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^, '/:>.--

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 ■ '

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

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

^ir<

PREFACE.

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,

249235

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

■

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

»'

CONTENTf

VII
Pag«

64
68

70
76
80

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,><v 384

Traits of ancient Romans in America,* • • • 391

Gold Regions in the Southern States, 396

•1

* ' • •

>--.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'

AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES

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 - :. ' , .

AND DISCOVERIES IN THE WEST-

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.

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.

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-

;.! •

. '

▲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.

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.

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 .

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-

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^<jr,
probably signifying division, in the Noetic language.

The birth of Peleg was about an hundred years after the flood,
the very time when Babel was being builded. But we do not im-
agine this great convulsionary division of the several quarters of the
globe, took place till perhaps an hundred years after the birth of
Peleg, on account of the peculiar latitude of the expression, " in the
days of Peleg." Or, it may have been even two hundred years af-
ter the birth of Peleg, as this person's whole life was but two hun-
dred and thirty-nine years, so that Noah overlived him eleven
years.

" In the days of Peleg," therefore, may as well be argued to
mean near the close of his life, as at any other period ; this would
give time for a very considerable knowledge of the earth's coun-
tries to have been obtained ; so that Noah could have made a
judicious division of it among the posterity of his sons.

This grand division of the earth, is supposed, by some, to have

2(»

AMF.RHAN ANTKiUITIF.S

been only « polHicul divisiuii ; but by others, u {ibysical or gcognt-
phicai one. This hitter opiniun is I'avoiirrd b\ A(h<in (Jhirk. Scr
his comment on the 25th verse of the lOth chapter of Genesis, as
follovs : " A separation of Conl'ments luul ishmds from the main
land, the earthy parts having been united in one great continent,
previous to the days of Peleg." But at this era, when men and
animals had found their way to the several quarters of the earth, it
seemed good to the Creator to break down those uniting portions of
land, by bringing into action the winds, the billows, and subterra-
nean fires, which soon, by their repeated and united forces, remov-
ed each isthmus, throwing them along the coasts of the several con-
tinents, and forming them into islands ; thus destroying, for uise
purposes, those primeval highways of the first nations.

SUPPOSED IDENTITY AND URAL NAME OF MELCHISIDEK Oh'

THE SCKIPTIJKES.

This is indeed an interesting problem, the solution of which has
perplexed its thousands ; most of whom suppose; him to have been

the Son of God, some angelic, or mysterious, supernatural person-
age, ratber than a mere man. This general opinion proceeds on

the ground of the Scripture account of him, as commonly under-
stood, being expressed as follows : " Without father, without mo-
ther, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of

life, but made like unto the Son of God, abideth a priest continu-

jjly." Hebrews vii. 3.

But, without further circumlocution, we will at once declose our

opinion, by stating that we believe him to have been Shem, the

eldest son of Noah, the immediate progenitor of Abraham, Isaac,

Jacob, and the Jews, and none other than Shem, " the man of

name, or renown."

^':-^:^i^-'Jti£.-jr^~:

;sis. as
! main
tinent,
in and
arth, it
tions of
ibtcrra-
remov-
■ral con-
for wise

IDEK OV

ivliicli has
iav<! b(!Oii
al person-
jcccds on
V nnder-
thout mo-
nor end of
; continn-

leclose our
SliEM, the
lam, Isaac,
the man of

\M) DISCOVF.RIKS IN TtlK UK ST 21

W»f derivi! this coiu-liision iVoiii tlu: loscarcli and critical com-
mentary of the learned and pious Adam (Mark, who }i;ives us this
information from the tradition of the Jewish Rabbins, which, with-
out hesitation, gives this honour to Slr.iu.

The particular part of that conuncntury to whicli we allude as

being' the origin of our belief, on this subject, is the preface of that
author, to the Book of Job, on page 71fi, as follows. " SiiF.M lived
five hundred and two years after the Doluge ; being still alive, and
in the three hundred and ninety-tliird year of his life, when Abra-
ham was born ; there/ore, the Jewish tradition that Shem was the
Melchisedeck, or my righteous king, of Salem," which tcmd Mel-
chi.-edeck, was " an epithet, or title of honour and respect, not a pro-
per name, and therefore, as the head and father of his race, Abra-
ham paid tithes to him. This seems to be wtll founded, and the
idea confirmed by these remarkaiile words. Psalms, 110, Jehovah
hath sworn and will not repent, or change, at tah cohenleolam al di-
hade MalLhscdek. Afi if he iiad said, Thou my only begotten Son,
^irst born of many brethren, not according to the substituted priest-
hood of the sons of Levi, Vvlio, after the sin of the golden calf,
.stood up in lieu of all the first born of Israel, invested with their
forfeited rights of primogeniture of king and priest : the Lord hath
sworn, and will not repent, (change.) Thou art a priest for ever,
after the (my order of Melchiscdek, my own original primitive) or-
der of primogeniture : even as Shem, the man of name, the Slicm
jlhat stands the first and foremost of the sons of Noah. The right-
eous Prince, and Priest of the Most High God meets his descendant,
Abraham, after the slaughter of the kings, with refreshments ; and
blessed him, as the head and father of his race; the Jews in par-
ticular, and, as such, he received from Abraham, the tithe of all the
spoil.

How beautifully docs Paul of Tarsus, writing to the Hebrews,
point, through Melchisedek, or (Siieji, the head and father of their
race) invested in all the original rights of primogeniture, Priest of

22 AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES

the Most Ili^h God, bicssinp; Abraham as such, before Levi had
existence, and as such receiving tithe from Abraham, and in him
from Levi, yet in the ioiiis of his forefathers : Moses, on this
great and solemn occasion, riTords simply this : — Melchisedek, king
of Salem, Priest of the Most High God, sine ycncalogia ; his pedi-
gree not mentioned, but standing as Adam in St. Luke's genealogy
without father, and without mother, Adam of God. Luke, iii. 38.
How beautifully, I say, doth St. Paul point, through Melchisedek,
to Jehoshua, our Great High Priest and King, Jesus Christ, whose
eternal generation who shall declare ! Ha Mashiach, tliC Lord's
Anointed High Priest, and King, after the order of Melchisedek :
only begotten, first born son."

Thus far for the preface on the subject of Melchisedek, showing
that he was none other than Shem, the son of Noah. We shall
now give the same author's views of the same supposed mysterious
character, Melchisedek, as found in his notes on the 7th of He-
brews, commencing at the third verse.

Without father, without mother, ^vithout descent, having
neither beginning of days nor end of life. " The object of the
apostle, in thus producing the example of Melchisedek, was to
show — 1st. That Jesus was the person prophesied of in the 110th
Psalm ; which Psalm, the Jews uniformly understood, as predicting
the Messiah. 2d. To answer the objections of the Jews against
the legitimacy of the Priesthood of Christ, arising from the stock
from which He proceeded. The objection is this : if the Messiah
is a true Priest, he must come form a legitimate stock, as all the
Priests under the law have regularly done ; otherwise we cannot
acknowledge him to be a Priest.

But Jesus of Nazareth has not proceeded from such a stock ;
therefore, we cannot acknowledge him for a Priest, the Antitype
of Aaron. To this objection the apostle answers, that it was not ne-
cessary for the Priest to come from a particular stock ; for Melchi-
sedek was a Priest of the Most High God, and yet was not of the

AND DISl iVEniES IN THE U EST

2:?

i hftd
n him
n this
:, kinR
s pedi-
iealo|?y
iii. 38.
isedek,
, whose
; Lord's
isedek :

showing
U shall
ysterious
1 of He-

t, having
:t of the

was to
he 110th
iredicting
3 against
he stock

Messiah
all the
ve cannot

a stock;

Antitype

as not ne-

Melchi-

lot of the

stock t'itlu!!' of Abraliam (for Mt Idiisodek was bcfori- Abraham,)
or Aaron, but was a Canaaiith

It is well known thai fhe ancient ./«'us, or Hebrews, were 'ex-
ceedingly scrupulous in choosing tlioir JTiij/i Piiat; partly by di-
vine command, and partly from the tradition of tlieir ancestors, who
always considered this office to be of the bigliest dignity. 1st. God
had commanded. Lev. xxi, 10, that the High Pritst should be
chosen from among their brethren .' that is, from the family of Aa-
ron. 2d. That he should marry a virgin. 3d. He must not mar-
ry a widow. 4th. Nor a divorced person. .5th. Nor a harlot.
6th. Nor one of another nation- He who was found to have acted
contrary to these requisitions, was, jure J)inno, excluded from the
pontificate, or eligibility to hold that office.

On the contrary, it was necessary that he who desired this honor,
should be able to prove his descent from the family of Aaron : and
if he could not, though even in the Priesthood, he was cast out ; as
we find from Ezra, ii. 62, and Nchem. 7. 63. To these Divine
ordinances, the Jews have added, 1st. That no proselyte could be
a Priest ; 2d. Nor a slave ; 3d. Nor a bastard ; 4th. Nor the son
of a Nethinnim : these were a class of men who were servants to
the Priests and Levites, not of their tribe, to draw water, and to
hew wood. 5th. Nor one whose father exercised any base trade.

And that they might be well assured of all this, they took the ut-
most care to preserve their genealogies, which were regularly kept
in the archives of the temple. When, if any person aspired to the
sacerdotal function, his genealogical table was carefully inf. ected ;
and if any of the above blemishes was found in him, ht 'v is re-
jected."

But here the matter comes to a point, as it respects our inquiry
respecting Melchisedek's having no father nor mother. " He who
could not support his pretensions by just genealogical evidences, was
said to be without father. Thus in Bereshilh Raf'>a, Sect. xviii,fol.
18, are these words, For this cause shall a man leave fatlier and

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 ^

AM) DIKtOVKKtKS IN THE UKST.

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

2'4SPK

if!

ill
In

I i

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

AND nrsCOVERIF.S IN THE WEST.

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

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.

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

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

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,

AND DCSCOVERIKS IN TIIK WKST.

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

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.

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 »

*>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
<liflerent people of this name, mentioned in this 10th chapter of Ge-
nesis, and a fourth in chapter 25 of the same book." The queen
of Sheba was of this race, who came, as it is said, from the utter-
most parts of the earth, to Jerusalem, to know the wisdom of Solo-

AMERICAN ANTIQUIirES

M '

Lit

,1 »

mon, and the Hebrew religion ; she was, therefore, being a de-
scendant of Ham's posterity, a black woman.

Havila, Sabtah, Ramah, Sabtechah, Sheba, Dedan ; these are
names belonging to the race of Ham, but the nations to whom they
gave rise, is not interesting to our subject. Nimrod, however,
should not be omitted, who was of the race of Ham, and was hia
grand son — as that the world is indebted to this monster of in- •
iquity, for the invention of the monarchical and despotic forms of
government. Of whom it is said, that he was a surly giant, and a
mighty hunter, before the Lord ; meaning not only liis skill and
courage, and amazing strength and ferocity, in the destruction of
wild animals, which infested the vast wilds of the earfh at that
time ; but a destroyer of men's lives, and the originator of idolatry.

It was this Nimrod, who opposed the righteous Melchisedek ; and
taught, or rather compelled, men to forsake the religion of SJiem, or
Melchisedek, and to follow the institutes of Nimrod. " The be-
ginning of his kingdom was Babel, Erech, Acad, and Lalneh, in
the land of Shinar. Gen. x. 10. The ::ovver of Babel, and city
of Babylon, were both built on the Euphrates. Babel, however,
tras first built by Nimrod's agency, whose influence, it appears,
arose much from the fierceness of his disposition, and from his sta-
ture and great muscular powers ; qualifications, which ignorant and
savage nations, in every age, have been found apt'fo revere. The
Septuagint version of the Scriptures, speaks of Nimrod as being a
surly giant ; this was a coloured man, to whom the monarchies of
the earth, ever since his days, (except the kings of Israel, whom
the Lord set over his chosen jjeople, for the express purpose of
keeping the Law till SMlo should come ;) should feel grateful for
the invention of that kind of government which annihilates the high
and holy principles of equality, and the rights of man.

It was the descendants of Japheth who originated the popular
forms of government in the earth ; as among the Greeks, the Ro-

AND DISCOVERIES IX TUF. WEST.

3ft

and

wans, and more perfectly among the Americans, who are the de-
scendants of Japheth. •

We shall omit an account of the nations arising out of uie de-
scendants of Shkm, (for we need not mention the Jews, of whom
all men know they descended from him ;) for the same reftsons as-
signed for the omission of a part of the posterity of Ham, because
they chiefly settled in those regions of Asia too remote to answer
our subject any valuable purpose.

" In confirmation, however, that all men have been derived from
one family, let it be observed that there are many customs and
usages, both sacred and civil, which have prevailed in alt parts of
the world ; which could owe their origin to nothing but a general
institution, which could not have existed, had not mankind been of
the same blood originally, and instructed in the same common no-
tions, before they were dispersed," from the mountains of Ararat,
and the family of Noah.. Traits of this description, which argue
to this conclusion, will, in the course of this work, be made to ap-
f»ear ; which to such as believe the Bible, will afford peculiar
pleasure and surprise.

ANTIQUITIES OF THE WEST.

There are no parts of the kingdoms or countries of the old
world, but have celebrated in poetry and sober history, the mighty
relics and antiquities of ancient empires, as Rome, Babylon, Greece,
Egypt, Hindostan, Tartary, Africa, China, Persia, Europe, Russia,
and many of the islands of the sea. It yet remains for America to
awake her story from its .oblivious sleep, and tell the tale of her
Antiquies — the traits of nations, coeval, perhaps, ^vith the eldest
works of man this side the flood.

^' I

'! !

ifii'!^ f

AMERICAN ANTIQUITJKS

This curious subjeot, although it is obscurod beneath tbe f;I(M)m
of past ages, of which but small reeord remains ; bcsidi* that which
is written in the dust, in the form of mighty mounds, tumuli,
strange skeletons, and aboriginal fortitirations ; and, in some few
instances, the bodies of preserved persons, as sometimes found in
the nitrous caves of Kentucky, and the west ; aflording abundant
premises to prompt investigation and rational conjecture. The
mounds and tumuli of the west, are to be ranked among the most
wonderful antiquities of the world, on the account of their number,
magnitude, and obscurity of origin.

Respecting an account of several of those mighty works of the
ancient nations, we shall proceed to extract, from the writings of a
celebrated naturalist and observer of those American Antiquities,
namely, those of Mr. Hine, of Cincinnati, which we shall interlard
with our own remarks and deductions as we pass on.

This writer commences, by telling us, that " they generally are
found on fertile bottoms and near the rivers. Several hundreds
have been discovered along the valley of the Mis.sissippi ; the larg-
est of which stands not far from Wheeling, on the Ohio. This
mound is fifty rods in circumference, and ninety feet in perpendi-
cular height.

This is found filled with thousands of human aj^letons, and was
doutless the place of general deposit of tlie deadror ages ; which
must have been contiguous to some large city, where the dead were
placed in gradation, one layer above another, till it reached a natu-
ral climax, agreeing with the slope commenced at its base or foun-
dation.

It is not credible that this mound was made by the progenitors
of the modern Indians ; its magnitude, and the vast number of dead
deposited there, denote a popuhilii.ii too great to have been support-
ed by mere fishing and hiniting, as the Aanner of those Indians has
always been. A population sufficient to raise such a mound as this,
of earth, by the grad>ial interment of deceased inhabitants, would

AND niscovr.niF.s in tiif. west

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.

, 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

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.

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.

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

AND niRCOVF.RFF.S IN THE WEST-

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

?^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

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

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-

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

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-

AMKRM;.\.N ANTIHlifTIKS

ffl

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

ANr) urscovERiF.s in thi; ui;st.

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-

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<!,s
once towered above the in ; if not such as now accommodate the
millions of Anu:rica, yet they may have been such as the ancient
Britons used at the time the Ilomans fust invaded their country.

These Aveio formed of logs set uj) endwise, drawn in at thf
top, so that the smoke mi^lit pass up, at an aperture left open at tlie
summit. Thoy were not stpiare on the ground, as houses are now
built, but set in a circle, one log against the other, with the hearth
and fire place in the centre. At the opening in the top, where the
smoke went out, the light came in, as no other window was then
used. There are still remaining, in several parts of England, the
vestiges of large .sloiic buildings made in this way, i. e. in a circle.
— Datid Blalr''s Hint, of JJii gland., /hkjc S.

" At Cincinnati there arc two Museums, one of v. Inch contains
a great variety of western anliq\ilties, many skulb of Indians,
and more than an hundred remain;; of what has boon dug f)ut of the
aboriginal mounds. The most sitrajige and curious of all, is a cup,
made of clay, with three facca on tlu; sides of the cup, each pre-
senting regular features of a man, and beautifully delineated. It is
the same represented on the plate. See letter E.

<' A great deal has been said, and not a little written, by anticjua
rians about this cup. It was found in one of those mysterious
mounds, and is known by the name of the Triune cup ; and there
are those who thinlc the makers of it liad an allusion to the Trinity
of the Godhead. Hence ifi name, " Trimie cup."

In this neighbourhood, the Yellow Springs, a da} 's ride below
Cincinnati, stands one of those singular mounds. It was evening,
says Mr. Hiue, " when 1 walked out, lingering, in siknt musiugs,

liidsc imi

eut iuha-

lilH oliiptr-

iian wen.'

I)\iildiiif!,s

\()date the

le ancient

ountry-

in at the

pea at the

s are now

the hcurlh

where the

• was then

5>;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

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.

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-

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-

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

AMERICAN ANTJQUITIKS

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.

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

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-

■'^\'

AMl!:RICA^ ANTItiUITIF.S

m\}

1 1

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
{

«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

ANU DlSfOVERltS IN TlIK WEST-

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

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 ■

'':{

AMICItlCAN ANTfQLITIKS

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 anci<mt liaplauders derived their tongue

from these Ten wandering Tribes, it well might be said by Leems,

as quoted by Morse, that the language of Lapland, commonly called

the LajXHiic, had no words in common with the Gothic or Teutonic,

except a few Norwegian mords vvidentljf foreign, and unas.sociated

AiMEillCAN ANTIQUITIES

with any of the languages of Asia or Europe : these being of the
Teutonic or German origin, which goes back to within five hundred
years of the flood, several centuries before the Ten Tribes were
carried away by Salmanasser.

This view would seem to favour our hypothesis. We shall no^v
show a few particulars respecting their religious notions, which
seem to have, in some respects, a resemblance to that of the Jews.

Their deities .-'ere of four kiiids. First : Super-celestial, named
as follows : Radien, Atzihe, and Kiedde, the Creator. Radien
and Atzihe, they considered the fountain of power, and Kiedde or
Radien Kiedde, the son or Creator; these were their Supreme gods,
and would seem to be borrowed from the Jewish doctrine of the
Trinity.

Second : Celestial Deities, called Beiwe, the sun, or as other an-
cient nations had it, Apollo, Avhich is the same, and Ailekies, to
whom Saturday was consecrated. May not these two powers be
considered as the shadows of the diftcrent orders of angels as held
by the .Jews

Third : Sub-celtstial, or in the air, and on the earth ; Moderak-
ka, or the Lapland Lucina ; Saderakka, or Venus, to whom Fri-
day was holy ; and Juks Akka, or the Nurse. These are of hea-
then origin, derived from the nations among whom they had been
slaves and wanderers.

Fourth : Subterranean Deities, as Saiwo and Saiwo-Olmak, gods,
of the mountains ; Saiv.o-Guelle, or their Mercury, who conducted
the shades, or wicked souls, to the lower regions.

This idea would seem to be equivalent with the doctrine found
in both the Jewish and Christian religions, namely, that Satan con-
ducts or receives the souls of the wicked to his hell.

They have another doity, i»eloiiging to the fourtl* order, and him
they call Jahme-Akko, or he who occu])ied their Elisium ; in which
the soul was furnished with a new body, and nobler privileges and
powers, and entitled, at some future day, to enjoy the sight of Ra-

AND DISCOVERIES IN THE WEST.

being ai the
five hundred
Tribes were

Ve shall uo>v
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-

<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 ;

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-

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-

:^>

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

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.

i they wore

1."— Swi</t'3

America, is
lumstance of
ist a distance
, that such of
lerica, on the

or Norway ;
1 there, as we

of Arsareth ;
gion of Syria.
I by the appel-
, is something
light very well

an entire wil-

ibout to speak,

( Tribes^ is in

cast from the

exactly double

I on an ariificial
m this country,
he speculations

this same Bu-
th\ although in
mdant evidence

doubt derived

tn Syria, where

II as farther cast
The distance is

about two thousand live hundred miles, and at that time, was a vast
desert, lying beyond the settlements of men, in all probability ; and
in order to go there, they must also pass through the narrow passes
of the river Euphrates, or its heads, near the south end of the Cas-
pian Sea, and then nearly due east, inclining, however, a little to
the north. Two circumstances, lead to the supposition, that this
Bucharia is the Arsareth mentioned by Esdras. The first is, at this
place is found a great population of the Jews : Second ; the word,
Arsareth is similar to the names of other regions of that country in
Asia ; as Ararat, Astracan, Samarcand, Yarkund, Aracan, Ala Tau,
Alatanian, Aral, Altai, Amu, Korassan, Balk, Bactriana, Bucharia,
Argun, Narrat, Anderab, Katlan : (this word is much like the Mexi-
can names of places, as Aztalan, Copallan, and so on;) Anderab,
Aktau, Ailak. Names of countries and rivers might be greatly
multiplied, which bear a strong affinity, in sound and formation, to
the word Arsareth, which is probably a Persian word, as well as
the rest we have quoted, as from these regions, ancient Bucharia,
the foundation of the Persian power was derived.

The reader can choose between the three, whether America,
^orway, or Bucharia, is the ancient country called Arsareth, as one
of the three is beyond a doubt, the place alluded to by Esdras, to
which the Ten Tribes went.

In this country, many thousand Jews have bee., discovered, who
were not known by the Christian nations, to have existed at all till
recently. It would appear from this circumstance, that the Ten
Tribes may have divided, a part going east, to the country now cal-
led Bucharia ; and a part west, to the country now called Norway ;
both of which, at that time, were the region of almost endless soli-
tudes, and about equal distances from Syria : and from Bucharia to
Bhcring's Straits is also about the same.

In process of time, both from Bucharia, in Asia, and Norway, in
Europe, the descendants from these Ten Tribes, may have found their
way into America. Those from Norway, by the way of islands or

AMERICAN ANTIQUITJES

W'kV

continent, which may then liavc existed, between America and thiP
north of Europe ; and those from Bucharia, by the way of BherillJ>;^»^
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

ili' fe

AND DISCOVERIES IN THE WEST.

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

Asia, and form the divi

AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES

of its waters.

.,1'. 1

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

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

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.

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 Ju<lali, and the half tribe of Ik'njamin, rather exceed than
fall short of five millions. Now, if this number be added to the
many other millions to be found in the diflerent countries of the
east, what an immense power would be brought into action, were
the spirit of nationality once roused, or any extraordinary event to
occur, which should induce them to unite in claiming possession of
that land which was given to them for an " heritage forever," and
to which, in every other clime of the eartli, their fondest hopes and
their dearest aspirations never cease to turn."

m ■

■i

A FURTHER ACCOINT OF THE CONVULSIONS OF TIIE GLOBE,
WITH THE REMOVAL OF IS]>ANDS.

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 ■

fnluiii

]■

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-
<nently in the possession of heathen philosophers and priests, to whom
it was the custom, even for princes to^ resort, and learn of, be-
fore they were considered qualified to sit on the thrones of their
fathers. Such were the Egyptian priests to the Egyptians, and
the Druids to the Celtic nations ; the Brahmins to the Hindoos ;
the Magi to the Persians ; the Philosophers to the Greeks and Ro-
mans ; and the Prophets of the Indians, to the western Tribes.

" This island is mentioned by Plato, in his dialogue of Timaeus.
^on, the Athenian lawgiver, is supposed to have travelled into
■Upt," about sixs hundred years before Christ. Plato's time %vas
three hundred years nearer the time of Christ, who has mentioned
the travels of Solon into Egypt. " He arrives at an ancient tem-

tms

AND DISCOERIES IN THIC WIl^T-

overturneth
8 verse is as

these stronR
lands are re-
e the words,
s done in the
mountain that
(1, was in the
I was it swal-

ersonally or by
nd, in order to

following story
a man suppos-
3ulatcd to inter-
uay judge from
ccount of a cer-
r ought that can
to believe it did,
mation, was an-
priests, to whom
nd learn of, be-
; thrones of their

Egyptians, and
to the Hindoos ;

Greeks and Ro-
estern Tribes,
ogue of Timaeus.
lave travelled into

Plato's time was
vho has mentioned
at an ancient tem-

})le 0.1 the Delta, a fertile island formed by the Nile, where he held
a conversation with certain learned priests^ on the antiquities of re-
mote ages. When one of them gave Solon a description of the isl-
and Atalantis, and also of its destruction. This island, said the
Egyptian priest, was situated in the Western Ocean, opposite the
Straits of Gibraltar ;" which would place; it exactly between a part
of Europe, its .soutliern end, and the northern part of Africa and the
continent of America.

" There was, said the priest, an easy passage from this to other
islands, which lay adjacent to a large continent, exceeding in size
nil Europe and Asia." Neptune settled in this island, from whose
son Atlas^ its name was derived, and he divided it between his ten
sons, who reigned there in regular succession for many ages."

From the time of Solon's travels in Egypt, which was six hun-
dred years before Christ, we find more than seventeen hundred
years up to the flood ; so that thm enough had elapsed since the
flood to justify the fact of the island having existed, and also of
having been inhabited and destroyed even six hundred years be-'**'
fore the time of Solon ; which would make the time of its destruc-
tion twelve hundred years before Christ ; and would still leave
more than five hundred years from that period back to the flood.
So that if King Neptune had not made his settlement on the island
Atalantis, till two hundred years after the flood, there would have
been time for the successive reigns of each of the regal lines of his
sons, amounting to three hundred years, before the time of its en-
velopement in the sea ; so tliat the priest was justified in using the
term antiquities, when he referred to that catastrophe.

*' They made, i. e. the Atalantians, irruptions into Europe and
Africa ; subduing all Lybia, as far as Egypt, Europe, and Asia
Minor. They were resisted, however, by the Athenians, and dri-
ven back to their Atlantic territories." If they were resisted and
driven back by the Athenians, the era of the existence of this isl-
and is easily ascertained ; because the Athenians settled at Athens,

AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES

M Mill

in Greece, fifteen hundred and fifty-six years before Christ, beiiif;
a colony from Egypt, under their conductor Ceaops. One hun-
dred years after their establishment at Athens, they had become
powerful, so as to be able to take a political stand among the na-
tions of that region, and to defend their country against invasions.
Accordingly, at the time the Atalanteans \vere repulsed and compel-
led to return from whence they came, was in the year fourteen
hundred and fifty-three before Christ.

" Shortly after this," says Plato, " there was a tremendous
earthquake and an overflowing of the sea, which continued for a
day and a night ; in the course of which the vast island of Atalan-
tis, and all its splendid cities and warlike nations, were swallowed
up, and sunk to the bottom of the sea, which spreading its waters
over the chasm, added a vast region to the Atlantic Ocean. For a
long time, however, the sea was not navigable, on account of rocks
and shoals, of mud and slime, and of the ruins of that drowned
country." This occurreiire, if the tradition be true, happened
" about twelve hundred years before Christ, three hundred years
before the time of Job, and seven himdred and fifty years after the
flood. At the period, therefore, of the existence of this island, a land
passage to America, from Europe and Africa, was practicable ; also
by other islands, some of which arc still situated in the same direc-
tion — the Azores, JNIadeiras, and Tcneritlc islands, about twenty ii»
number.

For this story of the Island of Atalantis, we are indebted to Ir-
ving's Columbus, a popular work, of recent date ; which cannot be
denied but is exceedingly curious, and not without some foundation
of probability. Was not this island the bridge, so called, reaching
from America, to Europe, as conjectured by Dr. Robertson, the his-
torian, but was destroyed by the ocean, as he supposes, very far
back in the ages of antiquity.

We shall nowa^^ttend more particularly to the evidences of an
ancient population in this country, anterior to that of the present

\NU UlSCDVtKll::^ IN TllK WKSl-

irist, being
One liuii- ;

vad become
ong the na-
it invasions,
and compel-
iwv fouiteeu

tremendo\is
itinued for a
id of Alalan-
re swallowed
ing its waters
cean. For a
!ount of rocks
that drowned
le, happened
undred years
years after the
i island, a land
icticable ; also
lie same direc-
bout twenty in

indebted to Ir-
hich cannot be
ome foundation
ailed, reaching
»ertson, the his-
iposes, very far

evidences of an
L of the present

J ace of Indians, aflorded in the discovery of Forts, Mounds, Tumuli,
•di\d their contents, as related by western travellers, mid the re-
searches of the aiilifiuarian society. But before we proceed to an ac-
count of the trahs of this kind of popidalion, more than already giv-
en, we will remark, that wherever plats of ground, struck out into
circlen, squcuts, and omls, are Ibiind, we are at once referred to an
era when a people and nations existed in this country, more civiliz-
ed, refined, and given to areiiitectural and agricultural pursuits,
than the Indians.

It is well known the present tribes do not take the trouble of ma-
terially altering the face of the ground to accommodate the erection
of their places of dwelling ; always selecting that which is already
fashioned by nature to .suit their views ; using the earth, where
they build thtir towns, as they lind it.

The travels of A.sii, an English gentleman, performed in 1826,
through the western eounliies, furnisli us with many interesting ac-
counts of this description. In a tieep and almost hidden valley
among the mountains of the Alleghany, on the road from Philadel-
phia to Pittsbuigli, was found by this traveller, one of those solitary
memorials of an exterminated race.

" It is hid amidst the ])iofoundest gloom of the woods; he spent
three hours in ex2)loriiig it ; and Annul it to consist of a regular cir-
cle, and hundred paces in diameter." Ibis is etpial to six rods
and four paees ; and twenty-two rods in circumference. The
whole plot is raised above the conmion level of the earth around,
about " four feet high," which may have been done to carry off the
water, when the snows melted, or when violent rains would other-
Avise have inundated their dwellings from the surrounding hills.
" The neighborhood of Brownsville or Redstone, in Pennsylvania,
he says, abounds with monuments of antiquity. A fortified camp,
of a very complete and curious kind, on the ramparts of which is
timber of five feet in diameter, stands near the town of Brownville.

This camj) contain about thirteen acres, enclosed in a circle, the

1 1

B'2

AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES

1 ' ■ ^-

;V'' I

tm '„

i?ti.:

*(«;?

!«('

elevation of which is seven feet above the adjoining ground ; this
was an herculean woric Within the circle a pentagon is accurttely
described ; having its sides four feet high, and its angles uniformly
three feet from- the outside ol' the circle, thus leaving an un-
broken communication all around ; a pentagon is a figure, hav-
ing five angles or sides. Each side cf the pentagon has a post-
em, or small gateway, opening into the passage between it and the
circle ; but the circle itself has only one grand gateway outward.
Exactly in the centre stands a mound about thirty feet high, sup-
posed to have been a place of look-out. At a small distance from
this place, was found a stone, eight feet by five, on which was ac-
curately engraved, a representation of the whole work, with the
mound in the centre ; whereon was the likeness of a human head,
which signified that the chief ^^ho presided there, lay buried be-
neath it. The engraving on this stone, is evid'^nce of the know-
ledge of stone cutting, as it was executed with a considerable
degree of aceuraev-

On comparing the description of this circular monument with a
description of works of a similar character, found in Denmark,
Sweden and Iceland, the conclusion is drawn, that at some era of
time the authors of this kind of monumental works, in either of
those countries, have been the same.

" They are called Domh-rivfjr, by the Danes ; that is, literally,
Doom Ring, or Circle of Jidgment ; being the solemn place
where courts were held." The celebrated stone henge in England,
is built after the same fashion, that is, in a circle, and is of Belgic
origin ; the second clars of English antiquities, the era of which
precedes that of the Rovnans in England ; which would throw the
time of their first erection back to a period of some hundred years
before Christ.

" StonEHENGE : This noble and curious monument of early
timep, appears to have been formed by three principal Circles of
stone, the outer connected togethcf by an uniform pavement, as it

AN'D DISCOVERIES IN THE WEST-

Hid ; this
iccurttely
uniformly
r an un-
;ure, hav-
las a post-
it and the
f outward,
high, sup-
tance from
ch was ac-
with the
iman head,
buried be-
the know-
:onJiiderable

ment with a
a Denmark,
gome era of
in e ither of

t is, literally,
solemn place
I in England,
I is of Belgic
era of which
lid throw the
lundred years

lent of early
pal Circles of
avcment, as it

were, at the lop, to which the chiefs might ascend and speak to the
surrounding crowd. A second Circle consists of detached upright
stones, about five feet in height, wliile the highest are eighteen.
Within this is a grand Oval, consisting of five buge stones, crossed
by another at the top, and enclosing smaller stones, which seem tf)
have been seats, and a large flat stone, commonly called the altar,
but which seems to have been the throne or seat of judgment. The
whole of the above described monument, with all its apparatus,
" seems to be enclosed in the midst of a very extensive Circle, or
embankment of earth, sufficiently large to hold an immense num-
ber ; a whole tribe or nation." — Morse.

After the introduction of Christianity into the west of Europe,
which was sixty years after Christ, these Circles of Judgment,
which had been polluted with human sacrifices, and other pagan
rites, were abandoned, and other customs, with otlier places of re-
sort, were instituted. This sort of antiquities, says Morse, the geo-
grapher, which are found all over Europe, are of this character,
that is, of the tumular kind, su^h as ave found in the west of our
country ; belong entirely to the first era of the settlements of Eu-
rope.

The DuuiDic temples in Europe were numerjH j, and some of
them immense, especially one in the isle of Lewis j In these the
gods Odin, Thor, Freyga, and other Gothic D.ii;ies, were adored ;
all such structures were enclosed in Circles, "ue greater a»ii^ wme
less, according to their importance, or thn numbers of those who
supported them. These are of the first order of Antiquities found
in Europe ; or, in other words, the eldest, and go back very far
toward the flood, for their commencement.

The same kind of antiquities are found in Ireland, and are allow-
ed to be of Druidic origin, always enclosed in Circles, whether a
simple stone, or a more spaciouit temple, be th( place where they
worshipped. The Scandinavians, who preceded the Norwegians
some hundred years, enclosed their rude chapels \vith circular in-

•|i

AMERICAM ANTTQUITIF.S

Irenchmeiits, and wire called the Uaiw''!s liulhs, or ciroular in-
trenchments.

" In the first ages of tlie worhl, the worship of God was exceed-
ingly simple ; there were no temples nor covered edifices of any
kind : An altar, sometimes a single stone ; sometimes it consisted
of several ; and at other times merely of turj\ was all that was ne-
cessary ; on this the firt; was lighted, and the sacrifice olVerod." —
Adam Clark.

Such were the Druids of iuirope, whose name is derived from
the kind of forest in which they preferred to worship ; tliis was the
oak, which in the Greek, is expressed by the word Druid, whoso
worship and jninciples extend even to Italy, among the Celtic na-
tions, and is celebrated by Virgil, in the sixth book of the iEneas,
where he speaks of the Misletoe, and calls it the (jolden branch,
without which no one could return from the infernal regions.

The Misletoe ; — a description of wliich may please the reader,
as given by pliny, who flourished about 23 A. D. and was a cele-
brated writer of natural history, and most learned of the ancient
Romans. " The Druids hold nothing more sacred than the Misle-
toe, and the tree on which it grows, provided it be the Oak. They
make choice of gro\ es of oak, on this account ; nor do they per-
form any of their sacred lites, without tlie leaves of those trees.
And whenever they find it on xhc oak, they think it is .sent from
Heaven, and is a sign that God hini.sclf has chosen that tree ; and
whenever found, is treated with great ceremony-

They call it by a name which in their language signifies the curer
of all ills; and having duly prepared their feasts and sacrifices un-
der the tree, they bring to it t.vo white bulls ; the priest dres.sed in
a white robe, ascends the tree, and with r. golden pruning hook,
cuts off the Misletoe, which is received in a Sarjum, or white sheet.
Then they sacrifice the victims, praying that (jod would bless his
own gift, to those on whom he has bestowed it." — Clarke.

AND niSCOVKRIF.S IN TIIF. WEST.

8 exceetV-
js of any
consistc;!
it was ne-
IVerod."—

ived from
lis was the
lid, whose

CeUic na-
he iEneas,
len branch,
vions.

the reader,
was a cele-
the ancient
1 thy Mish?-
Oalc. They
lo they pcr-

those trees,
is sent from

at tree ; and

tier> the ciircr
sacrifices im-
:>st dressed in
minji; hook,
• white sheet.
»\ihl hless his
arke.

DISCOVERIES ON THE MUSKINGUM.

Tn the neighhorhood of Fort Harmer, on the Muskingum, oppo-
site Marietta, on the Ohio, were discovered, by Mr. Ash, the Eng-
lish traveller, 1826, several monuments of the ancient nation.

'* Having made (says this traveller,) arrangements for an absence
of a few days, I provided myself with an excellent tinder-box, some
biscuit and salt, and arming my Indian travelling companion with a
good axe and rifle, taking myself a fowling piece, often tried, and my
faithful dog, I crossed the ferry of the Muskingum, having learned
that the left hand side of that river was most accessible, and the
most abundant in curiosities, and other objects of my research.
[In another part of this work, we shall describe works of a similar
sort, on the opposite side of the Muskingum, as given by the An-
tiquarian Society of Ohio.]

" On traversing the valley between !''ort TIarmer and the moun-
tains, I determined to take the higli grounds, and after some diffi-
culty ascended an eminence which commanded a view of the town
of Marietta, and of the ri\-er, up and down, di,splayii\g to a great
distance along the narrow vailey of Ihe Oliio, cultivated plains, the
gardens, and poplar Avalks of that beaiitiful town.

" After a very short inspection and cursory examination, it was
evident that the very spot, or eminence, on which I stood, had been
occupied by the Indians, either as a place of observation, or a strong
hold. The exact summit of the hill I found to be nrlificial : it ex-
pressed an oval, forty-five feet by twenty-three, and was composed
apparently of earth and stone, though no stone of a similar charac-
ter appeared in that place.

" The base of the whole was girded round about, by a wall of
earth in a state of too great decay to justify any calculation, and the
vvhole was ,so covered with heavy timber, that I despaired of gain-

ii'J

Ac.

AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES

'i'ii .* ' »'

■I '111

m- -fi^

ing any further knowledge, and would have left the place, had I
not been detained by my Indian companion, wliom I saw occupied
in endeavoring to introduce a pole into a small opening, between
two flat stones, near tlie root of a tree, which grow on the very
summit of this eminence.

" The stones we found were too heavy to be removed by the mere
power of hands. Two good oak poles were cut, in lieu of levers
and crov/s. Clapping these into the orifice first discovered, we
weighed a large flag stone, tilting it over, wlicn we each assumed
a guarded position, in silent expectation of hearing the hissing of
serpents, or the rustlinc, of the ground hog's litter. Where the In-
dian had supposed, was a den of one sort or the other.

" All was silent. We resumed our labour, casting out a number
of stones, leaves, and eurth, soon clearing a surface of seven feet
by five, which had been covered, upwards of fifteen inches deep,
with flat stones, principally lying against each other, with their edges
to the horizon.

" On the surface v.e had cleared, appeared another difiiculty,
which was a plain superfices, composed of but three flat stones, of
such apparent magnitude that the Indian began to think that we
should find under them neither snake nor pig, but having once be-
gun, I was not to be diverted from my task.

" Stimulated by obstructions, and animated with other views than
those of my compn. ;ion, I had made a couple of hickory shovels
with the > : , an ; netting to work, soon undermined the surface, and
slid the stiies off on one sid*^ and laid the space open to view.

" I expected to find a cavern : my imagination was warmed by
a certain design, I thought I discovered, from the very beginning ;
the manner the stones were placed led me to conceive the existence
of a vault filled with the riches of antiquity, and crowded with the
treasures of the most ancient world.

" A bed of sand was all that appeared under these flat stones,
which I cast off, and as I knew there was no sand nearer than the

ter

AND DISCOVERIES IN THE WEST.

ce, had I

orcupied

between
I the very

y the mere
I of levers
vered, we
h assumed
hissing of
ere the In-

it a number

seven feet

nches deep,

L their edges

:r difficulty,
at stones, of
ink that we
jng once be-

r views than
kory shovels

surface, and
1 to view.
s warmed by
y beginning ;
the existence

ded with the

le flat stones,
earer than the

bed of the Muskingum, a design was therefore the more manifest,
which encouraged my proceeding ; the sand was about a foot deep,
which I soon removed.

" The design and labour of man, was now unequivocal. The
space out of which these materials were taken, left a hollow in an
oblong square, lined with stone on the ends and sides, and also, pa-
ved on what appeareii to be the bottom, with square stones, of
about nine inches diameter.

" I picked these up with the nicest care, and again came to abed
of sand, which, when removed, made the vault about three feet deep,
presenting another bottom or surface, composed of small square cut
stones, fitted with such art, that I had much difficulty in discover-
ing many of the places where they met. These displaced, I came
to a substance, which, on the most critical examination, I judged
to be a mat, or mats, in a state of entire decomposition and decay.
My reverence and care increased with the progress already made ;
I took up this impalpable powder with my hands, and fanned off
the remaining dust with my hat, when there appeared a beautiful
tesselated pavement of small, coloured stones : the colours and stones
arranged in such a manner as to express harmony and shades, and
portraying at full length the figure of a warrior ; under whose feet
a snake was exhibited in ample folds.

" The body of the figures was composed of dyed woods, bones,
and a variety of small bits of terrous and testaceous substances,
most of which crumbled into dust, on being removed, and exposed
to the open air.

" My regret and disappointment wcic very great, as I had flat-
tered myself that the whole was stone, and capable of being taken
up and preserved. Little more, however, than the actual pave-
ment could be preserved, which was composed of flat stones, one
inch deep, and two inches square. The prevailing colours were
white, green, dark blue, and pale spotted red ; all of which are pe-

i^i

; ail

If* \ ,t

•Mi

■I

■*..'

!i i

'\fi\i

AMERICAN ANTIUirniS

t;uliar to tlic lukt.s, «iid not to be had nearer tlmu about three liuu-
dred miles.

" The whole was affixed in a thin layer of sand, fitted toy;ether
Avith great precision, and covered a piece of bark in great decay,
whose removal exposed what I was fully prepared to discover, from
all previous indications, the remains of a human skeleton, which
was of an uncommon magnitude, being seven feet in length. With
the skeleton was found, first, an earthen vessel, or urn, in which
were several bones, and some white sediment.

"The urn appeared to be made of sand and flint vitrified, and rung
when struck, like glass, and held about two gallons, had a top
or cover of the same material, and resisted fire as completely as iron
or brass. Second ; a stone axe, with a groove round the pole, by
which it had been fastened with a withe to the handle. Third ;
twenty-four arrow points, made of flint and bone, and lying in a
position which showed they had belonged to a (juiver. Fourth ; a
quantity of beads, round, oval and square ; coloured green, black,
white, blue and yellow. Fifth ; a very large conch shell, decom-
posed into a substance like chalk ; this shell was fourteen inches
long, and twenty-three in circumference. The Hindoo priests, at
the present time, use this shell as sacred. It is blown to announce
the celebration of religious festivals. Sixth ; under a heap of dust
and tenuous shreds of feathered cloth and hair, a parcel of brass
rings, cut o .t of a solid piece of metal, and in such a manner that
the rings were suspended from each other, without the aid of sol-
der, or any other visible agency whatever. Each ring was three
inches in diameter, and the bar of the rings an half inch thick, and
were square ; a variety of characters were deeply engraved on the
sides of the rings, resembling the Chinese characters."

Ward's History of the Hindoos, page 41 and 56, informs us, that
the god Vishnoo, is represented holding a sea nkell in his hand,
called the " sacred shell ;" and, second, he states, that " the uten-
sils employed in the ceremonies of the temple, are several dishes to

AND DISCOVERIES IN THE WEST.

[ tot^ether
at decay,
3ver, IVom
>n, which
th. With
, in which

1, and rung
had a top
tely as iron
he pole, hy
e. Third;
i lying in a
Fourth ; a
reen, black,
liell, decom-
rtcen inches
)0 priests, at
to announce
heap of dust
arcel of brass
I manner that
he aid of sol-
ing was three
ch thick, and
graved on the

iforms us, that

in his hand,

lat " the utrn-

veral dishes to

n
\

hold the ofibriug^, a hand bell, a lamp, jugs for liolding water, an
incense dish, a copper cup, a seat of Kooshu grass for the priests, a
large metal plate, used as a bt-il. Several of the articles found
buried in this manner, resem1>le these rtensils of the Brahmin
Priests, while some are exactly like the,n. The mat of Kooshu
grass, resembles the mat of hair and feathers : the earthen dish,
the conch shell, are the very same in kind ; the brass chain might
answer instead of a bell, or iron plate to strike against, which would
produce a gingliiig sound. A quantity of round, ovil and square
beads, coloured variously, were found : although Mr. Wa-d does not
say that beads were a part of the utensils of the Hindoo priest, yet
we find them on the necks and arms of both their gous and their
mendicants.

Pottery, of the same kind found in those ancient works have al-
so the quality of enduring the fire. The art of making vessels of
clay, is very ancient ; we find it spoken of by Jeremiah the proph-
et, nearly three thousand years ago.

The art of colouring wood, stones, and shells, with a variety of
beautiful tints, was also known, as appears from the pavement above
described, and the coloured beads.

But the brass rings and tosselated pavement, are altogether the
most to be wondered at. A knowledge of the method of manufac-
turing brass was known to the Antediluvians ; this we learn from
Genesis, iv. 22, Tubal Cain, an artificer in brass and iron ; about
eleven hundred years before the flood.

But how this article, the brass chain, of such curious construc-
tion, came in the possession of the Chief, interred on the summit of
the mountain, is a question ; to be answered, it would seem, in but
two ways. Tliey either had a knowledge of the art of making
brass, or the article was an item of that king's peculiar treasure,
and had been deriv(!d, either from his ancestors from earliest ages,
or from South America, as an article of trade, a gift from some fel-
low king, or a trophy of some victorious battle, over some southern

.*{.

A.MtRlCAN ANTKiUITllCS

^))

nation ; for, : <. cording to Huniboldt, Ijiass was found anionp the na-
tive i\Ii\xicai»s, in uttut abundance.

But how the Mexicans came by this art in niineialogy, is equally
a question. Cold, silver, copper, &c., are the natural jroduct of
their respective ores; and r.«ridont may have made them acquainted
with tht-'SP ; as iron was discovered among the Greeks, by fire in
the wood having melted the ore. But brass is farther removed
from the knowledge of nuui, in general, being a composition of
coppei 11(1 the calainine stone, or ore of zinc. However, it is said
by Mors that in Chili, in the hills of Huilquilemu, are found
mines of native brass, of a fine yellow colour, and equally mallea-
ble with the be.'it artificial brass ; yet this is no common product of
mineralogy, a;id vould seem to be an exception, or rather a product
extraordinary ; and in a measure induces a belief that it is not pro-
per brass, but h metal ^imilar only in complexion, while perhaps its
chemical proper!' s are entirely dillerent, or it may have been pro-
duced by the fusion of copper and the ore of zinc, by the fire of
some volcaaoe.

Brass was the metal out of which the ancient nations made all
their instruments of war, and defensive armour : the reason of this
preference above copper andiron, even by the Ureeks and Romans,
was probably, on account of the excessive bright polish it was ca-
pable of receiving ; for the Greeks and Romans used it long after
their knowledge of iron. Iron was discovered by the Greeks 1406
years before Chri.'^t. The ancient Americans must have derived a
knowledge of brass from their- early acquaintance with nations im-
mediately succeeding the flood, who had it from the Antediluvians,
by way of Noah ; and imving found their way to this continent, be-
fore it became so isolated, as it is at the present time, surrounded
on all sides by oceans, made use of the same metal here.

But the tesselaled or spotted pavement is equally curious with
the brass chain, on account of its resemblance to the Mosaic pave-
ments of the Romans ; being small pieces of marble, of various

AND DISCOVEniKS IN THE WKST

ij(l tunoiip the na-

ciulogy, is equally
latural i '•oduct of
e them acquainted

riH ks, by fire in
s farther removed

a composition of
however, it is said
uilcmu, are found
ind equally mallea-
comnion product of
, or rather a product
^f that it is not pro-
n, while perhaps its
may have been pro-
zinc, by the fire of

ent nations made all
r : lue reason of this
lireeks and Romans,
ght polish it was ca-
ms used it long after

by the Greeks 1406
must have derived a
nee with nations im-
m the Antediluvians,

to this continent, be-
sent time, surrounded

metal here.

equally curious with
c to the Mosaic pave-
of marble, of various

f olours with which they are said to huvt.' oniuinciited the front of
their tents in time of war, but taken up iii^aiu whenever they re-
moved. J'liis sort of pavement is often dug up in England, and is of
Roman orif;in.

We find the history of the ancient Britains mentions the curren-
cy of iron ringsj as money, which was in use among them, before
the invasion by Julius Caesar; it is not possII;!e, the brass chain, or
an assemblage of those rings, as found ••> fijis mound, may have
been held among those ancients of Americ; 'he same estimation ;
the chain in their mode of reckoning, beiu;; jiorhaps, of an immense
amount; its being found dejwsited with its owner, who was a chief
or king, is the evidence of its peculiar value, whetlier it had been
used as an article in trade, or as a sacred imj)lenient. '

This maculated pavement, arranij;o(l in such a manner as to re-
present in full si/e, the chief, king, or monarch, who was interred
beneath it, shows the knowledg ; that people had of painting, sculp-
ture, and descriptive delineation : but most of all, the serpent, which
lay coiled at his feet, is surprising, because we suppose this trans-
action could not have happened from mere caprice, or the sport of
imagination.

It must have been a trait of their theology, and possibly an allu-
sion to the serpent, by whose instrumentality Satan deceived the
first of women, the mother of us all : and its being beneath his
feet, may also have alluded to the promised Seed, who was to bruise
the Scrpent^s head ; all of whicli may easily have been derived from
the family of Noah, and carried along with the millions of man-
kind, as they diverged asunder from mount Ararat, around the wide
earth. The Mexicans are found to have a clear notion of this
thing, and of many other traits of the early history of nian, as re-
lated in the Hebrew records, and the Scriptures : preserved in their
traditions and paintings, as we shall show in another place.

The etching on the square sides of those rings of brass, in cha-
racters resembling Chinese, shows the manufacturer, and the nation

IMAGE EVALUATION
TEST TARGET (MT-3)

1.0

I.I

1.25

liiU£ 125
U£ 12.0

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^J»-

'•^

FhotogFa[diic

Sciences

Corporation

23 WIST MAIN STRliT

WIBSTIR,N.Y. MSM

(716) S72-4903

AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES

of which he was a member, to have had a knowledge of engraving,
even on the metals, equal with artists at the present ume, of which
Ik ' the common Indian of the west, knows nothing.

The stone hatchet, flint, and bone arrow points, found in this
tomb, are no exclusive evidf :ice that this was all done by the mod-
em Indians : because the same are found in vast profusion in all
parts of the old world, particularly in the island of England ; and
have been in use from remotest antiquity.

We are very far from believing the Indians of the present time,
to be the aborigines of America ; but quite the contrary, are usurpers,
have by force of bloody warfare, exterminated the original inhab-
itants, taking possession of their country, property, and in some few
instances, retaining arts, learned of those very nations.

The immense sea shell, which was fourteen inches long, and
twenty-three inches in circumference, found in this tomb, is evi-
dence of this people's having an acquaintance with other parts of
the world than merely their own dwellings, because the shell is
a marine production, and the nearest place where this element is
found, from the Muskingum, is nearly a thousand miles in a strait
line, east to the Atlantic.

If the engraving on this chain, be in fact Chinese, or if they
bear a strong and significant analogy to thi^m, it justifies the opinion
that a communication between America and Asia, by means of land
on the west, once existed, but has been destroyed by some convul-
sion in nature. And also the characters on those rings show the
ancient Americans to have had a knowledge of letters. A know-
ledge of letters, hieroglyphics, pictures of ideas, and of facts, was
known among men, 200 years before the time of Moses, or 1822
years before the Christian era, among the Egyptians. Nations of
men, therefore, having at an early period, found their way to this
continent, if indeed it was then a separate continent ; consequently
to find the remains of such an art, scattered here and thee in the
dust and ashes of the nations of America, passed away, is not sur-

AND DISCOVERIES IN THE WEST.

prising. The mound which we have described, was apprehended
by Mr. Aash, to be only an advanced guard post, or a place of look
out, in the direction of the Muskingum and the valley of the Ohio ;
accordingly he wandered farther into the woods, in a northwesterly
direction, leaving on hia right the Muskingum, whose course was
northeast by southwest.

His research in that direction had not long been continued, be-
fore he discovered strong indications of his conjecture. He had
come to a small valley between two mountains ; through which a
small creek meandered its way to the Muskingum.

On either side of the stream were evident traits of a very large
settlement of antiquity. They consisted, first, of a tira//, or ram-
part of earth, of almost nine feet perpendicular elevation, and thirty
feet across the base. The rampart was of a semicircular form, its
entire circuit being three hundred paces, or something over eigh.
teen rods, bounded by the creek. On the opposite side of the
stream was another rampart, of the same description, evidently an-
swering to the first ; these viewed together, made one grand circle,
of more than forty rods circumference, with the creek running be-
tween.

After a minute examination, he perceived very visibly the re-
mains of elevated stone abutments, which being exactly opposite
each other, suggested the belief, that these bridges once connected
the two semicircles ; one in the centre, and one on either side, at
the extreme edges of the ring. The timber growing on the ram-
part and within the circle, was principally red oak, of great age and
magnitude, some of the trees, being in a state of decay, were not
less than seven feet in diameter, and twenty-one in circumference.

Some considerable farther up the brook, at the spot where the
beautiful vale commences, where the mountain rises abruptly, and
discharges from its cleft bosom the delightful creek, are a great
number of mounrls of earth, standing at equal distances from each
other, forming three grand circles, one beyond the other, cut in two

AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES

by the creek, as the one described before, with streets situated be-
tween, forming, as do the mounds, complete circles. Here, as at
the other, the two half circles were united by two bridges, the
abutments of which are distinct, so perfect are their remains.

At a considerable distance, on the sides of the mountain, are two
mounds or barrows, which are nearly thirty feet long, twelve high,
and seventeen wide at the base. These barrows are composed
principally of stone talcen out of the creek, on which are growing
also very heavy timber. Here were deposited the dead, who had
been the inhabitants of the town in the vale. From which it
would appear that the mounds forming those circles, which were
sixty in number, are not tumuli, or the places where chiefs and dis-
tinguished warriors were entombed, but were the houses, the ac-
tual dwellings of the people who built them , however, the distin-
guished dead were interred in tumuli of the same form frequently,
but much more magnificent and lofty, and are fewer in number,
situated on the highest grounds adjacent to their towns.

But it may be enquired, how could those mounds of earth have
ever been the dwellings of families .' There is but one way to ex-
plain it. They may have, at the time of their construction, receiv-
ed their peculiar form, which is a conical or sugar loaf form, by 'the
erection of long poles or logs, set up in a circle at the bottom, and
brought together at the top, with an opening, so that the smoke
might pass out. Against this the earth, (being brought from a dis-
tance, so as not to disturb the even surface of the spot chosen to
build on,) was thrown, till the top and sides were entirely envel-
oped. This operation would naturally cause the bottom, or base,
to be of great thickness, caused by the natural sliding down of the
earth, as it was thrown on or against the timbers ; and this thick-
ness would be in exact proportion with the heighth of the poles, at
the ratio of an angle of fojty-five degrees. v ,

In this way a dwelling of the most secure description, would be
the result ; such as could not be easily broken through, nor set on

-->■.■•

AND DISCOVERIES IN THE WEST.

fire, and in winter would be warm, and in summer cool. Jt in true,
such rooms would be rather gloomy, compared with the magnifi-
cent and well lighted houses of the present times, yet accorded well
with the usages of antiquity, when mankind lived in clans and
tribes, but few in number, compared with the present populousnesa
of the earth, and stood in fear of invasion from their neighbours'

Such houses, as tliese, built in circles of wood at jir3t, and lastly,
of stone, as the knowled^^e of architecture came on, were used by
the ancient inhabitants of Britain, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, and
on the continent, as in Norway. No mode of building which can
be conceived of, would more efTectually shut out the wind. —
*' Houses of this form, made with upright stdnes, are even now
common over all the Danish dominions." See Morse's Geography y
volume l,page 158.

In the communication of Mr. Moses Fiske, of Hilhara, Tennes-
see, to the American Antiquarian Society, 1815, respecting the re-
mains and discoveries made relative to antiquities in the west, but
especially in Tennessee, says, that the description of mounds, whe-
ther round, square or oblong in their shapes, which have flat tops,
were the most magnificent sort, and seem contrived for the pur-
pose of building temples and castles on their summits ; which be-
ing thus elevated, were very imposing, and might be seen at a great
distance.

" Nor must we, he continues, mistake the ramparts or fortifica-
tions, for farming inclosures ; what people, savage or civilized, ever
fenced the^r grounds so preposterously ; bearing no proportion in
quantity necessary for tillage ;" from which the support of a whole
country was expected ; and further there were many neighbour-
hoods which had no such accommodations.

He has also discovered that within the areas encompassed by
these ramparts, are whole ranges of foimdations, on which dwelliny
houses once stood, with streets running between, besides mounds
and other works. " The houses generally stood in rows, nearly

I J

f»

In!

AMUmCAN ANTIQUlTIt:S

l»

contiguous to each other/' as in all compact towns and cities,
though sometimes they stood in an irregular and scattered manner.
These foundations " are indicated by rings of earth, from three to
five fathoms in diameter," which is equal to eighteen and thirty
feet ; the remains of these rings or foundations are from ten to
twenty inches high, and a yard or more broad. But they were not
always circular ; some, which he had noticed, were square, and
others also, of the oblong form, as houses are now built by civiliz-
ed nations.

" The flooring of some is elevated above the common level, or
surface ; that of others is depressed. These tokens are indubita-
ble, and overspread the country ; some scattered and solitary, but
oftener in groups, like villages, with and without being walled in."
From which it is clear, that whoever they were, the pursuits of
agriculture were indispensable, and were therefore in use with those
nations.

From the forms of the foundations of dwellings, discovered and
described by Mr. Fiske, we conclude they were the efforts of man
at a very early period. We are directed to this conclusion by the
writings ot Vetruvius, who lived in the time of Julius Caesar, and is
the most ancient writer on the subject of architecture, antiquity can
boast of. His account is as follows :

" At first, for the walls, men erected forked stakes, and disposing
twigs between them, covered them with loam ; others pulled up
clods of clay, binding them with wood, and to avoid rain and
heat, they made a covering with reeds and boughs ; but finding
that this roof could not resist the winter rains, they made it sloping,
pointed at the top, plastering it over with clay, and by that means
discharging the rain water. To this day, says Vetruvius, some fo-
reign nations construct their dwellings of the same kind of mate-
rials, as in Gaul, Spain, Lusitania, and Aquitain. The Colchins in
the kingdom of Portugal, where they abound in forests, fix trees in
the earth, close together in ranks, to the right and left, leaving as

AND DISCOVCKlllS IN THE UllSi'.

much space between them, from coiner to corner, as the length
of the trees will permit ; upon the ends of tliese, at the corner:', oth-
ers are laid transversely, which circumclude the place of habitation
in the middle ; then at the top the four angles are braced together
with alternate beams. The crevices, which are large, on account
of the coarseness of the materials, are stopped with chips and loam.
The roof is also raised by beams laid across from the extreme an-
gles, or corners, gradually rising from the four sides to the middle
point at the top, (exactly like a German barrack ;) and then co-
vered with boughs and earth. In this manner the barbarians, says
this author, make their roofs to their towers-" By the barbarians,
he means the inhabitants of Europe at the time when he wrote
these remarks, which was in the reign of Julius Caesar, a short time
before Christ. The Phrygians, who inhabit a champaign country,
being destitute of timber, select natural hills, excavate tliem, dig
an entrance, and widen the space within as much as the nature of
the place will permit ; above they fix stakes in a pyramidal form,
bind them together, and cover them with reeds or straw, heaping
thereon great piles of earth. This kind of covering renders them
very warm in winter and cool in summer. Some also cover the
roofs of their huts with weeds of lakes ; and thus, in all countries
and nations, the dwellings are formed upon similar principles." —
Blake's Atlas, page 145.

The circular, square, and oblong forms of foundations, found in
the west, would seem to argue the houses built thereon, to be made
in the same way this author has described the mode of building
in his time among the barbarous nations ; and also furnishes reason
to believe them to have been made here in America, ranch in the
same ages of the world.

Having this knowledge of the mode of ancient building, we are
led to the conclusion, that the town which we have just given an
account of, was a clan of some of the ancient Celtic nations, who

by some means had found their way to this part of the earth, and

98 AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES

had fixed their abode in this secluded valley- Celtic or Irish, as
Mr. Morse says, who were derived from Gaul, or Gallatia, which
is now France, who descended from Corner, one of the sons of Ja-
pheth, a son of Noah ; to whose descendants Europe, with its-isles,
was given.

Here we may suppose the gods Odin, Thor, and Friga, were
adored under the oaks composing American forests, as taught by the
Druids ; here their victims, the deer and buffalo, sent up to the
skies their smoking odour, while the priests of the forests, invoked
the blessing of the beneficient being, upon the votaries of the mys-
tic Misleto. Here were the means of mutual defence and safety
discussed ; the sighs of the lover breathed on the winds ; parents
and children looked with kindness on each other ; soothed and
bound the wounds of such as returned from the uncertain fate of

clanular battles ; but have been swept with the besom ol exter-
mination from this vale, while no tongue remains to tell the story

of their sufferings.

At the distance of about three miles higher up, and not far from
the Muskingum, says Mr. Ash, he perceived an eminence very
similar to the one jnst described, in which the brass chain was
found, to which h(! hastened, and immediately perceived their like-
ness in form.

On a comparison of the two, there could be but one opinion,
namely, that both were places of look-out for the express protection
of the setlement in the valley. He says he took the pains of clearing
the top of the eminence, but could not discover any stone or mark
which might lead to a supposition of its being a place of interment.
The country above was hilly, yet not so high as to intercept the
view for a presumed distance of twenty miles.

On these eminences, the " beacon fires''^ of the Clan, who resided
in the valley, may have been kindled at the hour of midnight, to
show those who watched the {lortentous flame, the advance or de-
struction of an enemy. Such fires, on the heights of Scotland,

AND DISCOVERIES IN THE WRST.

were wont to be kindled in the days of Bruce and Wallace, and
ages before their time, originated from the Persians possibly, who
worshipped in this way the great Oramaze, as the god who made
all things. The idea of a Creator, was borrowed from Noah, who
received the account of the creation from Seth, who had it from
Adam : He from the Almighty himself.

From this excursion our traveller, after having returned to Mari-
etta, pursued his way to Zanesville, on the Muskingum river,
where, learning from the inhabitants that the neighbourhood was
surrounded with the remains of antiquity, he proceeded to the ex-
amination of them, having obtained a number of persons to accom-
pany him with the proper implements of excavation. They pene-
trated the woods in a westerly direction, to a place known to those
who accompanied him, about five miles distance, where the ruins
of ancient times were numerous and magnificent in the highest de-
gree ; consisting of mounds, barrows and ramparts, but of such va-
riety and form, and covering so immense a track of groimd, that it
would have taken at least ten'days to have surveyed them minutely.

These immense works of the ancients, it appears, were, in this
place, encompassed by outlines of an entirely difierent shape from
any other described, being of the triangular form, and occupying
the whole plain, situated as the one before described, in a place
nearly surrounded by mountains

Bdt we pass over many incidents of our traveller, and come imme-
diately to the object of his research, which was to open such of
those mounds as might attract his attention. His first operation
was to penetrate the interior of a large barrow, situated at one ex-
tremity of the vale, which was its southern. Three feet below the
surface was fine mould, underneath which were small flat stones,
lying in regular strata or gravel, brought from the mountain in the
vicinity. This last covered the remains of a human frame, which
fell into impalpable powder A^hen touched and exposed to air. 'y
' Toward the base of the barrow he came to three tier of substan-
ces, placed regularly in rotation. And as these forqied two rows

lrt^!

^iurt

100

AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES

four deep, separated by little more than a flag stone between
the feet of one, and the head of another, it was supposed the bar-
row contained about two thousand skeletons, in a very great state
of decay, which shows their extreme antiquity.

In this search was found a well carved stone pipe, expressing a
bear's liead, together with some fragments of pottery of fine texture.
Near the centre of the whole works, another opening was affected,
in a rise of ground, scarcely higher than a natifral undulation, com-
mon to the general surface of the earth, even on ground esteemed
to be level. But there was one singularity accompanying the spot,
which attracted the attention of the company, and this was, there
was neither shrub nor tree on the spot, although more than ninety
feet in circumference, but was adorned with a multitude of pink and
purple flowers.

They came to an opinion that the rise of ground was artificial,
and as it diir(;red in form, and character, from the common mounds,
they resolved to lay it open, which Avas soon done, to a level with
the plain, but witliout the discovcvy of any thing whatever. But
as Ash had become vexed, having found nothing to answer his ex-
pectations in other openings on the spot, he jumped from the bank,
in order to take a spade and encourage the men to dig somewhat
deeper. At this instant the ground gave way, and involved the
whole company in earth and ruin, as was supposed for the moment ;
but was soon followed by much mirth and laughter, as no person
was hurt by the fall, which was but about three feet.

Ash had great difficulty to prevail on any person to resume the

labour, and had to explore the place himself, and sound it with a
pole, before any man would venture to aid him further, on account

of their fright.

But they soon resumed their courage, and on examination found

that a parcel of timbers had given way, which covered the orifice

of a square hole, seven feet by four, and four feet deep. That it

was a sepulchre, was unanimously agreed, till they found it in vain

AND DISCOVF.RIEI Ilf TilK WEST-

101

to look for bones, or any substance similar to them, in a state of de<
composition. They soon, however, struck an object which would
neither yield to the spade, nor emit any sound ; but persevering
still further, tjiey found the obstruction, which was uniform through
the pit, to proceed from rows of large spherical bodies, at tirst taken
to be stones. ^.

Several of them were cast up to the surface ; they were exactly
alike, perfectly round, nine inches in diameter, and about twenty
pounds weight. The superfices of one, when cleaned and scraped,
with knives, appeared like a ball of base metal, so strongly im-
pregnated with the dust of gold, that the baseness of the metal it-
self, was nearly altogether obscured. On this discovery, the cla-
mour was so great, and joy so exuberant, that no opinion but one
was admitted, and no voice could be heard, while the cry of " tis
gold ! tis gold !" resounded through the groves.

Having to a man determined on this important point, they formed
a council respecting the distribution of the trepsure, and each indi-
vidual in the joy of his heart, declared publicly, the use he intend-
ed to make of the part allotted to his share.

The Englishman concluded that he would return to England, be-
ing sure from experience, that there was no country like it. A
German of the party said he would never have quitted the Rhine,
had he had money enough to rebuild his barn, which was blown
down by a high wind ; but that he would return to the very spot
from whence he came, and prove to his neighbors that he loved his
country as well as any man, when he had the means of doing well.
An Irishman swore a great oath, the day longer he'd stay in Ame-
rica ; and the Indian who accompanied Ash, appeared to .think that
were he to purchase some beads, rum and blankets, and return to
his own nation, he might become Sacliem, and keep the finest
squaws to be found.

Even Ash himself saw in the treasure the sure and ample means
of continuing his travels in such parts of the earth, as }ie had not

^wW^

102

AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES

yet vittited. The company returned to Zanesville with but one ball
of their riches, while they carefully hid the residue, till they should
subject it to the ordeal of fire.

They soon procured a private room, where, while it was receiv-
ing the trial of fire, tliey stood around in silence almost dreading to
breathe. The dreadful element, which was to confirm or consume
their hopes, soon began to exercise its various powers. In a few
moments the ball turned black, fdled the room with sulphureous
smoke, emitted sparks and intermittant flames, and burst into ten-
thousand pieces ; so great was the terror and suffocation, that all
rushed into the street, and gazed on each other, with a mixed ex-
pression of doubt and astonishment.

The smoke subsided, when they were able to discover the ele-
ments of the supposed gold ; which consisted of some very fine ash-
es, and a great quantity of cinders, exceedingly porous ; the balls
were nothing but a sort of metal called spririte or pyrites, and
abounds in the mountains of that region.

The triangular form of this enclosure, being different from the gen-
eral form of those ancient works, is perhaps worthy of notice, mere-
ly on the account of its form ; and might be supposed to be of Chi-
nese origin, as it is well known that the triangular shape is a favo-
rite one of the nations of Hindostan ; it is even in the Hindoo the-
ology, significant of the Trinity, of their great Brahmah, or god ;
and on this account, might even characterise the form of national
works, such as we have just described, under the notion, that the
divine protection would the more readily be secured. " One of
the missionaries at Peken," says Adam Clark, " takes it for granted
that the mystery of the Trinity was known among the ancient Chi-
nese, as that this A character was its symbol. Tt is remarkable that
Moses and the Prophets, the ancient Chaldee Targumists, the au-
thors of the Zend AvestOy a Chinese work, Plato, a celebrated
philosopher of antiquity, who died at Athens, 348 B. C, and also
the first philosopher of Greece, and Philo the Jew, should all coin-

A>'U UISCUVURICM IK THE WICST

103

cide M perfectly iu their ideas of a Trinity, in the Gudiicad. This
could not be the eft'ectof accident. Moses and the prophets received
this from God himself; and all others have borrowed from this first
origin." — Clark.

For what use the balls of which we have given an account, were
designed, is impossible to conjecture, whether to be thrown by
means of engines, as practiced by the Romans, as an instrument of
warfare, or a sort of medium iu trade, or were used as instrument^}
in athletic games, either to roll or heave, who can tell .'

But one thing respecting them is not uncertain, they must have
been of great value, or so much labour and care would not have
been expended to secure them. Colonel Ludlow, of Cincinnati, a
nan, it is said, who was well versed in the history of his country,
though now deceased, was indefatigable in his researches after the
antiquities of America, discovered several hundreds of those balls
of pyrites, weighing generally about twenty pounds, near an old
Indian settlement, on the banks of the Little Miami, of the Ohio,
and also another heap in an artificial cave, on the banks of the Sci-
ota, consisting of copper pyrites, or quartz.

In that division of South America, called Patagonia, which ex-
tends nearly to the extreme southern point of that country, is found
a people, denominated Patagonians, who are of a monstrous size
and height, measuring from six to seven feet, and many of them
approachiilg to eight. Among this people is found an instrument
of war, made of heavy stones, wore round by friction ; so that in
appearance, they are like a cannon ball. These they contrive to
fasten in a sling, from which they throw them witli great dexterity
and force." — Morsels Geo.

This kind of ball was used, though of a smaller size, to capture,
and kill animals with. The manner of using them is as follows :
they take three of those balls, two of them three inches, and one
of them two inches in diimotcr. The hunter takes the small
ball in his right hand, and swings the other two, (which are

104

AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES

a* *

connected by a thong of a proper length, fastening also to the one
in his hand) round his head, till a sufficient velocity is acquired,
at the same time taking aim, when it is thrown at the legs of the
animal he is pursuing, in such a manner as to entangle its feet by
the rotary motion of the balls ; so that its capture is easy.

Conjecture might go on to establish it as a fact, that the balls
made of pyrites, found in many parts of the west, were indeed a
warlike instrument, thrown by a sling, out of which, a force almost
equivalent to that of powder, might be acquired ; and from the top
of mounds, or from the sides of their elevated forts, such a mode of
defence, would be very terrible.

This mode of fighting was known to the Hebrews. David slew
Goliah with a stone from a sling. Seven hundred chosen men out
of Gibea, could sling a stone at an hair's breadth. Job speaks of
this manner of annoying wild beasts, where he is recounting the
strength of Leviathan, " Slinged stones are turned with him
into stubble."

Doctor Adam Clark's observations on the use and force of the
sling, are very interesting, and pertinent to the subject. They are
found in his commentary, 1st Samuel, chap. xvii. verse 40, " The
sling, both among the Greeks and Hebrews, has been a most pow-
erful offensive weapon. It is composed of two strings and a leather
strap;" (or as the Patagonians's, rawhide) " the strap is in the mid-
dle, and is the place where the stone or bullet lies. The string on
the right end of the strap, is firmly fastened to the hand ; that on

the left, is held between the thumb and middle joint of the forefin-
ger. " It is then whirled two or three times round the head ; and
when discharged, the finger and thumb let go their hold of the
string. The velocity and force of the sling is iu proportion to the
distance of the strap, to where the bullet lies, from the shoulder
joint. Hence the ancient Balleares, or inhabitants of Majorca, and
Minorca," islands in the Mediterranean Sea, near the coast of Spain,
are said <o have had three slings of different lengths ; the longest

AND DISCOVERIES IP< TnEAvEST.

105

they used when the enemy was at the greatest distance ; the mid-
dle one on their nearer approach, and the shortest, when they came
into the ordinary fighting distance in the field. The shortest is the
most certain, though not the most powerful.

" The Ballcareans are said. to have one of their slings constantly
hound about their head ; to have used the second as a girdle ; and
to have carried the third always in their hand.

" In the use of the sling, it requires much practice to hit the
mark ; but when once this dext'irity is acquired, the sling is nearly
as fatal" as the ball thrown by the explosion of powder.

" David was evidently an expert marksman ; and his sling gave
him greatly the advantage over Goliah : an advantage of which the
giant does not seem to have been aware. He could hit him within
any speaking distance : if he missed once, he had as many chances
as he had stones ; and after all, being unencumbered with armour,
joung and athletic, he could have saved his life by flight. But Da-
vid saved himself the trouble of running away, or the giant from
throwing his spear or javelin at him, by giving him the first blow.

Goliah was terribly armed, having a spear, a shield, and a sword ;
besides, he was every where invulnerable, on account of his hel-
met of brass, his coat of mail, which was made also of brass, in
little pieces, perhaps about the size of a half dollar, and lapped over
each other, like the scales of fishes, so that no sword, spear, nor ar-
row could liurt him.

The only spot left, where he could be hit to advantage, was his
broad giant forehead, into which the stone of David sunk, from its
dreadful impetus received from the simple sling. To some this has
appeared perfectly improbable ; but we are assured by ancient wri-
ters, that scarcely any thing could resist the force of the sling.

