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Title: Ancient Chinese account of the Grand Canyon, or course of the Colorado
Author: Alexander M'Allan
Release Date: January 10, 2011 [EBook #34909]
Language: English
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Ancient Chinese Account of the Grand
Canyon, or Course of the Colorado
(Copyrighted, Brooklyn, 1913)
By ALEXANDER M'ALLAN
TEN SUNS IN THE SKY!
The ancient Chinese records tell of a "Place of Ten Suns," where "Ten
Suns rose and shone together" (see Appendix, note 1).
Seven Suns were also seen shining together in the sky! and at night (if
indeed we can call it "night") as many as seven moons! (What a haunt for
lovers and poets!)
Five Suns were also beheld (see note 2).
What Liars those Chinese writers are!
[Illustration: Figure 1. Spectacle of Five Suns.]
Very good; but why not denounce all our own Arctic navigators as a pack
of Liars? They all tell about more Suns than one! A picture of Five (see
Figure 1) is furnished by a most eminent explorer (note 3). The
dictionaries and cyclopedias of our careful publishers call the
appearance of two or more suns (or moons) a =Parhelion=. The number of
the multiplied "luminaries" never exceeds Ten (note 4). There actually
is a "Place of Ten Suns."
Ten Suns say the Ancients.
Ten Suns say the Moderns.
AMERICA SHAPED LIKE A TREE.
The ancient Mexicans likened North America to a Tree--a stupendous
=Mulberry Tree=--"planted in the land known to us today as South
America" (n. 5).
The Chinese geographers or mythologists teach that at a distance of
30,000 =le= (10,000 miles) to the east there is a land 10,000 =le= (over
3,000) miles in width.
Now the land referred to must be North America, for, 10,000 miles east
from southern China brings us to California; and we further find that
North America, now reached, is 10,000 =le=, or over 3,000 miles in
width, measuring from the Pacific to the Atlantic.
The Chinese accounts further call our eastern realm a =Fu-Sang= (or
Helpful =Mulberry=) land.
A =Mulberry= land (3,000 miles wide) is =There=, say the Chinese.
The =Mulberry= land (3,000 miles wide) is =Here=, say the Mexicans.
Like the Mexicans, the Chinese sages declare that there is an enormous
Tree--the =Fu= (or helpful) =Sang= Tree--in the eastern Mulberry land
3,000 miles wide.
As just remarked, the Chinese call the enormous Eastern Tree a =Sang=,
and the Mexicans call their enormous Tree a =Beb= (both terms standing
for the =Mulberry=,--a fact to which no writer hitherto has directed, or
called, attention.)
Observe (see Figure 2) that at Tehauntepec (a little west of Yucatan)
our continent narrows down to a width of 100 miles (or 300 Chinese
=le=).
The Mexicans say that North America is a Tree, and that it has a
correspondingly enormous Trunk,--which at Tehauntepec measures 100 miles
(or 300 Chinese =le=).
Now the Chinese writers declare that the enormous Mulberry in the region
east of the Flowery Kingdom has "a Trunk of 300 =le=" (or 100 miles.)
What a prodigious dimension! (see note 6.)
A Mulberry Tree, with a "Trunk of 300 =le=," is =There=, say the
Chinese.
A Mulberry Tree, with a Trunk of 300 =le=, is =Here=, say the Mexicans.
Such a stupendous Tree ought to have enormous Branches to match the
Trunk, and we are not surprised when informed that our monarch of the
forest goes up--up--up even to the Place of the 10 Suns (in the Arctic
zone.)
The One true sun is, of course, high above the mountain ranges, or
"Branches" of our Continental Mulberry.
But the extra Nine are false or delusive and mere reflections of the
true sun on fog or vapor. The Chinese account, truly enough, states that
they bear =wu=, and this term stands for "blackness," "inky," or "dark"
(Williams dict. p. 1058.)
This identical term =wu= also stands for black or dark =fowls=, such as
the raven, blackbird, and crow; and one Oriental scholar, dwelling
indeed in Japan, assures us that each of the Nine Suns bears a =Crow=!
We are seriously informed, that "all bear--literally cause to ride--a
=Crow=" (note 7.)
As well might it be asserted that because =wu= signifies "black," the
Nine =Wu= borne by the Suns must be nine blacks or negroes! The
supposition that Nine =Crows= are meant is absurd and contradicted by
the luminaries themselves.
Strange to say, the "luminaries" emit no radiance! The light that is in
them is darkness, and they are fitting symbols for commentators--black,
white, yellow, and green--who have written learnedly and positively on
them without understanding a thing about them. Perhaps it might be well,
apart from its inconvenience, when writing about any nation, place, or
natural object, to ascertain the position and name of the =continent= in
which the subject of study is situated. Of course we are not so
unreasonable as to insist that we must really comprehend a matter before
getting up to explain it to others, but the positions of continents
dealt with ought, as a rule, to be clearly ascertained. In the present
instance we have faithfully followed the ancient directions and groped
our way into the presence of the Nine blind suns. Gazing at their
beaming disks we perceive how the term wu (black or dark) applies to
them. The =color= of Crows is there, but not the living birds
themselves. It is the story of the Three Black Crows advanced another
stage on its career of misrepresentation, and magnified Threefold. The
Nine Suns have neither swallowed nor disgorged Nine Black Crows. But
they are certainly open to the charge of having feasted too freely on
diet no less dark and deceptive.
They're the =color= of Crows, say the Ancients.
They =bear= Nine Crows, say the Moderns.
[Illustration: Figure 2. Our Continental American Tree.]
The truth is that the false suns furnish neither heat nor light and
really consist of dark (=wu=) vapor.
The Nine are mere reflections of the low-declined, true sun on
"surrounding" frozen haze or mist, in extremely cold weather. When this
icy fog seems--merely seems, of course,--to touch and surround the true
sun, the illusions known as false suns are apt to appear. They obey some
optical code of laws or signals understood best perhaps by themselves,
and will sometimes disappear in a moment like a flock of timid "sun
birds" (or wild geese--see note 8.) Their design apparently is to cheer
and escort their illustrious sire in his otherwise lonesome trip through
a frozen, desolate zone. Some Chinese accounts call them
"children"--"children of the sun," etc., etc.
There is a reference to this frozen mist, in Verne's "Fur Country,"
reading as follows: "It is not a mist or fog,' he said to his
companions, 'it is frost-rime,' a dense vapor which remains in a state
of complete congelation. But whether a fog or a frozen mist, this
phenomenon was none the less to be regretted for it rose a hundred feet
at least above the level of the sea, and it was so opaque that the
colonists could not see each other when only two or three paces
apart."--Danvers' translation, p. 288.
It should be remarked that the frozen haze which breeds the false suns
is found only "at the bottom of," or "below," the mountain ranges or
"branches" of our North American Mulberry Tree. The false suns speedily
disappear from the view of the observer who climbs up out of the thick
stratum of frozen fog or mist and ascends the nearest "Branch."
Such observations are completely in accord with the ancient Chinese
declaration that Nine of the suns are to be seen "below" (=hia=) or "at
the bottom of" the Branches, and One "above" the Branches. The suns (see
note 9) are not said to be "in the Branches." Nine are "below" (=hia=)
and One "above" (=shang=); a remark as true today as it ever was.
The "Morea" (about fifty miles long), in Greece, was so named because it
was supposed to resemble the leaf of a =morus= or mulberry. And
similarly North America was considered by Mexican and Chinese
mythologists to exhibit some resemblance to a mulberry,--the Helpful
Mulberry (or =Fu-Sang=). The one comparison is just as fanciful or
reasonable as the other. Nor can it be denied that North America
presents some likeness to a Tree,--towering aloft like the Tree of the
Prophet Daniel, which was seen from the ends of the earth. Here Columbia
lights up her Tree and welcomes the Neighbors with a smile.
The Chinese note concerning the extra suns and moons, which frequently
flit about and disappear, like so many sun-birds, connects them with the
"Branches" of the Fu (or Fu-Sang) Tree of amazing proportions, which
flourishes in the Region east of the Eastern Sea. The Fu-Sang land,
10,000 =le= (or 3,000 miles wide) is said to be 30,000 =le= (10,000
miles) to the east of China; and this indeed is the distance from Canton
to California. A lesser distance (20,000 =le=, or 7,000 miles) lies
between Northern China and the American Mulberry land due east. It is in
America that we are directed to search for the surplus assemblage of
suns. And do we not find both them and Fu-Sang? (See note 10.) In what
respect is the Chinese account inaccurate thus far? We are informed that
"in the water is a large tree having nine suns," etc. The Trunk of this
prodigious Tree, which is more or less immersed in the Eastern Sea,
furnishes the surprising dimension of "300 =le=." And rising above a
Valley of Hot Springs (readily found in Nicaragua) the Tree proceeds
upward and rears aloft its exalted Branches in the "Place of the Ten
Suns."
The vast mountain-system, with its tree-like "Trunk" and "Branches," on
which the many suns and moons are seen to alight or gambol, is called
the "Sun and Moon =shan=" (=shan= signifying "mountain or range") in
both the Chinese text and the translation (see note 11.) It is identical
with our continental stony Mulberry and constitutes the form of North
America. Unfortunately our esteemed translator was utterly in the dark
concerning the sense of the curious statements regarding the manifold
suns and moons and even suggested that an explanation should be sought
for in connection with the Philippine Islands. But the Tree, or range of
the Sun and Moon, is plainly in North America. And here are the flocks
of Suns roosting among the Branches.
NOTICE OF OUR GRAND CANYON.
According to the translation, a "Great Canyon" is to be seen in the
"Great Eastern Waste" "Beyond the Eastern Sea." And this Great Canyon is
placed in connection with the "Sun and Moon =shan=",--which possesses
the Mulberry's Branches and exhibit of Suns already glanced at (note
12.)
We read that a stream flows through this canyon, "producing a charming
gulf." We are further informed that "the water accumulates and so forms
a gulf." A river flowing through the "Great Canyon," swells or widens
out, displays a broadening expanse of water and becomes a Gulf, a
"Charming Gulf."
Is not this the beautiful Gulf of California, which is a widening out or
enlargement of a notable stream, the Colorado? Decidedly this mighty and
famous river, whose "water accumulates and so forms a gulf," flows
through a Canyon. Moreover, this Canyon is truly a "Great Canyon." It is
the greatest and grandest on the planet. It is also found in the "Great
Waste to the east of the Eastern Sea," which washes the coast of China.
It is the Grand Canyon of the Colorado.
The translation informs us (note 13) that this stream which flows into,
or becomes a gulf has a "delightful spring." The Canyon "has a beautiful
mountain, from which there flows a delightful spring, producing a
charming gulf. The water accumulates and so forms a gulf." Such is the
translation; but no Chinese term for "spring" appears in the text. The
original states that it is a =kan shui= which runs through the Canyon,
and this identical compound is translated "Sweet River" by our author on
page 163 of his large and comprehensive work. =Kan= indeed signifies
sweet, sweetness; delightsome, pleasant, happy, refreshing; and =Shui=
stands for "water or river" (see Williams dict. pp. 310, 781.) It is
therefore evident that a =kan shui= should be remarkable for the
sweetness of its water and should start from a "delightful spring" of
=sweet= water, in order to be pure and deserve its reputation.
As a geographical fact, the Colorado flows out of the very fount which
curiously enough, gives birth to the "Sweet Water." This stream becomes
the Platte or Nebraska river, which joins the Missouri. And from the
fount of the Sweet Water, exactly on the mountain divide, a head-stream
of the Colorado bubbles out, enlarging into the affluent known as the
"Green," the stream traverses the Grand Canyon and connects with the
Gulf. (note 14.)
It should have a spring of =kan shui= or =sweet water=; and we find that
it comes sparkling down the mountains from a =Sweet Water= spring.
The Sweet Water stream after traversing a Canyon, even a "Great Canyon"
should connect with, or enlarge into, a gulf, described as "charming."
Can the Gulf of California be regarded as charming?
One explorer expresses himself as charmed and delighted with the scenery
of the gulf. A sample passage in his report reads as follows: "The
island and mountain peaks, whose outlines, as seen from the gulf, had
been somewhat dimmed by a light haze, appeared surprisingly near and
distinct in the limpid medium through which they were now viewed. The
whole panorama became invested with new attractions, and it would be
hard to say whether the dazzling radiance of the day or the sparkling
clearness of the night was the more beautiful and brilliant. (note 15.)
Truly a charming and beautiful Gulf is here.
Although the translation does not draw attention to the fact, the term
employed in the Chinese record to describe the course of the stream
which passes through the Great Canyon, is =chu=. Now this word is
employed to designate water which is "shooting over a ledge" (Williams'
dict. p. 89), and its use is entirely appropriate in a description of
the course of the water in the channel of the Colorado. The bed of the
stream is exceedingly irregular and consists indeed of a succession of
=ledges=--producing a series of rapids, falls, or cataracts. Were the
water to disappear, the exposed bed of the Colorado, with its ascending
series of steps, might be likened indeed with truth to a stairway for
giants or gods.
The falls caused by =ledges= (=chu=) are exceedingly numerous. One
navigator's log contains many such entries as the following: "Still more
rapids and falls today. In one, the Emma Dean [a boat] is caught in a
whirlpool, and set spinning about (n. 16).
One subdivision of the Grand Canyon is known as Cataract Canyon, and
this section "in its 41 miles, has 75 rapids and cataracts, and 57 of
these are crowded into 19 miles, with falls, in places, of 16 to 20
feet" (n. 17.)
All accounts concur in representing the stream as remarkable for the
fury and number of its falls. To ascend the Colorado is a sheer
impossibility and even to descend the stream is an enterprise rarely
indeed attempted or achieved. Only rafts or life-boats, backed by pluck
and luck, stand a chance of getting through--in pieces. The mariners all
wear life-belts and are just as often in the water as they are out of
it. Evidently a River of =Ledges= is here. Surely the term =Chu= (or
water shooting over =Ledges=) applies with peculiar force to the career
of this "wildest of rivers"--the Colorado.
THE COLORADO--BOTTOMLESS?
Knowing quite well as we do, that our mighty river possesses a very
substantial bottom composed of step-like ledges of rock, we learn with
surprise that it is said to flow through a section described as
=bottomless=! Is not such a statement or assertion absurd? But what did
the ancient writer mean? What could he have meant?
