palenque architecture has little to remind us of the Egyptian, or of the Oriental. It is, indeed, more conformable, in the perpendicular elevation of the walls, the moderate size of the stones, and the general arrangement of the posts, to the European. It must be admitted, however, to have a character of originality peculiar to itself.' Mex., vol. iii., pp. 407-8.

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There is a plate showing an Aztec priestess in Delafield's Antiq. Amer., p. 61, which, if correctly drawn, certainly presents a head-dress strikingly Egyptian. The same might almost be said of a cut in vol. iv. of this work, p. 562 , and, indeed, of several other cuts in the same volume. Mr Stephens, Cent. Amer., vol. ii., p. 441, gives, for the sake of comparison, a plate representing two specimens of Egyptian sculpture; one from the side of the great monument at Thebes known as the Vocal Memnon, and the other from the top of the fallen obelisk at Carnac. 'I think,', he writes, 'by comparison with the engravings before presented, it will be found that there is no resemblance whatever. If there be any at all striking, it is only that the figures are in profile, and this is equally true of all good sculpture in bas-relief.' He happens, however, here, to have selected two Egyptian subjects which almost find their counterparts in America. In the preceding volume of this work, p. 333 , is given a cut of what is called the 'tablet of the cross' at Palenque. In this we see a cross, and perched upon it a bird, to which (or to the cross) two human figures in profile, apparently priests, are making an offering. In Mr Stephens' representation from the Vocal Memnon we find almost the same thing, the differences being, that instead of an ornamented Latin cross, we have here a crux commissa, or patibulata; that instead of one bird there are two, not on the cross but immediately above it; and that the figures, though in profile and holding the same general positions, are dressed in a different manner, and are apparently binding the cross with the lotus instead of making an offering to it; in Mr Stephens' representation from the obelisk of Carnac, however, a priest is evidently making an offering to a large bird perched upon an altar, and here, again, the human figures occupy the same position. The hieroglyphs, though the characters are of course different, are, it will be noticed, disposed upon the stone in much the same manner. The frontispiece of Stephens' Cent. Amer., vol. ii., described on p. 352, represents the tablet on the back wall of the altar, casa No. 3, at Palenque. Once more here are two priests clad in all the elaborate insignia of their office, standing one on either side of a table, or altar, upon which are erected two batons, crossed in such a manner as to form a crux decussata, and supporting a hideous mask. To this emblem they are each making an offering.

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132

Delafield, it is true, discerns a distinct analogy between the hieroglyphs of Egypt and America. And the evidence he adduces is absurd enough. 'Hieroglyphic writings,' he says, 'are necessarily of three kinds, viz: phonetic, figurative, and symbolical.' He then goes on to show at great length, that both in Egypt and in America all three of these systems were used: hence, the resemblance. Antiq. Amer., pp. 42-7. 'Les monumens du Palenque présentent des inscriptions hiéroglyphiques qui ne paraissent pas différer des hiéroglyphes de l'ancienne Thèbes.' Giordan, Tehuantepec, p. 57. Jomard pronounces an inscription found at Grave Creek to be Lybian. Domenech's Deserts, vol. i., pp. 411-12. Says M'Culloh: 'The Game of the Flyers, we notice in this place, as M. Denon in the plates to his Travels in Egypt, has given the copy of some figures taken from the Egyptian hieroglyphics, which have every appearance of a similar design with this Mexican amusement or ceremony. – The similarity of device will be best seen, by comparing the plate given by Clavigero, with the (lxiii. plate) of Denon's Atlas, &c.' Researches on Amer., pp. 170-1. Priest, Amer. Antiq., p. 122, gives a comparative table of Lybian characters, and others, which he affirms to have been found at Otolum, or Palenque: the whole statement is, however, too apocryphal to be worthy of further notice. See, also, a long letter from Prof. Rafinesque to Champollion, 'on the Graphic Systems of America, and the Glyphs of Otolum, or Palenque, in Central America,' in Id., pp. 123-9. The hieroglyphics of Palenque and Tula encourage the idea that they were founded by an Egyptian colony. Juarros, Hist. Guat., p. 19.

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In a letter by Jomard, quoted by Delafield, we read: 'I have also recognized in your memoir on the division of time among the Mexican nations, compared with those of Asia, some very striking analogies between the Toltec characters and institutions observed on the banks of the Nile. Among these analogies there is one which is worthy of attention. It is the use of the vague year of three hundred and sixty-five days, composed of equal months, and of five complementary days, equally employed at Thebes and Mexico, a distance of three thousand leagues. It is true that the Egyptians had no intercalation, while the Mexicans intercalated thirteen days every fifty-two years. Still farther: intercalation was proscribed in Egypt, to such a point that the kings swore, on their accession, never to permit it to be employed during their reign. Notwithstanding this difference, we find a very striking agreement in the length of the duration of the solar year. In reality, the intercalation of the Mexicans being thirteen days on each cycle of fifty-two years, comes to the same thing as that of the Julian calendar, which is one day in four years; and consequently supposes the duration of the year to be three hundred and sixty-five days, six hours. Now such was the length of the year among the Egyptians, since the sothic period was at once one thousand four hundred and sixty solar years, and one thousand four hundred and sixty-one vague years; which was, in some sort, the intercalation of a whole year of three hundred and seventy-five days every one thousand four hundred and sixty years. The property of the sothic period – that of bringing back the seasons and festivals to the same point of the year, after having made them pass successively through every point – is undoubtedly one of the reasons which caused the intercalation to be proscribed, no less than the repugnance of the Egyptians for foreign institutions. Now it is remarkable that the same solar year of three hundred and sixty-five days, six hours, adopted by nations so different, and perhaps still more remote in their state of civilization than in their geographical distance, relates to a real astronomical period, and belongs peculiarly to the Egyptians… The fact of the intercalation (by the Mexicans) of thirteen days every cycle, that is, the use of a year of three hundred and sixty-five days and a quarter, is a proof that it was either borrowed from the Egyptians, or that they had a common origin.' Antiq. Amer., pp. 52-3. 'On the 26th of February, the Mexican century begins, which was celebrated from the time of Nabonassor, seven hundred and forty-seven years before Christ, because the Egyptian priests conformably to their astronomical observations had fixed the beginning of their month Toth and the commencement of their year at noon on that day; this was verified by the Meridian of Alexandria, which was erected three centuries after that epoch. Hence it has been contended there could exist no doubt of the conformity of the Mexican with the Egyptian calendar, for although the latter assigned twelve months of thirty days each to the year, and added five days besides, in order that the circle of three hundred and sixty-five days should recommence from the same point; yet, notwithstanding the deviation from the Egyptian mode in the division of the months and days, they yet maintained that the Mexican method was conformable thereto, on account of the superadded five days; with this only difference, that upon these the Americans attended to no business, and therefore termed them Nemontemi or useless, whereas the Egyptians celebrated, during that epoch, the festival of the birth of their gods, as attested by Plutarch de Feide, and Osiride. Upon the other hand it is asserted, that though the Mexicans differed from the Egyptians by dividing their year into eighteen months, yet, as they called the month Mextli Moon, they must have formerly adopted the lunar month, agreeable to the Egyptian method of dividing the year into twelve months of thirty days; but to support this assertion no attempt has been made to ascertain the cause why this method was laid aside. The analogy between the Mexican and the Egyptian calendars is thus assumed to be undeniable. Besides what has been here introduced, the same is attempted to be proved in many other works which I pass over to avoid prolixity, and therefore only mention that they may be found in Boturini, in La Idea del Universo, by the abbé don Lorenza de Hervas, published in the Italian language, in Clavigero's dissertations, and in a letter addressed to him by Hervas, which he added to the end of his second volume.' Cabrera, Teatro, in Rio's Description, pp. 103-5. See also: Humboldt, Vues, tom. i., pp. 344, 348; Clavigero, Storia Ant. del Messico, tom. iv., p. 20; Malte-Brun, Précis de la Géog., tom. vi., p. 295.

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134

I follow, chiefly, M. Warden's résumé of these accounts, as being the fullest and clearest. Recherches, p. 406, et seq.

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135

Hist. du Commerce, cap. viii.

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136

Acosta compares the gold of Ophir with that of Hispaniola. He entertains the opinion that Tarshish and Ophir are distant imaginary places and not distinct countries, but imagines them to be somewhere in the East Indies. 'Cur autem in Orientali potius India quam in hac Occidentali Ophir fuisse existimem, illud caput est, quod ad nostrum Peru non nisi infinito circuitu tota India Orientali & Sinarum regione enauigata Salomonia clasis peruenire poterar.' De Novi Orbis, p. 36. Ophir is supposed to be in India or Africa. Robertson's Hist. Amer., vol. i., p. 7. Crowe, Cent. Amer., p. 65, considers the probability of Ophir and Tarshish being on the west coast of America. The Phœnician 'Ophir, or Ofor, which means, in their ancient language, the Western country, was Mexico and Central America, the land of gold.' Fontaine's How the World was Peopled, pp. 259-60. On p. 162, he says that the best authorities, Volney, Bochart, Michaelis, and Forster, suppose Ophir to have been situated on the Persian Gulf. The Phœnician Ophir was Hayti, for Columbus thought that he could trace the furnaces in which the gold had been refined. Carver's Trav., p. 192. Kingsborough, Mex. Antiq., vol. vi., pp. 184-5, considers the position of Ophir, but is undecided as to its position. Ens, West und Ost Indischer Lustgart, pp. 5-8, disagreeing with Vatablus and Stephanus, can find no resemblance to Ophir in Hayti or Peru, and comes to the conclusion that Ophir lay somewhere in the Old World, most likely in the East Indies. This seems to be a plagiarism of Acosta. See also Gottfriedt, Newe Welt, p. 3. Humboldt, Exam. Crit., tom. ii., pp. 40-5, discusses the position of Ophir in Veragua. Piñeda, De Rebus Salomonis, believes Ophir to have been America. Warden, Recherches, p. 196. See also Id., pp. 106-7.

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137

De Origine Gentium Americanarum, lib. ii., cap. vi., vii., viii.

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138

'Sur le cap Mollabat, au pied duquel on bâti ensuite le vieux Tanger.' Gosselin, cited by Warden, Recherches, p. 107, note 8.

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139

'Le cap Spartel, qui forme l'extrémité occidentale du détroit.' Id., note 9.

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140

The Greek text of the Periplus is printed in Hudson's Geographiæ veteris Scriptores Græci Minores. It was also published by Falconer, with an English translation and many notes – 8vo., Lond. 1797. Many remarks upon Hanno's voyage are made by Compomanes, Antigüedad Marítima de la República de Cartago, Madrid 1756; Bougainville, Mémoires de l'Académie des Inscriptions, tom. xxvi., xxviii.; Gosselin, Recherches sur la Géographie des Anciens; Rennell, Geography of Herodotus, vol. ii., pp. 409-43, 8vo.; and Heeren, Researches on the Ancient Nations of Africa, vol. i., pp. 492-501.

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141

Or Tiphysque.

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142

'Which is expressed by repeating four times from Valum-Votan to Valum-Chivim, from Valum-Chivim to Valum-Votan.' Cabrera, Teatro, in Rio's Description, p. 34. 'Valum-Votan, ou Terre de Votan, serait suivant Ordoñez l'île de Cuba. Mais dans mon dernier voyage, en contournant les montagnes qui environnent le plateau élévé où est situé Ciudad-Real de Chiapas, j'ai visité de grandes ruines qui portent le nom de Valum-Votan, à deux lieues environ du village de Teopixca, situé à 7 l. de Cuidad-Real, et où Nuñez de la Vega dit avoir encore trouvé, en 1696, les familles du nom de Votan.' Brasseur de Bourbourg, Popol Vuh, p. lxxxviii.

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143

Brasseur's account, which is, he says, taken from certain preserved fragments of Ordoñez' Hist. del Cielo, differs at this point; it reads: 'il alla à Valum-Chivim, d'où il passa à la grande ville, où il vit la maison de Dieu, que l'on était occupé à bâtir.' This 'house of God,' he remarks in a note, was, 'suivant Ordoñez et Nuñez de la Vega, le temple que Salomon était occupé à bâtir à Jérusalem.' After this, he goes on, Votan went 'à la cité antique, où il vit, de ces propres yeux, les ruines d'un grand édifice que les hommes avaient érigé par le commandement de leur aïeul commun, afin de pouvoir par là arriver au ciel.' In another note he remarks, 'Ordoñez commentant ce passage y trouve tout naturellement la tour de Babel: mais il s'indigne contre les Babyloniens, de ce qu'ils avaient eu la mauvaise foi de dire à Votan que la tour avait été bâtie par ordre de leur aïeul commun (Noé): "Il faut remarquer ici, dit-il, que les Babyloniens n'ont fait que tromper Votan, en lui assurant que la tour avait été construite par ordre de leur aïeul Noé, afin d'en faire un chemin pour arriver au ciel: jamais certainement le saint patriarche n'eut la moindre part dans la folie arrogante de Nemrod" (Mémoire MS. sur Palenqué.) Nuñez de la Vega rapporte la même tradition sur Votan et ses voyages (Constitut. Diœces, in Præamb., n. 34).' Brasseur de Bourbourg, Popol Vuh, p. lxxxviii.

