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Josiah Priest (1788-1851) American Antiquities... (1st ed.: Albany, 1833, 2nd ed 1834) |
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Wonders of Nature (1826) | View of the Expected Millennium (1828)
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AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES AND D I S C O V E R I E S I N T H E W E S T: BEING AN EXHIBITION OF THE EVIDENCE THAT AN ANCIENT POPULATION OF PARTIALLY CIVILIZED NATIONS DIFFERING ENTIRELY FROM THOSE OF THE PRESENT INDIANS PEOPLED AMERICA MANY CENTURIES BEFORE ITS DISCOVERY BY COLUMBUS, AND INQUIRIES INTO THEIR ORIGIN, WITH A C O P I O U S D E S C R I P T I O N OF MANY OF THEIR STUPENDOUS WORKS, NOW IN RUINS, WITH OBJECTIONS CONCERNING WHAT MAY HAVE BECOME OF THEM. Compiled from Travels, Authentic Sources, and the Researches of Antiquarian Societies. BY JOSIAH PRIEST. [ Fourth Edition ] ALBANY PRINTED BY HOFFMAN & WHITE. 1 8 3 4. |
P R E F A C E. ALTHOUGH the subject of American antiquities is everywhere surrounded with its mysteries; yet we indulge the hope, that the volume we now present the public, will not be unacceptable, as on the account of its mysteriousness and obscurity, we have been compelled to wander widely in the field of conjecture, from which it is not impossible but we may have produced some original and novel opinions We have felt that we are bound by the nature of the subject, to treat wholly on those matters which relate to ages preceeding the discovery of America by Columbus; as we apprehend no subject connected with the history of the continent since that time, can be entitled to the appelation of Antiquities of America. If we may be permitted to judge from the liberal subscription this work has met with, notwithstanding the universal prejudice which exists against subscribing for books, we should draw the conclusion, that this curious subject has not its only admirers within the pales of antiquarian societies. If it is pleasing as well as useful to know the history of one's country -- if to feel a rising interest as its beginnings are unfolded -- its sufferings -- its wars -- its struggles -- and its victories, delineated; why not also, when the story of its antiquities,. though of a graver and more majestic nature, are attempted to be rehearsed. The traits of the ancient nations of the old world are every where shown by the fragments of dilapidated cities, pyramids of stone, and walls of wonderous length; but here are the wrecks of empire, whose beginnings, it would seem, are older than any of these, which are the mounds and works of the west, towering aloft as if their builders were preparing against another flood. We have undertaken to elicit arguments, from what we suppose evidence, that the first inhabitants who peopled America, came on by land, at certain places, where it is supposed once to have been united with Asia, Europe, and Africa, but has been torn asunder by the force of earthquakes, and the irruptions of the waters, so that what animals had not passed over before this great physical rupture, were forever excluded; but not so with men, as they could resort to the use of boats. We have gathered such evidence as induces a belief that America was, anciently, inhabited with partially civilized and agricultural nations, surpassing in numbers its present population. This, we imagine, we prove, in the discovery of thousands of the traits of the ancient operations of men over the entire cultivated parts of the continent, in the forms, and under the character of mounds and fortifications, abounding particularly in the western regions. We have also ventured conjectures respecting what nations, in some few instances, may have settled here; also what may have become of them. We have entered on an examination of some of those works, and some of the articles found on opening some few of their tumuli; which have compared with similar articles found in similar works in various parts of the other continents, from which very curious results are ascertained.. As it respects some of the ancient nations who may have found their way hither, we perceive a strong possibility that not only Asiatic nations, very soon after the flood, but that all along the different eras of time, different races of men, as Polynesians, Malays, Australasians, Phoenicians, Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, Israelites, Tartars, Scandinavians, Danes, Norwegians, Welsh, and Scotch, have colonized different parts of the continent. We have also attempted to show that America was peopled before the floodl that it was the country of Noah, and the place where the ark was erected. The highly interesting subjects of American antiquities, we are inclined to belkieve, is but just commencing to be developed. The immensity of country yet beyond the settlements of men, towards the Pacific, is yet to be explored by cultivation, when other evidences, and wider spread, will come in view, affording, perhaps, more definite conclusion. As aids in maturing this volume, we have consulted the works of philosophers, historians, travellers, geographers, gazetteers, the researches of antiquarian societies, with miscellaneous notices on this subject, as found in the periodicals of the day. The subject has proved as difficult as mysterious; any disorder and inaccuracies, therefore, in point of inferences which we have made we beg may not become the subjects of the severities of criticism.. If, however, we should succeed in awakening a desire to a farther investigation of this curious subject, and should have the singular happiness of securing any degree of public respect, and of giving the subscriber an equivalant for his patronage, the utmost of the desires of the author will be realized. JOSIAH PRIEST. C O N T E N T S. 009 Location of Mount Ararat, 014 Origin of human complexions, with other curious matter, 022 Respecting the division of the earth by Noah among his sons, 024 Identity and real name of Melchisedec of the scriptures, 032 Division of the earth in the days of Peleg, and of the spreading out of the nations, with other interesting items, 038 Of the antiquities of the west, 042 Supposed ruins of a Roman fort at Marrietta, 055 Course of the lost ten tribes of Israel, when they left Assyria for Arsareth, 079 Accounts of the convulsions of the globe, 083 Evidences of an ancient population in America different from that of the Indians, 087 Discoveries on the Muskingum, a river in the Ohio, 106 Discoveries of the remains of ancient pottery, 110 A catacomb of embalmed mummies, found in Kentucky, 116 A fac-simile of the ancient letters of the Phoenicians, 118 Ancient letters of America and Africa, with a fac-similie of the same, 125 A further account of western antiquities, with antediluvian traits, 139 A cavern of the west, containing hieroglyphics cut in a rock by the ancient nations, 151 Tracks of men and animals found in the rocks of Tennessee and St. Louis, 154 Cotubamana the giant chief of one of the islands of the coast of America, 155 Still further accounts of discoveries in the west, 161 Vast works of the ancient nations on the east side of the Muskingum, Ohio, 163 Ruins of ancient works at Circleville, Ohio, 166 Ancient works on paint creek, 169 A recent discovery of one of those ancient works among the Alleghany mountains, 169 Ancient wells found in the bottom of paint creek, 171 A description of western tumuli or mounds, 183 Great works of the ancient nations on the north fork of Paint creek, Ohio, 187 Traits of ancient cities on the Mississippi, 189 Traditions of the native Mexicans respecting their migrations from the north, 193 Supposed use of the ancient roads as found connected with some of the western mounds, 199 Traits of the Mosaic history found among the Azteca Indians, 209 Ceremonies of the fire worshippers as witnessed on the Ozark river, 212 Origin of fire worship, 213 A further account of western antiquities, and of curious articles, 224 Discovery of America by Europeans before the time of Columbus, 239 Ruins of the city of Otolum, recently discovered in America, 247 Discovery of a large stone covered with exquisite engravings, with a fac-simile of the same, 251 A further account of Europeans in America before the time of Columbus, 256 Further accounts of western antiquities, 258 Great stone castle of Iceland, 260 Further accounts of instruments found in the tumuli of the west, 267 Great size of the Mexican mounds, 268 Predilection of the ancients to pyramid building, 273 A facsimile of antediluvian letters, 276 Voyages and shipping of the Mongol Tartars, and their settlements on the western coast of America, 282 A further account of western discoveries, 285 Various opinions respecting the original inhabitants of America, 292 Voyages of the ancients from Italy and from Africa to America and its adjacent islands, 296 Further remarks on the subject of human complexions, 298 Still further remarks on human complexions with other interesting subjects, 303 Cannibalism practised in America, and elsewhere, 309-11 Ancient languages of the early natives of America, with a fac-simile of the glyphs of Otolum the American city, 313 Atlantic nations of America, and of their languages, 316 Primitive origin of the English language, 323 Colonies of Danes in America, 336 Ancient chronology of the Iroquois Indians, 340 Traits of an ancient colony of Negroes from Africa, in South Americas, 342 On the disappearance of the ancient lakes of the west, and of the formation of sea-coal, 358 Further remarks on the draining of the western country of its ancient lakes, 364 Supposed causes of the disappearance of the ancient nations of the west, 367 Lake Ontario supposed to have been formed by the crater of a volocano, 372 Remarks on geology, 378 Supposed resemblance of the western Indians to the ancient Greeks, 386 Supposed traits of the ancient Romans in America, 390 Traits of white nations in Georgia and Kentucky, before Columbus's time, and the tradition of the Indians respecting them, 399 Description of Mount Ararat on which the ark rested, | ||||||||
