The History of Ancient America Anterior To The Time of Columbus

CLASSIIC
RE.PRIINT
SIERIIES
THE
HISTORY OF ANCIENT
AMERICA, A,NTERIOR TO
TH'E TIM:E OF ,CO,LUMBUS
Proving the Identity of the Aborigitnes Wirth the Tynans and Israelites, and! the Introduction of Christianity Into the Western Hemisphere
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.DEPJJ!J:A TlEDTI{)
ms
GRA ClE
1I'H:E A R ClHH
s }Ull
IF' {):F CA X!I'E 1RE :TI IRY.
TJ-IR
IT STORY
A N C lEN
ANTERIOR T
T A 1\1E RIC
THE TIME OF COLUMBUS
PROVING
j
A,
THE IDENTIT
0 F THE ABORIGINES
WITll
THE TYRI NS AND ISRAELITES;
THE
TION OF CHRISTIANITY
BY
THE
0 STLE
ST.
THOMAS.
G E 0 R G E J N E S, ~1.R S. I., F. S. V.
THE TYRIAN JERA.
sr
COND EDITIOn.
D£biration.
TO
HIS GRACE
THE ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY.

&c. &c. &c.
YounGRAcE,
Upon the completion of the Tyrian 1Era of this Wo~k) I submitted the outline to an illustrious Prince, whose urbanity and amiability high qualities to my desire of Dedication, thinks, especially to with select
are not the least

""*
$
of his
'Vith
claiming admiration
; and in reference
>I<
replied: reference
respect to the request preferred, His Royal Highness to the subJectDedication,

~
matter of the present historic

e far better
vVork, that it would
for the
some
Theologian
of
fugh rank in the Sacred Prqfession,

be placed) than
and eminentfor his Learning and Piety, under whose

auspices would more appropriately
EDICATJON.
under his own, the rica.
riginal History of Ancient Amesuggestion and description oyal Highness-and contemplate thus The from one in
'* * '*"
by IIis
expressed Primate.
such an august sta iOll,-evidently
ur Grace to my letter upon the subjccty--my sense of obedience to the suggestion of me as his feelings of profound with the 'imthe fulfilment of of by one of His Royal lIighnes veneration for You (who has honoured
111y 01Vll
visitor and guest )-( nd
Grace ;-together
port-ance of historic Ily establishing additional prophecie Christianity into th Ancient America
by ISAIAH,-the Introduction Western Hemisphere
The Twelve Apostl s-in to that Sacred event -with Biblc,-bei.ng of tha
personi-the Foundjng of
the Identity of the Aboof The is
ro than three centuries previous Truths
rigincs, and thus un olding additional from every part
Character to call forth attention Blessings of Religion are received all assure me t Your
of .ho Globe, where Civilization
known, or the Divin that in Dedicating an imperative
and appreciated ;-t ese considerations
Grace the Original Hisshall cherish the hope that
tory of Ancient Am rica, I but follow the dictates of
duty -and
my literary labours
on this novel subject, will receive

DEDICATION.
the ostering protection of one, whose Life, Learning, and Piety, are alike conspicuous.c-and trip powcr,-has pari ons with the past,-to who, by their been enabled to dare fearless comcontinue blessings to the
pres nt,-and to create examples of faith and charity,

that may be imitated, but cannot be excelled, by those of a future age.
ith the fervent prayer that The Almighty Father

may long preserve the life and faculties of Your Grace, that they may continue to cast their benevolent and prot cting influence around the Divine Institution Chri tianity;-I thus express my devotional duty,of
And remain,
YOUR GRACE,
In Religious Filiality Most faithfully,
GEORGE JONES.
Lo don, June, 1843.
"FOR PREPARE
INQUIRE
I PRAY THEE
OF TIlE
FORMER AGE, AND FATIIE AXD S,TTER
TRYSELl<~ TO THE
SEARCH OF TIIE1R
SMALL TIlEY NOT TEACH THEE, AND TELL TliEE, WORDS OUT OF THEIR HEAnT?" HOLY-
1V RIT.
I
VOLUME THE FIRST,

OR
THE
TYRIAN
IN
RA,
TWO BOOKS.
.. )1~**~"-0
BOOK t,
THE
AND
THE ORIGINAL
ARCHITECT
~c.
IDENTIFIED,
BOOK
THE
II.
SCRIPTURAL,
POLITICAL,
& COMMERCIAL
HISTORY
THE DESTRUCTION
OF T RUS,
OF TH
BY
AND
THE
TYRIAN
TO
MIG
THE
WESTERN
IN THE Y:cAa
HE
aaa
BEFORE
ISPHERE,
ST,
,,"C.

I
INSCRIPTI NO}" THE FIRST VOLu~rE.
HIS MAJESTY
jf'reXJertc _illiam tbe gourtb, ang ~f ~rug~ia.

&e. -&e. '&c. &c.
Y Dun
]\fAJES'l'Y,
With feelings templation of a inscribe to Your to delineate the H cognise Your
f enthusiasm, founded on the coneaceful and a patriotic King, do I

}
ajesty, the first. Volume of an effort
story-of :Ancient' .America.

pages,' Your Majesty should re'portraiture in that of Hiram the s ..ruth and history have designed t
If, in the follo ~

0\
Great, it is such
and coloured ;-_fa rung flattery have not added. e en a. thought

j.
to
and
false adulation
embellish, where
Patriotism has so obly consolidated. ,
The Building
by Hiram
0.
Solomon's Temple at Jerusalem,
of ."T US, was not more generous, and
liberal in Religious sentiments, than were your own,-© 2010 Forgotten Books
INSCRIPTION.
as Protestant King of Prussia,-in
laying the corner-
st nc of the Catholic Cathedral of Cologne,-the fe vent words at which ceremony, Timc will hallow wi hin his Archives: nor was your own branch of
C ristianity forgotten
or neglected;
for the Sacred
Ci y of Jerusalem previously recorded your Majesty's

TIl
nificcncc in promulgating
the Divine Faith of
S lvation! For the peace of Europe, and for the prosperity of P ssia,-. for the advancement of Religious and Civil Literature, the Arts and Scithe Disposer of Events prolong the life, L' erty,-Education,
ei ccs,-may
a d intellectual vigour of Your Majesty, to the utmost

v rge of venerable age; and when the monument shall
e close Your earthly remains, may Your subjects feel, that Your Royal Ancestor,-Fredcrick in of Prussia,w s not the only Monarch of their father-land deserv-
the time-honoured, and historic surname of " The
I am flattered in the occasion which per.ts me to render this tributary offering,And to subscribe myself,
YOUR l\IAJESTY'S
Obedient and Obliged,
GEORGE JONES.
THE
ORIGINAL
OF
HISTORY
A N C lEN
TAM
E RIC A.
I

I
PREFA.CE.
To the Highness
eep historic interest expressed by his Royal he Duke of Cambridge, concerning the Aboof of led the Author
rigines of America, may be traced the production this Work:-it
originally to write the
Israel-Indi
has receive
Tragedy of "Tecumseh,"-illustrative
the patriot c race of the North, and which composition the honour of being dedicated to the Illus-
by Special permission.
anticipate
The publication
has been d layed only from the fact, that it would his branch of the present Work, and might consequen t y be injurious, The in stigations necessary for writing of North America, c iled into action the study and observation of years in relation templating to South America: and in conCities and the newly. dis covered Ruined
Temples u on that moiety
of
the Western Continent,

PREFACE.
the very spirit
of the Romance of Truth, seemed to altar, col discovery n, stone,
find a voice in every Sculptured hidden knowledge, the sudden
or pyramid: and when upon the enthusiasti Christianity and its Sacred Promulgator,
tified with the Western IIemisphere,-sanct the discovery by Holy-Writ,-llistory,-T Customs,-and
pursuit of
of ear1y vere iden-
oned as is adition,-
the oracular Sculptures of a tiquity,VI hen
Language has no power to express the bou ding feel-
ings of the heart,
that original vision
the mind,
became apparent, as the stern reality of hist ric truth.
Knowing from experience,
that Works u on Anti111
quities, described in language cold as the the Author has, therefore,
bles they
illustrate, arc not of deep interest to the gene al reader) avoided the u ual frigid haracters style, and has consequently placed around fervent, and glowing words, as their novel have authorized and demanded. In deline ting, also,
the History of Tyrus, the chief events only arc given;
and being rendered, with the ar tistical P ges,-con amare,-the Poetry of History,-and not i s dry prosaic qualities will be received by the reader. This will be seen in the descriptions of the classic Battles1-and Voyages,-und
Clllalns,-
especially for i 'stance, in
resuscitating the Ruins of Rome, and in the celebrated

© 2010 Forgotten Boo s
I
PREFACE.
Tyrian Siege by A exander of Macedon.c-but style of writing (it is submitted) losophy of History;
in this
the Author has not
lost sight of that hi h solemnity demanded by the __ .Phiwithout which, memorials of past
1"S,
ages, or
'110
of our Fath and
would be useless. for 'the last two the Tynan .}Era;
give a list of
arks consulted during fifteen years, are immediately while writing
in America,
years in England, would be pedantic:
but no Author, sacred or profane, Hemisphere,
from the first La, giver to the present time, having even a remote refer nee to the Western bas been knowingl largely extracted omitted; yet being professedly an
Original Work, the volume of the brain has been more am, than any writer whose works whose final judgthe present Author America with all propoare already before that Public,-to mont (upon its me ts or demerits) submits the first Hi tory of Ancient humility; but scientious belief in the. truth
he will yield to none in the conof the startling
sitions, and the co sequent historic conclusions ~ and that the reader may at imagine that any undue motive dictated to the wri er the publication of this Work, from the Messrs, Longman's letter their Reader's investigation of this him. the following extrac upon their own, an Volume will justif
"'* '* *
'Ve have fully

PREFACE.
considered the p blication of your Work on America. It . is undoubtei ly a 'York of great ingenuity and originality; and should it be considered that your conclusions are c rrect, it will be a work to confer on its Author a hi h rank in Literature. shall be happy t be your Publishers. The usual''' in order to pre and secrets of th end of the V olu able of Contents" has been avoided, nt anticipation of the subject-matter History; but, at the same time, for
€.
>Ii'
,.
1Ve
after-reference, a opious Index has been placed at the
THE AUTHOR.
NOTICE
TO
BOOKSELLERS, PROPRIETORS OF CIRCULATING LIBRARIES, AND THE PUBLIC.
is to give notice that the "Original History of Anci America" (of which this is the first volume) is copyright, and lega secured by the proprietor, both in England and America. Penalties, therefore, for any infringement will be enforced by Publishers, according to the New Act of Parliament and the Acts Congress of the United States. By the former, especially as applied England and her colonies, any person having in his possession, for s or hire, any foreign edition of an English copyright, is liable heavy penalty; and any copy found in the possession of a. kaye from abroad will be forfeited.
TH] S
t 1y
e e of to e a er
London, June, 1843.
I
THE
TYRIAN
JERA.
ORIGINAL mSTORY OF AN lENT AMERICA.

i300R IDejfirst.
CHAPTER
I.
Introduction from the Preface to the Author's Historical ork upon the Life of TECUllIsEH-Name to be used for Sout or Centr:u America=-The Fundamental Error of the Historians 0 AmericaEssential Opposites in Character-c-Rules of Argume t for illustrating the Theory-A sufficient Identity of the No h to prove two Distinct People-The Aborigines wrongfully name Indians" by COLuMBus-The Cause of his Error and its Effect.
(I
IN the prefatory remarks to the forthco ing work