" Diodorus Siculus says, the people of Minorca and Majorca isl-
ands, in time of war, sling greater stones than any other people,
and with such force, that they seem as if projected from a capult,"

an engine used by the ancients, for this purpose. ; , , .

106

ASIERICAX ANTIQUITIES

" Therefore in assaults made on fortified towns, they grievously
wound the besieged, and in battle, they break in pieces the shields,
helmets, and every species of armour, by which the body is de-
fended." It would seem from the expertness the Patagonians
evince in the use of the sling, that they may have been derived
from the ancient inhabitants of those islands, who could as easily
have found their way out cf the Mediterranean by the Strait of
Gibralter into the Atlantic Ocean, and be driven across to South
America, by the winds from the east, or by the current of the sea,
as the Egyptians, as we have before argued.

" The sling was a very ancient warlike instrument ; and in the
hands of those who were skilled in the use of it, it produced as-
tonishing effects. The people of the above named islands were
the most celebrated slingers of antiquity. They did not permit
their children to eat till they had struck down their food from the
top of a pole, or some distant eminence.

' ■ Concerning the velocity of the leaden ball thrown out of the
sling, it is said by the ancients, to have melted in its course. Ovid,
the Roman poet, has celebrated its speed, in the following beautiful

verses :

" Hermes was fired, as in the clouds he hung;

So the cold bullet that with fiii-y slujig
From Balearic engines, mounts on high.
Glows in the wliirl, and burns along the sky." — Dryden.
" This is no poetic fiction. Seneca, the stoic philosopher of Rome,
bom A. D. 12, says the same thing ; the ball projected from the
sling, melts, and is liquified by the friction of the air, as if it were
exposed to the action of fire."

Vegetius, who lived in the 14th century, and was also a Roman,
tells us that " slingers could in general, hit the mark at six hundred
feet distance," which is more than thirty rods. From this view we
see what havoc the western nations, using the sUng^ or engine., to
throw stones from their vast forts and mounds with, must have made,
when engaged in defensive or offensive warfare.

AND DISCOVERIES IN TlIE WEST.

107

DISCOVERY OF TJ^E REMAINS OF ANCIENT POTTERY

On the subject of pottery we will remark, that the remains
of this art are generally found, especially of any extent, in the
neighbourhood of Salt Springs. It is true, that specimens of earth-
en ware are frequently taken out of the ancient barrows of the
dead, and also are frequently brought to sight on the shores of riv-
ers, where the earth has been suddenly removed by inundations.

A few years since, an instance of this sort occurred at Tawanda,
in Pennrylvania. The Susquehannah had risen very high, at the
time we are speaking of, and had undermined the bank on the Ta-
wanda shore, to a considerable extent, at the high water mark. On
the receding of the waters, the bank was found to be carried away
for the distance of about six rods, when there appeared several fire
places, made of the stones of the river, with vessels of earthen, of
a capacity about equal with a common water pail, in a very good
state of preservation.

Between those fire places, which were six or seven in number*
were found the skeletons of .several human beings, lying in an un-
disturbed position, as if they, when living had fallen asleep, and
never waked ; two of these, in particular, attracted attention, and
excited not a little surprise ; they were lying side by side, with
the arm of one of them under the neck of the other, and the feet
were mingled in such a planner as to induce the belief that when
death came upon them, they were asleep in each other's embraces.
But in what manner they came to their death, so that they appeared
not to have moved, from the fatal moment, till the bank at Tawan-
da was carried away, which had covered them for ages, is strange
indeed.

It cannot be supposed, they died all at once, of some sickness, or
that an enemy surprised them while sleeping, and, silently passing

108

AMERK AN ANTiyi'ITIKS

from cout'li to couch, inlllol«;d the deadly blow ; l)ecause in any of
these ways, their bones, in the convulsioi^feof dissolution, must have
been deranged, so that the image and peaceful posture of sleepers
could not have chdracterised thesr positiona^as they were found to
have. It was conjectured, at the time of their discovery, that the
period of their death had been at the season of the year when that
river breaks up its ice, in March or April, the river they supposed,
may have been dammed up below them, where it is true, the stream
narrows on the account of the approach of the mountains. Here
the ice having jammed in between, caused a sudden rise of the ri-
ver, and setting back, overflowed them.

But this cannot be possible, as that the noise of the breaking ice
would never allow them to sleep ; this operation " of nature is ac-
companied with a tremendous uproar and grandeur, tearing and
rending the shores, and forests that grow on them, multiplying
crash on crash with the noise of thunder. Neither can it be well
supposed, the waters came over them in the way suggested, even
if they had slept during the scene we have just described, be-
cause on the first touch of the water.s to their bodies, they would
naturally spring from their sleep in surprise.

Something must have happened which deprived them of life and
motion in an instant of time. This is not impossible, because at
Herculaneum^ and Pompei, are found skeletons, where they have
recently penetrated through the lava, down to those ancient cities,
laying bare, streets, houses, and temples, with their contents, such
as have survived the heat which ruined those cities. Here, in the
rooms of their dwellings, are found skeletons, holding between
their fingers, something they had in their hands at the moment of
their death, so that they do not appear even to have struggled.

Something of the same nature, as it respects suddenness, must
have overtaken these sleepers: so that their natural positions were
not disturbed. If the place of their dwellings had been skirted
by a steep bank, or hill, it might then have been supposed, that a

r'T?«7»^r»r^-!

AND DISCOVERIKS IN THE WKST.

109

land slip, or mine spring, had buried tliein alive, but this is not the
case. They were about four feet under ground, the soil which co-
vered them was the same alluvial with the rest of the flat ; it is a
mystery, and cannot be solved, unless we suppose an explosion of
earth, occasioned by an accumulation of galvanic principles, which
bursting the earth near them, they have been suddenly buried.

Dr. Beck, the author of the Gazetteer of Illinois and Missouri,
suggests the cause of the earthquakes iii the valley of the Missisip-
pi, in 1811 and 1812, which in many places threw up, in an in-
stant, vast heaps of earth ; to have been the principle of galvinism
bursting from the depths beneath, in a perpendicular direction,
overwhelming, in a moment of time, whatever might be where it
fell.

Further down the Susqyehannah, some thirty or forty miles be-
low Towanda, at a place called the Black-walnut Bottom, on the
farm of a JSIr. Kinney, was discovered the most extraordinary spe-
cimen of /)oWcr?/ ever known before on the earth.

Respecting this discovery, the owner of the farm relates, as we
are informed, by a clergyman, who examined the article on the
spot, though in a broken state, that soon after the first settlements
on that river, and especially on that farm, a great freshet took place,
which tore a channel, in a certain direction, across the flat, when
the vessel which we are about to describe, Avas brought to light.

It was twelve feet across the top, and, of consequence, was thirty-
six feet in circumference, and otherwise of proportionable depth and
form. Its thickness was three inches, and appeared to be made of
some coarse substance, probably mere clay, such as might be found
on the spot, as it was not glazed. Whoever its makers were, they
must have manufactured it on the spot where it was found, as it
must have been impossible to move so huge a vessel. They may
have easily effected its construction, by building it up by degrees,
with layers put on in succession, till high enouga to suit the enor-
mous fancy of its projectors, and then by piling wood around, it

AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES

might have been burnt so as to be fit for use, and then propped up
by stones, to keep it from falling npart.

But who can tei' for what use this vast vessel v/as inten'^.ed ; con-
jecture here is lost, no ray of light dawns upon this strange rem-
nant of antiquity. One might be led to suppose it was made in
imitation of the great Lnver in the court of Solomon's Temple
which was seventeen feet two inches in diameter, and fifty two
feet six inches in circumference, and eight feet nine inches deep.
—2 Chron. iv. 2.

The discovery of this vast specimen of earthen ware, is at any
rate a singularity, and refers to some age of the world when the in-
habitants used very large implements of husbandry. If there had
been in its neighbourhood a salt spring, as there are often found
farther west, we should not be at a loss to know for what purpose
it was constructed.

Remarkable specimens of pottery are often brought up from
very great depths at the salt works in Illinois. Entire pots of
a very large capacity, holding from eight to ten gallons, have been
disinterred at the amazing depth of eighty feet ; others have been
found at even greater depths, and of greater dimensions. — School-
craft. Upon this subject tliis author makes the following remarks :
" If these antique vessels are supposed now to lie in those depths
where they were anciently employed, the surface of the Ohio, and
consequently of the Mississippi, must have been sixty or eighty
feet lower than they are at present, to enable the saline water to
drain off; and the ocean itself must have stood at a lower level, or
extended in an elongated gulf up the present valley of the Mis-
sissippi."

Many are of the opinion that much of this region of country once
lay .beneath large lakes of water, and that the barriers between
them and the ocean, by some means, were broken down, when a
rush of water swept the v^hole country, in its course to the sea, bu-
rying all the ancient nations, with their works, at those depths be-

" HlMiM.Wi^.O"'''-'^'-- ■■

AND DISCOVERIES IN THE WEST.

Ill

neatli the surface, as low as where those fragments of earthen
ware are found. This is also supposed to be the true origin of the
immense prairies of the west ; and the reason why they are not,
lon.'T since, grown over with forest trees, is supposed to be, because
from the rich and mucky soil, found at the bottom of those lakes,
a grass of immense length, (ten and fourteen feet high,) peculiar
to the prairies, immediately sprung up, before trees could take root,
and therefore hindered this effort of nature. And as a reason why
forest trees have not been able to gain upon the prairies, it is al-
leged the Indians burn annually thees boundless meadows, which
ministers to their perpetuity. Some of those prairies are hundreds of
miles in length and breadth, and in burning over present, in the night,
a spectacle too grand, sublime and beautiful for adequate descrip-
tion ; belting the horizon with a rim of fire, the farthest ends of
which seem dipped in the immeasural)le distance, so that even con-
templation, in its minutest and boldest efforts, is entirely swallowed
up and rendered feeble and powerless.

• •

O ••

A CATACOMB OF MU.MMIES FOUND IX KENTUCKY.

Lexington, in Kentucky, stands nearly on the site of an ancient
town, which was of great extent and magnificence, as is amply
evinced by the wide range of its circumvallatory works, and the
quantity of ground it once occupied.

There is connected with the antiquities of this place, a catacomb,
formed in the bowels of the limestone rock, about fifteen feet below
the surface of the earth, adjacent to the town of Lexington. This
grand object, so novel and extraordinary in this country, was dis-
covered in seventeen hundred and seventy-five, by some of the first
settlers, whose curiosity was excited by something remarkable in the
character of the stones which covered the entrance to the cavern
within. They removed these stones, and came to others of singular

112

AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES

appearance fur stones in a natural state ; the removal of which
laid open the mouth of a cave, deep, gloomy, and terrific, as they
supposed .

With augmented numbers, and provided with light, they de-
scended, and entered, without obstruction ; a spacious apartment,

the sides and extreme ends were formed into nitches and compart-
mens, and occupied by figures representing men. When alarm

subsided, and the sentiment of dismay and surprise permitted fur-
ther research and enquiry, the figures were found to be Mummies,
preserved by the art of embalming, to as great a state of perfection,
as was known among the ancient Egyptians, sixteen hundred years
before the Christian era ; which was about the time the Israelites
were in bondage in Egypt when this art was in its highest state of
perfection.

Unfortunately for antiquity, science, and every thing else held
sacred by the illumined and learned, this inestimable discovery
was made at a period wlien a bloody and inveterate war was car-
ried on between the Indians and the ^vhites ; and the power of the
natives was displayed in so savag^.a^anner, that the* whites'wSre
filled with the spirit of revenge. Animated by this vindictive spi-
rit, the discoverers of the catacombs, delighted to wreak their ven-
geuce even on the mummies, supposing them to be of the same
Indian race with whom they were at war.

They dragged them out to the open air, tore; the bandages open,
kicked the bodies into dust, and made a general bonfire of the most
ancient remains antiquity could boast. The descent to this ca-
vern is gradual, the width four feet, the height seven only, and the
whole length of the catacomb was found to be eighteen rods and a
half, by six and a half ; and calculating from the nitches and
shelvings on the sides, it was sufficiently capacious to have contain-
ed at least two thousand subjects.

I could never, says Mr. Ash, from whose travels we have taken
this account, learn the exact quantity it contained ; the answers to

AND DISCOVERIES IN THE WEST.

113

the inquiries which he made respecting it were, " ! they burnt
up, and destroyed hundreds !" Nor could he arrive at any know-
ledge of the fashion, manner, and apparel of the mummies, or re-
cieve any other information than that they " were well lapped up^''
appeared sound, and consumed in the fire wilh a rapid flame. —
But not being contented with the uncertain information of persons,
who, it seems, had no adequate knowledge of the vflue of this dis-
covery, he caused the cavern to he gleaned of such fragments as
yet remained in the nitches, on its shelving sides, and from the
floor. The quantity of remains thus gathered up, amounted to for-
ty or fifty baskets, the dust of which was so light and pungent as to
affect the eyes even to tears, and the nose to sneezing to a trouble-
some degree.

He then proceeded on a minute investigation and separated from
the general mass, several pieces of human limbs, fragments of bo-
dies, solid, sound, and apparently capable of eternal duration. In
a cold state they had no smell whatever, but when submitted to the
action of fire, gave out an agreeable eflluvia, but was like nothing
in its fragrance, to which he could compare it.

On this subject Mr. Ash has the following reflections. : " How
these bodies were embalmed, how long preserved, by what nationS)
and from what people descended, no opinion can be formed, nor
any calculation made, but what must result from speculative fancy
and wild conjectures. For my part, I am lost in the deepest igno-
rance. My reading affords me no knowledge ; my travels po light.
I have neither read nor known of any of the North Americ&n In-
dians who formed catacombs for their dead, or who were acquaint*
ed with the art of preservation by embalming.

The Egyptians, according to Herodotus, who flourished 450

years before Christ, had three methods of embalming ; but Diodo-

rus, who lived before Christ, in the time of Julius Caesar, observes

that the ancient Egyptians had ^ fourth method of far greater supe-

,^'

114

AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES

riority. That method is not described by Diodonis, it had become
extinct in his time ; and yet I cannot think it presumptuous to con-
ceive that the American mummies were preserved after that very
manner, or at least uith a mode oi equal virtue and eflect."

The Kentuckians asserted, that the features of the face, and the
form of the whole hody M'as so well preserved, that they must have
been the exact representations of the once living suhjects.

This cavern indeed is similar to those found in Egypt, where the
once polished and powerful inhabitants bestowed their dead, wrap-
ped up in the linens, spices and arometics of the east. It is proba-
ble the cave wherp llipso were found was partly natural and partly
artificial ; having found it suitable to their purpose, they had open-
ed a convenient descent, cleared out the stones and rocks, and fitted
it with nitches for the reception of those they had embalmed.

This custom, it would seem, is purely Ep,yptian, and was prac-
tised in the earliest age of their national existence, which was
about two thousand years before Christ. Catacombs are numerous
all over Egypt," vast excavations under ground, with nitches in
their sides for their embalmed dead, exactly such as the one we
have described.

Shall we be esteemed presumptuous, if we hazard the opinion
that the people who made this cavern, and filled it with the thou-
sands of their embalmed dead were, indeed, from Egypt. If they
were not, whither shall we turn for a solution of this mystery .' To
what country shall we travel, where are the archieves of past ages,
that shall argue to this point .'

If the Egyptians were, indeed, reckoned as the first of nations ;
for so are they spoken of, even in the Scriptures : If from them was
derived the art of navigation, the knowledge of astronomy, in a
great degree, also the unparalleled invention of letters, with many
other arts, of use to human society ; such as architecture, agricul-
ture, with the science of government, &c. ; why not allow the au-
thors of the antiquated works about Lexington, together with the

AND DISCOVKRtES IN THE WEST.

115

immense catacomb, to be, iudeed, an Egi/ptian cohmj; seeing the
art of embalming which is pcculiarli/ characteristic of that people,
was found there in ii state oi perfection not exceeded by the mother
country itself.

A. trait of national practices so strong and palpable, as is this pe-
culiar art, should lead the mind, without hesitation, to a belief that
wherever the thing is practised, we have found in its authors either
a colony direct from Egypt, or the descendants of some nation of
the countries of Africa acquainted witli the art.

But if this be so, the question here arises, how came they in
America, seeing the nearest point of even South America approach-
es no nearer to the nearest point of Africa, than about seventeen
hundred miles. Those points are, first, on the American side, Cape
St. Uoque ; and, second, on the African side. Cape de Verd.

And such is the mechanism of the globe, and the operation of the
waters, that from the west coast of Africa there is a constant cur-
rent of the sea setting toward South America ; so that if a vessel
were lost, or if an eastern storm had driven it far into the sea, or
South Atlantic ; it would naturally arrive at last on the American
coast. This is supposed to have been the predicament of the
fleet of Alexander the Great, some hundred years before the
Christian era, as we have before related.

The next inquiry to be pursued, is, whether the Egyptians were
ever a maritime people, or rather anciently so, sutficient for our
purpose ^

By consulting ancient history, we find it mentioned that the
Egyptians, as early as fourteen hundred and eighty-five years be-
fore Christ, had shipping, and that one Danus, with his fifty
daughters, sailed into Greece, and anchored at Rhodes ; which is
three thousand, three hundred and seventeen years back from
the present year, 1832. Eight hundred and eighty-one years aftei
the landing of this vessel at Rliodes, we find the Egyjitians, under
the direction of Necho, their king, fitting out some Phoenicians with

AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES

a veisel, or fleet, with orders to sail from the Red Sea, quite
•round the contiuent of Africa, and to return by the Mediterranean,
which they efTected-

It is easy to pursue the very tract they sailed, in order to circum-
navigate Africa ; sailing from some pore oir the lied Sea, they pass
down to the Strait of Jiabclmandel, into the Indian Ocean ; thence
■outh, around the Cape of Cood IIoj)e, into the South Atlantic ;
thence north, along the African coast on the west side, which would
carry tliem all along opposite, or east of South America.

Pursuing this course, they would pass into the Mediterranean at
the Strait of Gibraltar, and so on to Egypt, mooring at Alexandria,
on the south end of the Mediterranean ; a voyage of more than six-
teen thousand miles ; two thirds of the distince round the earth.
Many ages after their first settlement in Egypt, they were the lead-
ing nation in maritime skill, and other arts.

It is true, a knowledge of the compass, as an aid to navigation,
was in those early ages unknown ; but to counterbalance this de-
fect, they were much more skilful in a knowledge of the stars, as
guide'i to their courses, than men are at the present day.

But if we cannot allow the Egyptians to have visited South Ame-
ri'ca, and all the islands between, on voyages of discovery, which by
no means can be supposed chimerical, we are ready to admit they
may have been driven there by an eastern storm ; and as favouring
8uch a circumstance, the current which sets from the African coast
toward South America, should not be forgotten.

If it be allowed that this mode of reasoning is at all conclusive,
the same will apply in favour of their having /rs/ hit on the (oast
of the West Indies, as that this group of islands, as they now exist,
is much more favourable to a visit from that particular part of Afri-
ca called Egypt, than is South America.

Egypt and the West Indies are exactly in the same latitude,
that is, the northern part of those islands ; both being between
twenty and thirty degrees north.

AND discovehies irc the west.

• 9

Soiling from Egypt out of the Mediterranean, pa.tsing through
the Strait of Gibralter, would throw a vessel, in rase of an eastern
storm, aided by the current, as high north as oppobitt- the Bahama
islands. A hlow^of but a few days in that direction, would be quite
sufficient to have driven an Egyptian lleet, vessel, or boat, or what-
ever they may have sailed in, entirely on to the coast of ths West
Indies. The trade winds sweep westward across the Atlantic,
through a space of 50 or 60 degrees of longitude, carrying every
thing within their current directly to the American coast. >

If such may have been the case, they were, indeed, in a maoQei
on the very continent itself, especially, if the opinion of President
Jefferson and others be allowed, that the Gulf of Mexico, which is
situated exactly behind those islands, west, has been scooped out
by the current, which makes from the equator toward the north.

Kentucky itself, where we think we have found the remains of
an Egyptian colony, or nation, as in the case of the works and cat-
acomb at Lexington, is in latitude, but five degrees north of Egypt.
So that whether they may have visited America on a voyage of ex-
ploration, or have been driven on the coast, against their will ; in
either case, it would be perfectly natural, that they should have es-
tablished themselves in that region.

Traits of Egyptian manners were found among many of the na-
tions of South America, mingled with those who appeared to be of
other origin ; of which we shall speak in the course of this work.
But at Lexington, the traits are too notorious to allow them to be
other than pure Egyptian, in full possession of the strongest com-
plexion of their national character, that of embalming, which was
connected with their religion.

The Mississippi, which disembogues itself into the Mexican Gulf,
is in the same north latitude with Egypt, and may iiave, by its like-
ness to the Egyptian Nile, invited those adventurers to pursue its
course, till a place suited to their views, or necessities, may have
presented. - ... ■ .

118

AMf.KICAIN AINTIQUITIES

The ancient Punic, PhcEnician, or Cartliaginian language, is all
the same ; the characters called Punic, or Phoenician, therefore,
are also the same. A fac simile of those characters may be seen
in the Commentary on the book of Acts, 28th Chapter, as furnished
by Adam Clark, who says that specimen is one of the largest re-
mains of the Punic languiige, now in existence . These, he says,
were found in a sepulchral cave, in 1761, on tlie island, Malta, in
the Mediterranean, cut in a square stone. Characters of this de-
scription, are also foutid on some rocks, in Digliton, Massachusetts,
and are supposed of Phoenician origin.

In a chain of mountains between the rivers Oronoco and Ama-
zon, in South America, are found engraved iii a cavern, on a block
of granite, characters supposed also to be Punic letters. It is easy
to perceive the likeness there is between those which are furnished
by Baron Humboldt, and those represented by the fac simile given
us by Adam Clark, about which there need be no doubts respecting
their genuineness. If, then, it is allowed, that Phoenicians have
visited America, why not Egyptians ? of whom the Phoenicians
first learned the art of navigation, as it was understood in those ages,
as well also as the invention of letters.

The discovery of these mummies is partially noticed by Morse,
in his Universal Geography, Vol. 1st, page 500. " Near Lexing-
ton are found curious sepulchres,/;/// of human skeletons." " Oth-
er travellers assert, that several bundled mummies were discovered
near Lexington in a cave, but were wholly destroyed by the first
settlers." — Western Cuzeitccr, purje 103.

iiP'

A FURTHER ACCOUNT OF WES'J'ERX ANTIQUITIES, WITH
AN 'JE DILU A' I A N TRAITS .

Cincinnati, is situated on one of those examples of antiquity,
of great extent. They are found on the upper level of that towli,

■♦'■■

• >

AND DISCOVERIES IN ' IE WEST.

119

but none on tlie lower one. They are so conspicuous as to catch
the first range of the eye.

There is every reason to suppose, that at the remote period of
the building of these antiquities, the lowest level formed part of
the bed of the Ohio. A gentleman who was living near the town
of Cincinnati, in 1826, on the upper level, had occasion to sink a
well for his accommodation, who persevered in digging to the depth
of 80 feet without finding water, but still persisting in the attempt,
his workmen found themselves obstructed by a substance, which
resisted their labour, though evidently not stone. They cleared the
surface and sides from the earth bedded around it, wKen there ap-
peared the slump of a tree, three feet in diameter, and two feet
high, which had been cut down with an axe. The blows of the
axe were yet visible.

It was nearly of the colour and apparent character of coal, but
had not the friable and fusible quality of that mineral ; ten feet be-
low, the water sprang up, and the well is now in constant supply,
and high repute.

Reflections on this discovery are these, first ; that the tree was
imdoubtedly antediluvian. Second; that tlie river now called
the Ohio, did not exist anterior to the deluge, in as much as the re-
mains of the tree were found (irmly rooted, in its original position,
several feet below the bed of that river. Third ; that America was
peopled before the flood, as appears from the action of the axe, in
cutting down the tree. Fourth ; tliat the antediluvian Americans,
were acquainted with the use and properties of iron, as the rust of
the axe was on the top of the stump wlien discovered.

And why should they not be acquainted with both its properties
and utility, seeing it was an antediluvian discovery. Tubal Cain,
one of the sous of Cain, the son of Adam, we find, according to
Genesis, iv. chap. 22d verse, was a blacksmith, and worked in iron
and brass, more than a thousand years before the flood.

120

AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES

It was about five hundred years from the creation, when, Tubal
Cain is noticed in the sacred history, to have been a worker in brass
and iron ; but, says Dr. Clark the commentator, " although this is
the first smith on record, who taught how to make warlike instru-
ments, and domestic utensils, out of brass and iron, yet a know-
ledge of metal, must have existed long before, for Cain was a tiller
of the ground, and so was Adam, which they could not have been,
without spades, hooks, &c."

According to this opinion, it would appear, that in the very first
period of time, men were acquainted ^vith the metals, and as they
diverged from the common centre, which was near the garden of
Eden, they carried with them a knowledge of this all important
discovery.

If the stump is indeed antediluvian, we learn one important fact,
and this is it ; America, by whatever name it was called before the
deluge, was then a body of earth above the waters ; and also, was
connected with Asia ; where, it is allowed on all hands, man was
originated.

If it were not connected with Asia, it might be inquired, how
then came men in America, before the flood, the traits of whose in-
dustry, and agricultural pursuits, are discovered in the felling of
this tree, as well as a great number of other instances, of which we
shall speak by and by.

It is not probable, that before the flood, there was so small a quan-
tity of dry land, on the earth, as at the present time ; the waters of
the globe being generally hid beneath the incumbent soil, so that an
easy communication of all countries with each other, existed ; which
must have greatly facilitated the progress of man, in " peopling,
and subduing it."

We know very well, it is said, " the gathering together of the
waters, called He seas ;" but it does not follow, that they were not
subterranean ; and it is more than intimated, that such was the fact,

AND DISCOVERIES IN THE WEST.

121

when it is said, " all the fountains of the great deep were broken
up," on the day the flood commenced.

But by what means were they broken up, this is left to conjec-
ture, as tliat the Scriptures are higher in their aim, than the mere
graliiication of curious questions of this sort ; but in some way this
was done. The very terms, " broken up," signify the exertion of
power and vioknce, of sufficient force to burst, at once, whole con-
tinents from tlie face of the deep, and also, to throw out, at one
wide rush, the central waters of the globe.

But can we conceive of any means made use of to effect this,
other than the direct pressure of God's power, sinking the earth to
the depths beneath, so that the water might rise above, taking the
place of the land .' We imagine we can.

It is well known, the velocity of the earth in its onward motion
round the sun is about twenty miles a second, nearly the speed of
lightning. Let Him, therefore, who at first imposed this incon-
ceivable velocity, stop the earth in this motion, suddenly ; what
would the effect be .' all the fluids, that is, the waters, whether
above ground, or underneath it, would rush forward, with a power
equal to their weight, which would be sufficient to burst away
mountains, or any impediment whatever; and rushing round the
globe, from the extreme western point, rolling one half of the
mighty flood over this side of it, and the o.her half over the anti-
pode on the other side, which is relatively beneath us, till the two
half worlds of water should meet at the extreme east, where heap-
ing up, by their force, above a common level, would soon, but gra-
dually, roll back to their original places, as the earth should again
go forward ; this is our opinion of the way " all the fountains of
the great deep were broken up."

If the earth were to be arrested in its course, now, the effect
would be the same. Suppose we illustrate the position, for a mo-
ment. Place a vessel of water on a plank, for instance, open on

the top, like a common bowl, fastened to Jie plank, so that it should

123

AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES

i^ / not be liable to be overset. Cause this plank to move, at first slow-
ly, but increase its steady, onward velocity, as much as the fluid
will bear, without causing a reaction ; when, therefore its utmost
speed is obtained, ttop it suddenly ; the effect v.ould be, the water
in the vessel would instantly fly over, leaving the bowl behind.
Such, therefore, we imRc;ine, would be the efiect, if the earth were
now caused to stand suddeily still, in its orbit; except this difler-
ence, the law of gravitation, would prevent the waters of the earth
from leaving the surface, but would cause a rapid current, in the
direction the earth was pursuing.

That the waters of the deluge carae from the west, is evident,
from the manner in which the various strata of the earth is situated,
over the wh:le of our country ; and that its motion was very vio-
lent, is also evident, from the arptarance of native, or primitive
rock, being found en the top of that which is of secondary forma-
tion, and of gravel and sand in hills, and smaller eminences, lying
on beds of clay, and soils of various kinds below it.

The effects of the deluge can be traced in all the earth in this
way, and particulary about Albany, Saratoga, and about the lakes,
and to the east, showing the waters flowed in that direction.

For a beautiful and able description of this subject, see Thomas'
Travel's, published at Auburn, under the head, " The Deluge."

At, the same time the waters above the firmament, were permit-
ted to burst downward, which in its fall, subdivided into drops, as
is natural ; so that one vast perpetual storm, for forty days and for-
ty nights, rushed with all the violence of a tornado, upon the globe,
quite around it, by which, in so short a time, the highest hills were
buried fifteen cubits deep, and upward ; this is what we sup-
» pose is meant by the words " and the windows of heaven were
opened."

In this way the surface of our earth was ruined ; a disproportion-
ate quantity of water, caused to appear on the surface, while in the
same ratio, the land has sunk to the depths below.

xr>

AND DISCOVERIES IM THE WEST-

ISS

Sixteen liundred years and rising was the space of time allowed
from the creation till the flood ; a time quite sufficient to people the
whole earth, even if it were then enjoying a surface of dry land,
twice as much as it does at the present time, being but about one-
fourth ) and America, as appears from tliis one monument, the
stump of Cincinnati, \va3 a part of the earth which was peopled by
the Antediluvians.

The celebrated antiquarian, Samuel L. Mitchell, late of New-
York, with oilier gentlemen, eminent for their knowledge of natu-
ral history, are even of the opinion that America was the country
where Adam was created. In a letter to Governor De Witt Clin-
ton, in which this philosopher argued the common origin of the
people of America, and t'nose of Asia, he says : " I avoid the op-
portunity which this grand conclusion affords me, of stating, that
America was the cradle of the human race ; of tracing its colonies
westward over the Pacific Ocer.n, r.nd beyond the sea of Kamschat-
ka, to new settlements ; of following the emigrants by land and wa-
ter, until they reached Europe and Africa. I had no inclination to
oppose the current opinions relative to the place of mans creation
and dispersion. I thought it was scarcely wortli the while to in-
form an European, that on coming to America, he had left the new
world behind him, for the purpose of visiting the old" — American
Antiquarian Society^ parte 331. ,

But this opinion cannot obtain ; if we place the least reliance on
the statement of Moses, in his l)ook of Genesis ; who gives a cir-
cumstantial account of the place of man's creation, by stating the
names of the very rivers, arising out of the region of country called
Paradise ; such as Pison, Havilab, Gihon, Hiddekel, and Euphra-
tes ; or as they now are called, Phasis, Araxcs, Tigris, and Euphra-
tes ; this last retains its original name.

No such rivers are known in Amei ica, nor the countries through
which they flow. Here is data to argue from, but the position, or
rather, the suggestion of Professor Mitchell, has absolutely, no data

I'M

AMGRICAIf ArfTIQUITIES

whatever. If but a tradition, favouring tlmt opinion, were found,
even among the Indians, it would afford some foundation : but as
their tradition univprsally alludes to some part of the earth, far
away, from whence they came, it would seem exceedingly extrava-
gant to argue a contrary belief.

This one stvwp, we consider, surpasses in consequence, the mag-
nificence of all the temples of anliqnily, whose forsaken turrets,
dilapidated walls, tottering and fallen pillars, which speak in lan-
guage loud and mournful, the story of their ruin ; because it is a
remnant of matter, in form and fashion, such as it was, before the
earth "perished by water," bearing on its top, the indubitable
marks of the exertion of man, of so remote a time.

It is not impossible but America may have been the country
where Noah builded his ark, as directed by the Most High.

We know very well, vLen the mind refers to the subject of
Noah's Ark, our thovghts are in:mediately ocrcciated with Mount
Ararat, because it rested there, on the subsiding of the flood. But
this circumstance precludes a pcssibiii!y of its having been built
theref if we ti.ow the waters of the deliise to have hod any cur-
rents at all. It is said in Genesis, that the Ark floated, or v.as
borne upon the waters above the e&ith, and also, that the ark ^^ went
upon the face of the waters.'''' From which fr.ct, we imr-riine th.ere
must have been a. current, or it could not have Kent upon the M-a-
ters. Consequently, it v:cnt from the place where it was built, be-
ing obedient to the current of th.e waters.

Now if it had been built any where in the country colled Arme-
nia, where the mountain Ararat is situated ; and as it is foi^nd the
waters had a general eastern direction, the Ark in goiig on the face
0*" ♦he Avaters, would have during the time the waters of the de-
ii! > prevailed, which was an hundred and fifty days, or five months,
(th it is, prevailed after the commencement of the deluge, till its
greatest depth was effected ;) gone in an eastern direction as far
perhaps, as to the region of the islands .of Japan, beyond China,

AND DISCOVERIES IN THE WEST

125

■ u-ent

pftst, A distance of about six thousand miles ; which would be at
the rate of about forty miles a day, or if it had floated faster, would
have carried it into the Paciiic Ocean.

But if we may imagine it was erected in North America, or some
where in the latitude of the state of New-York, or even farther
west, the current of the deluge would have borne it easterly. And
suppose it may have been carried at the rate of forty or fifty miles a
day, would, during the time the waters prevailed ; in which time,
we may suppose, a current existed, have progressed as far as to
Ararat ; a distance of nearly six thousand miles, where it did actu-
ally rest.

More than sixteen hundred years had elapsed, when the ark was
finished, and it may fairly be inferred, that as Noah was bom about
one thousand years after the creation of the world, that mankind
had from necessity, arising from the pressure of population, gone
very far away from the regions round about Eden ; and the coun-
try where Noah was b orn may as well be supposed to have been
America, as any other part of the earth ; seeing there are indubita-
ble signs of antediluvian population in many parts of it. Unite
this circumstance with that of the ascertained current of the de.
luge from America, and with the fad of the Ark's having rested in
an easterly direction from this country, we come to a conclusion
that here, perhaps in the very State of New-York, the miraculous
vesrel w^as erected, and bore away, treasured with its enormous ca-
pacity, the progenitors of the human race renewed. So that if

America have not the honour of being the country where Adam
was created, as is believed by some, it has nevertheless the honour,

as supposed, of being the country where the ark was erected.

In Morse's Universal Geography, first volume, page 142, the

discovery of this stump is corroborated : " In digging a well in

Cincinnati, the stump of a tree was found in a sound st'tte, ninety

feet below the surface ^" and in digging another well, at the same

place, another stump was found, at ninety-four feet below the sur-

il;'«

ri'W.

126

AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES

face, which had evident marks of the axe ; and on its top there
appeared as if some iron tool had been consumed by rust."

The axe had, no doubt, been struck into the top of the stump,
when the horrors of the dchifre first appeared, in the bursting forth
of the waters from above, that is from tlie windmcs of heaven ; —
when sounds terrific, from the breaking forth of the waters of the
great deep, and from the shock all sensitive beings must have felt
when the earth was caused to stand still in its onward course round
the sun, for the space perhaps of a day. Remember Joshua, at
whose command and prayer, God stopped the earth for the space of
a whole day, but not in its onward course around the sun, but its
diurnal motion only, which could not have any effect on the fluids
of the earth, as the sudden interruption of the other motion would
have.

Who would not flee, or be petrified on the spot, when pheno-
mena so terrible, without presage or warning, were changing the
face of things, and the feelings of the atmosplicro ; the earth quiv-
ering like an aspen leaf ; forests leaning to the east, and snapping
asunder in one awful crash over all the wide wilderness ; rocks
with mountains tumbling from their summits ; the stoutest heart
would quail at such an hour as this ; an axe, with all things else,
would be left by the owners, and a general flight, if they could
stand at all on their feet, would take place, they knew not wither,
for safety.

In one of the communications of the admired Dr. Samuel L.
Mitchell, Professor of Natural History, to the American Antiqua-
rian Society, he mentions a certain class of antiquities as distinguish-
ed entirely from those which are found in and about the mounds of
the west, as follows : In the section cf country about Fredonia, on
the south side of Lake Erie, are discovered objects deservedly
worthy of particular and inquisitive research. This kind of anti-
quities, present themselves on digging Crdm thirty to fifty feet
below the present surface of the ground. " They occur in the form

AND DISCOVERIES Ilf THE WEST.

137

of fire brands, split wood, ashes, coals, and, occasionally, tools and
utensils, buried to those depths." This, it will be perceived, is
much below the bed of Lake Eric, of consequence must have
been antediluvian, and agrees with the discovery of the stumps at
Cincinnati. " lam informed that in Rhode-Island, New-Jersey,
Maryland, North-Carolina, and in Ohio, such discoveries have been
made." He says, " I wisli the members of the society would ex-
ert themselves with all possible dilligence to ascertain and collect
the facts of this description. They will he exceedingly curious,
both for the geologist and historian. After such facts shall have
been collected and methodised, we may perhaps draw some satis-
factory conclusions ; light may possibly be shed upon the remote
Pclastjians, and upon the traditionary / Mntides." See page 78 of
this work, and onward, on the subject of the Atlantidies.

iBut we cannot allow the discoveries made at this vast depth, to
tong to any ago, or to any of the works of man this side the de-
luge, as tliat time enough has not elapsed since that catastrophe, to
allow the decomposition of vegetables, nor of convulsions, to have
buried these articles so deep beneath the surface extending over so
great a tract of country. The draining of lakes, however sudden,
could never have had so wide and universal an effect.

It would seem, therefore, that we are compelled to refer them to
the works of man beyond the flood, which, by the ♦erflowing of
the waters, and the consequent ruin of the original surface, these
works, with their makers, have been thus buried in a tomb more
dreadful to the imagination than the ordinary recepticles of the
dead.

In evidence that the ocean, at some period in sges past, over-
whelmed the American continent, we notice, from the " British
Spy," page 112, an account of the discovery of the skeleton of a
whale, in Virginia :

" Near Williamsburgh has recently been discovered, by a farm-
er, while digging a di^h through a plat of ground, about five feet

*■

128

AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES

below the surface, a conaiderable portion of the skeleton of a whale.
Several fragments of the ribs, and other parts, were found, with the
whole of the vertebrae, a backbone, regularly arranged, and very
little impaired as to figure. The spot where it was found is about
two miles from James river, and about sixty from the sea. In the
same region, at depths of from sixty to ninety and an hundred feet,
have been found the teeth of sharks." In every region of the
earth, as well as America, and on the highest mountains, are found
the bones and shells of the ancient inhabitants of the sea. From
the universality of those appearances, we conclude they were de-
posited and cast thither by the tempest of the deluge.

From the discoveries of articles of the utensil character, the bones
of whales, the teeth of sharks, and the stumps of Cincinnati, at
various depths, as stated above ; we are led to the conclusion, that
the original surface, of what is now called America, was perhaps
not much disturbed ; but was rather suddenly overwhelmed from
the west, by the bursting forth of the subterranean Pacific, wij(.h,
till then, had been covered with land, mountains and vales, thickly
peopled.

The vast depths of strata of loam, sand, clay, gravel, and stone,
which, lie over each other, evincing, from the unnatural manner
of their positions, that they were thrown furiously, by the agent,
water, oveHIhe whole continent, furnished from the countries of

the Pacific.

If such may have been the fact, how dreary, sublime, and horri-
ble, when we rellect upon the immensity of the antediluvian popu-
lation, west of America, at once thrown, with all their works, their
wealth, and power, rapidly along the dreadful current, running
cast, broad as half the earth, crushed and mingled with the ruined
world of their own country. Here it may be supposed at different
depths, their broken bodies are buried, together with the antedilu-
vians of America ; while above them, the towns, cities, and living
world of the present times, are in full career. As we pass along,

AND DISCOVERIES IN THE WEST.

129

over the surfucy of the earth, whether for recreation and to breathe the
evenin|5 or the morning air ; enjoying the pleasant promenade, or
roll onwarJ in tlie farioaj chariot ; to rolbct that this soil is the
same once forming a part of tha va3t covering of the Western Ocean ;
and that far beneath uj, the bodies of our elder brethren are sleep-
ing, is sad and mournftil.

That such miy, indoL-d, b.i ths fact, is favoured from the disco-
very of the whale's skeleton, found on James River, which could
never have been djposited thire by other means than the flood ;
forced onward from the west, till killed by the violence and agita-
tion of the wood, stone, and earth encumbered waters, and sunk
finally down, where it was recently discovered.

The pottery of the ancient nations, mentioned by Schoolcraft,
found at the vast depth of eighty feet, and even at greater depths, at
the great Saline in Illinois, is evidence of an antediluvian popula-
tion in America.

The other antiquities at Cincinnati, are, first, a Barrow for the
dead ; second, an enclosed or fortified Camp ; third, Mounds. <

The barrow is situated exactly on the edge of the bank that over-
looks the lower town, the principal street leading from the water is
cut through it, and exposes its strata and remains to every person
passing by. Seven tiers of skeletons lay plainly in sight, where
the barrow had caved away, from its being underminOT. Among the
earth thus fallen down, were found several stone hatchets, pieces
of pottery, and a flile, made of the great bone of the human leg. —
This is a very curious instrument, with beautifully carved figures,
representing birds, squirrels, and small animals, with perforated-
holes, in the old German manner, which, when breathed into, emit-
ted tones of great melody.

Among the modern Indians, no such instrument has ever been

found. At the time when the street before spoken of, was opened

through this barrow of the dead, a great variety of interesting and

valuable relies were brought to light ; among which were human

ifj

130

AMERICAN ANTrQL'ITIKS

¥m

double teclh^ which, on a moderute culculation, bt'spoke men of four
times the size of the modern race ; some brass rings, and an ivory
image, exquisitely executed, representing a female figure, in the act
of pressing a child" to her naked bosom. lion rings, as we have be-
fore mentioned, v/ere anciently used among the Britons, before the
Christian era, as money ; and, possibly in this ease, the brass rings
found in this barrow, may be a specimen of the ancient money of
America. But the discovery of tliis ivory image, we think, is
equal, if not surpassing, any thing of the domestic or sacred kind
yet brought to light in the western country. It is said to be now
in the cabinet of rare collections once in the possession of Thomas
Jefferson.

The account of the image is as follows : It is seven inches high ;
the figure full length ; the costume, a robe, in numberless folds,
well expressed, and the hair displayed in many ringlets ; the child
naked, near the left breast, and the raotlier's eyes bent on it with a
strong expression of affection and endearment.

There are those who'think it a representation of the mother of our
Lord's humanity, with the child Je5;us, iti her arms. The Roman
Catholics have availed themselves of this image, and made it a tes-
timony of the antiquity of their religion, and of the extensive range
of their worsliip, by attempting to prove thereby that the idol was
nothing less tmin a Madona and Child — the Virgin INIary, and the
child Jesus ; and that the Roman Catholic religion was the first
which arose in the earliest Christian age in the east, and the last
which set in the west, where it became extinct, by means of a
second deluge.

The idea, however, of a secoiijj deluge, is inadmissible, as it would
have destroyed every vestige of the mounds, pyramids, tuii uli, and
fortifications, of which this work treats ; many of which are sup-
posed older than the Christian era ; and the mound in which the
image itself was discovered would also have been destroyed.

There are, however, other opinions, which is not impossible may

..:M.

AND DISCOVF.RIFS IN THK WIST.

131

have furuished the iinagination with materials fur the u.igin of such
a representation. Tlie first is, the caplivatiiif; Ni^ht of a young mo-
ther bending over iier first bora «. nild, while she presses it naked to
her bosom, as the ancient custom in hot countries may have been.
The second, but is altogether more extraordinary ; the image may
be of Greek origin, and taken from Isaiah the Prophet, 7th eh. 14th
verse, where it is .aid, " Behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a
Son." This prophecy of Isaiah was known to the Greeks, for the
Old Testament was translated into their language In the time of
Ptolemy Philadelphus, king of Egypt, nearly three hundred years
before the Christian era. See Adam Clark's General Preface to
the Old Testament, page 27, and is known as the Soptuagint ver-
sion-

The Greek statuaries may, in this way, have easily found the
beautiful and captivating idea of a vlnjin mother, by reading Isaiah
in the Greek ; a work fraught with all the j^randeur of images in-
spired by God himself, and could not fail to challenge the reading
of every learned man of the empire, and such were the statuaries,
among the Greeks, the fame of whose exquisite skill in this re-
spect, will go down on the historic page to the latest time.

From the Greeks such an image, celebrating the idea of a virgin
mother and her child, may have easily come into the possession of
the Romans, as the Greeks were, soon after the translation of the
Hebrew Scriptures into the Greeks, subdued by the Romans ;
who, in their conquests, here and there, over the earth, including
Europe, England, Scotland, and the northern islands, carrying that
kind of image with them as a god, or talisman, and from thence to
America.

It is, however, not impossible, but it may be indeed of true Ro-
man Catholic origin ; as at tlie time the Romai.'s evacuated Europe
with its isles, Ireland, England, &c., about" the year 450, this church
had risen to great importance in the Roman empire, which aided
her to establish her altars in every country they had conquer. -.

132

AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES

Consequently long before the Scandinavians colonized Iceland,
Greenland and Labrador, on the American continent, the Christian
religion was planted in ll;e north of Europe ; first in France, in the
year 4G6, and then soon afttr in England ; and m on farther north,
among the ancient Scandinavians, Norwegians, £:c., and by these
to Iceland and Greenland ; who may have also brought this trait
of that church to America.

The fort at Cincinnati is a circle, embracing about three acres,
with a wall seven feet high, and twenty feet broad. At the back
part of the upper level, at a distance from the circular fort, are two
mounds of about twenty feet high. One of these, by cutting a
trench from east lo west, four feet wide, and at the depth of ten
feet, came to some heavy stones, under which was a body of com-
position resembling plaster of Paris. Thi.i broke with great difli-
culty, when there were exposed a few fragments of an adult human
skeleton, placed on a bed of a similar nature with the covering.

And being determined to ascertain whether the monument was
erected in memory of one person or more, the lower bed of hard
substance was also broken throrgh, ai:d underneath a stratum of
stones, gravel and earth, found the fragments of another skeleton,
consisting of one tibia, or piece of the shin, two»pieces of the thigh
bone, and the right upper, with the left under jaw.

This was the skeleton of a child, from which was derived the
important fact, that this mound was not erected for one individual
only, but also for the infant chief or king ; and that the nation who
erected this r.ound, in which the child was buried, was governed
by a line of hereditary chiefs or kings, a« is evident from the nature
and distinction of ''■•e interment of an infant ; who certainly could
not have been an elected chief ; the suffrages of a nation could ne-
ver be supposed to elevate an infant as its king ; but if it succeed-
ed by right of lineal descent, it might have been their king,

The next reHc of antiquity, discovered at Cincinnati, is a sphe-
rical stone, found on the fall of a large portion of the bank of the

( 1^

AND DISCOVEWES 1?T THE WEST-

133

river. It is a greeti stone, twelve inches in diameter, divided into
twelve sides, each side into twelve equal parts, and each part dis-
tinguished by hicrogiyphical engravings. This beautiful stone, it
is said, is lotlged in the Cabinet of Arts, at Pliiiadelpiiia. it is sup-
posed the atone was formed for astronomical calculation, conveying
a knowledge of the movements of the heavenly bodies.

A stone was found near the site of the present city of Mexico,
buried some feet beneath the soil, of the same character on which
was engraven an almost infinite number of hieroglyphics, signify-
ing the divisions of time, the motions of the heavenly bodies, the
twelve signs of the Zodiac, with references to the feasts and sacri-
fices of the Mexicans, and is called by Humboldt, the Mexican Ca-
lendar, in relief on basalt.

This deservedly celebrated historiographer and antiquarian, has
devoted an hundred pages and more of his octavo work, entitled
" Researches in America," in describing the sifhilarity which exists
between its representations of astrology, astronomy, and the divi-
sions of time, and those of a great multitude of the nations of Asia ;
Chinese, Japanese, Calmucks, Moghols, Mantchaus, and other Tar-
tar nations ; the Egyptians, Babylonians, Persians, Phoenicians,
Greeks, Romans, Hebrews, and ancient Celtic nations of Europe.
See the American edition, by Helen Maria Williams, 1st Volume.

The size of this stone was very great, being a fraction over twelve
feet square, three feet in thickness, weighing twenty four tons. It
is of the kind of stone denominated trappean porphyry, of the
blackish grey colour.

The place where it was fjund was more than thirty miles from
any quarry of the kind ; from which we discover the ability of the
ancient inhabitants, not only to transport stones of great size, as
well as the ancient Egyptians, in building their cities and temples
of marble, but also to cut and engrave on stone, equal with the pre-
sent age.

i 'f'l

•3

134

AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES

I .

It was discovered in the vale of Mexico, forty-two years ago, in
the spot where Cortez ordered it to be buried, when, with his fero-
cious Spaniards, that country was devastated. That Spaniard uni-
versally broke to pieces all idols of stone, which came in his way,
except such as Avere too large and strong to be quickly and easily
thus effected. Such he buried, among which this sculptured stone
was one. This was done to liide them from the sight of the na-
tives, whose strong attachment, whenever they saw them, counter-
acted their conversion to the Roman Catholic religion.

The sculptured work on this stone, is in circles ; the outer one
of all, is a trifle over 27 feet in circumference ; from which the
reader can have a tolerable notion of its size and appearance. The
whole stone is intensely crowded with an infinity of representations
and hieroglyphics ; arranged however, in order and harmony, every
way equal with any astronomical calendar of the present day. It is
further described by Baron Humboldt, v:l\o sav/ and examined it
on the spot.

" The concentric circles, the numerous divisions and subdivisions,
engraven in this stone, are traced with mathematical precision ; the
more minutely the detail of this sculpture is examined, the greater
the taste we find in the repetition of the same forms. In the cen-
tre of the stone is sculptured the celebrated sign uihui-olin-Tona-
tiuh, the Sun ; which is surrounded by eight triangular radii. The
god Tonatiuh or the Sun, is figured on this stone, opening his large
mouth, armed with teeth, with the tongue protruded to a great length.
This yawning mouth, and protruded tongue, is like the image of
Ka^a, or in another word. Time, a divinity of Hindostan. Its dread-
ful mouth, armed with teeth, is meant to show, that the god, Tona-
tiuh, or Time, swallows the world, opening a fiery mouth, devouring
the years, months, and days, as fast as they come into being. The
same image we find under the name of Moloch, among the Phoeni-
cians," the ancient inhabitants of a part of Africa, on thd southern
side of the Mediterranean ; from which very country, there can be

AND DISCOVERIES IN THE WEST-

135

but little doubt, America received a portion of its earliest inhabit-
ants ; hence, a knowledge of the arts to great perfection, as found
among the Mexicans, was thus derived- Humboldt says, the Mexi-
cans have evidently followed the Persians, in the division of time,
as represented on this stone. The Persians flourished 1500 years
before Christ.

" The structure of the Mexican aqueducts, leads tin imagination
at once, to the shores of the Mediterranean." — '''hoiuas^ Travels,
page 293. The size, grandeur, and riches, of the tumuli on the
European and Asiatic sides of the Cimmerian Strait," (which unites
the Black Sea witii the Archipelago, a part of the Mediterranean,
the region of ancient Greece, where the capital of Turkey in Eu-
rope now stands, called Constantinople,) " excite astonishing ideas
of the wealth and power of the people by Avhom they were con-
structed ; and in view of labour so prodigious, as well as expendi-
ture so enormous, for the the mere purpose of inhuming a single
body, customs and superstitions which illustrate the origin of the
pyramids of Egypt, the cavern of Elephanta, and the first temples
of the ancient world" — Thomas'' Travels.

But whatever power, wealth, genius, magnitude of tumuli,
mounds, and pyramids, are found about the Mediterranean ; where
the Egyptian, the Plioenician, Persian, and the Greek, have dis-
played the monuments of this most ancient sort of antiquities : all,
all is realised in North and South America ; and doubtless under
the influence of the same superstition, and eras of time ; having
crossed over, as before argued ; and among the various aboriginal
nations of South and North America, but especially the former, are
undoubtedly found the descendants of the fierce Medes and Per-
sians, and other warlike nations of the old world.

The discoveries of travellers in that country, show, even at the
present time, that the ancient customs, in relation to securing their
habitation? with a wall, still prevails. Towns in the interior of
Africa, on the river Niger, of great extent, are found to be sur-

136

AMERICA!^ ANTIQUITIES

n ?

rounded by walls of earth, in the same manner as those of the Tvest,
in North America.

See the account as given by Richard Lardncr: "Oh the 4th of
May we entered a town of prodigious extent, fortified with three
walls, of little less than twenty miles in circi.it, with ditches, or
moats between. This town, is called Boo-hoo, and is in latitude of
about 8 degrees 43 minutes north, and longitude 5 degrees 10 min-
utes, east. On the 17th v/e came to Roossa, which is a cluster of
huts walled with earth."

This traveller states that there is a kingdom there called Vaorie,
which is large, powerful, and flourishing ; a city which is of pro-
digious extent ; the wall surrounding it is of clay or earth, and very
high, its circuit, between twenty and thirty miles. lie mentions
several other places, enclosed by earth walls in the same manlier.

It is easy to perceive the resemblance between these walled towns
in central Africa, and the remains of similar works in this country,
America.

On the Ohio, twenty-two miles below the mouth of the Wabash,
is a cavern, in which are found a vast variety of hieroglyphics, and
representations, of such exquisite delineations, as would induce the
belief, that their authors, were indeed, comparatively, of a civilized
and refined origin. It is a cava, in a rock, which presents itself to
view; a little above the water, when m flood, and close to the bank
of the river, and is darkened by the shade of some catalpa trees,
standing before the entrance.

In the early settlement of Ohio, this cave became possessed by
a party of Kentuckians, called " Wilson's gang." Wilson, in the
first instance, brought his family to the cave, fitted it up as a spa-
cious dwelling, and erected a sign post on the water side, on which
were these words : " Wilson's liquor vault, and house of enter-
tainment."

The novelty of such a tavern, induced almost all the boats de-
scending the river to call and stop for refreshment, and amuse-

AND DISCOVERIES IN THE WEST.

137

meiit. Attracted by these circumstances, several idle characters
took up their abode at the cave, after which it continually resound-
ed with the shouts of the licentious, the clamour of riot, and the
blasphemy of gamblers.

Out of such customers, "Wilson found no difficulty in forming a
band of robbers, with whom he formed the plan of murdering the
crews of every boat that stopped at his tavern, and send the boats,
manned by some of his party, to New-Orleans, and there sell their
loading for cash, which was to be conveyed to the cave by land,
through the states of Tennessee and Kentucky ; the party returning
with it being instructed to murder, on all good occasions, on the road.

After a lapse of time, the merchants of the upper country began
to be alarmed, on finding their property make no returns, and their
people never coming back. Several families, and respectable men,
who had gone down the river, were never heard of; and the losses
became so frequent, that it raised, at length, a cry of individual dis-
tress, and general dismay. This naturally led to inquiry, and large
rewards were offered for the discovery of the perpetrators of such
unparalleled crimes.

It soon came out that Wilson, with an organised party of forty-
five men, was the cause of such waste of blood and treasure ; that
he had a station at Hurricane island, to arrest every boat that passed
by the mouth of the cavern, and that he had agents at Natchez and
New-Orleans, of presumed respsctsbility, who converted his a**
signments into cash, though they knew the goods to be stolM, or
obtained by commission of murder. '■«•■

The publicity of Wilson's transactions soon broke up his party ;
some dispersed, others were taken prisoners, and he himself was
killed by one of his associates, who was tempted, by the rewarcl
offered for the head of the captain of the gang.

This cavern measures about twelve rods in length, and five in

width ; its entrance presents a width of 60 feet at its base, and 25

feet high. The interior walls are smooth rock. The floor is very

*:: ;L ■

138

AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES

B»M1

U''

remarkable, being level through the whole length of its centre, the
sides rising in stoney grades, in the manner of seats in the pit of a
theatre.

On a diligent scrutiny of the walls, it is plainly discerned, that
the ancient inhabitants at a very remote period, had made use of
the cave as a house of deliberation and council. The walls bear
many hyeroglyphics, well executed ; and some of them represent
animals, which have r.:» resemblance to any now known to natural
history^

This cavern is a great natura curiosity, as it is connected with
another still more gloomy, which is situated exactly above, united
by an aperture of about fourteen feet ; which to ascend is like pas-
sing up a chimney ; while the mountain is yet far above. Not long
after the t'ispersion and arrest of the robbers, who had infested it,
in the upper vault were foirnd, the skeletons of about sixty persons,
who had been murdered by the gang of Wilson, as was supposed-
But the tokens of antiquity arc still more curiois and important,
than a description of the mere cave, which are found engraved on
its sides, within, an account of which we proceed to give.

1st. *rhe sun in diflerent stages of rise and declension ; the moon
under variou!| phases ; a snake, biting its tail, represents an orb, or
circle ; a viper ; a vulture ; buzzards tearing out the heart of a
prostrate man ; a panther, held by the ears, by a child ; a crocodile ;'
several trees and shrubs; a fox; a curious kind of hydra serpent;
two doves ; several bears ; two scorpions ; an eagle ; an owl ; some
quails; eiyht representations of animals which are now unknown.
Three out of the eight are like the elephant in all respects, except
the tusk and the tail. Two more resemble the tiger, one a wild
boar, another a sloth ; and the last appears a creature of fancy, be-
ing a quadrumane, instead of a quadruped, the claws being alike
before and behind, and in the act of conveying something to the
mouth which lay in the CCntre of the monster. Besides these were
several fine representations of men and women, vot nakedy but clo-

AND DISCOVERIES IN THE WEST.

189

thed, not as the Indians, but much iu the costume of Cireece and
Rome.

We must at once perceive, that these objects, with an exception
or two, were employed by the ancient Greeks, to display the na-
ture of the world, the omnipotence of God, the attributes of man,
and the utility of rendering his know!^''ge systematic and immortal.
All human sciences flourished among the Egyptians long before
they were common to any other people ; the Grecians, in the daya
of Solon, about six hundred years before Christ, Pythagoras, about
the same time, Herodotus, between four and Ave hundred years
before Christ, and Plato, a little later ; acquired in Egypt, all that
knowledge of nature, which rendered them so eminent and remark-
able. But the Egyptian priests did not divulge their doctrines, but
by the aid of signs, amd figurative emblems. Their manner was
to discover to their auditors, the mysteries of God and nature, in
hieroglyphics; which \vere certain visible shapes and forms of
creatures, whose inclinations and dispositions, led to the knowledge
of the truths intended for instruction. All their divinity, philoso-'
phy, and their greatest secrets, were comprehended in these ingen-
ious characters, for fear they should be profaned by a familiar ac-
quaintance with the commonalty.

It requires but a rapid and cursory view of the hieroglyphics
above enumerated, to convince us of design ; and also that the
cavern wherein they are found engraved, was originally a place of
worship, or of council.

The sun, the most frlorious of all visible beings, represented
their chief god, and receiyed their adoration, for causing all the ve-
getation of the earth to bring forth its increase.

2d. The moon denoted the next most beautiful object in the cre-
ation, and was worshipped for her own peculiar usefulness ; and
more particularly, for supplying the place of the departed sun.

3d. The snake, in the form of an orb, or circle, biting its tail, point-
ed out the continual mutation of creatures, and the change of mat-

140

AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES

ter, or the perpetual morion of the world itself. If so, this construc-
tion of that hieroglyphic, the snake, agrees with the Greek figure,
of the same kind ; which implies that the world feeds upon itself,
and receives from itself in return, a continuol supply for renovation
and nourishment ; the same symbol designated the year, which re-
volves round, and ends where it first began, like the serpent with
its tail in its mouth ; it is believed the ancient Greeks gave it this
meaning.

4th. The viper, the most venemous cf all creatures, was the em-
blem of the devil, or wicked angel ; for, as its poison is quick and
powerful, so is the destroying spirit, in bringing on mankind evils,
which can only be opposed by the grace and power of God.

5th. The vulture, tearing out the bowels of a prostrate man,
seems a moral intending to reprove fierctmess and cruelty. Dr. Rush
says this hieroglyphic represents intemperance, and by them was so
understood.

6th. The panther, held by the cars by a child, was meant to im-
press a sense of the dominion of innocence and virtue over oppres-
sion and vice : or, perhaps it bore the Greek meaning, cf a wretch
encompassed with difficulties, which he vainly attempts to avoid.

7th. The crocodile, from its power and might, was another sym-
bol of the Great Spirit ; or its being the only creature without a
tongue, might have given it a title to the same honour, all heathen
nations concur in representing their gods, beholding and doing all
things, in heaven and earth, in profound silence.

8th. The several trees and shrubs were undoubtedly emblemat-
ical of particular virtues, as representedjin this temple the cave,
from a veneration for their aromatic and healirg properties. Among
the ancients, we know, that the palm tree and the laurel were em-
blems of victory and deserved honour ; the myrtle, of pleasure ;
the cedar, of eternity ; the oak, of strength ; the olive tree, of
fruitfulness ; the vine, of delight and joy ; and the lily, of beauty.
But y/hvA those in the cave imply, it is not possible to determine,

AND DISCOVERIES IN THE U'KST.

141

as nothing of Aeir character can be deduced from the manner they
were sketched on the surface of a rough wall, »viiere the design is
obscured by smoke, or nearly obliterated from the effect of damp,
and the gradual decay of time.

9th. The fox, from every authority, was put to denote subtility
and craftiness.

10th. The hydra serpent probably signified malice and envy,
passions which tUe hieroglyphic taught mankind to avoid.

11th. The two doves were hieroglyphics of constancy in love ;
all nations agree in this, in admiring the attachment of doves.

12th. The bears, it is apprehendL'd, signify industry, labour and
patience ; for the Indians believe the cubs of the bear come into
the world with misshapen parts, and that their eyes, ears and other
members are licked into form by the mother, who passes days in
that anxious and unceasing employ.

13th. The scorpions were calculated to inspire a detestation for
malignity and vice ; even the present race of Indians hold these
animals in great disgust, healing wounds inflicted by them with a
preparation of their own blood.

14th. The eagle represents, and is held to this day, as the em-
blem of a great, noble, and liberal mind ; fierce in war, conquering
the enemy, and protecting his friends ; he, among the Indians, who
can do this, is compared with the eagle.

15th. The owl must have been set up to deter men from deceit
and hypocrisy. He cannot endure the light of the sun, nor can hy-
pocrisy bear that of truth and sincerity. He may have been the
emblem of death and wretchedness, as among the Egyptians ; or
of victory and prosperity, when in a flying attitude, as among the
Greeks.

16th. The quails afford no clue to their hieroglyphic, unless they
signify the corn season, and point out the time for the usage of
some particular rites and ceremonies of a religious nature. With
the Greeks, they were emblematical of impiety, from a belief that

t}'sf

143 AMCRtCAN ANTIQUfTIE.^

they enrage and torment themselves when the crescent of the new
moon appears.

ItJth. The representations of the larger animals, were doubtless,
indicative of the power and attributes of the Great Spirit : The
mammoth showinp; his greatness ; the tyger, his strength; the boar,
his wrath ; the sloth, \\\?, patience ; and the nondescript, his hidden
virtues, which are past finding out.

18th. The human figures are more definite, and afibrd inferences
more certain, on account of the dress they are represented in ;
which resembles the Roman ; the figures would be taken for Eu-
ropen antiquities, were it not for the character and manner of the
heads.

The dress of these figures, consisting of, 1st. A carbasus, or rich
cloak ; 2d, a sabucala, or waistcoat or shirt ; 3d, a supparum, or
breeches open at the knees ; 4th, solea, or sandals, tied acrdss the
toes and heels ; 5th, the head, embraced by a bandean, crowned
with feathers.

19th. The dress of the females, carved in this cave, have a Gre-
cian cast, the hair encircled by the crown, and was confined by a
bodkin ; the remaining part of this costume was Roman : 1st. The
garments called stolla, or perhaps the toga pura, flounced from the
shoulders to the ground : 2d, an indusium appeared underneath :
3d, the indusium was confined under the breast, by a zone or ces-
tus : and, 4th, sandals, in the manner of those of the men."

Could all this have been produced by the mere caprice of abori-
ginal artizans — we think not ; they have, in this instance, either re-
corded their own manners, in the one particular of costume, or they
have represented that of others, who had come among them as
strangers, and wonderfully induces the belief, that such were Greeks,
Romans, or some nation of the earth, whose mode of dress was
similar.

Viewed in the most critical manner, this instance of American
antiquity cannot fail to excite in the mind surprise, when we con-

AND DISCOVERIES lit TIIK WEST.

143

trast this with the commonly received opinion, that Columbus \va«
the first discover of this country.

The hieroglyphic carved in this ciive, \vliich represents a child
holding or leading a panther, brings forcibly to the mind a similar
idea in the Hebrew Scriptures, in the Book of Isaiah, chapter 14,
6th verse, where it is said the wolf, the leopard, and the young lion
shall be led by a child ; and relates to tlie period when both natu-
ral and moral evil shall have no existence in the eartli, as is
believed by some.

In ihis cave, it appears, there are sketched on the rock the figures
of several animals, now extinct ; among which are three, much re-
sembling the elephant, the tail and tusks excepted. It would be
passing the bounds of credulity to sujjpose the artists who delineat-
ed those figures, would represent no less than eight animals, difler-
ing in their configuration, one from the other, which had in reality
no being.

We suppose the animals resembling the elephant, to have been
the mammoth, and that those ancients were well acquainted with
the creature, or they could never have engraved it on the rock.
Job, of the Scriptures, who was a native of the land of Uz, in Idu-
mea, which is situated southwest of the lake Asphaltidese, or sea
of Sodom, was also well acquainted with this animal. Sec Job,
chapter 40 : " Behold now Behemoth, which I made with thee ;
he eateth grass as an ox. Lo, now his strength is in his loins ; and
his force in the navel of his belly. He moveth his tail like a cedar ;
the sinews of his loins are wrapped together. His bones are as
strong pieces of brass ; his bones are like bars of iron. He is the
chief of the ways of God."

Whoever has examined the skeleton of one of those animals, now
in the Philadelpha museum, will acknowledge the bones are equal
to bars of brass or iron.

Its height over the shoulders, is eleven feet ; from the point of
the nose to the end of the tail, following the exterior or curve, is

^ IT

'.dh

«c .

144

AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES

19 twenty-one fuet ; a single tooth weighs four pounds, ten ounces]
The rib bones are six inches in width, and in thickness three ; the
whole skeleton as it is, with the exception of a few bones, weighs
one thousand pounds.

But how tremendous must that animal have been, to which the
tooth weighing twciity-five pounds, found in the earth at Cincinnati,
belonged, more than five times the dimensions of the one described
above ; arguing, from proportion, that is, if a tooth belonged to a
skeleton weighing one tliousand pounds, was found to be four
pounds ten ounces ; a tooth weighing twenty-five pounds, would
give a skeleton of more tliau five thousand pounds. And if the cal-
culation be carried forward in this sort of proportion, we shall pro-
duce an animal more than forty feet high, and nearly an hundred
in length, with a proportionable thickness.

What would be the sensation, if we were to meet an animal of
this sort in his ancient haunts ; it would appear almost a moving
mountain ; but add to this, the enormous eyes of the animal, set at
a frightful distance from each other, with an amplitude of forehead
between, clothed, like the side of a hill, with a forest of shaggy
hair ; a mouth, gaping like some drear cavern, set round with teeth
sufficient to crush a buffalo at a mouthful ; its distended nostrils
emiting vapour like the puffs of a steam boat, with a sound, when
breathing, that might be heard afar ; the legs appearing in size
of dimensions sufficient to bear a ship on his shoulders ; and his
feet or paws spread out like a farmer's com fan, armed, with
claws like flukes to an anchor of a vessel of war ; the tail, aa
it is said in Job, waving to and fro, like a cedar bending before
the wind. But add to all this, anger ; let him but put bis
fierceness on ; the eyes flash fire, his tail elevated aloft, lash; ng the
ground, here and there, at a dreadful distance from his body ; his
voice like the double rolling of thunder, jarring the wilderness ; at
which every living thing would tremble, and drop to the earth.
Such an animal would indeed be the " Chief of the ways of God,'*

AND DISCO vi::ku:s i:s vm: wust.

d,'»

it would be perfectly safe in the niid^t of a tornado, in tlie wilder-
ness ; no tree, or a forest of them, could possilily harm the monster
by falling; against it ; it would shake them off, as mere troubleuomo
insects, as smaller animals do the tii'*s, in a summer's day.

The one in Poale's museum, of which we have spoken, a page
or two back, is one out of nine skeletons of this monster, which
were dug out of the earth in the neighbourhood of the Shongum
mountain, in Ulster county, on the southwestejii side of the state
of New- York, eight of which were sent to Europe. Sec Spafford's
Gazeetteer of New- York.

Doctor Adam Clark mentions, in Iiis commentary on the subject
of this animal, denominated Bf-'hemoth in Job, 40th chapter, 15(h
verse, that he had weighed one of the very smallest grinders of an
animal of this supposed extinct race, and found it, in its very dry
state, to weigh "/««/• poundi, eight ounces,'''' " the same grinder of
an elephant, says Dr. Clark, I have weighed also, and find it but
two pounds ; the mammoth, therefore, says this great author, from
this proportion, must have been as large as two elephants and a
que Iter."

If, then, an animal of this kind, having a tooth weighing only
four pounds and eight ounces, was more than twice as large as an
ordinary elephant, how unwieldly and monstrous must have been
the animal to which the tooth just mentioned, weighing tioenty-fioe
pounds, once belonged, arguing from proportion, as Dr. Clark has
done.

The same author, in his Biblical Commentary on the fir t Book

of Genesis, says, that from a considerable part of a skeleton which

he had seen a!id examined, it was computed that the animal, when

living, must have been nearly twenty-five feet high and sixty feet

in -length ; the bones of one toe were entire, and were something

more than three feet long. This height of the animal, as computed

by Dr. Clark, will agree well with the observations of travellers.

la the vicinity of ^May's Lick, or Salt Spring, in the state of Ken- •

li«

■<'■ ii^j

'iii^i

140

AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES

tucky, there are several holes, marked in such a manner as to
proclaim a!: once thst they were formed by animals wallowing
in them, after they hod bathed, and satiated tliemselves with the
waters of the fountain ; lliese were the works of buft-aloes, deer, and
other small animals.

But the same appearances era evident in some bai;>ks in the
neighbourhood, which were hollowed in a semicircular manner,
from the action of beasts rubbing cgainst them, and carrying off
quantities of the earth on their liides, forming a thick coat, to defend
against tlie stings of numberless (lies, like the rhinoceros of Africa.
One of those scooped out hollow banks, appeared like the side of a
hill from which an hundred thousand loads of soil might have been
carried oif ; the height of the wasted bank, where it was aficcted
by attrition, was at least twenty-five feet. The other animals, be-
ing smaller, could get down and up again from their wallowing,
with ease and quickness; but the mammoths were compelled, from
their size, to lean against some hill or mountain, to coat their hide
with earth.

Near this spot are oucu found the frames of this animal, sunk in
the mire. In the state cf Jiitisouri, between "^Vhite River and
Strawberry River, are certain ranges of mountains, at whose base,
in a certain spot, are found " large quantities of these bones gather-
ed in a small compass, which collection was doubtless occasioned
by the appetite which these animals had for salt. Attracted by the
water that oozes in these marshy places, they were evidently mired
when they ventured too far in, ur.d of course the struggles of the
last one would sink the bones of his predecessor stilldceper. Thus
these collections are easily accounted for, dthougl],at first, it seems
very strange to see these bones accumulate.!, like those of some of
the extinct Indiun tribes of the west." I3eck's Gazetteer of Illi-
nois and Missouri, page 332-

Adam Clark supposes the }3ehemoth to have been a carniverous
animal. Sec his remarks on this monutcr, in his Commentary on

l.f

AND DISCOVERIES l.\ THE WEST.

147

Job, 40th chapter, 15th verse : " The Behemoth on the contrary,
(i. e. in opposition to the habits of the hippotamus and elephant,) is,
represented as a quadruped of a ferocious nature, and formed
for tyranny, if not rapacity ; equally lord of the floods and of the
mountains ; rusliinp; with rapidity of foot, instead of slowness or
stateliness ; and possessing a rigid and enormous tail, like a cedar
tree, instead of a short naked tail of about a foot long, as the hippo-
potamus, or a weak, slender, hog shaped tail, as the elephant."

Job says, chapter 40th, verse 17, that he, (this monster,) moveth
his tail like a cedar, i. e. its molioin were like those of a tall cedar
tree moved slowly one way and the other by the wind ; which ex-
plicitly and empliatically marks t'le m?nstrousnes3 of this creature's
size. " He moveth his tail like a cedir," slowly one way and the
other ; exactly as tha lion, the tiger, or the leopard, in the motions
of this limb, e«p3cially when angry, or when watching for their
prey ; on which account, it is probable, Job has seen fit to make
mention of this pscuUar motion of the aninal ; and also it is an evi-
dence of the overwhelming power or strength of the mammoth. —
He was, iadaed, as it is saiJ in Job, " the chief of the ways of God,"
in the creation of animals.

At St. Helen's Point, north of Gmyanuil, in the republic of Co-
lombia, South America, on the coast of the Pacific, on the equator,
are found the enormous remains of this animal. The Peruvian tra-
dition of those bones is, that at this very point once landed, from
some unknown qumter, of the earth, a colony of giants, who mutu-
ally destroyed each other. At New Grenada, in the same province,
and on the ridg3 of tlie Mexican Cordilleras, vast quantities of the
remains of this huge beast are fjund. — Himholdl^s Rcssarches in
South America.

" The remains of a monster, recently discovered on the bank of
the Mississippi, in Louisionia, seventeen feet under ground, may
be considered as the greatest wonder of the west. The largest bone,
which was thought to be the shoulder blade, or jawbone, is twenty

143

AMEtllCAIt ANTTQVrTIES

I'..

feet long, three broad, aud weighed twelve hundred pounds. The
aperture iu the vertebre, or place for the pith of the back bone, is
six by nine inches caliber ; supposed, when alive, to have been an
hundred and twenty-five feet in length.. The awful and tremendous
size of what this creature must have been, to which this shoulder
blade, or jaw bone, belonged, when alive, is almost frightful to
think of." — Christian Advocate and Journal.

In President Jefferson's Notes on Virginia, we have the follow-
ing, as the tradition of the Indians respecting this animal, which
they call the Bixj Buffalo, and assert that he is carniverous, as Dr.
Clark contends, and still exists in the northern parts of America.