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through these regions, calculates that no less than five thousand villages of this forgotten people existed; and that their largest city was situated between the Mississippi and Missouri, not far from the junction of those rivers, near St. Louis. In this region, the mighty waters of the Missouri and Illinois, with their unnumbered tributaries, mingle with the "father of rivers," the Mississippi; (Mississippi, the word in the Indian language means Father of Rivers;) a situation formed by nature, calculated to invite multitudes of men, from the goodness of the soil, and the facilities of water communications. The present race, who are now fast peopling the unbounded west, are apprised of the advantages of this region. Towns and cities are rising on the very ground where the ancient millions of mankind had their seats of empire. Ohio now contains more than six hundred thousand inhabitants; but at that early day, the same extent of country, most probabily was filled with a far greater population than inhabits it at the present time. Many of the mounds are completely occupied with human skeletons, and millions of them must have been interred in these vast cemetaries, that can be traced from the Rocky mountains, on the west, to the Alleghenies on the east, and into the province of the Texas and New Mexico to the south: revolutions like these known in the old world may have taken place here, and armies, equal to those of Cyrus, of Alexander the Great, or of Tamerlane the powerful, might have flourished their trumpets, and marched to battle, over these extensive plains, filled with the probable descendants of that same race of Asia, whom these proud conquerors vanquished there. Course of the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel. There is a strong resemblance between the northern and independent Tartar, and the tribes of the North American Indians, but not of the South American. Besides this reason, there are others for believing our aborigines of North America were descended from the ancient Scythians, and came to this country from the eastern part of Asia.This view by no means invalidates the opinion, that many tribes of the Indians of North America, are descended of the Israelites, because the Scythians, under this particular name, existed long before that branch of descendants of the family of Shem, called Israelites; who, after they had been carried away by Salmanasser, the Assyrian king, about 700 years B. C., went northward, as stated by Esdras... 3d. Sub-celestial, or in the air and on the earth. Moderakka, or the Lapland Lucina; Saderakka, or Venus, to whom Friday was holy; and Juks Akka, or the Nurse. These are of heathen origin, derived from the nations among whom they had been slaves and wanderers, the Syrians. 4th. Sub-terranean, as Saiwo, and Saiwo-Olmak, gods of the mountains; Saiwo-Guelle, or their Mercury, who conducted the shades, or wicked souls, to the lower regions. This idea would seem to be equivalent with the doctrine found in both the Jewish and Christian religions, namely, that Satan conducts or receives the souls of the wicked to his hell in the subterranean fire of the earth. They have another deity, belonging to the fourth order, and him they call Jabme-Akko, or he who occupied their Elysium; in which the soul was furnished with a new body, and nobler privileges and powers, and entitled, at some future day, to enjoy the light of Radien, the fountain of power, and to dwell with him forever in the mansions of bliss. This last sentiment is certainly equivalent to the Jewish idea of heaven and eternal happiness in Abraham's bosom. It also, under the idea of a new body, shows a relation to the Jewish and Christian doctrine of the resurrection of the body at the last day; and is indeed wonderful. 5th. An Infernal deity, called Rota, who occupied and reigned in Rota-Abimo, or the infernal regions; the occupants of which had no hopes of escape. He, together with his subordinates, Fudno, Mubber, and Paha-Engel, were all considered as evil disposed towards mankind. This is too plain not to be applied to the Bible doctrine of one supreme devil and his angels, who are, sure enough, evil disposed towards mankind. Added to all this, the Laplanders were found in the practice of sacrificing to all their deities, the rein-deer, the sheep, and sometimes the seal, pouring libations of milk, whey, and brandy, with offerings of cheese, &c. This last item of their religious manners, is too striking not to claim its derivation from the ancient Jewish worship. The Laplanders are a people but few in number, not much exceeding twelve hundred families; which we imagine is a circumstance favoring our idea, that after they had remained a while in Arsareth, or Lapland and Norway, which is much the same thing, that their main body may have passed over into America, either in boats, from island to island; or, if there then was, as is supposed, an isthmus of land, connecting the continents, they passed over on that, leaving, as is natural, in case of such a migration, some individuals or families behind, who might not wish to accompany them, from whom the present race of Laplanders may be derived. Their dress is much the same with that of our Indians; their complexion is swarthy, black hair, large heads, high cheek bones, with wide mouths; all of which is strikingly national. They call themselves Same their speech Same-giel, and their country Same-Edna. This last word sounds very much like the word Eden and may be, inasmuch as it is the name of their country, borrowed from the name of the region where Adam was created. When men emigrate from one region of the earth to another, which is very distant, and especially if the country to which they emigrate is a new one, or in a state of nature, it is perfectly natural to give it the same name or names which distinguished the country and its parts, from which they emigrated. Edessa, was the name of an ancient city of Mesopotamia, which was situated in the country or land of Assyria, between the rivers Euphrates and Tigris. In this region the Ten Tribes were held in bondage, who had been carried away by Salmanassar, the Assyrian monarch. We are, therefore, the more confirmed in this conjecture, from the similarity existing between the two names Edna and Edessu, both derived, it is likely, from the more ancient word Eden, which, from common consent, had its situation, before the deluge, not far from this same region where Turkey is now, between the Mediterranean, Black, and Caspian seas, and the Persian gulf, as before argued. If such may have been the fact, that a part of the Ten Tribes came over to America, in the way we have supposed, leaving the cold regions of Arsareth behind them, in quest of a milder climate, it would be natural to look for tokens of the presence of Jews of some sort, along countries adjacent to the Atlantic. In order to this, we shall here make an extract from an able work, written exclusively on the subject of the Ten Tribes' having come from Asia by the way of Bhering's strait, by the Rev. Ethan Smith, Pultney, Vt. who relates as follows: -- "Joseph Merrick, Esq., a highly respectable character in the church at Pittsfield, gave the following account: That in 1815, he was levelling some ground under and near an old wood-shed, standing on a place of his, situated on Indian hill. He ploughed and conveyed away old chips and earth to some depth. After the work was done, walking over the place he discovered, near where the earth had been dug the deepest, a black strap, as it appeared, about six inches in length, and one and a half in breadth, and about the thickness of a leather trace to a harness. He perceived it had at each end a loop of some hard substance, probably for the purpose of carrying it. He conveyed it to his house and threw it into an old tool box. He afterwards found it thrown out at the door, and again conveyed it to the box. "After some time, he thought he would examine it; but in attempting to cut it, found it as hard as bone; he succeeded, however, in getting it open, and found it was formed of two pieces of thick raw-hide, sewed and made water tight with the sinews of some animal, and gummed over; and in the fold was contained four folded pieces of parchment. They were of a dark yellow hue, and contained some kind of writing. The neighbors coming in to see the strange discovery, tore one of the pieces to atoms, in the true Hun and Vandal style. The other three pieces Mr. Merrick saved, and sent them to Cambridge, where they were examined, and discovered to have been written with a pen in Hebrew, plain and legible. The writing on the three remaining pieces of parchment, was quotations from the Old Testament. See Deut., chap. vi. from 4th to 9th verse, inclusive; also chap. xi. verse 13 to 21 inclusive; and Exodus, chap. xiii., 11 to 16, inclusive, to which the reader can refer, if he has the curiosity to read this most interesting discovery. These passages, as quoted above, were found in the strap of raw-hide, which unquestionably had been written on the very pieces of parchment, now in the possession of the Antiquarian Society, before Israel left the land of Syria, more than 2600 years ago; but it is not likely the raw-hide strap in which they were found enclosed, had been made a very great length of time. This would be unnatural, as a desire to look at the sacred characters, would be very great, although they could not read them. This, however, was done at last, as it appears, and buried with some chief, on the place where it was found, called Indian hill. Dr. West, of Stockbridge, relates, that an old Indian informed him, that his fathers in this country had, not long since, been in the possession of a book, which they had, for a long time, carried with them; but having lost the knowledge of reading it, they buried it with an Indian chief. -- (View of the Hebrews, p. 223.) It had been handed down, from family to family, or from chief to chief, as a most precious relic, if not as an amulet, charm, or talisman; for it is not to be supposed, that a distinct knowledge of what was contained in the strap could have long continued among them, in their wandering condition, amid woods and forests. "It is said by Calmet, that the above texts are the very passages of Scripture which the Jews used to write on the leaves of their phylacteries. These phylacteries were little rolls of parchment, whereon were written certain words of the law. These they wore upon their forehead, and upon the wrist of the left arm." -- (Smith's View of the Hebrews, p. 220.) This intimation of the presence of the Hebrews in America, is too unequivocal to be passed unnoticed, and the circumstance of its being found so near the Atlantic coast, and at so vast a distance from Bhering's straits, we are still inclined to suppose, that such of the Israelites as found their way to the shores of America, on the coast of the Atlantic, may have come from Lapland or Norway; seeing evident tokens exist of their having once been there, as we have noticed some few pages back. But there is a third supposition respecting the land of Arsareth; which is, that it is situated exactly east from the region of Syria. This is thought to be the country now known in Asia by the appellation of Little Bucharia. Its distance from Syria is something more than two thousand miles; which, by Esdras, might very well be said to be a journey of a year and a half, through an entire wilderness. Bucharia, the region of country of which we are about to speak, as being the ancient resort of a part of the lost Ten Tribes, is in distance from England, 3,475 miles; a little southeast from the latitude of London; and from the state of New-York, exactly double that distance, 6,950 miles, on an air line, as measured on an artificial globe, and in nearly the same latitude, due east from this country. It is not impossible, after all our speculation, and the speculations |
