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You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org Title: The History of Ancient America, Anterior to the Time of Columbus Proving the Identity of the Aborigines with the Tyrians and Israelites; and the Introduction of Christianity into the Western Hemisphere By The Apostle St. Thomas Author: George Jones Release Date: April 7, 2013 [EBook #42475] Language: English Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 *** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ANCIENT AMERICA *** Produced by Julia Miller and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from scans of public domain material produced by Microsoft for their Live Search Books site.) coverpage George Jones George Jones. Drawn by F.S. Agate. Eng. by A.B. Durand. AN ORIGINAL HISTORY OF ANCIENT AMERICA. Founded upon the RUINS OF ANTIQUITY: THE Identity of the Aborigines with the People of TYRUS AND ISRAEL: and the Introduction of Christianity by The Apostle St. Thomas. BY GEORGE JONES, R.S.I: M.F.S.V: &c. Moses DEDICATED TO HIS GRACE The Archbishop of Canterbury. ——— Published by Longman, Brown, Green & Longmans, London. Harper & Brothers, New-York. Alexander Duncker, Berlin. & Frederick Kliencksieck, Paris. 1843. THE HISTORY OF ANCIENT AMERICA, ANTERIOR TO THE TIME OF COLUMBUS; PROVING THE IDENTITY OF THE ABORIGINES WITH THE TYRIANS AND ISRAELITES; AND THE INTRODUCTION OF CHRISTIANITY INTO THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE BY THE APOSTLE ST. THOMAS. ——— BY GEORGE JONES, M.R.S.I., F.S.V. ——— THE TYRIAN ÆRA. ——— SECOND EDITION. PUBLISHED BY LONGMAN, BROWN, GREEN, AND LONGMANS, LONDON; HARPER AND BROTHERS, NEW-YORK; ALEXANDER DUNCKER, BERLIN; AND FREDERICK KLINCKSIECK, PARIS. ——— 1843. C. WHITING, BEAUFORT HOUSE. Dedication. TO HIS GRACE THE ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY. &c. &c. &c. Your Grace, Upon the completion of the Tyrian Æra of this Work, I submitted the outline to an Illustrious Prince, whose urbanity and amiability are not the least of his high qualities claiming admiration; and in reference to my desire of Dedication, replied: "* * * With respect to the request preferred, His Royal Highness thinks,—especially with reference to the subject- matter of the present historic Work, that it would be far better to select for the Dedication, some Theologian of high rank in the Sacred Profession, and eminent for his Learning and Piety, under whose auspices would more appropriately be placed, than under his own, the Original History of Ancient America. * * *" The suggestion and description thus expressed by His Royal Highness—and from one in such an august station,—evidently contemplate The Primate. The answer of Your Grace to my letter upon the subject,—my sense of obedience to the suggestion of His Royal Highness (who has honoured me as his visitor and guest)—and my own feelings of profound veneration for Your Grace;—together with the importance of historically establishing the fulfilment of additional prophecies by Isaiah,—the Introduction of Christianity into the Western Hemisphere by one of The Twelve Apostles—in person;—the Founding of Ancient America more than three centuries previous to that Sacred event,—with the Identity of the Aborigines, and thus unfolding additional Truths of The Bible,—being of that Character to call forth attention from every part of the Globe, where Civilization is known, or the Divine Blessings of Religion are received and appreciated;—these considerations all assure me that in Dedicating to Your Grace the Original History of Ancient America, I but follow the dictates of an imperative duty;—and shall cherish the hope that my literary labours upon this novel subject, will receive the fostering protection of one, whose Life, Learning, and Piety, are alike conspicuous,—and who, by their triple power,—has been enabled to dare fearless comparisons with the past,—to continue blessings to the present,—and to create examples of faith and charity, that may be imitated, but cannot be excelled, by those of a future age. With the fervent prayer that The Almighty Father may long preserve the life and faculties of Your Grace, that they may continue to cast their benevolent and protecting influence around the Divine Institution of Christianity;—I thus express my devotional duty,— And remain, Your Grace, In Religious Filiality Most faithfully, GEORGE JONES. London, June, 1843. "FOR INQUIRE I PRAY THEE OF THE FORMER AGE, AND PREPARE THYSELF TO THE SEARCH OF THEIR FATHERS,—SHALL THEY NOT TEACH THEE, AND TELL THEE, AND UTTER WORDS OUT OF THEIR HEART?" Holy-Writ. VOLUME THE FIRST, OR THE TYRIAN ÆRA, IN TWO BOOKS. ——— BOOK I. THE RUINS OF ANTIQUITY IN ANCIENT AMERICA, DESCRIBED AND ANALYZED; AND THE ORIGINAL ARCHITECTS IDENTIFIED, &c. man on rock BOOK II. THE SCRIPTURAL, POLITICAL, & COMMERCIAL HISTORY OF TYRUS, TO THE DESTRUCTION OF THAT KINGDOM BY ALEXANDER OF MACEDON; AND THE TYRIAN MIGRATION TO THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE, IN THE YEAR 332 BEFORE CHRIST, &c. INSCRIPTION OF THE FIRST VOLUME ——— TO HIS MAJESTY Frederick William the Fourth, King of Prussia. &c. &c. &c. &c. Your Majesty, With feelings of enthusiasm, founded on the contemplation of a peaceful and a patriotic King, do I inscribe to Your Majesty, the first Volume of an effort to delineate the History of Ancient America. If, in the following pages, Your Majesty should recognise Your own portraiture in that of Hiram the Great, it is such as truth and history have designed and coloured;—fawning flattery and false adulation have not added even a thought to embellish, where Patriotism has so nobly consolidated. The Building of Solomon's Temple at Jerusalem, by Hiram of Tyrus, was not more generous, and liberal in Religious sentiments, than were your own,—as Protestant King of Prussia,—in laying the corner-stone of the Catholic Cathedral of Cologne,—the fervent words at which ceremony, Time will hallow within his Archives: nor was your own branch of Christianity forgotten or neglected; for the Sacred City of Jerusalem previously recorded your Majesty's munificence in promulgating the Divine Faith of Salvation! For the