The Progress of Ethnology Part 12

[4] Second Note sur une pierre gravee trouve dans un ancien tumulus Americain, et a cette occasion, sur l'idiome Libyen, par M. Jomard. 8vo.

Paris, 1846.

[5] See Mr. Catherwood's paper on the Thugga monument and its inscriptions, in the Ethnolg. Trans. Vol. I. p. 477.

[6] Notes on Africa. p.

[7] The essay here alluded to, was the reply of Mr. Jomard to a note addressed to him by Mr. Eugene Vail, in 1839, announcing the discovery of the inscribed tablet in the Grave-creek mound, and requesting his opinion in relation to it. In this reply, Mr. Jomard stated that they were of the same character with the inscriptions found by Major Denham in the interior of Africa, as well as in Algiers and Tunis. This note was inserted in Mr. Vail's work ent.i.tled "_Notice sur les Indiens de l'Amerique du Nord_." Paris, 1840. This work is scarcely known in the United States.

[8] I am aware that many believe the sculptures on the Dighton rock to contain several alphabetic characters. Prof. Rafn in his learned and ingenious memoir on this inscription, supports this view. In fact, Mr.

Jomard himself hints at their Phoenician origin.

[9] Histoire Naturelle des Canaries. Tom. I. p. 23

[10] Scenes in the Rocky Mountains, Oregon, California, &c., by a New Englander. p. 198.

[11] Scenes in the Rocky Mountains, California, &c. by a New Englander.

p. 180.

[12] Auburn (New York) Banner, 1837.

[13] Political Essay on New Spain. Vol. 2, p. 315. (London ed. in 4 vols. 8vo.)

[14] Life and Travels in California. p. 372.

[15] Dr. Lyman states, that "in the autumn of 1841, an American trader with thirty-five men, went from Bents fort to the Navijo country, built a breastwork with his bales of goods, and informed the astonished Indians, that he had 'come into their country to trade or fight, which ever they preferred.' The campaigns of the old trappers were too fresh in their memory to allow hesitation. They chose to trade, and soon commenced a brisk business."

[16] Humboldt's Political Essay on New Spain. Vol. 2, p. 316. On the testimony of the missionaries of the _Collegio de Queretaro_, versed in the Aztec language, M. Humboldt states, that the language spoken by the Moqui Indians is essentially different from the Mexican language. In the seventeenth century, missionaries were established among the Moquis and Navijos, who were ma.s.sacred in the great revolt of the Indians in 1680.

[17] Clavigero, Hist. Mexico. Vol. 1, p. 151. Humboldt's Polit. Essay on New Spain, Vol. 2. p. 300. A more detailed account of these remains, may be found in the Appendix to Castaneda's "_Relation du Voyage de Cibola en 1540_," published in the "_Relations et memoirs originaux_" of Ternaux-Compans. The state of the country, the manners and customs of the Indians, and their peculiar state of civilization are given at length, and are interesting in this enquiry. The notice of the "_Grande Maison, dite de Moctezuma_," is extracted from the journal of Father Pedro Font, who traversed this country to Monterey, on the Pacific, in 1775.

[18] Report to the Royal Geographical Society, London, Nov. 9, 1846.

[19] Nouvelles Annales des Voyages. Feb. 1846. p. 146.

[20] London Athenaeum, Aug. 8, 1846, in which is a condensed account of this journey.

[21] Simmond's Colonial Magazine. Vol. V. p. 87.

[22] There is evidently some mistake in these dimensions, which would give a ma.s.s of masonry many times larger than the great pyramid at Ghizeh.

[23] London Athenaeum, Nov. 9. 1846.

[24] Journal of the Geographical Society. Vol. 16.

[25] Missionary Herald, vol. 41. p. 218.

[26] London Athenaeum, March 7, 1846.

[27] Ibid. Oct. 31, 1846.

[28] Bulletin de la Societe de Geographie. Rapport par M. Roger. 1846.

p. 321.

[29] London Athenaeum, July 4, 1846.

