J REPÈRES CHRONOLOGIQUES
Tels sont, Messieurs, les i-epères chronologiques à l'aide desquels nous pouvons pénétrer dans riiistoire des Mound- Builders. Il m'a paru utile de les lixer, car ils consliluent, dans l'état actuel de nos connaissances, les seuls jalons sur lesquels nous puissions nous guider.
M. S cliœtter dépose sur le bureau plusieurs ouvrages offerts au Congrès :
Stoue âge in New-Jevsey. D' G. G. Abbott, Washington,
Aborighml funeval customs in fhe United States. E. A. Barrer, Washington, 1877.
Comparative voeahulary of Utah Dialects. E. A. Barber^ Washington, 1877.
Ancient Art in Northwestern Colorado. E. A. Barber, Washington, 1876.
Histoire légendaire des Francs et des Burgondes aux III" et IV" siècles. E. Beauvois, Paris, 1867.
Une pénalité des lois gomhettes et les lumièi'es qu'elle Jette sur l'histoire des Burgondes. E. Beauvois, Chalon-sur- Saône, 1868.
En colonne dans la grande Kahylie, E. Beauvois, Paris,
Origine des Burgondes. E. Beauvois, Dijon, 1868.
L<\^ derniers vestiges du Christianisme prêché du X^'au XI]"** siècle dans le Markland et la Grande- Irlande. E. Beauvois^ Paris, 1877.
The human remains found near the ancient Ruws of Southwest ern Colorado and New- Mexico. D' E. Bessels, Washington, 1876.
The Khila and Kheta-Peruvian Epoch. D' Hyde Glarke, Londùii, 1877.
y^Ji CONGHKS LiKS AMKUICAMSTES. 2
The prehislovic reniains. Robert Glarke, Cincinnati, 1876. Relaziono délie scoperte faite da C. Colomb, da A. Vespucci,
etc., C. DÉsiMONi. Gênes.
// viaçfgio di Giovanni Verrazzano aW America settentrionale
ncl 1524, G. Désimoni, Firenze, 1877.
Die Minéralogie als Ililfswissenschaft fur Archœoloyic ,
Etnographic, etc., mit specieller Berûcksichtigung mexi-
canischer Sculpturen, H. Fischer, Freiburg i/B., 1877. Pre-historic man — Darwinism and Deity. — The Moiind-
Ihiildcrs. M. F. Force, Gincinnati, 1873. Pre-historic Races of the United States of America. W. iT.
FosTER, Gliicago, 1873.
San Salvador und Honduras imJahre lô7G. Von Frantzils,
Berlin, 1873.
The ancien t men of tbe grcat Lakes. H. Gillman, Détroit,
Rapport au Ministre de f instruction publique et des beauxarts sur la mission scientifique dans F extrême Orient.
E. GuiMET, Lyon, 1877.
Geschichle der Insel Hayti, Zweite Ausgabe, H. Handelman.x,
Kiel, 1860.
Note sur les colonies anglaises et françaises de la Seiié-
gambie et de la Guinée. Henry, Lille, 1876. A notice of the ancien t re mains of Southwestern Colorado
examined during the summer of 187d. W. H. Holmes,
Washington, 1876.
A notice of the ancient Ruins in Arizona and Utah, lying ahout the Rio San Juan, Jackson, Washington, 1876.
Das Unterrichtswesen in Sud-America. Alph. I-e Roy, Gotha.
La République du Chili, notice historique; statistique et commerciale. Aug. Meulemans, Gonsul général de la République (le Nicaragua à Bruxelles, Bruxelles, 1876.
Etudes historiques et statistiques. x\ug. AIei'lemans, Gonsul général de la République de Nicaragua à Bruxelles, troisième édition, Bruxelles, 1876.
The Icslimony of the mounds.E.VicAiFAT, New-York, 1871. s
1 Ml;;UATIi».\ OF THE AAIirAS. S'io
M. DE Heliavâld présente un mémoire de M. «Boliat M. Becker^ de Berlin, intitulé : On the migration ofllw Nahuéis.
As the name « Tulha » and the idcntity of language between some Nicaragua tribes aud the Aztec Naliuas are the only supposed évidence of a southern origin, and as both are shown to be unsubstautial, it \vill now be uur turn to adduce positive évidence for a northern descent.
