New-York tribune., 1841-09-18

American As7rQUITIEs.-Wc have been favored
with the Peru=al of some OF the proof sheets of
work BY our townsnlan Alexander BRADFORD
upon the szbject Of American Antiquities, now in
press in this c,y and we can safely assure the read
ing public tina: it viii prove De production of
close and OF deep nteres; ana Of
great value IN me Investigation of Inc great his;on
cal problem OF The Western World Mr.. Bradford
adds TO eminent qualifications for the preparation o.
work o: this character deep interest II the sub
ec, and an Inwearied INDUSTRY IN bringing together
and disest.ng the widely scattered materials. he
has spent several years in this labor and we are
sure it Will Re well rewarded. No SUSPECT upon
which ne could have written possesses morn mel
anchoy interest or Is more worthy the sympathy Of;
The American heart than thi., concerning the or
gin character and early institutions Of the Abo-
rhymes OF our land-;a-; fading away before the
progress OF wealth and power, and destined soon 70
become utterly extinct under their influence. A.
ey pas from our sigh; and take ;heir places among
the entombed nations Of antiquity. il is natural th;
we should look after their history, inquire whence
they came, what was their character and what par;
they bore IN the grea; development Of the whole
human race To answer these questions intelligibiy
their footsteps mus, be scanned, their monuments
winch have survived their founders must be exam
med, tradition questioned and the shadows of my
ihoogy invoked and forced 20 give some account of
those who have died and left no sign. Patience
and discrimination arr alike requisite 20 follow ou;
these minute details dry and wearsome as they arc
bu most important, in view OF the great result 70
which they lead Like the base of some ancient
column says Mr.. Bradford, 4" covered with fallen
fragment, almost defyiog The effort. of the explorer
to restore it to its former light and glory primitive
history IS hidden deep amid the gloom of time an.
the crumbing ruins of antiquity, to be revealed
only by pa;es;. inquirins. aad unw-asiei zeal.
The first part OF Mr.. Bradford work i, entitled
American Antiquities. and contains sketches Of
all the noteworthy monumental remains, mounds
sepulchres. ;umuli, &c. that have ever been dis
covered In the United States Mexico, Yucatan
Peru. aad other parts of the Western Hemisphere.
Thess are all described with a. much minuteness
and ACCURACY OF deta as Is consistent with The
limits OF the work The purposes 70 which the va
riou. implements. buildings, Sc. Appropriated
arc co1iecturcd with great skill and discrimination
and the conclusions 10 which these obscrva non.
naturally Lead with reference to the origin num-
bers, civilization and antiquity Of these rrimeyal
nations are developed with great force and ccarness
The latter and most interesting portion of the work
is research into the Origin and History of the Red
Race: close comparison il made between the
monuments and other remain. of civilization dis
covered in various parts VI the Continent especially
of those which bear evident marks of the highest
antiquity, and an attempt is thus made to prove
the identity Of the three great families iEto which
the early aborginc, are divided The Author then
proceeds to conclusion that the aboriginal tribes
of beth Americas derived their descent from far
more enlightened progenors, that they are, in the
words of Humboldt, the remains of society sink
ing amidst storms. -verthrown and shattered by
overwhelming catastrophes This argument is
followed out at considerable length, and we are
confident will have great weight in settling this
vexed question in the history of land and of the
world
We feel sure that Mr.. Bradfords work will be
received with hearty good will BY all who feel the
slightest interest in this most important subject. 1t
has been prepared with great care, aud after close
ard long continued research, and embodies all the
essential information that has ever been acquired
concerning this topic. The style is chaste, pleas
ing, and not inelegan,, and the whole character
the work such as must recommend it to the favor
abe consideration of all classes Of literary
public