NORTH AMERICAN REVIEW. No. CII. JANUARY, 1839. ART. I. 1. Storia degli .flntichi Popoli Italiarti. Di GIUSEPPE MICALI. 3 tom. Svo. 2. A~Iortumcrt-ti per servire alla Storia degli ./lntichi Popoli Italiani, rctccolti, esposti e publicati da GIUSEPPE Mi- CALL. I tom. fol. Firenze: Tipografia all Insegna di Dante. (Molini.) 1832. GIUSEPPE MIcALI was born, and received the first rudi- ments of his education, in Leghorn. He gave early proofs of that decided taste for antiquities and historical research, which was to xvin hit-n so honorable a station among the writers of his age. Placed by the possession of an ample hereditary fortune beyond the reach of those cares, which so often chill the ambition and check the efforts of the young student, he was enabled to devote himself entirely to the cultivation of his mind and the prosecution of his favorite inquiries. After having laid the foundation of his education by an accurate study of classical literature, he directed his attention to that species of cultivation, which can only be acquired by an extensive and practical acquaintance with the world. With this view he visited different parts of Europe, and was gladly received into the society of many of the men of letters, who formed the brightest ornament of the last cen- tury. Among those, xvith whom he lived upon terms of the closest intimacy, were several of the distinguished members of the literary circle of Frederic the Second, and particularly the well-known Abbe Denina, with whom he formed a friendship VOL. XLVIII.NO. 102. 1 2 iMic ali ou the ducient Italians. [Jan. that was dissolved only by death. XATe have before us, at this moment, several letters addressed to our author by iDenina, in the last years of his life, xvhich contain the warmest ex- pressions of personal regard, and of the high expectations which he had formed of the promise of his young friend. liNlicali resided also in Paris from 1796 to 1799, and was an eyewitness of the fall of the Directory, and of the first bril- liant steps of Napoleon. But no part of his early studies was so advantageous to him, as the long series of diligent researches, which he carried on upon the site of the principal cities of Ancient Italy ; fre- quently directing in person the excavations from which his materials were to be derived, and pursuing with his own eyes the numerous topographical investigations, the neglect of which had hitherto formed cne of the chief obstacles to a satisfactory history of that remote period. An attentive study of numismatics ~trengthen~d and confirmed the viexvs, which these preparatory researches had suggested ; and, when he first put his hand to the composition of his history of Italy before the Roman Conquest, there xvas hardly a spot of the peninsula which he had not visited, or an important monu- ment which he had not examined. This work was published in Florence, in 1810, in four volumes octavo, together with a folio Atlas, containing sixty plates, illustrative of the manners and customs of tl1e ancient Italians. Its object was as important as its plan was new. Ancient Italy had till then been the subject of puerile fables, or of researches purely antiquarian. Micali was the first who ventured to engage in the bold and hazardous task of separating the false from the true, in the fragments which have come down to us of the old writers, and of restoring the history of this primitive civilization, by drawing from its numerous monuments their varied and enigmatic records. His work was divided into two parts. The first is devoted to a descriptive examination of the original divisions and of the primitive inhabitants of the country. The second is a narrative of their revolutions and of the various incidents of their history. The History of Italy before the Roman Conquest, preceded the Roman History of Niebuhr, and, if we may be allowed to judge by the rank xvhich these two celebrated works seem now to have permanently taken, has survived it. 1839.1 Origin of thc .fincient Italians. 3 Niebuhr himself, who had attacked many of the positions of Micali in his first edition (1811), retracted his accusations in the last. A second edition, with additions and corrections, was published in Florence in 1822 ; and four others have sub- sequently appeared in different parts of Italy. A French translation was published in Paris, but shamefully disfigured by the ignorance and the prepossessions of the translator. These studies seem naturally to have led our author to the examination of another part of his national history hardly less obscure, and assuredly no less interesting, than that which he had treated with such marked success. rfhis was the bisfory of the Commerce of the Maritime Republics of Italy.~ He had long been engaged in collecting materials for this work, when his attention was called back to his original theme, by the discoveries which were making in nearly all those parts of Italy, which had been distinguished as the seats of her e~rliest civilization. A new and strong light was thus thrown upon many questions, which at the beginning of his investigation bad been purely conjectural; and he had the rare satisfaction to find, that time viexvs, which he had adopted upon the authority of his first observations, were fully con- firmed by ~ll his subsequent discoveries. It is to this that we are indebted for the work, which forms more immediately the subject of the present paper, and of which we shall now proceed to give a full and minute analysis, taking, at the same time, the liberty to interweave such illustratiuns and observations of our own, as seem naturally to arise from, or be required by, the facts that we are called upon to relate. 1. The question concerning the name and origin of the first inhabitants of Italy has long been agitated in vain. The progress of geographical discovery has shown, that man may exist in almost any part of the globe. But he has always been found in a state of union. Origin everywhere escapes our researches. It is obvious, however, that the human race must have been most readily propagated in those regions, where the means of subsistence are most abundant and most easily obtained. The only course, that can afford a reasonable gratification to our curiosity, is, to ascertain, as nearly as we can, the condition of the people whom we find in possession of a country, without troubling ourselves about the fruitless inquiry, as to whence they came. 4 Micali on the .flncient Italians. [Jan. The physical revolutions of Italy, of which so many and such positive proofs still remain, must, for at least a consid- erable space after its first settlement, have confined its inhab- itants to the higher regions. But the frequently renewed experience of modern times shows how insufficient the ter- rors of nature are, to drive man from the spot which he has once made his home. Even here we witness a new triumph of human power ; for man daily accomplishes what nature cannot, and strikes those xvith dread, to whom earthquakes and volcanoes had spoken in vain. The natural fertility of Italy has been the subject of poeti- cal rapture and rhetorical declamation from all antiquity. * The fables which represent man as springing from the soil, and from the trunks of trees, can but allude to the impenetra- ble antiquity of the human race in these happy regions. The tradition of an original and distinct race of native Italians was preserved in the historic ages ; and the Aborigines men- tioned by the liomans are the same, whom the Greeks found assembled in tribes, and whom they qualified, according to the invariable custom of that ingenious but vain people, by the con- temptuous denomination of barbarians. From these, as from one common stock, sprang the people, who, nuder various names, occupied the chief portion of the Italian peninsula. Tbeir mode of life, like that of all men in this first epoch, we would say of aggregation rather than of society, was regulated by their physical wants and by the roughness of their manners. Acorns and roots, the spontaneous products of the soil, together with the game of their forests, supplied their daily food. Society has few charms for those who have never tasted its artificial pleasures ; and it was only by the slow and natural progression from their first wild life to the more regular occupation of pasturage, that they were led to agriculture, the first decisive step in civilization. But even tbis step has seldom, if ever, been taken without some unusual external impulse. The fables of Janus and of Sat- urn, that golden age, so often and so sweetly sung, and which, from its unlikeness to any thing that we have ever seen, seems rather as a fiction than a reality, allude to this change, and probably indicate, at the same time, the sacerdo * The magnificent description of Virgil in the second Georgic, and that of Dionysios of Halicarnassus in the first hook of his Roman Antiquities, are the finest, but unfortunately too long to be introduced here. 1839.] First kSteps towards Civilization. 5 tal influence by which it was accomplished. The traces of a distinct class of priests, whose origin, although probably Egyptian, is rendered obscure by the same necessity which compelled them to clothe all their doctrines in the mystic veil of symbols and fables, are too evident to admit of any doubt. We shall have occasion to show in the sequel, how long this class preserved its separate station, and how far its power, though modified and restricted, continued to extend. 2. The first inhabitants of Italy dwelt among the moun- tains and highlands, while the low grounds were as yet unfit to receive or to nourish a permanent population. Descend- ing from thence, as a scarcity of food or the increase of th~ir numbers required, they began to divide themselves into separate tribes, whose members were bound together by those fragile ties, which can alone be formed in these early periods of society. The natural divisions of a country inter- sected in every direction by rivers and by mountains soon drew those artificial boundary lines between tribes of the same race, of which the influence has been so striking in every age of Italian history. The old writers have, fortu- nately for us, preserved the memory of a singular custom, by which the foundation of a large proportion of these new colo- nies was regulated. Before the practice of tillage had become sufficiently gen- eral to place them beyond the reach of those casualties, by which a people, half nomad and half agricultural, is so often exposed to extreme want, the Italians were taught to propi- tiate the deity, whose wrath bad been manifested in the failure of their harvests, by sacrificing to him all the produc- tions of the following spring. The young of their flocks and of their herds, and even their own offspring, were mingled together in this bloody atonement. But, as an advancing civilization began to gain upon their manners and their feelings, this dreadful rite was softened, and the products of the sacred spring, instead of being offered in sacrifice to the deity, were set apart for a particular service, which was supposed to have the same effect in appeasing or in averting his wrath. When the children born during the consecrated year had attained to the age of manhood, they set forth under the guidance of chosen members of the priesthood in quest of new habita- tions. The favor of the deity attended them; and wherever, erecting their altars, they took possession of the soil, the 6 Micali on the .dncient Italians. [Jan. original inhabitants gladly united with those, on whom the seal of the Divinity had been so strikingly set. There also th~ same observances were held sacred; and these children of the primitive family became the fathers of new and con- stantly multiplying colonies. It was thus, according to Pliny,* that the Picem descended from the Sabines ; and the Sam- nites, originating in the same way, gave rise themselves to the Lucani.t The course pursued by the Italians, in the resistance which they opposed to the first invaders of their territory, indicates a certain degree of advancement in civil discipline. They had made some important steps toxvards social life. They lived in villages and in cots, as is still practised in Switzer- land, and in many parts of Europe. These, according as they were more or less favored by their natural situation, grew and became large towns. This was especially the case in the vicinity of the layer water-courses. According to ZElian, :f there were eleven hundred and ninety-seven of these places, which, by a use of the word which our language will hardly admit of, he calls cities. This progress was nowhere more sensible than in those tracts which border on the Medi- terranean. 3. Unfortunately for early Italian history, nearly all the information, that we possess concerning it, has been derived from Greek historians and antiquaries, xvhose authority has been called in question by the more judicious portion even of their own countrymen. They were followed by the Latins, who, in so many parts of their literature, were little else than close imitators of the Greeks. It xvas by means of their settlements in southern Italy, that the attention of the Greeks was first directed to this subject; and various were the opin- ions which they hazarded concerning the origin of the people, whom they found in possession of the soil. Nearly all of them, however, concurred in claiming for themselves the glory of having been the first to occupy it; and the heroes of the Trojan war were hardly more celebrated for their military exploits, than for their supposed colonization of the chief places of the Italian peninsula. Some few of the Romans ventured to throw doubts upon this tradition; nor were there * ~~~~ 5. t Strab. V. p. 158. Ed. Casaub. 1587. f Var. Rust. IX. 16. 1839.] Greek and Etruscan .4nnals. 7 historians wanting among the Greeks themselves, who were willing to confess its improbability. But antiquity had hal- loxved it. The people had seized upon it with that avidity, with which national and personal vanity grasps at whatever can serve to ennoble the obscure period of origin ; and the fables of IEneas, of Hercules, and of an innumerable host of other chieftains, whose real history is no less uncertain than theirs, became inextricably mingled with the first epochs of Roman and of Italian history. Yet a surer source was open to the Romans. When their great historians wrote, the original languages of the country were still spoken; and contained, as one of the most valuaiAe portions of their literature, the annals and records of all their principal cities. In the times of Varro, the Etruscan annals, xvritten in the eighth century of the nation, a period which, according to the most approved computation, corresponds to the close of the fourth century of Rome, were still in exist- ence. The principal public acts and events, together with the names of the magistrates of each year, were carefully recorded in the pontifical annals. The memory of treaties, and of all other occurrences of more than usual importance, was preserv- ed by inscriptions in bronze or on stone. Here then was the true fount of Italian history. But the Romans, content with the glory of their conquest, and pleased with the ingenious flattery of the Greeks, asked for nothing heyond those gor- geous fictions, xvhich seemed to add new splendor to their triumph. The loss of these documents sets an impassable harrier to modern research upon several curious questions. But the monuments which still remain, and a critical exami- nation of the most judicious among the ancients, have in a measure supplied this deficiency, and enabled our author to place these ohscure epochs of his national history upon a more durable foundation, and one more accordant with the principles of enlightened criticism. 4. The territories, comprised under the name of ancient Italy, varied at different periods, with the progress of discov- ery, and with the changes incidental upon conquest. Its primitive name was Saturrtia, so called from Saturn, whom the natives revered as the founder of their civil institutions. Salve magna parens frugum, Saturnia tellus! The Greeks, referring to its geographical position, called 8 Micali on the flncient Italians. [Jan. it Hesperia, for the same reasons which led them, as their acquaintance with the Mediterranean and with the Atlantic became more accurate, to apply this name to Spain and to the Fortunate Islands. ~CEst locus, Hesperiam Graii cognomine dicunt, Terra antiqua, potens armis atque ubere gleke; tEnotrii coluere yin: nuoc farna, minores Italian-i dixisse, ducis de nomine, gentern. As their intercourse with the different parts of the country gave them a more precise idea of the extent and of the vari- eties of its population, they began to use the names of the tribes with which they had communication; and it Is thus that we find .~usonia, 6Enotria, Ombrica, and other denom- inations properly belonging to individual tribes, applied to the whole nation. The name Italy was, at first, confined to the southern extremity of the peninsula, below the gulfs of St. Euphemia and of Squillace. From thence it gradually spread north- ward ; and, in the time of Polybius, was already applied to the whole country, from the Sicilian sea to the Alps. It was used in this extensive sense during the social war; and the inscription Vitelliu, which we read on the money of that period, gives the common, and probably also the original Oscan form of it. Etymologists have, with their usual subtilty, offered vari- ous explanations of these names. Italy, from its resemblance in sound to a word of the Greek language, was said to allude to the herds of oxen with which the whole country was filled. t7Enotria signified the land of wine. Nor is it improbable, that the same usage, which has ohtained among modern trav- ellers,~ of~ designating particular countries by names indicative of their distinguishing characteristics, may have led to a more ready adoption by tbe Greeks of these words, which sounded to them so much like expressive terms of their own tongue. But we may safely venture to reject the genealogical origin, with which these, and various other denominations applied to particular parts of the country, were adorned by Grecian and Roman vanity. .~usonia was, properly speaking, a large portion of lower Italy, inclusive of Campania. The same tract was subse- quently called Opicia. A considerable part of central Italy was known to the Greeks as Tyrrhenia, without their having 1839.] bSituaticm of Different Tribes. 9 any very accurate idea of its extent, or of its boundaries. But Italy became, by degrees, the common name; and, al- though it did not always include Cisalpine Gaul, was generally applied to the whole peninsula. 5. Proceeding now to examine more in detail the situa- tion of the various districts of ancient Italy, the first people who demand our attention, are the Siculi or Siceli. The origin of this, as of all the other tribes of tbe country, bas been variously accounted for. But the most reasonable theory makes them a branch of the Aurunci, who were imme- diate descendants of the great Oscan family. They were the first who ventured to come down from their native mountains into that district around the Tiber, which is still known as the Roman Campagna, or Agro Romano. Their posses- sions reached as far as the base of the Apennines, in the direction of Faleria and iFescinnia. The repeated attacks of the Umbri and other Aboriginals, with whom, according to Dionysius, the Pelasgi were asso- ciated in arms, gradually drove the Siculi from their original dwellings to the southern parts of the peninsula ; and, unable to make firm the hold, which they had gained at their onset, upon these new territories, they were finally constrained to abandon the mainland and take refuge in Sicily. Here they, in turn, became conquerors, chased the Sicani from the east- ern coast, established their own seats in the spots which were thus left vacant, and eventually reduced the whole island under their power. This event is placed by some writers eighty years before the Trojan war ; by others, two hundred after it. The certainty of it, however, is in no way affected by the difficulty of fixing its precise date. The memory of the Siculi was preserved in central Italy long after their ex- pulsion ; and in Sicily itself the Opician language continued to be spoken in the last days of the kingdom of Syracuse. The Umbri also were mountaineers of Oscan origin. The extent of their early possessions is difficult to determine with accuracy ; but the concurrent testimony of the ancients proves, that they occupied large tracts on both sides of the Apennines. A valley in the centre of the lofty chain of Gargano bears, even to this day, the name of Vale of the Umbri. Perugia was founded by one of their tribes ; and Ameria, another of their cities, was built, according to the elder Cato, as early as 381 years before Rome. VOL. XLVIII.NO. 102. 2 10 Micali on the ancient Italians. [Jan. This was the people by whom the Siculi were driven from their possessions in central Italy; and the Sabines, though a warlike and hardy race, suffered severely from their hostile excursions. But when at length their encroachments had brought them into immediate contact with the Etruscans, they were met by a people who were every way able to cope even with their renowned bravery. The long struggle, that en- sued, terminated to the disadvantage of the former, who were henceforth compelled to set bounds to their ambition, and contract their dominions within narrower limits. Thus the Umbria best known in ancient geography extends from the eastern side of the Apennines beyond the Utente, near to the Po, and has for its natural boundaries on the west and the north the course of the Tiher and of the Nera. After their subjection by the Etruscans, all feelings of national ani- mosity seem to have subsided, and the two tribes continued thenceforth to live in a state of union, which originated in political dependence, and was strengthened by a community of religious rites and of civil institutions. 6. History hardly presents an obscurer and more em- barrassing question, than that of the Pelasgi-Tyrrheni. Their navigations have been ~described by the ancients, with the minuteness of history, but with all the coloring of fable. Nor do historians agree in the accounts which they have given of the origin and migrations of this people ; some representing them in one light, others in another. The moderns also, with all their learning and research, have gone little further than to form what must at the best be considered as untefl- able, though ingenious hypotheses. Enough, however, may be gathered with certainty from what has hitherto been written upon this subject, to show that a people bearing the name of Pelasgi made their ap- pearance in Europe at an early period of ancient history that they bore some part in the revolutions of the peninsula; that they acquired here the additional appellation of Tyrrheni; and that their wanderings to and fro, in Asia and in Europe, have a close connexion with many of the events of that ob- scure age of tradition and of fable. Thus much may be relied on; and the absolute failure of every attempt at minuter de- tail should convince us of the folly of wasting in idle con- jectures the time, which may, with so much more advantage, 1839.] The Pelasgi and the Etruscans. Ii be given to the study of points, that admit of clear and satis- factory illustration. 7. Such a one may be found in the history of the Etruscans. The xvorks of Claudius,~ of iDionysius, of Aris- totle, and, in short, of all the writers by whom the events of Etruscan history, and the peculiarities of their manners and customs, had been minutely described, are lost ; but the numerous monuments xvhich are brought to light from day to day, and those fragments of the ancients which have survived the general wreck of their works, afford an accurate, if not always a complete, guide to the critical historian. The express testimony of Dionysius should satisfy us, that the Etruscans were of the primitive Italian stock. The in- congruous systems, by which a Lydian and a Pelasgic origin have in turns been attributed to them, should alone be suffi- cient to convince us of the futility of these disputes, even were there any thing in the language, the manners, or the usages of the Etruscans to give color to such a theory. They were originally called Raseni by the natives; Tyrrheni, or Tyrseni, by the Greeks ; Tusci, or Etrusci, by the Ro- mans. During the first centuries of Rome, and after the subjection of the Umbri, the state of central Etruria was bounded by the following natural lines. (1.) The summit of the winding chain of the Apennines, from the sources of the Serchio to those of the Tiber. (2.) The Tiber, from its rise to the sea. (3.) The coast, from the mouth of the Tiber to that of the Arno. The early attention which this people paid to agriculture and to commerce, together with their courage and their skill in the use of arms, put their power upon a strong and durable foundation. In their wars with the Umbri, which are placed about five hundred years before the 1~uilding of Rome, they were probably assisted by the Pelasgi. Previous to this epoch also, they had extended their possessions beyond the Apennines, into what is now called the Bolognese and Ferra- rese. They spread thence over the adjacent plains between the Apennines and the Alps. The state of the soil, still * The Emperor Claudius, we are sorry to say, was as good a scholar as he was foolish and impotent for an emperor. Besides various other works, he wrote a history of the Etruscans, in Greek. 12 Micali on the slncient Italians. [Jan. covered with water, either stagnant or flowing with too rapid and uncertain a current to admit of its being rendered subser- vient to the ordinary purposes of commercial communication, opposed an insuperable barrier to their progress on the side of the Veneti; and they seem not to have passed the Trebbia in the opposite direction. But all the remaining tracts be- twixt the Po and the Alps were occupied by strong and active colonies, which copied closely the laws and the insti- tutions of the mother country. Of the twelve great cities which stood at the head of this new alliance, we know the names of but four ; Adria, which lent its name to the Adri- atic sea, and which, although originally built on a gulf, near the lower branch of the Adige, is now somewhat more than fifteen miles from the coast; Mantua; Felsina, now call- ed Bologna; and Melpo. Like the citizens of the parent state, they early directed their attention to agriculture and those arts which are most conducive to civilization. The country, constantly exposed to inundations and cut up by marshes and lagoons, could only be won to use by the slow process of draining; nor could this have been accomplished without a considerable progress in hydraulics and in the sciences on which it depends. They cultivated also those arts for which central Etruria was so renowned ; and inscriptions, bronzes, and painted vases have been found, in great abundance, in almost every part of their territories. But in the second century of Rome, the great Gallic invasion, which so long separated these regions from the rest of Italy, over threw this flourish- ing colony, and put an effectual stop to the progress of civ- ilization in the north of the peninsula. rfhose of the inhab- itants, who escaped from the sword of the barbarians, were driven for shelter to the mountains and the strong fastnesses of Rezia. Proofs of their residence there have been dis- covered in monuments brought to light in our own times. By a series of wars and of conquests, which it would be not only useless but impossible to describe in detail, the con- federation of central Etruria extended its power likewise in the south of Italy. The war with the Latins terminated in a firm friendship, and in the adoption by the latter of many Etruscan rites and ceremonies. The Volsci were subdued, and the conquerors gradually advanced as far as the Garigli- ano~ The inviting aspect of the fertile tract, which lies be- 1839.] The Pelasgi and the Etruscans. 13 yond this river, allured them into Campania; and here also they formed a settlement by means of twelve colonies, and according to the prevailing custom of their country. The Silaro was its southern boundary ; Vulturnum, subsequently called Capua, Nola, Herculaneum, Pompeii, and Marcina, were among its principal cities. The original Oscan inhab- itants became mingled with their conquerors, and continued to form a large proportion of the population. The Umbri were allies or auxiliaries of the Etruscans in this conquest nor is it impossible that some Pelasgi may have accompa- nied them. But the theories which represent the Tyrrhenic confederation of Campania as a settlement of the Pelasgi, and that of northern Italy as founded by a people from still further north, are contradicted by the concurrent testimony of all antiquity, as well as by the constant analogy of monu- ments and of usages. The most important possessions of the lEtruscans were those which lay along the shore of the upper and of the lower seas, or, in other words, of the Adriatic and of the Tyrrbene. The tracts which bordered on the former, were within the territories which they had wrested from the Umbri. The latter were won by conquest from the Liguri Appuani, and included the districts of the Magra and of the Gulf of Spezia. rVlle city of Luni is supposcd to have been built in order to secure the navigation of this noble gulf. It is to the advantages of such a situation, and to the commercial activity which was its necessary result, that we must in a great measure attribute the advancement, which they made in nearly every branch of civilization. The twelve cities which stood at the head of the confed- eration of central Etruria were probably Chiusi, Cortona, Arezzo, Perugia, Volterra, Vetulonia, Roselle, Tarquinia, Cere, Volsinio, and Vejo. Besides these, Fiesole, Satur- nia, Populonia, and various other places, which derived more or less importance from their position or from the industry of their inhabitants, added strength to the league, and served as channels through which wealth flowed into the capitals. During the first centuries of Rome, the poxver of the Etruscans seems to have been already on the decline. The union of the league, never so perfect as its situation required, had been so far weakened, that it was hardly possible to con- duct any enterprise with concert and perseverance. Wealth 14 Micali on the .tlncient Italians. [Jan. bad been followed by its inseparable attendants, luxury and corruption. The warlike spirit, though not wholly lost, was unequal to any great effort. The cities of the league wasted their strength separately, and without regard to their common interest as members of one body. But even in this state they opposed an obstinate resistance to the successive attacks of the Gauls, of the Samnites, and of the Romans, and it was not until after their strength had been consumed by five centuries of uninterrupted warfare, that they were fully and irrevoca- bly reduced under the Roman yoke. Even then some ap- pearance of liberty was preserved in their municipal institu- tions ; and wealth and activity enough remained to enable them to make still further progress in those arts to which we are so much indebted for what little we know of their char- acter and of their customs. S. .flurunci, Opici, and Osci are the names borne by the primitive inhabitants of Italy. The Greeks called them also ~usor~ii. We shall employ the word Osci in speaking of the first inhabitants of the southern portions of the penin- sula, without regard to the other appellations, which undoubt- edly refer to one and the same people. The rough fastnesses of the Apennines, together with the fertile valleys that lie between, were the original abode of the Osci. The wants of pastoral life are few, and have ever been abundantly supplied by the meadows and vales of these mountains ; nor could there have been any inducement for the inhabitants to exchange dwellings so peculiarly adapted to their mode of life, for the noxious air of the lowlands, except when an increase of population compelled them to re- move their seats, and a certain progress in the arts had quali- fied them to contend with the difficulties of such an under- taking. Thus, in spite of the bold and independent character of the mountaineers, the coast was open to whoever was willing to submit to the toil of draining its marshes, and con- fining to a fixed channel the course of its numerous and impetuous streams. The Illyrians, a hardy race of pirates, were the first to avail themselves of this opportunity. Their excursions along the coast, and their encounters with the inhabitants, were among the chief causes of the revolutions to which we have already had occasion to allude in speaking of the Um- bri and of the Siculi. Traces of the establishments of the 1839.1 The Illyrians and the Sabines. 15 Liburni and of other Illyrians upon the eastern coast of the upper sea, were preserved long after the total destruction of their race and name. Nearly ahout the same time began the incursions of the Greeks, which finally terminated in the set- tlement, by that nation, of Magna Grecia. These repeated invasions of a xvarlike and barbarous people concurred with other causes, which arose more directly from their own man- ner of living, in confining the Osci, for the most part, to their original seats in the interior and among the mountains. Here they lived independent avid free from all subjection; although in the onset they had suffered more or less from the en- croaching ambition of their neighbours. Thus, after the Trojan war, and during the first two cen- turies of Rome, the population of southern Italy was divided into two distinct classes ; the Greek colonies, settled on the coast, and the Osci, who occupied the upper Apennine and its numerous branches. From these last sprang the various trihes whose names figure with more or less distinction in the wars of Rome. 9. The history of the Sabines, one of the principal branches of the great Oscan trunk, carries us back to tbat remote period, in which the invasion of foreigners from over sea drove back the Aboriginal tribes one upon another, and gave rise to those domestic revolutions of which we have already spoken at large. Their first habitations were among the lofty mountains of upper Abruzzo, near the sources of the Velino, Tronto, and Pescara. A part of them, forcibly driven from these seats, shut themselves up in the fastnesses of the highlands between Aquila and Lionessa. The rest of the tribe, following the valley of Turano, descended to the banks of the Arno and of the Tiber. It would be vain to think of marking with certainty the extent and boundaries of their territory. But it appears, from the best accounts, to have comprised the space of about a hundred miles in the very heart of the Apennines ; bounded on the northwest by Umbria, from which it was separated by the course of the Nera ; on the northeast, by the chain of mountains which skirts the confines of Picinum ; on the east, by the Vestini on the south by Latium, and the banks of the Anio, up to its junction with the riliber ; and on the west, following the course of the latter, by the country of the Vegentani and Palisci. During the infancy of Rome, their dominion cx- 16 Mic ali on the .Jlrtcient Italians. [Jan. tended also on the left bank of the Anio, and over some portions of Latium. In these xvild dwellings, the Sabines led the lives of hardy shepherds and industrious husbandmen. Caring little for any other ornaments than such as could be displayed in war, or for any wealth but what was derived from the cultivation of the soil and from the tending of their flocks, they preserved the purity and the simplicity of their manners, even amid the general corruption of the surrounding states. Their villages covered the conutry in every direc- tion. They built in the valleys and on the heights ; and ruins of their edifices have been found upon the summits of rocky and almost inaccessible mountains. The Sabines founded several colonies by the same rite to which they owed their own origin. Such were the Piceni, who sprang from a sacred colony of Sabines, and who occu- pied the district between the mountains and the Adriatic, through the whole of that space which extends along the shore from the Esi to the Tronto, and thence follows the coast through the territory included between that river and the Matrino. This, even after the Roman conquest, con- tinued to be the most populous part of central Italy. The Petruzzi, whose dominions were geographically com- prised xvithin those of the Piceni, were, however, politically independent of them. Their situation was not distinguished by any peculiar advantages, and they are seldom mentioned in ancient history. Both, however, took an active part in the contests which were constantly waging around them. They opposed a long and obstinate resistance to the Romans ; and, although after the departure of Pyrrhus they were apparently subdued, they were still the first to take up arms in the Marsic xvar. 10. The geological structure of ancient Latium shows how rough and uninviting the soil must have been in that remote period when the Siculi and Aurunci, descending from the adjacent heights, first began to feed their flocks upon the Latin hills. A considerable portion of this people, after the expulsion of the main body from the peninsula, became blended with the Aborigines, and obtained in common with them the name of Latins. The additional appellation of Casci, which they subsequently assumed, referred only to the antiquity of their origin. The Latin league covered at first the small space of thirty- 1839.] The Latin League. 17 five miles from Tivoli to the sea, by about twenty from the banks of the Tiber to the Alban mount. Alba was the capi- tal of the thirty cities which composed the league, and each city had under its immediate sway a greater or less number of subject villages. The important part which religion bore in the institution of Latin society, may be argued from the tone of their mythology and of their early traditions. Janus, Saturn, Picus, Faunus, Latinus, were their first legislators and kings; and, long after a more authentic history had taken the place of these uncertain traditions, their political assem- blies were held in forests, or on the borders of holy lakes and other consecrated spots. Their early history, like that of all the nations of antiquity, was filled with the wars, either of aggression or of defence, which they waged with the neighbouring tribes. The only one worthy of mention, from the important results by which it was followed, was the iLtruscan war. It was in the midst of this confederation, and on the site of Saturnia, a village of the Siculi, that Rome was built, about three hundred years, if we can trust the ancient tradition, after the foundation of Alba. The Rutuli, a people of the same stock, but separated by domestic dissensions from the Casci, dwelt in a corner of Latium, near the mouth of the Numicius. They were a pow- erful and commercial people, and it was in their capital of Ardea that were to be seen those paintings, mentioned by Pliny as having been executed before the huilding of Rome. 11. We shall not attempt to speak in detail of the ]Equi, Hernici,Volsci, Aurunci, Vestini, iViarrucini, Peligni, and Mar- si, of whom little is known beyond the general geographical situation of their respective territories, although they all ap- pear to more or less advantage in the early history of Rome. One remark may be applied to all of them. Their character and habits varied according to their situation; the moun- taineers being distinguished by a bold and hardy indepen- dence, while the inhabitants of the plains, and of the coast, attained to a greater degree of refinement, and even made considerable advances in commerce. 12. Samnium was that mountainous tract which lies be- tween Campania, Puglia, and Lucania, and is crossed in an oblique line by the Apennines. The Pentri, Caudini, Ilirpini, Caraceni, and Trentani composed this confederation, of which VOL. XLVIII.NO. 102. 3 18 Micali on the ftncieitt Italians. [Jan. the chief stock, the Samnites, ilirpini, Lucani, and Trentani, derived their origin from a sacred colony of Sabines. No fixed laws united these tribes in a firm bond, or moved them to act by the impulse of a common interest. Thus, although both from their situation, and from their mode of life, they deserve to be classed among the most robust and active of the ancient Italians ; although they displayed a valor which might have led to the highest success, either in conquest or in defence ; and although their proverbial love of indepen- dence, and the terrific rites of their superstition, combined to give new vigor and a firmer resolution to their warlike dis- position ; yet they shared the common lot of their country, and after incredible exertions, where, for the most part, each tribe fought singly and for itself, were permanently and indis- criminately reduced under the Roman yoke. Few monu- ments of ancient Samnium remain, or rather have as yet been sought after. These are the xvalls of some cities ; money, chiefly bearing the date of the Marsic war; and a few inscrip- tions. 13. Campania still preserves many of those peculiarities in the character and in the aspect of its soil, which must in ancient times, have opposed no inconsiderable obstacles to its first settlers. The Opici, of whose early occupation of this tract sufficient proof exists in the name which it origi- nally bore, gave way to the lEtruscans, and to the Chalcidians of lEubcea. It is impossible to determine which of these two tribes were the first invaders of this happy region. It is prob- able, that there was but a short interval between the foundation of the Etruscan confederation of Campania, and that of the Greek settlements in their immediate neighbourhood. A settled batred and constant rivalry were the natural conse- quence of this proximity of territory; and this circumstance alone, which is well authenticated by the history of the times, is sufficient to show, that, although a certain degree of inter- course must have existed, it could never have approached to an amalgamation of the two races. The Etruscans, corrupted by the enervating softness of the climate, were finally subdued by the Samnites, who, in suc- ceeding to their power, adopted also their inveterate hatred of the Greeks. The new lords of Carupania escaped not the corrupting influence of its soft and luxurious clime. In them, however, its effects were displayed in their open aban 1839.] The Lucani and Bruiji. 19 donment to every species of vice, while their original ferocity and daring remained unimpaired. The bloody games of the circus were their chief amusement ; and it was from them that the Uomans borrowed their passion for this unnatural spectacle. Capua, originally called Vulturnurn, is a name which has become almost synonymous with the extreme of luxury. It would be difficult to distinguish in every case the cities of Grecian from those of Etruscan origin ; yet it would be easy to point out several others of the latter, which vied in wealth and in splendor with some of the most renowned capitals of antiquity. The Greek cities were hardly less celebrated. Of these Cuma was long the first ; but it seems, in the sequel, to have found a rival in Naples, which had succeeded to all the elegance of Parthenope, and which, by being built direct- ly upon the coast, enjoyed the advantages of a more commo- dious situation. 14. A glance at the map of ancient Italy will give a better idea of the situation of the Lucani and Brutii, than we can possibly convey by a mere verbal description. The Coni and (Enotri, the first inhabitants of this territory, were tribes of the primitive Oscan race. The Lucani, a sacred colony of the Samnites, became subsequently the lords of the soil. But, in accordance with the invariable principles of Italian colonization, the original inhabitants, instead of being reduced to servitude, were allowed to mingle with the inva- ders, and became a part of the nation. Hence, during the whole course of this history, we find that neither the Sabines, the Volsci, nor the Samnites, were troubled by those domes- tic insurrections which proved so fatal to many other people of antiquity. The Lucani long confined themselves to theh~ seats among the mountains, and it was not till after their con- quest of Posidonia, that they began to form establishmeDts upon the coast. This hrought them more directly into con~ tact with the Greeks. A constant hostility prevailed between the two nations ; and so strong was this sentiment, that the Brutii, although they had been induced by the instigations of their crafty neighbours to separate themselves from the main body of the nation, still continued to nourish the same feelings of animosity towards that very people whose counsels they had followed. These regions had undergoi~e so great a change before the time of Strabo, that this judicious geogra 20 Micali on the .fincient Italians. [Jan. pher, who visited them in person, was unable to discover there any traces of their ancient inhabitants. 15. The remainder of southern Italy may be divided into two distinct portions ; the first of xvhich was occupied by the lapyges, Dauni, Peucetii, and Messapii ; xvhile the second comprised what was long known by the name of Magna Gr~cia. The former, as their name indicates, were separate tribes, in which it is supposed that the original occu- pants of the country were intermingled with colonists from abroad. The second was composed of Greek colonies, formed at different periods, but chiefly during the first two centuries of the Roman era. The neglect of the coast by the natives favored the settlements of the first navigators, whom the chances of the sea led to their shores. As their number increased by the accession of new colonists, and their power extended by the foundation of new cities, and the gradual reduction of the soil to a fertile condition, they began to encroach upon the natives, and gradually xvrest- ed from them various important acquisitions. Here the arts and literature of Greece flourished. Here originated a school of philosophy, some of whose most remarkable tenets have been confirmed by the discoveries of modern science. Here, too, the necessary effects of an active government were seen in the flourishing aspect of the whole country; and here, when industry had given way to sloth, patriotism to in- dividual ambition, and the love of wealth, with its debasing concomitants, had taken the place of the frugal and purifying virtues, the people sunk under that yoke, against which union and virtue are the only sure protection. 16. The origin of the Ligures is lost in the obscurity of that antiquity, which veils the beginning of nearly all the subdivisions of the human race. In vain have etymologists and antiquarians exhausted their scanty materials, in varied and ingenious conjectures. Doubts surround us on every side, and each obstacle, that is removed, seems but to make way for another still harder to surmount. Nor should we he accused of speaking irreverently of the labors of the learned, if we represent this long question of hypotheses, as an end- less contest between reason and the imagination ; in which the one is busied in destroying the fanciful fabric, which the other, with equal industry, is piling up. There are many points of resemblance betweemi northern 1839.] The Ligures. 21 and southern Italy. On one hand, the Alps and the Apen- nines shoot out into innumerable branches, from those bleak, mountainous tracts, whose rugged wildness contrasts so beautifully with the quiet valleys that seem, as it were, to slumber in their shade. On the other, broad plains spread from chain to chain, and draw fertility from the streams that pour down upon them from every hill and mountain. In those remote periods, which lie beyond the records of au- thentic history, geologists have represented these fertile tracts as covered with water, and forming one vast lagoon. His- tory seems to confirm this revelation of science, and has pre- served the memory of marshes and pools which lasted even to the days of the Empire. The mountainous districts, therefore, must have been the first to be inhabited ; and it could only have been by slow and necessary steps, that their occupants descended to the plain. Without pretending to trace the boundaries of their pos- sessions, it will be sufficient for our present purpose to say, that they comprised a considerable portion of the plain around the Po and between the Apennines and the Alps. Ligures was the general name of this people; but various ad- ditional appellations, derived from circumstances connected either with their history or with their situation, distinguished the numerous branches into which they were subdivided. But when the Etruscan colony became firmly established upon this side of the Apennines, and Marseilles had acquired sufficient strength to extend its power eastward, the territory of the Ligures was circumscribed by the encroachments of these txvo states, within those narrower limits which it pre- served down to the age of Augustus. Of these the Po was the northern boundary; the Alps and the Varo marked their con- fines toward the west ; the Arno bathed their eastern fron- tier, and the Mediterranean the southern. The whole of this district was divided by the Apennines into two distinct parts ; the one lying betwixt the Po and the Apennines, the other between these mountains and the sea. The valleys formed by the ramifications of this vast chain bore different names, which extended also to their respective inhabitants. As for these, rough as the land on which they dwelt, they had no other thought than the preservation of their indepen- dence and the care of the scanty sustenance which they wrung from their ungrateful soil. A small harvest of grain 22 iNheali on the .flncieni Italians. [Jan. and of wine was the treasure of only one favored district while the chase and pasturage, and the wages which they ob- tained for assisting at the harvests of their more fortunate neighbours, were the sole resources of the others. No pro- gress in the arts could be made in opposition to such obsta- cles ; and hence we cannot expect to find in Liguria cities like those, of which so many vestiges remain in other parts of Italy. Neither do we possess any written monuments, nor any remains of their language. The indomitable courage of this people opposed an almost insuperable obstacle to the attacks of the Romans. But while the Ligures fought divided and singly, their adversaries brought against them disciplined battalions, and the firm and vigorous action of a central power. Yet it was only by transporting the fiercest tribes to different and distant parts of the country, that they could make their conquest sure, and preserve their hard-earned possession of the soil; and the appellation of latrones, insidiosi, fallaces, must be taken rath- er as an expression of the hatred engendered by a protracted and obstinate resistance, than as having any foundation in the character of the people to whom it was applied. 17. The excursions of the Illyrian pirates and the vio- lent tempests to which it was exposed, combined to keep the Greeks in ignorance of the extent and limits of the Adri- atic sea. The same ignorance prevailed among their early writers with regard to the whole of northern Italy ; and few of the Grecian tales are more absurd than those, which refer to the original state and first peopling of this country. A few facts, however, may he gleaned from this mass of contradic- tion and fable. The Euganci first dwelt in that tract which lies between the Rh~tian Alps and the sea. They xvere driven from this by the Veneti, and compelled to take up thcir abode where we still find them in the days of Augustus, betxveen the Adige and the lake of Como. Numerous and futile controversies have been agitated concerning the origin of each of these tribes; nor shall we weary the patience of our readers by a summary or a repetition of them. Suffice it to say, that there is ample testimony for placing them within the limits which we have assigned, although it would be presuming too far, to attempt to fix with accuracy the precise boundaries of each part of their territories. It is supposed, however, that 1839.] The Phwnicians, Carthctginians, and Greeks. 23 the extent of their district reached not beyond the Clusius on the west; and that its natural limits were the Alps on the north, the Timavus on the east, to the south the Veronese lagoons, and, thence onward, the Po to the sea ; thus comprising in one compact body, one of the most fertile sections of Italy. Small, however, is the connexion of the IEuganei with general Italian history ; nor do they deserve to be classed with those noble spirits whom we have already mentioned as the ardent defenders of its freedom. 18. The Sicani were the first inhabitants of Sicily. No traces exist of their origin, and it is only known that the Si- culian invasion, which seemed at the onset to threaten them with total extinction, terminated in the fusion of the two tribes; and that thus was formed that distinct race, which occupied the interior of the island, and held itself aloof from the foreign colonies which settled on the coast. First among these were the Phcenicians, whose frequent voyages in every part of the iNlediterranean must have led them, at a very early period, to fix their eyes upon a spot which offered so many advantages for the prosecution of their commerce. They took l)Ossession of the coast opposite Africa, and around the Cape of Lilibeo. They held also the adjacent islands of Malta, Gozo, and Capuro. This event may be placed about a century after the destruction of Troy. Next came the Carthaginians, who inherited and enlarged the Phcenician colonies, and who derived immense advantages both from their possessions in the island, and from their com- merce with it. But the most renowned and the most pros- perous of all were the Greeks, who, about seventeen years before the Roman era, founded Syracuse ; obtained posses- sion of the coast around the three promontories, from which it took the name of Trinacria; and gradually extended their power over a considerable portion of the whole island. These conquests, although to the (lisadvantage, were made without the destruction, or even the absolute subjection, of the natives; and it is a phenomenon deserving of remark, that the Oscan language continued to be spoken to the last, and even gained ground upon the softer and more harmonious tones of the Greek. 19. The Ilienses, Corsi, and Baleares were the most renown- ed among the tribes of ancient Sardinia. The first are suppos 24 Micali on the .flrtcient Italians. [Jan. ed to have been its primitive inhabitants. The second were a band of Corsican refugees, who had been driven from their homes by domestic dissensions. The last were Carthagin- ian mercenaries, who, dissatisfied with the service in which they had engaged, forsook their standards and fled to the mountains. They all led the lives of mountain bandits, and held the foreign colonies in constant terror by their inroads and robberies. Here, as in Sicily, the Phcenicians led the way in coloniza- tion. The Carthaginians followed in their steps, and, prose- cuting their conquest with a barbarity that has no parallel, obtained a general command over the most important parts of the island. rl7he Etruscan possessions were for the most part confined to some spots on the coast, with which they carried on a lucrative commerce. It has been often asserted, that Corsica originally formed a part of Sardinia, as Sicily did of the mainland of Italy. But, although the appearance of the coast goes some way to- wards confirming this supposition, yet, in extending the ex- amination to the soil and the productions of the two islands, it is found that there is nothing in common between the sponta- neous fertility of the one and the ungrateful barrenness of the other. The Iberians and Ligures visited Corsica at a very early period of ancient history. But the Etruscans were the first who formed permanent establishments there, and turned to account the stores of resin, of wax, and of honey, the only products that exceeded the wants of the inhabitants, and afforded a medium of commercial intercourse. The Phocian invasion was averted by the arms of the Etruscans, united with the Carthaginians of Corsica. But the motives of this alliance were any thing but friendly ; for, at the first appear- ance of decline in the maritime power of the Etruscans, the Carthaginians crossed over from Sardinia in a body, drove their former allies from their possessions, and established their dominion over the natives upon nearly the same footing upon which it stood in the other islands of the Mediterranean. 20. From this long and dry enumeration of the geo- graphical divisions of ancient Italy, we pass to a subject of more general and permanent interest, the history of her pro- gress in those arts which constitute civilization. And as, at the threshold of this inquiry, we are met by one of the most interesting questions which can occur in the history of civili 1839.1 Influence of Religion or& Civilization. 25 ty, we may be allowed to hazard a few remarks concerning some of those causes, which in the early periods of society concur in forming nations for extensive progress, or in con- fining them to a narrow sphere of social and intellectual de- velopement. The first decisive change from the patriarchal to the civil state has, as far as events so remote and so obscure can be ascertained, been made under the auspices of religion. A sufficient acquaintance with a few rude arts, to enable man to derive more from his physical exertions and to count more positively upon them ; such a knowledge of the true nature of power, as to lead him to found it upon combined action and general principles ; feeling enough to show him how much his enjoyments may be heightened by social intercourse and a fuller developement of the domestic affections ; and, above all, an entire, unrepining, unhesitating obedience to that Power in whose name these gifts are made, and conse- quently to those privileged beings, through whose media- tion they come ; these are the first lessons of theocracy, and the first steps by which man is led from his rude condition of mere animal existence to a consciousness of higher capaci- ties and a desire for more elevated enjoyments. This pro- gress, if we consider how vast a distance separates the uncul- tivated savage from man even in the first stages of cultivation, is great and rapid. The natural tendency of the mind, when it has once felt the stimulus of exertion, is to still greater and far more rapid advancement. Action, not repose, is the state of nature. The first arousing of one faculty necessari- ly leads to the perception of others that had never before been dreamed of; and thus man is carried on from stage to stage of developement, his powers expanding as they find new fields of exertion, and his aspirations soaring still higher as his ideas of pleasure become purer and more refined. Could he be allowed to follow out to its utmost extent this tendency of his nature, it would be impossible to say to what unknown height he might attain. But as in the organization of inanimate matter there are certain seeds of destruction, by whose uncontrollable action it is sooner or later dissolved so these capacities of developement and these soaring aspira- tions bear with them, in their own extremes, the causes of that decay, which, although we shall not venture to call it in- evitable, has never yet been avoided. The interests of the VOL. XLVIII.No. 102. 4 26 Micali on the .dncient Italians. [Jan. individual or of a caste, when seen from a false point of view, seem to rise up in opposition to those of society. And here a new scene begins, in which man no longer appears in that beautiful light, tinder which we have hitherto considered him, of the communication of knowledge and the reciproca- tion of its advantages ; but where each individual is striving to draw around his own possessions some impassable barrier, and to hide his acquisitions from every eye, except of such as are associated with him in interest and in power. Hence comes privilege, with its long train of corruptions ; and hence, in the earlier ages of society, religion and duty assume that mysterious and symbolic language, which, though understood only by the few, extends its tremendous power over all. The priesthood, who had first held out the allurements of civilization, having derived all the benefit that they desired from this partial progress, seek to check the feelings which they had awakened. They then speak of forbidden knowl- edge ; of mysteries which all are bound to revere, but which none, except those in whose hands the awful deposite has been made, can interpret and understand. They people the streams and the groves and the whole universe with invisible agencies, which surround us on every side, watch every step, and direct every action. They tell of sudden judgments, and awful warnings, and dark manifestations of the Divine will, until every object in nature is converted into an engine of their pleasure, and every phenomenon becomes the terri- fic instrument of their power. This is the decisive moment in the history of society and happy are they who are equal to all its exigencies. A struggle now commences between the teacher and the taught; between those, who, having shown man what his powers are, would withhold his rights or terrify him from the exercise of them; and those whom the consciousness of power leads to claim for their own use all the advantages that can be derived from its exertion. But of this eventful contest we see the results alone. Its vicissitudes and details are lost in an im- penetrable antiquity, or so far disfigured by the addition of fictitious circumstances as to render them too conjectural to form the proper subject of history. Yet in these dim and indistinct traditions there is still enough to show how close a connexion exists between the past and the present; between this resistance of a few half enlightened men to the preten 1839.1 Influence of Religion on Civilization. 27 sions of a cunning and selfish caste, and the deeds and events of mature and refined civilization. Wherever the caste has triumphed, fixed laws have been set to the progress of the mind, and man has become the timid and cringing instrument of an imperious theocracy. But wherever, on the contrary, the resistance has proved successful, man, both as an individ- ual and as a member of society, has followed with a free step that career of improvement whose stages and vicissitudes are the real theme of the historian. It is in these causes that we must look for an explanation of the great difference between early Greek and early Italian civilization. In Greece the yoke of the priesthood wa3 50 soon shaken off, that, even at the beginning of its history, we find the civil power already in the bands of a distinct class, and sustaining an energetic, though not always a suc- cessful, contest against the sacerdotal. The passions and the energies, awakened during this contest, ceased not to act when the victory had been won; and this victory was achieved at a moment when every tendency was still upward. Thus the dawn of freedom found them in entire possession of that vigor, which freshness of feeling and the healthy exercise of every faculty inspire. It was then that the mind received that wonderful developement in every department, which made Grecian literature and Grecian art the guide and the model of all succeeding ages. Poetry became the spontane- ous expression of real feeling; giving a richer coloring to the sublime precepts of philosophy, and creating, as it were, the future, by its vivid record of the glories and the virtues of the past. Philosophy carried its researches into every field, mingling with its loftiest speculations the purest lessons of civil and of political wisdom. Art, from the rude and grotesque combinations of an untaught imagination, sought its inspiration in the study of nature as she actually appears, and gradually rose, from the mere representation of common life, to those ideal conceptions which it has embodied in the Ju- piter, the Venus, and the Apollo. But in Italy the arm of the priesthood weighed long and heavily upon every part of the population. Hence the de- velopement of mind was partial, and extended only to those points in which intellectual expansion seemed less at variance with the dogmas of blind obedience. And when, at last, the power of the hierarchy, gradually undermined, but still sup- 28 Micali oii the ~/incient Italians. [Jan. ported by its inexhaustible resources of artifice and of fraud, was less perceptible, and left greater room for freedom of action, the moment of developement was past, and the mind, broken in to the yoke, was no longer capable of vigorous or of continued exertion. This power, moreover, or in other words, this theocratic principle, had been indissolubly interwoven with all the civil and political rites of the state ; nor could the one be over- thrown without producing a total change in the other. It was upon this that dependence was placed for strengthening those feeble ties which a community of origin may form, but which nothing short of a well-defined community of interest can preserve. Hence the annual festivals in consecrated groves, or on the banks of some sacred stream, or upon the summit of some mountain which the presence of the deity had sanc- tified, in which the different tribes of the parent stock assem- bled together, in order to partake of the flesh of the same victim, and to unite their prayers and their offerings around the same altar. Similar observances distinguished the meet- ings of their great political assemblies, where the members of the alliance convened to deliberate upon their common wel- fare. Religious rites sanctified every civil act. The walls of their cities were traced out according to prescribed forms, and dedicated to some divinity. The divisions of the soil were drawn with similar ceremonies. And, as if this inter- vention of the priesthood in all the more important deeds of the people were not enough to secure their dominion, the mysterious art of divination was invented, and man was taught that no present action could be successful, unless it had first met the aj)probation of those whom the deity had endued with the power of penetrating into the future. Yet it would be unjust to conclude that this supremacy, how extensive soever its action and firm its yoke, was always tyrannically exercised. The chief aim of the priesthood was to make sure the authority which they had obtained, and turn to their own advantage the intellectual and physical powers, to which they had been the first to give a true direc- tion. They only who are new in command find satisfaction in the vain ostentation of power. It is not enough for them, that their subjects wear the chain ; they must feel it too, and that at every step. But the experienced despot is more cunning and far-sighted in his use of it. He knows, that man 1839.1 Rise of an aristocracy. 