The Native Races [of the Pacific states], Volume 5, Primitive History

PERUVIAN GIANTS

I have stated above that the Peruvians preserved no record of having come originally from China. They had a tradition, however, concerning certain foreigners who came by sea to their country, which may be worth repeating; Garcilasso de la Vega gives this tradition as he himself heard it in Peru. They affirm, he says, in all Peru, that certain giants came by sea to the cape now called St Helen's, in large barks made of rushes. These giants were so enormously tall that ordinary men reached no higher than their knees; their long, disheveled hair covered their shoulders; their eyes were as big as saucers, and the other parts of their bodies were of correspondingly colossal proportions. They were beardless; some of them were naked, others were clothed in the skins of wild beasts; there were no women with them. Having landed at the cape, they established themselves at a spot in the desert, and dug deep wells in the rock, which at this day continue to afford excellent water. They lived by rapine, and soon desolated the whole country. Their appetites and gluttony were such that it is said one of them would eat as much as fifty ordinary persons. They massacred the men of the neighboring parts without mercy, and killed the women by their brutal violations. At last, after having for a long time tyrannized over the country and committed all manner of enormities, they were suddenly destroyed by fire from heaven, and an angel armed with a flaming sword. As an eternal monument of divine vengeance, their bones remained unconsumed, and may be seen at the present day. As for the rest, it is not known from what place they came, nor by what route they arrived.¹⁰⁸

There is also a native account of the arrival of Manco Capac, in which he figures simply a culture-hero. The story closely resembles those told of the appearance and acts of the apostles Cukulcan, Wixepecocha, and others, and need not be repeated here.¹⁰⁹

THE CHINESE FROM PERU

Mr Charles Wolcott Brooks, Japanese consul in San Francisco, a most learned gentleman, and especially well versed in Oriental lore, has kindly presented me with a MS. prepared by himself, in which are condensed the results of twenty-five years' study of the history of the eastern Asiatic nations, and their possible communication with American continent.¹¹⁰ He recognizes many striking analogies between the Chinese and the Peruvians, but arrives at a conclusion respecting the relation between the two nations, the exact reverse of that discussed in the preceding paragraphs. His theory is that the Chinese came originally from Peru, and not the Peruvians from China. He uses, to support his argument, many of the resemblances in customs, etc., of which Ranking and others have availed themselves to prove an exactly opposite theory, and adds that, as in those early times the passage of the Pacific could only have been made under the most favorable circumstances and with the assistance of fair winds, it would be impossible, owing to the action of the SE. and NE. trade-winds for such a passage to have been made, either intentionally or accidentally, from China to Peru, while on the other hand, if a large craft were placed before the wind and set adrift from the Peruvian coast, there is a strong probability that it would drive straight on to the southern coast of China.¹¹¹

