The mountain sentinel. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1844-1853, 1851-04-17
By ANDREW j. II HEY.
MIS- CELLAN EO u S.
From. The Richmond Enquirer.
THE NEGRO RACE.

In the able and learned lectures of Mr.
Giliddon, our attention was particularly
excited by his accounts of the antiquities
in the Egyptian province of NJ eroe; be-
cause those antiquities constitute the most
striking Illustrations of negro civilization
which history and archaeology can pro-
duce. Meroe was a country on the Nile
above Egypt When the last named and
most famous seat of ancient civilization
was overrun by Cambyses and the other
cruel conquerors, a portion of the inhabi-
tants retreated up the river and established
themselves in Meroe. Hither they trans
ported their old forms of government and
of worship, their old arts and their antique
customs. They built temples and eXca-
waited tombs; they erected obelisks; they
covered them with inscriptions III their
hierogly phic alphabet, and the inscrip-
lions and sculptures which date with the
first generations of this colony, are found
10 be as perfect as those of the Lower
Nile. But the colony was cut off from
the body of the nation by intervening de-
serts and fierce nomads. The number of
emigrants was never increased from the
old race. Necessarily, the men were in
great disproportlon to the women and
they were forced TO take their wives and
concubines from the captives which they
made in their wars with the surrounding
and barbarous tribes. Now, the Egyp-
tians were white men, but these tribes
were negroes. Hence the second genera
ton of the Meroits were mulattoes. The
process of amal9 l9amatIon continued. They
formed harems from their sable captves,
and by their sable purchases; so that the
third generation were Samboes. The
next were still nearer the negro type; and
the work proceeded until all traces of Cir
cassian blood disappeared, and Meroe was
Inhabited by pure black race like that of
the vast regions on its boundaries.
The interesting circumstance connected
with these facts, is the continued deterior-
alton in the sculptural remains of the
country, and their final cessation with the
disappearance of the white blood. The
Inscriptions and portraits of the original
emigrants as before said, are equal 10 those
of the Old Empire. But in those of their
mulato children, there is a great differ
euce.-The sculpture is clumsy; the in
scriptions in bad grammar and worse
photography. The next are inferior even
to these; and in the succeeding generation
il becomes evident that they had wholly
los: the language, and no longer under
stood what they wrote. The inscriptions
are nothing more than miserable copies
from the earlier works; so that on a tomb
which is evidently of a late date, will be
found badly executed copy of the in
scription on the tomb of its owners great
UronIfatha tho I,to II l.
ing unaltered. After that, they lost even
the power of ineligible imitation. and
few scrawl on uncarved rocks are the la
test remains that are found. The Meroe-
ties then cease 10 be Egyptians even in
name and tradition. They have forgot
ten language, government, religion and
arts. They have no buildings, and no
enduring tombs. The province is no
longer distinguished from the country.
The race has relapsed into absolute negro
barbarism.
This illustration of their incapacity, not
merely TO obtain civilization, but even to
retain it when given them, is a type of
the universal history of the negro race.
The world has their history in lis hands
for space of nearly five thousand years
Negroes appear on the sculptures of old
Egypt. But in that muiiitudious country,
they were utterly valuless. The Egyp-
tians considered them too stupid TO be
worth teaching even agricultural drudgery;
and we only see their figures when led as
captives in the triumph of some belliger-
ept Pharaoh. From that day until this,
the negro has never appeared save in
three forms of existence; Captivity, Bar
barism, or Slavery. The last is the high
est form of social life of which experience
at least, permits US TO suppose him capa-
BILE.
Circumstances would never have kept
down any race for five thousand years,
zation were capable of rising into civili-
,;n,a ha rhar;ans. ,Tshite races have been in
e ou' all ltS I-anch~. have
IN time left it, and ATTAINED their natural uar Il
grades of civilization. But the negro has
never left the lowest type of barbaTianism
save for captivity or slavery. In the vast
continent of Africa they have always ex.
listed in millions. with no circumstances
to depress them. But there, we never
hear of them save as cannibal savages.
No such thing as negro government has
ever existed in Africa. Petty kingdoms
have and do exist there,-some with so
called cities like Timbuctoo.- the
oare-breeched rulers in all these Kingdoms
are Moors or Eeitahs-a branch of the