peace of Europe, and for the prosperity of Prussia,—for the advancement of Religious and Civil Liberty,— Education, Literature, the Arts and Sciences,—may the Disposer of Events prolong the life, and intellectual vigour of Your Majesty, to the utmost verge of venerable age; and when the monument shall enclose Your earthly remains, may Your subjects feel, that Your Royal Ancestor,—Frederick of Prussia,—was not the only Monarch of their father-land deserving the time-honoured, and historic surname of "The Great." I am flattered in the occasion which permits me to render this tributary offering,— And to subscribe myself, Your Majesty's Obedient and Obliged, GEORGE JONES. London, June, 1843. THE ORIGINAL HISTORY OF ANCIENT AMERICA. Preface To the deep historic interest expressed by his Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge, concerning the Aborigines of America, may be traced the production of this Work:—it led the Author originally to write the Israel-Indian Tragedy of "Tecumseh,"—illustrative of the patriotic race of the North, and which composition has received the honour of being dedicated to the Illustrious Prince by Special permission. The publication has been delayed only from the fact, that it would anticipate this branch of the present Work, and might consequently be injurious. The investigations necessary for writing of North America, called into action the study and observation of years in relation to South America: and in contemplating the newly-discovered Ruined Cities and Temples upon that moiety of the Western Continent, the very spirit of the Romance of Truth, seemed to find a voice in every Sculptured altar, column, stone, or pyramid: and when upon the enthusiastic pursuit of hidden knowledge, the sudden discovery of early Christianity and its Sacred Promulgator, were identified with the Western Hemisphere,—sanctioned as is the discovery by Holy-Writ,—History,—Tradition,—Customs,—and the oracular Sculptures of antiquity,—Language has no power to express the bounding feelings of the heart, when that original vision of the mind, became apparent, as the stern reality of historic truth. Knowing from experience, that Works upon Antiquities, described in language cold as the marbles they illustrate, are not of deep interest to the general reader, the Author has, therefore, avoided the usual frigid style, and has consequently placed around them such fervent, and glowing words, as their novel characters have authorized and demanded. In delineating, also, the History of Tyrus, the chief events only are given; and being rendered, with the artistical pages, —con amore,—the Poetry of History,—and not its dry prosaic qualities will be received by the reader. This will be seen in the descriptions of the classic Remains,—Battles,—and Voyages,—and especially for instance, in resuscitating the Ruins of Rome, and in the celebrated Tyrian Siege by Alexander of Macedon,—but in this style of writing (it is submitted) the Author has not lost sight of that high solemnity demanded by the Philosophy of History; without which, memorials of past ages, or of our Fathers, would be useless. To give a list of works consulted during fifteen years in America, and more immediately for the last two years in England, while writing the Tyrian Æra, would be pedantic: but no Author, sacred or profane, from the first Lawgiver to the present time, having even a remote reference to the Western Hemisphere, has been knowingly omitted; yet being professedly an Original Work, the volume of the brain has been more largely extracted from, than any writer whose works are already before that Public,—to whose final judgment (upon its merits or demerits) the present Author submits the first History of Ancient America with all humility; but he will yield to none in the conscientious belief in the truth of the startling propositions, and the consequent historic conclusions: and that the reader may not imagine that any undue motive dictated to the writer the publication of this Work, the following extract from the Messrs. Longman's letter upon their own, and their Reader's investigation of this Volume will justify him. "* * * We have fully considered the publication of your Work on America. It is undoubtedly a Work of great ingenuity and originality; and should it be considered that your conclusions are correct, it will be a work to confer on its Author a high rank in Literature. * * * We shall be happy to be your Publishers. * * * *" The usual "Table of Contents" has been avoided, in order to prevent anticipation of the subject-matter and secrets of the History; but, at the same time, for after-reference, a copious Index has been placed at the end of the Volume. THE AUTHOR. London, June, 1843. NOTICE TO BOOKSELLERS, PROPRIETORS OF CIRCULATING LIBRARIES, AND THE PUBLIC. ——— This is to give notice that the "Original History of Ancient America" (of which this is the first volume) is copyright, and legally secured by the proprietor, both in England and America. The Penalties, therefore, for any infringement will be enforced by the Publishers, according to the New Act of Parliament and the Acts of Congress of the United States. By the former, especially as applied to England and her colonies, any person having in his possession, for sale or hire, any foreign edition of an English copyright, is liable to a heavy penalty; and any copy found in the possession of a traveller from abroad will be forfeited. London, June, 1843. THE TYRIAN ÆRA. ORIGINAL HISTORY OF ANCIENT AMERICA. ——— [1] BOOK THE FIRST. CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION FROM THE PREFACE TO THE AUTHOR'S HISTORICAL WORK UPON THE LIFE OF TECUMSEH—NAME TO BE USED FOR SOUTH OR CENTRAL AMERICA—THE FUNDAMENTAL ERROR OF THE HISTORIANS OF AMERICA—ESSENTIAL OPPOSITES IN CHARACTER—RULES OF ARGUMENT FOR ILLUSTRATING THE THEORY—A SUFFICIENT IDENTITY OF THE NORTH TO PROVE TWO DISTINCT PEOPLE—THE ABORIGINES WRONGFULLY NAMED " Indians" BY COLUMBUS—The Cause of his Error and its Effects. In the prefatory remarks to the forthcoming work upon the chieftain, Tecumseh, the following language is used; and we avail ourselves of the privilege of extracting from our own