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144

Cabrera, Teatro, in Rio's Description, p. 34. I have followed Cabrera's account because, unfortunately, Ordoñez' work is not to be had. Brasseur gives a fuller account of Votan's adventures than Cabrera, but he professes to draw his information from fragments of Ordoñez' writings, and it is impossible to tell whether his extra information is the result of his own imagination or of that of his equally enthusiastic original. The learned Abbé relates that the men with whom Votan conversed concerning the tower of Babel, assured him 'que cet édifice était le lieu où Dieu avait donné à chaque famille un langage particulier. Il affirme qu'à son retour de la ville du temple de Dieu, il retourna une première et une seconde fois à examiner tous les souterrains par où il avait déjà passé, et les signes qui s'y trouvaient. Il dit qu'on le fit passer par un chemin souterrain qui traversait la terre et se terminait à la racine du ciel. A l'égard de cette circonstance, il ajoute que ce chemin n'était autre qu'un trou de serpent où il entra parce qu'il était un serpent.' Popol Vuh, p. lxxxix. See farther, concerning Votan: Carbajal Espinosa, Hist. Mex., tom. i., p. 165; Juarros, Hist. Guat., p. 208; Clavigero, Storia Ant. del Messico, tom. i., pp. 150-1; Boturini, Idea, p. 115; Levy, Nicaragua, p. 4; Tschudi's Peruvian Antiq., pp. 11-15; Priest's Amer. Antiq., pp. 248-9; Brasseur de Bourbourg, Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. i., pp. 43-5, 68-76; Domenech's Deserts, vol. i., pp. 10-7. This last is merely a literal copy of Tschudi, to whom, however, no credit is given.

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145

'Ordoñez tire un argument du mot chivim, qu'il écrit aussi hivim, pour rappeler le chivim du pays des Hévéens de la Palestine, d'où il fait sortir les ancêtres de Votan. Dans la langue tzendale, qui était celle du livre attribué à Votan, la racine du mot chivin pourrait être chib ou chiib, qui signifie patrie, ou ghib qui veut dire armadille.' Brasseur de Bourbourg, Popol Vuh, p. lxxxviii., note.

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146

Cabrera, Teatro, in Rio's Description, pp. 47-53. It seems that the supposed Phœnician descent of the Americans has served as an excuse for the tyranny their conquerors exercised over them. 'Cursed be Canaan!' said Noah, 'A servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren.' Montanus says that it is a mistake to term the Phœnicians descendants of Canaan, for they are a Semitic people. Nieuwe Weereld, p. 25.

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147

'The strong Galleys, with sails and oars, and always before the constant East-Wind and onward wave-current, would accomplish ten miles an hour by day, and during the night, without the Rowers, six miles an hour, and, equally dividing the twenty-four hours, would make a run of 192 miles per day. Nautical proofs will show that in the above calculation the power of the Trade-Winds [i. e. the East-Winds] are underrated. The distance from Teneriffe to Florida is about 3300 miles, which by the foregone data they would traverse in seventeen and a quarter days. The Voyage may therefore with safety be said to have been accomplished during an entire month, and that, consequently the first landing of a branch of the human family in Ancient America would be in the last month of Autumn, three hundred and thirty-two years before the Christian Æra.'

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148

It would be impossible to give here the entire evidence with which Mr Jones supports his theory. Suffice it to say that the analogies he adduces are far-fetched in the extreme, and that his premises are to a great extent grounded upon certain vague utterances of Isaiah the prophet. His unbounded dogmatism, were it less strongly marked, would render his work offensive and unreadable to those who disagree with his opinions; as it is, it is simply ludicrous. I cannot better express my opinion of the book than by using the words of the distinguished Américaniste Dr Müller: 'Ganz ohne Werth soll die in London 1843 erschienene Schrift eines Engländers, George Jonas, über die Urgeschichte des alten America sein.' Amerikanische Urreligionen, p. 3.

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149

Jones' Hist. Anc. Amer., pp. 168-72.

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150

According to Mr Jones, Solomon's temple was built by Tyrian workmen.

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151

Gebelin affirms enthusiastically: '"que cette inscription vient d'arriver tout exprès du nouveau monde, pour confirmer ses idées sur l'origine des peuples, et que l'on y voit, d'une manière évidente, un monument phénicien, un tableau qui, sur le devant, désigne une alliance entre les peuples américains et la nation étrangère, arrivant, par des vents du nord, d'un pays riche et industrieux."' Humboldt, however, commenting upon this, writes: 'J'ai examiné avec soin les quatre dessins de la fameuse pierre de Taunton River… Loin d'y reconnoître un arrangement symétrique de lettres simples ou de caractères syllabiques, je n'y vois qu'un dessin à peine ébauché, et analogue à ceux que l'on a trouvés sur les rochers de la Norwège.' Vues, tom. i., pp. 181-2. 'The history of this inscription is scarcely surpassed, in the interest it has excited, or the novel phases it has exhibited at successive epochs of theoretical speculation, by any Perusinian, Eugubine, or Nilotic riddle. When the taste of American antiquaries inclined towards Phœnician relics, the Dighton inscription conformed to their opinions; and with changing tastes it has proved equally compliant. In 1783 the Rev. Ezra Stiles, D.D., President of Yale College, when preaching before the Governor and State of Connecticut, appealed to the Dighton Rock, graven, as he believed, in the old Punic or Phœnician character and language: in proof that the Indians were of the accursed seed of Canaan, and were to be displaced and rooted out by the European descendants of Japhet!.. So early as 1680 Dr. Danforth executed what he characterized as "a faithful and accurate representation of the inscription" on Dighton Rock. In 1712 the celebrated Dr. Cotton Mather procured drawings of the same, and transmitted them to the Secretary of the Royal Society of London, with a description, printed in the Philosophical Transactions for 1741, referring to it as "an inscription in which are seven or eight lines, about seven or eight feet long, and about a foot wide, each of them engraven with unaccountable characters, not like any known character." In 1730, Dr. Isaac Greenwood, Hollisian Professor at Cambridge, New England, communicated to the Society of Antiquaries of London a drawing of the same inscription, accompanied with a description which proves the great care with which his copy was executed. In 1768, Mr. Stephen Sewall, Professor of Oriental Languages at Cambridge, New England, took a careful copy, the size of the original, and deposited it in the Museum of Harvard University; and a transcript of this was forwarded to the Royal Society of London, six years later, by Mr. James Winthrop, Hollisian Professor of Mathematics. In 1786 the Rev. Michael Lort, D.D., one of the Vice-Presidents of the Society of Antiquaries of London, again brought the subject, with all its accumulated illustrations, before that learned society; and Colonel Vallency undertook to prove that the inscription was neither Phœnician nor Punic, but Siberian. Subsequently, Judge Winthrops executed a drawing in 1788; and again we have others by Judge Baylies and Mr. Joseph Gooding in 1790, by Mr. Job Gardner in 1812; and finally, in 1830, by a Commission appointed by the Rhode Island Historical Society, and communicated to the Antiquaries of Copenhagen with elaborate descriptions: which duly appear in their Antiquitates Americanæ, in proof of novel and very remarkable deductions.' Wilson's Prehist. Man, pp. 403-5. See also Pidgeon's Trad., p. 20.

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152

'Il est assez remarquable que, sur sept caractères, aucun ne s'y trouve répété plusieurs fois.' Vues, tom. i., pp. 183-4, with cut of part of inscription.

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153

See Schoolcraft, in Amer. Ethno. Soc., Transact., vol. i., pp. 386-97, for full account of this stone, with cuts. See also Wilson's Prehist. Man, pp. 408, et seq.

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154

For this statement I have only newspaper authority, however. 'Die "Amerika," ein in Bogota, Neu Granada, erschienenes Journal, kündigt eine Entdeckung an, die so seltsam ist, dass sie der Bestätigung bedarf, ehe man ihr Glauben schenken kann. Don Joaquim de Costa soll danach auf einem seiner Güter ein steinernes Monument entdeckt haben, das von einer kleinen Colonie Phönizier aus Sidonia im Jahre 9 oder 10 der Regierung Hiranus, eines Zeitgenossen Salomons, ungefähr zehn Jahrhunderte vor der christlichen Aera errichtet wurde. Der Block hat eine Inschrift von acht Linien, die in schönen Buchstaben, aber ohne Trennung der Worte oder Punctation geschrieben sind. In der Uebersetzung soll die Inschrift besagen, dass jene Männer des Landes Canarien sich im Hafen Apiongaber (Bay-Akubal) einschifften und nach zwölfmonatiger Fahrt von dem Lande Egypten (Afrika) durch Strömungen fortgeführt, in Guayaquil in Peru landeten. Der Stein soll, wie es heisst, die Namen der Reisenden tragen.' Hamburg Reform, Oct. 24, 1873. See farther, concerning inscriptions: Torquemada, Monarq. Ind., tom. i., p. 29; Stratton's Mound-Builders, MS., p. 13; Priest's Amer. Antiq., p. 121.

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155

See particularly Melgar, in Soc. Mex. Geog., Boletin, 2da época, tom. iii., p. 112, et seq.; and Jones' Hist. Anc. Amer., p. 154, et seq.; Baldwin's Anc. Amer., pp. 185-6.

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156

See vol. iv. of this work, p. 118 .

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157

Melgar, in Soc. Mex. Geog., Boletin, 2da época, tom. iii., pp. 110-11.

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158

See farther, concerning Phœnician and Carthaginian theories: Torquemada, Monarq. Ind., tom. i., pp. 28-9, 255; Hill's Antiq. Amer.; Melgar, in Soc. Mex. Geog., Boletin, 2da época, tom. iii., p. 111; Lescarbot, Hist. Nouv. France; Dally, Races Indig., pp. 5, 8; Religious Cer. and Cust., vol. iii., pp. 3-4; Domenech's Deserts, vol. i., pp. 9-21; Vigne's Travels, vol. ii., pp. 41-56; Sheldon, in Am. Antiq. Soc., Transact., vol. i., pp. 366-8; Lizana, Devocionario, in Landa, Relacion, p. 354; Levy, Nicaragua, pp. 10, 208; Kennedy's Probable Origin; Baldwin's Anc. Amer., pp. 171-4, 200, 207; Du Pratz, Hist. Louisiane, tom. iii., pp. 75-86; Chateaubriand, Lettre aux Auteurs, p. 87; Stratton's Mound-Builders, M.S.; Carver's Trav., pp. 188, 191-2; Montanus, Nieuwe Weereld, pp. 16-22, 27-8; De Costa, Pre-Columbian Disc. Amer., p. xiv.; Ritos Antiguos, in Kingsborough's Mex. Antiq., vol. ix., p. 10; Revue Amér., tom. i., p. 3; Farcy, Discours, in Antiq. Mex., tom. i., div. i., pp. 43-4: West und Ost Indischer Lustgart, p. 4; Drake's Aborig. Races, pp. 20-2; García, Orígen de los Ind., pp. 41-77, 192-239; Priest's Amer. Antiq., pp. 250-1, 333-4; Adair's Amer. Ind., p. 16; Kingsborough's Mex. Antiq., vol. viii., p. 84; Fontaine's How the World was Peopled, pp. 254-61.

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159

Orígen de los Ind., pp. 79-128.

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160

'Yo hice grande diligencia en averiguar esta verdad, y puedo afirmar, que he trabajado mas en ello, que en lo que escrivo en toda la Obra; i asi de lo que acerca de esta he hallado, pondre tales fundamentos al edificio, i maquina de esta sentencia, i opinion, que puedan mui bien sufrir su peso.' Id., p. 79.

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161

Anian was the name given to the strait which was supposed to lie between Asia and America, and which, after its actual discovery, was named Bering Strait. The unknown northern regions of America were also called Anian.

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162

The worthy Father's geographical knowledge was somewhat vague; thus in the next section he writes: 'Tambien pudieron ir las diez Tribus desde la Tierra, que dice Esdras, à la China… De la China pudieron ir por Mar à la Tierra de Nueva-España, para donde no es mui larga la navegacion, viniendo por el Estrecho, ò Canal, que està, entre la China, i el Reino de Annian, i de Quivira.' Origen de los Ind., p. 81.

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163

Among several instances given by García to show the cowardice of the Jews, is this: 'dice la Sagrada Escritura, por grande incarecimiento, que no les quiso llevar Moises por la Tierra de Philistim, conociendo su pusilanimidad, i cobardia, porque no temiesen, viendo los Enemigos, que venian en su seguimiento, i de cobardes se bolviesen à Egipto.' With regard to the cowardice of the Americans, he writes: 'Cuenta la Historia, que entrò Cortès, en la Conquista de Nueva-España con 550 Españoles, i de estos eran los 50 Marineros: i en Mexico tuvo, quando lo ganò, 900 Españoles, 200,000 Indios, 8 °Caballos: murieron de los Nuestros 50, i de los Caballos 6. Entrò Piçarro en el Perù con pocos mas de 200 Españoles, con los quales, i con 6 °Caballos tuvo Victoria contra el Rei Atanualpa.' Not only at the time of the Conquest, he adds, did the Americans scatter and run on the discharge of a musket, but even at the present day, when they are familiar with firearms, they do the same. Orígen de los Ind., pp. 85-6.

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164

Immediately afterwards he says that the Jews and Americans were alike, because they both bathed frequently.

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165

This scarcely seems to be a parallelism, and certainly would not be, had the worthy Father written, as he well might: 'freedom and the hardships of the desert,' instead of 'manna and the promised land'.

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166

To show García's style and logic, which are, indeed, but little different from the style and reasoning of all these ancient writers, I translate literally, and without embellishment of any kind, his attempts to prove that whatever differences exist at the present day between the Jew and the American, are due to the special act of God. 'It was divinely ordained that men should be scattered throughout all countries, and be so different from one another in disposition and temperament, in order that by their variety men should become possessed of a different and distinct genius; of a difference in the color of the face and in the form of the body; just as animals are various, and various the things produced by the earth, various the trees, various the plants and grasses, various the birds; and finally, various the fish of the sea and of rivers: in order that men should see in this how great is the wisdom of Him that created them. And although the variety and specific difference existing in these irrational and senseless beings causes in them a specific distinction, and that in men is only individual, or accidental and common; the Most High desired that this variety and common difference should exist in the human species, as there could be none specific and essential, so that there should be a resemblance in this between man and the other created beings: of which the Creator himself wished that the natural cause should be the arrangement of the earth, the region of the air, influence of the sky, waters, and edibles. By which the reader will not fail to be convinced that it was possible for the Indians to obtain and acquire a difference of mental faculties, and of color of face and of features, such as the Jews had not.' Orígen de los Ind., p. 105.