In the first place, it may be mentioned that an understanding of the philosophy of history would of itself almost settle the case. For thnugh to a superlicial student, history appears to be but an incongruous and bewildering mass ot battles and wars, of the ]»uilding up and the pulling down of empires with scarcely any apparent order and reason wliatever, a discriniinating eye will observe certain well defined ruies or laws, moving steadily and resistlessly lieneath the confused turmoil of the surface. As to the gênerai course of conquest, thèse rules may be given as follows : . :, ,t..v ,--•;• m'. ■•.,(•■ j
1" It moves froni a country of severer climate into a country of milder climate ;
"l" from a high- or mountaui land into tJie lowlaud
3° from the dry steppe into the humid and fertile plain
4° from the home of a barbarous nation of equal natural brain-and physical power towards the seats of higher civilization and reiinement.
5° from the home of a nation of superior average brain capacity towards the lands of nations of less average brain capacity.
Now it is possible, and indeed it occurs frequently (as when a large civihzed empire systematically extends ifs conquests) that one or the other or perhaps several of thèse rules at nnce may be reversed, bui it is extremely improbable, if
326 r.oxGRÈs dks améhicanistes. 2
indeed it ever did hiippen (we del'y aiiybody to point ont a case, in which it did !) tliat ail ol" theni should be reversed together vith any success l'or an appréciable length of time. Sucli however would hâve been the case, if the Toltecs and Nahuas had proceeded from the relatively low, damp, fertile, nearly tropical valley of the Usumacinta, which at the time of their departure was the seat of the highest and conseqiiently most softening and enervating civilization, ancient America bas ever seen, towards the colder, drier^ and less fertile highland of Anahuac in the Norlh, had climbed the mountains inhabited by a race of wild and barbarous mountaineers invigorated by a bracing atmosphère, and had driven thèse ont or reduced them to vassalage. For it must be remembered that according to Morton's investigations (1) the brain capacity of American races shows a regular gradation from the civilized Periivian of the South, through the civilized nations of central America, to the ferocious barbarians of the northern steppes and woods. In accordance therewith, whatever certain knowledge of historical movements among the aborigènes we possess, in the long run exhibits a uniform advance of conquerors from the North towards the South, while the course of slave-trade hère as everywhere, bas always gone in the opposite direction. (This applies to the northern hémisphère ; where populations of the southern hémisphère are undisturbed by the intluenceof races from the far North, the contrary should be true.) , ,
(1) The figures as given in Shoolcraft's Iiidians, vol. II, 329, cire ;
PeruvianK average brain capacity 75 ciibic inchep
Mexican» » » » t'ii » »
Apalacliians » » ■» 81 1/3 » »
Algonquin» « » » 83 3/4 ij »
Dacota » i i» 85 d »
Iroquois t> ■» f> 88 1/2 a »
3 MIGHATIOX OF THE NAHUAS. 32i7
But aside from the probabilily, lieru pointer! out, the importance of which only the historians are apt to value properly, there is other proof oh the northern descent. We shall not dwell on the gênerai impression and concurrent testimony ol' many myths prevailing among theNahuas themselves, though we are far from undervaluing the unanimous belief of the nation. We prefer to compare some of the more positive statoments, transmitted by a number of writers, as to the actual course of the migrations. Not a single one of thèse statements favors or entertains the idea of a southern descent (1).
The data, hère tabulated, which are not contradicted or denied by any one of the existing accounts, exhibit three principal points on which I propose to rest my argument.