upon the chieftain, Tecumseh, the following language is used; and we avail ourselves of the pr·vilege of extracting from our own storehouse, materi Is for the commencement of this new historical campai " The courteous reader in tracing the fa e of Tecumseh, as depicted in the pages of his life, will not
VOL. I.
B
ORIGINAL HISTORY OF
[noox r., err. r.
fail to obse ve the strong analogy between the religious sentirn nts of the chief of the forest, and those of the unci t Hebrews. The language as uttered by Tecumse is not written by the pen of fiction) merely to up old a theory of the brain, but gathered from the arc ives of a people's history, to support a theory of a parent truth. The present writer will not yield to n y man in the firm belief, that the A borigines of N rth America (but Nortli America only)) and the anci nt Israelites are identical, unless controverted by t c stern authority of superior historical deductions. 'Ve, therefore, have formed an original theory in re renee to the natives of the North, and those of Sou 1 and Central America, together with the newly-discov red ruined Cities in and around Guatamala; and b that theory, have separated into TWO distinct races, r people) the Aborigines of the ,Vestern Hemisphere. "The latel recovered Ruins, Cities, and Temples in Central Arne .ca, and of which no ancient record is to be found, ha e shattered the chain of acknow ledged History to at IDS; and until that chain is again united by a firmly established theory,-Education herself must pause, ere she can with the wand of truth, point to her ising children the History of the 'Vorld, or its inhabit nts. tL Suspicio has asserted that all the natives of the continent of Columbus, might probably have been originally of Hebrew extraction; the assertion 13..9 been made' doubt and trembling; for writers have
BOOK
r.,
CIT, I. ]
ANCIENT AMERICA,
been confounded by essential contrast in the Religious customs of North and South Arneric ; there were no analogies between them; which cir mstance should have compelled Historians to pursue another path of inquiry, and so attain a conclusive truth; but they found a Gordian knot which they co ld not unravel, and assuming the impatient weapon 0 Alexander, they destroyed it. The Architecture, how ver, of the Ruins of Copan, Palenque, Uxmal, and th ir time-honoured associates, has furnished a 'rosetta· tone,' to aid the new translation of the hieroglyphical history of (now) ancient America; and if our theory is true, not only have the] Israelites walked the land where the Sun bestows his last smile, but another nation (in which was retained the primitive language of the Diluvian world) previously trod that soil as Aborigines; and beyond all this, if our thread of Ari ne lead us faithfully, if not, the ALMIGHTY FATHE who gave the thought will pardon its application yes, beyond all the bounding feelings leaping at eve ts, at once classic and venerated, do we contemplate other branch of our theory; for, if we do not write' error,-and our perfect faith assures us that we 0 not,-then the trembling hand which sought in dou t TIlE SAVIOUR'S wounds, has been outstretched in sa red oratory even in those southern wilds: the bol , yet conquered voice, which uttered in hallowed an confirmed faith, '~IY LORD AND MY GODI' has given orth its missioned eloquence even in the Western Hem' phere, and there, the sainted ashes of that Apostle' rna yet repose!' n2
I
ORIGINAL HISTORY OF
[BOOK I., Cll. I
The preceding extract may be viewed as the ex ordium of an original history to follow j wherein, " i we fail," it will be " the boldness of the attempt, an not the deed confounds us." Taking as a basis for our illustration the rules 0 argument, we will first identify one race, and the prove that the existence of another is not only a.p parent, but absolute. For the convenience of th general reader, the word "ltfcxican," until the tru name is established, will be applied throughout th following pages to all Central and South America; for the word" south" may be confounded with tha portion of the Republic of North America so dena ruinated, and especially 'with the American reader The fundamental error with all writers upon th Aborigines of America is, that they have viewe them as one people. .Authors have, therefore, bee confounded by the different customs and ceremonie of religion as practised in the two great divisions 0 the continent; they have seen that the natives were to a certain extent, in one part of the vast domain, idol aters, and not in the other; that the North 'was essen tially republican in every aspect of its politica existence, while that of Mexican America was a essentially composed of kingdoms and empires, an governed by despotic. monarchs, and that republic were interwoven with them; that each man in th North was a warrior, and an equal, acknowledging n superior but their leader in time of battle, and shoul he fall in action, there was not a member of the
WWW.
orgottenbooks.org
BOOK
r.,
CII. I.]
ANCIENT AMERICA.
Tribe in which they politically lived, but cou have taken his place, and filled it with similar com ge and ability. In Mexican America they were no equal , . but from the emperor they descended by de, ees to the serf and slave; in that country, stone a d stuc, coed Temples and Palaces were, and still con inue to be found, erected with costly magnificence, and in whieh were jewelled idols, to which they b nt the knee; their rich dwellings were splendid m nsions, adorned with sculptured and beaten gold, and graced with the works of art, and as a people, enjo .ng all the refined elegancies of life ;-but in the North their Temple was the aZUl'€ canopy of J hovah, adorned with its myriads of golden stars, an when beneath that sublime dome, they bent the nee, it was to the Almighty God alone! Their palac s were the gorgeous vistas of the forest; the colum were the gigantic trees, each year increasing in the" stateliness; their shadowy and painted roofs were be farspreading branches, and nature's tinted foliage; their mansions were those of independent wandero "",even the simple tents of Israel; and as for jewelled i Is and figures of beaten gold,-they presented the eli monds of the human eye, radiant with intellectual earns, and glancing from the living emblem of the fi st and priceless image, placed in Eden's garden by the Archi'teet of the Universe I Notwithstanding these essential opposites' character and policy, to which may be added t at of physiognomy, writers have glanced at them s one
a:
ORIGINAL HISTORY OF
[BOOK I., CU. I.
race, sprung from the same branch of the human family, and without defining which; and when they could not reconcile such apparently unaccountable distinctions and diversities, they have thrown upon the shoulders of the Mexican, the mantle of manly virtue belonging to the North; and upon this race they have thrust the idolatrous vices and the festering robes of luxury justly claimed by the former people; and by this easy manner of disposing of a question, have seemingly satisfied themselves that by blending the crimes of both, to the exclusion of the virtues of either, that they were all "savages," and no matter from whence they came. Thus have they formed their conclusions concerning fifty millions of human beings, although directly in opposition to evidences of fact, to deductions by relative reasoning, and to all Christian feeling, which alone should have rejected so cruel a decision, founded as it is, not only on slight, but careless investigation. A sufficient identity of the N orthern native is now required, in order to establish the national distinction between the Aborigines of the two Americas. In all civilized countries when the lex scripta fails to develope, or protect, the historical events and right of a nation or of an indi vid ual, then the lex NON scripta i not only not rejected, but it is actually brought forwar to establish, and support the customs and privileges 0 a by-gone day. This traditionary evidence, handc down from sire to son, is received in proofof a fore gone conclusion:" it gives an insight into the times, 0
(t
BOOK 1., ClI. I.J
ANCIENT
AMERICA.
which no writt n record is left for the investigation of Argus-eyed post rity; it carries us back to customs.civil, military, and re 'gious, that otherwise might be lost. to the archives 0 history, Admitting, therefore, this train of reason' g, we bring it to bear upon the pre· sent important subject ;-important in the highest degree, for the time is now past when the Western Hemisphere is 0 be dated from the re.disGoverg by Columbus, Hi giant, but over-applauded name, like the ruins of Pal nque, is but the lettering of a volume to indicate in t e library of the universe that such a work was writ-t n-the work itself (i. e. the great continent) has yet 0 be read, and the historical authors identified; nor ill the well-grounded supposition that the We18h prin ,1Iadoc, colonised in America two centuries before the Genoese ; or that the Norwegian landed three ce tunes anterior to the Welsh, enable us even to unclasp he volume ;-to accomplish this, and its translation, a historic CEiliad must be cast over a period of more han two thousand annual changes, of nature's revolvi g but faithful time-glass! Granting then, that when the lex scripta will not cover a subject, the lex NO~ scripta must be investigated to establish a positio ;-the first, then, will not apply to the Aborigines f the north, for it does not exist; the latter only, or t o unwritten history of their race must be had recours to, to prove their originality and identity; trace le back to time immemorial, from their present cu toms and traditions. We. think th: it will instantly be admitted, that all
ORIGINAL HISTORY OF
[soox
I.,
en.
I.
religi US ceremonies are the strongest proofs of the chara teristics of a people or race, of which no written histor exists; for there is something so indescribably sacre in the conscientious actions of man with the Supre e God, that none but the maniac-atheist could doubt that those actions should be received as the living features of a nation, when seen to be recognised and acknowledged, with as much certainty of identi y, as when a mother gazes upon her fondlycheris ed child! Th customs forming the analogy between the Nort ern natives and the ancient Israelites, will now be re icwcd with as much brevity as the subject will per 't, in order to establish an essential point of the prese t theory-viz., the separation of the Aborigines into uio distinct people. The reader, perhaps, will meet 13 at the tbreshold of argument by the question, " 110 v can an Indian be of Israel?" 1Ve will answer this, and refute the misnomer before the analogies 'are i vestigated. The name Indian, as applied to the origi al inhabitants of either, or both the Americas, Cana a, the islands in, or adjacent to, the Gulf of Mexi 0, has no authority founded upon truth. The nam was given in error, and has been so continued from the time of the Genoese to the present day. Thro hout this work no position will be advanced that cannot be defended, The wrongful appellation origi ated with Columbus; and for proof of the assertion he following is presented. Tl e shadow of the Earth upon the Moon during an
JlOOK I.,
en.
I.)
ANCIENT AMERICA.
eclipse, plainly testified that the planet upon Vihich we live was round. The travels of Marco Paulo by land to the East Indies (about 1269), related that those lands stretched far towards the east. About two centuries after this, it occurred to Columbus, upon perusing those travels; but more especially from having obtained intelligence from the final conquest of the Canary islands in 1483; and information while resident in England ( which circumstances will be investigated hereafter), that by a voyage towards the west--thus travelling, as it were, around the globe-he should meet the extremities of those lands , and as the discovery of a sea-passage to the East Indies was the great object of navigation in the fifteenth century, Columbus made the bold attempt (founded upon previous knowledge of migration), and discovered the island of St. Salvador and those adjacent, and thinking that he had reached the eastern extremity of the Indies according to his theory, he then named those isles the West Indies, because they were discovered by sailing west. The discovery of the Continent followed during his third voyage, and believing all the land to be of the Indies, the inhabitants of the isles and of the mainland were, as a natural consequence, called by Columbus under one general appellation, viz., Indians. Subsequent geographical discoveries have proved the great error of the Genoese; but the name of Indian was given at that time, and it has been continued although at variance with the truth; and it has had a material effect in checking inqu[ry
10
ORIGINAL HISTORY OF
[uoox
I., CH.I.
concerning the Aborigines, who havi g been called

Indians, the name seemed at once to specify their origin: but, it would have been equall as just, if he had determined to sail for Britain, and n unforeseen gale having east him upon the islaud of Sardinia, and then from believing that he had reache the intended object of his voyage, he should have c lled the latter inhabitants British. We1 therefore 1 dis ard the name of In-dian as applied to the natives of th Western continent(itwill be retained in the Tragedy f" Tecumseh'} for local purposes), and write of them as the Aborigines, until, as we advance in this Histo y, they can be identified by a national name, founded pon facts and conclusions.

I
DOOK
I,
en. n.]
ANCIENT AMERICA.
11
CHAPTER II.
Hebrew AnaJogies the Natives of grea.t Antiquity the North-The' Practice of the L Races-The Fo of Ancient Am Theory, and the ith the Tribes of the North-Contrasted with Iexican ~America-Circumcision - Scalpi ng- Its THE CRUCIFlXIOY not known to the Natives of Traditional Knowledge of the Deluge-Their ws of MOSES- The conclusive Proofs of the two ation of a. new Epochian Table for the History rica.- The announcement of the Historical irst Epoch.
TrrE Hebrew analogies now claim investigation;
and
as Woman is fi st in the affections and in memory, she claims by right upon this, as upon all occasions, the
natural precede ceo
mother, after childbirth, is secluded for a given nu ber of days, varying according to the sea of the ncto- orn infant. By the law of MOSES, the mother's purific tion was to last 40 days for a male, and 80 days fo a female child. All other seclusions are as strict a when the wife becomes a mother. The Northe
ecomes a widow, and is childless, her husband's brot er marries her,-these were essential laws of the He rew, and especially the latter,-that a name should ot be lost in Israel. When a wife
ABa mother she considers it a religious duty, that

12
ORIGINAL HISTORY OF
[noox
I., CII. JI.
the child should receive its nouris nt from the breast that gave it life: and such is the feeling in the performance of this maternal duty, t at she often nurses her offspring until it attains thre or four years of age. From this fact an important pro lem is solved, viz., the apparent tardiness in the ratio increase of the Aborigines of the North ;-for it is the T e in Nature's female code (and should there be an exception, it only proves the rule), that while that affection continues from the fond practice of the mo her, no other shall arise to destroy that which alrea y exists: but, as that ceases and the first.. orn is put away, Nature b jealous of her supremacy, again bestows upon the mother a second joy, and so continues in h r undeviating course. There is, also, a direct physic I analogy between the Northern mothers and th se of ancient Israel; if there were not, the negative mi ht be brought against this theory: we therefore take advantage of the affirmative. The only cause of Pha aoh's political action against the Hebrews was, that f om the rapid ratio in which they multiplied, they wo ld eventually rebel, and with, or without the assistan e of any other nation entirely subdue Egypt. The ase of childbirth by the Hebrew mother is dish edy stated in Holy-Writ, in contrast to the dange ous sufferings of the Egyptian parent; from which fact may be gathered the cause of the gradual, ut certain increase of the Israelites over the Egypt" an population. The same peculiar facility of childbirt is .one of the chief characteristics of the Northern fe ale, for in the
noox
I., CII. II.]
ANCIENT A IE RICA.
13
Rocky Mountains, while jo neying in cavalcade, and being taken in travail, the ill ther will leave her companions alone, and within a hour, will remount.her .horse, and overtake her asso iatcs, with the new-born infant in her arms! The ca se why the population of the Aborigines of the North is not in ratio with the ancient Hebrews, has alread been alluded to, in reference to the mother's belief and practice of extended maternal duty and fondness. If, as we believe, the gr at ancestresses of these Northern women were Leah nd Rachel-the" tendereyed," the I( beautiful and w Il-favourod.v-cthcu have their daughters on the W stern continent lost no features of the mothers of Isr e1i-for they might hang their harps upon the willows of their fate, as emblems of Jerusalem's children in cal tivity, and feel no shame in comparison of sorrow, gra ,or beauty! The Northern Aborigines ave a traditional knowledge of the Deluge and the Dove of peace, which to them under the name of the 'meclicine," or " mystery bird," is sacred from the arr w of the hunter. They have their Ark of Covenant, i which is deposited some mystery, seen only by the pries s of the Tribe,-it is said to be a shell, and supposed to .ve out oracular sounds: this is in analogy to the Boo of the Laws placed in the Ark of Covenant by Mo ES, prececling his death on l\Iount Nebo,-the oraeul wisdom of which has guided civilization to this da. The ark is never suffered to touch the earth, bu is always raised on a stand o·f wood or stone; it i invariably carried by a
14-
ORIGINAL
HISTORY
[BOOK I., CU. II.
Tribe when they march to battle,-a similitude is here to JOSHUA at the siege of Jericho. \.. hen it is in their peaceful encampment, it is surrounde by twelve stones, indicative of the original number of t e Tribes of their ancestors ;-this is strictly in analog with the twelve statues (probably rude blocks of s one) erected by MOSES around the Altar of the COy nant to personify the twelve tribes of Israel, JOSHUA, Iso, after the passage of the Jordan, erected twelve sto es in his encampment at Gilgal, and the same numb r in tbe river at the place of the passage. They selee their" medicine men" (i. e. priests or prophets) from among a portion of the tribe not uiorriors here is the ustom of the Levites, or descendants of AARON being n the sacred office of priesthood, for with the Israelites t ey were not to be taken from the ranks of the soldiery. These Aborigines " dwell in booths," as when" broug t, out of the land of Egypt," for they are still wander rs, [Lev. xxiii.] They offer a flesh, or burnt-offering from the chase, which is first cast into the flame, before even a starving family may eat. They ha e their corn and harvest fcasts; also, one in observa ce of every new moon,-another in festivity of the first-fruits,-and
J'
the great feast in direct analogy
ith the Hebrew
Passover, even to the blood being stained upon the

