The Prehistoric World; Or, Vanished races

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Title: The Prehistoric World; Or, Vanished races
Author: Allen, Emory Adams, 1853-
Language: English
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THE PREHISTORIC WORLD

or, VANISHED RACES.

By E. A. Allen

Author of "The Golden Gems of Life."

Nashville: Central Publishing House, 1885.

Each of the following well-known Scholars reviewed one or more Chapters,
and made valuable suggestions:

C. C. ABBOTT, M.D., Author of "Primitive Industry."

Prof. F. W. PUTNAM, Curator of Peabody Museum of Archaeology and
Ethnology, Harvard University.

A. F. BANDELIER, Explorer for Archaeological Institute of America,
author of "Archaeological Tour in Mexico."

Prof. CHARLES RAU, Curator of Archaeological Department of Smithsonian
Institution.

ALEXANDER WINCHELL, LL.D., Professor of Geology and Paleontology,
University of Michigan.

CYRUS THOMAS, PH.D., Of the Bureau of Ethnology.

G. F. WRIGHT, Of the United States Geological Survey, Professor in
Theological Seminary, Oberlin, Ohio.

PREFACE

In this volume the author has sought to lay before the reader a
description of life and times lying beyond the light of history. This is
indeed an extensive subject, and calls for some explanation, both as to
the general design of the work and what steps have been taken to secure
correct information.

History is a word of varied import. In general, when we talk about
history, we mean those accounts of past events, times, and circumstances
of which we have written records. Not necessarily meaning alphabetical
writing, because hieroglyphic records have furnished much true history.
Hieroglyphic writing, which long preceded alphabetical writing, is
itself a comparatively recent art. In no country do we find any records
carrying us further back than a few thousand years before the Christian
era. We have every reason to believe that the historical part of man's
life on the globe is but an insignificant part of the whole. This
historic period is not the same in all countries. It varies from a few
centuries in our own country to a few thousands of years in Oriental
lands. In no country is there a hard and fast line separating the
historic period from the prehistoric. In the dim perspective of years
the light gradually fades away, the mist grows thicker and thicker
before us, and we at last find ourselves face to face with the unknown
past.

This extensive period of time is not, however, utterly lost to us. We
have simply to gather our information in some other way. Enthusiastic
explorers, digging beneath the ashes of Vesuvius, have brought to light
the remains of an entombed city. Of this city we indeed have historic
records, but even if all such records had long since disappeared, we
would gather much information as to the nationality of the inhabitants,
their customs, and manners, by a simple inspection of the relics
themselves. Everywhere over the earth, entombed beneath the feet of the
living, or crumbling on the surface, are the few relics of a past far
antedating the relics of Pompeii. They are the proofs positive that some
people inhabited the land in far away times.

Our object is to gather together the conclusions of the scientific
world as to primitive man. We wish to see how far back in the geological
history of the globe we can find evidence of man's existence, and we
desire to learn his surroundings and the manner of his life. There can
be no more important field than for us to thus learn of the past. To
read the story of primitive man, to walk with him the earth in ages long
ago, with him to wage war on the huge animals of a previous epoch, to
recede with him before the relentless march of the ice of the Glacial
Age, to watch his advance in culture, to investigate whether there are
any races of men now living which are the direct descendants of this
primeval man.

The author makes no claims to original investigations. He trusts,
however, it will not be considered impertinent for a mere loiterer in
the vestibule of the temple of science to attempt to lay before others
the results of the investigations of our eminent scholars. He has
endeavored faithfully to perform this task. As far as possible technical
language has been avoided. This is because he has written not for the
distinctively scientific men, but rather for the farmer, the mechanic,
and the man of business. Constant references are made to the authorities
consulted. The reader his a right to know who vouches for the statements
made in the text.

The pleasantest part of an author's duty is to return thanks for
assistance. After the manuscript was prepared with what care could
be bestowed on it, it was determined to submit it to some of our best
American scholars for criticism. Accordingly, each of the gentlemen
named on the title page were requested to review one or more chapters.
As far as possible, each one was asked to review that chapter or
chapters for which, either by reason of the position they held, or the
interest they were known to take in such subjects, they would by common
assent be acknowledged as eminently fitted to sit in judgment. In
justice to them, it should be stated that they were not expected
to concern themselves with the literary merits or demerits of the
manuscript, but to criticise the scientific statements made therein. To
each and all of these gentlemen the author would acknowledge his deep
obligations.

We are indebted to Rev. J. P. MacLean, the well-known archaeologist,
both for many valuable suggestions, and for the use of wood-cuts on
pages 60, 138 and 396. We are also under obligation to Rev. S. D. Peet,
editor of the _American Antiquarian,_ for cuts illustrative of
the effigy mounds of Wisconsin. The officials of the Smithsonian
Institution, and the Bureau of Ethnology have our thanks for many cuts,
for which credit is given them throughout the work.

Finally, the author wishes to say that it was the intention to make
this work the joint production of the author and his partner, Mr. S. C.
Ferguson, but before any progress was made it was deemed advisable to
change the programme. While the literary work has all been performed by
the author, the many details necessarily connected with the publication
of a book were attended to by Mr. Ferguson.

E. A. ALLEN.

Cincinnati, _January_ 1, 1885.

CONTENTS

Chapter I. INTRODUCTION.

Difficulties of the subject--Lesson to be learned--The pursuit of
knowledge--Recent advances--Prehistoric past of the Old World--Of the
New--Of Mexico and the South--The Isles of the Pacific--Similar nature
of the relics--The wonders of the present age--History of popular
opinion on this subject--The teachings of the Bible--Nature of
the evidence of man's antiquity--The steps leading up to this
belief--Geology--Astronomy--Unfolding of life--Nature of our inquiry.

Chapter II. EARLY GEOLOGICAL PERIODS.

Necessity of a general acquaintance with the outlines of Geology--A
time in which no life was possible on the globe--Length of this
period--History of life commences at the close of this period--On the
formation of rocks--The record imperfect--The three great periods in
animal life on the globe--Paleozoic Age--Animal and vegetable life of
this period--Ideal scenes in this period--The Mesozoic Age--Animal and
vegetable life of this period--Advance noted--Abundance of reptilian
life--First appearance of birds--Nature's methods of work--the Cenozoic
Age Geological outline--Sketch of the Eocene Age--Of the Miocene
Age--What is sufficient proof of the presence of man--Discussion on
the Thenay flints--The Pliocene Age--Animal and vegetable life of
this age--Was man present during this age?--Discussion of this
subject--Summing up of the evidence--Conclusion.

Chapter III. MEN OF THE RIVER DRIFT.

Beginning of the Glacial Age--Interglacial Age--Man living in Europe
during this age--Map of Europe--Proof of former elevation of land--The
animals living in Europe during this age--Conclusions drawn from these
different animals--The vegetation of this period--Different climatic
conditions of Europe during the Glacial Age--Proofs of the Glacial
Age--Extent of Glacial Ice--Evidence of warm Interglacial Age--The
primitive state of man--Early English civilization--Views of
Horace--Primitive man destitute of metals--Order in which different
materials were used by man for weapons--Evidence from the River
Somme--History of Boucher De Perthes's investigations. Discussion of the
subject--Antiquity of these remains--Improvement during the Paleolithic
Age--Description of the flint implements--Other countries where these
implements are found--What race of men were these tribes--The Canstadt
race--Mr. Dawkins's views--When did they first appear in Europe? The
authorities on this question--Conclusion.

Chapter IV. CAVE-MEN.

Other sources of information--History of cave explorations--The
formation of caves--Exploration in Kent's Cavern--Evidence of two
different races--The higher culture of the later race--Evidence of
prolonged time--Exploration of Robin Hood Cave--Explorations in Valley
of the River Meuse--M. Dupont's conclusions--Explorations in the Valley
of the Dordogne--The station at Schussenreid--Cave-men not found south
of the Alps--Habitations of the Cave-men--Cave-men were
hunters--methods of cooking--Destitute of the potter's art--Their
weapons--Clothing--Their skill in drawing--Evidence of a government--Of
a religious belief--Race of the Cave-men--Distinct from the Men of the
Drift--Probable connection with the Eskimos.

Chapter V. ANTIQUITY OF THE PALEOLITHIC AGE.

Interest in the Antiquity of man--Connected with the Glacial Age--The
subject difficult--Proofs of a Glacial Age--State of Greenland
to-day--The Terminal Moraine--Appearance of the North
Atlantic--Interglacial Age--Causes of the Glacial Age--Croll's
Theory--Geographical causes--The two theories not antagonistic--The date
of the Glacial Age--Probable length of the Paleolithic Age--Time Since
the close of the Glacial Age--Summary of results.

Chapter VI. THE NEOLITHIC AGE IN EUROPE.

Close of the first cycle--Neolithic culture connected with the
present--No links between the two ages--Long lapse of time between
the two ages--Swiss lake villages--This form of villages widely
scattered--Irish cranogs--Fortified villages--Implements and weapons of
Neolithic times--Possessed of pottery--Neolithic agriculture--Possessed
of domestic animals--Danish shell-heaps--Importance of flint--The art
of navigation--Neolithic clothing--Their mode of burial--The question of
race--Possible remnants--Connection with the Turanian race--Arrival of
the Celts.

Chapter VII. THE BRONZE AGE IN EUROPE.

Races of Men, like Individuals--Gradual change of Neolithic Age to
that of Bronze--The Aryan family--First Aryans Neolithic--Origin of
Bronze--How Great discoveries are made--Gold the first metal--Copper
abundant--No Copper Age--The discovery of Tin--Explanation of an
Alloy--Bronze, wherever found, the same composition--What is meant
by the Bronze Age--Knowledge in other directions--Gradual Growth of
Culture--Three Centers of Bronze production--Habitations during
the Bronze Age--The Bronze Ax--Implements of Bronze--Personal
ornaments--Ornaments not always made of Bronze--Advance in Arts of
living--Advance in Agriculture--Warlike Weapons--How they worked
Bronze--Advance in Government--Trade in the Bronze Age--Religion of the
Bronze Age--Symbolical figures--Temples of the Bronze Age--Stonehenge.

Chapter VIII. THE IRON AGE IN EUROPE. Bronze not the best
metal--Difficulties attending the discovery of Iron--Probable steps in
this discovery--Where this discovery was first made--Known in Ancient
Egypt--How this knowledge would spread--Iron would not drive out
Bronze--The primitive Iron-worker--The advance in government--Pottery
and ornaments of the Iron Age--Weapons of early Iron Age--The
battle-field of Tilfenau--Trade of early Iron Age--Invention of
Money--Invention of Alphabetic Writing--Invasion of the Germanic
Tribes--The cause of the Dark Ages--Connection of these three
ages--Necessity of believing in an Extended Past--Attempts to determine
the same--Tiniere Delta--Lake Bienne--British Fen-lands--Maximum and
Minimum Data--Mr. Geikie's conclusions--The Isolation of the paleolithic
Age.

Chapter IX. EARLY MAN IN AMERICA.

Conflicting accounts of the American Aborigines--Recent
discoveries--Climate of California in Tertiary Times--Geological
changes near its close--Description of Table Mountain--Results of the
discoveries there--The Calaveras skull--Other relics--Discussion of the
question--Early Californians Neolithic--Explanation of this--Date of
the Pliocene Age--Other discoveries bearing on the Antiquity of man--Dr.
Koch's discovery--Discoveries in the Loess of Nebraska--In Greene
County, Ill.--In Georgia--Difficulties in detecting a Paleolithic Age
in this country--Dr. Abbott's discoveries--Paleolithic Implements of the
Delaware--Age of the deposits--The race of Paleolithic man--Ancestors of
the Eskimos--Comparison of Paleolithic Age in this country with that in
Europe--Eskimos one of the oldest races in the World.

Chapter X. THE MOUND BUILDERS.

Meaning of "Mound Builders"--Location of Mound Building tribes--All
Mounds not the work of men--Altar Mounds--Objects found on the
Altars--Altar Mounds possibly burial Mounds--Burial Mounds--Mounds
not the only Cemeteries of these tribes--Terraced Mounds--Cahokia
Mound--Historical notice of a group of Mounds--The Etowal
group--Signal Mounds--Effigy Mounds--How they represented different
animals--Explanation of the Effigy Mounds--Effigy Mounds in other
localities--Inclosures of the Scioto Valley--At Newark, Ohio--At
Marietta, Ohio--Graded Ways--Fortified Inclosures--Ft. Ancient,
Ohio--Inclosures of Northern Ohio--Works of unknown import--Ancient
Canals in Missouri--Implements and Weapons of Stone--Their knowledge of
Copper--Ancient mining--Ornamental pipes--Their knowledge of pottery--Of
Agriculture--Government and Religion--Hard to distinguish them from the
Indians.

Chapter XI. THE PUEBLO COUNTRY.

Description of the Pueblo Country--Historical outline--Description of
Zuni--Definition of a Pueblo--Old Zuni--Inscription Rock--Pueblo of
Jemez--Historical notice of Pecos--Description of the Moqui tribes--The
Estufa--Description of the San Juan country--Aztec Springs--In the
Canyon of the McElmo--The Ruins on the Rio Mancos--On Hovenweep
Creek--Description of a Cliff-house--Cliff Town--Cave Houses--Ruins
on the San Juan--Cave Town--The Significance of Cliff-houses--Moqui
traditions--Ruins in Northern New Mexico--Ruins in the Chaco
Canyon--Pueblo Bonito--Ruins in South-western Arizona--The Rio
Verde Valley--Casa Grande--Ruins on the Gila--Culture of the Pueblo
Tribes--Their Pottery--Superiority of the Ancient pottery--Conclusion.

Chapter XII. THE PREHISTORIC AMERICANS.

Different views on this Subject--Modern System of Government--Ancient
System of Government--Tribal Government universal in North
America--The Indians not Wandering Nomads--Indian houses Communal in
character--Indian Methods of Defense--Mandan Villages--Indians sometimes
erected Mounds--Probable Government of the Mound Builders--Traditions
of the Mound Builders among the Iroquois--Among the Delawares--Probable
fate of the Mound Builders--The Natchez Indians possibly a remnant of
the Mound Builders--Their early Traditions--Lines of resemblance
between the Pueblo Tribes and the Mound Builders--The origin of
the Indians--America Inhabited by the Indians from a very early
time--Classification of the Indian Tribes--Antiquity of the Indian
Tribes.

Chapter XIII. THE NAHUA TRIBES.

Early Spanish discoveries in Mexico--The Nahua tribes defined--Climate
of Mexico--The Valley of Anahuac--Ruins at Tezcuco--The Hill of
Tezcocingo--Ruins at Teotihuacan--Ancient Tulla--Ruins in the
Province of Querataro--Casa Grandes in Chihuahua--Ancient remains in
Sinaloa--Fortified Hill of Quemada--The Pyramid of Cholula--Fortified
Hill at Xochicalco--Its probable use--Ruins at Monte Alban--Ancient
remains at Mitla--Mr. Bandelier's investigations--Traditions in regard
to Mitla--Ruins along the Panuco River--Ruins in Vera Cruz--Pyramid of
Papantla--Tusapan--Character of Nahua Ruins.

Chapter XIV. THE MAYA TRIBES.

The geographical location of the Maya tribes--Description
of Copan--Statue at Copan--Altar at Copan--Ruins at
Quiriga--Patinamit--Utatlan--Description of Palenque--The Palace
at Palenque--The Temple of the Three Inscriptions--Temple of the
Beau-relief--Temple of the Cross--Temple of the Sun--Maler's Temple
of the Cross--Significance of the Palenque crosses--Statue
at Palenque--Other ruins in Tobasco and Chiapas--Ruins in
Yucatan--Uxmal--The Governor's House--The Nunnery--Room in
Nunnery--The Sculptured Facades--Temple at
Uxmal--Kabah--Zayi--Labna--Labphak--Chichen-Itza--The Nunnery--The
Castillo--The Gymnasium--M. Le Plongon's researches--The tradition of
the Three Brothers--Chaac-Mal--Antiquity of Chichen-Itza.

Chapter XV. THE CULTURE OF THE CIVILIZED TRIBES.

Different views on this question--Reasons for the same--Their
architecture--Different styles of houses--The communal house--The
teepan--The teocalli--State of society indicated by this
architecture--The gens among the Mexicans--The phratry among the
Mexicans--The tribe--The powers and duties of the council--The head
chiefs of the tribe--The duties of the "Chief-of-men"--The mistake
of the Spaniards--The Confederacy--The idea of property among the
Mexicans--The ownership of land--Their laws--Enforcement of the
laws--Outline of the growth of the Mexicans in power--Their tribute
system--How collected--Their system of trade--Slight knowledge
of metallurgy--Religion--Quetzalcohuatl--Huitzilopochtli--Mexican
priesthood--Human sacrifice--The system of Numeration--The calendar
system--The Calendar Stone--Picture-writing--Landa Alphabet--Historical
outline.

Chapter XVI. ANCIENT PERU.

First knowledge of Peru--Expeditions of Pizarro--Geography of Peru--But
a small part of it inhabitable--The tribes of ancient Peru--How
classified--Sources of our knowledge of Peru--Garcillaso De La
Vega--Origin of Peruvian civilization--The Bolson of
Cuzco--Historical outline--Their culture--Divided into phratries and
gentes--Government--Efforts to unite the various tribes--Their system
of colonies--The roads of the Incas--The ruins of Chimu--The arts of the
Chimu people--The manufacture of Pottery--Excavation at Ancon--Ruins
in the Huatica Valley--The construction of a Huaca--The ruins
at Pachacamac--The Valley of the Canete--The Chincha
Islands--Tiahuanuco--Carved gateway--The Island of
Titicaca--Chulpas--Aboriginal Cuzco--Temple of the Sun--The
Fortress--General remarks.

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

1. Pyramids and Sphinx.
2. Paleozoic Forest.
3. The Pterodactyl.
4. Ichthyosauri.
5. The Labyrinthodon.
6. The Paleotherium.
7. Miocene Mammals.
8. Cut Bones of a Whale.
9. Mastodon.
10. Map of Europe.
11. Scratched Stone.
12. Interglacial Bed.
13. Paleolithic Flints.
14. Flint Implements.
15. Section of Gravel-pit.
16. Paleolithic Flint, England.
17. Flint Flakes.
18. Spear-head Type.
19. Hatchet Type.
20. Neanderthal Man.
21. Gailenreuth.
22. Spear-head, Lower Breccia, Kent's Cavern.
23. Spear-head, Cave-earth, Kent's Cavern.
24. Flake, Cave-earth, Kent's Cavern.
25. Harpoon, Pin, Awl, and Needle, Kent's Cavern.
26. Robin Hood Cave.
27. Horse incised on Piece of Rib.
28. Bone Implements, Cresswell Crags.
29. Bone Implements, Dordogne Caves.
30. Rock Shelter, Bruniquel.
31. Whale and Seal incised on Bone.
32. Cave-bear incised on Slate.
33. Glove incised on Bear's Tooth.
34. Reindeer grazing.
35. Group of Reindeers.
36. Man, and other Animals.
37. Fish incised on Bear's Tooth.
38. Ibex.
39. Mammoth, La Madeline Cave, France.
40. Reindeer carved on Dagger Handle.
41. Flower on Reindeer's Horn.
42. Ornamented Reindeer Horn, use unknown.
43. Eskimo Art.
44. The Mammoth.
45. Antarctic Ice-sheet.
46. Earth's Orbit.
47. Lake Village.
48. Foundation Lake Village.
49. Irish Cranogs.
50. Fortified Camp, Cissbury.
51. Neolithic Axes.
52. Neolithic Weapons.
53. Ax in Sheath.
54. Hafted Hatchet in Sheath.
55. Sheath with two Hatchets.
56. Chisels in Sheath.
57. Horn Hoe.
58. Miner's Pick.
59. Polishing Stone.
60. Neolithic Boat-making.
61. Neolithic Cloth.
62. Spindle Whorl.
63. Weaver's Comb.
64. Chambered Burial Mound.
65. Dolmen, England.
66. Dolmen, France.
67. Dolmen once covered with Earth.
68. Menhir.
69. Stone Circle, England.
70. Chambered Tomb, France.
71. Bronze Axes, first Form.
72. Bronze Axes, second Form.
73. Bronze Axes, third Form.
74. Chisel.
75. Hammer.
76. Bronze Knives.
77. Crescent, use unknown.
78. Bracelet.
79. Hair-pin.
80. Bronze Pendants.
81. Necklace and Beads.
82. Ornamental Designs.
83. Bronze Sickle.
84. Clay Vessel and Support.
85. Bronze Weapons.
86. Mold.
87. Burial Mound.
88. Avebury Restored.
89. Stonehenge Restored.
90. Ancient Tower, Scotland.
91. Ornaments.
92. Gold Ornament.
93. Swords.
94. Ornamental Sword-sheath.
95. Lance-head and Javelin.
96. Shields.
97. Gallic Coins.
98. Imaginary Section of Table Mountain.
99. Calaveras Skull.
100. Implement found in Loess.
101. Spear-shaped Paleolithic Implement.
102. Paleolithic Implement, Argillite.
103. Stone Implement.
104. Mound Prairie.
105. Mound and Circle.
106. Altar Mound.
107. Plan and Section of Altar.
108. Burial Mounds.
109. Burial Mounds.
110. Grave Creek Mound.
111. Cross-section St. Louis Mound.
112. Terraced Mound.
113. Elevated Square, Marietta.
114. Cahokia Mound.
115. Temple Mound inclosed in a Circle.
116. Etowah Mound, Georgia.
117. Hill Mounds.
118. Miamisburg Mound.
119. Effigy Mounds.
120. Elephant Mound.
121. Emblematic Mounds.
122. Grazing Elks--Fox in the distance.
123. Eagle Mound.
124. Hawks and Buffaloes.
125. Goose and Duck.
126. Turtle.
127. Salamander and Muskrat.
128. Man-shaped Mound.
129. Emblematic Mound Inclosure.
130. Bird Mound surrounded by a Stone Circle.
131. The Big Serpent Mound.
132. The Alligator Mound.
133. High Bank Works.
134. Square and Circle Embankment.
135. Square inscribed in a Circle.
136. Circle and Ditch.
137. Mound Builders' Works, Newark, Ohio.
138. Eagle Mound.
139. Gateway of Octagon.
140. Observatory Mound.
141. Works at Marietta, Ohio.
142. Graded Way, Piketon, Ohio.
143. Fortified Hill, Hamilton, Ohio.
144. Fort Ancient, Ohio.
145. Fortified Headland.
146. Inclosure, Northern Ohio.
147. Square Inclosure, Northern Ohio.
148. Sacrificial Pentagon.
149. Festival Circle.
150. Crescent Works.
151. Triangular Works.
152. Arrow Points.
153. Ax found in a Mound.
154. Weapons of Stone from Tennessee.
155. Copper Ax.
156. Copper Bracelets.
157. Ancient Mine, Michigan.
158. Sculptured Face.
159. Face of a Female.
160. Beaver.
161. Otter.
162. Birds on Pipes.
163. Group of Clay Vessels.
164. Bowls with Human Faces.
165. Water Cooler.
166. Pottery Vessels.
167. Agricultural Implements.
168. Idols.
169. Map of the Pueblo Country.
170. Zuni.
171. Ground Plan.
172. End View.
173. Old Zuni.
174. Inscription Rock.
175. Wolpi.
176. Watch Tower.
177. Ruins at Aztec Springs.
178. Ruins in the McElmo Canyon.
179. Tower on the Rio Mancos
180. Ruins in the Havenweep Canyon.
181. Two-storied House in the Mancos Canyon.
182. View of the Cliff in which the House is Situated.
183. Plan of the House.
184. Doorway of the House.
185. Room of the House.
186. Cliff Town, Rio Mancos.
187. Caves Used as Houses, Rio Mancos.
188. Ruins in the San Juan Canyon.
189. Cave Town.
190. Battle Rock, McElmo Canyon.
191. Restoration of Pueblo Bonito.
192. Plan of Pueblo Bonito.
193. Different Styles of Masonry.
194. Room in Pueblo Bonito.
195. Casa Grandes, on the Gila.
196. Indented and Corrugated Ware.
197. Painted Ware.
198. Long House of the Iroquois.
199. Stockaded Onondaga Village.
200. Pomelock.
201. Mandan Village.
202. Ruins near the La Platte, Valley of the San Juan.
203. Stone Mask, found in Tennessee.
204. Map of Mexico.
205. Bas-relief Tezcuco.
206. Montezuma's Bath.
207. Aqueduct, Tezcocingo.
208. Teotihuacan.
209. Casas Grandes.
210. Quemada.
211. Pyramid of Cholula.
212. Xochicalco.
213. Enlarged View of the Ruins.
214. Wall at Mitla.
215. Ornamentation at Mitla.
216. Hall at Mitla.
217. Papantla.
218. Tusapan.
219. Map of Central America.
220. Ruins of Copan.
221. Statue, Copan.
222. Statue, Copan.
223. Hieroglyphics, Top of Altar.
224. Bas-relief, East Side of Altar.
225. Portrait, Copan.
220. Plan of Palenque.
227. General View of Palace, Palenque.
228. Cross-section of Palace, Palenque.
229. Trefoil Arch.
230. Entrance to Principal Court.
231. Stone Tablet.
232. Palace, Palenque.
233. Ruined Temple of the Three Tablets.
234. Elevation Temple of the Three Tablets.
235. The Beau-relief.
236. Temple of the Cross.
237. Tablet of the Cross.
238. The Sun.
239. Maler's Cross.
240. Statue, Palenque.
241. Bas-relief, on the left hand of the Altar of the Cross.
242. Plan of Uxmal.
243. The Governor's House, Uxmal.
244. Two-headed Monument, Uxmal.
245. End View.
246. Ground Plan.
247. Figure Over the Doorway.
248. Ornament Over the Doorway.
249. Elephant's Trunk.
250. Plan of Nunnery.
251. Room in Nunnery.
252. Facade, Southern Building.
253. Facade, Eastern Building.
254. Serpent Facade, Western Building.
255. Temple, Uxmal.
256. Arch, Kabah.
257. Zayi.
258. Plan of Zayi.
259. Gateway at Labna.
260. Castillo, Chichen-Itza.
261. Gymnasium at Chichen-Itza.
262. Ring.
263. Building at end of Gymnasium.
264. Painted Stucco Work.
265. Queen Consulting the H-men.
266. Chaac-Mol.
267. Bearded Itza.
268. Arizona Ruin.
269. Tribute Sheet.
270. Yucatan Axes.
271. Carpenter's Ax.
272. Mexican Carpenter.
273. Copper Tool.
274. Huitzilopochtli.
275. Mexican Numeration Signs.
276. Maya and Mexican Day Signs.
277. Maya Months.
278. Calendar Stone.
279. Sign of Rain.
280. Sign of a Cycle.
281. Indian Picture-writing.
282. Chapultepec.
283. Amen.
284. Historical Sheet.
285. Chilapi Tribute.
286. Child-training.
287. Migration Chart.
288. Landa Alphabet.
289. Maya T.
290. Maya Picture-writing.
291. Hieroglyphics, Tablet of the Cross.
292. Map of Peru.
293. Fortress, Huatica Valley.
294. Ruins at Pachacamac.
295. Relics from Guano Deposits.
296. Burial Towers.
297. Palace.
298. Section of Palace Walls.
299. Ornamentation on Walls.
300 Adobe Ornament.
301 Gold and Silver Vases.
302. Bronze Knives and Tweezers.
303. Water-jar.
304. Water-jars from Ancon.
305. Cloth Found in Grave.
306. Wall in Huatica Valley.
307. Burial Mound, or Huaca.
308. Fortress Mound.
309. Temple Wall.
310. Fortress, Huatica Valley.
311. General View of Pachacamac.
312. View of the Temple.
313. Relics from Graves at Pachacamac.
314. Relics found Buried in Guano Deposits.
315. Prehistoric Pottery-ware.
316. Silver Cylinder-head.
317. Terrace Wall, Tiahuanuco.
318. Method of Joining Stones, Tiahuanuco.
319. Gateway, Tiahuacuno.
320. Ruins on the Island of Titicaca.
321. Ruins, Island of Coati.
322. Burial Tower.
323. Terrace Wall at Cuzco.
324. Temple of the Sun.
325. Fortress Wall.
326. Section Fortress Wall.
327. Quippos.

ENGRAVINGS

1. Cliff Houses, Rio Mancos Canyon.
2. Engraved Title Page.
3. Paleozoic Forest.
4. Rock Shelter at Bruniquel.
5. Antarctic Ice Sheet.
6. Lake Village, Switzerland.
7. Pueblo of Zuny.
8. Cliff-town, Rio Mancos.
9. Restoration of Pueblo Bonito.
10. Painted Pueblo Pottery.
11. Pyramid of Cholula.
12. Copan Statue.
13. General View of Palace.
14. Bas-relief on the left-hand of the Altar of the Cross.
15. Plan of Uxmal.
16. The Governor's House, Uxmal.
17. Room in Nunnery.
18. Zayi.
19. Castillo, Chichen-Itza.
20. Tribute Sheet.
21. Huitzilopochtli.
22. Calendar Stone.
23. Historical Sheet.
24. Pachacamac.

THE PREHISTORIC WORLD

Thou unrelenting Past!
Strong are the barriers round thy dark domain--
And fetters, sure and fast,
Hold all that enter thy unbreathing reign.

Far in thy realm, withdrawn,
Old empires sit in sullenness and gloom;
And glorious ages, gone,
Lie deep within the shadow of thy womb.

Full many a mighty name
Lurks in thy depths, unuttered, unrevered:
With thee are silent fame,
Forgotten arts, and wisdom disappeared.

W. C. BRYANT

Chapter I

INTRODUCTION.

Difficulties of the subject--Lesson to be learned--The pursuit of
knowledge--Recent Advances--Prehistoric past of the Old World--Of the
New--Of Mexico and the South--The Isles of the Pacific--Similar nature
of the relics--The wonders of the present age--History of popular
Opinion on this subject--The teachings of the Bible--Nature of
the evidence of man's antiquity--Geology--Astronomy--Unfolding of
life--Nature of our inquiry.

Who can read the book of the past? Who can tell us the story of
Creation's morn? It is, not written in history, neither does it live
in tradition. There is mystery here; but it is hid by the darkness of
bygone ages. There is a true history here, but we have not learned
well the alphabet used. Here are doubtless wondrous scenes; but our
stand-point is removed by time so vast, the mist of years is so thick
before us, that only the ruder outlines can be determined. The delicate
tracery, the body of the picture, are hidden from our eye. The question
as to the antiquity and primitive history of man, is full of interest in
proportion as the solution is beset with difficulties. We question the
past; but only here and there a response is heard. Surely bold is he who
would attempt, from the few data at hand, to reconstruct the history of
times and people so far removed. We quickly become convinced that many
centuries, and tens of centuries, have rolled away since man's first
appearance on the earth. We become impressed with the fact, "that
multitudes of people have moved over the surface of the Earth, and sunk
into the night of oblivion, without leaving a trace of their existence:
without a memorial through which we might have at least learned their
names."<1>

To think of ourselves, is to imagine for our own nation an immortality.
We are so great, so strong, surely nothing can move us. Let us learn
humility from the past: and when, here and there, we come upon some
reminder of a vanished people, trace the proofs of a teeming population
in ancient times, and recover somewhat of a history, as true and
touching as any that poets sing, let us recognize the fact, that nations
as well as individuals pass away and are forgotten.

The past guards its secret well. To learn of it we must seek new methods
of inquiry. Discouraged by the difficulties in the way, many have
supposed it hidden from the present by a veil which only thickens as
time passes. In the remains of prehistoric times they have failed to
recognize the pages of history. They saw only monuments of ancient skill
and perseverance: interesting sketches, not historical portraits. Some
writers have held that we must give up the story of the past, "whether
fact or chronology, doctrine or mythology--whether in Europe, Asia,
Africa, or America--at Thebes, or Palenque--on Lycian shore, or
Salisbury plain--lost is lost and gone is gone for evermore." Such is
the lament of a gifted writer,<2> amongst the first to ponder over the
mysteries of the past. At the present day, with better means at hand,
a more hopeful view is taken. But here a caution is necessary; for, in
attempting to reconstruct the history of primitive times, such is the
interest which it inspires, that many allow imagination to usurp the
place of research, and write in terms too glowing for history.<3>

The human mind is sleepless in the pursuit of knowledge. It is ever
seeking new fields of conquest. It must advance: with it, standing
still is the precursor of defeat. If necessary it invents new methods
of attack, and rests not until it gains its objective point, or
demonstrates the hopelessness of its quest. The world needs but be
informed that on a given point knowledge is dim and uncertain, when
there are found earnest minds applying to the solution of the mystery
all the energies of their natures. All the resources of science are
brought to bear; every department of knowledge is made to contribute of
its store: and soon a mass of facts is established and a new science is
added to the department of human knowledge.

Thus, with our knowledge of prehistoric times, what so seemingly vain as
to attempt to roll back the flight of time, and learn the condition
of primeval man? All the light of ancient history makes but little
impression on the night of time. By its aid we can but dimly see the
outlines of the fortieth century back; beyond is gloom soon lost in
night. But a few short years ago, men did not think it possible to gain
further information. With the materials at hand this could not be
done. The triumph of the intellect was simply delayed, not hopelessly
repulsed. Geology was but just beginning to make good its claim to a
place among the sciences. This unfolded to man the physical history
of the world as read from the rocks, and deals with times so vast and
profound that we speak no longer of years, but of ages. And with the
aid of Geology grand secrets were wrung from the past, and new light was
thrown on the manners and customs of primitive man. Thus the foundation
for still another science was laid, called Archaeology, or the science
of Human Antiquities. These two sister sciences are the keys by whose
aid we have not only acquired much information of a past that seemed a
hopeless enigma--but, as Columbus on the waste of waters could perceive
traces of land as yet invisible, so can the present seekers after
knowledge trace the signs of a satisfactory solution of many of the
great questions relating to the origin and history of the vanished races
of mankind.

In whatever land we commence our investigations, we quickly come
upon the evidences of an ancient life long antedating all historical
information. Ancient Egypt has been a fruitful theme for the
antiquarians pen. The traveler has moralized over the ruins of her past
greatness, and many pointed illustrations of national growth and decay
have been drawn from her history.

Here was the seat of an ancient civilization, which was in the zenith
of its power many centuries before Christ. The changes that have passed
over the earth since that time are far more wonderful than any ascribed
to the wand of the magician. Nations have come and gone, and the land of
the Pharaohs has become an inheritance for strangers; new sciences have
enriched human life, and the fair structure of modern civilization has
arisen on the ruins of the past. Many centuries, with their burden
of human hopes and fears, have sped away into the past, since
"Hundred-gated Thebes" sheltered her teeming population, where now are
but a mournful group of ruins. Yet to-day, far below the remorseless
sands of her desert, we find the rude flint-flakes that require us to
carry back the time of man's first appearance in Egypt to a past so
remote that her stately ruins become a thing of yesterday in comparison
to them.

In the New World, mysterious mounds and gigantic earth-works arrest our
attention. Here we find deserted mines, and there we can trace the sites
of ancient camps and fortifications. The Indians of the prairies seem
to be intruders on a fairer civilization. We find here evidences of a
teeming population. In the presence of their imposing ruins, we can not
think that nomadic savages built them. They give evidences rather of a
people having fixed habitations and seem to imply the possession of a
higher civilization than that of the Indians. These questions demand
solution; but how shall we solve the problem? Save here and there a
deserted camp, or a burial mound, containing perhaps articles of use or
adornment, all traces have vanished. Their earth-works and mounds are
being rapidly leveled by the plow of modern times, and the scholar of
the future can only learn from books of their mysterious builders. In
Mexico, and farther south, we find the ruins of great cities. To the
student of antiquity, these far surpass in interest the ruined cities
of the Nile or Euphrates valley. Babylon of old, with its walls, towers,
and pleasure resorts, was indeed wonderful. In our own land cities, if
not as ancient, yet fallen in more picturesque ruin, reward the labors
of the explorer. Uxmal, Copan, and Palenque, invite our attention. Here
are hieroglyphics in abundance, but no Rosetta Stone supplies the key by
whose aid a Champollion can unravel the mystery.

The luxuriant vegetative growth of the tropics, with its fierce storms,
is every year hastening the obliteration of these ruins, and we must
improve the time well, if we would learn from them what they have to say
of the past.

The isles of the Pacific give evidence that, long before the dawn of
authentic history, man lived there. Indeed, as the islands which gem
that ocean, from their configuration and position, seem to be but the
elevated plateaus and mountain peaks of a continent that has gone down
beneath the blue wave of the Pacific, so, throughout Polynesia can be
traced the fragmentary remains of a civilization, the greater portion of
which has been completely buried by the waters of oblivion, leaving only
here and there a trace to reconstruct, if we can, the entire structure.

The earliest remains of man are very similar in all lands. They consist
of weapons of war and of the chase, implements of domestic use, and
articles of personal adornment. Few and simple as they are, they are
capable of imparting useful information as to early times. By their aid
we become eye-witnesses of the daily life of primitive man. We learn
that though lacking in almost every thing we consider essential for
comfort and happiness, yet they were actuated by much the same hopes and
fears as the men of the present age. The great burden of life was the
same then as now. There was the same round of daily labor made necessary
by the same ceaseless struggle for existence. Rude forts and warlike
implements show there was the same encroachment of the strong on the
weak as now.

This is a wonderful age in many respects. In none, however, more
wonderful than in the wide-spread diffusion of knowledge. The ordinary
people now understand more of nature's secrets than the wise men of old.
They are to-day interested in researches that a former generation would
have relegated to the scholar and the man of leisure. No department of
knowledge is retained for the researches of a favored few. The farmer,
the mechanic, and the man of business are alike interested in a
knowledge of prehistoric times. The rude implements of the past appeal
to the curiosity of all. We arise from a study of the past with clearer
ideas of man's destiny. Impressed with the great advancement in man's
condition from the rude savagery of the drift, to the enlightened
civilization of to-day, what may we not hope the advancement will be
during the countless ages we believe a beneficent Providence has in
store for his creature, man?

A history of the popular opinion of the antiquity of man is not only of
interest, but should teach a lesson to all who think others are wrong
because not holding the same views as they do. Hardly fifty years have
passed since scientific men began to attribute to the human race an
antiquity more remote than that assigned them by history and tradition.
At first these views met with general opposition, much as did the theory
of the present system of astronomy when it was first proclaimed. We
laugh now at the ignorant fear's and prejudices used to combat both.

It was claimed that the Bible taught that man had lived on the globe
scarcely six thousand years. The Bible is the book to which the
Anglo-Saxon mind clings with the greatest reverence. The memories of
childhood are associated with its pages, and its very appearance recalls
the prayers of long ago. It is not strange then that the Christian
world guards with jealous care against any thing which may be thought to
weaken the force of its statements.

But it is human nature to go to extremes: and, when we give our support
to one way of thinking, we find it difficult to be patient with those of
the contrary opinion.

Now, the researches of some of the most eminent men and learned divines
have amply shown, that there are no data given in the Scriptures on
which to base an estimate as to the antiquity of man. Happily the
Christian mind no longer shrinks from the conclusions reached by the
scientist: and, indeed, it is the contemplation of the stupendous
periods of Geological times, and the infinite greatness of the works of
Creation as disclosed by Astronomy, with the extreme lowness of man's
first condition as made evident by Archaeology, that lend new force to
the words, "What is man, that thou art mindful of him!"

The evidences on which we predicate an extreme antiquity for man are
necessarily cumulative. It is not from one source alone that we obtain
information, but from many. Eminent men in nearly every department of
knowledge have lent their aid to the elucidation of this subject. It can
only be understood by those who will fairly weigh the facts that modern
discoveries have unrolled before their eyes. There are many who have not
done this, and are consequently unable to project their mental vision
so far back into the very night of time, as is now demanded for the
beginning of man's first appearance on the earth. And, indeed, so
enormously has this period been extended--so far back does it require
us to go--that even the most enlightened investigator may well recoil in
dismay when he first perceives the almost infinite lapse of years that
are required by his calculation since the creation of man.

At this day the scholar must be ready to explain the steps by which he
reaches his conclusions. Not necessarily explaining the minutiae of his
journey hither, but the main outlines of his course. This seems to call
for a slight outline of Geology. The animal and vegetable tribes which
have come and gone upon the earth, following each other like the shadows
of passing clouds on a Summer's day, have left their remains in the
rocks which at that time were forming. A close investigation of these
remains shows that they form the record book of nature, wherein we are
permitted to read somewhat of her secrets. This had long been a sealed
book to man; but science, as we have seen, constantly extending her
domain, at length taught him the alphabet.

And the Geologist now unfolds the past age of our world with a variety
of detail, and a certainty of conclusion well calculated to inspire us
with grateful admiration.

It is no longer a question that many ages must have rolled away, during
which our world was totally unfit for life of any kind, either animal or
vegetable.

The nebular theory of Laplace, as modified by the modern astronomers, so
satisfactorily explains many of the phenomena of the solar system, that
it takes rank almost as a demonstrated fact. According to the terms
of this theory, our Earth, now so dependent on the sun for light and
warmth, was itself a glowing orb, and as a bright star radiated its
light and heat into space. Grand conception, and probably true. It is
now useless to speculate as to how many cycles of almost infinite years
had begun and ended, before Earth's fading fires gave notice that they
must soon expire in night.

The stages through which the Earth passed in turn await the sun, save
that there is no further beneficent luminary to give him light and heat:
when time shall have quenched his fiery glow, death and night shall
reign supreme, where now is life and light.

Time is long, and nature never hurries. She builds for infinite years,
and recks not the time of building. The human mind is far too feeble
to comprehend the duration of time that sped away and was gone ere the
slowly falling temperature of the Earth admitted the formation of
a crust over her surface. When that came, the first great scene was
closed. The star had expired, the planet rolled in her annual course
around the still glowing central sun. Now came the formative age of the
world, when the great continents were outlined.

The atmosphere gradually freed itself from its weight of water-vapor,
the rains descended, and the ocean took form and contour. We are
concerned only with the outlines of Geology, not with its details. It
is full of the most interesting facts, but is foreign to our present
purpose. We will only say, there is a marked progression in the scale
and importance of life forms.

The lower forms of animals appear first to be followed in time by the
higher. It is true that some forms have survived through all the changes
of Geological time to the present: yet, speaking generally, some forms
of life are peculiar to each age, and the general phase of animal life
is different with each period. They thus form epochs in the history of
the world as read from the rocks, and though the beginning and ending of
each age may blend by insensible gradations with that of the preceding
and following, yet, taken as a whole, we observe in each such
singularities of form and structure as to give name to each particular
age.

In the fullness of time man appears; and it is our pleasant task to
trace the evidence of his primitive state, his growth in culture, and
his advancement made before the dawn of history. Our inquiry, then, is
as to his prehistoric state. We use this term in the same sense as Dr.
Wilson uses it: that is, to express the whole period disclosed to us by
means of archaeological evidence, as distinguished from what is known
through historical records. We can not doubt but that this includes by
far the largest portion of man's existence. The time embraced within
historical records, though different in different portions of the world,
is but a brief period in comparison to the duration of time since he
first went forth to possess the Earth. If we can make plain to our
readers that man has lived in the world an extremely long time, going
back indeed to a former Geological age--that his first state was very
low and rude--that he has risen to his present high estate by means
of his own exertions continued through long ages--and from this form
a prophecy of a golden age to come in the yet distant future, we shall
feel that we have not written in vain.

Illustration of The Sphinx.------------

REFERENCES

(1) Von Hellwald: "Smithsonian Report," 1866.
(2) Palgrave,
(3) Lubbock: "Prehistoric Times," p. 2.

Chapter II

EARLY GEOLOGICAL PERIODS.<1>

Necessity of a general acquaintance with the outlines of Geology--A
time in which there was no life possible on the globe--Length of this
period--On the formation of rocks--The record imperfect--The three great
periods in animal life on the globe--Paleozoic age--Animal and vegetable
life of this period--The Mesozoic age--Animal and vegetable life of this
period--Advance noted--Abundance of reptilian life--First appearance
of birds--Nature's methods of work--The Cenozoic age--Geological
outline--Sketch of the Eocene age--Of the Miocene age--What is
sufficient proof of the presence of man--Discussion of the Thenay
flints--The Pliocene age--Animal and vegetable life of this age--Was
man living during this age?--Discussion of this subject--Summing up the
evidence--Conclusion.

For a clear understanding of questions relating to early man, a more
or less extensive acquaintance with Geology is required. This is by
no means a difficult task to accomplish. What so interesting as to
understand at least the outlines of the history of life on the globe?
To see how, following a definite plan, the vast continents have grown to
their present size and form; to see how animal and vegetable life have
evolved successively higher and higher forms; to see where in this
wondrous drama of creation, this strange unfolding of life, the first
faint, indecisive traces of man's presence are to be found; to learn
what great changes in climate, in Geogony, and in life, had occurred
before man's appearance, let us pass in brief review the history of
early geological periods.

As we have already stated, there must have been a very long period of
time during which no life was possible on the globe. Of this era we know
but little; for we find no strata of rocks of an earlier date than we
know life, in its simplest forms, to have existed.<2> Still we are not
less confident of the existence of this era, and the mind can dimly
comprehend the scene, when a nearly shoreless ocean surged around the
globe.<3>

As to the extent of time during which there was no life, we have
no means of determining. That it was almost infinitely long is made
apparent by the researches of eminent scholars on the cooling of lava.
Toward the close of this extended period of time faint traces of life
appear. Not life as we are apt to think of it. No nodding flowers
were kissed by the sunshine of this early time. The earliest forms of
flowerless plants, such as sea-weeds, and in dry places possibly lichens
covering the rocks, were the highest forms of vegetable life. Animal
life, if present, for the fact is denied by some, occurs in the very
lowest form, merely structureless bodies, with no especial organs of
sense, or nutrition: and their motion consisting simply in protruding
and withdrawing hair-like processes.<4> Such was the beginning of life.
This vast period of time, which includes the beginning, is known among
geologists as Archean time.

From the close of this age, the history of life properly commences. It
might be well to explain the means which the geologist uses to interpret
the history of the globe. It is now understood that the forces of nature
have always produced the same results as they do now. From the very
earliest time to the present, rocks have been forming. There, where
conditions were favorable, great beds of limestone, formed from shells
and corals, ground up by the action of the sea<5>--in other places,
massive beds of sandstone or of sand, afterward consolidated into
sandstone--were depositing. On the land surface, in places, great beds
of vegetable _debris_ were being converted into coal. Now we can easily
see how the remains of organic bodies, growing at the time of the
formation of these beds, should be preserved in a fossil form. Limestone
rocks are thickly studded in places with all sorts of marine formations.
Coal fields reveal wonders of early vegetative growth. From sandstone
rocks, and shaly beds, we learn strange stories of animal life at the
time they were forming. From a careful study of these remains together
with the formation in which they occur, not only in one locality but all
over the earth, geologists have gradually unfolded the history of
life on the globe. It is admitted that, at best, our knowledge in that
direction is fragmentary. This arises from errors in observation as well
as that fossil formations are rare, or at least localities where they
are known to exist are but few. So our knowledge of the past is as if we
were examining some record from which pages, chapters, and even volumes,
have been extracted.

Illustration of Paleozoic Forest---------------

In consequence of this imperfect record we can not, as yet, trace a
gradual successive growth from the low forms of animal and plant, life,
that characterized the closing period of Archean time, to the highly
organized types of the present. The record suddenly ceases and when
we again pick up the thread we are surrounded by more advanced types,
higher forms of life. Though we may hope that future discoveries will do
much toward completing the records, we can not hope that they will ever
really be perfected. So, from our present stand-point, the history of
life on the globe falls naturally into three great divisions.<6> This
is no more than we might expect, when we reflect that nature's laws
are universal in their action, and that the world, as a whole, has been
subjected to the same set of changes.

The period following on after Archean time is called, by geologists,
Paleozoic time.

During the long course of time embraced in this age, the forms of life
present wide differences from those of existing time.

This period produced the great beds of coal we use to-day. But the
vegetation of the coal period would present strange features to our
eyes. The vegetation commenced with the lowest orders of flowerless
plants, such as sea-weeds; but, before it was brought to a close, there
was a wonderful variety and richness of plants of the flowerless or
Cryptogamic division. In some of the warmest portions of the globe,
we have to-day tree-ferns growing four or five feet high. During the
closing part of the Paleozoic time, there were growing all over the
temperate zone great tree-ferns thirty feet or so in height. Some
varieties of rushes in our marshes, a foot or two in height, had
representatives in the marshes of the coal period standing thirty feet
high, and having woody trunks.<7> Near the close of the Paleozoic
time, vegetation assumed a higher form of life. Flowering plants are
represented. Pines were growing in the coal measures.

In animal life a similar advance is noted. The class of animals having
no backbone, or invertebrate animals, were largely represented. But,
toward the close of the Paleozoic time, we meet with representatives of
the backbone family. The waters swarmed with fishes.<8> Besides these,
there were amphibians; <9> and reptiles in the closing portions.<10>

Illustration of The Pterodactyl.--------------

Thus we see what a great advance was made in life during this period.
The forms of life during the early stages of this age were inferior in
this, also, that they were all water species.<11> But, before it closes,
we have a rich and varied terrestrial vegetation, and also air-breathing
animals. The class Mammalia, to which man belongs, had no representative
on the earth during the extended Paleozoic time.

We can easily see, from the foregoing, how appropriately this period has
been named that of old life forms. In imagination we can recall a scene
of this old age. The air is sultry and full of vapors. The soil seems
hot and steaming. This is a veritable forest, but we see none of the
beautiful flowers which we associate with tropical vegetation to-day. In
the branches of the graceful tree-ferns, we will look in vain for birds.
They were yet far in the future. Neither were there any of the higher
orders of animals present. Not a single representative of the great
class of mammals enlivened the depths of the forest. There were fishes
in the waters, but not the fishes of to-day. Some true reptiles and
amphibians disported themselves in swampy jungles, but they were
unimportant. Almost the only sound to break the stillness, was the hum
of marsh-loving insects, the whistling of the wind, and the roar of
the tempests, which we may well believe raged with the more than tropic
severity of the present.<12>

The time at last came for the dawning of a new era. Vast changes had
been taking place in the geography of both continents. The region to the
south-west of the Green Mountains was upturned. The Alleghany Mountains
were formed, and the region east of the Mississippi River became part of
the stable land of the continent.<13> In Europe, nearly as great changes
occurred. The conditions of life must have been greatly modified by
these geographical changes. The life-forms bear testimony to this
changed condition. Old forms die away, and are succeeded by those
approaching more nearly our own times. The name of this period is the
Mesozoic time, or the period of middle life forms.<14> It is instructive
to notice the steady advance in the type of life, both animal and
vegetable. The abundant flowerless vegetation of the coal formation of
the preceding epoch dwindles away. But the flowering trees increase in
number and importance until, in the closing period of Mesozoic time, we
have trees with deciduous leaves. A great many of our forest trees had
representatives in the forests of that epoch.

Illustration of Ichthyosauri.-----------

Palms and species like the big tree of California were growing side by
side with species akin to our own common trees. But in the animal
world there were many strange forms. This was the age of reptiles. They
domineered on the land, in the air, and in the sea. On the land there
stalked huge reptiles fifty and sixty feet long, and, when standing
erect, at least thirty feet high.<15> Some of these huge creatures
were carnivorous, living on other animals. Others fed on the foliage of
trees. In the air, huge reptilian bats, veritable flying dragons with
a spread of wings from ten to twenty feet, disported themselves.<16>
In the sea there swam great reptilian whales, seals, and walruses.<17>
There was a marvelous abundance of reptilian life. At the present day,
there are not more than six species of reptiles in the whole world
having a length of over fifteen feet, and not more than eighteen
species exceeding ten feet in length. But from one limited locality,
representing but one era of this age in England, there have been
discovered four or five species of carnivorous reptiles twenty to fifty
feet long, ten or twelve species of crocodiles, lizards, and swimming
reptiles from ten to sixty feet long--besides multitudes of great flying
reptiles and turtles. Doubtless similar scenes of animal life were
everywhere represented.

Illustration of The Labyrinthodon.--------

Birds made their first appearance during the Mesozoic time, and here we
obtain a clear view of nature's methods of work. There is no longer a
doubt but that the first birds were simply modified reptiles. The first
bird had a long jointed tail, and a bill well supplied with formidable
teeth.<18> It was during this period that the first representative of
the class Mammalia, to which man belongs, appears.<19> It is in the
rocks of this era that we meet with remains of marsupials, the order to
which opossums belong. This is the lowest of the Mammalian class. To the
class Mammalia belong the most highly organized animals. They have been
the ruling animals since the close of Mesozoic time. We must now watch
their development with especial care. For this brief review, as far as
it has gone, has shown a steady and gradual progress in life forms, the
lower invariably preceding the higher. We therefore feel that it will be
vain to seek for any trace of man until we find undoubted proofs of the
existence of all the forms of animals below him. The last great division
of time is called Cenozoic.<20> This means new life forms. In this age,
the forms of life are much nearer our own. As it was some time during
this epoch when man makes his appearance, we deem it best to go into
more detail, and give the subdivisions of this period. It has been amply
sufficient to give simply the outlines of the other periods. In order to
fix more clearly the sequence of life, we will give an outline showing
the periods we have reviewed, and also the subdivisions of the Cenozoic
time, which we are now to examine with more care.

OUTLINE.

LIFE. Archaean Time. The Beginning: Includes the long lapse of time when
the globe could not support life, but towards its close faint traces of
life, both animal and vegetable appeared.

Paleozoic Time. The Period of Old Life Forms: Forests of flowerless
trees; but pines grew in the coal measures. Animal life largely
invertebrate; but amphibians and reptiles among the vertebrate appear at
the close.

Mesozoic Time. The Period of Middle Life Forms: Flowering trees
increasing in number and importance. Deciduous trees make their
appearance. Animal life largely reptilian. The class Mammalia
represented by marsupials.

Cenozoic Time. Tertiary, or Age of Mammals: Eocene, Miocene, Pliocene.
Quarternary, or Age of Man: Glacial or Pleistocene, Recent.

At the close of the Mesozoic time, great elevations of land took place
in both America and Europe, especially in the northern portions.<21>
This could not fail to have a great effect on life, both animal and
vegetable.

During the Eocene, or first division of the Tertiary Age, we have simply
to note the steady progress of life. There were forests of species of
oaks, poplars, maples, hickories, and other common trees, and others
now found only in tropical regions. Palm trees were growing in the upper
Missouri region of the United States. And England was decidedly a
land of Palms, as no less than thirteen species are known to have been
growing there. Cypresses, yews, and pines graced the scene.<22> Our
special interest centers, however, in the mammals of this epoch.

Illustration of The Paleotherium.--------

In the preceding epoch marsupials only were represented. But in beds
of the middle and closing portions of the Eocene period we meet with a
sudden increase of Mammalian life. Whale-like animals were especially
abundant in the seas; and on our Western plains were animals like the
tapirs of India, and rhinoceros-like animals as large as elephants<23>
but having no trunks, and diminutive little animals not larger than
foxes, from which have come our horses. Europe also had a varied
Mammalian fauna. There were numerous hog-like animals. Animals, like the
tapirs of tropical Asia and America, wandered in the forests and on
the banks of the rivers. Herds of horse-like animals, about the size of
Shetland ponies, fed on the meadows.<24> Animals that chew the cud were
present, or at least had near representatives.<25>

Among the flesh-eating animals were creatures resembling foxes,
wolverines, and hyenas.<26> This shows what a great advance had been
made. But, besides all these, we are here presented with representatives
of the order of Quadrumana, or four-handed animals. Several genera of
lemurs are found in both America and Europe.

Now the Quadrumana are the order below man. Therefore it seems that in
the Eocene period, all the forms of life _below_ man are represented.
The time seems to be at hand when we can look, with some confidence,
for traces of the presence of man himself. We must therefore be more
cautious in our investigations.

The epoch following on after the Eocene is designated as the Miocene.
We must remember that, though recent in a geological sense, yet it is
immensely remote when measured by the standard of years. We must inquire
into all the surroundings of this far away time. The geographical
features must have been widely different from the present.

In the first place, the elevation of land to the north must have
been sufficient to have connected the land areas of the Northern
Hemisphere--North America, with Asia<27> and Greenland; and this latter
country must have been united with Iceland, and, through the British
Islands, with Europe. But, to compensate for this land mass to the
north, large portions of Central and Southern Europe were beneath the
waves.<28> The proof of this extended mass of land is to be found in the
wide distribution of similar animals and plants in the Miocene time.
All the chief botanists are agreed that the north Polar region was
the center from which plants peculiar to the Eocene and Miocene epochs
spread into both Europe and America.<29> We may mention that the famous
big trees of California are simply remnants of a wide-spread growth of
these trees in Miocene times. They can be found in a fossil state at
various places in British America, in Greenland, and in Europe. They are
supposed to have originated somewhere in the north, and spread by these
land connections we have mentioned into both Europe and America. But
this is not the only tree that grew in the Miocene forests of both
continents. The magnolia, tulip-tree, and swamp cypress are other
instances.<30> Eleven species, growing in the Rocky Mountain regions
in Rocene times, found their way to Europe in the Miocene times,<31>
driving before them the plants of a tropical growth that had hitherto
flourished in England. Now this implies land connection between the two
continents. Furthermore, animals both large and small are found common
to the two countries.<32> The climate over what is now the North
Temperate Zone, and even further. north, must have been delightful.
There is ample testimony to this effect in the rich vegetative remains
over wide areas.

In Spitzbergen, within twelve degrees of the pole, where now a dwarf
willow and a few herbaceous plants form the only vegetation, and
the ground is most of the time covered with snow and ice, there were
growing, in Miocene times, no less than ninety-five species of trees,
including yews, hazels, elders, beech, elms, and others.<33> But it is
in the Miocene forests of the continent of Europe where we meet with
evidence of a singularly mild climate.

There were at least eleven species of palms growing in Switzerland; and
one variety of them grew as far north as Northern Germany.<34>

We can not give a list of all the species. On the one hand, there were
elms, willows, poplars, oaks, and beeches, thus far similar to the
forest growth of temperate regions. Mingled with these were forests of
trees like the tulip-tree, swamp cypress, and liquid amber or sweet gum
of the southern part of the United States--plants whose home is in the
warm and moist regions of the earth. But there were also representatives
of the tropical regions--such as fig-trees, cinnamon-trees, and
camphor-trees: these are found growing now in tropical countries.
Fruit-trees of the cherry, plum, and almond species were also to be
seen. Prof. Heer points out how all this should convince us that a large
part of Europe, in the Miocene Age, possessed a climate not unlike that
of the Madeira or Canary Islands to-day. He calls especial attention to
the fact that these trees were nearly all of evergreen species, and that
a severe winter would destroy them. He finds one hundred and thirty-one
species of the Temperate Zone--species that can stand a moderate amount
of cold, but not very hot and dry climates. He finds eighty-five species
of tropical plants that could not possibly live where the Winters are
severe. Mingled with these were nearly three hundred species whose
natural home is in the warm, temperate portions of the earth. The only
way you can explain this motley assemblage of trees is, to suppose that
in what is now Europe was a climate free from extremes, allowing the
trees to put forth flowers and fruits all the year round. "Reminding
us," says Prof. Heer, "of those fortunate zones where Nature never goes
to rest."<35>

Illustration of Miocene Mammals.-----------

Let us now inquire as to the animals that roamed through these great
forests we have been describing. The Miocene period extended over a
long lapse of time, and considerable change took place among the animals
belonging to the different parts of this age. We will only give a
general outline for the whole period. The marsupials lingered along into
the early stages of this period, and then disappeared from Europe. The
rhinoceros were present in the early stages, and continued through the
entire age. We meet in this period animals of the elephant kind, two
species, the mastodon and deinotherium. Antelopes and gazelles wandered
in vast troops over the plains of Hungary, Spain, and Southern France.
Carnivorous animals resembling tigers and hyenas found abundance of
animal food. Herds of horse-like animals fed on the rich herbage of the
meadows. The birds were largely represented. In the woods were to be
seen flocks of gayly feathered paroquets and trogons. On the plains
secretary-birds hunted the serpents and reptiles, which furnished them
food--and eagles were on the watch for their prey. Cranes waded in the
rivers for fish. Geese, herons, and pheasants must have been abundant.

Our main interest centers in the order Quadrumana. We must remember that
this order appeared in the Eocene. Several species were present in the
Miocene. They wandered in the forests of France, Switzerland,
Germany, and Italy, and doubtless found abundant food in the figs and
bread-fruit, walnuts, almonds, dates, and other nuts growing there.<36>
One of the most important is regarded as belonging to the same genus as
the Gibbons.<37> This is the genus which has been sometimes regarded
as making a nearer approach to man than any other monkey.<38> Others,
however, consider it as belonging to an extinct family.<39> In addition
to this species there were at least three other species: thus there was
no absence of simian life in the Miocene.<40>

From the sketch we have thus far drawn of the Miocene Age, it seems to
have been a very favorable one in every respect. One writer<41> affirms,
that "the world never experienced a more beautiful period." And indeed
it seems as if the facts bear out this statement. A genial, temperate
climate was the rule, even to high northern latitudes. We need not doubt
but that there were grassy plains, wooded slopes, and rolling rivers.
Was man present to take advantage of all these favorable surroundings?
Did he wander through the evergreen forests, and hunt the deer,
antelope, and hogs--the hipparions, and mastodons, and deinotheres--then
so numerous?<42> We know of no inherent improbability of his existence
at that time. An ape belonging to a highly organized genus was then
living in Europe. Every condition considered necessary for the primeval
Garden of Eden was then satisfied. Let us stop for a minute and examine
the nature of the evidence considered sufficient to prove the presence
of man during any of the past geological ages.

Should we be so fortunate as to find portions of the bones of the human
skeleton in a geological formation in such positions that they could
not possibly have been introduced there since the deposition of the
containing bed, it would of course prove that man was at least as old
as the formation itself. But it happens that human remains in beds of
a previous geological age are very rare. Indeed, human remains in
formations of the Pleistocene Age,<43> during which we have ample
testimony, as we shall see, of the presence of man, are very rare. The
cases in which there can be no doubt can be reckoned on the fingers. The
explanation of this state of things is not at all difficult, for it is
only under very rare circumstances that portions of the bones of animals
even larger than man are preserved to us in geological strata. Vast
numbers die and vanish away without leaving a trace behind them for
every fragmentary bone we recover. In the case of man we must remember
that, in previous eras, he was present in very small numbers; that,
owing to his intelligence, he would not be as liable to be drowned and
swept away, and so mingle his remains with beds of river detritus
then forming, as were animals. Mr. Lyell has made some remarks on the
draining of the Haarlem Lake by the government of Holland in 1853, which
shows that even favorable circumstances do not always preserve remains
for future inspection. Though called a lake, this body of water was an
arm of the sea, covering about forty-five thousand acres. The population
which had lived on the shores of the lake was between thirty and forty
thousand souls. "There had been many a shipwreck, and many a naval fight
on those waters, and hundreds of Dutch and Spanish soldiers and sailors
had met there with a watery grave," yet not a solitary portion of the
human skeleton was to be found in its bed.<44> Thus we see that, in the
majority of cases, we must rely on other evidence than the presence of
human bones to prove the existence of man in the geological periods of
the past. In the case of the Haarlem Lake again, there was found the
wreck of one or two vessels, and some ancient armor. So, had it been a
disputed point whether man was a denizen of this planet at the time when
the area in question was covered by water, it would have been settled
beyond a doubt by these relics of his industry, even though portions of
the human frame itself were entirely wanting. And, in reality, proofs
of this nature are just as satisfactory as it would be to discover human
bones. If, on a desert island, we find arrow-heads, javelins, a place
where there had been a fire, split bones, and other _debris_ of a feast,
we are as much justified in asserting that man had been there, as we
would be had we seen him with our own eyes. In the same manner, if
we detect in any strata of the past any undoubted products of human
industry--such as weapons, or implements and ornaments--in such
position that we know they could not have been deposited there since the
formation of the bed itself, we have no hesitancy in asserting that
man himself is of the same antiquity as the strata containing the
implements. In the great majority of cases, this is the only kind of
evidence possible to advance.

It is now well known that the first stage in the culture of any people,
is what is called the Stone Age. That is to say, their weapons and
implements were made from stone, or at least the majority of them were.
We will discuss on another page this point, and also the grounds leading
us to infer that many of the extremely rude forms are really the work of
man.

Let us now return to the Miocene Age, in which we are to seek for the
presence of man. In 1867 a French geologist, by the name of Bourgeois,
who had been searching some beds of the Miocene Age, near Thenay,
France, found a number of flints of such a peculiar shape, that he
concluded they could only be explained by supposing that man formed
them. In this case there is to question as to the age of the stratum
containing the flints. All geologists are agreed that it is of the
Miocene Age. The question then is, whether the flints were artificially
cut or not. On this question there has been a great division of opinion,
and we can not do better than to examine and see where the Principal
scientific men stand on this point.

In 1872, at the scientific congress in Brussels, this question was
referred to a committee composed of the most competent men from the
different countries of Europe. We are sorry to say that, after a
thorough consideration of them, the judges were unable to agree. Some
accepted them, others rejected them, and still others were
undecided. Some of the latter have since become convinced by recent
discoveries.<45>

Since this discovery, similar specimens have been described as having
been found in Portugal, and from another locality in France. Some men of
the highest authority accept these flints as proving the presence of man
in Miocene times. This is supported by such men as Quatrefages, Hamy,
Mortillet, and Capellini.<46> These are all known to be competent and
careful geologists. Another class does not think the evidence strong
enough to declare these flints of human origin, and so do not think it
proved that man lived in Europe in Miocene times; but do believe that we
will eventually find proofs of his existence during that era in the
warm and tropical regions of the globe. This is the view of such men as
Lubbock, Evans, Huxley, and Winchell. Still others say that, during the
vast lapse of years since Miocene times, all the species of land
mammals then alive have perished<47>--their place being taken by other
species--and therefore it is incredible that man, the most highly
specialized of all animals, should have survived. And hence, if
these Thenay flints are really artificial in their origin, it is more
reasonable to suppose they were cut by one of the higher apes, then
living in France, than by man. This is the view of Prof. Dawkins and
Prof. Gaudry.<48> As to the last view, it is surely but reasonable to
suppose, with Quatrefages,<49> that the superior intelligence of man
would serve to protect him from the operation of causes that would
effect the extinction of lower animals. Hence, unless some evidence
be produced to show that species of apes are known to make rude stone
implements, or some evidence that they did this in past ages, we must
believe, with Geikie and others, that these flints prove that Miocene
man lived in France, unless indeed we refuse to believe that they are
artificial.

It also seems to us that those who hold to the view that man was living
in other parts of the world, as Asia, during the Miocene Age, ought
readily to admit that a few wandering bands might penetrate into
Europe.<50> The climate was tropical, there was an abundance of animal
life, and, if man was living anywhere, it is very reasonable to suppose
that, at some epoch during the course of the Miocene Age, he would have
found his way to Europe, unless shut off by the sea. It therefore
seems to us that the presence of those cut flints is conclusive of the
presence of man in Europe during the Miocene Age. At the same time we
can not affirm that this is the conclusion of the scientific world. They
seem to have heeded the remark of Quatrefages, that "in such a matter
there is no great urgency," and are waiting for further discoveries.

Thus far in our review we have noticed the steady progress in the forms
of life. In the Miocene Age we have seen all the types of life below man
present, and some indications of the presence of man himself. We must
now learn what we can of the Pliocene Age, the last division of the
Tertiary Age.

The Pliocene Age need not detain us long. Considerable changes in the
geography of both Europe and America were going forward during the
Miocene Age, and the result was quite a change in climate. There was
a steady elevation of the Pacific coast region of America, and, as a
consequences a period of great volcanic outbursts in California and
Oregon.<51> At the same time the bridge connecting Asia and America was
severed.<52> In Europe the Mediterranean area was elevated; but the land
connecting Greenland with Europe sank, allowing the cold waters of the
Arctic to communicate with both the North Sea and the Atlantic--England
at that time forming part of the great peninsula extending north and
west from Europe.<53> The climate during the Pliocene Age was cooler
than that of the Miocene. This is marked in the vegetation of that
period. The palms and the cinnamon trees, which in Miocene times grew in
Germany, flourished no farther north than Italy during the Pliocene.<54>

Count DeSaporta, who made special researches in the flora of this
period, found the remains of a forest growth buried under lava on the
side of a mountain in Cantal France, at an elevation of about four
thousand feet above the level of the sea. This consisted principally
of pines. This shows that probably all Northern Europe was covered
with somber forests of pine. In the same section he found, buried under
volcanic ash, a vegetation consisting mostly of deciduous trees--maples,
alders, poplars, willows, elms, and ashes. As this was growing at the
height Of about twenty-three hundred feet in Cantal France, it probably
represents the vegetation of Britain and Northern Germany. Finally, the
vegetation of Central and Southern France, as well as Northern Italy,
was intermediate in character between the luxuriant evergreen forests
of the Miocene Age and that now growing there. The tropical character of
the vegetation was evidently passing away. The climate over a large part
of Europe was now temperate, though probably warmer than at present.<55>

In the Mammalia we have to notice the disappearance of some species, and
the arrival and spread of some others. The apes living as far north as
Germany in the Miocene Age were restricted to Southern France and Italy
in the Pliocene, and, at its close, vanished altogether from Europe.
The first living species of mammals is found in the remains of the
hippopotamus that frequented the rivers of Pliocene times. The mastodon
of Miocene times was still to be seen, but along with it was a species
of true elephants. The hipparion survived into this epoch, but the horse
also makes its appearance. Great quantities of deer roamed over the
land; and, as might be expected where they were so abundant, the
carnivorous animals allied to the bears and wolves, panthers, linxes,
and tigers, were also to be found. "At night," says Mr. Dawkins, "the
Pliocene forests of Central France echoed with the weird laughter of the
hyena."

The gradual lowering of the climate is also shown by the remains of the
mollusks deposited in beds of marine or sea formation during different
eras of this age. It is found that the earlier the bed, the more
southern mollusks are found in it. This shows us that, all through the
Pliocene Age, the waters of the seas surrounding England were gradually
growing cooler, thus compelling the retreat of those mollusks fitted
only for a warm climate, and allowing a gradual increase in those
species fitted for cold or northern latitudes. We also find, in deposits
made near the close of Pliocene times, numbers of stone which show
all evidence of having been borne thither by means of ice. So we may
conclude that rafts of ice came floating down the North Sea during the
closing period of the Pliocene Age.<56> Still, during the entire length
of the Pliocene Age, Europe certainly offered an inviting home for man.
Not only were the higher orders of animals present, but at least one
living species was known. We find more proofs of his presence, but
whether they are sufficient to convince us that man really lived during
that epoch is to be seen.

Prof. Whitney has brought to the attention of the scientific world
what he considers ample evidence of the presence of Pliocene man in
California. We reserve this for discussion in another place. We will
only remark, at present, that the evidence in this case is regarded
as sufficient by some of the best of American Scholars.<57> We simply
mention them here, so that they may be borne in mind when we see what
evidence Europe has to offer on this point. In 1863, M. Desnoyers, of
France, discovered, in a stratum which he considered Pliocene, some
bones of elephants and other animals cut and scratched in such a manner
that he considered the cuts to be the work of man. As showing how
cautious geologists are of accepting such conclusions, we mention this
case. There was found in the same bed the remains of an extinct beaver.
The question was at once raised, whether rodents by gnawing these bones
could not have produced the cuts in question. Sir Charles Lyell, by
actual experiments in the Zoological Gardens in London, soon showed that
this was probably the fact.<58> Yet Sir John Lubbock thinks it quite
likely some of them were of human origin.<59> Subsequently, however,
M. Bourgeois discovered in the same bed worked flints, about the human
origin of which there seems to be no doubt;<60> but a more careful study
of the formation in which they occur has raised questions as to its age.
Though usually held to be Pliocene, some careful observers consider it
to be of a later age. Geologists can not be accused of rashly accepting
statements as to the antiquity of man.

In 1867 there was discovered, in Northern Italy, a human skull in a
railway cutting at a depth of nearly fifty feet. This stratum contains
remains of several Pliocene animals. This is held to prove the existence
of Pliocene man by several eminent observers, amongst others Prof.
Cocchi, of Italy, and Forsyth Major.<61> But in this case Mr. Dawkins
contends that it was not found under such conditions as render it
certain that the stratum had been undisturbed, and so does not prove
to a certainty that it was of the same age as the stratum.<62> And
Mr. Geikie thinks that the stratum itself is of a later age than the
Pliocene.<63> It is but right that geologists should thus carefully scan
all the evidence produced.

Illustration of Cut on Bones of a Whale from Pliocene
Deposit.--------------------------------

In 1876 Prof. Capellini discovered, in a Pliocene deposit in Italy, the
bones of a whale, which were so marked with cuts and incisions that he
thought the only explanation was to say they had been cut by men. In
this case<64> there is no dispute as to the age of the stratum. Neither
is there much doubt but that the cuts are the work of man. It is quite
true that Mr. Evans has suggested that they may be the work of fishes.
In this he is followed by Prof. Winchell.<65> But there appears to be
little ground for such belief, because the cuts are all on the outside
faces of rib-bones, and the outer faces of the backbones. From the
position occupied by the remaining portions of the skeleton, Prof.
Capellini is sure that the animal had run aground, and, in that
condition, was discovered and killed by men, who then, by means of flint
knives, cut away such portions of food as they wished. It must have been
lying on its left side, since the cuts were all made on bones of the
right.<66> It is not probable that fishes would have been apt to choose
the outside faces of the ribs on the right side for their meals. These
cut bones have been carefully examined by many competent men, who have
agreed with Capellini that they are the work of men.<67> Mr. Dawkins
thinks the cuts were artificial, but he says, "It is not, however, to
my mind satisfactorily shown that these were obtained from undisturbed
strata."<68> Now these bones have been found in several localities,
always in Pliocene deposits, which formed the shores of the Pliocene
sea.<69> Knowing how carefully geologists inquire into all the
surroundings of a find, surely, if Capellini and others are the
competent men they are admitted to be, they would have informed us long
ago if they were not found in undisturbed strata.

Mr. Dawkins also objects because fragments of pottery were found in the
strata. "Pottery," says he, "was unknown in the Pleistocene Age,<70>
and therefore is unlikely to have been found in the Pliocene."<71> Mr.
Geikie says this objection is founded on a mistake, as Prof. Capellini
told him the pottery was found lying on the surface, and was never for
a moment imagined by him as belonging to the same age as the cut
bones.<72> There is also the objection, that, inasmuch as all the
mammals then alive except one have perished, it is more than likely
that, had man been in existence then, he too would have disappeared.

We considered this point fully when speculating as to the presence
of man in the Miocene: so we have nothing further to offer. We might,
however, suggest that, if the hippopotamus amongst mammals could survive
all the changing time since the Pliocene, as it has done, it seems no
more than fair to admit equal power of endurance to the human species.
The position then of the scientific world as to the Pliocene Age of man
is, on the whole, more decided in its favor than for the Miocene Age.
Quite a number of eminent scholars, whose conclusions are worthy of all
respect, unhesitatingly affirm the existence of Pliocene man in Europe.
Others are not quite ready to admit his existence in Europe, but do
think he was in existence elsewhere. Still others, with all due respect
for the discoveries of Capellini, think it more prudent to await further
discoveries. The reader, who has followed us through this brief outline
of the past, can join which of the classes he will, and be sure of
finding himself in good company.

This completes our review of past geological ages. With the termination
of the Pliocene Age we find ourselves on firmer ground. We only wish to
call attention once more to the gradual unfolding of life. We see that
the rule has been that everywhere the lower forms of life precede the
higher. In the plant world flowerless plants precede the flowering ones.
The coal we burn to-day is mainly the remains of the wonderful growth
of the flowerless vegetation of the Paleozoic Ace. When flowering plants
appear, it is the lower forms of them at first.

It was long ages before trees with deciduous leaves appeared. The growth
of animal life is equally instructive. First invertebrate life, then
the lowest forms of vertebrate life. The fishes are followed by
amphibians--then reptiles, then birds. The first mammal to appear was
the lowest organized of all--the marsupials. And we have seen the sudden
increase of mammalian life in Tertiary times. We notice, in all the
divisions of life, a beginning, a culmination, and a decline. There has
never been such a growth of flowerless plants as in the Paleozoic, and
flowering plants probably culminated in the Miocene. The same rule holds
good for the animal world also. As man is the most highly organized of
all the animals, we can not hope to find any evidence of his presence
until we find proofs of the presence of all the lower types of life. Of
course future discoveries may change our knowledge when the series is
complete; but, from our present stand-point, he could not have lived
before the Miocene Age, and we have seen how faint and indecisive are
the proofs of his presence even then. But should it finally be proved,
beyond all dispute, that man did live in the Miocene Age, we must
observe that this is but a small portion, but a minute fraction, of the
great lapse of time since life appeared on the globe. We are a creation
of but yesterday, even granting all that the most enthusiastic believer
in the antiquity of man can claim.

Illustration of The Mastodon.-------------

REFERENCES

(1) The manuscript of this chapter was submitted to Prof.
Winchell, of the University of Michigan, for criticism.
(2) Dana's "Manual of Geology," p. 146.
(3) Ibid. p. 147.
(4) Nicholson's "Manual of Zoology," p. 59.
(5) Dana's "Manual of Geology," p. 74.
(6) Nicholson's "Manual of Zoology," p. 42.
(7) Dana's "Manual of Geology," p. 323.
(8) Nicholson's "Zoology," p. 402.
(9) Dana's "Geology," p. 302.
(10) Dawkins's "Early Man in Britain," p. 6.
(11) Dana's "Geology," p. 382.
(12) Haywood's, Heer's, "Primeval World of Switzerland."
(13) Dana's "Man. Geology," p.395.
(14) Nicholson's "Man. Zoology," p.42.
(15) Marsh: "American Assoc. Rep.," 1877.
(16) Marsh: "American Assoc. Rep.," 1877.
(17) Dawkins's "Early Man in Britain," p. 6.
(18) Nicholson's "Manual of Zoology," pp. 419 and 504.
(19) When we talk of first appearance, we mean the discovery of
remains. All who believe in the doctrine of evolution, know that
the class Mammalia must have appeared early in Paleozoic times.
Thus, Mr. Wallace says, "Bats and whales--strange modifications
of mammals--appear perfectly well developed in the Eocene.
What countless ages back must we go for the origin of these
groups--the whales from some ancestral carnivorous animal, the
bats from the insectivora!" and even then we have to seek for
the common origin of these groups at far earlier periods.
"So that, on the lowest estimate, we must place the origin of
the Mammalia very far back in Paleozoic times." ("Island Life,"
p. 201.)
(20) This word is also spelled Kainozoic, and Cainozoic.
We follow Dana, p. 140.
(21) Dana, "Manual of Geology," p. 488.
(22) Dawkins's "Early Man in Britain," p. 28.
(23) Many of these animal forms were common during the early
Eocene. (Winchell.)
(24) Dawkins's "Early Man in Britain," p. 29.
(25) Dana, "Geology," p. 517.
(26) Dawkins's "Early Man in Britain," p. 32.
(27) Marsh. "American Assoc. Rep.," 1877.
(28) Haywood's Heer's "Primeval World of Switzerland," p. 296.
(29) Dawkins's "Early Man in Britain," p. 20.
(30) Ibid., p. 43.
(31) Dana's "Manual of Geology," p. 498.
(32) Dawkins's "Early Man in Britain," p. 42.
(33) Dana's "Manual of Geology," p. 514.
(34) Haywood's Heer's "Primeval World of Switzerland," p. 334.
(35) Haywood's Heer's "Primeval World of Switzerland."
(36) Dawkins's "Early Man in Britain," pp. 57 and 64.
(37) Ibid., p. 57: also, Haywood's Heer's "Primeval World of
Switzerland."
(38) Nicholson's "Manual of Zoology," p. 605.
(39) Dawkins's "Early Man in Britain," p. 58.
(40) Ibid. 58.
(41) McLean: "Mastodon, Mammoth, and Man," p. 67.
(42) Dawkins's "Early Man in Europe," p. 66.
(43) See "Outline," p. 41.
(44) Lyell's "Antiquity of Man," p. 193.
(45) Quatrefages's "Human Species," p. 151.
(46) Prof. Winchell says: "Quatrefages does not now consider the
proof decisive (_Hommes Fossiles et Hommes Sauvages,_
Paris, 1884, p. 95)." He cites, as agreeing with him, MM.
Cotteau, Evans, "and, I believe, most of the members who have
not publicly pronounced themselves."
(47) Dawkins's "Early Man in Britain," p. 67.
(48) Dawkins's "Early Man in Britain," p. 68.
(49) "Human Species," p. 152.
(50) Prof. Winchell remarks that, though some savage races might
have been living in tropical lands during the Miocene, still the
oldest skull and jaws obtainable in Europe are of a higher type
than these.
(51) Dana's "Manual of Geology," p. 523.
(52) Marsh: "American Assoc. Rep.," 1877.
(53) Dawkins's "Early Man in Britain," p. 73.
(54) Ibid., p. 78.
(55) Dawkins's "Early Man in Britain," p. 77.
(56) Dawkins's "Early Man in Britain," p. 76.
(57) Winchell's "Pre-Adamites," Whitney's "Auriferous Gravels of
California," Marsh's "Address before American Assoc.," 1879.
(58) "Antiquity of Man," p. 234.
(59) "Prehistoric Times," p. 433.
(60) Geikie's "Prehistoric Europe," p. 343.
(61) Dawkins's "Early Man in Britain."
(62) Ibid.
(63) "Prehistoric Europe," p. 318.
(64) Quatrefages's "Hum. Species," p. 150; Geikie's "Prehistoric
Eur.," p. 345.
(65) "Pre-Adamites."
(66) Geikie's "Prehistoric Europe," p. 344.
(67) Ibid.
(68) "Early Man in Britain," p. 92.
(69) Geikie's "Prehistoric Europe," p. 344.
(70) Same as Glacial. See "Outline," p. 41.
(71) "Early Man in Britain," p. 92.
(72) "Prehistoric Europe," p. 345, note 2.

Chapter III

MEN OF THE RIVER DRIFT.<1>

Beginning of the Glacial Age--Inter-glacial Age--Man living in Europe
during this age--Map of Europe--Proof of former elevation of land--The
animals living in Europe during this age--Conclusions drawn from these
different animals--The vegetation of this period--Different climatic
conditions of Europe during the Glacial Age--Proofs of a Glacial
Age--Extent of the Glacial Ice--Evidence of warm Inter-glacial
Age--The primitive state of man--Early English civilization--Views of
Horace--Primitive man destitute of metals--Order in which different
materials were used by man for weapons--Evidence, from the River
Somme--History of Boucher de Perthes's investigations--Discussion of
the subject--Antiquity of these remains--Improvement during Paleolithic
Age--Description of the flint implements--Other countries where these
implements are found--What race of men were these tribes--The Canstadt
race--Mr. Dawkins's views--When did they first appear in Europe--The
authorities on this question--Conclusion.

The Tertiary Age, with its wonderful wealth of animal and plant
life, gradually drew to its close. In our "Outline" we have named the
period that next ensued the Glacial Age.<2> This was sufficiently exact
for our purpose then, but we must remember this is the name<3> for
a long series of years. During this period great changes in climate
occurred. At its commencement, a genial temperate climate prevailed
throughout Europe; and this, as we know, was preceded, during the
Miocene Age, by a warm tropical one.<4> This succession, then, shows us
that, for some reason or other, the climate had been gradually growing
colder. This change went forward uninterruptedly. Doubtless very
gradually, from century to century, the seasons grew more and more
severe, until, finally, the Summer's sun no longer cleared the mountains
of the Winter's snow. This was the beginning of the Glacial Age proper.

The best authorities also suppose that the reign of snow and ice was
broken by at least one return (possibly more) of genial climate,
when animals and plants from the south again visited the countries of
Northern Europe--only, however, to be once more driven forth by a return
of arctic cold. But finally, before the increasing warmth of a genial
Climate, the glaciers vanished, not to return again, and the Glacial Age
became merged in that of the present.

It is no longer a question that man lived in Europe during the largest
portion of this age, if not from the beginning. It is necessary, then,
to come to a clear understanding of the successive stages of this entire
age, and to trace the wonderful cycles of climate--the strange mutation
of heat and cold, which must have exerted a powerful influence on the
life, both animal and vegetable, of the period--and see when we first
find decisive proofs of man's presence, and learn what we can of his
condition.

The map of Europe, at the close of Pliocene times and the commencement
of the Glacial Age, is of interest to us in several ways. From this it
will be seen that it was considerably more elevated than at the present.
As this is no fancy sketch, but is based on facts, it is well to outline
them. Without the aid of man, land animals can not possibly pass from
the mainland of a continent to an island lying some distance off the
shore. But it is well known that animals like the rhinoceros, and
several others, wandered as well over the surface of the British Islands
as on the adjacent coast of Europe. We are therefore compelled to
assume, that at that time the English Channel and the Irish Sea were not
in existence. This necessitates an elevation of at least four hundred
feet, which would also lay bare a large portion of the North Sea.<5>
In proof of this latter statement is the fact, that, at a distance from
land in the North Sea, fishermen at the present day frequently dredge up
bones and teeth of animals that then roamed in Europe.<6>

Map of Europe------------------

While there is no necessity for supposing an elevation greater than that
required to lay bare a passage for animals back and forth, yet soundings
undertaken by the British government have established the fact, that the
ocean deepens very gradually away from the shores of the main-land until
a depth of six hundred feet is reached, when the shore falls away very
suddenly. This is supposed to be the sea-coast of that time. The English
Channel would then have existed as the valley of the Seine, and the
Rhine have prolonged its flow over the present bed of the North Sea.
As the land stood at this height through a large portion of the Glacial
Age, it is not at all unreasonable to suppose that primitive tribes
hunted back and forth along these valleys, and so doubtless many
convincing proofs of their presence at that early day lie buried
underneath the waves of the sea. In like manner, at the south, we know
that elephants, lions, and hyenas passed freely from Africa to Spain,
Italy, and the Island of Crete,<7> and, consequently, the Mediterranean
Sea must have been bridged in one or two places at least.<8>

The change from Pliocene times to early Glacial was so gradual that
quite a number of animals lived on from one to the other, and, as we
have already stated, one of these species has even survived to our own
times.<9>

But we note the arrival in Europe of a great number of new animals, and
the diversity of species seems at first an inexplicable riddle. The key,
however, is to be found in the great climatic changes, which we have
already mentioned as occurring during this age. On the one hand, we find
such animals as the musk-sheep, reindeer, and arctic fox, animals whose
natural home is in high northern latitudes, where snow and ice prevail
most of the year.<10> Yet during this age they lived in Southern France
and Italy, which must then have had a far different climate than that at
present.

Were we to confine our attention to these alone we would be convinced
that the climate of Europe at that time was arctic in its severity. But
side by side with the remains of these animals are found others which
imply an altogether different climate. The hippopotamus, now frequenting
the rivers of Africa, during that period roamed as far north as
Yorkshire, England.<11> This animal could not live in a country where
the cold was severe enough to form ice on the rivers. The remains of
a number of other animals are found whose natural home is in the warm
regions of the earth.<12> These two groups of animals, one from the
north and one from the south, show how varied was the climate of Europe
during the Glacial Age.

In addition to these, there was also a large number of animals whose
home is in the temperate regions of the earth--animals that thrive in
neither extremes of heat and cold. This includes a great many animals
of the deer kind, several varieties of bears and horses; in fact, the
majority of those with which we are acquainted.<13>

Now, what conclusion follows from this assemblage of animals? Many
theories have been put forward in explanation. It has been suggested
that Europe at that time had a climate not unlike that of some portions
of the earth at present; that is, a long and severe Winter was followed
by a short but warm Summer. During the Winter reindeer and other
northern animals would press from the north in search of food, but would
retire on the approach of Spring, when their feeding grounds would
in turn be occupied by bisons and animals of a southern habitat. In
confirmation of this view it is pointed out that a vast collection of
bones, from the bottom of a sink-hole or pond in Derbyshire, England,
conclusively show that in the summer-time it was visited by bisons with
their calves, and in Winter by reindeer.<14> This theory is open to
a great many objections. As is well known, some animals make quite
extensive migrations annually, but we can scarcely believe that heavy,
unwieldy animals like the hippopotamus, were then such industrious
travelers as to wander every year from Italy to Northern England and
return.<15> But the very ground on which this theory rests, that of
strongly contrasted summers and winters, could not be true of Europe or
the western portions of it, owing to the presence of the Atlantic Ocean,
and the influence which it inevitably exerts on the climate.<16> We see,
then, that the presence of these different animals can be explained
only by supposing great secular changes in climate. Let us see if we can
strengthen this view by an appeal to the vegetation of this period.

We have seen how important a guide as to climate were the remains of the
vegetation of the early times. We therefore turn with more confidence to
such discoveries as will tell us of the flora of this age. But there are
many reasons why remains of plant growth should be few. As we shall soon
learn, this was a period of flooded rivers; and in the gravels and loams
thus formed is found our principal source of information as to the life
of the age. But such a rush of waters would form gravelly banks or great
beds of loam, and would sweep any plants which might be washed into its
floods far out to sea; or if by chance they should become buried in such
gravel beds, the action of water would speedily cause the decay of the
tender portions, such as leaves, bark, and soft wood, in which case no
profitable investigation could be made. Occasionally, however, around
the shores of old lakes, vegetable beds have been buried, and we know
that some mineral springs deposit a sort of protecting sediment on every
thing with which they come in contact. By such means, at rare intervals,
leaves, seeds, and fruits have been sealed up for future inspection, and
from a careful study of all such instances much valuable information has
been obtained. At one place in the valley of the Seine was discovered,
under a bed of tufa, the remains of a forest growth. It is not doubted
that the deposit belongs to the Glacial Age.<17>

Yet the forest growth reminds us of that prevalent during the Miocene
Age. The fig-tree, canary, laurel, and box-tree grew in profusion. These
are all southern forms. One severe winter would kill them all, and even
hard frosts would prevent the ripening of their fruits.

Neither were the Summers hot and dry. This is shown by the presence of
numerous plants which can not thrive in hot and dry localities, but live
in the shady woods of Northern France and Germany. The evidence of this
forest growth surely presents us an inviting picture of Europe during a
portion of the Glacial Age.

We are not without evidence, also, of a much more severe climate. In a
lignite bed (a species of coal) found in nearly the same latitude as the
forest growth just mentioned, we detect the presence of trees that grow
only in cold northern climates, such as birch, mountain pine, larch, and
spruce.<18> And in some peat-bogs of Southern Europe belonging to this
age<19> are found willows now growing only in Spitzbergen, and some
species of mosses that only thrive far to the north. It is quite evident
that this deposit testifies to an altogether different climate from that
indicated by the deposit before mentioned. No theory of migration can
explain this assemblage of plants, unless it be migration taking place
very slowly, in consequence of an equally slow change of climate.

From what we have just learned of the animals and plants living in
Europe during this age, we can frame some conception of the different
climatic conditions of Europe. On the one hand, we have a country with
a mild and genial climate. Trees of a warm latitude were then growing as
far north as Paris, and we may well suppose Europe to have abounded in
shady forests and grassy plains, through which flowed large rivers. It
was just such a country as that in which elephants and southern animals
would flourish, while vast herds of deer and bovine animals wandered
over the entire length and breadth of the land. Where animal life was
so abundant there were sure to be carnivorous animals also, and lions,
hyenas, tigers, and other animals added to the variety of animal life.

This, however, is but one side of the picture. The other presents us
with a very different scene; instead of an abundant forest growth, the
land supported only dwarf birch, arctic willows, and stunted mosses.
Arctic animals, such as musk-sheep and reindeer, lived all the year
around in Southern France. The woolly mammoth lived in Spain and Italy.
In short, the climate and conditions of life were vastly different in
the two stages.

We must now turn our attention to the proofs of glaciers in Europe, the
phenomena from which this age derives its name. Descriptions of Alpine
glaciers are common enough, but as glaciers and the Glacial Age have a
great deal to do with the antiquity of man, we can not do better than
to learn what we can of their formation, and their wonderful extension
during this period. The school-boy knows that by pressure he gives his
snowball nearly the hardness of ice. He could make it really ice if he
possessed sufficient strength. The fact is, then, that snow under the
influence of pressure passes into the form of ice. In some cases nature
does this on a large scale. Where mountains are sufficiently elevated
to raise their heads above the snow line we know they are white all the
year around with snow. What is not blown away, evaporated, or, as an
avalanche, precipitated to lower heights, must accumulate from year to
year. But the weight pressing on the lower portions of this snow-field
must soon be considerable, and at length become so great, that the
snow changes to the form of ice. But as ice it is no longer fixed and
immovable. We need not stop to explain just how this ice-field moves,
but the fact is that, though moving very slowly, it acts like a liquid
body. It will steal away over any incline however small, down which
water would flow. Like a river it fills the valleys leading down from
the mountains. But, of course, the lower down it flows the higher the
temperature it meets, and it will sooner or later reach a point where it
will melt as fast as it advances. This stream of ice flowing down from
snow-clad mountains is called a glacier. Those we are best acquainted
with are but puny things compared with those of the polar regions,
where in one case a great river of ice sixty miles wide, flowing from an
unknown distance, some thousands of feet in depth (or height), pours out
into the sea.<20>

We at once perceive that such a mass of ice could not pour down a valley
without leaving unmistakable signs of its passage. The sides of the
mountains would be deeply scarred and smoothed. Projecting knobs
would be worn away. The surface of the valley, exposed to the enormous
grinding power of the moving ice, would be crushed, pulverized, and
dragged along with it. Pieces of stone, like that here represented,
would form part of this moving _debris,_ and as they were crowded along
they would now and then grate over another piece of stone more firmly
seated, and so their surface would be deeply scratched in the direction
of their greatest length. There is always more or less water circulating
under the Alpine glaciers, and the streams that flow from them are
always very muddy, containing, as they do, quantities of crushed rock,
sand, and clay.

Illustration of Scratched Stone---------

If, for any reason, this earthy matter was not washed out it would form
a bed of hard clay, in places packed with these striated stones. Such
beds of clay are known as "till" or bowlder clay.<21>

This is descriptive, though in a very general way, of the glaciers as
they exist to-day. Geologists have long been aware of the fact that they
have convincing proofs of the former presence of glaciers in Northern
Europe, where now the climate is mild. The mountains of Scotland and
Wales show as distinct traces of glaciers as do those of the Alps. It
is not necessary, in this hasty sketch, to enumerate the many grounds
on which this conclusion rests. It is sufficient to state that by the
united labors of many investigators in that field we are in possession
of many conclusions relating to the great glaciers of this age
which almost surpass belief; and yet they are the results of careful
deductions. The former presence of this ice sheet itself is shown in a
most conclusive manner by the bowlder clay formed underneath the
great glacier, containing abundant examples of stone showing by their
scratched surface that they have been ground along underneath the
glacier. The rocks on the sides of the mountains are scratched exactly
as are those in the Alps. By observing how high up on the mountains the
striae are, we know the thickness of the ice-sheet; and the direction in
which it moved is shown in several ways.<22>

Briefly, then, the geologist assures us that when the cold of the
Glacial Age was at its maximum glaciers streamed down from all the
mountains of Scotland, Wales, and Northern England; that the ice was
thick enough to overtop all the smaller hills, and on the plains it
united in one great sea of ice some thousands of feet in thickness, that
it stretched as far south as the latitude of London, England. But that
to the west the ice streamed out across, the Irish Sea, the islands
to the west of Scotland, and ended far out into what is now the
Atlantic.<23> But these glaciers, vast as they were, were very small
compared with the glaciers that streamed out from the mountains
of Norway and Sweden. These great glaciers invaded England to the
south-west, beat back the glacier ice of Scotland from the floor of the
North Sea, overran Denmark, and spread their mantle of bowlder clay far
south into Germany.<24>

While such was the condition of things to the north, the glaciers of
the Alps were many times greater than at present. All the valleys
were filled with glacier ice, and they spread far out on the plains of
Southern Germany and westward into France. The mountains of Southern
France and the Pyrenees also supported their separate system of
glaciers. Ice also descended from the mountains of Asia Minor and North
Africa.<25> In America we meet with traces of glaciers on a vast scale;
but we can not pause to describe them here.<26>

It need not surprise us, therefore, to learn of reindeer and musk-sheep
feeding on stunted herbage in what now constitutes Southern France. When
a continuous mantle of snow and ice cloaked all Northern Europe, it
is not at all surprising to find evidence of an extremely cold climate
prevailing throughout its southern borders. We thus see how one piece of
evidence fits into another, and therefore we may, with some confidence,
endeavor to find proofs of more genial conditions when the snow and ice
disappeared, and a more luxuriant vegetation possessed the land, and
animals accustomed to warm and even tropical countries roamed over
a large extent of European territory. In Switzerland it was long ago
pointed out that after the ancient glaciers had for a long time occupied
the low grounds of that country they, for some cause, retreated to
the mountain valleys, and allowed streams and rivers to work over the
_debris_ left behind them. At Wetzikon most interesting conclusions have
been drawn. We there learn that, after the retreat of the glaciers,
a lake occupied the place, which in course of time became filled with
peat, and that subsequently the peat was transformed into lignite. To
judge from the remains of animals and plants, the climate must have been
at least as warm as that at present; and this condition of things must
have prevailed over a period of some thousands of years to explain the
thick deposits of peat, from which originated the lignites.<27>

But we also know that this period came to an end, and that once more
the ice descended. This is shown by the fact that directly overlying the
lignite beds are alternating layers of sand and gravel, and, resting
on these, glacier-born bowlders. The same conclusion follows from the
discoveries made at many other places.

In Scotland it is well known that the bowlder clay contains every now
and then scattered patches of peat and beds of soil either deposited
in lakes or rivers. The only explanation that can be given for their
presence is that they represent old land surfaces; that is, when the
land was freed from ice, and vegetation had again clothed it in a mantle
of green. In this cut is shown one of these beds. Both above and below
are the beds of bowlder clay. The peat in the centre varies from an inch
to a foot and a half in thickness, and contains many fragments of wood,
sticks, roots, etc.; and of animals, numerous beetles were found, one
kind of which frequents only places where deer and ruminant animals
abound.

Diagram of Interglacial Bed------------

From a large number of such discoveries it is conclusively shown that,
after all, Scotland was smothered under one enormous glacier, a change
of climate occurred, and the ice melted away. Then Scotland enjoyed a
climate capable of nourishing sufficient vegetation to induce mammoths,
Irish deer, horses, and great oxen to occupy the land. But the upper
bowlder clay no less conclusively shows that once more the climate
became cold, and ice overflowed all the lowlands and buried under a new
accumulation of bowlder clay such parts of the old land surface as it
did not erode. Substantially the same set of changes are observed in
English and German geology.<28>

Having thus given an outline of the climatic changes which took place
in Europe during the Glacial Age, and the grounds on which these strange
conclusions rest, we must now turn our attention to the appearance of
man.

The uncertainties which hung over his presence in the earlier periods,
spoken of in the former chapter, do not apply to the proofs of his
presence during this age, though it is far from settled at what
particular portion of the Glacial Age he came into Europe. We must
remember we are to investigate the past, and to awaken an interest
in the history of a people who trod this earth in ages long ago. The
evidence on which we establish a history of the early tribes of Europe
is necessarily fragmentary, but still a portion here and a piece
there are found to form one whole, and enable us to form quite a vivid
conception of manners and times now very far remote.

It is not claimed that we have surmounted every difficulty--on the
contrary, there is yet much to be deciphered; but, in some respects, we
are now better acquainted with these shadowy tribes of early times than
with those whose history has been recorded by the historian's facile
pen. He has given us a record of blood. He acquaints us with the march
of vast armies, tells us of pillaged cities, and gives us the names of
a long roll of titled kings; but, unfortunately, we know little of the
home life, the occupation, or of those little things which make up the
culture of a people. But the knowledge of primitive tribes, gathered
from the scanty remains of their implements, from a thorough exploration
of their cavern homes, has made us acquainted with much of their home
life and surroundings: and we are not entirely ignorant as to such
topics as their trade, government, and religion. We must not forget
that this is a knowledge of tribes and peoples who lived here in times
immeasurably ancient as compared with those in existence at the very
dawn of history.

We must try and form a mental picture of what was probably the primitive
state of man; and a little judicious reasoning from known facts will
do much for us in this direction. Some writers have contended that the
first condition of man was that of pleasing innocence, combined with a
high degree of enlightenment, which, owing to the wickedness of mankind,
he gradually lost. This ideal picture, however consonant with our
wishes, must not only give way before the mass of information now at our
command, but has really no foundation in reason; "or, at any rate, if
this primitive condition of innocence and enlightenment ever existed, it
must have disappeared at a period preceding the present archaeological
investigations."<29> Nothing is plainer than that our present
civilization has been developed from barbarism, as that was from
savagism.<30> We need go back but a few centuries in the history of
any nation, before we find them emerging from a state of barbarism. The
energy and intelligence of the Anglo-Saxon has spread his language to
the four corners of the globe; he has converted the wilderness into
fruitful fields, and reared cities in desert lands: yet his history
strikingly illustrates our point. A century back, and we are already in
a strange land. The prominent points of present civilization were yet
unthought of. No bands of iron united distant cities; no nerves of
wire flashed electric speech. The wealth of that day could not buy many
articles conducive of comfort, such as now grace the homes of the
poor. The contrast is still more apparent when we recall another of
the countless centuries of the past. England, with Europe, was but just
awakening to modern life. Printing had but just been invented. Great
discoveries had been made, and mankind was but just beginning those
first feeble efforts which were to bring to us our modern comforts. But
a millennium of years ago, and the foundation of English civilization
had but just been laid by the union of the rude Germanic tribes of the
Saxons and the Angles. Similar results attend the ultimate analysis
of any civilization. It was but yesterday that wandering hordes, bound
together by the loose cohesion of tribal organization, and possessing
but the germ of modern enlightenment, held sway in what is now the
fairest portion of the world: and we, the descendants of these rude
people, must reflect that the end is not yet--that the onward march
of progress is one of ever hastening steps--and that, in all human
probability, the sun of a thousand years hence will shine on a people
whose civilization will be as superior to ours as the light of day
exceeds the mellow glow of a moon-lit night.

If such are the changes of but a few centuries, what must we not
consider the changes to have been during the countless ages that have
sped away since man first appeared on the scene! The early Greek and
Roman writers were much nearer right when they considered primitive man
to have been but a slight degree removed from the brute world. Horace
thus expresses himself: "When animals first crept forth from the newly
formed earth, a dumb and filthy herd, they fought for acorns and lurking
places--with their nails, and with fists--then with clubs--and at last
with arms, which, taught by experience, they had forged. They then
invented names for things, and words to express their thoughts; after
which they began to desist from war, to fortify cities, and enact laws."
The learning of modern times leads to much the same conclusion.

It is evident that primitive man must have been destitute of metals; for
it requires a great deal of knowledge and experience to extract metals
from their ores. In the eyes of savages, the various metallic ores are
simply so many varieties of stone--much less valuable for his purposes
than flint, or some other varieties. We know it to be historically true,
that a great many nations have been discovered utterly destitute of any
knowledge of metals.

When we reflect how much of our present enlightenment is due to the
use of metals, we can readily see that their discovery marks a most
important epoch in the history of man. There is, then, every reason to
suppose that stone was a most important article for primitive man. It
was the material with which he fought his battle for existence, and we
need not be surprised that its use extended through an enormously long
period of time. Not only was primitive man thus low down in the scale,
but of necessity his progress must have been very slow.

The time during which men were utterly destitute of a knowledge of
metals, far exceeds the interval that has elapsed since that important
discovery.<31> Scholars divide the stone age into two parts. In the
first, the stone implements, are very few, of simple shapes, and in the
main formed of but one variety of stone--generally flint~-and they
were never polished. In the second division, we meet with a great many
different implements, each adapted to a different purpose. Different
varieties of stone were employed, and they also made use of bone, shell,
and wood, which were often beautifully polished.

From what we have learned of the development of primitive society, it
will not surprise us to learn that the first division of the age of
stone comprises a vastly greater portion of time, and is far more
ancient, than the second. We will give an outline showing the order
of use of different materials; but it is here necessary to remark that
Bronze was the first metal that man learned to use, and Iron the second.

ORDER IN WHICH DIFFERENT MATERIALS WERE USED FOR WEAPONS AND IMPLEMENTS
BY PRIMITIVE MAN. Age of Stone. Rough, or Old Stone Age--Paleolithic.
Polished or New Stone Age--Neolithic.
Age of Metals. Bronze Age.
Iron Age.

In this outline the words Paleolithic and Neolithic are the scientific
terms for the two divisions of the Stone Age, and will be so used in
these pages.

The only races of men that we could expect to find in Europe during the
Glacial Age would be Paleolithic tribes, and it is equally manifest that
we must find traces of them in beds of this age, or in association with
animals that are characteristic of this age, or else we can not assert
the existence of man at this time. The valley of the river Somme,
in Northern France, has become classical ground to the student of
Archaeology, since it was there that such investigations as we have just
mentioned were first and most abundantly made. It is now well known that
the surface features of a country--that is, its hills and dales, its
uplands and lowlands--are mainly due to the erosive power of running
water. Our rivers have dug for themselves broad valleys, undermined
and carried away hills, and in general carved the surface of a country,
until the present appearance is the result. It must be confessed that
when we perceive the slow apparent change from year to year, and from
that attempt to estimate the time required to produce the effects we see
before us, we are apt to shrink from the lapse of time demanded for its
accomplishment. Let us not forget that "Time is long," and that causes,
however trifling, work stupendous results in the course of ages.

Picture of Paleolithic Flints.--------

But a river which is thus digging down its channel in one place,
deposits the materials so dug away at other and lower levels, as beds
of sand and gravel. In the course of time, as the river gradually lowers
its channel, it will leave behind, at varying heights along its banks,
scattered patches of such beds. Wherever we find them, no matter how far
removed, or how high above the present river, we are sure that at some
time the river flowed at that height; and standing there, we may try and
imagine how different the country must have looked before the present
deep valley was eroded.

In the case of the river Somme, we have a wide and deep valley, a large
part of which has been excavated in chalk rock, through which the river
now winds its way in a sinuous course to the English Channel. Yet we
feel sure that at some time in the past it was a mighty stream, and that
its waters surged along over a bed at least two hundred feet higher than
now. In proof of this fact we still find, at different places along
the chalky bluff, stretches of old gravel banks, laid down there by the
river, "reaching sometimes as high as two hundred feet above the present
water level, although their usual elevation does not exceed forty
feet."<32>

The history of the investigation of the ancient gravel beds of the Somme
is briefly this: More than one instance had been noted of the finding of
flint implements, apparently the work of men, in association with bones
of various animals, such as hyenas, mammoths, musk-sheep, and others,
which, as we have just seen, lived in Europe during the Glacial Age. In
a number of cases such finds had been made in caves. But for a long time
no one attributed any especial value to these discoveries, and various
were the explanations given to account for such commingling. A French
geologist, by the name of Boucher DePerthes, had noted the occurrence
of similar flint implements, and bones of these extinct animals, in a
gravel pit on the banks of the Somme, near Abbeville, France. He was
convinced that they proved the existence of man at the time these
ancient animals lived in Europe. But no one paid any attention to his
opinions on this subject, and a collection of these implements, which
he took to Paris in 1839, was scarcely noticed by the scientific world.
They were certainly very rude, and presented but indistinct traces of
chipping, and perhaps it is not strange that he failed to convince any
one of their importance. He therefore determined to make a thorough and
systematic exploration of these beds at Abbeville. In 1847 he published
his great work on this subject, giving over sixteen hundred cuts of the
various articles he had found, claiming that they were proof positive of
the presence of man when the gravels were depositing.

Picture of Flint Implements, so-called.------

Now there are several questions to be answered before the conclusions
of the French geologist can be accepted. In the first place, are these
so-called flint implements of human workmanship? From our illustrations,
we see that they are of an oval shape, tending to a cutting edge all
around, and generally more or less pointed at one end. The testimony of
all competent persons who have examined them is, that however rude they
may be, they were undoubtedly fashioned by man. Dr. C. C. Abbott has
made some remarks on implements found in another locality, equally
applicable to the ones in question. He says: "We find, on comparing a
specimen of these chipped stones with an accidentally fractured pebble,
that the chipped surfaces of the former all tend toward the production
of a cutting edge, and there is no portion of the stone detached which
does not add to the availability of the supposed implement as such;
while in the case of a pebble that has been accidentally broken, there
is necessarily all absence of design in the fracturing."<33>

Like the watch found on the moor, they show such manifest evidence of
design, that we can not doubt that they were produced by the hand of
man. But it is not enough to know that they are artificial, we must also
know that they are of the same age as the beds in which they are found.

Section of Gravel Pit.-----------

This cut represents a section of a gravel pit at St. Acheul, on the
Somme. The implements are nearly always found in the lowest strata,
which is a bed of gravel from ten to fourteen feet thick. Overlying this
are beds of marl, loam, and surface soil, comprising in all a depth
of fourteen feet. It has been suggested that the implements are
comparatively recent, and have sunk down from above by their own weight,
or perhaps have been buried in artificial excavations. The beds are
however too compact to admit of any supposition that they may have been
sunk there; and if buried in any excavation, evident traces of such
excavation would have remained. We can account for their presence there
in no other way than, that when the river rolled along at that high
elevation, and deposited great beds of sand, these implements were
someway lost in its waters, and became buried in the gravel deposits.

Finally, we have to consider the age of the deposits. This is a question
that can be answered only by geologists, and we may be sure that more
than ordinary attention has been bestowed upon them. The remains of
many animals characteristic of the Glacial Age were found in the beds
at Abbeville. These include those of the elephants, rhinoceros, hyenas,
cave-bear, and cave-lion.<34>

In the formation of these gravel beds, ice has undoubtedly played quite
an important part. Bowlders that could have got there only by the aid
of ice, are found in several localities. Evidence gathered from a great
many different sources all establish the fact that these gravels date
as far back as the close of the Glacial Age at least, and there are some
reasons for supposing them to be interglacial.

We can easily see that the melting away of the immense glaciers that we
have been describing would produce vast floods in the rivers, and it is
perhaps owing to the presence of such swollen rivers that are due the
great beds of surface soil, called loam or loess, found in all the river
valleys of France and Germany.<35> These deposits frequently overlie the
gravel beds. They are then of a later date than the beds in which
are found such convincing proofs of the presence of man, and if they
themselves date from the close of the Glacial Age, it is no longer a
question whether the gravel beds themselves belong to that age. Thus we
see that we can no longer escape the conclusions of Boucher DePerthes.
The discovery of rudely worked flints in the drift of the Somme River
thus establishes the fact that some time during the Glacial Age, man in
a Paleolithic state lived in France.

Geological terms convey to us no definite ideas as to the lapse of time,
and we have an instinctive desire to substitute for them some term of
years. In most cases this is impossible, as we have no means to measure
the flight of past time, nor are we yet prepared to discuss the question
of time, since to do so we must learn a great deal more about the cause
of the Glacial Age. We might, however, cite statements which can not
fail to impress us with the fact that a great extent of time has passed.

In the case of the river Somme we have a valley in some places a mile or
more in width, and about two hundred feet in depth. This has mostly been
excavated in chalk rock. Taking our present large rivers as a basis, it
would require from one to two hundred thousand years for the Somme to
perform this work.<36> It will not do, however, to take the present
action of our rivers as a guide, since we have every reason to suppose
this work went forward much more rapidly in past times. But we can not
escape the conclusion that it demands a very long time indeed to explain
it. The valley has remained in its present shape long enough to admit
the formation of great beds of peat in some portions. Peat is formed by
the decomposition of vegetable growth. Its growth is in all cases slow,
depending entirely upon local circumstances. European scholars who have
made peat formation a special study assure us that to form such immense
beds as occur near Abbeville, several thousand years are required, even
under the most favorable conditions.

Yet we would be scarcely willing to rest such important conclusions as
the foregoing on the researches of one individual, or in one locality.
As already stated, DePerthes made his discoveries public in 1847. Yet
they were so opposed to all that had been believed previously, that but
few took the pains to investigate for themselves. In 1853, Dr. Rigollot,
of Amiens, who had been skeptical as to DePerthes, commenced to look
for himself in the gravel beds at St. Acheul, about nine miles below
Abbeville. As might be expected, he was soon convinced.

Picture of Paleolithic Flint, England.------

It may be said that the scientific world formally accepted the new
theory when such English scientists as Evans, Falconer, Lyell, and
Prestwich reported in its favor. Since that time, many discoveries
of ancient implements have been made at various places in France and
England under circumstances similar to those in the valley of the Somme.
In England they have been found along almost all the rivers in the
southern and south-eastern part. One class of discoveries there gives
us new ideas as to the extent of time that has passed since they were
deposited. That is where they occur in gravel beds having no connection
with the present system of rivers. In one case the gravel forms a
hill fifteen feet high, situated in the midst of a swampy district,
surrounded on all sides by low, flat surfaces. Several such instances
could be given; but, in all such cases, we can not doubt that, somewhere
near, there once rolled the waters of an ancient river, that man once
hunted along its banks, and that, owing to some natural cause, the
waters forsook their ancient bed--and that since then, in the slow
course of ages, the action of running water has removed so much of the
surface of the land near there, that we can not guess at its ancient
configuration: we only know, from scattered patches of gravel, that we
are standing on the banks of an ancient water-course.

One instance, illustrative of the great change that has come over the
surface features of the country, demanding for their accomplishment a
great lapse of time, is furnished by the Isle of Wight. That island is
now separated from the mainland by a narrow channel, called the South
Hampton Water, or the Solent Sea.

It is now known that this is nothing but an old river channel, in
which the sea has usurped the place of the river. The coast is a
river embankment, with the usual accompaniments of gravel beds, flint
implements, and fresh water shells. On the shores of the island we find
the opposite bank of the old river. A very great change must have taken
place in the surface features before the sea could have rolled in and
cut off the Isle of Wight from the mainland.

In speaking of the length of time demanded for this change, Dr. Evans
says: "Who can fully understand how immeasurably remote was the epoch
when what is now that vast bay was high and dry land, and a long range
of chalk downs, six hundred feet above the sea, bounded the horizon on
the South? And yet that must have been the sight that met the eye of
primitive man who frequented the banks of that ancient river, which
buried their handiwork in gravels that now cap the cliffs--and of the
course of which so strange and indubitable a memorial subsists in what
has now become the Solent Sea?"<37>

The illustrations scattered through this essay are representations of
the stone implements found in the drift of European rivers. During all
the long course of time supposed to be covered by the Paleolithic Age,
there are but very few evidences of any improvement, as far as we can
judge from the implements themselves. This is in itself a melancholy
proof of the low condition of man. He had made so little advance in
the scale of wisdom, he possessed so little knowledge, he was so much a
creature of instinct, that, during the thousands of years demanded
for this age, he made no appreciable progress. The advance of the last
century was many times greater than that of the entire Paleolithic Age.
A blow struck on one end of a piece of flint will, owing to the peculiar
cleavage of flint, split off pieces called flakes. This is the simplest
form of implement used by man. It is impossible to say with certainty
how they were used; but, from the evidence observed on them, they were
probably used as scrapers. The men of that day doubtless knew some
simple method of preparing clothing from the skins of the animals they
had killed, and probably many of these sharp-rimmed flakes were used to
assist in this primitive process of tanning.

Illustration of Flint Flakes.--------

When the piece of flint itself was chipped into form, it was one whose
shape would indicate a spear-head or hatchet. We present illustrations
of each. Forms intermediate between these two are found. Some have such
a thick heavy base that it is believed they were used in the hand, and
had no handle or haft.

Others, with a cutting edge all round, may have been provided with a
handle. M. Mortillet, of France, who has had excellent opportunities of
studying this question very thoroughly, thinks that the hatchet was the
only type of implement they possessed, and that it was used for every
conceivable purpose--but that their weapon was a club, all traces of
which have, of course, long since vanished away.<38>

Illustrations of Spear Head Type and Hatchet Type.------

These few implements imply that their possessors were savages like the
native Australians. In this stage of culture, man lived by hunting, and
had not yet learned to till the ground, or to seek the materials out of
which his implements were made by mining. Re merely fashioned the stones
which happened to be within reach in the shallows of rivers as they were
wanted, throwing them away after they had been used. In this manner the
large numbers which have been met with in certain spots may be accounted
for. Man at this time appears before us as a nomad hunter, poorly
equipped for the struggle of life, without knowledge of metals, and
ignorant of the art of grinding his stone tools to a sharp edge.<39>
Of course we can not hope to learn much of their social condition other
than that just set forth.

DePerthes found some flints which show evidence of their human origin,
and yet it would be very difficult to say what was their use. He thinks
they may have a religious significance, and has set forth a great
variety of eloquent surmises respecting them. It only need be said that
such theorizing is worse than useless. That while it is very probable
these tribes had some system of belief, yet there is no good reason for
supposing these flints had any connection with it. It has been supposed,
from another series of wrought flints, that the men of this epoch were
possessed of some sentiments of art, as pieces have been found thought
to represent the forms of animals, men's faces, birds, and fishes; but
as very few have been able to detect such resemblances, it is safe to
say they do not exist.

As the love of adornment is almost as old as human nature itself, we
may not be surprised to find traces of its sway then. Dr. Rigollot found
little bunches of shells with holes through either end. The supposition
is that these were used as beads; which is not at all strange,
considering how instinctively savage men delight in such ornaments.
These ancient hunters made use of beads partially prepared by nature.

Europe is not the only country where the remains of this savage race are
found. They are found in the countries bordering the Mediterranean in
Northern Africa, and in Egypt. In this latter country they are doubtless
largely buried under the immense deposits of Nile mud; yet in 1878
Professor Haynes discovered in Upper Egypt scrapers and hatchets,
pronounced by archaeologists to be exactly similar to those of the river
Somme. We are not informed as to their geological age, but there can
be no question that they are much older than any monument of Egyptian
civilization hitherto known.<40>

Paleolithic implements have also been found in Palestine and in India.
In the latter country the beds are so situated that they present the
same _indicia,_ of age as do those of the Somme Valley. A great portion
of the formation has been removed, and deep valleys cut in them by
running water.<41> They have also been found in at least one locality
in the United States; that is in the glacial gravel of the valley of the
Delaware at Trenton, New Jersey. We must not confound these remains
with those of the Indian tribes found scattered over a large extent
of surface. Those at Trenton also are not only in all respects, except
materials, similar to those of the Somme, but are found imbedded in a
formation of gravel that was deposited at least as far back as the close
of the Glacial Age, thus requiring the passage of the same long
series of years since they were used, as do the implements of European
rivers.<42> We must also bear in mind that no country has been so
carefully explored for these implements as has Europe, and that the very
country, Asia, where, for many reasons, we might hope to find not only
unequivocal proofs of man's presence but from our discoveries be able
to clear up many dark points, as to the race, origin, and fate of these
primitive tribes, is yet almost a sealed book.

But the scattered discoveries we have instanced show us that the people
whose implements have been described in this chapter were very widely
dispersed over the earth, and everything indicates that they were far
removed from us in time. The similarity in type of implements shows
that, wherever found, they were the same people, in the same low savage
state of culture--"Alike in the somber forests of oak and pine in Great
Britain, and when surrounded by the luxuriant vegetation of the Indian
jungle."<43>

We have yet two important points to consider. The first is, what race of
men were these river tribes? and second, when did they arrive in Europe?
Did they precede the glacial cold? did they make their appearance during
a warm interglacial period? or was it not until the final retreat of the
glaciers that they first wandered into Europe? These questions are
far from settled; yet they have been the object of a great amount of
painstaking research.

To determine the first point, it is necessary that anatomists have
skeletons of the men of this age, to make a careful study of them. But
for a great many reasons, portions of the human skeleton are very rarely
found in such circumstances that we are sure they date back to the
Paleolithic Age, and especially is this true of the men of the River
Drift. In a few instances fragmentary portions have been found.

M. Quatrefages, of France, who is certainly a very high authority on
these points, thinks that the hunter tribes of the River Drift belonged
to the Canstadt race--"so named from the village of Canstadt, in
Germany, near which a fossil skull was discovered in 1700, and which
appears to be closely allied to the Neanderthal skull, discovered near
Dusseldorf in 1857, and about which so much has been written."<44>
Quatrefages supposes that this type of man is still to be found
in certain Australian tribes. These are not mere guesses, but are
conclusions drawn from careful study by eminent European scholars.<45>

It is well known that a competent naturalist needs but a single fossil
bone to describe the animal itself, and tell us its habits. So also
anthropologists need but fragments of the human skeleton, especially
of the skull, to describe characteristics of the race to which the
individual belonged.

Illustration of Neanderthal Man.-----------

This cut, though an ideal restoration, is a restoration made in
accordance with the results of careful study of fragmentary skulls found
in various localities in Europe. The head and the face present a savage
aspect; the body harmonized with the head; the height was not more than
five feet and a half; yet the bones are very thick in proportion
to their length, and were evidently supplied with a powerful set of
muscles, since the little protuberances and depressions where the
muscles are attached are remarkably well developed.<46> Huxley and
Quatrefages have both pointed out that representatives of this race are
to be found among some Australian tribes. "Among the races of this
great island there is one, distributed particularly in the province of
Victoria, in the neighborhood of Port Western, which reproduces in a
remarkable manner, the characters of the Canstadt race."<47> Not the
least interesting result of this discovery is the similarity of weapons
and implements. "With Mr. Lartet, we see in the obsidian lances of
New Caledonia the flint heads of the lower alluvium of the Somme. The
hatchet of certain Australians reminds us, as it did Sir Charles Lyell,
of the Abbeville hatchet."<48>

Yet some hesitate about accepting these interesting inferences, thinking
that the portions of the human skeleton thus far recovered, which are
beyond a doubt referable to this period, are too fragmentary to base
such important conclusions upon. This is the view of Boyd Dawkins,
who thinks "we can not refer them to any branch of the human race now
alive."<49> "We are without a clew," continues he, "to the ethnology of
the River Drift man, who most probably is as completely extinct as
the woolly rhinoceros or the cave bear."<50> Future discoveries will
probably settle this point.

It is yet a much disputed point to what particular portion of the
Glacial Age we can trace the appearance of man. We can profitably note
the tendency of scientific thought in this direction. But a short
time has elapsed since a few scholars here and there began to urge an
antiquity for man extending back beyond the commonly accepted period of
six thousand years. Though it is now well known and admitted that there
are no good grounds for this estimate, yet such was its hold, such its
sway over scientific as well as popular thought, that an appeal to this
chronology was deemed sufficient answer to the discoveries of DePerthes,
Schmerling, and others. It was but yesterday that this popular belief
was overthrown and due weight given the discoveries of careful explorers
in many branches, and the antiquity of man referred, on indisputable
grounds, to a point of time at least as far back as the close of the
preceding geological age.<51>

It seems as if here a halt had been called, and all possible objections
are urged against a further extension of time. It is, of course, well to
be careful in this matter, and to accept only such results as inevitably
follow from well authenticated discoveries. But it also seems to us
there is no longer any doubt that man dates back to the beginning of
that long extended time we have named the Glacial Age.<52>

In the first place, we must recall the animals that suddenly made their
appearance in Europe at the beginning of this age. Though there were a
number of species, since become extinct, the majority of animal forms
were those still living.<53>

These are the animals with which man has always been associated. There
is therefore no longer any reason to suppose the evolution of animal
life had not reached that stage where man was to appear. We need only
recall how strongly this point was urged in reference to the preceding
geological epoch, to see its important bearings here. Mr. Boyd Dawkins
has shown that the great majority of animals which invaded Europe at the
commencement of this age, can be traced to Northern and Central Asia,
whence, owing to climatic changes, they migrated into Europe.<54>

Inasmuch as man seems to have been intimately associated with these
animals, it seems to us very likely that he came with them from
their home in Asia. We think the tendency of modern discoveries is
to establish the fact that man arrived in Europe along with the great
invasion of species now living.<55>

Turning now to the authorities, we find this to be the accepted theory
of many of those competent to form an opinion.

