The American Nations Part 4

Carli, American Letters.-Italian work.

Ogilby, History and Geography of America, till 1670.

Raynal, European Settlements in America, till 1774.

Alcedo, Geographical Dictionary of Spanish America in 1786.-Spanish work.

Maltebrun, Improved Geography, 1820.

Touron, History of America, chiefly ecclesiastical, and incomplete, 14 volumes 1768-70, in French.

Robertson, false History of America or Spanish Conquests of Mexico or Peru.

The collections of travels by Hackluyt, Purchas, Harris, Ramusio, Barcias, Prevost, &c.

The American researches of Ulloa, Humboldt, M'Culloh, &c.

I have consulted and a.n.a.lyzed all these general works, and many others of less account; but I have not yet read Hervas nor Compagnone, knowing them merely through quotations

The first _Bibliotheca Americana_ or catalogue of writers on America, was given by Kennet in 1701 and 1713. Another appeared in England in 1719; a third in France in 1820. They contain the names, authors, editions, dates, &c. of over 300 works relating to America. Robertson has given a list of nearly as many, which he pretends to have consulted, although he neglected what they tell us. Humboldt has also a catalogue of 250 authors, consulted by him. In 1831, Aspinwall published his American Library containing 771 works; and Warden, in Paris, his own, containing 977 American works with 133 atla.s.ses and maps.

All this does not complete the account of books on America; since I have seen many omitted in all these catalogues; although I never could meet some mentioned there. I will carefully notice them, that it may be known where I found my materials, and what may yet have escaped my researches. I have already consulted upwards of 600 writers on both Americas, and there are at least 1000 already printed, I mean special or local works connected with history. If we were to add to these the botanists, naturalists, paltry compilers, and pamphlets, we might make a catalogue of 3000 works on America, her inhabitants and productions.

I will refer gradually to them, and have collected them all in my ma.n.u.script ill.u.s.trations; _materials_, _printed works_. Therefore we do not lack printed materials: but the choice of the best is difficult: since many works merely consist in fables, blunders, errors, hypotheses and their constant repet.i.tions: which ought to be rejected in order to gather facts and the truth. But we must not reject as pyrrhoniams all that may clash with our ideas and systems: it is chiefly needful so recall and restore the events and facts mentioned by the earliest travellers and observers.

These numerous local writers ought to be divided into three cla.s.ses. 1.

historians and annalists, 2. travellers and geographers, 3. antiquarians and philologists. I shall now merely mention the most useful (which I have all consulted) upon the Peruvian and Austral regions of South America.

1st. The princ.i.p.al historians are, 1. Molina, History of Chili, 2. Funes, Civil History of Buenos Ayres, Paraguay and Tuc.u.man, 3. Lavega, History of Peru, 4. Debrizoffer, history of Abipones, 5. Charlevoix of Paraguay, 6.

Techo, on Ditto, 7, 8. Lozano and Jolis on Chaco, 9. Muratori, and 10.

Renger, Paraguay.

2d. The princ.i.p.al writers who have furnished historical facts, with geographical and ethnographical materials, are _old travellers_, 1.

Pigafetta and Magellan, 2. Cabot, 3. Shmidel, 4. Drake, 5. Cavendish, 6.

Acarete, 7. Knivet, 8. Frezier, 9. Sepp, 10. Brewer, 11. Nyel, 12.

Schmidtmeyer.

_The modern travellers are_, 1. Azara, 2. D'Ulloa, 3. Humboldt, 4. Cook, 5. Byron, 6. Laperouse, 7. Stevenson, 8. Myers, 9. Heyn, 10. Beaumont, 11.

Gillespie, 12. Vidal, 13. Wedel, 14. King, 15. Morrell, 16. Andrew, 17.

Temple, 18. Mawe, 19. Proctor, 20. Graham, 21. Head, 22. Pernetty.

The princ.i.p.al original geographers and ethnographers are, 1. Fernandez on Chiquitos 1726, 2. Bueno, Ditto 1800, 3. Falkner, on Patagonia 1774, 4.

Molina on Chili and Cuyo, 5. Lozano on Chaco 1733, 6. Skinner, Memoirs on Peru, 7. Gili, South America 1782.

3d. Lastly the auxiliary writers on philology, antiquities and other historical branches are, 1. Adelung, Vater, Maltebrun, Balbi, &c., on all American languages, 2. American researches of Humboldt, Macculoh 1829.

Those of Depaw and Ranking are shameful, perverting every thing to support false systems.

_Ma.n.u.scripts._ There are yet many such extant on America, in the libraries of both hemispheres. Clavigero gave a long list of Mexican Ma.n.u.scripts.

Funes quotes several on Austral America. There are several extant in Central America and South America, in Peru and Brazil. Many have been lost through wilful neglect, or destroyed at the Spanish Conquest, the expulsion of Jesuits, &c. Those in the ancient languages, Mexican, Tarasca, Tzendal, &c., are now very rare, and much esteemed. Those burnt by Zumaraga, the Mexican Omar, have been often regretted. Lord Kingborough has lately published some at a great cost.