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But although the opinion that the American Indians are the descendants of the lost Ten Tribes, is now a popular one, and generally believed, yet there are some who totally discard this opinion. And among such, as chief, is Professor Rafinesque, whose opinions on the subject of the flood of Noah not being universal, and of the ark, we have introduced on the first pages of this work. This gentleman is decidedly, and we may say severely, opposed to this doctrine, and alleges that the Ten Tribes were never lost, but are still in the confines of the east about the region of ancient Syria, in Asia. He ridicules all those authors who have attempted to find in the customs of the Indians, traits of the Jews, and stamps them with being egregiously ignorant of the origin of things pertaining to this subjec. This is taking a high stand, indeed, and if he can maintain it, he has a right to the honor thereof. Upon this notion, he says, a new sect of religion has arisen, namely, the Mormonites, who pretend to have discovered a book with golden leaves, in which is the history of the American Jews, and their leader, Mormon. who came hither more than 2,000 years ago. This work is ridiculous enough, it is true; as the whole book of Mormon bears the stamp of folly, and is a poor attempt at an imitation of the Old Testament Scriptures, and is without connection, object, or aim; shewing every where language and phrases of too late a construction to accord with the Asiatic manner of composition, which highly characterizes the style of the Bible, and how can it be otherwise as it was written in Ontario county, New York. As reasons, this philosopher advances as follows, against the American nations being descended from the Ten Tribes of ancient Israel: "1. These Ten tribes are not lost, as long supposed; their descendants, more or less mixed with the natives, are yet found in Media, Iran, Taurin, Cabulistan, Hindostan, and China, where late travellers have traced them calling themselves by various names. 2. The American nations knew not the Sabbath, nor yet the Sabbattical weeks and years of the Jews. This knowledge could never have been lost by the Hebrews. The only weeks known in America, were of three days, five days, and half lunations, (or half a moon) as among the primitive nations, before the week of seven days was used in Asia, which was based upon the seven planets, long before the laws of Moses." Here is another manifest attempt of this philosopher to invalidate the Scriptures, in attempting to fix the origin of the ancient Jewish and present Christian Sabbath, on the observances of the ancient nations, respecting the motions of the seven primary planets of the heavens; when it is emphatically said, in the Hebrew Scriptures, that the week of seven days was based on the seven days' work of the Creator, in the creation of the world. And as the Creation is older than the astronomical observations of the most ancient nations of the earth, it is evident that the Scripture account of the origin of the seven-day week ought to have the precedence over all other opinions since sprung up. 3. He says, "The Indians hardly knew the use of iron, although common among the Hebrews, and likely never to be lost; nor did they, the Indians of America, know the use of the plough." " 4. The same apples to the use of writing; such an art is never lost when once known." "5. Circumcision was unknown, and even abhorred by the Americans, except two nations, who used it -- the Mayans, of Yucatan, in South America, who worshipped a hundred idols, and the Calchaquis, of Chaco, of the same country, who worshipped the sun and stars, believing that departed souls became stars. These beliefs are quite different from Judaism; and besides this, the rite of circumcision was common to Egypt, Ethiopia, Edom, and Chalchis." But to this we reply, supposing circumcision was practised by all those nations, and even more, this does not disprove the rite to be of-pure Hebrew or Jewish origin, as we have an account of it in the Scriptures written by Moses) as being in use quite two thousand years before Christ; long enough before Abraham or his posterity knew any thing of the Egyptians; it was therefore, most undoubtedly introduced among the Egyptians by the Jews themselves, or their ancestors, and from them the custom has gone out into many nations of the earth. Again, Mr. Rafinesque says, one tribe there was, namely, the Calchaquis, who worshipped the sun and the stars, supposing them to be the souls of the departed. This notion is not very far removed from, or at least may have had its origin with the Jews; for Daniel, one of their prophets, who lived about 500 years before Christ, expressly says, respecting the souls of the departed righteous: "They that be wise shall shine as the BRIGHTNESS of the firmament, and they that turn many to righteousness, as the STARS, for ever and ever." A sentiment of such transcendent beauty and consequence is not easily lost. This tribe, therefore, as above named, may they not hare been of Jewish origin? "6. None of the American tribes have the striking, sharp, Jewish features, and physical conformation." (But other authors of equal celebrity, have a contrary option.) "7. The American Indians eat hogs, hares, fish, and all the forbidden animals of Moses, but each tribe abstain from their tutelar animals," (which, as they imagine, presides over their destinies,) "or badges of families of some peculiar sort." But to this we reply, most certainly the Jews did use fish; as in all their history, even in the Bible, frequent reference is had to their use of fishes, and to their fish markets, where they were sold and bought. "8. The American customs of scalping, torturing prisoners, cannibalism, painting their bodies, and going naked, even in very cold climates, are totally unlike the Hebrew customs." Scalping, with several other customs of the sort, we have elsewhere in this work shown to be of Scythian origin; but does not, on that account, prove, nor in any way invalidate the other opinion, that some of the tribes are indeed of Jewish origin. "9. A multitude of languages exists in America, which may perhaps be reduced to twenty-five radical languages, and two thousand dialects. But they are often unlike the Hebrew, in roots, words, and grammar; they have, by far, says this author, more analogies with the Sanscrit," (the ancient Chinese,) Celtic, Bask, Pelasgian, Berber," (in Europe;) "Lybian, Egyptian" (in Africa;) "Persian, Turan, &c.," (also in Europe;) "or in fact, all the primitive languages of mankind." This we believe. "10. The Americans cannot have sprung from a single nation, because; independently of the languages, their features and complexions are as various as in Africa and Asia." "We find in America, white, tawny, brown, yellow, olive, copper, and even black nations, as in Africa Also, dwarfs and giants, handsome and ugly features, flat and aquiline noses, thick and thin lips," &c. (Among the Jews is also as great a variety.) The Rev. Mr. Smith, of Pultney, Vt., a few years since, published a work entitled "A View of the Hebrews," in which he labors to establish that the American Indians worshipped but one God; the great Yohewah, or Jehovah of the Scriptures. This is vehemently opposed by philosopher Rafinesque, as follows, in reply to him. "You say, all the Americans had the same God Yohewa; this is utterly false. This was the god of the Chactas and Florida Indians only; many other tribes had tripple gods, or trimurtis, as in Hindostan, having names nearly Sanscrit." (But neither does this disprove that some of these tribes are of Jewish origin.) "Polytheism," (a plurality of gods,) "idolatry, and a complex mythology, prevailed among all the most civilized nations" of this country. "All the ancient religions were found in America," which have prevailed in the old world, in the earliest ages, as "Theism, Sabaism, Magism, Hindooism, Shamanism, Fetichism, &c., but no Judaism." He says, the few examples of the affinity between the Indian languages and the Hebrew, given by Mr. Smith, in his work, belong only to the Floridan and Caribbean languages. Mr. Rafinesque says, he could show ten times as many in the Aruac, Guatian," (languages of South America,) " but what is that compared with the 100,000 affinities with the primitive languages." "All the civilized Americans had a priesthood, or priestly caste, and so had the Hindoos, Egyptians, Persians, Celts, and Ethiopians. Were they all Jews? "4. Tribes are found among all the ancient nations, Arabs, Berbers, Celts, Negroes, &c., who are not Jews. The most civilized nations had castes, instead of tribes, in America as well as Egypt and India; the Mexicans, the Mayans, Muhizcas, the Peruvians, &c., had no tribes. The animal badges of tribes, are found among Negroes and Tartars, as well as our Indians." "5. Arks of covenant and cities of refuge are not peculiar to the Jews; many Asiatic nations had them, also the Egyptians, and nine-tenths of our Indian tribes have none at all, or have only holy bags," (for an ark) somewhat like a talisman, a charm, or as the "Fetiches, of the Africans." But we reply, there is no evidence that other nations than the Jews had cities of refuge and imitations of the ark of the covenant, prior to the time of Moses, which was full sixteen hundred years before Christ, and from whom it is altogether probable, that all the nations among whom such traits are found, derived them at first from the laws of that Hebrew legislator. Those nations, therefore, among whom, at this distance of time, those traits are found most resembling the Jews, may be said, with some degree of propriety, to be their descendants; and among many tribes of the western Indians. these traits are found, if we may believe the most credible witnesses. "6. The religious cry of alelaya, is not Jewish, says this author, but primitive, and found among the Hindoos, Arabs, Greeks, Saxons, Celts, Lybians, &c., Under the modification of hulili, yalulu, tulujah, &c. Other Americans call it ululaez, gualulu, alayah, &c." All this being true, which we are willing to allow, does not disprove but that these forms of speech, which are directed in praise and adoration of a supreme or superior being, of some nature, no matter what, may all have originated from the Hebrew Jews, as this name of God, namely, Jehovah, was known among that nation, before the existence, as nations, by those names, of either the Hindoos, Arabs, Greeks, Saxons, Celts, or Lybians; for it was known in the family of Noah, and to all the patriarchs before the flood. The original word, translated God, was Jehova, and also ELOHIM, which are generally translated Lord and God. In the second chapter of Genesis, at the fourth verse, the word Jehovah first occurs, says Dr. Clarke, in the original as written by Moses; but was in use long before the days of Abraham, among the ancestors of that patriarch. From this word Jehovah, and Elohim, the words aleluia, &c., as above, it is admitted on all hands, were at first derived; and are in all nations, where known and used, directed to the praise and admiration of the Almighty, or other objects of adoration. This most exalted form of praise, it appears, was known to John the Revelator, for he says, in chapter xix., "I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying ALLELUIA; and again, they said, Alleluia." This form of praise, says Dr. Clarke, the heathen borrowed from the Jews, as is evident from the Paeans, or hymns, sung in honor of Apollo which began and ended with eleleuie, a mere composition of the Hebrew words allelaia and hallelujh. It is even found among the North American Indians, and adapted by them to the same purpose, viz., the worship of God, or the Great Spirit. From what we have been able to show on this subject as above, we cannot subscribe to the opinion, that those words are not of Hebrew and Jewish origins; consequently, being of Hebrew origin, it must follow, that where they are found in the most pure and unadulterated use, that the people so using them are most likely to be of Jewish descent; and this is found among the American Indians. Among some of their tribes they have a place denominated the beloved square. Here they sometimes dance a whole night; but always in a bowing or worshipping posture, singing continually, hallelujah Ye-ho-wah, Ye-ho-vah; which last word, says Clarke, is probably the true pronunciation of the ancient Hebrew word, Jehovah. ~ It is no marvel, then, that these Jewish customs are found "among nearly all the ancient nations of Asia, Africa, Europe and Polynesia, nay, even among the wild negroes to this day," since they were in use at the very outset of the spread of the nations from Ararat, and are, therefore, of Hebrew primitive origin, but not heathen primitive origin, as asserted by Rafinesque. We are not tenacious, however, whether the Ten Tribes were lost or not, nor do we disagree to the opinion that they are found in almost all parts of the old world, having mingled with the various nations of Asia; but if so, we inquire, why may they not, therefore, be found in America? Could they not as easily have found their way hither as the other nations of the east? Most assuredly. It is not the object of this volume to contend on this point; but when we find attempts to overturn the Scriptures, and, if possible, to make it appear, if not by so many words, yet in the manner we understand this writer's remarks, that the Bible itself is nothing else than a collection of heathenism, placed under the plausible idea of primitive words, primitive usages and primitive religion; we think this is placing the (currus bovem trahit) cart before the horse, and should not be allowed to pass without reproof