JAPANESE WRECKS ON THE AMERICAN COAST

A Japanese origin or at least a strong infusion of Japanese blood, has been attributed to the tribes of the north-west coasts. There is nothing improbable in this; indeed, there is every reason to believe that on various occasions small parties of Japanese have reached the American continent, have married the women of the country, and necessarily left the impress of their ideas and physical peculiarities upon their descendants. Probably these visits were all, without exception, accidental; but that they have occurred in great numbers is certain. There have been a great many instances of Japanese junks drifting upon the American coast, many of them after having floated helplessly about for many months. Mr Brooks gives forty-one particular instances of such wrecks, beginning in 1782, twenty-eight of which date since 1850.¹¹² Only twelve of the whole number were deserted. In a majority of cases the survivors remained permanently at the place where the waves had brought them. There is no record in existence of a Japanese woman having been saved from a wreck. A great many Japanese words are to be found in the Chinook jargon, but in all cases abbreviated, as if coming from a foreign source, while the construction of the two languages is dissimilar.¹¹³ The reasons for the presence of Japanese and the absence of Chinese junks are simple. There is a current of cold water setting from the Arctic ocean south along the east coast of Asia, which drives all the Chinese wrecks south. The Kuro Siwo, or 'black stream,' commonly known as the Japan current, runs northwards past the eastern coast of the Japan islands, then curves round to the east and south, sweeping the whole west coast of North America, a branch, or eddy, moving towards the Sandwich Islands. A drifting wreck would be carried towards the American coast at an average rate of ten miles a day by this current. To explain the frequent occurrence of these wrecks Mr Brooks refers to an old Japanese law. About the year 1630, the Japanese government adopted its deliberate policy of exclusion of foreigners and seclusion of its own people. To keep the latter from visiting foreign countries, and to confine their voyages to smooth water and the coasting trade, a law was passed ordering all junks to be built with open sterns and large square rudders unfit to stand any heavy sea. The January monsoons from the north-east are apt to blow any unlucky coaster which happens to be out straight into the Kuro Siwo, the huge rudders are soon washed away, and the vessels, falling into the trough of the sea, roll their masts overboard. Every January there are numbers of these disasters of which no record is kept. About one third of these vessels, it seems, drift to the Sandwich Islands, the remainder to North America, where they scatter along the coast from Alaska to California. How many years this has been going on can only be left to conjecture. The information given by Mr Brooks is of great value, owing to his thorough acquaintance with the subject, the intelligent study of which has been a labor of love with him for so many years. And his theory with regard to the Japanese carries all the more weight, in my opinion, in that he does not attempt to account for the similarities that exist between that people and the Americans by an immigration en masse, but by a constant infusion of Japanese blood and customs through a series of years, sufficient to modify the original stock, wherever that came from.

I have already stated that traces of the Japanese language have been found among the coast tribes. There is also some physical resemblance.¹¹⁴ Viollet-le-Duc points out some striking resemblances between the temples of Japan and Central America.¹¹⁵ It is asserted that the people of Japan had a knowledge of the American continent and that it was marked down on their maps. Montanus tells us that three ship-captains named Henrik Corneliszoon, Schaep, and Wilhelm Byleveld, were taken prisoners by the Japanese and carried to Jeddo, where they were shown a sea chart, on which America was drawn as a mountainous country adjoining Tartary on the north.¹¹⁶ Of course the natives have the usual tradition that strangers came among them long before the advent of the Europeans.¹¹⁷

The theory that America, or at least the north-western part of it, was peopled by the 'Tartars' or tribes of north-western Asia, is supported by many authors. There certainly is no reason why they should not have crossed Bering Strait from Asia, the passage is easy enough; nor is there any reason why they should not have crossed by the same route to Asia, and peopled the north-western part of that continent. The customs, manner of life, and physical appearance of the natives on both sides of the straits are almost identical, as a multitude of witnesses testify, and it seems absurd to argue the question from any point. Of course, Bering Strait may have served to admit other nations besides the people inhabiting its shores into America, and in such cases there is more room for discussion.¹¹⁸

THE EGYPTIAN THEORY

We may now consider that theory which supposes the civilized peoples of America to be of Egyptian origin, or, at least, to have derived their arts and culture from Egypt. This supposition is based mainly on certain analogies which have been thought to exist between the architecture, hieroglyphics, methods of computing time, and, to a less extent, customs, of the two countries. Few of these analogies will, however, bear close investigation, and even where they will, they can hardly be said to prove anything. I find no writer who goes so far as to affirm that the New World was actually peopled from Egypt; we shall, therefore, have to regard this merely as a culture-theory, the original introduction of human life into the continent in no way depending upon its truth or fallacy.

The architectural feature which has attracted most attention is the pyramid, which to some writers is of itself conclusive proof of an Egyptian origin. The points of resemblance, as given by those in favor of this theory, are worth studying. García y Cubas claims the following analogies between Teotihuacan and the Egyptian pyramids: the site chosen is the same; the structures are oriented with slight variation; the line through the centre of the pyramids is in the 'astronomical meridian;' the construction in grades and steps is the same; in both cases the larger pyramids are dedicated to the sun; the Nile has a 'valley of the dead,' as at Teotihuacan there is a 'street of the dead;' some monuments of each class have the nature of fortifications; the smaller mounds are of the same nature and for the same purpose; both pyramids have a small mound joined to one of their faces; the openings discovered in the Pyramid of the Moon are also found in some Egyptian pyramids; the interior arrangement of the pyramids is analogous.¹¹⁹

