ADVERTISEMENT

Rev. J. P. Campbell, the principal editor of the Record, having moved from the state, the continuance of the work cannot be promised, till some new arrangements are made. To meet the wishes, however, of those who may be convinced of the utility of a publication of the kind, it is probable that, in the course of a few weeks, a new Company will be formed, and a new Prospectus issued. The present Company have only further to observe, that while the makority of their subscribers have been punctual in their payments, a few have not; and justice to those of the first class demands that those of the second class should be known. As soon, then, as the different Agents have made their returns, a full and fair list of the delinquents shall be published.


Note: The Rev. Joseph P. Campbell, while serving as editor of the Lexington Evangelical Record, and Western Review, confined the paper's scope of interest almost totally to matters of Calvinist theology and Presbyterian efforts in the western states. All the while, he was writing a substantial book on a rather different subject -- "Western Antiquities." With his move from Lexington, to Chilicothe, Ohio, at the end of 1813, Rev. Campbell was at last prepared to share his research into mound-builder artifacts and Indian origins with the public. See the prospectus for his anticipated book, as advertised in the Chilicothe Weekly Recorder of  July 5, 1814.

THE  NEW  THEORY.
_______

From occasional notices in the newspapers, it appears that Captain Symmes still persists in his theory of the earth, and that he has applied to different Sovereigns of Europe for assistance to explore the internal cavity. It is time to notice such extravagent speculations, when the lives of men may be endangered by their being acted on. I have waited to see if any of our astronomers, geologists, or mechanical philosophers, would show the impossibility of such a formation as Symmes supposes to exist; but have waited in vain. It, therefore, rests with me, who am neither astronomer or geologist, to do what some of them ought to have done long ago.

The density of the earth, as found by calculation from a mean of 547 experiments, made on purpose by Dr. Maskelyne and Mr. Cavendish, is more than five times greater than that of water. Now, as the materials we find composing the surface of the earth, will not more than average half of this density, it follows that the central part must exceed it. So far then from having any reason to believe that our globe may be hollow within, we are at a loss to conceive of materials heavy enough to make up the great specific gravity found by experiment, supposing it to be all solid.

It may be shown, by the theory of gravitation, that no hollow globe, of the magnitude of the earth, can exist. Suppose such a shell of fluid matter to be [created], and put into rotary motion the same as that of the earth, and subject also to the laws of gravitation, it would not retain that moment -- it would fall in from all points, and soon coalesce in a solid spheroid. The centrifugal force which capt. Symmes employes to keep his shell in shape, is altogether insufficient to produce any such effect. At the equator, that force is only one two hundred and thirty-ninth of the gravitating force, and at the poles nothing. Even supposing the rotary motion was increased to such a degree as to keep the equitorial part in its original position, still no other part would retain it. The poles being attracted by each other, and by every other particle between them, while there is no force tending to keep them apart, would soon meet -- so would every thing opposite parallel, for, in all the centrifugal being less than the centripedal force, would only retard, but not prevent them, from meeting: and the world would form a very oblate spheroid.

I will venture to assert, that no hollow celestial body of any magnitude can exist, unless in the form of a flattened ring, like those of Saturn.

When capt. Symmes first published his theory, I could not help admiring his inventive genius, whatever I might think of his judgment. There is a distinction in being foremost, even in absurdity. But I have since found, that he is the humble copyist of the absurdities of Dr. Halley, who, in 1692, published the same theory in the same words.     D. P.


Note: The exact date and title of the above article are uncertain. The text is taken from a reprint transcribed from the Gettysburg Republican Compiler of Oct. 6, 1819.

INDIAN  ANTIQUITIES

LETTER  I.

TO  THE  EDITOR.

Sir -- Among the many important additions to the stock of general knowledge which your Magazine will be the means of eliciting, I hope the antiquities of this western country will not be neglected. The origin and history of our Aborigines can only be discovered by a minute investigation of their numerous works of art. This investigation is rendered the more necessary, as the rapidly increasing population and cultivation of our country have already occasioned the destruction of many monuments of Indian labour, and it is greatly to be feared, that other of our antiquarian relicks will soon suffer the same fate.--We ought to urge the more enlightened part of our community to draw correct plans and describe the various circumvallatory ramparts which still exist, and also to forward to the different western museums, those specimens of Indian handicraft, which were either used for domestic purposes and ornament, or intended as objects of worship, or implements of war.

The first objects, which naturally engage the attention of our American antiquarians, are the numerous circumvallatory earthern walls and tumuli. The degree of perseverance and quantum of labour employed in their erection excite our surprise, whilst the remoteness of their foundation interests our curiosity. It has generally been supposed, that these circumvallations were intended for places of defence or fortifications, and that the tumuli were erected for the burial of warriors who died in battle.

The result of my own observations and inquiries on this subject is different, and although there are, perhaps, some few real ancient fortifications to be met with in the western country, I am induced to believe that most of the circumvallations were erected for open temples or places of worship, and that the tumuli, when adjoining and outside the same, are the graves of human victims, who were sacrificed to the rites of that bloody religion, which existed in Mexico until the time of its conquest by Cortez. In a place of defence, the enclosure of a spring of water or safe access to a stream would ever be an object of the greatest importance. The lives of the inhabitants must depend upon it, and yet, among the many circumvallations which I have seen, this has not, in any instance, been attended to; for, although the earthen walls are always situated near springs or water courses, they do not enclose them, nor could the inhabitants procure drink without exposure in all cases to the missile weapons of their enemies, and in most instances to open battle on disadvantageous ground.

As this is an important fact, I must beg leave to describe the usual sites of our western circumvallations. They are always situated on relatively high ground. Those erected near the Ohio and its tributary rivers, are placed on the upper banks of those streams, and are usually one fourth of a mile distant from the water; in some instances, straight earthen walls extend down from the upper to the lower bank, but do not cross the latter to the bed of the river.

The Indian circumvallation at Cincinnati is a case in point. The upper part of that town is now built within the same, whilst the lower bank, or present commercial part, shows no vestige of walls having ever extended across. I speak the more confidently on this subject, as I drew a plan of that circumvallation upwards of twenty years ago, when there existed but few houses in Cincinnati, and the ramparts were in a great measure uninjured. When the circumvallations are situated on smaller streams, having but one high bank, earthen walls sometimes extend down its slope towards the water, but as these streams are narrow and fordable, the party descending, would be completely exposed to the weapons of the enemy in front. -- Many of these circumvallations are erected near the sites of springs and often in situations which might have been much improved for defence by inclosing the fountain head. Water has nevertheless been excluded from these enclosures, and the few instances to the contrary where the works appear to have been evidently intended for fortification, and are of another nature, being composed chiefly of stone walls, tend to prove my position by furnishing exceptions to the general rule.

Other circumvallations are seen on the summit of the precicipices which border some of our rivers, and are from three to five hundred feet above the water courses. I visited one of these on the Cumberland river. The earthen rampart occupies the highest ground, and is bounded on the north by the precipice. The ground gradually slopes from its southern walls about three hundred yards to a spring of water. About six miles from Nashville, there is a circumvallation situated on high ground. An opening in the eastern wall leads by a flight of steps cut in a rock, down a steep declivity, to a spring; and persons descending would be completely exposed to an enemy. The celebrated circumvallation at Circleville, Ohio, is situated half a mile from the Scioto river, and one fourth of a mile from a small creek which runs on the other side. But it is useless to mention other instances. The contiguity of water was doubtless deemed necessary for purification before the performance of their religious rights, and it evidently appears that as much pains were taken to exclude it from within their circumvallations as would have been used to inclose it, provided the walls had been intended as places of defence. Another peculiarity of these circumvallations is, that whenever you find a ditch it is made within the ramparts and in no instance outside: the outer earth with which the wall was built, being taken off the surface in an uniform level manner, and as part of the materials was by thismeans brought from a considerable distance, it must have occasioned additional labour, whereas throwing the earth up from an outer ditch would not only have lessened the work but also have greatly added to the security of the place as a means of defence.

Very few weapons of war, such as arrows, spear heads or battle axes are found within or around these circumvallations. No fire hearths with charcoal and ashes are discovered, such as are met with in the sites of our ancient Indian towns. But a most conclusive evidence that these circumvallations were not originally fortifications is, that in certain districts they are found so numerous and contiguous that they never could have been intended for that purpose or as walls of towns. A large population would require an extensive entrenchment, but the inhabitants would never think of erecting square, round, oval, octagon, and other shaped circumvallations, all distinct though closely adjoining, and extending in a line on a plain. In many places the tumuli are high and placed so near the walls that they completely command the whole inner space of ground. Such erections would not have been made if the original design had been defence. The circumvallation at Circleville has been described in a letter to Mr. Monroe, accompanied with a plan. It has generally been supposed to be an undoubted Indian fortification, but having visited the place and formed very different inferences, I shall conclude this letter by relating my observations upon it. Two earthen ramparts, with a ditch between, having a slope of about fifty degrees on each side, and making a complete circle, whose extreme diameter is about four hundred yards, form the inclosure in which the present town of Circleville is built. The circular embankments are about sixty-five feet apart on the top and are at present about ten feet high. The ditch between is about five feet deep, making the total depth between the two ramparts about fifteen feet. There is but one entrance to the circle which is over a causeway, and leads from a square circumvallation that joins the outer circular wall at said entrance. The square rampart is about three feet higher than the circular walls. It has seven entrances of about twenty feet wide, viz:one at each angle, and one in the centre of each line, the opening to the circle forming the eighth. Just within each entrance and a little on one side is a low mound of earth. There was formerly a tumulus in the centre of the circle which is said to have been about fifty feet high. It has been removed to make room for the court-house. A skeleton was found within, together with a large plate of mica, a piece of copper, and the handle of a sword, the blade of which having been composed of iron was destroyed, the shape being visible by the rust which remained. Outside the circular wall is a large tumulus now about ninety feet high, which completely commands the place. It is made to join the circumvallation by a causeway of earth forming an inclined plane from the mound to the wall. This tumulus contains a great number of skeletons which are placed with their sculls towards the centre. I have already mentioned that there is no water except at a considerable distance from this circumvallation, neither are there any embankments of earth leading as a kind of covered way thereto. The present inhabitants of Circleville obtain water by digging about twenty-five feet, but no remains of ancient wells have been discovered, and as the soil is a strata of gravel, such remains would still have been visible had they existed, as it is absolutely necessary to wall up the wells to prevent the earth from falling in. I have before mentioned there is no outer ditch. The earth seems to have been taken regularly off the surface for a great distance round, in order to form the walls. The inner circular wall, contrary to all rules for defence, is the same in heighth as the outer one, and the part of the square embankment adjacent to the circle commands both by its superior height. If the square circumvallation had been intended for defence, seven wide entrances would never have been made in the manner mentioned, nor would the low circular mounds placed rather on one side have afforded any means of defence. They seem to have been erected for the purpose of placing thereon statues of the Janitor Gods, so commonly met with in the open areas to the most ancient temples of Asia.

On the first settlement of Circleville marks are said to have existed on the sides of the embankments which indicated that pickets had been placed there. If this was not a mistake of the gentlemen who viewed them, owing to their previous idea of the place's having been a fortification, it can only prove that it was used for temporary defence, in comparatively modern times. No person can imagine that pickets and picket holes would remain visible for a long period of time, whilst the growth and decay of the largest trees on these embankments indicate their existence to have been for centuries.

