The Native Races [of the Pacific states], Volume 5, Primitive History
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Title: The Native Races [of the Pacific states], Volume 5, Primitive History
Author: Hubert Howe Bancroft
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of this work. They can be found at:
Volume 1: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/41070
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Volume 3: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/43123
Volume 4: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/44104
THE WORKS OF HUBERT HOWE BANCROFT.
VOLUME V.
THE NATIVE RACES.
VOL. V. PRIMITIVE HISTORY.
SAN FRANCISCO:
A. L. BANCROFT & COMPANY, PUBLISHERS.
1883.
Entered according to Act of Congress in the Year 1882, by
HUBERT H. BANCROFT.
In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.
_All Rights Reserved._
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.
CONTENTS OF THIS VOLUME.
CHAPTER I.
ON THE ORIGIN OF THE AMERICANS.
PAGE.
Spirit of Inquiry in the Middle Ages -- Unity of Origin --
Flood Myths -- Aboriginal Traditions of Origin -- Culture
Heroes -- China -- Japan -- Hindustan -- 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 1
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 133
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 156
CHAPTER IV.
THE TOLTEC PERIOD.
The Nahua Occupation of Mexico in the Sixth and Seventh
Centuries -- Condition of Anáhuac -- The Mixcohuas and
Chichimec Culhuas -- The Toltecs at Tulancingo and Tollan
-- Establishment of a Monarchy and Choice of a King,
710-720 A.D. -- Kingdoms of Culhuacan and Quauhtitlan --
The Teoamoxtli -- Prophecies and Death of Hueman -- Birth
of Quetzalcoatl -- Foundation of the Empire, 856 A.D. --
Alliance between Culhuacan, Otompan, and Tollan -- Reign
of Topiltzin Ceacatl Quetzalcoatl at Tollan -- Excesses of
Huemac II., or Tecpancaltzin -- Xochitl, the King's Mistress
-- Fulfillment of the Prophet's Predictions -- Toveyo's
Adventures -- Plagues sent upon the Toltecs -- Famine and
Pestilence -- Reign of Acxitl, or Topiltzin -- Debauchery
of King, Nobles, and Priests -- Tokens of Divine Wrath --
Foreign Invaders -- Final Overthrow of the Toltec Empire 237
CHAPTER V.
THE CHICHIMEC PERIOD.
The Chichimecs in Amaquemecan -- Migration to Anáhuac under
Xolotl -- The Invaders at Chocoyan and Tollan -- Foundation
of Xoloc and Tenayocan -- Xolotl II., Emperor of the
Chichimecs -- Division of Territory -- The Toltecs at
Culhuacan -- Rule of Xiuhtemoc and Nauhyotl III. -- Pochotl,
Son of Acxitl -- Conquest of Culhuacan -- Death of Nauhyotl
-- Huetzin, King of Culhuacan -- Migration and Reception of
the Nahuatlaca Tribes -- The Acolhuas at Coatlichan and the
Tepanecs at Azcapuzalco -- Nonohualcatl, King of Culhuacan
-- Revolt of Yacanex -- Death of Xolotl II. -- Nopaltzin,
King of Tenayocan, and Emperor of the Chichimecs -- Reigns
of Achitometl and Icxochitlanex at Culhuacan -- Tendencies
toward Toltec Culture 289
CHAPTER VI.
THE CHICHIMEC PERIOD. -- CONTINUED.
Migration of the Aztecs -- Nations of Anáhuac at Beginning of
the Thirteenth Century -- The Aztecs submit to the Tepanecs
-- Reign of the Emperor Tlotzin -- Quinantzin, King of
Tezcuco and Chichimec Emperor -- Transfer of the Capital --
Tenancacaltzin usurps the Imperial Throne at Tenayocan -- The
Usurper defeated by Tepanecs and Mexicans -- Acolnahuacatl
proclaimed Emperor -- Quinantzin's Victories -- Battle at
Poyauhtlan -- Quinantzin again Emperor -- Toltec Institutions
at Tezcuco -- Events at Culhuacan -- Mexicans driven from
Chapultepec -- Alliance between Mexicans and Culhuas --
Religious Strife -- Foundation of Mexico -- Reign of the
Emperor Techotl -- Political Changes -- Ruin of the Culhua
Power -- Tezozomoc, King of Azcapuzalco -- Separation of
Mexicans and Tlatelulcas -- Acamapichtli II., King of Mexico
-- Quaquauhpitzahuac, King of Tlatelulco 321
CHAPTER VII.
THE CHICHIMEC PERIOD -- CONCLUDED.
Aztec History -- Reigns of Acamapichtli II. and
Quaquauhpitzahuac -- Rebuilding of Culhuacan -- Huitzilihuitl
II., King of Mexico -- Tlacateotzin, King of Tlatelulco
-- Chimalpopoca Succeeds in Mexico -- Funeral of Techotl
-- Ixtlilxochitl, Emperor of the Chichimecs -- Symptoms
of Discontent -- Plans of Tezozomoc, the Tepanec King
-- Secret Council of Rebels -- Religious Toleration in
Tezcuco -- Conquest of Xaltocan and Cuitlahuac -- Birth of
Nezahualcoyotl -- War between Tezcuco and Azcapuzalco --
Victories of Ixtlilxochitl -- Siege and Fall of Azcapuzalco
-- Treachery of Tezozomoc -- Fall of Tezcuco -- Flight and
Death of Ixtlilxochitl -- Tezozomoc proclaimed Emperor --
Re-organization of the Empire -- Adventures of Nezahualcoyotl
-- Death of Tezozomoc -- Maxtla usurps the Imperial Throne
-- Murder of the Mexican Kings -- Nezahualcoyotl's Victory
-- Itzcoatl, King of Mexico -- Acolhua and Aztec Alliance --
Fall of Azcapuzalco -- The Tri-partite Alliance, or the New
Empire 359
CHAPTER VIII.
THE AZTEC PERIOD.
Outline of the Period -- Revolt of Coyuhuacan -- Nezahualcoyotl
on the Throne of Tezcuco -- Conquest of Quauhtitlan,
Tultitlan, Xochimilco, and Cuitlahuac -- Conquest of
Quauhtitlan -- Destruction of the Records -- Death of
Itzcoatl and Accession of Montezuma I. New Temples at Mexico
-- Defeat of the Chalcas -- Troubles with Tlatelulco --
Conquest of Cohuixco and Mazatlan -- Flood and Six Years'
Famine -- Conquest of Miztecapan -- The Aztecs conquer the
Province of Cuetlachtlan and reach the Gulf Coast -- Final
Defeat of the Chalcas -- Campaign in Cuextlan -- Birth of
Nezahualpilli -- Improvements in Tenochtitlan -- Embassy
to Chicomoztoc -- Death of Montezuma I. and Accession of
Axayacatl -- Raid in Tehuantepec -- Chimalpopoca succeeds
Totoquihuatzin on the Throne of Tlacopan -- Nezahualpilli
succeeds Nezahualcoyotl at Tezcuco -- Revolt of Tlatelulco --
Conquest of Matlaltzinco -- Defeat by the Tarascos -- Death
of Axayacatl 400
CHAPTER IX.
THE AZTEC PERIOD -- CONCLUDED.
Reign of Tizoc -- Nezahualpilli defeats the Huexotzincas
-- Ahuitzotl, King of Mexico -- Campaigns for Captives --
Dedication of Huitzilopochtli's Temple -- Seventy Thousand
Victims -- Totoquihuatzin II., King of Tlacopan -- Mexican
Conquests -- Conquest of Totonacapan -- Aztec Reverses
-- Successful Revolt of Tehuantepec and Zapotecapan --
Conquest of Zacatollan -- Anecdotes of Nezahualpilli--New
Aqueduct, and Inundation of Mexico -- Montezuma II. on the
Throne -- Condition of the Empire -- Montezuma's Policy --
Unsuccessful Invasion of Tlascala -- Famine -- Conquest of
Miztecapan -- Tying-up of the Cycle in 1507 -- Omens of
coming Disaster -- The Spaniards on the Coast of Central
America -- Trouble between Mexico and Tezcuco -- Retirement
and Death of Nezahualpilli -- Cacama, King of Acolhuacan --
Revolt of Ixtlilxochitl -- Final Campaigns of the Aztecs --
The Spaniards on the Gulf Coast -- Arrival of Hernan Cortés 436
CHAPTER X.
HISTORY OF THE EASTERN PLATEAU, MICHOACAN, AND OAJACA.
Early History of the Eastern Plateau -- The Chichimec-Toltecs
-- Arrival of the Teo-Chichimecs in Anáhuac -- They Conquer
and Settle the Eastern Plateau -- Civil Wars -- Miscellaneous
Events -- Wars between Tlascala and the Nations of Anáhuac
-- Early History of Michoacan -- Wars between Wanacaces and
Tarascos -- Founding of Tzintzuntzan -- Metamorphosis of the
Tarasco Princes -- Encroachments of the Wanacaces -- The King
of the Isles -- Murder of Pawacume and Wapeani -- Reigns of
Curatame, Tariacuri, Tangaxoan I., Ziziz Pandacuare, Zwanga,
and Tangaxoan II. -- Origin of the Miztecs and Zapotecs --
Wixipecocha -- Rulers of Oajaca -- The Huaves and Mijes --
Later Kings and History of Oajaca -- Wars with Mexico 483
CHAPTER XI.
THE QUICHÉ-CAKCHIQUEL EMPIRE IN GUATEMALA.