In England Mr. Geikie has strongly urged the theory that the Glacial Age
includes not only periods of great cold, but also epochs of exceptional
mildness; and he strongly argues that all the evidence of the River
Drift tribes can be referred to these warm interglacial epochs; in other
words, that they were living in Europe during the Glacial Age.<56>

In answer to this it has been stated that the relics of River Drift
tribes in Southern England overlie bowlder clay, and must therefore be
later in origin than the Glacial Age.<57>

But, Mr. Geikie and others have shown that the ice of the last great
cold did not overflow Southern England,<58> so that this evidence,
rightly read, was really an argument in favor of their interglacial
age.<59> The committee appointed by the British Association to explore
the Victoria Cave, near Settle, urge this point very strongly in their
final report of 1878.<60> To this report Mr. Dawkins, a member of the
committee, records his dissent, but in his last great work he freely
admits that man was living in England during the Glacial Age, if he did
not, in fact, precede it.<61>

Mr. Skertchley, of the British coast survey, in 1879,<62> announced
the discovery in East Anglia of Paleolithic, implements underlying the
bowlder clay of that section. Mr. Geikie justly regards this as a most
important discovery.<63>

Finally Mr. Dawkins, in his address as President of the Anthropological
section of the British Association, in 1882, goes over the entire
ground. After alluding to the discovery of paleolithic implements in
Egypt, India, and America, he continues: "The identity of implements
of the River Drift hunter proves that he was in the same rude state of
civilization, if it can be called civilization, in the Old and the New
World, when the hand of the geological clock struck the same hour. It is
not a little strange that this mode of life should have been the same in
the forests of the North, and south of the Mediterranean, in Palestine,
in the tropical forests of India, and on the western shores of the
Atlantic." This, however, is not taken as proving the identity of race,
but as proving that in this morning-time of man's existence he had
nowhere advanced beyond a low state of savagism. Mr. Dawkins then
continues: "It must be inferred from his wide-spread range that he must
have inhabited the earth for a long time, and that his dispersal took
place before the Glacial epoch in Europe and America. I therefore feel
inclined to view the River Drift hunter as having invaded Europe in
preglacial times, along with other living species which then appeared."
He also points out that the evidence is that he lived in Europe during
all the changes of that prolonged period known as the Glacial Age.<64>

Sir John Lubbock also records his assent to these views. He says on
this point: "It is, I think, more than probable that the advent of the
Glacial Period found man already in possession of Europe."<65>

In our own country Prof. Powell says: "It is now an established fact
that man was widely scattered over the earth at least as early as the
beginning of the Quaternary period, and perhaps in Pliocene times."<66>

This completes our investigation of the men of the River Drift. We see
how, by researches of careful scholars, our knowledge of the past has
been enlarged. Though there are many points which are as yet hidden in
darkness, we are enabled to form quite a clear mental picture of this
early race. Out of the darkness which still enshrouds the continent
of Asia we see these bands of savages wandering forth; some to Europe,
Africa, and the west; others to America and the east.

This was at a time when slowly falling temperature but dimly prophesied
a reign of arctic cold, still far in the future. This race does not
seem to have had much capacity for advancement, since ages came and went
leaving him in the same low state. During the climax of glacial cold he
doubtless sought the southern coasts of Europe along with the temperate
species of animals. But whenever the climatic conditions were such
that these animals could find subsistence as far north as England
he accompanied them there, and so his remains are found constantly
associated with theirs throughout Europe. Though doubtless very low in
the scale, and at the very foot of the ladder of human progress, we
are acquainted with no facts connecting them with the higher orders
of animals. If such exists, we must search for them further back in
geological time. The men of the River Drift were distinctively human
beings, and as such possessed those qualities which, developing
throughout the countless ages that have elapsed, have advanced man to
his present high position.

REFERENCES

(1) This chapter was submitted to Prof. G. F. Wright, of
Oberlin, for criticism.
(2) Lyell's "Antiquity of Man;" Geikie's "Prehistoric Europe,"
p. 332.
(3) It is, however, applicable to only a portion of the
Quaternary, or Post-tertiary period. (Wright.)
(4) Chapter II.
(5) Geikie's "Prehistoric Europe," p. 339.
(6) Dawkins's "Cave Hunting," p. 365.
(7) Dawkins's "Early Man in Britain," p. 112.
(8) Geikie's "Prehistoric Europe," p. 337.
(9) The majority of the Pliocene animals disappeared from Europe
at the close of the period in question. This includes such
animals as the mastodon, hipparion, and many kinds of deer
(Geikie's "Prehistoric Europe," p. 334). The following animals
survived into the Glacial Age, and some even into Inter-glacial
periods: African hippopotamus (still living), saber-toothed
lion, bear of Auvergne, big-nosed rhinoceros, Etruskan
rhinoceros, Sedgwick's deer, deer of Polignac, Southern
elephant. ("Prehistoric Europe," p. 95.)
(10) The northern animals include the following: Alpine hare,
musk-sheep, glutton, reindeer, arctic fox, lemming, tailless
hare, marmot, spermophile, ibex, snowy vole, chamois. (Geikie's
"Prehistoric Europe," p. 32.)
(11) Geikie's "Prehistoric Europe," p. 28.
(12) The following animals are given as southern species:
Hippopotamus, African elephant, spotted hyena, striped hyena,
serval, caffer cat, lion, leopard. In addition to the above
there were also four or five species of elephants and three
species of rhinoceros, which have since become extinct.
(Geikie's "Prehistoric Europe," p. 32.)
(13) It is scarcely necessary to give a list of these animals.
Prof. Dawkins enumerates thirty-three species. The following are
some of the most important: Urus, bison, horse, stag, roe,
beaver, rabbit, otter, weasel, martin, wildcat, fox, wolf, wild
boar, brown bear, grizzly bear. (Geikie's "Prehistoric Europe,"
p, 32.)
(14) Dawkins's "Early Man in Britain," p. 191.
(15) Lubbock's "Prehistoric Times," p. 316.
(16) Geikie's "Prehistoric Europe," p. 87.
(17) Geikie's "Prehistoric Europe," p. 50.
(18) Geikie's "Prehistoric Europe," p. 54.
(19) Ibid., p. 55.
(20) Kane's "Arctic Exploration," Vol. I, p. 225.
(21) Geikie's "Prehistoric Europe," p. 180.
(22) Wallace's "Island Life," p. 104.
(23) Geikie's "Prehistoric Europe," p. 189.
(24) Ibid., p. 192, _et seq._
(25) Dawkins's "Early Man in Britain."
(26) For fuller information on this topic see James Geikie's
"The Great Ice Age;" also, by the same author, "Prehistoric
Europe." In Appendix "B" of this latter work the author gives a
map of Europe at the climax of the Glacial Age, showing the
great extension of the glaciers. This map embodies the results
of the labors of a great many eminent scholars. See also Croll's
"Climate and Time;" also Wallace's "Island Life," pp. 102-202.
We are not aware that the statements as set forth above are
seriously questioned by any geologist of note. Some consider it
quite possible that the bowlder clays of Southern England and
Central Germany were deposited during a period of submergence
from melting icebergs. (Dawkins's "Early Man in Britain," p.
116.) But even this demands vast glaciers to the north of this
supposed submergence to produce the icebergs. The weight of
authority, however, is in favor of the glaciers. (Geikie's
"Prehistoric Europe," p. 175.)
(27) Haywood's Heer's "Primeval World of Switzerland," p. 200.
(28) "Prehistoric Europe," p. 261. It is no longer a question
that there was at least one mild period separating two periods
of cold in Europe. See Lubbock's "Prehistoric Times," p. 316;
Dawkins's "Early Man in Britain," pp. 115-120; Lyell's
"Antiquity of Man," pp. 282-285., Dana's "Manual of Geology,"
first edition, p. 561; Haywood's Heer's "Primeval World of
Switzerland," Vol. II, p. 203; Wallace's "Island Life," p. 114;
Croll's "Climate and Time." Mr. Geikie, in his works, "The Great
Ice Age" and "Prehistoric Europe," maintains there were several
warm interglacial epochs.
(29) Wright.
(30) Morgan's "Ancient Society," p. 29.
(31) Geikie's "Prehistoric Europe," p. 365. Morgan's "Ancient
Society," p. 39.
(32) Rau's "Early Man in Europe," p. 14.
(33) "Primitive Industry," p. 485.
(34) Lubbock's "Prehistoric Times," 384.
(35) Geikie's "Prehistoric Europe," chap. ix. Most geologists
suppose there was a general depression of the region below the
sea level, or so as to form inland lakes, and that the loess was
thus deposited, as perhaps it is depositing at the present time
in the lakes of Switzerland. (Wright.)
(36) Lubbock's "Prehistoric Times," p. 423.
(37) Evans's "Ancient Stone Implements," p. 621.
(38) _Pop. Science Monthly,_ Oct., 1883.
(39) Dawkins's "Ear. Man in Brit.," p. 163.
(40) Wright's "Studies in Science and Religion," p. 278. See
also British Association Report, 1882, p. 602.
(41) Lubbock's "Prehistoric Times," p. 356.
(42) Abbott's "Primitive Industry."
(43) Dawkins's "Early Man in Britain," p. 172.
(44) Wright.
(45) Quatrefages's "Human Species," p. 307.
(46) "Human Species," p. 305.
(47) Ibid., p. 307.
(48) Quatrefage's "Human Species," p. 306.
(49) "Early Man in Britain," p. 173.
(50) Ibid., p. 233.
(51) We do not give any estimate in years as to this antiquity
in this chapter.
(52) We must remember that this age is also variously called the
Quaternary, Pleistocene, and Post Tertiary. We do not now refer
to the evidence of man's existence in the Miocene and Pliocene,
treated of in the preceding chapter.
(53) Mr. Dawkins finds that fifty-five out of seventy-seven
species are yet living. "Early Man in Britain," p, 109.
(54) "Early Man in Britain," p. 110.
(55) Those who reject the proofs of the existence of man in
Pliocene times because the evolution of life had not then
reached a stage where we could hope to find man, are here
confronted with a difficulty. If Mr. Dawkins be right (as stated
above) then the various animals in question must have been
living in Asia during the preceding Pliocene Age. There is no
reason to suppose man was not associated with them, since he
belongs to the same stage of evolution (Le Conte's "Elements of
Geology," p. 568), and though, owing to climatic and
geographical causes, the animals themselves might have been
confined to Asia, there is surely no good reason why man may
not, in small bands, and at various times, have wandered
into Europe.
(56) "Prehistoric Europe," "The Great Ice Age."
(57) Dawkins's "Early Man in Britain," p. 170.
(58) "Prehistoric Europe," p. 268.
(59) Ibid., 360.
(60) British Assoc. Rep., 1878.
(61) "Early Man in Britain," pp. 137, 141, and 169, with note.
(62) British Assoc. Rep., 1879.
(63) Prehistoric Europe, p. 263.
(64) British Assoc. Rep., 1882.
(65) Preface to Kains-Jackson's "Our Ancient Monuments."
(66) "First Annual Report, Bureau of Ethnology," p. 73.

Chapter IV

CAVE-MEN.<1>

Other sources of Information--History of Cave Exploration--The formation
of Caves--Exploration in Kent's Cavern--Evidence of two different
races--The higher culture of the later race--Evidence of prolonged
time--Exploration of Robin Hood Cave--Explorations in Valley of the
River Meuse--M. Dupont's conclusions--Explorations in the Valley of the
Dordogne--The Station at Schussenreid--Cavemen not found south of the
Alps--Habitations of the Cave-men--Cave-men were Hunters--Methods of
Cooking--Destitute of the Potter's art--Their Weapons--Clothing--Their
skill in Drawing--Evidence of a Government--Of Religious belief--Race
of the Cave-men--Distinct from the men of the Drift--Probable Connection
with the Eskimos.

We have been delving, among the sands of ancient river bottoms for a
proof of man's existence in far remote times. Slight and unsatisfactory
as they may be to some, they are the materials with which we reconstruct
a wondrous story of life and times removed from us by many a cycle of
years.

Men have frequently resorted to the caverns of the earth for protection.
In places we find caves that served this purpose during the Paleolithic
Age. The men of the Drift, however, do not appear to have used them,
save as temporary places of refuge, perhaps as a protection from bands
of savage enemies, or from unusually inclement weather. But yet most
surprising results have attended the exploration of caves in England,
France, and Belgium. We find in those gloomy places that the men of
the Drift were not the only tribes of men inhabiting Europe during the
Glacial Age. In fact, living at later date than the Drift tribes, but
still belonging to the Paleolithic Age, were tribes of people who appear
to have utilized caverns and grottoes as places of permanent resort,
and, judging from their remains, they had made considerable advance in
the arts of living as compared with the tribes of the Drift.

But before pointing out the grounds upon which these conclusions rest,
it may be well to give a slight review of the history of cave research.
The dread and awe which kept people away from caves during the Middle
Ages preserved their contents for later discoverers. In the seventeenth
century, some adventurous spirits began to search in them for what they
called Unicorn horns, which were deemed a most efficacious remedy for
various diseases. This search served the good purpose of bringing to
light various fossil bones of animals, and calling the attention of
scientific men to the same.

The cave of Gailenreuth, in Bavaria, was explored by Dr. Goldfuss
in 1810. He came to the conclusion that the bones of bears and other
extinct animals were proofs of the former presence of the animals
themselves. Dr. Buckland, a celebrated English writer, visited the cave
in 1816, and became much interested in the work; so much so that when
Kirkdale Cavern, in England, was discovered in 1821, he at once repaired
to the spot and made a careful exploration. The results satisfied him
that hyenas and other extinct animals had once lived in England. He
followed up his explorations in a number of cases, and published a work
on this subject in 1822, which marks the commencement of a new era in
cave research.

In 1825 Kent's Cavern, near Torquay, was discovered, and Rev. J. McEnry
made partial explorations in it. He discovered flint implements and
perceived they might be a proof of the presence of man with these
extinct animals. Dr. Buckland had not found these relics, or else had
passed them by as of no importance, for he refused to entertain the
theory that man and the extinct animals had been contemporaneous.
Explorations made in France in 1827-8 had furnished such strong evidence
on this point that it was deemed established by some scholars, but being
opposed to the prevailing belief, nothing came of it.

Illustration of Gailenreuth.---------

In 1829 Schmerling commenced his investigations in the caves of
the valley of the Meuse. For years he continued his work under many
difficulties. Sir Charles Lyell tells us he was let down day after day
to the opening of the Engis Cave by a rope tied to a tree. Arriving
there he crawled on all fours through a narrow passage way to the
enlarged chamber, where, standing in mud and water, he superintended the
investigations. He examined over forty of those caves, and published his
results in 1833. He clearly showed that man must have been living along
with various animals now extinct in Belgium. But, as before remarked, it
was deemed sufficient answer to this careful explorer to point out that
his results were opposed to the accepted chronology, and so they
were passed by. When the time at last came, and their true worth was
recognized, Schmerling himself had passed away.

We have already seen what great results followed the exploration of
DePerthes in the river gravels. When it had been clearly established
that man and extinct animals hid coexisted in Europe, the results of
cave explorations were eagerly recalled, and governments vied with royal
societies and private individuals in continuing the researches. The
results are that a rich store of facts has been gathered from those
gloomy resorts, illustrative of the later stages of Paleolithic art.

A word as to the formation of caves, grottoes, caverns, and rock
shelters. These vary greatly in size, some being so small as to furnish
protection to but few individuals; others, especially caves, so large
that whole tribes might have found a place of resort within their
chambers. They are found in all limestone countries. The formation of
caves is now recognized as due to natural causes acting slowly through
many years. Limestone rock is very hard and durable, but chemistry
teaches us that water charged with carbonic acid gas will readily
dissolve it. Rain-water falling from the clouds is sure to come in
contact with masses of decaying vegetable matter, which we know is
constantly giving off quantities of this gas. Laden with this the water
sinks into the ground, and, if it comes in contact with limestone,
readily washes some of it away in solution. But beds of limestone rock
are noted for containing great fissures through which subterranean
waters penetrate far into the ground. We can readily see how this
percolating water would dissolve and wear away the surface of the
rocks along such a fissure, and in process of time we would have the
phenomenon of a stream of water flowing under ground.

Owing to a great many causes--such, for instance, as the meeting of
another fissure--we would expect that portions of this underground way
would become enlarged to spacious halls. In some such a way as this it
is now understood that all caves have originated.

Owing to many natural causes the river may, after a while, cease to
flow, leaving enlarged portions of its channel behind as a succession
of chambers in a cave. But water would still come trickling in from
the tops and sides, and be continuously dripping to the floor, where
it speedily evaporates. When such is the case it leaves behind it the
limestone it held in solution. So, in process of time, if the deposition
is undisturbed, there will be formed over the floor of the cave a more
or less continuous layer of limestone matter known as stalagmite. The
same formations on the top and sides of the cave are called stalactites.
In places where the drip is continuous the stalactite gradually assumes
the shape of an immense icicle; while the stalagmite on the floor of
the cave, underneath the drip, rises in a columnar mass to meet the
descending stalactite. A union of these is not uncommon, and, we have
pillars and columns presenting the strange, fantastic appearance on
which tourists delight to dwell in their notes of travel.

While these accumulations are in all cases very slow, still we can
not measure the time since it commenced by the rate of present growth,
because this rate varies greatly at different times and places even
in the same cave. And we must also remark that this complete series
of changes only occur in a few localities, the majority of caves being
insignificant in size.<2>

From what has been said as to the formation of caves, we would expect
them to occur in river valleys, and this is the case, though in some
instances there have been such immense changes in the surface level of
the country that we can now find no trace of rivers near them. This is
exactly similar to some gravel deposits, which, as we have seen,
are occasionally found where is now no running water. The most noted
caverns, however, are found high up on the banks of existing rivers. We
can not doubt that the rivers were the cause of the caves. But having
excavated their beds below the level of the then existing caves, they
ceased to flow in them, and left them to be occupied by savage animals
and the scarcely less savage men. But at times, swollen by floods, the
river would again assert its supremacy and roll its waters through its
old channels.

These floods would not only tear up and rearrange whatever _debris_
had already accumulated, but would introduce quantities of sediment and
animal remains. In some such a manner as is here pointed out (though
exactly how geologists are not agreed) caves were invaded, after being
long occupied by men or animals, by floods of water. In many cases the
evidence would seem to indicate that after such a visitation by water
the cave and its water-rolled and water-arranged contents were left to
silence, visited by neither man nor beast. In such instances stalagmitic
coverings would gradually form over the confused _debris,_ and in some
places acquire a thickness of several feet. In some instances several
such floors are found one above the other, pointing to a prolonged
period of usage, and then a quiet stage, in which the drip of falling
water alone broke the silence, and nature sealed up another chapter of
cave biography beneath the layer of stalagmite.

One of the most important caves of England is Kent's Cavern, before
mentioned. This cave was carefully explored under the direction of a
committee appointed by the British Association, and to show the care and
thoroughness of the work we need only state that this work occupied the
greater portion of sixteen years, and hence the results obtained may
be regarded as, in a general way, illustrative of the life of the cave
dwellers. "This cave is about a mile east of Torquay harbor, and is of
a sinuous character, running deeply into a hill of Devonian limestone,
about half a mile distant from the sea. In places it expands into large
chambers, to which various distinctive names have been given."<3>

Let us see what general results have been reached by this committee.
The investigation disclosed several different beds of stalagmite, cave
earth, and breccia. The lowest layer is a breccia.<4> The matrix is sand
of a reddish color, containing many pieces of rock known as red-grit and
some pieces of quartz. This implies the presence of running water, which
at times washed in pieces of red-grit. The surface features must have
been quite different from the present, since now this rock does not form
any part of the hill into which this cave opens.<5> And this change in
drainage took place before this lowest layer was completed, since not
only bears, but men, commenced to visit the cave. The presence of bears
is shown by numerous bones, and that of man by his implements.

Illustration of Spear-head--Lower Breccia, Kent's Cavern.---

We must notice that all the implements found in the breccia are similar
to those of the Drift, being rudely formed and massive. No doubt these
are the remains of Drift men, who, for some cause or other, temporarily
visited the cave, perhaps contending with the cave bear for its
possession. But a time at length arrived when for some reason neither
animals nor man visited the cave. The slow accumulation of stalagmite
went forward until in some places it had obtained a thickness of twelve
feet. Freely admitting that we can not determine the length of time
demanded for this deposition, yet none can doubt that it requires a very
long time indeed. Says Mr. Geikie: "How many centuries rolled past while
that old pavement was slowly accreting, no one can say; but that it
represents a lapse of ages compared to which the time embraced by
all tradition and written history is but as a few months, who that is
competent to form an opinion can doubt?" But after this long period of
quiet, from some source great torrents of water came rolling through the
cave. We know this to be so, because in places it broke up this layer of
stalagmite and washed it away, as well as large portions of the breccia
below, and after the floods had ceased, occasionally inundations still
threw down layers of mud and silt. This accumulation is known as cave
earth, and is the layer containing the numerous remains of the Cave-men.
Here the explorers were not only struck with the large number of
implements, but at once noticed that they were of a higher form and
better made. Instead of the rude and massive implements of the Drift
tribes, we have more delicate forms chipped all around. And we also
meet with those that from their form may have been used as the heads of
spears or arrows. Flakes were also utilized for various pur
implements, weapons, and ornaments of bone--a step in advance of Drift
culture. They had "harpoons for spearing fish, eyed needles or bodkins
for stitching skins together, awls perhaps to facilitate the passage of
the slender needle through the tough, thick hides; pins for fastening
the skins they wore, and perforated badgers' teeth for necklaces or
bracelets."<6> Nothing of this kind has yet been shown as belonging to
the men of the Drift.

Illustrations of Spear-head and Flake-----------

The bones of a large number of animals are also found in the cave earth.
The most abundant is the hyena, and no doubt they dragged in a great
many others; but the agency of man is equally apparent, as the bones
have often been split for the extraction of marrow. Besides bones of the
hyena, we have also those of the lion, tiger, bear, and reindeer.<7>

Illustration of Harpoons, Pin, Awl, and Needle--Kent's Cavern.

With these animals man, from time to time, disputed possession of the
cave. At one place on the surface of the cave earth is found what
is known as the "black band." This is nothing more or less than the
fire-place of these old tribes. Here we find fragments of partially
consumed wood, bones showing the action of fire--in short, every thing
indicating a prolonged occupancy by man.

No one can doubt but that this deposit of cave earth itself requires
a prolonged time for its accumulation.<8> But this period, however
prolonged, at length comes to an end. From some cause, both animals and
man again abandoned the cave. Another vast cycle of years rolls away--a
time expressed in thousands of years--during which nature again spread
over the entombed remains a layer of stalagmite, in some places equal in
thickness to the first formation. Above this layer we come to a bed of
mold containing remains of the later Stone Age, of the Bronze, and even
of the Iron Age. Below the first layer of stalagmite--the completed
biography of Paleolithic times; above, the unfinished book of the
present. Such are the eloquent results obtained by the thorough
exploration of one cave. The results of all the other explorations, in
a general way, confirm these. Mr. Dawkins explored a group of caverns in
Derbyshire, England. These caverns and fissures are situated in what
is known as Cresswell Crags, the precipitous sides of a ravine through
which flows a stream of water dividing the counties of Derby and
Nottingham.

This cut represents the different strata in Robin Hood cave. It will be
seen that, at one place, the stalactite has united with the stalagmite
below. It is not necessary to go into the details of this exploration.
All the relics of man found in _d, c,_ and the lower portions of _b,_
are the rude and massive forms peculiar to the River Drift tribes. But
the relics found in the breccia _a,_ and the upper portion of the cave
earth _b,_ denote a sudden advance in culture. The rude tools of the
lower strata are replaced by more highly finished ones of flint.

Illustration of Robin Hood Cave.-----------

The most important discovery was that of a small fragment of rib, with
its polished surface ornamented with the incised figure of a horse.
The peculiar value of this discovery is, that it serves to connect
the Cave-men of England with those of the continent who, as we shall
afterward see, excelled in artistic work of this kind.

In another cave of this series, in association with similar flints, were
found the following bone implements. We can only conjecture the use of
the notched bone. The pieces of reindeer horn, terminating in a scoop,
may have served as a spoon to extract marrow.

Illustration of Horse Incised on Piece of Rib.------

We must not fail to notice that the more highly finished relics of the
Cave-men are found in strata overlying those of the River Drift; and, in
the case of Kent's Cavern, these two sets of implements are separated by
a layer of stalagmite requiring a very prolonged time for its formation.
This would imply that the Cave-men came into England long after the
tribes of the River Drift; and, judging from the relics themselves,
they must have been a distinct people. We must recall how completely the
climate and animals in England varied during the Glacial Age. We have
also seen how closely connected the River Drift tribes were with the
animals of the warm temperate regions. Coming at a later date, totally
distinct from them in culture are those Cave-men--perhaps they may prove
to be associated with the Arctic animals. But, before speculating on
this point, we must learn the results attending the exploration of
the caves of Belgium, France, and other countries on the continent of
Europe.

Illustration of Bone Implements--Cresswell Crags.-----------

In the valley of the river Meuse (Belgium), and its tributaries, have
been found a number of caves and rock-shelters. It was in the caves of
the Meuse that Schmerling made his explorations. When the real value
of his work was recognized, the Belgian government had a thorough
exploration made by M. Dupont, director of the Royal Museum in Brussels.
This gentleman scientifically examined forty-three of these resorts. His
opinions, therefore, are deserving of great weight; but, unfortunately,
they are not accepted by all. These caves vary greatly in size--many
being mere rock-shelters. From their position, we are at once struck
with the prolonged period of time necessary to explain their formation.
They are found at very different heights along the river's bank. In one
case two caves are so situated that the river must have sunk its bed
nearly two hundred feet between the time of their formation.<9>

M. Dupont thinks the evidence very clearly points to the presence of two
distinct stages in cave life--one of which he calls the Mammoth period,
and the other, which is more recent, the Reindeer. It is, however, known
that the mammoth lived all through the Reindeer epoch, if not to
later times; so the names bestowed on these periods do not seem very
appropriate. We can readily see, however, that, while the names might
be wrong, the two periods might be reality. In many cases, the same cave
contained remains of both stages, separated by layers of cave earth,
and it is noticed that, in such cases, those of the Reindeer stage are
invariably of a later date. In general terms, M. Dupont finds that the
implements of the Mammoth period are of a rude make, consisting of a
poor kind of flint, and poorly finished. But, in beds of the Reindeer
epoch, the flint implements consist, principally, of well-shaped
blades and flakes--with numerous bodkins, or awls--javelins, or
arrow-heads--besides articles of bone and horn such as harpoons, and
teeth of various animals drilled as if suspended for ornaments. Their
workmanship indicates decidedly more skill than that of the implements
obtained from the lower levels. But the most remarkable finds of the
Reindeer epoch consist of portions of reindeer horn, showing etchings
or engravings which have been traced by some sharp point, no doubt by a
flint implement. One small bit of horn has been cut or scraped so as to
present the rude outline of a human figure.

So far the evidence seems to bear out the same conclusions as do those
of the British caves, though it also shows that the men of the Drift
inhabited caves quite extensively. We must remember, however, that the
greatest wealth of cave relics belongs to the so-called Cave-men,
but that savage tribes have always resorted to caves as a place for
occasional habitation.<10>

It is in France that we find the greatest wealth of relics of Cave-men.
Sir John Lubbock has left us a description of the valley of the Vezere,
where these caverns occur. The Vezere is a small tributary of the
Dordogne. "The rivers of the Dordogne run in deep valleys cut through
calcareous strata: and while the sides of the valley in chalk districts
are generally sloping, in this case, owing probably to the hardness
of the rock, they are frequently vertical. Small caves and grottoes
frequently occur: besides which, as the different strata possess unequal
power of resistance against atmospheric influence, the face of the rock
is, as it were, scooped out in many places, and thus 'rock-shelters'
are produced. In very ancient times these caves and rock-shelters were
inhabited by men, who have left behind them abundant evidence of their
presence.

"But as civilization advanced, man, no longer content with the natural
but inconvenient abode thus offered to him, excavated chambers for
himself, and in places the whole face of the rock is honey-combed with
doors and windows, leading into suits of rooms, often in tiers one
over the other, so as to suggest the idea of a French Petra. Down to a
comparatively recent period, as, for instance, in the troublous times
of the Middle Ages, many of these, no doubt, served as very efficient
fortifications, and even now some of them are in use as store-houses,
and for other purposes, as, for instance, at Brantome, where there is an
old chapel cut in solid rock.

"Apart from the scientific interest, it was impossible not to enjoy the
beauty of the scene which passed before our eyes, as we dropped down the
Vezere. As the river visited sometimes one side of the valley, sometimes
the other, so we had at one moment rich meadow lands on each side, or
found ourselves close to the perpendicular and almost overhanging cliff.
Here and there we came upon some picturesque old castle, and though the
trees were not in full leaf, the rocks were, in many places, green
with box and ivy and evergreen oak, which harmonized well with the rich
yellow brown of the stone itself."<11>

Thus it will be seen this valley has been a favorite resort for people
at widely different times, and amongst others, the cave dwellers of
the Paleolithic Age. As in the caves of Belgium, some of them are at a
considerable height above the stream, while others are but little above
the present flood line. Mr. Dawkins refers us to the results of the
exploration of a French scientist in one of the grottoes of this
section, which seem to be exactly similar to the results obtained from
the caves of Cresswell Crags and Kent's Cavern. The implements obtained
from the two lower strata are rough choppers and rude flakes of jasper
and other simple forms. Above these beds was a stratum of black earth,
underneath a sheet of stalagmite. Here were found implements of a far
higher type: those of flints, consisting of flakes, saws, and scrapers,
with finely chipped heads and arrow-heads, and awls and arrow-heads of
bone and antler.<12> Now these results can only be interpreted as were
those in the English caverns. The lower and ruder implements belong to
the men of the Drift; the later and more polished ones to the Cave-men.

Illustration of Bone Implements, Dordogne Caves.-------------

Most of the relics obtained from these caverns belong to the Cave-men
proper. However, the implements from one of them, known as Le Moustier,
are of a rude type, and may belong to those of the Drift. But most of
them are of superior make and finish. These specimens are all from caves
in this vicinity.<13>

We have seen that the men of the Drift were very widely scattered over
the earth. We find, however, that the Cave-men had a much more limited
range. Dr. Fraas has shown their presence in Germany. At Schussenreid,
in Bavaria, was found an open air station of these people. It was
evidently a camping-ground, one of the few places where proofs of their
presence have been discovered outside of caves. Here we found the usual
_debris,_ consisting of broken bones, charcoal, blackened hearth-stone,
and implements of flint and horn. We must stop a minute to notice a bit
of unexpected proof as to the severity of climate then prevailing in
Europe. This deposit was covered up with sand, and on this sand were
the remains of moss, sufficiently perfect to determine the kind. We are
assured that it is composed of species now found only in Alpine regions,
near or above the snow-line, and in such northern countries as Greenland
and Spitzbergen.<14> Dr. Fraas also proved their presence in several
caves in Suabia. One known as the Hohlefels Cave was very rich in these
relics. They have been found in Switzerland, as at Thayengen; but are
not found south of the Alps or the Pyrenees. Men, indeed, inhabited
caves in Italy, but they did not use the implements characteristic of
the Cave-men.<15> Mr. Dawkins points out that this range corresponds
very nearly to that of the northern group of animals, thus differing
widely from the men of the River Drift. In this connection we must
notice that the reindeer is the animal whose remains are most commonly
met with in the _debris_ they have left in the caves. This animal surely
testifies to a cold climate. We are thus justified in concluding that
the Cave-men are associated with the Arctic group of animals.<16>

We must now turn our attention to the culture of the Cave-men. We must
reflect that long ages, with great changes of climate and life, both
animal and vegetable, have rolled away since the remains of these early
races were sealed by the stalagmite formation in caves. The relics at
their best are but scanty memorials of a people long since passed, and
we can not expect, can not hope, to recover more than a general
outline. But this will be found full of interest, for it is a picture
of Paleolithic life and times existing in Europe long ages before the
pyramids of Egypt were uplifted.

With respect to habitations, we have already seen that he took up his
abode in caves, at least where they were suitable. According to their
depth and the light penetrating them, he either occupied the whole
extent of them, or established himself in the outlet only. About the
center of the cave some slabs of stone, selected from the hardest rock
such as sandstone or slate, were bedded down in the ground, and formed
the hearth for cooking his food. But in no country are such resorts
sufficiently numerous to shelter a large population; besides, they, are
generally at some distance from the fertile plains, where game would
be most abundant. In such cases they doubtless constructed rude huts of
boughs, skins, or other materials. Such an out-door settlement was the
station at Solutre, France, where has been found an immense number of
bones of horses, reindeers, also, though in less abundance, those of
elephants, aurochs, and great lions.<17>

Where no cave presented itself, these people made for themselves
convenient sheltering places under the cover of some great overhanging
rock. In various places in France such resorts have been discovered. The
name of "rock shelters" has been given to such resorts. In such places,
where we may suppose they built rude huts, are found rich deposits of
the bones of mammals, birds, and fishes, as well implements of bone and
horn.

We have frequently referred to the presence of hearths, showing that
they used fire. Like other rude races, it is probable that they obtained
fire by the friction of one piece of wood upon another. M. Dupont found
in one of the Belgium caves a piece of iron pyrites, from which, with a
flint, sparks could be struck.

Speculations have been indulged as to the probable condition of man
before he obtained a knowledge of fire. If the acquisition of fire be
regarded as one of the results of human endeavor, it must surely be
classed as one of the most valuable discoveries which mankind has made.
We do not believe, however, that we shall ever discover relics of races
or tribes of men so low in the scale as to be ignorant of the use of
fire. Even some of the flints which M. Bourgeois would refer to the
Miocene Age show evidence of its action.<18>

Full-page picture of Rock Shelter at Bruniquel.-----------

The men of the Caves supported life by hunting. But a very small part
of their food supplies could have been drawn from the vegetable kingdom.
When the climate was so severe that Alpine mosses grew at Schussenreid,
acorns and like nuts would be about all they could procure from that
source. The animals hunted by the Cave-men were principally reindeer,
horses, bisons, and, occasionally mammoths and woolly rhinoceros. But
they were not very choice in this matter, as they readily accepted as
food any animal they could obtain by force or cunning. Wolves and foxes
were not rejected, and in one cave large numbers of the bones of the
common water rat were obtained. We know what animals were used as food,
because we find their bones split for the purpose of procuring the
marrow they contained. This was evidently to them a nutritious article
of diet, since they were careful to open all the bones containing it,
and bones so split are frequently the only means of detecting the former
presence of man in some bone caves.

We must not forget that at that time the shore of the Atlantic Ocean,
during a large part of the Paleolithic Age, was situated much farther
west than it is now, and so in all probability many refuse heaps are
now underneath the waves. From certain drawings that are found in some
French caves, we know they were used for hunting both seals and whales.

We can not doubt that the capture of a whale afforded as much enjoyment
to them as it does to a tribe of Eskimos now. Bones of birds and fishes
are found in many instances. The salmon appears to have been a favorite
among fishes. Among the birds are found some species now only living in
cold countries, such as the snowy owl, willow grouse, and flamingo. This
is but another proof that the climate of Europe was then very cold.

Illustration of Whale and Seal, Incised on Bone.------------

The Cave-men were not afraid to attack animals greatly superior to
them in strength. In the Hohlefels Cave in Germany were found great
quantities of the broken and split bones of cave bears, an animal very
similar to the grizzly, and probably its equal in strength. The reindeer
was the main reliance of these tribes. Its bones are found in great
abundance, and it doubtless was to them all it is to the Lapps of Europe
to-day, except, of course, that it was not domesticated.

Though fire would naturally suggest some rude method of cooking, we can
scarcely find a trace of such operations, and it has been a matter of
conjecture how they proceeded. Sir John Lubbock thinks they boiled
their food, and in the absence of pottery used wooden or skin vessels,
bringing the water to a boiling point by means of stones heated red
hot and thrown into the water. He points out the presence of peculiarly
shaped stones found in some caves, which he thinks were used for this
purpose.<19> It is not supposed they had any articles of pottery during
this epoch. This is quite an important point, because a knowledge of
pottery marks an important epoch in the culture of a people.

Illustration of Cave Bear, Incised on Slate.-----------------

A people possessed of this knowledge have passed from Savagism into the
lower status of Barbarism.<20> A piece of pottery is as little liable
to destruction as a piece of bone, and so, had those people possessed
pottery, there is no reason why pieces of it should not be found in
every refuse heap, and amongst the _debris_ of all caves. But such is
not the case; no fragments of pottery have yet been found which can be
referred with confidence to the epoch of the Cave-men.<21>

Some speculations have been indulged in as to whether the men of this
age were cannibals or not. It need occasion no surprise if they were,
since ancient writers assert that even during historical times this
practice prevailed in Europe.<22> Though not definitely proven there
are many facts difficult of explanation, except on this supposition.
However, it may well be that this, after all, only amounted to the
custom of eating parts of an enemy killed in battle, as certain modern
savages do that we would not call cannibals.<23>

It is not necessary to speak at much length of the methods of hunting.
They had bows and arrows, daggers of reindeer horn, spears tipped with
flint or bone, and harpoons. Besides, they made a formidable club of the
lower jaw-bone of the cave-bear with its canine tooth still left in its
place. Fishing with nets is not supposed to have been known, Harpooning
was probably their favorite way. M. G. DeMortillet thinks they fished as
follows: They fastened a cord to the middle of a small splinter of bone.
This was then baited, and when swallowed by the fish, was very certain
to get caught in the body.<24>

We know that rude tribes of to-day have many means of snaring animals.
Doubtless similar scenes were enacted on their primeval hunting-grounds.
French books contain illustrations of the men of this period driving
game over precipitous sides. They had no dogs to assist them in the
hunt, and though reindeer were around them in great abundance, it is not
supposed that they thought of domesticating them.

Man is the only animal which seeks to protect his body from the
Summer's heat or the cold of Winter by the use of clothing. We are,
unfortunately, not able to present many details of the dress of man
during the early Stone Age. We are, however, quite certain that when the
climate was severe enough to permit such animals as the musk-sheep
and the reindeer to inhabit South-western Europe, man must have been
provided with an abundance of warm clothing, though doubtless rudely
made and fashioned. Many reindeer horns found in France are cut and
hacked at the base in such a way as to indicate that it was done when
removing the skins. We also know that the rudest of savage tribes are
never at a loss for some process of tanning hides and rendering them fit
for use. From the immense number and variety of scrapers found among
the cave _debris._ we are sure the preparation of clothing occupied no
inconsiderable portion of their time. We also find numerous awls and
splinters of flint and bone, which they doubtless used in exactly the
same manner as similar tools are used by the Lapps to-day in Europe,
that is, to pierce holes in the hides, through which to pass their rude
needle and thread. The needles are made of reindeer horn, and they were
not only smoothly polished, but the eyes are of such a minute size, and
withal so regularly made, that many at first could not believe they were
drilled by the use of flint alone. This, however, has been shown to
be the case by actual experiments. The thread employed was reindeer
tendons, for bones of these animals are found cut just where they would
he cut in removing these tendons. This cut shows that they protected
their hands by means of long gloves of three or four fingers.<25>

Illustration of Glove, Incised on Bear's Tooth.-----------

We have thus far been considering those arts which pertain more directly
to living. We have presented some sketches found engraved on pieces
of bone. We first noticed this among the relics found in one of the
Creswell caves in England. It was also noticed in Belgium. It was among
the Cave-men of Southern France that this artistic trait became highly
developed. Among the reindeer hunters of the Dordogne were artists of no
mean ability. We must pause a minute and mark the bearing of this taste
for art. We have seen many reasons for supposing the men of the caves
much farther advanced in the scale of culture than those of the Drift,
but we have also seen that we can not rank them higher than the highest
grade of savages.

Sir John Lubbock thus speaks of them: "In considering the probable
condition of these ancient Cave-men, we must give them full credit for
their love of art, such as it was; while, on the other hand, the want of
metal, of polished flint implements, and even of pottery, the ignorance
of agriculture, and the apparent absence of all domestic animals,
including even the dog, certainly imply a very low state of
civilization."<26>

They were certainly not as far advanced in civilization as the next
race we will describe, yet the Neolithic people had no such skill as
was possessed by the cave-men. This need not surprise us, because "an
artistic feeling is not always the offspring of civilization, it is
rather a gift of nature. It may manifest its existence in the most
barbarous ages, and may make its influence more deeply felt in nations
which are behind in respect to general progress than in others which are
more deeply advanced in civilization."<27>

Illustration of Reindeer Grazing.-------------

In regard to the objects themselves, a glance at the illustrations show
us that they are quite faithful sketches of the animals at that time
common. As might be expected, sketches of the reindeer are numerous.
This cut is regarded as the highest example of Paleolithic art, sketched
on a piece of horn and found in Switzerland. The animal is grazing, and
the grass on which it feeds is seen below. We have on a piece of
slate the outlines of a group of reindeer, generally considered as
representing a fight, though it may mean a hunt, and that the hunter has
succeeded in killing a portion of the herd. Some, as we see, are on the
ground.

Illustration of a Group of Reindeers.---------

Illustration of Man and Other Animals.--------

It would be exceedingly interesting could we but find well executed
sketches of the men of this period, but, unfortunately, with one or two
exceptions, no representations, however rude, have yet been discovered
of the human form. Perhaps an explanation of this fact may be found in
the well-known reluctance of savage tribes to have any engravings taken
of themselves, and we can well imagine that if any one was known to make
drawings of human beings he would be regarded with suspicious distrust,
and it would hardly be a safe accomplishment to possess. One very
curious group represents a man, long and lean, standing between two
horses' heads, and by the side of a long serpent or fish, having the
appearance of an eel. On the reverse side of this piece of horn were
represented the heads of two aurochs or bisons. Mr. Dawkins thinks this
also represents a hunting sketch, and that the man is in the act of
striking one of the horses with a spear.

Illustration of Fish, Incised on Bear's Tooth.------------

Illustration of Ibex.------------------

On, a fragment of spear-head found in France several human hands were
engraved, but having only four fingers each. On this point Mr. Lartet
assures us that some savage tribes still depict the hand without the
thumb.<28> Representations of birds and reptiles are very rare;
fishes are more common. On a piece of reindeer's horn was found this
representation of the head and chest of an ibex. Of special interest to
us is a representation of a mammoth found engraved on a piece of mammoth
tusk in one of the Dordogne caves. We have no doubt that the artist who
engraved it was perfectly familiar with the animal itself.

Illustration of Mammoth--La Madeline Cave, France.----------

Their artistic skill was not confined to the execution of drawings. They
frequently carved pieces of reindeer horn into various animal forms. Our
next cut shows us a dagger, the handle of which is carved to imitate a
reindeer. It will be seen how the artist has adapted the position of
the animal to the necessities of the case. Flowers are very
seldom represented; but one implement from France has a very nice
representation of some flowering plant engraved on it.

Take it all in all, the possession of this artistic instinct is
certainly remarkable--the more so when we remember the rudeness of his
surroundings, and the few and simple means at his command for work. "A
splinter of flint was his sole graving tool; a piece of reindeer horn,
or a flake of slate or ivory, was the only plate on which primitive man
could stamp his reproduction of animated nature."<29>

Illustration of Reindeer Carved on Dagger Handle.-------

Some speculations have been indulged in as to whether we have any traces
of a government amongst the Paleolithic people. That they had some chief
or leader is more than probable. In the caves of France we find a number
of fragments of reindeer horn. Generally speaking, they show evidence of
a good deal of care in making them. They are carved and ornamented with
sketches of various animals, and invariably have one or more holes bored
in the base. The idea has been quite freely advanced, that these are
emblems of authority.<30> And some have pointed out, that, though they
are too light for use as weapons, yet, their "frequent occurrence,
and uniformity of type, show that they possess a conventional
significance."<31> Mr. Geikie says that these conjectures "are mere
guess-work."<32> And Mr. Dawkins points out that they are very similar
in design and ornament with an implement of the Eskimos known as an
"arrow-straightener."<33>

Whatever may be our conclusions in regard to these ornamented pieces of
reindeer horn, we can not doubt but that their social instincts found
expression in some sort of alliance for the common good. This is shown
by several facts: such, for instance, as the evidence of trade or barter
between localities considerable distances apart. The inhabitants of
Belgium must have gone to what is now Southern France to procure the
flint they used. They also procured, from the same source, fossil
sea-shells, which they valued highly.<34> We also notice the fact, that
certain localities appear to have been used as the place of manufacture
for certain articles, to the exclusion of others. In other words, the
primitive people appear to have learned the great utility of a division
of labor. One of the caves in Belgium appears to have been used as a
place to make flint implements. Over twenty thousand articles of flint
were found in this cave.<35> In France, while in one cave the implements
were all of the spear-head type, in a neighboring cave horn was almost
the only article used in the manufacture of implements. We must not,
however, form an exalted idea of their trade--it was simply barter
in a rude state of society.<36>

Illustration of Flowers on Reindeer's Horn.--------

Various opinions have been held as to whether we have any trace of
a religious belief. Theoretically speaking, they had some sort of a
religion, though doubtless very vague and indistinct; for we know of
no nation as far advanced as they were destitute of it.<37> It has been
pointed out, that the bones of some animals, as the horse, were very
rare, and their absence explained as the result of superstitious
reasons. It has also been conjectured that some of the perforated bones
and teeth of animals found in various deposits were amulets worn for
religious purposes; and some have gone so far as to infer, that the
ornamentations on some of these so-called amulets represent the sun,
and that, consequently, sun-worship prevailed among the Cave-men.
While these various conjectures are, of course, possible, it is equally
certain they are all "mere guess-work."

Illustration of Ornamented Reindeer Horn---------------

Early explorers describe with considerable degree of confidence the
manner of burial among the Cave-men, and inferred from the remains found
buried with the bodies that they had some notion of a life beyond the
grave--and, accordingly, placed near the body food and drink to support
him on his journey, weapons wherewith to defend himself, and his
favorite implements, so that, arrived at the land of spirits, he
would be well provided for. These result are not borne out by later
investigations. The instance mentioned most prominently, that of the
burial cave at Aurignac, France, has been shown to have no bearing on
the question, as every thing indicates that the burials were of a much
later date.

We have yet a most important question before us--one that is still
engaging the attention of scientific men in Europe. That is the question
of race. Who were these early tribes? Are they in any way connected with
the men of the Drift? Have we any representations of them now living
upon the earth? On these questions there is quite a diversity of
opinion. In various caves in France and Belgium, skulls and other bones
of the human skeleton have been found. These have been studied with
care by the best scholars in Europe; and B. Carfares has set forth the
results in his various works, in which he connects them, not only with
the men of the River Drift, but with the race of men that inhabited
Europe during the succeeding Neolithic Age, and, indeed, with men now
living in France and Belgium.

There is no question as to the correctness of these inferences--the only
one is, whether the skulls and fragmentary skeletons are really remains
of the Cave-men. This must be made perfectly clear and unquestioned
before we are to accept them. Mr. Darkens reviews the various cases
where skeletons have been found in caves.<38> He points out that, in
every instance, very serious doubts can be raised as to whether they are
really remains of the Cave-men or not.

Until these objections are met, we do not see how the opinion of
B. Carfares (above) can be accepted. But if these instances are not
accepted, then, in all other instances where there is no doubt, the
remains are in such a fragmentary condition that no conclusion can
be made from them. So as far as remains of the human skeleton are
concerned, we can form no conclusions as to the race to which the
Cave-men belonged.

We have already noted, that the Cave-men came into Europe much later
than the men of the Drift, and that their range was very limited,
corresponding, in fact, with that of the northern group of animals. When
the cold of the Glacial Age passed away, the musk-sheep, reindeer, and
other animals, were driven out of Europe. They are found now only in
high northern latitudes, such as Greenland. Mr. Darkens thinks that
there, also, are to be found the Cave-men of the Paleolithic Age, now
known as the Eskimos. Though not accepted by all authorities, yet some
of our best scholars find much to commend in this theory.

We have undoubted proofs that, in America, the Eskimos formerly lived
much farther south.<39> And Dr. Abbot thinks the Paleolithic implements
discovered in New Jersey, bearing such striking resemblance to those of
Europe, are undoubtedly their work.<40> Therefore, there is no absurdity
in asserting that they once lived in Western Europe; the more so,
when we reflect that the climate, the animals--in fact, all their
surroundings--must have been similar to those of their present habitats.

When we come to examine the customs and habits of these Eskimos, we
are at once struck with their resemblance to what we have seen was the
probable state of life among the Cave-men. At Solute, for instance, we
have vast refuse heaps of bones of animals. We find similar heaps around
the rude huts of the Eskimos to-day. Captain Parry describes one as
follows: "In every direction round the huts were lying innumerable
bones of walruses and seals, together with skulls of dogs, bears, and
foxes."<41>

Other points of comparison strike us when reading Sir John Lubbock's
account of their habits and customs. For instance: "Their food, if
cooked at all, is broiled or boiled; their vessels, being of stone or
wood, can not, indeed, be put on the fires, but heated stones are thrown
in until the water becomes hot enough and the food is cooked." "Their
food consists principally of reindeer, musk-ox, walrus, seals, birds,
and salmon. They will, however, eat any kind of animal food. They are
very fond of fat and marrow, to get at which they pound the bones with
a stone." "The clothes of the Eskimos are made from the skins of the
reindeer, seals, and birds, sewn together with sinews. For needles they
use the bones of either birds or fishes." "The Eskimos have also a great
natural ability for drawing. In many cases they have made rude maps for
our officers, which have turned out to be substantially correct. Many of
their bone implements are covered with sketches."

Illustration of Eskimo Art.-----------

In this cut we have a bone drill on which are sketched reindeer, geese,
a braider or flat-bottomed boat, a tent around which various articles
of clothing are hung up to dry, a woman apparently engaged in the
preparation of food, and a hunting scene.

Now, we know that savage tribes, widely separated by time and space,
will, after all, under the pressure of common necessities, invent much
the same implements and live much the same life. But still, where every
thing seems to coincide, the climate, the animals, the mode of life
proved the same, and especially when both are seen possessed of a
common artistic skill, together with the known fact that in the Western
Continent the Eskimos did formerly live much farther south; there is
surely a strong case made out, and therefore the probabilities are that
the Eskimos are the representatives of the Cave-men of Europe.<42> And
yet we must be cautious on this point; or rather we remember that the
phrase, "predecessors of the Eskimos," does not imply that they were
in all respects like them. An examination of the rude sketches of the
Cave-men left by themselves seems to indicate that the whole body was
covered with hair. "The hunter in the Antler from Duluth Cave has a
long, pointed beard, and a high crest of hair on the poll utterly unlike
the Eskimo type. The figures are also those of a slim and long-jointed
man."<43>

This completes our review of the Paleolithic people, and it only remains
to present some general conclusions. The Glacial or Pleistocene Age
is seen to have been of immense duration, and characterized by great
changes in climate. We have found that two races of men occupied Europe
during this time. The men of the River Drift are the most ancient.

We have seen that they can be traced over wide-extended areas. They seem
to have invaded Europe, along with the great invasion of animals from
Asia, constituting the temperate group of animals; and with those
animals they probably shifted back and forth, as the cold of the Glacial
Age increased or waned. These people seem to have completely vanished.
At a later date, when the cold of the Glacial Age was once more severe,
associated with animals now living only in high northern latitudes, came
the Cave-men, whose discussion has formed the subject of this chapter.

It will be seen how much we owe to patient investigators. The results
are, indeed, bewildering. They make us acquainted with a people the very
existence of whom was not known a few years back. Though the whole life
of those ancient races seemed hopelessly lost in the night of time, the
gloom is irradiated by the light of modern science, which lays before
our astonished vision the remains of arts and industries of the
primitive tribes that occupied Europe during the morning-time of human
life.

REFERENCES

(1) The manuscript of this chapter was submitted to Prof. B. B.
Wright, of Overlain, for criticism.
(2) On the formation of caves consult Geikie's "Prehistoric
Europe," p. 71; also Evans's "Ancient Stone Implements," p. 429.
(3) Evans's "Ancient Stone Implements," b. 445.
(4) Pronounced Bret'-cha, a rock composed of fragments of older
rock, united by a cement.
(5) Geikie's "Prehistoric Europe," p. 92.
(6) Pengelly, quoted by Geikie, "Prehistoric Europe," p. 93.
(7) Evans's "Ancient Stone Implements," p. 462.
(8) Evans's "Ancient Stone Implements," p. 463.
(9) Geikie's "Prehistoric Europe," p. 102.
(10) Mr. Dawkins ("Early Man in Britain," p. 203) does not
consider M. Dupont justified in dividing the remains found in
the caverns of Belgium into two epochs. He considers them to
be the remains of the same people, some tribes being, perhaps,
farther advanced than others. Mr. Dawkins is, of course, high
authority, but we think his argument could also be applied to
prove there was no real difference between the men of the River
Drift and the so-called Cave-men. This, in fact, is the opinion
of many, including Mr. Evans, who is exceptionally well
qualified to judge of these remains. We think, however, in view
of the evidence adduced by Mr. Pengelly, Mr. Geikie, Mr.
Dawkins, and others, few will venture to doubt that there is a
wide difference between the men of the River Drift and those of
the Caves.
(11) "Prehistoric Times," p. 330.
(12) "Early Man in Britain," p. 198.
(13) French writers make four divisions of these caves,
according to the degree of finish, which the specimens show.
Mr. Dawkins does not think the difference in the implements
sufficient to justify this view. With the possible exception of
Le Moustier, as stated above, we think his view correct, which
is also the opinion of Mr. Evans. ("Ancient Stone Implements,"
p. 439.)
(14) Rau's "Early Man in Europe," p. 88.
(15) Dawkins's "Early Man in Britain," p. 205.
(16) Ibid., p.
(17) It is, however, thought that the station was used as a
camping-ground by very different people, at widely different
times.
(18) Lubbock's "Prehistoric Times," p. 434.
(19) "Prehistoric Times," p. 335.
(20) Morgan's "Ancient Society," p. 12.
(21) Lubbock's "Prehistoric Times," p. 338. J. C. Southall, in
his valuable work, "Recent Origin of Man," p. 195, _et
seq.,_ argues that pottery was known at this time, and cites
instances where it is stated to have been found. This is the
opinion of Figuier also. ("Primitive Man," p. 54.) But Mr.
Dawkins points out that these pieces of pottery are clearly of a
Neolithic style, and does not think it proven that they are of
Paleolithic age. Mr. Geikie also denies that there is any proof
that they were acquainted with the potter's art. ("Prehistoric
Europe," p. 18.) So the highest place in the scale of
civilization we can assign these people to is that of
Upper Savageism.
(22) Rau's "Early Man in Europe," p. 79;
(23) Geikie's "Prehistoric Europe," p. 22.
(24) Figuier's "Primitive Man," p. 90.
(25) Dawkins's "Early Man in Britain," p. 210.
(26) "Prehistoric Times," p. 341.
(27) Figuier's "Primitive Man," p. 105.
(28) Figuier's "Primitive Man," p. 111.
(29) Figuier's "Primitive Man," p. 105.
(30) Figuier's "Primitive Man," p. 102.
(31) Rau's "Early Man in Europe," p. 73.
(32) "Prehistoric Europe," p. 18.
(33) Dawkins's "Early Man in Britain," p. 237.
(34) Figuier's "Primitive Man," p. 117.
(35) Ibid., p. 118.
(36) Ibid., pp. 94 and 95.
(37) This, as Sir John Lubbock points out, depends on our
meaning of the word "religion." ("Prehistoric Times," p. 589.)
(38) "The principal instance are Cro-Magnon, Frontal, and
Furforz, in Belgium; Aurignac, Bruniquel, and Mentone, in
France." "Cave-Hunting," chap. vii.
(39) "Contributions to N. A. Ethnology," vol. i, p. 102;
"U.S. Geographical Survey West of the 100th Meridian," vol. vii,
p. 12; Abbott's "Primitive Industry," p. 517.
(40) "Primitive Industry," 518.
(41) Quoted by Lubbock,"Prehistoric Times," p. 507.
(42) Dawkins's "Early Man in Britain," p. 242.
(43) Prof. Grant Allen, _Popular Science Monthly,_
November, 1882, p. 99.

Chapter V

ANTIQUITY OF THE PALEOLITHIC AGE.<1>

Interest in the Antiquity of man--Connected with the Glacial Age--The
Subject Difficult--Proofs of a Glacial Age--State of Greenland
to-day--The Terminal Moraine--Appearance of the North
Atlantic--Interglacial Age--Causes of the Glacial Age--Croll's
Theory--Geographical causes--The two theories not Antagonistic--The date
of the Glacial Age--Probable length of the Paleolithic Age--Time since
the close of the Glacial Age--Summary of results.

As we have already remarked, geological periods give us no insight as to
the actual passage of years. To say that man lived in the Glacial Age,
and that we have some faint traces of his presence in still earlier
periods, after all conveys to our minds only vague ideas of a far-away
time. The more a geologist studies the structure of the earth, the more
impressed is he with the magnitude of the time that must have passed
since "The Beginning." At present, however, there are no means known of
accurately measuring the time that has passed. It is just as well
that it is so, since, were it known, the human mind would be utterly
incapable of comprehending it. But as to the antiquity of man, it is but
natural that we should seek more particularly to solve the problem and
express our answer in some term of years.

Now, we have seen that the question of the antiquity of man is
intimately connected with that of the Glacial Age. That is to say, the
relics of man as far as we know them in Europe, are found under such
circumstances that we feel confident they are not far removed from the
period of cold. For it will be found that those conservative scholars
who do not think that man preceded the Glacial Age, or inhabited Europe
during the long course of years included in that period, do think he
came into Europe as soon as it passed away. So, in any case, if we
can determine the date of the Glacial Age, we shall have made a most
important step in advance in solving the problem of the antiquity of man
himself. So it seems to us best to go over the subject of the Glacial
Age again, and see what conclusions some of our best thinkers have come
to as to its cause, when it occurred, and other matters in relation to
it.

It is best to state frankly at the outset that this topic is one of the
great battle-grounds of science to-day, and that there are as yet but
few points well settled in regard to it. One needs but attempt to read
the literature on this subject to become quickly impressed with the
necessity of making haste slowly in forming any conclusions. He must
invoke the aid of the astronomer, geologist, physical-geographer,
and physicist. Yet we must not suppose that questions relating to
the Glacial Age are so abstruse that they are of interest only to the
scholar. On the contrary, all ought to be interested in them. They open
up one of the most wonderful chapters in the history of the world.
They recall from the past a picture of ice-bound coasts and countries
groaning under icy loads, where now are harbors enlivened by the
commerce of the world, or ripening fields attesting the vivifying
influence of a genial sun. Let us, therefore, follow after the leaders
in thought. When we come to where they can not agree we can at least see
what both sides have to say.

Somewhat at the risk of repetition, we will try and impress on our
readers a sense of the reality and severity of the Glacial Age. There is
danger in regarding this as simply a convenient theory that geologists
have originated to explain some puzzling facts, that it is not very
well founded, and is liable to give way any day to some more ingenious
explanation. On the contrary, this whole matter has been worked out by
very careful scholars. There is, perhaps, no great conclusion in any
science which rests upon a surer foundation than this, and if we are to
be guided by our reason at all in deducting the unknown from the known,
the past from the present, we can not refuse our assent to the reality
of the Glacial Age of the Northern Hemisphere in all its more important
features.<2> At the present day glaciers do exist in several places on
the earth. They are found in the Alps and the mountains of Norway, and
the Caucasus, in Europe. The Himalaya mountains support immense glaciers
in Asia; and in America a few still linger in the more inaccessible
heights of the Sierra Nevada. It is from a study of these glaciers,
mainly however, those of the Alps, that geologists have been enabled to
explain the true meaning of certain formations they find in both Europe
and America, that go by the name of drift.

When in an Alpine valley we come upon a glacier, filling it from side to
side, there will be noticed upon both sides a long train of rock, drift,
and other _debris_ that have fallen down upon its surface from the
mountain sides. If two of these ice-rivers unite to form one glacier,
two of these trains will then be borne along in the middle of the
resulting glacier. As this glacier continues down the valley, it at
length reaches a point where a further advance is rendered impossible
by the increased temperature melting the ice as fast as it advances. At
this point the train of rocks and dirt are dumped, and of course form
great mounds, called moraines. The glacier at times shrinks back on its
rocky bed and allows explorers to examine it.

In such cases they find the rocks smoothed and polished, but here and
there marked with long grooves and striae. These points are learned from
an examination of existing glaciers. Further down the valley, where
now the glaciers never extend, are seen very distinctly the same signs.
There are the same moraines, striated rocks, and bowlders that have
evidently traveled from their home up the valley. The only explanation
possible in this case is that once the glaciers extended to that point
in the valley.

It required a person who was perfectly familiar with the behavior of
Alpine glaciers, and knew exactly what marks they left behind in their
passage, to point out the proofs of their former presence in Northern
Europe and America, where it seems almost impossible to believe they
existed. Such a man was Louis Agassiz, the eminent naturalist. Born and
educated in Switzerland, he spent nine years in researches among the
glaciers of the mountains of his native country. He proved the former
wide extension of the glaciers of Switzerland. With these results before
them, geologists were not long in showing that there had once been
glacial ice over a large part of Europe and North America.

The proofs in this case are almost exactly the same as those used to
show that the ancient glaciers of Switzerland were once larger than now.
But as the great glaciers of the glacial age were many times larger than
any thing we know of at the present day, there were of course different
results produced.

For instance, the water circulating under Alpine glaciers is enabled
to wash out and carry away the mass of pulverized rock and dirt ground
along underneath the ice. But when the glaciers covered such an enormous
extent of country as they did in the Glacial Age, the water could not
sweep away this detritus, and so great beds of gravel, sand, and clay
would be formed over a large extent of country. But to go over the
entire ground would require volumes; it is sufficient to give the
results.

The interior of Greenland to-day is covered by one vast sea of ice.
Explorers have traversed its surface for many miles; not a plant, or
stone, or patch of earth is to be seen. In the Winter it is a snow-swept
waste. In the Summer streams of ice-cold water flow over its surface,
penetrating here and there by crevasses to unknown depths. This great
glacier is some twelve hundred miles long, by four hundred in width.<3>
Vast as it is, it is utterly insignificant as compared with the great
continental glacier that geologists assure us once held in its grasp the
larger portion of North America.

The conclusions of some of our best scholars on this subject are so
opposed to all that we would think possible, according to the present
climate and surroundings, that they seem at first incredible, and yet
they have been worked out with such care that there is no doubt of the
substantial truth of the results.

The terminal moraine of the great glacier has been carefully traced
through several States. We now know that one vast sea of ice covered the
eastern part of North America, down to about the thirty-ninth parallel
of latitude. We have every reason to think that the great glacier,
extending many miles out in the Atlantic, terminated in a great sea of
ice, rising several hundred feet perpendicularly above the surface of
the water. Long Island marks the southern extension of this glacier.
From there its temporal moraine has been traced west, across New Jersey
and Pennsylvania, diagonally across Ohio, crossing the river near
Cincinnati, and thence west across Indiana and Illinois. West of the
Mississippi it bears off to the north-west, and finally passes into
British America.<4>

All of North America, to the north and northeast of this line, must
have been covered by one vast sea of ice.<5> Doubtless, as in Greenland
to-day, there was no hill or patch of earth to be seen, simply one
great field of ice. The ice was thick enough to cover from sight Mt.
Washington, in New Hampshire, and must have been at least a mile thick
over a large portion of this area,<6> and even at its southern border it
must in places have been from two hundred to two thousand feet thick.<7>
This, as we have seen, is a picture very similar to what must have been
presented by Europe at this time.<8>

Illustration of Antarctic Ice Sheet.-----------------

The Northern Atlantic Ocean must have presented a dreary aspect. Its
shores were walls of ice, from which ever and anon great masses sailed
away as icebergs. These are startling conclusions. Yet, in the Southern
Hemisphere to-day is to be seen nearly the same state of things. It is
well-known that all the lands around the South Pole are covered by a
layer of ice of enormous thickness. Sir J. A. Ross, in attempting to
reach high southern latitudes, while yet one thousand four hundred miles
from the pole, found his further progress impeded by a perpendicular
wall of ice one hundred and eighty feet thick. He sailed along that
barrier four hundred and fifty miles, and then gave up the attempt. Only
at one point in all that distance did the ice wall sink low enough to
allow of its upper surface being seen from the mast-head. He describes
the upper surface as an immense plain shining like frosted silver,
and stretching away as far as eye could reach into the illimitable
distance.<9>

The foregoing makes plain to us one phase of the Glacial Age. Though it
may not be quite clear what this has to do with the antiquity of man,
yet we will see, in the sequel, that it has considerable. As to the
periods of mild climate that are thought by some to have broken up the
reign of cold, we do not feel that we can say any thing in addition to
what has been said in a former chapter.<10>

We might, however, say, that the sequences of mild and cold climate
are not as well made out in America as they seem to be in Europe; or at
least our geologists are more cautious as to accepting the evidence as
sufficient. And yet such evidences are not wanting: as in Europe,
at various places, are found layers of land surfaces with remains of
animals and plants, but both above and below such surface soil are found
beds of bowlder clay. These offer undeniable evidence that animals and
plants occupied the land during temperate inter-glacial epochs, preceded
and followed by an Arctic climate, and ice-sheets like those now
covering the interior of Greenland, and the Antarctic Continent.<11>

We have thus, though somewhat at length, gone over the evidence as
to the reality and severity of the Glacial Age. It was during the
continuance of such climate that Paleolithic man arrived in Europe,
though it was not perhaps until its close. We must not lose sight of the
fact that our principal object at present is to determine, if we can, a
date for either the beginning or ending of this extraordinary season of
cold, and thereby achieve an important step in determining the antiquity
of man.

A moment's consideration will show us that a period of cold sufficient
to produce over a large portion of the Northern Hemisphere the
results we have just set forth must have a cause that is strange
and far-reaching. It can not be some local cause, affecting but one
continent, since the effect produced is observed as well in Europe as in
America.

Every year we pass through considerable changes in climate. The four
seasons of the year seem to be but an annual repetition, on a very small
scale of course, of the great changes in the climate of the earth
that culminated in the Glacial Age; though we do not mean to say, that
periods of glacial cold come and go with the regularity of our Winter.
The changes in the seasons of the year are caused by the earth's
position in its orbit, and its annual revolution around the sun. It may
be that the cause of the Glacial Age itself is of a similar nature; in
which case it is an astronomical problem, and we ought, by calculation,
to determine, with considerable accuracy, dates for the beginning and
ending of this epoch.

Nothing is clearer than that great fluctuations of climate have occurred
in the past. Many theories have been put forth in explanation. It has
been suggested that it was caused by loss of heat from the earth itself.
That the earth was once a ball of incandescent matter, like the sun,
and has since cooled down, is of course admitted. More than that, this
process still continues; and the time must come when the earth, having
yielded up its internal heat, will cease to be an inhabitable globe. But
the climate of the surface of the earth is not dependent upon the heat
of the interior. This now depends "according to the proportion of heat
received either directly or indirectly from the sun; and so it must have
been during all the ages of which any records have come down to us."<12>
Some have supposed that the sun, traveling as it does through space,
carrying the earth and the other planets with him, might, in the course
of ages, pass through portions of space either warmer or colder than
that in which it now moves. When we come to a warm region of space, a
genial climate would prevail over the earth; but, when we struck a cold
belt, eternal Winter would mantle a large part of the globe with snow
and ice. This, of course, is simply guess-work. No less than seven
distinct causes have been urged; most of them either purely conjectural,
like the last, or manifestly incompetent to produce the great results
which we have seen must be accounted for. But, amongst these, two causes
have been advanced--the one astronomical, the other geographical; and,
to the one or the other, the majority of scholars have given their
consent.

It will be no harm to see what can be said in favor of both theories.
So, we will ask the reader's attention, as it is our earnest desire to
make as plain as possible a question that has so much to do with our
present inquiry. In the course of our investigations, we can not fail to
catch glimpses of wonderful changes in far away times; and can not help
seeing what labor is involved in the solution of all questions relating
to the same.<13>

The earth revolves around the sun in an orbit called an ellipse. This
is not a fixed form, but slowly varies from year to year. It is now
gradually becoming circular. It will, however, not become an exact
circle. Astronomers assure us that, after a long lapse of time, it will
commence to elongate as an ellipse again. Thus, it will continually
change from an ellipse to an approximate circle, and back again. In
scientific language, the eccentricity of, the earth's orbit is said to
increase and decrease.

Illustration of Earth's Orbit.--------------------

In common language we would state that the shape of the path of the
earth around the sun was sometimes much more elongated and elliptical
than at others. The line drawn through the longest part of an ellipse
is called the major axis. Now the sun does not occupy the center of this
line, but is placed to one side of it; or, in other words, occupies one
focus of the ellipse. It will thus be seen that the earth, at one time
during its yearly journey, is considerably nearer to the sun than
at others. The point where it approaches nearest the sun is called
_Perihelion,_ and the point where it reaches the greatest distance from
the sun is called its _Aphelion._ It will be readily seen that the more
elliptical its orbit becomes the greater will be the difference between
the perihelion and aphelion distance of the sun. At present the earth
is about three millions of miles nearer the sun in perihelion than in
aphelion. But we must remember the orbit of the earth is now nearly
circular. There have been times in the past when the difference was
about thirteen millions of miles. We must not forget to add, that the
change in the shape of the earth's orbit is not a regular increase and
decrease between well-known extremes. It is caused by the attraction of
the other planets. It has been calculated at intervals of ten thousand
years for the last million years. In this way it has been found that
"the intervals between connective turning points are very unequal in
length, and the actual maximum and minimum values of the eccentricity
are themselves variable. In this way it comes about that some periods
of high eccentricity have lasted much longer than others, and that the
orbit has been more elliptical at some epochs of high eccentricity than
at others."<14> We have just seen that the earth is nearer the sun at
one time of the year than at another. At present the earth passes its
perihelion point in the Winter of the Northern Hemisphere, and its
aphelion point in the Summer. We will for the present suppose that it
always reaches the points at the same season of the year. Let us see if
the diminished distance from the sun in Winter has any thing to do with
the climate.

If so, this effect will be greatly magnified during a period of high
eccentricity, such as the earth has certainly passed through in the
past. We will state first, that the more elliptical the orbit becomes,
the longer Summer we have, and the shorter Winter. Astronomically,
Spring begins the 20th of March, and Fall the 22d of September. By
counting the days between the epochs it will be found that the Spring
and Summer part of the year is seven days longer than the Fall and
Winter part. But if the earth's orbit becomes as highly eccentrical as
in the past, this difference would be thirty-six days.<15>

This would give us a long Spring and Summer, but a short Fall and
Winter. This in itself would make a great difference. We must beer in
mind, however, that at such a time as we are here considering, the earth
would be ten millions of miles nearer the sun in Winter than at present.
It would certainly then receive more heat in a given time during Winter
than at present.<16> Mr. Croll estimates that whereas the difference in
heat received during a given time is now one-fifteenth,<17> at the time
we are considering it would be one-fifth. Hence we see that at such a
time the Winter would not only be much shorter than now, but at the same
time would be much milder.

These are not all the results that would follow an increase of
eccentricity. The climate of Europe and North America is largely
modified by those great ocean currents--the Gulf Stream and the Japan
current. Owing to causes we will not here consider, these currents
would be greatly increased at such a time. As a result of these combined
causes, Mr. Croll estimates that during a period of high eccentricity
the difference between Winter and Summer in the Northern Hemisphere
would be practically obliterate. The Winter would not only be short,
but very mild, and but little snow would form, while the sun of the long
Summers, though not shining as intense as at present, would not have to
melt off a great layer of snow and ice, but the ground became quickly
heated, and so warmed the air. Hence, if Mr. Croll be correct, a period
of high eccentricity would certainly produce a climate in the Northern
Hemisphere such as characterized many of the mild interglacial epochs as
long as the earth passed its perihelion point in Winter.

We have so far only considered the Northern Hemisphere. As every one
knows, while we have Winter, the Southern Hemisphere has Summer. So
at the very time we would enjoy the mild short Winters, the Southern
Hemisphere would be doomed to experience Winters of greatly increased
length and severity. As a consequence, immense fields of snow would be
formed, which, by pressure, would be changed to ice, and creep away as
a desolating glacier. It is quite true that the short Summer sun would
shine with increased warmth, but owing to many causes it would not avail
to free the land from snow and ice.

As Mr. Geikie points out, "An increased amount of evaporation would
certainly take place, but the moisture-laden air would be chilled by
coming into contact with the vast sheets of snow, and hence the vapor
would condense into thick fogs and cloud the sky. In this way the sun's
rays would be, to a large extent, cut off, and unable to reach the
earth, and consequently the Winter's snow would not be all melted away."
Hence it follows that at the very time the Northern Hemisphere would
enjoy a mild interglacial climate, universal Spring, so to speak, the
Southern Hemisphere would be encased in the ice and snow of an eternal
Winter.

But the earth has not always reached its perihelion point during the
Winter season of the Northern Hemisphere. Owing to causes that we need
not here consider, the earth reaches its perihelion point about twenty
minutes earlier each year, so if it now passes its perihelion in Winter
of the Northern Hemisphere, in about ten thousand years from now it will
reach it in Summer, and in twenty-one thousand, years it will again be
at perihelion in Winter. But see what important consequences follow from
this. If during a period of high eccentricity we are in the enjoyment of
short mild Winters and long pleasant Summers, in ten thousand years this
would certainly be changed. Our Summer season would become short and
heated; our Winters long and intensely cold. Year by year it would be
later in the season before the sun could free the land from snow, and
at length in deep ravines and on hill-tops the snow would linger through
the brief Summer, and the mild interglacial age will have passed away,
and again the Northern Hemisphere will be visited by snow and ice of a
truly. Glacial Age. If, therefore, a period of high eccentricity lasts
through the many thousand years, we must expect more than one return of
glacial cold interspersed by mild interglacial climates.

We have tried in these last few pages to give a clear statement of what
is known as Croll's theory of the Glacial Age. There is no question but
what the earth does thus vary in its position with regard to the sun,
and beyond a doubt this must produce some effect on the climate, and
we can truthfully state that the more the complicated question of the
climate of the earth is studied, the more grounds do scholars find for
affirming that indirectly this effect must have been very great. And yet
we can not say that this theory is accepted as a satisfactory one even
by the majority of scholars. Many of those who do not reject it think
it not proven. Therefore, before interrogating the astronomer as to the
data of the Glacial Age, according to the terms of this theory, let us
see what other causes are, adduced; then we can more readily accept
or reject the conclusions as to the antiquity of man which this theory
would necessitate us to adopt.

The only other cause to which we can assign the glacial cold, that is
considered with any favor by geologists, is geographical; that is to
say, depending on the distribution of land and water. Glaciers depend on
the amount of snow-fall. In any country where the amount of snow-fall
is so great that it is not all evaporated or melted by the Summer's sun,
and consequently increases from year to year, glaciers must soon appear,
and these icy rivers would ere-long, flow away to lower levels. If we
suppose, with Sir Charles Lyell, that the lands of the globe were all to
be gathered around the equator, and the waters were gathered around the
poles, it is manifest that there would be no such a thing as extremes of
temperature, and it is, perhaps, doubtful whether ice would form, even
in polar areas.<18> At any rate, no glaciers could be formed, as there
would be no land on which snow could gather in great quantities.

If, however, we reverse this picture, and conceive of the land gathered
in a compact mass around the poles, shutting out the water, but consider
the equatorial region of the earth to be occupied by the waters of the
ocean, we would manifestly have a very different scene. From the ocean
moisture-laden winds would flow over the polar lands. The snowfall would
necessarily be great. In short, we can not doubt but what all the land
of the earth would be covered with glaciers.<19>

Although these last conceptions are purely hypothetical, they will serve
the good purpose of showing the great influence that the geographical
distribution of land and water have on the climate of a country. Of one
thing, however, geologists have become more and more impressed of late
years. That is, that continents and oceans have always had the same
relative position as now; that is to say, the continents have followed a
definite plan in their development. The very first part of North America
to appear above the waters of the primal sea clearly outlined the
shape of the future continent. Mr. Dana assures us that our continent
developed with almost the regularity of a flower. Prof. Hitchcock also
points out that the surface area of the very first period outlined the
shape of the continent. "The work of later geological periods seems
to have been the filling up of the bays and sounds between the great
islands, elevating the consolidated mass into a continental area."<20>
So it is not at all probable that the lands of the globe were ever
grouped, as we have here supposed them.

This last statement is liable, however, to leave us under a wrong
impression; for although, as a whole, continental areas have been
permanent, yet in detail they have been subject to wonderful and
repeated changes. "Every square mile of their surface has been again
and again under water, sometimes a few hundred feet deep--sometimes,
perhaps, several thousand. Lakes and inland seas have been formed and
been filled up with sediment, and been subsequently raised into hills,
or even mountains. Arms of the sea have existed, crossing the continent
in various directions, and thus completely isolating the divided
portions for varying intervals. Seas have become changed into deserts
and deserts into seas."<21>

It has been shown beyond all question that North-western Europe owes
its present mild climate to the influence of the Gulf Stream.<22> Ocean
currents, then, are a most important element in determining the climate
of a country. If we would take the case of our hypothetical polar
continent again, and, instead of presenting a continuous coast line,
imagine it penetrated by long straits and fiords, possessing numerous
bays, large inland seas, and in general allowing a free communication
with the ocean, we are very sure the effect would be widely different.

Under these circumstances, says Mr. Geikie, the "much wider extent of
sea being exposed to the blaze of the tropical sun, the temperature of
the ocean in equatorial regions would rise above what it is at present.
This warm water, sweeping in broad currents, would enter the polar
fiords and seas, and everywhere, beating the air, would cause warm,
moist winds to blow athwart the land to a much greater extent than they
do at present; and these winds thus distributing warmth and moisture,
might render even the high latitude of North Greenland habitable
by civilized man." So we see that it is necessary to look for such
geographical changes as will interfere with the movements of marine
currents.

Now, it is easy to see that comparatively small geographical changes
would not only greatly interfere with these currents, but might even
cause them to entirely change their course. An elevation of the northern
part of North America, no greater in amount than is supposed to have
taken place at the commencement of the Glacial Age, would bring the
wide area of the banks of Newfoundland far above the water, causing the
American coast to stretch out in an immense curve to a point more than
six hundred miles east of Halifax, and this would divert much of the
Gulf Stream straight across to the coast of Spain.<23>

Such an elevation certainly took place, and if continued westward,
Behring's Strait would also have been closed. It is to such northern
elevations, shutting out the warm ocean currents, that a great many
geologists look for a sufficient explanation of the glacial cold.

Prof. Dana says: "Increase in the extent and height of high latitude
lands may well stand as one cause of the Glacial Age." Then he
points out how the rising of the land of Northern Canada and adjacent
territory, which almost certainly took place, "all a sequel to the
majestic uplift of the Tertiary, would have made a glacial period for
North America, whatever the position of the ecliptic, or whatever the
eccentricity of the earth's orbit, though more readily, of course, if
other circumstances favored it."<24>

It may occur to some that if high northern lands be all that is
necessary for a period of cold, we ought to have had it in the Miocene
Age, when there was a continuous land connection between the lands of
high polar areas and both Europe and America, since we know that an
abundant vegetation spread from there, as a center, to both these
countries. But at that epoch circumstances were different. The great
North Temperate lands were in a "comparatively fragmentary and insular
condition."<25> There were great inland seas in both Europe and Asia,
through which powerful currents would have flowed from the Indian Ocean
to Arctic regions.

Somewhat similar conditions prevailed in North America. The western part
was in an insular condition. A great sea extended over this part of the
country, joining the Arctic probably on the north, through which heated
water would pour into the polar sea. And so, instead of a Glacial
Age, we find evidence of a mild and genial climate, with an abundant
vegetation.

We thus see that there are two theories as to the cause of the Glacial
Age presented for our consideration. Both of them have received the
sanction of scholars eminent for their scientific attainments. On
inspection we see they are not antagonistic theories. They may both
be true for that matter, and all would admit that whatever effect they
would produce singly would be greatly enhanced if acting together.
Indeed, there are very good reasons for supposing both must have acted
in unison.

There seem to be very good reasons for not believing that the
eccentricity of the earth's orbit, acting alone, produced the glacial
cold. If that were the case, then whenever the eccentricity was great
we should have a Glacial Age. Now, at some period of time during the
long-extended Tertiary Age we are certain the eccentricity of the
earth's orbit became very great, much more so, in fact, than that which
is supposed to have produced the cold of the Quaternary Age. But we are
equally certain there was no glacial epoch during this age.<26> What
other explanation can we give for its non-appearance except that
geographical conditions were not favorable?

But, on the other hand, there are certain features connected with the
phenomena of the Glacial Age that seem very difficult of explanation,
if we suppose that geographical changes alone produced them. We must
remember that evidences of the former presence of glaciers are found
widely scattered over the earth. We shall, therefore, have to assume an
elevation not only for America and Europe, but extend it over into Asia,
and take in the Lebanon Mountains, for they also show distinct traces
of glaciers. And this movement of elevation must also have affected the
Southern Hemisphere, the evidence being equally plain that at the same
comparatively late date glaciers crushed over Southern Africa and South
America.<27> This is seen to prove too much. Again, how can we explain
the fact that some time during the Glacial Age we had a submergence, the
land standing several hundred feet lower than now, but still remained
covered with ice, and over the submerged part there sailed icebergs and
ice-rafts, freighted with their usual _debris_? That such was the state
of things in Europe we are assured by some very good authorities.<28>

Neither do geographical causes afford an adequate explanation of those
changes of temperature that surely took place during the Glacial Age.
These last considerations show us how difficult it is to believe that
geographical causes could have produced the Glacial Age.

We are assured that all through the geological ages the continents had
been increasing in size and compactness, and that just at the close of
the Tertiary Age they received a considerable addition of land to the
north. The astronomer also informs us that at a comparatively recent
epoch the eccentricity of the earth's orbit became very great. The
conditions being favorable, it is not strange that a Glacial Age
supervened.

We have been to considerable length in thus explaining the position
of the scientific world in regard to the cause of the Glacial Age. Our
reason for so doing is that this age is, we think, so connected with
the Paleolithic Age of man, that it seems advisable to have a clear
understanding in regard to it. What we have to say is neither new nor
original. It is simply an earnest endeavor to represent clearly the
conclusions of some of our best scholars on this subject, and we have
tried to give to each theory its due weight. Our conclusions may be
wrong, but, if so, we have the consolation of erring in very good
company.

We have now gone over the ground and are ready to see what dates can be
given. Though the numbers we use seem to be very large indeed, they
are so only in comparison with our brief span of life. They are
insignificant as compared with the extent of time that has surely rolled
by since life appeared on the globe. Let us, therefore, not be dismayed
at the figures the astronomer sets before us.<29>

About two hundred and fifty thousand years ago the earth's path around
the sun was much the same as that of the present. No great changes in
climate were liable to take place at that time. During the next fifty
thousand years the eccentricity steadily increased. Towards the end
of that time all that was necessary to produce a glacial epoch in the
Northern Hemisphere was favorable geographical causes, and that our
earth should reach its point nearest the sun in Summer. This it must
have done when about half that time had elapsed.

We can in imagination see what a slow deterioration of climate took
place. Thousands of years would come and go before the change would be
decisive. But a time must have at length arrived when the vegetation
covering the ground was such as was suited only for high northern
latitudes. The animals suited for warm and temperate regions must have
wandered farther south; others from the north had arrived to take their
place. We can see how well this agrees with the changes of climate at
the close of the Pliocene Age. The snows of the commencing Glacial Age
would soon begin to fall, finally the sun would not melt them off of the
high lands, and mountain peaks, and so a Glacial Age would be ushered
in.

We have referred to the fact that the earth reaches its perihelion point
a little earlier each year, and, as a consequence, we would have periods
of mild climate alternating the cold. This extended period of time,
equal to twenty-one thousand of our ordinary years, has been named the
Great Year of our globe. Mr. Wallace has pointed out some very good
reasons for thinking Mr. Croll's theory must be modified on this
point. He thinks that when once a Glacial Age was fairly fastened on
a hemisphere, it would retain its grasp as long as the eccentricity
remained high, but whenever the Summer of the Great Year came to that
hemisphere, it would melt back the glacial ice for some distance, but
this area would be recovered by the ice when the Winter of the Great
Year supervened. These effects would be different when the eccentricity
itself became low. Then we would expect the glacial conditions to vanish
entirely when the Summer of a Great Year comes on.<30>

As we have made the theoretical part of this chapter already too long,
we must hurry on. We can only say that this view is founded on the fact
that when a country was covered with snow and ice, it had so to speak,
a great amount of cold stored up in it, so much, in fact, that it would
not be removed by the sun of a new geological Summer. This ought to be
acceptable to such geologists as are willing to admit the advance and
retreat of the great glacier, but yet doubt the fact of the interglacial
mild climate.

But now to return to the question of time about two hundred and twenty
thousand years ago. Then the Northern Hemisphere, according to this
theory, was in the grasp of a Glacial Age. According to Mr. Wallace,
as long as the eccentricity remained high, there could be no great
amelioration of climate, except along the southern border of the ice
sheet, which might, for causes named, vary some distance during the
Great Year. Two hundred thousand years ago the eccentricity, then very
high, reached a turning point. It then steadily, though gradually,
diminished for fifty thousand years; at that time the eccentricity
was so small, though considerably larger than at present, that it is
doubtful if it was of any service in producing a change of climate.<31>
At that time, also, the Northern Hemisphere was passing through the
Summer season of the Great Year. We ought, therefore, to have had a mild
interglacial season. Except in high northern latitudes the ice should
have disappeared. This change we would expect to find more marked in
Europe than in America.

We need only recall how strong are the evidences on this point. Nearly
all European writers admit at least one such mild interval, and though
not wanting evidence of such a period in America, our geologists are
much less confident of its occurrence.

But from that point the eccentricity again increased. So when the long
flight of years again brought secular Winter to the Northern Hemisphere,
the glaciers would speedily appear, and as eccentricity was again high,
they would again hold the country in their grasp. Fifty thousand years
later, or one hundred thousand years ago, it passed its turning point
again; eighty thousand years ago, it became so small that it probably
ceased to effect the climate. Since then it has not been very large.
Twenty-five thousand years ago it was less than it is now, but it is
again growing smaller. According to this theory, then, the Glacial Age
commenced about two hundred and twenty thousand years ago. It continued,
with one interruption of mild climate, for one hundred and forty
thousand years, and finally passed away eighty thousand years ago.

What shall we say to these results? If true, what a wonderful antiquity
is here unfolded for the human race, and what a wonderful lapse of time
is included in what is known as the Paleolithic Age! How strikingly
does it impress upon our minds the slow development of man! Is such
an antiquity for man in itself absurd? We know no reason for such a
conclusion. Our most eminent scholars nowhere set a limit to the time
of man's first appearance. It is true, many of them do not think the
evidence strong enough to affirm such an antiquity, but there are no
bounds given beyond which we may not pass.

Without investigation some might reject the idea that man could have
lived on the earth one hundred thousand years in a state of Savagism.
If endowed with the attributes of humanity, it may seem to them that he
would long before that time have achieved civilization. Such persons
do not consider the lowliness of his first condition and the extreme
slowness with which progress must have gone forward. On this point the
geologists and the sociologists agree. Says Mr. Geikie: "The time
which has elapsed from the close of the Paleolithic Age, even up to the
present day, can not for a moment compare with the aeons during which
the men of the old stone period occupied Europe." And on this subject
Mr. Morgan says: "It is a conclusion of deep importance in ethnology
that the experience of mankind in Savagery was longer in duration than
all their subsequent experience, and that the period of Civilization
covers but a fragment of the life of the race."<32> The time itself,
which seems to us so long, is but a brief space as compared with the
ages nature has manifestly required to work out some of the results we
see before us every day. We are sure, but few of our scholars think this
too liberal an estimate. All endeavor to impress on our minds that the
Glacial Age is an expression covering a very long period of time.

As to the time that has elapsed since the close of the Glacial Age there
is some dispute, and it may be that we will be forced to the conclusion
that the close of the Glacial Age was but a few thousand years ago. Mr.
Wallace assures us, however, that the time mentioned agrees well "with
physical evidence of the time that has elapsed since the cold has passed
away."<33>

Difficulties are, however, urged by other writers. We can see at once
that as quick as the glaciers are removed the denuding forces of nature,
which are constantly at work, would begin to rearrange the _debris_ left
behind on the surface, and in the course of a few thousand years must
effect great changes. Now, in some cases the amount of such change is so
small that geologists are reluctant to believe a vast lapse of time
has occurred since the glaciers withdrew. Mr. Geikie tells us of some
moraines in Scotland that they are so fresh and beautiful "that it is
difficult to believe they can date back to a period so vastly removed as
the Ice Age is believed to be."<34> In our own country this same sort of
evidence is brought forward, and we are given some special calculations
going to show that the disappearance of the glaciers was a comparatively
recent thing.<35>

It will be seen that these conclusions are somewhat opposed to the
results previously arrived at. In explanation Mr. Geikie thinks the
cases spoken of in Scotland were not the moraines of the great glaciers,
but of a local glacier of a far later date. He thinks that the climate,
while not severe enough to produce the enormous glaciers of early times,
was severe enough to produce local glaciers still in Scotland.<36> It
is possible that a similar explanation may be given for the evidence
adduced in the United States. We can only state that, according to
the difference in climate between the eastern and western sides of the
Atlantic Ocean, when the climate was severe enough to produce local
glaciers in Scotland, it would produce the same effect over a large part
of eastern United States down to the latitude of New York City.<37> And
while it is true there would not be as much difference in climate on the
two sides of the Atlantic in Glacial times as at present, since the Gulf
Stream, on which such difference depends would then have less force,
still it was not entirely lacking, and the difference must have been
considerable.<38>

Prof. Hitchcock has made a suggestion that whereas we know a period of
several months elapses after the sun crosses the equator before Summer
fairly comes on, so it is but reasonable to suppose that a proportionate
length of time would go by after the eccentricity of the earth's
orbit became small, before the Glacial Age would really pass away. He
accordingly suggests it may have been only about forty thousand years
since the glaciers disappeared.<39>

At the close of the Glacial Age Paleolithic man vanished from Europe.
This, therefore, brings us to the conclusion of our researches into what
is probably the most mysterious chapter of man's existence on the earth.

It may not come amiss to briefly notice the main points thus far made
in our investigation of the past. As to the epoch of man's first
appearance, we found he could not be expected to appear until all the
animals lower than he had made their appearance. This is so because the
Creator of all has apparently chosen that method of procedure in the
development of life on the globe. According to our present knowledge,
man might have been living in the Miocene Age, and with a higher degree
of probability in the Pliocene. But we can not say that the evidence
adduced in favor of his existence at these early times is satisfactory
to the majority of our best thinkers. All agree that he was living
in Europe at the close of the Glacial Age, and we think the evidence
sufficient to show that he preceded the glaciers, and that as a rude
savage he lived in Europe throughout the long extended portion of time
known as the Glacial Age.

We also found evidence of either two distinct races of men inhabiting
Europe in the Paleolithic Age, or else tribes of the same race, widely
different in time and in culture. The one people known as the men of the
River Drift apparently invaded Europe from Asia, along with the species
of temperate animals now living there. This people seem to have been
widely scattered over the earth. The race has probably vanished away,
though certain Australian tribes may be descendants of them. They were
doubtless very low in the scale of humanity, having apparently never
reached a higher state than that of Lower Savagism. The second race of
men inhabiting Europe during the Paleolithic Age were the Cave-dwellers.
They seem to have been allied to the Eskimos of the North. They were
evidently further advanced than the Drift men, but were still savages.

The Paleolithic Age in Europe seems to have terminated with the Glacial
Age. But we are not to suppose it came to an end all over the earth at
that time. On the contrary, some tribes of men never passed beyond that
stage. When the light of civilization fell upon them they were still in
the culture of the old Stone Age. We are to notice that in such cases
the tribes thus discovered were very low in the scale. The probable data
for the Paleolithic Age have formed the subject of this chapter. While
claiming in support of them the opinions of some eminent scholars, we
freely admit that it is not a settled question, but open to very grave
objections, especially the date of the close of the Glacial Age, which
seems to have been comparatively recent, at least in America. We think,
however, that these objections will yet be harmonized with the general
results. Neither is this claimed to be an exhaustive presentation of the
matter. It is an outline only--the better to enable us to understand the
mystery connected with the data of Paleolithic man.

In these few chapters we have been dealing with people, manners, arid
times, of which the world fifty years ago was ignorant. Many little
discoveries, at first apparently disconnected, are suddenly brought into
new relation, and behold, ages ago, when the great continents were but
just completed, races of men, with the stamp of humanity upon them, are
seen filling the earth. With them were many great animals long since
passed away. The age of animals was at an end. That of man had just
begun.

The child requires the schooling of adversity and trial to make a
complete man of himself, and it is even so with races of men. Who
can doubt that struggling up from dense ignorance, contending against
adverse circumstances, compelled to wage war against fierce animals,
sustaining life in the midst of the low temperature which had loaded
the Northern Hemisphere with snow and ice, had much to do in developing
those qualities which rendered civilization possible.

As to the antiquity of man disclosed in these chapters, the only
question that need concern us is whether it is true or not. Evidence
tending to prove its substantial accuracy should be as acceptable as
that disproving it. No great principle is here at stake. The truth of
Divine Revelation is in no wise concerned. There is nothing in its truth
or falsity which should in any way affect man's belief in an overruling
Providence, or in an immortality beyond the grave, or which should
render any less desirable a life of purity and honor. On the contrary,
we think one of the greatest causes of thanksgiving mortals have is the
possession of intellectual powers, which enable us to here and there
catch a glimpse of the greatness of God's universe, which the astronomer
at times unfolds to us; or, to dimly comprehend the flight of time since
"The Beginning," which the geologist finds necessary to account for the
stupendous results wrought by slow-acting causes.

It seems to us eminently fitting that God should place man here,
granting to him a capacity for improvement, but bestowing on him no gift
or accomplishment, which by exertion and experience he could acquire;
for labor is, and ever has been, the price of material good. So we see
how necessary it is that a very extended time be given us to account for
man's present advancement. Supposing an angel of light was to come to
the aid of our feeble understanding, and unroll before us the pages of
the past, a past of which, with all our endeavors, we as yet know but
little. Can we doubt that, from such a review, we would arise with
higher ideas of man's worth? Our sense of the depths from which he
has ascended is equated only by our appreciation of the future opening
before him. Individually we shall soon have passed away. Our nation may
disappear. But we believe our race has yet but fairly started in its
line of progress; time only is wanted. We can but think that that view
which limits man to an existence extending over but a few thousand years
of the past, is a belittling one. Rather let us think of him as existing
from a past separated from us by these many thousand years; winning his
present position by the exercise of God-given powers.

REFERENCES

(1) The manuscript of this chapter was submitted to Prof. G. F.
Wright, of Oberlin, for criticism.
(2) Wallace's "Island Life," p. 113.
(3) Nordenskiold's "American Journal of Science," vol. 110, p.
58.
(4) Wright's "Studies in Science and Religion," p. 307, where a
map of this moraine is given.
(5) There is, however, a small area in the south-west part of
Wisconsin where, for some reason, the ice passed by.
(6) Dane's "Manual of Geology," p. 538.
(7) Wright's "Studies in Science and Religion," p. 308.
(8) "Men of the Drift," p. 71.
(9) Geikie's "Great Ice Age," p. 93.
(10) "Men of the River Drift."
(11) Abbott's "Primitive Industry," p. 545; Quoted from "Geology
of Minnesota." Report, 1877, p. 37.
(12) Geikie's "Great Ice Age," p. 97.
(13) The astronomical theory, which we will first examine, was
first enunciated by Mr. Croll, following a suggestion of the
astronomer Adhemer. Mr. Croll's views were set forth in many
able papers, and finally gathered into a volume entitled
"Climate and Time in their Geological Relation." The ablest
defense of these views is that by Mr. James Geikie, in his works
"The Great Ice Age," and "Prehistoric Europe."
(14) Geikie's "Great Ice Age," p. 114.
(15) Lubbock's "Prehistoric Times," p. 420, Table 4.
(16) Ibid., Table 5.
(17) Geikie's "Great Ice Age," p. 123.
(18) Wallace's "Island Life," p. 143.
(19) Ibid., p. 124.
(20) "Geology of New Hampshire," Vol. II, p. 5.
(21) Wallace's "Island Life," p. 99.
(22) Geikie's "Great Ice Age," p. 103.
(23) Wallace's "Island Life," p. 149. Hitchcock's "Geology of
New Hampshire," Vol. II, p. 7, gives a map showing what immense
areas in that section would be raised to the surface by a raise
of three hundred feet.
(24) _American Journal of Science,_ 1871, p. 329.
(25) Wallace's "Island Life," p. 184.
(26) Wallace's "Island Life," p. 182.
(27) Ibid., p. 157 and note. Prof. Wright thinks this statement
doubtful. He refers to the date of the Glacial Age in the
Southern Hemisphere.
(28) Wallace's "Island Life," p. 200; Dawkins's "Early Man in
Britain," p. 119; Geikie's "Great Ice Age," p. 256;
Quatrefages's "Human Species," p. 288.
(29) For these results, see McFarland's Calculations in
"American Journal of Science," 1880, p. 105.
(30) "Island Life," p. 153.
(31) See chart, p. 124, Wallace's "Island Life."
(32) "Ancient Society," p. 39.
(33) "Island Life," p. 201.
(34) "Prehistoric Europe," p. 312.
(35) On this point consult Wright's "Studies in Science and
Religion," pp. 232-347; also Prof. Lewis in "Primitive
Industry," pp. 547-551.
(36) "Prehistoric Europe," p. 560.
(37) See any isothermal map.
(38) Wallace's "Island Life," p. 154, note.
(39) "Geology of New Hampshire," Vol. III, p. 327, referred to
in Wright's "Studies in Science and Religion," p. 327.

Chapter VI

THE NEOLITHIC AGE IN EUROPE.<1>

Close of the first cycle--Neolithic culture connected with the
present--No links between the two ages--Long lapse of time between
the two ages--Swiss lake villages--This form of villages widely
scattered--Irish cranogs--Fortified villages--Implements and weapons of
Neolithic times--Possessed of pottery--Neolithic agriculture--Possessed
of domestic animals--Danish shell-heaps--Importance of flint--The art of
navigation--Neolithic clothing--Their modes of burial--The question of
race--Possible remnants--Connection with the Turanian race--Arrival of
the Celts.

In the preceding chapters we have sought to learn what we could of the
Paleolithic Age. We have seen what strange people and animals occupied
the land, and have caught some glimpses of a past that has been
recovered to us out of the very night of time. From under the ashes of
Vesuvius archaeologists have brought to light an ancient city. We gaze
on it with great interest, for we there see illustrated the state of
society two thousand years ago. But other cities of that time are still
in existence, and not only by the aid of tradition and song, but from
the pages of history, we can learn of the civilization of the Roman
people at the time of the destruction of Pompei; so that, in this case,
our knowledge of the past is not confined to one source of information.
But no voice of history or tradition, or of existing institutions,
speaks to us of the Paleolithic Age. Of that remote time, the morning
time of human life, we learn only from the labors of geologists and
archaeologists. We are virtually dealing with a past geological age.
The long term of years thus defined drew to its close amidst scenes
of almost Arctic sterility. In all probability, glaciers reflected the
sun's rays from all the considerable hills and mountains of Central and
Northern Europe, though forming, perhaps, but a remnant of the great
glaciers of the Ice Age. The neighboring seas must have been whitened by
the glistening sails of numerous icebergs. Such was the closing scene of
Paleolithic life.

The first great cycle of human life, as far as we know it now, was
concluded in Europe. We do not mean to say that it terminated all over
the world. In other regions it survived to far later times. But, in
Europe, Paleolithic animals and men had worked out their mission, and we
have now to record the arrival and spread of a new race, bringing with
them domestic animals, a knowledge of rude husbandry, and many simple
arts and industries of which their Paleolithic predecessors were
ignorant.

We recall, that the men of the Paleolithic Age seemed incapable of
advancement;<2> or their progress was so slow that we scarcely notice
it. But we can trace the lines of advancement from the Neolithic culture
to that of the present. We have, however, to deal with people and times
far removed from the light of history.

We have before us, then, a new culture and a new people. On the one hand
is Paleolithic man, with his rude stone implements, merely chipped into
shape--surrounded by many animals which have since vanished from the
theater of life--inhabiting a country which, at its close at least,
was more like Greenland of to-day than England or France. The scene
completely changes, when the misty curtain of the past again rises and
allows us to continue our investigations into primitive times.

We would naturally expect to find everywhere, connecting links between
these two ages--the culture of the one gradually changing into the
culture of the other. This, however, is not the case. The line
of demarkation between the ages is everywhere plainly drawn; and,
furthermore, we are learning that a very long time elapsed between the
departure, or disappearance, of the Paleolithic tribes, and the arrival
of their Neolithic successors. This is shown in a great many ways, and
we will notice some of them. We learn that Neolithic man occasionally
used caves as a place of habitation. In such cases there is nearly
always a thick layer of stalagmite between the strata containing the
Paleolithic implements and the Neolithic strata--though this stalagmite
is unmistakable evidence of the lapse of many years, we can not
determine how many, as we do not know the rate of formation.

This lapse of time is shown very plainly when we come to consider the
changes wrought in the surface features of the country by the action of
running water. We know that rain, running water, and frost, constituting
what we call denuding forces, are constantly at work changing the
surface of a country. We know that, in general, this change is slow. But
great changes have been wrought between these two ages.

In the British Islands, we know that the rivers had time to very
materially change the surface features of the land. The important rivers
of Scotland had carved out channels one hundred feet deep in places; and
along their courses, especially near their mouths, had plowed out and
removed great quantities of glacial material--forming broad flats which
became densely wooded before Neolithic man made his appearance on the
scene. In some cases the entire surface of the land had been removed,
leaving only knolls and hills of the old land surface. Examples of
this occur on the east coast of England, and in what is known as the
Fen-lands. The final retreat of the glaciers must have left the country
covered with _debris._ After this had been largely denuded, the country
became densely wooded. It was not until these changes had taken place,
that Neolithic man wandered into Europe.<3>

But still another ground exists for claiming a long interval between
these two ages, namely, the great changes that took place in the animal
world of Europe during these two epochs. Many different species of
animals characteristic of the Paleolithic Age vanished as completely
from Europe as the rude tribes that hunted them, before the appearance
of Neolithic tribes. But little change in the fauna of England has taken
place in the last two thousand years. So it is obvious that the great
change above-mentioned demands many centuries for its accomplishment.
Huge animals of the elephant kind, such as the mammoth, no longer
crashed through the underbrush, or wallowed in the lakes. The roars of
lions and tigers, that haunted the caves of early Europe, were no
longer heard.<4> In short, there had disappeared forever from Europe the
distinctly southern animals that diversified the fauna of Paleolithic
times. Even the Arctic animals were banished to northern latitudes, or
mountain heights.

We have dwelt to some length on the proofs of a long-extended time
between these two ages. The more we reflect on these instances the more
impressed are we with a sense of duration vast and profound, in which
the great forests and grassy plains of Europe supported herds of wild
animals all unvexed by the presence of man. We will only mention one
more point and then pass on.

We have seen that the highest rank we can assign to Paleolithic man
in the scale of civilization is Upper Savagism. But when Neolithic man
appeared, he was in the middle status of Barbarism. The time, therefore,
between the disappearance of Paleolithic man and the arrival of
Neolithic man was long enough to enable primitive man to pass one entire
ethnical period, that of Lower Barbarism. But this requires a very long
period of time, probably several times as long as the entire series of
years since Civilization first appeared, which is supposed to be in the
neighborhood of five thousand years ago.<5>

We must now turn our attention to Neolithic man himself and learn what
we can of his culture, and discover, if possible, what race it was that
spread over Europe after it had been for so long a time an uninhabitable
country. A few remarks by way of introduction will not be considered
amiss.

We are learning that tribal organization, implying communism in living,
is characteristic of prehistoric people.<6> Tribal organization sufficed
to advance man to the very confines of civilization. We have no doubt
but that this was the state of society amongst the Neolithic people. But
this implies living in communities or villages. We need not picture to
ourselves a country dotted with houses, the abodes of single families;
such did not exist, but here and there were fortified villages.

Still another consequence follows from this tribal state of society.
There was no such thing as a strong central government. Each tribe
obeyed its own chief, and a state of war nearly always existed between
different tribes. Such we know was the state of things among the Indian
tribes of America. Travelers tell us that it is so to-day in Africa.
Each tribe stood ready to defend itself or to make war on its neighbors.
One great point, therefore, in constructing a village, was to secure a
place that could be easily defended.

Bearing these principles in mind, let us see what we can learn of their
habitations. Owing to a protracted drouth, the water in the Swiss lakes
was unusually low in the Winter of 1854, and the inhabitants of Meilen,
on the Lake Zurich, took advantage of this state of affairs to throw up
embankments some distance out from the old shore, and thus gain a strip
of land along the coast. In carrying out this design, they found in the
mud at the bottom of the lake a number of piles, some thrown down and
others upright, fragments of rough pottery, bone and stone instruments,
and various other relics.

Dr. Keller, president of the Zurich Antiquarian Society, was apprised of
this discovery, and proceeded at once to examine the collection made and
the place of discovery. He was not long in determining the prehistoric
nature of the relics, and the true intent of the pile remains. He proved
them to be supports for platforms, on which were erected rude dwellings,
the platforms being above the surface of the water, and at some distance
from the shore, with which they were connected by a narrow bridge.

Illustration of Lake Village, Switzerland.-------------

This was the first of a series of many interesting discoveries from
which we have learned many facts as to Neolithic, times. The out we have
introduced is an ideal restoration of one of these Swiss lake villages.
It needs but a glance to show how admirably placed it was for purposes
of defense. Unless an enemy was provided with boats, the only way of
approach was over the bridge. But the very fact that they resorted to
lakes, where at the expense of great labor they erected their villages,
is a striking illustration of the insecurity of the times.

This discovery once made, it is surprising what numbers of these ancient
lake villages have been discovered. Switzerland abounds in large
and small lakes, and in former times they must have been still more
numerous, but in the course of years they have become filled up, and now
exist only as peat bogs. But we now know that during the Neolithic Age
the country was quite thickly inhabited, and these lakes were the sites
of villages. Over two hundred have been found in Switzerland alone.
Fishermen had known of the existence of these piles long before their
meaning was understood. Lake Geneva is one of the most famous of the
Swiss lakes. Though in the main it is deep, yet around the shore there
is a fringe of shallow water.

It was in this shallow belt that the villages were built. The sites of
twenty-four settlements are known. We are told that on "calm days, when
the surface of the water is unruffled, the piles are plainly visible.
Few of them now project more than two feet from the bottom, eaten away
by the incessant action of the water. Lying among them are objects of
bone, horn, pottery, and frequently even of bronze. So fresh are they,
and so unaltered, they look as if they were only things of yesterday,
and it seems hard to believe that they can have remained there for
centuries."<7>

A lake settlement represents an immense amount of work for a people
destitute of metallic tools. After settling on the locality, the first
step would be to obtain the timbers. The piles were generally composed
of the trunks of small-sized trees at that time flourishing in
Switzerland. But to cut down a tree with a stone hatchet is no slight
undertaking. They probably used fire to help them. After the tree was
felled it had to be cut off again at the right length, the branches
lopped off, and one end rudely sharpened. It was then taken to the place
and driven into the mud of the lake bottom. For this purpose they used
heavy wooden mallets. It has been estimated that one of the settlements
on Lake Constance required forty thousand piles in its construction.<8>

The platform which rested on these piles was elevated several feet above
the surface of the water, so as to allow for the swash of the waves. It
was composed of branches and trunks of trees banded together, the whole
covered with clay. Sometimes they split the trees with wedges so as
to make thick slabs. In some instances wooden pegs were used to fasten
portions of the platform to the pilework.

As to the houses which were erected on these platforms, though they have
utterly vanished, yet from a few remains we can judge something as to
the mode of construction. They seem to have been formed of trunks of
trees placed upright, one by the side of the other, and bound together
by interwoven branches. This was then covered on both sides with two or
three inches of clay. A plaster of clay and gravel formed the floor,
and a few slabs of sandstone did duty for a fire-place. The roof was of
bark, straw, or rushes. There does not seem to have been much of a plan
used in laying out a settlement. As population increased other piles
were added, and thus the village gradually extended. No one village
would be likely to contain a great number of inhabitants. Calculations
based on the area of one of the largest settlements in Lake Geneva,
gives as a result a population of thirteen hundred, but manifestly
nothing definite is known.

This brief description gives us an idea of a method of constructing
villages which, as we shall soon see, extended all over Europe, though
varied somewhat in detail. The condition of the remains indicate that
these settlements were often destroyed by fire. At such times quantities
of arms, implements, and household industries would have been lost in
the water, and so preserved for our inspection.

This mode of building found such favor among the early inhabitants
of Europe that it continued in use through the Neolithic Age, that
of Bronze, and even into the age of Iron. Passages here and there in
ancient histories evidently refer to them. Though they have long since
passed away in Switzerland, the Spaniards found them in Mexico, and they
are still to be seen in some of the isles of the Pacific. Remembering
this, we need not be surprised if we find in one small lake settlements
belonging to widely different ages. Here one of the Stone Age, there one
of the Bronze, or even a confused mingling of what seems to be several
ages in one settlement.<9>

There is scarcely a country in Europe that does not contain examples of
lake villages. From their wide distribution we infer that a common
race spread over the land. We will now mention some differences in
construction discovered at some places, where, from the rocky nature of
the bed of the lake, it was impossible to drive piles so as to form a
firm foundation. They sometimes packed quantities of stone around
the piles to serve as supports in a manner as here indicated. "In all
probability the stones used were conveyed to the required spot by means
of canoes, made of hollowed out trunks of trees. Several of these canoes
may still be seen at the bottom of Lake Bienne, and one, indeed, laden
with pebbles, which leads us to think it must have foundered with its
cargo."<10>

Illustration of Foundation, Lake Village.------------

In some cases these heaps of stone and sticks rise to the surface of the
water or even above it, the piles in such cases serving more to hold the
mass together than as a support to the platform on which the huts were
erected. This mode of construction could only be employed in small
lakes. This makes in reality an artificial island, and seems to have
been the favorite method of procedure in the British Islands. In Ireland
and Scotland immense numbers of these structures are known. They are
called crannogs. This cut represents a section of one in Ireland. Though
they date back to the Neolithic Age, yet they so exactly meet the wants
of a rude people that they were occupied down to historic times.

Illustration of Irish Crannog.---------------

The advantage of forming settlements where they could only be approached
on one side were so great that other places than lakes were resorted
to. Peat-bogs furnished nearly as secure a place of retreat as do lakes.
These have been well studied in Northern Italy. They do not present many
new features. They were constructed like the lake villages, only they
were surrounded by a marsh, and not by a lake. In some of the Irish bogs
they first covered the surface of the bog with a layer of hazel bushes,
and that by a layer of sand, and thus secured a firm surface.<11> In
this case the villages were still further defended by a breastwork of
rough spars, about five feet high. One of the houses of this group was
found still in position, though it had been completely buried in peat.
No metal had been used in its construction. The timbers had been cut
with a stone ax, and the explorer was even so fortunate as to find an
ax, which exactly fitted many of the cuts observed on the timbers.

But we are not to suppose that lakes and bogs afforded the only sites of
villages. They are found scattered all over the surface of the country,
and, as we shall soon see, they show the same painstaking care to secure
strong, easily defended positions. They have been generally spoken of
as forts, to which the inhabitants resorted only in times of danger. We
think, however, they were locations of villages, the customary places
of abode. For this is in strict accordance with what we find to be the
early condition of savage life in every part of the world.

Traces of these settlements on the main-land have been mostly
obliterated by the cultivation of the soil during the many years
that have elapsed since their Neolithic founders occupied them. In
Switzerland the location of five of these villages are known. In all
instances they occupied places very difficult of approach--generally
precipitous sides on all but one or two. On the accessible sides
ramparts defended them. The relics obtained are in all respects similar
to those from the lake villages.<12>

Illustration of Fortified Camp, Cissbury.------------

Fortified inclosures have been described in Belgium. We are told, "They
are generally established on points overhanging valleys, on a mass of
rocks forming a kind of headland, which is united to the rest of the
country by a narrow neck of land. A wide ditch was dug across this
narrow tongue of land, and the whole camp was surrounded by a thick
wall of stone, simply piled one upon another, without either mortar or
cement." "One of these walls, when described, was ten feet thick, and
the same in height." These intrenched positions were so well chosen that
most of them continued to be occupied during the ages which followed.
The Romans occasionally utilized them for their camps. Over the whole
inclosure of these ancient camps worked flints and remains of pottery
have been found.<13> These fortified places have been well studied in
the south of England.

What is known as the South-Downs in Sussex is a range of hills of a
general height of seven hundred feet. This section is about five miles
wide and fifty miles long. Four rivers flow through these downs to the
sea. In olden times their lower courses must have been deep inlets of
the sea, thus dividing those hills into five groups, each separated
from the other by a wide extent of water and marsh land. To the north
of these hills was a vast expanse of densely wooded country. It is not
strange, then, to find traces of numerous settlements among these hills.
As the surface soil is very thin, old embankments can still be traced.
The cut given is a representation of Cissbury, one of the largest
of these camps. It incloses nearly sixty acres. The rampart varies
according to the slope of the hill. Where the ascent was at all easy it
was made double. Fortified camps are very numerous throughout the hill
country. They vary, of course, in size, but the situation was always
well chosen.<14>

As for the buildings themselves, or huts of the Neolithic people, we
know but little. They were probably built much the same as the houses
in the lake settlements. We meet with some strange modifications in
England. Frequently within these ramparts we find circular pits or
depressions in the ground. They are regarded as vestiges of habitations,
and they must have been mainly under ground. "They occur singly and
in groups, and are carried down to a depth of from seven to ten feet
through the superficial gravel into the chalk, each pit, or cluster of
pits, having a circular shaft for an entrance. At the bottom they vary
from five to seven feet in diameter, and gradually narrow to two and
a half or three feet in diameter in the upper part. The floors were of
chalk, sometimes raised in the center, and the roof had been formed of
interlaced sticks, coated with clay imperfectly burned."<15>

In the north of Scotland, instead of putting them under ground, they
built them on the natural surface, and then built a mound over them all.
In appearance this was scarcely distinguishable from a mound, but on
digging in we discover a series of large chambers, built generally with
stones of considerable size, and converging toward the center, where
an opening appears to have been left for light and ventilation. In some
instances the mound was omitted, and we have simply a cluster of
joining huts, with dry, thick walls. These have been appropriately named
"Bee-hive Houses."<16>

We can form a very good idea of Neolithic Europe from what we have
learned as to their habitations. A well-wooded country, abounding
in lakes and marshes, quite thickly settled, but by a savage people,
divided into many tribes, independent of and hostile to each other.
The lakes were fringed with their peculiar settlements; they are to be
noticed in the marshes, and on commanding heights are still others. The
people were largely hunters and fishers, but, as we shall soon see, they
practised a rude husbandry and had a few domestic animals. Such was
the condition of Europe long before the Greek and Latin tribes lit the
beacon fires of civilization in the south.

It is evident that the builders of the lake settlements and the
fortified villages were an intelligent and industrious people, though
their scale in civilization was yet low. Their various implements
of bone, horn, and stone display considerable advance over the rude
articles of the Drift.

Illustration of Neolithic Axes.--------------------

One of the most important implements was the ax. The Paleolithic
hatchet, we remember, was rude, massive, and only roughly chipped into
shape, and was intended to be held in the hand. The Neolithic ax was a
much better made one, and was furnished with a handle. They were enabled
to accomplish a great deal with such axes. "Before it, aided by fire,
the trees of the forest fell to make room for the tiller of the ground,
and by its sharp edge wood became useful for the manufacture of various
articles and implements indispensable for the advancement of mankind
in culture."<17> These axes vary in size and finish. As a general thing
they are ground to a sharp, smooth edge, but not always, nor were they
always furnished with a handle.

Some axes are found with a hole bored in them, through which to pass
a handle. These perforated axes are found in considerable numbers, and
some have denied that they could be produced without the aid of metal.
It is almost self-evident that the perforated axes are later in date
than the solid ones, and probably many of them are no earlier in time
than the Age of Metals. There is, however, nothing to show that all
belong to so late a time. Besides, experiments have amply shown that
even the hardest kind of flint can be drilled without the aid of
metals.<18>

Warlike implements are, of course, quite common. Many of the axes found
are probably war axes. Then besides we have arrowheads, spears,
and daggers. These are considered to be "marvels of skill in flint
chipping."<19> Stone was used for a great many other purposes, such as
scrapers, sling-stones, hammers, saws, and so on. Flint was generally
the kind of stone used. Our civilization owes a great deal to this
variety of stone. It is not only hard, but its cleavage is such that it
was of the greatest use to primitive man. In a general way the Neolithic
stone implements are seen to be better adapted to the object in view
than the Paleolithic specimens. They are also generally polished.

Wood was largely used in their common household implements. But it is
only in exceptional cases that it has been preserved to us. They
have been recovered, however, in peat-bogs and in the remains of lake
settlements. These wooden utensils consist of bowls, ladles, knives,
tubs, etc. They used fire to hollow them out, and the blows of the flint
hatchet used to remove the charred portions, are still to be observed in
some specimens.

Illustration of Neolithic Weapons.--------------

The Neolithic people had learned how to manufacture pottery, though not
of a very superior quality. It is all hand-made: so the potter's wheel
had not yet been introduced. The material is clay mixed with gravel or
pounded shells. Very often they ornamented their clay vessels with lines
and dots. The bowls or jars were evidently suspended by cords, for the
bottom was made too rounding for them to stand erect. Besides, we find
the holes for the cords, and in some places handles.

Illustrations of Ax in Sheath, and Hafted Hatchet in Sheath.--

No notice of Neolithic tools would be complete without mentioning the
use made of horn and bone. One peculiar use for which they employed horn
was as a socket for holding other implements. Thus this figure shows
us an ax in a socket of horn. The middle of the socket is generally
perforated with a round or oval hole, intended to receive a handle of
oak, birch, or some other kind of wood adapted for such a use. The cut
below represents a hatchet of this kind. A number of these sockets have
been found, which were provided at the end opposite to the stone hatchet
with a strong and pointed tooth. These are boars' tusks, firmly buried
in the stag's horn. These instruments, therefore, fulfilled double
purposes: they cut or crushed with one end and pierced with the other.
Sockets are also found which are not only provided with the boars'
tusks, but are hollowed out at each end, so as to hold two flint
hatchets at once, as is seen in our next figure. Chisels and gouges
were also sometimes placed in bone handles. Portions of horn probably
at times did duty as hoes. We give a representation of such an
implement.<20> We must now seek some information as to how the men of
the Neolithic Age supported life.

Illustration of Sheath, with two Hatchets.---------Illustrations of
Chisels in Sheath, and Horn Hoe.---------

From the remains of fish at all the lake settlements it is evident they
formed no inconsiderable portion of their food. Fishing nets and hooks
have been discovered. They were successful hunters as well. But the men
of this age were no longer dependent on the chase for a livelihood. We
have mentioned several times that they were acquainted with agriculture.
This implies a great advance over the primitive hunters of the early
Stone Age.

On the shores of the lakes which furnished them with a place of
habitation they raised many of our present species of grain. Owing to a
cause of which we have already spoken--that is, destruction of the lake
settlements by fire--the carbonized remains of these cereals have been
preserved to us. There were four varieties of wheat raised, none exactly
like our common wheat. In addition to this they raised barley and
millet, several varieties of each. Nor were the fruits neglected. Apples
and pears were dried and laid away for use in the Winter. Seeds of the
common berries were found in abundance, showing that these primitive
people were fully alive to their value.

From this it follows that the Neolithic people were not only tillers
of the soil, but horticulturists as well. According to Dr. Keller, the
vegetable kingdom furnished their principal supply of food. Hazelnuts,
beechnuts, and chestnuts were found in such quantities as to show they
had been gathered for use. Neither hemp, oats, nor rye were known. Not
only do we find the remains of the grains, fruits, seeds, etc., from
which the above conclusions are drawn, but, farther than this, pieces
of bread have been found in a carbonized state, and thus as effectually
preserved as the bread of a far later date found in the ovens of
Pompeii. According to Figuier, the peasant classes of Tuscany now bake
bread, after merely bruising the grain, by pouring the batter on glowing
stones and then covering it with ashes. As this ancient prehistoric
bread is of similar shape, it was probably baked in an equally primitive
fashion.<21>

Aside from the natural interest we feel in these evidences as to ancient
industry, a study of the remains of plants cultivated by the Neolithic
people reveals to us two curious and suggestive facts. It has been found
that the wild plants then growing in Switzerland are in all
respects like the wild plants now growing there. But the cultivated
plants--wheat, millet, etc.--differ from all existing varieties, and
invariably have smaller seeds or fruits.<22> This shows us that man has
evidently been able to effect considerable change by cultivation, in the
common grains, during the course of the many centuries which separate
the Neolithic times from our own age. But if this rate of change be
adopted as a measure of time, what shall we say is to the antiquity
demanded to explain the origin of cultivated grain from the wild grasses
of their first form?

We learn, in the second place, that the cultivated plants are all
immigrants from the south-east--their native home being in South-eastern
Europe and Asia Minor. We shall afterward see that this is true of the
domestic animals also. There can be but one explanation for this. The
ancient inhabitants of Europe must have come from that direction, and
brought with them the plants they had cultivated in their eastern
homes, and the animals they had reduced to their service. The traces of
agriculture thus found in Switzerland are by no means confined to that
country. In other countries of Europe, such as England and France, we
also find proofs that men cultivated the earth. In localities where
we do not find the grain itself, we find their rude mills, or mealing
stones, which as plainly indicate a knowledge of the agricultural art as
the presence of the cereals themselves.<23>

As we have stated, Neolithic man in Europe possessed domestic animals.
He was not only a cultivator of the soil, but he was a herdsman as well;
and he kept herds of oxen, sheep, and goats. Droves of hogs fattened on
the nuts of the forest, and the dog associated with man in keeping
and protecting these domestic animals. We know that the Swiss Lake
inhabitants built little stalls by the sides of their houses, in which
they kept their cattle at night. But these domestic animals were not
descendants of the wild animals that roamed the forests of Europe.
Like the plants, they are immigrants from the south-east. Our best
authorities consider they were brought into Europe by the invading
Neolithic tribes.

