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LIBRARY

Purchased from the
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GEORGE W. BALDWIN, Y '53

LETTERS

AND

DlSS'ERTJkTlONS

UPON

iOa®!^ SilJUSTTSo

BY

h (% PICKETT.
Lfite Cbarge' i*kMm to Fein.

WASHlNaTONJ
\<niM.JAU GREER, PRjaSTER.
—1848.—

LETTERS

AND

DZgSES.Tl.T:OHS

UPON

[igm[^^ gKi©j]'i©¥

a

BY

X C, PICKETT,
Laic Charge d' Jffaires to Peru.

WASHINGTON:
WILLIAM GREER, PRINTER.
—184.8.—

The following articles have all appeared heretofore in print —
in Reviews, Wewsipapers and Pamphlets, with the exception qf the
critique on MR. PRESCOTT'S Conquest of Peru. They are
now published, with slight alterations, none qf which are materiiil,
however, except that some qf them have been shortened — an unde.
niable improvement.
Washington City, May 25,. 1848.

LETTERS

ADDRESSED TO FRANCIS MAUKOE, ESQ., CORRESPONDING SECRETARY OF
THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE, ON THE PROPOSED CANAL
ACROSS THE ISTHMUS OF PANAMA.

LETTER 1.
LiM.\, March 5, 1844.
Dear sir : I have had the pleasure, not
long since, of perusing Mr. Wheaton's letter
to you, dated at Berlin, the 15th of July last,
and puhlished in the Intelligencer of the 19th
of August, upon the subject of an artificial
communication between the Atlantic and Pa
cific Oceans, at or not far from the Isthmus of
Panama. This letter is written with all the
ability and perspicuity characteristic of the
productions of its distinguished author, and
contains more information — in reference to the
matter of which it treats — than can be found
any where else within the same compass, as I
believe. But as Mr. Wheaton has never
been at the Isthmus, as I suppose, and has not
had an opportunity of making any personal ob
servations, touching the question he discus
ses, he has underrated, in some degree,
probably, the difficulty of making a ship
canal to connect the two oceans, and overrated
somewhat its importance should it be made.
The idea of a canal across tbe Isthmus
is not a new one. It dates probaWy from
the occupation of the country by the Span-
lards, for the conquistadores, though neither
very enlightendd nor very sagacious men
about commercial matters, could not fail
to be impressed with the advantages that
would haveiesulted to Spanish, commerce and
to Spanish schemes of conquest, could the ob
stacle that presented itself to an intercommuni
cation between the two seas have been removed.
And the convenience and utility of such an in
tercommunication was even then more ob
vious than it is at present. Then voyages from
Europe to the Atlantic or Pacific were three
times as long as they are in our day, were
much more expensive and much more
perilous ; and there is scarcely anything to
be found in the history of human advance
ment more remarkable, than in the art or
Sdence of navigation; and what makes it
so remarkable is, that the means and elements
are about the same that they werf three or four
hundred years ago. Tbe bid navigators had
the magnetic needle as well as the modern —
ship's of nearly the same construction as at
ipresent— cordage and canvass but littl« differ

ent from that now used, and they were without
doubt, as adventurous and as intrfepid, as those
are, whose "march is o'er the mountain
wave " in the present day. And yet, with
this identity of means and of appliances, voy
ages that in the 16th and 17th centuries
seemed to be almost interminable, may now be
performed in a few days! This cannot be bet
ter illustrated than by stating a fact : Even
within a hundred years I believe, a voyage
from Callao— the port of Lima to Valparaiso,
in Chile— sixteen hundred mileS- -consumed six
months of time or more; but hovv it is accom
plished generally in twenty or twenty-five
days, and has been in twelve or thirteen. The
reason of the difference is, that the old navi
gators coasted the whole distance against a wind
and currents always ahead, and now by stand
ing out to sea some distance, favorable winds
are met with. It is said top, that the captain
who by his genius or his good luck discovered
that the voyage could be made in one-eighth or
one-tenth of the usual time was in danger of
being brought before the Inquisition— then
flourishing here as a " practiser of arts in
hibited and out of Warrant,*" and that the In
quisitors who had much more skill in burning
heretics than they had in navigation, were with
difficulty made to believe that this nautical dis
covery could have been achieved in any other
way than by collusion or compact with the
powers of darkness. And thus; the man who
m the present day, would have been honored
and regarded as a public benefactor, thohght
probably that he escaped well by not being
consigned to the flames as a wizard or heretic
or as both.
The circumstance that Portobello and Paiia-
ma, for many years the two great emporiums
for Spanish commerce in South America— the
first on the Atlantic, and the other on the Pa
cific, are not more than sixty or seventy miles
apart— though to reach Panama by sea, it was
necessary to sail eigbt or nine thousand mile^
further than to reach Portobello — must have'
made the importance of a water cojnmunica-
tion between them obvious to the mbst super
ficial observer. But n'othihg was then at
tempted or even projected in the Way of canal-
ing that I am aware of. However, iti the course

of time, men began to speculate earnestly upon
the subject, then to project and then to propose.
Some years ago, I saw a memorial in manu
script from a British subject, to the viceroy of
New Granada, dated about the year 1787," I
think, proposing to make a canal across the
Isthmus. I have forgotten the name of the
memorialist, as well as the fate of his memo
rial. It received neither encouragement nor
notice probably, though, had the author of the
project^ proposed to discover the El Dorado,
his proposition would have been favorably re
ceived, I have no doubt.
Nearly fifty years ago, the Prince of the Peace,
Don Manuel Godoy contemplated — so he
says in his memoirs — the making of a canal
across the Isthmus of Nicaragua, through the
lake of that name, from the gulf of Papagayo,
to the river San Juan, which empties into the
Atlantic, and although, this was not to be a
ship 'canaf, still for a Spanish statesman of that
period, the idea was a very brilliant concep
tion, in a country too, where a deliberative
assembly — the Council of Castile — ^once sol
emnly resolved — so it is said, though libellous-
ly it may be— that it was an impious contra
vention of the purposes of the Almighty to
make canals or improve river navigation, as He
had already placed rivers and streams, where
it was His pleasure they should be.
Me. Wheaton mentions five routes as enu
merated by Baeon Humboldt, by which an
artificial communication might be opened be
tween the two oceans — 1st, across the Isthmus
of Tehuantepec; 2d, across the Isthmus of
Nicaragua; 3d, across the Isthmus of Panama;
4th, across the Isthmus of Darien, and 5th,
across the Isthmus dividing the river Atrato
falling into the Atlantic .and the river Choco
falling into the Pacific.
I do not believe that any traveller, explorei
or projector has ever proposed any route ibr a
canal, except one of the five I have just men
tioned, and in fact, there exists no other, I be
lieve, which could even be considered possible,
to use the word applied to them in general by
Mr. Wheaton, and he distinctly abandons
them all as being impracticable I infer, except
two, for there is, he says, "no other choice than
between the Isthmus of Nicaragua and the
Isthmus of Panama, as themedium of canal
communication between the two oceans." And
if he here means a ship canal, he might have
gone further in my opinion, and have said that
there was no other choice than the Isthmus of
Panama. The routes by Tehuantepec, by Da
rien and by the Atrato are entirely out of the
question. Nothing more need be said, there
fore about them at present, and I will proceed
to state a few facts about the Nicaragua route,
to shew that it too presents insurmountable dif
ficulties to the making of a ship canal, though
not to a common boat canal perhaps, with four
or five feet of water. These facts are — that
lake Nicaragua is 128 feet higlier than the Pa
cific, about sixteen miles distant from it, and
that an expensive tunnel, as well as much ex
pensive lockage would be necessary, and a tun
nel would not answer for a ship canal as it
would be almost impossible to give it the re
quisite dimensions so as to make it of the neces
sary height- Then the river San Juan from the

lake to the Atlantic is seventy-nine miles in
length — abound* in rapids, rocks and shallows,
and could not be made available, except as a
feeder for a canal.
Mk. Stephens, in his work on Central
America, estimates the cost of an ordinary
canal through lake Nicaragua, at from twenty
to twenty-five millions of dollars, and it may
be safely assumed that a ship canal of the same
length over the same ground would co^t one
hundred millions at least, supposing no tunnel
to be necessary. I will here remark, that when
I speak of a ship canal, I mean one that has
twenty feet of water or there abouts. One of
less depth would not fully answer the purpose
of a connecting link between the two oceans,
and this is the usual depth of ship canals.
Upon the supposition, therefore, that there
cannot be found either individuals or compa
nies, or governments infatuated enough to at
tempt the construction of a canal, that would
cost, one hundred millions of dollars, and that
certainly would not yield two per cent per
annum on the outlaju I arrive at the conclu
sion, that for a ship caffal, tbe Nicaragua route
is out of the question, and that there remains
none to be considered with a view to any prac
tical purpose, except the one across the Isth
mus of I'anama.
The Panama route seems to have been the
favorite one of late years, and to it nearly all
the explorers and projectors have turned their
attention ; and with reason, for it presents fa
cilities and advantages for a canal, not to be
found any where else on the continent — that
is, for a canal connecting the two seas. The
governments of Colombia and New Granada
have granted three or four charters ibr a canal
or rail-road across the Isthmus, and ihey havS
all been forfeited I believe without a single
stroke being struck with a view to their con
struction. 'The charters seem to have been ob
tained for no purpose but that of speculation,
the object of the grantees being to sell their
grant for the most they could get, and although
none of them realized fortunes by the sale, yet
some of them succeeded in raising ihe vyind to
a limited extent. Among them, the Baron
Thierry was perhaps the most successful, as
I have understood, that he got a considerable
sum from Me. Salomon and others, who seem
to have purchased in good faith, and with the
view of accomplishing the work of an inter-
communicilion in the manner stipulated in the
grant to the Baron. But they did nothing,
their error being the common one, of under
rating the magnitude and difficulties of the
enterprise, as every body does who has not
a pretty accurate knowledge of South
America and of the South Americans, and
some with tills knowledge even come to
strange conclusions as they seem to me, about
the feasibility and facility of making the ship
canal in question.
Of Bakon Thierry, I have heard it said,
that he was an intelligpnt, honorable man, and
was nothing worse than a visionary of good
intentions; but such a man of all others, would
be the most unfit for constructiug a canal
across the Isthmus. Some have insinuated
too, that his intellects were a little clouded,
but plain, practical, matter-of-fact men, who i

cannot perceive that two and two make more
than four, are rather addicted to sneering at
those who happen to be more perspicacious
than themselves. Abandoning the Isthmus,
t.he Baron went to New Zealand, of which he
proclaimed himself the king, and about the first
use he made of sovereign power, was to have
I'ngraved a dashing coat of arms, wbich was, I
fancy, among the most imposing of the insig
nia of his royalty. Mr. Wheaton speaks of
him as an adventurer, which he was without
doubt, but not in the worst sense of the word
probably. The facility with which grants have been
obtained from the Granadiau government for
making roads and canals across the Isthmus
has had a bad effect, and has no doubt retarded
the work, if ever it is to be undertaken seri
ously alid in good faith by responsible persons,
able and willing to comply with their engage
ments. That government has shewn much
liberality, though, but little sagacity. Its prac
tice has been to grant an e.xclusive privilege
referring to steam navigation, to rail-roads
or canals to any person askiiig for it. Twenty
J'ears ago, in the time of General Bolivar,
charters were granted foi the exclusive naviga
tion hy steamboats of nearly all the navigable
rivers in Colombia, and yet there is not al this
day a single boat running on ' those rivers-
For a short time, there was one on the Mag
dalena, but it was destroyed during the recent
civil war in New Granada, and has not been
replaced. Ithasb^n stated lately, in the Eng
lish newspapers, that the Barings have un
dertaken to construct a ship canal through the
Isthmus — that it is to be completed within five
years — that Mb. Ellet is the engineer — that
he will bring Irom Europe four or iive thousand
Irish and Germans to do the work — that thd
length of the canal will be forty-eight and
a half miles, the depth of water twenty feet,
&c., Ste.
This is the statement with some further par
ticulars, and it is given with such staggering
circumstantiality, that it would seem to be cap
tious and ultra incredulity to question the
truth of it, and yet, I cannot help considering
it altogether apocryphal, with the superadded
fact even," that Mr. Ar.a.go is asserted to have
made the statement to some scientific body in
Paris. I doubt, because I do not thinlc the
Barings are the men to embark in such a stu
pendous undertaking, without first knowing
exactly or nearly so, what the cost will be, and
what the revenue, and these at present can
be only conjectured, for I doubt, whether an
estimate can be made, that would be even a
tolerable approximation to the truth. As far
aa I am informed, there has not yet been exe
cuted anything like a satisfactory survey and
estimate. Surveys and estimates have been
. made, so far as to ascertain the practicability of
a ship canalin the opinion of the surveyor, and so
far they may be satisfactory, but no further,
and the engineer who would undertake such a
work upon the mere ascertained practicability
of it, would in all probability ruin his em
ployers, and lose his professional reputation.
The engineer, when deciding that a canal can be
made over the Isthmus, will have performed
only the leaat difficult and least responsible part

of his task. He must estimate the expense,
and the danger is tl^at he will vastly underrate
it, if not perfectly acijuainted with the innu
merable and almost insuperable difficulties at
tending such works in South America. In
Europe and the United States, the character of
the ground being known, the cost of labor and
of materials, &.c., a skilful engineer might es
timate prelly accurately the cost of the canal,
though even in those countries with abundant
data, great mistakes are sometimes made. At
the Isthmus, the danger of miscalculating
would be ten times as great, for it would be ne
cessary to take into consideration elements
and circumstances to which there is nothing
analagous in Europe and the United States,
and to make allowances and additions for
which, unless he were au fait, he would not
perceive the necessity, and yet, if they were
not made, the estimate would be very falla
cious and imperfect.
The Caledonian ship canal in Scotland is
about twenty-two miles in length — the exca
vated part — and cost about four and a half mil
lion of dollars. It has twenty feet of wate;-,
and a canal across the Isthmus should not have
less. The length of the latter may be assumed
to be about fifty miles — I will say two and a
half times the length of the Caledonian. The
cost therefore at the .same rate would be eleven
millions two hundred and fifty thousand dol
lars. Jut to calculate it at the same rate would
be committing a most egregious mistake. —
Three times the cost, mile for mile, would not
be too much, and I incline to the opinion
that this, extravagant as it may seem to be^
would be more likely to be under than over
the actual expenditure. , I do not believe that
a ship canal of the usual ilimensions could be
completed at a much less cost than forty mil
lions of dollars. ' Yet I have seen a French es
timate that put it at six or seven millions, and
none has been made, I believe, that carries it
as high as I have done. I proceed to say why
I think it will tie so enormously expensive.
I assume in the first place, that nearly all
the labor of every kind mu^t^be done by Eu
ropean laborers. I have seen it asserted in an
English -periodical, that a thousand native la
borers could be easily had in the Isthmus at
two dollars per week. This I cannot believe.
On the contrary, I doubt whether one hun
dred could be had even at a higher price, and
at no price would they do more than half the la
bor that Europeans would, until these became
enervated by the climate and by the many re
laxing elements by which they would be sur
rounded. The population in the Isthmus is
neither dense nor numerous, although the
country has been three hundred years in the
possession of a christian and civilized people,
and is not by any means a sterile one. Still
much of it is yet a primeval forest unpenetra-
ted and almost impenetrable. Within -a mile
of Panama, a town of eight or ten thousand
inhabitants, wild deer are frequently killed, and
tigers and other ferocious occupants of the for
est prowl od libilum, in the neighborhood. —
The people are poor but they are independent.
They have but few wants and those few are
easily supplied. They are not particularly
fond of labor and no body works very hard,