---

Art. 3. An account of the history, manners, and customs of the Indian nations, who once inhabited Pennsylvania and the neighbouring states; by the Rev. John Heckewelder of Bethlehem. Compiled by request of the Historical and Literary committee of the American Philosophical Society, 8vo, pp, 347. Philadelphia, Abraham Small. Contained in vol. 1st. of Historical and Literary Transactions.

When we reflect on the instability of human knowledge, the innumerable statements which have at various times been made on what were deemed unquestionable authorities, and the many plausible hypotheses which sagacious men have founded upon those statements, the greatest part of which have been subsequently discovered to be false or delusive, and have by accurate investigations been refuted, we cannot but weep over the limited powers of man, and lament the deceptions by which each individual first imposes upon himself and then endeavours to mislead his fellow creatures. The knowledge of this fact ought, no doubt, to excite in us habits of vigilant circumspection, to quicken our industry, and above all to create in us a spirit of candor and modesty, which alone will enable us to pursue our remarks with fair prospects of success.

These reflections have been suggested by the work before us, from which we collect, that many opinions generally entertained with regard to the ancient inhabitants of America were ill founded, and that the real origin and character of those inhabitants still continue involved in doubt and obscurity. Hence, we acknowledge, our obligations are great to the author of the history under review, for having cleared up many of the controverted points relating to this intricate subject.

To become acquainted with the manners and customs of a face of people, who are fast wasting away by the revolution of ages, is truly a pursuit worthy the attention of the philosopher, the scholar, the moralist, and the statesman. The causes, why they are unwilling to submit to the rules and regulations of civilized life, and why they cheerfully undergo all the deprivations, hardships, and sufferings incidental to a savage state rather than to live in the neighbourhood of polished man, involve a mysterious principle in the human mind. Isolated and alone the Indian thinks himself happy when he is pursuing the savage beast, wild as himself, through the trackless forest. When he hears the awful thunder and the roaring of the winds, or has success in the chase, he pours forth his praises to the great Spirit, and adores an unknown power, whom he beholds in every object around him, and whom he regards as the author of all his enjoyments. How altered is his condition in the short period of two centuries! He was lord of the soil, he was undisputed master of the forest; but, to use his own energetic language, "the white man came, and took possession of whatever pleased him, and drove us from our dwelling." All we now behold is new: all is but of yesterday. The impervious forest yields to the industry and perseverance of man. Cities, towns, and villages are fast rising into importance. Where, a few years since, nothing was heard but the savage war whoop, the howling of wild beasts, and the song of triumph or defeat, we see anation rapidly increasing in numbers, in the full enjoyment of civilization, advancing to perfection in arts and science. We behold rivers connected by canals, conveying the produce of the country to its utmost shores, and the Indian retiring and vanishing like a dew-drop in the sun. We behold a people arising in grandeur, standing on the shores of the western world, and bidding defiance to the nations of Europe. We see them extending their domain, as if the whole world was too little for American enterprize. They are anxious to measure their strength with Europe, not only in arms, but in science, in literature, and in all the arts which cheer social life, and render it delightful and happy. But amidst all the triumphs of genius, of patriotism, and of benevolence; triumphs, which the honest rustick and the enlightened scholar can celebrate without a tear in the bosom of their families; triumphs, the monuments of which have not, like those raised by sanguinary warriors, human tombs for their pedestals; it is our duty and it should be our desire to contemplate the sufferings and the wrongs of those who once existed as a nation, before our fathers landed on their shores. Their numbers have decreased so rapidly that they cannot excite our hatred or our fears, and justice demands of us that we should weigh their failings and their virtues in an even balance and give them all their due. But a few years more and an Indian will be known only in name. To rescue from oblivion all the monuments that remain of what once they were, is a pursuit worthy a benevolent heart, and will tend to instruct us and make us more intimately acquainted with that mysterious animal, man. But few traces remain to develop the character, the manners, or the religious and political feelings of the former inhabitants of this immense continent. All we know is, that one race of men has passed away, and not even tradition informs us by what calamity they were destroyed. The monuments they have left prove them to have been much more numerous than were the nations that possessed the country when first discovered by Europeans. They also appear to have been farther advanced in civilization, and a population sufficient to raise such stupendous works as are scattered over the western country must have derived their support from agriculture and not from the precarious means afforded by the chase. The author of the history under review has a right to claim our attention and respect on many accounts. He left the abodes of case and plenty, of civilized man and of polished society, to spread abroad, amongst the sons of the forest, humanity, peace, and brotherly love. He sacrificed all the endearments of private life to become instrumental in promoting the happiness of those whom he considered as joined to him in relationship by their common parent. Sympathy, the mystic charm which connects the heart of every man with his brother's, prompted him to go forth, not in the splendor of an eastern prince, or as a man of pleasure, but in the character of a peacemaker, ready to sacrifice his personal comfort and to desert his friends, and neighbors, and companions, for the satisfaction of contributing to the improvement of mind and of promoting universal good. Having resided for thirty years among the Indians, whose history he writes, he describes them as an eye witness, not from information merely but from long and repeated observation. In respect to the principles by which he was actuated in writing his history he seems indeed eminently to deserve our praise, having, in the hope of doing good by his publication, subjected himself to the chance of incurring the hatred and enmity of those who hear or wish to hear of "horrid massacres" only. There is a solemnity in his declarations, and a spirit of religion that pervades his words, which ought to give to his readers a favorable idea of his character and intentions.

The history commences by a traditionary account of the Lenni-Lenape or Delaware Indians and their migrations from west to east; and, although this cannot be depended upon, as all traditions are imperfect, yet we will proceed to give a general idea of it. Many hundred years ago they resided far to the west in a distant part of the continent, but, for some unknown cause, determined to migrate towards the east. After a long journey, and many a night's encampment, they arrived on the banks of the Mississippi or as they termed it Namoessi Sipu. Here they met another nation searching for a better country than their own. The spies, sent forward to reconnoitre by the Senape, discovered that the country east of the Mississippi was possessed by a numerous and warlike people, called Alligewi. Marvellous tales are told of this wonderful people. They are reported to have been generally large, and it is said there were giants among them. Tradition says that they built the numerous circumvallations still remaining in the western country, whence they sallied out upon their enemy but were generally repulsed. When the Lenape nation arrived on the banks of the Mississippi, they sent a deputation to the Alligewi to request permission to settle in their neighborhood. This was refused them, and a war accordingly ensued. In the first battle the Lenape were unsuccessful, and the Mengwe, whom they met on the banks of the river, agreed to join them against the Allegewi, on condition that after having conquered the country they should be permitted to share it with them. These proposals were accepted, they attacked the Allegewi in concert, many great and bloody battles were fought, and the Allegewi were obliged to abandon their country and flee. After taking possession of it and dividing it between them the conquerors lived many hundred years peaceably in this country, and rapidly increased. At length some of the more enterprising of their huntsmen and warriors proceeded to the east where they discovered another country, with which they were much pleased. After exploring it and remaining some time they returned and reported to their nation the discoveries they had made. The pleasing description they gave induced the Indians to believe that the country was designed for them by the great Spirit. They accordingly began to migrate thither in small bodies and settled on the four great rivers, viz. the Delaware, Hudson, Susquehannah, and Potomack, making the Delaware the centre of their possessions. The original nation finally became divided into three separate bodies, one of which remained on the west of the Mississippi, the other on the east, and the remainder migrated eastward as mentioned above. This last division soon sub-divided into several tribes, all however acknowledging the Lenape as their grandfather or common origin. Meanwhile the Mengwe who had settled on the great Lakes, increasing in numbers, proceeded still farther and settled on the St Lawrence. The growing prosperity of their southern neighbours the Lenape excited their jealousy. Treacherously therefore they excited a war between the Lenapes and the Cherokees, but their duplicity at length being discovered, the Lenape determined to take exemplary vengeance. War was carried on between them for a long time, and the Mengwe finding it impossible to contend successfully with so powerful a nation as the Lenape, entered into an association with all their kindred tribes to repel the attack. While these contests were prosecuting with vigour, the French landed in Canada and soon commenced a war against the confederated Iroquois, who, finding it difficult to prevail against so great odds, had laid a plan to deprive the Lenape of their power and military fame, which made even their name dreaded by the Indians. Wars, by the custom of those nations, were never brought to a close except by the interference of the weaker sex. It is unbecoming a warrior, say they, to hold the bloody weapon in his hand and at the same time to talk of peace. It is a fixed maxim with them on all occasions, that good cannot dwell with bad. They therefore consider it a proof of insincerity to fight and to treat of peace at the same time. Unfortunately for the Lenape they listened in an unguarded hour to the artifices of their perfidious enemy. The Mengwe represented to them how glorious it would be to become the restorers of peace amongst brethren; that, far from being a disgrace to so great and powerful a people, who could not be suspected of want of courage, to become mediators among the Indian nations would be the height of honor. They consented to lay aside their arms, to become women, and consequently lost the character of brave warriors, and with it theirnational importance. This is the substance of the tradition extant among them.

Our author next proceeds to give the Indian account of the arrival of the Dutch at New-York island. The savages here glory in their hospitable reception of the Europeans and beast of the honor of first welcoming them to their shores. They relate with enthusiasm the astonishment which pervaded the whole nation, when "men with a white skin" first came to their country "in a big house floating on the sea." They beheld them as commissioned by the great Spirit to instruct his children, to teach them arts which they did not know, and thus to ameliorate their condition. They received them with joy; they acknowledged and derided their own ignorance and placed implicit confidence in the promises of their new visitors.

"A great many years ago, when men with a white skin had never yet been seen in this land, some Indians, who were out a fishing at a place where the river widens, espied at a great distance something remarkably large floating on the water, and such as they had never seen before. These Indians, immediately returning to the shore, apprised their countrymen of what they had observed, and pressed them to go out with them and discover what it might be. They hurried out together and saw the phenomenon which now appeared to their sight, but could not agree upon what it was. Some believed it to be an uncommonly large fish or animal, while others were of opinion it must be a very big house floating on the sea." Page 54.

Ignorance, the parent of superstition, persuades men to believe that whatever is novel or past their comprehension must be produced by the immediate agency of a superior being. Whenever the laws of nature are not understood, whenever the human faculties have not been sufficiently cultivated to enable them to explain the cause from the effect, men ever have a last resort. Self esteem raises them in their own imaginations, and induces them to believe they are worthy the peculiar attention and care of some superior being, in fact that they are almost absolutely necessary for carrying on or assisting in the government of the world.

We have in the next chapter the complaints of the Indians for the injustice, or imaginary injustice, done them by the whites, from which we shall make an extract. As opinions are very different on this subject, we shall be enabled to judge more correctly by hearing both sides.

"It was we who so kindly received the long knives on their first arrival into our country. We took them by the hand and bid them welcome to sit down by our side and to live with us as brothers, but how did they requite our kindness? They at first asked only for a little land on which to raise bread for themselves and families and pasture for their cattle, which we freely gave them. They soon wanted more, which we also gave them. They saw the game in the woods which the Great Spirit had given us for our subsistence and they wanted that too. They penetrated into the woods in quest of game and discovered spots of land which pleased them, that land they also wanted, and because we were loth to part with it as we saw they had already more than they had need of, they took it from us by force and drove us at a great distance from our ancient homes. Thus much against the Long Knives or Virginians. The Dutcheman next arrived at New-York. The great man wanted only a little land on which to raise greens for his soup, just as much as a bullock's hide would cover. Here we might have observed their deceitful spirit. The bullock's hide did not cover indeed, but encircled, a very large piece of land which we foolishly granted to them. They were to raise greens on it, instead of which they planted great guns." Page 60.