The knowledge of husbandry, though rude, and the possession of domestic
animals, though of a few species only, strikingly indicate the advance
over the Paleolithic tribes. They also had fixed places of living.
This culture spread all over Europe. That it was substantially the same
everywhere there is no doubt. Certain refuse heaps in Denmark, Scotland,
and indeed in all the sea-coast countries, have been thought to support
a different conclusion. Those of Denmark have been very carefully
studied, and so we will refer to them. All along the Baltic coast, but
especially in Denmark, have been discovered great numbers of mounds,
which were found to consist "almost entirely of shells, especially of
the oyster, broken bones of animals, remains of birds and fishes, and,
lastly, some wrought flints." The first supposition in regard to those
shell-heaps was that they were of marine formation, accumulated beneath
the sea, and elevated to the surface along with the gradual rise of the
land. But they are now known to be nothing more or less than the sites
of ancient settlements. The location of the rude cabins can still be
traced. The ancient hearths are still in place. "Tribes once existed
here who subsisted on the products of hunting and fishing, and threw out
around their cabins the remains of their meals, consisting especially
of the _debris_ of shell-fish." These heaps gradually accumulated
around their rude dwellings, and now constitute the refuse heaps in
question.<24>

The careful investigation of their contents has failed to disclose any
evidence of a knowledge of agriculture, and the only domestic animal
found is the dog. The implements are altogether of stone and horn. No
trace of metal has yet been obtained. As a rule, they are rudely made
and finished. Though of the Neolithic type, they are not polished except
in a few instances. The principal interest turns on the question of
age of these refuse heaps. Some think they were accumulated at the very
beginning of the Neolithic Age--that these tribes preceded by many years
the men of the Swiss Lakes. Others think they were tribes of the same
great people, living at the same time. On such a point as this, only
those who have carefully studied the deposits are entitled to speak.

Some few facts stand out quite prominently. The size of the mounds<25>
indicate long-continued residence--showing that these people had
permanent places of abode. As they are not confined to Denmark, but
are found generally throughout Europe, it would seem to imply that the
Neolithic people preferred to live as fishers and hunters wherever the
surroundings were such that they could by these means obtain an abundant
supply of food. Some shell-heaps in Scotland were still forming at the
commencement of the Bronze Age; and Mr. Geikie, on geological grounds,
assigns the shell-heaps of Denmark to a late epoch of the Stone Age.

It seems to us quite natural that isolated tribes, living where game
was abundant, and where fishing met with a rich reward, should turn
in disgust from the agricultural life of their brother tribes, and,
resuming the life of mere hunters and fishers, speedily lose somewhat
of their hardly won culture--for civilization is the product of labor.
Whenever a people from necessity or choice abandon one form of labor for
another demanding less skill to triumph over nature, a retrogression in
culture is inevitable.<26>

From what we have stated as to the use of flint we can readily see that
it was a valuable material. Sections where it was found in abundance
would as certainly become thickly populated as the iron and gold regions
of our own day. In Paleolithic times the supply of flint was mostly
obtained from the surface and in the gravel of rivers. In Neolithic
times men had learned to mine for flint. Flint occurs in nodules in the
chalk. Near Brandon, England, was discovered a series of these workings.
They consist of shafts connected together by galleries. These pits vary
in size from twenty to sixty feet in diameter, and in some cases were
as much as thirty feet deep. From the bottom of these shafts they would
excavate as far as they dared to the sides. They made no use of timbers
to support the roof, and so these side excavations were not of great
extent. In these old workings the miners sometimes left behind them
their tools. The principal one was a pick made of deer's horn, as is
here represented. Besides these, they had chisels of bone and antler.
The marks of stone hatchets on the sides of the gallery are visible.

Illustration of Miner's Pick.---------------

In one instance the roof had caved in, evidently during the night, and
on clearing out the gallery near the end where the roof stood firm,
there were found the implements of the workmen, just as they were left
at the close of the day's work; and in one place on the pick, covered
with chalk dust, was still to be seen the marks of the workman's hand.
How many years, crowded with strange scenes, have swept over England
since that chalky impression was made! The surface of the earth is a
palimpsest, on which each stage of culture has been written over the
faint, almost obliterated, records of the past. Not only the living man,
who has left there the impression of his hand has passed away, but also
his people and his culture. And now it is only here and there that we
catch a faint tracing underlying our later civilization, by which we
reconstruct the history of these far-away times.

Nothing would be more natural than that where flint was found in
abundance a regular manufactory of implements would be established. Such
was the case at Cissbury, which we have already mentioned as one of the
early British towns. Mines had been dug within the walls inclosing the
town. The surface of the ground near the old mines at this place is
literally covered by splinters of flint in every stage of manufacture,
"from the nodule of flint fresh out of the chalk, spoilt by an unlucky
blow, to the article nearly finished and accidentally broken."<27> Here
the flint was mined and chipped into rudimentary shape, but carried away
to be perfected and polished.

A very important place in Neolithic manufactures was noticed near Tours,
France. Here was an abundant supply of flint, and very easily obtained,
and the evidence is conclusive that here existed real manufactories. Of
one stretch of ground, having an area of twelve or fourteen acres, we
are told: "It is impossible to walk a single step without treading
on some of these objects." Here we find "hatchets in all stages of
manufacture, from the roughest attempt up to a perfectly polished
weapon. We find, also, long flakes or flint-knives cleft off with a
single blow with astonishing skill."

But in all these objects there is a defect; so it is concluded that
these specimens were refuse thrown aside in the process of manufacture.
As at Cissbury, very few polished flints are found, so we may conclude
the majority of weapons were carried elsewhere for completion. But some
weapons were completed here. In the neighborhood have been found the
stones used as polishers. This cut shows us one used in polishing the
axes. The workmen would take one of the rough-hewn instruments, and,
rubbing it back and forth on such a stone as this, gradually produced a
smooth surface and a sharpened edge.<28>

Illustration of Polishing Stone.------------

We have suggested that our civilization owes a great deal to flint. If
we will consider the surroundings of their manufacturing sites, we
will see the force of this remark. It must have taxed to the utmost the
powers of these primitive men to sink the shafts and run the galleries
to secure a supply of this valuable stone. In short, they had to invent
the art of quarrying and working mines. This would lead to the division
of labor, for while one body of men would become experts as miners,
others would become skillful in chipping out the implements, and still
others would do the finishing and polishing. A system of barter or trade
would also arise, for the workmen at the mines and factories would have
to depend on others for food and clothing, and in payment for the
same would furnish them implements. As localities where flint could
be obtained in suitable quantities are but few, we can see how trade
between widely scattered tribes would arise. This kind of traffic is
shown to have extended over wide distances in Neolithic times. For
instance, there was been found scattered over Europe axes made of
varieties of stone known as nephrite and jade. They were highly valued
by primitive tribes, being very hard and of a beautiful green
color. They are thought to have been employed in the observance of
superstitious rites. But quarries of these varieties of stone do not
occur in Europe. An immense amount of labor has been expended in finding
their native home. This is now known to be in Asia.<29> Manufactured in
Asia, axes of these materials may have drifted into Europe and finally
arrived in England.

Illustration of Neolithic Boat-making.--------

Trade between different tribes must have been greatly facilitated by
means of canoes, which Neolithic man knew well how to make. The art of
navigation was probably well advanced. The canoes were formed of the
trunks of large trees. In most cases they were hollowed out by means of
the ax and fire combined. Sometimes the ends were partially rounded or
pointed, but often cut nearly square across--rather a difficult shape to
propel fast or to guide properly. These ancient boats have been found in
nearly all the principal rivers of Europe, and in many cases, no doubt,
come down to much later date than the Neolithic Age. From the remains
of fish found in their refuse heaps we are confident that in some such a
shaped boat as this they trusted themselves far out at sea. They served
to transport them from the shores of Europe to England, and at a later
date to Ireland.

Illustration of Neolithic Cloth.----------

The clothing of the men of the Neolithic Age doubtless consisted largely
of the prepared skins of the animals, and some fragments of leather have
been found in the lake settlements. But a very important step in advance
was the invention of spinning and weaving, both of which processes were
known at this time. The cloth which is here represented is formed of
twists of interwoven flax, of rough workmanship, it is true, but none
the less remarkable, considering the epoch in which it was manufactured.
Balls of thread and twine have also been found.<30> This cut is a
spindle-whorl. These have been discovered very often. They were made
sometimes of stone and at other times of pottery and bone. The threads
were made of flax, and the combs which were used for pushing the threads
of the warp into the weft show that it was woven into linen on some kind
of a loom. Several figures of the loom have been given, but we have no
certainty of their correctness.<31>

Illustrations of Spindle-whorl and Weaver's Comb.-------

Let us now see if we can gather anything as to the religious belief
of Neolithic man. On this point we can at best only indulge in vague
conjectures. Yet some light seems thrown on this difficult subject by
examination of the burial mounds. This introduces us to a subject of
much interest which, in our hurried review, we can but glance at.

Scattered over Europe are found numbers of mysterious monuments of
the past. Some of them we have mentioned already as the embankments
surrounding ancient villages. But aside from these are other monuments,
such as burial mounds, rude dolmens, and great standing stones,
sometimes arranged in circles, sometimes in rows, and sometimes standing
singly. Many of these remains may be of a far later date than the
Neolithic Age, still it is extremely difficult to draw a dividing line
between the monuments of different ages.

Illustration of Chambered Burial Mound, Denmark.----

Illustration of Dolmen, England.--------------------

Burial mounds are found everywhere, many in Europe going back to the
Neolithic Age, though some are of a very recent construction. The
Egyptian Pyramids are burial mounds on the grandest scale. The first cut
represents a Danish Tumulus, or burial mound, of this Age. The openings
lead to the center of the mound, where they connect with chambers in
which the bodies were formerly placed. There are, of course, various
modifications of this tumulus. Often the gallery was omitted, a rude
chamber was erected, and a mound reared over it. Sometimes, indeed, no
chamber was made, but simply a mound placed over the body.

Illustration of Dolmen, France.------------

Illustration of Dolmen, once Covered with Earth.-----

There have been found in England a great many stones arranged as in the
preceding cut, though generally not built with such regularity as is
there represented. They are named Dolmens, a word meaning stone tables.
They were more generally made of rough stones, rudely arranged. This cut
represents one found in France. In early times these were supposed to
have been rude altars used by the mysterious Druids in celebrating their
rites. They are now known to be the tombs of the Neolithic Age. They
are, in fact, the chambers above mentioned. The mound of earth has since
disappeared and left its chamber standing exposed to the air. Traces of
the old passage way are still met. Whether all Dolmens were once covered
with earth or not, is not yet known. In the majority of cases they
probably were. In the last cut portions of stone are still buried in the
earth. We are told that in India the people in some places still erect
Dolmens similar to those of Neolithic times.<32>

Illustration of Menhir.-------------

Illustration of Stone Circle, England.-------

Aside from the tombs themselves, there are other arrangements of great
stones which must have once possessed great significance to their
builders, but their meaning is now lost. Of this nature are the blocks
of rough stone set up in the ground generally in the vicinity of tombs.
These are the standing stones, or menhirs, which, as we have stated, are
arranged in various forms. When arranged in circles, they are generally
regarded as tombs. When placed in long parallel rows, as at Carnac,
in France, we are not sure of their meaning. We are told that the Hill
tribes of India to this day erect combinations of gigantic stones into
all the shapes we have here described.<33>

The peculiar shape of the burial mounds, with a passage way conducting
us to an interior chamber, or series of chambers, probably arose from
the belief entertained by many savage people, that the dead continue to
live an existence much like that when alive, and consequently the same
surroundings were deemed necessary for their comfort. So the tomb was
made similar to the house of the living. The ordinary Winter huts of the
Laplander are very similar in shape and size to the burial tumuli, and
amongst some people, as the inhabitants of New Zealand, the house itself
is made the grave. It was closed up and painted red, and afterward
considered sacred.

Illustration of Chambered Tomb, France.--------

So it may quite well be that the Neolithic inhabitants of Denmark,
"unable to imagine a future altogether different from the present, or a
world quite unlike our own, showed their respect and affection for the
dead by burying with them those things which in life they had valued
most; with women, their ornaments, with warriors, their weapons.
They buried the house with its owner, and the grave was literally
the dwelling of the dead. When a great man died he was placed on his
favorite seat, food and drink was arranged before him, his weapons
were placed by his side, his house was closed, and the door covered up,
sometimes, however, to be opened again when his wife or children joined
him in the land of spirits."

That they believed in a life beyond the grave is shown by the objects
they buried with the individuals. These are implements of various kinds,
flakes, arrow-heads, scrapers, celts, and pottery, doubtless intended
to be of service to the deceased. We know this to be a very common
proceeding amongst all barbarous people. In some cases it would appear
as if they realized that the material things themselves could be of no
service to the departed, but imagined that in some vague way the spirits
of things might be of service to the spirits of men, and so they would
purposely break the flints and throw the fragments into the grave.
Sometimes they may have buried only models of the objects they wished to
give to the dead, imagining that in this way the spirits of the objects
represented would accompany and be of service to the spirits of the
departed. To this day the Eskimos bury small models of boats, spears,
etc., rather than the objects themselves. The ancient Etruscans buried
jewelry, but made it so thin and fragile that it could not have been of
service to the living. In China this is carried still further, and paper
cuttings or drawings of horses, money, etc., are burned at the grave.

These remarks may explain the absence of remains so often noticed in
Neolithic burials in England. But other evidence can be given to show
this belief in future life. The mounds were of course often erected over
noted chiefs, and we are not without evidence that he was not allowed
to go unattended into the other world. It has been noted that often
skeletons have been met with having the skull, cleft, and in one case,
at least, all but one presented that appearance. It is but reasonable to
suppose that these skeletons were those of captives or slaves sacrificed
to be the attendants of the chief in the spirit world. Funeral feasts
were also held in honor of the dead. Thus we may gather from burial
mounds something of the religious belief of their occupants.

It is not improbable that ancestor worship, or the worship of the dead,
was part of their faith, so that the mounds became temples. On this
point we are told "it is impossible not to believe then that the people
who made these great, and in some cases elaborately constructed, tombs
would continue ever after to regard them as in some sort consecrated to
the great chiefs who were buried under them. Each tribe would have its
own specially sacred tombs, and perhaps we may here see a germ of that
ancestor-worship which may be traced in every variety of religions
belief."<34>

We now approach a difficult part of our inquiry, but, at the same time,
one that possesses for us a great interest. Who were these people into
whose culture we have been inquiring? While laying the foundation of our
present civilization, though being the fountain head from whence many
of the arts and industries, which now make our existence comfortable and
happy, take their feeble origin, gradually developing and expanding
as the time rolls on, have they themselves, as a race, vanished in the
mighty past, or are their descendants still to be found in Europe? Who
were they? Whence and when? Difficult problems, but we have read to but
little purpose if we have not already learned that earnest observers
need but the slightest clue to enable them to trace out brilliant
results.

In the first place, are there any grounds for supposing the Neolithic
people to be the descendants of those who hunted the reindeer along
the Vezere? This view has its supporters. M. Quatrefages, a very able
scholar indeed, maintains that the Neolithic people were the same race
as those who inhabited the caves and found shelter in the rock grottoes
of France.<35> This, to others, does not seem credible. We must recall
the long lapse of time that it is apparent has elapsed between the two
ages. We have seen how different were the two cultures; as Mr. Geikie
remarks, "So great, indeed, is the difference between the conditions of
life that obtained in the two ages of Stone, that we can hardly doubt
that the two people came of different stocks."<36> The Neolithic people
brought with them domestic animals and plants whose native home is in
Western Asia. We can hardly account for this fact, if we suppose them to
be the descendants of Paleolithic tribes in France.

Abandoning, therefore, any attempt to trace lines of connection between
the people of the two ages, let us carefully study all the facts
connected with the Neolithic people and their culture, to see if we can
solve the problem by so doing. We have noticed that substantially the
same stage of culture existed throughout Europe from Switzerland to the
British Islands. This points to the presence of a common race during at
least a portion of the time. But if there was a common race living in
Europe they would certainly possess common physical features. As a race
they may have been tall in stature, or medium, or short, and portions of
the human skeleton would show a uniformity in this regard.

Now one of the means that scientists use to determine the races of
men is a comparison of skulls, measured in a systematic manner. The
objection has been made that no reliance can be placed on these results,
because at the present day skulls of all sorts of shapes and sizes can
be obtained among people of the same nationality. But these objections
would not apply to people of prehistoric times. Their surroundings would
be simple and natural--not artificial and complex, as in modern times.
In our times people of different nationality are constantly coming in
contact, and intermarriage results; but in prehistoric times this
was not liable to occur, and so the comparative purity of blood would
certainly produce a much greater uniformity of physical features.<37>

From a very careful examination of a great number of burial mounds in
Great Britain, it has been ascertained that in all of those that date
back to Neolithic times, and contain portions of human skeletons, the
bones are always those of individuals small in stature, the average
height being about five and a half feet. The skulls are of that variety
known as long skulls. From this we can at once form a mental picture of
the Neolithic inhabitants of Britain. No less important conclusions have
been deduced from the study of burial mounds on the continent. We meet
with remains of these same small-sized people. "They have left traces
of their presence in numerous interments in chambered tombs and caves in
Belgium and France, as well as in Spain and Gibraltar. We may therefore
conclude that at one period in the Neolithic Age the population of
Europe, west of the Rhine and north of the Alps, was uniform in physique
and consisted of the same small people as the Neolithic inhabitants of
Britain and Ireland."<38>

We must now inquire whether there are any people living in Europe which
might have descended from the original stock. We are in the position of
those who, from a few broken down arches, a ruined tower and dismantled
wall, would seek to form a mental picture of the stately building that
once stood there. If we can here and there discover, by the light
of history or exploration, some races or tribes that, owing to their
geographical position, have escaped the fate that befell the great body
of their countrymen, we may perhaps replace our mental picture by one
founded on reality. Nor need we be in doubt where to seek for such
scattered remnants of people. Successful invaders always appropriate
to their own use the fertile lowlands and the fruitful portions of the
country of their helpless foes. But a weak people have often, in
the rocky fastnesses of their land, made a successful stand. So, to
determine the race, we will examine the people living in such regions,
and see if there are any that physically conform to what is already
known of the Neolithic people, and so entitled to claim a relationship
by descent.

Both slopes of Pyrenees Mountains, between France and Spain, have been
occupied from time immemorial by a peculiar race of people known as
the Basque. Secure in their mountain homes, they have resisted foreign
civilization, and retained their national characteristics as well as
their liberties, though they have been nominally vassals to many powers,
from the early Carthaginians to the later French and Spanish. From the
many invasions they have undergone the Basque language and people are by
no meals uniform. But Dr. Broca, one of the most learned anthropologists
in Europe, has shown that the original Basques were dark in complexion,
with black hair and eyes. In addition to this, the efforts of some
of the most eminent scholars in Europe,<39> who have made numerous
examinations of skulls and skeletons obtained from ancient Basque
cemeteries, have conclusively shown that in all physical features the
Basques agree with men of Neolithic times.<40>

The Basques do not belong to the great division of the human family
known as Aryans, to which the English-speaking races, as well as the
nations of Europe generally, belong. They belong to a far older division
of the human family--the Turanian<41>--and were doubtless in possession
of Europe long before the Indo-European nations commenced their westward
migrations from Central Asia. They are described as being brave,
industrious, and frugal, with patriarchal manners and habits. They
scorn authority, except what emanates from themselves, and have but few
nobility. They are impetuous, merry, and hospitable, fond of music and
dancing.<42> Of their warfare we are told they are "not distinguished
in open warfare, but unconquerable in guerrilla warfare, and famed for
defense of walled cities."<43> Such are the Basques of to-day, and many
of these traits of character, we doubt not, were the same amongst the
Neolithic people.

Mr. Dawkins also thinks that two tribes, living in Northern Italy,
in the very earliest historical times, are other remnants of the same
people. One of these were the Ligurians. Investigations and traditions
show that some time before the dawn of history they had been driven
out of the pleasant parts of Southern France, but had made a successful
stand in the mountain regions of Northern Italy. They, like the Basques,
were strong, active, and warlike. They were small in stature, swarthy in
features, and long-headed. To the south of these were the Etruscans.
But little is known of them, though the evidence is that long before
the Christian Era they were a powerful people. In physical features they
resembled those already described. Their sculpture exhibits only short,
sturdy figures, with large heads and thick arms. Another possible
remnant of these people existed at the very dawn of history in the
mountainous regions of Wales. They were known as Silures. but have
since become absorbed in the surrounding population. In civilization and
physical features they agree with the remnants already described.

In the north of Russia are found the Finns. Their origin and migrations
are alike unknown. One thing is certain, they belong to the Turanian
family, and so are probably allied to the Basques and Etruscans. It is
possible that they also are but a sorry remnant of the once wide-spread
Neolithic people. Driven out of the fairer portions of Europe, they hive
found an asylum in their present bleak surroundings. Like the people
already described, they are short in stature, and dark visaged.<44>

The tribes we have thus briefly mentioned are regarded by some as
representatives of the Neolithic people. Prof. Winchell, speaking of the
wide-spread extension of the Turanian race, assures us, that "history,
tradition, linguistics, and ethnology conspire to fortify the
conclusions that, in prehistoric times, all Europe was overspread by the
Mongoloid (Turanian) race, of which remnants have survived to our own
times in the persons of the Basques, Finns, Esths, Lapps, and some
smaller tribes."<45> Researches into the surroundings of these people,
combined with what we have already learned as to the culture, customs,
and manners of the Neolithic people in the preceding pages, throw no
little light on this age. The darkness of oblivion seems dispelled by
the light of science, and we behold before us the Europe of Neolithic
times, thickly inhabited by a race of people, small in stature, dark
visaged, and oval-faced--fond of war and the chase, yet having a rude
system of agriculture. The picture seems complete; and we have now only
to raise some inquiries as to the great stock of people to which they
belonged, and conjecture as to the date of their arrival in Europe.<46>

We are now learning that far back in the past, when mankind was
yet young in the world, the great Turanian family held a commanding
position. They seem to have dispersed widely over the earth. Their
migrations began long before that of the Aryan and Semitic people.
When tribes of these later people began their wanderings, they found a
Turanian people inhabiting the country wherever they went. Long before
the times of Abraham, the fertile plains of Chaldea were the home of
powerful tribes of this family. Egypt, and the fertile Nile Valley,
the home of ancient civilization, was their possession at a time long
preceding the rise of the Pharaohs. Their Asiatic origin is corroborated
by what we have learned of their domestic animals and cereals, which we
know to be also from Asia, or the south-east. These Turanian tribes, at
some far remote time, must have appeared in Asia Minor. Urged onward
by the pressure of increasing population, they passed into Europe and
Northern Africa. Their progress was, doubtless, slow; but they gradually
filled Europe. The English Channel must have presented no inconsiderable
barrier, and it was after Europe had been populated for a long time that
they ventured to brave its passage in their rude canoes.

The Neolithic culture, which we have treated of in reference to Europe
only, is seen to have been of Turanian origin. From its Asiatic home it
spread over the entire world--to the islands of the Pacific, and even
America. The road that leads from barbarism to civilization is long and
difficult, and it is not strange that but one or two families of men
were able to attain that end by their own unaided effort.<47> The
Turanian Family, which probably advanced man from savagism into
barbarism, seems to have at that stage exhausted its energies. This is
but an illustration of the fact that a race, like an individual, has a
period of growth, a maturity of healthful powers, and an old age of slow
decadence. After thus dispersing over the world, carrying with them
the culture of the Neolithic Age, they seem to have halted in their
progress. It remained for a new people, starting, perhaps, from the same
state of culture, but with new energies, to discover and employ metals
in the construction of tools and implements. This gave them so great
a command over nature that civilization became possible. But whatever
considerable advance the Turanian races were able to make beyond the
Neolithic culture was by reason of intercourse with these later people.
Where completely isolated from them, as in the New World, they remained,
for the most part, in the Neolithic culture.<48>

We have hitherto spoken as if there was but one race in Europe during
Neolithic times. In the main this is true; yet, near the close of this
time, a different race arrived in Europe. That this is so, is proved
by the same line of evidence used to determine the Neolithic people. We
shall have much to say of them hereafter. They were the vanguard of the
great Aryan race. This calls for some explanation. It has been found
that the principal languages of Europe and South-western Asia have
certain common characteristics; so much so that we are justified, even
compelled, to assume that the nations speaking these languages, such for
instance as the Teutonic, Sclavic, Italic, Greek, Persian, Hindoostanee,
and others, are descendants from a common ancestor. These people are
called, collectively, Aryans. They were the ones who drove the Turanians
out of the fairest portions of Europe. Though they appeared at a late
date, they have filled the most important places in history, and the
civilization of the world to-day is Aryan.

Now we must again form a mental picture of Neolithic Europe--after it
had been for a long time in the possession of the Turanian tribes,
the first band of Aryan invaders make their appearance. They must have
appeared somewhere near the south-eastern confines of Europe, but they
pressed forward to the western portion. They firmly seated themselves in
the western and central parts of Europe, driving out the Turanian tribes
who had so long possessed the land. They were themselves still in the
Neolithic stage of culture. But they probably did not long antedate
the knowledge of metals. Mr. Dawkins thinks that it caught up with
them before they arrived in Britain, and that they are the ones who
introduced bronze into that island. The Aryan tribe, who thus made their
appearance in Europe, are identified as the Celts of history.

The Neolithic Age thus drew to its close, but not all at once. It
disappeared first in the southern portion of Europe--from Greece and
Italy; but it lingered to a far later date in the north: among the
scattered tribes of Turanian people it would still assert its sway. Even
after metals were introduced, the cheapness and abundance of stone would
cause it to be used, among the poorer people at least. But finally this
culture gives way to a higher one in Europe--though it still survived in
portions of Asia, the Isles of the Pacific, and in America. We can but
reflect on the difference between the two ages of stone. The former ends
amidst Arctic scenes--and, in the darkness that ensues, ages pass before
we again detect the presence of man. The Neolithic closes gradually,
everywhere giving way to a higher culture. We must not forget that our
present civilization owes much to our far away Neolithic ancestors. When
we reflect on the difficulties that had to be overcome before animals
could be profitably held in a domestic state, or cultivation of the
earth made profitable, we almost wonder that they succeeded in either
direction. Aside from these, we turn to them for the origin of trade,
navigation, and mining. No inconsiderable part of the battle of
civilization had thus been won.

REFERENCES

(1) The manuscript of this chapter was submitted to Prof. Chas.
Rau, of the Smithsonian Institution, for criticism.
(2) The Cave-men were, undoubtedly, considerably in advance of
the Men of the Drift. If we regard the two as but one race of
men, then the statement is not true. We have, however, given our
reasons for considering the Cave-men as a different race.
Hence the statement made above.
(3) Consult Geikie's "Prehistoric Europe," chapters on "British
Post-glacial and Recent Deposits."
(4) Lions still lived in Greece at the time of Herodotus.
See "Polymnia," vii, 125, etc.
(5) This last argument is drawn from Mr. Morgan's work. It is
well to state that his divisions are very far from being
accepted by all authorities.
(6) Morgan's "Ancient Society."
(7) Lubbock's "Prehistoric Times," p. 189.
(8) Figuier's "Primitive Man," p. 223.
(9) On lake settlements, consult Keller's "Lake Dwellings;"
Rau's "Early Man in Europe," chap. v; Sir John Lubbock's
"Prehistoric Times," chap. vi; Figuier's "Primitive Man,"
p. 218, _et seq._
(10) Figuier's "Primitive Man," p. 222.
(11) Dawkins's "Early Man in Britain," p. 270.
(12) Keller's "Lake Dwellings." Translated by Lee.
(13) Figuier's "Primitive Man," p. 153.
(14) General Lane Fox's "Hill Forts of Sussex," Archaeology,
vol. xvii.
(15) Dawkins's "Early Man in Britain," p. 267.
(16) Lubbock's "Prehistoric Times," p. 56.
(17) Mr. Dawkins's "Early Man in Britain," p. 274.
(18) Smithsonian Report, 1868.
(19) Lubbock's "Prehistoric Times," p. 103.
(20) Figuier's "Primitive Man," pp. 161-166.
(21) "Primitive Man," p. 171.
(22) Lubbock's "Prehistoric Times," p. 219.
(23) Dawkins's "Early Man in Britain," p. 268.
(24) These heaps are generally called
"kjokken-moddings"--meaning kitchen refuse.
(25) One mound is spoken of as being one thousand feet long, two
to three hundred feet wide, and ten feet high.
(26) On Danish Shell Mounds, consult Keary's "Dawn of History,"
p. 369, _et seq._; Lubbock's "Prehistoric Times," chap.
vii; Geikie's "Prehistoric Europe," pp. 365-9; Figuier's
"Primitive Man," pp. 129-134; Rau's "Early Man in Europe," pp.
108-113; Dawkins's "Early Man in Britain," pp. 309-305.
(27) Dawkins's "Early Man in Britain," p. 279.
(28) Figuier's "Primitive Man," pp. 147-150 and 154: Another
very important place was the Island of Rugen, in the Baltic Sea.
Rau's "Early Man in Europe," p. 137.
(29) "Proceedings American Antiq. Society, April, 1881," p. 286.
(30) Figuier's "Primitive Man," p. 262.
(31) See remarks of Prof. Rau on this subject ("Early Man in
Europe," pp. 128-9 and note.) Mr. Dawkins thinks it "probable
also that the art of weaving woolen cloth was known, although,
from its perishable nature, no trace of it has been handed down
to us." ("Early Man in Britain," p. 275.)
(32) Lubbock's "Prehistoric Times," p. 132.
(33) Lubbock's "Prehistoric Times," p. 130.
(34) On this subject consult Lubbock's "Prehistoric Times,"
chap. v.; Keary's "Dawn of History," p. 363-6; Geikie's
"Prehistoric Europe," p. 375; Dawkins's "Early Man in Britain,"
p. 284-9; Ferguson's "Rude Stone Monuments;" Figuier's
"Primitive Man," chap. iii.; Rau's "Early Man in Europe,"
p. 139; "Archaeology," Vol. XLII.
(35) "Human Species", p. 335.
(36) "Prehistoric Europe," p. 547.
(37) Dawkins's "Early Man in Britain," p. 310, note 3.
(38) Ibid., p. 314.
(39) Thurman, Virchow, Huxley, and others.
(40) Mr. Dawkins is inclined to view them as a remnant of the
Neolithic people. Whether our scholars will ultimately accept
his views, remains to be seen.
(41) Brace's "Races of the Old World," p. 82,
(42) Am. Encyclopedia, Art. Basque.
(43) Brace's "Races of the Old World," p. 82.
(44) Brace's "Races of the Old World," p. 82.
(45) "Pre-Adamites," p. 150.
(46) It is unnecessary to caution the reader, that, after all,
our knowledge of "prehistory" is vague. Prof. Virchow, who is
eminent authority on these points, thinks it not yet possible to
identify the prehistoric people of Europe; and good authorities
hold that the Turanian tribes just named are the remnants of
Paleolithic tribes, instead of Neolithic.
(47) Morgan's "Ancient Society," p. 39.
(48) The exceptions to this statement are the higher classes of
sedentary Indians, of which we shall treat in future pages.

Chapter VII

THE BRONZE AGE IN EUROPE.<1>

Races of Men, like Individuals--Gradual change of Neolithic Age to
that of Bronze--The Aryan family--First Aryans Neolithic--Origin of
Bronze--How Great discoveries are made--Gold the first metal--Copper
Abundant--No Copper Age--The discovery of Tin--Explanation of an
Alloy--Bronze, wherever found, the same Composition--What is meant
by the Bronze Age--Knowledge in other Directions--Gradual Growth of
Culture--Three Centers of Bronze Production--Habitations during
the Bronze Age--The Bronze Ax--Implements of Bronze--Personal
ornaments--Ornaments not always made of Bronze--Advance in Arts of
living--Advance in Agriculture--Warlike Weapons--How they worked
Bronze--Advance in Government--Trade in the Bronze Age--Religion of the
Bronze Age--Symbolical figures--Temples of the Bronze Age--Stonehenge.

It is with races of men as with individuals, the progressive growth
of youth soon reaches its limit and maturity of power. While it brings
greater strength, it has not the buoyancy of early years, so the manner
of life becomes fixed, and onward progress stops. They can then only
hope to hold on the even tenor of their way, happy if increasing years
do not bring again their childhood state. The Neolithic people entered
Europe early in the youth of the race which spread their civilization
over the globe, but the race to which they belonged appear to have
reached their zenith of development long ages ago, since which time,
whatever higher culture they have reached has been a gift to them by
other people. Their energies became exhausted, and for a long series of
years Europe was filled by the camps, lake villages and fortified places
of Neolithic times.

As to the absolute length of time during which they inhabited Europe, we
have no data to determine. Relatively, their sojourn, however long,
was but a short time compared to the duration of the old Stone Age. It
presents no such evidence of lapse of ages as can be observed in the
older deposits, yet we may be sure that it was for no inconsiderable
period.

The Paleolithic Age was apparently terminated in Europe by the cold
of the last glacial epoch. No such natural course put an end to the
Neolithic Age, but as the strong have an advantage over the weak, the
young over the old, so does a race young, undeveloped, or in the early
maturity of its powers, have an advantage over the older and more fixed
civilization with which it comes in contact. To understand the causes
which introduced into Europe the Bronze Age, we must refer to the Aryan
race and to Asia.

We have in the preceding chapter briefly mentioned the Aryan race. They
have so much to do with the higher culture of the Metallic Ages, that it
seems not out of place to refer once more to their origin. The
evidence goes to show that the ancient Aryans inhabited some portion of
South-western Asia. As a race or family, they appear to have been one
of the latest developed. Yet a record of their progress is a record of
civilization.

Unless we reflect, we are liable to be misled by the expression, recent
development. The Hindoos, one of the latest members of this family, were
in India several thousand years before Christ.<2> But however far back
we trace them, we find them in possession of metals. Aside from this,
we know that before the different Aryan tribes had commenced their
migration (with the exception, however, of the Celts), while they formed
but one mass of people, they worked some of the metals.<3> They could
have acquired this knowledge only after the passage of many years, when
they were ignorant of it. This bespeaks a profound antiquity for the
Aryan family.

As we have seen, Europe, while yet inhabited by Neolithic people, was
invaded by a branch of the Aryans. We do not know the date of this
invasion, yet it must have been an early date, since the Celts separated
from the Aryans before the use of metals. The Aryans have ever been
noted as an aggressive people, and under different names have, in modern
times, carried victorious arms in all quarters of the globe. This
is equally characteristic of the primitive Aryans. Though it is not
apparent that they possessed any higher culture than the people who
already inhabited Europe, yet they everywhere triumphed over them and
possessed themselves of the fairest portion of the Neolithic domain,
driving the primitive inhabitants to those mountainous regions where
their descendants are found to-day.

It is not probable that the Aryan invaders waged exterminating war
against the Neolithic tribes. The evidence shows that there was
considerable mingling of the two races. It has been suggested, however,
that the Neolithic people who were not driven away were reduced to
slavery.<4> However that may be, the remains of the two people are found
side by side in chambered tombs and sepulchral caverns, showing that
they dwelt together in the same area. As before remarked, the Aryan
invaders are identified as the Celts. That it was relatively late in the
Neolithic Age when they made their appearance, is shown by the fact that
they had only reached the English Channel when a knowledge of bronze
caught up with them.

We must now endeavor to learn the origin of bronze. The impulsive
energies of this newer race found vent not only in conquest over the
neighboring tribes, but it is extremely probable that they are the ones
who first compelled nature to yield up her metallic stores to be of
service to man. If the knowledge of fire was the starting point of human
advancement, surely the knowledge of metals, their useful properties,
and how to extract them from their ores, may lay claim to being the
starting point of our present enlightenment. We have but to glance
around us to see how many of our daily comforts are dependent on the use
of metals. Should we, by any mischance, become deprived of the use of
iron, or of the useful alloys, bronze and brass, our civilization would
be in great danger of reverting to Savagism. Man, destitute of metals,
can do but little to improve his surroundings; but grant him these, and
victory over his environment is secured.

We can not retrace the exact steps of this beautiful discovery; we are
not sure to what family it is to be ascribed. Perhaps not to any one
alone. Nature may have taken her children by the hand, and kindly
guided their feeble steps in the line of experiments leading up to this
knowledge, and, finally, one family, more fortunate than the others,
succeeded in the attempt. All great discoveries have been approached
in different directions, by different people. No sooner is it made than
this fact appears, and people widely separated by time and place are
found to be on the verge of the same great truth. It was probably so at
the discovery of metallurgy.

The Turanian tribes, who had so long inhabited Europe, were suddenly
confronted by the victorious hosts of the Celts, the vanguard of the
Aryans, the precursors of a higher culture. The movements of these
primitive people could not fail to have a great effect on the human
mind. It would become alert, keen, and active. Such was the state of
ancient society when a knowledge of bronze was introduced--a discovery
which consigned stone, hitherto the substance most commonly made use of
to advance human interests, to a subordinate position, and opened up for
man the exhaustless mineral stores of nature.

It is suggested by some that gold was the first metallic substance
employed. Its glittering particles would attract the attention of
primitive man, and little articles of ornament were early manufactured
from it. To be sure, the supply was very limited; but what there was
would serve the useful purpose of imparting to men some idea of metallic
substances. Portions of it falling in the fire might have suggested
the idea of smelting and of molding--might, at least, have lead to
experiments in that line. The supply of gold existing in a native
state is so small, that no use could have been made of it except for
ornaments.

Iron, we know, is the most abundant mineral. But it is very rare in a
native state, and its ores have nothing distinguishing about them,
and so it is not strange that another metal received the attention of
primitive man. That metal was probably copper. It is often found in a
pure state in nature. In the Michigan mines of our own country, masses
of pure copper many tons in weight have been discovered.<5> No such
rich deposits are found in the Old World; but considerable quantities of
native copper were obtained, and it was by no means a rare metal. Copper
possesses several qualities that would attract attention. It is quite
malleable; that is, it can be easily hammered into shape. We can imagine
the surprise of the old stone-workers at finding a stone that, instead
of breaking or splitting, could be hammered into shape. By accident, or
otherwise it would be learned, in time, that it could be melted. This
would lead to the idea of molding.

If the above process were followed out, there would be a real Copper Age
preceding that of Bronze: no trace of such an age has yet been detected
in Europe. "But there is, however, every reason for believing, that, in
some parts of the world, the use of native copper must have continued
for a lengthened period before it was discovered that the addition of a
small portion of tin not only rendered it more fusible, but added to its
elasticity and hardness."<6> The absence of a Copper Age in Europe would
imply that the art of manufacturing bronze was discovered in some other
locality.

Copper by itself is so soft that it would not be of much use to man,
except the experience they would gain of melting and molding. In our own
country the aboriginal inhabitants were well acquainted with copper,
and even knew how to mold it. Yet, except as just pointed out, it is not
probable that it exerted any marked influence on their development.<7>
In the old world supplies of native copper are limited, and
recourse must be had to the ores of copper. Now these ores, such as
copper-pyrites, are nearly always of a bright color, and as such would
attract the attention of primitive man. They might suspect that these
bright colored ores contained copper from finding similarly colored ores
in connection with native copper, in fact passing from one form to the
other. But it requires no little skill to reduce the ores of copper;
and, when obtained, for reasons just pointed out, it would not be of
great utility. But primitive man was thus cautiously and experimentally
feeling his way to a knowledge of metallurgy.

All the evidence obtainable goes to show that tin was known as early as
copper, or at least soon after. Its ores though not striking on
account of their color, are on account of their great weight. It is
comparatively easy to reduce it from its ores. It is quite widely
distributed over the earth. It often occurs in the gravels of rivers,
where, as we have already mentioned, primitive men must have, at a
very early date, sought for gold. Owing to their weight, the gravel
of tin-stone would remain behind with the gold when it was washed. "In
process of time its real nature might have been revealed by accident;
and, before the eye of the astonished beholder, the dull stone, flung
into the fire, became transfigured into the glittering metal."<8>

When two metals come together in a molten state, they often form, not
a mixture of the two, part copper and part tin, for example, but a
new compound, different from either, called an alloy. Copper is, so
to speak, a sociable metal, and readily unites with many different
metals--amongst others with tin, when it forms bronze, the article that
marks a new state in the history of primitive culture. It seems to us
strange that an alloy, a combination of two different metals, should
have been the first used by man, and not a simple metal like iron. Such,
however, is the fact of the case; and we have tried to point out the
probable steps which led up to the invention of bronze. We can scarcely
comprehend the difficulties which attended the labors of the primitive
metal-workers. There were no books containing the wisdom of many, from
which the investigator could draw his stores of knowledge. and the only
way that knowledge could be disseminated was by word of mouth.

Now, when one man makes an important step in a discovery, hundreds of
earnest workers, some, perhaps, in distant places, are quickly made
aware of the fact, and extend its scope, or point out its imperfections,
and thus hasten on the desired end. Then, each individual, or community,
must, of necessity, have commenced at the beginning, and the discoveries
made would hardly be perpetuated in the memory of others. There were
so many obstacles to be overcome before a knowledge of bronze could be
acquired, in the then existing state of human knowledge, that it must
ever remain a source of wonder to us, at the present day, that it was
invented at all.

We may picture to ourselves the ancient copper-worker, after numerous
experiments, guided by some good genius, finally hitting on some process
by which, from his mass of ore, he extracted a nearly pure piece of
copper. Having learned how to reduce these ores, there are many ways in
which it might have been found that a mixture of the two metals would
form a new compound of greatly increased value.

It must have taken a long course of experiments to determine what
proportions of each metal to use to make the best bronze. It is
interesting to know that these early workers had learned the proportions
of each to use, not varying a great deal from the results of modern
research--that is, from ten to twelve per cent of tin. Bronze relics,
no matter where obtained, whether in the Old or the New World, do
not widely depart from this standard, and such instances as do would
probably denote that the supply of tin became short. This uniformity of
composition would imply that the art of making bronze was discovered in
one place, from which it gradually spread over the globe.

This fact is a key to the culture of the Bronze Age. Widely separated
communities, destitute of a knowledge of metals, would instinctively
make use of stone. In this case uniformity of type would not imply
community of knowledge. But a knowledge of metals is altogether
different. It is wonder enough that one community should have hit on
the invention of bronze. The chance would be against its independent
discovery in widely separated areas. They would be more apt to chance
on the production of some other metal. Thus; tribes in the interior of
Africa are said to have passed direct from the Stone to the Iron Age, a
knowledge of bronze not having been carried to them.

We are thus able to form a true conception of the Bronze Age. It did
not prevail over the world at the same time. Indeed, as we shall
subsequently see, there is every reason to suppose it spread very
slowly, and that it still lingered in Central and Northern Europe long
after its use had been abandoned for that of iron in the South. Neither,
when it was first introduced, did it put a stop to the use of stone.
It was necessarily costly, and on its first appearance in a country,
brought hither by trade, could only be afforded by rich and powerful
chiefs and warriors. As time advanced, and they learned to make it
cheaper, and each country took up its separate manufacture, it would
gradually supersede stone. But bronze was never cheap enough to drive
out the use of stone altogether. This only occurred when the art of
working iron was discovered.

We shall learn that the knowledge of bronze, while a very important
and distinguishing phase of culture of the Bronze Age, was not its only
characteristic. It was distinguished by the arrival and spread of the
Aryan races, by a great extension of commerce, by more refinements in
the comforts of life, by the increasing strength of government, which in
after ages flowered out in the mighty nations of antiquity, and rendered
historic, civilization possible.

Some facts stand out with great prominence. The origin of this culture
is lost in the very night of time. We may be sure that it goes back to a
profound antiquity, and that it extended over a long series of years.

It is evident there was no great and sudden change from the culture of
the Stone Age to that of Bronze. It was as if the darkness of night had
given place to the roseate light of dawn, to be shortly followed by the
full day of historic times. It was probably introduced by trade. The
articles introduced in this way would consist of simple implements,
weapons, and ornaments. Following after the trade would be found the
smelter with his tools, and, where the conditions were favorable, local
manufactories would be set up. But this home industry would not prevent
importation of more pretentious articles from abroad. This would account
for the rich collections of shields, swords, and golden cups found in
Denmark that betray an Etruscan origin.

Investigations of recent scholars show that the bronze of the early
Bronze Age came from Asia Minor. Subsequently there were three great
centers of bronze production, each having certain styles. These were
the Russian on the east, the Scandinavian on the north, and the
Mediterranean on the south. If this view be correct, bronze must have
been in use in the South of Europe long before it was in the North.
This view of the introduction of bronze is, we think, that of the best
scholars in Europe. Others, however, think bronze was brought in by the
invasion of the Aryan tribes. Mr. Keary says: "The men of the Bronze
Age were a new race, sallying out of the east to dispossess the older
inhabitants, and if, in some places, the Bronze men and the Stone men
seem to have gone on for a time side by side, the general characteristic
of the change is that of a sudden break."<9> We have shown that it was
carried to England by an invasion, and it was, perhaps, so introduced
into Denmark, but in other countries of Europe by trade.<10>

Let us now see what change in the home life, in the culture of the
people, would be brought about by the use of bronze. We must reflect
that we are not to deal with some new race, but with the same race that
inhabited Europe at the close of Neolithic times. The people who had
triumphed over nature with their implements of stone were now put in
possession of weapons and implements of greatly increased efficiency.
The results could not fail to advance their culture. We would not expect
any great change in the houses. They would, however, be much better
built. The metallic tools were certainly a long ways ahead of the best
stone implements. With the aid of metallic axes, knives, saws, gouges,
and chisels, their cabins could be increased in size and appearance.
They still built settlements over the lakes, but the Bronze Age
settlements were more substantially built, and placed farther out from
shore. Fortified places were still numerous; the remains of thousands
of them of this age have been found in Ireland. But the forests were
cleared, wild animals disappeared, society became more settled, and we
may be sure that an increasing number of little hamlets were scattered
over the country.

Caves were resorted to during this epoch only in times of danger. One at
Heathbury Burn, in England, contained portions of the skeletons of
two individuals, surrounded by many articles of bronze and a mould for
casting bronze axes. It is not difficult to read the story. In some time
of sudden danger workers in bronze fled hither with their stores, but
owing to some cause were unable to escape the death from which they were
fleeing, and their bodies with their mineral stores, were lost to
sight until the modern explorer made them a subject of scientific
speculations.<11>

Illustration of Bronze Axes--First Form.-----------

The most important implement was the ax. Our civilization has originated
from many small things. It is difficult to overestimate the importance
of the ax in advancing civilization. The stone axes, easily blunted and
broken, could have made but little impression on the vast forests of
pine, oak, and beech, covering the greater part of Britain and the
continent in the Neolithic Age. Clearings necessary for pasture and
agriculture must unquestionably, then, have been produced principally
by the aid of fire. Under the edge of the bronze ax clearings would be
rapidly produced, pasture and arable land would begin to spread over the
surface of the country; with the disappearance of the forests the wild
animals would become scarce, hunting would cease to be so important,
agriculture would improve, and a higher culture inevitably follow. "When
first the sound of the woodman's ax was heard in the forests of the
north, the victory of man over his natural environments was secured, and
the forest and morass became his forever."<12>

The bronze ax was used for a great variety of purposes, not only as an
ax, but as chisel, hoe, etc. As might be expected, the oldest axes were
simply modeled after the stone ones. The preceding cut represents these
simple forms.

They were inserted into the handle much the same as they did the stone
axes. It never occurred to these ancient workers to cast the axes with a
hole in them for the handle.

Illustration of Bronze Axes--Second Form.------Illustration of Bronze
Axes--Third Form.--------

The above cut represents the second form of the ax. The trouble with the
first was that much usage would inevitably split the handle. To remedy
this, a stop or ridge was raised across the celt, and the metal and the
wood were made to fit into one another. The small figure illustrates
this method of hafting. It would be quite natural to bend the sides of
this second form around, and thus would arise a third form in which the
handle was let into a socket, of which we also give a cut. As a general
thing, bronze axes were plain, but they were sometimes ornamented with
ridges, dots, and lines.

In addition to axes, they of course had many other implements of bronze.
Chisels were made much the same as at present, except that the handle
fitted into a socket. A few hammers have been discovered in the Swiss
lake villages. Bronze knives of different styles and sizes were quite
numerous. The workmanship on them is generally skillful. They were, as
a rule, fitted into a handle of bone, horn, or wood, and the blade was
nearly always carved. In some cases the knives also ended in a socket
into which the handle fitted.<13>

Illustrations of Chisel, Hammer and Bronze Knives.-------

In matters of personal ornament, the men and women of the Bronze Age
were as willing to make use of artificial helps as their descendants
to-day, and no doubt fashion was quite as arbitrary in her rule then as
now. Among some savage nations the dressing of the hair--especially of
the men--is carried to a very elaborate pitch.<14> In this respect,
some of the dandies of the Bronze Age certainly excelled. They evidently
built up on their heads a great pyramid of hair; in some cases large
enough to allow of the use of hair-pins two feet long. Of course such a
structure as this was intended to last a life-time. So careful were
they of this head-dress that they used a crescent-shaped pillow of
earthenware, so that it might not be disturbed when they slept. Dr.
Keller, who first described these crescent-shaped articles, thought they
were religious emblems of the moon. He may be right, as the matter is
not yet decided, but some think they were the pillows in question. At
first thought this would seem absurd, but when we learn of the habits of
the natives of Abyssinia and other savage races, we cease to wonder.

Illustrations of Crescent, Bracelet, and Hair-pin.--------

In speaking of the ornaments of the Bronze Age, a caution is necessary,
because ornaments of bronze may belong to any age. Bracelets and
rings have been quite numerous. The bracelets vary much in shape,
are decidedly artistic in workmanship, and often set off with carved
designs. Some of this shape are composed of a single ring of varying
width, the ends of which almost meet and terminate by a semicircular
clasp; others are a combination of straight or twisted wires ingeniously
joined to one another. "Some of these ornaments remain even up to the
present day in a perfect state of preservation. In an urn from one of
the lake settlements six specimens were discovered, the designs of which
appeared quite as clearly as if they had only just been engraved."<15>

We are called on to notice one important point in reference to these
bracelets and rings. That is, they are so small they could scarcely be
worn nowadays; a fact leading us to infer that the people must have been
of small size. It has also been noticed that the handles of the swords
are smaller than would be convenient for soldiers now. Some ornaments of
bronze were worn as pendants. For this purpose they were provided with a
circular hole, and were probably worn suspended around the neck.

Illustration of Bronze Pendants.-------

Ornaments were not always of bronze. Necklaces were sometimes made of
amber, and gold beads were quite common. We give a cut of both. They
are from burial mounds of this age in England. We remember the
ornamentations on implements in the Paleolithic Age was by engraving
animal forms. In the Neolithic Age they seem to have cared very little
for ornamenting. During the Bronze Age the ornamentation was of a simple
but pleasing and uniform style. It consisted of simple geometrical
patterns, combination of circles, dots, and straight lines. In this next
figure we have given the principal designs found in France.

Illustration of Necklace and Beads.---------

In the arts of living an increase in culture is noticeable. We have
seen that in Neolithic times they were acquainted with the use of the
distaff. In the Bronze Age they manufactured woolen cloth. We have but
few specimens of this cloth, because it is under only very exceptional
circumstances that woolen fabrics can be preserved for any great length
of time. From examinations of burial mounds of this period, it would
appear that the better class of people were clad in linen and woolen.
Probably the use of the skins of animals for dress purposes was mostly
discontinued during this age. Woolen cloaks of this period have been
found in Denmark, though probably dating from near the close.

Illustration of Ornamental Designs.---------------

In agriculture we detect only such advances as improved implements would
suggest. They used the sickle in gathering in the harvest. We find no
implements which we are sure were used for agricultural purposes. Yet
they must have had some means of preparing the ground for the cereals.
The day of wild animals was gone. In the lake settlements of this age
the domestic animals outnumbered the wild species.<16>

Illustration of Bronze Sickle.-----------

During this age the horse was used for riding and driving, and oxen were
used for plowing.

The proof of this fact is certain sketches found in Denmark. But the use
of bronze in that country continued after iron had been introduced in
the south of Europe. Pottery was more carefully made--though the wheel
for turning it was not yet introduced. The shapes were varied and
elegant; sometimes, instead of having a flat base, they came to a point
below--in which case they had to be placed in a support before they
could stand upright. Nearly all the pottery bears the ornamentation
peculiar to the Bronze Age--that is, straight lines, dots, etc.

Illustration of Clay Vessel and Support.-----------

During this age, the inhabitants were as much given to war and conquest
as any rudely civilized people: we, therefore, meet with remains of
their weapons. The principal ones were swords, daggers, spear-heads,
and arrows. The swords are always more or less leaf-like in shape,
double-edged, sharp-pointed, and intended more for stabbing and
thrusting, rather than cutting. No hand guards were used.

Illustration of Bronze Weapons.-----------------

Sometimes the handles were fastened to the swords by means of rivets;
and, at other times, the handle was plaited with wood or bone. They are
of different lengths, intermediate between the sword and the dagger. It
is doubtful whether they made use of shields.

Bronze shields are, indeed, found; but, from the ornaments and other
circumstances they are generally considered to belong to the Iron Age:
for we shall subsequently learn that the introduction of iron did not
prevent the continued use of bronze. The bow was well known; and this
must have necessitated the use of arrows. Some bronze arrows have been
found; but a flint arrow is nearly as serviceable as bronze, and much
cheaper, so we may be sure they were more common. They also employed
spears and javelins, and the bronze heads of these weapons are found in
various places. The invading Celt found many camps and fortified places
already in existence, and continued them in use after the original
occupant had been driven away.

Illustration of Mold.---------------

As we have spent some time in learning the different objects
manufactured out of bronze, it may be of interest to learn somewhat of
their methods of working bronze. We have already stated how the amateur
worker in bronze would follow on after the trader--and so the objects
of bronze would be made in all the countries of Europe. Molds have been
found in various places. This is a mold for casting the axes having a
socket in which to put the handle. It was found in the cave at Heathbury
Burn, already mentioned. None of the bronze objects were forged out, as
a smith forges out objects of iron--they were cast. In the absence
of steel, it would be almost impossible to cut bronze; hence it was
necessary to make the casting as nearly perfect as possible. Sometimes
the molds were cut out of stone, as in the figure just given. The molds
themselves were, in this case, difficult to make; besides, they could
scarcely be made so perfect as not to leave a little ridge, where the
two halves of the mold came together, which, as just explained, owing to
the absence of steel, it would be very difficult to remove. In process
of time they discovered an easier way of making the molds, that employed
at the present day--that is, by the use of sand. The ridge would still
remain, and is to be plainly seen on specimens of ancient bronze.

To overcome the difficulty just mentioned, they invented a third method
of casting, which displays great ingenuity. A model of the object
desired was made of wood or wax, and inclosed in prepared earth mixed
with some inflammable material, in order that, when subjected to heat,
it might become porous. The whole was then heated until the wax or wood
disappeared. The mold was then ready for use. The great advantage of
this method was that there were no projecting lines of junction to
disfigure the complete implement. This seems to have been the most
common method employed. This explains the fact, that we seldom find any
two bronze objects exactly similar to one another. Any impression left
on the wax model would be faithfully reproduced. Marks of the spatula,
with which the wax was worked, are frequently found; and, in one case,
the impression of the human finger was observed.<17>

A people as highly cultured as those of the Bronze Age must have had
some system of government, and one that was a sensible advance over
the government of the Neolithic people. In the Neolithic Age it was,
doubtless, tribe against tribe. Confederacies, the union of several
tribes for common purpose of defense, must have been more common at this
age.<18> The first Aryan tribes to arrive in Europe, as we have seen,
were the Celts. In time, they had to withstand the pressure of invasion
themselves. The Belgae, and other Germanic tribes, were also on the
move. But war at this period would partake more of the nature of people
against people, than of tribe against tribe. The civil and the military
departments of government must have taken more definite shape, and we
are not without evidence of fairly organized and disciplined forces. As
early as two thousand eight hundred years before Christ, the sea-coast
people of Europe, while yet in the Bronze Age, allied their forces for
the conquest of Egypt.<19>

We have referred to the influence of trade in shaping civilization. It
is commerce that to-day is carrying civilization to remote corners of
the globe. Long before the dawn of history, it was an active agent
in advancing culture. It is important to note the great expanse of
commerce, both inland and marine, which prevailed during the Bronze Age.
An important article of trade was, of course, bronze. The people who
first learned the secret of its manufacture would speedily find a demand
for their wares from surrounding tribes, and we have already pointed out
how this trade would quickly give rise to local manufactures. But, to
produce bronze, we know tin is just as necessary as copper--and all the
countries of Europe are not provided with these metals; so more or less
trade would inevitably take place. In various ways the stores of the
bronze merchant might be lost, and only revealed in after years by
accident. One of these deposits, found in France, is evidently the store
of a merchant or trader from Etruria to the tribes of the north and
west, and so gives us a quite vivid idea of the trade of that early
time. It consisted of over four hundred articles of bronze, "comprising
knives, sickles, lance-heads, horse-bits, rings, buttons, pendants, and
bracelets."<20>

As an article of adornment, amber was highly prized, not only by the
people of Europe during the Bronze Age, but also by the people of
the preceding Neolithic Age. This caused a trade to spring up which
certainly did its share in enlightening the people. The main supply must
have been obtained from the shores of the Baltic. That the trade was of
importance is evidenced by the fact that amber has been found scattered
over Europe in the tombs of the Neolithic and Bronze Ages.

We have given a passing glance at the religion of each age we have
examined. It must be confessed that great uncertainty hangs over the
results. From a close examination of their industries, we can
gather considerable as to the home life and general enlightenment of
prehistoric times. A knowledge of religious belief is gathered mainly
from a study of their burial customs. This is a very important part of
our investigation, because a religious belief is one of the exponents of
the culture of a people.

We have seen that in the Neolithic Age the dead were buried surrounded
by implements, weapons, and ornaments for use in the future life. The
descendants of these people throughout Europe, even in the Bronze Age,
would still continue this custom. The implements buried with the body
were more often of stone than bronze. We must constantly bear in mind
that bronze was costly. This will explain its absence in many cases. It
is interesting to note in this connection that these are "cases in which
it is evident that flint implements were deposited in graves rather in
deference to ancient customs than because they were still in every-day
use."<21> We also notice that during this age, often the objects placed
in the graves were, from their shape, obviously not intended for daily
use. This would clearly indicate that the popular mind became impressed
with the fact that these votive offerings, however freely given, could
be of no assistance to the departed, but they still continued the custom
because it was sanctioned by usage of past years.

But the dead were not always buried during the Bronze Age, nor, indeed,
as a general rule. The invading race doubtless brought with them a new
religion. Many of the ornamentations on their swords, vases, and other
articles, are supposed by some writers to be religious symbols. From the
frequent occurrence of the circle, and combinations of circles, it
has been suggested that they worshiped the sun. And the occurrence of
customs observable even at a late day, in various portions of Europe, as
pointed out by Prof. Nelson, show that the worship of the fire-god, or
the sun, was once widely extended in Europe.<22> On this point we are
further told: "That even as late as the time of Canute the Great,<23>
there is a statute forbidding the adorement of the sun and the
moon."<24> So it is not strange that in the new faith a different method
of burial would be followed. That was by cremation. "The dead were
burned, were purified by being passed through the fire along with their
possessions."<25> The ashes was then gathered together and placed in
urns and burial mounds and barrows. The votive offerings of flint and
bronze articles in daily use were also thrown in the fire, and their
burnt remains placed with the other ashes in the burial urn. The cut is
that of a bell-shaped barrow of the Bronze Age.

Illustration of a Burial Mound.-----------------

We have just seen what inferences have been drawn from the use of the
circle as an ornament. This is not the only sign that has been thought
to have some symbolical meaning. The cross was also used as an ornament,
and possessed probably some religious significance. A third figure which
has caused some discussion was the triangle. "It is, on the whole, very
probable that all these signs, which are not connected with any known
object, bear some relation to certain religious or superstitious ideas
entertained by the men of the Bronze epoch, and, as a consequence of
this, that their hearts must have been inspired with some degree of
religious feeling."<26>

Illustration of Avebury Restored.-------------

We have mentioned the use of stone circles in Neolithic times. During
the Bronze Age they built the circle very large, sometimes twelve
hundred feet in diameter, and they were sometimes made of earth. These
circles are regarded by some<27> as being simply burial places, and many
of them have been proved to be such. But others regard them as temples,
meaning thereby not a building, in our sense of the word, but a place of
sanctity, and probably where some form of worship was held. Even if we
allow that they were originally tombs in every case, it does not follow
that they have not also been temples, for the religious sentiment
has, in all ages, and in all places, tended to center in tombs, which
ultimately have become places of worship. Many of our Christian Churches
have originated in this manner, and it is a most obvious transition from
the tomb to the temple. The worship of the spirits of the dead at the
one would naturally grow into the worship of the Great Unknown in the
other.<28>

The preceding cut is a restoration of one of the largest of these
temples. Here we see a circle twelve hundred feet in diameter, of
upright stones, guarded by both a ditch and embankment. From the two
openings in the embankment formerly extended two long winding avenues of
stone. Between them rises Silbury Hill, the largest artificial mound in
Great Britain, being one hundred and thirty feet high. The area of the
large inclosure was about twenty-eight and a half acres. This was a
temple of no inconsiderable size. It was, of course in ruins when the
earliest account of it was written, and we can only speculate as to the
lapse of time since it was venerated as a place of worship.

Stonehenge, on Salisbury Plain, is a better known ruin, though not on as
large a scale as at Avebury. The cut gives us a restoration of it. The
outer circle of standing stones is one hundred feet in diameter, and
when entire consisted of one hundred stones. These are of sandstone, and
were obtained in the vicinity. A course of stone was laid along the top.
We notice within a smaller circle of stone. The material of these stones
is such that we know they must have come from a distance. Mr. James
tells us that they are erratic--that is, bowlders brought from the North
of Scotland by the glaciers--and that others of the same kind are still
to be seen lying around the country.<29> But the more common opinion
is that they were brought there by the people from a distance, perhaps
Cornwall or the Channel Islands. If this be true, it is evidence of a
strong religious feeling, and a peculiar value must have been attached
to the material, since for any ordinary monument the stones in the
neighborhood would have sufficed. Still nearer the center were five
groups of three great stones each, and immediately within these a
horseshoe of smaller stones. Finally, near the head of the horseshoe,
a great slab of sandstone is supposed to have served for an altar. The
date of the two structures just described has been a matter of some
dispute.

Illustration of Stonehenge Restored.--------

It is worthy of notice that in the immediate neighborhood of both of
them are found a great number of barrows of the Bronze Age. Over three
hundred were erected in the neighborhood of the latter. In the opinion
of many this fixes their date in the Bronze Age. Stonehenge, in its
ruined state, has formed the subject of no little speculation. Modern
explorers, in connecting it with the Bronze Age, have not dispelled from
it the enchantment of mystery. We must ever wonder as to the nature
of the rites there observed. Our questionings meet with but feeble
response; for though we have learned somewhat of past times, it is
comparatively but little. Ruined columns, crumbling burial mounds, and
remains of stone and bronze will always be surrounded with more or less
mystery--a striking illustration that science is able to dispel but
little of the darkness which unnumbered years have thrown around the
culture of the past.

Illustration of Ancient Tower, Scotland.-----------

REFERENCES

(1) The manuscript of this chapter was submitted to Prof. Chas.
Rau, of the Smithsonian Institution for criticism.
(2) Brace's "Races of the Old World," p. 60.
(3) Brace's "Races of the Old World," p. 61.
(4) Dawkins's "Early Man in Britain," p. 343.
(5) "One mass estimated to weigh two hundred tons." Dana's
"Manual of Mineralogy," p. 291.
(6) Evans's "Ancient Bronze Implements," p. 2.
(7) Rau's "Anthropological Subjects," p. 89. In his preface to
this collection he asserts his belief, that "former inhabitants
of North America, notwithstanding all assertions to the
contrary, were unacquainted with the art of melting copper."
Ibid., vii.
(8) Dawkins's "Early Man in Britain," p. 401.
(9) "Dawn of History," p. 367.
(10) For an excellent discussion of this subject, about which
there is yet much uncertainty, we would refer the reader to
Evans's "Ancient Bronze Implements," chap. xxii.
(11) Dawkins's "Early Man in Britain," p. 355.
(12) Dawkins's "Early Man in Britain," p. 350.
(13) "Prehistoric Times," p. 34.
(14) "Early Man in Britain," p. 351.
(15) Figuier's "Primitive Man," p. 255.
(16) Rau's "Early Man in Europe," p. 135, and note.
(17) Lubbock's "Prehistoric Times," p. 39.
(18) Morgan's "Ancient Society," pp. 119, 120.
(19) Dawkins's "Early Man in Europe," p. 449.
(20) Dawkins's "Early Man in Britain," p. 383.
(21) Lubbock's "Prehistoric Times," p. 157.
(22) Lubbock's "Prehistoric Times," p. 74.
(23) A.D., 995-1035.
(24) Ferguson's "Rude Stone Monuments."
(25) Dawkins's "Early Man in Britain," p. 367.
(26) Figuier's "Primitive Man," p. 283.
(27) Ferguson's "Rude Stone Monuments."
(28) Dawkins's "Early Man in Britain," p. 377.
(29) James's "Stonehenge," p. 3.

Chapter VIII

THE IRON AGE IN EUROPE.

Bronze not the best metal--Difficulties attending the discovery of
Iron--Probable steps in this discovery--Where this discovery was first
made--Known in ancient Egypt--How this knowledge would spread--Iron
would not drive out Bronze--The primitive Iron-worker--The advance in
government--Pottery and ornaments of the Iron Age,--Weapons of
early Iron Age--The battle-field at Tilfenan--Trade of early Iron
Age--Invention of Money--Invention of Alphabetic Writing--Invasion of
the Germanic Tribes--The cause of the Dark Ages--Connection of these
three Ages--Necessity of believing in an extended past--Attempts
to determine the same--Tiniere Delta--Lake Bienne, British
Fen-beds--Maximum and Minimum data--Argument from the widespread
dispersion of the Turanian Race--Mr. Geikie's conclusions--The isolation
of the Paleolithic Age.

The introduction of bronze was the harbinger of better days to the
various tribes of Europe. Without metals it is doubtful if man would
ever have been able to raise himself from barbarism. His advance in
civilization has been in direct proportion to his ability to work
metals. As long as he knew how to work bronze only he could not hope for
the best results. The trouble was not in the metal itself, but in the
supply; for copper and tin, the constituents of bronze, are found only
in limited amounts. When we reflect on the multiplicity of purposes for
which some metallic substance is needed, we at once perceive that men
require a metal which can not only be worked cheaply, but must exist in
great abundance, so that the needs of a rich and varied culture may be
met.

The Divine Author of nature has stored away just such a metal, and in
such exhaustless quantities that it forms an ingredient in nearly all
soils, and flows away in the waters of many springs and rivers. It
exists in abundance in nearly every country of the globe, in some
forming veritable mountain masses. We refer to iron, the king of metals;
and when man had learned to reduce it from its ores he had taken the
first step in a new direction, the end whereof is yet far distant.

We have in the preceding chapter presented some reasons why copper would
be known before iron. In the first place, how were men to learn there
was such a thing as iron? Supposing its ores did occur in abundance,
there was nothing to attract attention to them. They were not of great
heft, like tin ore or of striking color, like the ores of copper. In the
hills, and under the foot of man, nature indeed had imprisoned a genius;
but there was no outward sign by which man was to divine his presence.
Copper, as we have seen, occurs frequently in a native form that is
ready for use, without reducing from its ores. Native iron, on the
contrary, is almost the rarest of substances, though it is reported
as occurring in one or two localities on the earth.<1> Almost the only
examples of native iron has been obtained from meteorites. Strange as it
may seem, these wanderers in space, which occasionally flame athwart
the sky, consist largely of pure iron; at least this is true of such
specimens as have from time to time been found on the earth's surface.
This supply is of course extremely limited, yet some Siberian tribes are
said to make knives from iron obtained in this manner.<2> Moreover the
evidence of language, as used by the ancient Greeks and Egyptians, would
imply the meteoric origin of the first known form of the metal.<3> But
though such accidental finds might prove the existence of another metal,
they would furnish no hint how to extract it from its ores, or indeed,
that it existed in the form of ores.

The prolonged schooling in metallurgy, which men received during the
Bronze Age, could not fail to give them many hints, and doubtless
accidental discoveries of metallic substances were made. We can conceive
how, by accident or design, iron ore, treated in a similar manner
to copper and tin ore, would leave behind a mass of spongy iron. The
difficulty would be in working it; for, as we have seen, they were
in the habit of casting their articles of bronze. But iron is very
difficult of fusion. It was a long while before they learned how to
do that. They had therefore to learn an entirely new art--that is, to
fashion their implements of iron by hammering the heated mass.

There is no reason to suppose that iron was first discovered in Europe.
Its spread has been from the east and south to the north and west.
It, in all probability, was discovered, like bronze, in Asia. Although
evidence, both archaeological and traditional, goes to show that
bronze was in use long before iron, yet iron has been known from time
immemorial. Explain it how we will, civilization and history follow
close after the knowledge of iron. Wherever the light of history first
falls on the nations of the Old World, we find them acquainted with
iron, but such knowledge, at least on the part of the Mediterranean
nations, does not long precede history, for at that early time, iron
was still a most precious metal. It was not yet produced in sufficient
quantities to take the place of bronze; hence the prehistoric Iron Age
was there but of short duration.

Among the early Egyptians iron was known, but was probably not very
common. There is on this subject some diversity of opinion; some
believing that at the very earliest historical period they were skilled
in working it, and employed it in all the affairs of life, but others
assure us that at the most ancient period they did not really use iron,
and that bronze was the metal employed for all ordinary purposes.<4>

A wedge of iron is said to have been found in a joint between the stones
of the great pyramid. Here, then, at the dawn of historic times iron
seems to be making its way among a bronze-using people. The ancient
Chaldeans employed iron as an ornament, but not for implements. With
them it was therefore a precious metal. Among the Assyrians, iron was
largely used, and at a comparatively early date. A careful study of the
poems of Homer shows that the Greeks of nearly three thousand years ago
had a knowledge of iron, though it was a highly prized metal. But to
the north of the Mediterranean the prehistoric Iron Age was of longer
duration.

We can readily see that a knowledge of iron would spread in much the
same way as did bronze. When first introduced, it would be rare and
costly, and so would be used sparingly. Bronze axes have been found with
the edge of iron. Afterwards, as it became more abundant, it would be
used altogether for cutting instruments and weapons, while bronze, being
more easily worked, would still be used for ornaments, brooches, etc. At
Hallstadt, in Austria, was discovered a cemetery which evidently belongs
to a time when iron was taking the place of bronze. In this case, the
implements of bronze are those forms which we have learned were produced
near the close of the Bronze Age. The iron implements are not those
forms best suited for that metal, but imitations of those of bronze.<5>
We remember when bronze was first introduced, the weapons were simply
copies of those forms already made in stone.<6>

We may suppose that a knowledge of iron would spread rapidly. The
knowledge of metallurgy necessary for the production of bronze was at
this time widely disseminated. It would require, therefore, but a hint
to start them in experiments. In the dissemination of this knowledge,
commerce, of course, played a most important part. Whenever the early
Greek and Roman writers have occasion to mention the arms of the less
civilized tribes of Europe, we learn they were of iron. This shows that
at a very early time this knowledge had spread all over Europe.<7>

It is scarcely necessary to remark that the use of iron would not drive
out the use of bronze. That would still be used for many purposes; and
even stone would continue in use, at least for some purposes. At the
battle of Marathon, arrow-heads and lances of stone were largely used.
We can easily understand how, by one of a number of causes, some rude
tribes, yet unacquainted with the use of metal, would come to occupy the
site of some settlement, the inhabitants of which had been in the Bronze
or Iron Age. This actually happened at ancient Troy, where the remains
of a stone-using folk have been found above those of a people using
metal. This, though an exception to the general rule, need give us no
surprise.

Iron manufacture at the present day, is one of our great industries. In
its present form it is the final development of an industry whose first
unfoldings we have now to glance at. That the first process man employed
to procure iron should have been very rude, is what we would expect.
Some of the partially civilized tribes of to-day may give us an insight
into the process employed. We are told that in Tartary each native makes
the iron he needs, just as every household would make its own bread. The
furnace is a very small affair, not holding more than three pounds of
ore. This is filled with ore and charcoal. The bellows are used, and
after the charcoal is all burned out, the result is a small piece of
spongy iron, which needs only repeated heating and hammering to be made
serviceable.<8> Primitive furnaces, on a somewhat larger scale, have
been discovered in Switzerland. Here the excavation was made in the side
of a hill, and a rude, dome-shaped chimney built over it.

We must not forget that our task ends where the historian's begins.
The use of iron did not long precede history, so we have but little to
describe as to the customs and manners of life during the prehistoric
Iron Age. A general advance in all the social arts must surely have
taken place. Improved tools, and more cheaply produced, could not fail
to advance man very materially in culture. Some lake settlements were
still in use as places of residence, but better means of protection than
water was now known--walled cities were in use, especially around the
Mediterranean sea.

Mr. Morgan has traced for us the evolution of government. At this early
date the Greek and Roman people were engaged in substituting for ancient
society the modern idea of government founded on territory.<9> The great
body of European tribes were now in the final stage of barbaric life.
Their system of government was doubtless the highest known to ancient
society--that of confederacies; the union of tribes speaking dialects of
the same language, for offensive and defensive purposes.

Illustrations of Ornaments and Gold Ornament.-----------

As characteristic of the advance of this epoch, we may mention the
appearance of pottery made on the potter's wheel, and baked in an
improved kind of furnace. Previous to this epoch all the pottery had
been moulded by hand and baked in an imperfect manner in the open air.
This may be thought to be but a small improvement. Our civilization,
however, depends upon small improvements. Only during the early part
of this age, while iron was scarce, and therefore valuable, would it
be used for the purpose of ornaments. Iron brooches have been found in
considerable quantities in the lake settlements. Bronze would still
be the principal article used for ornaments. The articles of bronze
manufactured play a great deal of skill. Nor was gold entirely
forgotten. The cap-shaped ornament of gold was found in Ireland. During
the Bronze age, as we have seen, there was no attempt made to represent
animal forms by way of ornaments; but we meet with such representations
during the early part of the Iron Age. This shows how they ornamented
the sheath of a sword found in one of the Swiss lakes.

Illustrations of Ornamental Sword-sheath and Swords.--------

The warriors of the early Iron Age possessed leaf-shaped swords for
stabbing. The hilts were of bronze. This period was a struggle for
existence, on the part of the various tribes of Europe. War must have
been very common, so it is not strange that a large number of relics
of this age are of warlike implements. Lance-heads, javelins, and
arrow-heads have been found in abundance. It appears, from experiments
ordered by the Emperor Napoleon III, that the javelins could only have
been used as missile weapons, and that they were thrown, not by the hand
merely grasping the shaft, but by means of a cord or thong, something
after the principle of a sling.<10>

Some years ago an old battle-field was discovered at Tiefenau, in
Switzerland. On it were found a great number of objects made of iron,
such as fragments of chariots, bits for horses, wheels, pieces of coats
of mail, and arms of various sorts, including no less than a hundred
two-handed swords. All of these were made of iron.<11> The soldiers
also carried with them shields, made sometimes of bronze, as in the cut
below, or of wood, studded with iron.

Illustrations of Lance-head and Javelin and Shields.----

There is evidence of considerable volume of trade at this time. The
Mediterranean was the theater of an extended commerce. Phoenician
sailors not only ventured to brave the Mediterranean sea, but carried
their vessels out on the Atlantic at as early a date as 500 B.C. The
or as it is known in modern times, Marseilles, was the seat of a
thriving trade. African ivory has been found in the tombs of Hallstadt,
in Austria, in connection with ornaments of amber from the Baltic, and
gold from Transylvania. The inhabitants of this town possessed in their
salt mines the source of a lucrative trade. The trader of the Iron Age
was able to take an immense stride by reason of the invention of money.
Heretofore, in Europe, we have not met with coins, and trade must have
been carried on by means of barter.

Illustration of a Gallic Coin.--------------

Acquainted as we are at the present day with money and the mechanism of
exchange, it is difficult to see how any extended trade could be carried
on without some unit of value, yet no coins are known earlier than the
Iron Age.<12> The most ancient coins known are Greek, and date back to
the eighth century before Christ. This coin is one found in one of the
lake settlements. It is made of bronze, and the figures are not stamped,
but obtained by melting and casting.<13> This, however, is not a Greek
coin, but a Gallic one. On the battlefield of Tiefenau, mentioned above,
several Greek coins, struck at Massilia, were found.<14>

It is scarcely necessary to point out, that though iron gives its name
to this age, it by no means follows that the only difference between
this and the Bronze Age is the use of iron. "The pottery is different,
the forms of the implements and weapons are different, the ornamentation
is different, the knowledge of metallurgy was more advanced, silver and
lead were in use, letters had been invented, coins had been struck."<15>
That wonderful invention, the phonetic alphabet, was made during the
early part of this age. The past was no longer simply kept alive in the
memory of the living, handed down by tradition and song. Inscriptions,
and monuments, and books abounded, and we are no longer confined to an
inspection of their handiwork, or examination of their habitations, and
explanation of ancient burial mounds for our knowledge of their life and
surroundings. It is no longer the archaeologists' collections, but the
writings of the historian that unfolds past times and customs.

Let us cast a glance at the condition of Europe at the dawn of history.
We have seen that in general terms the Bronze Age coincided with the
arrival and spread of the Celts, though the earlier Celts were still
Neolithic. The use of iron could scarcely have been inaugurated before
the innumerable hordes of the Germanic tribes, probably driven from
their Asiatic homes by the presence of invading people, were on the
march. The world has, perhaps, never witnessed such a movement of people
as convulsed Europe for several hundred years, beginning the second
century before Christ and continuing until the fall of the Western
Empire of Rome. The light of history dawns on a stormy scene in Europe.
The Celts confined to the Western portion had been largely subjected by
the Roman armies, but the largest portion of Europe held by the Germanic
tribes was the seat from whence assault after assault was made on the
Roman Empire, which at length, weakened by internal dissensions and
enervated by luxury, split in twain, and the western, and most important
part, fell before its barbarian foes.

The various tribes could not keep alive the civilization they had
overthrown. The wandering hordes of Germanic people could not easily
forget their former barbaric life, their marches of conquest, and
careers of pillage. But the claims of civilization, though light and
pleasant, are none the less imperative, and a people who seek her
rewards must form settled communities, develop public spirit, organize
government, and sink the individual in the public good. Not appreciating
these claims, it is not strange that the incipient civilization nearly
expired, and that the night of the Dark Ages enwrapt Europe. From out
that darkness, composed of the descendants of the people whose culture
we have been investigating, finally emerged the mediaeval nations of
Europe.

The review has been a pleasant one, for it is a record of progress.
The difference between the culture of the Neolithic and the Iron Age is
great, but it is simply a development, the result of a gradual growth.
Civilization and history have only hastened this growth. If we look
around us to-day we can trace the elements of our civilization back
through the eras of history, and though the faint beginning of some can
be noticed, yet many of them come down to us from prehistoric times. We
have treated of these early people in the three stages of culture known
as the Neolithic, Bronze, and Iron Ages. We have seen there is no hard
and fast line dividing the different stages of culture. To borrow the
words of another, these stages of progress, like the three principal
colors of the rainbow, overlap, intermingle, and shade off the one into
the other, and yet in the main they are well defined.<16>

We instinctively long to set bounds to the past, to measure it by the
unit of years. It affords us satisfaction to give dates for events long
since gone by. For any event in the domain of history, it is natural and
appropriate to gratify this desire. It gives precision to our thoughts,
and more firmly fixes the march of events. But the historical portion of
human life on the globe is but a small part of the grand whole. When
we pass beyond history, or into prehistoric times, we find ourselves
utterly at a loss as to dates.

We have referred in the preceding pages to the commonly accepted belief
of a few years ago, that, at most, a few thousand years express the
whole period of human life on the globe. This was supposed to be the
teaching of the Scriptures, but Infinite Wisdom left not only his word,
but he left an imperishable record of the past in rocky strata and
excavated valley, in dripping caves and mountain masses. When it
was seen that the claims of geology for a greatly extended past, one
transcending the powers of the human mind to conceive its length, could
no longer be successfully denied, then it was that earnest investigators
in the field of human antiquity could no longer shut their eyes to the
fact that if geological evidence were worth any thing, man must have
existed in the world for a far longer time than one covered by the brief
period hitherto relied on.

This truth is so patent and plain that it has received the unqualified
indorsement of the most learned scholars. Distinguished divines have
been amongst its able expounders, and instead of being in opposition to
the Bible, as already stated, the earnest reader finds in the periods of
the geologists unexpected confirmation of its truths. The evidence of
an extended past for man is not, however, wholly of a geological nature,
though these have been the ones principally relied on. The archaeologist
to-day summons to his aid the science of language, studies into the
origin of civilization and the comparison of the different races of
men, and derives from each and all of these concurrent testimony as to a
vast, shadowy, and profound antiquity for man, one stretching way beyond
the dawn of history, far into the very night of time.

As we have now spent some time in tracing out the culture of these early
ages, it may be well to see if there are any means at our command to
determine the absolute chronology of the various ages. At the very
outset of our inquiry, we shall perceive that we have no such class
of facts as guided our investigations into the age of the Paleolithic
remains. We have but to recall the situation in which the implements
of that age were found, always under such circumstances, that we see at
once that a great lapse of time has passed since they became imbedded
where found, and then the bones of the various extinct animals, found so
associated with the implements, that we are justified, even compelled,
to admit they occupied the same section of country, and then, from a
variety of causes, we are satisfied that they occupied Europe at the
close of the Glacial Age, if not for long ages before. All this gave us
a point of departure, and we have showed with what care scholars have
studied all questions relating to the date of the Glacial Age.

But aside from the fact that geology points out that a long time went by
after the close of the Glacial Age before Neolithic man arrived on the
scene, we are largely deprived of its aid in our investigations; for all
the various implements and specimens of the household industries, from
which we derive our knowledge of these latter ages, are found only
in surface deposits; that is, in the modern alluvia and silt of river
bottoms, in superficial deposits, in caves, and in peat-bogs; and even
in other instances where apparently deeply buried, as in the submerged
forest deposits of the British coasts, we know that, geologically
speaking, their age is recent.

But in spite of these difficulties, attempts have been made from time
to time to determine the absolute chronology of these ages. The results,
however, can only be considered as approximations of the truth. We will
call attention to some of these calculations. Their value to us consists
in showing us the methods by which this problem has been attacked, and
not in the results obtained. M. Morlot, of Switzerland, has sought to
determine this question by a study of the delta of the Tiniere, which
is a small river flowing into the lake of Geneva. Like all mountain
streams, it brings down considerable quantities of sediment, with which
it has formed a conical shaped delta. Cuttings for a railroad exposed
a fine section of this cone, and showed that at three different times
layers of vegetable soil, which must once have been its old surface were
found.

The lowest surface was some twenty feet beneath the present surface,
and here were found relics of the Stone Age. The second layer was at the
depth of ten feet, and contained relics of the Bronze Age. Finally the
first buried layer, three feet beneath the present surface, was found to
contain relics of the Roman Age. Obtaining from other data the time that
has elapsed since the deposits of the Roman layer, he readily calculates
the age of the Stone and Bronze layers. By this means he obtains for the
Bronze Age an antiquity of between three and four thousand years, and
for the Neolithic Age from five to seven thousand years.<17> M. Morlot
does not claim for his calculation more than approximate accuracy.<18>
But if we were to allow it a greater accuracy than its author claims,
it would still only show us that from a period of from five to seven
thousand years ago, tribes of stone using folks lived in Switzerland.
It tells us nothing as to their first appearance, or the total length of
this age.<19>

Other calculations of a similar nature have been made. The Lake of
Bienne, in Switzerland, has been gradually silting up along its margins
from time immemorial. About seven hundred and fifty years ago there
was an abbey built at one place on the then existing shore of the lake.
Since that time the gain of land has been about twelve hundred feet. A
considerable distance further up the valley are found the remains of a
lake settlement of the Stone Age. If the gain of land has been uniform,
it has not been far from seven thousand years since the lake washed
round the ancient settlement. Of course the land may have gained faster
at one time than at another, but from the general configuration of the
valley it is considered that its gain was regular.<20>

Mr. Skertchly, of the Geological Survey of England, has furnished still
another estimate, based on the growth of the Fen-beds on the east
coast of England. It is sufficient to state that he also arrives at an
estimate of about seven thousand years for the Neolithic period.<21> Now
these results are interesting, and their substantial agreement is, to
say the least, striking. We must remember, however, that none of them
are free from error. They may serve to clear up our thoughts on this
subject, but we notice they tell us nothing as to the beginning of the
Neolithic Age.

Abandoning the effort to obtain dates for the various ages, attempts
have been made to calculate the entire interval that has elapsed
since the close of the Glacial times, and thus set bounds to the first
appearance of Neolithic man. We briefly touched on this question in
determining the antiquity of the Paleolithic Age, and we say, as far as
this country was concerned, it was comparatively a recent thing, but as
for Europe, it must be at a very remote time. M. Quatrefages has called
our attention to two investigations in Europe, which, in order to
understand this question, we will now glance at. The waters of the
Rhone carry into Lake Geneva every year quantities of sediment. In other
words, from this and other sources, the lake is gradually being filled
up. Carefully calculating the amount carried into the lake in a year,
estimates have been made of the length of time it has taken the river to
fill up the lake as much as it has.

But in making this calculation the date arrived at was a maximum
one--that is, a point beyond which it is not reasonable to suppose the
time extended. These calculations gave as a result one hundred thousand
years. The meaning of this is that the time elapsed since the close of
the Glacial Age was something less than the number just stated. On the
other hand, a minimum date for this time has been obtained by estimating
the amount of erosion in the valley of the River Saone, in France.
From this we know that the time can not be less than seven thousand
years.<22>

It is, perhaps, doubtful whether we shall ever be able to obtain
satisfactory answers to these questions. From what we have repeatedly
seen of the slowness of development of primitive man, we do not doubt
but what the antiquity of Neolithic Man goes much farther back than
seven thousand years. When a naturalist finds in widely separated parts
of the world animals belonging to a common order, he is justified in
concluding that the order is a very ancient one. To illustrate,
the opossum belongs to an order of animals of which the only other
representatives are found in Australia and the neighboring islands.<23>
We are not surprised, therefore, to learn that this order was the
first to appear in geological time.<24> We think the rule is equally
applicable to races of men. We are told that the Turanian race, or, as
it is often named, the Mongoloid race, is a very widely scattered
one. Its representatives are found over the larger portion of Asia,
in Northern Europe, the islands of the Pacific; and they were the only
inhabitants of the New World at the time of the conquest.<25> This wide
dispersion would imply that they were one of the ancient races of the
world, and as such their antiquity must be far greater than the above
named number of years.

This point grows clearer when we see what light is afforded on this
subject by historical research. The Turanian people were in full
possession of Europe while yet the ancestors of the Hindoos and the
various European nations dwelt together as one people in Asia. As a
race they had grown old when the Celts commenced their wanderings. Egypt
comes before us as a powerful people, at a time at least as early as six
thousand years ago. Even at that time they had attained civilization.
But we need not doubt that there is a long series of years lying back
of that, during which this people were slowly advancing from a previous
condition of barbarism. The Egyptian people themselves are, in part at
least, descendants of a Turanian people that probably in former times
occupied the valley of the Nile and North Africa.<26>

Mr. Geikie has lately gone over the entire ground from the point of view
of a geologist. He ranges over a wide field, and appeals in support to
writers of acknowledged ability in all branches of learning.<27> Yet
the impression we gather from his writings is that of ill-defined, but
far-reaching antiquity, one necessary to account for the great climatic
and geographical changes which he shows us have taken place since the
Glacial Age. But he tells us that any term of years he could suggest
would be a mere guess. We can not do better than leave the matter here.
Perhaps as a result of the research of our present scholars, we may soon
have more precise results.

These closing essays have impressed on us clearly and distinctly the
isolation of the Paleolithic Age. When we reflect on its prolonged
duration, its remoteness in time, and its complete severance from the
Neolithic and succeeding ages, we are almost ready to wonder whether
they were indeed human beings. But beginning with the Neolithic Age,
we come to our own era. This primitive culture seems to have been
the commencement of our own culture, and so the industries, household
implements, and weapons of these ages possess a greater interest to us.
We have now completed our inquiry into prehistoric life in Europe, and
are ready to turn our attention to other parts of the field. What we
have thus far learned shows us how true it is that the past of human
life on the globe is full of mystery. We trust that what has been
written will enable our readers to form clearer conceptions of life in
Europe during these far away times.

REFERENCES

(1) Dana's "Manual of Mineralogy," p. 230.
(2) "Primitive Man," p. 298.
(3) Evans's "Ancient Stone Implements," p. 5.
(4) Evans's "Ancient Bronze Implements," p. 8.
(5) "Ancient Bronze Implements," p. 3.
(6) Ibid., p. 40.
(7) Ibid., p. 19.
(8) Figuier's "Primitive Man," p. 300.
(9) "Ancient Society," p. 216.
(10) Figuier's "Primitive Man," p. 325.
(11) "Prehistoric Times," p. 7.
(12) M. Desor, in "Smithsonian Reports," 1865, tells us that
small brass rings were probably used by people of the Swiss lake
villages of the Bronze Age epoch as money.
(13) Figuier's "Primitive Man," p. 310.
(14) Lubbock's "Prehistoric Times," p. 7.
(15) Lubbock's "Prehistoric Times," p. 17.
(16) Evans's "Ancient Bronze Implements," p. 1.
(17) "Smithsonian Report," 1860, p. 342.
(18) Ibid.
(19) Mr. Southall, in "Recent Origin of Man," p. 475, quotes,
from Dr. Andrews, of Chicago, to the effect that these
calculations are very erroneous, as he thinks that M. Morlot
forgot that the size of the cone would increase more and more
slowly. On the contrary, M. Morlot says as follows: "Only this
growth must have gone on at a gradually diminishing rate,
because the volume of a cone increases as the cube of its
radius. Taking this fact into consideration, etc." (Smithsonian
Report, 1860, p. 341.) There are, however, several objections to
this calculation, for which see Lubbock's "Prehistoric Times,"
p. 400; also Quatrefages's "Human Species," p. 138.
(20) Lubbock's "Prehistoric Times," p. 402. For criticisms on
this calculation see Southall's "Recent Origin of Man."
(21) British Assoc. Rep., 1879.
(22) Quatrefages's "Human Species," p. 139, _et seq._
(23) Nicholson's "Manual of Zoology," p. 535.
(24) Dana's "Manual of Geology," p. 416, note.
(25) Keary's "Dawn of History," p. 382; Morgan's "Systems of
Consanguinity and Affinity."
(26) Dawkins's "Early Man in Britain," p. 324.
(27) "Prehistoric Europe," chap. xvi to xxii.

Chapter IX

EARLY MAN IN AMERICA.<1>

When the energy and skill of Columbus were crowned with success, and
the storm-tossed Atlantic was found to lave the shores of a western
continent, reflecting minds in Europe were much interested in the
strange stories they heard of the inhabitants of the New World. On the
one hand Spanish adventurers told scarcely credited stories of populous
cities, temples glittering with gold and silver ornaments, and nations
possessed of a barbaric civilization scarcely inferior to their own. On
the other hand were accounts of morose savages, cruel and vindictive in
nature, depending on fishing and the chase for a livelihood. Nearly four
centuries have elapsed since that time. The aboriginal inhabitants have
nearly disappeared, leaving their origin and prehistoric life almost as
great a riddle to us as it was to the early colonists.

But in endeavoring to unroll the pages of their history, we have chanced
upon some strange discoveries. The Aztecs, that people whose culture is
to-day such an enigma to our scholars, are known to be a late arrival
in the valley of Anahuac. They were preceded in that section by a
mysterious people, the Toltecs, whose remains excite our liveliest
curiosity, but of which we have yet learned but little. Yucatan is shown
to have been for many centuries the home of a people whose advancement
equated that of the Aztecs at their palmiest day. Like important
discoveries attended the labors of explorers in the North. The entire
valley of its great river is known to have been the home of a numerous
population, that, from the nature of their remains, we call the
Mound-builders. Who these people were, when and whence they came,
and whither they went, are questions whose solution is by no means
accomplished. Nor are such discoveries the only results. A study of
their institutions has done much in revealing the constructions of
ancient society, and thereby throwing light on some mysterious chapters
of man's existence.

Of late years interest in the antiquity of man in America has been
reawaked by the discoveries of human remains in Pliocene deposits in
California, and the Glacial gravel of the Delaware at Trenton, New
Jersey. Before this it was supposed that we had no authentic instance
of human remains in America found under such circumstances that it was
necessary to assign to them a profound antiquity. If these latter day
discoveries be true, we can not escape the conclusion that man lived
in America at as early a date as that indicated by any of the European
explorations. Some hold that the proof of his existence here in Pliocene
times is far more satisfactory than any evidence of his presence in
Europe during this time. There is something fascinating in this belief.
If some of the most eminent scientists of America are not mistaken, man
lived on our Pacific coast before the great ice-sheets that pulverized
the surface of the earth and dispersed life before them came down from
the north. He ranged along the western rivers before the volcanic peaks
of the Sierras were uplifted, and his old hunting-grounds are to-day
buried underneath the greet lava flow which desolated ancient California
and Oregon. But this assertion has not been allowed to pass undisputed,
nor has it received the assent of all scientists.

We can easily understand why scholars subject all questions relating
to the first appearance of man to very careful scrutiny. If a competent
geologist should assert that he had found, in undoubted Pliocene
formations, bones of some species of animals not hitherto suspected of
living at that date, his statement would be accepted as proof of the
same. But in the case of man, every circumstance is inquired into. It
is but right that the utmost care should be exercised in this direction.
But, on the other hand, we are not justified in demanding mathematical
demonstration in every case of the accuracy of a reported discovery. Yet
such seems to be the position of a portion of the scientific world. For,
although they willingly admit that man has lived on the earth for a very
long time indeed, they urge all sorts of objections to extending that
time into a past geological age.

Accordingly, when Professor Whitney states as the result of many years
spent in the investigation of the Tertiary formation of California, that
he finds evidence of the existence of man in the Pliocene Age, it is not
strange that one part of the scientific world listens incredulously to
his statements, and are at once ready to explain away the facts on which
he relies. He may, of course, be mistaken, for it is human to err, but
his proofs are sufficiently strong to convince some of the best scholars
in America. We can do no more than to lay the facts before the reader
and let him judge for himself.

We have seen what a genial climate prevailed in Europe during the
Tertiary Age. This must also have been true of California. A rich and
varied vegetation decked the land. The great trees of California of
our day then flourished in Greenland, Iceland, and Western Europe. The
cypress of the Southern States was then growing in Alaska and other high
northern latitudes. The climate probably passed from a tropical one, in
early Tertiary times, to a milder or temperate one in Pliocene times.
Amongst the animals inhabiting America were three species of camels.
Rhinoceroses, mastodons, and elephants trooped over the land. Tigers and
other carnivore prowled in the forests. Herds of horse-like animals, one
scarcely distinguishable from our common horse, grazed in the valleys,
along with several species of deer. From the presence of the old
drainage beds, we know that majestic rivers rolled their watery burden
through the land. Such a country might well afford a home for man if he
were present.

To understand fully the course of events which now took place we must
venture on geological ground. The great Pacific Ocean, lying to the
west of America, is constantly exerting a lateral pressure, which during
Tertiary times showed its effect in the uplifting of the great mountain
ranges of the western coast.<2> During late Tertiary times, as a
counterpart to the upward movement, a great subsidence commenced in
the Pacific region.<3> Doubtless many islands, some think an entire
continent even, disappeared beneath the waves. The completion of the
various mountain ranges left the coast firm and unyielding; hence, as
it could not bend before the fiery flood forced upward from below by the
downward motion just mentioned, it broke, and the torrent of molten rock
leaped out as a lava flow. In consequence of this, near the close of
Pliocene times, the surface of California and Oregon, especially the
north of California, became buried under the lava and ashes of the most
desolating volcanic outbreak that the earth has ever known.

Let us now see what bearing this has on the question of the antiquity of
man. Scattered here and there throughout California are numerous masses
of basaltic lava, which appear as elevated ridges, the softer strata
around having been denuded away. They have received the general name
of Table Mountains. They have not only been noted for their picturesque
beauty, but miners long since found that the gravels underneath the lava
covering were rich in gold. In Tuolumne County the Table Mountain is a
flow of lava which originated in lofty volcanoes several miles away.

It extends along the north side of the Stanilaus, which is a small river
flowing in a south-westerly course through the county. The mountain is
in the form of a ridge about two thousand feet above the present level
of the river. At one point the river breaks through this ridge, which
has been worn away for a considerable distance. From this point the
ridge appears as a continuous mountain, stretching away to the south for
a distance of twenty miles, from where it crosses the river. "As seen
from a distance the Table Mountain reveals its origin at once, in the
contrast between the long, straight line of its upper edge and the
broken and curving ones which the eroded hills of the auriferous strata
everywhere exhibit. Its dark color and comparative absence of trees
and shrubs on its top and sides also indicate very clearly that the
materials of which it is composed are very different from that of the
surrounding hills."<4>

This is the celebrated Table Mountain of Tuolumne County. It is simply
a vast flow of lava. It must have been a grand sight when this river of
fire came rolling down from its volcanic fount. Its present position on
top of an elevated ridge is a very singular one. In explanation of that
we arrive at some very important conclusions, and we can not fail to be
impressed with the fact that countless ages have rolled away since that
lava flood poured down the mountain side. "No one can deny that a stream
of melted lava, running for forty miles down the slope of the Sierra,
must have sought and found a depression or valley in which to flow; for
it is impossible that it should have maintained for any distance its
position on the crest of a ridge." Lava is about as thick as molten
iron, and would as surely seek some valley in which to flow as would so
much water. "The valley of the Stanilaus, now two thousand feet deep,
could not then have existed; for this flow of lava is clearly seen to
have crossed it at one point."

"The whole face of the country must, therefore, have undergone an entire
change since the eruption took place, during which this mass of lava was
poured out. The valley of the Stanilaus must have then been occupied by
a range of mountains. The same is true of the other side, where now is
the valley of Wood's Creek; for such ranges must have existed in order
to form and wall in the valley in which the current of lava flowed.
There has been, therefore, an amount of denudation during the period
since this volcanic mass took its position of not less than three or
four thousand feet of perpendicular depth, and this surprising series
of changes is not peculiar to one locality, but the whole slope of
the Sierras, through the gold region, is the scene of similar volcanic
outflows and subsequent remodeling of the surface into a new series of
reliefs and depressions."<5>

Illustration of Imaginary Section of Table Mountain.-------

In order to fully realize the change here spoken of, an imaginary
section of Table Mountains is here presented. Here we see the two
valleys on the sides, and the mass of lava covering the top of the
mountain. The dotted lines represent the position of the old line of
hills, which must once have inclosed the valley down which coursed the
fiery torrent.

We require to dwell on this, fact before we can fully understand its
meaning. The "eternal hills," two and three thousand feet in height,
have been completely washed away, and where they stood is now a deep
valley. But the old valley, protected by its stony covering, is now a
mountain ridge; and this, we are told, is not a solitary instance, but
the entire surface of the country has been thus denuded. We stand in awe
before the stupendous results, which nature, working through vast cycles
of time, has accomplished.

But if this lava flow took place in a pre-existing valley, we ought to
find under the rocky covering beds of gravel, rolled stones, and other
_debris_ peculiar to a river bed. Such, in fact, we do find extended
along directly underneath the lava, about fifteen hundred feet above the
general level of the country. These old river gravels are found to be
very rich in gold, and miners have tunneled into them in numerous places
in search of the valuable metal. In order to determine the geological
age of these gravels, and subsequent lava flow, a careful examination of
portions of plants and bones of animals found therein has been made. The
plants are pronounced by competent authority<6> to be Pliocene, totally
distinct from any specimens now growing in California. The animal
remains are rhinoceroses, camels, and an extinct species of horse. The
age of these gravels is, therefore, pronounced to be Pliocene. We would
say in this connection that the auriferous gravels of California have
been the object of a very careful research by Prof. Whitney. He adds
to his conclusions that of another of the State geologists. We need not
give in detail his arguments, but he reaches the conclusion that the
auriferous gravels of the Pacific slope represent the whole of the
Tertiary Age.<7>

We have seen that in the ancient gravels of European rivers
archaeologists have found the materials wherewith to build a fascinating
story of man's appearance in Quaternary times. We have underneath the
lava flow of California the gravel beds of rivers far antedating the
gravels of the Somme. It is therefore not a little interesting to learn
from Prof. Whitney that he finds many proofs of the existence of man in
the gravels of the Pliocene Age in California. Under the solid basalt of
Table Mountain have been found many works of men's hands, as well as the
celebrated "Calaveras Skull."

Illustration of Calaveras Skull.-----------

This skull was taken from a mining shaft at Altaville, at a depth of one
hundred and thirty feet from the surface, beneath seven different strata
of lava and gravel. Prof. Whitney was not present when it was found. He,
however, made it his business to examine into the facts of the case, and
he thus speaks of it: "That the skull was found in these old, intact,
cemented gravels has been abundantly proved by evidence that can not be
gainsaid." And again: "So far as human and geological testimony can at
present be relied on, there is no question but that the skull was found
under Table Mountain, and is of the Pliocene Age."<8>

This would seem to be pretty explicit, but, as we have said before,
Prof. Whitney, in his formal report as the State geologist of
California, reaches the conclusion that the auriferous gravels of
the Pacific are all of the Tertiary Age. It is therefore not a little
interesting to learn that numerous instances are recorded of the finding
of human remains or the works of man in these gravels. Prof. Whitney
mentions twenty such instances.<9> Mr. Bancroft furnishes us a list
of such discoveries, giving as his authority Mr. C. D. Voy, of the
California Geological Survey, of Oakland, California. He states that Mr.
Voy personally visited most of the localities where the discoveries were
made, and took all possible pains to verify their authenticity, and
in many cases obtaining sworn statements from the parties who made
them.<10>

Two stone mortars and spear-heads, six and eight inches long, were found
in the gravel under Table Mountain, just mentioned. These relics were
found about three hundred feet from the surface. A hundred feet and more
of this depth was of solid lava. At another place a stone bead was found
three hundred feet from the mouth of the tunnel, under a thick layer
of lava. Many other instances might be given of such discoveries, not
always under lava coverings, but always in such instances that we are
compelled to assign to them an immense antiquity. As, for instance, at
San Andreas, according to a sworn statement in Mr. Voy's possession,
large stone mortars were taken from a layer of cemented gravel, overlain
by one hundred and twenty-five feet of volcanic and gravel materials.
Many similar instances are on record, but enough have been mentioned to
serve the purpose of the chapter.<11>

As we have briefly gone over the ground on which the antiquity of man
in America is, by some, referred to the Pliocene Age, it is but fair to
notice some of the objections that have been raised. It is not necessary
to point out that the only questions worthy to be considered are of a
scientific nature.

We must deny either the age of the gravels themselves or that the
objects of human handiwork were found as claimed, or else that they are
of the same age as the gravels. Prof. LeConte thinks, from the nature
of the gravels and the peculiar circumstances which surround them, that
they are not older than the close of the Pliocene Age. He thinks they,
in fact, belong to the transitory period between that age and the
Quaternary.<12> But as we are considering the question of Pliocene man,
it makes but little difference if the gravels do belong to the very
close of that period. They may still be called Pliocene.

One great trouble with those remains is that they were not discovered by
professed geologists. We have to depend upon the statements of miners.
But if their statements can be believed (and why should they not?),
there is no doubt about their genuineness. The testimony, as Mr. Whitney
says, "all points in one direction, and there has never been any attempt
made to pass off on any member of the survey any thing out of keeping,
or--so to speak--out of harmony with what has been already found, or
might be expected to be found. It has always been the same kind of
implements which have been exhibited to us, namely, the coarsest and
the least finished, which one would suppose could be made, and still be
implements at all."<13> This result would hardly be possible, where so
many parties are concerned in furnishing the evidence, if the objects
were not genuine.<14>

In opposition to this conclusion it has been urged that the stone
mortars, pestles, etc., have become imbedded in the gravel by the action
of streams, or slips from the mountain side in modern times, or are the
results of interments or mining operations.<15> As an illustration of
how they might become buried by the action of streams, reference is made
to somewhat similar discoveries in the tin-bearing streams of Cornwall
(Wales). We know with considerable certainty that at a very early date
the Phoenicians worked in the gravels of these streams for tin ores.
Implements made use of by them and others--such, for instance, as
shovels, mortars, pick-axes, stone bowls, and various dishes--have been
found at all depths in this gravel, by more modern miners.<16>

This may explain the presence, in some instances, of similar remains in
California, but it utterly fails to do so, where the remains have been
buried underneath a lava flow or a bed of volcanic materials, as is the
case in many of the instances we have cited. Manifestly no water has
disturbed their strata since the volcanic materials were laid down.
Neither can we think of a land-slide carrying these remains into the
heart of a mountain, or burying them underneath a hundred feet of lava.
The peculiar position in which they were often found is surely lost
sight of by those who think they might have been placed there by
interment. We can not think of a savage people digging a grave in such a
position.

It has been urged with considerable force that these relics have been
left behind by ancient miners when they mined for gold. Dr. Wilson is
cited as authority for the statement that the Mexicans obtained "silver,
lead, and tin from the mines of Tasco and copper was wrought in the
mountains of Zacotollan by means of galleries and shafts, opened with
persevering toil where the metallic veins were imbedded in the solid
rock." Prescott, the historian, also testifies to the same fact.

We need only add to this, that wherever these ancient galleries were
opened in the solid rock, they still exist. Schoolcraft mentions
finding one two hundred and ten feet deep.<17> The chances are not worth
considering, that these old mines would be overlooked. If, for instance,
the Calaveras skull is that of a prehistoric miner, killed in an old
mining gallery only a thousand years or so ago, it is inconceivable that
all evidence of this mine should have disappeared. Or, if in one case
it should have done so, it would surely have been detected in other
instances. The variety and explicitness of the testimony brought forward
makes all such supposition improbable.<18>

It is best, in this matter, to hold the judgment in suspense. We have
stated Mr. Whitney's position, and the objections that have been raised
to it. The amount of thought bestowed on the antiquity of man will
doubtless soon clear up the whole matter. We can not do better than to
consider his surroundings, supposing that he was really present. The
country must have been very different from the California of to-day.
Dr. Cooper says, "The country consisted of peninsulas and islands, like
those of the present East Indies; resembling them also in climate and
productions."<19> The probabilities are that to the west and southwest
of California, instead of watery expanse of the Pacific, only broken
here and there by an ever-verdant islet, there was either a continental
expanse of land or, at any rate, a vast archipelago. We know that over a
large part of the Northern Pacific area the land has sunk not less than
six thousand feet since late Tertiary times.<20>

We are certain the ocean area must have presented a vastly different
aspect before that depression commenced. It is not unreasonable to
suppose that communication between North America and Asia was much
easier than in subsequent epochs. It might have been an easy matter for
man to pass back and forth without losing sight of land. It is therefore
reasonable to suppose that if Pliocene man was in existence, he would
have occupied both sides of the Pacific at this early time.<21> These
last conclusions are very important ones to reach, and as there is
reasonable foundation for them, we must bear them in mind in the
subsequent pages.

It will be remembered that the races of men who inhabited Europe in the
Paleolithic Age had only very rudely formed, unpolished implements. It
is not until we arrive at the Neolithic stage of culture that we meet
with specimens of polished stone implements. To judge from the specimens
of early Californian art, the beautifully polished pestles, beads,
plummets or sinkers, spear-heads, etc., Pliocene man in California
must have been in the Neolithic stage of culture. Though they were
not acquainted with the potter's art, yet from their skill in working
vessels of stone, they had undoubtedly passed entirely through Savagism,
and had entered the confines of Barbarism,<22> as far advanced, in fact,
as many of the Indian tribes the Spaniards found in possession of the
country.

It must be confessed this seems very singular. It is this statement
that causes many to shut their eyes to what would be otherwise at once
admitted and refuse to believe the genuineness of the discovery. If the
implements brought to light had been of the rude River Drift type--celts
but little removed from nodules of flint--scholars would not be so
cautious about accepting them. But when we learn they are Neolithic, we
at once see why they hesitate, and ask for more conclusive proofs; yet
this is no reason to disregard the discoveries. They may be a great
surprise, they may be an unwelcome discovery to the holder of some
theories, yet the only question is, whether they are true or not, and
if true, theories must be modified to fit the facts. Prof. Putnam thus
speaks, in reference to them: "As the archaeologist has no right to be
governed by any pre-conceived theories, but must take the facts as he
finds them, it is impossible for him to do otherwise than accept the
deductions of so careful and eminent a geologist as Prof. Whitney, and
draw his conclusions accordingly, notwithstanding the fact that this
Pliocene man was, to judge by his works in stone and shell, as far
advanced as his descendants were at the time of the discovery of
California by the Spaniards."<23>

Perhaps a partial explanation of this matter may be found when we
consider all the circumstances of the case. The origin of man is
generally assigned to some tropical country. Sir John Lubbock thus
speaks of it: "Our nearest relatives in the animal kingdom are confined
to hot, almost tropical climates; and it is in such countries that
we are, perhaps, most likely to find the earliest traces of the human
race."<24> This is also the opinion of other eminent scholars. M.
Quatrefages thinks that man probably originated in Asia. He points out,
however, that, during Tertiary times, the climate was much milder, and
man might have originated in Northern Asia.<25> Now, if it be true that
a great mass of land has disappeared beneath the waves of the Pacific,
why may we not suppose that, if this sunken land was not the original
home of man, it was at a very early time inhabited by him; that here he
passed through his experience in savagism?<26> We know how suited the
islands of the Pacific are to the needs of a savage people; and we must
not lose sight of the probable ease with which they could reach the
coast of California--and also of what Dr. Cooper has told us of the
climate and geographical surroundings of California at that early time.
So it may not be unreasonable to suppose that man reached California
long ages before he wandered into Europe, and so reached the Neolithic
stage of culture much earlier than he did in other parts of the
world.<27>

It might be objected, that if a people in the Neolithic stage of culture
lived in California in the Pliocene Age, they ought to have reached
a very high stage of culture indeed when the Spaniards invaded the
country. This is what we would expect had they been left to develop
themselves. The great geographical changes that took place near the
close of the Pliocene would cut off the primitive Californians from the
Asiatics. Not only was the land connection--if it indeed existed--now
destroyed, but causes were changing the climate. Ice and snow drove from
the north life of both animals and plants, and for an entire geological
period communications with Asia by way of the north must have been very
difficult, if not cut off altogether. Who can tell what changes now came
to the Asiatic branch of these people? We are but too familiar with
the fact that nations and races sicken and die: many examples could be
given. The natives of the Sandwich Islands seem doomed to extinction. In
a few centuries, the Indians of America will live only in tradition and
song.

Such may have been the fate of the early inhabitants of the Pacific
continent: certainly it would not be surprising, if the immense climatic
and geographical changes which then took place would produce that
result. Or it may be that but a scanty remnant lived on, absorbed by
more vigorous, though less highly cultivated stocks of the same people,
whose homes had been on the main-land of Asia--and the remnant left
along the Pacific coast must have lived on under vastly different
circumstance. The interior of North America was largely a dreary expanse
of ice and snow down to the 39th parallel of latitude. It is quite true,
this great glacier did not reach the Pacific Slope; but it must have
exerted a powerful influence on the climate: and the evidence points,
that the Sierra Nevada were occupied by local glaciers which reached
down into the fertile expanse of the plains.

This was certainly a far different climate, and a far different country,
than that which sustained a vegetation of a tropical growth. It may well
be that the people should, as a result of their changed conditions,
have deteriorated in culture; or, at any rate, their progress toward
civilization may have been stopped, and many thousands of years may have
passed with no perceptible improvement. It may be objected, that man
will improve under any state of existence, give him time enough. This
is, doubtless, in the main true. But a race may early reach its limit of
culture; in which case, as a race, it will not improve: we may do much
with the individual, but nothing, or but very little, for the race.

In these considerations which have been advanced we may find some reason
for the early appearance of Neolithic man, as well as the fact that
he advanced no farther in culture. But whether man first arrived in
California in Pliocene times or not, he continued to inhabit the land to
the present day. He would, however, be exposed to assault after assault
from invading tribes. We do not wish to examine the question of the
origin of the native Americans. It is held, by the best authorities,
that at least a portion of them came from Asia, using the Kurile Islands
as a stepping stone. Reaching the main-land of America, and passing
down the coast, they would, sooner or later, reach the Valley of the
Columbia--which has been characterized as the most extraordinary region
on the face of the earth in the variety and amount of subsistence it
afforded to tribes destitute of a knowledge of agriculture. At certain
seasons of the year the rivers are crowded with fish, and they are then
caught with the greatest ease. As a mixture of forest and prairie, the
country is an excellent one for game. A species of bread-root grew on
the prairies; and, in the Summer, there was a profusion of berries. To
these advantages must be added that of a mild and equable climate.<28>

These combined advantages would make this valley one of the centers of
population, from whence would issue successive bands of invading people.
A portion of these, passing over into California, would come in contact
with the descendants of Pliocene man. The result would be, that the
primitive inhabitants, unable to escape to the west, would come in
contact with wave after wave of invading tribes. This is not altogether
theory. All inquirers into the customs, arts, and languages of the
primitive Californians have been struck with the remarkable commingling
of the same. We are driven to the conclusion that here has been the
meeting ground of many distinct tribes and nations. "From such a
mixture, and over-population of the most desirable portions of the
country, would naturally result the formation of the hundreds of petty
tribes that existed in both Upper and Lower California when first known
to the Spaniards."<29>

In view of these facts, it is not strange that no advance in culture is
noticeable; and the grounds just mentioned may go far to explain why we
catch sight, here and there, of bits of customs, habits, and manners of
life which strangely remind us of widely distant people--though it will
not explain the presence of words of Malay or Chinese origin which are
claimed to exist.<30> What is known as the Eskimo trace is quite marked
in the physical characters and in the arts of the Californians.<31>
It is, probably, the continuance of the type of the primitive American
race.

It would naturally be interesting to know whether any date can be given
for the Pliocene Age, and so give us some ideas as to the antiquity of
man, if he were really here during that epoch. This, however, is one of
the most difficult questions to answer, and in the present state of our
knowledge incapable of solution. Approximations have, of course, been
made, and, as might be expected, vary greatly in results. When it was
acknowledged on all hands that on geological grounds the age of the
earth was certainly very great, many times the few thousand years
hitherto relied on, it is not strange that popular thought swung to the
other extreme, and hundreds of millions of years were thought necessary
to explain the series of changes which the geologists unfolded. This
demand for a greatly extended time was strengthened when the law of
the gradual evolution of life was expounded by the modern school of
naturalists, and as great a lapse of time as five hundred millions of
years was not deemed an extravagant estimate. Sir William Thompson has,
however, demonstrated that the time that has elapsed since the crust of
the earth became solidified can not be far from one hundred millions of
years, and consequently we know the time since the appearance of life
must be greatly less than that number of years.

Attempts have been made to estimate the length of time required to form
the sedimentary crust of the earth. The results are so divergent on this
point that it is best not to adopt any standard at present. Our views
on this matter are also dependent on the time that has elapsed since the
close of the Glacial Age, which, as we have seen, is not yet a settled
point. If it be true that the islands of the Pacific commenced to sink
during late Tertiary times, then we have a measure of that time in the
growth of coral, which has required at least four hundred thousand years
to form reefs the thickness of some that are known to exist.<32>

But here, again, it seems we are not certain when this depression
commenced.<33> In a previous chapter we have gone over the Glacial Age,
and have seen when, according to Mr. Croll's theory, it commenced. This
was probably not far from the close of the Pliocene Age. We might as
well leave the matter here. There are so many elements of uncertainty
that it is doubtful if we will ever be able to assign satisfactory dates
to the epoch.<34>

In bringing to a conclusion this somewhat extended notice of early man
in California we have to admit that much of it is speculative; still it
is an endeavor to explain known facts. The main statement is that man
lived in California in the Pliocene Age, in the Neolithic stage of
culture. Whether the arguments adduced in support of this statement are
sufficient to prove its accuracy must be left to the mature judgment
of the scientific world. There is no question but that the climate and
geography, the fauna and the flora, were then greatly different from
those of the present. Starting with these known facts, so strange
and fascinating, it need occasion no surprise, if the pen of the
enthusiastic explorer depict a scene wherein facts and fancy are united.

In this case truth is certainly stranger than fiction, and when, in
imagination, we see the great Pacific archipelago emerge from the waves,
and, in place of the long swell of the ocean, we picture the pleasing
scenes of tropic lands, the strange floral growth of a past geological
age, the animal forms which have since disappeared, with man already
well advanced in culture: when we recall all this, and picture forth the
surprising changes which then took place, the slowly subsiding land, the
encroaching waters, and the resultant watery waste, with here and there
a coral-girt island, the great volcanic uplift on the main-land, the
flaming rivers of molten lava, which come pouring forth, followed by
the night of cold, ice, and snow: when we consider these, and the great
lapse of time necessary for their accomplishment, how powerless are mere
words to set forth the grandeur and the resistless sweep of nature's
laws, and to paint the insignificance and trifling nature of man and his
works!

The discoveries in California are not the only instances of the relics
of man and his works found under such circumstances that they are relied
on by some to prove the great age of man in America. But on account of
the rarity of these finds, and the contradictory statements and opinions
respecting them, the scientific world has until lately regarded with
some distrust the assertion of a great antiquity for man on this
continent; but a review of the evidence on this point, and especially
of Dr. Abbott's discoveries in New Jersey, must impress on all the
conclusion that tribes of men were living here at the close of the
Glacial Age, and probably long before that time.

It need occasion no surprise to learn that several of the discoveries of
former years, relied on in this connection, have since been shown to be
unreliable. They have not been able to stand a careful examination at
the hands of later scholars. They were made when European savants were
first communicating to the world the results of the explorations of
the river gravels and caves of that country. The antiquity of man being
amply proven there, may afford some explanation why more discriminating
care was not employed. Of this nature were some of the discoveries in
the valley of the Mississippi; such, for instance, as the portion of
the human skeleton found mingled with the bones of extinct animals a few
miles below Natchez, and the deeply buried skeleton at New Orleans,
in both of which cases a simple explanation is at hand without the
necessity of supposing a great flight of years.

Some of these discoveries yet remain an unsettled point. Such is
the discovery of flint arrow-heads in connection with the bones of a
mastodon found in Missouri. Dr. Koch, who made the discovery, draws from
the facts of the case such a suggestive picture that we will give his
own words. After describing where found, he says: "The greater portion
of these bones had been more or less burned by fire. The fire had
extended but a few feet beyond the space occupied by the animal before
its destruction, and there was more than sufficient evidence that the
fire had not been an accidental one, but, on the contrary, that it had
been kindled by human agency, and, according to all appearance, with the
design of killing the huge creature which had been found mired in the
mud, and in an entirely helpless condition. All the bones which had
not been burned by the fire had kept their original position, standing
upright and apparently quite undisturbed in the clay, whereas those
portions which had been extended above the surface had been partially
consumed by the fire, and the surface of the clay was covered, as far
as fire had extended, by a layer of wood ashes, mingled with larger
or smaller pieces of charred wood and burnt bones, together with bones
belonging to the spine, ribs, and other parts of the body, which had
been more or less injured by the fire. It seemed that the burning of the
victim and the hurling of rocks at it had not satisfied the destroyers,
for I found also, among the ashes, bones, and rocks, several
arrow-heads, a stone spear-head, and some stone axes."

Such is Dr. Koch's very interesting statement of this find. "It was
received by the scientific world," says Foster, "with a sneer of
contempt," and, it seems to us, for very insufficient reasons. It is
admitted that his knowledge of geology was not as accurate as it should
have been. He made some mistakes of this nature, which have been clearly
shown.<35> Still, he is known to have been a diligent collector, and we
are told "no one who knew him will question but that he was a competent
observer."<36> It seems to us useless to deny the truth of his
statements. There is, however, nothing to necessitate us believing in
an immense age for these remains. This is not to be considered a point
against them, for there is no reason for supposing that the mastodon
may not have lingered on to comparatively recent times, and that
comparatively recent men may not have intercepted and destroyed helpless
individuals. Indeed, we are told there are traditions still extant among
the Indians of these monsters.<37>

We have other facts showing that, in this country as in Europe, man was
certainly living not far from the time when the land was covered with
the ice of the Glacial Age, whatever may be true of still earlier
periods. We are told that, when the time came for the final breaking up
of the great glaciers, and while they still lingered at the head waters
of the Platte, the Missouri, and the Yellowstone rivers, a mighty
lake--or, rather, a succession of lakes--occupied the greater portion
of the Missouri Valley. The rivers flowing into them were of great
size,<38> and heavily freighted with sediment, which was deposited
in the still waters of the lakes, and thus was formed the rich loess
deposits of Nebraska.

From several places in this loess have been taken rude stone arrows,
buried at such depths and under such circumstances, that we must
conclude they were deposited there when the loess was forming. But this
requires us to carry them back to a time when elephants and mastodons
roamed over the land, for bones of these huge creatures<39> are quite
frequently found. This arrow-point--or, it may be, spear-head--was found
twenty feet from the surface; and almost directly above it, and distant
only thirteen inches, was a vertebra of an elephant. It appears, then,
that some old races lived around the shores of this lake, and, paddling
over it, accidentally dropped their arrows, or let them fly at a passing
water-fowl;" and, from the near presence of the elephant's bone, it is
shown that "man here, as well as in Europe, was the contemporary of the
elephant, in at least a portion of the Missouri Valley.<40>

Illustration of Implement found in Loess.-----------

Other examples are on record. In Greene County, Illinois, parties
digging a well found, at the depth of seventy-two feet, a stone hatchet.
Mr. McAdams carefully examined the well, to see if it could have dropped
from near the surface. He tells us the well was dug through loess
deposits; and from the top down was as smooth, and almost as hard, as
a cemented cistern.<41> The loess was, as in Nebraska, deposited in
the still waters of the lake which once occupied the Valley of the
Illinois.<42> And we need not doubt but that it dates from the breaking
up of the glacial ice. The position of this hatchet, then, found at the
very bottom of the loess deposits, shows that, while yet the glaciers
lingered in the north, and the flooded rivers spread out in great lakes,
some tribes of stone-using folks hunted along the banks of the lakes,
whose bottoms were to form the rich prairies of the West.

Previous to this discovery, Mr. Foster had recorded the finding in this
same formation, distant but a few miles, a rude hatchet. There was in
this case a possibility that the stone could have been shaped by natural
means, and so he did not affirm this to be a work of man; but he says,
"had it been recovered from a plowed field, I should have unhesitatingly
said it was an Indian's hatchet."<43> We think it but another instance
of relics found under such circumstances, that it points to the presence
of man at the close of the Glacial Age.

