IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 1.1 1.25 laHi 12.5 itt 122 i2.2 2* |]4 ■■■ us 111 uo yuu IJ4 lliif& Photographic Sdmces Corporation ■1:.'^ ^\ I. 23 WIST MAIN STMIT WIUTIR.N.Y. MStCI (716) •71-4:03 \ CIHM/ICMH Microfiche Series. CIHM/ICMH Collection de microfiches. Canadian Institute for Historical IMicroreproductions / Institut Canadian de microreproductions historiques Technical and Bibliographic Notes/Notes tachniques at bibliographiquaa The instituta haa attamptad to obtain tha baat original copy availabia for filming. Faaturas of thia copy which may ba bibliographically uniqua, which may altar any of tha imagas in tha reproduction, or which may aignif icantly change the uauai method of filming, are checked below. D D D D Coloured covera/ Couvarture de couleur I I Covera damaged/ D Couverture endommagte Covera reatorad and/or laminated/ Couverture reataurte et/ou peliiculte I I Cover title miaaing/ La titra da couverture manque I I Coloured mapa/ Cartea giographiquaa an couleur □ Coloured inic (i.e. other than blue or blacic)/ Encre de couleur (i.e. autre qua bleue ou noire) I I Coloured platea and/or illuatrationa/ Planchaa et/ou illuatrationa en couleur Bound with other material/ Rail* avac d'autrea documanta Tight binding may cauae ahadowa or diatortion along interior margin/ La re llure aerrte peut cauaar da I'ombre ou de la diatortion la long de la marge IntArieure Blanit iaavea added during reatoration may appear within the text. Whenever poaaibie. theae have been omitted from filming/ 11 aa peut que certainaa pagea blanchea ajoutiea lore d'una reatauration apparaiaaant dana la texte, mala, loraqua cela Atait poaaibie, cea pagea n'ont pea AtA fllmAea. Additional commanta:/ Commantairea auppl^mantairaa: L'Inatitut a microfilm^ la meilleur exemplaire qu'il lui a At6 poaaibie de ae procurer. Lea ditaiia de cet exemplaire qui aont paut-Atre uniquea du point da vue bibliographique, qui peuvent modifier une image reproduite, ou qui peuvent exiger une modification dana la m^thoda normale de fllmaga aont indiquAa ci-daaaoua. □ Coloured pagea/ Pagea de couleur □ Pagea damaged/ Pagea andommagtea pn Pagea reatorad and/or laminated/ D Pagea reataurtea et/ou pelllcultea Pagea diacoiourad, atainad or foxa« Pagea dicolor^aa, tachatAea ou piqutea Pagea detached/ Pagea ditachtea Showthroughy Tranaparance Quality of prir Qualiti InAgala de I'impreaaion Includea aupplamentary materli Comprend du material auppMmantaira Only edition available/ Seule Mitlon diaponible r~7| Pagea diacoiourad, atainad or foxed/ I I Pagea detached/ rri Showthrough/ rn Quality of print variea/ I I Includea aupplamentary material/ I — I Only edition available/ Pagea wholly or partially obacurad by errata alipa, tiaauaa, etc., have been refilmed to enaure the beat poaaibie image/ Lea pagea totalement ou partiallement obacurciaa par un faulllet d'errata, una pelure, etc., ont At* filmAea A nouveau de fapon h obtenir la meilleure image poaaibie. ThIa Item la filmed at the reduction ratio checked below/ Ce document eat film* au taux da reduction IndlquA ci-daaaoua. 10X 14X 18X 22X 26X 30X ^ni 12X 16X 20X 24X 28X 32X Rtails du todifier r una Imago 88 Tha copy filmod hora haa baan raproducod thanka to tha ganaroaity of: University of Windsor Tha Imagas appaaring hara ara tha baat quality posaibia considaring tha condition and lagiblllty of tha original copy and in kaaping with tha filming contract spacifications. Original copiaa in printad papar covara ara fllmad baglnning with tha front eovar and anding on tha Ia8t paga with a printad or iiiuatratad Impraa- sion, or tha back covar whan approprlata. All othar original copiaa ara fllmad baglnning on tha f irat paga with a printad or iiiuatratad Impraa- aion, and anding on tha laat paga with a printad or iiiuatratad imprasaton. Tha iaat racordad frama on aach microficha shall contain tha aymbol — ^> (moaning "CON- TINUED"), or tha aymbol ▼ (moaning "END"), whichavar appllas. L'axamplaira filmA fut raprodult grAca A la giniroaitA da: University of Windsor Laa imagas suivantaa ont At* raproduitas avac la plu8 grand aoin, compta tanu da la condition at da la nattatA da l'axamplaira film*, at an conformity avac las conditions du contrat da fllmaga. Laa axamplairas originaux dont la couvartura en paplar aat imprimAa aont filmte wn commangant par la pramiar plat at Bn tarminant soit par ia darniira paga qui comporta una amprainte d'Imprasslon ou d'illuatration, soit par la sacond plat, aalon lo caa. Toua las autras axampiairaa originaux sont filmte an commandant par ia pramlAra paga qui comporta una amprainta d'impraaaion ou d'illuatration at 9n tarminant par la darniira paga qui comporta una taila amprainta. Un daa aymbolaa sulvants apparaftra sur ia darnlAra imaga da chaqua microficha, salon ia caa: la aymboia — »- aignifia "A SUIVRE". la aymbolo ▼ aignifia "FIN". iVIapa, plataa, charta, ate, may ba fllmad at diffarant raduction ratioa. Thoaa too larga to bo antlraly included In ona axpoaura ara filmed beginning in the upper left hand corner, left to right and top to bottom, as many framea aa required. The following diagrama iiluatrata the method: Lea cartea, planchaa, tableaux, etc., peuvent Atre filmAa A daa taux da rMuctlon diff Arants. Loraque la document eat trop grand pour Atre reproduit en un aaul cllchA, 11 eat filmA A partir da I'angle aupAriaur gauche, do gauche A droite, et do haut en baa, en prenant la nombre d'imagea nAcassaire. Las diagrammea sulvants llluatrant la mAthode. errata ito a pelura, ion A n 32X 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 i f,-f ^ ^ i ^, '/:>.-- lU AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES, ASD DISCOVERIES IN THE WEST : »■ BEING AN T3XHIBITI0N OF TH". EVIDENCE ^ Lit) 0V> ■V \ THAT AM AKCIEIVT POPc^ATION OF PARTIALLY CIVILIZED NATIONS, DIFFERING ENTIRELY FROM THOSE OF THE PRESENT IN- r:ANS, PEOPLED AMERICA, MANY CENTURIES BEFORB> ITS DISCOVERV BY COLUMBUS. \^' ASD ~ ZITQUXRXBS INTO THEIR OllXOXir, WJTU A » COPIOUS DESCRIPTION Of inauy of their stapcndvuti Works* now In rulni* ;■ ,• -^ WITH ■ ' I CONJKCXrRES C NCERNING WHAT MAF HAVE . "^ BECOME OF THHM. ,;. ; •• COMPILED » '%0M TRAVELS, AUTHENTIC SOURC ..■,7:^ S, AND THE HESEARCHBI »4 ilntfiiuairfati Socittfefii. BY JOSIAH PRIEST > ,. >'^. \ • \ ALRAJVV: PRINTED BY PACKARD, HOFFMAN AND WHITB, No. 71, State-Street. " « ♦ '" - 1888. ■M: • ».i--;4 :n Entered according to the Act of Congriss, in the year of our Lord 1838, by JofiAH Pbiest, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the Northern Slitrict of New-Yorlt. •"'.V-"^f iU ^ir< PREFACE. 4 TiiE volume now laid before the public, is submitted under the fiill uad |jlea8ing hope tliat it will not be unacceptable, although the subject of the An- tiquities of America is every where surrounded with its mysteries ; on which account, we have been compelled to wander widely in the field of conjecture, from which it is not impossible but we may have gathered and presented some original and novel opinions. AVe have felt that we are bo\md by the nature of the subject, to treat wholly on those mattei-s which relate to af;es preceding the discovery of America by Columbus; as we apprehend that no subject connected with the history of the continent since, can be entitled to the appellation of Antiquities of America. If we may be permitted to judge from the liberal subscription this work has met wilh, notwithstanding the universal prejudice against subscribing for books, we should draw the conclusion, tliat this curious subject, h'a.^ not its only admi- rers within the pales of Arttiquarian Societies, which are composed of the wealthiest and most talented men of the age. If it is pleasing as well as useful to know the history of one's country, if to feel a rising interest as its beginnings are unfolded; its sufferings, its wars, its struggles, and its victories, delineated; why not also, when the stoiy of its an* liquities, though of a graver and more majestic nature, are attempted to be re- hearsed. The.traits of the antiquities^f the old world are every where shown by the fragments of dilapidated cities, pyramids of stone, and walls of wondrous length; but here are the wrecks of empire, whose beginnings it would seem, are older than any of these, which arc the mounds and works of the west, towering aloft as if their builders Vrcrn preparing against another flood. -'** We have undertaken to elicit arguments, from what we suppose evidence, that tne first inhabitants who peopled America, came on by land, at certain places, where it is supposed once to have been united with Asia, Europe, and Africa, but has been torn asunder by the force of earthquakes, and the imip" tions of the waters, so tliat what animals had not passed over before this great physical rupture, were forever excluded; but not so with men, as they cou!4 resort to Ihe use of boats. .C, I 249235 IV il % i Wa have gathereil sUcli evidence nn i)iduccs a belief that America was an* cilently, inhabited witli partially civilized and agricultural nations, surpassing in numben, its present )inpulution. This, we imagine, we prove, in the discovery of thousands of the tiraitfl of the ancient opcrationB of men over the entire cultivated parts of the continent, in the forms and under the character of mounds and fortifications, abounding particularly in the western regions. We have also ventured conjectures respecting what nations, in some few in- stances, may have settled here ; also what may have become of them. We have entered on an examination of some of those works, and of aomc of the articles found on opening some few of their tumuli; which we have compared with simi- lar articles found in similar works in various parts of the other continents, fromi which very curious results arc ascertained. As it respects some of the ancient nations who may have found their way hither, we perceive a strong probability, that not only Asiatic nations, very soon at'ter the flood, but that also, all along the different eras of time, different races of men, as Polynesians, Malays, Australasians, Phoenicians, Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, Israelites, Tartars, Scandinavians, Danes, Norwegians, Welch, and Scotch, have colonized different parts of the continent. We have also attempted to show that America v as peopled before the flood; that it was the country of Noali, and Uie place where the Ark was erected. The highly interesting subject of American Antiquities, we are inclined to be- lieve, is but just commencing to be developed. The immensity of country yet beyond the settlements of men, toward the Pacific, is yet to be explored by cul- tivation, when otlier evidences, and wider spread, will come to view, affording, perhaps, more definite conclusions. As aids in maturing this volume, we have consulted the works of philosophers, historians, travellers, geographers, and gazcttei-s witli miscellaneous notices on this subject, as found in the periodicals of the day. The subject has proved as difficult as mysterious; any disorder and inaccuracies, therefore, in point of in- ferences which wc have made, we beg may not become the subjects of the se verities of criticism. If, however, we should succeed in awakening a desire to a furtlier investiga- tion of this curious subject, and should have the singular happiness of securing any degree of public respect, and of giving the subscriber an equivalent for his patronage, the utmost of the desires of the author will be realized. JOSIAH PRIEST. ■%% CONTENTS 'estiga- icuring for hit Page. Location of Mount Ararat, from whence the earth was peo- pled a second time, 9 ^Signification of the names of the sons of Noah • • • • 10 Supposed origin of human complexions, 11, 289, 293 Division of the earth among the sons of Noah, by his will ; and its physical diyision afterwards, by convulsions, 18 Supposed identity and real name of Melchisidek of the Scrip- tures, with the location of the garden of Eden, 20 Countries inhabited by the immediate descendants of the sons Noah, with the nations proceeding from them, 30 Antiquities of the west, consisting of mounds, tumuli, and for- tifications, 35 Works supposed to have been erected by the ancient Romans in Ohio, 38 Conjectures bow the Romans may have found America, and at what era, ' 42 Discovery of a subterranean cavity of mason work, supposed to have been erected by one of the admirals of Alexaniler in America, 300 years before the Christian era,« • ..... ... 44 Discovery of subterranean fire places on the shores of the C 'aio, ^i'ith conjectures about their origin, 49 Discovery of a curious cup of earthen ware, on opening a mound at Cincinnati, * 50 Dr. Adam Clark's observations on the mounds in Russia, ivith traits of a Hindoo population in America, 53 Great number of aboriginal mounds, many of which are filled ' - with human bones, 5S Course of the Ten lost Tribes of ancient Israel, from Syria to the supposed land of Asareth, 57 Conjectures respecting an ancient union of Europe and Ameri- ca, on the northwest, with historical notices of remarkable convulsions of tho earth, Gl -f iA'i m ■ r Tli CONTKNT9 Pagi, Supposed traitR of the lost Ten Tribes, found in f.apland, the northern part of Europe, 64 Traits of the ancient Israelites found iu Pitts6eld, Mass. 68 Recent discovery of a vast body of the ancient Israelites in the central parts of Asia, supposed to be a part of the lost Ten Tribes, 70 A further account of the convulsions of the globe, with the re- moval of islands, and of the island Atalantis, by Plato,. • • • • 76 Ancient works near Brounville, Pennsylvania, a sculptured stone, &c. 80 Comparison of the mounds of the west, with discoveries of the kind in Europe ; an account of the Celtic druids, and of the sacred Misletce, &c. 85 Discoveries of ancient works on the Muskingum, with many curious articles, 85 Traits of furnaces, and foundations of ancient buildings,- • • • • 95 Great works of the ancient nations, at Zanesville, Ohio, 99 Discovery of considerable quantities of mctalic pyrites, hidden by the ancient nations, with conjectures concerning their use, 100 Discoveries of specimens of ancient potteiy, with several curi- riously circumstanced human skeletons, at Tawanda, Pa. • • 107 Supposed origin of the prairies of the west, ..••. Ill Discovery of a catacomb of mummies in ICentucky, supposed to be the traits of an Egyptian colony, wilh conjectures how they may have found this country, Ill A further account of western antiquities, \vith antediluvian traits, 118 Conjectures how the fountains of the great deep were broken up, at the time of the deluge, with reasons for supposing the Ark was built in America, 121 The skeleton of a whale discovered in Virginia, with other marine traits, sixty miles from the ocean, 137 Discovery of an ivory image, representing the entire figure of a young mother, and an in'ant in her arms, with other cu- rious articles, 129 Supposed line of kings in the west, from the discovery of two skeletons under peculiar circumstances, 132 Discovery of two remarkably sculptured stones, executed by the ancient nations of America, 133 »' i CONTENTf VII Pag« 64 68 70 76 80 85 85 95 99 107 111 111 118 121 137 129 132 133 135 136 143 150 163 157 160 162 Discoveries about the Mediterranean and central parts of Afri- ca, which are imitated in America, The robber cave on the Ohio, used as such in the time of tlie revolution, with sculptured M'orks of the ancient nations, found in this cave, Copious account of the bones and size of the mammoth found in the west, Tracks of men and animals, found impressed in solid stone, •• Cotubamana, the giant chief, Further accounts of discoveries in the west, Great works of the ancients on the Muskingum river, Ruins of ancient works at Circleville, Ohio, Ancient works on Paint Creek, 166 A recent discovery of one of those ancient works, among the AUeghanies, • 169 Of tlie western tumuli and mounds, and articles found in thorn, 170 Great works of the ancients, on the north fork of Paint Creek, 187 Traits of ancient cities on the Mississippi, 190 Traditions of the Alexican natives respecting their migrations from the north, 193 Supposed uses of the ancient roads connected with tha mounds, 197 Mount Joliet, the largest artificial work of the kind in the U. S. 201 Distance from Mount Ararat, where the Ark rested, to the United States, by the way of Bhering's Strait, 203 Mexican traditions respecting Noah's flood, 206 Tradition of the white and bearded men, among the Tahec Indians of IMexico, v/ho were law givers, 207 Of Zoroaster and Confucius, authors of fire worship, 209 Description of the ceremonies of fire worship, as practised by certain tribes on tlie Arkansas, 212 Origin of fire worship, 216 Further account of western antiquities, 217 Discovery of America by the northern people of Europe, as '' the Scandinavians, Welch, &c., traTts of them found here, 229 A further account of European settlements in America, 254 A further account of western antiquities, 257 Description of implements found in the tupiuli of the west,' • • 261 Conjectures as to what may have become of the ancient nations, 266 Great size of some of the mounds found in Mexico, 263 Predilection of the ancients to pyramid building, 270 ViU « ONTKNTS. Page. tti further account of western disoovcrios, 27r> Opiuious of various antiquarians respecting original inhabitants, 27*J Further remarks on the subject of human complexions, 289 On the human complexions, with other interesting subjects* • 293 Cannibals in America, - 209 Tradition of ancient settlements on the river Tizan or Colum- bia, which is beyond the Rocky Mountains, 302 Supposed wars of the Scandinavians with the ancient ludians, in Onondaga, some hundred years before Columbus' birth, 30G Esquioieaux Indians derived from Europeans 312 Draining, or the disappearance of many of the ancient lakes, 321 Further remarks on the draining of the ancient lakes, &c. • . • • 337 Health of the ancient nations affected by the draining, &c. • • • 342 Lake Ontario formed by a volcano, 345 Resemblance of the western Indians to the ancient Greeks, 350 Origin of funeral fires among the Indians, 357 The Indian Hunter, or Chippewa Chief, 362 The two Ghosts, or Hospitality rewarded, 364 The Indian Prophet's Prediction, 372 Stratagem of Pontiac to massacre the garrison at Detroit, 376 Remarkable society among the Naudawassec Indians, 380 The Esqnimeaux Wizard,>--.l^- » ;C : .. ■ V. .\\- ism*! . m Page .. '27!) Its, 27U ... 289 ».. 293 . . . 299 ura- . .. 302 ians, •irth, 306 .... 3ia akes, 321 ;..... 337 c.... 342 345 reeks, 350 357 ... 362 • • • • • • • 364 372 ... 