posts and lintels, and the mingling f the most bitter herbs 1 Then their fastings and pu .fieat ions are pl'ac .. tised with the greatest severity. T c breastplate, or ornament worn by their religious pr phets, containing twelve shells, or stones of value, is' direct imitation
HOOK 'I., CrT.
rr.]
15
of the ancient Pectoral worn by the Hebrew highpriest, and which contained twelve recious stones, inscribed with the names of all the tv elve original tribes of Israel. They have their cities 0 refuge, or huts of safety, where the most deadly foe dare not enter for his Victim. They never violate a emale captive, and upon the -Hebrew principle, that t eir blood shall not be contaminated by interunion ;_,_t is has been strictly followed in all their wars with the Europeans, They also reject the savage practice of m ilization upon the lofty principle of manly virtue l The" medicine-bag" or pouch s carried by every member of the Tribe;-it is suspe ded to a bead-belt, which crosses the breast by pas iug over the left shoulder, and hangs on the right .de; it contains, as they say and believe, preservative -to keep them from sickness Of defeat. These are CBS ntially the phylacteries referred to by THE SAVIO R, and previously condemned by :MOSES; for the wo phylactery is derived from the Greek tongue, an denotes a preser~ uatioe; and in the time of Mos s they were worn by his people in great excess; and 0 by the Northern native. Moans checked the excess ve use of the" pre .. servatives'' and changed the custo ; for by his command the priesthood alone wore th phylactery, which was at last a frontlet of parchman for the forehead, ·upon which was written an extract from the laws, that H those that run might read," Then the absence of all idols or symbolical devices, and the worship of the One God i. e. Great Spirit);
I
16
ORIGINAL HISrORY
OF
[BuOK I.,
ou,
If,
their never-pronouncing the name, JEHOVAH, but in syllables, and those separat d by long ceremonies, thus truly fulfilling the Hebr w law, tl Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD HY GOD in vain." The name with them sounds as if rritten, Ye-hoh-nali, and is only pronounced by the aron of the tribe. In their hymns of rejoicing, th word Hal-le-lu-pali is distinctly uttered, To the fo egone analogies is to be added the general and firm elief in the Immortality r:if the soul! But beyond al this as proof of their origin, is the practice of the eat covenant between the A.L~:HGHTY FATHER and t e Patriarch Abrahamviz., Circumcision I And it oes not exist, as in parts of Egypt and the Asiatic na ions, for the purpose of supposed health, (in which elief it was practised in ancient Egypt by both sex s,) but as a religious -custom, handed down from ime immemorial 1 The custom now is not general, b t it does exist; and we must be understood as refe ring back at least two hundred years in our revie r, to the period of the Pilgrim Fathers, when the N rthern Aborigines nUIDberedjifteen mUlions,-now t ey scarcely number two -and a half! All the custo s, however, noticed, are practised at the present per' ad by the uncontrolled Aboriginal. If all other evi nees were not received) that of Circumcision, as a reli icus ceremony, must be viewed by the most sceptical, s direct proof of identity between the Northern Abo -igines and the ancient Hebrews. The custom we h ve written is not general, it is only found in the more settled tribes; this even
BOOK T., CU.
n.]
ANCIENT AMERICA.
l~
supports our belief, for in this very fact is traced again the precedent ordained by :MOSES; for circumcision was discontinued by the great Lawgiver for forty years, during his journeying with his followers through the wilderness j the custom was re-established by JOSHUA. May not this innovation by Mosss in the covenanted custom be imitated by these descendants? .Are they not still wanderers in tho wilderness in the western, as their ancestors were in the eastern hemisphere? The affirmative has existed for ages, and it even now continues. They have not yet returned to Jerusalem! One fact is of great importance in proof of their great antiquity-viz., they have no knowledge or tradition in the North of the Life or Crucifixion of CHRIST, yet they have a knowledge of the Deluge, and actually practise the laws of Moses, Again we must repeat, that we are writing of these Aborigines as they were at the time of European colonization. The above singular fact enables 11S at once to place them in a chronological position. It must be after Moses but before THE SAVIOUR; but another fact brings their circle of time still narrower-viz., they have no tradition of the destruction of the first Temple of Jerusalem. This event occurred 588 years before CHRIST, it must, therefore, be anterior to that national calamity, that they trace their origin. Of this, hereafter, when in the next volume the history of the Israelites will be given; but, even now, justice to this race compels us to offer a few words in their defence :&8 a people, for being already sufficiently shewn that
VOL. I.
c
18
ORIGINAL
HISTORY
OF
[noos
I., C ; II.
they are of the great Hebrew family, they may fall in the estimation of some readers upon religious P inciples. It has been shewn that they have no tradit on of the Crucifixion, or of the desolation of the Tern le. Is there no sentiment in the mind of the Chris .an reader as the first fact is unfolded, other than tha of historical data? Upon a moment's thought it must be apparent that, the blood of CHRIST cannot he 'it on them or their children! Their ancestors never shall ed in the streets of Jerusalem, "Crucify him ! cru ify him!" The Aborigines of the North arc Israelites, nd of the house of Jera boam, not Jews) i. e.) of the Ho se of Judah; a distinction of all importance, as the pa es of the subsequent volume will prove. The custom of Scalping cannot be said with t th to be original with the Northern native: it has, h w~ ever, been so asserted, as proof that they are m re modern as a people than this theory would establis ; but the declaration" melts into air, into thin r," from the fact, that both Herodotus and Polybius m ntion scalping as being practised among the most anci nt nations of the world. The assertion, therefore, has 0 Iy brought forward its refutation. Scalping was introdu ed originally by the ancients for the express purpose of counting and recording tll€ number of the foe 81 in in battle: and especially was this custom practised by the Scythians: this is established upon the authorit of the accurate Herodotus. For the same reason is he custom followed by the Aborigines of the North-v z., to number the slain of the enemy. Again, Scyt ia
nOOK 1'1 CII. II,]
NCIENT
AMERICA.
19
was the ancient arne of the country now known by the modern name of Tartary. This is important, as will be shewn in the next volume, in tracing the encampments of t . Israelites after their escape from captivity; for in the Scythian Tartary they win be found; and cons quently the custom may have been derived from thei own remote ancestors, who obtained it from the Scyt .ans, The custom with both was (and in the Nor h still is), only for a trophy of the dead, and, theref re the scalp is never taken from a living enemy. olybius, however, has a Draconian record-c-viz., tha upon the occasion of Gisco the Carthaginian being ado prisoner, together with 700 of his soldiers, they were all scalped alive by the rc bel mercenaries undo Spondius. The ancients, also, wore the long scalp-lo as the flowing hair to their rude helmets and wea ons: the natives of the North do the same as records of their personal victories. This subject has bee dwelt upon, in order to prove its great antiquity. We may here remark that the mutilation of the dead for the p rpose of numbering, was nearly a general practice mong all the ancients. The Scythian, it has been she , took the scalp and the hair-lock ; but the Assyrian and the Egyptian had another method=-viz., by th number of ears sent to the king or general. This i glanced at in Ezekiel xxiii, 25; but when imposition was practised by the soldiers of the latter nation (aft r a general rapine and massacre), by sending 110me th em's of their female victims in order c2
20
ORIGINAL
HISTORY
OF
[noox
I., C •
1(.
to increase their reward upon the supposition hat they had been taken from mel1,-an original eu tom of recording the slain warriors, was then introd ced (to check the imposition) for proving the sex of the fallen. Thc latter proof of victory was a condition from David to Saul, for obtaining the daughter of the latter in marriage. [1 Samuel xviii. 25-27.] he Hebrew, therefore, followed the custom from the Egyptian, who practised it previous to David's vic ory over the Philistines, which was in the year of his 1arriage, 1063, B. c. ; it is, therefore, probable th t a knowledge of this Egyptian custom may have bee obtained by the Hebrews during their bondage in hat country-the Exodus took place 1491, B. c. Th remote antiquity of these repulsive customs are, tl e1'efore, firmly established. Scalping is one of them, and is, and ever has been, practised in Northern Ame .ca. While upon the subject of ,VaT, and its worst horr Tviz., Rapine-it may be here mentioned again, an to the eternal honour of the Northern Aborigines, and as a stem reproof to the wars of civilization (?) that they have never been known to violate a female aptive among their own race, upon the principle th t it placed shame upon the warrior's glory. This n ble manhood has also extended the same mercy to the tohite female prisoner, as to those of their own colour. Is there not the ancient Hebrew even in this? nd is not their national abhorrence of interunion with any people but their own traceable in this custom? T ey, also, upon the same principle, will not marry or c ha© 2010 Forgotten Books
1., CR. II.]
ANCIENT AMERICA.
21
ith the pale-face race) or with any not of their ow blood. 'Ve write of the Aborigines as they were, and of the mass. There may be on the frontiers some soli ary exceptions after their acquaintance with the An lo-Saxon race; but oftener among the. women thai the men. This arises not from less virtue than in t e opposite sex; but, and with shame be it written, the seduction, treachery, and desertion by the pean, Most truly might a chieftain reply to a mis ionary who endeavoured to convert a tribe. "T ach us t What ? My son has been murderedmy aughter ravished by tbe white-man I Learn first yo selves to obey the mandates of humanity, and pro e that we do not practise them; then come g us to preach, or teach, and we will reo you with open arms I When shall we meet 'upon this condition? On Earth, white man,
Aboriginal, Pecha' hon as, was, after her baptism in the Christian faith,
and consequently cannot be brought to bear against the receding remarks. Many other religious customs and ceremonies exist of a minor character, yet strictly in alogy with the race of Abraham ; but enough een brought forward in this volume to propose (as we believe) unanswerable questions: " If they at of the Lost Tribes of Israel, who are they?" at nation of ancient history can claim and iden. hose customs and observances as their own) if not
T e marriage
of the Virginian
ebrew?"
22
ORIGINAL
HISTORY
OF
[BOOK I., CII. II.
Then in regard to the physique of the raco, they possess the essential characteristics of the ancient Hebrew in regard to physiognomy-viz., the broad and elevated forehead, the acquiline nose, the high cheek. bone, brilliant red countenance, and teeth pure as ivory; black hair, the dark and heavy eyebrow, the sunken but brilliant eye, like a diamond within a ring of pearl, and both deep-set beneath a brow of ebony. 'I'hcir figures in youth (from their mother's care), are models for the Apollo; and should the Statue be lost (and with it all casts and engravings), it could be rostored from a living archer ; for the attitude of the Sun-God is daily assumed by them from the impulse of Nature, when they wing their arrows at the Pythons of the chase! The reader must not imagine that our enthusiasm upon the subject has betrayed us into the language of poetic rhapsody; for we have the authority (apart from our OIV'n experience) of Benj amin West, 'v ho, when he first arrived at Rome to commence his studies, was regarded as " a Savage from the New World." In order to surprise hili, the statue of Apollo was shewn to him with great ceremony by the Sanans, who expectcd -that he would be overwhelmed with wonder, His simple remark was, a Why, it is a model from a young North American Indian I" It was the highest compliment that could have been given to the grace and dignity of the statue. The colour of the ancient Israelite must not be judged by that of the mOde111 rJew-for various climates,
:BOOK. I.,
ca. JI,]
23
local circumstances,
and
can
ed habitations,
have
given the latter a dark, heavy, warthy countenance, and even in middle age they are bent in figure; but the ancient light-red tint may b but the original of the sunburnt features of the borigines, and they, from their forest life, reach at Ie st three score years before old age compels them to see their shadows as they walk t The words of" the good Irion "William Penn, may be given as a peculiar and power ul authority. After his first and celebrated intervie with the Northern natives, he wrote to England th following sentences
in reference to them: " I found them with like countenances to the Hebrew race, an their children of so lively a resemblance to them:" 9-0. At this, and no other
time did the thought of their bein Israel enter his imagination. The are of great importance, from th not originally written by him to s reference to the Aborigines; but letter from a strong impression of which fact, to the Founder of Pe ject of astonishment, were they .Hebrew of the Lost Tribes of sentences, therefore, fact that they were pport any theory in erely asserted in his apparent truth, and sylvania, was a sub-
and there i rested; for to him, 01' Gentile, h s kind and philan-
thropic heart, taught him to view them as a branch of the human family, and that to h m was sufficient for forming a bond of amity! His emory is cherished by the Aborigines to this day"the good friend." The reader may remember the hi torical painting by West, of this celebrated interview it is worthy of the subject represented,
I
24
ORIGINAL
HISTORY OF
[OOK
Z., CR. U.
The bold style and metaphorical charac cr of their Oratory, is essentially Hebrew,-an atte pt to illustrate their eloquence will be found in thb historical tragedy of "Tecumseh." Their undaunted and chivalric personal courage, is the very counterpart of that evinced npo the plains of Jericho, or in aftertimes before the w Us of J erusalem. Then their god-like love of perfe t freedom, -the spirit of Jeroboam, did not die in th first rebellion and victory against tyranny,-it live in his nation's descendants in the North; at inva ions or encroacbment, tbey rise as one man, to rush their oppressor, and which fact, every record om the Pilgrim Fathers to the present day, will te tify, In all their battles (and their name is legion) th y have disputed the ground, inch by inch, and even heir women have fought and fallen in their ranks. very chief was a Judas Maccabreus, or an Eleazer S varan I Now in every physical characteristic 0 the Northern, did the Mexican differ; they bore n analogy as being of the same race, either in feature, ourage, endurance, or general religion. In Mexic n America, Cortez, with only 500 Spanish soldiers, and those worn and dispirited, drove 50,000 Mexic ns from the field of Otumba,- they fled like snow-flak s before the wind, when their standard was seized by a Spaniard; but, in the North, the fight was man to ian, and no retreat-death or victory-J erusalem 0 the grave! Every chieftain of the North, even upon . s~pposition of flight from a superior foe (either i number or prowess), may be imagined to have ut ered the last
I
BOOK 1.J CR. J I.]
ANCIENT
AMERICA.
words of Judas Maccabseus, when in his tina battle he was opposed by twenty times his own for e: "God forbid that I should do this thing, and flee fr m them; if our time be come, let us die manful for our brethren, and not stain our honour!" Some of the Mexican nations worshipped idols, and knew not God !-fo1' they sacrificed human beings to propitiate their savage Deities; not so he noble N ortherns, they worship THE Oh'E GOD, w h declared to the first Lawgiver, "Thou shalt have no other Gods before me," and their only human sac fice is the invader of their lands and birthright, The only two analogies that existed be ween the North and Mexican America, and which ight apparently destroy or prevent the proof of this t eory, are, first, Circumcision; and second, thc similitu c of Language. In the North) circumcision, as we h ve shewn, is a religious custom only; in the Mexican erritories, it was both optional and religious. This s ange and apparent stumbling-block in the way of p ving that they are of a different race, will be removed as we proceed ; for so far from injuring the proofs of e theory, it absolutely supports them, as does also t e analogy in language. These important points--viz, Circumcision and Language, will be met in their respective places, and in an original manner of applic -tion ; for they form two of the most substantial evid nccs, and were the primitive causes for our belief in t e subject contemplated by this work, and especially i reference to that portion having Christianity for its ba is,
26
ORIGINAL HISTORY OF
As an essential contrast between the borigines, is the fact that in the North they have (as already stated) no tradition of the Crucifixion, while in the other portion of the Con tinent (and f r centuries before the rediscovery by Columbus) the had a perfect knowledge of every particular of t e Life and Death of CHRIST. Again ;-in this part the Continent there are Stone architectural Rui s :-m the North there arc none; they possess th re but embankments, Marathonian mounds or tum li. These undeniable and characteristic opposites in North. ern and Mexican America) increased- y the late discovery of the Ruined Cities in Gu tamala and the adjacent provinces, together with fieen years of personal observation in America; to which may be added a practical knowledge of th Fine Arts, enthusiasm in research, and mature reflect on upon the entire subject, have authorized the fon ation of (as we believe) an Original Theory, concen .ng the History of the Aborigines of the two great divisions of the vVestern Hemisphere ; and for the un lding of the present volume, we state, 1. That they consist of TWO distinct ra es.or people. This will be, without doubt, admitted, f om the facts in the previous pages. 2. That South. America (nationally s caking) included what is at present called Central A erica , and,
as a consequence, the Ancient Cl:ties, no belonged to the same general Empire.
in Ruins,
BOO~ I.,
cu. n. ]
ANCIENT AMERICA.
27
3. That South, or (as we have termed .t in the preceding pages) Mexican America, was inh bited ANTERIOR to that of the North. 4. That the Aborigines of Mexican merica, and the West India Islands, were the ancien TYRTANS of
Pluenicia, and that they landed on the estern Con.. tineni, from their native country, more th n two thousand years ago! This is confirmed b Tradition, Analogies, History, and Prophecq ! Reasoning upon the causes that have led to the new Historical Theory, and the conclu ions arising therefrom, a new Chronological or Epochi n Table, as a necessity, is required for the History of he Western Hemisphere and its Inhabitants, at least t the time of Columbus. Not desiring, however, to a, ticipate any interest derivable from the investigation f this work, the progressive Epochs will be given in he volumes devoted to their illustration. The prc ent volume contemplates the first Epoch only] and is announced in the following page, and the reader wil do himself but justice (apart from the author) by ot rejecting the startling Theory until (at least) the p oofs and arguments have been received and analy ed. Upon 'which investigation the writer will sub it with aU humility to the decision of the public, ad of their all-powerful champion-the Press.
ORIGINAL HISTORY OF
[.BOOK 1., CH. Ill.
CHAPTER Ill.
FIRST EPOCH.
THE TYRIAN ...ERA; DEFORE CHRIST 332 YEARS.