The translation states that, according to a poem, the =Tsang-shan-wu=,
"in the east there is a stream flowing in a =bottomless= ravine. It is
supposed to be this Canyon"--the "Great Canyon of the Region beyond the
Eastern Sea."
The Chinese term rendered "Canyon" is =Hoh=, which stands also for "a
bed of a torrent, a deep gully or wady; a valley" (see Williams dict. p.
453.)
Of course, a =Ta= (or "Great") =Hoh= ought to be a Great Canyon, or a
remarkable deep gorge or valley containing the bed of a torrent.
We have already been informed that a =Chu= (or river of ledges and
falls) is in the =Ta Hoh=, or mighty gorge beyond the Eastern Sea. We
also perceive that the title =Ta Hoh= applies properly to the
mountain-hemmed course of our Colorado (which connects with Middle Park
and runs to the Gulf.)
Somewhere in this immense and peerless =Ta Hoh=--somewhere among the
majestic mountains--somewhere along the bed of the Colorado (either
inside or outside of Middle Park,) the investigator should find a
section which is =bottomless=. The ancient account locates it there. Nor
are we to look for it in any Philippine Island. We are restricted to the
bed or banks of the Colorado which we have identified as the =Chu= or
plunging river that rushes downward to the Gulf. Our leaping stream
flows into and out of Grand Lake (within Middle Park.) Now this Lake (or
enlargement of the bed of the Grand Colorado) "has a beach, and far out
into the body of the water a sandy bottom" and "in the center, covering
an area of nearly a =mile= square the Lake to all appearance is
=bottomless=."
We are further informed that "explorations of the edges of this great
submarine cavern give the most positive evidences that it was once the
crater of a great volcano" (note 18).
"The Lake to all appearance is bottomless. The deepest soundings that
could ever be made have failed to reach bottom. Hence it is concluded
that it has =no bottom=."
Turn these two words, "no bottom" into Chinese and we get =wu ti=,--the
very terms employed in the Chinese account.
No bottom, say the Ancients.
No bottom, say the Moderns.
The old account puts the unfathomable abyss in a =Kuh= (valley or
ravine) and it is within a Valley--the Valley of Middle Park--that we
actually find it. Moreover, this bottomless valley is "supposed" (or
reported) to belong to the =Ta Hoh=--a title which would cover both
Valley and Canyon. Indeed, Middle Park, with its enormous mountain-walls
connects directly with the system of the Grand Canyon. Moreover, the one
stream flows through both. And here it may be remarked that the =Chu=
(or River of Ledges and Falls) is not terminated or swallowed up by the
Bottomless abyss in =Kuh= (or Valley of Middle Park.) It flows on
through the =Ta Hoh= and ultimately enlarges into a Gulf (the Gulf of
California).
The rocky floor of the =Kuh= (or Valley of Middle Park) evidently
constitutes a support or bottom for an impetuous and important River of
Ledges or rapids and yet, at the same time, is reported to be
Bottomless. This seems contradictory. But reaching the precise locality
referred to in the old account, modern scientists simply echo the
declaration of the Ancients,--that this Valley or =Kuh=, traversed by a
leaping, furious =Chu=, is unfathomable.
Bottomless! say the Ancients.
Bottomless! say the Moderns.
It thus appears that a statement seemingly calculated at first sight to
drown the ancient claim in a flood of derision, turns out on examination
to be overwhelmingly powerful evidence in support of the validity of the
old record.
In no respect or degree is the ancient testimony contradicted or
falsified by modern evidence. Take for instance the old assertion that
the =shan= or mountain-range of the Great Canyon, is "beautiful."
Nothing seems more natural than to conclude that such a laudatory term
is grossly out of place and that the Mountain-range, with its Canyon and
furious =Chu=, is a frightful, gloomy, dangerous, horrible, repulsive,
bleak, and ugly mass of shattered and tottering heights. And, indeed,
there is much truth in this view of the situation. Nevertheless, modern
visitors unite in declaring that Beauty is a marked feature of the rocky
heights that possess or direct the Colorado; and this is in agreement
with the ancient account.
One traveler says: "The roar of its waters was heard unceasingly, ...
but its walls and cliffs, its peaks and crags, its amphitheatres and
alcoves, tell a story of =beauty= and sublimity" (note 19).
Another visitor, who was treated most disrespectfully by our =Chu=, has
eyes only for its "beauty": "The Canyon grows more and more picturesque
and =beautiful= the farther we proceed.... On many of the long stretches
where the river can be seen for several miles, the picture is one of
charming =beauty=.... As the clouds rose we were treated to scenes rare
and =beautiful= in the extreme" (n. 20.)
Again: "Cataract and Narrow Canyons are wonderful, Glen Canyon is
=beautiful=, Marble Canyon is mighty; but it is left for the Grand
Canyon, where the river has cut its way down through the sandstones, the
marbles, and the granites of the Kaibab Mountains, to form those
=beautiful= and awe-inspiring pictures that are seen from the bottom of
the black granite gorge, where above us rise great wondrous mountains of
bright red sandstone capped with cathedral domes and spires of white,
with pinnacles and turrets, and towers, in such intricate forms and
flaming colors that words fail to convey any idea of their =beauty= and
sublimity."
The translation informs us that the mighty gorge is the Canyon of
=Kiang=, =Shang=, or Almighty God.
And a modern visitor declares that "here Omnipotence stands revealed,"
and that here is "a glorious creation of God." (n. 21.)
So impressed were the ancients with the beauty and grandeur of this
region that they peopled it with the souls of illustrious sages, and
declared that here was the Canyon of Almighty God. And those who enter
it today, come reeling back from its portals,--declaring that no mortal
can describe its glories, and that it is the Grand Canyon of Almighty
God!
Words fail one in the attempt to describe this glorious creation of God.
The impression it leaves upon the mind is overpowering. One feels as
though he had been admitted into the presence of the Genii of the
plutonic regions, had penetrated to the very heart of the inner world of
elemental creations."
We need not wonder that the old account connects a revered ancestor with
this glorious and celestial retreat in the Grand Canyon. He is called
=Shao Hao=, and is furthur termed a =ju=, (or sucking child.)
=Shao= signifies "little" or "a little," and =Hao= is formed of the
signs for "sun" and "heaven." It is therefore evident that the =ju= or
infant at the Canyon is (or was) a little sun child, or child of the
sun.
American rulers called themselves "Children of the Sun," and we should
be careful not to confound our Arizona Prince with any Asiatic ruler.
[The =Hao= or =Shao Hao= of supposed Chinese origin is represented by
some different symbols: see Williams' dict. p. 172, columns 1 and 2.]
The little Child of the Sun at the =Ta-Hoh= or Great Canyon should not
be--must not be--confounded with any early Chinese sun-worshiper. We are
to look =far to the east of China= for both the Canyon and the little
Child of the Sun referred to in the account before us.
We are informed that the country connected with the Great Canyon was
called "=Shao Hao's= country" (or the land of the Sun-child) on account
of the little Prince. He entered (=chi=) it, and this furnished the
=reason= (or =chih=) for its title--Land of the Sun-child.
The infant (or =ju=) is distinctly called a ruler (or =ti=.) Moreover,
although he was little (=shao=) or but a =ju= (suckling); he was a
supreme king (or =chwen suh=). (Note 22.)
=Chwen= is formed by putting together the two words "only" and "head."
And =suh= is a Chinese term composed of the two significant words "only"
and "king" (see Williams' dict. pp. 117, 825, 1043.)
Evidently the baby ruler (or =ju ti=) was regarded by his people, in
this region remarkable for its mountains, as the only or supreme
head--the =chwen suh=, as Chinese historians might forcibly phrase
it--of the people ruled.
[Because the infant was king and even the supreme king, it seems
reasonable to suppose that his father was dead (and his mother alive) at
the time when he was carried into the Great Canyon and duly suckled
there.] We need not just here attempt to unravel his history. Enough to
show that our Grand Canyon is positively and clearly referred to in
Chinese literature. We may, however, note the fact that the royal infant
(see translation) belonged to the =Kin Tien= or Golden Heaven family,
and this title must be considered when the history of our Arizona Prince
comes to be investigated. It should further be remarked that the
respected translator has erred slightly in his supposition that the
=Chwen Suh= (or Supreme Head) was "Shao =Hao's descendant=." The
Chinese terms in the original are: =shao hao= (not =hao's=) =ju= (baby)
=ti= (ruler) =chwen suh= (head king.) It was the =little sun child ruler
and supreme king= who was at the Canyon.
Particular attention should be paid to the fact, that, although regarded
as a supreme ruler, the Prince is represented as being but a suckling
(or =ju=) when in the neighborhood of the Great Canyon.
Now, the translation states that this baby or supreme lord "of whom no
further description is given, =left there his lute= and lyre. It says
that =his lute= and lyre are in this canyon."
MUSIC IN THE GRAND CANYON?
It is absurd to imagine for a moment that a =sucking= infant could own,
or could be really supposed to own, a =lute=. The Chinese text does not
say that the musical instrument is "his." And yet, curiously enough, it
does declare that the baby-prince left or abandoned (=k'i=) a Lute or
Lyre in the Canyon.
Why should such a matter be mentioned? Supposing that a fiddle was left
behind, or a drum, or a rattle, why should the trivial fact be gravely
recorded?
If a Lute was left in the mighty chasm, its remains might be there
still. But how could an infant be said to leave or abandon a Lute? Would
he not try, so well as our memory serves, to first get it into his
mouth? Would not his chubby hands, quite stout enough for destructive
arts, tear the strings apart and feed the music to the nearest cat?
Would it be a lute at all when ultimately relinquished? And if the babe
derived pleasure from ill-treated and squalling strings, why should he
leave the lute behind? As well say that the suckling abandoned there a
fishing-rod! Would not a milk-bottle be a much readier fount of ecstacy
than either a lute or a flute? Why, neither one nor the other =could be
heard= within the Canyon.
A Chinese commentator, however, relieves us from the necessity of
seeking for a literal lute between the resounding jaws of the mighty
chasm (note 23.) He says it is erroneous (=ngo=) to suppose that the
baby emperor (=ju ti=) grasped (=ping=,) or left behind (=chi=) or
abandoned in the place of midnight darkness (=huen=) any lutes or lyres
(=kin seh=.) In hyperbolical language (=wu wu=)--which is never true
when taken literally--a clear limpid river (=shuh=) would be the lute
(=kin=.)
But how could a clear stream serve as a lute?
The running water might produce limpid notes. Thus Moore, in his ode on
"Harmony," uses the following words:
"Listen!--when the night-wind dies
Down the still current, =like a harp= it sighs!
A liquid =chord= in every wave that flows."
Here is a current of water likened to the string of a harp, and the
playing of winds compared to music.
Mrs. Sigourney calls Niagara a "Trump," and we accept the assertion
(although literally it is quite untrue.)
But if the Chinese account placed a Trump in the Ontario chasm there
would be considerable difficulty in finding it.
Fortunately, in the case immediately before us, it is a Chinese author
who tells us that we are to seek for limpid streams rather than for
literal lutes or lyres.
The mention of the latter would probably imply that the sounds of some
stream or streams in the Great Canyon are of a remarkably soft and
musical character.
Streams may produce delightful tones. Thus one observer (at Yellowstone)
tells of the "mysterious music of the distant falls" "like the tremulous
vibration of a mighty but remote harp-string." (note 24)
If falling water under certain peculiar acoustic circumstances can
produce notes like those struck off from harp-strings, the tones can
also be compared to those of lutes or lyres (for all are stringed
instruments.)
The very volume which places lutes and lyres in the Great Canyon, also
tells of a forest elsewhere, which is a "Forest of Lutes and Lyres"
(note 25.)
Of course sounds merely resembling those of the stringed instruments,
are here referred to. A forest is composed of trees rather than musical
instruments, but it may produce musical tones like those of Lutes and
Lyres.
And similarly the notes arising from the Grand Canyon may be of a
lute-like character. This is the teaching of the Ancients. We have found
the Bottomless stream and it is certain that visitors should return with
accounts of melody arising from the Canyon. Future explorers should
listen for musical notes. They will certainly not be disappointed.
One visitor says: "The waters waltz their way through the Canyon, making
their own rippling, rushing, roaring music." We further read of
innumerable cascades adding their wild music to the roar of the river."
What are these innumerable cascades but the strings of the Lute which
was heard ages ago by enraptured ears and which has kept on resounding
ever since. The concert in the Canyon drowns even the basic roar of the
river. The music is there.
"We sit on some overhanging rocks, and enjoy the scene for a time,
listening to the music of falling waters away up the canyons." (n. 26.)
It appears that the acoustic properties of the Grand Canyon are
calculated to produce most notable effects: "Great hollow domes are seen
in the eastern side of the rock.... Our words are repeated with
startling clearness, but in a soft mellow tone, that transforms them
into magical music."
Elsewhere an immense grotto "was doubtless made for an academy of
=music= by its storm born architect; so we name it =Music= Temple." (n.
27.)
Lutes and Lyres are there, say the Ancients.
A Temple of Music is there, say the Moderns.
It will be noticed that the Chinese annotater calls the Great
Canyon--the =Ta Hoh=--a place of (=huen=) midnight darkness and declares
that it is erroneous to suppose that the Lute played down there (where
it could not possibly be heard) was an instrument held by a human hand
(the hand of a suckling!). Now, although the great gorge is wonderfully
beautiful, it must be conceded that its basic part (within which human
beings might dwell) is decidedly dark. Here "it is necessary to 'lie
down upon one's back in order to see the sky,'--as I once heard General
Crook express it. Into much of this deep gorge no ray of sunshine ever
falls, and it well deserves the name of the 'Dark Canyon.'" (n. 28).
Often in midday, stars are seen shining overhead; and it may well be
called a place of midnight darkness (=huen=.)
In the following passage a modern visitor notices the "dark and
frowning" walls of the chasm, but still enlarges on their beauty:--"One
would think that after traveling through six hundred miles of those
canyons, one would be satisfied with =beauty= and grandeur, but in this
fact lies the charm. Of the six hundred miles no two miles are alike.
