The Native Races [of the Pacific states], Volume 5, Primitive History. Hubert Howe Bancroft
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СКАЧАТЬ target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="#n200" type="note">200 The painting of Boturini seems actually to represent Huitzilopochtli appearing in a burning bush in the mountain of Teoculhuacan to the Aztecs.201 The same writer also relates that when the Mexicans in the course of their migration had arrived at Apanco, the people of that province were inclined to oppose their further progress, but that Huitzilopochtli aided the Mexicans by causing a brook that ran in the neighborhood to overflow its banks. This reminds us of what is said in the third chapter of Joshua of the Jordan overflowing its banks and dividing to let the priests who bore the ark pass through.202 As Moses and Aaron died in the wilderness without reaching the land of Canaan, so Huitziton and Tecpatzin died before the Mexicans arrived in the land of Anáhuac.203 The Mexicans hung up the heads of their sacrificed enemies; and this also appears to have been a Jewish practice, as the following quotation from the twenty-fifth chapter of Numbers will show: "And the Lord said unto Moses, Take all the heads of the people, and hang them up before the Lord against the sun, that the fierce anger of the Lord may be turned away from Israel."204 In a Mexican painting in the Bodleian library at Oxford is a symbol very strongly resembling the jaw-bone of an ass from the side of which water seems to flow forth, which might allude to the story of Samson slaying a thousand of the Philistines with such a bone, which remained miraculously unbroken in his hands, and from which he afterwards quenched his thirst.205 They were fond of wearing dresses of scarlet and of showy colors, as were also the Jews. The exclamation of the prophet, "Who is this that cometh from Bozrah?" and many other passages of the Old Testament might be cited to show that the Jews entertained a great predilection for scarlet.206 It is impossible, on reading what Mexican mythology records of the war in heaven and of the fall of Tzontemoc and the other rebellious spirits; of the creation of light by the word of Tonacatecutli, and of the division of the waters; of the sin of Ytztlacoliuhqui, and his blindness and nakedness; of the temptation of Suchiquecal, and her disobedience in gathering roses from a tree, and the consequent misery and disgrace of herself and all her posterity, – not to recognize Scriptural analogies.207 Other Hebrew analogies Lord Kingsborough finds in America, in the dress, insignia, and duties of priests; in innumerable superstitions concerning dreams, apparitions, eclipses, and other more common-place events; in certain festivals for rain; in burial and mourning ceremonies; in the diseases most common among the people; in certain regularly observed festivals; in the dress of certain nations; in established laws; in physical features; in architecture; in various minor observances, such as offering water to a stranger that he might wash his feet, eating dust in token of humility, anointing with oil, and so forth; in the sacrifice of prisoners; in manner and style of oratory; in the stories of giants; in the respect paid to God's name; in games of chance; in marriage relations; in childbirth ceremonies; in religious ideas of all sorts; in respect paid to kings; in uses of metals; in treatment of criminals, and punishment of crimes; in charitable practices; in social customs; and in a vast number of other particulars.208

HEBREW RELICS

      Relics unmistakeably Hebrew have been very rarely found in America. I know of only two instances of such a discovery, and in neither of these cases is it certain or even probable that the relic existed in America before the Conquest. The first and best known instance is related by Ethan Smith, according to Priest,209 as follows:

      "Joseph Merrick, Esq., a highly respectable character in the church at Pittsfield, gave the following account: That in 1815, he was levelling some ground under and near an old wood-shed, standing on a place of his, situated on Indian Hill. He ploughed and conveyed away old chips and earth, to some depth. After the work was done, walking over the place, he discovered, near where the earth had been dug the deepest, a black strap, as it appeared, about six inches in length, and one and a half in breadth, and about the thickness of a leather trace to a harness. He perceived it had, at each end, a loop, of some hard substance, probably for the purpose of carrying it. He conveyed it to his house, and threw it into an old tool box. He afterwards found it thrown out at the door, and again conveyed it to the box.