29 is won more by appearance than by realities; and that there is no sacrifice to xvhich he may not be led to submit, pro- vided it be decked xvith some specious name, to cheat him into the belief that his obedience is spontaneous and his actions voluntary. The control, therefore, which such a ruler exercises, is so uniform and regular, that it seems to be one of the great laxvs of nature, and obedience to it becomes a matter of course. It is only when opposed, that its might is felt, and its true character displayed. But, among the I)eople of ancient Italy, the close junction of the civil with the religious authorities left little or no room for such an opposition. Nothing draws so tightly the bands of government as this corroboration of every injunction of the secular magistrate by the precepts of the guardians of faith. The mass of mankind seldom reason with sufficient accuracy to distinguish their duties as memhers of a political body, from their individual responsibilities as moral beings. The mysterious tenure of our existence ; that misgiving, which assails the mind in those sad and lonely hours, when it turns inward with a sense of loathing and weariness, as if to seek in the contemplation of its own capacities, some com- pensation for the cares and disappointments, which it meets no less in the daily intercourse of society, than in the per- formance of the graver duties of life; all those checks and doubts, by which man is so constantly reminded of his depen- dence on some superior being ; even the ardor of his dispo- sition, the darino elevation of his ambition, the proud con- b sciousness of a higher destiny, with which he traces out, in the great and unchanging works of nature, some analogy with his own capacities and his own duration ; all these feelings, thus varied and contradictory in their nature, hut sure and constant in their action, peculiarly fit man in the earlier stages of his political union, to render himself the willing slave of any class, that is cunning enough to govern him by the tem- pered command of his hopes and of his fears, without openly thwarting the one, or pushing the other to desperation. The peculiar circumstances, under which the ancient Ital- ian aristocracy was formed, afforded some highly plausible grounds for their assumption of authority. It was not founded upon civil usurpation, nor upon the yet more odious pretext of the right of conquest. But the men, who pretended to this superiority over their fellows, had been distinguished, 80 Micali on the .flncient Italians. [Jan. from the very origin of their institutions, by the undisputed possession of the rights which they claimed. Members of the sacred colonies, they had been consecrated from their birth to the service of the divinity. The halo of a mysteri- ous sanctity had surrounded them, and hallowed all their actions. Protected, or rather inspired, by this sense of a peculiar destiny, they had gathered together the scattered tribes of the regions in which they had fixed their seats, and shown them the advantages of civil union and united exertion. They had instructed them in the first arts of life, and opened for them the treasures of a rich and virgin soil. For them- selves xvere reserved the poxvers and the duties, to which no other portion of their community was equal. These they secured by all the means which they could command, oaths, mysterious rites, and the still stronger ties of an invariable custom, in which religious and civil duty were so intimately blended, that no common discernment could distinguish what belonged to each. They alone were eligible to offices of trust; to them only was the performance of religious func- tions allowed ; and none but they could interpret the phe- nomena, by which the divine will was made known, and the mysteries of the future revealed. This general superiority, which raised them so far above the body of the people, seems not, however, to have degenerated into tyranny; and the rela- tion of clientship, or of mutual and well-defined rights and duties, in which the two classes stood towards each other, supplied in part the want of a surer and more ignoble bond of union. The application of this power was similar in most of the states of Italy. The interests of the community were in- trusted to assemblies composed of the chiefs or head men of the state. In these all the important questions of common concern were treated. They declared war, or made peace. They received the ambassadors of foreign states, and replied to their communications. Whatever, in short, concerned the ~velfare of the confederacy was under the immediate control of these assemblies ; and thus far we find them to have pos- sessed clear and just ideas of the nature of a civil union. But one great principle, and that of vital importance to the state, was either too intricate or too subtile for the compre- hension of these primitive politicians. In every federate body there are two kinds of rights ; those which belong to 1839.1 The Etruscam Confederacy. 31 the union in its collective character, and those of the several states, which form the confederation, each taken separately and by itself. Whenever these come into collision, the alliance, however powerful in sudden emergencies, can never be permanently great, and is brought by every trifle to the brink of dissolution. Nothing but consummate skill and fore- sight can provide for such casualties, and so mark out and define the powers and privileges of each portion of the con- federacy, that these jarring interests may inove on harmoni- ously, and derive strength from their accordant action. The absence of this was the great defect in all the states of ancient Italy, and the seeds of destruction were implanted in them from the first organization of their system. The Etruscan confederacy was composed of twelve sepa- rate states. Each of these was governed by a magistrate of its own choice, called by them lucurno, and by the Rb- mans rex. His election was annual; and during his term of office, he was invested with the powers and with the insignia of royalty. A robe richly wrought, and adorned with purple; a crown of gold; a sceptre surmounted with an eagle; a cu- rule chair; the rods and axe of the lictors; were the impos- ing symbols of his authority. In addition to his usual and daily duties, every ninth day was set apart for public applica- tion to the affairs of the state. Among the twelve lucu- moues, which was the number of the whole body, one was chosen to preside over their common deliberations. Each state furnished him with a lictor in testimony of the entire equality of all. During war, the supreme command devolved upon him by right of office, and this was the true field for the display of his power. But the watchful jealousy of the aris- tocracy seldom allowed him to enlarge or to prolong it. But, although the chief command was thus vested in the aristocracy, the people xvere not wholly deprived of a share in the government. The division into trihes, curiec, and cen- turies, which Roman history has made so familiar to every reader, was practised by the Etruscans. Besides the assem- blies of the patricians, there were also popular assemblies. The manner in which the people exercised their right of voting in these, is not known. But their participation in the govern- ment, as a separate and influential body, is placed beyond a doubt by the authority of monuments and the express testimony of several facts, as related by ancient historians. It is impossible at this distance of time, and with such a 32 Mic ali on the .ilncient Italians. [Jan. scarcity of records, to say bow long these bodies continued to act in unison, and each remained content with its own privileges. But, early in the Roman era, we find that the people had so far extended their encroachments upon the patricians, that it xvas only hy the intervention of foreign arms, that the obnoxious order succeeded in maintaining a diminished and precarious authority. Other inferior officers, who are supposed to have been more particularly charged with the guardianship of the rights and liberties of the people, are named in the monuments of Etruria. Among them we find the familiar names of ediles, qucestors, and prefects. The laws of the Etruscans, so far as can be judged from the few specimens that have been preserved, seem to have been simple and just. Whatever regarded the rights of parents, of marriage, of inheritance, of guardianship, of credi- tors, was clearly defined. In those which relate to property, we again find the theocratic element of Tuscan society in full action. The whole earth, according to this system, xvas the immediate property of the Divinity, but Etruria had been especially singled out as his favorite possession. The direct command of this was of course transmissihle to those who could merit and win his favor; and the Etruscans were taught to look upon themselves in this flattering light. But, in order to set bounds to human cupidity, he had commanded that the limits of each tract should he distinctly marked out; and this rite, once accomplished xvith all the solemnity of pompous ceremonial, fixed for ever the extent and confines of every portion of the soil. Hence the worship of the god Termi- nus, who in such a state must have been one of the most useful and important of all the gods. Yet, when the bounds of each district had thus been assigned, every freeman became the absolute master of his own possessions. The best record of the state of this part of Etruscan law is contained in the fragments of the Txvelve Tables ; a code purely Italian, and to which nothing short of the grossest credulity could ever have attributed a Grecian origin. * Slavery was in use among them, as among nearly all the nations of antiquity. They employed their slaves in tillage, * The law against insolvent debtors is amusing, and highly characteristic of the state of commerce. OTUV & T15 t39~EiXwv ypgo~ ~i~) bro6dh5, irapassXsut5cnv si aa73~, ~~ov7-~q cn~v OvX6,oov sI~ ~vsoaiav. Heraci. Pont. de Pout. p. 213. Among the Locani, whoever lent money to a vicious man forfeited both principal and interest. 1839.] Italian Mythology. 33 in domestic services, and sometimes even in war. Their labor, as well as their punishment, was regulated by music; and, although in the eye of the law they were things, not men, yet their lot seems to have been comparatively easy. 21. The earliest intelligible records of nations are con- tained in their mythology. It is here, that we find the first traces of their advancement, and the dim and shadowy outlines of those great characters, who first dared to claim for themselves the obedience and the veneration of mankind. This epoch is too often stained with bloody rites ; and mans first impulse seems to lead him to invest the deity with his own dark and relentless passions. Time, and a community of interests and of exertions, gradually modify these ideas, and prepare the way for the developement of the kindlier feelings of our nature. Italian mythology seems, in the beginning, to have been purely rural. The unvarying round of the seasons, seed- time and harvest, with all the various events and epochs of agricultural life, were naturally distinguished by a particular display of gratitude towards that being, of whose power they served so peculiarly to awaken the remembrance. The golden age of Saturn, the teachings of Janus, the innumerable traditions of the immediate presence of the deity upon earth, are but so many records of the early progress of agriculture, and, through this, of the advancement of the nation towards a more perfect civilization. The first deities were inhabitants of woods and founts ; and it is a fact of no small importance to one who would study candidly the real character of the Italians, that their own religion consisted in pure and simple allegories, addressed to the understanding and to the feelings of the people, and thus calculated to exercise a permanent and healthy influence upon their lives and their character. The mysterious and complicated symbols, with which these same deities were subsequently invested, were the inventions of men skilled in the lore of the East, and more particularly in that of Egypt, the cradle of superstition. An entire change then took place in the theory of the divine nature. Janus, who had been worshipped by the primitive Italians, as their lawgiver and the institutor of their civil society, be- came the most high God, the sole and just father, the God of gods, the first to be invoked ; a being, in short, who had voL. XLvIII.No. 102. 5 34 Micali on the ./Fbtcient Italians. [Jan. been rendered almost unintelligible by the multitude and the comprehensiveness of his attributes. The same natural pro- cess from the simple to the complex, from particular facts to general ideas, transformed Saturn from the planter of the vine and teacher of agriculture, bearing, by a plain and intelligible allegory, a sickle in his right hand, into the all-sufficient Deity, the universal vivifying principle, the high God, from whom time had its beginning. It was but one step more to give a foreign origin to all these native deities, and represent them as springing from the land whence their new attributes had been derived. This too was accomplished; and, al- though enough of their original character has been preserved to enable us to fix the true origin of their mythology, not one of the original deities of Italy has escaped this transforma- tion. But it is more particularly in the religious system of the Etruscans, that we find evident marks of Oriental influence. The doctrine of duality, and that which relates to the state of the soul after death, are plainly sculptured upon all their monuments. The predominant idea of Etruscan theology and cosmogo- ny was comprised in the dogma of a Supreme Being, who was endued with infinite power, and was reproduced in all created things. Thus, wherever the Tuscan went, he was in the presence of his God. The earth and the air, all that live and all that supply life, reminded him of this supreme and beneficent being. The first emanation of this Derniurgus was Jove or Time. The noblest and most imposing attri- butes were united in his person. He alone exercised su- preme control, and hurled his thunderbolts at will upon the earth. Twelve assistant deities composed the celestial sen- ate, and had a voice in the councils of Jove. Nor could he, all powerful as he xvas, avoid calling in their aid in all af- fairs of moment. Each of these deities had two distinct characters ; the one, general, formed according to the mys- tical conception of his nature; the other special, and derived from the functions attributed to him in the general system of polytheism. We again find a confirmation of what we have already ob- served concerning the political bearing of Italian theology. The Etruscan league was composed of twelve great cities. The Etruscan mythology taught, that the celestial senate 1839.] Italian Mythology. 35 was formed of txvelve powerful deities. What mortal could dare to claim obedience to his single word, when even the supreme arbiter of Olympus could not decide upon the weightier concerns of his government without the aid and ad- vice of his counsellors ? Nor was the lesson confined to these principles of remoter application. It was brought home to every breast by addressing itself more directly to all the immediate cares and interests of civil life. Thus while the temples of Jove, of Juno, and of Minerva, were erected within the city and held to be essential to its safety, those of Mars, the instigator of broils, of Vulcan, the prin- ciple of fire, and of Venus, whose worship so easily dcgen- erated into lasciviousness, were placed without the walls, as if to teach, by a direct and striking symbol, that whatever endangered the safety of a community, ought studiously to be guarded against and kept at a distance. In addition to these primary deities, there was an infinite variety of inferior ones, who were distinguished by special functions, and charged with the guardianship of particular spots. Fortune was the protector of the Volsinienses; Anca- na of Fiesole. Voltumna had still more to do, and was supposed to keep watch over the whole Etruscan league. The purest moral atmosphere surrounded all these deities and it is a remark, which has not escaped the ancients themselves, that the gods of the Italians bad nothing in common with the sensual and passionate divinities of Greece. Another remarkable point in Etruscan theology, and which may be considered as forming the basis of their belief, was the doctrine of two adverse principles. These were emanations from the supreme divinity; his ministers in the preservation of order, and in the immediate government of the universe. But, throughout the whole of this immense field, they were constantly and directly opposed, one to the other. The desire to account for that mystery of human life, which mere reason can never explain, and which in some shape or other has proved the stumblingblock of every sys- tem, the origin of evil, affords a plausible explanation of the origin of this singular theory. According to Etruscan belief, every individual, upon en- tering on his mortal career, was intrusted to the guidance of two spirits of an opposite nature, the one good, the other 36 Micali on the .flncient Italians. [Jan. evil. These were his guides in life; and, when the proba- tionary duties of this existence had been performed, they followed him to his eternal dwelling-place after death. This constant struggle is pictured upon the monuments of the Etruscans, and especially upon those which were destined for sepulchral rites, in combats between fantastic and hideous beings, and often in strange and unaccountable mixtures of the human form with that of animals. The hold which this belief had taken upon the minds of the people was so strong, that traces of it are found as late as the second and third centuries of our era. So essential is belief to the human mind. So much is it a part of our nature to require some theory, however extravagant and fanciful, which may explain at least a part of the mystery of our being, and throw, if nothing more, a few faint rays, upon the dark question of our destiny. Philosophy may reason from one degree of doubt to another, and glory in the uncertainty which her own efforts have pro- cured. But man, weak and dependent man, oppressed with a sense of his feebleness and of his deficiencies, needs some fixed principle, some settled belief; and, rather than forego this, he will give sensible and tangible forms to the subtile operations of his intellect, and invest the Deity with the con- tradictory passions of his own frail nature. The monuments from which this imperfect account of Etruscan mythology is derived, afford at the same time a sin- gular proof of the pure Italian origin of these deities. Apol- lo, as is well known, was one of the chief personages of the Grecian mythology; hardly inferior to any for the variety and the importance of his functions. We are justified, therefore, in concluding, that, if the Italians had derived their system from the Greeks, so important a member of the celestial hi- erarchy would have become a prominent object of adoration among them. But so far was this from being the case, that he is nowhere mentioned in the early monuments of the country ; and, when found on those of a comparatively recent date, is written, in opposition to the invariable custom of the Italians in recording the names of their gods, with a name of evident Greek derivation. But, amid all the revolutions of Italian mythology, it is supposed that the change hardly extended to the current be- lief of the people. With them, the faith of their ancestors remained unimpaired; and the son confided, without hesita 1839.1 Italian Mythology. 37 tion or doubt, in the truth of those doctrines which he had received from his father. Still, however, it was impossible for them to escape the influence of the solemn rites, which seemed to surround their ancient and simple tenets with a sublimer and more mysterious sanctity. And this, in fact, was all that the priestbood asked for; for it was the preser- vation of their own power that they aimed at, not the instruc- tion of the people. Thus, availing themselves of the natural phenomena which abound in the volcanic soil of Italy, they invented that celebrated system of oracular revelation, which, to borrow the energetic language of Machiavelli, bound the vulgar by the fond belief, that the same deity who could fore- tell the destiny of man, could also mould and cbange it at will. It was thus that they pretended to predict the issue of any event, by the throwing of dice into the smoking and medici- nal waters of Aponus. Hence also the famous Prmenestian lots. Here again, we find a striking difference between the usages of the Greeks and those of the Italians ; the for- mer admitting of two kinds of oracular communication, while the Italians, no matter how the original prediction had been made, received the annunciation through the medium of special interpreters. Whatever the early character of this institution may have been, and however much it may have been called for by the necessities of the times, it could not but degenerate into a vile and sordid superstition. At the annual festival of their deity, which was celebrated on mount Soracte, the Hirpi kept up the superstitious wonder of the vulgar by walking with naked feet over live coals. Summe Defim, sanc~i custos Soractis Apollo, Quem primi colimus, cui pineus ardor acervo Pascitur; et medium, freti pietate, per ignem Cultores, mult& premimus vestigia pruna. * The science of Augury, one of the strongest weapons of the priesthood, was peculiar to the Italians. Tages ~ was 4~n. xi. 785. The first appearance of Tages is thus described by Cicero. Tages quidam dicitur in agro Tarquiniensi, cum terra araretur, et sulcus altius esset impressus, extitisse repente, et eurn affatus esse, qui arabat. Is autem Tages, ut in libris est Etruscorum, puerili specie dicitur visus, sed senili fuisse prudentiA. Ejus adspectu cum obstupuisset bubulus, clamoremque majorem corn admiratione edidisset, concursurn esse factum, totamque bre- vi tempore in eurn locurn Etruriarn convenisse: turn ilium plura locutum, 38 Mic ali on the ./Incient Italians. [Jan. honored as its founder. The oral lessons of this divinity were collected by his followers, and committed to writing. It was thus, that were formed the celebrated Etruscan rituals, which contained the doctrine of fate, of the nature and desti- ny of the soul, and, in short, the most mysterious tenets of theology. These were translated into Latin, and illustrated by ample comments. So extensive did this science eventu- ally become, that it was made to embrace the whole field of religion, of ethics, and of natural philosophy. Of equal importance to the priesthood were the religious festivals, which they instituted with happy foresight, and ob- served with studious solemnity. Simple and unpretending in their origin, they were little more than a voluntary union of the inhabitants of different districts, each within its own precincts, in order to give greater solemnity to the expres- sion of their gratitude and the offices of their devotion. Art- fully availing themselves of all the advantages, that could be derived from the progress of the arts and the increase of wealth, the priesthood gradually introduced important chan- ges into these assemblies. A more pompous ceremonial was required; offerings became richer and more numerous the shrines of the gods were decked with greater care ; and their images, choicely wrought in marble or in bronze, or in materials still more costly and precious, struck a deeper ter- ror into the minds of their worshippers, and carried to the highest pitch their sense of awe and veneration. Our knowledge of the various intermediate ranks of the priesthood is imperfect and unsatisfactory. The youngest assistants at the altar were called camilli, and this was prob- ably an initiatory step, preparing the way to higher functions. The high priest (pontifex) was chosen by the votes of the twelve states ; and his office scems to have been the privi- lege of particular families. The body of the priesthood, considered as a distinct and independent caste, was bound to the state by a double relation. (1.) By their power and duties, as directors and ministers of public worship. multis audientibus, qui omnia ejus verba exceperint, litterisque mandave. rint: ornuern autein orationem fuisse earn qu~ harospicinre disciplina con. tineretur: earn postea crevisse rebus novis cognoscendis et ad eadern illa principia referendis. fla~c accepirnus ab ipsis hnc scripta conservant: hunc fontern habent disciplium. Nurn, adds the not over-credulous phi- losopher, num ergo opus est ad h~ec refellenda Carneade? nurn Epicuro? Dc Div. Lib. 11.23. 1889.] Etruscan Worship and Priesthood. 39 (2.) By the civil and judicial constitution of the country, as guardians and interpreters of the laws. But, hoxvever numerous the privileges of this powerful class, there was one important particular in which they were placed upon a level xvith the rest of the population. They were both soldiers and civil officers. Their station at the altar did not exempt them from the most hazardous and on- erous duties of citizenship. Deeply rooted as this power xvas, it proved unable to withstand the sloxv hut sure influence of advancing civiliza- tion. As early as the fifth century of 1{oine, the authority of the priesthood had ceased to be felt. New deities and new rites had been introduced; aad it must be acknowledged that morals gained nothing by the change. A closer com- merce with the Greeks had given a popular currency to their sensual mythology. The pure xvorship of Bacehus degener- ated into the infatnous Bacchanalian rites; and, except among the Sabines, the Samnites, the Umbri, and the Lucani, who rigidly adhered to the worship of their fathers, we find scarce any vestiges of the primitive religion of Italy. But, before we quit the subject of the priesthood, there is one point upon which we would wish to speak somewhat more at large, even at the risk of a little repetition. The first object of every corporation is power ; and if the union be based upon human credulity, every species of dominion is its natural accompaniment. We have already spoken, with perhaps more than proportionate frdness, of the aims of the Italian priesthood, and of the measures which they employed in order to accomplish them. They may be comprised in two simple propositions. (1.) That they preserved a rigid monopoly of all the knowl- edge of the age. (2.) That they applied this science to the government of society with a view to the extension of their own influence. Of all the distinctions which nature or art has placed be- tween the different classes of society, none is stronger or more universally felt than that of education. Intellectual power is a shrine before which man bends more readily and more constantly, with greater sincerity and less of humiliation, than before any other. And when, to an evident superiority in the cultivation of faculties which are common to the whole race, is added the apparent command over things that exceed 40 Micali o~& the .fincient Italians. [Jan. the utmost stretch of human comprehension; when the phe- nomena which strike terror into the breast of one individual, seem to utter an intelligible language to another, revealing objects that lie beyond the reach of mortal vision, and point- ing out the course and result of enterprises yet undecided, what can man do but cast himself, an humble suppliant, at the feet of those mysterious beings, who seem to partake of only as much of his nature as is necessary in order to make him feel the immensity of the distance that separates them from him? It was not merely a vain and arrogant assumption, therefore, which led the Italian priesthood to teach that all knowledge was the immediate gift of the Deity. The fabric which they reared upon this foundation proved the firmest bulwark of their power. It comprised the whole range of science, and thus subjected even the ordinary arts of life to the ordeal of their judgment. These revelations of the Deity were too profound and too refined for common understandings. None but his favored servants, they who were admitted to the mys- tical service of his temple, could comprehend them. Nor was this knowledge the easy acquisition of hereditary right. A long course of severe discipline and of attentive study prepared them for it. They, who were to read and interpret the phenomena of nature, had first to reduce these phenomena to a fixed science by a series of exact and extensive obser- vations. The records of these became the text-books of succeeding ages, and were successively enlarged, improved, and corrected. The predictions founded upon the phenom- ena of thunder and lightning must alone have required an immense series of curious and subtile observations. Their knowledge of medicine also, however imperfect, required a thorough acquaintance with the use and nature of herbs, and of the mineral waters with which their country abounds. Their frequent sacrifices, and the necessity of inspecting the bodies of the consecrated victims, opened the way for the acquisition of that skill in anatomy, which is apparent in all the works of Etruscan art. The more occult doctrines, con- tained in the celebrated mysteries, so often mentioned in classical literature, were reserved for the most distinguished among the priesthood; nor could they all pretend to penetrate the darker secrets of their own art. There is a striking re- semblance between their tradition of the creation and that 1S39.] Etruscart Science and Literature. 41 contained in the Mosaic record. iDemiurgus employed six thousand years in the creation of the world. In the first thousand he created the heavens and the earth ; in the sec- ond, the firmament; in the third, the sea and all the waters in the fourth, the great lights, the sun, moon, and stars ; in the fifth, the animals of the land, sea, and air ; in the sixth, he made man. But, not content xvitli this luminous history of the past, Etruscan philosophy marked out the bounds of the future, with the same unerring precision. A second term of six thousand years comprised the period allotted for the du- ration of the human race. The whole universe then return- ed to its pristine chaos, and, at stated intervals, this regular process of creation and destruction was to he renewed. 22. A few xvords may he made to embrace all that can he said with any certainty concerning the science of the Etruscans. It has been clearly shown,* that no nation in the infancy of society have the least claim to that knowledge of astronomy which has been attributed to them. There is a vast difference hetween a casual attention to some of the more regular appearances in the movements of the heavenly hodies, and the founding of a satisfactory and available science upon them. Antiquaries are too apt to suppose, that, wherever they find any thing like a course of observations, there must necessarily have been a body of science. The lunar year was generally known among the ancient Italians at a very early period. But the Etruscans added to this a knowledge of the solar year ; and there is very little reason to doubt, that the division of time which the Roman historians attributed to Numa, was borrowed by him from the Etruscans. A sense of high and mysterious import was at- tributed to numbers; nor was it probably for any other reason, that we find the number twelve so often recurring in the divisions of their political and mythological orders. The figures now commonly known as Roman, were, strictly speak- ing, Etruscan. Songs of various kinds were, as far as we know, the chief poetry of the Etruscans; nor for the existence of these have we any other authority, than a casual mention of them by some ancient writers. The subjects of these compositions were probably those, which all nations in a similar state of * Delambre, Hist. de 1.,qstrono?nie ancienne, Torn. I. p. 13. VOL. XLVIIT.NO. 102. 6 42 Micali on the .1/ucient Italians. [Jan. society prefer; but the praises of the dead were a favorite theme, and the songs of this class were sung at the table, and in the hour of convivial freedom. The name of Volumnus has been preserved as a writer of tragedy; and the celebrated Atellian plays, acted first in Oscan, and subsequently in Latin, were admired in Rome, even under the Emperors. The pompous ceremonies of religion, which, as has been already observed, owed so much to the progress of the arts, contributed also to the developement of those arts from which they derived their chief embellishment. Music formed an important part of religious service, and was more particularly employed in processions and in dances. The attention which they paid to music led them to invent several kinds of instru- ments, and the fame of their subulones was so high, that they were universally employed by the Romans in their sacred chants. But there is no loss affecting the early history of Italy, which is more to be regretted than that of their native his- torians. In the age of Augustus, many of them xvere still extant. As a testimony in favor of Etruscan literature, it should be observed, that it originally constituted the first study of the Roman youth, as the Greek did in the sequel ; a custom, which, among a people who were so little addicted to commerce, and who so uniformly imposed their own language upon the nations they subdued, could never have obtained without some strong attraction in the extent and in the char- acter of the literature itself. 23. Our knowledge of the private manners and customs of the ancient Italians is too general, and contains too few of those definite peculiarities, which alone make the difference between nations, and between different states of society, an interesting inquiry, to call for any particular description. Those exquisite lines of the Latin lyric poet, in which he draws so striking a contrast between his contemporaries and their ancestry, contain perhaps the best picture of the primi- tive simplicity of Italian manners. Sed rusticorum inascula militurn Proles, Sabellis docta ligonibus Versare glebas, et sever~e Matris ad arbitrium recisos Portare fustes, sol ubi montium Mutaret umbras et juga demeret Bobus fatigatis, amicurn Tempus agens abeunte curru. * Hor. Carm. Lib. iii. 6. 1839.] .fincient Italian .drt. 43 24. We have reached the most difficult part of our suhject; and, did we suppose that any thing more than a sim- ple historical outline of Italian art would he looked for in a paper like the present, we should throw by our pen in despair. All men have a certain degree of feeling for art in its more advanced stages; and, although the subtler conceptions of the artist may escape common observation, yet there is an elo- quence in the human form, which is understood, and felt still more than it is understood, by every one. The Medora, as pictured to the intellectual eye in the poetry of language, is even less eloquent than the same scene as brought out in all its thrilling reality by the minuter poetry of sculpture. But to discover, in the first rude efforts of an art as yet ignorant of its true object and of its real destiny, the traces of a power yet undeveloped, and of a feeling indicated rather than expressed ; to distinguish, amid the rough productions of nations still struggling with barbarism, those which promise progress and developement from those for which there is no progress and no futurity, is a task, which, in spite of all the pretensions and the fancied raptures of the connoisseur, can be accomplished by those alone, who, to a natural sensibility for the beauties of art, have added a long practical acquaint- ance with its mechanical processes. We have already had frequent occasion to observe the re- ciprocal action of the laws and the religion of the ancient Italians. It is long before mankind arrives at that period, in which, the more imperious wants of life being supplied, the mind is at liberty to seek relaxation and enjoyment in the invention of artificial pleasures. But the imitation of the objects that surround us is one of the earliest of our intel- lectual wants. This by slow, fluctuating, and almost imper- ceptible degrees of improvement leads to creation, and the representation of those visions of beauty, which float before the eye of imagination, long before art is sufficiently ad- vanced to reproduce them upon canvass, or draw them forth from marble. The original aim of the arts of design among the primitive Italians was the representation of national customs. It was another instrument in the hands of the all-powerful priest- hood, which they wielded at will, and in strict accordance with their far-reaching ambition. The artist thought less of elegance of form and propriety of arrangement, than of the 44 Micali on the ,flncient Italians. [Jan. moral or religious effect of his productions. He was not at liberty to choose from among the rites of his country, those which were best adapted to the purposes of l1is art; but was compelled to employ that art itself in the confirmation of those customs, which had more to fear from the silent and inevitable changes of time, than from the open attacks of innovation. Thus the same causes, which opposed the pro- gress of Italian civilization, and prevented it from ever attain- ing to a full developement, retarded also the progress of the arts, and even seemed for a time to have transformed them from a means of culture into an instrument of superstitious despotism. We would not wish to be misunderstood. We would not have it supposed, that we seek to deprive the artist of that inspiration, which is to be derived from a great moral or political aim. So far are we from this, that we firmly be- lieve that there is no other source of great ideas. The ideal beauty, of which the artist endeavours to catch the fleeting image, is but the visible expression of some noble moral conception. It is Charity, performing her double office, of instructress and of nurse. It is triumphant Patriotism, holding in one hand the sword by which his victory was won, and pointing with the other to that Providence, in whose name he had wielded it. Form, grouping, drapery, grace of out- line, and truth of anatomy, are but the clothing of these ideas. They are to the artist what language is to the poet, the me- dium through which he communicates his own feelings to others. But the soul of these great productions, that appar~ ent life, which almost makes the marble yield, flesh-like, to your touch, and the flat surface of the canvass swell out with the waving lines and graceful proportions of the human form, can be drawn only from the same source with the purest in- spirations of poetry. One branch of the arts was less exposed to the influence of the abovementioned causes, than the others. Architec- ture is under a certain degree of restraint in every state of society. The nature of his materials, and the necessity of clipping down his conceptions to the views and the wants of his employer, have accustomed the architect to act with ap.. parent freedom, under circumstances which would wholly repress the ardor of the sculptor or of the painter. It is principally, or almost exclusively, among the Etrus 1839.1 ancient Italian art. 45 cans, that we must look for monuments of art; and, in fact, it is upon these monuments that we depend for nearly all that we know of the manners and customs of the nation. A single glance at any fragment of Etruscan architecture is sufficient to show, that all its distinctive characteristics arose from the state of society among the people for whom it was formed. The first aim of the architect was security. hence the enormous size of the materials that he employed, and, in a great measure also, the manner in which he put them to- gether. Their cities were built upon the summits of precipitous and almost inaccessible hills. The disadvantages of such a situation for all the purposes of commerce, or even of agricul- ture, were to a certain degree counterhalanced by its secu- rity. Walls of great height, and sometimes also of great extent, surrounded the xvhole city. Built upon the craggy sides of the mountain, or, as at Veii, upon some artificial ele- vation, they seemed to defy attack, and to be placed by their position alone beyond the reach of danger. The manner of their construction, and the materials of which they were com posed, add the security. A deep founda tion ed,ifpossible, to th~~ha which time and the vicissitudes of the seasons produce in the surface of the earth. Upon this arose a pile of massive blocks of stone, so cut as to fit together without cement, and of such dimensions as to have procured for this style of building the name of Cyclo- pean. Military and civil architecture xvere combined in these structures. The foundation already spoken of was in part a protection against mines ; hut the situation of the wall itself, upon the border of the precipice, was a still more effectual guard. Those portions of the wall, which were most ex- posed to the machines of the enemy, were built of the largest stones. The whole circuit was strengthened by towers, erected at regular distances, and within reach of the missiles of the defenders of the main works. Each gate was secured by a portculhs ; arid, as a last retreat in the hour of danger, a separate fortress, which was dignified with the name of citadel, covered the most elevated and strongest part of the city. Parts of these walls still remain, unscathed by the lapse of centuries, and preserving, amid ruins that carry us back two thousand years, the record of ages still more oh- scure, and of an antiquity yet more remote. Thus, although 46 Micali on the .flncient Italians. [Jan. no work of purely Etruscan architecture has come down to us entire, and although we are wholly dependent upon some passages of Vitruvius for what little we know of the form and the structure of their temples, yet the grave character and exceeding solidity of the ruins of Volterra, of Fiesole, of Cortona, and of other cities of ancient Etruria, which it would he useless to enumerate, are sufficient to show how much progress had been made in this first and most important of the arts. The name of the simplest of all the orders of archi- tecture is a sufficient proof of its origin. The Etruscans also were the first to use porticoes ; and this, taken together with several other details which have heen handed down con- cerning their domestic architecture, affords sufficient ground for supposing, that in their private edifices they lost not sight of those principles which gave such grace and solidity to their public monuments. The art of the statuary was practised by the Italians from the earliest period of their national existence ; in part from the abundance of the materials which are used in moulding and in part from the early action of those causes which, in every age of their history, have favored the cultivation of the arts of design. Ancient history records marvels concerning the number of the statues, which were transported to Rome upon the conquest of various cities of Italy ; and we are ex- pressly told by Pliny, that the most ancient statues of Rome were the work of Etruscans. Clay was first used in the formation of these statues ; and it was in the management of this that the Vejentians attained to such celebrity. But the abundance of bronze, and its ad- mirable adaptation to all the purposes of the statuary, finally obtained for it the preference over every other sort of mate- rial. The skill of the Etruscan artist in the representation of animals is sufficiently manifest from the numerous specimens, which still remain of their productions in this branch of the art. Nor is it a fact unworthy of remark, that their attentive study of the science of divination was not wholly without its reward, since it led them to ohserve, and consequently to imitate with remarkable exactness, the anatonmical structure of the animals used in sacrifice. It is more particularly in the works of this class, that we perceive how much imagina- tion, like all our faculties, is dependent upon cultivation. 1839.1 ducient Italian drt. 47 The skill and feeling of the artist were wasted upon strange and fantastic combinations, which have no foundation in na- ture, and which, consequently, require not that close and unwearied study of real life, without which no correct idea can be formed of the object and the power of art. The blame, however, of a false taste in this respect is shared by a nation, which has furnished the surest models of pure taste in every department; for if the Etruscaus made these figures, the Greeks bought them, and it is xvell known, that, in the time of Pericles, the bronze works of Etruria were held in the highest estimation in Athens itself. The works of ancient Italian sculpture, which are still in existence, may be assigned to three different epochs of the art, each of which is distinguished by characteristics that cannot be mistaken. Many of these monuments belong to the very infancy of the arts. You see that the artist has, as yet, no clear conception of the real character of imitation, and no distinct perception of the beauties of the human form. He is struggling xvith the expression of indefinite and exaggerated ideas. You here find statues with stiff, rectilinear outlines. The feet are closely united. The eyes are flattened. The mouth is ob- lique. The chin projects nearly as far as the nose. The limbs are protracted to an excessive length, and the drapery is drawn close and fitted tight and stiff to the body. They not only have no appearance of motion, but seem incapable of it. They are, in short, a coarse representation of the lineaments of the body, without any idea of strength, or of agility, or of any of the higher qualities of art. In looking at these gro- tesque caricatures, it is with difficulty that you can persuade yourself that the artist can have seriously undertaken to imi- tate the human form as we now see it. It would seem, that any eye must have been sufficiently formed to distinauish the gross errors of such copies. But, happily for the progress of art, our ideas of beauty keep pace with the efforts that we make to represent it. Could man feel at once tbe full force of the beautiful, he would be overwhelmed by his own impo- tence, and lost in barren amazement. But drawn onward, step by step, by the gradual discovery of new graces, though every effort bring him nearer to the point at which be first aimed, that very effort serves to reveal some new and some higher quality; and it is only as be approaches the truth, that 43 liNlicali om the nciertt Italians. [Jan. he feels the full force of natural beauty, and begins to rise to the contemplation of ideal perfection. The Egyptian origin of Italian culturc is strikingly appar- cut in the monuments of this age. The fighting animals, the monsters of various forms, which are so often repeated in the productions of both nations, all of them symbols of the same religious system, belong, either by date or by imitation, to this epoch. But, although in these works of the Etruscans there is a certain degree of natural expression, and a certain pleasing simplicity, yet they fall far short of the real feeling, which, in spite of all their roughness, distinguishes the Egyp- tian compositions of the correspondent age. The most important period of Etruscan art was that which gave rise to a new and purely national style, if this name can he with propriety admitted where traces of Egyp- tian influence are still visible. This school was particularly distinguished by its rigid adherence to method. Strength is here represented hy over-action. The figures start and strain with the theatrical movement, which gives so peculiar and unnatural a character to the French school. The muscles are developed beyond the fulness of nature, and marked with great distinctness and precision. Art has evidently made progress, hut rather in the correctness of anatomical repre- sentation, than in the conception of ideal beauty. The sever- est decency is observed throughout all the works of this class. rfhe subjects are for the most part allusive to sacred and domestic rites ; and the cast of countenance which pre- vails in all of them is so peculiar, and so evidently copied from life, that it might almost be called provincial. As early as the first century of Rome, the truscans be- gan, by means of their colonies in Campania, to hold some intercourse with the Greeks. Commerce enlarged it. But the small profit, which they could derive from the Greek art of that age, is sufficiently apparent from the specimens of it which have come down to our own times. As Grecian art advanced, its influence upon that of the Etruscans became more decided; and when the works of Zeuxis and of Phid- ias had raised the former to that pitch which has never yet been passed in any age or in any country, the latter also acquired a new and more elevated character. This was its longest, as well as its brightest period. It is to this, that antiquaries assign the Orator of the Florentine gallery~ 1839.] Etruscan Vases. 49 and the Child of the Vatican. Many delicate gems, the Tyrrhena sigilla perhaps of Horace, of which numerous specimens still remain, concur in giving us the highest opinion of the taste and skill of the Etruscans during this happy epoch. The finest specimens of the art of this period are in bronze ; hut the most numerous are in the stone of the country. The alabaster of Volterra, then as now, was held in especial estimation. We have not been equally fortunate in our remains of Etruscan painting ; and the situation alone of these works is sufficient to show, that they could only have heen the productions of the journeymen of the art. But the most important branch of our subject, for its hear- ing upon the history of Etruscan manners, as well as upon that of art, is the examination of the painted earthen vases, which are drawn forth in incredible abundance from the an- cient sepulchres, that have been opened in almost every section of the country. (1.) The first in the order of time are certain vases of black earth, which, though not baked, were dried in such a manner as to render them fit for use, and make theni susceptible of a kind of lead-like polish. The most remarkable of them have upon the body, the handles, or the foot, drawings in low re- lief, allusive to the symbolical rites of religion, and chiefly of burial. And, as the custom of depositing beside the urn of the deceased the objects, which he bad valued most in life, was almost universal in the infancy of society, it is not sur- prising that the deities, to whose watchful care the sacred repose of the sepulchre was intrusted, should have been de- picted under the most hideous and terrifying forms. These vases were set apart for sepulchral rites. They are found in Clusium, the Volscian territory, Tarquinii, and Ca~re. They belong, by style and form, to the earliest epoch of Etruscan art; a fact, which is strikingly confirmed by several peculiar- ities in the allegories with which they are adorned. Of equal antiquity are the baked earthen vases of a reddish color. These are covered with figures of animals, traced in fanciful and often in terrific shapes. They bear no marks of a purely Grecian mythology; and the common, though im- proper usage, calls them Egyptian. They are found in tombs, not in Etruria only, but in Campania; nor is there any reason to doubt, that they were used, like the first-mentioned vases voL. XLvIIT.NO. 102. 7 50 Micali on the .dncient Italians. EJan. of unbaked earth, for funeral rites. The Oriental origin of the symbols which they bear is apparent from their evident analogy with the doctrines of the East. (2.) The transition from these fantastical images to the symbols of a more poetical and a more ideal mythology was not only natural, but, among a people qualified for progressive civilization, necessary. Hence the adoption of the Greek fables, which are easily recognised upon the vases of a more recent date. Bacchus, however, not merely the Grecian, but the Etruscan Bacchus, or, in other words, not only as god of the vine, but as the father of agriculture and of the arts, and at the same time the awful deity of the world of spirits, continues to be the chief personage in these symbols. These vases also were, for the most part, used in the numerous ceremonies of burial. But this usage was not exclusive and many of them are readily distinguished as having served for domestic purposes, or as rewards for the victors in the games and exercises of the gymnasium. The number of them, which has been recently discovered upon the territories of the ancient Volsci, has occasioned a renewal of the question concerning their origin; one school asserting that they are all Greek; the other~maintaining, with equal zeal and learning, that they are all Etruscan. The first circumstance which strikes the impartial observer is, that they evidently belong to different schools and epochs. No one who considers the state of the commercial and colo- nial relations, which began so early and subsisted so long, between the Greeks and the Italians, can hesitate to acknowl- edge, that many of these vases are the work of Grecian artists. But, at the same time, the Etruscan names and inscriptions, which are engraved upon so large a proportion of them, show that many were of Etruscan manufacture. The abundance, also, in which they are found, goes far in confirmation of this opinion. No subject, however, can be harder to decide by mere force of argument. Long practice in observation and comparison, supplies the surest standard of judgment. The most ancient of these are certain vases of a dry, stiff style, in which the figures are placed upright, one after the other, with a symmetrical uniformity, although they are not wholly devoid of vivacity and life. The angular cut of the dress, and the richness of its embroidery, are well worthy of remark. None of the works of this school can have belonged 1839.] dgriculture of the Etruscans. 51 to the best epoch of Grecian art. They are evidently of a much earlier date ; and, from the strong tincture of Oriental- ism which they retain, it would seem probable that this style, originated among the Greek colonies of Asia Minor, was carried from thence to the mother country, and was subse- quently introduced into Italy. It was particularly in Corinth and in Sicyon, that this art attained to its perfection. As early as the first century of Rome, the intercourse between Etruria and Corinth was frequent; and the vases of the latter formed for a long time an important staple of commerce. Now the eldest and most revered deities of Corinth and Sicyon, viz. Apollo, Diana, Hercules, and Minerva, are precisely those which we meet with most frequently upon the earthen wares of Volsci. They are found also in Sicily and in many parts of Magna Gra~cia. The flourishing state of Etruria during the first two centuries of Rome, and the excess to which the inhabitants carried the pomp and luxury of their funeral rites, will easily account for the activity which pre- vailed in this branch of commerce. This art was practised not only in Etruria, but throughout the whole of Italy. Even in the earthen vessels which were solely employed for ordinary domestic purposes, we find a striking attention to variety and grace of form. The vessels of which we are now speaking were in com- mon use from the first to the third century of Rome. Dur- ing the fourth, the art underwent an important change, and was much improved. The cultivation of it was still contin- ued through the fifth and sixth centuries of the same era; but, upon the suppression of the Bacchanalian rites, it fell into dis- use, and probably soon after ceased entirely. When, therefore, in the age of Augustus, a large number of them xvas discov- ered in the tombs of Capua, they must have excited almost as much surprise and dispute as they now do. Towards the end of the republic they were again brought into use in fu- neral ceremonies. Then followed a period of rough and awkward imitation, the productions of which are easily dis- tinguished from those of every other age. 25. In the infancy of society, agriculture is one of the first and most important steps in the path of civilization. While men roam free and unfettered from spot to spot, with no passions but those of animal life, and no other care than the daily provision of a precarious subsistence, there is no 52 Micali on the .lncient Italians. [Jan. foundation even for the first coarse rudiments of civility. But no sooner do they become attached to one place by the ties of cultivation, than a total change ensues in all their feelings. Life becomes a new scene. The domestic affections begin to expand. Individual attachments are formed. Love ex- tends from animate to inanimate objects; and the spot that has witnessed the budding of affection, becomes, by the most natural and forcible of associations, a sharer in all its pleasures and all its endearments. By degrees the circle en- larges, and begins to embrace a wider range of duties. The obligations of a parent, of a husband, of a child, prepare the way for a fuller sense of the duties of man towards man and the tie that binds him to his home is the first and the strongest link in that holy chain of affections which attaches him to his country. The state of the agriculture of a country, therefore, affords one of the surest data for judging of its civilization, as well as of the character and the aims of those by whom that civiliza- tion was founded. No part of a population adheres so rigidly to ancient maxims and primitive customs, as that which is de- voted to the cultivation of the soil. And hence we constant- ly find, among the men of this class, a variety of usages, which, if attentively considered, would throw much light upon the remoter periods of their history. This inquiry, therefore, is of primary importance in every attempt to arrive at a sat- isfactory judgment concerning a people, whose history is founded upon scattered traditions and obscure and difficult monuments. Agriculture, among the ancient Italians, was under the im- mediate safeguard of religion. The possessions of the bus- bandman were protected by the solemnity of holy rites, and his toil cheered and lightened by the grateful recurrence of pious festivals and public games. As each season called for the renewal of its appropriate labors, it brought with it also its peculiar relaxations. Nor were the labors and the pleas- ures of the field of mere human institution. The gods them- selves had partaken of them, had hallowed them by their presence, and directed them by their instructions. The whole political system of the country was supported by that of its agrarian laws. By the first of these, the civil dominion of the soil was secured to the Patricians. From them the extensive class of clients received certain tracts for 1839.1 efigriculture of the Etruscans. 53 cultivation, from the tillage of which they derived their own subsistence, and contributed by the payment of a fixed tribute to that of the lawful owners. Slaves were sometimes em- ployed in these services, but their number cannot have been great. The position and the climate of Italy fitted it for the cul- tivation of a variety of fruits and of grains. Many trees of Asia have become nearly indigenous in this congenial soil. Many animals, also, of Asiatic origin have thrived in Italy, and multiplied with amazing rapidity. Etruria, the Volscian territory, Picenum, Campania, and Apulia were renowned for their abundant harvests of grain. The vine was carefully cul- tivated, and the most luxurious of the ancients asked for no choicer wines than those of his own country. Bees, also, were tended with great care, and their rich stores of honey and of wax were highly prized. Grazing early came to be a leading object of attention. The wools of several districts were in great repute for their softness and their brilliant white. Then, as now, the shep- herd tended his flock, during the heats of summer, high upon the sides of the mountains, where an abundant pasturage and clear springs of the purest water supplied all their wants. But, upon the approach of winter, and before the first snow- fall, he led them down to the sheltered valleys and fertile maremmas, and, erecting his hut in the midst of his grazing- ground, awaited the return of the milder season. Autumn and spring still present the same spectacle of migrating flocks to the traveller in modern Italy. Day after day, in these seasons, the highways, from the mountains to the low lands, are filled with long trains of sheep, proceeding by slow stages to their summer or their winter quarters. The veterans of the flock move on with a measured gate and demure aspect, while their younger and more active companions climb every hedge and leap every ditch, to pluck the grass and green shoots that border the way. Behind comes the shepherd, in his coat of skins ; his legs bound as high as the knee with strong, coarse leggings; with breeches of thick woollen, and sometimes of skin with the fleece outward ; a hat with a broad brim and cone-like crown ; and in hand his crook or wand of office. But the most interesting object in this an- nual caravan is the shepherds dog. The form and size alone of this animal are sufficient to excite attention. The 54 Micali on the ~6Incient Italians. [Jan. nose is long, and, unlike the rest of the head, free from hair. The ears are pricked; the legs large and strongly set; and the whole body covered with a thick coat of shaggy hair, which is no less a protection against the inclemencies of the season, to all the vicissitudes of which he is constantly ex- posed, than a guard in his frequent contests with his natural enemy, the wolf. This animal relieves the shepherd from more than half his responsibility. He never loses sight of the flock. On a march he is incessantly in motion; now at the head, now on the sides, now behind; and woe to the luckless straggler that dares to wander from his path. When noon brings the hour of repose, he takes his stand at some point where he can be ready for his charge, and at the same time snatch a moments rest. At night he watches on the outskirts of the fold. The incautious traveller finds him at his throat before he can call for assistance. The wolf dreads him, and never, unless when goaded by the extremity of hunger, ventures to approach his watch. Nor even then can he succeed, if he come singly to the attack. The faithful ani- mal will sometimes hold even two at bay, and give his master time to come to his assistance ; and, if this be delayed, it is only after a long and fierce struggle, and over the mangled body of their guardian, that the ravenous prowler of the for- est can seize his trembling and defenceless victims. Many of the peculiar customs of pastoral life were deeply rooted in the feelings of the people. The Palian and Luper- calian games, by which the shepherd sought to propitiate the deity towards himself and his flock, preserve the memory of an age anterior to the foundation of Rome. By a strange engrafting of Pagan rites upon the simple usages of Chris- tianity, traces of these ancient institutions have been pre- served down to our own times ; and the fires, which were once lighted for a heathen goddess, now blaze in honor of the Virgin. The part of the herdsman was nearly as important as that of the shepherd. The oxen of Italy were highly esteemed by the ancients for their strength and their size ; and it is well known that many have supposed this circumstance to afford a sufficient explanation of the origin of the actual name of the country. The race of horses, also, was in high repute; and the woods of Lucania, of Etruria, and of upper Italy, were filled with innumerable herds of wild hogs. Even the forests 1839.] Etruscan Commerce. 55 were placed under the immediate protection of the divinity; and, no one being allowed to touch them except for some public purpose of acknowledged utility, they formed a rich source of national commerce. But no feature in the agricultural history of ancient Italy gives so high an idea of its progress in civilization, as the reduction of vast tracts of marsh to a state of high cultivation. Many portions of the country, which now exhale noxious and pestilential vapors, were then thickly peopled. Others, now partially redeemed from inundation, and verdant with an una- vailable fertility, were among the most populous and produc- tive of the ancient states. The Middle Ages witnessed a partial and transient return of this prosperity. The Tuscan marshes were drained towns and cities arose amid the banks and canals which led off the noxious waters ; and the whole coast, from the bor- ders of the Genoese to the confines of the Roman states, was covered with a hardy and thriving population, who drew from the soil they had won, enough to meet all their own wants, and contribute to the support of an extensive and gainful commerce.