No Chronology in the South -- Outline View -- Authorities
-- Xbalanque at Utatlan -- The Migration from Tulan --
Balam-Quitzé and his Companions -- Sacrifices to Tohil -- The
Quichés on Mount Hacavitz -- The Tamub and Ilocab -- First
Victories -- Qocavib Founds the Monarchy at Izmachi -- The
Toltec Theory -- Imaginary Empire of the East -- Different
Versions of Primitive History -- The Cakchiquel Migration --
Juarros and Fuentes -- Lists of Kings -- Cakchiquels under
Hacavitz -- Reigns of Balam-Conache, Cotuha, and Iztayul,
at Izmachi -- War against the Ilocab -- The Stolen Tribute
-- Gucumatz, Quiché Emperor at Utatlan -- Changes in the
Government -- Reigns of Cotuha II., Tepepul, and Iztayul
II. -- Cakchiquel History -- Conquests of Quicab I. --
Revolt of the Achihab -- Dismemberment of the Empire --
Cakchiquel Conquests -- Reigns of the last Guatemalan Kings
-- Appearance of the Spaniards under Alvarado in 1524 540
CHAPTER XII.
MISCELLANEOUS TRIBES OF CENTRAL AMERICA.
Scarcity of Historical Data -- The Tribes of Chiapas -- The
Founders and Heroes of the Chiapanec Nation -- Wars with
the Aztecs -- The People of the Southern Coast -- They are
vanquished by the Olmecs -- Their Exodus and Journey --
They settle and separate -- Juarros' Account of the Origin
and later History of the Pipiles -- Pipile Tradition -- The
Founding of Mictlan -- Queen Comizahual -- Acxitl's Empire of
the East -- The Cholutecs -- Various Tribes of Nicaragua --
Settlements of the Isthmus 603
CHAPTER XIII.
HISTORY OF THE MAYAS IN YUCATAN.
Aboriginal Names of Yucatan -- The Primitive Inhabitants from
the East and West -- Zamná the Pontiff-King -- The Itzas
at Chichen -- Rules of Cukulcan at Chichen and Mayapan --
His Disappearance on the Gulf Coast -- The Cocome Rule at
Mayapan -- Appearance of the Tutul Xius -- Translation of
the Maya Record by Perez and Brasseur -- Migration from
Tulan -- Conquest of Bacalar and Chichen -- Itza Annals --
Tutul Xius at Uxmal -- Overthrow of the Cocome Dynasty -- The
Confederacy, or Empire, of Tutul Xius, Itzas, and Cheles --
Fable of the Dwarf -- Overthrow of the Tutul Xius -- Final
Period of Civil Wars 614
[Illustration: NATIVE RACES of the PACIFIC STATES Map of CENTRAL MEXICO
_TO ILLUSTRATE_ PRIMITIVE HISTORY.]
[Illustration: NATIVE RACES of the PACIFIC STATES showing the location
of THE CIVILIZED NATIONS]
THE NATIVE RACES OF THE PACIFIC STATES.
PRIMITIVE HISTORY.
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.[I-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.[I-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.[I-3]
[Sidenote: 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.[I-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.
[Sidenote: 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."[I-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.[I-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 frenzied[I-7] 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.
[Sidenote: DESCENDANTS OF NOAH.]
The earliest writers required three propositions to be taken for
granted:[I-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,[I-9] while the Americans were entirely
ignorant of the part of the world from which they sprang.
[Sidenote: 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.[I-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.[I-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.[I-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.[I-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."[I-14]
[Sidenote: NOAH'S DESCENDANTS.]
Villagutierre,[I-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.[I-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.[I-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.[I-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.[I-19] We read in one of the Abbé Domenech's works,[I-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.[I-21] Piñeda thinks the
same.[I-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,[I-23] who is declared to have
been closely connected with the Babel-builders, the originator of that
enterprise being his uncle.[I-24]
[Sidenote: 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."[I-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.[I-26]
In Guatemala, among the Miztecs, and in Nicaragua there were also
traditions of great and destructive deluges.[I-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.[I-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.[I-29] The Mattoles of
California regard Taylor Peak as the point at which their forefathers
took refuge from a destructive flood.[I-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.[I-31] Lake Tahoe was formed by a flood which
destroyed all mankind but a very small remnant.[I-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.[I-33] The Chipewyan deluge
covered all the earth except the high mountain-tops, upon which many
of the people saved themselves.[I-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.
[Sidenote: 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,[I-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.[I-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."[I-37]
[Sidenote: 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.[I-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.[I-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.[I-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.[I-41]
[Sidenote: 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;[I-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.[I-43]
[Sidenote: TRADITIONS OF QUICHÉ ORIGIN.]
The Quiché traditions speak of a country in the far east,[I-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.[I-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.[I-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.[I-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.[I-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.[I-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.[I-50] According to Careri,
the Olmec traditions relate that they came by sea from the east.[I-51]
* * * * *
[Sidenote: 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,[I-52] Viracocha in
Peru,[I-53] Sumé[I-54] and Paye-Tome[I-55] in Brazil, the mysterious
apostle mentioned by Rosales, in Chili,[I-56] and Bochica in
Columbia.[I-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.[I-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.
[Sidenote: 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 Góngora[I-59] and Luis Becerra Tanco,[I-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.'[I-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.[I-62]
[Sidenote: 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.[I-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.[I-64]
[Sidenote: 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.[I-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."[I-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."[I-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."[I-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."[I-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."[I-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."[I-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."[I-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."[I-73]
* * * * *
[Sidenote: THEORY OF ORIGIN FROM CHINESE.]
[Sidenote: 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.[I-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 _li_[I-75] 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_,[I-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.[I-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.[I-78] A kind of red pear is found there which is good at all
seasons of the year. Grape-vines are also plentiful.[I-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 dead[I-80] are placed on a kind of pedestal,
and prayed to morning and evening.[I-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,[I-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."[I-83]
[Sidenote: 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.[I-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.[I-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.
[Sidenote: 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.[I-86] The similarity between the Otomí and Chinese has
been remarked by several writers.[I-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."[I-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."[I-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."[I-90] Architectural analogy there is none.[I-91]
[Sidenote: 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.[I-92]
Count Stolberg,[I-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."[I-94]
[Sidenote: 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.[I-95]
But he remarks that M. Langlès[I-96] 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."[I-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.[I-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.[I-99] The same
must be said of attempts to trace the mound-builders to Hindustan,[I-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.[I-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.
[Sidenote: 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,[I-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.[I-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."[I-104]
[Sidenote: 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."[I-105]
Thus Mr Ranking thinks "it is highly probable that this (_haylli_) is
the same as the well-known _Halle_lujah." 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."[I-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.[I-107]
[Sidenote: 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.[I-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.[I-109]
[Sidenote: 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.[I-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.[I-111]
* * * * *
[Sidenote: 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.[I-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.[I-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.[I-114] Viollet-le-Duc points out some striking resemblances
between the temples of Japan and Central America.[I-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.[I-116] Of course the natives
have the usual tradition that strangers came among them long before the
advent of the Europeans.[I-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.[I-118]
[Sidenote: 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.[I-119]
[Sidenote: 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.[I-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."[I-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."[I-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.[I-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.
[Sidenote: 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.[I-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.[I-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,"[I-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. Delafield[I-127] 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.[I-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.[I-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."[I-130]
[Sidenote: 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.[I-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.[I-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.[I-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.
* * * * *
[Sidenote: 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.[I-134]
[Sidenote: 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,[I-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.[I-136] Horn[I-137] 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,[I-138] near the Pillars of Hercules, probably
in the neighborhood of Marmora. He then doubled the promontory of
Soloeis,[I-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.[I-140]
[Sidenote: 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, Thetysque[I-141] 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?
[Sidenote: 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;[I-142] that he
arrived in Spain, and that he went to Rome; that he saw the great house
of God building;[I-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."[I-144]
[Sidenote: 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.[I-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."[I-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.[I-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."[I-148]
[Sidenote: 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.[I-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;[I-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.[I-151]
[Sidenote: 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.[I-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.[I-153] An inscribed monument supposed to be
Phœnician was discovered by one Joaquin de Costa, on his estate in New
Granada, some time since.[I-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.[I-155]
Melgar, who thinks there can be no doubt that the Phœnicians built
Palenque, supposes the so-called Palenque medal[I-156] 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.[I-157]
[Sidenote: 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.[I-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,[I-159] who affirms that he devoted more attention to this
subject than to all the rest of his work,[I-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.
[Sidenote: 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,[I-161] over which
they passed into the land of Anian, whence they journeyed southward by
land through New Mexico into Mexico and Peru.[I-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.[I-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,[I-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.[I-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.
[Sidenote: THE JEWS IN AMERICA.]
[Sidenote: 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.[I-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,[I-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.[I-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.
[Sidenote: KINGSBOROUGH'S ARGUMENTS.]