      "After some time, he thought he would examine it; but in attempting to cut it, found it as hard as bone; he succeeded, however, in getting it open, and found it was formed of two pieces of thick raw-hide, sewed and made water tight with the sinews of some animal, and gummed over; and in the fold was contained four folded pieces of parchment. They were of a dark yellow hue, and contained some kind of writing. The neighbors coming in to see the strange discovery, tore one of the pieces to atoms, in the true Hun and Vandal style. The other three pieces Mr. Merrick saved, and sent them to Cambridge, where they were examined, and discovered to have been written with a pen, in Hebrew, plain and legible. The writing on the three remaining pieces of parchment, was quotations from the Old Testament."210

HEBREW TABLETS

      The other discovery was made in Ohio, and was seen by my father, Mr A. A. Bancroft, who thus describes it: "About eight miles south-east of Newark there was formerly a large mound composed of masses of free-stone, which had been brought from some distance and thrown into a heap without much placing or care. In early days, stone being scarce in that region, the settlers carried away the mound piece by piece to use for building-purposes, so that in a few years there was little more than a large flattened heap of rubbish remaining. Some fifteen years ago, the county surveyor (I have forgotten his name), who had for some time been searching ancient works, turned his attention to this particular pile. He employed a number of men and proceeded at once to open it. Before long he was rewarded by finding in the centre and near the surface a bed of the tough clay generally known as pipe-clay, which must have been brought from a distance of some twelve miles. Imbedded in the clay was a coffin, dug out of a burr-oak log, and in a pretty good state of preservation. In the coffin was a skeleton, with quite a number of stone ornaments and emblems, and some open brass rings, suitable for bracelets or anklets. These being removed, they dug down deeper, and soon discovered a stone dressed to an oblong shape, about eighteen inches long and twelve wide, which proved to be a casket, neatly fitted and completely water-tight, containing a slab of stone of hard and fine quality, an inch and a half thick, eight inches long, four inches and a half wide at one end, and tapering to three inches at the other. Upon the face of the slab was the figure of a man, apparently a priest, with a long flowing beard, and a robe reaching to his feet. Over his head was a curved line of characters, and upon the edges and back of the stone were closely and neatly carved letters. The slab, which I saw myself, was shown to the episcopalian clergyman of Newark, and he pronounced the writing to be the ten Commandments in ancient Hebrew."211

MORMON DOCTRINE OF ORIGIN

      The account given by the Book of Mormon, of the settlement of America by the Jews, is as follows:212

      After the confusion of tongues, when men were scattered over the whole face of the earth, the Jaredites, a just people, having found favor in the sight of the Eternal, miraculously crossed the ocean in eight vessels, and landed in North America, where, they built large cities and developed into flourishing and highly civilized nations. But their descendants did evil before the Lord, in spite of repeated prophetic warnings, and were finally destroyed for their wickedness, about fifteen hundred years after their arrival, and six hundred before the birth of Christ.

      These first inhabitants of America were replaced by an emigration of Israelites, who were miraculously brought from Jerusalem in the first year of the reign of Zedekiah, king of Judah. For some time they traveled in a south-easterly direction, following the coast of the Red Sea; afterwards they took a more easterly course, and finally arrived at the borders of the Great Ocean. Here, at the command of God, they constructed a vessel, which bore them safely across the Pacific Ocean to the western coast of South America, where they landed. In the eleventh СКАЧАТЬ



<p>201</p>

Id., p. 248.

<p>202</p>

Id., p. 253.

<p>203</p>

Id., p. 254.

<p>204</p>

Id., p. 312.

<p>205</p>

Id., p. 361.

<p>206</p>

Id., p. 382.

<p>207</p>

Id., p. 401.