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167

'Y finalmente, si nos dixeren, que solos aquellos siete generos de Gentes, que he nombrado, que son Colcos, Egypcios, Etiopes, Fenices, Syros de Palestina, i Syros de los Rios Termodon, i Pantenio, i sus vecinos los Macrones fueron los que vsaron en el Mundo la circuncision… A Herodoto, i à los que alegaren lo referido, se responde, que sin duda los Hebreos fueron los primeros que la vsaron, por mandado de Dios.' Orígen de los Ind., p. 110.

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168

See Orígen de los Ind., pp. 119-23, for examples of linguistic resemblances.

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169

Kingsborough's Mex. Antiq., vol. viii., pp. 19-20, vol. vi., p. 536.

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170

Id., vol. viii., p. 21.

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171

Id., pp. 25-7, 30-1.

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172

Id., p. 39.

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173

Id., p. 58.

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174

Id., pp. 67, 218-19, 240.

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175

Id., p. 135.

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176

Id., p. 154.

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177

'Y el Ynga Yupangue entraba solo, y él mismo por su mano sacrificaba las ovejas y corderos.' Betanzos, Historia de los Ingas, lib. i., cap. xi., quoted in Kingsborough's Mex. Antiq., vol. viii., p. 156.

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178

Id., pp. 157, 236, 389, vol. vi., pp. 273-5.

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179

Id., vol. viii., p. 160.

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180

Id., p. 174.

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181

Id., p. 176.

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182

Id., pp. 174-82. He presents a most elaborate discussion of this point. See also vol. vi., pp. 512, 523.

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183

Id., vol. viii., p. 238.

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184

Id., p. 248.

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185

Id., p. 257.

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186

Id., p. 258, vol. vi., p. 236.

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187

Id., pp. 164-6.

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188

Id., p. 208. 'Representations of the lifting up of serpents frequently occur in Mexican paintings: and the plagues which Moses called down upon the Egyptians by lifting up his rod, which became a serpent, are evidently referred to in the eleventh and twelfth pages of the Borgian Manuscript. An allusion to the passage of the Red Sea … seems also to be contained in the seventy-first page of the Lesser Vatican MS.; and the destruction of Pharaoh and his host, and the thanksgiving of Moses, may perhaps be signified by the figure on the left, in the same page, of a man falling into a pit or gulf, and by the hand on the right stretched out to receive an offering.'

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Id., p. 222.

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Id., p. 232, et seq. Kingsborough reasons at some length on this point.

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Id., p. 361.

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Id., p. 406.

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Id., pp. 272-3, 333-5, 392-3; vol. viii., pp. 121-2, 142-3, 391.

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Id., vol. vi., pp. 300-1; vol. viii., p. 137.

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Id., vol. vi., p. 504, vol. viii., p. 18.

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Id., vol. vi., p. 125.

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Id., p. 45.

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Id., p. 142.

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Id., p. 246. Duran sustains the theory that the Indians are the descendants of the lost ten tribes of Israel. After giving several reasons founded on the Scriptures, he refers to the traditions obtained by him from the old people of the country. They related that their ancestors, whilst suffering many hardships and persecutions, were prevailed upon by a great man, who became their chief, to flee from that land into another, where they might have rest; they arrived at the sea-shore, and the chief struck the waters with a rod he had in his hands; the sea opened, and the chief and his followers marched on, but were soon pursued by their enemies; they crossed over in safety, and their enemies were swallowed up by the sea; at any rate, their ancestors never had any further account of their persecutors. Another tradition transmitted from generation to generation, and recorded in pictures, is, that while their first ancestors were on their journey to the promised land, they tarried in the vicinity of certain high hills; here a terrible earthquake occurred, and some wicked people who were with them were swallowed up by the earth opening under their feet. The same picture that Father Duran saw, showed that the ancestors of the Mexican people transmitted a tradition, relating that during their journey a kind of sand (or hail) rained upon them. Father Duran further gives an account furnished him by an old Indian of Cholula (some 100 years old) concerning the creation of the world: The first men were giants who, desirous of seeing the home of the sun, divided themselves into two parties, one of which journeyed to the west, and the other to the east, until they were stopped by the sea; they then concluded to return to the place they started from, called Vztacculemjueminian; finding no way to reach the sun, whose light and beauty they highly admired, they determined to build a tower that should reach the heavens. They built a tower; but the Lord became angry at their presumption, and the dwellers of heaven descended like thunderbolts and destroyed the edifice; the giants on seeing their work destroyed, were much frightened, and scattered themselves throughout the earth. Duran, Hist. Indias, MS., tom. i., cap. i.

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Kingsborough's Mex. Antiq., vol. vi., p. 246.

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Id., p. 248.

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Id., p. 253.

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Id., p. 254.

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Id., p. 312.

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Id., p. 361.

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Id., p. 382.

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Id., p. 401.

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To enter into details on all these subjects would require volumes as large, and I may add, as unreadable, as those of Lord Kingsborough. The reader who wishes to investigate more closely, will find all the points to which I have referred in volumes vi. and viii. of the noble writer's work, Mexican Antiquities. Mr James Adair, 'a trader with the Indians, and resident in their country for forty years,' very warmly advocates the Hebrew theory. As his intercourse with the Americans was confined to the wild tribes, the genuine 'red men' inhabiting the south-eastern states of North America, his argument and analogies differ in many points from those of Kingsborough and García, who treated chiefly of the civilized nations of Mexico and Central America. Here are some of his comparisons: 'The Israelites were divided into Tribes and had chiefs over them, so the Indians divide themselves: each tribe forming a little community within the nation – And as the nation hath its particular symbol, so hath each tribe the badge from which it is denominated.' If we go from nation to nation among them we shall not find one individual who doth not distinguish himself by his family name. Every town has a state house or synedrion, the same as the Jewish sanhedrim, where almost every night the headmen meet to discuss public business. The Hebrew nation were ordered to worship Jehovah the true and living God, who by the Indians is styled Yohewah. The ancient heathens, it is well known, worshiped a plurality of Gods: but these American Indians pay their religious devoir to Loak Ishtohoollo Aba, The Great Beneficent Supreme Holy Spirit of Fire. They do not pay the least perceptible adoration to images. Their ceremonies in their religious worship accord more nearly with the Mosaic institutions, which could not be if they were of heathen descent. The American Indians affirm, that there is a certain fixed time and place, when and where every one must die, without the possibility of averting it; such was the belief also of the ancient Greeks and Romans, who were much addicted to copying the rites and customs of the Jews. Their opinion that God chose them out of all the rest of mankind as his peculiar and beloved people, fills both the white Jew and the red American, with that steady hatred against all the world, which renders them hated and despised by all. We have abundant evidence of the Jews believing in the ministration of angels, during the Old Testament dispensation, their frequent appearances and their services on earth, are recorded in the oracles, which the Jews themselves receive as given by divine inspiration, and St Paul in his epistle addressed to the Hebrews speaks of it as their general opinion that "angels are ministering spirits to the good and righteous on earth." The Indian sentiments and traditions are the same. They believe the higher regions to be inhabited by good spirits, relations to the Great Holy One, and that these spirits attend and favor the virtuous. The Indian language and dialects appear to have the very idiom and genius of the Hebrew. Their words and sentences are expressive, concise, emphatical, sonorous, and bold, and often both in letters and signification synonymous with the Hebrew language. They count time after the manner of the Hebrews, reckoning years by lunar months like the Israelites who counted by moons. The religious ceremonies of the Indian Americans are in conformity with those of the Jews, they having their Prophets, High Priests, and others of religious order. As the Jews had a sanctum sanctorum or most holy place, so have all the Indian nations. The dress also of their High Priests is similar in character to that of the Hebrews. The festivals, feasts, and religious rites of the Indian Americans have also a great resemblance to that of the Hebrews. The Indian imitates the Israelite in his religious offerings. The Hebrews had various ablutions and anointings according to the Mosaic ritual – and all the Indian nations constantly observe similar customs from religious motives. Their frequent bathing, or dipping themselves and their children in rivers, even in the severest weather, seems to be as truly Jewish as the other rites and ceremonies which have been mentioned. The Indian laws of uncleanness and purification, and also the abstaining from things deemed unclean are the same as those of the Hebrews. The Indian marriages, divorces and punishments of adultery, still retain a strong likeness to the Jewish laws and customs on these points. Many of the Indian punishments resemble those of the Jews. Whoever attentively views the features of the Indian, and his eye, and reflects on his fickle, obstinate, and cruel disposition will naturally think of the Jews. The ceremonies performed by the Indians before going to war, such as purification and fasting, are similar to those of the Hebrew nation. The Israelites were fond of wearing beads and other ornaments, even as early as the patriarchal age, and in resemblance to these customs the Indian females continually wear the same, believing it to be a preventive against many evils. The Indian manner of curing the sick is very similar to that of the Jews. Like the Hebrews, they firmly believe that diseases and wounds are occasioned by divine anger, in proportion to some violation of the old beloved speech. The Hebrews carefully buried their dead, so on any accident they gathered their bones, and laid them in the tombs of their forefathers: thus, all the numerous nations of Indians perform the like friendly office to every deceased person of their respective tribe. The Jewish records tell us that the women mourned for the loss of their deceased husbands, and were reckoned vile by the civil law if they married in the space of at least ten months after their death. In the same manner all the Indian widows, by an established strict penal law, mourn for the loss of their deceased husbands; and among some tribes for the space of three or four years. The surviving brother by the Mosaic law, was to raise seed to a deceased brother, who left a widow childless to perpetuate his name and family. The American law enforces the same rule. When the Israelites gave names to their children or others they chose such appellatives as suited best their circumstances and the times. This custom is a standing rule with the Indians. Amer. Ind.

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Amer. Antiq., pp. 68-70.

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'See Deut., chap. vi., from 4th to 9th verse, inclusive; also, chap. xi., verse 13 to 21, inclusive; and Exodus, chap. xiii., 11 to 16, inclusive, to which the reader can refer, if he has the curiosity to read this most interesting discovery… It is said by Calmet, that the above texts are the very passages of Scripture which the Jews used to write on the leaves of their phylacteries. These phylacteries were little rolls of parchment, whereon were written certain words of the law. These they wore upon their forehead, and upon the wrist of the left arm.' Id.

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Antiquities of Licking County, Ohio, MS.

Brasseur de Bourbourg, although he rejects Kingsborough's theory, thinks that some Jews may have reached America; he recognizes a Jewish type on certain ruins, and calls attention to the perfectly Jewish dress of the women at Palin and on the shores of Lake Amatitlan. Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. i., p. 17. Customs and relics seem to show that the Americans are of Hebrew descent, and that they came by way of the Californias. Giordan, Tehuantepec, p. 57. The theory of descent from the ten tribes is not to be despised. On the north-west there are many beliefs and rites which resemble the Jewish; circumcision obtains in Central America, and women wear Jewish costumes. Father Ricci has seen Israelites in China living according to Moses' laws, and Father Adam Schall knew Israelites who had kept the Old Testament laws, and who knew nothing of the death of the Savior. This shows that the ten tribes took this direction, and as an emigration from Asia to America is perfectly admissible, it is likely that the Jews were among the number who crossed, probably by the Aleutian islands. Rossi, Souvenirs, pp. 276-7. Jones, as might be expected, 'will not yield to any man in the firm belief that the Aborigines of North America (but North America only) and the ancient Israelites are identical, unless controverted by the stern authority of superior historical deductions.' Hist. Anc. Amer., pp. 2, 11-26, 188-90. Parker does not accept the Jewish theory, chiefly because of the great variety of distinct languages in America, but he points out several resemblances between north-west tribes and Jews. Explor. Tour, pp. 194-8. Meyer finds many reasons for regarding the wild tribes of the north as Jews; such as physical peculiarities; numerous customs; the number of languages pointing to a Babylonian confusion of tongues. Most Indians have high-priests' temples, altars, and a sacred ark which they carry with them on their wanderings. They count by four seasons, celebrate new-moon and arbor festivals, and offer first fruits. In September, when the sun enters the sign of the scales, they hold their feast of atonement. The name Iowa he thinks is derived from Jehova. They work with one hand and carry their weapons in the other. The pillars of cloud and pillars of fire which guided the Israelites, may be volcanoes on the east coast of Asia, by whose aid the ten tribes reached America. Nach dem Sacramento, pp. 241-5. If the Toltecs were Jews, they must have visited the Old World in the year 753 of the Roman era, to obtain the Christian dogmas apparent in their cult. Waldeck, Voy. Pitt., p. 45. The Navajo tradition that they came out of the water a long way to the north; their peaceful, pastoral manner of life; their aversion to hogs' flesh; their belief that they will return to the water whence they came, instead of going to hunting-grounds like other tribes; their prophets who prophesy and receive revelation; their strict fast-days, and keenness in trade; their comparatively good treatment of women – are Jewish similarities, stronger than any tribes can present. 'Scalping appears to have been a Hebrew custom… The most striking custom of apparently Hebraic origin, is the periodical separation of females, and the strong and universal idea of uncleanness connected therewith.' Schoolcraft's Arch., vol. iii., pp. 60, 62. The Tartars are probably descended from the ten tribes; they boast of being Jews, are divided into tribes, and practice circumcision. The separation of women at certain times, and the expression Hallelujah Yohewah, are proofs of Jewish descent; scalping is mentioned in Bible (68th Psalm, ver. 21). Crawford's Essay. According to various manuscripts the Toltecs are of Jewish descent. Having crossed the Red Sea, they abandoned themselves to idolatry, and fearing Moses' reprimand, they separated from the rest and crossed the ocean to the Seven Caves, and there founded Tula. Juarros, Hist. Guat., tom. ii., pp. 7-8. Juarez, Municipalidad de Leon, p. 10, states that Leon de Cordova is of the same opinion. Em. de Moraez, a Portuguese, in his History of Brazil, thinks nothing but circumcision wanting to form a perfect resemblance between the Jews and Brazilians. He thinks that America was wholly peopled by Jews and Carthaginians. Carver's Trav., pp. 188-9. Catlin thinks the North Americans are a mixed race, who have Jewish blood in them. The mixture is shown by their skulls, while many customs are decidedly Jewish. Probably part of tribes scattered by Christians have come over and intermarried. He gives analogies in monotheism, sanctuaries, tribeship, chosen people belief, marriage by gifts, war, burial, ablutions, feasts, sacrifices, and other customs. Any philological similarity is unnecessary and superfluous. The Jew element was too feeble to influence language. Catlin's N. Amer. Ind., vol. ii., pp. 231-5. Melgar gives a list of the Chiapanec calendar names, and finds fourteen agree with suitable Hebrew words. He concludes, therefore, that ancient intercourse with the Old World is proven. Soc. Mex. Geog., Boletin, 2da época, tom. iii., p. 108. Jarvis, Religion Ind. N. Amer., pp. 71-87, compares words in Hebrew and American languages. Ethan Smith, Views of the Hebrews, presents eleven arguments in favor of the Jewish theory. Beatty, Journal of Two Months' Tour in America, gives a number of reasons why the Hebrew theory should be correct. See further, for general review of this theory: Crowe's Cent. Amer., pp. 64-8; Domenech's Deserts, vol. i., pp. 46-9; Simon's Ten Tribes, which is, however, merely a cheap abridgement of Kingsborough; Dally, Races Indig., pp. 5-6; Thorowgood's Jewes in America; Worsley's Amer. Ind., pp. 1-185; L'Estrange, Americans no Jewes; Spizelius, Elevatio Relationis, a criticism on Menasse Ben Israel's Hope of Israel; Tschudi's Peruvian Antiq., pp. 8-11.

