Rambles by Land and Water Part 7

Whether, in their present accommodation to a species of Christian idolatry, these b.a.l.l.s are regarded as a subst.i.tute for "beads," or as "relics" of martyrs to a faith in an "unknown G.o.d" and an unknown form of wors.h.i.+p, I am unable to say. I only know that the images, with their contents, are regarded with a profoundly superst.i.tious interest, and relied upon in seasons of peculiar peril.

It may, perhaps, be thought, that I am making too much capital out of a very trifling circ.u.mstance, if I should say, that in the course of my meditations upon these ugly little demons, I imagined I had found in them, the means of solving one of the great problems which have divided and perplexed philosophers, ever since the discovery of our continent. But I deny "the soft impeachment;" I protest strenuously against the unkind imputation. If the falling of an apple led Sir Isaac Newton to the discovery of one of the great first principles and fundamental laws of nature,--if the clattering of the lid of his mother's tea-kettle, unfolded to the inquisitive mind of Watt, the powers and mysteries of _steam_, that semi-omnipotent agent in the affairs of our little world,--if the earth's profile, as sketched on the disc of the moon in an eclipse, convinced the sagacious mind of Columbus, that he could get round on the other side, without danger of falling off,--who shall presume to say, that this discovery of a pair of ugly little personages, belonging to the system of idol divinities of an unknown race of people, will not prove to the inquiring mind of some other, though less profound philosopher, the clue by which the great mystery of their origin shall at length be effectually solved?

I will not answer for it, that my theory in this case shall be as far fetched, ingenious or elaborate, as many others that have gained the favor and support of learned and worthy names. I only engage to make out as good a case as some of my predecessors in the same wide field;--those, for example, who have undertaken to show that the abroginal inhabitants of America, are the descendants of Abraham and probably the lost ten tribes, who were carried away into a.s.syria, in what is termed the first captivity under Shalmaneser. These learned theorists have considered their case fully, and incontestably made out, when they have discovered ten words in a thousand of the language, to bear some distant, and, in many cases, fanciful resemblance to words of the same import in the ancient Hebrew; or when they have traced, in their religious rites and usages, some slight a.n.a.logies with the imposing ceremonials of the Mosaic ritual. In drawing their sage conclusions from these attenuated premises, they have not troubled themselves to consider what an overwhelming effect it would have upon their theory, to weigh the nine hundred and ninety words in a thousand, which have not the most distant resemblance to the Hebrew, or the mult.i.tude of idolatrous rites, and heathenish mummeries, which were utterly and irreconcilably at variance with the spirit and letter of the ancient Scriptures. It is easy enough to make a theory, and to support it manfully, as long as you can keep your eyes shut to every fact that militates against it. But alas! the great majority of such creations vanish as soon as the eyes are opened, even as the pageant of a dream vanishes before the morning light.

But, not to lose sight of my own good theory, let us return to my little images, and to the thoughts which they have suggested, in relation to the long agitated, and still unsettled question of the origin of the first inhabitants of this continent. In the first place,--I take it for granted, that the new world, as it is called, was peopled from the old. For, no one who takes the Bible as his guide, will suppose that more than one pair was created, or doubt that the residence of that first pair, and their immediate descendants, was in Asia. And if any one rejects the testimony of the Bible, my argument is not intended for him.

In the second place,--it will be admitted that a close correspondence in the forms of wors.h.i.+p, and in the appearance and character of the objects of wors.h.i.+p, is one of the best grounds for supposing a similarity of origin in any two races of people. There is scarcely any thing of which nations are more tenacious, and by which they can be more safely recognized and identified, than the forms and ceremonies of their religion. Strange and inexpicable as it is, they change oftener and more easily in matters of _Faith_, than in matters of _Form_. Nearly three thousand years ago, it was laid down as a principle not to be questioned, that the religion of a people, especially of idolaters, was not liable to sudden and voluntary change. _Pa.s.s over the isles of Chittim and see, and send unto Kedar, and consider diligently, and see if there be any such thing. Hath a nation changed their G.o.ds, which are yet no G.o.ds? But my people have changed their glory for that which doth not profit._

Now, to bring these principles to bear upon the object I have in view, let it be observed,--First, that, in the mythology of all the pagan nations, in Asia, many of the idols they wors.h.i.+p, are the most monstrous and hideous deformities imaginable. Ugliness, in every conceivable shape, is deified.