The maxim, that man has a right to take possession of a country whenever its soil is unappropriated or productive of little general happiness, however beneficial to the world, cannot be justified by sound morals. Society, like individuals, advances to perfection by slow and imperceptible degrees. It must pass the stages of infancy and youth before it arrives at manhood. The improvements in science, in arts, and in arms, from which we are deriving benefit, have not been the work of a day. Century has followed century, and the minds of men have been employed in drawing instruction from the works of nature, in order to improve their condition. But that every one has a right to alienate his possessions and to place them in the hands of another, is an uncontroverted principle. In making these tranfers, the wise and the improved have ever a great advantage over the ignorant. The former, understanding the real value of different articles and estimating them according to their use, make exchanges conducing to their own benefit. This was the case with the first Europeans that emigrated to Amerca. They generally gave the aborigines what they esteemed an equivalent, and those exchanges were made in the first instances with the greatest harmony. That the savages have been treated with cruelty and injustice by individuals, and sometimes perhaps even by government, we admit. But that this has been generally the case we must deny, although in opposition to the sentiments of our author. His feelings, derived from an intimate personal acquaintance with them, are perhaps liable to a suspicion of partiality, for the interesting manner in which they relate their sufferings and their wrongs must necessarily tend to bias one in their favor.

Their zeal in their religious ceremonies, and many of the virtues they practice, might make even christians blush.

"The Indian considers himself as a being created by an all powerful, wise, and benevolent Mannitto. All that he possesses, all that he enjoys, he looks upon as given to him or allotted for his use by the great Spirit who gave him life. He therefore believes it to be his duty to adore and worship his creator and benefactor, to acknowledge his past favors with gratitude, thank him for his present blessings and solicit the continuation of his good will." Page 88.

Gratitude and love seem to have inspired the Indians with reverence towards their creator. They behold him clad in the attractive graces of benevolence; they address him with reverence and awe, but without fear. The idea they entertain of their maker governs them in their civil society, and induces them to study the interests of their nation, uncontrolled by the strong arm of power. Without a written code of laws, without any system of jurisprudence, or any definite form or constitution of government, they submit to the advice of their chiefs, and live together in peace and harmony, and in the exercise of moral virtues. Intellect, with the Indians, takes an elevated stand. Its natural ascendancy induces those of an inferior stamp to submit, knowing that the result of wise deliberations will be consistent with justice, and proud of seeing able men conduct their affairs. Their government is an aristocracy: but it is not an aristocracy of titled nobles, and degenerate and ignorant lords, of purse-proud dukes and dissipated dutchesses: it is the noble, generous, free, and dignified aristocracy of experience, of wisdom, and of virtue. The tyrants of Europe and of Africa may sport with the sufferings of their subjects, but the freemen of America will spurn the hand of power, they will march to glory and honor, guided by freedom, whose altar shall be decorated, not with ensigns of royalty, but with knowledge, and justice, and a desire of universal happiness.

Our author devotes a chapter to the eloquence of the Indians, which has been a subject of considerable dispute. It has been questioned whether the celebrated speech of Logan, given by Mr. Jefferson in his notes on Virginia, is authentic. Our author has paid particular attention to this subject, and believes, from what he has seen and heard, that it is in character with all the public speaking of their distinguished chiefs. The idea has prevailed, that their language is so defective, as to be incapable of expressing any thing but the most common thoughts. It is however in the infancy of language, when men speak what is natural and simple, when feeling dictates to them their sentiments, when arguments are few and pointed, that eloquence is forcible and impressive. Our author also does away the common opinion of the misery and cruel treatment of Indian wives.

"The work of the women is not hard or difficult. They are both able and willing to do it and always perform it with cheerfulness. Mothers teach their daughters those duties which common sense would otherwise point out to them when grown up. Within doors their labor is very trifling, there is seldom more than one pot or kettle to attend to. There is no scrubbing of the house and but little to wash and that not often. Their principal occupations are to cut and fetch in the fire-wood, till the ground, sow and reap the grain, and pound the corn in their mortars for their pottage, and to make bread which they bake in the ashes. When going on a journey or to hunting camps with their husbands, if they have no horses they carry a pack on their backs, which often appears heavier than it really is. I have never known an Indian woman complain of the hardship of carrying this burthen, which serves for their own comfort and support as well as of their husbands." Page 144.

Marriage, with the Indians, is a mere civil contract. It is entered into without "those longings of soul" which Cupid's arrows make, "yet squaw know too well what Indian do if he cross," and therefore she studies to please him, and in return her husband spares no pains to gratify her and make her happy. The Indian seldom condescends to quarrel with his wife or to abuse her. If she has given him just cause of offence, he punishes her by making her suffer "absence worse than death," for she is in a state of suspense and knows not whether he will ever return.

Extracts might be multiplied which would increase the interest of this article, but they would exceed our limits. We must not however entirely pass over the Indian method of cooking. Their most common food is prepared from the maize.

"Their bread is of two kinds: one made up of green corn while it is in the milk and another of the same grain when fully ripe and quite dry. This last is pounded as fine as possible,then sifted and kneaded into dough, and afterwards made up into cakes of six inches in diameter and about an inch in thickness, rounded off on the edge." p. 186.

And again,

"Their Priadamoran, as they call it, is the most nourishing and durable food made out of the Indian corn. The blue sweetish kind is the grain which they prefer for that purpose. They parch it in clean hot ashes until it bursts, it is then sifted and cleansed and pounded in a mortar into a kind of flour, and when they wish to make it very good they mix some sugar with it."

Their food is plain and simple, unmixed with the "drugs, the charms, the mighty magic" of modern refinement and luxury. Hence sickness and disease are hardly known among them. Their intellectual faculties are vigorous although but little cultivated, and their spirit is bold and unyielding. The pleasing of generous love and sympathizing friendship reign triumphant in an Indian bosom, and we readily agree with our author in believing, that "there are those among them who on an emergency would lay down their lives for a friend." We cannot but think however that Mr. Heckewelder's honest zeal in behalf of the "oppressed Indian" has sometimes misled him, and that in his comparison of the whites and Indians, the "Lions have found a painter," who in some instances colours rather too highly. The Indians cannot indeed make known their grievances to a sympathizing world, but we trust and believe they are influenced in many or most of their actions like other men. Hence we must suppose that they have other faults beside the "passion of revenge." Undoubtedly we have taught them vices unknown to them before, and British hirelings and British agents have manifested more depravity of heart, more wanton and barbarous cruelty in their own actions and in the advice and directions given to their Indian allies, than have ever been displayed by the most abandoned savage

The extracts we have made will abundantly serve for a specimen of our author's language. His extreme and exemplary modesty would disarm the severity of criticism, even if his work were liable to suffer from it. As that however is not the case, we cannot refrain from pointing, it out as deserving commendation. In his dedication to his lamented friend, Dr. Wistar, are some specimens of his characteristic diffidence, and his conclusion is still more striking. After apologizing for his defects in point of method, composition, and style, he thus remarks:

"I am not an author by profession. The greatest part of my life was [has been] spent among savage nations, and I have now reached the age of seventy-five, at which period of life little improvement can be expected. It is not therefore as an author that I wish to be judged, but as a sincere relator of facts that have fallen within my observation and knowledge. I declare that I have said nothing but what I certainly know or verify believe."

This book will afford amusement and instruction to all classes of society, and tend to humanize our feelings towards those from whom we have suffered much, but who have suffered perhaps more from us. We think we can acquit Mr. Heckewelder of having been an "unskilful painter," and may say with truth that few books are more likely to be read with pleasure and advantage than this, which is sent out with such great humility.   B.


Notes: (forthcoming)

INDIAN  ANTIQUITIES

LETTER  II.

TO  THE  EDITOR.

Sir -- In my first letter I endeavored to prove that the numerous circumvallatory earthen ramparts discovered in the western states could not have been designed for fortifications or places of defence. My next object is to point out the probable race of people who erected them.

The manners and customs of our present North American Indians are so totally incompatible with the characteristics displayed in these laborious constructions, that we cannot suppose their ancestors concerned in the formation of them. Our Indians are almost exclusively devoted to hunting, a mode of life which precludes a numerous population. They possess few of the civilized arts, such as the ancient relics display, whilst their mode of burial and religious rites are totally different. The numerous and immensely large burial places discovered on the banks of all our large water courses, extending miles in length, and completely filled with skeletons, shew that the population of this country must at one time have been very great. This certainly indicates an agricultural life in the former inhabitants, whilst the specimens of excellent ornamental pottery, quite different from that made by our present Indians; many instruments of iron and copper; and various domestic utensils and ornaments, found with these skeletons, evince a race of people advanced much further in the arts. We possess indeed both historical proof and tradition that the Aborigines of this country were a different race. The Peruvians, Mexicans, and various nations which inhabited the country of Anahuac may be considered of the same origin. Their religion, manners, customs, and language were much alike. They possessed the art of hieroglyphic writing or painting, and their histories consequently deserve that credit, to which recorded narratives are entitled. The Spaniards acquired a knowledge of their hieroglyphic paintings and were enabled to translate their histories. From this authority Humbold mentions that the Tolticas first came to Anahuac, part of the present province of Mexico, in the year 648. They, as well as the Mexicans, according to the same authority, emigrated from the north, and must consequently have once possessed the country on both sides of the Mississippi. The different stages of their journey, and the periods of time during which they sojourned at any one place, are mentioned. We have corroborating proof even from European authorities, for when Ferdinand de Soto invaded Florida in 1525, and afterwards when the Spaniards first settled at New-Orleans and Natchez, they discovered the Natchez and Nagatoch Indians on the Mississippi and Red River to be of the same race as those of Mexico. They had made similar progress in civilization and possessed the like religion, being worshippers of the Sun and sacrificing human victims to their deities, and to the manes of their kings. The Anahuac histories for obvious reasons do not mention the immediate cause of the emigration of their ancestors from the north. They did not choose to record what is esteemed the disgrace of proud and warlike nations. We however have this information from other though traditionary sources. The public are greatly indebted to the Rev. Mr. Heckewelder, the historical committee of the American Philosophical Society, and their learned secretary Peter S. Duponceau Esq. for the first volume of their Historical and Literary Transactions. We there find, by the tradition of the Lenni Lenape or Delaware Indians, that their ancestors, then a very numerous people, came from the western part of the the North American continent; that they crossed the Namæsi Sipu or Mississippi river, and with the assistance of the Mengwe or Iroquois, made war upon and finally drove away a nation whom they called the Alligewi, and who were settled in these western states. They describe the Alligewi as a wonderful people, of gigantic stature, building fortifications, and burying their dead in holes, over which they threw mounds of earth. The Alligewi are mentioned as finally emigrating to the south and west, whence they never returned. We may readily perceive, as in most ancient traditions, that truth and falsehood are here blended together. The fable of the Alligewi being giants doubtless arose from the difficulty with which the Lenapes conquered them and from a wish to exaggerate the exploits of their ancestors. One part of the Indian character well known among us has been omitted by the Rev. Mr. Heckewelder; I mean their dislike of appearing ignorant in what relates to their nation or to things of which it is presumed they ought to have a knowledge. They are as zealous to conceal their ignorance on those subjects, as their disgrace in battle, and are ever ready at invention whenever unacquainted with facts. The well known story of the Mammoth, related by Mr. Jefferson as coming from one of the Indian chiefs, is an example at hand. I am acquainted with many instances, in which the invention of a grave tale was immediately produced by an unexpecte question. It cannot therefore be wondered at that our Indians should suppose the circumvallatory earthen ramparts were intended for fortifications, and that for that purpose they were erected by their former enemies, the Alligewi. I shall show in my account of the tumuli, that they did not dig holes for the burial of their dead and raise the earth over the bodies afterwards, in the manner described by the traditionsof the Lenni Lenape nation. This oral testimony is however important, as it comfirms the records of the Tolticas and at the same time disclaims the erection of the circumvallations and tumuli by the ancestors of our present Indians.