The picture is ever changing from grandeur to beauty, from beauty to
sublimity, from the =dark= and =frowning= greatness of its granite
walls, to the dazzling colors of its upper cliffs. And I stood in the
last few miles of the Grand Canyon spellbound in wonder and admiration,
as firmly as I was fixed in the first few miles in surprise and
astonishment." (note 29.)
Nature has done her best to adorn the walls of the mighty gorge. We are
told of "=thousands of rivulets=" that "dropped farther and farther
down, till the whole of the bright scarlet walls seemed hung with a
tapestry of silver threads, the border fringed with white fleecy clouds
which hung to the tops of the walls, and through which the points of the
upper cliffs shone as scarlet tassels."
Nor was Dame Nature completely satisfied with her tapestry and fringe of
tassels. Other embroidery was displayed. "As the sun broke through some
side gorge, the canyon was spanned from side to side, as the clouds
shifted their position, with rainbow after rainbow, vying to outdo in
brilliancy of color the walls of the canyon themselves."
The ancient account declares, that in "the Region beyond the Eastern
Sea," a Bottomless river traverses a Great Canyon. And this stream,
remarkable for its ledges (=chu=) or rapids and falls, rushes onward and
downward, and grows or enlarges into a Gulf. And the Canyon, the River,
and the Gulf are all reported to be =Kan=--or =Beautiful=.
And visitors today return from all three, declaring that they are
Beautiful! Beautiful!! Beautiful!!!
And some are entranced by strains of music arising from the mouth of the
Canyon and declare that it holds an "orchestra." In one place the
thousands of streamlets, glistening and gleaming like silvery cords,
stretch downward from the edge of the painted chasm; and the resounding,
melodious precipice is called "the Cliff of the Harp." (note 30.) What
is this but an echo of the ancient declaration that the royal Lute in
the Canyon was merely a musical stream. Similar ideas have occurred to
poets. Coleridge in his "Ancient Mariner," tells of
"A noise like of a hidden brook
In the leafy month of June,
Which to the sleeping woods all night
Singeth a quiet tune."
And Moore has heard the notes of harp-strings sounding forth from
melodious streams. What wonder, then, that ancient poets (and the
translation states that the particular work which makes mention of the
"Bottomless =Kuh=" or valley, is a "poem") should have likened a
collection of falling streams or cascades to the chords of a tuneful
Lute and then, to distinguish it from others less excellent, have
applied to the stringed instrument the name of their Prince. Americans
today gravely talk of visiting or seeing "St. Luke's Head" (in
California!) And we possess a mere natural formation which is supposed
to resemble a nose and is religiously called "St. Anthony's Nose." In
truth this "nose" is no more a literal nose than the "Lute" in the
Canyon is a literal stringed instrument made by men. Then we have
"Cleopatra's Bath" and "Pompey's Pillar." (Next tell us in the interest
of chaos and confusion that Pompey left here "his" Pillar.)
In the grand caves at Pikes Peak there is an "organ," which is really no
organ at all. It is a natural formation or production from which
charming melodies are fetched by skilled musicians. Now if we ourselves
can gravely call a musical, highly-strung rock an "Organ," may not the
Ancients be excused for calling a combination of musical streams a Lute?
Contemplating the "Cliff of the Harp," we can readily understand how
old-time visitors found down there the tuneful string of a "Lute" and
how an imperial Child of the Sun was unable to lug along "his" notable
musical toy. There it remains and melodious notes still come floating
up.
Lutes and Lyres are there, say the Ancients.
"An Academy of Music!" say the Moderns.
The Chinese annotater remarks that the =lieh tsze= (a class of sages or
teachers--the literati) are unacquainted (=pu chi=) with the =sheu-hai=
or Gulf situated toward the east (=chi tung=.)
The Chinese scholars of the writer's time knew little or nothing of our
Gulf of California (or =Sheu-hai=). However, it was known to some; and
we are now informed that it is =ki= (a =few=; nearly about,
approximately) =yih= (to =guess=, to bet; 100,000; an indeterminate
number) =wan= (10,000) =le=.
A single =wan le= should measure about 3,000 miles, and a =few= (to
"guess") separate China from the =Ta-Hoh= which connects with the
Bottomless =kuh= or valley ("=Ta-Hoh shih wei wu ti chi kuh=.)
Evidently the Great Canyon lies more than =one wan le= (3,000 miles) to
the east of China. We find indeed that the number may well be referred
to as "a few" (=ki=.)
Nor can the Gulf be =more= than about 30,000 =le= to the east, seeing
that this Gulf of California is in "the region beyond the Eastern Sea"
along with the =Fu-Tree= which has a trunk of 300 =le=. The Gulf to the
east is connected with the mountain system whose Branches exhibit the
gorgeous spectacle of Ten Suns. In short, the Gulf and Canyon are along
with =Fu-Sang=; and =Fu-Sang= is only 30,000 =le= to the east of China,
and merely 10,000 wide. Accordingly, the Gulf is but "a few" =wan le= to
the east of the Flowery Kingdom.
To look for the Canyon and Tree within the Philippine Islands,
contiguous to China, is simply impossible. The islands have been pretty
well thrashed over lately, and no one has met with the Tree! It has a
"Trunk of 300 le," and collectors of curios or strange plants should
keep wide awake and see that they don't pass it in the dark. And yet
with its Ten Moons, how miss it? How fail to notice our glittering,
gleaming, glorious candelabrum? It couldn't have fallen or drifted over
to the Panama ditch? It can't possibly be now stuck in any South
American Flower-pot? Catching the Tree seems to be as slippery as
catching Tartars, and perhaps when the first is found, the others won't
be very far off.
The Chinese commentator, of course, never saw either the Gulf or Canyon
but he quotes from earlier writers who were well acquainted with our
"region beyond the Eastern Sea;" and one of these named =Chwangtsze=, is
quoted to the effect that in the =Ta Hoh= or Great Canyon =high winds=
(=yuen fung=) occur (=yu=) or come unexpectedly upon one.
Do storms arise suddenly in the neighborhood of the mighty chasm?
One modern explorer says: "I go up to explore the alcove. While away a
whirlwind comes scattering the camp fire among the dead willows and
cedar spray and soon there is a conflagration, the men rushing for the
boats, leaving all they cannot readily seize at the moment, and even
then they have their clothing burned and hair singed." (note 31.)
Storms occur in all parts of the world. Is there anything peculiar about
the tempests which are said to suddenly arise in the Great Canyon?
One visitor says: "Storms were not infrequent and these occurring where
the canyon walls were a mile high and close together produced an effect
that was almost supernatural in its awfulness. The deep thunder echoed
sharply between the cliffs, producing a roaring sound that was almost
deafening." (note 32.)
It should be remembered that the vast caverns here multiply the
bellowings of thunder and also help to confine and intensify the raging
and imprisoned whirlwinds.
One eye or ear witness tells of a storm both seen and heard within the
Canyon and adds: "I have seen the lightning play and heard the thunder
roll among the summit peaks of the Rocky Mountains, as I have stood on
some rocky point far above the clouds, but =nowhere= has the awful
grandeur equalled that night in the lonesome depths of what was to us
death's canyon.... Again all was shut in by darkness thicker than that
of Egypt. The stillness was only broken by the roar of the river as it
rushed along beneath me. Suddenly as if the mighty cliffs were rolling
down against each other, there was peal after peal of thunder striking
against the marble cliffs below, and mingling with their echoes,
bounding from cliff to cliff. Thunder with echo, echo with thunder,
crossed and recrossed from wall to wall of the canyon," etc. (note 33.)
Surely sudden and dreadful storms rage here. The loudest in North
America, says an expert.
Observe that the visitor just quoted notices the "roar of the river" in
connection with the fury of the tempest.
Now, the ancient visitor does the same. After directing attention to the
sudden high winds, he says that a decidedly curious sight or spectacle
(=king shun=) is the =keang= (a large main stream which receives
tributaries) spreading abroad (=fu=) the =noise= of flowing water
(=tsung=) in the =Ta-Hoh= or Great Canyon.
The noise of the great river or =Keang= is thus noticed by the ancient
visitor, who also declares that the =Ta-Hoh= or Great Canyon constitutes
a decidedly fine or curious sight.
And such in truth it actually is. "Imagine a chasm that at times is less
than a quarter of a mile wide and more than a mile deep, the bed of
which is a tossing, =roaring=, madly impetuous flood.... What an
imposing spectacle; what a sublime vision of mightiness!" (n. 34).
A great sight! say the Ancients.
A Wonder of the World! say the Moderns.
The roar of the river has never ceased since the ancient scribe, or his
informant, passed that way. A modern visitor says: "The threatening
=roar= of the water is loud and constant."
Again, "The =roar= of its waters was heard unceasingly from the hour we
entered it until the time we landed here. No quiet in all that time."
(n. 35).
One navigator tells of a "bore" in connection with the resounding
stream. "In the stillness of the night, the roaring of the huge mass
could be heard reverberating among the windings of the river.... This
singular phenomenon of the 'bore,' as it is called, is met with but at
few places in the world.... In the course of four or five hours the
river falls about thirty feet" (n. 36.)
Another explorer pauses at one spot in his amphibious career to note
that "high water mark" can be seen "fifty, sixty, or a hundred feet
above its present stage;" and "when a storm bursts over the canyon, a
side gulch is dangerous, for a sudden flood may come and the inpouring
waters will raise the river, so as to hide the rocks before your eyes"
(n. 37).
Another navigator, who never was without a life-belt,--which he found of
vital use when righting his too often overturned ark,--tells with
amazement of "the waves, torrents, and cataracts of this wildest of
rivers."
A ceaseless basic roar is there,--deadened at times by floods of music,
yet nevertheless eternally there.
The sea connected with the Great Canyon is elsewhere called a =Puh hai=
(the latter term signifying "sea.")
A =Puh hai= is said to be a "Gulf," and we find a Gulf--the Gulf of
California--at the mouth of the Colorado.
It should, however, be observed that the term =Puh= by itself stands for
"an arm of the sea." A =Puh hai= is a Gulf which forms "an arm of the
sea." The Gulf or sea should be shaped like an =arm=--an arm of the
ocean (see Williams' dict. p. 718.)
Now, a glance at the map shows that in a very peculiar sense the Gulf of
California is a =hai= or "sea" which meets the requirements of being
shaped like an =arm=. It is a sea and a gulf and at the same time "an
arm" of the ocean. Truly it is a =Puh hai=.
A great many "gulfs" are quite unlike "arms," being too broad to admit
of such a comparison. But our Gulf of California is comparatively narrow
and is truly an "arm" of the sea. And notice how the water of the
river--our Colorado--"accumulates and so forms a gulf." Such are the
words of the existing translation and they apply completely to the
American situation. Here we find the water of the Colorado accumulating
or widening out until it becomes a great body of water--a Gulf. Indeed
this development or process of expansion is so gradual that it is
impossible for navigators to tell where the river ends or the gulf
begins.
In the Chinese comment immediately before us, however, the =hai= or sea
to the Canyon's river mouth is called a =Sheu=.
Now this term signifies "to rinse the mouth, to scour; to wash out a
thing; to purify." (Williams, p. 757.)
The word =Sheu= is written by combining the characters for "water" and
"to suck in."
It is evident that our Gulf of California is "an arm of the sea" and no
less a =Sheu=. A "mouth" it undoubtedly has, and this mouth is being
ceaselessly "washed," "scoured," and "purified." Even a dentist would be
satisfied! The immense stream rushes out, and tides from the Pacific
rush in. Moreover the Colorado "sucks in" the tidal wave known as the
Bore. Surely we have here the Eastern Gulf sea which is both a =Puh= and
a =Sheu=.
The water of the noisy, restless, purifying stream within the =Ta-Hoh=
was it is said,--
1. =Yu= (which means "used or employed.")
2. =Wuh= (to water or irrigate; to soften with water; to enrich.)
3. =Tsiao= (scorched, burned, singed, dried up.)
4. =Chi= (referring to or denoting.)
5. =Tsze= (here or this.)
Evidently the water of the Colorado was used to =irrigate= some ground
or vegetation which was dried up or =scorched=.
Such a remark implies a high temperature (during the period of
growth) between the walls of the chasm, and also leads us to look
for some soil--some scorched or dried up soil (sadly in need of
irrigation)--between the jaws of the Canyon. Is there parched or
desert soil on the banks of the Colorado?
Here is the answer: "The region through which the chafing waters of the
Colorado run is forbidding in the extreme, a vast =Sahara= of waste and
inutility; a desert too dreary for either vegetable or animal life; a
land that is =haunted with wind-storm=, on which ride the furies of
desolation.... The earth is =parched to sterility=.... It is like the
moon, a =parched= district, save for the single stream which, instead of
supplying sustenance, is eating its vitals." (note 38.)
Another traveler visited Fort Yuma, on the Colorado, and says: "The ride
to the fort was through a flat and desolate looking country.... It was a
dreary eight hours ride." Other remarks are made concerning "the
barrenness of the surrounding region and" "the =intense heat= of its
summer climate." (note 39.)
In some spots, however, water produces magical effects. In the Mojave
valley, for instance, "the annual overflow of the river enables the
Mojaves, to raise with little labor, an abundant supply of provisions
for the year.... During one season, a few years since, the Colorado did
not overflow its banks; there were consequently no crops and great
numbers of the Mojaves perished from starvation." (note 40.)
Curiously enough, although rain fell furiously within the Canyon, it was
observed by a traveler that "such rain-storms were invariably confined
to the immediate vicinity of the Canyon, the territory lying two or
three miles east or west continuing parched with hardly a cloud above
it." And the explorer wonders how some ancient inhabitants, whose
buildings are now in ruins, "managed to exist, situated as they were in
a desolate country, where there was great scarcity of both vegetable and
animal life."
The ancient Chinese account connects a baby king, a supreme ruler, with
the Great Canyon and now states that water was used within the gorge to
irrigate the soil, which is represented as being dried up or scorched.
Is the Canyon remarkable for its heat? Surely it ought to be cool down
there?
One visitor says: "That Canyon was the sultriest place I have ever
struck, and my experience includes some of the hottest sections this
side of the equator.
The oppressive heat in the chasm was felt at a "point fifty times as
deep as the great chasm at Niagara." (note 41.)