EGYPTIAN AND AMERICAN PYRAMIDS

The two great pyramids of Teotihuacan, dedicated to the sun and moon, are surrounded by several hundreds of small pyramids. Delafield remarks that the pyramids of Gizeh, in Egypt, are also surrounded by smaller edifices in regular order, and closely correspond in arrangement to those of Teotihuacan.¹²⁰ The construction of these two pyramids recalls to Mr Ranking's mind that of "one of the Egyptian pyramids of Sakhara, which has six stories; and which, according to Pocock, is a mass of pebbles and yellow mortar, covered on the outside with rough stones."¹²¹ In some few instances human remains have been found in American pyramids, though never in such a position as to convey the idea that the structure had been built expressly for their reception, as was the case in Egypt. It is but fair to add, however, that no pyramid has yet been opened to its centre, or, indeed, in any way properly explored as to its interior, and that a great many of them are known to have interior galleries and passages, though these were not used as sepulchres. In one instance, at Copan, a vault was discovered in the side of a pyramidal structure; on the floor, and in two small niches, were a number of red earthen-ware vessels, containing human bones packed in lime; scattered about were shells, cave stalactites, and stone knives; three heads were also found, one of them "apparently representing death, its eyes being nearly shut, and the lower features distorted; the back of the head symmetrically perforated by holes; the whole of most exquisite workmanship, and cut or cast from a fine stone covered with green enamel."¹²² In the great pyramid of Cholula, also, an excavation made in building the Puebla road, which cut off a corner of the lower terrace, not only disclosed to view the interior construction of the pyramid, but also laid bare a tomb containing two skeletons and two idols of basalt, a collection of pottery, and other relics. The sepulchre was square, with stone walls, supported with cypress beams. The dimensions are not given, but no traces of any outlet were found.¹²³ There are, besides, traditions among the natives of the existence of interior galleries and apartments of great extent within this mound. Thus we see that in some instances the dead were deposited in pyramids, though there is not sufficient evidence to show that these structures were originally built for this purpose.

ARCHITECTURAL ANALOGIES

Herodotus tells us that in his time the great pyramid of Cheops was coated with polished stone, in such a manner as to present a smooth surface on all its sides from the base to the top; in the upper part of the pyramid of Cephren the casing-stones have remained in their places to the present day. No American pyramid with smooth sides has as yet been discovered, and of this fact those who reject the Egyptian theory have not failed to avail themselves.¹²⁴ It is nevertheless probable that many of the American pyramids had originally smooth sides, though, at the present day, time and the growth of dense tropical vegetation have rendered the very shape of the structures scarcely recognizable.¹²⁵ It is further objected that while the American pyramids exhibit various forms, all are truncated, and were erected merely to serve as foundations for other buildings, those of Egypt are of uniform shape, "rising and diminishing until they come to a point,"¹²⁶ and are not known to have ever served as a base for temple or palace. It is, however, not certain, judging from facts visible at the present day, that all the Egyptian pyramids did rise to a point. Again, it is almost certain that the American pyramid was not always used as a foundation for a superimposed building, but that it was frequently complete in itself. In many of the ruined cities of Yucatan one or more pyramids have been found upon the summit of which no traces of any building could be discovered, although upon the pyramids by which these were surrounded portions of superimposed edifices still remained. There is, also, some reason to believe that perfect pyramids were constructed in America. As has been seen in the preceding volume, Waldeck found near Palenque two pyramids, which he describes as having been at the time in a state of perfect preservation, square at the base, pointed at the top, and thirty-one feet high, their sides forming equilateral triangles. Delafield¹²⁷ remarks that a simple mound would first suggest the pyramid, and that from this the more finished and permanent structure would grow; which is true enough. But if we are to believe, as is stated, that the American pyramids grew from such beginnings as the Mississippi mounds, then what reason can there be in comparing the pyramids of Teotihuacan with those of Gizeh in Egypt. For if the Egyptian colonists, at the time of their emigration to America, had advanced no further toward the perfect pyramid than the mound-building stage, would it not be the merest coincidence if the finished pyramidal structures in one country, the result of centuries of improvement, should resemble those of the other country in any but the most general features? Finally, pyramidal edifices were common in Asia as well as in Northern Africa, and it may be said that the American pyramids are as much like the former as they are like the latter.¹²⁸