storehouse, materials for the commencement of this new historical campaign. "The courteous reader in tracing the fate of Tecumseh, as depicted in the pages of his life, will not fail to observe the strong analogy between the religious sentiments of the chief of the forest, and those of the ancient Hebrews. The language as uttered by Tecumseh is not written by the pen of fiction, merely to uphold a theory of the brain, but gathered from the archives of a people's history, to support a theory of apparent truth. The present writer will not yield to any man in the firm belief, that the Aborigines of North America (but North America only), and the ancient Israelites are identical, unless controverted by the stern authority of superior historical deductions. We, therefore, have formed an original theory in reference to the natives of the North, and those of South and Central America, together with the newly-discovered ruined Cities in and around Guatamala; and by that theory, have separated into TWO distinct races, or people, the Aborigines of the Western Hemisphere. "The lately recovered Ruins, Cities, and Temples in Central America, and of which no ancient record is to be found, have shattered the chain of acknowledged History to atoms; and until that chain is again united by a firmly established theory,—Education herself must pause, ere she can with the wand of truth, point to her rising children the History of the World, or its inhabitants. "Suspicion has asserted that all the natives of the continent of Columbus, might probably have been originally of Hebrew extraction; the assertion has been made in doubt and trembling; for writers have been confounded by essential contrasts in the Religious customs of North and South America; there were no analogies between them; which circumstance should have compelled Historians to pursue another path of inquiry, and so attain a conclusive truth; but they found a Gordian knot which they could not unravel, and assuming the impatient weapon of Alexander, they destroyed it. The Architecture, however, of the Ruins of Copan, Palenque, Uxmal, and their time-honoured associates, has furnished a 'rosetta-stone,' to aid the new translation of the hieroglyphical history of (now) ancient America; and if our theory is true, not only have the Israelites walked the land where the Sun bestows his last smile, but another nation (in which was retained the primitive language of the Diluvian world) previously trod that soil as Aborigines; and beyond all this, if our thread of Ariadne lead us faithfully, if not, the Almighty Father who gave the thought will pardon its application; yes, beyond all the bounding feelings leaping at events, at once classic and venerated, do we contemplate another branch of our theory; for, if we do not write in error,—and our perfect faith assures us that we do not,—then the trembling hand which sought in doubt The Saviour's wounds, has been outstretched in sacred oratory even in those southern wilds: the bold, yet conquered voice, which uttered in hallowed and confirmed faith, 'My Lord and my God!' has given forth its missioned eloquence even in the Western Hemisphere, and there, the sainted ashes of that Apostle may yet repose!" The preceding extract may be viewed as the exordium of an original history to follow; wherein, "if we fail," it will be "the boldness of the attempt, and not the deed confounds us." Taking as a basis for our illustration the rules of argument, we will first identify one race, and then prove that the existence of another is not only apparent, but absolute. For the convenience of the general reader, the word "Mexican," until the true name is established, will be applied throughout the following pages to all Central and South America;—for the word "south" may be confounded with that portion of the Republic of North America so denominated, and especially with the American reader. The fundamental error with all writers upon the Aborigines of America is, that they have viewed them as one people. Authors have, therefore, been confounded by the different customs and ceremonies of religion as practised in the two great divisions of the continent; they have seen that the natives were, to a certain extent, in one part of the vast domain, idolaters, and not in the other; that the North was essentially republican in every aspect of its political existence, while that of Mexican America was as essentially composed of kingdoms and empires, and governed by despotic monarchs, and that republics were interwoven with them; that each man in the North was a warrior, and an equal, acknowledging no superior but their leader in time of battle, and should he fall in action, there was not a member of the Tribe in which they politically lived, but could have taken his place, and filled it with similar courage and ability. In Mexican America they were not equal, but from the emperor they descended by degrees to the serf and slave; in that country, stone and stuccoed Temples and Palaces were, and still continue to be found, erected [2] [3] [4] [5] with costly magnificence, and in which were jewelled idols, to which they bent the knee; their rich dwellings were splendid mansions, adorned with sculptured and beaten gold, and graced with the works of art, and as a people, enjoying all the refined elegancies of life;—but in the North their Temple was the azure canopy of Jehovah, adorned with its myriads of golden stars, and when beneath that sublime dome, they bent the knee, it was to the Almighty God alone! Their palaces were the gorgeous vistas of the forest; the columns were the gigantic trees, each year increasing in their stateliness; their shadowy and painted roofs were the far-spreading branches, and nature's tinted foliage; their mansions were those of independent wanderers, even the simple tents of Israel; and as for jewelled idols and figures of beaten gold,—they presented the diamonds of the human eye, radiant with intellectual beams, and glancing from the living emblem of the first and priceless image, placed in Eden's garden by the Architect of the Universe! Notwithstanding these essential opposites in character and policy, to which may be added