" A delegation of warriors from the Delaware tribe, visited the
government of Virginia, during the Revolution, on matters of busi-
ness ; after this had been discussed, and settled in council, the
governor asked some questions relative to their country, and, among
others, what they knew, or had heard of the animal whose boneg
were found at the salt licks on the Ohio.

Their chief spoeker immediately put himself into an attitude of
oratory, and with a pomp suited to what he conceived the elevation
of his subject, informed him that it was a tradition, handed down
from their fathers, that in ancient <• nes a herd af these tremendous
animals came to the Big Bone Lick, and began an universal de-
struction of the bear, deer, elk, buffaloes, and other animals, which
had been created for the use of the Indians.

And that the Great Man above, looking down, and seeing this,
was so enraged, that he seized his liglitning ; descended on the
earth, seated himself on a nelghboiiring mountain, on a certain rock,
where the print of his feet are sfili remaining, from whence he
hurled hi.'; bolts among tliem, till the whole were slaughtered ; ex-
cept the big bull, who presenting his forehead to the shafts, shook
them off as they fell, but at length, one of them missing his head,
glanced on his side, wounding him sufficiently to make him mad ;
whereon, springing round, he bounded over the Ohio, at a leap,

IND DISCOVERIES IN THE WEST.

1-19

then over the Wabash at another, the Illinois at a third, and a fourth
leap, over the great lakes, where he is living at this day."

" A Mr. Stanley, taken prisoner by the Indians near the mouth
of the Tennessee river, relates that after being transferred through
several tribes, was at length carried over the mountains west of the
Missouri, to a river which runs westwardly, that these bones abound-
ed there, and that the nations described to him the animal to which
these belonged, as still living in the northern parts of their country."

Mr. Jefferson contends, at page 77, of his Notes on Virginia,
that this animal is not extinct. " It may be asked," says this phi-
losopher, " '.' iiy I insert the mammoth as if it still existed. I ask
in return, why I should omit it, as if it did not exist. The north-
ern and western parts still remain in their aboriginal state, unex-
plored and undisturl: hy us, or by others for us. He may as well
exist there now as '. ;mu formerly, where we find his bones. If
he be a carnivorous animal, as some anatomists have conjectured,
and the Indians affirm, his early retirement to deeper wilds, may be
accounted for, from the great destruction of the wild game, by the
Indians, which commenced in tlie very first instant of their connex-
ion with MS, for the purpose of purcliasing matchcoats, hatchets,
and guns, with their skins."

The description of this monster's habits, as given by the Delaware
chief, has a surprising agreement with the account of the Behe-
moth, given by Job ; especially at this verse : " Surely the moun-
tains bring him forth food, where all the beasts of the field play."
" He frequents those places (says Dr. Clark) where he can have
most prey, he makes a mock of all the beasts of the field. They
can neither resist his power, nor escape his agility." " It appears
(says the above author) " to have been a many toed animal; the
springs which such a creature could make, must have been almost
incredible ; nothing by swiftness could have escaped its pursuit,
fiod seems to have made it as the proof of his power, and had it
been prolific, and not become extinct, it would have depopulated
the earth.

150

AMERICArf ANTIQUITIES

TRACKS OF MEN AND ANIMALS IN THE ROCKS OF TENNES-
SEE, AND ELSEWHERE.

Among the subjects of antiquity, which are abundant on the
American continent, we give the following, from Morse's Universal
Geography, which in point of mysteriousiiess is not surpassed, per-
haps on tlie globe. In the State of Tennessee, on a certain moun-
tain, called the enchanted mountain, situated a few miles south of
Braystown, which is at the head waters of the Tennessee river, are
found impressed in the surface of the solid rock, a great number of
tracks, as turkies, bears, horses, and human beings, as perfect as
they could be made on snow or sand. The human tracks are re-
markable for having uniformly six toes each ; one only excepted,
which appears to be the print of a ncjroe's foot. One, among those
tracks, is distinguished from the rest, by its monstrousness, being of
no less dimensions than sixteen inclies in length, across the toes
thirteen inches, behind the toes, v.liere the foot narrows toward the
instep, seven inches, and the heel bull live inches.

One also among the tracks of the animals, is distinguished for its
great size : it is the track of a horse, measuring eight by ten inches ;
perhaps the horse whicli the great ^varrior led when passing this
mountain with his army. Tliat these are the real tracks of the
animals they represent, appears iVom the circumstance of this horse's
foot having slipped several inches, and recovered again ; the figures
have all the same direction, like the trail of a company on a journey.

Not far from this very spot, are vast heaps of stones, v.hich ara
the supposed tombs of warriors, .slain, perhaps, ia the very battle
this big footed warrior was engaged in, at a j>.Tiod when these
mountains, which give rise to some branches of the Tugulo, Apa-
lachicola, and Hiwassa rivers, were in a state of soft and clayey
texture. *

AND DISCOVERIES IN THE WEST-

151

We are of the opinion that these tracks found sunk in the sur-
face of the rocks of this mountain, is indubitable evidence of their
antiquity, going back to the time when men dispersed over the earth,
immediately after the flood.

At the period when this troop passed the summit of this moun-
tain, the rock was in a soft and yielding state ; time, therefore, suf-
ficient foi it to harden to its present rock consistency, is the argu-
ment of the great distance of time elapsed since they went over it.

It is probable the whole of these mountains, out of which arise
the branches of the rivers above iflluded to, were at the time when
the deluge subsided, but a vast body of clay, for even now, the sur-
face, where it is not exposed to the rays of the sun, is of a soft text-
ure, capable of being cut with a knife, and appears to be of the na-
ture of the pipe stone.

In order that those tracks might retain their shape against the
operation of rains, the clay must have been of a tough and oily na-
ture ; and hardened by slow degrees, after having been brought to
feel the influence of the sun's rays, and the drying nature of the
winds. The changiiig and revolutionising consequences of the
flood, it is likely, unbared these bodies of clay from the depths of
the earth, by washing off all the other kind;5 of strata, not so adhe-
sive as is the nature of this clay ; out of which these ranges of
mountains have been made, some eigliteen hundred years later than
the original creation.

In the wild and savage country of Guiana, in South America,
are mountains of a prodigious height, on whose smooth and perpen-
dicular sides which seem once to have been a barrier to mighty wa-
ters, are engraved, at a surprising distance from their base, the fig-
ures of animals ; also the sun, moon, and stars, w ith other hiero-
glyphicai signs.

The tradition respecting them, among the natives, is, that
that their ancestors, in a time of great waters, came in canoes, to
the tops of these mountains, and that the stones were then so soft,

St-

152

AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES

and plastic, that men could easily trace marks on them with their
fingers, or with sticks.

These rocks, it would appear, were then in a state similar to those
in Tennessee, which also had retained the impressions made on
them by the feet of the traveller. But these mysterious traces
found on the mountain in Tennessee, are not the only impressions
of the kind. Mr. Schoolcraft, in his travels hi the central parts of
the Mississippi regions, informs us that on the limestone strata of
rock, which forms the shores of the Mississippi, and along the
neighbourhood of St. Louis, were found tracks of the human
foot, deeply and perfectly impressed in the solid stone. But two
traces of this sort have been, as yet, discovered ; these are the
same represented on the plate, as given by Schoolcraft. — See plate-

" The impressions in the stone are, to all appearance, those of a
man, standing in an erect posture, with the left foot a little advan-
ced, and the heels drawn in. The distance between the heels, by
accurate measurement, is six inches and a quarter, and between the
extremities of the toes, thirteen and a half. The length of these
tracks is ten and a quarter inches, across the toes four inches and a
half, as spread out, aud but two and a half at the heel. Directly
before the prints of these feet, within a few inches, is a well im-
pressed, and deep mark, having some resemblance to a scroll, or
roll of parchment, two feet long, by a foot in width.

To account for these appearances, two theories arc advanced ;
one is, that they were sculptured there by the ancient nations : the
other, that they were impressed there at a time when the rock was
in a plastic state ; both theories have their difficulties, but we in-
cline to the latter, because the impressions are strikingly natural,
says Mr. Schoolcraft, exhibiting even the muscular marks of the
foot, with groat precision and faithfulness to nature, and on this ac-
count, weakens, in his opinion, the doctrine of their being sculp-
tured by the ancient nations.

.^y'"'^

..■^•^

^■».

AND UIS'JOVEKIES IN THE WEST

But why there are no others going to and from these, is unac-
countable, unless we may suppose tiie rest ot" this rock, at that time,
was buried by earth, brush, grass, or some kind of covering. If
they were sculputurcd, why not otlier specimens appear, this one
insulated elibrt of the kind, would seem unnatural. — See ihe plaie^
which is a tniefac simile of those tracks.

was
e in-
:ural,
the
s ac-
^ulp-

COTUBAMANA, THE GIA>?T CHIEF.

On the subject of tlie stature of the Patagonians, we have the
following remarks of Morse, the geof^rtiph t. " We cannot, with-
out a charge of unreasonable scepticism, deny all credence to the
accounts that have been trans:nitte I to us, of a race of men of ex-
traordinary stature, iu the country aboiif the Strait of Magellan.

Inscrutable as are tlie ways of Providence, and as limited as is
the progress hitherto made, in the natural philosophy of the globe
we inhabit, no bounds can be assigned to the endless variety of
phenomena, which successively appear. The man who can assign
a reason why an Irish giant, or a Polish dwarf, should be bom
amidst nations of ordinary stature, will have solved every problem,
as to the existence, either of gigantic Patagonians, or of pigmy Es-
quimaux.

From an impartial revision of the various authorities, it appears,
as an established fact, that the usual stature of pne or more Iribes
of Indians in Patagonia, is from six and a half to seven and a half
feet." '

When the Spaniards conquered and destroyed the nations and
tribes of some of the W^est India islands, among them was a tribe
whose chief was a man of great stature. Cotubamana was the
name of this cacique, who resided with his nation on the island Hi-

guey, adjacent to Hispaniola.

h 20

I'l.

ii'

♦sS

154

AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES

}

I ?

It'!

This chieftain, as related by Las Casns, the historian, was the
strongest of liis tribe, and more perfectly formed than one man of
a thousand, of any nation whatever. He was taller than the tallest
of his countrymen, in width from shoulder to shoulder exceeding
all men, measuring full three feet, with the rest of his person in admi-
rable proportion. His aspect was not handsome ; yet his counte-
nance was grave, strongly marked with the characteristics of a mau
of courage.

His bow was not easily bent by a common man ; his arrow was
three pronged, pointed with the bones of fishes ; all his weapons
were large enough for a giant ; in a word he was so nobly propor-
tioned as to be the admiration of even the Spaniards.

Already the murderous Spaniards had been more than conque-
rors, in several battles which drove the poor fugitives to their caves,
and the fastnesses of the mountaius, whither they had followed
their chief. A daily pursuit was continued, but cliiefly to capture
the as yet invincible Cotubamanc.

While searching in the woods and hills of the island, at a certain
time, and having got on their trail, they came at length to a place
where the path which they had followed, suddenly spread, and di-
vided into many, the whole company of the Spaniards, except one
man, chose a path, which they pursued.

This one exception, was a man named Juan Lopez, a powerful
Spaniard, and skilful in the mode of Indian warfare. He chose
to proceed alone, in a blind foot path, leading off to the left of the
course the others' had taken, winding among little hills, so thickly
wooded that it was impossible to see a man at the distance of half
a bow shot.

But as he was silently darting along ibL.; path, he encountered all
at once, in a narrow pass, overhung by rocks and trees, twelve In-
dian warriors, armed with bows and arrows, following each other in
Indian file. The poor natives were confounded at sight of Lopez,
imagining there must be a party of soldiers behind him, or they

AND DISCOVERIES IN THE WEST. 155

M'ould tlovibtless have transfixed him with their arrows. Lopez de-
manded of them where their chief was ; they replied, he is behind
us, and opening to let him fass, he beheld the dauntless Cotubama-
na, in the rear. At sight of the Spaniard, the gallant cacique bent
his gigantic bow, and was on the point of launcliing one of his three
headed arrows into his heart, but Lopez at the instant, rushed upon
hini, and wounded him with his sword.

The other Indians struck with terror had lied. The Spaniard
and Cotubamana now grappled with each other ; Lopez had seized
the chief by the hair of his head, with one hand, and was aiming
with the other, a thrust with his sword, at his naked body, but the
chief struck down the sword with his arm, and closed in with his
antagonist, and threw him with his back upon the rough rocks.

As they were both men of great strength, the struggle was long
and violent. The sword lay beneath them, but Cotubamana seized
with his great hand, the Spaniard's throat, began to strangle him,
when the sound of the contest brought the other Spaniards to the
spot. They found their companion writliing and gasping in the
agonies of death, in t'le gripe of the Indian. The whole band now
fell upon him, and linally succcecred in binding his noble limbs,
when they carried hiin to St. Domingo, where the infernal Span-
iards hanged him as if he had been a murderer. — Irving^s Life of
Columbus^ 3d Vol. page 159.

Could this native have been less than twelve feet in height, to
be in proportion with the breadth of his shoulders, which was full
three feet, as Las Casas relates. In reading the story of the mise-
rable death of this hera of his own native island, Higuey, we are
reminded of the no less tragical end of Wallace, the Scottish chief,
who was, it is said, a man of great size and strength, and was also
executed for defending his country.

Goliath of Gath was six cubits and a span high, which, accord-
ing to the estimate of Bishop Cumberland, was eleven feet and ten
inches ; Cotubamana and Goliath of the Philistines, were, it »p-

■;;■::!

•^ .

i'';!

IM AMEntCAJC AT^TICtTTmES

pea J, much of the samo stature, terrible to look upon, and irresisti-
ble in strength.

There are those who have imagined that the first inhabitants of
the globe, both men and anin-.als, were mufh larger than at the pre-
sent time, or at lea^t, that many nations, with many sorts of beasts,
and fowls, were of greater magnitude than are now known.

In support of this opinion, (lie ndics of the mammoth, with the
remains of other vast animals, the traditions of Hebrew origin, re-
specting the existence of ^hole nations of gigantic people, go to
favour this notion.

Indications now and then appear, in several parts of the earth, as
mentioned by the traveller, of llic existence of fowls, of a size com-
pared with the mammoth ilself, considering the difference in the
elements each inhabit, and approach each other in size as nearly as
the lafgestfowl now kr.own, does the largest animal.

Henderson, in his travels in New Siberia, met with the claw-s of
a bird, measuring each three feet in length ; the same was the
length of the toes of a mammoth, as measured by Adam Clark.

The Yakuts, inhabitants of the Siberian country, assured Mr.
Henderson, that they had freqiiently, in their hunting excursions,
found the skeleton, and even the feathers of this fowl, the quills of
which were large enough to admit a man's arm into the calibre,
which would not be out of proportion with the size of the claws
mentioned above.

Captain Cook mentions having seen, d;;ring his voyages, a mon-
strous bird's nest in New Holland, on a low, sandy island, in En-
deavour river, with trees upon it, where were an incredible number
of sea fowls. This monstrous nest was built on the ground, with
large sticks, and Avas no less than twenty-six feet in circumference,
more than eight feet across, and two feet eight inches high. This
indeed, must have been of the species celebrated in the tradition of
the ancients, called the Phcenix.

In various parts of Ireland, are frequently dug up enormous
horas, supposed to have belonged to a species of deer, now extinct

AND DISCOVERIES IN THE WEST.

167

Some of these horns have been found, of the extent of fourteen
feet from tip to tip, furnislicd with brow autlers, and w.iighing three
hundred pounds. The whole skeleton is frequently found with
them. It is supposed the animal rau.'it have been about twelve
feet high. — Morse. ,

A FURTHER ACCOUNT OF DISCOVERIES IN THE WEST, AS
GIVEN BY THE ANTIQUARIAN SOCIETY AT CINCINNATI.

Nkar Newark, in the county of Licking, Ohio, is situated one
of those immense works of fortifications. Its builders chose, with
good taste and judgment, this site for their town, being exactly od
the point of land at the junction of Rackoon Creek and South Fork,
where Licking River commences. It is in form resembling some-
what a horse shoo, accommodated, however, to the sv/eep of those
two streams ; embracing, in the wlmle, a circumference of about
six hundred rods, or nearly two miles.

A wall of earth, of about four hundred rods, is raised on the
sides of this fort next to the small creek which comes down along
its sides from the west and east. The situation is beautiful, as these
works stand on a large, plain, which is elevated forty or fifty feet
above the streams just noticed, and is almost perfectly flat, and as
rich a soil as can be found in that country It would seem the peo-
ple who made this settlement, undertook to encompass, with a wall,
as much land as would support its inhabitants, and also sufficient to
build their dwellings on, with several fortifications, arranged in a
proper manner for its defence.

There arc, within its ranges, four of those forts, of different di-
mensions ; one contains forty acres, with a wall of about ten feet
high ; another, containing twenty-two acres, also walled, but in this
fort is an elevated observatory, of a sufficient height to overlook the
whole country. From this there is the appearance of a secret or

f . Ill

158

AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES

'»;

subterranean passage to the Avater, us one of the creeks runs near
this fort.

A third fort, containhig about twenty-six acres, having a wall
around it, thrown out of a deep ditch, on the inner side of the wall
This wall is now from twonty-five to thirty foet in height.

A fourth fortification, enclosing twenty acres, with a wall of about
ten feet high. Two of these forts are perfect circles ; one a per-
fect square ; and another an octagon or eight sided. These forts
are severally connected, by roads running betAveen parallel walls ;
and also in the same ',»'ay communicate with the creeks ; so that
these important points, in case of invasion, should not be deprived
of water. There are, besides the forts, four other small works of
defence, of a circular form, sittiatcd in such a manner as to protect,
in a measure, the roads running from fort to fort..

The fort which is of the eight sided form, containing the great-
est space within, has eight gateways, with a mound in front of each
of then, and were doubtless jilaced there to aid in a defence against
invaders. The other forts have no gateways connected with the
roads that lead to them, except one, and this is a round fort united
to the octangular fort, containing twenty-two acres ; the gateway
to this looks toward the wilderness ; at this gate is also a mound,
suppossd to be for its defence^.

On the southern side of this great town, is a road running off to
the country, which is also walled in the same way ; it has been
surveyed a few miles, and is supposed to connect other similar
works on the Hokhoking, thirty miles distance, at some point a few
miles north of Lancaster, as walls of the description connected with
this work, of ten or twelve miles in extent, have been discovered.
It is supposed, also, that the walls on each side of the road were
made for the double purpoise of answering as a fence to their fields,
with gateways to accommodate their farms, and for security in time
of danger, so that communion between friendly settlements might
uot be interrupted. About the walls of this place have been dis-

ANU DISCOVERIES IH THE U'CST.

169

covered very beautiful rock crystal and horn stone, suitable for ar-
row and spear heads, a little lead, suljihur, and iron.

This kind of stone, suitable for spears, was, undoubtedly, valua-
ble on other accounts, as axes, knives, mallets, &c., were made of
it. It is likely that, as very little iron has been discovered, even
in its oxydized state, their vast works of excavation were carried on
by means of wooden shovels and scrapers, which would answer
very well in the easy and stoneless soil of that country.

A second fort, situated southwesterly from the great works on
the Licking, and four or live miles, in a northwestern direction,
from Somerset, the seat of justice for Perry county, is found. This
work encloses about forty acres ; its wall is entirely of stone, not
regularly laid up in a wall agreeably to the rules of masonry, but
a huge mass of stones and rocks of all shapes and sizes, as nature
formed them, without the mark of an iron tool upon them. These
are in sufficient quantity to form a wall, if laid in good order, of
about fourteen feet in height, and three in thickness.

Near the centre of the area of this enclosure, is a stone mound,
of a circular form, about fifteen feet high, and was erected, as is
conjectured, for an altar, on which were performed their religious
rites, and also for a monument to perpetuate the memory of some
great event in the hlstoiy of its builders. It is al;o believed that
the whole of this vast preparation v.as devoted solely to the j-j:
poses of worship of some kind ; as it is situated on very higli
ground, where the soil is good for nothing, and may have been,
what is called, an high place in Scripture, according to the customs
of the ancient pagans.

It could not have been a military work, as no water is found
there, nor a place of dwelling, for the same reason, and from the
poverty of the soil ; but must have been a place of resort on great
occasions, such as a solemn assembly to propitiate the gods ; and
also a place to anoint and crown their kings, elect legislators, trans-
act national aflairs, judge among the people, and inflict condign
punisnraeut.

160

AMERICAN ANTIQUITIEg

VAST WORKS OF THE ANCIENT NATIONS ON THE EAST
SIDE OF THE MUSKINGUM.

, ! i

This fort, town or fortification, or w'latevsr it may have been,
is between three and four hundred rods, or rising of a mile, in cir-
cumference, and so situated as to be nearly surrounded by two
small brooks, running into the Muskingum. Their site is on an
elevated plain, above the present bank of that river, about a half
mile from its junction with the Ohio.

We give the account in the words of Mr. Atwater, president of
the Antiquarian Society. " They consist of walls and mounds of
earth, in direct lines, and in square and circular forms. " The
largest square fort, by some called the town, contains forty acres,
encompassed by a wall of earth, from six to ten feet high, and from
twenty to thirty in breadth at the base.

" On each side are three openings at equal distances, resembling
twelve gate ways. The entrances at the middle, are the largest,
particularly on the side next to the Muskingum. From this outlet
is a covert way formed of two parallel walls of earth, two hundred
and thirty-one feet distant from each other, measured from centre
to centre. The walls at the most elevated part, on the inside, are
twenty-one feet in height, and forty-two in breadth, at the base,
but on the outside average only about five feet in height. This
forms a passage of about twenty rods in length, leading by a gradu-
al descent to the low ground; , where, at the time of its construction,
it probably reached the river. Its walls commence at sixty feet
from the ramparts of the fort, and increase in elevation as the way
descend^; towards the river ; and the bottom is rounded in the cen-
tre, in the manner of a well founded turnpike road.

Within the walls of the fort, at its northwest corner, is an oblong
elevated square, one hundred and eighty-feet long, one hundred and

AND DISCOVERIES IN THE WEST.

161

thirty-two broad, and nine feet high, level on the summit, and, even
now, nearly perpendicular at the sides. Near the south wall is an
elevated square, an hundred and fifty by an hundred and twenty,
and eight feet high, similar to the other, excepting that instead of
an ascent to go up on the side next the wall, there is a hollow way,
ten feet wide, .v^ading twenty feet towards the centre, and then ris-
ing with a gradual slope to the top. This was, it is likely, a secret
passage. At the southeast <!orner is a third elevated square, of an
hundred and eighty by fifty-four feet, with ascents at the ends, ten
feet wide, but not so high nor perfect as the two others,

Besides this forty acre fort, which is situated within the great
range of the surrounding wall, there is another, containing twenty
acres, with a gateway in the centre of each side, and at each corner
these gateways are defended by circular mounds.

On the outside of the smaller fort is a mound, in form of a sugar
loaf ; its base is a regular circle, one hundred and fifteen feet in
diameter, or twenty-one rods in circumference ; its altitude is thirty
feet. It is surrounded by a ditch four feet deep, fifteen feet wide,
and defended by a para^jet four feet high, through which is a
gate way towards the fort, twenty feet in width. Near one of the
corners of the great fort, was found a reservoir, or well twenty-five
feet in diameter, and seventy-five in circumference, with its sides
raised above the common level of the adjoining surface, by an em-
bankment of earth, three and four feet high."

It was, undoubtedly, at first very deep, as, since its discovery by
the first settlers, they have frequently thrust poles into it to the
depth of thirty feet. It appears to run to a point, like an inverted
cone or funnel, and was undoubtedly that kind of well used by the
inhabitants of the old world, which were so large at their top as to
afford an easy descent down to the fountain, and up again with its
water in a vessel borne on the shoulder, according to the ancient
custom. See Genesis 13th chapter, 24th verse : " And she, (that
is Rebecca, the daughter of Bethuel,) went down to the well

162

AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES

filled her pitcher, and came up." Bethuel was an Assyrian, who,
it seems, had made a ^vcll in the same form with that described
above. Its sides were lined with a stratum of fine ash coloured
clay, eight and ten inches thick, beyond which is the common soil
of the place. It is conjectured that at the bottom of this well might
be found many curious articles which belonged to the ancient inha-
bitants.

On both sides of these walls are found fragments of pottery, cu-
riously ornamented, made of shells and clay, fine gravel and clay,
burnt in the fire, and capable of holding liquids. When broken it
appears quite black, with brilliant particles appearing as it is held
to the light.

Several pieces of copper have been found iu and near these an-
rient works, at various places ; and one was in the form of a cup,
with low sides, the bottom very thick and strong.

111-

RUINS OF ANCIENT AVORKS AT CIRCLEVILI.E.

At Circleville in Ohio, are the remains of very great works oC
this description, evidently of a military character These two forts
are united ; one is exactly square, the other an exact circle. The
square fort is fifty rods on each side, the round one is nearly three
hundred feet, or eighteen rods iu circumference ; the circle and
square touching each otiier, and communicate at the very spot
where they are united, by a wide gateway.

The circular fort is surrounded by tivo walls, with a deep ditch
between them ; the square fort is- also encompassed by a wall,
without a ditch. The walls of the circular fort were at least twen-
ty feet in height, measuring from the bottom of the ditch, before
the town of Circleville was built. The inner wall was formed of

AND DISCOVERIES )?f THE WEST.

163

clay, brought from a distance, but the outside one was formed with
the earth of the ditch.

There were eight gate ways, or openings, leading into the square
fort, and only one into the circular. Before each of these open-
ings was a mound of earth, about four feet high, forty feet in diam-
eter at the base, and twenty feet and upwards at tlie top, situated
about two rods in front of the gates ; for the defence, no doubt, of
these openings. The walls of this work vary a few degrees from
north and south, and east and west, but no more than the needle
varies ; and not a few surveyors have, from this circumstance,
been impressed with the belief that the authors of these work«
were acquainted with astronom'j.

Within the great square fort ^'e eight small mounds, placed op-
posite the gate ways, for their defence, or to give opportunity to
privileged spectators to review the thousands passing out to war, or
coming in with the trophies of victory. Such was the custom of an-
cient times. David, the most potent king of the Jews, stood at the
gateway as his armies went to quell the insurrection of his son
Absalom. See 2d Samuel, 18th chapter, 4th verse : " And the
king stood by the gate side, and all the people came out by hun-
dreds and by thousands." It cannot be supposed the king stood
on the ground, on a common level ■^^ ith his armies. Such a situa-
tion would be extremely inconvenient, and defeat, in a great mea-
sure, the opportunity of review. How impressive, when soldiers,
fired with all the ardour of expected victory, to behold their gene-
ral, chief, king, or emperor, bending over them, as they pass on,
from some commanding position near ftt hand, giving counsel to
their captains ; drawing, in this way, large draughts on the indi-
vidual confidence and love of the soldiery. Such may have been
the spectacle at the gateways of the forts of tlie Avest, at the eras of
their grandeur.

In musing on the structure of these vast works found along
the western rivers, enclosing such immense spaces of land,

'r\fi

mi^s

."^-. -■

1G4

AMERICAN ANTIQUITIKS

1 iw

the miud is irresiutibly direeted to a contemplatiou of ancient Bs*
bylon, the first city of magnitude built immediately after the flood.
That city was of a square form, being fifteen miles distance on each
of its sides, and sixty in circumference, surrounded with a wall
eighty-seven feet in thickness, and three hundred and fifty in height.
On each side it had twenty-five gateways, amounting in all to an
hundred ; the whole, besides the wall, surrounded with a deep and
wide ditch. At each corner of this immense square, was a strong
tower, ten feet higher than the walls. There were fifty broad
streets, each fifteen miles long, starting from each of its gates, and
an hundred and fifty feet broad, crossing each other at right angles ;
besides four half streets, surrounding the whole, two hundred feet
broad. The whole city wbs divided into six hundred and seventy-
six squares, four and a half furlongs on each side. In the centre of
the city stood the temple of Relus, and in the centre of this temple
stood an immense tower, six lumdred feet square at its base, and
six hundred feet high, narrowing in the form of a pyramid as it as-
cended. The ascent to the summit was accomplished by spiral
stairs, winding eight times round the whole. This tower consisted
of eight distinct parts, each on the top of the other, scver*v-five
feet high, till the whole, in aggregate, finished the tower.

In the different stories were temples, or chapels, for the worship
of the sun ; and on its top, some authors say, was an image of gold,
forty feet in height, equal in value to three millions five hundred
thousand dollars. — Blake's Atlas.

The moddle of this city, with its towers at the corners, and pyra-
mid in its centre, having been made at so early a period of time,
being not far from an hundred years after the flood, was doubtless
of sufficient influence to impress its image on the memory of tra-
dition, so that the nations spreading out from that region over all the
earth, may have copied this Chaldean model in their various
works.

AND DISCOVERIES IN THE WEST

16ft

This thought is strengthened when we compare its counterpart,
the vast works of the west, with this Babylonian prototype of archi-
tectural effort, and imagine we see in the latter, the features and
general outlines of this giant, among cities, iu the towers, walls,
and pyramids of the western states.

Near the round fort at Circleville, is anotaer fort, ninety feet
high, and was doubtless erected to overlook the whole works of
that enormous military establishment. That it was a military es-
tablishment is the decided opinion of the President of the Western
Antiquarian Society, Mr. Atwater. He says the round fort was
picketed in, if we are to judge from the appearance of the ground,
on and about the walls. Half way up the outside of the inner wall,
is a place distinctly to be seen, wheje a row of pickets once stood,
and where it was placed when this work of defence was originally
erected. Finally, this work about its walls and ditch, a few years
since, presented as much of a defensive aspect, as forts which were
occupied in our war with the French, such as Oswego, Fort Stan-

wix, and others.

These works have been examined by the first military men now

living in the United States, and they have uniformly declared their

opinion to be, that they were miUtary works of defence.

ANCIENT WORKS ON PAINT CREEK. ,

* . .'
On Paint Creek, in Ohio, about fifteen miles from Cbilicothe,

are works of art, still more wonderful than any yet described.
There are six in number, and are in the neighbourhood of each
other. In one of those grand enclosures are contained three forts,
one embraces seventeen, another twenty-seven, a third seventy-se-
ven, amounting in all to an hundred and fifteen acres of land.

One of those forts is round, another square, and a third is of an
irregular form, approaching, however, nearer to the circular than

.. i m

160

AMERICATf ANTIQUITIES

any other, and the ^all which embraces the whole, is so contrived
in its courses, as to favor those several forms ; the whole oeing, evi-
dently, one work, separated into three compartments.

There are fourteen gateways, going out of the whole work, be
sides three which unite the several forts, one with the other, in-
wardly ; all these, especially those leading outwardly, are veiy wide,
being, as they now appear, from one to six rods. At three of those
gateways, on the outside of the wall, are as many ancient wells ;
and one on the inside, where doubtless, the inhabitants procured
water. Their width at the top is from four to six rods, but their
depth unknown, as they are now nearly filled up. Within the
greatest enclosure, containing the seventy-seven acres, is an elhp-
tical elevation of twenty-five feet in height, and so large, that its
area is nearly one hundred and fifty rods circumference, composed
almost entirely of stone in their rough and natural state, brought
from a hill adjacent to the place.

This elevated work is full of human bones, and some have not
hesitated to express a belief, that on this work, human beings were
once sacrificed. The surface is smooth and level, favouring the
idea of the horrid parade, such occasions would produce ; yet they
may have been erected for the purpose of mere military manoeuvre-
ing, which would produce a spectacle very imposing, composed of
thousands, harnessed in their war attire, with nodding plumes.

About a mile from this fort, there is a work m the form of a half
moo<t, set round the edges with stones ; neat this semicircle is a ve-
ry singular moiind of only five feet in height, but ninety feet in cir-
cumference, composed entirely of red ochre ; which answers well
f^ a paint. An abundance of this ochre is found on a hill, not a
great distance from this place ; from which circumstance, the stream
which runs along here is called Paint Creek.

So Vast a heap of this paint being deposited, is pretty clear evi-
dence that it was an article of commerce among these nations. Here
may have been a store house, or a range of them, attended by sales-

kUD JDJSCOVEIUIkS IN THE VVE3T.

167

men, or mercliants ; who took in exchange for it, copper, feathers,
bow and arrow timber, stone for liatchets, spears, and knives, wood-
en ploughs and shovels; with skins and furs, for clothing; stones
for building their rude altars and works ; with food to sustain the
populace, as is the manner of cities at the present time. Red paint
in particular, is used now among the Hindoos, which they mark
themselves with, as well as their gods. This vast collection of red
paint, by the ancient nations, on Paint Creek, favour the Oj^inion that
it was put to the same use, by the same people.

Near this work is another, on the same creek, enclosing eighty-
four acres, part of which is a square fort, with seven gateways ;
and the other a fort, of an irregular oval, with seven gateways, sur-
rounded with a wall like the others. But the most interesting v/ork
of the three contiguous forts, is yet to be described. It is situated
on a high lull, of more than three hundred feet elevation, and iu
many places almost perpendicular. The wall running round this
work, is built exactly on the brow of the precipice, and in its cours-
es, is accommodated to the variations of this natural battlement, en-
closing, in the whole, an hundrt:d and thirty acres. On its south
end the ground is level, where the entrance to the fort is easy. At
the north end, which approaches pretty near to Paint Cre^.k, ap-
pears to have been a gateway descending to the water, the ground
favouring it at this point, as well as at one other, leading to. a liftle
stream, which runs along its base, on the east side of this eminence,
where is also another gateway ; these three places are the only
points which are at all accessible. The wall round the 'whole one
hundred and thirty acres, is entirely of stone, and is in sufficient
quantity, if laid up in good order, to make it ten feet high, and
four thick. At the north gateway, stones enough now lie, to have
built two considerable jound towers, taken from the hill itself, and
are of the red sand stone kind. ♦

Near the south end of this enclosure, at the place where it is ea-
siest of access, " appear to have been a row of furnaces, (says Mr^

168

AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES

Atvrater) or smith's shops, where the cinders now lie, many feet
deep ; I am not able to say Avith certainty, what manufactures were
carried on here, whether brick or iron, or both." It was a clay,
that had been exposed to the action of fire ; the remains of which
are four and five feet in depth; which shows in a good degree, the
arpount of business done was great. " Iron ore, in this country, is
sometimes found in such clay ; brick and potter's ware are novv
manufactured out of it. This fort is, from its natural site, one of th^
strongest positions of the kind in the State of Ohio, so high is its
elevation, and so nearly perpendicular are the sides of the hill on
which it was built." At the several angles of the wall, and at the
gateways, the abundance of stone lying there, leads to the belief,
that at those points, towers and battlements once overlooked the
country to an immense distance ; from whence stones and arrows
might have been launched away, from engines adapted to that pur-
pose, among the approachiiig enemy, with dreadful effect; "No
military man could have selected a better position for a place of pro-
tection to his countrymen, their temples and their gods," than this.
In the bed of Paint Creek, which washes the foot of the hill, on
which the walled town stood, have been discovered four wells.
They were dug through a pyritous slate rock, which is very rich in

iron ore. When first discovered, by a person passing over them

t
in a canoe; they were covered, each by stones of. about the size

and shape of the common mill stone. These covers had holes
through their centre, through which a large pry, or hand spike might
be put for the purpose of removing them off and on the wells. The
hole through the centre of each stone, was about four inches in di-
ameter. The wells at their tops were more than nine feet in cir-
cumference ; the stones were well wrought with tools, so as to
make good joints ; as a stone mason would say, wliich were laid
around them severally, as a pavement. At the time they were dug,
it is not likely, Paint Creek run over these wells. For what they
were sunk, is a mystery; as that for the purposes of water, *so ma-

AND DISCOVERIES IJi THE WEST.

169

ny so near each other, would scarcely appear necessary ; perfaapt
for some kind of ore, or favorite stone, was the original object.

There is, at Portsmouth, Ohio, one of those works, which is very
extensive and wonderful, on account of walled roads, a ' high place,*
with many intricate operations in its construction.

On the east bank of the Little Miami, about thirty miles east
from Cincinnati, are vast works of this character ; having the form
almost exactly of the continent of North and South America, as
presented on the map, on which account some have supposed thsf
were made in imitation of it.

A RECENT DISCOVERY OF ONE OF THOSE ANCIENT WORKS
AMONG THE ALLEGHENIES.

New discoveries are constantly making of these ancient works,
the farther we go west, and the more minute the research is prose-
cuted, even in parts already settled.

During the present year, 1S32, a Mr. Ferguson communicated to
the editor of the Christian Advocate and Journal, a discovery of the
kind, which he examined and describes as follows:

" On a mountain called the Lookout mountain, belonging to the
vast AUeghenian chain, running between the Tennessee and Coos
rivers, rising about one thousand feet above the level of the sur-
rounding valley. The lop of the mountain is mostly level, but pre-
sents to the eye, an almost barren waste. On this range, notwith-
standing ita height, a river has its source, and after traversing it for
about seventy miles, plunges over a precipice. The rock from
which the water falls, is circular, and juts over considerably. Im-
mediately below the fall, on each side of the river, are bluffs, which
rise about two hundred feet. Around one of these bluffs, the river
makes a bend, which gives it the form of a peninsula. On the top

of this are the remains, of what is esteemed fortifications ; whieh

170

AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES

consist of n stone wall, built on the very brow of tins tremendous
ledge. The whole length of the wall, following the varying cour-
ses of the brink of this precipice, is thirty-seven rods and eight feet,
including about two acres of groviiid."

The only descent from this place is between two rocks, for about
thirty feet, when a bench of the ledge presents itself, from two to
five feet in width, and ninety feet long. This bench is the only
road or path, up from the water's edge to the summit- Eut just at
the foot of the two rocks, where they reach this path, and within
thirty feet of the top of the rock, are five rooms, which have been
formed by dint of labour. 1 he entrance to these lOoras is very
small, but when within, they are fouiid to coniinunicate with each
other, by doors or apertures. Mr. Ferguson thinks them to have
been constructed during some dreadful war, and tiwse who construc-
ted them, to have acted on the dufensive; and believes that ttccnfy
men could have ^^ithstood the whole army of Xerxes, as it was im-
possible for mon, than one to pass at a time ; and might by the
slightest push, be hurled, at least, an hundred and fifty feet down
the rocks. The reader can indulge his own conjectures, whether,
in the construction of this inaccessible fortress, he does not perceive
the remnant of a tribe or nation, acquainted with the arts of exca-
vation and defence ; making a last struggle against the invasion of
an overwhelming foe ; where, it is likely they were reduced by
famine, and perished, amid the yells of their enemies.

ft I,'

A DESCRIPTION OF WESTERN TUMULI, OR MOUNDS.

We now proceed to a description of the ancient tumuli of the
west, and of discoveries made on opcnirg many of them ; quoted
from the Researches of the Antiquarian Society.

*^^ Ancient Tumuli is considered a kind of antiquities, differing in
character from that of the other works ; both on accoimt of what

ANO discoveries IK THE WEST.

are frequently di.snoverctd in them, and the manner of their con-
struction. They are conical mounds, either of earth or stones,
which were intended for sacred and important purposes. In many
parts of the world, similar mounds were used as moauments, sepul-
chres, altars, and temples. The accounts of these works, found in
the Scriptures, show that their origin must be sought f.r among the
Antediluvians.

That they are very ancient, and were used as places of sepulture,
public resort, and public worship, is proved by all the writers of
ancient times, both sacred and profane. Homer frequently men-
tions them, particularly describing the tumulus of Tydeus, and
the spot where it was. In memory of the illustrious dead, a
sepulchral mound of earth was raised over their remains ; which,
from that time forward, became an altar, whereon to offer sacriiices,
and around which to exhibit games of athletic exercise. These of-
ferings and games were intended ti propitiate their manes, to honour
and perpetuate their memories. Prudentius, a Roman bard has
told us that there were in ancient Rome, just as many temples of
gods, as there were sepulchres of heroes ; implying that they
were the same. Need I mention the tomb of Anchies, which Vir-
gil has described, with the offerings there presented, and the games
there exhibit id r The sanctity of Acropolis, where Cecrops was
inhumed .' The tomb of the father of Adonis, at Pa' iios, whereon
a temple dedicated to Venus, was erected .' The grave of Cleoma-
chus, whereon stood a temple dedicated to the worship of Apollo?
Finally, I would ask the classical reader, if the words translated
tomb, and temple, are not «sed as synonymous, by the poets of Greece
and Rome .' Virgil, who wrote in the days of Augustus Cssar,
speaks of these tumuli, as being as ancient as they were sacred,
even in his time.

In later times, after warriors arose, and performed great and
mighty deeds, the whole tribe, or nation, joined, to raise on some

high place," generally, a lofty tumulus, for commemorative and ,

t t«i

AMERICAlt ANTIQUITir.f

■acred purposes. At first, sacrifices might have been, and proba-
bly were, ofTered on these tiinjuli, to the true God, as the Great Au-
thor and Giver of life ; but in later times, they forgot Him, and
worshipped the manea of heroes they had buried there.

The conical mounds in Ohio, are either of stones or of earth.
The former, in other countries, and in former ages, were intended
as monuments, for the purpose of perpetuating the memory of some
important event, or as altars, whereon to offer sacrifices. The lat-
ter were used as cemeteries and as altars, whereon in later times,
temples were erected, as among the people of Greece and Rome.
The tumuli, "are of various altitudes and dimensions, some be-
ing only four or five feet, and but ten or tvi'elve in diameter, at
their base, while others, as we travel to the south, rise to the height
of eighty, ninety, and some more than an hundred feet, and cover
many acres of ground. They are, generally, when completed, in
the form of a cone. Those in the north part of Ohio, are of infe-
rior size, and fewer in number, than those along the river. These
mounds are believed to exist, from the Rocky mountains in the
west, to the Alleghenies in the east ; from the southern shore of
Lake Erie to the Mexican Gulf; and though few and small in the
north, are numerous and lofty in the south, yet exhibit proofs of a
common origin.

On Jonathan creek, in Morgan county, are found some mounds,
whose basis are formed of well burnt bricks, between four and five
inches square. There are found lying on the bricks, charcoal cin-
ders, and pieces of calcined human bones. Above them the mounds
were composed of earth, showing that the dead had been buried
in Uie manner of several eastern nations, and the mounds raised af-
terwards.

In removing the earth which composed an ancient mound in one
of the streets of Marietta, on the margin of the plain, near the for-
tifications before described, several curious articles were discovered

AND DISCOVERIES Ilf TUC WEST

173

ried
af.

one
for-
red

in 1819. They appear to have been buried with the body of the
person to whose memory this mound was erected.

Lying immediately over, or on tlie forehead of the body, were
found three larjje circular ornaments for a sword belt, or buckler ;
they are composed of copper, overlaid with a thick plate of silver.
The fronts of them were slightly convex, with a depression, like a
cup, in the centre, and measured two inches and a quarter across
the face of each. On the back side, opposite the depressed por-
tion, is a copper rivet or nail, around which are two separate plates
by which they were fastened to the leather. Both the plated cop-
per and leather, and parts of the belt, are certainly evidences of a
knowledge of the arts in two important respects ; that of plating
and tanning, equal with civilized nations at the time of the Greeks
and Romans.

Two small pieces of the leather were found lying between the
plates of one of the bosses, resembling the skin of an old mummy,
and seem to have been preserved by the salts of the copper ; these
plates are nearly reduced to an oxyde or rust. The silver looks
quite black, but is not much corroded, and on rubbing it becomes
quite brilliant. Two of these are entire, the third one is so much
wasted that it dropped in pieces on removing it from the earth.
Around the rivet of one of them, is a small quantity oi flax or hemp,
in a tolerable state of preservation. Near the side of the body was
found a plate of silver, which appears to have been the upper part
of a sword scabbard ; it is six inche; in length and two iuches in
breadth ; it has no ornaments or figures, but has two longitudinal
ridgss, which probably corresponded with the edges or ridges of
the sword once sheathed by it, and seems to have been fastened to
the scabbard by three or four rivets, the holes of which yet remain
in the silver, -k...

Two or three broken pieces of a copper tube were also found,
filled with iron rust. These pieces, from their appearance, com-
posed the lower end of the scabbard, near the point of the sword,

174

AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES

)i»V V

h V

but no sign of the sword itself was discovered, except the appear*
ance of rust, as above mentioned. Near the feet was found a piece
of copper, weighing three ounces. From its shape it appears to
have been used as a phimb, or for an ornament, as near one of the
ends is a circular crease or groove, for tying a thread ; it is round,
two inches and a half in length, one inch in diameter at the centre,-
ond half an inch at the end. It is composed of small pieces of na-
tive copper, pounded together, and in the cracks between the
pieces are stuck several bits of silver ; one nearly the size of a four
penny piece, or half a dime. This copper ornament was covered
with a coat of green rust, and is considerably corroded. A piece
of red ochre or paint, and a piece of iron ore, which has the appear-
ance of having been partially vitrified, or melted, was also found ;
the ore is about the specific gravity of pure iron.

The body of the person here buried, was laid on the surface of
the earth, witli his face upwards, and his feet pointing to the north*
east, and his head to the southwest. From the appearance of se -
veral pieces of charcoal, and bits of partially burnt sea coal, and the
black colour of the earth, it would seem that the funeral obsequies
had been celebrated by fire ; and while the ashes were yet hot and
smoking, a circle of these flat stones had been laid around and over
the body.

This drcular covering is about twenty-four feet in circumfer-
ence, and the stones yet look blai-k, as if stained with fire and
smoke. This circle of stones seems to have been the nucleus on
which the mound was formed, as immediately over them is heaped
the common earth of the adjacent plain. This mound was origin-
ally about ten feet high, and ninety feet in circumference at its
base ; and has every appearance of being as old as any in the neigh-
bourhood, and was, at the first settlement of Marietta, covered with
large trees.

. The person buried here was about six feet in height, nothing dif-
fering from other men in the form of hia bones, except the skull,

Its

AND DISCOVERIES IN THE WEST-

175

which was uncommonly thick. The timber growing on this mound,
when it was cleared off, was ascertained to be nearly five hundred
years old, from counting tlie concentric circles or grains of the
wood on the stumps. On the ground beside them were other
trees in a state of decay, that had fallen from old age."

If we were to conjecture, from this sort of data, how great a lapse
of years has ensued since the abandonment of this mound, we
should pursue the fallowing method. From the time when the
couutry became desolate of its inhabitants, till trees and forests
would begin to grow, cannot well be reckoned less than five years.
If then they are permitted to grow five hundred years, till as large
and as old as some of the trees were on the mound when it was
cleared by the people of Marietta, from that time till their natural
decay and fall to the earth, and reduction to decayed wood, as was
found on the mound, could nut be less than three hundred years, in
decaying so as to fall, and tlien fifty years to rot in ; this would
give eight hundred and fifty-five years for the first growth of tim-
ber. From this time we reckon a second crop, which we will
suppose was the one ^rowing when the mound was cleared of its
timber ; which was, according to Mr. Atwater's statement, " be-
tween four and five hundred years ;" add this to the age of the
first crop, say four hundred and fifty, and we have, in the whole,
one thousand thiee hundred and five years, since it was deserted of
its builders. Dr. Cutler supposes at least a thousand years. Then
it will follow, taking out the time since Marietta was settled, and
the mound cleared of its timber, that the country was deserted
about five hundred years after the commencement of the Chris-
tian era.

About the same time, say from the year 410 to 500 of the Chris-
tian era, the greater part of I^urope was devastated by the Goths,
the Huns, the Heruli, the Vandals, the Svvevri, the Alains, and
other savage tribe, all from the northern wilds of ancient Russia..
By these the western empiij of th Romans, comprehending Italy,

> "i

170

AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES

Germany, France, Spain, and England, was subverted ; all litera-
ture was obliterated, and the works of the learned, which contained
the discoveries and improvements of ages, were annihilated.

And from all we can make out by observing the growth of tim-
ber, with that which is decayed, as found on the deserted Avorks
..of the west, we are inclined to believe, that about the same period
of time when Europe was overrun by the northern hordes, that the
region now called the United States, where the ancient inhabitants
had fixed their abode, was also overrun by northern hordes from
toward Bhering's Straits, who had, in ages before, got across from
Asia, the Tartars, or Scythians, and had multiplied ; and as they
multiplied progressed farther and farther southerly, till they disco-
vered an inhabited country, populous, and rich, upon whom they
fell with all the fury of Attila and his Huns ; till, after many a long
and dreadful war, they were reduced in numbers, and driven from
their country far to the south ; when the rich fields, vast cities,
innumerable towns, with all their works, were reduced to the an-
cient dominion of nature, as it was when first overgrown immedi-
ately after the flood, except their vast pyramids, fortifications, and
tumuli, these being of the same nature and durability of the hills
and mountains, have stood the shock of war and time — the monu-
ments of powerful nations disappeared.

" In clearing out a spring near some ancient ruins of the west, on
the bank of the Little Miami, not far from its entrance into the
Ohio, was found a copper coin, four feet below the surface of the
earth ; from the fac simile of which it appears that the characters
on the coin are old Persian characters. — Morse'^s Unice.rsal Geogra-
phy, Vol, l,;)«(}e 442.

The era of the Persians, as noticed on the page of history, was
from 559, after the flood, till 334, before Christ, and were a people
of great strength, of enterprising character, and enlightened in the
arts and sciences ; and for aught that can be objected, traversed
the globe, planted colonies, perhaps even in America, as the coin-,

AND DISCOVERIES IN THE WEST-

177

y, was
people
in the
.versed
e coin^

■which lay so deep beneath the surface of the earth, vrould seem
to justify ; which was truly a Persian coin of copper.

At Cincinnati, a mound, only eight feet high, but one hundred
and twenty long, by sixiy in brendth, has been opened, and is now
almost obliterated, by the construction of Main-street, which has
furnished many curious discoveries relative to the ancient inhabi-
tants who built it " Of the articles taken from thence, many have
been lost ; but the most worthy of notice are embraced in the fol-
lowing catalogue :

1st. Pieces of jasper, rock crystal, granite, and some other stones,
cylindrical at the extremes, and swelled in the middle, with an an-
nular groove near the end. 2 J. A circular piece of stone coal, with
a large opening in the centre, as if for an axis or axletree, and a
deep groove ; the circumference suitable for a hand ; it has a num-
ber of smail perforations, disposed in four equidistant lines, which
run from the circumference towards the centre. 3d. A small arti-
cle of tlie same shape, with eiglit lines of perforations, but composed
of argilaceous earth, well polished. 4th. A bone, ornamented with
several lines, supposed to be hi noglyphical. 5th. A sculptured
representation of the head and beak of a rapacious bird, resembling'
the eagle. 6th. A mass of lead ore, lumps of which have been
found in other tumuli. 7th. A quantity of isinglass, (mica mem-
branacea,) several plates of which have been found in and abocL
other mounds. Sth. A smedl oval piece of sheet copper, with two
perforation?; ; a large oblong piece of the same metal, with longitu*
diual grooves and ridges.

These articles are described in the fourth and fifth volumes of
the American Philosophical Transactions, by Governeur Sargeant
and Judg3 Turner, and were supposed, by Philosopher Barton, to
have been designed, in part, for ornament, and, in part, for super-
stitous ceremonies. In addition to which, the author, (Mr. Atwa-
ter,) says, he has since discovered, in the same mound, a number of

23 ,

(

_ v..

178

AMKRICAJN ANTIQUITIEI

beads, or sections, of small hollow cylinders, apparently of bone or
shell.

Several large marine shells, cu*; in such a manner as to serve for
domestic utensils, and nearly converted into a state of chalk ; seve-
ral copper articles, each consisting of two sets of circular concavo
convex plates, the interior of each set connected with the other by
a hollow axis, around which had been wound some lint, and the
whole encompassed by the bones of a man's hand. About the pre-
cincts of this town, Cincinnati, human bones have been found " of
different sizes ; sometimes enclosed in rnde stone coffins, but of-
tener lying blended with the earth ; generally surroimded by a
portion of ashes and charcoal," as if they had been burnt either
alive or dead, as the Hindoos burn both the dead husband and liv-
ing wife, on the same funeral pile. See Ward's History of the Hin-
doos, page 67 ; where he states, " that not less than five thousand
of these unfortunate women, it is supposed, are burnt annually.'^
The ancient Jews practised the same thing ; see Amos, Cth chap.
10th verse : " And a man's uncle shall take him up, and he that
burneth him, to bring out the bones out of the house." The ancient
Edomites burnt the dead bodies of their captured enemies. See
Amos, 2d chapter, 1st verse : He, that is Edom, " burned the
bones of the king of Edom into lime." The same may have beeu
practised in America.

Besides these relics found at Marietta, others, equally interest"
ing, have been procured from a mound on the Little Muskingum,
about four miles from Marietta. There are some pieces of copper
which appear to have been the front part of a helmet. It was ori-
ginally about eight inches long and four broad, and has marks of
having been attached to leather ; it is much decayed, and h now
quite a thin plate.

The helmet v/as vroru by the ancients as a defence against the
blows of the sword, aimed at the head. The Greeks, the Romans^
with many other nations of antiquity, made use of this raajestiCy

AND DISCOVERIES IX THE WEST.

179

beautiful, warlike covering for the head. But how came this part
of the ancient armour in America ? This is the mystery, and cannot
be solved, only on the principle that we believe the wearers lived
in those ages coeval with the martial exploits of the Medes,
Persians, Carthagenians, Egyticns, Greeks, Homans, and of the Cel-
tic nations of Europe.

In the same mound on the Muskingum, was found a copper or-
nament ; this was on the forehead of a human skeleton, no part of
which retained its form, except that part of the forehead where
the copper ornament lay, and had been preserved no doubt by the
salts of that mineral. In Virginia, near Blacksb;irgh, eighty miles
from Marietta, there was found the half of a steel bow, which, when
entire, would measure five or six feet ; the other part was corroded
or broken. The father of the lad who found the bow was a black-
smith, and worked up this curious article with as little remorse as
he would an old gun barrel.

In the 18th Psalm, 34th A'erse, mention is made by David, king
of Israel, of the steel bow, which must have been a powerful in-
strument of death of the kind, and probably well known to the
Jews, as superior to the wooden bow. This kind of warlike artil-
lery, the bow and arrow, has been used by all nations, and in all
ages of time. The time of king David was about one thousand one
himdred years before Christ ; when, he says, a bow of steel was
broken by his own arm. This must have been done in some ot
his fights with the enemies of Saul, as it is not very probable that
he fought personally after he came to the kingdom ; and from his
earnestness in the fight, drew the string of his bow too far, so that
the instrument could not bear it, consequently it snapped asunder ;
which circumstance he has celebrated in the praises of the God of
Israel, as an evidence of the aid and strength derived from Reaven
in the heat of battle.

But Dr. Clark supposes steel is out of the question, as he thinks
the art of making steel was unknown at that time, and believes the

180

AMERICAN AJTXrQUITIEi

bow alluded to, which was broken by David, was a brass one, but
it is unknown to the writer of this work, whether brass will spring
at all so as to throw an arrow with cny efiect. Eiit wliy may not
steel have been known, and the cit of prcdacing it from iron, in the
time of David, as well as the a'-t of making brass, Avhich is equally
hidden, and more go than that of steel. Tubal Cain was a worker
in brass and iron^ before the liood ; and we should suppose the way
to procure decl from iron, would as soon have been discovered by
the antediluvian blacksmiths, as a knowledge how to make brass
from a union of copper end zinc.

The discovery of this steel bow, in the west, is exceedingly cu-
rious, aad would seem to justify the belief that it came from the old
v/orlr(, as an instrument of warfare in the hands of some of the
Asiali.'?, African, or Eurcpccm nations, vossibly Danes, as the
prestiit Indian nations were found destiiute of every kind of bow
and arrow, except that of woc.l.

" In Ross county, near Chiilicothe, a few years since, was found^
in the hand of a skeleton, which lay buried in a small mound, an
ornament of pure gold ; this curiosity, it is said, is now in the
Museum at Philadelphia." — Aticuter. The tumuli, in what is call-
ed the Sciota country, are bolli numerous and interesting. But
south of Lake Eri^, until we enive ut Woithington, nine miles
north of Columbus, they are few in number, and of comparatively
small magnitude. Near Columbus, the seat of government of Ohio,
were several mounds, one of which stood on an eminence rn the
principal street, v/hich has be- ;. enl.ioly removed, and converted
into bricks. It contained humnr; bones, some fc. articles, among
which was an ojc/, carved in stone, a rude but very exact repre-
sentation.

The Owlf araorg the Romans, was the emblem of wisdom,
and it is not impossible but the ancients of the west, may
have carved it in the stone for the same reason *, who may have
been in part Romans, or nations derived from them, or n&tions

AND DISCOTEnins IN THE WEST.

181

idom,
may
Lave
tionB

acquainted with their manners, their gods, and their sculpture, as
we suppose the Danes were.

" 111 another part of the town of Cohimhus, was a tumulus of
clay, which was also manui'uctured into bricks. In this were many
human bones ; but they lay in piles, and in confusion," which
would beoni to elicit the belief, that tliese were the bones of an
enemy, or thoy would have been laid in their accustomed order.
Or they may have been the bones of the conquered, thrown to-
gether in a confused manner, and buried beneath this mound.

As we still descend the Sciota, through a most fertile region of
country, mounds and other ancient works, frequently appear, until
we arrive at Circleville. Near the centre of the circular fort at
Circleville, was a tumulus of earth, about ten feet high, and seve-
ral rods in diameter at its base. On its eastern side, and extending
six rods from it, was a semicircular pavement, composed of pebbles,
such as are now found in the bed of Sciota river, from whence they
appear to have been taken. The summit of this tumulus was near-
ly ninety feet in circumference, with a raised way to it, leading
from the east, like a modern turnpike. The summit was level.
The outline of the semicircular pavement, and the walk is still dis-
cernible." Mr. Atwater was present when this mound was remo-
ved, and carefully examined the contents it developed. They were
as follows : " First ; two skeletons, lying on what had been the
original surface of the earth. Second : a great quantity of arrow
heads, some of which were so largo, as to induce a belief, that they
were used for spear heads. Tiiird ; t'le handle, either of a small
sword, or a large knife, made of an elk's horn ; around the end
where the blade had been inserted, was a ferule cf silver, which,
though black, was not much injured by time ; though the handle
showed the hole where the blade had been inserted, yet no iron
was found, but an oxyde, or rust, remained, of similar shape and
size. The swords of the ancient nations of the old world, it is
fccown, were very short. Fourth ; charcoal, and wood ashes, oa

ill*

i'SM

182

AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES

which these articles lay, were surronnded by several bricks, very
well burnt. The skeleton appeared \o have been burnt in a large
and very hot fire, which had almost consumed the bones of the de-
cased. This skeleton was deposited a little to the soiith of the
centre of the tumulus ; and about twenty feet to the north of it was
another, with whicli was found a large mirror, about three feet in
length, one foot and a half in width, and one inch and a half in
thickness; this was of isinglass (mica membranacea.)

On this mirror was a plate of iron, which had become an oxyde;
but before it was disturbed by the spade, resembled a plate of cast
iron. The mirror answered the purpose very well, for which it
was intended. This skeleton had also been burned like the former,
and lay on charcoal and a considerable quantity of wood ashes ; a
part of the mirror is in the possession of Mr. Atwater, as also a
piece of brick, taken from the spot at the time. The knife, or
sword handle, was sent to Peale's museum, Philadelphia. To the
south-west of this tumulus, about forty rods from it, is another, more
than ninety feet in height. It stands on a large hill, which appears
to be artificial. This must have been the common cemetry, as it
contains an immense number of human skeletons, of all sizes and
ages. These skeletons are laid horizontally, with their heads gen-
erally towards the centre, and the feet towards the outside of the
tumulus. In it have been found, besides these skeletons, stone
axes and stone knives, and several ornaments with holes through
them^ by means of which, with a cord passing through these perfo-
rations, they could be worn by th(Mr owners.

On the south side of this tumulus, and not far from it, was a se-
micircular fosse, or ditch, six feet deep ; which, whei^ examined at
the bottom, was found to contain a great quantity of human bones,
which, it is believed, were the remains of those who had been slain
in some great and destructive battle ; because they belonged to per-
sons invariably, who had attained their full size ; while those found
in the mound adjoining, were of all sizes, great and small, but laid

AND dlSCOVUKlES l^i TIIK >VLST.

183

a se-
led at
ones,

slain

in good order, while those in the ditch, were iii the utmost confu-
sion ; and were, no doubt, the conquered invaders, buried thus in-
gloriously, where they had entrenched themselves, and fall in the
struggle.

The mirror was a monstrous piece of isinglass, a lu-*id mineral,
larger than we recollect to have ever heard of before, and used
among the rich of the ancients, for lights and mirrors. A mirror of
any kind, in which men may be enabled to contemplate their own
form, is evidence of a considerable degree of advancement in the
arts, if not even of luxury itself.

The Rev. Robert G. WilsoTi, D. D. of Chilicothe, furnished the
Antiquarian Society with information concerning the mound, which
once stood near the centre of that town. He took pains to write
down its contents at the time of its demolition. Its perpendicu-
lar height was about fifteen feet, and the circumference of its base
about one hundred and eighty feet, composed of sand. It was not
till this pile of earth had been removed, that the original design of
its builders could be discovered. On a common level with the sur-
rounding earth, at the very bottom of this mound they had devoted
about twenty feet square ; this was found to have been covered at
first, with bark, on which lay, in the centre, a human skeleton,
overspread with a mat, manufactured from weeds or bark, but great-
ly decayed.

On the breast of this person lay, what had been apiece of copper,
in the form of a cross, which had become verdigris ; on the breast
also lay a stone ornament, three inches in length, and two and a
half in width, with two perforations, one near each end, through
which passed a string, by means of which it was suspended from
the wearer's neck. On this string, which appeared to have beea
made of the sinews of some animal, which had been cured or tan-
ned, but were very much injured by time, was strung a great ma-
ny beads made of irorjr-or bone, he could not tell which.

,.♦1

AMERICi^^ ANTItiUITIES

ji- 'if

I ■*■

•u

si'

With these facts before us, we are left to conjecture at what
time this individual lived, what were his heroic deeds in the fieU
of battle ; his wisdom, his virtues, hi^ eloquence in the councils of
his nation ; for his ( oteniporaries Imve testilkd in a manner not to
be mistaken, that among them he was held in honourable and grate-
ful remembrance, by the mound ^^ hich was raised over him at his
decease.

The cross on the brc ,i of this skeleton, excites the most surprise,
as that the cross is the emblem of the Christian religion. It is true,
a knowledge of this badge of Christianity, may have been dissemi-
nated from Jerusalem, fven as far east as to China ; as we know it
was at a very early periud, made known in many countries of Eu-
rope, Africa, and Asia ; especially, at the era when the Roman em-
peror Conslantiiie, in the year 331, ordered all the heathen temples
to be destroyed, for the sake of Christianity, thioughout his vast
dominion.

The reader may recoHrctj w( have elicittd an argument, from
the ixge of the timber, <jr fores; ices, growing on the mound, at
Marietta, proposiris;^ to taow the probable era waen the country be-
came depopulated ; and come to the conclusion, that at least, about
thineen hundred years have passed away since that catastrophe.

This would give about five hundred years from Christ till the de-
population of the ancient western couvtry ; so that, during the lapse
of those fiv.^ centuries, a knowledge of what had been propagated
at Jerusalem about Christ, may have been, easily enough by mis-
sionaries, travelling f>hilosophers of the Romans, Greeks, or of other
nations, carried as well to China, as to other distant countries, as
we know was the fact.

Th3 string of beads, and the stone on h;^ breast, vvhich we take
the liberty of calling tha Shalcjramu stone, or the stone in which
the Hindoos suppose the god Vishuoo resides ; together with the
copper cross on his breast, and beads on his neck, is a circumstance,
which strongly argues that a mixture of Brahminism and Christian-

AND DISCOVF.RIES IN THE WEST.

185

inis-
' other

les, as

take
Ivhich
the
jnce,
ktian-

ity were embriicud by this individual. To prove tliat the wearing
of beads around the neck, or on the arm, for tiie purposes of devo-
tion, is areli^i'ius Hindoo custom, wc refer to Ward's late history
of those nations, wlio was a Baptist missionary, am )ng tliat people,
and died in that country. Thia autiior says, page 40, that Drumha^
the grandfather of the gods, holds in hii hand, a string of beads,
as evidence of his devotion or goodness. Uivjcc, the regent of fire,
is represented \vith a bead roll in his hand, to show that h' ii mer-
ciful or propitious, to those who call upon him. — page 45

The Hindoo mendicants, or saints, as they suppDSf themselves,
have invariably, a string of beads, made of bone, teeth of animals,
ivory, stones, or the seeds of plants, or of something, hanging
about their necks, or on their arms, which they recount, calling over
and over, without end, the name of the god, as evidence of devo-
tion to him. — page 422.

The devotions of the asct'tic disciples among the Hindoos, con-
sists in repeating incessantly the name of their god, using, at the
same time, the bead roll, (or rosary, as the catholics do. — page 427.
" Strings of beads were used for this purpose, from remotest anti-
quity, in all eastern Asia.'' — Hnmboldl, page 204.

This author further says, " the rosarie^'" which is a string of beads,
" have been in use in Thibet and China, from time immemorial ;
and that the custom passed from the east, viz. China, to the Chris-
tians in the west, viz. Europe ;" and are found among the cathoUcs ;
no other sect of Christians, that we know of, have borrowed any
trappings from the pagans, to aid in their devotions, but this

The stone found on his breast, as before remarked, we assume to
call the Shalgramu stone. See also, Ward's account of this stone,
page 41 and 44.

A stone called the Slialgramu is a form of the god Vishnoo, and
is in another case, the representative of the god, Saoryu, or the
sun — page 52, The Shalgramu, or Lingu, is a black stone, found

in a part of the Gundeekee river. They are mostly perforated, in

IMAGE EVALUATION
TEST TARGET (MT-3)

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186

AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES

one or more places, by worms, while at the bottom of the river; but
the Hindoos believe, the god Yishno'^, in the shape of a reptile,
resides in this stone, and caused the holes.

With this belief, how very natural it would be to wear on the
breast, either in view or concealed, this stone, as an amulet, ot
charm, as found on the breast of this skeleton, in union with the cross.

We are inclined to believe, that the Roman catholic heresy, bor-
rowed, at a very early pciiod, after their peculiar formation, and
corruption, subsequent to th: time of Constantino, the notion of
the rosary, or bead roll, which they recount while saying prayers,
from the Hindoos; and that from Chiiitian missionaries, the Hin-
doo Bramhins borrowed the idea of the crooj, which they might
also wear, together with the Lingu stone, as an amulet or charm.
For we see on the breast of this person, both the emblem of Chris-
tianity, and of the Hindoos' superiilition, on v.hich account, we are
of the opinion, that the ministers of the TSrandiiu rcliirion, lie buried
beneath many of the western mounds.

Mr. W^ard informs us, page 272, that near the town of Dravina,
in Hondostan-hu, are shown to this day, or at the time he lived in
India, four small elevations, or mounds, from the top of which, the
great ascetic philosopher, Shunkuracharyu, used to teach and ha-
rangue the people and his disciples. From this circumstance, we
catch a glimpse of the oniloiial use of the mounds in the east;
and why not the same use be derived from them to the ancient peo-
ple of the wtsl ; and more especially so, if they may be believed
to have, in any measure, derived themselves, from any nations of
the Chinese world.

AND DISCOVERlt!.' IN THE >VE«T.

187

GREAT WORKS ON THE NORTH FORK OF PAINT CREEK.

-' On ths north branch of this creek, five miles from Chilicothe,
are works so immense, that although wc have given the reader se-
veral accounts of this kind, yet we cannot well pass over these.

They are situated on an elevated piece of land, called the se-
cond bottom. The first bottom, or flat, extends from Paint Creek,
till it is met by a bank of twenty-five feet in height, which runs
in a straight line, and parallel with the stream. An hundred rods
from the top of this first bank, is another bank, of thirty feet ia
height, the wall of the works runs up this bank, and twenty rods
beyond it. The whole land enclosed, is six hundred and twenty
rods in circumference, and contains one hundred and twenty-six
acres of land.

This second bank, runs alsa parallel with the creek, and with
the first. On this beautiful elevation, is situated this immense
work, containing within it, seveateen mounds of different sizes.
Three hundred and eighty rods of this fort is encompassed with a
wall twelve feet hi'^h, a ditch twenty fe^t wide, and the wall, the
same at its base. Two hundred and forty rods, running along on
the top of the first bank, is ths rest of the wall ; but is without a
ditch ; this is next to the river or creek, between which and the
water, is the first bottom or flat. Within this great enclosure, is a
circular work of an hundred rods in circumference, with a wall
and ditch surrounding it, of the same height of the other wall.
Within this great circle, are six mounds, of the circular form ; these
are full of human bones ; the rest of the mounds, eleven in num-
ber, are for some other purpose. There are seven gateways, of
about five rods in width, each. " Ths immense labour, and nume-
rous cemeteries, filled with human bones denote a vast population,
nearthisspat, in ancient times." — Afwater. . ■ .

188

AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES

" Tumuli are very common on the river Ohio, from its utmost
sources to its mouth, although on the Monongahela, they are few,
and comparatively small, but increase in number and size, as we
descend towards the mouth of that stream at Pittsburgh, where the
Ohio begins ; after this they are still more numerous, and of great-
er dimensions, till we arrive at Grave Creek, below Wheeling.

At this place, situated between two creeks, .vhich run into the
Ohio, a little way from the river, is one of the most extraordinary
and august monuments of antiquity. Its circumference at its base,
is fifty-six rods, its perpendicular height ninety feet, its top seven
rods and eight feet in circumference. The centre at the summit,
appears to have sunk several feet, so as to form a kind of amphi-
theatre. The rim enclosing this concavity is seven or eight feet
in thickness ; on the south side, in the edge of this rim, stands a
large beach tree, the bark of which is marked with the initials of a
great number of visitanta."

This lofty and venerable tumulus has been so far opened, as to
ascertain that it contains many thousands of human skeletons, but
no farther ; the proprietor, PJr. Tomlinson, will not suffer its demo-
lition, in the smallest degree, for which he is highly praise worthy.

" Following the river Ohio downwards, the mounds appear on
both sides, erected uniformly, on the highest alluvials along that
stream, increasing in numbers all the way to the Mississippi, on
which river they assume the largest size.

Not having surveyed them, says Mr. Atwater, we shall use the
description of Mr. Backenridge, who travelled much in the west,
and among the Indians, and devoted much attention to the subject
of these astonishing western antiquities.

" These tumuli, says Mr. Backenridge, as well as the fortifica-
tions, are to be found at the junction of all the rivers, along the
Mississippi, in the most eligible positions for towns, and in the most
extensive bodies of fertile land- Their number exceeds, perhaps,
three thousand ; the smallest not less than twenty feet in height^

JJ«*

AND DISCOVERIES IN THE WEST

189

and three hundred in circumference at the base. Their great num-
ber, and the amazing size of some of them, may be regarded as fur-
nishing, with other circumstances, evidence of their antiquity.

I have been sometimes induced to think, that at the period when
these were constructed, there was a population as numerous as that
which once animated the borders of the Nile, or of the Euphrates,
or of Mexico. The most numerous, as well as the most considera-
ble of these remains, are found precisely in those parts of the coun-
try where the traces of a numerous population might be looked for,
namely, from the mouth of the Ohio, on the east side of the river,
to the Illinois, and on the west side, from the St. Francis to the
Missouri. I am perfectly satisfied that cities, similar to those of
ancient Mexico, of several hundred thousand souls, have existed in
this western country." — Breckenridge, as quoted by Atwater.

From this view, we are compelled to look upon those nations as
ngriculturists, or they could not have subsisted ; neither wild game
nor fishes could possibly support so great a population. If agricul-
turists, then it must follow, of necessity, that many modes of
building as with stone, timber, earth or clay, were practised and
known, as well as methods of clearing the earth of heavy timber.
And if they had not a knowledge of metals, we cannot well con-
ceive how they could have removed the forests for the purposes of
husbandry, and space for building. But if we suppose they did
not build houses with wood, stone and brick, but lived in tents or
some fragile hut, yet the use of metals cannot be dispensed with,
on account of the forests to be removed for agricultural pui poses.
Baron Humboldt informs us, in his Researches in South America,
that when he crossed the Cordillera mountains, by the way of Pa-
nama and Assuav, and viewed the enormous masses of stone cut
from the porphyry quarries of Pullal, which was employed in con-
structing the ancient highroads of the Incas, that he began to
doubt whether the Peruvians were not acquainted with other tools
than hatchets made of flint and stone \ and tliat grinding one stone

190

AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES

m *

on another to make tliem smooth and level, >vas not the only me-
thod they had employed in this operation. On which account he
adopted a new opinion, contrary to those generally received. He
conjectured that they must have had tools made of copper, harden-
ed with tin, .such as it is known the early nations of Asia made use
of. This conjecture was fully proved by the discovery of an an-
cient Peruvian mining chisel, in a silver mine at Vilcabaraba, which
had been worked in the time of the Tncas, This instrument of cop-
per wns twelve centimeters long and two broad, or in English mea-
sure, four inches long, and three-fourths of an inch wide ; which
he carried with him to Europe, where he had it analyzed, and
found it to contain ninety four parts of copper and six of tin. He
says that this keen copper of the Peruvians is almost identically
the same with that of the ancient Galic axe, which cut wood nearly
as well as if made of iron and steel.

Every where, on the old continent, at the beginning of the civil-
ization of nations, the use of copper, mixed with tin, prevailed over
that of iron, even in places where the latter had been for a long
time known. Antonio de Herera, in the tenth Book of his History
of the West Indies, says, expressly, that the inhabitants of the
maritime coast of Zoci.tallan, in South America, prepared two sorts
of copper, of which one was hard and cutting, and the other malea-
ble ; the hard copper was to make hatchets, weapons, and instru-
ments of agriculture with, and that it Avas tempered with tin. —
Humboldt, Vol, li,pucjes 2G0— 2G8.

TRAITS OF ANCIENT CITIES ON THE MISSISSIPPI.

Nearlv opposite St. Louis, there are the traces of two ancient
cities, in the distance of a few miles, situated on the Cohokia creek,
which empties into the Mississippi, but a short distance below that

AND DISCOVERIES IN THE WEST.

191

place. Here is situated one of those Pyramids, which is an hun-
dred and fifty rods in ciroumferonce at its base, (nearly an half
mile,) and one hiindrod ft'ot hiqh. At St. Louis is one with two
stages or landing places, ps tlio architectural ])hrase is. There is
another with three stages, at the mouth of the ^tlissouii, a few miles
above St. Louis. With respect to the stages, or landing places, of
these pyramids, we are reminded of the tower once standing in old
Babylon, •which had eiglit stages from it:j base to the summit, mak-
ing it six hundred feet higli.