The more prominent of the analogies adduced by Lord Kingsborough may be
briefly enumerated as follows:
[Sidenote: 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.[I-169]
We have seen in this chapter that Kingsborough supposes the Messiah
and his story to have been familiar to the Mexicans. There is reason
to believe that the Mexicans, like the Jews, offered meat and drink
offerings to stones.[I-170] There are striking similarities between the
Babel, flood, and creation myths of the Hebrews and the Americans.[I-171]
Both Jews and Mexicans were fond of appealing in their adjurations
to the heaven and the earth.[I-172] Both were extremely superstitious,
and firm believers in prodigies.[I-173] The character and history of
Christ and Huitzilopochtli present certain analogies.[I-174] It is very
probable that the Sabbath of the seventh day was known in some parts
of America.[I-175] The Mexicans applied the blood of sacrifices to the
same uses as the Jews; they poured it upon the earth, they sprinkled
it, they marked persons with it, and they smeared it upon walls and
other inanimate things.[I-176] No one but the Jewish high-priest might
enter the Holy of Holies. A similar custom obtained in Peru.[I-177] Both
Mexicans and Jews regarded certain animals as unclean and unfit for
food.[I-178] Some of the Americans believed with some of the Talmudists
in a plurality of souls.[I-179] That man was created in the image of
God was a part of the Mexican belief.[I-180] It was customary among
the Mexicans to eat the flesh of sacrifices of atonement.[I-181] There
are many points of resemblance between Tezcatlipoca and Jehovah.[I-182]
Ablutions formed an essential part of the ceremonial law of the Jews
and Mexicans.[I-183] The opinions of the Mexicans with regard to the
resurrection of the body, accorded with those of the Jews.[I-184] The
Mexican temple, like the Jewish, faced the east.[I-185] "As amongst
the Jews the ark was a sort of portable temple in which the Deity was
supposed to be continually present, and which was accordingly borne on
the shoulders of the priests as a sure refuge and defence from their
enemies, so amongst the Mexicans and the Indians of Michoacan and
Honduras an ark was held in the highest veneration, and was considered
an object too sacred to be touched by any but the priests. The same
religious reverence for the ark is stated by Adair to have existed
among the Cherokee and other Indian tribes inhabiting the banks of
the Mississippi, and his testimony is corroborated by the accounts of
Spanish authors of the greatest veracity. The nature and use of the
ark having been explained, it is needless to observe that its form
might have been various, although Scripture declares that the Hebrew
ark was of the simplest construction." And again: "it would appear
from many passages of the Old Testament, that the Jews believed in the
real presence of God in the ark, as the Roman Catholics believe in the
real presence of Christ in the sacrament, from whom it is probable the
Mexicans borrowed the notion that He, whom the heaven of heavens cannot
contain, and whose glory fills all space, could be confined within
the precincts of a narrow ark and be borne by a set of weak and frail
priests. If the belief of the Mexicans had not been analogous to that
of the ancient Jews, the early Spanish missionaries would certainly
have expressed their indignation of the absurd credulity of those who
believed that their _omnipresent_ god Huitzilopochtli was carried in an
ark on priests' shoulders; but of the ark of the Mexicans they say but
little, fearing, as it would appear, to tread too boldly on the burning
ashes of Mount Sinai."[I-186]
The Yucatec conception of a Trinity resembles the Hebrew.[I-187] It is
probable that Quetzalcoatl, whose proper name signifies 'feathered
serpent,' was so called after the brazen serpent which Moses lifted
up in the wilderness, the feathers perhaps alluding to the rabbinical
tradition that the fiery serpents which god sent against the Israelites
were of a winged species.[I-188]
The Mexicans, like the Jews, saluted the four cardinal points, in their
worship.[I-189] There was much in connection with sacrifices that was
common to Mexicans and Jews.[I-190] It is possible that the myth relating
to Quetzalcoatl's disappearance in the sea, indicates a knowledge of
the book of the prophet Jonah.[I-191]
The Mexicans say that they wrestled at times with Quetzalcoatl,
even as Jacob wrestled with God.[I-192] In various religious rites
and observances, such as circumcision,[I-193] confession,[I-194] and
communion,[I-195] there was much similarity. Salt was an article highly
esteemed by the Mexicans, and the Jews always offered it in their
oblations.[I-196] Among the Jews, the firstling of an ass had to be
redeemed with a lamb, or if unredeemed, its neck was broken. This
command of Moses should be considered in reference to the custom
of sacrificing children which existed in Mexico and Peru.[I-197] The
spectacle of a king performing a dance as an act of religion was
witnessed by the Jews as well as by Mexicans.[I-198] As the Israelites
were conducted from Egypt by Moses and Aaron who were accompanied by
their sister Miriam, so the Aztecs departed from Aztlan under the
guidance of Huitziton and Tecpatzin, the former of whom is named
by Acosta and Herrera, Mexi, attended likewise by their sister
Quilaztli, or, as she is otherwise named Chimalman or Malinalli,
both of which latter names have some resemblance to Miriam, as Mexi
has to Moses.[I-199] In the Mexican language _amoxtli_ signifies flags
or bulrushes, the derivation of which name, from _atl_, water,
and _moxtli_, might allude to the flags in which Moses had been
preserved.[I-200] The painting of Boturini seems actually to represent
Huitzilopochtli appearing in a burning bush in the mountain of
Teoculhuacan to the Aztecs.[I-201] The same writer also relates that when
the Mexicans in the course of their migration had arrived at Apanco,
the people of that province were inclined to oppose their further
progress, but that Huitzilopochtli aided the Mexicans by causing a
brook that ran in the neighborhood to overflow its banks. This reminds
us of what is said in the third chapter of Joshua of the Jordan
overflowing its banks and dividing to let the priests who bore the ark
pass through.[I-202] As Moses and Aaron died in the wilderness without
reaching the land of Canaan, so Huitziton and Tecpatzin died before the
Mexicans arrived in the land of Anáhuac.[I-203] The Mexicans hung up the
heads of their sacrificed enemies; and this also appears to have been
a Jewish practice, as the following quotation from the twenty-fifth
chapter of Numbers will show: "And the Lord said unto Moses, Take all
the heads of the people, _and hang them up before the Lord against
the sun_, that the fierce anger of the Lord may be turned away from
Israel."[I-204] In a Mexican painting in the Bodleian library at Oxford
is a symbol very strongly resembling the jaw-bone of an ass from the
side of which water seems to flow forth, which might allude to the
story of Samson slaying a thousand of the Philistines with such a bone,
which remained miraculously unbroken in his hands, and from which he
afterwards quenched his thirst.[I-205] They were fond of wearing dresses
of scarlet and of showy colors, as were also the Jews. The exclamation
of the prophet, "Who is this that cometh from Bozrah?" and many other
passages of the Old Testament might be cited to show that the Jews
entertained a great predilection for scarlet.[I-206] It is impossible, on
reading what Mexican mythology records of the war in heaven and of the
fall of Tzontemoc and the other rebellious spirits; of the creation of
light by the word of Tonacatecutli, and of the division of the waters;
of the sin of Ytztlacoliuhqui, and his blindness and nakedness; of the
temptation of Suchiquecal, and her disobedience in gathering roses from
a tree, and the consequent misery and disgrace of herself and all her
posterity,--not to recognize Scriptural analogies.[I-207] Other Hebrew
analogies Lord Kingsborough finds in America, in the dress, insignia,
and duties of priests; in innumerable superstitions concerning
dreams, apparitions, eclipses, and other more common-place events; in
certain festivals for rain; in burial and mourning ceremonies; in the
diseases most common among the people; in certain regularly observed
festivals; in the dress of certain nations; in established laws; in
physical features; in architecture; in various minor observances, such
as offering water to a stranger that he might wash his feet, eating
dust in token of humility, anointing with oil, and so forth; in the
sacrifice of prisoners; in manner and style of oratory; in the stories
of giants; in the respect paid to God's name; in games of chance; in
marriage relations; in childbirth ceremonies; in religious ideas of
all sorts; in respect paid to kings; in uses of metals; in treatment of
criminals, and punishment of crimes; in charitable practices; in social
customs; and in a vast number of other particulars.[I-208]
[Sidenote: HEBREW RELICS.]
Relics unmistakeably Hebrew have been very rarely found in America. I
know of only two instances of such a discovery, and in neither of these
cases is it certain or even probable that the relic existed in America
before the Conquest. The first and best known instance is related by
Ethan Smith, according to Priest,[I-209] as follows:
"Joseph Merrick, Esq., a highly respectable character in the church at
Pittsfield, gave the following account: That in 1815, he was levelling
some ground under and near an old wood-shed, standing on a place of
his, situated on _Indian Hill_. He ploughed and conveyed away old chips
and earth, to some depth. After the work was done, walking over the
place, he discovered, near where the earth had been dug the deepest,
a black strap, as it appeared, about six inches in length, and one
and a half in breadth, and about the thickness of a leather trace
to a harness. He perceived it had, at each end, a loop, of some hard
substance, probably for the purpose of carrying it. He conveyed it to
his house, and threw it into an old tool box. He afterwards found it
thrown out at the door, and again conveyed it to the box.
"After some time, he thought he would examine it; but in attempting to
cut it, found it as hard as bone; he succeeded, however, in getting
it open, and found it was formed of two pieces of thick raw-hide,
sewed and made water tight with the sinews of some animal, and gummed
over; and in the fold was contained _four_ folded pieces of parchment.
They were of a dark yellow hue, and contained some kind of writing.
The neighbors coming in to see the strange discovery, tore one of the
pieces to atoms, in the true Hun and Vandal style. The other three
pieces Mr. Merrick saved, and sent them to Cambridge, where they were
examined, and discovered to have been written with a pen, in _Hebrew_,
plain and legible. The writing on the three remaining pieces of
parchment, was quotations from the Old Testament."[I-210]
[Sidenote: HEBREW TABLETS.]