No doubt many similar discoveries have been made, but the specimens were
regarded as the work of Indians; and though the position in which they
wore found may have excited some surprise, they were not brought to the
attention of the scholars. Nor is it only in the prairie regions of
the West where such discoveries have been made. Col. C. C. Jones has
recorded the finding of some flint implements in the drift of the
Chattahooche River, which we think as conclusively proves the presence
of man in a far away time as do any of the discoveries in the river
gravels of Europe. It seems that gold exists in the sands of this river,
and the early settlers were quick to take advantage of it. They dug
canals in places to turn the river from its present channel--and others,
to reach some buried channel of former times. These sections passed down
to the hard slate rock, passing through the surface, and the underlying
drift, composed of sand, gravel, and bowlders. "During one of these
excavations, at a depth of nine feet below the surface, commingled
with the gravels and bowlders of the drift, and just above the rocky
substratum upon which the deposit rested, were found three [Paleolithic]
flint implements."<44>

He adds that, "in materials, manners of construction, and in general
appearance, so nearly do they resemble some of the rough, so-called
flint hatchets, belonging to the drift type, as described by M. Boucher
De Perthes, that they might very readily be mistaken, the one for the
other." "They are as emphatically drift implements, as any that have
appeared in the diluvial matrix of France." On the surface soil, above
the flints, are found the ordinary relics of the Indians. The works of
the Mound Builders are also to be seen. Judging from their position, the
Paleolithics must be greatly older than any of the surface remains. Many
centuries must go by to account for the formation of the vegetable soil
above them.

Speculating on their age, Mr. Jones eloquently says, "If we are ignorant
of the time when the Chattahooche first sought a highway to the Gulf;
if we know not the age of the artificial tumuli which still grace its
banks; if we are uncertain when the red Nomads who, in fear and wonder,
carried the burdens of the adventurous DeSoto, as he conducted his
followers through primeval forests, and, by the sides of their softly
mingling streams, first became dwellers here, how shall we answer
the question as to the age in which these rude drift implements were
fashioned and used by these primitive people?"<45>

The examples we have quoted, even though the case of California be not
considered, are all suggestive of a great antiquity for man, taking us
back in time to when the glaciers still "shone in frigid splendor"
over the northern part of the United States. When European savants
had established the science of Archaeology, and shown the existence of
separate stages of culture, it was but natural that those interested in
the matter on this side of the Atlantic should turn with renewed energy
to investigate the archaeology of this country, to see if here, too,
they could find evidence of a Paleolithic Age. But the scholar in this
country is confronted with a peculiar difficulty. Owing to the very
multiplicity and variety of relics of prehistoric times, it is difficult
to properly classify and understand them. The field is of great extent,
the time of study has been short, and the explorers few; so it is not
strange that but few localities have been thoroughly searched. But,
until this is done, we can not hope to reach definite conclusions.

The peculiar culture of the Indians, prevailing among them at the
time of the discovery, proved a hindrance, rather than a help, in
this matter. The Indians are certainly not Paleolithic, many of their
implements being finely wrought and polished; but their arrow-heads,
hatchets, and celts were sufficiently rude to spread the conviction that
all weapons and implements of stone should be referred to them. This
belief has done much to hinder real progress. It is not to be wondered
at that some difference of opinion has prevailed, among our scholars,
whether the different stages of culture, discovered in Europe, have any
existence here.

On one hand, it is denied that different stages can be detected. Says
Prof. Whitney: "It is evident that there has been no unfolding of the
intellectual faculties of the human race on this continent similar
to that which has taken place in Central Europe. We can recognize no
Paleolithic, Neolithic, Bronze, or Iron Ages."<46> Others assure us,
that if present, the ages stand in reverse order. "The relics last used
were by far the rudest, and the historic races, which are the survivors
of the prehistoric, are the wildest of the two; the lower status
remaining, while the higher has passed away."<47> In still another place
we read: "The Neolithic and Bronze Ages preceded the Paleolithic, at
least in the Mississippi basin."<48>

Notwithstanding these quotations, we think it will yet be shown that in
this country, as in Europe, there was a true Paleolithic Age, and
that there was no such inversion as is here spoken of. In some places
sedentary tribes may have been driven away and their territory occupied
by more war-like, but less highly cultivated tribes. But take the whole
Indian race, and they were steadily advancing through the Neolithic
stage of culture. They were acquainted with copper, and were drawing
near to the discovery of bronze and metals, and, indeed, the discovery
had been made of bronze in the far south. But lying back of the true
Indian Age, long preceding it in time, to which probably belong the
relics mentioned in the preceding discoveries, is a true Paleolithic
Age.

We are indebted for the facts on which the above conclusion rests more
to the writings of Dr. C. C. Abbott, of Trenton, New Jersey, than any
other individual, and his results are based on an extensive study of the
relics themselves and the position in which found. In a collection of
stone implements of this country arranged in a cabinet, we find rude
and unpolished specimens, as well as those of a finely wrought Neolithic
type. Now the Indians, when first discovered, frequently made use of
very rudely formed implements, and from a knowledge of this fact, it
came about that but little attention was paid to the position in which
the relics were discovered. They were all classified as Indian relics.
But the greatest and most valuable discoveries in science have occurred
as a result of the attention paid to little things; in this case by
carefully scrutinizing the position in which they occurred.

Dr. Abbott commenced by gathering a very extensive collection, carefully
searching his section of country and gathering all specimens
of artificially shaped stones. These must have existed there in
considerable quantities, as, in three years' time, he collected over
nine thousand specimens,<49> carefully examining them as they came from
the soil.<50> As a result of this extensive and careful research he
is able to present us some general conclusions. The surface specimens,
including in this classification also those specimens turned up by the
plow,<51> are characteristically Indian. The material is jasper and
quartz, and they are generally carefully made. They used other varieties
of stone as well. Like the Neolithic people of Europe, they sought
the best varieties of stone for their purpose. But his collection also
included rude Paleolithic forms, and he found by taking the history of
each specimen separately, that just in proportion as the relics were
rude in manufacture and primitive in type the deeper were they buried
in the soil.<52> Writing in 1875, he says: "We have never met a jasper
(flint) arrow-head in or below an undisturbed stratum of sand or gravel,
and we have seldom met with a rude implement of the general character of
European drift implements on the surface of the ground."<53>

These are not theoretical opinions, but are deductions drawn from a
very extensive experience. From figured specimens of these rudest formed
implements, we see they are veritable Paleolithic forms, resembling in
a remarkable manner the rude implements of the old world, whether
collected in France or in India. We learned that the Paleolithic people
of Europe utilized the easiest attainable stone for their implements.
They contented themselves with such pieces of flint as they could gather
in their immediate vicinity. The easiest attainable rock in the valley
of the Delaware is not flint, but argillite, and such is the material of
which the Paleolithic implements are formed. Thus it is shown that the
first appearance of a stone-using folk in the valley of the Delaware was
in the Paleolithic stage of their culture. Judging from the depths of
their buried implements, this long preceded the Neolithic stage.

Illustration of Spear-shaped Paleolithic Implement.-----

These conclusions have been sustained in a very marked manner by late
discoveries in the valley of the Delaware, to which we will now refer.
After reaching the conclusion that the relics of the Stone Age in New
Jersey clearly pointed to a Paleolithic beginning, when argillite, the
most easily attainable stone, was utilized in the manufacture of weapons
and implements, Dr. Abbott made the further discovery that in the
ancient gravels of the Delaware River Paleolithic implements only were
to be found. We must remember that it was in the gravels of European
rivers that the first discoveries were made which have since resulted in
so wonderfully extending our knowledge of the past of man.

The city of Trenton, New Jersey, is built on a gravel terrace whose
surface is between forty and fifty feet above the flood plain of the
Delaware. We are told that this gravel is clearly a river deposit, and
must have been laid down by the Delaware at some former time in its
history. It is in this gravel deposit that quite a large number of
Paleolithic implements have been found.

Illustration of Paleolithic Implement, Argillite.--------

This cut is a representation of one of them, found under such
circumstances that there can be no question about its antiquity. We are
told it was taken from the face of the bluff fronting the river. Owing
to heavy rains, a large section off of the front of the bluff became
detached just the day before this specimen was discovered. It was found
in the fresh surface thus exposed, twenty-one feet from the surface,
almost at the bottom of the gravel. Immediately above it, and in contact
with it, was a bowlder estimated to weigh over one hundred pounds.
Immediately above this last was a second and much larger bowlder. It is
manifest the implements could never have gotten in the place found after
the gravel had been deposited.<54>

This is only one of the many examples that could be given. But it is
to be noticed that implements of the Neolithic type do not occur in the
gravel, except on the surface. Dr. Abbott is not the only one who has
found those implements. Many of our best American scholars have visited
the locality and secured specimens, amongst others, Prof. Boyd Dawkins,
of England, who is so familiar with this class of relics in Europe.
We may consider it proven, then, that in this country there was also
a Paleolithic Age. Our present information in regard to it is only a
beginning.

Since this interesting discovery was made in New Jersey we have received
news of similar discoveries in Minnesota. A lady, Miss Frank Babbitt,
has found in the modified drift of the Mississippi River, at Little
Falls, Minnesota, evidence of the existence of Paleolithic man. The
implements are made of quartz, and not argillite, but closely resemble
implements made of this later material as described by Dr. Abbott. It
is, to say the least, an interesting coincidence that one of a very few
flint implements found in the Trenton gravel by Dr. Abbott should be
identical in shape with some of the flint implements in Minnesota.<55>

This point being determined, others at once spring up asking solution.
Among the very first is the question of age. The river terrace on which
Trenton is built is a geological formation, and if we can determine its
age we shall also determine at least one point in the antiquity of
man, for we know the implements are as old as the gravels. It is not
necessary for our purpose to give more than the results of the careful
labors of others in this direction. We may be sure that this question
has been carefully studied. When the implements were first discovered,
the gravels were considered of glacial origin, and to that period they
were assigned by Dr. Abbott. Subsequently Prof. Lewis, a member of
the Pennsylvania State survey, decided that they were essentially
post-glacial--that is, more recent in time than the Glacial Age.<56>
Still more recently Prof. Wright, of Oberlin, but also of the State
survey of Pennsylvania, concludes that they are, after all, a deposit
made at the very close of the Glacial Age.<57>

He thinks the sequence of events were about as follows: When the ice of
the Glacial Age reached its greatest development, and came to a pause in
its southward march, it extended in an unbroken wall across the northern
part of New Jersey, crossing the Delaware about sixty-five miles above
Trenton. In front of it was accumulated the great terminal morain--a
long range of gravelly hills still marking its former presence.

It is certain that the close of the Glacial Age was comparatively
sudden, and marked by floods far exceeding any thing we are acquainted
with at the present day. For, when the formation of the ice ceased, we
must bear in mind that the country to the north of the terminal morain
was covered with a great glacier, in some places exceeding a mile
in thickness. When glacial conditions were passing away, and the ice
commenced to melt faster than it was produced, the thaw would naturally
go on over the entire field at an increasing rate, and hence would
result floods in all the rivers.

He considers the gravels in question to have been deposited near the
close of this flooded period, when the land stood at about its present
level and the glaciers had retreated perhaps to the Catskill Mountains.
The rivers were still swollen and would be heavily charged with coarse
gravel brought from the morains and lying exposed on the surface of the
ground vacated by the glaciers.<58>

Probably but few geologists will take exceptions to these views. Thus we
have very satisfactory reasons for connecting these Paleolithic people
with the close of the Glacial Age--a conclusion to which the scattering
discoveries mentioned in the preceding pages also points. But as regards
Dr. Abbott's discoveries, they are on such a scale, and vouched for by
so many eminent observers, that we need no longer hesitate to accept
them, or complain of the scattering nature of the finds.

But we might inquire whether this is the earliest period to which the
presence of man can be ascribed in this country? Excepting, of course,
California, we do not know of any well established fact on which to
base a greater antiquity for man. However, this subject is very far from
being as closely studied as in Europe. Believing that in Europe man was
living before the Glacial Age, and that in all probability he was living
in California at the same early time, we would naturally expect to find
some evidence of his presence in the Mississippi Basin and along the
Atlantic seaboard. But no explorer has yet been fortunate enough to make
such discoveries.<59>

It is scarcely necessary to point out that we have only the relative age
of these gravel deposits. We have not yet arrived at an answer in years.
This we are not able to do. As we have several times remarked, our
American scholars, as a rule, do not think many thousands of years have
elapsed since the Glacial Age, and yet they are not all agreed on that
point. From the depths in the gravel and loess deposits that the stone
relics are found, we may suppose that man was present during the entire
series of years their formation represents. Prof. Aughey, to whose
discoveries in loess deposits in Nebraska we have referred, estimates
the length of time necessary to produce those deposits as between
nineteen and twenty thousand years, and this he considers a low
estimate. So we see that, at any rate, the date of man's first
appearance in America was certainly very far in the past.

In forming a mental picture of the conditions of life at that early
time, it is not necessary to imagine a dreary scene of Arctic sterility.
This is not true of the time when the Glacial Age was at its greatest
severity. But at the time we are now considering, the glaciers had
retreated over a large part of the country, though they still lingered
in northern and mountainous regions. Great lakes and majestic rivers
were the features of the country. The St. Lawrence was still choked
with ice, and the great lakes must have discharged their waters
southward.<60> The Mississippi, gathering in one mighty stream the
drainage of the Central Basin, sped onward to the Gulf, doubtless many
times larger than its present representative. The animals then living
included several species that have since become extinct. Mastodons and
elephants must have been numerous, as their remains are frequently found
in loess deposits.<61> They have also been found in the gravels of
New Jersey, in connection with the rude implements already mentioned.
Probably keeping close to the retreating glaciers were such animals as
the moose, reindeer, and musk-ox, while the walrus disported itself in
the waters off the coast. At any rate those animals now only found in
high northern latitudes were living during Glacial times as far south as
Kentucky and New Jersey.<62>

A good deal of interest is connected with the finding of one mastodon's
tooth. It was found in the gravel deposit, about fourteen feet beneath
the surface. It must have been washed to the position where found when
the great floods from the melting glacier, with their burden of sand and
gravel, were rolling down the valley. We can either conclude that the
climate was such as to permit the existence of such animals, or that the
animal to which it belonged lived in some far away pre-glacial time. But
our interest suddenly increases when we learn that, but a few feet away,
under exactly similar circumstances, was found the wisdom tooth of
a human being. It, too, was rolled, scratched, and polished, and had
evidently been swept along by the tumultuous flood. "The same agency
that brought the one from the Upper Valley of the Delaware brought the
other, and, after long years, they come again to light, and jointly
testify that, in that undetermined long ago, the creatures to which
they respectively belonged were living together in the valley of the
river."<63>

We must now consider the question of race. Who were the men that
fashioned the implements? Were they Indians? or were they a different
people? As far as we know the Indians, they were Neolithic. Their
implements and weapons are often polished, pecked, and finely wrought;
and, as before remarked, they employed the best kind of stone for
their purpose. Dr. Abbott, who speaks from a very extensive personal
experience, tells us, that it is not practical to trace any connection
between the well-known Indian forms and the Paleolithic implements of
the river gravels: "The wide gap that exists between a full series of
each of the two forms is readily recognized when the two are brought
together."<64> Besides this difference in form, there is also a
difference in material. The ruder forms not being of jasper and allied
minerals, but are almost exclusively of argillite.<65> In addition to
the foregoing, we must consider the different positions they occupy--the
former being found only on or near the surface, the latter deeply buried
within. These different reasons all point to the same conclusion: that
is, that the Indians were preceded in this country by some other people,
who manufactured the Paleolithic specimens recently discovered.

In Europe, Prof. Dawkins, as we have seen, maintains that the Cave-men
were the predecessors of the Eskimos. This may serve us as a point of
departure in the inquiry as to who the pre-Indian people were? It is
manifest, however, that we must have some ground on which to base this
theory. The Eskimo seem to belong to the Arctic region, as naturally as
the white bear and the walrus. At the early time we are considering
in America, glaciers had not retreated very far. So his climatic
surroundings must have been much the same as at present. But the Eskimo
may not live where he does now by choice: we may behold in him a people
driven from a fairer heritage, who found the ice-fields of the North
more endurable than the savage enemy who envied him his possession. It
seems very reasonable to suppose that the Eskimos long inhabited this
country before the arrival of the Indians, if it was not, in fact, their
original home.

Mention has been made of the Eskimo traits still to be observed among
the tribes of California. Prof. Putnam thinks that this fact can best
be explained on the supposition that these tribes came in contact
with primitive Eskimo people.<66> Dr. Rink, from investigation of the
language and traditions of the different Eskimo tribes, thinks they are
of American origin, and must once have lived much farther south.<67> He
says, "The Eskimos appear to have been the last wave of an aboriginal
American race, which has spread over the continent from more genial
regions--following principally the rivers and water-courses, and
continually yielding to the pressure of the tribes behind them until
they have at last peopled the sea-coasts."<68> Mr. Dall, in his
explorations of the Aleutian Islands, comes to the same conclusion as
Dr. Rink. He says his own conclusions are, "that the Eskimos were
once inhabitants of the interior of North America--have much the same
distribution as the walrus, namely, as far south as New Jersey."<69>

All this tends to prove that the Paleolithic people of New Jersey were
ancestors of the Eskimos. This becomes highly probable when we pursue
the subject a little farther. Dr. Abbott has shown, from the similarity
of implements, position in which found, and so forth, that the
Paleolithic people continued to occupy the country down to comparatively
recent times, when Indian relics took their place.<70> This is such an
important point that we must give his reasons more in detail. Remember
that Dr. Abbott speaks from the experience gained by gathering over
twenty thousand specimens of stone implements, and paying especial
attention to the position in which they were found. The surface soil of
that section of New Jersey, where he made his explorations, was formed
by the slow decomposition of vegetable and forest growth. In this layer
he found great numbers of undoubted Indian implements. The number,
however, rapidly decreases the deeper we go in this stratum. This would
show that the Indians were late arrivals. Below this surface soil is a
stratum of sand, overlying the gravelly beds below and passing into the
surface soil just mentioned. In this layer were found great numbers
of implements inferior to the Indian types found on the surface, but
superior to the Paleolithic specimens described. They are not only
inferior in finish to the Indian specimens, but are of different
material. They are always formed of argillite. It was further noticed
that the number of these rapidly decreased in the layer of surface soil,
and are but rarely found on the surface.

Now it might be said that these rude forms were fashioned by Indians
when in a rude state of culture, and, as they became more advanced,
they learned the superior qualities of flint, and so dropped the use
of argillite. But it so happens that we have found several places
where were veritable manufactories of Indian implements. It is very
significant that we never find one where the workman used both flint and
argillite. He always used flint alone. Every thing seems to point to
the fact, that the tribes who fashioned the argillite implements were
different from the Indian tribes who made the flint implements. It
is Dr. Abbott's conclusions that the former, the descendants of the
Paleolithic tribes, were the Eskimos, who, according to these views,
must have inhabited the eastern portion of the United States to
comparatively recent times.

In further support of these views, we think we have grounds for
asserting that we have veritable historical accounts of the Eskimo
people slowly retiring before the aggressions of their Indian foes. It
is no longer doubted but that Norsemen, as early as the year 1000, made
voyages of discovery along the coast of North America, as far south
as Rhode Island: they called the country Vineland. It is true that
the Icelandic accounts of these expeditions contain some foolish and
improbable statements; but so do the writings of Cotton Mather, made
many years later.

These accounts refer but very briefly to the inhabitants they saw, but
enough is given to show that the people were not Indians, but Eskimos.
The language used is: "The men were small of stature and fierce, having
a bushy head of hair, and very great eyes, and wide cheeks."<71> Their
small size is frequently referred to, which would surely not be the case
if they were describing the Algonkins that the English colonists found
in the same section of country many years later. To the same effect is
the assertion that the Eskimos did not reach Greenland until the middle
of the fourteenth century.<72> The traditions of the Tuscarawas Indians
that place their arrival on the Atlantic coast in the year 1300, also
refer to a tribe of people that were at least much like the Eskimos.<73>

Thus we are led, step by step, to the recognition of a Paleolithic Age
in America, and finally to the belief that the descendants of these
people were Eskimos. We at once notice the coincidence of these results
with some of the conclusions of Prof. Dawkins, of England, and it
is desirable to trace a little farther the points of resemblance and
difference between this age in America and in Europe. In this latter
country we have seen the Paleolithic Age can be divided into two stages,
or epochs, during which different races inhabited the country. The
first, or the epoch of the men of the River Drift, long preceded the
epoch of the Cave-men. It was those latter tribes only that Mr. Dawkins
connects with the Eskimos.

We have not yet found evidence in this country that points to such
a division of the Paleolithic Age. We have no relics of Cave-men as
distinguished from the men of the River Drift. It is true, we are not
lacking evidence of the use of caves by various tribes,<74> but there is
nothing to show that such use was very ancient, or that the people
were properly Paleolithic. We can not say what future discoveries will
unfold, but as yet we have only implements of the River Drift type,
and these are the men Dr. Abbott considers to be the ancestors of the
Eskimos. In this country, then, we have shown the existence of but one
race of men in the same stage of culture as the men of the River Drift,
but of the same race as the men of the Cave. These results may be cited
as an argument in favor of those scholars who think that the men of the
River Drift and the men of the Cave were in reality the same people.<75>

In Europe there was apparently a long lapse of time between the
disappearance of the Paleolithic tribes and the arrival of the Neolithic
people, but we have no evidence of such a period in America. The
Paleolithic people remained in possession until driven away by the
Neolithic ones. All evidence of Paleolithic man in Europe terminated
with the Glacial Age, and there is little doubt but what they date from
preglacial times. Our present knowledge does not carry us any farther
back in this country than the close of Glacial times. If we consider
that the Glacial Age in America coincides in time with the same age in
Europe, then the last statements would imply that the Paleolithic Age
here was later than in Europe; in fact, that Paleolithic man had run his
course in Europe before he appeared in America, and some might even go
further, and say that he migrated from Europe to America. There are,
however, no good grounds for such conclusions. We believe that future
discoveries will show that in America also Paleolithic man was living in
Glacial and preglacial times.<76>

We feel that we have done but scant justice to this subject, but we
assure our readers that this question has been but little studied in
this country. Referring all relics of stone to the Indians, our scholars
have been slow to recognize traces of an earlier race in America. Our
sources of information are as yet but few, and much remains to be done
in this field. In Europe as in America, scholars are still hard at work
on the Paleolithic Age, and we are to hold ourselves in readiness to
modify our opinions, or to reject them entirely and adopt new ones as
our knowledge increases.

There is one thought that occurs to us. From the combined investigations
of both European and American scholars, the Eskimo is seen to be one of
the oldest (if not the oldest) races of men now living. They afford a
striking illustration of the fact that a race may early reach a limit of
culture beyond which, as a race, they can not pass. Should the American
discoveries establish the fact that the River Drift tribes are also
Eskimos, then we are fairly entitled to consider them the remnant of
a people who once held possession of all the globe, but who have been
driven to the inhospitable regions of the North by the pressure of later
people. What changes have come over the earth since that early time? In
the long lapse of years that have gone by newer races, advancing by
slow degrees, have at last achieved civilization. The fiat of Omnipotent
power could have created the world in a perfected form for the use
of man, but instead of so doing, Infinite Wisdom allowed slow-acting
causes, working through infinite years, to develop the globe from a
nebulous mass. Man could, indeed, have been created a civilized being,
but instead of this, his starting-point was certainly very low. He was
granted capacities in virtue of which he has risen. We are not to say
what the end shall be, but we think it yet far off.

Illustration of Stone Implement.----------

REFERENCES

(1) The manuscript of this chapter was submitted to Dr. C. C.
Abbott, of Trenton, New Jersey, for criticism.
(2) Dana's "Manual of Geology," p. 735, _et seq._
(3) Ibid., p. 753.
(4) Whitney's "Geology of California," Vol. I.
(5) Whitney's "Geological Survey of California," Vol. I.
(6) Dr. Newbury's "Geological Survey of California."
(7) Whitney's "Auriferous Gravels of California," p. 283.
(8) Cambridge Lecture, 1878.
(9) Cambridge Lecture, 1878.
(10) "Native Races," Vol. IV, p. 698.
(11) In general, all about Sonora, in the auriferous gravels,
are found bones of extinct animals, and, associated with them,
many relics of the works of human hands. These are found at
various depths down to one hundred feet. (Whitney's "Auriferous
Gravels," p. 263.)
(12) _American Journal of Science,_ Vol. XIX, p. 176, 1880.
(13) "Auriferous Gravels," p. 279.
(14) Wright's "Studies in Science and Religion," p. 289.
(15) Dawkins, in Southall's "Pliocene Man," p. 18.
(16) Southall's "Pliocene Man," p. 19.
(17) Schoolcraft's "Archaeology," Vol. I, p. 105.
(18) As bearing on the question of Pliocene man, we might refer
to the impression of human (?) foot-prints in the sand-stone
quarry of the State prison at Nevada. At one time this area was
the bottom of a lake, and we can plainly see the tracks of
various animals that came down to drink. A huge mammoth visited
the place; so also did horses and other animals. Among these is
one series of tracks evidently made by a biped. Some think they
are the sandaled foot of a human being. This question is still
under discussion.
(19) "Geographical Survey West of the 100th Meridian," Vol. VII,
p. 11.
(20) Dana's "Manual of Geology," p. 583.
(21) Putnam, in "Geographical Survey West of the 100th
Meridian," Vol. VII, p. 11.
(22) Ibid., p. 18.
(23) "Geographical Survey West of the 100th Meridian," Vol. VII,
p. 12.
(24) "Prehistoric Times," p. 436.
(25) "Human Species," p. 147.
(26) The researches of Mr. Dall in the Aleutian Islands
demonstrate the long-continued occupation of them by a savage
people, and a gradual advance of the same in culture--though
this apparent advance may have been simply the inroads of more
advanced tribes. U.S. Geographical Survey W. of 100th M., p. 12.
(27) Wright's "Studies in Science and Religion," p. 292.
(28) Morgan's "Ancient Society," p. 108, note.
(29) "Geographical Survey West of the 100th Meridian," Vol. VII,
p. 3.
(30) Bancroft's "Native Races," Vol. III, pp. 646, 647.
(31) "U.S. Geographical Survey West of the 100th Meridian," Vol.
VII, p. 12.
(32) Dana's "Manual of Geology," p. 591.
(33) LeConte's "Elements of Geology."
(34) Prof. Winchell, in his last work, "World Life," p. 363,
_et seq.,_ goes over the entire subject. As might be
expected, no decisive results are obtained. He sums up the
arguments to show that in this country the close of the Glacial
Age is not more than seven thousand years ago (p. 375).
The student who reads these pages and then Mr. Geikie's work,
"Prehistoric Europe," will be sorely puzzled to know what
conclusions to adopt. We can not do better than refer to the
chapter on Antiquity Paleolithic Age.
(35) Dana's _Am. Journal of Science,_ May, 1875.
(36) Foster's "Prehistoric Races," p. 62.
(37) See Lockwood, in _Popular Science Monthly_ for 1883,
for account of beaver dam built on a mastodon skeleton and
evidence of contemporaneity of Indians and mastodons.
(38) "The Missouri was a stream thirty miles wide."
(39) "Hayden," p. 255.
(40) For the facts on which this paragraph rests, see Report of
Samuel Aughey, Ph.D., in "U.S. Survey of the Territories, for
1874," p. 243, _et seq._
(41) "American Assoc. Rep.," 1880, p. 720.
(42) "Illinois Geological Reports," Vol. III, p. 123.
(43) "Prehistoric Races," p. 69.
(44) Jones's "Antiquities of the Southern Indians," p. 293.
(45) Jones's "Antiquities of the Southern Indians," p. 295.
(46) Quoted by Abbott's "Primitive Industry," p. 3.
(47) Peet's "Archaeology of Europe and America," p. 11.
(48) Short's "North Americans of Antiquity," p. 27.
(49) Up to the present time (1884) Dr. Abbott has collected over
20,000 specimens of stone implements, and all his more recent
"finds" but confirm the opinion he expressed as to their
significance ten years ago. His collection is at the Peabody
Museum of Archaeology, at Cambridge, Mass. (See last Peabody
Report.)
(50) "Nature," Vol. XI, p. 215.
(51) Ibid.
(52) "Nature," Vol. XI, p. 215.
(53) Ibid.
(54) "Primitive Industry," Abbott, p. 506.
(55) Seventeenth Report Peabody Museum, p. 354 and note.
(56) "Primitive Industry," p. 551.
(57) "Studies in Science and Religion," p. 324.
(58) Ibid., p. 324.
(59) We believe that similar results will attend the careful
exploration in other sections. As bearing on this subject, it is
interesting to know that Paleolithic implements are reported
from one locality in Mexico. Our information in regard to them
is very slight. (Brit. Assoc. Reports, 1881; Pres. Address,
Count De Saporte, _Popular Science Monthly,_ Sept., 1883.)
(60) Dana's "Manual of Geology," p. 540.
(61) "Geographical and Geological Survey," 1874, p. 254.
(62) Abbott's "Primitive Industry," p. 483.
(63) Abbott: "Proceedings of the Boston Society of Natural
History," Vol. XXII, p. 102.
(64) "Primitive Industry," p. 512.
(65) "Primitive Industry," p. 512.
(66) U.S. survey West of the 100th Meridian," Vol. VII, p. 12.
(67) Abbott's "Primitive Industry," p. 520.
(68) Ibid., p. 519.
(69) U.S. Geographical Survey of the Rocky Mountain Region,"
Vol. I, p. 102, quoted from "Primitive Industry," p. 519.
(70) _Popular Science Monthly,_ Jan., 1883.
(71) DeCosta's "Precolumbian Discovery of America," p. 69.
(72) Winchell's "Preadamites," p. 389.
(73) Brinton's "Myths of the New World," p. 23. Note.
(74) Prof. DeHass's "Paper" read before Am. Assoc., 1882.
(75) See chapter, "Cave-men," p. 113. Note.
(76) See remarks of Prof. Boyd Dawkins quoted earlier.

Chapter X

THE MOUND BUILDERS.<1>

Meaning of "Mound Builders"--Location of Mound Building tribes--All
Mounds not the work of men--Altar Mounds--Objects found on the
Altars--Altar Mounds possibly burial Mounds--Burial Mounds--Mounds
not the only Cemeteries of these tribes--Terraced Mounds--Cahokia
Mound--Historical notice of a group of Mounds--The Etowah
group--Signal Mounds--Effigy Mounds--How they represented different
animals--Explanation of the Effigy Mounds--Effigy Mounds in other
localities--Inclosures of the Scioto Valley--At Newark, Ohio--At
Marietta, Ohio--Graded Ways--Fortified Inclosures--Ft. Ancient,
Ohio--Inclosures of Northern Ohio--Works of unknown import--Ancient
Canals in Missouri--Implements and Weapons of Stone--Their knowledge of
Copper--Ancient mining--Ornamental pipes--Their knowledge of pottery--Of
Agriculture--Government and Religion--Hard to distinguish them from the
Indians.

The past of our race is irradiated here and there by the light of
science sufficiently to enable us to form quite vivid conceptions of
vanished peoples. As the naturalist, from the inspection of a single
bone, is enabled to determine the animal from which it was derived,
though there be no longer a living representative, so the archaeologist,
by the aid of fragmentary remains, is able to tell us of manners and
times now long since removed. In the words of another: "The scientist
to-day passes up and down the valleys, and among the relics and bones
of vanished people, and as he touches them with the magic wand
of scientific induction, these ancient men stand upon their feet,
revivified, rehabilitated, and proclaim with solemn voice the story of
their nameless tribe or race, the contemporaneous animals, and physical
appearance of the earth during those prehistoric ages."<2>

We have already learned that the world is full of mysteries, and though,
by the exertion of scholars, we begin to have a clearer idea of some
topics, yet our information is after all but vague and shadowy. The
amount of positive knowledge in regard to the mysterious tribes of
the older Stone Age, or the barbarians of the Neolithic period, or
the struggling civilization of the early Metallic Ages, is lamentably
deficient. On our Western Continent we have the mysterious remains in
the gold-bearing gravels of the Pacific coast, the significance of which
is yet in dispute. We have the Paleolithic Age of Europe, represented by
the remains found in the gravels of the Delaware at Trenton, New Jersey.
When deposited there, and by what people used, is, perhaps, still
enshrouded in doubt.

Leaving now the past, expressed by geological terms, or by periods of
thousands of years, we draw near to our own tribes, near, at least,
comparatively speaking, and behold, here, also, we discern evidence that
an ancient culture, as marked as that which built its cities along the
fertile water-courses of the Old World, had its seat on the banks of our
great rivers; that here flourished in full vigor for an unknown length
of time a people whose origin and fate are yet in doubt, though, thanks
to the combined efforts of many able men, we begin to have clearer
ideas of their social organization. We know them only by reason of their
remains, and as these principally are mounds, we call them the "Mound
Builders."

The name is not a distinguishing one in every sense, since mankind, the
world over, have been mound and pyramid builders. The pyramids of Egypt
and the mound-dotted surface of Europe and Asia bear testimony to this
saying, yet nowhere else in the world are they more plainly divided into
classes, or marked with design than here. In some places fortified
hills and eminences suggest the citadel of a tribe or people. Again,
embankments of earth, mostly circular or square, separate and in
combination, generally inclosing one or more mounds, excite our
curiosity, but fail to satisfy it. Are these fading embankments the
boundaries of sacred inclosures, or the fortification of a camp, or the
foundations on which to build communal houses? Here graded ways, there
parallel embankments raise questions, but suggest no positive answer.
We are equally in doubt as to the purposes for which many of the mounds
were built. Some seem to have been used as places of sepulcher, some for
religious rites, and others as foundation site of buildings. Some may
have been used as signal mounds, from which warning columns of smoke, or
flaming fires, gave notice of an enemy's approach.

Before coming to details let us, at a glance, examine the picture as a
whole. This country of ours, with its wide plains, its flowing rivers
and great lakes, is said by scholars to have been the home of a people
well advanced in the arts of barbarian life. What connection, if any,
existed between them and the Indians, is yet unsettled. We are certain
that many years before the Spanish discovery of America they made their
settlements here, developed their religious ideas, and erected their
singular monuments. That they were not unacquainted with war, is shown
by their numerous fortified inclosures. They possessed the elements of
agriculture, and we doubt not were happy and contented in their homes.
We are certain they held possession of the fairer portions of this
country for many years.

We must now seek to gather more particular knowledge of them, and of
the remains of their industry. We must not forget that these are the
antiquities of our own country; that the broken archaeological fragments
we pick up will, when put together, give us a knowledge of tribes that
lived here when civilization was struggling into being in the East. It
should be to us far more interesting than the history of the land of the
Pharaohs, or of storied Greece. Yet, strange to say, the facts we have
just mentioned are unknown to the mass of our people. Accustomed to
regard this as the New World, they have turned their attention to Europe
and the East when they would learn of prehistoric times. In a general
way, we have regarded the Indians as a late arrival from Asia, and cared
but little for their early history. It is only recently that we have
become convinced of an extended, past in the history of this country,
and it is only of late that able writers have brought to our attention
the wonders of an ancient culture, and shown us the footprints of a
vanished people.

We must first try and locate the territory occupied by the remains of
the mound builders. They are not to be found broadcast over the whole
country. We recall, in this connection, that the early civilization of
the East arose in fertile river valleys. This is found to be everywhere
the case, so we are not surprised to learn that the broad and fertile
valley of the Mississippi, with its numerous tributaries, was the
territory where these mysterious people reared their monuments and
developed their barbarian culture. Throughout the greater portion of
this area we find numerous evidences of a prolonged occupation of the
country. We are amazed at the number and magnitude of the remains.
Though this section has been under cultivation for many years, and the
plow has been remorselessly driven over the ancient embankments, yet
enough remain to excite our curiosity and to amply repay investigation.

This portion of the United States seems to have been the home, the seat
of the mound building tribes. We can not expect to find one type of
remains scattered over this entire section of country. Indeed, to judge
from the difference of the remains, they must have been the work of
different people or tribes, who were doubtless possessed of different
degrees of culture.<3> We will notice in our examination how these
remains vary in different sections of the country. But it is noticeable
that these remains become scarce and finally disappear as we go north,
east, and west from the great valley. Although they are numerous in the
Gulf States, yet they are not to be found, except in a few cases, in
States bordering on the Atlantic.<4> Some wandering bands, perhaps
colonies from the main body of the people, established works on the
Wateree River, in South Carolina,<5> In the mountainous regions of North
Carolina occur mines of mica, which article was much prized by the
mound builders; and here also are to be found traces of their early
presence.<6> We do not know of any authentic remains in New England
States. In Western New York there exists a class of remains which,
though once supposed to be the work of these people, are now generally
considered as the remains of works erected by the Indians,<7> and of a
similar origin appears to have been the singular fortification near Lake
Winnipiseogee, in New Hampshire.<8>

We have no record of their presence north of the great lakes. Passing
now to the western part of the valley, we do not find definite traces of
their presence in Texas. On this point, however, some authors state the
contrary, apparently basing their views on a class of mounds mentioned
by Prof. Forshey.<9> But the very description given of these mounds, and
the statements as to the immense number of them,<10> seem to show they
are not the work of men.<11> We do not think the West, and especially
the North-west, has been carefully enough explored to state where they
begin. It is certain that the head waters of the Mississippi and the
Missouri were thickly settled with tribes of this people, and some
writers think that they spread over the country by way of the Missouri
Valley from the North-west. Mr. Bancroft quotes from the writings of
Mr. Dean, to show the existence of mounds and inclosures on Vancouver
Island, and in British Columbia. And the statement is made that a
hundred miles north of Victoria there is a group of mounds ranging from
five to fifty yards in circumference, and from a few feet to fifty feet
in height.<12>

The inclosures, however, are described as being very similar to those in
Western New York, and are probably simply fortified sites, common among
rude people the world over, and such as were often erected by Indians.
The remains on the upper Missouri and its tributaries are very numerous,
and to judge from the brief description given us of them, they must
be very interesting.<13> This section has, however, been too little
explored to speak with confidence of these works.

As showing how much care should be exercised in this matter, we refer
to the account given by Capt. Wilkes in his journal of the United States
exploring expedition. Speaking of the mounds on the gravelly plains
between the Columbia River and Puget Sound, he tells us that the Butte
Prairies are covered with small mounds at regular distances asunder.
Some of them are thirty feet in diameter, six or seven feet above the
level of the ground, and many thousands in number. He opened some of
them, and found a pavement of round stones, and he thought he could
detect an arrangement of the mounds in groups of five, thus.

Illustration of arrangement of mounds.---------

It was his impression that they were the works of men, and had been
constructed successively and at intervals of several years.<14> This
observation of Capt. Wilkes is referred to by many as evidence of the
former existence of Mound Builders in this section.

More careful research in recent times has established the fact that
these mounds were certainly not erected by human hands, and no one else
has been able to discover the supposed arrangement in groups of five.
The pavement of round stones is common to the whole prairie.

But the greatest objection is the number of the mounds. A population
larger than could have found a living in the country must have been
required to erect them, unless we assume that a great length of time was
consumed in this work. Some other explanation must be given for these
mounds, as well as for those mysterious ones mentioned by Prof. Forshey.
This cut gives us a fair idea of the scenery of this section and the
mounds.<15>

Illustration of Mound Prairie.-----------

Within the area we have thus defined are located the works of the people
we call the Mound Builders. What we wish to do is to learn all about
these vanished people. A great many scholars have written about them,
and large collections of the remains of their handiwork have been made.
There is, however, a great diversity of opinion respecting the Mound
Builders and their culture. So we see we have a difficult subject to
treat of. In order to gain a clear understanding of it, we must describe
the remains more closely. About all we can learn of these people is
from a study of their monuments. We can not call to our aid history
or tradition, or rock-carved inscription, but must resort to crumbling
mounds, broken down embankments; study their location, and observe their
forms. To the studies in the field we must add those in the cabinet, and
examine the many objects found in and above the mounds and earth-works,
as well as the skeletons of the builders of the works. Rightly used,
we can draw from these sources much valuable information of the people
whose council-fires blazed all along the beautiful valleys of the Ohio
and Mississippi rivers in times far removed from us.

Illustration of Mound and Circle.-----------

We will first speak of the simplest form of these works, the ordinary
conical mound. This is the one form found all over the extensive area
designated. They exist in great numbers on the banks of the upper
Missouri, as well as the river bottoms of the South. This cut represents
a very fine specimen of a mound, in this instance surrounded by a
circular embankment. We must not forget that mounds are found all over
the world. "They are scattered over India, they dot the steppes of
Siberia and the vast region north of the Black Sea; they line the
shores of the Bosphorus and the Mediterranean; they are found in old
Scandinavia, and are singularly numerous in the British Islands."<16>

The principle in human nature which leads to the erection of mounds is
living and active to-day. The shaft which surmounts Bunker Hill is but
a modern way of memorizing an event which in earlier ages would have led
to the erection of a mound, and the polished monument which marks the
resting place of some distinguished man was raised for the same purpose
as the mounds heaped over the chiefs and warriors of another age. The
feeling which moves us to crown with steeples or spires our houses of
worship is evidently akin to that which induced older races to erect
a mound on which to place their temples, their idols, and altars of
sacrifice.

If mounds were the only works remaining of these ancient people, we
would not take so great an interest in them, and, as it is, we are not
to suppose that all the mounds are the works of those people we call the
Mound Builders. Recent investigation and historical evidence unite in
showing that some comparatively recent Indian tribes formed and used
mound structures. Early explorers have left abundant testimony to show
that in many cases the Indians resorted to mound-burial. Thus, it seems
that it was the custom of the Iroquois every eighth or tenth year, or
whenever about to abandon a locality, to gather together the bones of
their dead and rear over them a mound. To this custom, which was not
confined to the Iroquois, are doubtless to be ascribed the barrows and
bone mounds which have been found in such numbers in various parts of
the country.<17> Although it is well to bear these facts in mind, yet it
is not doubted that the larger number, and especially the more massive
ones, were erected by the same people who built the other mysterious
works, and so it is necessary that they be carefully studied.

Illustration of Altar Mound.-------------------

In the valley of the Ohio there have been found a class of mounds known
as Altar Mounds. These, it should be stated, nearly always occur in or
near inclosures. This cut gives us a good idea of mounds of this kind.
Near the top is seen an instance of what is called "intrusive" burial.
After the mound was completed it had been dug into and a body buried
near the surface. This burial was evidently later in time, and had no
connection with the purpose for which the mound was originally built. We
also notice in this mound the different layers of which it was composed.
These layers are of gravel, earth, and sand, the latter being only a few
inches thick. Mounds made in this manner are called stratified
mounds, and all altar mounds are probably of this kind. The lines of
stratification have been described as curving so as to correspond with
the shape of the mound, and such we are told is the general rule.<18>

Illustration of Plan and Section of Altar.---------

The peculiar feature, however, is the altar at the bottom of the mound,
directly above the natural surface of the ground. The small cut gives us
a clear idea of the altar, the light lines running around it showing the
plan. These altars are almost always composed of clay, though some of
stone have been discovered. They are of various shapes and sizes. We
notice the dish-shaped depression on the top of the altar. The clay of
which they are composed seems to have been moulded into shape directly
over the surface of the ground. Sometimes a layer of sand was put down
as a foundation. They are nearly always thoroughly burned, the clay
being baked hard, sometimes to the depth of fifteen or twenty inches.
This must have required intense and long continued heat.

We are at once curious to know the object of this altar. Within the
basin-shaped depression are generally found all manner of remains.
Sometimes portions of bones, or fragments of wood, arranged in regular
order; pieces of pottery vessels, and implements of copper and stone;
spear-heads, arrow-heads, and fragments of quartz and crystals of
garnet. Pipes are a common find, carved in miniature figures of animals,
birds, and reptiles. Two altar-mounds but recently examined near
Cincinnati had altars about four feet square that were loaded down with
ornaments.

One especially contained quantities of ornaments of stone, copper, mica,
shells, the canine-teeth of bears and other animals, and thousands of
pearls. They were nearly all perforated, as if for suspension. Several
of the copper ornaments were covered with native silver which had been
hammered out into thin sheets and folded over the copper. One small
copper pendant seems to have been covered with a thin sheet of hammered
gold, as a small piece was still clinging to it. This is the first
example of finding native gold in the mounds.<19> On this altar were
also found masses of meteoric iron, and ornaments of the same material.
One piece of mica showed the profile of a face.<20>

In all cases the articles found on the altars show the action of fire.
We seem justified, then, in supposing that after the altar was formed,
fires were lit on them, and into this fire were thrown the various
articles just enumerated. But what was all this for? This will probably
never be very clear to us, beyond the fact that it was a religious rite.
Portions of the human skeleton have been found on these altars, and
it has been suggested that human victims were at times part of the
sacrifice; but as it is known that this people practised cremation, it
may be that the altars were sometimes used for that purpose, the remains
being afterwards gathered and buried elsewhere.

After the offerings had been flung into the fire, while it was yet
glowing on the altar, earth or sand was heaped over them for a few
inches, then successive layers of earth and sand, or ashes, clay, or
gravel. Sometimes the altars were used several different times, in which
case a layer of clay several inches thick was laid over the old altar.
In one case three layers had been burned in before the final addition of
earth and sand were heaped over it. These strange monuments of a by-gone
people hint to us of mysterious rites. We wish we had more positive
knowledge of the ceremonies they commemorated; but at present we must
rest satisfied with conjecture.

The next class of mounds are known as burial mounds, some of which are
stratified, and resemble the so-called altar mounds. A mound explored
in Butler County, Ohio, had in the center a layer of clay an inch thick,
which had been burned until it was red. Underneath this was another
layer of clay, beneath which was found charcoal, burnt cloth, and
charred bones. Mr. Foster thinks that in this mound the body was placed
on a rude altar, fires were lit, and that while yet burning, clay was
thrown over it all, and that then fires were built all over the mound,
sufficient to burn the clay for an inch in thickness.<21> We have also a
description of a group of mounds explored near the Mississippi River, in
which there were evident signs of cremation. At least in several mounds
fires had been built close above the bodies. But in cremation other
victims may have been burned to accompany the departed chiefs or
warriors. In one mound evidence of such a custom was observed.

In another mound the center was found to be a mass of burned clay
interspersed with calcined human bones. No less than ten or fifteen
bodies had been burned here. "They must have worshiped some fierce ideal
deity, and the ceremony must have been considered of great importance
to have required so many victims." This may have been, however, nothing
more than simple cremation.<22>

Pidgeon has described mounds in Minnesota, in many respects like the
altar mounds. In one case he mentions there was an altar or pavement of
stone on the original surface of the ground, a few feet above which was
a layer of clay, showing the action of fierce and long-continued fires.
We furthermore are told that cremation, especially of chiefs, was more
or less common among the Village Indians of North America, that similar
usage was observed among many of the tribes of Mexico, and that the
Mayas, of Yucatan, burnt the bodies of their lords, and built temples
over their remains. So it may be that the altar mounds are but varieties
of funeral mounds, the remains of the bodies burned here being buried
elsewhere.<23>

Illustration of Burial Mounds.-------------

The nations that celebrated their mysteries around these mounds have
long since departed; the altar fires long since burned low. We are not
sure that we understand their purport, but we are certain they were
regarded as of great importance, and we can readily imagine that when
the fires were lit on the altars, gathering crowds stood round, and
participated in the religious observance, throwing into the fire their
most valued ornaments, in this manner paying their last respects to the
departed chiefs and great men of their tribe.

The true burial mounds are very numerous, an comprise by far the larger
number of mounds. They are to be found all over the Mound Builders'
territory, and are about the only class of remains found in the prairie
regions of the West. From the upper waters of the Missouri and the great
lakes on the north to the Gulf States on the south, and from west of the
Mississippi to the Alleghenies of the East, in all this vast region they
are the prevailing class of remains, and occur by hundreds, and even
thousands, along the valleys. The mounds themselves are often not very
conspicuous; as a rule they are simply heaps of dirt raised above the
surface and rounded over, and from two or three to fifteen or twenty
feet high, although many are of much larger size. They are seldom found
on the lower, or recent river terrace, but are common on the upper
terrace, and are often built upon the high bluffs bordering the streams,
where a wide stretch of country is exposed to view. Black-bird, an Omaha
chief, who died about the year 1800, desired to be buried on a high
bluff overlooking the Missouri, so that he might see the boats passing
up and down the river. Perhaps from a similar superstitious wish the
Mound Builders sometimes chose the sites of their burial mounds where
they could watch over their country; or it may be that the monuments
over the dead were placed in such conspicuous positions that they might
be readily seen by the people.

The next cut represents an ordinary burial mound, which was explored by
tunneling in from one side. We notice there are no different layers or
stratifications in this case. In some cases, at least, the building
of such a mound occupied several years. We can see where the dirt was
thrown down in small quantities, averaging about a peck, as if from a
basket. In one case grass had started to grow on the unfinished surface
of the mound, to be covered up by fresh dirt.<24>

Illustration of Burial Mounds.-------------------

In the majority of cases the mounds contain the remains of but one
individual, with various relics of a rude and barbarous people. Where
but one body was buried, the usual mode of procedure seems to have been
to first clear a space on the surface of the ground; the body was then
placed in the center of this prepared place, and often a rude framework
of timber was placed around it, sometimes a stone chamber was built up.
Over this the mound was erected to the desired height. This description
would apply to nearly all of the many thousands of burial mounds in the
country.

In the cut a layer of charcoal is noticed near the top. Nearly all
mounds show evidence of the existence of fire during some period of
their construction. In some cases these fires were fierce and long
continued, as if the object had been to cremate the body. It may have
been a part of their religious belief that it was necessary to keep
fires blazing on the mound for a short length of time to keep off evil
spirits, or to comfort the soul of the departed. Such at any rate
was the custom among some Indian tribes. We are told that among the
Iroquois, a "fire was built upon the grave at night to enable the spirit
to prepare its food."<25>

In some cases, many individuals were buried in the same mound. These may
be communal burials, such as we have already referred to. Mounds of this
kind have been examined near Nashville, Tennessee. One mound alone was
the burial place of over two hundred persons. Pidgeon describes some
triangular burial mounds in Minnesota, differing in shape only from
the ordinary circular mounds that belong to this division. In general,
burial mounds are not very high, yet there are exceptions to this rule.

Illustration of Grave Creek Mound.-----------

This cut represents one of the largest of these mounds. It is situated
at the junction of Grave Creek and the Ohio River, twelve miles below
Wheeling, in West Virginia. It measures seventy feet in height, and its
base is nearly one thousand feet in circumference. An excavation made
from the top downward, and from one side of the base to the center,
disclosed the fact that the mound contained two sepulchral chambers,
one at the base and one near the center of the mound. These chambers
had been constructed of logs, and covered with stone. The lower chamber
contained two skeletons, one of which is supposed to have been a female.
The upper chamber contained but one skeleton. In addition to these,
there were found a great number of shell beads, ornaments of mica, and
bracelets of copper.<26>

A moment's thought will show us what a great work such a mound must have
been for a people destitute of metallic tools and domestic animals. The
earth for its construction was probably scraped up from the surface and
brought thither in baskets. A people capable of erecting such a monument
as this, with only such scanty means at their command, must have
possessed those qualities which would sooner or later have brought them
civilization.

Another very interesting mound of this class once stood in the city of
St. Louis. The rapidly growing city demanded its removal in 1869. It was
an oblong mound, one hundred and fifty feet long by thirty in height. In
its removal it was shown that it contained a burial chamber seventy-five
feet long, from eight to twelve feet wide, and from eight to ten feet
high, in which about thirty burials had taken place. The surface of
the ground had first been leveled, then the walls raised to the desired
height, made firm and solid, and plastered with clay. Timbers formed the
roof, over which the mound had been raised to the desired height.

Illustration of Cross-section St. Louis Mound.--------

In process of time the roof decayed and fell in, thus giving a sunken
appearance to the top of the mound. This view is a cross section of the
mound as it was revealed by the workmen. We notice where the roof has
fallen in, and the outline of the interior chamber. This burial chamber
was perhaps an exact model of the cabins in which the people lived.
Can it be that this mound was the final resting place of some renowned
chief, and that the other bodies were those of his attendants sent
to accompany him to the other world? This is perhaps as reasonable a
conjecture as any. Certain it is that this tumulus and that at Grave
Creek were fit pyramids for the Pharaohs of the New World.

It is not to be supposed that the mounds were the sole cemeteries of the
people who built them. Like the barrows of Europe, they were probably
erected only over the bodies of the chiefs and priests, the wise men,
and warriors of the tribe. The amount of work required for the erection
of a mound was too great to provide one for every person. The greater
number of the dead were deposited elsewhere than in mounds, but it is
doubtful whether we can always distinguish the prehistoric burial places
from those of the later Indians. An ancient cemetery, discovered near
Madisonville, Ohio, proved to be a most interesting find, as it was
thought to be a burial place of the Mound Builders,<27> but it seems
there is strong doubt on this point. One writer thinks this was a
cemetery of the Erie tribe of Indians, and not very ancient in date.<28>

In Tennessee are to be found numerous burial places known as the
stone-grave cemeteries. Stone graves of a similar character are found in
Kentucky, Ohio, and Missouri. These are as yet but few facts which can
be used as indicating that all the stone graves are of one people. Many
of these cemeteries are of great antiquity, while similar stone graves
are of quite recent date. In some places the cemeteries cover very large
areas.

Illustration of Terraced Mound.-------------

We have now to describe a class of mounds that are always regarded with
great interest, as a number of our scholars think they see in them the
connecting link between the remains in this country and those of Mexico
and the South. These are generally known as "temple mounds," from the
common impression that they were sites of temples or public buildings.
In general terms, mounds of this class are distinguished by their large
size and regularity of form, and they always have a flat or level top.
On one side there is generally a graded way leading up to the summit, in
some instances several such methods of approach. Sometimes the sides of
the mound are terraced off into separate stages.<29>

We have already noticed that different sections of country are
distinguished by different classes of mound remains. In the present
State of Ohio are found many altar mounds and inclosures. In the West
are large numbers of burial mounds, but the so-called temple mounds are
most numerous in the South. At one place in Wisconsin is found a
low embankment inclosing four low mounds with leveled tops. But the
resemblance between these and the regular temple mounds is certainly
slight. Only a few instances of these flat-topped mounds are found in
Ohio. Of these the still existing "elevated squares" at Marietta are
good examples.

Illustration of Elevated Square, Marietta.-----------

This cut represents the mound preserved in the park at Marietta. It is
ten feet high, one hundred and eighty-eight feet long, by one hundred
and thirty-two feet wide. The platform on the top has an area of about
half an acre. Graded ways lead up on each of the four sides. These
grades are twenty-five feet wide, and sixty feet long.<30>

As we approach the Gulf States, these platform mounds increase in
number. The best representative of this class, the most stupendous
example of mound builders' work in this country, is situated in
Illinois, not far from St. Louis. The mound and its surroundings are so
interesting that they deserve special mention. One of the most fertile
sections of Illinois is that extending along the Mississippi from the
Kaskaskia to the Cahokia river, about eighty miles in length, and five
in breadth. Well watered, and not often overflowed by the Mississippi,
it is such a fertile and valuable tract that it has received the name
of the "Great American Bottom." It is well known that the Mound Builders
chose the most fertile spots for their settlements, and it is therefore
not surprising to find the evidence that this was a thickly settled
portion of their territory. Mr. Breckenridge, writing in 1811, says:
"The great number of mounds, and the astonishing quantity of human
bones, everywhere dug up or found on the surface of the ground, with a
thousand other appearances, announces that this valley was at one time
filled with habitations and villages. The whole face of the bluff, or
hill, which bounds it on the east, appears to have been a continuous
burying ground."<31>

Mounds are numerous in this section. We learn that there are two groups
of mounds or pyramids, one about ten miles above the Cahokia, and the
other about the same distance below it, more than one hundred and fifty
in all. Speaking of the group above the Cahokia, Mr. Breckenridge says:
"I found myself in the midst of a group of mounds mostly of a circular
shape, and, at a distance, resembling enormous hay-stacks scattered
through a meadow. One of the largest which I ascended was about two
hundred paces in circumference at the bottom, the form nearly square,
though it had evidently undergone considerable alteration from the
washing of rains. The top was level, with an area sufficient to contain
several hundred men." He represents the view from the top of the mound
to be a very extensive and beautiful one. From this elevation he
counted forty-five mounds or pyramids, besides a great number of
small artificial elevations. This group was arranged in the form of a
semicircle, about a mile in extent, the open space being on the river.

Illustration of Cahokia Mound.--------------------

Three miles above occurs the group in which is found the famous big
mound.<32> This cut gives us a good idea of the mound as it was in its
perfect state. All accounts given of this mound vary. From a cut of the
model, as prepared by Dr. Patrick, the area of the base is a trifle
over fifteen acres.<33> The ascent was probably on the south side of
the mound, where the little projection is seen. The first platform is
reached at the height of about fifty feet. This platform has an area of
not far from two and four-fifth acres. Large enough for quite a number
of houses, if such was the purpose for which this mound was erected. The
second platform is reached at about the height of seventy-five feet,
and contains about one and three-fourth acres. The third platform is
elevated ninety-six or ninety-seven feet, while the last one is not far
from one hundred feet above the plain. The area of the last two is about
three-fourths of an acre each. The areas of all the platforms are not
far from six acres. We require to dwell on these facts a moment before
we realize what a stupendous piece of work this is. The base is larger
than that of the Great Pyramid,<34> and we must not lose sight of the
fact that the earth for its construction was scraped up and brought
thither without the aid of metallic tools or beasts of burden, and yet
the earth was obtained somewhere and piled up over an area of fifteen
acres in one place to a height of one hundred feet, and even the lowest
platform is fifty feet above the plain. Some have suggested that it
might be partly a natural elevation. There seems to be, however, no good
reason for such suggestions.

What motive induced the people to expend so much labor on this mound? It
is not probable that this was a burial mound, though it may ultimately
prove to be so. The most probable supposition is that the mound was
erected so as to secure an elevated site, perhaps for purpose of
defense, as on these platforms there was abundant room for a large
village, and an elevation or height has always been an important factor
in defenses. In this connection, Prof. Putnam has called our attention
to a fact which indicates that a very long time was occupied in the
construction of the mound, and further, that a numerous population had
utilized its platforms as house sites--that is, that "everywhere in the
gullies, and over the broken surface of the mounds, mixed with the earth
of which it is composed, are quantities of broken vessels of clay, flint
chips, arrow-heads, charcoal, bones of animals, etc., apparently the
refuse of a numerous people." The majority of writers, however, think
that this elevated site, obtained as the result of so much labor, was
utilized for important public buildings, presumedly the temple of their
gods, and no one can help noticing the similarity between this structure
and those raised by the ancient Mexicans for both religious purposes and
town sites.

Mr. Foster thinks that "upon this platform was reared a capacious
temple, within whose walls the high-priests gathered from different
quarters at stated seasons, celebrated their mystic rites, while
the swarming multitudes below looked up with mute adoration."<35> Mr.
Breckenridge, whose writings we have already referred to, at the time of
his first visit, "everywhere observed a great number of small elevations
of earth, to the height of a few feet, at regular distances apart, which
appeared to observe some order: near them pieces of flint and fragments
of earthen vessels." From this he concludes that here was a populous
town, and that this mound was a temple site. It is doubtful whether
we shall ever pierce the veil that lies between us and this aboriginal
structure. The pyramids of the Old World have yielded up their secret,
and we behold in them the tombs of Egypt's kings. But this earthen
pyramid on the western prairie is more involved in mystery, and we do
not know even its builders. If the result of religious zeal, we may be
sure that a religion which exacted from its votaries the erection of
such a stupendous piece of work was one of great power.

As before remarked, "temple mounds" increase in numbers and importance
as we go south. In Kentucky they are more frequent than in the States
north of the Ohio River, and in Tennessee and Mississippi they are still
more abundant.<36> We also learn that they are often surrounded, or
nearly so, with moats or ditches, as if to fortify their location. Our
next cut illustrates such an arrangement--a circular wall of earth four
feet high and two thousand three hundred feet in circumference, incloses
four mounds, two of which are temple mounds. According to the late
Prof. Forshey, temple mounds abound in Louisiana. He described a group
situated in Catahoola County, in which the principal mound has a base of
more than an acre, a height of forty-two feet, and the upper platform
an area of nearly one-third of an acre. The smaller mounds are arranged
around this larger one. This group is defended by an embankment. From
this point for a distance of twenty miles along the river, are scattered
similar groups of mounds; in all cases the smaller ones arranged around
the larger one, which is presumably the site of a temple.

Illustration of Temple Mounds inclosed in a Circle.------

A digression right here may not be devoid of interest. We are not sure
but that the dim, uncertain light of history falls on the origin of this
group of mounds. When the French first commenced their settlement in
the lower Mississippi Valley, the Natchez Indians was the most powerful
tribe in all that section. In the course of time, wars ensued between
them and the French, and in the year 1730 they fled into Upper
Louisiana, and settled at the place where these mounds are now found.
But the French followed them a year or so afterwards, and nearly
exterminated. them. Some of our scholars think that they erected these
mounds.<37> The historian of that epoch simply says they had "built a
fort there." It is however questioned whether they had time to build
works of such magnitude. But they were both a mound-building and a
mound-using people, and we are not prepared to say how long it would
take them to do the work, until we know the number engaged, methods
employed, and other considerations.<38> If they did not build these
works, they doubtless cleared them of trees and utilized them; and this
place was therefore the scene of the final downfall of the Natchez--a
people we have every reason to regard as intimately connected with the
prehistoric mound-building tribes.

The largest temple mound in the South is near Seltzertown, Mississippi.
Its base covers about six acres, and it rises forty feet. This slope was
ascended by means of a graded way. The summit platform has an extent
of nearly four acres. On this platform three other mounds had been
reared--one at each end, and a third in the center. Recent investigation
by the Bureau of Ethnology have shown that the base of this mound is a
natural formation. Lumps of sun-dried, or partially burnt clay, used
as plastering on the houses of the Mound Builders, gave rise to a
sensational account of a wall of sun-dried bricks two feet thick,
supporting the mound on the northern side.<39> The famous Messier Mound,
in Georgia, is said to reach a height of ninety-five feet. But a large
part of this elevation is a natural eminence; the artificial part is
only a little over fifty feet.

Illustration of Etowah Mound, Georgia.-----------

A work of unusual interest occurs on the Etowah River, Georgia. This cut
gives us a plan of the work. We notice, first of all, the moat or ditch
by which they fortified their position. The ditch is still from five
to twenty-five feet deep, and from twenty to seventy-five feet wide.
It connects directly with the river at one end, but stops short at the
other. It surrounds nearly fifty acres of land. At two points we notice
reservoirs, each about an acre in size, and an average depth of not less
than twenty feet. At its upper end is an artificial pond. This ditch,
with its reservoirs and pond, is no slight work. The large mound seen in
the center of the space is one of the largest of the temple mounds.
Its shape is sufficiently shown in the cut. The height of the mound is
sixty-five feet. We call especial attention to the series of terraces
leading up the south side of the mound. Graded ways afford means of
access from one terrace to the other. A pathway is also seen on the
eastern side.

To this group of works an interest attaches similar to that of the group
of works mentioned in Louisiana. We are not certain but that we catch
a glimpse of it while it was yet an inhabited Indian town. This is
contained in the brief accounts we have of the wanderings of the
unfortunate De Soto and his command. One of the chroniclers of this
expedition La Vega, describes one of the towns where the weary Spaniards
rested, and which we are sure was somewhere in Northern Georgia, in such
terms, mentioning the graded way leading to the top, that Prof. Thomas,
who has spent some time in this investigation, thinks his description
can apply only to the mound under consideration.<40> Whether this
conclusion will be allowed to stand, remains to be seen. But, if true,
then the darkness which rests upon this aboriginal structure lifts for
a moment and we see around it a populous Indian town, able to send five
hundred warriors to battle. The Spaniards marched on to sufferings
and death, and darkness again closed around the Etowah Mound. When
the Europeans next beheld it around it was the silent wilderness; the
warriors had departed; the trees of the forest overspread it.

We have now described the principal mound structures, and shown the
different classes into which they are divided. But a large class of
mounds are found scattered all through the Mound Builders' territory
that were probably used as signal mounds. Burial mounds were also often
used for this purpose.<41> This was because their location was always
very favorable for signal purposes. Signaling by fire is a very ancient
custom. The Indians on our western plains convey intelligence by this
means at the present day. Some tribes use such materials as will cause
different shades of smoke, using dried grass for the lightest, pine
leaves for the darkest, and a mixture for intermediate purposes. They
also vary the signal by letting the smoke rise in an unbroken column,
or cover the fire with a blanket, so as to cause puffs of smoke. The
evidence gathered from the position of the mounds, and traces of fire on
their summit, is that the Mound Builders had a very extensive system of
signal mounds.

Illustration of Hill Mounds.---------------

To illustrate this system, we would state that the city of Newark, Ohio,
was the site of a very extensive settlement of the Mound Builders.
This settlement was in a valley, but on all the surrounding hills were
located signal mounds. And it is further stated that lines of signal
mounds can be traced from here as a center to other and more distant
points. The large mound at Mt. Vernon, twenty miles to the north, was
part of this system. As the settlements of the Mound Builders were
mostly in river valleys, we would expect to find all along on the bluffs
fronting these valleys traces of signal mounds. In the Scioto Valley,
from Columbus to Chillicothe, a distance of about forty miles, twenty
mounds "may be selected, so placed in respect to each other that it is
believed, if the country was cleared of forests, signals of fire might
be transmitted in a few minutes along the whole line." Some think
the chain is much more extensive than this, and that the whole Scioto
Valley, from Delaware County to Portsmouth, was so provided with mounds
that signals could be sent in a very few minutes the whole distance.<42>

Illustration of Miamisburg Mound.----------

The valley of the Miami River was equally well provided with signal
mounds. This great mound, at Miamisburg, Ohio, rising to the height of
sixty-eight feet, was one of the chain by which signals were transmitted
along the valley. Not only was each river valley thus provided, but
there is evidence that communication was established between different
river systems, so we can easily see how quickly the invasion of their
country by an enemy from any quarter would become known in widely
scattered sections. Immediately across the river from Chillicothe, Ohio,
on a hill nearly six hundred feet high, was located a signal mound. A
fire built upon it would be visible twenty miles up the valley, and an
equal distance down. It would be also visible far down the valley
of Paint Creek. Some think that such a system of lofty observatories
extended across the whole State of Ohio, of Indiana, and Illinois, the
Grave Creek mound, on the east, the great mound at Cahokia, on the west,
and the works in Ohio filling up the line. We do not believe, however,
it is safe to draw such conclusions. It is doubtful whether there was
any very close connection between the tribes in these several sections.

In the State of Wisconsin are found some of the most interesting remains
of the Mound Builders. They are so different from the ordinary remains
found elsewhere that we must admit that the people who built them
differed greatly from the tribes who built the great temple mounds
of the South, or the earthworks of Ohio. The remains in Wisconsin are
distinguished not by their great size or height, but by their singular
forms. Here the mound building instincts of the people were expressed by
heaping up the earth in the shape of animals. What strange fancy it was
that led them to mould the figures on the bluffy banks of the rivers and
the high lands about the lakes of their country, we shall perhaps never
know. That they had some design in this matter is, of course, evident,
and if we would try and learn their secret, we must address ourselves to
a study of the remains.

Effigy mounds are almost exclusively confined to the State of Wisconsin.
We, indeed, find effigy mounds in other sections, but they are of rare
occurrence.<43> They, however, show that the same reasons, religious, or
otherwise, exists in other localities, while in the area covered by
the southern portion of the State of Wisconsin it found its greatest
expression. This cut affords us a fair idea of effigy mounds. Here are
seen two animals, one behind the other. On paper we can readily see the
resemblance. Stretched out on the ground, and of gigantic proportions,
the resemblance is not so marked, and some might fail to notice it at
first sight. Either of those figures is over one hundred feet long,
and about fifteen feet wide. With few exceptions, effigy mounds are
inconsiderable in height, varying from one to four feet. These mounds
have been carefully studied of late years, and there is no doubt that in
many instances we can distinguish the animals represented.

Illustration of Effigy Mounds.------------------

We learn, then, that tribes formerly living in Wisconsin had the custom
of heaping up the earth in the shape of the various animals peculiar
to that section. But no effigies are found of animals that have since
become extinct, or of animals that are to be found only in other lands.

Our next cut represents the famous elephant mound of Wisconsin, on the
strength of which a number of fair theories have been given relating
to the knowledge of the mastodon by the builders of the mound, and its
consequent antiquity. It now bears some resemblance to an elephant,
but we learn that the trunk was probably produced by the washing of the
banks and, from the same cause, a projection above the head, supposed to
represent horns, has disappeared. Taking these facts into consideration,
it is quite as likely that it represented a buffalo.<44> One writer even
thinks he found a representation of a camel, but the fact is, the more
these effigy mounds are studied, the more certain are we that they are
representations of animals formerly common in that region.

Illustration of Elephant Mound and Emblematic Mounds.--------

The manner in which they represented the various animals is full of
interest to us. It has been discovered that they worked on a system. The
last cut represents a group of three animals discovered a few miles from
the Blue Mounds in Dane County. We notice at once a difference between
the central animal, with a tail, and the other two. It will also be
observed that the animals are represented in profile, with only
two projections for legs. They are never separated so that we can
distinguish the two front and the two hind feet. Animals so figured are
the bear, fox, wolf, panther, and others. Grazing animals, such as the
buffalo, elk, and deer, are represented with a projection for horns. In
the last cut the other two animals are buffaloes. In various ways the
particular kind of animal can nearly always be distinguished.<45>

Illustration of Grazing Elks. Fox in the distance.------

The preceding cut represents two elks grazing, and a fox in the
distance. The long embankments of earth at one side are considered by
Mr. Peet as in the nature of game drives. But we call attention to the
expressiveness with which these figures are delineated. What could be
more natural than the quietly grazing elks, with the suspicious prowling
fox in the distance. In the cut we also see two cross-shaped figures.
This was their method of representing birds, a projection on each
side of a central body denoting wings. These figures are often very
expressive.

Illustration of Eagle Mound.-----------------------

In this cut we have no difficulty in recognizing an eagle. It is
represented as soaring high in the air. On the bluffs above it is a wolf
effigy, and several conical and long mounds. In the cut preceding this
the eagle and the hawk are hovering over the feeding elks, while in
this cut a flock of hawks are watching some buffaloes feeding in the
distance. This group of effigies was found on the banks of the Kickapoo
River.

Illustration of Hawks and Buffaloes.------------

Our next cut represents a wild goose with a long neck and beak followed
by a duck with a short neck, flying towards the lake.

Illustrations of Goose and Duck.-----------

Water-loving animals, such as salamanders and turtles, are represented
in still another way, two projections on each side of a central figure.
The next following cut represents a turtle. The tail was not always
added. The salamander closely resembles the turtle, but notice the
difference in the body, and still different is the cut of the musk-rat
(see later). Fishes are figured as a straight embankment of earth
tapering to a point.

Illustration of Turtle.----------------

The same system that was observed in the location of signal mounds is
to be noticed in the arrangements of these groups of effigy mounds. They
are not alone. One group answers to another on a distant hill, or is in
plain view of another group in the valley below. Distant groups were
so related, each commanding a wide extent of country, and thus group
answers to group, and mound to mound, for miles away, making a complete
system throughout the region.

Illustration of Salamander and Musk-rat.---------

We notice this as to the location of the mounds. When we examine the
mounds themselves we observe no little skill in the way they represent
the animals. They often impressed on them something more than mere
animal resemblances. "There are groups where the attitudes are
expressive of a varied action. Certain animals, like the weasel or mink,
being seen with a bird so near that, apparently, it might be caught by a
single spring; and still others, like the wolf or wild-cat, are arranged
head to head, as if prepared for combat; and still others, like
the squirrel or coon, are in the more playful attitudes, sometimes
apparently chasing one another over hill or valley; and again situated
alone, as if they had just leaped from some tree, or drawn themselves
out of some den or hole."<46>

Illustration Man-shaped Mound.-------------------

Nor is the effigy of the human form wanting. It is found in several
localities throughout the State. This cut shows us one such effigy.
This was the beginning of a long train of animal mounds, presumably
representing bears, found near the Blue Mounds, Wisconsin.<47> We can
not observe that any more importance was ascribed to the effigy of a
human being than to that of an animal.

In casting about for suitable explanation for the erection of these
animal mounds, we find ourselves lost in conjecture as to the motive
which induced these people to prepare these earthen effigies. We may be
sure that it was for some other reason than for amusement, or to give
exercise to an artistic feeling. Only in very few instances do we detect
any arrangements which would imply that they were in the nature of
defenses. In some cases the effigies are so arranged as to form a sort
of inclosure, some portion of the figure being prolonged to an unusual
extent and thus inclosing a space that may have been utilized for a
village site. This group on the Wisconsin River illustrates this
point. Here the area thus partially inclosed, is about an acre. It is
a singular fact that these inclosures are almost always triangular in
shape.<48> But it is manifest that a simple earth wall would serve for
defense much better than these forms. They probably were not burial
mounds, as few contain human remains, and it is not yet certain that
these remains were not intrusive burials.<49> It seems, therefore that
they must have been in some manner connected with the religious life of
the people.

Illustration of Emblematic Mound Inclosure.--------

If we examine the various groups scattered throughout the State, this
belief is strengthened. It is found, for instance, in nearly every
group, that some one effigy is the principal one, and is placed in a
commanding position, about which the other forms are arranged. It is
also thought that the same effigy is the principal or ruling effigy over
a wide district. In illustration of this, it can be stated that in the
south-eastern part of the State the turtle is always the ruling effigy.
In any group of effigies it is the principal one. It seems to watch over
and protect the others. In subordination to it are such forms as the
lizard, hawk, and pigeon. Passing to the North, the turtle is no longer
the important figure. It is replaced by the wolf, or wild-cat. This is
now the principal form, and if the turtle is sometimes present, it is of
less importance.

So marked is the fact we have just stated that Mr. Peet says, "that
sometimes this division assumes almost the character of a river system,
and thus we might trace what seems to be the beginning in this country
of that which prevailed on classic soil and in Oriental regions--namely,
river gods and tutelar divinities of certain regions, each tribal
divinity having its own province, over which it ruled and on which it
left its own form or figure as the seal of its power and the emblem of
its worship."<50>

Looking for some explanation of this, we may find a key in the known
customs of various Indian tribes, and the lower races of men. It is
known that a tribe of Indians is divided into smaller bands, which are
called gens or clans. A gens may consist of several hundred persons,
but it is the unit of organization. It takes the place of a family among
civilized people. These various bands are generally named after some
animal. In the beginning these names may have been of no special
significance, but in course of time each band would come to regard
themselves as descendants of the animal whose name they bore. Hence the
animal itself would be considered sacred in their eyes, and its life
would seldom be taken by members of that gens.

The animal thus honored by the gens was, in the Indian dialect, the
totem of the clan. This organization and custom we find running all
through the Indian tribes. In many tribes the Indians were wont to carve
a figure of their totem on a piece of slate, or even to carve a stone in
the shape of the totem, which carved or sculptured stone they wore as
an ornament, or carried as a charm to ward off evil and bring them good
luck.<51> We need only suppose that this system was very fully developed
among the Mound Builders of Wisconsin, to see what important bearing it
has on these effigy mounds.

A tribe located on one of the fertile river valleys of Wisconsin was
composed of various gens or clans. On some common point in proximity
to their villages, or some spot which commanded a wide view of the
surrounding country, each gens would rear an effigy of its totem,
the animal sacred to them. In every tribe some gens would be the most
powerful, or for some cause the most respected, and its totem would be
given in the largest effigy, and would be placed in the most commanding
position. In a different locality some other tribe would be located, and
some other totem would be regarded as of the most importance.

In this light effigy-mounds are not mere representatives of animal
forms. They are picture-writings on a gigantic scale, and are the source
of much true history. They tell us of different tribes, the clans which
composed them, the religious beliefs, and the ruling gens of the tribe.
Contemplating them, we seem to live again in the far-off past. The
white man disappears; waving forests claim their ancient domain, and the
rivers, with a more powerful current, roll in their olden channels. The
animals whose forms are imaged here, go trooping through the forest
or over the fertile bottom lands. The busy scenes of civilization give
place to the placid quiet of primeval times, and we seem to see peaceful
tribes of Mound Builders paying a rude veneration to their effigy-gods,
where now are churches of a more soul-satisfying religion.

But there is still another point to be learned from an examination of
these ancient mounds. Not only are they totems of the tribes, but they
were looked on in some sense as being guardian divinities, with power to
protect the homes of the tribe. This is learned by studying the location
in which they are placed. They occupy all points of observation.
In other parts of the Mound Builders' country, wherever we find
signal-mounds we find corresponding positions in Wisconsin occupied by
groups of effigy-mounds, or if one only is present, it is always the
one which, from the considerations we have stated, was regarded as the
ruling effigy of that section. It is as if their builders placed them as
sentinels to guard the approaches to their homes, to give warning of
the arrival of hostile bands. This is further borne out by finding that
mounds placed in such positions frequently show evidence of the action
of intense fire, and so we conclude they were used as signal stations
also. So we need not doubt but that the region thus watched over by
these effigy-mounds, group answering to group along the river banks, or
in the valleys below, was at times lit up by the signal fires at
night; or the warning column of smoke by day betokening the presence of
dancer.<52>

Illustration of Bird Mound, surrounded by a Stone Circle.---

Before leaving the subject of effigy-mounds, we must refer to some
instances of their presence in other localities. This cut is an eagle
effigy discovered in Georgia. Only one other instance, also occurring
in Georgia, is known of effigy-mounds in the South. Measured from tip to
tip of the wings, the bird, in this case, is one hundred and thirty-two
feet. This structure is composed of stones, and a singular feature is
the surrounding circle of stone.<53>

Illustration of Big Serpent Mound.-------------------

Several examples of effigy-mounds are found in Ohio. The most notable
one is that known as the Great Serpent Mound, in Adanis County. We give
an illustration of it. The entire surrounding country is hilly. The
effigy itself is situated on a tongue of land formed by the junction of
a ravine with the main branch of Brush Creek, and rising to a height
of about one hundred feet above the creek. Its form is irregular on
its surface, being crescent-shaped, with the point resting to the
north-west. We give in a note some of the dimensions. The figure we give
of this important effigy is different from any heretofore presented. We
are indebted for the plan from which the drawing was made to Rev. J. P.
MacLean, of Hamilton, Ohio. Mr. MacLean is a well-known writer on these
topics. During the Summer of 1884, while in the employ of the Bureau of
Ethnology, he visited the place, taking with him a thoroughly competent
surveyor, and made a very careful plan of the work for the Bureau. All
the other figures published represent the oval as the end of the works.
Prof. Putnam, who visited the locality in 1883, noticed, between the
oval figure and the edge of the ledge, a slightly raised, circular ridge
of earth, from either side of which a curved ridge extended towards the
sides of the oval figure. Mr. MacLean's researches and measurements have
shown that the ridges last spoken of are but part of what is either a
distinct figure or a very important portion of the original figure. As
figured, it certainly bears a very close resemblance to a frog, and such
Mr. MacLean concludes it to be.

There is both a similarity and a difference between this work and those
of Wisconsin. The fact that it occurs isolated, the other effigies in
Ohio being many miles away, shows that some special purpose must have
been subserved by it. There the great numbers gave us a hint as to their
purpose. In this case, however, nearly all observers conclude that it
was a religious work. Mr. MacLean, after describing these three figures,
propounds this query: "Does the frog represent the creative, the egg
the passive, and the serpent the destructive power of nature?" Not a
few writers, though not acquainted with the presence of the frog-shaped
figure, have been struck with the combination of the egg and the
serpent, that plays such an important part in the mythology of the Old
World. We are told that the serpent, separate or in combination with
the circle, egg, or globe, has been a predominant symbol among many
primitive nations. "It prevailed in Egypt, Greece, and Assyria, and
entered widely into the superstitions of the Celts, the Hindoos, and the
Chinese." "Wherever native religions have had their scope, this symbol
is sure to appear."<54>

Even the Indians have made use of this symbol. On Big Medicine Butte, in
Dakota Territory, near Pierre, is a train of stones arranged in the form
of a serpent, which is probably the work of the Sioux Indians. Around
about on the hill is the burying-ground of their chiefs. This was to
them sacred ground, and no whites were allowed near. The stones are
about the size of a man's head, and are laid in two rows, from one to
six feet apart. The length in all is three hundred and fifty feet, and
at the tail, stones, to represent rattles, are rudely carved. The eyes
are formed by two big red bowlders. No grass was allowed to grow between
the two rows of stone.<55>

It seems reasonable to suppose that the few isolated effigy mounds we
have outside of Wisconsin were built to subserve a different purpose
than those in that State. Mr. Peet has made some remarks on their
probable use that seem to us to cover the ground, and to do away with
any necessity of supposing on the part of its builders an acquaintance
with Old World mythologies. Nature worship is one of the earliest forms
of worship. The prominent features of a landscape would be regarded as
objects of worship. Thus, for example, the island of Mackinac resembles
in its outline the shape of a turtle; so the island was regarded as
sacred to the turtle, and offerings were made to it. A bluff on the same
island at a distance resembles a rabbit; accordingly, it was called by
that name, and offerings were made to it. It is quite natural that the
effigy-mound builders should seek to perpetuate by effigy some of these
early traditions.

In the case of the Big Serpent mound this point is worth considering.
The ridge on which it stands is not only in the midst of a wild, rough
region, but is so situated that it commands a wide extent of country. In
shape this tongue of land is also peculiar. It is a narrow, projecting
headland, and would easily suggest the idea of a serpent or a lizard.
"This, with the inaccessibility of the spot, would produce a peculiar
feeling of awe, as if it were a great Manitou which resided there; and
so a sentiment of wonder and worship would gather around the locality.
This would naturally give rise to a tradition, or would lead the people
to revive some familiar tradition and localize it."<56> The final step
would be to make an effigy.

It seems to us very hazardous to draw any conclusions as to the
religious beliefs of the Mound Builders from this effigy, or
combinations of effigies. It also seems to us reasonable to suppose
that but one figure was intended to be represented. A very slight
prolongation of the serpent's jaws and the limbs of the frog would
connect them, in which case we would have some amphibious creature with
an unduly extended tail, or perhaps a lizard. We must remember that the
whole figure has been plowed over once or twice, so that we are not sure
of the original outlines. We can not tell why they should represent a
portion of the body as hollow, but neither can we tell why the head of
the supposed serpent should be represented as hollow. We do not find any
important earth-works near here. The hill on which it is placed commands
a very extensive view of the surrounding country. Within the oval a pile
of stones showed evidence of a long-continued fire, which would indicate
that this was also a signal-mound. Prof. Putnam thinks it probable that
there was a burial place between it and the large conical mound not far
away.<57>

In the vicinity of Newark, Ohio, are two examples of effigy mounds. This
cut represents what is called the alligator mound, but it is probably
the effigy of a lizard. The position which this mound occupies is
significant. It is on the very brow of a hill about two hundred feet
high, which projects out into a beautiful valley. The valley is not very
wide. Directly across was a fortified camp, in the valley below it was a
circular work, and a short distance below on another projecting headland
was a strongly fortified hill. The great works at Newark were six miles
down the valley, but were probably in plain view. That it was perhaps a
signal station, is shown by the presence of traces of fire.

Illustration of Alligator Mound.------------

The length of this effigy is two hundred and five feet, the breadth
of the body at its widest part, twenty feet, average height about four
feet.<58> The effigy mounds of Wisconsin, and the other few examples
mentioned, are among the most interesting objects of aboriginal work.
Except in a few favored instances, they are rapidly disappearing. To
the leveling influence of time is added the assistance of man, and our
knowledge of them will soon be confined to existing descriptions, unless
something is at once done to preserve them from destruction. Interesting
mementos of a vanished race, we turn from their contemplation with
a sigh of regret that, in spite of our efforts, they are still so
enwrapped in doubt.

Mounds and effigies by no means complete the description of Mound
Builders' remains. One of the most interesting and mysterious class
of works is now to be described. Early travelers in Ohio came here and
there upon embankments, which were found to inclose tracts of land of
various sizes. It was noticed that the embankments were often of the
form of perfect circles, or squares, or sometimes octagons, and very
often combinations of these figures. It was further evident that the
builders sought level, fertile lands, along the various river courses.
They very seldom built them on undulating or broken ground. Often have
the very places where civilized man has laid the foundation of his towns
proved to be the sites of these ancient works of the Mound Builders,
and thus it has happened that many of the most interesting works of
antiquity have been ruthlessly removed to make way for the crowded
streets and busy marts of our own times.

The larger number of inclosures are circular, often of a small size.
Where they occur separately they either have no gateway, or but one.
Sometimes the circles are of very large size, surrounding many acres.
Sometimes, though not very often, a ditch was also dug inside the
embankment. This last circumstance is by many regarded as a strong proof
that the primary object of these circles was not for defense.<59> But an
inclosure of this kind, even with the ditch on the inside, if surmounted
by a row of pickets or palisades, would prove a strong position against
Indian foes armed with bow and arrow. The Mandans constructed defenses
of this kind around their villages.<60> As to the original height of the
walls, in the majority of cases it was not very great, generally from
three to seven feet.

It is estimated that in Ohio alone there are fifteen hundred inclosures,
but a large number of them have nothing especially worthy of mention.
Some, however, are on such a large scale that they call from all
more than a passing glance. In contemplating them, we feel ourselves
confronted by a mystery that we can not explain. The ruins of the old
world excite in us the liveliest feeling of interest, but we know their
object, their builders, and their probable antiquity. The mazy ruins at
Newark, and other places in Ohio, also fill the mind with astonishment,
but in this case we are not certain of their antiquity, their builders
are unknown, and we can not conjecture with any degree of certainty as
to their use. Before so many uncertainties imagination runs riot, and
we are inclined to picture to ourselves a scene of barbaric power and
magnificence.

Illustration of High Bank Works.-------------------

One beautiful specimen of this work is found in this cut. It occurs on
the right bank of the Scioto river, five miles below Chillicothe. Here
we notice a combination of the octagon and the circle. The areas of each
are marked. The octagon is nine hundred and fifty feet in diameter and
nearly regular in shape. In 1846 its walls were eleven or twelve feet
high, by about fifty feet base. It will be noticed that there is a gate
at or near each angle of the octagon except one, and in front of that
angle was a pit, from which some of the earth to form the walls was
taken. Facing each gateway a mound was placed, as if to guard the
entrance.

The circle connected with the octagon is perfect in shape, and is ten
hundred and fifty feet in diameter. Its walls were only about half the
height of the octagon. We notice some other small circular works in
connection with the main work. In this case the parallels are not very
regular, and seem to be connected with one or more circular works. In a
work situated but a few miles from the one here portrayed, the parallels
extend in one direction nearly half a mile, only one hundred and fifty
feet apart. They terminate on the edge of a terrace. The object of
such parallels is as yet unknown. In some cases, after extending some
distance, they simply inclosed a mound.

It is easy enough to describe this work and give its dimensions, but who
will tell us the object its builders had in mind? The walls themselves
would afford but slight protection and if they were for defense, must
have been surmounted with palisades. Works that were undoubtedly in the
nature of fortified camps, are found in this same section, and one of
the strongest was located not more than twelve miles away; but such
defensive works differ very greatly in design from regular structures
such as we are now describing. A very eminent scholar, Mr. Morgan,
has advanced the theory that the walls were the foundations on which
communal houses, like the Pueblos of the West, were erected.<61> But
this is mere theory. All traces of such habitations (if they ever
existed) are gone, the usual _debris_ which would be sure to accumulate
around house-sites, is wanting, and the walls themselves seem unfit for
such purpose.<62>

They may have been embankments surrounding towns and cultivated fields,
but little has yet been found which can be cited as proofs of residence
within the area so inclosed. We should not be surprised, however, if
such would ultimately prove to be the case, since we now know that
the Mound Builders of Tennessee did fortify their villages by means
of embankments and ditches.<63> A number of writers think that these
regular inclosures were in some way connected with the superstitions of
the people. In other words, that they were religious in character. Mr.
Squier remarks, "We have reason to believe that the religious system
of the Mound Builders, like that of the Aztecs, exercised among them a
great, if not a controlling, influence. Their government may have been,
for aught we know, a government of the priesthood--one in which
the priestly and civil functions were jointly exercised, and one
sufficiently powerful to have secured in the Mississippi Valley, as it
did in Mexico, the erection of many of those vast monuments, which for
ages will continue to challenge the wonder of men. There may have been
certain superstitious ceremonies, having no connection with the
purpose of the mound, carried on in inclosures especially dedicated to
them."<64> Another late writer to whom we have several times referred,
tells us there is no doubt but what a "religious view" was the
controlling influence in the erection of these works, and that they
express a "complicated system of symbolism," that we see in them
evidence, of a most powerful and wonderful religious system.<65> Still
such assertions are easier made than proven, and until we know somewhat
the purpose for which they were used, how are we to know whether they
were sacred or not?

Casting conjectures, for the moment, aside, let us learn what we can
from the works themselves. From their large extent they could only be
reared by the expenditure of great labor. This implies some form of
government sufficiently centralized and powerful to control the labors
of large bodies of men. Moreover, they were sufficiently advanced to
have some standard of measurement and some way of measuring angles.
The circle, it will be remembered, is a true circle, and of a dimension
requiring considerable skill to lay out. The sides of the octagon are
equal, and the alternate angles coincident.

Every year the plow sinks deeper into these crumbling embankments, and
the leveling forces of cultivation are continually at work, and the time
is not far distant when the curious traveler will with difficulty trace
the ruins of what was once, to the Mound Builders, a place of great
importance.

Illustration of Square and Circle Embankment.-----------

The more usual combination was that of a square and a circle. An example
is given in this cut, which is a plan on a very small scale, of works
which formerly existed in Circleville. One peculiar feature about this
work was that a double wall formed the circle, with a ditch between the
two walls. In the next cut we notice a peculiar combination of these
two figures. The square is inclosed within the circle. Whatever we may
ultimately decide as to the larger works, it would seem as if this could
only be explained as in the nature of a religious work. We can see no
reason for constructing a defensive work, or inclosing a village, or
erecting foundations for houses of such a shape as this. They must have
been in some way connected with the superstitions of the people.

Illustration of Square inscribed in a Circle.--------

A peculiar feature is also noticed in reference to some of the smaller
circles in this section. The cut below illustrates it. The circle has a
ditch interior to the embankment, and also a broad embankment of about
the same height with the outer wall, interior to the ditch, running
about half-way around the circle. A short distance from the circle was
one of those elevated squares, one hundred and twenty feet square at
the base, and nine feet high.<66> It may be that this square was the
foundation on which stood a temple, in which case the circle might have
been dedicated to religious purposes also.

Illustration of Circle and Ditch.------------

The great geometrical inclosures are especially numerous in the Scioto
Valley. All the works we have described were in the near neighborhood
of Chillicothe, and works as important as these are scattered all up and
down the valley. We must also recall how well provided this valley was
with signal mounds. All indications point to the fact that here was the
location of a numerous people, ready to defend their homes whenever the
warning fires were lit. Although Mound Builders' works are numerous
in the valley of the two Miami Rivers, Cincinnati being the site of an
extensive settlement, yet they were not such massive structures as those
in the Scioto. This would seem to indicate that these valleys were the
seats of separate tribes.<67> But this Eastern tribe must have occupied
an extensive territory, since works of the most complicated kind are
found at Newark.

All indications point to the fact that near this latter place was a
very important settlement of the Mound Builders. Several fortified works
exist a few miles up the valley; signal-mounds are to be seen on all
heights, commanding a wide view, and the famous alligator mound is
placed, as if with the design of guarding the entrance to the valley. No
verbal description will give an idea of the works, so we refer at once
to the plan. This will give us a good idea of the works as they were
when the first white settlers gazed upon them. They have nearly all been
swept away by modern improvements, excepting the two circular works and
the octagon. Here and there fragments of the other works can still be
traced.

Illustration of Mound Builders' Works, Newark, Ohio.-------

Two forks of the Licking River unite near Newark; the bottom between
these rivers comprising several square miles, was occupied by these
ancient earth-works. By reference to the plan, we see the works
consisted of mounds of various sizes, parallel walls, generally of a low
elevation, small and low embankments, in the form of small circles and
half-circles. There are also several large works consisting of a circle
and octagon combined, one large circle, and a parallelogram. The
circular structure at 'E,' is undoubtedly one of the best preserved and
most imposing in the State. There are many inclosing larger areas, but
none more clearly defined. As this is now included in the fair-grounds
of Licking County, it is preserved from destruction, and will remain
a monument of aboriginal work long after all traces of the others have
disappeared. "At the entrance, which is towards the east, the ends of
the walls curve outwards for a distance of a hundred feet, leaving a
passage way eighty feet wide between the deep ditches on either hand."
From this point the work, even now presents an impressive appearance.
The walls are twelve feet in perpendicular height, and about fifty feet
base. There is a ditch close around it on the inside, seven feet deep by
thirty-five feet wide. The area inclosed is about thirty acres.

Illustration of Eagle Mound.--------------------

In the center is an effigy-mound, represented by this cut. It represents
a bird on the wing, and is called the Eagle Mound. The long mound in the
body of the bird has been opened, and it was found to contain an altar,
such as has been already described. Was this a place of sacrifice, and
did this wall inclose a sacred area? Our question remains unanswered. We
can dig in the mounds, and wander over the embankments, but the secret
of the builders eludes us.

A mile to the north-west of the part of the work just described are
the Octagon and works in connection with it. The Octagon is not quite
regular, but the sides are very nearly equal. At each angle is a
gateway, interior and opposite to which is a mound, as if to guard the
opening. The cut gives a view of the Octagon, looking in through one
of these gateways. At present, however, but a small portion is in the
forest. Most of it is under cultivation, but the work can still be
easily traced, and is one of the best preserved in the State. A portion
of it, still in the forest, presents the same appearance to-day as it
did to the first explorer. When a stranger for the first time wanders
along the embankment and ascends the mounds, he can not fail to
experience sensations akin to those of the traveler when he comes upon
the ruins of some Old World city. We wish that for a brief space of time
the curtain of the past would up-roll, and let us view these works while
yet their builders flourished here.

Illustration of Gateway of Octagon.--------------

Connected with the Octagon by parallel walls three hundred feet long
and placed sixty feet apart, is the smaller circle, "F." This is a true
circle, and is upwards of half a mile in circumference. A portion of
it lying in the woods, still retains its primitive form, but the larger
part is now under cultivation. There is no difficulty, however, in
tracing its entire length. The most interesting feature in connection
with this part of the work is immediately opposite the point of entrance
from the octagon, and is represented in our next cut. At this point
it seems as if the builders had started to make parallel walls, but
afterwards changed their design and threw across the opening a large
mound. From this mound a view of the entire embankment could be
obtained. It is called the Observatory Mound. It has been so often dug
into that it is now really in ruins, but is still too steep to be plowed
over.

Illustration of Observatory Mound, Newark Works.--------

It is scarcely necessary to describe the works further, except to state
that three lines of parallel embankments lead away from the octagon.
Those extending south have been traced for upwards of two miles, and are
gradually lost in the plain. It was the opinion of Mr. Atwater, one of
the earliest investigators, that these lines connected with other works
thirty miles away, in the vicinity of Lancaster.<68> Small circles
are numerous in connection with these works. It has been suggested by
several that they mark the sites of circular dwellings. The larger ones,
indicated by the letter "G," are more pretentious. They have the ditch
and embankment, which we have already described. Many interesting
coincidents in dimensions will be perceived between portions of this
work and those described in the Scioto valley.<69>

Although we have devoted considerable space to this branch of the
Mound Builders' work, we must still find space to describe the works at
Marietta, which possessed some singular features. This cut gives us a
correct plan of the works as they were when in 1788 the first settlers
arrived at the mouth of the Muskingum to lay out their town. The growth
of the beautiful town of Marietta has completely destroyed these works,
except the elevated squares, A and B, the large mound and inclosing
circle at X, with a portion of the adjoining embankments, and a small
fragment of the parallel walls forming what has been called the "Graded
Way." The elevated squares are the finest examples of "temple" mounds
remaining in the Ohio Valley. The circle and ditch with the conical
mound inclosed is also a fine example of that class of works. From the
summit of the mound an extensive view is to be had both up and down the
Ohio.

Illustration of Works at Marietta, Ohio.-------------

The gateways of the smaller square were guarded by mounds, which were
wanting in the larger one. We would call especial attention to the two
embankments which led from the larger square towards the river. They
were six hundred and eighty feet long, and one hundred and fifty feet
apart.<70> Some have supposed these walls were designed to furnish a
covered way to the river. But as Mr. Squier remarks, we would hardly
expect the people to go to the trouble of making such a wide avenue for
this purpose, nor one with such a regular grade. Besides, the walls did
not reach the river. The work seems to be simply a passage way, leading
from one terrace to the other, but why the builders should have made
such a massive work, we can not explain. It has been called the
"Sacred Way," and this name may possibly be applicable, but it is only
conjectural. Some twenty years ago these two massive and beautiful
embankments were still preserved, thanks to the care of the early
settlers, who planned a street to pass between them, which was named the
_Via Sacra._ These words still remain on a corner signboard; but alas
for sentiment! the banks, so long revered, have been utilized for
brick-working.

Illustration of Graded Way, Piketon, Ohio.------------

Several instances of these graded streets or ways have been found in
connection with the Mound Builders' works. Sometimes they lead from one
terrace to another, sometimes directly to the water. One of the latter
kind formerly existed near Piqua, Ohio.<71> This cut is a view of a
graded way near Piketon, Ohio. In this case, though the difference in
level between the second and third terrace is but seventeen feet, these
ancient people laid out a graded ascent some ten hundred and eighty feet
long, by two hundred and ten feet average width. The earth was thrown
out on either side, forming embankments. From the left hand embankments,
passing up to the third terrace, there could formerly be traced a low
embankment running for fifteen hundred feet, and connected with mounds
and other walls at its extremity.

Some have supposed that formerly the river flowed at the extremity of
this graded way, and a passage way to the water was thus furnished.
Squier says, in this connection: "It is sufficient to observe that the
river now flows half a mile to the left, and that two terraces, each
twenty feet in height, intervene between the present and the supposed
ancient level of the stream. To assent to this suggestion, would be
to admit an almost immeasurable antiquity to the structure under
consideration." The casual observer would say that it was intended to
afford an ascent from one terrace to the other. But as the height was
only seventeen feet, we can not see why it was so necessary to have a
long passage way of easy grade from one terrace to the other. It was
evidently built in connection with the obliterated works on the third
terrace. This interesting remain is now utilized as a turnpike, and
the passing traveler but little recks he is going over one of the most
ancient causeways in the land. It may be that ceremonious processions,
with stately tread, utilized this causeway in years long since elapsed.
Speculation, always an unsafe guide to follow, is especially so in
this case, and so we leave this memento of a vanished people as much an
enigma to us as to its first explorers.

We have described but a few of the sacred inclosures of Ohio, but enough
have been given to give us a fair idea of all. We wish now to call
attention to another class of remains. We have seen how the works we
have been describing are lacking in defensive qualities. This becomes
more marked, when we learn there are works, beyond a doubt, defensive in
character, in which advantage is taken of all circumstances which
would render the chosen retreat more secure. In the first place, strong
natural positions were selected. They chose for their purpose bluffy
headlands leading out into the river plain. A people surrounded by
enemies, or pressed by invaders, would naturally turn their attention to
such heights as places susceptible of defense. Accordingly, it does
not surprise us to find many heights occupied by strong and complicated
works. Generally the approaches to them were rugged and steep on all but
one or two sides, and there they are guarded by walls of earth or stone.

A fine example of a fortified hill was discovered in Butler County,
Ohio, a few miles below the town of Hamilton. This hill is the highest
one in the immediate vicinity. By reference to the figure, we see that
on all sides, except towards the north, the approach was steep and
precipitous, almost inaccessible.

Illustration of Fortified Hill, Hamilton, Ohio.--------

The wall is not of regular shape. It runs around on the very brow of the
hill, except in one or two places, where it cuts across a ridge. In 1843
this wall was still about five feet high and thirty-five feet base. The
earth and stone of which the wall is made were evidently gathered up
from the surface of the hill. In some places holes had been excavated,
probably for the double purpose of securing materials for the wall, and
providing reservoirs for water against a time of need. There are but
four openings in the wall, and each is very carefully guarded. The
complicated walls guarding the main entrance to the north are especially
noticeable. There are no less than four inner walls besides the crescent
shaped embankment on the outside. The signal mound was about five
hundred feet to the north of the main opening. The stones on the surface
of the mound all show the action of fire.

If we were uncertain of the uses of the other class of inclosures, which
have been named Sacred Inclosures, we have no need to hesitate as to the
character of this work. Every thing in reference to it betokens that it
was a defensive work. The valley of the Big Miami, in which it occurs,
was a favorite resort of the Mound Builders. On the opposite side of the
river, to the south, was a square and an ellipse combined, and several
other large works were ranged along the river in the course of a few
miles. We need scarcely doubt that this was a citadel in times of need,
and that when warning columns of smoke or flaming fires showed the
approach of an enemy, the old and the sick, the women and the children,
fled hither for protection, while the warriors went forth to battle for
their homes.

We will call attention to but one more of these fortified hills, but
this is on a magnificent scale. It is known as Fort Ancient, and
is situated on the Little Miami River, about forty miles east of
Cincinnati. It was not only a fort, but was also a fortified village
site, and has some features about it which are regarded as of a
religious nature. The hill on which it stands is in most places very
steep towards the river. A ravine starts from near the upper end on the
eastern side, gradually deepening towards the south, and finally turns
abruptly towards the west to the river. By this means nearly the whole
work occupies the summit of a detached hill, having in most places
very steep sides. To this naturally strong position fortifications were
added, consisting of an embankment of earth of unusual height, which
follows close around the very brow of the hill. This embankment is
still in a fine state of preservation, but is now annually exposed
to cultivation and the inroads of cattle, so that it will not be long
before it will be greatly changed if no effort be made to preserve it.

Illustration of Fort Ancient, Little Miami River.-------

This wall is, of course, the highest in just those places where the
sides of the hill are less steep than usual. In some places it still has
a height of twenty feet. We notice the wall has numerous breaks in it.
Some of these are where it crosses the ravines, leading down the sides
of the hill. In a few cases the embankment may still be traced to within
a few feet of a rivulet. Considerable discussion has ensued as to the
origin and use of these numerous gateways. Mr. Squier thinks that these
openings were occupied by timber work in the nature of blockhouses
which have long since decayed. Others, however, think that the wall was
originally entire except in a few instances, and that the breaks now
apparent were formed by natural causes, such as water gathering in
pools, and musk-rats burrowing through the walls, and we are told that
such an opening was seen forming in the year 1847.<72> No regular ditch
exists inside the wall, the material apparently being obtained from
numerous dug holes.

It will be seen that the works could be naturally divided into two
parts, connected by the isthmus. More than one observer has pointed out
the resemblance in general outline of this work to a map of North
and South America, but of course the resemblance, if any, is entirely
accidental. Mr. Peet has called attention to the resemblance which the
walls of the lower inclosure bear to two serpents, their heads being the
mounds, which are separated from the body by the opening which resembles
a ring around the neck. Their bodies are the walls, which, as they bend
in and out, and rise and fall, much resembles, he thinks, two massive
green serpents rolling along the summit of this high hill. If any such
resemblance occurs, we think it purely accidental. In relation to the
wall across the isthmus, it has been thought to have been the means
of defending one part of the work should an enemy gain entrance to the
other. It has also been supposed that at first the fort was only
built to the cross wall on the isthmus, and afterwards the rest of the
inclosure was added to the work.

The total length of the embankment is about five miles, the area
enclosed about one hundred acres. For most of this distance the grading
of the walls resembles the heavy grading of a railroad track. Only one
who has personally examined the walls can realize the amount of labor
they represent for a people destitute of metallic tools, beasts of
burden, and other facilities to construct it.

Now, what was the object of this work? We think it was not simply a
fort, but rather a fortified village. That it must have required the
work of a numerous body of people, is undoubted, and if they lived
elsewhere, where are the works denoting such a fact? We would further
suggest that, if this was the seat of a tribe, each of the two divisions
might have been the location of a phratry of the tribe, by a phratry,
meaning the subdivision of a tribe. We would call especial attention
to the two mounds seen just outside of the walls at the upper end.
From these mounds two low parallel walls extended in a north-easterly
direction some thirteen hundred and fifty feet, their distant ends
joining around a small mound. As this mound was not well situated for
signal purposes, inasmuch as it did not command a very extensive view,
and as the embankments would afford very little protection, unless
provided with palisades, it seems as if the most satisfactory
explanation we have is that it was in the nature of a religious work.

Mr. Hosea thinks he has found satisfactory evidence that between these
walls there was a paved street, as he discovered in one place, about
two feet below the present surface, a pavement of flat stones.<73>
From this, as a hint, he eloquently says: "Imagination was not slow to
conjure up the scene which was once doubtless familiar to the dwellers
at Fort Ancient. A train of worshipers, led by priests clad in their
sacred robes, and bearing aloft the holy utensils, pass in the early
morning, ere yet the mists have risen in the valley below, along the
gently swelling ridge on which the ancient roadway lies. They near the
mound, and a solemn stillness succeeds their chanting songs; the priests
ascend the hill of sacrifice and prepare the sacred fire. Now the first
beams of the rising sun shoot up athwart the ruddy sky, gilding the
topmost boughs of the trees. The holy flame is kindled, a curling wreath
of smoke arises to greet the coming god; the tremulous bush which was
upon all nature breaks into vocal joy, and songs of gladness bursts from
the throats of the waiting multitude as the glorious luminary arises in
majesty and beams upon his adoring people. A promise of renewed life and
happiness. Vain promise, since even his rays can not penetrate the utter
darkness which for ages has settled over this people." Thus imagination
suggests, and enthusiasm paints a scene, but, from positive knowledge,
we can neither affirm nor deny its truth.

Most of the works of the Mound Builders are noticeable for their
solidity and massiveness. We see this illustrated in the great walls
of Fort Ancient. Some of our scholars think this is a distinguishing
feature of the Mound Builders' work.<74> It seems to us that it is
difficult to make this a distinguishing feature, as we have no means of
knowing how much "massiveness" is required in a work to entitle it to
be considered a work of the Mound Builders. Should this distinction be
established, however, we have to notice that while in the western part
of the State of Ohio the Mound Builders' inclosures are more often of
the defensive sort, the type changes to the eastward, where, as in
the Scioto Valley, we find the so-called sacred inclosures in larger
numbers. In the State of Ohio, then, there were at least two well
defined types of works by the Mound Builders. But if we split the Mound
Builders up into tribes, where shall we draw the line between them and
our later Indians?

Illustration of Fortified Headland, Northern Ohio.------

Illustration of Inclosures, Northern Ohio.--------

Scattered through Ohio, but especially abundant in the northern part of
the State, is a class of works which has excited considerable comment.
This cut illustrates a work of this kind. It was located near where
Cleveland now stands. The defense consists mainly in the location. The
wall seems to have been rather of a secondary affair. The hill was too
steep to admit approach to it except from the rear, where the double
wall was placed. With both of these works a ditch was dug outside the
wall. These works did not always consist simply of fortified headlands.
This cut is of a portion of the works formerly existing near Norwalk,
Ohio. The circular work, D, is shaped much like the sacred inclosures,
though not on so large a scale. In the larger work, at B, we notice a
truncated mound. The ditch is on the outside of the circles. This cut
is of a work formerly on the banks of the Black River. Here we have a
square inclosure, defended by two embankments and a ditch.

Illustration of Square Inclosure, Northern Ohio.-------

This class of works was formerly common not only in Ohio and Western
New York, but they were also to be observed in other sections of the
country. They existed alike in the valley of the two Miami Rivers, and
in that of the Scioto. They were also found throughout the South. Even
Wisconsin, the home of the effigy Mound Builders, is not destitute of
this class of remains. The peculiar interest attaching to them arises
from the fact that in some places, at least, we have good reason to
assign their construction to Indian tribes. Those of Western New York
were very thoroughly studied by Mr. Squier. When he commenced his
investigations, he was under the impression that he was dealing with
the remains of a people very similar, at least, to those who built the
massive works in the Ohio Valley and elsewhere, but he was led to the
conviction that they were the works of the Iroquois Indians, and
as further proof that such was the case, we are told that since the
palisades that once inclosed places known to be villages of the Iroquois
have disappeared, there is no difference to be observed between the
appearance of the ruins of such a village site and any of the earthworks
in Western New York. But we have just stated that the remains last
mentioned are identical with those found in Northern Ohio, and indeed
over a wide extent of country. The conclusion seems to be, then, that
one large class of works in many points resembling Mound Builders'
works, found widely distributed throughout the Mississippi Valley, were
really the works of Indians.<75> But we are approaching a subject we
do not wish to discuss just yet. We simply point out that not all the
remains of prehistoric people in the Mississippi Valley are referable to
the Mound Builders.

We have tried to point out the more important works that are ascribed
to them. It must of necessity occur in a work of this nature that
the review should be very brief, yet we have touched on the different
classes of their works. But before leaving this part of our field we
must mention some anomalous works, and refer to others which, if they
can be relied on as works of the same people, certainly imply a great
advance on their part.

Our next cut is named by Mr. Pidgeon the "Sacrificial Pentagon." Writing
in 1850, he states, "This remarkable group... has probably elicited more
numerous conjectures as to its original use than any other earth-work
yet discovered in the valley of the Mississippi.... It is situated on
the west highlands of the Kickapoo River, in Wisconsin."<76> Mr. Pidgeon
claims to have discovered two of these pentagons. We are not aware that
any one else has verified these discoveries, and it is difficult to
decide what value to give to his writings. He claims to have made
extensive researches around the head-waters of the Mississippi as
early as 1840, and there to have met an aged Indian--the last of his
tribe--who gave him many traditions as to the mounds in that locality.
Most of our scholars think his writings of no account, whatever, and yet
Mr. Conant says, "He seems to have been a thoroughly conscientious and
careful observer, faithfully noting what he saw and beard."<77>

Illustration of Sacrificial Pentagon.-----------------

We will briefly describe a few of the earth-works he mentions, notice
their singular form, and give an outline of the traditions in regard to
them, leaving the reader to draw his own conclusions. Of this work the
outer circle is said to have been twelve hundred feet in circumference,
the walls being from three to five feet in height; width on the ground
from twelve to sixteen feet. The walls of the pentagon were from four
to six feet high. The inner circle was of very slight elevation. The
central mound was thirty-six feet in diameter. This singular arrangement
of circle, pentagon, and mounds, is traditionally represented to have
been a sacred national altar--the most holy one known to tradition--and
no foot, save that of a priest, might pass within the sacred walls of
the pentagon after its completion. The sacrifice offered on this altar
was that of human life. Twice each year the offering was made.<78>

The work represented in the figure below is stated to have been in the
near neighborhood of the former, and to have been intimately connected
with it. Mr. Pidgeon claims to have found five of these circles and
two pentagons. So far as we know, he is the only authority for their
occurrence, no one else having been so fortunate as to have found them.
This is surely a singular work, and we can not fail to recognize in it
a representation of the sun and the moon. In excavating in the central
mound, we are assured that small pieces Of mica were found abundantly
mixed with the soil. "Had the surface-soil been removed with care,
and the stratum beneath been washed by a few heavy showers of rain, so
thoroughly studded was it with small particles of mica, that under
the sun's rays it certainly would have presented no unapt symbolic
representation of that luminary."<79>

Illustration of Festival Circle.---------------------

Our next figure is another singular arrangement of crescent-shaped
works and mounds. Lapham says that crescent-shaped works are found in
Wisconsin. Pidgeon says that crescent works are found in Illinois, but
works arranged as shown in this wood-cut he found in but four places in
Wisconsin. Could we verify this author's statements, this illustration
and the preceding one would be very good evidence of the prevalence of
sun-worship among the effigy Mound Builders of Wisconsin. This would be
nothing singular, since the Indian race almost universally reverenced
the sun.<80>

Illustration of Crescent Works.---------------------

The figure below represents a group of works which, we are told, were
of a class formerly abundant in Missouri and Iowa. The embankments are
stated to be of varying heights, but all of the same length. They do not
quite meet, but a mound defends the opening. Sometimes a square is so
represented, and sometimes but two walls.

Illustration of Triangular Works.--------------

A singular statement is made in reference to a nice proportion said to
be observed between the heights of the embankments and walls. In this
case, for instance, the heights of the embankments are, three, four, and
five feet; the sum of these, twelve feet, was the exact height of the
central mound. Furthermore, the square of the sum of the heights of
three embankments gives us one hundred and forty-four feet, which is the
length of the embankments. We are gravely assured that this same nice
proportion is always observed in works of this kind. The embankments
being always of equal length, but of varying heights, still the sum of
these heights, whether three or four sides, being always equal to the
height of the central mound.<81> We do not know of any specimen of
this class of works now existing. If this early explorer's account be
reliable, then we have in works of this class very good evidence that
some of their inclosures were in the nature of sacred inclosures. The
trouble is to verify Mr. Pidgeon's account. There is a good deal that
is strange and marvelous in reference to the Mound Builders, and we
must use judgment as to what is told us, unless we are sure there is no
mistake, or unless the reports are vouched for by many observers.

We wish to call attention to some singular works in Missouri, which
would imply that the Mound Builders were possessed of no little
engineering skill. We have every indication that near New Madrid was a
very extensive settlement. The works consist of inclosures, large and
small mounds in great numbers, and countless residence sites. One of
fifty acres was noticed, which had evidently been inclosed by earthen
walls. In some places in the forest, where this wall had been preserved,
its height was found to be from three to five feet, and its base width
fifteen feet.<82> But the suggestive features about these works are
noticed along the edge of the swamp near which they stood. This swamp in
1811 was a lake, with a clear, sandy bottom. It is not at all doubted
but that it was at one time the bed of the Mississippi River, and
probably this town stood on its banks. The river is now some eighteen
miles away. It must suddenly have changed its course, leaving behind it
a lake, which, in course of time, became a swamp.

But along the shores of this ancient lake, in front of the inclosure,
small tongues of land have been carried out into the water, from fifteen
to thirty feet in length, by ten, or fifteen in width, with open spaces
between, which, small as they are, forcibly remind one of the wharfs of
a seaport town. The cypress trees grew very thickly in all the little
bays thus formed, and the irregular, yet methodical, outlines of the
forest, winding in and out close to the shore of these tongues of land,
is so marked as to remove all doubt as to their artificial origin.<83>
The suggestion is made in view of these wharfs, that the Mound Builders
must have had some sort of boats to navigate the waters of the lake.

And the singular part is, that right in this neighborhood are many
evidences of a system of canals. A glance at the map will show that the
portion of Missouri around New Madrid, and to the south of it, is dotted
with swampy lakes and sluggish bayous. The evidence is to the effect
that the ancient inhabitants connected these bayous and lakes with
artificial canals, so as to form quite an extended system of inland
water-ways. Right east of the town of Gayoso, we are told that a canal
had been dug that now connects the Mississippi with a lake called Big
Lake. A bayou running into this lake was joined by a canal with Cushion
Lake.

From this last lake, by means of bayous and lakes, a clear course could
be pursued for some miles north, where finally another canal was cut
to join with the Mississippi a few miles below New Madrid. The entire
length of this water way was some seventy miles, but we are not told
how much of it was artificial, neither are the dimensions given. Prof.
Swallow speaks of a canal "fifty feet wide, and twelve feet, deep."
Whether this was one of this series or not, we do not know.<84> This is
indeed a singular piece of work. It would be more satisfactory if we had
more definite information in regard to the same.

With our present knowledge of the state of society among the Mound
Builders, as made evident by the remains of their implements and
ornaments, we are not justified in believing this part of a system
of internal navigation. We have already seen that further south they
sometimes surrounded their village sites with a wide and deep moat or
ditch, as was observed around the inclosure containing the great mound
on the Etowah. We are inclined to believe that a more careful survey
would greatly modify the accounts we have of these canals, if it did
not, in fact, show that they were the works of nature. According to a
writer in the _American Antiquarian,_<85> the whole lower part of the
Mississippi Valley was abundantly supplied with canals, irrigating
ditches, and evidences of a high intelligence. He speaks of observing
the presence of an extensive canal a little north of the section we have
described. He asserts they were dug to convey the surplus waters of the
Mississippi in times of flood to the White and St. Francis Rivers, thus
preventing disastrous overflows. It is needless to caution the reader
against such conclusions. Our information in regard to those canals is
far too limited to support the views advanced.

This finishes our examination of the works of the Mound Builders. Except
in the case of the more massive works, they have become obliterated,
but here and there are left traces of the former presence of these
now vanished people. The antiquary muses over the remains of their
inclosures, their fortified places, their effigies and mounds. By the
combined efforts of scholars in many departments, we may yet hope that
the darkness now enshrouding this race may be dissipated, but at present
our positive knowledge is very limited indeed. It is as if we were asked
to reconstruct a picture which had faded in the lapse of time so that
only traces here and there are visible. Here, perhaps, a hand is seen;
there a piece of foliage; in one place something we think representing
water, in another a patch of sky, or a mountain peak. Until a key is
found which shall show us how to connect these scattered parts, our
efforts are useless, since many pictures could be formed, but we have
no surety we are right. So we may form mental conceptions of the Mound
Builders, but they are almost as varied as the individual explorers.
Science may yet discover the key which will enable us to form a clear
mental conception of the race which flourished here many years ago,
and left their crumbling memorials to excite the curiosity of a later
people.

We must now turn our attention to another branch of inquiry and
learn what we can of the culture of the Mound Builders. This is to
be determined by an investigation of the remains of their implements,
weapons, and ornaments. When we know the skill with which they
manufactured these articles, and gain an insight into some of their
probable customs, we shall know where to place them in the scale of
civilization. What we have learned of their works has already convinced
us that we are dealing with a people considerably above the scale of
Savagery. The nice proportion between the parts, the exact circles and
coincident angles show considerable advance in mechanical skill. The
character of the works indicates that the people had permanent places of
abode, and were not subject to the vicissitudes of a hunter's state of
life for subsistence. This implies that we are dealing with a people
living in village communities, practising agriculture and many other
arts, and therefore entitled to rank in the middle status of Barbarism
corresponding to the Neolithic inhabitants of Europe.<86> We will
now see how far this conclusion is sustained by an examination of the
remains of the handiwork of the people.

Illustration of Arrow Points.-----------------

Implements of stone are of course abundant. But men, when in the culture
of the Stone Age, having a common material to work upon, and under the
pressure of common needs, have everywhere provided similar forms. For
this reason it is hard to find distinctive points of difference between
implements of stone of Mound Builders' work and a series of similar
implements the work of Indians. We are assured, however, that when
examining a series of each, those of the Mound Builders display a
superior finish.<87> The preceding wood-cut represents a collection
of arrow-points found in the mounds, but they are not particularly so
distinguishable from specimens found on the surface. Great numbers of
arrow-points are occasionally found on altars. Here we have a view of
one of the stone axes fashioned by the hands that heaped the mounds. It
is certainly a very fine specimen.

Illustration of Ax found in a Mound.------------

The Mound Builders must have had all the varieties of stone implements
common to people in their stage of culture, such as axes, fleshers, and
chisels. They also must have possessed mortars and pestles for grinding
corn, and some implements did duty as hoes and spades. We represent in
a group a collection of weapons and implements from the mounds and stone
graves of Tennessee. All these articles are finely finished. One of the
axes has a hole bored through it. One of them is further provided with
a stone handle, and is characterized as being the "most beautiful and
perfect stone implement ever exhumed from the aboriginal remains within
the limits of the United States."

Illustration of Weapons of Stone from Tennessee. (Smith Inst.)--

People in the culture of the Stone Age make but very rare use of metal,
as metals are to them simply varieties of stone, much less useful for
their purpose than the different kinds of flints, except for ornaments.
From the altar mounds, near Cincinnati, were taken ornaments of silver,
copper, iron and traces of gold, all of which had been worked into their
present shape by simply hammering. The iron, it should be remarked, was
meteoric iron, which can be hammered as easily as native copper. We have
already remarked that about the only native iron is obtained from such
sources. Copper was utilized for a great variety of purposes.

Illustration of Copper Ax.-------------------

We give a cut of a copper ax found in one of the Ohio mounds. Copper
axes have lately been found quite frequently in mounds near Davenport,
Iowa, and in most cases before being deposited in the mounds, they
had been wrapped in cloth. Copper ornaments are a more common find.
Bracelets, beads, and ear ornaments are numerous. Our next cut
represents some very fine bracelets found in a mound near Chillicothe,
Ohio, Copper tools and weapons have been found quite frequently on the
surface, but we are not sure in this case whether they are not the work
of recent Indians. The early explorers noticed the presence of copper
ornaments among the Indians. "When Henry Hudson discovered, in 1609, the
magnificent river that bears his name, he noticed among the Indians of
that region pipes and ornaments of copper." The account says: "They had
red copper tobacco pipes, and other things of copper they did wear about
their necks."<88> De Soto also noticed among the Southern Indians axes
of copper. Other accounts could be quoted showing that the Indians were
well acquainted with copper.<89> The fact is, in this matter also, it is
impossible to draw a dividing line between relics of the Mound Building
tribes and the Indians. However, the Mound Builders were certainly
acquainted with copper, but to their minds it was only a singular stone,
one that they could hammer, into a desired shape.

Illustration of Copper Bracelets.-------------------

Where did they obtain their copper? We are all aware that in this
country great supplies of pure copper exist near the southern shore of
Lake Superior, and there is a peculiarity about the copper found there,
that is, the presence of small pieces of silver with the copper. This
is a very singular mixture, and we are not aware of its occurrence
elsewhere. It would trouble the best chemists to explain it. From this
fact we are enabled to identify articles of copper derived from that
source, and to that region we can trace the copper from which are formed
most of the copper implements and ornaments found in this country. It is
also noticeable that the nearer we get to this region the more numerous
are the finds of articles of copper. More are reported from Wisconsin
than the rest of the United States put together.

This leads us to a very interesting subject. In 1848 Mr. S. 0. Knapp,
agent of the Minnesota Mining Company on the northern peninsula of
Michigan, discovered that the modern miners were but following in the
footsteps of some ancient people who had mined for copper there some
time now far past. The general conclusion is that these old miners were
Mound Builders, but here the evidence of their presence is not found
in the existence of mounds and earthworks, but of pits and excavations,
which, by the slow accumulation of years, had become filled to near the
surface with _debris_ of various kinds. Many had noticed these little
pits and depressions without suspecting they had aught to do with the
presence of man. The hollows made by large trees, overturned by the
wind, frequently left as well marked depressions as these excavations.

We have abundant proof that these old miners were practical workmen.
They evidently did not neglect the most trifling indication of metals.
They made thorough research and discovered the principal lodes. Our
present day miners have long since learned to regard the presence of
these ancient pits as excellent guides in this matter. With modern
appliances they penetrate far beyond the power of the old workmen.
At the Waterbury mine there is in the face of the vertical bluff an
artificial opening, which is twenty-five feet wide, fifteen feet
high, and twelve feet deep. The materials thrown out in digging had
accumulated in front, and on this forest trees common to that region
were growing of full size. Some of the blocks of stone which were
removed from this recess would probably weigh two or three tons, and
must have required the use of levers to move them. Beneath the surface
rubbish was discovered the remains of a cedar trough, by which the water
from the mines was conducted away. Wooden bowls were found, which were
probably used to dip the water from the mine into this trough.

Near the bottom of the pit, shovels, made of cedar, were found, shaped
much like a canoe paddle, but showing by their wear that they were used
as shovels. Although they appeared solid while in water, yet, on drying,
they shrunk up, and were with difficulty preserved. A birch tree,
two feet in diameter, was observed growing directly over one of these
shovels. No marks of metallic tools were observed anywhere about this
large pit.