"But despite the terrible heat, despite the discomfort of the situation,
I was compelled to wonder and admire, For,"--
The =Ta-Hoh= should constitute a magnificent sight, but it is also said
to contain some =scorched= or dried up soil. Is such to be seen?
An explorer reached the Colorado at a point where it is 266 yards wide,
and adds that the "soil" "bore nothing but dry weeds and bushes and the
whole scene presented the most perfect picture of desolation I have ever
beheld, as if some =sirocco= had passed over the land, =withering= and
=scorching everything=." (note 42.)
Withered and scorched! say the Ancients.
Withered and scorched! say the Moderns.
In one favored spot, "to the limit of vision, the tortuous course of the
river (the Colorado) could be traced through a belt of alluvial land
varying from one to six miles in width, and garnished with inviting
meadows, with broad groves of willow and mezquite and promising fields
of grain." The visitor remarks that the valley appears most attractive
in the spring--"at this season of the year before the =burning heat= has
=withered= the freshness and beauty of the early vegetation." (note 43.)
We are informed that the valley south of the Bend of the Colorado near
the "Needles," there is in the spring a "most brilliant array" of
flowers; but, "after the ephemeral influence of the few spring showers
has passed, the annual plants are soon =burned= up by the sun's heat and
perfect sterility prevails throughout the remainder of the season."
(note 44.)
It is sufficiently apparent that the soil when properly watered can
produce abundant vegetation and sufficient nourishment for, of course,
limited numbers of human beings. Deprived of water, the soil is unable
to sustain desirable plants, and presents a sterile aspect. Surveying
its present condition or appearance of barrenness, a modern visitor
wonders how the ancient inhabitants contrived to exist, or find food,
within the withered, unfruitful chasm. But one of the ancients, Mr.
Chwang Tsze, writing about this very =Ta-Hoh= or Great Chasm, says that
they used water to irrigate the otherwise scorched or dried up soil.
Then, if such a somewhat belated answer is true, the question arises,
where are the proofs?
A chief of the Ethnological Bureau very properly furnishes the answer.
Standing in the abyss of the =Ta-Hoh=, on the bank of the roaring river,
he beholds some ancient buildings and perceives how their vanished
occupants formerly contrived to subsist. He says: "We can see where the
ancient people who lived here--a race more highly civilized than the
present--had made a =garden=, and =used= a great spring" [or feeder of
the Colorado], "that comes out of the rocks for =irrigation=," etc. (n.
45.)
We irrigated the soil, say the Ancients.
They irrigated the soil, say the Moderns.
Next comes the statement of some trusted early sage or scholar who was
certainly acquainted with our =Ta-Hoh= (containing the ruin and
irrigated soil just noticed.) It is an observer or scribe named
=Tu-tsan=, who says:--
10. =Seay= (to paint, to draw, to sketch.)
11. =yih= (to spread abroad, to diffuse.)
12. =tung= (a gorge, ravine, canyon, a cave, a grotto.)
13. =hueh= ("a hole in the earth or side of a hill,--they are used for
dwellings;" a den, a grotto, a cavern.)
Something called =seay= is here said to be spread abroad, or diffused
over rocky walls or caves. Williams (p. 796) says that =seay= (or =sie=
as it is also spelled) stands for a sketch or design, and adds that it
means to draw, to compose, to write. Morrison, in his dictionary, says
that =seay= signifies "to paint," etc.
Of course there is no use looking for anything so absurd as pictured or
painted rocky walls or caves; and we accordingly feel disappointed when
the ancient text seems to notice such. The pictures or paint should be
"spread abroad" freely or lavishly in the vicinity of caverns, and we
know positively that no "paint" or pigment of human composition can be
seen on the canyon walls. No artificial pictures are there, and we are
compelled to admit that the ancient account here stands falsified.
We have, however, found the caves. Music Temple, for instance measures
two hundred feet from floor to roof, and is "a vast chamber carved out
of the rock." There are caverns in all directions. And the noisy,
roaring river is certainly there as well. One explorer says: "Imagine a
chasm that at times is less than a quarter of a mile wide and more than
a mile deep, the bed of which is a tossing, roaring, madly impetuous
flood, winding its way in a sinuous course along =walls= that are
=painted= with all the pigments known to nature. What an imposing
spectacle!" (n. 46.)
Of course we must object that the "walls" are really not walls and that
the "paint" so lavishly spread upon them is not paint at all. The
ancient assertion is delusive, but equally so is the modern. Just
compare them.
The Virgin River enters the Colorado, and at the place of junction are
the "resplendently =painted= temples and towers of the Virgin. Here the
slopes, the serpentine ledges, and the bosses of projecting rock,
interlarded with scanty soil, display all the colors of the rainbow, and
in the distance may be likened to the =painter's pallete=. The bolder
tints are of maroon, purple, chocolate, magenta, and lavendar, with
broad bands of white laid in horizontal belts. (n. 47.)
Is this so-called "paint" =lavishly= "spread abroad"?
Certainly; one section of the mighty and wondrous gorge is known as "the
=painted= canyon."
Of course the chasm is not really "painted" by artists or human agents,
and we need not look for painted cliffs anywhere. Nevertheless modern
observers echo the language of the ancients, and we are told today of
"the =painting= of the rocks" and of "deep, =painted= alcoves" and
"=painted= grottos" (n. 48.)
The term =yih= (see Williams' dict. pp. 781, 1092) is composed of the
characters for "fluid" and "vessel," and signifies "A vessel full to the
brim; ready to overflow, to run over; abundant; to spread abroad, to
diffuse." As =seay=, the word which precedes =yih= in our Chinese note,
signifies "to paint," we perceive how the additional term =yih= teaches
that the =paint= made use of has been applied to extensive surfaces, so
that it presents the appearance of having "overflowed" or "run over" the
rocky walls and caverns dealt with.
Of course neither writing nor literal pictures could overflow or
drench--and adhere to--walls or cliffs. But =seay yih= might cover the
motion of applying =paint= in a most lavish, copious, overflowing
manner. Here are cliffs so "rich with parti-coloring as to justify the
most extravagant language in describing them."
It looks as though the gnomes on the job, in the Canyon, just emptied
their paint-pots down dizzy cliffs and then went back for more. And such
extravagance is in harmony with the symbols which stand for painting and
vessels and spreading abroad or overflowing! Mineral paints were freely
used and sometimes apparently with considerable care and skill. Thus we
read of a red sandstone cliff "unbroken by cracks or crevices or ledges"
exhibiting "extensive flat surfaces beautifully =stained= by iron, till
one could imagine all manner of tapestry effects."
Here are painted imitations of tapestry.
It should further be remembered that there are actual picture writings
spread abroad on extensive painted or stained surfaces. The author just
quoted beheld ancient dwellings which "exhibited considerable skill on
the part of the builders, the corners being plumb and square." And just
here "there were also numerous picture writings." (note 49.)
An amazed visitor exclaims: "Grand, glorious, sublime, are the Pictorial
cliffs of vermillion hue!"
"Pictorial" answers to =seay= (the 10th character in our list.)
Pictured and painted! say the Ancients.
Pictured and painted! say the Moderns.
We have seen that our Gulf (of California) has been called a =Puh-hai=,
or "arm of the sea."
Professor Hoith, the celebrated student of Chinese, in his work on
"Chinese History" (p. 49, footnote) says that a =puh hai= is "an
estuary."
Webster says that an "estuary" is "an arm of the sea; a firth; a narrow
passage, or the mouth of a river or lake, where the tide meets the
current, or flows and ebbs."
Plainly our Gulf of California is a =Puh hai= or Estuary.
It may further be remarked that =Puh= is written in Chinese by putting
together two characters, one standing for "water," and the other
signifying "Suddenly; hastily; flurried, disconcerted, as when caught
doing wrong; to change color, confused" (Williams' dict. p. 718.)
It is superfluous to say that our Gulf or Estuary is a very "confused"
or "flurried" body of water. It is truly a =Puh-hai=.
Moreover, it "changes color." As though "caught doing wrong," it changes
color and blushes at times a rosy red. This is the hue of multidunious
veins: "A thousand streams rolling down the cliffs on every side, carry
with them red sand; and these all unite in the canyon below, in one
great stream of red mud" (n. 50.) But sometimes the color below Yuma is
yellow or black (n. 51.)
The name "Colorado" is a Spanish term conveying the idea of redness, and
undoubtedly this hue predominates throughout the course of the
boisterous stream; but other colors due to the dye or wash of variously
painted cliffs, are also met with. Moreover a section may exhibit one
color to-day and something different to-morrow. And so it is with the
gulf, which receives the Colorado, and on which floating patches of
color are frequently seen. Truly our Gulf or Estuary is remarkable for
both its coloring, blue, red, etc., and its changes of color. In all
respects it is plainly a =Puh-hai=.
Our Gulf or Estuary is also called a =yuen=. Farther on (see Chinese
version) we read that the Canyon river produces or grows into (=shang=)
a beautiful (=kan=) =yuen=.
This term =yuen= stands for a "gulf, an abyss; an eddy, a whirlpool or
place where the back water seems to stop."
A whirling, violent, or impetuous body of water is evidently referred
to. Fernando Alarchon, in 1540, found the Colorado "a very mighty river,
which ran with so great a fury of stream that we could hardly sail
against it.
One voyager tells how his ark, the "Emma" was "caught in a =whirlpool=,
and set spinning about." Here is a =yuen=.
Again, "The men in the boats above see our trouble but they are caught
in whirlpools, and are spinning about in eddies."
What have we here but =Yuen=--multiplied whirlpools?
Through "Whirlpool Canyon" and all the way to the Gulf, the waters dance
around and about. We read of "dancing eddies or whirlpools." There are
more than 600 rapids and falls in the Colorado (n. 52.)
The waters =waltz= their way and even furnish their own "rippling,
rushing, roaring music." And we are in addition told of "innumerable
cascades adding their wild music" (n. 53).
Surely the entire inlet traversed by the bore or reached by ocean tides
is in precisely the condition of commotion which may well be designated
by the term yuen.
We are informed that the =kan= (or beautiful) =yuen= approaches (=tsih=)
with vapor (=hi hwo=) and bathes (=yuh=) the sun's place (=ji chi su=).
It is evident that the mighty stream which traverses the Great Canyon in
the region beyond the Eastern Sea, should flow from a Bottomless valley
to a Gulf, and reach to the Sun's Place. And we find that the current of
the Colorado extends to the Tropical line of Cancer, which crosses and
marks the mouth of the Gulf of California.
Vapor or fog is noticed in connection with the beautiful (even if
restless or reeling) =Yuen=.
Are fogs a noticeable feature along the coast of California? If so, they
might hide the entrance or mouth of the Gulf.
One visitor says: "Westward toward the setting sun and the sea," was a
"filmy fog creeping landward, swallowing one by one the distant hills."
Again, we read of "hilltops that thrust their heads through the slowly
vanishing vapor."
Here "you may bask in the sunshine of gardens of almost tropic
luxuriance or shudder in =fogs that shroud the coast=" (n. 54.)
We need not wonder that such vapors should appear within the confines of
the charming Gulf of California and at times veil its shores. A recent
visitor says: "The island and mountain peaks, whose outlines are seen
from the Gulf, had been somewhat =dimmed= by a light =haze=, appeared
surprisingly near and distinct in the limpid medium through which they
were now viewed. The whole panorama became invested with new
attractions, and it would be hard to say whether the dazzling radiance
of the day or the sparkling clearness of the night was the more
=beautiful= and brilliant" (n. 55).
Hazy and Beautiful, say the Ancients.
Hazy and Beautiful, say the Moderns.
The haze is not dense enough to blind our eyes to the manifest fact that
those people of old who were acquainted with the position of our Gulf of
California, must also have been acquainted with Mexico and its
inhabitants.
Tropical America was considered by its people to be particularly under
the influence of the Sun. Uxmal was in "the Land of the Sun" (n. 56),
and the Mexicans called themselves "Children of the Sun."
CAVE DWELLINGS IN THE GRAND CANYON.
It will be noticed that the 13th term in our list is =hueh=, which
stands for cave habitation. Are such to be seen in our Canyon?
Numerous =tung= (see 12th term,) in the shape of caves or holes are
undoubtedly there, but in addition the old account notices =hueh=. Have
such been found?
One explorer says: "Even more remarkable than the stupendous walls which
confine the Colorado river, are the ruined cave habitations which are to
be seen along the lofty and inaccessible ledges, in which a vanished
race long years ago evidently sought refuge from their enemies.... They
were reached by very narrow, precipitous, and devious paths, and being
extremely difficult to attain by the occupants themselves, presented an
impregnable front to invaders" (n. 57.)
Explorers decending into the =ta-hoh= come forth to-day with accounts of
gardens and irrigating streams, pictured cliffs, and cave dwellings,--in
complete agreement with the ancient record.
Following the term =hueh= we find a 14th, called =han=, which stands for
dry, heated air; too dry; parched as by drought; crisp.
Is there =han=, or dry heated air down in the Canyon?
One visitor entered the Grand Canyon "in the morning while darkness yet
covered the scene, but even then it was oppressively hot, and as the sun
got higher I felt as though I had been thrust into a dutch =oven= and
the mouth stopped up.... But, despite the terrible heat ... I was
compelled to wonder and admire ... the gorgeous cliffs and rock walls
showing all those varied colorings," etc. (n. 58).
It was the "terrible heat" which compelled the Ancients to resort to
irrigation in order to raise some food for themselves and little ones.
Destitute of water, the soil is scorched and barren.
It is said that "there are about 700 square miles of arable land between
the mouth of the Gila and the 35th parallel of N. latitude," along the
Colorado. And "in the valley" of this stream, where it is joined by the
Gila, "are traces of ancient irrigating canals, which show that it has
once been cultivated." And along the connected Gila are irrigating works
of remarkable construction and undoubted antiquity--antedating the
arrival of the Spaniards by centuries.
Where the soil is actually irrigated or cultivated the response of
nature is most gratifying and encouraging. We learn with regard to the
Colorado valley, that "portions are cultivated by the numerous tribes of
Indians who live along its banks, affording them an abundance of wheat,
maize, beans, melons, squashes," etc. (n. 59).