THE LANDIKG IN MEXICAN
OF
(i. e. Cent1'al)
A~mRICA
THE A~CIENT TYRIANS OF Pl::lCE};''1CIA,

AND
E BUILDING
OF THE
CITIES,
TE:\'IPLES, AND I'YRAMIDS,
THE RUINS OF WHICH
HA VE
LATE L Y BEEN
_R •• )l({o'"-
DISCOVERED.
A1'1'angement ()f Facts and Arguments

FOR THE rRESElS'!' VOLUME.
IN the endeavour to establish this important Epoch r course must be had to the same train of argument as t at used in the preceding pages-viz., that where the ritten law docs not exist, that which is unwritten ust be brought forward as evidence to support and e stain conclusions, and to this must be added the p werful witness of strong and perfect analogy, for the e sential purposes of identity. Believing that the r ader is convinced that the natives of North Arneen. are of a distinct race to those inhabiting the o her portion of the Continent, as alreadyillustrated b the contrasts in their Religious and Political policies,
_BOOKI., CH. III.]
29
and even by their pbysi al analogies, the necessity-now arises of completely i entifying those of J\fexican America, as we have sli htly those of the North,-suffi~ cient however for the division of the races. In the preceding title of the irst Epoch. of this History, is not only stated the N ati 11 from whence they came, but even the Year in whi h they landed! To support these startling assertion, to make their truth apparent to the reader.e-to co vince his understanding and crush all doubts,-that even History may place the Volume within 11e1' arc ives, requires a basis of argument which shall be TO k-built, that tbe superstructure about to be raised, whil it invites, may yet resist (not defy) the storms and hafts of eri ticism ; bu t, as a strong cemented edifice requires the warm influence of the Sun to secure the component parts,-so do we look for the sun-smile- om the just and mild eye of the true critic, which ill not glance upon only one part of the composition, but view each as required to form the consistency of the entire building; and when the edifice is finished, hether the entablature will remain blank, or bear a humble name, is not for us to determine or command; yet in reference to the latter and natural hope, th sentiment of the Senator of Utica will direct us, that if we cannot" command success," at least we wi I endeavour to "deserve it." The following invest gation and arrangements of argument are required fo the elucidation of this Epoch, and then from the sum wry of evidence andfrom that only, the reader, as a ju y, will form his verdict; viz.© 2010 Forgotten Books
30
ORIGINAL HISTORY OF
[BOOK I., CU. IIl.
1: Are the Fine Arts of sufficient authority to be received as evidence for establishing historical records or events? 2. The fact of the Discovery of the Ruined Cities in Mexican America-their description, locality, and character, established. 3. The Religious and N ational Analogies and Traditions, between the ancient Tyrians and the Mexican Aborigines will be investigated, and their Identity established. 4. The Mexican innovations upon the customs of the Tyrians will be explained. 5. The general History of Pheenicia, but especially the political and commercial History of the Kingdom of Tyrus :-its Rise and Fall analyzed. 6. The cause of the Tyrian migration to the Western Hemisphere-the means whereby, and the date wherein it was accomplishcd,-the means of can. cealing the secret of their Discovery of the Western Continent from the Asiatics and Europeans. 7. The building of their first Altars, Temples, Pyramids, and Palaces, and which have remained as unknown in the History of the 'VorId, for full two thousand one hundred and fifty years! 8. The new Discovery of the Fulfilment of five additional Prophecies, by ISAIAH, identified and establisbed by the proofs of the Tyrian Epoch of this History of Ancient America. 9. A Recapitulation of the entire subject, and summary of the various evidences of the truth of the
BOOK. I.,
ca.
UI.
ANCIENT AMERICA.
31
Tyrian Theory, founded upon Analogies, Trad tions, History, and Prophecy! And LASTLY. The fulfilment of the Tyrian cies of ISAIAlI in the Western Hemisphere, als establishes (with the division of the Aborigines int two races, Tyrian and Israelitish, and their conqueror ) the actual accomplishment of Noah's Malediction, a d his Prophecy of the Human Family! These asto nding and new-discovered facts will form a concluding chapter for the complete annihilation of atheistical enial of Prophetic truths. These prophetic facts a e not essential to the support of this History,-they a e but the seals to the document.
I
32
ORIGINAL HI TORY OF
[BOOK [.,
ca.
IV.)
I.
THE FINE
ARTS,
HISTORICAL ED AND ESTABLISHED.
RE~
CORDS, INVESTIGA
ARClII'l'ECTUR
AND SCULPTURE,
IF it were possible to Temple, every historic b ing in the world, and the modern Erostratus shan whereby the onlyappare would be from tradition, quarries of the earth have posed and fashioned by th restore the progressive his tion. Architecture has erecte and mansions; and Sculptu charmed and adorned the and romance: the forme lumns, and proportions;
place within an Ephesian ok, manuscript, and engravthe sacrilegious torch of a d entirely consume them, t knowledge to be obtained yet the marble and stone issued those volumes comhands of man, that would ory of the arts and civilizahis lofty temples, palaces, 'e has, with her magic wand, with historic facts, legends, planned the porticoes, cout the latter was the power
llOOK I. CIf. IV.,
§ I.] ANCIENT AMER CA.
33
whereby they were fashioned and e bellished. Archi, tectum by his peculiar characteristi gives intelligence as we wander amid his works, that we are on the land· of Egypt, or the plains of Prestum on the Acropolis of Athens, or the land of Romulus and the Coliseum: and whether we gaze upon the sk -pointing Pyramid, the stern or the graceful Doric, the Ionic of the Ilissus, or the acanthus-crowned Corinthi n,-they one and all have voices of oracular power, proclaiming to the classic scholar the Nation from whe ce they arose to life and beauty. Even the horizontal and curv d lines of Architecture have their especial recor ; for they state the time in the history of the Arts, when they were erected, even without a sculptur d ciphcr;-for the level lines of the Cyclopean and E ptian walls, with their attendant apertures, give cer in knowledge that they were erected before the prine ple of the Grecian arch was known or practised. Sculpture has a more harmoni s voice than that of her stern consort j-the graceful bride, whose rockribbed cradle amid' the; Parian ills-c-whosc virgin
youth reposed upon the halcyon rna ble of Pentelicus,