380 ... 384 ... 391 ^ .... 396 AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES AND DISCOVERIES IN THE WEST. A lofty summit, on a range of mountains called Ararat, in Asia, furnished the resting place of the Ark, which contained the pro- genitors of both man and animals, who have replenished the Globe sJnce the era of the Deluge. Ararat, is a chain of mountains, running partly round the South- em end of the Caspian, and is situated between the Caspian, and the Black Seas ; in latitude north, of about 38, agreeing with the middle of the United States, and is from London a distance of about two thousand four hundred miles, in a south-easterly course, and from the City of Albany, in the United States, is nearly six thou- i sand, in an exact easterly direction, and the same latitude, except a variation of but three degrees south. We have been thus particular to d€8:ribe the exact situation as generally allowed of that range of mountains; because from this place, which is nearly on the western end of tlie Asiatic continent, Noah and his posterity descended, and spread themselves ovet many parts of the earth, and as we suppose, even to America, t8*^ newing the race of man, who well nigh had become extinct (torn the devastation and ruin of the universal flood. \ The sons of Noah were tkree^ as stated in the book of Genesis; between whose descendants the whole earth in process of time, ' — j i r'""" 'T' .y 10 AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES i\. I »::. !|i I I •#* became divided. This division appears to have taken place, in the earliest ages of the jirst nations after the flood, in such manner as to suit, or correspond with the several constitutions of those nations, in a physical sense, as well as with a reference to the va- rious complexions of the descendants of these three, heads of the human race. This preparation of the nations, respecting animal constitution and colour, at the fountain head, must have been directed by the hand of the Creator ; in an arbitrary manner, by Avliich not only his Sovereignty, as the govenor of our earth with all its tribes is mani- fest, but also His wisdom. ; because the same constitution and com- plexion, which is suited to the temperate and frigid zones of the globe, could not endure the burning climates of tlie torrid; so nei- ther are the constitutions of the equatorial nations, so tempered as to enjoy the snowy and ice bound regions in the high latitudes north and south of the equator. The very names, or words , Shem, Ham, and Japheth, were in the language of Noah, which was probably the pure Hebrew ; in some sense significant of their future national character, and pros- perity. We proceed to show in what sense their names were de- scriptive, prospectively of their several destinies in the earth, as well also as that Ham, was the very name of his colour, or complexion. The word SJiem, says Dr.Clark, signifies renown, in the language of Noah ; which, as that great man now no more, remarks, has been wonderfully fulfilled, both in a temporal and spiritual sense. In a temporal sense, first, as follows. His posterity spread them- selves over the finest regions of upper and middle Asia, Armenia, Mesopotamia, Assyria, Media, Persia, and the Indus, Ganges, and possibly to China, still more eastward. **-'At: The word Japheth, which was the name of Noah's third son, has also its meaning, and signifies, according to the same author, that which may be exceedingly enlarged, and was capable of spreading to a vast extent. -m Vw?^.,r-.-:- ■■*■ ^ c^i - :. ' , . r. AND DISCOVERIES IN THE WEST- If ace, in manner >f those the va- s of the istitution i hy the t only his s is mani- and com- ics of the d; sonei- jmpered as h latitudes |h, were in lebrew, in L audpros- [S were de- irth,asweU jomplsxion. le language [marks, has itual sense. »read them- ,, Armenia, ranges, and livd son, has (author, that jf spreading His posterity diverged eastward, and westward, from Ararat^ throughout the whole extent of Asia, north of the great range of the Taurus, and Ararat mountains, as far as to the Eastern Ocean ; whence, as he supposes, they crossed over into America, at the Straits of Bhering, and in the opposite direction from those mountains, throughout Europe, to the Mediterranean Sea south from Ararat ; and to the, Atlantic Ocean west, from the same region ; whence also, they might have passed over to America, by the way of Ice- land, Greenland, and so on to the continent, along the coast of Lab- rador, where traces of early settlements remain, in parts now desert. Thus did Japheth enlarge himself, till his posterity literally encompas- passed the earth, from latitude 35 north, and upward, toward the pole. The word Ham, signified that which was burnt, or black. The posterity of this son of Noah, peopled the hot regions of the earth, on either side the equator. But as it respects the complexions of these heads of the nations of the earth, we remark as follows : Shem was undoubtedly a red or copper coloured man, which was the complexion of all the Ante- deluvians. This conclusion is drawn from the fact, that tlie nations inhabit- ing the countries named as being settled or peopled by the descend- ants of Shem, have alv/ays been, and now are, of that cast. We deem this fact as conclusive, that such was also their progenitor, Shem, as that the great and distinguishing features and complexion of nations change not, so as to disappear. Shem was the father of the Jewish race, who are of the same hue, varying it is true, some being of a darker, and some of a lighter shade, arising from secret and undefinable principles, placed beyond the research of man, and also from amalgamations by marriages with white, and with the dark- er nations, as the African. But to corroborate our opinion, that the Antedeluvians were of a red, or copper complexion, we bring the well known statement of Josephus, that Adam the fira{ of men was a W i S -«&; •"-yrrp » AMBniCAN ANTIQUITIES •r red man, made of red earth, called virgin earth because of its beau- t^ and pureness. The very word Adaniy he also says, signifies that colour which is red. To this account, the tradition of the Jews cor- lespohds, who, as they are the people most concerned, should be allowed to know most about it. Shem, therefore, must have been a red man, derived from the eomplexi3n of the first of men, Adam. And his posterity, as above described, are accordingly of the same complexion; this is well known of all the Jews, unmixed with those nations that are fairer, as attested by history, and the traveller of every age, in the coun> tries they inhabit. The word jfifam, which was the name of the second son of Noah, IB the word which was dascriptive of the colour which is blacky or burnt. This we show, from the testimony of Dr. Hales, of Eng- land, who was a celebrated natural philosopher and a mathematician, of the 17th century, who is quoted by Adam Clark, to show that the word Ham, in the language of Noah, which was that of the Antedeluvians, was the tenn for that which was black. It is not possible, from authority so high and respectable, that doubts can exist respecting the legitimacy of this word, and of its ancient application, as we have argued. Accordingly, as best suit- ed to the complexion of the descendants of Hairiy the hot regions of the equator were allotted to thoae nations. To the Cushites, the southern climes of Asia, along the coast of Uie Persian Gulf, Susiane, or Cushistan, Arabia, Canaan, Palestine, Syria, Egypt and Lybia, in Africa. These countries were settled by the posterity of Ham, who were, and now are, of a glossy black. But the vast variety of shades and hues of the human face are de- rived from amalgamations of the three original complexions, red, black, and white. This was the act of God, giving to the three fersons, upon whom the earth's popiflation depended, by way of perpetuity, such complexions, and animal constitutions, as should AND DISCOVERIES IN THE WEST. 18 bew- vscor- luld be rom the s above is well fairer, as le coun- of Noab, blacky or , of Eng- ematician, show that hat of the table, that and of it» best suit- regions of ae coast of I, Palestine, lere settled hi a glossy jface are de- Uions, red, lothe three I, by way of Is, as should be best suited to the several climes, which he intended, in the pro» gress of his providence, they should inhabit- The people of these countries, inhabited respectively by these heads of the nations, Shem, Hani, and Japheth, still retain, in full force, the ancient, pristine rf'd, while, and black complexions, ex- cept where each have intruded upon the other, and became scat- tered, and mingled, in some degree, over the earth. Accordingly, among the African nations, in their own proper countries, now and then a colony of whites have fixed their dwellings. Among the red nations, are found here and there, as on some of the islands of the Pacific, the pure African, and both the black and the red, are found among the white nations, but now much more than in the ear- liest ages, a general amalgamation, of tlie three original colours, exists. Much has been written to establish the doctrine of the influence of climate aadfood, in producing the vast extremes, between a fair and ruddy white, and a jet black. But this mode of reasoning to establish the origin of the human complexion, we imagine, very in- conclusive and unsatisfactory ; as, it is found, that no distance of space, lapse of ages, change of diet, or of countries, can possibly "remove the Leopard's spots, or change the Ethiopian's skin." No lapse of ag'js has been known to change a white man or his pos- terity to the exact hue or shape of an African, although the hottest rays of the burning climes of Africa may have scorched hi"*" ages unnumbered, and its soil have fed him with its roots and ben' ^n equal length of time. It is granted, however, that a white man with his posterity will tan very dark, by the heat of the sun ; but it never can alter, as it never has, materially altered, the shape of his face, from that which was characteristic of his nation, or people ; nor the form of his limbs, nor curled his hair, turning it to a tcoo/, provided always, the blood be kept pure and unmixed, by marriages with the African. .Power in the decomposition of food, by the human stomach, doea not exist of sufficient force to overturn the deep foundation of cautu 14 AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES established in the very germ of being, by Ihe ('roator. The cir- cumstance of what a man may eat, or wliere he may chance to breatlie, cannot derange the economy of first principles. Were it so, it were not a hard matter, for the poor African, if he did but know this choice trait of philosophy, to take hope and shake off en- tirely, his unfortunate skin, in process of time, and no longer be exposed, solely on that account, to slavery, chains, and wretch- edness. But the inveteracy of complexion against the operation of climate, is evinced by the following as related by Morse. On the eastern coast of Africa, in latitude five north, are found jet black, tawny, olive, and white inhabitants, all speaking the same language, which is the Arabic. This particular part of Africa is called the Maga- doxo kingdom : the inhabitants are a stout, warlike nation, of the Mahometan religion. Here it appears, is permanent evidence, that climate or food have no effect in materially changing the hues of complexion, each retaining their own original tincture ; even the tchite is found as stubborn in this torrid sky, as the black in the northern countries. The whites found there, are the descendants of the ancient Ro- mans, Carthagenians, Vandals, and Goths ; who were, it is asserted by John Leo, the African who wrote a description of Africa in Ara- bic, all anciently comprehended under the general name of Mavri or Moors, as well as the black Moors themselves. (Morse's Uni. Geo. vol. ii. pp. 754, 781.) Shem, according to the commonly received opinion, was the eld- est son of Noah ; and as the complexion of this child did not differ from that of other children bom before the flood, all of whom are supposed to have been red, or of the copper hue, on the ground of Adam's complexion; Noah did not therefore, name the child at first sight, from any extraordinary impulse, arising from any singu- lar appearance in the complexion, but rather, as it was his first bom son, he called him SheMf that is, renown, which name agrees, in a AND DISCOVERIES IN THE WEST. 16 surprising mauuer, with what we have hereafter to relate, respect- ing this character. The impulse in the mind of Noah whicli moved him to call this first son of his, Shemj or renown, may have been similar to that of the patriarch, Jacob, respecting his first born son. He says, Reu- btn, thou art my first born, my might, and the beginning of ray strength, the excellency of dignity and the excellency of power. The ideas are similar, both leading to the same consequence ; in one case, it is renown, in the other, the excellency of power, which is equivalent to renown, all of which, in both cases, arises from the mere circumstance of those children being the first bom. It is not unusual for parents to feel this sensation, on the birth of 9. first child, especially if it be a son; however it is not impossible but the prophetic spirit moved Noah so to name this son by the ex- traordinary appellation, rcnovm, or Sfiem ; and the chief trait of ce- lebrity which was to attach itself to the character of Shem was to arise out of the fact of his being the type of the Messiah ; and the time was to come when this person, after the flood should have passed away, would be the only antedeluvian survivor ; on which account, all mankind, must, of necessity, by natural and mutual consent, look up to this man with extraordinary veneration. - '. By examining the chronological account of the Jewish records, we find the man Shem lived five hundred years after the flood, and that he over lived Abraham about forty years. So that he was not only the oldest man on the earth at that time, but also, the only surviving antedeluvian, as well as the great typical progenitor of the adorable Messiah. . Here was a foundation for renown^ of sufficient solidity to justify the prophetic spirit in moving Noah to call him Sheniy a name full of import, full of meaning, pointing its signification in a blaze of light, to Him whose birth and works of righteousnes, were to be of consequences the h'ujficst in degree, to the whole race of Adam, in the atoucmeut. 't- ;.! • . ' 16 ▲MEniCAN \NTiqUITIE9 I I fiut at the birth of Ham, it was different ; when this child was bom, we may suppose the house or tent to have been in an uproar, on the account of his strange complexion ; the news of which, we may suppose, soon reached the ear of the father, who on beholding it, at once, in tin form of exclamation, cried out, Ham ! that is, it is blackj and this word became his name. It is believed, that in the first ages of the world, things were named from their supposed qualities ; and their supposed qualities, arose from first appearances. In this way, it is imagined, Adam named all the animals at first sight ; as the Lord God caused them to pass before him, a sudden impulse arising in his mind, from the ap- pearance of each creature ; so that a suitable name was given. This was natural ; but not more so than it was for Noah to call his second son. Ham, because he was black \ being struck by this uncommon, unheard of, complexion of his own child, which impel- led him at once, to name him as he looked. We suppose the same influence governed at the birth of Japheth ; and, that at the birth of this child, greater surprise still, must have pervaded the household of Noah, as that white, was a cast of com- plexion, still more wonderful than either red or black, as these two last named complexions bare a stronger affinity to each other, than to that of white. No sooner, therefore, as we may suppose, was the news of the birth of this third son carried to Noah, than he, anxious to embrace it, saw with amazement, that it was diverse from the other two ; and from all mankind ; having not the least affinity of complexion with any of the human race ; and being in an extacy, at the sight of so fair and ruddy an infant, beautifully white and transparent of oomplexion, cried out, while under the influence of his joy and sur- prise, Japheth ! which word became his name ; to this, however, he added afterwards, God shall greatly enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem, and Canaan, that is Ham, shall be his servant ; so that, in a political sense he was higher than the other two. ^ » AND DISCOVEUIES IN TIIK WEST. 17 i wat proar, h, wc olding is,Uw T3 were uaUtie»» 1, Adam sed them mtheap- iven- ,aVi to call ck by this ich impel- jAPHETHi must have ast of com- theae two other, than news of the to embrace ,e other two ; E complexion r, at the sight transparent of .sjoyandsur- ;U, however, , and he shall ,Bhallbebis the other two. m But if our opiuioii on this subject is esteemed not well support- ed, we would add one other circumstance, wliich would seem to amount to demonstration, in proving Ham and his posterity to have been black at the outset. The circumstance is as follows : At two particular times, it ap- pears from Genesis, that Noah declared Ham with his posterity should serve or become servants to botli the posterity of Shem and Japheth. If one were to inquire whether this has been fulfilled or not, what would be the universal answer ? It would be — it has been fulfilled. But in what way ^ Who are the people } The uni- versal answer is. The African race are the people. But how is this proved, unless we allow them to be the descendants of Ham ? If then they are his descendants, they have been such in every age, from the very beginning ; and the same criterion, which is their colour, has distinguished them. This i)roves their progenitor. Ham, to have been black ; or otherwise it had been impossible to distin- guish them from the posterity of the other two, Shem and Japheth, and whether the denunciation of Noah has been fulfilled or not, would be unknown. But as it is known, the subject is clear ; — the distinguishing trait by which Ham's posterity were known at firstj must of necessity have been, as it is now, black. We have dwelt thus far upon the subject of human complexions, because there are those who imagine the variety now found among men, to have originated purely from climate, food, and manner of living ; while others suppose a plunilUij of fathers, to have been the cause, in contradiction of the account in Genesis, where one man is siiid to have been the father of all mankind. But on this curious subject, respecting the variety of complexions, see, toward the close of this volume, the Remarks of Piofessoi Mitchell, late of New- York. - - •"' / . • : . .J^M-^ •^iiTt^.