The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1892-10-13


lacking in completeness of enjoyment
without the Cracking pone' to soothe
or disturb their midnight digestion
These are some of the many cakes
made of corn meal in Virginia 1t viii
i be observed that in none of them is SUI
gar used. There are corn-meal pud
dings served with cream sauces, but nc
Southern cook would risk the spelling
of her corn breads by sweetening them
! S. B. P.
WHO DISCOVERED AMERICA ?
A New Theory That the Phoenicians
Were in Mexico $500 Years Ago.
From the San Francisco Chronicle
Thomas Crawford Johnston of this
city has theory regarding the discov-
cry of America which from It's strange
ness and the interesting and painstaking
method by which it has been studied
and developed is sure to excite the CONS
ment and attention of the scientific
world and probably lead to its further
investigation. Mr.. Johnston is grad
uate of the University of Edinburgh,
and is highly esteemed here for his
knowledge OF the great subject to which
he has given his attention.
just prior to the Samoan war he
spent year and a half among the is
lands of the South Pacific, paying spec
ial attention to the study of Aztec and
what he believes to be evidences of
Phmnician civilization.
Mr.. Johnston believes that the Pho
nicians, the great maritime nation of
the ancient world. discovered America
He shows that they were the only peo-
pie capable of making such tremen-
dous journey !; he knows that they made
such journeys; he shows a motive for
them, and he traces the hardy mariners
of old in their long and dangerous course
through the waters of the South Pacific
from island to island, and at last to the
great unknown continent of the Yves
tern World. The journey, which began
at Ceylon, ended at Mexico, and the
otoI Io ~ 10 IOlO UdO Oil bIlO ICctIolu di4I
vividness of a romance.
Mr.. Johnston does very much more
than that. He determines from histori
cal records the date of the discovery,and
he brings to his aid the authority of the
Bible and the investigators who have
made the ancient world a special study.
He finds a similarity between the archi-
tectural remains in Mexico and those of
Europe and Asia. He maintains that
. the details of the art there evidently are
not those of a distinct type, but of a
composite, the product of variety of
sources He segregates that composite,
reduces it to it's original elements and
determines the nature and conditions
under which the amalgamation took
place. He shows that the religious be-
liefs of the ancient people of Mexico
and the Ph@nician were Identical, and
concludes that the Aztec was the pro-
duct of PhmDician adventure and civili-
cation.
1t is on the islands of the South Pacif-
ic that Mr.. Johnston finds the stepping
stone to his inquiry. Lieut.. A. G.. Find
lay, T. 8. Ct. s., in describing the stone
remains on the island of Kappa in the
Austral group, declares them to be ana>
Joyous to the stones on Easter Island,
they being elabolately constructed, solid
within and well squared. Easter Island,
the Lieutenant continues, is one of the
most remarkable spots in the South Pa
ci1ic 1t is 203O miles from the coast of
Chilli and 1900 from the nearest inhabi-
ted land, except Pitcairn Island, so that
its people and history constitute an eth
biological problem worthy of considera-
ton, while their origin makes one ofth
most important problems connected
with the migration of races
''How the early navigatcrs in canoes
reached it in tho face of trade winds is
mystery says Mr.. Johnston, whose
solution would clear the difficulty in
tracing the history of the early races
and civilization of Peru and Central
America. The character of its architec-
tural and other remains evidently points
to an Eastern origin. The little island
is a stepping stone to the solution of5the
question; its position should afford a
clew to the mystery of its original set
tlers:'
Island Is terrace or platform by the
sea made of rolled sea stones carefully
fitted together. Another singular struc-
ture is platform on which numerous
images have been placed. 1t is built on
the land facing the sea, and is composed
of large, unhewn stones, fitted with
great exactness. On it numerous i'm
ages are now PROSTATE. Some of the
stone remains are those of low pillars
apparently for sacrifices, and there are
others for the burning of bodies. There
are similar remains on the islands to the
northwestward, connecting with analor
gous ones in Peru. Rawinson says of
the Gibeonites that they were specially
skilled in the hewing and squaring of
these great masses of stone with which
the Phi @nicians were wont to build, and
we probably see their work in those re-
Gently uncovered blocks of enormous
size which formed the sub structure of
Solomel4's temple.
Mr. Johnston finds that Rawlinson's
description of the Phenicianscould well
have been that of the Samoans SO far as
habits, customs and physical resem>
blance are concerned. No one can
doubt, he says, that high civilization,
having an identical origin, must have at
remote period prevailed throughout
Polynesia The native usages end stone
remains on Easter, Swallow, Kappa. Gil
bert. Strong's, Ascension, Marshall's and
the Hawaiin Islands are all referred to
their origin by native tradition to some
land lying in the direction of the setting
sun.
Coming eastward to Mexico the evil
~ =.