has a voice of warm, yet chaste si plicity,-her tones are as sweet, as' from lips first nou ished on Hymettus' __ Hill; yet at "times they speak with II the solemnity of her consort, around whom she £; ndly dings, as the ivy around the oak; and like that plant and tree, the sculpture-vine preserves for ages he character of the marble monarch of the Arts,
D
© 2010 For~otten Books
cv
11 ,after
his broad-
YOT•. I.
34
ORIGINAL
HISTORY
OF
[lOOK I., CII. [V.,
I.
spreading authority has been broken nd humbled to the earth by 'Time and Desolation; 0 these two dew straying powers may be viewed as t11 Regan and the Goneril, while Architecture is the Lea, and Sculpture the Cordelia of the Arts! Even as a note of music struck f am a chord of Nature vibrates to the heart, in like anner does the voice of Sculpture reach and echo aro nd the walls of Life: it is Poetry's diapason-it spe s of God and His works-of Man in his intellect and glory-of Woman in her charity and beauty: t speaks a language which the unlettered may tra slate, while to her more subdued or secret tones, the disciples of her heavenly power have but to listen, or behold her action of utterance, as developed in er free or drapered limbs, to give the history of her thoughts; nor have those thoughts or attitudes, chast as the marble they inhabit, ever been conquered by I st or luxury,that unworthy conquest was reserve for the false disciples of her faith, yet not over hers If, but her fair handmaid-Painting. But Architect re and Sculpture have lived on-severe and chaste, tern and graceful, majestic and beautiful-as when hey were first created from the Eden of the mind ! No sword of wrath has driven them forth to wan er as outcasts; but as Messengers of Peace they hav visited every clime; they have raised their templ- and cities in every land, subjected to one power onl -the insatiate monster of the earth, Time - the win-bern with Creation, and who will be the last rno rnerof Nature
I
OOK I., CU. IV"
§ J,) ANCIENT AMERICA.
35
Y et even when their children have een struck down-like Niobe's, by the shafts of fatetill how beautiful in Ruins! Although prostrate upon he earth, yet even ill death, they have voices as peaking from the tomb :-but the Parents still live n, ever young and immortal, and can point to the nd her name!
roud remains of their fallen Children, and with the oiee of historic truth proclaim their fadeless epitaph
d character.
EGYPI'l My first-born and consort of the Nile!vhile thy Pyramids and Temples shall remain-and hey will even to the final tempest of the World-thou
halt be identified from among all the nations of the arth I ATHENS !-My favourite daughter t Until the Rock f the Acropolis shall fall,-thy classic beauties,round which have gleamed the meridian splendour f the mind, will proclaim that Minerva, Plato, Peicles, and Phidias, were thy own! P.ALMYRA I-M:y third joy I Although the wild ab sleeps within thy roofless dwelling, with the vhirling sands for his nightly mantle-yet, while thy
orticoes, Arches, and Colonnades shall be seen, the ity ofthe Desert will live in Memory; for the Spirits f Longinus and Zenobia will be there I ROlfE !-n1y Warrior Son [ Thy ancient glory ives in the recorded evidences of thy Parent's .Art; or amid the ruined columns of thy Forum glide the
pectral forms of Romulus, Junius, Virginius,
D
Brutus,
2
36
ORIGINAL HISTORY
[HOOK I.,
ca.
IV.,
§ I.
Cato, and of Cicero! Throu h thy Arches move those of Septimus, Vespasian, 'I'itus, and of Constantine !-.A.nd dost thou not speak to all the world from the solemn historic voice of thy iant Coliseum? But beyond all this, from the ashes f thy former luagnifi.cence-e like the PhroIDX upon th spot of Martyrdom, thou hast risen in double splen our to the Glory of THE SAVIOCR and the Faith of a Apostle; and to the triple-fame of Bramante, Raphae , and Angelo! These are the still-living metr politan records of by. gone days-from the Heathen t the Christian-they cannot be rcjcctcd=-from them 1 e trace and prove the teras of the world. Sculpture has also her own rerogativc, apart and separate from her Lord, as a d war-right, a jointure power of metruction ; and wha immortal pupils has she not produced? They stand as the models of art and intellect-each unapproach d-i-sclitary and beautiful,-the human eye contem lates them with the chaste wonder of Creation's d ughter-Eve, when from the banks of Eden's limpid vaters, she first gazed upon the mirrored image of her elf! The Jupiter of Elias,-the Minerva and the rrr· ple-Fates of the Parthenon,-the Mcdicean Venus nd her sister of the Bath,-the gentle A.ntinouB,-th _A..thenian Phocian,The Pythonian Victor---Sun-cl d Apollo,-the Serpent-strangled Priest and Sons f Troy, all speak the intellectual power of their mi tress: and even the poor Roman captive-the death- truck Gladiator-has
I
nOOK I., CIl. IV.,
§ I.]
ANCIENT
AMERICA.
37
been raised by her magic 'wand from the san y deathbed of the Coliseum, to live on, unconquer d to all posterity! Sculpture is a- title not only applicable to statuary, but to every kind of architectural stone-orna ent, and in every stage towards its completion-from t e rough. quarried-block to the polished marbles of t e frieze and pediment: this being admitted, how ast and almost unlimited is the field for historic center plation! The Antiquary' when he removes the trod n earth from the mouldering tomb to trace the deeds a heroes: or from an antique Gem or Medal, raises to li ht from beneath the dark dust of ages, the bold outline f an imperial head: or, when within the lava-colour d city, a hidden statue from beneath the veil of ccnturi s bursts upon his bewildered sight, he still remem ers that Sculpture was the creative power. The tray ller who pauses in silent - wonder as he views the Pyramids (blocks of stone raised to perpetuat less king), turns withredoubled pleasure to co mplate the sculptured marble of Tentyra-in the sight of whose shrines the followers of Napoleon fet amply repaid" for the dangers they had passed." lthaugh the Assyrian Kings have for ages been COy ed with the sands of their desert, and the wande . sleeps unmolested in the shade of Palmyra's unconscious 'of his mighty mansion) yet her temples and porticoes speak loudly for the living trut of histone marble. Greece !-thc wonder of the classic agc,- be key© 2010 Forgotten Books
S8
ORIGINAL
HISTORY
OF
[nOOK I., CU. IV.,
I.
stone in the arch of intellect,-owes her glory to Maratho and Salamis, but her living name breathes from the culpture of the Acropolis. The proportion given by Ictinus to the body of the Parthenon is fast falling to decay, while the sculptured mantle of Phidias which a rns it adds regality to splendour, and every stone tha falls produces but another graceful fold to the gorg us drapery I Sculpture still preserves Syracuse amid the wreck of time, as when Marcellus wept tea s of joy at beholding his mighty conquest: it still po"nts out Carthage, the fatherland of Hannibal, as W ien Marins upon a prostrate column mourned her des Iation. Mysterious Prostum has no other monume t, for her deeds have perished with her records. I rom Istria to Dalmatia may be traced the historic rogress of the art,-the gate of the Sergii, Theatre f Pola, and the Palace of Dioclesian, whose wall is mirrored in the Adriatic, all bear convmci g testimony, And for ancient Rome !-it is her livi g history! The Statorian columns of the Forum, ifting high their leafy brows, proclaim the spot wh rc Romulus checked the bold advance of the Sabine atius: the solitary shaft of Corinthian form find gra e, gives fame to Phocas : the Ionic columns of Cone rdia's Temple, proudly point the place where Cicero i peached the blood-stained Catilinc ; while the triumvir te columns of the Tonans-J npiter preserve the imr erial name that witnessed THE REDEE.MJm'S Birth! The arch of Titus (where the Composite first sh ne forth) heralds the Conquest of Jerusalem,
BOOK
r.,
CR.
rv., § I.]
ANCIENT AMERICA.
39
sculpture, a Jewish basilisk, for one of that nation dare pass beneath its gateway. The 'arch of Constantine, robed in Sculptured histor , records the battle with Maxentius, the first victory beneath the Banner of the Cross, and gained by the C istian Prince after his conversion by the vision of th Holy-sign! The column of Antoninus still preserves the deeds of the philosophic Marcus , and while th equestrian statue of the Capitoline Hill presents t e figure of Aurelius, the grouped trophies of Marius ake known the conquest of the Cimbri! The col mn of Trajanus blazons forth the war's of the D cii, thereby transmitting to all ages the costume an weapons of
-its
the capti ves, and of the imperial victors. he circular and columned edifice speaks of Vesta, her Virgins, and the heathen's perpetual altar-flame: the giant arches near the Forum, of a Temple to the God of Peace, while the earth-buried palace of t e Esquilinc contained the moving form of that Son 0 Wat, who fell beneath the patriot blow of Brutus! The Panthcon,-thc Pyramid,-and the Towel', perpetuate Agrippa, Cestius, and J\'Iretella's fame! The triplemonument of the Appian-Way, tells the istoric tale of the first victory that consolidated Ro e ill early freedom,-it speaks of the Curiatian others who fell for Alba,-of the IIoratii that fell f Rome:the classic eye in viewing those time-bon ured tombs looks through a vista of near three thous nd years,it gazes upon the IIoratian triumph and h s spoils,-it sees a widowed sister's- upraised hands in alediction,
40
0 IGINAL HISTORY OF
[BOOK I.) CU. 1\'.,
§ r.
-it beholds t at sister's death from a brother's patriot sword 1 A s ulpturcd frieze and cornice upon a lone pilastered ho se, in the most humble street of Rome, speak to the asser-by that within those shattered walls once dwelt t e "Last of the Tribunes," Petrarch's friend - ren wned Rienzi! Then the blood-cemented Colis urn! It is an history within itself! Commencing with its founders, Vespasian and Titus, and its builde 'S, the poor captives from Jerusalem,-it encloses all t e savage and succeeding emperors whose mantles of oronation were there dyed in human gore ! DOl tian, Commodus, 1r erian , and the long al line of insati te murderers of the early Christians! And even T ajan suffered the sands of that arena to receive the 1 angled body of an Apostle's l\finistcr,Ignatius of ntioch,- who died like Polycarp of Smyrna, for at Faith which claimed death in cruel torments rat cr than Apostacy,-from whose lips may have passed the same sentiment as from his successor in martyrdo :" Eighty and six years have I served Him, and He has done me no injury : how then can I blaspheme y King and my SAVIOUR ?" Architecture erected he Coliseum, but Sculpture like a funeral pall, mantles his human slaughterhouse of Rome; -not a stone of w ich, from the base to the ruined cornice, but has an istoric voice that speaks, as from the Arimathean Sepulchre of our Religion, of the final Resurrection of those early martyrs to the Faith of
CHRlST!
The hum lc gravestone of the village churchyard