In opposition to the Hebrew theory we read that Wolff, the Jew traveler, found no Jewish traces among the tribes of North America. Fontaine's How the World was Peopled, p. 157. 'The strong trait in Hebrew compound words, of inserting the syllable el or a single letter in the names of children, derived from either the primary or secondary names of the deity, does not prevail in any Indian tribes known to me. Neither are circumstances attending their birth or parentage, which were so often used in the Hebrew children's names, ever mentioned in these compounds. Indian children are generally named from some atmospheric phenomenon. There are no traces of the rites of circumcision, anointing, sprinkling, or washing, considered as consecrated symbols. Circumcision was reported as existing among the Sitkas, on the Missouri; but a strict examination proved it to be a mistake.' Schoolcraft's Arch., vol. iii., p. 61. The Rev. T. Thorowgood in 1650, published a work entitled Jewes in America, or Probabilities that the Americans are of that Race. This was answered in 1651, by Sir Hamon L'Estrange, in a book entitled, Americans no Jewes. L'Estrange believes that America was peopled long before the dispersion of the Jews, which took place 1500 years after the flood. A strong mixture of Jewish blood would have produced distinct customs, etc., which are not to be found. The native traditions as to origin are to be regarded as dreams rather than as true stories. The analogous customs and rites adduced by Thorowgood, L'Estrange goes on, are amply refuted by Acosta and other writers. The occasional cannibalism of the Jews was caused by famine, but that of the Americans was a regular institution. The argument that the Americans are Jews because they have not the gospel, is worthy only of ridicule, seeing that millions of other pagans are in the same condition. Of the Hebrew theory Baldwin, who devotes nearly two pages to it, writes: 'this wild notion, called a theory, scarcely deserves so much attention. It is a lunatic fancy, possible only to men of a certain class, which in our time does not multiply.' Anc. Amer., p. 167. Tschudi regards the arguments in favor of the Jewish theory as unsound. Peruvian Antiq., p. 11. Acosta thinks that the Jews would have preserved their language, customs, and records, in America as well as in other places. Hist. de las Ynd., pp. 79-80. Macgregor argues that the Americans could not have been Jews, for the latter people were acquainted with the use of iron as far back as the time of Tubal Cain; they also used milk and wheaten bread, which the Americans could and would have used if they had once known of them. Progress of Amer., vol. i., p. 24. Montanus believes that America was peopled long before the time of the dispersion of the Jewish tribes, and raises objections to nearly every point that has been adduced in favor of a Hebrew origin. Nieuwe Weereld, p. 26, et seq. Torquemada gives Las Casas' reasons for believing that the Americans are of Jewish descent, and refutes them. Monarq. Ind., tom. i., pp. 22-7. The difference of physical organization is alone sufficient to set aside the question of Jewish origin. That so conservative a people as the Jews should have lost all the traditions, customs, etc., of their race, is absurd. Democratic Review, vol. xi., p. 617. Rafinesque advances, as objections to Jew theory, that the ten tribes are to be found scattered over Asia; that the Sabbath would never have fallen into disuse if they had once introduced it into America; that the Hebrew knew the use of iron, had plows, and employed writing; that circumcision is practiced only in one or two localities in America; that the sharp, striking Jewish features are not found in Americans; that the Americans eat hogs and other animals forbidden to the Jews; that the American war customs, such as scalping, torturing, cannibalism, painting bodies and going naked, are not Jewish in the least; that the American languages are not like Hebrew. Priest's Amer. Antiq., pp. 76-9.

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I translate freely from Bertrand, Mémoires, p. 32, et seq., for this account.

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In the State of New York.

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The discovery was in this wise: 'Près du village de Manchester, dans le comté d'Ontario, État de New York, se trouve une éminence plus considérable que celle des environs, et qui est devenue célèbre dans les fastes de la nouvelle Église sous le nom de Cumorah. Sur le flanc occidental de cette colline, non loin de son sommet, et sous une pierre d'une grande dimension, des lames d'or se trouvaient déposées dans un coffre de pierre. Le couvercle en était aminci vers ses bords, et relevé au milieu en forme de boule. Après avoir dégagé la terre, Joseph (Smith) souleva le couvercle à l'aide d'un levier, et trouva les plaques, l'Urim-Thummim, et le pectoral. Le coffre était formé de pierres reliées entre elles aux angles par du ciment. Au fond se trouvaient deux pierres plates placées en croix, et sur ces pierres les lames d'or et les autres objets. Joseph voulait les enlever, mais il en fut empêché par l'envoyé divin, qui l'informe que le temps n'était pas encore venu, et qu'il fallait attendre quatre ans à partir de cette époque. D'après ses instructions, Joseph se rendit tous les ans le même jour au lieu du dépôt, pour recevoir de la bouche du messager céleste, des instructions sur la manière dont le royaume de Dieu devait être fondé et gouverné dans les derniers jours… Le 22 septembre 1827, le messager des cieux lui laissa prendre les plaques, l'Urim-Thummim et le pectoral, à condition qu'il serait responsable, et en l'avertissant qu'il serait retranché, s'il venait à perdre ces objets par sa négligence, mais qu'il serait protégé s'il faisait tous ses efforts pour les conserver.' Bertrand, Mémoires, pp. 23-5.

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Though the question of the Scandinavian discoveries would seem to merit considerable attention from one who wrote a 'colonial history' of America, yet Mr George Bancroft disposes of the entire subject in a single page: 'The story of the colonization of America by Northmen,' he writes, 'rests on narratives, mythological in form, and obscure in meaning; ancient, yet not contemporary. The chief document is an interpolation in the history of Sturleson, whose zealous curiosity could hardly have neglected the discovery of a continent. The geographical details are too vague to sustain a conjecture; the accounts of the mild winter and fertile soil are, on any modern hypothesis, fictitious or exaggerated; the description of the natives applies only to the Esquimaux, inhabitants of hyperborean regions, the remark which should define the length of the shortest winter's day, has received interpretations adapted to every latitude from New York to Cape Farewell; and Vinland has been sought in all directions, from Greenland and the St. Lawrence to Africa.' Bancroft's History, vol. i., pp. 5-6. Irving says that as far as he 'has had experience in tracing these stories of early discoveries of portions of the New World, he has generally found them very confident deductions drawn from very vague and questionable facts. Learned men are too prone to give substance to mere shadows, when they assist some preconceived theory. Most of these accounts, when divested of the erudite comments of their editors, have proved little better than the traditionary fables, noticed in another part of this work, respecting the imaginary islands of St. Borondon, and of the Seven Cities.' Columbus, vol. iii., p. 434. All of which would certainly be true enough of most theories, but that it was erroneous as far as the Northmen's visits are concerned, has, I think, been conclusively shown in later years.

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'It might also be argued, if it were at all necessary, that, if these Sagas were post-Columbian compositions drawn up by Icelanders who were jealous of the fame of the Genoese navigator, we should certainly be able to point out something either in their structure, bearing, or style, by which it would be indicated. Yet such is not the case. These writings reveal no anxiety to show the connection of the Northmen with the great land lying at the west. The authors do not see anything at all remarkable or meritorious in the explorations, which were conducted simply for the purpose of gain. Those marks which would certainly have been impressed by a more modern writer forging a historical composition designed to show an occupation of the country before the time of Columbus, are wholly wanting. There is no special pleading or rivalry, and no desire to show prior and superior knowledge of the country to which the navigators had from time to time sailed. We only discover a straightforward, honest endeavor to tell the story of certain men's lives. This is done in a simple, artless way, and with every indication of a desire to mete out even handed justice to all. And candid readers who come to the subject with minds free from prejudice, will be powerfully impressed with the belief that they are reading authentic histories written by honest men.' Pre-Columbian Disc. Amer., pp. xli. – xlii.

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Vol. viii., p. 114, et seq.

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The exact dates in these relations I cannot vouch for; but the several authors who have written on the subject differ by only a year or two.

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'Helluland, from Hella, a flat stone, an abundance of which may be found in Labrador and the region round about.' De Costa's Pre-Columbian Disc. Amer., p. 28. 'From data in the Landnama and several other ancient Icelandic geographical works, we may gather that the distance of a day's sailing was estimated at from twenty-seven to thirty geographical miles (German or Danish, of which fifteen are equal to a degree; each of these accordingly equal to four English sea-miles). From the island of Helluland, afterwards called Little Helluland, Biarne sailed to Heriulfsnes (Ikigeit) in Greenland, with strong south-westerly gales, in four days. The distance between that cape and Newfoundland is about 150 miles, which will correspond, when we take into consideration the strong gales. In modern descriptions it is stated that this land partly consists of naked, rocky flats, where no tree, not even a shrub, can grow, and which are therefore usually called Barrens; thus answering completely to the hellur of the ancient Northmen, from which they named the country.' Abstract of Hist. Evid., in Lond. Geog. Soc., Jour., vol. viii., p. 123.

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'Markland was situate to the south-west of Helluland, distant about three days' sail, or about from eighty to ninety miles. It is therefore Nova Scotia, of which the descriptions given by later writers answer to that given by the ancient Northmen of Markland.' Id.

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'Vinland was situate at the distance of two days' sail, consequently about from fifty-four to sixty miles, in a south-westerly direction from Markland. The distance from Cape Sable to Cape Cod is stated in nautical works as being W. by S. about seventy leagues, that is, about fifty-two miles. Biarne's description of the coasts is very accurate, and in the island situate to the eastward (between which and the promontory that stretches to eastward and northward Leif sailed) we recognize Nantucket. The ancient Northmen found there many shallows (grunnsæ fui mikit); modern navigators make mention at the same place "of numerous riffs and other shoals," and say "that the whole presents an aspect of drowned land."' Id., pp. 121-2. 'The leading evidences serve to attest that Vinland was the present very marked seaboard area of New England. The nautical facts have been carefully examined by Professors Rafn and Magnusen, and the historical data adapted to the configuration of the coast which has Cape Cod as its distinguishing trait. All this seems to have been done with surprising accuracy, and is illustrated by the present high state of the arts in Denmark and Germany.' Schoolcraft's Arch., vol. i., p. 111.

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'Kialarnes (from Kiölr, a keel, and nes, a cape, most likely so named on account of its striking resemblance to the keel of a ship, particularly of one of the long ships of the ancient Northmen) must consequently be Cape Cod, the Nauset of the Indians, which modern geographers have sometimes likened to a horn, and sometimes to a sickle or sythe.' Id., p. 122.

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'The Straumfiördr of the ancient Northmen is supposed to be Buzzard's Bay, and Straumey, Martha's Vineyard; although the account of the many eggs found there would seem more precisely to correspond to the island which lies off the entrance of Vineyard Sound, and which at this day is for the same reason called Egg Island.' Id.

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See Abstract of Hist. Evid., in Lond. Geog. Soc., Jour., vol. viii., p. 114, et seq., and De Costa's Pre-Columbian Disc. Amer., p. 11, et seq.

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In the year 983, according to Abstract of Hist. Evid., in Lond. Geog. Soc., Jour., vol. viii., p. 125. De Costa makes it 928. Pre-Columbian Disc. Amer., p. 86.

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'Professor Rafn in, what seems to the author, his needless anxiety to fix the locality of the White-man's land in America, says that, as this part of the manuscript is difficult to decipher, the original letters may have got changed, and vi inserted instead of xx, or xi, which numerals would afford time for the voyager to reach the coast of America, in the vicinity of Florida. Smith in his Dialogues, has even gone so far as to suppress the term six altogether, and substitutes, "by a number of days sail unknown." This is simply trifling with the subject. In Grönland's Historiske Mindesmœrker, chiefly the work of Finn Magnussen, no question is raised on this point. The various versions all give the number six, which limits the voyage to the vicinity of the Azores. Schöning, to whom we are so largely indebted for the best edition of Heimskringla, lays the scene of Marson's adventure at those islands, and suggests that they may at that time have covered a larger extent of territory than the present, and that they may have suffered from earthquakes and floods, adding, "It is likely, and all circumstances show, that the said land has been a piece of North America." This is a bold, though not very unreasonable hypothesis, especially as the volcanic character of the islands is well known. In 1808, a volcano rose to the height of 3,500 feet. Yet Schöning's suggestion is not needed. The fact that the islands were not inhabited when discovered by the Portuguese does not, however, settle anything against Schöning, because in the course of five hundred years, the people might either have migrated, or been swept away by pestilence. Grönland's Historiske Mindesmœrker, (vol. i., p. 150), says simply, that "It is thought that he (Are Marson) ended his days in America, or at all events in one of the larger islands of the west. Some think that it was one of the Azore islands."' De Costa's Pre-Columbian Disc. Amer., p. 87.