except the boatmen on the river Chagres, and
the porters who ply betw^n Panama and the
town of Cruces, conveying heavy burdens or
their backs, and these are not occupied more
than half their time. Their wants, I have said,
are few. The climate clothes them almost en
tirely, for they require but little in the way of
raiment. They need but little fuel and that is at
hand, and the earth furnishes them almost spon
taneously with food. With a littie meat, a good
deal of red pepper, rice, plantains and choco
late they fare sumptuously ; and were they re
duced to plantains alone, they would still have
the same food, upon which millions of their
countrymen subsist almost exclusively. This
edible— the plantain— is the real bread fruit,
the very different vegetable production so
called, being misnomered. The plantain is
more palatable, more nutritious, and in all re
spects a better substitute for bread. Its botani
cal name— musa paradisiaca, is indicative of
its excellence, being supposed by some theolo
gians to have been the fruit
" Of that forbidden tree, whose mortal taste.
Brought death into the world, and all our woe."
The other is a tolerable succedaneum for
the staff of life,, it is true, but has con^
tinued lite other pretenders to carry off
the palm due to superior merit. A plan
tain patch or garden when once made, per
petuates itself with very little labor, and fur
nishes a perennial supply of savory andivhole-
some aliment. Humboldt calculates that a
given quantity of ground will produce 133
times the weight of plantains that it will of
wheat, and 44 times the weight that it will
yield of potatoes, and though, I think this es
timate may be rather too favorable to the plan
tain, still the difference is very great. Professor
PffiPPiG, a learned German, who travelled
through Peru, thirteen or fourteen years ago,
states that in that part of the country lying to
wards the river Amazon, plantains enough
could be bought for one cuartillo (three cents
and one-eighth) to subsist five men one day,
Snd that a day's labor was valued at twenty-
five cents. Consequently, with the product of
one day's labor, a man might purchase food for
forty days, which seems to be reducing human
subsistence to its lowest minimum, if such a
phrase is allowable. And the wonder is in
creased, when it is considered that the real
cost of the production of that quantity of plan
tains may not exceed one half of the price.
Returning from this digression, 1 will observe
that I do not think laborers can be had in the
Isthmus to dig a canal, and if they could be,
they would demand high wages, do but little
work, and not do that well. It would be a kind
of labor of which they have had no experience.
But few of the laborers of the Isthmus have
even seen I suppose the tools that would be
nsed. In saying all this, I speak understaad-
ingly, having some knowledge of the South
Americans, and hazard not much in saying,
that in all the warm country, (iierra caliente)
though the laboring classes have their virtues
as well as the higher, that of application
to severe toil, for the sake of gain is not
among those virtues — if it is a virtue. Every
tbing is done poco a poco as the phrase is ; that
is, very leisurely. Aticl there is a saying,

quien quiere matarse trabajando? — Who is gO'
ing to kill himself with work?— which, though
quite philosophic, is at the same time rather
ominous. Laborers cannot be had either, in any part of
South America, to go to the Isthmus, to dig on
the canal, although, in some ofthe countries la
bor is extremely low. The South American
laborer is but little migratory in his disposi
tion. He scarcely ever gees in search of employ
ment beyond his own country— ZaJor is
a commodity, of which, he has always a
plenty at home, and he does not require a very-
large supply. If the canal Is ever made, it
will be done by Irishmen probably, and it
would be well for them, could they be made
to understand all the difficulties they will have
to encounter in the Isthmus, which a^e more
numerous and formidable than they, in their
ignorance, qan anticipate — a debilitating and
not healthy climate, excessive heat and exces
sive rains and a disease — engendering occupa
tion. Should the canal be commenced, and
should the Irish (or other Europeans) come as
laborers to Panama, great attention must be
paid to their habits and to their cpmfort", and
it ought to be understood at once, that the same
amount of labor is not expected of them that
would be at home. If it should be, Ihey will
soon sink under the effort, and will make the
discovery — though, too late perhaps, that \>o'-
tatoes and Agitation in Ireland, are preferable
to typhus and dysentery in tjj|e Isthmus, though
with high wages annexed. This I say, not to
discourage but to premonish. With due pre
caution, inviolable temperance in every par
ticular, and moderate labor, there will not be
probably much danger from the incursion of
disease ; but without them, it'is inevitable.
It will be proper, whilst estimating the cost
of a ship canal through the Isthmus, at three
or four times that of the Caledonian canal, to
give some further reasons for this apparently
extravagant estimate. This is easily done. —
We will suppose that laborers can be obtained
in Europe. I do not think they can be any
where in America. Their passage across the
Atlantic must be paid, which will be a con-'
siderable item. Their wages must inecessarily
be high — the double at least of what would be
paid them in Europe. Allowing four of five
months annually for the rain, during which the
work of excavation must be suspended, and
for occasional cessation from labor, on account
of the fierce and insupportable heat of a tropi-^
cal sun, it may be fairly assumed that the la
borer will not perform in the course of the
year as much work as he could perform iri
Europe in one half the time. And the work
men cannot be discharged during tbe rainy
season, as they would be in Europe in the win
ter. "They must be paid something, and must ¦
be kept together during the long recess occa
sioned by bad weather, for if they once Sepa
rate and Scatter, they can never be collected
together again. Many would fall victims to
their imprudence, and many become converts
to the anti-laboring principle through the re
laxing influence of the climate and the irresisti
ble contagion of example.
To this it may be added— that much ofthe pro-

visions and supplies of all kinds must be brought
from the United States or from Europe, and
at a great expense probably, and even
•t part of the materials to be used in the
construction of the canal perhaps. Although
limber abounds in the Isthmus, yet I am not sure
that it will not be advisable to bring lumber from
the United States, so great would be the ex
pense of preparing it in a country where there
are no saw-mills, no labor-saving machinery,
no mechanical contrivances, and no intelligent
and skillful mechanics. "These could all be
procured from abroad, it is true, but it would
be at a great expense.
I have stated facts enough to prove I think,
that the construction of a ship canal across the
Isthmus will be a very difficult and expensive
work — vastly more so than will be supposed
by those who, not having a personal knowledge
of the country and of the surrounding circum
stances, consider nothing but the distance
which is not great ; and hearing that there is
not much elevation to be overcome, cannot
conceive why it should be so costly. Rut
there is no mystery in the matter to those who
have passed over the ground, and paid some at
tention to the subject in a spirit of calm and
dispassionate enquiry, without enthusiasm or
prepossession. Indeed, I consider the estimate
ofthe cost that I have made rather a low one.
I will now .say something about the piacti-
cability of the canal, the most eligible i-6ute,
&c., &c:
A skilfiil engineer would encounter no great
difficulty I apprehend, in finding a suitable
route for tbe canal. English engineers have
already decided that it exists, and one can be
selected probably on which there will be no
very great elevations to be overcome — a great
desideratum — for should there be much lock
age, it will add enormously to the expense and
might be fatal to the enterprise. It is doubtful,
. from 'the physical character of the country,
whether the small rivers and streams among
the bills could be made available as feeders to
the canal. I say hills, because at the Isthmus,
the Andes cease to be mountains, and there is,
as stated by Mr. Wheaton, a. complete dis
continuity of the chain.
There are low narrow valleys, not much
elevated above the two oceans, through which
the canal could be conducted I suppose, with
out aiiy very great deviations fi-om a straight
course — the distance not exceeding fifty
miles or thereabouts. The hills of the Isth
mus are decidedly unfavorable to canalling 1
think. They are mostly isolated, rocky and
precipitous, and must he avoided, therefore, as
1 suppose they can be.
To decide upon the two termini of the canal
will be a little difficult, but the subject will
present I apprehend, no obstacles that will be
fbund tb be insuperable. Chagres will not an
swer for the Atlantic terminus for want of a
sufficient depth of water, and for this there is
no remedy. Another terminating point must
be sought for, therefore, and it can be found I
have been informed^ as Mr. Whkaton says,
not far from Chagres; though it will be difficult
to find one I think free from all objection. The
coast at and aboilt that place is low and marshy,
and extremely favorable to Uie generation of
miisaxiik effluvia.

On the Pacific side there are two points, one
of which would be selected probably for the
terminus — the city of Panama and a large vil
lage five or six leagues distant called Cliorrera.
The former ought to be preferied without
doubt I think, if a sulficiency of water can be
obtained. Panama is an ancient town — was
once populous, opulent and flourishing, and it
is difficult to contemplate her now, «hornof
her wealth, decayed and decaying, her popula
tion reduced to one third of what it has been,
B'ithout feeling some sympathy for the inhabi-
tants. The town is thought abroad to be very
unhealthy and is rather so, but not so decided
ly as to render its insalubriousness a very seri
ous objection to the canal terminating at it.
One of the scourges of the tropics, the yellow
fever Is almost unknown and with some amelio
ration of the police would be entirely, as I be
lieve, being a non-contagionist. The stream
called Rio Grande, mentioned by Mr. Whea
ton, falls into the Pacific just out side of
the town, and might be made somewhat
available in constructing a canal, for when
the tide is in, it forms a creek of consider
able depth — deep enough to fioal large vessels.
In the year 1838, I was four days on the river
Chagres, ascending it to Cruces, 21 miles from
Panama, and from my observation, I am dis
posed to believe that Me. Wheaton has over
rated its volume of water and its depth which,
he says, varies from twenty-two to thirty feet.
But this is not material, as I do not believe
much use — if any — can be made of the river
in conjunction with a canal from sea lo sea,
except as a feeder. Canals are often carried
along rivers, on their very banks, but do not
often enter them but at the terminus, and there
seems to be not less truth than professional en
thusiasm in the reply made by the celebrated
engineer, Bkindley, to the question pro
pounded to him in tbe House of Commons —
" What do you consider to be the use of rivers ?"
To which he answered — "To feed navigable
canals." This was said eighty years ago, when
canalling was in its infancy in England, but
experience has shewn that Brindley, though
a self-taught engineer, was pretty correct in his
opinion, for rarely I believe, has a river been
made directly part and parcel of a canal.
It was long a popular idea, though never en
tertained I suppose by scientific men, that the
Pacific at Panama was considerably elevated
above the Atlantic at Chagres, and the assumed,
inequality has been mentioned as likely to in
terpose an obstacle to the construction of a
canal across the Isthmus. "This opinion"
says Mr. Wheaton, was long since contested
by Baron Von Humeolet, and his conclu
sions have recently been confirmed by the
actual observation of Mr. Lloyd, made with
the greatest accuracy and care in 1828-2&, by
order of General Bolivar."
Once in every twelve hours the Pacific is
certainly higher than the Atlantic, in conse
quence of tne tide rising to a much greater
height at Panama than at Chagres ; and once in
every twelve, it is lower too. Mr. Wheaton
e.xplains this fully. The tide rises sometimes
tp twenty feet at Panama — to twenty-five, it
is said, but this I doubt : At Chagrres, not more
than a foot and a half, and consequently, at
high tide ihe Paqific will be from eightto ten feet

8

higher than the Atlantic, and at the end from
eight to ten lower or thereabouts. And this,
I conceive to be the whole secret of the ine
quality, so much talked about, so little under
stood, and of so little importance as an impedi
ment to the making of a canal.
The great question is, alter all— Who is to
make the ship canal across the Isthmus ? To
me it appears to be a work, of too great magni
tude to be undertaken and completed by any
individual or association of individuals, unless
I am hugely mistaken in my estimate of the
cost. Nor do I believe that any great capital
ist would think of undertaking it— certainly not
with the present limited amountof information
we possess with respect to the practicability of
the work, its cost and its utility. It maybe
assumed lo be practicable I suppose ; but I atu
of opinion that no living engineer could esti
mate the cost of it within five millions of dol
lars, for that must depend much upon contin
gencies occurring during the progress of the
work. The canal ought to be an international work
to the construction of which all the nations in
Christendom having an interest in it should
contribute on the pro rata principle, or the
United States, England and France might make
it, and generously allow the whole world to use
it without tax or toll. This with their abun
dant resources, 'they might afford to do, should
it cost as much even as fifty or sixty millions
of dollars. But, that it will be understood by
any international association, may be desired,
and may be hoped for, but can scarcely be ex
pected. Nations often coalesce and combine
to oppress and to plunder, though they rarely
unite for any benevolent and useful pur
pose. If the peace of the world or of Christendom
could be perpetuated, then the commercial
powers would not hesitate probably, to co-ope
rate in so magnificent a work as the canal. But
as this cannot be, there is not much prospect
that any but the most powerful nations, will
co-operate in it — even should they do so ; ibr
in the event of a maritime war. New Granada
being weak and unable to make herself re
spected by unscrupulous belligerents, it is tol
erably certain, that the strongest naval power
would seize the Isthmus and the canal both
together, and place the latter in a state of oc
clusion against all the world except her own
subjects and her allies. The strongest power
for the next thirty or forty years will be France
and Great Britain probably — afterwards, the
United States, and at the end of one hundred
years, with our 150 millions of inhabitants at
least, we, or rather the 150 millions our pos
terity, if inclined to make conquests, can in
vade Europe, carrying with them the blessing
of religious toleration, equal laws, free institu
tions and sound and liberal principles of gov
ernment. And in much less than one hundred
¦ years, we will dictate if necessary, just princi
ples of international law, paying no regard to
Holy Alliances, Quintuple Alliances, or alli
ances of any kind. Farewell then! a long
farewell to paper blockades ; ordersx in coun
cil, the right of Impressment and the right of
Search. All these will not only have ceased to
axist but cease to be named.