AND DISCOVERIES IN THE WEST. 79
It was contended by Clavigero, that the equatorial parts of Africa and America were once united. By which means, before the connexion was torn away by the irruption of the sea on both sides, the inhabitants from the African continent came, in the earliest ages, to South America. Whether this be true or not, the two countries approach each other in a remarkable manner, along the coast of Guinea, on the side of Africa, and the coast of Pernambuco, on the side of South America. These are the places which, in reality, seem to stretch towards each other, as though they had been once united. The innumerable islands scattered all over the Pacific ocean, populous with men, more than intimates a period, even since the flood, when all the different continents of the globe were united together, and the sea, so disposed of, that they did not break this harmony so well calculated to facilitate the migrations of men and animals. Several tribes of the present Southern Indians, as they now are called, have traditions that they came from the east, or through the Atlantic ocean. Rafinesque says, it is important to distinguish the American nations of eastern origin from those of northern. The latter, be says, were invaders from Tartary, and were as different in their manners as were the Romans and Vandals. The southern nations, among whom this tradition is found, are the Natchez, Apalachians, Talascas, Mayans, Myhizcas, and Haytians. But those of the Algonquin stock point to a northwest origin, which is the way from the northern regions of Asia. It is not likely, that immediately after the era of the deluge, there was as much ocean which appeared above ground, as at the present time; but instead of this, lakes were more numerous. Consequently, on the surface of the globe there was much more land than at the present time. But from various convulsions, more than we have spoken of, whose history is now lost, in past ages, many parts, nay, nearly all the earthy surface is sunken to the depths below, while the waters have risen above; nearly three-fourths of the globe's surface is known to be water. How appalling is the reflection! The currents of ocean running through the bowels of the earth, by the disposition of its creator, to promote motion in the waters, as motion is essential to all animal life, have, doubtless, by subterranean attrition, affected the foundations of whole islands, which have sunk beneath the waters at different periods. To such convulsions as these, it would seem, Job has alluded, in chapter ix., verse 5, as follows: "Which removeth the mountains, and they know not; which overturneth them in his anger." Adam Clarke's comment on this verse is as follows: "This seems to refer to earthquakes. By these strong convulsions, mountains, valleys, hills, even whole islands, are removed in an instant; and to this latter circumstance the words 'they know not,' most probably refer. The work is done in the twinkling of an eye; no warning is given; the mountain that seemed to be as firm as the earth on which it rested, was in the same moment both visible and invisible, so suddenly was it swallowed up." -- (See p. 59, 60.) It can scarcely be supposed but that Job was either personally, or by information, acquainted with occurrences of the kind, in order to justify the thing as being done by God in his anger. It is not impossible but the fact upon which the following story is founded, may have been known to Job, who was a man supposed in possession of every species of information calculated to interest the nobler faculties of the human mind, if we may judge from the book bearing his own name. The story is an account of a certain island, called by the ancients Atlantis; and for aught that can be urged against its having existed, we are inclined to believe it did, as that all learning, uninspired, and general information, was anciently in possession of heathen philosophers and priests, to whom it was the custom even for princes to resort for learning, before they were considered qualified to sit on the thrones of their fathers. Such were the Egyptian priests to the Egyptians, and the Druids to the Celtic nations; the Brahmins to the Hindoos; the Magi to the Persians; the Philosophers to the Greeks and Romans; and the prophets of the Indians, to the western tribes. "This island is mentioned by Plato, in his dialogue of Timaeus. Solon, the Athenian lawgiver, is supposed to have travelled into Egypt," about six hundred years before Christ. Plato's time was three hundred years nearer the time of Christ, who has mentioned the travels of Solon into Egypt. "He arrives at an ancient temple on the Delta, a fertile island formed by the Nile, where he held a conversation with certain learned priests, on the antiquities of remote ages. When one of them gave Solon a description of the island Atalantis, and also of its destruction. This island, said the Egyptian priest, was situated in the Western ocean, opposite the straits of Gibraltar;" which would place it exactly between a part of Europe, its southern end, and the northern part of Africa and the continent of America. "There was, said the priest, an easy passage from this to other islands, which lay adjacent to a large continent, exceeding in size all Europe and Asia." Neptune settled in this island, from whose son Atlas, its name was derived, and divided it between his ten sons, who reigned there in regular succession for many ages." From the time of Solon's travels in Egypt, which was six hundred years before Christ, we find more than seventeen hundred years up to the flood; so that time enough had elapsed since the flood to justify the fact of the island having existed, and also of having been inhabited and destroyed even six hundred years before the time of Solon; which would make the time of its destruction twelve hundred years before Christ; and would still leave more than five hundred years from that period back to the flood. So that if King Neptune had not made his settlement on the island Atalantis till two hundred years after the flood, there would have been time for the successive reigns of each of the regal lines of his sons, amounting to three hundred years, before the time of its envelopment in the sea; so that the priest was justified in using the term antiquities, when he referred to that catastrophe. "They made, i e. the Atalantians, irruptions into Europe and Africa; subduing all Lybia, as far as Egypt, Europe, and Asia Minor. They were resisted, however, by the Athenians, and driven back to their Atlantic territories." If they were resisted and driven back by the Athenians, the era of the existence of this island is easily ascertained; because the Athenians settled at Athens, in Greece, fifteen hundred and fifty-six years before Christ, being a colony from Egypt, under their conductor Cecrops. One hundred years after their establishment at Athens, they had become powerful, so as to be able to take a political stand among the nations of that region, and to defend their country against invasions. Accordingly, at the time the Atlantians were repulsed and compelled to return from whence they came, was in the year fourteen hundred and forty-three, before Christ. "Shortly after this," says Plato, "there was a tremendous earthquake and an overflowing of the sea, which continued for a day and a night; in the course of which the vast island of Atalantis, and all its splendid cities and warlike nations, were swallowed up, and sunk to the bottom, which spreading its waters over the chasm, added a vast region to the Atlantic ocean For a long time, however, the sea was not navigable, on account of rocks and shoals of mud and slime, and of the ruins of that drowned country." This occurrence, if the tradition be true, happened about twelve hundred years before Christ, three hundred years before the time of Job, and seven hundred and fifty years after the flood. At the period, therefore, of the existence of this island, a land passage to America, from Europe and Africa, was practicable; also by other islands, some of which are still situated in the same direction -- the Azores, Madeiras, and Teneriffe islands, about twenty in number. For this story of the island of Atalantis, we are indebted to Irving's Columbus, a popular work, of recent date; which cannot be denied but is exceedingly curious, and not without some foundation of probability. Was not this island the bridge, so called, reaching from America to Europe, as conjectured by Dr. Robertson, the historian, but was destroyed by the ocean, as he supposes, very far back in the ages of antiquity. An allusion to this same island, Atalantis, is made by Euclid, who flourished about three hundred years before Christ, in a conversation which he had with Anacharsis, a Scythian philosopher of the same age; who had, in search of knowledge, travelled from the wilds of his own northern regions, to Athens, where he became acquainted with Euclid. Their subject was the convulsions of the globe. The sea, according to every appearance, said Euclid, has separated Sicily from Italy, Eubcea from Boeotia and a number of other islands from the continent of Europe. We are informed, continued the philosopher, that the waters of Pontus Euxinus, (or the Black sea,) having been long enclosed in a basin (or lake,) shut in on all sides, and continually increasing by the rivers of Europe and Asia, rose at length above the highlands which surrounded it, forced open the passage of Bosphorus and Hellespont, and impetuously rushing into the Aegean or Mediterranean sea, extended its limits to the surrounding shores. If we consult, he says, mythology, we are told that Hercules, whose labors have been confounded with those of nature, separated Europe from Africa; by which is meant, no doubt, that the Atlantic ocean destroyed the isthmus, which once united those two parts of the earth, and opened to itself a communication with the Mediterranean sea. Beyond the isthmus, of which I have just spoken, said Euclid, existed, according to ancient traditions, an island as large as Africa, which, with all its wretched inhabitants, was swallowed up by an earthquake. Here, then, is another witness, of great weight, besides Solon, and Plato, who testifies to the past existence of the island ATALANTIS.