.HOOK 1., ClI. IV,
I.]
ANCIENT A~IERICA.
41
is received s legal evidence of death,-it speaks a name, a dat , and burial,-the Acropolis, as the tomb of Athens, c n do no more, save that it is the record of a nation's d wnfall, and not a peasant's. Sculptur can speak even of the Religious mind of the decease ,-bring it to memory) and instruct us as to the mean whereby the departed attained his hope of Salvatio 1, -it presents the transparent medium through wh ch he gazed upon futurity, and believed in his appro ch to God: for the Cross or Crescent upon a to bstone, needs no other language to inform the passer- y, that the departed was a follower of Christ or ]\.1 hornet! If then the mind of a solitary corpse can, as it were again be vivified, by merely contemplati g the sculptured emblem of the dead, and that from a single gravestone, may not entire nations be historic y resuscitated, when the human eye and mind are br ught to gaze upon, and investigate whole Cities. of Ru 5, with their sculptured Temples, Tombs, and Palaces? Yes! though they should be found amid the d rkened forests of the Western Continent, w here the anther and beasts of prey were thought alone to dw 11. Yes! Palenque, Copan, Chiapas, and their mural d sisters, have historic voices for posterity from their "cities of the dead," the Pompeii and the Hcrcula eli of the Western Hemisphere,-yet more aged and v nerablo than even those victims of Vesuvius ! Architect re and Sculpture then claim the right to
-!2
ORIGINAL
ISTORY OF
[BOOK
r.,
CU. IV.)
§ II.
be received as undeni bie evidences of historical record; and, as such, t. osc two branches of the Fine Arts will be admitted y the reader in support, and in illustration of the E och now under investigation. Ietinus, Phidias, and Praxiteles,-llramante, Jones, and Wrcn.c-Danova, hantrcy, and Grccnough.unay justly be regarded as h storians; for from the volumes of their art, events an teras can be traced and established.
Painting,-the most beautiful in the triumvirate of the Arts, proudly follov s Sculpture in her classic path, -the precedence only iclded as to one of elder birth, who attired in bel' sn w-white raiment marches forward with majestic s ep, casting her shadow to the confines of History; ile her graceful follower, clad in the rainbow-tinted arments, and having no shadow of herself, receives he coloured brilliancy from the glowing Sun of Genius, and thence in gratitude reflects back her pictorialligh to illuminate the mind! This delightful art may be dined to be a species of poetic and historic writing, a d subservient to the same ends -the expression of id as and events-of Nature and her children. It bear resemblance to the diamond in the dark recesses of th earth, which by its own innate quality emits sparklin rays of light, thcre~y not only
nOOK 1.) cu. IY.,
§ II.]
ANCIENT AMERICA.
43
discovering its own splendour, but giving a lustre to obscurity. Painting has her direct claims to be receive as authority for past events and records, and in illus ration may be cited the Life and History of the SAVIO' . The pictorial art alone was for centuries the only ecord whereby the mass of the people could read t at Sacred Lifc. The cross upon tl1€ banners, shields, nd pennons of the Crusaders, spoke to the Christian he rt, even above the din of arms or the yell of battle. en the Latin was the general tongue of prayer and prea hing, thc pictorial art sprung into life with redoub ed power; and from the painting above the altar, re resenting the Crucifixion, the people learned that Ch .st suffered,-it alone reached the heart and understa ding, while the Latin language reached only the cars of the unlettered. Has not the Life of the Redee er been traced through every event by the painter's rna ic art? The Annunciation, Nativity, Disputationin be Temple, Healing the Sick and the Blind, Last Sup er and Sacrament, Rejection by Pilate, Crucifixion, nd the Resurrecdon and Transfiguration, are the picto .al Volumes of our religion. Angelo, De Vinci, Rapb 1., Murillo, Rubens, and West, were as essentially his 0rians of sacred cvents,-as Plutar ch, Livy, Tacit s, Gibbon,IIurne, and Robertson, were those of a tional and political character. Painting has traced upon the galleries of Vers . es the chief events of the French kingdom-of the E © 2010 Forgotten Books
www. for~ottenbooks. org
44
ORIGIN
L HISTORY OF
[BOOK 1., CII. IV., ~
nr,
pire and its glory. walls of England's her deeds of chiv dying fame! The walls of t perishable history the Western Hem rejected as eviden tional records.
And in the present day, the new Parliament arc to be decorated with lry-sacred to her historic and unc American capital contain the irnof Washington, and the Freedom of sphere ! Paintings then will not be
es of events, or of religious and na-
SECTIO~ III.
COINS AND MEllALS.
These are adrni ted species of historic evidence, and as lasting ones, pe haps, beyond all others. A series of them is the ost certain method of arranging a. chronological tabl t, and thereby preserving the data of history, my tho ogy, portraits, customs, and art. The reader wil excuse the relation of an anecdote, to which may be raced the production of the present work. At the ca ly age of nine years, a small ancient coin came into th accidental possession of the writer; its stamp and c aracter were enveloped in mystery, and recourse wa: had to an antiquary to decipher them. The obve se of the coin contained a pro£le head, and around it the letters AVGVST,TS : on the reverse, a Temple with the doors closed, surmounted by the word PR VIDENTIA. The explanation was as follows: viz. A coin of Augustus -Cxsar-thc
»OOK.I., CR. IV.)
IlI.J
ANCIEN
A],iERICA.
45
Temple was that of Janus, the doors of which had been open for nearly two co turies, as emblernatical of the continuance of Roman , arfare with foreign countries; but on the coin the d rs were closed, and with , the word of thanksgiving, w re symbolical of universal peace, thus proving that the coin was struck the very year in which the S viour was born! Thus upon one coin were illustr ted the features of the second R,oman Emperor, fythology, Cessation of "\Var,-thc downfall of Brut sand Cassius,-thc defeat of Anthony,-and the Birt . of Christianity I This simple incident made so po rerful an impression upon the boyhood of the relator, hat to it he _bas always traced the foundation of his criptural, Historical, and Poetical studies, together wit an enthusiastic devotion to the Fine Arts. The description of the ab ve coin will illustrate the historical intelligence to be d rived from their perusal. A medal is an especial mode f recording tributary honour to individuals-literar ,civil, or military ;-they become heirlooms in family osscssions, and are transmitted from sire to son, as absolute records of their ancestors' fame. They arc a 0 struck in celebration of national events, and thence become records of a people. So assured was Napol on of' this, that a series of Iris medals are a complete hi tory of his victories, from his Consulate to his loss of t e Empire: and that event at Waterloo was recorded b Great Britain upon her medals, for even the soldiers as well as officers. Denon of France, and Wyon of E gland, are names as, ar© 2010 Forgotten Books
46
ORIG NAL HISTORY OF
[BOOK
r., en,
IV.,
IV.
tists worthy to ecard the victories of Napoleon and Wellington. Architecture, culpture.Paintings, Coins, and Medals, from the investi ation contained in the previous pages (we submit to t ie judgment of the reader), are established as auth rities for historical records.
SECTION IV.
ENG R A V E D G E I'tI s.
This is a bra eh of the Fine Arts, the 1110st ancient in practice-or hat is mentioned in history, sacred or profane i and a1 ough gems arc not received like coins or medals, as onclusive proofs of events, yet they cannot be rejec ed on the score of doubtful antiquity. Seals and sign t-rings are of course included in the term" engrave gems,' and they bear the heraldic arms of family lOnGUTS, their names and actions are traceable, and t lUS they illustrate the chivalric dignities of the origi al owners. The style of ancient art (even without date to the gem) will carry the inquiring mind to the sera of the artist, and thence establish at least the century in which they were engravell. Of the antiqr ity of gem engraving, the Bible bears conclusive ovid nee. In the graphic description of the priestly ga mcnts of Aaron, [Exodus xxviii.] it states that the S oulder ornaments of tbe Ephod are to be engrave stones, each containing six of the
L
BOOK
.,
cu.
IV.,
§ 1\'.]
ANCIENT AMERICA.
47
nam s of the Tribes of Israel. "And thou shalt take two nyx stones and grave on them the names of the Chil en of Israel : six of their names all one stone, and he other six names of the rest on the other stone, aceo ding to their birth, With the work of an engrau r in stone, like the engravt:ng$ oj a signet, shalt thou engrave the two stones with the names of the Chil en of Israel," &c. (verses 9, 10, and 11.) A on's" breastplate of judgment" was to contain twel e precious stones or gems, each stone to have engrav d upon it the name of a Tribe of Israel. "And thou shalt set in it settings of stones, even four rows of stan s: the first row shall be a sardius (i. e. ruby), a tapa, and a carbuncle: this shall be the first row. And the second row shall be an emerald, a sapphire, and i diamond. And the third row a ligure, an agate, and .n amethyst. And the fourth row a beryl, and an any ,and a jaspar: they shall be set in gold in their encl sings. And the stones shall be with the names of the hildren of Israel, twelve, according to their names, like the engravings of a signet: every one with his nam shall they be according to the twelve tribes." (v. 7-21.) T e gold mitre for the High Priest is thus described: "A d thou shalt make a plate of pure gold, and grave upo it, like the engravings if a signet-HoLINESS TO oTIn"-(v.36). From the triplicated sentence in bove quotations-viz.," like the engravings of a sign t," it is proved that genl engraving was practised ante-'ior to the time of Aaron, who officiated 1491
48
ORIGINAL HISTORY OF
[noox
1.,
en,
IV.,
~ IY.
efore Christ. The great antiquity, therefore, of ed gems, will not be questioned; and their ) ciphers, or style of art, may speak of a peo~ ir epochs, or their progress in civilization. In e development of the present work, every branch of the Fine Arts will be brought forward to up· hold a d substantiate this Tyrian lEra-thcy having all obtain d in the Western hemisphere previous to the time 0 Columbus,-which period (anterior to the Genae €, 1492, A. n.) is contemplated by the new historic t rm-A.ncie'11t America.
years sculpt mottoe ple, th
PQOK r.>en. v. ~ I.]
ANCIENT Al\1E lCA.
-49
CHAPTER
THE -DISCOVERIES RICA-TllEIR I.OCA T.ITIES LYZED, OF THE RUINED GENERAL CllARAC THE DESCRIPTIO
V,
ITIES IN :n:IEXICAN .A:r.IEER AND GEOGBAPDICAL S OF THE RUINS .ANA-
&c. SECTION
THE
DISCOVERERS
AND
EXPLORERS
THE
RUINS-DATE
AND
LOCALITY-PA.JNTINGB-MAl'S
AND CHARTS,
&c.
IN the preceding chapter, it S stated that the Fine Arts will be used as strong evi encos towards the development of this epoch, and hat they will be received as records. They represe t what will be wanted in illustrating the Aborigines of the North-viz., the les scripta-for Sculpture nd Paintings must be regarded only as a more concis and impressive manner of writing. Since, therefore, Sculpture is one of the powers conjoined with Arc itccturc to enable us to raise our historical edifice, it is ecessary to prove the existence of our strength in the ountry illustrated-to prove that Ancient Cities have been discovered-that temples and .palaces have be recovered from the depths of the forest, and tha , too, in that part of
I
50
ORIGINAL
HISTO . Y OF
[nooK I .• CII. V.,
§ I.
America now under consider tion, having reference to the Aborigines not of the Nor h. These investigations are required for the reader who may not have read "The Incidents of Travel i 1 Central America," and even those that have, will ex ect an analysis or review of the discovered Ruins j it i· also demanded by the character of this work, for i is essential to establish their existence before they n be produced as witnesses to support an historic a gument; and like a legal document, parole evidence wi 1 not be received if the document itself can be produed. Paintings also are a portio of the evidence to sustain our novel history. The paintings of Mexican America, though rude, conta n proofs of progressive ages, whereby facts may be gathered) supported by traditions, to authorize the f rmation of a chronological arrangement of events. These pictorial efforts of art are on cloth of unusu 1 thickness, in order to secure stability-for the Mexi ans had no other written records-but, to which ay now be added from the late discoveries-Sculptur. The paintings) it has been stated) were rude) and n t unlike those of ancient Egypt j and like those of the Nile, a symbol stood for whole sentences, or parts of history,-and does not tbe same method exist with Euro ean art? A cross represents the Crucifixion! It is in this manner that the paintings of ancient Me 'co must be translated. The colouring was far beyon the Egyptian in regard to brilliancy and variety-an mportant po~nt in proving a Tyrian analogy.
BOOK I.,
en,
V.,
I.J
ANCIENT AMERICA.
51
The Spaniards, at their conquest of Mexico, urnt in the public market-place, pyramids of painting, the designs of which are even lost to history; yet iany others were subsequently preserved, and now dorn the royal. libraries of Bologna, Madrid, and the Vatican. The National Library of England cont ine a. vellum folio copy of the splendid work by Lord ngsborough upon these paintings, forming, in the volumes, a collection of all the pictorial relics cient Mexico. The skill of the Mexican painters was exten another branch of writing, in which nautical s ience claimed a share-viz., Maps and Charts. This' portant fact will be enlarged upon in the analogies. hese few remarks are only inserted in order to sus a consecutive arrangement of evidence, for the eader must already have known of the existence of these paintings, though not of their novel application. The several discoveries of the ruined cities wil now be reviewed and established. In the ancient cap tal of the Mexican Empire, it has been stated, th the Spaniards acted the character of incendiaries In 1520, every available specimen of Mexican ax was consumed by Cortez and the priests. Pain tin s, the only manuscripts of the Mexican nation, wer destroyed, and became a bonfire for the soldiery- very palace and temple of the capital was levelled t the earth, and the foundation of the first cathedral f the invaders was laid with thousands of statues=-th idols of the Aborigines. Every vestige of the Mexic u re-
am
2
I
52
ORIGINAL HISTORY OF
[nooK I)
en, v ., § I.
cords was supposed to have been consumed, broken.or buried. After a lapse of 270 yeaJ's, two statues 'Ii ere dug up in the grand plaza of the modern city of 1\ cxico , but from the interest felt for these religious r lies by the poor descendants of the Abori6rlles, the S aniards secretly buried them, it was said) in the gard n-court of a Convent. At the same time (1790) w s exhumed a circular piece of sculpture, having refer nce to the astronomical calendar of the ancient mhabi ants. This is still preserved .in Mexico, and is quoted, a d a drawing given by the illustrious IIumboldt it his work upon that country: it will be referred to i 1 the analogies. A brief review of the discovery of the Ruins and their locality will now be required. From record by Huarros of Guatimala, and that on the uthority of Fuentes, the ruins of Copan were know, in 1700. Palenq ue was visi ted by Del Rio; and by D paix abou t 1805. In the beginning of the nineteenth ntury, the scientific Humboldt visited Mexico , he obts ined drawings of the ruins of Mitla, in the Province f Oaxaca, and others of a similar character, but es ccially the terraced-pyramid of Cholula, which he vi ited. The investigations were published by the sam scholastic traveller. At a later period, Uxmal (Y catan) was explored under a commission of the Spani h Government by Waldeck ; his work (folio) is ost beautifully illustrated, In compliment to th nobleman who published the great work on the Ancie It Mexican PRintings, he called one of the ruins, TII{~ yramid of
I
nOOK 1., CII.
V,)
§ I.]
ANCIENT
AM
'.53
, perhaps, allowable when the motive is considered. Copan was visited by Galindo in 1836; but he lacke the perseverance.necessary for a perfect exploration, This latter desideratum was fully evinced by Step ens and Catherwood who, in 1839-40, visited and ex lored all of the above .(excepting those seen by Baron umboldt), and several cities before unknown in general istory. As a geographical position, the localities of these ead cities are between the capital of Mexico and the sthmus of Darien, but chiefly in Guatimala; on the bo ders of Yucatan," and on that Peninsula; they thercfo e occupy the narrow part of the Continent between he two great oceans. A reference to the map of. Cc tral America, will aid the following remarks: The river l\-fontagua empties itself into the Bay 0 'Honduras, at or near, Omoa j a proaching the source of this river, it branches off to th South, which branch is called Copan River; above the rapids of this branchriver, is situated on the bank the now celebrated
K'l'ngsborough-an' anachronis
ruined City of Copan, over two miles in extant, parellel with the stream. Palenque i nearer Mexico, The ruins of Uxmal are in Yucatan. From the Architectural characteristics of the edifi s, we find DO difficulty
'in arranging the order of their bing-built, which, with all due respect for the opinion 0 others, we submit to be as follows: viz.-first, the cit of Copan, then Cliolnla, followed by Quirigua, Tecp n-Guatimala, Quiche, Gueguetinango, Ocosingo, Mitla, Palenque, and lastly, Uxmal: and about the same P riod of building, the cities of Chi-Chen, Zayi, Kab h, Espita, 'I'icol,
and