Illustration of Ancient Mine, Michigan.-----------

In this case they constructed a sort of a cave, but in many cases they
mined open to the air, that is, they simply dug trenches or pits. A row
of these ancient pits, now slight depressions, indicate a vein. What
they seem to have especially sought after was lumps of copper that they
could easily manage and fashion by hammering. They had not discovered
the art of melting. When they found an unusually large piece, they broke
off what they could by vigorous hammering. In one case they found a mass
weighing about six tons of pure copper. They made an attempt to master
this piece. By means of wedges they had got it upon a cob-work of round
logs or skids, six or eight inches in diameter, but the mass was finally
abandoned for some unknown reason after breaking off such pieces as
they could until the upper surface was smooth. This mass rested on the
framework of logs while the years came and went, until, after the lapse
of unknown time, the white men once more opened the old mine.

On the rubbish in front of this mine was standing the stump of a pine
tree ten feet in circumference. These ancient mines are found not only
on the main-land, but on the islands off the coast as well. The only
helps they seem to have employed was fire, traces of which are found
everywhere, and stone mauls and axes. The mauls consist of oblong
water-worn bowlders of hard tough rock, nature having done every thing
in fashioning them except to form the groove, which was chiseled out
around the middle. Some copper implements were also found.

Col. Whittlesey, from whose writings we have drawn the foregoing,
concludes that these mines were worked by the Mound Builders. As he
finds no traces of graves or houses, or other evidence of a protracted
stay, he thinks they were worked only through the Summer season of the
year by bands of workmen from the south.

As to what caused the abandonment of the works we do not know. It might
have been an impulse of their race hurrying them on to some distant
migration; or, more probably, pressed by foes from without, they were
compelled to abandon their ancient homes. Whatever the cause was, nature
resumed her sway. Forest trees crept up to and grew around the mouths
of the deserted mines. Col. Whittlesey concludes from the group of trees
growing on the top of the rubbish heap that at least five hundred years
passed away before the white man came from the south to resume the work
of his ancient predecessor.<90>

It is not, however, proven that the Mound Builders were the sole workers
of these ancient mines. It is known that the Indians mined for flint.
Some of the excavations for this purpose, in what is known as Flint
Ridge, in Muskingum County, Ohio, are as marked as the traces of ancient
mining in Michigan. Similar appearances are recorded in Missouri. As
copper was in demand among the Indians, and as it is probable that they
obtained much of it from the North, they may have continued to work
the ancient copper mines until comparatively recent times. Mr. Lapham
believes that the progenitors of the Indian tribes found dwelling in the
regions near these mines, carried on mining operations there. Dr. Rau
thinks it probable that small bands of various Northern tribes made
periodical excursions to the locality, returning to their homes
when they had supplied themselves with sufficient quantities of the
much-desired metal. The fact that many of the modern Indian tribes knew
nothing about these mines is not of much weight, when we reflect how
easily a barbarian people forget events, even those of a striking
nature.

We are apt to judge the culture of a people by the skill they display in
works of arts. The article on which the Mound Builder lavished most
of his skill was the pipe. This would show that with them, as with the
modern Indians, the use of the pipe was largely interwoven with their
civil and religious observances. In making war and in concluding peace,
it probably played a very important part. "To know the whole history of
tobacco, of the custom of smoking, and of the origin of the pipe,
would be to solve many of the most interesting problems of American
ethnology."<91>

The general decoration consisted in carving the bowl of the pipe into
the shape of some animal or bird. In some instances we have carved
representations of the human head. Such as these are of particular
interest and value, as they are probably faithful representations of the
features of the Mound Builders. This is a fine specimen found in one of
the altar mounds in Ohio. The method of wearing the hair is worthy of
notice. The holes placed in a row encircling the forehead and coming
down as low as the ears, were once filled with pearls. In some they
still remained when found, though they had been burned in the fire.
The lines upon the face obviously imitate the custom of tattooing the
countenance.

Illustrations of Sculptured Face and Face of a Female.-----

Scholars have called attention to the fact that Humboldt discovered in
Mexico a small statue which he supposed represented an Aztec priestess.
This statue had sculptured upon its forehead a row of pearls, worn in
the same manner as is represented in this pipe. This is another pipe of
great interest, and is supposed to represent the head of a woman. The
countenance is expressive, the eyes prominent, and the lips full and
rounded. We must notice again the headdress. While the faces are of
Indian type, the method of wearing the hair is different from that of
the typical Indian of the North.

Illustration of Beaver.----------------

The animal forms into which the pipe-bowls are carved, are also full of
interest. This is not so much on account of animal forms themselves as
the insight we gain as to the artistic skill of the people who fashioned
the pipes, and in various ways learn of bits of customs and manners
peculiar to them. Here we have figured a pipe, the bowl of which is
carved to represent a beaver. No one need hesitate as to the animal
which the carver had in mind. It is represented in a characteristic
attitude, and has the broad, flat tail of its species. It must have
required no little skill and patient labor to work a rough stone into
this finished pipe, especially when we remember that the maker had no
edged tools with which to work.

Illustration of Otter.----------------

We can not always determine the animal which the artist had in mind. In
this illustration we have figured such a pipe. Considerable discussion
has arisen as to the animal represented. Some cases of this nature have
been thought to show either migration from a distant country on the part
of the maker or else an extended system of trade.

Squier and Davis, who first figured it, supposed it to represent a
manatee, or sea-cow. This animal is essentially a tropical species, the
only known place where it was found in the United States being Florida.
From the presence of this carved specimen, found a thousand miles to
the north, some interesting queries, as the origin of the mound-building
tribes, and the state of life among them, were raised. It is almost
certain, however, that the animal intended to be represented was the
otter.<92>

Illustration of Birds on Pipes.---------------

The most general form of sculpture was that of birds, and we find
specimens of almost all the common varieties. In this group we recognize
the tufted heron striking a fish; the eagle, or hawk, tearing a smaller
bird; the swallow, apparently just ready to fly; and in the last figure,
one that has given rise to a good deal of discussion. Some think from
the circumstance of its having a very large bill, toes pointing behind
as well as before, that it represents a toucan, which, if true, would
make it a most interesting specimen. But cautious scholars conclude that
the "figure is not of sufficient distinctness to identify the original
that was before the artist's mind." And therefore it is not wise to make
this specimen the subject of a far-reaching speculation.<93>

It may be of interest to inquire whether the Indians made pipes as
tastefully ornamented as those we have described. We should notice that
all the pipes here described are from one very limited locality in Ohio,
and that is the valley of the Scioto, the same section of country where
were found the great inclosures of a mathematical shape. We have no
reason for supposing that the Mound Builders generally throughout the
Mississippi Valley had this artistic skill. We have seen nowhere
any thing to show a superiority for them in this respect. Whatever
conclusion can be drawn from those pipes, applies only to the tribe in
the Scioto Valley. It is believed they do constitute a peculiar class
by themselves. As works of art, there are but few aboriginal relics of
North American origin their equal.<94>

We would also refer to the fact that most of these specimens were
obtained from one altar-mound.<95> We do not know what ceremonies
were performed around this altar, but if it were a place of burial or
cremation, they might have been the obsequies of some distinguished
maker of pipes. That such a person would be the recipient of honor, is
not singular, for "the manufacture of stone pipes, necessarily a painful
and tedious labor, may have formed a branch of aboriginal industry, and
the skillful pipe carver probably occupied among the former Indians a
rank equal to that of the experienced sculptor in our times." Among the
Ojibway Indians, we are told, are persons who possess peculiar skill
in the carving of pipes, and make it their profession, or at least the
means of gaining, in part, their livelihood. One "inlaid his pipes very
tastefully with figures of stars, and flowers of black and white stones.
But his work proceeded very slowly, and he sold his pipes at high
prices."<96> So we see how cautious we must be about drawing inferences
from this peculiar class of pipes found in one limited locality.

The knowledge of how to manufacture pottery is justly regarded as a
turning point in the advance of primitive man along the weary road that
brings him at last to civilization. At this point he ceases to be a
savage, and enters the confines of Barbarism.<97> The skill shown in
using this knowledge is one of the many things we have to take into
consideration in determining the rank of a people in the scale of
enlightenment. The Mound Builders were evidently quite well along in the
potter's art; and as they have left behind them many examples of their
work, we must try and acquaint ourselves with some of the more important
varieties.

Illustration of a Group of Clay Vessels.----------------

This illustration is of a group of clay vessels of the bowl pattern,
found in mounds in different parts of the Mississippi Valley. In one of
these we see a good example of the style of ornamentation by means of
incised lines. In the duck-headed vessel we have a representation of a
class of vessels common in Missouri and Tennessee. Not unfrequently
one or both of the handles of vessels of this class is in the form of
a human head instead of that of an animal. Our next illustrations
represent a group of such specimens. Judging from the skill with which
they imitated animals, it is not unreasonable to believe that in these
faces we have rude likenesses of the people who made them.

Illustration of Bowls with Human Faces.------------

The two bottle-shaped vessels here figured, are from mounds in
Louisiana. As will be noticed, the ornamentation is quite artistic.
The ware is of a good quality, and they are good examples of the Mound
Builders' art. The form with the long neck is perhaps a water-cooler.
When filled with water, and allowed to stand, some of the water passes
through the pores, and evaporating, keeps the surface of the vessel
cool.

Illustration of Bottle-shaped Vessels. (Smith. Inst.)----

They also made some vessels of large size to serve for cooking purposes.
On some of the larger vessels the imprint of woven weeds and willows of
a basket on the outer surface leads to the belief that such vessels were
formed or moulded within baskets. Many large pots and urns, however,
were made without this aid. Some large urns were used for burial
purposes. In a Michigan mound an urn about three feet in height had been
so used. It was standing upright, and into it the whole skeleton of a
man had been compressed, and a closely-fitting lid covered the top.<98>
Very large, shallow vessels were used to manufacture salt--that is, they
were filled from some salt-spring, and then the water was evaporated,
leaving the salt. In localities near salt-springs, thick fragments of
rude earthenware have been found that must have come from vessels as
large as barrels.

Illustration of Water Cooler.---------------

In the next group we have representations of a singular class of
vessels. In some cases the mouth and neck of the vessel is shaped in
imitation of animals. In the smallest one we recognize the head of a
man, with an opening in the back of the head. Many vessels of this form
are known, and a great many different animal heads are represented.
The fish-shaped vessel is a curious one. The one figured evidently
represents a sun-fish. The long vase or jug is in the shape of a child's
leg, with an opening in the heel.

Illustration of Pottery Vessels. (Smith. Inst.)--------

Some very beautiful vessels of the character of those we have figured,
have been found in Missouri. One enthusiastic explorer says, "Perhaps
we have very few modern artists who could equal those ancient pottery
makers in taste, skill, curious design, and wonderful imitation of
nature. Birds, beasts, fishes, even the shells on the river shore, have
an exact counterpart in their domestic utensils." "While digging in one
of these pottery mounds in Missouri, we unearthed a large tortoise. We
thought it was alive, and seizing it, to cast it into the woods for its
liberty, we were suddenly surprised to find our tortoise was an earthen
vessel in that shape. In the same mound we uncovered a huge shell--the
single valve of a unio. Closer inspection revealed that it was a perfect
earthen vessel. Following these came a perfect fish, exhibiting, to our
astonishment, the scales, fins, and peculiarities of that species of
fish in detail."<99>

We must leave this interesting part of our subject. An entire volume
would scarcely do justice to it, but for the sake of comparison, we must
inquire as to the state of this art among the Indian tribes. It seems
that before the arrival of the whites, the Indian tribes throughout
North America, with few exceptions, were apt potters. The whites,
however, soon supplied them with superior utensils of metal, so, that
the majority of the Eastern tribes soon lost the knowledge of the art.
It lingered longer among the tribes of the South, and of the interior,
and even to this day the Pueblo tribes of New Mexico and Arizona make an
excellent article of pottery. Early travelers wrote in high terms of the
skill of the Southern Indians in this matter. Du-Pratz thought so highly
of the work of the Natchez Indians that he had them make him an entire
dinner set.

Catlin, speaking of the Mandan Indians, says the women of that tribe
made great quantities of dishes and bowls, modeled after many forms. He
says they are so strong and serviceable that they cook food in them
by hanging them over the fire, as we would an iron pot. "I have seen
specimens," he continues, "which have been dug up in Indian mounds and
tombs in the Southern and Middle States, placed in our Eastern museums,
and looked upon as a great wonder, when here this novelty is at once
done away with, and the whole mystery: where women can be seen handling
and using them by hundreds, and they can be seen every day in the
summer, also, moulding into many fanciful forms, and passing them
through the kilns, where they are hardened."

Dr. Rau, speaking of the artistic skill of the Indian potters, as shown
by numerous remains gathered in Illinois, does not hesitate to assert,
after personal examination of Mound Builders' pottery, that the Indian
relics were in every respect equal to those specimens exhumed from the
mounds of the Mississippi Valley.<100> Lapham, speaking of fragments of
Mound Builders' pottery in Wisconsin, says, "They agree in every respect
with fragments found about the old Indian villages."

The culture of a people is also determined by their knowledge of
agriculture. The savage depends entirely upon hunting and fishing for
subsistence. A knowledge of horticulture, of domestic animals, and
of agriculture, even though rude, are each and all potent factors
in advancing man in culture. So we must inquire as to the traces
of agricultural knowledge observable among the remains of the Mound
Builders. Some writers speak in quite glowing terms of the enormous
crops they must have raised for their populous cities. The fact is, that
while it is doubtless true that they practiced agriculture, yet we have
no reason to suppose it was any thing more than a rude tillage, such as
was practiced among the village Indian tribes. This is evident from the
tools with which they worked.

Illustration of Agricultural Implements. (Smith. Inst.)----

In a few cases copper tools have been recovered which may have served
for digging in the ground, but in most cases their art furnished them
nothing higher than spades, shovels, picks, and hoes made of stone,
horn, bone, and probably wood. In this cut are specimens of such
agricultural tools. These were doubtless furnished with handles of wood.
The notched one was perhaps provided with a handle at right angles to
it, so as to constitute a hoe. That we are right in regarding these
implements as agricultural tools, is shown not only by their large
size, but also by the traces of wear discovered on them. We must admit,
however, that agriculture carried on with such tools as these, must have
been in a comparatively rude state.

In this connection we must refer to the garden beds noticed in some
places. We read that in Western Michigan the so-called garden beds are
a distinguishing feature of the ancient occupation, often covering
many acres in a place, in a great variety of forms, both regular and
grotesque.<101> These seem from the above account to be very similar
to the garden beds of Wisconsin. Dr. Lapham tells us that in the latter
State they consist of low, broad, parallel ridges, as if corn had been
planted in drills.

The average four feet in width, and the depth of the walk between them
is six inches. Traces of this kind of cultivation are found in various
parts of the State. We are also referred to the presence of garden
mounds in Missouri, but in this case the low mounds are of the same
mysterious class that Prof. Forshey says occur by millions in the
South-west, and may not be the work of man. Just what the connection is
between the garden beds and the Mound Builders is hard to determine. Mr.
Lapham thinks that those in Wisconsin were certainly later in date than
the mounds. He observed that they were frequently constructed right
across the works of the Mound Builders. This would seem to imply that
the makers were not one and the same people.

As to the government and religion of the Mound Builders, all is
conjecture. On both of these points a great deal has been assumed, but
when we try to find out the grounds on which these theories rest we
quickly see how little real foundation there is for any knowledge on
this subject. If we are right in our views as to the effigy mounds of
Wisconsin, then a sort of animal worship prevailed. Whether the great
inclosures in the Scioto Valley were of a religious nature or not
is very doubtful. The great serpent mound was probably an object of
worship. The assertion is quite frequently made that the Mound Builders
were sun worshipers, which may be correct, but we must observe that we
have no proofs of it in the works they have left. We judge it to be true
only because sun-worship was probably a part of the religion of a large
proportion of the Indian race, and because we find special proofs of its
existence among some of the Southern Indians who are supposed to be
closely related to the Mound Builders.

Illustration of Idols. (Smith. Inst.)--------------

As we approach the South, we meet with what are supposed to be rude and
uncouth idols, but they have not been found under such circumstances as
to make it positive that they belonged to the Mound Builders. In this
illustration we have two idols, considered to be genuine relics of the
stone-grave people of Tennessee. The first one is an Aztec idol found at
Cholula, and introduced here simply for comparison. What position these
idols held in connection with the religion of the race, we are not
prepared to say.

Similar remarks might be made as to the system of government. A
number of writers, taking into account the immense labor involved in
constructing some of the works, have insisted that the people must have
lived under a despotic form of government, one in which the state had
unlimited power over the lives and fortunes of its subjects.<102>

There is no real foundation for such views, and we think they are
misleading. No one doubts but that the Mound Builders were living in
a tribal state of society. If so, they doubtless had the usual
subdivisions of a tribe. This point we remember afforded us some insight
into the meaning of the effigy mounds of Wisconsin.

This would imply the government by the council, and while the rulers may
have been hereditary, the officers of the tribe were probably elective,
and could be deposed for cause. We do not mean to assert that this is an
exact picture of the state of government of the Mound Builders, because
our knowledge on this point is not sufficient to make such a positive
statement, but it is far more likely to be true than the picture of a
despotic government, ruling from some capital seat a large extent of
country, holding a court with barbaric pomp and circumstances such as
some writers would have us believe.

We hope our readers have not been wearied by this somewhat extended
investigation of the Mound Builders. Every storm that beats upon their
works tends to level them. The demands of our modern life are fast
obliterating the remaining monuments and, indeed, it is now only
those which are situated in favorable localities, or are massive
in construction, that are left for our inspection. But these nearly
obliterated records of the past are of more than passing interest to us
as monuments of the prehistoric times of our own country. We wander over
these ruins and find much to interest us, much to excite our curiosity.
The purposes of many are utterly unknown. Some, by their great
proportions, awaken in us feelings of admiration for the perseverance
and energy of their builders. But when we investigate the objects of
stone, of clay, and of copper this people left behind them, we notice
how hard it is to draw a dividing line between them and the Indians.

In fact, there is no good reason for separating them from the Indian
race as a whole. We do not mean to say that they were not, in many
respects, different from the tribes found in the same section of the
country by the early explorers, though, we ought, perhaps, to confine
this remark to the central portion of the country occupied by these
ancient remains. But the American of to-day differs from the American of
early Colonial times. The miserable natives of Southern California were
Indians, but very different indeed from the ambitious, warlike Iroquois,
who displayed so much statesmanship in the formation of their celebrated
league. In another chapter we shall discuss this part of our subject, as
well as the question of the antiquity of the ruins.

REFERENCES

(1) The manuscript of this chapter was submitted to Prof. F. W.
Putnam, curator of the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and
Ethnology, Harvard University, for criticism.
(2) Conant's "Footprints of Vanished Races," p. 122.
(3) Force: "Some Considerations on the Mound Builders," p. 64;
"Am. Antiquarian," March, 1884, pp. 93-4; "10th Annual Report,
Peabody Museum," p. 11.
(4) Short's "North Americans of Antiquity", p. 28.
(5) Squier and Davis's "Ancient Monuments," p. 105.
(6) Foster's "Prehistoric Paces," p. 148.
(7) Squier's "Aboriginal Monuments of New York," Smithsonia
Contribution No. 11, p. 83.
(8) Squier's "Aboriginal Monuments of New York," Smithsonia
Contribution No. 11, p. 87.
(9) Foster's "Prehistoric Races," p. 121.
(10) "They are numbered by millions." Ibid.
(11) Prof. Forshey could frame no satisfactory hypothesis of
their origin. Ibid, p. 122.
(12) "Native Races," Vol. IV, pp. 739 and 740.
(13) Smithsonian Rep., 1870, p. 406.
(14) Narrative of U.S. exploring expedition during the years
1838-42, Vol. IV, p. 334.
(15) Prof. Gibbs in Frank Leslie's Monthly, August, 1883.
(16) "Ancient Monuments," p. 139.
(17) Jones's "Explorations in Tennessee," p. 15.
(18) "Ancient Monuments," p. 143. Explorers for Bureau of
Ethnology so report it in the South. Prof. Putnam, who has
certainly had great experience, says he has always found the
layers to be horizontal.
(19) "Sixteenth Annual Report Peabody Museum," p, 171. An
ornament shaped to resemble the head of a wood-pecker, made of
gold, derived from some Spanish source, was found in a mound in
Florida. This particular mound must have been erected after the
discovery of America. ("Smithsonian Report," 1877, p. 298,
_et seq._)
(20) "Sixteenth and Seventeenth Report Peabody Museum." These
ornaments were made of hammered iron. This is the first time
that native iron has been found in the mounds. (Putnam.)
(21) "Prehistoric Races," p. 178.
(22) J. E. Stevens's Paper, read before the Muscatine Academy of
Science, Dec., 1878.
(23) That this was at any rate sometimes the case See "Ancient
Monuments," p. 159.
(24) "Peabody Museum Reports," Vol. II, p. 58.
(25) Jones's "Explorations in Tennessee," p. 15. See also "First
An. Rep. Bureau of Ethnology," p. 198.
(26) "Ancient Monuments," p. 169. See also note on same page for
another account of a larger number of skeletons.
(27) Short's "North Americans of Antiquity," App. A.
(28) James's "Popular Science," File 1883, p. 445.
(29) "Ancient Monuments," p. 173.
(30) "Ancient Monuments," p. 74.
(31) "Views of Louisiana."
(32) This cut represents the mound as it probably was before the
outlines were destroyed by cultivation. It is based on a model
prepared by Dr. Patrick for the Peabody Museum.
(33) "Peabody Museum Report," Vol. II, p.473. As this may
include some of the wash from the mound, perhaps it would be
better to give the real area of the base as over twelve acres.
(34) That is, if we follow the plan.
(35) "Prehistoric Races," p. 107.
(36) "Ancient Monuments," p. 174.
(37) Pickett's "History of Alabama," Vol. I., p. 301.
(38) Carr's "Mounds of the Mississippi Valley," pp. 91, 92;
note, 103.
(39) "Ancient Monuments," p. 117. Note.--For the statement made
in this text we are under obligation to Prof. Thomas, of the
Bureau of Ethnology, who, in answer to a letter of inquiry,
kindly furnished the information.
(40) _"Am. Antiquarian,"_ March, 1884, p. 99.
(41) It may be that no mounds were built for signaling purposes
alone. The work of erecting mounds was so great that it is quite
likely they were always erected for some other purpose, and used
only secondarily for signal purposes. Such is shown to be the
case with many of the signal mounds in Ohio. Such is the opinion
of Mr. MacLean, who has made extensive researches.
(42) Force's "Some Consideration of the Mound Builders," p. 65.
(43) Similar effigy mounds have been recently observed in
Minnesota, but they have not yet been described. (Putnam.)
(44) Peet's _American Antiquarian,_ May, 1884, p. 184.
(45) Peet's _American Antiquarian,_ January, 1884. We are
indebted to the writings of Mr. Peet in this periodical for the
months of January, May, and July, 1884, for many interesting
facts in reference to the effigy mounds. He has studied them
more than any other person, and his conclusions are consequently
of great value.
(46) Peet's "Emblematic Mounds and Totem System of the Indian
Tribes."
(47) "Ancient Monuments," p. 40.
(48) _American Antiquarian,_ January, 1883.
(49) Putnam, in "Proceedings of American Antiquarian Society,"
1884.
(50) Peet's "Emblematic Mounds and Totem System of the Indian
Tribes."
(51) Abbott's "Primitive Industry," p. 383.
(52) Peet's "Military Architecture of the Emblematic Mound
Builders."
(53) "Smithsonian Report," 1877, p. 278, _et seq._
(54) "Ancient Monuments," p. 97; _American Antiquarian,_
January, 1883, p. 77.
(55) This information is communicated by Mr. L. N. Tower, a
gentleman in the employ of C. & N. W. E. R., at Tracy, Minn.,
who, at the request of the writer visited this locality, made
measurements, etc.
(56) _American Antiquarian,_ November, 1884, p. 403.
(57) The dimensions of this figure vary. Mr. MacLean's survey
makes the entire length of the serpent part eleven hundred and
sixteen feet; the distance between the extended jaws, one
hundred feet. The oval figure is one hundred and thirteen feet
long by fifty feet wide. The frog or head portion is fifty-five
feet. Mr. Squier says, "The entire length, if extended, would be
not less than one thousand feet." Mr. Putnam's measurements make
it fourteen hundred and fifteen feet. The writer would state
that he visited this effigy in the summer of 1884. Though there
but a very short time, and not prepared to make careful
measurements, he did notice some points in which the
illustrations, previously given, are certainly wrong. The oval
is not at the very extremity of the cliff. The little
projections generally called ears of the serpent are not at
right angles to the body, but incline backwards.
The convolutions of the serpent's body bend back and forth quite
across the surface of the ridge.
(58) Schmuckers.
(59) "Ancient Monuments," p. 47.
(60) Foster's "Prehistoric Races," p. 175.
(61) "Contributions North American Ethnology," Vol. IV, p. 210.
A cut of this "restored" pueblo is there given.
(62) See discussion of this subject in "Proceedings of Am.
Antiq. Society," Oct., 1883.
(63) "Peabody Museum Reports," Vol. II, p. 205.
(64) "Ancient Monuments," p. 47.
(65) Peet: "The Mound Builders."
(66) "Ancient Monuments," p. 53.
(67) Force: "Some Considerations on the Mound Builders," p. 64.
(68) "Archaeologia Americana," Vol. I, p. 129.
(69) For words at Newark, consult "Ancient Monuments," p. 67,
_et seq. "American Antiquarian,"_ July, 1882.
(70) "Ancient Monuments," p. 74.
(71) "Ancient Monuments," p. 88.
(72) Mr. Putnam visited the work a few years since, and came to
the conclusion that the larger and old openings were part of the
original design, and that they were places where it was easier
to put up log structures than earthen walls. Just such openings
occur in the massive stone wall around Fort Hill, in Highland
County. A few of the openings at Fort Ancient he thinks are
unquestionably of recent origin, in order to drain the holes
inside the embankments.
(73) _Cincinnati Quart. Journal Science,_ 1874, p. 294.
(74) Peet: "The Mound Builders."
(75) Peet's "Mound Builders:" "If the reader will compare some
of these last cuts with that of the fortified camp at Cissbury,
Eng., p. 183, he will see how similar this last work is to those
just mentioned. Perhaps the real lesson to be learned is that
rude people, whether Indians, Mound Builders, or Celts, resorted
to about the same method of defense."
(76) "Antiquarian Research," p. 89.
(77) Conant's "Footprints of Vanished Races," p. 15, _et
seq._ Mr. Conant refers to Mr. Pidgeon's work in such a way
as to give the impression that he was convinced of the
genuineness of his account.
(78) "Traditions of Decodah," p. 89, _et seq._
(79) "Antiquarian Research," p. 190.
(80) "The American Indian, so far as known, without the
exception of a single tribe, worshiped the sun." Carr's "Mounds
of the Mississippi Valley," p. 56.
(81) Conant's "Footprints of Vanished Races," p. 60.
(82) Ibid., p. 32. If the explorers are really satisfied this
was a walled town, it ought to throw some light on the
inclosures in the Ohio Valley.
(83) Conant's "Footprints of Vanished Races," p. 35.
(84) Conant's "Footprints of Vanished Races," p. 77.
(85) Vol. III, p. 290, _et seq._
(86) Morgan's "Ancient Society," p. 11.
(87) "Ancient Monuments," p. 210; also Peet: "The Mound
Builders." "Their relics are marked by a peculiar finish."
(88) Rau's "Anthropological Research."
(89) "Proceedings Am. Antiq. Society," April, 1877, p. 61.
(90) "Smithsonian Contribution to Knowledge," Vol. XIII.
(91) Abbott's "Primitive Industry," p. 315.
(92) "Annual Report of Bureau of Ethnology," 1880-1, p. 123,
_et seq._
(93) In the "Annual Report of Bureau of Ethnology," for 1880-1,
Mr. Henshaw has very fully discussed these mound-pipes, and
shown that Messrs. Squier and Davis wore mistaken in a number of
their identifications of the animal forms. He concludes there
"are no representations of birds or animals not indigenous to
the Mississippi Valley."
(94) The recent discoveries by Putnam and Metz, in the
Altar-mounds in the Little Miami Valley, have brought to light
many interesting and important sculptures in stone and
terra-cotta, which, as works of art, are in some respects
superior to those from the Scioto Valley, but as they have not
yet been figured, we can only refer to them here in this brief
note.
(95) "Number Eight," Mound City, near Chillicothe, Ohio.
"Ancient Monuments," p. 152.
(96) Rau: "Anthropological Subjects," p. 130.
(97) Morgan's "Ancient Society," p. 12.
(98) _American Antiquarian,_ 1879, p. 64.
(99) McAdams: _American Antiquarian,_ 1880, p. 140.
(100) "Smithsonian Report," 1866. We have gathered these points
for comparison from Dr. Rau's article in that report.
(101) Bella Hubbard, _American Antiquarian,_ 1876, p. 219.
(102) Foster's "Prehistoric Races," p. 346.

Chapter XI

THE PUEBLO COUNTRY.<1>

Description of the Pueblo Country--Historical outline--Description of
Zuni--Definition of a Pueblo--Old Zuni--Inscription Rock--Pueblo of
Jemez--Historical notice of Pecos--Description of the Moqui tribes--The
Estufa--Description of the San Juan country--Aztec Springs--In the
Canyon of the McElmo--The Ruins of the Rio Mancos--On Hovenweep
Creek--Description of a Cliff-house--Cliff Town--Cave houses--Ruins
on the San Juan--Cave Town--The Significance of Cliff-houses--Moqui
traditions--Ruins in Northern New Mexico--Ruins in the Chaco
Canyon--Pueblo Bonito--Ruins in South-western Arizona--The Rio
Verde Valley--Casa Grande--Ruins on the Gila--Culture of the Pueblo
Tribes--Their Pottery--Superiority of the Ancient pottery--Conclusion.

We have hitherto been describing people and tribes that have completely
vanished. We have peered into the mysterious past and sought as best we
could to conjure back the scenes of many years ago. The line between the
known and the unknown, between the historic and prehistoric, is not far
removed from us in the new world. Not yet four centuries have passed
since the veil was lifted, and America, with her savage tribes of the
North, and her rude civilization of the South, was revealed to the
wondering eyes of Europe. But with a knowledge of this new land
came also wondrous stories of wealth, and in consequence an army of
adventurers were soon on her shores. Then follows a short period of war
and conquest. The Indian race could not withstand the whites. European
civilization, transplanted to America, has thriven. But whatever advance
the native tribes have made since the discovery, has been by reason of
contact with the whites.

Map of Pueblo Country.-----------

There was no single birthplace of American culture. Advance took place
wherever the climate was mild and the soil fertile, and thus an abundant
supply of food could be obtained. One such locality was the valley of
the San Juan, in what is now the southwestern part of the United
States. It is quite allowable to suppose that here the mild climate and
bountiful soil suggested agriculture, and with a knowledge of this,
rude though it was, a beginning was made in a culture which subsequently
excited the admiration of the Spaniards. However that may be, we know
this section contains abundant ruins of former inhabitants. And yet
again we find in this same country the remnants of this former people,
doubtless living much the same sort of life as did their forefathers.
American scholars, with the best of reason, think this section affords
the best vantage ground from which to study the question of native
American culture. It presents us not only with ruins of past greatness,
but in the inhabited pueblos, gives us a picture of primitive times,
and invites us, by a careful study of their institutions, to become
acquainted with primitive society.

Travelers and explorers describe the scenery of the Pueblo country as
a very peculiar one. It is bleak without being absolutely barren. The
great mountain chains form picturesque profiles, which in a measure
compensate for the lack of vegetation. No country on the face of the
globe bears such testimony to the power of running water to wear away
the surface. The rivers commenced by wearing down great canyons. They
occur here on a grand scale. The canyon of the Colorado River, having
a length of two hundred miles, and through the whole, nearly vertical
walls of rock, three to six thousand feet in height. Nearly all the
tributary streams of the Colorado empty into it by means of gorges
nearly as profound. What is true of the Colorado is true, though in a
lesser degree of the Rio Grande and of the Pecos, as only portions of
these streams are canyon-born. But, besides digging out these canyons,
the entire surface of the country has in places been removed to the
depth of several hundred feet, leaving large extent of table-lands,
called mesas, with generally steep, or even precipitous, sides, standing
isolated here and there.

Though thus bearing evidence of more extended rainfall, and of the
action of water in the past, it is essentially an arid country now.
Most of the minor water-courses laid down on the map are dry half of
the year, or have but scattered pools of water; so a description of
the surface of the country would tell us of deep river valleys, in many
cases narrow and running through rocky beds, in which case we call them
canyons; in other cases very wide, but having generally precipitous
sides; the country often mountainous and great stretches of table-land,
but generally dry and desolate, except in the immediate vicinity of
rivers. The river valleys themselves are generally very fertile.

Such is the country where we are to investigate native American culture.
The history of the country since its first occupation by the Spaniards
is not devoid of interest. It did not take the Indians of Mexico long to
learn that what the Spaniards most prized was gold, and that the surest
way to curry favor with them was to relate to them exaggerated stories
of wonderful wealth to be gained in distant provinces. About 1530 the
viceroy of New Spain (Mexico) learned from an Indian slave of seven
great cities somewhere to the north; and of their wealth it was said
they had streets exclusively occupied by workers in gold and silver.

Though expeditions to the northern provinces of Mexico speedily
dispelled the illusions in regard to them, the wonderful story of the
Seven Cities flitted further north. Six years later these stories were
invested with new life by the arrival in Mexico of Cabeza De Vaca and
three companions. The story of their remarkable wanderings reads like
an extract from a work of fiction. They were members of the unfortunate
Spanish expeditions to the coast of Florida in 1528. After the shipwreck
and final overthrow of the expedition, these four men had wandered from
somewhere on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, first north, and then
west, passing through, probably, portions of Texas and New Mexico, until
finally they were so fortunate as to meet with their own countrymen near
Culiacan, in Mexico. The story they had to tell fell on willing ears.
They stated to the viceroy that they had carefully observed the country
through which they had passed, and had been told of great and powerful
cities containing houses of four and five stories, with the usual
accompaniments of great wealth.

The next incident was the journey of three Franciscan friars and a negro
(who, by the way, had been with De Vaca in his wanderings), sent out by
the Governor Coronado, with orders to return and report to him all they
could learn by personal observation of the Seven Cities. This expedition
did not accomplish much. Arriving near Cibola (the Spanish name for the
country of the Seven Cities), they sent the negro on ahead to gain the
good will of the Indians. Instead of this, he was killed by them. On
hearing which, the monks contented themselves with gazing on the pueblo
(which they describe as "more considerable than Mexico") from a safe
distance, and then hurriedly returned to Culiacan. They gave Coronado a
most glowing account of all they had discovered.

Coronado now thought the time had come for decisive action. Accordingly,
with the viceroy's permission, he organized his forces, and in 1540 set
out on his memorable march in search of the Seven Cities of Cibola. We
do not propose to give in detail the series of conquests beginning with
this expedition and finally ending with the subjection of New Mexico
in 1598. It is needless to say that the Spanish forces found no cities
teeming with wealth. What they did find was a country much the same
as at present. The cities were the communal houses, or combination of
houses, known as pueblos. The pueblo of Zuni is the remaining one of the
mystical seven. The ruins of at least six other pueblos are known to be
in the immediate vicinity.<2>

This historical account, short and imperfect as it is, introduces us to
a most interesting people. If we would know more of them we can not do
better than to adopt the advice of Hosta, ex governor of Jemez, to Dr.
Loew: "If you wish to see what a great people we once were you must go
upon the mesas and into the canyons of the vicinity, where ruins of our
forefathers are numerous."

One of the most important pueblos yet remaining inhabited, and one of
the first that Coronado encountered in his expedition, is Zuni.
The present pueblo is considered as the remaining one of the Seven
Cities--at least, by the majority of Americanists. Whipple describes
Zuni as follows: "Treading an opening between rocky bluffs,... we
entered the valley, several miles in width, which leads to Zuni. The
soil seemed light, but where cultivated it produced fine crops without
the aid of irrigation.... Within the valley appeared occasional towers,
where herders and, laborers watch to prevent a surprise from Apaches.
Near the center of this apparent plain stood, upon an eminence, the
compact city of Zuni.<3> By its side flowed the river which bears
the same name. It is now but a rivulet of humble dimensions, though
sometimes said to be a large stream.... Passing beneath an arch, we
entered a court,... entirely surrounded by houses of several receding
stories, which were attained by means of ladders loading from one to
another.... From the top the pueblo reminds one of an immense ant-hill,
from its similar form and dense population.... Going down from its outer
side into the street, we encounter five stories of descent."<4>

In order to prevent confusion, we will state that a pueblo, which is the
Spanish name for these old Indian towns, may be one of several different
types. A common form of village consists of but one or two, seldom
three, large buildings, so arranged as to surround an interior court.
Sometimes there is but one large building, which is nearly in the shape
of a half circle; instead of being really circular, it has a number of
different sides. In some cases a village consists of a number of these
large houses irregularly arranged. But the tendency is always to inclose
a square.<5>

In the modern villages the buildings forming the square do not meet, but
in some cases are connected by bridges or covered gangways, and in
some instances the houses project over the streets below, which, being
narrow, are thus given an underground appearance.<6>

Illustration of Ground Plan and End View.------------

The buildings, or communal houses, for one house contained sometimes
five hundred rooms, are generally from three to four hundred feet long
and about one hundred and fifty feet in width at the base. The lower
story is divided by cross-walls into a mass of cell-like rooms, as shown
in the illustrations which represents the ground plan of a pueblo having
four ranges of rooms. Each story in height has one less range of rooms,
so that, looking directly at the end of this building, it would present
the appearance shown by this cut: The only means of getting from one
terrace to the other is by the aid of ladders. In some cases these
terraces run from both sides of the building; in others they face the
inclosed space; and in others still they face outside. Most of the
inhabited pueblos are built of adobe--that is, sun-dried bricks. The
majority of the ancient ruins were built of stone set in adobe mortar.
With this digression, we will now return to Zuni.

Illustration of Old Zuni.------------

Ruins testifying to the former greatness of these people are scattered
around them. Three miles to the east of the present pueblo of Zuni, on
the bluff seen in the cut, are the ruins of a larger pueblo, which is
called Old Zuni. Mr. Whipple, who explored this field of ruins, thus
describes his visit: "The projecting summit of the cliffs seemed
inaccessible.... We followed a trail which, with great labor, had
been hammered out from seam to seam of the rocks along the side of the
precipice. At various points of the ascent, where a projecting rock
permitted, were barricades of stone walls, from which the old man<7>
told us they had hurled rocks upon the invading Spaniards. Having
ascended one thousand feet, we found ourselves upon a level surface,
covered with thick cedars.... The top of the mesa was of an irregular
figure, a mile in width, bounded upon all sides by perpendicular
bluffs.... The guide hurried us on half a mile further, where appeared
the ruins of a city, indeed. Crumbling walls, from two to twelve feet in
height, were crowded together in confused heaps, over several acres of
ground.... Upon examining the pueblo, we found the standing walls rested
upon ruins of greater antiquity.<8> The primitive masonry, as well as
we could judge, must have been about six feet thick. The more recent
was not more than a foot or a foot and a half, but the small sandstone
blocks had been laid in mud mortar with considerable care."<9>

The descriptions of ruins have so much that is similar that repetitions
become tiresome. We will not, therefore, delay much longer with Zuni.
A few miles east of Old Zuni we come to Pescado Springs, near which are
the ruins of several pueblos. "This spring bursts from a broken point of
the lava bed, and at once becomes a pretty stream, glittering with great
numbers of the finny tribe, which gives name to it. The circular wall
which once inclosed the fountainhead is now partly broken down. Upon
each side, and almost tangent, are ruins of pueblos so ancient that the
traditions of present races do not reach them. They are nearly circular
in form, and of equal dimension. One measured three hundred and fifteen
short paces, about eight hundred feet, in circumference. They were of
stone; but the walls have crumbled, leaving only a heap of rubbish."<10>

Following up this stream, other ruins were found. It seems, then, that
in the pueblo of Zuni we have left a pitiful remnant of a numerous
people. When the Spaniards first appeared on the scene they were
apparently prosperous. The rapid decrease of the Pueblo tribes was owing
to several causes. In 1680 they made an attempt to throw off the Spanish
yoke. At first this was successful. But inter-tribal warfare at once set
in. At this time also the inroads of the Apaches and Navajos became
so troublesome that the Pueblo tribes could not successfully cultivate
their land. At this time also a succession of dry years set in, and
famine was the result. Their customs and manners we will describe in
another place. There are many reasons for supposing that the country had
been inhabited for a very long period, even before the Spaniards invaded
it. Some places must have been even then in ruins, or, if inhabited, it
is very strange that the Spanish records do not mention them. Such, for
instance, is Inscription Rock, about fifteen miles east of Old Zuni,
which the Spaniards must have passed when on their way back and forth to
Zuni.

Illustration of Inscription Rock.----------

The small mesa here ends with a bold front of white sandstone rock,
rising almost vertically two hundred and fifty feet high. This cut gives
us a view on the top of the table-rock. We see here the foundations of
two old buildings. A deep ravine nearly divides this little plateau into
two portions. As we have said, this rises with a bold, precipitous
front from the plain. At one place this front is completely covered with
inscriptions. Here the Indians, unknown years ago, made their strange
hieroglyphics which, presenting to our eyes only a senseless combination
of forms of animals and men and meaningless figures, may have conveyed
to them knowledge of important events. A great many Spanish inscriptions
have also been carved on the rock. Whipple calls attention to the fact
that though Spanish inscriptions placed there nearly two hundred years
ago, seem but slightly affected by atmospheric action, still some of the
Indian hieroglyphics are "almost wiped out by the fingers of time." A
number of centuries have probably rolled away since they were inscribed.

It may be interesting to know the reading of some of these old
inscriptions. A translation of one of the earliest and longest is here
given, with the exception of a few words which could not be made out:
"Bartolome Narrso, Governor and Captain-general of the province of New
Mexico, for our lord, the king, passed by this place on his return from
the pueblo of Zuni, on the 29th of July, of the year 1620, and put them
in peace, at their petition, asking the favor to become subjects of his
majesty, and anew they gave obedience; all of which they did with
free consent, knowing it prudent as well as very Christian,... to
so distinguished and gallant a soldier, indomitable and famed; we
love..."<11>

It is somewhat strange to meet thus in the interior of the United States
with the record of a military expedition some months before the Puritans
landed at Plymouth. There seems to be nothing especial to describe about
the ruins. Both Simpson and Whipple notice that the masonry seems to be
unusually good. As it must have been very difficult to procure water,
the location must have been chosen solely for the protection it
afforded. The early Spanish accounts contain the names of one hundred
and twenty-six pueblos. Some are, however, mentioned two or three times.
Mr. Bandelier has succeeded in identifying every one. The Rio Puerco
Valley was never a very prosperous one, and the river is scarcely a
permanent one. At present a few ruins at Poblazon, for instance, are to
be seen, and the valley looks poor and barren.

The valley of the Rio Grande River was occupied by a number of Pueblo
tribes, and there are at present eight inhabited pueblos along this
river, in New Mexico, and one in Texas. The region around Bernalillo was
a prosperous section. At intervals, up and down the river, and along its
tributaries, we can still trace low crumbling ruins, evidence of an old
pueblo. If the statements of the Spanish writers are to be believed, the
number of inhabited towns, at the time of the conquest, was at least ten
times that now existing. The population could never have exceeded forty
thousand. At present it contains about nine thousand. Still making
all allowance for Spanish exaggeration, we are convinced that it was a
thickly populated country at the time of the conquest.

One of the most interesting pueblos in New Mexico is Jemez, on a river
of that name, sixty miles west of Santa Fe. We speak of it here because
it is the center of a most interesting group of ruins. Like the pueblo
of Zuni, it is a remnant only of a prosperous people. The reports
of Coronado's expedition frequently mention Jemez, though it may be
doubtful whether they refer to the pueblo of that name now, or to one
of the numerous ruined ones in the immediate vicinity. Jemez is a
prosperous pueblo, having fine fields, large irrigating ditches, and
extensive flocks of sheep.

Simpson describes it in 1849 as follows: "The pueblo of Jemez is an
Indian town of between four and five hundred inhabitants,... and is
built upon two or three parallel streets, the houses being of adobe
construction, and having second stories disposed retreatingly upon the
first, to which access is had by means of ladders.... About the premises
are probably a dozen acres covered with apricot and peach trees....
The Rio de Jemez, upon which the pave lies, is an affluent of the Rio
Grande, varies from thirty to fifty feet in breadth, is of a rapid
current.... Patches of good corn and wheat skirt it here and there
along its banks, and the extent of cultivable land bordering it may be
estimated at about a mile in breadth."

We are more interested, however, in ruins testifying to past greatness.
"Six miles up the river you come to the union of two canyons--the
Guadalupe and San Diego. Where the mesa between these canyons narrows
itself to a point, are the ruins of two pueblos, one upon the lower
prominence of the mesa, the other upon the mesa proper, and only
approachable by two narrow, steep trails, the mesa everywhere else being
nearly perpendicular, and seven hundred and fifty feet high. The view
from the mesa is picturesque and imposing in the extreme. Far beneath,
to the right and left, a stream makes its way between the colossal
walls of the sandstone upon the narrow width of the mesa; near frightful
precipices are the ruins of a town of eighty houses, partly in parallel
rows, partly in squares, and partly perched between overhanging rocks,
the rim and surfaces of which formed the walls of rooms, the gaps and
interstices being filled in artificially."

"Nearly every house had one story and two rooms. The building material
was trachytic rock as found upon the mesa. Broken pottery, charred corn,
and millstones for grinding corn, were found in some of the rooms. The
roofs had all fallen in, and so also had many of the side walls, in the
construction of which wood was but little used. Pinon trees have taken
root within many of the former rooms. Upon asking my Indian guide
whether the former inhabitants of this town were obliged to descend the
steep and dangerous pathway every day to the creek to procure water,
he replied there were cisterns upon the mesa, in which rain, formerly
plentiful, was caught. He then called my attention to some conical heaps
of stones along the rim of the precipice which was the material for
defense."<12>

This description introduces us to another class of ruins--that is,
detached separate houses, different from the great communal structures
we have already described. What connection exists between these two
forms of houses will be studied in another place. As a rule, the
rooms in the detached houses are larger than in the communal houses.
Exceptions occur in some of the inhabited pueblos.<13> This is only one
of many towns in ruins thereabouts. According to Dr. Loew there are no
less than twenty-five or thirty.

It is not our purpose to describe any more of the pueblos of this
section of New Mexico than is required to enable us to understand the
customs, manners, and habits of the Pueblo tribes. We learn that in
New Mexico we are brought face to face with feeble remnants of former
tribes, and that these were probably in their most flourishing condition
when the Spaniards first invaded the country, and though in a few
instances the ruins imply a great antiquity, as at Inscription Rock,
still we may be reasonably sure that the majority of them date but a
few centuries back. The ruins of Catholic churches established by the
Franciscan monks in the sixteenth century occur in several places, five
being found around Jemez.

The story of the decline of the Pueblo tribes may be illustrated by
the history of Pecos. This pueblo was situated on the Rio Pecos, about
twenty-five miles south-east of Santa Fe. With the exception of the
present inhabited town of Taos, it was the most eastern point reached
by the pueblo building tribes. This, though a very large pueblo, has
nothing especial to attract attention, except that the entire mesa was
inclosed by a stone wall about six feet and a half high, and twenty
inches thick, having a total length of three thousand, two hundred and
twenty feet.<14> Its history is, however, interesting and instructive.
Coronado, with his army, visited Pecos before he abandoned the country
in 1543. His reports mention it as a prosperous pueblo. Several raids
were made into New Mexico by Spanish parties, but the conquest proper
occurred in 1598, when the Pecos pledged fidelity to the crown of Spain.

The Catholic Church at once set about establishing missions at various
pueblos. The Pecos Church was established in 1629, though missionary
work had been done here before that time. One of the priests who
accompanied Coronado remained behind at Pecos. He was never afterwards
heard from. This church became one of the most renowned in New Mexico.
The inhabitants became herders as well as agriculturists. It was
prosperous. In 1680 the Pueblo of Pecos sheltered two thousand Indians.
"But a storm was brewing from whose effects the Pueblo tribes never
recovered." In 1680 the Indians rose against the Spanish and drove them
from New Mexico. The priests were murdered, the churches were sacked.
From this time doubtless date the ruins of the churches seen around
Jemez. At Pecos and many other places intertribal warfare set in. Bloody
battles were fought.

Neither were the Spaniards idle. In 1682 one expedition was made, and
at least two pueblo towns were destroyed by them. In 1689 the entire
country was reconquered. Some tribes were nearly exterminated, and all
more or less weakened and a great many ruins date from that time. It was
the beginning of a decline for the Pueblo tribes, and this decline was
hastened by intertribal warfare, by drought, and by ravages from wild
Indians. As to the drought, it is sufficient to state that some ruins
are now fifteen, and even twenty, miles from permanent water.
The Comanches were the scourge of the Pecos. On one occasion they
slaughtered all the young men but one. This was a blow from which they
never recovered. Finally reduced by sickness to but five adults, the
Pecos sold their lands and, at the invitation of their brethren at
Jemez, went to live with them, and the pueblo of Pecos speedily became
the ruins we now find it.<15>

No doubt a similar history could be written of many other ruins. "Our
people," said Hosta, "were a warlike race, and had many fights, not only
with the Spaniards, but also with other Indian tribes the Navajos and
Taos, for instance and were thus reduced to this pueblo of Jemez,
which now forms the last remnant." New Mexico is now becoming rapidly
"Americanized," and it will soon be brought to a test whether the
Pueblo tribes can withstand this new influence and retain their peculiar
civilization, or whether, like many other races, their life force is
nearly spent, in which case they will live only in history.

We must not overlook the Moki Pueblos in Arizona. They are situated
one hundred miles northwest of Zuni. The Spaniards discovered them, and
called their province Tusayan. They are much like the Pueblo tribes
of New Mexico, only they have been much less disturbed by outside
influence. There are a number of ruined towns in this vicinity. We wish
to refer to them because of their intimate connection with the ruins to
the North. Their houses are built of stone on precipitous mesas.

Illustration of Wolpi. (Maj Powell)------------

Lieut. Ives, who visited them in 1858, has left quite a full description
of them. He states that "each pueblo is built around a rectangular
court, in which, we suppose, are the springs that furnished the supply
to the reservoirs. The exterior walls, which are of stone, have no
openings, and would have to be scaled or battered down before access
could be gained to the interior. The successive stories are set back,
one behind the other. The lower rooms are reached through trap-doors
from the first landing. The houses are three rooms deep, and open upon
the interior court."<16> He was much pleased with the manner in which
they had terraced off the bluff of the mesas into little garden patches,
irrigating them from the large reservoirs from the top.

There is one feature common to all the Pueblo tribes which is necessary
to refer to here, from its connection with the ruined structures further
north. In all of the inhabited pueblos there is a structure known as
an Estafa, some pueblos having several. They are usually circular, but
occasionally (as at Jemez) rectangular. They are generally subterranean,
or mostly so. They are great institutions among the Pueblos. "In these
subterranean temples the old men met in secret council, or assembled
in worship of their gods. Here are held dances, festivities, and social
intercourse."

Another common feature, represented in this cut, is the watch-tower. It
is either round, as in this case, or rectangular. It may be interesting
to recall in this connection the signal mounds of the Mound Builders.
They were not always in the immediate vicinity of other ruins. Neither
can we state that there was a system in their arrangement, one answering
to another at a distance, and yet it was noticed where the rains were
numerous that several were in view from one point.<17> In dimensions
these towers range from ten to fifteen feet in diameter, and from five
to fifteen feet in height, while the walls are from one to two feet
thick. They are in many cases connected with structures rectangular in
form.

Illustration of Watch Tower.-----------

We will now leave the inhabited pueblos and the ruins in their immediate
vicinity and, going to the north, explore a section of country that
shows every evidence of having sustained a considerable population some
time in the past. To understand this fact clearly, it will be necessary
to fix the location of the places named by means of the map. From time
to time confused reports of the wonders to be seen in the San Juan
section of Colorado had appeared in the East, but the first clear and
satisfactory account is contained in the reports of Messrs. Jackson and
Holmes, members of the U.S. Geographical and Geological survey of the
territories under Dr. Hayden for 1874 and 1876.

In the south-western portion of Colorado is a range of mountains known
as the San Juan. Stretching from their base west to the Sierras is a
great plateau region, drained by the numerous tributaries of the San
Juan River. It would, perhaps, be more in keeping with the facts of the
case to say "had been drained some time in the past," for this is now
such an arid, semi-desert country that the majority of the streams
are dry, or have but scattered pools of water in them, during a large
portion of the year; and yet, at times, great volumes of water go
sweeping through them. This whole plateau is cut up with long, canyoned
valleys, presenting, in effect, the same surface features that we have
already described in New Mexico. Yet this precipitous, canyon-marked
section of country is literally filled with the crumbling ruins of a
former people. The situation in which they occur is in many cases very
singular, and the whole subject is invested with great interest to us,
because we see in them the remains of a people evidently the same as the
Pueblo people to-day.

One of the most extensive ruins in this section is situated at Aztec
Springs. This, it will be seen, is about midway between the Rio
Mancos and the McElmo. Mr. Holmes found the site of the spring, but it
contained no water. He was told, however, by those familiar with the
locality that there had been a living spring there up to within a few
years. It was evidently a place of considerable importance once. Mr.
Holmes describes the ruins as forming the most imposing pile of masonry
found in Colorado. They cover an area of over ten acres. This includes
only the ruins around the springs. But all about this central portion
are scattered and grouped the remnants of smaller structures. So that
nearly a square mile is covered with the ruins of this ancient pueblo.
Most of the stone used was brought from the Mesa Verde (Green Plateau),
a mile away, and must have been a great work for a people so totally
without facilities.

Illustration of Ruins at Aztec Springs.----------

It will be seen that immediately to the right of the Springs is a large
rectangular ruin in better preservation than the rest. This now "forms
a great mound of crumbling rock from twelve to twenty feet in height,
overgrown with artemisia, but showing clearly, however, its rectangular
structure, adjusted approximately to the four points of the compass."
This house, from its massive walls, must have had an original height of
at least forty feet. "The walls seem to have been doubled, with a space
of seven feet between; a number of cross-walls at regular intervals
indicate that this space has been divided into apartments, as seen in
the plan." Two low lines of rubbish cross the square, probably partition
walls.

Surrounding this house is a net-work of fallen walls, so completely
reduced that none of the stones seem to remain in place. Mr. Holmes
was at a loss to know whether to call them a cluster of irregular
apartments, having low, loosely built walls, or whether they are the
remains of imposing pueblos. In the group of ruins to the left of the
spring are two well-defined circular estufas. Below the main mass of
ruins, connected by low walls of ruins, is another great square, nearly
two hundred feet in dimensions. One wall seems to have consisted of a
row of apartments; the other walls served to simply inclose the square,
near the center of which was another large estufa.

Several important conclusions can be drawn from a study of this
locality. The spring, now dry, was once evidently the source of a
considerable stream. Whether the group of low ruins were collections of
small houses, or remains of imposing pueblos, we need not doubt that
the walls of the square inclosures were composed of pueblo houses. The
estufas were probably in all respects similar to those of the present
inhabited pueblos. The country around, now so dry and barren, must once
have supported considerable population. As to the period of abandonment,
we have nothing to guide us. Being an agricultural settlement, it
was probably abandoned at an earlier date than the cave-dwellings and
cliff-houses of the canyons of the vicinity. The reason for this will
appear subsequently. The site of this ruin, as well as for a long
distance around, is covered with pieces of broken pottery. We notice
that the spring has only lately gone dry. This illustrates the changes
now taking place all through the country. It is drying up, and this
process has been in operation for a long while.

Illustration of Ruins in the McElmo Canyon.-------

Many groups of ruins are now in localities where the people could not
hope for subsistence. About six miles to the north of these ruins, about
a mile from the McElmo, is the group of ruins here represented, which
may throw some light on the remains at Aztec Springs. The principal
feature is the triple walled tower, of which a plan is given. The tower
has a diameter of about forty-three feet, and a circumference of about
one hundred and thirty-five feet. The walls are traceable nearly all
the way around, and the space between the two outer ones, which is about
five feet, contains fourteen apartments or cells. The walls about one of
these cells were still standing at the time of Mr. Holmes's visit, but
the cell was filled with rubbish from the fallen walls. A door-way,
opening into this apartment, could still be seen. The inner wall was
probably never very high. It simply inclosed the estufa.

The ruins surrounding this tower consist of low, fallen walls, scarcely
traceable. The apartments number nearly one hundred, and were generally
rectangular. They are not of a uniform size, and were certainly not
arranged in regular order. Now, as Mr. Holmes observes, it would
certainly seem that, if they are the ruins of such structures as the
pueblos of the south, there would be some regularity of size, and some
systematic arrangement. He says that, in reality, they are more like a
cluster of pens, such as are used by the Moqui tribes for keeping sheep
and goats.

Since these surveys were made, Mr. Bandelier, as agent for the
Archaeological Institute, has made important researches. He finds that
the small, detached houses, such as we described in the ruined village
near Jemez, are found in Arizona, with a small court-yard or inclosure
attached to them. If we understand the description of the ruins just
mentioned, and those at Apache Springs, they are villages of these small
houses and their inclosures. In such villages the inclosures meet each
other, so as to form a checker-board of irregularly alternating houses
and courts. The houses are easily discernible from the fact of little
rubbish mounds having accumulated where they stood. Around these parts
of the wall can still be traced. This combination makes a strong, easily
defended position. Each of such villages contains one or more open
spaces of large size, but they are irregularly located.

We must notice one point more: Each village of this nature, that was of
any size, contained a larger ruin in the center. This was noticed in
the ruins at Aztec Springs. This larger building was in the nature of a
citadel, and there the inhabitants could retire when the approaches were
carried by the enemy. This central building ultimately swallowed up all
the others, and so developed into the pueblo structures we have noticed.
The little walled inclosures surrounding the houses were largely in
the nature of defenses. Tradition asserts that in many cases they were
garden plats, and appearances sometimes confirm this. "They may also
have been the yard proper for each family, in which the latter slept,
cooked--in fact, lived--during the heat of the Summer months."<18>

Referring once more to the ruins near the McElmo, we are told that every
isolated rock and bit of mesa within a circle of miles of this place is
strewn with remnants of ancient dwellings. We presume these were small,
separate houses. They may have been outlying settlements of the tribe
whose main village was at Aztec Springs. We must also notice the small
tower in the corner. This was a watch tower. It was fifteen feet in
diameter, walls three and a half feet thick, and in 1876 was still five
feet high, It overlooked the surrounding country. The rainfall in the
past must have been more abundant, to support the population we are
justified in thinking once lived there. The nearest water is now a mile
away, and during the dry season some fifteen miles to the north, in
the Rio Dolores, and yet we have every reason to believe these
old inhabitants were very saving of water. They built cisterns and
reservoirs to store it up against the time of need.

Illustration of Tower on the Rio Mancos.-----------

We give a cut of the tower of the ruins of a similar village, or
settlement, to the one just described, which occurs twenty miles to the
southeast in the canyon of the Rio Mancos. Being so similar, we will
mention it here. In this case the tower had only two walls. Mr. Holmes
says the diameter of the outer wall is forty-three feet, that of the
inner twenty-five feet. The space between the two circles is divided by
cross-walls into ten apartments. This tower is placed also in the midst
of a group of more dimly marked ruins or foundations, extending some
distance in each direction from it. Mr. Holmes, however, states that
there are no ruins of importance in connection with this tower, but that
there are a number of ruins in the immediate vicinity. In this case,
then, the citadel (if such it was) was not directly connected with other
ruins.

The Rio Mancos, that we have just mentioned, was a favorite place
of resort for these old people. This stream, rising in the La Platte
Mountains, flows through beautiful valleys to a great table-land known
as the Mesa Verde. Mr. Jackson explored this valley in 1874, and he
reports as follows: "Commencing our observation in the park-like valley
of the Mancos, between the mesa and the mountains, we find that the low
benches which border the stream upon either side bear faint vestiges
of having at some far away time been covered with dwellings, grouped
in communities apparently, but so indistinct as to present to the
eye little more than unintelligible mounds. By a little careful
investigation, however, the foundation of great square blocks of
single buildings and of circular inclosures can be made out, the
latter generally of a depressed center, showing an excavation for some
purpose."

From this description we can not quite make out whether these ruins
are great communal buildings, like the modern pueblo, or clusters of
separate houses. We incline to the latter opinion, however. The circular
depressed area was doubtless used as an Estufa, the place of religious
meetings for men alone. "The greater portion of these mounds are now
overgrown with artemisia, pinion-pine, and cedar, concealing them almost
entirely from casual observation." "We found the surest indication of
their proximity in the great quantity of broken pottery which covered
the ground in their neighborhood. The same curiously indented, painted,
and glazed ware, was found throughout New Mexico and Arizona. It was all
broken into very small pieces, none that we could find being larger
than a silver dollar." Specimens of this pottery will be figured in its
appropriate place.

"Nowhere among these open plane habitations could we discover any
vestige of stone-work, either in building material or implements. It is
very evident that the houses were all of adobe, the mound-like character
of the remains justifying that belief." In this last respect we note a
difference between these remains and those already described. The mesa
verde is one of those elevated plateaus we have so often described.
Through this the Mancos has cut a canyon nearly thirty miles in length,
and from one to two thousand feet deep. The description we have already
given is of the valley of the river before coming to the canyon.

Entering the canyon, Mr. Jackson continues: "Grouped along in clusters,
and singly, were indications of former habitations, very nearly
obliterated, and consisting mostly, in the first four or five miles, of
the same mound-like forms noticed above, and accompanied always by the
scattered, broken pottery. Among them we find one building of squared
and carefully laid sandstone, one face only exposed of three or four
courses, above the mass of _debris_ which covered every thing. This
building lay within a few yards of the banks of the stream, was
apparently about ten feet by eight, the usual size, as near as we could
determine, of nearly all the separate rooms or houses in the larger
blocks, none larger, and many not more than five feet square. The stones
exposed are each about seven by twelve inches square, and four inches
thick, those in their original position retaining correct angles, but,
when thrown down, worn away by attrition to shapeless bowlders."

"As we progressed down the canyon the same general characteristics held
good. The great majority of the ruins consisting of heaps of _debris_ a
central mass considerably higher and more massive than the surrounding
lines of sub-divided squares. Small buildings, not more than eight feet
square, were often found standing alone apparently, no trace of any
other being detected in their immediate neighborhood." We would call
especial attention in this description to the character of the ruins,
the central, higher mass surrounded by other ruins; also to the houses
found occasionally standing alone. We notice they are of the same
general character as the ruins at Aztec Springs.

We are finding abundant evidence that this section was once thickly
settled. Going back to the triple-walled tower on the McElmo, Mr.
Jackson says of the immediate vicinity: "On the mesa is group after
group upon the same general plan, a great central tower and smaller
surrounding buildings. They cover the whole breadth and length of the
land, and, turn which way we would, we stumbled over the old mound and
into the cellars, as we might call them, of these truly aborigines." We
believe, however, that no excavation for cellar purposes are found in
the entire region covered by these ancient ruins.

"Starting down the canyon (the McElmo), which gradually deepened as the
table-land rose above us, we found upon either hand very old and faint
vestiges of the homes of a forgotten people, but could give them no more
attention than merely noting their existence."

Mr. Morgan has shown the existence of regular large houses in the valley
of Aminas River, east of the Mancos;<19> and he also speaks of the ruins
at the commencement of McElmo Canyon as being large communal buildings.
We should judge from Mr. Jackson's report just given that these ruins
were rather small clusters of houses of the same design as the ruins at
Apache Springs.

Near the Utah boundary line we notice the Hovenweep Creek joining the
McElmo from the north. The mesa, narrowing to a point where the two
canyons meet, is covered with ruins much like what we have described
already. The Hovenweep is appropriately named, meaning "deserted
valley."

Illustration of Ruins in the Hovenweep Canyon.--------

Further west still is the Montezuma Valley. Mr. Jackson's party found
the ruins so numerous as to excite surprise at the numbers this narrow
valley must have supported. He says, "We camped at the intersection of a
large canyon coming in from the west.... At this point the bottoms
widen out to from two to three hundred yards in width, and are literally
covered with ruins, evidently those of an extensive settlement or
community, although at the present time water was so scarce (there not
being a drop within a radius of six miles) that we were compelled to
make a dry camp. The ruins consist evidently of great solid mounds of
rock _debris,_ piled up in rectangular masses, covered with earth and a
brush growth, bearing every indication of extreme age--just how old is
about as impossible to tell as to say how old the rocks of this canyon
are. This group is a mile in length, in the middle of the valley space,
and upon both sides of the wash. Each separate building would cover a
space, generally, of one hundred feet square; they are seldom subdivided
into more than two or four apartments. Relics were abundant, broken
pottery and arrow-points being especially plenty. At one place, where
the wash held partially undermined the foundation of ore of the large
buildings, it exposed a wall of regularly laid masonry, extending down
six feet beneath the superincumbent rubbish to the old floor-level,
covered with ashes and the remains of half-charred sticks of juniper."

Lower down, the valley was noted for little projecting tongues of rock
extending out into the canyon, sometimes connected with the main walls
of the canyon by narrow ledges of rock, and in cases even this had
disappeared, leaving detached masses of rock standing quite alone.
"Within a distance of fifteen miles there are some sixteen or eighteen
of these promontories and isolated mesas of different height, every one
of them covered with ruins of old and massive stone-built structures."

We have been somewhat full in our description of these ruins, yet their
importance justifies this course. So far we see but very little to
remind us of the pueblo towns. On the other hand, the buildings seem
to be often single houses, or a few houses grouped together. In some
locations they were built of stone, in others of adobe. It is to be
observed, however, that the houses are very small--not larger than the
rooms in the modern pueblos. We evidently have here quiet scenes of
agricultural life. They of course had enemies, and guarded against their
attacks by the watch-towers, of which an example is given in the McElmo
ruins. The country must have been better watered than now, the
soil productive the seasons kind; and who can tell how long these
agricultural tribes held the land? Under these conditions, time must
have been rapidly bringing them civilization. But we must now turn to
a sorrowful chapter in their history, and trace the dispersion of these
tribes, their unavailing attempts to hold their own against a savage
foe, and the desperate chances they took before leaving the land of
their fathers.

This brings us to a consideration of cliff-houses--that is, houses so
placed that manifestly the only reason the people would have for putting
them where found would be of a defensive nature; and, for a similar
reason, we may be very sure they are of a later date than the majority
of the ruins in the valley or in the canyons. People would never have
settled in the valley in the first place if they had felt the necessity
of seeking inaccessible places in which to build shelters as a resort
in time of need. We can not do better than to refer once more to Mr.
Jackson's exploration in the valley of the Rio Mancos. We have already
referred to it in reference to the larger ruins.

Illustration of Two-storied House in the Mancos Canyon.----

This cut gives us a general view of the first cliff-house discovered in
this valley. This was far up on the cliff. Mr. Jackson says, "We had no
field-glass with the party, and to this fact is probably due the reason
we had not seen others during the day in this same line, for there is no
doubt that ruins exist throughout the entire length of the canyon, far
above and out of the way of ordinary observation." Subsequently Mr.
Holmes proved this supposition to be true. The sides of this canyon have
nearly all their ledges occupied by these houses.

Every advantage was taken, both natural and artificial, to conceal them
from view. "Cedars and pines grew thickly along the ledges upon which
they are built, hiding completely any thing behind them. All that we did
find were built of the same materials as the cliffs themselves with
but few, and then only the smallest, appertures toward the canyon, the
surface being dressed very smooth, and showing no lines of masonry.
It was only on the very closest inspection that the houses could be
separated from the cliff."

Illustration of View of Cliff in which the House is Situated.--

To illustrate the singular position in which this house was located, we
introduce this cut. It is seven hundred feet above the valley. "Whether
viewed from below or from the heights above, the effect is almost
startling, and one can not but feel that no ordinary circumstances
could have driven a people to such places of resort." As showing the
difficulty an enemy would have to approach such a house, we give Mr.
Jackson's account of his climb to it:

"The first five hundred feet of ascent were over a long, steep slope of
_debris,_ overgrown with cedar, then came alternately perpendiculars and
slopes. Immediately below the house was a nearly perpendicular ascent
of one hundred feet, that puzzled us for a while, and which we were only
able to surmount by finding cracks and crevices into which fingers and
toes could be inserted. From the little ledges occasionally found, and
by stepping upon each other's shoulders, and grasping tufts of yucca,
one would draw himself up to another shelf, and then, by letting down a
stick of cedar or a hand, would assist the others."

"Soon we reached a slope, smooth and steep, in which there had been
cut a series of steps, now weathered away into a series of undulating
hummocks, by which it was easy to ascend, and without them almost an
impossibility. Another short, steep slope, and we were under the ledge
on which stood our house." By referring to the first cut, we see that
the house stands on a very narrow ledge, and that the rocks overhang
it so as to furnish a roof. It will also be noticed that the ledge is
rounding, so that the outer walls of the house rise from an incline.
Piers, or abutments, had also been built along the ledge, so as to form
an esplanade.

Illustration of Plan of the House.-------------

The house itself was only about twelve feet high, but this had been
divided into two stories. Whether it ever had any other roof than
the overhanging walls of rock is doubtful. The plan is shown in the
preceding cut. The curved apartment at the right is a reservoir, capable
of holding about five barrels. A series of pegs were inserted in the
wall, so as to form a means of descent from a window to the bottom. A
number of doorways are seen in the plan; a cut of one is presented in
this figure.

Illustration of Doorway of the House.----------------

We are, however, warned that the artist has represented the stonework
a little too regularly. The support for the top of the doorway is not
clearly shown; a number of small beams of wood were laid across, on
these the stones. This cut gives us a view of the front room. Looking
in from the end window, we can see where the second story commenced. The
doorway we have been describing was not a very handy mode of entrance.
Its builders, however, did the best they could in their limited space.
The house displays perseverance, ingenuity, and taste. It was plastered,
both within and without, so as to resemble the walls of the canyon, but
an ornamental border was added to the plastering of the interior rooms.

Illustration of Room of the House.--------

This cliff house could only have been used as a place of refuge in a
time of need. We must observe the care with which it was hidden
away. The walls were plastered on the outside, so as to resemble the
canyon-walls. Then we must notice what a secure place of retreat it
afforded the people. No invading party could hope to storm this castle
as long as there was any one to defend it. This house, with its four
small rooms, could give shelter to quite a band of Indians. Then,
besides, it was not alone. Ruins of half a dozen smaller houses were
found near by. Some had been crushed by the overhanging walls falling
upon them, and others had lost their foothold and tumbled down the
precipice.

It needs but a glance to satisfy any one that only dire necessity would
have driven a people to such resorts. When we consider how much labor
it must have required to convey the materials to the almost inaccessible
place, the many inconveniences the people must have been put to when
they were occupied, we may imagine how the people clung to their old
home. It is altogether likely that such resorts would be only used now
and then. During seasons of war and invasion probably the women and old
the men, with the little ones, went thither for protection.

Mr. Holmes calls attention to one point bearing on the antiquity of this
ruin. The buttresses, which probably support a balustrade, noticed in
the figure on the house, were built on the sloping surface of the rock.
It would take but very little weathering of the rocks to throw them
to the bottom of the canyon; and, furthermore, the rock is a rough
sandstone, and hence easily crumbles; and it is not well protected by
the overhanging cliff; but no perceptible change has taken place since
the buttresses were first built. The thickness of a sheet of paper has
hardly been washed from the surface, and the mortar, almost as hard as
the rock itself, lies upon it as if placed there within a dozen years.
This structure is, evidently, not as old as the low mounds of crumbling
ruins we have heretofore described. It is more than probable that such
retreats as this were not provided until near the close of their stay in
the country.

A ruin further down the canyon, described by Mr. Holmes, is of great
interest, as it shows how necessary the people considered it to be to
construct an estufa. It will be observed that there are two houses.
So nicely are these hidden away that Mr. Holmes had almost completed a
sketch of the upper house before he noticed the lower one. They are both
overhung by the rocks above so as to be protected from the weather. The
upper house can only be approached by means of steps cut in the rock.
It appears to be in an unfinished state, and, when we consider the great
labor required for its construction, we can not wonder that they grew
tired before its completion.

The lower house is some eight hundred feet above the bottom of the
canyon, but is comparatively easy of approach. The interesting feature
about it is the estufa. It was situated near the center of the main
portion of the house. The entrance to this chamber shows the peculiar
importance attached to it by the builders. Mr. Holmes says: "A walled
and covered passage-way of solid masonry, ten feet of which is still
intact, leads from an outer chamber through the small intervening
apartments into the circular one. It is possible that this originally
extended to the outer wall, and was entered from the outside. If so,
the person desiring to visit the estufa would have to enter the aperture
about twenty-two inches high by thirty wide, and crawl, in the the most
abject manner possible, through a tube-like passage-way nearly twenty
feet in length."

"My first impression was that this peculiarly constructed way was a
precaution against enemies, and that it was probably the only means of
entrance to the interior of the house, but I am now inclined to think
this is hardly probable, and conclude that this was rather designed to
render a sacred chamber as free as possible from profane intrusion."
This illustrates the peculiar regard in which it was held. Even when
sore pressed by their enemies, and obliged to flee to inaccessible
heights, they still constructed their sacred place.

Illustration of Cliff-town, Rio Mancos.------------

These cliff-houses, of which we give illustrations, are quite common in
the Mancos. Our frontispiece shows an interesting group, about ten miles
from the foot of the canyon. These are situated only about forty feet
above the bed of the creek, but still in a secure position. Here a bed
of shale had been weathered out of the sandstone, leaving a sort of
horizontal groove four feet high and from four to six feet deep. In this
a row of minute houses had been built. They had been made to occupy the
full height and depth of the crevice, so that when one reaches it at the
only accessible point he is between two houses, and must pass through
these to get at the others.

Besides the cliff-houses, the explorers found that these people had made
use of little cave-like openings in the cliffs, and, by walling up the
openings, had converted them into houses. These were very common in
the Mancos, and of all sizes. Some were evidently merely little hiding
places, in which to store away provisions or other articles. In
some places the cliffs were literally honey-combed with these little
habitations. Sometimes the walls were quite well preserved and
new-looking, while all about were others in all stages of decay.

"In one place in particular a picturesque outstanding promontory
has been full of dwellings.... As one from below views the ragged,
window-pierced crags, he is unconsciously led to wonder if they are
not the ruins of some ancient castle, behind whose mouldering walls
are hidden the dread secrets of a long-forgotten people; but a nearer
approach quickly dispels such fancies, for the windows prove to be only
the doorways to shallow and irregular apartments hardly sufficiently
commodious for a race of pigmies. Neither the outer openings nor the
apertures that communicate between the caves are large enough to allow
a person of large stature to pass, and one is led to suspect that these
nests were not the dwellings proper of these people, but occasional
resorts for women and children, and that the somewhat extensive ruins of
the valley below were their ordinary dwelling places."<20>

Illustration of Caves used as Houses, Rio Mancos.-------

On the San Juan, about ten miles above the mouth of the Mancos, is a
significant combination of cave-dwellings and towers. In this case,
about half-way up the cliff, which is not more than forty feet high,
excavations had been made in a soft bed of shale. They are now quite
shallow, but were probably once deeper and walled up in front. Directly
above these cave-openings, on the very brink of the cliffs, were the
remains of two circular towers, in each case double-walled, and probably
divided by cross-walls into partitions. The towers were probably their
council chambers and places of worship. The caves, directly below, down
a steep bank, were their fortresses, whither in times of danger they
could flee. The little community, by means of ladders, could freely pass
from their cave resorts to the towers and back.

Illustration of Ruins in the San Joan Canyon.----------

The San Juan River does not seem to be as rich in ruins as some of its
tributaries. Yet near the mouth of the Montezuma we came upon a ruin
which shows considerable analogy to the pueblos. Mr. Jackson says upon
the top of the bench (fifty feet high) overlooking the river are the
ruins of a quadrangular structure of a peculiar design. It is arranged
very nearly at right angles to the river. We see from the plan that we
have the ruins of a larger building arranged around an open court--at
least, Mr. Jackson could detect no trace of a wall in front. We must
notice the seven apartments, arranged in the form of a semicircle, back
of the court. Extreme massiveness is indicated throughout the whole
structure.

In the immediate vicinity of this ruin were found a number of little,
cave-like dwellings. They were so small that doubts were raised as to
whether they were suitable for human habitations, but the majority of
them bore ample evidence in smoke-begrimed walls that such was their
use. Twelve miles below the mouth of the Montezuma this group of ruins
was discovered. These were situated in a cave that was almost exactly a
hemisphere in shape. Where the curve of the roof met the curve from the
bottom a little projecting bench had been utilized as a foundation for a
row of houses.

Illustration of Cave-Town.------------------

The little community that built their houses here seem to have practised
all the industries of a savage life. In one place there was evidence
that on that spot had been carried on the manufacture of stone
implements. At another place holes had been drilled, as if for a loom.
In the main building there were fourteen rooms or apartments, ranging
from sixteen to nine feet in width. "In the central room of the main
building we found a circular, basin-like depression, that had served as
a fireplace, being still filled with the ashes and cinders of aboriginal
fires, the surrounding walls being blackened with smoke and soot. This
room was undoubtedly the kitchen of the house. Some of the smaller rooms
appear to have been used for the same purpose, the fires having been
made in the corner against the back wall, the smoke escaping overhead.
The masonry displayed in the construction of the walls is very
creditable. A symmetrical curve is preserved throughout the whole line,
and every portion perfectly plumb. The subdivisions are at right angles
to the front. The whole appearance of the place and its surroundings
indicate that the family or little community who inhabited it were in
good circumstances, and the lords of the surrounding country. Looking
out from one of their houses, with a great dome of solid rock
overhead that echoed and re-echoed every word uttered with marvelous
distinctness, and below them a steep descent of one hundred feet to the
broad, fertile valley of the Rio San Juan, covered with waving fields of
maize and scattered groves of majestic cotton-woods, these old people,
whom even the imagination can hardly clothe with reality, must have felt
a sense of security that even the incursions of their barbarian foes
could hardly have disturbed."<21>

To describe the defensive ruins on Epsom Creek, Montezuma Creek, and
the McElmo is simply to repeat descriptions already given. We meet with
cave-houses, cliff-houses, and sentinel-towers in abundance. The whole
section appears to have been thickly settled. Further explorations will
doubtless make known many more ruins, but probably nothing differing in
kind from what is already known. We think the defensive ruins belong
to a later period of their existence than do the old and time-worn
structures we have hitherto described along the river valleys and open
plains, as at Aztec Springs. These structures plainly show that at
the time they were built the people were subject to an invasion from a
stronger foe, one before whose approach they had to fly for protection
to the almost inaccessible cliffs.

They would obviously never have settled there had they always had to
contend with these savage tribes. It needs no great skill to read the
story of the dispersion of these old people from the ruins we have
described; the many watch-towers, which were also used as fortresses
or citadels in which to find protection, testifying to the need of
increased watchfulness. The cave-houses and cliff-fortresses, cunningly
hidden away to escape detection, or so placed as to defy the assault
of their enemies, show to what desperate straits they were driven; and
imagination only can picture the despair that must have filled their
hearts when the hour of final defeat came, and they must have realized
that even these shifts would not allow them to stay in the lands of
their fathers.

That this is the explanation of these ruins, we will cite the legendary
stories given by an old man among the Moquis concerning some ruins in
the canyon of the McElmo, just over the line in Utah. At this point the
canyon widens out considerably, and in the center of the valley is still
standing a portion of the old mesa, once filling the entire valley. It
is now a mass of dark red sandstone, about one hundred feet high,
and three hundred feet around, seamed and cracked, and gradually
disappearing, as the rock has gone all around it. The top of this rock
is covered with the ruins of some building; there are also ruins at the
base and all around the immediate vicinity. There were watch towers and
estufas, showing that this was a place of great interest.

Illustration of Battle Rock, McElmo Canyon.----------

The story is as follows: "Formerly the aborigines inhabited all this
country as far east as the headwaters of the San Juan, as far north as
the Rio Dolores, west some distance into Utah, and south and south-west
throughout Arizona, and on down into Mexico. They had lived there from
time immemorial, since the earth was a small island, which augmented
as its inhabitants multiplied. They cultivated the valley, fashioned
whatever utensils and tools they needed very neatly and handsomely out
of clay, and wood, and stone, not knowing any of the useful metals;
built their homes and kept their flocks and herds in the fertile river
bottoms, and worshiped the sun. They were an eminently peaceful and
prosperous people, living by agriculture rather than by the chase. About
a thousand years ago, however, they were visited by savage strangers
from the north, whom they treated hospitably. Soon these visits became
more frequent and annoying. Then their troublesome neighbors, ancestors
of the present Utes, began to forage upon them, and at last to massacre
them and devastate their farms. So, to save their lives at least, they
built houses high up on the cliffs, where they could store food and hide
away until the raiders left.

"But one Summer the invaders did not go back to their mountains, as the
people expected, but brought their families with them and settled down.
So, driven from their homes and lands, starving in their little niches
on the high cites they could only steal away during the night and wander
across the cheerless uplands. To one who has traveled these steppes
such a flight seems terrible, and the mind hesitates to picture the
sufferings of the sad fugitives. At the 'Creston' (name of the ruin)
they halted, and probably found friends, for the rocks and caves
are full of the nests of these human wrens and swallows. Here they
collected, erected stone fortifications and watch-towers, dug reservoirs
in the rocks to hold a supply of water, which in all cases is precarious
in this latitude, and once more stood at bay. Their foes came, and for
one long month fought, and were beaten back, and returned day after day
to the attack as merciless and inevitable as the tide. Meanwhile the
families of the defenders were evacuating and moving south, and bravely
did their defenders shield them till they were all safely a hundred
miles away.

"The besiegers were beaten back and went away. But the narrative tells
us that the hollows of the rocks were filled to the brim with the
mingled blood of conquerors and, conquered, and red veins of it ran
down the canyon. It was such a victory as they could not afford to gain
again, and they were glad, when the long flight was over, to follow
their wives and little ones to the south. There, in the deserts of
Arizona, on well-nigh unapproachable, isolated bluffs, they built new
towns, and their few descendants, the Moquis, live in them to this day,
preserving more carefully and purely the history and veneration of their
forefathers than their skill or wisdom."<22>

Mr. Jackson thinks this legend arises from the appearance of the rocks.
The bare floor of nearly white sandstone, upon which the butte stands,
is stained in gory streaks and blotches by the action of an iron
constituent in the rocks of another portion of the adjoining bluffs.
That may well be true, but we believe that there are germs of truth in
the story. Driven from their homes, where did the fugitives go? Some of
them may have gone east, but probably the body of the migration was to
the south. It has been the tendency of all tribes, but especially of the
sedentary tribes, to pass to the south and east, and this is also the
traditions among the inhabitants of still existing pueblos.<23> We find
that every available portion of New Mexico and Arizona bears evidence of
having been once populated by tribes of Indians, who built houses in
all respects like those already described. In northern New Mexico, Prof.
Cope has described a whole section of country as being at one time more
densely populated than the thickly inhabited portions of the Eastern
States. He says: "The number of buildings in a square mile of that
region is equal to, if not greater than the number now existing in
the more densely populated rural districts of Pennsylvania and New
Jersey."<24>

In one location he found a village of thirty houses, built of stone,
and all in ruins. He found, over a large extent of country, that every
little conical hill and eminence was crowned with ruins of old houses.
We, of course, can not say that these ruins are necessarily younger than
those to the north of the San Juan, and yet we think from Prof. Cope's
description that they do not present such evidence of antiquity as do
the crumbling ruins previously described. And then, besides, they were
always located in easily defended positions.

The village spoken of was really a Cliff Village, being arranged along
the very edge of a precipitous mesa, the only access to it being along a
narrow causeway. Then again, although we have described many ruins near
which no water is to be had, at least, in dry seasons, yet we have every
reason to suppose water was formerly more plentiful and easily attained.
But in this section it must always have been a serious question with
them to obtain enough water for necessary purposes. They must have
had to store away water in vessels of pottery, whose ruins are now
so abundant. It is not such a country as we would suppose a people to
choose for a place to settle in, only that they knew not where else to
go.

It is also considered settled that all the inhabited pueblos, as well as
those in ruins near the inhabited ones, were built by the descendants
of these people whose houses we have described. This is proven by the
similarity of pottery. Though some styles of ancient corrugated ware are
found in the San Juan section not found near the inhabited pueblos,
yet vast quantities of ware, similar to that now found in the inhabited
pueblos, can be picked up all over the ruins to the north. Again, their
religion must have been the same, as ruined estufas are common, in
all respects similar to those now in use. In the modern pueblos we are
struck with the small cell-like rooms, yet they are but little smaller
than the ordinary single houses plentifully found over the entire field
of ruins. All the Pueblo tribes are agricultural, so were these old
people. In fact, all evidence confirms the conclusion that the remnants
of the Pueblo people that we have already described, are also the
descendants of the people driven by hostile bands from north of the San
Juan.

This statement may give false impressions, however. The traditions of
the Pueblo Indians, of New Mexico, are to the effect that they came from
the north, and also that their ancestors formerly lived in the small
houses we have described. But we do not mean to say that all the small
houses and pueblos in Arizona and New Mexico are later in date than the
cliff-houses. The pressure has always been from the north to the south.
Neither would we be understood as saying that all the sedentary tribes,
both ancient and modern, belong to the same stock of people. There are
several different stocks of people even among the present Pueblos.<25>

In the valley of the Rio Chaco, about midway between the Rio Grande and
the San Juan, we meet a group of ruined pueblos whose style of masonry
is thought to indicate a greater antiquity than the inhabited pueblo
towns; these probably indicate another settlement of these people. As
these are really remarkable ruins, we must briefly describe them. In the
Chaco Canyon, as indicated on the map, within the space of ten miles
are the ruins of eight larger pueblos. Another is located at the very
beginning of the canyon, and two more on the edge of the mesas just
outside of the canyon. These are large communal houses of regular pueblo
type, and, theoretically at least, they should be later in date than the
majority of ruins throughout the area represented on the map. We think
the development has been from small, separate houses, to a closely
connected cluster, with a central citadel, which finally drew to itself
all the other buildings, and became the communal building we call a
pueblo.<26>

We give a restoration of, one--the Pueble Bonito--one of the largest and
most important of the ruins. We can not doubt but what the restoration
is substantially correct. It shows the open court, the terraced
structure, and the system of defense. The circle itself is not as near
a half-circle as we would imagine. The ground plan shows that it was
really a many-sided building. This pueblo must have presented a striking
appearance when it was in a complete state.

Illustration of Restoration of Pueblo Bonito.---------

By comparing this structure with the views of some of the present pueblo
towns, we will understand the remarks made earlier, as to the different
styles of pueblo structures. This building must have had not far from
six hundred and fifty rooms. "No single edifice of equal accommodations
has ever been found in any part of North America. It would shelter three
thousand Indians."<27> This pueblo will compare favorably with some of
the structures of Yucatan; though not so ornamental, yet for practical
convenience it must have met the wants of the builders fully as well.
This may be given as a fair example of the entire class.

The evident plan on which they started to build their structures, is
shown in the following plan of the pueblo. But some of them were not
fully completed. Two of them had but one wing. In the restoration the
court is seen to be closed by a straight row of small buildings, but in
most cases the wall inclosing the court was more or less circular.
In one case the court was left open. We will only give general
descriptions. It is now believed that these great structures were built
only a part at a time; perhaps the main body, or a part of it, first.
Afterwards, as the number of inhabitants increased, a wing would be
added, and then the other; and so, many years would elapse before the
pueblo would assume its completed form.

Illustration of Plan of Pueblo Bonito.---------

These structures ranged in extent from about four hundred to twelve
hundred feet in external measurement and could furnish a home to from
two hundred to eight hundred or a thousand Indians, and, in one case at
least, many more.

In the next cut we have represented the different styles of masonry
employed in the pueblos of this valley. It varied all the way from
careful piling of big and little stones, and of alternate layers of
such materials, to very good masonry indeed. Speaking of it, Mr. Jackson
says, "It is the most wonderful feature in these ancient habitations,
and is in striking contrast to the careless and rude methods shown in
the dwellings of the present pueblos. The material, a grayish-yellow
sandstone, breaking readily into thin laminae, and was quarried from the
adjacent exposures of that rock. The stones employed average about the
size of an ordinary brick, but as the larger pieces were irregular in
size, the interstices were filled in with very thin plates of sandstone,
or rather built in during its construction; for by no other means could
they be placed with such regularity and compactness. So closely are
the individual pieces fitted to each other that at a little distance no
jointage appears, and the wall bears every indication of being a plain,
solid surface."

Illustration of Different Styles of Masonry.--------

Besides these important ruins, there are a great many others not
especially different from those previously described. We can not state
positively that these ruins are of a later date than those of the North;
we think they are. From the character of the structures, we are more
inclined to class them with the great pueblos of the Rio Grande, Puerco,
and Zuni. By examining the map we see that the Rio Chaco would afford a
convenient route for them in their migration from the San Juan Valley.

Illustration of Room in Pueblo Bonito. (Bureau of Ethnology.)---

It may be of some interest to notice one of the rooms in this pueblo.
Simpson says it is walled up with alternate layers of large and small
stones, the regularity of the combination producing a very pleasant
effect. Mr. Morgan thinks this room will compare not unfavorably with
any of equal size to be found in the more imposing ruins of the South.
We must notice the ceiling. The probabilities are that the Rio Chelly,
further to the west, afforded another line of retreat. Some ruins are
found scattered up and down the river or canyon, which we will not stop
to describe. Off to the south-west are the inhabited towns or pueblos of
the Moquis, who, as we have seen, have a tradition that they came from
the north.

There are some ruins found in the south-western part of Arizona which
must be described in a general survey of the ruins of the Pueblo
country. The river Gila, with numerous tributaries, is the most
important stream in that portion of the State. It is in just such a
section as we would expect to find ruins, if anywhere. Coronado, as we
have seen, invaded the country about three hundred and fifty years
ago. At the time of his visit this was then a ruin, for his historian
describes one ruin as "a single ruined and roofless house... the work of
civilized people who had come from afar."<28> This gives us a point as
to the antiquity of some of the ruins in the Gila Valley. As we shall
see, there is every reason to suppose that this section was at one time
a thickly inhabited one.

From the similar character of the remains, we conclude the original
inhabitants to be of the same race of people as those we have already
described, but what was the exact relation between them we can not tell,
but we think a study of the ruins will only confirm the general truth
of the traditions of the Pueblo tribes. In any one tradition there is
doubtless much that is distorted. One form in which the traditions find
expression is: "That they proceeded from the north-west to the upper
waters of the Rio Colorado. There they divided, portions ascended by the
San Juan, canyon De Chelly, or the more easterly branches of that stream
towards the center of New Mexico. Others, passing over the waters of the
Rio Verde (see map), descended its valley to the Rio Gila."<29>

One hundred and fifty miles southwest of Zuni we notice the Verde River
flowing into the Rio Salado, and the latter into the Gila. Besides those
streams, there are other smaller ones, not marked on the map.<30>
Mr. Bandelier found near the Canyon del Tule an improvement on the
irrigating ditches, that was a lining of concrete; and in this section
also was noticed the ruins of both pueblos and the small houses. Near
Ft. Apache he found the ruins of the largest villages discovered in
Arizona, but we have no details of it. The valley of the Rio Verde and
Salado seems to have been a favorite resort.

As early as 1854 attention was called to ruins in the Rio Verde. Mr.
Leroux reported to Mr. Whipple that the "river banks were covered with
ruins of stone houses and regular fortifications, which appeared to have
been the work of civilized men, but had not been occupied for centuries.
They were built upon the most fertile tracts of the valley, where were
signs of acequias (irrigating ditches) and of cultivation. The walls
were of solid masonry, of rectangular form, some twenty or thirty paces
in length, were of solid masonry, and yet remaining ten or fifteen feet
in height. The buildings were of two stories, with small apertures or
loop-holes for defence, when besieged."<31>

Mr. Bandelier confirms this account as to the number of ruins. The
entire valley of the Verde is filled with ruins of every description.
From the account of the valley itself, we can see how well suited it was
to the needs of village Indians. Mr. Leroux speaks in high praise of its
fertility. Wood, water, and grass were abundant. In the neighborhood of
Fort Reno Mr. Bandelier discovered a new architectural feature of great
interest to us. This is a raised platform, on which the buildings were
supported. This raised platform is a very important feature, as we shall
learn in the ruins of Mexico and Central America. We have already seen
how it was employed by the Mound Builders.

In other words, the detached houses are seen to form villages, with a
central stronghold, and the tendency is observed to raise an artificial
foundation for this central house, which draws into itself the
surrounding houses. This is but another modification of the same idea
which, in other sections of this area developed into the communal
pueblo. Near Tempe a still more significant arrangement was noticed.
Here was a four-sided platform, three hundred and forty feet long by
two hundred and eighty feet wide, and five feet high, supported a second
platform measuring two hundred and forty by two hundred feet, and
six feet high. Elevated platforms, as a general rule, were not very
distinct. Mr. Bandelier thinks that, owing to the peculiar drainage of
the country, these artificial foundations were required to preserve the
buildings from being swept away by a sudden torrent. The settlement of
the sedentary tribes in this region cluster on the triangle formed by
the Rio Verde, Salado, and Gila Rivers. "This is a warm region, with
a scanty rainfall, and but little timber, and the soil is very fertile
when irrigated, and two crops a year can be readily raised. Mr.
Bandelier regards it as exceedingly well adapted to the wants of a
horticultural people, and even traces in it some resemblance to Lower
Egypt."

A very celebrated ruin on the Gila River gives us a fair idea of what
this central stronghold of the village cluster, sometimes supported on a
raised foundation, was like. This cut is a view of the principal ruin
in this section, which, however, is only a portion of an extensive
settlement, covering some five acres in all. The building is not very
large, only fifty by forty feet, and four stories, of ten feet each, in
height, with a possibility that the central portion of the building rose
ten feet higher. The walls are built of adobe, five feet thick at the
base, but tapering slightly at the top.

Illustration of Casa Grandee, on the Gila.----------

This house was surrounded by a court-yard which inclosed about two
acres. Shapeless mounds, presumably the ruins of houses, are to be seen
in various parts of this inclosure. "If the ground plan of this great
house," says Mr. Bandelier, "with its surroundings of minor edifices,
courts and inclosures is placed by the side of the ground plan of other
typical ruins, the resemblance is almost perfect except in materials
used." This settlement was separated into two divisions. In one place
was noticed a large elliptical tank with heavy embankments, nearly eight
feet deep.

As to other ruins on the Gila, Mr. Bartlett tells us: "One thing is
evident, that at some former period the valley of the Gila was densely
populated. The ruined buildings, the irrigating canals, and the vast
quantities of pottery of a superior quality, show, that while they
were an agricultural people, they were much in advance of the present
semi-civilized tribes of the Gila." Speaking of the ruins of the Gila
east of the San Pedro River, Emory says: "Whenever the mountains did
not infringe too closely on the river and shut out the valley, they were
seen in great abundance, enough, I should think, to indicate a former
population of at least one hundred thousand; and in one place there is a
long wide valley, twenty miles in length, much of which is covered with
the ruins of buildings and broken pottery. Most of these outlines are
rectangular, and vary from forty to fifty feet to two hundred by four
hundred feet."<32>

It is, however, necessary to be very cautious in judging population
by the number of ancient ruins. Prehistoric people were naturally of a
roving disposition. The multitude of ruins in Western New York is not
regarded as evidence of dense population, but they were occasioned by
the known customs of the Indians in changing the sites of their villages
"every ten, fifteen, or thirty years; or, in fact, whenever the scarcity
of firewood, the exhaustion of their fields, or the prevalence of an
epidemic made such a step desirable."<33> Doubtless a similar remark
may explain the difference of opinion as to the numbers of the Mound
Builders.<34> And, finally, Mr. Bandelier concludes that the great
number of ruins scattered through New Mexico and its neighboring
territories is by no means evidence of a large population. The evidence
of tradition is to the effect that a large number of villages were
successively, and not simultaneously, occupied by the same people.<35>

We have about completed our survey of the Pueblo country. We might state
that the large communal houses, known as pueblos, are found as far south
on the Rio Grande as Valverde. Clusters of separate houses occur as far
south as Dona Ana. A range of low mountains lies to the west of the Rio
Grande; between it and the headwaters of the Gila evidences of ancient
habitations were observed on the small streams. Though these occur
sometimes in little groups, the court-yards are not connected so as to
form a defensive village. Small inclosed surfaces, with no evidence that
a house ever was connected with them, were also observed. Mr. Bandelier
could only surmise that these were garden-plots, something like the
ancient terrace garden-plots in Peru.

Take it all in all, this is, indeed, a singular region, and the Pueblo
tribes were a singular people. Their architecture shows us a people in
the Middle Status of Barbarism. That they practised agriculture is shown
by the presence of old irrigating ditches. Corn and corn-cobs are found
in the rubbish-heaps of old settlements. Mr. Morgan thinks that the
valley of the San Juan and its numerous tributaries was the place
where the Indian race first rose to the dignity of cultivators of the
soil.<36> Cotton cloth has been found in the ruins on the Salado River.
"At the time of the Spanish conquests the Pueblo Indians along the Rio
Grande used cotton mantles."<37>

As we have devoted considerable time to the pottery of the Mound
Builders, we must see how it compares with the pottery of this region.
Fragments of pottery are very numerous all over the field of ruins. All
explorers mention their abundance. Mr. Holmes on one occasion counted
the pieces of pottery that by their shape evidently belonged to
different vessels that he found in an area ten feet square. They
numbered fifty-five, and we are led to believe they were not more
numerous here than in other localities.

We recall that the ornamentations on the vessels of clay made by Mound
Builders were either incised lines or indentations on the surface of the
vessels. And, still further, the clay vessels themselves were frequently
molded in the shape of animals or heads of animals. In this plate
we have fragments of indented and corrugated ware, from the San Juan
valley. This ware is only found under such circumstances indented and
that we are justified in considering it very ancient. The ware made at
the time of the conquest was always painted.

Illustration of Indented and Corrugated Ware.--------

At Zuni and some of the other pueblos, at the present day, they make
vessels in the form of various animals and other natural objects. This
is, however, a recent thing. Only one vessel is known that was found
under such circumstances that we are justified in thinking it very old.
That was molded into a shape resembling some kind of an animal. This
was found on the Rio Gila, in New Mexico; and even that has some
peculiarities about it that renders its age uncertain. Mr. Bandelier
says: "No vessel of ancient date, of human or animal shape, has ever
been found." This is a most important point for us to consider, when we
recall how numerous were animal-shaped vessels among the Mound Builders.

Illustration of Painted Pueblo Pottery.---------

In this plate we have specimens of the ordinary painted ware from the
ancient ruins. The most of these are restorations, but so many fragments
have been obtained of each vessel that we have no doubt of the accuracy
of the drawings. They decorated their pottery by painting. Even in many
cases where they were further ornamented by indentations they
still painted it, showing that painting was regarded as of the most
importance. We notice that the ornamentation consists almost entirely of
geometrical figures, parallel lines, and scrolls. Over the entire field
of ruins the body of the vessels is of one of two colors; it is either
white or red. The color employed to produce the ornamentation is
black. There is almost no exception to this rule, though sometimes the
ornamentation is of a brownish color with a metallic luster. Along the
Rio Grande and the Gila some changes are noticed. The ornamentation
is not strictly confined to two colors. Symbolical representations
of clouds, whirlwind, and lightning are noticed. The red ware has
disappeared, and a chocolate-colored ground takes its place.

All have noticed the superiority of the ancient pottery over that of the
present tribes. Says Prof. Putnam. "A comparison of this ancient pottery
with that made by the present inhabitants of the pueblos shows that a
great deterioration has taken place in native American art, a rule which
I think can be applied to all the more advanced tribes of America. The
remarkable hardness of all the fragments of colored pottery which
have been obtained from the vicinity of the old ruins in New Mexico,
Colorado, Arizona, and Utah, and also of the pottery of the same
character found in the ruins of adobe houses, and in caves in Utah,
shows that the ancient people understood the art of baking earthenware
far better than their probable descendants now living in the pueblos of
New Mexico and Arizona."<38>

We have learned that the remnant of an aboriginal people, now living in
the inhabited pueblos of the West, present us, in their primitive usage,
with the fading outlines of a culture once widespread in the section
of country we have examined. Many of the early sedentary tribes have
vanished completely. Traditions state that other tribes have moved
southward into regions unknown. "The picture which can be dimly traced
to-day of this past is a very modest and unpretending one. No great
cataclysms of nature, no wave of destruction on a large scale, either
natural or human, appear to have interrupted the slow and tedious
development of the people before the Spaniards came. One portion rose
while another fell, sedentary tribes disappeared or moved off, and wild
tribes roamed over the ruins of their former abode." At present but a
few pueblos are left to show us what the people once were. But the fate
of the Pueblo of Pecos hangs over them all. The rising tide of American
civilization is rapidly surrounding them. Before many decades, possibly
centuries, the present Pueblo tribes will yield to their fate. They,
too, will be numbered among the vanished races of men.

REFERENCES

(1) The manuscript of this chapter was submitted to Mr. Ad. F.
Bandelier, of Highland, Illinois. As agent for the
Archaeological Institute of America, he spent three years in
explorations in the Pueblo country.
(2) See an excellent historical account by Bandeliers: "Papers
of the Archaeological Institute of America." American
series No. 1.
(3) The term "City of Zuni" is scarcely correct; it should be
Pueblo of Zuni.
(4) Pacific Railroad Report; Whipple, Vol. III., pp. 67 and 68.
(5) "Archaeological Institute of America," Fifth An. Rep., pp.
55 and 56.
(6) Bancroft's "Native Races," Vol. I., p. 534.
(7) His guide.
(8) The ruins on the top were, however, built after 1680, when
the inhabitants of Flavona, the Spanish "Alvona," fled to the
top of the mesa to escape the forays of the Navajos. The ruins
were abandoned before 1705. Zuni is partly built on the ruins of
Flavona, which is still its aboriginal name. (Bandelier.)
(9) Pacific Railroad Reports, Whipple, Vol. III., p. 69.
(10) Pacific Railroad Reports, Whipple, Vol. III., p. 65.
(11) "Simpson's Report," p. 124.
(12) Dr. Loew, in "U.S. Geographical Survey West of the 100th
Meridian," Vol. VII, p. 343.
(13) "Fifth An. Rep. Archaeological Inst. of America," p. 61.
(14) Bandelier's "Papers of the Archaeological Inst." p. 46.
(15) These facts are drawn from Mr. Bandelier's article already
referred to.
(16) "Colorado River of the West," p. 119, _et seq._
(17) U.S. Survey, Hayden, 1876, p. 390.
(18) Bandelier, "Fifth Annual Report Archaeological Inst. of
America," pp. 62, 68, and 65.
(19) "Contributions to North American Ethnology," Vol. IV, p.
172, _et seq._
(20) Holmes.
(21) U.S. Survey, Hayden, 1876, p. 419.
(22) Rendered by Ingersoll, in _N.Y. Tribune,_ Nov. 3, 1874.
(23) Bandelier, in Fifth Ann. Rep., Arch. Inst., p 79.
(24) U.S. Survey West of 100th M., Vol. VII, p. 358.
(25) "First Annual Report of Bureau of Ethnology," p. 74.
(26) "Fifth Annual Report Arch. Inst.," pp. 42, 78.
(27) Morgan: "Contribution to N. A. Ethnology," Vol. IV, p. 163.
(28) "Smithsonian Report," 1863, p. 313.
(29) Whipple, Pacific R. R. Report, Vol. III.
(30) Wherever reference is made to Mr. Bandelier's discoveries,
it is taken from the oft-quoted Fifth Annual Report,
Archaeological Institute.
(31) Whipple, Pacific R. R. Reports, Vol. III., p. 14.
(32) Bartlett's "Personal Narrative."
(33) Carr's "Mounds of the Mississippi Valley."
(34) Morgan's "House and House Life," p. 218.
(35) Fifth Annual Report, p. 84.
(36) "Contributions to N. A. Ethnology," Vol. IV., p. 192.
(37) Bandelier's "Fifth Annual Report Arch. Inst.," p. 76.
(38) U.S. Survey West of 100th Meridian, Vol. VII., p. 381.

Chapter XII

THE PREHISTORIC AMERICANS.<1>

Different views on this subject--Modern system of government--Ancient
system of government--Tribal government universal in North
America--The Indians not wandering Nomads--Indian houses communal in
character--Indian methods of defense--Mandan villages--Indians sometimes
erected mounds--Probable government of the Mound Builders--Traditions
of the Mound Builders among the Iroquois--Among the Delawares--Probable
fate of the Mound Builders--The Natchez Indians possibly a remnant of
the Mound Builders--Their early traditions--Lines of resemblance
between the Pueblo tribe and the Mound Builders--The origin of
the Indians--America inhabited by Indians from a very early
time--Classification of the Indian tribes--Antiquity of the Mound
Builders' works.

The attempts to explain the origin of the numerous tribes found in
possession of America at the time of its discovery by Europeans have
been many and various. There are so many difficulties attending the
solution of this problem that even at this day no theory has received
that full assent from the scientific world deemed necessary for its
establishment as an ascertained fact. New interest has been thrown
around this question by the discoveries of late years. In our
south-western territories we have clearly established the former wide
extension of the village Indians, remnants of which are still to be
found in the inhabited pueblos; and, as we have seen, the wide expanse
of fertile soil, known as the Mississippi Valley, has undoubtedly been
the home of tribes who are generally supposed to have attained a much
higher stage of culture than that of the Indians--at least, of such
culture as we are accustomed to ascribe, whether justly or not, to
Indian tribes. It becomes an interesting question, therefore, to
determine what connection, if any, existed between the Mound Builders
and the Indian tribes on the one hand, and the Pueblo tribes on the
other.

As to the works of the Mound Builders, one class of critical scholars
think they see in them the memorials of a vanished race, and point out
many details of construction, such as peculiarities in form, in size,
and position, which they think conclusively prove that the works in
question could only have been produced by races or tribes far more
advanced in culture than any Indians. This belief finds expression by
a well-known writer in the following words: "A broad chasm is to be
spanned before we can link the Mound Builders to the North American
Indians. They were essentially different in their form of government,
their habits, and their daily pursuits." This is substantially the
opinion of a great many writers on this subject.<2>

But this conclusion has not been allowed to pass unchallenged. We have
on record the convictions of a few careful investigators that there is
no necessity for supposing that only an extinct or vanished race could
have built the mounds and thrown up the embankments which we observe in
the valley of the Ohio and elsewhere; that there is nothing, in fact,
either in the construction of the mounds themselves or in the remains of
art found in them, which we may not with safety ascribe to the ancestors
of our present Indians.<3> It will be seen that we may, indeed, be at
a loss to know what conclusion to adopt; hence, as an aid to us in this
direction, it may be well to inquire into the organization of Indian
tribes and their customs and manners at the time of their discovery.

It is not necessary to sketch their history, as this has been done many
times. Moreover, it is but a dreary recital of the gradual encroachment
of the Whites on the lands of the Indians, the vain endeavors of the
latter to repress them, and a record of many cruel acts of savage
warfare, burning villages, midnight massacre, and scenes of terrible
sufferings. The uniform result was that the Indian tribes were steadily
driven away from their ancient homes, until we now find them but a sorry
remnant on scattered reservations or grouped together in the Indian
Territory. Their ancient institutions are nearly broken down, and it
is with difficulty that we can gain an understanding of their early
condition; and yet this seems to be necessary before we are prepared to
decide on the origin of the mound-building people.

It seems necessary here to briefly describe the two great plans or
systems of government, under one or the other of which mankind, as far
as we know them, have always been organized, though, theoretically,
there must have been a time, in the very infancy of the race, when there
was either no government or something different from either of them. At
the present day, in all civilized countries, government is founded upon
territory and upon property. A person is described as living in such
a township, county, and state.<4> This seems to be a very simple and
natural division, but, like every thing else, it is the result of
growth--of a development. It took nearly three centuries of civilization
and a succession of able men, each improving on what the other had done,
to fully develop this system among the Greeks.<5> This is the basis of
the modern form of government. Whenever it was organized, it marked
the termination of ancient government. The other plan of government is
founded on personal relations.

A person would be described as of such a gens, phratry, and tribe. It
is sufficient to state the words gens, and phratry simply denote
subdivisions of a tribe.<6> This is the ancient system of government,
and goes very far back in the history of the race. It is that state of
society which everywhere preceded history and civilization. When we go
back to the first beginning of history in Europe, we find the Grecian,
Roman, and Germanic tribes in the act of substituting the modern system
of government for the tribal state, under which they had passed from
savagism into and through the various stages of barbarism, and entered
the confines of civilization. The Bible reveals to us the tribal state
of the Hebrews and the Canaanites.

Under the light of modern research, we can not doubt but what this
form of government was very ancient, and substantially universal. It
originated in the morning of time, and so completely answered all the
demands of primitive society that it advanced man from savagism,
through barbarism, and sufficed to enable him to make a beginning in
civilization. It was so firmly established as one of the primitive
institutions, that when it was found insufficient to meet the demands of
advancing society, it taxed to the utmost the skill of the Aryan tribes
to devise a system to take its place.

This was the system of government throughout North America when the
Spaniards landed on its shores. This is true, at least as far as our
investigations have gone.<7> In several cases tribes speaking dialects
of the same stock-language had united in a confederacy; as, for
instance, the celebrated league of the Iroquois, and in Mexico, the
union of the three Aztec tribes. But confederacies did not change the
nature of tribal government. As there was but one general form or plan
of government in vogue amongst the Aborigines of North America at the
time of discovery, we ought certainly to find common features in the
culture of the Pueblo Indians of the South-west, the Mound Builders of
the Mississippi Valley, and the various Indian tribes; and if the lines
of resemblance are sufficient to show a gradual progress from the rude
remains of savage tribes to the more finished works of the Pueblos, and
between these and the Mound Builders, then we may consider this fact
as one more reason for believing that they constitute but one people in
different stages of development.

The tribal state of society is always associated with village life. It
makes no difference where we commence our investigations, we will soon
be convinced that village life is the form in which people organized in
tribes lived. This is true of the wild tribes in Africa, and of the hill
tribes of India to-day.<8> The same was true of the early Greeks.<9>
There must be a reason for this. It is found in their peculiar system of
government. People divided into groups and clusters would naturally be
drawn together into villages. We would expect, then, to find that the
Indian tribes lived in villages. We are accustomed to speak of them as
wandering nomads. This is scarcely correct; or rather, it is certainly
wrong, if applied to the tribes east of the Mississippi, when first
encountered by the whites. Some of them may have been in a state of
migration, in search of better homes, or homes more secure from the
attacks of too powerful enemies, as was the case with the Shawnees, and
wandering bands on hunting or warlike expeditions were common enough.
The Germanic, tribes that overthrew the Roman Empire, for a similar
reason, were in a migrating state. But it is none the less certain that
they established permanent villages wherever they found suitable places.

Nearly all the tribes claimed separate districts, in which they had
permanent villages, often stockaded.<10> The site of Montreal was a
famous Indian village,<11> and other villages were found in Canada. The
Iroquois tribes had permanent villages, and resided in them the greater
part of the year.<12> One visited in 1677 is described as having one
hundred and twenty houses, the ordinary one being from fifty to sixty
feet long, and furnishing shelter to about twelve families. In one case,
at least, the town was surrounded by palisades.

In 1539 De Soto made his appearance on the coast of Florida. Four years
later a feeble remnant of this expedition landed at Panuco, Mexico. His
route has not been accurately traced, but it is certain he travelled the
Gulf States and crossed the Mississippi. De Soto himself found a grave
in the waters of this river, but under new leaders the expedition pushed
on through Arkansas, and probably found its most western point on the
prairies of the West, where, disheartened, it turned back to near
where De Soto died, constructed some rude boats, and floated down the
Mississippi, and so to Mexico. We have two accounts written by members
of this expedition,<13> and a third, written by Garcilasso de La Vega
from the statements of eye-witnesses and memoranda which had fallen into
his hands.

From these considerable can be learned of the Southern Indians before
they had been subjected to European influences. One of the first things
that arrests attention is the description of the villages. They found,
to be sure, some desert tracts, but every few miles, as a rule, they
found villages containing from fifty to three hundred spacious and
commodious dwellings, well protected from enemies--sometimes surrounded
by a wall, sometimes also by a ditch filled with water. When west of the
Mississippi they found a tribe living in movable tents, they deemed that
fact worthy of special mention. But in the same section they also found
many villages.

One hundred and forty years afterward the French explorer, La Salle,
made several voyages up and down the Mississippi. He describes much the
same state of things as do the earlier writers. The tribes still dwelt
in comfortable cabins, sometimes constructed of bark, sometimes of
mud,<14> often of large size, in one case forty feet square, and having
a dome-shaped roof. Nor was this village life confined to the more
advanced tribes. The Dakota tribes, which include the Sioux and others,
have been forced on the plains by the advancing white population, but
when first discovered they were living in villages around the headwaters
of the Mississippi. Their houses were framed of poles and covered with
bark.<15>

Lewis and Clark, in 1805, found the valley of the Columbia River
inhabited by tribes destitute of pottery, and living mainly on fish,
which were found in immense quantities in the river. They describe them
as living in large houses, one sometimes forming a village by itself.
They describe one house capable of furnishing habitations for five
hundred people. Other authorities could be quoted, showing that the
Algonquin Indians, living in Eastern and Atlantic States, had permanent
villages.<16> The idea then, that the Indians are nothing but wandering
savages, is seen to be wrong. It is well to bear this in mind, because
it is often asserted that the Mound Builders must have been a people
possessing fixed habitations. While this is doubtless correct, we see
that it is also true of the Indians.<17>

There is another feature of Indian life which we will mention here,
because it shows us a common element in the building of houses, seen
alike in the pueblo structures of the West and the long houses of the
Iroquois. That is, the Indian houses were always built to be inhabited
by a number of families in common. All nations in a tribal state possess
property in common. It is not allowed to pass out of the gens of the
person who possesses it, but at his death is supposed to be divided
among the members of his gens; in most cases, however, to those nearest
of kin within the gens.<18> This communism showed itself in the method
of erecting houses.

The long house of the Iroquois was divided into apartments so as to
shelter from one hundred to two hundred Indians. A number of these
houses gathered together composed a village. These were quite creditable
structures of Indian art, being warm and comfortable, as well as roomy.
Should we examine the whole list of writers who have mentioned Indian
villages, we would find them all admitting that the houses were usually
occupied by a number of families, one in the Columbia Valley, as we see,
sheltering five hundred persons.

There is no question but the pueblos were built by people holding
property in common. They were, of course, erected by a more advanced
people, who employed better materials in construction, but it is quite
plain that they were actuated by the same instincts, and built their
houses with the same design in view as the less advanced Indian tribes
in other sections of the country. What we have described as the small
houses in Arizona in the preceding chapter, in most cases includes
several rooms, and we are told that in one section they "appear to have
been the abode of several families."<19>

Illustration of Long House of the Iroquois.---------

One of the main points the Indians would have to attend to in the
construction of their villages was how to defend them, and we can not
do better than to examine this point. A French writer represents the
villages of Canada as defended by double, and frequently triple, rows
of palisades, interwoven with branches of trees.<20> Cartier, in 1535,
found the village of Hochelaga (now Montreal) thus defended. In 1637 the
Pequot Indians were the terror of the New England colonies, and Capt.
Mason, who was sent to subject them, found their principal villages,
covering six acres, strongly defended by palisades.

Illustration of Stockaded Onondaga Village.--------

The Iroquois tribes also adopted this method of defense. In 1615
Champlain, with Indian allies, invaded the territory of the Iroquois.
He left a sketch of his attack on one of their villages. This sketch we
reproduce in this illustration, which is a very important one, because
it shows us a regularly palisaded village among a tribe of Indians where
the common impression in reference to them is that they were a wandering
people with no fixed habitations. The sketch is worthy of careful study.
The buildings within are the long houses which we have just described.
They are located near together, three or four in a group. The
arrangement of the groups is in the form of a square, inclosing a court
in the center. This tendency to inclose a court is a very common feature
of Indian architecture. Such, as we have seen, is the arrangement of
the pueblos. Such was also the arrangement of the communal buildings
in Mexico, Central America, and Peru. In this case the village covered
about six acres also. The defense was by means of palisades. There
seem to be two rows of them. They seem to have been well made, since
Champlain was unsuccessful in his attack. In earlier times these
fortified villages were numerous.

Illustration of Pomeiock. (Bureau of Ethnology.)-----

Further south, this method of inclosing a village was also in use. In
1585 the English sent an expedition to the coast of North Carolina.
An artist attached to this expedition left some cuts, one of which
represents a village near Roanoke. It is surrounded, as we see, by a row
of palisades, and contains seventeen joint tenement houses, besides
the council house. The historians of De Soto's expedition make frequent
mention of walled and fortified towns. "The village of Mavilla," from
which comes our name Mobile, says Biedman, "stood on a plain surrounded
by strong walls." Herrera, in his General History, states that the
walls were formed by piles, interwoven with other timber, and the spaces
packed with straw and earth so that it looked like a wall smoothed with
a trowel.

Speaking of the region west of the Mississippi, Biedman says: "We
journeyed two days, and reached a village in the midst of a plain,
surrounded by walls and a ditch filled by water, which had been made
by Indians." This town is supposed to have been situated in the
north-eastern part of Arkansas, and it is interesting to note that
recent investigators find what are probably the remains of these
walled towns, in the shape of inclosures with ditches and mounds,
in North-eastern Arkansas and South-eastern Missouri.<21> The tribes
throughout the entire extent of the Mississippi Valley were accustomed
to palisade their villages--at least, occasionally.<22>

Illustration of Mandan Village. (Bureau of Ethnology.)------

On the Missouri River we find some Indian tribes that have excited a
great deal of interest among archaeologists. It has been surmised that,
if their history could be recovered, it would clear up a great many
difficult questions. They were accustomed to fortify their village's
with ditches, embankments, and palisades. This gives us a cut of one
of their villages. It is to be observed that it has a great likeness to
some of the inclosures ascribed to the Mound Builders.

This has been noted by many writers. Says Brackenridge: "In my voyage
up the Missouri I observed the ruins of several villages which had been
abandoned twenty or thirty years, which in every respect resembled the
vestiges on the Ohio and Mississippi."<23> Lewis and Clark, in their
travels, describe the sites of several of these abandoned villages, the
only remains of which were the walls which had formerly inclosed the
villages, then three or four feet high. The opinion has been advanced
that the inclosures of the Mound Builders were formerly surmounted by
palisades. Mr. Atwater asserts that the round fort which was joined to
a square inclosure at Circleville showed distinctly evidence of having
supported a line of pickets or palisades.<24>

Should it be accepted that the inclosures of the Mound Builders
represent village sites, and that they were probably further protected
by palisades, it would seem, after what we have just observed of the
customs of the Indians in fortifying their villages, to be a simple and
natural explanation of these remains.

We have already referred to the fact that scholars draw a distinction
between the more massive works found in the Ohio Valley and the low,
crumbling ruins occupying defensive positions found in such abundance
along Lake Erie and in Western New York, asserting the former to be
the works of the Mound Builders proper, and the latter the remains of
fortified Indian villages. This may be true, but it seems to us that
there is such a common design running through all these remains that it
is more reasonable to infer that the more massive works were constructed
by people more advanced than those who built the less pretentious works,
but not necessarily of a dilterent race. We can not do better than to
quote the remarks of Mr. Brackenridge in this connection: "We are
often tempted by a fondness for the marvelous to seek out remote
and impossible causes for that which may be explained by the most
obvious."<25>

But inclosures and defensive works are only a small part of the Mound
Builders' remains. We know that large numbers of mounds are scattered
over the country, and we recall in this connection what was said as to
the erection of mounds by Indian tribes in a preceding essay. Somewhat
at the risk of repetition we will once more examine this question. It
is generally admitted that it was the custom of Indian tribes to erect
piles of stones to commemorate several events, such as a treaty, or
the settlement of a village, but more generally to mark the grave of a
chief, or some noted person, or of a person whose death occurred
under unusual circumstances.<26> These cairns are not confined to
any particular section of the country, being found in New England,
throughout the South, and generally in the Mississippi Valley. From
their wide dispersion, and from the fact that they do not differ from
the structures built by Indian tribes within a few years past, it is not
doubted but what they are the works of Indians.

Now, if we could draw a dividing line, and say that, while the Indians
erected mounds of stone, the Mound Builders built theirs of earth, it
would be a strong argument in favor of a difference of race. But this
can not be done. When De Soto landed in Florida, nearly three hundred
and fifty years ago, he had an opportunity of observing the customs
of the Indians as they were before the introduction of fire-arms, and
before contact with the Whites had wrought the great change in them it
was destined to. Therefore, what few notes his historians have given
us of the ways of life they observed amongst the southern tribes are of
great importance in this connection. At the very spot where he landed
(supposed to be Tampa Bay) they observed that the house of the chief
"stood near the shore, upon a very high mound, made by hand for
strength."

Garcilasso tells us "the town and the house of the Cacique (chief)
Ossachile are like those of the other caciques in Florida.... The
Indians try to place their villages on elevated sites, but, inasmuch
as in Florida there are not many sites of this kind where they can
conveniently build, they erect elevations themselves, in the following
manner: They select the spot, and carry there a quantity of earth, which
they form into a kind of platform, two or three pikes in height, the
summit of which is large enough to give room for twelve, fifteen, or
twenty houses, to lodge the cacique and his attendants. At the foot of
this elevation they mark out a square place, according to the size of
the village, around which the leading men have their houses. To ascend
the elevation they have a straight passage-way from bottom to top,
fifteen or twenty feet wide. Here steps are made by massive beams, and
others are planted firmly in the ground to serve as walls. On all other
sides of the platform the sides are cut steep."<27>

Biedman, the remaining historian, says of the country in what is now
(probably) Arkansas. "The caciques of this country make a custom of
raising, near their dwellings, very high hills, on which they sometimes
build their huts."<28> Twenty-five years later the French sent an
expedition to the east coast of Florida. The accounts of this expedition
are very meager, but they confirm what the other writers have stated as
to the erection of platform mounds with graded ways.<29> Le Moyne, the
artist of this expedition, has left us a cut of a mound erected over a
deceased chief. It was, however, but a small one.<30>

La Harpe, writing in 1720, says of tribes on the lower Mississippi:
"Their cabins... are dispersed over the country upon mounds of earth
made with their own hands." As to the construction of these houses, we
learn that their cabins were "round and vaulted," being lathed with cane
and plastered with mud from bottom to top, within and without. In other
cases they were square, with the roof dome-shaped, the walls plastered
with mud to the height of twelve feet.<31> It is interesting to
observe how closely what little we do know about Mound Builders' houses
coincides with the above.

