Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1912-09-13
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MAY BE IsRAEL's LOST TRIBE.
Circumstances Showing the Hebrew
Decent of American Races.

Circumstances Showing the Hebrew
Decent of American Races.
It Is set down in the Book of Els.
dras, in the Apocrypha Of the Bible
that ten of the tribes of Israel journey
ed northward one and half years In
to a far country, where they might live
up to their commandments, something
they had not always done in their lano
of Palestine; that they were lost track
of at the end Of that time and nothing
has been heard from them since. They
sent back no word or message to theii
former companions and friends, and
where they went and what wa5 then
ultimate fate has been left to blind
conjecture from that day to this.
The theory that the ten lost tribes
of Israel, after leaving their own coun-
try, finally landed on the shores OF
America, and established themselves
here Is not q new one 1t found lodg-
ment in the mind of Lord Kinsborough
and has been advanced by many others
since his day. Neither the adherence
to a religious creed nor even q belief
in the divine authenticity Of the Bible
is essential to the discussion Of this
most interesting question.
In the books that comprise what Is
known as the old Bible, ancient au-
thors wrote exhaustively Of the exper
riences, both physical and spiritual, Of
their people. They gave their account
of the creation of the earth, the fan
Of man, the flood, the Tower Of Babel
and many other unique things which
they regarded as the direct dealings of
God with them and their patriarchs
and the first man.
If the ancient inhabitants Of Ameri-
ca were known to have been in pos
session of legends that coincided al
most exactly with those Of the ancient
Hebrews as related in the Bible, Is 1t
not fair and logical to assume that the
former, at some time or another, by
some means or other, were In touch
with the progenitors Of the Jewish peo-
pie or were a branch Of that great peo-
pie? Have the discoveries Of explorers
and American archaeologists solved
the mystery? Do the ancient records
found in the ruins Of Mexico, Central
and South America and in many parts
of the United States answer the 4ues-
ton as to the lost tribes Of Israel? ]
think they do.
Before taking up the more serious
evidences that point to the Hebraic
origin Of the ancient Americans let me
call the readers attention to the physi-
cal features of the American Indian.
His countenance has the indelible mark
of the Jewish race. The high cheek
bone, the high arched nose and the
slanting brow are unmistakable marks
of his Hebrew descent, a curse having
in all probability fallen upon the In
dian as upon the descendants Of Ham.
/ merely mention this In passing, and
would not pretend to advance 1t as an
argument in support Of my contention,
II it were not sustained by many 9TH
er and more trustworthy evidences.
There were twelve tribes that made
up the original number Of Israelitish
nations. And when they made sacrifi-
ces they made them on an altar made
of twelve stones that had not been
broken by any instrument. Priest, IN
his volume on American Antiquities"
declares that he encountered ample ev-
idence to show that many Of the tribes
in Mexico and Central America offer
ed up sacrifices on affairs made OF
twelve stones, and that the sacrificial
form and ceremony were identical with
those of the ancient Hebrews. Most of
the Indian tribes still have the an
cient Hebrew way Of reckoning time
as is depicted upon the famous Aztec
calendar stone.
On the authority Of DR.. LIE Plongeon,
the eminent archaeologist, who spent
eight years in Yucatan, assidiously
studying the ancient ruins Of that
country, even the barbaric Toltecs left
undeniable evidences that they were
perfectly conversant with the Biblical
history Of the creation and of the Car
der Of Eden, and, Of course, the two
illustrious personages who inhabited 1t.
In the ruins Of Copan, DR.. LIE Plon-
geon discovered a crude painting rep
resenting q woman seated beneath a
tree and a serpent entwined around
the base of it. In the passage Of the
years their version of the celebrated
temptation Of the mother Of the race
took on a more poetic form than the
one contained in the Bible. The Toll
tees had it that the woman-"Suchi-
quecal" they called her-plucked for
hidden rose from a tree and by that
act brought death upon the human
family.
These same Toltecs had the legend
of the Tower of Babel. Their version
Of 1t did not vary from that Of the
Bible in any essential feature. They
understood that this tower was built
for a refuge in the event Of another
deluge This, of course, also indicates
their familiarity with the Bible story
of the deluge. They even had the par
ticulars.
Their legend speaks Of the man who
built a boat from a fire tree and that af-
ter the flood had subsided he became
intoxicated on wine and allowed one OF
his sons to disgrace him.
AS late as 1919 the Shawnee Indians,
according to Black Hoop, one of their
chiefs, had a tradition that their fore
fathers had come to this country
across a great body Of water, and up
until the latter part of the eighteenth
century they made an annual sacrifice
to celebrate in thank offering, their safe
arrival on this land.
In his History of the Indians" Cam
ara publishes a statement made by
several of the early missionaries tell
ing Of their experiences with an old
chief of a Nicaraguan tribe. They dis
covered in their conversation with this
old Indian that he was as conversant
with the Bible version Of the creation
the fall the deluge and other notable