Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1893-03-13
1000 Years Before Columbus.

There is Il man in San Francisco, says
the New York SIN, who would strip
not only Columbus, but even Lief, the
Norwegian, of his honors as the first
and only original discover of the Amer
lean continent. He believes that he
has indisputable proofs that Chinese
monks, inspired by missionary zeal,
visited, colonized, and attempted to
civilize the western coast of America Il
thousand years or more before Column
bus ever dreamed that he might sail the
round world round
This is the Rev. Frederick j. Mas
ters, superintendent of Chinese Mis-
sions of the Pacific coast, who has spent
seventeen yca@s-nime in China and
eight in this counlry-in active mis-
sionary work among the Chinese. Dur
ing all that time he has given constant
study to the Chinese language and lit
erature, until he is almost rs familiar
with them rs he is with the English.
Among the first things in the Chinese
literature that interested him was the
tradition of their discovery of America
and he has studied every thing he could
find in that tongue bearing upon the
subject, comparing with their state
ments the collateral proof to be found
in this country The result is that he
is thoroughly convinced of the truth Of
the Chinese claim.
'The Chinese story" says Mr.. Mas
tiers, is that about 400 years ago
possibly little more-a party of Chi
nese Buddhist monks, fired by mission
airy zeal, set out to spread their reli-
gion in other lands. This happened at
a period, rs is shown by the history Of
the time, when unusual enthusiasm
prevailed over the Buddhist religion
throughout China. This party Of
monks-therc were five of them-sail-
ed toward the rising sun, and the de-
scription of their trips across the Pa
cifc is definite enough to enable one to
trace their routes across the ocean.
They found continent, and one, AT
least, of them, Lay Sang by name,
stayed in that new country forty years,
and then returned to his native land.
and wrote such description Of that
far-away cline, its people and their
customs, as plainly shows that it was
Mexico he had visited.
Several trips across the ocean
must have been made, and on one
of these their vessel, must have
sailed further north. The tradi
ton of their visit still remains
among the Alaskan Indians, and Chi
nese coins bearing date previous to the
time when these voyages were made
have been unearthed upon the Alaskan
shores.
sit is my opinion tn 1t a good many
Chinese must have made their way 70
these shores, for the Indian tribes of
this western coast show so much SINH
larity in appearance, language and Gus
toms to the people of that country that
it cannot be dismissed as accidental
Take Chinaman who has worked sew
eral years under the burning sun of the
interior plains, let his hair grow down
around his neck, and wrap blanket
round him, and it is impossible to select
him from a group of native Indians
His features and stature arc nearly tie
same, and O summer or two under the
not sun will make his complexion iden-
teal. In native stoicism their temper
are much alike, and there is
much similarity between the Chinese
language and the tongue of the Digger
Indian. The Indian marriage customs,
their met hod of calculation and certain
phases of their religion bear Chinese
marks, as if stronger civilization had
to impress itselfupon tribe
weaker physically and Intellectually, |
Out had only left traces of itself, be-
cause its rel resentatives had been COM
few in number.
Then the Aztec and Toltec civiliza--
lions show unmistakable proofs of Mon
golian communication. There is so
much in their architecture, their Ian
suage and their customs-as far as it IS
possible to determine what these were
that is closely similar to the Chinese
that no other hypothesis than this of
Chinese colonization Of this coast will
explain it,"