Secondly,--some of the ugliest of these deities are distinguished for their obesity. Thirdly,--as an example of these, take _Ugnee_, the regent of fire, among the Hindoos, who is represented as a very corpulent man, riding on a goat, with copper colored eye brows, beard, hair and eyes. His corpulency is held by the Brahmins, as an indication of his _benevolence_, and his readiness to grant the desires of his wors.h.i.+ppers. Fourthly,--among the idols of China, some are described as monstrous figures, hideous to behold. Among the number is _Gan_, who has a broad face, and a prodigious great belly. Fifthly,--_Fottei_, who is sometimes called _Miroku_, one of the best, and most prominent of the j.a.panese deities, is represented with the same deformity, a huge distended belly. Another circ.u.mstance, not inapposite to our purpose is this, that the wors.h.i.+ppers of _Miroku_, in j.a.pan, expect to receive from his benevolent a.s.sistance, among other good things, _health_, riches, and _children_.

Now, put these facts together, and a.s.sociate with them the facts of the existence of similar images of wors.h.i.+p among the natives of America, and of the reliance of those natives upon them for aid in times of sickness, and will it not go far to prove a positive relations.h.i.+p between them and the inhabitants of Hindostan, China, or j.a.pan? I trust no one will presume to dispute it, after the pains I have taken, and the learning and research I have displayed in proving it. The problem of ages may be considered as settled. It is no longer a vexed question.

The reader will be pleased to observe, that the j.a.panese G.o.d Miroku, is expected to give to his votaries _health_ and _children_. Does not this last circ.u.mstance bear with unanswerable weight and significancy, upon my position; and prove, beyond the possibility of doubt or peradventure, that the Aborigines of America, emigrated from j.a.pan? The images which I have discovered, and which form the subject of this erudite disquisition, are worn, as I have before remarked, by the _women_ of America, in the time of sickness. Now, it is an established fact, that, in all nations and in all ages, the one great and laudable desire of woman is, that she may be blessed with children. For this she suffers, and for this she prays. The reliance, therefore, of the women of j.a.pan and the women of America, upon these ugly-looking, corpulent little demons, to a.s.sist them in attaining this one prevalent, paramount desire, establishes the sameness of their origin, and leaves no lingering doubt in my mind, and, of course, none in the mind of the intelligent and candid reader, that, wherever the _men_ of those almost exterminated races may have come from, they certainly brought their _wives_ from j.a.pan.

If it were desirable to go farther to prove my point, I might allude for strong confirmation, to the fact, as laid down in an old writer, that the Chinese claim to have discovered America, more than two hundred years before Columbus attempted to cross the Atlantic. It was in the year 1270, that China was overrun by the Tartars; and it is given out, that a body of one hundred thousand inhabitants, refusing obedience to their new masters, set sail, in one thousand s.h.i.+ps, to find a new country, or perish in the enterprise. The origin of Mexico is thus accounted for. And nothing is more natural than to suppose, that, in making up so magnificent an expedition, they would find some of their j.a.panese neighbors desirous to accompany them.

In addition to this, the learned philologists, who have investigated the languages of the Aboriginal nations, with a view to tracing their origin, have found, in the names of places and things, many striking correspondencies with the language of j.a.pan. And Barton, one of our own countrymen, has published a very elaborate treatise on the subject, in which he undertakes, and, as he thinks, successfully, to prove, that the language originally spoken in both the Americas, are radically one and the same with those of the various nations, which are known by the general name of Tartars.

Having got my hand in, and feeling somewhat encouraged by the singular success of the above triumphant philosophical disquisition, I am strongly tempted to trespa.s.s upon the patience of the reader, while I proceed to inquire into the probable reasons why the wors.h.i.+ppers of idols, who have the choosing of their own G.o.ds, so generally delight in those of grotesque and ugly shapes, and unseemly proportions. Since our fellow-creatures, even our wives and our children, are loved and cherished in proportion as they are rendered lovely to the sight by the graces of form, feature, complexion and expression, how happens it that those objects of adoration, who are supposed to preside over and control the interest and destinies of men, in all their relations to each other, and the dearest objects of their affections, should be clothed in forms of the most unnatural and disgusting appearance? But I forbear.

I had pa.s.sed several days among the ruins of Panuco. They were days of unusual mental excitement, and bodily fatigue. There was enough around me to occupy and interest me many days longer. But I was unprepared for the investigation. I had gratified, but by no means satisfied, my curiosity; and my attention was now necessarily turned from the sepulchres of the dead, towards the dwellings of the living. I gathered up my little stock of relics, consisting chiefly of idol images, found among the dilapidated temples and dwellings of the departed, and, with no little difficulty, conveyed them in safety to "the lady's room." Taking a last farewell of this apartment, and of the friends who entertained me there, I betook myself again to my canoe, bestowing my little demons carefully in the bottom, and covering them, with my hammock, and other travelling apparatus.