^^t . 18 AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES RESPECTING A DIVISION OF THE EARTH BY NOAH AMONG HIS SONS. It cannot be denied but the whole earth, at the time the aik rested on mount Ararat, belonged to Noah, he being the prince, patriarch, or head and ruler of his own family ; consequently of all the inhabitants of the earth, as there were none but his own house. This is more than can be said of any other man since the world be- gan, except of the man Adam. Accordingly, in the true character of a Patriarchal Prince, as related by Eusefnusj an ecclesiastical writer of the fourth century, and by others, that Noah, being com- manded of God, proceeded to make his willy dividing the whole earth between his three sons, and their respective heirs or descend- ants. To Shem, he gave all the east ; to Ham, all Africa; To Japheth, the continent of Europe^ with its isles, and the northern parts of Asia, as before pointed out. And may we not add America, which, in the course of the Divine Providence, is now in the possession of the posterity of Japheth, and is not impossible but this quarter of the earth may have been known even to Noah, as we are led to suspect from the statement of Eusebius. This idea, or information, is brought forward by Adam Clark, from whose commentary on the Scriptures, we have derived it. — That a knowledge of not only Africa, Asia, and Europe, was in the possession of Noah, but even the islands of Europe, is probable, or how could he have given them to the posterity of his son Japheth^ as written by Eusebius. It may be questioned, possibly, whether these countries, at so early a period, had yet been explored, so as to furnish Noah with any degree of knowledge respecting them. To this it may be re- plied, that he lived three hundred and fifty years after the flood, and i ■'I AND DISCOVERIES IN THE WEST- 19 1 more than a hundred and fifty after the building of the tower of Babel and the dispersion of the first inhabitants, by means of the confusion of the ancient language. This was a lapse of time quite sufficient to have enabled explor- ers to have traversed them, or even the whole earth, if companies had been sent out in different directions, for that express purpose, and to return again with their accounts to Noah. If the supposition of Adam Clark, and others, be correct ; which is, that at that time, the whole kaad of the globe was so situated as that no continent was quite separate from the others by water, as they are now ; so that men could traverse by land the whole globe at their will : If so, even America may have been known to the first nations, as well as other parts of the earth. This doctrine of the union of continents, is favoured, or rather founded on a passage in the book of Genesis, 10th chap. 20th verse, where it is state4 that one of the sons of Eber was Peleg, so nam- ed, because in his days, the earth was divided ; the word Pe^a, Sect. xviii,fol. 18, are these words, For this cause shall a man leave fatlier and 24 AMEUlCAiN ANTIQUITIES mothtr. It is said, il" u prosolyte to tlie J(!\visli religion luivc mar- ried his own sister, Aviicther by the siuiie father or by the same mother, they cast her out, aceordin}>- to Rabbi JMeir. But the wise men say, if she be of the same mother^ they cast her out ; but if of the same father, they retain her, shtbi ab la (jui,'''' for a Gentile has no father J that is, his father is not reckoned in the Jewish gene- alogies. In this way, both Christ and Melchisedek were without father, and without mother,'^ had neither beginning of days, descent of lineage, nor end of life, in their books of genealogies, which gave a man a right to the Priesthood, as derived from Aaron ; that is, were not descended from the original Jewish sacerdotal stock. Yet Melchisedek, who was a Canaanite, was a Priest of the Most High God. This sense Suidas * confirms under the word Melchisedek, where, after stating that he reigned a prince in Salem, i. e. Jerusa- lem, 113 years, he died a righteous man. To this he adds, " He is, therefore, said to be ^vithout dascod or (jcueulogy^ because he was not of the seed of Abraham, (for Abraham ^v■as his seed) but of Canaaiiitish origin." We think this suificient to show the ri-asou why he is said to have had no father nor mother, beginning of days, nor end of life, as stated in Hebrews. But this is not said of him in the Book of Genesis, where we first become accpiainted with this truly wonderful cha- racter It should be recollected, that the Jewish genealogies went no far- ther back, for the qualifications of their jniestly credentials, or eligi- bility to the pontifical office, than to the time and family of Aaron ; which ^7as more than four hundred years after that of Abraham and Melchisedek. No wonder then, that Christ's genealogy was not found on their records, so as to give him a claim to that oflTice, such as they might approve. ' Suidas, a Greek sL'iiolai ol emiucacL', who lluuiibliud A D. U75, and wak an ecclesiastical wrilcr of that ape ^ I AM) DIKtOVKKtKS IN THE UKST. 2d i mai- saine e wise but if Sentile [1 gcne- fatber, icent of icb gave tbat is, ;k. Yet ost Higb ;bisedck, :. Jerusa- Lds, " He icause be ieed) but to bave as stated Genesis, iful cba- nt no tar- or cbgi- f Aaron ; abam and f- was not (bee, sucb 7J, aud \>«»i» But in as i icb as Melcbisedek was grt;ater tban Abraham, from wlionj tbe Jewisb race imnu'diately oiii^inated, be argues from the authority of the llOth Psalui, wliere Melcbisedek is spoken of, which tbe Jews allowed to be spoken of Christ, or the Messiah, who was to come, and was, therefore, a Priest after the order of that extraordinary Prince of Peace, and King of Salem ; because, neither had he such a claim on the Jewish genealogies, as required by tbe Jews, so as to make him eligible to their priesthood, for they knew, or might have known, tbat Christ did not come of the Aa- ronic race, but of the line or tribe of Jiidali. That be was a man, a mere man, born of a woman, and begotten after the ordinary manner, by a natural generation, is attested by St. Paul's own extraordinary expression. See Hebrews, vii. 4, " Now consider bow great this man was, unto whom Abraham gave the tenth of the spoils." However wonderfully elevated, among men, and in the sight of (jod ; however jwwerful and rich, wise, holy and happy ; he was, nevetbeless, a mere mauj'ot the tenth of tbe spoils be would not have received. But the question is, what man was be, and what was his name .'' ^' Now consider how f/rcat this man was," are words which may possibly lead us to the same conclusion, which we have quoted from tbe preface to the Book of Job. There are not wanting circumstances to elevate this man in tbe scale of society, far above a common level with tbe rest of tlie in- habitants of bis country, of sufficient importance to justify St. Paul in saying, " now consider how great this man was." We shall recount some of the circumstances : and first, at the lime he met Abraham, when he was returning from the slaughter of tbe kings who had carried away FiOt, the half brother of Abra- ham, with all his goods, his wife and children, and bksscdhim ; he was the ol(ksl man then on the earth. This circumstance alone was of no small amount, and highly calculated to elevate Shem iu the 1 2'4SPK OO if! ill In rl I i r J 26 AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES eyes of mankind ; for he was then more than five hundred and fif- ty years old. Second ; he was then the only man on the eartlf a\ ho liad lived before the flood ; and had been conversant with the nations, the in- stitutions, the state of agriculture and the arts, as understood and practised by the antedeluvians. Third; he was the only man who could tcl! them about the locu- tion of the garden of Eden ; a question, no doubt, of great curiosity and moment to those early nations, so near the tlood ; the manner in which the fall of Adam and Eve took place. He could tell them what sort of fruit it was, and how the tree looked on which it grew ; and from Shem it is more than jjrobable, the Jews receiv- ed the idea that the forbidden fruit was that of the (jrape vincy as is found in their traditions. Shem could tell them what sort of serpent it was, whether an Ourang Outang, as believed by some, that the evil spirit made use of to deceive the woman ; he could tell them about the former beau- ty of the earth, before it had become ruined by the commotion of the waters of the flood ; the form and situation of countries, and of the extent, and amount of human population. He could tell them how the nations who filled the earth with their violence and rapine;, used to go about the situation of the happy garden to wliich no man was allowed to approach nor enter, on account of the dreadful Che- rubim, and the flaming sword ; and how they blasphemed against the judgments of the Most High on that account. Fourth; Shem could inform them about the pjogress of the ark, where it was built, and what opposition and ridicule his father, Noah, met with while it was being builded ; he could tell respect- ing the violent manners of the antedeluvians, and what their pe- culiar aggravated sins chiefly consisted in — what God meant when he said that " all flesh had corrupted its way before Him," except the single family of Noah. There are those who imagine, from that peculiar phraseology, ullfleah hath corrupted its way on the I IH AND nrsCOVERIF.S IN THE WEST. 27 and tif- id lived , the in- ood and tlie loou- curiosity e manner could tell on which vvs receiv- mpe vinCy whether an t made use iimcr beau- Dimotion of ntries, and d tell thoni and rapine, lich no man eadful Che- Tied against of the ark, his fvither, tell respect- lat their pc- meaut when " im," except lagine, from i way 0" the varth," that the human form had become mingled with that of ani- mals. If so, it was high time they were drowned, both man and beast, for reasons, too obvious to need illustration here; it was high time that the soil was purged by water, and torn to frag- ments and buried beneath the earthly matter, thrown up from depths not so polluted. There are those who imagine that the Ou- rang Outang is one evidence of that corruption, permitted to live, and to be saved with other animals in the Ark : to mortify the in- iiabitants of the earth, when they see so exact a resemblance of the human lim1)s and form, in those of that contemptible and dis- gusting, though partially rational, dumb beast. Fifth ; Shera was the only man in the days of Abraham, who could tell them of the promised Messiah, of whom he was the most glorious and expressive type, afforded to men, before his coming, as attested by St. Paul. It is extremely probable that with this maO) Abraham had enjoyed long and close acquaintance, for he was de- scended of his loins, from whom he learned the knowledge of the True God, in all probability, in the midst of his Chaldean, idola- trous nation, and became a convert to the faith of Melchisedek, From the familiar manner with which Melchisedek, or Shem, which we are compelled to believe, was indeed, Melchisedek, met Abra- Jiam, and blessed him, in reference to the great Messiah; we are strongly inclined to believe them old acquaintance. Sixth ; It appears that Shem, or Melchisedek, had gotten great possessions, and influence among men, as that he had become king of Salem, or ancient Jebus, where Jerusalem was afterward built, and where mount Ziou reared her alabaster towers, and was the only temple in which the true God was understandingly worshipped, then on the earth. It is not impossible, but the mountainous re- gion about mount Horeb, and the mountains round about Je- rusalem, were, before the flood, the base or foundation of the country ,and exact location of the region of the garden, called Eden, the place where Adam was created. But when the waters of the ^ 28 AMERICAN ANTFQUITrrs deluge came, it tore away all the cartliy matter, and left standing those tremendous pinnaeles, and ovcrlianginp; mountains, of the re- gion of Jerusplem. By examiniUj^ the map on an artificial globe, it will be seen, the region of country situated between the eastern end of the Mediter^ ranean Sea, the Black and Caspian Seas, and the Persian Gulf; there are many rivers running into these several waters, all heading toward each other ; among which is the Euphrates, one of the riv* ers mentioned by Moses, as deriving its origin in the garden, or country of Eden. Mountainous countries are the natural sources of rivers. From which we argue that Eden must have been a high region of country, as intimated in Genesis, entirely inaccessible on all sides, but the east ; at which point the sword of the Cherubim was placed to guard the way of the tree of life. Some have ima- gined the Persian Gulf to bo the sjiot where the garden was situa- ted. But this is impossible, as that the river Euphrates runs into that gulf, from toAvard Jerusalem, or from north of Jerusalem. And as the region of Eden was the source o( four large rivers; running in difl'erent directions ; so also, now the region round about the present head waters of the Eupluates, is the source of many rivers, as said above ; on which account, there can be but little doubt but here the paradise of Adam was situated, before the deluge. If the Euphrates is one of the rivers having its source in the garden or country of Eden, as Moses has recorded, it is then proved, to a demonstration, that tlie region as above described, is the ancient and primeval site oj' the literal paradise of Adam. Tluire is a sort of fitness in the idc^as we are about to advance, although they are not wholly susceptible of proof, nor of very con- vincing argument ; yet, there is no impropriety nor incongruity, while there is an impercej)lib!(! artiuiescence steals over the mind, as we contemplate the sulijeet. We imagine that the very spot when- .Tesus Christ was crucified, may have been the place where Adam and I'^ve were created. At AND DISCOVKBIES IN TIIK WEST. 29 tabling tlio re- een, the Mediter* an Gulf; I heading f the riv- rarden, or il sources een a high ^essible on Cherubim have ima- was situa- !S runs into ilem. And •s; running I about the nany rivers, e doubt but ige. If the le garden or )roved, to a the ancient to advance, of very cou- incongruity, cr the mind, vas crucified, created- At * i whatsoever place it was, it is certain that not far from the identical place, he fell, by means of the devil, or rather his own sin, as the time from his creation till he fell was very short. It is believed that the hill of crucilixion was also the hill called Mount Moriah, to which God sent Abraham to slay his son Isaac, who was also a type of the Messiah. Hero it appers Melchisedek had the seat of his kingly and pontifical government. The place appears to be marked with more than ordinary precision, as the theatre where God chose to act, or cause to be acted, from age to age, the things which pointed to the awful catastrophe — the death of his Son. What is more natural than to suppose, that the Redeemer would choose for the scene of his victory over the enemy of man, the very spot where he caused his fall. Here too, it is believed, Christ will, at his second coming, appear, when, with the sound of the first trumpet, the righteous d(^ad will arise. The spot has been marked as the scene of wonders, above all other places on the earth ; and on this account is it not allowable to imagine that here all na- tions shall be gathered, filling the whole region, not only of Jerusa- lem, but also the whole surrounding heaven, with the quickened dead, to attend the last judgment, while the Son of God shall sit on his triumphant throne in the mid air, exactly over the spot where ke suffered, and, probably, where man fell. Thus far we have treated on the subject of Melchisedec, show- ing reasons why he is supposed to have been /S7/f/«, the Son of No- ah, and reasons why St. Paul should say, " now consider how great this man was." We will only add, that the word McHtisedck is not the name of that man so called, but is only a term, or appellation, used in relation to him, by God himself, which is the same as to say, my righteom king. So that Melchisedek was not the natne he received at his birth, but was Shem, as the Jews inform us in their traditions. But to return to our subject, respecting the division of the earth in the days of Pcleg. If, then, the division of the earth 30 AMERICAN ANTIQUITIKS W-' ■; M ^ was a pliysioal one, consequently such as had settled on its se- veral parts beforr this division, became for ever separated to- wards the four quarters of the globe. If this position be true, the mystery is at once unriddled, how men and animals are found on all the earth, not excepting the islands, however far removed from other lands by intervening seas. But of this matter we shall speak again towards the close of this work, when we hope to throw some degree of light upon this ob- .scure, yet exceedingly interesting, subject. We here take the opportunity, and crave the reader's patience, as that as soon as we have given an account of the dispersion of the inhabitants of the earth, immediately after the flood, from whom sprang the several nations mentioned in sacred and profane ancient history, we shall then come to our main subject, namely, that of the Antiquities of America. In order to give an recount of those nations, we follow the Com- mentary of Adam Clark, on the 10th chapter of the book of Gene- sis ; which is the only book under heaven to which we can resort for information of the kind ; all other works which touch this point, are only illustrative and corrobutory. Even the boasted antiquity of the Chinese, going back millions of ages, as often quoted by the sceptic, is found, v.hen rightly understood, to come quite within the account given by Moses of the Creation. This is asserted by Baron Humboldt, an historian of the Jirst or- der, whose mind was embellished with a universal knowledge of the manners, customs, and traits of science, of the nations of the earth, rarely acquired by any man. Their account of their first knowledge of the oldpst of their gods, shows their antiquity ol origin to be no higher thar Jic Creation, a.