that of physiognomy, writers have glanced at them as one race, sprung from the same branch of the human family, and without defining which; and when they could not reconcile such apparently unaccountable distinctions and diversities, they have thrown upon the shoulders of the Mexican, the mantle of manly virtue belonging to the North; and upon this race they have thrust the idolatrous vices and the festering robes of luxury justly claimed by the former people; and by this easy manner of disposing of a question, have seemingly satisfied themselves that by blending the crimes of both, to the exclusion of the virtues of either, that they were all "savages," and no matter from whence they came. Thus have they formed their conclusions concerning fifty millions of human beings, although directly in opposition to evidences of fact, to deductions by relative reasoning, and to all Christian feeling, which alone should have rejected so cruel a decision, founded as it is, not only on slight, but careless investigation. A sufficient identity of the Northern native is now required, in order to establish the national distinction between the Aborigines of the two Americas. In all civilized countries when the lex scripta fails to develope, or protect, the historical events and rights of a nation or of an individual, then the lex NON scripta is not only not rejected, but it is actually brought forward to establish, and support the customs and privileges of a by-gone day. This traditionary evidence, handed down from sire to son, is received in proof of "a foregone conclusion:" it gives an insight into the times, of which no written record is left for the investigation of Argus-eyed posterity; it carries us back to customs, civil, military, and religious, that otherwise might be lost to the archives of history. Admitting, therefore, this train of reasoning, we bring it to bear upon the present important subject;—important in the highest degree, for the time is now past when the Western Hemisphere is to be dated from the re-discovery by Columbus. His giant, but over-applauded name, like the ruins of Palenque, is but the lettering of a volume to indicate in the library of the universe that such a work was written—the work itself (i. e. the great continent) has yet to be read, and the historical authors identified; nor will the well-grounded supposition that the Welsh prince, Madoc, colonised in America two centuries before the Genoese; or that the Norwegian landed three centuries anterior to the Welsh, enable us even to unclasp the volume;—to accomplish this, and its translation, an historic Œiliad must be cast over a period of more than two thousand annual changes, of nature's revolving but faithful time-glass! Granting then, that when the lex scripta will not cover a subject, the lex NON scripta must be investigated to establish a position; —the first, then, will not apply to the Aborigines of the north, for it does not exist; the latter only, or the unwritten history of their race must be had recourse to, to prove their originality and identity; traceable back to time immemorial, from their present customs and traditions. We think that it will instantly be admitted, that all religious ceremonies are the strongest proofs of the characteristics of a people or race, of which no written history exists; for there is something so indescribably sacred in the conscientious actions of man with the Supreme God, that none but the maniac-atheist could doubt, that those actions should be received as the living features of a nation, when seen to be recognised and acknowledged, with as much certainty of identity, as when a mother gazes upon her fondly-cherished child! The customs forming the analogy between the Northern natives and the ancient Israelites, will now be reviewed with as much brevity as the subject will permit, in order to establish an essential point of the present theory—viz., the separation of the Aborigines into two distinct people. The reader, perhaps, will meet us at the threshold of argument by the question, "How can an Indian be of Israel?" We will answer this, and refute the misnomer before the analogies are investigated. The name Indian, as applied to the original inhabitants of either, or both the Americas, Canada, the islands in, or adjacent to, the Gulf of Mexico, has no authority founded upon truth. The name was given in error, and has been so continued from the time of the Genoese to the present day. Throughout this work no position will be advanced that cannot be defended. The wrongful appellation originated with Columbus; and for proof of the assertion the following is presented. The shadow of the Earth upon the Moon during an eclipse, plainly testified that the planet upon which we live was round. The travels of Marco Paulo by land to the East Indies (about 1269), related that those lands stretched far towards the east. About two centuries after this, it occurred to Columbus, upon perusing those travels; but more especially from having obtained intelligence from the final conquest of the Canary islands in 1483; and information while resident in England (which circumstances will be investigated hereafter), that by a voyage towards the west—thus travelling, as it were, around the globe—he should meet the extremities of those lands; and as the discovery of a sea-passage to the East Indies was the great object of navigation in the fifteenth century, Columbus made the bold attempt (founded upon previous knowledge of migration), and discovered the island of St. Salvador and those adjacent, and thinking that he had reached the eastern extremity of the Indies according to his theory, he then named those isles [6] [7] [8] [9] the West Indies, because they were discovered by sailing west. The discovery of the Continent followed during his third voyage, and believing all the land to be of the Indies, the inhabitants of the isles and of the mainland were, as a natural consequence, called by Columbus under one general appellation, viz., Indians. Subsequent geographical discoveries have proved the great error of the Genoese; but the name of Indian was given at that time, and it has been continued although at