At the mouth of Cahokiuh creek, a short distance below St.
Louis, are two groups of those niouiidij, of smaller size, but wo are
not informedof their exact number. At Bayeau Manchac and Baton
Rouge, are several mounds, one of which is composed chiefly of
shells, which the inhabitants burn into lime. There is a mound
on Black river, which 1ms two stnr;;'s or stories ; this is sunouuded
with a group of lesser ones, as well as those at iJayeau Mai.'ihac,
and Baton Rouge. There is one of those Pyramids near Washing-
ton, in the stele of Mississippi, which is one hundred and forty-six
feet high ; which is but little short of nine rods perpendicular ele-
vation, and fifty-six rods in ciroiunference. JMr. Breckenridge is
of the opinion that the laigf st ciiy, belonging to this people, the
authors of the mounds and other works, was situated on the plains
between St, Francis and the Arkansas. There is no doubt but in
the neighbourhood of St. Louis must have been cities or large town.<»
of these ancient people ; as the number and size of the mounds
above recounted, would most certainly justify.

Fifteen mllos in a southv/esterly direction from the town of St.
Louis, on the Merimac river, was discovered, by a Mr. Long, on
lands which he had purchased tliere, several mounds of the ordina-
ry size, as found in the valley of the Mississippi, all of which go to
establish that this coun)ry, lying i)etween the Missouri and the
Mississippi rivers, below St. liOuis, and between the junction of
the Illinois with the Mississippi above, \vith the whole region about

it
1^

¥ ■

,i:

I i

192 AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES

the union of those rivers with each other, — which are all not
far from St. Louis — was once the seat of empire ; equal, if not sur
passing the population and the arts, as once they flourished on the
plains of Shinar, the seat of Chaldean power, and on the banks of
the Euphrates.

It was on the lands of this gentleman, Mr. Long, that the disco-
very of a burying ground, containing a vast number of small tumu<
li, or graves, took place. On opening these graves, there were
found deposited, in stone coffins, composed of stone slabs, six in
number, forming the bottom, sides and top, with end pieces ; the
skeletons of a race of human beings apparently of but from three to
foor feet in height. This discovery excited much surprise, and call-
ed forth, from several pens, the conjectures of able men, who pub-
lished a variety of opinions respecting them. Some imagined them
to be the relics of a race of pigmy inhabitants who had become ex-
tinct. Others, on account of the size of the teeth, which denoted
full grown and adult persons, conjectured them to be the skeletons
of a race of baboons or monkeys, from the shortness of their stature.
From this opinion, arose another conjecture, that they had been the
objects of worship to the ancient nations, as they had been some-
times among the earlier Egyptains.

The bones of these subjects were entirely destroyed, and reduc-
ed to ashes of a white chalky consistency, except the teeth, which
were perfect, being made secure and imperishable from their en-
amel. Many of these graves were opened, and the inmates found
not to exceed three and four feet. At length one was opened and
the skeleton it contained appeared to be of the full size cf a large
man, except its length ; this, however, on close inspection was
found to have had it legs disjointed at the knees, and "placed along
side the thigh bones, which at once, in the eyes of some, accounted
for the statures of the whole.

Such a custom is, indeed, singular ; and among all the discove-
ries of those ancient traits, nothing to compare with this has come

Si! ^

AND DISCOVERIES IN THE WEST-

193

to light- Respecting this instance of short skeletons, it has been
also urged that as certain tribes of the common Indians, now inha>
biting the upper shores of the Missouri, place their dead on scaffolds
and in baskets, fastened to the limbs of trees, till their flesh be-
comes separated from the bones, that the authors of these short
graves did the same. And that when by this process, they bad
become fair and white, they deposited them in small coffins, as dis-
covered on the farm of Mr. Long. But although this is, doubt-
less, true respecting the Missouri Indians, yet we have no account
of short graves having been found among them. But as we are
unable to cast light on this discovery, we shtdl leave it as we found
it — a great curiosity.

TRADITION OF THE MEXICAN NATIVES RKSSECTING THEIR
MIGRATION FROM THIS NORTH.^

scove-
come

In corroboration of JMr. Atwater's opinion, with respect to the
gradual remove of the ancient people of the west toward Mf s;-
icoy we subjoin what we have gathered from the Researches vl
Baron Humboldt, on that point. Sej Helen Maria William's trans-
lation of Humboldt's Researches in South America, Vol. 2, p. 67-
From which it appears the people inhabiting the vale of Mexico, at
the time the Spaniard's overrun that country, were called Aztecks,
or Aztekas ; and they were, as the Spanish history informs us,
usurpers, having come from the north, from a country which they
called Aztalan.

This country of Aztalan, Baron Humboldt says, " we must look

for at least north of the 42d degree of latitude." He comes to this

conclusion from an examination of the Mexican or Azteca manu*

scripts, which were made of a certain kind of leaves, and of skins

prepared ; on which an account, in painted hieroglyphics or pic-

194

AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES

■■f-l

tures, UQS given of their migration from Aztalan to Mexico, and
how long they baited at certain places, which, in the aggregate,
amounts to " four hundred and sixteen years."

The following names of placna appear on their account of their
journeyings, at which places they made less or more delay, and
built towns, forts, tumuli, £cc.

Ist. A place of Humtliation, and a place of Grottoes. It would
seem at this place they were much afflicted and humbled ; but in
what manner is not related ; and also at this place, from the term
grottoes, that it was a place of cavern? and dens, probably where
they at first hid, or dwelt, till they built a town, and cleared the
ground. Here they built the places which they called Tocalco
and Oztatan.

2d. Journey, they stopped at a place of fruit trees ; probably
meaning, as it was farther south, a place where nature was abun-
dant in nuts, grapes, and wild fruit trees. Here they built a mound
or tumuli, and, in their language, it is called a Teocali.

3d Journey ; when they stopped at a place of herbs, with broad
leaves ; probably meaning a place where many succulent plants
grew, denoting a good soil ; which invited them to pitch their tents
here.

■ 4th Journey ; when they came to a place of human bones ; where
they, either during their stay had battles with each other, or with
some enemy, or they may have found them already there, the re-
lics of other nations before them ; for, according to Humboldt, this
migration of the Aztecas, took place A. D. 778 ; so that other na-
tions certainly had preceded them, also from the north.

5th Journey ; they came to a place of Eagles.

6th Journey ; to a place of precious stones, and minerals.

7th Journey ; to a place of spinning, where they manufactured
clothing of cotton barks, or of something proper for clothing of some
sort, and mats of rushes and feathers.

AND DISCOVERIES I.^ THE WEST.

105

8th Journey ; they came to auother nlace of eagles, called the
Eeagle-mountain, or, in their own language, Quauhtli Tepee : Tt'
pec, says Humboldt, in the Turkish language, is the word for moun-
tain ; which two words are so near alike, tepee and tepe, that it
would seem almost an Arab word, or a word used by the Turks.

9th Journey ; when they came to a place of walls, and the se-
ven grottoes ; which shows the place had been inhabited before,
and these seven grottoes were either caves in the earth, or were
made in the side of some mountain, by those who had preceded
them.

10th Journey ; when they came to a place of thistles, sand, and'
vultures.

11th Journey ; when they came to a place of Obsideon MnoTty
which is much the same with that of Isinglass, scientifically called
micae membranacae. This mineral substance is frequently found
in the tumuli of the west, and is called, by the Mexicans, the «Atn>
ing god. The obsideon stone, however, needs polishing, before it
will answer as a mirror.

12th Journey ; came to a place of water, probably some /oAe, or
beautiful fountains, which invited their residence there ; on the ac-
count not only of the water, but lor fishing and game.

13tb Jouniey ; they came to the place of the Divine Monkey^
called, in their own language, Teozomoco. Here, it would seem,
they set up the worship of the monkey, or baboon, as the ancient
Egyptians are known to have done. This animal is found in Mez«
ico or New-Spain, according to Humboldt.

14fh Journey ; when they came to a high mountain, probably'
with table lands on it ; which they colled Chopaltepec, or mountaiD
of locusts. A place, says Baron Humboldt, celebrated for the mag-
nificent view from the top of this hill ; which, it appears, is in the
Mexican country, and probably not £ar from the vale of Mexico ;
where they finally permanently rested. v.

196

AMCRICAM ANTIQVITIBf

III!

15tb Journey ; when (liey catue to the vale of Mexico ; having
here met with the prodigy, or fulfilment of the prophecy, or oracle,
which at their outset from the country of Aztalan, Iluehuetlapallan,
and Amaquemecan ; which was (sec Humholdt, 2d vol. p. 185,)
that the migrations of the Aztecku should not terminate till the
chiefs of the nation should meet with an Eayle^ perched on a cactus
tree ; at such a place they might found a city. This was, as their
bull-hide books inform us, in the vale of Mexico.

We have related this account of the Azteca migration from the
country of Aztalan, Huehuetlapallan, and Amaquemecan, from the
regions of north latitude 42 degrees, merely to show that the coun-
try, provinces, or districts, so named in their books, must have been
the country of Ohio, Mississippi and Illinois, with the whole region
thereabout ; for these are not far from the very latitude named by
Humboldt as the region of Aztalan, &c.

This account, derived from the Mexicans since their reduction
by the Spaniards., gathered from the researches of learned travel-
lers, who have, for the very purpose of learning the origin of the
people of this country, penetrated not only into the forest retreats
in the woods of Mexico, but into the mysteries of their hard lan-
guage, their theology, philosophy, and astronomy. This account of
their migration, as related above, is corroborated by the tradition of
the Wyandot Indians.

We come to a knowledge of this tradition, by the means of a
Mr. William Walker, some time Indian agent for our government ;
who, it seems, from a damphlet published, 1823, by Frederic Fal-
ley, of Sandusky, giving Mr. Vv'^alker's account that a great many
hundred years ago the ancient inhabitants of America, who were
the authors of the great works of the west, were driven away from
their country and possessions, by barbarous and savage hordes of
warriors, who came from the north and northwest ; before whose
power and skill in war, they were compelled to flee, and went ta
the south.

4ND DISC0VRRIF.9 Iff THE WEST.

197

After having been there many hundred years, a runner came
back into the same country, from whence these ancient people had
been driven, which we suppose is the very country of Aztalan, or
the region of the western states ; bringing the intelligence that a
dreadful beast had landed on their coast along the sea, which was
spreading among them havoc and death, by means of fire and thun-
der ; and that it would, no doubt, travel all over the country, for
the same purpose of destruction.

This beast whose voice was like thunder, and whose power to
kill, was like fire, we have no doubt, represents the cannon and
small arms of the Spaniards, when they first commenced the mur-
der of the ancient people of South America, many tribes or nations
of which were, from time to time, derived from the northern part
of our continent, long before the northern hordes devastated the
country of Aztalan, Huehuetlapan, and Amaquemecan, and with
good reason, believed to 'be from Asia ; of Tartar, Hebrew, and
Scythian origin ; from their dreadful propensity to war and bloodshed,
which is still characteristic of our northern and western Indians-

JPPOSED USES OF THE ANCIENT ROADS CONNECTED WITH

THE MOUNDS.

Ancient roads, or highways, which in many parts of the west, are
found walled in on both sides for many miles, where the forest trees
are growing as abundant, and as large and aged, as in any part of
the surrounding woods.

We have already mentioned several roads which have always
been found connected with some great works ; as at Piketon, Ports-
mouth, Newark, Licking county, and at the works on the little Mi-
ami river. These roads where they have been traced, are found to
communicate with some mound, or mountain, which had been sha-
ped by art to suit the purposes of those who originated these stu.

]^^

si !

198 . ^ AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES

pendous works. The circumstance of their being walled in by
banks of earth, leaving from one to four and six rods space between,
has excited much inquiry, as to the reason and purposes of their
construction. But may not this grand characteristic of the people
of the west, in road building, be illustrated by comparing a practice
of the Mexicans with this fact. We will show the practice, and then
draw the conclusion.

"The Mexicans believed, according to a very ancient tradition, that
the end of the world would take place at the termination of every
cycle of fifty-two years ; that the sun would no more appear on the
horizon, and that mankind would be devoured by evil genii of hi-
deous appearance, known under the name of Tzitzimimes.

On the last day of this great cycle of time, of fifty-two years,
the sacred fires were extinguished in all theit temples, and dwel-
lings, and every where, all the ptople devoting themselves to pray-
er, no person daring to light a fire at the approach of the night ;
the vessels of clay were broken, garments torn, and whatever was
njost precious was destroyed, because every thing appeared useless
at the tremendous moment of the last day.

Amidst this frantic superstition, pregnant women became the ob-
jects of peculiar horror to the men ; they caused their faces to be
hidden with masks made with paper of the agave ; they were ev
imprisoned in the store houses of maize or coin, from a persuasion,
that if the catastrophe took place, the women transformed into ti-
gers, would make common cause with the evil genii, and avenge
themselves of the injustice of the men.

As soon as it was dark, the grand procession, called the festival
of the. new fire commenced. The priests took the dresses of the
gods, and followed by an immense crowd of people, went in solemn
train to the mountain of Huzachtecatl, which was two leagues or
rix miles from Mexico. This lugubrious march was called the
march of the gods ; which was supposed to be their final departure

AND DISCOVERIES IN THE WEST.

199

from their city, and possibly never to return ; in which event, the
end of the world was come.

When the procession had reached the summit of the mountain^
it waited till the moment when the Pleiades, or the seven stars, as-
cended the middle of the sky, to begin the horrible sacrifice of a
human victim, stretched on the stone of sacrifice, having a wooden
disk on the breast, which the priest inilames by friction. The corpse,
after having received a wound in the breast, which extinguished
life, while he lay, or was held on the fatal stone, was laid on the
ground ; and the instrument made use of to produce fire by friction,
was placed on the wound, which had been made with a knife of
obsidian stone. When the bits of wood, by the rapid motion of
the cylinder, or machine made use of for that purpose, had taken
fire, an enormous pile, previously prepared to receive the body of
the unfortunate victim, was kindled, the flames of which, ascending
high into the air, were seen at a great distance ; when the vast
populace of the city of Mexico, and surrounding country, filled the
air with joyful shouts and acclamations.

All such as were not able to join in the procession, were stationed
on the terraces of houses, and on the tops of teocallis, or mounds,
and tumulis, with their eyes fixed on the spot, where the flame was
to appear ; which, as soon as it was perceived, was a token of the
benevolence of the gods, and of the preservation of mankind, du-
ring another cycle of fifty-two years.

Messengers posted at proper distances from each other, holding
branches of wood, of a very resinous pine, carried the new fire
from village to village to the distance of many leagues ; and depo-
sited it anew in every temple, from whence it was distributed to all
private dwellings. When the sun appeared on the horizon, the
shouting was redoubled, the procession went back from the moun-
tain to the city, and they thought they could see their gods also re-
turning to their sanctuaries- '

«,*

200

AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES

/ The women were then released from their prisons, every one pot
on a new dress, the temples were whitewashed, their household
furniture renewed, their plate, and whatever was necessary for do-
mestic use. " This secular festival, this apprehension of the sun
being extinguished at the epoch of the winter solstice, seems to
present a new instance of analogy betwcm the Mexicans and the
inhabitants of Egypt. When the Egyptians saw the sun descend
from the Crab towards Capricorn^ and the days gradually grow
shorter, they were accustomed to sorrow, from the apprehension
that the sun was going to abandon the earth, but when the orb be-
gan to return, and the duration of the days grew longer, they robed
themselves in white garments, and crowned themselves with flow-
ers."— ffumioW/, 380, 384.

This Mexican uiage may have been practised by the people of
the west, as the roads would seem to justify, leading as they do,
either to some mountain prepared by art, or to some mound : and as
these processions took place in the night, so that the Pleiades, or
seven stars might be seen, it was necessary that the roads should be
walled as a defence against an enemy, who might take advantage
under cover of the night.

After having examined these accounts of the ancient works of
the west, it is natural to ask, who their authors were : this can be
answered only by comparison and conjecture, more or less upheld,
as circumstances, features, manners, and customs, of nations, may
resemble each other.

" If we look into the Bible, we shall there learn, that mankind,
soon after the deluge, undertook to raise a tower, high as heaven^
designed to keep them together. But in this attempt they were
disappointed, and themselves dispersed throughout the world. Did
they forget to raise afterwards, similar monuments and places of
worship ? They did not, and to use the words of an inspired writer,
" high places," of various altitudes and dimensions, were raised on
every high hill throughout the land of Palestine, and all the east,

^:-

AND DISCOVERIES IN THE WEST-

201

among the pagan nations. Some of these " high places" belonged
to single families, some to mighty chieftains, a petty tribe, a citjT)
or a whole nation. At those " high places," belonging to great na-
tions, great national affairs were transacted. Here they crowned
and deposed their kings ; here they concluded peace, and declared
war, and worshipped their gods. < ^•'^^■'

The Jews, on many great occasions, assembled at Gilgal ; which
word signifies " an heap." Shiloh, where the Jews frequently as-
sembled to transact great national affairs, and perform acts of devo-
tion, was on the top of a high hill. When this was forsaken, the
loftier hill of Zion was selected in its stead ; upon Sinai's awful
summit the law of God was promulgated. Solomon's temple was
situated upon a high hill, by Divine appointment. Samaria, a place
celebrated for the worship of idols, was built upon the high hill of
Shemer, by Omri, one of the kings of Israel, who was buried
there. How many hundreds of mounds in this country, are situa-
ted on the highest hills, surrounded by the most fertile soils.

" Traverse the counties of Licking, Franklin, Pickaway, and
Ross ; examine the loftiest mounds, and compare them with those
described in Palestine, and a conviction will remain, that as in the
eariiest ages, men preferred the summit of the highest mountains,
«o a love of the same, as a memorial of ancestry, would influence
posterity to the like custom.

But the most extraordinary mound we have heard of, is mention^
ed in Mr. Schoolcraft's Travels in the west. It is called Mount
JoUet, and is situated on the river Des Plains, one of the head wa-
ter rivers of the Illinois. Its situation is such as to give its size its
fullest effect, being on a level country with no hill in sight to form
a contrast. Its height is sixty feet, or nearly four rods perpendicu-
lar, its length eigty>four rods, its width fourteen, and is one hun-
dred and ninety-six rods in circumference on its top, but conside-
rably larger measuring round the base. It has been remarked by

209

AMERICAN AlfTIQUITIEl

Dr- Beck, that this is probably the largest mound within the liroits
of the United States.

This mound is built on the horizontal lime stone stratum of the
secondary formation, and is fronted by the beautiful lake Joliet,
which is but fifteen miles long, furnishing the most " noble and
picturesque spot in all America." Schoolcraft. This mound con-
sists of eighteen million two hundred and fifty thousand solid feet
of earth. How long it must have been in btiiig builded, is more
than can be made out, as the number of men employed, and the fa-
cilities to carry on the work, are unknown.

In England, Scotland, and in Wiles, they are thus situated. At
Inch-Tuthel, on the river Tay, there is a mound which resembles
ours on the Licking, near Newark. The camp at Comerie is on a
water of Ruchel, situated on a high alluvion, like ours in the west.
The antiquities of Ardoch are on a water Kneck, their walls, ditch-
es, gateways, mounds of defence before them, and every thing
about them, resemble our works of this character, in America.

What Pennant, in his Antiquarian Researches in the north of
Europe, calls &\pnetonum, is exactly like the. circular works around
our mounds, when placed witiiin walls of earth. Catter-thun, two
miles from Angus, is ascribed to the ancient Caledoiiians, or Scotch.
Such works are very common in Ohio. One on the river Loden,
or Lowthe, and another near the river Emet, are exactly like those
in the west. The strong resemblance between the works in Scot-
land and those of the M'est, I think says Mr. Atwater, no man will
deny. In various parts of the British iiles, as.well as England,
Scotland, Ireland, and Wales, are abundance of those works, which
were places of worship, burial, and defence, built by the ancient
Picts, so called by the Romans, because they painted themselves,
like the aborigines of this country.

At a very early period of the globe, a small mound of earth serv-
ed as a sepulchre and an altar, whereon the officiating priest could
be seen by the surrounding worshippers. Such sacred works may-

■fe.

▲KO DISCOVERIES IN THE WEST.

203

serv-

could

cs may

be traced from Wales to Russia, quite across that empire north, to
our continent ; and then acrojs this continent, from the Columbia,

on the Paciiii Oaean, to the Black River, on the east end of Lake

Ontario ; th3nc3 turning in a SDUtli-woitara direction, we find them

ext^ndinT; quite tj tha SDuth-'ra parts of Mexico and Peru.

"If th.;r3 exists," says Dr. Clark, "any thing of former times
which may aftjid evidence of antediluvian manners, it is this mode
of burial ; which seems to mark the progress of population in the
first ages after the dispDriion, occasioned by the confusion of Ian'
guages, at Babel.

Whether und^r the form of a mound in Scandinavia and Russia, a
barrow in England, or cairn in Ireland, Scotland and Wales, or heaps
of earth, which the modern Greeks and Turk} call Tepe, and the
Mexicans, Tepee, and lastly, in the more artificial shape of a pyra»
mid in Egypt ; they had universally the same origin,"

Here we have the unequivocal opinion of a man, who has scarcely
his fellow in the present generation, respecting a knowledge of the
ancient manners of mankind ; who says, that the tumuli, found in
all parts of the earth, behag solely to the age immediately suc-
ceeding Noah's flood ; which guatly favours our opinion, that this
country was settled as early as the other parts of the earth, which
are at as great a distance from Mount Ararat.

But what is the distance from Mount Ararat, by way of Bhering's
Strait, to the middle of the United States, which is the region of
the Missouri } It :;. something over ten thousand miles ; nearly half
the circuit of the globe. Here, in the region of the Western States,
we have, by the aid of Baron Humboldt, supposed the country of
Aztalan was situated ; where the great specimens of labour and an-
cient manners, are most abundant. If this was the way the first
people came into America, it is very clear, they could not have, in
the ordinary "way, of making a settlement here, and a settlement
there, have arrived soon enough, to show signs of as great antiquity^
in their works in America, as those of the same sort, found in the

fi04

AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES

north of Europe- SoF^e other way, therefore, vre are confident,
the first inhabitants must have pursued, so that their works in
America, might compare, in character and antiquity, with those of
other nations. From Ararat, in a westerly course, passing through
Europe, by way of the countries now situated in Russia in Europe,
to the Atlantic, the distance is scarcely five thousand miles ; not
half the distance the route by Bhering's Strait would have been.
And if the Egyptian tradition be true, respecting the island, Ata-
lantis, and the conjectures of naturalists about a union of Europe
and America on the north, there was nothing to hinder their settling
here, immediately after the dispersion.

It is supposed the first generations, immcdiatel;^ succeeding the
flood, were much more enlightened than many nations since that
period ; the reason is, they had not yet forgotten that which they
had learned of the manners of their antediluvian ancestry from No-
ah ; but as they spread and diverged asunder, what they had learn-
ed from him concerning the creation, architecture, and the cultuve of
the earth before the flood, they lost, and so retrograded to savagism.
It is true the family of Sheni, of whom were Abraham, Isaac
and Jacob, by the particular providence of God, retained, unadul-
terated, the traditional history of the creation, and of man, till the
time Moses embodied it in a booic, eight hundred and fifty-seven
years after the flood. But the rest of the nations were left, in this
respect, to mere recollections, which, as soon as they divided and
subdivided, became contradictory and monstrous.

But the authors of the great works found in the west, seem to
have retained the first ideas received from their fathers at the era
of the building of Babel, equally, if not superior, to many nations of
Europe, as they were in the year eight hundred after Christ. This
is consented to on all hands, and even contended for by the histO'
lian, Humboldt. In order to shew the reader the propriety of be-
lieving that a colony, very soon after the confusion of the language
of mankind, found their way to what is now called America, we

it**ti-_

AND DISCOVERIES IN THE WEST.

205

give the tradition of the Azteca nation, who once inhabited Aztalan,
the country of the western states, but were, at the era of the con-
quest, of South America, found inhabiting the vale of Mexico, be-
cause they had, as we have shown, been driven away by the irrup-
tions of the Tartarian Indians.

The tradition commences with an account of the deluge, as they
had preserved it in books made of the buffalo and deer skin, on
which account there is more certainty than if it had been preserved
by mere oral tradition, handed down from father to son.

They begin by painting, or as we would say, by telling us that
Noah, whom they call Tezpi, saved himself, with his wife, whom
they call Xochiquetzal, on a raft, or canoe. Is not this the ark ?
The raft or canoe rested on or at the foot of a mountain, which they
call Colhuacan ; is not this Ararat .'* The men bom after this deluge
were born dumb ; is not this the confusion of language at Babel .'
A dove from the top of a tree distributes languages to them in the
form of an olive leaf ; is not this the dove ol Noah, which returned
with that leaf in her mouth, as related in Genesis ? They say that
on this raft, beside Tezpi and his wife, were several children, and
animals, with grain, the preservation of which was of importance
to mankind ; is not this, in all, most exact coincidence with what
was saved in the ark with Noah, as stated in Genesis ?

When the great spirit, Tezcatlipoca, ordered the waters to with-
draw, Tezpi sent out from his raft a vulture, which never returned,
on account of the great quantities of dead carcasses which it found
to feed upon ; is not this the raven of Noah, which did not return
when it was sent out the second time, for the very reason here a»-
Mgned by the Mexicans } Tezpi sent other birds, one of which
was the humming bird ; this bird alone returned, holding in its
beak a branch covered with leaves ; is not this the dove ? Tezpi
seeing that fresh verdure now clothed the earth, quitted his raft
near the mountain Calhuacan ; is not this an allusion to Ararat of
Asia .' They say the tongues which the dove gave to maakind)

206

AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES

were infinitely varied ; which, when received, they immediately
dispersed.. But among them there were fifteen heads or chirfit of
families, which were permitted to' speak the same language, and
these were the Taltecks, the AcuMjucans, and Azteca nations, who
embodied themselve togctlier, whicl\ was very natural, and travel-
led, they knew not where, but at length arrived, or their posterity,
in the country of Aztalan.

Now, we consider the comparative perfection of the preservation
of this Bibie account, as an evidence that the people among whom
it was found, must have settled in this country at a very early pe-
riod of time after the flood, and that they did not wander any more,
but peopled the continent, cultivating it, building towns and cities,
after their manner ; the vestiges of which are so abundant to this
day ; and on this account, viz., their fixedness, their traditionary
history was not as liable to become lost, as it would have undoubt-
edly been, had they wandered as many other nations of the old
world have, among whom scarcely a vestige of tlieir origin is found
in credible tradition, compared with this.

Even the HindoD nations, who, in their origin, wandered also
from Ararat, have not, with all their boasted refinement and anti-
quity of origin, as clear an account of the first age of the earth, as these
Mexicons. But there is anothei additional reason for it; those countries
of the east have been frequently pverrun by savage hordes from the
vast wilds of northern Tartary ; while the ancient people of this
continent have rested in p3acc, till similar hordes found their way,
across, at Bhering's strait, in later years ; and, as is believed, an
account of the tradition, both of some of the western tribes, and (rf
the Azteca nations in Mexico, were driven from their ancient pos-
sessions. .

If then we believe that the first people who visited this country
did not come here by the way of Bhering's Strait, from Tartary,
how then is it that we find such evident marks, in the mounds and

■C!'?:

-W.:

AND DISCOVERIEi IN THE WEST.

207

ountiy
rtary,
s and

himuli of the west, of the presence of a Hindoo population, as well
as of other nations.

Let the tradition of the nations of Taltec and Azteca extraction
in Mexico, answer it. These say that a wonderful personage, whom
they name Quctzalcorttlf appeared among them, who was a whiter
and bearded man. This person assumed the dignity of actinp; a» o
priest and legislator, and became the chief of a religious sect, which,
like the Songasis and the Boudhists of Indostan, inflicted on them-
selves the most cruel penances. He introduced the custom of pier-
cing the lips and ears, and lacerating the rest of the body, with the
prickles of the agave leaves, and the thorns of the cactus, and of
putting reeds into the wounds, in order tliat the blood might be
seen to trickle more copiously. In all this, sayo Humboldt, we
seem to behold one of those Rishi, hermits of the Ganges, whose
pious austerity is celebrated in the books of the Hindoos.

Jewitt, a native of Boston, who lately d-jd at Hartford, Conn.,
was, some few years since, captured with the crew of the vessel in
which he had sailed, by the Nootka Indians, at Nootka Sound, on
the Pacific. In his narrative of his captivity and suiFerings, he
states, that those Indians had a religious custom, very similar to
those of the Hindoos, now in use, about the temple of Jugemaut,
in India ; which was, piercing their sides %vith long rods, and leap-
ing about while the rods were in the wound.

Respecting this white and bearded man, much is said in their
tradition, recorded in their books of skin, and among other things,
that after a long stay with them, he suddenly left them, promising
to return again, in a short time, to govern them, and renew their
happiness. This person, nam^d Tecpaltzin, resembles, very strong-
ly, in his promise to return again, the behaviour of Lycurgus, the
Spartan Lawgiver, who, on his departure from Lacedemon, bound
all the citizens under an oath, both for themselves and posterity,
that they would neither violate nor abolish his laws till his v-.uni

206

AMBRICAIf AlfTlQUITIES

\l ■

and soon after, in the isle of Crete, put himself to death, so that
his return became impossible.

It was the posterity of this man, whom the unhoppy Montazuma
thought he recognized in the soldiers of Cortez, the Spanish con-
queror of Mexico. " We know," said the unhappy monarch, in
his first interview with the Spanish general, "by our books, that
myself and those who inhabit this country, are not natives but stran-
gers, who came from a great distance. We know, also, that the
chief who led our ancestors hither," that is to Aztalan, " returned,
for a certain time, to his primitive country, and thence came back
to seek those who were here established," who after a while, " re-
turned again, alune. We always believed that his descendants
would one day come to take possession of this country. Since you
arrive from that region where the sun rises, I cannot doubt, but that
the king who sends you, is our natural master."

This chief who led the Azteck tribes first to Aztalan, is called
Tecpaltzin, and seems to be the person who the monarch says, re->
turned to his native land, where the sun rises ; which is a strong
allusion to the country of Babylon, or some part of the old world,
about the Mediterranean, which is east from Mexico, where the
sun rises, the very country where the chiefs of the fifteen tribes,
speaking the same language with himself, first received that lan-
guage from the bird, as before stated.

But Quetzalcoatl, an entire different character, appears among
them many ages after their settlement at Mexico, as a religious
teacher, who, Humboldt says, resembled the Boudhists or Bramhuns
of Indostan, and the hermits of the Ganges, whose pious austerities
are celebrated in their Pauranas, or books of theology.

The great antiquarian, Humboldt, says the Azteca tribes, with
their associate tribes of the same language, left their country, Azta-
lan, in the year of our Lord 544 ; and wandered to the south or
southwest, coming at last to the vale of Mexico. It would appear,
from this view, that as the nations of Aztalan, with their fellow na-

AND DISCOVERIES IPf THE WEST

aoo

}, with
Azta-
uth or
ppear,
w na-

tions, of Astalan, with their fellow nations, left vast works, and • vast
extent of country, apparently in a state of cultivation, with cities
and villages, more in number than three thousand, as Bracken-
ridge supposed, that they must, therefore, have settled here long
before the Christian era.

The peculiar doctrines of the Hindoos, we are informed, were
commenced to be taught in the east, among, what is now called the
Hindoo nations, by Zoroaster' about the time of Abraham, 1449
years before the time of Confucius, who was born 551 years before
Christ ; so that there was time for those doctrines of Confucius and
Zoroaster to take root in China, and to become popular, and also
to reach America, by Hindoo missionaries, and overspread these
regions even as early as the commencement of the Christian era.

Of Zoroaster it is said, that he predicted the coming of the Me-
siah in plain words ; and that the " \vise men" of the east, who
saw his star, were of his disciples, or sect. This doctrine he must
have learned of Shem, who, we have attempted to show, was Mel-
chisedek, or of Abraham, as it had been handed down from Adam,
the first of men. But the peculiar doctrine of Confucius, which
was the worship of fre, as well as that of the sun by Zoroaster, it
is likely, was derived from the account he found among the ar-
chives of the Jews, respecting the burning bush of Moses, which
had taken place more than a thousand years before the time of Con-
fucius. From this originated, in all probability, as taught by Con-
fucius, the burning of heroes, when dead, among many nations ;
and from this that of immolating widows, as among the Hindoos,
on the funeral pile, taught by the Brarahun missionaries, who, un-
doubtedly, visited America, as it joins on to Asia north, or as it
was then possibly called, Amaquernecan,&c., aad planted their be-
lief among these nations ; the tokens of which appear so abundantly
in the mounds and tumuli of the west.

And this Quetzalcotl, a celebrated minister of those opinions, ap-
pears to have been the first who announced the religion of the east

210

AMEUICAN ANTIQUITIES /

among the people of the west- There was also one other minister,
or Bramhum, w)"^ appeared among the Mozea tribes in South Ame-
rica, whom they name Dochica. This pcrsonase taught the wor-
ship of the Sun ; and if wc; were to judge, should pronounce him
a missionary of the Confucian system, a worshipper of fire, which
was the religion of the ancient Persians, of whose country Confu-
cius was a native. This also is evidence that the first inhabitants
of America came here at a period near the ilood, long before that
worship was known, or they would have had a knowledge of this
Persian worship, which was introduced by Bochica, among the Ame-
rican nations ; which, it seems, they had not, till taught by this
man.

Bochicha, it appears, became a legislator among those natlons,^
and changed the form of their government to a form, the construc-
tion of which, says Baron Humboldt, bears a strong analogy to the
governments of Japan and Thibet, on accouni of the pontiffs holding
in their hands both the secular and the spiritual reins. In Japan,
an island on the east of Asia, or rather many islands, which com-
pose the Japanese empire, is found a religious sect, stiled Smto,
who do not believe in the sanguinary rites of shedding either human
blood, or that of animals, to propitiate tlieir gods. They even ab-
stain from animal food, and detest bloodshed, and will not touch any
dead body. — Morse's Geography, pacje 522.

There is, in South America, a whole nation who eat nothing but
vegetables, and who hold in abhorrence those who feed on fiesh.
— Humboldt, page 200. Such a coincidence in the religion of na-
tions, can scarcely be supposed to exist unless they are of one
origin. " I am not ignorant, says Humboldt, p. 199, that the
Tchoutsks annually crossed Bhering's Straits to make war on the
inhabitants of the northwest coast of America."

Therefore, from what we have related above, and a few pages
back, it is clear, both from the tradition of the Aztecas, who lived
in the western regions, before they went to the south, and from the
faet that nations on the Asiatic side of Behring's Straits, having

AND DISCOVERIES^ IN THE \\i.%T.

211

pages
lived
the
aving

come annually over the Struits . ' tight with the ancient nations of
the northwest ; that we, in this [wny, l»ave given conclusive
and satisfactory reasons, why, in the western mounds and tumuli,
are found evident tokens of the presence of a Hindoo population, or
at least, of nations iniluenced hy the superstitions of that people,
through the means of missionaries of that east ; and that they did
not hring those opinions and ceremonies with tliem when they first
left Asia, after tlie confusion of the antediluvian language, as led
on hy their fifteen chiefs ; till, hy some means, and at some period,
they finally found this country ; not hy the way of Uhering's Straits,
but some nearer course, as wo have conjectured in other places in
this work.

Perhaps a few words on the supposed native country of Quet-
zalcotl, may be allowed ; who, as wc have stated, is reported to
have heen a ichile and bearded man, by the Mexican Aztecas. —
There is a vast range of islands on the northeast of Asia, in the Pa-
cific, situated not very far from Bhering's Straits, in latitude be-
tween 40 and 50 degrees north. The inhabitants of these islands,
when first discovered, were found to be far in advance in the arts
of civilization, and a knowledge of government, of their continental
neighbours — the Chinese and Tartars. The island of Jesso, in par-
ticular, which, of itself, is an empire, comparatively, being very
populous ; and are also highly polished in their manners.

The inhabitants may be denominated white ; their women esn
cially, whom Morse, in his Geography of the islands of Japan, Jesso
and others in that range, says expressly are white, fair and ruddy.
Humboldt says they are a bearded race of men, like Europeans.

It appears the ancient government of these islands, especially
that of Japan, which is neighbour to that of Jesso, was in the hands
of spiritual monarchs and pontiffs, till the 17th centui/. As this
was the form of government introduced by Quetzalcotlj'when he
first appeared among the Azteca tribes ; which we suppose was in.
the country of Aztalan, or western states, may it not be conjectured

213 AMERICAK ANTIQUITIES

that he was a native of some of those islands, who, in his wander-
ings, had found his way to the place now called Bhering's Straits ;
for, indeed, ancientlv there may ha;e been only an isthmus at that
place, and thence to this country, on errands of benevolence ; as it
is said in the tradition respecting him, that he preached peace
among men, and would not allow any other offering to the divinity
than the first fruits of the harvest ; which doctrine was in character
with the mild and amiable manners of the inhabitants of those
islands.

And that peculiar and striking record, found painted on the Mex-
ican skin-hooks, which describes Mm to have been a lohite and
bearded man, is our other reason for supposing him to have been a
native of some of these islands, and most probably Jesso, rather than
any other country.

The inhabitants of these islands originated from China, and with
them undoubtedly carried the Persian doctrines of the worship of
the Sun and fire, consequently, we find it taught to the people of
Aztalan, and Mexico, by such as visited them from China, or the
islands above named ; as it is clear the sun was not the original ob-
ject of adoration, in Mexico, but rather the power which made the
snn ; so Noah worshipped.

I;'

A DESCRIPTION OF THE CEREMONIES OF FIRE WORSHIP, AS
PRACTICED BY CERTAIN TRIBES ON THE ARKANSAS,

Mr. Ash witnessed an exhibition of fire worship, or the worship
of the sun, as performed by a whole tribe, at the village of Ozark,
near the mouth of Ozark, or Arkansas river, which empties into
the Mississippi, from the west.

He says, he arrived at the villagi at a very fortunate period ; at
a time when it was filled with Indians and surrounded with their
eamps. They amounted to about nine hundred, and were composed

AND DISCOVERIES IN THE WEST

218

^p, AS

)d; at

their

[posed

of the remnants of various nations, and were worhippers of the
sun. The second day after his arrival, happened to be the grand
festival among them. He had the most favourable opportunity of
witnessing their adoiatious, at three remarkable stages ; the sun's
rise, meridian, and setting.

The morning was propitious, the air serene, the horizon clear, the
weather calm. The nations divided into classes ; warriors, young
men and women, and married women with their children. Each
class stood in the form of a quadrant ; that each individual might
behold the rising luminary, and each class held up a particular of-
fering to the sun, the instant he rose in his glory.

The warriors presented their arras, the young men and women
offered ears of corn, and branches of trees, and married women
held up to his light their infant children. These acts were per-
formed in silence, till the object of adoration visibly rose ; when,
with one impulse, the nations burst into praise, and sung an hymn
in loud chorus.

The lines which were sung with repetitions, and marked by
pauses, were full of sublimity and judgement. Their meaning,
when interpreted, is as follows :

Great Spirit ! master of our lives.

Great Spirit ! master of things visible and invisible, and who
daily makes them visible and invisible.

Great Spirit ! master of every other spirit, good or; bad ; com-
mand the good to be favorable to us, and deter the bdd from the
commission of evil.

Oh Grand Spirit ! preserve the strength and courage of our war-
riors, and augment their number, that they may resist the oppres-
sion of the Spanish enemies, and recover the country, and the rights
of our fathers.

Oh Grand Spirit ! preserve the lives of such of our old men as
sre inclined to give counsel and example to the young.

214

AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES

Preserve our children, multiply their number, and let them be
the comfort and support of declining age.

Preserve our corn and our animals, and let not famine desolate
the land.

Protect our villages, guard our lives! Oh Great Spirit! when you
hide your light behind the western hills, protect us from the Span-
iards, who violate the night, and do evil which they dare not com-
mit in the presence of your beams.

Good Spirit ! make known to us your pleasure, by sending to us
the Spirit of Dreams. Let the Spirit of dreams proclaim your will
in the night, and we will perform it through the day ; and if it say
the time of some be closed, send them. Master of Life ! to the great
country of souls, where they may meet their fathers, i.:others, chil-
dren, and wives, and where you are pleased to shine upon them
with a bright, warm, and perpetual blaze !

Oh Grand, Oh Great Spirit ! hearken to the voice of nations,
hearken to all thy children, and remember us always, for we are
descended from thee.

Immediately after this address, the four quadrants formed one im-
mense circle, of several deep, and danced, and sung hymns de-
scriptive of the power of th3 sun, till near ten o'clock. They then
amused and refreshed themselves in the village and camp, but as-
sembled precisely at the hour of twelve, and formed a number of
circles, commenced the adoration of the meridian sun. The fol-
lowing is the lilcral translation of the midday address ;

Courage ! nations, courage ! the Great Spirit looks down upon us
from his highest seat, and by his lustre appears content with the
children of his own power and gn'atness.

Grand Spirit ! how great are his works, and how beautiful are
they ! How good is the Great Spirit. He rides high to behold us.
'Tis He who causes all things to augment, and to act. He even
now stands for a moment to hearken to us.

AND DiSCOVERiUS IN TUU YVEST.

215

[upon us
nth the

^ful are
lold us-
le even

Courage ! nations, courage ! The Great Spirit, now above our
heads, will make us vanquish our enemies ; he will cover our fields
with corn, and increase the animals of our woods.

He will see that the old be made happy, and that the young aug-
ment, lie will make the nations prosper, make them rejoice, and
make them put np their voice to him, while he rises and sets in
their land, or while his heat and light can thus gloriously shine out.

This was followed by dancing and hymns, which continued from
two to three hours, at the conclusion of which, dinners were serv-
ed, and eaten, with great demonstrations of mirth and hilarity. Mr.
Ash says, he dined in a circle of chiefs, on a barbecued hog, and
venison very well stewed, and was perfectly pleased with the repast.

The dinner, and repose after it, continued till the sun was on the
point of setting. On this being announced, by several who had
been on the watch, the nations assembled in haste, and formed
themselves into segments of circles, in the face of the sun, pre-
senting their ofl'erings during the time of his descent, and crying
aloud, " The nations must prosper ; tliey have been beheld by the
Great Spirit. What more can they w ant .' Is not that happiness
enough .'' Sec, he retires, great and content, after havhig viiited his
children with light and universal good.

Oh Grand Spirit ! sleep not long in the gloomy west, but return
and call your people once again to light and life, to light and life,
to light and life.

This was succeeded by dances and songs of praise, till eleven
o'clock at niglit ; at whicli hour they repaired to rest, some retiring
to the huts that formed their camp, and others to the vicinity of
fires made in the woods, and along the river's bank. Mr. Ash took
up his abode with a French settler in the village. He understood
that these Indians have four similiar festivals in the year ; one for
every season.

When the sun does not shine, or appear on the adoration day, au
immense fire is erected, around which the ceremonies are performed
with equal devotion and care."

aio

AMCBICAIf AlfTIQUITIES

ORIGIN OF FIRE WORSHIP.

For many ages the false religions of the east had remained sta-
tionary; but iu this period, Magianism received considerable
strength from the writings of Zoroaster. He was a native of Me-
dia. He pretended to a visit in heaven, where God spake to him
out of a fire. This fire he pretended to bring with him, on his re-
turn. It was considered holy ; the dwelling of God. The priests
were forever to keep it, and the people were to worship before it.
He caused fire temples every where to be erected, that storms and
tempests might not extinguish it. As he considered God as dwel-
ling in the fire, he made the sun to be his chief residence, and there-
fore, the primary object of worship. He abandoned the old system
of two gods, one good and the other evil, and taught the existence
of one Supreme, who had under him a good and evil angel ; the
immediate authors of good and evil. To ^ain reputation, he retir-
ed into a cave, and there lived a long time a recluse, and composed
a book called the Zend Avesta, which contains the liturgy to be
used in the fire temples, and the chief doctrines of his religion.—
His success, in propagating his system, was astonishingly great.
Almost all the eastern world, for a season, bowed before him. He
is said to have been slain, with eighty of his priests, by a Scythian
prince, whom he attempted to convert to his religion. It is mani-
fest that he derived his whole system of God's dwelling in the fire<
from the burning bush, out of which God spake to Moses. He was
\<'ell acquainted with the Jewish Scriptures. He gave the same
history of the creation and deluge that Moses had given, and insert-
ed a great part of the Psalms of David into his writings. The Me-
hestani, his followers, believed in the immortality of the soul, in
future rewards and punishments, and in the purification of the
body by fire, after which they would be united to the good. —
Marsh's Ecclesiastical History, page 78.

AND DISCOVERIES IN THE WEST.

217

From the same origin, that of the burning bush, it is altogether
probable, the worship of fire, for many ages, obtained over the
whole habitable earth ; and is still to be traced in the funeral piles
of the Hindoos, the beacon fires of the Scotch and Irish, the peri-
odical midniglit fires of the Mexicans, and the council fires of the
North American Indians, around which they dance.

A custom among the natives of New Mexico, as related by BaroQ
Humboldt, is exactly imitated by a practice found still in some
parts of Ireland, among the descendants of the ancient Irish-

At the commencement of the month of November, the great fire
of Samhuin is lit up, all the culinary fires ia the kingdom being
first extinguished, as it was deemed sacrilege to awaken the win-
ter's social flame, except by a spark snatched from this sacred fire ;
on which account, the month November is called, in the Irish lan-
guage, Samhuin.

To this day, the inferior Irish look upon bonfires, as sacred ; they
say their prayers, walking round them the young dream upon their
ashes, and the old steal away the fire to light up their domestic
hearths.

A FURTHER ACCOUNT OF WESTERN ANTIQUITIES.

" I have a brick," says Mr. Atwater, " now before me, over
which lay, when found, wood ashes, charcoal, and human bones,
burnt in a lar,c;e and hot fiie. And from what was found at Circle-
ville, in the mound already described, it would seem that females
were sometimes burnt with the raahs. I need not say, that this
custom was derived from Aila, us it is well known, that is the only
country to look to for the origin of such a custom. The Greek*
and Romans practised burning their illustrious dead ; it was prao-

haed by several other nations, but they all derived it from Asia.

218

AMERICAN AlfTIQUITIES

^^■i'A

f ,

Id Dr. Clark's volume of Travels from St. Petersburgh to the
Crimea, in the year 1800 ; and in his Travels in Russia, Tartary,
tnd Turkey, it is said, conical mounds of earth, or tumuli, occur
very frequently. The most remarkable may be seen between Ye-
zolbisky and Voldai, on both sides of the road, and they continue
over the whole country, from the latter place to Jedrova, and, final-
ly, over the whole Russian empire. The author of the travels
above alluded to, says, " There are few finer prospects than that of
Woronetz, viewed a few miles from the town on the road to Pautoo-
sky. Throughout the whole of this country, are seen, dispersed over
immense plains, mounds of earth, covered with fine turf, the sepul-
chres of the ancient wwld, common to almost every habitable
country."

This country, (Russia in Europe) from Petersburgh to the Cri-
mea, a seaport on the Black sea, the region over which Adam Clark
travelled, is in the very neighbourhood of Mount Ararat ; and from
the circumstance of the likeness existing between the mounds and
tumuli there, which Clark says are the ' tombs of the ancient world,'
t nd those of the same character, in North and South America, we
draw the conclusion, that they belong, nearly to one and the same
era of time ; viz : that immediately succeeding the confusion of
language, at the building of Babel.

We are told in the same volume of travels, that " the Cossacks
at Ekaterinedara, dug into some of these mounds, for the purpose
of making cellars, and found in them several ancient vases," earth-
en vessels, corresponding exactly with vases found in the western
mounds. Several have beeri found in our mounds, which resem-
ble one found in Scotland, described by Pennant. A vessel upp:-
rently made of clay and shells, resemhiirig in its form, a small keg,
with a spout on one side of it, formed like the ppout of a tea-kettle,
with a chain fastened to each end, made probably of copper, of
which Mr. \twater has not informed us. This chain answered as
ft bail or handle ; exactly on its top, or side, under the range of the

AND DISCOVEIIIES IN THE WEST.

219

purpose
," eartb-

cbain handle, is aiuopeuiiig of an exact circle, which ii the mouth
of this ancient tea-kettle. — See plat/;, letter A.

In the Russian tumuli are found the hones of various animals, as
well as those of men. in the western tumuli are found also, the
hones of men, as well as the teeth of bears, otters, and beavers.

Thus we learn, from the most authentic sources, that these an-
cient works existing in Europe, Asia, Africa, and America, are simi-
lar in their construction, in the materials with which they were rais-^
ed, and in the articles <bund in them.

Let those Who are constantly seeking for some argument to over-
throw the history of man by JMoses, consider this fact. Such per-
sons have affected to believe, that there were different stocks or races
of men, derived from different original fathers ; and in this way they
account for the appearance of human beings found on islands. But
this similarity of works, and in some respects, of language, and
very much in tradition, relating to the most ancient history of man,
indicates, nay more, establishes the fact, that all men sprting from
but one origin, one first man and woman, as Moses has written it
in the book of Genesis.

When Dr. Clark was travelling in Tartary, he found a place cal-
led Iverness, situated in the turn of a river ; he inquired the mean-
ing of the word, and found that Iverness, in their language, signi-
(ies in a turn. Whoever looks into Pennant's Tour, will see a plate,
representing a town in the turn of a river, in Scotland, called by
the same name, Iverness. The names of not a few of the rivers
in England, Scotland, and Wales, are the names also of rivers in
Tartary. " =" '• -

Some have supposed that all the great works of the west, of
which we have been treating, belong to our present race of Indians,
but from continual wars with each other, have driven themselves
from agricultural pursuits, and thinned away their own numbers, to
that degree, that the animals of the forest, and fishes of the rivers,
and wild fruit of the forests, was found to give them abundant sup-

290

AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES

port ; on which account, we found them mere savages, on first ac-
qaaintanee with them.

But this is answered by the Antiquarian Society, as follows.
" Have our present race of Indians ever buried their dead in mounds
by thousands ? Were they acquainted with the use of silver, or
copper? These metals curiously wrought, were found in one mound
in Marietta. Did the ancestors of our Indians burn the bodies of
distinguished chiefs, on funeral piles, and then raise a lofty tumu-
lus over the urn containing their ashes ? Did the Indians erect any
thing like the " walled towns," on Paint Creek ? Did they ever
dig such wells as are found at Marietta, Portsmouth, and above all,
such as those in Paint Creek ? Did they manufacture vessels from
calcareous breccia, equal to any now made in Italy r Did they ever
make and worship an idol, representing the three principal gods of
India, called the Triune Clip ? — Sec plate, Ictier E.

To this we respond, ihey never have : no, not even their tradi-
tions afford a glimpse of the exintence of such things, as forts, tu-
muli, roads, wells, mounds, walls enclosing, between one and two
hundred, and even five hundred acres af land ; some of them of
stone, and others of earth, twenty feet in thickness, and exceeding
high, are works requiiing tco much labour, for Indians ever to have
performed.

The skeletons found in our mounds never belonged to a people
like our Indians. The latter are a tall, and rather slender, straight
limbed people ; but those found in the barrov.s and tumuli, were
rarely over five feet high, though a few were six. Their foreheads
were low, cheek bones rather high, their faces were very short and
livide, their eyes large, and their chins very broad.

But Morse, the geographer, says, -:ge 629, the Tartars have
small eyes, and not of the oblique form, like the Monguls and Chi-
nese, neither of which seem to correspond with the large eyed race
tvbo built the mounds and tumuli of the west ; on which account,
yn the more freely look to a higher and more ancient origin for

>('iu£c>.^^j^^e&'^b. '■.^la.-.-f.Lj.t-r-Jt- J .uaiuilMti^'if /i& -.'

AND DISCOVERIES IN THE WEST.

9S1

these people. The Indians of North America, in features, com-
plexion, and form, and warlike habits, suit far hotter the Taitaric
character, than the skeletons found in the mounds of the west. The
limbs of our fossils are short and thick, resembling the Germans
more than any other Europeans with whom we are acquainted.

There is a tradition among the Germans, that, in ancient times,
some adventun^rs of their nations, discovered the region now called
America, and made settlements in it ; but that, subsequently, they
became amalgamated with the inhabitants whom they found alrea-
dy here ; whether of Indian, or of the more ancient race of men
before them, is not known.

We have conversed w' '. one German on this subject, who re-
lates that he was acquainted with a family of Germanic origin, who
once were in the possession of a Bible, printed about 200 years
since, in Germany. In this Bible was an account of the discovery
of America. We have taken considerable trouble to discover this
Bible in some branch of the family, but have not been able ; but
have found a part or branch of the family, who knew that such a
volume was once in the possession of their ancestors ; but where it
is, jt whether it is worn out, they knew not.

Germany is situated east of En<!land, and parts of it lie along the
coast of the Atlantic, or North Sea, in north latitude 63 degrees.
From whence voyfgsrs may have passed out between the north end
of Scotland and the south extremity of old Norway, by the Shetland
and Faroe islands, directly in the course of Iceland, Greenland and
the Labrador coast of America. This is as possible for the Ger-
mans to have performed, as for the Norwegians, Danes and Welch,
in the year of our Lord 1000, as shown in another part of this
work.

An idol found in a tumulus near Nashville, Tennessee, (see
Plate, letter B.) and now in the Museum of Mr. Clifford, of Lex-
ington, is made of clay, peculiar for its fineness. With this clay
was mixed a small portion of gypsum or plaster of Paris. This

■lA

232

AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES

idol was made to represent a man, in a state of nudity or nakedness,
whose arms had been cut oil' close to the body, and whose nose and
chin have been mutilated, with a fillet and cake upon its head. In
all these respects, as well as in the peculiar manner of plating the
hair, it is exactly such an idol as Professor Pallas found in his tra-
vels in the southern part of the Russian einpire.

A custom among the ancient Greeks, may have given rise to the
formation of such an idol ; which was copied by the Asiatic ances-
tors of the people who brought it with them from Asia to the woods
of America- This custom was : When a victim was destined t *
be sacrificed, the sacred fillet was bound upon the head of the
idol, the victim and the priest. The salted cake was placed upcii
the head of the victim only ; it was called " Mola," hence immolarey
or immolation, in later times was used to signify any kind of sa-
crifice.

On this idol, (see the Plate, letter B.) found nea: Nashville, the
sacred fillet and salted cake are represented on its head : it is sup-
posed the copy of this god was borroAved by the Greeks from the
Persians, from whence it might also have been copied, in later
times, by the Chinese nations, and from thence have been brought
to America.

" If the ancestors of our North American Indians, were from the
northern parts of Tartary, those who worshipped this idol came
from a country lying farther to the south, where the population was
more dense, and where the arts had made greater progress ; while
the Tartar of the north was a hunter and a savage, the Hindoo and
southern Tartar were well acquainted with most of the useful arts,"
who, at a later period than that of the first people who settled this
country, came, bringing along with them the ar/s, the idols^ and the
religious riles of Hindostan, China, and the Crimea."

The ancestors of our northern Indians were mere hunters ; while
the authors of our tumuli were shepherds and husbandmen. The
temples, altars and sacred places of the Hindoos were always situ-

AND DISCUVEUmS IN THE WEST.

2d3

while
The
situ-

ated on the bauks of some stream of water. The same observa-
tion applies to the temples, altars and sacred places of those who
erected our tumuli. " To the consecrated streams of Flindostan,
devotees assembled from all parts of the empire, to worship their
gods, and purify thimselves by bathing in the sacred waters. In
this country, their sacred places were uniformly on the banks of
some river ; and who knows but the Muskingum, the Scioto, the
Miami, the Ohio, the Cumberland, and the Mississippi, were once
deemed as sacred, and their banks as thickly settled, and as well
cultivated, as are now the Ganges, the Indus, and the Baurempoo-
ter." — American Ant. Rcscarcltes.

" Some years since a clay vessel was discovered, about twenty
feet below the surface, in alluvial earth, in digging a well near
Nashville, Tennessee, and was found standing on a rock, from
whence a spring of wtter issued. This vessel was taken to Peale'a
Museum, at Philadelphia. It contains about one gallon ; was cir-
cular in its shape, with a flat bottom, from which it rises in a some-
what globose form, terminating at the summit with the figure of a
female head ; the place \yhere the water was introduced., oi : .ured
out, was on one side of it, nearly at the top of the globose part.
The features of the face are Asiatic ; the crown of the head is co-
vered by a cap of a pyramidal figure, with a flattened circular sum-
mit, ending at the apex, with a round, button. The ears are large,
extending as low as the chin. The features resemble many of
those engraved for Raffle's History ; and the cap resembles Asiatic
head dresses." — Am. Ant. Researches.

Another idol was, a few years since, dug up in Natchez, on the
Mississippi, on a piece of ground where, according to tradition, long
before Europeans visited this country, stood an Indian temple. —
This idol is of stone, and is nineteen inches in height, nine inches
in width, and seven inches thick at the extremities. On its breast as
represented in the plate of the idol, were five marks, which were
evidently characters of some kind, resembling, as supposed, the

224

AMERICAN ANTIQUITIBfl

'\^m

l^.-:*

Persian ; probably expressing, in the language of its authorn, the
name and Kupposed attribulos of tlie sriisrlcss god of stone. — See
the Plate, letter G.

It has been supposed the present race of Iiuiiuns found their way
from Asia, by the means of Bhering''s Straits, and had passed from
thence along down the chain of northern lakes, till they finally
came to the Atlantic, south of Hudson's Kay, in latitude about bO
degrees north ; lony belbrc the people who and made the great
ivorks of the west. That tliis was the fact, is argued by those
who contend for its belief, from their having a greater knowledge
of the arts difluscd among tiiera, than the Indians.

It is, say they, among a dense population, that thcss improve-
ments are efiected ; it is here that necessity, tiie mother of invention,
prompts man to subject such animals to his dominion, as he disco-
vers most docile, and best calculated to as! i t him in his labours,
and to supply him with food and raiment. All this we believe ;
and for this very reason we hold the authors of our western works
were thus enlightened, before they came here, on the plains of Shi-
nar, amid the density of the population of the region immediately
round about the tower of Baliel. For it is evident, they never
would have undertaken to build a work so immense as that tower,
unless their numbers were considered equal to it ; and much less,
unless this was the fact, could they have in reality efiected it.

While the thousands and tens of thousands, who were employed
in that work, were thus engaged ; there must also, for their sup-
port, have been a large country, densely peopled, under contribu-
tion. In order to this, agriculture must have been resorted to ; in-
struments of metal were indispensable, botli in cleaning the earth
and in erecting the tower. All this was learned .rem Noah, who
had brought with himself and family, the knowlcf^ge of the ante-
diluvians ; of whom it is said expressly, in the book of Genesis,
that they both understood the use of iron and brass, as well as agri-

Arro DISCOVERIES IN THE WEST.

395

jloyed
it sup-
Itribu-

; in-
earth
I, %vho

I ante-

lesis,

I agri-

culture. Abel was a tiller of the ground ; Tubal Cain was a work*
^r in iron and brns3

It cannot, thtirforc, be po-slblc that Jfoah's immediate descend-
ants, to tlie third or tenth g;ncrat;oas, could have forgotten these
things. And such as wandered least after the disptrMon, after auch
OS may have rspokcn the same language, had found a place to settle
in, would most certainly retain this antediluvian information more
than such as wandered, as the Tartars always have done.

One of the arts known to the builJera of Babel, was that of brick
making ; this art was alsD known to the paople who built the
works in the west. Thi^ knowledg- of copper was known to the
'people of the plains of Shinar, for Noah must hava communicated
it, as he lived an hundred and iifty years among them after tifee
flood ; for copper was known to the antediluvians. Copper was
also known to th3 authors of ihi. western monuments. Iron was
known to the antediluvians ; it was also known to the ancients of
the west ; however, it is evident that very littJe iron was among
them, as very few instances of its discovery in their works have
occurred ; and for this very reason we draw a conclusion that they
came to this country very soon after the dispersion, and brought
with them such few articles of iron as hava been found in their
works in an oxydizod state.

Copper ore is very abundant, in maiiy places of the west ; and
therefore, as they had a knowledge cf it, when they first came
here they knew how to work it, and form it into tools and orna-
ents. This is the reason why so many articles of this metal are
found in their works ; and even if they had a knowledge of iron
ore, and knew how to v/ork it, all articles aiade of it must have be-
come oxydized, as appears from what few specimens have been
found, while those of copper are more imperishable. Gold orna-
ments are said to have bei;n found in several tumuli. Silver, very
well plated on copper, has been found in several mouuus, besides

those at Circleville and Marietta. An ornament of copper has been

22«

AMERICAIf AIVTIQUITIEC

[ ; >i: I <

found in a stone mound near Cbillicothe ; it was a bracelet for the
ancle or vi'rist.

The ancients of Asia, irnmediately after (he dispersion, were ac-
quainted with ornaments made of the aciIous metals ; for in the fa*
mily of Terah, who was the father of Abraham and Nahor, we find
these ornaments in use for tbe beautifying of females. See the ser-
vant of Abraham, at the well of Eethuel, in the country of " Ur of
the Chaldeans," or Mesopotamia, which is not very far from the
place where Eabel stood — putirg a jewel of gold upon the face or
forehead of Rebecca, weighing half a shekel, and two bracelets for
her wrists, or arms. Bracelets fot the same use have been found
in the west ; all of which circumstances go to establish the ac-
quaintance of those who made those ornaments of silver and copper
found in the mounds of the west, equal with thosie of Ur in Chaldea-
The families of Peleg, lieu, Serug, and Nahor, who were the im-
mediate progenitors of Abraham, lived at an era but little after the
flood ; and yet we find tliem in the possession of ornaments of this
kind ; from which we conciude a knowledg',; both of tbe metals,
and how to make ornaments, as above described, was brought by
Noah and his family from beyond the f.ooJ.

A knowledge, therefore, of these things must have gone with
the diflerent people who spread themselves over the whole earth,
and were retained by those who wandered least, as we suppose was
the fact in relation to the frst settlers of this continent, in the re-
gions of the west. It is believed by some that the common Indian
nations came/ri7 to this country to the northwest, and following
the northern lakes, found their way to the Atlantic ; while at a
later period, they suppose, the more enlightened nations of China
came tho same way, and followed along down the shore of the Pa-
cific, till they found a mild climate, along in latitude fifty, forty,
and thirty.

But this is not possible : First, because the Indians were found
by U8 as numerous on the shores of the Pacific, as on the shores of

AND DISCOVERIES IN THE WEST.

387

found
Ires of

the Atlantic, and in all the vast country between ; dwelling where
n people, still more ancient than they, as we believe, once lived,
but had forsaken tht.'ir finld?, their h.oiises, their temples, mounds,
forts, and tumuil, and either were nearly ext-'irminated in wars with
them, or wandered to the south ; the small residue, the descend-
ants of whom are found in several of the nations inhabiting South
America, as \\c have shown heretofore.

Second ; it would seem impossible for the people, or nations, who
built the vast works of the west, and are evidently of the shepherd
or agricultural cast, to have crossed the strait, and fought their way
through hostile, opposing and warlike nations, till they had esta-
blished themselves in their very midst. It is, therefore, much more
agreeable to reason, and also to the traditions, both of the Azteca
nations in Mexico and the Wyandot tribes in the west, to believe
that our Indians came on to the continent at a much later period
than those who are the authors of the works we have described,
and that they had many wars with them, till, at length, they slowly
moved to the south, abandonii g for ever their country, to wander,
they knew not whither, as we have also shown. This conclusion
is not mere fancy, for it is a matter of historic record, that the
" Tchautskis' annually crossed Bhering's Straits to make war on the
inhabitants of the northwest coast of America." — Humboldt- vol. 1,
page 199.

The reader will recollect our descripioa of the walled towns of
the west, surrounded with deep ditches ; as found on Paint Creek,
Little Miami, Circleville, Marietta, Cincinnati, Portsmouth, and in
Perry county, Ohio. There is a town, (see Morse's Geography,
vol. 2, p. C31.) situated in the regions of Mount Ararat, in the
country called Independent Tartary, by the name of Khiva, which
stands on a rising ground, like the town in Perry county. It is sur-
rounded with a high wall of earth, very thick, and much higher
than the houses within. It has three gateways ; there are turrets
at small distances, and a broad deep ditch ; the town is large, and

228

AMERICAN A:«TIQUITIES

occupies a considerable space, and commands a beautiful prospect
of the distant plains, which the industry of the inhabitants has ren-
dered very fertile ; but the houses of this town are very low, and
mostly built of mud, and the icofs I'at, ar-d covered with earth-
This town, which so exactly corresponds with the ruins of the west,
is in that part of Asia, east of Ararat, where the primitive inhabi-
tants, immediately after the deluge, made the f.rst settlements.
And from this coincidence, we are led to a belief, drawn from this
and abundant other evidence, that the antiquity of the one is equal
■with that of the other ; that its constructicn is indeed of the primi-
tive form ; which strengthens our opinion, that the first inhabitants
of America, came here with the very ideas relative to the construc-
tion and security of towns and fortifications, that dictated the build-
ing of Khiva. It is allowed, on all hands, that the people of Asia
are wholly of the primitive stamp ; their antiquities, therefore, are
of the same character.

" Proofs of primitive times," says Mr. Atwater, " are seen io
their manners and customs, in their modes of burial and worship,
and in their wells, which resemble those of the patriarchal ages.
Here the reader has only to recollect the one at Marietta, those at
Portsmouth, on Paint Creek, at Cincinnati, and compare them with
those described in Genesis. Jacob rollcl the stone from thf. well's
mouth," that is, from the fountain at the bottom. "Rachfl de-
scended with her pitcher, and brought up water for her future hus-
band, and for the fiocks of her father."

" Before men were acquainted with letters, they raised monu-
ments of unwrought fragments of roclcs, for the purpose of perpetu-
ating the memory of events. Such we find raised in America. In
the potriarchal ages, men were in the habit of burying their dead
'<m high mountains and hills, with mounds or tumuli raised over
them; such we find in America." Mr. Atwater asks the question,
"^ did they not come here as early as the days of Lot and Abraham ?"
^ho lived) or were born, eo;»elhing more than two thousand years

AND DISCOVGIfUCS IN THE W&ST.

229

before Christ, which would be only about three hundred and forty
years after the flood, and about one hundred and fifty years after
the confusion of language at Babel.

If so, they were acquainted more or less with a knowledge of
the true God, the creation of the world, with the circumstance of
the building of the ark, the fact of the dtlnge, the number of per-
6ons saved in the ark, or, as they say, on m laft ; and also, with cir-
aumstances which transpired after the flood, as mentioned in Scrip-
ture ; all of which are plainly alluded to in Mexican tradition.

But other nations than the progenitors of the Mexicans, have al-
so found this country, at other eras, one after another, as accident
or design may have determined.

DISCOVERY OF AMERICA BY THE NORWEGIANS AND WELCH
BEFORE THE TIME OF COLUMBUS.

Imonu-
^rpetu-
pa. In
|r dead
Id over
sftion,
lam?"
years

This is contended by Lord Monboddo, a native of Scotland, and
A philosophical and metaphysical writer of the 17th century. He
wrote a dissertation on the origin and progress of language, in which
be is sure he has found among the nations of America, who are of
the aboriginal class, the ancient Celtic or Gaelic dialect. He goes
further, and supposes that all the nations of America, from the La-
brador Esquimaux, to the natives of Florida, ire derived of Celtic
origin : but to this we cannot subscribe, as that many nations of the
common Indians are evidently of Tartaric or Scythian origin ; the
descendants of the race of Shem, and not of Japheth, who was a
white man.

Monboddo, however, argues, in support of his opinion, from a
number of curious circumstances. He says that when in France,
he was acquainted with a French Jesuit, a man of great and cele-
brated erudition, who related to him, that a companion of his, who
v/M engaged in the missionary service, with himself, among the

230

AMERICAIf ANTIQVITIEI

northern Indians in America, and having lost hk way in the woods,
travelled on, he knevir not whither, till he found himself among the
Esquimaux Indians.

Here he staid long enough to learn their langunge ; after which
he returned to Quebec, in Canada ; and happening one day to be
walking along the docks of that city, observed among the crew of
a ship that was moored there, a sailor who was a native of the
country at the foot of the Pyrenian mountain, on the side of France.

On hearing this man speak, who was a Baskque, from his know-
ledge of the Esquimaux, obtained, as above related, he understood
what he said, so that they conversed together awhile. Now the
language which the Basques speak. Lord Monboddo informs ,us, is
absolutely a dialect of the ancient Celtic, and differs but little from
the language of the ancient Highlanders of Scotland.

This opinion is corroborated by a fact, noticed in a Scotch pu bli-
cation, respecting an Esquimaux Indian, who accompanied one of
the English expeditions toward the North Pole, with the view to
reach it if possible ; or to find a passage from the North Atlantic
through to the North Pacific, by the ^^ ay of Bhering's Straits ; but
did not succeed on account of the ice.

On board of this vessel, was a Scotch Highlander, a native of
the island of Mull, one of the Hebrides ; who, in a few days time,
was enabled to converse fluently v.ith the Esquimaux ; which would
seem to be proof absolute, of the common origin, both of the Es-
quimaux language, and that of the Basque, which is the ancient
Scotch or Celtic.

Also the same author states, that the Celtic language, was spo-
ken by many of the tribes of Florida, which is situated at the north
end of the Gulf of Mexico ; and that he was well acquainted with
a gentleman, from the highlands of Scotland, who was several years
in Florida, in a public character, and who stated that many of the
tribes with whom he had become acquainted, had the greatest af-
finity with the Celtic in their language : which appeared particu-

AND DISCOVERIES m THE WEST

231

larly, both in the form of speech, and manner of reciprocating the
common salutation, of " how do you do."

But what is still more remarkable, is their war song ; he disco-
vered, not only the sentiments, but several lines, the very same
words as used in Ossian's celebrated majestic poem of the wars of
his ancestors, who flourished about thirteen hundred years ago-
The Indian names of several of the streams, brooks, mountains and
rocks, of Florida, are also the same which are given to similar ob-
jects, in the highlands of Scotland.

This celebrated metaphysician, was a firm believer in the an-
ciently reported account, of America's having been visited by a co-
lony from Wales, long previous to the discovery of Columbus ; and
says the fact is recorded by several Welch Irstorians, which cannot
be contested. It is reported by travellers in the west; that on the
Red river, which has its origin north of Spanish Texas, but emp-
ties into the Mississippi, running through Louisiana ; that on this
river, very far to the south-west, a tribe of Indians has been found,
whose manners in several respects, resemble the Welch, especially
in their marriage and funeral ceremonies. They call themselves
the McCedus tribe, which having the Mc or Mack attached to their
name, points evidently to a European origin, of the Celtic description.
It is further reported by travellers, that north-west from the head
waters of the Red river, which would be in the region called the
great American desert, Indians have come down to the white set-
tlements, some thirty or forty years since, who spoke the Welch
language quite int'.^lligibly. These Indians, bearing such strong
evidence of Welch extraction, may possibly be descended from the
Inst colony from Wales, an account of which is given in Powel's
History of Wales in the 12th century ; which relates that Prince
Madoc, weary of contending with a brother for his father's crown,
left his country, and sailed from Wales a due west course, which, if
they came to land at all must have been Newfoundland, which lies
opposite the mouth of the river St. Lawrence, exactly in latitude

ib -t

It I m

ita^.r

'K ''■;?.

'\' '^^

233

AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES

60 degrees riorth, which is contiguous to this continent. But the
account relates that he discovered an unkno\vn country ; that he re-
turned to Wales, and give sucli a favorable history of his discove-
ries and of the goodness of the land, that many ^vere induced to
embark with him on his second voyage, which he accomplished.
He returned again to Wales, but after a while sailed a third time
to his newly discovered country, but has never since been heard of.

The same account as above, is here again related, but with other
circumstances attencl'ng. " In the year 1170," which was as be-
fore stated, in the 12tli century," Madoc, son of Owen Groynwedk,
Prince of Wales, dissatisfied with the situation of affairs at homej
left his country, as related by the Welch historian, in quest of some
new place to settle. And leaving Ireland to the north, proceeded
west, till he discovered a fertile country ; where leaving a colony,
he returned, and persuading many of his countrymen to join him,
put to sea with ten ships, and was never more heard of.

We are not in the belief that all the tribes of the west, who have
the name of Indian, are indeed such. There are many tribes which
have been discovered in the western region, as on the Red River,
in the great American desert, west of the head waters of that river,
and in wilds west of the Rocky mountains ; who are evidently not
of the Tartar stock, whose complexion, language, and bearded faces,
show them to be of other descent.

The Indians who were living on the river Taunton, in Massa-
chusetts, when the whites first settled there, had a tradition that
certain strangers once sailed up Asoonset, or Taunton river, in
wooden houses, and conquered the red men. This tradition does
not go to lessen the probability of the expedition of the Welch fleet,
as above related, but greatly to strengthen it.

This account of the Welch expedition, has several times drawn
the attention of the world ; but as no vestiges of them has been
found, it was concluded, perhaps too rashly, to be a fable ; or at
least, that no remains of the colony exist. Of late years, however,

AND DISCOVERIES IN THE WEST.

233

western settlers have received frequent accounts of a nation inhabit-
ing at a great distance up the Missouri, in manners and appearance
< resembling the other Indians, but speaking Welch, and retaining
some ceremonies of the Christian worship ; and, at length, says Im-
lay in his work entitled luilc/'s America, this is universally be-
leived to be a fact.

iiear the falls of Ohio, six brass ornaments, such as soldiers usu-
ally wear in front of their belts, was dug up, attached to six skele-
letons. They were cast metal, and on one of them which was
brought to Cincinnati, was represented a mermaid^ playing upon a
harp, which was the ancient coat of arras for the principality of
Wales. The tradition from the eldest Indians, is, that it was at the
falls of Ohio, that the first white people were cut off by the natives.
It is well authenticated that upwards of thirty years ago, Indians
came to Kaskaskia, in the territory, now the state of Illinois, who

spoke the Welch dialect, and were perfectly understood by two

f
Welchmen, then there, who conversed with them. From informa-
tion to be relied on, tomb stones, and other monuments of the ex-
istence of such a people, have been found, with the "ear engraved,
corresponding very near to that given above, being in the 12th
century. — Meth. Magazine for 1820, Vol. S^ page 182.

But long before this lost colony left Wales, Lord Monboddo says,
America was visited by some Norwegians, from Greenland, who, it
was well known, were the discoverers of Greenland, in 964, A. D.
and on that very account, it might be safely supposed, they would
push their discoveries still farther west.