In the fu'st place : AU the varions tribes, whenever they touch countries, the locality of which is undisputed, do so at the northern frontier of what may properly be called the civilized région of Anahuac. Those that come by sea (the Olmecs), and tradition says, from tho Northeast, appear at Panuco ; those that come by land, (tho Toltecs, Chichimecs, Nahuatlacs and Aztecs) touch the civilized régions for the first time in Xalisco or Michoacan. As thèse migrations extend over a long période of (perhaps more than a thousand) years, the bearing of this fact is obvions. It forces the adlierents of the southern -descent-theory to embrace the desperate assumption : either that the whole Nahua race or Iheir ancestry emigrated from the supposed Tuiha in the South in gray antiquity, while the Nicaragua Nahuas breaking off at that time, still (by some miracle, for nothing less would explain it) spoke after so long a séparation (of at least ^000 years) a dialect, but slightly varying from the Mexico- Nahua tongue ; or else, that from time to time a portion o i the people separated from thèse southern Nahuas, marched
(1) Voir le Tableau ci-après.
COXGP.ES DES AMiiRIGANISTES.
ca
ic2 »
ïi^S
kT^-S.
ers;
5 MIGUATIONS OK THK XAHUAS. '>ïil)
(or went in a balloon, lor thaï would best explain tlie fact, that the Maya-Quiché lang-uat^es still retain an iinbroken territory) to the far North on au excursion, whero they turned about and tînally proceeded towards the highland ol' Anahuac. But in either case it is very remarkable that the traditions of neither one of the tribes bave retained the memory of so extraordinary a voyage.
Secondly : Ail the tribes coming overland, arrive shortly after leaving their original settlements ata station called Chicomozloc «the seven grottoes » or 0^:/t»/7c9/2 the «landof grottoes ». The unavoidable inference is, that the situation as well as the rharacter of this place must be a very remarkable one. The situation , because ail the varions tribes, starting from their original settlements, in intervais extending over more than a thousand years, and who cannot easily be supposed to hâve ail taken the same road, unless strong reasons prevented them from taking another one, could not avoid coming to or touching at Chicomoztoc. The character of the locality, because the fact, that the name of itwas remembered in ail the varions traditions, shows what the deep impression it made on the mind of each single one of the wandermg tribes. New I infer, that a locality, which made such a lasting impression on mère migrating hordes, which is a natural point of junction of various roads, which is desiguated by so telling a name, if it vere situated anywhere within the boundaries of or not very remote from thecivilized countries of Mexico and central America, would be very apt, to still be known to the civilized inhabitants of its neighborhood under the same or a similar name : As this is not the case, the inference is, that it must be sought at a distance from thèse civilized countries.
On the other hand, if we look for Oztotlan in the North, the difficulty of finding it vanishes at once. From personal expérience I hazard the opinion, that in the entire Southwestern part of the Far West of the présent United States there
380 CONGRÈS DES américamistes. • 6
is not a single man, Trapper, Indian. Greaser or vvhatever else he may be, versed with the country, who if he were told that Oztotlan means the land of grottoes, of ravines, of caiïons would not at once point out one and the same locality. For the physical pecuharities of that particular section of territorj' areso remarkable,that it is doubtful, whether any thing similar can be found on the globe, unless it should be in the unknown régions of the upperHoanghoorYantsekiang. So startling are they indeed, that it ceases to be wonder, that wandering tribes were so niuch impressed with the scènes , they witnessed , as to préserve their memory for centuries in the name , which their traditions transmitted. There was no necessity neither for them to inquire the name of the locality of former inhabitantS; for it is so natural, that every wandererandtraveller, no matter whence he came, is at once tempted to apply it. (1)
Moreover that land is situated on the very highway, which wandering tribes having — it must be remembered — no animais of burden whatever, would be apt to take if they were to emigrate from the Mississipi valley towards the fertile lands of Mexico. P'or such a tribe would naturally hug the rivers as the only roads affording any facilities for transportation. In the dry plains of the Far West the rivers valleys are moreover the only places where water for ordinary consumption is found. Now if the reader glances at a map of Western America, he \vill observe that the direct route of march from the présent State of Arkansas towards the highland of Anahuac intersects ail the river courses and valleys of the vast and generally dry, to a large extent even désert
(1) For a description of the «. Canon Country of the upper Colorado river » see the reports of the e Hayden and Wheeler Exploriug Expéditions » (U. S. Gov.). ■ - /. jT'*? '■\'^- 'f'^i ■