In its general features, American architecture does not offer any strong resemblances to the Egyptian. The upholders of the theory find traces of the latter people in certain round columns found at Uxmal, Mitla, Quemada, and other places; in the general massiveness of the structures; and in the fact that the vermilion dye on many of the ruins was a favorite color in Egypt.¹²⁹ Humboldt, speaking of a ruined structure at Mitla, says: "the distribution of the apartments of this singular edifice, bears a striking analogy to what has been remarked in the monuments of Upper Egypt, drawn by M. Denon, and the savans who compose the institute of Cairo."¹³⁰

SCULPTURE AND HIEROGLYPHICS

Between American and Egyptian sculpture, there is, at first sight, a very striking general resemblance. This, however, almost entirely disappears upon close examination and comparison. Both peoples represented the human figure in profile, the Egyptians invariably, the Americans generally; in the sculpture of both, much the same attitudes of the body predominate, and these are but awkwardly designed; there is a general resemblance between the lofty head-dresses worn by the various figures, though in detail there is little agreement.¹³¹ These are the points of analogy and they are sufficiently prominent to account for the idea of resemblance which has been so often and so strongly expressed. But while sculpture in Egypt is for the most part in intaglio, in America it is usually in relief. In the former country, the faces are expressionless, always of the same type, and, though executed in profile, the full eye is placed on the side of the head; in the New World, on the contrary, we meet with many types of countenance, some of which are by no means lacking in expression.

If there were any hope of evidence that the civilized peoples of America were descendants, or derived any of their culture from the ancient Egyptians, we might surely look for such proof in their hieroglyphics. Yet we look in vain. To the most expert decipherer of Egyptian hieroglyphics, the inscriptions at Palenque are a blank and unreadable mystery, and they will perhaps ever remain so.¹³²

Resemblances have been found between the calendar systems of Egypt and America, based chiefly upon the length and division of the year, and the number of intercalary and complementary days. This, however, is too lengthy a subject to be fully discussed here. In a previous volume I have given a full account of the American systems, and must perforce leave it to the reader to compare them with the Egyptian system.¹³³

Of course a similarity of customs has to be found to support this theory, as in the case of others. Consequently our attention is drawn to embalmment, circumcision, and the division of the people into castes, which is not quite true of the Americans; some resemblance is found, moreover, between the religions of Egypt and America, for instance, certain animals were held sacred in both countries; but all such analogies are far too slender to be worth anything as evidence; there is scarcely one of them that would not apply to several other nations equally as well as to the Egyptians.

THE PHŒNICIAN THEORY

Turning now to Western Asia, we find the honor of first settling America given to the adventurous Phœnicians. The sailors of Carthage are also supposed by some writers to have first reached the New World, but as the exploits of colony and mother-country are spoken of by most writers in the same breath, it will be the simplest plan to combine the two theories here. They are based upon the fame of these people as colonizing navigators more than upon any actual resemblances that have been found to exist between them and the Americans. It is argued that their ships sailed beyond the Pillars of Hercules to the Canary Islands, and that such adventurous explorers having reached that point would be sure to seek farther. The records of their voyages and certain passages in the works of several of the writers of antiquity are supposed to show that the ancients knew of a land lying in the far west.¹³⁴