I
54
ORIGINAL HISTORY OF
[noox
I.,
en. v., § I.
-these last being in the P ninsula of Yucatan. Compared with these relics of ast centuries, we consider the City of Mexico to be of comparatively modern date, at the time of the S anisic conquest (A. D. 1520). The Ruins necessary to be de cribed for the illustration of our present subject,,,' be those of Copan, Palenque, and Uxmal; and for this purpose extracts will be quoted from the Iately-p blished work on Central America, by Mr. Stephens These extracts will be given as unquestionable aut ority, and the engravings in the work will be receive as accurate representation of the Ruins, and upon" hich many of our results have been founded. 0 the subject of their accuracy) the fascinating travell r writes as follows: " I will onl y remark, that £1' m the beginning our great object and effort was to rocure true copies of the originals, adding nothing or effect as pictures. Mr. Catherwood made the outl ne of the drawings with the camera lucida and ividcd his paper into sections, so as to preserve the u most accuracy of proportion. The engravings wer made with the same regard to truth, from drawings educed by Mr. C. himself-the originals being also i the hands of the engraver. Proofs of every plate were given to Mr. C., who made such corrections as ere necessary: and in my opinion they are as true copies as can be presented; and except the stones themselves the reader cannot have better materia for speculation and study." ThoW1h acknow ledges not to o
an
DOOK
J., ClI.
v., § 1.]
ANCIENT AMERICA.
55
know the principles of Architecture, or e rules of Art, and when in Egypt amused himself b mutilating a statue of Isis,· yet when he came in sigh of buried cities in his own country, before unknow to the history of the world, the Sculpture of which is "as fine as that of Egypt ,"-fee lings he must h ve had of which no man would rob him,-reputati n by being the explorer, of which an enemy would at attempt to deprive him,~and although we are not selfish enough to covet his reputation, yet we are candid enough-to admit that we have, from the h art, envied him his feelings I He has given indeed by his pen, and artist by his pencil, a reflection of the Ruins, but i is from a mirror of polished ebony, simply a fac-simile resemblance,-light and shade only,-a specim n of Daguerreotype I Noone can mistake the ra id manner in which the true copy is impressed upon the mind, and that by the most easy and agreeable eans=-viz., the fascination of his style; but the colo ing of life is not there,-the Soul of History is want ng! The Promethean spark by which the flame f historic truth should illuminate his work, and be viewed as a gleaming beacon from afar, to direct wanderers through the dark night of wonders, has fo d no spot to rest upon and to vivify! But this he as donc,he has brought the timbers of the histo ic bark to view :-research must build, and science place the rudder; the pilot, constant as the northc star ; enII<
Vide J. L. Stephens's Travels in Egypt, & •

56
ORIGINAL HIS
[nOOK r.,
Cit.
v., §
I.
thusiasm must drive her efore the wind, every sail set, fore and aft, aloft, abr ad and full, and it will be strange indeed if that spar will not be found upon Truth's phosphoric sea! If these Ruins can be id ntified with a nation of the ancient v{orld,-ancient world ?-the first word is superfluous now, for these discoveries have destroyed the opposite phrase,-ne world j-that expression will belong hereafter to E gland and parts of Europe, not America; for the f rmer date from the firstCresar,-the latter, if we e not, from an older and a greater conqueror! If, w say, these Ruins can be identified with a country f Asia, and of i'the olden time," we shall have no regret for having turned shipwright to aid the disc very of that nation ; and if our classic galley should ounder ere we reach « the point proposed," 1VC shal at least struggle in the buoyant waves of hope a d pleasure, our light heart floating above the waters f disappointment; and with joyous pride will we hail t ose who in passing by have found and steered a truer rack! First will be given a de cription of such parts of the great Ruins as may be n cessary in the author's own words, with such commen aries as may be required by the narration: then will ollow 1\lr. Stephens's reflections upon all the Ruins his arguments will be met, his errors detected, his co tradictions investigated, and thereupon we shall endea our (at least) to completely refute his deductions and onclusions,
OOK I.,
cu. v., § n.J
ANCIENT AMERICA.
57
SECTION II.
THE RUINS OF COl'AN.
" They are in the district of country now known as he state of Honduras, one of the most fertile valleys f Central America." Their precise locality was tated in the last section, with the exception that their .stance from the sea is about "three hundred miles." " The Copan river is not navigable, even for canoes, xcept for a short distance in the rainy season." This is a description of the River now (1843), and at as it may have appeared at the time of erecting e edifices. " Falls intercept its course before it empties into the Iontagua." As a principle of military defence the site was well hosen, for the barrier of the falls would prevent the • pproach of an enemy to the city by the river from e Atlantic. " The extent of the Ruins along the river, as ascerined by monuments still found, is more than two iles. There is one monument (or ruin) on the appos te side of the river, at the distance of a mile, on the t p of a mountain two thousand feet high. Whether t e city ever crossed the river, and extended to that onument it is impossible to say; I believe not," So do we,-and that belief instructs us in the seemi g fact of another means of military defence; for from t e locality and height of the mountain it is almost vident that the "·monument" was used asa watch© 2010 Forgotten Books
58
ORIGINAL HISTORY OF
[BOOK I., CR.
v., § If.
tower, and consequently from that elevated point a complete view was obtained of the approaches to the city. These facts illustrate (seemingly at least) that the Aborigines had a knowledge of military securityas well as that of architecture; and as we believe that Copan was the first city built in the Western Hemisphere, these considerations will be of importance in identifying. The reader will understand (" once for all") that no hint, even the most remote, is derived from Mr. Stephens's work (or any other) towards the formation of our Theory, or the establishing of this Epoch,-on the contrary, he distinctly asserts (vol. iL, p. 442), "I shall not attempt to inquire into the origin of this people, from what country they came, or when, or how; I shall confine myself to their works and their ruins." Our artistical or historical comments, good, bad, or indifferent, arc our own, and accompany the quotations for the purpose of supporting the Analogies in a subsequent chapter. The italicised and bracketed words the reader will give especial attention to ;-as we have so expressed them for facility in illustrating. "There arc no remains in Copan of palaces or private dwellings, and the principal part (of the ruins) is that which stands on the bank of the river, and may perhaps with propriety be called the Temple. The Temple is an oblong enclosure. The front or riverwall (' stone and nearly one hundred feet high, , vol. i., p. 95) extends on a right line, North and South, six hundred and tuien ty-fow' feet, and it is from si/tty to
an
www. for~ottenbooks. org
BOOK J., CH. V.,
u.]
ANCIENT AMERICA.
59
The difference III height arising from several parts having fallen. "It (the river-wall) is ade of cut stone, from three to six -feet in length, and a foot and a half in breadth. In many places the sto es have been thrown down by bushes growing out f the crevices. The other three sides consist of- ra ges of steps and py'ramidal structures, rising from tl. irty, to one hundred and forty feet on a slope. The wale line of survey (of this Temple) is two thousand eig t hundred and sixty.six fiet, which though gigant c and extraordinary for a ruined structure of the A origines, that the reader's 'imagination may not misl d him, I consider it necessary to say, is not so la-rge as the grea.t (Egyptian) Pyramid of Ghizeh." 'Ve certai y do not desire to be misled, or our readers eithe ,-therefore, at once, will be compared the measure ents of the pyro-temple of Copan, and the Pyramid of Egypt. Lee Bruyn gives the base side of the great edifice of the Nile at 750 feet. Greaves state it to be 693 feet; the difference between these omputations is fifty-seven feet, which divided for a average, and added to the lesser sum, will shew on side to be 721 feet (and a fraction), which multip ied by four, the sum total of the entire square base ill be 2884 feet,-tbat of Copaa-s-viz., 2866 feet, w II leave only a difference between the great Pyr· dal Edifices in Egypt and Copan of eighteen feet but from diversity in measurement they may be iewed as the fac-similes of each other
I
ninety feet
60
ORIGINAL HISTORY OF [nOOK I.,
CR.
v., § II.
in regard to the base. This cannot be cidental. Taking Greaves's numbers, each side 693 4= 2772 feet. Stephens's sum total of Copan is 28 6, leaving an increase in size over that of the E( yptian of ninety-four feet ! Mr. Stephens may, perl aps) have forgotten the measurements in Egypt, altho gh he has travelled there; but we shall have occasion 0 refer to the ingenious manner in which he endeavou s to stay the "imagination" of his readers upon the subject of all the Ruins. The comparative measurements have be -n brought forward, that the reader mny not be misled 11 reading this work. Another singular coincidence (we may r mark) occurs in the measurement of the terraced-p 'amid at Mexican Cholula ; the base of that is 5760 et!-l1ow the base of the Egyptian, as shewn above, is 2884 feet only j this sum multiplied by tV{Q, produces sum total of 5768; a difference only of eight feet, waul make the Pyramid of Cholula e.vactly twice as large as that of' Egypt. An error may have occurred in r ference to the eight feet-s-for in so large a measureme t, and by different authors, it is but natural that an e ror might arise, and consequently these bases, as to si e, cannot be viewed as accidental. "Near the South-west corner of the rive -wall, and the South-wall, is a recess, which was pro ably once occupied by a colossal monu-ment fronting t c watcrno part of which is now visible. Deyond TC the remains of two small pyramidal siructur s, to the
aoox
I'J CH. V.,
§ I[.J
ANCIENT AMERI
61·
largest of which is attached a wall unning along the west bank of the river. This app ars to have been one of. the principal walls of the cit 7 and between the two pyramids there seems to have een a gateway 01' principal entrance from the water. The South wall runs at right angles to the river, beginning with a range of 'steps about thirty feet hi h, and each step about eighteen inches square. At t e South-east corner is a massive pyramidal siructur one hundred and twenty feet high on the slope. On he right are other remains of terraces and pyramidal buildings, and here, Also, was probably a gateway, b a passage about twenty feet wide, into a quadrang lar area two hun, dred and fifty feet square, two sides of which are mas:' sioe puramid« one hundred and t venty feet on the slope. At the foot of these structu eSl and at different parts of the quadrangular area, are numerous remains of sculpture, especially a colossal monument, 'richly sculptured, fallen and ruined. Beb nd it fragments of sculpture, thrown down from their laces by trees, are strewed and lying loose on the si B of the p.yramid, from the base to the top. 'Idols' ive a peculiar character to the ruins of Copan. 0 e stands with its face to the East [i. e: to the Rising un] about six feet from the base of'the pyramidal, all. It is thirteen feet high, JOU?' feet in front and b ck, and three feet on the sides [i. e. four-sided COlUIDl ] sculptured on all .fo'llr of its sides.from the base to he top, and one of the richest and most elaborate speci ens in the whole extent of ruins. Origina.lly, itwas ainted, the marks
'"
62
ORIGINAL HISTORY OF
[BOOK I., CU. V.,
II.
of ed colour being distinctly visible. Before it at the dist nee of about eight feet, is a large block of sculptur d stone) which the Indians call an altar. The sub ect of the front [£. e. of thc Idol-obelisk) is a fulllen .h figure, the face wanting beard, and of a feminin cast) though the dress seems that of a man. On the two sides are rows of llieroglyphics [i. e. the saere or religious language] which probably recite the hist 1'y of this mysterious personage. Following the' wa , is another monument or idol of the same size, and in many respects similar. The character of this im e as it stands at the foot of the pyramidal structur , with masses of fallen stone [ruins] resting against its ase, is grand, and it would be difficult to exceed the richness of the ornament and sharpness of the scu ture. This, too, was painted, and the red is still dis nctly visible. The whole quadrangle is overgrown wit trees, and interspersed with fragments of fine scu lure, particularly on the East side [i. e. to the Ris'ng Sun.] At the North-east corner is a narrow pas age, which was probably a third gateway. On the right is a confused range of terraces running off int the forest. Turning Northward, the range to the left and continues a high massive py'ra'midal structur , with trees growing out of it to the very top. At a s art distance is a detached p.yramt'd about .fifty fiet SQU HE, and thirty feet higb. The range of structures tu s at right angles to the left, and runs to the river, join ng the other extremity of the wall, at which we beg n our survey. The bank was elevated about thirty
BOOK I.) ClI,
V., § II.)
ANCIENT AMERICA.
63'
feet above the river, and had been protect d by a wall of stone, most of which had fallen down." The city-wall on the river-side, with its raised bank, and making allowances for what had fal en from the top of the great wall, must then have ran d from one hundred and tla"rty, to one hundred and lfly feet -in
height!
" There was no entire pyramid, but at three pyramidal sides, and then joined on to terracesor other structures of the same kind." The first line of this last quotation is di tinctly contradicted a few lines before it-for he says, " At a short distance is a detached pyramid about fifty eet square." Therefore this is an " entire pyramid." Th t of Cholula stands " solitary and alone" in a large plai ,and there, at least, is an "entire pyramid," so far as its base and sides are considered. " Beyond the wall of enclosure were w lls, terraces, and pyramidal elevations running off in 0 the forest, which sometimes confused us. Probabl the whole was not erected at the same time, but ad .tions were made, and statues erected by different kings or perhaps in commemoration of important events i the history of the city. Along the whole line we e ranges of steps with pyramidal elevations, probably crowned on the top with buildings 01' altars, now in ruins. All these steps and thepyramidal sides were p inted [red], and the reader may imagine the effect whe the whole country was clear of forest, and priests and people
64
ORIGINAL HISTOny
OF
[nooi;
I., CR., V.
§ rr,
were ascending from the outside of the terraces, thence to the holy places within to pay their adora ion in the Temple. " Within this enclosure are two rectangular co rtyards, having ranges of steps ascending to terra es, The area of each is about forty feet from the ri reT. On one side at the foot of the pyramidal wall is another monument or idol. [i. e. sculptured obeli k]. It is about the same height as the others (in all f urteen), but differs in shape, being larger at top t an below. Its appearance and character are tasteful nd
. pI easing. 'Ve desire to call the particular attention of the reader to the following piece of sculpture, as it vill
l)
hold a conspicuous position as we advance in his volume. "Near this [idol last mentioned] is a remark ble altar, which perhaps presents as curious a subject for speculation as any monument at Copan. 'I'hc al ars, like the idols, are all of a single block of stone, In general, they are not so richly ornamented, and are more faded and worn, or covered with moss. All differed in fashion, and doubtless had some distinct and peculiar reference to the idols before which ley stood." Each of the idols, therefore, had an altar bcfor it, and each of the altars had its relative idol, except the one about to be described. "This altar stands on four globes (7) cut out of the
BOOK
t.,
CU. V;,
§ n.]
ANCIENT AMERICA.
65
same stone: the sculpture is in b s-relief; and it is the only specimen of that kind of sc lpture found at Copan, all the rest being in bold all -relieco" By a reference to the map fo its locality, we find that it is' situated nearly in the v ry centre of the vast Temple. This, together with its being alone, unassociated with an Idol-the scul ture being entirely different, and" the only specimc 'found there, all the others being in alto, but this in asso-( a proof of its greater antiquity) - the very s one seems to find a voice to proclaim that it was th Chief Altar of Copan. It may be" a curious subjc t," but certainly does not require much" speculation" to form a conclusion. The description of the detail of he sculpture seems to furnish another reason for belie ing it to be the prin .. cipal Altar. U It is six feet square, and f ur feet high; and the top is divided into thirty-six t blets [or squares] of hie1'oglyphics, which beyond do ht record s01~e EVENT in the history of the mysterious people who once inhabited the city." This we distinctly believe; a d that the sculpture about to be described, TRANSLAT S THE nillROGLYPHICS, and those being translated, the " event in the history" is then arrived at. Whether x have accomplished this or not, the reader will judg as he proceeds,-for we have looked upon this Chief ltar as the" Rosettastone" of the ruins-the Key-sto e in the arch of mystery. Each side of _ the altar repre ents four individuals.
t(
66
ORIGINAL
ISTORY OF
[BOOl!:.
I., en,
V.,
§ II.
On the W €Bt-side are chiefs, or warriors, wit other, and apparently c tion. The other fourt two equal parties, and s ders. Each of the two
he two principal personages, their L'lCeS opposite to each gaged in a.rgument or negotiaen (figures) arc divided into em to be following their learincipal figures is seated cross-
legged, in the Orienta fashion, on an hieroglyphic,