* 26. But the success of agriculture alone would be in- sufficient to account for the wealth and power, to which the nations of Italy had already attained in the first centuries of Rome. Commerce went hand in hand with the tillage of the soil, conveying its superabundant products to distant lands, and bringing in a rich return of foreign commodities. The situation of their country must have called the atten- tion of the Italians to navigation at a very early period. But the first navigators were pirates ; and this is the not very enviable appellation, that we find frequently coupled by the ancients with the name of the Tyrrheni. Such, however, must necessarily have been the case, when men, ignorant of the legitimate object of nautical science, ventured to launch their barks upon an untried element, and to trust their persons and their property to the mercy of the winds and the waves. The very qualities, which fitted them for such an effort, pre- pared them to consider themselves as fairly entitled to what- A very interesting exposition of this fact, though from a point of more extensive view than we can take, may he found in an early work of Sis- mondi, Tableau de l~griculture Toscane, pp. 284 et seq. 56 Micali on the .Incient Italians. [Jan. ever they could make their own ; * and the hazards, to which they unhesitatingly exposed their oxvn lives, must have taught them a lesson of stern indifference to the security of others. The chances, too, were equal. Strength and skill were the arbiters of the contest. The prize of victory and the conse- quences of defeat were known and weighed before the sword was drawn. But, although the commencement of nautical commerce was thus rough and unpromising, yet it was not long ere it began to feel the benign influence of advancing civilization. And no sooner was it perceived, that far more was to be gained by an equitable exchange of the products of one country for those of another, than by these predatory excur- sions, which, although sometimes successful, were always attended xvith double exposure, than it became an object of general attention, and was prosecuted with such ardor and address as rapidly carried it to a very high pitch of pros- perity. Here again the Etruscans took the lead. The beak or pointed prow, so terrible in the shock of naval combat, was invented by them. The double-fluked anchor, also, was an Etruscan invention. Even had the voice of history been silent, the names borne by the two seas which bathe the Italian peninsula would form an imperishable monument of the nautical enterprise of the lEtruscans. Their colonies in Corsica and Sardinia have already been mentioned. Their first treaties with the Carthaginians were of a very early date ; and, up to the third century of Rome, they not only competed with them for the command of the Mediterranean, but even attempted to follow their track in the more difficult and adventurous navigation of the Atlantic. The materials by which this commerce was supplied were, in a great measure, derived from their own soil. Grain was exported from the fertile districts that bor- der on the sea. Their forests furnished the best of tim- ber. The iron of the vast mines of Elba was wrought at Populonia, and formed an important staple of traffic. The * Such may have heen the meaning of Horace; liii rohur et ~s triplex Circa pectus erat, qai fragilem truci Commisit pelago ratem Primus, & c. 1839.] Commerce of the Etruscans. 57 mines of Volterra and of the territory of Siena gave copious supplies of copper, which Was used in the construction ol arms and of various utensils and instruments of labor, and was also coined as money. The native stores of xvax, of honey, and of pitch, were enlarged by the annual tribute from Corsica, and exchanged in the course of commerce for various foreign productions. But the most active branch of commerce was the exportation, into different countries, of bronze images and domestic utensils of Etruscan make, which were eagerly bought up at high prices, to the great advantage of their manufacturers. Among the principal objects of importation, were the ivory of Nigritia, and the amber of the north, which were furnished, either directly or indirectly, by foreign mer- chants. The seaports xvere provided xvith extensive arse- nals, public warehouses, and convenient docks. Other states, also, shared in this lucrative commerce. The ilutuli, Voisci, Ligures, and Campani traded along the western coasts and among the islands of the Mediterranean. The Volsci and the Ligures veutured in their light barks as far as Africa, Gaul, and Spain. Timber, gums, wax, honey, and skins, were the exports of the Ligures ; in return for which they received grain, oil, wine, and other necessaries of life, which their own soil did not produce. Their only man- ufactures were of coarse woollen. Other districts carried on a fruitful traffic in finer wools, and the Brutii drew ample returns from their exportations of pitch and tar. Thus, in ancient times, as among the republics of the Middle Ages, woollens, iron, pitch, and timber, were the great sources of Italian wealth. A lucrative and active commerce was also everywhere carried on, from the coast to the interior, and thence back again to the sea. Commodious roads, of parts of which the solid paving still exists, facilitated and gave security to this intercourse. Small fees, on entering and clearing a port, and on the passage of a river or bridge, were the only taxes to which the merchant was subjected; and moderation in these was held to be the surest test of a good government. Such a commerce as that, of which we have traced tbe outline, necessarily supposes the existence of an established currency. The first medium of general exchange was cum- bersome and awkward, but still well enough adapted to the limited wants of its inventors. As the enlarging circle of VOL. XLIJIII.NO. 102. 8 58 Micall oii the .%cient Italians. [Jan. commerce afforded room for the introduction of more valua- ble wares, the coin of the country underwent a correspondent change. Copper was the first metal whose value was fixed by coinage, and the same practice was soon extended to sil- ver and gold. 27. There is no art to which uncivilized man takes so readily as that of xvar; and yet none is more dependent upon civilization for its progress and its perfection. Savages rush to arms from the instinct of revenge ; exhaust their strength in irregular efforts ; and only lay by their weapons, when their passions have been satisfied, or their blind impulse spent. Civilized nations begin by formal denunciations of hostility ; regulate their movements by the rules of art; and retire when their object has been obtained, or when the chances of failure overbalance the hopes of success. The savage trusts to his ambush; to the darkness of midnight; to the terror which he strikes by a sudden and violent attack. The civilized warrior, although he rejects not the advantages of an unexpected onset, confides in the skilful execution of well-directed manceuvres, and in the overwhelming impulse of closely-united and concurrent squadrons. The former seeks to destroy; the latter, to secure some immediate advan- tage, or to avert some distant and contingent evil. Hence, while war with the one is the unmitigated scourge of human kind, with the other it assumes a character connecting it with the arts of an improved society. The military science of the ancient Italians was in the midway between these two extremes. The necessities of their situation made them soldiers ; while the exposures of a hard and laborious life fitted them for the toils of service. But their progress in the more difficult and important princi- ples of the art was limited by their imperfect knowledge of the science on which they depend. It would he unjust, then, to look for great discoveries, or to pretend that leading theories were understood, where their scientific basis was, as yet, incomplete. Still they enlarged the bounds of the art by several important discoveries, and it was to them that the Romans were indebted for many parts of their discipline. Their arms, both offensive and defensive, varied according to the service for which the particular class of troops that bore them was destined, and were often very different among different tribes. The heavy-armed infantry, upon whose 1839.1 .fIrt of War among the dncient Italians. 59 firm lines the chief reliance for victory was placed, were clad in a strong and weighty armour, which protected nearly the whole person. The light-armed troops, as their name shows, wore a lighter armour, which, although unfit for the shock of a close attack, was well adapted to the distant contest which they waged with their slings, their bows, and their javelins. But, whatever the class to which he belonged, or the armour that he bore, the Italian soldier prided himself upon his equip- ment, and took pains to deck it with his richest and costliest ornaments. The mode of levying troops and organizing the army, was established by law. A solemn oath bound the soldier to his standard ; and the religious veneration, with which this oath was observed, is singularly illustrated by several facts of ancient history. The legion was subdivided into cohorts, and contained a proportionate number of heavy and of light armed foot, together with the necessary train of musicians and of artisans, as well as a distinct body for the protection of the baggage. Military service, like taxation, was regu- lated by the census. The soldiers of the first rank, and the cavalry, which was always composed of the first class of citi- zens, were bound to equip themselves at their own expense. In cases of extreme danger, and when the ordinary number of regulars was not adequate to the urgency of the moment, others were added by individual choice. A corps was formed, com- posed solely of the most distinguished soldiers. Each member of this body then chose an assistant, for whom he became personally responsihle. This assistant named a second upon similar conditions ; and this was continued until the required number had been obtained. Besides these bands of citizen- soldiers, there were mercenary leaders, who let themselves out to the highest bidder. Campaigns were usually short and sudden excursions. The general led his troops directly up to the cnelny, and either measured his strength in a pitched battle, or laid waste his territory. Camps were chosen with great care, and strongly fortified; each band raising its own works, and de- stroying them again before it marched. The same method of encampment was followed by the Romans, until the war with Pyrrhus gave them the model of a more scientific form. In preparing for battle, the troops were usually drawn up in three bodies ; a centre and two wings. The cavalry was stationed according to the nature of the ground, and most 60 Micali on the .lncient Italians. [Jan. frequently as a covering to the wings. The usual mode of advancing was in parallel lines ; a form less adapted to complex man~uvres than the oblique, hut admirably suited to those conflicts in which victory is decided by the struggle of man with man. Ambuscades, and all the devices to which a skilful general resorts in a mountainous or wooded country, were in frequent use. While advancing towards the foe, they sought to terrify him by their warlike songs and the martial sound of their trumpets. The attack began by a discharge of missiles from the slings and bows of the light-armed troops ; a shower of javelins followed, carrying terror and confusion into the ranks of the enemy; the heavy-armed infantry then advanced to the onset, with their short, heavy swords, which inflicted deep and fatal wounds; and the cavalry, hovering on the wings and watch- ing the moment to charge, decided by its impetuosity the fate of the day. A crown of gold, and, if we can trust Flo- rus, even the triumphant march, in which the victor was borne in a car richly gilded and drawn by four horses, were the rewards of distinguished bravery. Roman history alone throws light enough upon the military character of the other people of Italy. The bloody annals of this warlike city nowhere record such desperate conflicts, such interminable struggles, such vigor in defence, and such perseverance in resistance, as in the long story of their Italian wars. Five centuries scarcely sufficed for the subjection of the peninsula; but, its hardy inhabitants once subdued, and from enemies converted into allies and assistants, the whole ancient world was soon bowed to the yoke. 28. Every reader who has attempted to follow, with any degree of accuracy, the earlier periods of ancient or of mod- ern history, must have been struck with the exceeding diffi- culties which attend every system of reasoning, that is found- ed upon etymology and the original structure of language. So flexible is this great instrument of human thought, that there is scarce any theory, he it ever so wild and extravagant, which, with a little ingenuity and a proper share of credulity, it may not be made to support. And yet so close is the connexion between the character of a nation and that of its language, that it is impossible to enter to any extent upon the examination of the one, without giving at least an inquiring glance at the other. Hitherto the study of the ancient languages of Italy has 1839.] ./Inoient Languages of Italy. 61 been attended with small success. The inscriptions in Etrus- can are hardly any better known, than when the monuments that bear them were first discovered. Years were spent in the study of the alphabet, and treasures of erudition consumed in searching for analogies in all the tongues, whose written words bore the slightest resemblance to it. After various ingenious and contradictory theories, each of which enjoyed its hour of reputation, the great enigma was solved, and all the letters of the Etruscan alphabet were reduced to a uniform and intelligible system. This step, however, notwithstanding its importance, has left us nearly as much in the dark as before. We can follow those letters through their different combinations, supply many of their conventional omissions, and give them sounds like those of other tongues ; but these sounds are still unintelligible, and the words, which they form, fall strange and indistinct upon the ear. It is only to the East that we can reasonably look for the solution of this problem. We know nothing of the grammatical foundation of the Etruscan language ; but long and patient observation has noted several interesting circumstances in the orthography, and in the infiexion of words. Among these are the custom, which prevails in sepulchral monuments, of writing from right to left; the superabundance of consonants; the uniform omis- sion of the quiescent and short vowels. Several radical syl- lables, moreover, have been observed, of which the significa- tion would seem to be fixed; several derivatives have been followed up to these, with a sufficient degree of evidence and certain fixed laws have been discovered in the inflexion and termination of various words. These inscriptions have also been of considerable use to the genealogist, and enabled him to trace back a long series of family names. The languages of ancient Italy may be divided into two classes; if it be not yet more proper to consider the Etruscan and the Oscan, which are the heads of this division, as the two principal languages, and all the others as dialects of these. The use of the Etruscan was not confined to the territory from which it derived its name; but was extended by conquest and by colonization, through various other districts of the penin- sula. From the Sabine teriitory southward, the predominant language was the Oscan. To these should be added a vari- ety of dialects, formed from one or the other of the parent tongues, and preserving, in spite of their changes, more or 62 Micali on the .Jlncient italians. [Jan. less evident traces of their origin. The primitive Illyrian, a language totally different from the Sciavonic, and of which many themes have been preserved in the dialect of the Skypetars of Albania, might throw much light upon this curious subject. In J)roportion as the dominion of the Romans became en- larged and confirmed, their own language obtained the ascend- ant. It was long, however, before rue original languages of the country fell into disuse ; and they seem to have held their place among the people, long after they had been abandoned by the higher classes. The Oscan was spoken at Hercula- neum and at Pompeii, up to the day of their destruction; the Etruscan was in use under the earlier emperors ; and, at the same period, the popular Oscan comedies were performed upon the Roman stage. The fragments, which have been handed down to us of the primitive Latin, are strongly marked with Etruscan and with Oscan. In the fragments of lEnnius, we find not only Oscan words, but even whole forms of speech. The prac- tice of shortening words by a rough abbreviation or contrac- tion, was common to both. Sabine words also are cited by the ancient grammarians. Will not these facts, when taken together with the history of the origin of Rome, lead to at least a plausible conjecture concerning that of the Roman language ? It is well known, that the first inhabitants of Rome were an aggregation of na- tive Italians, drawn together by various motives, and from different parts of the country. Each brought with him his native tongue, and the customs and usages of his original dwelling-place. The Etruscan and the Oscan, with their long train of dialects, were mingled together and spoken within the same walls, and by a people who, however differ- ent in their origin, were now united by the ties of a common interest. Hence there must have gradually arisen one com- mon dialect, partaking largely of each, but in some respects differing from all. The same phenomenon was repeated during the Middle Ages, when the modern languages of Eu- rope were formed from a similar conjunction of different elements. The earliest specimen of Latin differs so much from its subsequent form, as to be utterly unintelligible. Such as it was, it was adequate to the wants of the age. As these increased, the necessary enlargements and improvements were made ; and when, at last, it came to be employed in 1839.] Early French Travellers in the West. 63 poetry, in history, and as the vehicle of a more polished elo- quence, the fathers of Roman literature drew freely from the same abundant source, which supplied their literary models. ART. II. The Life of Father JJIarquette. By JARED SPARKS. (Library of American Biography. Vol. X.) WE need say nothing here of the services which Mr. Sparks has rendered to American history. His Lives of Ledyard and Morris and Washington; his editions of the writings of Washington and Franklin, and of the Diplomatic Correspondence ; and his collection of American Biogra- phies, which has now reached the tenth volume, are all known through this country and in Europe. He has done more than any other one man to preserve for posterity the undoubt- ed records of our early history; and we trust a long life may be granted him, wherein to pursue his labors ; for, with the advance already gained in a knowledge of the details of past times, his labors are becoming every year more and more valuable. Among his various publications, the series of American Biographies ranks high in interest and utility ; through it, many have been made known to the world, who might other- wise have found no historian; and we hope he may be able to continue it through many more volumes. Among those persons, who but for this work might have remained without their deserved celebrity, is Father Marquette, whose brief story is now before us. His Journal, giving an account of the discovery of the great Mississippi Valley, was published in France in 1681, and a poor translation of it was given in the Appendix to Hennepins volumes, printed in London in 1698 ; but all knowledge of his doings slept in these dusty works, and in a few pages of Charlevoixs New France, until Mr. Sparks drew up an abstract of the original Journal, for the second edition of Butlers History of Kentucky. This abstract he has now somewhat altered and enlarged, and put into a wider circulation, through his Biography. It is curious and interesting; and as Marquettes discovery is but little known, and the labors of those that followed him but

1839.] Early French Travellers in the West. 63 poetry, in history, and as the vehicle of a more polished elo- quence, the fathers of Roman literature drew freely from the same abundant source, which supplied their literary models. ART. II. The Life of Father JJIarquette. By JARED SPARKS. (Library of American Biography. Vol. X.) WE need say nothing here of the services which Mr. Sparks has rendered to American history. His Lives of Ledyard and Morris and Washington; his editions of the writings of Washington and Franklin, and of the Diplomatic Correspondence ; and his collection of American Biogra- phies, which has now reached the tenth volume, are all known through this country and in Europe. He has done more than any other one man to preserve for posterity the undoubt- ed records of our early history; and we trust a long life may be granted him, wherein to pursue his labors ; for, with the advance already gained in a knowledge of the details of past times, his labors are becoming every year more and more valuable. Among his various publications, the series of American Biographies ranks high in interest and utility ; through it, many have been made known to the world, who might other- wise have found no historian; and we hope he may be able to continue it through many more volumes. Among those persons, who but for this work might have remained without their deserved celebrity, is Father Marquette, whose brief story is now before us. His Journal, giving an account of the discovery of the great Mississippi Valley, was published in France in 1681, and a poor translation of it was given in the Appendix to Hennepins volumes, printed in London in 1698 ; but all knowledge of his doings slept in these dusty works, and in a few pages of Charlevoixs New France, until Mr. Sparks drew up an abstract of the original Journal, for the second edition of Butlers History of Kentucky. This abstract he has now somewhat altered and enlarged, and put into a wider circulation, through his Biography. It is curious and interesting; and as Marquettes discovery is but little known, and the labors of those that followed him but 64 Early French Travellers in the West. [Jan. slightly appreciated, we have thought it worth while to give our readers a sketch of the progress of the French in the knowledge and settlement of the Mississippi valley. The advantages of water communication were never more perfectly shown, than in the rapid progress of the French in Canada, when first settled. During the years in which John Eliot was preaching to the savages of Natick and Concord, the Jesuits were lifting their voices upon the furthest shores of Lake Superior; while a journey from Boston to the Con- necticut xvas still a journey through the heart of the wilder- ness, Allouez and Dablon had borne the cross through that very Mellioki (Milwaukie) region, to which our specula- tors have just reached.* With strong hearts those old monks xvent through their labors ; sleeping~ in mid winter, under the hark of trees for blankets, and seasoning their only food, Indian corn, grinded small, xvith little frogs ,gath- ered in the meadows. t They were very different men from the apostle of the Puritans ; but, to all appearance, were as pure, and as true, and as loving ; the Miamis were so greedy to hear tather Allouez, when he taught them, says Marquette, that they gave him little rest, even in the night. Among those who were foremost in courage and kindness, was Marquette himself; a modest, quiet man, who ~veut forward into unknown countries, not as a discoverer, but as Gods messenger ; who thought all his sufferings and labor fruitful, because among the Illinois of Perouacca, he was ahle to baptize one dying child ; and who took such a hold of the hearts of those wild men, through the inspiration of love, that for years after his death, when the storms of Lake Michi- gan swept over the Indians frail canoe, he called upon the name of Marquette, and the wind ceased and the waves were still. f In the year 1671, this Jestiit missionary led a party of Hurons to the point of land which projects from the north, at the strait between Lakes Michigan and Huron, and there * In the library of Harvard Cohere is a map, published in Paris by N. Sanson dAbbeville, in the year 1656, in ~vhich are given portions of Lakes Superior and Michigan tbe soutbern part of the map is the north of Florida, as discovered by Fernando de Soto, and as it is drawn in the map accompanyin~ the History of his adventures by Garcilaso de Ia Vega. Hennepin, .A~onz,et1e Decouvy~rte. Charlevoixs Laters, 2d, p. 97. London Ed. 1761. .TVou~,elle France, Vol. VI. p. 21. Paris Ed. 1744. 1839.1 Expedition of Father ~71Iarquette. 65 founded the old settlement of Micbillimackinac.* Here, and along tire neighbouring shores, he labored with noiseless dili- gence until 1673, when the Intendant-general of the colony, N. Talon, a man of great activity and enterprise, and who was upon the point of closing his career in Canada, deter- mined that the close should be worthy of his character, and called upon Marquette to be the leader of a small party, which was to seek for that great river in the X\Test, of which the Indians had so often spoken.t The representative of the government in this undertaking was M. Joliet, a substantial citizen of Quebec, and with them went five other French- men. Upon the 13th of May, 1673, this little band of seven left Michillimackinac in two bark canoes, with a small store of In- dian corn and jerked meat, wherewith to keep soul and body in company, bound they knew not whither. The first nation they visited, one with which our reverend Father had been long acquainted, being told of their yen- turous plan, begged them to desist. There were Indians, they said, on that, great river, who would cut off their beads without the least cause; warriors who would seize them; monsters who would swallow them, canoes and all ; even a demon, who shut the way, and buried in the waters, that boiled about him, all who dared draw nigh ; and, if these dan- gers were passed, there were heats there that would infallibly kill them. I thanked them for their good advice, says Marquette, but I told them that I could not follow it since the salvation of souls was at stake, for which I should be oveijoyed to give my life. Passing through Green Bay, from the mud of which, says our voyager, rise mischievous vapors, which cause the most grand and perpetual thunders that I have ever heard, they entered Fox River, and toiling over stones which cut their feet, as they dragged their canoes through its strong rapids, reached a village where lived in union the Miamis, Mascoutens, and Kikabeux (Kickapoos). Here Al- * Charlevoixs History of Uanada, (JYouvelle Frar~ce,) Vol. II. p. 239. ibid. Vol. II. p. 248. t Marquettes Journal, Vol. I. p. 8. In this place he says, I told them that he (Joliet) estoit envoy~ de la part de Monsieur, notre Gouverneur, pour d~couvrir des nouveaux pays, et moy de la part 6clairer des lumii~res du Saint Evangile. de Dieu, pour les VOL. XLvIII.No. 102. 9 66 Early French Travellers in the West. [Jan. louez had preached, and behold! in the midst of the town, a cross, (ume belle croix,) on which hung skins, and belts, and bows, and arrows, which these good people had offered to the great Manitou, to thank him because he had taken pity on them during the winter, and had given them an abundant chase. Beyond this point no Frenchman had gone ; here was the bound of discovery; and much did the savages xvonder at the hardihood of these seven men, who, alone, in two bark ca- noes, were thus fearlessly passing into unknown dangers. On the 10th of June, they left this wondering and well- wishing crowd, and, with txvo guides to lead them through the lakes and marshes of that region, started for the river, which, as they heard, rose hut about three leagues distant, and fell into the iMississippi. Without ill-luck these guides conducted them to the portage, and helped them carry their canoes across it ; then, returning, left them alone amid that unknown country, in the hand of God. With prayers to the mother of Jesus they strengthened their souls, and then committed themselves, in all hope, to the current of the westward-flowing river, the Mescousin (Wisconsin) ; a sand-barred stream, hard to navigate, but full of islands covered with vines, and bordered by meadows, and groves, and pleasant slopes. Down this they floated with open eyes, until, upon the 17th of June, they entered the Mississippi, with a joy, says Marquette, that I can- not express. Quietly floating down the great river, they remarked the deer, the buffaloes, the swans, wingless, for they lose their feathers in that country,the great fish, one of which had nearly knocked their canoe into atoms, and other creatures of air, earth, and xvater, hut no men. At last, however, upon the 21st of June, they discovered upon the bank of the river the foot-prints of some fellow mortals, and a little path leading into a pleasant meadow. Leaving the canoes in charge of their followers, Joliet and Father Marquette boldly advanced upon this path toward, as they supposed, an Indian village. Nor xvere they mistaken; for they soon came to a little town, toward which, recommending them- selves to Gods care, they went so nigh as to hear the sav- ages talking. Having made their presence known by a loud cry, they were graciously received by an embassy of four old 1839.] Expedition of Father ~11iarqnette. 67 men, who presented them the pipe of peace, and told them, that this was a village of the Illinois. The voya- gers were then conducted into the town, where all received them as friends, and treated them to a great smoking. After much complimenting and present-making, a grand feast was given to the Europeans, consisting of four courses. The first was of hominy, the second of fish, the third of a dog, which the Frenchmen declined, and the whole concluded with roast buffalo. After the feast they were marched through the town with great ceremony and much speech-making ; and, having spent the night, pleasantly and quietly, amid the indians, they returned to their canoes with an escort of six hundred people. The Illinois, Marquette, like all the early travellers, describes as remarkably handsome, well-mannered, and kind- ly, even somewhat effeminate. The reverend Father tells us, that they used guns, and xvere much feared by the people of the South and West, xvhere they made many prisoners, whom they sold as slaves. Leaving the Illinois, the adventurers passed the rocks upon which were painted those monsters of whose existence they had heard on Lake Michigan, and soon found them- selves at the mouth of the Pekitanoni, or Missouri of our day ; the character of which is well described ; muddy, rushing, and noisy. Through this, says Marquette, I hope to reach the Gulf of California, and thence the East Indies. This hope was based upon certain rumors among the natives, which represented the Pekitanoni as passing by a meadow, five or six days journey from its mouth, on the opposite side of which meadow was a stream running westward, which led, beyond doubt, to the South Sea. If God give me health, says our Jesuit, I do not despair of one day making the discovery. Leaving the 1~v1issouri, they passed the demon, that had been portrayed to them, which was indeed a dangerous rock in the river, and came to the Ouabouskigou, or Ohio, a stream which makes but a small figure in Father Marquettes map, being but a trifling water-course compared to the Illinois. From the Ohio, our voyagers passed with safety, except from the mosquitoes, into the neighbourhood of the Akamscas, or Arkansas. Here they were attacked by a crowd of war- riors, and had nearly lost their lives ; but Marquette reso- lutely presented the peace-pipe, until some of the old men 68 Early French Travellers in the West. [Jan. of the attacking party were softened, and saved them from harm. God touched their hearts, says the pious narrator. The next day the Frenchmen went on to Akamsca, where they were received most kindly, and feasted on corn and dog till they could eat no more. These Indians cooked in and eat from earthen ware, and were amiable and uncere- monious, each man helping himself from the dish and passing it to his neighbour. From this point Joliet and our writer determined to return to the North, as dangers increased toward the sea, and no doubt could exist as to the point where the Mississippi emp- tied, to ascertain which point was the great object of their expedition. Accordingly, on the 17th of July, our voya- gers left Akamsca ; retraced their path, with much labor, to the Illinois, through which they soon reached the Lake; and nowhere, says Marquette, did we see such grounds, meadows, woods, buffaloes, stags, deer, wildcats, bustards, swans, ducks, parroquets, and even beavers, as on the Illi- nois river. In September the party, without loss or injury, reached Green Bay, and reported their discovery ; one of the most important of that age, but of which we have now no record left except the narrative of Marquette, Joliet (as we learn from an abstract of his account, given in Hennepins sec- ond volume, London, 1698,) having lost all his papers while returning to Quebec, by the upsetting of his canoe. Mar- quettes unpretending account, we have in a collection of voyages by Thevenot, printed in Paris in 1681.* Its gen- eral correctness is unquestionable ; and, as no European had claimed to have made any such discovery at the time this volume was published, but the persons therein named, we may consider the account as genuine. Afterwards Marquette returned to the Illinois, by their request, and ministered to them until 1675. On the 18th of May, in that year, as he was passing with his boatmen up Lake Michigan, he proposed to land at the mouth of a little stream running from the peninsula, and perform mass. Leav- ing his men with the canoe, he went a little way apart to pray, they waiting for him. As much time passed, and he did not return, they called to mind, that he had said some- thing of his death being at hand, and anxiously went to seek Thuis work is now very rare. 1839.] Expedition of La ~Salle. 69 him. They found him dead; where he had been praying, he had died. The canoe-men dug a grave near the mouth of the stream, and buried him in the sand. Here his body was liable to be exposed by a rise of water; and would have been so, had not the river retired, and left the missionary~ s grave in peace. Charlevoix, who visited the spot some fifty years afterward, found that the waters bad forced a passage at the most difficult point ; had cut through a bluff; rather than cross the lowland where that grave was. The river is called Marquette. While the simple-hearted and true Marquette was pursuing his labors of love in the West, two men, differing widely from him, and each other, were preparing to follow in his foot- steps, and perfect the discoveries so well begun by him and his shadowy compeer, the Sieur Joliet. These were Robert de la Salle and Louis Hennepin. La Salle was a native of Normandy, and was brought up, as we learn from Charlevoix,~ among the Jesuits ; but, hav- ing lost, by some unknown cause, his patrimony, and being of a stirring and energetic disposition, he left his home, to seek fortune among the cold and dark regions of Canada. This was about the year 1670. Here he mused long upon the pet project of those ages, a short-cut to China arid the East; and, gaining his daily bread, we know not how, was busily planning an expedition up the great lakes, and so across the continent to the Pacific, when Marquette returned from the Mississippi. At once the hot mind of La Salle received from his and his companions narrations, the idea that, by following the Great River northward, or by turning up some of the streams which joined it from the westward, his aim might be certainly and easily gained. Instantly he went towards his object. He applied to Frontenac, then gov- ernor-general of Canada, laid before him an outline of his * Charlevoixs Letters, Vol. II. p. 96. .JVew France, Vol. VJ. p. 20. Marquette spells the name of the great western river, Mississipy; Hen- nepin made it Meschasipi; others have written Meschasabe, & c. & c. There is great confusion in all the Indian oral names; we have Kika- beaux, Kikapous, Q~uicapous ; Outtoauets, Outnovas; Mi- amis, Oumamis; and so of nearly all the nations. Our Sioux, Char. levoix tells us, is the last syllable of Nadonessioux, which is written, by Hennepin, Nadoussion and Nadnuessious, in his Louisiana, and Nadouessans in his JVauvelle De~couverte. I Charlevoixs .A~ew France, Paris Edition of 1744, Vol. II. p. 263. 70 Early French Travellers in the West. [Jan. views, dim but gigantic, and, as a first step, proposed to re- build of stone, and with improved fortifications, Fort Fronte- nac upon Lake Ontario, a post to which he knew the gov- ernor felt all the affection due to a namesake. Frontenac entered warmly into his views. He saw, that, in La Salles suggestion, which was to connect Canada with the Gulf of Mexico by a chain of forts upon the vast navigable lakes and rivers which bind that country so wonderfully together, lay the germ of a plan, which might give unmeasured power to France, and unequalled glory to himself, under whose admin- istration he fondly hoped all would be realized. He advised La Salle, therefore, to go to the king of France, to make known his project, and ask for the royal patronage and pro- tection and, to forward his suit, gave him letters to Seigne- lay, who had succeeded his father, the great Colbert, as minister of marine. With a breast full of hope and bright dreams, the penni- less adventurer sought his monarch ; his plan was approved by the minister, to whom he presented Frontenacs letter La Salle was made a Chevalier ; was invested with the seign- ory of Fort Catarocouy or Frontenac, upon condition he would rebuild it; and received from all the first noblemen and princes assurances of their good-will and aid. His mis- sion having sped so well, on the 14th of July, 1673, La Salle, with his lieutenant, Tonti, an Italian, and thirty men, sailed from Rochelle for Quebec, where they arrived upon the 15th of September ; and, after a few days stay, pro- ceeded to Fort Frontenac.* Here was quietly working, in no quiet spirit, the rival and co-laborer of La Salle, Louis Hennepin, a Franciscan friar, of the Recollet variety ; a man full of ambition to be a great discoverer ; daring, hardy, energetic, vain, and self-exagger- ating, almost to madness ; and, it is feared, more anxious to advance his own holy and unholy ends than the truth. He bad in Europe lurked behind doors, he tells us, that he might hear sailors spin their yarns touching foreign lands ; and he profited, it would seem, by their instructions. He canie to Canada, some three years before La Salle returned from his visit to the court, and had to a certain extent prepared himself, * Charlevoixs .JV~ew France, Vol. II. p. 264, 266. What La Salle was about from the close of 1673, when Joliet returned, till July, 167~, Charle- voix tells us only in the most general terms. 1839.] Expedition of La Salle. 71 by journeyings among the Iroquois, for bolder travels into the wilderness. Having been appointed by his religious supe- riors to accompany the expedition which was about to start for the extreme west under La Salle, Ilennepin was in readi- ness for him at Fort Frontenac, where he arrived, probably, some time in October, 167S.* The Chevaliers first step was to send forward men to pre- pare the minds of the Indians along the lakes for his coming, and to soften their hearts by well-chosen gifts and words and also, to pick up peltries, in which, under the king~ s patent, he had the almost, if not entirely exclusive right to trade in those quarters. For, it must be understood, that our hero, having had nothing in the outset, was forced to look throughout to his own good management, in order to raise funds wherewith to carry on his operations ; a thing not al- ways done xvith ease ; indeed, few mortals seem to have been more dunned than he ; and, at one time, Hennepin tells us, his property was actually under execution.t He therefore began operations by sending for~vard a party to collect skins, from which he might realize enough to cover his winters ex- penses, which promised to be somewhat heavy. First, Fort Catarocouy was to be altered and repaired ; then Lake * Hennepins .I~few Discovery, Utrecht Edition of 1697, p. 70. Charle- voixs JVew France, Vol. II. pp. 266. It may be as well here, once for all, to give the names of the lakes and rivers as they appear in the early travels. Lake Ontario, was also Lake Frontenac. Lake Erie, was Erike, Erige, or Erie, from a nation of Eries destroyed by the Iroquois; they lived where the State of Ohio now is (Charlevoix s .JV~ew France, Vol. II. p. 62); it was also Lake of Conti. Lake Huron, was Karegnondi in early times (Map of 1656); and also, Lake of Orleans. Lake Michigan, was Lake of Puans (Map of 1656); also, of the Illinois, or Illinese, or lllinouacks; also Lake Mischigonong, and Lake of the Dan. phin. Lake Superior was Lake Sup~~rieur, me lake, also, Lake of Cond6. aning the Upper, not the Larger Green Bay, was Baie des Puans. Illinois river, in Hennepins Louisiana, and Joutels Journal, is River Seignelay; and the Mississippi River, in those works, is River Colbert; and was by La Salle called River St. Louis. Ohio river was Ouabouskigou, Onabachi, Ouabache, Oyo, Ouye, Belle Rivi~re. Missouri river, was Pekitanoni, Rivi~re des Osacres, and Massourites; and by Coxe is called Yellow River. JVew Discovery, p. 102. We follow Hennepin, whose early Journal has not been disputed; it is the same in his Louisiana and his New Dis- covery. 72 Early French Travellers in the West. [Jan. Ontario was to be crossed ; a new fort was to be built upon Lake Erie, and a bark of unexampled magnitude for those seas established thereon, to carry forward the trade which he boped to set on foot; and some twenty or forty men to be kept alive and hammering, while all these things were doing; for all which purposes he had we know not what funds, but unhappily small ones at the best. Hoxvever, La Salle was a man with a large heart in his bosom ; he had drawn for him- self a grand outline, the discovery, conquest, fortification, possession, and commercial union, of that immense country which lies along the greatest lakes and rivers of the world, from Ontario to Superior, from the falls of Niagara to the Gulf of Mexico ; and small obstacles were to him none at all. Cheerfully he sent forward his pioneers, therefore, to seek for him beaver skins and other valuables ; and, upon the 18th of November, 1678, embarked with his follo~vers in a little vessel of ten tons, to cross Lake Ontario. This, says one of his chroniclers, was the first ship that ever sailed upon that fresh water sea. The wind was strong and contrary, and four weeks nearly were passed in beating up the little distance be- tween Kingston and Niagara. Having forced their brigan- tine as far toward the Falls as was possible, our travellers landed ; built some magazines with difficulty, for at times the ground was frozen so hard that they could drive their stakes, or posts, into it only by first pouring upon it boiling water; and then made acquaintance with the Iroquois of the village of Niagara, upon Lake Erie. Not far from this village La Salle founded a second fort, upon which he set his men to work; but, finding the Iroquois jealous, he gave it up for a time, and merely erected temporary fortifications for his magazines; and then, leaving orders for a new ship to be built, he returned to Fort Frontenac, to forward stores, cables, and anchors for his forthcoming vessel. Through the hard and cold winter days, the lake lying before them like a plain paved with fine polished marble, some of his men hewed and hammered upon the Gr{flin, as the great bark was to be named, while others gathered furs and skins, or sued for the good-will of the bloody savages amid whom they were quartered and all went merrily until the 20th of January, 1679. On that day, the Chevalier ar- rived from below; not with all his goods, however, for his 1839.] Expeditiom of La Salle. 73 misfortunes had commenced. The vessel in which his valua- bles had been embarked was wrecked threugh the bad man- agement of the pilots; and, though the more important part of her freight was saved, much of her provision xvent to the bottom, which caused the carpenters, who xvere working upon somewhat thin diet, to groan and even grumble. And, worse than this, those who were jealous of La Salles monopoly, and apparent good luck, had stirred up the Iroquois, some of whom, feigning drunkenness, attacked the blacksmith of the expedition, and would have killed him, had not he, Nicol- Jarvie-like, caught a red-hot bar from the fire, and put them to flight. But Hunger and Hate had a strong soul to deal with in our Chevalier ; he pushed every thing forward, while Father Hennepin did his share by preaching, and all seemed on the road to success. During the winter, also, a very nice lot of furs xvas scraped together, with which, early in the spring of 1679, the commander returned to Fort Frontenac to get another outfit ; while Tonti was sent fcrxvard to scour the lake coasts, muster together the men who had been sent before, collect skins, and see all that was to be seen. In thus coming and going, buying and trading, the summer of this year slipped axvay, and it was the seventh of August be- fore the Griffin was ready to sail. Then, with Te-Deums, and the discharge of arquebuses, she began her voyage up Lake Erie, while the Iroquois looked on in horror and amaze- ment, which they hastened to communicate to the Dutch at Nouvelle Jorek. t Over Lake Erie, through the strait beyond, across St. Clair, and into Huron, the voyagers passed most happily. In Huron they were troubled by storms, dreadful as those upon the ocean, and were at last forced to take refuge in the road of lVlichillimackinac. This was upon the 28th of August. At this place, which is described as one of prodigious fertility, La Salle remained till the middle of September, founded a fort there, and sent men therefrom in various directions to spy out the state of the land. He then fell down to Green Bay, the Baic des Puans, of the French; and, finding there a large quantity of skins and furs collected for him, he determined to load the Griffin therewith, and send her back to Niagara, and so stop the mouths of some of his many credi * Hennepin. vOL. XLVIII.NO. 102. 10 74 Early French Travellers in the West. [Jan. tors, who were becoming noisy. This was done with all promptness ; and, upon the [Sit of September, she was despatched under ite charge of a pilot, supposed to be com- petent and trustworthy, while the Norman himself, with four- teen men, proceeded down Lake Michigan, paddling along its shores in the most leisurely manner ; Tonti, meanwhile, having been sent to hunt up stragglers, with whom he was to form the main hody at the hottom of the lake. From the 19th of September till the 1st of November, the time was consumed by La Salle in his voyage down the sea in question. On the day last named, lie arrived at the mouth of the river of the Miamis ; a spot the position of which is thus clearly described by one claiming to have been there ; This country, says he, meaning that of the Miamis, is bounded to the east by Virginia and Florida, and on the other side by the Iroquois and illinois. * At the mouth of this stream, La Salle built the fort of the Miamis. What river this of the Miamis was, has been a little questioned. Butler, in his History of Kentucky, having no original account before him, pronounces it the Fox River of Green Bay, an obvious mistake ; t Peck says, it is supposed to have been the Chicago ; ] and, upon a first view of Hennepins map, one would think it the Calumet, which runs into Lake Michigan from the southwest. A little exam- ination, however, makes it clear that it was the St. Josephs. ilennepin describes it as coming from the southeast, (the English translation makes it southwest, perhaps that the text and map may correspond,) and says the Illinois rises a short distance, not from its source, but from its main stream; and to this the map corresponds exactly. Now, no stream from Lake Michigan has a branch of the Illinois rising near its main current except the St. Josephs, near which the Kauka- kee rises ; whence we conclude, that the Miamis river was the former, and the Illinois the latter stream. To render this the more certain, we have the maps of Joutel, La Hontan, Coxe, and some anonymous English ones of that time, all of which represent the Miamis river in the place occupied by the St. Josephs ; and that of Charlevoix, made in 1744, * .lln ./Iccount of M. De La Salles Last Espedition and Discoveries. New York Historical Collections, Vol. II. p. 233. History of Kentucky, introduction, 2d edition, p. xviii. Gazetteer of Illinois, p. 103. 1839.] Expedition of La Salle. 75 which gives us the Fort of the Miamis, on the river St. Josephs ; which we must regard as decisive. We have, then, La Salle and his little band driving pali- sades near the mouth of the St. Josephs of Lake Michigan, upon the 1st of November, 1679. They were sounding the entrance of the river, too, to learn its bars and shoals, that they might warn therefrom their long-delayed Griffin, which ought now to be near at hand ; and scouring parties were abroad in the forest for game, and for information touching the country, and their further course. And game was indeed wanting, for nothing could be had but bears flesh, very fat and oily, for the bears had been feeding upon grapes till they were full ; and this, being too rank for digestion, made the men dyspeptic and desponding. Winter began to moan in the woods, too; and the Griffin was still missing ; why? men asked, and the answers which suggested themselves were far from comforting. The Iroquois might have sacked her, or creditors seized her; or her timbers, hard wrought as they had been, might have found a hard bed upon some rocky shore. Nevertheless, La Salle, nothing fearing, stuck up bear-skins upon long poles on all the shallows; and Father Hennepin preached perseverance, cournge, and hope; and, by and by, Tonti dropped in to their relief, not with news of the missing ship, nor even with all the missing people, but with a canoe-full of good dry venison, most relishing to oil- deluged stomachs. It was clear to La Salle, that he was in an awkward posi- tion; his vessel gone, no one knew how nor whither, and winter close upon him. If the rivers froze before he could get to the south, ruin and starvation were like to be his fire- side comforters. So he made up his mind at once to push on without waiting for the Griffin. On the 3d of December, therefore, having mustered all his men, he placed a garrison of ten in his Fort of the Miamis, and with the remainder, thirty working men and three monks, started again upon his great voyage and glorious under- taking. * By a short portage they passed to the Illinois, and fell down the said river by easie journeys, the better to observe Charlevoix, JVew France, (Vol. II, p. 269,) tells us, that La Salle re- turned from the fort of the Miamis to Fort Frontenac; but Ilennepin, and the journal published as Tontis, agree that he went on, and tell a more consistent story than the historian. 76 Early French Travellers in the West. [Jan. that countrey. This country consisted, in the main, of quaking bogs, where with great difficulty could a man find footing ; all which answers to that about the Kaukakee. Through this swamp our adventurers floated on leisurely, sometimes in great straits for food, and, about the last of De- cember, reached a village of the Illinois Indians containing some five hundred cabins, but, at that moment, no inhabitants. The Sieur La Salle, being in great want of bread-stuffs, took advantage of this absence of the Indians to help himself to a sufficiency of maize, of which large quantities were found hidden in holes under the huts or wigwams. This village was, as near as we can judge, not far from the spot marked on our maps as Rock Fort, in La Salle county, Illinois. The corn being got aboard, the vcyagers betook themselves to the stream again, and toward evening on the 4th of January, 1780, fell into a lake, which must have been the lake of Peoria, where they caught some excellent fish, wherewith to season their corn. While the prospect of a good supper was filling all minds, unluckily bands of savages appeared, one on each bank of the river, and they found their evening meal was likely to be a stomach full of fighting, instead of fried fish. But, as it soon seemed, the Indians were as much and as disagreeably surprised as the whites; and, when all were waiting the onset, contented themselves, as we are told, to ask us who we were ; being naturally inclined to peace. The Frenchmen having answered this appropri- ate question in a satisfactory manner, the Illinois received them, not as savages use to do, but as men well-bred and civilized. Indeed, they brought out for the new comers, beef and stag, and all sorts of venison and fowls, which politeness the Europeans, (in a most typical manner,) repaid by bumpers of brandy, and discharges of fire-arms ; and the feast lasted three whole days, the white and red m~n fraternizing and embracing in a manner most entirely French ; so that, says the writer from whom we quote, we discovered in the Illinois a great humanity, and a good disposition to civil so- ciety. * This tribe, if we may credit the early writers, had really something very French in them ; they were flat- terers, complaisant, cunning, and dexterous. Hunting was * Last Discoveries of La Salle, published with Tontis name. See post as to authority. 1839.] Expedition of La Salle. 77 their great delight, and their habits were effeminate and disso- lute ; yet they knew the character of their conduct, and paid a kind of homage to virtue by preserving appearances. In the midst of this nation, La Salle determined to build another fort, for he found that already some of the neighbour- ing tribes were trying to disturb the good feeling which ex- isted; and, moreover, some of his own men were disposed to complain. A spot upon rising ground, near the river, was accordingly chosen about the middle of January, and the fort of Cr~vecwur (Broken Heart), commenced ; which doleful name was expressive of the very natural anxiety and sorrow, which the pretty certain loss of his Griffin, and his conse- quent impoverishment (for there were no insurance offlces then), the danger of hostility on the part of the Indians, and of mutiny on the part of his own men, might well cause him. Nor were his fears by any means groundless. In the first place, his discontented followers, and afterwards emissaries from the Mascoutens, tried to persuade the Illinois that he was a friend of the Iroquois, their most deadly enemies ; and that he was among them for the purpose of enslaving them. But La Salle was an honest and fearless man, and, as soon as coldness and jealousy appeared on the part of his hosts, he ~vent to them boldly and asked the cause, and by his frank statements preserved their good feeling and good xvill. His disappointed enemies, then, or at some other time, for it is not very clear when,* tried poison; and, but for a dose of good treacle, La Salle might have ended his days in his Fort Cr~veco3nr. Meanwhile the winter wore away, and the prairies were getting to look green again ; but our discoverer heard no good news, received no reinforcement ; his property was gone, his men were fast leaving him, and he had little left but his own strong heart. The second year of his hopes, and toils, and failures was half gone, and he further from his ob- ject than ever ; but still he had that strong heart, and it was more than men and money. He saw that he must go back to Canada, raise new means, and enlist new men ; but he did not dream, therefore, of relinquishing his projects. * Charlevoix says, it was at the close of 1679; Henoepin, that they did not reach the illinois, till January 4th, 1680. We have no means of decid- ing, hut follow Hennepin, who is particular as to date, and was present. 78 Early French Travellers in the West. [Jan. On the contrary, he determined that, while he was on his re- turn, a small party should go down to the Mississippi and explore that stream toward its sources ; and that Tonti, with the few men that remained, should strengthen and extend his relations among the Indians. For the leaders of the Mississippi exploring party, which was to consist of eight, he chose M. Dacan and Father Louis ilennepin; and, having furnished them with all the necessary articles, started them upon their voyage on the last day of February, 1680. And here we must stop our narrative, and indulge our readers with a little criticism. One of the historians of La Salles progress so far, and the one whom we have chiefly followed, has been the worthy Itecollet, Father Louis Hen- nepin. This same personage was the historian of the expe- dition to which, as we have just stated, he was attached. In the narrative of this expedition as first printed, generally known as his Louisiana, he claimed to have done what was ordered, that is, to have gone from the mouth of the Il- linois up the Mississippi ; but some years after, claimed to have gone down the Father of Waters, and discovered its mouth, and published the journal of his voyage, in the volume known as his New Discovery. The authenticity of this journal was doubted, of course; but the friar said, that La Salle was so jealous lest he should forestall him in his discoveries, that he dared not publish that journal in France, where his first account was put forth. People still shook their heads at Father Louis, however, and have continued to shake them to this day. Mr. Sparks, in the work before us, denies Hennepins claim entirely, and so have many other histori- ical scholars; but we are not aware of any thorough critical statement of the grounds which exist for thinking the rever- end Father so great a liar.* As we have no doubt that he was distinguished in that line, we will ask our readers pa- tience while we state them. And, in the first place, we would remark, that the long- existing desire which Hennepin had felt to be a discoverer, and which seems to have been a passion with him, gives us a motive for his claim to be a discoverer, which, though no * Partial statements may be found in the Journel of Andrew Ellicott, Philad. 1803, and in Stoddards Sketches of Louisiana. 1839.] Credit of Hennepins .New Discovery. 79 argument against his veracity, adds weight to the circumstan- tial evidence upon which xve have to rely for a conviction. Another circumstance xvortby of note for the same reason, is the importance which the Recollet assumes to himself throughout his narrative. La Salle is sent from below with provisions for the ship which ice were building ; all the forts are joint work ; all plans are joint plans ; for his we does not refer to the party, hut to La Salle and himself; evidently they appear in his eyes to he joint commanders. This mode of self-glorification reaches its height at the point where La Salle determines to send men to the Mississippi, while he returns to Canada ; for not only does Father Louis make the whole thing result from a consultation between him- self and the commander, but he entirely drops poor M. Da- can, who, from the narrative claiming to be by Tonti, and the history of Charlevoix, appears to have been the head of the band; does not mention his name even; but makes him- self sole commander, historian, and lieutenant, having under him two canoe-men. And a strong evidence of looseness in his ideas of truth-telling is to be found in the fortieth chapter of his New Discovery, where he assures us, that Joliet had often informed him, that he had never been further west than the land of the Hurons and Ottaxvas, (Outtawaats.) Now there is falsity here somewhere, and far more reason to think that it came from Hennepin than from Joliet. Turning to the Journal, the veracity of which is in ques- tion, we are at once struck by the mode in which it is inter- polated into the midst of the first published volume on Louis- iana. For the New Discovery is not a new work, but is, in the main, a reprint of the Louisiana, as far as the close of the thirty-sixth chapter, the last sentence of which begins the new Journal ; the paragraph preceding, which in the Louisiana had been followed by the second paragraph of the forty-fourth chapter of the New Discovery, being in substance repeated at the beginning of that forty-fourth chap- ter, in order to keep up the old connexion. Looking a little further, we find, that in this interpolating no change of dates has been made, to suit the altered circumstances. In the Louisiana * we are told, that on the 29th of February, 1680, Hennepin and his comrades left Fort Cr~vecwur; that * We use the Amsterdam edition, of 1688. 80 Early French Travellers in the West. [Jan. on the 7th of March they met with the Tamaroa Indians, about two leagues from the mouth of the Illinois ; that the ice in the Mississippi detained them at the mouth of the stream they had descended, until the 12th of March ; that they then began to sound and examine the Mississippi, which, with its tributaries, is described at some length ; and finally, that, upon the 11th of April, they were taken by the savages, two hundred miles above the illinois. in the New iDis- covery the same account is given as to the time of leaving the Fort, the events of the 7th of March, and the delay until the 12th, in consequence of ice ; tben comes the interpolated journal, and it begins by saying, that on the 8th they started to go down the Mississippi. Then follow the events of the 9th, 10th, and 11th of 1\larch ; and all this is related without any perception apparently, that the story contradicts itself. But the close of the inserted Journal is worse than the begin- ning ; for xve are told, that, upon the 1st of April, the voya- gers left the mouth of the Mississippi upon their return to the north, that, ii pon the 9th of tbat month, they reached the Arkansas, and upon the 12th were taken by the savages oue hundred and fifty leagues above the Illinois river ; and then follow the cvents of the 13th So fearless is Father Hennepin, that he does not hesitate to insert into his old account a new one, which informs us, that he and two men paddled a canoe upon the Mississippi, at the rate of sixteen or eighteen miles an hour, for sixty hours without cessation. His first account is not in any point incredible so far as we have examined it, and, in respect to dates and distances, is quite reasonable. According to that we have him going up the Great river at the rate of five leagues a day, about the usual distance made by canoe-men, including stoppages, as we learn from Charlevoix ; but when, in the thirty days which passed between our Reverend narrators leaving the Illinois, and his seizure by the Indians, we have to go with him over eight hundred and twenty leagues (according to his own account), that is, twenty-seven a day, it makes our souls faint. Nor is the substance cf the inserted Journal down the Mississippi any more in its favor than are its dates. It was published in Utrecht in 1697, the very year in which the ac- count claiming to be written by Tonti was printed in Paris. This last-named work, whatever may be its authenticity (of which more anon), was written by one well acquainted with 1839.] Credit of Tontis Journal. 81 the facts of La Salles journey; and when we find, as we do, a strong resemhlance hetween ilennepins story and Tontis, and also discover that the former contains nothing, not so much as the name of any trihe, which the latter does not, while it omits some things and names which the latter contains, we cannot hut suspect that our Recollet copied his tale from the narrative just puhlished under Tontis name. Where, for in- stance, Tonti tells us that the Indians were ahsent from their town in 1683, Hennepin says they were so in 1680. Where Tonti found a village with dead hodies in the xvigwams, Hen- nepin did also three years hefore. Where La Salle was received with ceremony and kindness, Father Louis had heen so. Where the former heard only the drums of a na- tion, and saxv nothing of them, the latter also heard their drums. In short, all of Hennepins Journal, except what relates to his own actions, may have heen taken from Tontis, the general accuracy of xvhich is confirmed hy all contemporary accounts ; and, though we have no means of knowing which was published earliest in the year 1697,* we have, upon the whole, little doubt that Tontis was, and that Father Louis quietly helped himself therefrom, and in his haste omitted to preserve the due consistency of time. Having thus examined the claims to credit of Hennepin s Journal down the INlississippi, let us take a look at that puh- lished under Tontis name. In our July numher we referred to this work incidentally, as heing hut little known to our writers on Western History.f We had not, at that time, examined its claims, hut took it upon the faith of the New York Historical Society, and Mr. Adams; and it may he, that in our remarks we did that gen- erally accurate writer, Dr. Holmes, xvrong, as he may have examined and rejected the volume. That Flint, Hall, or Butler had made any such examination, we think altogether improhahle. Our confidence in Tontis Journal was in- creased hy the coincidence of its statements with those of Charlevoix, who, though he calls it a romance and fiction, confirms it in almost every detail, so far as he gives details. Three distinct charges he hrings against it ; ~ one relating to * The printing of Tontis, we see by the original edition, was finished January 21st. JThrtk ~~merican Review, Vol. XLVII., p. 5. ~ New France, Vol. II. pp. 271, 277. voL. XLvIII.NO. 102. 