<p>208</p>

To enter into details on all these subjects would require volumes as large, and I may add, as unreadable, as those of Lord Kingsborough. The reader who wishes to investigate more closely, will find all the points to which I have referred in volumes vi. and viii. of the noble writer's work, Mexican Antiquities. Mr James Adair, 'a trader with the Indians, and resident in their country for forty years,' very warmly advocates the Hebrew theory. As his intercourse with the Americans was confined to the wild tribes, the genuine 'red men' inhabiting the south-eastern states of North America, his argument and analogies differ in many points from those of Kingsborough and García, who treated chiefly of the civilized nations of Mexico and Central America. Here are some of his comparisons: 'The Israelites were divided into Tribes and had chiefs over them, so the Indians divide themselves: each tribe forming a little community within the nation – And as the nation hath its particular symbol, so hath each tribe the badge from which it is denominated.' If we go from nation to nation among them we shall not find one individual who doth not distinguish himself by his family name. Every town has a state house or synedrion, the same as the Jewish sanhedrim, where almost every night the headmen meet to discuss public business. The Hebrew nation were ordered to worship Jehovah the true and living God, who by the Indians is styled Yohewah. The ancient heathens, it is well known, worshiped a plurality of Gods: but these American Indians pay their religious devoir to Loak Ishtohoollo Aba, The Great Beneficent Supreme Holy Spirit of Fire. They do not pay the least perceptible adoration to images. Their ceremonies in their religious worship accord more nearly with the Mosaic institutions, which could not be if they were of heathen descent. The American Indians affirm, that there is a certain fixed time and place, when and where every one must die, without the possibility of averting it; such was the belief also of the ancient Greeks and Romans, who were much addicted to copying the rites and customs of the Jews. Their opinion that God chose them out of all the rest of mankind as his peculiar and beloved people, fills both the white Jew and the red American, with that steady hatred against all the world, which renders them hated and despised by all. We have abundant evidence of the Jews believing in the ministration of angels, during the Old Testament dispensation, their frequent appearances and their services on earth, are recorded in the oracles, which the Jews themselves receive as given by divine inspiration, and St Paul in his epistle addressed to the Hebrews speaks of it as their general opinion that "angels are ministering spirits to the good and righteous on earth." The Indian sentiments and traditions are the same. They believe the higher regions to be inhabited by good spirits, relations to the Great Holy One, and that these spirits attend and favor the virtuous. The Indian language and dialects appear to have the very idiom and genius of the Hebrew. Their words and sentences are expressive, concise, emphatical, sonorous, and bold, and often both in letters and signification synonymous with the Hebrew language. They count time after the manner of the Hebrews, reckoning years by lunar months like the Israelites who counted by moons. The religious ceremonies of the Indian Americans are in conformity with those of the Jews, they having their Prophets, High Priests, and others of religious order. As the Jews had a sanctum sanctorum or most holy place, so have all the Indian nations. The dress also of their High Priests is similar in character to that of the Hebrews. The festivals, feasts, and religious rites of the Indian Americans have also a great resemblance to that of the Hebrews. The Indian imitates the Israelite in his religious offerings. The Hebrews had various ablutions and anointings according to the Mosaic ritual – and all the Indian nations constantly observe similar customs from religious motives. Their frequent bathing, or dipping themselves and their children in rivers, even in the severest weather, seems to be as truly Jewish as the other rites and ceremonies which have been mentioned. The Indian laws of uncleanness and purification, and also the abstaining from things deemed unclean are the same as those of the Hebrews. The Indian marriages, divorces and punishments of adultery, still retain a strong likeness to the Jewish laws and customs on these points. Many of the Indian punishments resemble those of the Jews. Whoever attentively views the features of the Indian, and his eye, and reflects on his fickle, obstinate, and cruel disposition will naturally think of the Jews. The ceremonies performed by the Indians before going to war, such as purification and fasting, are similar to those of the Hebrew nation. The Israelites were fond of wearing beads and other ornaments, even as early as the patriarchal age, and in resemblance to these customs the Indian females continually wear the same, believing it to be a preventive against many evils. The Indian manner of curing the sick is very similar to that of the Jews. Like the Hebrews, they firmly believe that diseases and wounds are occasioned by divine anger, in proportion to some violation of the old beloved speech. The Hebrews carefully buried their dead, so on any accident they gathered their bones, and laid them in the tombs of their forefathers: thus, all the numerous nations of Indians perform the like friendly office to every deceased person of their respective tribe. The Jewish records tell us that the women mourned for the loss of their deceased husbands, and were reckoned vile by the civil law if they married in the space of at least ten months after their death. In the same manner all the Indian widows, by an established strict penal law, mourn for the loss of their deceased husbands; and among some tribes for the space of three or four years. The surviving brother by the Mosaic law, was to raise seed to a deceased brother, who left a widow childless to perpetuate his name and family. The American law enforces the same rule. When the Israelites gave names to their children or others they chose such appellatives as suited best their circumstances and the times. This custom is a standing rule with the Indians. Amer. Ind.

<p>209</p>

Amer. Antiq., pp. 68-70.

<p>210</p>

'See Deut., chap. vi., from 4th to 9th verse, inclusive; also, chap. xi., verse 13 to 21, inclusive; and Exodus, chap. xiii., 11 to 16, inclusive, to which the reader can refer, if he has the curiosity to read this most interesting discovery… It is said by Calmet, that the above texts are the very passages of Scripture which the Jews used to write on the leaves of their phylacteries. These phylacteries were little rolls of parchment, whereon were written certain words of the law. These they wore upon their forehead, and upon the wrist of the left arm.' Id.

<p>211</p>

Antiquities of Licking County, Ohio, MS.

