279

CHAPTER XIII.

IDENTITY OF THE REMAINS OF CIVILIZATION IN NORTH AND SOUTH AMERICA.

MATERIALS for a complete examination of the extinct civilization of the Red men, are very scanty; much must remain undiscovered in the vast regions over which they extended. It is only by slow degrees that all the wonders of nature, and the relics of ancient art become known even in civilized lands. It is not a century since the cave of Fingal, one of the most wonderful natural curiosities in the world, close to our own shores, remained undiscovered by any one competent to describe it:

Then all unknown its columns rose
Where dark and undisturb'd repose
The cormorant had found,

And the shy seal had quiet home,
And welter'd in that wondrous dome,
Where as to shame the temples deck'd
By skill of earthly architect,

Nature herself it seemed would raise

A minster to her Maker's praise.

Every day brings us fresh proof of the high state of civilization to which Britain attained under the Romans, and the barbarism into which the nation sunk in consequence of the Saxon invasion. The remains of the princely palace at Bignor, its beautiful Mosaic pavements, its galleries, its hypocaust, and its baths, have

There is then no improbability, that the wandering Indians of the prairies, wretched and degraded as we now find them, are yet legitimately descended from a powerful and civilized nation, which either from foreign invasion, internal decay, or more probably from the united influence of both, has sunk into forgetfulness of former glory, and hopelessness of future redemption.

O mortal, mortal state! and what art thou?

E'en in thy glory comes the passing shade,

And makes thee like a vision fade away;

And then Misfortune takes the moistened sponge,

And clean effaces all the picture out.

279

CHAPTER XIII.

IDENTITY OF THE REMAINS OF CIVILIZATION IN NORTH AND SOUTH AMERICA.

MATERIALS for a complete examination of the extinct civilization of the Red men, are very scanty; much must remain undiscovered in the vast regions over which they extended. It is only by slow degrees that all the wonders of nature, and the relics of ancient art become known even in civilized lands. It is not a century since the cave of Fingal, one of the most wonderful natural curiosities in the world, close to our own shores, remained undiscovered by any one competent to describe it :

Then all unknown its columns rose
Where dark and undisturb'd repose
The cormorant had found,

And the shy seal had quiet home,
And welter'd in that wondrous dome,
Where as to shame the temples deck'd
By skill of earthly architect,

Nature herself it seemed would raise

A minster to her Maker's praise.

Every day brings us fresh proof of the high state of civilization to which Britain attained under the Romans, and the barbarism into which the nation sunk in consequence of the Saxon invasion. The remains of the princely palace at Bignor, its beautiful Mosaic pavements, its galleries, its hypocaust, and its baths, have

been brought to light only within the last few years. Herculaneum, Pompeii, Pæstum, have been but recently restored to our knowledge; and travellers in Asia Minor constantly discover majestic ruins of cities whose names are unknown or doubtful. Dr. Wilde has found it to be a work of great difficulty to identify the spot on which Tyre stood,-that city "situate at the entry of the sea, the merchant for many isles, whose borders were in the midst of the waters, and whose builders had perfected her beauty."* Who could gaze on the barren rock where Nature first triumphed over Art, and where Desolation wrested the victory from Nature, without being tempted to exclaim in the words of Eckhard:

A thousand years have rolled along,

And blasted empires in their pride,
And witnessed scenes of crime and wrong,
Till men by nations died.

A thousand summer suns have shone,

Till earth grew bright beneath their sway,
Since thou, untenanted and lone,

Wert render'd to decay.

The moss-tuft and the ivy-wreath,

For ages clad thy fallen mould,

And gladden'd in the spring's soft breath;

But they grew wan and old.

Now, Desolation hath denied

That even these shall veil thy gloom;

And Nature's mantling beauty died,
In token of thy doom.

Alas, for the far years, when clad

With the bright vesture of thy prime,
Thy proud towers made each wanderer glad,
Who hailed thy sunny clime!

Ezekiel xxvii. 3.

Alas, for the fond hope and dream,

And all that won thy children's trust,
God cursed,—and none may now redeem,

Pale city of the dust!

If on civilized coasts, in lands travelled by men of science, enterprise, and observation; and on sites where history has named and fixed the natural bounds and landmarks, fresh discoveries are daily made, and wondrous monuments of nature and art rescued from "the cold obstruction" to which they have been consigned for centuries, it is assuredly probable that in the wilds of North America, in the recesses of Mexico, and the mountains of Peru, there are vast antiquarian treasures still unrevealed, which would elucidate what is now dark, and explain what is now intricate. If we add to these considerations, the jealousy of Spain while she possessed these interesting regions, watching them as the degraded guardians of the Harem do the objects of their charge, the more strictly because the capacity of enjoyment is wanting -the complete success with which the Spanish government secluded its natural subjects, both in England and America, from any intercourse that would throw light on the history of nature, or of man;—if we further add, the anarchy that has since prevailed in the revolted colonies of Spain, and which has sealed them against intercourse, not less effectually than the bigoted restrictions imposed upon them by former tyranny;— finally, if we reflect upon the care with which the Indians hide all they can from their conquerors, we may even now consider American antiquities a subject still in its infancy, notwithstanding the investigations of that enterprising and intelligent traveller, Baron Humboldt.