11 82 Early French Travellers in the West. [Jan. Hennepins voyage up the Mississippi, which was given by the writer of Tontis journal at second-hand of course ; an- other touching the latitude of the mouth of the Mississippi, a point very open to error, and where an error of great impor- tance had been made in printing, as is proved by the map, which gives this latitude four degrees nearer the truth than the text does; * and a third, of a more tangible kind, namely, that it is said, the canoes were paddled up stream fifty leagues in one day. This, however, we found to be a mistake by Charlevoix himself, the Journal stating that seven days were consumed in going the fifty leagues to the point where the Mississippi divides into separate channels, and one to where these unite near the sea ; ~ Charlevoix misread the Journal, and applied the one days journey to the point of separation instead of the point of union. Finding this to be the case, we were not disposed to reject the Journal on Charlevoixs testimony; but more lately have learned some facts that are more to the point, and which we will now lay before our readers in few words. In the third volume of Charlevoixs history, at page 385, we find it written, that wheii iDIberville visited the mouth of the Mississippi after La Salles death, he there met with Tonti, and having asked him about the Relation published with his name, Tonti replied, that he had no hand in that work, but that it was prepared by some Parisian adventurer from imperfect documents, and that his name had been put to it to make it sell. It is not very clear whence the histo- rian got this fact, but if, as is probable, from one of Dlber- villes letters, (for he speaks of having seen some of them,) there is no more to be said. Nor is this all, for in the eleventh volume of the Lettres Edijiantes, at page 308, (we use the original Paris edition, published from year to year,) is a letter from Marest, a mis- sionary, stating that Tonti had likewise denied the work in question to him. It is undeniable, therefore, that the volume originally pub- lished in Paris in 1697, as by Tonti, is of very doubtftil au- thenticity, though in most points it must be correct, as it * Joutels Journal, Preface. The only original copy of the Journal pub- lished as by Tonti, which we have seen, (that in Harvard College Library,) has no map. .A~ew York Historical C~olleclions, Vol. II. p. 281. 1839.] Expedition of La Salle. 83 agrees in most points with Charlevoixs account, which was drawn from independent sources.* Here we are, therefore, upon the banks of the Illinois, without an historian of personal experience to guide us be- yond this 1st of March, 1680. Hennepin, whom we have followed (under Charlevoixs eye, however,) thus far, is off upon his own travels northward ; and Tonti, whose aid we fondly hoped for, vanishes utterly. In this strait we have no resource left us but to follow the historian of New France, on whom alone we henceforth rely. A few words, however, should be given to our old, but false friend, the Recollet, who, with his two canoe-men, to say nothing of the mysterious M. l)acan and four nameless shadows, was, upon the 11th or 12th of April, taken by the Indians. This seizure was made somewhere near Black River, and they were forthwith carried into unknown regions in the north, going as high, at any rate, as the Falls of St. Anthony, which Father Louis named.t They, or some of them, returned to Canada in a year from that time, coming by the route pursued by Marquette when going ; and, in 1683, we have the Friar in Paris, publishing his Louisi- ana. After that time, he made no stir in America; but continued to put forth his Voyages in France and Hol- land, and is soon lost to our sight. Once more, then, we turn to that not undeserving person, our Chevalier; who remained, when Dacan was sent away, at Fort Cr~vecceur. Here, to what end we know not, he stayed till the following November, as though he had been a man of fortune and leisure; and then started for Canada again, leaving Tonti and his men among the Illinois. Upon his way up the river, he was struck by the advantages of a high rock upon the bank, and at once determined to have a fort there. He accordingly laid one out, and, sending the plan to Tonti by some stragglers, desired him to complete it. This the lieutenant tried to do ; but had scarce struck spade into the earth, when those he had left at Fort Cr~veceur re- volted, and he was forced to return thither at once, or all * We thought at one time, that we were about to save our friend Tonti after all, as we got trace of a work with his name, called Relation de la Louisiane, & .c. which we hoped might prove the fraudulent work; but the Biographic Universelle, Paris edition of 1811 to 1837, informs us, that thie is the old volume under a new name. See Art. Tonti See Schoolcrafts Travels; and Longs Second Expedition. 84 Early French Travellers in the West. [Jan. would be lost; so the new fort on the bill remained unfin- ished. This new fort xvas afterwards called Fort St. Louis, and was the place under Tontis command when La Salle returned to France. It was, as far as we can judge, at the spot called in our day, Rock Fort, La Salle county, illinois. The truth was, these French among the Indians led too easy a life altogether, and became too much attached to it to be willing to make new forts or defend old ones ; so that our lieutenant found himself left with seven or eight men. This was at the close of 1680 ; and with this diminutive garrison, to which a stray Frenchman, or a spoiled Indian, now and then joined himself, Tonti worried along till September, 1681., * when, to his surprise and horror, there came in sight a large body of Iroquois warriors, irritated, not wearied, by their long journey across the wilderness. Of the various doings with these savages, the self-constituted M. Tonti gives a full account, while Charlevoix only tells us, that the Italian tried to act as a mediator between the Iroquois and Illinois, for whom, and not for the French, the visit seems to have been intended, hut tried to little purpose, the New York savages being very unappeasable. The end of the matter, however, by all accounts, was, that Tonti found himself un- der the necessity of abandoning the Illinois, and quietly creeping back to Canada with five men. This was in the middle of September, 1681 ; and in October he reached Lake Michigan, upon the shores of which he remained through the xvinter. La Salle, meanwhile, bad returned to Canada, as we have said ; there he busied himself in his old way, raising recruits, gathering funds, and building vessels wherexvith to carry on the trade upon which he must live ; and, in the spring of 1682, we find him once more upon the Illinois, manning Cr~vecmur, finishing Fort St. Louis, and in one way or another killing time until August, when once more he must back to Fort Frontenac, and muster all his forces for bis Second Voyage. This second voyage commenced upon the Illinois river, in January, 1683 ; j- hut, as there was much ice to impede our * Cbarlevoix says 1680, but La Salle did not go back till November, 1680. The Introduction to Joutels Journel (p. xx.) tells us, that even then, in 1714, the second voyage of La Salle was variously represented as in 1682 and 1683, and Charlevoix writes it as in 1682; but, by examining his 1839.1 Second Expedition of La Salle. 85 voyagers, it was the 2d of February when they reached the Mississippi, and the 9th of April when they came to its mouth; that is, it took them twice as long to go down the Mississippi as it did Hennepin (on paper) to go and come again. Of this passage Charlevoix gives us 1)0 details ; but the professed Tonti is more generous, and displays for our entertainment and edification, the banks of the Illinois river, covered over with pomegranate-trees, orange-trees, and lemon-trees ; the Chicacha Indians, with faces flat like plates, which is reckoned among them for a stroke of beauty ; the crocodiles which come into the world but like a chicken, being hatched of an egg ; the Indian women of the Tacucas, to one of whom he gave a pair of cizars, who in return squeezed his hand so hard as to give him reason to think, that those women might easily be tamed by us, and taught the politer arts of conversation ; and, also, the pearl oysters of the Natchez, the shells of which you may see on a fair day open themselves to receive the dew of heaven; which dew breeds the first seeds of the pearl within the shells. It is grievous to think, that all these details must be put aside as not legitimate, even if true ; and nothing be left us of La Salles second voyage but the barren date of his arrival at the seashore, and the yet more unsatisfactory statement, that he returned to Quebec some time in 1683, (it is by no means clear when, for Charlevoix has his dates tangled,) and that afterwards he embarked for France on the 9th of No- vember, 1683, as we learn from the Baron ilontan. To these husks is plain history unhappily confined.* dates, it is made evident that he dropped a year; and the Journal of Tonti, in the main facts of which, whoever wrote it, we have great confidence, makes 1683 the year; we therefore adopt that. In our 99th Number, (p. 417,) it was stated, on Charlevoixs authority, that La Salle reached the Mississippi in 1682. This we may here correct; and also a misprint in our 94th Number, p. 64, where the year of this discovery is printed 1681. * Charlevoixs dates stand thus; The summer of 1679 was spent in pre- paring to get off the Gr~JJin; she was finished in August; on the 28th of February, 1680, Dacan left Cr~veco~ur; La Salle stayed there till .Ttorember (1680 of course) ; not long afier came the Iroquois, and Tonti was forced away, September 11th, 1680 (Tontis narrative says 1681); a year passes, and in February, 1682, the Mississippi is reached; on the 15th of May (1682), La Salle falls sick coming up the Mississippi, and does not reach Quebec till the spring of 1683, and embarks some months after. But Tontis ac- count (so called) is clearer; a year is passed in Cr~vecceur after La Salle leaves it; the Mississippi is reached in 1683; in May, 1683, La Salle falls 86 Early French Travellers in the West. [Jan. One other and very familiar thing we find on record trouble in Canada; the governor and the intendant quarrelling, and both recalled ; the Indians threatening; and a new gov- ernor appointed, M. de la Barre, who began his administra- tion by accusing La Salle of being a rogue, a rioter, a fomenter of discord, and a general nuisance in the colony.* But La Salle had, fortunately, a most able advocate in France, for he was there in person; and the whole nation being stirred by the story of the new discoveries, of which Heunepin had published his first account some months before La Salles return, our hero found ears open to drink in his words, and imaginations warmed to make the most of them. The minister, 8eignelay, desired to see the adventurer, and be soon won his way to whatever heart that man had ; for it could not have required much talk with La Salle to have been satisfied of his sincerity, enthusiasm, energy, and bra- very. The tales of the new governor fell dead, therefore, and the king listened to the prayer of his subject, that a fleet might be sent to take possession of the mouth of the Mississippi, and so that great country of which he told them be secured to France. The king listened; and soon the town of Ho- chelle was busy with the stir of artisans, ship-riggers, adven- turers, soldiers, sailors, and all that varied crowd which in those days looked into the dim West for a land where wealth and life were to be had for the seeking. Of this third voyage of La Salle, let us be thankful that we have a full and true history. We no longer follow the fame and not truth loving Hennepin, the ghost of a Tonti, or the somewhat inaccurate and second-hand Charlevoix. We have now as our guide and comforter the worthy Monsieur Joutel, a commander and actor in that same expedition; a man of accuracy and unquestioned truth, and whose volume, as translated into English, and published in London by A. Bell, at the Cross Keys and Bible, Cornhill, in 1714, now lies before us. On the 24th of July, 1684, twenty-four vessels sailed from Rochelle for America, four of which were for the discovery sick, and in September of that year reaches Michillimackinac, and in a month or more sails for France; to bring him out right Charlevoix has to keep him sick a year. Cliarlevoixs New France, Vol. II. p. 286. 1839.] Third Expedition of La Salle. 87 and settlement of the famed Louisiana. These four carried two hundred and eighty persons, including the crews ; there were soldiers, artificers, and volunteers, and also some young women. There is no douht that this brave fleet started full of light hearts, and vast, vague hopes ; but, alas it had scarce started when discord hegan ; for La Salle and the commander of the fleet, M. de Beaujeu, were well fitted to quarrel one with the other, hut never to work together. In truth, our hero seems to have been nowise amiable, for he was overbearing, harsh, and probably selfish to the full ex- tent to be looked for in a man of worldly ambition. How- ever, in one of the causes of quarrel which arose during the passage, he acted, if not with policy, certainly with boldness and humanity. It was when they came to the Tropic of Cancer, where, in those times, it was customary to baptize all green hands, as is still sometimes done under the Equator. On this occasion, the sailors of La Salles little squadron promised themselves rare sl)ort and much plunder, grog, and other good things, the forfeit paid by those who do not wish a seasoning ; but all these expectations were stopped, and hope turned into hate, by the express and emphatic statement on the part of La Salle, that no man under his command should be ducked, whereupon the commander of the fleet was forced to forbid the ceremony. With such beginnings of bickering and dissatisfaction the Atlantic was slowly crossed, and, upon the 20th of Septem- ber, the island of St. Domingo was reached. Here certain arrangements were to be made with the colonial authorities; but, as they were away, it became necessary to stop there for a time. And a sad time it was. The fever seized the new- comers ; the ships were crowded with sick ; La Salle him- self was brought to the verge of the grave ; and, when he recovered, the first news that greeted him, was that one of his four v;ssels, the one wherein he had embarked his stores and implements, had been taken by the Spaniards. The sick man had to bestir himself thereupon to procure new supplies; and, while he was doing so, his enemies were also bestirring themselves to seduce his men from him, so that what with death and desertion, he was like to have a small crew at the last. But energy did much; and, on the 25th of November, the first of the remaining vessels, she that was 88 Early French Travellers in the West. [Jan. to carry the light, sailed for the coast of America. In her went La Salle, and our writer, Joutel. For a whole month were our disconsolate sailors sailing, and sounding, and stopping to take in water and shoot alliga- tors, and drifting in utter uncertainty, until, on the 28th of December, the mainland was fairly discovered. But there being as Joutel says, no man among them who had any knowledge of that Bay, it was not strange, that they went feeling and trembling like one that in the dark seeks for a door ; and so, feeling and stumbling, and ever fearful of knocking their noses by venturing too near the wall, they went past the very Mississippi-door which they sought; and in a most useless and melancholy manner, quarrelling and bickering, wore away the whole month of January, 1685. At last, La Salle, out of patience, determined to land some of his men, and go along the shore toward the point where he believed the mouth of the Mississippi to he, and our friend Joutel was appointed one of the commanders of this explor- ing party. They started on the 4th of February, and travel- led eastward, (for it was clear that they had passed the door,) during three days, when they caine to a great river which they could not cross, having no boats. Here they made fire- signals, and, on the 13th, two of the vessels came in sight the mouth of the river, or entrance of the bay, for such it proved to be, was forthwith sounded, and the barks sent in to be under shelter. But, sad to say, La Salles old fortune was at work here again ; for the vessel which bore his pro- visions and most valuable stores, was run upon a shoal by the grossest neglect, or, as Joutel thinks, with malice pre- pense ; and, soon after, the wind coming in strong from the sea, she fell to pieces in the night, and the bay xvas full of casks and packages, which could not he saved, or were worth- less when drawn from the salt water. From this untimely fate our poor adventurer rescued but a small half of his second stock of indispensables. Who can help pitying this unlucky La Salle ? Full of genius, he plans one of the grandest of modern operations, the union of Canada with the Gulf of Mexico. Full of energy, dogged perseverance, undaunted courage, he tries to execute his plan ; at every step he meets some difficulty; his own men, his fellow-countrymen, the Iroquois, the very elements throw blocks in his way, and he falls again and 1839.1 Third Expedition of Let Salle. 89 again. But from each fall he rises with new strength. Hav- ing nothing at the outset, he builds vessels, and raises and equips men ; when the vessels are lost, he builds others when the men desert, he musters new recruits; and so, dur- ing four long years, battles with Fortune unweariedly, and at length makes known the Mississippi from the Falls of St. Anthony to the mouth. And now, when it would seem that his future might be easier, and his fortune milder, again, all things conspire against him; two outfits are lost before his en- terprise is under way ; one company of followers has mostly deserted him, and now another threatens to do likewise. But was it indeed Fortune that for ever heaped evil on his head? Not wholly; we see enough of La Salle, dim as his features are to us, to see that loveliness was no trait of his. He bound none to him by the only indissoluble cord, af- fection. Men stood aloof, or worked with, not for him from fear, or selfish ambition, never (unless somewhat in Tontis case) from that personal reverence and love, which bound men to Washington ; and of his misfortunes a large proportion came from the ill-will of his enemies. But leaving such thoughts, let us look at our friend the Chevaliers condition in the middle of March, 1685. Beau- jeu, with his ship, is gone, leaving his comrades in the marshy wilderness, with not much of joy to look forward to. They had guns and powder and shot ; eP~ht cannon, too, but not one bullet, that is, cannon-ball, the naval gentle- men having refused to give them any. And here are our lonely settlers, building a fort upon the shores of the Bay of St. Louis, as they called it, knoxvn to us as the Bay of St. Bernard. They build from the wreck of their ship, we cannot think with light hearts ; every plank and timber tells of past ill luck, and, as they look forward, there is vision of irritated savages (for there had been warring already), of long search for the Hidden River,* of toils and dangers in its ascent when reached. No wonder, that during that time several men deserted. So strong was the fever for desertion, that, of some who stole away and xvere retaken, it was found necessary to execute one, while the others were condemned to serve the King ten years in that country; a mode of So the Spaniards called the Mississippi. voL. xbviii.No. 102. 12 Early French Travellers in the West. [Jam punishment, which may be termed nominal, probably, it being a sort of forced enlistment on the part of our Chevalier. And now La Salle prepares to issue from his nearly com- pleted fort, to look round and see where he is. He has still a good force, some hundred and fifty people; and, by prompt and determined action, much may be done between this last of March and next autumn. In the first place, the river falling into the Bay of St. Louis is examined, and a new fort commenced in that neighbourhood, xvhere seed is planted also; for the men begin to tire of meat and fish, with spare allowance of bread, and no vegetables. But the old luck is at work still. The seed will not sprout; men desert; the fort goes forward miserably slow ; and at last, three months and more gone to no purpose, Joutel and his men, who are still hexving timber at the first fort, are sent for, and told to bring their timber with them in a float. The float or raft was begun with immense labor, says the wearied his- torian, but all to no purpose, for the weather was so adverse, that it had to be all takcn apart again and buried in the sand. Empty-handed, therefore, Joutel sought his superior, the effects being left at a post by the way. And he came to a scene of desolation ; men sick, and no houses to put them in ; all the looked-for crop blasted ; and not a ray of com- fort from any quarter. ~ said La Salle, we must now muster all hands, and build ourselves a large lodgment. But there was no timber within a league; and not a cart nor a bullock to be had, for the buffaloes, though abundant, were ill broken to such labor. If done, this dragging must be done by men; so, over the long grass and weeds of the prairie-plain, they dragged some sticks, with vast suffering. Afterwards the carriage of a gun was tried ; but it would not do ; the ablest men were quite spent. Indeed, heaving and hauling over that damp plain, and under that July sun, might have tried the constitution of the best of Africans; and of the poor Frenchmen thirty died, worn out. The carpenter was lost; and, worse still, La Salle, wearied, worried, disappointed, lost his temper and insulted the men. So closed July; our Chevalier turned carpenter, marking out the tenons and mor- tises of what timber he could get, and growing daily more cross. In March we thought much might be done before 1839.] Third Expedition of La ~Salle. 91 autumn, and now autumn stands but one month removed from us, and not even a house built yet. And August soon passed too, not without results, however; for the timber that had been buried below was got up, and a second house built, all covered with planks and bullocks hides over them. And now once more was La Salle ready to seek the Mississippi. First, he thought he would try with the last of the four barks with which he left France; the bark La Belle, a little frigate, carrying six guns, which the King had given our Chevalier to be his navy. But, after having put all his clothes and valuables on board of her, he deter- mined to try with twenty men to reach his object by land. This was in December, 1685. From this expedition he did not return until March, 1686, when he came to his fort again, ragged, hatless, and worn down, with six or seven followers at his heels, his travels having been all in vain. It was not very encouraging; but, says Joutel, we thought only of making ourselves as merry as we could. The next day came the rest of the party, who had been sent to find the little frigate, which should have been in the bay. They came mournfully, for the little frigate could not be found, and she had all La Salles best effects on board. The bark was gone ; but our heros heart xvas still beating in his bosom, a little cracked and shaken, but strong and iron-bound still. So, borrowing some changes of linen from Joutel, toward the latter end of April he again set forth, he and twenty men, each with his pack, to look for his river, as our writer aptly terms it. Some days after his departure, the bark La Belle came to light again ; for she was not lost, but only ashore. Deserted by her forlorn and diminished crew, how ever, she seems to have been suffered to break up and go to pieces in her own way, for we hear no more of the little frigate. And now, for a time, things went on pretty smoothly. There was even a marriage at the fort ; and Monsieur le Marquis de la Sabloni~re wished to act as groom in a secqnd, but Joutel absolutely refused. By and by, however, the men, seeing that La Salle did not return, began to mutter. There xvere even proposals afloat to make way with our friend Joutel, and start upon a new enterprise; the leader in which half-formed plan was one Sieur Duhaut, an 92 Early French Travellers in the West. [Jan. unsafe man, and inimical to La Salle, who had, probably, maltreated him somewhat. Joutel, however, learned the state of matters, and put a stop to all such proceedings. Know- ing idleness to be a root of countless evils, he made his men work and dance as long as there was vigor enough in them to keep their limbs in motion; and in such manner the summer passed away, until in August La Salle returned. He had been among the Indians in the north of Mexico, and also to- ward the Mississippi, had traded with them, and brought home five horses ; but, of the twenty men he had taken with him, only eight returned, some having fallen sick, some having died, and others deserted. He had not found his river, though he had been so far in that direction; but he came back full of spirits, which, says our writer, revived the lowest ebb of hope. He was all ready, too, to start again at once, to seek the Mississippi, and go onward to Canada, and thence to France, to get new recruits and sup- plies; but it was determined to let the great heats pass before that enterprise was taken in hand. And the heats passed, but with them our heros health, so that the proposed journey was delayed from time to time until the 12th of January, 1687. On that day started the last company of La Salles adven- turers, seventeen in number. Among them went the discon- tented IDuhaut ; and all took their leaves with so much tenderness and sorrow as if they had all presaged that they should never see each other more. They went northwest along the bank of the river on which their fort stood, until they came to where the streams running toward the coast were fordable, and then turned eastward, as in that direction they hoped to find the Mississippi. From the 12th of Janu- ary till the 15th of March did they thus journey across that southern country, crossing curious meadows, through which ran several little brooks of very clear and good water, which, with the tall trees, all of a size, and planted as if by a line, afforded a most delightful landskip. They met many Indians too, with whom La Salle established rela- tions of peace and friendship. Game was abundant, plenty of foul, and particularly of turkeys, was there, which was an ease to their sufferings; and so they still toiled on in shoes of green bullocks hide, which, dried by the sun, pinched cruelly, until, following the tracks of the buffaloes, 1839.] Conspiracy against La Salle. 93 who choose by instinct the best ways, they had come to a pleasanter country than they had yet passed through, and were far toward the long-sought Father of Waters. On the 15th of March, La Salle, recognising the spot where they then were as one through which he had passed in his former journey, and near which he had hidden some beans and Indian wheat, ordered the Sieurs Duhaut, Hiens, Liotot the surgeon, and some others, to go and seek them. This they did, but found that the food was all spoiled, so they turned toward the camp again. While coming camp- ward they chanced upon two hullocks, which were killed by one of La Salles hunters, who xvas with them. So they sent the commander word that they had killed some meat, and that, if he would have the flesh dried, he might send horses to carry it to the place xvhere he lay ; and, meanwhile, they cut up the hullocks, and took out the marrow-bones, and laid them aside for their own choice eating, as was usual to do. When La Salle heard of the meat that had been taken, he sent his nephew and chief confidant, M. Moranget, with one IDe Male, and his own footman, giving them orders to send all that was fit to the camp at once. 1\J. Moranget, when he came to where Duhaut and the rest were, and found that they had laid by for themselves the marrow-bones, became angry, took from them their choice pieces, threatened them, and spoke harsh words. This treatment touched these men, al- ready not well pleased, to the quick; and, when it was night, they took counsel together how they might best have their revenge. The end of such counselling, where anger is fore- most, and the wilderness is all about one, needs scarce to be told ; we will have their blood, all that are of that party shall die, said these malcontents. So, when N. Moranget and the rest had supped and fallen asleep, Liotot the surgeon took an axe, and xvith few strokes killed them all; all that were of La Salles party, even his poor Indian bunter, be- cause he was faithful ; and, lest De 1\Iale might not be with them (for him they did not kill), they forced him to stab N. Moranget, who had not died by the first blow of Liotots axe, and then threw them out for the carrion-birds to feast on. This murder was done upon the 17th of March. And at once the murderers would have killed La Salle, but he and his men were on the other side of a river, and the water for two days was so high they could not cross ; so they sat, eat- 94 Early French Travellers in the West. [Jan. ing of their bullocks, and meditating what they had done and must yet do. There was, beyond doubt, less sweetness in those marrow-bones xvhich they had won so dearly, than they had hoped for. La Salle on his part was growing anxious too; his nephew so long absent, what meant it? and he went about asking if iDuhaut had not been a malcontent; but none said, Yes. Doubtless there was something in La Salles heart, which told him his followers had cause to be his foes. It was now the 20th of the month, and he could not forbear setting out to seek his lost relative. Leaving Joutel in command, there- fore, he started with a Franciscan monk and one Indian. Coming near the hut which the murderers had put up, though still on the opposite side of the river, he saw carrion-birds hovering near, and, to call attention if any were there, fired a shot. There were keen and watching ears and eyes there; the gun told them to be quick, for their prey was in the net; so, at once, Duhaut and another crossed the river, and, while the first hid himself among the tall weeds, the latter showed himself to La Salle at a good distance off. Going instantly to meet him, the fated man passed near to the spot where Duhaut lay hid. The traitor lay still till he came opposite then, raising his piece, shot his commander through the brain, so that he dropped down dead on the spot, without speak- ing one word. Thus fell La Salle, on the threshold of success. No man had more strongly all the elements that would have borne him safe through, if we except that element which insures affection. He had a capacity and talent, says Joutel, one of his staunchest friends, to make his enterprise success- ful; his constancy, and courage, and extraordinary knowledge in arts and sciences, which rendered him fit for any thing, to- gether with an indefatigable body, which made him surmount all difficulties, would have procured a glorious issue to his undertaking, had not all those excellent qualities been coun- terbalanced by too haughty a behaviour, which sometimes made him insupportable, and by a rigidness toward those that were under his command, which at last drew on him an im- placable hatred, and was the occasion of his death. La Salle died, as far as we can judge, upon a branch of Trinity River.* * Map in Charlevoix, Vol. III., where the spot is marked. 1839.] Death of La kSalle. 95 And now, the leader being killed, his followers toiled on mournfully, and in fear, each of the others, iDuhaut assum- ing the command, until May. Then there arose a difference among them as to their future course ; and, by and by, things coming to extremities, some of La Salles murderers turned upon the others, and iDuhaut and Liotot were killed by their comrades. So blood is still washed out by blood, and there is ever a stain behind. This done, the now dominant party determined to remain among the Indians, with whom they then were, and xvhere they found some who had been with La Salle in his former expedition, and had deserted. These were living among the savages, painted, and shaved, and naked, with great store of squaws and scalps. But our good Monsieur Joutel was not of this way of thinking; he and some others still wished to find the Great River and get to Canada. At last, all consenting, he did, with six others, leave the main body, and take up his maych for the Illinois, where he hoped to find Tonti, who should have been all this while at Fort St. Louis. This was in May, 1687. With great labor this little band forced their heavy-laden horses over the fat soil, in which they often stuck fast ; and, daring countless dangers, at length, upon the 24th of July, reached the Arkansas, where they found a post containing a few Frenchmen, who had been placed there by Tonti. Here they stayed a little xvhile, and then went forward again, until, upon the 14th of September, they reached Fort Louis, upon the Illinois. At this post, Joutel remained until the follow- ing March, that of 1638, when he set off for Quebec, which city he reached in the last of July, just four years having passed since he sailed from Rochclle.* Thus ended La Salles third and last voyage, producing no permanent settlement ; for the Spaniards came, dismantled the fort upon the Bay of St. Louis, and carried axvay its gar- rison, and the Frenchmen who had been left elsewhere in the ~outhwest intermingled with the Indians, until all trace of them was lost. And so ended our adventurers endeavours, in defeat. * We have followed throughout Joutel alone; Charlevoix vouches for him, (New France, Vol. III. 56.) Hennepin gives a second-hand account, drawn from the monks of his order who were with La Salle, which in most points agrees with Joutels. That given in the Journel under Tontis name is wholly different, and is also professedly second-hand from Cavalier. 96 Early French Travellers in the West. [Jan. Yet he had not worked and suffered in vain. He had thrown open to France and the world an immense and most valuable country; had established several permanent forts, and laid the foundation of more than one settlement there. Peoria, Kaskaskia, Cahokia, to this day, are monuments of La Salles labors ; for, though he founded neither of them, (unless Peoria was built upon the site of Fort Cr~veczvur,) it was by those xvhom he brought into the West, that these places were peopled and civilized. He was, if not the dis- coverer, the first settler of the Mississippi Valley, and as such deserves to be known and honored. And now, having buried the gentle Marquette and stout Sieur La Salle, what little interest there may have been in our sketch of western travel in old times is passed away. For, dim as have been the features of these our adventurers, those that succeed to them. are ghosts indeed ; and our inter- est in a tale is ever in proportion to the flesh and blood that walk and speak in it ; whence novels chain our attention more than history, though there is no doubt, that the events of the true ever surpass in wonder those of the fictitious story. We have now, among our foremost personages in this shadowy band, the genuine Tonti. Tonti, left by La Salle when he sailed for France, after reaching the Gulf of Mex- ico, in 1683, remained as commander of that Rock Fort of St. Louis, which he had begun in 1680, and which he now finished. Here he stayed, swaying absolutely the Indian tribes, and acting as viceroy over the unknown and uncounted Frenchmen who were beginning to wander through that beautiful country, making discoveries of which we have no records left. In 1685, looking to meet La Salle, he went down to the mouth of the Mississippi; of which going we have a full account in his apocryphal Relation, and an un- doubted proof in a letter from him to La Salle, dated April 20th, 1685, written at the village of the Quinipissas, and mourning that they had not met at the mouth of the Missis- sippi, as had been expected.* Alas ! at the very moment that the faithful Tonti was writing his regrets, his friend and commander was looking, with heavy heart, at his men as Given in Charlevoix, Vol. III. 3~3. 1839.] ~/Idventures of Tonti and La Hontan. 97 they toiled together building, from the wreck of his vessel, the fated fort upon the Bay of St. Louis Finding no signs of his old comrade, Tonti turns north- ward again, and reaching his fort on the Illinois, finds work to do ; for the Iroquois, long threatening, were now in the battle-field, backed by the English, and Tonti, with his west- ern-wild allies, was forced to march and fight. Engaged in this husiness, he appears to us at intervals in the pages of Charlevoix; in the fall of 1687 we have him with Joutel, at Fort St. Louis ; in April, 16S9, he suddenly appears to us at Cr~veczeur, revealed by the Baron La Hontan; and again, early in 1700, DIberville is visited by him at the mouth of the iMississippi. After that we see him no more, and the Bio- graphie Universelle tells us, that, though he remained many years in Louisiana, he finally was not there; hut of his death or departure thence no one knows. So vaguely lives and dies the Chevalier Tonti, an Italian by birth, and an old sol- dier. He had lost his hand by a grenade, at some famous siege of those times, and was, upon the whole, noted in his genera- tion. Next in sequence, we have a glimpse of the abovenamed Baron La Hontan, discoverer of the Long River, and, as that discovery proves, drawer of a somewhat long bow. By his volumes, published & ict Ha ye, in 1706, we learn, that he too warred against the Iroquois in 1687 and 1688; and, hav- ing gone so far westward as the Lake of the Illinois, thought he would contribute his mite to the discoveries of those times. So, with a sufficient escort, he crossed, by Mar- quettes old route, Fox River and the Wisconsin, to the Mississippi ; and, turning up that stream, sailed thereon till he came to the mouth of a river, called Long River, coming from the West. This river emptied itself (as appears by his map) nearly xvhere the St. Peters does in our day. Upon this stream, one of immense size, our Baron sailed for eighty and odd days, meeting the most extensive and civilized In- dian nations of which we have any account, that is to say, in those regions ; and, after his eighty and odd days sailing, he got less than half-way to the head of this great river, which was, indeed, not less than two thousand miles long, and, as he learned from the red men, who drew him a map of its course above his stopping-point, led to a lake, whence another river led to the South Sea; so that at last the 98 Early French Travellers in the West. [Jan. great problem of those days was solved, and the wealth of China and the East thrown open by the Baron de Ia Hontan.* And why, we might ask the Baron, did you not go and bathe in that South Sea, instead of floating down the Long River again, and paddling up the comparatively inconsiderable Mis- souri ? Probably this question was asked in those days, for we find the Barons story much douhted and denied, though he was not, like La Salle, an adventurer, but a man in au- thority, governor of Newfoundland in after days, and well known at home and abroad. Poor Baron, he was, and is well known ; but it is as the foolish inventor of a lie, which, lifting him for the moment above his level, made his fall to earth again, deadly. And so he passes.t And now our sketch becomes dimmer than ever. La Salles death, says Charlevoix, in one place, dispersed the French who had gathered upon the Illinois; but in another, he speaks of Touti and twenty Canadians, as established among the Illinois three years after the Chevaliers fate was known there. j This, however, is clear, that about 1700 or 1705, the reverend Father Gravier began a mission among the Illinois, at the spot, as the historian of New France says, where Fort St. Louis had been; or, as we should suppose from the letter of Father Gabriel Marest, dated at Cascas- quias, November 9th, 1712, somewhere in the neighbourhood of that settlement. At any rate, Gravier, and Marest his fellow-laborer, succeeded in gathering a little flock of con- verted Indians about them, and laid the corner-stone of that permanent French settlement in Illinois, the remains of which astonish the traveller at this day. In 1750, as we are told by one of the missionaries, Vivier, then laboring aux Illi- nois, there were in that country five French villages, con-~ taming one hundred and forty families, and three villages of colonized natives, numbering not less than six hundred.II * Voyages de La Hontan, Vol. I. p. 194. See the Preface to Schoolcrafts Trar~eJs, and Longs Journey up the St. Peters. These men knew the whole ground over which La Hontan says he went; and yet we have at times thought that the Baron may have en- tered the St. Peters when filled with the back waters of the Mississippi, and heard from the Indians of the connexion by it and the Red River with Lake Winnipeg, and the communication between that lake and Hudsons Bay, by Nelsen River, and, looking westward all the while, turned Hudsons Bay into the South Sea. See map in Longs Second Expedition up the St. Peters, and La Hontans maps. ~ .TVew France, Vol. III. pp. 395, 383. Lettres Edijiantes, (original edition,) Vol. XI. Id. Vol. XXViiI. p. 36. 1839.] adventures of Juchereau and .AIermet. 99 An attempt was also made to build up a settlement at the point where the Ohio and Mississippi join, at all times a favor- ite spot among planners of towns, and at this moment, if we mistake not, in the process of being made into a toxyn. The first who tried this spot was the Sieur Juchereau, a Canadian gentleman, assisted by Father Mermet, who was to chris- tianize the Mascoutens, of whom a large flock was soon gathered.* But these savages were less docile, pliable, and French, than the Illinois, and with superstitious ardor placed all faith in their magicians or jugglers. Our worthy Father Mermet thought his first step should be to corner and con- found these pseudo-priests ; so, in the presence of the assem- bled colony, he opened an argument with one of them, one whose god was the Buffalo. With cunning questions the wise European puzzled his antagonist, and forced him, at length, to own publicly and directly, that it was not the beast, Buffalo, to which he bowed, but that Spirit which had charge of the beast, and which was unseen, unknown; nay, still further, the unwise juggler was led to acknowledge, that the Spirit of the Buffalo was worshipful because it was good, and that this was known by the excellency of its charge, the beast in question. Ab ha ! said the wily schoolman, now I have you ; for if the excellency of the animal signifies that of its Spirit, and therefore is worshipful, then must you own that the Spirit of man, who is better than any other animal, is better than any other spirit; and therefore you must worship God. Nothing could be more logical, and no logical must~~ more imperative. But the poor wild men laughed at demonstration, and went on worshipping the Buffalo ; for he, and not the God of Father Mermet, had been kind to them ; he had made the buffaloes, which had supplied them with meat and clothino! Would not our good Father have done well to try the argument, that he and they were worshipping one Being, the Giver of good gifts ? But the attempt of our Canadian gentleman and his rever- end assistant failed. Sickness came, and, as the savages were ready to believe the white mans God stronger than theirs, they (very likely at the suggestion of Father Mermet himself) looked on the epidemic as the effect of his wrath, * Charlevoix, Vol. III. p. 393. Lettres Ed~fiantes (selected). Paris Edi- tion of 1809, Vol. Vii. p. 127. 100 Early French Travellers in the West. [Jan. kindled by their conduct. So, after trying without success to kill his minister, our missionary, and then to appease him by a procession and prayers, they at last deserted the low and sickly land, and took to their woods and free life again. Of the date of these doings we find no mention ; but from Viviers letter, already quoted, it is clear, that, previous to 1750, no settlement existed upon the Ohio or any of its branches, as he enumerates all then in being. The cause of this is not clear, as Hennepin was aware of the existence of a great river, called Hoio, which passes through the coun- try of the Iroquois, in 1673 or 1674. Indeed, we are told the route from the Lakes by that great river had been ex- plored in 1676 ; * and in Hennepins volume of 1698 is a short journal, professing to be that sent by La Salle to Count Frontenac, in 1683, which mentions the Maumee and Wa- bash as the most direct road from Canada to the Mississippi. And yet, though we hear of journeying by this way, there is no record of any attempt at a settlement above the mouth of the Ohio before 1750. ~ In thus running over the progress of things in Illinois, we have far outrun all dates and times, and must turn hack and make known to our readers the doings of the successor of La Salle in the attempt to find the mouth of the Mississippi, Monsieur iDIberville. This officer, who from 1694 to 1697 distinguished him- self not a little by battles and conquests among the icebergs of the Baye dUdson or Hudsons Bay, j having, in the year last named, returned to France, proposed to the minis- ter to try, what had been given up since La Salles sad fate, the discovery and settlement of Louisiana by sea. The Count of Pontchartrain, who was then at the head of marine affairs, was led to take an interest in the proposition; and, upon the 17th of October, 1698, IDlberville took his leave of France, handsomely equipped for his expedition, and with two good ships to forward him in his attempt. Of this ID iberville we have no very clear notion, except that he was a man of judgment, self-possession, and prompt action. Gabriel Marest presents him to us in the Baye dUdson, * Hist. Gin. des Voyages, Vol. XIV. p. 758. The details of this subject may be presented by us in another paper. ~ .JVew France, Vol. ill. pp. 215, 299.Le~res Ed~fiantes, Vol. X. p. 280. .JVew France, Vol. III. p. 377. 1839.] ./ldventures of DIberville. 101 his ships crowded and almost crushed by the ice, and his brother, a young, bright boy of nineteen, his favorite broth- er, just killed by a chance shot from the English fort which they were besieging ; and there the commander stands on the icy deck, the cold October wind singing in the shrouds, and his dead brother waiting till their lives are se- cured before he can receive Christian burial, there he stands, moved exceedingly, says the missionary, but giving his orders with a calm face, full tone, and clear mind. He put his trust on God, says Father Gabriel, and God consoled him from that day; the same tide brought both his vessels out of danger, and bore them to the s ot where they were wanted.* Such was the man who, upon the 31st of January, 1699, let go his anchor in the Bay of Mobile. Having looked about him at this spot, he went thence to seek the great river called by the savages, says Charlevoix, Malbouchia, and by the Spaniards, Ia Palissade, from the great number of trees about its mouth. Searching carefully, upon the 2d of March our commander found and entered the Hidden River, whose mouth had been so long and unsuccessfully sought. As soon as this was done, one of the vessels returned to France to carry thither the news of IDIbervilles success, while he turned his prow up the Father of Waters. Slowly ascending the vast stream, he found himself puzzled by the lit- tle resemblance which it bore to that described by Tonti and by Hennepin. So great were the discrepances, that he had begun to doubt if he were not upon the wrong river, when an Indian chief sent to him Tontis letter to La Salle, on which, through fourteen years, those wild men had been looking with wonder and awe. Assured by this that he had indeed reached the desired spot, and wearied probably by his tedious sail thus far, he returned to the Bay of Biloxi, between the Mississippi and the Mobile waters, built a fort in that neigh- bourhood, and, having manned it in a suitable manner, returned to France himself. f While he was gone, in the month of September, 1699, the lieutenant of his fort, M. De Bienville, went round to explore the mouths of the Mississippi, and take soundings. Engaged in this business, he had rowed up the main entrance * Lellns Ed~flantes, Vol. X. p.300. ~ .JVew France, Vol. III. p. 380, et seq. 102 Early French Travellers in the West. [Jan. some twenty-five leagues, when, unexpectedly and to his no little chagrin, a British corvette came in sight, a vessel carry- ing twelve cannon, slowly creeping up the swift current. M. Bienville, nothing daunted, though he had hut his leads and lines to do hattie with, spoke up, and said, that, if this vessel did not leave the river without delay, he had force enough at hand to make her repeat it. All which had its effect ; the Britons about ship and stood to sea again, growling as they went, and saying, that they had discovered that country fifty years before, that they had a better right to it tl~an the French, and would soon make them know it. This was the first meeting of those rival nations in the Mississippi Valley, which, from that day, was a bone of contention between them till the conclusion of the old French war. Nor did the matter rest long with this visit from the corvette. Englishmen be- gan to creep over the mountains from Carolina, and, trading with the Chicachas, or Chickasaws of our day, stirred them up to acts of enmity against the French. When iDIherville came back from France, in January, 1700, and heard of these things, he determined to take pos- session of the country anew, and to build a fort upon the banks of the Mississippi itself. So, with due form, the vast valley of the West was again sworn in to Louis, as the whole continent through to the South Sea had been previously sworn in by the English to the Charleses and Jameses ; and, what was more effectual, a little fort was built, and four pieces of cannon placed therein. But even this was not much to the purpose ; for it soon disappeared, and the marshes about the mouth of the Great River were again, as they had ever been, and long must be, uninhabited by men. And now we must turn aside for a time, and let our read- ers know something of these English claims and attempts. King Charles the First, in the fifth year of his reign (1630), granted unto Sir Robert Heath, his attorney-general, a patent of all that part of America, which lies between thirty-one and thirty-six degrees north latitude, from sea to sea. Eight years afterwards, Sir Robert conveyed this very handsome property to Lord Maltravers, who was soon, by his fathers death, Earl of Arundel. From him, by we know not what course of conveyance, this grant, which formed the Province of Carolana (not Carolina), came into the hands of Dr. Daniel Coxe, who was, in the opinion of the attorney- 1839.1 English Claims to the .7llississippi Valley. 103 general of England, true owner of that Province in the year of Dlbervilles discovery, 1699.* In support of the English claim, thus originating, we are told by Dr. Coxe, that, from the year 1654 to the year 1664, one Colonel Wood in Virginia, inhabiting at the Falls of James River, above a hundred miles west of Chesapeake Bay, dis- covered at several times, several branches of the great ii vers, Ohio and Meschasebe. Nay, the Doctor affirms, that he had himself possessed, in past days, the Journal of a Mr. Needharn, who was in the Colonels employ, which Journal, he adds, is now in the hands of, & c. The Doctor also states, that about the year 1676, he had in his keeping a Journal, written by some one who had gone from the mouth of the Mississippi, up as far as the Yellow or Muddy River, otherwise called Missouri ; and he says, this Journal, in al- most every particular, was confirmed by the late travels. And still further, Dr. Coxe assures us, that; in 1678, a consid- erable number of persons went from New England upon dis- covery, and proceeded so far as New Mexico, one hundred and fifty leagues beyond the river Meschasebe, and, at their return, rendered an account to the government at Boston, for the truth of all which he calls Governor Dudley, who was still living, as witness. Nor had he been idle himself; ap- prehending that the planting of this country would be highly beneficial, he tried to reach it first from Carolina, then from Pensilvania, by the Susquehannah river, and many of his people travelled to New Mexico. He had also made discoveries through the great river Ochequiton, or, as we call it, Alabama; and more to the northwest, beyond the river Meschasebe, had found a very great sea of fresh water, several thousand miles in circumference, whence a river ran into the South Sea, about the latitude of forty-four degrees, and through this, he adds, we are assured the English have since entered that great lake. These various statements are, it must be owned, some- what startling ; but, leaving them undisturbed for the pres- ent, we can see clearly the bearing of what follows, namely, that the Doctor, in 1698, fitted out two vessels, well armed and manned, one of which (when, we hear not) entered 11 Description of the English Province of carolana, & c. by Daniel Coxe, Esquire. London, 1722. pp. 113 et seq. 104 Early French Travellers in the West. [Jan. the Mississippi and ascended it above one hundred miles, and then returned, wherefore, is not specially stated. This was, doubtless, the corvette which M. Bienville turned out of what he considered French domains ; as Charle- voix tells us, that the vessel, which Bienville met, was one of two which left England in 1698, armed with thirty-six guns, the same number which Daniel Coxe, the Doctors son, tells us, were borne by his fathers vessels. The Eng- lish, having thus found their way to the Meschasebe, wished to prosecute the matter, and it was proposed to make there a settlement of the French Huguenots, who had fled to Caro- lina; but the death of Lord Lonsdale, the chief forwarder of the scheme, put an end to that plan, and we do not learn from Coxe, whose work appeared in 1722, that any further attempts were made by England, whose wars and woes nearer home kept her frilly employed. And now, what are we to say to those bold statements by Coxe ; statements contained in his memorial to the King in 1699, and such as could hardly, one would think, be tales a Ia Hontan? Colonel Woods adventures are recorded by no other writer, so far as we have read; for, though Hutch- ins, who was geographer to the United States when the western lands were first surveyed, refers to Wood, and also to one Captain Bolt, who crossed the Alleghanies in 1670, his remarks are very vague, and he gives us no one to look to, as knowing the circumstances. Of the Boston expedition we know still less; the story is repeated from Coxe by vari- ous pamphlet writers of those days, when Laws scheme had waked up England to a very decided interest in the West; but all examinations of contemporary writers, and the town records, have as yet failed to lend a single fact in support of this part of the Doctors tale. But what makes us suspect the whole, is his account of discoveries to the northwest which were never made, and which account, in all probability, was taken direct from the au- thor of the Long River. XVe must own, therefore, that we are disposed to doubt all Dr. Coxes statement relative to Eng- lish travellers upon the Mississippi, and to think that he was guided and spurred on, in his undertaking of 1698, by the two spurious narratives of Hennepin and Tonti, published in 1697. Resuming our sketch of French endeavours, we have next 1839.] .fldventures of Le Sueur and Crozat. 105 to record the project of our friend DIberville to found a city among the Natchez, ~vhich nation he visited in 1700, a city to be named, in honor of the Countess of Pontchartrain, Rosa- lie. Indeed, lie did pretend to lay the corner-stone of such a place, though i~ was iot till 1714 that the fort called Rosa- lie was founded, where the city of Natchez is standing at this day. Having thus built a fort at the mouth of the Great River, and begun a settlement upon a choice spot above, iDIberville once more sought Europe, having, l)CfOre he left, ordered M. Le Sneur to go up the Mississippi in search of a copper mine, which that personage had previously got a clue to, Ilj)Oi) a branch of the St. Peters river ; which order was fulfilled, and much metal obtained, though at the cost of great suffering. Mining was always a Jack-a-hantermm with the first settlers of America, and oni French friends were no wiser thami their neighbours. The products of the soil were, in- deed, scarce thought valuable on a large scale, it being sup- posed that the wealth of Louisiana comisisted in its pearl- fishery, its mines, amid the wool of its wild cattle.t Iii 1701 tIme commander caine again, and began a new establishment upou the river Maubile, one which superseded that at Biloxi, which thins far had been the chief fort in that southern colony. After this things went on but slowly until 1708 ; iDIberville died on one of his voyages between time mother country amid her sickly daughter, and after his death little was done. In 170S, however, M. DArtagnette came from France as com- missary of Louisiana, and, being a man of spirit and energy, did more for it than had been done before. But it still lin- gered; and, under the imnpression that a private man of prop- erty might do more for it than the government could, the King, upon the 14th of September, 1712, granted to Crozat, a man of great wealth, the monopoly of Louisiana for fifteen years, and the absolute ownership of whatever mines he might cause to be opened. Crozat relied mainly upon two things for success in his speculation; the one, the discovery of mines; time other, a lucrative trade xvithm New Mexico. In regard to the first, * (3harlevoix, Vol. IV. pp. 162, 164. In Longs Second Ezpeditio~m, p. 318, may be seen a detailed account of Le Sueurs proceedings, taken from a. manuscript statement of them. Charlevoix, Vol. III. p. 389. VOL. XLVIII.]No. 102. 14 106 Early French Travellers in the West. [Jan. after many years labor, he was entirely disappointed ; and met with no better success in his attempt to open a trade with the Spaniards, although he sent to them both by sea and land. His agent in the land enterprise was the Sicur Juchereau, probably the same that tried with Mermet to colonize and convert the Mascoutens. He, with great labor and hazard, found his way to the Viceroy of Mexico, who dwelt in the city of that name ; but, no sooner had he presented himself to the Spanish grandee, than he was seized and cast into prison, where he lay three months. At length, some French officers, who were in the Spanish service, prevailed upon the Viceroy to let him come into free air again ; and, as he was thrown into the company of that personage, the Spaniards heart was touched by the noble and honest character of the Sieur Juchereau, and he took him kindly by the hand, and made him eat at his own table. As they thus came closer in contact, the Spaniard ever found the more to love and admire in his prisoner. He began to try to persuade him to leave the French service, and remain where he was; and the French officers added their persuasions. It was no slight temptation to a man like the Sieur Juchereau, without property or pros- pect; but he was a true man, and declined all offers. Well, said the Spaniard, when all other argument failed, are you not already half Spanish ? Do you not love a Spanish maiden at Fort St. Jean ? Will not the hope of gaining her hand win you over ? I cannot deny, answered the gal- lant Frenchman, that I love the damsel, though I have no hope of winning her. But you shall win her, said the Viceroy. Hearken! for two months you may think of my offer; then join us, and you shall be wedded to the lady of your love, and made an officer in our ranks. The two months slowly pass; and now how is it with our Sicur Juche- rean ? I cannot desert my king, is his constant answer. The Viceroy, more touched than ever, gives him his liberty; places in his hands a purse with a thousand piastres in it, to defray, he said, his wedding expenses, for he still hoped Doi~a Maria would persuade him ; and, with a firm and melancholy face, the Frenchman turns northward. A few days travel brings him to the Fort St. Jean, where he finds Don Pedro de Velascas, the father of the damsel, plunged in grief, because certain of the Indian tribes within 1839.] ./Idventures of Juchereau and Crozat. 107 his jurisdiction had determined to remove elsewhere, which he knew ~ould call down upon him the anger of his superiors, and probably cost him his life. Juchereau, hearing how things stood, offered his services, to go to the savages, and try to persuade them to stay. But they will kill you ! cries the astonished Don Pedro. I have no fear, replies the Sieur ; and on the morrow, with his friend Jallot, a sur- geon, he mounts and seeks the red men, who had already left their old homes. On their swift horses, the fearless French- men make rapid progress, and soon overtake the moving mulLitude ; and, with his white handkerchief held aloft as a flag of friendship, the Sieur asks a conference with the chiefs. Long skilled in Indian ways, and, above all, true as the sun, he soon persuades the wild men that they are acting unwisely; he appeals to their love of their old homes ; paints the dan- gers of the course they are taking ; and guaranties them good treatment, if they will hut go back. The chiefs consult, hesi- tate, listen, and consult again; and the next day, Don Pedro, looking anxiously abroad, sees the two Europeans return with all the Indians at their back. And now was IDofla Maria won indeed; not by battle, but by peace-making ; and soon the little Spanish frontier town was all astir to celebrate the nuptials of the fair daughter of its governor, and her true Christian knight.* But, happy as the Sieur Juchereaus mission had been for himself, it had done nothing for his employers; for the Vice- roys last words had been, I can allow no trade between Mexico and Louisiana. Crozat, therefore, being disap- pointed in his mines and his trade, and having, withal, man- aged so badly as to diminish the colony, at last, in 1717, re- signed his privileges to the King again. Then was formed Laws famous West India Company, who sent out settlers in 1717 and 1718, in one of which years New Orleans was laid out.t This company was to have had a monopoly of the commerce of the Mississippi for twenty-five years; but, at the end of fourteen, they were very glad to resign to the King in their turn. During these years, the history of Louisiana is mostly a detail of quarrels with Spaniards, English, Choctaws, and Natchez; all which we have not room to write here, * Charlevoix, Vol. IV. p. 170. Charlevoix, Vol. IV. p. 196, says, 1717; Du Pratz says, 1718 108 Early French Travellers in the W~st. [Jan. even if we had the inclination. It may be found in the work of Du Pratz, who was an eminent man in the colony, from 1718 to 1734, or in the pages of Charlevoix. Passing by the battles and conspiracies of these times, and of the next nineteen years, we leave our imperfect sketch at the middle of the century, as then began a new era, the struggle of the French and British for the region beyond the Alleghanies. In 1749, there were no other French settlements in the XXTest, than those upon the Illinois, already referred to ; that at New Orleans, including its various dependences, where, according to Vivier, were twelve hundred persons ; and some small posts among the Arkansas and Alihamons. In closing, we cannot but express a hope, that sonic of our Historical Societies will reprint from Thevenot the original French Journal of Marquette, from the Paris edition of 1683 (if it can be had) ; Hennepin~s Louisiana; Joutels Journal, (from the French if it can be found, if not, from the English) ; the most interesting of the Letires Edifiantes relating to the West; and any other valuable original accounts now extant ; together with lithographic fac-simuiles of the map of 1656 ; of that of 1660, in Du Creuxs work on Canada (Hist. Canadensis, a P. F. Creuxio ; Paris, 1664) ; of Mar- quettes; of Hennepins, of 1683; of Joutels; of Coxes, and Charlevoixs. We would also suggest the appointment of committees to examine and report upon works of doubtful authenticity, such as Hennepins .N~ew Discovery, Tontis Journal, and La Hontans .dccount of the Long River; thus placing, in an accessible and permanent form, what, in our pages, must soon pass out of view, even supposing our re- searches and hints to be of value to the historical reader. 1839.) .Nautical Discovery in the .7~1orthwest. 109 ART. III. Coleccior& de los Viages y Descubrimientos, que hicieron por .liJiar los .EspaI~oles desde jines de Siglo XV., con varies Documentos in~ditos concernientes ts la Iii storia de la .Mictrina Castellana y de los Establecirnientos Es- pa~oles en Indias, coordinada ~ ilustrada por Don MARTIN FERNANDEZ DE NAVARRETE, Caballero de la Orden de San Juan, & c. Tom. I. VI. Madrid. 18251837. Svo. WE rejoice to perceive, that, notwithstanding the disas- trous civil war raging in Spain, this great national work is still carried on by its learned author, and we earnestly hope it may not fail of con1pletion.* The fifth and sixth volumes relate to Spanish voyages in the Pacific, ending with that of Loaysa. We avail ourselves of the occasion to do justice to the character of Spain, in a matter deeply important to ~he United States. There is no European government, which, in its relations with other civilized powers, either in Europe or America, is so loud in its professions of disinterestedness and moderation, as that of Great Britain. For twenty years, it persevered in a war of strenuous hostility against Napoleon, because he was a conqueror, and therefore dangerous to the peace and liberty of nations. Even if Napoleon carried his arms into Egypt, and away from the territory and states of Europe, still England relentlessly pursued him thither. Nay, when France had run her race, and had been thoroughly beaten and humbled by the coalesced arms of all Europe; when she had ceased to be an object of dread or suspicion to surrounding powers; and when, a~ such a period, she pro- ceeded to inflict punishment, well deserved and too long de- layed, on the piratical state of Algiers, and that insignificant country fell into her power by the just right of war ; Great Britain undertook to demand of her that she should abstain from holding it, made it cause of sober diplomatic remon- strance, and indulged at home in the most extravagant com- plaints against her, because she had presumed to make a single petty conquest in Africa. And, whenever Russia has happened to engage in ~var with Turkey, or any of the lesser * For notices of the first two volumes, see sVortlm I)mericau Review, Vol. XXIII. pp. 484 et seq., Vol. XXIV. pp. 265 et seq.