Brasseur de Bourbourg, although he rejects Kingsborough's theory, thinks that some Jews may have reached America; he recognizes a Jewish type on certain ruins, and calls attention to the perfectly Jewish dress of the women at Palin and on the shores of Lake Amatitlan. Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. i., p. 17. Customs and relics seem to show that the Americans are of Hebrew descent, and that they came by way of the Californias. Giordan, Tehuantepec, p. 57. The theory of descent from the ten tribes is not to be despised. On the north-west there are many beliefs and rites which resemble the Jewish; circumcision obtains in Central America, and women wear Jewish costumes. Father Ricci has seen Israelites in China living according to Moses' laws, and Father Adam Schall knew Israelites who had kept the Old Testament laws, and who knew nothing of the death of the Savior. This shows that the ten tribes took this direction, and as an emigration from Asia to America is perfectly admissible, it is likely that the Jews were among the number who crossed, probably by the Aleutian islands. Rossi, Souvenirs, pp. 276-7. Jones, as might be expected, 'will not yield to any man in the firm belief that the Aborigines of North America (but North America only) and the ancient Israelites are identical, unless controverted by the stern authority of superior historical deductions.' Hist. Anc. Amer., pp. 2, 11-26, 188-90. Parker does not accept the Jewish theory, chiefly because of the great variety of distinct languages in America, but he points out several resemblances between north-west tribes and Jews. Explor. Tour, pp. 194-8. Meyer finds many reasons for regarding the wild tribes of the north as Jews; such as physical peculiarities; numerous customs; the number of languages pointing to a Babylonian confusion of tongues. Most Indians have high-priests' temples, altars, and a sacred ark which they carry with them on their wanderings. They count by four seasons, celebrate new-moon and arbor festivals, and offer first fruits. In September, when the sun enters the sign of the scales, they hold their feast of atonement. The name Iowa he thinks is derived from Jehova. They work with one hand and carry their weapons in the other. The pillars of cloud and pillars of fire which guided the Israelites, may be volcanoes on the east coast of Asia, by whose aid the ten tribes reached America. Nach dem Sacramento, pp. 241-5. If the Toltecs were Jews, they must have visited the Old World in the year 753 of the Roman era, to obtain the Christian dogmas apparent in their cult. Waldeck, Voy. Pitt., p. 45. The Navajo tradition that they came out of the water a long way to the north; their peaceful, pastoral manner of life; their aversion to hogs' flesh; their belief that they will return to the water whence they came, instead of going to hunting-grounds like other tribes; their prophets who prophesy and receive revelation; their strict fast-days, and keenness in trade; their comparatively good treatment of women – are Jewish similarities, stronger than any tribes can present. 'Scalping appears to have been a Hebrew custom… The most striking custom of apparently Hebraic origin, is the periodical separation of females, and the strong and universal idea of uncleanness connected therewith.' Schoolcraft's Arch., vol. iii., pp. 60, 62. The Tartars are probably descended from the ten tribes; they boast of being Jews, are divided into tribes, and practice circumcision. The separation of women at certain times, and the expression Hallelujah Yohewah, are proofs of Jewish descent; scalping is mentioned in Bible (68th Psalm, ver. 21). Crawford's Essay. According to various manuscripts the Toltecs are of Jewish descent. Having crossed the Red Sea, they abandoned themselves to idolatry, and fearing Moses' reprimand, they separated from the rest and crossed the ocean to the Seven Caves, and there founded Tula. Juarros, Hist. Guat., tom. ii., pp. 7-8. Juarez, Municipalidad de Leon, p. 10, states that Leon de Cordova is of the same opinion. Em. de Moraez, a Portuguese, in his History of Brazil, thinks nothing but circumcision wanting to form a perfect resemblance between the Jews and Brazilians. He thinks that America was wholly peopled by Jews and Carthaginians. Carver's Trav., pp. 188-9. Catlin thinks the North Americans are a mixed race, who have Jewish blood in them. The mixture is shown by their skulls, while many customs are decidedly Jewish. Probably part of tribes scattered by Christians have come over and intermarried. He gives analogies in monotheism, sanctuaries, tribeship, chosen people belief, marriage by gifts, war, burial, ablutions, feasts, sacrifices, and other customs. Any philological similarity is unnecessary and superfluous. The Jew element was too feeble to influence language. Catlin's N. Amer. Ind., vol. ii., pp. 231-5. Melgar gives a list of the Chiapanec calendar names, and finds fourteen agree with suitable Hebrew words. He concludes, therefore, that ancient intercourse with the Old World is proven. Soc. Mex. Geog., Boletin, 2da época, tom. iii., p. 108. Jarvis, Religion Ind. N. Amer., pp. 71-87, compares words in Hebrew and American languages. Ethan Smith, Views of the Hebrews, presents eleven arguments in favor of the Jewish theory. Beatty, Journal of Two Months' Tour in America, gives a number of reasons why the Hebrew theory should be correct. See further, for general review of this theory: Crowe's Cent. Amer., pp. 64-8; Domenech's Deserts, vol. i., pp. 46-9; Simon's Ten Tribes, which is, however, merely a cheap abridgement of Kingsborough; Dally, Races Indig., pp. 5-6; Thorowgood's Jewes in America; Worsley's Amer. Ind., pp. 1-185; L'Estrange, Americans no Jewes; Spizelius, Elevatio Relationis, a criticism on Menasse Ben Israel's Hope of Israel; Tschudi's Peruvian Antiq., pp. 8-11.