variance with the truth; and it has had a material effect in checking inquiry concerning the Aborigines, who having been called Indians, the name seemed at once to specify their origin: but, it would have been equally as just, if he had determined to sail for Britain, and an unforeseen gale having cast him upon the island of Sardinia, and then from believing that he had reached the intended object of his voyage, he should have called the latter inhabitants British. We, therefore, discard the name of Indian as applied to the natives of the Western continent (it will be retained in the Tragedy of "Tecumseh" for local purposes), and write of them as the Aborigines, until, as we advance in this History, they can be identified by a national name, founded upon facts and conclusions. CHAPTER II. HEBREW ANALOGIES WITH THE TRIBES OF THE NORTH—CONTRASTED WITH THE NATIVES OF MEXICAN AMERICA— Circumcision—Scalping—Its great Antiquity—THE CRUCIFIXION NOT KNOWN TO THE NATIVES OF THE NORTH —THEIR TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE OF THE DELUGE—THEIR PRACTICE OF THE LAWS OF MOSES—THE CONCLUSIVE Proofs of the two RACES—THE FORMATION OF A NEW EPOCHIAN TABLE FOR THE HISTORY OF ANCIENT AMERICA —The announcement of the Historical Theory, and the First Epoch. The Hebrew analogies now claim investigation; and as Woman is first in the affections and in memory, she claims by right upon this, as upon all occasions, the natural precedence. The Northern mother, after childbirth, is secluded for a given number of days, varying according to the sex of the new-born infant. By the law of Moses, the mother's purification was to last 40 days for a male, and 80 days for a female child. All other seclusions are as strict as when the wife becomes a mother. When a wife becomes a widow, and is childless, her husband's brother marries her,—these were essential laws of the Hebrew, and especially the latter,—that a name should not be lost in Israel. As a mother she considers it a religious duty, that the child should receive its nourishment from the breast that gave it life: and such is the feeling in the performance of this maternal duty, that she often nurses her offspring until it attains three or four years of age. From this fact an important problem is solved, viz., the apparent tardiness in the ratio increase of the Aborigines of the North:—for it is the rule in Nature's female code (and should there be an exception, it only proves the rule), that while that affection continues from the fond practice of the mother, no other shall arise to destroy that which already exists: but, as that ceases and the first-born is put away, Nature jealous of her supremacy, again bestows upon the mother a second joy, and so continues in her undeviating course. There is, also, a direct physical analogy between the Northern mothers and those of ancient Israel; if there were not, the negative might be brought against this theory: we therefore take advantage of the affirmative. The only cause of Pharaoh's political action against the Hebrews was, that from the rapid ratio in which they multiplied, they would eventually rebel, and with, or without the assistance of any other nation entirely subdue Egypt. The ease of childbirth by the Hebrew mother is distinctly stated in Holy-Writ, in contrast to the dangerous sufferings of the Egyptian parent; from which fact may be gathered the cause of the gradual, but certain increase of the Israelites over the Egyptian population. The same peculiar facility of childbirth is one of the chief characteristics of the Northern female, for in the Rocky Mountains, while journeying in cavalcade, and being taken in travail, the mother will leave her companions alone, and within an hour, will remount her horse, and overtake her associates, with the new-born infant in her arms! The cause why the population of the Aborigines of the North is not in ratio with the ancient Hebrews, has already been alluded to, in reference to the mother's belief and practice of extended maternal duty and fondness. If, as we believe, the great ancestresses of these Northern women were Leah and Rachel—the "tender-eyed," the "beautiful and well-favoured,"—then have their daughters on the Western continent lost no features of the mothers of Israel;—for they might hang their harps upon the willows of their fate, as emblems of Jerusalem's children in captivity, and feel no shame in comparison of sorrow, grace, or beauty! The Northern Aborigines have a traditional knowledge of the Deluge and the Dove of peace, which to them under the name of the "medicine," or "mystery bird," is sacred from the arrow of the hunter. They have their Ark of Covenant, in which is deposited some mystery, seen only by the priests of the Tribe,—it is said to be a shell, and supposed to give out oracular sounds: this is in analogy to the Book of the Laws placed in the Ark of Covenant by Moses, preceding his death on Mount Nebo,—the oracular wisdom of which has guided civilization to this day. The ark is never suffered to touch the earth, but is always raised on a stand of wood or stone; it is invariably carried by a Tribe when they march to battle,—a similitude is here to Joshua at the siege of Jericho. When it is in their peaceful encampment, it is surrounded by twelve stones, indicative of the original number of the Tribes of their ancestors;—this is strictly in analogy with the twelve statues (probably rude blocks of stone) erected by Moses around the Altar of the Covenant to personify the twelve tribes of Israel. Joshua, also, after the passage of the Jordan, erected twelve stones in his [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] encampment at Gilgal, and the same number in the river at the place of the passage. They select their "medicine men" (i. e. priests or prophets) from among a portion of the tribe not warriors; here is the custom of the Levites, or descendants of Aaron being in the sacred office of priesthood, for with the Israelites they were not to be taken from the ranks of the soldiery. These Aborigines "dwell in booths," as when "brought out of the land of Egypt," for they are still wanderers. [Lev. xxiii.] They offer a flesh, or