Such ground would be well worthy of attention; but the attitude of "the
numerous tribes of Indians" along the Colorado might interfere with the
plans of newcomers and even compel the latter to live in caves or on
ledges easily defended. And it is certain that soil insufficiently
watered presents a distressingly sterile aspect in the neighborhood of
the Colorado.
One traveler, already quoted, says with regard to a wide section, that
"the whole scene presented the most perfect picture of desolation I
have ever beheld, as if some Sirocco had passed over the land,
=withering= and =scorching= everything to crispness" (n. 60.)
Notice this word "crispness" used by our author. Turned into Chinese it
becomes =han= (crisp)--the very term applied in the ancient record to
the condition of the soil unwatered within the Canyon. It is curious how
the old and new visitors agree in their descriptions of the interior of
the mighty gorge, where vegetation is withered or dead.
Scorched and Crisp! say the Ancients.
Scorched and Crisp! say the Moderns.
The Canyon should be hot, and one of our own visitors says: "The sun
shone directly up the Canyon, and the glare =reflected from the walls=
made the heat intolerable (n. 61.)
The word =han= has, unfortunately enough, a perfect right to appear in
the old record. Following it we find additional terms:
15. A compound character consisting of the signs for "Sun" (=Jih=) and
"People" (=Min=.)
16. =lung= ("used for =nagas= or snake gods;" "a dragon," "imperial."
"It is often used for a man.")
17. =chuh= ("the illumination of torches; a candle; a light; to give or
shed light upon, to illumine")
The statement seems to teach that the Sun People--the men--were using
torches to illumine the depth of the hot Canyon.
We have already been informed that a =ju= or suckling, who was yet a
supreme King (like perhaps the last Chinese Emperor of the Manchu
dynasty, in 1912 A. D.) and a Child of the Sun, was down in the abyss,
so we are prepared to hear that his subjects--some Sun people--were down
there too.
Of course, for the greater part of the twenty-four hours, the darkness,
particularly in the cave dwellings should be most intense. One visitor,
quoted already, tells of "darkness thicker than that of Egypt." Such
gloom should be particularly and painfully felt by "Sun People," and we
are not surprised to find that they made use of torches or artificial
lights. Singularly enough, the chasm, as though remorsefully conscious
of the blackness of its character, produces no end of dried-up vegetable
stems or stalks fit to be ignited and used as firebrands. These it
places convenient to your hand, as though to invite inspection.
Indians today are in the habit of using such torches. We are informed
that "the custom still prevails among them of carrying a firebrand,"
which was noticed by Spanish explorers in the 16th Century, "and induced
those discoverers to give to the river the name of Rio del Tizon" (n.
62).
It will be noticed that the ancient Chinese account connects lights, or
"an illumination of Torches" (=chuh=), with the very stream which the
Spaniards of a later age, and of their own accord christened the Rio del
Tizon.
A Torch-lighted stream, say the Chinese.
A Torch-lighted stream, say the Spaniards.
The author or explorer last quoted says with reference to Indians
dwelling on the banks of the Colorado, that "the custom still prevails
among them of carrying a firebrand in the hand in cold weather," which
was noticed by the Spaniards.
Of course the flaming brands may well be used in winter to warm those
who hold them, but the Ancients who inhabited the cave or cliff houses
(which they built and which are now more or less in ruin, according to
exposure or original inherent strength) might have used the =chuh= or
torches as =lights=. These torches are mentioned in connection with
excessive =heat=, and it would be absurd to suppose that the Sun People
of old desired a still higher temperature. But mention is made of cave
dwellings, and such are actually there; and we can readily understand
why the ancient dwellers in the cave houses should have frequently used
the ready-to-hand torches when climbing to their dark and break-neck
abodes.
Even today the =chuh= or torches are used as =lights=. The withered
stalks or stems, so abundant in the Canyon, are a melancholy
illustration of the scorching power of the sun within the chasm. We have
not forgotten the fact that the Chinese term =han= is used in the
ancient text and that it stands for the "crispness" of scorched or dried
up plants. An actual visit to the =Ta-Hoh= or Great Canyon referred to,
shows that it is this =han=--or withered, scorched and crisp--vegetation
which provides no end of torches (=chuh=) for dwellers in the vicinity.
One stumbling visitor uses the following language: "We struck for it ...
through the thick night, the guide occasionally lighting a =torch of
grass=" (n. 63). Unable to directly or steadily illumine the angles or
recesses of the Canyon, the bright and clear-headed sun does the next
best thing and raises a bounteous harvest of firebrands. Nature here
concentrates her attention on the task of serving the necks (rather than
the bellies) of her children, and presents them with a crop of seasoned
and brilliant torches. Certain it is that most efficient firebrands are
raised here in profusion and constitute such a unique feature of the
stream that in order to distinguish it from others in the region, the
Spaniards called our river the Rio del Tizon. Torches have lighted the
Canyon in the past and they now throw light on the ancient record.
Mentioned in connection with withered vegetation and intense heat, the
natural inference is that the torches were used to =light= the steps of
dwellers in the Canyon. Of course they might in winter have been used,
like other vegetable produce, as fuel, but the old record now before us
does actually connect the =chuh= or torches with a high scorching
temperature; and our impression or deduction is that they were used as
lights amid the blackness of the chasm.
And the Torches (=chuh=) are used as lights still. One explorer says:
"We fear that we shall have to stay here clinging to the rocks until
daylight. Our little Indian gathers a few dry stems, ties them in a
bundle, lights one end, and holds it up. The =others do the same=, and
with these =Torches= we =find a way= out of trouble."
Observe that these torches (or =chuh= as the Chinese would call them)
were not ignited to =warm= the explorers. They were held aloft to find
or light the way among perilous cliffs. Without their aid it would have
been madness for the explorers to move. Practically they were as men
born blind, but the Indian guide, with knowledge derived from the depths
of antiquity, obtains the necessary torches and light at his elbow. With
one withered and hot stem he ties together a number, lights them and
then finds the way out of trouble for both himself and his bewildered
party. What have we here but a duplication of the "illumination of
torches" referred to in the ancient record?
17. =chuh= (the illumination of torches; a candle; a torch.)
18. =yuen= ("to lead or take by the hand, to cling to; to pull up
higher, to drag out; to put forward; to relieve, to rescue")
19. =yiu= (have, has; to get.)
20. =Ta= (Great.)
21. =Hoh= (Canyon.)
22. =hao= (a mark, classed, a signal.)
23. =wei= (said or declared; has; in the place of.)
24. =wu= (no; without; destitute of.)
25. =te= (bottom.)
It appears that within the bottomless =Ta-hoh= or Great Canyon (see
words 19 to 25) there is an illumination of torches (=chuh=) and a
pulling up higher, or a dragging about and clinging to (=yuen=).
Climbing is here referred to. The Sun people seem to have found
locomotion difficult and hazardous within the chasm.
The modern explorer who reached the irrigated garden plots and houses of
the ancient occupants, was himself compelled to resort to much climbing.
In one place he says: "I find I can get up no farther, and cannot step
back, for I dare not let go with my hands, and cannot reach foot-hold
below without. I call to Bradley for help.... The moment is critical.
Standing on my toes my muscles begin to tremble.... I hug close to the
rock, let go with my hand, seize the dangling legs, and with his
assistance, I am enabled to gain the top" (n. 64.)
It will be seen by the intelligent reader that the forgoing performance
is covered by the term =yuen= (No. 18) used in the ancient record. There
was a =rescue= by Bradley, and the desperate adventurer, a chief of the
Ethnological Bureau, was "pulled up higher," even to "the top" of the
cliff. All this constitutes =yuen=; and without intending it, our modern
climber--calling to Bradley for help--is a most eloquent and lucid
commentator on the ancient statement in the Chinese text.
But this climbing should be accomplished in connection with =chuh= (No.
17--the illumination of torches). Is it true that there is climbing by
torchlight (not =moonlight=, gentle reader) within the chasm?
Light is thrown on the ancient text by a statement already in part
quoted: "We fear that we shall have to stay here =clinging= to the rocks
until daylight. Our little Indian gathers a few dry stems, ties them in
a bundle, lights one end, and holds it up. The others do the same, and
with these torches we find a way out of trouble. =Helping= each other,
holding =torches= for each other, one =clinging= to another's =hand=
until we get footing, then supporting the other on his shoulders, so we
make our passage into the depths of the canyon. And now Captain Bishop
has kindled a huge fire of driftwood, on the bank of the river. This and
the fires in the gulch opposite, and our own =flaming torches=, light up
little patches, that make more manifest the awful darkness below. Still,
on we go, for an hour or two, and at last we see Captain Bishop coming
up the gulch, with a =huge= torch-light on his shoulders. He looks like
a fiend waving brands and lighting the fires of hell, and the men in the
opposite gulch are imps lighting delusive fires in inaccessible
crevices, over yawning chasms.... At last we meet Captain Bishop with
his flaming torch" (n. 65). And so the brilliant description continues.
What is all this but the =chuh yuen= of the ancient record? Here surely
is "an illumination of torches."
Torches and Climbing, say the Ancients.
Torches and Climbing, say the Moderns.
[Illustration]
We can readily understand why the ancient occupants of the stone houses
in the Grand Canyon, should have used the torches so liberally and
conveniently supplied by nature throughout the region where their light
is too often sadly or desperately needed. We have been informed by a
modern visitor that ruined cave habitations are to be seen along "lofty
and inaccessible ledges." And these dwellings "were reached by very
narrow, precipitous, and devious paths, and being extremely difficult to
attain by the occupants themselves, presented an impregnable front to
invaders."
Surely here torches would often come in handy.
Dr. Fewkes believes that the ancient occupants of the cliff or cave
houses chose hazardous sites in order to be out of the reach of enemies.
He says:
"The pressure of outside tribes, or what may be called human
environment, probably had much to do originally with the choice of caves
for houses. The experienced archaeologist also draws attention to
Jackson's remark that finger imprints answering to those of women, "may
still be traced in the mortar" of the dwellings (n. 66). Many interiors
indeed are covered with smooth plaster in which the impressions of small
and delicate fingers appear.
Of course, women and children formerly lived on the "inaccessible
ledges"; and sons, fathers, husbands, or brothers, away perhaps hunting
in distant glens or forests, were comparatively free from anxiety
concerning the condition of loved ones at home. And if savages with
tomahawks and scalping knives came stealing through ravines to the foot
of impregnable stairways, the mothers aloft, pressing children to their
breasts and looking down on baffled foes, must have felt something of
the emotion which throbs through the well-known lines, written indeed by
a woman,--
For the strength of the hills we bless Thee,
Our God, our fathers' God!
Thou hast made Thy children mighty
By the touch of the mountain sod;
Thou hast fixed our ark of refuge
Where the spoiler's foot ne'er trod;--
For the strength of the hills we bless Thee,
Our God, our fathers' God!
And if in the darkness of night, the awaited signal or cry were heard
arising from the heart of the abyss, how quickly the doors would be
opened and ropes lowered and torches lighted to help the hunters to
their homes on high! Torches flaming and eyes gleaming. Lights flashing
in all directions. An illumination of torches. No wonder the Canyon was
noted for its =chuh yuen= and cave dwellings.
Lights, Climbing, and Caves, say the Ancients.
Lights, Climbing, and Caves, say the Moderns.
The account continues thus:
26. =Leang= (the principal, the chief; a bridge, a beam.)
27. =kien= (official writing; to mark; a slip of bamboo for making notes
on; a classifier of folios or sheets.)
28. =wan= (strokes, lines, literature, literary; a despatch.)
29. =Ta= (Great.)
30. =Hoh= (Canyon.)
31. =fu= (to spread abroad as decrees; to exact; to demand.)
A =leang= or chief is here referred to in connection with the Great
Canyon. The ruler is not exactly called the King or supreme head (=chwen
suh=). Indeed, we have been already informed that the head ruler was a
mere nurseling (at the time when he abandoned his Lute in the Canyon)
and such an infant carried about by the mother who had just brought him
into the world, among the cliffs and canyons, would evidently have been
unable to either write or issue decrees. Of course, however, a nominally
subordinate chief (or =leang=) might have attended to the details of
government and ruled or directed the movements of the Sun people in the
name of the infant King. Such a minister might have spread abroad
decrees or commands within the Canyon.
Are any writings to be seen on its walls?
An explorer already in part quoted, says: "At last we meet Captain
Bishop with his flaming torch.... On a broad shelf we find the ruins of
an old stone house, the walls of which are broken down, and we can see
where the ancient people who lived here--a race more highly civilized
than the present--had made a garden, and used a great spring, that comes
out of the rocks, for irrigation. On some rocks near by we discover some
curious etchings" (n. 67).
Here are cliff writings.
Again, on the brink of a rock 200 feet high stands an old house. Its
walls are of stone, laid in mortar, with much regularity.... On the face
of the cliff, under the building and along down the river for 200 or 300
yards, there are many etchings."
Here are writings "spread abroad" within the =Ta-hoh= or Great Canyon.
Not painted on the cliffs, but cut into the stone! Beyond the reach or
malice of savage tribes, they doubtless furnished directions to friendly
clans, telling where certain companies had moved, and so forth.
"On many of the tributaries of the Colorado I have heretofore examined
their deserted dwellings.... Sometimes the mouths of caves have been
walled across and there are many other evidences to show their anxiety
to secure defensible positions. Probably the nomadic tribes were
sweeping down upon them, and they resorted to these cliffs and canyons
for safety.... Here I stand where these now lost people stood centuries
ago, and look over this strange country."
The former chief of the Ethnological Bureau also says that at the mouth
of the Colorado Chiquito he discovered some curious remains, such as
ruins and pottery, also "etchings and hieroglyphics on the rocks."
Some of the cliff or cave dwellings are singularly impressive. Baron
Nordenskiold, says of one, called the "Cliff Palace," that it well
deserves its proud name, "for with its round towers and high walls ...
deep in the mysterious twilight of the cavern, and defying in their
sheltered site the ravages of time, it resembled at a distance an
enchanted castle."
And Chapin exclaims: "Surely its discoverer had not overstated the
beauty and magnitude of this strange ruin. There it was, occupying a
great oval space under a grand cliff wonderful to behold, appearing like
an immense ruined castle with dismantled towers" (n. 68).