Spain when she was mistress of her colonies _
in America, ought to have made a ship c^'"*
across the Isthmus, and she could easily i>ave
done so, for the sum necessary to acconiplisu it
would have been but a small item m the almost
co,iintles3 millions she wasted in butcherly and
ruinous wars during the reign of two ot her
sovereigns — the emperor Charles the Fifth
and Philip the Second. And this might
have been done too without subtracting a single
dollar from the official remittances to Europe.
A tithe of the vast sums dedicated to the build
ing of churches and convents in Spanish Amer-
ica would have defrayed the whole expense.
And now the greatest portion of these expensive
edifices are decayed and decaying, and in a
state of ominous dilapidation. Their fate will
be, to crumble into heaps of ruins and rubbish
most assuredly not to be rebuilt, whereas, a
canal, besides being a work of immense utiUty
and creditable to the people vho make it, would
not only outlast these useless structures, the
convents, but the Coliseum and Pyramids even,
for when they would be nothing more than
mounds of dust or of shapeless stone, the
canal would be growing in importance as it
grew in age, and no accident would be likely
to distroy it but such a one as would destroy
the Isthmus itself.
The non-improving character of the Span
iards has left its impress but too visibly through
out South America. There is scarcely a road
that deserves the name in all the, country, and
there are no canals except here and there a ditch
bearing the name of canal, of but little extent
and none Ihat are completed humble and un
pretending as they are. In Ihe immediate
neighborhood of the cites and large towns,
some pretty substantial stone bridges are to be
found " few and far between, " and yet there is
no country where roads and bridges are more
necessary. The Spaniards who conquered the
country were devoted to religion aud war-
consequently they built churches and fortresses;
the fashion and the uses of which having passed
away they now cumber the ground as monu
ments of a short-sighted and semi-barbarous
policy. When 1 say religion, 1 mean the super
stition of that day.
It is a remarkable fact, that the heathen sov
ereigns of Peru — the Incas — did more during
the three or four centuries they governed the
country, in the way of road making and'canal-
ling — the latter fcr the purposes of irrigation
— tnan the civilized christians who succeeded
them have done during the three hundred years
of their iron domination. And there aie still
existing vestiges of better roads that were con
structed by the ancient Peruvians than can be
found at this day, any where in Soulh America.
I do not include Mexico, which is in North
America, where something more has been done
in the line of "internal improvements," than
in any other part of the Spanish dominions on
this continent.
The South American States too, had they,
when they threw off the Spanish yoke, settled
down into quiet, peaceable, unambitious re
publics, as the friends of human liberty, after
their long, eventful, and sanguinary struggle,,
hoped they would, might have made the canal
in question, by cofittiljuting an inconsiderable

9

portion of Ihe sums they have squandered dur
ing the last twenty years, upon their senseless,
deplorable, destructive, and apparently endlejs
conflicts — waged nine cases out of ten, for no
conceivable and for no ostensible purpose even,
than to decide whether General Tliis or Gene
ral That, shall be intrusted with supreme and
irresponsible executive power. It would not
be an extravagant estimate to suppose that,,
within the last twenty years, not less than four
hundred millions of dollars have been wasted
by the new republics upon their domestic feuds,
leaving their debts and the interest on them
unpaidf, and in the meantime no public work of
consequence has been either undertakeh or
completed. This is greatly to be deplored. I,
as a friend of the country, deplore it, but must
conteut myself with hoping for, rather than of
expecting, better times.
I will now make a few remarks about the
importance and value of a ship canal across the
Isthmus to the commercial world. That they
will be great is incontestable, but still it does
not strilre me that they will be quite equal to
what Mr. Wheaton, and others suppose. It
will be of great use without doubt, but its util
ity will be vastly diminished should the canal
be constructed with a view to its being a remu
nerating properly, and for this reason it should
be made by a government or by governments,
that would not look to it as a source of revenue,
and who would permit it to be used free of
charge or nearly so. If owned by individuals
they must have a fair interest on their invest
ment which would be five per cent per annum
at least; and jn addition to this, the expense of
superintendence, administration and repairs,
would be very considerable. All of this put
together would, it is to be apprehended, make
the charges on vessels passing through, so enor
mous, that it would be found, in many cases,
the best economy to send them round Cape
Horn. But this obstacle would be more serious
at first than afterwards, and would be less in the
way as commerce' increased and expanded,
and might finally disappear, not during the pre
sent century however.
Humboldt ^ays: as quoted tjy Mr. Whea
ton, that "when a canal of communication
" shall connect the two oceans, the productions
" of Nootka Sound and of China, will be brought
"nearer to Europe and the United States, by
" more than two thousand leagues. Then, and
''then only, will mighty changes be effected in
" the political state of Oriental Asia ; for this
•'narrow tongue of*land, (the Isthmus of Pana-
" ma) against which the waves of the Atlantic
"have so long beat in vain, has been for ages
" the bulwark of the independence of China
" and Japan."
This was written thirty -five years ago, and
1 am obliged to believe that if the celebrated
and illustrious author Was about to make his
remarks now, he would undoubtedly qualify
somewhat the concluding member of the sen
tence, for recent events (the Opium War) have
shewn clearly enough, that the "independ
ence" of China has not found a "bulwark"
in the Isthmus. " The narrow tongue of land "
still exists in all its geographical and geological
integrity, unviolated by the pickaxe or spade,
and yet in the meantime, the independence of
2

China has come to be a very debatable ques
tion. She is independent in theory perhaps,
but not in fact, or she never would have made
peace as she did. on the humiliating conditions
dictated by the British Government which gave
the pacification much more the appearance of
a capitulation than of a treaty. A nation can
scarcely be called independent, that submits to
have a peace dictated to it at the cannon's mouth.
Such independence is but nominal. — And as re
gards Japan, although it may seem presumptu
ous in me to dissent from any opinion express
ed by Humboldt and adopted by Mr. Whea
ton, yet I am obliged to believe, that the in
dependence of that empire does not now and
never did depend in any manner, upon the
condition of the Isthmus." The Japanese owe
the preservation of their independence it ap
pears to me, to their laws and institutions, to the
indomitable character of the people, anS above
all to the inhospitable and unrelaxing rigor with
which strangers are excluded from the country.
These constitut« the " bulwark, " of Japaiuese
independence, which, were the English to get
a footing in Japan, would ere long be num
bered among the'things that have been, 'though
the Isthmus might be a hundred times as broad
and as impregnable as it is.
J will particularizs a little about the charges
on vessels passing through the_ canal to be or
not to be constructed. Should the tolls be high
as it is to be feared forthe reasons given above,
then it may be assumed I think, that not less
than one half of the vessels bound to the Pacific
would go by the Cape, particularly those going
to Chile ; to Peru ; to the southern parts of
Polynesia, and to portions of Australia. AU
the whaling ships— between four^and five hun
dred, would be apt to take that route from mo
tives of economy. And the fact, as I conceive
it to be that half of the vessels navigating the
Pacific will be excluded from the benefits of
the canal, will be a powerful reason why the
work should be an international one, if it is
possible for the nations to lay aside for once
their distrust and their jealousies and animos
ities, and to unite cordially in an undertaking
that will reflect great glory upon those who
accomplish it, and confer upon mankind a sig
nal and lasting benefit. ,
Supposing the canal to cost no more than
thirty millions of dollars — a very low, estimate
I think— then to- 'secure a remunerating divi
dend, not less than two millions must be col
lected, and this would require two thousand
vessels to pass annually, paying on an average
one thousand dollars each, which is a large
number of ships and a high toll. At present,
this number would not pass — not the half of it
probably. One effect the canal would certainly have,
I suppose — it would resuscitate the city of Pa
nama, and brinj back to it a part of the com
mercial prosperity which it has lost. It would
probably, make too, the Isthmus a flourishing
aud populous country ; now it is neither one
nor the other. " This would be doing some good
undoubtedly, but on a limited scale, whilst the
expenditures which achieved it would be
most certainly very great. Great num
bers of the Europeans emigrating to the
Isthmus as laborers, would settle there perma-

w

tiently. They would be mostly Irish probably,
and would be a great acquisition to that region,
and in time make it a kind of New Hibemia.
They would be obliged to forego the potato, but
Would find an excellent substitute for it in the
plantain which is not inferior to it as an escu
lent and is much easier cultivated. *
So far 1 have considered an artificial commu
nication through the Isthmus with reference to
a ship canal ; but it is susceptible of being
viewed under a variety of aspects. All sorts
of communications have been suggested and
proposed. One plan is to connect the river
Chagres with the Pacific by a common boat
canal. I doubt the expediency of this project.
The best route would be the one mentioned by
Mr. Wheaton, commencing at the river
Trinity, which empties into the Chagres,
and carry it through a tolerably level coun
try towards Panama or Chorrera. On this
route I dn not think much lockage would
be required. Light steamers or other boats
coulii ascend the river to the canal at all seasons
and thus keep the navigation in constant acti
vity. To make a canal from Cruces to Pana-

* Since this was written, in consequence of
what is called the roi, it has become a problem
whether in future the Irish potato can be relied or from Gorgona to Panama

ma, I consider to be but little short of "nPfac-
ticable. The rocky, hilly character ot ine
country for more than half the distance tornids
it.' There could not be either earth or water
found in sufficient quantity, or in the right
places. It might possibly be done by' making
a terminus at Gorgona, two miles below Cruces,
but this I much doubt. .u t -
. Another project, is a railroad from ttie trin
ity river or from Gorgona to Panama. This, I
consider rather more promising, if the road
could be made on pretty good terms, and as a
route might be found I think, that would not
require much grading, possibly it might be —
But great care ought to be observed in making
the surveys and estimates, and nolhing ought
to bf attempted until every possible expense is
ascertained by engineersot unquestionable com
petency and integrity, and then ten per centum
ought to be added for contingencies. We know
how fallacious estimates of this kind sometimes
turn out to be in the United States, where it is
mtich easier to obtain tbe requisite data. The
danger that they will be erroneous and decep
tive, is much greater in South America.
The Iftst afid most humble as well as the
most practicable and cheapest project, is to
make a good carriage road from the Trinity
This might be

upon safely as a staple article of food. To the
Irish, of all the people of the world, this is a
question of great and literally of vital impor
tance, for upon this vegetable, one halt of them
at least depend almost exclusively for food.
Should it fail, what can be done ? There is no
other productions known that can be cultivated
successfully so far north, that will yield the
same quantity of food from a given quantity of
ground. Indian corn comes nearest to it, .but
will not ; oats and barley the next nearest, will
not — so that let the anti-Malthusians say what
they please, and dream what they please, here
is a country whose population has far outstrip
ped its means of subsistence, But say these
Utopian economists — Mr. Allison and the rest ;
that the soil of Ireland is capableof producing
food for double the present population, which
1 much doubt ; but the important fact at pre
sent is, that it does not produce near enough
for the exis'ing eight millions, and whilst these
able and ingenious writers (they aie really so)
are proving that there might be double the food
needed, the inhabitants are dying of starvation
ty tens of thousands. ^
Now could a million, or a half million, or
one hundred thousand of the Irish be trans
planted to the Isthmus of Panama, it would be
a blessing to them and a benefit to mankind.
They could make the gieat canal, if it can be
made, and the Isthmus now a wilderness, sub
mitted to Irish intelligence and Irish energy,
would become a productive and flourishing and
beautiful country, while it never will be whilst
in the exclusive possession of the present race of
occupants. But these would be benefitted too.
They should not be dispossessed or oppressed,
or wronged in any way. Example and emu
lation would stimulate them to exertion, and
in time, they would become an industrious and
an enterprising people, which at present they
cannot be said to be. — But all this is dreamy
and Utopian too.

done at a comparatively small expense, and
if no very great good resulted from it, there
would be no very great sacrifice of time or of
capital. But this road, if not raised above the
general level of the valley over which it would
be carried, would be under water during a part
of the rainy season.
1 will here remark, though out bf place, that
as far as my knowledge extends, ship canals
have not in any case yielded a fair remune
rating profit on the investment. The Caledo
nian canal is scarcely kept in repair from the
receipts, and 1 do not think that the Amster
dam and Niewdiep canal is found to be profit
able. The Welland canal in Canada is not.
But this is scarcely a ship, canal, having only
eight and a half feet of water, and vessels of
more than one hundred and twenty-five tons
burden do not pass. The Delaware and Rari-
tan canal has not met the public expectation
either as regards receipts, they falling far short
of what were anticipated. The Louisville
canal in Kentucky, is doing better I believe than
any of them, but it is on a small scale, being
only between one and two miles in length, and
justifies no inferences in favor of great and ex
pensive works. It can Scarcely be called a
ship canal either, as steamboats only pass
tRrough it, some of them of considerable bur
den it is true, but all perhaps drawing but little
Water in comparison with their tonnage.
I now conclude this very long and desultory
letter, which is as much a dissertation upon
matters and things in geiieral, as upon a ship
canal through the Isthmus. What I have
written has not been written with a view to
discourage anybody who may be disposed to
embark in that glorious, yet to my thinking-,
rather uncertain and perilous enterprise of
making a ship canal. JUy. object is to promote
enquiry and investigation, for considering how
much has been said and written about connect-
' ing the two oceans by an artificial coinmunica-

11

tion, there is still to this day a singular and
lamentable deficiency of accurate and minute
information in relation to it. I do not possess
eno.ugh myself by three-fourths, to warrant my
scribbling, but seeing that sundry persons not
much betterinformed than myself have written
upon it very learnedly, lucidly and entertain
ingly, I flatter myself that I do not commit any
unpardonable impertinence in making public
my crude speculations. I am with high respect.
Your obedient servant,
J. C. PICKETT.
Francis Markoe, Jr., Esq.,
Cor. Sec. of the Nat. Institute.