burnt-offering from the chase, which is first cast into the flames, before even a starving family may eat. They have their corn and harvest feasts; also, one in observance of every new moon,— another in festivity of the first-fruits,—and the great feast in direct analogy with the Hebrew Passover, even to the blood being stained upon the posts and lintels, and the mingling of the most bitter herbs! Then their fastings and purifications are practised with the greatest severity. The breastplate, or ornament worn by their religious prophets, containing twelve shells, or stones of value, is in direct imitation of the ancient Pectoral worn by the Hebrew high- priest, and which contained twelve precious stones, inscribed with the names of all the twelve original tribes of Israel. They have their cities of refuge, or huts of safety, where the most deadly foe dare not enter for his victim. They never violate a female captive, and upon the Hebrew principle, that their blood shall not be contaminated by interunion;—this has been strictly followed in all their wars with the Europeans. They also reject the savage practice of civilization upon the lofty principle of manly virtue! The "medicine-bag" or pouch is carried by every member of the Tribe;—it is suspended to a bead-belt, which crosses the breast by passing over the left shoulder, and hangs on the right side; it contains, as they say and believe, preservatives to keep them from sickness or defeat. These are essentially the phylacteries referred to by THE SAVIOUR, and previously condemned by Moses; for the word phylactery is derived from the Greek tongue, and denotes a preservative; and in the time of Moses they were worn by his people in great excess; and so by the Northern native. Moses checked the excessive use of the "preservatives" and changed the custom; for by his command the priesthood alone wore the phylactery, which was at last a frontlet of parchment for the forehead, upon which was written an extract from the laws, that "those that run might read." Then the absence of all idols or symbolical devices, and the worship of the One God (i. e. Great Spirit); their never pronouncing the name, Jehovah, but in syllables, and those separated by long ceremonies, thus truly fulfilling the Hebrew law, "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord Thy God in vain." The name with them sounds as if written, Ye- hoh-vah, and is only pronounced by the Aaron of the tribe. In their hymns of rejoicing, the word Hal-le-lu-yah is distinctly uttered. To the foregone analogies is to be added the general and firm belief in the Immortality of the soul! But beyond all this as proof of their origin, is the practice of the great covenant between the Almighty Father and the Patriarch Abraham—viz., Circumcision! And it does not exist, as in parts of Egypt and the Asiatic nations, for the purpose of supposed health, (in which belief it was practised in ancient Egypt by both sexes,) but as a religious custom, handed down from time immemorial! The custom now is not general, but it does exist; and we must be understood as referring back at least two hundred years in our review, to the period of the Pilgrim Fathers, when the Northern Aborigines numbered fifteen millions,—now they scarcely number two and a half! All the customs, however, noticed, are practised at the present period by the uncontrolled Aboriginal. If all other evidences were not received, that of Circumcision, as a religious ceremony, must be viewed by the most sceptical, as direct proof of identity between the Northern Aborigines and the ancient Hebrews. The custom we have written is not general, it is only found in the more settled tribes; this even supports our belief, for in this very fact is traced again the precedent ordained by Moses; for circumcision was discontinued by the great Lawgiver for forty years, during his journeying with his followers through the wilderness; the custom was re-established by Joshua. May not this innovation by Moses in the covenanted custom be imitated by these descendants? Are they not still wanderers in the wilderness in the western, as their ancestors were in the eastern hemisphere? The affirmative has existed for ages, and it even now continues. They have not yet returned to Jerusalem! One fact is of great importance in proof of their great antiquity—viz., they have no knowledge or tradition in the North of the Life or Crucifixion of Christ, yet they have a knowledge of the Deluge, and actually practise the laws of Moses. Again we must repeat, that we are writing of these Aborigines as they were at the time of European colonization. The above singular fact enables us at once to place them in a chronological position. It must be after Moses but before The Savior; but another fact brings their circle of time still narrower—viz., they have no tradition of the destruction of the first Temple of Jerusalem. This event occurred 588 years before Christ, it must, therefore, be anterior to that national calamity, that they trace their origin. Of this, hereafter, when in the next volume the history of the Israelites will be given; but, even now, justice to this race compels us to offer a few words in their defence as a people, for being already sufficiently shewn that they are of the great Hebrew family, they may fall in the estimation of some readers upon religious principles. It has been shewn that they have no tradition of the Crucifixion, or of the desolation of the Temple. Is there no sentiment in the mind of the Christian reader as the first fact is unfolded, other than that of historical data? Upon a moment's thought it must be apparent that, the blood of Christ cannot be upon them or their children! Their ancestors never shouted in the streets of Jerusalem, "Crucify him! crucify him!" The Aborigines of the North are Israelites, and of the house of Jeroboam, not Jews, i. e., of the House of Judah; a distinction of all importance, as the pages of the subsequent volume will prove. The custom of Scalping cannot be said with truth to be original with the Northern native: it has, however, been so asserted, as proof that they are more modern as a people than this theory would