If I am justified in this conjecture,—and it is impossible to convey to the reader any adequate impression of the collateral and incidental evidences, which, to one on the spot, spring up at every step, to give color and support to such a conjecture,—then may I venture one step farther, and infer that the ruins of this vicinity, are those of a capital city, a royal residence of one of those ancient empires—the seat of its court—the place of the sepulchres of its kings. There is nothing either in the magnitude and extent of the ruins, or in the traces of elaborate art expended in their construction and finish, to throw a shade over such an inference. The area occupied by them is sufficiently vast for the metropolis of any empire, ancient or modern. The ruins are those which might have belonged to palaces and temples, as magnificent and extensive as any that have yet been discovered in the Western World. The style and finish of those that are sufficiently preserved to justify an opinion, are as elaborate and complete, as the most perfect specimens of ancient American art that have fallen under my observation. While the evidences are not slight, that a vast area of similar remains lies buried under the soil, which, for ages has been accumulating upon them, by natural deposit during the rainy seasons, and the gradual abrasion of the adjacent mountains.
If the above inference be deemed admissible, it cannot be thought extravagant to conclude, that these ruins are of very ancient date, and belong to the history of a people, much older than any respecting whom we have any authentic records—a people who had probably passed away before the era of the Spanish conquest. It seems to me impossible to come to any other conclusion. And I cannot avoid expressing my surprise, at the apparent ease with which some writers have arrived at a different result. As an argument on the subject may not be acceptable to all my readers, I will not cumber this part of the work with any further speculations, but reserve them for a closing chapter, which can be omitted by those whose minds are made up, or who do not feel interested to go below the surface, in order to unravel the enigmas of time.
There are other ruins, situated south of Panuco, at the distance of about three leagues. They are known as the ruins of "Cerro Chacuaco." They are represented as covering an extent of about three leagues square, with unquestionable evidence that they were all comprised within the bounds of one vast city. I may also mention those of "San Nicholas," distant five leagues on the south west, and those of "A la Trinidad," about six leagues in nearly the same direction. There are also other ruins, of which I obtained some information, at a still greater distance. Indeed, it would appear that the whole region is full of them, on every side—melancholy memorials of the immense numbers, as well as of the mighty power and wealth of the ill-fated race, that once flourished here. As far as I could rely upon the information received, all these ruins present the same general features, as those which I have already described. It is probable that they all belong to the same period, and were built by the same race; and the evidence is clear to my mind, that that race was much more ancient, and further advanced in the arts of civilized life, than any of the American races now remaining, or any whose history has come down to us.
It was among the ruins of "Cerro Chacuaco," that the two vases represented below, were found. They are made of the common clay of the country, well wrought and handsomely formed, and could not have been made as they are, without some mechanical contrivance. The head on the first and larger one is decidedly that of the negro, with low, retreating forehead, flat nose, and thick lips. From this circumstance, I should judge it to be of recent origin, as there is no evidence that any of the African race were ever found in America, till they were introduced there as slaves in the sixteenth century. The natives, degraded as they are at the present day, are not unskilful in the manufacture of pottery, for common uses; and these, though of a higher finish than any that I have seen there, might have been lost, or left among the ruins, by some passing traveller. I am the more inclined to this opinion, from the circumstance that the people here take no interest whatever in examining the ruins, and would never think of going beneath the surface, to find anything that might be buried under them. I therefore conclude that these must have been found in some open place, above ground, where they could not have lain many years, without crumbling into decay.
CHAPTER X.
DISCOVERY OF TALISMANIC PENATES.—RETURN BY NIGHT TO TAMPICO.
Speculations upon the images.—Superstitious reliance of the natives upon them in seasons of sickness.—Blending of idolatries.—Clue to the solution of a great problem.—Far-fetched theories.—The New World peopled from the Old.—Similarity in the objects and forms of worship, good evidence of similarity of origin.—Peculiar ugliness and obesity of many of the idols of Asia.—Ugnee, of Hindostan.—Gan, of China.—Fottei, of Japan.—Conclusion to be drawn from these facts.—Confirmed by the claims of the Chinese to the first discovery of America.—Still further by the analogy between the languages of America and those of Tartary.—Predilection of idolatry for ugliness.—Return by night to Tampico.—Rumors of war.—French retailers.—Mexico backing out.