The voyage down the river was as quiet and beautiful as can be conceived.

The greater part of it was performed at night, under favor of a full moon, through fear of being surprised by the natives, who, in that event, either from superst.i.tion or jealousy, would, no doubt, have deprived me of my small collection of idols.

[Ill.u.s.tration: TRAVELLING BY NIGHT.]

I arrived at Tampico in the early part of April. Mine host of the French Hotel was as ready to receive me, as on my first arrival in the city, and his "accommodations" were equally inviting. The city was in a state of considerable excitement, in consequence of the daily expectation of the declaration of War by France. The Mexican Congress had, sometime before, pa.s.sed a law, forbidding any foreigner to carry on a retail business in Mexico, after a certain specified time, on peril of confiscation. This law deeply affected the interests of a considerable number of Frenchmen, who, under the protection of the previous statutes, had established themselves in the country, investing their little all in the retail business. It was, in fact, a decree of banishment, without any alleged fault on their part, and with the certain sacrifice of all their property.

The day arrived when the invidious law was to go into effect. The French retailers, acting under instructions from their government, and a promise of protection in any event, took a careful inventory of their goods, locked up their stores, placed the keys, with the certified inventory, in the hands of their Consuls, and waited the result. It was a quiet and dignified movement on the part of France, a sort of silent defiance which could not be misunderstood. But it was amusing to witness the different effects of this state of things, upon the different cla.s.ses of French residents. Some of them, with an air of perfect nonchalance, as if fearing no power on earth, and knowing no anxiety beyond the present moment, improved the season as a holyday, a sort of carnival extraordinary, devoted to visiting, dancing, and all kinds of sports. Others, of a more mercurial temperament, bl.u.s.tered about the streets, flouris.h.i.+ng their arms with the most violent gesticulations, scowling fearfully, swearing huge oaths of vengeance, and seemingly taking the entire affairs of the two nations into their own hands. It was a windy war. And sure I am, if the Mexican rulers had seen the fuming, and heard the sputtering of all these miniature volcanoes, they would have felt the seat of power tremble beneath them.

The result of this movement proved, as thousands of similar movements have done before, that "wisdom is better than weapons of war." The Mexicans were completely _non-plus'd_. The offensive law was not violated in any case, and they had no handle for a further act of oppression. The foreign residents only stood on the defensive, and thus put the government in the wrong. They felt their position, and made a precipitate retreat. After a few days of awkward dalliance, they issued new instructions to the local authorities, informing them that they had misinterpreted the law, and misunderstood its purport. It was thus virtually abrogated, and the business of foreigners has since been suffered to flow on in its ordinary channels.

It is not, perhaps, quite as awkward a matter for a _nation_ to _back out_ from the position it has deliberately taken with reference to another, as for an _individual_ to find himself compelled to do the same thing with reference to his antagonist. The responsibility is divided among so many--the body politic having no soul of its own--that there can be little, if any, personal feeling in the matter. And patriotism, which is a personal virtue wherever it exists, has generally so little to do with such movements, that we leave it out of the question altogether. But, agreeable or disagreeable, backing out is the only safe course, where the weak have given offence to the strong. It is a position and a movement that poor, divided, distracted Mexico, has become quite familiar with. And there is good reason to apprehend that she will yet have more experience of the same kind. Her present relations to the United States, and the ground she has taken in reference to the independence and annexation of Texas, leave little room for doubt, that she will, ere long, take another lesson in the tactics of retreat. As long as private ends are to be promoted by it, or the interests of a political clique advanced, so long she will bl.u.s.ter and threaten. More than this she will never even attempt to do. For the most selfish of her political leaders, and the most violent of her bl.u.s.tering patriots, knows too much to stake his all, and the all of his country, upon the cast of a die, which might, by possibility, turn up a war with the United States.

The probability is, with regard to this very law, of which I have before spoken, that it was never intended to go into full effect. It was a mere money-getting experiment--a contrivance to levy black mail, in the name of the state, upon the foreign residents. They took it for granted, while pa.s.sing the law, that the parties against whose interests it was aimed, would at once propose to buy off, and that large bribes would be offered to secure exemption from its effects. And the only chagrin they experienced, in finding themselves out-generaled by a sagacious adversary, arose from the necessity of relinquis.h.i.+ng the expected booty.