LETTER II.
Lima, April 13, 1848.
Dear Sir : Since writing to you on the 5th
ultimo, on the subject of a ship canal across the
Isthmus of Panama, I have been informed by
M.Mareschau, the French Charge d'Aflaires
to Bolivia, now here — that two skilful engi
neers despatched by the French government,
are now engaged at the Isthmus, in making
surveys and examinations, with the view of
deciding upon the practicability of a canal, the
expense of its construction, .&c., &c. From
the well-known skill and activity .of French
engineers, it may be presumed that the task as
signed to those gentlemen will be promptly and
faithfully executed. The danger is, that un
less they possess already some knowledge of
Spanish America and of the Spanish Ameri

cans, they will be apt to underrate the difficul
ties to be encountered in the progress of the,, San Juan, flowing from lake Nicaragua to the

work, on account of the heat of the climate,
rains, disease, &,c., and consequently make an
entirely too low estimate of the cost of the
work. Not long ago, an article appeared in the Jour
nal des Debats, (Paris) stating that two engi
neers were about to proceed to the Isthmus of
Panama, for the purpose of ascertaining the
best route for a canal. They are the same no
doubt mentioned above.
The author of this article decides unhesita
tingly, that a canal is practicable, but asserts
that for a " maritime canal," there are only
three " possible'' routes — the Isthmus of Pana
ma, of Nicaragua and Darien. If by a mari
time canal, he means a ship canal, as without
doubt he does, then he might have excluded
the two last, unless he intends to give to the
¦KorApossiile, a very broad and comprehensive
signification. The aggregated disposable cash
of Europe might suffice, perhaps, to make
such a canal along the Nicaragua route, and
1 doubt if much less would do it. Or iif the
author means a mere common boat canal, he
might have assumed the number of routes to
be five, as Mr. Wheaton has done. But a
common canal, although it might be of great
use to the country through which it would pass,
would not much facilitate general commerce,
of which the writer seems to be aware ; for
" there is not much to be expected," he says,
"of a canal, unless constructed in such a man-
" ner, that vessels sailing from London,! f™ni
" Bordeaux or New York, may continue their
" voyage to the Pacific, as tar as Lima, Aca-

" pulco or Canton. A transhipment would oc-
" casion the loss of preaious time, and merchan-
"dise would incur the risk of loss and of Ba-
"ing pillaged, in regions like the Isthmus,
" where the notions of meum and tuum are
" rather loose."
I concur in all this, except the insinuation
against the moral honesty of the Isthmenians,
which is somewhat gratuitous. In this respect,
the people of the Isthmus are very much like
those in other countries of the same condition
and of the same social pretensions. Depreda
tions are sometimes committed upon merchan
dise without doubt, in its transit over the Isth
mus, and thefts occur entirely too often. But
where do they not occur? I think it neither
liberal nor just to denounce a whole population
in this sweeping manner,' on account of the
delinquencies of a few individuals of one
particular class — the carriers. The expense
and delay attending the transhipn^nt, in
cluding inevitable loss and damage, furnish ob
jection enough to a common canal, without
imagining or inventing any other."
A ship canal, with twenty feet of water, al
lowing vessels of ten or twelve hundred tons
burden to pass, is the great desideratum, and
they in my opinion (as 1 have said in my first
letter) can only be made across the Isthmus of
Panama — the Atlantic terminus being in the
neighborhood of Chagres and the Pacific ter
minus at or not far from Panama ; and, unless
a sufficient depth of water can be found within
thirty or forty miles of Chagres, I shall regard
the practicabihty of a ship canal, as very ques
tionable. Ilis said in the Debats, that the river

Atlantic, " is deep enough for frigates, almost
its whole length.'' This is certainty a mistake
I think. Frigates draw from fifteen to twenty-
two feet of water, and there is not in my
opinion, a third of the San Juan of that depth,
and I have no doubt, that it -pould cost less,
mile for mile, to dig a ship canal, than to re
move the obstructions in that river.
The writer of the article in the Debats, says
also, that " the time will come, when the Rimac,
"in tbe neighborhood of Lima, will be con-
" nected with the Amazon by a rail- way or a
"canal." As no time is specified when this is to hap
pen il cannot be safely contradicted ; but that
time, if ever it comes, is very remote, I fancy —
at least five hundred years off, in my opinion,
and as we, of the present age, cannot have any
great interest in what is to occur in that day,
a discussion of the subject would be unprofita
ble and superfluous. I will say, however, that
this dictum seems to have been ventured, rather
from an inspection of a map of South America,
than from any very accurate geographical, topo
graphical or hydrographical knowledge of the
country, through which that rail-way or canal
would have to pass, which is a region in all re
spects most unfavorable to canalling or rail
road making. The author seems to express
liimselt, as though he believed that the Rimac
is a navigable stream, which it is not, and has
not either length, breadth, depth or volume to
entitle it to be called a river.
It woidd have been more exact, bad the
wriler-said; that the Amazon will be connected

12

some day with the Pacific, by a rail-way or
canal, which, however, I do not regard as being
more than barely possible. The road or canal,
in order to reach the navigable waters ot the
Amazon, must be I think, not less than four
hundred miles in length, though some of the
tributaries of that river are to be met with,
within one hundred and fifty miles, and I much
doubt, whether a canal can be made through
the Andes, for the want of feeders or from the
difliculty of making them available, in conse
quence of the arid, rugged, precipitous charac
ter of the country. There are mountains four
teen or fifteen thousand feet high, which would
have to be overcome some how by fair means
or by foul, and though much of this elevation
might be avoided, by running the roadi through
the gorges or breaks in the Cordillera or moun
tain chain, yet, the height to be fairly met and
surmounted, is much greater I imagine, than
the boldest engineer has ever yet thought of
encountlring. But it appears to me, that any speculation
about this matter is premature, by four or five
centuries at leasf. When the country of the
upper Amazon and Peru, comprising nearly
three millions of square miles, shall have a
population of twenty- five or thirty millions, in
stead of about two millions, as at present, then
this project may be taken seriously into con
sideration. But it is doubtful whether that
amount of population or anything approaching
it will ever exist, although the territory is ade
quate to the support of double the number
probably. For many reasons — human laziness
being a prominent one — the warm regions
(they are not all warm) ofthe tropics in South
America do not appear to be favorable to the' ?
increase of population, notwithstanding the
very little labor it requires to- procure subsis
tence, as I have mentioned in my former letter.
Nor does there appear to be a decided ten
dency towards augmentation anywhere in the
Spanish American States, though in some of
them the numbers are slowly increasing. It
may be assumed as certain, I think, that at the
¦ time of the conquest, Peru had double the
population that she has at present ; and without
giving plenary credit to the amplifications and
exaggerations of the benevolent advocate of
the Indians, Las Casas, I have little doubt
that all the civilized or quasi-civilized coun
tries of the continent, conquered by the Span
iards, were much more populous than they
have ever been since. The countries I mean,
ate that part of Mexico, formerly known as
Anahuac, and some of the ancient neighboring
States, Yucatan, part of Central America, part
of Cundinaniarca, in New Granada, Quito and
Peru. I use the word civilized, as descriptive
of those nations or communities that had estab
lished forms of--government of some kind or
other, and systems of laws more or less per
fect, who relied upon agriculture for subsis
tence, who manufactured cloth and wore
clothes, and who had made some progress in
a variety ot arts, as all those nations had done.
I repeat, that all that I have written about
the difficulty of making a ship canal to con
nect the two oceans, it has not been my in
tention to say anything, calculated to discour
age the undertaking, but to state facts, and to^

enable' others to understand ahd to appreciate
the difliculties of it. My object is to promote
enquiry and discussion, and to place the subject
before the public in its true light, (as far as I -
am capable of doing so) which has never yet
been done, as I believe, nor, had the question
ever before been as fully, as lucidly and as
satisfactorily discussed as it has been by Me.
Wheaton, and he does not seem to have fully
considered the numerous obstacles that must be
encountered by those who commit themselves
to this more than Herculean enterprise— more
than Herculean I say, for the cleansing of the
Augeati stables, though no small hydrographi
cal achievement^as the story is told — was but
a trifle compared to the digging a ship canal
across the Isthmus.
I repeat, and it cannot be repeated too often,
that this enterprise is too vasta one for an indivi
dual or a company of individuals, unless they can
command thirty or forty millions ot dollars, and
attbrd to wait from five to ten years before they
would receive any interest. No capitalist will
embark his fortune in the experiment in my
opinion — none has embarked, and none ought lo
embark in it — ^and when we see the names of un
known individuals with no visible or invisible
capital flourishing in the papers, as grantees of
charters obtairied from the New Granadian gov
ernment for making rail-ways and 'canals
through the Isthmus, we may be sure that the
whole affair is nothing more' or less than one
more humbug to be added to the now most copi
ous list of humbugs, with which the public has
been annoyed or gulled or amused during the
last quarter of a century.
1 am, withhigh respect.
Yours, &c.,
J. C. PICKETT.

Francis Markoe, Jr., Esq.,
Cor. Sec. of the Nat. Institute.

LETTER 111.
Lima, Sept. 30, 1844.
Dear Sir : — After sending you two commu
nications respecting a ship canal across the Isth
mus of Panama, I certainly did not contem
plate sending a third ; but yet I send it — why,
I now proceed to state.
There has been lately published here a letter
from one ofthe engineers mentioned, in jmy
last, sent nearly a year ago by the French gov
ernment to explore and survey the Isthmus,
with reference to the construction of artificial
communications through it. This gentleman
says, in substance, that " a canal is a work of
very possible execution, and much more easy
than that of many canals in Europe " — that it
will be from 75 to SO thousand metres, a little
more or less — (about fifty miles) that in cross
ing the Isthmus it m ust be carried to the height
of about 130 metres — (about 420 feet) which
may be reduced by a deep cut at the summit to
110 metres, (about 361 feet) that forty locks
will be necessary on each slope from the sum
mit ; eighty in all — that ut the highest eleva
tion there ia no stream of water that will serve
to feed the canal ; but that au abundant supply
can be " easily " obtained by conttrucling arti
ficial reservoirs, that will be filled during the
rainy season.

13

The engineer gives no further details — no
estimate of the cost of the canal ; of the time
required to complete it, or of any thing : say
ing very properly that his report must first be
made to the minister who confided his mission
to him, and that besides, he had not finished
and adjusted all his calculations. The letter is
addressed to the Governor of Panama, and is
published in the Spanish language.
I suppose that the engineer is speaking with
out doubt, of a ship canal, as he calls it, an
ocean canal ; (canul oceanico) and speaks of
ships (naviosj passing through it. It may be
premature to make any remarks upon what he
has said in a hasty and informal note, or until
hiS' final report is made ; and criticism upon it
al present may be invidious and ill-timed. But
still the letter is to me, so carious and interest
ing, and the deducti|ins so antipodal to what I
should have anticipated from the data given,
that having scribbled somewhat about this
same canal, I cannot abstain from making a few
observations in addition to those I have already
made, holding myself ready to confess and re
tract all the errors I may fall into, and to make
the amende honorable to the engineer if I do
him injustice.
The length of the canal will not exceed fifty
miles, and the greatest elevation to be overcome
is 428 feet, reducible to 301 by a cut of sixty
eight. The elevation is four times as much aS
I supposed it would be, and the consequence
is that the obstacles in the way of a ship canal
which I had indeed supposed to be almost in
surmountable are in fact much greater than I
had imagined. To dig a canal through the
Isthmus, through which ships of twelve hun
dred tons could pass, supposing there to be but
little lockage, seemed to me, the country, the
climate, and the circumstances considered, to
be a gigantic undertaking; but when it turns
out that the canal has to be carried over ground
428 feet high, and that at the summit there are
no streams for feeders, to think of making it
seems to me to be contemplating scarcely any
thing short of an impossibility. And yet the
engineer says, the canal will be " more easily
constructed than many canals in Europe." But
certain it is, that there is not in Europe, or in
the world a ship canal of fifty miles in length
constructed m the teeth of so many adverse
circumstances. It is not necessary to be an
engineer to know that the digging of a canal
for twenty feet of water, through a level coun
try and under the most favorable ciicumstances;
healthy climate, abundance of provisions and
cheap labor, must still be very expensive; nor
is it necessary to be an engineer to know, that
the expense must be vastly augmented — three,
four or five fold, when the circumstances are
not favorable— climate not very healthy, hot
and enervating, and favorable to the generation
•of disease, when persons are crowded together
as they are on canals when being constructed —
a rugged, broken, rocky country, and hills of
no small height to be surmounted ; and labor,
provisions, supplies of all kinds, except a few
tropical productions perhaps, very dear as
would be the case in the Isthmus. Not less
than half the excavation probably, would be
made in solid rock, and this and the deep cut
at the summit and the eighty locks, are formi

dable facts. An opinion ag to what the cost
would be cannot be much more than a conjec
ture — a mere rough guess, and it does not ap
pear to me to be possible with every appli
ance of science, ot art, of industry, and with
all the data obtained or obtainable, to make
anything like an accuiate and reliable estimate
of the cost of the work. Now, after what the
engineer has snid, I should not think of putting
it at less than fifty or sixty millions of dollars.
Think but of those eighty locks, the deep
cut at the summit, and the artificial reservoirs
for collecting rain water to feed the canal !
And these reservoirs, be it remembered, must
be of a capacity to hold "water enough to sup
ply the canal during the whole dry season of
seven months, saying nothing about leakage
and evaporation. Why, the engineer who of
fered to cut Mount Athos — was it? — into a
statue of Alexander the Great, holding a
river in one hand and a city in the other; was it
not as bold a man as he who would undertake
to make this " ocean canal," as the engineer
calls it.
I read not long ago in the iJe««c des Den»
Mondes, (Paris,) an article of considerable
length, written by Mr. Chevalier, in which!
he discusses as Mr. Wheaton had done before'
him, the practicability and utility of an artifl--
cial communication to connect the Atlantic and'
Pacific oceans. He examines at some length,
the advantages and disadvantages of all the
routes that have been proposed, and decides in
favor of Panama. He considers a ship canal
to be perfectly practicable, and believes that it
may be constructed without any enormous ex
penditure of treasure ; but, that nevertheless it is
rather loo great an undertaking for private indi
viduals. He proposes, therefore, that it shall be
undertaken and completed by France and En
gland as copartners, assuming that it would
not cost France more than thirty or forty mil
lions of trances for her half of the work — esti
mating the whole cost of the canal, at from 60
to 80 millions — or from twelve to sixteen mil
lions of dollars, certainly not more in my opin
ion, than one fourth part of what the actual cost
would be.
But the most amusing part of Mr. Cheva-
liek's article is, the idea that France and En
gland could unite for the purpose of making
the canal at their own cost for the benefit of
mankind. The idea is full of philanthropy and
benevolence, but is rather Utopian it seems to
me for the present day, and in advance of the
age some hundreds of years. But still believing
as I do in human progress and improvement,
I think the lime will come when nations will
unite for similar purposes, but that time is not
yet nor near. Now France, that is, Louis
Philippe^ would prefer using her thirty or forty
millions for the building of thirty or forty more
war steamers, or in adding to the fortifications
at Paris and at Algiers, and Great Britain would
prefer to invest her 30 or 40 millions in military
armaments also, or in adding two or three ad
ditional kingdoms to her East India possessions.
The French engineer says nothing in his
letter to the governor of Panama, about the
termini of the canal, a matter of primary im
portance, and which are a sine qua non to the
canal. At Chagres, there is not siifficient depth