Evidences of an ancient Population in America, referred to an era when a people and nation existed in this country, more civilized, refined, and given to architectural and agricultural pursuits, than the Indians. It is well known, the present tribes do not take the trouble of materially altering the face of the ground to accommodate the erection of their places of dwelling; always selecting that which is already fashioned by nature to suit their views; using the earth, where they build their towns, as they find it. In a deep and almost hidden valley among the mountains of the Alleghany, on the road from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh, is one of those solitary memorials of an exterminated race. It is hid amidst the profoundest gloom of the woods; and is found to consist of a regular circle, a hundred paces in diameter. This is equal to six rods and four paces; and twenty-two rods in circumference. The whole plat is raised above the common level of the earth around, about four feet high; which may have been done to carry off the water, when the snows melted, or when violent rains would otherwise have inundated their dwellings from the surrounding hills. The neighborhood of Brownville, or Redstone, in Pennsylvania, abounds with monuments of antiquity. A fortified camp, of a very complete and curious kind, on the ramparts of which is timber of five feet in diameter, stands near the town of Brownville. This camp contains about thirteen acres, enclosed in a circle, the elevation of which is seven feet above the adjoining ground; this was a Herculean work. Within the circle a pentagon is accurately described; having its sides four feet high, and its angles uniformly three feet from the outside of the circle, thus leaving an unbroken communication all around. A pentagon is a figure, having five angles or sides. Each side of the pentagon has a postern or small gateway, opening into the passage between it and the circle; but the circle itself has only one grand gateway outward. Exactly in the centre stands a mound about thirty feet high, supposed to have been a place or lookout. At a small distance from this place, was found a stone, eight feet by five, on which was accurately engraved a representation of the whole work, with the mound in the centre; whereon was the likeness of a human head, which signified that the chief who presided there lay buried beneath it. The engraving on this stone, is evidence of the knowledge of stone cutting, as it was executed with a considerable degree of accuracy. On comparing the description of this circular monument with a description of works of a similar character, found in Denmark, Sweden and Iceland, the conclusion is drawn, that at some era of time the authors of this kind of monumental works, in either of those countries have been the same. "They are called Domh-rings, by the Danes; that is, literally, doom-ring, or, circle of judgment; being the solemn place where courts were held." The celebrated Stonehenge, in England, is built after the same fashion; that is, in a circle, and is of Belgic origin, the second class of English antiquities, the era of which precedes that of the Romans in England; which would throw the time of their first erection back to a period of some hundred years before Christ. "Stonehenge. -- This noble and curious monument of early times, appears to have been formed by three principal circles of stone, the outer connected together by an uniform pavement, as it were, at the top, to which the chiefs might ascend and speak to the surrounding crowd. A second circle consists of detached upright stones, about five feet in height, while the highest are eighteen. Within this is a grand oval, consisting of five huge stones, crossed by another at the top, and enclosing smaller stones, which seem to have been seats, and a large flat stone, commonly called the altar, but which seems to have been the throne or seat of judgment. The whole of the above described monument, with all its apparatus, seems to be enclosed in the midst of a very extensive circle, or embankment of earth, sufficiently large to hold an immense number -- a whole tribe or nation." -- (Morse.) After the introduction of Christianity into the west of Europe, which was sixty years after Christ, these circles of judgment, which had been polluted with human sacrifices, and other pagan rites, were abandoned, and other customs, with other places of resort, were instituted. This sort of antiquities, says Morse, the geographer, which are found all over Europe, are of this character, that is, of the tumular kind, such as are found in the west of our own country, belong entirely to the first era of the settlements of Europe. The Druidic temples in Europe were numerous, and some of them immense, especially one in the isle of Lewis. In these the gods Odin, Thor, Freyga, and other Gothic deities, were adored; all such structures were enclosed in circles, some greater and some less, according to their importance, or the numbers of those who supported them. These are of the first order of antiquities found in Europe; or, in other words, the eldest, and go back very far toward the flood, for their commencement. The same kind of antiquities are found in Ireland, and are allowed to be of Druidic origin, always enclosed in circles, whether a simple stone, or a more spacious temple, be the place where they worshipped. The Scandinavians, who preceded the Norwegians some hundred years, enclosed their rude chapels with circular intrenchments, and were called the Dane's Raths, or circular intrenchments. "In the first ages of the world, the worship of God was exceedingly simple; there were no temples nor covered edifices of any kind. An altar, sometimes a single stone, sometimes it consisted of several, and at other times merely of turf, was all that was necessary. On this the fire was lighted, and the sacrifice offered." --(Adam Clarke.) Such were the Druids of Europe, whose name is derived from the kind of forest in which they preferred to worship. This was the oak, which in the Greek is expressed by the word druid, whose worship and principles extended even to Italy, among the Celtic nations, and is celebrated by Virgil, in the sixth book of the Aeneiad, where he speaks of the mistletoe, and calls it the golden branch, without which no one could return from the infernal regions. The mistletoe, an account of which may please the reader, is thus described by Pliny, who flourished about A. D. 23, and was a celebrated writer on natural history, and most learned of the ancient Romans: "The Druids hold nothing more sacred than the mistletoe, and the tree on which it grows, provided it be the oak. They make choice of groves of oak on this account; nor do they perform any of their sacred rites without the leaves of those trees. And whenever they find it on the oak, they think it is sent from heaven, and is a sign that God himself has chosen that tree; and whenever found, is treated with great ceremony. "They call it by a name which, in, their language, signifies the curer of ills; and having duly prepared their feasts and sacrifices under the tree, they bring to it two white bulls. The priest, dressed in a white robe, ascends the tree, and with a golden pruning hook, cuts off the mistletoe, which is received in a sagum, or white sheet. Then they sacrifice the victims, praying that God would bless his own gift to those on whom he has bestowed it." -- (Clarke.)
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In the neighborhood of Fort Harmer, on the Muskingum; opposite Marietta on the Ohio, were discovered, by Mr. Ash, an English traveller, in the year 1826 [sic, 1806], several monuments of the ancient nation.
the whole was so covered with heavy timber, that I despaired of gaining any further knowledge, and would have left the place, had I not been detained by my Indian companion, whom I saw occupied in endeavoring to introduce a pole into a small opening between two flat stones, near the root of a tree, which grew on the very summit of this eminence. "The stones we found were too heavy to be removed by the mere power of hands. Two good oak poles were cut, in lieu of levers and crows. Clapping these into the orifice first discovered, we weighed a large flat stone, tilting it over, when we each assumed a guarded position, in silent expectation of hearing the hissing of serpents, or the rustling of the ground-hog's litter; where the Indian had supposed was a den of one sort or the other. "All was silent. We resumed our labor, casting out a number of stones, leaves and earth, soon clearing a surface of seven feet by five, which had been covered upwards of fifteen inches deep, with flat stones, principally lying against each other, with their edges to the horizon. "On the surface we had cleared appeared another difficulty, which was a plain superfices, composed of but three flat stones of such apparent magnitude that the Indian began to think that we should find under them neither snake nor pig; but having once begun, I was not to be diverted from my task. "Stimulated by obstructions, and animated with other views than those of my companion, I had made a couple of hickory shovels with the axe, and setting to work, soon undermined the surface, and slid the stones off on one side, and laid the space open to view. "I expected to find a cavern: my imagination was warmed by a certain design thought I discovered from the very beginning; the manner the stones were placed led me to conceive the existence of a vault filled with the riches of antiquity, and crowded with the treasures of the most ancient world. "A bed of sand was all that appeared under these flat stones, which I cast off; and as I knew there was no sand nearer than the bed of the Muskingum, a design was therefore the more manifest, which encouraged my proceeding; the sand was about a foot deep, which I soon removed. "The design and labor of man was now unequivocal. The space out of which these materials were taken, left a hollow in an oblong square, lined with stones on the end and sides, and also, paved on what appeared to be the bottom, with square stones, Of about nine inches diameter. "I picked these up with the nicest care, and again came to a bed of sand, which, when removed, made the vault about three feet deep, presenting another bottom or surface, composed of small square cut stones, fitted with such art, that I had much difficulty in discovering many of the places where they met. These displaced, I came to a substance, which, on the most critical examination, I judged to be a mat, or mats, in a state of entire decomposition and decay. My reverence and care increased with the progress already made; I took up this impalpable powder with my hands, and fanned off the remaining dust with my hat, when there appeared a beautiful tesselated pavement of small, colored stones; the colors and stones arranged in such a manner as to express harmony and shades, and portraying, at full length, the figure of a warrior under whose feet a snake was exhibited in ample folds. "The body of the figures was composed of dyed woods, bones, and a variety of small bits of terrous and testaceous substances, most of which crumbled into dust on being removed and exposed to the open air "My regret and disappointment were very great, as I had flattered myself that the whole was stone, and capable of being taken up and preserved. Little more, however, than the actual pavement could be preserved, which was composed of flat stones, one inch deep, and two inches square. The prevailing colors were white, green, dark blue, and pale spotted red; all of which are peculiar to the lakes, and not to be had nearer than about three hundred miles. "The whole was affixed in a thin layer of sand, fitted together with great precision, and covered a piece of bark in great decay, whose removal exposed what I was fully prepared to discover from all previous indications, the remains of a human skeleton, which was of an uncommon magnitude, being seven feet in length. With the skeleton was found, first, an earthen vessel, or urn, in which were several bones, and some white sediment. "The urn appeared to be made of sand and flint vitrified, and rung, when struck, like glass, and held about two gallons, had a top or cover of the same material, and resisted fire as completely as iron or brass. Second; a stone axe, with a groove round the pole, by which it had been fastened with a withe to the handle. Third; twenty four arrow points, made of flint and bone, and lying in a position which showed they had belonged to a quiver. Fourth; a quantity of beads, but not of glass, round, oval, and square; colored green, black, white, blue and yellow. Fifth; a very large conch shell, decomposed into a substance like chalk; this shell was fourteen inches long, and twenty-three in circumference. The Hindoo priests, at the present time, use this shell as sacred. It is blown to announce the celebration of religious festivals. Sixth; under a heap of dust and tenuous shreds of feathered cloth and hair, a parcel of brass rings, cut out of a solid piece of metal, and in such a manner, that the rings were suspended from each other, without the aid of solder or any other visible agency whatever. Each ring was three inches in diameter, and the bar of the rings an half inch thick, and were square; a variety of characters were deeply engraved on the sides of the rings, resembling the Chinese characters." Ward's History of the Hindoos, page 41 and 56, informs us, that the god Vishnoo, is represented holding a sea shell in his hand, called the "sacred shell;" and, second, he states, that "the utensils employed in the ceremonies of the temple, are several dishes to hold the offerings, a hand bell, a lamp, jugs for holding water, an incense dish, a copper