The circumstance of none of the Anahuac nations being called Alligewi does not lessen the probability of the truth of the tradition. The Indians, according to Mr. Heckewelder, often gave their enemies names different from those by which they designated themselves. He mentions the Lenni Lenape as being called by all the western, northern, and some of the southern Indians Wapanachki, or "people at the rising of the Sun," merely from their having eventually settled on the Delaware river and in the adjoining Atlantic states.

The continent of America seems to have been peopled by at least two distinct races. Mr. Duponceau is of opinion that the grammatical construction of all the American languages is radically the same. I have no cause to doubt the correctness of his ideas on this subject, though I cannot help thinking, from what I have read in the Asiatic Researches, that the compound form of the Sanscrit and other ancient languages of Asia, together with the affixes and suffixes to their verbs, corresponds in some measure with the form of our India languages. The words which compose the various Indian tongues are allowed by Mr. D. to be totally different, and as he only refers to grammatical construction, in which the languages of the nations of Asia and Europe generally agree, I have as much right to consider the Mexicans and our northern Indians distinct races of people, as we have to distinguish the English from the Arabians. The manners, customs, religion, and even the language, (as far as regards the radicals of words,) of the Anahuac nations and those of our Indians are as distinct as those of any two races of people which inhabit the European or Asiatic continents.

The Peruvians, the various nations of the present province of Mexico, and the tribes extending as far as Natchez may from their customs and religion be considered as one race, and all our northern nations of hunters as another district of people -- It is to the Tolticas and other Mexican nations, as the original inhabitants of this country, that I must beg to draw your attention. Sir William Jones, Baron Humbold, and indeed most modern writers on the subject have believed the Mexican nations and Peruvians to have descended from the same race as the Hindoos. The striking similarity in the chronology of the Hindoo monarchs which are divided into two distinct lines, called the Sarya and Chandra Bans, or children of the Sun and Moon, agreeing exactly with the dynasties of the Peruvian and Mexican kings, who also traced their succession as children of the Sun and Moon; the similarity in erecting pyramidical temples of immense size for the same horrid worship; that of sacrificing human victims to deities, whose attributes were presumed to be the same, and whose wrath could only be appeased by blood; the consonant traditions, though mingled with fable, respecting the deluge, all seem to evince that at an early period some consanguinity existed. The late discoveries in Asiatic literature have somewhat illuminated that dark era immediately post-diluvian, from which originated all the fables of mythology whether Asiatic, Egyptian, or European. -- Our Biblical history chiefly confines itself to the virtuous Shem and his pious descendants, from whom, through the lines of Abraham and David, the Redeemer of the world was to be born. Of Ham and Japhet the two polluted fountains which overflowed the world with idolatry, our sacred pages are in a great measure silent.

It is however confirmed from Sanscrit History, that although Ham and his descendant Cush retained some of the wise laws and true traditions taught them by their immediate ancestor Noah, the real Hindoo Menu or Nuh, yet they soon permitted their vicious passions to lead them astray. Ambition and avarice quickly occasioned war and spoliation. The shedding of human blood became familiar, and their understandings, like their language, seem to have been suddenly confounded, and to have led them to the horrible sacrifice of human victims in order to atone for crimes committed, which thus became seven fold worse. Some pretended modern philosophers have been fond of representing the religion of the Bramins as pure and spotless. They have painted them as men devoted to the acquisition of astronomical and other sciences; as deeply meditating on the attributes of the Deity, and absorbed in valuable metaphysical disquisitions: their system of metempsichosis forbidding the destruction of animal life, they live on vegetable food and attain great age full of wisdom and piety. This picture is unfortunately not correct, and, although the belief is the transmigration of souls had, at an early period, prevented the Bramins from using animal food, yet the very nature of their first code, that called the Laws of Menu, displays in most places the strongest ambition and most tyrannical determination to exalt themselves at the expense of their fellow creatures. These laws,like those of Draco, are written in blood, and, although after the supposed Avater of Buddah the lives of animals were among some casts preserved, yet the blood of their own species was most inhumanly and extensively shed. One of the books of the Veda, the next in point of antiquity to the Laws of Menu, treats expressly on human sacrifice and magic rites, and we know that in the earliest ages after the deluge whole hecatombs of miserable human beings were sacrificed. The burning of widows and the self immolation among the Hindoos of the present day are not the only relics left of that horrid religion, for by the latest authority ["It is quite certain that the various nations of India have immolated human victims to their Gods both in ancient and in modern times. A young girl was sacrificed as a prelude to their magical mysteries, or when their great people required divination, the Atharvana Veda recognizes this horrible ceremony. The Hindoos still point out the ground in numerous places where their Rajahs sacrificed to their idols the prisoners taken in war. I visited many of them, which are commonly in the mountains and unfrequented places; here a little temple of mean appearance is found, and sometimes but a single niche, in which the idol is placed. They now form human figures of flour, paste, or clay, and cut off their heads. This is done to a great extent, each v?tary bringing one, and shows the prodigious numbers of real victims formerly sacrificed. In the Kalika Purana a very old work, written under Siva, the ceremonies are described at human sacrifices. They are a right inherent in princes, to whom they are the source of wealth and cause of victory, &c." -- Dubois on the character, manners, and customs of the people of India, American Edition, Vol. 2, p. 271 et seq.] the Hindoos still point out the ground where their Rajahs lately sacrificed human victims to their idols.

I have thought it necessary to be thus prolix in order to shew that the ancient Hindoos immolated their fellow beings to as great an extent as the nations of Mexico. The religion of the ancient Persians, Hindoos, and Druids is supposed to have been nearly similar. Their worship was always performed in open temples or circumvallations without roofs. Their temples, as Mr. Maurice expresses it, [Maurice's Indian Antiquities, vol. 1, p. 154, Eng. Ed. quarto.] "were uncovered, and they rejected the impious thought of confining the Deity within the scanty limits of an inclosed shrine." This idea was general at that period of the world, and the remains of the open temples of the Druids in Europe, and our own circumvallations prove the wide spread of that religion in immediate post-diluvian ages. The Druidical open temples in many respects resemble the western circumvallations. They are, like our own, mostly circular or oval; the former as dedicated to the Sun, and the latter representing the Mundane Egg. It is true the Druids generally used large single stones standing upright, though there are many instances in which the American mode is conjoined The Druid temple at Abury in England is a circle of one hundred stones, surrounded with an earthen rampart and ditch, each sixty feet broad. [Maurice's Ind. Ant. Vol. 1, page 182.]

---

Art. 6. The history of Mexico, collected from Spanish and Mexican Historians, from manuscripts and ancient paintings of the Indians, together with the conquest of Mexico by the Spaniards, illustrated by engravings, with critical dissertations on the land, animals, and inhabitants of Mexico, by Abbe D. Francesco Saverio Clavigero: translated from the original Italian by Charles Cullen, Esq. In three volumes 8vo.

Among the desiderata of literature, a correct and impartial history of Mexico was long considered as not the least prominent. The policy of the Spanish government, the peculiar habits of the people, and their code both of religion and law, secluded the modern inhabitants of Mexico from an intimate connexion with the people of other parts of the American continent; and, had avarice and ambition slumbered, we might still have been as ignorant of the internal concerns of the Spanish dominions as were our ancestors of the aborigines before the conquest of Mexico by Fernando Cortez. To the swords of successive warriors and to the daring efforts of avarice for gold and gems, we are principally indebted for the first knowledge of whatever has relation to this interesting and delightful spot. While therefore we lament the inhuman massacre of millions of the human race, we must confess our obligations to the spirit of enterprise which, though it dictated invasion, also prompted research.

The history of the ancient inhabitants of the valley of Mexico, interesting as it is, is extremely dark and obscure. The victorious legions of Cortez and the numerous soldiers of fortune that followed his standard transported to Europe many accounts, imperfect however and mutilated, of the Mexican religion and government: for, although they penetrated to the capital of the kingdom, the great seat of power and of superstition, they did not attain to any just conceptions of the principles on which either was founded. The fiery zeal and mistaken notions of Catholic priests destroyed the emblems of their religion, which we have reason to believe were in entire consonance with the Mosaic account, so far as it regards the creation, the deluge, the confusion of tongues, and other important events, with this difference only, that the former are clothed in the veil of mythology while the latter is radiant in the lustre of unadorned truth.

The great exertions, which have been made and are still making, to enlighten and improve mankind have led us with the French philosophers almost to anticipate the halcyon days, when intellectual enjoyments shall have no bounds. We hail with delight the rapid advancement of science. The pleasures resulting from the study of nature are constantly increasing; observation at every step opens a more extensive prospect; and fresh enquirers are daily attracted by the hope of new and brilliant discoveries. The want of patronage however is severely felt by those more humble yet not less faithful labourers in the field of learning, who, with far lower expectations, are called upon to exert at least an equal share of patience and sagacity. Such are those who are endeavoring to unravel the mazes of history and to remove the rubbish accumulated by the lapse of ages. The historian cannot add to the mass of facts. His utmost exertions cannot diminish the distance at which he is placed from the events and characters he describes, nor dispel the mists which revolving years have cast in his way. On the contrary, the scattered rays of light, which by a judicious use of analogical reasoning he is enabled to concentrate upon the distant part of the picture, though they contribute to improve his outline, will only show more distinctly the deficiency of colouring, resulting from the change of language and of manners, which no diligence can enable him to supply. Though our author has travelled through the flowery paths of natural history, though he has pleased his fancy with the wonderful variety in the animal, vegetable, and mineral kingdoms, we cannot but think he deserves credit for his patience in toiling through the labyrinth of uncertainty, and explaining with a degree of precision the monuments of religion and the remnants of art made use of by a great, and yet in some particulars a barbarous, people. He has indeed done essential service to all interested in the antiquities of the western hemisphere. The history of the discovery of America is universally interesting, from its connection, at present, with almost every other part of the world. The changes too which this discovery has produced in the political relations of the governments of Europe are equally interesting. The strength of Spain has crossed the Atlantic; the child has destroyed the nurse; and, too far advanced in manhood to be confined by leading strings, determines to be free. The satellites of arbitrary power and the slaves of tyranny are sent to imbrue their hands in their brothers' blood and to rivet the chains of slavery on millions of the human race, but the Genius of Liberty, like a guardian Deity, attends the march of patriots, and the charms of legitimate sovereigns are dissipated to the wind. Great Britain still holds a part of our continent, whence she is enabled to rouse the savage Indians upon our defenceless frontiers, and to insult us on our own borders. We anticipatethe day when an oppressed people, knowing from their intercourse with us the sweets of liberty, will disclaim their dependence upon a government, that cannot know their wants and will not study their interests, and will join in completing the fair temple of freedom founded in this western world. Colonies at a distance from the mother country must ever be subject to oppression. Places of honor or profit are bestowed upon favorites of the crown, who, unacquainted with the feelings or the wants of the people they govern, are willing to sacrifice every thing to their own interest. This was fully exemplified in the conduct of the British government towards us while colonies. Noblemen of ruined fortunes and dissolute manners were sent to govern a people who had left the comforts and conveniences of home, who had braved the dangers of the ocean and the deprivations of a wilderness to enjoy the rights of man. Regardless of our feelings as well as of our interest, they treated us like dependants upon the smiles of a court and drained our life's blood to support its minions and its hirelings. In consequence of this the brightest jewel was plucked from the British crown, and the halo surrounding the brow of Majesty and rendering it terrible to European governments faded away. We are sorry to see that the spirit of denunciation against every thing American pervades the British ministry and British scholars. Their periodical works ridicule American genius, American literature, and American manufactures, but there is one quality which experience, dear bought experience, has taught them we possess. And will not an impartial judge give us credit for something more than mere physical strength, mere animal courage? What nation has ever made so rapid an improvement in mechanics? The wonderful discoveries of American genius might well astonish mankind, and the enterprise of the American people might excite the envy of the drones of Europe. We can boast also of a Henry, an Ames, and a Hamilton, whose eloquence roused the latent energies of the human heart and inspired the universal sentiment, "Let us march against Philip." The muse too has tuned her heavenly measures, and, excited by the genius of a Barlow and a Dwight, produced strains of sweetest harmony. The canvass glows with life and animation under thepencil of a West, an Allston, and a Trumbull. We are conscious that our feelings are more generous, our sentiments more correct, and although the mother would still be willing to chastise the unruly boy who dared to disregard her power, yet, as a child who has received benefits from an unnatural parent, we are willing to acknowledge her favours, and believe that Shakespeare was a poet and Pitt an orator and statesman.