1839.) .Nautical Discovery in the .7~1orthwest. 109 ART. III. Coleccior& de los Viages y Descubrimientos, que hicieron por .liJiar los .EspaI~oles desde jines de Siglo XV., con varies Documentos in~ditos concernientes ts la Iii storia de la .Mictrina Castellana y de los Establecirnientos Es- pa~oles en Indias, coordinada ~ ilustrada por Don MARTIN FERNANDEZ DE NAVARRETE, Caballero de la Orden de San Juan, & c. Tom. I. VI. Madrid. 18251837. Svo. WE rejoice to perceive, that, notwithstanding the disas- trous civil war raging in Spain, this great national work is still carried on by its learned author, and we earnestly hope it may not fail of con1pletion.* The fifth and sixth volumes relate to Spanish voyages in the Pacific, ending with that of Loaysa. We avail ourselves of the occasion to do justice to the character of Spain, in a matter deeply important to ~he United States. There is no European government, which, in its relations with other civilized powers, either in Europe or America, is so loud in its professions of disinterestedness and moderation, as that of Great Britain. For twenty years, it persevered in a war of strenuous hostility against Napoleon, because he was a conqueror, and therefore dangerous to the peace and liberty of nations. Even if Napoleon carried his arms into Egypt, and away from the territory and states of Europe, still England relentlessly pursued him thither. Nay, when France had run her race, and had been thoroughly beaten and humbled by the coalesced arms of all Europe; when she had ceased to be an object of dread or suspicion to surrounding powers; and when, a~ such a period, she pro- ceeded to inflict punishment, well deserved and too long de- layed, on the piratical state of Algiers, and that insignificant country fell into her power by the just right of war ; Great Britain undertook to demand of her that she should abstain from holding it, made it cause of sober diplomatic remon- strance, and indulged at home in the most extravagant com- plaints against her, because she had presumed to make a single petty conquest in Africa. And, whenever Russia has happened to engage in ~var with Turkey, or any of the lesser * For notices of the first two volumes, see sVortlm I)mericau Review, Vol. XXIII. pp. 484 et seq., Vol. XXIV. pp. 265 et seq. 110 .Nautical Discovery in the .7Vorthwest. [Jan. states around the Black Sea, the English press and the Eng- lish Parliament have been thrown into a perfect ecstasy of horror at the ambitious and encroaching spirit, which (they allege) animates the councils of the Czar. Meanwhile, in the midst of all these professions, what has been the actual conduct of Great Britain ? That government has, for more than half a century, pursued a career of con- quest by force of arms, on a scale of magnificence unparal- leled in the history of modern nations, and scarcely surpassed by the Roman Republic. To be satisfied of this, and with- out reckoning the colonial establishments she has formed in the new continent of Australia, and xvhich she has scattered all over the globe in other countries considered barbarous, like the coasts of Africa and America, and the islands of the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic seas, without reckoning these, which alone constitute a vast empire in extent and resources, to he satisfied of the ambitious career of Great Britain, we have only to advert to the fact, that, within the one hun- dred years last past, she has got possession of Malta and the lonian Islands in Europe, of the Cape of Good Hope, covering a great part of Southern Africa, and of numerous kingdoms and nations in Asia, containing a population of about one hundred and thirty million inhabitants. That is to say, during the period assumed, she has made conquests at the average rate of a million and a half of souls per annum; all these conquests, moreover, having been mere money- getting speculations of trade. We do not complain of this. We only state the fact. Whether it be right and just for Great Britain, or any other power, to subjugate half the world by unprovoked war whether it be consistent and honorable to be for ever preach- ing abstinence, and liberality, and beneficence, and good faith in Europe, and to be for ever practising the reverse of all this in Asia; are questions we leave to the unbiassed judgment of mankind. We do not discuss them here. Nor, though Great Britain should proceed to consummate the enterprise, which it is said she has just now entered upon, of invading and dismembering Persia ; though she should make her way into China, as she did into India, by asking space of land for a trading factory, and taking a great empire to supply it, by pretending commerce, and pursuing conquest; and though, by the same combination of proved and confessed fraud and force, by which she has gained one hundred and 1839.] British Encroachments in america. 111 thirty million subjects in the latter, she should gain other one hundred and thirty millions in the former ; even then, we do not know that the United States have any lawful ground of umbrage at the continued march of her dominion. But we have good cause to complain,it is our right and our duty, when the same system of universal aggrandizement is carried by her into the affairs of North America. The mischief is then brought home to our own doors, and it behoves us to look to it. We make these remarks in no unfriendly spirit towards Great Britain, but simply for the sake of our own national rights, in the defence of which we mean that this Journal shall continue to speak out plainly and fearlessly, as it always has done ; believing that nothing is gained to the cause of peace by the timid suppression of the truth. During the whole time which has elapsed since the restor- ation of peaceful and (to both parties) beneficial relations between Great Britain and this country, that government has been insensibly and quietly obtaining the wrongful possession of extensive portions of the United States, namely, a part of the State of Maine, and the wide territory of Oregon. We do not propose, at the present time, to enter into a discussion of our rights in this matter. We have done this already in pre- vious volumes; and, in regard to one of the questions at least, the northeastern boundary, in very ample detail. More- over, the recent discussions in Congress of the latter question, and the unanimous resolutions of both Houses, affirming the rights of the United States, have rendered it the less neces- sary. And, in regard to the other, the northwestern boun- dary, our object at present is, not to go over that either, but only to investigate a single one of the important points involved in it, and that rather an incidental point. This great question, also, has recently been called up in Congress, and our readers may rest assured, that it will not be suffered to go to sleep there. Our title, it is sufficient for the purpose now to observe, is founded partly on our rights by discovery, exploration, and possession. But we have other sources of title, and, more especially, the right under the Florida Treaty ; by which, in consideration (among other things) of our cession to Spain of our pretensions west of the River Sabine, Spain ceded to us all her pretensions north of the forty-second parallel of latitude. We propose 112 .JVhutical Discovery in the .Northwest. [Jan. to show that, independently of our own intrinsic rights, and so far as discovery or exploration could confer rights on any other power, that power was Spain, to the exclusion of Great Britain. It has been the polic) of Great Britain to depreciate the rights of Spain in this respect. That was natural, and in the ordinary course of things, for the government to do. But the injustice of the government of Great Britain towards that of Spain, in this thing, has entered into and poisoned the literature of Great Britain. Her geographers have exten- sively pursued the system of suppressing the names given to capes, rivers, and inlets, on the northwestern coast of Amer- ica, by early Spanish navigators, and substituting the names given to the same localities by later English navigators; so that the maps convey the false iml)lication of prior discovery on the part of the latter nation. Nor is this all. There is, in many of the English books of geography, a practice of dwelling at much length on the English voyages, and either touching slightly, or wholly omitting, those performed nuder the authority of Spain. XVe have a most notable instance of this now before us, in a popular work, entitled Narrative of Discovery and Adven- ture in the Polar Seas and Regions, by Professor Leslie, Professor Jameson, and Hugh Murray, Esquii~e, of Edinburgh; names which ought to be a warranty for the truth, and the whole truth. 7J7 his hook, the historical part of which was written by Mr. Murray, contains the following paragraph Spain, which had made the discovery of America, and from that success derived so much glory and wealth, might have been expected to take a peculiar interest in every thing connected with i1~s farther exploration. The fact, however, appears to be, that, revelling among the rich plains and glitter- ing treasures of Mexico and Peru, she felt little attraction to- wards the bleak confines of the northern pole. Only one very early voyage is mentioned, that, namely, by Gomez, with a view of discovering a shorter passage to the Molucas. He is said to have brought home a few of the natives ; but no record is preserved, either of the events which attended his enterprise, or even of the coast on which he arrived. There remains of it, as has been observed, only a jest, and one so indifferent as not to be worth repeating. The chief exertions of Spain for a passage, were made from Mexico along the northwest coast of America; but these we do not propose to include in the pres- ent narrative. 1839.1 Unfairness of English Geographers. 113 Is it just, in a book purporting to give a general account of discovery in the northwestern seas of America, thus to slur over the voyages of other nations ? Is it consistent with common honesty 7 The chief exertions of Spain were made from Mexico along the northwest coast of America but these we do not propose to include in the present narra- tive. And why not ? The next sentence tells. Brit- ain, it says, now took up this train of discovery, and made it almost exclusively her own. What? have Russia and Spain done nothing to explore the northwest coast ? France nothing ? The United States nothing ? It would seem so, according to this hook; for Russia, important as her north- western voyages have been, is treated by Mr. Murray still more cavalierly than Spain. To be sure, the Preface apolo- gizes for the omission to give an account of the expeditions performed by land or in boats, to ascertain the northern boundaries of America and Asia ; but this explanation can- not apply to the great nautical explorations of Russia and Spain. Well might this copartnership of authors say of the Spanish voyagers from Mexico, These we do not propose to include in the present narrative ; for, if they had been included, they would have proved, that instead of Britain having made it almost exclusively her own, Spain and Russia had done as much at least in this respect as Great Britain. But then xvhat shall we say to the solemn and circumstan- tial statement, that Spain furnishes only one very early voyage (that of Gomez) to the northern seas ? Was this ignorance? It must have been. Yet, as authentic accounts existed, and those very curious and interesting ones, of several early Span- ish voyages, the total ignorance exhibited in this particular, is not less remarkable than the bad faith betrayed in the other. And this is history, the history of American affairs, by British writers ! There is another popular modern work, the History of Maritime and Inland Discovery, in Lard- ners Cabinet Cyclop~edia, wherein we shall have occa- sion, by and by, to si0nalize the same kind of suppression in regard to the enterprises of other nations, while every English expedition of the least note, national, commercial, or pirati- cal, is described with edifying particularity. They are no unapt examples of the political tendency of that modern VOL. XLITIII.NO. 102. 15 114 .Nautical Discovery in the JVorthtvest. [Jan. English literature, which constitutes the chief reading of the people of the United States. In addition to the great mistake, or misrepresentation, per- vading the passage cited, which will appear from the narrative we shall presently give, it contains others, of less importance, but of the same complexion. The first sentence implies a volume of untruth, namely, that Spain took no particular interest in the general explora- tion of America. The reverse is the fact. All our most familiar histories, as the writings of Robertson, Irving, and Southey, abound with details of the extraordinary daring, perseverance, and disregard of hardship and personal suffer- ing, with which the Spaniards pursued the exploration of the coasts, mountains, rivers, and interior wilds of the entire continent of South America, in the period immediately fol- lowing its discovery. These incidents are now incorporated in the popular literature of all Europe; and not to know them, argues a singular ignorance of American history and geogra- phy. Nor, in later times, has the government of Spain been neglectful of such objects. The treasures of the Dep6sito llidrogr~iico, at Madrid, as we ourselves know from personal examination, may well compare with what even modern France or England has done of this kind; and quite put to shame the as yet imperfect efforts of the United States in the same line. It is true, Spain did not, in the middle period of her empire over the New World, make ostentation of the voyages or journeys of exploration in South America, un- dertaken by her people. The accounts of many of these re- mained unpublished in the archives of the government. The reason of this is obvious. The piratical expeditions of other European powers, and especially of England, against the settlements in the Spanish colonies, expeditions in all respects resembling the ravages of the old Panes and Nor- mans along the coasts of Holland, England, and France, these enterprises, in connexion with the contraband trade of the same nations, and their continual attempts to wrest from Spain her colonies by force, compelled her to adopt a policy of reserve and partial concealment, in regard to her possessions in America. But there is an end of all this, since the separation of those colonies from the mother country and Professor Leslie and his associates could have known this, if they had sought the knowledge in the proper quarter. 1839.] Voyages of the Cabots and Gornez. 115 As to North America, the case is still stronger. We re- serve the Pacific side of it for detailed explanation ; and it will then be seen, whether the glittering treasures of Mexico and Peru xvithdrew the attention of Spain from the hleak confincs of the northern pole. But neither did Spain neglect the Atlantic side of North America. To say nothing of minor expeditions into the interior of the United States, it is sufficient to indicate the remarkable one of Her- nando de Soto, who spent several years at the head of an army, exploring the whole of the vast region now occupied by the Southern States.* Spain, however, could not supply men to colonize the entire New World at once ; in the progress of events, the northeastern parts of it fell into the hands of England and France ; and of course these two na- tions were more naturally impelled to explore the coasts of their own possessions. But Spain had her share in the ear- lier discoveries. Forster even suggests whether the Biscay- ans, in common with the Bretons, had not visited Newfound- land prior to the voyage of Columbus. j But Navarrete, with his accustomed candor, after careful inquiry into this point, comes to the conclusion, that such is not the fact and that the resort of the Biscayans to the Grand Bank, dates only from the voyage of Esteban Gomez. ~ England has the honor of projecting and conducting the voyages, in which the Cabots discovered and explored the northeastern coast of America. Their discoveries imme- diately attracted the notice of Spain; and Navarrete sup- poses that the enterprise contemplated by Juan Dorvelos, under the protection of the Catholic Kings, in 1500, had for its object to follow the track of the Cabots. Certain it is, that a contract was made by Ferdinand with Juan de Agramonte, a Catalan, in the year 1511, for a voyage of discovery to Newfoundland ; though what came of this is unknown.IJ But the expedition of Esteban Gomez, also undertaken by the government, and for the express object of discovering a northwest passage to the Pacific, in 1525, is described by Herrera and Gomara; and, as he explored the entire Atlantic coast of North America, it hardly de * Garcilaso de la Vega, Florida. Northern Voyages, Book III. chap. iii. and v. ~ Viages, Tom. III. p. 176. Ibid. Tom. Ill. p. 41. Ibid. Torn. III. p. 42. 116 .Aautical Discovery in the .Northwest. [Jan. serves to be summarily dismissed, in the manner Purchas treats it, and after him Professor Leslie and his associates, as memorable only for a jest. Purchas tells the story in these words Of Stephen Gomez little is left but a jeast. This Gomez having been with Magellan, a few years before, in his dis- coverie of the South Sea, enlarged with hopes of new straits, in the yeare 15~i5 set forth to search this northerly passage. But finding nothing to his expectation, he laded his shippe with slaves, and returned. At his returne, one that knew his intent was for the Moluccas by that way, enquiring what he had brought home, was told esciavos, that is, slaves. He, forestalled with his owne imagination, had thought it was clavos, and so posted to the court to carrie first newes of this specie discoverie, looking for a great reward. But the truth being knowne caused hereat great laughter. Pilgrims, 6G20. But we must hasten to our main object. The conquerors of Mexico were very far from being disposed to revel aniong its rich plains, to the neglect of the northwestern region of America. On the contrary, their expeditions by sea and land in that direction were numerous ; and the Great Con- queror himself set the example by undertaking several of the earliest of these at his oxvn charge, and conducting one of them in person. The Emperor had exhorted him to ex- plore the northern seas in search of the secrete of a strait, which should abridge the voyage from Spain to the East Indies. Unquiet and ambitious in temper, and dis- gusted with the spectacle of inferior persons administering the rich realms xvhich his courage and skill had conquered, Cortes willingly engaged in the new enterprise of extending the Spanish power into other and (as yet) unexplored re- gions, and perhaps of solving the long-studied problem of a direct passage by the north to Cathay. He fitted out, first, Diego Hurtado de Mendoza; then, Diego de Becerra and Hernando de Grijalva.* In one of these voyages, Cortes, through Hernando de Grijalva, his lieutenant, discovered California, in 1534. In another, Cortes himself, and in de- fiance of infinite hardships, and obstacles without number, explored the Gulf of California.t Returning in safety, after Gomara, Con. de Alex., fol. 116; Herrera, Hist. de las md., Dec. IV. and V. Gomara, fol. 117. 1839.] Enterprises of Cortes. 117 the general belief in Mexico that he had perished, he con- tinued the progress of discovery,* by fitting out Francisco de Ulina in the same direction. These voyages, of which the common books, such as Herrera and Robertson, give an account, were munificently carried on by Cortes, at an ex- pense of two hundred thousand ducats, out of his own private property. The discoveries thus made would alone have sufficed to immortalize any meaner man than Cortes ; but the fame of them is comparatively lost in the splendor of his other great achievements. He thus led the way to the eventual settlement of California by the Spaniards, and to subsequent voyages of discovery along the northwestern coast of America. At this period, the northwestern expeditions of the Mexi- can Spaniards began to be animated by very peculiar induce- ments. We have already seen, that they hoped to find a northern passage to connect the two oceans. In addition to which, a travelling monk, Fray Marcos de Nizza, had pro- pagated the idea, that to the north of California, there was a magnificent city called Cibola, of great population, and equal in riches and civilization to Mexico. The particulars of Nizzas story are contained in Ramusio t and in llakluyt4 Humboldt conjectures, that these fables may bave had rela- tion to the extensive ruins of an old Aztec city, existing on the banks of the river Gila, in Sonora. Associated with, or succeeding to, this story of the wonders of Cibola, there was another, which combined the two ideas, of a northwestern passage, and of a great city upon its waters. It is briefly related by Torquemada, as follows; His Majesty (Philip the Third) found among certain other papers the information, which certain foreigners had given to his father, in which are told some notable things, which they had seen in that land (the northwest coast), driven thither by stress of weather, in a vessel from the coast of Labrador, which is by Newfoundland; giving account therein of how they had passed from the North to the South Sea, by the Strait of Anian, which is beyond Cape Mendocino; and that they had seen a populous and rich city, well fortified and walled, and very rich in people, politic and court-like, and well-treated ; and other * Herrera, Dec. VII. t Vol. III. p. 366. t Torn. HI. p 356. P1ouv. Esp., Tom. I. pp. 287, 310. 118 .Nautical Discovery in the .Aorthwest. [Jan. things, worthy to be known and seen. For these and many other causes, he commanded the Conde de Monte-Rey, Vice- Roy of New Spain, that the said discovery should be made with all care and despatch, at the Kings charge. Monarq. Ifld., Lib. V. c. 45. Torquemada then proceeds to describe at length the irn- portant expedition of Sebastian Vizcaino, hereafter referred to, and afterwards adds There is reason to suppose, that this river (speaking of the river of Martin de Aguilar, hereafter described) is that which leads to a great city, discovered by some Hollanders, driven out of their course ; and that this is the Strait of Anian, by which the vessel, which discovered it, penetrated and passed from the North Sea to the South Sea ; and that, undoubtedly, in this region or vicinity is the said city, called of Quivira ; and of this situation or place it is of which treats the relation which his Majesty read ; by which he was moved, and induced to command, that with much care this discovery should be made, and sure advice given him of the whole.Mouarq. md., Lib. V. c. 55. There occurs considerable difference of opinion in the books, as to the true origin and signification of the expression Strait of .flniart. It is used, all agree, to designate a north- western passage, real or supposed, from the Atlantic to the Pa- cific. But who was the first to use or apply the name? iDid it originate in mere fable and misconception, like the idea of the cities of Cibola and Quivira? Or was it in the outset the name of Behrings Strait, whose place it occupied in the maps for a century or two ? Or that of Hudsons Bay? These points are involved in some obscurity. Humboldt says, it was the appellation given to the opening now called Hudsons Bay, after the name of one of two brothers, who embarked in Gaspar de Cortereals Portuguese expedition to Labrador, in 1500.* The London Quarterly Review, on the other hand, conceives, that when Gaspar de Cortereal entered Hudsons Bay, he supposed it to be the continuation of an opening on the Pacific side of North America, already known as the Strait of Anian. t And this is the more probable view of the subject, because, in the old charts of the sixteenth cen- tury, .grtian is a country at the northwestern angle of North America. 4 Whatever the fact as to that matter, the other * Nouv. Esp. Vol. I. p. 330. t Burneys Voyages, Vol. 1. p. 5. Quarterly Review, No. XVI. p. 154. 1839.1 ~1nian, Paitaiti, and El Dorado. 119 point is certain, that this expression came to denote the long talked-of direct route from Europe to China, which it was the anxious ohject of the Mexican Spaniards to discover. Nor was this all. In Peru, the opinion prevailed for many years, that, in the heart of South America, between Peru and Brazil, there was a rich and powerful empire, called Pai- taiti, to which the Incas retired with immense treasures, after their overthrow by Pizarro and his companions. Among the old Spaniards, Juan de Salinas and Pedro de Ursua distin- guished themselves in the search after this new empire of the Incas ; and it was the ohject ef the expedition of Benito de ilihera y Quiroga, so late as the reign of Charles the Second (of Spain). 1 his gentleman, says one author (Feijoo), after squandering a great estate, and toiling three years, re- turned, bringing with him a thing much more precious than the gold he sought, though less esteemed in the world, to wit, el desengaito. North of the fahulous Paitaiti, was the equally fabulous land of El iDorado, which Father Acosta speaks of, in 1590, as if there were no douht of its existence.* The schemes and adventures of the gallant and misused Sir Walter Raleigh have rendered the name of this imaginary country a proverb for such delusions. South of Paitaiti again, there was a third of these regions of abounding wealth, with house- tiles and plough-shares of solid gold, called the city of the C~sars. And superstitions of precisely the same kind were current in Mexico, with regard to the interior regions of North America. The belief was, that after the victories of Cortes had prostrated the Mexican empire, Tatarrax, a brave prince of the royal family of Montezuma, retired from the ruins of his country, with a proud band of followers, who disdained to bow the neck to foreign conquerors ; that they carried with them the treasures of Montezuma ; and that they founded a new and flourishing em pire on the Lake Teguayo, by the name of Quivira, or, as the Spaniards usually call it, La gram Quivira. t And there was the more of plausibility in this story, inasmuch as the monarch race in Mexico, the Aztecs, were declared by themselves, and universally he- lieved, to have descended on the plains of Anahuac, from the far northwestern parts of America. j And to the old Span- iards, who had fallen as it were by chance upon the opulent * Hist. [Vat. Lib. II. c. 6. t Feijoo, Teat. Grit. Tom. IV. Disc. 10,s. 12 15. ~ Comppzoni, Toni. VI. 120 .Nhutical Discovery in the .Yorthwest. [Jan. states of Peru, Bogota, and Mexico, when they reflected on the immense extent of those interior parts of the New World of which they knew so little, there seemed nothing improba- ble in the idea of other communities as populous and as rich as those they had already discovered and conquered. It was an age of marvels to any but them ; and the events, in which they had figured, were so extraordinary, that there had ceased to be a fixed standard of the credible either in discovery or in achievement. All that was most improbable in fact, or most romantic in fiction, had become the sober trnth of their own personal exj)erience. After Hernan Cortes, or Fran- cisco Pizarro, or Gonzalo de Quesada, at the head of a hand- ful of adventurers, had subdued great empires, and amassed vast treasures of pillage, what might not be dreamed of the unexplored regions of that New World, which the genius of Columbus had made known? It might be said of them, as the common saying is of the people of La Mancha, that the most exhilarating wine was the water of their daily intellectual life. Hence the boldness and the unshrinking resoluteness of their expeditions of discovery and conquest. Hence, also, the chimerical nature of some of their undertakings; there being exhibited in the pursuit of Ponce de Leons fountain of Bimini, pouring forth its waters of immortality, or in the exploration of the lost empires of Paitaiti and Quivira, the same intoxicated ardor, which had transferred to Spain the sceptres of Montezuma and of Manco-Capac. These illusory expectations of the Spaniards, in regard to the great cities of Cibola and Quivira, were dispelled in time, by ample exploration of New Mexico and California. With what indefatigable perseverance the Spaniards pursued these enterprises, an opinion may be formed from the fact, that, in 1537, Alvar Nuiiez Cabeza de Vaca made his appearance on the coast of Caliacan, in the Gulf of California, with two of his companions, remnants of the expedition of Pamfilo de Narvaez, having landed in Florida, and forced their way across the whole breadth of the continent through such im- mense waters, woods, and deserts, and so many savage tribes of Indians. Nor was the government idle in this matter. lEmulous of the efforts of Cortes, his successor, the Viceroy Antonio de Mendoza, fitted out several expeditions by sea and land, the memory of which still remains in the name of Cape Mendo- cino, derived from him. In 1540, he sent Hernando de 1839.] Voyages of Cabrillo and Gali. 121 Alarcon by sea, and Francisco Vasquez de Coronado by land, in search of Marcos de Nizzas great city of Cibola, and three realms of Marata, Aacus, and Tontoteac.* In this expedition, Coronado found abundance of privations and perils, which he bravely struggled through; t but he ascertained conclusively by his researches, that the twenty thousand high- terraced stone houses of Cibola, with its white inhahitants, well clothed in cotton garments, and dressed furs, richly orna- mented with emeralds and turquoises, and their gems circulat- ing as money, existed only in the imagination of Friar Nizza4 Without pausing any longer on the Spanish land expedi- tions in California and New Mexico, we proceed to their voyages along the coast; among which, next after the surveys of Cortes, those of Cabrillo and Gali are the most important in the order of time. Juan Rodriguez de Cabrillo explored the outer coast of California, as far as 370 10 N. with great care. He died on the island of San Bernardo, in 1543; but his pilot, Bar- tolom~ Ferrelo, continued his discoveries on the coast to Cape Blanco, in 430 N. Burney is of opinion, that Ca- brillo gave its name to Cape Mendocino.lI Spain having, some time before this, formed settlements in the Philippine Islands, there naturally grew up a direct inter- course between Manila and Acapulco. In sailing from Ma- cao to Acapulco, in 1582, Francisco Gali visited the north- west coast as high up as 570 30, his description of that region being of manifest veracity and accuracy. At least, such is the representation of Humboldt and of Navarrete ; ** though Burney makes some citations from a Dutch author, Linschoten, which lead him to the conclusion, that Gali went no farther than 370 ~ N.tt We pass over the mere hearsay accounts of the supposed discoveries of the Spaniard, Andres de Urdaneta, in 1554, and of his countryman Juan Fernandez de Ladrillero, in 1574; both which are described, but not admitted as genuine, by Navarrete44 The same of Martin Chack, the Portuguese, spoken of by Purchas. We add, that the evidence concern- * Ilerrera, Dec. VI.; Gomara, f. 116; Ramuajo, Tom. III. I Torquemada. t Venegas, Cal. Pt. II. Herrera, Dec. VII. Voyages, i. 2~4. ~T .JVous. Esp. Lib. III. ** Viage de la Sutil, mt. It Voyages, Vol. V. p. 164. t* Viage de la Subtil, mt. pp. 38, and 43. Vol. III. bk. 4. VOL. XLVIII.NO. 102. 16 122 .Nautical Discovery in the JVorthwest. [Jan. ing these persons is fairly stated by Burney ; who, indeed, in contrast with the compilers referred to by us in other parts of this article, seems disposed to do all justice to the early Span- ish navigators. * Next come accounts of txvo voyages, which some have considered apocryphal, but one at least of which, if not both, we incline to rely upon as authentic. Nicolas Antonio, a Spanish author of great credit, in his Bibliotheca Ilispana,t says, that he had seen in the bands of the Bishop of Segovia, who was a member of the Council of the Indies, the manuscript narrative of a voyage, being the relation of the discovery of the Strait of .ilnian, in 1588, by a Spaniard of the name of Ferrer Maldonado. That there was in that period a skilful navigator and geographer of that name, is abundantly authenticated by various evidence. A general belief in such a voyage seems to have obtained among the Spaniards; for, in 1789, it was particularly referred to as one of the inducements of Malaspinas expedition, here- after described; at which time Maldonados journal existed in the library of the .IDuque del Infantado, who furnished a copy of it to Malaspina. In 1812, Amoretti, an Italian scholar, published a manuscript, found by him among the manuscripts of the Ambrosian Library at Milan, of which he was librarian, purporting to he Maldonados account of his voyage. The London Quarterly Review, after a very criti- cal discussion of the question, comes to the conclusion, from internal proofs, that the manuscript, which Amoretti found and published, was a fabrication of some old writer. We will not quarrel with this conclusion ; the rather, since the Review also pronounces, that, though the particular manu- script was false, yet substantially such a voyage did actually take place4 That is to say, we have the best of English authority for the belief, that, so early as 1588, in addition to Gali, the Spanish navigator Maldonado had proceeded north to what is now called Behrings Strait. There is no doubt, that many other vessels visited the coast in the same way, whilst bound from Manila and Macao to Aca- pulco. One of these, we know, the San Agustin, entered the bay of San Francisco in 1595, and was there wrecked. We have good English authority for believing another im- portant fact, and that is, the truth of the alleged discovery of I Tom. It. p. 2. Torquemada, Lib. V. c. 55. * Voyages, Vol. II. 4 Quarterly Review, Vol. XVI. 1839.] 123 Voyage of Juan de Fuca. the Strait of Juan de Fuca, in 1599, by a Greek pilot of that name, in the service of Spain. The only printed account of this voyage is contained in Purchas, who gives it, as he received it, from Mr. Michael Lok, English consul at Aleppo. It being important and cu- rious, we extract the chief part of it, as follows. A note made by me, Michael Lok the elder, touching the Strait of Sea, commonly called Fretum .flnian, in the South Sea, through the North-west passage of Meta incognita. When I was at Venice, in April, 1596, happily arriued there an old man, about threescore yeares of age, called commonly Juan de Fuca, but named properly Apostolos Valerianos, of Nation a Greeke, borne in the Iland Cefalonia, of profession a Mariner; and an ancient Pilot of Shippes. This man being come lately out of Spaine, arriued first at Ligorno, and went thence to Florence in Italie, where he found one John iDowglas, an Englishman, a famous Mariner, ready comming for Venice, to be Pilot of a Venetian Ship, named Ragasona for England, in whose company they came both together to Venice. And John Dowglas being well acquainted with me before, he gaue me knowledge of this Oreeke Pilot, and brought him to my speech and in long talke and conference betweene vs, in pres- ence of John Dowglas this Greeke Pilot declared, in the Ital- ian and Spanish languages, thus much in effect as followeth. First he said, that he had bin in the XVest Indies of Spume by the space of fortie yeers, and had sailed to and from many places thereof; as Mariner and Pilot, in the seruice of the Spaniards. Also he said, that he was in the Spanish Shippe, which in returning from the Ilands, Philippinas and China, towards Noua Spania, was robbed and taken at the Cape California, by Captaine Candish, Englishman, whereby he lost sixtie thousand Duckets of his owne goods. Also he said, that he was Pilot of three small Ships, which the Vizeroy of Mexico sent from Mexico, armed with one hun- dred men, Souldiers, vnder a Captain, Spaniards, to discouer the Straits of Anian, along the coast of the South-Sea, and to fortifie in that Strait, to resist the passage and proceedings of the English Nation, which were feared to passe through those Straits into the South Sea. And that by reason of a mutinie which happened among the Souldiers, for the Sodomie of their Captaine, that voyage was ouerthrowne, and the Ships return- ed backe from California coast to Noua Spania, without any effect of thing done in that Voyage. And that after their re- turne, the Captaine was at Mexico punished by iustice. Also he said, that shortly after the said Voyage was so ill 124 .Nautical Discovery in the ,JVort/uvest. [Jan. ended, the said Viceroy of Mexico, sent him out againe Anno 1592, with a small Carauela, and a Pinnace, armed with Mari- ners onely, to follow the said Voyage, for discouery of the same Straits of Anian, and the passage thereof, into the Sea which they call the North Sea, which is our North-west Sea. And that he followed his course in that Voyage West and North-west in the South Sea, all alongst the coast of Noua Spania, and California, and the Indies, now called North Amer- ica (all which Voyage hee signified to me in a great Map, and a Sea-card of mine owne, which I Inied before him) vntill hee came to the Latitude of fortie seuen degrees, and that there finding that the Land treaded North and North-east, with a broad Inlet of Sea, betweene 47. and 48. degrees of Latitude bee entred thereinto, sayling therein more then twentie dayes, and found that Land trending still some time North-west and North-east, and North, and also East and South-eastward, and very much broader Sea then was at the said entrance, and that hee passed by diuers Ilands in that sayling. And that at the entrance of this said Strait, there is on the North-west coast thereof, a great Hedland or Iland, with an exceeding high Pi- riacle, or spired Rocke, like a piller thereupon. Also he said, that he went on Land in diuers places, and that he saw some people on Land, clad in Beasts skins: and that the Land is very fruitfull, and rich of gold, Siluer, Pearle, and other things, like Noua Spania. And also he said, that he being entred thus farre into the said Strait, and being come into the North Sea already, and finding the Sea wide enough enery where, and to be about thirtie or fortie leagues wide in the mouth of the Straits, where bee entred; bee thought he had now well discharged his of- fice, and done the thing which he was sent to doe: and that bee not being armed to resist the force of the Saluage people that might happen, bee therefore set sayle and returned home- wards againe towards Noua Spania, where bee arriued at Aca- pulco, Anno 1592. hoping to be re~varded greatly of the Vice- roy, for this seruice done in this said Voyage. Also he said, that after his comming to Mexico, bee was greatly welcommed by the Viceroy, and had great promises of great reward, but that hauing sued there two yeares time, and obtained nothing to his content, the Viceroy told him, that he should be rewarded in Spaine of the King himselfe very greatly, and willed him therefore to goe into Spaine, which Voyage bee did performe. Also he said, that when he was come into Spaine, he was greatly welcommed there at the Kings Court, in wordes after the Spanish manner, but after long time of suite there also, bee could not get any reward there neither to his content. And 1839.1 Voyage of Juan de Fuca. 125 that therefore at the length he stole away out of Spaine, and came into Italie, to goe home againe and hue among his owne Kindred and Countrimen, he being very old. Also he said, that hee thought the cause of his ill reward had of the Spaniards, to bee for that they did vnderstand very well, that the English Nation had now giuen ouer all their voyages for discouerie of the North-west passage, wherefore they need not feare them any more to come that way into the South Sea, and therefore they needed not his seruice therein any more. Also he said, that in regard of this ill reward had of the Spaniards, and vnderstanding of the noble minde of the Queene of England, and of her warres maintayned so valiantly against the Spaniards, and hoping that her Maiestie would doe him iustice for his goods lost by Captaine Candish, he would bee content to goe into England, and serue her Maiestie in that voyage for the discouerie perfectly of the North-west passage into the South Sea, and would put his life into her Maiesties hands to performe the same, if shee would furnish him with onely one ship of fortie tunnes burden and a Pinnasse, and that he would performe it in thirtie dayes time, from one end to the other of the Streights. And he willed me so to write into En- gland. And vpon this conference had twise with the said Greeke Pilot, I did write thereof accordingly into England vnto the right honourable the old Lord Treasurer Cecill, and to Sir Walter Raleigh, and to Master Richard Hakluyt that famous Cosmographer, certifying them hereof by my Letters. And in the behalfe of the said Greeke Pilot, I prayed them to disburse one hundred pounds of money, to bring him into England with my selfe, for that my owne purse would not stretch so wide at that time. And I had answere hereof by Letters of friends, that this action was very well liked, and greatly desired in En- gland to bee effected ; but the money was not readie, and therefore this action dyed at that time, though the said Greeke Pilot perchance liueth still this day at home in his owne Coun- trie in Cefalonia, towards the which place he went from me within a fortnight after this conference had at Venice.Pur- chass Pilgrims, Vol. iii. p. 849-- 851. This account was for a long time doubted, or discred- ited, owing to want of knowledge of the facts. But the researches of Gray, Meares, Vancouver, Malaspina, and others, having shown that there is a broad strait in the place indicated by Juan de Fuca, answering in all essential particu- lars to his description; and the description being so exact as to negative altogether the supposition of its having been fabri 126 .JVautical Discovery in the .JVorthtvest. [Jan. c~ted, or derived from any other source than actual observa- tion, the general sense of modern geographers has admitted the claim of the Greek pilot to the honor of the discovery of the Strait, and has bestowed upon it his name, which it now universally hears. To this effect is the valuable testimony of Vancouver,* of Burney,t of M. de Fleurieu 4 and of the Quarterly Review. And the Review suggests a remarkable confirmation of the story of the old Greek pilot. Juan de Fuca speaks of being plundered by an English cruiser, com- manded by one Cctndish; and Sir Thomas Cavendish (pro- nounced Candish) relates, that he found a Greek pilot in one of the Spanish ships, which he robbed in the Pacific. For the rest, though Loks narrative contains some errors or ex- aggerations, they are no greater than occur in many (perhaps most) of the old voyages, and are no impeachment of the general credibility of the story. Next to this comes the voyage of Sebastian Vizcaino, one of the most interesting and best conducted in the annals of navigation. Vizcaino was a man of great ability and experi- ence, and of considerable personal distinction. In 1594, he commanded an important expedition in California, the con- quest and settlement of which had been confided to his care. When the interests of the Manila commerce, which required a post of refuge in California, and the general desire to under- stand the nature of the shores of that country, caused the further exploration of the northxvest coast to be undertaken by Philip the Third, the Conde de Monterey being Viceroy of Mexico, as stated in the extract given by us from Torquemada, the Viceroy selected Vizcaino for this service. The fleet, of which he was captain-general, consisted of three large ves- sels, the San-Diego, Santo- Tomas, and Tres-Re yes, with picked crews of seamen, and soldiers, commanded by officers of merit and reputation, including Torribio Gomez, as admi- ral, and Geronymo Martin, as cosmographer. Of this expe- dition a very full and authentic account exists in numerous original documents, an abridgment of which is to be found in Torquemada. In addition to which, are thirty-two original maps of the countries explored by the expedition, drawn up by Enrico Martinez, and vouched by Humboldt, as surpassing all previous works of that kind in accuracy and skill of con- * Vol. I. p. 215. Vol. XVI. p. 159. t Vol. II. p. 110. t Voyage de Marchartd, mt. 1839.] Voyage of Vizcaino. 127 struction. The fleet set sail from Acapulco, the 2nd of May, 1602, and arrived there on its return, the 21st of March, 1603. Vizcaino, himself, proceeded north only so far as Cape S. Sebastian, in lat. 420, and north of Trinidad Bay. But one of his ships, the frigate Tres-Re yes, conducted by Antonio Flores, as pilot, and commanded by Martin de Aguilar, went on further, to lat. 430, and, on the 19th of January, 1603, reached the mouth of a deep river, often called in the books after the name of Aguilar, being the same which is now call- ed Rouge Clamet, or McLeods River. There is some reason to suppose this river may have been visited by Ca- brillo, in 1543. The discovery of it, unless made by Ca- brillo, unquestionably belongs to Martin de Aguilar. It was the ultimate point of Vizcainos expedition, which then re- turned to Acapulco. Owing to the prejudice of the English writers, and their neglect of the old Spanish literature, great injustice has been done by them to Vizcaino, a man of the highest merit, and to his lieutenant, Aguilar. For instance, Lardners History of Maritime Discovery, speaks thus Itis said, that one of Vizcainos captains in this expedition, named Martin de Aguilar, being separated from the squadron by the violence of the winds, succeeded in doubling Cape Mendocino, which, till then, had been only seen from a dis- tance. Thirty leagues further to the north, he discovered a second Cape, or Point, to which he gave the name of Cape Blanco. Beyond this, the coast declined to the eastward and here he discovered a broad and navigable inlet, which he supposed to be the mouth of a great river, leading to the cele- brated city called Quivira. Recent researches have found no traces of the celebrated city of Quivira ; and had Aguilar pre- tended to have himself seen it, the truth of his relation might be justly suspected. But the fictions, which pervade his ac- count, can be easily explained from the opinions of his age. Vol. ii. p. 221. Here is a strange tissue of mixed truth and error. It is said, that one of Vizcainos captains ! Why, It is said ? It is known. If the writer could not read Torquemada and the other Spanish authorities, there was Humboldts New Spain to satisfy him of the true state of the facts. Aguilar was not the first navigator who doubled Cape Mendocino. There are no fictions in his account. He (Aguilar) does not pre- tend or say any thing about the city of Quivira, or the Strait 128 .JVautical Discovery in the .JVorthwest. [Jan. of Anian. It is Torquemada, who, after giving an account of what Aguilar actually did see, proceeds to conjecture, that it may he the entrance of the Strait of Anian, with its city of Quivira. Then again, as to the coast declining to the east- ward, and the inlet, there is nothing of this in the ori- ginal account. Torquemadas words are; A diez y nueve de Enero, se hall6 el piloto Antonio Flo- res, que iba en Ia fragata, en altura de quarenta y tres grados, donde Ia tierra hace un cabo ~ punta, que se llam6 Cabo Blanco ; desde el qual comienza Ia costa ~t. correrse al Norueste (northwestward, not eastward) ; y junto ~. ~l se hall6 un rio muy caudaloso, y hondable, que por las orillas de ~l havia muy grandes fresnos, sauces, zarzas, y otros arboles de Castilla; y queriendo entrar por ~I, las corrientes no dieron lugar ~ ello. Not a word of an inlet is here, but a simple and true de- scription of the river, which is well known to exist at the de- signated point. Or, as the editor of Venegas remarks ; It is worthy of notice, that what these Spaniards found, or saw, was not an inlet, strait, or arm of the sea, but only a river. The residue, which is afterwards added, about the Strait of Anian, & c., it is obvious, is mere conjecture of Torquemada, without any foundation. * Thus much in justice to the memory of Sebastian Viz- caino and Martin de Aguilar. After their time, for a long series of years, the northwest coast was left unexplored by Spain ; for we do not rely on the story of De Fontes voy- age, in 1640, as authentic. And the reason of the cessation of the efforts of Spain is to be sought for, not in her neglect of navigation, but in the necessary change of her policy. She had ceased to desire the existence of a northwest pas- sage from Europe to the Pacific ; because, though such a passage might in some respects be useful to her, it would he greatly more injurious to her in other respects, inasmuch as it would bring down upon her possessions in the Pacific and Indian seas the piratical cruisers of the northern nations of Europe. If the reader will call to mind the feverish appre- hensions of Great Britain, at the present time, in regard to the practicability of access to Hindostan from Russia through Persia, the anxiety of Britain, not to discover, but to cover up, the possibility of such access, he will then com * Tom. III. p. 116. 1839.] Stpposiliiious Voyage of Dc Fonte. 129 prehend the policy, which actuated the Spanish government in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, in reference to a northern route from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and the ex- ploration of the northxvestern coast of America. Tl1e Span- iards did not wish to see the coast of Mexico swarming with English privateers, capturing their treasure-ships, and plun- dering their maritime towns and settlements. The expeditions of Drake and Cavendish had shown, that the circuit of Cape Horn did not furnish to Spain a complete security for her re- mote possessions in the Pacific. Still more alarming would have heen their insecurity, if accessible by a ready passage from Hudsons Bay. We have alluded to the supposititious voyage called De Fontes; and we proceed to give an account of it, hoth as a curiosity in itself, and hecause it contains some things of par- ticular interest. There was published in London, in 1708, an anonymous periodical work, entitled Monthly Miscellany, or Memoirs for the Curious. Two successive numbers of this publica- tion contained a piece bearing the following caption; A Letter from Admiral Bartholomew de Fonte, the Admi- ral of New Spain and Peru, and now Prince of Chili ; giving an Account of the most material Transactions in a Journal of his, from the Cab of Lima, in Peru, on his Discoveries to find out if there was any North West Passage from the Atlantic Ocean into the South and Tartarian Sea. This piece appeared in English, without any explanation as to the source from whence it was obtained, or any apology for this omission. It attracted much attention, however, all over Europe; and was translated into several languages. It is re- published in Burneys Voyages, (Vol. iii.) word for word, together with a brief notice of the controversy, as to its au- thenticity. Burney himself calls it a geographical meteor, and adds, that, notwithstanding the unauthenticated and un- ceremonious manner in which it was obtruded on the pub-. lic, it has found able defenders. Among these the most con- spicuous are MM. Joseph de lIsle, of the French Acade- my of Sciences, and Philippe Buache, who, in 1750, pre- sented to the Academy a translation of the letter, together with a map, exhibiting the supposed communication by water from Hudsons Bay to the Paciflc.* On the other hand, re * Hist. de lAcad. 1750, p. 152. voL. XLvIII.No. 102. 17 130 .JVctutical Discovery in the .Abrthwcst. [Jan. spectable Spanish authors, such as the editors of Father Venegass California, and of the Voyage of the Sutil and .ilVlexicana, affirm, that the puhlic repositories in Spain and the Indies have heen carefully searched, and that neither journal, copies of orders, nor any paper xvhatever relating to such a voyage, can he found.* Arguments hoth ways are founded, also, on the internal evidence of the document itself. Thus, to the ohjection that Dc Fonte is styled Prince of Chili, it is replied, that an ignorant translator of a Spanish manu- script might easily mistake the ahhreviation Pr. (President) for Prince. The exaggerations contained in it also go for nothing, as a mixture of the fabulous is very common in the most genuine of the old voyages. On the whole, Burney concludes thus; It may not be thought conceding too much to the letter from Admiral de Fonte to allow, (what indeed cannot be denied,) that at this time it is not determined, whether it is a rodomon- tade narrative of a real voyage, or an idle piece of invention, such as is attributed to Petiver. In either case, it has been an event of some celebrity in the history of geography. But De Fontes voyage does not stand on ground so creditable as does the voyage of De Fuca, of which it may be supposed an imitation. The Spaniards have been charged, for it merits not to be called an accusation, with not publishing all the discove- ries they have made in America and the Pacific Ocean. How- ever this matter may be argued, it is not possible to those who read the relations of Juan de Fuca and Bartholomew de Fonte, and compare them with the modern charts, not to imagine that Spain did obtain more acqnaintance with the northwest parts of America, than it was thought necessary by her to impart to the rest of the world. A circumstance which has served to gain some credence for this voyage, is, that Witsen, in his Nord en Oost Tar- tarye, speaks of a famous Portuguese seaman (vermnede Portuguesche zeeman), named De Fonta, who, in 1649, at the cost of the King of Spain, visited the Tierra del Fuego and the Staten Island, and examined every creek. This work of Witsens appeared in 1705, three years hefore the publication in the Monthly Miscellany. So that there seems to have heen such a person as De Fonte or De Fonta, dis- tinguished as a discoverer ; and this point, like that of Mal- Venegas, Cal. Torn. III. p. 352; Viage de la Sutil, & e. mt. p. 79. 1839.] Supposititious Voyage of De Fonte. 131 donados and T)e Fucas voyages, deserves to be more fully investigated by those who have leisure and opportunity (which we have not) for such investigations. The letter purports, that De Fonte sailed along the Pa- cific coast of America from Chili, by Peru and Mexico, into the .firclic sea, xx here he met a ship from Boston, commanded by a Captain Shapley. It is described as follows; cc]he 17th (July, 1640), we came to an Indian town, and the Indians told our interpreter, Mr. Parmentiers, that a little way from us lay a great ship where there had never been one before. We sailed to them, and found only one man advanced in years and a youth. The man was the greatest man in the mechanical parts of the mathematics I had ever met with. My second mate xvas an Englishman, an excellent seaman, as was my gunner, who had been taken prisoners at Campeachy, as well as the masters son. They told me the ship was of New England, from a toxvn called Boston. The owner and the whole ships company came on board the 3Otlj, and the naviga- tor of the ship, Captain Shapley, told me, his oxvner was a fine gentleman, and major-general of the largest colony in New England, called the Maltechusets. So I received him like a gei tleman, and told him, my commission was to make prize of any people seeking a northxvest or west passage into the South Sea ; but I would look upon them as merchants trading with the natives for beavers, otters, and other furs and skins ; and so for a small present of provisions I had no need of I gave him my diamond ring, which cost me twelve hundred pieces of eight (which the modest gentleman received with difficulty) and having given the brave navigator, Captain Shapley, for his fine charts and journals, one thousand pieces of eight, and the owner of the ship, Seimor Gibbons, a quarter cask of good Peruan wine, and the ten seamen each twenty pieces of eight, the 6th of August, with as much wind as we could fly before, and a current, we arrived at th& first fall of the river Parmen- tiers, & c. The letter goes on to relate IDe Fontes return to the Pa- cific, by the way he came. Without feeling any confidence in the genuineness of this letter, we yet think there is in it matter for investigation ; such as the fact, that it gives a Just account of the climate and the productions of the northwest, repeatedly speaking of the profusion of salmon in the rivers, which is really one of their most characteristic peculiarities. But we dwell upon the subject chiefly in the hope, that in- formation may be thereby elicited in regard to the early 122 .Nautical Discovery in the .Northwest. [Jan. voyages from New England, either to the region of Hudsons Bay, or to the northwest. Did any Massachusetts vessel, so early as the middle of the seventeenth century, find her way around Cape Horn to the northwest? Did any person named ~Shapley (or Shepley, or Shapleigh) make a commercial voy- age at that period to Hudsons Bay? Knowing, as we do, the hardihood and enterprise which have in all times distinguished the maritime population of New England, we should greatly rejoice to see some of their old adventures redeemed from oblivion. That they were familiar with the Labrador seas at a very early period, is perfectly notorious ; and of this a curious memorial exists, in one of the old voyages of discov- ery. For, at about the same period with De Fontes alleged voyage, M. de Groseiller was despatched from Quebec, for the purpose of discovery in Hudsons Bay; and, landing near Nelsons River, he found six persons in a wretched hut, half famished, part of the crew of a ship from Boston, which had been driven to sea by the ice, while they were on shore, and never retnrned.