^ related in Genesis. Their Shaslnts, a book which gives an ac- count of the incarnation of the god Vishmo, stales that his first in- carnation was for the purpose of bringing i p the Vedus, [sacred books,] from the deep. This appearance of Vishnoo, they say, i AND DCSCOVERIKS IN TIIK WKST. 31 its se- ted to- rue, the bund on 'ed from e of this 1 this ob- patiencc, ion of the m whom le ancient ly, that of the Com- t of Gene- can resort this point, I antiquity ted by the within the le first or* )wledge of ons of the their god», Ireation, as ves an ac- his first in- ^is, [sacred they say, was in the form of a fish. The books, the lisli, and tlie deep, are all derived from Noah, whose account of the Creation has furnish- ed the ground of this Chinese tradition. In his second incarnation, he took the newly created world on his bock, as he had assumed the form of a tortoise, to make it stable. This alludes to the Mo- saic account, which says, God separated tlie ^^•ater from the dry land, and assigned them each their place. In his third incarnation, he took the form of a wild boar, and drew the earth out of the sea, into which it had sunk during a periodical destruction of the world. This is a tradition of the deluge, and of the subsiding of the~wa- ters, when the tops of the mountains first appeared. A fourth incarnation of this god, was for the rescue of a son, whose father was about to slay him. What else is this but the ac- count of Abraham's going to slay his son Isaac, but was rescued by the appearance of an angel, forbidding tlie transaction. In a fifth incarnation, he destroyed a giant, who despised the gods, and committed violence in the earth. This fjiant was none other than Nimrod, the author of idolatry, the founder of Babel, who is called even by the Jews, in their traditions, a surly giant. " Now these are the generations of the sons of Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth ; and unto them were sons born after the flood." Gen. X. 1st verse, and onward. The sons of Japheth : " Japheth is supposed to be the same with Japetus of the Greeks, from whoni, in an extreme remote antiquity, that people were supposed to have derived their origin. On this point most chronologists are pretty well agreed. Gomer is sup- posed to have peopled Gallatia ; this was a son of Japheth. So Josephus, who says that the Gallatians, (or French people, derived from the ancient Belgiac tribes,) were anciently named Gomerites. From him the Cimmerians, or Cimbriaus, are supposed to have de- rived their origin. Bochart, a learned French protestant, born at Rouen, iu Normandy, iu the 16th century, has no doubt that tlie 32 AMKIUCAN ANTIUUniES Phrygians sprung IVom this person ; and somo of our priuei])al couv- mentators are of this opinion. Madai, one of the sons of Japheth, is supposed to be the progen- itor of the ancient Medes. Javan, was another of his sons, from whom, it is almost universally believed, sprung the lonians of Asia Minor. Tubal, is supposed to be the father of the Iberians^ and that a part, at least, of Spain was peopled by him, and his descend- ants ; and that Meschech, Avho is generally in Scripture joined with liim, was the founder of the Cappadocians, from whom proceeded the Muscovites, or Russians. Thus ; from this person, according to general consent, the Thra- cians derived their origin. Asiikenaz ; from this person was de- rived the name Sacarjena, a province of Armenia.. Plmy^ one of the most learned of the ancient Romans, who lived immediately af- ter the commencement of the Christian era, mentions a people call- ed Ascanticos, who dwelt about the Tunnis and Pahis-Maioticus ; and some supjwse that from Ashkenaz, the Euxine or black Sea, derived its name ; but others supjwse that from him the Germans derived their origin. RirnATH ; the founder of the Paphlagonians, which were called, anciently, Riphatoel. Touakma ; the inhabitants of Sawomates, or of Turcomania. Elshah ; as Javan, peopled a considerable part of Greece. It is in that region we must look for the settlements of his descendants. Elishah probably was the first who settled at Elis, in Peloponesus. Tarshis ; he first inhabited CUicia^ whose capital, anciently, was the city of Tarsus ^ where St. Paul was born. KiTTiM : Some think by this name is meant Cyprus]; others the isle of Chios, and others the Romans, and others the Macedonians. Dodanim, or Rodanm : Some suppose that this family settled at Dodana ; others, at the Rhone, in France ; the andetU name of which was Rhodanus, from the Scripture Rhodanim : " By these were the isles of the goxliks di\idcd iu their lauds." EuRorE ;. -1 AND OlSCOVERIllS IN THE WKST. 33 pal COIKr s progen- ons, from 15 of Asia I desceiid- lined with proceeded the Thra- m was de- !(«»/, one of idiately af- Kjople call- Maioticus ; black Sea, 16 Germans vera called, Saiiromales, reece. It is escendants. •eloponesus. cieutly, was ; others the lacedonians. ly settled at ent name of : " By these Europe » H *>f which this is allowed to be a general epithet, and comprt ds all those countries which the Hebrews were obliged to go to by sea ; such as Spiun, Gaul, or France ; Italy, Greece, and Asia Minor." Thus far we have noticed the spreading out over many countries, and the origin of many nations, arising out or from Japhelh, one of the sons of Noah ; all of whom are white, or at least come under that class of complexions. The descendants of Ham, another of tlie sons of Noah, and some of the nations springing from him, we shall next bring to view. " Cusil, who peopled the Arabic nome, or province, near the Red Sea, in Lo\ver Egypt. Some think the Ethiopians sprung from him. MiZRAM : This family certainly peopled Egypt, and both in the east ant" ,ae west. Egypt is called Mizraim. Wi Phut ; who first peopled an Egyptian nome, or district, border- ing on Lybia. Canaan ; he who first peopled the land so called ; known also by the name of the promised land." These were the nations which the Jews^ who descended from Sliem^ cast out from the land of Canaan, as directed by God, because of the enormity, and brutal nature of their crimes ; which were such as no man of the present age, blosst;d with a Christian education, would excuse on a jury, under the terrors of an oatli, from the punishment of death. They practised, as did the antediluvians, and the Sodomites, those things which were calculated to mingle the human with the brute. Surely, when this is understood, no man, not even a disbeliever in the divinity of the Bible, will blame Moses for his seeming severi- ty, in cutting oft' those nations with the besom of entire extermi- nation. " Seba, the founder of the Sabeam : There seem to be three ial interment of deceased inhabitants, would AND niscovr.niF.s in tiif. west 37 norossarily ho tm) I'lir sprcnd, to mnko it convenient for the livinf? to trunsport tljeir dead to aiie sinijle pliu . of repository. The modern ' i Indians have ever been known, since the uc(|uaintanoe of white men witli them, to live only in small towns; wliirh refutes the idea of [ its having been made by any other peoph; than sueh as difl'er e?:- ccedinirly from the improvident and indoU-nt native ; and must, therefore, have been erected by a people more ancient, than what is commonly meant by the Indian aborigines, or wandering tribes. " Some of these mounds hav;; bf^en opened, when, not only vast (piantities of human bones have been found, but also instruments of warfare, broken earthen vases, and trinkets." From the trees growing on them, it is supposed they have already existed, at least, six hundred years, and whether these trees were the ftrst, second, or third crop, who can tell ; if the second only, which, from the old and decayed timber, partly buried in the vegetable mould and leaves, seems to favor, then it is all of twelve hundred years since they were abandoned. " Foreign travellers complain that America presents nothing like ruins within her boundaries ; no ivy mantled towers, nor moss cov- ered turrets, as in the other quarters of the earth. Old Fort War- ren, on the Hudson, rearing its lofty decayed sides high above West- Point ; or the venerable remains of two wars, at Ticoiideioga, upon Lake Champlain, they say, afford something of the kind. But what are mouldering castles, falling turrets, or crumbling abbeys, in com- parison with those ancient and artificial aboriginal hills, which have outlived generations, and even all tradition ; the workmanship of altogether unknown hands. Place these monuments and .secret repositories of the dead, to- gether with the innumerable mounds and monstrous fortifications, which are scattered over America, in England, and on the conti- nent of Europe, how would their virtuosi examine, and their anti- quarians fill volumes, with their probable histories. How would their fame be conveyed from learned bodies, and through literary :j8 AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES « volumes, inquiring who wore tlie buildtM's, of what age of the world, whence came they, and tlieir descendants ; if any, what has become of tlrcm; these would be the themes of constant ipt ula- tion and inquiry. At Marietta, a place not only celebrated as being the first settle- ment on the Ohio, but has also acquired much celebrity, from the existence of those extensive and supposed fortifications, which are situated near the town. They consist of walls, and mounds of earth, running in strait lines, from six to ten feet high, and nearly forty broad at their base. There is also, at this place, one fort of this ancient description, which encloses nearly fifty acres of land. There are openings in this fortification, which are supposed to have been, when thronged with its own busy multitude, " used as gateways, with a passage from one of them, formed by two paral- lel walls of eaith, leading towards the river." This contrivance was undoubtedly for a defence against surprise by an enemy, while the inhabitants dwelling within should fetch water from the river, or descend thither to wash, as in the^ Ganges, among the Hindoos. Also the greatness of this fort is evidence, not only of the power of its builders, but also of those they feared. Who can tell but they may have, by intestine feuds and wars, ex- terminated themselves. Such instances are not unfrequent among petty tribes of the earth. Witness the war between Benjamin and his brother tribes, when l)ut a mere handful of their number re- mained to redeem llicm from complete annihilation. Many nations, an account of whom, as once existing, is found on the page of his- tory, now, have not a trace left beliind. More than sixty tribes which once traversed the woods of the west, and who were known to the first settlers of the New-England states, are now extinct. " The French of the Mississippi have an account, that an exter- minating battle was fought in the beginning of the 17th century, about one hundred and thirty-two years ago, on the ground where Fort Harrison now stands; between the Indians living on the Mis- ANU blSCOVKlUl^S IN TllK Wll.ST. 39 , age of tlie my, what has itant ipt ula- le first settle- rity, from the ms, which are lid mounds of yh, and nearly ce, one fort of acres of land, e supposed to ude, " used as by two paral- against surprise n should fetch in the, Ganges, rt is evidence, )se they feared. 3 and wars, ex- requent among 1 Benjamin and eir number re- Many nations, he page of his- lan sixty tribes ho were known now extinct, t, that an exter- B 17th century, ground where •jng on the Mis- sissippi, and lliDse of the Wabash. The Ijouc of coatcution was, the lands lying between those rivers, whicli both parties claimed. There were about 1000 warriors on each side. The condition of the light was, that the victors; should possess the lands in dispute. The grandeur of the prize was pecniliarly calculated to inflame the ardor of savage minds. The contest commenced about sunrise. Both parties fought desperately. The Wabash warriors came oil' conquerors, having seven men left alive at sunset, and their adver- saries, the Mississippians, but fwc. This battle was fought near fifty years before their acquaintance witb white men." (Webster's Gazetteer, 1817, page 69.) It is possible, whoever the authors of these great works, were, or however long they may have lived on the continent, that they may have, in the same way, by intestine feuds and wars, weakened themselves, so that when the Tartars, Scythians, or descendants of the ten lost tribes, (as is now generally believed the Indians are,) came across the Straits of Bhering, that they fell an easy prey, to those fierce and savage northern hordes. It is not likely, that the vast warlike preparations which extend over the whole continent, south of certain places in Canada, were thrown up, all of a sudden, on a fust discovery of a strange ene- my ; for it might be inquired, how should they know of such a mode of defence, unless they had acquired it in the course of ages, arising from necessity or caprice ; but it is probable they were con- structed to defend against the invasions of each other ; being of va- rious origin and separate interests, as was much the situation of the ancient nations in every part of the world. Petty tribes of the same origin, over the whole earth, have been found to wage perpetual war against each other, from motives of avarice, jrower, or hatred. In the most ancient eras of the history of man, little walled towns, which were raised for the security of a few families, under a chief, king, or patriarch, are known to have existed : which is evidence of the disjointed and uuharmonious 40 AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES State of human society ; out of which, wars, rapine, a;id plunder, have arisen : such may have been the state of man in America, be- fore the Indians found their way here ; the evidence of which is, the innumerable fortifications, found every where in the western regions. " Within this fort, of which we have been speaking, found at Marietta, are elevated squares, situated at the corners ; some an hundred and eighty feet long, by an liundrcd and thirty broad, nine feet high, and level on the top." On these squares, erected at the corners of this great enclosure, were doubtless placed some mode of annoyance to a besieging enemy ; such as engines to sling stones ^vith, or to throw the dart and spear, or whatever might have been their modes of defence. " Outside of this fort, is a most singular mound, differing in form from their general configuration : its shape is that of a sugar loaf, the base of which is more than an hundred feet in circumference, its height thirty, encompassed by a ditch, and defended by a para- pet, or wall beyond the ditch, about breast high, through which is a way toward the main fort. Human bones have been taken from many of these mounds, and charcoal, Avith fragments of pottery ; and what is more strange than all the rest, in one place, a skeleton of a man, buried east and west, after the manner of enlightened nations was found, as if tiiey understood the cardinal points of the com- pass. On the breast of (his skeleton was found a quantity of ising- glass," a substance sometimes used by the ancient Russians, for the purposes that glass is now used. But respecting this fort we ima- gine, that even Romans may have built it, however strange this may appear. The reader will be so kind as to have patience till we have advanced all our reasons for this strange conjecture, before he casts it from him. Our reasons for this idea, arise out of the great similarity there is between its form, and fortifications, or camps, built by the an- cient Romans. And in order to show the similarity, we have quo- AM) DiSCOVKRIES IN THE WEST. 41 iijid plundef, America, bc- of which is, I the western :iiig, found at ers ; some an ty broad, nine erected at the ;d some mode to sling stones ight have been iffering in form if a sugar loaf, circumference, ided by a para- irough which is een taken from of pottery; and a skeleton of a rhtened nations its of the com- iiantity of ising- lussians, for the his fort we ima- ger strange this ive patience till >njecture, before similarity there )uilt by the an- V, we have quo- ted the account of the forms of Roman camps from Josephus's de- scription of their military works. See his works. Book V. ch'^p.5, page 219, as follows. " Nor can tlieir enemies easily surprise them with the suddenness of their incursions, for as soon as they have marcbf d into an ene- my's land, they do not begin to light till they have walled their camp, about, nor is the fence they raise, rashly made, or uneven ; nor do they all abide in it ; nor do those that are in it, take their place at random: but if it happens uiat the ground is uneven, it is first levelled." " Their camps are also four square by measure ; as for what space is within the camp, it is set apart for tents, but the outward circum- ference hath the resemblance to a wall ; and is adorned with towers at equal distances, where, between the towers stand the engines for throwing arrows and darts, and for slinging stones, and where they lay all other engines that can annoy the enemy, all ready for their several operations. They also erect four gates, one in the middle of each side of the circumference, or square, and those large enough for the entrance of beasts, and wide enough for making excursions, if occasion should require. They divide the camp within into streets, very conveniently, and place the tents of the commanders in the middle ; in the very midst of all, is the general's own tent, in the na- ture and form of a temple, insomuch tliat it appears to be a city, built on the sudden, with its market place, and places for handi- craft trades, and with seats for tlie officers, superior and inferior, where if any differences arise, their causes are heard and deter- mined. The camp and all that is in it, is encompassed with a wall round about, and that sooner than one would imagine, and this by the mul- titude and skill of the labourers. And if occasion require, a trench is drawn round the whole, whose depth is four cubits, and its breadth equal," which is a trille more tlian six feet in depth and width. 