The reputation of the author of the History under review, and the great consequences which may result to our own country by the establishment of a separate government in the province of Mexico make everything pertaining to it a subject of deep interest. Time only can bring to light whether a republican government can be maintained in opposition to the combined efforts of tyrants, and the experiment is yet to be made whether neighbouring people, professing to be guided by the principles of justice and liberty, can conduct in their political dealings in such a manner as to strengthen the bonds of union and diffuse the blessings of freedom. The province of Mexico stretches to the Pacific Ocean on the west; on the east it is bounded by Louisiana and the Gulf of Mexico; on the south it is separated by the Isthmus of Darien from the vast continent of South America. The country to the north is yet unexplored. It will easily be seen that its local situation is perhaps the best in the world for commerce, and the mildness and salubrity of its climate render it one of the most delightful spots on earth. The despot of Spain has hitherto ruled this terrestrial paradise with arbitrary sway. Religious intolerance and political bigotry have sealed in silence the spirit of independence, and tyranny has stalked through the land with misery and oppression in her train. But the spirit of freedom has breathed upon the sleeping energies of a great people, the determination to be free has inflamed the breasts of thousands, and we have reason to believe that, before the sacred flame is quenched, the trump of fame will declare to the wondering world that the descendants of Spaniards as well as of Englishmen know how to be free.

As we have not seen the original of the work before us we are unable to judge whether the translator has followed Horace's rule, "Nec verbum verbo curabis reddere fidus interpres." In one or two instances he has violated the rules of grammar. His style is unpleasant and wants laborem limæ. The history is divided into ten books, to which are added, in an appendix, nine dissertations on various subjects. A map of Anahuac is prefixed to the first volume, and twenty plates are interspersed throughout the two first volumes. Our present remarks are confined to the first volume.

The preface is penned with all the bombast and self praise of those, who, from their peculiar situations in countries where merit is not sought after, nor rewarded when found, are obliged to blow their own trumpet, and to load with invective their predecessors in the same pursuits. Our author next proceeds to give a succinct and general view of the writers who have treated on the ancient history of Mexico, attaching blame to some, and eulogizing others. He enumerates twenty nine in the sixteenth century, nine in the seventeenth,and two in the eighteenth, besides many others who wrote on the antiquities of Michuacan, Yucatan, Guatemala, and New-Mexico. In contradiction to Mr. Robertson the Abbe thinks that the fanatical zeal of monks did not destroy every monument of remote events, that there still remain many traces of the policy and ancient revolutions of the empire, in addition to those derived from tradition, and that from these we may form a probable, although not an authentic, history of the Mexicans. The numerous pictures remaining, of which our author next treats, he supposes to be sources whence the historian can draw correct information and that their meaning is in no wise ambiguous to those who have studied the characters and figures of the Mexicans. The number of Mexican paintings, still preserved in the collection of Mendoza, is sixty three. The number in the Vatican is not known. There are eight in the collection of Vienna, that of Siguenza left to the Jesuits' college in Mexico, and that of Boturini. Those paintings served for historical records, and, next to the art of writing, they constitute the most certain and correct mode of transmitting to posterity events of importance to religion, literature, and government.

Our author now commences his history, and in the first book describes the country of Anahuac or the vale of Mexico, the fertility of its soil, the salubrity of its climate, the grandeur and sublimity of its mountains, the numerous rivers and lakes, the vast variety and wonders of the mineral, vegetable, and animal kingdom, and the peculiarities of man. From the Abbe's more accurate investigation we discover how liable we are to be imposed upon by superficial observers and how great is the care necessary to be taken before we can arrive at historical truth.

The richness and extent of the mines of New Spain surpass any think known in the old world, and precious stones, or those which were esteemed such before the discovery of America, have become comparatively of little value. Even at the first discovery of this country, mines of sulphur, alum, vitriol, cinnabar, ocher, and a white earth used in the place of white lead were opened and applied to the purpose of painting. The ores were principally collected in small grains in the sand of rivers, yet they dug silver, tin, and lead from mines in various parts of the country. The vegetable kingdom has been justly a subject of wonder to Europeans and its variety and abundance almost exceed belief.

"The Floripundio, which, on account of its size, merits the first mention, is a beautiful white odoriferous flower, monopetalous or consisting of but one leaf but so large in length it is full more than eight inches, and its diameter in the upper part full more than three or four. Many hang together from the branches like bells but not entirely round, as their corolla has five or six angles equi-distant from each other. These branches are produced by a pretty little tree, the branches of which form a round top like a dome." Page 23.

Fruits of the most delicious flavor are in the greatest abundance in Mexico, many of which were entirely unknown to ancient naturalists, and the forests abound in the most valuable wood, some for their timber, others for their fruit, and others still for the balsams and gums which they distil. The vulgar opinion that Shell Lac is produced by a peculiar kind of ants is proved erroneous by our author.

"Lac or Gomma Laca (as it is called by the Spaniards) runs in such abundance from a tree like the Mezquite the branches are covered with it. This tree, which is of a moderate size, has a red coloured trunk, and is very common in the provinces of the Cohuixcas and Tlahuica." Page 46.

The celebrated chesnut tree of Mount Etna rivals not some of the trees in this luxuriant country. Acosta makes mention of a cedar, whose circumference was eighty two Paris feet, equal to eighty six English, and our author describes a fir tree so large that fourteen men on horseback could conveniently enter the cavity of its trunk. We feel the want of a regular classification of the different objects of natural history which our author notices. The whole country teems with life, and if we should extract all the curious and interesting accounts of beasts, birds, reptiles, and fishes, we should be obliged to transcribe nearly the whole book. We must however mention the Amphisbæna, a serpent described by Pliny as having two heads.

Pliny was probably mistaken in the meaning of the Greek word, which signifies to move either way or a double motion, and not duo capita.

"The Maquizcoatl is about a foot in length and of the thickness of the little finger, of a shining silvery hue. The tail is thicker than the head, and this snake can move progressively with either extremity at pleasure. It is called by the Greeks Amphisbæna; it is a very rare species and has never been seen, as far as I know, in any other place than the valley of Toluca." Page 80.

From the description given by our author of the works of nature in this country we see the justice and impartiality of Providence to all the human family. Though the climate is the most delightful in the world, though the soil produces spontaneously whatever is necessary to support life, though the most valuable wood grows in great abundance, the flowers most beautiful, the fruits most delicious, the gums most aromatic, yet the deadly serpent and the savage beast of prey lurk under every covert and decrease the happiness of man in a ratio equal to its increase by the other bounties of nature.

Our author next proceeds to treat of man, and here our curiosity is still more strongly excited. The common idea impressed by interest, that the Americans, in their intellectual faculties, were inferior to Europeans, and that the climate or some other natural cause made even European animals, transported to the new world, degenerate, has been entirely exploded. Nations, which are now accounted the most civilized, were formerly enveloped in the thick mists of barbarism, and the Greeks and Romans, once so polished, are now much lower in the scale of intellectual improvement than are those nations whom they termed barbarians--a proof that all the children of Adam are endued with nearly the same powers, and that some adventitious circumstances bring those powers into action in different degrees. National traits and national characteristics are indeed found among almost every people. For instance, the Englishman glories in his loyalty, the Frenchman in his vivacity, the Dutchman in his attention to business, the American in his enterprise and independence, and the Mexican in his generosity and perfect disinterestedness: but this is no proof that the Englishman by nature is superior to the Mexican. The peopling of America, like that of other nations, is so involved in table that it is impossible to arrive at any certain conclusions. Gain was the chief object of the first discoverers of the western continent, and almost two centuries elapsed before the manners and customs of its inhabitants attracted the attention of philosophers. Numerous monuments, which would have served to elucidate the history of the people, must have perished for want of care, and those who entered upon this new field of study, instead of throwing light upon the subject, have contributed in some measure to involve it in additional obscurity. They have been anxious rather to form hypotheses than to ascertain facts on which to build their systems.

A striking peculiarity in the aborigines of this country is, that the hand of nature has deviated but little from one standard in fashioning the human form and aspect. The torrid zone of Africa and Asia is inhabited by a people of a deep black color. Their aspect is different from that of the inhabitants of the milder climates, while the torrid zone of America tinges not the skin with a deeper hue than does the more temperate atmosphere of other parts of the continent. This excited the amazement of the first discoverers, and how to account for it has been to philosophers a subject of long and laborious investigation. By far the greatest number, who have written on this topic, have agreed that heat and cold produce the vast variety in the complexion of man. But to many this circumstance presents insuperable difficulties. If, as is generally admitted, the first inhabitants of this continent originated from the north of Asia, why should they preserve the same appearance and color from the frozen regions of Baffin's Bay to the torrid zone? They have been exposed to the influence of vehement and unremitting heat and to the rigours of eternal frost for centuries and but a slight alteration has taken place in their colour. Climate certainly produces wonderful effects on the human frame, but we see no reason why we should adopt a system full of difficulties, when, like the confusion of tongues, we can resolve it into the power and wisdom of the Author of Nature. In the Mosaicaccount the people are declared to be one as well as of one language, and although it is not said the human colour and form have changed, yet they were scattered abroad upon the face of the earth, and separated into different tribes and nations. The distinction would have been still more striking than the difference of language had the external appearance been changed, and we have no reason to suppose it was not.

Another subject of astonishment has been the vast size of bones and skeletons of the human species, which have been found in America. This has been denied by some, as an absurdity; but the variety of nature is indeed so great that it is presumptuous to set bounds to her fertility and to reject indiscriminately whatever does not accord with our own limited observation and experience. We perfectly agree with our author in the belief that men of extraordinary size have formerly lived in the New World.