J 4

of water, nor at Panama either, unless at high
tide. But this tbe engineer has duly considered
without doubt, and has found points where
there is a sufficiency of water, or he would not
have announced so unreservedly, that the canal
is " a work of very pos'Blble execution." His
letter I assume to have been written with refer
ence to a ship canal. It is lime wasted to say
much about one of any other description. A
mere boSit canal would not be of much more
general utility, than a good road from the river
Chagres to Panama, which might be made at
no great expense. A discussion ab6ul any
kind of a canal except a maritime, I hold to be
of no great interest to anybody but the Isth
menians. The expense, delay and multitudi
nous casualities that would attend the dis
charge, transit and re-shipment of merchandise
Would present insuperable difficulties to that
mode of keeping up commercial intercourse
with the East.
A pamphlet of considerable length has been
recently published at Panama, by a French
man residing there, (M. Denain,) in which
the subject of an artificial communication is
discussed, and the writer decides unhesitating
ly against a canal, and in favor of a good road
to be constructed from sea to sea. And so far
1 think his opinion is correct. A canal is vastly
preferable to be sure, but that cannot or will
not be made. What is most desirable, there
fore, must be abandoned or postponed, and that
adopted which is practicable. A road would
be of great use in the Isthmus, but I cannot
suppose that it would ever realize the golden
expectations of M. Denain, who is a little
Utopian in his notions, as well as M. Cheva
lier. He says, that a good road would in
crease the value of the property in the Isth
mus, to between four and five hundred millions
•of dollars, which I will not contradict, but can
not believe. I should be most happy to see or
hear of this vast augmentation of wealth, yet
I cannot be persuaded that the mere making of
a road, though it were to be paved with bars of
silver, as the streets of this city were in olden
time, upon the arrival of a new viceroy, could
produce this magical result, the silver not be
ing taken into the account. But we live in an
age of wonders, and M. Denain's predictions,
couleur de rose, as they are, may one day be

verified, and when they are, I shall be pre
pared to doubt,, whether some of the gorgeous
and dazzling and bewildering descriptions of
wealth and magnificence, we meet with in the
Arabian Nights, are quite the fictions they are
generally considered by matter-of-fact persons
to be. The Isthmus, with all its soil, and every
species of property lo be found in it, real, per
sonal and mixed, I cannot suppose to exceed in
value forty or fifty millions of dollars, and this
is to be decupled according to the sanguine
and ingenious Frenchman, merely by making
a road some twenty miles in length, which is
not to cost I think, he says, more than two
hundred thousand dollars.
' For three hundred years and more, the Isth
mus has been the subject of almost incessant
speculation. It commenced, I believe, with
Hernan Cortez, who v^s at first confident
that there must be a strait through it, having
persuaded himself that the Almighty had not
made a continent of such vast length, without
leaving an opening between the two seas, and
a similar notion prevailed to a great extent
among the learned in Europe. (Prescott.)
But the speculatists were wrong, as they often
are. We have the continent 146 degrees in
length— nearly ten thousand miles— but the
great desideratum, the strait, we have not, and
to makS an artificial one, is likely to puzzle the
ingenuity of all Christendom.
Sir Walter Raleigh said, that the Isth
mus of Panama was " the keys of the world " ;
and so it may have appeared to be in his day,
when the doubling of the Capes of Good Hope
and of Horn, were considered to be daring and
perilous achievements. But now, that they are
doubled every day, and by any kind of craft,
and by any kind of a navigator, the importance
of a passage through the Isthmus has been
greatly diminished.
flere I terminate for the present, and forever
probably, my scribbling about a canal through
the Isthmus, leaving to wiser heads and abler
pens, the further discussion of the subject.
With great respect,
Yours truly,
J. C. PICKETT.
Francis Markoe, Jr., Esq.,
Cor. Sec. of the Nat. Institute.

ANCIENT RUINS IN PERU.

LIMA, October 10, 1843.
Dear Sir: I now enclose to ybu the origi
nal and translation of a letter lately published,
from Judge Nieto to the Prefect of the Depart
ment of the Amazon, in which he describes
some very extensive and interesting rhins In the
province of Chachapoyas. This province is
about two hundred and fifty miles to the north
of Lima, and about two hundred and fifty from
the coast, and is looked upon here as being
rather remote ; is not very populous, and not
much known to the inhabitauts of the me
tropolis. The official station of Judge Nieto, who ap
pears to be an intelligent man, and of some
reading, (learned, it may be,) is a sufficient
guaranty, I suppose, that he has intended to
describe what he has seen, faithfully and accu
rately ; yet his description, and particularly
the beginning of it, appears to me to be rather
confused and unsatisfactory. I canjiot but
believe that he has exaggerated considerably
the* height of tbe edifices he visited, which it
was rather natural to do, unless he had actually
measured them ; and this he does not seem lo
have done. I think, too, that he has used the
word circumference for contents. But, sup
posing this to be the case, still there can be no
doubt that the ruins are gigantic and curious,
of unknown origin, and of unknown destina
tion, unless they were intended for cemeteries
or fortresses, as the Judge conjectures, but
which does not seem to be as yet very clearly
proven, though that they were intended for one
or the other I think probable. But, being on a
scale of great magnificence and extent, it is
rather difficult lo believe that that country could
ever have been so populous as to require such
extraordinary structures for the reception of the
dead. Yet it may have been,, for evidence
enough is found in many parts of America to
prove that regions now desert and desolate,
once teemed with a dense, a busy, and perhaps
a happy population ; and this may have been
the case In Chachapoyas, some centuries ago.
Judge Nieto, not satisfied With describing
wfiat he had seen, indulges in system-making,
and at the close of his letter announces his
theory, which is, that America is the " old
world with respect to the other parts of it,"
and that Babylon, Balbec, &c., were modern
compared to the people that once inhabited
Chachapoyas. In support of this theory he
embodies a variety of facts, as he considers,
them, more or less plausible— some unques-

tionablej some hot very well established, some
not of much force, and others, apparently,
rather in his favor. 1 admire the boldness of
the Judge and commend his enthusiasm, but
am not able to adopt his conclusions, though
I would ^willingly do so, for I too indulge a
little of that continental pride, if il can be so
called, which leads me to wish to see il proven
that America is really the "old world," and
the land that first enjoyed the blessings of
civilization. 1 fear though that this cannot
be established, and that an impartial exami
nation of the subject must lead to admissions
not very favorable to a high antiquity. I
propose to consider Judge Nieto's arguments
somewhat at length, but not in the spirit of
controversy, for my feelings are with him,
though my judgijient compels me to dissent
from the views he has taken of this very in
teresting subject.
The hair on the heads of the infant skele
tons was short, fine, the Judge says, and
unlike that of the Indians of the present day.
This proves but little. Time and circnm-
stances may have changed the original color
of the hair. The Spani^ word for the color is
rubio, Which is not very definite, for it is used
for a variety of hues, more or less reddish or
fair. Short and fine it was, of tourse, as the
hair of an Indian infant is. Should hair of
this description be found on the skulls of the
skeletons of adults, so uniformly as to show
that that kind of hair belonged to the race,
then the argument would have weight; but
if found only in a few instances it would be
entitled to none, for -the Albinos have white
hair or wool, and Catlin found in the "Far
West " a young Indian woman whose hair was
naturally, or rather preternaturally, white.
The Judge assumes that the ancient articles
of gold and silver of elegant workmanship
which are discovered from time to time, as
well as the hard precious stones, could not
have been .executed without instruments of
iron and steel, which were absolutelj- unknown
to the Indian aborigines of Peru, as I believe,
and as is generally believed. II is true that
ancient articles of gold and silver, and of curi
ous and elaborate workmanship, are sometimes
found, and also that hard stones, emeralds, tur
quoises, and rock crystal, (there were no
others,) were cut and fashioned in various
ways. The question is, could these articles-
have been produced without the use of iron
and steel? The Judge maintains that they
could not be ; 1 entertain a diiferent opinion »

16

I do not pretend locite as conclusive the au
thority of the Spanish authors, who wrote about
Peruvian affairs soon after the conquest. Al
though they all, I believe, favor the opinion
that the articles in question were the work of
the race of people found in Peru by the
Spaniards, and say Ihat iron aud steel were
unknown, and express their wonder how such
curious things could be made without them.
But these writers, though indifferently honest,
and in many respects authentic, were credu
lous, not very acute, with a propensity, with
out knowing it, to exaggerate, and withal bigot
ed and superstitious, and would not have
dared to start any theories that, like Judge
Nieto's, might have made the new world just
discovered more ancient than Ihe old, for they
had the fear of the Inquisition before their
eyes. It is known that the natives of this conti
nent, before the arrival of the Spaniards, in
place of iron and steel, used obsidian, flint, cop
per, and a mixture of copper and tin, and with
these, and with much perseverance and inge-
nuity in .the use of them, it appears to me that
nothing that is antique has yet been discov
ered that may not have been produced with
out the agency of iron, from such vast edi
fices as exist in Central America, Yucatan,
and Chachapoyas, down to the gold and silver
tweezers sometimes found not weighing more
than a five cent piece. In working gold and
silver there would be no difficulty, and the
hard stones, emeralds. See, hff allowing time,
patience, and some ingenuity, present none
that is insuperable. We know that some arts,
more curious than useful, have been lost in
Europe and Asia, and it does not appear to me
to be a very violent supposition that the an
cient Peruvians might have possessed a method
of cutting and polishing precious stones not
now known, and perhaps never to be.
The solution of this difficulty, which I now
offer, is greatly strengthened I think by an ar
gument which does not appear to have been
sufficiently considered by those who maintain
that the ancient works could not have been
executed without the use of iron and steel —
which is, the little value of time to the ancient
indigens. This I deduce from well establish
ed facts as a strictly logical inference. I speak
only of Peru, but what I say will apply, per
haps, to every country in America, where an-
tiquitiss are to be met with. The Government
of the Incas, though in many respects paternal
and just, was nevertheless sternly despotic.
The Inca, the monarch was not only the pater
patria, but was also the absolute owner of the
soil and of every thing on il — of all the men, all
the women, and all the chattels; and this not
in the feudal sense, as lord paramount, but as a
planter owns the slaves belonging to his plan
tation, and indeed his ownership was still more
absolute. Whether this unlimited power was
abused or not, dep'ended entirely on the per
sonal character of the sovereign. Humboldt,
speaking of the Inca government, says that it
produced " general comfort and but little pri-
" vate happiness ; there was more submission
'« to the will of the sovereign than love of coun.
"try; passive obedience, without courage for
"bold undertakings; and the founder of the

"empire of Cuzco (Manco Capac) in flatter-
"ing himself that he could force men to be
"happy, reduced them to the condition oi sim-
"ple machines."* This is rather a sombre
picture.. , . ,
In a country with such a government, wluctl
was generally as mild and indulgent, hovvever,
as the institutions permitted the sovereign to
be, and with a crowded population, I suppose
thai labor must have been very abundant and
very cheap, and (hat a mechanic could afford to
dedicate months or even years to a piece of
work that would now be executed in a, day or
two. It is further to be considered, that ac
cording to the instituiions, all luxyry was al- ,
most entirely banished by sumptuary laws rig.
idly enforced, and the utmost simplicity was
practised in every thing— particularly in food
and clothing. With such a polity, in a mild
climate, without winter (as known to us) and
with fertile soil, with no literature, and lillle or
nothing to minister intellectual occupation,
time could have been of but little value to
those who disposed of it as a marketable com
modity, and to others of less. In China, ser
vants can be had for fifty cents per month.
'Vere it possible to institute a comparison, I
think it would appear that wages were still ,
lower in ancient Peru.
If I am not wrong in my reasoning, there is
no necessity for assuming the existence of a
race distinct from or superior to that which,
occupied this countryt^at the time of its con
quest by the Spaniards. I suppose that if the
Inca chose to do so he could have kept one-
tenth of the whole population of Peru con
stantly employed ; and that vast numbers were
employed, the edifices, roads, and very exten
sive works for irrigating the soil found by the
Spaniards, were visible and unquestionable,
proofs- In an ancient wall at Cuzco, there are
rocks, which, judging from their dimensions,
do not weigh less probably than two hundred
tons. And some of these rocks, Garcilaso dc
la Vega says, were brought three or- four
leagues, and conveyed across a river. How
would it be possible for a people ignoiant of
almost all mechanical contrivances to perform
such a labor, but by the application of physi
cal force instead of mechanical skill ? And that
force was without doubt applied. Garcilaso
relates that on one occasion, one of these huge
rocks broke loose from its fastenings aiid
crushed four thousands persons, and though I
think the number exaggerated, still the fact
goes to prove that vast numbers of persons
were employed in those great works which
now astonish the beholder and tempt him to
exclaim, " There were giants in those
days I" No. There were no giants, but an in
finity of human machines directed by one iron
will ; and wherever these structures are found
I consider them to be proo& pregnant and de
cisive of two things ; that at the time they were
erected, there existed a dense population, and '
a severe and despotic government. We are
in the habit of regarding the pyramids of Egypt
* Le fondateur de TEmpire^ du Cuzco, en se
flattant de pouvoir forcer les hommes a etre
heureux les avail reduits a I'etat de simples
machines.