And yet Dr. Fewkes very rationally refuses to regard it as a
"palace"--occupied merely by a king and servants or else officers of
state managing an empire. Of course some nook within sheltered its
ruler. But it is merely a pueblo--set within a cave. One French visitor
says: "Il est probable que Cliff-Palace n'abritait pas moins de 500
personnes" (n. 69).
At this rate it would have required forty such structures (or equivalent
clusters of apartments) to shelter, say, 20,000 individuals.
There is mention of cave dwellings in connection with the Great Canyon;
and as Sun people with a supreme ruler (although but a suckling) are
represented as climbing within the chasm, with the aid of torches, we
expect to find curious remains in connection with the caverns. Nor are
we disappointed. Here are mouths of caves walled up for defensive
purposes. Here are ramparts, towers, and fortified structures classed
with castles.
We are informed that decrees were spread abroad in the Canyon; and
searching for the ancient inscriptions, we find that they are cut into
the cliffs. This shows that the former dwellers were able to cut and
work stone; and abundant remains of masonry are at hand to sustain this
deduction.
The personality of the =ju=, or suckling ruler, remains to be
investigated, and should yield curious--most surprising--results; but,
of course, reasonable, logical critics will not for an instant confound
such an inquiry with that just finished. Even absolute failure to
unearth the facts with regard to the Prince and his royal mother, can
not shake the plain fact that we have actually found an account of the
Grand Canyon, the Colorado River, and the Gulf of California, in an
ancient Chinese book.
PIMO AND THE CASAS GRANDES
It may further be remarked that the Chinese paragraph which immediately
follows the account of our Canyon, mentions a place called "Pi-mo."
This is its pronunciation in Canton, but in Shanghai, where =mo= is
accorded the sound of =mu= (see Williams' dict. p. 1154 and p. 1186,
column 6) =Pi-mo= would be called =Pi-mu=. Now, this Pi-mo or Pi-mu is
said (see existing translation) to be situated in the "south-east corner
of the desert beyond the eastern sea.
Proceeding eastward until the "Eastern Sea," which washes the coast of
China, is crossed, the modern investigator reaches California and
Arizona. And here, in the region or basin of the Colorado, he finds a
place still called "Pi-mo." It is in Arizona, with a "desert" of
sand--the desert of California and Sonora--to its west and south, and a
region of running streams, grass, and forests to its east. =Pimo= is
itself in the "desert"--in a "south-east corner of the desert beyond the
Eastern Sea." It is entirely dependent on artificial irrigation for its
limited power to support human beings.
Here are ruined buildings whose origin is shrouded in mystery and around
or about which controversies have raged for centuries.
One visitor, an American officer, states that his General "asked a Pimo,
who made the house I had seen?" The house was one of the Casas Grandes
in the neighborhood of Pimo. Who had made it? was now the question. The
reply was: "It was built by the son of the most beautiful woman who once
dwelt in yon mountain; she was fair and all the handsome men came to
court her, but in vain; when they came, they paid tribute, and out of
this small store she fed all people in times of famine and it did not
diminish."
Moreover, "at last she brought forth a boy, who was the builder of all
these houses."
The Pimo Indian "seemed unwilling to talk about them, but said there
were plenty more of them to the north, south, west, etc." (note 70.)
[Was the royal suckling or Prince ever carried down into the neighboring
Grand Canyon by the beneficient being, his mother? Was he a =shao hao=
(as the Chinese might say) or little Child of the Sun? Did he ever see
the Cliff Palace? Were he and his people connected with the cave and
cliff-dwellings? And when he retired from the Canyon did he fail to take
with him a Lute?]
If the royal suckling (or =ju=) of the Chinese account ever actually
lived in the neighborhood of the Grand Canyon, or in the vicinity of
Pimo, and was connected with a restless or troubled nation of Cliff
Dwellers or stone-house builders, why should not the Indians have some
traditional, even if but hazy recollection of both the suckling and his
imperial mother? The forefathers of the Pimos must have beheld them, and
it is difficult to suppose that the ancient legendary knowledge has
completely evaporated from the aboriginal memory. As we have learned the
construction of the Casas Grandes at Pimo is connected with the advent
or movements of an intelligent, even if harassed race of Builders who
owed allegiance to a Princess or her child. And if it is a fact that in
a time of famine the royal lady fed the ancestors of the Pimos, we
wonder not that the nation has enshrined her image within its ceaseless,
throbbing heart. The hill-top on which she gave birth to her suckling is
remembered to the present hour and was pointed to by the Pimo
interpreter when telling the American General about the merciful being
who fed the hungry in a time of famine (and perhaps had relieved or
cheered his own ancestor.)
Let us not overlook or snub the fact that Pimo--the Pimo of "the region
beyond the Eastern Sea" is actually mentioned in the same breath with
the Grand Canyon and the Gulf. It is represented by characters numbered
9 and 10 in the extract from the ancient Chinese volume, now set before
the patient and intelligent reader who appreciates or perceives the
difficulties connected with the present investigation.
The last column (reading from right to left) consists of 12 characters,
which express the following sense:
=Ta=--=Hg=--east--south--corner--=has=--=shan= (mountain or
height)--called--=Pi mo=--=ti=--=kiu=.
The 11th term, =ti=, stands for "place;" and a =kiu= is a level-topped
hill. As it is also called a =shan= (see No. 7), the =kiu= should be a
prominent eminence having a level space on top.
The name =Pi-mo= is expressed by putting =Pi=, which signifies "skin" or
"case," along with =mo=, which simply stands for "mother."
A mother, or a maternal case is connected with the =Pi-mo kiu= or
level-topped hill. Is such an eminence to be seen in the vicinity of
Pi-mo? Has it a flat summit? Are there any signs that it was inhabited
by the queen of the Builders? The Pimo Indian told the general that on
the hill-top in the vicinity--in the Lower Gila Valley--a female ruler
gave birth to a child. Is there any foundation for the legend? Where is
her house?
[Illustration]
Referring to the structures in Arizona, an observer draws particular
attention to one "comparatively intact in the lower Gila valley."
He says: "The hill on which it is built rises abruptly from the
surrounding lowlands to the height of a full thousand feet. Near the
northwest corner the ancient strategists began at a height of thirty
feet, carving a narrow pathway to the summit. Here an irregular stone
staircase has been made, passable by one person at a time. At intervals
watchtowers were constructed, from which huge boulders could be hurled
down upon the advancing foe.
"The road makes three complete circles above the hill before reaching
the upper =level=." [Here is a =level=-topped hill or =kiu=.] "Here
another monument of early fortitude inspired by the love of life
presents itself. There is, perhaps, three acres of =level= rock on the
summit. For a depth of nearly two feet the entire =plateau= is covered
with rich soil 'packed up' from below. When one pauses to think of the
immense labor involved in carrying this mass of earth up the irregular
winding stone staircase, a feeling of admiration springs up for these
simple patient people."
It is plain that there is a =level=-topped hill (or =kiu=) in the
vicinity of Pimo. And it is directly connected in Indian tradition with
the movements of a race of builders who reared "all these houses," and
were directed or governed by a beneficient being who here gave birth to
a remarkable prince. But it is enough at present to observe that the
Chinese symbols connect Pimo--the Pimo of the "region beyond the Eastern
Sea"--with a Mother, or notable Birth. And when the American General--in
our region beyond the Eastern Sea--inquires at Pimo for information,
concerning its now silent and forsaken ruins, the Pimo interpreter
instantly responds by raising his arm and pointing to the hill of the
royal birth.
The Hill of the Maternal Case is there, say the Chinese.
The Hill of the Maternal Case is Here, say the Pimos.
The hill is prominent or lofty and quite level on top. It is in truth a
=kiu= (pronounced like our own word cue) and holds aloft some
impregnable dwellings and also a green spot or abandoned garden--clay
having been carried aloft a thousand feet by devoted Builders in part to
raise flowers for the young mother. But, of course, her own bud was the
brightest of all. And every one told her so. And what a wide view from
the summit! And how cool the air up there! How different from the
blazing Canyon (with its hidden or abandoned Lute.)
"The General asked a Pimo, who made the house I had seen? 'It is the
Casa de Montezuma', said he; it was built by the son of the most
beautiful woman who once dwelt in yon mountain; she was fair--"
Notice here the name "Montezuma."
The Casas Grandes at Pimo were fortunately seen by Spanish explorers in
the 16th century, and "the Indians then assigned them an age of no less
than 500 years." (note 71.)
Of course the Casa Grande Montezuma (or Builder Prince of the 11th
century) could not have been the Montezuma who was overthrown by Cortez
in the 16th century. As well confound William of Normandy with William
of Holland, because each was a William! Let fools do that!
One writer says with regard to the legends of the sedentary Indians,
that "the name of Montezuma runs through all of these--not generally
referring to the king whom we are accustomed to identify with that name,
but to the great chief of the golden or heroic age." (n. 72)
There are noticeable variations in the name or title of the ancient
king. Thus one Spanish explorer speaks of "the Casa Grande, or palace of
=Moc=-te-zuma" (n. 73.)
Here we have =Moc= (or =Mok=, as it is by others spelled) instead of
=Mon= (ti-zuma.)
Another authority furnishes the spelling =Mo=-te-cuh-=zoma=, and adds,
that it is "found written also =Moc=-te-zuma, Mu-teczuma, Mo-texuma" (n.
74.)
Notice the three different spellings or sounds--=Mo=, =Mu=, and =Mok=,
prefixed to "=te-zuma=...."
The title =te= or =ti= (or =te-cuh=) signifies warrior or lordly ruler
(n. 75.) As for =suma= it is said to mean "sad, angry, or severe." [But
SOMA may include an allusion to the water of immortality and embrace the
notion of divine descent.]
=Mok= (the =te-zuma=) =Mo= or =Mu= were names or titles bestowed on the
11th century Builder Prince who was connected with the construction of
the Casas Grandes in the Pimo section, and was born on a prominent
hill-top there. He was =Mok=, =Mo= or =Mu=.
Turning to the Chinese account we find that the royal =ju= or suckling
connected with the region of the Grand Canyon and Pimo, was likewise
known as =Mu=. (note 76.)
In addition, the suckling is repeatedly called a =ti= (or =te= as it is
just as often spelled.) And this, so far, agrees with the title of the
Pimo infant, whose name is frequently said to be =Mu-ti= (zuma.)
A =Mu-ti=, say the Chinese.
A =Mu-ti=, say the Pimos.
According to the Chinese record, the imperial (=ti= or =te=) heir
apparent (or =yuen-tsz=) suckling or baby (=ju=) whose estate or
patrimony (=chan=) was =Loh-ming= (name of a region) lived or resided
(=ku=) as the tender, delicate youth (=yao=) =Mu=.
Here we see that the heir apparent the ju or baby was both =Mu= and a
=ti=. The old account connects the infantile ruler with a region called
Loh-ming. We need not delay to ascertain the position of this province
or land; enough now to observe that wherever it was, the =ju= and =ti=
lived there (or lived some where) as the pleasing and tender =Mu=.
The baby was =Mu=.
This name, like some of our own names, such as Grace, Patience, Clement,
is frequently used as an adjective. It may stand for either "beauty" or
"majesty," but it is also, at times, a surname. (note 77.)
As already seen, the Great Canyon with the connected bottomless abyss,
in the region beyond the Eastern Sea, is connected with the Sun and Moon
Shan. And on this Shan is "the Great Men's Country" (see existing
translation.) Now a Chinese comment (note 78) informs us that the
=forts= of the entirely great =Mu= formerly held or possessed this Great
Men's Country (which is on the Sun and Moon Shan.)
Information is next furnished concerning the largest Walrusses, and it
is plain that the polar region is referred to. The account is quite
clear, as any Chinese scholar can see, now that we have pointed out the
position of the passage.
It might seem advisable to prove that the haunt of the Walrus was known
to the ancient Chinese writers who have furnished accounts of America,
but it is unnecessary to do this, seeing that the phenomenon of Ten
Suns, which is only visible at the Arctic Circle, is referred to in the
ancient books. Moreover, as we have learned, appearances of five or
seven suns (or moons) shining simultaneously in the sky, are distinctly
connected with the Sun and Moon Shan. It was therefore known that the
mountain system of North America, stretches upward--like the Branches of
a Tree--from the vicinity of the Grand Canyon to the Polar region, or
place of the Ten Suns. And from a point here, the shores of
North-eastern Tartary or Asia can be seen without even the aid of an
opera-glass.
It now appears that in the remote past there was a ruler named =Mu=
dwelling in the mountainous land which stretches from the Grand Canyon
to the Arctic Ocean. His domain was on the Sun and Moon Shan.
And he had fortified dwellings or forts.
Where, today, are the remains of the ancient strongholds?
One observer says with reference to the cliff-dwellings, that they "have
the appearance of fortified retreats. The occupants, on account of
"decending hordes devised these =unassailable= retreats.... The builders
hold no smallest niche in recorded history. Their aspirations, their
struggles and their fate are all unwritten, save in these crumbling
stones, which are their sole monuments and meagre epitaph. Here once
they dwelt. They left no other print on time." (note 79.)
The "unassailable retreats" noticed by this melancholy writer may well
be some of the strongholds of Mu and his followers or warriors. The
ancient pueblos (or Casas Grandes) are of great strength. When the
"ladders are drawn in, the various sides present a perpendicular front
to an enemy, and the building itself becomes a =fortress=." Further,
"The strength of the walls of these structures was proved during the
Mexican war, when it was found that they were impregnable to
field-artillery." (note 80.)
The Spanish soldier, Castenada, in the 16th century said with regard to
the Pimo Casa Grande, that "it seemed to have served as a fortress."
(note 81.)
Now, =Pimo=--represented by the symbols for a maternal case and hill--is
mentioned on the very page of the Chinese book which notices our Grand
Canyon. Then, we are told that cliff-dwellings were here and a Sun
Prince (at first a mere =ju= or infant) called =Mu=, and that he or his
followers erected forts or fortresses.
And here we find no scarcity of ancient strongholds.
And when we ask the Indians for the name of the ruler who governed the
now decaying strongholds, their answer is--=Mu=.
The very title in the Chinese book.
=Mu=, say the Ancients.
