Strange Cave.
Not far from the Village Cuertlavaca, lies a high Mountain, remarkable for a strange Cave, whose Entrance is very narrow, at the end whereof appears a square Place of fifty Foot; upon one side whereof stand Pits with Steps; near which begins a crooked Way of a League long; at the end of which is a spacious Place with a Fountain of good Water; from the Foot of which flows a small Brook: But because none have made any farther discovery of this Cave, the other parts of it remain yet unknown.
On the top of St. Antonio, the Indians live with their Families in Caves between the Rocks.
Not far from hence appear two Mountains, whose tops, though they lie at a great distance from one another, at the bottom they are so near, that a Man may step from one to the other.
The six Rocks Pennoles, formerly Garrison’d by the Kings of Mexico, have Gold, Lead-Mynes, and a Root which is us’d in stead of Soap.
In the Village Totomachiapo, is a Cave of half a Mile long, at the end whereof the Water prevents a farther discovery.
The Rocky Countrey Zapotecas formerly bred very salvage Inhabitants, Mantled in Furrs, but now Civiliz’d, clad after the common manner.
Americans, whether Extracted from the ten Tribes of Israel.
The People spread over Guaxacualco, Yluta, and Cueztxatla, observe Circumcision, according to an ancient Custom; from whence some have in vain sought for a testimony, that these Americans should be originally extracted from the scatter’d Tribes of Israel; but the Tartars more immediately, who at last crossing the Straits of Anian, furnish’d the desolate Countrey of America with Inhabitants: But this Opinion is without any probability of truth; for it will never follow from their Circumcision, that the Tartars, the greatest People on Earth, must owe their original to a few Israelites, Prisoners, since that Ceremony was never thought on by them till they embrac’d the Mahumetan Religion. And though they had been Circumcis’d before Mahomet’s time, this would be no testimony that they were extracted from the Israelites: for how many People embrac’d Circumcision, which were never extracted from Abraham’s Seed? It is affirm’d by Diodorus Siculus, that the Cholchians; by Philo Judæus, the Egyptians; by Herodotus, the Moors; by Strabo, the Troglodytes; by Cyprian, the Phœnicians and Arabians Circumcis’d themselves from all Antiquity, which is to this day observ’d by some of them. It also plainly appears by the Prophet Jeremiah, that the Egyptians, Edomites, Ammonites, Moabites, and Ishmaelites, had the same Custom anciently amongst them.
Towns and chief Villages of Guaxaca.