* Without relying, then, upon De Fontes Letter, and giv- ing away even the voyage of Maldonado, it will be perceived that we have authentic proofs, that Cabrillo (or Ferrelo) had explored to latitude 430 in 1543 ; that Gali was at 370 30, if not at 570 30, in 1582; that the San Agustin was at the Bay of San Francisco, in 1595 ; that Juan de Fuca entered the strait now bearing his name in 1599 ; and that, in 1602, Vizcaino (that is, Martin de Aguilar,) surveyed the coast of California, as far up as the river of Aguilar. Beside which, the outer coast of California was explored immediately after the conquest, by the orders of Cortes and of Mendoza, to Cape Mendocino, and was repeatedly visited by the Manila ships, to provide a port for which the expedition of Vizcaino was in part undertaken. And upon these various discoveries, and the proximity of their settlements in Mexico, the govern- ment of Spain proceeded, in the course of the seventeenth century, to make or authorize settlements in New California, so as to acquire all the territorial rights, by which any Euro- pean government ever has obtained original claim to sover- eignty of the soil in America. Yet Great Britain sets up claims to sovereignty on the * London Quarterly Review, Vol. XVI. p. 160. 1839.] Voyage of & r Francis Drake. 133 northwest coast, in virtue of the voyage of Sir Francis Drake, who landed in 1579, at some point on the coast of California, either in the Bay of San Francisco, or, more probably, in the port of Bodega, but it is not well settled which. Sir Francis Drake also approached the coast in 420 or 430 N., but with- out landing. One of the accounts of his voyage, indeed, (The World Encompassed,) says he went to 48~ N. ; but this is incompatible with other parts of the same book, and also with another of the old books (Famous Voyage, & c.). They tell the story thus On the 3d of June, Drake was in latitude 420 ; on the 5th, he made land in latitude 430 ; but it had then come on cold and tempestuous weather, and he was compelled to turn back, and so made a harbour in latitude 380 30. These are the figures given in the books. Although Sir Francis pretended to take possession of the country, and to call it Xew .frilbion, this could amount to nothing as against Spain, the prior discoverer. England, by touching at New California, could not acquire any rights whatever; for whatever right such an act may be deemed, by the European conventional law, to confer, had already been appropriated by Spain. And Spain also proceeded to do that, which England did not do, and which, by the same Eu- ropean conventional law, is deemed the consummation of the inchoate title gained by discovery, namely, the formation of settlements in the country discovered. To say nothing, therefore, of the absurdity of claiming title for England as against Spain, by the piraLical acts of a professional pirate, such as Sir Francis Drake, in most of his expeditions along the American coast, was, to say nothing of this, if Sir Francis Drake had been a peaceful, or at any rate a just explorer in behalf of England, yet, according even to the most liberal of all the rules of international law applicable to his case, his acts in reality conferred on his government no terri- torial rights whatever in America. But the operations of Sir Francis Drake in the Pacific, and those of Sir Thomas Cavendish in 1588, with others of the same spirit, changed, as we have already stated, the pol- icy of Spain, in regard to a northwest passage, and in regard to the public exploration of the northwestern coast of Amer- ica. We are at a loss to know what apology, unless it be the barbarism of the times, Great Britain can adduce, for the scandalous proceedings perpetrated in Spanish America, un 134 .JVautical Discovery in the .Aorthwest. [Jan. der her flag. Piracy is too tender a name for those brutal- ities. Drake referred his own acts to the inducement of per- sonal revenge, though the object was mere avarice. Whether Drake had any cause for personal resentment, is easy to judge by the facts. He began life as a slave-trader, under Hawkins. In searching for a market for his human cargoes, Hawkins stormed and took the town of Rio de la Hacha, simply because the Governor did not choose to trade ivith him. He proceeded to S. Juan de Ulua, conducting there like a kings fleet in time of war, rather than a private trader. At length, the Spaniards were obliged to repress by force the insolence of bucaniers, who began by stealing men in Africa, on speculation, and then assaulted towns in America, which would not buy their stolen men; and a fight ensued, in which some of Hawkinss vessels were destroyed ; and thus Drake, though he returned to England in safety, yet lost money by his half slave-trading, half-piratical voyage. This misadventure was his apology for taking up, and systemati- cally pursuing the business of piracy, plunder, and murder against the inhabitants of Spanish America, indiscriminately. Instead of raking up those old voyages as titles of territory or honor, England should desire to see the memory of them buried in everlasting oblivion. Least of all, should her wri- ters in modern times complain of the secrecy which the Spanish nation affected to preserve with respect to their dis- coveriesin the Pacific, or themselves add to the distortion of history, by purposely suppressing the knowledge of Span- ish discoveries, in order thereby to give undue prominence to those of England. Discovery in the North Pacific was revived, not by Eng- land, but by Russia, who, in consequence of her Asiatic possessions, very naturally turned her attention to the oppo- site coast of America. The voyages of Bebring, and Tschir- ikow, in 1728, 1729, and 1741, led to a more exact knowl- edge of the relative bearings of the Asiatic and American coasts in the high northern latitudes, and to the Russian es- tablishments on the Aleutian Islands, and the promontory of Alaska. These events alarmed Spain, and stimulated England; and the numerous voyages of those two nations to the northwest coast ensued. First of all, was the important voyage of Don Juan Perez. He set sail from the port of San Bias in Jan- 1839.] British, Spanish, and French Expeditions. 135 nary, 1774, in the corvette Santiaoo, with Es teban Jos~ Mar- tinez, for pilot, having orders to reconnoitre the coast from Monterey, to the 60th degree of north latitude. They an- chored in the road of Nootka, in August, 1774, first of all Europeans, and called it San Lorenzo. It was four years afterwards, that Cook visited the same place, and called it King Georges Sound)~ The year following, 1775, a second expedition sailed from San Bias, under the orders of Don Bruno Heceta, Don Juan de Ayala, and Don Juan de la Bodega y Quadra. The incidents of this voyage are known to Engiish readers by the journal of the pilot Maurelle, published in Barringtons Mis- cellanies. They explored the coast up to latitude 58~, and were the first to discover the mouth of the river Columbia, which they called Entrada de Heceta.f In 1776, another expedition from San Blas to the north- west was projected by the Spanish government, and in- trusted to Quadra and to Don Ignacio Arteaga ; but it did not set sail until 1779. Quadra, with his pilot Don Fran- cisco Maurelle, surveyed in this expedition the port of Bu- careli, as in their former voyage; also, Mount St. Elias, and the Isle of La Magdalena. (Hinchiubrook.) We find very slighting accounts of these voyages in the English books of abridgment, which so minutely describe that of Cook, who, on his third and last voyage, in 1778, explored the coast of America from Nootka Sound to Behrings Strait, but, being posterior to the Spanish naviga- tors, Perez, Heceta, and others of the older ones, could not by this voyage confer any rights of discovery on Great Brit- ain. Moreover, Cooks explorations, it will be remembered, were from Nootka Sound, northward, and do not touch the country of Oregon. Next comes the unfortunate French expedition of La P& . rouse, who, in 1786, was at Mount St. Elias, and sailed from thence to Monterey, but without making any novel discoveries of value, on that coast. Voyages to the northwest were now interrupted for a while, by the progress of the American Revolution, which involved Britain, France, and Spain, as well as the United States, in a common war. But immediately after the restoration of peace, Humboldt, JV.. Esp. Vol. 1. p. 331. I Humboldt, Vol. 1. p. 330. 136 .JVautical Discovery in the .7Vorthwest. [Jan. commerce turned its attention to the productive fur-trade of that region ; Great Britain and the United States became competitors with Russia for the supply of peltries in the markets of Asia ; and a great number of private merchant vessels began to frequent Nootka Sound and the neighbouring seas and islands. Among these commercial navigators, the Englishmen, Meares, Portlocke, and Dixon, and the Amer- ican, Robert Gray, distinguished themselves by their valu- able additions to the geographical knowledge of the coast especially, by entering and exploring the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and thus proving conclusively, that the story of the old pilot was a true one, and that the credit of the first dis- covery of that strait is due to Spain. We shall recur to Grays voyages in a subsequent para- graph, leaving them at present in order to continue the account of the Spanish ones, to show that Spain did not, by any neglect or abandonr1~ent, lose the rights, which she already possessed by prior discovery. In 1788, two Spanish vessels, commanded by Don Este- ban Martinez and Don Gonzalo Lopez de ilaro, sailed from San Bias to examine the Russian establishments in America and, in 1799, IMartinez proceeded with the same vessels for the purpose of making a settlement in Nootka Sound, and constructed the fort of San Miguel on one of the islands there. Two months after this, arrived the English ship .Irgonaut, fitted out by a new trading corporation in England, called King Georges Sound Company, which, in the grasping and rapacious spirit that has actuated the East India Company aud the Hudsons Bay Company, pretended to monopolize to itself the trade and territory of Nootka Sound. Martinez demanded by what right England under- took to do this. Colnet, the commander of the .Iflrgonaut, referred to Cooks voyage. Martinez very justly replied, that he himself, under Perez, had anticipated Cook, in the dis- covery of Nootka Sound, by four years ; a fact well remem- bered by the natives, who had a perfect recollection of Marti- nez personally, and of the expedition of Perez. At length, Martinez put an end to the dispute by arresting Colnet, and sending him to San Bias. At the same time, other vessels, commanded by Don Francisco Elisa and Don Salvador Fidalgo, were sent from Mexico to support Martinez. Fi- dalgo formed a second Spanish settlement or fort to the 1839.] Voyage of Vancouver. 137 southeast of Quadras Island, on the main land, at the en- trance of the Strait of Juan de Fuca, in latitude 480 20 N. This fact is important to be remembered. For we thus see, that Spain was the first European power that doubled Cape Mendocino and Cape Blanco, the first that visited the river of Aguilar, the first that discovered the inlet of Colum- bia River, the first that visited Nootka Sound, the first that discovered the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and the first that formed any establishment, on any part of the northwest coast, from California to the forty-ninth degree of north latitude. Hers is the prior title to that of England, both by discovery and by settlement. Meanwhile, the seizure of Colnet had excited a very lively sensation in Europe, and well-nigh involved Britain and Spain in a new war. This was the celebrated Nootka Sound con- troversy; a diplomatic question, into which we do not pro- pose to enter at present ; which controversy being disposed of by a convention between Great Britain and Spain, the de- sign, previously conceived by the British government, to have a more careful survey of the northwest coast, was re- sumed, and intrusted to Vancouver. His exertions were meritorious and valuable. Not, however, that he made any new discovery of national consequence, but that he followed up successfully those of others, and accurately reconnoitred an extensive region. This was done during the years 1792, 1793, and 1794. Of course, the English compilations give to Vancouver all the credit he deserves, and much that he does not deserve, and never claimed. The History of Discovery, already referred to, assigns to Vancouver, by implication, if not in express terms, the honor of first entering Columbia River.* And yet Vancouver himself, in his own narrative, states truly and candidly, with the frankness natural to a brave sailor, that he derived the knowledge of the existence of Columbia River from Captain Gray, who had previously visited it, and named it; and who spoke Vancouver, and communicated to him the fact! On the 29th of April, 1792, Vancouver says, that he spoke the ship Columbia of Boston, Captain Robert Gray; that Gray gave information of a river in 46~ 10; and he then proceeds to mention a previous voyage, that of the Washing- ton, in which Gray had entered the Strait of Juan de Fuca. ~ ~ Vol. III. pp. 138, 139. t Voyage, Vol. I. VOL. xLVLii. NO. 102. 18 138 .Nautical Discovery in the .Aorthwest. [Jan. Afterwards, when Vancouver sent Broughton, one of his offi- cers, to explore the River Columbia, he says, Broughton had for his guidance thus far up the inlet, a chart by Mr. Gray, who had commanded the American ship Columbia. * In the same place, he uses the name of Point .fldams, applied by Gray. Yet not a word of this in the History of Dis- covery~ The exact facts, derived from authentic documents, public and private, in our possession, are as follows In the year 1787, Joseph Barrell, a distinguished mer- chant of Boston, in the State of Massachusetts, projected a voyage of commerce and discovery to the northwest coast of America ; and Samuel Brown, Charles Bulfinch, John Derby, Crowell Hatch, and John M. Pintard, citizens of the United States, became associated with him in the enterprise. Two vessels, the ship Columbia, commanded by John Ken- drick, and the sloop Washington by Robert Gray, were equipped, and provided with suitable cargoes for traffic with the natives, and set sail from Boston in October, 1787. This expedition was regarded with much interest, it being the first attempt from the United States to circumnavigate the globe. The Columbia arrived at Nootka Sound the 16th of September, 1788, and the Washington soon afterwards. Here they proceeded to collect furs. While on the coast, Captain Gray, in the Washington, entered into, and sailed some way up the long-lost Strait of Juan de Fuca, which Martinez, in 1774, had seen, but not entered. Captain Gray was then transferred to the Columbia, and proceeded in her to Canton with the furs collected, and at Canton took in a cargo of teas for Boston, Captain Kendrick remaining on the coast in the Lady Washington. Thus far, the enterprise had not proved a gainful one to the parties, two of whom, Messrs. Derby and Pintard, disposed of their shares to Messrs. Bar- rell and Brown; who, with their remaining associates, de- cided, nevertheless, to despatch the Columbia once again, with Captain Gray, to the northwest coast. He accordingly proceeded thither, and, on the 7th of May, 1792, came in sight of land in latitude 460 58, and anchored in what he named Bulfinchs Harbour. On the 11th of May he entered a large river; and, on the 14th, sailed up the same about fourteen miles, and remained in the river until the 21st of May. To this river he gave the name of his ship, and the * Vol. II. p. 53. 1839.] Iiiscovery of the Columbia River. 139 north side of the entrance he called Cape Hancock, the south side, Point .fidams. This is the first entrance and explora- tion of the River Columbia; the inlet, or hay of which, how- ever, had been seen by Ayala and Heceta, and called by them Entrada de Heceta, as we have before stated ; and, so far as the discovery and exploration of this river from the sea can confer any claims of sovereignty, those claims, therefore, be- long to the United States, both in her own right and in right of Spain. And, although the voyage was unprofitable to its enterprising projectors, it was highly important to the United States, as well by giving rights of discovery, as because it opened the way to a most valuable and productive commerce, which was afterwards pursued by other citizens of the United States. Of these peculiar facts, more especially the discovery of the Columbia, we gain no distinct idea from the popular Eng- lish histories of maritime discovery. We cannot believe, that all their suppressions and amplifications are innocent or simple accidents, or allow, that they should be excused by the plea of national vainglory. This trait is further evinced, by the manner in which the same work just hints at the fact of the Spanish explorations, simultaneous with those of Vancouver, treating them as of no account, and mentioning no names, and then proceeding to say, after giving the history of Vancouvers voyage; No further knowledge was obtained of the northwest coast of America until 1816. We do not know whether this mode of treating the subject, by which the honor of the explorations of that period is thus almost exclusively assumed for Great Britain, is to be imputed to gross carelessness or wilful misrepresentation. At any rate, it is the reverse of truth; for the voyage of Malaspina in 1791, and that of Gali- ano and Valdes in 1792, may well compare in dignity and importance with those of Cook and Vancouver. Malaspina sailed from Cadiz in 1789, in the corvettes Descubierta and .1/trevida, and, having other objects, did not reach Acapulco on his way to the northwest, until February, 1791. He spent a part of that year in surveying the extreme northwest coast in search of the strait supposed to have been discovered by Loreazo Ferrer Maldonado, and in taking the heights of mountains, and the exact position of great points, as well to the north of and near to Nootka Sound, as on the coast of New Spain. 140 .A4autical Discovery in the .JVorthwest. [Jan. At the suggestion of Malaspina, the Conde de Revillagige- do, Viceroy of New Spain, despatched on another expedition the schooners Sutil and .Mejicana, commanded by Don Di- onisio Galiano and Don Cayetano Valdes, to make survey of the coast between Cape Mendocino and Nootka Sound, which, thus far, had been passed by, or only cursorily examined, by other navigators. Galiano and Valdes, like Malaspina, pos- sessed all the qualities of character and science required for this duty. In the course of this voyage, tbey completed the survey of the strait of Juan de Fuca, sailing all around the island of Quadra and Vancouver, meeting and having the most friendly intercourse with Vancouver on those seas. They also explored the River Columbia. The result of their labors was published in Spain in 1802,* with a learned intro- duction, ascribed to Navarrete. + There still remained another tract of coast, between lati- tudes 510 and 56~ N., not satisfactorily explored; and this was done in 1792, by Don Jacinto Caamai~io, in the frig- ate .flranzazu, under the orders of the Viceroy of New Spain. ~ In saying, also, that, except what Vancouver did, nothing further was discovered on the northwest coast, until Kotze- hues Russian voyage in 1816, the author of the History of Discovery~ overlooks other Russian voyages, more espe- cially that of Billings, terminated in 1794, and the progres- sive settlements of Russia north of 540, which Great Britain has recognised by treaty, as well as the United States. Our contemplated task is finished. We have hastily re- viewed the history of northwestern discovery, down to the close of the eighteenth century. What has happened subse- quently, and since the acquisition of Louisiana by the United States, belongs to another branch of the subject, which we may, perhaps, discuss at some future time. We close with two or three incidental remarks. In popular language, and also in the proceedings of Con- tress, the country belonging to the United States, west of the Rocky Mountains, is called OREGON, although the name of Columbia is now very generally applied to the great river by which that country is watered. And it is desirable to con- tinue to call the river by the name of Columbia, which pre * Viage de Las Goletas Sutil y .AIezicana. See Navarretes Coleccion de Viages, French Trans. Tom I. p. 393. Humboldt, N Esp. Tom. I. p. 343. Maltebrun. 1839.] Origin of the .Narne Oregon. 141 serves the memory of Grays discovery. But the name Columbia has other uses in the United States, and elsewhere in America, which render it inconvenient as the designation of the country, of which Oregon seems to he the fixed appel- lation. We wish that Mr. Worcester, or Mr. Bradford, or some scholar in the Western States, distinguished like those gentlemen for geographical science, would explain the origin of this word Oregon, which, so far as we know, is not satis- factorily settled. Mr. iDarby, in his Gazetteer, traces the name to the Spanish origcirto, for the sweet marjoram, growing on the banks of the river. But to this it is a serious objection, that the name Oregon does not seem, so far as we remember, to have been in use among the Spaniards. And as there are, and have been no settlers of that nation upon the river, how should their word for wild marjoram come to designate the river ? Humboldt speaks of le inot indien Origan.* Of what Indians is it the word? Not of those living on the Columbia. Humboldt also talks of the Or& . gan de Mackenzie. t But 1\Jackenzie did not introduce the word. We find it in Carvers Travels (1763), and that is the oldest authority for it which has met our eye. In one place, Carver speaks of the Oregan, or River of the West; in another, of The river Oregon, or River of the West, that falls into the Pacific Ocean at the Straits of .Jlnian. Did Carver derive all his knowledge of this river from the Indians of the Upper Mississippi, among whom he travelled ? And if so, is the name of their giving ? That is what seems most probable. For how else could he know any thing of it ? We have no reason to suppose the inlet of the river had been visited by Europeans prior to Hecetas voyage in 1774, or the mouth of the river itself before the time of Robert Gray, in 1792. Nor do we remember any account of the Rocky Mountains having been crossed by Eu- ropeans, and the Columbia seen by them in that direction, so long ago as the time of Carver. But there is nothing improb- able in the supposition, that the Indians of the Upper Missis- sippi and Missouri may have had early intercourse with the Indians beyond the Rocky Mountains, or even visited the Oregon in person, and given it some significant name of their own. Has the word Oregon a meaning in the language of any of those Indians? ~ Humboldt, p. 342. Ibid. 142 .Nautical Discovery in the JVorthwest. [Jan. The true test of the first application of the names of great natural objects, like rivers and mountains, is, to find a people in whose language the names are significant. The names of places thus come to be valuable historic monuments. Thus, in Britain, the Celtic, Roman, Saxon, Norman, and English words, which designate localities, all testify to the presence of the successive nations, which have occupied the island. Even the terminations of words do this. Cester (castra), is a Roman camp, stead or ham is of the Saxons. And we should very much like to see a table of the Indian proper names of the geography of the United States, with the true etymology of each, and a reference to the tribe in whose lan- guage it is a speaking word. Again. What led Carver to associate together the River Oregon, and the Strait of Anian? Had he read Torque- inadas account of the river of Aguilar? These are questions we would gladly see answered. Our doubts on the subject may arise from want of due investiga- tion on our part ; and, if so, rather than to remain ignorant, we choose, in this as in every other case, plainly to confess our ignorance. One thing more. The fact is now thoroughly established, that the Arctic Sea encompasses the northern extremity of America. The Hudsons Bay Company, for more than a century, was the great obstacle to the proper exploration of the arctic regions of North America. Or, in the pungent lan- guage of the Quarterly Reviexv, From the moment this body of Adventurers was instituted, the spirit of adventure died away; and every succeeding effort was palsied by the baneful influence of monopoly, of which the discovery of a northwest passage was deemed the forerunner of destruction. The Northwest Company, after competing awhile with the Hudsons Bay Company, drove the latter to a compromise; and the result has been the union of the two associations, un- der the corrupt charter of the latter, and the formation of a still more gigantic monopoly, which, like the East India Company in Asia, has gradually extended its odious and usurped do- minion over an immense region of North America ; con- stituting a dangerous nondescript foreign power, intruded among us under cover of the flag of Great Britain, which na- tion stands ready to avow or disavow its acts, as the tide of circumstances may turn. This Company, we say, which 1839.] Bowditchs Translation of the .]J/kcanique CUeste. 143 we desire at all proper times to hold up to the censure and watchfulness of the people of the United States, has in later times been shamed into occasional acts of exploration along the Arctic Sea. It professes to have finished that, which Parry, Ross, and Franklin had all but finished. Messrs. Dease and Simpson, of the Hudsons Bay Com- pany, have recently explored the little there was left of un- known betwixt the mouth of Mackenzies River and Beh- rings Strait. And we may now aver, There is a Strait of .flnian. That is to say, there is a water communication (though more or less obstructed by ice) from the Atlantic to the Pacific, along the arctic side of North America. That being the fact, it might be well, as a matter of historical curi- osity, to reconsider the stories of Maldonado, De Fonte, Ur- daneta, and Ladrillero, and to compare them with modern observation, so as to judge how far they may thus appear, any of them, to have been founded on actual discovery and knowledge, or to be pure fable. The result of this might be to restore merited honor to another Juan de Fuca. Any. IV. 1. Trait6 de Jlli6canique CUeste. Par P. 5. LAPLACE, Membre de lInstitut National de France et du Bureau des Longitudes. Tome Premier, Pp. 368, et Tome Second, pp. 382. An VII. 4to. 2. Trait~ de JVkcanique Ct~leste. Par P. 5. LAPLACE, Membre du S~nat Conservateur, de lInstitut National et du Bureau des Longitudes de France; des Soch~t~s Roy- ales de Londres et de Gottiugne, des Acad~mies des Sciences de Russie, de Danemark, dItalie, etc. Tome Troisi~rne. Paris, An XI. 1802. pp. 303. 3. Traiti de ~1Iibcanique Celeste. Par M. LAPLACE, Chancelier du St~nat Conservateur, Grand-Officer de Ia L~gion dHonneur, Membre de lInstitut et du Bureau des Longitudes de France; des Soci6t~s Royales de Londres et de Gottingue; des Acad~mies des Sciences de Russie, de IDanemark, dItalie, etc. Tome Qua- tri~me. An XJII.~1S05. pp. 347. 4. Trait6 de .M6canique CUeste. Par M. LE MARQUIS DE LAPLACE, Pair de France; Grand Croix de la L& gion dHonneur; lun des Quarante de lAcad~mie Fran-

1839.] Bowditchs Translation of the .]J/kcanique CUeste. 143 we desire at all proper times to hold up to the censure and watchfulness of the people of the United States, has in later times been shamed into occasional acts of exploration along the Arctic Sea. It professes to have finished that, which Parry, Ross, and Franklin had all but finished. Messrs. Dease and Simpson, of the Hudsons Bay Com- pany, have recently explored the little there was left of un- known betwixt the mouth of Mackenzies River and Beh- rings Strait. And we may now aver, There is a Strait of .flnian. That is to say, there is a water communication (though more or less obstructed by ice) from the Atlantic to the Pacific, along the arctic side of North America. That being the fact, it might be well, as a matter of historical curi- osity, to reconsider the stories of Maldonado, De Fonte, Ur- daneta, and Ladrillero, and to compare them with modern observation, so as to judge how far they may thus appear, any of them, to have been founded on actual discovery and knowledge, or to be pure fable. The result of this might be to restore merited honor to another Juan de Fuca. Any. IV. 1. Trait6 de Jlli6canique CUeste. Par P. 5. LAPLACE, Membre de lInstitut National de France et du Bureau des Longitudes. Tome Premier, Pp. 368, et Tome Second, pp. 382. An VII. 4to. 2. Trait~ de JVkcanique Ct~leste. Par P. 5. LAPLACE, Membre du S~nat Conservateur, de lInstitut National et du Bureau des Longitudes de France; des Soch~t~s Roy- ales de Londres et de Gottiugne, des Acad~mies des Sciences de Russie, de Danemark, dItalie, etc. Tome Troisi~rne. Paris, An XI. 1802. pp. 303. 3. Traiti de ~1Iibcanique Celeste. Par M. LAPLACE, Chancelier du St~nat Conservateur, Grand-Officer de Ia L~gion dHonneur, Membre de lInstitut et du Bureau des Longitudes de France; des Soci6t~s Royales de Londres et de Gottingue; des Acad~mies des Sciences de Russie, de IDanemark, dItalie, etc. Tome Qua- tri~me. An XJII.~1S05. pp. 347. 4. Trait6 de .M6canique CUeste. Par M. LE MARQUIS DE LAPLACE, Pair de France; Grand Croix de la L& gion dHonneur; lun des Quarante de lAcad~mie Fran- 144 Bowditchs Translation of the .i1i~canique C~leste. [Jan. ~aise; Membre du Bureau des Longitudes de France des Soci~tt~s Royales de Londres et de Gottingue; des Acadt~mies des Sciences de Russie, de Danernark, de Su~de, de Prusse, des Pays-Bas, dJtalie, de Boston, etc. ~fome Cinqui~me. 1825. pp. 419. 5. ~/J/I6canique C~leste. By the MARQUIS DL LA PLACE, Peer of France; Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor; Member of the French Academy; of the Academy of Sciences at Paris; of the Board of Longitude of France; of the Royal Societies of London and Gottingen ; of the Academies of Sciences of Russia, Denmark, Sweden, Prussia, Holland, and Italy ; Memher of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, & c. Translated, with a Commentary, by NATHANIEL BowDITCH, LL. D., Fel- low of the Royal Societies of London, Edinburgh, and Dublin ; of the Astronomical Society of London; of the Philosophical Society, held at Philadelphia; of the Ame- rican Academy of Arts and Sciences, etc. Volume I. 1829. pp. 746. Volume II. 1832. pp. 990. Vol- ume III. 1834. pp. 1017. Volume lY. pp. 1018. 6. ./1 Discourse on the Life and Character of the Hon. .7 Vat haniel Bowditch, LL. D., F. R. S., delivered in the Church on Church Green, .lllarch 25, 1838. By ALEXANDER YOUNG. Boston: Little & Brown. 8vo. pp. 120. 7. .~n Eulogy on the Life and Character of .7Vathaniel Bowditch, LL. D., F. R. S., delivered at the Request of the Corporation of the City of Salem, May 24, 1838. By DANIEL APPLETON WHITE. Salem: 8vo. pp. 72. 8. Eulogy on .Nathaniel Bowditch, LL. D., President of the ./lrnerican ./Icaderny of .7Irts and Sciences; includ- ing an ./lnalysis of his Scientific Publications. Delivered before the ~Icademy, May 29, 1838. By JOHN PICK- ERING, Corresponding Secretary of the .flcademy. Bos- ton : Little & Brown. Svo. pp. 101. COMPARED with the infinite variety and extent of physical phenomena, the domains of the science of quantity would, at first sight, seem confined to very narrow limits. But when we consider, that mathematics treat of all forms and motions; when we find the sweetest tones and the brightest colors, the lightning and the rainbow, heat and cold, and the very winds 1839.] Bowditchs Translation of the .liiThcanique CUeste. 145 and waves subject to the strictest laws of motion ; when, in short, we learn, that the whole world is bound together upon mechanical principles ; we must concede that the ocean, upon which the mathematician has launched his ship, is as un- bounded as the material universe. But, of all sciences, the one the best fitted for the application and advancement of ge- ometry is Astronomy; and the phenomena of the firmament, as developed by the geometer, are so glorious and so sub- lime, as to realize the fabled music of the spheres. Here, however, we must stop, and not trench upon the empire of fancy. It is for the man of science to calculate the harmony of the heavens with his slate and pencil, and he may not pre- sume to sing it with the harp of the hard ; it is not his to gaze, to admire and wonder, but to ohserve with care, to know and comprehend. As the sailor is not the poet of the sea, neither is the mathematician the poet of the sky ; but, like a rapid and impetuous torrent, the depth of his channel deprives him of the view of the fertile fields and splendid scenery, through which he is hurrying to his sole object, the sea of truth. Mournful is it to think, that national prejudices could ever intrude themselves into the council-chamber of philosophy. But so it is. Though France has, for many years, been the land of mathematicians, her eminence has not taught her mag- nanimity. Her neighbours, England, Germany, and Italy, have complained of her eagerness to appropriate their labors, and of her reluctance to acknowledge their merits ; and more than once has she cast shafts of envy even at the immortal legis- lator of the physical universe. The historian of astronomy, Delambre, of whom she is rightly proud, did indeed allow, that Newton stood alone, above all other astronomers, and called him cet homme unique; but, nevertheless, he dwelt much upon the exaggerated homage the English paid him, upon the steps which previous mathematicians had taken in an- ticipation of his discoveries, and upon the imperfections of the Principia. He says of the lunar theory, that he had been sometimes tempted to suspect, that some of the results were not derived, as they professed to be, from theory, but from the examination of observations; confessing, that he would not have ventured upon such an insinuation, if it had not been before made by Clairaut. He is for giving Bonilland the honor of discovering the law of gravitation, and Newton that VOL. XL1TILI.~NO. 102. 19 146 Bowditchs Translation of the .lVkcanique Cdeste. [Jan. of demonstrating it; and even this share of the glory Newton must divide with his good fortune. Because he had received from Kepler the laws of the planetary motions, and from Huygens those of motion in general; because an accurate measure of the earth had heen recently made ; and, more than all, because he had the analysis which he himself cre- ated; Delambre would conclude, with Lagrange, that, even if Newton were the greatest of mathematicians and natural phi- losophers, he was also the most fortunate. For, he says, a world to be explained, and materials ready for its expla- nation, are to he met with but once ; to meet with them was Newtons good fortune; he knew how to profit by it; there lies his glory. These conclusions, not unsupported by facts, but charac- terized by a tone of jealousy unworthy of the amiable and illustrious Lagrange, were repeated in the Syst~me du .1/Ionde; as if such good fortune were not always the lot of genius. Galileo found it in the almost accidental invention of the telescope ; Kepler, in the friendship of Tycho I3rahe, without whose observations he might never have left a wilder- ness of fanciful speculations, in which the present fashionable philosophy would have rioted, to reap his glorious harvest from the fruitful fields of inductive science; and Laplace himself found it in the ready assistance and co~iperation of the first observers and calculators of Europe. Nature, indeed, seems, when casting the lot of her great men, to load her dice with peculiar care ; and her favorite sons are ever born at the most fortunate epochs. But the author of the Optics, the Fluxions, and the Princi pia, was, in no respect, the genius of accident ; his thrice-won immortality towered far above his good fortune ; and the striking fact must not be forgotten, that precisely the same good fortune was that of his noble rival, Leibnitz, who had likewise created the very same analy- sis. But, far from knowing how to profit by it, as Newton had done, he even opposed the Principia and the law of grav- itation with all his might, was joined in his opposition by the first geometers of the age, and, in the words of Biot, it was half a century before the great truth, contained and de- monstrated in the Principia, was, I will not say, followed and developed, but before it was even comprehended by the ma- jority of the learned. The recent discovery of some old papers has led to singu 1839.] La Places Survey of JVewtons Labors. 147 Jar discussions regarding the reputation of Newton ; and some have pretended, that, because the observations were essential to the calculations of the lunar theory, the observer Flam- steed is entitled to a large share of Newtons glory. With equal justice the organ-blower might lay claim to the merit of the music of Mozart. The mere observer is only a higher order of mechanic ; his ilistoria Co~lestis displays only his untiring industry, and the acuteness of his senses; he is but the hand of astronomy, and may not wear the crown of glory fitted to the head, which combines his observations into an harmonious theory. But the private character of Newton has suffered more se- verely from these developements ; and the snails of literature have been most industrious in defacing the reputation once so bright and unsullied. However much their writings may please a world, but too eager to prune all men down to the same level, the generous mind will turn from them with dis- gust to Laplaces last labor, which, purporting to be a history of mathematical astronomy, is, in reality, the noblest and truest eulogy upon him who laid its foundations. The first division of this volume, treating of the Mathemat- ical Theory of the Earths Figure, begins with the fact, that Newton founded this theory; and concludes an accurate ac- count of Newtons labors upon it with the remark, that, not- withstanding several hypotheses, one of which is contrary to later observations, this step must be regarded as a prodi- gious one, considering the importance and novelty of the pro- positions established by its author, and the extreme difficulty of the subject. We must here give another remark of La- place, made upon the lunar theory, that these hypotheses may be allowed to inventors in such profound researches ; and we may add, that Newtons instinct in such hypotheses was almost unerring, was altogether unrivalled, and seemed to border upon the divine. In the book upon the Attraction of Spheres, and the Motions of Elastic Fluids, Newton is said to have been the first to consider the attraction of spherical bodies, and his theory of sound is pronounced to be a monu- ment of his genius. This theory had been objected to by Lagrange, in the Turin Miscellany, on account of the alleged unsoundness and paradoxical nature of its reason- ing; and his objections have been quoted and repeated by later mathematicians, among whom we blush to write the 148 Bowditchs Tra~s1ation of th~ .1I/Ucanique C~1este. [Jan. name of an Englishman, and so eminent a philosopher as the younger Herschel. These geometers seem never to have examined either the original theory, or the attack upon it; and must have been ignorant of the fact, that, with a magnanimity of which few are capable, Lagrange had, in the Memoirs of the Berlin Academy, retracted his objections, and admitted the principles of Newtons theory to he indisputably correct. The arguments against the theory, far from showing its inaccu- racy, were) indeed, the most conclusive demonstration of its generality, and only proved, that Newton needed not to limit it to a particular case, and should not have inferred this case to be the one of Nature, because it satisfied his theory. In his next book, upon the Oscillations of the Fluids which cover the Planets, La Place says, that Newton first gave the true theory of the ebb and flow of the sea, attaching it to his great principle of universal gravitation. Euler, the father of modern analysis, concluded the method of Newton to be en- tirely erroneous, and not even to have approached the truth; but Laplace points out the cause of the difference between the results of these two profound geometers, and shows that Newtons theory, instead of deserving Eulers reproaches, was most admirable for its ingenuity. In the chapter upon the Precession of the Equinoxes, the Newtonian solution of this most intricate of problems is care- fully analyzed, and proved to have hut one defect, which, though a radical one, is quite excusable in a first inventor, and would probably have been corrected, if Newtons other occupations had allowed him to pay a closer attention to the discoveries of the continental mathematicians.~~ The honor of discovering the law of gravitation, and thus laying the corner-stone of the celestial mechanics, is, in this volume, given most unreservedly to the author of the Prin- cipia,~ and without any of those qualifying remarks upon his good fortune, which had intruded themselves into the Sys- Uime du Jllonde. Newtons researches into the theory of the moon, which had met with so sad a reception from Clairaut and Delambre, are unhesitatingly pronounced, by Laplace, to he one of the most profound parts of his admirable work ; and a portion of them appeared to him so remarkable for ingenuity, that he de- voted a chapter to the task of translating this portion into the language of modern analysis. 1829.] Figure and Rotation of the Earth. 149 Such is a brief review of Laplaces notices of Newtons labors; and they show, that, in all the profound discussions of the ~iI12icauique C~leste, the first steps had been taken in the Principia. But La Place is not the only French philosopher who has risen above national prejudices, and cheerfully ac- knowledged all the greatness of Newton. Biot, also, calling the author of the Principia the creator of natural phi- losophy, regarded him, moreover, as having founded the principles of the Mechanics of Chemistry, by referring its combinations to atomic attractions and repulsions, and by taking the boldest, happiest, and most original views of the composition of bodies. The evil genius even of Newton gained, however, one victory over his good fortune, and deprived the world for ever of his more sublime speculations upon this vast subject. By an unlucky accident, the labor of years was burned to cinders, the mighty soul of Newton was agitated with an emotion, which his physical powers could not resist, and from which, it is doubtful if they ever recovered, and his dog Diamond achieved for himself a share in his masters immortality. Were it not for this accident, we cannot conjecture how high the monument of his genius would have aspired, and how many later discoveries he would have anticipated ; but enough remains to justify and command the homage of every man of science, whether Eng- lish or French, and to vindicate his epitaph, Congratulen- tur sibi mortales tale tantumque exstitisse humani generis decus. Although the fifth volume of the .Mecanique C6leste was published more than twenty years after the preceding ones, it is, from its historical character, the real preface to the whole work. It will be adopted as the text for the present article, and its division into subjects will be closely followed. Re- turning, then, to its first chapter upon The Figure and Rota- tion of the Earth, we will notice more particularly, the hy- potheses assumed by Newton, without demonstration, in order to evade the difficulties of the calculus. He supposed the earth to be an ellipsoid of revolution, and to be homo- geneous; and gravity to increase from the equator to the poles, in proportion to the square of the sine of the latitude. The first of these hypotheses is quite a natural one, since the ellipse is the most simple of ovals ; but the last, though neat in its form, could, by no means, have been obvious to the [50 Bowditchs Translation of the oM~icanique Cdeste. [Jan. original inquirer. Both of these have, however, been con- firmed by the successive demonstrations of (ilairaut, Maclau- rin, DAlemhert, Legendre, and La Place ; but La Place has proved, that the second hypothesis is inconsistent with known phenomena, and that the earth is not homogeneous. The researches upon this subject assume the earth to have attained its present form while in a fluid state, or at least while covered with a fluid, and are, therefore, hased upon the prin- ciples of hydrostatics. The general principle of the equilibrium of fluids was un- known to Newton, and he adopted an imperfect one, which was, however, xvhen combined with his hypotheses, sufficient for his purpose. He supposed a canal, consisting of two branches, to he drawn from the centre of the earth, the one branch to the pole and the other to the equator ; and inferred, that the pressures upon the bases of the hranches must be equal, because the fluid contained in the canal must he at rest of itself, independently of the surrounding fluid. lluygens, about the same time, introduced the condition, that the sur- face of the fluid must he upon a level, that is, must he per- pendicular to the direction of a falling body ; which was united by Bouguer with that of Newton. But the combina- tion was not sufficient for all cases ; and Maclaurin, general- izing the idea of Newton, was led to the great principle, that the pressures upon the bases of all the straight canals drawn from any point of the fluid to its surface must be equal. Clairauts more famous and more recent principle, which has been adopted by alm6st all mathematicians, that, if an oval canal he drawn, of any curve whatever, the fluid contained within it must be at rest, independently of the other parts of the fluid, may easily he shown to he but a slight and unim- portant generalization of that of Maclaurin ; but it deserves its reputation, since its author, by translating it into algebraical language, deduced from it the equations of the equilibrium of fluids; a discovery which, says Lagrange, has changed the face of hydrostatics, and made it a new science. These equations can, however, be deduced from the more funda- mental principle, which is almost identical with Maclaurins, that a fluid presses equally in every direction ; hut this prin- ciple itself has been traced by Lagrange back to its source, and it flows directly and necessarily from the definition of a fluid, that its particles move by each other xvith perfect facil- ity. That a fluid will be at rest when each particle is pressed 1839.] Figure and Rotation of the Earth. 151 equally in every direction is, however, too obvious a truth to have escaped the acuteness of antiquity. We find it involved in the proposition of Archimedes, that the less pressed par- ticles will force away those which are more so ; and when he adds, that the pressure upon a particle is equal to the weight of all the column above it, we feel, that he only needed the language of modern analysis to have perfected his theory of hydrostatics. Clairauts condition is so intimately united with this funda- mental principle, that its completeness would seem no more suhject to doubt than its evident necessity; it has, however, been doubted by that most accomplished geometer, Ivory, who has proposed another condition, which he thought must be added to it. The propriety of this addition has been much discussed by mathematicians, and successfully resisted by Poisson, who has pointed out several cases in which it would lead to erroneous results. Bowditch has, also, tested it, in a single instance, and, by a neat diagram, exposed its fallacy to a mere glance of the eye. Since the publication of Bowditchs volume, and without any allusion to it, Ivory has, however, somewhat changed his ground, and struck out that feature of his principle which was the peculiar object of attack. The paper, in which Ivory distinctly confessed the exceptionahle point of his previous statement, is published in the London Philosophical Transactions for 1834, and stands altogether alone as a specimen of geometrical sophistry. Never did a demagogue exert himself more to break up the foundations of society, and reduce it to a chaos in which the lowest might hope to rise, than Ivory has done, by a most artful inaccuracy of expression and looseness of reasoning, to confuse our ideas upon the principles of hydrostatics, and thus save his crude speculations from a merited censure, if not obtain for them a portion of respect and admiration. The contempt xvhich he here expresses for the labors of other geometers is in curious contrast with the praises be- stowed in an earlier paper. To grasp and expose the errors of his obscure argument were no easy task. Near the end of his paper, he remarks, that, when a homogeneous fluid sphe- roid, rotating upon an axis, is in equilibrium, any similar spheroid, taken within it, and having the same axis, must also be in equilibrium, independently of the surrounding stratum. It would, as he says, be superfluous to repeat the de 152 Bowditchs Translation of the .Mlcanique CUeste. [Jan. inonstration of this proposition, as it is attended with no diffi- culty, and has not heen contested. And because the fluid of the inner spheroid is separately in equilibrium, with respect to the centrifugal force of its particles, and the attraction of its mass, it must likewise he in equilibrium with respect to the other forces that act upon it ; for, were it not so, the whole body of the fluid would not he in equilibrium. To this point we agree with him, hut we cannot admit, that the other forces ~ are only the attraction of the exterior stratum, and thus leave out of view the pressure of this stratum, which seems to us to vary upon the different points of the surface of the internal spheroid, and not to he everywhere the same, as is shown by Ivory to result from his principle. The error of this result is, indeed, no less evident from Bowditchs diagram, than the fallacy which it was intended to expose. It would follow from it, that, if the eartb were a perfectly sta- tionary, homogeneous fluid, and if a solid sphere of the same density, and of a mile in diameter, were to he let down into it, until the upper surface just touched that of the earth, the pressure upon the sphere would he everywhere the same, and the point a mile below the surface of the earth, and which hears the weight of a column of fluid a mile high, would be no more pressed than the upper point, which is not pressed at all. Clairaut applied his calculations to the case of a solid ellip- tical nucleus, covered entirely with a fluid, which Laplace afterward generalizing, extended his researches to a nucleus of any nearly spherical form ; and in his last volume he has gone still further, and, surmounting every obstacle, has shown that all the irregularities of continents and seas may be in- cluded in the analysis. In thus, he says, approaching Nature, the causes of several important phenomena, presented by Natural History and Geology, may be discovered, and great light be shed over these two sciences. In order to verify and complete these profound investiga- tions, it is important to compare the oblateness of the earth deduced from them, with that indicated by observations. The most obvious method of determining the figure of the earth from observation, is, to measure its curvature in differ- ent places, that is, the lengths of its degrees. From a com- parison of such measurements, La Place concluded, that the hypothesis of an elliptical meridian was but an imperfect ap 1839.] Figure of the Earth. 153 proximation to the truth. This method is, however, less to be relied upon than any other which has been used, because slight deviations from the regular figure are much magnified by it, and the measures are liable to very great inaccuracies. Of the seven measurements, indeed, collected by La Place, and which would seem to have been made most carefully and at great expense, four have been rejected, upon further ex- amination, as unworthy of credit, another has been corrected, and only two have since been added to supply their place. Nor is this defect of observation so very wonderful, when we reflect, that, for man to measure the earth is scarcely less dis- proportioned to his physical dimensions, than for the ant to measure the mountain upon which he has raised his little hill. Retaining, then, only these five of the most extensive and accurate observations, Airy has computed the earths form, supposing it not to be precisely elliptical ; but, from the same observations, Bowditch has, by an improved method of his own, obtained a far more satisfactory result. Bow.~ ditch has also applied his method to these observations, sup~ posing the earth to be elliptical, and has still obtained a figure more conformable to them than the irregular figure result- ing from Airys calculation, and sufficiently agreeing with them to prove, that the elliptical hypothesis should by no means be neglected. The oblateness, thus obtained, is about one three-hundredth, which is that generally adopted by astronomers ; and Bowditchs results are fully sustained by the calculations of Ivory. Another method of measuring the actual oblateness is taken from the observations of the seconds pendulum. The value, obtained from them by La Place, was much too small, but has been considerably augmented by Bowditchs correc- tions of some errors in his calculations ; and from later and better observations, Bowditch and Ivory have both deduced a value, which does not differ much from one three-hun.. dredth. Even these observations of the pendulum are not, however, to be relied upon with any great degree of confi- dence; but, as Bowditch justly remarks, instead of being dissatisfied with this result, we ought to feel some degree of surprise, that the difference between the polar and the equa- torial radius of the earth can be determined within a fraction of a mile, by means of the very small excess of the polar, over the equatorial pendulum, which may be considered as a VOL. XLVIII.~o. 102. 20 154 Bowditchs Translatiom of the .I1/kcanique C~leste. [Jan. base line of less than a quarter of an inch in length, which is only about one three-millionth part of the length to be as- certained, or one thousand-millionth part of the radius of our globe. How surprising is it, then, that La Place has been able to deduce not only the form of the earth, but even, in a degree, its internal structure, from the observed variations in the length of the pendulum; and to prove, most conclu- sively, that the earth is not homogeneous, that its density continually increases from its surface to its centre, and that its layers of different densities are disposed regularly about its centre, in a form almost elliptical In determining the earths figure, either from the length of the degree or that of the pendulum, different measurements are not found to lead to the same result; and it is, therefore, necessary to adopt that, which most nearly satisfies the ob- servations. Various methods have been proposed for select- ing the preferable ellipse, founded upon different ideas of probability. The most natural one is, perhaps, to seek that ellipse, in which the greatest error is as small as possible; but a single instance will exhibit its unsatisfactoriness. If, of one hundred observations, ninety-nine coincide in the same result, we should find, that the minimum of the greatest error corresponded to an oblateness which was half way between the result of the single observation and that of all the others ; and one observation would, in this method, be worth full as much as the remaining ninety-nine. A more philosophical method is that of the least squares ; and a still better one is that pro- posed by Boscovich, and adopted by La Place; it requires the sum of all the errors to be a minimum, and also the sum of the positive errors to equal that of the negative errors. Bowditch has, however, given a correction of the method of the least squares, which seems to raise it even above that of Boscovich; and we have already alluded to the entire suc- cess which he met with in its applications. He observed, that, in the common method of least squares, an arc of ten de- grees has one hundred times the influence of an arc of one degree. He then continues; This is unreasonable ; for an arc of ten degrees, measured by one person, with the same instruments, and by the same method, is liable to the imperfection of the peculiar manner of observation of that single observer, and to the errors of one set of instruments; and it cannot be doubted, that ten consecutive 1839.] Rotation of the Earth. 