=Mu=, say our Indians.
It may be said that some of the latter pronounce the title =Mo=. One of
our philologists speaks of "Montezuma, or more correctly,
=Mo=tecuhzoma." (note 82.)
Another authority says: "Montezuma, or more correctly, =Moc=tezuma."
(note 83.)
In his account of the Casa Grande, the old time Spanish traveler, Padre
Garces, says: On this river is situated the house which they call
=Moc=tezuma's. (note 84.)
It is evident that the two pronunciations =Mo= and =Mok= are preferred
to =Mon= (tezuma) and that =Mu= has also its advocates.
Curiously enough, these three sounds =Mu=, =Mo=, and =Mok=, are likewise
applied to the one character by the Chinese literati.
The identical symbol which Williams calls =Mu= is in another dictionary
(see Bailley's, iii, p. 246) termed =Mo=.
Morrison (vol. IV, p. 600-1) says that the two sounds =Mu= and =Mo= are
both applied, and that in Canton this selfsame character is called
=Mok=.
It thus appears that the builder or ruler of the fortresses in the
region beyond the Eastern Sea, might be called =Mu=, =Mo=, or =Mok=.
And in the region referred to--"the region beyond the Eastern Sea"--we
find many strongholds or forts (as well as cave-dwellings;) and when
antiquarians inquire of the Indians for the name of the ancient Builder
Prince, they are variously informed that he was the glorious =Mu=, =Mo=,
or =Mok=.
If the royal infant (or =ju=) became in process of time a ruler of
fortresses (=tai=) which "formerly held the Great Men's Country" (on the
Sun and Moon Shan) would be surprising to find that he himself had been
born within the shelter of a =tai= or fortress? And what is the
fortified hill at Pimo but a fortress? He counts it as the first of the
forts of =Mu= or =Mo-ti= in "the region beyond the Eastern Sea."
Remember that our own government has erected numbers of forts on
hilltops throughout the South-west expressly for the purpose of holding
such tribes as the Navajoes and Apaches in check. (And in addition we
are furnishing the red men with supplies.) But in the 11th century there
were no Congressional appropriations, no detachments of troops hurrying
down from Washington to preserve order. Yet the ancestors of our savage
tribes were certainly there. And although the warrior chieftans
immediately around the young queen appear to have been filled with
jealousy of each other, it is certain that they were united as one in
devising for the princess a calm or sure retreat which no barbaric host
could take by assault. From its base the savage ranks would reel, or
break into foam like waves of the sea.
Aloft in this secure retreat she gave birth to =Mo=.
Who was his father?
The American General already referred to, supplies his own report of the
Pimo interpreter's words:
"All he knew was a tradition amongst them, 'that in bygone days, a woman
of surpassing beauty resided in a green spot in the mountains near the
place where we were encamped. All the men admired and paid court to her.
She received the tributes of their devotion, grain, skins, etc., but
gave no love or other favor in return. Her virtue and her determination
to remain unmarried were equally firm. There came a drought which
threatened the world with famine. In their distress, people applied to
her, and she gave corn from her stock, and the supply seemed to be
endless. Her goodness was unbounded. One day, as she was lying asleep
with her body exposed, a drop of rain fell on her stomach, which
produced conception. A son was the issue, the founder of a new race
which built all these houses'.... The houses of the people (the
agricultural or sedentary Pimos) are mere sheds, thatched with willow
and corn stalks" (n. 85.)
This report is more rational than the other in so far as it represents
the multitudinous houses of stone or adobe as being reared by a "race"
rather than by a "boy"! But, of course, the "son" could not have been
the "founder" of his mother or of her ancestors. It is further apparent
that the infant could not have been either the builder or inventor of
the house or stronghold in which he was born.
Of course it is an impossibility to get at the exact truth in relation
to the mysterious birth. The unwedded lady's own account ought to
constitute a sufficient explanation, and would--but for the unfortunate
historic fact that no mother has ever been known to tell her children
the truth about their production. Even Christian mothers lie precisely
like Pagans in this respect, and are just as thorough-going humbugs as
Hannah in the temple, when questioned for details. They will tell a poor
helpless, green, inquiring child, for instance, that they found him in a
cabbage, when the actual truth is that they got him from a stork. We
therefore unanimously dismiss their worse than useless testimony as that
of a shameless pack of preposterous deluderers.
It is probable that the Pimo princess may have been secretly wedded or
united to some man whom she really loved and preferred to all others.
Yet an open avowal of such preference might have caused his death or
might have turned the love of rival suitors into hate and brought about
the ruin of the already sufficiently perplexed and troubled nation.
But would not the birth of the infant have revealed all?
Certainly, but in the present instance the Queen seems to have contented
herself with the announcement that she had got her child from Heaven.
Her friends, including doubtless the priests, at once spread abroad the
story that the infant--the Child of the Sun--was of celestial origin.
This tale may not have completely satisfied the numerous rival
claimants for the lady's hand. But how disprove it? And why assail or
shake the authority of the beautiful young queen? Why not draw closer
together, bury their mutual animosities or rivalries and face the
murderous hordes thronging the passes of the Rocky Mountains and slopes
of the Mississippi Valley? Why not grasp at the hope--embodied in the
suckling born on the hilltop--that Heaven had furnished a leader, a
reincarnated divinity of the wandering nation, who would guide the
despairing people onward to new fields of national glory and prosperity.
It may of course be said that such predictions were never realized, but
it is certain that they were cherished. Even the Mokis, Tunis and Pimos
still regard =Mo-ti= as immortal and await his return. He is "the
demigod of their earliest traditions, watching over them from Heaven and
waiting to come again to bring to them victory and a period of millenial
glory and happiness" (n. 86.) And, of course, those who actually
followed the leader =Mu= must have felt strongly the ties of affection
and veneration. And who were the people who got across to Mongolia with
accounts of our Grand Canyon, Gulf and Continental Tree--crowned with
its wreath of multiplied suns?
[Doubtless the notion that our =Mu-te= (or =Te-Mu=) was of divine
origin, had a surprising, stimulating effect. Curiously enough, Asiatic
writers notice a =Te-mu= (=Te-mu-dzin= or =Temugin=) who arose in
Tartary in the early part of the 12th century, and therefore might be
regarded as the contemporary of our =Mu= born at Pimo about the year
1100. Some say this Tartarean conqueror was called Timour or Temur-chi,
and his origin is wrapt in mystery. One account treats him as a demigod,
but other statements assume that a divinity was his remote ancestor. He
is said to belong to the race that broke out of Irkena Kon (or the
mountain valley), situated in some out of the way and dangerous region.
Personally this =Mu= came from a distant land. Some historians whose
time is valuable readily find Irkena Kon in the vicinity of the Caspian
Sea, but others declare that it must be situated in the direction of the
Arctic Ocean!
[In his old age, in or about the year 1153, this supposed demigod had a
child born to him. The name of Temudzin or Temugin was bestowed upon the
infant. When thirteen years old his father--the demigod--died, and the
extensive empire which the parent had established fell into political
pieces. Gibbon, in his "Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire," chap.
LXIV, says that the young prince Temugin could only claim authority over
about 12,000 families. We should never overlook this fact when
contemplating his career. Every incident in his history is known. His
name has resounded through the world. He rose to be a mighty conqueror.
He became Jenghiz Khan--King of Kings--grandsire of Kublai Khan,
ancestor of Tamerlane and the Great Moguls, and of no end of Persian or
Moslem Sultans or Kings.
[The immediate followers of Jenghiz Khan always declared that success
awaited him because he was the son of a God. Petis de la Croix denounces
such a claim as a piece of "insolence," yet it might better be regarded
as a form of delusion. But notice the victorious lengths to which this
delusion carried believers. And the notion promulgated at Pimo, in the
midst of crowding calamities,--that the royal infant was a Son of
Heaven,--might have been intended to console and stimulate a despairing
nation. And the spiritual stimulus appears to have transported its
believers to such lengths that aboriginal Americans seem to have lost
track of the demigod, and know not from what point he may return.
[The father of Temugin was the founder of the =Yuen= dynasty, or at all
events an ancestral king. He is generally called Yisukai or Pysukai
Behadur, but such is a mere title, signifying "9th hero," and not a
proper name at all. Some lucid commentators will positively tell us that
it was not the father of Jenghiz Khan, but his 9th father or ancestor,
who was the God. But with such hair-splitting we need not concern
ourselves. Enough to note the uplifting, psychological effect or result
of faith or belief in divine aid or protection. No wonder David
exclaims: "Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me."
[In the case of the Tartars, the results of their exalted faith were
indeed surprising. The Crusades of the Christians had proved a failure.
Jerusalem had passed from their hands. Richard, King of England, had
been taken prisoner. The Moslems, according to Gibbon, were preparing
for the invasion of Europe. Their brethren were actually intrenched in
the heart of Spain. Enraged against western nations for the long war
waged against their power, armies were gathering for the conquest and
plunder of Christendom. The crescent instead of the cross, says Gibbon,
was to glitter on the spire of St. Paul's.
[But at this very juncture, Jenghiz Khan and his followers came pouring
forth from the wilds of Tartary. The Sultan felt secure within his line
of fortified cities which hitherto had repelled every assault. But the
Tartarean host--led by warriors of the race from Irkena Kon--overthrew
the Moslems in every encounter. They ransacked the provinces and gave
the cities to the flames. And the children or successors of the
conqueror completed the work which he had begun. Bagdad which for ages
had successfully defied the invading, crusading armies of Europe, was
destroyed, and an end put to the Caliphate so long enthroned within its
historic walls. The conquest of China was completed by Kublai Khan, and
an empire formed which stretched from the Indian Ocean to the Arctic,
and from the Pacific to the Mediterranean Sea.]
Even traditions of tribes that most certainly remained behind in Arizona
and consequently did not disappear in company with the mysterious =Mu=
or Mo-te, declare that he was an agent of Providence. He was the "equal"
of the "Great Spirit" and "was often considered identical with the Sun"
(n. 87.) Had he remained in Arizona, his son in due time might have
claimed divine descent through his father the demigod.
CHINESE KNOWLEDGE OF THE PIMO DEMIGOD.
But if the =Mu-te= (or =Te-Mu=,) builder or ruler of fortresses in the
region of Pimo and the Grand Canyon, was identical with our Pimo
=Mu-te=, he should be referred to as semi-divine, in the Chinese record.
And so he actually is. Even here the evidence does not fail. But
conception of the little sun-child did not occur on the well watched or
guarded hilltop at Pimo. It was in a green wilderness noted for its hay
or grass and butchering of beasts, that a phantasm approached the
female--and so on.
Fortunately we can turn away from this particular account of the visit
of incubus, seeing that the necessary information is more conveniently
furnished elsewhere (n. 88.) The name of a mountain, which may or may
not have been far indeed from the Grand Canyon, is furnished, and we are
informed that =Shao Hao= dwelt (=ku=) there (=chi=.) In addition he is
called a sovereign (=ti= or =te=) and a =shan=.
Now this term, =shan=, according to Williams (p. 737,) stands for "the
gods, the divinities, a god, a supernatural good being; divine;
spiritual, as being higher than man; godlike, wonderful, superhuman; to
deify.
The =Shao Hao= (or =Mu-ti=) is a =shan= or god.
A god! say the Chinese.
A god! say the Indians.
Taking the account as it stands, it appears that an incarnated god (in
the shape of the =Shao Hao Mu=) was at one time within the Grand Canyon
(which still retains his "lute.")
Notice that the "country contiguous to the mighty chasm is called the
"Shao Hao's country."
Next observe that the vast chasm (or =ta-hoh=) is itself called the
Great Canyon of the Incarnated God (or =Keang Shang=.) =Shang= stands
for "Heaven" or supreme;" and Keang signifies "to descend from a higher
level, to come from the sky, to fall as rain, to come into the world as
Christ did" (Williams.) The contiguous country is named in honor of the
=Shao Hao=, or sun-child, who is called a =shan= or god. And "=Keang
Shang's= ta-hoh" or great Canyon is also named in honor of this =shan=
or god--this incarnated god.
And here, "in the region beyond the Eastern Sea," the land is ringing
with his name. He was =Mu= or =Mo-te= and a builder of forts, and above
and beyond all this he was an incarnation of the Great Spirit!
"The name, at this moment, is as familiar to every Indian, Apache and
Navajoe as that of our Savior or Washington is to us" (n. 89.)
Bancroft says: "Under restrictions, we may fairly regard him as the
Melchizedek, the =Moses=, and the Messiah of the Pueblo desert-wanderers
from an Egypt that history is ignorant of, and whose name even tradition
whispers not."
A Messiah and Demigod! say the Chinese.
A Messiah and Demigod! say Americans.
Bancroft, says, that according to Indian paintings or traditions, the
Messiah or Demigod of Pueblo tradition had red or yellow hair.
Then Mo was a white man and his mother a white woman.
Such a conclusion agrees completely with the teaching of the ancient
Chinese book just quoted. We are informed with reference to a certain
mountain, that: =Ki= (the) =shan= (god or spirit) =poh= (white) =ti=
(sovereign) =Shao hao= (little sun-child) =ku= (dwelt) =chi= (there).
Next appears a comment stating in the plainest possible terms that =Shao
Hao= of the =Kin Tien= dynasty was a virtuous or excellent ruler.
The =Shao Hao= who was at the Ta-hoh or Great Canyon is here called a
=White King=.
Mons. Rosny, in his French translation, declares that the divine or
superhuman =Shao Hao= was "l'empereur Blanc." (note 90.)
One well known writer and archaeologist says with reference to the
builders of some structures in the Pimo region, that there is "reason to
suppose that they were a light-skinned people. At least one red-haired
skull and one with still lighter hair were found. Hair has been but
rarely found not over a half dozen times in all. In three cases it was
black." (note 91.)
According to aboriginal testimony, 800 years have rolled by since the
time of burial, and hair has lingered on but few of the heads it once
adorned. But when discovered it is seen to be quite different from the
hair of the Indians.
Those interested in the subject of the Cliff-dwellers should study the
accurate reports of the Ethnological Bureau and also the writings of
Editor Peet the well known "American Antiquarian." These works should be
in the libraries of all Americanists.