establish; but the declaration "melts into air, into thin air," from the fact, that both Herodotus and Polybius mention scalping as being practised among the most ancient nations of the world. The assertion, therefore, has only brought forward its refutation. Scalping was [15] [16] [17] [18] introduced originally by the ancients for the express purpose of counting and recording the number of the foe slain in battle: and especially was this custom practised by the Scythians: this is established upon the authority of the accurate Herodotus. For the same reason is the custom followed by the Aborigines of the North—viz., to number the slain of the enemy. Again, Scythia was the ancient name of the country now known by the modern name of Tartary. This is important, as will be shewn in the next volume, in tracing the encampments of the Israelites after their escape from captivity; for in the Scythian Tartary they will be found: and consequently the custom may have been derived from their own remote ancestors, who obtained it from the Scythians. The custom with both was (and in the North still is), only for a trophy of the dead, and, therefore the scalp is never taken from a living enemy. Polybius, however, has a Draconian record—viz., that upon the occasion of Gisco the Carthaginian being made prisoner, together with 700 of his soldiers, they were all scalped alive by the rebel mercenaries under Spondius. The ancients, also, wore the long scalp-locks as the flowing hair to their rude helmets and weapons: the natives of the North do the same as records of their personal victories. This subject has been dwelt upon, in order to prove its great antiquity. We may here remark that the mutilation of the dead for the purpose of numbering, was nearly a general practice among all the ancients. The Scythian, it has been shewn, took the scalp and the hair-lock; but the Assyrian and the Egyptian had another method—viz., by the number of ears sent to the king or general. This is glanced at in Ezekiel xxiii. 25; but when imposition was practised by the soldiers of the latter nation (after a general rapine and massacre), by sending home the ears of their female victims in order to increase their reward upon the supposition that they had been taken from men,—an original custom of recording the slain warriors, was then introduced (to check the imposition) for proving the sex of the fallen. The latter proof of victory was a condition from David to Saul, for obtaining the daughter of the latter in marriage. [1 Samuel xviii. 25-27.] The Hebrew, therefore, followed the custom from the Egyptian, who practised it previous to David's victory over the Philistines, which was in the year of his marriage, 1063, B. C.; it is, therefore, probable that a knowledge of this Egyptian custom may have been obtained by the Hebrews during their bondage in that country—the Exodus took place 1491, B. C. The remote antiquity of these repulsive customs are, therefore, firmly established. Scalping is one of them, and is, and ever has been, practised in Northern America. While upon the subject of War, and its worst horror—viz., Rapine—it may be here mentioned again, and to the eternal honour of the Northern Aborigines, and as a stern reproof to the wars of civilization (?) that they have never been known to violate a female captive among their own race, upon the principle that it placed shame upon the warrior's glory. This noble manhood has also extended the same mercy to the white female prisoner, as to those of their own colour. Is there not the ancient Hebrew even in this? And is not their national abhorrence of interunion with any people but their own traceable in this custom? They, also, upon the same principle, will not marry or cohabit with the pale-face race, or with any not of their own blood. We write of the Aborigines as they were, and of the mass. There may be on the frontiers some solitary exceptions after their acquaintance with the Anglo-Saxon race; but oftener among the women than the men. This arises not from less virtue than in the opposite sex; but, and with shame be it written, from the seduction, treachery, and desertion by the European. Most truly might a chieftain reply to a missionary who endeavoured to convert a tribe. "Teach us? What? My son has been murdered—my daughter ravished by the white- man! Learn first yourselves to obey the mandates of humanity, and prove that we do not practise them; then come among us to preach, or teach, and we will receive you with open arms! When shall we meet again upon this condition? On Earth, white man, never!" The marriage of the Virginian Aboriginal, Pochahontas, was, after her baptism in the Christian faith, and consequently cannot be brought to bear against the preceding remarks. Many other religious customs and ceremonies exist of a minor character, yet strictly in analogy with the race of Abraham; but enough has been brought forward in this volume to propose these (as we believe) unanswerable questions: "If they are not of the Lost Tribes of Israel, who are they?" "What nation of ancient history can claim and identify those customs and observances as their own, if not the Hebrew?" Then in regard to the physique of the race, they possess the essential characteristics of the ancient Hebrew in regard to physiognomy—viz., the broad and elevated forehead, the acquiline nose, the high cheekbone, brilliant red countenance, and teeth pure as ivory; black hair, the dark and heavy eyebrow, the sunken but brilliant eye, like a diamond within a ring of pearl, and both deep-set beneath a brow of ebony. Their figures in youth (from their mother's care), are models for the Apollo; and should the Statue be lost (and with it all casts and engravings), it could be restored from a living archer; for the attitude of the Sun-God is daily assumed by them from the impulse of Nature, when they wing their arrows at the Pythons of the chase! The reader must not imagine that our enthusiasm upon the subject has betrayed us into the language of poetic rhapsody; for we have the authority (apart from our own experience) of Benjamin West, who, when he first arrived at Rome to commence his studies, was regarded as "a