The other discovery was made in Ohio, and was seen by my father, Mr
A. A. Bancroft, who thus describes it: "About eight miles south-east
of Newark there was formerly a large mound composed of masses of
free-stone, which had been brought from some distance and thrown into
a heap without much placing or care. In early days, stone being scarce
in that region, the settlers carried away the mound piece by piece to
use for building-purposes, so that in a few years there was little
more than a large flattened heap of rubbish remaining. Some fifteen
years ago, the county surveyor (I have forgotten his name), who had for
some time been searching ancient works, turned his attention to this
particular pile. He employed a number of men and proceeded at once to
open it. Before long he was rewarded by finding in the centre and near
the surface a bed of the tough clay generally known as pipe-clay, which
must have been brought from a distance of some twelve miles. Imbedded
in the clay was a coffin, dug out of a burr-oak log, and in a pretty
good state of preservation. In the coffin was a skeleton, with quite
a number of stone ornaments and emblems, and some open brass rings,
suitable for bracelets or anklets. These being removed, they dug down
deeper, and soon discovered a stone dressed to an oblong shape, about
eighteen inches long and twelve wide, which proved to be a casket,
neatly fitted and completely water-tight, containing a slab of stone
of hard and fine quality, an inch and a half thick, eight inches long,
four inches and a half wide at one end, and tapering to three inches
at the other. Upon the face of the slab was the figure of a man,
apparently a priest, with a long flowing beard, and a robe reaching to
his feet. Over his head was a curved line of characters, and upon the
edges and back of the stone were closely and neatly carved letters.
The slab, which I saw myself, was shown to the episcopalian clergyman
of Newark, and he pronounced the writing to be the ten Commandments in
ancient Hebrew."[I-211]
[Sidenote: MORMON DOCTRINE OF ORIGIN.]
The account given by the Book of Mormon, of the settlement of America
by the Jews, is as follows:[I-212]
After the confusion of tongues, when men were scattered over the whole
face of the earth, the Jaredites, a just people, having found favor
in the sight of the Eternal, miraculously crossed the ocean in eight
vessels, and landed in North America, where, they built large cities
and developed into flourishing and highly civilized nations. But their
descendants did evil before the Lord, in spite of repeated prophetic
warnings, and were finally destroyed for their wickedness, about
fifteen hundred years after their arrival, and six hundred before the
birth of Christ.
These first inhabitants of America were replaced by an emigration
of Israelites, who were miraculously brought from Jerusalem in the
first year of the reign of Zedekiah, king of Judah. For some time
they traveled in a south-easterly direction, following the coast of
the Red Sea; afterwards they took a more easterly course, and finally
arrived at the borders of the Great Ocean. Here, at the command of God,
they constructed a vessel, which bore them safely across the Pacific
Ocean to the western coast of South America, where they landed. In
the eleventh year of the reign of this same Zedekiah, when the Jews
were carried captive to Babylon, some descendants of Judah came from
Jerusalem to North America, whence they emigrated to the northern
parts of South America. Their descendants were discovered by the first
emigrants about four hundred years afterwards.
The first emigrants, almost immediately after their arrival, separated
themselves into two distinct nations. The people of one of these
divisions called themselves Nephites, from the prophet Nephi, who had
conducted them to America. These were persecuted, on account of their
righteousness, by the others, who called themselves Lamanites, from
Laman, their chief, a wicked and corrupt man. The Nephites retreated to
the northern parts of South America, while the Lamanites occupied the
central and southern regions. The Nephites possessed a copy of the five
books of Moses, and of the prophets as far as Jeremiah, or until the
time when they left Jerusalem. These writings were engraved on plates
of brass. After their arrival in America they manufactured similar
plates, on which they engraved their history and prophetic visions. All
these records, kept by men inspired of the Holy Ghost, were carefully
preserved, and transmitted from generation to generation.
God gave them the whole continent of America as the promised land,
declaring that it should be a heritage for them and for their children,
provided they kept his commandments. The Nephites, blessed by God,
prospered and spread east, west, and north. They dwelt in immense
cities, with temples and fortresses; they cultivated the earth, bred
domestic animals, and worked mines of gold, silver, lead, and iron.
The arts and sciences flourished among them, and as long as they kept
God's commandments, they enjoyed all the benefits of civilization and
national prosperity.
[Sidenote: NEPHITES AND LAMANITES.]
The Lamanites, on the contrary, by reason of the hardness of their
hearts, were from the first deserted of God. Before their backsliding
they were white and comely as the Nephites; but in consequence of the
divine curse, they sank into the lowest barbarism. Implacable enemies
of the Nephites, they waged war against that people, and strove by
every means in their power to destroy them. But they were gradually
repulsed with great loss, and the innumerable tumuli which are still
to be seen in all parts of the two Americas, cover the remains of the
warriors slain in these bloody conflicts.
The second colony of Hebrews, mentioned above, bore the name of
Zarahemla. They also had many civil wars, and as they had not brought
any historical records with them from Jerusalem, they soon fell into a
state of atheism. At the time when they were discovered by the Nephites
they were very numerous, but lived in a condition of semi-barbarism.
The Nephites, however, united themselves with them, and taught them
the sacred Scriptures, so that before long the two nations became as
one. Shortly afterwards the Nephites built several vessels, by means
of which they sent expeditions towards the north, and founded numerous
colonies. Others emigrated by land, and in a short time the whole of
the northern continent was peopled. At this time North America was
entirely destitute of wood, the forests having been destroyed by the
Jaredites, the first colonists, who came from the tower of Babel; but
the Nephites constructed houses of cement and brought wood by sea from
the south; taking care, besides, to cultivate immense plantations.
Large cities sprang up in various parts of the continent, both among
the Lamanites and the Nephites. The latter continued to observe the
law of Moses; numerous prophets arose among them; they inscribed their
prophecies and historical annals on plates of gold or other metal, and
upon various other materials. They discovered also the sacred records
of the Jaredites, engraved on plates of gold; these they translated
into their own language, by the help of God and the Urim Thummim. The
Jaredite archives contained the history of man from the creation of the
world to the building of the tower of Babel, and from that time to the
total destruction of the Jaredites, embracing a period of thirty-four
or thirty-five centuries. They also contained the marvelous prophecies
which foretold what would happen in the world until the end of all
things, and the creation of a new heaven and a new earth.
[Sidenote: THE BOOK OF MORMON.]
The Nephites were informed of the birth and death of Christ by certain
celestial and terrestrial phenomena, which had long before been
predicted by their prophets. But in spite of the numerous blessings
which they had received, they fell at length from grace, and were
terribly punished for their ingratitude and wickedness. A thick
darkness covered the whole continent; earthquakes cast mountains into
valleys; many towns were swallowed up, and others were destroyed by
fire from heaven. Thus perished the most perverse among the Nephites
and Lamanites, to the end that the blood of the saints and prophets
might no longer cry out from the earth against them. Those who survived
these judgments received a visit from Christ, who, after his ascension,
appeared in the midst of the Nephites, in the northern part of South
America. His instructions, the foundation of a new law, were engraved
on plates of gold, and some of them are to be found in the Book of
Mormon; but by far the greater part of them will be revealed only to
the saints, at a future time.
When Christ had ended his mission to the Nephites, he ascended to
heaven, and the apostles designated by him went to preach his gospel
throughout the continent of America. In all parts the Nephites and
Lamanites were converted to the Lord, and for three centuries they
lived a godly life. But toward the end of the fourth century of
the Christian era, they returned to their evil ways, and once more
they were smitten by the arm of the Almighty. A terrible war broke
out between the two nations, which ended in the destruction of the
ungrateful Nephites. Driven by their enemies towards the north and
north-west, they were defeated in a final battle near the hill of
Cumorah,[I-213] where their historical tablets have been since found.
Hundreds of thousands of warriors fell on both sides. The Nephites were
utterly destroyed, with the exception of some few who either passed
over to the enemy, escaped by flight, or were left for dead on the
field of battle. Among these last were Mormon and his son Moroni, both
upright men.
Mormon had written on tablets an epitome of the annals of his
ancestors, which epitome he entitled the Book of Mormon. At the command
of God he buried in the hill of Cumorah all the original records in his
possession, and at his death he left his own book to his son Moroni,
who survived him by some years, that he might continue it. Moroni
tells us in his writings that the Lamanites eventually exterminated
the few Nephites who had escaped the general slaughter at the battle
of Cumorah, sparing those only who had gone over to their side. He
himself escaped by concealment. The conquerors slew without mercy all
who would not renounce Christ. He tells, further, that the Lamanites
had many dreadful wars among themselves, and that the whole land was a
scene of incessant murder and violence. Finally, he adds that his work
is a complete record of all events that happened down to the year 420
of the Christian era, at which time, by divine command, he buried the
Book of Mormon in the hill of Cumorah, where it remained until removed
by Joseph Smith, September 22, 1827.[I-214]
* * * * *
[Sidenote: SCANDINAVIAN THEORY.]
Much has been written to prove that the north-western part of America
was discovered and peopled by Scandinavians long before the time
of Columbus. Although a great part of the evidence upon which this
belief rests, is unsatisfactory and mixed up with much that is vague
and undoubtedly fabulous, yet it seems to be not entirely destitute
of historical proof. Nor is there any improbability that such daring
navigators as the Northmen may have visited and colonized the coasts
of Greenland, Labrador, and Newfoundland. I find in this opinion an
almost exact parallel to the so-called 'Tartar theory.' It is true the
distance between Europe and north-eastern America is much greater than
that between Asia and north-western America, but would not the great
disparity between the maritime enterprise and skill of the Northmen
and Asiatics, make the North Atlantic as navigable for the former as
Bering Strait for the latter? It is certain that Iceland was settled
by the Northmen from Norway at a very early date; there is little
reason to doubt that Greenland was in turn colonized from Iceland
in the tenth century; if this be conceded, then the question whether
the Northmen did actually discover the country now known as America,
certainly ceases to wear any appearance of improbability, for it would
be unreasonable to suppose that such renowned sailors could live for
a great number of years within a short voyage of a vast continent and
never become aware of its existence. It would be absurd, however, to
believe that the entire continent of America was peopled by Northmen,
because its north-eastern borders were visited or even colonized by
certain adventurous sea-rovers.