According to the American Antiquarian, Doctor Birdsall reports that
dried bodies have been found in tombs on the Mesa Verde in Arizona and
the "hair of the head has been found partly preserved on some mummies.
It is said to be of fine texture, not coarse like Indian hair and
varying in color from shades of yellowish brown to reddish brown and
black" ... The Wetherills exhumed one mummy having a short brownish
beard." (note 92.)
We are further informed that mummies have been taken from "a
hermetically sealed cave in the Canyon of the Gila River," and two of
the bodies were those of women. The females "retain their long, flowing
silken hair." The "bodies were covered with highly colored clothes,
which crumbled on exposure. Three kinds were saved, and one a deep blue
woven in diamond shapes. No implements or utensils were found.... All
the consuls and many scientific men inspected the mummies yesterday.
Among those present were Henry A. Ward, of Rochester, N. Y., Kate Field,
Dr. Harkness, Academy of Sciences." Other Doctors and Professors were
present and also "Historian Bancroft." (n. 93.)
In addition to all this, Professor C. L. Webster, the accomplished,
painstaking, and trusted scientist of Charles City, Iowa, has unearthed
a body whose silent testimony is truly inestimable. In the
"Archaeological Bulletin," issued by the International Society of
Archaeologists (Madison, Indiana,) for July and September, 1912, we find
a photograph of a mummy brought to light by the Professor in a
cliff-house on a head stream of the Gila.
The body is that of a child, and its preservation is due to "the
chemical elements of the soil," etc.
"The hair on the head of the mummy was of a beautiful dark brown color,
and of a soft and silky texture," and "the hair on the head of this
mummified child is of the same color and texture (only finer) as that of
adults found braided in long plaits in an adjoining room"--Page 78.
The Professor believes that "different races" were here contending for
the mastery of the region, and that "one or more of them were driven out
(perhaps destroyed) suddenly" (see article 1.)
Another archaeologist says, that "quite recently hieroglyphics were
discovered in the Tonto Basin country, depicting the driving out of
white people by red men, and local archaeologists have set up a theory
that the people who once cultivated these valleys were white. The
present Indians have many legends of white men being in their country
before the advent of the Spanish conquistodores. Father Marcas Niza, a
pious Jesuit, who accompanied Coronado on his march through this section
in search of the seven lost cities of Cibola, speaks frequently of
allusions made by Indians to white bearded men who were here before" (n.
94.)
[In tracking the missing white race, remember that some of the Toltecs,
like the Mayas of Yucatan, compressed the skull in childhood, that they
had among them a sprinkling of very large men (quinames,) and that in
the wilderness their mode of living would be more like that of Indians
than of cultured, civilized people.]
Mons. Charney has argued that the Mexican Toltecs were of a white race,
but very foolishly argues (like Baron Humboldt) that the Toltecs marched
from Mongolia to Mexico in the 6th century. The illustrious Humboldt has
served Archaeology enormously by drawing attention to the absolute and
startling identity of the Zodiacal signs of the Manchu Tartars with
those of Central America (see Mr. Vining's exceedingly comprehensive and
valuable work entitled "An Inglorious Columbus.")
Skilled, scientific archaeologists connected with the Washington Bureau
have all along been contending that the cliff or cave dwellings, forts,
pueblos, and mounds of North America were constructed by native-born
Americans, rather than by Toltecs moving in, say, the 6th century from
Tartary to Arizona or Mexico.
Therefore, as the Toltecs (sun-people and architects or builders) were
certainly settled in Mexico for some centuries prior to the 11th (when
the remnant disappeared,) the ancestors of the pale-faced and cultured
people (see Vining's chapter on the "Toltecs") may like ourselves have
reached America by crossing the Atlantic. The Greek face, the Celtic
face, the Saxon face, and the Jewish or Semitic face are all seen carved
on the tottering walls of temples and palaces in Yucatan (see Charney's
essays.)
Moving to the Vale of Mexico, the Toltecs tried with more or less
success to keep on neighborly terms with the red skinned people. But
thoughtless propagation produced more mouths than could be
filled--except with human flesh. Open war broke out in the 11th century.
The Aztecs or others of the red tribes almost annihilated the Whites;
and Topiltzin Quetzalcoatl, the "last" King of the Toltecs fled north
from Chapultepec,--the selfsame Chapultepec which in our own day has
seen the downfall of Maxmillian and the flight of Diaz.
May not the fair and beautiful Princess at Pimo have belonged to the
outcast Mexican royal family? May not her idolized child have inherited
titles absurdly out of place among the deserts of Arizona? And may not
all the elements in our later Yankee nation have been represented in the
pale-faced people that found refuge among the canyons and cliffs of the
Colorado? If so, their remote or ancestral fathers and mothers were
likewise no less our own.
The curtain of history rises and shows the young Queen of the Builders
on a hill top at Pimo. The structures there, according to aboriginal
testimony were reared about the year 1100,--the very time when the
Toltecs disappeared from the Vale of Mexico. And now the ruins are
yielding up forms of the females who once tenanted those cliffs and
contrived to get plaster and paint with which to adorn the now desolate
and trembling walls. And the yellow, brown, or silky black hair on the
heads of those women who sought to make their bleak and dreary homes
attractive, shows unfailingly their race. Even an ostrich might see it!
Mons. Charney declares that the Toltecs expelled from Mexico in the 11th
century were scholars, artists, astronomers, and philosophers. And their
sisters were certainly no less cultured and refined.
Now, the Shan Hai King states that in "the region beyond the Eastern
Sea" there is (or was) a "Country of Refined Gentlemen."
And Charney argues that "a gentle race were the Toltecs, preferring the
arts to war."
Refined and Gentle--men, says Charney.
Refined Gentlemen, says the Shan Hai King.
Certain comments collected by Jin Chin Ngan, and unnoticed in Mr.
Vining's translation (p. 657), connect the Refined Gentlemen with
pyramids (=k'iu=) and even declare that their dwellings were on mounds
(=ling=).
And Charney says: "Now, the first thing that we find at the houses of
Tula is an example of a mode of building entirely new and curious. The
prevailing tendency of the Toltec is to place his dwellings and his
temples likewise upon eminences and pyramids."
They lived upon Mounds, says Charney.
They lived upon Mounds, says the Shan Hai King.
"They are very gentle, and do not quarrel. They have fragrant plants.
They have a flowering-plant which produces blossoms in the morning that
die in the evening.
The Chinese account calls this vegetable production the =Hwa= plant, and
as =Hwa= stands for "glory" (see Williams' Chinese dict.) it is apparent
that the "Morning Glory" is referred to.
Botanist Wood says: "This =glorious= plant is a =native= of Tropical
America and now universally cultivated. It is also nearly naturalized
with us." (in the United States.)
"The flowers are ephemeral. Beginning to open soon after midnight, they
greet the Sun at his rising, arrayed in all their =glory=" (=Hwa=) "and
before he reaches the meridian, fold their robes and perish. But their
work is done, and their successors, already in bud, will renew the
gorgeous display the following morning."--P. 182.
Such a flower might be held to symbolize the fleeting glory of the
generations which had lived and died in Central America. It still climbs
about the temples of the Sun, saluting its divinity with a smile, and
then falling prostrate among the desolate and forsaken altars. It may
often be seen twining its arms around the monuments of a buried Past,
or pressing its lips to the dust of the vanished race it so speedily
follows.
It lives but a day, says the American botanist.
It lives but a day, says the Shan Hai King.
Surely the works in Arizona are worthy of the exiled Toltecs.
One of the ancient stone structures, on a northern feeder of the Gila,
is so strong, commodious, and so impregnably planted that by universal
consent it is called a Castle. And because the Indian tribes persist in
ascribing its construction to =Mu= or =Mo-te= it is known as
"Montezuma's Castle." The Ethnological Bureau has interested itself in
the preservation of this impressive work of the so-called
Cliff-dwellers, and our Government has taken charge of it as a "National
Monument." And =Ari-zona= is named in honor of the =Ari= or
"Maiden"--the legendary Queen of the Pimo =zona= or Pimo valley. The
mother referred to in the ancient Chinese record is thus remembered in
the title of a Yankee sister State.
Her idolized son is said to have governed Forts, and in the vicinity of
the Castle we find a number of forts. Dr. Fewkes says: "The =forts= were
built on the summits, ... and it is an instructive fact in this
connection that one rarely loses sight of one of these hill =forts=
before another can be =seen=." An "approaching foe" could be discerned
and "smoke signals" would warn field-workers "to retreat to the =forts=
for protection."--28th Rept. Bur. Amer. Ethnol., p. 207. (Read also
connected pages for information relating to the forts and their
builders. The same or an allied people erected also houses in natural
caves or excavated them in soft rock."--P. 219. The latter--the
excavated dwellings are noticed in Asiatic books and will be dealt with
in next pamphlet--if such is ever written.)
We have found the "Forts" and also Pimo (or Pima as some pronounce the
name) with its Princess and her child. And have we not found the Gulf
and Canyon referred to by the departed Ancients. Have we not found
everything except perhaps the abandoned imperial Lute? And even it may
yet be recovered. Let it be dug for at the Cliff of the Harp. Perhaps it
may yet be resurrected--
"A Harp that in darkness and silence forsaken
Has slumbered while ages rolled slowly along,
Once more in its own native land may awaken
And pour from its chords all the raptures of song.
"Unhurt by the dampness that o'er it was stealing,
Its strings in full chorus, resounding sublime,
May 'rouse all the ardor of patriot feeling
And gain a bright wreath from the relics of time."
APPENDIX
(Note 1) see Mr. Vining's "An Inglorious Columbus," p. 659. (2)
=Jin-Chin Ngan's= comment in 14th Book of the Shan Hai King. (3) Kane's
work. (4) Van Troil's "Iceland," 1, 643: Headley's "Island of Fire," p.
100. (5) Dr. Le Plongeon's "Queen Moo," xl, xlii, 175. (6) Vining, 182,
659, 666. (7) Vining; 182. (8) Vining, 659. (9) Vining, 659. (10) see
index for essays collected by Mr. Vining. (11) see Chinese version of
Shan Hai King, with Jin-chin-ngan's notes, (the latter being omitted in
Mr. V.'s translation, p. 661.) (12) see either the =Shan Hai King=, book
14, or the translation of same. (13) Vin. 661. (14) Mark Twain's
"Roughing It," p. 101. (15) Lieut. Ives' Report, Pt. 1, p. 23. (16)
Powell's Report. (17) Scribners' Mag. Nov. 1890. (18) R. R. Co.'s
Handbook on "Colorado." (19) Powell's Report.
(Note 20) Stanton in Scribners' Mag. Nov. 1890. (21) Mr. F. A. Ober.
(22) (compare Mr. Vining's translations with original Chinese
statement.) (23) =Jin-Chin-ngan's= note (never hitherto translated into
English.) (24) Dunraven's "Great Divide." (25) Vin. 647. (26) Powell's
Report, 29, 35, 86. (27) Powell, 32, 71. (28) Vin. 532. (29) Stanton.
(30) Mr. Clampitt's "Echoes from the Rocky Mts." 218. (31) Powell, p.
30. (32) "Glimpses of America" (Phila. 1894) p. 80. (33) Stanton. (34)
"Glimpses." 78. (35) Powell, 16, 30. (36) Ives. Pt. I, 28; ii, p. 8.
(37) Powell, 63, 86. (38) "Glimpses," 78. (39) Ives, 42.
(Note 40) =Ives'= Rept., Pt. I, p. 73. (41) F. A. Ober in Brooklyn
=Times=, June 19, 1897. (42) Sitgreaves, 17. (43) Ives, 66. (44) Ives,
III, 49. (45) Powell, 125. (46) "Glimpses of Amer." 78. (47) Glimpses,"
83. (48) Powell, 55, 60, 70. (49) Dellenbaugh's "Canyon Voyage," 139.
(50) Powell, 65, 76. (51) G. W. James's "Wonders of the Colorado
Desert," 30. (52) Murphy's "Three Wonderlands," 137. (53) Powell, 35,
63, 86, 90. (54) Piexot's "Romantic California," 67, 144, 148. (55)
Ives. 23. (56) Sacred Mysteries of the Mayas", 90. (57) "Glimpses of
Amer." p. 82. (58) F. A. Ober in the Brooklyn =Times=, June 19, '97.
(59) Appleton's "New Amer. Cyc." Article Colorado.
(Note 60) Sitgreaves' report, p. 17. (61) Ives, 107. (62) Sitgreaves, p.
18. (63) Dellenbaugh's "Canyon Voyage," 255. (64) Powell's Report. (65)
Powell, 34, 35, 124, 125. (66) Smithson. Ethnol. "Bulletin," No. 51, p.
18. (67) Powell, 125. (68) Ethnological "Bulletin," No. 51, pp. 14, 15.
(69) Bulletin, No. 51, p. 19. (70) Johnson's Journal in Emory's "Reconn.
of N. Mex.," etc., 598-9. (71) Appletons' "New Am. Cyc." Article "Casas
Grandes." (72) L. B. Prince's "New Mex.," p. 24. (73) Elliott Cones
'Comments on Garces' Diary, p. 94. (74) Encyc. Americana, vol. X. (75)
Vining, 411. (76) see 28th character from last in note by Jin Chin Ngan
preceding assertion in text that the Canyon has a beautiful mountain
(Vining, 661.) (77) Morrison, IV, p. 601. (78) =Jin Chin Ngan=. (79)
Murphy's "Three Wonderlands," 152.
Note (80) Amer. Cyc. IV, p. 50. (81) Bancroft's "Native Races," IV, 620.
(82) New Internat. Encyc. XIII. (83) Penny Cyc. Article "Mexico," p.
163. (84) Bancroft's "Native Races." (85) Emory, p, 83. (86) Prince's N.
Mex. 24. (87) Prince's N. M. 24-6. (88) The =Shan Hai King=, Book II,
section III, 14th mountain. (89) Emory, 64. (90) Shan Hai King, p. 83.
(91) Mr Spears in N. Y. =Sun=. Sept. 3, 1893. (92) =Amer. Antiquarian=,
May, 1892. (93) N. Y. =World=, Oct. 1887. (94) N. Y. =Recorder=, Feb.
19, 1893.
* * * * *
TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE: All apparent printer's errors retained.
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