Recent investigations by the Bureau of Ethnology have brought to
light vestiges of great numbers of their buildings. These were mostly
circular, but those of a square or rectangular form were also observed.
In Arkansas their location was generally on low, flat mounds, but
vestiges of some were also noticed near the surface of large mounds.
In Southern Illinois, South-eastern Missouri, and Middle and Western
Tennessee the sites of thousands were observed, not in or on mounds,
but marked by little circular, saucer-shaped depressions, from twenty to
fifty feet in diameter, surrounded by a slight earthen ring. We know the
framework of these houses was poles, for in several cases the charred
remains of these poles were found. We know they were plastered with
a thick coating of mud, for regular layers of lumps of this burnt
plastering are found. These lumps have often been mistaken for bricks,
as in the Selzertown mound. In several cases the plastering had
been stamped with an implement, probably made of split cane of large
size.<32>

On the lower Mississippi we meet with the Natchez, a tribe that has
excited a great deal of interest; but at present we only want to note
that they also constructed mounds. They were nearly exterminated by the
French in 1729. But before this Du Pratz had lived among them, and
left a description of their customs. Their temple was about thirty feet
square, and was situated on a mound about eight feet high, which sloped
insensibly from its main front on the north, but was somewhat steeper
on the other sides. He also states that the cabin of the chief, or great
sun, as he was called, was placed upon a mound of about the same
height, though somewhat larger, being sixty feet over the surface.<33>
A missionary who labored among them, stated that when the chief died his
mound was deserted, and a new one built for the next chief.<34>

Neither was this custom of erecting mounds confined to the Southern
Indians. Colden states of the Iroquois: "They make a round hole in
which the body is placed, then they raise the earth in a round hill
over it."<35> It was the custom among a large number of tribes to gather
together the remains of all who had died during several years and bury
them all together, erecting a mound over them.<36> Mr. Jefferson, in
his notes on Virginia, describes one of these mounds, and relates this
interesting fact in reference to it: "A party of Indians passing about
thirty years ago through the part of the country where this barrow
is, went through the woods directly to it, without any instructions or
inquiry; and having staid about it some time, with expressions which
were construed to be those of sorrow, they returned to the high road,
which they had left about a half dozen miles to pay this visit, and
pursued their journey."<37>

Coming down to our own times, the Indians had lost a great many of
their ancient customs, yet, at times, this old instinct of mound burial
asserts itself. About the first of the century Blackbird, a celebrated
chief of the Omahas, returning to his native home after a visit to
Washington, died of the small-pox. It was his dying request that his
body be placed on horseback, and the horse buried alive with him.
Accordingly, in the presence of all his nation, his body was placed on
the back of his favorite white horse, fully equipped as if for a
long journey, with all that was necessary for an Indian's happiness,
including the scalps of his enemies. Turfs were brought and placed
around the feet and legs, and up the sides of the unsuspecting animal,
and so gradually the horse and its rider were buried from sight, thus
forming a good-sized burial mound.<38> Another instance came under Mr.
Catlin's observation at the pipe stone quarry in Dakota. He visited
there about 1832 and saw a conical mound, ten feet high, that had been
erected over the body of a young man accidentally killed there two years
before.

Enough references have now been given to show that the Indian tribes
certainly did erect mounds, and that there is every reason to suppose
they were the authors of the temple mounds of the South, or of some of
them, at any rate. We have now shown that, according to early writers,
the Indians did live in permanent villages, often stockaded, and knew
very well how to raise embankments and mounds. It would seem as if this
removed all necessity for supposing the existence of an extinct race
to explain the numerous remains, collectively known as Mound Builders'
works. Yet, as this is surely an important point, it may be well to
carry the investigations a little further.

Taking in account the great amount of labor necessary to raise such
structures as the mounds at Cahokia and Grave Creek, and the complicated
works at Newark, some writers have asserted that the government of the
Mound Builders was one in which the central authority must have had
absolute power over the persons of the subjects, that they were in
effect slaves;<39> and as this was altogether contrary to what is known
amongst Indian tribes, they must have been of a different race.

If the Indians in a tribal state are known to have erected some mounds,
and to have built temple-platforms and walled towns in the south, then
all they needed was sufficient motive, religious or otherwise, to have
built the most stupendous works known. We think the ruined pueblos in
the Chaco Canyon represent as great an amount of work as many of those
of the Mound Builders. A calculation has been made, showing that over
thirty million pieces of stone were required in the construction of one
pueblo,<40> besides an abundance of timber. Each piece of stone had to
be dressed roughly to fit its place; the timbers had to be brought from
a considerable distance, cut and fitted to their places in the wall, and
then covered with other courses, besides other details of construction,
such as roof-making, plastering, and so forth, and this is not the
calculation of the largest pueblo either.<41> Yet no one supposes that
the Indian tribes who erected these structures were under a despotic
form of government.

We think, however, that it might be freely admitted that in all
probability the government of the Mound Builders was arbitrary, but so
was the government of a great many Indian tribes. Amongst the Natchez
the chief was considered as descended from the sun. Nor was this belief
confined to the Natchez, as the tribes of the Floridian Peninsula
asserted the same thing of their chiefs. Among all these latter tribes
the chief held absolute and unquestioned power over the persons,
property, and time of their subjects.<42>

Amongst the Natchez the power of the Great Sun (their title for chief)
seems to have been very great. This nation had a regularly organized
system of priesthood, of which the chief was also the head. On the death
of the chief a number of his subjects were put to death to keep him
company. But we must notice that the subjects considered it an honor to
die with the chief, and made application beforehand for the privilege.
Bearing these facts in mind, it does not seem improbable that in more
distant days, when the Natchez or some kindred tribe were in the height
of their power, the death of some great chief might well be memorialized
by the erection of a mound as grand in proportion as that of Grave
Creek.

In fact, the more we study the subject, the more firmly we become
convinced that there is no hard and fast line separating the works of
the Mound Builders from those of the later Indians. We therefore think
that we may safely assert that the best authorities in the United States
now consider that the mound building tribes were Indians, in much the
same state of culture as the Indian tribes in the Gulf States at the
time of the discovery of America, and we shall not probably be far out
of the way if we assert, that when driven from the valley of the Ohio
by more warlike people they became absorbed by the southern tribes, and,
indeed the opinion is quite freely advanced that the Natchez themselves
were a remnant of the "Mysterious Mound Builders."

If the Mound Building tribes were here at a comparatively late date, we
ought to expect to find some traditions of their former existence. The
statement is quite often made that the Indians had no tradition as to
the origin or purpose of the mounds, and from this it is argued that the
mounds are of great antiquity. But, instead of finding no traditions,
we find nearly every tribe possessed of some, and often very full and
distinct.<43> It makes no difference that a number of those traditions
are childish, and that traditions are a very unsatisfactory sort of
proof at best. Still, if we observe that the traditions, such as they
are, are corroborative of other proofs, it is well to examine into them
anyway.

The Iroquois tribes have a tradition, that is given in the writing of
Cusick, a Tuscaroa Indian. It is generally considered as a nonsensical
production, but Mr. Hale points out that, "whenever his statements
can be submitted to the tests of language, they are invariably
confirmed."<44> Such, for instance, are the assertions that they
formerly inhabited the country around the St. Lawrence River in Canada,
and further, that the Mohawk was the oldest tribe, from whence the
others separated in time.

The substance of the tradition supposed to refer to the Mound Builders,
is as follows: South of the great lakes was the seat of a great empire.
The emperor resided in a golden city. The nations to the north of the
great lakes formed a confederacy, and seated a great council fire on
the river St. Lawrence. This confederacy appointed a high chief as
ambassador, who immediately departed to the south to visit the emperor
at the golden city. Afterwards, the emperor built many forts throughout
his dominions, and almost penetrated to Lake Erie. The people to
the north considered this an infringement on their territory, and it
resulted in a long war.

The people of the north were too skillful in the use of bows and arrows,
and could endure hardships which proved fatal to a foreign people. At
last, the northern people gained the victory, and all the towns and
forts were totally destroyed and left in ruins.<45> If this tradition
stood alone, it would not be deserving of much attention, but we
know the Iroquois tribes did originally live in the valley of the St.
Lawrence. We also feel sure the Mound Builders were a powerful people,
and lived in the Ohio Valley. What is there unreasonable, therefore,
in supposing that the Iroquois came in contact with them, and that this
tradition rests on facts?

But this tradition is very similar to one among the Delawares. This
tribe spoke a different stock language than the Iroquois, and belonged
to the Algonquin division of the Indian tribes. There were many wars
between the Delawares and the Iroquois, but finally the latter were
acknowledged masters. It is well to keep this in mind, because with this
feeling between the two tribes, they would not be apt to have similar
traditions unless there was a basis of fact.<46>

Mr. Gallatin informs us that the original home of the Algonquins was
to the north of Lake Superior. The tradition states that the Delawares
(they called themselves the Leni-lenape) were living in a cold, fir-tree
country--evidently the wooded regions north of Lake Superior. Getting
tired of this country, they set out towards the East in search of a
better place, and probably followed the lake shore around until they
finally came to a great river--that is, the Detroit. The country
beyond was inhabited by a numerous and powerful people, called the
Allegewi,<47> who dwelt in great fortified towns. Here they found the
Huron-Iroquois tribes. This was before the Iroquois had separated from
the Hurons.

Some treachery on the part of the Allegewi was made the occasion of war.
The Leni-lenape and the Hurons united their forces. This is perhaps the
Confederacy of Cusic. A long war resulted, but in the end the Allegewi
were defeated, and, as the tradition states, "all went southward."<48>
We see no reason to doubt but what we have here a traditional account of
the overthrow of the Mound Builders. The remnant that fled south found
the country inhabited by mound-building tribes, and doubtless became
absorbed among them. In confirmation of this view it may be said that
the languages of the tribes of the Gulf States, which belong to one
stock language,<49> have all been greatly influenced by words derived
from a foreign source.<50>

Perhaps a large body of them may have lived on as a fully organized
tribe. As we have already stated, the opinion is quite freely advanced
that this is the origin of the Natchez.<51> It seems advisable to
inquire more particularly into the customs and traditions of this tribe.
Du Pratz, who lived among them in 1718, and claims to have enjoyed the
confidence of their chiefs and principal men, has left the most complete
account of them; though Father Charlevoix, a Jesuit priest, in his
letters, also describes them fully.

A number of interesting statements in regard to them, at once arrest
attention. Most of the tribes in the southern region of the United
States spoke dialects of a common stock language (Chata-muskoki),
showing a derivation from a common source. The Natchez spoke a different
language. Sun-worship seems to have been carried to a greater extent
than among any other tribes we are acquainted with. As late as 1730
they still had their temples, where the eternal fire was kept burning,
carefully watched; for they believed that should it become extinguished,
it would surely bring great trouble on the tribe. Among the Natchez, if
anywhere among Indian tribes, the power of the chief was absolute, and
there seems to have been something like privileged classes amongst them.
We have already referred to them as Mound Builders.

But most interesting is it to learn of their former wide extension and
ancient power. Du Pratz says, "According to their traditions they were
the most powerful nation of all North America, and were looked upon by
other nations as their superiors, and on that account were respected by
them. To give an idea of their power, I shall only mention that formerly
they extended from the River Manchas, or Iberville, which is about fifty
leagues from the sea, to the River Wabash, which is distant from the
sea about four hundred and sixty leagues; and that they had about eight
hundred suns, or princes."<52> It is at least a reasonable supposition
that that the Natchez were a remnant of the Mound Builders.

So far we have dwelt chiefly on the relations between the Indians and
the Mound Builders. Let us now see if we can not detect some connection
between the Pueblo tribes of the south-west and the Mound Builders.
All the tribes in the Gulf States had traditions of a western and
south-western origin. In regard to the Creek Indians, this tradition is
very distinct. They relate, with many details, their journey from the
west, their fight with the Alabamas, etc.<53> In the Natchez tradition,
as given by Du Pratz, they are seen, not only to come from the same
western source, but distinctly preserve recollections of pueblo houses.

The substance of their traditions is that they came from a pleasant
country and mild climate, "under the sun," and in the south-west, where
the nation had lived for many ages, and had spread over an extensive
country of mountains, hills, and plains, in which the houses were built
of stone, and were several stories high. They further relate how, owing
to increase of enemies, the great sun sent some one over to examine and
report on the country to be found to the east. The country being found
extremely pleasant, a large part of their nation removed thither; and,
after many generations, the great sun himself came also. Speaking of the
ancient inhabitants of the country they came from, the tradition states
that "they had a great number of large and small villages, which were
all built of stone, and in which were houses large enough to lodge a
whole tribe."<54> We would offer the same suggestion on these traditions
as on the others. They are of value only so far as supported by other
testimony. The great objection to them is that the pueblo structures of
the west are evidently of recent origin. So these traditions would prove
that the Natchez Indians were quite recently connected with the Pueblo
tribes, which is not at all probable. We have some slight evidence
that does not rest on traditions. Mr. Holmes has given us a plan of an
ancient village he discovered on the La Platte River, San Juan Valley.
It will be seen by reference to the plate that the buildings were
separated from each other. The forms are chiefly rectangles and circles,
and one or two seem to have been elliptical. This description certainly
reminds us of the circles and squares so common among the Mound
Builders. But there is also a truncated mound, fifty by eighty feet, and
nine feet high. "Its flat top and height give it more the appearance
of one of the sacrificial mounds of the Ohio Valley than any others
observed in this part of the West." Mounds are known to exist in
Utah.<55>

Illustration of Ruins near the La Platte Valley of the San Juan.

We need not expect to trace a continuous line of ruins from the San Juan
Valley to that of the Ohio, granting the migration to have taken place,
because a migrating race would not be apt to erect monuments until they
reached the end of their line of migration. Those who take this view of
it say that it is not at all strange that when these migrating
tribes reached their new homes in the Mississippi Valley they erected
structures differing from those they had formerly built, because all
their surroundings would be different, and in the prairie sections they
would find neither stone for building their pueblos nor clay suitable
for adobe construction. So they would do the next best thing, and build
a fortified village. This is the view of that eminent scholar, Mr.
Morgan. It must be borne in mind, however, that the fortified villages
of the southern Indians, including those of the Mississippi Valley,
corresponded more nearly with those of the Atlantic shore, and more
northern tribes, than with the pueblo structures.

There is another line of proof which we think has been read the wrong
way, or, at least, applied too strongly, and made to do service in
proving that the Mound Builders migrated from the valley of the Ohio
to Mexico, and there laid the foundation of that wonderful civilization
which is yet a riddle to the antiquarian.<56> This is derived from a
study of the skulls procured from various sections of this country,
Peru, and Mexico. It is sufficient to state that anatomists have made
a careful study of the skulls of individuals of various nations, and
instituted certain comparisons between them, and discoveries of great
importance have been made by this means. Now, some of our best American
scholars have insisted that the skulls of the Mound Builders and the
ancient inhabitants of Mexico and the Inca Peruvians are so similar that
they must have belonged to the same race.

This type of skull, however, is characteristic, not only of the Mound
Builders, the ancient Mexicans and the Peruvians, but of the Pueblos,
and of such tribes as the Natchez, Creeks, and Seminoles. We think, with
all due regard to the opinions of others, that in the present state
of our knowledge of craniology we are not authorized in drawing very
important conclusions therefrom. About all we are justified in stating
is that the sedentary or village Indians, whether found in North or
South America, have certain common features.

It is also hard to see any great resemblance between the works of the
Mound Builders and the Pueblo tribes. The truncated mounds discovered
by Mr. Holmes, we remember, were also used as foundations for house
structures along the Gila. In this feature we, of course, see a
resemblance to the platform mounds of the Mississippi Valley. But we
must be careful in tracing connections on such a slim basis as this. We
must remember also what a difference there is in the pottery of the two
sections.<57> If we were to give an opinion, based on the present known
facts, we should say the separation between the people who afterwards
developed as the pueblo builders of the west and the Mound Builders of
the Mississippi Valley took place at an early date.

But let us not suppose that this conclusion clears up all mysteries.
A problem which has thus far defied the efforts of some of our best
thinkers is still before us, and that is: "From whence came the
Indians?" As we remarked at the beginning of this chapter, no one theory
has yet received universal acceptance. In view of these facts, it is not
best to present any theories, but content ourselves with such statements
as seem reasonably well settled. On all hands it is agreed that the
Indians have been in America a long while, and whatever advance they
were able to make in the scale of civilization has been achieved in this
country.<58>

This statement implies that they were in undisturbed possession of this
country long enough for some tribes of them to reach the middle status
of barbarism, which means advancement sufficient to enable them to
cultivate the ground by irrigation, and to acquire a knowledge of the
use of stone and adobe brick in building.<59> More than half the battle
of civilization had then been won. Look at it as we will, this demands
an immense period of time for its accomplishment. In the arts of
subsistence, government, language, and development of religious ideas
the advancement they had been able to make from a condition of savagism
to that in which the Mound Builders evidently lived, or the Aztecs
in Mexico, represents a progression far greater than from thence to
civilization.

We are, therefore, sure that the Indians have inhabited this country for
an extended period. We can prolong the mental vision backwards until we
discover them, a savage race, gaining a precarious livelihood by fishing
and the chase. In America there was but one cereal, or grain, growing
wild. That was maize, or Indian corn. We can not tell in what portion
of the continent it was native, but, in whatever section it was, there,
probably, first commenced permanent village life.

A settled residence, and being no longer dependent on hunting for a
livelihood, would advance the Indians greatly in the scale of culture.
So we can understand how in one section would arise Indian tribes
possessed of quite complicated systems of government and religion and a
knowledge of agriculture. And from this as a center they would naturally
spread out to other sections. The conclusion to which we seem driven is,
that there is no necessity for supposing the Mound Builders to be any
thing more than village Indians, in much the same state of development
as the southern Indians at the time of the discovery. The Indian race
shows us tribes in various stages of development, from the highly
developed Pueblo Indians on the one hand to the miserable Aborigines of
California on the other.

These various tribes may be classified as the wild hunting tribes and
the sedentary, partially civilized tribes. To this last division belong
the Mound Builders. We have seen how the partially civilized tribes in
the valley of the San Juan were gradually driven south by the pressure
of wild tribes. We need not doubt but such was the case in the
Mississippi Valley. But we need not picture to ourselves any imposing
movement of tribes. In one location a mound-building tribe may have been
forced to abandon its territory, which would be occupied by bands of
hunting tribes. In other cases they would cling more tenaciously to
their territory. The bulk of them may have been forced south; some in
other directions, and, like the Pimas on the River Gila, or the Junanos
east of the Rio Grande, have retrograded in culture.<60> Some bands may
even have reached Mexico, and exerted an influence on the culture of the
tribes found there.<61>

It is only necessary to add a brief word as to the antiquity of the
Mound Builders' works, or rather as to the time of abandonment. On this
point there is a great diversity of opinion, and it seems to us almost
impossible to come to any definite conclusion. The time of abandonment
may vary greatly in different sections of the country, and we have seen
how apt Indian tribes, even in the same section, are to abandon one
village site in order to form another a few miles away.<62> Fort Hill,
in Ohio, that so strongly impressed its first explorers with a sense
of antiquity,<63> may have been abandoned long before the Circleville
works, where Mr. Atwater could still distinguish vestiges of the
palisades that once helped to defend it.

We have said about all that can be said in a brief review of the
prehistoric life in America north of Mexico. We have seen how much there
is still for our scholars to work up before we can profess to as full
and complete a knowledge as we have of the prehistoric life in Europe.
We are just on the threshold of discoveries in regard to the Paleolithic
Age in this country. The southern boundary of the great ice sheet is now
known to us. Many scholars have pointed out to us the scattering bits
of evidence going to show that the ancestors of the present Eskimos
once inhabited the interior of this continent. Dr. Abbott has found
unmistakable evidence of the presence of such a people in New Jersey.
Our Indian tribes who came next, are not properly prehistoric, though
many questions relating to them belong to that field.

We have examined the works of the people known as Mound Builders. They
are indeed varied and full of interest, but our conclusion leaves their
origin involved in the still deeper question of the origin of the Indian
race. We are satisfied that they were village Indians and not tribes of
a vanished people. We have also examined that section of country wherein
the greatest development of village Indian life north of Mexico took
place. It would be very satisfactory could we show lines of migration
from the valley of the San Juan, as a center, to the Mississippi Valley
on the one hand, and to Mexico and the South on the other. We can find
some lines of evidence, but not enough to positively state such an
important truth.

We must now leave this field of inquiry. We trust such of our readers
as have followed us in these pages will have clearer ideas of the
prehistoric life in North America. They must however regard this
knowledge as simply a foundation, a starting-point, or as the shallows
along the shore, while the massive building, the long journey, or the
great ocean, is still before them. Our scholars are giving their time
and attention to these problems. They are learning what they can of the
traditions and myths of the tribes still existing. They are studying
their languages and plan of government. They are also making great
collections of the works of their hands. We will hope some day for
clear light on all these topics, which will either confirm our present
conclusions or show us wherein we must change them, or, perhaps, reject
them altogether.

Illustration of Stone Mask found in Tennessee.-----------

REFERENCES

(1) The manuscript of this chapter was submitted to Cyrus
Thomas, Ph.D., of the Bureau of Ethnology, for criticism.
(2) Baldwin's "Ancient America," p. 58. Gallatin, Trans. Am.
Ethnol. Soc., I., p. 207. Short's "North Americans of
Antiquity," p. 65. Conant's "Footprints of Vanished Races,"
p. 120. Jone's "Antiquities of Tennessee," p. 146. MacLean's
"The Mound Builders," Chap. xii.
(3) Carr's "Mounds of the Mississippi Valley." Schoolcraft's
"Archives of Aboriginal Knowledge," Vol. I., p. 66; Vol. II.,
p. 30. Morgan's "House and House Life American Aborigines,"
Vol. IV.; "Contributions to N. A. Ethnology," p. 199. Brinton:
_American Antiquarian,_ October, 1881. Thomas: _American
Antiquarian,_ March, 1884. Powell: Transactions of
Anthropological Society, 1881, p. 116.
(4) Of course these words vary in different nations, but the
meaning is the same in all.
(5) Morgan's "Ancient Society," p. 269.
(6) The gens, phratry, and tribe were subdivisions of the
Ancient Greeks. Of a similar import were the gens, curiae, and
tribe of the Roman tribes. The Irish sept and the Scottish clan
are the same in meaning as the gens of other tribes. American
authors, in treating of the Indians, have generally used the
words tribe and clan as equivalent of gens. This is not correct.
Almost all the tribes had a complete organization in gens and
phratries, though of course they did not so name them. These
terms are adopted by Mr. Morgan because they have a precise and
historical meaning. As an example of Indian tribal-organization,
we give an outline of the Seneca-Iroquois tribe.

First Phratry, Bear
or Wolf Gens.
Brotherhood. Beaver
Turtle
TRIBE.
Second Phratry, Deer
or Snipe Gens.
Brotherhood. Heron
Hawk

It is proper to remark that the phratries are not a necessary
member of the series. Several of the Indian tribes had only gens
and tribe. Mr. Schoolcraft uses the words totemic system to
express the same organization. Totem, the Ojibway dialect,
signifies the symbol or devise which they use to designate the
gens. Thus the figure of a bear would be the totem of the bear
gens. We must remember that the tribes of to-day have, in many
cases, lost their ancient organization. See Morgan's "Ancient
Society," where this subject is fully treated. Also Powell, in
"First Annual Report of Bureau of Ethnology;" Grote's "History
of Greece," Vol. III, p. 55, _et seq._; Smith's "Dictionary
of Greek and Roman Antiquities," articles, gens, civitas,
tribus, etc.; also Dorsey, in _American Antiquarian,_ Oct.,
1883, p. 312, _et seq._
(7) The Mexican tribes form no exception to this statement. See
this volume, Chapter XV.
(8) Lewis's "Wild Races of South-eastern India."
(9) Grote's "History of Greece," Vol. II.
(10) Mallery: "American Association Reports," 1877.
(11) Hochelaga.
(12) Morgan: "Contribution to N. A. Ethnology," Vol. IV, p. 119.
(13) "Luis Hernando De Biedman," and "A Gentleman of Elvas,"
both translated in "Historic Collections of Louisiana," Vol. II.
(14) "Historical Collections of Louisiana," Vol. I, p. 61.
(15) Morgan's "Contribution to N. A. Ethnology," Vol. IV,
p. 114.
(16) Read Capt. John Smith, "Hist. of Virginia;" also "Mass.
Hist. Col.," Vol. VIII, of the third series.
(17) Consult "The Mounds of the Mississippi Valley," by Lucian
Carr, of the Kentucky Graphical Survey, where this subject is
fully treated, and copious quotations given.
(18) Morgan's "Ancient Society," p. 526.
(19) Bandelier's "Fifth Annual Report, Arch. Inst.," p. 60.
(20) "Charlevoix's Travels in North America," p. 241.
(21) Fourth Annual Report of Peabody Museum, and from
information furnished me by the U.S. Bureau of Ethnology.
(22) "The custom of palisading appears to have been general
among the northern tribes."--Brackenridge's "Views of
Louisiana," p. 182.
(23) "Views of Louisiana," p. 183.
(24) "Archaeology Americanae," Vol. I., p. 145.
(25) "Views of Louisiana," p. 182.
(26) Carr: "Mounds of the Mississippi Valley," p. 78.
(27) Quoted from Brinton, _Am. Antiq.,_ Oct., 1881.
(28) Hist. Col. of Louisiana, Vol. II., p. 105.
(29) "Mounds of the Mississippi Valley," p. 90.
(30) "Expedition to Florida," p. 15.
(31) Shea's "Early Voyages on the Mississippi," p. 135.
"Historical Collections of Louisiana," Vol. I., p. 61. Quoted
from Cyrus Thomas in _American Antiquarian,_ March, 1884.
(32) See article by Cyrus Thomas, of the Bureau of Ethnology, in
_American Antiquarian,_ March, 1884.
(33) "History of Louisiana," Lond., 1763, Vol. II., pp. 188 and
211.
(34) Father Le Petit: Note, p. 142. "Hist. Col. Louisiana,"
Vol. III.
(35) "Hist. of the Five Nations," Introduction, p. 16.
(36) Smithsonian Contribution to Knowledge, No. 259, p. 15;
"Mounds of the Mississippi Valley," p. 87.
(37) "Notes on Virginia," p. 191.
(38) Catlin's "North American Indians," p. 95.
(39) Foster's "Prehistoric Races of the U.S.," p. 346.
(40) Pueblo Chettro-kettle, Chaco Canyon.
(41) "Geographical and Geological Survey of the Territories,"
Hayden, 1876, p. 440. Calculations made by Mr. Holmes.
(42) Brinton's "Floridian Peninsula," p. 21. We think, however,
this statement requires to be taken with some allowance.
Personal liberty seems to have been the birthright of every
Indian. ("Mounds of the Mississippi Valley," Carr, p. 24.) The
council of the tribe is the real governing body of all people in
a tribal state of society. ("Ancient Society," Morgan.) When the
war-chief united in his person priestly powers also, he at once
became an object of greater interest. This explains why the
government of the chiefs among all the Southern Indian tribes
appears so much more arbitrary than among the northern tribes.
His real power was probably much the same in both cases, but
superstition had surrounded his person with a great many
formalities. The early explorers, acquainted only with the
arbitrary governments of Europe, saw in all this despotic powers
whereas there might not have been much foundation for
this belief.
(43) "Traditions of Decodah," Pidgeon. Carr, "Mounds of the
Mississippi Valley," p. 70.
(44) "Indian Migrations," _American Antiquarian,_ April,
1883.
(45) Mr. Hale suggests that copper was the gold of the North
American Indians, and that the "golden city" simply means a city
or town where they knew how to work copper. It is well known
that the mound building tribes had such knowledge, at least they
knew how to work native copper.
(46) This tradition was first made known by Heckwelder, a
missionary among the Delawares, in his "History of the Indian
Nations." It is repeated at much greater length, and with
additional particulars, in a paper read by Mr. E. G. Squier,
before the Historical Society of New York. Mr. Squier has simply
translated a genuine Indian record known as the Bark Record. The
two authorities here mentioned consider the Delawares as coming
from west of the Mississippi. Mr. Hale points out that it was
more likely the Upper St. Lawrence--that portion known as the
Detroit River--that was the "Great River" of the traditions.
(47) From this word comes Alleghany Mountains and River.
(48) In this connection it is at least interesting to note that
several authors--Squier, MacLean, and others--have contended,
judging from the fortified hills and camps, that the pressure of
hostilities on the Mound Builders of the Ohio Valley was from
the north-east.
(49) The Chata-muskoki family. (Brinton.)
(50) Hale: _American Antiquarian,_ April, 1883.
(51) We are not at all certain but our scholars will shortly
come to the conclusion that the Cherokees or Shawnees are quite
as likely to be the descendants of the Allegewi as the Natchez.
(52) It is scarcely necessary to caution the reader as to the
value of this statement of ancient greatness. The chroniclers of
De Soto's expedition had nothing to say about it.
(53) Pickett's "History of Alabama," Vol. II.
(54) Du Pratz: "History of Louisiana," Vol. II.
(55) Stone _metates,_ or mills, have so far been found only
in Missouri, not far from the Missouri River. As this is such an
important implement among the Pueblo tribes, its presence in
this locality is significant. (Thomas.)
(56) As the proof seems to be conclusive that the Indians of the
south who were encountered by the Europeans first visiting that
section were the builders of the mounds of that region, it
brings these works down to a date subsequent to the entry of the
civilized tribes into Mexico. (Thomas.)
(57) Some of the pottery from South-eastern Missouri and
Arkansas shows a strong resemblance to that of some Pueblo
tribes. (Thomas.)
(58) Short's "North Americans of Antiquity," p. 202.
(59) Morgan: "Ancient Society," p. 12.
(60) "Fifth Annual Report Archaeological Institute," p. 85.
(61) Short's "North Americans of Antiquity," p. 458.
(62) Carr: "Mounds of the Mississippi Valley," p. 97.
(63) "Ancient Monuments," p. 14.

Chapter XIII.

THE NAHUA TRIBES.

Early Spanish discoveries in Mexico--The Nahua tribes defined--Climate
of Mexico--The Valley of Anahuac--Ruins at Tezcuco--The hill of
Tezcocingo--Ruins at Teotihuacan--Ancient Tulla--Ruins in the
province of Querataro--Casa Grandes in Chihuahua--Ancient remains
in Sinaloa--Fortified hill of Quemada--The Pyramid of Cholula--Mr.
Bandelier's investigations at Cholula--Fortified hill at Xochicalco--Its
probable use--Ruins at Monte Alban--Ancient remains at Mitla--Mr.
Bandelier's investigations--Traditions in regard to Mitla--Ruins
along the Panuco River--Ruins in Vera Cruz--Pyramid of
Papantla--Tusapan--Character of Nahua Ruins.

When the ships of the Spanish admiral came to anchor before the
Island of San Salvador, he had indeed discovered a "New World." It was
inhabited by a race of people living in a state of society from which
the inhabitants of Europe had emerged long before the dawn of authentic
history. The animal and plant life were also greatly different from any
thing with which they were acquainted. The Spaniards little suspected
the importance of their discovery. Columbus himself died in the belief
that he had simply explored a new route to Asia. A quarter of a century
elapsed after the first voyage of Columbus before an expedition coasted
along the shores of Mexico. This was the expedition of Juan De Grijalva,
in 1518. He gave a glowing description of the country he had seen, which
"from the beauty and verdure of its indented shores, and the lovely
appearances of its villages, he called 'New Spain.'"<1>

Illustration of Map of Mexico.-------------------

This was followed, in the year 1519, by the history-making expedition
of Cortez. The scene of his first landing was about forty miles south of
the present town of Vera Cruz, but to this place they soon removed. At
his very first landing-point he learned of the existence of what he was
pleased to call a powerful empire, ruled by a most valiant prince. The
accounts the Indian allies gave him of the power and wealth of this
empire inflamed the imagination of Cortez and his followers. This was an
age, we must remember that delighted in tales of the marvelous; add
to this the further fact that Cortez was not, at the beginning of his
expedition, acting with the sanction of his royal master; indeed, his
sailing from the island of Cuba was in direct violation of the commands
of the governor. It was very necessary for him to impress upon the court
of Spain a sense of the importance of his undertaking.

Certain it is that the accounts that have been handed down to us, though
read with wonder and admiration, though made the basis on which many
writers have constructed most glowing descriptions of the wonders of the
barbaric civilization, which they would fain have us believe, rivaled
that of "Ormus and of Ind," are to-day seriously questioned by a large
and influential portion of the scientific world. We have another point
to be considered that is of no little weight, as all candid men must
admit that it would influence the opinions the Spaniards would form
of the culture of the Indians. As the man of mature years has lost the
memory of his childhood, so have the civilized races of men lost, even
beyond the reach of tradition, the memory of their barbaric state. The
Spaniards were brought face to face with a state of society from which
the Indo-European folks had emerged many centuries before. They could
not be expected to understand it, and hence it is that we find so many
contradictory statements in the accounts of the early explorers; so much
that modern scholars have no hesitation in rejecting.

The main tribe of the empire which Cortez is said have overthrown is
known to us by the name of the Aztecs; but as this name properly denotes
but one of many tribes in the same state of development, it is better
to use a word which includes all, or nearly all, of the tribes that in
olden times had their home in the territory now known as Mexico. Careful
comparisons of the various dialects of ancient Mexico have shown that,
with the exceptions of some tribes in Vera Cruz, they all belonged to
one stock-language; and so they are collectively known as the Nahua
tribes.<2>

We wish now to inquire into the culture of this people, to see how much
of the strange story that the Spaniards have to tell us has a reasonable
foundation. We will state frankly that, though the literature on this
subject is of vast proportions, yet it is very far from being a settled
field. All accounts of the early explorers of the strange scenes,
customs, and manners of the inhabitants, when they were first
discovered, are so intermixed with self-evident fables, and statements
that are undoubtedly exaggerations, that we have a most difficult
task before us. We will first examine the antiquities of this section,
compare them with those found in more northern regions, and then examine
the statements of the early writers as to the customs of the people. We
do not propose to do more than to follow after our leaders in thought,
and try to make plain the conclusions to which they have arrived. We
are not to deal wholly with a prehistoric people, though their origin is
unknown. What we desire to do is to clear away the mists of three and
a half centuries, and to catch, if possible, a glimpse of what was
probably the highest development of prehistoric culture in North America
just before the arrival of the Spaniards.

Mexico was surely a land well adapted to the needs of a prehistoric
people. Along the coasts the ground is low. This constitutes what is
known as the "Hot Country."<3> The greater part of Mexico consists of
an elevated table-land, which rises in a succession of plateaus. As we
leave the coast region and climb the plateau, we experience changes of
climate. If it were level, it would have mainly a tropical climate, but
owing to the elevation we have just mentioned, it has mainly a temperate
climate. The whole plateau region is cut up with mountains. The Sierra
Madre, on the west, is the main chain, but numerous cross-ranges occur.
The result is, a greater part of Mexico abounds in fertile, easily
defended valleys--just such localities as are much sought after by
a people in barbaric culture, constantly exposed to the assaults of
invading foes.<4>

We may as well pass at once to the valley of Anahuac, the most noted in
all the region, and learn of the antiquities of this central section. It
is in this valley that the capital of the Mexican Republic is situated.
All travelers who have had occasion to describe its scenery have been
enthusiastic in its praise. The valley is mountain-girt and lake-dotted,
and in area not far different from the State of Rhode Island. On one
of the principal lakes was located the Pueblo of Tenochtitlan, the
head-quarters of the Aztecs, commonly known as the City of Mexico. When
Cortez first stood upon the encircling mountains, and gazed down upon
the valley, he saw at his feet one of the most prosperous and powerful
pueblos of the New World.

This is not the place to recount the story of its fall. Our present
inquiry is concerned solely with the remains of its prehistoric age.
The enthusiastic Spaniards would have us believe in a city of Oriental
magnificence. We have no illustrations of this pueblo. It was almost
completely destroyed by Cortez before its final surrender in August,
1521. It was then rebuilt as the capital city of New Spain. Of course,
all traces of its original buildings soon disappeared. What we can learn
of its appearance is derived from the accounts of the early writers,
which we will examine in their proper place. After having surveyed the
entire field of ruins, we will be much better qualified to judge of the
vague statements of its former grandeur. A few relics have, indeed, been
found buried beneath the surface of the old city. They illustrate the
culture of the people, as will be noticed further on.

Directly across the lake from the Pueblo of Mexico was that of Tezcuco,
the head-quarters of the second powerful tribe of the Aztec Confederacy.
Traces only are recoverable of its former buildings. At the southern end
of the modern town were found the foundations of three great pyramids.
They were arranged in a line from north to south. Mr. Mayer says of
these ruins: "They are about four hundred feet in extent on each side
of their base, and are built partly of adobe and partly of large, burned
bricks and fragments of pottery."<5> He tells us further that the sides
of the pyramids "were covered with fragments of idols, clay vessels, and
obsidian knives." From other discoveries, it would seem these pyramids
were coated with cement. The suggestion is made that on one of these
pyramids stood the great temple of Tezcuco, which, an early writer tells
us, was ascended by one hundred and seventeen steps.

Illustration of Bas-Relief, Tezcuco.--------

In another part of the town a sculptured block of stone was found, of
which this cut is given. "It appears to be the remains of a trough or
basin, and the sculpture is neatly executed in relief. I imagine that it
was designed to represent a conflict between a serpent and a bird, and
you can not fail to remark the cross distinctly carved near the lower
right-hand corner of the vessel." Bullock, who traveled in Mexico in
1824, has left a brief description of the ruins of what he calls a
palace. "It must have been a noble building.... It extended for three
hundred feet, forming one side of the great square, and was placed on
sloping terraces raised one above the other by small steps. Some of
these terraces are still entire and covered with cement.... From what is
known of the extensive foundations of this palace, it must have covered
some acres of ground."<6> This last statement is doubtless exaggerated.
From what we know of Indian architecture, these ruins were doubtless
long, low, and narrow, and placed on one or more sides of a square,
perhaps inclosing a court.

About three miles from the town of Tezcuco is a very singular group of
ruins. This is the Hill of Tezcocingo. This is very regular in outline,
and rises to the height of about six hundred feet. A great amount of
work has evidently been bestowed on this hill, and some very far-fetched
conclusions have been drawn from it. Probably as notable a piece of work
as any was the aqueduct which supplied the hill with water, and this is
really one of the most wonderful pieces of aboriginal work with which we
are acquainted.

The termination of the aqueduct is represented in our next cut. This is
about half-way up the hill, right on the edge of a precipitous descent
of some two hundred feet. "It will be observed in the drawing that the
rock is smoothed to a perfect level for several yards, around which
seats and grooves are carved from the adjacent masses. In the center
there is a circular sink, about a yard and a half in diameter and a yard
in depth, and a square pipe, with a small aperture, led the water from
an aqueduct which appears to terminate in this basin. None of the stones
have been joined with cement, but the whole was chiseled, from the
mountain rock."<7> This has been called "Montezuma's Bath," simply from
the custom of naming every wonderful ruin for which no other name was
known after that personage; but this was not a bath, but a reservoir of
water.

Illustration of Montezuma's Bath.--------

From this circular reservoir the side of the mountain is cut down so as
to form a level grade, just as if a railroad had been made. This grade
winds around the surface of the hill for about half a mile, when it
stretches out across a valley three-quarters of a mile wide, an elevated
embankment from sixty to two hundred feet in height. Reaching the second
mountain, the graded way commences again, and is extended about half-way
around the mountain, where it extends on another embankment across the
plains to a range of mountains, from which the water was obtained.

Illustration of Aqueduct, Tezcocingo.---------

This cut represents the embankment crossing the valley. Along the top
of this way was laid the canals to transport the water, made of an
exceedingly hard cement of mortar and fragments of pounded brick. It is
estimated that nearly, if not quite, as much labor was expended on this
aqueduct as on the Croton aqueduct that supplies New York City.<8> This
last statement is probably too strong, but, considering that this work
was accomplished by a people destitute of iron tools, it is seen to be
a most extraordinary work. From what we have already learned, this
hill was evidently a very important place. On all sides we meet with
evidences that the whole of the hill was covered with artificial works
of one kind or another. On the side of the hill opposite this reservoir
was another recess bordered by seats cut in living rock, and leading to
a perpendicular cliff, on which a calendar is said to have been carved,
but was destroyed by the natives in later days.<9>

Traces of a spiral road leading up the summit have been observed. In
1824 Bullock (who, however, is not regarded as a very accurate observer)
"found the whole mountain had been covered with palaces, temples,
baths, hanging-gardens, and so forth." Latrobe, somewhat later, found
"fragments of pottery and broken pieces of obsidian knives and arrows;
pieces of stucco, shattered terraces, and old walls were thickly
dispersed over its whole surface."<10> Mr. Mayer, after speaking of the
abundance of broken pottery and Indian arrows, says: "The eminence
seems to have been converted from its base to its summit into a pile of
terraced gardens."

By one class of writers this hill is regarded as the "suburban residence
of the luxurious monarchs of Tezcuco,... a pleasure garden upon which
were expended the revenues of the state and the ingenuity of its
artists."<11> Mr. Bancroft has gathered together the details of this
charming story,<12> and tells us that the kings of Mexico had a similar
pleasure resort on the Hill of Chapultepec, a few miles west of the
city.<13> It is sufficient at present to state that an explanation much
simpler and more in accord with our latest scientific information can be
given. It is more likely that this hill was the seat of a village Indian
community. Its location was naturally strong. The water, brought with
so much labor from a distance, furnished a supply for the purpose of
irrigation, as well as bodily needs. The terraced sides show that every
foot of ground was utilized, and the ruins of the palaces that Mr.
Bullock mentions were the fast-disappearing ruins of their communal
buildings. Owing to the cruel raids of the Aztec tribes, this place
may have been deserted before the coming of the Spaniards, and thus no
mention was made of it.

Illustration of Teotihuacan.-------------------

Still further to the north, about thirty miles from Mexico, is found
another extensive field of ruins, which is called Teotihuacan, meaning
"City of the Gods." The principal ruins now standing are the two immense
pyramids (which are represented in this cut), which the natives call
the "House of the Moon" and the "House of the Sun." We will describe
the surroundings first. It is unquestioned but that here was a very
extensive settlement in early times. When the Nahua tribes entered
Mexico they probably found it inhabited. One very recent writer thinks
that "nowhere else in America can you find a more imposing mass of
ruins."<14> He estimates that it was "a city upwards of twenty miles in
circumference."

Other writers have also noticed its great extent. According to Thompson,
"the ruins cover an area very nearly as large as that of the present
City of Mexico, and the streets are as distinctly marked by the ruins of
houses."<15> And in another place Mr. Charney tells us "the city was of
vast extent; and, without indulging in any stereotyped reflections
on the vanity of human greatness, I will say that a more complete
effacement is nowhere else to be seen. The whole ground, over a space
five or six miles in diameter, is covered with heaps of ruins, which at
first view, make no impression, so complete is their dilapidation."<16>

Of this mass of ruins we are told but little, beyond the general
assertion that it consists of the ruins of buildings, temples, etc. But
very recently M. Charney has uncovered the foundation of one of these
houses. He calls it a palace. It was, in all probability, a communal
building. It had two wings inclosing a court, and was located on a
terraced pyramid. He found, on digging into the terrace in front of the
ruins, a great number of sloping walls, covered with cement, containing
small compartments, etc. M. Charney can not account for their presence.

In view of the discoveries further north, we would respectfully suggest
that this was, in reality, the lower story of the building, whose flat
roof formed the terrace in front of the second story, whose foundation
M. Charney so happily discovered. But such suggestions as this are very
unsafe to make, and must be supported by further discoveries before they
are of any real value.

He found a large number of good-sized rooms, and speaks especially of
one hall fifty feet square, in the center of which was six pillars,
sloping from the base upwards. They, doubtless, served to support the
roof. We regret that we have not been able to see M. Charney's ground
plan of this ruin. Of the pyramids themselves we have quite full
information. The larger one, that of the sun, is seven hundred and sixty
feet square and two hundred and sixteen feet high. It will be seen that
these dimensions throw the great mound at Cahokia into the shade. Though
the base may not be quite as great, the height of the pyramid is over
twice that of the mound. Three terraces are plainly visible. The surface
was covered with cement, large slabs of which remain in their place. The
moon pyramid is further north.

It is in all respects like that of the sun, but of smaller dimensions,
being one hundred and fifty feet high. In early times these pyramids are
said to have supported statues, but, if so, they have long since been
thrown down. Their surface and the ground around is thickly strewn with
fragments of pottery, obsidian knives, and other small relics. Running
south from the House of the Moon, and passing a little to one side of
the House of the Sun, are the remains of a wide, paved road. Its width
is stated to be one hundred and thirty feet, and its length about two
hundred and fifty rods.<17>

This road suddenly expands in front of the Moon, so as to suggest
the idea of a Greek cross. Pieces of cement (with which this road was
covered) are still visible in places. It is lined with mounds on
either side, and they stand so close together as to resemble continuous
embankments in some places. Speculations are abundant as to the object
of this graded way. Tradition calls it the "Path of the Dead." Small
mounds are very numerous over the surface. They may have been for burial
purposes, but sculptured stones are found in them, and specimens of hard
cement. This group of ruins is regarded as of very great antiquity.

We can easily see that the growth of the soil formed by the decay
and detrition of the stone slabs of the pyramids, temples, and other
buildings would be slow, especially as the rainfall is light. But
in some localities it is more than three feet thick. In places three
separate floors are observed, one over the other, pointing to as many
successive occupations of the same sections by men.

About sixty-five miles to the north of Mexico was located Tollan, or
Tulla. According to tradition, this was the capital city of the Toltecs,
a mysterious people who long preceded the Aztecs. We are told that
"extensive ruins remained at the time of the conquest, but very few
relics have survived to the present time."<18> M. Charney, whose labors
we have referred to at Teotihuacan, succeeded also in making important
discoveries here. He tells us that on the site of this ancient capital
there is a hill, "about one mile long by half a mile broad, covered with
mounds, plateaus, and ruins of all kinds."

He gives us the dimensions of two pyramids, as follows. The first is one
hundred and ninety-six feet on each front, and forty-six feet high. The
second is one hundred and thirty-one feet square, and thirty-one feet
high. Both of these pyramids stood on raised foundations, which M.
Charney calls esplanades. As no other pyramids are mentioned, we are to
suppose these are the two principal ones. Perhaps they are also pyramids
of the sun and moon. Our chief interest is concerned with the remains of
the habitations he discovered here. He says: "I set the men to work at
one of the many mounds upon the ridge, and soon found that I had hit
upon a group of habitations." A general idea of this group of buildings
is given in this passage: "The dwellings were united together in groups,
and erected on isolated mounds, one in the middle, the others around
about, the whole forming a sort of honey-comb, with its cells placed at
different elevations."

We can not help being struck with the general resemblance of the
descriptions here given and that of the ruins in the vicinity of the
River Gila. The general tendency is seen to gather together in clusters,
with, probably, the most important house in the center. As to the
materials used in this building, we are told "they used clay and mud for
the inside of the walls, cement to coat them, dressed stone and brick
for casings, bricks and stone for stairways, bricks for pilasters, and
wood for roofing the edifice. The houses bad flat roofs, consisting
of timbers coated with cement. Of such timbers we find vast
quantities."<19>

Of the arrangements of the rooms, he tells us, "The apartments that have
been brought to light comprise a number of chambers, big and little,
placed at different heights. We shall have no clear idea of the relation
of these different chambers to one another, or of the mode of access to
them through the labyrinthine passages and the numerous stairways, until
the whole edifice has been unearthed."

This was not the only building he discovered. On digging into a mound
supposed to be the support of a temple, he discovered it was the ruined
foundation of a still grander house. He says, "It is much larger than
the other one, stands on a pyramid, and has two wings inclosing a
courtyard. The walls are thicker than those of the first habitation, and
more strongly built. The apartments, too, are larger, though arranged in
a similar fashion." Elsewhere he tells us that this building contained
at least forty-three apartments, large and small. We presume very few
will now question but what the buildings he here describes are ruined
communal buildings, much like the structures in Arizona.

But perhaps the most interesting result of his labors was the proof that
these ruins were certainly inhabited after the conquest--for how long
a time we can not tell. This is shown by fragments of bones and other
articles found in the refuse heaps. The bones were of such animals
as the horse, swine, sheep, oxen, etc.--animals introduced into this
country by the Spaniards. The fragments of pottery include specimens
plainly not of Indian manufacture, such as fragments of porcelain, and
that variety of glazed ware known as delf, and lastly, the neck of a
glass bottle. It may be said that these fragments might have been left
by a band of Spaniards who occupied the ruins in the early days of the
conquest, perhaps long after the Indian owners had left. This is of
course possible, but it is just as reasonable to suppose the fragments
were left by descendants of the original builders.

Northward from Tulla is a small province, marked on the map Querataro.
From the accounts at our disposal, which are very brief, we gather that
this whole section is a tableland split up by ravines of great depths
and precipitous sides; consequently one abounding in easily defended
positions. It was found that all the projecting points, naturally
strong, were rendered still stronger by the presence of ditches, walls,
and embankments. Three groups of ruins are mentioned especially, and
their location is marked on the map. At Pueblito there was, at an
early day, plainly to be seen, the foundation of a large, rectangular
building. The walls were built of stone laid in clay.

At Canoas, in the northern part of the State, there is a steep and
strongly fortified bill, but particulars in regard to it are very
meager. "There are, in all, forty-five defensive works on the hill,
including a wall about forty feet in height, and a rectangular platform
with an area of five thousand square feet."<20> Ranas, the most
northern one of the three sites mentioned, is regarded as the center
of population in early times. "A small lake and a perennial spring are
supposed to have been the attractions of this locality in the eyes of
the people. On all the hills about are still seen vestiges of their
monuments."

If we look at the map we will notice that we have gone but a little
ways north of the valley of Anahuac. Yet, with the exception of the
Gulf-coast, there are but few striking aboriginal ruins in Northern
Mexico. At the time of the conquest the whole northern section was the
home of tribes not generally considered to be as far advanced as those
who lived in the section we have already described, and in regions
further south. Yet it is certainly hard to draw the line between the
culture of the two people. We are told that, these Northern tribes
though styled "dogs," and "barbarians," by the Southern tribes, were yet
"tillers of the soil, and lived under systematic forms of government,
although not apparently much given to the arts of agriculture and
sculpture."

This point is of considerable interest to us, theoretically; for it is
a question from whence came the various Nahua tribes. We would naturally
think, if they came from the North, we ought to find evidence of their
former presence in the various Northern States of Mexico. We must
remember, however, that a migrating people are not apt to leave
monuments until they reach the end of their migration. Neither has the
territory been as carefully explored as it should be. What accounts we
can obtain of the remains in this section are certainly very meager. But
one place in Sonora do ruins occur, and they have never been examined by
competent personages.<21> In Chihuahua occur ruins, evidently the works
of the same people as built the separate houses to the west of the Rio
Grande, in New Mexico.

These ruins have received the same name as those on the Rio Gila--that
is, "Casas Grandes," meaning "Great House." This cut represents a view
of these ruins. The river valley is here about two miles wide, and is
said to be very fertile. Mr. Bartlett thinks there is no richer valley
to be found from Texas to California. This valley was once the seat of a
considerable population. Mounds are here found in considerable numbers.
Over two thousand are estimated as occurring in a section of country
sixty miles long by thirty in width.<22> We wish we knew more about
the mounds. They are said to contain pottery, stone axes, and other
implements. It is possible, then, that these mounds are ruins of
separate houses. At any rate, such are the only kind of ruins noticed in
the upper part of this same valley by Mr. Bandelier.

Illustration of Casas Grandes.----------------

The ruins in question are undoubtedly those of a rich and prosperous
pueblo. They are so placed as to command a very extensive view. The
river valley is cut through a plain, and has precipitous sides about
twenty-five feet in height. The ruins in question are found partly in
the bottoms and partly on the upper and more sterile plateau. The walls
were made of adobe, and in consequence of their long exposure to the
elements are very far gone in ruins; so much so that Mr. Bartlett was
unable to make out the plan. But enough was seen to show that this was
a pueblo much like the structure already described. They properly belong
to the Arizona group of ruins.

We are told they face the cardinal points, and consist of fallen and
erect walls. The portions still standing are from fifty to sixty feet
high, or rather were that height in 1851. It is doubtful whether any
thing more than a mound of adobe mud now marks the spot. The walls were
highest in the center of the mass. At the distance of a few miles was a
hill said to be fortified. But the descriptions of it are conflicting.
Some represent it as crowned with a stone-built fortress two or three
stories high. Others more reasonable, represent it as the site of a
watch-tower, or sentry station, and that at regular intervals on the
slope of the hill are lines of stone, with heaps of loose stones at
their extremities.<23> Probably the same fate overtook the tribes of
this valley as did the sedentary tribes of the North. They would not
willingly abandon a place so well suited to their needs. The presence of
an invading foe, cruel and vindictive, alone accounts for this group of
ruins.

In Sinaloa we have no very definite account of ruins. However, Mr.
Bandelier says, the existence of ancient villages in that section
is certain, and that from "Sinaloa there are ample evidences of a
continuous flow Southward."<24> There are no ruins worth mentioning in
any of the other States, excepting Zacatecas, where we find a ruin of
great interest. This is at Quemada, in the southern part of the State.
The name is taken from that of a farm in the near neighborhood. The
ruins are situated on the top of a hill, which is not only naturally
strong, but the approaches to it are fortified. The hill ascends from
the plain in a gentle slope for several hundred yards, it then rises
quite precipitously for about a hundred and fifty feet. The total height
of the hill above the plain is probably not far from eight hundred
feet.<25>

At all points where the approach to the top of the hill is not steep
enough to form a protection of itself, the brow is guarded by walls
of stone. This is especially true of the northern end of the hill. One
peculiar feature of this place is the traces of ancient roads, which can
still be clearly distinguished crossing each other at various angles
on the slope we have mentioned. They can be followed for miles, and
are described as being slightly raised and paved with rough stones. In
places on the slope, their sides are protected by embankments.

Considerable speculations have been indulged in as to the purposes for
which these roads were used. It has been suggested that they were the
streets of an ancient city which must once have existed on the plains;
and that the fortified hill, with the ruins on its summit, was the
citadel, the residence of their rulers, and the location of their
temples. But we think a more reasonable view is that all of the city
that ever stood in that neighborhood was on the hill summit, and that
these streets were for religious purposes, reminding us in this respect
of the graded ways and traces of paved streets sometimes met with in the
Mississippi Valley. In proof of this view, it is said that many of them,
after being followed for a long distance, are found to terminate in a
heap of stones, which are evidently the ruins of a regular pyramid.
In opposition to both of these views, it has been suggested that the
surrounding plain was low and marshy, and that the object of these
causeways was to secure a dry passage, which explanation is certainly
very reasonable.

Illustration of Quemada.----------

Of the top of the hill, it may be sufficient to state that it is of
irregular shape, half a mile in length from north to south, and of
varying width, but on an average one thousand feet wide. The approach
to the top of the hill was strongly guarded. Although buildings were
observed covering the whole top of the hill, yet they were in two
principal groups. This cut, though but one of many, will give us very
good ideas of all the ruins. It is seen to be an inclosure. It is on
a small scale. It was one hundred and fifty feet square. We notice
terraces on three sides. These terraces are three feet high by twelve
wide, and in the center of each side are steps by which to descend to
the square.<26> Each terrace is backed by a wall, portions of which are
seen in the engraving. These walls are twenty feet high by eight or nine
in thickness. The openings seen in the wall are not properly doors, as
they extend to the top of the wall.

This court, encompassed by terraces, is a peculiar feature. It is
different from any thing we know of, either north or south.<27> Courts,
surrounded by buildings located on terraces, are common enough, but
all accounts of these ruins say nothing of buildings. We remember the
inclosures that surrounded the houses clustered in groups on the Rio
Gila. We think this comes near to being a development of the same idea.
The low walls of the former inclosure are here quite pretentious pieces
of masonry. In some cases two or more of these inclosed courts are
joined by openings.

The opening in the wall on the right of the engraving leads into a
perfect inclosed square of two hundred feet. In one case a range of
pillars was noticed parallel with the walls, and distant twenty-three
feet. These are supposed to have supported the roof of the portico, and
houses of a rude description might have been ranged along under this
roof, which has since completely vanished. Back of this square, but not
very well shown on the drawing, rises a precipitous hill. A pyramid is
placed in the center of the side towards the hill. It is only nineteen
feet high,<28> but is divided into five stages or stories.<29>

This pyramid will serve as an example of numerous other pyramids
scattered over the summit of the hill. They are made of stone. The
largest one, whose dimensions are given, is fifty feet square, and
the same in height. In front of the pyramid, and in the center of the
square, are the remains of an altar. In view of the altar and pyramid,
within the inclosed square, we may suppose this to have been dedicated
to their religion. As if to confirm this belief, is the statement that
on the hill to the back of the pyramid are numerous tiers of seats,
either broken in the rock or built of rough stone. The people seated on
them would be conveniently located as regards both sight and hearing of
what transpired there.

From an Indian's point of view, this hill was very strongly fortified.
It would be almost impossible for an enemy to capture the settlement on
its summit. The surrounding country was probably fertile, and a large
body of Indians could have lodged within the fortified inclosures. It
has some peculiar features, which have been pointed out. There is now no
water on the hill, but traces of what is supposed to be an aqueduct are
observed, as well as several tanks, and at one place a well. There is
not an appearance of great antiquity about these ruins, and yet native
traditions are silent in regard to them, and but one of the early
writers refers to them, and he had not seen them.<30>

West of the central basin the remains are more numerous than to the
north, but they are not very striking, and it is scarcely worth our
while to stop and examine them. About sixty miles in a south-easterly
direction from Mexico is the modern town of Cholula. This has grown at
the expense of the ancient city of Cholula, grouped around the famous
pyramid of that name. This was the Mexican "Tower of Babel." The
traditions in regard to it smack so strongly of outside influence that
but little reliance can be placed on them. They are evidently a mixture
of native traditions and Biblical stories. Like Teotihuacan and Tulla,
this is regarded as a relic of Toltec times. This is but another way of
saying that it is older in time than the majority of ruins.

At the time of Cortez's march to Mexico Cholula was a very important
place. In his dispatches he says: "The great city of Cholula is situated
in a plain, and his twenty thousand householders in the body of the
city, besides as many more in the suburbs." He further states that he
himself counted the towers of more than four hundred "idol temples."<31>

We must remember that this is a Spanish account, and therefore
exaggerated. Still, after making due allowance for the same, it would
remain an important aboriginal settlement. We have no reliable data of
the population at the time of the conquest. From documentary evidence
Mr. Bandelier has shown that while Cholula was certainly a populous
Indian pueblo, it is a misnomer to call it a city. It was a group of six
distinct clusters, gathered around a common market. He estimates that
its population may possibly have been thirty thousand.<32> All explorers
have mentioned the fertility of the plain in the midst of which this
monument is found.

But this plain is almost destitute of easily defended positions; which
fact has an important bearing on the purpose for which the great mound
was erected. At a distance it presents all the appearance of a natural
hill. The casual observer would not believe it was entirely the work of
men. "In close proximity," says Mr. Bandelier, "the mound presents the
appearance of an oblong conical hill, resting on projecting platforms of
unequal length. Overgrown as it is with verdure and partly by trees, and
with a fine paved road leading to the summit, it looks strikingly like
a natural hill, along whose slopes the washing of the rains and slides
have laid bare bold bluffs, and into whose bulk clefts and rents have
occasionally penetrated."

Illustration of Pyramid of Cholula.------------

This celebrated mound or pyramid has lately been the subject of a very
careful study by Mr. Bandelier. The illustration we present gives us
a very good idea of the present appearance of the mound. The mass is
probably solid throughout, and if there is a natural hill in its center,
it must be a very small one. The height of the central higher mass is
very nearly two hundred feet.<33> The present appearance of the summit
is entirely due to the Spaniards. At the time of the conquest the summit
was convex; the friars had it leveled in order to plant a cross. The
area of this upper platform is not far from two-thirds of an acre. It is
now paved and surrounded by a wall.

In the illustration we detect the appearance of terraces. These are
level areas, not all of the same height; neither do they extend entirely
around the mound. In fact, the present appearance indicates three
projections, or aprons, surrounding and supporting a conical hill, and
separated from each other by wide depressions. This central mound, with
its three projections, rests upon a very extensive platform, which was
probably cross-shaped. This platform seems to have been about twelve
feet high, and covered an area of at least sixty acres.

The object for which this great pile was erected is a topic that has
exercised the thoughts of many scholars. Some have supposed it was a
burial mound. Some years ago, while in constructing a road from Pueblo
to Mexico, the first terrace or story was slightly dug into, and
disclosed a chamber, which contained two skeletons, two idols, and a
collection of pottery. Yet, before deciding it to be a burial mound, it
will be necessary to show the presence of tombs near the center.

We have referred to the results of Mr. Bandelier's explorations. He made
a very thorough study of this great pyramid--more complete than any
that had hitherto been made--and his results should have corresponding
weight. He finds that the materials of which the adobe brick is composed
are exactly the same as that of the surrounding plain. This does away
with one old tradition, that the bricks were manufactured at a distance,
and brought several leagues to their destination by a long line of men,
who handed them along singly from one to another.

From the manner in which the bricks are laid, and from their variation
in size, he concludes that the structure was not all erected at one
time, but that the mound is the accumulation of successive periods of
labor. From this it follows that it was built to serve some purpose
of public utility, and not as a token of respect for some individual.
Wherever found, these great works show the same evidence of not being
all completed at once. This was true of the North; we shall also find it
true of the South. Charney noticed the same thing in the house at Tulla.
Nothing is more natural than that an Indian community would increase
their buildings as the tribe increased.

Mr. Bandelier's final conclusion in regard to the purpose of its
erection is one of great interest, but not at all surprising. "If we
imagine the plateaus and aprons around it covered with houses, possibly
of large size, like those of Uxmal and Palenque,<34> or on a scale
intermediate between them and the communal dwellings of Pecos and many
other places in New Mexico,<35> we have then, on the mound of Cholula,
as it originally was, room for a large aboriginal population. The
structure, accordingly, presents itself as the base of an artificially
elevated, and therefore, according to Indian military art, a fortified,
pueblo."

But this does not remove from it the air of mystery. Long-fallen indeed
are the communal walls. It was not simply a few years ago that these
pueblo-crowned terraces were reared. The date of its erection is hid in
the dim traditions of the past. The traditions of the Nahua tribes,
who came at a far later date, speak of it as even then standing on the
plain. Scattered over the plain are other ruins of a somewhat different
nature from the general ruins in the valley. These may be the ruins
of works erected by the same class of people as built the mounds.
Especially is this thought to be true of ruins found on the slopes of
neighboring volcanoes.

To the south-west of Cholula are the ruins of Xochicalco, which, by
some, are pronounced to be the finest in Mexico. There are many points
of resemblance between this ruin and Tezcocingo. The meaning of the word
is "Hill of Flowers." The hill is a very regular, conical one, with a
base nearly three miles in circumference, and rises to a height above
the plain of nearly four hundred feet.<36> The hill is considered to be
entirely a natural formation; but it probably owes some of its regular
appearance to the work of man. Around the base of the hill had been dug
a wide and deep ditch. When Mr. Taylor visited the place, the side
of this moat had fallen in, in many places, and in some quite filled
up--but it was still distinctly visible.<37> The whole surface of this
hill was laid off into terraces.

Five of these terraces, paved with blocks of stone laid in mortar, and
supported by perpendicular walls of the same material, extend, in oval
form, entirely around the whole circumference of the hill, one above the
other. From the accumulation of rubbish, these terraces are not easy to
detect in all places. Probably, at one time, there was some easy means
of access from one terrace to the other, but they have disappeared--so
that now the explorer has to scramble up intervening slopes of the
terraces as best he can. It is probable that defensive works once
protected these slopes.

Mr. Mayer says: "At regular intervals, as if to buttress these
terraces, there are remains of bulwarks shaped like the bastions of a
fortification."<38> "Defense seems to have been the one object aimed
at by the builders." The top of the hill is leveled off. Some writers
represent that a wall of stone was run along the edge of the summit but
others think that the whole top of the hill had been excavated, so as
to form a sunken area, leaving a parapet along the edge. This
summit-platform measured two hundred and eighty-five feet by three
hundred and twenty-eight feet. Within this area were found several
mounds and heaps of stones. The probabilities are that it was once
thickly covered with ruins. In the center of this sunken area are the
remains of the lower story of a pyramid, which the inhabitants in the
vicinity affirm to have been once five stories high.

To judge from the ruins still standing, this must have formed one of the
most magnificent works of aboriginal skill with which we are acquainted.
This cut gives a general idea of the ruins from the west. We presume
the broken appearance presented by this side is in consequence of the
removal of stones by planters in the vicinity for their own use. It
seems they have used this monument as a stone-quarry. This pyramid,
or the first story of it, was nearly square--its dimensions being
sixty-four feet by fifty-eight.

Illustration of Xochicalco.-----------

The next cut is an enlarged drawing of the north-west corner seen in the
first drawing. Notice the grotesque ornamentations on it. The ornaments
are not stucco-work, but are sculptured in bas-relief. As one figure
sometimes covers parts of two stones, it is plain they must have been
sculptured after being put in position. The height of this front is
nearly fifteen feet. In the left-hand corner of this sculpture will be
perceived the bead of a monstrous beast with open jaws and protruding
tongue. This figure is constantly repeated in various parts of the
facade. Some have supposed it to be a crocodile. The rabbit is another
figure that constantly reappears in portions of the wall.

Illustration of Enlarged View of Ruins at Xochicalco.----

We can scarcely realize the labor involved in the construction of this
pyramid and the terraced slope. Some idea may be formed of the immense
labor with which this building was constructed from measurements made of
several of the masses of porphyry that compose it. One stone was nearly
eight feet long by three broad. The one with the rabbit on is five feet
by two and a half. When it is recollected that these materials were not
found in the neighborhood, but were brought from a great distance, and
borne up a hill more than three hundred feet high, we can not fail to
be struck with the industry, toil, and ingenuity of the builders,
especially as the use of beasts of burden was, at the time, unknown in
Mexico. Nor was this edifice, on the summit, the only portion of the
architect's labor. Huge rocks were brought to form the walls supporting
the terraces that surrounded the hill, a league in circumference,
and the whole of that immense mass was eased in stone. Beyond these
terraces, again, there was still another immense task in the ditch, of
even greater extent, which had to be dug and regularly embanked.<39>

Now, what was the object of all this labor? This must have been the
center of a large settlement. It seems that the surrounding hills--or,
at least, some of them--were also terraced. Mr. Taylor says: "On the
neighboring hills we could discern traces of more terraced roads of
the same kind. There must be many miles of them still remaining." In
a Mexican book we are told "adjoining this hill is another higher
one, also covered with terraces of stone-work in the form of steps. A
causeway of large marble flags led to the top, where there are still
some excavations, and among them a mound of large size." Mr. Latrobe,
from the top of the "Hill of Flowers," saw that it was the center
towards which converged several roads, which could be traced over the
plain. The road he examined was "about eight feet in breadth, composed
of large stones tightly wedged together." It is extremely probable that
in Xochicalco we have another instance of a strongly fortified hill, on
the top of which was their pueblo, arranged around their teocalli, or
temple.<40>

In our description of this ruin we must not forget to mention some
curious underground chambers, excavated in the hill itself. On the
northern slope, near the foot, is the entrance to two galleries, one of
which terminated at the distance of eighty feet. The second gallery
is cut in solid limestone, about nine feet square, and has several
branches. The floors are paved with brick-shaped blocks of stone. The
walls are also, in many places, supported by masonry, and both pavement,
walls, and ceilings are covered with lime-cement, which retains its
polish, and shows traces, in some parts, of having had originally a
coating of red ocher. The principal gallery, after a few turns, finally
terminated, or appeared to, in a large room eighty feet long, in which
two pillars were left to support the roof. In one corner of this room
there was a dome-shaped excavation in the roof, from the apex of which a
round hole about ten inches in diameter extended vertically upwards.

The natives say there are still other excavations. We have seen no good
explanation of the uses of these excavations. The labor in constructing
them must have been very great. In the province of Oaxaca we shall find
several groups of ruins. In all probability those known and described
are not more numerous than those unknown. The class of ruins represented
by Quemada, Tezcocingo, and Xochicalco (that is, a hill strongly
fortified, with traces of a settlement on the summit, mounds,
foundations of communal houses, and pyramidal structures) are also to
be found here. At Quiotepec we have very meager accounts of such a ruin.
The hill is over two miles in circumference and a thousand feet high.
A running stream has rendered one side of the hill very steep and
precipitous, but the other sides are terraced.

One of the terrace-walls at the summit is about three hundred and twenty
feet long, sixty feet high, and five and a half feet thick.<41> On the
summit of the hill are found great numbers of mounds, foundations of
small buildings, as well as ruins of statelier buildings, called by some
palaces, but which were probably regular communal structures; also the
pyramid base of a temple. At different points near the summit of the
hill are three tanks or reservoirs, one of which is sixty feet long,
twenty-four feet wide, and six feet deep, with traces of steps leading
down into it.

Still further south, near the center of the state at Monte Alban, is a
more extensive group of ruins on the same general plan as the one just
described. In this case, from the banks of a stream, there rises a range
of high hills with precipitous sides. At their summit is an irregular
plateau half a mile long by nearly a quarter of a mile wide. M. Charney
states that a portion of this plateau is artificial. He represents
the whole surface as literally covered with blocks of stone--some
sculptured--the ruined foundations of buildings, terraces, and so forth.
He regards it as one of the most precious remains of aboriginal work,
and this is the view of Mr. Bandelier also. It is to be regretted that
we have not more details of such interesting ruins. We, however, would
learn but little new from them. One ruin is spoken of as an immense
square court, inclosed by four long mounds, having a slight space
between them at the ends. It is extremely probable that these mounds
once supported buildings.

The most celebrated ruin in Oaxaca is Mitla. These are the first
ruins we have met that, by their strange architecture and peculiar
ornamentation, suggest some different race as their builders. The
present surroundings are of the gloomiest character. The country is
barren and desert. The valley in which the ruins are located is high and
narrow, but surrounded by bleak hills. The soil is dry and sandy, and
almost devoid of vegetation. The cold winds, blowing almost constantly,
sweep before them great clouds of sand. A small stream flows through
this dreary waste, which, during the rainy season, is a raging torrent.
"No birds sing, or flowers bloom," around these old ruins. Appropriately
enough, tradition speaks of this as the "Place of Sadness," or "Dwelling
of the Dead." As to the extent of territory covered by the ruins, we
have not been able to learn further than the general statement that at
the time of the conquest they covered an immense area.<42>

Illustration of Wall at Mitla.-----------------

Mr. Bandelier found, besides two artificial hills, traces of thirty-nine
distinct edifices, and, as he thinks these are all the buildings that
ever stood there, it is manifest that this was not a city in our sense
of the word. Two or three of the buildings were constructed of adobe,
plastered, and painted red. The others were built of stone. Of these
latter the greater part stands upon the ground, but a few are built upon
elevated terraces, composed of stone and earth heaped together and
faced with stone. In one group of four buildings the terraced foundation
contained a basement--in one case, at least--in the form of a cross. The
purpose of this cellar or basement left in the artificial foundation is
unknown. Some think they were used for burial purposes but it is more
likely they were general store-rooms. The arrangement of these buildings
was the same as elsewhere. That is, so placed as to inclose a court.
This illustration shows us the method of constructing the walls of
the building. We notice two distinct parts. The inner part is built of
broken stones laid in tolerably regular courses in clay. There was
no mortar used. This inner core is much the same sort of work as the
masonry in the pueblos of Arizona. A facing was put on over this inner
core, which served both for ornament and for strength. This illustration
is a corner of one of these buildings, and gives us in excellent idea
of the peculiar ornamentation employed at Mitla. Mr. Bancroft gives us a
clear idea of how this facing was put on: "First, a double tier of very
large blocks are placed as a base along the surface of the supporting
mound, projecting two or three feet from the line of the wall, the
stones of the upper tier sloping inward. On this base is erected a kind
of framework of large, hewn blocks with perfectly plain, unsculptured
fronts, which divide the surface of the wall into oblong panels of
different dimensions."<43>

Illustration of Ornamentation at Mitla.------------

It would, then, seem as if the panels were thickly coated with clay.
Into this clay was then driven small, smoothed blocks of wedge-shaped
stones, in such a way as to cover them with geometrical ornamentations,
which, though not absolutely symmetrical, present a striking and
agreeable appearance. Each section of the wall presents a different
pattern, but this difference is so slight that the general effect is
harmonious.<44> This mosaic ornamentation is found in some of the inner
facings of the walls as well. In general, however, the walls on the
inside were covered with mortar and painted.

Illustration of Hall at Mitla.-------

Some of the blocks of stone forming the basement, the framework of the
panels, and the lintels of the door are of great size, and the lintels
were in some cases sculptured. One of the largest rooms at Mitla is
represented in the preceding cut. The peculiar feature about it is the
range of columns seen in the drawing. The inner plastering has fallen,
exposing the rough wall. The columns are simple stone pillars, having
neither chapter nor base. It is generally supposed that these pillars
supported the roof. As in the pueblo buildings to the north, as well as
the Toltec house at Tulla, the roof was probably formed of the trunks of
small-sized trees laid close together and covered with clay and cement.

We have as yet not seen any thing in these ruins sufficiently striking
to justify the somewhat extravagant assertion made about them. The
ornamentation is indeed peculiar and tasteful, but aside from that, we
see no reason to speak of them as magnificent structures. The buildings
are low and narrow; the rooms are small, dark, and illy ventilated.
"Light could only have been admitted from one side, and the apertures
for this purpose were neither lofty nor broad." Mr. Bandelier fittingly
characterizes the ruins as the "barbaric effort of a barbarous people."
Those scholars who think we have in Mexico the ruins of a highly
civilized, powerful empire, regard these ruins as in some way set aside
for mourning purposes of the royal family. "According to tradition,"
says Mayer, "They were... intended as the places of sepulture for their
princes. At the death of members of the royal family, their bodies were
entombed in the vaults beneath; and the sovereign and his relatives
retired to mourn over the departed scion in the chambers above these
solemn abodes, screened by dark and silent groves from the public eye."
Another tradition devotes the edifices to a sect of priests, whose duty
it was to live in perfect seclusion, and offer expiatory sacrifices for
the royal dead who reposed in the vaults beneath.<45>

With all due respect to traditions, we think a much more reasonable
explanation can be given. One reason why Mitla has been regarded as such
an important place, is because it has been assumed that there were
no other ruins like it, especially in Mexico. This, according to Mr.
Bandelier, is a mistake. He examined one or two quite similar ruins in
the near vicinity, and at another place he found a group of ruins in
every way worthy of being compared to Mitla, but he was not able to
examine them. So we must either decide there were a number of these
"Sepulchral Palaces," or else adopt some simpler explanation. But still
stronger is the fact, that at the time of the conquest, Mitla was an
inhabited pueblo. We have the account of a monk who visited it in 1533.
He mentions in particular the ornamentation of the walls, the huge
doorways, and the hall with the pillars. It is extremely probable that
if it was devoted to any such purpose, some mention would have been
made of it. We think Mr. Bandelier is right when he concludes that these
structures are communal buildings, but little different from others.

As for the other ruins in Oaxaca, we will not stop longer to examine
them. At Guingola, in the southern part of the State, was found a
ruined settlement. The principal ruins were located on the summit of
a fortified hill, which, from a brief description, must have been much
like those we have already described.

We will now turn our attention to the Gulf-coast. The whole coast region
abounds in great numbers of ruins. It is in this section, however, that
tribes of people belonging to a different family than the Nahua tribes,
were living at no very distant time in the past. So it is not doubted
but that many of these ruined structures, perhaps the majority of them,
were the works of their hand. When Cortez landed on the coast, in the
neighborhood of Vera Cruz, he was received by the Totonacas. These
were a Nahua tribe, but both to the north and south of them were Maya
tribes.<46> We will, however, describe the ruins in the present State of
Vera Cruz under one head.

We notice, on the coast, the Gulf of Tampico, into which pours the river
Panuco. From an antiquarian point of view, this is a most interesting
locality. It was here that a feeble remnant of De Soto's disastrous
expedition found a refuge in 1543. And it was here that, at a far
earlier period, according to the dim, uncertain light of tradition, the
ancestors of some of the civilized nations of Mexico made their first
appearance; of this, more hereafter. Certain it is that, commencing at
this river, we find ourselves in a land of ruins.

It is to be regretted, however, that our information is not definite
in regard to them. We are told, in general terms, of a great field of
ruins, but in the absence of cuts, can scarcely give a clear description
of them. On the northern bank of the Panuco, Mr. Norman found at one
place the ground "strewn with hewn blocks of stone and fragments of
pottery and obsidian."<47> They were found over an area of several
square miles. Many of the blocks of stone were ornamented with
sculpture. They imply the presence, in former times, of some kind of
buildings. We can not form an opinion as to the number, style, etc. Mr.
Norman regards them as the ruins of a great city, the site of which is
now covered with a heavy forest.

Amongst these ruins are about twenty mounds, both circular and square,
from six to twenty-five feet in height. Some authorities think that the
Mound Builders went by water from near the mouth of the Mississippi to
this region. To such as place any real reliance on this theory, these
mounds are full of interest. But some details of construction would seem
to indicate a different people as their builders than those who reared
mounds in the Gulf States of the Mississippi Valley. The main body of
the mound is earth, but they are faced with hewn blocks of sandstone,
eighteen inches square and six inches thick. Although one of the mounds
is quite large, covering two acres, yet in but one instance was a
terraced arrangement noticed. As a general thing, the facing of stone
had fallen to the ground, and some of the smaller mounds had caved in;
showing, perhaps, that they were used as burial mounds. In other cases
the mounds had entirely disappeared, leaving the stone facing on the
surface. This may account for some of the stones scattered over the
surface. A few miles away there is another group of circular mounds.

Across the river in Vera Cruz, from very slight mention, we gather that,
substantially, the same kind of ruins occur. At Chacuaco the ruins are
said to cover three square leagues--but we have no further account of
them than that. Small relics of aboriginal art are said to be common,
and mention is made of mounds. The antiquities of Vera Cruz are a topic
about which it is very difficult to form correct ideas. It will be
noticed that it presents a long stretch of country to the Gulf. The land
near the coast is low, and very unhealthy. About thirty miles from the
coast we strike the slope of the mountains bounding the great interior
plateau. This section is fertile and healthy, and was, evidently,
thickly settled in early times. We must remember that it is always in
a mountainous section of country that a people make their last stand
against an invading foe. It was in these mountain chains where the Maya
tribes made their last stand against the invading Nahua tribes, and even
this line was pierced through by the Tonacas.

It is not strange, then, to find abundant evidence of former occupation
in all this section of country. One thing in its favor was the number
of easily defended positions. The country is cut up by deep ravines.
The early inhabitants used all the land that was at all available for
agricultural purposes. On steep slopes they ran terraces to prevent the
soil from washing. In the smaller ravines they located great numbers
of water-tanks, from which, in the dry season, they procured water to
irrigate their land. Of this section, we are told, "there is hardly a
foot of ground in the whole State of Vera Cruz in which, by excavation,
either a broken obsidian knife, or a broken piece of pottery, is not
found. The whole country is intersected with parallel lines of stones,
which were intended, during the heavy showers of the rainy season, to
keep the earth from washing away. The number of these lines of stones
shows clearly that even the poorest land, which nobody in our day would
cultivate, was put under requisition by them."<48>

Illustration of Papantla.----------------

They no less conclusively show that a considerable body of people had
here been pressed by foreign invasion into a small, contracted space. It
is useless to attempt a more particular description of these ruins.
In the absence of cuts, the description would only prove tiresome.
Pyramids, both with and without buildings on their summits, are
comparatively frequent. As they would be noticed where other ruins
would be overlooked, we have some cuts of the more remarkable ones. The
preceding cut is the pyramid at Papantla.

The base is ninety feet square, and the pyramid has seven stories, as
seen in the engraving. Only the last one contains apartments; with this
exception, the pyramid is solid. Stairways in front lead up to the top.
Mr. Mayer says "there is no doubt, from the mass of ruins spread over
the plain, that the city was more than a mile and a half in circuit."
But we have no further description of them. Other localities with
pyramids and ruins are known. At Tusapan occurs this ruin, which may be
taken as a type of all the pyramids in this region. This was the only
building remaining standing at Tusapan; but, from the ruins lying about,
this is not supposed to have been the grandest structure there.

Illustration of Tusapan.---------------

This will complete what we have to say of the ruins in territory
occupied by the Nahua tribes. Other remains of their handiwork we will
examine when we treat of their customs and manners. We will now turn our
attention to the ruins in the territory of the Mayas. As the culture of
these two people is so similar, we will devote but one chapter to the
two. Comparison is the great means we have of fixing in the mind points
we wish to keep. We have to admit that the treatment of the Nahua
ruins is not very satisfactory; but it is difficult to obtain accurate
information in regard to them. We think what resemblance can be
traced, is more in the direction of the Pueblo tribes than of the Mound
Builders. The first ruin found in Mexico, Casa Grandes, in Chihuahua, is
evidently but another station of Pueblo tribes.

The fortified hill at Quemada is apparently but a further development
of the clustering houses with the little inclosures noticed on the Gila.
Mounds are, indeed, mentioned in a number of localities, but they
seem to be more nearly related to the terraced foundation of buildings
observed in Arizona than to the mounds of the Mississippi Valley.
Surely as striking a ruin as any is at Mitla, but Mr. Bandelier does not
hesitate to compare it with some in the Pueblo country. Now, it is very
unsafe and very unsatisfactory to trace resemblances of this kind, and
we do not assign any especial value to them. But it only shows that, so
far as this method is of use, it points to a closer connection with the
Pueblo tribes than with the Mound Builders.

REFERENCES

(1) Gregory's "History of Mexico," p. 19.
(2) Bancroft's "Native Races," Vol. II, p. 92.
(3) The _Tierra Caliente._
(4) Ober's "Mexican Resources," p. 2.
(5) "Mexico As It Was," p. 221.
(6) "Six Months in Mexico," p. 386.
(7) Mayer: "Mexico As It Was," p. 234.
(8) Thompson's "Mexico," p. 144.
(9) Bancroft: "Native Races," Vol. IV, p. 526.
(10) "Rambles in Mexico," p. 140.
(11) "Gratacap, in _American Antiquarian,_ October, 1883,
p. 310.
(12) "Native Races," Vol. II, pp. 168-173.
(13) As to this hill, Mr. Bandelier remarks: "As a salient and
striking object, and on account of the freshwater springs,
Chapultepec was worshiped, but I find no trace among older
authors of any settlement there--still less of a Summer palace--
at the time of the conquest." "Report of an Archaeological Tour
in Mexico," p. 73.
(14) Charney in _North American Review,_ September, 1880,
p. 190.
(15) "Recollections of Mexico," p. 140.
(16) We have several times remarked that it is not safe to judge
prehistoric population by the amount of ruins. "Indians never
rebuild on ruins or repair them."
(17) Bancroft: "Native Races," Vol. IV., p. 537.
(18) Bancroft: "Native Races," Vol. IV, p. 547.
(19) The ceilings in the pueblos of Arizona were often made of
poles covered with cement. See Chapter XI.
(20) Bancroft's "Native Races," Vol. IV, p. 550.
(21) Bandelier: "Fifth Annual Report Arch. Inst.," p. 86.
(22) Bancroft's "Native Faces," Vol. IV, p. 610.
(23) Bancroft's "Native Races," Vol. IV, p. 613.
(24) "Fifth Annual Report," p. 86.
(25) Bancroft's "Native Races," Vol. IV, p. 581. These
dimensions are different in different accounts, as may be seen
by consulting Mr. Bancroft's work.
(26) _Lyons's Journal._ From Mayer's "Mexico As It Was,"
p. 243.
(27) There is something of a similarity between these ruins and
those of the coast tribes of Peru.
(28) Another authority states that it is thirty feet square and
thirty feet high. Bancroft: "Native Races," Vol. IV, p. 587,
note.
(29) As seen in the Drawing. Mr. Lyons states there are seven
stories.
(30) This was Clavigaro. Mayer's "Mexico As It Was," p. 245.
(31) Thompson's "Recollections of Mexico," p. 29.
(32) "An Archaeological Tour in Mexico," p. 163.
(33) The altitude varies according to the side where the
measurement is taken. The average height is about one hundred
and seventy feet.
(34) To be described hereafter.
(35) See Chapter XI.
(36) Different explorers give different figures.
(37) Taylor's "Anahuac," p. 184.
(38) "Mexico As It Was," p. 180.
(39) Mayer: "Mexico As It Was," p. 184.
(40) This is in strict keeping with what we have seen to be true
of their pueblo sites. This is the conclusion of Mr. Bandelier,
who discusses this subject in his essay on "Art of War Among the
Mexicans." Peabody Museum Reports, Vol. II, p. 146, note 186.
(41) Bancroft: "Native Races," Vol. IV, p. 419.
(42) Bancroft's "Native Races," 393, note.
(43) Bancroft's "Native Races," Vol. IV, p. 395.
(44) Bandelier: "An Archaeological Tour in Mexico," p. 295.
(45) Mayer: "Mexico As It Was," pp. 251-2.
(46) Valentine, in "Proceedings Am. Antiq. Soc.," Oct., 1882.
(47) Bancroft's "Native Races," Vol. IV, p. 595.
(48) "Smithsonian Report," 1873, p. 373.

Chapter XIV.

THE MAYA TRIBES.

The geographical location of the Maya tribes--Description
of Copan--Statue at Copan--Altars at Copan--Ruins at Quiriga
Patinamit--Utatlan--Description of Palenque--The Palace at Palenque--The
Temple of the Three Inscriptions--Temple of the Beau-relief--Temple of
the Cross--Temple of the Sun--Maler's Temple of the Cross--Significance
of the Palenque crosses--Statue at Palenque--Other ruins in Tobasco
and Chiapas--Ruins in Yucatan--Uxmal--The Governor's House--The
Nunnery--Room in Nunnery--The sculptured facades--Temple at
Uxmal--Kabah--Zayi--Labna--Labphak--Chichen-Itza--The Nunnery--The
Castillo--The Gymnasium--M. Le Plongon's researches--The tradition of
the Three Brothers--Chaac-mol--Antiquity of Chichen.

In the Central American region of the Western Continent are found
the ruins of what are pronounced by all scholars to be the highest
civilization, and the most ancient in time, of any in the New World.
There it arose, flourished, and tottered to its fall. Its glory had
departed, its cities were a desolation, before the coming of the
Spaniards. The explorer who would visit them finds himself confronted
with very great difficulties. Their location is in a section of the
country away from the beaten track of travel. Their sites are overspread
with the luxuriant vegetation of tropical lands, through which the
Indian's machete must carve a passage. The states in which they are
situated are notorious for anarchy and misrule, and the climate is such
that it is dangerous for those not acclimated to venture thither
during a large part of the year. So it is not strange that but few have
wandered among these ruins, and described them to the world at large.

Illustration of Map of Central America.-----------

But the accounts thus presented are interesting in the extreme, though
they have raised many questions that have thus far defied solution.
There is no doubt but what there exist large groups of ruins not yet
described, structures and monuments which might, perhaps, throw some
light on a past that now seems hopelessly lost. But the ruins thus far
described are so numerous, their similarity is so evident, that we feel
we have but little to hope from such undiscovered ruins. There are,
doubtless, richly ornamented facades, grotesquely sculptured statues,
and hieroglyphic-covered altars, but they would prove as much of an
enigma as those already known. Our only hope is that some fortunate
scholar will yet discover a key by whose aid the hieroglyphics now
known may be read. Then, but not until then, will the darkness that now
enshrouds ancient Maya civilization be dissipated.

As will be seen from a glance at the map, the most important ruins are
in the modern states of Honduras, Guatemala, Chiapas, and especially
Yucatan, the northern portion of this peninsula being literally studded
with them. The river Usumacinta and its numerous tributaries flowing in
a northern direction through Chiapas is regarded as the original home
of the civilization whose ruins we are now to describe. From whence the
tribes came that first settled in this valley is as yet an unsettled
point. We notice that we have here another instance of the influence
that fertile river valleys exert upon tribes settling therein. The
stories told us of the civilization that flourished in primitive times
in the valleys of the Euphrates and the Nile are not more wonderful--the
ruins perhaps not more impressive--than are the traditions still extant,
or the material remains fallen in picturesque ruins, of the civilization
that once on a time held sway in the Usumacinta Valley.

One of the most famous groups of ruins in this section of the country is
that of Copan, situated in Honduras, but very near the Guatemala line.
This is commonly spoken of as "the oldest city in America,"<1> and
has some evidence to substantiate this claim. Whatever be its relative
antiquity, it is doubtless very old, as it was probably in ruins at
the time of the conquest. There are several facts going to prove this
assertion. When Cortez, in 1524, made his march to Honduras, he passed
within a few leagues of this place. He makes no mention of it, which he
would have been very apt to do had it been inhabited. Fifty years later
Garcia De Palacio made a report on these ruins to the king of Spain.
According to this report, it was then in much the same state as
described by modern travelers, and the same mystery surrounded it,
showing that it must have been in ruin much longer than the short space
of time from the conquest to the date of his report. But few travelers
have visited Copan, and fewer still have left a good description of it.
Mr. Stephens, accompanied by Mr. Catherwood, explored it in 1839, and
this constitutes our main source of information.<2>

We feel that here is the place to speak a word of caution. In common
with other writers, we have used the word cities, in speaking of the
ruins of Maya civilization. In view of the criticisms that have been
freely expressed by some of the best scholars of American ethnology, as
to the generally accepted view of the civilization of the Mexican and
Central American races, it is necessary to be on our guard as to the
language employed. In the case of Copan, for instance, all the remains
known, occur in an irregularly inclosed space of about nine hundred
by sixteen hundred feet, while but a portion of such inclosed space is
covered by the ruins themselves. Now it can, of course, be said that
this space contains simply the remains of public buildings, so to
speak--such as temples, palaces, and others--while the habitations of
the great body of the common people, poorly built, and located outside
of this area, may have vanished away. But, on the other hand, it may
also be that in this small area we have the ruins of all the buildings
that ever stood at Copan. In which case the word city is a misnomer;
pueblo would be more appropriate. But looking at them in the simplest
light, we shall find there is still a great deal to excite astonishment.
Fragments of the wall originally inclosing the area in which are
located the temple pyramids and statues, are still to be found. Very
few particulars have been given of this wall. It was made of blocks of
stone, and seems to have been twenty-five feet thick at the base, but
the height is not given. The northern half of this area is occupied by a
large terrace, somewhat irregular in outline, and impressed Mr. Stephens
with the idea that it had not all been erected at the same time, but
additions had been made from time to time. Instead of describing the
ruins in full, we will let the illustration speak for itself. The
dimensions of this terrace are, six hundred and twenty-four feet
by eight hundred and nine feet. The side fronting on the river was
perpendicular. The other three sides consist of ranges of steps and
pyramidal structures. All these steps and pyramidal sides were once
painted. The general height of the terrace was about seventy feet above
the surface of the ground.

Illustration of Ruins of Copan.---------------

Though Mr. Stephens warns us that this terrace was not as large as the
base of the Pyramid of Ghizeh, still it must have required an immense
amount of work, since careful computations show that over twenty-six
million cubic feet of stone were used in its construction. This stone
was brought from the quarries two miles away. We must not forget that
this work was performed by a people destitute of metallic tools.

On the terrace were the ruins of four pyramids, one rising to the height
of one hundred and twenty-two feet. The surface of the terrace was not
continuous. In two places there were court-yards, or sunken areas. The
larger is ninety by one hundred and forty-four feet, and has a narrow
passage-way leading into it from the north. Whatever buildings that once
stood on this terrace, have vanished away. At one place only, on the
terrace, fronting the river, are the remains of small, circular towers,
thought to have been watch towers. The whole terrace was thickly
overgrown by trees of a tropical growth. Mr Stephens noticed two immense
Ceiba trees growing from the very summit of one of the pyramids. This
structure has been called the Temple, and a great many surmises have
been made as to the scenes once enacted there. If analogous to other
structures in Central America, this terrace was surmounted with
buildings. They may have been temples or palaces, or they may have been
communal houses, not unlike those of New Mexico, to the north.

But of more importance than the ruins of this temple, are the statues
and altars peculiar to this region. Mr. Stephens found fourteen of them.
It seems very singular, indeed, to come upon these statues in the depth
of a Central American forest, and they give us an idea of the state of
advancement of these old tribes that nothing else does. They raise many
queries. Why is it that so many are found here--so few elsewhere? Are
they statues of noted personages, or idols? We are powerless to
answer these questions. These secrets will only be yielded up when the
hieroglyphics with which they are covered shall be read.

The places where these statues are found is seen to the right of the
main body of ruins. It will be seen that only one is within the terrace
area of the temple. Three others are situated near it, but the majority
are near the southern end of the inclosure. We are not given the
dimensions of all, but the smallest one given is eleven feet, eight
inches high, by three feet, four inches width and depth; the
largest, thirteen feet high, four feet wide, and three feet deep. No
inconsiderable part of the labor on the statues must have been that of
quarrying the large blocks of stone out of which they were carved, and
transporting them to the place where found. They came from the same
quarry as the other stones used in building; and so were transported
a distance of about two miles. Mr. Stephens found, about midway to the
quarry, a gigantic block, "which was probably on its way thither, to be
carved and set up as an ornament, when the labors of the workmen were
arrested."

Illustration of Copan Statue.----------------

There is such a similarity in all these statues that a representation
of one will suffice. This is the representation of one of the largest
statues. It is seen to be standing on a sort of pedestal. A face
occupies a central position on the front. Some of the faces have what
may be a representation of a beard. In all but one, the expression is
calm and peaceful. They were once painted red. Traces of color were
still visible at the time of Mr. Stephens's visit. In all but one the
hands are represented as placed back to back on the breast.

The complicated headdress and the ornaments on the robes utterly
defy description. The sides and back of the statues are covered with
hieroglyphics, though now and then a face is introduced. A side view
of another statue shows this feature. All are convinced that we have in
these hieroglyphics an explanation of each statue, but what it is, is
yet unknown. Mr. Stephens says: "Of the moral effect of the monuments
themselves, standing as they do, in the depths of a tropical forest,
silent and solemn, strange in design, excellent in sculpture, rich in
ornament, different from the works of any other people; their uses and
purposes--their whole history--so entirely unknown, with hieroglyphics
explaining all, but perfectly unintelligible, I shall not pretend to
convey any idea. Often the imagination was pained in gazing at them. The
tone which pervades the ruins is that of deep solemnity."

In front of most of the statues is what is called an altar, which would
seem to imply that these monuments are really idols. "The altars, like
the idols, are all of a single block of stone. In general, they are not
so richly ornamented, and are more faded and worn, or covered with moss.
Some were completely buried, and of others it was difficult to make out
more than the form. All differed in position, and doubtless had some
distinct and peculiar reference to the idols before which they stood."

Illustration of Statue, Copan.----------------

These altars are strongly suggestive of sacrificial scenes. The altar
before the idol found in the court-yard on the terrace of the temple,
is one of the most interesting objects found at Copan. It is six feet
square and four feet high. The top is divided into thirty-six tablets
of hieroglyphics which we may well imagine records some events in the
history of this mysterious people. Each side has carved on it four human
figures. They are generally all represented as facing the same way.
We give an illustration of the east side. Each individual is sitting
cross-legged on a hieroglyphic, and has a ponderous head-dress.

Illustration of Hieroglyphics, top of Altar.---------

Mr Stephens found the quadrangle at the south-east corner of the plan to
be thickly strewn with fragments of fine sculpture. Amongst the rest was
a "remarkable portrait." (Shown later.) "It is probably the portrait
of some king, chieftain, or sage. The mouth is injured, and part of the
ornament over the wreath that crowns the head. The expression is noble
and severe, and the whole character shows a close imitation of nature."
Colonel Gallindo, who visited Copan in 1835, discovered a vault very
near where the circular towers are located, on the terrace fronting the
river. This vault was five feet wide, ten feet long, and four feet high.
It was used for burial purposes. Over fifty vessels of red pottery,
containing human bones, were found in it.<3>

Illustration of Bas-relief, East Site of Altar.------------

In this hasty sketch we do not feel that we have done justice to Copan.
It is, however, all the space we can devote to this interesting ruin.
We call special attention to the hieroglyphics on the altar and the
statues. We will find other hieroglyphics at Palenque, and in Yucatan,
evidently derived from these.<4> They have been made the subject of very
interesting study, and we will refer to them again at another page.
We also notice especially the fact that we have no ruined buildings at
Copan. In this respect it stands almost alone among the Central American
ruins. The distinguishing features, however, are the carved obelisks.
They are evidently not the work of rude, people. Mr. Stephens, who was
every way qualified to judge, declares that some of them "are in every
way equal to the finest Egyptian workmanship, and that with the best
instruments of modern times, it would be impossible to cut stone more
perfectly."

Illustration of Portrait, Copan.-------------

A dark mystery hangs over these ruins. Their builders are unknown.
Whether we have here some temple sacred to the gods of the Maya pantheon
or some palace made resplendent for royal owners, who can tell? Whether
these are the ruins of the more substantial public buildings of a great
city, of which all other buildings have vanished--or whether this is
the remains of a prosperous pueblo, whose communal houses crowded the
terraces, with sacrificial altars on the lofty pyramids--who knows? At
long intervals a passing traveler visits them, ponders over their fast
disappearing ruins, and goes his way. The veil drops, the tropical
forest more securely environs them--and thus the years come and go over
the ruins of Copan.

Nearly north from Copan (see map), about half-way to the coast, on the
bank of the river Montagua, is found a small hamlet, by the name of
Quiriga. Mr. Stephens, when traveling in the country in 1840, after many
careful inquiries, heard of ruins near that place. Though not able to
explore them himself, his companion, Mr. Catherwood, did. The result
of this gentleman's exertion makes us acquainted with another group of
ruins, in many respects similar to those of Copan, though apparently
much farther gone in decay. His visit was a very hurried one; and he was
not able to clear the moss away from the statues so as to draw them as
it should be done.<5>

We must notice that, though called a city, all the monuments and
fragments thus far brought to light are scattered over a space of some
three thousand square feet. No plan has been given. We gather, however,
from Stephens's work, that a pyramidal wall inclosed the ruins, as at
Copan.<6> No dimensions of this wall are given. Within the inclosure (if
such it was) was a terrace. Here, again, dimensions are not given; but
we are told it was about twenty-five feet to the top, and that the steps
were, in some places, still perfect. It was constructed of neatly cut
sandstone blocks. No monuments or altars were observed on the terrace,
but in close proximity to it were fragments of sculpture. At another
place near the wall, Mr. Catherwood mentions eight standing statues,
one fallen one, and saw fragments of at least thirteen others. They are
represented as being very similar to those of Copan, but two or three
times as high. The hieroglyphics are pronounced identical with those
already described.

There are no traditions extant of these ruins. No thorough exploration
has been made. A city may have stood there; but, if so, its name is
lost, its history unknown. "For centuries it has lain as completely
buried as if covered with the lava of Vesuvius. Every traveler from
Yzabel to Guatemala has passed within three hours of it. We ourselves
have done the same; and yet there it lay, like the rock-built city of
Edom, unvisited, unsought, and utterly unknown."

A large extent of territory in Guatemala and Yucatan is as yet an
unknown country, or at least has never been thoroughly explored. Strange
stories have flitted here and there of wonders yet to be seen. The
country swarms with savages, living in much the same state as they were
when the Spaniards invaded the country. They have never been conquered,
and, in the rugged fastnesses of their land, bid defiance to all
attempts to civilize them. From all we can learn, there are numerous
groups of ruins scattered here and there--but of their nature we are, as
yet, mostly in the dark.

We have, indeed, historical notices of a few places; but, as the color
of an object is the same as that of the medium through which it is
viewed, we can not help thinking that the glamour of romance, which the
early Spanish writers threw around all their transactions in the New
World, has woefully distorted these sketches. This same effect is to be
noticed in all the descriptions of the ruins. Where one party sees the
ruins of imperial cities, another can detect but the ruins of imposing
pueblos, with their temples and pyramids. It can be truthfully stated,
that this is a land of ruins. Every few leagues, as far as it has been
explored, are the remains of structures that excite astonishment.

The meager reports given us raise our curiosity, but fail to satisfy it.
Almost all explorers relate stories of the existence of an aboriginal
city. The location of this city shifts from place to place; always,
however, in a section of country where no white men are allowed
to intrude. The Cure of Santa Cruz, in whom Mr. Stephens expressed
confidence, declared that he had, years before, climbed to the summit of
a lofty sierra, and then "he looked over an immense plain, extending to
Yucatan and the Gulf of Mexico, and saw, at a great distance, a large
city, spread over a great space, with turrets white and glittering
in the sun." We are afraid a search for this mythical city would be
attended with much the same results as rewards the child's pursuit of a
golden treasure at the end of the rainbow.

As a sample of known ruins, we might cite two in the immediate
neighborhood of Quirigua. At the distance of a few leagues, both above
and below this latter place, are the remains of former settlements. The
accounts are very brief. Of the ruins below, we are informed that they
consist of the remains of a quadrilateral pyramid, with traced sides,
up which steps lead to the summit platform, where _debris_ of hewn stone
are enveloped in dense vegetation." Of the ruins located above Quirigua,
we are simply told "of a large area covered with aboriginal relics--in
the form of ruined stone structures, vases and idols of burned clay, and
monoliths, buried for the most part in the earth."

These descriptions will serve as samples of many others, and, though
they are interesting in their way, we are afraid they would grow
tiresome by repetition. We will, therefore, only make mention of one or
two important points; premising, however, that, beyond a doubt,
similar ruins are scattered up and down the river valleys of the entire
country.<7>

Two cities of ancient Guatemala especially mentioned by Spanish writers
are Utatlan and Patinamit. Here, if we may believe their recitals, were
the capitals of two powerful monarchies. The pictures they draw for us
are those of cities of Oriental magnificence. The system of government
they describe is that of absolute monarchy, founded on feudalism. We
will briefly glance at the remains of these "imperial cities."
Their location is seen on the map. The approach to Patinamit is very
difficult, indeed. Situated on a high table-land, it commands an almost
boundless view. On every side are immense ravines, and the only way
of entering it was by a narrow passage cut in the side of the ravine,
twenty or thirty feet deep, and not wide enough for two horsemen to ride
abreast.

Mr. Stephens mentions coming to a wall of stone, but broken and
confused. The ground beyond was covered with mounds of ruins, and in
one place he saw the foundations of two buildings, one of them being one
hundred and fifty by fifty feet. He does not give us the area covered by
the ruins, but there is nothing in his description to make us think it
very large in extent. He also quotes for us Fuentes's description of
this same place, written, however, one hundred and forty years earlier.
In this he speaks of the remains of a magnificent building, perfectly
square, each side measuring one hundred paces, constructed of hewn
stones, extremely well put together. In front of the building is a large
square, on one side of which stand the ruins of a sumptuous palace; and
near to it are the foundations of several houses.<8> He also asserts
that traces of streets could still be seen, and that they were straight
and spacious, crossing each other at right angles. Fuentes certainly had
remarkable eyes. He wrote a description of Copan which not only differs
from all accounts of modern travelers, but also from the still earlier
description by Garcia De Palacio.<9>

Patinamit means "The City," and is represented as the capital city of
the Cakchiquel "monarchy." The site of the city was certainly admirably
chosen for defense, and we have no doubt but what here was the
head-quarters of a powerful tribe of Indians; but, until scholars have
settled some very disputed points about the civilization of the Central
American nations, we must be cautious in the use of the words monarchy
and palaces as applied to these old people or these ruins.

Thirty-five or forty miles north-eastward from Patinamit we come to
the ruins of the most renowned city in Guatemala at the time of the
conquest. This was Utatlan, the Quiche capital, a city which the
Spaniards compared to Mexico in magnificence, and which, at the time of
its destruction, was at its zenith of prosperity. The location was very
similar to that of Patinamit. It also stood on an elevated plateau, with
immense ravines on every side. It was approached only at one point, and
guarding this one point of approach was a line of fortifications. They
consisted of the remains of stone buildings, probably towers. The stones
were well cut and laid together. These fortifications were united by a
ditch.

Within this line of towers stood a structure, generally regarded as a
fort, directly guarding the line of approach. Steps led up a pyramidal
structure having three terraces, one over the other. The top was
protected by a wall of stone, and from the center rose a tower. Beyond
this fort was the ruins of the city. Mr. Stephens describes a large ruin
which is called The Palace. It is said, in round numbers, to have been
eleven hundred by twenty-two hundred feet. As this area is more than
fifty-five acres in extent, we can see it was not a palace in our sense
of the word. The stones of which it was composed have been largely
removed to build the modern town of Santa Cruz. But the floor could
still be traced, and some remains of partition walls. The floor was
still covered with hard cement.

Adjoining the palace was a large plaza or court-yard, also cemented, in
the center of which was the ruins of a fountain. Another structure
still remaining was a small pyramid, at the top of which was probably a
temple, or, at least, a place of sacrifice. No hieroglyphics or statues
have been found here. A few terra-cotta figures have been found, and
one small gold image. It would seem from this description that the ruins
simply consist of a few large structures. For aught we know, they may
have been communal houses.

Mr. Stephens, however, condenses Fuentes's account, which is truly
wonderful. According to him, the center of the city was occupied by the
royal palaces, around which were grouped the houses of the nobles. The
extremities were inhabited by the plebeians. He tells us there were
many sumptuous buildings, the most superb of which was a seminary, where
between five and six thousand children were educated at royal expense.
The palace was formed of hewn stones of various colors. There were six
principal divisions. In one was lodged the king's body-guard, in the
second the princes and the relatives of the king, and so forth.

It is not necessary to remind the reader that it is very doubtful
whether such a state of things ever existed. It is related, for
instance, that the king marched from Utatlan with seventy-two thousand
warriors to repel the attack of Alvarade. This would indicate a total
population of between two and three hundred thousand souls. It seems
to us that a city of that size would not so completely disappear in a
little over three centuries that a careful explorer could find only the
ruins of a few large buildings.

We do not feel that we have done near justice to the ruins of Guatemala.
As we have before remarked, there are, doubtless, many ruins not yet
brought to light. They are rapidly disappearing, and we do not know that
we will ever possess a description of them, or understand their real
import. The light of history, indeed, fell on the two groups of ruins
last described. But the Spanish writers were totally unacquainted with
Indian society, and may, therefore, have widely erred in applying to
their government terms suited only to European ideas of the sixteenth
century. And it is not doubted but that their estimate of the population
of the towns, and of the enemies with which they had to contend,
were often greatly overdrawn. In short, the remains themselves are
remarkable, but every ruined pyramid is not necessarily the remains of
a great very great city, nor every large building in ruins necessarily a
palace.

Going northward out of Guatemala, we pass into the modern state of
Chiapas. This is described a country of great natural beauty and
fertility. And here it is that we meet with a group of ruins which have
been an object of great interest to the scientific world. They have been
carefully studied and described, and many theories have been enunciated
as to their builders, their history, and civilization. The place is
supposed to have been deserted and in ruins when Cortez landed in the
country. At any rate, he marched within a few leagues of it, but, as in
the case of Copan, he is silent in regard to it.

They take their name from the modern town of Palenque, near which they
are located. This town was founded in 1564. It was once a place of
considerable importance, but its trade has died away, and now it would
not be known were it not for the ruins of a former people located near
it. Though distant from the village only some eight miles, nearly
two centuries went by before their existence was known. Had they been
visited and described at the time of the founding of the village, no
doubt much that is now mysterious in regard to them would have
been cleared away. But for two centuries they were allowed to sleep
undisturbed in the depths of the forest, and in that time the elements
played sad havoc with the buildings, inscriptions, and ornaments. What
are left are not sufficient to impart full information. Imagination is
too apt to supply the details, and these ruins, grand in proportion,
wonderful in location, enwrapt by dense forests, visited by the storms
of tropical lands, are made to do service in setting forth a picture of
society and times which we are afraid has but little real foundation to
rest upon.

The ruins of Palenque are the first which awakened attention to the
existence of ancient ruins in America, and, therefore, it may not
come amiss to state more particularly the circumstances of their first
discovery. The existence of an aboriginal city in this locality was
entirely unknown; there were no traditions even that it had ever
existed. Of course the natives of the modern town of Palenque must have
known of their existence, but no account of them was published. They are
said to have been discovered in 1750 by a party of traveling Spaniards.
This statement Mr. Stephens doubts. The first account was published in
1784. The Spanish authorities finally ordered an exploration. This was
made under the auspices of Captain Del Rio, who arrived on the ground in
1787. His report was locked up in the government archives, and was not
made public until 1822.

The reception of this report illustrates how little interest is taken in
American antiquities. It was scarcely noticed by the _Scientific World._
As Mr. Stephens remarks, "If a like discovery had been made in Italy,
Greece, Egypt, or Asia, within the reach of European travel, it would
have created an interest not inferior to the discovery of Herculaneum,
or Pompeii, or the ruins of Paestum." But, from some cause, so little
notice was taken of this report that in 1831 the explorations of Colonel
Galindo, whose works we have referred to at Copan, was spoken of as a
new discovery. In the meantime another government expedition under the
direction of Captain Dupaix explored these ruins in 1807. Owing to
the wars in Europe and the revolution in Mexico, his report was not
published until 1835. Mr. Stephens visited the ruins in 1840. His
account, profusely illustrated, was the means of making known to a
large class of readers the wonderful nature of the ruins, not only at
Palenque, but in Yucatan as well.

In this outline we have given an account of the early explorations at
Palenque. Private individuals have visited them, and governments have
organized exploring expeditions, and by both pencil and pen made us
familiar with them. As to the remains actually in existence, these
accounts agree fairly well, but we have some perplexing differences as
to the area covered by the ruins. Where the early explorers could trace
the ruins of a large city modern travelers can find but a few ruined
structures, which, however, excite our liveliest interest. One of the
earliest accounts speaks of the ruins of over two hundred buildings.
Another speaks of them as covering an area of many square miles. Mr.
Stephens thinks a few acres would suffice.

From the researches of M. Charney, it would seem that the ruins are
really scattered over quite an area. His exploration made in 1881, seems
to confirm the older writers. With abundant means at his command, he was
enabled to explore the forest, and he found many ruins which escaped the
other observers. According to him, the ruins are scattered over an area
extending about one mile and a quarter from north to south, and about
one and three-fourths from east to west. Throughout this space, the
ruined structures were in all respects similar to those previously
described, consisting altogether of what he calls palaces and
temples.<10>

There seems to be no especial order in the arrangement of the buildings.
They are separated by quite an interval, excepting to the south of the
palace, where there are groups of buildings near together. The fact that
such careful explorers as Stephens and Waldeck failed to notice these
additional ruins, gives us a faint idea of the density of the forest.

Illustration of Plan of Palenque.-------------------

The plan represents the distribution and relative size of the ruins of
which we have definite descriptions. Those having no numbers are some of
the groups that were passed by as of no account. We must understand that
so dense is the forest that not one of these structures is visible from
its neighbors. Where the trees are cut down, as they have been several
times, only a few years are necessary for it to regain its former
density, and each explorer must begin anew.

The largest structure, marked one on the plan, is known as the palace.
This is only a conjectural name. We have no reason, except its size, to
suppose it the residence of a royal owner. Its base is a pyramid which,
Mr. Stephens tells us, is of oblong form, forty feet high, three hundred
and ten feet in front and rear, and two hundred and sixty feet on each
side. The pyramid was formerly faced with stone, which has been thrown
down by the growth of trees, so that its form is hardly distinguishable.
The sides may once have been covered with cement, and perhaps painted.
Dupaix, who examined these ruins in 1808, so represents them. Mr.
Stephens expressly states that the eastern front was the principal
entrance. Mr. Waldeck, however, detected traces of stairways on the
northern side. M. Charney has settled the point, that the principal
entrance was on the northern side.

The principal bulk of this pyramid seems to have been earth; the facing
only being composed of stone. Mr. Bancroft thinks he has discovered
evidence that there were four or more thick foundation-walls built
from the surface of the ground to support the buildings on top of the
pyramid; that the space between these walls was subsequently filled with
earth, and that sloping embankments, faced with stones, were built
upon the outside.<11> The summit platform of this pyramid supports
the building, or collection of buildings, known as the palace. Though
generally spoken of as one building, we think we have here the ruins of
a number of buildings.

Probably the original inhabitants built a continuous structure close
to the edge of the platform, leaving the interior for an open court.
Subsequently, as population increased, rather than resort to the
labor necessary to raise a new pyramidal structure, they erected other
buildings on this court. From the plan, as given by Mr. Stephens, there
seems to have been no less than five such put up, besides the tower.
Thus covering the platform with a somewhat confused mass of buildings,
and, instead of the large open court, there were left only three
narrow courts, and one somewhat larger--seventy by eighty feet.<12> The
building erected near the edge of the platform, inclosing the court, was
some two hundred and twenty-eight feet on its east and west sides, by
one hundred and eighty feet on its north and south sides, and about
thirty feet high.

Illustration of General View of Palace.-----------

Our general view, taken from Mr. Stephens's works, represents the ruined
eastern front of this building, surmounting the pyramid. Trees are
seen growing all over the ruins. The outer wall is pierced by numerous
doorways which, being somewhat wider than the space that separates
them, gives to the whole the appearance of a portico with wide piers: no
remains of the doors themselves have been discovered. Drilled holes in
the projecting cornice, immediately above the doorway, gave Mr. Stephens
the impression that an immense cotton curtain, perhaps painted in a
style corresponding with the ornaments, had been extended the whole
front, which was raised or lowered, according to the weather. The
lintels of the doors were of wood. They had long since vanished, and
the stones over the doorway fallen down. Of the piers separating the
doorways, only fifteen were found standing, but the crumbling remains of
the others were readily traced on the ruins.

Illustration of Bas-relief, Palenque.-----------

Each of the standing piers, and presumably all the others, was
ornamented with a bas-relief in stucco. This cut gives us a good
example of this style of ornamentation. We notice portions of a richly
ornamented border. This stucco work consists of human figures in various
attitudes, having a variety of dress, ornaments, and insignia. The
stucco is said to be nearly as hard as the stone itself. Traces of
paint, with which the figures were once ornamented, were still to be
seen. The conjectures in regard to these figures, have been innumerable.
Vividly painted, and placed in a conspicuous place on the wall, we
may be very sure they were full of significance to the builders. Three
hieroglyphics are placed over the head of each group, but so far, they
are as little understood as the figures themselves. We can imagine the
effect, when the building was still perfect and entire, and all the
piers were thus ornamented.

Illustration of Cross-section Palace, Palenque.----

Passing to the top of the pyramid, we find the construction of the
building whose outer wall we have been describing, to be substantially
as follows: Three parallel walls, from two to three feet in thickness,
composed of hewn stones, were erected about nine feet apart. At the
height of ten feet, the walls commenced approaching each other; not,
however, in an arch, for this was unknown, but in a triangular manner,
the stones in each course projecting a little farther out. This cut
represents a cross-section of the buildings, and shows also the slight
cornice. All inequalities in the surface, as here represented, were then
filled with cement, thus furnishing a smooth surface, which was then
painted. The two outer walls were plentifully supplied with doorways;
the central wall had but few. We are only given the description of one,
which may not apply to all. This one, opposite the entrance on the
east side, has a trefoil-shaped arch over the door, thus giving it
this shape. Besides the few doorways, the central wall had numerous
depressions, or niches, some of which served for ventilation, others for
the support of beams, and perhaps others as receptacles for torches or
idols. This principle of construction is substantially the same for
all the buildings in the interior of the court, and indeed for all the
buildings at Palenque.

Illustration of Trefoil Arch.-----------------

Passing through the doorway just described, we come into the second
corridor, and continuing through that, we come to what was once a large
court; but, as we stated, it was subsequently built over so as to
leave only a few courts. The largest one, eighty by seventy feet, is
immediately before us, with a range of steps leading down into it. On
each side of the stairway is sculptured, on stucco, a row of grim and
gigantic figures. The engraving opposite represents the same. "They are
adorned with rich headdresses and necklaces, but their attitude is
that of pain and trouble. The design and anatomical proportions of the
figures are faulty, but there is a force of expression about them which
shows the skill and conceptive force of the artist." From this small
court stairways lead to the other buildings situated around it.

Illustration of Entrance to Principal Court.--------------

Stucco ornaments were plentiful. In one room, rather more richly
ornamented than the others, was found a stone tablet, which is the only
important piece of stone sculpture about the palace. We are told it is
of hard stone, four feet long by three feet wide, and the sculpture is
in bas-relief. It is set in the wall, and around it are the remains of
a rich stucco border. Its significance is unknown. We must notice the
small medallion, containing a face, suspended by a necklace of pearls
from the neck of the principal figure. Mr. Stephens conjectures that it
may represent the sun. Mr. Waldeck gives a drawing of this same subject;
but instead of a face, he represents a cross.<13>

Illustration of Stone Tablet.---------------

In the general view we see a tower rising up from the mass of ruins. Mr.
Stephens speaks of this tower as follows. "This tower is conspicuous
by its height and proportions, but an examination in detail is found
unsatisfactory and uninteresting. The base is thirty feet square, and it
has three stories. Entering over a heap of rubbish at the base, we found
within another tower distinct from the outer one, and a stone staircase,
so narrow that a large man could not ascend it. The staircase terminated
against a dead stone ceiling, closing all further passages, the
last step being only six or eight inches from it. For what purpose a
staircase was carried up to such a bootless termination we could not
conjecture. The whole tower was a substantial stone structure, and
in its arrangements and purposes about as incomprehensible as the
sculptured tablets."

At the best we can do, it is hard to give such a description of this
ruin that it can be readily understood, so we will present a restoration
of it by a German artist,<14> taken, however, from Mr. Bancroft's
work.<15> This is very useful to us, since it conveys an idea of how
the palace looked when it was complete. This view also includes a second
structure, which we will examine soon. We notice the numerous doorways
leading into the first corridor, the ornamental pier-like portions of
the wall separating the doors, and the several buildings on the court;
rising over all, the tower, which would have been better if the spire
had been omitted.

Illustration of Palace, Palenque.-----------

This may have been a real palace. Its rooms may have been the
habitations of royalty, and its corridors may have resounded with the
tread of noble personages. M. Charney thinks the palace must have been
the home of priests, and not kings--in fact, that it was a monastery,
where the priests lived who ministered in the neighboring temples.
He thinks Palenque was a holy place, a prehistoric Mecca. We must be
cautious about accepting any theory until scholars are more agreed about
the plan of government and society among the Central American tribes.
But, whatever it was, many years have passed by since it was deserted.
For centuries tropical storms have beat against the stuccoed figures.
The court-yards and corridors are overrun with vegetation, and great
trees are growing on the very top of the tower. So complete is the ruin
that it is with difficulty the plan can be made out. The traveler, as he
gazes upon it, can scarcely resist letting fancy restore the scene as it
was before the hand of ruin had swept over it. In imagination he beholds
it perfect in its amplitude and rich decoration, and occupied by the
strange people whose portraits and figures may perhaps adorn its walls.

Illustration of Ruined Temple of the Three Tablets.-----

We must now describe the more important of the remaining structures of
Palenque. Glancing at the plan for a moment, we see to the south-west
of the palace a ruin marked 2. This is the site of a pyramidal structure
known as the "Temple of the Three Tablets," or "Temple of Inscriptions."
The pyramid is not as large in area as the palace, though of a greater
height. It measures in height one hundred and ten feet on the slope, but
we are not given the other dimensions. All the sides, which were very
steep, seem to have had steps. Trees have grown up all over the pyramid
and on the top of the building. This illustration, taken from Mr.
Stephens's work, can not fail to impress on us the luxuriant growth
of tropical vegetation, and we can also see how such a growth must
accelerate the ruin. The stone steps leading up the sides of the pyramid
have been thrown down, and such must be in time the fate of the building
itself. The building on the summit platform does not cover all the
area. It is seventy-six feet front by twenty-five feet deep and about
thirty-five feet high.

This small cut is a representation of the same building on a small
scale, but cleared of trees and vines. The roof is seen to consist of
two parts, sloping at different angles. The lower part was covered with
stucco ornaments, which, though too much injured to be drawn, gave the
impression that, when perfect and painted, they must have been rich
and imposing. The upper slope is of solid masonry. "Along the top was a
range of pillars, eighteen inches high and twelve apart, made of small
pieces of stone laid in mortar and covered with stucco, having somewhat
the appearance of a low, open balustrade."

Illustration of Elevation Temple of the Three Tablets.-------

In this wood-cut the front wall, as in the palace, presents more the
appearance of a row of piers than any thing else. Each of the corner
piers contains on its surface hieroglyphics, each of which contains
ninety-six squares. The other piers have ornaments of stucco similar to
those we have already examined on the palace. In the building itself we
have the usual three parallel walls. In this case, however, the second
corridor is divided into three rooms, and there is no opening in the
third wall, unless it be three small openings for air. The central wall
is four or five feet thick.<16> The interior is very plain.

The principal point of interest about the building, from whence the name
is derived, is three tablets of hieroglyphics. One on either side of the
principal doorway of the middle wall, and the third in the rear wall of
the middle room. Being so similar to other tablets, it is not necessary
to give separate cuts of them. The similarity to those of Copan is
very great, the differences being in minute points, which only critical
examination would detect. Mr. Stephens tells us that the Indians call
this building a school. The priests who came to visit him at the ruins
called it a temple of justice, and said the tablets contained the law.
We do not think either are very safe guides to follow.

At number three on the plan are the ruins of an edifice which is fast
disappearing. The outer wall had already fallen at the time of Mr.
Stephens's visit. It stands on the bank of the stream. The pyramid
base is one hundred feet high on the slope. The building on the top
is twenty-five feet front by eighteen feet deep. In the inner corridor
could be dimly traced the outlines of a beautiful piece of stucco work.
At the time of Waldeck's visit it was still complete, so we are enabled
to give a cut of it.

Illustration of The Beau-Relief.----------------

We are sure the readers will not fail to notice the many points which
make this such an exceptionally fine piece of work. In the original
drawing the grace of the arms and wrists is truly matchless, and the
chest muscles are displayed in the most perfect manner. The embroidered
girdle and folded drapery of the figure, as well as the drapery around
the leopard's neck, are arranged with taste. The head-dress is not
unlike a Roman helmet in front, with the addition of numerous plumes.
The sandals of the feet are secured by a cord and rosette, while the
ornaments on the animal's ankles seem secured by leather straps.<17>
Mr. Waldeck, however, who drew this sketch, is supposed to have drawn at
times better than his model.<18> This is generally called the "Temple of
the Beau-relief." Mr. Holden, in his able article already referred
to, comes to the conclusion that this figure represents the god
Quetzalcohuatl, the nature god of the Mayas.

Illustration of Temple of the Cross. (Smithsonian Institute.)--

Eastward from the palace, and across the creek, are seen on the plan the
location of two other structures. The one marked is a somewhat famous
structure, which, for reasons that will soon appear, is called the
"Temple of the Cross." The pyramid in this case is one hundred and
thirty-four feet on the slope. It, however, stands on a terrace about
sixty feet on the slope. The forest is so dense that, though other
structures are but a short distance from it, yet they can not be seen.
The last two engravings represent the building and the ground plan. This
is not a fanciful sketch, but is a restoration, "from such remains and
indications that it is impossible to make any thing else out of it."