"I, for my own part, have no doubt of their existence there as well as in other parts of the New World, but we can neither form any conjecture as to the time in which they lived, although we have reason to believe they must be very ancient, nor can we be persuaded that there has ever been a whole nation of Giants, but only single individuals of the nations we now know of, or of some more ancient and unknown." Page 111.

The opinion of their existence is proved by the testimony of Hermandez and D' Acosta, two writers of unquestionable veracity, and by Bernal Diaz del Castillo, a captain in Cortes' army at the conquest of Mexico, who asserts, "that the thigh bone of a human being was found in Mexico five feet and a half in length." His translator does not mention what foot he made use of, but if it were the Spanish, as is most probable, the length would be five English feet and a half inch. That it was a lusus naturæ is unquestionable, as an Irishman exhibited himself in London, whose height was nearly nine feet, and no one supposes the Irish to be a nation of giants.

The historical records of the Tolteras and the Mexicans tend to strengthen our belief in Divine Revelation, and prove unequivocally the truth of the Mosaic account. The similarity of their ideas with respect to the great events therein mentioned is sufficient proof that their ancestors were present at the building of the tower of Babel.

"There can be no doubt with those who have studied the history of that people, that the Tolteras had a clear and distinct knowledge of the universal deluge, the confusion of tongues, and the dispersion of the people, and even pretended to give the names of their first ancestors, who were divided from the rest of the families upon that universal dispersion." Page 116.

The Abbe, in his account of the state of the arts and sciences, controverts the opinion of most European writers and maintains that America was first peopled by some nation of the ancient continent, which had made considerable progress in civilization. The inhabitants of Mexico, in particular, were far advanced beyond that state of society, which is the characteristic of barbarism. Many of their customs bear a striking resemblance to the Egyptians, and it is not improbable that their ancestors proceeded from the tower of Babel to the north of Asia, thence crossed over to America and established themselves on the Ohio, Mississippi and their tributary waters, from whence they were compelled to remove farther south by an invading foe; which foe certainly emigated from some nation much less advanced in civilization than were the Mexicans, being unacquainted with those arts which are the first essays of human ingenuity in its progress towards improvement. Distinct traces of two different nations remain throughout the whole western country. And the similarity of their works of art, the manner of burying their dead, and the improved state of society they must have been in to perform the immense works still remaining make it evident that they are the same race of people as those which were driven away by the Leni-Lenape and their allies the Mengwe. The numerous nations that formerly inhabited the vale of Mexico, although different in some degree, were yet all of Asiatic origin,and according as they were more or less exposed to the violent shocks of those revolutions and disasters to which nations are subject they improved or declined in the elegant or refined arts. The tradition of the Aztuas, one of the seven tribes who first settled this country, confirms this opinion.

"Having passed therefore the red river* from beyond the latitude of 35 they proceeded towards the south-east as far as the river Gilx, where they stopped for some time, for at present there are still remains to be seen of the great edifices built by them on the borders of that river. From thence, having resumed their course towards the S. S. E. they stopped in about 29 degrees of latitude at a place which is more than 250 miles distant from the city of Chihuahua, towards the N. N. W."

And again,

"From hence traversing the steep mountains of Tarahumara and directing towards the south they reached Nuicolhuacan, at present called Culiacan a place situated on the gulf of California, in 24 1/2 degrees of latitude, where they stopped 3 years." p. 152.

The religious rites and ceremonies of the Mexicans, like those of all other nations who have not been illuminated with divine revelation, are bloody and barbarous. Their mode of warfare is attended with all that cruelty which distinguishes the worshippers of gods who possess the violent passions of anger and revenge, from the worshippers of one true God, who is infinite in mercy and goodness. A spirit of boldness and enthusiasm animates, in a high degree, the eloquence of the Mexican, and sentiments worthy a Roman are expressed in almost every line. Nature is ransacked for objects to illustrate the conceptions of the Mexican orator, but, like the oriental bard, his thoughts are too often obscured by the exuberance of metaphor intended to illumine his subject. In travelling this flowery path we frequently lose our way, and our senses are disgusted rather than delighted with the wanton profusion of odours, with which we are surrounded. The following address, delivered by an aged and respectable veteran to the Mexican electors, when assembled to appoint a new king to check the insolence of the tyrant Maxtlaton and revenge the many wrongs they had suffered, will give a specimen of their public speaking.

"By the death of your last king, O noble Mexicans, the light of your eyes has failed you! but you have still those of reason left to choose a fit successor. The nobility of Mexico is not extinct with Climalpopoia; his brothers are still remaining, who are most excellent princes, among whom you may choose a Lord to govern you and a Father to protect you. Imagine that for a little time the sun is eclipsed, and that the earth is darkened, but that light will return again with the new king. It is of the greatest importance that without long conference we elect a prince, who may re-establish the honor of our nation, may vindicate the wrong done to it, and restore to it its ancient liberty." Page 208.

The number thirteen seems to have been held in high estimation among the Mexicans; hence their year was divided into seventy three periods of thirteen days and the century into seventy three periods of thirteen months, and although they understood the true solar year and divided it into eighteen months of 20 days each, making use of intercalary days to bring it to an equality, yet this partiality to the number thirteen induces us to believe that the lunar year was the first sort known to the Mexicans, as well as to all other nations. The rapidity of the revolutions of the moon, her proximity to the earth, and the beauty of her orb when full, early induced mankind vigilantly to mark her progress and changes, and to regulate their time by her motion. Hence the festivals which were ordained in honor of the new moon, and which were ever observed throughout the oriental world with unbounded exultation and with the utmost profusion of expense, and hence too the Arabian mansions of the moon took their rise. Apollo himself was sometimes styled, in ancient Greece, the New Moon, as being the real fountain of that light which is only reflected by the lunar orb. The renovated lustre of this mighty regent of Heaven was also celebrated with rejoicings and solemn sacrifices by the chosen people, who in other respects were forbidden under the severest penalties to contaminate the altar of the true God with idolatrous ceremonies.

We shall close our observations upon this volume with an extract, describing the magnificence and splendour of the palace of Montezuma 2d, who governed the kingdom of Mexico with absolute sway at the time Cortez landed in the New World.

"The palace of his usual residence was a vast edifice of stone and lime which had twenty doors to the public square and streets; three great cou?ts, in one of which was a beautiful fountain, several halls and more than an hundred chambers. Some of the apartments had walls of marble and other valuable kinds of stone. The beams were of cedar, cypress, and other wood well finished and carved. Among the halls there was one so large that, according to the testimony of an eye witness of veracity, (the anonymous conqueror) it would contain three thousand people." Page 284.

We are happy to observe in this volume a pretty correct and much less desultory mode of writing than is common among authors who write of events long since past, and we flatter ourselves that we shall enjoy equal pleasure in the perusal of what remains. History is the most sacred department in the republic of letters, and upon it in some measure depends the cast of manners and of opinions in society. Erroneous systems of ethics or policy cannot produce so lasting or wide spread an evil. They want that seductive charm which example possesses, and they involve only the credit of their author; while history, by presenting false portraits of men held up to public veneration, may pervert the rectitude of imitative virtues and bring into disgrace the brightest ornaments of our nature. We shall now take leave of our author for the present.


Notes: (forthcoming)

INDIAN  ANTIQUITIES

LETTER  III.

TO  THE  EDITOR.

Sir -- Before I proceed further to discuss the immediate subject of the latter part of my last letter, it is necessary to obviate an objection which may arise from the circumstance that the Spaniards found the Mexican temples very different in their construction from the open circumvallations which I have described. The nations of Anahuac erected solid pyramidical structures of stone or brick, on whose apex was placed a shrine containing an idol, which was also the place of human sacrifice.

We have the authority of Sir William Jones, Maurice, and other of the best antiquarians, for asserting, that the use of temples excavated in the solid rock, as also of pyramids, immediately succeeded the grove worship performed in open circumvallations. This alteration took place among the same people. In fact the pyramid, from its supposed resemblance to the shape of a flame of fire, was, like the more ancient open circles, exclusively appropriated to the worship of the Sun. We are consequently justified in the conjecture that a later communication existed between Asia and the mid continent of America, than with this more distant part of the country. I shall endeavour to evince, in my next letter, the great probability of such an intercourse, though for my present purpose it is not necessary, as Clavigero and other historians expressly mention that the first temple built in the city of Mexico was of mud or earth. Bernal Diaz, in his history, (chap. 8,) says that all the emples had outer walls enclosing open areas, and that the tombs of the Mexican nobility were within. "He saw them still stained with human blood." The account of the first earthen temple of Mexico consequently nearly agrees with that of our circumvallations. It was a rampart or wall of earth enclosing a mound of earth, whether pyramidical or conical is not known, though the corners of a mud pyramid could not be preserved from the weather, and in shape it would soon become conical. Such are most of our circular circumvallations, which contain each a mound, that considerably overtops the earthen ramparts. In this tumulus, which resembles the tomb of a Mexican nobleman, uniformly reposes the skeleton of a single person with his arms and ornaments.

Maurice, in his Indian Antiquities, mentions that the Hindoo temples are surrounded by walls, and are uniformly situated on water courses, or have large tanks outside the walls. In this respect the temples of the Hindoos, the Mexicans, and our western Indians all agree, except that with us the vicinity of a spring was chosen, instead of forming a tank,ablution by water being deemed by all parties absolutely necessary before worship and sacrifice. We also find that the most extensive circumvallations are situated on the banks of our larger rivers, thus confirming that ancient Hindoo superstition which consecrated streams and occasioned the large water courses to be considered as peculiarly sacred. The Ohio and its tributary rivers seem to have been formerly as much revered as the Nile or the Ganges.

The aborigines of this country had several modes of burial, all of which, in a great measure, comport with those of Hindostan and Mexico. This is the more remarkable, as, owing to the different Hindoo casts, that nation is singular and differs from others by having no uniform custom, for what has always been esteemed a most sacred, and generally an uniform, religious rite. Influenced by that superstition, which fancied the rivers to be peculiarly holy, and which in all probability arose from the same mythological fable that is mentioned in the Vedas, our aborigines deposited the greatest part of their dead on the borders of large water courses. I am acquainted with four places of this description, and have heard of numerous similar cemeteries in various other parts of the country. The town of Augusta, fifteen miles below Maysville, on the Ohio, is built on one of these burial places. It extends about two miles in length and covers the whole of the bottom land from an half to a mile wide. On the Wabash river, near its junction with the Ohio, is a still larger cemetery. It extends four or five miles along the high banks, and is of very considerable breadth. Near the junction of Green River with the Ohio, at Henderson, is a very extensive burial ground not inferior in size to that of Augusta. A large island in the Ohio below Green River is likewise completely filled with graves. The bodies in all these places appear to lay as close together as those in the graveyards of large cities. The skeletons are at present found from two to five feet under the surface, some parts of the ground having probably washed away and filled up elsewhere. Domestic utensils and personal ornaments are also dug up with the bones. The description of some of these relics will occur in the course of my future letters. It evidently appears from the vast number of skeletons discovered in these cemeteries, that most of the original inhabitants of the western country were buried in this manner, and that the dead must have been brought from a great distance to those sacred places of interment. This mode of burial accords with the practice of the Mexicans as it regards a great proportion of their community. It also agrees with the customs of the lower and most numerous class of Hindoos, except perhaps on the borders of the Ganges, where at present exists what may perhaps be considered a modern innovation. The inhabitants on the immediate banks of that river are in the habit of throwing numbers of their dying and dead into the stream. It may here be proper to mention that our present race of Indians bury their dead generally on some high ground without reference to water courses. The excavation is not a foot deep, the vegetable soil being thrown over, so as just to cover the body, and in order to preserve the corpse from wild animals they line the sides of the grave with upright flat stones, which are covered on the top with larger stones of the same description. There is no vestige, of stones being used in the large cemeteries which I have described.