cup, a seat of Kooshu grass for the priests, a large metal plate, used as a bell. Several of the articles found buried in this manner, resemble these utensils of the Brahmin priests, while some are exactly like them. The mat of Kooshu grass resembles the mat of hair and feathers; the earthen dish, the conch shell, are the very same in kind; the brass chain might answer instead of a bell, or iron plate to strike against, which would produce a jingling sound. A quantity of round, oval, and square beads, colored variously, were found; although Mr. Ward does not say, that beads were a part of the utensils of the Hindoo priests, yet we find them on the necks and arms of both their gods and their mendicants. Pottery of the same kind found in those ancient works, have also the quality of enduring the fire. The art of making vessels of clay, is very ancient; we find it spoken of by Jeremiah the prophet, nearly three thousand years ago. The art of coloring wood, stones, and shells, with a variety of beautiful tints, was also known, as appears from the pavement above described, and the colored beads. In many parts of the west, paints of various colors have been found hidden in the earth. On the Chenango river, in the state of New-York, has recently been found, on opening of one of those ancient mounds, though of but small dimensions, three kinds of paint, black, red, and yellow, which are now in the possession of a Dr. Willard, at the village of Greene, in the county of Chenango. The Indians of both China and America, have, from time immemorial, used paints to adorn themselves and their gods. But the brass rings and tesselated pavement are altogether the most to be wondered at. A knowledge of the method of manufacturing brass was known to the antediluvians. This we learn from Genesis iv. 22. Tubal Cain was an artificer in brass and iron about eleven hundred years before the flood. But how this article, the brass chain, of such curious construction, came in the possession of the chief, interred on the summit of the mountain, is a question to be answered, it would seem, in but two ways. They either had a knowledge of the art of making brass, or the article was an item of that king's peculiar treasure, and had been derived either from his ancestors from the earliest ages, or from South America, as an article of trade, a gift from some fellow king, or a trophy of some victorious battle over some southern nation; for, according to Humboldt, brass was found among the native Mexicans, in great abundance. But how the Mexicans came by this art in mineralogy, is equally a question. Gold, silver, copper, &c., are the natural product of their respective ores; and accident may have made them acquainted with these; as iron was discovered among the Greeks, by fire in the woods having melted the ore. But brass is farther removed from the knowledge of man, being a composition of copper and the calamine stone, or ore of zinc. However, it is said by Morse, that in Chili, in the hills of Huilquilemu, are found mines of native brass, of a fine yellow color, and equally malleable with the best artificial brass; yet this is no common product of mineralogy, and would seem to be an exception, or rather a product extraordinary; and, in a measure, induces a belief, that it is not proper brass, but a metal similar only in complexion, while perhaps its chemical proprieties are entirely different, or it may have been produced by the fusion of copper and the ore of zinc, by the fire of some volcano. Brass was the metal out of which the ancient nations made all their instruments of war, and defensive armor. The reason of this preference above copper and iron, even by the Greeks and Romans, was probably on account of the excessive bright polish it was capable of receiving; for the Greeks and Romans used it long after their knowledge of iron. Iron was discovered by the Greeks 1406 years before Christ. The ancient Americans must have derived a knowledge of brass from their early acquaintance with nations immediately succeeding the flood, who had it from the antediluvians, by way of Noah; and having found their way to this continent, before it became so isolated as it is at the present time, surrounded on all sides by oceans, made use of the same metal here. But the tesselated or spotted pavement is equally curious with the brass chain, on account of its resemblance to the Mosaic pavements of the Romans; being small pieces of marble, of various colors, with which they ornamented the fronts of their tents in time of war. This sort of pavement is often dug up in England, and is of Roman origin. We find the history of the ancient Britons, mentions the currency of iron rings, as money, which was in use among them, before the invasion of Julius Caesar. Is it not possible, that the brass chain, or an assemblage of those rings, as found in this mound, may have been held among those ancients of America in the same estimation? The chain, in their mode of reckoning, being perhaps of an immense amount; its being found deposited with its owner, who was a chief or king, is the evidence of its peculiar value, whether it had been used as an article in trade, or as a sacred implement. This maculated pavement, arranged in such a manner as to represent in full size, the chief, king, or monarch, who was interred beneath it, shows the knowledge, that people had of painting, sculpture, and descriptive delineation: but most of all, the serpent which lay coiled at his feet is surprising, because we suppose this transaction could not have happened from mere caprice, or the sport of imagination. It must have been a trait of their theology, and, possibly, an allusion to the serpent, by whose instrumentality Satan deceived the first woman, the mother of us all: and its being beneath his feet, may also have alluded to the promised SEED, who was to bruise the serpent's head; all of which may easily have been derived from the family of Noah, and carried along with the millions of mankind, as they diverged asunder from Mount Ararat, around the earth. The Mexicans are found to have a clear notion of this thing, and of many other traits of the early history of man, as related in the Hebrew records and the Scriptures, preserved in their traditions and paintings, as we shall show in another place. The etching on the square sides of those rings of brass, in characters resembling Chinese, shows the manufacturer, and the nation of which he was a member, to have had a knowledge of engraving, even on the metals, equal with artists of the present time, of which the common Indian of the west knows nothing. The stone hatchet, flint, and bone arrow-points, found in this tomb, are no exclusive evidence that this was all done by the modern Indians; because the same are found in vast profusion in all parts of the old world, particularly in the island of England, and have been in use from remotest antiquity. We are very far from believing the Indians of the present time to be the most ancient aborigines of America; but, on the contrary, are usurpers; have, by force of bloody warfare, exterminated the original inhabitants, taking possession of their country, property, and, in some few instances, retaining arts learned of those very nations. The immense sea shell, which was fourteen inches long and twenty-three inches in circumference, found in this tomb, is evidence of this people's having an acquaintance with other parts of the world than merely their own dwellings, because the shell is a marine production, and the nearest place where this element is found from the Muskingum, is nearly a thousand miles in a straight line east to the Atlantic. If the engravings on this chain be, in fact, Chinese, or if they bear a strong and significant analogy to them, it justifies the opinion that a communication between America and Asia, by means of land or navigation to the west, once existed, but has been destroyed by some convulsion in nature. And also the characters on those rings show the ancient Americans to have had a knowledge of letters. A knowledge of letters, hieroglyphics, pictures of ideas, and of facts, was known among men 200 years before the time of Moses, or 1822 years before the Christian era, among the Egyptians. Nations of men, therefore, having, at an early period, found their way to this continent, if indeed it was then a separate continent; consequently, to find the remains of such an art, scattered here and there in the dust and ashes of the nations of America passed away, is not surprising. The mound which we have described, was apprehended, by Mr. Ash, to be only an advanced guard post, or a place of lookout, in the direction of the Muskingum and the valley of the Ohio. Accordingly, he wandered farther into the woods in a north westerly direction, leaving on his right the Muskingum, whose course was northeast by southwest. His research in that direction had not long been continued before he discovered strong indications of the truth of his conjecture. He had come to a small valley between two mountains, through which a small creek meandered its way to the Muskingum. On either side of the stream were evident traits of a very large settlement of antiquity. They consisted, first, of a wall or rampart of earth, of almost nine feet perpendicular elevation, and thirty feet across the base. The rampart was of a semi-circular form, its entire circuit being three hundred paces, or something over eighteen rods, bounded by the creek. On the opposite side of the stream was another rampart of the same description, evidently answering to the first; these, viewed together, made one grand circle, of more than forty rods circumference, with the creek running between. After a minute examination, he perceived, very visibly, the remains of elevated stone abutments, which being exactly opposite each other, suggested the belief that these bridges once connected the two semicircles; one in the centre, and one on either side, or the extreme edges of the ring. The timber growing on the rampart and within the circle, was principally red oak, of great age and magnitude. Some of the trees, being in a state of decay, were not less than seven feet in diameter, and twenty-one in circumference. Some considerable farther up the brook, at the spot where the beautiful vale commenced, where the mountain rises abruptly and discharges from its cleft bosom a delightful creek, are a great number of mounds of earth, standing at equal distances from each other, forming three grand circles, one beyond the other, cut in two by the creek, as the one described before, with streets situated between, forming, as do the mounds, complete circles. Here, as at the other, the two half circles were united, as would appear, by two bridges, the abutments of which are distinct, so perfect are their remains. At a considerable distance, on the sides of the mountain, are two mounds or barrows, which are nearly three feet long, twelve high, and seventeen wide at the base. These barrows are composed, principally, of stone, taken out of the creek, on which are growing, also, very heavy timber. Here were deposited the dead, who had been the inhabitants of the town in the vale. From which it appears that the mounds forming those circles, which were sixty in number, are not tumuli, or the places where chiefs and distinguished warriors were entombed, but were the houses, the actual dwellings of the people who built them. However, the distinguished dead were interred in tumuli of the same form frequently, but much more magnificent and lofty, and are fewer in number, situated on the highest grounds adjacent to their towns. But it may be inquired, how could those mounds of earth have ever been the dwellings of families? There is but one way to explain it. They may have, at the time of their construction, received their peculiar form, which is a conical; sugar-loaf form, by the erection of long poles or logs, set up in a circle at the bottom, and brought together at the top, with an opening, so that the smoke might pass out. Against this the earth (being brought from a distance, so as not to disturb the even surface of the spot chosen to build on,) w as thrown, till the top and sides were entirely enveloped. This operation would naturally cause the bottom, or base, to be of great thickness, caused by the natural sliding down of the earth, as it was thrown on or against the timbers; and this thickness would be in exact proportion with the height of the poles, at the ratio of an angle of forty-five degrees. In this way, a dwelling of the most secure description would be the result; such as could not be easily broken through, nor set on fire; and in winter would be warm, and in summer cool. It is true, such rooms would be rather gloomy, compared with the magnificent and well-lighted houses of the present times, yet accorded well with the dark usages of antiquity, when mankind lived in clans and tribes, but few in number compared with the present populousness of the earth, and stood in fear of invasion from their neighbors. Such houses as these, built in circles of wood at first, and lastly of stone, as the knowledge of architecture came on, were used by the ancient inhabitants of Britain, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland, and on the continent, as in Norway. No mode of building which can be conceived of, would more effectually shut out the wind. "Houses of this form, made with upright stones, are even now common over all the Danish dominions." -- (See Morse's Geography, vol. 1, p. 158.) In the communication of Mr. Moses Fiske, of Hillham, Tennessee, to the American Antiquarian Society, 1815, respecting the remains and discoveries made relative to antiquities in the west, but especially in Tennessee, says, that the description of mounds, whether round, square or oblong in