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Abstract of Hist. Evid., in Lond. Geog. Soc., Jour., vol. viii., p. 125; De Costa's Pre-Columbian Disc. Amer., p. 89, et seq.

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See Schoolcraft's Arch., vol. i., pp. 110, et seq., for plate and discussion of Dighton Rock.

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It bore the following inscription: Elligr. Sigvaps: son: r. ok. Bjanne. Tortarson: ok: Enripi. osson: laugardag. in: fyrir gagndag Holpu: varda te. ok rydu: M. C. XXXV; or, Erling Sighvatssonr, ok Bjarne Pordarson, ok Endridi oddsson laugardaginn fyrir gagndag hlodu varda pessa ok ruddu 1135; 'c'est-à-dire: Erling Sigvatson, Bjarne Thordarson, et Endride Oddson érigèrent ces monceaux de pierres le samedi avant le jour nommé Gagndag (le 25 avril) et ils nettoyèrent la place en 1135.' Warden, Recherches, p. 152.

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'We have noticed the discovery of a place called Estotiland, supposed to be Nova Scotia, in 1354, the inhabitants of which were Europeans, who cultivated grain, lived in stone houses, and manufactured beer, as in Europe at that day. Now, from the year 1354, till the time of the first settlements made in Onondaga county, by the present inhabitants, is about 400 years. Is it not possible, therefore, that this glass bottle, with some kind of liquor in it, may have been derived from this Estotiland, having been originally brought from Europe; as glass had been in use there, more or less, from the year 664, till the Scandinavians colonized Iceland, Greenland, and Estotiland, or Newfoundland.' Priest's Amer. Antiq., pp. 260-1.

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'Malgré les réclamations que mes suppositions soulevèrent de divers côtés et les sourires incrédules qu'elles appelèrent sur les lèvres de plusieurs de nos savants dont je respecte et honore les connaissances, je persiste plus que jamais dans l'opinion que j'exprimais alors; plus j'avance dans mes études américaines plus je demeure convaincu des relations qui existèrent, antérieurement à Christophe Colomb, entre le Nouveau-Monde et les contrées situées à l'orient de l'autre côté de l'océan Atlantique, et plus je suis persuadé que les Scandinaves ont dû, à une période même plus reculée que celle dont vos (Prof. Rafn's) intéressants mémoires rapportent le souvenir, émigrer vers le continent américain.' Brasseur de Bourbourg, in Nouvelles Annales des Voy., 1858, tom. clx., pp. 261-92.

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'Il est impossible de ne point être frappé de l'analogie qui existe entre les idées bramaniques sur la divinité et les passages du Popol-Vuh cités plus haut. Mais si nous consultons les traditions beaucoup plus récentes, conservées même après l'établissement du christianisme en Suède, nous trouverons encore, entre les coutumes religieuses des populations de ces contrées et celles qui nous sont retracées dans le Popol-Vuh, plus d'un rapport.' Viollet-le-Duc, in Charnay, Ruines Amér., pp. 41-2. See farther concerning emigration to America from north-western Europe: Mitchill, in Amer. Antiq. Soc., Transact., vol. i., p. 341, et seq.; Priest's Amer. Antiq., scattered notices, pp. 88-9, 234-329; Robertson's Hist. Amer., vol. i., pp. 278-80; Schoolcraft's Arch., vol. i., pp. 110-11, 120-4; Brasseur de Bourbourg, in Nouvelles Annales des Voy., 1855, tom. cxlvii., pp. 157-8; Viollet-le-Duc, in Charnay, Ruines Amér., pp. 11, 18-19, 23-4, 42-3; Warden, Recherches, pp. 146-54; Montanus, Nieuwe Weereld, pp. 28-30, 117; Tschudi's Peruvian Antiq., pp. 3-7, 21-2; Malte-Brun, Précis de la Géog., tom. i., pp. 197-8; Davis' Discovery of New England by the Northmen; Baldwin's Anc. Amer., pp. 279-85; Davis' Anc. Amer., pp. 13-31; Tylor's Anahuac, pp. 278-9; M'Culloh's Researches on Amer., pp. 21-2; Brinton's Abbé Brasseur, in Lippincott's Mag., vol. i., p. 79, et seq.; Smith's Human Species, p. 237; Deuber, Geschichte der Schiffahrt; Hermes, Entdeckung von Amer., pp. 1-134; Foster's Pre-Hist. Races, pp. 399-400; Hill's Antiq. of Amer.; Wilson's Prehist. Man, pp. 394-420; Kruger's Discov. Amer., pp. 1-134; Domenech's Deserts, vol. i., pp. 53-64, 404, 411-12; Beaufoy's Mex. Illustr., p. 322; Brasseur de Bourbourg, Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. i., pp. 18-22; Id., Popol Vuh, pp. li. – liv., lxxxix. – xcii.; Hist. Mag., vol. ix., pp. 364-5; Gondra, in Prescott, Hist. Conq. Mex., tom. iii., p. 15; Humboldt's Exam. Crit., tom. ii., pp. 83-104, 105-20; Irving's Columbus, vol. iii., pp. 432-40; Humboldt, Vues, tom. i., p. 239; Klemm, Cultur-Geschichte, tom. v., pp. 164-71; Rafinesque, The American Nations; Brasseur de Bourbourg, Quatre Lettres, p. 17; Williamson's Observations on Climate; Zesterman's Colonization of America by Northwestern Europeans; Farcy, Discours, in Antiq. Mex., tom. i., div. i., pp. 48-9; Simpson's Nar., p. 159; Schoolcraft, in Amer. Ethno. Soc., Transact., vol. i., pp. 391-6.

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About 1169-70.

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'All this is related in old Welsh annals preserved in the abbeys of Conway and Strat Flur… This emigration of Prince Madog is mentioned in the preserved works of several Welsh bards who lived before the time of Columbus. It is mentioned by Hakluyt, who had his account of it from writings of the bard Guttun Owen. As the Northmen had been in New England over one hundred and fifty years when Prince Madog went forth to select a place for his settlement, he knew very well there was a continent on the other side of the Atlantic, for he had knowledge of their voyages to America; and knowledge of them was also prevalent in Ireland. His emigration took place when Henry II. was king of England, but in that age the English knew little or nothing of Welsh affairs in such a way as to connect them with English history very closely.' Baldwin's Anc. Amer., p. 286. See also Humboldt, Exam. Crit., tom. ii., pp. 142-9; Farcy, Discours, in Antiq. Mex., tom. i., div. i., pp. 49-50. 'Before wee passed these ilands, under the lee of the bigger iland, we anchored, the wind being at north-east, with intent to refresh ourselves with the fowles of these ilands. They are of divers sorts, and in great plentie, as pengwins, wilde duckes, gulles, and gannets; of the principall we purposed to make provisions, and those were the pengwins; which in Welsh, as I have beene enformed, signifieth a white head. From which derivation, and many other Welsh denominations given by the Indians, or their predecessors, some doe inferre that America was first peopled with Welsh-men; and Montezanna, king, or rather emperour of Mexico, did recount unto the Spaniards, at their first comming, that his auncestors came from a farre countrie, and were white people. Which, conferred with an auncient cronicle, that I have read many yeares since, may be conjectured to bee a prince of Wales, who many hundreth yeares since, with certaine shippes, sayled to the westwards, with intent to make new discoveries. Hee was never after heard of.' Hawkins' Voy., in Hakluyt Soc., p. 111.

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Written in Welsh, translated into English by Humphrey Llwyd, and published by Dr David Powel in 1584.

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Dedicated to Prince Charles, and published in 1613.

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237

See Warden, Recherches, pp. 154-7.

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They are 'made of raw-hides, the skins of buffaloes, stretched underneath a frame made of willows or other boughs, and shaped nearly round, like a tub; which the woman carries on her head from her wigwam to the water's edge, and having stepped into it, stands in front, and propels it by dripping her paddle forward, and drawing it to her, instead of paddling by the side.' Catlin's Amer. Ind., vol. ii., p. 261.

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239

See comparative vocabulary. Id.

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240

As a good deal of importance has been attached to it, it will be as well to give Jones' statement in full; it is as follows: 'These presents certify all persons whatever, that in the year 1660, being an inhabitant of Virginia, and chaplain to Major General Bennet, of Mansoman County, the said Major General Bennet and Sir William Berkeley sent two ships to Port Royal, now called South Carolina, which is sixty leagues southward of Cape Fair, and I was sent therewith to be their minister. Upon the 8th of April we set out from Virginia, and arrived at the harbor's mouth of Port Royal the 19th of the same month, where we waited for the rest of the fleet that was to sail from Barbadoes and Bermuda with one Mr. West, who was to be deputy governor of said place. As soon as the fleet came in, the smallest vessels that were with us sailed up the river to a place called the Oyster Point; there I continued about eight months, all which time being almost starved for want of provisions: I and five more traveled through the wilderness till we came to the Tuscarora country. There the Tuscarora Indians took us prisoners because we told them that we were bound to Roanock. That night they carried us to their town and shut us up close, to our no small dread. The next day they entered into a consultation about us, and, after it was over, their interpreter told us that we must prepare ourselves to die next morning, whereupon, being very much dejected, I spoke to this effect in the British [Welsh] tongue: "Have I escaped so many dangers, and must I now be knocked on the head like a dog!" Then presently came an Indian to me, which afterward appeared to be a war captain belonging to the sachem of the Doegs (whose original, I find, must needs be from the Old Britons), and took me up by the middle, and told me in the British [Welsh] tongue I should not die, and thereupon went to the emperor of Tuscarora, and agreed for my ransom and the men that were with me. They (the Doegs) then welcomed us to their town, and entertained us very civilly and cordially four months, during which time I had the opportunity of conversing with them familiarly in the British [Welsh] language, and did preach to them in the same language three times a week, and they would confer with me about any thing that was difficult therein, and at our departure they abundantly supplied us with whatever was necessary to our support and well doing. They are settled upon Pontigo River, not far from Cape Atros. This is a brief recital of my travels among the Doeg Indians.

Morgan Jones,

the son of John Jones, of Basateg, near Newport, in the County

of Monmouth. I am ready to conduct any Welshman or others

to the country.

New York, March 10th, 1685-6.' Gentleman's Mag., 1740.

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241

Chambers' Jour., vol. vi., p. 411.

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'These accounts are copied from manuscripts of Dr. W. O. Pughe, who, together with Edward Williams (the bard of Glamorgan), made diligent inquiries in America about forty years ago, when they collected upwards of one hundred different accounts of the Welsh Indians.' Id. 'It is reported by travellers in the west, that on the Red River … very far to the southwest, a tribe of Indians has been found, whose manners, in several respects, resemble the Welch… They call themselves the McCedus tribe, which having the Mc or Mac attached to their name, points evidently to a European origin, of the Celtic description… It is well authenticated that upwards of thirty years ago, Indians came to Kaskaskia, in the territory, now the state of Illinois, who spoke the Welch dialect, and were perfectly understood by two Welchmen then there, who conversed with them.' Priest's Amer. Antiq., pp. 230-2.

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Recherches, p. 157. Griffiths related his adventures to a native of Kentucky, and they were published in 1804, by Mr Henry Toulmin, one of the Judges of the territory of Mississippi. See Stoddard's Sketches of Louisiana, p. 475; Philadelphia Medical and Physical Journal, vol. i., 1805.

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244

Amer. Antiq. Soc., Transact., vol. i., p. 305.

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We read farther: 'But what is still more remarkable, in their war song he discovered, not only the sentiments, but several lines, the very same words as used in Ossian's celebrated majestic poem of the wars of his ancestors, who flourished about thirteen hundred years ago. The Indian names of several of the streams, brooks, mountains and rocks of Florida, are also the same which are given to similar objects, in the highlands of Scotland.' All this, could we believe it, would fill us with astonishment; but the solution of the mystery lies in the next sentence: 'This celebrated metaphysician (Monboddo) was a firm believer in the anciently reported account of America's having been visited by a colony from Wales long previous to the discovery of Columbus.' Priest's Amer. Antiq., p. 230. It is this being a 'firm believer' in a given theory that makes so many things patent to the enthusiast which are invisible to ordinary men.

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Monastikon Britannicum, pp. 131-2, 187-8, cited in De Costa's Pre-Columbian Disc. Amer., p. xviii.

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See Kingsborough's Mex. Antiq., vol. vi., pp. 188-90; De Costa's Pre-Columbian Disc. Amer., pp. xviii. – xx.

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Mœurs des Sauvages Amériquains Comparées aux Mœurs des Premiers Temps. Paris, 1724.

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García, Orígen de los Ind., pp. 189-92.

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Pidgeon's Trad., p. 16.

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251

Landa, Relacion, pp. lxx. – lxxx.

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Hist. Anc. Amer., p. 107. In the Greeks of Homer I find the customs, discourse, and manners of the Iroquois, Delawares, and Miamis. The tragedies of Sophocles and Euripides paint to me almost literally the sentiments of the red-men, respecting necessity, fatality, the miseries of human life, and the rigour of blind destiny. Volney's View of the Climate and Soil of the United States of America. London, 1804.

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See Priest's Amer. Antiq., pp. 385-90; Torquemada, Monarq. Ind., tom. i., p. 255; Scenes in Rocky Mts., pp. 199-202; Villagutierre, Hist. Conq. Itza, p. 6; Kingsborough's Mex. Antiq., vol. vi., pp. 184, 527-8.

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254

See Baldwin's Anc. Amer., p. 177; Foster's Pre-Hist. Races, pp. 394-5.