The ma.n.u.scripts which I could consult on South America are but few. Those on North America are more numerous and very important; particularly the traditions of the Linapis, Shawanis, &c., they are chiefly on wood, bark, skins or Mosaic strings. But I have received several ma.n.u.script vocabularies of the languages of Guyana, Brazil, Texas, Mexico, &c. and I have consulted several ma.n.u.scripts in the libraries of Philadelphia.

There are, besides, in the public or private libraries of all the great cities of both Americas, several interesting historical works, which have never been published.

There are several in Philadelphia, particularly the historical collections of Simetierre. Often the best or most important works cannot be printed: while a crowd of paltry compilations are ushered to deceive the public.

This may be deemed a remainder of the prevailing ignorance and error.

Instead of appreciating the learned and useful works, the prevailing taste is for historical romances and systematic fables. It is needful to seek these previous labors, which run the risk of being totally lost, if we will not have again to blush hereafter for these historical losses.

I give the list of such among my own ma.n.u.scripts, as have been employed to write this history. They are yet in my possession, but I wish to see them deposited in a great public library; where they might be consulted.

1. Materials for the history, ethnography, &c. of the Americans, their annals, chronology, &c. 40 books, begun in 1820, continued ever since, and not yet closed.

2. Vocabularies of the ancient and modern languages of both Americas, symbols, glyphs, &c., 4 books, begun 1824.

3. Comparative geography and ethnography of ancient and modern America, 5 books, with maps, &c., begun 1824.

4. Ancient monuments of North and South America, compared with the primitive monuments of the eastern hemisphere, 3 books and 200 plans, &c., 1822.

5. TELLUS, or the primitive History of the Earth and Mankind in Protholia, Oceania and Neotholia, with the ancient and modern general ethnography, 30 books, begun in 1821.

6. Synglosson, or compared examination of all languages and nations, 6 books, begun 1825.

7. Iconographical Ill.u.s.trations of all my historical works and travels, containing over 1000 maps, plans, views, costumes, portraits, alphabets, symbols, implements, &c., in 10 cartoons, begun 1816.

8. Travels in North America, in 1802, 3, 4, and from 1815 to 1835. In many ma.n.u.script books and journals.

I have often been apprehensive of the fate of Boturini, for these interesting ma.n.u.script and long researches. This has happened already for one of my ma.n.u.scripts. As early as 1825 I sent to the Academy of Science in Boston, a ma.n.u.script of 240 pages, being an _account of the materials yet existing for the history of the nations and tribes of America before Columbus_. This was for an offered prize of $100: which was never awarded, although my memoir was declared the best sent. And instead of depositing this ma.n.u.script in the library of the American Antiquarian Society as requested, it has been _lost_ or _stolen_. If never recovered, and that the public may judge of the merits of it, at such an early period of my historical studies: I will state the princ.i.p.al results of my enquiries therein; which tenor, together with their length, were the ostensible reasons for not awarding a prize probably never meant to be awarded.

I therein proved in 1825, 1st. that there are yet materials enough, notwithstanding the loss of many, for an ancient history of America.

2. That a complete American history ought to employ and combine all the materials afforded by geology, geography, physics, chronology, physiology, ethnology, archeology, philology, on America, with all the traditions of the Americans.

3. Geology and physical geography indicates the cradles and ancient settlements of mankind, the revolutions of nature, the places unfit for population, the means of access, probable route of colonies, &c.

4. America has an ancient geography previous to 1492, which ought to be restored.

5. The coincidence of names of nations and tribes, afford a comparitive concordance, indicating ancient connections or ident.i.ty.

6. The ancient American population, must have been derived from the nearest sh.o.r.es of Africa, Europe and Asia. The points where all the indications and traditions tend, are the Antilles, next Paria and Guyana in South America; Anian or Tollan and Alaska in the N. W with Sucanunga or Groenland to the N. E.

7. The philological solution of historical affinities must be sought in the roots of the languages, their conformity or a.n.a.logies, the number of similar sounds, roots and words; which are susceptible of a mathematical calculation, and referable to the theory of probabilities.

8. Many primitive nations in all parts of the earth, may thus be proved to have been akin or related.

9. Noah's flood was nearly general; but perhaps not universal. His ark or THBE was perhaps Thibet: and his 3 sons 3 nations saved there.

10. It has been proved that all the antidiluvian patriarchs were Nations, their long ages being the duration of dynasties or states. This opinion may also be entertained of many other ancient patriarchs or heads of tribes, every where, by the usual figure of personification.

11. Peleg's flood was volcanic, not so general as Noah's. There may have been many successive cataclysms blended in this, as this has been often mistaken in date for Noah's.