their shapes, which have flat tops, were the most magnificent sort, and seem contrived for the purpose of building temples and castles on their summits; which being thus elevated. were very imposing, and might be seen at a great distance. "Nor must we," he continues, "mistake the ramparts or fortifications, for farming inclosures; what people, savage or civilized, ever fenced their grounds so preposterously; bearing no proportion in quantity necessary for tillage;" from which the support of a whole country was expected; and further, there were many neighborhoods which had no such accommodations. He has also discovered, that within the areas encompassed by these ramparts, are whole ranges of foundations, on which dwelling houses once stood, with streets running between, besides mounds and other works. "The houses generally stood in rows, nearly contiguous to each other," as in all compact towns and cities, though sometimes they stood in an irregular and scattered manner. These foundations "are indicated by rings of the earth, from three to five fathoms in diameter," which is equal to eighteen and thirty feet. The remains of these rings or foundations are from ten to twenty inches high, and a yard or more broad. But they were not always circular; some of which he had noticed were square, and others, also, of the oblong form, as houses are now built by civilized nations. "The flooring of some is elevated above the common level or surface; that of others is depressed. These tokens are indubitable, and overspread the country; some scattered and solitary, but oftener in groups, like villages, with and without being walled in." From which it is clear, that whoever they were, the pursuits of agriculture were indispensable, and were therefore in use with those nations. From the forms of the foundations of dwellings discovered and described by Mr. Fiske, we conclude they were the efforts of man at a very early period. We are directed to this conclusion by the writings of Vetruvius, who lived in the time of Julius Caesar, and is the most ancient writer on the subject of architecture that antiquity can boast of. His account is as follows: "At first, for the walls, men erected forked stakes, and disposing twigs between them, covered them with loam; others pulled up clods of hay, binding them with wood, and to avoid rain and heat, they made a covering with reeds and boughs; but finding that this roof could not resist the winter rains they made it sloping, pointed at the top, plastering it over with clay, and by that means discharging the rain water. To this day, (says Vetruvius,) some foreign nations construct their dwellings of the same kind of materials, as in Gaul, Spain, Lusitania, and Aquitain. The Colchins, in the kingdom of Portugal, where they abound in forests, fix trees in the earth, close together in ranks, to the right and left, leaving as much space between them, from corner to corner, as the length of the trees will permit; upon the ends of these, at the corners, others are laid transversely, which circumclude the place of habitation in the middle; then at the top, the four angles are braced together with alternate beams. The crevices, which are large, on account of the coarseness of the materials, are stopped with chips and loam. The roof is also raised by beams laid across from the extreme angles, or corners, gradually rising from the four sides to the middle point at the top, (exactly like a German barrack,) and then covered with boughs and earth. In this manner the barbarians, (says this author,) made their roofs to their towers." By the barbarians he means the inhabitants of Europe, at the time when he wrote these remarks, which was in the reign of Julius Caesar a short time before Christ. "The Phrygians, who inhabit a champaign country, being destitute of timber, select natural hills, excavate them, dig an entrance, and widen the space within as much as the nature of the place will permit. Above, they fix stakes in a pyramidal form, bind them together, and cover them with reeds or straw, heaping thereon great piles of earth. This kind of covering renders them very warm in winter and cool in summer. Some also cover the roofs of their huts with weeds of lakes; and thus, in all countries and nations, primeval dwellings are formed upon. similar principles." -- (Blake's Atlas, p. 145.) The circular, square, and oblong form of foundations, found in the west, would seem to argue the houses built thereon to be made in the same way this author has described the mode of building in his time, among the barbarous nations; and also furnishes reason to believe them to have been made here in America, much in the same ages of the world. Having this knowledge of the mode of ancient building, we are led to the conclusion, that the town which we have just given an account of, was a clan of some of the ancient Celtic nations, who, by some means, had found their way to this part of the earth, and had fixed their abode in this secluded valley. Celtic or Irish, as Mr. Morse says, who were derived from Gaul or Galatia, which is now France, who descended from Gomer, one of the sons of Japheth, a son of Noah; to whose descendants Europe, with its isles, was given. And whether the people who built this town were of Chinese or Celtic origin, it is much the same; because, if we go far enough back in ages of past time, we shall find they were of the same origin, and had equal opportunities to perpetuate a remembrance of the arts, as known among men immediately after the flood, and might therefore resemble each other in their works. Here, we may suppose, the gods Odin, Thor, and Friga, were adored under the oaks composing American forests, as taught by the Druids; here their victims, the deer and buffalo, sent up to the skies their smoking odor from the altar of sacrifice, while the priests of the forest invoked the blessing of the beneficent Being upon the votaries of the mystic mistletoe. Here were the means of mutual Defence and safety discussed; the sighs of the lover breathed on the winds; parents and children looked with kindness on each other; soothed and bound the wounds of such as returned from the uncertain fate of clanular battles; but have been swept with the besom of extermination from this vale, while no tongue remains to tell the story of their sufferings. At the distance of about three miles higher up, and not far from the Muskingum, says Mr. Ash, he perceived an eminence very similar to the one just described, in which the brass chain was found, to which he hastened, and immediately perceived their likeness in form. On a comparison of the two, there could be but one opinion, namely, that both were places of lookout, for the express protection of the settlement in the valley. He says he took the pains of clearing the top of the eminence, but could not discover any stone or mark which might lead to a supposition of its being a place of interment. The country above was hilly, yet not so high as to intercept the view for a presumed distance of twenty miles. On these eminences the beacon fires of the clan who resided in the valley may have been kindled at the hour of midnight, to show those who watched the portentous flame, the advance or destruction of an enemy. Such fires, on the heights of Scotland, were wont to be kindled in the days of :Bruce and Wallace, and ages before their time, originated from the Persians, possibly, who worshipped in this way the great Ormaze, as the god who made all things. The idea of a Creator was borrowed from Noah, who received the account of the creation from Seth, who had it from Adam, and Adam from the Almighty himself. From this excursion, our traveller, after having returned to Marietta, pursued his way to Zanesville, on the Muskingum river, where, learning from the inhabitants that the neighborhood was surrounded with the remains of antiquity, he proceeded to the examination of them, having obtained a number of persons to accompany him with the proper implements of excavation. They penetrated the woods in a westerly direction, to a place known to those who accompanied him, about five miles distance, where the ruins of ancient times were numerous and magnificent in the highest degree; consisting of monads, barrows and ramparts, but of such variety and form, and covering so immense a track of ground, that it would have taken at least ten days to have surveyed them minutely. These immense works of the ancients, it appears, were in this place, encompassed by outlines of an entirely different shape from any other described, being of the triangular form, and occupying the whole plain, situated as the one before described, in a place nearly surrounded by mountains. But we pass over many incidents of this traveller, and come immediately to the object of his research, which was to open such of those mounds as might attract his attention. His first operation was to penetrate the interior of a large barrow, situated at one extremity of the vale, which was its southern. Three feet below the surface was fine mould, underneath which were small flat stones, lying in regular strata or gravel, brought from the mountain in the vicinity. This last covered the remains of a human frame, which fell into impalpable powder when touched and exposed to air. Towards the base of the barrow, he came to three tiers of substances, placed regularly in rotation. And as these formed two rows four deep, separated by little more than a flag stone between the feet of one and the head of another, it was supposed the barrow contained about 2000 skeletons, in a very great state of decay which shows their extreme antiquity. In this search was found a well carved stone pipe, expressing a bear's head, together with .some fragments of pottery, of fine texture. Near the centre of the whole works, another opening was effected, in a rise of ground, scarcely higher than a natural undulation, common to the general surface of the earth, even on ground esteemed to be level. But there was one singularity accompanying the spot, which attracted the attention of the company, and this was, there was neither shrub nor tree on the spot, although more than ninety feet in circumference, but was adorned with a multitude of pink and purple flowers. They came to an opinion that the rise of ground was artificial, and as it differed in form and character from the common mounds, they resolved to lay it open, which was soon done, to a level with the plain, but without the discovery of any thing whatever. But as Ash had become vexed, having found nothing to answer his expectations in other openings on the spot, he jumped from the bank, in order to take a spade, and encourage the men to dig somewhat deeper. At this instant the ground gave way, and involved the whole company in earth and ruin, as was supposed for the moment, but was soon followed by much mirth and laughter, as no person was hurt by the fall, which was but about three feet. Ash had great difficulty to prevail on any person to resume the labor, and had to explore the place himself, and sound it with a pole, before any man would venture to aid him further, on account of their fright. But they soon resumed their courage, and on examination found that a parcel of timbers had given way, which covered the orifice of a square hole seven feet by four, and four feet deep. That it was a sepulchre, was unanimously agreed, till they found it in vain to look for bones, or any substances similar to them, in a state of decomposition. They soon, however, struck an object which would neither yield to the spade, nor emit any sound; but persevering still further, they found the obstruction which was uniform through the pit, to proceed from rows of large spherical bodies, at first taken to be stones. Several of them were cast up to the surface; they were exactly alike, perfectly round, nine inches in diameter, and of about twenty pounds weight. The superfices of one, when cleaned and scraped with knives, appeared like a ball of base metal, so strongly impregnated with the dust of gold, that the baseness of the metal itself was nearly altogether obscured. On this discovery, the clamour was so great, and joy so exuberant, that no opinion but one was admitted, and no voice could be heard, while the cry of "'tis gold! 'tis gold!" resounded through the groves. Having to a man determined on this important point, they formed a council respecting the distribution of the treasure, and each individual, in the joy of his heart, declared publicly the use he intended to make of the part allotted to his share. The Englishman concluded that he would return to England, being sure, from experience, that there was no country like it. A German of the party said, he would never have quitted the Rhine, had he had money enough to rebuild his barn, which was blown down by a high wind; but that he could return to the very spot from whence he came, and prove to his neighbors that he loved his country as well as any man, when he had the means of doing well. An Irishman swore a great oath, the day longer he'd stay in America |
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Traits of Egyptian manners were found among many of the nations of South America, mingled with those who appeared to be of other origin; of which we shall speak again in the course of this work. But at Lexington the traits are too notorious to allow them to be other than pure Egyptian, in full possession of the strongest complexion of their national character, that of embalming, which was connected with their religion. The Mississippi, which disembodies itself into the Mexican gulf, is in the same north latitude with Egypt, and may have, by its likeness to the Egyptian Nile, invited those adventurers to pursue its course, till a place suited to their views or necessities may have presented.