42 AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES The similarity between the Roman camps and the one neaiMariet' ta, consists as follows : they are both four square ; the one standing near the great fort, and is connected by two parallel walls, as de- scribed ; has also a ditch surrounding it, as the Romans sometimes encircled theirs ; and doubtless, when first constructed, had a fence of timber, (as Josephus says the Romans had,) all round it, and all other forts of that description ; but time has destroyed them. If the Roman camp had its elevated squares at its corners, for the purposes of overlooking the foe and of shooting stones, darts, and arro\\s ; so had the fort at Marietta, of more than an hundred feet square, on an average, of their forms, and nine feet high. Its parapets and gateways are similar; also the probable extent of the Roman encampments, agrees well Avith the one at Marietta, which embracer near fifty acres within its enclosure ; a space suffi- cient to have contained a great army ; with str-jets and elevated squares at its corners, like the Romans. Dr. Morse, tli(; geographer, says, the war camps of the ancient Danes, BelgiE, and Saxons, as found in England, were universally of the circular, while those of the Romans in the same country, are distinguished by the square form ; is not this, therefore, a trait of the same people's work in America, as in England .' Who can tell but during tlie/o«r hundred years the Romans had all the west of Europe attached to their empire, but they may have found their way to America, as well as other nations, the Welch, and the Scandinavians, in after ages, as we shall show, before we end the volume. Rome, it must be remembered, was mistress of the known world, as they supposed, and were in the possession of the arts and sci- ences ; with a knowledge of navigation suffit.i(uit to traverse the oceans of the globe, even without (.he compass, by means of the stars by night, and the sun by day. The history of England informs us, that us early as fifty-five years before the Christian era, the Romans invaded the island of m AND niRCOVF.RFF.S IN THE WEST- 43 lear Marie (♦ ne standing alls, as de- sometimes had a fence d it, and all lem. coiners, foi tones, darts, an hundred ;t high. Its le extent of at Marietta, a space suiB,- ind elevated 1^ geoorapher, id Saxons, at) ihik those of >y the square )l(i's work in Romans had ley may have the Welch, V,-, before we known world, arts and sci- traverse the means of the ^ as fifty-five the islaud of I ?^rittaiiy, and that tlu'ir shij)'; were so large and heavy, and drew siK'li a depth of water, that their soldiers were obliged to leap into the sea, and light their way to the shore, struggling with the waves and the enemy, both at once, because they could not bring their vessels near the shore, on account of their size. America has not yet been peopled from Europe, so long by an hundred years, as the Romans were in possession of the Island of Britain. Now what has not America elleeted in enterprise, during this time ; and although her advantages are superior to those of the Romans, when they held England as a province, yet, we are not to suppose they were idle, especially when their character at that time, was a martial and a marilhm one. In this character, therefore, were they not exactly fitted to make discoveries about in the north- iernand western parts of the Atlantic, and may, therefore, have found America, made partial settlements in various places; may have •coasted along down the shores of this country, till they came to the mouth of the Mississippi, and thence up that stream, making here and there a settlement. This supposition is as natural, and as pos- sible, for the Romans to have done, as that Hudson should find the iKonth of the North River, and explore it as far north as to where the city of Albany is now standing. It was equally in their power to have found this coast by chance, «s the Scandinavians in the year 1000 or thereabouts, who made a settlement at the mouth of the St. Lawrence ; but more of this in due time. To show the Romans did actually go on voyages of discovery, while in possession of Britain, we quote from the history of Eng- land, that when Julius Agricola was governor of South Britain, he sailed quite around it, and ascertained it to be an island. This was about an hundred years after their first subduing the country, or fifty-two years after Christ. But they may have had a knowledge of the existence of this country, prior to their invasion of Britain. And lest the reader 44 AMERICAN ANTKiUITlK.M U^. may be alarmed at such a position, wo Iiasten to show in wha{ manner they might have attained it, by relating a late discovery of a planter in South America "In the month of December, 1S27, a planter discovered in a field, a short distance from Mont-Video, a sort of tomh stone, upon which strange, and to him unknown signs, or characters, were en- graved. He caused this stone, which covered a small excavation, I'ormed with masonry, to be raised, in which he found two exceed- ingly ancient swords, a helmet, and shield, which had suffered much from rusi. also an earthen vessel of large capacity. The plunter caused the swords, the helmet, and earthen amphora^ together \nth the stone slab, which covered the whole, to be re- moved tci Mont- Video, where, in spite of the ravages of time, Greek words were easily made out ; which, when translated, read as follows : " During the dominion of Alexandc- the son of Philip, King of Macedon, in the sixty-third Olympiad, Ptolemais," — it was impossible to decipher the rest, on account of the ravages of time, on the engraving of the stone. On the handle of one of the swords, was the portrait of a man, supposed to be Alexander the Great. On the helmet there is sculp- tured work, that miist have been executed by the most exquisite skill, representing Achilles dragging the corpse of Hector round the ivalls of Troy ; an account of which is familiar to every classic scholar. This discovery was similar to the Fabula Hieca, the bass relief stucco, found in the ruins of the Via Appia, at Fratachio, in Spain, belonging to the Princess of Colona, which represented all the prin- cipal scenes in the Iliad and Odyssey. From this it is quite clear, says the editor of the Cabinet of In- struction and Literature, from which we have extracted this ac- count, vol. 3, page 99, that the discovery of this monumental altar is proof that a cotemporary of Aristotle, one of the Greek philoso- phess, has dug up the soil of Brazil and La Plata, in South America. # ANU niSCOVERIKS IN THE WKS'I 45 w in wliai liscovery of vered in a stone^ upon s, were en- excavation, two exceed- iffered much en amphora, le, to be re- res of time, inslated, read )n of Philip, ais," — it was ages of time, lit of a man, here is sculp- lost exquisite :tor round the every classic he bass relief hio, in Spain, d all the prin- Dabinet of In- aoted this ac- numental altar Greek philoso- louth America. It is conjectiired that this Ploknmios, iiientiuned on the stone, was the commander of Alexander's fleet, which is supposed to have been overtaken by a storm at sea, in the great ocean, (the Atlan- tic ;) as the ancients called it, and were driven on to the coast of Brazil, or the South American coast, where they doubtless erected the above mentioned monument, to preserve the memory of the voyage to so distant a country ;" and that it might not be lost to the world, if any in after ages might chance to find it, as at Ijst it was permitted to be in the progress of events. The above conjecture, however, that Ptolemaios, a name found engraved on the stone slab which covered the mason work as be- fore mentioned ; was one of Alexander's admirals, is not well founded, as there is no mention of such an admiral in the employ of that emperor, found on the page of the history of those times. But the names of Nearchus and Onesicritus, are mentioned as being admirals of the fleets of Alexander the Great ; and the name of Pytheas, who lived at the same time, is mentioned as be- ing a Greek philosopher, geographer, and astronomer, as well as a voyager, if not an admiral, as he made several voyages into the great Atlantic ocean ; which are mentioned by Eratosthenes, a Greek philosopher, mathematician and historian, who flourished two hun- dred years before Christ- Strabo, a celebrated geographer and voyager, who lived about the time of the commencement of the Christian era, speaks of the voyages of Pytheas, by way of admission ; and says, that his know- ledge of Spain, Gaul, Germany, and Britain, and all the countries of the north of Europe, was extremely limited. He had indeed voyaged along the coasts of these countries, but had obtained but an indistinct knowledge of their relative situations. During the adventures of this man at sea, for the very purpose of ascertaining the geography of the earth, by tracing the coasts of countries, there was a great liability of his being driven off in a western direction, not only by the current which sets always to- 46 AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES ,;i'!i wards America, hut also by tlio trade wiiuh, Avhich blow in the same direction for several months in the year. Pytheas, therefore, with his fleet, it is most probable, either by design, or storms, is the man who was driven on to the American coast, and caused this subterranean monument of masonry to be erected. The Plokmuios, or Ptolemy^ mentioned on the stone, may refer to one of the four generals of Alexander, called sometimes Ptolemy Lagus, or Soler. This is the man who had Egypt for his share of the conquests of Alexander ; and it is likely the mention of his name on the stone, in connexion with that of Alexander, was caused either by his presence at the time the stone was prepared, Or because he patronised the voyages and geographical researches of the philosopher and navigator Pytheas. Alexander the Great flourished about three hundred years before Christ ; he was a Grecian, the origin of whose nation is said to have been Japetus, a descendant of Japheth, one of the sons of Noah, as before shown. Let it be observed the kingdom of Macedon, of which Alexan- der was the last, as well as the greatest of its kings, commenced eight hundred and fourteen years before Christ, which was sixty- one years earlier than the commencement of the Romans. Well, what is to be learned from all this story about the Cheeks, tespecting any knowledge in possession of the Romans about a con- tinent ivest of Europe I Simply this, which is quite suflicient for our purpose : That an account of this voyage, whether it was an accidental one, or a voyage of discovery, could not but be known to the Romans, as well as to the Greeks, and entered on the records of the nation on their return. But where then is tlie record ? We must go to the flames of the Gk»ths and Vandals, who overran the Roman empire, in which the discoveries, both of countries and the histories of antiquity, were destroyed ; casting over those countries which they subdued, the gloom of barbarous ignorance, congenial with the shades of the dreadful forests of the north, from whence ai ej AND DISCOVERIES IN THE WEST 47 ow in Ihc either by American )nry to be stone, may sometimes rypi for his ! mention of tander, was as prepared, I researches years before i said to have s of Noah, as hich Alexan- , commenced ch was sixty- lans. it the Greeks, i about ft con- sufficient for her it was an It be knovon to on the records e record ? We 10 overran the intries and the those countries tice, congenial , from whence thoy originated. On which account, countries, and the know- ledge of many arts, anciently known, were to be discovered over again, and among them, it is oelicv-ed, was America. When Columbus discovered this country, and had returned to Spain, how soon it was known to all Europe. The same we may suppose of the discovery of the same country by the Greeks, though with infinite less publicity ; because the world at that time had not the advantage of printing ; yet in some degree the discovery must have been known, especially among the great men of both Greeks and Romans. The Grecian or Macedonian kingdom, after the death of Alexan- der, maintained its existence but a short time, one hundred and forty-four years only ; when the Romans defeated Perseus, which ended the Macedonian kingdom, one hundred and sixty -eight years before Christ. At this time the Romans, and thereafter, held on their course of war and conquest, till four hiuidred and ten years after Christ ; — amounting in all, from their beginning, till Rome was taken and plundered by Alaric, king of the Visigoths, to one thousand one hundred and sixty-three years. Is it to be supposed the Romans, a warlike, enlightened, and en- terprising peo2)le, who had found their way by sea so far north from Rome as to the island of England, and actually sailed all round it, would not explore farther north and west, especially as they had some hundred years opportunity, while in possession of the norfli of Europe. Morse, the geographer, in his second volume, page 126, says, — '■ Ireland, which is situated west of England, was probably discover- ed by the Phoenicians ; the era of whose voyages and maritime ex- ploits, commenced more than fourteen hundred years before Christ, and continued several ages. Their country was situated at the east end of the Mediterranean sea ; so that a voyage to tlie Atlantic, tluougli the strait of Gibraltcr west, would be a dig- 48 AMKRM;.\.N ANTIHlifTIKS ffl I tanee of about 2,.'J00 miles, and from (jibraltcr (o Ireliiad, a voyage of about 1,400 miles; wiiich, in the whole amount, is nearly four thousand. Ireland is fartlier north by about five degrees, than Newfound- land, and the latter only about 1,800 miles southwest from Ireland ; so that while the Pha-nisians were coasting and voyaging about in the Atlantic, in so high a northern latitude as Ireland and Eng- land, may well be supposed to have discovered Newfoundland, (either by being lost or driven there by storm) which is very near the coast of America. Phoenician letters are said to be engraved on some rocks on Taunton river, near the sea, in Massachusetts ; if so, this is proof of the position. Some hundreds of years after the first historical notice of the Phoenician voyages, and two hundred years before tl'j birth of Christ, the Greeks, it is said, became acquainted Avith Ireland, and was known among them by the name of Juverna. Ptolemy, the Egyptian geographer, Avho flourished about an hundred years after Christ, has given a map of that island, which is said to be very cor rect. — Morse. Here we have satis factoiy historical evidence, that Ireland, a* well, of course, as all the coast of northern Europe, with the very islands adjacent, were known, first to the Phoenicians, second, to the Greeks — third, to the Romans — and fourth, to the Egyptians — in those early ages, from which arises a great probability that Ameri- ca may have been well known to the ancient nations of the old world. On which account when the Itomans had extended their conquests so far north as nearly to old Norway, in latitude 60 deg. over the greater part of Europe — they were well prepared to ex- plore the North Anlantic, in a western direction, in [quest of new countries ; having already sufficient data to believe western coun- tries existed. It is not impossible the Danes, Norwegians, and Welsh, may have at first obtained some knowledge of western lands, islands and ■f li ANr) urscovERiF.s in thi; ui;st. 49 id, a V(»Yiigc I nearly four I Newfound- (nn Ireland ; ^ng about in id and Eng- iwibundland, 1 is very near 3 engraved on lusetts ; if so, notice of the tl' J birth of 1 Ireland, and Ptolemy, the ed years after id to be very at Ireland, a» with the very second, to the Egyptians — in r that Araeri- ons of the old extended their ititude 60 deg. •epared to ex- [quest of new western coim- 1 Welsh, may ids, islands and territories, from the discovorics of the Iloinaiis, or from their opin- ions, and handed down the story, till the Scandhiaviaiis or Norwe- gians discovered Iceland, (Greenland, and America, many hundred years before the time of Columbus. But, however this may be, it is certain those nations of the north of Europe, did visit this country, as we have promised to show in its proper place. Would Columbus have made his attempt, if he had not believed, or conjectured, there tvas a western conti- nent; or by some means obtained hints respecting it, or the proba- bility of its existence. It is said Columbus found, at a certain time, the corpses of two men, of a tawny complexion, floating in the sea, near the coast of Spain, mIucIi he knew were not of Eu- ropean orii^in ; but had been J.riven by the sea from some unknown western country, also timber and branches of trees, all of which confirmed him in his opinion of the existence of other countries westward. If the Romans may have found this country, they may also have attempted its colonization, as tlie immense square forts of the west, would seem to sug^^est. In 1821, on the bank of the river Desperes, in Missouri, was found, by an Indian, a Roman Coin, and presented to Grovemor Clark. — Gazetteer of Missouri, page 312. This is no more singular than the discovery of a Persian coin near a spring, on the Ohio, some feet under ground ; as we have shown in another place of this work ; all of which go to encourage the conjecture respecting the presence of the ancient Romans in America. " The remains of former dwellings, found along the Ohio, where the stream has, in many places, washed away its banks, liearths and fire places are brought to light, from two to six feet deep below the surface. Near these remains are found immense quantities of muscle shells and bones of animals. From the depths of many of these remnants of chimnics, and from the fact that trees as large as any in the sur- 7 50 A.MKRICAN ANTIQl ITIKS rounding forest, wcrti foiiiid jfrowiiio on the yio'ii'd above those tiKv." plaet's, at the time the country was (ust settled by its present inha- bitants," the conclusion is drawn that a \(Ty loii^ peiiod haw eliips^ cd since these subterrnneous remnants of the dwellings of man were deserted. Hearths and fire pldccs : Are not these evidences that biiildin;lan{l, the n a circle. h contains (f Indians, out of the 1, is a cup, , each pre- tcd. It is jy anti(iua .'i nysterious ; and there the Trinity lide helow as evening, nt musings, AND niSCOVKRlKs IN TUF. WF.sT 51 arntnwl lU grorn roverod sloping si(h's. Whenever I view thoso niO't singular objects of niriosity and renniins of arts, a thousand int|uint's spring up in my mind. 'I'liey have ex-ited (he wonder of all wlio have seen or heard of them. Who were those ancit-nls of the west, and when, and for ii'hnl purposi;, these mounds were constructed, are (piestions which to this day remain unanswered, and have hatlled the researches of the most inrpiisitive antiquarians. Abundant evidence, however, can be j)rociin'd, that they are not of Indian origin." With this sentiment th.