Accordingly, his Lurdship says, the Norwegians having made a
settlement in Greenland, in the end of the tenth century, some adven-
turers from thence about that time, which would be about eight
hundred years ago, discovered, or rather, visited. North America ;
for this writer supposes the continent to have been known to the
people of the old world, as early as the time of the siege of Troy ;

which was about eleven hundred years before Christ ; about the

234

AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES

time of Solomon, or rather, an hundred years before the time of
that king.

This is a point at which the publication of this work aims ; viz :
to establish that this part of the earth was settled as soon after the
flood, as any other country as far from Ararat, and perhaps sooner.

Lord Monboddo says, these Greenland Norwegian adventurers,
made a settlement about the mouth of the River St. Lawrence ;
where having found wild grapes, a German among them named the
country Vinland, as is related in the history of this discovery. Mr
Irving, in his late life of Columbus, says, that as the Norwegians
had never seen the grape vine, did not know what it was, but there
being a German with them, who was acquainted with the grape of
his o\vn native country, told them its name, from which they na-
med it as above.

This account is recorded in the Annals of Iceland ; which was
peopled from Norway, which is the North of Europe ; and from
Iceland the cokny came, that settled in Greenland, from thence to
the mouth of the River St. Lawrence, about the year 1000 A. D.
If such was the fact, there is nothing more natural, than that they
may have pursued up that river, even to the lakes, and have set-
tled .around them, and on the islands in the St. Lawrence. There
is an island in that river, called Chimney Island, so named, on ac-
count of the discovery of ancient cellars and fire places, evidently
more ancient than the first acquaintance of the French with that
country, which we suppose to have been made by these Norwegians.

This Scottish author, in his admired work on the origin and pro-
gress of language, as well as in other works of his, relates a vast
number of curious and interesting circumstances, which relate to
our subject ; one of the most remarkable, is an account of an In-
dian mummy, discovered in Florida, wrapped up in a cloth manu-
factured from the bark of trees, and adorned with hieroglyphicat
characters, precisely the same, with characters engraved on a

AND UlSCOVLRIES IN ""E WEST.

235

on a

metal plate, found in an ancient burying ground, in one of the He-
bride islands, north of Scotland.

This country, (Scotland) boasts of the most ancient Hue of kings
that have reigned in Europe, liaving settled in Scotland, more than
three hundred years before the Christian era, in the time of Alex-
ander the Great. They are of Cimbrick Chersonese origin, who
are derived probably, from some wandering tribe, descended from
Japheth, the white son of Noah, whose independence, the Greeks
nor Romans were ever able, in their widespread conquests, to wrest
from them ; this Avas reserved for the English to accouiplish, which
was done in 1603.

These islands, therefore, north and west of Scotland, became
peopled by their descendants at an early day. Their hardiness of
constitution, perseverance of character, and adventuring disposition,
favours, in the strongest sense, the accounts as recorded in their na-
tional documents. And a reason why those documents have not
come to light sooner, is, because they were penned some hundred
years before the invention of printing ; and laid up in the cabinet
of some Norwegian chief, at a time when but few could read at all,
jind the means of information did not exist, to be compared with
the facilities of the present time : therefore, it has been reserved to
this late era, to unravel the mysteries of antiquity.

In the work entitled " Irving's life of Columbus," is an account
of the discovery of this continent, by those northern islanders, giyen
in a more circumstantial and detailed manner. See Appendix to
the 3d volume, page 292, as follows.

" The most plausible," or credible " account" respecting those
discoveries, " is given by Snoro Sturleson, or Sturloins, in his Saga,
or Chronicle of king Olaus. According to this writer, one Biorn,
of Iceland, voyaging to Greenland, in search of his father, (torn
whom he had been separated by a storm, was driven by tempestu-
ous weather, far to the south-west, until he came in sight of a low
country, covered with woods, with an island in its vicinity. The

336

iMtRICAN ANTIUL'ITUuS

'W'.

weather becoming favoiirable he turned to the north-east without
landing, and arrived safe at Greenland. His account of the coun-
try he had seen, it is said, excited the enterprise of Lief, son of
Eric Rauda, (or red head) the first settler of Greenland. A ves-
sel was fitted out, and I^ief and Biorn departed together in quest of
this unknown land. They found a rocky and sterile island, to
which they gave the name of Helleland ; also a low, sandy coun-
try, covered with wood, to which they gave the name of Markland ;
and two days afterwards, they observed a continuance of the coast,
with an island to the north of it. This last they described as fer-
tile, well wooded, producing agreeable fruits, and particularly
grapes ; a fruit with which they were not acquainted ; but on being
informed by one of their companions, a German, of its qualities
and name, they called the country from it, Vinland.

They ascended a river well stored with fish, particularly salmon,
and came to a lake from which the river took its origin, where they
passed the winter."

It is very probable this river was the St. Lawrence, as it abound-
ed with Salmon, and was the outlet of a lake, which, it is likely,
was Ontario ; there is no other river capable of being navigated,
very far from its mouth, with a sea vessel, and which comes from a
lake, and empties into the sea, on that side of the coast, but the St.
I^awrence.

The climate appeared to them mild and pleasant, in comparison,
being accustomed to the more rigorous seasons of the north ; on the
shortest day in the winter, the sun was but eight hours above the
horizon ; hence it has been concluded, that the country was about
the 49th degree of north latitude, and was either Newfoundland, or
some part of the coast of North America, about the Gulf of St.
Lawrence. It is said in tho.se Chronicles of Sturloins, that the re-
latives of Lief made several voyages to Vinland ; that they traded
with the natives for peltry and furs; and that in 1121, a bishop,
named Eric, went from Greenland to Vinland, to convert the inha-
bitants to Christianity.

AND RrsrOVERIES IN THE WEST.

237

A knowledge of (.'liristianity amonjj; the savnge Briton, Caledo-
nians and the Welch, was introduced, as is snpjjosed, by St. Paul,
or some of his disciples, as early as the year of our Lord 63, more
than seventeen hundred years ago.

" From this time, about 1121, we know nothing of Vinland, says
Forester, in liis book of northern voyages, 3d vol. 2d chap, page,
30, as quoted by Irving. There is every appearance that the tribe,
which still exists in the interior of Newfoundland, and who are so
diflerent from the other savages of North America both in their
appearance and mode of living, and always in a state of warfare
with the Indians of the northern coast, are descendants of the an-
r-ient Normans, Scandinavians, or Danes."

In the chronicles of these northern nations, there is also an ac-
count of the voyage of four boat crews, in the year 1354, which
corroborates th foregoing relations. This little squadron of fishing
boats, " being overtaken by a mighty tempest, were driven about
the sea for many days, until a boat, containing seven persons, was
cast upon an island, called Estotiland, about one thousand miles
from Friesland. They were taken by the inhabitants and carried
to a fair and populous city, where the king sent for many interpre-
ters, to converse with them, but none that they could understand,
until a man was found who likewise had been cast upon that coast
some time before. They remained several days upon the island,
which was rich and fruitful. The inhabitants were intelligent and
acquainted with the mechanical arts of Europe ; they cultivated
grain, made beer, and Hved in houses built of stone.

There were Latin books in the king's library, though the inha-
bitants had no knowledge of that language ;" and in manuscript,
as the art of printing was not yet discovered. They had many towns
and castles, and carried on a trade with Greenland, for pitch, sul-
phur and peltry. Though much given to navigation, they were
ignorant of the use of the compass, and finding the Frieslanders
acquainted with it, held them in great esteem ; and the king sent

2.'18

A..Mr,Rll\>f ANTIQI ITIKS

fhnm, \\i{\\ Iwelvf harks, to visit a country to the fjouth, ralh'd
Drogco." Orogco is, most likely, a Norman name ; as we lind
Drogo was a leader of the Normans against the ancient baronies of
Italy, about the year of our Lord 7S7. Drogeo is supposed to have
been the continent of America. This voyage of the fishing squa-
don, it appears, was in 1354, more than fifty years after the disco-
very of the magnetic needle, which was in 130!).

" They had nearly perished in this storm, but were oast away
upon the coast of Drogeo. They found the people cannibals and
were on the point of being killed and devoured, (these were our
Indians,) but wen; .spared on account of their great skill in fishing
Drogeo they found to be a country of vast extent, or rather a new
li'orld ; that the inhabitants were naked and barbarous ; but that
far to the southwest there was a more civilized region and tempe-
rate climate, wlitic the inhabitants had a knowledge of gold and
silver, lived in cities, erected splendid temples to idols, and sacri-
ficed human victims to them." This is a true picture of the Mex-
icans, as found by Cortcz, the Spanish conqueror of Mexico.

♦' After the fisherman," who relates this account, " had resided
many years on the continent of Drogeo, during which time he had
passed from the service of one chieftain to another, and tra^-ersed
various parts of it, certain boats of Estotiland, (now supposed to be
Newfoundland,) arrived on the coast of Drogeo. The fisherman
got on board of them, and acted as interpreter,[|nnd followed the
trade between the main land of Drogeo and the island Estotiland, for
some time, until he became very rich ; then he fitted out a bark
of his own, and with the assistance of some of the people of the isl-
and, made his way back across the intervening distance between
Drogeo and bis native country, Friesland, in Germany.

The account he gave of this country, determined Zichmni, the
prince of Friesland, to send an expedition tither ; and Antonio
Zeno, a Venitian, was to command it. Just before starting, the
fisherman, who was to have acted as pilot ; 3te<l, but certain mari-

ii>U UISCOVERIKii I.N THE nKST.

239

Ini, the

Lntonio

k, the

mari-

ners who accoinpauiocl hitn fruin Estutiland, were taken in his
phic*'. The expedition sailed under command of Zichrani ; the
Venitian Zeno merely accompanied it. It was unsuccessful. Af-
ter haviuT; discovered an island, called Icario, where they met with
a rough reception from the inhabitants, and were obliged to with-
draw, the ships were driven by storm to Greenland.

No record remains of any further prosecution of the enterprise.
Tiie countries mentioned in the account written by this Zeno, were
laid down on a map originally on wood. The island Estotiland,
has been supposed by M. Malte-Urun, to be Newfoundland ; its
partially civilized inhabitants, the descendants of the Scandinavian
colonists of Vinland, and the Latin books in manuscript, found in
the kin][»\s library, belonged to the remains of the library of the
Greenland bishop, who emigrated thither in 1121.

Drogeo, according to tlic same cojijecture, was Nova Scotia and
New-England; the civilized people to the southwest, who sacrific-
ed human beinys in rich temples, he supposes to have been tlie
]\[exicans, or some ancient nations of Florida or Louisiana..

\ distinguished writer of Copenhagen, it is said, was, not long
since, engaged in the composition of a work on the early voyages
of discovery of this continent, as undertaken by the inhabitants of
the north of Europe, more than eight hundred and thirty years ago.
He has in his hands, genuine ancient documents, the examination
of which leads to curious and surprising results. They furnish va-
rious and unquestionable evidence, not only that the coast of North
America was discovered soon after the discovery of Greeland by
northern explorers, a part of whom remained there ; and that it was
again visited in the eleventh, twelfth and thirteenth centuries, but
also that Christianity was introduced among the Lidians of Ame-
rica. The documents of this writer furnish even a map, cut in
wood, of the northern coast of America, and also an account of the
sea coast south as far down as to the Carolinas, and that a principal
station of the.se adventurers was at the mouth of the river St. Law-
rence,

240

AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES

He says it was in the yeai 985, that America was first discover-
ed by Baiske Her Juefser, but that he did not land ; and that in the
year 1000, the coast was visited by a man named Lief, a son of
Eric the Redf who colonised Greenland. — Cabinet of Lit. vol. 3.

From the discoveries of Baron Humboldt, in South America, it
would appear that the continent of America has indeed been not on-
ly visited by the northern nations of Europe, at a very early day,
but also to have settled on it, and to have become the head of tribes,
nations and kingdoms, as follows : In the kingdom of Guatimala,
South America, the descendants of the original inhabitants pre-
serve traditions which go back to the epoch of a great deluge, after
which their ancestors, led by a chief called Votan, had come from
a country lying toward the north. As late as in the sixteenth cen-
tury, in a village in Guatimala, there were of the natives who boast-
ed their descent from the family of Votan, or Vodan. " They who
have studied the history of the Scandinavian (old Norway) nations,
says Humboldt, in the heroic times, must be struck at finding in
Mexico a name which recalls that of Vodan or Odin, who reigned
among the Scythians, and whose race, according to the very re-
markable assertion of Bede, (an ecclesiastical historian of the 17th
century,) gave kings to a great number of nations." This wonder-
fully corroborates the opinion of America's having been settled in
several parts by Europeans, at a period more ancient than even the
history of Europe can boast.

The Shawanese tribe of Indians, who now live in Ohio, once
lived on the Suaney river, in West Florida, near the shores of the
southwest end of the gulf of Mexico ; among these Indians, says
Mr. Atwater, there is a tndition, that Florida had once been inha-
bited by white people, who had the use of iron tools. Their oldest
Indians say, when children, they had often heard it spoken of by
the old people of the tribe, that anciently stumps of trees, covered
with earth, were frequently found, which had,been cut down by
edged tools — Am. Ant. Re. p. 273. And that whoever they were,

AND DISCOVERIES IN THE WEST.

241

p, says

inha-

oldest

of by

jvered

|wn by
were,

or from whatever country they may have originated, the account,
as given by Morse, the geographer, of the subterranean wall found
in North CaroHna, goes very far to show, they had a knowledge of
iron ore ; and consequently knew how to work it, or they could
not have had iron tools, as the Shawanese Indians relate.

Morse's account is as follows : " In Rowan county, about 'ten
miles southwest from Salsbury, two hundred from the sea, and se-
venty from the mountains which run across the western end of the
state, is found a remarkable subterraneous wall. It stands on une-
ven ground, near a small brook. The stones of the wall are all o
one kind, and contrJn iron ore. They are of various sizes, bu ge-
nerally weighing about four pounds. All are of a long figure, com-
monly seven inches in length, sometimes twelve. The ends of the
stones form the sides of the wall ; some of these ends are square,
others nearly of the form of a parallelogram, triangle, rhombus or
rhomboides ; but most of them are irregular. Some preserve their
dimensions through the whole length, others terminate like a wedge.
The alternate position of great and little ends, aids in keeping the
work square. The surface of some is plain, of some concave, of
others convex. The concave stone is furnished with »me convex,
so as to suit each other. Where the stones are not firm, or shelly,
they are curiously Avedged in with others The most irregular are
thrown into the middle of the wall. Every stone is covered with
cement, which, next to the stone, has the appearance of iron rnst.
Where it is thin, the rust has penetrated through. Sometimes the
cement is an inch thick, and where wet, has the fine, soft, oily
feeling of putty. The thickness of the wall is uniformly twenty-
two inches, the length discovered is rising of eighteen rods, and the
height twelve or fourteen feet. Botli sides of this is plastered with
the substance in which the stones are laid. The top of the wall
appears to ruil nearly parallel with the top of the ground, being ge-
nerally about a foot below the surface. In one place it is several

feet. There is a bend or curve of six feet or more, after which it
■ ^ 31

242

AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES

proceeds in its former direction. The whole appears to be formed
in the most skilful manner. Six or eight miles from this wall an-
other has been since discovered, forty feet long, four and five feet
high, seven inches thick only. The stones of this wall are all of
one length." — Universal Geography, p. 615.

In the state of Tennessee, which is situated exactly on the west-
ern end of North Carolina, are also found the " vestiges and re-
mains of ancient dwellings, towns and fortifications, with mounds,
barrows, utensils, and images, wherever the soil is of prime quality
and convenient to water."

The bodies of two of these people were discovered in the autumn
of 1810, in Warren county, in the state of Tennessee ; one of a
man, the other of a child, to appearance about four yea|»^#ld. They
were four feet below the surface, in a situation perfectly dry ; there
being a mixture of copperas, alum, sulphur, and nitre, in the soil
that covered them. Their skin was preserved, though its original
complexion could not be asceitained ; but the hair of their heads
was of an auburn shade. The child was dejrosited in a basket,
well wrought of smooth splits of reed, {arundo (jiguuticu,) and se-
veral singular species of cloth, as well as deer skins, dressed and
undressed, were wrapped round and deposited with them, and two
feather fans, and a curious belt. — Morse

From the discovery of those two bodies, we think we ascertain
the inhabitants to have been white, like the Europeans, from the
colour of their hair ; as it is well known the Australasians, Poly-
nesians and Malays, as well as the common Indians, have univer-
aatly black, long and shining hair. The body which is mentioned
by Professor Mitchell, late of New-Yoik, discovered in a nitrous
cave, in the western country, had red or sandy hair ; such was the
colour of the hair of the Scandinavians of the north of Europe, and
are supposed, upon anthority indubitable, to have settled at Onon-
daga, and round about that region. See toward the close of this
work

kyu DISCOVERIES m THE WEST.

243

I'he wall discovered in North Carolina, as related above, ii
doubtless a pari of a wall built for the defence of a town or city ;
the rest may have been thrown down by an enemy, or it may
have b<»en never finished. The regular manner in which it was
built and laid in mortar, shows a considerable knowledge of mason-
ry. This is by no means very extraordinary, as in Europe a con-
siderable knowledge of the arts was in possession of the people of
that country, derived from the Romans, who had subdued all the
island of England, and abandoned the country, some hundred years
before the time of the Welch expedition to the west of Europe, as
w: shall relate by and by.

What traits of iron instruments are found scattered over this coun-
try, except such as have been buried or lost in conflicts and battles
with I'Ki '. ^'rir-s, since the discovery of the country by Columbus,
is to be'"t Hv .n,.d to these Scandinavian and Welch settlers from
the old country ; the latter about the ninth or tenth century, and
the former long before.

If the Welch, as we shall show, a few pages hence, found this
country about the year 950, there was time enough for them to
have establashed themselves in many parts, and to have built them-
selves towns and cultivated the earth to a great extent ; as from
about 950, till its discovery by Columbus, in 1492, would be not
far from 542 years ; a longer time than has elapsed since its last
discovery ; and also time enough for their deserted works to be-
come covered with forests, as they are found of four and five hun-
dred years age.

According to Morse, the ancestors of the Welch were the Cim-
bri, or northern Celts, but he says the Goths from Asia having
seized on Germany, and a great part of Gaul or France, gradually
repelled the Celts, and placed colonies on the island of Britain,
three or four centuries before the Christian era ; that the Romans
found many tribes of the Belgae, or ancient Germans, when they
first invaded that island j consequently, not only the Welch, but

344

AMERICAN /NTIQUITIES

:! ,i

the English also had in part the Goths, or ancient Germ»sn8, for
their ancestors, and were the people who, as well as the Scandina-
vians, discovered America, and settled here. From this view, we
see the propriety in the tradition, which, in another place of this
volume, we have related, as being printed in a Dutch Bible, more
than two hundred years ago in Germany, where it is said the Ger-
mans discovered America, and became amalgamated with the In-
dians. It may be, that from such causes as these, are found, far
to the west, several tribes of white Indians, originated from
Welch, German and Scandinavian ancestors ; who well might
he supposed to have had not only a knowledge of masonry,
sufficient to build walls, but of iron also ; the traits of which are
found in many parts, sufficiently marked by oxydization, to throw
the time of their formation beyond the last discovery of America.

On the river Gasconade, which empties into the Missouri, on the
southern side, are found the traces of ancient works, similar to those
in North Carolina. In the saltpetre caves of that region, and Gas-
conade county in particular, was discovered, when they were first
visited, axes and hammers made of iron ; which led to the belief that
they had formerly worked those caves for the sake of the nitre. Dr.
Beck, from whose Gazetteer of Missouri and Illinois, page 234, we
have this account, remarks, however, " it is difficull to decide whe-
ther these tools were left there by the present race of Indians, or a
more civilized race of people." He says it is unusual for the sa-
vages of our day, to take up their residence in caves ; considering
them the places to which the devil resorts ; and that they are not
acquainted with the uses of saltpetre, and would rather avoid tlian
collect it. This author considers the circumstance of finding those
tools in the nitre caves, as furnishing a degree of evidence that the
country of the Gasconade river was formerly settled by a race of
men who were acquainted with the use of iron, and exceeded the
Indians in civilization, and a knowledge of the arts.

AND DISCOVERIES IN THE WEST.

945

" But there are other facts," says he, " connected with these,
ahout which there can be no mistake. Not far from this cave^ i$
found the ruins of an ancient town. It appears to have been regu-
larly laid out, and the dimensions of the squares, streets, and some
of the houses, can yet be discovered.

Stone walls are found in different parts of the area, which are
frequently covered with huge heaps of earth. Missouri joins Ten-
nessee on the west, the same as the latter does North Carolina ; and
from a similarity of the works discovered, it would appear, that a
population, similar in manners and pursuits, inhabited a vast region
of country, from the Atlantic side of North Carolina, to the Mis-
souri Territory.

These discoveries rank with the architectural works of Europe,
in the 9th and 10th centuries; as that long before that period, the
use of stone work had been introduced, even in the island of Bri-
tain, by the all conquering bands of the Romans.

If, therefore, the Danes, Welch, Normans, Icelanders, Green-
landers, or Scandinavians, settled in this country, who are all of
much the same origin, there need be no great mystery respecting
these discoveries, as they are to be referred to those nations from
Europe, beyond all doubt. The ancient monuments of a country,
says Dr. Morse, are intimately connected with the epochs of its his-
tory ; consequently, as the state of masonry, or the knowledge of
stone work, discovered, as above described, in North Carolina, Ten-
nessee, and Missouri, is of the same chatacter with those of Eu-
rope, about the time of the 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th centuries, we
conclude them to be wholly of European origin.

About ten miles from the spot where the relics of this town are
discovered, on the west side of the Gasconade river, is also found
another stone work, still more extraordinary, as it is evident that its
builders had, indeed, a competent knowledge of constructing build-
ings of that material. It is about thirty feet square, and although

246

AMERICAN ANTIQUITIE*

in a dilapidated condition, appears to have been erected with a
great degree of regularity. It is situated on a high bold cliff, which
commands a fine and extensive view of the country on all sides.
From this stone work was found a foot path, running a devious
course down the cliff, to the entrance of a cave, in which was found
a quantity of ashes. These antiquities evidently form a di.stinct
class, says Dr. Beck, of which, as yet, he had seen no description.

Of the same class has been discovered on Noyer Creek, in Mis-
souri, the foundation of a large stone building, fifty feet in length,
and twenty-two in breadth, divided into four apartments. The lar-
gest room occupies about one half of the whole building, and is
nearly square ; a second in size is twelve feet by sixteen, a third, four
by sixteen, a fourth, three by sixteen feet. The outer wall is
eighteen inches thick, consisting of rough, unhewn stone ; the par-
titions between the rooms is of the same material, of equal thick-
ness with the outer wall. As an entrance into the largest room, are
two door ways, the second in size, one, and the same of the two
others. — See at tlie bottom of the Frontispiece.

About eighty rods from this structure, is also found th^ remains of
the foundation of a stone building, nineteen feet by fifteen, in size,
of the same character of architecture. One large oval room, twelve
feet by twelve, on an average, occupies the centre, with a door way,
and at each end is a room, three feet by twelve, without any door
way. It is probable the largest of these buildings was the palace
of the chief, or king of the tribe, clan, or nation ; where was
held the legislative councils, and the affairs of government were
transacted.

The second building, placed at the respectful distance of eighty
rods, was probably the prison house, and place of execution, which
the small narrow cells, without any outside door way, would seem to
suggest. The prison in which St. Paul was confined at Rome, is
exactly of this form and size ; which we consider a remarkable co-

AND DISCOVERIEK IN THE WEST.

247

incidence, unless it is allowed, this American prison house^ as we
have supposed it was, had been fashioned after the same manner-

We have an account of this prison, which was built several hun-
dred years before the Christian era, as given by a gentleman now
making the tour of Europe. It is as follows :

" All parts of Italy are i ^♦ere to the scholar, and m' -;' ^"win
to the Christian. Thus, wv. Nap;..^, at Puteoli, I saw wheic Paul
landed, and I travelled between Naples and Rome on the very same
road over which he was led prisoner to Rome ; and if he was in-
carcerated in this city, (which I see no reason to doubt) he doubt-
less lived the greater part of the time he was here, in his own hired
house. I have been in the same dungeon, and seen the very pil-
lar to which ho must have been chained.

The prison is the Mumerline, the name and history of which, is
familiar to every one acquainted with Roman history, as it was, for
a long time, the only prison of the Romans. It consists of but two
apartments, circular, and about twelve feet diameter, and six feet in
height, the one over the other, both under ground. The only en-
trance to them originally, was through a small hole in the top of
each, through which the prisoner must have been let down with
ropes, passing through the upper to reach the lower prison. These
dxmgeons were large enough for the Romans, as the trial soon fol-
lowed the imprisonment of an offender, who, if found inmcent,
was at once liberated, but if guilty, immediately executed." — Jour-
nal and Telegraphy Vol. IV. , No. 191.— 1832.

From the Romans the German or Belgic tribes may have derived
their first ideas of stone work, as from the Germans the Danes de-
rived the same. The style.and manner of this building, as it now
appears, in its ruined state, agrees well with the buildings of the
ancient Danes of the north of Europe, in the 10th and 11th centu-
ries ; which also consisted of unhewn stone, laid up in their natu-
ral state, the squarest, and best formed, selected, of course. In these
buildings, says Morse, were displayed the first elements of the Gothic

••■:^.
>

248

iMlflRICAN ANTIQUITIES

Btyle, in which the ancient Belgae or Cermans used to erect their
castles, in the old world, eight or nine hundred years ago. These
works, of this distinct kind of antiquities, are numerous in the
western countries ; the regularity, form and structure of which, says
Dr. Beck, favors the conclusion that they were the work of a more
civilized race than those who erected the former, or more ancient
works of America ; and that they were acquainted with the rules
of architecture, &c. of Danish and Belgic origin, and perhaps
with & perfect system of warfare.

At present, the walls of this trait of ancient times, are from two
to five feet high, the rooms of which are entirely filled with forest
trees ; one of which is an oak, and was, ten years ago, nine feet
in circumference. — BecPs Gazetteer^ P^igc 306.

But in South America, when the Spaniards overran that country,
ahout three hundred years ago, among the Peruvians, whose terri-
tory is on the western side of South America, were found, statues,
ohelisks, mausolea, edifices, fortresses, all of stone, equal, fully so,
with the architecture of Egypt, Greece, and Rome, six hundred
years before the Christian era. Roads w-ere cut through the Cordil-
lera mountains ; gold, silver, copper, and led mines, were opened,
and worked to a great extent; all of which is evidence of their
knowledge of architecture, mineralogy, and agriculture. In many
places of that country, are found the ruins of noble aqueducts, some
of which, says Dr. Morse the geographer, would have been thought
works of difficulty in civilized nations. Several pillars of stone
are now standing, which were erected to point out the equinoxes
and solstices. In their sepulchres were deposited and found, their
paintings, vessels of gold and silver, implements of warfare, hus-
bandry, and fishing nets. ,

To illustrate the architectural knowledge of the Peruvians as
well as some other provinces of South America, we quote the fol-
lowing from Baron Humboldt's Researches, 1st Vol. Eng. trans.
Amer. ed., p. 256. " This plate," referring to one which is found

AND UISCOVEKICa IN THE WEST

349

country,

se terri-

, statues,

fullv so,

lundred

Cordil-

pened,

of their

n many

s, some

houglit

' stone

iuoxes

, their

;, hus-

iDs as
le fol-
I trans-
Ifound

in one of the volumes of his Researches, in the French language ;
'' represents the plan and inside of the small building which occu-
pies the centre of tha esplanade, in the citadel of Cannar, suppo-
sed to be a guard house. I sketched this drawing with the greater
exactness, because the remains of Peruvian architecture, scattered
along the ridge of tha Cordilleras, from Cuzco to Cajam.be, or from
the 13lh degree of north latitude to the equator, a distance of nearly
a thousand miles. What an empire, and what works are these,
which all bear the same character, in the cut of the stones, the
shape of the doors ; to their stone buildings, the symmetrical dis-
posal of the niches, and the total absence of exterior ornaments.
This uniformity of construction is so great, that all the stations along
the high road, called in that country, palaces of the Incas, or kings
of the Peruvians, appear to have been copied from each other; sim-
plicity, .symmetry, and SDlidity, were the three characters, by which
the Peruvian edifisas ware distingaished. The citadel of Cannar,
and the square buildings surrounding it, are not constructed with
the same quartz saudstons, which covers the primitive slate, and
the porphyriess of Assuay, and which appears at the surface, in
the garden of the Inca, as we descend toward the valley of Gulan,
but of trappean porphyry, of great hardness, enclosing vitreous
feldspar, and hornblende' This porphyry was perhaps dug in the
^taX quarries, which are found at 4000 metres in height, (which
is 12000 feet and a fraction, making two and a third miles in per*
pendicular height,) near the lake of Culebrilla, nearly ten miles
from Cannar. To cut the stones for the buildings of Cannar, at so
great a height, and to bring them down, and transport them ten
miles, is equal with any of the works of the ancients, who built
the cities of Pompeii, Herculaneum, and Stabia, long before the
Christian era, in Naples of Italy.

" We do not find, however," says Humboldt, " in the ruin* of
Cannar, those stones of enormous size, which we see in the Peru-
vian edifices of Cuzco and the neighbouring countries. Acosto" he

250

AMERICAN ANTIQUITiei

.says, nioiisurcd some at Traquanaco, whicli were twelve metres,
(38 fett) long, and fivC metres, eight tenths, (18 feet,) broad, and
one metre nine tenths, (6 feet) thick." The stones made use of
in building the temple of Solomon, were but a triflle larger than
these, some of which were twenty -live cubits, (43 feet 9 inches )
long, twelve cubits, (29 feet) wide, and eight cubits, (14 feet) thick,
reckoning twenty-one inches to the cubit.

And who is prepared to disallow, that the ancestors of the Peru-
vians in South America, did not derive their knowledge of stone
cutting, and building, from the Jews, in the days of Solomon, a
thousand years before the Christian era, which is so wonderfully
imitpited in the palaces of their lucas.

It should be recollected, that the fleets of king Hiram navigated
the seas in a surprising manner, seeing they had not, as is supposed,
(but not proven,) a knowledge of the magnetic compass ; and in
some voyage out of the Mediterranean, into the Atlantic, they may
have been driven to South America; where having found a coun-
try, rich in all the resources of nature, more so than even their na-
tive country; founded a kingdom, built cities, cultivated fields, mar-
tialed armies, made roads, built acqueducts, became rich, magnifi-
cent, and powerful, as the vastness and extent of the ruins of Peru,
and other provinces of South America, plainly show.

Humboldt says that he saw, at Pullal, three houses made of
stone, which were built by the Incas, each of which was more than
fifty metres, or an hundred and fifty feet long, laid in a cement, or
true mortar. This fact, he says, deserves some attention, because
travellers who had preceded him, had unanimously overlooked this
circumstance, asserting, that the Peruvians were unacquainted with
the use of mortar, but is erroneous. The Peruviaas not only em-
ployed a mortar, in the great edifices of Pacaritambo, but made use
of a cement of asphallum ; a mode of construction, which on the
banks of the Euphrates and the Tigris, may be traced back to
the remotest antiquity. The tools made nse of to cut their stone

AND DISCOVCniF.S IN THE WHST.

2r>i

•was copper hardened with tin, the same the ancients of the old
world made use of among the Greeks and Romans, and other na-
tions, of which we have spoken, in anothrr place of this work.

To show the genius and enterprise of the natives of Mexico, be-
fore America was discovered, we give the following, a? hut a single
instance : Montazuma, the las^ king but one of Mexico, in the
year 1446, forty-six years before the discovery of America by Co-
lumbus, erected a dyke to prevent the overflowing of the waters of
certain small lakes in the vicinity of their city, which had several
times deluged it. This dyke consisted of a bank of stones and
clay, supported on each side by a range of palisadoes ; extending in
its whole length, about seventy miles, and sixty-five feet broad, its
whole length sufficiently high to intercept, the overflowings of the
lakes, in times of high water, occasioned by the spring floods.

In Holland, the Dutch have resorted to the same means to pre-
vent incursions of the sea ; and the longest of many is but forty
miles in extent, nearly one half short of the Mexican dyke. —
" Amidst the extensive plains of Upper Canada, in Florida,
near the Gulf of Mexico, and in the deserts bordered by the Orini-
co, in Columbia, South America, dykes of a considerable length,
weapons of brass, (these were used by the Greeks) and sculptured
stones, are found, which are the indications that those countries
were formerly inhabited by industrious nations, which are now tra-
versed dnly by tribes of savage hunters." — Humboldt. ' v- . '

In Iceland, which is not far from Greenland, and Greenland is
not far from the coast of America, has been found, the remains of
ancient architecture, of no less dimensions, than two hundred rods
in circumference ; built of stone, the wall of which, in some pla-
ces, as related by Van Troil, was an hundred and twenty feet high,
this was a Norwegian CBStle, of wonderful strength and magnitude,
and of the same character with the ruins found in this country.

Iceland is but an hundred and twenty miles east of Greenland,
and Greenland is supposed to be connected wiih America, far to tlie

S(V3

AMEIIICAN ANTIQL'ITIEt

north. This island is considtrftble larger than the state of New-
York, being four hundred miles in length, ano two hundred and
seventy in breadth. It was discovered by a Norwegian pirate, na-
med Nardoddr, in the year 8G1,' as he wps diiven out to sea by an
eastern storm, on his way from Norway, which is the northern part
of Europe, to the Fcroe islands.

Soon after this, in the year 870, it was colonized from Norway,
under the direction of a man named Ingalf, and in sixty years after,
which would bring it to 930, the whole island was inhabited. But
they were without any regular government, being distracted with
the wars of several chiefs, for a long series of years, during which,
Iceland was a scene of rapine and butchery. It is natural to sup-
pose, during such conflicts, many families, from time to time, would
leave the island, in quest of some other dvvelling. This was in
their power to do, as they had a knowledge of navigation, in a good
degree, derived from the Romans, at the time teby ruled the most
of Europe, nine hundred years before.

That Greenland, or countries lying west of Iceland, existed,
coald hut be known to Icelanders, from the flights of birds of pas-
sage, and from driftwood, which, to this day, is driven, in large
quantities, from America, by the Gulf Stream, and deposited on the
western coast of that island." — Morse.

In this way, it is highly probable, the first Europeans found their
way to America, and became the authors of those vast ruins built
of stone, found in various parts of America. The language of the
Icelanders, is, even now, after so long a lapse of ages, much the
same with that spoken in Sweden, Denmark, and Norway ; so that
they understand the most ancient traditional history of their ances-
tors. The characters they made use of were Runic, and were but
sixteen in number; but about th*? year 1000, the Latin, or Roman
letters superceded the use of the ar cient Runic

Or. Morse says, the arts and sciences were extensively cultiva-
ted in Norway, at the time when Iceland was first settled by them ;

AND DISCOVERIES IN THE WEST.

263

and while thn traces of literature were diminished, and at length
destroyed, in Norway, by the troubles whicli shook the whole north
of Europe for several ag>is ; they were, on the contrary, carefully
preserved in Iceland.

From this we may safely infer, that America, having received its
first European colonies from Iceland ; who had not only a know-
ledge of architecture, in a degree, but of navigation also, with that
of science ; that in the very regions where villas, cities, cultivated
fields, roads, canals, rail-ways, with all the glory of the prest it age,
along the Atlantic coast, also flourished the works of a former po-
pulation — the Danes, Swedes, and Norwegians, civilized nations
centuries before Columbus was bom, but who have passed away,
by the means of wars, with the more ancient nations of America, or
with the common enemy of both — the Tartar hordes from Asia, now
called the American Indians — leaving for ever the labour of ages,
which, here and there, are discovered, the relics of their architectu-
ral knoAvledge.

An hundred and twenty-one years after the discovery of Iceland,
Greenland was discovered also, by the Norwegians, who planted a
colony there ; and in a little time after, the country was provided
■with two Christian churches and bishops ; between which and
Norway, the mother country, a considerable amount of commerce
was carried on, till 1406 ; a lapse of years amounting +o about four
hundred and eighty-three, before the discovery of An: n a by Co-
lumbus ; when all intercourse between the two countries ceased,
occasioned probably by the convulsions and wars cf Europe at that
period.

The whole of that population, it is supposed, was lost, as no tra-
ces of them are found ; the climate of that region, as is evident, has
since underg:)ne a great change, from an accumulation of ice and
snow from the northern sea, so as to render the coast, where the
settlements were, wholly inaccessible — Morse.

254

AMERICAN ANTIQUrTIKS

Is it not possible, that as tliey found the severity of the weather
increasing rapidly upon them, they may have removed to the coast
of Labrador, and from thence down the coast, till they came to the
region of the Canadas, where are discovered the traces of ancient
nations, in vast lines of fortifications, as attested to by the most ap-
proved authority, Humboldt and others.

A FURTHER ACCOUNT OF EUROPEAN SETTLEMENTS.

There are the remains of one of those efibrts of Scandinavian
defence, situated on a hill of singular form, on the great sand plain
between the Susquehannah and Chemung rivers, near their junc-
tion. The hill is entirely isolated, about three-fourths of a mile in
circumference, and more than an hundred feet high. It has been
supposed to be artificial, and to belong to the ancient nations to
which all works of this sort generally belong. However, the inha-
bitants living round it, do not believe it to be artificial, on account
of large stones situated on its sides, too heavy to have been placed
there by man.

In the surrounding plain are many deep holes, of twenty or thir-
ty rods circumference, and twenty feet deep ; favouring a belief
that from them the earth was scooped out to form the hill with. It
is four acres large on its top, and perfectly level, beautifully situat-
ed to overlook the country, to a great distance, up and down both
rivers. But whether the hill be artificial .or not, there are on its top
the remains of a wall, formed of earth, stone and wood, which runs
round the whole, exactly on the brow. The v»ood is decayed and
turned to mould, yet it is traceable and easily distinguished from
the natural earth. Within is a deep ditch or entrenchment, run-
ning round the whole summit. From this it is evident, that a war
was once waged here ; and were we to conjecture between whom,

AND DISCOVERIES IN THE WEST.

255

we should say, between the Indians and Scandinavians ; and that
this fortification, so advantageously chosen, is of the same class of
defensive works mth those about Onondaga, Auburn, and the lakes
Ontario, Cayuga, Seneca, Oneida, and Erie. As it is known, or
not pretended, that the Scandinavians did not make settlements on
the con^'nent earlier than 985 ; there cannot be a doubt but they
had to figut their wsy among the Indians, more or less, the same as
we did when first we colonized the coast of the Atlantic, along the
seaboard of the New-England states. The Indians who were liv-
ing on Taunton river, witness to this, as we have already noticed
in another place.

But as these Scandinavians, Norwegians, Scotch, and Welch,
were fewer in number than the Indians, and without the means of
recruiting from the mother country, as was our case ; they at length
fell a prey to this enemy, or became amalgamated with them, and
so were lost ; the traces of whom appear, now and then, among the
tribes, as we have shown.

We are strongly inclined to believe the following articles,
found in the town of Pompey, Onondaga county, N. Y., are of
Scandinavian origin. In Pompey, on lot No. 14, is the site of an an-
cient burying ground, upon which, when the country was first set-
tled, was found timber growing apparently of the second growth,
judging from the old timber, reduced to mould, lying around, which
was an hundred years old, ascertained by counting the concentric
grains. In one of these graves was found a glass bottle about the
si/e of a common junk bottle, having a stopple in its mizzle, and
in the bottle was a liquid of some sort, but was tasteless. This fact
was related to us by a Mr. Higgins, some time sheriff of Onondagii
county, who both saw the bottle and tasted the liquid at the time it
was discovered.

But is it possible that the Scandinavians could have had glass in
their possession, at so early a period as the year 950 and thereabout,
so as to have brought it with them frojn Europe when their first

266

AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES

settlements were made in this country. We see no good reason
why not, as glass had been in use nearly three hundred years in
Europe, before the northern Europeans are reputed to have found
this country ; the art of making glass having bsen discovered in the
year of our Lord 644. In the same grave, with the bottle, was
found an iron hatchet, edged with steel. The eye, or place for the
helve, was round, and extended or projected out, like the ancient
Swiss or German axe. On lot number 9, in the same town, was
another aboriginal burying ground, covered with forest trees, as the
other. In and about the neghbourhood of this burying place were
often ploughed up, from a di?pth of about five and six inches, hat-
chets of the same description. In the same town, on lot number
17, were found the remains of a blacksmith's forge. At this spot
have been ploughed up crucibles, such as mineralogists use in re-
fining metals.

These axes are similar, and correspond in character with those
found in the nitrious caves on the Gasconade river, wich empties
into the Missouri, as mentioned in Professor Beck's Gazetteer of
that country. In the same town are the remains of two ancient
forts, or fortifications, with redoubts, of a very extensive and formi-
dable character. Within the range of these works, have been
found pieces of cast iron, broken from some vessel of considerable
thickness. These articles cannot well be ascribed to the era of the
French war, as time enough since then, till the region round about
Onondaga was commenced to be cultivated, had not elapsed to give
the growth of timber found on the spot, of the age above noticed ;
and added to this, it is said, that the Indians, occupying that tract of
country, had no tradition of their authors.

The reader will recollect that, a few pages back, we have notic-
ed the discovery of a place called Estotiland, supposed to be Nova-
Scotia, in 1354, the inhabitants of which were Europeans, who cul-
tivated grain, lived in stone houses, and manufactured beer, as in
Europe at that day. Now, from the year 1354, till the time of the

AM) DISCOVERILS IN Tilt WT.ST.

257

first settlements made in Onondaga county, by the present inhabi-
tants, is all of four hundred years ; is it not possible, therefore, that
this glass bottle, uith some kind of liquor in it, may have been de-
rived from this Estotiland, having been originally brought from
Europe ; as glass had been in use, more or less, there from the
year 644, till the Scandinavians colonized Iceland, Greenland, and
Estotiland, or Newfoundland. The hatchets or iron axes, found here,
were likely of the same origin with the pieces of cast iron. Here
too, it appears, were stone houses, like the founddtions found on
the Gasconade, and on Noyer Creek, in Missouri, all made, in all
probability, by these Europeans.

From what we liave related respecting these European appear-
ances in America, the traits of a Scandinavian, Welch, and Scotch
population, it is clear that the remark of Professor Beck, was not
made without sufficient reason ; which is : " They certainly form a
class of antiquities entirely distinct from the walled towns, fortfi-
oations, barrows or mounds." Page 315.

A FURTHER ACCOUNT OF WESTERN ANTIQUITIES.

But as to the state of the arts, amon^ the more ancient nations
of America, some idea may be gathered from what has been alrea-
dy said. That they manufactured brick of a good quality, is known
from the discoveries made on opening their tumuli. A vast many
instances of articles made of copper and sometimes plated with sil-
ver, have been met with on opening their works. Circular pieces
of copper, intended either as medals or brea.stplates, have bfien
found, several inches in diameter, very much injured by time.
Iron has been found in very few instances ; having, if it may ha»«
been never so abundant, oxydized in the course of ages. How-iver,
in several tumuli, the remains of knives and even of sword«, in the
form of rust, have been discovered.

25S AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES

Glass has not been discovered in any of their works excpt one; from
which we learn at once that these works were made at least more
than eleven hundred and sixty years ago ; as the manufacture of
glass was not discovered till the year of our Lord 064. But there
is no doubt of their hoving inhabited this country from the remotest
antiquity, drawn from data heretofore noticed in this Avork. " Mir-
rors made of isinglass, have been found in as many as fifty places,
within my own knowledge, says Mr. Atwater, besides the large
and very elegant one at Circleville. From the great thickness of
those micae membraneca mirrors, they answered the purpose for
which they were made very well.

Their houses, in some instances, might have been built of stone
and brick, as in the walled towns on Paint Creek, and some few
other places, yet their habitations were of wood, or they dwelt in
tents ; otherwise their ruins would be met with in every part of
this great country.

Along the Ohio, where the river is, in many places, wearing and
washing away its banks, hearths and fire places are brought to
light, two, four, and even six feet below the surface ; these are al-
so found on the banks of the Muskingum, at its mouth, and at Point
Harman, opposite Marietta. Two stone cove. ^ of stone vessels,
were found in a stone mound, in Ross county, in Ohio, ingeniously
wrought, and highly polished. These covers resembled almost ex-
actly, and were quite equal to vessels of that material manufactured
in Italy at the present lime.

An urn was found in a mound, a few miles from Chillicothe,
which, a few years since, was in the hands of a Mr. J. W. Collet,
who lived in that place, about a foot high, and well proportioned ;
it very much resembles one found in a similar work in Scotland,
n*»ntioned in Pennant's Tour, vol. 1, page 154, 4th London edition,
179t It contained arrow heads, ashes, and calcined or burnt hu-
man bokes. In digging a trench on the Sandusky river, in alluvial
earth, at a depth of six feet, was found a pipe, which displays great

AND DISCOVERIES IN THE WEST.

259

iaste in its execution. The rim of the bowl is in high relief, and
the front represents a beautiful female face. The stone of which
it is made is the real talc graphigue, exactly resembling the stone
of which the Chinese make their idols. No talc of this species is
known to exist on the west side of the AUeghanies ; it must, there-
fore, have been brought, at some remote period, from some part of
the old world.

Fragments of fishing nets and mocasins, or shoes made of a sjie-
cies of weed, have been found in the nitrous caves of Kentucky.
The mummies which have been found in these places, were
wrapped in a coarse .species of linen cloth^ of about the consistency
and texture of cotton bagging. It was evidently woven by the
.same kind of process which is still practised in the interior of Afri-
ca. The warp being extended by some slight kind of machinery,
the woof was passed across it, and then twisted, every two threads
of warp together, before the second passage of the filling. This
seems to have been the first rude method of weaving in Asia, Afri-
ca and America."

If so, then it is clear, that the inhabitants of America, who had
the knowledge of this kind of fabrication, did indeed belong to an
era as ancient as the first people of Asia itself, and even before the
settlement of Europe ; this is not a small witness in favour of our
opinion of the extreme antiquity of those ancient works of the west.
Other nations, however, have, from time to time, mingled among
them, by various means, as we have, in some measure recounted,
heretofore.

A second envelope of these mummies, is a kind of net work, of
coarse threads, formed of very small loose meshes, in which were
fixed the feathers of various kinds of birds, so as to make a per^-
fectly smooth surface, lying all in one direction. The art of this
tedious but beautiful manufacture, was well understood in Mexico,
and still exists on the northwest coast of America, and in the isl-
ands of the Pacific. In these islands it is the state or court dress.

2fi0

AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES

The third and outer envelope of tliese mummies, is either like the
cue first described, or consists of leather, sewed together. — American
Antq. Society.

The manufacture of leather from the hides of animals, is a very-
ancient invention, known to almost all the nations of the earth ; but
to find it in America, wrapped around mummies, as in several in-
stances found in nitrous caves, and in the Kentucky caverns, shows
a knowledge of a branch of the arts, in the possession of the peo-
ple of America, at an era coeval with the Egyptians — as the art of
embalming is found in connexion with that of tanning the skins of
animals. Respecting the fact of leather being the outer wrapper of
some of the mummies discovered, Mr. Atwater says, his authority
is the statement of Mr. Clifford, of Lexington, Kentucky, who was
also a member of the American Antiquarian Society.

There was a small vessel found on the Ohio flats, at a depth of
twelve feet, made of the same materials, with the mortars now in
use among physicians and apothecaries, manufactured in Europe.
It holds about three quarts, comes to a point at its bottom, has a
groove around it near the middle, with two ears, though a chain was
probably inserted, so as to suspend.it over fire, as it has on it the
marks of that element, and was probably a crucible, for melting
metals, and the chain handle shows the ingenuity of its construction,
by its being placed near the middle of the crucible, in order to pro-
duce an equipoise, when the refiner wished to pour out his lead, his
iron, or his silver : However, it may have been only a culninary
vessel.

Among the vast variety of discoveries made in the mounds, tu-
muli and fortifications of these people, have been found not only
hatchets made of stone ; but axes as large, and much of the same
shape with those made of iron at the present day ; also pickaxe*
and pestles, see plate No. 11 and 12; with various other instru-
ments, made of stone. But besides, there have been found very
well manufactured swords and knives of iron, and possibly steel,
says Mr. Atwater.

AND DISCOVERIES IN THE WEST.

261

If SO, this also is an argument of the great and primeval antiqui-
ty of those settlements ; for we are to suppose men knew more of
iron and steel, at the time of the building of Babel, than in after
ages, when they became dispersed, and, from peculiar circumstan-
ces, lost that peculiar art, and therefore, in the time of the Greeks,
in the year 1406 before Christ, it was discovered anew. From
which we are to conclude, that the primitive people of America,
either discovered the use of iron themselves, as i j Greeks did, or,
that they learned its use from this circumstance ; or that they car-
ried a knowledge of this ore, with them at the time of their disper-
sion ; as received from Noah's family, who brought it from beyond
the Hood, discovered in or before the days of Tubal Cain, which
was only about 500 years after the creation.

Dr. Clark says, that from the manufacture of certain articles, in
the wilderness, by the Israelites, iron, and even steel, must have
been known, which was an age preceding its knowledge among the
Greeks, nearly an hundred years. If this was so, it follows, they
must have learned it, or rather, they must have borrowed the very
instruments of iron and steel, when they left Egypt ; as they had
no means of making such instruments from the ore, in the wil-
derness.

If, then, the art was learned of the Egyptians, by the Israelites,
the knowledge of iron and steel existed among that people more
than three hundred years before it was known among the Greeks,
and perhaps much earlier, as that the Egyptians were ahead of all
other nations in arts and inventions.

A DE.«!CRirTION OF IMPLEMENTS FOUND IN THE TUMULI.

For a view of each article, the reader can refer to the Frontis-
piece engraving, by observing the numbering and lettering of each
specimen.

ii*iy AMERICAN ANTrQUITIKS

Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and (i, are articles found in the mound at Ma-
rietta, in 1319.

No. 1. Back view of the silver ornament for a sword scabbard.

No. 2. Front view of the same.

No. 3. Front view of an ornament for a belt, with a silver face.

No. 4. Back view of the same ornament, of copper.

No. 5. A plumb, or pendent, formed of pieces of copper pound-
ed together, leaving fissures, or openings, which wet ""'led with
bits of silver : an implement, as to its shape, resembling the instru-
ments used by carpenters and masons, now a days, to a.scertain per-
pendiculars with, and was doubtless used by these ancients for the
same purpose.

No. 6. A stone with seven holes, like a screw plate, fourteen in-
ches long, finely polished, and very hard ; this, however, was not
found in the mound, but in a field near this tumuli.

Letter A. Represents a small keg in its construction, and a tea-
kettle in the use to which it seems to have been put, which is in-
dicated by its spout ; and appears to have been made of a compo-
sition of clay and shells.

Letter B. Represents the idol, before spoken of, on pages 221
and 222, in three views, a front, side, and back view.

Letter C. Represents the idol, or image of stone, on pages 223
and 224.

Letter D. Is the stone, or Shalnrumu, described on pages 184,
185, and 186.

Letter E. Represents the Triune Cup,, found on the Cany fork
of Cumberland river, in an ancient work, about four feet below the
surface. The drawing is an exact likeness, taken originally by
Miss Sarah Clifford, of Lexington, Kentucky ; it is by some called
the Triune Idol. ,

" The object itself may be thus described. It consists of three
heads joined together at the back part, near the top, by a stem or
handle, which rises above the heads about three inches. This stem

AND DISCOVEr.lES IIV THE WEST.

263

is hollow, six inches in circumference at the top, increasing in si/c
as it descends. The heads are all of the same dimensions, being
about four inches from the top to the chin. The face, at the eyes,
is three inches broad, decreasing in breadth, till the way to the chin.
All the strong marks of the Tartar countenance are distinctly pre-
served, and expressed with so much sl;ili, that even a modern artist
might be proud of the pcrforiiiance. The countenances are all dif-
ferent from each other, and denote one old person, and twc younger
ones. The face of the eldest is paijitcd around the eyes with yel-
low, shaded with a streak of the same colour, beginning from the
top of the ear, running in a semicircular form, to the ear on the
other side of the head. Another painted line begins at the lower
part of the eye, and runs down before each ear, about one inch. —
See the right hand figure on Ike cup, or image.

The face engraved alone, is the back view, and represents a per-
son of a grave countenance, but much younger than the preceding
one, painted very differently, and of a different colour. A streak
of reddish brown surrounds each eye. Another line of the same
colour, beginning at tlie top of one ear, passes under the chin, and
ends at the top of the other ear. The ears also, are slightly tinged
with the same colour.

The third figure, in its characteristical features, resembles the
others, representing one of the Tartar family. The whole of the face
is slightly tinged with vermilion, or some paint resembling it. Each
cheek has a spot on it, of the size of a quarter of a dollar, brightly
tinged with the same paint. On the chin is a similar spot. One
circumstance worthy of remark, is, that though these colours must
have been exposed to the damp earth for many centuries, they have,
notwithstanding, preserved every shade in all its brilliancy.

This Triune vessel stands upon three necks, which are about an
inch and a half in length. The whole is composed of a fine clay,
of a light umber colour, which has been rendered hard by the ac-

2G4

tion of lire

A.MKKICAN A.NTIliUITIES

Tlie lieads are hollow, and the vessel is of cajiacity
to hold about one (juart.

Docs not this cup represent tlu; three gods of India: lirahma,
Vishnoo, and Siva? Let the reader look at the plate representing
this vessel, and consult the " Asiatic Researches," by Sir William
Jones; let him also read Buchanan's " Star in the East," and ac-
counts there found, of the idolatry of tiie Hindoos, he cannot fail to
see in this idol, one proof at least, that the people who raised our
ancient works More idolaters; and, that some of them worshipped
gods resembling t'l;' three principal deitic "f India. What tends
to strengthen this inference, is, that nine nuirex shells, the same as
described by Sir William Jones, in his " Asiatic Researches," and
by Symraes, in his Embassy to Ava," have been found within
twenty miles, of Lexington, Kentucky, in an ancient work.

The murex shell, is a sea shell fish, out of which the ancients j)ro-
cured iie famous Tyrian purple dye, which was the colour of the
royal robes of kings, so celebrated in ancient times. Their compo-
nent parts remained unchanged, and they were every way in an
excellent state of preservation. These shells, so rare in India, are
liigUly esteemed, and const'crated to their god, Mahadeva, whoso
character is the same with the Neptune, of Greece and Rome.
This shell, among the Hindoos, is the musical instrument of their
Tritons, (sea gods, or trumpeters of Neptune.) Those, of the kind
discovered as above, are deposited in the museum, at Lexington.
The foot of the Siamese god, Gudma, or Boodh, is represented by
a sculptured statue, in Ava, of six feet in length, and the Iocs of
this god, are carved, each to represent a shell of the Murex.

These shells have been found in many mounds which have been
opened in every part of this country ; and this is a proof that a con-
siderable value was set upon them by their owners. From these
discoveries it is evident, that the people who built the ancient works
of the west, were idolaters ; it is alsp inferred from the age of the
world in which they lived ; history, sacred and profane, aflbrds the

.^''^

AND DISCOVERIES IN THE WF.liT.

265

fact, that all nations, except the Jews, were idolaters at the same
time and age, and alike buried them in tumuli.

Medals, representing the sua with its rays of light, have been
found in the mounds, made of a very fine clay, and coloured in th^
composition, before it was hardened by heat, from which it is infer-
red they worshipped the sun. It is also supposed, thn they wor-
shij>ped the moon, both from their semicircular works, which repre-
sent the new moori ; and also from the discovery of copper medals,
round like the moon in its full, being smooth, without any rays of
li^ht, like those which represent the sun. The worship of the sun,
moon, and stars, was the worship of many nations, in the earliest
ages, not only soon after the flood, but all along, contemporary with
the existence of the Jews as a nation, and also succeeding the
Christian era, and till the present time, in some parts of the world,
as among the pagan IMcxicans.

Nos. 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13, represent the shapes of the
stone axes, pestle, and other articles spoken of a few pages back.
— See the plate.

As it respects the scientific acquirements of the builders of the
networks in the west, now in ruins, Mr. A( water says, " when tho-
roughly examined, have furnished matter of admiration to all intel-
ligent persons, who have attended to the subjei f. Nearly all the
lines of ancient works fouud in the whole country, where the form
of the ground admits of it, are right ones, pointing to the four car-
dinal point*. ^V^here there are mounds enclosed, the gate ways are
most frequently on the east side of the works, towards the rising
sun. Where the situation admits of it, in their military works, the
openings are generally towards one or more of the cardinal points.
From which it is supposed they must have had some knowledge of
astronomy, or their structures would not, it is imagined, have been
thus arranged. From this circumstance also, we draw the conclu-
sion, that the first inhabitants of America, migrated from Asia, at

266

AMERICAN ANTIQUITIKS

I''

H period coeval with that of Babylon, for here it was that astrono-
mical calculatious were first made, 2234 years before Christ.

" These things never could have so happened, with such invaria-
ble MBctuess, in almost all cases, without design. On the whole,"
says Atwater, " I am convinced, from an attention to many hundreds
of these works, in every part of the west which I have visited, that
their authors had a knowledge of astronomy." He strengthens
his opinions as follows : " The pastoral life, which men followed in
the early ages, was certainly very favorable to the attainment of
such a knowledge. Dwelling in tents, or in open air, with the
heavenly bodies in full view, and much more liable to suffer from
changes in the weather, than persons dwelling in comfortable ha-
bitations, they would, of course, direct their attention to the prog-
nostics of approaching heat or cold, stormy or pleasant weather.
Our own sailors are an example in point. Let a person, even
wholly unaccustomed to the seas, be wafted for a few weeks by the
winds and waves, he will become all ear to every breeze, all eye
to every part of the heavens. Thus, in the earliest ages of man-
kind, astronomy was attended to, partly from necessity ; hence, a
knowledge of this science was early diffused among men, the proofs
of which are seen in their works, not only here, but in every part
of the globe. It was reserved however, for the geniuses of modern
times, to make the most astonishing discoveries in this science,
aided by a knowledge of figures, and an acquaintance with the
telescope."

CONJECTURES RESPECTING WHAT MAY HAVE BECOME OF
THESE ANCIENT NATIONS.

But what has finally become of this people, and where are their
descendants, is a question, the answer to which, would be exceed-
ingly gratifying ; and in order to this, an attempt must be made to

AND niKCOVERirs IN THF. WK»T.

267

follow lliem, l)y romparin*? what lias lit* eu discovered iu the west-
prn parts of tliis country, with what has been discovered in South
America.

'• On opening a mound near the " Big Grave," below Wheeling,
a few years since, a stone was found, having on it a brnnd exactly
similar to the one most commonly used by the Mexicans in marking
their cattle and horses." The conclusion here is too plain to need
comment.

" The head of the Sus-taja^ses, or Mexican hog, cut off square,
was found in a salt petre cave, in Kentucky, a few years since, by
Dr. Brown. This circumstance is mentioned by Dr. Drake, in his
" Picture of Cincinnati." The nitre had preserved it. It had
been deposited there by the ancient inhabitants, where it must hava
laid for many ages.' This animal is not found north of Mexico.
The presumption is, that the ancient inhabitants took these animals
along with them in their migrations, until they Anally settled them-
selves in Mexico. Other animals were, in all probability, domesti*
cated by them, and taken with them also to that country.

Our ancient works continued into Mexico, increasing in size, and
v^llgrandeur, preserving the same forms, and appear to have been put to
the same uses. The form of our works is round, square, triangular se-
micircular, and octangular, agreeing in all these respects, with those
in Mexico. The first worlts built by the Mexicans, were mostly
of earth, and not much superior to the common ones on the Missis-
sippi •" The same may be said of the works of this sort, over the
whole earth, which is the evidence that all alike belong to the first
efforts of men, in the very fiist ages after the flood.

" But afterwards temples were erected on the elevated squares,
circles, &c., but were still like ours, surrounded by walls of earth]
These sacred places in Mexico were called " teocalliy^^ which in the
vernacular tongue of the most ancient tribe of Mexicans, signifies
" mansions of the gods.''^ They included within their sacred walls,
gardens, fountains, habitations of priests, temples, altars, «: d maga-

268 AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES

zines of arms. This circumstance may account for many things
which have excited some surprise among those who have hastily
visited the works on Paint Creek, at Portsmouth, Marietta, Circle-
ville, Newark, &c.

It is doubted by many to what use these works were put ; whe-
ther they were used as forts, camps, cemeteries, altars, and temples ;
whereas, they contained all these either within their walls, or were
immediately connected with them. Many persons cannot imagine
why the works, at tlie places above mentioned, were so extensive,
complicated, difiering so much in form, size, and elevation, among
themselves :" but the solution is, undoubtedly, " they contained
within them, altars, temples, cemeteries, habitations of priests, gar-
dens, wells, fountains, places devoted to sacred purposes, of various
kinds, and the whole of their warlike munitions, laid up in arse-
nals. These works were calculated for defence, and were resorted
to in cases of the last necessity, where they fought with despera-
tion. We are warranted in this conclusion, by knowing that these
works are exactly similar to the nsost ancient now to be seen in
Mexico, connected with the fact, that the Mexican works did con-
tain within them all that we have stated.

GREAT SIZE OF SOME OF THE MKxirAN MOUNDS.

The word Teocali, Humboldt says, is derived from the name of
one of the gods to which they were dedicated, Tezcatlipoca, the
Brahma of the Mexicans. The pyramid of Cholula, was seated
on a tumulus with four stage!;, and was dedicated to Quetzalcoatl,
one of the mysterious characters that appeared among the ancient
Mexicans, said to have been a white and bearded man, before spoken
of in this work.

The TeocaHf or pyramid of Cholula, is sixty rods in circumfe-
Tence, aiid ten rods high. In the vale of Mexico, twenty-four miles

) tilings

liastily

, Circle-

t; whe-

cmples ;

or were

imagine

itensive,

I, among

ontained

Bsts, gar-

f various

in arse-

rcsorted

dcspera-

lat these

seen in

AND DISCOVERIES IN TIIK ^Vr.ST.

201)

d con-

)S.

name of

ocUf the

seated

zalcoatl,

ancient

spoken

north-cast from the capital, in a plain that l)oar,s the name of Mi-
coatl, or the path of the dead, is a group of pyramids, of several
hundred in numher, generally ahout thirly feet high.

In the midst of these are two large pyramids, one dedicated to
the Sun, the other to the Moon. The sun pyramid is ten rods thir-
teen feet high, and its lenght nearly thirty-five rods, and of a pro-
portionable thickness, as it is not a circle ; that ol the moon is eight
rods and eleven feet in perpendicular height, but its base is not
specified by Humboldt; from whose Researches in South America
we have derived this information.

The small pyramids, which surrounded .the two dedicated to the
sun and moon, are divided by spacious streets, running exactly ,
north and south, east and west, intersecting each other at right an-
gles, forming one grand palace of worship, and of the dead. For
it is the tradition of the Mexicans, that in the small tumuli, or pyr-
amids, were buried the chiefs of their tribes. We also here ascer-
tain that the builders of these two vast houses of the sun and moon,
had indeed a knowledge of the cardinal points of the compass ; for
this arrangement could never have taken place from mere chancp,
^it must have been the result of calculation, with the north star, or
pole, in view. On the top of those teocallis, where two colo-ssal
statues of the sun and moon, made of stone, and covered with
plates of gold, of which they were stripped by the soldiers of Cor-
tez. Such were some of the pyramids of Egjpt, with colossal
statues

This tremendous work is much similar to one found in Egypt,
called the " Cheops and the Myccrinus ;" roiind about Avhich were
eight small pyramids ; only the Egyptian work is mnch less than
the Mexican one, yet their fashion is the same.

cumfe-
r miles

270

AMF.RrrAN ANTIQlTITirs

PREDILECTION OF THE ANCIENTS TO PYRAMIDS.

In those early ages of mankind, it is evident there existed an un-
accountable ambition among the nations, seemingly to outdo each
other in the height of their pyramids ; for Humboldt mentions the
pyramids of Porsenna, as related by Varro, styled the most learned
of the Romans, who flourished about the time of Christ ; and says
there were, at this place, four pyramids, eighty meters in height,
which is a fraction more than f/teen rods perpendicular altitude ;
the meter is a French measure, consisting of three feet three inches.

Not many years since was discovered, by some Spanish hunters,
on descending the Cordilleras, towards the gulf of Mexico, in the
thick forest, the pyramid of Papantla. The form' of this teocalli, or
pyramid, which had seven stories, is more tapering than any other
monument of this kind, yet discovered, but its height is not remark-
able ; being but fifty- seven feet, its base but twenty-five feet on
each side. However, it is remarkable on one account ; it is built
entirely of hewn stones, of an extiaordinary size, and very beauti- m^-.
fully shaped. Three stair cases lead to its top ; the steps of which
were decorated with hieroglyphical sculpture and small nitches,
arranged with great symmetry. The number of these nitches,
seems to allude to the three hundred and eighteen simple and com-
pound signs of the days of their civil calendar. If so, this monu-
ment was erected for astronomical purposes ; besides, here is evi-
dence of the use of metalic tools in the preparation and building of
this temple.

In those mounds were sometimes hidden the treasures of kings
and chiefs, placed there in times of war and danger. Such was
found to be the fact on opening the tomb of a Peru\ien prince,
when was discovered a mass of pure gold, amoimting to four mil-
lions, six hundred and eighty. seven thousand live hundred dollars.
— HumholdVs JResearches, vol. l^p. \}2.

AND OISCOVERms IN THE WEST.

271

an un-
do each
ions the
learned
ind says
I height,
Ititude ;
I inches,
hunters,
0, in the
jcalli, or
ny other
remark-
feet on

is huilt

beauti-jggp,

>f ^vhich

nitches,

nitches,
d com-
mouu-
is evi-

Iding of

kings
Ich was
Iprince,
lur mil-
llollnrs.

The pyramids of the Ohio are, in several instances, built in the
same manner, with several stages, on the tops of wliich Avere, un-
questionably, temples of wood, in the day of their glory, when their
builders swarmed in populous ten thousands, over all the unbound-
ed west ; but time has destroyed all fabrics of this sort, whHe th<i
mounds on which they stood, in' giddy grandeur,_reniain', but strip-
ped of the habiliments of architecture, and the embellishments of
art.

There is, in South America, to the southeast of the city of Cuer-
nuvaca, on the west declivity of the Cordillera of Anah'jac, an iso-
lated hill, which, together Avith tho pyramid, raised on its top by
the ancients of that country, amounts to thirty-five rods ten feet, in
perpendicular height. The ancient tower of Babel, around which
the city of Babylon was afterwards built, was six hundred feet high,
\vhich is but thirty feet higher than the hiH we are describing ; but
the base of Babel is a mere nothing, compared with the gigantic
work of Anahuac, being but six hundred feet square, which is one
hundred and fifty rods, or nearly so; while the hill in South Ameri-
ca, partly nautral and partly artificial, is at its base 12,06f. feet ; this
thrown into rods, gives seven hundred and fifty-four, and i;'i miles,
is two and a quarter, and a half quarter, wanting AgvA re it, wliicli
is five times greater than that of Babel.

The hill of Xochicalco is a mass of rocks, to whi.'ti the hpnd if
man has given a regular conic form, and which is Jivi'lcd into fue
stories or terraces, each of which is covered with masonry. Thrse
terraces are nearly sixty feet in perpendicular height, one abo\c
the other, besides the artificial mound added at the top, making
its height nearly that of Babel ; besides, the whole is surrounded
with a deep broad ditch, more than five times the circnnference of
that Babylonian tower.

Humboldt says wc ought not to l)c surprised at the magnitude
and dimensions of this work, as on the ridge of the Cordilleras of
Peru, and on other heights, almost equal to that of Tencrifie, he

272

AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES

■M* ;

had seen raonumciit.s still more considerable. Also in Canada, he
had seen lines of defence, and entrenchments of extraordinary
length, the work of some people belongnig to the early ages of time.
Those in Canada, however, we imagine to be of Danish origin, and
to have been erected in the 9thj lOtb, and 11th centuries of the
Christian era, for reasons hereafter shown.

If then, as Humboldt states, there were found on the plains of
Canada, lines of defence of extraordinary length, it aflbrds an argu-
ment that the Norwegians and other northern nations, may not only
have made settlements there, but became a kingdom, a body poli-
tic and military, and waged long and dreadful wars with opposing
powers, who were unquestionably the Indians, who had already
driven away the more ancient inhabitants of America, the authors
of the western works, mounds and tumuli. But respecting the
tremendous monument of art, found by the hunters, which we have
^escribed above, it is said that travellers, who have attentively ex-
amined it, were struck with the polish and cut of the stones, the
care with which they have been arranged, without cement between
the joints, and the execution of the sculpture, with which the stones
are decorated ; each figure occupying several stones, and from the
outlines of the animals which they represent, not being broken by
the joints of the stones, it is conjectured the engravings were made
after the edifice was finished. But the animals and men sculptured
on the stone of this pyramid, ailbrd a strong evidence of the coun-
try from which the ancestors of those who built it came. Thcro are
crocodiles spouting water, and men sitting even cross legged, aceord-
ing'to the custom of several Asiatic nations ; finally, the whole of
the American works, of the most ancient class, from Canada to tlie
extreme parts of South America, resemble those \vhich arc daily
discovered in the eastern parts of Asia.

From the deep ditch, with which the greater monument we have
been describing, is surrounded, the covering of the ten aces, the
great number of subterranean apartments, cut into the solid rock,

AND DISCOVKRIES IN THE WEST.

27;i

on its northern bide, the wall that defends the approach to its base,
— it is believed to have been a military work of great strength.

The natives, even to this day, designate the ruins of this pyramid
by a name that signities a citadel or castle. The pyramid of Mex-
itli, found in another part of Mexico, called the great temple of
Tenochtitlan, contained an arsenal, and during the war of th^ Spa-
niards with the devoted Mexicans, was alternately resorted to fi« a
fort of defence, and a place security.

Nothing, of the warlike character, could exceed the grandeur of
a light maintained from the base to the summit of one of these tre-
mcndoes Teocalis, or pyramids. We may suppose the foe already
gathered from their more scattered work of ruin, and circling, with
yells of fury, <lie immediate precincts of the mound, while the
rushing multitude fly from their burning habitations, toward this
dernier resort. The goal is gained ; the first who reach it, ascend
to its top ; rank after rank succeed, till, in frightful circles of fero-
cious warriors, the whole pyramid is but one living mass of fury.
Now the enemy came pouring round as a deluge, ond begirt this
last resort of the wailing populace ; while warrior facing warrior,
each moment fell its thousands by the noise! ^'-s death stab of the
dirk of copper ; while from the ranks above the silent, but \ <jnge-
ful arrow does its work of deatn. Here, from the strong arm and
well ])ractised sling, stones, with furious whizzing, through the air,
cover in showers the ditjtant sqadron with dismay. Circle after cir-
cle, at the base, both of invader and invaded, fall togethfr in glo-
rious ruin. Now the top where waved such signals of defience as
rude nations could invent, becomes thinned of its defenders ; who,
pressing downward, as the lower ranges are cut in pieces, re-
new the fight. Now the farthest circle of the enemy uears the fatal
centre ; now the destinies of conflicting nations draw nigh ; those
of the pyramid have thrown their last stone ; the quiver is emptied
of its arrows ; the last spear of flint and battle-axe, have fled, with

well-directed aim, amid the throng.

i:\ fly J"

a74

AMERICA.^ ANTIQUITIES

Surrender, captivity, slavery, aucl death, wind up the account ;
a tribe becomes extinct, whose bones, when Leaped together, make
a new pyrapid. Such, doubtless, is the origin of many of the fright-
ful heaps of human bones found scattered over all the west.

We learn from Scripture, that in the earliest times, the temples
of Asia — such as that of Baal-Berith, at Shechim, in Canaan — were
not only buildings consecrated to worship, but also intrenchments,
in which the inhabitants of a city defended themselves in times of
war. The same may be said of the Grecian temples ; for the wall
which formed the parabolis, alone afforded an asylum to the be-
sieged. — Humboldt.

The religious rites of those \vho made the western tnounds, it
is believed, were the same with those of Mexico and Peru. This
is presumed from the abundance of mirrors, made of isinglass, dis-
covered on opening the round, the square, and the circumvallatory
monuments of North America. The one at Circleville was quite
entire, very large and thick ; pieces of others have been discover-
ed, in nearly ali other tumuli, Avherever they have been opened .
That they were used as mirrors, appears highly probable from their
shape and size. One of the three principal gods of the South Ame-
ricans was called by a name which signifies, " the God of the shin-
ing Mirror." He was supposed to be a god who reflected his own
supreme perfections, and was represented by a mirror, which was
made in that country, of polished obsidian, (a stone of a beautiful
kind, susceptible of a high pol.'sh,) or of mica, (isinglass,) like ours.
The scarcity of obsic7!, n, w'l'f^h is a volcanic production, may well
account for the absence of mirrors of obsidian in the west.

This deity was riMTt'sented as enjoying perpetual youth and
beauty. Other gods had images, placed on pedestals, in the Mexican
temples ; but the god of ;he shining mirror, had a mirror placed on
his. This divinity was held in awful veneration ; supposed to be
the great unknown God of the universe. Who does not here dis-

AND DISCOVERIES IN THE WEST-

275

cover a strong trace of a knowledge of the true God, derived by
tradition from the first patriarchs !

Clavigero, who was well acquainted with the history of the Mex-
icans and Peruvians, professes to point out the places from whence
they emigrated, the several places they stopped at, and the times
which they continued to sojourn there. This, we understand, is
tJie same as related before in this work, written by Humboldt, and
describes the emigration of the Azteca tribes, from Aztalan, or the
western states, to Mexico, which commenced to take place not long
after the conquest of Judea, by Titus. Clavigero supposes these
nations of Aztalan came from Asia, across the Pacific, from the re-
gion along the coasts of the Chinese sea and islands, reaching Ame-
rica not far from Bhering's Straits, and from thence followed along
the coast of the Pacific, till they came, in process of time, to a mild-
er climate. To this Mr. Atwater adds, and suppose them to have
from thence worked across the continent, as well as in other direc-
tions, as far as the regions of the western states and territories,
where they may have lived thousands of years, as their works
denote.

Others may have found their way into South America, by cross-
ing the Pacific and Atlantic at different times and places. Green-
landers have been driven upon the coast of Iceland, which is a dis-
tance of at least a thousand miles. Thus transported by winds and
waves, by stress of weather, man has found all the islands of all the
seas. In the same way may have arrived persons from Africa,
Europe, — Australasians, Chinese, Hindoos, Jappanese, Birmans,
Kamscatadales, and Tartars, on the coasts of America.