But let me not longer detain the reader from his promised introduction to the Talismanic Images, the ugly little divinities of the ancient dames of Anahuac. _Ecce Dii Penates!_

[Ill.u.s.tration]

CHAPTER XI

EXCURSION ON THE TAMISSEE RIVER. CHAPOTe, ITS APPEARANCE IN THE LAKES AND THE GULF OF MEXICO.

Once more in a canoe.--The Tamissee river.--Fertility of its banks.--Wages on the plantations.--Magnificent trees.--Mounds on Carmelote creek.--Entertained by a Yankee.--Character and condition of the people.--The Chapote--Observed on the lakes in the interior of Mexico.--Seen also in the Gulf.--Article in Hunt's Merchants' Magazine.--Speculations of the writer upon the Gulf Stream.--Supposed connection with the Pacific ocean.--Objections to this theory.--Another view of the matter.--Insects.--Return to Tampico. The city in mourning.

It was not enough for me to know that I had _arrived_ at Tampico. I soon became uneasy; and, being desirous to make the best use of my time, my thoughts were immediately turned upon resuming my paddle in some other direction. Accordingly, in the evening of an early day, I found myself once more in a canoe, with an Indian for a companion, going up the Tamissee River, for the purpose of visiting the creeks that empty into it at different points, and of ascertaining what ruins might be found in their vicinity.

This river rises at the foot of the mountains near Victoria, and falls into the Panuco at Tampico. It is navigable about forty leagues, for any vessel that can pa.s.s the bar, at which the depth of water is only eight or nine feet. The average depth of the stream is eight fathoms,--and a s.h.i.+p of a hundred guns, might haul up close to the side of its banks. This river rises and falls but little, and there are no towns situated upon its margin. Its crystal waters are well stocked with fish, of various kinds.

The scenery, on either side, is exceedingly beautiful, opening occasionally, as you pa.s.s along, the most picturesque landscapes, and then completely embowering you in the shade of the luxuriant trees, that overhang the stream.

The borders of the Tamissee, with a soil of exceeding richness and fertility, are under Indian cultivation, and supply the market of Tampico with fruit and vegetables. The plantain is in great request there, and plantations for cultivating it are numerous and extensive. Its growth is luxuriant, and its flavor particularly rich and agreeable. Sugar cane grows almost spontaneously, and in such abundance that credulity itself is staggered at the thought. One planting, without further care or labor, is all that it requires of human attention, for fifteen or twenty years. I measured a cane which had been planted nine years. It was vigorous and thrifty, as if of last year's planting, had grown to the enormous length of twenty-one feet, and exhibited forty-five joints. The product of the juice, though not perhaps in full proportion to the size of the plant, is much greater than that of the ordinary cane. Thirty-two gallons of the juice will yield no less than twelve pounds of sugar. This is considered only a fair average. That this gigantic cane is in very tall company, will be seen from the fact that the bamboo, which I have often measured, grows to the height of sixty feet.

Wages, on these plantations, including the amount of one dollar allowed in rations of corn, are seven dollars per month, which, if properly husbanded, and prudently expended, would afford a comfortable subsistence to the laborer. But the Indians, who perform all this kind of labor, are, as I have before had occasion to remark, proverbially lazy and s.h.i.+ftless. Great difficulty is experienced, in all this country, in keeping them steadily at any kind of work. To find one of them so industrious and thoughtful, as to have any thing in advance of the absolute wants of the day, would be matter of astonishment. They work only when they are hungry, and stop as soon as they are fed. The instincts of nature alone can rouse them to make any exertion, unless compelled by some superior force, or a contract from which they cannot escape.

The price of the ordinary sugar, in this vicinity, is only about two cents per pound; but the clay-clarified is worth from twelve to fourteen cents, a price which, it would seem, would amply remunerate the manufacturer. And yet I do not know of an establishment of the kind in any section of this country. If any enterprising Yankee should take the hint, and realize a fortune in the enterprise, I trust he will bear in mind, as he retires, that "one good turn deserves another."

In pursuing my different routes through the woods, and along the water courses, of Mexico, I have often been struck with the immense size, and luxuriant foliage of the trees. The Banyan, or wild fig, in particular--of which I had occasion to take some notice before--with its numerous gigantic trunks, propping up its great lateral branches, from which they had originally descended in slender suckers, often covers an immense area.