^re is a (jf-nernl acquescence ; however we tliink it proper, in this place, to quote Dr. Heck's remarks on this point, from his (Jazettteer of the States of Illinois and Missouriy see page SOS : " Ancient works exist on this river, the Arkan- .sas, as elsewhere. The remains of mounds and fortifications are almost every where to be seen. One of the largest mounds in this country has been thrown up on this .stream, (the Wabash,) within the last thirty or forty years, by Osages, near the great Osage viU lage, in honour of one of their deceased cliiefs. This fact proves conclusively, the original object of these mounds, and refutes the theory that tliey must necessarily have been erected by a race of men more civilized than the present tribes of Indians. Were it ne- cessary, (says Dr. Beck,) nemerous other facts might be adduced to prove tliat the mounds are no other than the tonibs of their great men." That this is one of their uses, there is no doubt, but not their exclu- sivs one. The vast height of some of them, which is more than an hundred feet, would seem to point them ;u{ as places of look-out, which, if the country, in the days when their builders flourished, was cleared and cultivated, would overlook the country to a great distance ; and if it were not, still their towering summits would surmount even the interference of the forest. But although the Osage Indians have so recently thrown up one such mound, yet this does not prove them to be of American Indian 52 AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES 4J.- origin ; and as this is an isolated case, would rather argue that tlic Osage tribe have originally descended from their more ancient pro- genitors, the inhabitants of this country, prior to the intrusions of the late Indians from Asia. Before we close this work, ^ve shall attempt to make this appear from their own traditions, which have of late been procured from the most ancient of their tribes, the Wyandots, as handed down for hundreds of years. The very form and charactc.'r which Dr. Beck has given the Osage Indians, argues them of a superior stock, or rather a differnat race of men ; as follows : " In per.son, the Osages are among the largest and best formed Indians, and are said to possess fine military capacities ; but residing, as they do, in villages, and having made considerable advances in agriculture, they seem less addicted to war than their northern neighbours." This last remark he has quoted from the Travels of LevvIs and Clark." The whole of this character given of the Osage Indians, their miliiarg taste, their agricultural genius, their noble and command* ing forms of person, and being less " addicted to war," shows them, it would seem, exclusively of other origin than that of the common Indians. It is supposed the inhabitants who found their way first to this country, after its division, in the days oi Peleg, and were here long before the modern Indians, came vot by the way of Behring's strait from Kamscatka, in Asia, but directly from China, across the Paci- fic, to the western coast of America, by means of Islands which abounded anciently in that ocean between Chinese Tart:*ry, China, and South Vmerica, even more than at present, which are, how- ever, now very numerous ; and also by the means of boats, of which all mankind have always had a knowledge. In this way, vdthout any difficulty, more than is common, they could have found their way to this, as mankind have to every part of the earth. AND DISCOVr.RIES IN THE WEST. 63 3 that the eient pro- fusions of lis appear ured from I down for given the a diiTernat among the ne military iving made ;ted to war has quoted lians, their command- hows them, iie common first to this e here long ring's strait ss the Paci- ands which ::»ry, China, » are, how- ls, of which ay, without found their We do not recollect as any of those jtecullar monuments of anti- quity appear north of the United States : Mackenzie in his over- land journey to the Pacific, travelling north-west from Montreal in Canada, does not mention a single vestage of the kind, nor does Caver. If then, there are none of these peculiar kinds, such a» mounds aad forts farther north than about the latitude of Montreal, it would appear from this, that the first authors of these works, es- pecially of the mounds and tumuli, migrated, not from Asia, by way of Behring's straight, but from Europe, east — China, west— and from Africa, south — continents now separated, then touching each other, with islands innumerable, affording the means. If this supposition, namely, that the continents in the first age, immediately after the flood, were united, or closely connected by groupes of islands, is not allowed, how then, it might be inquired, came every island, yet discovered, of any size, having the natural means of human subsistence, in either of the seas, to be found in- habited. In the very way this can be answered, the question relative to the means by which South America was first peopled, can also be answered, namely ; the continents, as intimated on the first pages of this work, as quoted from Dr. Clark, were, at first, that is, im- mediately after the Hood, till the division of the earth, in the days of Peleg, connected together, so that mankind, with all kinds of animals might pass to every quarter of the globe, suited to their na- tures. If such were not the fact, it might be inquired, how then did the several kinds of animals get to every part of the earth from the Ark. They could not, as man, make use of the boat, or ves- sel, nor swim such distances. " From Dr. Clark's travels, it appears, ancient works exist to this day, in some parts of Asia, similar to those of North America. His description of them, reads as though he were contemplating some of these western mounds." The Russians call these sepul- chres logri, and vast numbers of them have been discovered in Si- 54 AMERICAN ANTIQUITrKS i I berio and the deserts bordering on the empire to the soiitli. ttis- torians mention those tumuli, with many particulars. In them were found vessels, ornaments, trinkets, medals, arrows, and other arti- ties ; some of copper, and even gold and silver, mingled with the ashes and remains of dead bodies. When and by whom these burying places of Siberia, and of Tar- tary, more ancient than the Tartars themselves, were used, is like- wise uncertain. The situation, construction, appearance, and gene- ral contents of these Asiatic tumuli, and the American mounds, are so nearly alike, that there can be no hesitation in ascribing them to the same races, in Europe, Asia, Africa, and America ;" and also to the same ages of time, or nearly so, which we suppose was very soon after the flood ; a knowledge of mound building was then among men, as we see in the authors of Babel. "The Triune Cup, (see plate — letter, E.) deposited in one of the museums at Cincinnati, aflbrds .some probable evidence, that a part at least, of the great mass of human population, once inhabit- ing in the valley of the Mississippi, were of Hindo origin. It is an earthen vessel, perfectly round, and will hold a quart, having three distinct faces, or heads, joined together at the back part of each, by a handle. The faces of these figures strongly resemble the Hindoo coimte- nance, which is here well executed. Now, it is well known, that in the mythology of India, three chief gods constitute the acknow- ledged belief of thatpepole, named, Brahma, Visiinoo, and Siva : May not this cup be a symbolical representation of that belief, and may it not have been used for some sacred purpose, here, in the valley of the Mississippi. In this country, as in Asia, the mounds are seen at the junction of many of the rivers, as along the Mississippi, on the most eligible positions for towns, and in the richest lands ; and the day may have been, when those great rivers, the Mississippi, the Ohio, the Illi- nois, and the Muskingum, beheld along their sacred banks, count- AND DISCOVERIES IiN THE WEST- 55 L» south. Hls- In them were and other arti* itigled with the ria, and of Tar- re used, is like- ance, and gene- ral! mounds, are scribing them to rica ;" and also appose was very ilding was then posited in one of evidence, that a n, once inhabit- lo origin. It is a quart, having he back part of Hindoo counte- vcU known, that ute the acknow- Noo, and Siva : that belief, and >se, here, iii the \ at the junction the most eligible le day may have e Ohio, the Till- ed banks, count- less devotees assembled for religious rites, such as now crowd in su- perstitious ceremonies, the devoted and consecrated borders of the Indus, the Ganges, and the Burrampooter. Mounds in the west are very numerous, amounting to several thousands, none less than twenty feet high, and some over one hun- dred. One opposite St. Louis measures eight hundred yards in circumference at its base, which is fifty rods. Sometimes they stand in groups, and with their circular shapes, at a distance, look like enormous hay stacks, scattered through a meadow. From their great number, and occasional stupendous size, years, and the labours of tens of thousands, must have been required to finish them. Were it not, indeed, for their contents, and design manifested in fh"ir erection, they would hardly be looked upon as the work of i;!'f;: 'xurds. In this view, they strike the traveller with the same astt ii^! • '.-at as would be felt while beholding those oldest monu- ments of worldly art and industry, the Egyptian pyramids, and like them , the mounds have their origin iu the dark night of doubt and oblivion. Whether or not these mounds were used at some former pe- riod, as " high places" for purposes of religion, or fortifications, or for national burying places, each of which theories has found ad- vocates, one inference, however, amidst all this gloom and ignorance that surround them, remains certain : the valley of the Ohio was inhabited at one time, by an iuunense agricultural population. We can see their vast funeral vaults, enter into their graves and look at their dry bones ; but no passage of history tells their tale of life ; no spirit comes forth from their ancient sepulchres, to an- swer the inquiries of the living. It is worthy of remark, that Backenridge, in his interesting tra- vels through these regions, calcillates that no less than fwe thousand villages of this forgotten people existed ; and that their largest city \vas situated bclwccu the Alississippi und JMissouri, not far from the 66 AMERICAN ANTJQUITIKS h^ junction of those rivers, near St. Louis. In this rej^ion, the migh- ty waters of the Missouri and Illinois, with their unnumbered tri- butaries, mingle with the " father of rivers," the Mississippi, a situ- ation formed by nature, calculated to invite multitudes of men, from the goodness of the soil, and the facilities of water communi- cations. The present race who are now fast peopling the unbounded west, are apprised of the advantages of this region ; towns and cities are rising, on the very ground, where the ancient millions of mankind had their seats of empire. Ohio now contains more than six hundred thousand inhabitants ; but at that early day, the same extent of country, most probably,, was filled with a far greater population than inhabits it at the pre- sent time. Many of the mounds are completely occupied with human ske- letons, and millions of them must have been interred in these vast cemeteries, that can be traced from the Rocky mountains, on the west, to the Allegheuies on the east, and into the province of the the Texas and New Mexico on the south : revolutions like those known in the old world, may have taken place here, and ar- mies, equal to those of Cyrus, of Alexander, the Great, or of Ta- merlene, the powerful, might have flourished their trumpets, and marched to battle, over these extensive plains, filled with the pro- bable descendants of that same race in Asia, whom these proud con- querors vanquished, there. A knowledge, whence came the first settlers of our vast quarter of the globe, as far as it can be fairly ascertained, must be highly interesting to every inquisitive mind. Several theories, differing greatly in their principles, have been advanced by leading writers. Dr. Robertson, with his usual style of elegance, and manner, and more than ordinary imagination, has supposed there had been a bridge, or isthmus, from South America to Africa, over which the progenitors of the American family might have pascod, and that this •I AND DISCOVERIES IN THE WEST. 57 jn, the migh- lumbered tri- ssippi, a situ- 3 of men, from ter communi- bounded west, and cities are »s of mankind bridge was destroyed by earUuiuiikcs, or worn away by the contin- ued action of the Gulf Stream." " St. Augustine gets over the difficulty of stocking the islands with animals by a shorter method than this. He supposes, among other methods, that the anyels transportcid them thither. This latter solution, thougii it solves the perplexity of their passage to the new world, and might be perfectly satisfactory to the establish- ed creed of South America, (which is that of the Roman Catholic) will not, however, suit the incredulity of the present age." id inhabitants ; most probably,, ts it at the pre- th human ske- ;d in these vast untains, on the province of the itions like those here, and ar- Ireat, or of Ta- ir trumpets, and d with the pro- these proud con- our vast quarter must be highly eories, differing leading writers, nd manner, and gre had been a over which the ;d, and that this COURSE OF THE TEN LOST TRIBES OF ISRAEL. *' There is a strong resemblance between the northern and inde- pendent Tartar, and the tribes of the North American Indians," but not of the South American. " Besides this reason, there are others for believing our aborigines of North America, were lie- scended from the ancient Scythians, and came to this country from the eastern part of Asia." This view by no means invalidates the opinion, that many tribes of the Indians of North A.'nerica, are descended of the hraeliteSj because the Scythians, under this particular name, existed long be- fore that branch of descendants of the family of iS7tc?n, called Is- raelistes ; who, after they had been carried away by Salmanasser, the Assyrian king, went norlhward as stated by Esdras, (see his se- cond book, thirteenth chapter, from verse 40 to verse 45, inclusive) through a part of Independent Tai tary. During this journey, which carried them among the Tartars, now so called, but were anciently the Scythians, and probably became amalgamated with them. This was the more easily ed'ected, on account of the agreement of com- plexion, and common origin. If this may be supposed, we perceive at once, how the North American Indians are in possession of both Scythian and Jewish 8 58 AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES i f practices. Their Scythian customs are as follows ; " Scalping their prisoners, and lodurimj theni to death. Some of the Indian nations also resemble the Tartars in the construction of their canoes, imple- ments of war, and of the chase, with the well known habit of marching in Indian file, and their treatment of the aged ;" these are Scythiun customs. Their Jewish customs arc too many, to be enumerated in this work ; for a particular account, see Smith's View of the Hebrews. If, then, our Indians have evidently the manners, of both the Scy- thian and the Jew, it proves them to have been, anciently, both Is- raelites and Scythiaus ; the latter being the more ancient name of the nations now called Tartars, * with whom the ten tribes may have amalgamated. That the Israelites, called the ten tribes, who were carried away from Judea by Salmanasser, to the land of As- syria, went from that country, in a northerly direction, as quoted from Esdras, above, is evident, from the Map of Asia. Look at Esdras again, 43d verse, chap. 13, and we shall perceive, they" en- tered into ihe Euphrates by the narrow passes or heads of that riv- er," which runs from the north into the Persian Gulf. It is not probable, that the country which Esdras called Arsuretfi, could possibly be America, as many have supposed, because a vast company, such as the ten tribes were at the time they left Syria, which was about an hundred years after their having been carried away from Judea, nearly 3000 years ago, could not travel fast enough to perform the journey in so short a time as a year and a half. We learn from the map of Asia, that Syria was situated at the south-easterly end of the Mediterranean Sea, and that in entering into the narrow passes of the Euphrates, as Esdras says, would lead them north of Mount Ararat, and south-easterly of the IJlack Sea, through Georgia, over the Concassian mountains, and so on to As- tracan, which lies north of the Caspian Sea. We may, with the * Tlie aiipi'llatioii of Tartar was; not known till the yenr A D. 1227, who were at that time, considered ii new race vi' barbarians.— JWo;sc. ^- !alpiiig their dian nations ,noes, imple- wn habit of ;" these are rated in this lie Hebrews. )oth the Sej- ntly, both Is- ient name of n tribes may ti tribes, who ^ land of As- m, as quoted lia. Look at ve, they " en- Is of that riv- llod Afsarelfiy )ecause a vast ey left Syria, beon carried ot travel fast ar and a half, ituated at the at in entering ?s, would lead le Jilack Sea, :1 so on to As- nay, with the I D. 1227, who c. AND DISCOVERIES IN THE WEST o9 ■Rtmost show of reason, be |)»'rmitted to argue that this vast compa- ny of mon, womon, and their little ones, would naturally be com- f elled to shape tlieir course;, so as to avoid the deep rivers, which it cannot well be supposed, they had tlie means of crossing, except when frozen. Their course would tlien be along the heads of the several rivers running north after tliey had passed the coimtry of Astracan. From .'en* ir the Ural mountain^"- or th^.t part of that chain running ,..ong luv^^^jendcnt Tartary. li.