I shall now proceed to give an account of such of the tumuli as I am acquainted with, first premising my want of knowledge respecting those high ones, which are found at certain places in numerous clusters, and which appear not to have had any circumvallations near them. They may have been the sepulchral monuments of those who died in battle, and contain the ashes of many an American Ajax and Achilles, who achieved exploits equally heroic in ages not less barbarous. Sometimes two or three mounds, but generally a single one, from six to twenty feet high, are seen in various parts of the country, situated on some hill or eminence. In these tumuli, at about one third of their heighth from the level ground a regular layer of charcoal and ashes is found intermixed with burnt human bones. From the even horizontal position of this layer and marks of the lower stratum of earth being burnt, it appears that the base of the tumulus has been first thrown up, on which was placed the dry wood and bodies of the deceased, and when burnt they completed the tumulus. The other description of mounds are found within or near our circumvallations. I have already cursorily mentioned the single conical eminence near the centre of the circumvallatory temples, which uniformly, as far as my investigation extends, contains a single skeleton. The body is placed even with the surface of the ground together with weapons, ornaments, and also the Mexican ensignia of nobility, a large plate of mica or Muscovy glass instead of mirrors of polished obsidian which the nations of Anahuac afterwards learned to make. The remains ofswords and other instruments of iron and copper, as also sea shells cut into the form of bowls for drinking vessels, are sometimes found deposited with the corpse. It ought to be remarked that these shells are of the large Buccinum Cypria and Bulla Species, such as are found in the Pacific Ocean. The mounds within the circumvallations are generally from twenty to fifty feet high.

The last description of tumuli which I have to mention consists of those without the circumvallations, especially the larger kind which lay close adjoining the walls, as I am not acquinted with the contents of the mounds more distantly situated. These tumuli are generally from thirty to one hundred feet high, and often have elevated causeways leading from the walls of the circumvallation to their bases. Numerous skeletons of each sex and of every age are deposited within in regular circular rows with layers of earth between; the skulls being placed towards the centre of the tumulus.

After repeated enquiries, I have not discovered that any ornaments or untensils have been found with these human remains. I must not omit the circumstance that there are no tumuli near the circumvallation mentioned in my first letter as situated a few miles from Nashville. Instead thereof they buried their victims within the inclosure. The whole area is found to be full of skeletons mingled with pieces of broken pottery, but no personal ornaments are discovered. From the description of parts of this pottery I am induced to believe it was not intended for domestic purposes. Some have been described to me as resembling parts of lamps, and others as shallow flat dishes. -- Vessels of these descriptions were anciently used in sacrifice.

It is well known that the superior casts of Hindoos, especially the Bramin or Priest Tribe, uniformly burn their dead, purification by fire being considered superior to that of water. The Kshatriya or Rajah cast also at this time invariably followed the same custom, but whether with the latter it extended back to that more ancient era when vast numbers of human victims were sacrificed on the death of their princes, in order to propitiate the gods in favor of the deceased, may be questioned.

The Soros or Sarcophagus in the great pyramid of Egypt is internally of the usual length of a man, which would indicate that in those remote periods the bodies of their kings were preserved entire. The corpse of Alexander the Great was embalmed by the Egyptian priests according to their most ancient rites as a warrior deity, the son of Jupiter Ammon. I scarcely need mention the now universally acknowledged truth that the religion of the Hindoos and that of the Egyptians were alike. That class of our tumuli therefore which contains charcoal and burnt bones agrees with the ancient Hindoo custom among the Bramin cast of burning their dead, whilst the tumuli, which contain each a separate corpse, and which are within the area of our open temples, coincide precisely with the practice of the Mexicans, of the ancient Egyptians, and I may also say of the Hindoos. The pyramids of Egypt, like those of Mexico and India, are acknowledged to have been used as temples. If therefore the pyramids of the former nation were also the tombs of their monarchs it is reasonable to suppose that at any early period the same custom prevailed among the latter. The doctrines of Budh and his system of metempsychosis produced many alterations in the more ancient customs and worship of Hindostan.

All the historians of Mexico relate that they sacrificed immense numbers human victims as the dedication of their temples, coronation of their kings and in deprecation of the anger of their gods. The death of their monarchs and chief nobility also occasioned the same bloody rites to be performed. Clavigero (book 6,) mentions that at the funerals of their kings about two hundred domestics were sacrificed besides numerous others on the twentieth, fortieth, sixtieth, and eightieth days. The same author however says it is not known that the Tolticas offered human sacrifices prior to their emigration. This may be true as their historic registers furnish nothing more of their early history than chronological lists of their kings and of the places where they sojourned any length of time on their route to Mexico. No mention is made of the war of extermination carried on with the Leni Lenape nation. It does not appear rational to suppose that any thing but the most ancient superstition and prejudice could induce any nation to use the diabolical sacrifice of human lives. It never could have been adopted by a nation with whom it was before unknown, and who like the Mexicans were in other respects civilized. But we know that this horrid worship existed in the immediate post-diluvian ages among those nations which descended from Ham and Japhet. The Druids, the Egyptians, the Hindoos, and the Persians have all left memorials of this their early infamy; and we areconstrained to add thereto the Aboriginies of Western America.

I have described the tumuli within and adjoining our circumvallations or open temples. It is therefore scarcely necessary for me to remark their perfect agreement in design with those of Mexico, and the moral certainty that the same horrid worship was performed in both countries. Our Aborigines, like the Mexicans, buried their chiefs within the area of their temples, and the inner tumulus was used for the same purpose as the pyramid, they being both sepulchres and places of sacrifice, whilst the outer tumuli were general graves for the unfortunate victims.

The skeletons in these outer mounds being of both sexes, and of every age, evince that they could not have been killed in battle, whilst the regularity of the interment shows that the bodies in each layer were buried about the same time; for as the skeletons are contiguous it is not reasonable to suppose that each individual corpse would be covered over and the earth again removed for the next interment. The circumstance of not finding personal ornaments or domestic utensils in these tumuli also confirms my opinion, as it shows that the persons thus buried were deprived of the usual rights which appertained to their dead. In all other instances they certainly considered it a duty to bury part of the personal property with the deceased, as relics of this kind are invariably found, both in the large cemetaries and in the other descriptions of tumuli. No consideration but what proceeded from religious ideas could have induced persons to labor for the erection of high mounds over the bodies of other persons, who at the same time had been deprived of this most ancient and common privilege of the dead.

As my object in these two last letters has been to point out the affinity and consequently the descent from the ancient Hindoos of the nations of Anahuac and the Aborigines of this western country, I shall make a short recapitulation of the points of resemblance with respect to religion, which I have hitherto noticed, without reference to those that Baron Humboldt, Sir William Jones, and others have instanced. They form a separate and powerful body of evidence in favor of my hypothesis.

The fact that the Mexican nations emigrated from this country has I think been sufficiently proved, both from recorded and traditional history, as also by the more modern testimony of De Sota and other Spaniards. We must therefore consider the original inhabitants of this western part of North America as their immediate ancestors, and that they were of the same family as the other civilized nations of the mid continent of America. Our antiquities consequently serve to elucidate the ancient history of those people, and the points of resemblance between the Mexicans and Hindoos receive additional confirmation from discoveries in this country. Our Aborigines, like the earliest people of Asia, erected open temples of worship, chiefly circular or oval, in representation of the sun or of the mundane egg. In further conformity with the Asiatic ideas the sites of these circumvallations were always chosen upon the banks of water courses or adjoining fountains, whilst, from the situation of the largest and best finished of these constructions, we discover a peculiar and similar superstition prevailing as respects the sacred character of great rivers. This is also confirmed by the choice made for their cemeteries. Some of the tumuli in this country show that like the Hindoos, the bodies of one class or cast of people were burnt, whilst other tumuli display the same principle, that caused the erection of Asiatic and Egyptian pyramids which were places of sepulchre for their monarchs and at the same time temples dedicated to their gods. We also discover that when human victims were sacrificed, it was not deemed necessary to burn the body, this being probably esteemed the most complete expiation which could be made.

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The writer of Letters on Indian Antiquities considers it a duty he owes C. Atwater Esq. and the public to mention that through negligence in trusting to memory, he made a misstatement in the postcript to his letter of reply in the last number of the Western Review. Baron Humboldt is decidedly of opinion that the Mexicans emigrated from Asia, and among other proofs of the fact he mentions that they have the sign of the Monkey in their zodiac, though that animal does not exist in the northern parts of Mexico, or in the country from which they removed to Anahuac. (See Vues des Cordilleres et monumens des peuples indigenes de l' Amerique, vol. 2d, page 24) It was the word northern which escaped my recollection. Taking his general idea and knowing that the climate of the high table lands of Mexico was only moderately warm, I too hastily concluded that there were no monkies or apes in the dominions of Montezuma. It appears from another part of Humboldt's work which I had not then read, as also from Clavigero, that several species of monkies do exist in that kingdom.

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Art. 6. The history of Mexico, collected from Spanish and Mexican Historians, from manuscripts and ancient paintings of the Indians, together with the conquest of Mexico by the Spaniards, illustrated by engravings, with critical dissertations on the land, animals, and inhabitants of Mexico, by Abbe D. Francesco Saverio Clavigero: translated from the original Italian by Charles Cullen, Esq. In three volumes 8vo. Volumes 2d and 3d. Philadelphia, Thomas Dobson.

We did not commence our remarks upon this work because it is new, (although we believe this to be the first edition printed in America,) but because the country of which it treats at this time peculiarly attracts the public attention. Our sympathies are interested in the fate of a great people struggling against oppression. As lovers of freedom, we wish them success, while, as philanthropists, we weep over the misery, the bloodshed, and the devastation ever attending, the triumphs of conquerors.

Another reason for noticing the work is the spirit of enquiry at present existing with regard to the first settlement of this country, and particularly with regard to the numerous monuments of "days long since past" still remaining in the western states. No study is more interesting than that of antiquities, when pursued upon a liberal and comprehensive plan, and not descending into those petty and trifling details which disgrace the science. The contemplation of magnificent ruins produces the sublimest sensations, and suggests a train of moral reflections, which have a natural tendency to enlighten the understanding and to improve the heart. We regret that the pencil of the artist has not been employed by the few who have taken an interest in beholding and describing the remains of an ancient and unknown people. History and painting mutually assist each other. They give immortality to that which is fast falling to decay and enlighten generations yet unborn by faithfully transmitting pictures of the past. In the temples of Mexico, and in those numerous circumvallatory works which are scattered through the "valley of the Mississippi" we observe a striking similarity, and, although we do not believe they were all built for the horrid purpose of sacrificing human victims to appease their blood thirsty idols, yet the local situation of most of them and the form of their construction prove that they could not have been designed for fortifications only. Some of them indeed were evidently formed for defence, while others appear to have been used for various purposes, such perhaps as holding national councils, worshipping their Gods, and rejoicing for victory. A traditionary account among the Leni-Lenape seems to strengthen our opinion, as does also the custom of various other nations in forming their entrenchments. The Celtes, the original inhabitants of Ireland, a timid and unwarlike race, fortified themselves by embankments of earth, and the Firbolgs, another class, selected rising grounds and entrenched themselves with single, double, and triple embankments. They also celebrated their religious rites during war in thesefortifications.