All that is known of the early voyages of the Northmen, is contained
in the old Icelandic Sagas. The genuineness of the accounts relating
to the discovery of America has been the subject of much discussion.
Mr B. F. De Costa, in a carefully studied monograph on the subject,
assures us that there can be no doubt as to their authenticity, and
I am strongly inclined to agree with him. It is true that no less
eminent authors than George Bancroft and Washington Irving have
expressed opinions in opposition to De Costa's views, but it must be
remembered that neither of these distinguished gentlemen made a very
profound study of the Icelandic Sagas, indeed Irving directly states
that he "has not had the means of tracing this story to its original
sources;" nor must we forget that neither the author of the 'Life of
Columbus,' nor he of the 'History of the Colonization of the United
States,' could be expected to willingly strip the laurels from the brow
of his familiar hero, Christopher Columbus, and concede the honor of
the 'first discovery' to the northern sea-kings, whose exploits are so
vaguely recorded.[I-215]
[Sidenote: THE ICELANDIC SAGAS.]
De Costa's defence of the genuineness of the accounts referred to is
simple and to the point. "Those who imagine," he writes, "that these
manuscripts, while of pre-Columbian origin, have been tampered with and
interpolated, show that they have not the faintest conception of the
state of the question. The accounts of the voyages of the Northmen to
America form the _framework_ of Sagas which would actually be destroyed
by the elimination of the narratives. There is only one question
to be decided, and that is the _date_ of these compositions." "That
these manuscripts," he adds, "belong to the pre-Columbian age, is as
capable of demonstration as the fact that the writings of Homer existed
prior to the age of Christ. Before intelligent persons deny either of
these points they must first succeed in blotting out numberless pages
of well-known history. The manuscripts in which we have versions of
all the Sagas relating to America is found in the celebrated _Codex
Flatöiensis_, a work that was finished in the year 1387, or 1395 at
the latest. This collection, made with great care, and executed in
the highest style of art, is now preserved in its integrity in the
archives of Copenhagen. These manuscripts were for a time supposed to
be lost, but were ultimately found safely lodged in their repository
in the monastery library of the island of Flatö, from whence they
were transferred to Copenhagen with a large quantity of other literary
material collected from various localities. If these Sagas which refer
to America were interpolations, it would have early become apparent,
as abundant means exist for detecting frauds; yet those who have
examined the whole question do not find any evidence that invalidates
their historical statements. In the absence, therefore, of respectable
testimony to the contrary, we accept it as a fact that the Sagas
relating to America are the productions of men who gave them in their
present form nearly, if not quite, an entire century before the age of
Columbus."[I-216]
The accounts of the voyages as given in the original manuscripts are
too numerous and prolix to be reproduced in their entirety here; but I
will endeavor to give a résumé of them, following, to a great extent,
an 'abstract of the historical evidence for the discovery of America
by the Scandinavians in the tenth century,' given in the Journal of the
Royal Geographical Society.[I-217]
Eric the Red, in the spring of 986,[I-218] emigrated from Iceland to
Greenland, and founded a settlement there. One of his companions
was Heriulf Bardson, whose son, Biarne, was at that time absent on a
trading voyage to Norway. Biarne, on his return to Iceland, resolved
"still to spend the following winter, like all the preceding ones,
with his father," and to that end set sail for Greenland. But, owing
to the northerly winds and fogs, and to the fact that neither he nor
any of his followers had ever navigated these seas before, Biarne lost
his way. When the weather cleared up they found themselves in sight
of a strange land, which they left to larboard. After two days' sail
they again sighted land; and once more standing out to sea, they, after
three days, saw land a third time, which proved to be an island. Again
they bore away, and after four days' sailing reached Greenland.
[Sidenote: VOYAGES OF THE NORTHMEN.]
Some time after this, Leif, a son of Eric the Red, having heard of
Biarne's discoveries, bought his ship, manned it with a crew of thirty
men, and set out from Greenland, about the year 1000. The first land
they sighted was that which Biarne had seen last; this they named
Helluland.[I-219] They put out to sea and soon came to another land,
which they named Markland.[I-220] Again they stood out to sea, and after
two days came to an island. They then sailed westward, and afterwards
went on shore at a place where a river, issuing from a lake, fell into
the sea. Bringing their ship up the river, they anchored in the lake.
Here they settled for a time, and finding vines in the country, they
named it Vinland.[I-221] In the spring they returned to Greenland.
This expedition to Vinland was much talked of, and Thorwald, Leif's
brother, thought that the new country had not been thoroughly enough
explored. Then Leif lent his ship to Thorwald, who set out for Vinland
about the year 1002. There he and his crew wintered, and about the
year 1004 they set sail to the eastward. On this voyage Thorwald was
killed by the natives. At his request his followers returned to Vinland
and buried his remains there. In 1005 they sailed again to Greenland,
bearing the sad news of his brother's death to Leif.
Thorstein, Eric's third son, soon afterwards set out in the same ship
for Vinland, to fetch his brother's body. He was accompanied by his
wife Gudrida, and twenty-five strong men, but after tossing about on
the ocean during the whole summer, they finally landed again on the
Greenland coast, where Thorstein died during the winter.
The next voyage to Vinland was made by one Thorfinn Karlsefne, a
man of noble lineage, who occupied his time in merchant voyages and
was thought a good trader. In the summer of 1006 he fitted out his
ship in Iceland for a voyage to Greenland, attended by one Snorre
Thorbrandson and a crew of forty men. At the same time another ship was
fitted out for the same destination by Biarne Grimolfson and Thorhall
Gamlason, and manned with a crew of forty men also. All being ready,
the two ships put out to sea, and both arrived safely at Ericsfiord in
Greenland, where Leif and Gudrida, the widow of Leif's late brother,
Thorstein, dwelt. Here Thorfinn fell in love with the fair Gudrida, and
with Leif's consent, married her that winter.
The discovery of Vinland was much talked of among the settlers,
for they all believed that it was a good country, and that a voyage
there would be very profitable; and Thorfinn was urged and at length
persuaded to undertake the adventure. Accordingly, in the spring
of 1007 he fitted out his ship, and Biarne Grimolfson and Thorhall
Gamlason did the same with theirs. A third ship, commanded by one
Thorward, also joined the expedition. And on Thorward's ship a man
named Thorhall, 'commonly called the hunter,' who had been the huntsman
of Eric in the summer, and his steward in the winter, also went.
[Sidenote: THE NORTHMEN AND SKRELLINGS.]
As this is probably the most important of all the Northmen's voyages to
America, I will give it in full: "They sailed first to the Westerbygd,
and afterwards to Biarney. From thence they sailed in a southerly
direction to Helluland, where they found many foxes. From thence
they sailed again two days in a southerly direction to Markland, a
country overgrown with wood, and plentifully stocked with animals.
Leaving this, they continued sailing in a S.W. direction for a long
time, having the land to starboard, until they at length came to
Kialarnes,[I-222] where there were trackless deserts and long beaches
and sands, called by them Furdustrandir. When they had past these, the
land began to be indented by inlets. They had two Scots with them, Hake
and Hekia, whom Leif had formerly received from the Norwegian King
Olaf Tryggvason, and who were very swift of foot. They put them on
shore, recommending them to proceed in a S.W. direction, and explore
the country. After the lapse of three days they returned bringing
with them some grapes and some ears of wheat, which grew wild in that
region. They continued their course until they came to a place where
a firth penetrated far into the country. Off the mouth of it was an
island past which there ran strong currents, which was also the case
farther up the firth. On the island there were an immense number of
eyderducks, so that it was scarcely possible to walk without treading
on their eggs. They called the island Straumey (Stream-Isle), and
the firth Straumfiördr (Stream-Firth).[I-223] They landed on the shore
of this firth, and made preparations for their winter residence. The
country was extremely beautiful. They confined their operations to
exploring the country. Thorhall afterwards wished to proceed in a N.
direction in quest of Vineland. Karlsefne chose rather to go to the
S.W. Thorhall, and along with him eight men, quitted them, and sailed
past Furdustrandir and Kialarnes, but they were driven by westerly
gales to the coast of Ireland, where, according to the accounts of
some traders, they were beaten and made slaves. Karlsefne, together
with Snorre and Biarne, and the rest of the ships' companies, in all
151 (CXXXI.) men, sailed southwards, and arrived at the place, where
a river falls into the sea from a lake. Opposite to the mouth of the
river were large islands. They steered into the lake, and called the
place Hóp (_í Hópe_). On the low grounds they found fields of wheat
growing wild, and on the rising grounds vines. While looking about
one morning they observed a great number of canoes. On exhibiting
friendly signals the canoes approached nearer to them, and the natives
in them looked with astonishment at those they met there. These people
were sallow-coloured or ill-looking, had ugly heads of hair, large
eyes, and broad cheeks. After they had gazed at them for a while,
they rowed away again to the S.W. past the cape. Karlsefne and his
company had erected their dwelling-houses a little above the bay; and
there they spent the winter. No snow fell, and the cattle found their
food in the open field. One morning early, in the beginning of 1008,
they descried a number of canoes coming from the S.W. past the cape.
Karlsefne having held up a white shield as a friendly signal, they
drew nigh and immediately commenced bartering. These people chose in
preference red cloth, and gave furs and squirrel skins in exchange.
