The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1854-04-04

ui1h that gentleman in his views touching The alleged
There H. he raid, no evidence, traditional
mental or historical (fcr the Mexican heroe lyphic.i
MSS entitled 20 regarded historically Of ay seh
migration The exploded dogma Of community 81 origin
for the different and families Of men, aud That they
smanated from single centre sene where On me banhs
garding the aboriginal Mexcans The early writer's OF
Spanish Mexico ERE firm believers in the marvellous ar
partition Of sNuestra Sonora dc Guadelupc and lived
time VIXEN blind faith and general seientihe ignorance
might excuse literal acceptance Of the doctrine OF
unity Of origin for the different Of With the
fate of Bruno and the prosecutions Of Galleo TO
them against too wide aud too daring range in their in
with the dognas Of the church. they took ii for granted
that the Mexicans must have come from Asia
Their successors Il not always believers in the mira
ssous apparon Of the Virgin scarcely less fette
ell in their philosophy They found it difficult, with all
their assumptions, to bring the Mexcans from Asia
by sea. The discovery Of Behring's straits however,
furnished key to all their dltcuities and bridge of
ice in winter and seal skin boat in summer, became
sxaghtway the ready Of accounting not only for
the reopling OF Mexico Of all America Such slight
facts wide difference Of physical characterstcs be-
veen the american aborigines and the families Of Asia
and the total elementary difference of their angnage'
were entirely overlooked, as indeed, they stu are oy
those who prefer hypothesis to truth But an orthodox
path opened banks Of the Euphrates AMI that
was sufficient II since been well beaten lin theory
by vagabond tribes Of wandering Jews and hordes OF
TArtaIs Hndocs, and Chinese. Pursuing this track it
Of course followed that the aboriginal inhabitants Of
Mexico came from the north.
The fabulous accounts of The old Fray Marco Mia,
cerning the great kingdom Of Quivera and the seyen
cities OF Cboa above the Cila and the subsequent dis
sovery Of ruined structures Of great size in the same d.
recton, gave color to this hypothesis OF migration
from the north. In consequence like thousand other
falaces Il gradually accepted and became perpetu
ated by the many uncritiea copyts and compers who
have since assumed to write upon Mexico and the Amcr
can aborigines.
The Ignorance of the character of the ruins
the Rio ella and elsewhere in New Mexico,
No well OF the nature of the country
ITSELF which existed until recently has been another
OF the perpetuaon Of this notion, and
accounts in great part for the tacit if not direct accept
of it by several really eminent scholars and authors
Owing TO their want of knowledge Of the system Of repre-
eentaon pracsed by the Mexicans, Of them have
fallen into the of receiving with credit the presty
explanations Of certain Mexican MSS recording the mi
course, always supposed to be ASIA Nor they able
to distinguish the fraudulent manuscripts those which
When the road by way Of Behring's straits
discovered therefore, places easily found for the
various stages of the migratons recorded in the MSS,
equally, OF course the north Of Mexico. These inter-
pFetaons of the MSS in with foregonc
conclusions and in later as wen earlier times,
they have generally been made from the utterly unscien
ti6c point Of view which have Indicated
But in the whole investigation Of these questions there
history Of aboriginal Mexico to that Of the dominant
nations which Cortez found in the Valley Of Ana
in the general history of ancient Mexico. The
highest civilization and greatest power of that coun-
try existed before the called Empire Of Monte
tory of Mexico is nothing moro less than meagre
account of the comparatively barbarous tribes who
sstabshed themselves in Anahuac somewhere about the
eleventh century: They from the province Of Mi
choacan Their hierogiyphca MSS recording their mi
at the most of not more than 400
milcs-are in existence and may be read with accuracy
They inform u.s. in brief Of the advance towards the
southeasof bands of barbarous Indians clothed with
skins, and living by the chase Who after many pauses
and adventures, reached the valley of Anahuac Here
they found the ruined monuments, already oyergr0wn
with vegetation and of anterior civilization and rem
nans Of the people who originated and possessed it, but
reduced by religious wars and civil feuds to state of
which rendered them unable to oppose the bar
barians who invaded their territories But they reacted
upon their INVADERS and taught them agriculture many
Of the mechanic arts well as the principles and cere
monies of their religion. These were more or less
adopted by the conquerors, who nevertheless n0di-
ned and left the i'm of their character on all
they accepted. They gave to their national policy,
which in time grew up, warlike turn, and to their re-
Hgious system bloody and ferocious cast. In short,
they built up nation, group of nations which were
precisely those found by Cortez and which have been
often the subject of speculation and conjecture under
the denomination Of Aztecs or Mexicans.
The manuscripts recording the migratons here re-
fered to- garbled and misrepresented have ignorany
supposed to record tho migration of the aboriginal
Nexicans of all cycles from far distant countries and
from the other continents Some of them, drawn since
the conquest and nerpoated by the early zeaots whose
moral code allowed latitude to pious fraud have
been made to refer to the Noachc deuge and to the
thca confusion Of tongues and dispersion of nations
the plains Of Shinar. But there is absolutely foun
nation-not the shadow of support-for any of these
interpretations and hypothesis u of the authentic
original manuscripts OF Mexico. Neither are they
tanned, ever remotely by the oral traditions of the
Nexicans which rather refer the origin Of the cviza
zion of the country to the south and east. And Mr.
Bartlett has concusvely shown, the monumental evi
dence is altogether against the hypothesis of migration
from the north. This hypothesis has originated in
and prejudice. With present lights its ad
cannot be regarded less absurd than avow
Of belief in the exploded notion that the ancient Egyp
tans negroes and neal descendants Of the unfor
tunate Ham.
After some general discussion among members, the
society adjourned