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They were discovered in the island of Malta, in the Mediterranean, which was anciently inhabited by the Phoenicians, long before the Romans existed as a nation. These characters were found engraved on a stone, in a cave of that island, in the year 1761, which was a sepulchral cave, so used by the earliest inhabitants These characters, being found in this ancient repository of the dead, it is believed, mark the place of the burial of that famous Carthaginian general, HANNIBAL, as they explicitly allude to that character. The reading in the original is as follows: "Chadar Beth olam kabar Chanibaal Nakeh becaleth haveh, rachm daeh Am beshuth Chanibaal ben Bar melec." Which, being interpreted, is: -- "The inner chamber of the sanctuary of the sepulchre of Hannibal, illustrious in the consummation of calamity. He was beloved. The people lament, when arrayed in order of battle, Hannibal the son of Bar-melec." This one of the largest remains of the Punic or Phoenician language now in existence. Characters of this description are also found on the rocks of Dighton, Massachusetts, near the sea. In a chain of mountains between the rivers Oronoco and Amazon, South America, are found engraved in a cavern, on a block of granite, characters supposed also to be Punic letters, a fac similie of which is presented at No. 5. These were furnished by Baron Humboldt, in his volume of Researches in South America; between which and those given us above, by Dr. Clarke, it is easy to perceive a small degree of similarity. But if the Phoenician letters shown at Nos. 4 and 5 are highly interesting, those which follow at Nos. 1, 2 and 3, are equally so. These are presented to the public by Prof. Rafinesque, in his Atlantic Journal for 1832, with their meaning. Under figures I and 2 are the African or Lybian characters, the primitive letters of the most ancient nations of Africa. Under figure 3 are the American letters, or letters of Otolum, an ancient city, the ruins of which are found in South America, being, so far as yet explored, of an extent embracing a circumference of twenty four miles, of which we shall again speak in due time. The similarity which appears between the African letters and the letters of America, as in use perhaps two thousand years before Christ, is almost, if not exact, showing beyond a doubt, that the same nations, the same languages, and the same arts, which were known in ancient Lybia or Africa, were also known in America; as well also as nations from old China, who came to the western coast in huge vessels, as we shall show in this work. We here subjoin an account of those characters, numbered 1, 2, 3, by the author Prof. Rafinesque; and also of the American glyphs, which, however, are not presented here, but on page 307. They are, it appears, formed by a combination of the letters numbered 1, 2, 3, and resembling very much, in our opinion, the Chinese characters, when grouped or combined, with a view to express a sentence or a paragraph in their language. The account is as follows:
monuments of Otolum * or Palenque; which belong to my seventh series of graphic signs, and are in fact words formed by grouped letters or elements as in Chinese characters, or somewhat like the cyphers now yet in use among us, formed by acrostical anagrams or combinations of the first letters of words or names. When I began my investigation of these American glyphs and became convinced that they must have been groups of letters, I sought for the elementary letters in all the ancient known alphabets, the Chinese, Sanscrit and Egyptian above all; but in vain. The Chinese characters offered but few similarities with the glyphs, and not having a literal but syllabic alphabet, could not promise the needful clue. The Sanscrit alphabet, and all its derived branches' including even the Hebrew, Phoenician, Pelagic, Celtic and Cantabrian alphabets were totally unlike in forms and combinations of grouping. But in the great variety of Egyptian form of the same letters, I thought that I could trace some resemblance with our American glyphs. In fact, I could see in them the Egyptian cross, snake, circle, delta, square, trident, eye, feather, fish, hand, &c., but sought in vain for the birds, lions, sphynx, beetle, and a hundred other nameless signs of Egypt. However, this first examination and approximation of analogy in Egypt and Africa was a great preliminary step in the inquiry. I had always believed that the Atlantes of Africa have partly colonized America, as so many ancient writers have affirmed. This belief led me to search for any preserved fragments of the alphabets of Western Africa and Lybia, the land of the African Atlantes yet existing under the names of Berbers, Tuarics, Shelluhs, &c. This was no easy task. The Atlantic antiquities are still more obscure than the Egyptian. No Champollion had raised their veil; the city of Farawan, the Thebes of the Atlantes, whose splendid ruins exist as yet in the mountains of Atlas, has not even been described properly as yet, nor its inscriptions delineated. However, I found at last in Gramay, (Africa lllustrata,) an old Lybian alphabet, which has been copied by Purchas, in his collection of old alphabets. I was delighted to find it so explicit, so well connected with the Egyptian, being also an acrostic alphabet, and __________ * A late discovered city of South America, nearly equal to the Egyptian Thebes. above all, to find that all its signs were to be seen in the glyphs of Otolum, the American city. Soon after appeared, in a supplement to Clapperton and Denham's Travels in Africa, another old and obsolete Lybian alphabet, not acrostical, found by Denham in old inscriptions among the Tuarics of Targih and Ghreat, west of Fezan: which, although unlike the first, had many analogies, and also with the American glyphs. Thinking, then, that I had found the primitive elements of these glyphs, I hastened to communicate this important fact to Mr. Dupouceau, (in a printed letter directed to him in 1828,) who was struck with the analogy, and was ready to confess that the glyphs of Palenque might be alphabetical words: although he did not believe before that any American alphabets were extant. But he could not pursue my connection of ideas, analogies of signs, languages and traditions, to the extent which I desired, and now am able to prove. To render my conclusions perspicuous, I must divide the subject into several parts; directing my inquiries, 1st. On the old Lybian alphabet. 2dly. On the Tuaric alphabet. 3dly. On their element in the American glyphs. 4thly. On the possibility to read them. While the examination of their language, in connecticn with the other Atlantic languages, will be the theme of my third letter. I. The old Lybian delineated in the table No. 1, has all the appearance of a very ancient alphabet, based upon the acrostical plan of Egypt; but in a very different language, of which we have 16 words preserved. This language may have been that of a branch of Atlantes, perhaps the Getulians, (Ge-tula, or Tulas of the plains) or of the Ammonians, Old Lybiaus, and also Atlantes. Out of these 16 words, only 5 have a slight affinity with the Egyptian, they are: Sea Lybian: Mah Egyptian: Mauh Saturn Lybian: Siash Egyptian: Sev Venus Lybian: Uaf Egyptian: Ath Ear Lybian: Aips Egyptian: Ap Nose Lybian: Ifr Pelagic: Rinif Hand Lybian: Vuld Pelagic: Hui, chil Earth Lybian: Lambd Pelagic: Landa Sea Lybian: Mah Pelagic: Marah Fire Lybian: Rash Pelagic: Purah Mars Lybian: Dor Pelagic: Hares, Thor Mercury Lybian: Goreg Pelagic: Mergor Venus Lybian: Uaf Pelagic: Uenas Saturn Lybian: Siash Pelagic: Satur, Shiva Jupiter Lybian: Thue Pelagic: Tjeos This system is very remarkable. 1. By its acrostic form. 2. By having only 16 letters like most of the primitive alphabets, but unlike the Egyptian and Sanscrit. 3. By being susceptible of twenty-two sounds by modification of six of the letters, as usual among the Pelagian and Etruscan. 4. Above all, by being based upon the acrostics of three important series of physical objects, the five senses represented by their |