VOYAGES OF THE PHŒNICIANS

The Phœnicians were employed about a thousand years before the Christian era, by Solomon, king of the Jews, and Hiram, king of Tyre, to navigate their fleets to Ophir and Tarshish. They returned, by way of the Mediterranean, to the port of Joppa, after a three-years' voyage, laden with gold, silver, precious stones, ivory, cedar, apes, and peacocks. Several authors have believed that they had two distinct fleets, one of which went to the land since known as America, and the other to India. Huet, bishop of Avranches,¹³⁵ and other authors, are persuaded that Ophir was the modern Sofala, situated about 21° S. lat., and that Tarshish comprised all the western coast of Africa and Spain, but particularly the part lying about the mouth of the Bœtis or Guadalquivir. According to Arius Montanus, Genebrardus, Vatable, and other writers, Ophir is the island of Hispaniola. It is said that Christopher Columbus was induced to adopt this idea by the immense caverns which he found there, from which he supposed that Solomon must have obtained his gold. Postel and others have believed that the land of Ophir was Peru.¹³⁶ Horn¹³⁷ claims that the Phœnicians made three remarkable voyages to America; the first, under the direction of Atlas, son of Neptune; the second, when they were driven by a tempest from the coast of Africa to the most remote parts of the Atlantic ocean, and arrived at a large island to the west of Libya; and the third, in the time of Solomon, when the Tyrians went to Ophir to seek for gold. According to those who believe that there were two distinct fleets, that of Solomon and that of Hiram, the first set out from Eziongeber, sailed down the Red Sea, doubled Cape Comorin, and went to Taproban (Ceylon), or some other part of India; this voyage occupied one year. The other fleet passed through the Mediterranean, stopping at the various ports along the coasts of Europe and Africa, and finally, passing out through the straits of Gades, continued its voyage as far as America, and returned after three years to its starting-place, laden with gold.

The Periplus of Hanno, a Carthaginian navigator of uncertain date, contains an account of a voyage which he made beyond the Pillars of Hercules, with a fleet of sixty ships and thirty thousand men, for the purpose of founding the Liby-Phœnician towns. He relates that setting out from Gades, he sailed southwards. The first city he founded was Thumiaterion,¹³⁸ near the Pillars of Hercules, probably in the neighborhood of Marmora. He then doubled the promontory of Soloeis,¹³⁹ which Rennel considers to be the same as Cape Cantin, but other commentators to be the same as Cape Blanco, in 33° N. latitude. A little to the south of this promontory five more cities were founded. After passing the mouth of the river Lixus, supposed by Rennel to be the modern St Cyprian, he sailed for two days along a desolate coast, and on the third day entered a gulf in which was situated a small island, which he named Kerne, and colonized. After continuing his voyage for some days, and meeting with various adventures, he returned to Kerne, whence he once more directed his course southward, and sailed along the coast for twelve days. Two days more he spent in doubling a cape, and five more in sailing about a large gulf. He then continued his voyage for a few days, and was finally obliged to return from want of provisions. The authenticity of the Periplus has been doubted by many critics, but it appears probable from the testimony of several ancient authors that the voyage was actually performed. But be the account true or false, I certainly can discover in it no ground for believing that Hanno did more than coast along the western shore of Africa, sailing perhaps as far south as Sierra Leone.¹⁴⁰

VOYAGES OF THE PHŒNICIANS

Diodorus Siculus relates that the Phœnicians discovered a large island in the Atlantic Ocean, beyond the Pillars of Hercules, several days' journey from the coast of Africa. This island abounded in all manner of riches. The soil was exceedingly fertile; the scenery was diversified by rivers, mountains, and forests. It was the custom of the inhabitants to retire during the summer to magnificent country houses, which stood in the midst of beautiful gardens. Fish and game were found in great abundance. The climate was delicious, and the trees bore fruit at all seasons of the year. The Phœnicians discovered this fortunate island by accident, being driven on its coast by contrary winds. On their return they gave glowing accounts of its beauty and fertility, and the Tyrians, who were also noted sailors, desired to colonize it. But the senate of Carthage opposed their plan, either through jealousy, and a wish to keep any commercial benefit that might be derived from it for themselves, or, as Diodorus relates, because they wished to use it as a place of refuge in case of necessity.

Several authors, says Warden, have believed that this island was America, among others, Huet, bishop of Avranches. "The statement of Diodorus," he writes, "that those who discovered this island were cast upon its shores by a tempest, is worthy of attention; as the east wind blows almost continually in the torrid zone, it might well happen that Carthaginian vessels, surprised by this wind, should be carried against their will to the western islands." Aristotle tells the same story. Homer, Plutarch, and other ancient writers, mention islands situated in the Atlantic, several thousand stadia from the Pillars of Hercules, but such accounts are too vague and mythical to prove that they knew of any land west of the Canary Islands. Of course they surmised that there was land beyond the farthest limits of their discovery; they saw that the sea stretched smoothly away to the horizon, uncut by their clumsy prows, no matter how far they went; they peopled the Sea of Darkness with terrors, but they hazarded all manner of guesses at the nature of the treasure which those terrors guarded. Is it not foolish to invent a meaning and a fulfillment to fit the vague surmises of these ancient minds? Are we to believe that Seneca was inspired by a spirit of prophecy because we read these lines in the second act of his Medea:

 
"Venient annis
Sæcula seris, quibus Oceanus
Vincula rerum laxet, et ingens
Pateat tellus, Thetysque¹⁴¹ novos
Detegat orbes; nec sit terris
Ultima Thule."
 

Or that Silenus knew of the continent of America because Ælianus makes him tell Midas, the Phrygian, that there was another continent besides Europe, Asia, and Africa? A continent whose inhabitants are larger and live longer than ordinary people, and have different laws and customs. A country where gold and silver are so plentiful that they are esteemed no more than we esteem iron. Are we to suppose that St Clement had visited America when he wrote, in his celebrated epistle to the Corinthians that there were other worlds beyond the ocean? Might we not as well argue that America was certainly not known to the ancients, or Tacitus would never have written: "Trans Sueones aliud mare, pigrum ac propè immotum ejus cingi cludique terrarum orbem hinc fides." Would the theological view of the flat structure of the earth have gained credence for a moment, had antipodes been discovered and believed in?

VOTAN'S TRAVELS

The mysterious traveler, Votan, is once more made to do service for the theorist here. In his somewhat doubtful manuscript, entitled "Proof that I am a Serpent," Votan asserts that he is a descendant of Imox, of the race of Chan, and derives his origin from Chivim. "He states that he conducted seven families from Valum Votan to this continent and assigned lands to them; that he is the third of the Votans; that, having determined to travel until he arrived at the root of heaven, in order to discover his relations the Culebras (Serpents), and make himself known to them, he made four voyages to Chivim;¹⁴² that he arrived in Spain, and that he went to Rome; that he saw the great house of God building;¹⁴³ that he went by the road which his brethren the Culebras had bored; that he marked it, and that he passed by the houses of the thirteen Culebras. He relates that in returning from one of his voyages, he found seven other families of the Tzequil nation, who had joined the first inhabitants, and recognized in them the same origin as his own, that is, of the Culebras. He speaks of the place where they built their first town, which, from its founders, received the name of Tzequil; he affirms the having taught them refinement of manners in the use of the table, table-cloth, dishes, basins, cups, and napkins; that, in return for these, they taught him the knowledge of God and of his worship; his first ideas of a king and obedience to him; and that he was chosen captain of all these united families."¹⁴⁴

THE TZENDAL TRADITIONS

Cabrera supposes Chivim to be the same as Hivim or Givim, which was the name of the country from which the Hivites, descendants of Heth, son of Canaan, were expelled by the Philistines some years before the departure of the Hebrews from Egypt. Some of these settled about the base of Mount Hermon, and to them belonged Cadmus and his wife Harmonia. It is probably owing to the fable of their transformation into snakes, related by Ovid in his Metamorphoses, that the word Givim in the Phœnician language signifies a snake.¹⁴⁵ Tripoli of Syria, a town in the kingdom of Tyre, was anciently called Chivim. "Under this supposition, when Votan says he is Culebra, because he is Chivim, he clearly shows, that he is a Hivite originally of Tripoli in Syria, which he calls Valum Chivim, where he landed, in his voyages to the old continent. Here then, we have his assertion, I am Culebra, because I am Chivim, proved true, by a demonstration as evident, as if he had said, I am a Hivite, native of Tripoli in Syria, which is Valum Chivim, the port of my voyages to the old continent, and belonging to a nation famous for having produced such a hero as Cadmus, who, by his valour and exploits, was worthy of being changed into a Culebra (snake) and placed among the gods; whose worship, for the glory of my nation and race, I teach, to the seven families of the Tzequiles, that I found, on returning from one of my voyages, united to the seven families, inhabitants of the American continent, whom I conducted from Valum Votan, and distributed lands among them."¹⁴⁶