155 degrees, measured by ten different persons, of equal skill and carefulness in observing, each being furnished with instru- rnents of the same completeness and accuracy, would be at least as satisfactory as ten consecutive degrees, measured by only one of these observers, with the same single set of instru- ments, not withstanding the advantage, in this last measure, of requiring only two observations of the latitude throughout the whole arc. We shall therefore assume as a principle, that, in the application of the method of the least squares to geodetical measures, we must suppose any arc of the length of i degrees to have the same weight as i single degrees, measured sepa rately.Vol. ii. p. 435. A third method of obtaining the oblateness, which is con- sidered by La Place superior to the others, is derived from observed irregularities in the motion of the moon, so that the astronomer, without leaving his observatory, is able to de- termine the earths figure with unrivalled accuracy. The form of the earth, thus deduced from observation, hardly differs from that which it would have, if the ocean were taken from it, and its surface reduced to a fluid state. Hence, and from the small density of the sea compared with the earth, La Place inferred, that the average depth of the ocean must be small; and his inference is confirmed by the small height of the tides. The regularity with which the dif- ferent strata are disposed about its centre, has also led him to the conclusion, generally maintained by geologists, that the whole earth was once fluid. He has proved, that it is not necessary to suppose the interior shells to be chemically dif- ferent in their component parts, for that all known phenomena would be equally well satisfied, if they were of the same com- pressible substance. In all astronomical observations, the length of the day and the latitude of the place are assumed to be invariable; so that it is of the highest practical importance to prove, that the earth is for ever rotating upon the same axis with perfect uni~ formity. Now geometers have long known, that every solid body has three principal axes of rotation, about any one of which, if it once turns, it can never cease to turn with un- changing velocity, unless from the powerful influence of some foreign force. One of the earths principal axes would be its present axis, if it were entirely solid ; but it would seem as if the sea, with its perpetual oscillations, must affect the regu- larity of the rotation. A profound analysis, however, led 156 Bowditchs Tran~latioi~ of the ~Mecanique Cdeste. [Jan. La Place to the directly opposite conclusion, that, if the earths rotation were slightly disturbed, and the position of its axis a little changed, the mobility of the ocean would soon bring it back to a permanent state of rotation about a fixed axis. He has also proved, that the attractions of the sun, moon, and planets, that volcanoes and earthquakes, that xvinds, rivers, and currents of the sea, can never have any sensible effect upon the place of the poles, or the duration of the day ; and his conclusions are confirmed by records of ancient eclipses, from which it appears, that the length of the day cannot have changed, since the time of Hipparchus, by the hundredth part of a second. Such an unchanged rate of rotation seems almost irrecon- cilable with the hypothesis, that the earths primitive fluidity arose from its melting heat, that it is now constantly cooling, and therefore lessening its diameter, and increasing the velo- city with which it turns upon its axis. But this hypothesis is powerfully sustained by thermometrical observations made in mines, which indicate a rapid increase of heat with that of depth, and demonstrate, independent of any hypothesis, that the earth is moving in a space much below its own tempera- ture, so that it must be growing colder. Having, then, ex- pressed the continual loss of heat of a cooling globe by a series of terms, which are of such a form as to disappear, one after another, in the course of time, La Place supposes our planet to have arrived at that state in which only one of these terms remains, of any sensible magnitude. This supposition may, as he says, be far from the truth, but it answers well enough to exhibit the slow rate at which the earths tern pera- ture is diminishing, and the slight effect thus produced upon the length of the day, amounting to less than one three- hundredth of a second since the time of Hipparchus, and consequently, not to he detected in such observations as have been handed down to us. Another most remarkable result of La Places calculation is, that the internal heat of the earth does not affect the temperature of its surface by more than one-fifth of a degree; and, therefore, when it is entirely cool- ed, its climates will not be the less adapted to the support of all the organized beings at present upon it. Intimately connected with its figure is the law of the earths attraction upon a point, either of its surface, or at a distance from it; and a concise history of the labors of geometers upon this subject is thus given by Bowditch. 1839.1 .flttrctction of the Earth. 157 The computation of the attraction of an ellipsoid, partially treated of by Newton, in his Priacipia, was extended by Mc Laurin, in a geometrical solution remarkable for its elegance and simplicity, to the determination of the whole attraction upon any point, within or upon the surface of the ellipsoid of revolution. The same result was afterwards obtained by La- grange, in an analytical form, by a change of coiirdinates. Le- gendre extended the investigation so as to embrace all points, whether within or without the surface of the ellipsoid. Finally La Place obtained the general attraction of any ellipsoid, in all cases, whether the principal axes were equal or unequal, and upon any point without or within the surface. Since the publication of his method, a great improvement has been made by Ivory, in which the computation of the attraction of any ellipsoid upon an external point is reduced, by his analysis, to the much more simple case, of finding the attraction of another ellipsoid, upon an internal point, or upon a point situated in the surface of the ellipsoid. Ivory has also treated the subject in a very elegant geometrical manner, in the Encyclopcedia Bri- tartnica, under the article Attraction. Vol. ii. p. 11. Most of the high questions of astronomy have stood far above the powers of Geometry; but this problem of calcu- lating the attractions of an ellipsoid is peculiarly adapted to synthetical methods of research, and Geometry has for once, under the colors of England, striven with success against the mightier genius of analysis. The results of Maclaurin 5 geometrical solution were not reached by Algebra till the succeeding generation ; and, notwithstanding the further ad- vances of later mathematicians, the two most ingenious solu- tions which have yet appeare(I, offspring of the same mind, are of equal beauty; and, though one is geometrical, the other algebraical, neither can claim a decided superiority. The method of calculation which La Place has used throughout his analysis of the figures and attractions of the planets, exhibit most strikingly his mighty power in wielding the weapons of Algebra, and forcing his way directly to his point with irresistible energy. They occupy the third book of the Jliftcanique C~leste, which is about one half of the second volume, besides three chapters of the eleventh book contained in the fifth volume, and not translated by Bowditch. The difficulty of the various problems is re- duced almost entirely to that of finding the sum of all the quotients obtained from dividing each particle of the spheroid 153 Bowditchs Translation of the .M~canique Cdeste. [Jan. by its distance from a fixed point ; and La Place has arranged this sum in a converging series of terms. The terms of this series are very remarkable in their properties and mutual re- lations, and, on account of their great utility in these and other inquiries, have been much noticed hy geometers, and honored with the name of La Places Co~fficients. Consider- able objection has been made in regard to the generality of the results, which La Place obtained from them, because there are excepted cases to which they are not applicable. But Poisson has demonstrated, that they may be considered as embracing all cases which would practically arise; and the uninitiated may be satisfied, when informed, that the excepted cases differ but infinitely little from those which are strictly within the limits of the investigation, so that the error must be wholly insensible ; and several formulas which are con- tinually used in mathematics, without any question of their sufficient generality, are subject to precisely similar ex- ceptions. La Places analysis, admirable as it is for its novelty and profoundness, is not altogether faultless. It has been exposed to repeated attacks, and contains two remarkable defects; one of which was not detected till thirty years, and the other not till nearly fifty years, after their first publication. The former of them was pointed out by Lagrange, in a theorem, which La Place had supposed to be applicable to every law, but which fails beyond a certain limit. And this limit is, by a singular coincidence, the very law of Nature ; so that, if gravi- tation had decreased a little more rapidly, inversely, for in- stance, as the cube of the distance, the formula would have led to false conclusions. The second defect occurred in the fundamental formula of the whole calculation, and was much more recently discovered by Poisson, who observed, that La Place had run upon the very rock which he himself had surveyed, and committed the error against which he had ex- pressly warned other mathematicians. But this error, van- ishing in the course of further calculations, is, like the other, merely speculative ; and it is probably on account of this very surprising fact, that they both remained so long un- noticed. For, with all its boasted accuracy and apparent independence of mans physical powers, it appears, from the frequent mistakes and disputes of its votaries, that geometry annot avoid the defects to which the science of an imperfect 1839.] Density of the Earth. 159 mind is ever liable ; and, requiring the promptings of obser- vation to rouse and direct it to new efforts, it is slow to un- dertake the ungracious task of revising its labors, and de- tecting errors which have escaped the jealous eye of the prac- tical astronomer. Although the general form and attraction of the earth arise only from the gravitation of its particles, yet the composition of its different materials, and their character, as gases, fluids, or solids, depend upon the combination of an affinity or co- hesion, which is insensible at perceptible distances, with the repulsive force of the caloric, with which each atom is sur- rounded. If the quantity of caloric is small, the repulsive force decreases more rapidly than the attraction, with an in- crease of distance ; and the molecules of a body, not being separated beyond the influence of their mutual attractions, are bound firmly together in the form of a solid ; and the only evidence of their want of contact is found in the compressi- bility or elasticity of the mass. By increasing the caloric, the particles are forced further apart, the body dilates, and, when they are so far removed as to cohere only by means of the attraction of each for the caloric of the other, they but slightly impede each others motions, and La Place regards the body as reduced to a fluid state. But, as he observes, the surface must, in this case, be, at least for an impercepti- ble depth, much less dense than the interior of the body; and be intermediate, in its character, between a liquid and a gas. The gaseous state is that, in which the quantity of caloric is so great as entirely to destroy the effect of the attractive forces; and the fluid would soon be dissipated, if it were not restrained by the sides of the vessel which confines it. In this view of the subject, all terrestrial phenomena depend, says La Place, upon attractive and repulsive forces, which are only sensible at imperceptible distances, in the same way that celestial phenomena depend upon gravitation. I think, therefore, that the consideration of them should now become the great object of Mathematical Philosophy. It seems to me, that it would even be useful to introduce them into the demonstrations of mechanics, and banish the abstract ideas of lines without magnitude, and solids without porosity. I am convinced, by the trials which I have made, that, in thus conforming to Nature, these demonstrations might be pre 160 Bowditchs Translation of the M~canique C6leste. [Jan. sented with undiminished simplicity and increased clear- ness. Within ten years of his death, analysis took the most gigantic strides, in the direction thus marked out by this great geometer; and Cauchys wonderful success in developing the laws of molecular action has gained for him an immor- tality b)r the side of La Place himself. But the glory of first discovering this immense continent in science belongs to Newton, although Providence chose to check his daring course, and reserve some regions to he conquered by his successors ; and the honor of erecting upon it the standard of Analysis must be given to La Place. He hence deduced the equations for the motions of a gas, and found them to differ essentially from the formulas before used, inasmuch as they contain the forces xvhich arise from the heat, developed in different portions of the moving gas, and their increased density. These forces do not, however, sensibly affect the motions of masses of air, such as the oscillations produced by the attractions of the sun and moon; and their influence is only perceptible in vibrations like those of sound. In the Newtonian theory of sound, no regard was had to the effect of heat, in thus increasing the elasticity of air during its vibra- tions; and the velocity which was obtained did not agree with that derived from experiment. Newton, and most of his followers, attributed the difference to the presence of foreign particles floating in the air, while Lagrange supposed the observations to he inaccurate ; but La Place was strongly convinced that these explanations were incorrect, and was not satisfied till he had discovered the true cause of the error. He applied his formulas to the motion of light, supposing it to consist in the undulations of the solar atmosphere, and ob- tained a velocity which was not one seven-hundredth part of the actual velocity of light. Hence he inferred, that, if the undulatory theory were correct, the ethereal fluid must be powerfully compressed; and, as no cause for such a com- pression is to be found in the celestial s aces, he would seem disposed to reject this theory. But Cauchy s conclu- sions are far more satisfactory. Discarding the necessity of any compressing force, he makes it evident, that this immense velocity is satisfactorily accounted for, by supposing the par- ticles of ether to be millions and millions of times smaller and closer together than those of gas ; so that, if density is 1839.1 Capillary .ilttraction. 161 assumed to be proportionate to the number of particles in the unit of space, such an ether must be far more dense than the heaviest solid; but the exact reverse is the case if the weight of the atoms are substituted for their number, in the definition of density. By combining an original and most powerful analysis with the happiest hypotheses, Cauchy has succeeded in establishing the wave theory of light upon a foundation not easy to be shaken. He has deduced from it the various laws of the propagation and polarization of light; and even the phenomenon of its dispersion, which had been regarded as an insurmountable objection to this theory, has not only yielded to his perseverance, but has become the strongest argument in its favor; since he has discovered the laws which regulate it, although they had been sought in vain by many great philosophers, and his results are most striking- ly confirmed by their experiments. The theory of the emis- sion of light has been regarded as consecrated by the favor of the founder of Optics; but this immortal genius was too often tormented by the galling attacks of his jealous rivals, to wander from the straight road of the Baconian philosophy, so far as to adopt such an unnecessary hypothesis. As an instance of his care, even in the use of words, he would not introduce the term attraction into his Principia, without a caution to the reader, Caveat lector, ne per hujus modi voces cogitet me speciem vel modum actionis, causam aut rationem physicam alicubi definire, vel centris (qua~ sunt puncta mathematica) vires vere et physice tribuere. He observed facts and generalized them. Not suffering his fancy to direct his reason, his deductions are almost as indisputable as his observations, and his theories must endure as long as the sciences to which he gave birth. Another case of corpuscular action, which was investigated by La Place, and is remarkable from the variety and the singularity of the phenomena depending upon it, is, that of Capillary Attraction. Though Newtons wonderful instinct had led him to divine the laws which regulate some of the capillary phenomena, Clairaut was the only geometer, till the time of La Place, who had reduced them to a rigorous calcu- lation. His great error, however, and one which he would have discovered, if he had extended his analysis to other cases, consisted in supposing the molecular forces to be sen- sible at perceptible distances. By avoiding this error, La VOL. XLXTIII.~NO. 102. 21 162 Bowditchs Translation of the M& anique C~leste. [Jan. Place succeeded in explaining all the phenomena with the most rigid accuracy; and the most peculiar and striking point of his theory is) perhaps, that he makes it chiefly depend upon a circumstance which had been altooether disregarded, and shows, that the concavity or convexity of the surface of a fluid, contained within capillary spaces, instead of being a mere secondary effect of the corpuscular action, is the prin- cipal cause of the rise of the fluid. This view of the subject is, however, a purely mathematical one ; and a juster physi- cal statement of it, corresponding, in our opinion, almost ex- actly to the ideas of Newton, and introduced into La Places second Supplement, is, that the particles at the surface of the fluid in contact with the capillary walls, being raised above their level by the attraction of the walls, exert their attraction again upon those which are near them ; and this action con- tinues until the weight of the elevated fluid balances the attract- ing force, which tends to raise it higher ; but, as the upper- most link of a suspended chain must bear the whole weight of the chain, so the weight of the raised fluid must be pro- portionate to the elevating power of the attractive force ex- erted by the walls upon the adjacent particles, that is, to the horizontal circuit of the walls. Vague reasoning must not, however, usurp the place of accurate calculation ; the diffi- culty of solving the capillary problems may he better under- stood by observing, that they depend upon the very prin- ciples involved in determining the figure of the earth ; and we may remark, that we think Ivory would find no little diffi- culty in applying to this case his new principle. In order, says Mr. Pickering, in his noble Eulogy before the American Academy, that the importance of this subject may be understood, and that a just view may be taken of the extent of it in its various relations, we must reflect for a moment upon some of the numerous modes, in which this species of attraction exhibits itself. The most usual form in which it has been the subject of observation and experiment, is, in the ascent of water, or any other fluid, in capillary tubes, or between two plates of glass placed near each other in a vessel containing the fluid. The same principle, however, governs the movements of fluids in numberless other cases; some of which are so familiar to us, that they cease to attract our notice. For example ; when we fill a glass or other vessel with water, if the vessel is already wet, the water will be drawn upwards round the sides of the vessel, 1839.] Capillary ~6Ittraction. 1t33 and present a concave surface ; but if, on the contrary, the vessel is entirely dry, the water ~vill rise in it with a convex surface, and may, in popular language, be heaped up even above the brim of the vessel. From the same cause, a light body floating on the water near the side of the vessel, will sud- denly be drawn into contact with it ; and two bodies lying on the surface, upon being brought towards each other, will sud- denly rush together. In the same way, too, we see the rain forming itself into pellucid drops, and hanging from the under surfaces of bodies, or standing in imperfect globules on their upper surfaces ; and the same principle manifests itself in the form of the dew-drops, which the sun Impearis on every leaf and every flower; and in the gentle tear let fall From crystal sluce. * In short, the phenomena of capillary attraction are so con- stantly manifesting themselves, and under such various circum- stances, that they present to the philosophical observer ques- tions of singular interest and extraordinary difficulty. These questions are most elaborately and profoundly investigated by La Place and his commentator. Among other investigations of Dr. Boxvditch in relation to this subject, I ought not to omit the fact, that he has most thoroughly examined and analyzed the very celebrated work of the present day called the .Yew Theory of Capillary .flltrac- tion, by the eminent French mathematician, M. Poisson ; and has shown, by numerous examples from M. Poissons work, that, profound and acute as that author is, he has, under a different form of notation and with vast labor, only arrived at results which are either identical ~vith those before obtained by La Place under his own form of notation, or which may be easily obtained from them; and that the supposed discoveries announced in the New Theory have not in reality advanced this branch of science. This portion of Dr. Ilowditchs work, when published, will, in the opinion of our mathematicians, attract the notice of men of science in Europe as strongly, perhaps, as any part of his labors. pp. 7~75. Almost the only essential difference between the theories of La Place and Poisson arises from the consideration of the diminution of density near the surface of a fluid, which is neglected by La Place, as of no importance, and expressly introduced into the calculations of Poisson. Miltons Paradise Lost. 164 Bowditchs Translation of the JII~canique C6leste. [Jan. This change of density produces a corresponding change in the value of the capillary intensity; but as this quantity can be found only from actual experiments, and not from the analytical expression, it leaves the results of La Places theory unimpaired in all the formulas depending on this quan- tity.Bowditchs Translation, Syc., Vol. iv. p. 687. Poisson attempted to render his researches much more general than those of La Place ; he was, however, compelled to omit term after term, until the limits of the new theory were narrowed down to those adopted in the Jl6ftcanique C~leste. Returning, then, to the earths figure, we shall pass over the small inequalities of its surface to the still smaller irregu- larities of figure arising from the undulations of the ocean. How minute these are, compared with the magnitude of our glohe, we can conjecture from the fact, that the ocean itself is but as the moisture of the shower upon the surface of the apple. The idea of attributing the ebh and flow of the sea to the influence of the sun and moon originated with Kepler, hut was first subjected to calculation by Newton, who sup- posed the sea to assume, at each instant, the form of perfect equilibrium. This feature of his theory was adopted as the basis of all calculations upon the subject, till La Place consid- ered the problem in its true light, and applied to it the gen- eral principles for determining the motions of fluids. But the impossibility of completing his analysis, by the aid of the limited observations which he obtained, compelled La Place to leave it in an imperfect state ; far superior, however, to the contempt with which an English philosopher has thought proper to visit it. La Places solution, says Whewell, besides being ob- tained by means of a precarious assumption, rests upon several arbitrary hypotheses, fatal to it, even as a first approximation; and, I believe it will be found, leaves out of consideration an essential portion of the forces. To obtain any useful result, the question must be taken up afresh and treated in another manner. I hope some mathematician will be found able and willing to execute this task. But, in the mean time, I may be permitted to observe, that what has been already done in the discussion of tide observations, and in bringing to light the empirical laws of the phenomena, has entirely altered the posi- tion of this branch of science with respect to the mathematical theory. A little while ago the theory was in advance of oh- 1839.] Theory of Tides. 165 servation; at present observation is in advance of theory. A very few years since, the equilibrium theory and the La Placian theory were in a condition to assign laws regulating the changes of the times and heights under given astronomical circumstan- ces, and it had not been shown from observation whether these Jaws were obeyed. We can now state what the agreement and disagreement are between such theoretical laws and the facts ; and we call upon the mathematician to substitute for these two theories, both confessediy false, some other, which shall come nearer to the true state of the case,and, bythat means, nearer to the laws of the phenomena. The perform- ance of this task is requisite for the completion of the New- tonian theory of the universe. Notwithstanding this sweeping condemnation, we cannot cease to look upon La Places theory as one of the finest mon- uments of his genius, and as being fundamentally correct. Judged by the narrow standard of its discrepancy with obser- vations, it undoubtedly is deficient; and, by the same rule, Newtons lunar theory would have merited the reproaches of Flamsteed, instead of the generous admiration with which it was regarded by La Place. The subject of the tides does, indeed, require a fresh examination, in order to satisfy the recent observations due to the efforts of Whewell, for which, and for his successful exertions in reducing them to empirical laws, he richly deserved the medal of the Royal Society. The equilibrium theory, as developed by Bernouilli, may, likewise, be better adapted, from its simplicity and neatness, to the mind which is seeking for these laws, and has not the comprehensive grasp, or the mathematical power, to enter upon a profound analysis of one of the most complicated questions of astronomy. The additions which it is continually receiving, must, however, soon render it too cumbrous a machine even for this purpose; and geometers will be com- pelled to return to the direct course of investigation, as first explored by La Place. Were the earth a perfect sphere, its equator would always cut the heavens in the same plane, and its axis be directed to the same polar star; aud if the polar axis were to be as- sumed as the diameter of this sphere, the excess of the ter- restrial spheroid might be detached from it, and collected in a ring at the equator. The attraction of the sun would draw the plane of the ring from that of the equator, and the points of its intersection with the ecliptic would retrograde contin 166 Bowditchs Translation of the .Ill6canique Celeste. [Jan. nally, according to a law easily determined from the similar motions of the nodes of the lunar orbit. Such a backward motion, though much retarded by the mass of the earth, which the ring must carry with it, is still sensible, and constitutcs the great phenomenon of the precession of the equinoxes. The attraction of the moon produces a similar effect; and there are also some inequalities in the phenomena, which have been thoroughly investigated by DAlembert, Euler, and La Place. If we now proceed from our own globe to the other bodies of the solar system, we find them all, so far as we can ob- serve them, possessed of oblate figures, corresponding to their respective velocities of rotation, and moving in circular orbits about the central source of light and heat. Upon a careful examination of their motions, it is found that they are not uniform, nor exactly circular; and we admire the genius which detected, amidst their great inequalities, an average and permanent regularity. From Keplers celebrated laws, to derive the law of gravitation, would appear a most simple application of the Fiuxions of Newton ; so simple, indeed, that the mathematician of the present day can only estimate the magnitude of the stride, from the number of gigantic minds which could not accomplish it. But the law of gravi- tation, once established, was soon found to contain within itself a perfect and entire system, altogether above the ap- proximations of Kepler, and embracing all the complicated phenomena of the heavens, while the latter would only be strictly true if the planets exerted no influence upon each other. Drawn by their mutual attractions, however, out of their elliptical orbits, the planets so disturb each others motions, that the exact determination of their motions is no longer possible. Theory is forced to lower its aim, and endeavour to arrive at approximations, whose inaccuracies may be so minute, that the nicest observer cannot detect them. To arrive at this point, which has not by any means been universally attained, it has been found sufficient, in most cases, to calculate, separately, the effect of each small disturbing force; and thus, the perturbations arising from each planet cannot be confounded with the others. By this means the problem is evidently simplified, but still not enough so to admit of a complete solution; anti the most delicate tact is required, to choose the most rapid system of approximation, and to 1839.] Planetary .Motions. 167 select, among an infinite mass of terms, those which are of sensible magnitude. The difficulty of this selection is much increased by the facts, that ternis originally diminutive, will sometimes in the course of the calculations, acquire equally minute divisors, so that the quotients may be quite too large to be rejected. One of the most striking instances of such an effect is observed in the reciprocal perturbations of Saturn and Jupiter. The mean motions of these t~vo planets are almost commensurable, five Limes the mean motion of Saturn being nearly equal to twice that of Jupiter; so that the difference between these two products, being very small, augments considerably the terms of which it is a divisor, and the corresponding ine- qualities, instead of being almost insensible, are the most important of all those observed in the motions of these plan- ets. A tolerably correct physical explanation of this phe- nomenon is derived from the consideration of the great effect produced by a comparatively small force acting constantly, at the most favorable intervals ; a familiar, though homely exam- ple of which, may be found in the often ludicrous difference between the skilful and unskilful attempt to turn up the heavy church bell to its unstable position of equilibrium. By dis- covering the simple ratio between the mean motions of Jupi- ter and Saturn, La Place was enabled to account for those irregularities in their motions, xvhich had before seemed quite inconsistent with the law of universal gravitation, but are now regarded as one of its most striking proofs. Such, says La Place, has been the lot of Ne~vtons brilliant discovery, converting every obstacle into a new source of triumph ; the surest characteristic of the true system of Nature. If the mean motions of these planets had been exactly commensur- able, their perturbations would have been greatly increased, and they would have presented a phenomenon of the highest analytical interest, and of which the solar system contains but a single instance. This might easily have been the case; for, if the small variation from perfect commensurability had been a little less than one half its present value, the mutual attrac- tions of the planets would soon have caused it to vanish en- tirely. Jupiter forms, with his satellites, a solar system in minia- ture; and the frequent eclipses of the satellites enable the observer to determine their orbits with considerable accuracy, 168 Bowditchs Translation of the .M~canique C~leste. [Jan. and to watch their progress through all those changes, which the planets take ages to accomplish. A thorough analysis of their motions, which was first undertaken by Lagrange, was re- markable, as not being limited to the separate consideration of each disturhing influence, hut as combining them all together; a point, says Bowditch, of the utmost importance, since upon it depends the law regulating the motions of the three inner satellites. These laws, called La Places, because he first detected them, are of the class of commensurabilities be- tween the mean motions, which are so important in the theory of Jupiter and Saturn ; and they contain the single instance, but just alluded to, of a perfectly exact ratio. Among all the perturbations of the celestial motions, none, however, are more interesting to the terrestrial observer, than those of the earths satellite ; and they are much augmented by the powerful disturbing influence of the sun. The few of them which Newton had succeeded in calculating, were enough to confirm, in a most important manner, the law of gravitation, though the great bulk were left unexplained; and even now there are several points in the lunar theory, about which the minds of geometers are not at rest. The difference between the values of the same terms, as given by each of the great astronomers, La Place, Plana, Lubbock, and Poisson, is sometimes most remarkable, and seemingly inconsistent with the admired accuracy of mathematical calculations. Thus one equation, determined from observations by Damoisean to be greater than six hundred seconds, was at first reduced by the computations of Plana, to less than five seconds, though he af- terwards raised it to a value which somewhat exceeded that found by Damoiseau. But even such a failure of theory must not be regarded with uncharitable surprise and severity for, as Lubbock remarks, when we consider the enor- mous number of terms which are necessary to be taken into account, and how difficult it is altogether to avoid error in numerical calculations, it is hardly to be expected, that the result can be entirely free from error. Most of the numerous inequalities of the lunar motions have been deduced from observations before they were recognised by theory, and analysis has often been sadly perplexed to ex- plain them. One of the most singular instances, is that of an equation inserted by Mason, in his Lunar Tables, which seemed so entirely inconsistent with the laws of gravitation, that it 1839.1 ~kcuracy of the Law of Gravitation. 169 was originally rejected by astronomers, although they were ready to admit the superior accuracy of his tables in other respects. From a happy application of his favorite theory of probabilities, La Place decided, that the argument in favor of the existence of such an equation was so strong, that he re- solved to seek its origin. His search was successful. He found it to arise from the oblateness of the earth; and his in- vestigations led him to the discovery of another similar ine- quality, which had escaped the notice of observers, though indisputably confirmed by later observations. He also re- versed the problem, and made use of the equation as the most accurate means of determining the oblateness. But an- alysis is thought not always to have been so successful, and a single equation is still adopted by some observers, which re- mains wholly unexplained. Its period is a very long one, and is not exactly determined. Poisson has demonsLrated, that it cannot arise from the direct action of the sun or of the planets upon the moon; nor from the action of Venus upon the earth, which produces, as Airy has shown, a sensible equation in the earths motions ; nor from the terrestrial oh- lateness or irregularity of figure. He, therefore, doubts its existence, and regards the observations from which it is de- duced, as either too recent, or too inaccurate, to be depended upon for determining so long an inequality. No more important question has ever agitated the minds of astronomers, than that regarding the perfect accuracy of the law of gravitation. Bessel seems to consider it as a most doubtful point ; for he found observation not unfrequently to differ from calculation, by five seconds or more; quite too much, as he says, for an error of observation ; full as much, indeed, in the present state of science, as were the eight minutes, at the time of Tycho Brahe, which gave Kepler the means of reforming the whole of astronomy. But the history of astronomy is filled with such doubts, which have all vanish- ed before the progressive advances of analysis ; and so inti- mate is the connexion between theory and observation, that they must for ever be, alternately, taking the lead in the march of science. The earlier theories of the moon were defaced by errors of not less than seven or eight minutes; and, though they are now reduced to as many seconds, it was ac- tually proposed by Clairaut to introduce, into the law of gravitation, a term, which should vary with the inverse cube of VOL. XLVIII.NO. 102. 22 170 Bowditchs Translation of the M~canique C6leste. [Jan. the distance; but he himself soon proved, that this term was not required. Again, it was found, that the mass of Jupiter, as deduced from his attractions upon Pallas, and upon Enokes comet, was quite different from that derived from the distance of his satellites, or from La Places theory of the perturbations of Saturn. Such a difference could only he accounted for by supposing the attractive power of Jupiter to be less for his satellites and for Saturn, than for the comets and the telescopic planets ; and the result of this hypothesis would be, that the power of gravitation varied, like the chemi- cal affinities, with the nature of the different attracting sub- stances. But, from a new and more correct measurement of the distances of the satellites, a result has been obtained, which agrees almost exactly with that derived from Pallas and the comet; and, upon a review of the theory of Jupiter and Saturn, Pontecoulant has most unexpectedly found, that the chief term of the great inequality was taken by La Place with the wrong sign, and the correcting of this error has given the same value of Jupiters mass as that otherwise obtained, and removed all the apparent anomaly. The arguments, indeed, in favor of the perfect uniformity of the gravitating influence are founded upon so many nice experiments and ~mccurate calculations, as to be almost irresistible. Not the slightest difference can be detected in the attractive power of the earth for the moon and for any of the substances found upon its own surface, by means of the most delicate experiments made with pendulums, composed of every variety of material. The distance of the sun can be computed with so great accuracy from the motions of the moon, that the difference between the attractive powers of the sun for the earth and its satellite, cannot he the one-millionth part of the whole force ; and a similar result with regard to all the substances of the solar sys- tem may be deduced from the universal agreement of observa- tions with the theory based upon the law of gravitation. Another interesting inquiry concerns the stability of the solar system. The planets move, at present, in orbits nearly circular, and almost in the same plane ; and La Place professed to have demonstrated, that this xvould always be the case. But Lagrange and Bowditch * objected to his demon- stration, considering it to be satisfactory for the three great * ~3ee, on this subject, an article from the pen of Dr. l3owditch, in the Yortlz .~1merican Review, Vol. XX. pp. 309 et seq. 1839.1 Stability qf the Solar System. 171 pla~ets Jupiter, Saturn, and Uranus, but not for the other planets, whose orbits, for aught that is proved to the con- trary, may be very eccentrical, and Uepart very much from the same l)lane. But these eminent philosophers have, in our Opinion, taken a partial view of La Places argument, and have not done it full justice. They have, inadvertently, pass- ed over his first step, which will be found, upon a close ex- amination, to be of essential importance; and in which he proves, that, if there be any limit whatever to the increase of the eccentricity of either of the planets, it must be a very small limit; so that the only object of the remainder of the demonstration, is, to prove that there is a limit, without any regard to its magnitude, as the objections appear to imply. Viewed in this light, his reasoning seems hardly to admit of dispute. But xve think that, in the arguments upon both sides, the physical restrictions of the question have been too much overlooked. Thus it is said, that the orbits may become very eccentrical, or even parabolic. But how is it possible, by any increase of eccentricity, for an ellipse, whose greater axis has been long before proved to be invariable, to degenerate into a parabola, which has an infinite axis? On the contrary, when the ellipticity augments so as to become unity, the orbit, instead of changing into a parabola, would be reduced to a straight line, terminating in the sun; and, by a further increase of ellipticity, the orbit would become imagin- ary, unless the planet happened to be at one of the extremi- ties of its orbit, at the precise instant of this increase, against which the probability is infinitely great. It is, therefore, al- most physically impossible, for the eccentricity to become greater than unity, and the second part of La Places demon- stration seems to be nearly superfluous. But there is a force in constant operation, which is directly opposed to the eternal duration of the solar system. The constant resistance of the ether or the light which pervades all space, small though it be, must at length destroy the mo- tions of the planets, and cause them to fall into the sun. Ages, whose vast extent and number the mind of man can- not comprehend, must indeed roll by, before such an effect can result from so slight a cause ; and yet it is as inevitable as the wearing away of the stone under the incessant dropping of the water. And that there is such a sure principle of de- struction in our world, affords an irresistible proof, that the 172 Bowditchs Translation of the .M6canique CUeste. [Jan. system cannot have existed in its present form beyond a cer- tain time ; but it must have had a beginning, a creation, and a Creator. It might, however, be doubted, whether the ether were a resisting medium, if it had not been demonstrated by the re- tardation of Euckes comet. The comets, which fly in every direction around the sun, are so very light, that they have not, in any appreciable degree, disturbed the motions of the plan- ets, though the fact that they are not destitute of weight, and are subject to Newtons great law, is obvious from the form of their orbits, and the great perturbations which they have suffered, from the planetary attractions. Thus the time of revolution of the comet of 1770 was diminished more than two days by the influence of the earth, and its orbit was so en- tirely changed during its near approaches to Jupiter, in 1767, and 1779, that it probably never was visible from the earth before that time, and never will be again ; and yet its re- ciprocal action upon these planets was wholly insensible, and it passed directly amongst Jupiter and its satellites, with- out having produced the slightest alteration in their mo- tions. The computation of the orbits of the comets, origi- nating with Newton, has been most successfully developed by the labors of Lagrange, Legendre, La Place, Olbers, Gauss, Ivory, and Lubbock; and their various methods have been collected by Bowditch into the splendid Appendix to the third volume of his translation. He has there given most of the great improvements made by these geometers, in the calculation of the orbit of a planet or comet, moving in an ellipsis, parabola, or hyperbola, and he has added more than one hundred pages of beautifully printed auxiliary Tables, to lighten the task of computation; some of which are new, the others have been varied in their forms, to render them more simple in their uses and applications, and none of them have heretofore been published in this country. In the commentary upon the tenth book, contained in the fourth volume, Bowditch gives the calculations, which have been made regarding the retardation experienced from the resist- ance of the ether by Enckes comet, the result of which is, that the time of its periodical revolution, which is a little over twelve hundred days, will be decreased about one-tenth of a day in each revolution; and the mean distance will be decreased about one sixteen-thousandth part. 1839.] Fixed Stars. 173 Leaving, now, the solar system, of which we are but in- significant particles, we will travel to the glorious suns, which are diffused throughout all space. Passing over their differ- ences of color and splendor, with their remarkable periodical changes, and that sudden appearance and disappearance of others, which indicates the existence of opaque celestial bodies, perhaps not smaller or less numerous than the visible stars themselves, we proceed to a phenomenon, at first sight of much less apparent interest, the grouping of the stars to- gether in immense clusters, which are separated from each other at distances prodigiously greater than the dimensions of the cluster. The group to which we belong, consists of the Milky Way, and the stars immediately around us. Among the other clusters, some are so remote, that the most power- ful telescope does not enable the observer to distinguish the different stars, while the cloudy appearance of others indi- cates an imperfect state of formation; and the elder Herschel has traced their progress from the state of mere nebuke ; not that he has witnessed a change in any single case, but just as in a forest the growth of the trees may be traced by means of the individuals of different ages. He observed, in one part of the heavens, a mass of mere nebulous vapor, of uni- form density; in another, this vapor was feebly condensed about a slightly brilliant point, or about a multitude of such points ; then, again, the points increased in brilliancy until the condensation was at last carried so far, that the atmo- sphere of each nucleus separated from the rest ; and mul- tiple nebuke were formed, consisting of brilliant nucleuses, surrounded each by an atmosphere. The condensation still went on, until at last a sun was formed, surrounded by an immense atmosphere, or a set of two or more suns revolving about each other like the double, triple, & c. stars, or a group of suns, such as are the Pleiades. This was the state of our system, ages and ages before the com- mencement of the Mosaic creation, and its probable progress during this immense interval, first developed by La Place in the ~Syst~me du .IJIonde, is the most magnificent conception that was ever formed in the mind of a philosopher. He chose, however, to diffuse around it the foul vapors of athe- ism, and it is now dreaded by the Christian sage, like the proud city amid the miasmata of death. The substance of the sun could hardly have separated from those of the neighbouring suns, without acquiring some small 174 Bowditchs Translation of the M~canique Celeste. [Jan. rotary motion, and, as its dimensions lessened with its in- creasing density, the rotary velocity must also have increased, by tim known laws of dynamics. It is thus, that the angular velocity of a sling is rajiidly augmented by allowing it to wind itself about the finger, or that the rotary motion given to the water is greatly accelerated as it flows through the small hole in the bottom of a cistern. The sun must, at last, turn so swiftly, that the centrifugal force of the outer zone, overcom- ing the gravitation, must cause it to separate from the inner mass, and form a ring about the sun, like that of Saturn. By further condensation, ucw rings are successively thrown off, each of which gradually draws together its l)articles into a nucleus and forms a lilanet ; or, if there are several nucleuses, there must be as many smaller planets, which, like Ceres, Pallas, Juno, and Vesta, will be at nearly the same distance from the centre of motion. Since the particles of the rings inner surface are nearer the sun, their velocity must be less than those of the outer surface, so that when the planet is formed, it must have a rotation, which, increasing as the planet condenses, may cause it to part with its own rings, and form its own satellites. This grand but simple view of the process, which the Deity has adopted in framing the universe, bears upon its front the stamp of truth and of divinity ; it necessarily leads to a system, which the law of gravitation renders perma- nent ; and it accounts for all the leading phenomena of as- tronomy. Hence it is, that the planets and satellites re- volve and rotate in the same direction, and almost in the same plane ; that their orbits arc nearly circular ; and that their densities are less the further they are from the sun. Hence, too, it is, that the satellites always turn the same face to their primaries ; for if, after the formation of a satellite, it were not to condense, its time of rotation would be exactly the same with that of its revolution ; and the extremely gradual condensation to which it is liable, cannot prevent its assuming such a form under the attraction of the primary, that this attraction must in future restrain the rotary motion, and, compelling it to turn its elongated face to the primary, will only allow it to be affected by the phenomenon of libra- tion. The disturbing influence of the unequal density of different parts of the nebulne must affect the whole course of these phenomena, particularly in the earlier stages of the for- m~tion, and must cause such irregularities as these ; that the 1839.1 Value of Transcendental .Mathematics. 175 density of Uranus is greater than that of the two next inferior planets ; and the ~ lanes of its equator, anti of the orbits of its satellites, are nearly l)erpelidiciilar to that of its own orbit. if, when a zone separated, indeed, it were more dense on one side of the sun~s equator than on the other, the planets rotation and revolution would be performed in dilThrent planes and a little reflection will show, that the inclinations of the orbits would be the most affected hy such a cause in the case of the inferior planets, and those of the equators in the superior planets. lie comets, in this system, are themselves smaller nebul~, with nucleuses of their own, which have come near enough to the sun, to be subject to the laws of its attraction, and re- volve in very eccentrical orbits ; and, as there is no general reason to influence the primitive directions of their motions, we find their orbits inclined at every variety of angle to the suns equator. If, finally, in the zones successively aban- doned by the solar atmosphere, there are atoms too volatile to unite with each other, or with the heavenly hodies, they must continue to circulate ahout the sun, and offer all the appearances of the zodiacal light, without opposing any sen- sible resistance to the planetary motions. But inquiries regarding a state of the world, so far removed from its present one, are of no practical value, and must rank with those questions of curiosity, upon which much labor has been expended by mathematicians. And a similar remark may he extended, with some qualification, to almost every part of the ..JJ/kcanique C~leste, or of the Princi p ia. For, humiliating as is the confession, it must be admitted, that practical astronomy is not dependent upon theory, and that the observer, with only a small degree of elementary mathematics, can deduce from his observations empirical laws sufficient for all his purposes. Judged, then, by the narrow standard of utility, which is generally adopted, and has been pronounced to be at the very foundation of the Baconian philosophy, transcendental mathematics can offer but little to redeem it from the reproach of being a misletoe science, use- lessly absorbing the highest energies of the most powerful minds. lEven its noblest fruit seems to be blasted; its New- ton was sensitive, fretful, and almost mean; and its La Place was an atheist. But the character of the votary must not condemn the sci 176 Bowditchs Translatior& of the .Mi~canique C~leste. [Jan. ence ; and the character of the science must be referred to its true standard, that of knowledge. If we would, then, search deeply into the laws of nature, we find, that the inner doors of physical philosophy must be opened with the keys of geometry ; and that even the trials of skill, and the mere questions of curiosity, in which mathematicians have delighted, are the best possible preparation for the more serious con- tests of science, and have again and again led the way to the most brilliant investigations. It was thus, that Lagrange re- duced the whole of Mechanics to a problem of Isoperimetry, and made its solution depend upon an analysis, which had before been admired and prosecuted only as an exercise of geometrical gymnastics, on account of its singular beauty, and the remarkable simplicity of its results. As far, indeed, as the great object of life and of knoxvledge, the improvement of the mniiid, is concerned, the humblest subjects may furnish inquiries no less useful than the most sublime. The path of the arrow is as difficult of calculation as that of the comet, and the celebrated problem of the precession of the equinoxes is of the same class with that of the spinning of the top. What difference is there, then, between the intellectual im- portance of the investigations, except that the planet and the comet are observed with care, while the top and the arrow are the playthings of a thoughtless child ? And what difference does it make to the mathematician, whether the data of his problem are taken from the external world, or from the crea- tive power of his own mind ? Suppose that the telescope had never been invented9 and that there had never been any means for making accurate observations of the heavenly bodies ; and suppose that, as a subject of intellectual exercise and curiosi- ty, the mind of Newton, or of La Place, had devoted itself to the calculation of what would have been the motions of a system of bodies united by the law of gravitation; would the labor have been less worthy of his genius, and less fitted to develope his mental powers ? And suppose that he had prosecuted his investigations still further, and, applying his analysis to other laws of attraction than that of nature, had attempted to discover what law and what arrangement would have led to a permanent system, free from all great irregularities ; would not this mere question of curiosity have deserved the attention even of such a mind? Could any in- tellectual exercise be thought of, more nearly allied to that 1839.] Dr. Bowditch. 