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255

Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. i., p. 6.

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'Imaginez un livre entier écrit en calembours, un livre dont toutes les phrases, dont la plupart des mots ont un double sens, l'un parfaitement net et distinct de l'autre, et vous aurez, jusqu'à un certain point, l'idée du travail que j'ai entre les mains. C'est en cherchant l'explication d'un passage fort curieux, relatif à l'histoire de Quetzal-Coatl, que je suis arrivé à ce résultat extraordinaire. Oui, Monsieur, si ce livre est en apparence l'histoire des Toltèques et ensuite des rois de Colhuacan et de Mexico, il présente, en réalité, le récit du cataclysme qui bouleversa le monde, il y a quelques six ou sept mille ans, et constitua les continents dans leur état actuel. Ce que le Codex Borgia de la Propagande, le Manuscrit de Dresde et le Manuscrit Troano étaient en images et en hiéroglyphes, le Codex Chimalpopoca en donne la lettre; il contient, en langue nahuatl, l'histoire du monde, composée par le sage Hueman, c'est-à-dire par la main puissante de Dieu dans le grand Livre de la nature, en un mot, c'est le Livre divin lui-même, c'est le Teo-Amoxtli.' Brasseur de Bourbourg. Quatre Lettres, p. 24.

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Id., p. 39.

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In the Codex Chimalpopoca, Brasseur reads that 'à la suite de l'éruption des volcans, ouverts sur toute l'étendue du continent américain, double alors de ce qu'il est aujourd'hui, l'éruption soudaine d'un immense foyer sous-marin, fit éclater le monde et abîma, entre un lever et un autre de l'étoile du matin, les régions les plus riches du globe.' Quatre Lettres, p. 45.

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Id., p. 108.

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See farther, concerning Atlantis: Brasseur de Bourbourg, MS. Troano, tom. i., pp. 29-32, 199; Irving's Columbus, vol. i., pp. 24, 38, vol. iii., pp. 419, 492-4, 499-512; Baril, Mexique, p. 190; Dally, Races Indig., p. 7; Farcy, Discours, in Antiq. Mex., tom. i., div. i., pp. 41-2; De Costa's Pre-Columbian Disc. Amer., p. xiii.; Heylyn's Cosmog., pp. 943-4; Sanson d'Abbeville, Amérique, pp. 1-3; Willson's Amer. Hist., pp. 90-1; Warden, Recherches, pp. 97-113; Carli, Cartas, pt i., p. 1; Brasseur de Bourbourg, in Landa, Relacion, pp. xviii. – cxii.; Davis' Anc. Amer., p. 13; Malte-Brun, Précis de la Géog., tom. i., pp. 28-30, 213-15; Wilson's Prehist. Man, pp. 392-3; Kingsborough's Mex. Antiq., vol. vi., pp. 181-4; Foster's Pre-Hist. Races, pp. 394-9; Larrainzar, Dictamen, pp. 8-25; Stratton's Mound-Builders, MS.; Bradford's Amer. Antiq., pp. 216-22; Baldwin's Anc. Amer., pp. 174-84; Mitchill, in Amer. Antiq. Soc., Transact., vol. i., p. 340; Faliés, Études Hist. sur les Civilisations, tom. i., pp. 185-93, 218; M'Culloh's Researches on Amer., pp. 26-32; Humboldt, Exam. Crit., tom. i., pp. 42, 130-206, tom. ii., pp. 46, 163-214; Oviedo, Hist. Gen., tom. i., pp. 14-18, 22; Monglave, in Antiq. Mex., pp. 57-60; Cabrera, Teatro, in Rio's Description, p. 126; Villagutierre, Hist. Conq. Itza, pp. 5-6; Purchas his Pilgrimes, vol. v., pp. 799-801; Torquemada, Monarq. Ind., tom. i., p. 29; West und Ost Indischer Lustgart, pt i., pp. 4-5; Montanus, Nieuwe Weereld, pp. 18-19; Clavigero, Storia Ant. del Messico, tom. iv., p. 31; Despréaux, in Museo Mex., tom. ii., pp. 84-6; Major's Prince Henry, p. 83; Rafinesque, in Priest's Amer. Antiq., pp. 123-4; Domenech's Deserts, vol. i., pp. 42-6, 413-14; Fontaine's How the World was Peopled, pp. 256-7; Herrera, Hist. Gen., tom. i., lib. i., cap. ii.; Smith's Human Species, p. 83; Soc. Géog., Bulletin, tom. iv., p. 235.

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Davis, Anc. Amer., p. 12, thinks that a portion of the animals of the original creation migrated west. 'If this idea,' he says, 'is new to others, I hope it may be considered more reasonable than the infidel opinion, that men and animals were distinct creations from those of Asia.' 'Think you,' he adds sagely, 'they would have transported venomous serpents from the old to the new world?'

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Concerning unity or variety of the American races, see: Prichard's Researches, vol. i., p. 268, vol. v., pp. 289, 374, 542; Morton's Crania Amer., p. 62; Bradford's Amer. Antiq., pp. 197-98; Baldwin's Anc. Amer., pp. 66-7; Maury, in Nott and Gliddon's Indig. Races, p. 81; Humboldt, Essai Pol., tom. i., p. 83; Humboldt, Vues, tom. i., pp. 21-36; Willson's Amer. Hist., p. 89; Jones' Hist. Anc. Amer., p. 4; Smith's Human Species, p. 251; Catlin's N. Amer. Ind., vol. ii., p. 234; Domenech's Deserts, vol. i., pp. 3-4.

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'I am compelled to believe that the Continent of America, and each of the other Continents, have had their aboriginal stocks, peculiar in colour and in character – and that each of these native stocks has undergone repeated mutations, by erratic colonies from abroad.' Catlin's N. Amer. Ind., vol. ii., p. 232; Bradford's Amer. Antiq., pp. 224-5, thinks it consonant with the Bible to suppose 'distinct animal creations, simultaneously, for different portions of the earth.' A commentator on Hellwald who advocates autochthon theory remarks that: 'the derivation of these varieties from the original stock is philosophically explained on the principle of the variety in the offspring of the same parents, and the better adaptation and consequent chance of life.' Smithsonian Rept., 1866, p. 345. 'That theory is probably, in every point of view, the most tenable and exact which assumes that man, like the plant, a mundane being, made his appearance generally upon earth when our planet had reached that stage of its development which unites in itself the conditions of the man's existence. In conformity with this view I regard the American as an autochthon.' The question of immigration to America has been too much mixed with that of the migration in America, and only recently has the opinion made progress that America has attained a form of civilization by modes of their own. Neither the theory of a populating immigration or a civilizing immigration from the old world meet any countenance from the results of the latest investigations. Hellwald, in Id., p. 330. All tribes have similarities among them which make them distinct from old world. Brasseur de Bourbourg, Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. i., p. 23. Dr. Morton says the study of physical conformation alone, excludes every branch of the Caucasian race from any obvious participation in the peopling of this continent, and believes the Indians are all of one race, and that race distinct from all others. Mayer's Observations, p. 11. We can never know the origin of the Americans. The theory that they are aborigines is contradicted by no fact and is plausible enough. Morelet, Voyage, tom. i., pp. 177-8. The supposition that the Red Man is a primitive type of a human family originally planted in the western continent presents the most natural solution of the problem. The researches of physiologists, antiquaries, philologists, tend this way. The hypothesis of an immigration, when followed out, is embarrassed with great difficulties and leads to interminable and unsatisfying speculations. Norman's Rambles in Yuc., p. 251. God has created several couples of human beings differing from one another internally and externally, and these were placed in appropriate climates. The original character is preserved, and directed only by their natural powers they acquired knowledge and formed a distinct language. In primitive times signs and sounds suggested by nature were used, but with advancement, dialects formed. It requires the idea of a miracle to suppose that all men descend from one source. Kames, in Warden, Recherches, p. 203. 'The unsuccessful search after traces of an ante-Columbian intercourse with the New World, suffices to confirm the belief that, for unnumbered centuries throughout that ancient era, the Western Hemisphere was the exclusive heritage of nations native to its soil. Its sacred and sepulchral rites, its usages and superstitions, its arts, letters, metallurgy, sculpture, and architecture, are all peculiarly its own.' Wilson's Prehist. Man, p. 421. Morton concludes 'that the American Race differs essentially from all others, not excepting the Mongolian; nor do the feeble analogies of language, and the more obvious ones in civil and religious institutions and the arts, denote anything beyond casual or colonial communication with the Asiatic nations; and even these analogies may perhaps be accounted for, as Humboldt has suggested, in the mere coincidence arising from similar wants and impulses in nations inhabiting similar latitudes.' Crania Amer., p. 260. 'I am firmly of opinion that God created an original man and woman in this part of the globe, of different species from any in the other parts.' Romans' Concise Natural Hist. of E. and W. Florida. 'Altamirano, the best Aztec scholar living, claims that the proof is conclusive that the Aztecs did not come here from Asia, as has been almost universally believed, but were a race originated in America, and as old as the Chinese themselves, and that China may even have been peopled from America.' Evans' Our Sister Rep., p. 333. Swan believes that 'whatever was the origin of different tribes or families, the whole race of American Indians are native and indigenous to the soil.' N.W. Coast, p. 206.

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264

Vol. ii., pp. 523-52.

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265

pp. 544-9.

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The fact that they were Spaniards and Catholics is enough to condemn them with critics of a certain class, of which Adair may be quoted as an example: 'I lay little stress upon Spanish testimonies, for time and ocular proof have convinced us of the labored falsehood of almost all their historical narrations… They were so divested of those principles inherent to honest enquirers after truth, that they have recorded themselves to be a tribe of prejudiced bigots.' Amer. Ind., p. 197.

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Historia Antigua de la Nueva España, MS. of 1588, folio, 3 volumes. A part of this work has recently been printed in Mexico. I have a manuscript copy made by Mr C. A. Spofford from that existing in the Congressional Library in Washington.

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Ixtlilxochitl has been the subject of much criticism favorable and otherwise. The verdict of the best authors seems to be that he wrote honestly, compiling from authentic documents in his possession, but carelessly, especially in the matter of chronology which presents contradictions on nearly every page. Even Wilson, Conq. Mex., pp. 23, 61, who stigmatizes as liars all the early writers on this subject, admits that Alva lies elegantly, and has written an able though fictitious narrative. Carelessness in dates and a disposition to unduly exalt his own race and family, are the most glaring faults of this author, and are observable also to a certain extent in all the native historians.

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Veytia, Hist. Ant. Mej., tom. ii., p. 91; Clavigero, Storia Ant. del Messico, tom. i., p. 10; Brasseur de Bourbourg, Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. ii., p. 196.

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Historia de la Creacion del Cielo y de la Tierra, conforme al Sistema de la gentilidad Americana.

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Recopilacion Florida de la Historia del Reyno de Guatemala, MS. in the Guatemalan Archives.

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Memorial de Tecpan-Atitlan, a history of the Cakchiquel Kingdom, MS. discovered by Brasseur.

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273

Memorias para la Historia del Antiguo Reyno de Guatemala. Guatemala, 1852.

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274

Constituciones Diocesanas del Obispado de Chiappas. Rome, 1702.

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275

Vol. iii. of a History of Chiapas and Guatemala, found by Scherzer at the University of San Carlos. See Ximenez, Hist. Ind. Guat., pp. viii., xiii.

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Languages, 'the most ancient historical monuments of nations.' 'If in the philosophical study of the structure of languages, the analogy of a few roots acquires value only when they can be geographically connected together, neither is the want of resemblance in roots any very strong proof against the common origin of nations.' Humboldt's Pers. Nar., vol. v., pp. 143, 293. Language, 'which usually exhibits traces of its origin, even when the science and literature, that are embodied in it, have widely diverged.' Prescott's Mex., vol. iii., p. 394. 'In the absence of historical evidence, language is the best test of consanguinity; there are reasons why climate should alter the physical character, but it does not appear that the language would be materially affected by such local influence.' Prichard's Nat. Hist. Man, vol. i., p. xvi. 'Efectivamente, la historia por sí sola nada nos descubre acerca del orígen de las naciones, muy poco nos enseña sobre la mezcla y confusion de las razas, casi nada nos dice de las emigraciones de los pueblos, mientras todo esto lo esplica admirablemente el análisis y la investigacion del filólogo.' Pimentel, Discurso, in Soc. Mex. Geog., Boletin, tom. viii., pp. 367-8. 'The problem of the common origin of languages has no necessary connection with the problem of the common origin of mankind… The science of language and the science of Ethnology have both suffered most severely from being mixed up together. The classification of races and languages, should be quite independent of each other. Races may change their language and history supplies us with several instances where one race adopted the language of another. Different languages, therefore, may be spoken by different races; so that any attempt at squaring the classification of races and tongues must necessarily fail.' Müller's Science of Lang., vol. i., pp. 326-7.

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Vol. iii., p. 450, et seq.

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278

Ordoñez states in one part of his work that this record was not written by Votan himself, but by his descendant in the eighth or ninth generation. Brasseur de Bourbourg, in Popol Vuh, p. lxxxvii.

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279

Constituciones Diocesanas del Obispado de Chiappas. Rome, 1702.

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280

See vol. ii., pp. 771-4.

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Teatro Critico Americano, p. 32, et seq.

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282

See vol. iv., p. 289.

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'At the top of the first leaf, the two continents are painted in different colours, in two small squares, placed parallel to each other in the angles: the one representing Europe, Asia, and Africa is marked with two large SS; upon the upper arms of two bars drawn from the opposite angles of each square, forming the point of union in the centre; that which indicates America has two SS placed horizontally on the bars, but I am not certain whether upon the upper or lower bars, but I believe upon the latter. When speaking of the places he had visited on the old continent, he marks them on the margin of each chapter, with an upright S, and those of America with an horizontal S. Between these squares stands the title of his history "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.' Cabrera, Teatro, pp. 33-4.