Savage from the New World." In order to surprise him, the statue of Apollo was shewn to him with great ceremony by the Savans, who expected that he would be overwhelmed with wonder. His simple remark was, "Why, it is a model from a young North American Indian!" It was the highest compliment that could have been given to the grace and dignity of the statue. The colour of the ancient Israelite must not be judged by that of the modern Jew—for various climates, local circumstances, and confined habitations, have given the latter a dark, heavy, swarthy countenance, and even in middle age they are bent in figure; but the ancient light-red tint may be but the original of the sunburnt features of the Aborigines, and they, from their forest life, reach at least three score years before old age compels them to see their shadows as they walk! [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] The words of "the good friend" William Penn, may be given as a peculiar and powerful authority. After his first and celebrated interview with the Northern natives, he wrote to England the following sentences in reference to them: "I found them with like countenances to the Hebrew race, and their children of so lively a resemblance to them," &c. At this, and no other time did the thought of their being of the Lost Tribes of Israel enter his imagination. The sentences, therefore, are of great importance, from the fact that they were not originally written by him to support any theory in reference to the Aborigines; but merely asserted in his letter from a strong impression of apparent truth, and which fact, to the Founder of Pennsylvania, was a subject of astonishment, and there it rested; for to him, were they Hebrew or Gentile, his kind and philanthropic heart, taught him to view them as a branch of the human family, and that to him was sufficient for forming a bond of amity! His memory is cherished by the Aborigines to this day—as "the good friend." The reader may remember the historical painting by West, of this celebrated interview, it is worthy of the subject represented. The bold style and metaphorical character of their Oratory, is essentially Hebrew,—an attempt to illustrate their eloquence will be found in the historical tragedy of "Tecumseh." Their undaunted and chivalric personal courage, is the very counterpart of that evinced upon the plains of Jericho, or in aftertimes before the walls of Jerusalem. Then their god-like love of perfect freedom,—the spirit of Jeroboam, did not die in the first rebellion and victory against tyranny,—it lives in his nation's descendants in the North; at invasions or encroachment, they rise as one man, to crush their oppressor, and which fact, every record from the Pilgrim Fathers to the present day, will testify. In all their battles (and their name is legion) they have disputed the ground, inch by inch, and even their women have fought and fallen in their ranks. Every chief was a Judas Maccabæus, or an Eleazer Savaran! Now in every physical characteristic of the Northern, did the Mexican differ; they bore no analogy as being of the same race, either in feature, courage, endurance, or general religion. In Mexican America, Cortez, with only 500 Spanish soldiers, and those worn and dispirited, drove 50,000 Mexicans from the field of Otumba,—they fled like snow-flakes before the wind, when their standard was seized by a Spaniard; but, in the North, the fight was man to man, and no retreat—death or victory—Jerusalem or the grave! Every chieftain of the North, even upon a supposition of flight from a superior foe (either in number or prowess), may be imagined to have uttered the last words of Judas Maccabæus, when in his final battle he was opposed by twenty times his own force: "God forbid that I should do this thing, and flee from them; if our time be come, let us die manfully for our brethren, and not stain our honour!" Some of the Mexican nations worshipped idols, and knew not God!—for they sacrificed human beings to propitiate their savage Deities; not so the noble Northerns, they worship The One God, who declared to the first Lawgiver, "Thou shalt have no other Gods before me," and their only human sacrifice is the invader of their lands and birthright. The only two analogies that existed between the North and Mexican America, and which might apparently destroy or prevent the proof of this theory, are, first, Circumcision; and second, the similitude of Language. In the North, circumcision, as we have shewn, is a religious custom only; in the Mexican territories, it was both optional and religious. This strange and apparent stumbling-block in the way of proving that they are of a different race, will be removed as we proceed; for so far from injuring the proofs of the theory, it absolutely supports them, as does also the analogy in language. These important points—viz., Circumcision and Language, will be met in their respective places, and in an original manner of application; for they form two of the most substantial evidences, and were the primitive causes for our belief in the subject contemplated by this work, and especially in reference to that portion having Christianity for its basis. As an essential contrast between the Aborigines, is the fact that in the North they have (as already stated) no tradition of the Crucifixion, while in the other portion of the Continent (and for centuries before the rediscovery by Columbus) they had a perfect knowledge of every particular of the Life and Death of Christ. Again;—in this part of the Continent there are Stone architectural Ruins:—in the North there are none; they possess there but embankments, Marathonian mounds or tumuli. These undeniable and characteristic opposites in Northern and Mexican America, increased by the late discovery of the Ruined Cities in Guatamala and the adjacent provinces, together with fifteen years of personal observation in America; to which may be added a practical knowledge of the Fine Arts, enthusiasm in research, and mature reflection upon the entire subject, have authorized the formation of (as we believe) an Original Theory, concerning the History of the Aborigines of the two great divisions of...