-.i, after having passed over this mountain near the northern boundary of Independ- ent Tartary, th(iy would find tliemselves at the foot of the little Al- tAin mountains, which course would lead them, if they still wished to avoid deep and rapid rivers, running from the little Altain moun- tains northward, or north-westerly, into the Northern Ocean, across the immense region of Siberia. The names of those rivers begin- ning on the easterly side of the Ural mountains, are first, the river Obi, with its many bends, or little rivers, forming at length the river Obi, which empties into the Northern Ocean, at the gulf of Obi, in latitude of about 67 degs. north. The second, is the river Yenisei, with its many heads, having their sources in the same chain of mountains, and runs into the same ocean, further north, towards Bhering's straits, which is the point we are approximating, by pursuing this course. A third river with its many heads, tliat rise at the base of anoth- er chain of moutains, called the Yablonoy ; this is the river Lena. There are several other rivers, arising out of another chain of mountains, fartlier on northward towards Bhering's straits, which have no name on the map of Asia ; this range of mountains is cal- led the St. Anovoya aiountains, and comes to a point or end, at the strait which Separates Asia from. America, which is but a small dis- tance across, of about forty miles only, and several islands between. Allowing the ten tribes, or if tliey may have become amalgama- ted with the Tartars, as they passed on in this tremendous journey, toward the Northern Ocean, to have pursued this course, the di.s- V, ■'^\' 60 AMl!:RICA^ ANTItiUITIF.S m\} 1 1 ' t},' , T> tance will appear from Syria t(t tli« straits, to be some hundreds over six thousand miles. Six thousand two htindred and fifty-five miles, which is the distance, is more by nearly one half, than such a vast body, in moving on ton;itlur could possibly perform in a year and a half. Six miles a day would be as p;reiit a distance, as such an host could perform, where there is no way but that of forests un- traced by man, and obstructed by swamps, mountains, fallen trees, and thousands of nameless hindrances. Food must be had, and the only way of procuring it, must have been by hunting with the bow and arrow, and by fishing. The sick must not be forsaken, the aged and the infant must be cherished ; all these things would delay, so that a rapid progress cannot be admitted. If, then, six miles a day is a reascmable distance to suppose they naay have progressed, it follows that nearly three years, instead of a year and a half, would not have been more than sufficient to carry them from Syria to Bhering's Straits, through a region almost of eternal snow. This, therefore, cannot have been the course of the ten tribes, to the land of Assareth, wherever it was : and that it was north from Syria, we ascertain by Esdras, who says they went into the narrow passes of the Euphrates, which means its three heads, or branches, which arise north from Syria. From the head waters of this river, there is no way to pass on, but to go between the Black and Cas- pian Seas, over the Concasian mountain, as before stated. From this point they may have gone on to what is now called As- tracan, as before rehearsed ; but here we suppose they may have ta- ken a west instead of a north direction, which w^ould have been to- ward that part of Russia, which is now called Russia in Europe, and would have led them on between the rivers Don and Volga ; the Don emptying into the Blask Sea, and the Volga into the Caspian. This course would have led them exactly to the places where Moscow and Petersburgh now stand, and from thence in a north- westerly direction, along the south end of the White Sea, to Lap- \N'D DIS(Jt)VERlE.S IPf THE WKST. 611 ne hundrecf?' and fifty-five ilf, than such )rm in a year unce, as such of forests un- , fallen trees, i had, and the with the bow ken, the aged mid delay, so suppose they 1, instead of a icient to carry ion almost of p ten tribes, to as north from to the narrow , or branches, s of this river, ack and Cas- ted. )w called As- may have ta- have been to- ri Europe, and 1 Volga ; the » the Caspian, places where ce in a north- I Sea, to Lap- Inndy Norwaif, and Sweden, which lie along on the coast of the North Atlantic Ocean- Now, the distance from St/rin to Norway, Lapland, and Sweden, which is nearly the same, is scarcely three thousand miles, a dis- tance which may have easily been travelled in a year and a half, at six miles a day, and the same opportunity have been afforded for their amalgamation with Scythians or Tartars, as in the other course towards Behring's strait. Nor\vay, Sweden, and Lapland, may have been the land of Areareth. But here arises a question ; how then did they get into Ameri- ca from Lapland and Norway ? The only answer is, America and Europe must have been at that time united by land. " The manner by which the original inhabitants and animals reached liere, is easily explained, by adopting the supposition, which doubtless, is the most correct, that the northwestern and western limits of America were, at some former period, united to Asia on the west, and to Europe on the east. This was partly the opinion of Buftbn and other great naturalists. That connection has, therefore, been destroyed, among other great changes that this earth has evidently experienced since the flood. We have examples of these revolutions before our eyes. Flo- rida has gained leagues of land from the gulf of Mexico ; and part of Louisiana, in the Mississippi valley, has been formed by the mUd of rivers. Since the Falls of Niagara were first discovered, they have receded very considerably ; and, it is conjectured, that this sublimest of nature's curiosities, was situated originally where Queenstown now stands. SiciLV was united formerly to the continent of Europe, and an- cient authors affirm that the straits of Gibraltar, which divide be- tween Europe and Africa, were formed by a violent irruption of the ocean upon the land. Ceylon, where our missionaries have an establisment, has lost forty leagues by the sea, which is an hundred and twenty miles." >§ p 1 h t i { ,i «9 AMERICAN ANTHill'IIKS Many such instances occur in history. I'liiiy tells ns that in hi? own time, the mountain Cymbotus, with the town of Euritos, which stood on its side, weie totally swallowed up. lie records the like of the city Tantelis in Magnesia, and of the mountain So- pelus, both absorbed by a violent opening of the earth, so that no trace of either remained. Galanis and Guriiatus, towns once famous in I^ioenicia, are recorded to have met the same fate. The vast promontory, called Phlegium, in Ethiopia, after a violent earthquake in the night, was not to be seen in the morning, the earth having swallowed it up and closed over it. Like instances we have of later date. Tlie mountain Picus, in one of the Moluccas, was so high, that it appeared at a vast dis- tance, and served as a landmark to sailors. Ii\it during an earth- quake in the isle, the mountain in an instant sunk into the bowels of the earth ; and no token of it remained, but a lake of Avater. The like happened in the mountainous parts of China, in 1.05G : — when a whole province, with all its towns, cities, and inhabitants, was absorbed in a moment ; an immense lake of water remaining in its place, even to this day. In the year 1646, during the terrible earthquake in the kingdom of Chili, several whole mountains of the Andes, one after another, were wholly absorbed in the earth. Probably many lakes, over the whole earth have been occasioned in tliis way. The greatest earthquake we find in antiquity, is that mentioned by Pliny, in which twelve cities in Asia ]\Iinor were sAvallowed up in one night. But one of those most particularly described in history, is that of the year 1693. It extended to a circumference of two thousand six hundred leagues, chiefly affecting the sea coasts and great rivers. Its motions were so rapid, that those who lay at their length were tossed from side to side as upon a rolling billow. The walls were dashed from their foundations, and no less than fif- ty-four cities, with an incredible number of villages, were either M ANU DlSfOVERltS IN TlIK WEST- 63 lis us that ill lii^ f Eiiritt's, whicli records the like mountain So- artli, so that no vns once famous fate. The vast olent earthquake the earth havina; luntain Pious, in red at a vast dis- during an eartli- : into tlie bowels I lake of water, lina, in 155G : — and inhabitants, water remaining in the kingdom le after another, lakes, over the that mentioned were sAvallowed rly described in I circumference ig the sea coasts hose who lay at a rolling billow, no less than fif- es, were either i dtislioyed oi giently damaged. The city of Catanea, in particular, was utterly overthrown. A travelU'i , who was on his way thither, at the distance of some miles, perceived a black cloud hanging near the place. The sea all of a sudden began to roar : Mount Etna to send forth great spires of llames ; and soon after a shock ensued, with a noise as if all the artillery in the world had been at once dischaig(!d. Our traveller being obliged to alight instantly, felt himself raised a foot from the ground, and turning his eyes to the city, saw nothing but a thick cloud of dust in the air. Although the shock did not continue above three minutes, yet near nineteen thousand of the inhabitants of Sicily perished in the ruins. We have said above, that Norway, Lapland and Sweden, may have been the very land called the land of Arsaretu, by Esdras, in his second book, chapter 13, who may, with the utmost certain- ty, be supposed to know the very course and place where these ten tribes went to, being himself a .Jew and an historian, who at the present day is quoted by the first authors of the age. We have also said it should be considered impossible for the ten tribes, after having left the jilace of their captivity, at the east end of the Atedlterrauean Sea, which was the Syrian country, for them to have gone in a year and a half to Bhering's Strait, through the frozen wilderne.'^s of Siberia. In going away from Syria, they cannot be supposed to have had any place in view, only they had conferred among tlxemselves that, as Esdras says, " they would leave the multitude of the heathen, and go forth into a country where never mankind dwelt ;" which Esdras called the land of Arsareth. Now, it is not to be supposed, a land, or country, where no man dwelt, could have a name, especially in that early age of the world, which was about eight hundred years before the Christian era ; but on that very account we may suppose the word Arsareth, to be de- only of a vast wilderness country, where no man dwelt. liptl and is probably a Persian word, of that signification, for Syria was ll ■ '':{ i 64 AMICItlCAN ANTfQLITIKS m. I iH V u embruct'd within the Persiaii oinpire ; the Israelites may have, in part, lost their original language, aaving been there in a state of captivity for more tliau an hundred years before they left that country. Fvsdras says that Arsareth was a land where no man dwelt ; this statement is somewhat corroborated by the fact that the country which we have supposed was Arsareth, namely, Norway^ &c. was anciently unknown to mankind. On this point, see Morse's Geo- graphy, second volume, page 28 : "Norway ; a rerfion almost as unknown to the ancients us was America.''^ Its almost insulated situation ; having on the west the Atlantic Ocean, on the south end the North Sea, and on the east the Baltic and the Gulf of Bothnia, these waters almost surrounding it ; there being a narrow comiexion of land Avith the continent only on the north, between the (iulf of Bothnia and the White Sea, which is Lapland, and was a reason quite sufficient why the ancients should have liad no knowledge of that region of country which we have supposed may have been the country called by Esdras, the land of Arsareth. Naturalists, as before remarked, have supposed that America was, at some remote period before the Christian era, united to the con- tinent of Europe ; and that some convulsion in nature, such as earthquakes, volcanoes, or the eruption of the ocean, has shaken and overwhelmed a whole region of earth, lying between Norway and Baffin's Bay, of which Greenland and Iceland, with many other islands, are the remains. But it may be said, there are no traces that the Jews were ever residents of Norway, Lapland, or Scandinavia. From the particu- lar shape of Norway, being surrounded by the waters of the sea, except, between the Gulf of Bothnia, and the White Sea, we per- ceive that the first people, whoever they were, must have approach- ed it by the narrow pass between those two bodies of water, of only about forty-five miles in width. AND t>IStOVl-.KIi:s IN TIIF. WKST. r,5 may have, in I in a state of hey left that 111 dwelt ; this it the country rwaij^ &c. was Morse's Geo- fi'ion almost as St the Atlantic east the Baltic iding it ; there nt only on the Sea, which is ancients should I'hich we have sdras, tlie land it AnuM'lca was, itcd to the con- lature, such as an, has shaken tween Norway- id, with many ws were ever oni the particu- ters of the sea, te Sea, we per- have approach- s of water, of Consequently (he place now desiu;niited by the name of IjipJand,, which is the noithciii end of \orway, was fust peopled, be- fore the more southern parts. An inquiry, therefore, whether the ancient people of liapland had any customs like the ancient Jews, would be pertinent to our hypothesis respectiiip; the route of the 7t'n Tribes^ as sjioken of by I'isdras. Morse, the fveograplier, says that of the orUjhml population of Lapland very little is known with certainty Some writers have supposed them to be ii colony of Fins from Russia ; others have thought that they bore a stronger resemblance to the Semocids of Asia. Their lanj^uagc, howcve^, is said by Leems, to have less similitude to the Finish, t!ian t'le Danish to the German ; and to be toUiUij unlike any (.f the di»'< 'ts of the Teutonic, or ancestors of the ancient Germans. They had no written language, no more than the Indians of America ; but according to JiCems, as cpioted by Mnr.se, in their languag. : die found many Hebrcit words, also Greek and Latin. Hebrew words are found among the American Indians in consi- derable variety. But how came Greek and Latin words to be in the composition of the Laponic language ? This is easily answered, if we suppose them to be derived from the Ten Tribes ; as at the time they left Syria, the Greek and Latin were languages spoken every where in that region, as well as the Syrian and Chaldean. And on this very account, it is likely the Ten Tribes had lost in part their ancie t 'tnguage, as it was spoken at Jerusalem, when Salmanasser carried them away. So that by the time they left Syria, and the region therealiouts, to go to Arsareth, their language had become, from this sort of mix- ture, an entire new language. So that allowing the anciv tions, which of the Jews. sstialj named OR- Radien nd Kiedde or Supreme gods, jctrine of the «i as other an- d Ailekies, to ,vo powers be angels as held \ ; Moderak- to whom F ri- se are of hea- ley had been o-Olmak, gods vho conducted doctrine found lat Satan con- •nlf r, and him um ; in whicli privileges and c sight of Ra- i <3ien, the fountain of power, and to dwell with him for ever in the mansions of bliss- This last sentiment is certainly ecjuivaleiit to the Jewish idea of heaven and eternal happiness in Abraham's bosom. It also, under the idea of a new body, shows a reflation to the Jewish and Chris- tian doctrine of the resurrection of the body at the last day ; this is indeed very wonderful. Fifth : An Infernal Deity, called Rota, who occupied and reign- ed in Rota-Abirao, or the infernal regions ; the occupants of which Jiad no hopes of an escape. He, togetlier with his subordinates, Fudno, Mubber, and Paha-Engel, were all considered' as evil dis- posed towards mankind. This is too plain not to be applied to the Bible doctrine of one supreme devil and his angels, who are, sure enough, evil disposed towards mankind. Added to all this, the Laplanders were found in the practice of sa- crificing to all their deities, the reindeer, the sheep, and sometimes the seal, pouring libations of milk, whey, and brandy, with offer- ings of cheese, &c. This last item of their religious manners, is too striking not to claim its derivation from the ancient Jewish worship. The Lap- landers are a people but few in number, not much exceeding twelve hundred families ; which we imagine is a circumstance favouring our idea, that after they had remained a while in Arsareth, or Lap- laud and Norway, which is much the same thing, that their main body may have passed over into America, either in boats, from isl- and to island ; or, if there then was, as is supposed, an isthmus of land, connecting the continents, they passed over on that, leaving, as is natural, in case of such a migration, some individuals or fami- lies behind, who might not wish to accompany them, from whom the present race of Laplanders may be derived. Their dress is much the same with that of our Indians ; their complexion is swar- thy, hair black, large heads, high cheek bones, with ^vide mouths ; n 08 AMERICAN ANTKiUlTIES all of which is strikingly national. They call themsflves Same, their speech Same-yiel, and their country Same-Edna. This last word sounds very much like the word Eden, and may he, inasmuch as it is the name of their country, borrowed from the name of the region where Adam was created, Eden. If such may have been the fact, that a part of the Ten Tribes came over to America, in the way we have supposed, leaving the cold regions of Asarcth behind them, in quest of a milder climate, it would be natural to look for tokens of the presence of Jews of •some sort, along the countries adjacent to the Atlantic. Here we shall make an extract from an able work, wrote exclu- sively on the subject of the Ten Tribes having come from Asia by the way of lihering's Strait, by the Rev. Ethan Smith, Pultney, Vt., who relates as follows : " Joseph Merrick, Esq., a [highly re- spectable character in the church at Pitt.'-field, gave the following account : that in 1815 he Avas levelling some ground under and near an old wood .shed, standing on a place of his situated on Indian Hill. He plowed 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 of doors, and he again conveyed it to the box. After .some time he thought he wou'd examine it ; but in attempting to cut it, found it as hard as a bone ; he succeeded, however, in get- ting 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 in the fold was contained, four lolded pieces of parchment. They were of a dark yellow hue, and contained some kind of wri- # AND DISCOVEKIES IN THt: IVEST- 69 it'lvcs Same, ;. This last t)e, inasmuch name of the 2 Ten Tribes 1, leaving the ilder climate, ce of Jews of wrote exclu- from Asia by nith, Pultney, ., a [highly re- ! the following ind under and ated on Indian to some depth, he discovered, black strap, as lalf in breadth, ss. lard substance, eyed it to his wards found it le box. After I attempting to owever, in get- of thick raw- )f some animal ; of parchment, no kind of wri- M :^> ting. 