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284

Historia del Cielo y de la Tierra, MS. See vol. iv., p. 289, for additional notes respecting this author.

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'Un estudio de muchos ratos (mas de treinta años) … acompañado de la constante aplicacion con que me dediqué á entender las frases de que usaron los Indios en su primitive gentilismo, principalmente en la historia que de su establecimiento en esta region que nosotros llamamos América, escribió Votan, la cual conseguí, de les mismos Indios (quienes me la franquearon), y sobre todo, la conveniencia que resulta de una prolixa combinacion de la situacion de aquella ciudad (Palenque), de la disposicion y arquitectura de sus edificios, de la antigüedad de sus geroglíficos, y finalmente de las producciones de su terreno, con las noticias que, á costa de porfiadas diligencias, habia adquirido; creí que me tenian en estado de despertar un sistema nada nuevo, pero olvidado.' Ordoñez, MS., in Brasseur de Bourbourg, Cartas, p. 7.

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Ordoñez, as represented by Cabrera —Teatro, p. 96 – claims that the name Tzequiles has precisely the same meaning as Nahuatlacas in the Nahua dialect, and he applies the name to a Nahua rather than a Maya people, with much reason as will appear later, although Brasseur is of a contrary opinion. Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. i., p. 70.

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287

Brasseur de Bourbourg, Cartas, p. 10.

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288

For list see vol. ii., p. 767.

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289

Cartas, p. 71.

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290

Piñeda, Descrip. Chiapas, in Soc. Mex. Geog., Boletin, tom. iii., pp. 343-6; Brasseur de Bourbourg, Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. i., pp. 95-7.

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291

Cabrera, Teatro, p. 30; Brasseur de Bourbourg, Popol Vuh, p. cix.; Carbajal Espinosa, Hist. Mex., tom. i., p. 165; See on Votan and his empire, besides the works that have been mentioned in this chapter, Juarros, Hist. Guat., p. 203; Clavigero, Storia Ant. del Messico, tom. i., pp. 150-1, tom. iv., pp. 15-16; Boturini, Idea, pp. 114-5; Brasseur de Bourbourg, Popol Vuh, introd; Id., Esquisses; Id., Palenqué; Fontaine's How the World was Peopled, p. 136; Tschudi's Peruvian Antiq., pp. 11-15; Domenech's Deserts, vol. i., p. 10, et seq.; Levy, Nicaragua, p. 4; Priest's Amer. Antiq., pp. 248-9; Beaufoy's Mex. Illust., pp. 218-21; Farcy, Discours, in Antiq. Mex., tom. i., div. i., p. 43.

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292

On the Antiquity of Copan, the ruins of Yucatan, and Palenque, see vol. iv., pp. 104, 280-5, 359-62.

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293

'The monuments of the Mississippi present stronger internal evidence of great antiquity than any others in America, although it by no means follows that they are older than Palenque and Copan.' Vol. iv., p. 790.

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294

Yucatan, vol. ii., pp. 454-5. By a careful study of Mr Stephens' conclusions, it will appear evident to the reader that he ascribes the Central American ruins to the Toltecs, simply as the oldest nations on the continent of America, of which we have any knowledge, and that he reconciles their condition at the time of his exploration with their recent origin, chiefly by a consideration of the Yucatan ruins, most of which doubtless do not date back to the Votanic empire, and many of which were still occupied at the coming of the first Spaniards.

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295

Although in the 'general view,' vol. ii., chap. ii., I have classed the Toltecs among the Nahua nations, it will be noticed that the preceding conclusions of the present chapter are independent of such a classification, and are not necessarily opposed to the theory, held by some, that the cities of Central America were built by the Toltecs before they assumed a prominent position among the nations of Anáhuac. The following notes bear more or less directly on points involved in the preceding text. Mr Tylor, Anáhuac, pp. 189-93; Researches, p. 184, believes that the civilization of Mexico and Central America were originally independent although modified by contact one with the other, and attributes the Central American cities to a people who flourished long before the Toltecs, and whose descendants are the Mayas. Yet he favors the climatic theory of the origin and growth of civilization, according to which the culture of the south must have been brought from the Mexican tierra templada. I have no objection to offer to this theory. It is in the Usumacinta region that the Maya civilization has left its first record both traditional and monumental; and that is sufficient for my present purpose. Orozco y Berra, Geografía, pp. 124-5, etc., concludes from his linguistic researches that the Palenque civilization was much older than the Toltec and distinct from it. Hellwald, in Smithsonian Rept., 1866, pp. 340-1, pronounces the Palenque culture the oldest in America, with no resemblance to that of the Nahuas. He rejects the theory that the ruins were the work of migrating Toltecs. Palenque will probably some day decide the question of American civilization. It only awaits a Champollion. Charnay, Ruines Amér., p. 439. The ruins in the south have undoubted claims to the highest antiquity. Bradford's Amer. Antiq., p. 199. The Usumacinta seems a kind of central point for the high culture of Central America. Müller, Amerikanische Urreligionen, p. 456.

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296

See vol. iii., pp. 42-4, note 1, for a bibliographical notice of the Popol Vuh.

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297

Popol Vuh, pp. 1-5; Ximenez, Hist. Ind. Guat., pp. 4-5.

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298

Vol. iii., pp. 44-7.

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299

Popol Vuh, pp. 5-31; Ximenez, Hist. Ind. Guat., pp. 5-14.

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300

Popol Vuh, p. 195, et seq.

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301

Or, as Brasseur translates, 'the remnant of those that were drowned,' etc.

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302

pp. 31-67; Ximenez, Hist. Ind. Guat., pp. 15-29.

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303

Ximenez, p. 29, conveys the idea, however, that it is only from ignorance that so little is told, and not from a desire to be mysterious.

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304

Ximenez renders this word by 'infierno,' or hell. No satisfactory meaning can be derived from its etymology.

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305

Carchah is the name of an Indian town in Vera Paz.

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306

Casa lobrega, maison ténébreuse. It will be remembered that Votan is said to have established a House of Gloom at Huehuetan. See p. 160.

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307

A ballet, according to Brasseur, still performed by the natives of Guatemala, clad in wooden masks and peculiar costumes.

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308

The place whence the brothers started to contend against the princes of Xibalba, seems to have been Utatlan in Guatemala – see vol. iv., pp. 124-8 – for Gumarcaah the Quiché name of that place is said to signify 'house of old withered canes.' Moreover, Torquemada and Las Casas have preserved the tradition that Exbalanquen (Xbalanque) set out from Utatlan for the conquest of hell. Monarq. Ind., tom. ii., p. 53; Hist. Apologética, MS., cap. 125. Xibalba doubtless had the signification of the infernal regions in the popular traditions.

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309

Popol Vuh, pp. 68-192; Ximenez, Hist. Ind. Guat., pp. 29-79.

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310

See vol. ii., pp. 716-7.

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311

See p. 172.

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312

Vol. iii., pp. 47-54.

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313

Popol Vuh, pp. 221-2.

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314

Popol Vuh, pp. 245-7; Ximenez, Hist. Ind. Guat., pp. 98-9.

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315

Notes to Popol Vuh, pp. lxxxv, ccliv.

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316

Id., pp. xci-ii.

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317

Sahagun, Hist. Gen., tom. iii., lib. x., pp. 139-45.

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318

Tom. i., p. xviii.

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319

According to Brasseur de Bourbourg, Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. i., p. 59, the name should be Temoanchan to agree exactly with Sahagun's definition, 'vamos á nuestra casa.' The same author heard an Indian of Guatemala define the name as an earthly paradise. Popol Vuh, pp. lxxviii-lxxix.

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320

Brasseur believes that the Oxomoco and Cipactonal of the Nahua myth, are the same as the Xpiyacoc and Xmucane of the Popol Vuh, since the former are two of the inventors of the calendar, while the latter are called grandmothers of the sun and light. Popol Vuh, pp. 4, 20.

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321

'Una Historia de los Reynos de Culhuàcan, y Mexico, en lengua Nahuatl, y papel Europèo de Autor Anonymo, y tiene añadida una Breve Relacion de los Dioses, y Ritos de la Gentilidad en lengua Castellana, etc. Està todo copiado de letra de Don Fernando de Alba y le falta la primera foja.' Boturini, Catálogo, pp. 17-18. 'M. Aubin, qui possède les copies faites par Gama et Pichardo, ajoute au sujet de ce document: "Cette histoire, composée en 1563 et en 1579, par un écrivain de Quauhtitlan et non par Fernando de Alba (Ixtlilxochitl), comme l'a cru Pichardo, n'est guère moins précieuse que les précédentes (in Brasseur's list), et remonte, année par année, au moins jusqu'à l'an 751 de J. C. A la suite de ces annales se trouve l'histoire anonyme (l'Histoire des soleils), d'où Gama a extrait le texte mexicain de la tradition sur les soleils."' Brasseur de Bourbourg, Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. i., p. lxxix.; Id., Popol Vuh, p. xi.

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322

Chichime or 'dogs,' a transformation which may not improbably have something to do with the origin of the name Chichimecs, a name applied to so many tribes in all parts of the country. The Codex Chimalpopoca, however, speaks also of a transformation into monkeys as a result of a great hurricane. Popol Vuh, p. lxxx.

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323

Or, as Brasseur suggests, adopting the customs of the people in order to obtain the entrée of Tonacatepetl and the secret of their agriculture.

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324

Molina, Vocabulario, translates the name, 'red ant.'

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325

Codex Chimalpopoca, in Brasseur de Bourbourg, Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. i., pp. 53-9, 70-1.

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326

Id., p. 117.

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327

The Cuicatecs, Triquis, Chinantecs, Mazatecs, Chatinos, Papabucos, Soltecos, Chontales, and Cohuixcas, in the south-western regions, are regarded by Orozco y Berra as fragments of pre-Toltec nations. Geografía, pp. 121, 126. Prichard, Nat. Hist. Man, vol. ii., p. 512, adds the Coras, Tepanecs, and Tarascos. The Codices Vaticanus and Tellerianus, give the names of the tribes that migrated from the seven caves, as Olmecs, Xicalancas, Chichimecs, Nonohualcas, Michinacas, Couixcas, Totonacs, and Cuextecas. The Nonohualcas and Xicalancas, however, were probably the same, and we shall see later that Chichimecs was probably never a tribal name at all. Gallatin, in Amer. Ethno. Soc., Transact., vol. i., p. 135.

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328

Relaciones, in Kingsborough's Mex. Antiq., vol. ix., p. 459. Papuhya, 'river of mud,' is a name also applied by the Quiché tradition to a river apparently in this region. See p. 178; Popol Vuh, pp. 140-1. Brasseur in the same work, pp. lxxii., lxxvii-viii., refers to Las Casas, Hist. Apol., tom. iii., cap. cxxiii-iv., as relating the arrival of these nations under Quetzalcoatl and twenty chiefs at Point Xicalanco.

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329

Veytia, Hist. Ant. Mej., tom. i., p. 150.

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330

See vol. iv., p. 434.

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331

See vol. ii., p. 112.

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332

Hist. Ecles., p. 146; Monarq. Ind., tom. i., p. 32.

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333

Sahagun, Hist. Gen., tom. i., lib. iii., p. 264, tom. iii., lib. x., p. 136: Camargo, Hist. Tlax., in Nouvelles Annales des Voy., 1843, tom. xcviii., pp. 135-7, is the only author who differs materially in his account of the arrival and establishment of the Olmecs and Xicalancas. He states that in company with the Zacatecs they came from the Seven Caves, passed through Mexico, Tochimilco, Atlixco, Calpan, and Huexotzinco, founding their chief settlement in Tlascala where the village of Natividad now stands. See vol. iv., pp. 478-9, for notice of ruins. Gomara, Conq. Mex., fol. 299-300, also brings these nations from the Seven Caves.

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334

Concerning the giants, see Ixtlilxochitl, in Kingsborough's Mex. Antiq., vol. ix., pp. 205-6, 392, 459; Veytia, Hist. Ant. Mej., tom. i., pp. 143-54; Duran, Hist. Indias, MS., tom. i., cap. ii. This author represents the Quinames as having been killed while eating and drinking, by the Tlascaltecs who had taken possession of their arms. He says they yielded after a desperate resistance. Torquemada, Monarq. Ind., tom. i., pp. 34-6; Boturini, Idea, pp. 130-5; Arlegui, Chrón. Zacatecas, p. 6; Oviedo, Hist. Gen., tom. iii., pp. 539-41; Clavigero, Storia Ant. del Messico, tom. i., p. 125; Brasseur de Bourbourg, Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. i., pp. 66, 153-4; Id., Popol Vuh, pp. lxviii., cxxvii.; Id., Esquisses, p. 12; Granados y Galvez, Tardes Amer., pp. 15, 21; Rios, Compend. Hist. Mex., p. 5; Piñeda, in Soc. Mex. Geog., Boletin, tom. iii., p. 346; Pimentel, in Dicc. Univ., tom. x., p. 610.

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335

On building of Cholula pyramid, see Codex Mexicano, in Kingsborough's Mex. Antiq., vol. v., p. 172; Ixtlilxochitl, in Id., vol. ix., pp. 206, 459; Gondra, in Prescott, Hist. Conq. Mex., tom. iii., pp. 45, 69; Veytia, Hist. Ant. Mej., tom. i., pp. 15, 18, 153; Boturini, Idea, pp. 113-14; Humboldt, Mélanges, p. 553; Id., Vues, tom. i., p. 114; Popol Vuh, p. cxxv.; Brasseur de Bourbourg, Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. i., pp. 153, 301-3; Orozco y Berra, Geografía, p. 132; Gallatin, in Amer. Ethno. Soc., Transact., vol. i., p. 167.

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336

Cortés, Cartas, p. 86. Quetzalcoatl however is not named.