[30] London Athenaeum, July, 1845.

[31] The Geography of N'Ya.s.si, or the Great Lake of Southern Africa, investigated, with an account of the overland route from the Quanza, in Angola, to the Zambezi, in the government of Mozambique, by Wm.

Desbrough Cooley, in the Journal of the Royal Geographical Society, London. Vol. xv.

[32] Notes on African Geography, by James M'Queen.--_Ibid._ Contributions towards the Geography of Africa, by James McQueen, in Simmond's Colonial Magazine, Vol. vi.

[33] Journal of the Royal Geographical Society, Vol. 15, p. 371.

[34] Nouvelles Annales des Voyages: May, 1846, p. 139.

[35] Bulletin de la Societe de Geographie de France, for 1845, p. 251.

[36] Notice sur le Progres des decouvertes Geographiques pendant l'annee, 1845, par V. de St. Martin. Bulletin de la Societe de Geographie, p. 245.

[37] Nouvelles Annales des Voyages. Notes Ethnologiques, sur la race blanche des Aures. Par M. Guyon. Janvier, 1846, p. 116.

[38] Comptes-Rendus de l'Academie des Sciences, 29 Dec. 1845.

[39] Revue Archaeologique, Nov. 1845.

[40] The incident which led to the discovery of this alphabet is deserving of notice. An Algerine named Sidy-Hamdan-Ben-Otsman-Khodja, who had gained the confidence of the Duke of Rovigo, then Governor of Algiers, was in correspondence with the Bey of Constantine. The Hadji Ahmed, to render this correspondence more sure, wrote his letters in conventional signs, known among certain Arabs by the name of _romouz_.

Ali the son of Sidy-Hamdan, who was the bearer of these Missives, had lived a long time in France as an officer in the employ of the Sublime Porte; and in his hands M. Boisonnet one day discovered the letters of Hadji Ahmed. On glancing his eye over one of these doc.u.ments he discovered at the top (_en vedette_) two groups of signs, which, from their situation, he readily imagined might be the equivalents of the Arab sacramental words, _Praise be to G.o.d_, with which all good Musselmen generally begin an epistle. With this supposition he applied the alphabetic value to each character, and thus obtained the value of six of these strange cyphers. The next day he obtained two of these doc.u.ments or letters from Ali, who little suspected what use he intended making of them. With these materials he diligently applied himself, and on the following morning sent him a complete translation of the letters.

Ali was greatly alarmed that Mr. Boisonnet had solved the enigma, but more so that he had thereby become acquainted with the correspondence.

Struck with the a.n.a.logy between these characters and the Lybian characters on the Thugga monument, he applied the alphabet discovered by him, and the result is known.--_Revue Archaeologique_, November, 1845.

[41] See De Saulcy. Revue des deux Mondes, June, 1846.

[42] The accident which led to this second discovery deserves to be mentioned. The person into whose hands the ma.n.u.script fell, while examining the leaves which were remarkably thick, accidentally spilt a tumbler of water on it. In order to dry it he placed it in the sun in a window, when the parchment that was wet separated. He opened the leaves which had been sealed and found the Pagan ma.n.u.script between them. A farther examination showed that the entire volume was similarly formed.

[43] Keppell's Borneo, vol. I. p. 233.

[44] Keppell's Borneo, vol. I. p. 59.

[45] Missionary Herald, vol. 42, p. 100.

[46] Letter to the Hon. C.J. Ingersoll, chairman of the committee on foreign affairs, containing some brief notices respecting the present state, productions, trade, commerce, &c. of the Comoro Islands, Abyssinia, Persia, Burma, Cochin China, the Indian Archipelago, and j.a.pan; and recommending that a special mission be sent by the government of the United States, to make treaties and extend our commercial relations with those countries: by Aaron H. Palmer, councillor of the Supreme Court of the United States.

[47] See "China Mail" newspaper, for March 26, 1846.

[48] Frazer's Magazine, 1846. In this Magazine is an article of much interest on the commercial relations of the Indian Archipelago.