The origin of nations is for the most part involved in impenetrable obscurity. Those, who have attempted to unravel the intermixtures of the human species, and to trace them through their different ramifications, have assumed the position, that a similarity in the religious rites, laws, and language of different people furnished strong, if not conclusive, evidence of their having been originally the same race.

On comparing the manners, institutions, and laws of the Celtis and Gothic nations with those of the Mexicans and with those also which in all probability formerly existed in Western America, we cannot but observe a striking similarity; and, if we admit with Sir William Jones that the ancient inhabitants of this continent were a colony from Egypt or India, we may readily account for the similarity. Whether the Egyptians were a colony from India, or the inhabitants of India were a colony from Egypt, is of no importance as it regards our opinion. If a solution of this question however should be attempted, from appearances and reasonable conjecture we should give the precedency to Egypt. The regularity of its civil polity; its improvements in agriculture; and the stupendous remnants of its architecture, which have even to this day mocked the assaults of time; the superb ruins of Thebes, the most celebrated remains of ancient splendour of which any country can boast; and chronological tables, even beyond the reach of historical record, with many other monuments of art which exited the astonishment and admiration of travellers more than two thousand years ago, -- all point to Egypt as the country where the first progress was made in the arts of civilization, and whence they were gradually spread by the intercourse of commerce and by the establishment of colonies from the mother country in other parts of the world. The human soul was by the Egyptians believed to be immortal and to pass into the bodies of other animals after death, and this doctrine was universally believed among the Druids as well as the Mexicans. The Mexican priests enjoyed immunity from taxes, presided over the education of youth, ministered at the altars, directed all religious ceremonies, and were counsellors to the king. The respect paid to them was almost equal tothat, which they rendered to the deities, whose ministers they were. This is a faithful portrait likewise of the Druidical priests as drawn by Tacitus and Cæsar. The Mexican priests had chiefs over them corresponding to the high priests of the Druids, and they committed not the mysteries of their religion to writing, but to the memory of their disciples who spent many years in learning their precepts. The boundless powers of imagination, stimulated by fraud or folly, are able to form Gods of all shapes and dimensions. We cannot therefore justly conclude that one nation borrowed their deities from another, unless the features of resemblance are too strong to have been merely accidental, and whenever we find this striking coincidence we are almost forced to believe that some connexion must have formerly existed between the nations who have adopted them. If this resemblance can be pointed out between the Mexicans and the Druids of Britain, whose religious tenets were disseminated throughout the north of Europe, and if it be admitted that they received their rites and ceremonies from the Egyptians or the Hindoos, we may infer a general union or least an affinity between them.

"Tezcatlipoca. This was the greatest god adored in these countries after the invisible God or Supreme Being, whom we have already mentioned. His name means Shining Mirror, from one that was attached to his image. He was the God of providence, the soul of the world, the creator of heaven and earth, and master of all things. They represented him always young, to denote that no length of years ever diminished his power. They believed that he rewarded with various benefits the just, and punished with afflictions and disease the wicked. They placed stone seats in the corners of the streets for that God to rest upon, when he chose it, and upon which no person was ever allowed to sit down." Vol 2, p. 6.

The Mexicans also had goddesses, among whom we might point out peculiarities of character and attributes ascribed to those who were served by the Druidical priestesses and by the ancient Egyptians. The days of the year and month had each a divinity presiding over them, and their Gods frequently descended to earth to enjoy the society of mortals. Every month a festival was celebrated in honor of their Gods. One peculiarity existed among the Mexicans different from that of every other nation yet known, which was that in their common calculations they never used the lunar month, although it was perfectly known to them. From what cause this circumstance arose is uncertain, unless the number was increased to an equality with the Gods whom they most wished to honor, although our author informs us that their chief Gods were only thirteen in number. The invisible God of the ancient Druids was known in Mexico, and the people were forbidden, under the severest penalties, to represent him by any external form. Both people offered human victims and their temples were in the open air, where all their religious ceremonies were performed. A remarkable air of secrecy and mystery clothed in horror the Celtic and Gothic institutions and the laity were kept entirely ignorant of their religious ceremonies. Among the Mexicans none except those who had dedicated themselves to their Gods were permitted to approach them. The character and attributes of the god Tezcatlipoca are extremely similar to those of the chief God of the ancient Celts, a people whom we suppose ab origine to have been the same as the Goths, for Tacitus assures us that the ancient British language was very little different from that spoken in Gaul, "Sermo haud mulrum diversus." A minute comparison between the Gods of Mexico and those adored by the Druids of Britain and by other nations of the same origin would furnish an interesting subject of discussion. It might be impossible to demonstrate that one particular God was adored in Mexico for the same attributes as in Britain and in Egypt, but we presume a striking similarity might be pointed out, although the causes which produce polytheism tend also to clothe "these creatures of the human brain" with new powers and new attributes as they pass from one nation to another. Like that of the ancient Britons, the government of the Mexicans was a monarchy, and like that too it was elective. The country in which they lived induced them to build more permanent habitations than were those of the Britons, but the spirit of faction within and animosity against the neighbouring states often shook the monarch on his throne and were the principal cause of the easy conquest of the country. Their own traditionary accountsfurnish another proof of their origin, and the arts and manufactures they had among them induce a belief that their ancestors were as far advance? in civilization as were the Egyptians in the height of their glory. They must have emigrated nearly at the same time with the ancient Britons, and while one part of the colony proceeded to the north of Asia and thence to America, the other crossed over to Europe.

An enquiry into the manners and conduct of our species is at at all times curious and interesting, and the many traces, still remaining in the western country, of a people who are now no more, call upon us carefully to preserve them, and by them industriously to trace the origin of the race, and their ideas with respect to the creation of the world and other great events mentioned in the annals of all nations. We have no doubt that even the antiquities of this country would add their testimony to the vast mass of evidence, brought from the history of other nations and confirmed throughout by ancient medals, sculptures, and paintings, engraved from the cabinets of the curious in every region where science has flourished or where even a fragment of history has been preserved, of the certainty and universality of the deluge, the confusion of tongues, and the dispersion of people.

Their barbarous mode of anointing their high priest is a rite worthy of Pluto's kingdom:

"The high priest in the kingdom of Acolhuacan was, according to some historians, always the second son of the king. Among the Totonacas he was anointed with the elastic gum, mixed with children's blood, and this they called the divine unction. Some authors say the same of the high priest of Mexico." Vol. II. page 41.

In contemplating the solemn mysteries of superstition and its bloody rites, we are at once awed by its majestic appearance and struck with wonder at its horrid cruelty. In every clime where men are prompted by a sense of dependence to worship God, we behold religion clothed in absurdity and loaded with unmeaning ceremonies, but no where do we see the mild, the dignified, and the amiable virtues made a part of it, except in those countries where the sable cloud of ignorance has been tinged with the golden radiance of divine illumination. Like Chremes in the play, "we are men and take an interest in all that relates to mankind" but when we see human nature so degraded, we think with Rhadamanthus, "O that they were better, then the Elysian fields would not be overrun with weeds."

Astrology, ever the attendant of superstition, was practiced to a great extent among the Mexicans. The priests were consulted with regard to the good or bad fortune of children, the success of wars, the happiness or misfortune of marriages, and almost every other undertaking. For this purpose the year was divided into signs or characters, and the month had signs corresponding to the number of days, and these served as prog nostics. We observe Scorpio and Pisces among the Mexican signs, while the others were changed for the names of animals and plants produced in their own country.

Education has, in every well regulated state, engaged the attention of government. This, according as it is good or bad, is its happiness or its bane. The degree of attention to education is one of the best criteria by which to judge of the morals of a country. Accordingly as it is regarded or neglected, will public good or public evil predominate. The Mexicans well understood its importance and applied it to the formation of laws and to the support of the state. The science of government cannot be brought to a regular form among a rude people. It is one of the profoundest subjects, upon which the talents and ingenuity of man can be exercised. It embraces so large a variety of expedients, and delivers its dictates for such great and momentous ends, that its principles can only be understood by a mind drilled from early youth, long accustomed to industrious research, and familiar with the comparisons of discreet reflection. In a civil point of view, then, the importance of education is easily seen. The arts and sciences have indeed their inconveniences, but without them there can be no society, and without society, no affinity, no virtue: no knowledge of our duties, of our capability of improvement, or of the happy development of our intellectual faculties. What indeed is the human race scattered abroad without morality, without religion, without science, unable either to admire or to contemplate the wonders of creation? We cannot admit that the man, who exercises the arts,and who has enlarged his mind by reflection, is less happy than the Hottentot or the Esquimaux, whose knowledge is confined to running, leaping, and shooting the arrow, and whose only occupation is to satisfy the cravings of nature, and then, void of thought, to slumber at the foot of a tree. The sciences and arts lead to industry, and preclude the necessity of a precarious dependence upon the spontaneous productions of nature. When men were without arts they were obliged to sally forth from their forests like famished wolves in pursuit of prey. They were forced to destroy each other to prevent their being all destroyed by famine. Hence the inundation of those barbarous hordes, who, issuing from the mountains of the north, bade adieu to their barren abodes and destroyed every thing in their progress towards more genial climes, until they were themselves destroyed. Notwithstanding the numerous blessings which nature has lavished on man, he would have remained poor and miserable without that education, which increases intellectual enjoyment, the purest species of pleasure, which banishes famine, breaks the galling yoke of slavery, and instructs individuals in their respective rights. The instructions of the Mexican father to his son are so excellent that we cannot refuse ourselves the pleasure of extracting some of them.

"My son, who art come into the light from the womb of thy mother, like the chicken from the egg, and like it art preparing to fly through the world, we know not how long Heaven will grant to us the enjoyment of that precious gem which we possess in thee; but, however short the period, endeavor to live exactly, praying God continually to assist thee. He created thee: thou art his property. He is thy father, and loves thee still more than I do. Repose in him thy thoughts, and day and night direct thy sighs to him. Reverence and salute thy elders, and hold no one in contempt. To the poor and the distressed be not dumb, but rather use words of comfort. Honor all persons, particularly thy parents, to whom thou owest obedience, respect, and service." Vol. II page 16.

And again:

"Never tell a falsehood, because a lie is an heinous sin. When it is necessary to communicate to another what has been imparted to thee, tell the simple truth, without any addition. Speak ill of nobody. Do not take notice of the failings which thou observest in others if thou art not called upon to correct them. Be not a news carrier nor a sower of discord." p. 118.

The Mexican feats of activity were as much superior to those of modern rope-dancers and tumblers, as the renowned Peter Stuysevant was to Alexander, Cæsar, or any of the heroes of antiquity, or the celebrated hero of Salamanca to the most redoubted knight that ever engaged in the service of the most beautiful Donna.

"One man began to dance, another placed upon his shoulders accompanied him in his motions, while a third, standing upright upon the head of the second, danced and displayed other instances of agility. They placed also a beam upon the shoulders of two dancers, while a third danced upon the end of it." Page 216.

With regard to the time when America was peopled, we perfectly agree with our author. The separation must have taken place soon after the deluge, for if the time had been much posterior, the emigrants would have retained many useful and necessary arts, which were of ancient date in Europe and Asia and which, once known, would never be forgotten. Sceptics, who have desired to invalidate the Mosaic account of the creation, have contended that the inhabitants of America could not have derived their origin from Adam and Noah, bec