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337

Respecting Quetzalcoatl in his mythological aspects as a divinity, see vol. iii., pp. 248-87. The story of his visit to the Olmecs is told in Ixtlilxochitl, in Kingsborough, vol. ix., pp. 206, 459; Veytia, Hist. Ant. Mej., tom. i., pp. 155-6, 161-204.

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338

Boturini, Idea, p. 135; Clavigero, Storia Ant. del Messico, tom. iv., p. 52, tom. i., p. 147. Between Chiapas and Zacatecas is a vast space, of which the only notion given us by history is the fact that the Olmecs, Xicalancas, and Zapotecs lived in the region of Puebla and Tlascala. They were the primitive peoples, that is, the first known. Orozco y Berra, Geografía, pp. 124-5. The Xicalancas founded Atlixco and Itzucan, but migrated to South America. The Olmecs who had been driven to the gulf coasts followed them. Carbajal Espinosa, Hist. Mex., tom. i., p. 242. The Xicalancas possessed the country before the Chichimecs, by whom they were regarded as enemies. Ixtlilxochitl, in Kingsborough's Mex. Antiq., vol. ix., p. 461. Mexicans, Culhuas, Tepanecs, Olmecs, Xicalancas, Tarascos, and Chichimecs were all of the same race and language. Camargo, Hist. Tlax., in Nouvelles Annales des Voy., 1843, tom. xcviii., pp. 131, 135, 188. See also Brasseur de Bourbourg, Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. i., pp. 67, 196, tom. iii., p. 9; Bradford's Amer. Antiq., pp. 200, 213; Hellwald, in Smithsonian Rept., 1866, p. 337; Müller, Reisen, tom. iii., pp. 33-4.

The Olmecs passed from Mexico to Guatemala, which they conquered. Alcedo, Dicc., tom. iii., p. 374. Palenque, the oldest American city, was built by the Olmecs, a mixture of yellow aborigines and the first white immigrants. Viollet-le-Duc, in Charnay, Ruines Amér., p. 45. The Mazahuas and Olmecs belong to the aborigines of Guatemala. Müller, Amerikanische Urreligionen, p. 456.

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339

For description see vol. iv., pp. 529-44.

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340

Brasseur de Bourbourg, Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. i., p. 56, pronounces the Totonac very like the Maya. Orozco y Berra, Geografía, p. 127, deems the relationship doubtful. See vol. iii., pp. 776-7.

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341

On the Totonacs, see Torquemada, Monarq. Ind., tom. i., p. 278; Pimentel, Cuadro, tom. i., pp. 223-7; Clavigero, Storia Ant. del Messico, tom. iv., pp. 51-2; Brasseur de Bourbourg, Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. i., pp. 151-61, tom. iii., pp. 350-1. This author says that the Totonacs came from the north at about the same time as the Olmecs came from the south. There seems to be no authority for this save the popular opinion that locates Chicomoztoc in the north. Orozco y Berra, Geografía, pp. 120, 140. The Aztecs attributed Teotihuacan, Cholula, Papantla, etc., to the Toltecs because they were the oldest people they knew; but they may have been built before the Toltec invasion. Humboldt, Vues, tom. i., p. 98.

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342

Vol. iii., p. 60, et seq.

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343

Brasseur de Bourbourg, Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. i., pp. 180-8; Popol Vuh, pp. cxlii-iii.; Boturini, Idea, pp. 37-41; see also references in vol. iii., p. 60, et seq.

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344

On the Otomís, see Clavigero, Storia Ant. del Messico, tom. i., pp. 147-8, tom. iv., p. 51; Veytia, Hist. Ant. Mej., tom. ii., p. 39; Alegre, Hist. Comp. de Jesus, tom. i., p. 90; Ixtlilxochitl, in Kingsborough's Mex. Antiq., vol. ix., p. 210; Carbajal Espinosa, Hist. Mex., tom. i., p. 243; Brasseur de Bourbourg, Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. i., pp. 156-9, 196, tom. ii., p. 235, tom. iii., p. 56; Motolinia, in Icazbalceta, Col. de Doc., tom. i., p. 9; Orozco y Berra, Geografía, pp. 120, 136-7; Pimentel, Cuadro, tom. i., pp. 117-18; Gondra, in Prescott, Hist. Conq. Mex., tom. iii., p. 20; Prichard's Nat. Hist. Man, vol. ii., p. 512.

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345

Sahagun, Hist. Gen., tom. iii., lib. x., p. 136, heads a paragraph 'Olmecas, Vixtoti and Mixtecas,' speaking of all together, and applying to them the name Tenimes, or those who speak a barbarous tongue. Orozco y Berra, Geografía, pp. 120, 125, 133, speaks of the 'Ulmecas or Mixtecs,' and thinks they were driven from their former position by the first Nahua invasion, driving out in turn the Chuchones. He pronounces the Miztec and Zapotec kindred tongues, and states that these nations joined their fortunes from an early period. Veytia, Hist. Ant. Mej., tom. i., p. 150, says the Zapotecs are reported to have come with the Olmecs and Xicalancas. Clavigero, Storia Ant. del Messico, tom. i., p. 150; Brasseur de Bourbourg, Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. i., p. 154; Id., Popol Vuh, p. cclv.; García, Orígen de los Ind., pp. 327-8; Mayer's Mex. Aztec, etc., vol. i., p. 98; Hellwald, in Smithsonian Rept., 1866, p. 337; Pimentel, Cuadro, tom. i., p. 37.

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346

See vol. iv., p. 425, et seq.

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347

Sahagun, Hist. Gen., tom. iii., lib. x., pp. 142-3; Squier's Cent. Amer., pp. 316-17. Huaxtlan means 'where the huaxi (a kind of fruit) abounds.' Pimentel, Cuadro, tom. i., pp. 5-6; Orozco y Berra, Geografía, p. 141; Gallatin, in Amer. Ethno. Soc., Transact., vol. i., p. 173; Brinton, in Hist. Mag., n. s., vol. i., p. 16; Prichard's Nat. Hist. Man, vol. ii., p. 513; Id., Researches, vol. v., p. 342, 345.

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348

The date of the arrival in Huehue Tlapallan is given by Ixtlilxochitl in his first Toltec relation (p. 322) as 2236 years after the creation, or 520 years after the flood. That is, it occurred long before the Christian era. In other places (pp. 206, 459) the same author represents the Toltecs as banished from their country and migrating to Huitlapalan in California on the South Sea in 387 A.D., whence they continued their journey to Tulancingo. Now, although I attach very little importance to this author's chronology, and shall enter into no discussion with a view either to reconcile or overthrow it, yet it is plain that this last statement, notwithstanding the use of the name Huitlapalan, refers to a migration long subsequent to that mentioned in the text. The date 387 A.D., therefore, given by Gallatin, (in Schoolcraft's Arch., vol. v., p. 96) and Müller, (Reisen, tom. iii., p. 97), as that of the arrival in Huehue Tlapallan, according to Ixtlilxochitl, is calculated to convey a false impression.

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349

Ixtlilxochitl, p. 322, says it was 305 years after the death of Christ, or about 338 A.D.; but on the same page he again makes the date 439 A. D. Veytia, tom. i., p. 208, dates the rebellion 583, the exile 596, and the founding of Tlapallanconco 604 A.D. Clavigero, tom. iv., p. 46, gives 544 as the date of departure, but on p. 126 of tom. i., he gives 596, agreeing with Veytia. Müller, in his tables, Reisen, tom. iii., p. 97, dates the outbreak of war 427, the departure 439, the migration 447 A.D. Brasseur, Popol Vuh, p. clv., gives the last of the fourth century as the date of the Toltec migration. Cabrera, Teatro, pp. 90-1, makes the date 181 B.C. 544 A.D., one of Clavigero's dates, is that which has, perhaps, been most commonly adopted by modern writers.

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350

Brasseur, Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. i., p. 126, writes this name Tlapallantonco; and in Popol Vuh, p. clix., he insists that it should be Tlapallantzinco. Müller, Reisen, tom. iii., p. 98, calls it also Tlappallanzingo.

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351

Ixtlilxochitl, p. 324, makes this third year 543, and their arrival in Tulancingo consequently 540 A.D.; or as is implied on p. 307, 487 A.D.; or adding 104 years to the first date given by this author in note 71, we have 442 A.D. Veytia, tom. i., p. 221, 697 A.D. Id., after Boturini, in Tezcoco en los Ultimos Tiempos, 687 A.D. Müller, Reisen, tom. iii., p. 97, 558 A.D. Clavigero, tom. iv., p. 51, 648 A.D., or tom. i., p. 126, 700 A.D.

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352

In other parts of his work Ixtlilxochitl has a very different account of this migration to the effect that the Toltecs were banished from their country, sailed and coasted on the South Sea, arrived at Huitlapalan or Huitlapatlan – the Gulf of California, or a place on the coast of California – in 387 A.D., coasted Xalisco, arrived at Guatulco, then at Tochtepec or Turlitepeque on the North Sea, and finally at Tulancingo, pp. 206-7, 459-60. On the Toltec migration see Ixtlilxochitl, in Kingsborough's Mex. Antiq., vol. ix., pp. 321-4; Veytia, Hist. Ant. Mej., tom. i., pp. 6-33, 139, 157, 205-21, 231; Clavigero, Storia Ant. del Messico, tom. i., p. 126, tom. iv., pp. 46, 51; Torquemada, Monarq. Ind., tom. i., pp. 36-7; Boturini, Idea, pp.136-7; Carbajal Espinosa, Hist. Mex., tom. i., pp. 216-18; Brasseur de Bourbourg, Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. i., pp. 100, 126; Popol Vuh, pp. clv., clix-xi.; Id., Esquisses, pp. 11, 13-14; Gallatin, in Amer. Ethno. Soc., Transact., vol. i., p. 203; Bradford's Amer. Antiq., p. 202; Müller, Reisen, tom. iii., pp. 91-7.

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353

Alvarado, in Ternaux-Compans, Voy., série i., tom. x., p. 147; Id., in Ramusio, Navigationi, tom. iii., fol. 300.

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354

Ixtlilxochitl, in Kingsborough's Mex. Antiq., vol. ix., p. 446.

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355

Popol Vuh, pp. lxiv., cxii., cxxvi-viii.

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356

Id., p. clix.

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357

The discovery of a town of similar name by Cortés, doubtingly reported by Veytia, Hist. Ant. Mej., tom. i., p. 23, and others, seems to rest on no authority whatever.

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358

The Nahuas state that they came from the north-west. Mendieta, Hist. Ecles., p. 147; Torquemada, Monarq. Ind., tom. i., p. 33. The tradition of the Toltecs will not allow us to fix either date, locality, or source of their migration, but the north is vaguely given as the source. Gallatin, in Amer. Ethno. Soc., Transact., vol. i., p. 203. Huehue Tlapallan situated north-west of the Gila. Humboldt, Vues, tom. i., p. 204. Not in the Gila Valley. Smith's Human Species, p. 250. Tradition shows Huehue Tlapallan, miserable like all nations abandoned to luxury and power, unable to feed its children, casting them forth. Ramirez, in Revista Cientifica, tom. i., p. 21. Brasseur de Bourbourg, Popol Vuh, p. clix., speaks of Tlaxi Coliuhcan, mentioned by Ixtlilxochitl, as the old capital of the Quinames, or Palenque. He perhaps has no other reason for this than the resemblance of the names Coliuhcan and Colhuacan. He says, Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. i., p. 100, that Huehue Tlapallan may be translated 'land of colors' or 'land of nobles.' Throughout his works he places this country in the south, identifying it with Xibalba. It is proved incontestably that the Toltecs came from Tulhá, whose ruins are seen near Ococingo. Id., Cartas, p. 28. Cabrera, Teatro, p. 94, thinks Tlapalla must have been in the south-east.

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359

Ixtlilxochitl, in Kingsborough's Mex. Antiq., vol. ix., pp. 208-9, 217, 333, 335-7, 392-4, 450; Veytia, Hist. Ant. Mej., tom. i., pp. 25, 139, 231, 301-2, tom. ii., pp. 3-7; Torquemada, Monarq. Ind., tom. i., pp. 38-40. Brasseur, Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. i., pp. 125-6, thinks that Chalcatzin and Tlacamitzin were the successors of Xhunahpa left by Xbalanque in command of the Nahuas, and that they were defeated and exiled by the monarch of Xibalba. For details and further references respecting the Chichimec migration see a future chapter. The Chichimec kings were: Chichimecatl, Mixcohuatl, Huitzilopochtli, Huemac, Nauhyotl, Quauhtepetla, Nonohualca, Huetzin, Quauhtonal, Masatzin, Quetzal, Icoatzin, Mozeloquitzin, Tlamacatzin – in one place Nequametl and Namocuix are named instead of Chichimecatl. Ixtlilxochitl, p. 394; Veytia, tom. i., p. 231; Carbajal Espinosa, Hist. Mex., tom. i., pp. 225-6; Müller, Reisen, tom. iii., pp. 43-4.

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360

Brasseur de Bourbourg, Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. i., pp. 126, 179-80; Id., Cartas, pp. 31-4; Id., Popol Vuh, pp. clix-clxi. Brasseur gives a report of the ruins of a northern Tula in California, which of course is unfounded. He thinks the Opatas, Yaquis, Mayos, and Tarahumares are remnants of the old Toltec populations in this region. He does not attribute the ruins of the New Mexican and Arizona group to the Toltecs, at least not at this early period. Bradford also, Amer. Antiq., p. 202, speaks of the first age as diffusing population from the centre through the north, to return in a reflux of numerous tribes in the second age.

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361

Mendieta, Hist. Ecles., pp. 145-6; Torquemada, Monarq. Ind., tom. i., pp. 32-3; Gomara, Conq. Mex., fol. 299-300; Prichard's Nat. Hist. Man, vol. ii., p. 514; Brasseur de Bourbourg, Popol Vuh, pp. xxix. – xxx.

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362

Descrip. Chiapas, in Soc. Mex. Geog., Boletin, tom. iii., p. 344.

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363

Chrón. Zacatecas, pp. 6-7.

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