Possessing within itself the material for a vast forest, it presents to the beholder a magnificent and imposing spectacle. From some points of view, when favorably situated, it has the aspect of a vast natural temple, with its "long drawn aisles" and its almost endless colonnades supporting a roof overgrown with trees, and walls hung with cl.u.s.tering vines. The gloomy recesses within, would seem a fitting altar-place for the b.l.o.o.d.y rites of that dark idolatry, which once overshadowed these beautiful regions.

The fan palm, called here _palma real_ or royal palm, rises from seventy to eighty feet in height. It is a magnificent tree, and whether seen in cl.u.s.ters, or alone, is always beautiful. With its tall straight trunk, and its richly tufted crown of fringed leaves, waving and trembling in every breath of air that stirs, and glistening in the sun with a beautiful l.u.s.tre, it has a glory and a grace peculiar to itself. It was so abundant in this region, at the time of the conquest, that the Panuco was then called the Rio des Palmas, the River of Palms. A great variety of other trees are met with here, of magnificent size and splendid foliage, waving their brilliant branches in the breeze, and presenting strong inducements to the traveller continually to pause in wonder and admiration. In good sooth, it may be said that "man is the only thing that dwindles here."

Having hauled up under a tree, made fast our canoe, and spread my blanket over me, I pa.s.sed a comfortable night, as I had often done before, in the same primitive way. In the morning, I continued on my way two or three leagues farther up the river, where I found ruins, similar, in their general character, to those I have already described. They covered a considerable s.p.a.ce, and were buried in some places, beneath ma.s.ses of vegetable mould, and in others, overgrown with trees of immense size and great age. I wandered up and down among them, for a considerable time, sometimes cutting my way through the thick forest, and sometimes clambering over piles of broken stones, and long dilapidated walls, till I was quite weary with my labors. But I made no discoveries of sufficient interest to require a particular description. Every thing was so utterly ruinous, that it was impossible to trace out the lines of a single building, or determine the boundaries of the city, in any direction.

Some distance farther up, on Carmelote Creek, there are other ruins, in the midst of which there are seventeen large mounds, of a somewhat peculiar construction. Though in a pretty good state of preservation, I found that the walls were not built of stone. I penetrated one of them to some distance, but discovered nothing but earth and mortar, and broken pieces of pottery, with a few rude specimens of carved images, cut in concrete sandstone. Some of the latter were as large as life. One of these I brought away with me; also several fragments of Penates, some of which are represented in the engraving at the close of this chapter.

The mortar in these mounds seems to have been placed in layers at the bottom of the walls, but for what purpose I could not discover. It was not used as a cement, for, as I have said, there were no stones to be cemented.

It was my opinion that these mounds were erected as places of burial, but there were no bones to be found, nor other traces of human remains.

At night, I came to a house, which seemed more like home than any thing I had seen in Mexico. The very sight of it was refres.h.i.+ng to the traveller.

The arrangements were all made with good taste and judgment, and a due regard to comfort. The grounds were pleasantly laid out, and beautifully ornamented with trees and flowers. On inquiry, I learned, as might have been expected, that this inviting looking place was built and occupied by a thriving Yankee, who had brought with him to Mexico his good notions of husbandry and house-keeping. He gave me a hearty welcome to his house, and entertained me, for the night, with the greatest kindness and hospitality.

If there were a few more such hospitable, home-like resting-places, distributed here and there among these interesting regions, it would be vastly more agreeable and comfortable to the jaded traveller, who attempts to explore their time-honored ruins.

The native Mexicans, in these parts, are an indolent, haughty, overbearing race. Still adhering to the barbarous policy of old Spain, they hold the people of every nation except their own, however much they may be in advance of them, in utter contempt. They are decidedly the most disagreeable cla.s.s of people in this country. There is little intelligence or information among them. Education is at a very low ebb. There are some bright exceptions to this general remark; but they are lamentably few and far between. Whether a good school-master would be well sustained in this region, is a question which I am not prepared to answer; but certain I am he would find ample scope for the exercise of his vocation--a native soil wholly unoccupied, except with weeds.

In pursuing my adventures, I stopped frequently at the different _milpas_ that lay in the way; but nothing like thrift or comfort was any where visible. A rude hovel with mud walls, and a single room, is all they aspire to, in the way of a dwelling. The land is rich and fruitful to excess, and the lounging, listless Indian is the only insurmountable obstacle to its profitable cultivation and improvement. In the hands of our southern planters, or of the st.u.r.dy farmers of the northern and western states, this whole region would become a paradise of perennial fruits and flowers, and teem with the golden treasures of every clime under heaven.