A FURTHER ACCOUNT OF WESTERN DISCOVERIES.

Six miles from Lebanon, on the Little Miami, above the mouth
of Tod's Fork, are curious remains of aboriginal works- The iaem

27ti

AMERICAN ANTiqUITIF.S

: !

of one of the forts is trapczodial ; the walls are of earth, and gene-
rally eight or ten feet high ; but in one place, where it crosses the
brow of the hill where it stands, it is eighteen feet high. The
Little Miami passes by on the west ; on the north are deep ravines,
and on the south and southeast, the same ravines continue ; making
it a position of great strength. The area of the whole enclosure is
nearly a hundred acres ; the wall has numerous angles, retreating,
salient, and accute, from which are eighty outlets or gateways.

From which circumstance we learn its citizens were very great
in number, or so many gateways would not have been needed.
Two mounds are in its neighbourhood, from wliich walls run in
different directions to the adjoining ravines. Round about thi.s
work are the traces of several roads ; two of them are sixteen feet
wide, and elevated about three feet in their centre, like our turn-
pikes.

The Sioux country, on the VVabisipinekan, St. Peters, and Yel-
low River, abound with ancient entrenchments, mounds and fortifi-
cations. Siv milps of St. Tennis, is a place, called the " valley of
bone,?," where the ground is promiBCuously strewed with human and
animal bones ; some of the latter are of an enormous .size.

On the river Huron, thirty miles from Detroit, and about eight
miles from Lake St. Clair, are a number of small mounds, situated
on a dry plain, or bluffof the river. Sixteen baskets full of human
bones, of a remarkable size, v.ere discovered in the earth, while
sinking a cellar on ti is plain, for the missionary. Near the mouth
of this river, Huron, on the east bank, are ancient works, repre-
senting a fortress with walls of earth, thrown up similar to tho,se of
Lidiana and Ohio.

At Belle Fontaine, or Spring Wells, three miles below Detroit,
arc three mounds, or tumuli, standing in a direct line, about ten
rods apart. One of the.se having been ojiened, bones, stone axes,
and arrow heads were found in abundance. Within the distance of
a quarter of a mile of these, are still to be seen the remains of an-

AM) UISCOVKRIKS IN TlIK WEST.

2T7

cient forlilications, a brc-ast work, in some places three and four
feet high, enclosiiio; several acres of lirm ground, in the centre of au
extensive swamp."

" In the State of Indiana, Franklin County, near Harrlsonville,
on the Whitewater river, ei<;ht miles from its r.iouth, on the north
side, the truces of an ancient population literally strew the earth in
every direction. On the bottoms or Hats are a great number of
mounds, very uiiecpial in size. The small ones are from two t four
feet above the surface, and the growth of timber upon them s >all,
not being over an hundred years old, while the others are from ten ■
to thirty feet high, with trees growing on them of the largest and
most aged description." — Brou-n''s Western Gazcller.

Mr. Brown, the author of the Western Gazetteer, from whose
work we extract the following, .says he obtained the assistance of
the inhabitants, for the purpose of making a thorough examination
of the internal structure of these mounds. He examined from fif-
teen to twenty of them, and found them all except one, to have hu-
man bones in ; some fdled with hundreds, of all ages, thrown pro-
miscuously together, into great heaps. He found several sculls,
leg and thigh bones, which plainly shewed, their possessors were
persons of gigantic stature.

The teeth of all the subjects he examined, were remarkably even,
and sound, handsomely and firndy planted. The fore teeth were
very deep and not so ivide as those of the generality of white peo-
ple. He discovered in one mound, an article of glass, in form re-
sembling the bottom of a tumbler, weighing five ounces ; it was
concave on both of its sides.

It is true, that although glass is said not to have been found out
till 644 of the Christian era, yet it was known to the ancient Ro-
mans, but was considered an article of too great value to be in com-
mon use. That the Romans were actually in the possession of this
knowledge, we learn from the discoveries made in the disinterod
cities of the ancient Romans, Pompeii and Herculaneum, buried

*^im

■27H

AMERICAN ANTrQUITIKS

by the volcanic eruption of Mount Vesuvius. Among the vast dis-
coveries of temples, (lwelliiiji;s, streets, j'iirdens, pr»intinp:s, sculp-
ture, skeletons, with treasures of gold, has been foi^nd one bow
window lighted with glass of a green tinge or color. The disco\»>-
ry of this article of glass in the tumuli, is a proof of its being of
European manufactory, and probably of the Roman, brought by its
ovvnci as a valuable jewel in those early times.

In this ii)ound were found several stone axes, such as are shown
on the i)late, with grooves near the heads to receive a withe, which
unquestionably serve d to fasten the helve «)n, and several pieces of
earthen ware. Some appeared to be parts of vessels, once holding
six or eiji,iit gallons, others were obviously fragments of jugs, jars,
and cups. Some were plain, while others were curiously orna-
mented V ith figures of birds and beasts, drawn while the clay or
material of which they were made, was soft, before the process of
glazing was perfoimed. The glazier's art appears to have been
well understood by the potters who manufactured this aboriginal
crockery. One of fhe skulls taken out of a mound at this place,
vva& found pierced with a flint airow, which was still sticking in
the bone ; it was about six inches long.

At the bottom of all the mounds he examuied, was found a stra-
tum of ashes, from six inches to two feet thick, v/hich rests on the
original soil. These ashes contain coal' , fragments of brands, and
pieces of calcined or burnt human bones. It is somewhat singular
to find that these people both buried and burnt their dead ; yet it
may be, that such as were burnt, were prisoners of war, who being
bound and laid in heaps, were thus reduced to ashes, by heaping
over them brush and dry wood.

Near this place, (Harrison lie) on the neighbouring hills, north-
east of the town, are a number of the remains of stone houses.
They were covered with soil, brush, and full grown trees. Mr.
Brown cleared away the earth, roots, and rubbish, from one of them,
and found it to have been anciently occupied as a dwelling. It was

long tbe vast tlis-
pfiintinps, soulp-
i foi'!:d one bow
r. The discovf-
of of its being of
n, brought by its

ich as are shoHii
e a witlie, whicli

several pieces of
els, once holding
nts of jugs, jars,
s curiously oma-
vhile the clay or
re the process of
rs to have been
I this aboriginal
uid at this place,

still sticking in

cis found a stra-
lich rests on the
of brands, and
lewhat singular
ir dead ; yet it
war, who being
es, by heaping

ng hills, north-
stone houses-
n trees. Mr.
n one of them,
elling. It was

AND DISCOVERIES liN THE VV^JST.

279

about twelve feet square. The walls had fallen nearly to the foun-
dation, liaving been buiU with the rough stone of nature, like n
stone wall. At one end of the building was a regular hearth, on
which was yet the ashes :ind coals of the last fire its owners had
enjoyed; before which were found the decayed skeletons of eight
persons, of different ages, from a smiill child to the heads of the fa-
mily. Their feet were found pointing toward the lu-aith ; and they
were probably murdered while asleep.

From the circumstance of the kind of house i people lived
in, which is the evidence of their not belonj; lo the mound
inhabitants, we should pronounce them to be a settlement of
Welch, Scandinavians, or Scotch, who had thus wandered to the
west, from the first settlements made along the Atlimtic, and were
exterminated by the common Indians, who had also destroyed or
(Iriveu away the authors of the mounds, many hundred years be-
fore these Europeans came on.

VARIOUS OPINIONS OF ANTIQUARIANS RESPECTING THE
onHilNAL INHACITANTS OF A.AIF.IUCA.

But we hasten to a conclusion of this work, by furnishing the
reader with the opinions of several anticjuarians, who stand high in
the estimation of the lovers of research ; and among these as fore-
most, is the late celebrated Dr. Samuel L. Mitchell, Professor of
Natural History. And as we have not room to give at lengtli, all
that these gentlemen have published on this subject, we shall oily
avail ourselves of extracts, such as will show their final judgement
as to what nations, or races of men they were, who built the Avorks
of which we have given an account.

In the following we have in extract, the remarks and opinions of
Dr. Mitchell in his communication to the American Antiquarian So-
ciety, of which he was a member, 1815. " I ofler you some ob-

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280

, AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES

servations on a curious piece of American antiquity, now iu New-
York. It is a human body, found in one of the limestone caverns
of Kentucky. It is a perfect exsiccation ; all the fluids are dried
up. The skin, bones, and other firm parts, are in a state of entire
preservation. .

In exploring a calcareous chamber, in the neighbourhood of Glas-
gow, in the west, for salt petre, several human bodies were found,
enwrapped carefully in skins and cloths. The outer envelope of
the body, is a deer skin, dried in the usual way, and perhaps sof-
tened before its application, by rubbing. The next covering is a
deer skin, the hair of which had been cut away by a sharp instru-
ment, resembling a hatter's knife. The remnant of tne hair, and
the gashes in the skin, nearly resemble a sheared pelt of beaver.
The next wrapper is of cloth, made of twine doubled and twisted ;
but the threads do not appear to have been formed by the wheel,
nor the web by the loom. The warp and tilling, seem to have been
crossed and knotted, by an operation like that of the fabrics of the
north-west coast, and of the Sandwich islands. The innermost te-
gument is a mantle of cloth, like the preceding, but is furnished
with large brown feathers, arranged, and fastened with great art, so
as to be capable of guarding the living wearer from wet and cold.
The plumage is distinct and entire, and the whole bears a near si-
militude to the feathering cloaks now worn by the nations of the
north-western coast of America.

The body is in a squatting posture, with the right arm reclining
forward, and its hand encircling the right leg. The left arm
hangs down by its side. The individual was a male, supposed to
be not more than fourteen at his death. There is a deep and ex-
tensive fracture of the skull, near the occiput, which probably kil-
led him. The skin has sustained but little injury, and is of a dus-
ky colour, but the natural hue cannot be decided with exactness
from its present appearance. The scalp, with small exceptions, u

vv iu New-
ne caverns
s are dried
c of entire

od of Glas-

ere found,

nvelope of

erhaps sof-

v^ering is a

larp instru-

e hair, and

of beaver.

d twisted ;

the wheel,

have been

rics of tlie

lermost te-

furnished

reat art, so

and cold.

' a near si-

3ns of the

reoliuin£»
left arffi
ipposed to
p and ex-
bably kil-
of a dus-
exactness
pptions, is

AND nSCOVERIES IN THE WEST. 2B1

covered with reddish hair. The teeth are white and sound. The
hands and feet, in their shriveled state, are slender and delicate.

It may now, says Dr. Mitchell, be expected, that I should ofl'er
some opinion as to the antiquity, and race, of this singular exsicca-
tion. First, then, I am satisfied, that it does not belong to the
class of white men, of which we are members. Nor do I believe
that it ought to be referred to the bands of Spanish adventurers,
who, between the 15th and 16th centuries, rambled up the Missis-
sippi, and along the tributary streams. I am equally obliged to re-
ject the opinion that it belonged to any of the tribes of aborigines
now or lately inhabiting Kentuclcy. The mantle of feathered work,
and the mantle of twisted threads, so nearly resemble the fabrics of
the natives of Wakash, and the Pacific islands, that I refer this in-
dividual to that era of time, and that generation of men, which pre-
ceded the Indians of the Green river, and of the place where these
relics were found."

In another letter, of a later date, to the society, he requests the
preservation of certain papers, " as worthy of being recorded in its
archives, showing the progress of his mind, in coming to the great
conclusion, that the three races, Malays, Tartars, and Scandinarians,
contributed to make up the great American population," who were
the authors of the. various works and antiquities, found on the con-
tinent. — Am. Antiquarian, p. 315.

The fabrics accompanying the Kentucky bodies, resemble, very
nearly, those which encircled the mummies of Tennessee. On
comparing the two sets of samples, they were ascertained to be as
much alike as two pieces of goods of the same kind, made «♦ dif-
ferent factories of this country.

, Other antiquities of the same class, have come to light ; speci-
mens of cloths, and some of the raw materials, all dug out of
that unparalleled natural excavation, the Kentucky cavern, which
is found to extend many miles, in different directions, very deep

iu the earth ; has many vast rooms, one in particular, of 1800 feet

282

AMB:RICAN ANTKiUITIES

ill circumrerence, and 150 in height. For a very grand descrip-
tion of this cave, see Blake's Atlas, 1826, published at New-York,
for subscribers.

The articles found in this cave were sent to Dr. Mitchell of New-
York, which were accompanied with the following note :

" There will be found in this bundle, two mocasins, in the same
state they were when dug out of the Mammoth Cave, about two
hundred yards within its mouth. Upon exainination, it will 'je per-
ceived, that they are fabricated out of different materials ; one is
supposed to be made of a species of flag, or lily, which grows in
the southern parts of Kentucky ; the other, of the bark of some
tree, probably the pappaw. There is a part of what is supposed to
be a kinniconecke, or pouch, two meshes of a fishing net, and a piece
of what is supposed to be, the raw material, and of which the fishing
net, pouch, and mocasins were made. Also, a bowl, or cup, con-
taining about a pint, cut out of wood, found also in the cave ; and
lately, there has been dug out of it, the skeleton of a human body,
enveloped in a matting, similar to that of the pouch. This matting
is substantially like those of the plain fabric, taken from the coppe-
ras cave of Tennessee, and the saltpetrous cavern near Glasgow, in
Kentucky.

And what is highly remarkable, and worthy the attenticm of an-
tiquaiiaus, is, that they all have a perfect resemblance to the fabrics
of the Sandwich, Caroline, and the Fegee islands, in the Pacific.
We know the similitude of the manufactured articles, from the fol-
lowing circumstance : After the termination of the war, in the isl-
and of Toconroba, wherein certain citizens of the United States
were engaged as principals or allies, many articles of Fegec manu-
facture, were brought to New-York, by the victors. Some of them
agree almost exactly with the fabrics discovered in Kentucky and
Tennessee. They bear a strict comparison, the marks of a similar
state of the arts, and point strongly to a sameness of origin in the
respective people that prepared them. Notwithstanding the dis-

*«

AND DISCOVERIES IN THE WEST.

283

tance of their several residences, at the present time, it is impossi'
ble not to look back to the common ancestry of the Malays, who
formerly possessed the country between tlie Alleghany mountains
nnd the Mississippi River, and those who now inhabit the islands
of the Pacific Ocean.

All these considerations lead to the belief, that colonies of Aus-
tralasians, or Malays, landed in North America, and penetrated
across the continent, (in process of time) to the region lying be-
tween the Great lakes and the Gulf of Mexico. There they resi-
ded, and constructed the fortifications, mounds, and other ancient
structures, which are the wonder of all who have seen them.

What has become of them ? They have probably been overcome
by the more warlike and ferocious hordes, that entered our hemis-
phere from the north-east of Asia. These Tartars, of the higher
latitudes, have issued from the great hive of nations, and desolated
in the course of their migrations, the southern tribes of America, as
they have done to those of Asia and Europe. The greater part of
the present American natives are of the Tartar stock, the descend-
ants of the hardy warriors who destroyed the weaker Malays that
preceded them : an individual of their exterminated race now and
then " rises f'-om tlie tomb," by which their identity of origin is as-
certained.

If the position is correct, that the Australasians, Polynesians, and
the Malays, who are all the same as to origin, peopled a part of
North America, but were driven away toward the south, by the
northern Tartars, we learn from whence the Azteca Indians, who
subdued the native Mexicans, derived their ferocity and treachery
of character; for iuch are the people who now inhabit those
islands.

The following is the character Morse the geographer, has given
them : " They are restless, iowl of navigation, war, plunder, emi-
grations, colonizing, desperate enterprises, adventures, and gallantry.
They talk incessantly of their honor and their bravery, whilst they

2R4

AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES

are universally considered, by those with whom they have inter-
course, as the most treacherous, ferocious people on the globe ; and
yet they speak the softest language of Asia." — Uni. Geoq. p. 646.

In a communication of Samuel L. Mitchell, M. D., to De Witt
Clinton, 1826, he remarks that " the parallel between the people
of America and Asia, affords this important conclusion ; that on
both continents, the hordes dwelling in higher latitudes, have over-
powered the more civilized, though febler inhabitants of the coun-
tries situated towards the equator."

As the Tartars have overrun China, so the Aztecas subdued Mex-
ico ; as the Huns and Alans desolated Italy, so the Chippewas and
Iroquois prostrated the populous settlements on both banks of the
Ohio. The surviving race, in these terrible conflicts between the
different nations of the ancient native residents of North America,
is evidently that of the Tartars. This opinion is founded upon four
considerations.

1st. The similarity of physiognomy and features. His excellen-
cy, M. Genet, some time minister plenipotentiary from France to
the United States, is well acquainted with the faces, hues, and fig-
ures, of our Indians, and of the Asiatic Tartars, and is perfectly sa-
tisfied of their national resemblance.

Mons. Cazeaux, consul of France to New-York, has drawn the
same conclusion, from a careful examination of the man of North
America, and Northern Asia.

M. Smibert, who had been employed in executing paintings of
Tartar visages for the Grand Duke of Tuscany, was so struck with
the similarity of their features to those of the Naraganset Indians,
that he pronounces them members of the same great family of man-
kind," this opinion of the Grand Duke's portrait painter, " is pre-
served with all its circumstances, iii the fourteenth volume of the
Medical Repository.

I have examined, with the utmost care, seven or eight Chinese
sailors, who had assisted in navigating a ship from Macao to New-

AND DISCOVF.aiES IN THK WEST.

285

York. The thinness of their beards, tlio bay complexion, the
black lank hair, the aspect of the eyes, the contour of the face, and
in short, the general external character, induced every person who
observed them, to remark how nearly they resemble the Mohegans
and Oneidas of New- York.

Sidi Mellimelli, the Tunisian envoy to the United States, in
1804, entertained the same opinion on beholding the Cherokees,
Osages, and Miamies, assembled at the City of Washington, during
his residence there. Their Tartar physiognomy struck him in a
moment. • .

2d : The affinity of their languages. The late learned and enter-
prising Professor Barton, took the lead in this inquiry. He collect-
ed as many words as he could, from the languages spoken in Asia
and America, and concluded, from the numerous coincidences of
sound and signification, that there must have been a common origin.

3d. The existence of corresponding customs. I mean to state, at
present, that of shaving away the hair of the scalp, from the fore
part and sides of the head, so that notliing is left but a tuft on the
crown.

The custom of smoking the pipe on solemn occasions, to the four
cardinal points of the compass, to the heavens, and to the earth, is
reported, upon the most credible authority, to distinguish equally
the hordes of the Asiatic Tartars, and the bands of the American
Sioux, the most dreadful warriors of the west.

4th. The kindred nature of the Indian Dogs of America, and the
Siberian Dogs of Asia. The animal that lives with the natives of
the two continents, as a dog, is very different from the tame crea-
ture of the same name in Europe and America. He is either a
different species, or a wide variety of the same species. But the
identity of the American and Asiatic cwrs, is evinced by several con-
siderations. Both are mostly white ; they have shaggy coats, sharp
noses, and erect ears. They are voracious, thievish and, to a con-
. siderable degree, untameable. They steal wherever they can, and

286

AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES

sometimes turn against their masters. They are prone to snarl and
grin, and they have a howl instead of barkin;;.

They are employed in both hemispheres for labour ; such as
carrying burdens, drawing sledges over the snow, and the like ;
being yoked and harnessed for the purpose, like horses. This co-
incidence of our Indian with the Canis Sibericus, is a very impor-
tant fact. The dog, the companion, the friend, or slave of man, in
all his fortunes and migrations, reflects great light on this subject,
and the history of nations, and of their genealogy.

" In addition to considerations already stated, in favour of this
opinion, may be urged the more recent discoveries concerning the
quadrupeds which inhabit the respective countries. There is con-
clusive evidence, for example, that the wild sheep of Louisiana and
California, is the Tartarian animal of the same name. Yes, the
taye-taye, of Northwestern America, is an animal of the same spe-
cies with the argali, of Northern Asia. Our mountain ram, or big
horn, is their Ovis Amman." — American Antq. So. p. 333.

But we remark, this opinion of the learned antiquarian, Professor
Mitchell, by no means lessens the probability, as is contended by
many learned men, and also is the popular belief, that notwithstand-
ing this Tartar physiognomy of our Indians, that they are, in part,
but in a mixed relation, descended of the Jews ; or in other words,
a part of the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel ; and do, in reality, in many
things, imitate the worship of the ancient Israelites. Having taught
the same to the Tartars, after they left Syria, in mass, as is related
by Esdras, in his second Book, see chapter 13, from verse 7 to
47, inclusive. See also page 40 of this work, and onward.

But we resume the remarks of Professor Mitchell, to Governor
Clinton, in reference to the authors of the works in the west. —
" The exterminated race, in the savage intercourse between the
nations of North America, in ancieni days, appears clearly to hava
been that of the Malays. The bodies and shrouds, and clothing of
those individuals, have, within a few years, been discovered in the

AND DISCOVERIES IN THE WEST.

287

) snarl and

; such as
the like ;
This co-
ery irapor-
of man, in
lis subject,

our of this
:erning the
ere is con-
lisiana and
Yes, the
same spc-
ram, or big
3.

, Professor
itended by
ivithstand-
re, in part,
her words,
y, in many
'ing taught
i is related
verse 7 to
ird.

» Governor
le west. —
tween the
•ly to have
clothing of
?red in the

caverns of saltpetre and copperas, within the states of Kentucky and
Tennessee. Their entire dried or exsiccated condition, has led in-
telligent gentlemen, who have seen them, to call them mummies.

They are some of the most memorable of the antiquities that
North America contains. The race, or nation, to which they be-
longed is extinct ; but in preceding ages, occupied tlie region situ-
ated between Lakes Ontario and Erie, on the north, and of Mexico
on the south, and bounded castwardly by the Alleghany mountains,
and westwardly by the Mississippi river.

That they were similar in their origin and character, to the pre-
sent inhabitants of the Pacific islands, and of Australasia, is argued
from various circumstances. 1st: The sameness of texture in the
plain cloth or matting that enwraps the mummies, and that which
our navigators bring from Wakash, the Sandwich islands, and the
Fogees. 2d : The close resemblance there is between the feathery
mantles brought, now-a-days, from the islands of the South Sea, and
those wrappers which surround the mummies lately disinterred in
the Avtstern states. The plumes of birds are twisted or tied to
threads, with peculiar skill, and turn water like the back of a duck.
3d : Meshes of nets regularly knotted and tied, and formed of a
strong and even twine. 4th : Mocasins, or coverings of the feet,
manufactured with reraarkeible ability, from the bark or rind of
plants, worked into a sort of stout matting. 5th : Pieces of antique
sculpture, especially of human heads, and of some other forms, found
where the exterminated tribes had dwelt, resembling the carving at
Otaheite, New-Zeland, and other places. 6th : Works of defence
or fortifications, overspreading the fertile tract of country, formerly
possessed by these people, who may be supposed capable of build-
ing works of much greater magnitude than the viorais, or burial
places, and the hippas, or fighting stages, of the Society Islands.
7th : As far as observation has gone, a belief, that the shape of the
skull, and the angle of the face, in the mummies, (found in the
west,) correspond with those of the living Malays.

288

AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES

I reject, therefore, the doctrine taught by the European natural^
jsts, that the man of icestem America (litters, in any material point,
from the man of eastern Asia. Had the Robertsons, the Buffons,
the Raynals, the De Pauwys, and the other speculators upon the
Ameriean character, and the vilifiers of the American name, pro-
cured the requisite information concerning the hemispere situated
west of u^, they would have discovered that the inhabitants of vast
regions of Asia, to the number of many millions, were of the same
blood and lineage with the millions of America, whom they affect
to undervalue and despise.

But notwithstanding the celebrity, founded on the great erudi-
tion and critical research of Professor Mitchell, we cannot subscribe
to this opinion respecting the red headed mummy now in the New-
York museum, found in a saltpetre cave in Kentucky. It is a well
known fact, that invariably all the nations of the earth, who are of
the swarthy or black complexion, have black eyes, together with
black hair, either straight or curled.

But those nations belonging to the while clas§, have a great va-
riety of colour in their eyes ; as blue, light blue, dark blue, gray,
black, and reddish, with many shades of v.ariations, more than we
liave terms to express. Where this is so, the same variety exists
respecting the colour of the hair ; blagk, white, auburn, and red.
We are sure this is a characteristic of the two classes of mankind,
the dark and the white. If so, then the Kentucky body, found in
the cave, is not of Malay origin, but of Scandinavian ; of whom, as a
nation, it is said that the predominant colour of the hair of the head
is red.

And further, we object, that the traits of ancient population found
in Canada, between Lakes Ontario and Erie, to be of Malay ori-
gin, but rather of Scandinavian also. Our reason is as follows : It
is unreasonable to suppose the Malays, Australasian, and Polyne-
sian nations of the islands of the Pacific, who were originally from
the eastern coasts of China, situated in mild climates, should pene-

AND DISCOVERIES IN THE UEST.

289

n natural-
trial point,
e BulTons,
3 upon the
lame, pro-
re situated
nts of vast
f the same
hey affect

reat erudi-
t subscribe
the New-
t is a well
who are of
ether with

a great va-
blue, gray,
re than we
riety exists
I, and red.
mankind,
Y, found in
whom, as a
if the head

ktion found
Malay ori-
ollows : It
ad Polyne-
inally from
ould pene-

trate so far north as the countries in Canada, to iix their habitations.
But it is perfectly natural that tlie Scandinavian, the Welch, or
the Scottish clans, all of whom inhabit cold, very cold countries,
should be delighted with such a climate, as any part of either Up-
per or Lower Canada.

And farther, as a reason that the Malay nations never mhabited
any part of the Canadas, we notice, tliat in those regions there arc
found no traces of their peculiar skill and labour ascribed to them
by Professor Mitchell, which are the great mounds of the west. In
Canada we know not that any have been discovered. But other
works, of warlike character, abound there in the form of long lines
of defensive preparations, corresponding with similar works in the
north of Europe, and in many places in the state of New- York, and
in other Atlantic states, as before noticed. On which account, we
do not hesitate to ascribe the ancjent traits of a former civilized po-
pulation, found between Lakes Ontario and Erie, to be of Euro-
pean, rather than of Malay origin.

FURTHER REMARKS ON THE SUBJECT OF HUMAN COM-

FLEXIONS.

As to the curious subject -bf the different complexions of man,
" I consider, says Dr. Mitchell, t^ie human family under three di-
visions. 1st : The tawny man ; comprehending the Tartars, Ma-
lays, Chinese, the American Indians, of every tribe, Lascars, and
other people of the same cast and breed.

" 2d : The white man, inhabiting the countries in Asia and Eu-
rope, situated north of the-Mediterranean Sea ; and, in the course
of his adventures, settliqg all over the world". Among whom I rec-
kon the Greenlanders, and the Esquimaux nations.

" 3d : The blade man, whose proper residence is in the regions

south of the Mediterranean, particularly toward the interior of Afri-

37 w

290

AMERICAN ANTi^UITIKS

ca. The peDple of Pupuu uiid Van Uieman's Lund, Met-ni to be of
this class."

" It is generally supposed, and by many able and inp;enious men,
that exteual physical eauses, and combination of circumstances,
which they call climate, have wronplit all thcjje changes in the hu-
man form" and complexion. " 1 do not, however, think them ca-
pable of explaining the dillbrenccs which exist among the nations,"
on this principle. " There is an internal physical cause of the great-
est moment, which has scarcely been mentioned. This is the gene-
rative influence. If by the act of modelling the constitution in the
emhryo and foetus, a predisposition to gout, madness, scrofula, and con-
sumption n»ay be engendered., we may rationallif conclude, with the
sagacious d'Azara, that the procrcative power may also shape the
natures, tinge the skin, and give other peculiaiitics to the form of
man." — American Antq- pcge 334j^332.. l^

But Mr. Volney, (see his View of America, page 407,) the
Frenchman, who, it is said, tiavulled far to the west to see the ex-
traordinary sight of the man of nature, in his pureness, unsophisti-
cated by any Bible, or priestly inlluehce, says, that the sole cause
of the difference of human complexion, is the rays of the sun and
^ climates ; and that, " soon or late, it Avill be proved that the black-
ness of the Afriqau has no other source."

To prove this, he tells us' the storji.of his acquaintance Avith a la-
mous Indian chief, the Little Tortoise ; whose skin, he says, was
as white as his own, where it 'Jiad not been exposed to the sun.
Also that when he was among the Turks, he was of the same com-
plexion with the Turks, exc^t along the upper part of his fore-
head, where the turban had screened the skin from the wind.

He farther adds the story of the coloured man in Virginia, by
name Henry Morse, ^vlio, a descentant, in^the third generation, of
Congo parentage, became, in the course of six or seven years, en-
tirely white, with long sleek brown hair, like a European. If this
was so, all we can! admit respecting it, is, that it was doubtless a

AND UISCOVKRIES IN THE WIST.

2fll

tliHorder of some sort, seaU:d in llie skin of his body, of a most for-
tunate kind, rather thun any predetermining principle in the air to
change him white. O^ J^

This author informs us also, that a negro ehild is born white, but
u;rows black within four and twenty hours. But we cannot avoid
thinking his conclusions very singular, when we recollect that in
the case of himself and Little Tortoise, the chief, that the air or cli-
mate caused them, otherwise white and fair, to become so brown
and tawny ; while, in the case of the negro, Henry Morse, the
same climate caused him, in a short time, to become exceedingly
white and fair.

The child also born u7t//e, of African parents, becoming black,
in twenty-four hours ; surely this is a powerful climate, if it is the
sole cause cf the colour of the Ethiopean. We cannot subscribe to
this gentleman's tjhicory, nor to the theory of any of the same way
of thiidiing ; for it is well known that the Indian blood, when mix-
ed with the white, is equally inveterate, if not more so, to become
eradicated by a course of time ; the sly Indian looking out, here
and there, for many generations.

This idea of the three original complexions, black, tawny, and
white, v/e have supposed was realized in the persons of Noah's
three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth ; and although Mr Mitchell
has not fixed on a starting place, he has nevertheless admitted the
principle ; and has referred the cause of complexion and shape to
the procreative and generative act, excluding, totally, any influence
which climate or food may be supposed to have, as has been con-
tended by many ; which, so far as we are able to understand his
meaning, is referring the complexions of the human race immedi-
ately to the arbitrary act of God. To this doctrine we most cor-
dially subscribe ; because it is so simple and natural, the very way
in which the great Creator always works. First fixing the jnina,-
ples of nature, as gravitation and motion, which keep the worlds in
their courses. Were it not for these, all would stand still, and na-

292

AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES

ture would die. Fire, in its endless variations, breathes througli all
matter, expands the leaves of all forests, and adorns them with all
lloAvers, gives motion to the air; v.hich, jii that motion, is called
the^ winds of heaven.

Fire gives liquesccncy to the waters of the globe ; were it not
for this, all fluids that now move over the eaith, in rivers, brooks,
springs, or oceans ; or passes, by subterranean channels, through
the earth, or circulates in the pores of trees and herbage ; with the
watery fluids of all animated life, would stand still, would congeal,
would freeze to one universal mass.

Also, in the secret embryo of earth's productions, as in all vege-
tation, all animals, and all human beings, is fixed the principle of
variety. AVere it not for this, what vast confusion would ensue.
If all human beings looked alike, and all human voices sounded
alike, there would be an end to society, to social order, to the dis-
tinctions between friend and foe, relatives and strangers ; conversa-
tion would he misapplied, identity at an end, subjects of investiga-
tion and research, arts and science, could have no objects to fix up-
on ; such a state of things would be a fearful retrograde toward a
state of insensibility and non-existence. •

And is it not also as evident, that God has fixed, as well the se-
cret principle which produces complexion, as it appears in an un-
mixed state in the human subject, as that he has the other princi-
ples just rehearsed, and equally as arbitrarily. Vegetation mixes,
and in this way gives varieties in form, colour, and flavour, not
strictly original. Also the original complexions in their pure state,
of black, tawney, and white, have also by mixtures produced their
vaieties ; hut at the outset, in the embryo, there must be a first pre-
disposing principle to each of these complexions, fixed on a more
permanent basis than that of food and ch'mate ; or else, food and
climate, after these, had made a white race of men, or a tawny
race, black, might be expected, in due time, if removed to a cli-
mate favouring, to change them all back again, as at first ; but this

AND DISCOVERIES IN THE WEST.

293

is contrary to all experience on the subject, in all ages, and climates
of the earth. Therefore we fix on the idea of a first principle, pla-
ced in the generative powers of the three sons of Noah, from whom
their several progenies derived the black, the red or tawny, and the
white, in all the simplicity and beauty of natural operation.

FURTHER REMARKS RESPECTING HUMAN COMPLEXION WITH
OTHER INTERESTING SUBJECTS.

In another communication, which in part was on the same sub-
ject, though addressed to the secretary of the American Antiqua-
rian Society, Dr. Mitchell, says, " In that memoir (alluding to the
one addressed to De Witt Clinton) I maintained the doctrine, that
there were but three original varieties of the human race, the tawny
man, the white man, and the black ; a division which I am pleased
to observe, the incomparable author of the Animal Kingdom, has
adopted in France. The former of these seems to have occupied
in the earliest days, the plain watered by the Euphrates and the
Tigris, while the white Arab, as he hassometimes been called, was
found in the regions north of the Mediterranean Sea and the sable
Arab, or negro, inhabited to the soutli of that expanse of water.

Of ihe brown, or tawny variety, are the eastern Asiatics, and
M'estern Americans, divisible into two great stocks, or genealogies
First, those in high latitudes, whom I call Tartars ; and second,
those who inhabit low, or southern latitudes, whom I consider as
Malays. I am convinced that terms, Tartar and Malay, for the
present purposes of reasoning, are equally applicable to the two
great continents ; and that, with the exception of the negro colo-
nies, in Papua, and a few other places, the Islanders in the Pacific
are Malays.

My observationc led me several years ago, to the conclusion, that
the two great continents, Asia and America, were peopled by simi-

294

AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES

lar races of men ; and that America, as well as Asia, had its Tar-
tars in the north, and its Malays in the south. America has had
her Scythians, her Alans, and her Huns ; but there has been no
historian to record their formidable migrations, and their barbarous
achievments : how little of past events do we know.

Since the first publication of my sentiments on this subject, at
home, they have been published in several places abroad. Mr. E.
Salverte, editor of the Bibliotheque Universelle, has printed them
at Geneva, in Switzerland, with a learned and elaborate comment.
The Monthly Magazine of London, contains an epitome of the same.

The comparison of the language spoken by these Asiatic and
American nations, colonies, and tribes, respectively, was begun by
our learned fellow citizen, the late Dr. B. S. Barton. The work
has been continued by the Adelangs and Vater, distinguished phi-
lologists of Germany. Their profound inquiry into the structure of
language, and the elements of speech, embraces a more correct and
condensed body of information, concerning the original tongues of
the two Americas, than was ever compiled and arranged before.
Their Mithridates surpasses all similar performances that have ever
been achieved by man.

One of my intelligent correspondents, who has surveyed with his
own eyes, the region watered by the Ohio, wrote me very lately a
letter containing the following paragraph : " I have adopted your
theory respecting the Malays, Polynesians, and Alleghanians. This
last nation, so called by the Lemi-lenapi, or primitive stock of our
hunting Indians, was that which inhabited the United States, be-
fore the Tartar tribes came and destroyed them, and who erected
the mounds, works, fortifications, and temples, of the western coun-
try. This historical fact is now proved beyond a doubt, by the tra-
ditions of the Lenni-knapi, Indian, published by Heckewelder, in
the work issued bj- the Philosophical Society of Philadelphia. I
may add, that Mr. ClltFord, of Lexington, Kentucky, has proved
another identity between the Alleghanians and Mexicans, by ascer-

AND DISCOVERIES IN THE WEST.

295

its Tar-
has had
been no
laibarous

bject, at
Mr. E.
ted them
comment,
the same,
iiatic and
begun by
rhe work
shed phi-
ructure of
orrect and
ongues of
id before,
have ever

d with his
y lately a
pted your
lans. This
jck of our
tates, be-
10 erected
tern coun-
jy the tra-
vvelder, in
elphia. I
las proved
, by ascer-

taining that many supposed fortitications were temples ; particularly
that of Clircleville, in Ohio, where human sacritices were one of
their rites. He has discovered their similarity with the ancient
Mexican temples, described by Humboldt, and has examined the
bones of victims in heaps, the shells used in sacred rites, as in In-
dia, and the idol of baked clay, consisting of three heads.

This opinion of human sacrifices was fully confirmed by the testi-
mony of Mr. Manuel Liea, during the summer of 1818. He, on
his return from the trading posts on the Upper Missouri, inform-
ed his fellow citizens at St. Louis, that the Wolf tribe of the Paw-
nee Indians yet followed the custom of immolating hunian victims.
He purchased a Spanish prisoner, a boy about ten years old, whom
they intended to offer as a sacrifice to the Great Star ; and they did
put to death, by transfixing on a sharp pole, as an offering to the
object of their adoration, the child of a Paddo woman, who being
a captive herself, and devoted to that sanguinary and horrible death,
had made her escape on horseback, leaving her new born offspring
behind.

The triad, or trinity of head;?, instantly brings to miud, a similar
article figured by the Indians of Asia, and described by Mr. Mau-
rice, in his Oriental Researches.

I received, a short time since, directly from Mexico, several pie-
ces of cloth, painted in the manner that historians have often repre-
sented. I find the mateirial in not a sinj^lo Instance to be cotton, as
has been usually affirmed. There is not a thread indicating the use
of the spinning wheel, nor an intertexture, showing that the loom
or shuttle was employed. In strictness, therefore, there is neither
cotton nor cloth in the manufacture. Tbe fabrics, on the contrary,
are uniformly composed of pounded bark, probably of the mulberry
tree, and resembles the bark cloths prepared to this day, in the
Friendly and Society islands, of the Pacific Ocean, as nearly as one
piece of linen, or one blanket of wool resembles another.

»ii

296

AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES

I derive this conclusion from a comparison of the several sorts of
goods. They have been examined together, by several excellent
judges. For, at a meeting of the New- York Literary and Philo-
sophical Society, in February, 1819, 1 laid these specimens of bark
clot^, with their respective colourings and paintings, from Mexico,
Otaheite, and Tongatabboo, upon the table, for the examination of
the members. All were satisfied that there was a most striking si-
militude among the several articles. Not only the fabric but the
colours, and the materials of which they apparently consisted, as
well as the probable manner of putting theni on, seemed to me
strong proofs of the sameness of origin, in the different tribes of a
people working in the same way, and retaining a sameness in their
arts of making a thing which answers the purpose of paper, of
cloth, and a material for writing and painting upon.

Soon after the arrival of these rolls from New-Spain, filled with
hieroglyphics, and imitative characters, I received a visit from three
natives of South America, born at St. Bias, just beyond the isthmus
of Darien, near the equator. They were of the Malay race, by
their physiognomy, form, and general appearance. Their dark
brown skins, their thin beards, the long, black, straight hair of
their heads, their small hands and feet, and their delicate frame of
body, all concur to mark their near resemblance to the Australa-
sians ; while the want of high cheek bones, and little eyes, placed
wide apart, distinguished them sufficiently from the Tartars. Other
similitudes exist. The history of M. de la Salle's last expedition,
and discoveries in North America, is contained in the second vo-
lume of his Travels. — " After travelling over plains, and sometimes
across torrents, we arrived in the midst of a very extraordinary na-
tion, called the Biscatonges, to whom we gave the name of weepers,
in regard that upon the first approach of strangers, all these people,
men as well as women, usually fell a weeping most bitterly.

That which is yet more remarkable, and perhaps very reasona-
ble in that custom, is that they weep much more at the biath ot

ANb DISCOVERIES IN THE WEST-

297

1 sorts of
excellent
id Philo-
s of bark
Mexico,
[nation of
rilcing si-
c but the
sisted, as
;d to me
ribes of a
;s in their
paper, of

illed with
roin three
le istlnnus
■ race, by
heir dark
it hair of
; frame of
Australa-
es, placed
irs. Other
xpedition,
econd vo-
sometimes
dinary na-
f weepers,
:se people,
jrly.

y reasona-
e biath ot

their children, than at their death ; because the latter is esteemed
only by them as it were a journey or voyage, from whence they
may return after the expiration of a certain time ; but they look
upon their nativity as an inlet into an ocean of dangers and misfor-
tunes. Compare this with a passage in the Terpsichore of Herodo-
tus, who flourished about 450 years before Christ, chapter 4th,
where, ir» describing the Thracians, he observes, " that the Trausi
have a general uniformity with the rest of the Thracians, (a branch
of the most ancient Greeks,) except what relates to the birth of
their children, and burial of their dead. On the birth of a child,
it is placed in the midst of a circle of its relations, who lament
aloud the evils which, as a human being, he must necessarily un-
dergo ; all of which supposed evils, they particularly enumerate to
the child, though it understand it not." — Beloe's translation. ss

To find a' custom among one of the Indian nations, in America,
which so strikingly agrees with that of the Tliracian, a branch of
the most ancient Greek people, who existed many hundred years
before Christ, is very extraordinary, and would seem to justify a
belief that we have the descendants of the Greeks in our western
forests ; which also argues that the ancestors of the tribe having
this curious custom, came early to America, or they could not have
so perfectly retained this practice, in their wanderings over Asia,
who would have inevitably lost their ancient manners, by amalga-
mations. We have before shown, in this work, that Greeks visited
South America, in the time of Alexander the Great, who, for aught
that can be objected, may have left a colony, and the Biscatonffues
may be their descendants. v

" There is an opinion among the Seneca nation of the Iroquois
confederacy, to this day, that eclipses of the sun and moon are cau-
aed by a Manitau, or bad Spirit, who mischievously intercepts the
light intended to be shed upon the earth and its inhabitants. Upon
such occasions, the greatest solicitude exists. All the individuals

of the tribe feel a strong desire to drive away the demon, and to

38 •

39d

AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES

remnre thr.reby the impediment to the transmission of luminou»
rays. For this purpose, they go ibrtb, and by crying, shouting,
drumming, and the tiring of guns, endeavour to frighten him, and
they never fail in their object, for by courage and perseverance,
they infallibly drive him off. His retreat is succeeded by a return
of the obstructed light- Something of the same sort is practised
among the Chippeways, when an eclipse happens. The belief
among them is, that there is a battle between the sun and moon,
which intercepts the light. Their great object is, therefore, to stop
the fighting, and to separate the combatants. They think these
ends can be accomplished by withdrawing the attention of the con-
tending parties from each other, and diverting it to the Chippeways
themselves. They accordingly fill the air with noise and outcry.
Such sounds are sure to attract the attention of the warring powers.
Their philosophers have the satisfaction of knowing that the strife
never lasted long after their clamour and noisy operations began.
Being thus induced to be peaceful, the sun and moon separate, and
light is restored to the Chippeways. '

Now it is reported, on the authority of one of the Jesuit fathers
of the French mission to India, that a certain tribe or people, whom
he visited there, ascribed eclipses to the presence of a great dra-
gon. This creature, by the interposition of his huge body, obstruct-
ed the passage of the light to our world ; they were persuaded they
could drive him away by terrifying sounds, in which they were al-
ways successful, as the dragon soon retired in great alarm, when
the eclipses immediately terminated.

The manner of depositing the bodies of distinguished persons af-
ter death, is remarkable. Among the tribes inhabiting the banks
of the ColumbiiL river, which empties into the Pacific Ocean, in la-
■ titude 47 degrees north, and in some of those which live near the .
waters of the Missouri, the dead body of a great man is neither
consumed by fire, nor buried in the earth, but it is placed in his ca-
noe, with his articles of dress, ornameiit, war, and hunting, and sus-

AND DISCOVERIES IX TH" WEST.

990

pended in the canoe, between two trees, to putrify in the open air.
The custom of exposing bodies to decomposition above ground, in
the morals, or places of deposit for the dead, among the Polyne-
sians, will immedijitely occur to every reader of the voyages made
within the last half century, through the I^acilic Ocean for the pur--
poses of discovery.

CANxN'IBALISM IN AMERICA.

The practice of cannibalism exists in full force, in the Fegee
islands. A particular and faithful account of it is contained in the
14th volume of the Medical Repository, chaps. 209, and 215. The
History of the five Indian nations dependant upon the government
of New- York, by Dr. Golden, page 185-6, shows that the ferocious
and vindictive spirit of the conqueror led him occasionally to feast
upon his captive. The Ottawas having taken an Iroquois prisoner,
made a soup of his flesh. The like has been repeatedly done since,
on select occasions, by other tribes. Governour Cass, of Michigan,
informed me, that among the Miamis, there was a standing commit-
tee, consisting of seven wamors, whose business it was to perform
the man eating required by public authority. The last of their can-
nibal feasts was on the body of a white man, of Kentucky, about
forty years ago. The appointment of the committee to eat human
flesh, has since that time, gradually become obsolete ; but the old-
est and last member of this eannibal society is well remembered,
and died only a few years ago.

A very circumstantial description of a cannibjil feast, where a
soup was made of the body of an Englishman, at Michilimackinack,
about the year 1760, is given by Alexander Henry, Esq., in his
book of travels through Canada and the Indian territories. In that
work it is stated that man eating was then, and always had been,
practised among the Indian nations, on returning from war, or on

-#^

.m,0maim

800

AMERICAN ANTiqUITIES

I-

overcoming their enemies, for the purpose of giving them courage
tf) attack, and resolution to die." — Med. Rep. vol. 14, pp. 261, 26V..
As extraordinary as this may appear, we are informed by Baron
Humboldt, in his personal narrative, that " in Egypt, in the 13th
centuiy, five or six hundred years ago, the habit of eating human
flesh pervaded all classes of society. Extraordinary snares were
spread, for physicians in particular. They were called to at-
tend persons who pretended to be sick, but who were only hungry,
and it was not in order to be consulted, but devoured."

Situated west, north-west, and south-west, of North America, in
the Pacific Ocean, are a vast number of islands, scattered over all
that immense body of water, extending in groups quite across to
China, along the whole Asiatic coast. The general character of
these islanders is similar, though somewhat diversified in language,
in complexion are much the same, which is copper, with the ex-
ception only of now and then people of the African descent, and
those of the Japan islands, who are white.

By examining Morse, we find them in the practice of sacrificing
human beings, and also of devouring them, as we find the savages
of America were accustomed to do from time immemorial; having
but recently suspended the appalling custom.

From this similarity, an account of which, however, might be
extended in detail, to a vast amount, existing between these island-
ers, and the disinterred remains of the exterminated race, who, as
it is supposed, built most of the works of the west, it is inferred
they are the same. Their complexion and manners agree, at the
present time, with the people of these islands ; we mean those of
the Malay race, yet remaining in South America, in their native
slate of society.

Also the natives of the Caribean islands in the Caribean Sea,
which is the same with the Gulf of Mexico, only this sea is at the
southern extremity of the Gulf are of the same race ; who, in their
migrations from the Pacific Ocean, have peopled many parts of the

AND DISCOVERIES IN THE WEST.

301

South and North American continent, the remains of whom are
found on those islands, as well as among the unsubdued nations in
the woods of South America.

It is, doubtless, a fact, that the earliest tribes who separated from
the immediate regions about Ararat, passed onward to the east
across the countries now called Persia, Bucharia, and the Chinese
empire ; till they reached the sea, or Picific Ocean, opposite the
American continent

From thence in process of time, on account of an increase of po-
poulation, they left the main continent in search of the islands, and
passing fronr; one group to another, till all those islands became
peopled, and until they reached even the western coast of not only
South but North America.

At the same time, tribes from the same region of Ararat, travelled
westward, passing over all Europe and southward, filling the re-
gions of Africa, and the islands in the Atlantic Ocean oposite the
coasts of South and North America, till they also reached the main
land, meeting their fellows, after having each of them circumambu-
lated half of the earth.

And having started from the regions of Ararat and the tower of
Babel, with languages differing, one from another, and having also
in process of time, acquired habits arising from difTerences of cir-
cumstances, mostly dissimilar one from the other ; wars for the
mastery, the most deadful, must have ensued ; each viewing the
others as intruders, from whence they knew not. This is evident
from the traditions of the inhabitants of the two Americas ; some
tribes pointing to the east, others to the west, and others again to
the north, as the way from whence their ancestors came.

According to Clavigero, the naturalist, the ancestors of the na-
tions which peopled Anahuac, now called New-Spain, might have
passed from the northern countries of Europe, (as Norway,) to the
" : northern parts of America, on the coast of Labrador, which is call-
>^>ed British America and Canada ; also from the most eastern parts

,.&.- \

30^

AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES

of Asia to the most western parts of America. Thii conclu-
sion is founded on tlie constant and general tradition of those
nations, which unanimously say, that their ancestors came into
Anahuac, or New-Spain, from the countries of the north and
northwest. This tradition is confirmed by the remains of ma-
ny anci''nt edifices, built by those people in their migrations. In
a journey made by the Spaniards, in 160(5, more than two hun-
dred years since, from New-Mexico to the river which they call
Tizan, six hundred miles from Anahuac, towards the northwest,
tliey found there some large edifices, and met with some Indians,
who spoke the Mexican language, and who told them that, a few
days journey from tliat river, towards the north, was the kingdom
of Tolan, and many other inhabited places, from whence the Mex-
icans migrated. In fact the whole population of Anahuac, have
usually affirmed that towards the north were the kingdoms and pro-
vinces of Tolan, Aztalan, Copalla, and several others, which are
all Mexican names. Boturini, or Bouterone, a learned antiquarian
of Paris, of the seventeenth century, says, that in the ancient paint-
ings of the Taltecas, a nation of Mexico, or more anciently called
Anahuac, was represented the migrations of their ancestors through
Asia, and the northern countries of America, until they established
themselves in the country of Tolan. — Morse, p. 618.

This river Tizan is, unquestionably, the river Columbia, which
belongs to tlie territory owned by the United States, bordering on
the coast of the Pacific, in latitude 47 degrees north ; which, from
Anahuac, in Mexico, is just about that distance ; and this river be-
ing the only one of much size emptying into the sea, on that side
of the Rocky Mountains, between the latitude of Mexico and the
latitude of the mouth of the Columbia ; is the reason why that ri-
ver may, almost with certainty, be supposed the very Indian Tizan.
But still farther north, several days journey, were the kingdoms
and provinces of Tolan, Aztalan, and Capallan, which were proba-
bly in the latitude with the northern parts of the United States'
lands, west of the Rocky Mountains, and filling all the regions east,

AND DISCOVERIES IN THE WEST

303

as far as to the head waters of the great western rivers, thence down
them, peopling the vast alluvials of those streams in Indiana, Mis-
souri, Illinois, Northwestern Territory, Ohio, Kentucky, Mississip-
pi, and so on, to the gulf of Mexico ; from whence, by the Tar-
tars, they were, amid the conllicts of war, either exterminated or
driven farther to the south, or lost amid the overwhelming number*
of the enemy ■

Although those kingdoms and provinces spoken of by the natives
of Tizan, to these Spanish adventurers, had many hundred years
before been vacated of their population and grandeur ; yet it was
natural for them to retain the tradition of their numbers and extent ;
and to speak of them as then existing, which, as to latitude and lo-
cation, was true, although in a state of ruin, like the edifices at the
Tizor, or Columbia. Many tribes also, like themselves, were, un-
doubtedly, scattered over the ancient sites of the greatness of their
ancestors ; but reduced to a state of savagisra, on account of the
amalgamations with the Tartars, their conquerors.

In an address delivered at New- York, before the College of Phy-
sicians, by Dr. Mitchell, which relates to the migrations of Malays,
Tartars and Scandinavians, we have the following : " A late Ger-
man writer, Professor Valer, has published, at Leipzig, a book on
the population of America. He lays great stress on the tongues
spoken by the aborigines, and dwells considerably upon the unity
pervading the whole of them, from Chili to the remotest district of
North America — whether of Greenland, Chippewa, Delawares,
Natick, Totauaka, Cora, or Mexico. Though ever so singular and
diversified,, nevertheless the same peculiarity obtains among them
all, which cannot be accidental, viz : the whole sagacity of that
people, from whom the construction of the American lanugages,
and the gradual invention of their grammatical forms is derived,
has, as it were, selected one object, and over this diffused such an
abundance of forms, that one is astonished ; while[only the most able
philologist, or grammarian of languages, by assiduous study, can

304

AMERICAN ANTI()UITIGS

obtain a general view thereof. In substance, the author, Professor
Vater, says, that through various times and circumstances, this pe-
culiar character is pic^^rved. Such unity, such direction, or ten-
dency, compels us to place the origin in a remote period, when oiie
original tribe, or people, existed, whose ingenuity and judgment en-
abled them to excogitate or invent such intricate formations of lan-
guage as could not be effaced by thousands of years, nor by the in-
fluence of zones and climates. Mr. Vater has published a larc;e
work, entitled Muhridales, in which he has given an extensive
comparison of all the Asiatic, African and American languages, to
a much greater extent than was done by our distinguished fellow-
citizen. Dr. Barton, of Philadelphia, professor of natural history.
Mr. Vater concludes by expressing his desire to unravel the myste-
ries which relate to the new and old continents ; at least to contri-
bute the contents of his volume towards the commencement of a
structure, which, out of the ruins of dilaeerated human tribes,
seeks materials for an union of the whole human race ;" in one
origin, which some have disputed ; notwithstanding the plain state-
ment of the Bible on that subject, which is a book entitled to the
term antiquity, paramount to all human records now in existence on
the earth.

" What this original and radical language was, has very lately
been the subject of inquiry by the learned Mr. Mathieu, of Nancy,
in France. The Chevalier Valentine, of the order of St. Michael,
renewed by Louis the 18th, informs me that this gentlemen has
examined Mr. Winthrop's description of the curious characters in-
scribed upon the rock at Dighton, in Massachusetts, as published in
the transactions of the Boston Academy of Arts and Sciences. He
thinks them hieroglyphics, which he can interpret and explain ;
and ascribes them to the inhabitants of the ancient Atlantic island
of Plato, called by him Atalantis. Mr. Mathieu not only professes
to give the sense of the inscription, but also to prove that the
tongues spoken by the Mexicans, Peruvians, and other occidental

ANU DlSCOVLRlEi It* THl. WESl

306

, Professor
B8, this pe-
on, or ten-
, when one
Jgment en-
ons of lon-
r by the in-
hed a large
II extensive
mguages, to
ihed fellow-
iral history,
il the myste-
ist to contri-
icement of a
man tribes,
ce ;" in one
plain state-
ititled to the
existence on

9 very lately
1, of Nancy,
St. Michael,
jntlemen has
iharacters in-
published in
:iences. He
and explain ;
tlantic island
mly professes
ove that the
,er occidental

or western people, us well as the Greek itself, with ull its dialects
and rauiilicatioits, were but derivations from the hnguage of the
primitive Atalantinns, of the island of Plu ' " See page 50, &c.

But besides the evidences that the Malay, Australasian and Poly-
nesian tribes of tlie Piicific islands, have, in remote ages, peopled
America, from the west ; coming, first of all, from the Asiatic shores
of tiiut ocean ; and also from the east, peopling the island Atalantis,
(equally early, as we believe,) once situated between America and
Europe, and from this to the continent ; yet there is another class of
antiquities, or race of population, which, says Dr. Mitchell, de-
serves particularly to be noticed. " These are the emigrants from
Lapland, Norway, and Finland ;" the remotest latitudes north of
Europe, " who, before the tenth cejitury, settled themselves in
Greenland, and passed over to Labrador. It is recorded that these
adventurers settled themselves in a country which they called Vin-
land." See page 2()7, &c.

Our learned regent, Mr. De Witt Clinton, says Dr. Mitchell,
who has outdone Governor Golden, by writing the most full and
able history of the Iroquois, or Five Nations, of New- York, men-
tioned to me his belief that a part of the old forts and other antiqui-
ties at Onondaga, about Auburn, and the adjacent country, were of
Danish character.

" I was at once penetrated by the justice of his remark ; an ad-
ditional window of light was suddenly opened to my view on this
subject. I perceived at once, with the Rev. Van Troil, that the
European emigrants had passed, during the horrible commotions of
the ninth and tenth century, to Iceland. See History of England.

The Rev. Mr. Crantz had informed me, in his important book,

how they went to Greenland. I thought I could trace the people

of Scandinavia to the banks of the St. Lawrence ; I supposed my

friends had seen the Punic inscriptions made by them here and

there, in the places where they visited. Madoc, prince of W ties,

and his Cambrian followers, appeared, to my recollection, among

:?►

306 AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES:

these bands of adventurers. And thus the northern lands of North
Ameiica were visited by the hyperborean tribes from the north-
westernmost climates of Europe ; and the northwestern climes of
North America had received inhabitants of ibe same race from the
northeastern regions of Asia.

The Danes, Fins, or Germans, and Welchmen, performing their
migrations gradually to the southwest, seem to have penetrated to
the country situated to the south of Lake Ontario," which would
be in the states of New- York and Pennsylvania, " and to have
fortified themselves there ; where the Tartars, or Samoieds, travel-
ling, by slow degrees, from Alaska, on the Pacific, to the southeast,
finally found them.

In their course, these Asian colonists probably exterminated the
Malays, who had penetrated along the Ohio and its streams, or drove
them to caverns abounding in saltpetre and copperas, in Kentucky
and Tennessee ; where their bodies,, accompanied with cloths and
ornaments of their peculiar manufacture, have been repeatedly dis-
interred and examined by the members of the American Antiqua-
rian Society.

Having achieved this conquest, the Tartars and their descend-
ants, had, probably, a much harder task to perform. This was to
subdue the more ferocious and warlike European colonists, who
had intrenched and fortified themselves in the country, after the
arrival of the Tartars, or Indians, as they are now called, in the
particular parts they had settled themselves in, along the region of
the Atlantic.

In Pompey, Onondaga county, are the remains, or outlines, of a
town, including more than five hundred acres It appeared pro-
tected by three circular or elliptical forts, eight miles distant from
each other ; placed in such relative positions as to form a triangle
round about the town, at those distances.

It is thought, from appearances, that this strong hold was stormed
and taken, on the line of the north side. In Camillus, in the same

AND DISCOV RIES IN THB WEST.

307

county, are the remains of two forts, one covering about three acres,
on a very high hill ; it had gateways, one opening to the east, and
the other to the west, toward a spring some rods from the works ;
its shape is elliptical ; it has a wall, in some places ten feet high,
with a deep ditch. Not far from this is another exactly like it, on-
ly half as large. Tliere are many of these ancient works herea-
bouts ; one in Scipio, two near Auburn, three near Cauandaigua,
and several between the Seneca and Cayuga Lakes. A number of
such fortifications, and burial places, have ako been discovered in
Ridgeway, Genesee county. — Eastmaii's Netv-York.

There is evidence enough that long and bloody wars were waged
among the inhabitants, in which the Scandinavians, or Esquimaux,
as they are now called, seem to have been overpowered and de-
stroyed in New- York. The survivors of the defeat and ruin re-
treated to Labrador," — a country lying between Hudson's Bay and
the Atlantic ; in latitude 50 and 60 degrees north, where they have
remained secure from further pursuit.

From the known ferocity of the ancient Scandinavians, who,
with other Europeans of ancient times, we suppose to be the au-
thors of the vast works about the region of Onondaga, dreadful
wars, with infinite butcheries, must have crimsoned every hill and
dale of this now happy country.

In corroboration of this opinion, we give the following, which is
an extract from remarks made on the ancient customs of the Scan-
dinavians, by Adam Clark, in a volume entitled " Clark's Disco-
very," page 145.

1st. Odin, or Woden, their supreme god, is there termed " The
terrible or severe deity ; the father of slaughter, who carries deso-
lation and fire ; the tumultuous and roaring deity ; the giver of
courage and victory ; he who marks out who shall perish in battle ;
the shedder of the blood of man. From him is the fourth day of
our week denominated Wodensday, or Wednesday.

308

AMERICAN ANTIQUITIK*

2d. Frigga, or Frega : She was his consort, called also, Feiorthe,
mother Earth. She was the goddess of love and debauchery — the
northern Venus. She was also a warrior, and divided the souls of
the slain with her husband, Odin. From her we have our Friday,
or Freya's day ; as on that day she was peculiarly worshipped ; as
was^Odin on Wednesday.

3d. Thor, the god of winds and tempests, thunder and lightning.
He was the especial object of worship in Norway, Iceland, and con-
sequently in the Zetland isles. From him we have the name of
our fifth day, Thcr's day or Thursday.

4th. Tri, the god who protects houses. His day of worship was
called Tyrsday, or Tiiseday, whence our Tuesday. As to our first
and second day, Sunday and Monday, they derived their names
from the Sun and the Moon, to whose worship ancient idolaters had
consecrated them."

From this we learn that they had a knowledge of a small cycle of
time, called a week of seven days, and must have been derived, in
some way, from the ancient Hebrew Scriptures, as here we have
the first intimation of this division of time. But among the Mexi-
cans no trait of a cycle of seven days is found, says Humboldt ;
which we consider an additional evidence that the first people who
found their way to these regions, called North and South America,
left Asia at a period anterior at least to the time of Moses ; which
was full sixteen hundred years before Christ.

But we continue the quotation. All who die in battle, go to
Vajpalla, Odin's palace ; where they amuse themselves by going
through their martial exercises ; then cutting each other to pieces ;
afterwards all the parts healing, they sit down to their feasts, where
they quaff beer out of the skulls of those whom they had slain in
battle, and whose blood they had before drank out of the same
skulls, when they had slain them.

The Scandinavians offered different kinds of sacrifices, but espe-
cially human ; and from these they drew their auguries, by the ve-

AND DISCOVERIES IM THE WEST

309

locity with which the blood flowed, when they cut their throats,
and from the appearance of the intestines, and especially the heart.
It was a custom in Denmark, to offer annually, in January, a sacri-
fice of ninety-nine cocks, ninety-nine dogs, ninety-nine horses, and
ninety-nine men ; besides other human sacrifices," on various oc-
casions.

Such being the fact, it is fairly presumable that as the Danes,
Scandinavians, and Lappoiiiac nations, found their way from the
north of Europe to Iceland, Greenland, and Labrador ; and from
thence about the regions of the western lakes, especially Ontario ;
that the terrific worship of the Celtic gods, has been practised in
America, at least in the state of New- York. And it is not impos-
sible but this custom may have pervaded the whole continent, for
the name of one of these very gods, namely, Odin, is found among
the South Americans, and the tops of the pyramids, may have been
the Altars of sacrifice.

" We have already fixed the attention of the reader," says Ba-
ron Humboldt," on Yotan, or Wodan, an American, who seems to he
a member of the same family with the Woads, or Odins, of the
Goths, and nations of the Celtic origin."

The same names he says, are celebrated in India, Scandina-
via, and Mexico, all of which, is, by tradition, believed to point to
none other, than to Noah and his sons. For, according to the tra-
ditions of the Mexicans, as collected by the Bishop Francis Nun-
nez.de la Vega, their Wodan was grandson to that illurtrious old
man, who, at the time of the great deluge, was saved on a raft with
his family. He was also at the building of the great edifice, and
co-operated with the builder, which had been undertaken by men
to reach the skies. The execution of this rash project was inter-
rupted ; each family receiving from that time a different language ;
when the Great Spirit, or Teatl, ordered Wodan to go and people
the country of Anahuac, which is in America.

310 AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES

" Think" says Dr. Mitchell, " what a memorable spot is our
Onondaga, where men of the Malay race, from the south-west, and
of the Tartar blood from the north-west, and of the Gothic stock
from the north-east, have successively contended for supremacy and
rule, and which may be considered as having been possessed by
each long enough before" Columbus was born, or the navigating of
the Western ocean thought of.

" John De Let, a Flemish writer; says that Madoc, one of the sons
of Prince Owen Gynnith, being disgusted with the civil wars which
broke out between his brothers, after the death of their father, fit-
ted out several vessels ; and having provided them with every thing
necessary for a long voyage, went in quest of new lands to the west-
tcard of Ireland ; there he discovered very fertile countries," where
he settled ; and it is very probable, Onondaga, and the country
along the St. Lawrence, and around Lakes Ontario and Erie, were
the regions of their improvements. — Carver, page 108.

" We learn from the historian, Charlevoix, that the Eries, an in-
digenous nation of the Malay race, who formerly inhabited the
lands south of lake Erie, where the western district of Pennsylva-
nia and the State of Ohio now are. And Lewis Evens, a former
resident of the city of New- York, has shown us in his map of the
Middle Colonies, that the hunting grounds of the Iroquois extended
over that very region. The Iroquois were of the Tartar stock, and
they converted the country of the exterminated Eries or Malays,
into a range for the wild beasts of the west, and a region for their
own hunters."

He says the Scandinavians emigrated about the 10th century of
the Christian era, if not earlier ; and that they may be considered
as not only having discovered this continent, but to have explored
its northern climes to a great extent, and also to have peopled them.

In the fourteenth township, fourth range of the Holland Com-
pany's lands in the State of New- York, near the Ridge Road leading
from Buffalo to Niagara Falls, is an ancient fort, situated in a large

AND DISCOVERIES Ilf THE WEST.

811

swamp ; it covers about five acres of ground ; large trees are stand-
ing upon it. The earth which forms this fort, was evidently brought
from a distance, as that the soil of the marsh is quite of another
kind, wet and miry, while the site of the fort is dry gravel and
loam. The site of this fortification is singular, unless we suppose
it to have been a last resort, or hiding place from an enemy.

The distance to the margin of the marsh is about an half mile,
where large quantities of human bones have been found, on open-
ing the earth, of an extraordinary size ; the thigh bones about two
inches longer than a common sized man's ; the jaw or chin bone
will cover a large man's face ; the skull bones are of an enormous
thickness : the breast and hip bones are also very large. On being
exposed to the air they soon moulder away, which denotes the great
length of time since their interment. The disorderly manner in
which these bones were found to lie, being crosswise, commixed,
and mingled, with every trait of confusion, show them to have been
deposited by a conquering enemy, and not by friends, who would
have laid them, as the custom of all nations has always been, in a
more deferential mode.

There was no appearance of a bullet having been the instrument
of their destruction, the evidence of which would have been bro-
ken limbs. Smaller works of the same kind abound in the country
about lake Ontario, but the one of which we have just spoken is
the most remarkable. This work, it is likely, was a last effort of
the Scandinavians.

North of the mountain, or great slope toward the lake, there are
iio remains of ancient works or tumuli, which strongly argues, that
the mountain or ridgeway, once w&s the southern boundary or shore
of lake Ontario. But by reason of some convulsion in nature, the
face of much of the western country has been redeemed from the wa-
ters which from the deluge had covered it- — Northern Budget, 1827.

The following is the opinion of Morse, the geographer, on the
curious subject of the original inhabitants, or population of America.

312

liMERICAN ANTIQUITIES

li '

He says, " without detailing the numerous opinions of philoso-
phers, respecting the original ])npulation of this continent, he will,
in few words, state the result of his own inquiries on the subject,
and the facts from which the result is deduced.

" The Greenlanders and Esquimaux," which are one in origin,
" were emigrants from the north-west of Europe," which is Nor- •
way and Lapland. A colony of Norwegians was planted in Ice-
land, in 874, which is almost a thousand years ago. Greenland,
which is separated from the American continent only by Davis'
Strait, which, in several places is of no great width, was settled by
Eric Rufus, a young Norwegian, in 982 ; and before the 11th cen-
tury, churches were founded and a bishopric erected, at Grade, the
capitaLof the settlement.

Soon after this, Rairn, an Icelandic navigator, by accident, disco-
vered land to the west of Greenland. This land received the name
of Vineland. It was settled by a colony of Norwegians in 1002,
and from the description given of its situation and productions, must
have been Labrador, which is on the American continent, or New-
foundland, which is but a little way from the continent, separated
by 'he narrow strait of Bellisle, at the north end of the Gulf of St-
Lawrence, a river of Canada. Vineland was west of Greenland,
and not very far to the south of it. It also produced grape vines
spontaneously. Mr. Elis, in his voyage to Hudson's Bay, informs
us, that the vine grows spontaneously at Labrador, and compares the
fruit of it to the currants of the Levant.

Several missionaries of the Moravians, prompted by a zeal for
propagating Christinity, settled in Greenland ; from whom we learn
that the Esquimaux perfectly rcemble the natives of the two coun-
tries, and have intercourse with one another ; that a few sailcrr
who had acquired the knowledge of a few Greenlandish words, re-
ported, that these were understood by the Esquimaux ; that at
length, a Moravian missionary, well acquainted with the language
of Greenland, having visited the country of the Esquimaux, found

AND DISCOVERIES IN THE WEST.

313

jf philoso-
it, he will,

le subject,

; in origin,
ch is Nor- •
ed in Ice-
Greenland,

by Davis'
5 settled by
B 11th cen-

Grade, the

dent, disco-
id the name
nii in 1002,
ctions, must
nt, or New-
it, separated
Gulf of St.
Greenland,
grape vines
Jay, informs
ompares the

y a zeal for
3m we learn
le two coun-
few sailorr
h words, re-
us; that at
he language
aiaux, found

to his astonishment, that they spoke the same language with the
Greenlanders," which, of course, was the same with the language
of Iceland, and also of Norway, which is in Europe, lying along on
the coast of tlie Atlantic ; as th^t the first colony of Iceland was
from Norway, and from Iceland a first colony settled on Greenland,
from thence to Labrador, which is the continent ; showing that the
language of the Esquimaux is that of the ancient Norse of Europe,
derived from the more ancient Celtic nations, who were derived
from the descendants of Japhcth, the son of Noah ; from which we
perceive, that both from country and lineal descent, the present in-
habitants are brothers to the Esquimaux, (Indians, as they are im-
properly called,) who also are white, and not copper coloured, like
the red men, or common Indians, who are of the Tartar stock.

The missionary found, " that there was abundant evidence of
their being of the same race, and he was accordingly received
and entertained by them as a friend and brother." These facts
prove the settlement of Greenland by an Icelandic colony, and the
consanguinity of the Greenlanders and Esquimaux.

Iceland is only about one thousand miles west of Norway, in
Europe, with more than twenty islands between, so that there is no
difficulty in the way of this history, to render it improbable that
the early navigators from Norway may have easily found Iceland,
and colonised it.

" The enterprise, skill in navigation, even without the compass,
and roving habits, possessed by these early navigators, renders it
highly probable, also, thit at some period more remote than the 10th
century, that they had pursued the same route to Greenland, and
planted colonies there, which is but six hundred miles west of Ice-
land. Their descendants, the present Greenlanders and Esqui-
maux, retaining somewhat of the enterprise of their ancestors, have
always preserved a communication with each other, by crossing and
recrossing Davis's Strait- The distance of Ocean between Ameri-
ca and Europe, on the east, or America and China, on the west, is

tI4

AMERICAIf A]tTIQUITIE8

no objection to tlie passage of navigators, either from design or stress
of weather; as that Coxe, in his Russian Discoveries, mentions,
that several Kamschatkadale vessels, in 1745, were driven out to
sea, and forced, by stress of weather, to take shelter among the
Aleutian islands, in the Pacific, a distance of several hundred miles ;
and also captain Cook, in one of his voyages, found some natives of
one of the islands of the same ocean, in their war canoes, six hun-
dred miles from the land of their country." — Morse.

In the year 17S9, captain Bligh was sent out under the direction
of the government of England, to the Friendly Islands, in the Pa-
cific, in quest of the bread fruit plant, with the view of planting it
in the West Indies. But having got into the Pacific Ocean, his
crew mutinied, and put him, with eighteen of his men, on board a
boat of but thirty-two feet in length, with an hundred and fifty
pounds of bread, twenty-eight gallons of water, twenty pounds of
pork, three bottles of wine, fifteen quarts rum. With this scanty pro-
vision he was turned adrift, in the open sea, when the vessel sailed,
and left them to their fate. Captain Bligh then sailed for the isl-
and of Tofoa, but being resisted by the islanders with stones, and
threatened with death, was compelled to sleer from mere recollec-
tion, (for he was acquainted with those parts of that ocean) for a
port in the East India, called Tima, belonging to the Dntrh. He
had been with the noted Captain Cook, in his voyages. The rea-
son the natives were so bold as to pelt them with stones as they at-
tempted to land, was because they perceived them to be without
arms. This voyage, however, they performed in forty-six days,
suffering in a most incredible manner, a distance of four thousand
milesj losing but one man, who was killed by the stones of the sa-
vages, in attempting to get clear from the shore of an island, where
they had landed to look for water.

" In 1797, the slaves of a ship from the coast of Africa, having
risen on the crew, twelve of the latter leapt into a boat, and made
their escape. On the thirty-eighth day, three still survived, and

AND DISC0VERIK3 ly TMK WEST

ai5

drifted ashore at Barbadoes, in the West ladies. In 1799, six meu
in a boat from St. Helena, lost their course, and nearly a month af-
ter, five of them surviving, reached the coast of South America, a
distance of two thousand seven hundred and sixtv miles." — Tho-
inas's Travels, page 283.

This author, Mr. David Tiiomas, whose work was published at
Auburn, 1819, is of the opinion, that " the Mexicans and Peruvi-
ana derived their origin, by arriving in wrecks from the sea coast
without the Strait of Gibralter, soon after the commencement of
navigation, driven thither by the current, and trade winds. See ou
page 135, and onward. He says, " if we consider in what an ear-
ly age navigation was practised, and consequently how soon after
that era America would receive inhabitants within its torrid zone,
it will appear probable that the Mexicans were a great nation be-
fore either the Tartars or Esquimaux arrived on the northern part
of this continent."

Navigation was indeed commenced at an early age, by the Egj'p-
tians and Phoenicians, probably more than sixteen hundred years
before the time of Christ, (See Morse's Chronology,) and doubt-
less, from time to time, as in Ir.ter ages, arrivals, either from design,
or froir being driven to sea by storm, took place, so that Egyptians,
Phoenicians, and individuals of other nations of that age, unques«
tionably found their way to South America, and also to the south-
ern parts of North America.

But we entertain the opinion, that even sooner than this, the
woods of the Americas, had received inhabitants, as we have be-
fore endeavoured to argue in this work, at a time when there was
more land, either in the form of islands in groups, or in bodies, ap-
proaching to that of continents, situated both in the Pacific and At-
lantic Oceans ; but especially that of Atalantis, once in the Atlan*
tic, between America and the coast of Gibralter.

In the remarks of Carver on this subject, we mean the author of
Carver's Travels, through the interior parts of north-western Ame-

316

AMCniCAIf ANTIQUITIES

rica, we have the following. " Many of the ancients are supposed
to have known that this quarter of the globe, not only existed, but
also that it was inhabited."