177 required at the creation ? Is it not the very labor which would absorb the powers of the archangel, to whom should be intrusted the sublime task of building a world ? Such an inquiry has actually been instituted by geometers, and they have almost established the proposition, that, with none but the present laxv of gravitation, and with no other arrangement, would the solar system have been permanent. We regard this grand result as alone worthy of all the time, arid all the genius, which have been devoted to mathematics. Dr. Bowditch was able to superintend the passage of his great work through the press, as far as to the one thousandth page of the fourth volume, his disease (a schirrus of the stomach), though at times extremely painful, not having com- pelled him wholly to intermit his studious labors till within a few days of his death. That event took place on the 16th day of March, 1838, when he had nearly completed his sixty-fifth year. Tributes of respect for his services and character were offered from numerous quarters, on the part of corporations and societies of which he had been a member, and of various learned bodies. The American Academy, the President and Fellows of Harvard University, the Faculty of Yale College, the Trustees of the Boston Athcnwum, the Massachusetts Life Insurance Company (of which, from its foundation, he had been the executive officer), the East India Marine So- ciety, and other associations, held meetings, and passed reso- lutions expressive of their sympathy with the bereaved family, and of their sense of the public loss. Measures were taken for erecting a monument to his memory ; and eulogies xvere pronounced by the Reverend Mr. Young, in the church where he habitually worshipped; by Judge White, at the request of the Corporation of Salem, of which city he was a native, and during most of his life an inhabitant ; and by Mr. Pickering, before the American Academy, of which, for several years and down to the time of his death, he was the presiding officer. These Eulogies treat at large the life and character of their subject, and preserve, what posterity will gratefully receive, a trustworthy and full description, both of the philosopher and of the man. The learned oration of Mr. Pickering em- braces a biographical outline, but is chiefly remarkable for its thorough and luminous analysis of Dr. Bowditchs scientific VOL. XLVIII.No. 102. 23 178 Boxvditchs Translation of the .M~canique C6leste. [Jan. publications, exhibiting, in a comprehensive and discrimi- nating sketch, the nature and value of his labors, as well as the actual condition of that sublime department of study, on which they were employed. The discourse of Judge White, a composition of rare excellence in its kind, traces, step by step, the progress of this great mind, satisfactorily indicating the stern but effective discipline under which it was trained, the traits which characterized its eminence, the principles which controlled and gave success to its action, and the variety of beneficent influences exerted by it upon society ; subjects which, in the eulogy of Mr. Young (the earliest and most copious of the three), are also felicitously treated, and illustrated by a large collection of interesting facts and anecdotes. We have not proposed to ourselves to offer so much as a brief sketch of the life and character of this distinguished indi- vidual, thinking it to be rather the office of a work like ours, to dwell upon his services to science. But, while there are few who will read his writings, there are many who may profit by the record of his virtues, and of the principles and habits which contributed to his greatness ; and, little inclined as we are to the formal inculcation of a moral, we yet find ourselves unwilling to dismiss the subject, without giving a few words to some of those facts and traits, which, so judiciously ex- hibited in the biographical notices we have specified, make them fruitful of the best instruction. It was from an hum- ble condition in early life, that (in part, no doubt, by force of extraordinary natural endowments, but also by force of a principled energy, alert to take advantage of every oppor- tunity of improvement, and refusing to be depressed by any discouraging circumstances,) Dr. Bowditch rose to be one of the most eminent persons of his country, and of the time. The son of a working cooper, enjoying no advantages of instruction in early childhood beyond those of attendance on a public school, and those only till he was ten years of age, he was, two or three years after, apprenticed to a ship- chandler, and continued in this service through his minority at the end of which time he went to sea, as an inferior officer in a merchant vessel. Meanwhile, by the diligent use of such fragments of time as he was able to redeem for study, from regular daily employment of so different a kind, he had, (he- sides laying up stores in general literature, which would have 1839.1 Dr. I3owditch. 179 done no discredit to a youth devoted to that pursuit) made such proficiency in his favorite science, as enabled him, three years after, to publish a work, the Practical Navigator, scarcely surpassed in usefulness by any of the time, and immediately driving all others of the same class out of circulation. Being unable to purchase books, he borrowed and copied such as he most needed, possessing himself thus, before he was four- teen years old, of a long treatise on Algebra, another on Geometry, and a third on Conic Sections. At fifteen, making all the necessary calculations, he had arranged an Almanac, complete in all its parts. Obtaining, by a fortunate accident, a copy of Newtons Principia, he learned Latin by himself, that he might read the work, and made a translation of the whole of it. Entering upon an active life of business, IDr. Bowditch made four voyages to the East Indies, and one to Europe, diligently devoting his leisure at sea to his favorite inqui- ries, which, however, with a liberal sense of the value of other knowledge, he diversified by studies of a more generally attractive kind. Retiring from a seafaring life, at the age of thirty, he assumed an office, that of President of an Insurance Company in his native town, which, to most men, would have seemed to afford sufficient employment for their time and from this, at the end of twenty years, he was transferred to the place of Actuary of the Massachusetts Life Insurance Company, which be held till the time of his death. It was by an economy of the leisure hours of a life thus engaged, that Dr. Bowditch won for himself one of the highest names in science, which the nineteenth century boasts. Nor was it by any jealous and churlish economy of those hours. No man acknowledged more readily the claims of friendly intercourse ; no man welcomed more cordially the interruptions which they bring. His study was his parlour, where no posture of a hard, unfinished problem ever caused the unexpected guest to feel, that his visit was untimely. No abstraction ever revealed the toiling or wearied mind. A gay buoyancy of spirits, and a prompt interest in whatever subject was presented, showed, whenever you found the man, that you found him before his work, and at his ease. Early hours, an utter abstinence from mere waste of time, and tem- perate habits which preserved the mind in perpetual vigor, permitted a life crowded with labor and its fruits to be, in 180 Bowditchs Translation of the .JfThcanique CUeste. [Jan. an equal degree, tranquil, free from care, and accessible to incidental engagements. Along with great heartiness, Dr. Boxvditcb had its usual attendant, a warm impetuosity of character ; and, though no rude and boisterous captain of the sea, there may have been occasions when a happier combination would have been produced, had the same measuro of the fortiter in re, been blended with more of the suaviter in modo. But his high and rigid integrity was beyond question. His punctilious justice in the conduct of complicated affairs was a model for imitation. If be bad prejudices, he bad candor to welcome and weigh the evidence which would dispel them ; and anger he carried as the flint bears fire ; the spark was quick, but it was momentary. Acquiring what in a frugal community may deserve to be called wealth, he had the high wisdom to know its worth ; that is, to know its uses. He cared for it as making him inde- pendent, and enabling him to be useful. In his life, as well as at his death, he gave freely from it to worthy objects of benev- olence, public and private; and be expended a large portion of it, without any hope of remuneration, on the publication of his great work; declining, from a nice sense of honor, the ur- gent proposals of a learned society (the American Academy), and of private friends, that he would permit it to be issued at their charge. Of his time, his counsels, and his influence, he was as liberal, for good objects, as of his money. Proof against less mischievous delusions, the madness of the undevout astronomer had no place in his clear and sober mind. The Christian faith, the support of his princi- ples through a long, active life, was a sufficient source of consolation to him during the well-understood approach of death. Of cant and pretension, no man ever had less. But he had as little respect for the affectation which suppresses and disguises cherished sentiments, as for that which obtrudes and parades them. He thought it due to the truths which sustained him, to allow it to be known, that it was on them that he leaned; and the chamber of his decline was a scene of the sublimest instruction for whoever would know, with what serene, magnanimous satisfaction, the spirit, which has well done the first part of its work, may pass on to its higher des- tinies. 1839.] Stephenss Travels in the East. 181 ART. V. Incidents of Travel in Egypt, arabia Petrcea, and the Holy Land. By GEORGE STEPHENS. Gali- goani. Paris: August, 1838. 2 vols. l2mo. MANY editions of this work in the United States, two at least in England, and one in France, attest the favor, with which it has been received hy the reading puhlic ; a favor honestly earned and worthily bestowed. We can speak of a large portion of the route pursued by the author, from ac- tual observation ; and, after following his footsteps in his pilgrimage, we have acccmpanied him in his book, among the same scenes, renewing, from his vivid description, almost the freshness of first impressions. He has admir- able qualities for a traveller, and for a writer of trav- els. He possesses just enthusiasm enough to desire to see every thing ; and, while he surveys the scenes of ancient story, sacred and profane, with those kindling emotions, which Providence in its wisdom has given to us to feel, when we stand on a spot renowned for the great events of which it has been the theatre, he does not yield to that morbid sen- sibility, which forgets, that change is not the accidental lot of this state of being, but a part of the constitution of nature, still educing good from decrepitude, as from manhood, and preparing the bud of spring to replace the autumnal leaf, fallen, because made to fall. This precious gift of association is one of the most enviable powers, with which Providence has endowed us ; and an in- habitant of the new world can well appreciate its full intensity. If his lot has been cast upon a continent, whose early revolu- tions are for ever shrouded from human view, and where no ancient monument exists to mark the trials and triumphs and disasters of man, we find, amidst all this, but another proof of that system of compensation, which pervades the universe, in the strength of the impressions he experiences, in the East- ern world, from the first view of scenes hallowed by the re- collection of the persons and the events, that have rendered them memorable. We cross the ocean, bearing in our mem- ory the treasures of ancient history, and deeply fraught with the lessons it teaches but as yet untouched by that magic fire of association, to be kindled only when we stand where those have stood, whose deeds will be immortal. In every part of Europe, there is some battle-field, with its appropriate

1839.] Stephenss Travels in the East. 181 ART. V. Incidents of Travel in Egypt, arabia Petrcea, and the Holy Land. By GEORGE STEPHENS. Gali- goani. Paris: August, 1838. 2 vols. l2mo. MANY editions of this work in the United States, two at least in England, and one in France, attest the favor, with which it has been received hy the reading puhlic ; a favor honestly earned and worthily bestowed. We can speak of a large portion of the route pursued by the author, from ac- tual observation ; and, after following his footsteps in his pilgrimage, we have acccmpanied him in his book, among the same scenes, renewing, from his vivid description, almost the freshness of first impressions. He has admir- able qualities for a traveller, and for a writer of trav- els. He possesses just enthusiasm enough to desire to see every thing ; and, while he surveys the scenes of ancient story, sacred and profane, with those kindling emotions, which Providence in its wisdom has given to us to feel, when we stand on a spot renowned for the great events of which it has been the theatre, he does not yield to that morbid sen- sibility, which forgets, that change is not the accidental lot of this state of being, but a part of the constitution of nature, still educing good from decrepitude, as from manhood, and preparing the bud of spring to replace the autumnal leaf, fallen, because made to fall. This precious gift of association is one of the most enviable powers, with which Providence has endowed us ; and an in- habitant of the new world can well appreciate its full intensity. If his lot has been cast upon a continent, whose early revolu- tions are for ever shrouded from human view, and where no ancient monument exists to mark the trials and triumphs and disasters of man, we find, amidst all this, but another proof of that system of compensation, which pervades the universe, in the strength of the impressions he experiences, in the East- ern world, from the first view of scenes hallowed by the re- collection of the persons and the events, that have rendered them memorable. We cross the ocean, bearing in our mem- ory the treasures of ancient history, and deeply fraught with the lessons it teaches but as yet untouched by that magic fire of association, to be kindled only when we stand where those have stood, whose deeds will be immortal. In every part of Europe, there is some battle-field, with its appropriate 182 Stephenss Travels in the East. [Jan. story, and with its succession of events, prosperous or ad- verse ; some spot identified with the life or death of a sol- dier, a statesman, a patriot, or a writer, whose name is as fa- miliar in our mouths as household words. They, who are conversant with these scenes from their infancy, can never fully estimate the sensations of the transatlantic pilgrim, who comes for the first time to deposite his tribute of gratitude to the memory of those who have cnnoblcd human nature, when he finds himself covered hy the same sky, and sur- rounded by the same unchanging objects, hill, valley, plain, rock, and river. Our author has also a spirit of perseverance, which seems to have surmounted many serious difficulties, even when he was depressed by sickness. He exhibits, too, a power of observation, without which a traveller will always find a coun- try barren, from Dan to Beersheba. There is, perhaps, no mental faculty more uncqually distributed than this. To have eyes, but to see not, is an infliction far more common than is usually supposed. If we glance rapidly over the various Tours, Journals, and Voyages, which the press is continually giving forth, we shall not fail to be struck with the difference they present in this characteristic. Some men seem to seize, as if by a species of intuition, the true points of obser- vation, moral and physical, offered by the regions they trav- erse, and to have the faculty of spreading them before their readers, almost visibly and tangibly. And this, too, whether they survey the works of nature or of man. While others are equtdly crude in their remarks, and unfortunate in the subjects of their selection. It is not the mere beauty of style, or the novelty of the ronte, or the hairbreadth scapes, which leave the most permanent impression upon the reader; but it is the power to catch those features, which reveal the true character, animate and inanimate, of a country, and which gave such a charm to the travels of Moore and Clarke. Luckily, Mr. Stephens lays no claim to the character of an architectural antiquarian, and speaks of his attainments in that respect with equal good sense and good humor. I have avoided, he says, description of ruins, when I could. The fact is, I know nothing of architecture, and never incas- ured any thing in my life ; before I came to Egypt, I could not tell the difference between a drornos and a prop ylon, and 1839.] Stephenss Travels in the East. 183 my whole knowledge of Egyptian antiquities was little more than enough to enable me to distinguish between a mummy and a pyramid. The purchaser of his book, therefore, is not bored xvith that eternal affectation of knowledge and taste, which led Eustace in his Classical Tour, and his predeces- sors and successors in that most fatiguing of all the depart- ments of learning, to record the feet and inches of every building they entered, of every statue they examined, and of every ruin they explored ; to fill page after page with long, prosing dissertations upon the comparative merits of pictures and other works of art, apparently utterly ignorant of the slight impression, which mere description can make, of the most interesting monuments of human genius. Their minute details are beyond the reach of written description. But we could have wished, that Mr. Stephens had given us more information upon the natural history of the regions he visited, and particularly of the interesting country between the Red Sea and Palestine ; and also upon its geograph- ical features, with a view not merely to its actual condi- tion, but to enable us to identify the sites of ancient places, recorded in biblical history. We have in vain endeavoured to follow the author, upon the best charts, during his journey from Suez to Hebron, and could trace him only by reference to a few well-known and well-established places. Mr. Stephens is fortunate in the relation of his personal ad- ventures. They are not, indeed, of a very thrilling charac- ter ; but they are sufficiently interesting to command the attention of the reader, and to prove, not only, that his Jour- ney was often a perilous one, but that he bore himself with great fortitude and presence of mind, when perhaps his safety, certainly the successful result of his enterprise, depended upon his own resources, physical and mental. The writer of a book of travels should always endeavour to preserve a just medium, between the description of his personal adventures, and his remarks. A bond of union is necessary; but the narrative should avoid the appearance on the one hand of a series of undigested incidents, and on the other of a scientific treatise. Perhaps Mr. Stephens is a little prolix in his ac- count of his disputes and conversations with his Arab guides; but we readily pardon him, for they are illustrative of Eastern manners, and are sketched with great spirit. The author writes in a pleasant, lively style, which is well suited to the nature of his topics, and at times rises into eleva 184 Stephenss Travels in the East. [Jan. tion, as he indulges in reflections, appropriate to the solemn scenes, in which he finds himself placed. As we must, of course, pick a fault with him somewhere, and, by the by, this is no easy task, and are disposed to close that side of the account as speedily as a just regard to critical impartiality will permit, we will tell him, that he is sometimes a little given to conceits ; that he indulges too often in antitheses that his tables of contents, at the head of his chapters, which cost him so much trouble to arrange satisfactorily, with their quaint oppositions, are too labored and in bad taste ; and that the description of the dinner he gave his friends in his boat upon the Nile, is abominable, and Wose four pages are utterly unworthy of their authors good taste and good sense. The retrospect of a travelling dinner is at best dangerous ground for an author, after Smolletts piquant description of that meal, in one of his coarse but admirable sea novels. And though we should have preferred the faithful Pauls stew, and mutton, and maccaroni, and pota- toes, to the classical dishes in Smolletts bill of fare, still we must own our preference for the picture painted by the Scottish artist. Mr. Stephens visited a quarter of the world, where compar- atively few of his countrymen have travelled, but where we anticipate they will soon penetrate, with all their characteris- tic ardor and enterprise. The annihilation of space, occa- sioned by the introduction of steam into navigation, is in nothing more wonderfully exemplified, than in the time, xvithin which it is possible to travel from New York to Jerusalem. The fact may be startling to our readers, but it is neverthe- less true, that a person favored by circumstances, may reach Mount Calvary within thirty-three days after leaving Broad- way. Thirteen days may take him to Bristol, two to Paris, three to Marseilles, ten to Syra, four to Jaffa, and one from there to Jerusalem. And the French steamboats, plying upon the Mediterranean to Syra, to Alexandria, to Greece, to Smyrna, and to Constantinople, are safe and pleasant ves- sels, and well found, in all respects. Mr. Stephens directed his course to Africa, of which the great geographical characteristic is its sandy deserts. From the Cape of Good Hope to the Mediterranean, and from the mouth of the Senegal to the Straits of Babelmandel, a sterile sand covers the surface. Sometimes stationary, and some- 1839.1 ~7Vatural Phenomena of .~1frica. 185 times in motion, it presents alternately to the traveller the spectacle of silent desolation, and of sudden and terrible storms, where the sandy atmosphere approaches the caravan with a rapidity, which no human power can escape, foretell- ing its effects by its appalling magnificence, and involving the passenger, and his faithful ship of the desert, in one com- mon ruin. But to this general picture there are many ex- ceptions. Wherever water is found, there is found fertility, and a fertility unknown to more equable regions. The course of the African rivers is marked by an exuberance, for which we may in vain seek a parallel even in other tropical cli- mates, and the population is principally collected along the streams. But there are springs to be found, occasionally, even in the most sterile part of the desert; and round these are small belts of fertile land, islands in an ocean of sand, yielding, with little cultivation, what is necessary to human subsistence. They are the oases of the ancients; and it was upon one of these insulated spots, that the celebrated Tem- ple of Jupiter Ammon was situated. This great sandy desert extends along the Mediterra~ nean, at a short distance from its shores, and reaches to the Red Sea. It obtains, very soon, a considerable ele- vation, and then presents the aspect of an irregular plane, varied by hills and hollows. A traveller in this region would see before him a chain of sand hills, extendin~ across the line of his route, and, on attaining their sum- mit would see beneath him an immense valley. Whether approaching by the Libyan or the Arabian desert, the aspect would be the same. He would stand upon a sandy ridge, with all that the imagination could conceive most desolate be- hind him, and before him one of the most magnificent pros- pects ever presented to human eyes. He would survey a deep valley, bright with vegetation, and teeming with a depressed but laborious population, engaged in the various labors of agriculture. He would see opposite to him another eternal rampart, which, with the one he stands upon, shuts in this valley, and between them a mighty river, flowing in a winch ing course, from the foot of one chain to the other, furnishing lateral canals, which become fountains, whence the water i~ elevated by wheels and buckets of the rudest structure, worked sometimes by men and sometimes by cattle, and no doubt identical with the process in use in the days of Sesos vOL. XLVIII. No. 102. 24 186 Stephenss Travels in the East. [Jan. tris; and this water is conveyed over the surface, and com- municates that wonderful fertility, xvhich fornierly rendered this country the granary of the world, and yet endows it with a power of production unknown even in the most highly cul- tivated parts of Europe. And this river is the Nile, and this valley is Egypt ; the Egypt of the enslaved Israelites, and of their proud taskmasters ; the Egypt of the Pharaohs, of the Ptolemies, and of the Mamelukes; the Egypt of On, of Thebes, of Memphis, and of Damietta; the Egypt of early civilization, where science and literature were first cul- tivated, and whence they were sent to enlighten the nations of the west, and the Egypt of the Fellahs, and of the grossest ignorance and misery. And it is to this monument of the Creators bounty, and to this evidence of mans power and weakness, that our author is about to conduct his readers. Mr. Stephens commences his narrative at Alexandria, the portal of Egypt, whence he ascended by the canal and the Nile to Cairo. Here he made several lateral excursions to the pyramids of Gizeh and Saccarah, and to the sites of Memphis and Heliopolis, or On. After this, he took the usual route up the great river to the Cataracts, examining the various objects of nature and art, contained in this most ex- traordinary valley, where the regions of exuberant fertility and of excessive sterility are in absolute contact, and in eternal contest for supremacy. He examined the wonderful remains, which attest the skill and science of the ancient Egyptians at Thebes, at Denderab, and at other well-known places ; and which attest at the same time the utter disregard in which the theocratic rulers of Egypt held the fortunes and services of their subjects, while the wealth of the community was wasted upon objects of useless magnificence. After de- scending the Nile to Cairo, he set out for Suez, crossed the head of the Red Sea, and reached Mount Sinai. Hence, h~e travelled to Akabab, on the gulf of that name, being the Eastern or Elanitic branch of the Red Sea. He then took the route through the desert of Arabia Petrea, by the inter- esting remains of the city of Petra, traversing, as he supposes, the heart of the ancient Edom or Idumea, against which the curse was denounced by the prophet, in these impressive terms, None shall pass through thee for ever and ever. He then entered the Holy Land, near Hebron, the ancient capi- tal of the Kingdom of David, and reached Jerusalem. Here he remained some days, and made all the usual excursions 1839.] Sketch of his Route. 187 over that region of Biblical story, ennobled by the most touching and glorious incident, which the world has witnes- sed. Bethlehem, Jericho, Bethany, the Jordan, and the Dead Sea, names of deathless interest, were places of pil- grimage for him, as they have been for many who preceded him, and as they will be for many who will follow him. Thence he passed to Shichem, the modern Naplous; to Se- baste, the capital of the kingdom of Samaria, as desolate as misery and ruins can make it; to Nazareth, so long the resi- dence of the Saviour; to the city ~of Tiberias, and the Sea of Galilee ; to Saffad, one of the Holy cities of the Jews, and where they yet come from the remotest parts of lEurope to die, and to mingle their ashes with their father land. He then turned his face homeward; visited Mount Carmel, and Caipha; St. Jean DAcre, the ancient Ptolemais, and the memorable place which first stayed the torrent of French advance under Bonaparte; Tyre and Sidon; and did all a gallant traveller could do to see the Queen of Palmyra, the granddaughter of the Earl of Chatharn, the niece of William Pitt, Lady Hester Stanhope. Unfortunately for his readers, not less than for himself, the lady was not in a favorable mood, and would not open her Arab doors to the transatlantic traveller. We can tell him, he luckily spared himself one of the roughest rides in Syria, and the precipitous ascent of as arid and sterile a hill, as can be found in all the ridges of Lebanon; and on the top of which we found this eccentric lady perched, about nine miles from Saide, the ancient Sidon. Failing in this effort, he pushed on to Beyroot, formerly Berytus, the seaport of all this region; and here he takes leave of his readers. It will be at once seen, how interesting is the outline here presented for the observations of the author, and the con- templation of his reader; and well has he fulfilled the task he has imposed upon himself. We do not propose to follow him regularly in his path ; but we shall select occasional para- graphs from his pages, either because they are characteristic of the writer, or because they are descriptive of scenes, inci- dents, or persons interesting to us. We reserve to ourselves, in the sequel to consider more at large one or two points, somewhat important in themselves, and in which it is well to point out and correct the errors of the author. 188 Stephenss Travels in the East. [Jan. Mr. Stephens thus records his first impression upon ap- proaching the Nile CC At about eight oclock, next morning, we were standing on the banks of the Nile, the eternal river, the river of Egypt, recalling the days of Pharaoh and Moses ; from the earliest period of recorded time, watering and fertilizing a narrow strip of land, in the middle of a sandy desert, rolling its solitary way more than a thousand miles without receiving a single tributary stream; the river the Egyptians worshipped, and the Arabs loved, and which, as the Musselmans say, if Mohammed had tasted, he would have prayed heaven for terrestrial im- mortality, that he might continue to enjoy it for ever. The Nile is indeed a mighty stream; and without the pres- tige derived from the historical associations. Connected with the narrow valley it has reclaimed from the Arabian and Libyan deserts, and to which it yet gives life and fertility, it offers to the traveller, not only an imposing spectacle, but one of the most admirable works of nature, adapted by unerr- ing Wisdom to render what would otherwise be an arid waste, one of the most productive regions on the face of the globe. We are free to confess, it is one of the few objects we have seen in the old world, without a feeling of disappointment. We do not refer, in this remark, to the historical considera- tions to which we have already alluded, and which give such deep interest to many places and objects ; but merely to the effect produced upon the spectator by their sight, when com- pared with the descriptions we have previously read, and the anticipations to which these have given birth. Perhaps our imagination was a little too highly exalted; but so it is, that, after having seen many of the most celebrated objects of na- ture and art in the Eastern Hemisphere, we have returned from them disappointed, with but three exceptions. St. Peters at Rome fulfilled and surpassed all our previous con- ceptions ; and, after all that has been written upon the monu- ments of antiquity, we believe that superb Basilick is fitted to produce more powerful impressions upon the spectator, than any other building ever constructed by human hands. The ruins of Baalbec may be approached with a similar con- viction; and the traveller, however highly wrought may be his e~tpectations, will leave its columns, its porticos, and its enormous masses of hewn stone, with sentiments of wonder and admiration. This river of Egypt was the third object 1839.] The JVilc. 189 destined to exceed our previous anticipations. And this, too, after having travelled upon the Missouri and the Mississippi. In its general features, it hears a strong resemblance to the former river. The water has the same thick, turbid appear- ance, bringing down with it an immense quantity of the soil of the upper regions, carried off by the rains, or fallen from the hanks, undermined by the action of the current. it is lighter colored tban the water of the Missouri, hut equally im- pervious to the view, it heing impossible to discern an object in either stream, an inch below the surface. The strength of the two currents, we should judge to he ahout tbe same, equalling certainly five or six miles an hour; and both exhibit that turbulent, agitated appearance, indicative of great depth and velocity, and which cannot be regarded without awe. The Nile, where the Mabmondieb canal enters it, must he a mile broad; and, when it is considered, that the iDamietta branch, on the other side of the Delta, is of equal size, and that there are a numher of other passages, which convey that water, either to the sea or to the lakes, which are filled during the inundation ; we may form some conception of this great Abyssinian outlet. We ascended it at the height of the inundation. At Cairo, the minimum of this height, above low water, is 6857 metres,* its medium 7~4O9 metres, and its maximum 7~961. To this if we add the general depth of the stream at low water, equal to 1 ~83O metres, we shall have 9~791 metres for the depth, at the period of greatest elevation. It preserves this altitude, or nearly so, for many days; he- cause, as it approaches or recedes from it, its changes are slow. And all this immense mass of water is furnished by the regions south of Egypt. For a thousand miles, there is not only no tributary stream, hut evaporation, the aridity of the soil, and the purposes of agriculture are continually dimin- ishing the volume. How wonderful the operations of Nature in the organization of the laws, which govern this great source of Egyptian fertility, or rather of Egyptian existence. From the earliest period it has rolled down this mighty mass, with the certainty and precision of the revolving seasons, generally with a quantity sufflci& nt to irrigate the soil, and to prepare it for its destined crop, hut sometimes indeed with a diminished supply, followed by periods of scarcity or famine, like that recorded in the history of Joseph, when the famine was very sore, that the land of Egypt, and all the land of Canaan A metre is 39~731 inches, or 32~l English feet. 190 Stephenss Travels in the East. [Jan. fainted by reason of the famine. The Nile had no doubt failed to attain the necessary elevation, and sterility and want were the consequence. Mr. Stephens sought and obtained an introduction to the Pasha, whose origin, adventures, present elevation, and sys- tem of administration, have rendered him an object of gen- eral interest. While standing, says the author, upon the balcony, a ,Janizary came to tell us, that the Pasha would receive us, or in other words, that we must come to the Pasha. The audi- ence-chamber was a very large room, with a high ceiling, perhaps eighty feet long and thirty high, with Arabesque paintings on the wall, and a divan all round. The Pasha was sitting at one corner, near the extreme end, and had a long and full view of every one who approached him. I too had the same advantage; and in walking up, I remarked him, as a man about sixty-five, with a long and very white beard, strong fea- tures, of a somewhat vulgar cast, a short nose, red face, and rough skin, with an uncommonly fine dark eye, expressing a world of determination and energy. He wore a large turban, and a long silk robe, and was smoking a long pipe, with an amber mouth-piece. Altogether he looked the Turk much better than his nominal master the Sultan. Mr. Stephens acquitted himself in this interview to his own satisfaction, and avows the great complacency he felt at the manner in which, for the first time, he had played the courtier to royalty. The personal compliment to the Pasha, upon the interest he had excited in the world, upon the improved facilities of travelling in the country, and upon his excellent police, was safe ground; but America, with the speed of her steamboats, her great natural features, and her wonderful pro- gress in all that administers to human comfort, presented a subject far beyond the Pashas usual sphere of observation and reflection; and we do not wonder, that he said nothing, and smoked on. We trust, however, that the author over- rated Mehemet Alis skepticism, or underrated his own pow- ers of conviction, when he supposes, that, if the Pasha ever thought of him afterwards, it was as the lying American.~~ But, after all, incredulity upon the state and progress of this country, must not be charged to the peculiar account of Turkish ignorance. It is common everywhere in Europe, and that too among men of general information, and upon 1839.1 .Mehemct .Jhi. 191 topics familiarly known to every citizen of the United States. We have been astonished, even in Paris and London, not merely at the gross ignorance which prevails upon this sub- ject, but at the obduracy of incredulity, with which details well known to every American are received. We take pleasure in transcribing the following tribute of justice, and in adding our own feeble testimony to its truth. He, the Pasha, knew America from a circumstance, which I afterwards found had done wonders in giving her a name and a character in the East; the visit of Commodore Patterson, in the ship Delaware. That gentleman has left behind him an enviable reputation in the various countries of the Mediterranean, which he visited. We have followed him in his route, and have heard but one report of his hospitality, urbanity, and correct demeanor. His superb ship was a proud monument of the naval skill of his country, and the conduct of her officers and crew confirmed the favorable im- pression she was fitted to produce. Mehemet Ali, the Pasha of Egypt, is one of the most re- markable men of this era, prolific in intellectual prodigies. To appreciate him properly, he should be judged by a Turk- ish, not by a Christian standard ; by the opinions and state of society of the community, who have adopted the dogmas of the Arabian Prophet, where human life has little value, and human faith still less, and not by the purer principles and more enlightened ideas of Christendom. The career of this singular man is well known. He was originally in the lowest station of life, and became succes- sively a tax-gatherer, a gens-darrnes, and a soldier. We were informed by an intelligent Christian functionaiy, that the Pasha had been, at one time, in the service of his father; and that in after years, when fortune had elevated one to the highest pinnacle of power, and depressed the other by one of those mutations, to which commercial establishments are liable, the early obligation was forgotten, and vain was the appeal of the merchant to the prince. Mehemet Ali, after obtaining a subordinate military command, joined the rJlurkish expedition sent to expel the French from Egypt. The successive gra- dations of his advancement, and his final exaltation, are fami- liar to all, and are too much in consonance with Eastern man- ners to excite surprise. The miracles recorded of Aladdins lamp, in one of the most beautiful fictions of Arabian imagi 192 Stephenss Travels in the East. [Jan. nation, almost find their prototypes in the courts of the Sul- tan, and of his great three-tailed representatives, who reign over the large Pashalics, into which the Turkish dominions are divided. The school of slavery is the institution in which a large portion of the Moslem grandees are educated ; and not a few have found themselves, on awakening, the absolute property of a master, and fulfilling the menial functions ap- propriate to their condition, and, on retiring at night, clothed with the highest powers of the government. Generals, ad- mirals, statesmen, are created by this magic process ; and if Narses has had few successors in talents and renown, he has had many in that strange caprice of fortune, which, in appar- ent contempt of human greatness, elevates to the highest ranks, beings cut off from society. No wonder Turkish arms are unsuccessful, when their leaders, without education and ex- perience, suddenly exchange the intrigues of a seraglio for the command of fleets and armies. But the Egyptian Pasha has run another course. He owes his advancement to himself; to those great qualities of mind and hody, which, acting upon the circumstances in which they are placed, are fitted to control events, or to co6perate with them. Mr. Stephens has grouped together some of the incidents of the Pashas life and government, hut gives no general sketch of his character, contenting himself, in a summary, with saying It remains to be seen, whether, after all, he has not done more harm than good, and whether the miserable and oppres- sed condition of his subjects, does not more than counter- balance all the good he has done for Egypt. What our author has doubtfully intimated, we take the freedom to express without reserve. We render justice to the useful qualities of Mehemet Ali, and leave to others to arraign him for the acts of cruelty and perfidy he has com- mitted, and particularly for the murder of the Mameluke Beys, by which his vice-regal throne was attained and se- cured. He is a Turk, and the Mohammedan standard of mor- als, connected with political movements, is far too low to justify the application to him of any principles laid down in our code of ethics. He found the Pasha at a country house, belonging to one of his sons-in-law, upon the banks of the Canal, to which he had been driven by the intense heat of the weather. Mr. 1839.] .Jllehemet ./ili. 193 Stephens has accurately described the ceremony upon these occasions, and we shall pass at once into the presence of the Viceroy. He was in a large apartment upon the second floor, at one end of which was a Turkish divan, or raised seat. The room was neat, and well ventilated, but without splendor, and almost without furniture. We found him more civil, than when our author visited him; no doubt, because, according to the Abevuethy doctrine, his stomach was in better order, and he consequently in better humor. As we entered, he arose from his divan, and walked down the room to meet us. He received us with much politeness, and con- ducted us to a seat at his side. After being seated, we seiz- ed the first moment to throxv a coup dccil around us. At the opposite end of the room were grouped many of the Pashas personal attendants and officers ; stationed there, no doubt, to give more effect to the scene. They Were all mo- tionless, with their eyes upon their master, and clothed in the ugly costume, which the present Sultan has introduced, and which is gradually extending itself from Constantinople to Cairo and Bagdad, and displacing the turban, the large trow- sers, and loose-flowing robe. This costume consists of a large frock coat, or of a strait jacket, the Turks having generally adopted the former, and the Egyptians the latter; of pantaloons, and that most uncouth of all contrivances for covering the head, the fez cap. Alas, for the majesty of the turban, so long associated with all our notions of Eastern manners, and which has scarcely undergone a change since the days of Abraham ! The fez cap is worn constantly, not taken off within doors, like our hats, and is considered a part of the dress. It is of red cloth, and of a cylindrical shape, precisely like a hat without the brim, and surmounted with a blue tassel. The ancient flowing costume concealed the de- fects of the Turkish form, and produced a general impression, that the race was highly favored in its physical conformation. This error, the change of dress has revealed ; and no man has compared the Turkish gentleman of the old and the new school, without being struck with the superiority of the for- mer in his appearance and bearing. Standing immediately in front of the Pasha, and with an attitude and countenance as respectful, as fear and habit could impress, was the Prime Minister, Boghos Bey, an Armenian, who is said to be shrewd and intelligent, and who VOL. XLVIII. NO. 102. 25 194 Step henss Travels in the East. [Jan. has long been his confidential minister and adviser, and, in his absence, the depositary of his power. He was accompanied by the principal interpreter, a man of more importance in the Eastern courts, than is indicated by that humble designation. 1\Iehemet Ali appeared to be about seventy years of age, of medium height, but inclining to corpulency, with a magni- ficent white beard, and a piercing eye, not indicating those characteristics of cruelty, of which his life has given so many examples. He is brisk in his movements, and of great personal activity and address, for his advanced age. He was dressed with as much simplicity as any of his attendants. Coffee, the great mark of Eastern politeness, was intro- duced. Without this proof of attention, the visitor may take it for granted, that he is purposely insulted; as much so, at least, as the stranger, xvho is not invited to take a seat in a Christian house. Formerly, the Pasha presented pipes and tobacco; but there is a story current at Alexandria, that, some years since, when Mr. Salt, the late British Consul-General was first introduced, not loving the narcotic weed, he declin- ed the proffered compliment, and that since then, to avoid the mortification of another refusal, Mehemet Ali has restricted his hospitality to the little Turkish cup of coffee. If this were so, it must have happened in his novitiate, and before Mr. Salt had entered far upon that career of political ser- vice, of antiquarian research, and of profitable traffic in the relics of ancient art, which so long connected his name with Egyptian investigations. He probably improved his manners as he increased his knowledge, and would no doubt, in after years, have enveloped himself in as thick a cloud of smoke, as ever issued from the pipe and mouth of the gravest Turk from the Nile to the Euphrates. For ourselves, albeit we are confirmed believers in the wit and wisdom of King Jamess counterblast, and have about an equal love for the two plants of the Ancient Dominion, yclept tobacco, and the weed of Jamestown, popularly called Jirnson, yet we have always yield- ed to the impulse of good manners, and received complacently the amber mouth-piece, from the neat, well-trained attendant; who, by long habit, arrives at the highest honors of his profes- sion, in learning to place the little silver or brazen dish in ~vhich the pipe rests, precisely at such a distance from the smoker, as to enable him, by opening his mouth, to receive the tube without moving head or pipe. Tbis feat requires a practised 1839.] .fldministration of .Mehemet ./ili. 195 hand and eye, and is the very acme of elegance in Turkish hospitality, as it certainly is of the indulgence of Turkish in- dolence. We must give the benefit of our experience to any future travellers in the Fast, who partake of our antipathy to this vilest weed of the vegetable kingdom, c~chewed, not citewed, by every thing that has life, except a man and a worm. An exhalation is quite as good as an inhalation, and, so that the smoke rises, no matter whether from mouth or pipe, the Moslem host will be satisfied ; it never entering within the circle of his niental possibilities, to suspect any one of a disregard for this great killer of time and consoler of trouble. It passes our comprehension to imagine, how the followers of the Prophet filled up the measure of their time before its introduction. We have tried this same plan with equal success in our own forests, among a people as grave in their demeanor, and as inflexible in their manners, as the Turks ; and have found the pipe as cherished a luxury at the heads of the Mississippi, as upon the Jordan and the Bosphorus. rI~he Pasha conversed but little, appearing disposed rather to listen, than to talk. And we too, as well as Mr. Stephens, played the courtier, and congratulated him upon the security his government afforded to travellers, and upon the excellent po- lice he bad established. He received our compliments with complacency and apparent satisfaction, but with an impassi- ble countenance. His unxvonted taciturnity was attributed, by the scandal-mongers of the day, to a singular arrange- ment, which circumstances had rendered necessary, and which had broken up his domestic establishment. It did not however, affect his politeness, or imprint upon his visage any marks of trouble. After some more general conversa- tion, and after receiving from him assurances, that in our pro- gress through his dominions we should find every necessary facility and attention, we took our leave. We have visited the four great divisions of Mehemet Alis dominions ; Egypt, Candia (the ancient Crete), Syria, and Palestine. We exclude Arabia from this enumeration, be- cause his tenure of that country is so feeble, and its duration so doubtful. VIe has, indeed, as we have just heard, exchang- ed the red flag with the crescent, almost identical with the Turkish flag, for the green banner of Mecca; but he has lit- tle chance of consolidating his power over the native country 196 Stephenss Travels in the East. [Jan. of the Prophet, because he hoists the Prophets standard. Candia we merely touched at, without enjoying any oppor- tunity of investigating the condition of the people or the oper- ations of the government. In Egypt, Syria, and Palestine, we were more fortunate; and we have retired from the do- minions of the successor of the Pharaohs, with the convic- tion, that a more oppressed and miserable population, than the indigenous races subject to his power, scarcely exists upon the face of the globe. The first element of society, the great, the only legitimate object of government, agreeably to our estimate of human rights and duties, the happiness of the governed, is absolutely held for nothing in the court of Alex- andria. A vague notion of European civilization and ad- vancement seems to have seized the Viceroy. It presents itself to his mind, as the medium of power, and not as the at- tendant, the cause and effect, of national and individual pros- perity. The extension and consolidation of this power, are every thing ; the comfort of his wretched people nothing. As a part of this system, he is ambitious of European com- mendation, and desirous of associating his name with the in- troduction of Western improvements. Railroads have been projected and commenced, where the transportation would not defray the expense of preserving the communication. Sugar refineries have been established and abandoned. A gigantic scheme for elevating the Nile, by building dams across its two principal branches, a short distance below the upper point of the Delta, has been favorably received ; and some progress towards the collection of the articles, re- quired for this construction, has been made. It was even designed at one time to demolish the Pyramids, and to em- ploy their materials in this project; and Mr. Stephens states, that a European engineer was directed to examine them, and to decide which should be demolished ; and he adds, that this officer reported it would be cheaper to get stone from the quarries. We heard another version of the manner in which these monuments escaped the utilitarian projects of the great Reformer. It was said, the French Consul interposed so strenuously between the Pasha and his prey, that the scheme was abandoned ; probably because he dreaded the effect such a measure might produce upon the character he is laboring to establish in Europe. Shades of Sesostris, of Cheops, and of Cephrenes Little did ye think, that ye might owe to a 1839.] lldministration of Jllehemet .fili. 197 barbarian of the West, the preservation of your sepuicires from the desecrating innovation of one of your successors. The Pasha is almost the only land-owner, and first pur- chaser of the valuable productions of his country. We be- lieve, that not a single Egyptian, except a few of the principal persons about his court, possesses an acre of land; and even these, says a late traveller in Egypt, enjoy only a life es- tate in them. This same traveller, Captain Scott, apolo- gizing for the vices of the Egyptian government, says, The great evil, that weighs down the country, pressing particu- larly on the springs of industry, is the necessity which obli- ges Mehemet Ali to constitute himself the sole proprietor of the soil. What a honeyed word is this constitute, when put in opposition with seize. .Vecessity, indeed ! Tbe old plea for every species of oppression. And this plea is here founded upon the character and condition of the popula- tion, some of whom are not sufficiently enlightened to be trusted, while those, who possess the requisite knowledge, are not old enough to bave the requisite influence with the people. And a third class, the Fellahs, if they had land, would cultivate merely the quantity of ground sufficient to afford them subsistence. Who, therefore, says this founder of a new school of political economy, which incul- cates, that the way to commence the improvement of a coun- try, is first to seize all the property of the people, and that communities are industrious and enterprising in an inverse ra- tio to the success of their labors, who, therefore, could possess it (the whole property of the country) with greater advantage (than Mehemet Ali) ? The same benevolent motives have, no doubt, led him to constitute himsclf the farmer-general and sole merchant of Egypt. And this monstrous usurpation is thus coolly defended. I doubt, therefore, whether, under all circumstances, Mehemet Alis monopolizing system be not the best that could be adopted, until knowledge, & c. This system of administration produces in Egypt, in the years of a good .N~ile, about twenty-two millions of dol- lars, from a population, little, if at all exceeding three mil- lions, and the whole value of whose exports does not equal eight million five hundred thousand dollars ; and this from a country destitute of manufactures, and whose inhabitants are in the lowest state of human misery and degradation. The 198 Stephenss Travels in the East. [Jan. effects of this state of things are everywhere seen in the squalid misery of the population. Last year Egypt was threatened with a famine, and we believe grain was imported from Odessa ; and recent accounts represent the prospects of the present season as little better. We believe the great fer- tilizer of Egypt has been neither above nor below its health- ful standard ; and we must seek, in the oppressive and injudi- cious measures of the government, the causes which threaten to convert the granary of the old world into a comparatively sterile waste. As to protection, as we understand the term, there is abso- lutely nothing of it in Egypt. No mans person or property is safe for a day. And, indeed, through the Turkish domin- ions, agreeably to the theory of its government, and, till lately, agreeably to its practical administration, the lives and property of the Christians were as insecure as they could be rendered by unchecked rapacity on the one hand, and unpro- tected weakness on the other. The victorious Mahomet and his successors, after the fall of Constantinople, early estab- lished the doctrine, that the lives of all the conquered inhabi- tants were forfeited ; and then, with the acuteness of logi- cians and the cruelty of barbarians, they drew the conclusion, that, as the greater includes the less, every thing belonged to the government ; but that, from year to year, the Christian rayahs might ransom their lives and fortunes at a fixed rate. Still, however, this was but a temporary arrangement, leaving the government the complete master of its newly acquired subjects. And this doctrine has been well carried out. At Nicosia, the capital of the island of Cyprus, we were hospit- ably entertained at a Greek convent, the residence of the Archbishop, a venerable man, with great apparent singleness of purpose, and highly esteemed in the island. We had much conversation with him, and, among other topics, upon the operation of the Turkish laws, and the condition of the Greek population. He told us, the statement of a Christian was not received in opposition to a Turk, and that their protection depended entirely on the personal character of their ruler. The Turkish high judicial officers, called Cadis, are sent from Constantinople, where they are taken from the ulernas, or body of lawyers, to all parts of the empire. Their decisions, in cases affecting Christians, are practically without appeal; and, as if it were to stimulate them to unjust decisions, they 1839.] ./ldministrcttion of .illehemet .ilii. 199 are allowed ten per cent. upon their judgments. We asked the Archbishop, whether, if the Cadi rendered a judgment openly and manifestly unjust, and for which there was no pre- text, the Greeks had any remedy ; and he told us, they had none. Even in Constantinople it is easy to detect the radical, in- herent vices of the Turkish system, though controlled there by the influence, which the opinions of Christendom ~exert at this day upon the Moslem