In some of the fresh water lakes, in the interior, the "chapote," a species of asphaltum, is found bubbling up to the surface. When washed upon the borders, it is gathered, and used as a varnish upon the bottoms of canoes.

It has a peculiar pungent smell, like that of liquid asphaltum, and possesses, I think, some of its qualities. I have observed a remarkable phenomenon, of the same kind, out of sight of land, in the Gulf of Mexico, where the waters bubble up in the same manner, and accompanied with a similar smell. There can be no doubt that the ebullition and effluvia observed in the Gulf, are the effect of the same cause, which produces the asphaltic substance on the surface of the Lakes.

This Asphaltic deposite in the Gulf, it appears, has attracted the notice of others, and from it a theory has recently been formed, to account for that hitherto unexplained, or not satisfactorily explained phenomenon, the Gulf Stream. The article appears in the August number of Hunt's Merchant's Magazine. As I had remarked upon the circ.u.mstance before that article was published, and furnished my remarks to the writer, as a confirmation of his statements, each of them having been made without a knowledge of the other, I think it not amiss to present, in this place, the substance of his theory, and the reasons upon which it is founded. I shall then have an opinion of my own to present, which differs materially from his.

The opinion of the writer is, that the Gulf Stream is not caused by the trade winds forcing into the Caribbean Sea, between the South Caribbee Islands and the coast of South America, a large quant.i.ty of water which can only find vent into the North Atlantic, by the Florida channel. In his view, there are serious objections to this theory. First, the water in the Gulf Stream is hotter than that of any part of the Atlantic, under the equator, and therefore it cannot be that, which supplies this never failing current. Secondly, the water of the Stream is hotter in deep water, where the current begins, or rather where it has become regular and strong, than it is in the Gulf, on soundings, where there is little or no current, indicating that it comes not from the sh.o.r.es, but from the bottom in deep water.

Thirdly, the appearance, in the Gulf, of bubbles of asphaltum constantly rising to the surface, and spread over it for a considerable distance. It has been collected in quant.i.ties sufficient to cover vessels chains, and other portions of the equipments. It is of a bituminous character, offensive to the smell, and becomes hard on exposure to the sun, forming a durable varnish, and doing better service on iron than any paint.

Fourthly, the volume of the Gulf Stream is sometimes so great, that the Florida channel is not sufficient to give it outlet, and the excess pa.s.ses off to the south of the Island of Cuba. This has been noticed to such an extent, that vessels, in sailing across from Cape Catoche, the eastern extremity of Yucatan, to Cape Corientes or Antonio, are often driven by it very much to the eastward of their course. It is manifest that such a current could not exist, if the Gulf Stream were supplied by waters driven from that direction, as the two currents would counteract and destroy each other.

From these premises, the inference of the writer is, that nothing less than an ocean subsidiary to the Atlantic could supply the immense quant.i.ty of water, which is continually flowing out of the Gulf, with the force of an independent stream. And because this portion of the Atlantic is separated from the Pacific only by a narrow Isthmus, and the water in the Pacific is known to be constantly higher than that in the Atlantic, a pa.s.sage under the Isthmus would necessarily create a powerful current. This pa.s.sage he supposes to exist, to afford the supply necessary to keep the Gulf Stream perpetually in action. And, as the regions through which the supposed pa.s.sage is formed, are known to be volcanic, the supposition accounts for the high temperature of the water, as well as for the force of the current.

With regard to the temperature of the water in the stream, it is stated, that its average, off the Capes of Florida, is 86, and in lat.i.tude 36, it is 81; while the mean temperature of the atmosphere, under the equator, is 74, and of the water of the Atlantic, in the same place, not above 60. It appears, then, that the water of the Stream, in pa.s.sing out of the Gulf is some 26 hotter than that of the ocean, which, under the old theory, is supposed to supply it.

There is an error, either of the author, or of the printer, in these figures. The temperature of the Gulf Stream is correctly given; but he has evidently placed that of the ocean under the tropics, too low. It does not materially affect his argument, however, since it is undoubtedly a fact, notwithstanding the a.s.sertions of another writer, who has undertaken to reply to the article in question, that the water of the Gulf Stream, after it leaves the tropics, is warmer by some degrees, than the average of any part of the ocean under the tropics. On this point, the argument in Hunt's Magazine will not, I imagine, be controverted.