17

as monuments of a great and enlightened peo
ple, when they are in truth, I suppose, nothing
more than monuments of the despotism and
cruelty of the Egyptian kings. We are aston
ished at the gigantic and imposing magnitude
of these structures— think of the forty centu
ries that have passed over them, and give but
little thought tn the oppreifsed and miserable
multitudes that erected them. The Thames
tunnel, subterranean and subfluvial as it is, is a
much nobler monument, in my opinion, than
all the pyramids and all the obelisks of Egypt
together. And the Croton Aqueduct that sup
plies the city of Jfew Yoik with water, is a
still greater and more useful work.
Judge Nieto argues that the,inhabitants of
Chachapoyas could have had no motive for
erecting the fortress, as he calls it at the close
of his letter, on account of their pacific char
acter; and that from Tupac Yupanqui, Ihe
conqueror of the country, nntil the coming of
the Spaniards, there was no time to build it, and
•hat there were no materials. This, I must say,
is taking but a very partial view of the matter.
There is no historical authority, I believe, that
goes to show certainly that the fortress, if one,
was built in the time of the Incas, or that it was
not. It .might have been erected by them, or
it might have been before they conquered
Chachapoyas ; for Garcilaso expressly says,
that when Yupanqui invaded the country, the
inhabitants defended themselves courageously,
and that they had many fortresses occupying
strong positions which he found it difficult to
reduce. They at length submitted, being over
powered, "fhey rebelled against Hutana
Capac, as the Judge states, but being abandon
ed by their allies, they thought it more prudent
to implore the sovereign's clemency than to
engage in a hopeless contest; for, left as Ihey
were alone, the conflict would have been about
as equal as if the State of Delaware should make
war upon all the other States ol the Union. The
Chachas, as they were called, might have been
turbulent and rebellious subjects ; but I do not
think there exists any reason lor suppo-'ing
that they were such blustering braggarts as the
Judge represents them to be. Garcilaso,
from whom he takes tbe story of the interces
sion of the matron (who had been a chere amie
of Yupanqui) in their behalf, does not give
them this character. On the contrary, he says
they were brave and warlike.
According to aiv old Spanish author, the
word Chachapoyas, or roore correctly, Cha-
chapuyas, signifies the place of strong men.
Whether this name bears any relation to the
character of the people or not is uncertain;
but there can be 'no doubt (hat the Chachas
were a superior race to the nations or tiibes in
their vicinity, and, as they understood and
practised the art of constructing fortified
places not easily taken, it is not illogical to
suppose that they were in some degree civiliz
ed before their incorpoiation with the Peruvian
empire ; that they had a knowledge of the
mechanical arts as then practised, and that they
were the architects of the" edifice described by
¦Judge Nieto ; and their seems to be no neces
sity whatever for supposing it to be a monu
ment of a "great and enlightened nation that
occupied the territory," and that had " declin-
3

ed as Babylon, Balbec and the Syrian citiei
had done." INJy opinion, is, that that great and
enlightened nation, supposed to be acquainted
with iron and steel, was no other than the
Chachas, who had not deteriorated when dis
covered by the Spaniards, but had made some
further advances in civilization, perhaps, after
building the fortress, cemetery or temple, or
whatever it may be, in consequence of their
union with the Peruvians.
There is another argument (whether over
looked, heretofore, or not, I do not know)
which militates stiongly against the idea of the
existence of that great and enlightened nation,
familiar with the' use of iron and steel, to
whose agency is ascribed the remarkable and'
magnificent ruins that are found on this conti
nent, and which it is at once both natural and
pleasing to assign a very remote antiquity.
This is, that the manufacture of iron is an art
at once so useftil and simple, that if once
known, it is scarcely possible it could be lost.
The people possessing it might decline, re
lapse, it might be, into barbarism — lose many
arts, but one so indispensable (now considered
to be) both to the savage and civilized man,
could not be lost, it seems to me, by any other
means than by the sudden and total annihila
tion of the race. That any such catastrophe
has taken place, there is no reason lo believe,
and it appears to me that the art of manufac
turing iron, if once known and extensively
practised, as it must have been, if practised at
all by the ancient inhabitants of South Ameri
ca, would have been almost in as little danger
of being lost, as the art of cooking food. To
this I add, that I believe it certain that not the
slightest trace of iron instruments has been dis
covered at any time, by any person, among the
ancient ruins — not an atom of the metal, nor
even i. particle of rust, to indicate its exist
ence ; which, superadded to the fact, that all
the authors, ancient and modern, say that iron
was unknown to the natives at the arrival of
the Spaniards, is sufficient to warrant the con
clusion, that it had never been known in the
country. Kjempfer supposes that the Japa
nese possess the art of hardening copper, so as
to make it supply the place of iron. I doubt
this ; but if such an art exists now, or ever did
exist, and was known to the ancient inhabi
tants of this continent, many difficulties would
be removed. I cannot believe, though, that it
was known to them. Had it been, I cannot
suppose that it would have been lost.
All this being considered, it appears to me,
that there is nothing to support Judge Nieto,
in the opinion that the edifice he describes, was
erected by a very ancient people acquainted
with iron and steel. 1 must believe that the
opinion expressed by Mr. Stephens, in his
valuable and interesting works, in which he
describes the ruins of Palenque and of Yuca
tan, is the correct one — that " they (the ruined
"cities) are not the works of a people who
" have passed away, and whose history is lost,
" but of the same races who inhabited the
" country at the time of the Spanish conquest.
"or of some not very distant progenitors ;'•
and the facts and arguments adduced by him.
in support of this opinion, seem to roe to bs
conclusire. The present degraded and wretch-

18'

e4 condition of the Indians proves nothing but
that the Spaniards carried out most effectually
their atrocious policy, which was to make of
ihem hewers of wood and drawers of water
with the least delay — to convert thein from in-
ilependent, rational beings, into stupid, passive
machines; aud the object was accomplished
wilh surprising celerity. Within less than half
a century after the Spaniards had conquered the
country, the condition of the aborigines was
more deplorable, if possible, than at the present
day. it would seem that such an astonishing
metamorphosis would be impossible, supposing
them to be tlie descendants, not veiy far re
moved, of those who built the ruined cities.
i>ut it might be so, for never were conquerors
more successful in obliterating the national
aud individual character ofthe conquered than
Ihe Spaniards. They did not want lo make of
their vassals, either cilize.is or subjects, but
slaves, and they made them so by a very com
pendious process — by condemning them to in
cessant labor, and by proscribing all the laws,
customs, usages and religious, rites that were
calculated to foster in the slightest degree the
sentiment of nationality.
The South American Indians are not the only
people who have undergone such an extraordi
nary transformation, 'i'he Copts ofthe present
day are the decendants of the ancient Egyp
tians, and the Egyp'tian Arabs of those who
conquered the country in the name of Ma
homet. But the most striking example is that
of the modern Greeks. WhO' could have sup
posed, but for the irrefragable atlestatious of
history, that, after submitting to the brutal and
fanatical Turk, they were descended from those
who ibughf at Salamis and Marathon? It is
true, they had begun lo degenerate before con
quered by the Turks, but that conquest alone
accounts for their rapid declension.
The absence of tradition among the Indians
in relation to their former status is very satis-
lactorily accounted for by Mr. Stephens. In
that respect they do not differ from other com
munities in the same situation. There is but
little tradition among any of the indigenous
races that have been reduced (reducido, an ex
pressive Vi'ord) by the Spaniards, though some
of them have had abundant materials for very
glorious and inspiring traditions. Such are the
Mexicans, the Yucatecos, the Palenquenos,
the Peruvians, and the Bogotanos. A state
of abject slavery is decidedly unfavorable to
the transmission of traditionary loie; and no
nation, I think, has ever been very traditional
in its character unless it has enjoyed a consid
erable degree of freedom — individual, if not
political — nor unless it bas been somewhat in-
ttlleciual and imaginative, (with or without
literature;) nor unless it has claims (founded
or unfounded) toglorious achievements in war.
In their most palmy days the Indians in, ques
tion may not have abounded much in tradition,
or, if they did abound in it, that they should
have forgotten it in three hundred years, en
slaved, oppressed, and; crushed as they have
been, is certainly not astonishing. It would
rather be if they had not. The Araucanians,
immortalized by Ercilla in his poem, have tra-
dition.s, and well they may have, for they re
sisted, and successfully, all attempts by the

Spaniards to su-bjugate tbem for more than two
hundred years, and were not content to act oi»
the defence merely, but were often the- assail
ants, and with signal success sometimes. But,
should, this indomitable race be reduced to
slavery, dnd continue enslaved for three cen'-
turies, it is highly probable that at the end oK
that period their traditions, as well as every
trace of the bold and independent character for
which they are distinguished, would be utterly
and irretrievably lost.
Hence I conclude that certain favorable cir
cumstances are essential to the existence of
much tradition among a people, and that under
very adverse circumstances ihey may soou be
forgotten in a country where there are no col
lateral records, and where the art of writing
was unknown, or very imperfectly practisecl,
as among the Indians of Ibis continent; for the
picture-writing of Mexico must have been veiy
defective, and from its nature diflicult of at
tainment. Judging from the inscriptions dis
covered in Central America and Yucatan, it
may be supposed that those who made thein
possessed something like the ait of writing;
but it must have been, I think, very imper
fect. But this is only conjectural, — the art,
if known, may have been a very difficult one,
and known to but few, probably, as the school
master was not abroad in those days.
Tbe guipos orquipus in Peru were still more
defective than the others, it may be presumed.
These, as is well known, were nothing more
than knots, as is the meaning of the word, tied
with cotton threads of different colors; and the
whole process was strictly conventional, there
being no way of expressing an idea that had
not its predetermined sign. The guipus were
used for keeping all the public accounts, births,
deaths, receipts at ths treasury, (not in money
but in kind,) &c., and the annual report of the
Secretary of the Treasury must have been a
very curious document, and sometimes, per
haps, i. skein rather difficult to unravel. Bift
it must be said for the Peruvians, in the time
ofthe Incas, that their probity has not probably
been exceeded by that of my other people,
ancient or modern. Among their public men,
fraud, peculation, embezzlement, and bribery
seem to have been unknown ; and this is in
part to be accounted for from the nature ofthe
institutions, and partly from the fact that there
fiyaa no money, that root and origin of all evil.
The Quipucainayus (keepers of the knots)
were the scribes and historiographers, and also
the auditors and comptrollers. They attained
to great dexterity in their art, and could record
and recite \yith. surprising rapidity, and adjust
accounts with undeviating accuracy ; but they
could not go far beyond this. Some events of
a very iniportjnt nature conld be recorded, such
as embaSies, battles, &c., because tbe colors,
number of knots, &c. lo be used had been pre
viously determined ; but it was impossible to
write a letter, however brief it might be, unless
the quipus and the key had been concerted as
in the use of the cipher. The Inca, therefore,
when he wished lo send an order to any part
¦of- his dominions, employed messengers to
whom M was given verbally. These were
called chasquis, and were stationed constantly
on .the highways, onc-tburth of a league apart ;

19

and as they were swift of foot, and the messages
being very brief generally, they were convey
ed with considerable rapidity, faster than by a
mail coach ; but It is probable that serious blun
ders were sometimes committed, for, in trans
mitting an order one hundred miles, it had to
be repeated by 130 persons.
But few, I fancy,have perused Mr. Stephens's
very interesting volumes with more pleasure
than myself, and, sensible of their merit as I
am, I will venture a slight criticism on one
passage, conscious that I do so in no, cynical
spirit. In his work on Yucatan, I understand
him as rather persisting in the idea, which he
pretty distinctly favors in his first volumes, that
there is, somewhere about the southern parts
of Mexico, embowered in the wilderness, an
indigenous people, never known to tho Span
iards, retaining its primitive characteristics,
and among whom, are those who can read tbe
inscriptions at Palenque. Such is the idea,
and it ia certainly a very romantic and capti
vating one, loo much so to be lightly surren
dered were there any facts, or even probabili
ties to support it ; but in my opinion, unfortu-

In 1838, not far from ¦Quito, a tolerably inle-
ligent person showed me a very lofty moun
tain at the distance of twelve or fifteen miles,
which he assured me was nearly ail siUfr, but
that it was inaccessible on account nf its steep
ness. Credulity, however, in relation to mines
of gold and silver is not peculiar to South
America. The universal belief in Ihe El Dorado, which
had a thousand local habitations, vvas one cause
why the country was traversed in all directions,
for no impediment could arrest the explorers.
Whoever has travelled much among the Andes,
unless " native heie and to the manner born,"
cannot fail to be surprised to find that certain
regions have been visited, explored, and tra
velled over for hundreds of years, which ono
woald be inclined to think would have been
perfectly impenetrable.
I have travelled five days at a lime among
the Andes without seeing a human creature,
except those wilh me, and along a track (not
a road) which, for the most pan, serpentized
over almost perpendicular precipices, or
through a forest literally impervious, except

natelv there are none. The inscriptions, il is I by cutting one's way at every step. Provi
. -* ™ . .1 , _ _1 rril  -;_., 1..~n....>» nr..l o,..,.,,. fl-,;..^. . .- n .. .. ..^-..^n.) n .

to be feired, will never be read. They are a
sealed book, I apprehend, to all living men.
Upon them the genius and perseverance of a
ChampoUion would be lost ; and it is but too
certain, I think, that all those who understand
them have past away forever.
The idea of this undiscovered nation origin
ated, if I mistake not, in a legend related to
Mr. Stephens by a priest whombe met in Cen
tral America, a poition -of which was clearly
preposterous, and which the good father him
self did not believe, I suppose, any more than
Mr. S. But if the remainder were true, it
shows that the existence of that sequestered
people must have been known to the Spaniards,
probably ; and if it had been, there could have
been no escape fsom their ferocity and avarice :
" Fire and sword were in their hands, and in
theil' hearts
Were machinations for speeding of destruc
tion.^'
Ever stimulated by the sacra anri fames, they
were intimidated by no dangers, arrestedi,by no
•obstacles. There were no barriers that they
did not overcome, no fastnesses that they did
not penetrate. Had such a people existed, they
¦would have been discovered ; and had they
been discovered, they would have been sub
jugated. Much of Spanish America is rough, rugged,
mountainous country, but, notwithstanding, it
was penetrated and explored in all directions
soon after the conquest, either by armies, de
tachments, and parties, cr by adventurous in
dividuals ; some to make discoveries, some to
make conquests, all hoping to find gold, and
not a few expressly in search el the fabulous
El Dorado, for the belief in the existence of
that golden country was universal, and to this
day that belief still exists, though somewhat
denuded of its extravagance. There are yet
people who believe devoutly in mines and
mountains of the precious metals, enough to
enrich the world if they could but be lound.