They would fain also have bought swords and spears, but these Karlsefne
and Snorre prohibited their people from selling them. In exchange for
a skin entirely gray the Skrellings took a piece of cloth of a span in
breadth, and bound it round their heads. Their barter was carried on
this way for some time. The Northmen then found that their cloth was
beginning to grow scarce, whereupon they cut it up in smaller pieces,
not broader than a finger's breadth; yet the Skrellings gave as much
for these smaller pieces as they had formerly given for the larger
ones, or even more. Karlsefne also caused the women to bear out milk
soup, and the Skrellings relishing the taste of it, they desired to
buy it in preference to everything else, so they wound up their traffic
by carrying away their bargains in their bellies. Whilst this traffic
was going on, it happened that a bull, which Karlsefne had brought
along with him, came out of the wood and bellowed loudly. At this the
Skrellings got terrified and rushed to their canoes, and rowed away
southwards. About this time Gudrida, Karlsefne's wife, gave birth to a
son, who received the name of Snorre. In the beginning of the following
winter the Skrellings came again in much greater numbers; they showed
symptoms of hostility, setting up loud yells. Karlsefne caused the
red shield to be borne against them, whereupon they advanced against
each other, and a battle commenced. There was a galling discharge of
missiles. The Skrellings had a sort of war slings. They elevated on a
pole a tremendously large ball, almost the size of a sheep's stomach,
and of a bluish colour; this they swung from the pole upon land over
Karlsefne's people, and it descended with a fearful crash. This struck
terror into the Northmen, and they fled along the river. Freydisa came
out and saw them flying; she thereupon exclaimed, 'How can stout men
like you fly from these miserable caitifs, whom I thought you could
knock down like cattle? If I had only a weapon, I ween I could fight
better than any of you.' They heeded not her words. She tried to keep
pace with them, but the advanced state of her pregnancy retarded her.
She however followed them into the wood. There she encountered a dead
body. It was Thorbrand Snorrason; a flat stone was sticking fast in his
head. His naked sword lay by his side. This she took up, and prepared
to defend herself. She uncovered her breasts, and dashed them against
the naked sword. At this sight the Skrellings became terrified, and
ran off to their canoes. Karlsefne and the rest now came up to her and
praised her courage. Karlsefne and his people were now become aware
that, although the country held out many advantages, still the life
that they would have to lead here would be one of constant alarm from
the hostile attacks of the natives. They therefore made preparations
for departure, with the resolution of returning to their own country.
They sailed eastward, and came to Streamfirth. Karlsefne then took one
of the ships, and sailed in quest of Thorhall, while the rest remained
behind. They proceeded northwards round Kialarnes, and after that were
carried to the north-west. The land lay to larboard of them. There
were thick forests in all directions, as far as they could see, with
scarcely any open space. They considered the hills at Hope and those
which they now saw as forming part of one continuous range. They spent
the third winter at Streamfirth. Karlsefne's son Snorre was now three
years of age. When they sailed from Vineland they had a southerly
wind, and came to Markland, where they met with five Skrellings. They
caught two of them (two boys), whom they carried away along with them,
and taught them the Norse language, and baptised them; these children
said that their mother was called Vethilldi and their father Uvæge;
they said that the Skrellings were ruled by chieftains (kings), one of
whom was called Avalldamon, and the other Valdidida; that there were
no houses in the country, but that the people dwelled in holes and
caverns. Biarne Grimolfson was driven into the Irish Ocean, and came
into waters that were so infested by worms, that their ship was in
consequence reduced to a sinking state. Some of the crew, however, were
saved in the boat, as it had been smeared with seal-oil tar, which is a
preventive against the attack of worms. Karlsefne continued his voyage
to Greenland, and arrived at Ericsfiord."
During the same summer that Karlsefne returned from Vinland, a ship
arrived at Greenland from Norway, commanded by two brothers, Helge and
Finnboge. And Freydisa, she who had frightened the Skrellings, went to
them and proposed they should make a voyage to Vinland, and she offered
to go with them on condition that an equal share of what they obtained
there should be hers; and they agreed to this. It was arranged between
the brothers and Freydisa that each should have thirty fighting men,
besides women. But Freydisa secretly brought away five men more than
the allotted number. They reached Vinland and spent the winter there.
During their stay Freydisa prevailed on her husband to slay the two
brothers and their followers; the women that were with them she killed
with her own hand. In the spring of the next year they returned to
Greenland.[I-224]
In the latter part of the tenth century,[I-225] one Are Marson, of
Iceland, was driven by storms to Hvitramannaland, or Land of the
Whitemen. This country, which was also called Great Ireland, has been
thought to be "probably that part of the Coast of North America which
extends southwards from Chesapeak Bay, including North and South
Carolina, Georgia, and Florida."[I-226] Here, also, one Biörn Asbrandson
is said to have ended his days.[I-227]
I do not propose to give here all that has been said about these
voyages, as it would not be pertinent to the question which we are
reviewing, namely, the origin of the Americans. Indeed, the entire
subject of the Northmen's voyages and colonization, might almost be
said to be without our province, as it is not asserted that they were
actually the first inhabitants of the New World.
The relics that have been thought to prove their former presence in
the continent, are neither numerous nor important. One of these is
the Dighton Rock, of which I have had occasion to speak before, in
connection with the Phœnician theory.[I-228] In 1824, a stone engraved
with Runic characters was found on the island of Kingiktorsoak, on the
western coast of Greenland.[I-229]
[Sidenote: SCANDINAVIAN THEORY.]
Priest is strongly inclined to believe that a glass bottle about the
size of a common junk bottle, "having a stopple in its nuzzle," an
iron hatchet edged with steel, the remains of a blacksmith's forge, and
some ploughed-up crucibles, all found in the town of Pompey, Onondaga
County, New York, are of Scandinavian origin.[I-230]
Brasseur de Bourbourg has found many words in the languages of Central
America which bear, he thinks, marked Scandinavian traces; little
can be proven by this, however, since he finds as many other words
that as strongly resemble Latin, Greek, English, French, and many
other languages. The learned Abbé believes, moreover, that some of
the ancient traditions of the Central American nations point to a
north-east origin.[I-231] Viollet-le-Duc is struck with the similarity
that existed between the religious customs and ideas of the ancient
Northmen and of the Quichés as expressed in the Popol Vuh.[I-232]
[Sidenote: A WELSH COLONY IN AMERICA.]
We come now to the theory that the Americans, or at least part of them,
are of Celtic origin. In the old Welsh annals there is an account of
a voyage made in the latter half of the twelfth century,[I-233] by one
Madoc, a son of Owen Gwynedd, prince of North Wales. The story goes,
that after the death of Gwynedd, his sons contended violently for
the sovereignty. Madoc, who was the only peaceable one among them,
determined to leave his disturbed country and sail in search of some
unknown land where he might dwell in peace. He accordingly procured an
abundance of provisions and a few ships and embarked with his friends
and followers. For many months they sailed westward without finding a
resting-place; but at length they came to a large and fertile country,
where, after sailing for some distance along the coast in search of a
convenient landing-place, they disembarked, and permanently settled.
After a time Madoc, with part of his company, returned to Wales, where
he fitted out ten ships with all manner of supplies, prevailed on a
large number of his countrymen to join him, and once more set sail
for the new colony, which, though we hear no more about him or his
settlement, he is supposed to have reached safely.[I-234]
[Sidenote: THE AMERICANS OF WELSH ORIGIN.]
The exact location of Madoc's colony has only been guessed at. Baldwin
says it is supposed that he settled 'somewhere in the Carolinas.'
Caradoc, in his history of Wales,[I-235] has no doubt that the country
where Madoc established his colony was Mexico; this he thinks is shown
by three facts: first, the Mexicans believed that their ancestors
came from a beautiful country afar off, inhabited by white people;
secondly, they adored the cross; and thirdly, several Welsh names
are found in Mexico. Peter Martyr affirms that the aborigines of
Virginia, as well as those of Guatemala, celebrate the memory of an
ancient and illustrious hero, named Madoc. Harcourt, in the preface
to the account of his voyage to Guiana,[I-236] says that that part
of America was discovered and possessed by the Welsh prince, Madoc.
Herbert, according to Martyr, says that the land discovered by the
prince was Florida or Virginia.[I-237] Catlin is inclined to believe
that Madoc entered the Mississippi at Balize and made his way up the
river, or that he landed somewhere on the Florida coast. He thinks
the colonists pushed into the interior and finally settled on the Ohio
river; afterwards, being driven from that position by the aboriginal
tribes, they advanced up the Missouri river to the place where they
have been known for many years by the name of Mandans, "a corruption or
abbreviation, perhaps, of Madawgwys, the name applied by the Welsh to
the followers of Madawc." The canoes of the Mandans, Mr Catlin tells
us, which are altogether different from those of all other tribes,
correspond exactly to the Welsh _coracle_,[I-238] the peculiarity of
their physical appearance was such that when he first saw them he "was
under the instant conviction that they were an amalgam of a native,
with some civilized race," and the resemblance that exists between
their language and Welsh, is, in his opinion, very striking.[I-239] There
have been several reports that traces of the Welsh colony and of their
language have been discovered among the native tribes, but none of
them seem entitled to full credit. The best known report of this kind,
and the one that claims, perhaps, the most respectful consideration,
is that of the Rev. Morgan Jones, written in 1686, and published in
the _Gentleman's Magazine_ for the year 1740. In 1660 the reverend
gentleman, with five companions, was taken prisoner by the Tuscarora
tribe, who were about to put him to death when he soliloquized aloud in
Welsh; whereupon they spared him and his companions, and treated them
very civilly. After this Mr Jones stayed among them for four months,
during which time he conversed with them familiarly in the Welsh
language, "and did preach to them in the same language three times a
week."[I-240]
A certain Lieutenant Roberts states that in 1801 he met an Indian chief
at Washington, who spoke Welsh "as fluently as if he had been born and
brought up in the vicinity of Snowdon." He said it was the language
of his nation, the Asguaws, who lived eight hundred miles north-west
of Philadelphia. He knew nothing of Wales, but stated that his people
had a tradition that their ancestors came to America from a distant
country, which lay far to the east, over the great waters. Amongst
other questions, Lieutenant Roberts asked him how it was that his
nation had preserved their original language so perfect; he answered
that they had a law which forbade any to teach their children another
tongue, until they were twelve years old.[I-241]
Another officer, one Captain Davies, relates that while stationed at a
trading-post, among the Illinois Indians, he was surprised to find that
several Welshmen who belonged to his company, could converse readily
with the aborigines in Welsh.[I-242] Warden tells a story of a Welshman
named Griffith, who was taken prisoner by the Shawnee tribe about the
year 1764. Two years afterwards, he and five Shawnees, with whom he
was traveling about the sources of the Missouri, fell into the hands
of a white tribe, who were about to massacre them when Griffith spoke
to them in Welsh, explaining the object of their journey; upon this
they consented to spare him and his companions. He could learn nothing
of the history of these white natives, except that their ancestors had
come to the Missouri from a far distant country. Griffith returned to
the Shawnee nation, but subsequently escaped and succeeded in reaching
Virginia.[I-243] There are many other reports of a similar kind, but
these will be sufficient to show on what manner of foundation the Welsh
theory rests, and to justify in a measure the outspoken opinion of Mr
Fiske, that "Welch Indians are creatures of the imagination."[I-244]
[Sidenote: SCOTCH AND IRISH THEORIES.]