"Plato, who wrote about five hundred years before Cliiist, in his
book entitled " Timeaus," has asserted, that beyond the island
which he calls Atalanlis," as learned from the Egyptian Priest, and
which, according to his description, was situated in the western
Ocean, opposite, as we have before said, to the Strait of Gibralter,
" there were a great number of other islands, and behind those a
vast continent."

If some have affected to treat the tradition of the existence of
this island as a chimera, we would ask, how should the Priest be
able to tell us that behind that island, farther west, was a vast con-
tinent, which proves to be true, for that continent is America ; or
rather as a continent is spoken of by Plato at all, lying west of Eu-
rope, we are of the opinion, that this fact should carry conviction,
that the island also existed, as well as the continent ; end why not
At lantis, if PI .to knew of the one, did he not of the ether.'

If the Egyptian Priests had told Plato, that anciently there exist-
ed a certain island, with a contment on the west of it, and the Strait
of Gibralter on the east of it, and it was found, in succeeding ages,
that neither the straits nor the continent were ever known to exist,
it would be, indeed, clearly inferred, that neither was the island
known to them. But as the Straits do exist, and the western con-
tinent also, is it very absurd to euppose, that Atalantis was indeed
situated between these two facts, or parts of the earth now known
to all the world ?

Carver says that Ovideo, a celebrated Spanish Author, the same
who became the friend of Columbus, whom he accompanied on his
second voyage to the New World, has made no scruple to affirm,
that the Antilles are the famous Hesperides, so often mentioned by
the poets, which are at length restored to the Kings of Spain, the
descendants of King Hesperus, who lived upwards of three thoU'

AND DISCOVERIES I."* THE VTCST.

817

hi»

sand years ogo, and from whom these islands received their name."
De Laet, a Flemish writer, says, " it is related by Pliny," (the
Elder, one of the most liiiirned of the ancient Roman writers, who
was born twenty-three years after the time of Christ, and left be-
hind him no less than 37 volumes on natural history) — and some
other writers — " that on many of thf islands near the western eoast
of Africa, particularly on the Canaries, some ancient edifices were
seen •" even called ancient by Plyny, a terra which would throw
the time of their erection back to a period, perhaps five or six hun-
dred years before Christ.

" From this it is highly probable, says Mr. Carver, that the in-
habitants, having deserted those edifices, even in the time of Pliny,
may have passed over to South America, the passage being neither
long nor difficult. This migration, according to the calculation of
those authors, must have taken place more than two hundred years
before the Christian era ; at a time when the people of Spain were
much troubled by the Carthagenians ; from whom these islanders,
having obtained some knowledge of navigation and the construction
of boats, might have retired to the Antilles, by the way of the West-
ern Isles, which were exactly half way in their vo;age," to South
America.

Emanuel de Morez, a Portuguese, in his history of Brazil, a pro-
vince of South America, asserts that America has been wholly peo-
pled by the Carthegenians and Israelites. He brings, as a proof of
this assertion, the discoveries the former are known to have made
at a great distance beyond the western coast of Africa. The far-
ther progress of which being put a stop to, by the senate of Car-
thage, some hundred years before Christ, those who happened to
be then in the newly discovered countries, being cut off from all
communications with their countrymen, and destitute of many ne-
cessaries of life, fell into a state of barbarism.

George De Horn, a learned Dutchman, who has wiitten on the
subject of the first peopling of America, maintains that the first

ai8

AUERICAN ANTIQUITICI

founders of the colonies of this country, were Scythians, w)io were
much more ancient than the Tartars, but were derived from the
Scythians ; as the term Tartar, is but of recent date, when com-
pared with the far more aiicioiit appclhxtion of Scythian, the de-
scendants of Shem, the great progenitor of the Jews.

He also boHeves that the Phoenicians and Carthagenians, aftcr-
terwards, got footing in America, by crossing the Atlantic, and like-
wise the Chinese, by way of the Pacific. These Phoenician and
Carthagenian migrations, he supposes lo have been before the time
of Solomon, king of Israel, who flourished a thousand years before
Christ.

Mr. Thomas, of Auburn, in his volume, entitled " Travels through
the Western Country," has devoted some twenty pages to the sub-
ject of the ancient inhabitants of America, with ability evidencing
an enlarged degree of acquaintance with it — he says, explicitly, on
page 288, that " the Phoeneoians were early acquainted wiih those
shores ;" " believes that vessels, sailing out of the Mediterranean,
may have been wrecked on the American shores ; also colonies
from the west of Europe, and from Africa, in the same way. Sup-
poses that Egyptians and Syrians settled in Mexico ; the former
the authors of the pyramids of South America, and that the Syrians
are the same with the Jews ; wanting nothing to complete this fact
but the rite of circumcision ; says the Greeks were the only, or
first people, who practised raising tumuli around the urns which con-
tained the ashes of their heroes."

And, as we know, tumuli are in abundance in the west, raised
over the ashes, as we suppose, of their heroes ; should we not in-
fer that the practice was borrowtd from that people. This would
prove them originally from the regions ol 'be Mediterranean.

But notwithstanding our agreement with th s writer, that many
nations, as the Greeks, the Egyptians, the Syrians, the Phoenicians,
Carthagenians, Europeans, Romans, Asiatics, Scythians, and Tar-
tars, have, in different eras of time, contributed to the peopling of

AND DISCOVERIES Ilf THE WEST

319

v]\o were
from the
hen com-
, the de-

ins, aftcr-
, and like-
lician and
e the time
•ars before

els through
to the sub-
evidencing
icplicitly, on
I wiih those
literranean,
Iso colonies
way. Sup-
the former
the Syrians
ete this fact
he only, or
which con-
west, raised
d we not in-
This would
anean.
r, that many
Phoenicians,
ns, and Tar-
peopling of

America ; yet we believe, with the great and c 'ebrated naturalist,
Dr. Mitchell, that the anocstord of the people known by the appel-
lation of Mxl'iys, now peopling the islands of the Pacific, were
nearly amonc; the first who set foot on the coasts of America. And
that tlie people who settled on the islands of the Atlantic, and es-
pecially that of Atalantis, now no more, immediately after the dis-
persion, were they who, first of all, the Malay second, filled all
America with their descendants.

But in process of ages, as the arts came on, navigation, even
without the compass, was practised, if not as systematically as at
the present time, yet with nearly as wide a range ; and as convul-
sions in the earth, such as divided one part of it from another, as in
the days of Peleg ; removing islands, changing the shape of conti-
nents, and separating the inhabitants of distant places from each
other, by destroying tlie land, or island », between, so that when
shippin.;, whether large or small, as in /"le time of the Phoenicians,
Tyrlans, of King Solomon, the Creeks, and Romans, came to navi-
gate the seas, America was found, visited and colonized anew. In
this way we can account for the introduction of arts among the
more ancient inhabitants that they found here ; which arts are
clearly spoken of in the traditions of the Mexicans, who tell us of
white and bearded men, as related by Humboldt, who came from
the sun, (as they supposed the Spaniards did,) changed or reduc-
ed the wandering millions of the woods, to order and government,
introduced among them the art of agriculture, a knowledge of me-
tals, with that of architecture ; so that when Columbus discovered
America, it was filled with cities, towns, cultivated fields and coun-
tries ; palaces, vast aqueducts, and roads and highways of the na-
tions, equal with, if not exceeding, in some resj cvts, even the peo-
ple of the Roman countries, before the time of Christ.

But as learning, and a knowledge of the shape of the earth, in
the times of the nations we have spoken of above, was not in the
possession of men ; and from incessant wars and revolutionr *" na-

820

AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES

tlons, what discoveries may have been made, were lost to mankind ;
so that some of the very countries once known to the first navigc-
tors, have, in later ages, been discovered over again.

We will produce one instance of a discovery which has been
lost — the land of Ophir — where the Tyrian ileets went for gold, in
the days of Solomon. "Where is it ? The most learned do not
know, cannot agree. It is lost as to identy. Some think it in Afri-
ca ; some in the islands of the South Atlantic, and some in South
America ; and although it is, wherever it may be, undoubtedly an
inhabited country, yet as to certainty, about its location, it is un-
known. If all the fast discoveries had been written down, with
their latitudes and longitudes, and names been recorded, all this
confusion could never have happened. But this science was un-
known in the first ages ; on which account, aided in this way, not
only countries of the earth unknown, have been brought to light,
but a world of discoveries of other descriptions, which, from the
late invention of printing, supersedes the laborious way of writing,
of hieroglyphics, and of paintings ; so that the improvements of
men are likely never to retrograde more ; while the work of disco-
very shall proceed, till earth is ripe to be reaped, and shall be
changed, aud a new order or things succeed ; which, perhaps, shall
furnish phenomena of sufficient mystery to occupy the enlargad
scale of intellectual genius, in the work of research ; such as the
angels of God delight in. Under this idea, may, perhaps, be quot-
ed, " At his right hand are pleasures for ever more." — Bible.

k^a DISCO VKRILS I?( THiC M'ESr

321

DISAPPEARANCE OF MANY ANCIENT LAKES OF THE WEST,
AND OF THE FORMATION OF SEA COAL,

This description of American Antiquities, comes to the mind
with a far greater power to captivate, than the accounts already
given ; because to know that the millions of mankind, with their
multifarious works, covering the vales of all our rivers, many of
which were once the bottoms of immense lakes : And where the
tops of the tallest forests, peer to the skies, or where the towering
spires of many a Christian temple make glad, with their sight, the
heart of civilized man, and where the smoking chimnies of his wide-
spread habitations — once sported the monstrous lake serpent, and
the finny tribes, as birds passed, in scaly, waves alo ;g the horizon.

We look to the soil where graze the peaceful flock ; to the fields
where wave a thousiind harvests ; to the air above, where play the
wings of the low flighted swallow ; and to the road, where the
sound of passing wheels denote the course of men ; and say, can
this be so ; was all this space once the home of the waves ? Where
eels and shell fish once congregated in their houses of mud, is now
fixed the foundation of many a stately mansion, the dwelling of
man ; such the mutation of matter, and the change of habitation.

We forbear to ramble farther in this field of speculation, which
opens before us with such immensity of prospect, to give an ac-
count of the disappearance of lakes, supposed to have existed in
the west.

To do this, we shall avail ourselves of the opinions of several dis-
tinguished authors, as Volney, in his travels in America ; School-
craft, in his travels in the central parts of the valley of the Missis-
sippi ; and Professor Beck, in his Gazetteer of Illinois and Mis-
souri .

322

AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES

We commence with the gifted and highly chissical writer, C !'.
Volney, who, although we do not subscribe to his notions of theol-
ogy, yet as a naturalist, we esteem him of the liighest class, and
his statements, with his deductions, to be worthy of attention.

He commences by saying, that in the structure of the mountains
of the United States, exists a fact more strikingly apparent than in
any other part of the world, which must singularly have increased
the action, and varied the movements, of the waters. If we atten-
tively examine the land, or even the maps of this country, we must
perceive that the principal chains or ridges of thfe AUeghanies, Blue
Ridge, &c., all run in a transverse or cross direction, to the course
of all the great rivers ; and that these rivers have been forced to
rupture their mounds, or barriers, and break through these ridges,
in order to make their way to the sea from the bosoms of the
valleys.

This is evident in the Potomac, Susquehannah, Delaware, James
River, and others, where they issue from the confines of the moun-
tain, to enter the lower country. But the example which most at-
tracted his attention on the spot, was that of the Potomac, three
miles below the mouth of the Shenandoa. He was coming from
Fredericktown, about twenty miles distant, and travelling from the
southeast toward the northwest, through a woody county, with gen-
tle ascents and descents ; after he had crossed one ridge, pretty
distinctly marked, though by no means steep, began to see before
him, eleven or twelve miles Avestward, the chain of the Blue Ridge,
resembling a lofty rampart, covered with forests, and having a
breach through it from top to bottom. He again descended into the
undulating woody country, which separated liim from it ; and at
length, on approaching it, he found himself at the foot of this great
mountainous rampart, which he had to cross, and ascertained to be
about three hundred and fifty yards high, or an hundred and twen-
ty-one rods; nearly an half mile.

AND DISCOVERIES IN THE WEST.

3'3i

On emerglug from the wood, he had a full view of this tremeu-
dous breach, which he judged to be about twelve hundred yards
wide, or two huiided and twenty-five rods, which is about three-
fourths of a mile. Thro' the bottom of this breach ran the Potomac,
leaving on its left a passable bank or slope, and on its right washing
the foot of the breach On both sides of the chasm, from top to
bottom, mnny trees were then growing among the rocks, and in part
concealed the place of the rupture ; but ut two thirds of the
way up, on the right side of the river, a large perpendicular space
remains quite bare, and displays plainly the traces and scars of the
ancient land, or natural wall, whic! once dammed up this river,
formed of grey quartz, which the victorious river has overthrown,
rolling its fragments a considerable distance down its course. Some
large blocks that have resisted its force, still remain as testimonials
of the convulsion.

The bed of this river, at this place, is rugged, with fixed rocks,
which ere, however, gradually wearing away. Its rapid waters
boil and foam through these obstacles, which, for a distance of two
miles form very dangerous falls or rapids. From the height of the
mountain, on each side of the river, and from attending circumstanc-
es, the rapids below the gap and the narrows, for several miles
above the immediate place of rupture, are sufficient evidence that
at this place was originally a mountain dam to the river, consequent-
ly a lake above must have been the effect.

" At the end of three miles, he came to the coifluence of the ri-
ver Shenaudoa, which issued out suddenly from the steep moun-
tain of the Blue Ridge. This river is but about one third as wide
as the Potomac ;" having, like that river, also broken through a
part of the same ridge. He says, "the more he considered this
spot and its circumstances, the more he was confirmed in the belief
that formerly the chain of the Blue Ridge, in its entire state, com-
pletely denied the Potomac a passage onward ; and that then all
the waters of the upper part of the river, having no issue, forined

334 * AMEBICAX ANTIQUITIE«

•everal considerable Inkes. The numerous tranverse chains that
succeed each other, beyond Fort Cumberland, could not fail to oc-
casion several more west of North Mountain."

" On the other hand, all the valley of the Shenandoah and Co-
nigocheague, must have been the basin of a single lake, extending
from Staunton to Cliambersburgh ; and as the level of the hills,
even those from which these two rivers derive their source, is much
below the chains of the Eluge Ridge and North Mountain, it is
evident that this lake must have been bounded, at first, only by the
general line of the summit of these two great chains ; so that in
the earliest ages it must have spread, like them, toward the south,
as far as the great Alleghanies."

At that period, the two upper branches of James River, equally
bounded by the Blue Ridge, would have swelled it with all their
waters ; while toward the north, the general level of the lake, find-
ing no obstacles, must have spread itself between the Blue Ridge
and the chain of Kittatinny, not only to the Susquehannah and
Schuylkill, but beyond the Schuylkill, and even the Delaware.

Then all the lower country, lying between the Blue Ridge and
the sea, had only smaller streams, furnished by the eastern declivi-
ties of that ridge, and the overflowing of the lake pouring from its
summit over the brow of the ridge ; in many places forming cas-
cades of beauty, which marked the scenery of primeval landscape,
, immediately after the deluge.

" In consequence, the liver there, being less, and the land gene-
rally more flat, the ridge of taick granite must have stopped the
waters, and formed marshy lakes. The sea must have come up
to the vicinity of this ridge, and there occasioned other mashes of
the same kind, as the Dismal Swamp, near Norfolk ;" being partly
in the states of Maryland and Delaware. " And if the reader re-
collect, the stratum of black mud mingled with osier and trees,
which is found every where in boring on the coast, he will see in
it a proof of the truth of this hypothesis."

AND DISCOVERIES IN THE WEST.

325

Hut when the great embaiikmeat gave way, by the weight of the
waters above, or by attrition, convulsion, or whatever may have
been the cause of their rupture, tlie rush of the waters brought from
above, all that stratum of earth now I3 ing on the top of these sub-
terranean trees, osiers, anJ mud, above noticed.

" This operation must have been fo much the easier, as Blue
Ridge in general, is not a homogeneous mass crystalizcd in vast
strata, but a heap of detached blocks, of difcient magnitudes, mix-
ed with vegetable mould, easily diOusible in water; it is in fact, a
wall, the stones of which are imbedded in clay ; and as its declivities
are very steep, it frequently happens that thaws and heavy rains,
by carrying away the earth, deprive the masses of stone of their
support, and then the fall of one or more of these, occasions very
considerable stone slips or avalanches, which continue sometimes
for several hours."

" From this circumstance, the falls from the lake must have acted
with the more effect and rapidity. Their first attempts have left
traces in those gaps with which the line of summits is indented
from space to space, or from ridge to ridge. It may be clearly per-
ceived on the spot, that these places were the first drains of the
surplus waters, subsequently abandoned for others; where the work
of demolition was more easy."

" It is obvious, that the lakes flowing ofi' must have changed the
whole face of the lower country. By this were brought down all
these earths of a secondary form.ation, that compose the present
plain. The ridge of talcky granite, pressed by more frequent and
voluminous inundations, gave way in several points, and its marshes
added their mud to the black mud of the shore, which, at present,
we find buried under the alluvial earth, afterward brought down by
the enlarged rivers."

In the valley between the Blue Ridge and North Mountain, the
changes that took place, were conformable to the mode in which
the water flowed off Several breaches having, at once or in suc-

32C

AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES

cession, given a passage to the streams of water, now called James,
Potomac, Susquehannah, Schuylkill, and Delaware, their general
and common reservoir was divided into as many distinct lakes, sepa-
rated by the risin<i,; of the ground that exceeded this level. Each
of these lakes had its particular drain, and this drain being at length
worn down to the lowest level, the land vras left completely un-
covered.

This musi, have occunrd earlier with Jamos, Susquehaimah,
and Delaware, because their basins are more elevated, and it must
have happened more ■■ecently with the Potomac, for the opposite
reason, its basin being the deepest of all."

" How far the Delaware then extended the reflux of its waters
toward the east, he could not ascertain ; however, it appears its ba-
Lin was bounded by the ridge that accompanies its left bank, and
which is the apparent continuation of the Blue Ridge, auL North
ni9untain. It is probable that its basin has always been separate
from that of the Hudson, as it is certain that the Hudson has al-
ways had a distinct basin, the limit and mound of which, were
above West Point, at the place called the Highlands.

To every one who views this spot, it seems incontestible, that
the transverse chain bearing the nar.e of the Highlands, was for-
merly a bar to the course of the entire river, and kept its waters at
a considerable height ; and considering that the tide flows as far as
ten miles above Albany, is the proof that the level above the ridge,
was a lake, which reached as far as to the rapids at Fort Edward.

At that time, therefore, the Cahoes or falls of the Mohawk did
not appear, and till this lake was drained off' through the gap at
West Point, the sound of those falls were not heard.

" The existence of this lake explains the cause of the alluvials,
petrified shells, and strata of schist and clay, mentioned by Dr.
Mitchell, and proves the justice of the opinions of this judicious
observer, respecting the stationary presence of waters in ages past,
along the valley of many of the American rivers. These ancient

AND DISCOVERIES III THE VfEdT-

327

1 James,
general
es, sepa-
1. Each
at length
ctcly un-

lehaiinah,
id it must
; opposite

its waters
;ars its ba-
bank, and
anc North
n separate
son has al-
lich, were

tible, that
was for-
waters at
& as far as
the ridge,
Edward,
lawk did
the gap at

alluvials,
ed by Dr.
9 judicious

ages past,
se ancient

lakes, now dreaned by the rupture of their mouuds, explains an-
other appearance which is observed in the valley of such rivers as
are supposed to have been once lakes, as the Tennessee, the Ken-
tucky, the Mis.sissi])pi, the Kauhawiiy, iiiifl the Ohio. This ap-
pearance is the several stages or Hats, observed on tlie banks of
these rivers, and mast of the rivers of America, as if tlie watei
once was higher, than at subse(iucnt periods, and by some means
were drained olT more ; so that the volume of water fell lower,
when a new mark of embankment would be formed, marking the
original heights of the shores of these rivers.

In none is this appearance more perceptible than the Ohio, at the
place called Cincinnati, or Fort Washington; here the original, or
first bank, is nearly fifty feet high, and runs along parallel with the
river, at the distance of about seventy-five rods. The high floods,
sometimes even now, overflow this first level. '

At other places the banks are marked, not with so high an an-
cient shore, but then the lowness of the country, in such places, ad-
mitted the spread of the waters to the foot of the hills of nature.
When we examine the arrangement of these flats, which are pre-
sented in the form of stages along this river, we remain convinced
that even the most elevated part of the plaii;, or highest level, about
Cincinnati, has been once the seat of waters, and even the primi-
tive bed of the river, which appears to have had three different pe-
riods of decline, till it has sunken to its present-bed or place of its
current."

" The first of the periods was the time whei the transverse ridg-
es of the hills yet entire, barred up the course of the Ohio, and act-
ing as mounds to it, kept the water level with their summits. All
the country within this level was then one immense lake, or marsh
of stagnant water. In lapse of time, and from the periodical ac-
tion of the floods, occasioned by the annual melting of the snows,
some feeble parts of the mound were worn away by the water."

^»i*^.

329

AMERICAN ANTiqUrriEa

** One of the gaps having at length given away to the current,
the whole eflort of the waters was collected in that point, which
soon hollowed out for itself a f^reater depth, and thus sunk the lake
several yards. This first operation uncovered the upper or first level
on which the waters had stood, from the time of the subsiding of
the deluge till the first rupture took place.

From the appearances of the shores of the river, it seems to have
maintained its position after the first draining, some length of lime,
80 as distinctly to mark the position of the waters, when a second
draining took place, because the waters had, by their action, remo-
ved whate\ er may have opposed the first attempt to break down
their mound or barrier.

" The third and last rent of the barrier, took place at length, when
the fall of the water became more furious, being now more concen-
trated, scooped out for itself a narrower and deeper chaimel, which
is its present bed, leaving all the immenss alluvial regions of the
Ohio bare, and e:.po:»ed to the rays of the sun.

" It is probable that the Ohio has been obstructed at more places
than one, from Pittsburgh to the rapids of Louisville, as that below
Silver creek, about five miles from the rapids of the Ohio, and
towards Galliopolis and the Sciota, several transverse chains of
mountains exist, very capable of answering this purpose. Volney
says it was not till his return from Fort Vincent on the Wabash,
that he was struck with the disposition of a chain of hills below
Silver Creek."

This ridge crosses the basin of the Ohio from north to south, and
has obliged the river to change its direction, from the east toward
the west, to seek an issue, which in fact it finds at the confluence
of Salt river ; and it may even be said, that it required the copious
and rapid waters of this river and its numerous branches, to force
the mound that opposed its way at this place."

The steep declivity of these ridges requires about a quarter of an
hour to descend it, by the way of the road, though it is good and

AND DISCOVERIES IN THE VTEST.

329

current,
t, which

the lake
firsit level
jsidiny of

IS to have
lof time,
> a second
oil, remo-
:ak down

gth, when
re concen-
lel, which
ons of the

lore places
;hat below
Ohio, and

chains of
Volney

Wabash,
ills belovf

south, and
ast toward
confluence
le copious
;s, to force

arter of an
good and

commodious, and by comparison with other hills round, he conceiv-
ed the perpendicular height to be -i,jut four hundred feet, or
'twenty-five rods." "The summit" of those hills, when Volney
examined them, " was too thickly covered with wood for the late-
ral course of the chain to be seen ;" but so far as he could ascer-
tain, "perceived that it runs very far north and south, and clo-
ses the basin of the Ohio, throughout its whole breadth."

This basin, viewed from the summit of this range, exhibits the
appearance and form of a lake so strongly, that the idea of the an-
cient existence of one here, is indubitable.

" Other cijcumstances tend to confirn this idea, for he observed
from this chain to White River, eight miles from Fort Vincent,
that the country is interspersed by a number of ridges, many of
them steep, and even lofty ; they are particularly so beyond Blue
Ridge, and on both banks of White River, and their direction is
every where such, that they meet the Ohio transversely."

" On the olher hand, he found, at Louisville, that the south or
Kentucky bank of the river, corresponding to them, had similar
ridges ; so that in this part, there is a succession of ridges capable
of opposing powerful obstacles to the waters. It is not till lower
down the river, that the country becomes flat, and the ample sa-
vannahs of the Wabash and Green River commence, which extend-
ing to the Mississippi, exclude every idea of any other mound or
barrier to the waters on that side of the river."

There is another fact in favor of " these western rivers having
been, in many places, lakes, found in this country ; and is noticed
as a great singularity. In Kentucky*, all the rivers of that country
flow more slowly near their sources than at their mouths ; which is
directly the reverse of what takes place in most rivers of other
parts of the world ; whence it is inferred, that the upper bed of the
rivers of Kentucky, is a flat country, and that their lower bed, at
the entrances of the vale of the Ohio, is a descending slope."

\!:n.

2t^

:;.*..

AMERICin AiNTIQUITIES

Now this perfectly accords with the idea of an ancient lake ; for
•t the time when this lake extended to the foot of the AUeghanies,
its bottom, particularly toward it5 mouth, must have been nearly
smooth and level, its surface being broken by no action of the wa-
ters; but when the mounds or hills, which confined this tranquil
body of water, were broken down, the soil laid bare, began to be
furrowed and cut into sluices, by its drains, end when at iciiftth,
the current became concentrated in the vale of the Ohio, and de-
molished its dyke more rapidly, the soil of this vale washed away
with violence, leaving a vast channel, the slopes of which occasion-
ed the waters of the plain to flow to it more quickly ; and hence
this current, which, notwithstanding the alterations that have been
going on ever since, have continued more rapid to the present day."
" Admitting then, that the Ohio has been barred up, either by
the chain of Silver Creek, or any other contiguous to it, a lake of
great extent must have been the result. From Pittsburgh the
ground slopes so gently, that the river when low, does not run two
miles an hour; which indicates a fall of four inches to the mile.

" The whole distance from Pittsburgh to the rapids of Louisville,
following all the windings of the river does not exceed six hun-
dred miles. From these data we have a difference of level amount-
ing to two hundred feet," which does not exceed the elevation
of the ranges of hills supposed to have once dammed up th#
Ohio river at that place. Such a mound could check the waters,
and turn them back as far as to Pittsbuigh.

Such having been the fact, what an immense space of the west-
em country must have lain under water, from the subsiding of the
flood till this mound was broken down. This is made apparent by
the spring freshets of the Ohio, at the present time, which rising
only to the height of fifty feet, keeps back the water of the Great
Miami, as far as Greenville, a distance of seventy miles up the
country to the north, where it occasions a stagnation of that river,
and even an inundation."

AND DISCOVERIES IN TilE WCb'T

S9l

:c; for
hanies,

nearly
the wa-
tranquil
Z.U to be
: ieiiRtli,

and de-
ed away
)ccasion-
[\d hence
ave been
lint day."
either by
a lake of
jurgh the
(t run two
le mile.

louisville,

six hun-

amount"

elevation

d up th#

le waters,

the west-
ing of the
^parent by
lich rising

the Great
les up the
Ithat river.

In the vernal inundutiona, the nurtli branch of the Great Miami,
forms but one with the south branch of the Miami ; the spaca be*
twecn becomes one body of water. " The south branch runs into
Lake Erie, and is sometimes called St. Mary's river. The carry-
ing place or portage between the heads of these two rivers, is but
three miles, and in high water tlie space can be passed over in a
boat, from out; which runs into the Ohio, to the other which runs
into Lake Erie."

This, Mr. Volney states to have been the fact, as witnessed by
himself on the spot, in the year 1796 ; so near are all these waters
on a level with f;ach other. He says, that " during the year 1792,
a mercantile house at Fort Detroit, which is at the head of Lake
Erie, desputched two canoes, which passed immediately without
carrying from the River Huron, running into Lake Erie to Grand
River, which ru. s into Lake Michigan, by the waters at the head
of each of these rivers, overflowing. The Muskingum, which runs
into the Ohio, also communicates, by means of its sources and of
small lakes, witlj the waters of the river Cayahoga, which flows
into Lake Erie."

From all these facts united it follows, that the surface of the le-
vel country between Lake Erie and the Ohio, cannot exceed the
level of the flat next to the water of the Ohio, more than an hun-
dred feet, nor that of the second flat or level, which is the general
surface of the country, more than seventy feet ; consequently, a
mound of two hundred feet at Silver Creek, six hundred miles
down the Ohio from Pittsburgh, would have been sufficient to keep
back its waters, not only as far as Lake Erie, but even to spread
them from the last slopes of the Alleghanies, to the north of Lake
Superior."

" But whatever elevation we allow this natural mound, or if we
suppose there were several in different places, keeping back the wa-
ter in succession, the existence of sedentary waters in this western
country, and ancient lakes such as we have pointed out between
Blue Ridge and North Mountain, is not the less an incontrovertible

3S9

iMERICAN ANTIQUITlCa

fact, as must appear to every oue who coutemplates the country ;
and this fact explains, in a simple and satisfactory manner, a num>
bcr of local circumstance9,«which, on the other hand, serve as proofs
of the fact." For instance, these ancient lakes explain why, in
every part of the basin of the Ohio, the land is always leveled in
horizontal beds of different heights ; why these beds are placed in
the order of their specific gravity ; and why we find in various pla-
ces remains of trees, of osier, and of other plants. They also, hap-
pily and naturally account for the formation of the immense beds
of sea coal found in the western country, in certain situations, and
particular districts. In fact, from the researches which the inhabit-
ants have mode, it appears that the principal seat of coal is above
Pittsburgh, in the space between the Laurel mountain and the rivers
Alleghany and Monongahela, where exists almost throughout, a stra-
tum, at the average depth of twelve and sixteen feet. This stra-
tum is supported by the horizontal bed of calcareous stones, and
covered with strata of schists and slate ; it rises and falls with these
on the hills and in the vallies, being thicker as it rises with the
hills, but thinner in the vales."

" On considering its local situation, we see it occupies the lower
basin of the two rivers we have mentioned, and of their branches,
the Yohogany and Kiskemauitaus, all of which flow through a
nearly flat country, into the Ohio below Pittsburgh." •

" Now on the hypothesis of the great lake of which we have
spoken, this part will be found to have been originally the lower ex-
tremity of the lake, and the part where its being kept back would
have occasioned still water. It is admitted by naturalists, that coal
is formed of heaps of trees carried away by rivers and floods, and
afterwards covered with earth."

These heaps are not accumulated in the course of the stream, but
in parts out of it, where they are left to their own weight ; which be-
eomes saturated with water, within a sufficient lapse of time, so as
to increase their gravity sufficient to sink to the depths below.

AND DISCOVERIES IN THE WEST

333

juntry ;
a num-
IS proofs
why, in
veled in
laced in
iou3 pla-
Iso, hap-
nse beds
ions, and
! inhabit-

is above
the rivers
•ut, a stra-
This stra-
snes, and
vith these

with the

the lower
branches,

through a

we have
lower ex-
ick would
that coal
oods, and

rearm, but
■which be«
me, so as

■v.

*' This process may be obsi^rved, even now, in n>any rivers of
America, particularly in the Mississippi, which annually corries
along with its current a great number of trees. Some of these trees
are deposited in the bays and eddii's, and there left in still water to
sink ; but tlie greater part reach the borders of the ocean, where
the current being balanced by the tide, they are rendered sta-
tionary, and buried under the mud and sand, by the double action
of the stream of the river and the reflux of the sea."

" In the same manner, ancient'y, the rivers that flow from the
Alleghany and Laural mountains into the basin of the Ohio, finding;
toward Pittsburgh, the dead waters and tail of the great lake,
there deposited the trees and drift wood which they still carry away
by thousands, when the frost breaks up, and the snows melt in the
spring : These trees were accumulated in strata level as the fluid
that bore them ; and tlie mound of the lake sinking gradually, as we
have before explained, its tail was likewise lowered by degrees,
and the place of deposit changed as the lake receded ; forming that
vast bed which, in the lapse of ages, has been subsequently cover-
ed v/ith earth and gravel, and acquired the mineral qualities of
coal, the .state in which we find it."

" Coal is found in several other parts of the United States, and
always in circumstances analagous to those we have just described.
In the year 17S4, at the mouth of the rivulet Laminskicola, which
runs into the Muskingum, the stratum of coal there took fire, and
burnt for a whole year. This mine is a part of the mass of which
we have been speaking ; and almost all the great risers that run
into the Ohio, must have deposits of this kind in their flat and long
levels, and in the places of their eddies.

" The upper branches of the Potomac, above and to the left of
Fort Cumberland, have been celebrated some years for their strata
of coal embedded along their shores, so that boats can lie at their
banks and load.

w¥]

334 AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES

" Now, this part of the country has every appearance of having
been once a lake, produced by one or more of the numerous trans-
verse ridges that bound the Potomac above and below Fort Cum-
berland.

" In Virginia, tlie bed of James River rests on a very considera-
ble bed of coal. At two or three places, where shafts have been
sunk, on its left bank, after digging an hundred and twenty feet
through red day, a bed of coal, about four and twenty feet thick,
has been found on an inclined stratum of granite. It is evi<^ent
that at the rapids, lower down, where the course of the river is still
checked, it was once completely obstructed ; and then there must
have been a standing, and very probably a lake "

The reader will observe, that wherever there is a rapid, a stagna-
tion takes place in the sheet of water above, just as there is at a
mill head ; consequently the drifted trees must have accumulated
there, and Avhen the outlet of the lake had hollowed out for itself a
gap, and sunk its level, the annual floods brought down with them
and deposited the red clay now found there ; as it is evident that
this clay was brought from some other place, for the earth of such
ft quality belongs to the upper part of the course of the river, parti-
cularly to the ridge called South West.

" It is possible that veins or mines of coal, not adapted to this
theory, may be mentioned or discovered on the coast of the
Atlantic. But one or more such instances will not be sufficient to
subvert this theory ; for the whole of this coast, or all the land be-
tween the ocean and the AUeghanies, from the St. Lawrence to
the West Indies, has bf n destroyed by earthquakes ; the traces of
which are every where to be seen, and these earthquakes have
altered the arrangement of strata throughout the whole of this

space

Thus far we have given the view of this great naturalist respect-
ing the existence of ancient lakes to the west, and of the formation
of the strata of sea coal in those regions. If then it be allowed that

▲ND DISCOVERIES IN THE WEST.

335

having
IS trans-
rt Cum-

insidera-
Lve been
inty feet
et thick,
evit'ent
er is still
,ere must

a stagna-
re is at a
umulated
or itself a
vith them

dent that
of such

er, parti-

d to this

St of the

fficient to

land be-

wrence to

traces of

ces have

e of this

t respect-
formation
wed that

timber being deposited deep in the earth, becomes the origin of that
mineral, we discover at once the chief material which feeds the in-
ternal fires of the globe.

The earth, at the era of tlie great deluge, being (tovered with an
immensity of forests, more than it now presents, furnished the ma-
terial, when sunk and plunged to the unknown depths of the then
soft and pulpy globe, for exhaustless strata of sea coal.

This, by some means, having taken fire, continues to burn, and
descending deeper and deeper, spreading farther and farther, till
the conquerless element has even under sunk the ocean ; from
whence it frequently bursts forth in the very middle of the sea, ac-
companied with all the grandeur of display, and phenomena of fire
and water, mingled in unbounded wan'are. This internal opera-
tion of fire feeding on the unctions minerals of the globe, among
which, as chief, is sea coal, becomes the parent of many a new isl-
and, thrown up by the violence of that element.

Various accidents are supposeable by which sea coal may have,
at first, taken fire, so as to commence the first volcanoe ; and in its
operations to have ignited other mineral .substances, as sulphur,
saltpetre, bitumen, and salts of various kinds. An instance of the
ignition of sea coal by accident, is mentioned in Dr. Beck's Ga-
zetteer, to have taken place on a tract of country, called the Ame-
rican Bottom, situated between the Kai.;kaskia River and the mouth
of the Missouri. On this great alluvion, which embraces a body
of land equal to five hundred square miles, sea coal abounds, and
was first discovered in a very singular manner. In clearing the
ground of its timber, a tree took fire, which was standing, and was
dry, which communicated to the roots, but continued to burn much
longer than was sufiicient to exhaust the tree, roots and all.

But upon examination, it was found to have taken hold of a bed
of coal, which continued to burn until the fire was smothered by
the falling in of a large body of earth, which the fire had under-
mined by destroying the ^oal, and causing a cavity. This is a vol-

336

AMERICAN ANTIQUITIEfl

cano in miniature, and how long it might have continued it ravages,
with increased violence, is unknown, had it not have so opportune-
ly been extinguished.

But this class of strata of that mineral lies, of necessity, much
deeper in many places than any other of the kind, deposited since
the flood, by the operation of rivers and lakes. If, as we have sup-
posed in this volume, the earth, previous to the flood of Noah, had
a greater land surface than at the present time, we find in this sup-
position, a sufficiency ot wood, the deposition of which, being thrown
into immense heaps by the whirls, waves and eddies of the waters,
to make whole subterranean ranges of this coa! equal in size to the
largest and longest mountains of the globe.

These ranges, in many places, rise even above the ordinary sur-
face of the land, ha\ing been bared, since the flood, by the violence
of convulsions occasioned by both volcanic fires and the irruptions
of waters.

If those philosophers, who aflect to despise the writings of Moses,
as found in ihe Book of Genesis, the cmly author the wide earth ever
afforded, who has given us an account of the delnge, would think of
this fact, the origin of sea coal, they could not but subscribe to this
one account, at least, which that book has given of the flood. The
insignificant depositions of timber, occasioned by the drawing off of
lakes, or change of water courses, since the flood, cannot be sup-
posed to be in sufficient quanities to furnish the vast magazines of
this mineral, compared with that of the universal flood. These
strata of coal, appearing too in such situations as to preclude all idea
of their having been formed by the operation of water since the
flood, so that we are driven, by indubitable deduction of fair and
logical argument, to resort to just such an occurence as the deluge,
the account of which is given by Moses in the Scripture. So that
if there were never an universal flood, as tated in the Bible, the in-
genuity of sceptical philosophy would be sadly perplexed, as well
as all others, to account for the deposition of wood enough to fur-

AND DISCOVERIES IN THE WEST.

337

uish all the mines of this article found over the whole earth, in its
several locations.

If another flood were to drown the world, its deposits of timber
could not equal, by one half, the deposits of the Noachian deluge,
on account of the land surface of the earth having, under the influ-
ence of that flood, been greatly diminished. If it be truly said in
the Bible, that the earth perished by water, and also that the foun-
tains of the great deep, (subterranean seas,) were broken up, we
arrive at the conclusion, that there was more wood devoted to the
purpose of coal creation, because there was, it is likely, double the
quantity of surface of dry land for the forest to grow upon.

FURTHER .: ',::KS ON THE DRAINING OF THE WESTERN
OOIJNTRY OF ITS ANCIENT LAKES.

In corroboration of the theory of Mr. Volney, on this subject,
we give the brief remarks of that accurate and pleasing writer, Mr.
Schoolcraft, well known to the reading class of the public. He
says, while treating on the subject of the appearance of the two
prints of human feet, in the limestone strata, along the shore of the
Mississippi, at St. Louis : " May we not suppose a barrier to have
once existed across the lower part of the Mississippi, converting its
immense valley into an interior sea, whose action was adequate to
the production and deposition of calcareous strata. We do not
consider such a supposition incompatible with the existence of
transition rocks in this valley ; the position of the latter being be-
ne«ith the secondary. Are not the great northern lakes the remains
of such an ocean ? And did not the sudden demolition of this an-
cient barrier enable this powerful stream to carry its banks, as it
has manifestly done, a hundred miles into the gulf of Mexico.

We think such an hypothesis much more probable, than that the

every-day deposits of this river should have that effect on the gulf.

'!iv'-

338

AMEIUCAN ANTIQUlTlKi.

We liave been lu-cjuuiiitcd with the mouths of the Mississip],! ior
more than a century ; aud yet Us several chaiiuels, to all appear-
ance, are essentially the same as when iirst discovered.

Favouring the same position, or theory, we give, from Dr. Beck's
Gazetteer, a quotation from Silliman's Journal, 3d volume, quoted
by that author from Bringier on the Region of the Mississippi ;
who says, that " between White River and the Missouri, are three
parallel poiphyry ranges, running circularly from the west to the
northeast.

These thro(; mountains are twenty-eight miles across, and seem
to have been above water, when the whole country around was
covered by an ocean."

At the foot of one of these ranges, was found the tooth of some
tremendous monster, supposed to be the mammoth, twice as large
as any found at the liig-bone T.ick. An account of this creatuce,
so far as we are able to give it, has already been done, commencing
on page 143 to 149, inclusive, of this work ; yet we feel it incum-
bent to insert a recent discovery respecting this monster, which we
had not seen when those pages went to press. The account is as
follows :

There were lately dug up at Massillon, Starke county, Ohio,
two large Tusks, measuring each nine feet six inches in length,
and eight inches diameter, being two feet in girth at the largest
ends. The weight of one is as much as two men could lift. The
outside covering is as firm and hard as ivory, but the inner parts
■ were . onsiderably decayed. They were found in a swamp, about
two feet below the surface, and were similar to those found some
time ago at Bone Lick, in Kentucky, the size of which animal,
judging from the bones found, was not less than sixty feet in length,
and twenty-two in height, and twelve across the hips. Each tooth
of the creature's mouth w hich was found, weighed eleven pounds.
— Clearfield Banner, 1832. .

AND DISCOVERIES IN TIIF, UT-ST.

339

This is, iiiflccd, realiziiifi; the entire eahnilatioii made by Adam
r'lark, tlie Commentator, wlio tells, as bc^fore remarked, thai having
examined one toe of the creature, supposed to be the mammoth, he
found it of sufficient size and lenirlli, to give, according to the rule
of animal proportion, an animal at least sixty feet in length, and
twenty-five feet high.

It vv'ould seem, tliat in nature, whether of animate or inanimate
things, each has its giant. Of the materials composing the globe,
•the waters are the giant ; among the continents, Asia ; among fish-
es, the whale ; among serpents, the great Li Boa, of Africa, among
quadrupeds, the mammoth ; among birds, the condor ; among men,
the Patagonians ; among trees, the banyan of the east ;^ among
herbs, the mustard of Palestine. But among quadrupeds, the giant
of that section of nature, it would appear, has become extinct, by
what means, is unknown ; whetlier a change in the climate, a want
of food, whether by disease, or the arts of the ancient nations ; all
is locked in the fathomless depths of oblivion. ,

The animal, however, must have come down, in its species, from
the verv outset of time, with all other animals. A male and female
of this enormous beast, must liave been saved in the ark ; but it is
likely the Divine Providence directed a pair that were young, and
therefore not as large, and as ferocious, as such as were full grown,
would be. The finding this animal in America, is, it would appear,
incontrovertible evidence, that the continent was, at some period,
united with the old world at some place or places, as has been con-
tended in this work ; as so large an animal could neither have been
brought hither by men, in any sort of craft hitherto known, except
the ark ; nor could they have swum so far, even if they were ad-
dicted to the water.

But to return to the subject of western lakes. How great a lapse

of time took place, from the subsiding of the flood of Noah, till

the bursting away of the several bairiers is unknown. The emp-

, tying out of such vast bodies of water, as held an almost boundless

340

IMRRICAN ANTIQUITIES

region of the west in a state of complete submergency, must of ne-
cessity have raised the Atlantic, so as to envelope in its increase,
many a fair and level country along its coasts, both on this conti-
nent, and those of Europe and Africa.

In such an emergency, all islands, which were low on the sur-
face and not much elevated above the sea, must have been drown-
ed, or parts of them, so that their hills, if any they had, would only
be left ; a sad and small iiiemorial of their ancient domains.

It may have been, that the rush of these mighty waters from the
west, flowing to the sea at once, down the channels of so many ri-
vers, which at first broke up and enveloped the land between the
range of the West India Islands and the shores of the Gulf of Mex-
ico. It is conjectured by naturalists, that the time was when those
islands were in reality the Atlantic coast of the continent. Some
convulson, therefore, must have transpired, to bring about so great
a change.

If, as Schoolcraft has suggested, the Mississippi, in bursting down
its barriers drove the earthy matter which accompanied it in that
occurrence, an hundred miles into the sea, it may well be supposed
that if all that space, now the gulf, was then a low tract of country,
which is natural to suppose, as its shores are so now, that it was
overwhelmed, while the higher parts of the coast, now the West
India Islands, are all that remains of that drowned country.

It is not impossible, but at that time the island Atalantis, which
we have treated of before, the account of which is given by Solon,
derived from the Egyptian priest, was likewise enveloped in the
sea, especially if it were a low country, as most sea islands are.
The reader will recollect that respecting the destruction of that isl-
and, we made it appear, from the circumstance of the Athenians
driving back the Atalantians, or Atlantides, to their possessions, that
it was enveloped in the sea, about fourteen hundred years before
Christ.

AND DISCOVKRIES IN THE WEST.

341

If so, it may then be, that those western lakes were drained, or
commenced to be drained, at that very time, which would be about
a thousand years after the deluge of Noah ; so that since this tre-
mendous change of the face of the western country, is a lapse of
more than three thousand years.

From an examination of the lak«^' '^■eneca, Cayuga, and Erie, it
is evident from their banks .at anc 'y the water {stood i^. ''',.u
ten and twelve feet higher than at present, these also, therefore,
have been drained a second time, since those of which we have
been speaking, of which these were once a part.

All the western lakes, Superior, Michigan, Huron, Lake of the
Woods, Erie, Seneca, Cayuga, and many lesser ones, are the mere
remnants of the great inland sea, which once existed in this region,
and the time may come, when all these lakes will be again drained
off, to the north by the way of the St. Lawrence, and to the south
by other rivers to the sea, adding a country of land, freed in a mea-
sure from these waters, as great in extent as all the lakes put together.

It is believed by the most observing naturalists, that the falls of
Niagara were once as low down the river as where Queenstown
is situated, which is six or eight miles below the fall. If so, the
time may come, and none can tell how soon, when the falls shall
have worn through the stone ridge or precipice, over which the Ni-
agara is precipitated, and coming to a softer barrier, of mere earth,
the power of the waters would not be long in rending for itself a
more level channel, extending to the foot of Lake Erie, on an in-
clined plane of considerable steepness.

This would eifect Lake Erie, causing an increased current in its
waters, and the lowering of its bed, which would also have the
same effect on Lake Michigan, Huron, and Superior, with all the
rest of a lesser magnitude, changing them from the character they
now bear, which is that of lakes to that of mere rivers, like the
Ohio. In the mean time, Ontario would become enlarged, so a.s to

342

AMERICAN ANTfQUITIES

rise perhaps to a level witli tlie top of the falls, which is an lum-
dred and fifty-three feet.

Lake Ontario is but about an hundred and fifty feet below the
city of Utica, and Utica is four hundred feet, above the valley of
the Hudson river ; consequently, deducting the hundred and fifty
feet, which is the fall of land, from the long level, as it is called,
on which Utica stands, to the lake, there will be left two hundred
and fifty feet, elevation of Ontario above the Vale of the Hudson.

That lake, therefore, need to be raised but a little more than an
hundred and fifty feet, when it would immediately inimdate a great-
er part of the state of New- York, as well as a part of Upper and
all Lower Canada, till the waters should be carried off' by the way
of the several rivers now existing on the easterly and southerly side
of the lake, and by new channels such a catastrophe would most
certainly cut for itself, in many directions, in its descent to the At-
lantic.

But we trust such an occurrence may never take place ; yet it is
equally possible as wiis the draining of the more ancient lakes of
the west. And however secure the ancient inhabitants may have
felt themselves, who had settled below the barriers, yet that inland
sea, suddenly took up its line of march, to wage war with, or to
become united to, its counte.part, the Atlantic, and in its travel,
bore away the country, and the nations dwelling thereon.

HEALTH OF THE ANCIENT NATIONS AFFECTED BY THF.
DRAINING OF THOSE LAKES.

The noxious effluvia which would inevitably arise from the bot-
toms of those vast bodies of water, must have had a pestilential ef-
fect on the people settled around them. This position needs no
elucidation, as it is known that the het-t of the sun, in its action on
swamps and marshy grounds, fills the region round them with a

AM) DISCOVKRIES IN THE WEST.

843

duatlily scent, acting directly on tlio economy and constitution of
the human subje(;t, wliile animals of coarser liabits escape.

Who has not experienced this on the sudden draining of stag-
nant waters, or even those of a mill pond. The reason is, the fdth
settled at the bottoms of such places, becomes exposed by having
the cover taken away, which was the waters, and the winds imme-
diately wafting the deleterious vapours ; the surrounding atmos-
phere becomes corrupted ; disease follows with death in its train.
But on the sudden draining of so great a body of water, from such
immense tracts of land, which had been accumulating filth, formed
of decayed vegetation and animals, from the time of the deluge till
their passing off at that time, the stench must have been beyond all
conception, dreadful.

It is not, therefore, impossible nor impiobable, but by this very
means, the ancient natiojis settled rouiul these waters, may have,
indeed, been exterminated ; or if they were not exterminated, must
have been exceedingly reduced in numbers, so as to induce the re-
sidue to flee from so dangerous a country, far to the south, or any
where, from the effects of the dreadful ellluvia, arising from the
newly exposed chasms and gulfs.

Such, also, would be the effect on the present inhabitants, should
the fall of Niagara at length undermine and wear down tliat strata
of rock over which it now plunges, and drain the lakes of the west,
the remnant of the greater bodies of Avater which once rested there.
In the event of such a catastrophe, it would be natural, that the
waters should immediately flow into the head water channels of all
the rivers north-east and south from lake Ontario, after coming on
a level with the heads of the short streams passing into that lake
on its easterly side.

The rivers running south-east and north from that part of Lake
Ontario as high up as the village of Lyons, are a part of the Che-
mung, the Chenango, the Uuadilla, the Susquehannah, the Dela-

AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES

ware, the Mohawk, the Au Sable, and the St. liftwrence, with all
their smaller head water streams.

The vallies of these streams would become the drains of such a
discharge of the western lakes, overwhelming and sweeping away
all the works of men in those directions, as well as in many other
directions, where the lowness of the country should be favourable
to a rush of the waters, leaving isolated tracts of high lands, with
the mountains as islands, till the work of submersion should be over.

All this, it is likely, will appciir extremely visionary, but it should
not be forgotton, that we have predicated it on the supposed demo-
lition of Niagara falls, which is as likely to ensue, as that the bar-
riers of the ancient lakes should have given away, where the re-
spective falls of the rivers which issued from them, poured over
their precipices.

" Whoever will examine all the circumstances," says Volney,
" will clearly perceive, that at the place where the village of
Queenstown row stands, the fall at first commenced, and that the
river, by sawing down the bed of the rock, has hollowed out the
chasm, and continued carrying back its breach, from age to age, till
it has at length reached the spot where the cascade now is. There
it continues its secular labours with slow but incessant activity.
The oldest inhabitants of the country remember having seen the
cataract several paces beyond its present plac'^" The frosts of
winter have the effect continually of cracking the projecting parts
of the strata, and the thaws of spring, with the increased powers
of the augmented waters, loosen, and tumble large blocks of the
rock into the chasm below.

Dr. Barton, who examined the thickness of the stratum of stone,
and estimates it at sixteen feet, believes it rests on that of blue
schist, which he supposes forms the bed of the river, as well as the
falls, up to Erie. " Some ages hence, if the river, continuing its
untiring operations, may cease to find the calcareous rock that now

AND DISCOVERIES IN THE UEST-

345

checks it, and findinc; a softer strata, the fall will ultimatoly arrive
at Lake Erie ; and then one of those great desications will take
place, of which the valleys of the Potomaf, tliidson, and Ohio, af-
ford instances in times past."

LAKE ONTARIO FOUMKI) BY A VOLCANO.

Though the northern parts of America have been known to us
but about two centuries, yet this interval, short as it is in the an-
nals of nature, has already, says Volney, been suflficieut to convince
us, by numerous examples, that earthquakes must have been fre-
quent and violent here, in times past. And that they have been
the principal cause of the derangements of which the Atk.ntic coast
presents such general and striking marks.

To go back no farther than the year 1G2S. the time of the arri-
val of the first English settlers, and end with 1782, a lapse of 154
years, in which time there occurred no less than forty-five earth-
quakes. These were always preceded by a noise resembling that
of a violent wind, or of a chimney on fire ; they often threw down
chimnies, sometimes even houses, and burst open doors and win-
dows ; suddenly dried up wells, and even several brooks and streams
of water ; imparting to the waters a turbid colour, and the foetid
smell of liver of sulphur, throwing up out of great chinks, sand
with a similar smell. The shocks of these earthquakes seemed to
proceed from an internal focus, which raised the earth up from be-
low, the principal line of which run north-east and south-west, fol-
lowing the course of the river Merrimack, extending southward to
the Potomac, and northward beyond the St. Lawrence, particularly
affecting the direction of Lake Ontario.

Respecting these earthquakes, Volney says, he was indebted to

a work written by a Mr. Williams, from whose curious researches

he had derived the most authentic records. But the language and

-f

I..JB'.i

ISI

344

AMERICAN AI^TIQUITIEI

phrases he employs aic remarkable, says Mr. Volney, for the analo-
gy they bear to local facts, noticed by himself respecting the ap-
pearance of schists on the shores of Lake Erie; and about the fall
of Niagara ; and by Dr. Barton, who supposed it to form the bed
on which the rock of the falls rests.

He n'.akes this author, Mr. Williams, to say, or quotes him as
follows: "Did not that smell of liver sulphur, imparted to the wa-
ter and sand vomited up from the bowels of tlie earth through great
chinks, originate from the stratum of schist which we found at Ni-
agara, beneath the limestone, and which when submitted to the ac-
tion of fire., ',mits a strong smell of sulphur .'"

It is true, says Volney, that this is but one of the elements of the
substance mentioned, composing schist, but an accurate analysis
might detect the other. This stratum of ^chist is found under the
bed of the Hudson, and appears in many places in the States of
New-York and Pennsylvania, among the sand stones and granites ;
and we have reason to presume that it exists round Lake Outaiio
and beneath Lake Erie, and consequently, that it forms one of the
floors of the country, in which was the piincipal focus of the earth-
quakes mentioned by Mr. Williams.

The tine of this focus running north-west and south-east, particu-
larly affected the direction of the Atlantic to Lake Ontario. This
predilection is remarkable, on account of the singular structure of
this lake. The rest of the western lakes, notwithstanding their
magnitude, have no great depth. Lake Erie no where exceeds a
hundred or a hundred and thirty feet, and the bottom of Lake Su-
perior is visible in many places.

The Ontario on the contrary, is in general, very deep ; that is to
say, upwards of forty-five or fifty fathoms, three hundred feet, and
so on ; and in a considerable extent, no k>ttom could be found with
a line of a hundred and ten fathoms, which is a fraction less
than forty rods depth-

kKD DISCOVERIES IN THE WEST

141

This is the case in some places near its shores, utid these circum-
stances pretty clearly indicate that the hasin of this lake was one*
the crater of a volcano now extinct. This inference is conOruied
by the volcanic productions already found on its borders, and no
doubt, the expi;rienced eye will discover many more, by examining
the form of the great talus or slope, that surrounds this lake almost
circularly, and annoimces in all parts, to the eye as well as to the
understanding, that formerely the fiat of Niagara extended almost
a* far as the middle of Like Ontario, where it was sunk and swal-
lowed up by the action of a volcano, then in its vigour.

The existence of this subterranean fire, accords perfectly with
the earthquakes mentioned by Williams, as above, and these two
agents which we find here united, while they confirm, on the one
hand, that of a grand subterranean focus, at an unknown depth, on
the other, aflford a happy and plausible explanation of the confusion
of all the strata of the earth and stones, which occurs throughout
the Atlantic coast. It explains too, why the calcareous and even
granite strata there, are inclined to the horizon in angles of forty-
five degrees and upward, even as far as eighty, almost perpendicu-
lar, or endwise, their fragments remaining in the vacuities formed
by the vast explosions. To this fracture of the stratum of granite
are owing its little cascades ; and this fact indicates, that formerly
the focus extended south beyond the Potomac, as also do"^- ti.1% stra-
tum. No doubt it communicated with that of the West India
islands.

It is not impossible, but the shocks of this volcito, at first, shook
the Alleghanies, crossing the great rivers of this country, far to the
west, so as to be the first moving cause to their final demolition, by
the operation of the lakes above.

As favouring this supposition by Monsieur Volney, we recollect
the dreadful earthquake of ISll and 1812, on the Mississippi, in
the very neighbourhood of the country supposed to have been the
scene of the effects of those early shocks, of probably the same in-

348

AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES

ternal cause, working now beneath the continent, and sooner or
later may make the northern jjarts of it, its place of vengeance, in-
stead of the more southerly, as among the Alleghanies, Andes, and
the Cordilleras, of South America.

The earthquakes of 1811 and 1812 took place at New Ma-
drid on the Mississippi, where its eflects were dreadful, having
thrown up vast heaps of earth, destroying the whole plain upon
which that town was laid out. Houses, gardens, and fields were
swallowed up ; many of the inhabitants were* forced to flee, expo-
sed to the horrours of the scenes passing around, and to the incle-
mencies of the storms, without shelter or protection. The earth
rolled under their feet lil;e the waves of the sea. The shocks of
this subterranean convulsion were felt two hundred miles around.
And lurther, in evidence of the action of volcanic fires in the
west of this country, we have the following, as well as the forego-
ing from Dr. Beck'sGazetteer of Illinois ; " I visited Fort Clark in
1820, and obtained a specimen of native copper in its vicinity. It
weighed about two pounds, and is similar to that found on Lake
Superiour, of which the following description was given at the mint
of Utrecht in the Netherlands, at the request of Dr. Eustis. From
every appearance, that piece of copper seems to have been taken
from a mass that had undergone fusion. The melting was, howev-
er, not an operation of art, but a natural effect, caused by a volca-
nic eruption.

The stream of lava probably carried, in its course, the aforesaid
body of copper, that had formed into one collection as fast as it was
heated enough lo run from all parts of the mine. The united mass
was, probably, borne in this manner to the place where it now rests
in the soil. Thus we see that even Aroerica, in its northern parts,
as well as many parts of the old world, as it is called, has felt the
shock of that engine, which is, comparatively speaking, boundless
in power, capable of new modling the face of whole tracts of coun-
try, in a few days, if not hours.

'■ '•''Ai'f'-

AND DISCOVERIES IN THE WEST. 349

Considering, therefore, the oranipotency of the two agents, fire
and water, so created by Him who is more omnipotent, what chang-
es of surface, and of inhabitants may not have taken place in the
western regions, as well as in the other parts of America.

We cannot close this subject better than by introducing an Ara-
bian ible, styled the Revolutions of Time. The narrator is sup-
posed to have lived three thousand years on the earth, and to have
travelled much in the course of his life, and to have noted down
the various changes which took place with respect to the surface
of the globe in many places, and to have been conversant with
the various generations of men that succeeded each other.

This fable we consider illustrative of the Antiquities of all coun-
tiies, as well as of the changes which have most certainly taken
place in our own, as it relates to surface and inhabitants. The
name of the traveller was Khidr, and his story is as fellows :

I was passing, says Khidr, a populous city, and I a5'-l<ed one of
the inbabitants, " How long has this city been built .'" But he said,
" This city is an ancient city ; wc know not at what time it was
built ; neither we nor our fathers."

Then I pased by after five hundred years, and not a trace of the
city was to be seen ; but I found a man gatherings herbs, and I ask-
ed him, " How long has this city been destroyed .'" But he said,
" The country has always been thus." And I said, " But there
was a city here.*" Then he said, " We have seen no city here,
nor have we heard of such from our fathers."

After five hundred years, I again passed that way, and found a
lake, and met there a company of fishermen, and asked them,
" When did this land become a lake .'" and they said, " How can
a man like you ask such a question ; the place was never other
than it is." " But heretofore, said I, it was dry land." And they
said, " We never saw it so, nor heard of it from our fathers."
Then after five hundred years, I returned, and behold, the lake
was dried up, and I met a solitary man, and said to him, " When

I'll; «

imaaiMi

350 AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES

did this spot become dry land ?" And he said, " It was always
thus." " But formerly, I said, it was a lake " And he said, " We
never saw it, nor heard of it before."

And five hundred years afterwards, I again passed by, and again
found a populous and beautiful city, and finer than I had at first
seen it ; and I asked one of the inhabitants, " When was this city
built ?" And he said, " Truly, it is an ancient place, and we know
not ttie date of its building, neither we nor our fathers."

RESEMBLANCE OF THE WESTERN INDIANS TO THE AN-
CIENT GREEKS, IN SEVERAL RESPECTS.

The reader may recollect we have shown on page 44, that the
Greek fleet once moored on the coast of Brazil, in South America,
said to be the fleet of Alexander the Great, and also the supposed
Greek carving, or sculpture, in the cave on the Ohio river. See
page 142.

In addition, we give, from Mr. Volney's View of America,
his comparison of the ancient Greek tribes with the tribes of
the western Indians. He says, the limits of his work would not
allow him to enter into all the minutiae of this interesting subject,
and, therefore, should content himself with saying, that the more
deeply we examine the history and way of savage life, the more
ideas we acquire that illu.strate the nature of man in general, the
gradual formation ol societies, and the character and manners of the
nations of antiquity.

While this author was among the Indians of the west, he was
particularly struck with the analogy between the savages of North
America and the so much vaunted ancient nations of Greece and
Italy. In the Greeks of Homer, particularly in those of his Iliad,
he found the customs and manners of the Iroquois, Delawares, and
Miamis, strikingly exemplified. The tragedies of Sophocles and
Euripides, paint almost literally the sentiments of the red men re-

AND DISCOVERIES IN THE WEST.

351

specting necessity, fatality, the miseries of human life, and the rigor
of blind destiny. But the piece most remarable for variety,

combination of features and resemblance, is the beginning of t'lie his-
tory of Thucydides, in which he briefly traces the habits and way

of life of the Greeks, before and after the Trdj.in war, up to the
age in which he wrote. This fragment of their history appears so
well adapted, that we are persuaded the reader will be pleased at
having it laid before him, so that he can make the comparison for
himself.

It is certain that the region now known by the name of Greece,
was not formerly possessed by any fixed inhabitants, but was sub-
ject to frequent migrations, as constantly every distinct people or
tribe yielded up their seats to the violence of a larger supervening
number. For, as to cotrmerce, there was none, and mutual fear
prevented intercourse both by land and sea ; as then the only view
of culture was barely to procure a penurious subsistence, as super-
fluous wealth was a thing unknown.

Planting was not their employment, it being uncertain how soon
an invader might come and dislodge them from their unfortified ha-
bitations ; and as they thought they might every where find their
daily support, they hesitated but little about shifting their habita-
tions. And for this reason they never flourished in the greatness
of their cities, or any other circumstance of power. But the rich-
esls tracts of country were ever more particularly liable to this fre-
quent change of inhabitants, such as that now called Thessaly and
Bceotia, and Peloponnesus chiefly, except Arcadia, and in general
the most fertile parts of G.eece. For the natural wealth of their
soil, in particular districts, increased the power of some amongst
them ; that power raised civil dissentions, which ended in their
ruin, and at the same time exposed them the more to foreign at-
tacks.

It was only the barrenness of the soil, that preserved Attica
throtigb the longest space of time, qtiiet and undisturbed, in one

352

AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES

uninterrupted series of possessors. One, and not the least, convinc-
ing proof of this is, that other parts of Greece, because of the fluc-
tuating condition of the inhabitants, could, by no means, in their
growth keep pace with Atlica. The most powerful of those who
were driven from the other parts of Greece by war or sedition, be-
took themselves to the Athenians for secure refuge, and as they ob-
tained the privilege of citizens, have constantly, from remote time,
continued to enlarge that city with fresh accessions of inhabitants ;
insomuch, that, at last, Attica, being insufficient to support its num-
bers, they sent over colonies to Ionia.

The custom of wearing weapons, onoe prevailed all over Greece,
as their houses had no manner of defence, as travelling was full of
hezzard, and their whole lives were passed in armour, like barba-
rians. A proof of this, is the continuance still, in some parts of
Greece, of those manners which were once, with uniformity, com-
mon to all. The Athenians were the first who discontinued the
custom of wearing their swords, and who passed from the savage
life into more polite and elegant manners. Sparta is not closely
built ; the temples and public edifices by no means sumptuous, and
the houses detatched from each other, after the old mode of Greece.

In their war manners they resembled the Indlms of America, for
after an engagement they had with an enemy, being victorious, they
erected a trophy upon Leucinna, a promontory of Corcyra, and put
to death all the prisoners they had taken, except one, who was a
Coiiuthean.

The pretended golden age of those nations was nothing better
than to wander naked in the forests of Hellas and Thessaly, living
on herbs and acorns j by which we perceive that the ancient Greeks
were truly savages of the same kind as those in America, and pla-
ced in nearly similar circumstances of climate, since Greece cover-
ed with forests, was then much colder than at present. Hence we
infer, that the name of Pelnsgian, believed to belong to one and
the same peonle, wandering and dispersed about froui the Crimea

, and
eece.

ica, for
they

nd put
was a

jetler

iving

rreeks

d pla-

:over-

ce we

e and

riruea

AND DISCOVERIES i:i THE WEST.

353

to the Alps, was only the generic appellation of the savage hordes
of the first inhabitants, roaming in the same manner as the Hurons
and Algonquins, or as the old Germans and Celts.

And we should presume, with reason, that colonies of foreigners,
farther advanced in civilization, coming from the coasts of Asia,
Phoenicia, and even Egypt, and settling on those of Greece and
Latiura, had nearly the same kind of intercourse with the^e abori-
gines ; sometimes friendly, sometimes hostile ; as the first English
settlers in Virginia and New-Engh^nd had with the American sa-

vages.

By these comparisons we should explain both the intermixture
and disappearance of some of these nations, the manners and cus-
toms of those inhospitable times, when every stranger was an ene-
my, and every robber a hero ; when there was no law but force,
no virtue but bravery in war ; when every tribe was a nation,
and every assemblage of huts a metropolis.

In this period of anarchy and disorder, of savage life, we should
see the origin of that character of pride and boasting, perfidiousnesa
and cruelty, dissimulation and injustice, sedition and tyranny, that
the Greeks display throughout the whole course of their history ;
we should perceive the source of those false ideas of virtue and
glory, sanctioned by the poets and orators of those fero-'ous days ;
who have made war and its melancholy trophies, the loftiest aim
of man's ambition, the most shining road to renown, and <he most
dazzling object of ambition to the ignorant and cheated multitude :
And since the polished and civilized people of Christendom have
made a point of imitating these nations, and consider their poli-
tics and morals, like their poetry and arts, the types of all per-
fection ; it follows that our homage, our patronage, and veneration,
are addressed to the manners and spirit of barbarous and savage
times. <

The grounds of comparison are so true, that the analogy reaches

even to their philosophical and religious opinions j for all the prin-

'"If

354

AMEniCAN ANTlQUniE*

ciples of tlie stoic school of the (ireiiks are found in tlic practice of
the American savages ; and if any should lay hold of this circum-
stance to impute to the savages the merit of L'ing philosophers, we
retort the supposition, and say, we ought, on the contrary, to con-
clude, that a state of society, in which precepts so repugnant to hu-
man nature^ were invented for the purpose of rendering life support-
able, must have been an order of things, and of government, not
less miserable than the savage state. This opinion is supported by
the whole history of these Grecian times, even in their most bril-
liant periods, and by the uninterrupted series of their wars, sedi-
tions, massacres, and tyrannical proscriptions, down to the time of
their subjugation by those other savages of Italy, called the Romans ;
who, in their character, politics, and aggrandizement, have a strik-
ing resemblance to the Six Nations.

With regard to religious notions, these do not form a regular sys-
tem among the savages, because every individual in his indepen-
dent state, makes himself a creed after his own fancy. If we may
judge from the accounts of the historians of the first settlers, and
those of late travellers in the northwest, it appears that the Indians
compose their mythology in the following manner :

First ; a Great Manitou, or superior being ; who governs the
earth and the aerial meteors, the visible whole of which constitutes
the universe of a savage. This Great Manitou, residing on high,
without his having any clear idea where, rules the world, without
giving himself much trouble ; sends rain, wind, or fair weather,
according to his fancy ; sometimes^^makes a noise, which is the
thunder, to amuse himself ; concerns himself ao little about the af-
fairs of men as about those of other living beings that people the
earth ; does good, without taking any thought about it ; suffers ill
to be perpetrated without its disturbing his repose, and in the mean
time leaves the world to a. destiny, or fatality, the laws of which
ate anterior, and paramount, to all things.

Under his command are subordinate Manitous, or genii, innume-

AND DISCOVERIES IN THE WEST.

355

rablc, who people earth and air, preside over every thing that hap-
pens, and have each a separate employment. Of these genii, some
are good ; and these do all the good that takes place in nature ;
others are bad, and these occasion all the evil that happens to living
beings.

It is to the latter chiefly, and almost exclusively, that the savages
address their prayers, their propitiatory offerings, and what religious
worship they have ; the object of which is, > appease the malice
of these Manitous, as men appease the ill humour of morose, bad
men. This fear of genii is one of their most habitual thought, and
that by which they are most tormented. Their most intrepid war-
riors are, in this respect, no better than their women ; a dream, a
phantom seen at night in the woods, or a sinister cry, equally alarms
their credulous, superstitious minds.

Their magicians, or, as we more properly call them, jugglers,
pretend to very familiar intercourse with these genii ; they are,
however, greatly puzzled to explain their nature, form, and aspect.
Not having our ideas of pure spirit, they suppose them to be com-
jwsed of substances, yet light, volatile, and invisible, true shadows
and manes, after the raaiyier of the ancients. Sometimes they se-
l-ect some one of these genii, whom they suppose to reside in a tree,
a serpent, a rock, or cateract, and this they make their fetih, or
god, to which they resort, like the African. The notion of an-
other life is a petty general belief among the savages. They ima-
gine that after death they shall go into another climate and country,
where game and fish abound, where they can hunt without being
fatigued, w'alk about, without fear of an enemy, eat very fat meat,
and live without care or trouble. The Indians of the north, place
this climate toward the southwest, because the summer winds, and
the most pleasing and genial temperature, come from that quarter.

This sketch of Indian manners, is supposed sufficient by Mr.
Volney, to prove that there is a real analogy between the mytholo-
gical ideas of the Indians of North America and those of the Asiatic

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356

iMERICAX ANTIQUITIES

Tartars, as they have been described to us by the learned Russians,
who have visited them not many years since.

The analogy between them and the notions of the Greeks, is
equally evident. We discern the Great Manitou of the savages, in
the Jupiter of the heroic ages, or their savage times ; with this dif-
ference only, that the JVIanitou of the Americans, leads a melancho-
ly, poor, and wearisome life, like themselves ; v\l»ile the Jupiter of
Homer, and of Hesiod, displays all the magnificence of ♦he :ourt of
Hecatompylean Thebes, the wonderful secrets of which ^ave been
disclosed to us in the present age. See the elegant work of Mr.
Denon, on the high degree of taste, learning, and perfection, at
which the arts had arrived in that Thebes, which was buried in the
night of history, before Greece or Italy was known.

In the lesser Manitous of the Indians, are equally evident the
subordinate deities of Greece ; the genii of the woods and foun-
tains, and the demons honoured with a similar superstitious worship.
The conclusion Volney draws from all this, is not that the In-
dians have derived their notions from Greece, but rather are deriv-
able from Shamanism, or the Lamic system cf Budda, which spread
itself from Hindostan among all the savages of the old world, where
it is found even to the extremities of Spain, and Scotland, and Cim-
brica-

Yet as traits of the Grecian nations are found, especially in South
America, as in the discovery of the subterranean cavity of mason
work, noticed on page 44, and in the cave on the Ohio, as noticed
on page 142, it is not impossible, but that from the Greeks, some-
time in this country before the Indians found their way here, they
may have communicated there mythological notions to the more
ancient inhabitants, from whom the Tartars, or our Indians, when
they conquered or drove away that people, imbibed their opinions;
as it is not without precedent, that the conquered have given to the
conqueror their religion as well as their country.

AND DISCOVERIKS IN THE WEST.

367

ORIGIN OF THE INDIAN FUNERAL FIRES.

Fno:*! SCHOOLCRAFT,

The following customs have been observed among the Chippe-
■was inhabiting the shores of Lake Superiour. How far ihey have
spread among those tribes, or with what sliades of difference they
may exist, even throughout the various bands of this widely dis-
persed nation, it would be interesting to determine.

For several nights after the interment of a person, a fire is placed
upon the grave. This fire is lit in the evening, and carefully sup-
plied with small sticks of dry wood, to keep up a bright but small
blaze.. It is kept burning for several hours, generally until the
usual hour of retiring to rest, and then suffered to go out. This
fire is renewed for four nights, and sometimes longer. The per-
son who performs this pious rite, is generally a near relative of the
deceased, or one who has lived in long habits of intimacy with
him. The following tale is related by the Indians, as being the
origin of the custom.

A small war party of Chippewas encountered their enemies upon
an open plain, where a severe battle was fought. Their leader was
a brave and distinguished warrior, but he never acted with greater
bravery, or distinguished himself for greater personal prowess, than
now. After turning the tide of battle against his enemies, and
while shouting for victory, he received an arrow in his breast, and
fell dead upon the plain. No warrior thus killed is ever buried j
and, according to ancient custom, he was placed in a sitting posture
upon the field, his back supported by a tree, and his face toward
the course in which their enemies had fled. His head-dress and
equipments were accurately adjusted, as if living, and his bow
leaned against his shoulder. In this posture his companions left him.

i-i-

Mto

358

AMCmCAN ANTIQUITIES

Altliouffli tlopii\ ('(1 of tlu' j)o\ver of utleranoc, or of .iftion, lie
heard distinctly, all that had been said by his friends. He heard
them h.^ent his death, without the power of contradicting it ; and
he felt their touch, a?; they adjusted his posture, without the strength
to reciprocate it. His anguish, when he felt himself thus abandon-
ed, was raised to the extreme: and his wish to follow his fiiends
on their return so completely filled his mind, when he saw them,
one after another, take leave of the corpse and depart, that, ai'ter
making v. violent exertion, he arose, or seemed to himself to rise,
and follow therr>. But his form was invisible to them ; and this
gave new cause for tlte surprise, disappointment, and rage, whici;
alternately filled his breast. He followed their track, however,
with great diligence. Wherever they went, he went ; when they
walked, he walked ; when they ran, he ran ; when they encamp-
ed, he encamped; when they slept, he slept; and when they
aw».ke, he awoke. In short, he mingled in all their labours and
toils ; but he was excluded from all their sources of refreshment,
except that of sleeping, and from the pleasures of participating in
their conversation, for all that he said was unattended to.