sion, luggage, and every thing '^^ere carried on
men's backs, and my saddle-horse was a stout
mulatto, (part Indian,) whom I occasionally
mounted when tired of walking. I felt at first
a decided repugnance to this sort of equitation,
and could not think of using a fellow-being ad
a beast of btirden ; but the necessity of the case
and the custom ofthe coun'ry ^ot the better ef
my scruples, as they had of those of more con
scientious men, no doubt; and as the sillero,
(chairman,) as he was called, told me it was hij
occupation to carri/ Christians over the moun
tains and solicited the job, I struck a bargain
with him, and the price was ten dollars ilirough,
I riding about half the time;, This quadrupedal
biped, if so he may be called, turned out to be
a very sure-footed and trusty animal, and car
ried me in perfect safety to the end of the
route. The modus equitandi is Ihis ; Instead
of a saddle a very light cane chair is used,
which the chairman slings upon his back, and
the traveller's face, when seated in it, is to the
north, sliould he be going to the south, and
vice versa. It is necessary that, when mounted,
he should keep himself very accurately bal
anced, for there are many places in passing
which a false step on the part of the sillero
might cause a tumble down a precipice, which
would be fatal both to the rider and to the
ridden. I have indulged in this digression for the
purpose of showing what sort of regions are to
be met with in the Andes, and that, repulsive
and inhospitable as they are, they have been
penetrated and explored hundreds of years ago,
which makes it very improbable, it appears to
me, that there can be any tribe or nation of
aborigines not yet discovered— at all events,
between Mexico and the Isthmus of Panama.
If not found by any of the numerous explora
tory expeditions set on foot by the Spaniards,
still it seems to me that in the course of three
hundred years it must have happened Ihat
some straggling white man or Indian would
have reached them.

ao

Of the legend related to Mr. Stephens, I
have to say that it appears to me to be all pure
invention from beginning to end. One of my
reasons for believing this 'is, that, in many
countries, the same kind of fables have had
currency and have found believers. Seventy
or eighty years ago it was believed in England
by many that there existed in Wales an an
cient Danish colony pursuing the "even tenor
of its way," secluded from all the rest of the
world, and preserving unadulterated ils an
cient language, customs, and laws. In Spam,
one hundred years ago, the belief was general
that there was somewhere in that kingdom a   ,,-..,.
eolonv of the same description, (except that i life are his biographers, and to palliate their
they were not Danes,) of very high antiquity, own violent and bloody domgs it was neces-

The Inca's issue, however numerous it may
be, was all regarded as royal-— legitimate ami
illegitimate. It followed, therefore, that there
must have been a great number of royal ex
traction, and such was the fact. It was, there
fore, not a very easy matter for the Spaniards
to destroy them, though they destroyed a great
many — many mole no doubt than the Spanish
writers admit, for they shift to the Inca Ata
hualpa the odium of having attempted to ex
tirpate the whole race after his successful war
against his brother Huascar. But he has had
no indigenous historian and no apologist.
Those who robbed him ofhis crown and ofhis

and' called Las Baluecas. Nobody had visited
the colony, or could give its locus in quo, but
nevertheless its existence was not doubted;
and so general was the pre|)Osterous idea that
the celeorated Feijoo wrote a dissertation for
the express purpose of proving that no such
community had ever existed or could exist
without being known. To these instances I
will add that, in the United Slates, about
thirty years ago, it was more or less believed
that somewhere on the Upper Missouri there
was a race of white men— known or supposed
to be Welshmen — ^which turned out to be the
Mandan nation, I believe, now extinct, or
nearly so, by the ravages of the small pox.
I will here observe, though rather out of
place, that in Peru traditions appear to have
been rather better preserved among the Indians
than in Central America, Yucatan, and else
where; and this is very easily accounted for:
their history is not very ancient, and so extra
ordinary a Government as that of the Incas
must have left traces and impressions not easily
effaced ; but still they would have been, proba
bly, but for peculiar circumstances, and such
as have perhaps no parallel in America. As I
have already said, the Inca was the owner of
all his subjects, and exercised an absolute jus

sary lo describe him as a monster, and they
have done so. He was, perhaps, a bad and
cruel man, as well as a usurper; but those who
have handed him down to posterity as such
were far from being pure themselves, and were
certainly not impartial.
The princes of the royal blood being so nu
merous, it was difficult to destroy them all, and
all were riot destroyed; and there being a ral
lying point for the Indians in the successors of
the Incas, they frequently attempted to throw
ott' the Spanish yoke, always without success,
but they made some desperate struggles, the
last between sixty and seventy years ago. Thus
the tradition of the ancient empire, of its great
ness and glory, was not lost, though it has
faded into a very obscure and confused recol
lection of things past, which will a century
hence be entirely obliterated, probably.
This view of the subject appears to be plau
sible at least, if not entirely satisfactory, and I
venture to advance the opinion, by way of hy
pothesis, that it will be found, upon close in
quiry, that throughout Spanish America, among
all the indigenous nations or tribes who retain
no traditions of their former political condition,
the royal or reigning families have been de
stroyed simultaneously with or soon after the

dominii without limitation or control, over conquest, or shorn of their greatness, and so

males and females ; and, as regards the latter,
this right does not seem by any means to have
been merely a nominal one, for almost all the
Incas had very numerous families of children —
one of them, Huayna Capac, left at his death
between five and six hundred sons and daugh
ters; It is proper to remark, enpassant, that it
was a maxim of the Government, sanctioned
or submitted to by the people, that it was pro
motive of the public weal that the royal stock
should be propagated as widely as possible ;
which, as it was considered to be of Divine
origin, was a very natural idea, and conde
scension on the part of a lady, in this case, was
neither injurious to her character nor offensive
to her family: yet adultery was punished by
the laws with great severity, with this excep
tion. We may judge from this that the Incas
were adepts in kingcralt, and that by virtue of
tbeir Divine right they had 'at tbeir discretion
all tbe wives and daughters in their empire, as
they bad incontestably. That most subtle and
most successful of all impostors, Mahomet, in
culcated a similar dogma with respect to him
self, but he was rather more moderate than
«ome of the locas.

confounded with the common herd that they
ceased to be recognisable. I speak of such as
may be supposed to have bad traditions.
To this it may be added, that the Spaniards
sometimes intermarried with the royal add
noble dames of Peru, soon after Ihe conquest,
and this contributed to save the descendants of
the Incas from utter extirpation.
My speculations upon the matters touchei
in the foregoing remarks have led me to the
following conclusions :
1- That iron and steel bad never been
known in South America before the arrival of
the Spaniards.
2. That all the ruins, structures, ornaments,
&c. that have been discovered, have been
erected or made without tools of those metals.
3. That the ruins in Chachapoyas are the
works of the Chachas, before they were con
quered by Tupac Yupanqui, or of the Incas
themselves — most probably of the former.
4. That Mr.- Stephens's opinion, that the
" ruined cities are the works of the same races
" who inhabited the country at the time of the
" Spanish conquest, or of some not very dis-
" tant progenitors," is correct.

21

5. That it is not probable there exists an un
discovered people iu Mexico or Central Amer
ica, or elsewhere, capable of reading the in
scriptions at Palenque — or an undiscovered peo
ple of any kind, unless it may be some poor
paltry tribe not worth discovering.
6. That there have been discovered no ruins
or monuments on the American continent,
whose age may not be within one thousand
years. Such as are known not to go beyond
tour or five hundred years, as at Cuzeo, seem
to be as ancient (I believe) as any, except,
.perhaps, one rui:i inTMexico and one in Bo
livia, (Upper Peru.)
I now conclude, having no apology to offer
for this very long and rambling letter, except
the interesting subjects which I have so im
perfectly discussed in it.
I am, with much respect, your obedient ser
vant, J. C. PICKETT.
Francis Markoe, jr.. Esq,,
Cor. Secretary of National Institute.

Province op Chachapoyas,
CuELAp, January 31, 1843.
To tlie Prefect of the Department :
Sir: Having come into this country of Cue-
lap to make the survey commanded by the Su
preme Government of the Republic, I h-dve
discovered a work most worthy of the public
attention, which is a wall of hewn stone 560
feet in width, 3,600 feet in length, and 150 feet
high. This edifice being solid in the interior
for the whole space contained wilhin 5,376,000
feet of circumference, which it has, to the be
fore-mentioned height of 150 feet, is solid and
levelled, and upon it there is another wall ot
300,000 feet in circumference in this form, 600
feet in length, and 500 in breath, with the
same elevation (150 feet) of the lower wall,
and, like it, solid and level to the summit.*
In this elevation, and also in.that of the lower
wall, are a great many habitations or rooms of
the same'hewn stone, 18 feet long and 15 wide,
and in these rooms, as well as between the di
viding walls of thp great wall, are found neatly
constructed niches a yard or two- thirds in
length, and a half yard broad and deep, in
which are found bones of the ancient dead,
some naked and some in cotton shrouds or
blankets of very firm teiture, though coarse,
and all Worked wilh borders of different colors.
These niches differ from those in our pantheons
(cemeteries^ in nothing but their depth, for,
instead of being two or three yards deep, which
is necessary to keep our bodies in the erect
position in which they are placed after death,
they (the ancients) employed only two or three
feet, because they were doubled up so that the
chin and knee met, and the hands were inter
laced with the feet like a human foetus of four
months. The wall about three doors that have been
discovered, deserves attention. At the right of

* This description is not very intelligible,
and is probably inaccurate. What the writer
means by 5,376,000, and 300,000 feet in cir
cumference, does not seem to be very clear.
Perhaps he means contents.

each ofthe doors it is semi- circular, and at tho
left angular; and at the base commences an
inclined plane which continues tn ascend almost
insensibly to the before-mentioned height of
150 feet, with tlie peculiarity that about half
way there is a turret (garita;*) thence it pro
ceeds, losing its straightforward direction with
which it commenced, making a curve to the
light of those ascending, havii.g in the upper
p irt a recess curiously constructed ofthe same
hewn stone, from which all entry may be pre
vented, because those doors at the lower part
outside the wall, commencing vvith only six
feet of width, have in the superior anterior
part only two feet. At the summit there is
a pavilion or belvidere, from which may be
seen not only the Whole of ihe plain below and
all the lagoons, but likewise a considerable
part of the province, and as far as the capital,
which is eleven leagues distant.
Next present themselves the entrances to the
second and highest wall, equal in all respects lo
the first; and they are of smaller dimensions in
length and breadth only, but'not in height, as I
have already said. There are also other se
pulchres resembling small ovens, six feet high,
and irom twenty to thirty in circumference;
on the base of each of which there is a slab,
and on that slab a human skeleton.
Having examined these things yesterday, I
retired with the crowd that accompanied me
to take some repose, and to~Jay we ascended
to the summit of a rock outside the wall which
serves it for a foundation, and having passed
by a road almost destroyed by the water, ex
posing ourselves to the hazard of a chasm,
which threatene4 us, and which is nearly 900
feet deep, and supporting ourselves mutually,
we reached a cavity formed by the ro'cks which
originate in the mountain, to which there are
ten heaps of human hones, perfectly preserved
in their shrouds, one of wnich, an aged man,
was Wrapped in a hair cloth, which I have pre
served with the skeleton. The other, which
was probably a woman, in consequence of the
separation of the bone of a legand ofthe trunk
from the head, was spoiled. The woman was
old when she died, her hair being gray, and
was, without doubt, the mother of seven chil
dren that composed seven of the heaps, two of
which I have in my possession, aud two of
which were carried away by Don Gregorio
Rodriguez, one of the company, together with
a shroud of cotton of various colors, and a ban
dage worked with different colors, three of the
skeletons of the children and one of the adult
persons being left behind in consequence of the
ligaments of the bones having giving way. AH
had invariably the same posture, and the hair of
their llittle heads was fine, short, and reddish,
(rubio,) and unlike that of the aborigines of
our day. The female had her ears pierced, and
in them a cotton cord, twisted and thick.
1 have since regretted that I was not able lo
continue my researches at that place, as I
would probably have discovered much more;
but we were obliged to separate, taking another
direction for another spot, where, I was assured,
there was much more to be seen. We de-
t The word garita means a sentry-box, but
the word does not suit the case.

2-2

scended on the side looking towards the north,
and arrived at a very steep hill, which we as
cended with great difficulty in consequence of
its sleepness and ofthe dry grass with which it
was covered, that caused ua to slip at every
step. Having mounted up about 6O0 feet we
found il impossible to go any iiirther, because
of a perpendicular rock, whichjwould not per
mit us to approach a wall of square stones,
with small apertures like windows, that was
distant from the point that could be reached
about sixty t«et, and for want of time and a
ladder we did not see what was contained
within this wall, which occupies an elevation
that looks towards the east, north, and west as
far as tbe eye can reach. So I remained, with
the mortification of not knowing anything
about this work, aod of the fossils and precious
things it encloses, for the reason that it is very
precipitous, and the judicial duty in which I
was engaged would not permit me to explore
the centre; and, besides, I was unable to leave
the capital for any length of time, where the
administration of justice was suffering from
my absence. And to these obstacles was to be
added the impossibility of undertaking any
work for want of assistance, as the Indians
have a great horror of this place on account of
the mummies it contains, which, in their
opinion, produce fatal diseases, if touched,
all fled panic-struck at the sight of them.
With great exertions^ however, and upon see
ing our familiarity with tlie bone", one or two
of the most intelligent got the better of the
fears with which an unlucky superstition had
inspired them.
For these reasons I was not able to explore
the wall at the southeast side, where 1 was as
sured there are some curiously formed ditches
which cannot be approached from below, and
one can reach them only by being let down
with ropes from the tops of the walls. Nor
could I visit a cave which Don Gregorio (a
man of truth) assures me there is on the other
side of the river Condechaca, where he says
there are many skulls, pits, and otber objects,
and, having penetrated it to the distance of two
squares — about two hundred yards — the torches
were extinguished for want of air, and he
could go no further. Should time and the
Government favor me further discoveries may
be made.
The ingenious and highly-wrought .speci
mens of workmanship that are found as monu
ments of the ancients, the elegance of the cut
ting of some ofthe hardest stones, which could
not be done without instruments of iron and
steel, which were absolutely unknown to our
ancestors, (the Indians,) the ingenuity and so
lidity of this gigantic work — all of wrought
alone — there being neither reason nor motive

for the erection of this fortress, in consequence
of the pacific character of the inhabitants ot
these provinces, and of their remoteness Irom
Ihe theatre of the war at the time of the con-
quest, (by the Spaniards ;) the short time that
intervened between the reign of Tupac Tupan-
Bu'i, (an Inca,) the conqueror of the' regions,
and the advent of the Spaniards ; his inability
to furnish the materials for such a structure, or
to find time to erect it, although the natives, it
is said, were refractory, and that they rebelled
against Huayna Capac , but their wars before
they were incorporated with the government
of the Incas were ridiculous and ephemeral,
and their rebellion so transitory, that, so far
from persisting in it, they implored pardon
through the mediation of a matron, and ob
tained it; the secure manner of inhuming the
dead, the rich in niches of stone and the poor
among the rocks, probably— all this induces
me to believe that, although the wall 1 have so
imperfectly described ma> not be of Ihe re
motest antiquity — ot the epoch at which Peru
and America were peopled by civilized na
tions, from yvhich the Europeans borrowed the
idea of the pantheons* they now use ; at all
events, the elegant articles of gold and silver,
the curiously wrought stones that have been
found in the huacas,^ and many monuments
and customs of our aborigines, have been taken,
preserved, or tiansferred by a great and en
lightened nation that occupied this territory,
which declined in the same manner as others
more modern, of which history informs us, as
Babylon, Balbec, tbe cities of Syria, and others
that have been destroyed, and remained in that
state of isolation in which it was found by the
great Manco, and consequently America" is an
old world with respect to the other four parts
that compose the globe, as I propose to demori-
strate more at largean the statistics of the De
partment that I am preparing with official and
credible data, to which this note may serve as
an appendix, and which I address lo you that
you may transmit it to the President of the
Republic in the usual way.f
God preserve you !
JUAN CRISOSTOMO NIETO.