Lord Monboddo, a Scotchman, who wrote in the seventeenth century,
quotes several instances to show that the language of the native
Highlanders was spoken in America. In one of the English expeditions
to discover the North Pole, he relates, there were an Eskimo and
a Scotchman, who, after a few days practice, were able to converse
together readily. He also states "that the Celtic language was spoken
by many of the tribes of Florida, which is situated at the north end of
the gulf of Mexico; and that he was well acquainted with a gentleman
from the Highlands of Scotland, who was several years in Florida, in
a public character, and who stated that many of the tribes with whom
he had become acquainted, had the greatest affinity with the Celtic in
their language."[I-245]
Claims have also been put in for an Irish discovery of the New
World; St Patrick is said to have sent missionaries to the 'Isles
of America,'[I-246] and early writers have gravely discussed the
probability of Quetzalcoatl having been an Irishman. There is no great
improbability that the natives of Ireland may have reached, by accident
or otherwise, the north-eastern coasts of the new continent, in very
early times, but there is certainly no evidence to prove that they
did.[I-247]
* * * * *
The nations of southern Europe have not been entirely forgotten by
the theorists on the question of origin. Those who have claimed for
them the honor of first settling or civilizing America, are not many,
however; nor is the evidence they adduce of a very imposing nature.
Lafitau supposes the Americans to be descended from the ancient
inhabitants of the Grecian archipelago, who were driven from their
country by the subjects of Og, King of Bashan. In every particular, he
says, the people of the New World resemble the Hellenes and Pelagians.
Both were idolators; used sacred fire; indulged in Bacchanalian revels;
held formal councils; strong resemblances are to be found in their
marriage customs, system of education, manner of hunting, fishing, and
making war, in their games and sports, in their mourning and burial
customs, and in their manner of treating the sick.[I-248] García knew a
man in Peru who knew of a rock on which was what looked very much like
a Greek inscription. The same writer says that the Athenians waged
war with the inhabitants of Atlantis, and might therefore have heard
of America. That the Greeks were navigators in very early times is
shown by Jason's voyage in search of the Golden Fleece. Both Greeks
and Americans bored their ears and sang the deeds of their ancestors;
besides which, many words are common to both peoples.[I-249] Like García,
Mr Pidgeon also knew a man--a farmer of Montevideo, in Brazil--who
in 1827 discovered in one of his fields a flat stone, upon which was
engraven a Greek inscription, which, as far as it was legible, read as
follows: "During the dominion of Alexander, the son of Philip, King of
Macedon, in the sixty-third Olympiad, Ptolemaios." Deposited beneath
the stone were found two ancient swords, a helmet, and a shield. On
the handle of one of the swords was a portrait of Alexander; on the
helmet was a beautiful design representing Achilles dragging the
corpse of Hector round the walls of Troy. "From this discovery, it is
evident"--to Mr Pidgeon--"that the soil of Brazil was formerly broken
by Ptolemaios, more than a thousand years before the discovery by
Columbus."[I-250] Brasseur de Bourbourg seeks to identify certain of the
American gods with Greek deities.[I-251] Jones finds that the sculpture
at Uxmal very closely resembles the Greek style.[I-252]
The vastness of some of the cities built by the civilized Americans,
the fine roads they constructed, their fondness for gladiatorial
combats, and a few unreliable accounts that Roman coins have been found
on the continent, constitute about all the evidence that is offered to
show that the Romans ever visited America.[I-253]
* * * * *
[Sidenote: THE ANCIENT ATLANTIS.]
The story of Atlantis, that is, of a submerged, lost land that once
lay to the west of Europe, is very old. It was communicated to Solon,
according to Plutarch, by the Egyptian priests of Psenophis, Sonchis,
Heliopolis, and Saïs; and if we may believe Plato, Solon did not
hear of the events until nine thousand Egyptian years after their
occurrence. Plato's version is as follows:
"Among the great deeds of Athens, of which recollection is preserved
in our books, there is one which should be placed above all others.
Our books tell that the Athenians destroyed an army which came across
the Atlantic Sea, and insolently invaded Europe and Asia; for this sea
was then navigable, and beyond the strait where you place the Pillars
of Hercules there was an island larger than Asia (Minor) and Libya
combined. From this island one could pass easily to the other islands,
and from these to the continent which lies around the interior sea. The
sea on this side of the strait (the Mediterranean) of which we speak,
resembles a harbor with a narrow entrance; but there is a genuine sea,
and the land which surrounds it is a veritable continent. In the island
of Atlantis reigned three kings with great and marvelous power. They
had under their dominion the whole of Atlantis, several other islands,
and some parts of the continent. At one time their power extended
into Libya, and into Europe as far as Tyrrhenia, and, uniting their
whole force, they sought to destroy our countries at a blow; but their
defeat stopped the invasion and gave entire independence to all the
countries this side of the Pillars of Hercules. Afterward, in one day
and one fatal night, there came mighty earthquakes and inundations,
which ingulfed that warlike people; Atlantis disappeared beneath the
sea, and then that sea became inaccessible, so that navigation ceased
on account of the quantity of mud which the ingulfed island left in its
place."[I-254]
It is only recently that any important signification has been attached
to this passage. It was previously regarded rather as one of those
fabulous accounts in which the works of the writers of antiquity
abound, than as an actual statement of facts. True, it had been
frequently quoted to show that the ancients had a knowledge more or
less vague of the continent of America, but no particular value was
set upon the assertion that the mysterious land was ages ago submerged
and lost in the ocean. But of late years it has been discovered that
traditions and records of cataclysms similar to that referred to by
the Egyptian priests, have been preserved among the American nations;
which discovery has led several learned and diligent students of New
World lore to believe that after all the story of Atlantis, as recorded
by Plato, may be founded upon fact, and that in bygone ages there
did actually exist in the Atlantic Ocean a great tract of inhabited
country, forming perhaps part of the American continent, which by some
mighty convulsion of nature was suddenly submerged and lost in the sea.
[Sidenote: BRASSEUR DE BOURBOURG'S THEORIES.]
Foremost among those who have held and advocated this opinion stands
the Abbé Brasseur de Bourbourg. This distinguished Américaniste goes
farther than his fellows, however, in that he attempts to prove that
all civilization originated in America, or the Occident, instead of in
the Orient, as has always been supposed. This theory he endeavors to
substantiate not so much by the Old World traditions and records as by
those of the New World, using as his principal authority an anonymous
manuscript written in the Nahua language, which he entitles the _Codex
Chimalpopoca_. This work purports to be on the face of it a 'History of
the Kingdoms of Culhuacan and Mexico,' and as such it served Brasseur
as almost his sole authority for the Toltec period of his _Histoire
des Nations Civilisées_. At that time the learned Abbé regarded
the Atlantis theory, at least so far as it referred to any part of
America, as an absurd conjecture resting upon no authentic basis.[I-255]
In a later work, however, he more than retracts this assertion;
from a sceptic he is suddenly transformed into a most devout and
enthusiastic believer, and attempts to prove by a most elaborate course
of reasoning that that which he before doubted is indubitably true.
The cause of this sudden change was a strange one. As, by constant
study, he became more profoundly learned in the literature of ancient
America, the Abbé discovered that he had entirely misinterpreted the
_Codex Chimalpopoca_. The annals recorded so plainly upon the face
of the mystic pages were intended only for the understanding of the
vulgar; the stories of the kings, the history of the kingdoms, were
allegorical and not to be construed literally; deep below the surface
lay the true historic record--hidden from all save the priests and
the wise men of the West--of the mighty cataclysm which submerged
the cradle of all civilization.[I-256] Excepting a dozen, perhaps, of
the kings who preceded Montezuma, it is not a history of men, but of
American nature, that must be sought for in the Mexican manuscripts and
paintings. The Toltecs, so long regarded as an ancient civilized race,
destroyed in the eleventh century by their enemies, are really telluric
forces, agents of subterranean fire, the veritable smiths of Orcus
and of Lemnos, of which Tollan was the symbol, the true masters of
civilization and art, who by the mighty convulsions which they caused
communicated to men a knowledge of minerals.[I-257]
I know of no man better qualified than was Brasseur de Bourbourg to
penetrate the obscurity of American primitive history. His familiarity
with the Nahua and Central American languages, his indefatigable
industry, and general erudition, rendered him eminently fit for such
a task, and every word written by such a man on such a subject is
entitled to respectful consideration. Nevertheless, there is reason to
believe that the Abbé was often rapt away from the truth by excess of
enthusiasm, and the reader of his wild and fanciful speculations cannot
but regret that he has not the opportunity or ability to intelligently
criticise by comparison the French savant's interpretation of the
original documents. At all events it is certain that he honestly
believed in the truth of his own discovery; for when he admitted that,
in the light of his better knowledge, the Toltec history, as recorded
in the _Codex Chimalpopoca_, was an allegory--that no such people as
the Toltecs ever existed, in fact--and thereby rendered valueless his
own history of the Toltec period, he made a sacrifice of labor, unique,
I think, in the annals of literature.