" Is it possible," he exclaimed, " that you do not see me — that
you do uot hear me — that you do not understand me .' will you suf-
fer me to bleed to death, without offering to staunch my wounds ?
will you permit me to starve in the midst of plenty .' have those
whom I have so often led to war, so soon forgotten me ? is there no
one who recollects me, or who will ofier me a morsel of food in mv
distress.'" Thus he continued to upbraid his friends, at every stage
of the journey, but no one seemed to hear his words ; or if they
heard his voice, they mistook its sound for the winds of summer,
rustling among the green leaves.

At length, the returning war party reached their village ; and
their women and children came out, according to custom, to wel-
come their return, and proclaim their praises. Kumaudjeewug !
Kamaudjeewug ! They have met, fought, and conquered, was shout-

AND DISCOVURIKS IN TUli WEST

359

Ivoimds ?
'e those
tlicre no
d in ray
|ry stage
if they
Rummer,

je ; and

to wel-

jewug !

Is shout-

ed from from e\ery moutii, and resoimdcd tliruii<;li tho must distaut
parts of the village. Those who had lost friends, canic eagerly to
inquire their fate, and to know whether they had died like men.
The decrepit fathc r consoled himself for the loss of his son, with
the reflection that ho had fallen manfully, and the widow half for-
got her sorrow amid the praises that were uttered of the bravery of
her departed husband. The breasts of the youths glowcil with mar-
tial ardour as they heard these llattering praises, and children join-
ed in shouts of which they scarcely knew the meaning. But amidst
all this uproar and bustle, no one seemed conscious of the presence
of the wounded warrior chief. He heard many inquiries of his
own fate — he heard them relate how he had fought, conquered, and
fallen with an arrow pierced through his breast, and that his body
had been left among the slain.

" It is not true," replied the indignant chief, with a loud voice,
'* that I was killed and left upon tlie field. 1 am here ! I live ! I
move ! see me ! touch me ! I shall again raise my lance in battle,
and "ound my drum in the feast." But nobody seemed conscious
of his presence, and they mistook his loud voice for the whispering
winds. He now walked to his own lodge ; he saw his wife within,
tearing her hair, and raising her lamentations over his fate : he en-
deavoured to undeceive her, but she also seemed equally insensible
of his presence or his voice : she sat in a dtsniiring manner, with
her head reclining upon her hands ; he asked her to bind up his
wounds, but she made no reply ; he then placed his mouth close to
her ear, and vociferated, " I am hungry, give me some food." The
wife thought she heard a buzzing in her ear, and remarked it to
one who sat near her. The enraged husband, cow summoning all
his strength, struck her a blow upon her forehead. She only com-
plained of feeling a shooting pain there, such as is not nnfrequent,
and raising her hand to her head, remarked, " I feel a slight
headliach."

4^'

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MMMI

360

AMERICAN ANTKiUITIES

Foiled thus in every attempt to make himself known, the war-
rior chief began to roilect upon what he had heard in his youth,
that the spirit was sometimes permitted to leave the body and wan-
der about- He ri'llected that possibly his body may have remained
upon the field of battle, while hi'- spirit only aecompnnied his re-
turning friends. He determintd to return upon their track, al-
though it was four days' journey to the place. He accordingly be-
gan his journey immediately. For liirtc days, he pursued his
way without meeting any thing uncommon, but on the fourth, to-
wards evening, as he came to the skirts of the battle-field, he saw
a fire in the path before him. He walked to one side to avoid
stepping into it, but the fire also had moved its position, and was
still before him. He then went in another direction, but the mys-
terious fire still crossed his path, and seemed to bar his entrance to
the scene of conflict. In short, whichever way he took, the fire
was still before him ; no expedient seemed capable of eluding it.
" Thou demon," he exclaimed, at length, " Why dost thou bar my
approach to the field of battle .' Knowest thou not that I ara a spirit
also, and that I seek again to enter my body .' Or dost thou pre-
sume that I shall return without effecting my object .' Know that I
have never been defeated by the enemies of my nation, and will
not be defeated by thee !" So saying, he made a sudden effort and
jumped through the flame. In this exertion, he awoke from his
sleep, having lain eight days on the field of battle. He found him-
self silting on the ground, with his back supported by a tree, and
his bow leaning against his shoulder, having all his warlike dress
and implements upon his body, the same as they had been left by
his friends on the day of battle. He looked up and beheld a large
canieu, or war eagle, sitting in the tree above his head. He imme-
diately recognised this bird to be the same he had dreamt of in his
youth, and whom he had selected as his guardian spirit, or personal
moneto. This bird had carefully watched his body, and prevented
other ravenous birds from devouring it. He got up and stood some

AND DISCOVERIEB IN THE WEST

S61

le war-
youth,
id wan-
;mained
his re •
ai'k, al-
ngly be-
siiecl his
lurth, to-
, he saw
to avoid
and was
the mys-
itrauce to
:, the fire
luding it.
u bar my
m a spirit
thou pre-
|ow that I
and will
ffort and
from his
land him-
tree, and
ke dress
in left by
|d a large
e imme-
|of in his
personal
■evented
lod some

time upon his feet : but he found himself weak and much exhaust'
ed. The blood upon his wound had staunched itself, and he now
bound it up. He possessed the knowledge of such roots as were
efficacious for its cure. These he carefully sought in the woods.
Some of them he pounded between stones, and applied externally ;
others he chewed and swallowed. In a short time, he found him-
self so much recovered as to be able to commence hi' journey ; but
he suftered groiitly from hunger, not being able to see any large
animals. With his bow and arrows, however, he killed small birds
during the day, which he roasted before the fire at night. In this
way, he sustained himself until he came to a water that separated
bis wife and friends from him. He then gave that peculiar whoop
which indicates the safe return of an absent friend. The sig-
nal was instantly known, and a canoe despatched to bring him
across. But while this canoe \vas absent, conjecture was exhaust-
ing itself in designating the unknown person who had given this
friendly intimation of his approach. All who had been of the war
party had returned, except those who were killed on the field. It
might be some neighbouring hunter. It might be some deception
of their enemies. It was rash to send a canoe without knowing
that any of their friends were absent. In the height of this con-
jecture, the warrior chief was landed amidst the shouts of his friends
and relations, who thronged from every lodge to welcome their
faithful leader. When the first wild bursts of wonder and joy had
subsided, and some degree of quiet was restored in the village, he
related to his people the account of his adventures, which has been
given. He then concluded his narration by telling them that it is
pleasing to the spirit of a deceased person, to have a fire built upon
his grave for four nights after his interment : that it is four days'
journey to the land appointed for the residence of the spirit : that
in its journey thither, the spirit stood in need of a fire every night,

«t the place of its encampment : and that if the friends kindled this

•*■

36a

AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES

funeral fire upon the place where the body was deposited, the spirit
had the benefit of its light and warmth in its sojourning. If they
neglected this rite, the spirit would himself be subjected to the irk-
some task of building its own fires at night.

THE TRANCE OF GAUZINEE.THE INDIAN HUNTER, OR CHIP-
PEWA CHIEF.

Formerly, it was customary among the Chippewas to bury
many articles with the dead, including, if the deceased was a male,
his bow and quiver, or gun ; his trap, clothes, and even a portion
of food. This practice is now limited to comparatively few articles,
such as the deceased was most particularly fond of, or has express-
ed a desire to have deposited witli his body. This change is attri-
buted, in a great measure, to the following incident in the life of a
noted Chief, of former days.

Gitshee Gauzinee, after an illness of only a few days, expired
suddenly, in the presence of his numerous friends, by whom he
was greatly beloved and grealy lamented. He had been an expert
hunter, and was particularly attached to an uncommonly fine gun,
which he requested might be buried with him. But the value at-
ta''hed to this article, then newly introduced among the Indians,
and very rare, induced his friends to pause as to the performance of
this injunction. In the mean time, there were some who supposed
that his death was not real, but that the functions of life were mere-
ly suspended, and would again be restored. On this account, the
body was not interred, but laid aside in a separate lodge, where it
was carefully watched by the widow. She thought, by laying her
hand upon certai*: parts of the breast, that a feeble pulsation could
be felt, and this inspired fresh hopes for his restoration. After the
lapse of four days, their sanguine hopes were realized : he awoke
as if from a deep sleep : he complaind of thirst, and by the kind

AND DISCOVERIES in THE WEST.

863

attention of his friends, his health began to mend rapidly- When
lie was completely restored, he related the following account of
himself:

After death he travelled on in the path of the dead for three
days, without meeting with any thing of an extraordinary nature.
But he then began to suffer much for the want of food. When he
came in sight of the village of the dead, he saw immense droves of
stately deer, moose, and other large and fat animals, browzing tame-
ly near his path. This only served to aggravate his craving appe-
tite, because he had brought nothing wherewith to kill them. He
now bethought himself of the fine gun he had left behind, and at
once resolved to return and obtain it. On his way back, he met a
great concourse of people, men, woman and children, travelling on
toward the residence of the dead. Bat he obiurved particularly,
that they were all very heavily laden with axes, kettles, guns,
meatj, &c. so that it was a grievous burthen to thorn, and each one
uttered their complaints as they passed.

He met an aged man, who stopped him to complain of the bur-
dens his friends had imposed upon him to carry to the land of the
dead, and this man concluded his address by offering him his gun.
Shortly after, he met a veiy old woman, who olL*red him a kettle,
and a little further on, a young man, who offered him an axe. All
these presents he accepted out of courtesy, for he had determined
to go back for his own gun, and therefore stood in little need of
these presents. When he came near his own lodge, he could dis-
cover nothing but a long line of waving fire, which seemed com-
pletely to encircle it. How to get across he could not devise, for
whenever he attempted to advance towards those places where the
blaze seemed flagging, it would suddenly shoot up into brilliant
cones. At last he drew back a little and made a desperate leap
into the flames. The united effects of the heat, the violent exer*
tion, and the fear of being burned in his desperate attempt, result-
ed in his restoration. He awoke from his trance.

■ i*

,1 1'

I jit

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804

AMERICArV ANTIQUITIES

" I will tell you," said he, addressing his friends, " of one prac-
tice in which our fathers have been wrong. They have been ac-
customed to bury too many things with the dead. It is so burthen-
some to them, that they have complained to me bitterly on the sub-
ject. Besides, they are much longer in reaching the land of spirits.
Hereafter, put such things only in the grave, as will not be irksome
to carry. The dress which the deceased was most fond of while
living, he should always be clothed in when dead. His feathers,
his head dress, his ornaments, are but light, and will be very agree-
able to his spirit. His pipe also, will afford him a pleasant amuse-
ment on his road. If he has any thing more, let it be divided
among his nearest relatives and friends."

The foregoing tales appear to be designed to enforce the observ-
ance of certain customs, and to instil into the minds of the children
a knowledge of those rites which are supposed to be necessary to
the formation of their character.

THE TWO GHOSTS, OR HOSPITALITY REWARDED.

Many years ago, (such is the import of the Indian word Keewaa,)
there lived near the borders of Lake Superior, a noted hunter, who
had a wife and one child. His lodge stood in a remote part of the
forest, several days' journey from any other person. He spent his.
days in the noble amusement of hunting, and hia evenings in rela-
ting to his wife the incidents that had befallen him in the chase.
Ab game was then very abundant, he seldom failed to bring home
in the evening an ample store of meats, to last them until the suc-
ceeding evening ; and while they were seated at the fire of his
cleanly swept lodge, partaking of the fruits of his daily labour, he
entertained his wife in coversation, or in occasionally relating those
tales, or enforcing those precepts, which every g^od Indian esteera»
necessary, for the instruction of his wife and his children.

AND DISCOVERIES IN THE WEST.

3ff6'

Thus far removed from all sources of disquiet, surrounded with
all that they deemed necessary to their comfort, and happy in the
society of each other, their lives passed away in cheerful solitude
and sweet contentment. The breast of the hunter had never felt
the compunctions of remorse ; for he was a just man in all his deal-
ings. He had never violated the laws of his tribe, by encroaching
upon the hunting grounds of his neighbours, by tal<mg that which
did not of right belong to him, or by any act whatever calculated to
displease the villege chiefj, or offend the Great Spirit. His chief
ambition was to support his family, with a sufficiency of food and
clothing by his own unaided exertions, and to share their happiness
around his cheerful evening fire. As yet the white man had not
taught them that blankets and clothes were necessary to their com-
fort, or that guns could be used in killing game. Skins answered
the purpose of the former, ajid the bow and ai row well supplied the
place of the latter. They had no occasion to cut down large trees
then, any more than at the present period, and axes of stone ans-
wered all the moderate and simple purposes of Indian life. Iron
and gun powder, with all the multiplied concomitants, \i.'.': not yet
found their way into these remote and peaceful forests, not h.\d the
white man poured his wrathful phial of liquid fire upon tl e indiaii
nations.

So peacefully glided away the life of the Chippewa Hunter, hap-
py in his ignorance, but still happier in his simplicity, and his full
reliance upon the superintending care of an overruling Great Spirit.

One evening during the winter season, it chanced that he re-
mained out later than usual, and his wife sat lonesome in the tent,
and began to be agitated with fears that some fatal accident had
befallen, him. Darkness had already veiled the face of nature.
She listened attentively to catch the sound of coming footsteps, but
nothing could be heard but the wind mournfully whistling around
the sides of their slender lodge. Time passed away in this state of
Huspence, every moment augmenting her fears, and adding to her

'J!

■ If i>

MfMMlWMa

i^lMM

386

AMERICAN ANTIQUITIEg

disappointment. Suddenly she heard the sound of approaching
footsteps, upon the frozen surface of creaking snow. Not doubting
it must be he whom she expected, she quickly unfastened the loop,
which held by an inner fastening the skin-door of the lodge, and
throwing it open, beheld two strange females standing in front.
Courtesy left her no room for deliberation. She bade them enter
and warm themselves, knowing from the distanoe to the nearest
neighbours, that they must have walked a considerable distance.
When they had entered she invited them to remain. But she soon
observed that they were total strangers in that part of the country,
and the more closely she scrutinized their manners, their dress, and
studied deportment, the stronger was her conviction that they were
persons of no ordinary character. No efforts could induce them to
come near the fire ; they took their seats in a remote corner of the
lodge, and drew their garments about their persons in such a man-
ner, as almost completely to hide their faces. They seemed shy
and taciturn, and when a glimpse could be had of their faces, they
were pale, even to a deathly hue : their eyes were vivid but sunk-
en ; their cheek bones quite prominent, and their whole persons,
as far as could be judged, slender and emaciated. Seeing that her
guests avoided conversation, as well as observation, she forbore to
question them, and sat in silence until her husband entered. He
had been led farther than usual in the pursuit of game, but return-
with the carcass of a large and fat deer. The moment he entered
the lodge, the mysterious females exclaimed, " Behold ! what a
fine and fat animal !" and they immediately ran and pulled off"
pieces of the whitest fat, which they ate with avidity. As this is
esteemed the choicest part of the animal, such conduct appeared
very strange to the huuter ; but supposing they had hern a long
time without food, he forbore to accuse them of ludeness, and his
wife, taking example from the husband, was equally guarded in
her language. On the following evening the same scene was re-
peated He brought home the best portions of the game he had

AND DIJCOV£RIES IN THE WEST.

367

killed, and while in the act of laying it down before his wife, ac-
cording to custom, the two females came up eagerly, and tore off
large pieces of fat, which they ate with greediness, as on the pre-
ceding evening. Such behaviour was calculated to raise displea-
sure on the brow of the hunter, but still the deference due to
strange guests, induced him to pcss it over in silence. Observing
their partiality for this part of the animal, he resolved the nest day,
to anticipate their wants, by cutting off and tyin.5 up a portion of
the fat for each. This he placed upon the top of his burden, and
as soon as he entered the lodge, he gave each her portion. Still
the guests appeared dissatisfied, and took more from the carcass ly-
ing by the wife. Many persons would have repressed this forward-
pess, either by some look, word, or action ; but this man, being a
just and prudent man, slow to provocation, and patient under petty
afflictions, did neither. He was perhaps the more disposed to this
quiet spirit of forbearance, by an opinion that his guests were per-
sons of distinguished rank who chose thus to visit him in disguise,
and also by reflecting that the best luck had attended him in hunt-
ing, since the arrival of the mysterious strangers beneath his roof.

In all other respects the deportment of the females was unexcep-
tionable, although marked with some peculiarities. They Avere
quiet, modert, and discreet. They maintained a cautious silence
through the day, neither uttering a word, nor moving from the
lodge. At night they would get up, and taking those implements
which were then used in breaking and preparing wood, repair to
the forest. Here they would busy themselves in seeking dry limbs
and fragments of trees blown down by tempests. When a sufli-
cient quantity had been gathered to last until the succeeding night,
they carried it home upon their shoulders ; tht:n, carefully putting eve-
ly thing in Its proper place within the lodge, they resumed their seats
and studied silen^.e. Thev were careful to return from their noctur-
nal labours before the dawning of the day, and were never known to
itay out beyond that hour. In this manner, they repaid, in some

■■:

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368

AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES

measure, the kindness of the hunter, and relieved his wife from one
of her most laborious duties.

Thus nearly the whole winter passed away, every day leading to
some new developement of character, which served to endear the
parties to each other. The visitors began to assume a more hale
and healthful aspect. Their faces daily lost something of that
deathly hue which had at first marked them, and they visibly im-
proved in strength, and threw off some of that cold reserve, and
forbidding austerity, which had kept the hunter so long in igno-
rance of their true character. One evening, tlio hunter returned
very late, after having spent the day in toilsome exertion, and lay-
ing the product of his hunt ai his wife's feet, the silent females be-
gan to tear off the fat in such an unceremonious manner, ihat the
wife could no longer control her feelings, and svft'ored the thought
to pass hastily in her mind, " This conduct is certainly most extra-
ordinary ! How can I bear with it any longer !" She did not,
however, give utterance to her feelings. But an immediate change
was seen in the females. They became unusually reserved, and
showed evident signs of being uneasy in their situation. The good
hunter immediately perceived this change, and, fearful that they
had taken offence, so soon as they had retired to rest, demanded of
his wife whether any harsh expression had escaped her lips during
the day. She replied that she had uttered nothing to give the least
oflcnce. He now tried to compose himself to sleep, but he felt
restive and uneasy, for he could plainly hear the sighs and half-
smothered lament 'i^ons o" the two females. Every moment added
to his convictions tliat their guests bar* taken deep oflence, and, as
he could not banish this idea from his mind, he arose on his couch,
and addressing the sobbing inmates.

" Tell me, ye wonien, what is it that causes you pain of mind,
and makes you utter these unceasing sighs ? Has my helpmate giv-
en you any cause of offence during the day, while 1 was absent in
the chase ? My fears persuade me that in some inguarded moment.

\ • "

AND UISCOVEIUES IN THE WEST-

369

f mind,

ate glv-

)sent in

oment.

she has forgotten what is due to the rights of hospitality, and used
expressions ill-befitting the mysterious character which you seem
to sustain. Tell me, ye strangers from a strange country — ye wo-
men who appear not to be of this world, what is it that causes you
pain of mind, and makes you utter the^e unceasing sighs r"

They replied that no unkind expression had ever been used to-
wards them since theii residence in his hospitable lodge ; that they
had received all the affectionate attention wliich they could reason-
ably expect. " It is not for ourselves," they continued, " it is not
for ourselves that we weep. We are weeping for the fate of man-
kind. We are weeping for the fate of mortals, whom death awaits
at every stage of their existence. Proud mortals ! whom disease
attacks in youth and in age. Vain men ! whom hunger pinches,
cold benumbs, and poverty emaciates. Weak beings, who are
born in tears, who are nurtured ill tears, who die in tears, and
whose whole course is marked upon the thirsty sands of life in a
broad line of tears. It is for these we weep !"

You have spoken truly, brother ; we are not of this world. We
are spirits from the land of tlie dead, sent upon the earth to try the
sincerity of the living. It is not for the dead, but for the living, that
we mourn. By no means was it necessary that your wife should
have expressed her thoughts towards us. We knew them before
they were expressed. We saw, that for once, displeasure had ari-
sen in her heart. , It is enough ! our mission is ended. We came
but to try you, and we knew, before we came, that you were a kind
husband, an affectionate father, and a temperate man. Still, you
have the wcikness of a mortal, and your wife is found wanting in
our eyes. But it is not alone for you that we weep, it is for the
fate of mankind.

Often — very often, has the widower exclaimed, ' O death, how

cruel, how relentless art thou, to take away my beloved friend, m

the spring of her youth, in the pride of her strength, and the bloom

of her beauty. If thou wilt permit her once more to return te my

■■Mm

370

AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES

abode, my gratitude shall never cease. I uill raise up my voice
continually to thank the Master of Life for so excellent a boon. 1
will devote my time to study how I can best promote her happi-
ness, while she is permitted to remain ; and our lives shall roll
away like a pleasant stream through a flowery valley ' Thus also
has the father prayed for his son, the mother for her daughter, the
wife for her husband, the sister for her brother, the lover for his
mistress, the friend for his bosom companion, until the sounds of
mourning and the cries of the living have pierced the very recesses
of the dead. Among those who have called for their departed
friends, have been many who were unkind to thera while living.
These have not failed to promise the most endearing conduct should
their relatives be allowed to return.

The Great Spirit has, at length, consented to make a trial of
their sincerity, by sending us upon the earth at a season of coldness
and general scarcity. He has done this to sec how we should be
received, coming as strangers, no one knowing from whither. For
it was necessary that this very severe proof should be exacted.
Three moons were allotted us to make the trial, and if, during that
time, no irksomeness had been evinced, no angry passions excited
at the place where we should take up our abode, all those in the
land of spirits, whom their relatives had desired to return, would
have been restored. We had already passed more than half the
time assigned to us. Had your wife maintained, those feelings of
unmixed generosit} and kindness which heretofore marked her
conduct, the ransom would have been complete. As soon as the
leaves began to bud our mission would have been successfuly termi-
nated. But it is now too late. Our trial is finished ; and we are
called to the pleasant fields whence we came. It is not for those
who remain there, but for you who are left upon earth, that we
grieve.

Brotlier, — It is proper that one man should die to make room for
another, who is born in his place. Otherwise the world would be

AND DISCOVERIES IN THE WEST.

371

filled to overflowin<5. It is just that the goods, gathered hy one,
should be left to \»\ divided hy others ; for in the land of .spirits
there is no want. There, there is neither sorrow nor hunger, death
nor pain. Pleasant fields spread before the '.-ye, filled with game,
and with birds of handsome shapes. Every stream has good fish
in it, and every hill is crowned with groves of fruit trees, sweet
and pleasant to the taste. All kinds of games Lave been in-
vented to amuse, and instruments to play upon. It is not here,
brother, but there, that men begin truly to live. It is no; "or those
that rejoice through those pleasant groves, but for you that are left
behind, that we weep.

Brother, — Take our thanks for your hospitable treatment. Re-
gret net our departure. Fear not evil. Thy luck shall still be
good in the chase ; and a bright sky prevail over thy lodge. Mourn
not for us, for no corn will spring up from tears ; but join our lamen-
tations for the fate of mankind."

The spirits ceased : but the hunter had no power over his voice
to reply. As they continued their address, he saw a light gradual-
ly beaming from their faces, and a blue vapour filled the whole lodge
with an unnatural light. As soon as the females ceased, darkness gra-
dually prevailed. He listened, but the sobs of the spirits had ceas-
ed : He heard the door of his tent open and shut ; but he never
saw more of his mystertous visitors. But he found the success
which they had promised him. He became a celebrated hunter,
and never wanted for any thing necessary to his ease. He became
a father of many children, all of whom grew up to manhood : and
health, peace, and long life, were the rewards of his hospitality.

[The foregoing tales, of Indian origin, have been inserted here,
with the view of showing that the genius of that people is not want-
ing in the requisite ability to bring in fiction, for the purpose of
beautifying and illustrating moral principle, and to fix more firmly
their customs upon the youthful mind, by associating their con-
sequences with the happiness of another and invisible state.

/'■"i

•*am

1 1 •[■"f ii

.^jXilM

372

AMERICAJf ANTlQUlTtES

In this respect, do they not also exhibit uu affinity, in the trait*
of imagination, to the vivid and wildly romantic flights of the Greek
and Roman f ctionists, who clothe every facvilty of tiie wil, every
trait of their thcolopy, w itii all the liner fibres of human association,
or fouler passions, when wars raged, with infinite jealousies, deceit,
aad as!«assinatioris, under some garlj of fiction ; instances of which,
whether Greek, Roman, or Indian, might be greatly imiltiplied, so
as to show, if not an ancient and common origin, yet an highly
Asiatic imaginative resemblance..

THE INDIAN PROniET'S PREDIOTION.

During the journey of Captain Carver, through the interior
parts of the Northwest, he was detained at a certain place, among
the KillistJTo (ndiai! at the head waters of the Mississippi, on ao-
I'ount of wi''nnj; to meet there wi^b a company of fur traders. But
froDi some circumstances, iir»t explained, they did not arrive as ex-
pected.

One day, says Carver, whilst we were all expressing our wishes
for this desirable event, and looking from an eminence in hopes of
seeing them come over the lake, the chief priest belonging to the
band of Killistinoes, told us, that he would endeavour to obtain a
conference with the Great Spirit, and know from him when the
traders would arrive. I paid little attention to this declaration, sup-
posing that it would be productive of some juggling trick, just suf-
ficiently covered to deceive the ignorant Indians. But the king of
that tribe telling me that this was chiefly undertaken by the priest,
to alleviate my anxiety, and at the same time to convince me how
much interest he had with the Great Spirit, I thought it necessary
to restrain my animadversions- on his design.

A>D DISCOVERIKS IN Tllli WEST.

373

r, in liie traits
i of the Greek
he fiO'il, every
\an association,
ilousie:^ , dcreit,
nces of which,
f nuiltiplicd, so
yet an highly

)N.

igh the interior

lin place, among

ississippi, on ae-

ur traders. But

ot arrive as ex-

[jsing our wishes
mce in hopes of
)elonging to the
Ivour to obtain a
him when the
declaration, sup-
trick, just suf-
JBut the king of
n by the priest,
Invince me how
;ht it necessary

The following evening was fixed lor this spiritual conference.
When every thing had been properly prepared, tiie king came to
me and led me to a capacious tent, the covering of which was
drawn up, ho as to render visibie what \. as tiansuoting within. Wc
found the kiit surrounded by a |j,rcut number of tlie Indians, but
we readily gained admission, and teated ourselves on skins laid on
the ground for that purpose.

In the centre I observed that tht re was -.i place of an oblong
ihapp, which was composed of stakes stuck ii' round, with in-

tervals between, so as to form a kind of clmsl ullin, lart; • enough
to contain the body of a man. These were of a middle size, and
placed at such a distance from eaeh other, that whatever lay within
them was readily to be discerned. The tent \\as perfectly illumi-
nated by a great number of torches mad ■ of splinters cut from the
pine or birch tree which the Indians held in their hands.

In a few mii;utes the priest entered ; when an amazing large
elk's skin being spread on the groimd, just at my feet, he laid him-
self down upon it, after having stripped himself of every garment
except that which he wore close about his middle. Being now
prostrate on his back, he first laid hold of one side of the skin, and
folded it over him, and then the other ; leaving only his head un-
covered. This was no sooner done, than two of the young men
who stood by, took about forty yards of strong cord, made also of
an elk's hide, and rolled it tight round his body, so that he was com-
pletely sv.'athed with the skin. Being thus bound up like an Egyp-
tian Mummy, one took him by the heels, and the other by th head,
and lifted him over the pales into the enclosure. I could also now
discern him as plain as I had hitherto done, and I took care not to
turn my eyes a moment from the ojbect before me, that I might the
more readily detect the artifice ; for such I doubted not but that it
would turn out to be.

The priest had not lain in this situation more than a few seconds,
when he began to mutter. This he continued to do for some time

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(716)I72-4S03

374

AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES

and then by degrees grew louder and louder, till at length he spoke
articulately ; however, what he uttered was ip such a mixed jargon
ot the Chippewa, Ottawa, and Killistinoe languages, that I could
not understand but very little of it. Having continued in this tone
for a considerable while, he at last exerted his voice to its utmost
pitch, sometimes raving, and sometimes praying, till he had worked
himself into such an agitation, that he foamed at his mouth.

After having remained near three quarters of an hour in the place,
and continued his vociferation with unabated vigour, he seemed to
be quite exhausted, and remained speechless. But in an instant he
sprung upon his feet, notwithstanding at the time he was put in, it
appeared impossible for him to move either his legs or arms, and
shaking off his covering, as quick as if the bands with which it
had been bound were burned asunder, he began to address those
who stood around, in a firm and audible voice. " My brothers,"
said he, " the Great Spirit has deigned to hold a Talk with his ser-
vant, at my earnest request. He has not, indeed, told me when the
persons we expect, will be here ; but to-morrow, soon after the sun
has reached his highest point in the heavens, a canoe will arrive,
and the people in that will inform us when the traders will come."

Having said this, he stepped out of the enclosure, and after he
had put on his robes, dismissed the assembly. I own I was greatly
astonished at what I had seen ; but as I observed that every eye in
the company was fixed on me with a view to discover my senti-
ments, I carefully concealed every emotion.

The next day the sun shone bright, and long before noon all the
Indians were gathered together on the eminence that overlooked
the lake. The old king came to me and asked me, whether I had
80 much confidence in what the priest had foretold, as to join his
people on the hill, and wait for the completion of it ; I told him I
was at a loss what opinion to form of the prediction, but that I would
readily attend him. On this we walked together to the place where
the others were assembled. Every eye was again fixed by turns

AND DISCOVERIES IN THE WEST-

376

on me and on the lake ; when just as the sun had reached his ze-
nith, agreeably to what the priest had foretold, a canoe came round
a point of land about a league distant. The Indians no sooner be-
held it, than they set up an universal shout, and by their looks seem-
ed to triumijh in the interest their priest thus evidently had with
the Great Spirit.

In less than an hour the canoe reached the shore, when I attend-
ed the king and chiefs to receive those who were on board. As
soon as the men were landed, we walked all together to the king's
tent, when, according to their invariable custom, we began to
smoke ; and this we did, notwithstanding our impatience to know
the tidings they brought, without asking any questions ; for the In-
dians are the most deliberate people in the world. However, after
some trivial conversation, the king inquired of them, whether they
had seen any thing of the traders ? The men replied that they had
parted from them a few days before, and that they proposed being
here the second day from the present. They accordingly arrived
at that time greatly to our satisfaction, but more particularly so to
that of the Indians, who found by this event the importance both
of their priest and of their nation, greatly augmented in the sight
of a stranger.

This story I acknowledge appears to carry with it marks of great
credulity in the relater. But no one is less tinctured with that
weakness than myself. The circumstances of it, I own, are of a
very extraordinary nature ; however, as I can voich for their being
free from either exaggeration or misrepresentation, being myself
a cool and dispassionate observer of them all, I thought it necessary
to give them to the public. And this I do without wisliing to mis-
lead the judgment of my readers, or to make any superstitious im-
pressions on their minds, but leaving them to draw from it what
conclusions they please

376

AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES

A STRATAGEM OF PONTIAC THIO MIAMI CHIEF, TO MASSA
, CUE THE GARRISON AT DETROIT.

In the year 17G2, in the French war with the English, Pontiac,
a powerful chief of the Miamies, and head wrrier of that tribe,
had been a steady friend to the French, and continued his invete-
racy to the English, even after the peace had been concluded be-
tween these two nations.

Unwilling to put an end to the depredations he had been so long
engaged in, he collected an army of confederate Indians, consisting
of several fierce tribes or nations, with an intention to renew the
war. However, instead of openly attacking the English settle-
ments, he laid a scheme for taking by surprise those forts on the
extremeties which they had lately gained possession of.

To get into his hands Detroit, a place of great consequence, and
well guarded, required great resolution, and the most consummate
art. He of course took the management of this expedition on him-
self, and drew near it with the principal body of his troops. He
was, however, prevented from carrying his design into execution,
by an apparently trivial and unforeseen circumstance. On such
does the fate of mighty empires frequently depend !

The town of Detroit, when Pontiac formed his plan, was garri-
soned by about three hundred men commanded by Major Gladwyn,
a gallant officer. As at that time every appearance of war was at
an end, and the Indians seemed to be on a friendly footing, Pontiac
approached the Fort without exciting any suspicions in the breast
of the governour or the inhabitants. He encamped at a little distance
from it, and sent to let the commandant know that he was come to
trade ; and being desirous of brightening the chain of peace be-
tween the English and his nation, desirt;d that he and his chiefs
might be admitted to hold a council with him. The goveruour

AND DISCOVERIES IN THE WEST

»77

still unsuspicious, and not in the least doubting the sincerity of the
Indians, granted their general's request, and fixed on the next morn-
ing for their reception.

The evening of that day, an Indian woman who had been em-
ployed by Major Gladwyn, to make him a pair of Indian shoes, out
of curious elk skin, brought them home. The Major was so plea-
sed with them, that intending these as a present for a friend, he or-
dered her to take the remainder back, and make it into others for-
himself. He then directed his servant to pay her for those she had
done, and dismissed her. The woman went to the door that led to
the street but no further ; she there loitered about as if she had not
finished the business on which she came. A servant at length ob-
served her, and asked her why she staid there ; she gave him how-
ever, no answer.

Some short time after, the governour himself saw her ; and in-
quired of his servant what occasioned her stay. Not being able to
get a satisfactory answer, he ordered the woman to be called in.
When she came into his presence he desired to know what was
the reason of her loitering about and not hastening home before the
gates were shut, that she might complete in due time the work he

had given h'.;r to do. She told him, after much hesitation, that as
he had always behaved with great goodness towards her, she was
unwilling to take away the remainder of the skin, because he put
so great a value upon it ; and yet had not been able to prevail upon
herself to tell him so. He then asked her, why she was more re*
luctant to do so now, than she had been when she made the former
pair. With increased reluctance she answered, that she never
should be able to bring them back.

His curiosity being now excited, he insisted on her disclosing to
him the secret that seemed to be struggling in her bosom for utter-
tnce. At last, on receiving a promise that the intelligence she was
about to give him should not turn to her prejudice ; and that if it

Appeared to be beneficial, she should be rewarded for it, she inform"

r
M i

iMtimtiam

378 AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES

cd him, that at the couucil to be held with the Indians the fullow-
ing day, Pontiac ar.d his chiefs intended to murder him : and, after
'having massacred the garrison and inhabitants, to plunder the town.

That for this purpose all the chiefs who were to be admitted into
the council room, had cut their guns short, so that they could con-
ceal them under their blankets ; with which, at a signal given by
their general, on delivering the belt, they were all to rise up, and
instantly to fire on him and his attendants. Having effected this,
they were immediately to rush into the town, where they would
find themselves supported by a great number of the warriors, that
were to come into it during the sitting of the council, under pre-
tence of trading, but privately armed in the same manner. Having
gained from the woman every necessary particular relative to the
plot, and also of the means by which she acquired a knowledge of
them, he dismissed her with injunctions of secrecy, and a promise
of fulfilling on his part with punctuality, the engagements he had
entered into.

The intelligence the governour had just received, gave him great
uneasiness ; and he immediately consulted the officer who was next
to hira in command, on the subject. But that gentleman consider-
ing the information as a story invented for some artful purjwses. ad-
vised him to pay no attention to it. This conclusion, however, had
happily no weight with him. He thought it prudent to conclude
it to be true, till he was convinced it was not so ; and therefore,
without revealing his suspicions to any other person, he took every
needful precaution that the lime would admit of. He walked
round the fort during the whole night, and saw himself that every
sentinel was on dvity, and every weapon of defence in proper order.

As he traversed the ramparts which lay nearest to the Indian
camp, he heard them in higb festivity, and little imagining that
their plot was discovered, probably pleasing themselves with the
anticipation of their success. As soon as the morning dawned, he

AND DISCOVERIES IN THE WEST.

379

ordered all the garrison uiidor arms ; and then imparting liis appre-
hensions to a few of tlie principal oHicers, gave them such directions
as he thought necessary.

At the same time he sent round to all the traders, to inform them
that as it was expected a great number of Indians would enter the
town that day, who might be inclined to plunder, he desired they
would have their arms ready, and repel every attempt of that kind.

About ten o'clock, Poutiac and his chiefs arrived ; and were con-
ducted to the council chamber, where the governour and his prin-
cipal officers, each with pistols inlheir belts, awaited his arrival.
As the Indians passed on, they could not help observing that a great-
er number of troops than usual were drawn up on the parade, or
inarching about. No sooner were they entered, and seated on the
skins prepared for them, than Pontiac asked the governour on what
occasion liis young men, meaning the soldiers, were thus draw.* up,
and parading the streets. He received for answer, that it was only
intended to keep them perfect in their exercise.

The Indian chief warrior now began his speech, which contain-
ed the strongest professions of friendship and good will towards the
English ; and when he came to the delivery of the belt of wam-
pum, the particular mode of which, according to the woman's in-
formation, was to be the signal for his chiefs to fire, the governour
and all his chiefs drew their swords half way out of their scabbards ;
and the soldiers at the same instant made a clattering with their
arms before the doors, which had been purposely left open. Pon-
tiac, though one of the boldest of" men, immediately turned pale,
and trembled : and instead of giving the belt in the manner propo-
sed, delivered it according to the usual way. His chiefs who had
impatiently expected the signal, looked at each other with astonish-
ment, but continued quiet, waiting the result.

The governour in his turn made a speech ; but instead of thank-
ing the great warrior for the professions of friendship he had just
uttered, he accused him of being a traitor. He told him that the

. 1^:

mrffci

380

AMERICAN ANTIQUITIF.8

English, who knew every thing, were convinced of his treachery
and villanous designs ; and as a proof that they were well acquain-
ted with his most secret thoughts and intentions, he stepped towards
the Indian chief that sat nearest to him, and drawing aside his
blanket, discovered the shortened firelocJc. This entirely discon-
certed the Indians, and frustrated their design.

He then continued to tell them, that as he had given his word at
the time they deiiied an audience, that their persons should be safe,
he would hold his promise inviolable, though they so little deserved
it. However, he advised them to make the best of their way out
of the fort, lest his young men on being acquainted with their trea-
cherous purposes, should cut every one of them to pieces.

Pontiac endeavoure 1 to contradict the accusation, and to make
excuses for his suspicious conduct ; but the governour, satisfied of
the falsity of his protestations, would not listen to him. The In-
dians immediately left the fort, but instead of being sensible of the
governour's generous behaviour, they threw off" the mask, and the
next day made a regular attack upon it, which lasted a whole year
before the Indians were induced to a peace.

A REMARKABLE SOCIETY FOUND AMONG THE NAUDOWESSIE

INDIANS.

From the Travels of Carver, in the north-west, we extract the
following description of the War Dance and the Black Dance. In
the latter he became acquainted with the method of initiation into
a very singular society, among those nations.

The War Dance (says Carver) which they use both before they
set out on their war parties, and on their return from them, strikes
terror into strangers. It is performed, as the others, amidst a circle
of the warriors ; a chief generally begins it, who moves from the
right to the left, singing at the same time, both his own exploits,

INO DISCOVERIES IN THE WEST.

381

jachery
cqunin-
towards
iide his
discon-

word at
be safe,
leserved
way out
leir trea-

to make
itisfied of
The In-
)le of the
:, and the
hole year

3WESSIE

xtract the
ince. In
iation into

jfore they
), strikes

1st a circle

from the

eKploitfi,

and those of his ancestors. When he ha? concluded his account of
any memorable action, he gives a violent blow with his war club,
against a post that is fixed in the ground, near the centre of the as-
sembly, for this purpose.

Every one dances in his turn, and r.'capitulatcs the wondrous
deeds of his family, till they all at last join in the dance. Then it
becomes truly alarming to any stranger that happens to be among
them, as they throw themseves into every horrible and terrifying
posture that can be imagined, rehearsing at the same time the parts
they expect to act against their enemies in the field. During this
they hold their sharp knives in their hands, with which, as they
whirl about, they are every moment in danger of cutting each oth-
er's throats ; and did they not shun the threatened n.ischief with
inconceivable dexferity, it could not be avoided. By these motions
they intend to represent the manner in whir;h they lull, scalp, and
take their prisoners. To heighten the scene, they set up the same
hideous yells, cries, and warvv'hoops they use in time of action ; so
that it is impossible to consider them in any other light than as an
assembly of demons.

I have frequently joined in this dance with them, but if . oon
ceased to be an amusement to me, as I could not lay aside my ' p-
prehensions of receiving some dreadful wound, that from the vio-
lence of their gestures must have proved mortal.

I found that the nations to tlie westward of the Mississispi, and
on the borders of Lake Superior, still continue to make use of the
Pawwaw or Black Dance. The people of the colonies tell a thou-
sand ridiculous stories of the devil being raised in tliis dance by the
Indians. But they allow that thii was in former times, and is now
nearly extinct among those who live adjacent to the European set-
tlements. However, I discovered that it was still used in the in-
terior parts ; and though I did not actually see the devil raised by
it, I was witness to some scenes that could only be performed by
such as dealt with him, or were very expert and dexterous jug-
glers.

If;

ill

III

!i I

38a

AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES

Whilst I was among the Naudowessies, a dance, which they
thus termed, was performed. Hefore the dance began, one of the
Indians was admitted into a society which they denominated Wa-
kon-Kitchewah, that is, the Friendly Society of the Spirit. This
society is comj)oscd of persons of both sexes, but such only can be
admitted into it, as are of unexceptionable character, and who re-
ceive the approbation of the whole body. To this admission suc-
ceeeed the Paw-waw Dance, (in which I saw nothing that could
give rise to the reports I had heard,) and the whole, according to
their usual custom, concluded with a grand feast.

The initiation being attended with some extraordinary circum-
stances, which, as I have before observed, must be either the ef-
fect of magic, or of amazing dexterity, I shall give a particular ac-
count of the whole procedure. It was performed at the time of the
new moon, in a place appropriated to the purpose, near the centre
of thtir camp, that would contain about two hundred people Be-
ing a stranger, and on all occasions treated by them with great
civility, I was invited to see the ceremony, and placed close to
rails of the enclosure.

About twelve o'clock they began to assemble ; when the sun
shone bright, which they considered as a good omen, for they never
by choice hold any of their public meetings, unless the sky be clear
and unclouded. A great number of chiefs lirst appeared, who were
dressed in their best apparel ; and after them came the head war-
rior, clad in a long robe of rich furs, that trailed on the ground, at-
tended by a retinue of fifteen or twenty persons, painted and dressed
in the gayest manner- Next followed the wives of such as had
been already admitted into the society ; and in the rear a confused
heap of the lower ranks, all contributing as much as lay in their
power to make the appearance grand and showy.

When the assembly was seated, and silence proclaimed, one of
the principal chiefs arose, and in a short but masterly speech, in-
formed the audience of the occasion of their meeting. He acquaint-

AND DISCOVERIES IN THE WEST.

383

ed tliem that one of their young men wislied to bo admitted into
their society ; and taking him hy the hand presented him to their
view, asking them, at the same time, whether they had any objec-
tion to his becoming one of their community.

No objection being made, the young candidate was placed in the
centre, and four of their chiefs took their stations close to him ; af-
ter exhorting him, by turns, not to faint under the operations he
was about to go through, but to behave like an Indian and a man,
two of them took hold of his arms, and caused him to kneel ; an-
other placed himself behind hira, so as to receive him when he
fell, and the last of the four r.'tired to the distance of about twelve
feet from him exactly in front.

This disposition being completed, the chief then stood before the
kneeling candidate, began to speak to him with an audible voice.
He told him that he himself was now agitated by the same spirit
which lie should in a few moments communicate to him ; that it
would strike him dead, but that he would instantly be restored
again to life j to this he added, that the communication however
terrifying, was a necessary introduction to the advantages enjoyed
by the community into which he was on the point of being ad-
mitted.

As hp spoke this, he appeared to be greatly agitated ; till at last
his emotions became so violent, that his countenance was distorted,
and his whole frame convulsed. At this juncture he threw some-
thing that appeared both in shape and colour like a small bean, at
the young man, which seemed to enter his mouth, and he instantly
fell as motionless as if he had been sliot. The chief that was plac-
ed behind hira received him in his arms, and, by the assistance of
the other two, laid hira on the ground to all appearance bereft of
life.

Having done this, they immediately began to rub his limbs, and
to strike him on the back, giving him such, blow^, as seemed more •
calculated to still the quick, than to raise the dead. During these

384

AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES

extraordinary applications, the speaker continued his harangue, de-
siring the spectators not to be surprised, or to despair of the young
man's recovery, as his present inanimate situation proceeded only
from the forcible operation of the spirit, on faculties that had hither-
to been unused to inspirations of this I.inJ.

The candidate lay several minutes \vithout sense or motion ;
but at length, after receiving many violent blows, he began to
discover some symptoms of returning life. These, however, were
attended with strong convulsions, and an apparent obstruction in
his throat. But thoy were soon at an end ; for having discharged
from his mouth the bean, or whatever it was that the chief had
thrown at him, but which, on the closest inspection, I had not per-
ceived to enter it, he soon after appeared to be tolerably recovered.

This part of the ceremony being happily eileeted, tne officiating
chiefs disrobed him of the clothes he had usually worn, and put on
him a set of apparv^l entirely new. When he was dressed, the
speaker once more took him by the hand, and presented him to tbe
society as a regular and thoroughly initiated member, exerting them,
«t the same time, to give him such necessary assistance, as, being
a young member, he might stand in need of. He then also charged
the newly elected brother to receive with kumility, and to follow
with punctuality the advice of his elder brethren. «

All those who had been admitted within the rails, nov/ formed a
circle around their new brother, and the music striking up, the
gieat chief sung a song, celebrating as usual their martial exjploits.

THE ESQUIMEAUX WIZARD.

We have the following fiom the Narrative Journal of Captain
G. F. Lyon, who accompanied Captain Parry, on his voyage of
discovery in pursuit of a Northwest^passage from the Atlantic to the
Pacific Ocean, in the year 1821.

Klv

'.;■.;, 'V .

ANU DI8C0VLRIES IN THE WEST-

385

*.;

Tlic K:»:(|uiiacuux, like all uthcr »u\agcs, (Mssesii a large share of
superstilii>i» ; but, snys Lyon, our iinpcriect knowledge of their lan-
guage necessarily prevented our tracing any of their ceremonies to
tlieir source : I shall, therefore, only state such peculiar supersti-
tions and customs as I myself observed, though without pretending
to order or connexion.

Amongst our Igloolik acquaintances were two female and a few
mule wizzards, of whom the principal was Tooleniak. This per-
sonage was cunning and intelligent, and, whether professionally, or
from his skill in the chase, but perhaps from both reasons, >vas con-
sidered by all the tribe as a man of importance. As I invariably
paid great deference fo his opinion on all subjects connected with
his calling, he freely communicated to me his superior knowledge,
and did not scrupk; to allow of my being present at his interviews
with Tornga, or his patron spirit. In consequence of this, I took
an early opportunity of requesting my friend to exhibit his skill in
my cabin. His old wife was with him, and by much flattery, and
un accidental display of a glittering knife and some beads, she as-
assisted me in obtaining my request. All light excluded, our sor-
cew;r began chanting to his wife with great vehemence, and she in
return answered by singing the Amnu-aya, which was not discon-
tinued during the whole ceremony. As far as I could hear, he
aftenvards began turning himself rapidly round, and in a loud pow-
erful voice vociferated for Tornga with great impatience, at the
same lime blowing and snorting like a Walrus. His noise, impa-
tience, and agitation increasing every moment, and he at length
seated himself on the deck, varying his tones, and making a rust-
ling with his clothes.

Suddenly the voice seemed smothered, and was so managed as
to sound as if rctreatinp; beneath the deck, each moment becoming
more distant, and ultimately giving the idea of being many feet be-
low the cabin, when it ceased entirely. His wife now, in answer
to my queries, informed me very seriously that he had dived, and

■■'I'i?'-

-"•^-mrr,"

■I

-J

386

AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES

that he would send up Tornga. Accordingly, in about halt' a mi-
nute, a distant blowing was heard very slowly approaching, and a
voice which differed from that we at ftrst had heard, was at times
mingled with the blowing, until at length both sounds became dis-
tinct, and the old woman informed me that Tornga had come to
answer my questions. I accordingly asked several questions of the
sagacious spirit, to each of which inquiries I received an answer
by two loud slaps on the deck, which I was given to understand
were favourable. A very hollow, yet powerful voice, certainly
much different from the tones of Toolemak, now chanted for some
time, and a strange jumble of hisses, groans, shouts, and gabblings
like a turkey, succeeded in rapid order. The old woman sang with
increased energy, and, as I took it for granted that this was all in-
tended to astonish the Kabloona, I cried repeatedly that I was very
much afraid. This,_as I expected, added fuel to the fire, until the
poor immortal, exhausted by its own might, asked leave to retire.
The voice gradually sank from our hearing as at first, and a very
indistinct hissing succeeded ; in its advance, it sounded like the
tone produced by the wind on the bass chord of an iEolian harp ;
this was soon changed to a rapid hiss like that of a rocket, and
Toolemak with a yell announced his return. I had held my breath
at the first distant hissing, and twice exhausted myself, yet our con-
juror did not once respire, and even his returning and powerful
yell was uttered without a previous stop or respiration of air,

hi^ht being admitted, our wizard, as might be expected, was in
a profuse pehspiration, and certainly much exhausted by his exer-
tions, which had continued for at least half an hour. We now
observed a couple of bunches, each consisting of two stripes of
white deerskin and a long piece of sinew, attached to the back of
his coat. These we had not seen before, and were informed that
they had been sown on by the Tornga while he was below.

I have already said that Toolemak's spirit with whom he confer-
red on this occasion was a female j but he has on the whole no

ng f ■ ■

AND DISCOVERIES IN THE WEST.

357

ripes of

)ack of

led that

I coiifer-
lole no

less than ten superior heings, and a countless host of minor spirits.
With the first ten he holds constant communion, and transacts with
them all business relative to the healtli or worldly welfare of those
who consult and pay him. The above important personages are
thus named : Ay-willi-ay-oo, or Nooli-ay-oo, the female spirit of
whose conversation I have spoken ; her father Nappa-yook, or An-
now-ta-lig, of whom more anon ; Pami-uoo-li, a male spirit of con-
siderable importance ; Oo-took, or Oona-lie, a male of a gigantic
size ; Ka-mick, a female ; Anuig-yoo-a and Atta-na-ghiooa, two
brothers, and as far as I can learn, chief patrons of the country
about Amityook ; Puck-im-na, a female, who lives in a fine coun-
try, far in the west, and who is the immediate potectress of deer,
which animals roam in immense herds round her dwelling ; a large
bear, which lives on the ice at sea, and is possessed of vast infor-
mation — he speaks like a man, and often meets with and coverses
with the initiated on their hunting excursions ; and the last is
Eeghak, a male, of whom I can obtain no information. Out of this

host of superior spirits the two first are pre-eminent, although the
female is decidedly the most important in the eyes of the Esqui-
meaux generally, as well as in the opinion of her favorite votary
Toolemak. This lady is in the first place the mother, protectress,
and not unfrequently the monopolist of sea animals, which she
sometimes veiy wantonly confines below, and by that means causes
a general scarcity in the upper world. When this is the case, the
annatko is persuaded to pay her a visit, and attempt the release of
the animals on which his tribe subsist. I know not what ceremo-
nies he performs at the first part of the interview ; but as the spell
by which the animals are held lies in the hand of the enchantress,
the conjuror makes some bold attempts to cut it off, and, according

to his success, plenty, more or less, is obtained. If deprived of her
nails, the bears obtain their freedom ; amputation of the first joint

liberates the netyek, or small seal ; while that of the second loosens

the ooghiook, or larger kind. Should the knuckles be detatched,

388

AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES

whole herds of walrus rise to the suiface ; and should tho adventu '
rous annatko succeed in i-uttiiij^ through the lower part of the meta-
carpal bones, the monstrous whales are disentrhalled, and delightfully
join the other creatures of the deep. In addition to her power over
animals Aywilliayoo has a boundless conamand over the livea and
destinies of mankind. Bad men and women are punished by her
in a manner I shall presently describe ; and her own sex are alTlict-
ed with many disorders, and sometimes killed, in consequence of
their being careless in tae regulation of their diet at certain periods,
and otherwise neglecting the established customs ; all women there-
fore profess the utmost dread of this female avenger, but at the same
time acknowledge that she is very good. Her house is exceedingly
fine, and very like a kabloona looking-glass ; and, what is still
more attractive to an Esquimeaux, it contains plenty of food. Im-
mediately within the door of her dwelling, which has a long pass-
age of entranccgis stationed a very large and fierce dog, which has
no tail, and whose hinder quarters are black. This animal is bv
some called the husband, and by others merely the dog of Aywil-
liayoo ; but he is generally considered as the father of Indians and
Kabloona by the conjuress. This dog is also one of the Tornga'.-^
agents in the punishment of wicked souls after death. Aywilliayoo
is amazingly partial to Toolemak, and confers very great favours on
him, which he returns rather ungratefully, for he Avillingly under-
takes the defence of such sick women as v.' ill pay him.

Aywilliayoo is described by her high priest Toolemak, as being
equally wonderful in her personal appearance as in her actions. She
is very tall, and has but one eye, which is the left, the place of the
other being covered by a profusion of black hair. She has one pig-
tail only, contrary to the established fa.shion in the upper Esqui-
meaux world, which is to wear one on each side of the face, and
this is of such immense magnitude, that a man can scarcely grasp
it with both hands. Its length is exactly twice that of her arm, and
it descends to her knee. The hood of her jacket is always worn up.

AND TDISCOVERIF" IN THK WEST

380

It is somewhat extraDrdinary tliat tlif (oilier of tliis female Poly-
pheme, who is named Nappayook, and is the next in point of im-
portance, should have but one rrm, the hand of which is covered
by a very largo mitten of bear skin. His history agrees in many
respects with that of the one armed giant of the Greenlanders ; but
in point of size there is a vast diflerence, Nappayook being no lar-
ger than a boy ten years of age. He bears the character of a good,
quiet sort of a person, and is master of a very nice house, which,
however, is not approachable, on account of the vast herds of wal-
rus lying round it, and which with numerous bears make a most
terrific howling. Toolcmak acknowledged very candidly that he
had never dared to enter this mansion, but by looking through the
door he could see that it was good. Another substantial reason was
given why no Esquimaux cared to enter the house of the Tornga ;
he has nothing to eat, and does not even require it ; in which par-
ticular he difl'ers widely from his daughter, who has a most vora-
cious appetite. I know not if he is the father of all terrestrial ani-
mals, but he is certainly their patron, and withholds them at times
from the Esquimaux. What methods are taken to make him libe-
rate them I know not.

Having now been properly introduced to the Tornga of my sapi-
ent atata, I took the earliest opportunity of sleeping at his hut, and
persuading him to perform hi ^ ceremonies to a part of his country-
men. Women and even young lads were excluded, and old Khick-
e-nekh alone remained. Amongst other preparations, I observed a
man bring in a hard bunch of moss, over which a flat piece of sin-
ew was stretched, and confined in its place by a needle stuck up-
right ; through its eye was threaded a finer piece of finew, which
had its ends tied to the moss. This contrivance was delivered to
the old lady, who informed me that it was to be carried by Toolc-
mak, as a present to his patroness ; the moss being for the lamp,
and the sewing materials for mending the clothes of the spirit. We
were now all arranged in our places, and one of the two lamps

li-.'j; li

■fc-. .11 ■ .M »i

390

AMERICAN ANTIQUITIEiJ

wliich were burning was put out ; the whole party crying in an en-
couraging voice " Ali-ani-ani," to cheer and expedite tlie Annatko.
This exclamation was frequently repeated, and I observed that each
time a wick was extinguished in the remaining lamp. Two or three
at length were all that remained alight, and the hut being considera-
bly darkened, Toolemak in a loud voice began calling Tornga !
Tornga ! Pamiooli ! Famiooli ! ya whoi ! hooi ! hooi ! by which
time one solitary wick alone remained. The old woman began
singing, and the cries of encouragement were added to those of the
wizard. An indescribable screaming continued for some little time,
until we were informed that Tornga refused to answer, while any
light remained : this was as I expected, and we were in instant
darkness. Toolemak now set out to bring the enchantress. A
low bass voice, which those who sat near rae said was that of Torn-
ga, soon chanted the same tune, which I had heard on a former oc-
casion. I found that the words were unintelligible, even to the na-
tives. The song being finished, a variety of questions were asked
by the Esquimaux, in a hurried and lively manner, to which the
spirit answered with great gravity. To the questions relative to the
chase, the replies were not very explicit, as it is the policy of the
Annatko to leave a salvo for himself, whichever way the predic-
tions may be fulfilled ; and Ay williayoo sung in so strange a man-
ner, as to cause some little difficulty in the interpretation of her re-
sponses. Cries of more variety than I can pretend to describe, and
the impatient screams and questions of the men, with the loud mo-
notonous soug of the old woman, continued for about half an hour ;
the solitary and powerful chant of the spirit was again heard, and
she retreated with the same skill as before.

Toolemak, with shouts and strange noises, soon joined us, and his
return to the world was hailed with great delight. A lamp being
brought, the pale and exhausted Annatko crawled from behind hi»
i^crecn, and seated himself amongst us.

.y^'

mmmmm^m

AND DISCOVERIES IN THE WEST.

;^9i

I could not but remark throughout the whole of the perlbrmance,
which lasted about an hour and a half, the wonderful, steadiness of
our wizard, who, during his most violent exertions of voice, did not
once appear to move ; for had he done so, I was so close to the skin
behind which he sat, that I must have perceived it. Neither did
I hear any rustling of his clothes, or even distinguish his breathing,
although his outcries were made with great exertion. Once howe-
ver, and once only, a short cough, barely audible even to me, oc-
cured while the old man was supposed to be in the other world.

Exhibitions such as I have described are not of common occur-
rence, and of course by their rarity are rendered of greater impor-
tance. There is much rivalship amongst the professors, who do
not however expose each other's secrets, but are very mysterious or
silent when spoken to on the subject.

In this sort of jargon as practiced by the Esquimaux wizards, as
Lyon calls them, we are reminded of the mythology and mum-
mery of the Laplanders, and of their numerous deities, both good
and bad. An account of the likeness existing between them, the
reader can see by referri.ig to page 65 and G7 inclusive, of this
work. The similarity between them strikes us the more forcibly,
as there is no doubt but that they are derived from Greenland, and
the Greenlanders from Iceland, and the Icelanders from Norway,
the northern part of which is Lapland ; where similar notions, in
some sense, most certainly prevailed

md his

being

ind hi»

TRAITS OF ANCIENT ROMANS IN AMERICA

On pages 40 and 59 inclusive, of this work, we have ventured
the conjecture, that the Romans colonized various parts of America.
We still imagine such a conjecture by no means impossible, as to-
kens of their presence are evidently yet extant in the vale of Mcx-

•■SmuMn^i.

. . ■ ttk-

■^ ■■■ii.'

3f.'2

AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES

ico. See page 209, where tliere is an account of a temple, vvliieli
Avas built aiul dedicated, as sacred to the worship of the sun and
moon.

The rehgions of nations furnish, it is presumed, the strongest
possible evidence of origin. On this account, the temples of the
sun an moon in JMexico, exactly answer to the same objects of de-
votion, worshipped by the ancient Romans.

That they are similar in both countries, we prove from Gibbon's
Roman empire, page 233, Vol. 1st, as follows : The sun was wor-
sliipped at Emesa, by the Romans, under the name of Elagabalus,
or God, under the form of a black conical stone, which, it was uni-
versally believed, had fallen from heaven, on that sacred place.

This stone, we observe, was undoubtedly what is termed an airo-
lithis, a copious account of which is given by Dr. Adam Clark, as
being thrown out of the n)oon by the force of volcanic eruptions in
that planet, which, as soon as they had passed out of the moon's
attraction, fell immediately to the earth, being drawn hither by the
stronger force of the centripetal power. A stone falling to the earth
imder such circumstances, was quite suflicient to challenge the ado-
ration of the pagan nations, as coming down from the gods, or from
the sun, as a representative of that luminary.

Accordingly this stone became deified, and was set up to be wor-
shipped, as the sun's vicegerent among men. Gibbon says that to
this protecting deity, the stone, Antonius, not without some reason,
ascribed his elevation to the throne of the Roman empire. The
triumph of this stone god over all the religions of the earth, wa^
the great object of tliis emperor's zeal and vanity : and the appel-
lation of Ekf/abalus, which he had bestowed on the ajrolithis, was
dearer to that emperor than all tlie titles of imperial greatness.

In a solenm procession through the streets of Rome, the way
Avus strewed with gold dust ; the black stone set in precious gems,
was placed on a chariot drawn by six milk white horses, richly ca-
parisoned. The pious emperor held the reins, and supported by

""-.«« of «,e „.„ and X :'::""'"• "* «■» «--'

*g»a„o„. """' '^"'"='«'"'' "'"■ »«-e«ed zeoi, ,„d «„«!

^0 this temple a« tn „

feror deities a„e„ded in v„ ■ """• * ™»"J of in-

J^'™-a, E,e,a6a,„s '""' ''°"°"'' '"^ ""J«'X "f Ae gc^ If

B"! the court of tliis g«i „„ ,,.,, . .

«»^iAed rant „, adlitt^^ J t' 'Tr'' "" ° '^'^^ '''^-
="°- for hi, e„„,ort; b„ tV ""', ''^''- !•««- had been fo,

«- hythe Afriean, „„der the ZLIIT '' '"""'™'*-
-•'•hie c„„p,„i„„ ,„ ,„^ ; "'- °f A.,ar,e, ,vas deeded a „„„

l>o™P, fromCa„hage,„ Rol , ^ '""''"*''' "'«" «"™n

h™ the,,, a, E„e., ii; ;":.:" ""™^^- '"0 -Z

«»" ».o„u,„did ,he Mexicans !,"' """'■'"»'' ""^ »"«
'•» "- vale of Mexico, If, .heJfL f"" ^"'' ""'' ^'"»«».
'■<»« re,igi,„. Ha,,„, '^'^' '" ^"^ «- -».-, the »„.
»% existed, it w„„,d J,„ '„ ''" ""^ ■"^"'-l objects of „„.

-- - f-. . suppose .:: ~::, -^ --%. »^ ««.

ther countrj . ^ ^^^ '^^ ^''^ satue people in ei-

The ancient ^oiuaus, or rather .Id

imr

394

AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES

rercarkable in one paiticular, over and above all other particulars,
. and this ivas, in the construction of a grand national road, of
three thousand seven hundred and forty English miles in length.
This national road issued from the Forum of Rome, traversed Ita-'
ly, pervaded the provinces, and terminated only by the frontiers of
the Empire, and was divided off into distinct miles, by a stone be-
ing set up at the termination of each, as in the present times.
The same v\ras the case with the ancient people of South America,
in the times of the Incas ; who, as Humboldt informs us, had one
grand road, which is even traceable at the present time, of a thou-
sand leagues in length, running nlong on the high ground of the
Cordilleras, and was paved with large flat stones the whole length.
In this very respect, that is, of paving their roads with large stones,
the Romans and the South Americans were alike. For Gibbon
says, that in the construction of the Roman national highway, they
not only perforated mountains, raised bold arches over the bioadest
and most rapid streams, but paved it with large stones, and in some
places even with granite.

In another respect they are alike ; the Romans raised this road so
as to be able to overlook the country as it was travelled : so also
did the Americans, in choosing the high grounds of the Cordilleras
to build it upon.

It would seem also, that in the very construction of their ciHes,
towns, and palaces, as found scattered over many parts of South
America, even along on the coasts of the Pacific, according to Hum-
boldt and more recent researches, they modeled them, in some
sense, after the manner of the Romans ; especially in the vastness
of their capacity, or area which they occupied.

However, it is clear, that as the American architecture did not
partake of the refinement of taste in the finish of their buildings,
which characterise those of the Romans, that they, the former, are
the elder of the two ; and that the American nations in the persons
of their ancestors got from Africa, and about the country of the

AND DISCOVERIES ,.V tme >Ve„

Mediterranean i„ fj . * 395

!>«"- fo„ blrbariI."F„;' !f ;, "'' ."'™ '"■'"—•'", or de-

""«'-"., .h. arts a, f„,„ „ ' ' "^ ""' """•°''" "f ">«

'-"'■l ».-- i.» .!>»r«. ""'"'^ '^ <^''"'™'-. .vta he

''-J'=J-„ before ,p„,e„;;"" 7«' '» "- whUe a.d

^"■' - «.e K„«„, wore :X"' """ "»'"«-•"■« 'egi.a J'
"--. >™. b.fo. ,a, ,„^,;; -= P»P'=. a.,,, had hec„„. „.

---*n, .3 G,-5bo„, ,.,•:;„,',"= ""'• "' E-"P». and „ade,

-« a "',. and bearded a ^Tl""'! "^ '«» ^^ ^^pa., who
-", we ha.e .,„«, „,e:.: ^J, °^-" -»*"!.« of .h..

«»«». a:, G.ek . Jl ' ^^^ ^""■»*-. P'^-aen,
P-P% of ,he „,M, of A„Z7' r ''" ■""'^ '° "» '■" «■»

■ '^r'''=-i"-'-.ion,,ha„r ;:.;"'''» '-''■' ^-Pe«s,
T'>erawasf„„„<,,„„„„,«;"J"^^;PPo»<l.

"' ™="le coaba. wia, d,, * .";'"''" '"'«^«™. and this wa,, ft „ ,

«'»^'-a'o- This a„o.;!: Rir"" ^''^ "•= «*^' »^ «■=

^■"^0 --.h hU ow. hand, a, . gtll' "" "' "* "°'-".

«"= parsoM. *"*"""' >=«n hundred and (hirty.

Of this emperor, Gihb„„ ,„, ,, , , .
1 «■» -".-..d. Which .radi; , r*;'-^ -•«■ «■» praise, '

*a»e, Coaaodn, re,o,.ed .0 0^7''" '"^ ™^'' «- "^
»"» Peopie, .hose e.eroise, wh'h ffl Tl "' '^" "' "^ «-
«-" -aWn ,he w,«s of Us p^,, '"' "' '"' '''«««y con-
vourite. """""'"""^ presence 0/ hi. f.

396

AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES

On the appointed day, the various motives of flattery, fear, and
curiosity, attracted to the amphitheatre an innumerable multitude
of spectators ; and some decree of applause was deservedly bestow-
ed on the uncommon skill of the imperial performer. Whether he
aimed at the head or heart of the animal, the wound was alike cer-
tain and mortal. With arrows whose point was shaped in the
form of a crescent, Commodus often intercepted the rapid career,
and cut asunder the long and bony neck of the ostrich.

A panther was let loose, and the archer waited till he had leap-
ed upon a trembling malefactor. In the same instant the shaft
flew, the beast dropt dead, and the man remained unhurt. The
dens of the amphitheatre dii^gorged at once a hundred lions ; a hun-
dred darts in succession, from the unerring hand of Commodus, laid
them dead as they ran raging round the arena. Such it appears

were the prowess and the sports of the ancient Romans, whose
counterpart, as it respects this peculiar trait, the fi;;ht of the gladia-
tor, was found among the Mexican usages of North America.

THE GOLD REGIONS IN THE SOUTHERN STATES.

From the American Journal of Science and Ar^--, we have a
highly interesting description of tlie gold districts in Georgia and
North Carolina, extending west even into the state of Tennessee.
In this journal gold is treated upon as being extremely abundant, and
from the situation of the veins, is far more eligible to the operations
of the miner, than the gold mines of South America ; these having,
as is supposed, been greatly deranged in places, and buried deep
by the operations of volcanoes ; while those in the states are still
in their primitive state of formation.

Gold is found connected with various formations of slate, with
red clay, and in the bottoms of streams, mingled with the sand and

AND DISCOVERIES IN THE Wi:ST.

397

kave a
la and
lessee-
|it, and

rations
paving,
deep

te still

ith

id and

gravel. It is found with the heavy gravelly earth of the mountains,
but most of all, in the kind of rock called quartz, which is also
mingled with slate. In North C'arolina, on Valley River, gold is
found in abundance, connected with the quartz rock, which also
abounds with chrystal, running in veins in every direction, in tis-
sues from the size of a straw to that of a man's arm. The quartz
is in great masses very compact, and of a yellow golden hue, from
the abundant presence of the metal. In the bottom of this river
much deposited gold is found in strata.

It would appear, from the evidences yet remaining, that the an-
cient inhabitants were not insensible to the existence of the golden
mines here, nor, of course, of its value ; for, " in the vicinity Avere
found the remains of ancient works ; many shafts have been sunk
in pursuit of the ore, and judging from the masses thrown up, one
of them penetrated a quartz rock to a great depth, as about thirty
feet still lies open to view.

There is also a deep and difficult cut across a very bold vein of
this rock, in pursuit of metal, but it is nbw, much filled up, having
been used subsequently for an Indiao burying ground. At this
place, says the Journal, nothing short of the steel pickaxe, could
have left the traces on the stone which are found here.

Not far from this place, have been found the remains of a small
furnace, the walls of which had been formed of soap stone, so as to
endure the heat without being fractured. In the county of Ha-
bersham, in North Carolina, was lately dug out of the earth, at a
place where the gold ore is found, a small vessel in the form of a
skillet. It was fifteen feet under ground, made of a compound of
tin and copper^ with a trace of iron. The copper and tin in its com-
position, are undoubtedly the evidence of its antiquity. See the
plate at letter G, where an exact facsimile of this vessel is engrav-
ed, taken from the Journal of Science and Arts, conducted by Pro-
fessor SiUiman.

.•A-

39fi

AMERICAN ANTIQUITIEi

On the top of Yeotia mountain, in tlie same region, still exist
the remains of n stone wall, which exhibit the angles of a fortifica-
tion, and giiard the only accessible points of ascent to its summit.
Timber ia the Clierokee country, beating marks of the axe, (not
of slonc,) have been taken up at the depth of ten feet below the
surface. Indian tradition, says Mr. Silliman, gives no account of
these remains. This article, which was found in the gold mine, in
Habersham county, formed of copper and tin, is in this respect like
the mining chissel described by Humboldt, on page 190 of this
work. The timber found ten feet beneath the surface, in Georgia
and North Carolina, bearing the marks of having been cut down
and cut in two with axes of metal, are to be referred to the opera-
tions of the Europeans — the Danes, Welch, &e., of whom we have
already spoken in several parts of this volume. We consider them
the same with the authors of the stone walls which we have men-
tioned that were found in North Carolina, and also with the authors
of the iron axes, fotnid in a saltpetre cave, on the river Gasconade,
far to the west, as mei^ioVied in Beck's Gazetteer ; and also the
same with the authors of the stone buildings, a foundation of one
of which is represented on the plate. See Frontispiece.

It would appear from all this, that these Europeans had niade
extensive settlements in various places, extending over an immense
range of this country, before they were cut off by the Indians ; as
we cannot suppose any other enemy capable of so dreadful and ge-
neral a slaughter.

It is said that the ancient Phcenicians first discovered the art of
manufactuiiiig tools from the union of copper and tin, the same of
which this skillet is found to be formed ; and that of the Phoeni-
cians, the Greeks and Romans, learned the art, who it is likely
communicated the same to the ancient Britons ; and from these, in
process of time, the Danes, the Welch, the Scotch, and the Norwe-
gians, brought it with them to the wilds of America. Or if we re-
ject this, we may refer the working of those mines of gold, not to

399

^ AND DI-COV.R.,. ,^ ^^^ ^^^^ _^^^

"■""■S boo,, dlscovorcd i„ >„. ■ "^IS''"--"-'"" '^''""^lor,, a,
•«icfc of c„pp„, „f „ ,„,.^ ,;'7""' ■; "-'--d- B„, ,,o,v ,he

nrers fl„„i„g „„„ „,^ »" ">"'»'« sad, ,„ oros, ,he

'Von.. Ca.n„, S„.,„. C„.o,L: a^ a %"""'^" '"""«-
fj,nc« .. ' ""'J <-c.^2ia. See the map uf

Carolina, a.d o„e i„ Ge„r.|„ „„ ''°'"'^' °"= '» ««orn JVonf,

Kpar.l,„„ of „,„ ,,,,„ <"'■"; and f„™ j„;„„^ .^^

« fro™ „.e „o„„. Tho.o are 0^^^ '"". f™"''"'"'' W--,,.

--.ai„, „,ioh „„,e .ho^^uj ;, 'I f ' ""'' '"'""'""•"
-.ako..,e„..e of I,„„,„,,,„ l^^^^'-- "^-.„. „„.
soo(,OD, Where the u„io„ <,f ,„„ ^' ""' '«""'°f i"to,-

«.- *. of oo.„.„ ,, „a,:trz:r "^ ''""-"

"i.

•4

400

.'l Tl

AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES

• The evidence at this place, of the war of the elements, is (lio

-admiration of all who pass the hroken mountain, through what is

called the suck, and boiling chaldron^ near the confines of the state

of Tennessee. At this place, the vast accumulation of waters, it

cz, '. is evident^ broke through, and deluged the country below, toward

'-. * .tlie sea, overwhelming whatever settlements the Danes, or other

. - »

> ,--;^eople of the old worl4(«iay have made there, especially along

the lowest grounds, till the waters were drained to the Atlan-
* tic This position easily accounts for the appearances of such ar-
articles as have been disintered, with that of timber, from the
depths mentioned in the Journal of Science. Such a circumstance
may have gone far to weaken the prowess of those nations. So
that they could not, froirlthe survivors dwelling on the highest
grounds,*soon recover their numbers, their order, their state of de-
fence and security, against the Indians farther west, who it is likely,
watched all opportunities to destroy thcra.

Finally, from all we can gather on this momentous subject, we
are compelled, from t^ overwhelming amount of evidence to ad-
mit that mighty nationj^ with almost unbounded empire, with vari-
ous degrees of improvement, have occupied the continent, and that,
as in the old world, empire has succeeded empire, rising one out of
the other, from the jarring interests of the unwieldy and ferocious
mass : So also in this.

And, also, that convulsion has succeeded convulsion, deluge suc-
ceeded deluge, breaking dowii mountains, the barriers of rivers,
deranging and destroving the ancieitHiatious, till it has, at length,
assumed a settled and more permanent state of things, where the
happy millions of the present race now inhabit. / ^ i (^^J /

.,'#■.• ;

lements, is (luj
irough what is
es of the state
>n of waters, it
below, toward
aues, or other
specially along
to the Atlan-
:es of such ar-
ber, from the
I circumstance
nations. So
1 the highest
ir state of de-
iio it is likely,

5 subject, we
idence to ad-
re, with vari-
ent, and that,
iig one out of
ind ferocious

, deluge suc-
rs of rivers,
IS, at length,
, where ths

'■\