Illustration of Plan of Temple. (Smithsonian Institute.)---

"The building is fifty feet front, thirty-one feet deep, and has three
door-ways. The whole front was covered with stucco ornaments. The two
outer piers contain hieroglyphics." We notice a new feature about the
roof. It is similar to the roof of the temple of the "Three Tablets,"
in having two different slopes--the lower one covered with stucco
ornaments, but the range of pillars along the roof is here replaced by a
peculiar two-storied arrangement nearly sixteen feet high. Mr. Stephens
says: "The long sides of this narrow structure are of open stucco-work,
formed into curious and indescribable devices, human figures with legs
and arms spreading and apertures between, and the whole was once loaded
with rich and elegant ornaments in stucco relief. Its appearance at
a distance must have been that of a high, fanciful lattice. It was
perfectly unique--different from the works of any other people
with which we are familiar, and its uses and purposes entirely
incomprehensible."

It was evidently added to the temple solely for the sake of appearance.
One writer<19> believes the roof structures were erected by some people
that succeeded the original builders of the temple. The plan of the
temple gives us a clear idea of the arrangement of the inner rooms. Our
principal interest centers in the altar, which we notice placed in the
center of the back room. We give an illustration of a similar altar-form
in the temple, at number 5 of the plan. In form it is that of an
inclosed chamber, having a roof of its own. The altar in the Temple of
the Cross was very similar to this. Mr. Stephens's description is as
follows: "The top of the doorway was gorgeous with stuccoed ornaments,
and on the piers at each side were stone tablets in bas-relief. Within,
the chamber is thirteen feet wide and seven feet deep."

Illustration of Altar in Temple of the Sun.--(Bureau of
Ethnology.)--------------

The room was plain within, and right against the back was the famous
"Tablet of the Cross." This tablet was six feet four inches high, ten
feet eight inches wide, and formed of three stones. The right-hand one
is now in the National Museum in Washington. The central one, though
torn from its original place, is still at the ruins. The next cut
gives us only the sculptured part of the tablet. On both the right and
left-hand were tablets of hieroglyphics. A long chain of ornaments hung
suspended from the cap of the right-hand figure. The two figures are
regarded as priests. The cross is very plainly outlined, and is the
regular Latin one. Considerable discussion has arisen as to what
supports the cross. Dr. Brinton thinks it a serpent.<20> Others think it
a human skull.<21> We must also notice the bird on top of the cross. It
is almost impossible to make out the species. The right-hand figure is
offering it something.

Illustration of Tablet of the Cross.------------

We must refer to some more tablets found at Palenque before proceeding
further. At number five of the plan was a temple but little smaller than
the one just described. There is, however, such a similarity between the
buildings, that it is not necessary to give illustrations. The temple,
also, had an inclosed altar; and against the back of that was placed
the tablet which was very similar to the one just described. This
illustration represents the sculptured portions. On each side were
tablets of hieroglyphics. It needs but a glance to show that the priests
are, evidently, the same personages as in the other tablet.

Illustration of The Sun.-----------------

The one on the left is standing on the back of a human being. The one on
the right is, perhaps, standing on a beast; or, if a human being, he
is crushed beneath the weight of the priest. Two other human figures
support a platform, from which rise two batons crossed like a St.
Andrew's cross. These support a mask, from the center of which a hideous
human face looks out. The Aztecs sometimes represented the sun by such a
mask, and hence the name "Temple of the Sun."

In still another temple, situated but a short distance from the others,
was discovered a third tablet, which is shown in the cut opposite. We
give all the tablet, showing the hieroglyphics as well. We must compare
this with the first tablet given. The priests are, evidently, the
same--but, notice, they stand on different sides of the cross. The same
priest is making the offering as in the first, and the same bird is seen
on the top of the cross. The priests stand on flowered ornaments.
The support of the cross resembles the same thing as in the first but
whether it is a human skull, or a serpent, is hard to tell. The cross
itself is not as well outlined. The two arms are floral ornaments. We
must also notice the two faces seen on the upright part.<22>

Illustration of Maler's Cross.-----------------

These tablets are all of great interest. That of the cross, the first
one given, has attracted more attention than almost any other in the
field of American antiquities. This is largely owing to the cross.
As far as the sacred emblem itself is concerned, we do not think this
tablet of more significance than that of the sun. It is well known that
the cross, as a sacred emblem, had peculiar significance in the ancient
religions of the world. Its use as such has come down to us from time
immemorial. On the first expedition of the Spaniards, in 1518, to the
coast and islands of Yucatan, they discovered that the cross was of some
significance to the natives. In the island of Cozumel they found a large
cross, to which the natives prayed for rain.<23>

Mr. Brinton thinks that the source of this veneration of the cross,
like the the sacredness of the number four, of which he gives numerous
illustrations, is the four cardinal points.<24> From these points blow
the four winds which bring the fertilizing rains, and thus render the
earth fruitful; and hence the cross, in so many and widely separated
portions of the earth, is used as the symbol of the life-giving,
creative, and fertilizing principle in nature.<25> He thinks this is,
perhaps, the significance of these Palenque crosses. It is true we have
different forms of the cross; but in ancient sculpture they seem to have
been of equal importance.<26>

The results of these inquiries into the hidden meaning of these tablets
are not devoid of interest; but, thus far, but few conclusions of value
have been obtained. They have been made to do service in support of
some far-fetched theories. The early Spanish writers on these subjects
concluded that the crosses found in Central America were positive proof
that St. Thomas had traveled through the country preaching the doctrines
of Christianity. The padres, who came to visit Mr. Stephens at the
ruins, "at the sight of it, immediately decided that the old inhabitants
of Palenque were Christians, and fixed the age of the buildings in the
third century."

Wilson finds in the tablets of the cross a strong argument for the
existence of a great Phoenician empire in Central America. This tablet
represents, he thinks, the sacrifice of a child to Astarte,<27> also
called Ashtoreth, the great female deity of the ancient Semitic nations
on both sides of the Euphrates, but chiefly of Phoenicia. The original
meaning of this word was "Queen of Heaven." Modern scholars do not think
these early speculations of the slightest worth. Dr. Charles Rau<28>
concludes that as reasonable a conjecture as any is the supposition that
it represents a sacrifice to the god of rain, made, perhaps, at a time
of drought, apparently influenced to that conclusion by the fact that
the natives of Cozumel regarded a cross in such a light,<29> and further
that a cross represents the moisture-bearing winds.

E. S. Holden<30> has made a critical study of the hieroglyphics of Copan
and Palenque. Though far from complete, most interesting results have
been obtained. We can not do more than set forth the results of his
investigations.<31> He concludes, from a careful study of the tablets
of the cross and of the sun, that in both the left-hand priests are
representatives of the god of war,<32> the right-hand priests being in
both representatives of the god of rain and water.<33> In Mexico these
deities frequently occupied the same temple.<34> He does not state his
conclusions in regard to the central figures in the tablets. Mr. Brinton
thinks the central figure in the tablet of the cross is a rebus for
the nature god Quetzalcohuatl. The cross was one of the symbols of
Quetzalcohuatl, as such signifying the four winds of which he was lord.
Another of his symbols was a bird. We notice the two symbols present in
the tablet. Mr. Holden also finds that the glyph standing for this god
occurs several times in the tables of hieroglyphics belonging to this
figure.

According to these last views, then, the old Palenquians seem to have
been a very religious people, and Quetzalcohuatl, the god of peace,
seems to have been their principal deity, differing in this regard from
Mexico, where all honor was paid to the god of war. We are not given any
explanation of the Temple of the Three Tablets, but the other temples
have to do with the worship of this benign deity. The beautiful
stucco-work in the Temple of the Beau-relief, Mr. Holden thinks, also
represents him. At the Temples of the Cross, if we be right as to the
meaning of the central figure, the priests of the god of war and the god
of rain do honor to him.<35>

Mr. Bandelier makes a statement in regard to the cross which, if it
be accepted, clears away a number of theories. He remarks: "The cross,
though frequently used previously to the conquest by the Aborigines of
Mexico and Central America as an ornament, was not at all an object
of worship among them. Besides, there is a vast difference between
the cross and the crucifix. What has been taken for the latter on
sculptures, like the 'Palenque tablet,' is merely the symbol of the
'Newfire,' or close of a period of fifty-two years. It is the fire drill
more or less ornamented." According to this view, these interesting
tablets have reference to the ceremonies observed by the Mayas at the
expiration of a cycle.<36>

It now only remains to describe some miscellaneous relics obtained from
Palenque. But few specimens of pottery have been found. One of the early
explorers speaks of finding an earthen vessel about a foot in diameter.
Waldeck made an exploration in a portion of the palace area, and found a
gallery containing hewn blocks of stone and earthen cups and vases, with
many little earthen balls of different colors. He also speaks of a fine
specimen of terra-cotta.<37>

The only statues known were found near the Temple of the Cross. There
were two of them, and they supported a platform before the central
doorway. One was broken to pieces; the other is here represented. Many
writers point out resemblances between this figure and some Egyptian
statues.

Illustration of Statue, Palenque. (Smith. Inst.)------

In the village of Palenque, built in the wall of a church,<38> are two
stone tablets which once stood on each side of the doorway of the altar
containing the tablet of the cross.<39> Mr. Stephens was under the
impression that they were originally placed on the altar of the tablet
of the sun, and they are so represented in the cut (Illustration of
Altar in the Temple of the Sun.) earlier. This plate represents the
left-hand figure. The only explanation which we have met is contained
in that oft-quoted article by Mr. Holden. He regards it as the
representation of the Maya god of war. We are warned that the weak part
of Mr. Holden's method is his assumption that the mythology of the Mayas
was the same as that of the Aztecs, when the evidence is not strong
enough to assert such a fact.<40>

Illustration of Bas-relief of the left-hand of the Altar of the Cross.
(Bureau of Ethnology.)-------------------

We feel that we have been somewhat lengthy in describing the ruins of
Palenque. But it is one of the most important groups of ruins that this
continent possesses. The most faithful work on the part of the scholars
of all lands has not as yet succeeded in clearing up the mystery
connected with it. We can tread the courts of their ancient citadel,
clamber up to the ruined temples and altars, and gaze on the unread
hieroglyphics, but, with all our efforts, we know but little of its
history. There was a time when the forest did not entwine these ruins.
Once unknown priests ministered at these altars. But cacique, or king,
and priest have alike passed away. The nation, if such it was, has
vanished, and their descendants are probably to be found in the savage
tribes of Yucatan to-day. "In the romance of the world's history,"
says Mr. Stephens, "nothing ever impressed me more forcibly than the
spectacle of this once great and lovely city, overturned, desolate, and
lost, discovered by accident, overgrown with trees for miles around,
without even a name to distinguish it. Apart from every thing else, it
was a mournful witness to the world's mutation.

"'Nations melt
From power's high pinnacle, when they have felt
The sunshine for awhile, and downward go.'"

The ruins at Palenque have been so well known, that but little attention
has been given to other ruins in the States of Tobasco and Chiapas; and
yet, according to M. Charney, imposing ruins of great extent exist in
the western part of Tobasco. At a place about thirty-five miles from
San Juan, in a north-westerly direction, he found veritable mountains
of ruins "overgrown with a luxuriant vegetation."<41> In the absence of
cuts, we can not do more than give a general idea of these ruins.

He asserts that the whole State of Tobasco, and part of Chiapas, is
covered with ruins. One landed proprietor informed him that, on his
estate, he had counted over three hundred pyramids, all of them covered
with ruins. In this connection he refers to the assertions of some of
the early Spanish voyagers, that, when skirting the shores of Tobasco,
they "saw on the shore, and far in the interior, a multitude of
structures, whose white and polished walls glittered in the sun." On one
large pyramid, one hundred and fifteen feet high, he found the remains
of a building two hundred and thirty-five feet long.

This building is named the palace. In this building we met with the type
that we have learned is the prevailing one further south--that is, three
parallel walls, forming two rows of rooms. In general, the rooms are
not well arranged for comfort, according to our opinion; but they were,
doubtless, well adapted to the communal mode of life prevalent among
the Indians. M. Charney seems to have been strongly impressed with the
number and importance of the ruins in this State; but, strangely enough,
others have not mentioned them.<42> He says: "I am daily receiving
information about the ruins scattered all over the State of Tobasco,
hidden in the forests.... The imagination fails to realize the vast
amount of labor it would involve to explore even a tithe of these
ancient sites. These mountains of ruins extend over twelve miles. We
still see the hollows in the ground whence the soil was taken for the
construction of these pyramids. But they did not consist merely of
clay; bricks, too, entered into their construction, and there were
strengthening walls to make them firmer. These structures are more
wonderful than the pyramids and the other works at Teotihuacan, and they
far surpass the pyramids of Egypt."

In the neighboring State of Chiapas, we find the location of several
groups of ruins. At Ocosingo, we have the evident traces of a large
settlement. Mr. Stephens mentions four or five pyramids crowned with
buildings. Immediately beyond these pyramids he came upon an open
plateau, which he considered to have been the site of the city proper.
It was protected on all sides by the same high terraces, overlooking for
a great distance the whole country around, and rendering it impossible
for an enemy to approach from any quarter without being discovered.
"Across this table was a high and narrow causeway, which seemed partly
natural and partly artificial, and at some distance on which was a
mound, with the foundation of a building that had probably been a
tower. Beyond this the causeway extended till it joined a range of
mountains.... There was no place we had seen which gave us such an idea
of the vastness of the works erected by the aboriginal inhabitants."<43>

The ruins at Palenque are considered by some to belong to the ancient
period of Maya architecture; those we are now to examine are regarded as
of more modern date. This is at least true with respect to the time of
their abandonment. Though the efforts of explorers in Yucatan have been
attended with rich results, still few places have been fully described.
The country is fairly dotted with sites of aboriginal settlements. In
all probability there are many that are yet unknown. Hidden in tropical
jungles, they are fast falling into meaningless mounds of _debris._
The early Spanish explorers, skirting the coasts of Yucatan, gazed in
astonishment at the views they occasionally obtained of pyramids crowned
with temples and imposing buildings. But this gleam of historic light
was but momentary in duration. It served but to throw a sunset glow over
the doomed tribes and civilization of the Mayas. By the aid of that
dim, uncertain light, we are asked to recognize a form of government and
society which, under the clearer light of modern researches is seen to
bear an equally strong resemblance to institutions more in keeping with
the genius of the New World.

The few travelers who visit the country are generally content to revisit
and describe places already known. This is not strange, considering the
difficulties that have to be overcome. The country swarms with savage
Indians, who are jealous of the intrusions of strangers. We have,
however, this consolation: those ruins already brought to light show
such a uniformity of detail, that it is not probable that any new
developments are to be expected. The ruins that are already known are
sufficient to illustrate all the points of their architecture; and
we can draw from them, doubtless, all that can be drawn from ruins,
throwing light on the civil organization of the Mayas of Yucatan.

Illustration of Plan of Uxmal.--------------------

We can not do better than to describe some of the more important ruins,
and then notice wherein others differ. Examining the map, we see that
Uxmal<44> is one of the first ruins that would meet us on arriving, in
the country. It is more fully described than any other, though perhaps
not of greater importance than those of some other localities. As at
Palenque, while the principal ruins are said to be situated in a small
area, the whole section abounds in mounds and heaps of _debris,_ and it
may well be said that buildings as imposing as those already described
are concealed in the forest not far removed from the present ruins. A
plat of ground seventeen hundred feet long by twelve hundred feet wide
would include the principal structures now known.

The most imposing single edifice here is that called the Governor's
House. The only reason for giving it this name is its size. Being of
large size, and located on a terraced pyramid, it has received a name
which may be very inappropriate. We will first notice the pyramid on
which the building stands. At Palenque the pyramid rises regularly from
the ground. Here the pyramid is terraced. In order to understand clearly
the arrangement of these various terraces, we introduce this drawing.
The base is a somewhat irregular figure, though nearly a square. Another
pyramid cuts into one corner of the terrace. The first terrace is about
three feet high, fifteen feet broad, and five hundred and seventy-five
feet long. The second terrace is twenty feet high, two hundred and fifty
feet wide, and five hundred and forty-five feet in length. The third
terrace, on which the building stands, is nineteen feet high, and its
summit platform is one hundred by three hundred and sixty feet. The
height of this platform above the general surface is a little over forty
feet.<45>

Illustration of Pyramid at Palenque.--------------

The material of which the pyramid is composed, is rough fragments of
limestone, thrown together without order; but the terraces were all
faced with substantial stone work. At the time of Mr. Stephens's
visit the facing of the second terrace was still in a good state of
preservation. Charney believes the platform was paved with square
blocks. This pyramid was not entirely artificial--they took advantage of
a natural hill, as far as it went. No stairway or other means of ascent
to the first terrace is mentioned. From its low height, probably none
was needed. The second terrace being twenty feet high, some means of
ascent was required. This was afforded, as seen in the drawing, by
an inclined plane, at the south side one hundred feet broad. From the
second terrace a grand staircase, one hundred and thirty feet wide,
containing thirty-five steps, led up to the summit of the third terrace.

No buildings or other ornaments are mentioned as having been found on
the lower terrace. The wide promenade of the second one supported some
structures of its own, but they were in too dilapidated a condition
to furnish a clear idea of their original nature, except in one
instance--that is of the building at A of the drawing. This building
was ninety-four feet long, thirty-four feet wide, and about twenty feet
high.

The roof had fallen in, so that we do not know the arrangement of the
rooms in the interior. The simplicity of ornaments on the outer wall is
commented on. Instead of the complicated ornaments, so apparent on the
buildings of Yucatan, the only ornament in this case was a simple and
elegant line of round columns, standing close together, and encircling
the whole edifice. At regular intervals on the upper cornice appeared a
sculptured turtle. From this circumstance, the building was named "The
House of Turtles." No steps lead to the terrace below or to the one
above. "It stands isolated and alone, seeming to mourn over its own
desolate and ruinous condition."

At B, along the south end of the terrace, there was a long, low mound
of ruins, and arranged along its base was a row of broken columns
about five feet high and nearly five feet in circumference. Some have
supposed, from this, that columns extended along the entire promenade of
the second terrace. This would indeed give it a very grand appearance;
but there is no foundation for such a view. East of the central stairway
at C, was a low, square inclosure. This contained a standing pillar, now
in a slanting position, as if an effort had been made to throw it over.
It was about eight feet above the surface of the ground and five below.
The Indians called it a whipping-post. Mr. Stephens thinks it was
connected with the ceremonial rites of an ancient worship. He found a
similarly shaped stone in connection with other buildings at Uxmal, and
at other places in Yucatan.

Illustration of Two-headed Monument, Uxmal.-------------

Still further east, at D, he found a rude, circular mound of rough
stones. On excavating this, he was rewarded by the discovery of a
double-headed monument. It was carved out of a single block of stone.
The probabilities are that it was purposely buried when the natives
abandoned Uxmal, to prevent the Spaniards from destroying it. Scattered
about over this platform were found excavations much like well-made
cisterns in shape. As it is something of a mystery where the inhabitants
obtained water, it is a reasonable supposition that these were really
cisterns. Similar excavations were discovered all over the area of the
ruins.

Leaving the second terrace, and passing up the ruined stairway, we find
ourselves on the summit platform of the third terrace, and see before us
one of the long, low, richly ornamented buildings of Yucatan. This cut
presents us an end view, but gives us a good idea of the building as a
whole. It does not occupy the entire summit; there is a wide promenade
all around it. Its length is three hundred and twenty-two feet; its
width, thirty-nine feet, and its height twenty-six feet.

Illustration of End View.------------

In order to understand clearly the arrangement of the rooms, we will
here give the ground-plan. The two end portions may have been additions
to the original structure. There are, at any rate, reasons for supposing
the small rooms in the two recesses of later construction. We must
notice that we have here the usual three parallel walls and two rows
of rooms. All the walls are massive, the rear wall especially so. It is
nine feet thick throughout, and so are the transverse walls of the two
recesses. Supposing the rear wall might contain rooms, Mr. Stephens made
an opening through it. He found it to be solid.

Illustration of Ground Plan.------------

Illustration of Cross-section of Uxmal.----------

The stones facing the walls and rooms are smooth and square, and the
mass of the masonry consists of rough, irregular fragments of stone and
mortar. This cross-section makes this meaning plain. We can but notice
what an immense amount of useless labor was bestowed on the walls
and ceilings of this building. We gather more the idea of galleries
excavated in a rocky mass, than of rooms inclosed by walls. The rooms
are very plain; no attempt at decoration was observed. In one or two
instances the remains of a fine coat of plastering was noticed. "The
floors were of cement, in some places hard, but by long exposure broken,
and now crumbling under foot." The arches supporting the roof are of the
same style as those at Palenque--that is, triangular,--though, in this
case, the ends of the projecting stones were beveled off so as to form
a smooth surface. At Palenque, we remember, the inequalities were filled
with cement. Across the arches were still to be observed beams of wood,
the ends buried in the wall at both sides. The supposition is that they
served to support the arches while building, and afterwards for the
suspension of hammocks.<46>

There are no openings for light and ventilation, consequently some of
the rear rooms are both damp and dark. The lintels over each doorway
were of wood. This was the common and ordinary material employed for
lintels in Yucatan, though in one or two instances stone was used. They
used for this purpose beams of zapote, a wood noted for its strength and
durability. Some inner lintels still remain in place. The one over the
central doorway of the outer wall was elaborately carved, the others
were plain.

The outside of the building is also of interest to us. By a careful
examination, we notice a cornice just above the doorway. The wall below
the cornice presents a smooth surface of limestone, no traces of plaster
or paint appearing; above the cornice the facade is one solid mass of
rich, complicated, and elaborately sculptured ornaments. This is not
stucco work, as at Palenque, but the ornaments are carved on stone. Mr
Stephens tells us, "Every ornament or combination is made up of separate
stones, each of which had carved on it part of the subject, and was then
set in its place in the wall. Each stone, by itself, is an unmeaning
fractional portion, but placed by the side of others, makes, part of a
whole which, without it, would be incomplete."

It is not possible to give a verbal description of all of the ornaments;
we can notice but few. Over each doorway was represented a person
apparently seated on a sort of throne, having a lofty head-dress, with
enormous plumes of feathers falling symmetrically on each side. Though
the figures varied in each case, in general characteristics they were
the same as the one here represented, which was the figure over the
central doorway of the building.

Illustration of Figure over the Doorway.---------

Illustration of Ornament over the Doorway.-------------

Among the most commonly reappearing ornaments at Uxmal, and at other
places, is one that has received the name of the "Elephant's Trunk," and
has given rise to no little discussion. One occurs immediately above the
figure. Part of this ornament is represented in this plate. The central
part of this figure, which appears as a plain band, is in reality
a curved projecting stone, which, when looked at sideways, has the
appearance given in this cut. Though requiring a little imagination,
the majority of travelers see in this some monster's face. The eyes
and teeth are seen in the first engraving. This projecting stone is the
nose.

Illustration of Elephant's Trunk.---------------

We stand in amazement before this sculptured facade. We must reflect
that its builders were not possessed of metallic tools. It extends
entirely around the building, though the end and rear walls are not as
elaborately decorated as the front. A little calculation shows that it
contains over ten thousand square feet of carved stone. The roof of the
building was flat. It had been covered with cement. But vegetation had
somehow acquired a foothold, and the whole is now overgrown with grass
and bushes. Such is a brief description of this "casa." Hastening to
ruins, it appeals powerfully to the imagination. It is a memorial of
vanished times. We wonder what of the strange people that pressed
up these stairs and entered these rooms? For many years it has been
abandoned to the elements. Year by year portions of the ornamented
facade fall. Though the walls are massive and the roof is strong, it
is but a question of time when a low mound of ruins will alone mark its
site.

Like the palace at Palenque, this structure has given rise to
conflicting theories as to its use. While many of the writers on this
subject claim that it was the residence of royalty, there are, on the
other hand, those who think it is simply a communal house of village
Indians, or the official house of the tribe. In whatever light we shall
ultimately view it, it is surely an interesting monument of native
American culture. The labor necessary to rear the terraced pyramid, even
though advantage was taken of a natural eminence, must have been great.
The building itself, though not of great dimensions, except in length,
must have required the labor of a large number of Indians for a long
time. For purposes of defense, the location, from an Indian point of
view, was an excellent one, since with them elevation constitutes the
principal means of defense. The terraces could be easily ascended from
but one point, where an enemy could be easily resisted. In a general
way, it may be regarded as a representative of Yucatan buildings, and so
we will be able to more rapidly describe the remaining structures.

Illustration of Plan of Nunnery.-----------------

On the general plan we see, to the north of the structure we have just
described, a group of ruins marked "C." This is regarded as the most
wonderful collection of edifices in Yucatan, and as exhibiting the
highest state of ancient architecture and sculpture in North America.
They are known as the "Nunnery," which we think is a very absurd name.
The pyramid on which they stood is also terraced, though on one side
only. We give a drawing showing the position on the summit platform
of the four buildings forming this group. Since we have so many ruined
structures to describe, we must avoid such details as will prove
tiresome. We will give in a note the dimensions of these buildings, and
of the pyramid, and pass at once to some points of special interest.<47>

Traces of stairways are mentioned as leading up to the terrace, but none
of the steps remained in place. The southern building is seen to have
doors in both the court and terrace walls, but in this case the middle
wall is unbroken. All the rooms of this building are single. In the plan
it appears divided into two buildings; the opening is, however, but a
triangular arched doorway, through which access was had to the court.

There is no one to dispute our right of way, and so, climbing up the
ruined stairs, and passing through the deserted gateway, we emerge
into a courtyard, now silent and deserted and overgrown with bushes and
grass. It was once paved and covered with cement, and in the center
are the remains of a stone pillar, similar to that in front of the
governor's house. When the houses were all occupied this court must have
presented an animated scene. But, now that the buildings are tenantless
and going to ruin, it must impress all beholders with a sense of the
changes wrought by time.

Illustration of Room in Nunnery.---------------

It will be noticed that the northern building does not stand in quite
the same direction as the southern one, which detracts from the symmetry
of the whole. It stands on a fourth terrace, twenty feet higher than
the others. A grand, but ruined, staircase leads up the center of the
terrace. At each end of this staircase built against the terrace, could
be distinguished the ruins of a small building. There is one unusual
feature about the ruins in the eastern building. In general, only two
rooms open into each other. In this building, however, six rooms
form one suite, and, furthermore, all the doorways of this suite are
decorated with sculpture. As this suite of rooms was evidently a place
of interest, we will introduce this illustration, which gives us a good
idea of the appearance of the rooms on the inside. We would do well to
compare this cut with that of the room in Pueblo Bonito (Chapter XI).
The arched roof is not a true arch but simply the triangular arch we
have already spoken of.

Illustration of Facade, Southern Building.-----

The principal attraction about these buildings is the beautiful facades
which overlook the court-yard. They are pronounced by all to be the
finest examples of native American art. With one exception, they are
neither complicated nor grotesque, but chaste and artistic. As in the
Governor's House, the part below the cornice is plain, but the remaining
part, both front and rear, is covered with sculpture. On entering the
court-yard from the arched gateway of the southern building, we notice
that its facade is composed of diamond lattice-work and vertical
columns, while over each doorway is something that resembles a house,
with a human figure seated in a doorway. This cut represents but a small
portion of this facade, but it gives us an idea of the whole.

Illustration of Facade, Eastern Building.---------

The facade of the eastern building was in the best state of preservation
of any. We give a section of this also. The ornaments over the doorway,
shown in the cut, consist of three of those mysterious masks, with the
projecting curved stone, already described. "The ornaments over the
other doorways are less striking, more simple, and more pleasing. In all
of them there is, in the center, a masked face, with the tongue hanging
out, surmounted by an elaborate head-dress. Between the horizontal bars
is a range of diamond-shaped ornaments, in which the remains of red
paint are still distinctly visible, and at each end of these bars is a
serpent's head, with the mouth wide open." It is necessary to examine
the drawing attentively, to distinguish these features. Some think the
masked face represents the sun.

Illustration of Serpent Facade, Western Building.--------

The western facade is known as the Serpent Facade. It was very much in
ruins at the time of Mr. Stephens's visit. When entire, it must have
been of great beauty. Two serpents are trailed along the whole front,
and by the interlacing of their bodies divide the surface into square
panels. In the open mouth of these serpents is sculptured a human head.
The panels are filled with ornaments similar in design to those of the
"Governor's House," and among the ornaments of each panel are found one
or more human faces, while full-sized figures are not entirely absent.
This cut represents but a small portion of the facade. It gives us,
however, an idea of the whole. We notice, over the doorway again, the
elephant's trunk ornament.

The northern building, standing high above the rest, on its own terrace,
was doubtless intended to have the grandest front of all. It was,
however, in such a ruined state, and the few remaining fragments so
complicated, that no drawings have been given us. Human figures are
represented in several places; two are apparently playing on musical
instruments. We recall that at Palenque, the roof of some of the temples
bears a curious two-storied work, erected apparently for ornamental
purposes. The same instinct reappears in this building. At regular
intervals along the front they carried the wall above the cornice,
forming thirteen turret-like elevations ten feet wide, and seventeen
feet high. These turrets were also loaded with ornaments. Another
curious feature about this building is, that it was erected over, and
completely inclosed, a smaller building of an older date. Wherever the
outer walls have fallen, the ornamented cornice of the inner building is
visible.

When we reflect on the patient labor that must have been expended on
this pyramid and these buildings, we are filled with admiration for
their perseverance and ingenuity. They had neither domestic animals
or metallic tools. The buildings were massively built and richly
ornamented. The sculptured portion covers over twenty-four thousand
square feet.<48> The terraced mound supporting the house contained over
sixty thousand cubic yards of materials, though this may not be
wholly artificial. To our eyes, as these rooms had neither windows nor
fire-places, they are not very desirable. But we may be sure that the
builders considered them as models of their kind.

Leaving this interesting ruin, we will now visit one of the temples.
This is east of the Nunnery, and is marked "D" on the plan. The mound on
which this building stands is high enough to overlook the entire field
of ruins. This cut represents the eastern side of the mound, up which a
flight of stone steps lead to the building on the summit. There are
some grounds for supposing a grander staircase, supported on triangular
arches, led up the western side.

Illustration of Temple, Uxmal.-------------

The building on the top is not large--only seventy-two feet long, and
twelve feet wide--and consists of but three rooms, none opening into
each other. The front of the building, though much ruined, presented an
elegant and tasteful appearance. There seems to be no doubt that this
temple was the scene of idolatrous worship; perhaps of human sacrifices.
In a legal paper which Mr. Stephens saw at Meridia, containing a grant
of the lands on which these ruins stand, bearing date 1673, it is
expressly stated that the Indians at that time had idols in these
ancient buildings, to which, every day, openly and publicly, they burned
copal. Nor is there any doubt that this was the continuation of an old
custom. In the end room of this temple are engraved two circular figures
which, by some, are considered as proofs of the presence of Phallic
worship.<49>

The buildings we have described will give us a very good idea of the
structures of this ancient city. We have described but a few of them,
but we have now only space to make some general observations. We wish to
point out some resemblances to the ruins at Palenque. In both, buildings
that served as temples were not large, but of small dimensions, and
contained but few rooms. They occupy the summits of high pyramids.
Such was probably the building on the summit of the pyramid at "F"
(see plan). The buildings on the top of this pyramid, like that just
described, had but three rooms. A very large pyramid is seen at "E." Our
information in regard to it is very meager. A square platform was found
on the summit. It is not unreasonable to suppose that this platform was
intended to support a temple. But, before it was erected, the presence
of the Spaniards put an end to all native building. There are, however,
no proofs to be advanced in support of this statement; it is a mere
suggestion.

We think the House of the Nuns illustrates the general plan of building
employed at both places. That is as follows: They first erected a
rectangular pyramid or mounds often terraced. Buildings were then put
up parallel to the four sides, thus inclosing a court. At Palenque this
court, as we have seen, was built over. Besides the House of Nuns, there
are several other instances at Uxmal of courts with buildings on their
sides. Looking at the plan, we see one at "G," and a still more ruined
one between that and "F." Such a court, with traces of ruined buildings,
also exists between the nunnery and the temple, at "D." It is not
improbable that groups of low ruins existing to the westward of the
structures described would be found, on examination, to reveal the same
arrangements.

As for the grand terraced pyramid supporting the Governor's House, it
may well be that other buildings would have been added in process of
time, as population increased. It is not necessary to suppose they
erected all the buildings around a court at once. It seems very
reasonable to suppose the northern building of the House of Nuns the
oldest. The direction is not quite the same as the others; it stands
on a higher terrace; and, furthermore, the present exterior walls are
simply built around the older building. It may be, however, that the
great terraced mound of the Governor's House was intended to support but
one building. As there is the best of reason for supposing that Uxmal
was inhabited at the time of the conquest, there is nothing to forbid
the conclusion that the erection of pyramids, temples, and buildings was
still going on.

Hieroglyphics, which formed such an interesting feature at Palenque, are
here almost entirely wanting. A few rows occur around the head of the
figure over the principal doorway of the Governor's House. They are of
the same general character as those already described, but are "more
rich, elaborate, and complicated." As to the probable antiquity of these
ruins, we must defer consideration until we become more acquainted with
the ruins of Yucatan.

The places we have now described will make us acquainted with the
general character of the ruins scattered all over Yucatan. We do not
feel as if we would be justified in dwelling at any great length over
the remainder, though one or two important places must be mentioned. A
word as to the frequency with which the ruins occur. We want to repeat
that Yucatan, even to this day, is far from being thoroughly explored.
Almost our only source of information is the writings of Mr. Stephens.
But he only described a few places. In a trip of thirty-nine miles
he took in a westerly direction from Uxmal he saw no less than seven
different groups of ruins. Some of these, though in a very dilapidated
state, presented points of great interest. When he started he knew of
but few of those ruins. Some he heard of quite by accident while on
his way, and some he first saw as he journeyed along the road. We must
suppose the whole country equally well supplied.

After he had left Uxmal for good, at the village of Nochahab (see map),
a little inquiry brought him information of so many ruins that he did
not have time to visit them all. As to the question of use to which
these buildings were applied, we must either suppose they had an immense
number of temples and palaces--one or the other every few miles--or else
they were the residences of the people themselves. And, though it may
seem very strange that an imperfectly developed people should ornament
so profusely and delicately their ordinary places of abode,<50> yet it
is difficult to understand why they should rear such an abundance of
temples and palaces.

At Kabah (see map) Mr. Stephens found a most interesting field of ruins,
rivaling Uxmal in extent, if not surpassing it. One group of buildings,
arranged much like the House of Nuns, has some interesting features
about it. The highest terrace in this case is nearly square, and the
building on its summit is nearly the same shape. We have here two rows
of double rooms, separated by a middle wall, very massive, as if two of
the typical Maya buildings had been placed back to back. The front of
this building was elaborately ornamented. In all the buildings at Uxmal
the part above the cornice only was ornamented. Here the entire front
was covered with carved stone. To make room for further ornaments the
roof bore an additional appendage, like the second story of the Palenque
temples. This building must have presented a wonderful appearance when
entire.

Another feature at this place has reference to the pyramid. We are
familiar with the idea of a terraced mound supporting buildings. In one
of these Kabah structures the buildings are arranged in a different and
suggestive way. That is, the pyramid was terraced off. There were three
ranges of buildings, the roof of one range forming a promenade in front
of the other. In another of the Kabah structures was found a wooden
lintel, elegantly carved. Mr. Stephens tells us the lines were clear and
distinct, and the cutting, under any test, and without any reference to
the people by whom it was executed, would be considered as indicating
great skill and proficiency in the art of carving on wood. At the
expense of a great deal of hard work, he succeeded in getting this
lintel out and removed to New York, where it was unfortunately destroyed
by fire.

They worked stone to better advantage at Kabah than at Uxmal. For the
first time we meet with lintels of stone and a doorway with carved
jambs. The lintels were supported in the center by a pillar. The pillars
were rude and unpolished, but they were not out of proportion, and, in
fact, were adapted to the lowness of the building. We will only mention
one more structure. This is a lonely arch, of the same form as all
the rest, having a span of fourteen feet. It stands on a ruined mound,
disconnected from every other structure, in solitary grandeur. "Darkness
rests upon its history, but in that desolation and solitude, among the
ruins around, it stood like the proud memorial of a Roman triumph."
There was the usual pyramid with a temple. In a plan given of the field
of ruins seventeen groups are seen, and, without a doubt, many more
exist in the immediate forest.

Illustration of Arch, Kabah.--------------

M. Charney has of late years made a discovery which conclusively shows
that this was an inhabited place at the time of the conquest. In a room
as ruined as the rest he discovered the stuceo figure of a horse and its
rider. They are formed after the Indian manner by an inexperienced
hand guided by an over-excited imagination. Both figures are easily
recognized. The horse has on its trappings. We can see the stirrups. The
man wears his cuirass. We all know what astonishment the appearance of
men on horseback produced among the Indians, and so we are not at a loss
to divine the cause which led to the construction of this figure. We
must remember Mr. Stephens was hurried for time. Portions of this figure
were mutilated, and other portions had been covered over by a layer
of stucco, which Charney had to remove before the figure could be
distinctly made out.<51>

Illustration of Zayi.------------------

Within a radius of ten miles from Kabah are located no less than six
so-called cities. The general appearance of all is the same--low ranges
of buildings on terraced mounds, and ornamented facades. One of these
places, by the name of Zayi, is of interest to us, because it gives us
a hint as to how these people constructed their buildings. Amongst other
buildings they found one large terraced mound, with buildings arranged
on it in a very significant manner. There were three ranges of
buildings, one over the other--the roof of one range on a level with the
foundation of the range above. A grand stair-way led up the mound. This
feature is illustrated in the plate opposite. We can imagine what a
grand appearance must have been presented by this great terraced mound,
when its buildings were all perfect.

Illustration of Plan of Zayi. (Bureau of Ethnology.)----

The plan of this mound and buildings is shown in the last cut. Ten rooms
on the north side of the second range presented a curious feature.
They were all filled up with a solid mass of stone and mortar, and this
filling up must have gone on as fast as the walls rose, and the
arched ceiling must have closed over a solid mass. A very reasonable
explanation is given of this state of things by Mr. Morgan.<52> He
considers that such was the rudeness of mechanical knowledge among these
people that the only way they could construct their peculiar arched roof
was to build it over an internal core of masonry. Once put together over
such a core, and carried up several feet, the down weight of the arch
would articulate and hold the mass together. Then the core of masonry
would be cleaned out, and the room was ready for use. If this be true,
it follows that these rooms were the last erected. They were not yet
cleared out when the operations of the Spaniards put an end to all
native building. We must notice the structures at Zayi are in as ruined
a condition as the others--thus strengthening the conviction that their
abandonment was at about the time of the conquest of the peninsula.

We have not space to follow Mr. Stephens in all his journey. Every few
miles he came across one of these peculiar structures. A common design
is apparent in all; but all are alike enveloped in mystery. At Labna
he found an extensive field of ruins, equal in importance to any in
Yucatan. The next illustration represents an arched gateway, which
reminds us of that in the "House of Nuns." Passing through this he
found himself in a ruined court-yard, fronting which were the remains of
buildings; but this was only one of many groups of ruins, and Labna
was but one of many places visited. At Labphak Mr. Stephens found "the
tottering remains of the grandest structure that now rears its ruined
head in the forests of Yucatan." This was a terraced mound, faced by
buildings on three sides, leaving an immense stair-way occupying the
fourth side.

Illustration of Gateway at Labna.----------------

Small interior stair-ways are mentioned in this building, but no
particular description is given of them. At two places sculptured
tablets were found. These tablets are worthy of notice. They were the
only ones Mr. Stephens found, except at Palenque. It will be seen, on
the map, that this ruin is nearer Palenque than any of the places in
Yucatan yet described. Stucco ornaments, so apparent at the latter
place, were now becoming numerous again. At Uxmal stone for building
could be had in the greatest abundance--it was not as plenty here. The
builders, apparently, adapted their ornamentation to the material at
hand; and, while at Palenque they employed stucco in ornament, at Uxmal
they carved stone.<53>

We must now leave this interesting section of Yucatan, though only a few
places have been mentioned. The reader is well aware of the difference
of opinion with which these ruins are viewed. Some of them are
unquestionably temples. If we regard the others as palaces and the
public buildings of great cities, we are at once puzzled to account
for their great numbers. If we look on the majority of them as communal
residences of the inhabitants, we are amazed at the mass of decorations
with which they are adorned. But our admiration stops there--we are
accustomed to speak of them as stately edifices. This is owing to their
exterior ornaments, and their position on terraced mounds. The houses
are often of great length, but not striking in other regards. The rooms,
in the majority of cases, are small, low, dark, and ill ventilated. A
great amount of useless labor was bestowed upon the walls, which were
unnecessarily massive.

Near the center of the northern part of the peninsula is seen a place
marked Chichen, to which is generally added the word Itza, making the
entire name of the place Chichen-Itza. In this case the ancient Maya
name has come down to us with the ruins--Chichen meaning the "mouth of
wells," having reference to two springs which supplied the place with
water. Itza is the name of a branch of the Maya people. This place is of
interest to us in several ways. It was, unquestionably, a renowned city
in aboriginal times. Here the Spaniards met with a very severe repulse.
As a ruin it attracted the attention of early writers, and it has been
the subject of antiquarian research in recent times. The description of
the buildings will not detain us long. They are, evidently, the work of
the same people as those whose structures we have already described.

One of the most important buildings is known as the Nunnery, reminding
us at once of the collection of buildings of that name at Uxmal. In this
case, however, the pyramid is represented by a solid mass of masonry
one hundred and twelve by one hundred and sixty feet, rising with
perpendicular sides to the height of thirty-two feet. This is seen to be
a departure from the method of constructing pyramids hitherto described.
The proprietor of the estate on whose grounds these ruins are located
used this mound as a stone-quarry. An excavation of thirty feet revealed
no secret chambers.

The probabilities are that it is solid throughout. A grand staircase,
fifty-six feet wide, leads up to the top of this mound. Mr. Stephens
tells us that three ranges of buildings occupied the summit, and his
drawings represent the same. The roof of the one forms a promenade in
front of the one above. So each range of buildings rests on a foundation
solid from the ground. Mr. Bancroft describes this mound as having but
two ranges of buildings on the summit. Of these buildings the second
range was, seemingly, the most important. Several of its rooms contained
niches in the back wall, extending from floor to ceiling. From traces
still visible, they were once covered with painted ornaments. One of the
rooms was fifty-seven feet long and nine wide.

In the rear wall of this room were nine of these niches. "All of the
walls of this room, from the floor to the peak of the arch, had been
covered with painted designs, now wantonly defaced, but the remains of
which present colors, in some places, still bright and vivid; and among
these remains detached portions of human figures continually reappear,
well drawn, the heads adorned with plumes of feathers and the hands
bearing shields and spears." To this pile of masonry, at one end, a
wing had been attached. This building was similar in design to other
buildings in Yucatan. Theoretically we would expect this wing to be much
later in time than the buildings on the mound. That it is so, is proven
by the fact that in two rooms the internal core of masonry, as described
at Zayi, had not been wholly removed.

We have noticed in all these structures, the builders first threw up a
mound or pyramid to support the building. In one of the Chichen edifices
the earth had been excavated from all around it, so as to still present
the appearance of a mound. Perhaps the most prominent object at this
place is a stately pyramid, with an imposing building, represented in
the plate opposite. The mound itself is nearly two hundred feet square,
and rises to the height of seventy-five feet. On the west and north
sides are ruined staircases.

Illustration of Castillo, Chichen-Itza.--------

On the ground, at the foot of the stairway on the north side, "forming a
bold, striking, and well conceive commencement to this lofty range, are
two colossal serpents' heads, ten feet in length, with mouths wide open,
and tongues protruding. No doubt they were emblematic of some religious
belief, and, in the mind of an imaginative people passing between them,
to ascend the steps, must have excited feelings of solemn awe." The
temple on the summit of this pyramid has some peculiar features about
it. It is nearly square--forty-three by forty-nine feet--only one door
in each side. In the room within, instead of partition walls supporting
arches, were two immense beams, resting on square pillars, and
supporting two arches--the only instance in the ruins of Yucatan of such
use of beams.

Illustration of Gymnasium, at Chichen-Itza.--------------

We now wish to speak of one class of ruins which are present at Uxmal,
but which we did not describe. They are two parallel walls. On the plan
of Uxmal they are noticed between the Governor's House and the House of
Nuns. This illustration represents this feature. These walls are
each two hundred and seventy-four feet long, thirty feet thick, and
twenty-six feet high. The distance separating them is one hundred
and twenty feet. About one hundred feet from the north end, is seen a
building fronting the open space between the walls. A building stood
in a like position at the south end. In the cut a stone ring is seen
projecting from each side. On the rim and border of these rings were
sculptured two serpents, represented below. The general supposition is
that this structure was used in the celebration of public games. Mr.
Stephens refers us to the writings of Herrera, an early historian, for
a description of a game of ball played at Mexico, where the surroundings
must have been much the same as is here represented.

Illustration of Ring.----------------

Most of the structures in Yucatan have been left in undisturbed quiet
since the visit of Mr. Stephens. Five years after his visit, the Indians
rose in revolt, and a large portion of country through which he traveled
in perfect safety has, since then, been shunned by cautious travelers.
As he says, "For a brief space the stillness that reigned around them
was broken, and they were again left to solitude and silence." At Uxmal,
and some places near the coast, more recent travelers have investigated
the ruins, wondered over them, and passed on, without materially adding
to our knowledge respecting them. In 1873 a French scientists Dr. A.
Le Plongon, accompanied by his wife, visited Yucatan for the purpose of
exploring the ruins. They spent a year in Meridia, thoroughly studying
the customs of the country, and preparing for work.

Their first field of work was this ancient city, Chichen-Itza. As a
result, he lays before us a picture of life and times not only vastly
remote from us, but surpassing in wonder any thing hitherto presented.
In the field of American antiquities we need scarcely be surprised at
whatever conclusions are presented to us. We believe, however, we are
not too harsh in saying that scholars, as a rule, consider Le Plongon
as too much carried away by enthusiasm to judge coolly of his
discoveries.<54> The most important part of his discoveries seem to have
been in the buildings in connection with the Gymnasium last described.

At the time of the Spanish conquest, a very common tradition among the
natives was that, in ancient times, three brothers governed the country.
This legend of three rulers in olden times, was not peculiar to
the Mayas, but was found among all the Indian nations of Central
America.<55> In our opinion this last statement at once shows we have
here to deal with a question belonging to mythology and not to history.
But M. Le Plongon considers the buildings at Chichen, especially those
of the Gymnasium, illustrative of the lives of the three brothers, and
of the queen of one of them. In brief, he tells us the names of these
three brothers were, Chaac-mol, Huuncay, and Aac. The first of these,
Chaac-mol, means Tiger King. It was he who raised Chichen-Itza to
the height of its glory. M. Le Plongon would have us believe that the
merchants of Asia and Africa traded in its marts, and that the wise men
of the world came hither to consult with the H-men,<56> whose convent,
together with their astronomical laboratory, is still to be seen. Aac
was the younger brother of the three. He conspired against the life of
Chaac-mol, and finally killed him. The queen of Chaac-mol then erected
the buildings around the Gymnasium as his memorial.

Illustration of Building at end of Gymnasium.------------

At the south end of the eastern wall Mr. Stephens noticed two ruined
buildings, an upper and a lower one, of which our next cut is a
representation. He was struck with the remains of painting, which
entirely covered the walls. He tells us the walls were everywhere
covered with designs in painting, representing, in bright and vivid
colors, human figures, battles, houses, trees, and scenes of domestic
life. We give, in a plate, detached portions of these figures. We must
understand that, in the original, these were beautifully colored. The
colors used were "green, yellow, red, blue, and reddish brown, the last
being invariably the color given to human flesh."

Illustration of Painted Stucco-work.----------

M. Le Plongon contends that these paintings represent scenes in the
lives of the three brothers and the Queen of Chaac-mol, "in the funeral
chamber." Says he: "The terrible altercation between Aac and Chaac-mol,
which had its termination in the murder of the latter by his brother,
is represented by large figures three-fourths life size."<57> And in
another place he tells us: "The scenes of his death is impressively
portrayed on the walls, which the queen caused to be raised to the
memory of her husband, in the two exquisite rooms, the ruins of which
are yet to be seen upon the south end of the east wall of the Gymnasium.
The rooms were a shrine where the conjugal love of the queen worshiped
the memory of her departed lover. She adorned the outer walls with his
effigies, his totem-tiger, and his shield and coat-of-arms between tiger
and tiger;<58> whilst on the admirably polished stucco, that covers the
stones in the interior of the rooms, she had his deeds--his and her own
life, in fact--painted in beautiful, life-like designs, superbly drawn,
and sweetly colored."<59>

He tells us further, that Aac, after the commission of his crime, fled
to Uxmal for protection, where he built the edifice described as the
"Governor's House." The seated figures over the central door-way (see
Illustration of Figure over Doorway, earlier), he says, represents Aac.
In the hieroglyphics around the head he finds the name. Although neither
Mr. Stephens nor the other travelers mention any thing of the kind, he
says that, under the feet of this figure, "are to be seen the bodies of
three figures, two men and one woman, flayed."<60> Though the figures
are headless, he has no doubt but that they represent Huuncay,
Chaae-Mol, and the queen, his wife. We are further told that the ruined
structure on the second terrace, called the "House of Turtles," was
Aac's private residence.

Illustration of Queen consulting the H-men.-------

This wonderful story of the lives and adventures of the three brothers
was revealed to the doctor by a careful study of the detached painting
mentioned by Mr. Stephens. One of the paintings which served him so
good a turn is shown in the cut above, which he considers represents
the queen, when a child, consulting one of the wise men as to her future
destiny.<61>

Perhaps as interesting a portion of his discoveries as any, is finding
sculptured figures of bearded white men on the pillars of the temple,
and painted on the walls of Chaac-mol's chambers. He thinks they have
Assyrian features. He also claims to have discovered figures having true
Negro features.

As to the antiquity of this city he readily figures up nineteen thousand
years; but this did not take him to the beginning. He arrives at
this estimate in this way: To the north-east of the pyramid, we have
described, are to be seen rows of small columns, which have excited the
curiosity of all who have seen them. Mr. Stephens represents them
in four rows, inclosing a rectangular area. M. Le Plongon says they
surrounded three sides of a terraced pyramid, which once supported the
main temple of the city. Mr. Stephens has no suggestions to offer as to
their use.

Le Plongon claims they were used to measure time, and quotes from old
authors to the effect, that each stone in them stands for twenty years;
and, as there is always just eight stones in a column, each column means
one hundred and sixty years. He counted one hundred and twenty of these
columns--and then, as he says: "Got tired of pushing my way through
the nearly impenetrable thicket, where I could see many more among the
shrubs." From this number he computes nineteen thousand two hundred
years.

What shall we say to this story that M. Le Plongon brings us of ancient
Maya civilization? It is unquestioned that he has expended a great
amount of patient labor in his work, has braved many dangers, and is
thoroughly in earnest. He has also spent years in the field, and ought
to be well qualified to judge of the ruins. We believe, however, he
is altogether wrong in his conclusions. The keystone of his
discoveries--the one on which he relies to prove the accuracy of his
methods--fails him. This was the discovery of the statue of Chaac-mol
himself, which is here represented. He claims to have found it as the
result of successfully rendering certain mural tablets in the funeral
chamber, but a careful reading of his own account of the affair leaves
us under the impression that the "instincts of the archaeologist" had as
much to do with it as any thing else.<62>

Illustration of Chaac-mol.-----------------

Be that as it may, he certainly did find this statue buried in the
ground. He is very positive it is Chaac-mol, claiming to have read the
name readily in hieroglyphics on the ear-tablets. He says: "It is not an
idol, but a true portrait of a man who has lived an earthly life. I have
seen him represented in battle, in council, and in court receptions.
I am well acquainted with his life, and the manner of his death." This
statue was seized by the Mexican Government, and taken to Mexico. Here
a curious discovery was made. Another statue similar to this was already
in the museum. This latter had been found not far from Mexico. Since
then, still a third, smaller than the others, but evidently representing
the same personage, has been discovered. In short, it has been shown
that this is an idol, worshiped as well by the Aztecs as by the Mayas,
and, instead of being buried, as Le Plongon asserts, five thousand years
ago, we have not much doubt it was buried to prevent its falling in to
the hands of the Spaniards.<63>

Illustration of Bearded Itza.-------------

As to the antiquity with which Le Plongon would clothe Chichen, if his
method be right, he has not more than made a beginning. Mr. Stephens
counted three hundred and eighty of these same columns, and tells us
there were many more.<64> We know no good reason for supposing Chichen
was not inhabited at the time of the conquest. The wooden beams and
lintels in the temples have not yet decayed, and the masonry had not
been cleaned out of some of the rooms. On this point we wish to make a
suggestion, a mere hint. The pillars that supported the arches in the
temple mentioned some pages back were covered with sculpture. Amongst
some others, but very faintly represented, was the preceding figure of a
bearded man. May it not be that it represents a Spaniard? We must recall
the stucco figure of the horse and its rider at Kabah. It seems to us
a reasonable suggestion that they should carve on the pillars of
their temples representations of the Spaniards, for the Spaniards were
twenty-five years in gaining a permanent foothold in Yucatan, and during
that time the Indians would continue to build and ornament as before.

Illustration of Arizona Ruin.------------

REFERENCES

(1) Bancroft: "Native Races," Vol. V, p. 78.
(2) Stephens's "Incidents of Travel in Central America, Chiapas,
and Yucatan," Vol. I, p. 113, _et seq._
(3) Bancroft's "Native Races," Vol. IV, p. 95.
(4) "Report of Bureau of Ethnology," Vol. I. Mr. Holden's
article.
(5) Fourteen years later, these ruins were visited and described
by an Austrian traveler, Dr. Scherzer. His account, though much
more complete than Mr. Stephens's, has not yet appeared in
English. Mr. Bancroft, in "Native Races," Vol. IV, p. 118, _et
seq.,_ gives a _resume_ of all information known as to
these ruins.
(6) "Central America," Vol II, p. 122. We are not sure about
this inclosure. But Mr. Catherwood mentions a wall, and we are
told the ruins are, in all respects, similar to those of Copan.
(7) For full information consult Bancroft's "Native Races,"
Vol. IV, pp. 115 to 139.
(8) "Central America," Vol. II, pp. 152-3.
(9) Brasseur De Bourbourg styles Fuentes's description of Copan
"La description menteuse de Fuentes." Bancroft: "Native Races,"
Vol. IV, p. 80, note.
(10) Charney, in _North American Review,_ 1881.
(11) "Native Races," Vol. IV, p. 300, _et seq._
(12) Morgan's "Contribution to N.A. Ethnology," Vol. IV, p. 268.
(13) Bancroft's "Native Races," Vol. IV, p. 319.
(14) Armin: "Das Heute Mexico."
(15) "Native Races," Vol. IV.
(16) Bancroft's "Native Races," p. 326.
(17) Short's "North Americans of Antiquity," p. 389.
(18) Holden, in "First Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology."
(19) Brasseur De Bourbourg.
(20) "Myths of the New World."
(21) Holden, in "First Annual Report Bureau of Ethnology."
(22) This tablet is named after its discoverer. The building in
which it is situated was but a short distance from the others;
yet, owing to the density of the forest, neither Waldeck nor
Stephens discovered it. A cast of it is now in the National
Museum at Washington.
(23) Rau, in "Smithsonian Contribution to Knowledge," Vol. XXII,
p. 40.
(24) "Myths of the New World," p. 95.
(25) Bancroft's "Native Races," Vol. V, p. 506.
(26) See, also, "American Encyclopedia," Art. "Cross."
(27) "Conquest of Mexico," p. 160.
(28) "Smithsonian Contribution to Knowledge," Vol. XXII.
(29) Bancroft's "Native Races," Vol. III, p. 470.
(30) "Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology," Vol. I.
(31) Mr. Holden uses, as an important link in his arguments, a
figure engraved on a chalchiute (a sacred stone). He concludes
it to be a representative of Huitzilopochtli, the god of war, or
rather the Maya representative of the Mexican god of that name.
It is unfortunate that Prof. Valentine gives to this same figure
a different significance. In the "Proceedings of the American
Antiquarian Society," for April, 1884, in a paper on that
subject, he concludes it to be a representation of a victorious
warrior giving sacrifice to his god. The only persons entitled
to speak on such subjects are those thoroughly acquainted with
Maya Archaeology.
(32) Huitzilopochtli.
(33) Tlaloc.
(34) Bancroft's "Native Races," Vol. III, p. 324.
(35) While such seem to us to be the results of Mr. Holden's
labors, it must not be understood that he vouches for them.
They must be regarded as personal views which we express with
some mental forebodings. In this matter we must abide by further
investigations.
(36) Bandelier: "An Archaeological Tour in Mexico," p. 184.
(37) Bancroft's "Native Races," Vol. IV, p. 345.
(38) See Charney, in _North American Review,_ 1881. They
wore formerly in a house.
(39) Bancroft's "Native Races," Vol. IV, p. 332.
(40) Brinton's "Contribution to North American Ethnology," Vol.
V, p. 36. "Introduction to Study of Manuscript Troano," by Prof.
Thomas.
(41) _North American Review,_ February, 1881, p. 187.
(42) Bancroft's "Native Races," p. 287.
(43) "Central America," Vol. II, p. 261. At this time Mr.
Stephens had not seen the ruins at Palenque, and those in
Yucatan.
(44) Pronounced "oosh-mal."
(45) Our principal authority on the ruin's of Yucatan is Mr.
Stephens, whose work, "Incidents of Travel in Yucatan," in two
volumes, is all that can be desired. Mr. Bancroft, in "Native
Races," Vol. IV, has gathered together whatever of worth there
is in the writings of various explorers.
(46) Mr. Stephens thinks they were for the support of the
arches, while building. As, however, it is almost certain they
constructed this arch over a solid cove of masonry, which they
afterwards removed (see "Contributions to N.A. Ethnology,"
Vol. IV, p. 262), they could not have been intended for
such use.
(47) The pyramid is three hundred and fifty feet square at the
base and nineteen feet high. The terraces are along the south
side. The lowest terrace is three feet high and twenty feet
wide. The second is twelve feet high and forty-five feet wide.
The third is four feet high and five feet wide. The building on
the south side is two hundred and seventy-nine feet long,
twenty-eight feet wide, and eighteen feet high. The north one is
two hundred and sixty-four feet long, twenty-eight feet wide,
and twenty-five feet high. The eastern one, one hundred and
fifty-eight feet long, thirty-five feet wide, and twenty-two
feet high. The western one, one hundred and seventy-three feet
long, thirty-five feet wide, and twenty feet high. (Bancroft's
"Native Races," Vol. IV, p. 174.) The area of the court is two
hundred and fourteen feet by two hundred and fifty-eight feet.
It is about two and a half feet lower than the buildings on the
eastern, western, and southern sides. There are seventy-six
rooms in the four ranges of buildings, and twelve more in the
facings of the terrace of the north building, to be described.
In size the rooms vary from twenty to thirty feet long by from
ten to twelve feet wide.
(48) Bancroft: "Native Races," Vol. IV, p. 179.
(49) The dimensions of this mound are as follows: Length of
base, two hundred and thirty-five feet; width of base, one
hundred and five feet; height, eighty-eight feet. Though
diminishing as it rises, it is not exactly pyramidal, but its
corners are rounded. It is incased with stone, and is apparently
solid from the plain.--Stephens's "Yucatan," Vol. I, p. 316.
(50) See "Proceedings Am. Antiq. Society," April, 1880, p. 57.
(51) _North American Review,_ 1882.
(52) "Contributions to North American Ethnology," Vol. IV,
p. 267.
(53) Stephens's "Yucatan," Vol. II, p. 164.
(54) Short's "North Americans of Antiquity," p. 396; Charney:
_North American Review,_ October, 1880.
(55) "Proceedings Am. Antiq. Society," Oct., 1878, p. 73.
(56) Learned men of the Mayas.
(57) American Antiquarian Society, October 1878.
(58) The tigers can be seen on the engraving of the gymnasium.
(59) Proceedings American Antiquarian Society, April, 1877,
p. 97.
(60) Proceedings American Antiquarian Society, April, 1877,
p. 101.
(61) M. Le Plongon interprets the curved figures issuing from
the throat of the wise-man. In the original, different parts of
this figure were of different colors. The doctor frankly tells
us, that "imagination does the greater part of the work" in his
interpretation.
(62) "Guided, as I have said, by my interpretations of the mural
paintings, bas-reliefs, and other signs,... I directed my
steps, perhaps inspired by the instincts of the archaeologist,
to a dense part of the thicket." Proceedings Am. Antiq. Society,
April, 1877, p. 85.
(63) _North American Review,_ October, 1880. And yet there
are indications that this is a statue. See Bandelier's
"Archaeological Tour in Mexico," p. 74.
(64) Stephens's "Yucatan," Vol. II, p. 318.

Chapter XV.

THE CULTURE OF THE CIVILIZED TRIBES.<1>

Different views on this question--Reason for the same--Their
architecture--Different styles of houses--The communal house--The
tecpan--The teocalli--State of society indicated by this
architecture--The gens among the Mexicans--The phratry among the
Mexicans--The tribe--The powers and duties of the council--The head
chiefs of the tribe--The duties of the "Chief-of-men"--The mistake
of the Spaniards--The Confederacy--The idea of property among the
Mexicans--The ownership of land--Their laws--Enforcement of the
laws--Outline of the growth of the Mexicans in power--Their tribute
system--How collected--Their system of trade--Slight knowledge of
metallurgy--Religion--Quietzalcohuatl--Huitzilopochtli--Mexican
priesthood--Human sacrifices--The system of Numeration--The calendar
system--The calendar stone--Picture writing--Landa alphabet--Historical
outline.

A landscape presents varied aspects according to the standpoint from
which it is viewed. Here we have a glimpse of hill and dale; there
a stretch of running water. But two persons, standing in the same
position, owing to their different mental temperaments, will view things
in a different light. Where one, an artist born, is carried away with
the beautiful scenery, another, with a more practical turn of mind,
perceives only its adaptability for investments. Education and habits
of life are also very potent factors in determining our views on various
questions. Scholars of wide and extended learning differ very greatly in
their views of questions deeply affecting human interests. We know how
true that is of abstruse topics, such as religion and questions of state
polity. It is also true of the entire field of scientific research. The
unknown is a vastly greater domain than the known, and men, after deep
and patient research, adopt widely different theories to explain the
same facts.

It need, therefore, occasion no surprise to learn that there is a
great difference of opinion as to the real state of culture among
the so-called civilized tribes of Mexico and Central America. We have
incidentally mentioned this difference in describing the ruins and their
probable purpose. As one of the objects we have in view, and perhaps the
most important one, is to learn what we can of the real state of society
amongst the prehistoric people we treat of, it becomes necessary to
examine these different views, and, if we can not decide in our own
minds what to accept as true, we will be prepared to receive additional
evidence that scholars are now bringing forward, and know to how weigh
them and compare them with others.

It has only been within the last few years that we have gained an
insight into the peculiar organization of Indian society. After some
centuries of contact between the various tribes of Indians and whites,
their social organization was still unknown. But we are now beginning
to understand this, and the important discovery has also been made that
this same system of government was very widely spread, indeed. This
subject has, however, been as extensively treated as is necessary in
chapter xii, so we need not stop longer. But if, with all the light of
modern learning, we have only lately gained a clear understanding of the
social organization of Indian tribes, it need occasion no surprise,
nor call for any indignant denial, to affirm that the Spaniards totally
misunderstood the social organization of the tribes with which they came
in contact in Mexico.

We must also take into consideration the political condition of Europe
at this time. Feudalism still exercised an influence on men's minds.
The Spanish writers, in order to convey to Europeans a knowledge of
the country and its inhabitants, applied European names and phrases to
American Indian (advanced though they were) personages and institutions.
But the means employed totally defeated the object sought. Instead of
imparting a clear idea, a very erroneous one was conveyed.

As an illustration of this abuse of language, we might refer to the
case of Montezuma, which name itself is a corruption of the Mexican word
"Motecu-zoma," meaning literally "my wrathy chief." Mr. Bandelier<2>
and Mr. Morgan have quite clearly shown what his real position was.
His title was "chief of men."<3> He was simply one of the two chief
executive officers of the tribe and general of the forces of the
confederacy. His office was strictly elective, and he could be deposed
for misdemeanor. Instead of giving him his proper title, and explaining
its meaning, the Spaniards bestowed on him the title of king, which was
soon enlarged to that of emperor, European words, it will be observed,
which convey an altogether wrong idea of Mexican society. Many such
illustrations could be given.

The literature that has grown up about this subject is very voluminous,
but the authors not being acquainted with the organization of Indian
society, have not been able to write understandingly about them. We do
not flatter ourselves that we have now solved all the difficulties of
the case. But since Mr. Morgan has succeeded in throwing such a flood of
light on the constitution of ancient society, and especially of Indian
society, and Mr. Bandelier has given us the results of his careful
investigation of the culture of the Mexicans, we feel that a foundation
has been laid for a correct understanding of this vexed problem.

We will now examine their architecture, or style of building. In dealing
with prehistoric people, we have several times referred to the tribal
state of government, involving village life and communism in living. We
have seen how this principle enabled us to understand the condition of
Europe during the Neolithic Age. In still another place we have used
this principle to show the connection of the Pueblo Indians and other
tribes of the United States. Now we think this is the key which is to
explain many of the ruins we have described in the preceding chapter.
But another principle to be borne in mind, is that of defense. War,
we have seen, is really the normal state of things amongst tribal
communities. Therefore, either some position naturally strong must be
selected as a village site, or the houses themselves must be fortified,
after the fashion of Indians. This will be found to explain many
peculiarities in their method of construction.

Amongst the pueblo structures of to-day, and among the ruins of the
cliff-dwellers, we have seen how compact every thing was. The estufa, or
place of council and worship, was built in close proximity to the other
building, and sometimes it formed part of it, and we do not learn that
there was any thing distinguishing about the apartments of the chief.
Further South a change is noticed. A specialization of structures, if
we may use such an expression, has taken place, and, among the Mexicans,
three kinds of houses were distinguished. It is extremely probable the
same classification could be made elsewhere. There was, first of all,
the ordinary dwelling houses. Every vestige of aboriginal buildings in
the pueblos of Mexico has long since disappeared, and our knowledge
of these structures can only be gathered from the somewhat confused
accounts of the early writers.

Many, perhaps most, of the houses had a terraced, pyramidal foundation.
Some were constructed on three sides of a court, like those on the
Rio Chaco, in New Mexico. Others probably surrounded an open court, or
quadrangle. The houses were of one and two stories in height. When two
stories, the upper one receded from the first, probably in the terraced
form. As serving to connect them with the more ornamental structures in
Yucatan, we are told they were sometimes "adorned with elegant cornices
and stucco designs of flowers and animals, which were often painted
with brilliant colors. Prominent among these figures was the coiling
serpent."<4> After pointing out, by many citations, that the evidence
always was that these houses were occupied by many families, Mr. Morgan
concludes, "They were evidently joint tenement-houses of the aboriginal
American model, each occupied by a number of families ranging from five
and ten to one hundred, and perhaps, in some cases, two hundred families
in a house."<5>

We can discern this kind of dwelling-house in many of the descriptions
we have given of the ruins in the preceding chapter. M. Charney
evidently found them at Tulla and Teotihuacan. Mr. Bandelier concludes
that similar ruins once crowded the terraces at Cholula, and that to
this class belongs the ruins at Mitla. The Palace, at Palenque, is
evidently but another instance, as well as the House of Nuns, at Uxmal.
In fact, with our present knowledge of the pueblos of Arizona, and the
purposes which they subserved, as well as the uses made of such houses
by the Mexicans, we are no longer justified in bestowing upon the
structures in Yucatan the name of palaces.

The mistake was excusable among the Spaniards. They were totally
ignorant of the mode of life indicated by these joint tenement-houses.
When they found one of these large structures, capable of accommodating
several hundred occupants, with its inner court, terraced foundation,
and ornamented by stucco work, or sculpture, it was extremely natural
that they should call it a palace, and cast about for some titled owner.

A second class of houses includes public buildings. The Mexicans, when
at the height of their power, required buildings for public use, and
this was doubtless true of the people who inhabited Uxmal and Palenque.
The most important house was the tecpan, the official house of the
tribe, the council house proper. This was the official residence of the
"chief of men" and his assistants, such as runners. This was the place
of meeting of the council of chiefs. It was here that the hospitality
of the Pueblo was exercised. Official visitors from other tribes and
traders from a distance were provided with accommodations here. When
Cortez and his followers entered Mexico they were provided for at the
tecpan. We would not expect to find these public buildings, except in
rich and prosperous pueblos. It has been suggested that the Governor's
House at Uxmal was the official house of that settlement. The large
halls, suitable for council purposes, favor this idea.<6>

A third class of buildings was the teocalli, or "House of God"--in
other words, the temple. These were quite common. Each of the gens that
composed the Mexican tribe had its own particular medicine lodge or
temple. This was doubtless true of each and every tribe of sedentary
Indians in the territory we are describing. "The larger temples were
usually built upon pyramidal parallelograms, square or oblong, and
consisted of a series of superimposed terraces with perpendicular or
sloping sides."<7> It is not necessary to dwell longer on this style of
buildings. We have only to recall the temples of the Sun, of the Cross,
and of the Beau-relief at Palenque; the House of the Dwarf at Uxmal,
and the Citadel at Chichen-Itza, to gather a clear idea of their
construction.

The architecture of a people is a very good exponent of their culture.
Yet all have seen what different views are held as to the culture of the
tribes we are considering. We have, perhaps, said all that is required
on this part of the subject, yet even repetition is pardonable if it
enables us to more clearly understand our subject. The ornamentation on
the ruins of Yucatan is so peculiar that in our opinion it has unduly
influenced the judgment of explorers in this matter. They lose sight
of the fact that the apartments of the houses are small, dark, and illy
ventilated.

That they should hive gone to the trouble of so profusely decorating
their usual places of abode is, indeed, somewhat singular.<8> But Mitla
was certainly an inhabited pueblo at the time of the Spanish conquest,
and there is no good reason for concluding it was ever any thing more
than a group of communal buildings. Yet, from the description given of
it, we can not see that the buildings are greatly inferior in decoration
to the structures in Yucatan. And yet again, from the imperfect accounts
we have of the aboriginal structures in the pueblo of Mexico, we infer
they were constructed on the general plan of communal buildings. As for
the decorations, we have seen they had sometimes elaborate cornices, and
were covered with stucco designs of animals and flowers. In this case
some of them were, to be sure, public buildings for tribal purposes,
but the majority of them were certainly communal residences. With
these facts before us, we can not do otherwise than conclude that these
so-called ruins of great cities we have described are simply the ruins
of pueblos, consisting of communal houses, temples, and, in the case
of large and powerful tribes, official houses. To this conclusion we
believe American scholars are tending more and more.

This requires us to dismiss the idea that the majority of the people
lived in houses of a poorer construction, which have since disappeared,
leaving the ruins of the houses of the nobles. There was no such class
division of the people as this would signify. These ruins were houses
occupied by the people in common. With this understanding, a questioning
of the ruins can not fail to give us some useful hints. We are struck
with their ingenuity as builders. They made use of the best material
at hand. In Arizona the dry climate permits of the use of adobe bricks,
which were employed, though stone was also used. Further south the
pouring tropical rains would soon bring down in ruins adobe structures
and so stone alone is used.

In the Arizona pueblo we have a great fortress-built house, three and
four stories high, and no mode of access to the lower story. This is
in strict accord with Indian principles of defense, which consists in
elevated positions. Sometimes this elevated position was a natural hill,
as at Quemada, Tezcocingo, and Xochicalco. Where no hill was at hand
they formed a terraced pyramidal foundation, as at Copan, Palenque, and
Uxmal. In the highest forms of this architecture this elevation is faced
with stone, or even composed throughout of stone, as in the case of the
House of Nuns at Chichen-Itza. In the construction of houses progress
seems to have taken place in two directions. The rooms increased in
size. In some of the oldest pueblo structures in Arizona the rooms were
more like a cluster of cells than any thing else.<9>

They grow larger towards the South. In the house at Teotihuacan M.
Charney found a room twenty-seven feet wide by forty-one feet long. Two
of the rooms in the Governor's House at Uxmal are sixty feet long. But
the buildings themselves diminish in size. In Mexico the majority of the
houses were but one story high, and but very few more than two stories.
In Yucatan but few instances are recorded of houses two stories high.
We must remember that throughout the entire territory we are considering
the tribes had no domestic animals, their agriculture was in a rude
state, and they were practically destitute of metals.<10> They could
have been no farther advanced on the road to civilization than were the
various tribes of Europe during the Bronze Age. Remembering this, we can
not fail to be impressed with the ingenuity, patient toil, and artistic
taste they displayed in the construction and decoration of their
edifices.

It may seem somewhat singular that we should treat of their architecture
before we do of their system of government, but we were already
acquainted with the ruins of the former. When we turn to the latter
we find ourselves involved in very great difficulties. The description
given of Mexican society by the majority of writers on these topics
represent it as that of a powerful monarchy. The historian Prescott,
in his charming work<11> draws a picture that would not suffer by
comparison with the despotic magnificence of Oriental lands. At a later
date Mr. Bancroft, supporting himself by an appeal to a formidable list
of authorities, regilds the scene.<12> But protests against such views
are not wanting. Robertson, in his history, though bowing to the weight
of authority can not forbear expressing his conviction that there had
been some exaggeration in the splendid description of their government
and manners.<13> Wilson, more skeptical, and bolder, utterly repudiates
the old accounts, and refuses to believe the Aztecs were any thing more
than savages.<14>

With such divergent and conflicting views, we at once perceive the
necessity of carefully scanning all the accounts given, and make them
conform, if possible, to what is known of Indian institutions and
manners. The Mexicans are but one of several tribes that are the
subjects of our research; but their institutions are better known than
the others, and, in a general way, whatever is true of them will be
true of the rest. We have seen the efforts of the Spanish explorers to
explain whatever they found new or strange in America by Spanish words,
and the results of such procedure. We are at full liberty to reject
their conclusions and start anew.

What the Spaniards found around the lakes of Mexico was a union or
confederacy of three tribes. Very late investigations by Mr. Bandelier
have established the presence of the usual subdivisions of the tribes.
So we have here a complete organization according to the terms of
ancient society: that is, the gens, phratry, tribe, and confederacy
of tribes. It is necessary that we spend some time with each of these
subdivisions before we can understand the condition of society among
the Mexicans, and, in all probability, the society among all of the
civilized nations of Central America.

We will begin with the gens, or the lowest division of the tribe. We
must understand its organization before we can understand that of a
tribe, and we must master the tribal organization before attempting
to learn the workings of the confederacy. To neglect this order, and
commence at the top of the series, is to make the same mistake that
the older writers did in their studies into this culture. A gens has
certain rights, duties, and privileges which belong to the whole gens,
and we will consider some of the more important in their proper place.
We must understand by a gens a collection of persons who are considered
to be all related to each other. An Indian could not, of his own will,
transfer himself from one gens to another. He remained a member of the
gens into which he was born. He might, by a formal act of adoption,
become a member of another gens; or he might, in certain contingencies,
lose his connection with a gens and become an outcast. There is no such
thing as privileged classes in a gens. All its members stand on an equal
footing. The council of the gens is the supreme ruling power in the
gens. Among some of the northern tribes, all the members in the gens,
both male and female, had a voice in this council. In the Mexican gens,
the council itself was more restricted. The old men, medicine men, and
distinguished men met in council--but even here, on important occasions,
the whole gens met in council.

Each gens would, of course, elect its own officers. They could remove
them from office as well, whenever occasion required. The Mexican gentes
elected two officers. One of these corresponded to the sachem among
northern tribes. His residence was the official house of the gens. He
had in charge the stores of the gens; and, in unimportant cases, he
exercised the powers of a judge. The other officer was the war-chief. In
times of war he commanded the forces of the gens. In times of peace he
was, so to speak, the sheriff of the gens.

The next division of the tribe was the phratry--the word properly
meaning a brotherhood. Referring to the outline below, we notice that
the eight gentes were reunited into two phratries. Mr. Morgan tells us
that the probable origin of phratries was from the subdivision of an
original gens. Thus a tradition of the Seneca Indians affirms that the
Bear and the Deer gentes were the original gentes of that tribe.<15> In
process of time they split up into eight gentes, which would each
have all the rights and duties of an original gens--but, for certain
purposes, they were still organized into two divisions.

First Phratry, Bear
or Wolf Gens.
Brotherhood. Beaver
Turtle
TRIBE.
Second Phratry, Deer
or Snipe Gens.
Brotherhood. Heron
Hawk

Each of these larger groups is called a phratry. All of the Iroquois
tribes were organized into phratries, and the same was, doubtless, true
of the majority of the tribes of North America. The researches of Mr.
Bandelier have quite conclusively established the fact, that the ancient
Mexican tribe consisted of twenty gentes reunited as four phratries,
which constituted the four quarters of the Pueblo of Mexico.

It is somewhat difficult to understand just what the rights and duties
of a phratry were. This division does not exist in all tribes. But,
as it was present among the Mexicans, we must learn what we can of its
powers. Among the Iroquois the phratry was apparent chiefly in religious
matters, and in social games. They did not elect any war-chief. The
Mexican phratry was largely concerned with military matters. The forces
of each phratry went out to war as separate divisions. They had their
own costumes and banners. The four phratries chose each their war-chief,
who commanded their forces in the field, and who, as commander, was the
superior of the war-chiefs of the gentes.

In time of peace, they acted as the executors of tribal justice. They
belonged to the highest grade of war-chiefs in Mexico--but there was
nothing hereditary about their offices. They were strictly elective, and
could be deposed for cause. They were in no case appointed by a higher
authority. One of these chiefs was always elected to fill the office
of "Chief of Men;"<16> and, in cases of emergency, they could take his
place--but this would be only a temporary arrangement.

Ascending the scale, the next term of the series is the tribe. The
Spanish writers took notice of a tribe, but failed to notice the gens
and phratry. This is not to be considered a singular thing. The Iroquois
were under the observation of our own people two hundred years before
the discovery was made in reference to them. "The existence among them
of clans, named after animals, was pointed out at an early day, but
without suspecting that it was the unit of a social system upon which
both the tribe and the confederacy rested."<17> But, being ignorant of
this fact, it is not singular that they made serious mistakes in their
description of the government.

We now know that the Mexican tribe was composed of an association of
twenty gentes, that each of these gens was an independent unit, and that
all of its members stood on an equal footing. This, at the outset, does
away with the idea of a monarchy. Each gens would, of course, have an
equal share in the government. This was effected by means of a council
composed of delegates from each gens. There is no doubt whatever of the
existence of this council among the Mexicans. "Every tribe in Mexico and
Central America, beyond a reasonable doubt, had its council of chiefs.
It was the governing body of the tribe, and a constant phenomenon in
all parts of aboriginal America."<18> The Spanish writers knew of the
existence of this council, but mistook its function. They generally
treat of it as an advisory board of ministers appointed by the "king."

Each of the Mexican gens was represented in this council by a "Speaking
Chief," who, of course was elected by the gens he represented. All
tribal matters were under the control of this council. Questions of
peace and war, and the distribution of tribute, were decided by the
council. They also had judicial duties to perform. Disputes between
different gentes were adjusted by them. They also would have
jurisdiction of all crimes committed by those unfortunate individuals
who were not members of any gens, and of crimes committed on territory
not belonging to any gens, such as the Teocalli, Market-place, and
Tecpan.

The council must have regular stated times of meeting; they could be
called together at any time. At the time of Cortez's visits they met
daily. This council was, of course, supreme in all questions coming
before it; but every eighty days there was a council extraordinary. This
included the members of the council proper, the war-chiefs of the four
phratries, the war-chiefs of the gentes, and the leading medicine men.
Any important cause could be reserved for this meeting, or, if agreed
upon, a reconsideration of a cause could be had. We must understand that
the tribal council could not interfere in any matter referring solely to
a gens; that would be settled by the gens itself.

The important points to be noticed are, that it was an elective body,
representing independent groups, and that it had supreme authority.
But the tribes needed officers to execute the decrees of the council.
Speaking of the Northern tribes, Mr. Morgan says, "In some Indian
tribes, one of the sachems was recognized as its head chief; and so
superior in rank to his associates. A need existed, to some extent for
an official head of the tribe, to represent it when the council was
not in session. But the duties and powers of the office were slight.
Although the council was superior in authority, it was rarely in
session, and questions might arise demanding the provisional action of
some one authorized to represent the tribe, subject to the ratification
of his acts by the council."<19>

This need was still more urgent among the Mexicans; accordingly we find
they elected two officials for this purpose. It seems this habit of
electing two chief executives was quite a common one among the tribes
of Mexico and Central America. We have already noticed that the Mexican
gentes elected two such officers for their purpose. We are further told
that the Iroquois appointed two head war-chiefs to command the forces of
the confederacy.<20>

One of the chiefs so elected by the Mexicans bore the somewhat singular
title of "Snake-woman." He was properly the head-chief of the Mexicans.
He was chairman of the council and announced its decrees. He was
responsible to the council for the tribute received, as far as it was
applied to tribal requirements, and for a faithful distribution of the
remainder among the gentes. When the forces of the confederacy went out
to war, he commanded the tribal forces of Mexico; but on other occasions
this duty was fulfilled by his colleague, who was the real war-chief
of the Mexicans. His title was "Chief-of-men." This is the official who
appears in history as the "King of Mexico," sometimes, even, as "Emperor
of Anahuac." The fact is, he was one of two equal chiefs; he held an
elective office, and was subordinate to the council.

When the confederacy was formed, the command of its forces was given to
the war-chief of the Mexicans; thus he was something more than a tribal
officer. His residence was the official house of the tribe. "He was to
be present day and night at this abode, which was the center wherein
converged the threads of information brought by traders, gatherers of
tribute, scouts and spies, as well as all messages sent to, or received
from, neighboring friendly or hostile tribes. Every such message came
directly to the 'Chief-of-men,' whose duty it was, before acting, to
present its import to the 'Snake-woman,' and, through him, call together
the council." He might be present at the council, but his presence was
not required, nor did his vote weigh any more than any other member of
the council, only, of course, from the position he occupied, his opinion
would be much respected. He provided for the execution of the council's
conclusions. In case of warp he would call out the forces of the
confederacy for assistance. As the procurement of substance by means of
tribute was one of the great objects of the confederacy, the gathering
of it was placed under the control of the war-chief, who was therefore
the official head of the tribute-gatherers.

We have thus very imperfectly and hastily sketched the governmental
organization of the Mexican tribe. It is something very different from
an empire. It was a democratic organization. There was not an officer
in it but what held his office by election. This, to some, may seem
improbable, because the Spaniards have described a different state of
things. We have already mentioned one reason why they should do so--that
was their ignorance of Indian institutions. We must also consider the
natural bias of their minds. The rule of Charles the V was any thing but
liberal. It was a part of their education to believe that a monarchical
form of government was just the thing; they were accordingly prepared to
see monarchical institutions, whether they existed or not.

Then there was the perfectly natural disposition to exaggerate their
achievements. To spread in Europe the report that they had subverted a
powerfully organized monarchy, having an emperor, a full line of nobles,
orders of chivalry, and a standing army, certainly sounded much better
than the plain statement that they had succeeded in disjointing a
loosely connected confederacy, captured and put to death the head war
chief of the principal tribe, and destroyed the communal buildings of
their pueblo.

We must not forget that, from an Indian point of view, the confederacy
was composed of rich and powerful tribes. This is especially true of the
Mexicans. The position they held, from a defensive standpoint, was one
of the strongest ever held by Indians. They received a large amount of
tribute from subject tribes, along with the hearty hatred of the same.
From the time Cortez landed on the shore he had heard accounts of the
wealth, power, and cruelty of the Mexicans. When he arrived before
Mexico the "Chief-of-men," Montezuma, as representative of tribal
hospitality, went forth to meet him, extending "unusual courtesies to
unusual, mysterious, and therefore dreaded, guests." We may well imagine
that he was decked out in all the finery his office could raise, and
that he put on as much style and "court etiquette" as their knowledge
and manner of life would stand.

The Spaniards immediately concluded that he was king, and so he was
given undue prominence. They subsequently learned of the council, and
recognized the fact that it was really the supreme power. They learned
of the office of "Snake-woman," and acknowledged that his power was
equal to that of the "Chief-of-men." They even had some ideas of
phratries and gentes. But, having once made up their minds that this was
a monarchy, and Montezuma the monarch, they were loath to change their
views, or, rather, they tried to explain all on this supposition, and
the result is the confused and contradictory accounts given of these
officials and divisions of the people. But every thing tending to add
glory to the "Empire of Montezuma" was caught up and dilated upon. And
so have come down to us the commonly accepted ideas of the government of
the ancient Mexicans.

That these views are altogether erroneous is no longer doubted by some
of the very best American scholars. The organization set forth in this
chapter is one not only in accord with the results obtained by the
latest research in the field of ancient society, but a careful
reading of the accounts of the Spanish writers leads to the same
conclusions.<21> In view of these now admitted facts, it seems to us
useless to longer speak of the government of the Mexicans as that of an
empire.

We have as yet said nothing of the league or confederacy of the three
tribes of Mexico, Tezcuco, and Tlacopan; nor is it necessary to dwell
at any great length on this confederacy now. They were perfectly
independent of each other as regards tribal affairs; and for the purpose
of government, were organized in exactly the same way as were the
Mexicans. The stories told of the glories, the riches, and power of the
kings of Tezcuco, if any thing, outrank those of Mexico. We may dismiss
them as utterly unreliable. Tribal organization resting on phratries and
gentes, and the consequent government by the council of the tribe was
all the Spaniards found. These three tribes, speaking dialects of the
same stock language, inhabiting contiguous territory, formed a league
for offensive and defensive purposes. The commander-in-chief of the
forces raised for this purpose was the "Chief-of-men" of the Mexicans.

We have confined our researches to the Mexicans. Mr. Bandelier, speaking
of the tribes of Mexico, remarks: "There is no need of proving the fact
that the several tribes of the valley had identical customs, and that
their institutions had reached about the same degree of development."
Or if such proofs were needed, Mr. Bancroft has furnished them. So
that this state of society being proven among the Mexicans, it may be
considered as established among the Nahua tribes. Neither is there any
necessity of showing that substantially the same state of government
existed among the Mayas of Yucatan. This is shown by their architecture,
by their early traditions, and by many statements in the writings of
the early historians. These can only be understood and explained by
supposing the same social organization existed among them as among the
Mexicans.

But this does not relegate these civilized nations to savagism. On the
other hand, it is exactly the form of government we would expect to
find among them. They were not further along than the Middle Status
of barbarism. They were slowly advancing on the road that leads to
civilization, and their form of government was one exactly suited to
their needs, and one in keeping with their state of architecture. When
we gaze at the ruins of their material structures, we must consider that
before us are not the only ruins wrought by the Spaniards; the native
institutions were doomed as well. Traces of this early state of society
are, however, still recoverable, and we must study them well to learn
their secret.

We have yet before us a large field to investigate; that is, the advance
made in the arts of living among these people. This is one of the
principal objects of our present research. We are here slightly
departing from the prehistoric field, and entering the domain of
history. But the departure is justifiable, as it serves to light up an
extensive field, that is, the manner of life among the civilized nations
just before the coming of the Spaniards. And first we will examine their
customs in regard to property. We have in a former chapter reverted to
the influence of commerce and trade in advancing culture. The desire for
wealth and property which is such a controlling power to-day was one
of the most efficient agents in advancing man from savagism to
civilization. The idea of property, which scarcely had an existence
during that period of savagism, had grown stronger with every advance in
culture. "Beginning in feebleness, it has ended in becoming the master
passion of the human mind."

The property of savages is limited to a few articles of personal
use; consequently, their ideas as to its value, and the principles of
inheritance, are feeble. They can scarcely be said to have any idea
as to property in lands, though the tribe may lay claim to certain
hunting-grounds as their own. As soon as the organization of gens arose,
we can see that it would affect their ideas of property. The gens, we
must remember, was the unit of their social organization.

They had common rights, duties, and privileges, as well as common
supplies; and hence the idea arose that the property of the members of
a gens belonged to the gens. At the death of an individual, his personal
property would be divided among the remaining members of the gens.
"Practically," says Mr. Morgan, "they were appropriated by the nearest
of kin; but the principle was general that the property should remain in
the gens."<22> That this is a true statement there is not the shadow
of a doubt. This was the general rule of inheritance among the Indian
tribes of North America. As time passed on, and the tribes learned to
cultivate the land, some idea of real property would arise--but not of
personal ownership.

This is quite an important topic; because, when we read of lords with
great estates, we are puzzled to know how to reconcile such statements
with what we now know of the nature of Mexican tribal organization. Mr.
Bandelier has lately gone over the entire subject. He finds that the
territory on which the Mexicans originally settled was a marshy expanse
of land which the surrounding tribes did not value enough to claim.

This territory was divided among the four gentes of the tribe. As we
have already seen, each of these four gentes subsequently split up into
other independent gentes until there were twenty in all. Each of these
gens held and possessed a portion of the original soil. This division
of the soil must have been made by tacit consent. The tribe claimed no
ownership of these tracts, still less did the head-chief. Furthermore,
the only right the gentes claimed in them was a possessory one. "They
had no idea of sale or barter, or conveyance, or alienation." As the
members of a gens stood on equal footing, this tract would be still
further divided for individual use. This division would be made by the
council of the gens. But we must notice the individual acquired no other
right to this tract of land than a right to cultivate it--which right,
if he failed to improve, he lost. He could, however, have some one else
to till it for him. The son could inherit a father's right to a tract.

We have seen that the Mexicans had a great volume of tribal business to
transact, which required the presence of an official household at the
tecpan. Then the proper exercise of tribal hospitality required a
large store of provisions. To meet this demand, certain tracts of the
territory of each gens were set aside to be worked by communal labor.
Then, besides the various officers of the gens, and the tribe, who, by
reason of their public duties, had no time to till the tracts to which,
as members of a gens, they would be entitled, had the same tilled for
them by communal labor. This was not an act of vassalage, but a payment
for public duties.

This is a very brief statement of their customs as regards holding of
lands. It gives us an insight into the workings of ancient society. It
shows us what a strong feature of this society was the gens, and we see
how necessary it is to understand the nature of a gens before attempting
to understand ancient society. We see that, among the civilized nations
of Mexico and Central America, they had not yet risen to the conception
of ownership in the soil. No chief, or other officer, held large
estates. The possessory right in the soil was vested in the gens
composing the tribe, and they in turn granted to individuals certain
definite lots for the purpose of culture. A chief had no more right
in this direction than a common warrior. We can easily see how the
Spaniards made their mistake. They found a community of persons holding
land in common, which the individuals could not alienate. They noticed
one person among them whom the others acknowledged as chief. They
immediately jumped to the conclusion that this chief was a great "lord,"
that the land was a "feudal estate," and that the persons who held it
were "vassals" to the aforesaid "lord."<23>

We must now consider the subject of laws, and the methods of enforcing
justice amongst the civilized nations. The laws of the Mexicans, like
those of most barbarous people, are apt to strike us as being very
severe; but good reasons, according to their way of thinking, exist for
such severity. The gens is the unit of social organization; which fact
must be constantly borne in mind in considering their laws. In civilized
society, the State assumes protection of person and property; but, in a
tribal state of society, this protection is afforded by the gens. Hence,
"to wrong a person was to wrong his gens; and to support a person was to
stand behind him with the entire array of his gentile kindred."

The punishment for theft varied according to the value of the article
stolen. If it were small and could be returned, that settled the matter.
In cases of greater value it was different. In some cases the thief
became bondsman for the original owner. In still others, he suffered
death. This was the case where he stole articles set aside for
religion--such as gold and silver, or captives taken in war; or, if
the theft were committed in the market-place. Murder and homicide were
always punished with death. According to their teaching, there was a
great gulf between the two sexes. Hence, for a person of one sex to
assume the dress of the other sex was an insult to the whole gens--the
penalty was death. Drunkenness was an offense severely punished--though
aged persons could indulge their appetite, and, during times of
festivities, others could. Chiefs and other officials were publicly
degraded for this crime. Common warriors had their heads shaved in
punishment.

These various penalties necessarily suppose judicial officers to
determine the offense and decree the punishment. Having established, on
a satisfactory basis, the Mexican empire, the historians did not
scruple to fit it out with the necessary working machinery of such an
organization. Accordingly we are presented with a judiciary as nicely
proportioned as in the most favored nations of to-day. But when, under
the more searching light of modern scholarship, this empire is seen to
be something quite different, we find the whole judicial machinery to be
a much more simple affair.

Not much need be added on this point to what we have already mentioned.
Each gens, through its council, would regulate its own affairs, and
would punish all offenses against the law committed by one of its
members against another. Of necessity the decision of this council had
to be final. There was no appeal from its decision. The council of the
tribe had jurisdiction in all other cases--such as might arise between
members of different gentes, or among outcasts not connected with any
gens, or such as were committed on territory not belonging to any gens.

For this work, the twenty chiefs composing the council were subdivided
into two bodies, sitting simultaneously in the different halls of
the tecpan. This division was for the purpose of greater dispatch in
business. They did not form a higher and lower court, with power of the
one to review the decisions of the other. They were equal in power and
the decisions of both were final. The decision of the council, when
acting in a judicial capacity, would be announced by their foreman, who
was, as we have seen, the head-chief of the Mexicans--the Snake-woman.
It is for this act that the historian speaks of him as the supreme
judge, and makes him the head of judicial authority.<24> His decisions
were, of course, final, not because he made them, but because they were
the conclusions of the council.

The "Chief-of-men," the so-called "king," did not properly have any
judicial authority. He was their war-chief, and not a judge; but from
the very nature of his office he had some powers in this direction. As
commander-in-chief, he possessed authority to summarily punish (with
death, if necessary) acts of insubordination and treachery during war.
It was necessary to clothe him with a certain amount of discretionary
power for the public good. Thus, the first runner that arrived from the
coast with news of the approach of the European ships was, by the order
of Montezuma, placed in confinement. "This was done to keep the news
secret until the matter could be investigated, and was therefore a
preliminary measure of policy." Placed at the tecpan as the official
head of the tribe, he had power to appoint his assistants. But this
power to appoint implied equal power to remove, and to punish.<25>

This investigation into their laws and methods of enforcing them,
carries us to the conclusion already arrived at. It is in full keeping
with what we would expect of a people in the Middle Status of barbarism.
We also see how little real foundation there is for the view that this
was a monarchy. There is no doubt but that the pueblo of Mexico was the
seat of one of the largest and most powerful tribes, and the leading
member of one of the most powerful confederacies that had ever existed
in America.

It may be of interest for us to inquire as to what was the real extent
of this power, and the means employed by the Mexicans to maintain this
power; also how they had succeeded in attaining the same. They were not
by nature more gifted than the surrounding tribes. The valley of
Mexico is an upland basin. It is oval in form, surrounded by ranges of
mountains, rising one above the other, with depressions between. The
area of the valley itself is about sixteen hundred square miles. The
Mexicans were the last one of the seven kindred tribes who styled
themselves, collectively, the Nahuatlacs. We treat of them as the
Nahuas.

The Nahuas on the north and the Mayas on the south included the
civilized nations. When the Mexicans arrived in this valley, they
found the best situations already occupied by other tribes of their own
family. To escape persecution from these, they fled into the marsh or
swamp which then covered the territory which they subsequently converted
into their stronghold. Here on a scanty expanse of dry soil, surrounded
by extensive marshes, they erected their pueblo. Being few in numbers
they were overlooked as insignificant, and thus they had a chance to
improve their surroundings. They increased the area of dry land by
digging ditches, and throwing the earth from the same on the surrounding
surface, and thus elevated it. In reality, in the marshes that
surrounded their pueblo was their greatest source of strength. "They
realized that while they might sally with impunity, having a safe
retreat behind them, an attack upon their position was both difficult
and dangerous for the assailant." They were, therefore, strong enough
for purposes of defense. But they wished to open up communication with
the tribes living on the shore of the great marsh in the midst of which
they had their settlement. For this purpose they applied to their near
and powerful neighbors, the Tecpanics, for the use of one of the springs
on their territory, and for the privilege of trade and barter in their
market. This permission was given in consideration that the Mexicans
become the weaker allies of the Tecpanics, that is, pay a moderate
tribute and render military assistance when called upon.

The Pueblo of Mexico now rapidly increased in power. Communication being
opened with the mainland, it was visited by delegates from other tribes,
and especially by traders. They fully perceived the advantages of their
location and improved the same. By the erection of causeways, they
entirely surrounded their pueblo with an artificial pond of large
extent. To allow for the free circulation of the water, sluices were
cut, interrupting these causeways at several places. Across these
openings wooden bridges were placed which could be easily removed in
times of danger.

Thus it was that they secured one of the strongest defensive positions
ever held by Indians. The Tecpanics had been the leading power in the
valley, but the Mexicans now felt themselves strong enough to throw off
the yoke of tribute to which they were subject. In the war that ensued
the power of the Tecpanics was broken, and the Mexicans became at once
one of the leading powers of the valley. We must notice, however, that
the Mexicans did not gain any new territory, except the locality of
their spring. Neither did they interfere at all in the government of the
Tecpanics. They simply received tribute from them.

Once started on their career of conquest, the Mexicans, supported by
allies, sought to extend their power. The result was that soon they had
subdued all of the Nahua tribes of the valley except one, that was
a tribe located at Tezcuco. This does not imply that they had become
masters of the territory of the valley. When a modern nation or state
conquers another, they often add that province to their original
domain, and extend over it their code of laws. This is the nature of
the conquests of ancient Rome. The territory of the conquered province
became part of the Roman Empire. They became subject to the laws of
Rome. Public, works were built under the direction of the conquerors,
and they were governed from Rome or by governors appointed from there.

Nothing of this kind is to be understood by a conquest by the Mexicans,
and it is necessary to understand this point clearly. When they
conquered a tribe, they neither acquired nor claimed any right to or
power over the territory of the tribe. They did not concern themselves
at all with the government of the tribe. In that respect the tribe
remained free and independent. No garrisons of troops were stationed in
their territory to keep them in subjection; no governors were appointed
to rule over them. What the Mexicans wanted was tribute, and in case
of war they could call on them for troops. Secure in their pueblo
surrounded by water, they could sally out on the less fortunate tribes
who chose to pay tribute rather than to be subject to such forays.

Instead of entering into a conflict with the tribe at Tezcuco, the
result of which might have been doubtful, a military confederacy was
formed, into which was admitted the larger part of the old Tecpanic
tribe that had their chief pueblo at Tlacopan. The definite plan of
this confederacy is unknown. Each of the three tribes was perfectly
independent in the management of its own affairs. Each tribe could make
war on its own account if it wished, but in case it did not feel strong
enough alone, it could call on the others for assistance. When the force
of the confederacy went out to war, the command was given to the war
chief of the Mexicans, the "Chief-of-men."

If a member of the confederacy succeeded in reducing by its own efforts
a tribe to tribute, it had the full benefit of such conquest. But when
the entire confederacy had been engaged in such conquest, the tribute
was divided into five parts, of which two went to Mexico, two to
Tezcuco, and one to Tlacopan. This co-partnership for the purpose of
securing tribute by the three most powerful tribes of the valley, under
the leadership of Mexico, was formed about the year 1426, just about one
hundred years from the date of the first appearance of the Mexicans in
the valley.

From this time to the date of the Spanish conquest in 1520, the
confederate tribes were almost constantly at war with the surrounding
Indians, and particularly with the feeble village Indians southward
from the valley of Mexico to the Pacific, and thence eastward well
towards Guatemala. They began with those nearest in position, whom
they overcame, through superior numbers, and concentrated action, and
subjected to tribute. These forays were continued from time to time for
the avowed object of gathering spoil, imposing tribute and capturing
prisoners for sacrifice, until the principal tribes within the area
named, with some exceptions, were subdued and made tributary.<26>

The territory of these tribes, thus subject to tribute, constitutes what
is generally known as the Mexican Empire.<27> But, manifestly, it is an
abuse of language to so designate this territory. No attempt was made
for the formation of a State which would include the various groups of
aborigines settled in the area tributary to the confederacy. "No common
or mutual tie connected these numerous and diverse tribes," excepting
hatred of the Mexican confederacy. The tribes were left independent
under their own chiefs. They well knew the tribute must be forthcoming,
or else they would feel the weight of their conquerors' displeasure. But
such a domination of the strong over the weak, for no other reason
than to enforce an unwilling tribute, can never form a nation, or an
empire.<28> These subject tribes, held down by heavy burdens--inspired
by enmity, ever ready to revolt--gave no new strength to the
confederacy: they were rather an element of weakness. The Spaniards were
not slow to take advantage of this state of affairs. The tribes of
Vera Cruz, who could have imposed an almost impassable barrier to
their advance through that section, were ready to welcome them as
deliverers.<29> The Tlascaltecans, though never made tributary to the
Mexicans, had to wage almost unceasing war for fifty years preceding the
coming of the Spaniards. Without their assistance, Cortez would never
have passed into history as the conqueror of Mexico.

A word as to the real power of the Mexicans. Their strength lay more in
their defensive position than any thing else. As we have just stated,
the entire forces of the confederacy were unable to subject the
Tlascaltecans, the Tarasca of Michhuacan were fully their equal in
wealth and power. The most disastrous defeat that ever befell the
forces of the confederacy was on the occasion of their attack upon
this last-named people in 1479. They fled from the battle-field in
consternation, and never cared to renew the attempt. As to the actual
population of the Pueblo of Mexico, the accounts are very much at
variance. Mr. Morgan, after taking account of their barbarous condition
of life--without flocks and herds, and without field agriculture,
but also considering the amount of tribute received from other
tribes--considers that an estimate of two hundred and fifty thousand
inhabitants in the entire valley would be an excessive number. Of these
he would assign thirty thousand to the Pueblo of Mexico.<30>

This is but an estimate. In this connection we are informed, that,
when the forces of the confederacy marched against Michhuacan, as just
stated, they counted their forces, and found them to be twenty-four
thousand men. This includes the forces of the three confederate tribes,
and their allies in the valley, and would indicate a population below
Mr. Morgan's estimate. The Spanish writers have left statements as to
the population of Mexico which are, evidently, gross exaggerations. The
most moderate estimate is sixty thousand inhabitants; but the majority
of the writers increase this number to three hundred thousand.

The main occupation of the Aztecs, then, was to enforce the payment of
tribute. From the limited expanse of territory at the disposal of
the Mexicans, and the unusually large number of inhabitants for an
aboriginal settlement, as well as the natural inclination of the
Mexicans, they were obliged to draw their main supplies from tributary
tribes. It is human for the strong to compel the weak to serve them. The
inhabitants of North America were not behind in this respect.<31>
This is especially true of the civilized tribes of Mexico and Central
America. The confederacy of the three most powerful tribes of Mexico was
but a copartnership for the avowed purpose of compelling tribute from
the surrounding tribes, and they were cruel and merciless in exacting
the same.

Our information in regard to this tribute is derived almost entirely
from a collection of picture writings, known as the Mendoza collection,
which will be described more particularly when we describe their picture
writings. The confederacy was never at a loss for an excuse to pounce
upon a tribe and reduce them to tribute. Sometimes the tribe marked out
for a prey, knowing their case to be hopeless, submitted at once
when the demand was made; but, whether they yielded with or without a
struggle, the result was the same--that is, a certain amount of tribute
was imposed on them. This tribute consisted of articles which the tribe
either manufactured, or was in situation to acquire by means of trade
or war; but, in addition to this, it also included the products of their
limited agriculture.

The same distribution of land obtained among all the civilized tribes
that we have already sketched among the Mexicans. So, a portion of the
territory of each conquered tribe would be set aside to be cultivated
for the use of the confederacy. But, as the tribe did not have any land
of its own, except for some official purpose, this implies that each
gens would have to set aside a small part of its territory for such
purpose. Such lots Mr. Bandelier calls tribute lots. These were worked
by the gentes for the benefit of the Mexicans. It is to be noticed right
here, that the Mexicans did not claim to own or control the land; this
right remained in the gentes of the conquered tribe.

The miscellaneous articles demanded were generally such that they bore
some relation to the natural resources of the pueblo. For instance:
pueblos along the coast, in the warm region of country, had to furnish
cotton cloth, many thousand bundles of fine feathers, sacks of cocoa,
tiger-skins, etc. In other, and favorable locations for such products,
the pueblos had to furnish such articles as sacks of lime, reeds for
building purposes, smaller reeds for the manufacture of darts.

Illustration of Tribute Sheet.--------------

These facts are ascertained in the Mendoza collection. We are given
there the pictorial symbol, or coat-of-arms, of various pueblos; also,
a pictorial representation of the tribute they wore expected to pay. The
plate is a specimen of their tribute rolls. The pueblos paying it are
not, however, shown. Considerable can be learned from a study of this
collection--such, for instance, as that the Pueblo of Chala had to pay a
tribute of forty little bells, and eighty copper ax blades.<32> And, in
another place, we learn that the Pueblo of Yzamatitan was tributary to
eight thousand reams of paper. The articles are here pictured forth;
the number is indicated by the flags, feathers, etc. The tribute of
provisions consisted of such articles as corn, beans, cocoa, red-pepper,
honey, and salt--amounting in all, according to this collection<33> to
about six hundred thousand bushels. Still it will not do to place too
great a reliance on picture records. The number of tributary pueblos
must have been constantly changing. The quantity of articles intended
for clothing was certainly very great. A moderate quantity of gold was
also collected from a few pueblos, where this was obtainable.

The collection of this tribute was one of the most important branches
of government among the Mexicans. The vanquished stood in peril of their
lives if they failed to keep their part of the contract. In the first
place, the Mexicans took from each subject tribe hostages for the
punctual payment of tribute. These hostages were taken to the Pueblo
of Mexico, and held there as slaves; their lives were forfeited if the
tribute was refused.<34> But special officers were also assigned to the
subject tribes, whose duty it was to see that the tribute was properly
gathered and transmitted to Mexico. These stewards or tribute gatherers,
are the officers that the early writers mistook for governors. Their
sole business, however, had to do with the collection of the tribute,
and they did not interfere at all in the internal affairs of the tribe.

Where the forces of the confederacy had conquered a tribe, but one
steward was required to tend to the tribute, but each of the confederate
tribes sent their representative to such pueblos as had become their own
prey, and as sometimes occurred, one pueblo paid tribute to each of the
confederate tribes, it had to submit to the presence among them of three
separate stewards.

We can easily enough see that it required men of ability to fill this
position. They were to hold their residence in the midst of a tribe who
were conquered, but held in subjection only by fear. To these people
they were the constant reminder of defeat and disgrace. They were
expected to watch them closely and report to the home tribe suspicious
movements or utterances that might come to their notice. We need not
wonder that these stewards were the tokens of chiefs. It was a part
of their duty to superintend the removal of the tribute from the place
where gathered to the Pueblo of Mexico. The tribe paying tribute were
expected to deliver it at Mexico, but under the supervision of the
steward. Arrived at Mexico the tribute was received, not by the
so-called king, the Chief-of-men, but by the Snake-woman, or an officer
to whom this personage delegated his authority. This officer was the
chief steward, and made the final division of the tribute. We are not
informed as to details of this division. A large part of it was reserved
for the use of the tribal government. It was upon this store that the
Chief-of-men could draw when supplies were needed for tribal hospitality
or for any special purpose. The stores required for the temple, its
priests and keepers were gathered from this source. The larger division
must have gone direct to the stewards of the gentes, who would set some
aside for their official uses, some for religion or medicine, but the
larger part would be divided among the members of the gentes.

In our review of the social system of the Mexicans we have repeatedly
seen how the organization of gentes influenced and even controled
all the departments of their social and political system. One of the
cardinal principles, we must remember, is that all the members of a gens
stand on an equal footing. In keeping with this we have seen that all
were trained as warriors; yet the great principle of the division of
labor was at work. Some filled in their leisure during times of peace by
acting as traders; others became proficient in some branch of work,
such as feather work, or making gold and silver ornaments. Yet under a
gentile system of society, persons practising such callings could
never become very rich or proficient, simply because, being members of
different gentes, there could not be that cooperation and united efforts
among workmen in these various trades and callings that is necessary to
advance them to the highest proficiency. It required the breaking up
of the gentes and substituting for that group a smaller one, our modern
family, as the unit of social organization, before great progress could
be made.

From what we have just said it follows that it is not at all likely that
there was any great extremes in the condition of the people. No very
wealthy or extremely poor classes. This brings us to consider the
condition of trade and commerce among them. They had properly no such a
thing as money, so their commerce must have consisted of barter or trade
and exchange. Some authorities assert quite positively that they had
money, and mention as articles used for such purposes grains of cacao,
"T" shaped pieces of tin or copper, and quills of gold dust.<35> But
Mr. Bandelier has shown that the word barter properly designates the
transactions where such articles passed. But this absence of money shows
us at once that the merchants of Mexico were simply traders who made
their living by gathering articles from a distance to exchange for home
commodities.

We are given some very entertaining accounts of the wealth and
magnificence of the "merchant princes of Mexico."<36> It needs but
a moment's consideration of the state of society to show how little
foundation there is for such accounts. Mr. Bancroft also tells us that
"throughout the Nahua dominions commerce was in the hands of a distinct
class, educated for their calling, and everywhere honored by the
people and by kings. In many regions the highest nobles thought it not
disgraceful to engage in commercial pursuits."

Though we do not believe there is any foundation for this statement, yet
trading is an important proceeding among sedentary tribes. "The native
is carried over vast distances, from which he returns with a store of
knowledge, which is made a part of his mythology and rites, while his
personal adventures become a part of the folk lore."<37> It was their
principal way of learning of the outside world. It was held in equally
high esteem among the Mexicans. Such an expedition was not in reality
a private, but a tribal undertaking. Its members not only carried into
distant countries articles of barter, but they also had to observe the
customs, manners, and resources of the people whom they visited. Clothed
with diplomatic attributes, they were often less traders than spies.
Thus they cautiously felt their way from tribe to tribe, from Indian
fair to Indian fair, exchanging their stuff for articles not produced
at home, all the while carefully noting what might be important to their
own tribe. It was a highly dangerous mission; frequently they never
returned, being waylaid or treacherously butchered even while enjoying
the hospitality of a pueblo in which they had been bartering.

We may be sure the setting out of such an expedition would be celebrated
in a formal manner.<38> The safe return was also an important and joyful
event. The reception was almost equal to that afforded to a victorious
war-party. After going to the temple to adore the idol, they were taken
before the council to acquaint them with whatever they had learned of
importance on their trip. In addition to this, their own gens would give
them appropriate receptions. From the nature of things but little profit
remained to the trader. They had no beasts of burden, and they must
bring back their goods by means of carriers; and the number of such men
were limited. Then their customs demanded that the most highly prized
articles should be offered up for religious purposes; besides, the tribe
and the gens each came in for a share. But the honors given were almost
as great as those won in war.

The Mexicans had regular markets. This, as we have already stated, was
on territory that belonged to the tribe; not to any one gens alone.
Hence the tribal officers were the ones to maintain order. The chiefs
of the four phratries were charged with this duty. The market was open
every day, but every fifth was a larger market.<39> They do not seem
to have had weights, but counted or measured their articles. In these
markets, or fairs, which would be attended by traders from other tribes,
who, on such occasions, were the guests of the Mexicans, and lodged
in the official house, would be found the various articles of native
manufacture: cloth, ornaments, elaborate featherwork, pottery, copper
implements and ornaments, and a great variety of articles not necessary
to enumerate.

We must now briefly consider their arts and manufactures. Stone was the
material principally used for their weapons and implements. They were
essentially in their Stone Age. Their knives, razors, lancets, spear
and arrowheads were simply flakes of obsidian. These implements could
be produced very cheaply, but the edge was quickly spoiled. Axes of
different varieties of flint were made. They also used flint to carve
the sculptured stones which we have described in the preceding chapter.
They also had some way of working these big blocks of stone used in
building. But they were not unacquainted with metals--the ornamental
working of gold and silver had been carried to quite a high pitch.
Were we to believe all the accounts given us of their skill in that
direction, we would have to acknowledge they were the most expert
jewelers known. How they cast or moulded their gold ornaments is
unknown. They were also acquainted with other metals, such as copper,
tin, and lead. But we can not learn for what purpose they used lead or
tin, or where they obtained it.<40>

Cortez, in one of his letters, speaks of the use of small pieces of tin
as money. But we have already seen that the natives had not risen to the
conception of money. They certainly had copper tools, and bronze ones.
It seems, however, that their bronze was a natural production and not
an artificial one--that is to say, the ores of copper found in Mexico
contain more or less gold, silver, and tin. So, if melted, just as
nature left them, the result would be the production of bronze.<41> They
were then ignorant of the knowledge of how to make bronze artificially.
This shows us that they had not attained to a true Bronze Age; and yet
the discovery could not have been long delayed. Sooner or later they
would have found out that tin and copper melted together would produce
the light copper that experience had taught them was the most valuable.

Illustration of Yucatan Axes.---------------

The most important tool they made of copper was the ax. The ax, in both
Mexico and Yucatan, was made as represented in this illustration. From
their shape and mode of hafting them, we see at once they are simply
models of the stone ax; and this recalls what we learned of the Bronze
Age in Europe. At first they contented themselves with copying the forms
in stone.

Illustrations of Carpenter's Ax, Mexican Carpenter, and Copper
Tool.------------------------

Nature, everywhere, conducts her children by the same means to the same
ends. This form of ax is a representation of a carpenter's hatchet. The
next cut is from the Mendoza collection, and represents a carpenter at
work. He holds one of these hatchets in his hand, and is shaping a
stick of timber. The other cut represents a form of copper tool found in
Oaxaca, where they were once used in abundance. The supposition is that
this implement was used for agricultural purposes--probably as a hoe.
The pieces of T-shaped copper said to have been used as money, are
diminutive forms of this same tool. The statement is sometimes made that
they had a way of hardening copper. "This," says Mr. Valentine, "is
a hypothesis, often noted and spoken of, but which ranges under the
efforts made for explaining what we have no positive means to verify or
to ascertain." The presence of metals necessarily implies some skill in
mining; but their ability to mine was certainly very limited. Gold and
silver were collected by washing the sands. We do not know how
copper was mined; the probabilities are that this was done in a very
superficial way. Whenever, by chance, they discovered a vein of copper,
they probably worked it to an easy depth, and then abandoned it. M.
Charney speaks of one such locality, discovered in 1873. In this case
they had made an opening eleven feet long, five feet wide, and three
feet deep. To judge from appearances, they first heated the rock,
and then perhaps sprinkled it with water, and thus caused it to split
up.<42> This is about all we can discover of their Metallic Age. It
falls very far short of the knowledge of metallurgy enjoyed by the
Europeans of the Bronze Age; and, with the exception of working gold
and silver, it was not greatly in advance of the powers of the
North American aborigines.<43> Certainly no trace of mining has been
discovered at all on the scale of the ancient mines in Michigan.

A few words as to some of their other arts, and we will pass on to other
topics. In manufacturing native pottery, they are spoken of as having
great skill. The sedentary Indians everywhere were well up in that sort
of work.<44> They knew how to manufacture cotton cloth, as well as cloth
from other articles. We have stated that paper furnished an important
article of tribute. They made several kinds of paper. One author states
that they made paper from the membrane of trees--from the substance that
grows beneath the upper bark.<45> But they also used for this purpose
a plant, called the maguey plant. This was a very valuable plant to the
aborigines, since we are told that the natives managed to extract nearly
as great a variety of useful articles from it as does an inhabitant of
the East Indies from his cocoa palm. Amongst other articles, they made
paper. For this paper, we are told, "the leaves were soaked, putrefied,
and the fibers washed, smoothed, and extended for the manufacture of
thin as well as thick paper."<46>

They used feathers for plumes, fans, and trimmings for clothing. The
articles the Spaniards are most enthusiastic in praising is that variety
of work known as feather mosaic. They took very great pains with this
sort of work. The workman first took a piece of cloth, stretched it, and
painted on it, in brilliant colors, the object he wished to reproduce.
Then, with his bunch of feathers before him, he carefully took feather
after feather, arranging them according to size, color, and other
details, and glued each feather to the cloth. The Spanish writers
assert that sometimes a whole day was consumed in properly choosing and
adjusting one delicate feather, the artist patiently experimenting until
the hue and position of the feather, viewed from different points, and
under different lights, became satisfactory to his eye.<47>

This disregard of time is a thoroughly Indian trait of character. Years
would be spent in the manufacture of a choice weapon. The impression is
given that these feather-workers formed a craft, or order, and that
they lived by themselves. But this would be such an innovation on the
workings of the gens that there is probably no foundation for it.

We will now consider the subject of religion. We can never judge of
the real state of culture of a people by their advance in the arts of
government and of living alone. Constituted as men are, they can not
help evolving, in the course of time, religious conceptions, and the
result is that almost all the races and tribes of men have some system
of belief, or, at any rate, some manner of accounting for the present
condition of affairs, and some theory as to a future state. It is true
that these theories and beliefs are often very foolish and childish,
still they are not on that account devoid of interest. From our present
standpoint, we can clearly see that the religions belief of a people
is a very good index of their culture. At first such conceptions are
necessarily rude, but as the people advanced in culture, they become
clearer.

Fearing that we will be misunderstood in the last statement, we will
state to whom it applies. The Christian world hold that God revealed
himself to his chosen people, and that we draw from his Word what is
permitted mortals to know of his government and the future world. We
make no question but that this is true. But long before there was a
Hebrew people there was a Paleolithic race, who doubtless had some
vague, shadowy, ill defined idea of supernatural power, and sought, in
some infantile way, to appease the same. Afterwards, but long before the
glories of Solomon, a Neolithic people were living in Palestine, and the
same culture was wide-spread over the world. To this day a large part
of the world's inhabitants have never so much as heard of the Christian
religion. It is to such people that we especially refer.

The religious beliefs of the Indians have not been fully studied as yet;
but, until that is done, it is scarcely possible to understand and fully
weigh what is said as to the religious beliefs of the Mexicans. What we
can discern of the religion of the Nahua and Maya tribes shows us that
it is not at all probable they had reached a stage of development in
which they had any idea of One Supreme, Over-ruling Power. But our
scholars differ on that point, many contending that the Mexicans
distinctly affirmed the existence of such a God.<48> To form such
conceptions implies a power of reasoning on abstract topics that is
vain to expect of a people in their state of development. We think,
therefore, that the idea that they had such a belief, arises from a
misconception. Let us see if we can discover how that was.

Nearly all of the North American tribes had some word to express
supernatural power. The Iroquois used for this purpose the words "oki"
and "otkon."<49> The first meaning of these words is "above." As used
by these Indians, however, they expressed the working of any unseen,
mysterious, and, therefore, to them, supernatural power. There was,
however, no idea of personality or of unity about it. Other Indian
tribes had words to express the same meaning. The English and French
explorers translated these words into their languages in various ways.
The most common is the rather absurd one of "medicine," which has passed
into common use. Thus, to mention one in very frequent use, we have the
expression "Medicine-men"--meaning their priests and conjurers. The same
custom prevailed among the higher class of sedentary Indians of Mexico
and Central America. The Aztecs used the word "teotl" to express the
name meaning; the Mayas, the word "ku;" the Peruvians, "huaca." But the
word used, in each case, meant not so much a personal supreme-being
as it did an ill-defined sense of supernatural, mysterious power. This
point not being clearly understood, it was quite natural that the early
writers understood by these various expressions their name of the First
Cause.

In the present state of our knowledge, it is certainly very hard to give
an intelligent statement of the religious conceptions of the Maya and
Nahua tribes. Among the Nahuas, their conception of creative power
was that of a pair--a man and wife. These were not the active agents,
however--they engendered four sons, who were the creators. This seems to
be a widely extended form of tradition. Two authors, writing about
fifty years after the conquest, speak of the four principal deities
and statues. They had a great many idols besides--but four were the
principal ones.

It would be very satisfactory could we frame some theory to account
for this state of things. If we could only be sure that each god was
symbolic of some of the elements--or, if we could only say that this was
but another instance of the use of the number "four"--and thus connect
them with the cardinal points, it would be very satisfactory to many.
The amount of study that has been bestowed on this question is very
great, and it is very far from being settled. Each of these four was the
principal, or guardian, deity of a particular tribe.<50> All of these
appear in native traditions as historical personages, as well as
deities. It is for this reason that Mr. Bandelier concludes that the
"four principal gods were deified men, whose lives and actions became
mixed up with the vague ideas of natural forces and phenomena."<51>

As prominent a figure as any in Central American Mythology is
Quetzalcohuatl; and we can form a good idea of the force of the
preceding remarks by considering this case. The name is a compound
of two words, "quetzal-cohuatl"--and is, says Mr. Bandelier, a fair
specimen of an Indian personal name. He tells us that the meaning is
"bright," or "shining snake." Others have translated it, "feathered
serpent." We have referred to the attempt to show that the tablet of
the cross, at Palenque, had reference to him. Those who think he was
the nature-god of the Nahuas find a great deal of significance in the
name.<52> Mr. Bandelier, after carefully considering all reference
to him by the early writers, shows that it is quite as likely that
Quetzalcohuatl "was a man of note, whose memory was afterward connected
with dim cosmological notions." It is plain that our idea of the culture
of the Mexicans will vary according as we consider the base of this myth
to be a man, or the forces in nature producing the fertilizing summer
rain.<53>

The worship of Quetzalcohuatl was very widely extended; but it was
mostly confined to the Nahua tribes. But there are somewhat similar
traditions among the Maya tribes; and this is one of those few points
which, like the similarity of their calendar systems, seems to point to
a close connection in early times. The Quiches have a very similar myth.
Briefly, it is to the effect that four principal gods created the world.
One of these was named Gucumatz--meaning, also, shining, or brilliant
snake. Some think that this is the same personage as Quetzalcohuatl, and
from this fact show how true it is that the operations of the forces
of nature everywhere affect the minds of men in a similar manner.<54>
Others will not, however, go as far as this, and will only say there is
a similarity between the two characters. The tribes in Yucatan also have
a tradition of Cuculcan, whose name means the same as the two already
mentioned. The authority who refers to him speaks of him only as a man.
The Quiche legend, already referred to, speaks of Gucumatz only as
a god. The Nahua traditions of Quetzalcohuatl, as we have seen, are
confused accounts of a man and a god.

The traditions having reference to the earthly career of Quetzalcohuatl
represent him as having considerable to do with Tulla and Cholula. At
Tulla he appears in the light of a great medicine-man, or priest; at
Cholula, as a sachem. Still other traditions represent him as a great
and successful warrior. None of these characters are incompatible
with the others, from an Indian point of view. These traditions are
so hopelessly confused, that it is doubtful if any thing of historical
value can be gained from them. As a deity, he was worshiped as god of
the air or wind. Why he should be so considered is answered in various
ways. If, reasoning from his name, we choose to believe he is
a nature-god--as such standing for the thunder-storm, clouds of
summer--then, as the winds "sweep the path for the rain-clouds," he
would be considered their god. Also, following out this line of thought,
we can see how, as the god which brings the fertilizing summer rain, he
would be considered the god of wealth, and the patron deity of traders.