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 b jen written with a pen in Hebrew, plain and legible. The writing on the three remaining pieces of parchment, was quotations from the Old Testament : See Deut. vi. chap, from the 4th to the 9th verse inclusive — also, xi. chap. 13, 21, inclusive — and Exodus, chap. xiii. 11, 16, inclusive, to which the reader can •refer, if he has the curiosity to read this most interesting discovery. These passages, as recited above, were found in the strap of raw- hide ; which unquestionably had been written on the very pieces of parchment now in the possession of the Antiquarian Society, be- fore Israel left the land of Syria, 2500 years ago : but it is not like- ly the raw-hide strap in which they were found enclosed, had been made a very great length of time. This would be unnatural, as a tlesire to look at the sacred characters, would be very great, al- though they could not read them. This, however, was done at last, as it appears, and buried with some Chief, on the place where it was found, called Indian Hill. Dr. West, of Stockbridge, relates that an old Indian informed him, that his fathers in this country, had, not long since, been in the possession of a booh; which they had, for a long time, carried with them, but having lost the knowledge of reading it, they bu- ried it with an Indian Chief. — View of the Hebrews, page 223. It had been handed down from family to family, or from Chief to Chief, as a most precious relic, if not as an amulet, charm, or talis- man, for it is not to be supposed, that a distinct knowledge of what was contained in the strap, could have long continued among them, in their wandering condition, amid woods and forests. " It is said by Calraet, that the al)ove texts are the very passages of Scriptupe, which the Jews used to write on the leaves of their phylacteries. These phylacteries were little rolls of parchment, 1 is" • I ■, 'if I 70 AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES \V't ,. i whereon were written certain words of the law, these they wore upon their forehead, and upon the wrist of their left arm." — Smithb View of the Hebrews, page 220. This intimation of the presence of the Israelites in America, is too unequivocal to be passed unnoticed : and the circumstance of its being found so near the Atlantic coast, and at so vast a distance from Bhering's Straits, we are still inclined to s\ippose, that such of the Israelites as found their way to the shores of America, on the coast of the Atlantic, may have come from Lapland, or Norway ; seeing evident tokens exist, of their having once been there, as we have noticed some few pages back. But there is a third supposition respecting the land of Arsareth ; which is, that it is situated exactly east from the region of Syria. This is thought to be the country, now known in Asia by the appel- lation of Little Bucharia. Its distance from Syria is something more than two thousand miles ; which, by Esdras, might very well be said to be a journey of a year and a half, through an entire wil- derness. Bucharia, the region of country of which we are about to speak, as being the ancient resort of a part of the lost Ten Tribes, is in distance from England, 3475 milec ; a little south of east from the latitude of London ; and from State of New- York, exactly double that distance, 6950 miles, on an air line, as measured on an ariificial globe, and in nearly the same latitude, due east from this country. It is not impossible, after all our .speculation, and the speculations of others, that, instead of America, or of Norway, this same Bu- charia, is, in truth, the ancient country of Arsareth ; although in the country of old Norway, and of America, are abundant evidence of the presence of Jews at some remote period, no doubt derived from this stock, the Ten Tribes. The country of Bucharia is situated due east from Syria, where the Ten Tribes were placed by Salmanasser, as well as farther cast on the river Gozen, or Ganges, of Hindostan. The distance is AND DIRCOVERIF.S IN THE WEST. 71 i they wore 1."— Swi;^»^ Strait, which, at that time, it is Hkel) , was no strait, but an isthmus, if not a country of great extent, uniting Asia with America. The account of the Bucharian Jews is as follows : " After having seen some years past, merchants from Tiflis, Per- sia, and Armenia, among the visitors at Leipsic, we have had, for the first time, (1S26,) two traders from Bucharia, uiith shawls, which are tliere manufactured of the finest loool of the f/oats of Thibet and Cashmere, hy the Jewish Aimilies, tvho forma third part of the pojntr- lation. In Bucharia, (formerly the capital of Sogdiana,) the Jews have been very numerous ever since the Babylonian captivity, and are there as remarkable for their industry and manufactures, as they are in England for their mojiey transactions. It was not till 182G, that the Russian gDvernment succeeded in extending its diplo- matic mission far into Bucharia. The above traders exchanged their shawls for coarse and fine woollen cloths, of such colours as are most esteemed in the east." Much interest has been excited by the information which this paragraph conveys, and which is ecjually novel and imjwrtant. In none of the geographical works which we have consulted, do we find the least hint as to the existence in Bucharia of such a body of Jews as are here mentioned, amounting to one third of the whole population ; but as the fact can no longer be doidited, the next point of inquiry which presents itself is ; whence liaAC they proceeded, and how have they come to establish themselves in a region so re- mote from their original country .' This question, we think, can only be answered, by supposing that these pcr.sons are the descendants of the long lost Ten Tribes, concerning the fuv.is ot whicli, theolo- gians, historians, and antiquarians, have been alike puzzled : and however wild this hypothesis may at first appear, there arc not wanting circumstances to render it far from being improbable. In the 17th chapter of the second book of Kings, it is said, " In the f ili' fe AND DISCOVERIES IN THE WEST. 73 ica and lliP if Bhering's an isthmus, Tica. The Tiflis, Per- ave had, for h(iwls,tchich Thibet and of the popiir a,) the Jews aplivity, and ,uves, as they lot till 182(3, ip; its diplo- s exchanged colours as are n whicli this (iportant. In ultcd, do we uch a hody of of the whole he next point ny proceeded, regimi so re- link, can only ; descendants vlucli, theolo- Duzzled : and there are not probable. In said, " In the uiiith year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria, took Samaria, and car- ried Israel away into Assyria, and placed them in Helah and Ilaber, by the river Gozan, and in the city of the Medes :" and in the sub- sequent verses, as well as in the writings of the prophets, it is said, that the Lord theu " put away Israel out of his sight, and carried them away into the land of Assyria unto this day." In the Apoc- rypha, 2d Esdras, xiii., it is said, that the Ten Tribes were carried beyond the river, (Euphrates,) and so they were brought into an- other land, when they took counsel togetl. ., that they would leave the multitude of the heathen, and go forth into a further country, where never mankind dwelt ; that they entered in at the narrow passage of the river Euphrates, when the springs of the flood were slsiyed, and " went through the country a great journey, even a year and a half;" and it is added, that " there will they remain, un- til the latter time, when they will come forth again." The country beyond Bucharia was unknown to the ancients, and it is, we be- lieve, generally admitted, that the river Gozan. mentioned in the book of Kings, is the same as the Ganges, which lias its rise iu those very countries in which the Jews reside, of which the Liep- sic account speaks. *Che distance which these two merchants must have travelled, cannot therefore, be less than three thousand miles ; and there can be but little doubt that the Jews, whom they repre- sent as a third part of the population of the countiy, are descend- ants of the Ten Tribes of Israel, settled by tlie river Gozan. The great plain of Central Asia, forming four principal sides, viz : Little Bucharia, Thibet, Mongolia, and Mantehous, contains a sur- face of 150,000 square miles, and a population of 20,000,000. This vast country is still very little known. The great traits of its gi- gantic formation compose, for the most part, all that we are certain of. It is an immense plain ot an cxces.sive elevation, intersected with barren rocks and vast deserts of black and ahnost moving sand. It is supported on all sides by mountains of granite, whose elevated summits determine the difterent climates of the great continent of 10 II 74 Asia, and form the divi AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES of its waters. .,1'. 1 W' From its exterior How all the great rivers of that part of the world. In the interior are a quantity of rivers, having little declivity, orno issue, which are lost in the sands, or perhaps feed stagnant waters. In the southern chains, are countries, populous, rich and civilized ; Little Bucharia, Great and Little Thihet. The people of the north are shepherds and wanderers. Their riches consist in their herds, laeir habita- tions are tents, and towns, and camps, which ar"(t.rnsported accord- ing to the wants of pasturage. The Bucharian^ enjoy the right of trading to all parts of Asia, and the Thibetians cultivate the earth to advantage. The ancients had only a confused idea of Central Asia. " The inhabitants of the country," as we learn from a great authority, " are in a higli state of civilization ; possessing all the use- ful manufactures, and lofty houses built with stone. The Chinese reckon (but this is evidently an exaggeration) that Thibet alone contains 33,000,000 of persons. The merchants of Cashmere, on their way to Yarkland in Little Bucharia, pass through Little Thi- bet. This country is scarcely knoAvn to European geographers." The immense plain of Central Asia is hemmed in, and almost in- accessible by mountain ranges of the greatest elevation, which sur- round it on all sides, except China ; and when the watchful jeal- ousy of the government of the Celestial Empire, is considered, it will scarcely be wondered at, that the vast region in question is sa little known. Such is the country which tiiese newly discovered Jews are said to inhabit in such numbers. The following facts may perhaps serve to throw some additional light on this interesting subject. In the year 1822, a Mr. Sargon, who, if we mistake not, was one of the agents of the London Society, communicated to England some interesting accounts of a number of persons resident at Bom- bay, Cinnamore, and their vicinity, who are evidently the descend- ants of Jews, calling themselves Beni Israel, and bearing almost uniformly Jewish names, but with Persian terminations. This A?fD DISCOVERIES IM THE WEST 75 cterior flow iterior are a lich are lost le soutliern e Bucharia, e shepherd* aeir habita- )rted accord- the right of ite the earth a of Central from a great p; all the use- rhe Chinese rhibet alone ashmere, on I Little Thi- ;eographers." nd almost in- n, which sur- vatchful jeal- considered, it question is sa Jews are said perhaps serve ect. ake not, was ;d to England ident at Bom- r the descend- earing almost itions. This i f gentleman, feeling very desirous of obtaining all possible knowl- edge of their condition, undertook a mission for this purpose, to Cinnamore ; and the result of his inquiries was a conviction that they were not Jews of the one tribe and a half, being of a different race to the white and black Jews at Cochin, and consequently that they were a remnant of the long lost Ten Tribes. This gentleman also concluded, from the information he obtained respecting the Be- ni Israel, or sons of Israel, that they existed in great numbers in the countries between Cochin and Bombay, the no^th of Persia, among the hordes of Tartary, and in Cashmere ; the very countries in which, according to the paragraph in the German paper, they ex- ist in such numbers. So far then, these accounts confirm each other, and there is every probability that the Beni Israel, resident on the west of the Indian peninsula, had originally proceeded from Bucharia. It will, therefore, be interesting to know something of their moral and religious character. The folloAving particulars are collected from Mr. Sargon's accounts : 1 . In dress and manners they resemble the natives so as not to be distinguished from them, except by attentive observation and inquiry. 2. They have He- brew names of the same kind, and with the same local termination as the Sepoys in the ninth regiment Bombay native infantry. 3. Some of them read Hebrew, and they have a faint tradition of the cause of their original exodus from Egypt. 4. Their common lan- guage is the Hindoo. 5. They keep idols and worship them, and use idolatrous ceremonies intermixed with Hebrew. 6. They circumcise their children. 7. They observe the Kipper, or great expiation day of the Hebrews, but not the Sabbath, or any of the feast or fast days. 8. They call themselves Gorah Jehudi, or white Jews ; and they term the black Jews Collah Jehudi. 9. They speak of the Arabian Jews as their brethren, but do not ac- knowledge the European Jews as such. They use, on all occa- sions, and under the most trivial circumstances, the usual Jewish prayer—" Hear, Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord." 10. 76 AMERirAN antiquities; I'l ) m u They Lave nu((»lit'n, (priest) kvite, or kasi, amone; tlioni, iiiidif those terms; but th»y have a kasi, (reader,) who performs prayers, and conducts their religious ceremonies : and they appear to have elders and a chief in each ( onimunity, who determine in their re- ligious concerns. 11. 'I hey expect the Messiah, and tliat they will one day return to Jeru.saleni. They think that the time of his ap- pearance will soon arrive, at which they much rejoice, believing that at Jerusalem they will see their Cod, worship liim only, and be despised no more. These particulars, we should p'-"su]rie, can scarcely fail to prove interesting, both in a moral and religious, as well as in a geograph- ical point of vi«vv. The number of the scattered members of the tribes of JuANDS. I'V If the supposition of naturalists may obtain belief, it follows, that there may have been a whole continent, reaching from the north of Europe to Bhering's Strait ; uniting, not only Europe with America, on the cast, but also Asia, on the north, and may have continued on south from Tihering's Strait, some way down the Pa- cific, as Buflbn partly believed, uniting America and China on the west. ■'''Xl ni, iindt^r s prayers, ir to have n llieir re- t they will of his ap- , believing 1 only, and ail lo prove a geograph- [ibers of the exceed than idded to the ntrics of the action, were lary event to possession of orever," and ?sl hopes and TIIF. GLOBE, f, it follows, nji from the Europe with ikI may have own the Pa- id China on ANU DISCOVERIES* IN THE WEST. 77 It was contended by Clavisero, that the equatorial parts of Afri- i'A and America were once united : liy which means, before the connexion was torn away by the irruption of the sea on both sides, the inhabitants from the African continent came, in the earliest ages, to South America. Whether this be true or not, the two countries approach each other, in a remarkable manner, along the coast of Guinea, on the side of Africa, and the coast of Pernambuco, on the side of South America. These arc the places which, in re- ality, seem to stretch towards each other, as if they had been once united. The innumerable i.slands scattered all over the Pacific ocean, po- pulous with men, more than intimates a period, even since the flood, when all tiie ditferent continents of the globe were united to» gether, and the sea so disposed of, that they did not break this har- jnony, so well calculated to facilitate the migrations of men and an- imals. It is not likely that immediately after the era of the deluge, there was as much ocean wliich appeared above ground as at the present lime ; but instead of this, lakes were more numerous. Conse- quently, on the surface of the globe there was much more land than at the present time. But from various convulsions, more than we have spoken of, whose history is now lost, in past ages, many parts, nay, nearly all the earthy surfac , is sunken to the depths below, while the waters have risen above ; nearly three-fourths of the globe's -surface is known to be water. How appalling ?'s this reflection ! The currents of sea running through the bowels of the earth, by the disposition of its Creator, to promote motion in the waters, as motion is essential to all animal life, have, doubtless, by subter- ranean attrition wearing away the earth, affectod the foundations of whole islands, which have sunk beneath the waters at difl'eiiiSt periods. To such couvnlsions as these, it Would seem, Job has al- luded in his ninth chapter, at th' fifth verse, as follows : " Whicli Ijf! 1 1 ■ fnluiii H / HI *t 1 mR 1 ]■ 7ft AMERICAN ANTtQUITIEi removeth tlie mountains, and ihey know not ; which overturneth them in his anger." Adam Clark's comment on this verse is as follows : " This scorns to refer to eartliquakcs. By these strong convulsions, mountains, valleys, hills, even tvlioh islands are re- moved in an instant ; and to this latter circumstance the words, " they know no/," most probably refer. The work is done in the twinkling of an eye ; no warning is given ; the mountain that seemed to be as firm as the earth on which it rested, was in the same moment both visible and invisible ; so suddenly was it swal- lowed up." It can scarcely be supposed but Job was either personally or by information, acquainted with occurrences of the kind, in order to justify the thing as being done by God in his anger. It is not impossible but the fact upon which the following story is founded, may have been known to Job, who was a man suppos- ed in possession of every j;pecies of infonnation calculated to inter- est the nobler faculties of the human mind, if we may judge from the book bearing his own mime. The story is an account of a cer- tain island, called by the ancients Atalantis ; and for ought that can be urged again.st its having existed, we are inclined to believe it did, as that all learning, uninspired, and general information, was an-