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]
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.
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.
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.
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]
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]
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.
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]
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]
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]
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]
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.
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]
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]
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]
THEORY OF ORIGIN FROM CHINESE.
THE COUNTRY OF FUSANG.
The theory that western America was originally
peopled by the Chinese, or at least that the greater
part of the New World civilization may be attributed
to this people, is founded mainly on a passage in the
work of the Chinese historian Li yan tcheou, who
lived at the commencement of the seventh century of
our era. In this passage it is stated that a Chinese
expedition discovered a country lying twenty thousand
li to the east of Tahan, which was called Fusang.[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]
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.
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]
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]
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.
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]
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 Hallelujah."
Resemblances are found to exist between the
Peruvian feast of the sun, and other similar Asiatic
festivals. In Peru, hunters formed a circle round the
quarry, in the country of Genghis they did the same.
The organization of the army was much the same in
Peru as in the country of the Khans; the weapons
and musical instruments were also very similar. In
the city of Cuzco, not far from the hill where the
citadel stood, was a portion of land called colcampata,
which none were permitted to cultivate except
those of royal blood. At certain seasons the
Incas turned up the sod here, amid much rejoicing
and many ceremonies. "A great festival is solemnized
every year, in all the cities of China, on the
day that the sun enters the fifteenth degree of Aquarius.
The emperor, according to the custom of the
ancient founders of the Chinese monarchy, goes himself
in a solemn manner to plough a few ridges of
land. Twelve illustrious persons attend and plough
after him."[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]
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]
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]
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]
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]
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.
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]
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.
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]
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]
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?
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]
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]
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]
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]
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.
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.
THE JEWS IN AMERICA.
JEWISH ANALOGIES.
It has been argued, in opposition to the Hebrew
theory, that the Jews were physically and intellectually
the finest race in the world, while the
Americans are probably the lowest. But in answer
to this it may be stated that the finest among the
Jews belonged to the tribes of Judah and Benjamin,
which were not among the so-called lost tribes;
though, even if we admit that the ten tribes were
physically and intellectually equal to these two, may
we not fairly suppose that their temperament and
physique would be changed by dwelling for a length
of time in the different environment of America.
True, Dr San Juan attempts to prove that the good
effect of the manna on which the Israelites lived for
forty years, was such that it would take four thousand
years to obliterate it; but though this might
hold true in the case of those Jews who went to Spain
and other temperate climes, it would probably be different
with those who came to America; it is, besides,
likely that the change in the race was a special
act of God.[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.
KINGSBOROUGH'S ARGUMENTS.
The more prominent of the analogies adduced by
Lord Kingsborough may be briefly enumerated as
follows:
HEBREW AND AMERICAN ANALOGIES.
The religion of the Mexicans strongly resembled
that of the Jews, in many minor details, as will be
presently seen, and the two were practically alike, to
a certain extent, in their very foundation; for, as
the Jews acknowledged a multitude of angels, archangels,
principalities, thrones, dominions, and powers,
as the subordinate personages of their hierarchy, so
did the Mexicans acknowledge the unity of the Deity
in the person of Tezcatlipoca, and at the same time
worship a great number of other imaginary beings.
Both believed in a plurality of devils subordinate to
one head, who was called by the Mexicans Mictlantecutli,
and by the Jews Satan. Indeed, it seems
that the Jews actually worshiped and made offerings
to Satan as the Mexicans did to their 'god of hell.'
It is probable that the Toltecs were acquainted with
the sin of the first man, committed at the suggestion
of the woman, herself deceived by the serpent, who
tempted her with the fruit of the forbidden tree,
who was the origin of all our calamities, and by
whom death came into the world.[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]
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]
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]
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.
NEPHITES AND LAMANITES.
The Lamanites, on the contrary, by reason of the
hardness of their hearts, were from the first deserted
of God. Before their backsliding they were white
and comely as the Nephites; but in consequence of
the divine curse, they sank into the lowest barbarism.
Implacable enemies of the Nephites, they waged war
against that people, and strove by every means in
their power to destroy them. But they were gradually
repulsed with great loss, and the innumerable
tumuli which are still to be seen in all parts of the
two Americas, cover the remains of the warriors slain
in these bloody conflicts.
The second colony of Hebrews, mentioned above,
bore the name of Zarahemla. They also had many
civil wars, and as they had not brought any historical
records with them from Jerusalem, they soon fell
into a state of atheism. At the time when they
were discovered by the Nephites they were very
numerous, but lived in a condition of semi-barbarism.
The Nephites, however, united themselves with
them, and taught them the sacred Scriptures, so that
before long the two nations became as one. Shortly
afterwards the Nephites built several vessels, by
means of which they sent expeditions towards the
north, and founded numerous colonies. Others emigrated
by land, and in a short time the whole of
the northern continent was peopled. At this time
North America was entirely destitute of wood, the
forests having been destroyed by the Jaredites, the
first colonists, who came from the tower of Babel;
but the Nephites constructed houses of cement and
brought wood by sea from the south; taking care,
besides, to cultivate immense plantations. Large
cities sprang up in various parts of the continent,
both among the Lamanites and the Nephites. The
latter continued to observe the law of Moses; numerous
prophets arose among them; they inscribed
their prophecies and historical annals on plates of
gold or other metal, and upon various other materials.
They discovered also the sacred records of the
Jaredites, engraved on plates of gold; these they
translated into their own language, by the help of
God and the Urim Thummim. The Jaredite archives
contained the history of man from the creation
of the world to the building of the tower of Babel,
and from that time to the total destruction of the
Jaredites, embracing a period of thirty-four or thirty-five
centuries. They also contained the marvelous
prophecies which foretold what would happen in the
world until the end of all things, and the creation of
a new heaven and a new earth.
THE BOOK OF MORMON.
The Nephites were informed of the birth and
death of Christ by certain celestial and terrestrial
phenomena, which had long before been predicted
by their prophets. But in spite of the numerous
blessings which they had received, they fell at
length from grace, and were terribly punished for
their ingratitude and wickedness. A thick darkness
covered the whole continent; earthquakes cast
mountains into valleys; many towns were swallowed
up, and others were destroyed by fire from heaven.
Thus perished the most perverse among the Nephites
and Lamanites, to the end that the blood of the
saints and prophets might no longer cry out from the
earth against them. Those who survived these judgments
received a visit from Christ, who, after his
ascension, appeared in the midst of the Nephites, in
the northern part of South America. His instructions,
the foundation of a new law, were engraved on
plates of gold, and some of them are to be found in
the Book of Mormon; but by far the greater part of
them will be revealed only to the saints, at a future
time.
When Christ had ended his mission to the Nephites,
he ascended to heaven, and the apostles designated
by him went to preach his gospel throughout
the continent of America. In all parts the Nephites
and Lamanites were converted to the Lord, and for
three centuries they lived a godly life. But toward
the end of the fourth century of the Christian era,
they returned to their evil ways, and once more they
were smitten by the arm of the Almighty. A terrible
war broke out between the two nations, which
ended in the destruction of the ungrateful Nephites.
Driven by their enemies towards the north and
north-west, they were defeated in a final battle near
the hill of Cumorah,[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]
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]
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.
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.
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]
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]
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]
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]
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]
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.
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]
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]
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.