We must not lose sight of the fact that all these traditions are most
woefully mixed; that, since the conquest, many ideas from other than
native sources have been engrafted on them; and, furthermore, that
other explanations that are worth considering can be presented. The
horticultural tribe located at Cholula had Quetzalcohuatl for their
tutelar deity. Their crops depend upon the timely descent of the rain.
What more natural than that they should regard such rains as sent by
him? This pueblo was also famous for its fairs. "By its geographical
position, its natural products, and the industry of its people," it
became a great trading market. Near it was raised cochineal dye, in
large quantities. This was eagerly sought after by traders from a
distance. Cholula was also famous for its pottery. The Tlaxcaltecos told
Cortez that the inhabitants of Cholula were a tribe of traders; what
more natural, then, than that their tutelar deity should become, in the
eyes of foreign tribes, the god of traders.<55>

Quetzalcohuatl was but one of the four principal gods. The tutelar deity
of the Mexicans was Huitzilopochtli. His altars were almost daily wet
with the blood of sacrificed victims. No important war was undertaken,
except with many ceremonies he was duly honored. If time were so short
that proper care could not be bestowed on the ceremonies, then there was
a kind of deputy god that could be served in a hurried manner that would
suffice.<56> After a successful battle, the captives were conducted at
once to his temple, and made to prostrate themselves before his image.
In times of great public danger, the great drum in his temple was
beaten. The Spaniards, by dire experience, knew well the meaning of that
awful sound.

Illustration of Huitzilopochtli.------------

The plate represents what was probably the idol of Huitzilopochtli. "It
was brought to light in grading the Plaza Mayor in the City of Mexico in
August, 1790. It was near the place where the great Teocalli stood, and
where the principal monuments of Mexico were. They were thrown down at
the time of the conquest and buried from sight. It is an immense block
of bluish-gray porphyry, about ten feet high and six feet wide
and thick, sculptured on front, rear, top and bottom, into a most
complicated and horrible combination of animal, human, and ideal
forms."<57> This idol is generally stated to be that of the goddess of
death. But Mr. Bandelier, after carefully reviewing all the authorities,
concludes that it represents the well-known war-god of the Mexican
tribe.<58>

To properly conduct the services in honor of these various gods,
required established rites and a priesthood. What we call "Medicine men"
wizards, and names of similar import among the northern tribes, were
more correctly priests. There was no tribe of Indians so poor but what
they had these priests. But we would expect this office to increase more
in power and importance among the southern Indians. Among the Iroquois,
we are told each gens elected certain "keepers of the faith." These
included persons both male and female. Their principal duty was to see
that the feast days were properly celebrated. From what we know of the
gens we feel confident that they would be perfectly, independent in
religious matters as well as in other respects. Consequently it is
not probable that there was even in Mexico any hereditary caste of
priests.<59>

However set aside, or chosen, or elected, we have every reason to
believe that the organization of the priesthood was systematic. The
aspirant for the office had to acquaint himself with the songs
and prayers used in public worship, the national traditions, their
principles of astrology, so as to tell the lucky and unlucky days.
When admitted to the priesthood, their rank was doubtless determined by
meritorious actions. Successes in war would contribute to this result
as well as sanctity, a priest who had captured several prisoners ranking
higher than one who had captured but one, and this last higher than the
unfortunate who had taken none.<60> We must not forget that war was
the duty of all among the Mexicans. The priests were not in all cases
exempt; part of their duties may have been to care for the wounded. It
is not likely that the priests of any one god ranked any higher than the
priests of others, or had any authority over them.

This body of priests of whom we have just treated concerned themselves
a great deal with the social life of the Mexicans, and their power was
doubtless great. Their duties commenced with the birth of the child, and
continued through life. No important event of any kind was undertaken
without duly consulting the priests to see if the day selected was a
lucky one. The Nahuas were, like all Indians, very superstitious, so
there was plenty of work cut out for the priests. Into their hands was
committed the art of explaining dreams, fortune-telling, astrology,
and the explanation of omens and signs. Such as the flight and songs of
birds, the sudden appearance of wild animals; in short, any unexpected
or unusual event, was deemed of sufficient importance to require in its
explanation priestly learning. In addition there was the regular
routine of feasts.<61> We have seen what a multitude of gods the Nahuas
worshiped. Like all Indian people, they were very fond of feasts and
gatherings of that character; therefore feast days in honor of some one
of the numerous deities were almost constantly in order, and every month
or two were feasts of unusual importance. The most acceptable sacrifice
to these gods, and without which no feast of any importance was
complete, was human life.

This introduces us to the most cruel trait of their character. It was
not alone true of the Mexicans, but of all the Nahua tribes and of
the Mayas, though in a less degree. On every occasion of the least
importance victims were sacrificed. Any unusual event was celebrated
in a similar manner. Before the departure of a warlike expedition, the
favor of Huitzilopochtli was sought by the sacrifice of human life;
on the return of the same, similar scenes were enacted. On all such
occasions the more victims the better. These victims were mostly
captives taken in war, and wars were often entered into for the express
purpose of procuring such victims. They were even made a subject of
tribute. Devout people sometimes offered themselves or their children
for the sacrifice. The number of victims, of course, varied from year
to year, but it is possible that it counted up into the thousands every
year.

What we are able to gather from the religious beliefs of the civilized
nations sustains the conclusions we have already arrived at in reference
to their culture. We can but believe this had been greatly overrated.
It is the religion of barbarians, not of a cultivated and enlightened
people the historians would have us believe in. It is a religion in
keeping with the character of the people who had confederated together
for the purpose of compelling unwilling tribute from weaker tribes. It
is in keeping with what we would expect of a people still in the Stone
Age, who still practised communism in living, and whose political and
social organization was founded on the gens as a unit.

It will not be out of place to devote some space to a consideration
of their advance in learning; and first of all let us see about their
system of counting or numeration. This knowledge, as Mr. Gallatin
remarks, must necessarily have preceded any knowledge of astronomy, or
any effort to compute time. They must have known how to count the days
of a year before they knew how many days it contained. We all know how
natural it is for a child to count by means of his fingers. This was
undoubtedly the first method employed by primitive man. Proof of this
is found in the wide extended use of the decimal system. Among the
civilized nations, traces of this early custom are still preserved in
the meaning of the words used to express the numbers.

To express the numbers up to twenty, small dots or circles were
used--one for each unit. For the number twenty they painted a little
flag, for the number four hundred, a feather; and for eight thousand, a
purse or pouch. The following table represents the method of enumeration
employed by the Mexicans. But it is necessary to remark they used
different terminations for different objects.<62>

Illustration of Mexican System of Numeration.----------

Substantially the same system of numeration prevailed among all the
Nahua tribes and the Mayas. It will be seen from this table that the
only numbers having simple names are one, two, three, four, five, ten,
fifteen, twenty, four hundred, and eight thousand. The other names are
compounds of these simple names. It is also easy to understand their
method of pictorial representation. In reference to the flag, the
feather, and the purse, we must remark that, when these were divided
into four parts, only the colored parts were counted. The collective
number, used among them much as we use the word dozen, was always
twenty; but queerly enough their word for twenty varied according to
the object to be counted. The regular word given in the table was
"pohualli." In counting thin objects that could be arranged one above
the other, the word twenty was "pilli." Objects that were round and
plump and thus resembling a stone, were counted with "tetl" for twenty,
and other words for different objects.<63>

The division of time or their calendar system, is one that was thought
to show great advance in astronomical learning, but of late years it has
been shown that this also was overrated. This question of how to keep a
record of time was a difficult one for primitive man to solve; that is,
when he began to think about it at all. A long while must have elapsed,
and considerable advance in other respects been made before the
necessity of such a thing occurred to them. The increase and decrease of
the moon would form a natural starting point. It is well known that this
is about as far as the knowledge of the Indians extended. The Maya word
for month means also moon, showing this was their earliest system of
reckoning time.<64>

Illustration of Table of Days.--------------------

The various Nahua and Maya tribes of Mexico and Central America had
reached about the same stage of development. But their calendar system
is so similar that it affords a strong argument of the original unity of
these people.<65> All of the civilized tribes had months of twenty days
each, and each of these days had a separate name, which was the same for
every month of the year. This period of twenty days was properly their
unit of time reckoning. It is true they had smaller divisions,<66> but
for all practical purposes, they were ignored. As none of these tribes
possessed the art of writing, they had to represent these days by means
of hieroglyphics. The following table shows the Mexican and Maya
days, the meaning of each, and the pictorial sign by which they were
represented. We must notice that the Maya hieroglyphics look more
arbitrary, more conventional than the Mexican. This is interesting,
because some of our scholars now believe the Mayas were the inventors of
the calendar. Their hieroglyphics, therefore, as being the older of the
two, should appear more conventional. In the Mexican hieroglyphics for
the days, we can still trace a resemblance to the natural objects they
represent; in the Maya hieroglyphics, this resemblance has disappeared.

It is not out of place to theorize as to the facts already mentioned.
The first thing that strikes us is that they should have chosen twenty
days for a unit of time. There must have been some reason lying back of
this selection. It would have been more natural for them to have chosen
a number of days (say thirty) more nearly corresponding to the time
from one new moon to another. Whether we shall ever learn the reason for
choosing this number of days is doubtful; but Mr. Bandelier has given us
some thoughts on this subject, which, though he is careful to state
are not results, but mere suggestions, seem to us to have some germs of
truth, the more so as it is fully in keeping with Indian customs.

He points out that many of the names for these days mean the same as the
names of the gens in the more northern Indian tribes. Thus seven of the
days have the same meaning as the names of seven of the nine gens of the
Moqui tribe in Arizona. He, therefore, suggests that the names of these
twenty days are the names of the twenty gens of the aboriginal
people from whom have descended the various civilized tribes under
consideration. Indeed, this is expressly stated to be the method
of naming the days adopted by the Chiapanecs, one of the tribes in
question.<67>

As soon as the people commenced to take any observation at all, they
would perceive that it took just about eighteen of these periods of
twenty days to make a year. So the next step appears to have been the
division of the year into eighteen months. These months received each a
name, and were of course designated by a hieroglyphic. The names of
the Mexican months seem to have been determined by some of the feasts
happening therein. There is great diversity among the early writers both
as to the names of these months, and the order in which they occur, as
well as by the hieroglyphics by which they are represented.<68> It does
not seem worth while to give their names and meaning. We give a plate
showing the name, order in which they occur, and hieroglyphic symbol of
the Maya months. In point of fact, the months were very little used, as
we shall soon see it was not necessary to name the month to designate
the day; but of that hereafter.

Illustration of Maya Months.---------

But it would not take these people very long to discover that they had
not hit on the length of a year. Eighteen months, of twenty days each,
make only three hundred and sixty days; so the next step would be to add
on five days to their former year. As these days do not make a month,
they were called the nameless days. They were considered as being
unlucky--no important undertaking could be commenced on one of them.
The child born therein was to be pitied. But we will see that the
expression, "nameless days" was hardly the case among the Mayas, though
it was among the Mexicans.

Perhaps this will be as good a place as any to inquire whether they
had exact knowledge of the length of the year. As every one knows, the
length of the year is three hundred and sixty-five and one quarter days,
or very nearly; and for this reason we add an extra day to every fourth
year. We would not expect to find this knowledge among tribes no farther
advanced than we have found these to be. If, as our scholars suspect,
the Maya be the one from which the others were derived, they would be
apt to possess this knowledge, if known. Perez, however, could find no
trace of it among them.<69> Many authors have asserted that the Mexicans
knew all about it. Some say they added a day every four years; others,
that they waited fifty-two years, and then added thirteen days; and
some, even, give them credit for still closer knowledge, and say
they added twelve and one-half days every fifty-two years.<70> Prof.
Valentine, who has made their calendar system a special study, concludes
that they knew nothing at all about the matter.<71>

The beginning of the year is variously stated. Among the Mexicans it
seems that, while the authors differ very much, all but one places it on
some day between the second day of February and the tenth of April. As
their word for year means "new green," it is probable they placed its
commencement about the time new grass appeared. The Mayas are said to
have placed the commencement of the year about the sixteenth of July. As
this happens to be just about the time that the sun is directly overhead
in Yucatan, it has been surmised that the natives took astronomical
observations, and tried to have their year commence at that time. But it
must be manifest that, if they did not possess a knowledge of the true
length of the year, and so make allowance for the leap-year, in the
course of a very few years they would have to revise this date.

Refer once more to the Maya table of days. Suppose the first day of the
year to commence with the day Kan. As there are twenty days in a month,
we see that the second month would also commence with Kan. In like
manner, Kan would be the first day of every month of that year. When
the eighteen months were past, there would still remain the five days to
complete the year. Now, although they were said to be nameless days, the
Mayas gave them names. The first day was Kan, the second day Chichan,
the third day Quimij, the fourth day Manik, the fifth day Lamat. The
regular order of days we see. They were now ready to commence a new
year.

The next day in the list is Muluc. This becomes the first day of the
first month of the new year. But, being the first day of the first
month, it was the first day of every month of that year. At the end of
the eighteen months of that year, the five days would have to be named
in their order again, which would carry us down to Gix, the first day
of the first month of the third year. It would also be the first day of
every month of that year. Similarly we see that Cavac would be the first
day of every month of the fourth year. The fifth year would commence
again with Kan. So we see that four of these twenty days became of more
importance than the others. The years were named after them. The year
in which the month commenced with Kan was also called Kan. The same way
with the other days. So the name of the year was either Kan, Muluc, Gix,
or Cavac. These four days were called "carriers of the year;" because
they not only gave the name to the year, but because the name of the
year was also the name of the first day of every month of that year.

The foregoing will help us to understand the Mexican method. Let us
refer now to the list of Mexican days. The first day of the first month
was Cipac. For the same reason as above set forth, this would be the
first day of every month of the year. The five extra days either were
not named at all, or at any rate they were not counted off in the table
of days. The consequence was that Cipac was the first day of every
month; for we have just seen that it was the first day of every month of
the first year. At the end of the eighteen months the five nameless
days would come in; but, as they did not form part of a month, were not
named. The first day of the first month of the next year would be named
as if they had not occurred.<72> But, when they came to name the years,
we find they proceeded on exactly the same principle as the Mayas. Thus
four of the twenty days, occurring just five days apart, were taken to
name the years. These days were Tecpatl, Calli, Tochtli, and Acatl.<73>

Mr. Bandelier, who made the valuable suggestion in regard to the origin
of the names of the days, has also suggested that, inasmuch as there are
four of the days more prominent than the others, they may signify
four original gentes, from which the others have come. It seem to us,
however, when we notice they are just five days apart, that the system
pursued by the Mayas in naming their years explains the whole matter.

Before we mention the longer periods of time in use among them we must
refer to another mode of reckoning time, and trace the influence of this
second method on the one already named. The method already explained
seems to have been a perfectly natural one--the second method is founded
on superstition. A large part of the duties of the priests, we remember,
was to determine lucky and unlucky days, and in soothsaying. For this
purpose they made a peculiar division of time, which we will now try and
explain.

For some cause or other, thirteen was a number continually recurring
in their calendar. We can perceive no reason why it should have been
chosen. It has been suggested that it was just about the time from the
appearance of a new moon to its full. Be that as it may, the number of
days thirteen comes very near to what we would call a week. Among the
Mexicans, and probably among the Mayas, these thirteen days were divided
into lucky, unlucky, and indifferent days, and were supposed to be under
the guidance of different gods. The priests had regularly painted lists
of them, with the deities which governed them. These lists were used in
fortune telling.

We must now inquire as to how they kept track of the years. The Mayas
named their next longer period of time an ahau. There is some dispute as
to what number of years it meant. Most of the early writers decide that
it was twenty years;<74> but Perez, whose work we have already referred
to, contends that it was twenty-four years. And this conclusion seems
to be confirmed by a careful study of some of their old manuscripts.<75>
Thirteen of these ahaus embraced their longest period of time, known as
an ahau-katun. It had a length of either two hundred and sixty or
three hundred and twelve years, according as we reckon either twenty
or twenty-four years to an ahau. It may be that the length of an ahau
varied among the different tribes of the Mayas.

The Mexicans also had this week of thirteen days. Twenty of these weeks,
or two hundred and sixty days, formed that part of the year they called
the moon-reckoning; the remainder of the year was the sun-reckoning.
Their longer period of time was also based on this number. A period of
thirteen years they called a tlapilli; four of these constituted a cycle
equal to fifty-two years. The end of this cycle was anxiously awaited
by the Mexicans. They supposed the world was to come to an end on one
of these occasions. As the time drew near, the furniture was broken, the
household gods were thrown into the water, the houses were cleaned, and
finally, all the fires were extinguished. As the last day of the cycle
drew to a close, the priests formed a procession, and set out for a
mountain about six miles from Mexico. There an altar was built. At
midnight a captive, the bravest and finest of their prisoners, was laid
on it. A piece of wood was laid on his breast, and on this fire was
built by twirling a stick. As soon as fire was produced, the prisoner
was killed as a sacrifice. The production of new fire was proof that the
gods had granted them a new period of fifty-two years.

To understand how the years in this cycle were arranged and numbered, we
must refer once more to the Mayas, for though they did not use the
cycle themselves, yet they give us a hint as to how it was obtained,
and afford one more reason why we should think the Mayas were the
originators of this calendar system. We give a table showing the
arrangement of the days of the year among the Mayas. We will take the
year Kan--that is, we remember, when Kan was the first day of every
month. We would naturally think they would describe a day by giving the
name of the day and the month--as, the day Kan, of the month Xul, or the
first day of the month Xul--but instead of so doing, they made use of
the period of thirteen days.

For instance, we see, by looking at the table, that the day ten Kan can
not be any other day during the year than the day above mentioned; so
that, for all purposes, it is sufficient to give the day and its number
in the week. We notice, however, that the last five columns of figures
for week days of thirteen are just the same as the first five. But this
did not confuse any, for the last five columns of days belong to the
"sun-reckoning," the others to the moon-reckoning. And though the number
of the day in the week was the same, yet a different deity ruled over
them than in the corresponding days of the first five columns. We can
not affirm that we know this to be true of the Mayas. Such, however, we
know to be the case among the Mexicans.<76>

Illustration of Almanac for Maya Year "Kan"----------------

Now we notice in this almanac that the last day of the year Kan, is
number one of the week. As the count goes right along, the first day of
the next year, Muluc, must be number two. If we would make an almanac
for that year, we would find the first day of the third year would be
number three of the week. If we were to continue this, we would find
that the first days of the years, would range from one to thirteen.
This table shows the number in the week of the first day of the first
fourteen years. The first day of the fourteenth year would be number
one of the week again, but this time one Muluc, and not Kan. If we would
continue our researches, we would quickly discover that fifty-two years
would go by before we would have a year Kan in which the first day of
the year would be number one again.

No. in the week
of the first day Years.
of the year.
---------------------------------
1 Kan.
2 Muluc.
3 Gix.
4 Cavac.
5 Kan.
6 Muluc.
7 Gix.
8 Cavac.
9 Kan.
10 Muluc.
11 Gix.
12 Cavac.
13 Kan.
----------------------------------
1 Muluc.

We think the above explains the origin of the Mexican cycle of fifty-two
years. The Mayas either never had this cycle, or had abandoned its
use.<77> The Mexicans however, used this period of time, and they
numbered their years in it in such a way that we can not explain it,
unless we suppose they derived it in some such a way as just set forth.
We give a table showing the order of the years in a cycle, and also
notice that all that was needed was the number and name of the year to
show at once what year of the cycle it was. The year seven Calli,
for instance, could never be any other year than the twentieth of the
cycle.<78>

ARRANGEMENT OF YEARS IN A MEXICAN CYCLE.

No. Name of the Years.
1 Tochli...... Acatl......... Tecpatl...... Calli..........
2 Acatl....... Tecpatl....... Calli........ Tochli.........
3 Tecpatl..... Calli......... Tochli....... Acatl..........
4 Calli....... Tochli....... Acatl........ Tecpatl........
5 Tochli...... Acatl......... Tecpatl...... Calli..........
6 Acatl....... Tecpatl....... Calli........ Tochli.........
7 Tecpatl..... Calli......... Tochli....... Acatl..........
8 Calli....... Tochli........ Acatl........ Tecpatl........
9 Tochli...... Acatl......... Tecpatl...... Calli..........
10 Acatl....... Tecpatl....... Calli........ Tochli.........
11 Tecpatl..... Calli......... Tochli....... Acatl..........
12 Calli....... Tochli........ Acatl........ Tecpatl........
13 Tochli...... Acatl......... Tecpatl...... Calli..........

Illustration of Day Date.

---------------Illustration of Year Date.--------------

To express the dates, they of course painted the hieroglyphic of the
day, and dots for the number of days. This cut, for instance, expresses
the day-date "seven Acatl." They generally wrote the dots in sets of
five. Seven was sometimes expressed in the above manner. When they
wished to express a year-date, they made a little frame and painted in
the hieroglyphics of the year, and dots for the number. This date here
expressed is their thirteen Acatl, which, by the above table, is seen to
be the twenty-sixth year of the cycle.

We have already dwelt too long on this part of the subject. Glancing
back over the ground, we see there is nothing implying astronomical
knowledge, more than we would expect to find among a rude people. We
find there are several particulars of the Mexican system which we could
not understand, except by reference to the Maya system. It would bother
us to explain why they should choose the days Tochli, Acatl, Tecpatl,
and Calli, to be the names of their years, if we did not know how the
Mayas proceeded. We would be at a loss to explain why they choose the
number of fifty-two years for the cycle, and arranged their years in it
as they did, if we had not learned the secret from the construction
of the Mayas' almanac. From this comparison, we should say the Mexican
calendar was the simpler of the two. As the Mayas had twenty days in
the month, and, for priestly use, weeks of thirteen days, so they took
twenty years, which, as they imagined, were supported by four other
years, as a pedestal for their next longer period, the ahau; and for
apparently no other reason than that they had weeks of thirteen days,
they took thirteen of these ahuas for their longest period of time. They
did not use the cycle of fifty-two years, but they numbered their years
in such a way that, in effect, they were possessed of it. The Mexican
did away with all but the cycle of fifty-two years.

Illustration of Calendar Stone.---------------

No account of the calendar system of the Mexicans would be complete
without reference to the so-called calendar stone. The stone, the face
of which is sculptured as represented in this cut, was dug up from the
square in front of the cathedral of the City of Mexico, where it had
been buried in 1557. When the temple was destroyed, this stone still
remained entire. Finally the authorities, fearing it attracted too much
attention from the natives, ordered it buried. It was brought to light
again in 1790, but its early history was completely forgotten. The
astronomer Gama pronounced it a calendar stone, and his interpretation
of the characters engraved on it have been the foundation for the idea
that the Mexicans had considerable knowledge of astronomy.<79>
Prof. Valentine and others have, however, shown that it was simply a
sacrificial stone, which the artist had decorated in a peculiar manner.
This stone is considered by some to be so important that we will
condense Prof. Valentine's description of it as being the best at hand.
Not all of out scholars accept it, however. The central figure is the
face of the sun-god. It is decorated in a truly savage style. It has
ear-rings, neck-chain, lip-pendant, feathers, etc. The artist's design
has been to surround this central figure with all the symbols of
time. We notice on each side of the sun a small circle or oval with
hieroglyphics resembling claws. In Mexican traditions these represent
two ancient astrologers who were supposed to have invented the calendar.
According to Nahua traditions of the world, there had been four ages of
the world; at the end of each age, the world was destroyed. Right above
and below the ovals with the claws, we see four squares containing
hieroglyphics.

Each of these squares refers to one of the destructions of the
world. The upper right hand square contains the head of a tiger. This
represents the first destruction of the world, which was by tigers. The
four dots seen, in this square do not refer to a date as they generally
do; it is a sacred number, and constantly reappears in all hieroglyphics
referring to feasts of the sun. To the left of this square, crowded
between it and the pointer, can be seen the hieroglyphic of the day
Tecpatl. The little dot is one, so this day one tecpatl probably refers
to the day in which the feast in reference to this destruction was
celebrated. The second age was terminated by a hurricane. The upper
left hand square containing the hieroglyphic for wind refers to this
destruction. Between this square and the pointer is crowded in the
hieroglyphic of one Calli, referring to the feast in memory of this
destruction. The third destruction of the world was by rain, the lower
left hand square containing the hieroglyphic of rain. Below, not
very distinctly, is the date of this feast, one quiahuitl. The last
destruction was by water, represented by the lower right hand square.
The date of this feast as represented below is seven Ozomatl.<80>

Passing out of this central zone we notice the hieroglyphics for the
days of the month arranged in a circle. The A shaped ray from the head
of the sun indicates where we are to commence to read; and we notice
they must be read from right to left. Resting on this circle of day,
we notice four great pointers not unlike a large capital A. They are
supposed to refer to sunrise, noon, sunset, and midnight. Next in order
after the days we notice a circle of little squares, each containing
five dots. Making allowance for the space covered by the legs of the
pointers just mentioned, there are found to be two hundred and sixty of
these days; they, therefore, refer to the days of the moon reckoning.
We notice four smaller pointers not quite so elaborate as those already
referred to, resting in this circle. They probably refer to smaller
divisions of the days. The next circle contains a row of glyphs not
unlike kernels of corn. One hundred and five are represented on this
circle; they refer to the days of the sun reckoning.

Illustration of Sign of Rain.-----------------

Resting on this circle of days are small towers; they, like the smaller
pointers, refer to divisions of the day. Adjoining each of these little
towers is a figure; this cut represents one of them. We notice they form
a circle extending clear around the stone. The meaning of this circle
is gathered from other painted records. It represents a rain storm; four
drops are seen falling to the ground. The ground is cultivated, as shown
by the three ridges; a grain of corn is represented lying on the ground.
This band on the stone is in honor of the rain-god.

Illustration of Sign of Cycle.---------------

There remains only to explain the outer row or band. At the bottom is
a rude representation of two heads with helmets. The meaning of these
figures is unknown. From each of these figures extend in a semicircle a
row of figures of this shape, ending with pointers at the top, between
which is a year-date. Near the points on each side is what might be
described as four bundles tied together. Each of the small figures just
described is the representation of a cycle of fifty-two years.

The date on the top is the year date, Thirteen Acatl. This is an easily
determinable date. From Mexican paintings, we know the conquest of
Mexico occurred in the year Three Calli. From this tracing their years
back by the table given earlier (Arrangement of Years in a Mexican
Cycle), we would find that the first Thirteen Acatl we meet was in the
year 1479. This is exactly the date when, according to tradition,
the great temple was finished, and this stone dedicated by bloody
sacrifices. If we count the number of signs for cycles, we find that
there are just twelve on each side, twenty-four in all. As the artist
could easily have made this number more or less, the probabilities are
that it means something. The most plausible explanation is, that in the
year 1479, they had traditions of twenty-four cycles. But this number
of cycles is equivalent to twelve hundred and forty-eight years, which
would carry us back to about the year 231, A.D., which date we must bear
in mind; not that we think there is any scientific value to it, but for
its bearing on other matter at the close of the chapter.<81>

We come now to consider the subject of their picture writings. The germ
of writing is found in the rude attempts to assist the memory to recall
past events. Some of the northern Indian tribes resorted for this
purpose to belts of wampum. When a new sachem was to be invested with
office among the Iroquois, the historical wampum belts were produced;
an old man taking them in hand, and walking back and forth, proceeded
to "read" from them the principles of the confederacy. In this case,
particular events were connected with particular strings of wampum.<82>
Pictorial representation would be the next stage. At first the aim
of the artist would be to make his drawings as perfect as possible.
A desire to save labor would soon lead them to use only the lines
necessary to show what was meant. This seems to be about the stage of
picture writing, reached by some Indian tribes, who have left here and
there specimens carved on rocks.

Illustration of Indian Picture Writing.------------

This cut is a specimen of such writing from the canyon of the San Juan
in Arizona. Although quite impossible to read it, there is no doubt but
what it expressed a meaning at the time it was engraved.

Illustration of Chapultepec.--------------

From this stage of development would naturally arise symbolical
paintings. Thus "footsteps" might signify the idea of going. A
comma-shaped figure, issuing from a person's mouth, would stand for
speech. The next step is what we might call rebus-writing, where not
the thing itself was meant but the sound. Thus this cut represents
Chapultepec--meaning grasshopper-hill, or locust mount. It is evident,
here, the pictures of the objects represent the name. They, probably,
did not use this principle farther than to represent the proper names of
persons and things before the coming of the Spaniards.

Illustration of Amen.--------------------

Some think that, in addition to the above, the Mexicans used, to a very
limited extent, a true phonetic writing--one in which the figures refer
not to the thought, but to the sound of the thought.<83> Others are not
ready to concede that point. They could not have been further along than
the threshold of the discovery, at all events. The Spanish missionaries
were very desirous of teaching the Indians the Pater-noster, the
Ave-Maria, and the Credo. Either the Indians themselves, or the priests
(probably the latter), hit on the device of using painted symbols for
the words and syllables of the church prayers and formulas. Thus in this
manner was painted the word Amen. The first sign is the conventional
figure for water, in Mexican "atl", which stood for A. For the second
syllable they put the picture of a maguey plant, in Mexican "metl." The
whole, then, was "atl-metl," which was as near as they could express the
word amen. We must observe, that this was after the conquest.<84>

Illustration of Historical Sheet.-----------------

The plate opposite is one of the paintings of the Mendoza collection.
This collection, we must remember, was made after the conquest, simply
to gratify the curiosity of the King of Spain. The matter treated of is
the events connected with time when Motecuma the fifth "chief-of-men"
held office. Around the edge we see the hieroglyphics of the years. We
notice he was chief-of-men from the year one calli to two tecpatl. About
the only thing recorded of him is the different pueblos he conquered.
In all he subdued thirty-three; but only eleven are shown in this plate.
The pueblos are indicated by a house toppling over--flames issuing from
under the roof. The other little hieroglyphics are the names of the
pueblos. The last one in the second transverse line from the bottom is
the hieroglyphic of Chalco, which we thus learn was reduced to tribute
under this chief. All the events indicated in this cut took place before
the discovery of America.<85>

Illustration of Chilapi--Tribute.---------------

A second part of this codex has reference to the tribute received from
various tribes. In this cut the left-hand figure is the hieroglyphic
of the town of Chilapi, and is an excellent representation of their
rebus-writing we have just referred to. It is a tub of water, on which
floats a red-pepper pod. The Mexican word for this last is chilli, for
water it is "atl.". The word "pa" means above. For the full word we have
"chilli-atl-pa." Contracted, it becomes chilapi. The figure to the right
is the tribute. The five flags denotes one hundred. Below is represented
a copper ax-blade--from which we infer that the Pueblo of Chilapi had to
furnish a tribute of one hundred copper axes.

Illustration of Child Training.--------------

A third part of this same collection refers to the Mexican customs. In
this cut we have represented the training of a boy at the different ages
of four, six, thirteen and fourteen years of age. The little round marks
number the years of his age. The little elliptical-shaped figures show
the number of tortullas the child is allowed at a meal. The boy is
trained to carry and make various things, to row a boat, and to fish.

Illustration of Migration Chart.-----------

The most interesting of Mexican picture-writings is the record of their
wanderings. This was formerly supposed to represent their migrations
from Asia--but is now known to refer only to their wanderings in the
Valley of Mexico. De Lafield, in his "Antiquities of America," gives a
full representation of this picture-writing. Bancroft's "Native Races,"
Vol. II, pp. 548-49, give a very good reduced copy. We will not attempt
to reproduce it all. This cut represents the beginning of it. A man
is seen crossing a stream in a boat. The figure behind him may mean an
island, on which are represented some pueblos and human figures. On
the opposite bank of the stream, to which the footsteps lead, is the
hieroglyphic of Culhuacan, "the curved mountain." The year date of this
movement is "one tecpatl." The character within that of Culhuacan is
Huitzilopochtli, their national god. The flakes issuing from his mouth
signify that he is guiding them. The principal figures about this map
are the hieroglyphic names of various places where they stopped, and the
time spent at each place.

The Mayas seem to have been further advanced in the art of writing than
their Nahua neighbors. Specimens of their hieroglyphic writings have
been given in the preceding chapter. The hopes of our scholars were
greatly raised when, in 1863, the announcement was made that there had
been discovered, in Madrid, a Maya alphabet, which, it was expected,
would unlock the mysterious tablets just mentioned.

The alphabet thus discovered is represented in the next cut. It will
be seen that some of the letters have a number of different forms. This
discovery was hailed as of the greatest importance, and a number of
scholars at once set about to decipher the tablets. They were speedily
undeceived. The alphabet is, practically, of no help whatever. Prof.
Valentine even goes so far as to declare that this alphabet was not of
native origin.

Illustration of Landa Alphabet.------------------

Illustration of Maya T.---------------

He thinks that Bishop Landa, who is the authority for this alphabet, and
who was Bishop of Yucatan from 1549 to 1579, being anxious to assist
the natives in learning the new faith, set about the manufacture of an
alphabet for them. This he did by having the natives paint some native
object which came the nearest to the sound of our alphabet. Thus,
for instance, this symbol there are excellent reasons for supposing
represents the sun, or the word "day." The Maya word for this is _te._
We find that this is the symbol that Landa employs for the letter T,
only, in his drawing, the central dot has fallen into the lower dashes.
Nearly all the other letters can be traced to a similar source.<86> But
the professor's reasoning does not satisfy all. He is believed to be
right in a number of his identifications; but still the characters might
have been used in a phonetic way.<87>

Illustration of Maya Manuscript.-------------

There is no doubt but that the Mayas had a different system than that in
use among the Nahua people. The knowledge how to use it was, probably,
confined to the priests; and, furthermore, the system was, doubtless, a
mixed one. A few phonetic characters might have been used; but they also
used picture-writing. The plate above is a sample of the manuscripts
they left behind. It is in the nature of a religious almanac, and refers
to the feasts celebrated at the end of a year. The line of characters
on the left hand are the days characters Eb and Been. In the lower
division, a priest offers a headless fowl to the idol on the left. In
the middle division, the priest is burning incense to drive away the
evil-spirit. In the upper division, the assistant, with the idol on
his back, is on his march through the village. As yet, we know but
very little about the tables. We know the hieroglyphics of days and of
months.

Illustration of Hieroglyphics--Tablet of the Cross.------

Examining the tablets in the Temple of the Cross, at Palenque,
represented below, we notice a large glyph, at the commencement of the
tablet, something like a capital letter. This, Mr. Valentine thinks,
represents the censers which stood in the temples before the idols,
in which fire was constantly kept.<88> Running through the tablets we
notice glyphs, in front of which are either little dots, or one or more
bars with little dots in front of them. These are day-dates. The dots
count one--the little upright bars, five. The probabilities are that
this tablet is a sort of list of feast-days in honor of the gods
represented by the central tablet.

As we have made a considerable effort to acquaint ourselves with the
social organization and customs of the various tribes, and have spent
some time in learning the details of their calendar system, and their
advance in the art of writing, it will not be out of place to inquire
as to their history--to determine, if possible, some of the dates to be
given for the arrival of the tribes, and some of the important points
of their prehistoric life. Whatever difficulties we have experienced in
acquiring a knowledge of their customs will be greatly increased now.
Their architecture, social organization, and general enlightenment could
be perceived by the conquering Spaniards, and our information in regard
to the same should have been full and complete. We have seen, however,
how meager it is. The only light thrown on these disputed points is the
result of the labors of modern scholars. When we were made acquainted
with some of the first principles of Indian society, we could read with
profit the accounts of the early writers.

But, when we come to ask for dates in their history, we are almost
entirely at sea. The traditions, in this respect, are almost worthless.
So, all that we shall attempt to do, is to present some of the thoughts
of our scholars as to the probable connection of the civilized tribes
with each other, and what value is to be given to the few dates at our
command. We will begin, first, with the Maya tribes. This includes those
tribes that speak the Maya language, and its dialects. It was in their
territory that the most striking ruins were found. They include the
tribes of Yucatan, Guatemala, Chiapas, and Tobasco. Then there comes
a break; but they were also settled on both banks of the River Panuco.
Many theories have been advanced as to the origin of the Mayas. As yet,
the question is not solved.

Not a few have supposed them to be the same as the Mound Builders of
the United States. Dr. Brinton has pointed out that the language of the
Natchez Indians contains some words of the Maya.<89> A Mexican scholar,
Senor Orozco-y-Berra, thinks it probable that the Mayas once occupied
the Atlantic sea-board of the United States; that they passed from the
peninsula of Florida to Cuba, and thence to the other Caribbean Islands,
and so to Yucatan. He states that the traditions of the Mayas uphold
this view.<90> But others are not ready to admit it. We have found
a number of points of resemblance between the Mayas and the Nahuas.
Differences we would, of course, expect to find; but still the points of
resemblance are sufficiently strong to indicate either that the tribes
were once subject to the same influence, from whence they derived their
culture, or else that they are descended from the same stock. We have
reverted to the worship of Quetzalcohuatl, and shown how the Quiches,
under the name of Gucumatz, worshiped a similar deity. We have also
referred to the great similarity of the calendar system.

From the limited space at our command, it is not possible to refer to
the traditions of the Maya tribes. We will refer to but one manuscript
bearing on this question; but this is, probably, the most important one.
This manuscript was written by a native with the Spanish letter, but in
the Maya language. It was written not far from the time of the conquest
of Yucatan by the Spaniards, and the account is, doubtless, as full a
one, from the native stand-point, as can be given. The period of time
used by the author is Ahau, which we have seen is either twenty, or
twenty-four years.

Carefully going over this manuscript, Prof. Valentine arrives at the
following conclusions: About the Year 137, A.D., the Mayas started from
some place they called Tulla, or Tullapan, on their migration. Where
this place was we do not know. The traditions of all the civilized
nations refer to this place as a starting-point. It was a "land of
abundance." It may be that this was but some fabled place, such as
almost all primitive people have traditions of.<91> About the year
231, A.D., they arrived on the coast of Central America, and spread
themselves over a large part of it. This same manuscript speaks of the
"discovery" of Chichen-Itza, 522, A.D. The date of the founding of Uxmal
is given as about the year 1000, A.D. From 1000 to 1200, A.D., was the
golden era of the Mayas in Yucatan.

The tribes at Uxmal, Mayapan, and Chichen-Itza formed a confederacy
of which Mayapan seems to have been the head. About the year 1200,
inter-tribal war broke out. It seems to have been caused by the arrival
of Nahua tribes, who established themselves in Mayapan. They were
finally expelled, but they left the Mayas in such a state of exhaustion
that they could not present a united front against the Spaniards. Such
are the conclusions of Prof. Valentine. He estimates the length of an
Ahau at twenty years, and it does seem that the author of the manuscript
used that number of years.<92>

Of the other branch of the civilized tribes we know but very little.
The historical picture writings of the Mendoza collection, a collection
compiled, remember, after the conquest, and, therefore, representing the
traditions then current among the Mexicans, takes us back to 1325, A.D.,
to the first settlement in the Pueblo of Mexico. Sahagun, a Franciscan
monk, who went to Mexico as early as the year 1529, and remained
there until his death in 1590, wrote a very voluminous account of the
Mexicans, their customs and history, and as he was in Mexico at the time
when their traditions were still fresh in the minds of the natives, his
account is probably as good as any. He obtained his information in
a very credible manner. He gathered together some old Indians, well
acquainted with the traditional history of their country. They are
supposed to have "refreshed" their memory by inspecting a number of
picture writings, which have since disappeared.

It is manifest that this history is valuable, just in proportion as the
traditions are valuable. He makes one statement that Prof. Valentine has
dwelt upon with great ability. He states that numberless years ago the
first settlers came in ships and landed at a northern port, which, from
that cause, was called Pauntla. This is supposed to be the Panuco River.
After they had settled here, a large part of them, including their
leaders and the priests, went off south; Sahagun says as far as
Guatemala. The party left behind organized themselves into an
independent body. They reconstructed from memory the calendar; they
increased and became powerful, until pushing over the mountain,
they built the pyramid of Cholula, and finally reached the city of
Teotihuacan, where they built a central sanctuary. For some reason they
abandoned their homes, all except the Otomies, and wandered off across
the plains, and high, cold, desert places, that they might discover new
lands.<93>

No dates are mentioned for these occurrences, and we are not aware that
this tradition is mentioned by other writers. We recall that from the
mouth of the Panuco River southward, we found evidence of considerable
population in olden times. We also recall that in this section are the
ruined pyramids of Tuzpan and Papantla. Prof. Valentine is inclined to
think that this date is referred to on the calendar stone; that is, 231
A.D. Just twenty-four cycles elapsed from this time to the date of the
dedication of the calendar stone in 1479.

He also thinks that the Maya traditions refer to this same occurrence.
One more reference to this same mysterious date is contained in the
traditions of the Tezcucan tribe. According to the traditions, the
beginning of things were in the year 245 A.D. According to this view,
then, the ancestors of both Nahua and Maya people appeared on the gulf
coast about 231 A.D.; in the same place where a Maya-speaking tribe are
found to-day. From here those who developed the Maya culture went to the
south and south-west; those who developed the Nahua went to the west and
north-west.

We do not profess to be a judge as to the value of this tradition.
Our scholars will, probably, at no distant day, come to more definite
conclusions in the matter. Prof. Short thinks the strangers who at this
early time made their appearance on the gulf shore were colonies of
Mound Builders from the Mississippi Valley.<94> We think it best to be
very cautious about coming to any such conclusions. We must not forget
that back of the twelfth century is nothing but vague traditions. Mr.
Bandelier tells us that "nothing positive can be gathered, except
that even during the earliest times Mexico was settled or overrun by
sedentary, as well as by nomadic tribes that both acknowledged a common
origin."<95> The savage tribes have the general name of Chichimecas, but
by right this term ought to be applied to the sedentary tribes as well;
however, the word Toltec stands for these sedentary tribes. We have all
read about the great Toltec Empire in Mexico. This is a ridiculous
use of words. There was no tribe or nation of people of the name of
Toltecs.<96> All these prehistoric aborigines were probably Chichimecas;
but by Toltecs we refer to the sedentary tribes, the skillful workers
among them. If we are to judge any thing of traditions, the original
home of these people were somewhere to the north of Mexico.

There was doubtless the usual state of inter-tribal warfare, but after a
prolonged period the sedentary tribes--the Toltecs--were exterminated
or expelled. Their successors were utter savages, coming from the north
also. We doubt very much whether any date can be given for this event,
but traditions assign it to about the year 1064. Prof. Valentine thinks
he finds a reference to it in the calendar of stone. If we will notice,
in the outer band near the top are four little bundles, or knots, in
all, eight. We are told that each of these bundles refers to a cycle of
fifty-two years, or in all four hundred and sixteen years. The date
of the inauguration of the stone is 1479. If we subtract the number of
years just mentioned, we have the date 1063. Whether this is simply a
coincidence, or was really intended to refer to that event, we can not
say.

Considerable speculations have been indulged in as to where the Toltecs
went when driven out of Mexico. Some have supposed they went to Yucatan,
and that to them we are to look for the builders of the ruined cities.
This is the view of a very late explorer, M. Charney.<97> Some have
supposed we yet see certain traces of their presence in Guatemala, where
they helped to build up a great Quexche "monarchy."<98> But we know very
little about it. It is not probable that more than a feeble remnant of
them escaped with their lives.

From the same mysterious regions from where had issued the aboriginal
Chichimecas and Toltec people, there subsequently came still other bands
of sedentary Indians, who finally came to settle around the lakes of
Anahuac. These settlers all spoke closely related dialects of the same
language as their predecessors, the Toltecs. Finally the Aztecs appeared
on the scene, coming from the same mysterious land of the "Seven Caves."
According to their historical picture-writings, they founded the Pueblo
of Mexico in 1325. It is somewhat singular that no record of this event
appears on the calendar stone. If the artist was ingenious enough,
as Prof. Valentine thinks he was, to represent the dispersion of the
Toltecs in the eleventh century, he surely would have found some way to
refer to such an important event as the founding of their Pueblo. From
this date the Mexicans steadily rose in power, until they finally became
the leading power of the valley.<99>

REFERENCES

(1) The manuscript of this chapter was submitted to A. F.
Bandelier for criticism. The part bearing on religion was
subsequently rewritten. Absence from the country prevented his
examining it.
(2) Mr. Bandelier is the author of three essays on the culture
of the ancient Mexicans. These are published in Volume II of
"Peabody Museum Reports." We wish to make a general reference to
these essays. They are invaluable to the student. Every position
is sustained by numerous quotations from the early writers.
In order to save constant references to them, we will here state
that, unless other authorities are given for striking statements
as to the culture of the Mexicans, their social organizations,
etc., it is understood that our authority is found in
these essays.
(3) In Mexican, "Tlaca-tecuhtli."
(4) Bancroft's "Native Races," Vol. II, p. 572.
(5) "Contribution to North American Ethnology," Vol. IV, p. 229.
(6) Morgan's "Contributions to N.A. Ethnology," p. 256.
(7) Bancroft's "Native Races," Vol. II, p. 576.
(8) "Who over heard of an imperfectly developed race decorating
so profusely and so delicately their ordinary abodes, in a
manner usually reserved for temples and palaces?" S. F. Haven,
in Proceedings of Am. Antiq. Society, April, 1880, p. 57.
(9) Morgan's "Contribution to N.A. Ethnology," Vol. IV, p. 186.
(10) Cortez saw "trinkets made of gold and silver, of lead,
bronze, copper, and tin." They were on the confines of a true
Bronze Age. Proceedings of Am. Antiq. Society, April, 1879,
p. 81.
(11) "History of the Conquest of Mexico."
(12) Bancroft's "Native Races," Vol. II.
(13) "History of America," 1818, Vol. III, book viii, p. 9.
(14) Wilson's "Conquest of Mexico."
(15) Morgan's "Ancient Society," p. 91.
(16) But, on this point, see "Peabody Reports," Vol. II, p. 685
--note, p. 282.
(17) Morgan's "Ancient Society," p. 197.
(18) Ibid., p. 205.
(19) "Ancient Society," p. 118.
(20) Morgan's "Ancient Society," p. 147.
(21) We refer again to Mr. Bandelier's articles. A careful
reading of them will convince any one that the picture of
Mexican Government as set forth in Mr. Bancroft's "Native
Races," Vol. II, is very erroneous. Mr. Bancroft's views are,
however, those of many writers.
(22) "Ancient Society," p. 528.
(23) Morgan's "Ancient Society," p. 537.
(24) Bancroft's "Native Races," Vol. II, p. 435.
(25) It is needless to remark that these results are greatly at
variance with those generally held, as will be seen by
consulting Mr. Bancroft's "Native Races," Vol. II, Chap. xiv.
Mr. Bancroft, however, simply gathers together what other
writers have stated on this subject. We follow, in this matter,
the conclusions of an acknowledged leader in this field,
Mr. Bandelier, who has fully worked out Mr. Morgan's views,
advanced in "Ancient Society."
(26) Morgan's "Ancient Society," p. 193.
(27) Bancroft's "Native Races," Vol. II, p. 95.
(28) Morgan's "Ancient Society," p. 194.
(29) Bancroft's "Native Races," Vol. II, p. 94.
(30) Morgan's "Ancient Society," p. 195.
(31) Bancroft's "Native Races," Vol. I, p. 344.
(32) Valentine, in Proceedings of American Antiquarian Society,
April, 1879.
(33) Gallatin: "American Ethnological Society's Transactions,"
Vol. I, p. 119.
(34) Valentine: Proceedings American Antiq. Soc., October, 1880,
p. 75.
(35) Bancroft's "Native Races," Vol. II, p. 381. Proceedings
American Antiquarian Society, April, 1879, p. 110.
(36) Bancroft's "Native Races," Vol. II, p. 193.
(37) "Fifth Annual Report Archaeological Institute of America,"
p. 83.
(38) Bancroft's "Native Races," Vol. II, p. 389.
(39) Bancroft's "Native Races," Vol. II, p. 325.
(40) Valentine: Proceedings Am. Antiq. Society, April, 1879,
p. 90.
(41) Ibid., p. 111.
(42) _North American Review,_ Oct. 1880, p. 310.
(43) See "Copper Age in Wisconsin," in Proceedings American
Antiquarian Society, No. 69, p. 57.
(44) Bancroft's "Native Races," Vol. II, p. 483.
(45) Proceedings Am. Antiq. Society, Oct., 1881, P. 66.
(Valentine.)
(46) Proceedings Am. Antiq. Society, Oct., 1881, p. 66.
(Valentine.)
(47) Bancroft's "Native Races," Vol. II, p. 489.
(48) Bancroft's "Native Races," Vol. III, pp. 182-199. In this
connection, see also Bandolier: "An Archaeological Tour in
Mexico," p. 185, note 2. It seems that none of the early writers
speak of such a belief. The idea of one single God is first
found in the writings of Ixtilxochitl.
(49) Brinton's "Myths of the New World," p. 45.
(50) Tezcatlipoca, the tutelar deity of Tezcuco;
Huitzilopochtli, the tutelar deity of Mexico; Camaxtli, the
tutelar deity of Tlaxcala; Quetzalcohuatl, the tutelar deity
of Cholula.
(51) Bandelier: "An Archaeological Tour in Mexico," p. 188.
(52) This subject is fully treated of in Brinton's "Myths of the
New World."
(53) "Among the Indians it is very easy to become deified. The
development of the Montezuma myth among the Pueblo Indians of
New Mexico is an instance." (Bandelier.)
(54) Brinton's "Myths of the New World."
(55) Bandelier: "An Archaeological Tour in Mexico." pp. 168-213.
(56) Bancroft's "Native Races," Vol. III, p. 298, note 9.
(57) "American Antiquarian," January, 1883, p. 78.
(58) "An Archaeological Tour in Mexico," p. 67.
(59) "Peabody Museum Reports," Vol. II, p. 600. Dr. Brinton in
"Myths of the New World," p. 281, gives some instances that
might be thought to show the contrary. But even in those
extracts we notice the parties had to deserve the office, and
that in no case was it confined to certain persons.
(60) Bancroft: "Native Races," Vol. III, p. 335.
(61) Bancroft: "Native Races," Vol. II, p. 500.
(62) Mr. Bandelier remarks that the numbers from five to ten
should be macuil-pa-oc-ce, etc. We give the same table as both
Mr. Gallatin and Mr Bancroft.
(63) For authorities on this subject see Gallatin in "American
Ethnological Society's Transactions," Vol. I, p, 49; Bancroft's
"Native Races," Vol. II, p. 497; Valentine, in Am. Antiq. Soc.
Proceedings, Oct., 1880, p. 61.
(64) Perez "Chronology of Yucatan," in Stephens's "Yucatan,"
Vol. I, p. 435.
(65) See Valentine: "The Katunes of Maya History," in
Proceedings Am. Antiq. Soc., October, 1879, p. 114.
(66) We refer to the division of five days, not to the thirteen
day period, of which we will soon speak.
(67) Bandelier: "Peabody Museum Reports," Vol. II, p. 579.
Note 29.
(68) Mr. Bancroft, "Native Races," p. 508, gives a table showing
the variation of authors in this respect. Gallatin "American
Ethnological Society's Transactions," Vol. I, p. 66, says, "the
published hieroglyphics are dissimilar in many respects."
(69) Stephens's "Yucatan," Vol. I, p. 438.
(70) Bancroft's "Native Races," Vol. II, p. 513, note 15.
(71) Proceedings Am. Antiq. Society, April, 1878, p. 99.
(72) Gallatin: "American Ethnological Soc. Trans.," Vol. I,
p. 71.
(73) See Valentine, in Proceedings American Antiq. Society,
April, 1878, p. 106. Gallatin, who is also good authority, gives
the order different, viz., Tochtli, Acatl, Tecpatl, Calli.
(74) Valentine: Proceedings Am. Antiq. Soc., Oct., 1879, p. 84,
_et seq._
(75) Thomas: "A study of the Manuscript Troano," in
"Contributions to North American Ethnology," Vol. V, p. 29.
(76) According to the teachings of the Mexican priests nine
deities governed the days. They had painted lists of these
weeks, and the deities governing each.
(77) Valentine: Proceedings Am. Antiq. Soc., Oct., 1879, p. 85.
(78) In this table we have followed Mr. Gallatin. According to
Prof. Valentine, the order of the years is different.
This, however, is immaterial to an understanding of the system.
(79) Gallatin: "Am. Eth. Soc. Transactions," Vol. I, p. 94,
_et seq._
(80) Thus says Prof. Valentine. The cast of this stone in the
Smithsonian Institution gives the date eight, instead of
seven Ozomatl.
(81) For information on the Calendar Stone, consult, "American
Ethnological Society's Transactions," Vol. I, p. 94, _et
seq.;_ Bancroft's "Native Races," Vol. II, chap. xvi, and
p. 755, _et seq.;_ Valentine: American Antiquarian
Society's Proceedings, April, 1878, p. 92, _et seq.;_
Short's "North Americans of Antiquity," p. 419, _et seq._
(82) Morgan's "Ancient Society," p. 143.
(83) Brinton: "Introduction to the Study of the Manuscript
Troano."
(84) Valentine: Proceedings of American Antiquarian Society,
April, 1880.
(85) Gallatin: "American Ethnological Society's Transactions,"
Vol. I, p. 131.
(86) Valentine: Amer. Antiq. Society's Transactions, April,
1880, pp. 59-91.
(87) Brinton's "Introduction to Study of manuscript Troans,"
p. xxvi.
(88) American Antiquarian Society, April, 1881, p. 294.
(89) "Myths of the New World." The doctor now thinks his
statement just referred to, too strong. There is, indeed, a
resemblance, as he pointed out; but it is not strong enough to
found any theories on.
(90) Short's "North Americans of Antiquity," p. 474.
(91) Brinton's "Myths of the New World."
(92) This historical manuscript represents the traditions of the
Maya people shortly after the conquest. It is very likely its
author had before him picture records of what he wrote.
Such records have since disappeared. The manuscript itself, the
interpretation of it, and Perez's remarks are found in Stephen's
"Yucatan," Vol. II, Appendix. The same in Bancroft's "Native
Races," Vol. V, p. 628. The fullest and most complete discussion
is by Prof. Valentine in Proceedings Am. Antiq. Soc., October,
1879, p. 80, _et seq._ Whether there is any thing worthy of
the name of history is doubtful.
(93) Proceedings Am. Antiq. Society, Oct., 1882.
(94) "North Americans of Antiquity," p. 578.
(95) "Peabody Museum Reports," Vol. II, p. 387.
(96) Valentine: Proceedings Am. Antiq. Society, October, 1882,
p. 209.
(97) _North American Review,_ from Sept., 1880, to 1883.
(98) Short's "North Americans of Antiquity," p. 218.
(99) This historical notice is a mere outline. Such, however, is
all we wished to give. Those who wish for more details can not
do better than to refer to Mr. Bancroft's fifth volume on the
"Native Races." We do not believe, however, that any thing
definite is known of the early periods of which some writers
give such glowing descriptions. When they talk about the doings
of monarchs, the rise and fall of dynasties, and royal
governors, we must remember the majority of the descriptive
matter is mere nonsense, consequently our faith in the dates
given can not be very great.

Chapter XVI.

ANCIENT PERU.

First knowledge of Peru--Expeditions of Pizarro--Geography of Peru--But
a small part of it inhabitable--The tribes of ancient Peru--How
classified--Sources of our knowledge of Peru--Garcillasso
De La Vega--Origin of Peruvian civilization--The Bolson of
Cuzco--Historical outline--Their culture--Divided into phratries and
gentes--Government--Efforts to unite the various tribes--Their system
of colonies--The roads of the Incas--The ruins of Chimu--The arts of the
Chimu people--The manufacture of pottery--Excavation at Ancon--Ruins
in the Huatica Valley--The construction of a Huaca--The ruins at
Pachacamac--The valley of the Canete--The Chincha Islands--Tiahuanuco--
Carved gateway--The Island of Titicaca--Chulpas--Ruins at Cannar--
Aboriginal Cuzco--Temple of the Sun--The Fortress--General remarks.

The early part of the sixteenth century was surely a stirring time in
the world's history. The night of the Dark Ages was passing off of the
Old World; the darker gloom of prehistoric times was lifting from off
the New. Spanish discoveries followed each other in rapid succession
in the South. As yet, they supposed these discoveries to be along the
eastern shores of Asia, but, in 1513, Balboa, from a mountain peak, in
Darien, saw the gleam of the great Pacific, which intervenes between
America and Asia. At the same time he was informed there was a country
to the southward where gold was in common use, and of as little value
among the people as iron among the Spaniards. As gold was what the
Spaniards most desired, we can imagine how they rejoiced over such
information.

The rich country of which Balboa was thus informed was later known as
Peru. Balboa himself did not attempt its discovery. There was no lack,
however, of those who wished to achieve fame and fortune by so doing.
Among other restless spirits who had been attracted to the New World,
was Francisco Pizarro. He had been associated with Balboa in founding
the settlement of Darien, and, of course, he was among the first to hear
of the marvelous country farther south. In 1518, Panama, on the Pacific
coast, was made the seat of government for the Spaniards in that section
of the country. Pizarro was one of the first there--his services had
been rewarded by the grant of an estate. The historian of his expedition
speaks of him as "one of the principal men of the land, possessing his
house, his farm, and his Indians."<1> We need not doubt but what he
often pondered over his knowledge of the rich country south. He was well
acquainted with Indian character, and knew that a small band of resolute
Europeans, possessed of fire-arms, could sweep every thing before them.

He could not endure the quiet life on his estate, and so he obtained
from the governor permission to explore the coast of the South Sea to
the eastward. He spent a large part of his fortune on a good ship and
the necessary supplies for the voyage, and finally set sail from Panama
in November of 1524. It needed a man of no common spirits to withstand
the disappointments of the next few years. In less than a year this ship
returned to Panama for reinforcements. Pizarro himself and a few of his
men remained at a place not very far from Panama. Here he was joined
by reinforcements under Almagro. Undismayed by his first experience,
he again sailed southward along the coast. Xeres's brief account is as
follows: "When they thought they saw signs of habitations, they went
on shore in their canoes they had with them, rowed by sixty men, and so
they sought for provisions. They continued to sail in this way for three
years, suffering great hardships from hunger and cold. The greater
part of the crew died of hunger, insomuch that there were not fifty
surviving. During all these years they discovered no good land; all was
swamp and inundated land without inhabitants."

This expedition accomplished nothing further than to obtain definite
information as to Peru. Pizarro's grant from the governor having
expired, and the further fact that he had spent all his fortune in these
unsuccessful expeditions, made it necessary for him to go to Spain.
Received by the emperor with favor, clothed with ample authority, he was
able to raise men and money, and finally sailed from Panama in 1531 on
his third and successful expedition for the conquest of Peru. Thus was
made known to the world what is regarded as the most wonderful example
of native civilization in the two Americas.

The dawn of history for Peru was the sunset of her native culture. In a
few short years what has come down to us as the Empire of the Incas
was completely overthrown; the enslaved Indians were groaning under the
weight of Spanish oppression; the demolition of her ancient monuments
had already begun, and romance, tradition, and wonder had already thrown
their subtle charms around the ruins. The old customs and usages were on
the sudden dropped, a new culture was forced upon the unwilling natives,
and prehistoric Peru, though distant but a few years in time, was
as completely separated from historic Peru as is the culture of the
Neolithic Age in Europe from that of the early historic period.

The magician's wand in the fairy stories of olden days did not present
results more bewildering in their changes than did the operations of
the Spaniards in Peru. All accounts unite in praising the government of
ancient Peru. There is probably no question but what the government
the Spaniards overthrew was one far better adapted to the wants of the
native inhabitants than the one they forced them to accept. But when we
read the accounts of that government as set forth by the early writers,
we are at a loss to know what to believe. There is such an evident
mixture of fables, traditions, and facts, that the cautious student
hesitates, and asks what support the researches of later scholars give
to these early writers. We doubt whether we have to this day clear ideas
of the culture of ancient Peru. This is to be regretted. There is no
question but that here was the highest development of the Indian race in
America. If we accept the accounts given us, here rose an empire which
will not suffer by comparison with the flourishing empires of early
times in Oriental lands. Let us try and learn what we can of this
culture, and see wherein it differed from that of the civilized tribes
already discussed.

Illustration of Map of Peru.---------------

We must, first of all, acquaint ourselves with the physical features of
the country. We can never fairly judge of the civilization or culture
of a people until we know their surroundings. One of the discoveries
of late years is, that the culture of a people is greatly influenced
by their surroundings. The very appearance of a country whether it is
mountainous or plain, sea-girt or inland, influences the character of
a people. Civilization is found to depend upon such common factors as
climate, food, and physical surroundings.<2> Now if we will examine the
map of South America, we will see that the entire section of country
occupied by the tribes under consideration is very mountainous. What is
known as the Andes is in reality the most eastern of the two ranges.
The western one nearer the coast is called the Cordillera, or the Coast
Range. The summit of this mountain range often spreads out into great
undulating plains, the general elevation of which is from fourteen to
eighteen thousand feet above the sea. This series of elevated plains
forms a dreary, uninhabited stretch of country, "frigid, barren, and
desolate, where life is only represented by the hardy vicuna and the
condor."<3>

This is the uninhabited portion of Peru. The general width of this
plateau region is about one hundred and fifty miles. Passing this dreary
stretch of country we come to another still elevated plateau section,
which extends to the snow-clad Andes proper. The distance between these
two great mountain ranges is from one to two hundred miles, but as we
see on the map they come together in places. One such place, the Pass of
La Raya, fifteen degrees south latitude is of importance as marking the
northern extremity of the great basin of Lake Titicaca. This basin is
remarkable in many respects. It is of no inconsiderable size, being six
hundred miles in length by one hundred and fifty in width. It has a lake
and river system of its own. At the northern extremity of the basin is
the noted Lake Titicaca, which is given by some as the traditional
place of origin of the Incas. This lake finds an outlet in the River
Desaguadero, which flows in a broad and swift stream in a southerly
direction, where it empties into Lake Aullagas.

Of this lake we know next to nothing, but it seems to be established
that it has no outlet to the sea. Thus this Titicaca basin is but
another example of interior basins like that of our own great Salt Lake.
It is not, however, favorably situated for agricultural purposes. It
is a "region where barley will not ripen except under very favorable
circumstances and where maize in its most diminutive size has its
most precarious development; where the potato, shrunk to its smallest
proportions, is bitter; where the only grain is the quinoa, and where
the only indigenous animals fit for food are the biscacha, the llama and
the vicuna."<4>

Thus we see that a large part of the interior of Peru was not desirable
for habitations. But this great plateau region north of the basin of
Lake Titicaca is here and there broken up by what we would call valleys,
but which the Spaniards more appropriately named _bolsons,_ literally
meaning "pockets." These bolsons are of various altitudes, and,
therefore have different climates and productions. Some are well drained
and fertile, others are marshy and contain considerable lakes. As a
general thing, the bolsons are separated from each other by stretches
of the dreary, desolate plateau; or by ranges of precipitous hills and
mountains, or by profound gorges, along which courses some river on its
way to swell the flood of the mighty Amazon.

The coast range of mountains of which we have spoken runs nearly
parallel to the coast, distant from it about forty miles. This stretch
of country along the entire coast of ancient Peru is mainly a desert.
Owing to causes which we need not explain, rain is almost unknown; the
consequence is, the coast presents a dreary, verdureless, forbidding
appearance. The melting snows on the great Cordillera, however, send
down, here and there, on their western flanks, feeble rivers. Some of
these rivers reach the sea, others prolong their flow but a few miles
from the mountains before the thirsty desert swallows them from view. As
is true of all desert countries, all that is needed to render it fertile
is water; so, wherever these rivers occur there are found wonderfully
fertile valleys. Every one of these valleys was once thickly settled,
but, like the bolsons of the interior, they were not connected with
each other. Each valley is separated from its neighbor by many miles
of almost trackless desert, across which the Incas are said to have
indicated the road by means of stakes driven into the sand and joined
by Ozier ropes. No remains of such roads have been found by modern
travelers.

Illustration of Fortress, Huatica Valley.-------

From this description it is "clear that but a small portion of the
country was inhabitable, or capable of supporting a considerable number
of people. The rich and productive valleys and bolsons are hardly
move than specks on the map."<5> It is necessary that we bear this
description of the country in mind. It will help us to understand as
nothing else will how the tribes located in one rich and productive
bolson could, by successive forays, reduce to a condition of tribute
tribes living in other detached valleys and bolsons. It will also enable
us to put a correct estimate on the extravagant accounts that have
reached us of the population of this country under the rule of its
ancient inhabitants. We can also readily see why the tribes living in
the hot and fertile valleys along the coast, which were called Yuncas
by the Peruvians, should differ in religion and mental and moral
characteristics from the tribes living in the bolsons of the interior,
where the snow-clad peaks were nearly always in sight, and where
the sun, shedding his warm and vivifying beams, would appear to the
shivering natives as the beneficent deity from whence comes all good.

We must now turn our attention to the tribes inhabiting the section of
country just described. We have seen that the Mayas, of Central America,
the Nahuas, of Mexico, and the sedentary tribes, of the United States,
were considerably in advance of the great body of the Indian tribes
of North America. We find the same fact true of the natives of South
America. Those tribes inhabiting the territory of ancient Peru, and
those of the territory now known as the United States of Columbia,
were considerably further advanced than the wild tribes living in the
remaining portions of South America. Quite a number of our scholars have
grouped in one class these partially civilized tribes of both North and
South America, and called them the Toltecan Family.<6> But others do not
think that there are sufficient grounds for such a class division. They
can not detect any radical changes in the domestic institutions of the
various tribes.<7> On this point we must wait until our authorities are
agreed among themselves.

Attempts have been made to classify the various partially civilized
tribes of Peru. There are several difficulties in the way. It was, for
instance, the custom of the Incas, whenever they had reduced a tribe to
tribute, to force them to learn their language, which was the Quichua,
and is what the early Spanish writers call the general language of
Peru.<8> How far this language was forced on the tribes, and how far it
was their own idiom, we can not tell. Mr. Markham, who has made a
very careful study of all the authorities bearing on Peru, divides the
territory of ancient Peru into five divisions, and in each locates a
number of tribes, which he thinks forms a family.

The first, and most northern one, extends north from near Tumbez, in the
present State of Ecuador. The second extends from Loja, on the north, to
Cerro De Pasco, in about eleven degrees south latitude. The third, and
most important, extends from this last named place to the pass of La
Raya, fifteen degrees south latitude. This was the home of the Incas and
five other closely related tribes. To the south of La Raya is the basin
of Lake Titicaca, the home of a family of Indians generally known as
the Aymara Indians. This name is, however, wrong; these tribes should
be called the Collao Indians. These four divisions do not include any
territory west of the Cordillera range, except one part of the third
division. These four families are all closely related. Mr. Markham
thinks they all had a common origin. Mr. Squier thinks the Collao, or,
as they are generally called, the Aymara Indians, are distinct from the
others. "They differ from each other as widely as the German's differ
from the French," is his own conclusion. The entire coast district of
Peru was the home of many tribes of Indians, about which we as yet know
but little. The name by which they are known is Yuncas.<9>

We are now ready to proceed to a consideration of the culture of ancient
Peru, and a description of the monuments. But before doing so we must
have a word to say as to the authorities. At the time of the Spanish
conquest of Peru, the Empire of the Incas was supposed to have been in
existence about four hundred years. But the Incas had no hieroglyphic or
pictorial system of recording events. The most they had was a system
of knot records or quippos, which will be explained in due time. These
records were simply aids to the memory. Mr. Squier places them "about on
a par with Robinson Crusoe's Notched Calendar, or the chalked tally
of an illiterate tapster."<10> They are manifestly of no value as
historical records.

It must be evident, then, that all our knowledge of Peru, previous to
the arrival of the Spaniards, rests solely upon traditions. We have no
reason to suppose that these traditions are of more value in their case
than in the case of other rude and illiterate people. The memory of
such people is very short lived. The tribes in the southern part of
the United States must have been greatly impressed with Do Soto's
expedition. They heard fire-arms for the first time, and for the first
time saw horses ridden by men. Yet in the course of a few generations
they had completely forgotten all this.<11>

One very eminent authority is Garcillasso De La Vega.<12> Let us examine
his writings a minute. He was born in Cuzco about 1540, but a few years
after the conquest. His mother claimed descent from the royal family. He
left Peru in 1560, when he was just twenty years old, and went to Spain.
He first sought advancement in the army. Despairing of success in that
line, he turned his attention to literature. One of his first works was
an account of De Soto's expedition to Florida. The historian Bancroft
thus characterizes this work: "An extravagant romance, yet founded upon
facts--a history not without its value, but which must be consulted with
extreme caution." Yet in this work there were no subtile ties of blood,
no natural bias as there would be in favor of the land of his birth.

About 1600 he commenced his "Royal Commentaries of Peru." This is the
main source of information as to ancient Peru. We must reflect that he
had been away from his native land forty years when he commenced the
work. His sources of information were the stories told him in his
boyhood days, the writings of the Spanish travelers, monks, and
conquerors, and what he learned by corresponding with his old friends in
Peru, which he did when he formed the design of writing his history. In
other words, his history rests on the traditions extant at the time of
the conquest, viewed, however, from a distance of sixty years. Who can
doubt but what the old man, writing his accounts of this mother's race,
that race that had been so deeply wronged, wrote it under the influence
of that potent spell, which the memory of old age throws around
childhood's days?

It is evident we have in these accounts but little deserving the name of
history. When he undertakes to tell us of the doings of the Incas, who
are supposed to have reigned three or four hundred years before the
Spanish conquest, descending to such details as what nations they
subdued, the size of their armies, their speeches to their soldiers,
the words of counsel they addressed to their heirs, their wise laws
and maxims--and we know that this account rests on traditions--he who
believes that they are of historical value, is surely possessed of a
good store of credulity. We do not mean to say that his writings are of
no account. On the other hand, they are of value. The historical part we
are to consider simply as traditions, and we are to weigh them just
as we would any other collection of traditions and compare them with
monuments still extant. He is good authority on the customs and manners
of the Peruvians just previous to the arrival of the Europeans.

We have seen what strange mistakes the Spanish writers made in
describing the government and customs of the Mexicans. We have no doubt
but what substantially the same mistake has been made in regard to Peru.
We believe that a careful, critical study of all that has been written
on the subject of Peru by the early writers will establish this fact.
As yet this has not been done. We must therefore be careful in our
description of the state of society amongst them, as we do not wish to
make statements not supported by good authority.

We must try and decide as to what is the most probable origin of the
ancient Peruvian civilization. Some of the earlier writers on this
subject would trace it to an influx of Toltecs, the same mythical race
that is credited with being the originators of the culture found in
Mexico and Central America. But our modern scholars have clearly shown
that the Toltec Empire, which was supposed to have preceded the Mexican,
never existed. What we are to understand by the Toltecs is the sedentary
tribes of Indians, either of the Nahua or Maya stock. The only value
we would assign to the story of their dispersion is that it is a
traditional statement that the migration of the sedentary Indians has
been in a direction from north to south.

Illustration of Ruins at Pachacamac.---------------

We have no means of knowing when the first tribes arrived in the
country, or of their state of culture. It was doubtless at a very early
date, and the tribes were probably not far advanced. We have no reason
to suppose the culture of Peru was influenced from outside sources at
all. We can not detect any evidence of a succession of races in Peru.
The distinguished author to whom we have already referred<13> speaks
of what he calls the ancient Peruvians as distinguished from the modern
tribes that acknowledged the government of the Incas.<14> We think that
all the evidence points to a long continued residence of the same race
of people.

We may suppose that in the fertile valleys of the coast, and in the
bolsons of the interior, tribes of rude people were slowly moving along
the line of progress that conducts at last to civilization. There is
no reason to suppose that this progress was a rapid one. Under all
circumstances this development is slow. We must not forget the natural
features of the country. The inhabited tracts were isolated, hence would
arise numerous petty tribes, having no common aims or mutual interests.
Each would pursue their own way, and would keep about equal pace through
the stages of Barbarism.<15>

In process of time geographical and climatic causes would produce
those effects, from which there is no escape, and some tribes would
distinguish themselves as being possessed of superior energy, and the
same results would follow there as elsewhere; that is, the dominion of
the strong over the weak. All other circumstances being equal, we would
look for this result in a section where a mild climate and fertile soil
enabled man to put forth his energies, and rewarded his labors. All
accounts agree in speaking of the bolson of Cuzco as well provided by
nature in this respect. One eminent traveler speaks of it as "a region
blessed with almost every variety of climate. On its bracing uplands
were flocks of llamas and abundance of edible roots, while its sunny
valleys yielded large crops of corn, pepper, and fruits."<16> Mr. Squier
thinks that, on the whole, the climate is very nearly the same as that
of the south of France.<17>

This bolson was the home of the Incas. A number of writers speak of the
Incas very much as if they were a royal family. It is not necessary
to discuss this point very extensively at present. All our accounts of
their early history are traditional. Mr. Markham and Mr. Squier, both
competent judges, assert that the weight of traditions is to the effect
that the Incas originated near Cuzco. "Universal traditions," says Mr.
Markham, "points to a place called Peccari Tampu as the cradle or
point of origin of the Incas." As near as we can make out from the
description, this was where, as seen from Cuzco, the sun appeared to
rise.<18>

We must remark that the sun was the ancestral deity of the Incas. All
the Andean people worshiped some object as an ancestral deity. "An
Indian," says La Vega, "is not looked upon as honorable unless he is
descended from a fountain, river, or lake, or even the sea, or from a
wild animal, such as a bear, lion, tiger, eagle, or the bird they
called a condor, or from a mountain, cave, or forest." The Incas claimed
descent from the sun. So we can see why their legends would center on
the place where the sun appeared to rise. In after years, when they had
extended their conquests to the Collao,<19> and stood on the shore of
Lake Titicaca, the sun appeared to them to rise out of its waves; and so
this lake became to them a second point of traditional origin.

We see we can not solve the question of the origin of the Incas until
we solve the deeper problems of the origin of the Andean tribes.
Every thing seems to indicate a long-continued residence, perhaps for
centuries, and a slow advance in culture. We are not to suppose the
Incas were endowed with unusual capacity for improvement; all the tribes
were probably about equal in this respect.<20> But their situation was
in their favor, and they did not have to contend with those obstacles
that confronted other tribes. They must have increased in numbers and in
culture; they would in time feel themselves strong enough for conquest.
We must bear in mind the peculiar geographical features of the country.
In the isolated valleys and bolsons were living other tribes, but little
inferior to the Incas. There were no common interests between these
tribes. One by one they fell before the assaults of the Incas, and were
reduced to tribute. Rendered still more powerful by success, the Incas
pushed on their conquests until finally all the tribes living in that
vast stretch of country from the Andes to the Pacific, from Chili to
the United States of Colombia, acknowledged themselves tributary to the
Incas. This was the state of things when the Spaniards, under Pizarro,
appeared on the scene.

When we undertake to learn the history or the state of culture among the
Incas, we are entering on a difficult subject. Of their history, we know
but very little more than is given in this outline; and owing to the
complete absence of all records, we can not expect to know very much.
Garcillasso draws such an inviting picture of the happy government of
the Incas, that we would suppose that no rebellion or insurrection would
ever occur. It seems, however, that their government was as much subject
to such trials as any. Mr. Forbes tells us that "the Aymaras never
submitted tamely to their Peruvian masters, but from time to time gave
them much trouble by attempting to recover their independence." And M.
Reville tells us of the Incas that, "more than once they had to
suppress terrible insurrections." And we shall see, further on, that
the probabilities are that the various tribes composing this so-called
empire were not more compact and united than were the tribes composing
the Mexican Empire.

Shortly before the conquest, the Incas had reached their zenith of
power. Huayna Capac, who died about 1525, was in reality the last of the
Inca chiefs. Under his management the tribes as far north as Quito were
reduced to tribute. The story goes that shortly before his death he
divided the empire between two of his sons. One, Huascar, the rightful
heir to the throne; the other, Atahualpa, half-brother to Huascar. His
mother was daughter of the last king (?) of Quito. Her father had been
forced to submit to the victorious Huayna Capac. This division of the
Incarial Empire, was not at all to the liking of either Huascar or
Atahualpa. They both wished to be sole Inca. Civil war was the result.
Atahualpa, by treachery, had taken his brother prisoner, and would
doubtless have achieved his ambition, but just then Pizarro invaded the
country, and the reign of the Incas was over.

Thus far, the story. We very much doubt whether this expresses the facts
of the case. There is no question, of course, that civil war was in
progress when the Spaniards arrived, which war, by the way, was a very
fortunate thing for the Spaniards; but we do not know enough about the
government of the Incas to know whether Huayna Capac could bequeath any
powers to his sons. About all we are justified in saying is, that on his
death, two persons (they were very likely brothers, and sons of Huayna
Capac) aspired to the chieftaincy of the Incas, and, failing to agree,
resorted to war to settle the matter.

The question is, how far back in the unrecorded past can we follow
tradition? Huayna Capac is thought to have been chief for about fifty
years. His predecessor is said to have been one Tupac Yupanqui.
Velasco, an early writer on the Peruvians, thinks he was chief for about
thirty-six years. As this would carry us back nearly one hundred
years, it must be evident we have gone about as far as we can place any
reliance on tradition. However, the third chief, going backwards, was
also called Yupanqui, sometimes denominated "Yupanqui the Great," and
his reign (?) takes us back to about the year 1400. "Beyond this point,"
says M. Castaing, "we fall into a mythological era." We fully agree with
him. We can not think there is any special value in accounts of events
said to happen before that time--that is, for historical purposes.

That there were victorious chiefs, conducting victorious forays before
that date, is, of course, admitted. That the names of many of the chiefs
have come down to us, as well as some of their notable achievements is
quite possible. It is also evident that some mythological personages
would appear in tradition as "reigning Incas." It is equally plain that
neither Garcillasso, nor any of the Spanish writers, had any clear ideas
of these ancient times or events. All traditions finally settle on Manco
Capac as the first chief of the Incas. M. Castaing says he "is but an
allegory of the period of formation."<21> The date of the accession of
this mythological chief is given by most authorities as about the year
1000. M. Castaing thinks it was in the middle of the twelfth century.
It does not make much difference which date the reader concludes to
accept--one will do as well as the other.<22>

Let us turn our attention to the culture of the Incas, and their state
of government. Here we would expect to be on firm ground. We would
expect the Spanish writers to give us reliable accounts of the state of
society of the people they conquered. But, as Mr. Squier remarks, the
overthrow of the Peruvian government "was so sudden and complete that
the chroniclers had hardly time to set down the events which took place
before their own eyes, and had little leisure, or perhaps inclination,
to make a careful investigation into the principles of their civil and
religious polity. As a consequence, this work has devolved upon the
laborious student and archaeologist of a later time." In other words,
we are to compare the accounts given us by the early writers with our
present knowledge of Indian society.

We have already made the statement that the Inca were a tribe of
Indians. But, if they were a tribe, did they have the usual subdivisions
of a tribe--which, we remember, are the phratry and gens? The Spanish
writers say nothing about such divisions. This is not strange. They said
nothing about the phratries and gentes of the Mexicans; and yet they
were in existence. Neither did the English mention the institution of
the phratries and gentes among the Iroquois; and yet they were fully
developed. We answer, that the Inca tribe were divided into both
phratries and gentes. It is necessary to show what grounds we have for
such belief. It is well to have a little better understanding of the
surroundings of this tribe.

The isolated section of country which they occupied is about seventy
miles long by sixty in width. "The proper name for the aboriginal people
of this tract," says Mr. Markham, "is Incas." This word must have been
at first the title for chief--for all the chiefs in this section were
called Incas; but, in process of time, the name was assumed as the
special title of the tribe at Cuzco. Mr. Markham gives us further the
names of seventeen lineages who occupied this valley. Whether a lineage
was a tribe or not we can not decide. We will now confine our attention
to the ruling tribe at Cuzco.

The Spaniards noticed that Cuzco was divided into two parts, called
respectively Upper and Lower Cuzco. Garcillasso tells us that this
division was made as follows. Manco-Capac with his wife and queen were
children of the Sun, sent to civilize the Indians, who, before
their arrival, were a very degraded sort of savages. From Cuzco this
sun-descended couple went their different ways--the king to the north,
the queen to the south--"speaking to all the people they met in the
wilderness, and telling them how their father, the Sun, had sent them
from heaven to be the rulers and benefactors of the inhabitants of all
that land;... and, in pursuance of these commands, they had come to
bring them out of the forests and deserts to live in villages." This
sounded so good to the wild tribes, that they "assembled in great
numbers, both men and women," and set out to follow their exhorters.<23>

The tribe that followed the king settled Upper Cuzco; while the queen's
converts settled Lower Cuzco. This division was not made so that
those living in one half should have any special privileges over the
other--for they were all to be equal, like brothers. The division was
solely in order "that they might be a perpetual memory of the fact that
the inhabitants of one were assembled by the king, and the other by the
queen." The only difference between them was, "that the people of Upper
Cuzco should be looked upon and represented as elder brothers, and those
of Lower Cuzco as younger brothers."

Such is the account of the settlement of Upper and Lower Cuzco. Any one
acquainted with the general principles on which the division of Indian
tribes into phratries took place, can not help concluding that these
divisions were simply two phratries. The inhabitants of each traced
their descent back to a supernatural personage. They were equal in
power to each other as elder and younger brothers. Polo Ondegardo simply
remarks that "the lineage of the Incas was divided into two branches,
the one called Upper Cuzco, the other Lower Cuzco."<24> There ought to
be no objection to substituting for the word branches used above the
scientific term our scholars now employ; that is, phratry. Each tribe of
the Iroquois confederacy was divided into two phratries, and their name
for this division was a word which meant brotherhood.<25>

Whatever doubt we may have on this point vanished when we come to
examine into the customs of the Incas. We must not forget that the most
prominent way a phratry shows itself is in matters of religion, and in
the play of social games. "The phratry, among the Iroquois," says Mr.
Morgan, "was partly for social and partly for religious objects....
In the ball game, for example, they play by phratries, one against the
other. Each phratry puts forward its best players, usually from six to
ten on a side, and the members of each phratry assemble together, but on
opposite sides of the field in which the game is played. The members of
each phratry watch the game with eagerness, and cheer their respective
players at every successful turn of the game."

Illustration of Relics from Guano Deposits.---------

Let us see how it was among the Incas.<26> Like all Indian tribes, the
Incas were very fond of ceremonious feasts. Nearly every month they
celebrated one or more. We gather from Molina that on occasions when the
whole tribe participated in such religious observances, the people of
Upper Cuzco sat apart front Lower Cuzco. In the month corresponding to
August they had a celebrated feast, the object of which was to drive out
all evil from the land. We read: "All the people of Cuzco came out,...
richly dressed, sat down on benches, each man according to the rank he
held, those of the Upper Cuzco being on one side, and those of Lower
Cuzco on the other." And of another feast we read: "They brought out the
embalmed (?) bodies of the dead Incas, placing those who had belonged to
Upper Cuzco on the side where that lineage was stationed, and the same
with those of Lower Cuzco." Other examples could be given, but this
point is well established. In games this same division was observed,
since we read that in the month of December, "on the first day of the
month, those who had been armed as knights--as well those of the lineage
of Upper Cuzco as those of Lower Cuzco--came out into the square with
slings in their hands,... and the youths of Upper Cuzco hurled against
those of Lower Cuzco." We may therefore consider it well established
that the Incas were a tribe of Indians having two phratries.

Let us now see how the matter stands in regard to gens. This division
follows almost as a matter of course, but it is well to see what
separate grounds exist for the assertion. Garcillasso, in his
description of Cuzco, after a reference to the division into Upper and
Lower Cuzco, tells us further that it was divided into twelve wards.
Mr. Squier gives us a map of the ancient city. From this we see that
the twelve wards were arranged in an irregular oval around the principal
square. Seven of them belonged to the division of Upper Cuzco, the other
five to Lower Cuzco.

This division is utterly unintelligible to us, unless we suppose them
to be subdivisions of the phratries. It makes no difference what name we
bestow upon them, in effect they can be nothing else than gentes. As to
the number of them, it is well to notice a coincidence in the statement
of an Indian writer, Salcamayhua.<27> On a certain very important
occasion there were assembled "_all_ the councilors. The governor
entered the chamber, where _twelve_ grave councilors were
assembled."<28> The most reasonable explanation that can be given
for the number twelve is that each gens had one representative in the
council. The Incas are thus seen to be very probably, at least, no
exception to the general rule of Indian tribes.

From our present standpoint what can we learn as to their government? It
is, of course, well known what the position of the early writers on
this subject is. They all agree that the government of the Incas was
a monarchy of the strictest type. We have seen what a wonderful empire
they bestowed on the Mexicans. The Peruvian Empire is painted in still
brighter colors. Modern writers have not allowed the early accounts to
suffer by repetition. Rivero uses the following language: "The monarchs
of Peru,... uniting the legislative and executive power, the supreme
command in war, absolute sovereignty in peace, and a venerated
high-priesthood in religious feasts,... exercised the highest power ever
known to man."<29> Even so cautious a writer as Mr. Squier speaks of
the Incas as ruling "the most thoroughly organized, most wisely
administered, and most extensive empire of aboriginal America."<30>

It is freely admitted that there is much that is indeed wonderful in the
culture of the Incas; but it has, undoubtedly been greatly exaggerated.
To deal with this question as it should be would require an entire
volume of itself, and would require far more extensive research than the
writer has been able to make, or is, indeed, prepared to make. It will
do no harm to see what we can learn by comparing the statements of some
of the early writers with what we have now learned of Indian society.

Let us first inquire as to the council. There is no question as to the
existence of a council. Garcillasso and all the early writers refer to
it in an accidental sort of way. To show the force of this statement,
we will give a few quotations. Garcillasso, speaking of the movements of
the Inca Viracocha, says: "Having passed some years in making journeys,
he returned to Cuzco, where, with the advice of his councilors, he
resolved on war." And, in another place: "Having consulted with his
council" he assembled his army. Talking about the son of the foregoing,
he says: "In fine, this king, with the advice of his council, made many
laws, rules, ordinances," etc.<31> In the foregoing we are made aware of
the existence of a council, but are not told as to its size or powers.
Each gens would of course be represented in the council. We have spoken
in one place of the number twelve. Mr. Bandelier tells us that the
council consisted of sixteen members.<32> As to its power we are also
left in the dark; but, judging from what we have learned of the council
among the Mexicans and Indian tribes of the North, who can doubt but
that it was the supreme governing body?<33>

The more we study this question, the more points of resemblance we would
find with the social organization of the Mexicans. The tenure of land
was of course the same, as we learn from the report of Ondegardo--some
differences may have occurred in regard to tribute.

The Mexicans, we must remember, were at the head of a confederacy, and
the tribute was brought to Mexico to be divided among the three tribes.
The Incas were the only tribe, in the case of Peru, having supreme
power. Having no one to suit but themselves, they introduced some new
features. The tribute, instead of being all brought to Cuzco, seems to
have been, at least a portion of it, stowed away in storehouses located
at places most convenient for the Incas. Cieza De Leon says: "The
Incas... formed many depots full of all things necessary for their
troops. In some of these depots there were lances; in others, darts;
and in others, sandals: and so, one with another, arms and articles of
clothing which these people used, besides stores of food. Thus, when
a chief was lodged in one of these depots with his troops, there was
nothing, from the most trifling to the most important article, with
which they were not supplied."<34> This tribute was gathered by regular
tribute-gatherers. As in the case of Mexico, these appear in history as
governors. Ondegardo says they left "Cuzco every year, and returned in
February,... bringing with them the tribute of the whole empire."

As a rule, the Incas did not interfere with the customs of the tribes
they had conquered. Garcillasso says: "Excepting a few alterations that
were necessary for the welfare of the whole empire, all the other laws
and customs of the conquered province were retained without any change."
In the main, all they wished for was tribute. Yet they seem to have had
some idea of a higher policy than that. They are credited with carrying
out measures which would certainly tend to bring the tribes into a close
union. Mr. Squier remarks: "The efforts of the Incas to assimilate the
families that were brought within their empire, by force or alliance--in
respect to language, religion, and modes of life--were powerful and
well-directed."<35> This was a step ahead of any thing that can be said
of the Mexicans.

In the matter of language, it is said they made persistent efforts to
have the conquered tribes learn their own language. De Leon tells us
that it was a law throughout the kingdom that this language should be
used--"fathers were punished if they neglected to teach it to their
children in their childhood." How much we are to believe of this account
is doubtful. Mr. Markham has shown us that the languages of all the
interior tribes were related. We know how difficult it is to compel
a conquered people by law to learn a foreign language. William the
Conqueror made an unsuccessful attempt to compel the Anglo-saxons to
learn French--it ended by his followers learning English. Are we to
believe that a tribe of Peruvian Indians were successful in spreading
their language over a wide extent of territory in the course of a few
generations?

Illustration of Burial Towers.-----------------

What is considered as the great stroke of policy on the part of the
Incas, was their system of colonies. On this point De Leon tells us:
"As soon as a province was conquered, ten or twelve thousand men were
ordered to go there with their wives; but they were always sent to a
country where the climate resembled that from whence they came. If they
were natives of a cold province, they were sent to a cold one; and if
they came from a warm province, they went to a warm one. These people
were called mitimaes--which means Indians who have come from one country
and gone to another." On this we might remark, that the Incas did not
always show such discriminating care where they sent the exiles, since
Mr. Markham tells us that the "descendants of colonists on the coasts
of Peru (a warm climate, notice) still retain traditions concerning the
villages in the Andes (a cold province), whence their ancestors were
transported."

We will only refer to the so-called royal roads of Peru. Humboldt
observed them in Northern Peru, and speaks in high praise of them. Many
of the early writers mention them. De Leon gives us a really wonderful
account. Modern travelers have not been so fortunate in finding their
remains. Mr. Squier does not mention them. Mr. Hutchinson searched at
every place along the coast, and could find no trace of such works.
The northern part of Peru, where Humboldt saw them, was almost the last
section to be conquered by the Incas. It is singular that they should
have been in such a hurry to build roads in that section, when the other
parts of their territory were destitute of them.

We are now prepared to inquire as to what remains of this ancient
people have come down to us; and in studying these ruins we must keep
constantly in mind the social organization of Indian tribes.<36> We
notice on the map, at about 8° south latitude, a place marked Truxillo.
It is situated nearly two miles from the sea, in the valley of the
Chimu. Its port is the town of Huanchaco, a dilapidated village of a few
hundred houses, about ten miles further north. Truxillo was founded
in 1535 by Francisco Pizarro, and was once a place of considerable
importance, but at present it is probably most noted for the famous
ruins located near it. Several of the fertile coast valleys that we have
previously described, here unite; consequently this was a place of
great importance to the coast tribes. The ruins here are among the most
remarkable in Peru. The road from Huanchaco to Truxillo passes directly
through the field of ruins.

Illustration of Palace.------------------

Mr. Squier tells us that the ruins "consist of a wilderness of walls,
forming great inclosures, each containing a labyrinth of ruined
dwellings and other edifices." As our space is limited, we will describe
but one of these inclosed spaces. This is a view of what is usually
called a palace, but this certainly is an absurd name. The inclosure
contains some thirty-two acres; the walls surrounding it are double, and
sufficiently heavy to resist field artillery. At the base the walls,
in some cases, are fifteen feet thick, gradually diminishing toward the
top, where they are not more than three feet thick. They vary in height,
the highest ranging from thirty to forty feet high. In order to give
a clear idea of these walls, we introduce this cut, which gives us a
section of the walls. The materials of which they are built is adobe.

Illustration of Section of Palace Wall.--------------

Within this inclosure we notice three open places, or courts, a number
of smaller cross-walls dividing the remaining space into a number of
small courts. Around each of these courts, generally on three sides, are
the ruins of houses. All in the interior of the large inclosures is
so far gone in ruins that we can with difficulty make out the plan.
Inclosures, such as we have described here, are the principal features
of the Chimu ruins. Mr. Squier speaks of one three or four times
the size of this one. With our present knowledge we are justified in
concluding that Chimu was the head-quarters of a powerful tribe. We are
surely justified in assuming further that each of these great inclosed
squares, containing upwards of thirty, forty, and even fifty acres, was
the home of a gens--their fortified place.

Of the houses, Mr. Squier says: "Around each court the dwellings of the
ancient inhabitants are grouped with the utmost regularity.... Some
are small, as if for watchmen or people on guard; others are relatively
spacious, reaching the dimensions of twenty-five by fifteen feet inside
the walls. These walls are usually about three feet thick, and about
twelve feet high. The roofs were not flat, but, as shown by the gables
of the various buildings, sharply pitched, so that, although rain may
not have been frequent, it was, nevertheless, necessary to provide for
its occurrence. Each apartment was completely separated from the next by
partitions reaching to the very peak of the general roof. There are no
traces of windows, and light and air were admitted into the apartment
only by the door."

On one side, at least, the whole area of the city was protected by a
heavy wall, several miles of which were still standing at the time
of Mr. Squier's visit. At various places along this wall, cross-walls
extended inward, thus inclosing great areas which have never been built
over, and which show all evidence of ancient cultivation. We notice,
near the upper end of this inclosure, a court, occupied by a mound. This
is known as a _huaca,_ which calls for some explanation. It seems that
the general name among all the Peruvian people, for a sacred object,
is huaca. Being a very superstitious people, this name is applied to
a great variety of purposes, amongst others, to these great artificial
mounds, the majority of which are probably burial mounds. The
construction of many of these mounds is very singular. It seems as if
they were a large collection of rooms, each one of which was filled
with clay or adobe. In some of these chambers, probably, treasures are
concealed. One very celebrated huaca, at Chimu, was found to contain an
enormous amount of gold vessels.

We must not forget to notice the arts of the Chimu people. The walls
of the inner edifices were often ornamented as is seen in the following
cut, of which the upper one is stucco-work and the lower one is in
relief. Adobe bricks are allowed to project out, forming the ornamental
design. Other ornaments of stucco-work were observed. The second figure
on this page gives us an idea of this style of ornaments. As an evidence
of how the climate of Peru preserves ruins, we would mention that,
though this last stucco-work has been exposed to the elements for
probably several centuries, yet it is still apparently perfect.

Illustration of Ornamentation of Walls.---------------Illustration of
Adobe Ornament.-----------------------

The Chimu people were certainly very expert workmen in gold and silver.
De Leon asserts that, when the Incas conquered them, they took to Cuzco
many of the artisans of the country, "because they were very expert in
the working of metals, and the fashioning of jewels and vases in gold
and silver." In the cut following we have two vases--the smaller one
of gold, the larger of silver. The material is very thin, and the
ornaments are produced by hammering from the inside.

Illustration of Gold and Silver Vases.---------------Illustration of
Bronze Knives and Tweezers.-------------

Besides such works as just described they had the art of casting
representations of men, animals, and reptiles in silver--sometimes
hollow, sometimes solid. They even cast more complex objects. Mr. Squier
says he has one "representing three figures--one of a man, and two
women, in a forest. It rises from a circular base about six inches
in diameter, and weighs forty-eight and a half ounces. It is solid
throughout--or, rather, is cast in a single piece, and rings, when
struck, like a bell." The trees, he says, are well represented, their
branches spreading in every direction. The human figures are also well
proportioned, and full of action. They also knew how to manufacture
bronze. Many agricultural implements are found, not only at Chimu, but
all along the coast. In the preceding cut we have bronze knives and
tweezers--also, a war-club of the same material.

All the coast tribes of Peru excelled in the manufacture of pottery.
Mr. Squier tells us that, in this sort of work we find "almost every
combination of regular or geometrical figures"--men, birds, animals,
fishes, etc., are reproduced in earthenware. In this cut we have one of
the many forms. Notice the serpent emblem.

Illustration of Water-jar.---------------------Illustration of
Water-jars from Ancon,-----------

The people of Chimu, whose ruins we have been describing, belong to the
coast division--differing in many respects from the Peruvian tribes
in the interior. Our information in regard to the coast people is very
limited. We have to judge them almost entirely from the ruins of their
towns, and the remains of their handiwork. There is no reason to suppose
they were the inferiors of the Peruvians in culture. It is quite the
custom to speak of them as if they were low savages before the Incas
conquered the country; and that they owe to the latter all their advance
in culture. On the contrary, we may well doubt whether their condition
was at all improved by the Inca conquest. The coast people are supposed
to have been conquered about one hundred years before the Spanish
conquest. It was only after a most stubborn resistance that the
principal valleys were subdued.

Illustration of Cloth found in Grave.-----------------

It is not necessary, neither have we space, to give a review of all
the ruins along the coast. They are very plentiful. There is not an
inhabitable valley but that they abound there. The soil where not
irrigated is very dry, and tends to preserve any thing buried therein.
All the coast people buried their dead; hence it is that we find, in
nearly all the coast valleys, such extensive cemeteries. At Ancon,
for instance, twenty miles north of Lima it is simply wonderful how
extensive the cemeteries are. Mr. Hutchinson says they extend for miles.
Very extensive explorations have been made here for scientific purposes.
We have given, earlier, some water-jars excavated at Ancon, in last
illustration we have some specimens of cloth found in graves farther
north; and in the same locality was found a very wonderful piece of
feather-work. The small feathers were so fastened to a ground of cotton
cloth that they could not be pulled off.

Illustration of Wall in Huatica Valley.----------

Another noted place, about the same distance south of Lima, is
Pachacamac. Mr. Squier concludes, from the cemeteries at this place,
that it was a holy place, to which pilgrims resorted from all parts of
the empire so as to be laid to rest in holy ground. When we learn of
so many other similar localities, we see that this conclusion does not
follow. The most we can say is, that these valleys have surely been
settled for a long while.

The city of Lima is situated on the south bank of the Rimac River, about
six miles from the coast. Its port is the town of Callao. The valley is
called the Huatica Valley. Very extensive and wonderful rains occur in
this valley, between Lima and the sea. We are told these ruins are thick
and close over a space of a few square miles, and are inclosed within a
triple wall. The last cut is given as a representation of a portion
of this wall, though only a small portion here and there is still
discernible. Amongst these ruins are a large number of immense mounds.

Illustration of Burial Mound, or Huaca.------------

Some are huacas, or burial mounds; and some are in the nature of
fortresses. It is best to explain a little more particularly about the
burial mounds of the coast region of Peru. This cut gives us an idea of
their appearance. As to their construction Mr. Squier says: "Many if
not most of the pyramids, or huacas, were originally solid--built up
of successive vertical layers of bricks, or compacted clay, around a
central mass or core."

But this is not always the case; since in many huacas we find walls, in
some rooms, and, finally, as before remarked, some apparently consist of
a large, many-storied building, the rooms of which are all filled with
clay. In the mound just mentioned, Mr. Hutchinson found a number of
inclosures--though the work was done in a rough, shapeless manner. Mr.
Squier gives us a description of a many-roomed huaca as follows: "Thanks
to the energy of treasure-hunters who have penetrated its sides, we find
that it had numerous large painted chambers, was built in successive
diminishing stages, ascended by zigzag stair-ways, and was stuccoed over
and painted in bright colors. The conquerors filled up these chambers,
and recast the edifice with a thick layer of adobe."<37>

This is surely a singular piece of work. The building just described
by Mr. Squier must have been much like a pueblo. We wish we had fuller
descriptions of it. Mr. Squier is eminent authority, and scholars
delight to honor him for his researches. We take the liberty, however,
to question some of his conclusions. How does he know that this
structure was ever used for any other purpose than as a mound? It is
indeed a singular way to construct a mound, but when we learn of the
existence of mounds showing the different methods of work--some solid,
some with walls, others with rude rooms, still others with rooms towards
the top--why not say that this many-storied building was simply one
style of mound-building? He claims that the Incas filled up these rooms,
and transformed the house into a mound. Mr. Hutchinson claims there is
no proof that the Incas did this sort of work.

As an example of fortress-mounds, also prevalent in the valley of the
Huatica, we present the next cut. Mr. Hutchinson describes this mound
as being eighty feet high, and about four hundred and fifty feet square.
"Some of the adobe walls, a yard and a half in thickness, are still
quite perfect. That this was not likely to have been a burial-mound
may be presumed from its formation. Great large square rooms show their
outlines on the top, but all filled up with earth. Who brought this
earth here, and, with what object was the filling up accomplished? for
the work of obliterating all space in these rooms with loose earth
must have been almost as great as the construction of the building in
itself."<38> So it seems that in the fortress-mounds also we meet with
this same mysterious feature--rooms filled with earth.

Illustration of Fortress Mound.----------------

The Huatica Valley was also the location of a famous temple--at least
such are the traditions--and ruins are pointed out as being those of the
temple in question. It is simply an immense, large inclosed square, of
some forty-nine acres. On each side of this square there is a huge mass
of ruins, and another in the center. In our next illustration we have
a portion of the wall surrounding the ruins on the south side of the
supposed temple. This is the largest of the group of ruins. The walls
are seventy feet high; the area at the top is over five acres. Here,
again, we notice the same mysterious feature already referred to, for
"on the top of this were also discernible the outlines of large square
rooms, filled up, as all the others, even to the topmost height of
seventy feet, with earth or clay."

Illustration of Temple Wall.----------------------

This cut is given as a fort, meaning thereby a fortress-mound, such as
we have already described. It is said to be situated to one side of the
temple. From this we understand that the wall seen in the cut is that
already mentioned as inclosing the temple. Another ruined fortress found
in this valley is given earlier.

Illustration of Fortress, Huatica Valley.-----------------

Twenty miles south of Lima, in the valley of the river Lurin, is an
important field of ruins, known as Pachacamac, which is still the name
of a small village in the neighborhood. We give a general view of the
ruins. The principal point of interest, about it is the ruins of an old
temple. Traditionally, this, is one of the most interesting points in
Peru. All the coast tribes were very superstitious. We have already
referred to the celebrated temple near Lima. The temple at Pachacamac
was of still greater renown. Arriaga, a famous ecclesiastic, took an
active part in extirpating their idolatrous belief. From his accounts,
it seems they were much addicted to fortune-telling. Their gods were
made to give out oracles and their temples became renowned just in
proportion as their priests were shrewd in this matter.

Illustration of Pachacamac.--------------------

Those at Pachacamac were especially skillful, and it is said, pilgrims
resorted to it from all parts of the coast. As a consequence, it became
very rich. The god that was worshiped here was a fish-god. The name of
this god, and the name of this old town are alike lost to us. When the
Incas conquered the coast people, they imposed the name of one of their
own divinities on this temple, and by that name the place is now known
to us.<39>

The ruins of the supposed temple are seen on the hill in the background
of the picture. A number of writers speak of this hill in such terms as
to imply that it was altogether artificial, like the famous pyramid at
Cholula.

Mr. Squier says that it is largely artificial, but that the central core
is a natural hill. He speaks of rocks cropping out on the highest part,
which seem to be conclusive of the matter. They built up great terraces
around this central core. These terrace walls are now in such a ruined
condition that they can with difficulty be made out. We introduce this
cut as a nearer view of the ruins of the temple.

Illustration of View of the Temple.--------------

Some writers assert that the Incas erected on the summit of this hill a
temple of the sun. There are, however, no good proofs of this assertion.
According to Mr. Squier the only ruin of the Inca type of architecture
is a mile and a half distant. Mr. Hutchinson noticed, on the very top of
the hill, evidence of the same mysterious proceedings to which we have
already referred--that is, great rooms all filled up with clay. He
propounds this query: "Whose hands carried up the enormous quantities of
earth that fill every space and allow no definition of rooms, halls, or,
indeed, of any thing but the clay itself, and the walls cropping up
from amongst them?" We are afraid this query can never be answered.
Mr. Hutchinson found graves to be very plentiful all over the field of
ruins. Quite a number of curiosities have been found in these graves. We
present in this cut some of the same. We call especial attention to the
duck-headed bowl. Compare, this with the cut given in Chapter X, and
we will be struck with the similarity. Another view of the ruins at
Pachacamac is given earlier in this chapter. As in the case of the ruins
of Grand Chimu, the whole field of ruins was encompassed by a wall,
portions of which Mr. Hutchinson observed on the north, stretching away
from the sea inland. Explorers have found here true arches. They are
said to exist in Northern Peru. We are at a loss to account for their
appearance, for certainly the people generally were ignorant of their
use.

Illustration of Relics from Graves at Pachacamac.-------

The valley of the Canete, the next one we meet going south, is a
very large and very fertile valley. It is also full of ruins, but not
differing enough from the others to justify a separate description.
About one hundred miles below Lima we notice three small islands. These
are the Chincha Islands, noticeable on account of the immense quantities
of guano they contain. It seems that at various depths in this guano
deposits are found relics of man. In our next cut we present some of
these objects. The two small vessels which were probably water jars,
were found buried in the guano at a depth of sixty-two feet. The other
figure, a wooden idol, was found at the depth of thirty-five feet.

Illustration of Relics found in Guano deposits.------

We have no very good data on which to rely when we attempt to estimate
the number of years required to bury the water jars to the depth where
found. Thousands of years must have passed.<40> The water jars are not
rude forms. No little skill is indicated by their formation. The wooden
idol is not necessarily near as old as the jars, but no one can doubt
but that it dates from long before the Inca conquest of the valley.
Another collection of small idols, and supposed royal emblems, also
found in guano deposits, but at an unknown depth, is shown earlier in
this chapter.

We have thus far been describing the ruins that occur in the territory
occupied by the coast tribes, a people in many ways different from the
great body of Peruvian people in the interior. According to traditions,
the conquest of the coast tribes took place about one hundred and fifty
years before the Spanish conquest. The details of this conquest are
given with great precision. We doubt whether any great reliance can
be placed upon them. We might remark that while Garcillasso traces the
progress of the conquest from the south north, Salcamayhua reverses this
order, and makes the victorious Incas march from the north to the south.
One or the other made a mistake in traditions.

Illustration of Prehistoric Pottery Ware.----------

The Inca conquest of the coast tribes was a very thorough one. The names
and traditions of the tribes were blotted out. The word Yunca, by which
they are known, is from the Inca language. The same is true of the names
of the coast valleys, and yet, from what we have already learned of
them, we feel sure that they were very far from the degraded savages
Garcillasso would have us believe they were. The inhabitants of each
valley formed a distinct community under its own chief. De Leon says:
"The chief of each valley had a great house, with adobe pillars and
door-ways, hung with matting, built on extensive terraces." This might
have been the official house of the tribe.

They were an industrious people, and the evidence is abundant that they
had made considerable advance in cultivation of the ground. They set
apart every square foot of ground that could be reached by water for
cultivation, and built their dwellings on the hillsides overlooking
their fields and gardens. Their system of irrigation was as perfect
as any that modern science has since adopted.<41> It is an altogether
mistaken idea to suppose the Incas were the authors.

We are not without evidence that they were possessed of considerable
artistic skill. This preceding collection of pottery ware is not the
work of savages. Mr. Markham further tells us that they made "silver and
gold ornaments, mantles, embroidered with gold and silver bezants,
robes of feathers, cotton cloth of fine texture, etc." We have already
referred to the tasteful decorations of the walls of Grand Chimu.
"Figures of colored birds and animals are said to have been painted on
the walls of temples and palaces." At Pachacamac the remains of this
color are still seen on a portion of the walls. This cut represents
the head of a silver cylinder found in one of the coast valleys. The
ornamentation is produced by hammering up from below.

Illustration of Silver Cylinder Head.------------

We must now leave the coast regions and investigate some ruins in the
interior. We have already spoken of the Lake Titicaca region. Not
far from the southern border of that lake we notice a place marked
Tiahuanuco. Here occur a very interesting group of ruins. They consist
of "rows of erect stones, some of them rough, or but rudely shaped by
art, others accurately cut and fitted in walls of admirable workmanship;
long sections of foundations, with piers and portions of stairways;
blocks of stone, with mouldings, cornices, and niches cut with
geometrical precision, vast masses of sandstone, trachyte, and basalt,
but partially hewn, and great monolithic doorways, bearing symbolical
ornaments in relief, besides innumerable smaller rectangular and
symmetrically shaped stones rise on every hand, or lie scattered in
confusion over the plain."<42> In fact, all explorers are loud in their
praise of the beautifully cut stones found in the ruins.

Illustration of Terrace Wall, Tiahuanuco.------------

We have seen in our review how general has been the desire to raise
foundations, sometimes of great extent, on which to place buildings.
This is true of the ruins under consideration. Here the pyramid or
foundation was faced with stone work. In this illustration we have a
view of such a wall yet remaining in place. The labor expended on such
a wall was very great. We notice in the cut three large standing stones.
These are ranged along at regular intervals between. No mortar was used
in the construction of the wall. If we examine the large standing stone
carefully we will notice on the side a sort of projecting shoulder. The
stones of the wall that come in contact with this standing stone are cut
to fit this shoulder.

Illustration of Method of Joining Stone, Tiahuanuco.

The remaining stones in the wall were held in place by a peculiar
arrangement, illustrated in this cut. Round holes were drilled in the
bottom and top of each stone. There is reason to suppose that bronze
pins fitted into these holes. Furthermore, each stone was cut with
alternate grooves and projections, so as to fit immovably into each
other.

One case was observed where either the will has entirely disappeared,
or else it was left unfinished, and so we have a row of these standing
stones, as seen in this illustration. This has been called the American
Stonehenge name is inappropriate, because we have no reason to suppose
the plans of the builders of the two structures were at all similar.

Illustration of Pillars of Stone, Tiahuanuco.--------

The most celebrated feature of these ruins is the presence of huge
gateways, each one cut out of a solid mass of stone. We give a view of
the most noteworthy of these gateways. It is now broken, tradition
says, by a stroke of lightning.<43> The upper portion is covered with
carvings.

Illustration of Gateway, at Tiahuanuco.----------------

North of Tiahuanuco is Lake Titicaca. This was the sacred lake of the
Incas. We have already referred to the probable origin of this feeling.
Near the southern end of this lake, on the western side, is the
peninsula of Copacabana. Separated by a narrow strait from the northern
extremity of this peninsula is the sacred island, Titicaca. According to
traditions, the Incas sought, in all ways, to beautify this island. They
built temples, and laid out gardens. The hills were leveled as much
as possible, terraced, and then covered with earth brought from
afar. According to the statements of early writers, pilgrims were not
permitted to land on its sacred soil until they had undergone certain
preliminary fasts and purifications on the main-land. Landing on the
island, they traversed a terrace, and by a narrow passage way they
were conducted between two large buildings, where other ceremonies were
performed.

The most sacred spot in all the island was a rock in the northern part.
Only priests of especial sanctity were allowed near it. The rock to-day
presents but the appearance of a weather-worn mass of red sandstone. It
is traditionally represented as having been plated all over with gold
and silver, and covered, except on solemn occasions with a mantle of
rich color and material. Here the sun was believed to have first risen
to dispel the primal darkness. To this day the Indians regard it with
superstitious veneration. The traveler's guide, when he comes in sight
of it, removes his hat, and reverently bows to it, and mutters to
himself a few words of mystic import.<44>

Illustration of Ruins on the Island of Titicaca.-----------

The whole appearance of the island shows how highly it was regarded. In
one place the remains of a drinking fountain were noticed. Streams
from some unknown source were still bringing to it their limpid burden.
Perhaps as noticeable a ruin as any is represented in this cut. It is
called the Palace. It is in a sheltered nook. The lake washes the very
foot of the foundation on which it stands. It is two-storied. In the
lower story were twelve rooms, so connected with each other that but
four of them communicated by doors with the outside. The others were
certainly dark and illy ventilated. The second story was entered by
means of the terrace in the rear. The same statement may be made
in regard to its rooms; they did not, however, at all correspond in
arrangement with the rooms below. The Island of Coati, but a short
distance to the south-east, was sacred to the moon. It has also a number
of ruins. The approach to this was guarded by a number of terraces.

Illustration of Ruins, Island of Coati.-------------

We will describe one more class of ruins found abundantly in the Collao
region. These are burial towers, or chulpas. A view of one is here
presented. The chulpas are common in the Titicaca basin, and usually
occur in groups, and almost always in positions from which a large
extent of country can be viewed. The great mass of a chulpa is solid,
but within is a dome-shaped chamber, into which the opening seen in the
cut leads. Sometimes the chulpas are round, and in some the masonry is
of that variety we have already mentioned, called the Cyclopean. Another
view of burial towers is given earlier in this chapter.

Illustration of Burial Tower.--------------------

As a mere description of ruins becomes tiresome, we will now pass to
Cuzco, and see of what we can learn of the architecture of the Incas.
The Incas were, of course, a very rich and a very powerful tribe. All
the tribes of ancient Peru had to pay them tribute. We way therefore
suppose that the pueblo of Cuzco was well built, the houses large,
and imposing, and that the official buildings for worship and tribal
business would be commensurate with their importance as a tribe. Yet
we have but very few accounts of these buildings. Immediately after the
conquest, many of the Spanish leaders settled in Cuzco. They made
many changes in the various edifices, and introduced into them many
improvements. At present in the modern city we still find portions of
ancient walls, and can trace the foundation of various buildings.

Illustration of Terrace Wall at Cuzco.---------------

The site of the city of Cuzco is very uneven. It stands on the slopes of
three hills, where as many rivulets come together. The ancient builders
had to resort to extensive terracing in order to secure level surfaces
on which to build. These terraces, built in a substantial manner,
and faced with stone, are still standing in many places. In this
illustration we have a view of such a wall. Observe that the stones are
not laid in regular courses, nor is there any regularity as to their
size. This is a good example of a Cyclopean wall. Some of the stones
must weigh several tons, and they are fitted together with marvelous
precision, one stone having as many as twelve angles.

All accounts agree that the temple of the sun was the grandest structure
in Cuzco. We present an illustration of one end of it. This end is
slightly curving. It is necessary to remark that this end now forms part
of the Church of Santo Domingo. The fine-looking window and balcony are
modern additions to this ancient building. According to Mr. Squier, the
temple was an oblong building, nearly three hundred feet long, by about
fifty in width. It formed one side of a spacious court. It did not
extend east and west, but rather north-east and south-west. Early
chroniclers affirm that the inner walls of this temple were covered with
gold. Portions of very thin plates of gold exist in private museums in
Cuzco, said to have formed part of this covering. The end of the
temple shown in our illustration was covered with a great plate of gold
intended to represent the sun. This plate was all in one piece, and
spread from wall to wall.

Illustration of Temple of the Sun.-----------------

Only fragments of the ancient buildings of Cuzco now exist. But enough
are at hand to enable us to describe their general characteristics. As
a rule, they were built around a court, the outer surface presenting the
appearance of an unbroken wall. These walls are excellent specimens of
Inca masonry. All travelers speak in their praise. Mr. Squier says: "The
world has nothing to show in the way of stone-cutting and fitting to
surpass the skill and accuracy displayed in the Inca structures at
Cuzco." There was but one gateway to the court. This entrance was broad
and lofty. On the lintels, over the doorway, was frequently carved the
figure of a serpent. The apartments were constructed so as to face the
court, and nearly all opened upon the same. In some cases rooms wore
observed, to which access could be obtained only after passing through
several outer rooms. Some of the walls yet remaining at Cuzco are from
thirty-five to forty feet high. This would indicate houses of two or
three stories.

It is here necessary to state that the structures we have been
describing are considered by most writers as palaces of the Inca chiefs.
Names hive been bestowed upon them--such as the palace of Huayna
Capac. It is asserted that each Inca chief built a separate palace. The
credulous traveler is even pointed to a pile of ruins said to have
been the palace of that mythical personage, Manco Capac. There is some
conflict of authority as to the names of these palaces. Modern tradition
names one of the most imposing piles as the palace of Inca Rocca, and
as such it is described by Mr. Squier and others. Garcillasso De La
Vega says this chief's palace was in an altogether different part of the
city.<45> Those who call these buildings palaces, think the houses of
the ordinary people have all disappeared. It is evident, however, that
if our views of the state of society among the Incas be right, that it
is a misnomer to call these structures palaces. Some of them may have
been public buildings, devoted to tribal purposes. But we need not doubt
but that this was the type of communal buildings erected by the natives
of Cuzco.

Illustration of Fortress Walls.-----------------

We must describe one more piece of aboriginal work. This is the
celebrated Fortress of Cuzco. As we have stated, the ancient pueblo,
or city@, was built on the slopes of three hills. One of these, easily
defended, was strongly fortified, and thus converted into a citadel.
Though called a hill, it is in reality a projecting headland. Back of
it rise still higher hills. The portion overhanging the city is very
precipitous, in fact, almost incapable of ascent. There is, however, a
pathway up this front, ascending in places by stone steps. On this front
it did not need very strong fortifications, yet sections of stone wall,
serving for this purpose, are to be seen. They have been mostly thrown
down, and the stones rolled or tumbled down the hill to be utilized in
building. The main defensive works are where the headland commences,
from which point the city is not visible.

Illustration of Section of Fortress Walls.-------------

In this illustration we have a view of the three massive walls which
defended the citadel. They are really wonderful works. In order to
understand the construction, we will present an imaginary section of the
walls. The walls support terraces, but they rose above the terraces so
as to form a parapet. To prevent the accumulation of water behind the
parapet, channels were cut through the walls at regular intervals to
drain them. The height of the outer wall is at present twenty-seven
feet; the width of the terrace thirty-five feet. The second wall is
eighteen feet high; the width of its terrace is also eighteen feet. The
height of the third wall is fourteen feet.

The Incas divided the year into twelve months, but we do not learn
how they kept track of the years. In this respect they were behind the
Mexicans. Neither do we know of any hieroglyphics for days, or months,
or years. In the matter of keeping records, they must have been far
below the Mexicans. Our next illustration is that of one of their knot
records, or quippos. It is a very rude attempt to assist the memory. To
the base cord are attached other threads of various colors, and tied
in various ways. We, of course, know but very little about them. It
is claimed, however, that a red thread signified a soldier, or war; a
yellow one signified gold; a white one silver, or peace; a green one
wheat, or maize. A single knot is said to have stood for ten; two knots,
twenty; a knot doubly intertwined, one hundred, etc. Also the position
of the knots on the threads was to be considered, their distance apart,
the way the threads were twisted, and many other details.<46> It is
manifest, however, that this system of records is of very little value,
and is way below the picture-writing of the Mexicans.

Illustration of Quippos, or Knot Record.--------------

Take it all in all, the Incas are indeed an interesting people. We
believe, however, their culture has been greatly overrated. Our object
in this chapter has been to give an outline of the Incas and the tribes
subject to them. It is impossible in these few pages to give more than
an outline. Should the reader, by the perusal of these pages, acquire
an interest in the culture of the Andean people just before the Spanish
invasion, and be thereby induced to continue his investigations, the
writer will consider such a result reward enough, even though the
conclusions reached should be totally opposed to those set forth in this
chapter on Ancient Peru.

REFERENCES

(1) Xeres: "Report on the Discovery of Peru," Markham's
translation, Hakluyt Society's Publication.
(2) Buckle's "History of Civilization," chap. ii.
(3) Squier's "Peru," p. 9. The Vicuna is a species of the llama.
(4) Squier's "Peru," p. 12. The quinoa is a species of plant of
the same genus as our pig-weeds. But it is a larger plant, and
its seeds give a very nutritious meal. The biscacha is about the
size and shape of the rabbit. It belongs to the chinchilla
family. The llama is the only representative of the camel family
on the western hemisphere. There were three species of this
genus in Peru, the llama, alpaca, and vicuna. These domesticated
and constituted what the Spaniards in their first reports
called sheep.
(5) Squier's "Peru," p. 12.
(6) Morton's "Crania Americanae," pp. 6, 83. Winchell's
"Pre-Adamites," p. 388.
(7) H. L. Morgan. "Systems of Consanguinity and Affinity of the
Human Family," p. 255; other works by the same author, "House
and House-life of American Aborigines," and "Ancient Society."
(8) The Quichuas were a closely related tribe to the Incas, and
their name has been given to the language of Peru. But as the
Incas were the ruling tribe, their name should have been given
to this family of languages.
(9) "The Geographical Distribution of the Tribes of the Inca
Empire," in "Journal of the Geographical Society," Vol. XLI, p.
281, _et seq._
(10) "Peru," p. 571.
(11) Foster's "Prehistoric Races," p. 375. The Zuni Indians have
indeed preserved a tradition of the visit of Coronado three
hundred and fifty years ago, but in such a form that no one not
acquainted with the facts would guess the meaning. "Fifth Annual
Report Archaeological Institute," p. 40.
(12) More than one-third of Mr. Prescott's quotations are from
this authority.
(13) Morton.
(14) This idea was largely based on the differences of the
skulls. On this point see "Fourth Annual Report Peabody Museum."
Some authors speak rather vaguely of the ancient race of the
Titicaca basin. We know of no good foundation for such
expressions.
(15) Garcillasso impresses on his readers the idea that the
Incas was the only tribe at all civilized. The Aymara Indians
were certainly as far advanced as the Incas, and even surpassed
them in the art of cutting stone, if we conclude the ruins at
Tiahuanuco to be of Aymara origin. The tribes of the coast
region were certainly not far behind. The Muyscas, of Bogota,
who were never under the dominion of the Incas, were yet
possessed of a high degree of culture.
(16) Markham in Forbes's "Aymara Indians," p. 111.
(17) "Peru," p. 427.
(18) "It was from Cuzco the nearest point to the sun-rising."
(Markham.)
(19) Their name for the Titicaca basin.
(20) Markham, in Forbes's "Aymara Indians."
(21) _American Antiquarian,_ Sept., 1884, p. 295, _et
seq._
(22) It is manifest that, during the centuries of slow
development which the Incas underwent, they had a great many
chiefs. How many we shall never know. Garcillasso gives us a
list of fourteen, including Huascar and Atahualpa. Montesino
generously increases this number to one hundred and one. Neither
of them knew any thing positive about it; but this latter number
is the more reasonable of the two. Mr. Markham, who goes at the
problem in another way, thinks there were five historical Incas,
counting Huayna-Capac the last. He surmises that the first may
have flourished two hundred years before the conquest.
(23) Markham's Garcillasso's "Royal Commentaries," Vol. I, p. 66.
(24) Markham's translation, p. 151.
(25) Morgan's "Ancient Society," p. 100.
(26) Our authority is Christoval Molina, a priest of Cuzco. He
made a report to the bishop, which must have been written some
time between 1570 and 1584, on the "Fables and Rites of the
Incas." This was translated by Markham, and published by
Hakluyt Society in 1873. He obtained his information by
gathering together a number of aged Indians, including some
priests, who had participated in these ceremonies in the days of
the Incas.
(27) This writer, a native Indian, wrote about the same time as
Garcillasso.
(28) "Fables and Rites of the Incas," p. 105.
(29) "Peruvian Antiquities," p. 105.
(30) "Peru," p. 5.
(31) Many such quotations could be given, not only from
Garcillasso, but from Molina, Salcamayhua, and others.
(32) Address before the Historical Society of New Mexico.
(33) We can not help wondering if the Incas did not have two
chief executives. This would make them similar to the Iroquois,
and most of the more southern tribes, such as we have already
seen to be true of the Mexicans. Mr. Bandelier says there is
abundant proof that the Incas had two chiefs--one the
"dispensing Inca," the other the "speaking head."
("Archaeological Tour in Mexico," p. 167, note 6.)
(34) "Travels," Markham's Translation, p. 164.
(35) In Forbes's "Aymara Indians," p. 109.
(36) Indian architecture from the Sioux lodge to the houses of
Uxmal, Mitla, and Tiahuanuco, is only understood through Indian
social organization." (Bandelier.)
(37) "Peru," p. 214.
(38) "Two Years in Peru," Vol. I, p. 283.
(39) Markham's "Introduction," to "Report on the Discovery
of Peru."
(40) "In this case it is nonsense to talk of hundreds."
(Hutchinson.)
(41) Markham, in Journal of the Royal Geog. Society, Vol. XLI.
(42) Squier's "Peru," p. 375.
(43) The dimensions are: Length, thirteen feet five inches;
height above ground, seven feet two inches; thickness, one foot
six inches. (Squier.)
(44) Squier's "Peru," p. 336.
(45) Markham, in "Journal of Geog. Soc.," Vol. XLI.
(46) "Peruvian Antiquities," p. 110.

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