which probably design a ed his name and office, or charaeter; and on two which the Serpent forms part." The description read ({three," the engraving shews only two Serpents; the later win be received as correct, from the accurac ascribed to the drawings by Mr. Stephens, and alrea y quoted. "Between the two pri cipal personages, is a remarkable cartouche, containi g two hieroglyphics, well preserved, which reminded us strongly of the Egyptian method of giving the na es of the kings and heroes in whose honour monume ts uiere erected. The headdresses are remarkable f r their curious and compli .. cated form. The figur s have all breastplates, and one of the two principal characters holds in his hand an instrument, which erhaps may be considered a sceptre,-each of the ot ers holds an object, which can be only (?) a subject for speculation and conjecture," We believe them to e (judging from the engravings) spiral shells; the a plication will be found in the important chapter devot d to the Analogies. "It [the tt object)'] m y be a weapon of war, and if so, it is the only thing of he kind found at Copan. In
BOOK
r., CH.
V.,
§ n.J
ANCIENT AMER CA.
6i
other countries, battle scenes, wa riots, and weapons of war are among the most pr minent subjects of sculpture; and from the entire abs nee of them here, there is reason to believe, that t e people were not warlike, but peaceable and easil!! s bdued" Are not the Sculptures, the Id Is, and Altars, the ornaments of a Temple 'I-and as a consequence, should be devoid of the weapon of war. A false conclusion is arrived at by Mr, S ephens, when, from the absence of battle-axes, shiel s, and helms, in a Religious Temple, it must follow s a necessity, that those worshipping there, must be devoid of courage. Our own Altars might be so regar ed if his reasoning was admitted, yet few persons wou d have the temerity to say, because the Christian Altar are devoid of warlike weapons, that the Anglo-Sax n race are "easily subdued." The hands that built those Te pIes on the Western Continent, could also defend the . The military po· sition and strength of Copan, pro e the builders to be of a race far from cowards, and n t easily to be conquered. In these remarks we wo d not confound the previous distinction drawn bet, een the courage of these Aborigines and those of the North. The Mexicans were courageous in quick ssault, but had not the indomitable endurance and pe evering fortitude of the Northerns. Enough has been quoted con erning the ruins of Copan; yet it should be state , that among those
I
63
ORIGINAL
HIS'rORY
OF
[soox
I., CR.
V., §
IL
ruins was found a sculptured Tort £se,-this will be' referred to in the Analogies. As a summary of the ruins of opan, they arc of sculptured stone, with the absence _f stucco j but Py4 ramidal structures and bases; no cir ular columns, but square or four-sided obelisks, or dols ; Sculptured Altars; flights of steps forming pyramidal slopes, but only on three sides, excepting -in on instance, and all these bearing distinct testimony of h ving been painted or dyed with « a red colour ;" a crpcndicular wall nearly one hundred feet in height; and tbe sculpture is not only rich in detail, but fin Iy executed. At Copan there is no vestige of wood n beams or lintels in or about the ruins, and no appca ance of a roof of any description. The arcli is no 1\;} ere found, 01' any thing indicating that its principle vas known to the Copanians, The absence of all metal is anoth r singular feature. The quarry from whence the stone v as taken, is about two miles distant from the Templ ; and the supposition of 1\11'. Stephens seems probab e=-viz., that from the discovery of flint·stone, and of t 10 hardest description, the softer stone composing the Altars and Idols, was cut with this flint in lieu of ill tal. Every thing seems to denote the great antiquity 0 these ruins over those of any of the other Cities: fo it will be shewn that they had a knowledge of the usc of metal, and 'that they had found it. At Ocosing there is a wooden beam, and at Palenque; and at UXl al, all. the lintels
I
BOOK I.,
en, v.,
111.]
,ANCIE~T AMERIC
of the doors are of wood, and so hal' is its character, that a sharp knife will turn its edge up n it, as if drawn vertically upon a bar of rough steel r iron. Therefore from the facts contained in this su lmary, together with the" eventin the history" of the hief Altar, and yet to be given,-we have placed Cop n as the most ancient, and, as far as discovered: the 'et architectural City built 011 the Western Continent. There is one description at Copa which will be reserved for the purpose of refuting (i the subsequent pages) one of Mr. Stephens's conclusi ns, as expressed 'in his Reflections upon the collective Ruins of these 'Cities, "whos'c antiquity," in the lang age of the Prophet, « is of ancient days."
SECTION III.
THE RUINS OF PALENQ,UE.
Palenque is situated ill the Provin Mexican America. At the distance miles from the modern village of Pa celebrated Ruins are located. They Ruins of Palenque from the name of lage, and not from any history of thei field of Waterloo-s-it has given reno village adjacent. The name, theref que," can be of no assistance in unfol of these Ruins,-for the original name solate Temples and Palaces, has been and buried with its fate. Mr. Ste
e of Tzendales, of about eight que, the now are called the he nearest vilown :-like the n to an humble re, of "Palening the historyof the now der centuries lost hens writeswww.forgottenbooks.org
I
70
ORIGINAL HISTORY OF
[nooK I., CII. v., § IIl.
aIf-past seven we left the village. For a short distance the road was open, but very soon we entered a forest, which continued unbroken to the Ruins, and probabl many miles beyond. All the wreck of Empires,-lOthing ever spoke so forcibly the world's mutatio s, as this immense forest shrouding what was once a reat city. Once it had been a great highway, throngi g with people who were stimulated by the same p ssions that give impulse to human action now; a d they are all gone, their habitation buried, and no .races of them left. Fording this (river Otula) very so n we saw masses of stones, and then a round sculptu. ed stone. We spurred up a sharp ascent of jragm tis, so steepthat the mules could barely climb it, to a. errace, so covered, like the whole road, with trees, t at it was impossible to make out the form. Continning on this terrace, we stopped at the foot of the second, and through openings in the trees we saw the front 0 a large building, richly ornamented with stuccoed fi 'es on the pilasters, curious and elegant i wing close against them, and their branches the doors; in style and effect unique, extraordinary nd mournfully beautiful We tied our mules to the t ccs, and ascended aflight of stone steps] forced apart, d thrown down by trees, and entered the Palace, ranged for a few moments along the corridor, and in the courtyard; and after the first gaze of eager c riosity was over, went back to the .cntrance, and sta ding in the doorway, fired a.feu de joie of four rounds each, being the last charge of our fire-armsHAt
BOOK I.,
en,
V.,
III.]
ANCIENT AME
71
But for this way of giving vent to should have made the roof of the a hurrah! "'tVehad reached the e toilsome journey, and the first gla for our toil. For the time, we erected by the Aboriginal inhabita the Europeans knew of the exist nent; and we prepared to take up roof-the sole tenants of the P
d Palace ring with d of our long and ce indemnified us ere in a building ts; standing before, nee of this ContilIT abode under its lace of unknown
ICings." The reader will excuse the prece ing introductionits graphic style will find its own a ology; and though not descripti-ve of the Ruins, yet th - approach to them
seems to form a part of this histori al Romance of the 1Vilderness. "As at Copan, it was my busi ess to prepare the different objects for Mr. Catherwoo to draw. Many of the stones had to be scrubbed an cleansed j and as it was our object to have the·utmost possible accuracy in the draw'ings) in many places sc ffolds were to be erected, on which to set up the can era-lucida. That the reader may know the characte of the objects we had to interest us, I proceed to gi e a description of the building in which we lived, call d the Palace. It stands on an artificial elevation of ar oblong form forty feet high, three hundred and ten in} ont and rear, and two hundred and sixty feet on each ide" Here, then.is distinctly stated-a -p amidal elevation having four sides, and detached fro any other structure. Its measurement around the- aso is 1140 feet r
I
72
ORIGINAL HISTORY OF
[nooK I., CH. v.,
§ HI:
"Tllis
elevation was formerly faced
with stone,
which has been thrown down by the growth of trees, and its fo is hardly distinguishable. The building [we say empIe-not Palace,] stands (on this pyramidal t:1e ation) with its face to the East, and measures iuio hundred feet front, by one hundred and eighty fee deep. Its height is not more than twentyfive feet, and all around it had a broad prqjecting cornice a stone. The front contained fourteen doorways, abo it nine feet wide each) and the intervening piers [i. e square columns] are between six and seven feet wide On the left (in approaching the palace) eight pier have [allen down, and as also the corner on the right, and the terrace underneath is cumbered with ruins. B It six piers remain entire, and the rest of the front is 0 en. The building was constructed of stone, with am rtar of lime and sand, and the whole front
'Wascove rl uriih.stucco and painted.')

1Ve be 'eve this last manner (stuccoing) to have been ages afle the original structure was erected, and for
tlie purp se of promulgating a new Religion, This important pint will be investigated in a subsequent volume. I is only remarked here, that the reader may not be p plexed at stone being covered with stuccos uilding, ancient or modern, it was only usual to cover ricks with plaister or stucco. "The iers were ornamented with spirited figures [in stucc ] in bas-relief On the top of oue are three hierogl hies sunk in the stucco, It is enclosed by a richly or amented border) about ten feet high and six

The History of Ancient America Anterior To The Time of Columbus

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The History of Ancient America Anterior To The Time of Columbus

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Copyright © 2010 Forgotten Books AG

© 2010 Forgotten Books

serve , this inal,

Truth may seem, ntit

© 2010 Forgotten Books

© 2010 Forgotten Books

© 2010 Forgotten Books

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IF' {):F CA X!I'E 1RE :TI IRY.

© 2010 Forgotten Books

© 2010 Forgotten Books

THE TYRI NS AND ISRAELITES;

© 2010 Forgotten Books

© 2010 Forgotten Books

THE ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY.

are not the least

respect to the request preferred, His Royal Highness to the subJectDedication,

matter of the present historic

vVork, that it would

fugh rank in the Sacred Prqfession,

and eminentfor his Learning and Piety, under whose

© 2010 Forgotten Books

under his own, the rica.

such an august sta iOll,-evidently

visitor and guest )-( nd

by ISAIAH,-the Introduction Western Hemisphere

ro than three centuries previous Truths

rigincs, and thus un olding additional from every part

of .ho Globe, where Civilization

known, or the Divin that in Dedicating an imperative

and appreciated ;-t ese considerations

Grace the Original Hisshall cherish the hope that

tory of Ancient Am rica, I but follow the dictates of

on this novel subject, will receive

pres nt,-and to create examples of faith and charity,

ith the fervent prayer that The Almighty Father

In Religious Filiality Most faithfully,

© 2010 Forgotten Books

FORMER AGE, AND FATIIE AXD S,TTER

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VOLUME THE FIRST,

© 2010 Forgotten Books

INSCRIPTI NO}" THE FIRST VOLu~rE.

jf'reXJertc _illiam tbe gourtb, ang ~f ~rug~ia.

With feelings templation of a inscribe to Your to delineate the H cognise Your

f enthusiasm, founded on the coneaceful and a patriotic King, do I

ajesty, the first. Volume of an effort

story-of :Ancient' .America.

If, in the follo ~

and coloured ;-_fa rung flattery have not added. e en a. thought

Patriotism has so obly consolidated. ,

Solomon's Temple at Jerusalem,

of ."T US, was not more generous, and

as Protestant King of Prussia,-in

laying the corner-

for the Sacred

Ci y of Jerusalem previously recorded your Majesty's