In opposition to the Hebrew theory we read that Wolff, the Jew traveler, found no Jewish traces among the tribes of North America. Fontaine's How the World was Peopled, p. 157. 'The strong trait in Hebrew compound words, of inserting the syllable el or a single letter in the names of children, derived from either the primary or secondary names of the deity, does not prevail in any Indian tribes known to me. Neither are circumstances attending their birth or parentage, which were so often used in the Hebrew children's names, ever mentioned in these compounds. Indian children are generally named from some atmospheric phenomenon. There are no traces of the rites of circumcision, anointing, sprinkling, or washing, considered as consecrated symbols. Circumcision was reported as existing among the Sitkas, on the Missouri; but a strict examination proved it to be a mistake.' Schoolcraft's Arch., vol. iii., p. 61. The Rev. T. Thorowgood in 1650, published a work entitled Jewes in America, or Probabilities that the Americans are of that Race. This was answered in 1651, by Sir Hamon L'Estrange, in a book entitled, Americans no Jewes. L'Estrange believes that America was peopled long before the dispersion of the Jews, which took place 1500 years after the flood. A strong mixture of Jewish blood would have produced distinct customs, etc., which are not to be found. The native traditions as to origin are to be regarded as dreams rather than as true stories. The analogous customs and rites adduced by Thorowgood, L'Estrange goes on, are amply refuted by Acosta and other writers. The occasional cannibalism of the Jews was caused by famine, but that of the Americans was a regular institution. The argument that the Americans are Jews because they have not the gospel, is worthy only of ridicule, seeing that millions of other pagans are in the same condition. Of the Hebrew theory Baldwin, who devotes nearly two pages to it, writes: 'this wild notion, called a theory, scarcely deserves so much attention. It is a lunatic fancy, possible only to men of a certain class, which in our time does not multiply.' Anc. Amer., p. 167. Tschudi regards the arguments in favor of the Jewish theory as unsound. Peruvian Antiq., p. 11. Acosta thinks that the Jews would have preserved their language, customs, and records, in America as well as in other places. Hist. de las Ynd., pp. 79-80. Macgregor argues that the Americans could not have been Jews, for the latter people were acquainted with the use of iron as far back as the time of Tubal Cain; they also used milk and wheaten bread, which the Americans could and would have used if they had once known of them. Progress of Amer., vol. i., p. 24. Montanus believes that America was peopled long before the time of the dispersion of the Jewish tribes, and raises objections to nearly every point that has been adduced in favor of a Hebrew origin. Nieuwe Weereld, p. 26, et seq. Torquemada gives Las Casas' reasons for believing that the Americans are of Jewish descent, and refutes them. Monarq. Ind., tom. i., pp. 22-7. The difference of physical organization is alone sufficient to set aside the question of Jewish origin. That so conservative a people as the Jews should have lost all the traditions, customs, etc., of their race, is absurd. Democratic Review, vol. xi., p. 617. Rafinesque advances, as objections to Jew theory, that the ten tribes are to be found scattered over Asia; that the Sabbath would never have fallen into disuse if they had once introduced it into America; that the Hebrew knew the use of iron, had plows, and employed writing; that circumcision is practiced only in one or two localities in America; that the sharp, striking Jewish features are not found in Americans; that the Americans eat hogs and other animals forbidden to the Jews; that the American war customs, such as scalping, torturing, cannibalism, painting bodies and going naked, are not Jewish in the least; that the American languages are not like Hebrew. Priest's Amer. Antiq., pp. 76-9.

<p>212</p>

I translate freely from Bertrand, Mémoires, p. 32, et seq., for this account.