Brasseur's theory supposes that the continent of America occupied
originally the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, and extended in
the form of a peninsula so far across the Atlantic that the Canary
islands may have formed part of it. All this extended portion of the
continent was many ages ago engulfed by a tremendous convulsion of
nature, of which traditions and written records have been preserved
by many American peoples.[I-258] Yucatan, Honduras, and Guatemala, were
also submerged, but the continent subsequently rose sufficiently to
rescue them from the ocean. The testimony of many modern men of science
tends to show that there existed at one time a vast extent of dry land
between Europe and America.[I-259]
It is not my intention to enter the mazes of Brasseur's argument here;
once in that labyrinth there would be small hope of escape. His _Quatre
Lettres_ are a chaotic jumble of facts and wild speculations that would
appal the most enthusiastic antiquarian; the materials are arranged
with not the slightest regard for order; the reader is continually
harassed by long rambling digressions--literary no-thoroughfares, as it
were, into which he is beguiled in the hope of coming out somewhere,
only to find himself more hopelessly lost than ever; for mythological
evidence, the pantheons of Phœnicia, Egypt, Hindostan, Greece, and
Rome, are probed to their most obscure depths; comparative philology is
as accommodating to the theorist as ever, which is saying a great deal;
the opinions of geologists who never dreamed of an Atlantis theory, are
quoted to show that the American continent formerly extended into the
Atlantic in the manner supposed.
I have presented to the reader the bare outline of what Brasseur
expects to prove, without giving him the argument used by that learned
writer, for the reason that a partial résumé of the _Quatre Lettres_
would be unfair to the Abbé, while an entire résumé would occupy more
space than I can spare. I will, however, deviate from the system I have
hitherto observed, so far as to express my own opinion of the French
savant's theory.
Were the original documents from which Brasseur drew his data
obtainable, we might, were we able to read and understand them, know
about how far his enthusiasm and imagination have warped his calmer
judgment; as it is, the Atlantis theory is certainly not proved, and
we may therefore reasonably decline to accept it. In my opinion there
is every reason to believe that his first interpretation of the _Codex
Chimalpopoca_ was the true one, and that the 'double meaning' had no
existence save in his own distorted fancy.[I-260]
* * * * *
[Sidenote: AUTOCHTHONIC ORIGIN.]
It only remains now to speak of the theory which ascribes an
autochthonic origin to the Americans. The time is not long past when
such a supposition would have been regarded as impious, and even
at this day its advocates may expect discouragement if not rebuke
from certain quarters.[I-261] It is, nevertheless, an opinion worthy
of the gravest consideration, and one which, if we may judge by the
recent results of scientific investigation, may eventually prove to
be scientifically correct. In the preceding pages it will have been
remarked that no theory of a foreign origin has been proven, or even
fairly sustained. The particulars in which the Americans are shown to
resemble any given people of the Old World are insignificant in number
and importance when compared with the particulars in which they do
_not_ resemble that people.
As I have remarked elsewhere, it is not impossible that stray ships of
many nations have at various times and in various places been cast upon
the American coast, or even that adventurous spirits, who were familiar
with the old-time stories of a western land, may have designedly sailed
westward until they reached America, and have never returned to tell
the tale. The result of such desultory visits would be exactly what
has been noticed, but erroneously attributed to immigration en masse.
The strangers, were their lives spared, would settle among the people,
and impart their ideas and knowledge to them. This knowledge would
not take any very definite shape or have any very decided effect,
for the reason that the sailors and adventurers who would be likely
to land in America under such circumstances, would not be thoroughly
versed in the arts or sciences; still they would know many things
that were unknown to their captors, or hosts, and would doubtless be
able to suggest many improvements. This, then, would account for many
Old World ideas and customs that have been detected here and there in
America, while at the same time the difficulty which arises from the
fact that the resemblances, though striking, are yet very few, would
be satisfactorily avoided. The foreigners, if adopted by the people
they fell among, would of course marry women of the country and beget
children, but it cannot be expected that the physical peculiarities
so transmitted would be perceptible after a generation or two of
re-marrying with the aboriginal stock. At the same time I think it
just as probable that the analogies referred to are mere coincidences,
such as might be found among any civilized or semi-civilized people
of the earth. It may be argued that the various American tribes and
nations differ so materially from each other as to render it extremely
improbable that they are derived from one original stock, but, however
this may be, the difference can scarcely be greater than that which
apparently exists between many of the Aryan branches.[I-262]
[Sidenote: CONCLUSIONS.]
Hence it is many not unreasonably assume that the Americans are
autochthones until there is some good ground given for believing
them to be of exotic origin.[I-263] To express belief, however, in a
theory incapable of proof appears to me idle. Indeed, such belief is
not belief; it is merely acquiescing in or accepting a hypothesis or
tradition until the contrary is proved. No one at the present day can
tell the origin of the Americans; they may have come from any one, or
from all the hypothetical sources enumerated in the foregoing pages,
and here the question must rest until we have more light upon the
subject.
FOOTNOTES:
[I-1] He affirms (in a work entitled _Christian Topography_) that,
according to the true orthodox system of geography, the earth is a
quadrangular plane, extending four hundred days' journey east and
west, and exactly half as much north and south; that it is inclosed by
mountains, on which the sky rests; that one on the north side, huger
than the others, by intercepting the rays of the sun, produces night;
and that the plane of the earth is not set exactly horizontally, but
with a little inclination from the north: hence the Euphrates, Tigris,
and other rivers, running southward, are rapid; but the Nile, having
to run up-hill, has necessarily a very slow current.' _Draper's
Conflict between Religion and Science_, p. 65.
[I-2] In answer to the question: 'What was God doing before he made
the heaven and the earth? for, if at any particular moment he began to
employ himself, that means time, not eternity. In eternity nothing
happens--the whole is present.' St Augustine caustically remarks: 'I
will not answer this question by saying that he was preparing hell for
pryers into his mysteries.'
[I-3] The teachings of the Church were beyond controversy, the
decisions of the Church were final; and not only in religion but in
legislation and in science 'the pervading principle was a blind
unhesitating credulity.' See _Buckle's Civilization_, vol. i., p. 307.
The Bishop of Darien once quoted Plato in the presence of Las Casas.
"Plato," Las Casas replied, "was a Gentile, and is now burning in
hell, and we are only to make use of his doctrine as far as it is
consistent with our holy Faith and Christian customs." _Helps' Life of
Las Casas_, p. 120.
[I-4] As an example of the intolerance displayed by these early
writers, and of the bitterness with which they attacked those few
thinkers who dared to theorize without letting theological dogmas
stand in their way, I translate the following passage from García, who
is one of the most comprehensive writers upon the origin of the
Americans: 'We would like not even to remember the unworthy opinions
of certain veritable blasphemers, more barbarous than the Indians,
which do not even deserve the name of opinions, but rather of follies:
namely, that, perhaps, the first Indians might have been generated
from the earth, or from its putrefaction, aided by the sun's heat, as
(Avicena allowing this production to be easy in men) Andres Cisalpino
attempted to make credible, giving them less perfection than
Empedocles, who said that men had been born like the wild amaranth, if
we believe Marcus Varron.... Of the formation of man, though of straw
and mud, the people of Yucatan, had light; which nonsense is not
inferior to the attempts of those who made men by means of chemistry,
or magic (described by Solorcano) giving it to be understood that
there may be others besides the descendants of Adam, contrary to the
teachings of scripture: for which reason Taurelo feels indignant
against Cisalpino, whose attempt would be reprehensible even as a
paradox. Not less scandalous was the error of the ignorant Paracelso,
according to Reusnero and Kirchero, who left to posterity an account
of the creation of two Adams, one in Asia, and another in the West
Indies; an inexcusable folly in one who had (though corruptly)
information of the Catholic doctrine. Not less erroneous is the
opinion of Isaac de La Peyrere, who placed people on the earth before
Adam was created, from whom, he said, descended the heathen; from
Adam, the Hebrews; which folly was punished with eternal contempt by
Felipe Priorio, Juan Bautista Morino, Juan Hilperto, and others,
Danhavero giving it the finishing stroke by an epitaph, as Dicterico
relates: although some of the parties named state that La Peyrere
became repentant and acknowledged his error, and did penance, which
the Orientals, from whom he took that absurdity, have not done. These,
and others of the same nature, may not be held as opinions, but as
evidences of blindness published by men of doubtful faith, wise, in
their own esteem, and deceivers of the world, who, with lies and
fraud, oppose the divine word, as St Clemens Alexandrinus says,
closing their ears to truth, and blindfolding themselves with their
vices, for whom contempt is the best reward.' _Orígen de los Ind._, p.
248. García spent nine years in Peru, devoting himself to the study of
three points: the history of the natives before the arrival of the
Spaniards, the origin of the natives, and t
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