Weekly expositor. (Brockway Centre, Mich.) 1882-1894, 1888-03-01
The Mystery of Amarica.

Perhaps patriotism rather Than good iudr,
mcnt is responsible for various recent Il clara.
lions that tue study OF Amer eau archaeology
might be fruitful Of more important result
than the search Into the uncelt life OF tn
Old World. In The nature Of things this can
not be true OF course The life OF early nation
in the O.d World Is In its essence our own life
our history, our civil zation, our literature on.
political institutions, our religions spring from
It or are Influenced by II, while between the
present and the past jewellers upon this con.
tlnent remains only the bond of identity of
location. There is between us a gap which no
quantity OF knowledge can ever fill up.
Yet though the past Of tubs continent is
matter OF curious interest rather than OF per-
sOnal Importance, save as 1t may bear upon
the Weighty problem OF the unity of mankind,
there are within this study possibilities OF
knowledge which dazzle the Imagination,
so many, so varied, and withal so Elusive are
the evidences to be found upon every hand of
other and better conditions Of human life than
that led by the aborigines we know. Were
the Indians tue builders or the degenerate
sous OF the builders OF the mounds which dot
the whole upper Mississippi Valleys Who
were the multitudinous and industrious pcO-
pie who cut the vast system OF lrrigating ca
nails to be seen in Missouri Who were the
Southwest Were they IA race by themselves,
or were they driven to the South there to bui Id
the civilization whose remains we still wonder
over in Mexico and Central Amerlcal Was
that civilization Aztec or Toltec, and who
were the TOltccs and who were the Attest
How Is 1t that their symbols and even their
architecture are seemingly touched by the in
Huence of the older world, the western as well
as the casterui VIII the key To their writings
ever be found, and what will they reveali The
1,l A MI hal
ands Of years. or n comparatively recent mi
grafton from Asial The door Of con lecture is
wide and IL Is surprising that so little has
been done by us In any systematic and com
prehensye way TO seek out the hidden mystery
whose clews are SO many.
1t is gratifying, however, TO see the increase
OF interest which Is being manifested in this
matter In recent years, and to note the inval-
liable work that has been done in Central
America by Charnay, and is being done in the
North by such men Ms Prof. Putnam, Of Har
ward, and Rev. DR.. Pcct. and in the West by
Frank Cushing. This last-named gentleman
the Schiemann OF our Western world, as
some one has aptly called him-has indeed
quite bewidered the Imagination by the eX-
lent OF the discoveries he has made during
the course OF the exploration VIII ch he is now
carrying on In the Salt River Valley Of Arizona
He has, in fact. found no less than nineteen
popuOus cities there, and civilization
solder than the pyramidso aud of a wonderful
ueFeiOplneuI. Onc Oh these C'lleS, parity uu-
certified. is three miles long and two wide, and
contains many buildings 800 feet square, and
one nearly 500 feet long, with walls feet
thick. They understood the art OF irrigation
better than do the farmers Of to-day, and the
valley is n network of canals, fully 300 miles
OF canal having been found cut through earth
and solid rock. There is evidence that these
were maintained throughout IA long period,
and that population OF 100000 dwelt on the
plain OF Tcmje alone, while there Is the same
/ sort OF proof as that shown at POmpcii, that
/ this community Of POmpciis was suddenly
overthrown by series of terrible earthquakes.
The haste with which these places were left,
. the mutitudinous Implements of daily life
which were suffered to remain behind, and
/ the completeness with which even the ske-
etOns Of the victims OF the disaster have been
/ preserved through the ages b. the superin-
| cumbent earth open up possibilities of future
! disclosures which must delight every archRo-
! logically inclined mind. The work there be.
| gun should certainly b. pursued diligently and
! systematically. The result may not be to tell
( us the full secret Of he past. hut 1t can hardly
help telling us a good deal which we can now
only think, Of what the past was not.-Pr0v-
delice Journal.