* Cemeteries are called pantheons in South
America, ¦f A huaca is a large quadrangular mound
built of unburnt bricks, in which the ancient
Peruvians deposited their dead.
I I regret that it is not in my power to pub
lish the foregoing letter in the original Span
ish, which I cannot do, having no copy of it.
The beginning of it is confused and unsatisfac
tory, which may be in consequence of errors of
the press, as the writernwas not at Lima when
it was published.

MAJOR JOHN ANDRE.

LlMA, August 5, 1S44.
Dear Sir: Looking over the poetical works
of ItoBERr Southey not long ago, I noticed
the ibilowing jiassage in the preface to Ma-
Doc, which I had either not read before or had
forgotten. Mr. S. says —
"Miss Seward was not so much overrated
" at one time, as she has since been unjustly
" depreciated. She was so consideraible a per-
"son when her reputation was at its height,
'• that Washinoton said, that no circum-
"stance of his life had been so mortifying to
" him, as that of having been made the object
" of her invective, in her Monody on Major
" Andre. After peace had been concluded
" between Great Britain and the United States,
"he commisioned an jVmeiican officer, who
"was about to sail for England, to call upon
"her at Litchfield, and explain to her, that in-
" .stead of having caused Andre's death, he
" had endeavored to save him, and she was re-
" quested to peruse the papers in proof of this,
" which he sent for her perusal." ' They fill-
" ed me with contrition,' says Miss Seward,
" for the rash injustice of my censure."
Now if, this incident in the life of General
Washington, as related by Mn. Southey,
on Miss Seward's authority, is an admitted
historical fact, there is nothing more to be s,iid,
though, I cannot but feel regret, that the Father
of his Country should have stooped to justify
himself to the most scurrilous and most men
dacious of all his libellers at home or abroad,
as undoubtedly was Miss Skward^. I cannot
persuade myself, however, that be did this, for
I have no recollection of liaving seen in any
biography of him, or in any history of the
Revolution, a statement ofhis having done so.
It may have escaped me though, and here
where books relating to the political history of
our country are scarce, it is not in my power
to satisfy myself on this point.
I remember to have read the Monody, for the
first and the last time, more than thirty years
ago, when very young, and was so struck with
the venom ofthe invective, and with the vigor
of it too, as it then appeared to me, that some
of the lines fastened themselves on my memo
ry, where they yet remain. Among them are
these : — " For cowards'only know.
Persisting vengeance o'er a fallen foe."
General Washington was the ' coward,'
and A.VDRE the ' fallen foe.' And again :—

" And infa'my with livid hand shall shed
Eternal mildews o'er his ruthless head."
The 'ruthless head' was Washington's.-—
The poem abounds with figures and flowers in
the same taste, and whatever may be now
thought of then- poetic merit, the authoress, if
yet living, might claim that of being able to
put info as few lines, as much ribaldry, as any
othSr English poet or poetess could, not ex
cepting Mr. Southey himself, who had cer
tainly a very pretty talent for billingsgate, as
well as much other talent.
1 am not sure that since I read the Monody
I have ever seen it, and I presume that it is not
much read in Ihe United States at the present
day, Or in England either, for even there, it
would ntft now be considered very good taste,
to speak of General Washington's ' ruth
less head,' or to denounce him as a ' coward.
He might have heard of the Monody, but in the
absence of positive proof, I cannot be per
suaded that he ever read it, or that being made
the object of its invective, was to him tha
" most mortifying circumstance ofhis life," or
that he commissioned an American officer or
any body else to make explanations to the au
thoress, with the view of deprecating her
wrath, and of conciliating her good opinion.
He very rarely took the trouble to contradict
the libels published against him at home, which
more immediately concerned him, and were of"
more serious import. It is not probable then,
that his sensibility should have been so deeply
wounded, as to induce him to get up a kind ot
special mission, with the view of counteract
ing an English libel, the most absurd and .^in
famous of all the calumnies propagated against
him. Or if he did, then on that one occasion^
the only one I believe — did his imperturable
equanimity of character forsake him, and he,
who has read the Monody, cannot be made to
believe upon any thing less convincing than
" proof of holy writ," that he ever commis
sioned any person to make explanations to the
reckless and unscrupulous authoress. This
language is not too strong, for he is represent
ed in the Monody to be vindictive, inexorable,
bloody and remorseless ; and as being nothing
better than the murderer of Andre. Nor is
Miss Sewasd's reputation so immaculate, as
to place her beyond the reach of an impeach
ment, as a wilful and malignant prevaricator,
for according to some of her English biogra
phers, she was vain, affected, pedantic, much
addicted to flattering those who loved flattery.

nnd not by any means remarkable for a scrupu
lous regard for truth. She flattered Southey
very perseveringly, and he in return endeavor
ed to save her poetical reputation from that ob
livion, to which it had been consigned by the
general consent of her countrymen. But still
he says of her poetry, insinuating disp^arage-
raent, that it belonged to the " brocade fashion"
of Doctor Darwin.
Doctor Darwin is an instance of thein-'
stability and emptiness of poetical fame.
Thirty or for-ty years ago, his poetry was as
popular as Southey's has ever been, and thir
ty or forty years hence, may again be so.
¦Though, now, condemned and neglected, and
stigmatised as brocade, tinsel and mere sound,
it was once extensively read and greatly ad
mired by competent judges even, and after all,
there is in it, unquestionably, much that is beau
tiful, much originality and much elegant versi
fication. It may seem in our day to be father
monotonous, but it ought to be borne in mind,
that it is the poetry of Scott, Byron! Southey
and others ofthe new School, that has made it
appear so, and the poetry of Dryden and
Pope compared with theirs, has something of
the same appearance. The following lines of
Darwin [quoted from memory] ought to give
bim some claim upon the indulgence of the
readers of poetry in the United States . He is
describing our Revolution :
" With patriot speed the quick contagion ran,
Hill lighted hill and man electrized man ;
Her heroes slain, awhile-Columbia mourn'd.
And crown'd with laurels. Liberty return'd."
1 return to General Washington. — It is
true that he endeavored to save Andre, as
Miss Seward says! Ought he to have en
deavored to save him?
It is my belief that he did not endeavor to save
liim, and my conviction that he ought not to
have done it. Mr. Sparks (Life of Washing
ton) makes the following remark: —
" As the guilty Arnold was the cause of
all the evils* that followed an exchange of him
for Andre would have been accepted ; but
no such proposal was intimated by the Brit
ish General, and perhaps it could not be con
sistently done with honor and the course al
ready pursued."
This is very true. "It could not be done
consistently wilh honor." Sir Henry Clinton
by surrendering Arnold would have divided
the rhfamy ofthe latter — so imperative are the
usages of war, that in such cases the greatest
* " As the guilty Arnold was the cause of
all the evils that followed," &c. This, under one
aspect may be true. Had Arnold not been wil
ling to play the traitor, the evils would not have
followed ; nor would they, had not Sir Hen
ry Clinton been willing to purchase the
traitor ; nor would they so as to affect Andre,
had he not been willing to make himself the
agent and go-between in the nefarious transac
tion ; and never was any man more conapletely
the artificer of his own ruin than he, unless it
could be assumed that he was acting through
out, in obedience to the orders of his superior,
which he was bound to obey; but this, all
military men and many that are not military,
know, could not have buen the case.

villains and traitors must be protecled. ^o
proposition, it is to be presumed, therefore,
was formally made to the British General to
save Andre by sacrificing Arnold; nor could
it, if made, have been lor a moment considered.
In what way, ttien, did Gen. Wajhinoton en
deavor to save Andre, as assumed by Miss Se
ward ? This question I cannot answer other
wise than by saying that I do not believe he
made any eftbrt to save him ; for if he had made
it, I must suppose that he would have been
saved. If he had not Ihe power as commander-
in-chief entirely to annul the sentence of tbe
court-martial that condemned Andre to death,
he could unquestionably have delayed the ex
ecution of it until an application could have
been made to higher authority on his behalf,
which, supported by the solicitation of the
commanding general, would almost certainly
have been successful. But no such appeal was
made, nor do I believe that it was proposed to
make it. It is very singular and inexplicable,
then, that with a disposition to save Andre, ac
cording to Miss Seward, and able to array on
the side of mercy an irresistible influence, he
should have done nothing and proposed nothing
calculated to benefit the prisoner, unless to in
timate, perhaps, in an informal mannei, that
Andre could be exchanged for Arnold.
What inference is to be drawn from this
apathy and inaction ? But one, it appears to
me, and that is, that Washington neither made
an effort to save Andre, or had for a moment
any intention of making it. If there exists any
thing like proof against this opinion, I am not
aware oflt. Miss Seward's assertion I do not
value at any thing; had she enjoyed a very high
character even for veracity, 1 should doubt the
accuracy of her statement, for in making it she
was white-washing herself, as she was well
aware, and not General Washington. Times
had greatly changed, and men's opinions, too,
since the Monody was written. Then much
sympathy was felt for Major Andre, and
Washington was naturally regarded by many
as a rebel, and by some, probably, as a homi
cide. But time that can do so much towards
soothing resentments, softening asperities, and
subduing animosities, had given him a very
different standing with the English people,
and it was evident even to Miss Seward her
self that the ribaldries which she had poured
out upon him sp profusely, no longer delighted
either the vulgar by its brutality, or the refined
by its poetical merit, if it had any. Then
nothing was more natural than Ihat the poetess
who lacked neither boldness nor ingenuity
should resort to this method of retracting her
libel ; or that Mr. Southey, one of whose
most assiduous flatterers she was, should assist
her to extricate herself, when it cost him
nothing to do so, but to repeat what the had
told him, believing or affecting to believe it
himself. And hence her contrition, it appears
lo me.
Having assumed that Gen. WASHiNOToif
did not endeavor to save Andre, 1 proceed to
inquire whether he ought to have endeavored
to save him, and unhesitatingly express the
opinion that he ought not.
There has been much pathetic eloqueuee
expended upon Major Andre's case, and much

25

thetoiic— historical, political, and iniscella-
newas— and to thi^ I have nothing to say, ex
cept that some of it had better been omitted.
I have to say, though, that all military history
cannot furnish a case where a rigorous enforce
ment of the laws of war was more justifiable
or more expedient. The ground taken by Sir
Henrt Clinton and some British writers,
that Andre ought not to have been treated as
a spy, because he had been brought within the
American lines by an American officer, (Ar
nold,) was manifestly absurd, and was finally
abandoned by every body who had any preten
sions to sanity. He was not only a spy, but
Was moreover the correspondent and the ac
complice of a traitor. And not only was he
this, but he had been so deliberately and for a
considerable time, whilst he and Arnold
were corresponding under the assumed names
of Gustavus and Anderson. Thus his labors
as a spy were not merely a single hasty and
u,oconsiaered act, but were cool, continuous,
systematic, and persevering. The plan being
matured, and the time having arrived for
action, he, " nothing loth," was selected from
many hundreds of British officers at New York,
to give the finishing stroke to the diabolical plot
that had been so long iu or under concoction.
He meets Arnold, coquettes a little about en
tering the American lines and about assuming
a disguise; but he enters the one and assumes
the other. Every thing was arranged, the
treason was consummated, and nothing re
mained to be done but to deliver the fortress,
(We^t Point,) and with it the whole patriot
<-ause,, perhaps, into the hands of the British
commander. He whose sensibility and deli
cacy recoiled from the concealment of his
military rank under a civic garb, had no mis
givings, no " compunctious visitings" about
the black and damnable treason he was abet
ting, or the clandestine and unchivalrous
manner in which the negotiation had been con
ducted. He sets out on his return to New
York, buoyant without doubt with self-gratu-
lation at the successful issue of his intrigue,
and revolving in his mind the applause and
the recompense that awaited him. But there
was a lion in his path. He was stopped by
three militia men, and if it be not presump
tuous to suppose that Providence interposed
on the occasion, it may well be believed that
those tbree incorruptible patriots had appeared
by supertiatural appointment at the time and
the place for the express purpose of saving the
American cause, and they s»ved it. Bribes
were offered without stint, if they would let
him pass — gold, valuables, promises of large
rewards — but in vam. 'They were deaf to
every thing but honor and duty ; the spy was
captured, aod the traitor would have been had
Colonel Jameson's sagacity been equal to his
uprightness and good intentions. But it was
impossible for him to suspect Arnold, I sup
pose ; and, indeed, a man who had fought so
gallantly and bled so freely for his country,
was above suspicion until guilt was brought
home to him.
Major Andre has been much lauded by the
liiihistorians ofthe Revolution, for the frankness,
"dignity, and fifmness he displayed after his cap
ture, and I am not disposed to deny that he did
4

display them ; but at the same time it seemj to
me that policyidictated the course he pursued
subsequently, as much as frankness and detes
tation of disguise. Some say that his being
entrapped by his captors, who represented
themselves to be royalists, is a proof of his
guileless and unsuspecting temper, and of his
unfitness for the dirty and defiling work in
which he was engaged. Be it so ! But it may
prove also that he happened to be surprised on
that occasion, finding himself placed suddenly
in a perilous situation, as the most accomplish
ed and practised deceivers sometimes are. It
is paraded also as a further proof of his ingen
uousness and nobleness of character, that he
avowed himself to General Washington to be
the Adjutant General of the British army, and
I do not arraign the correctness of the views of
his eulogists, hut will ask— What else could be
have done as a prudent man but confess? Had
concealment been practicable, what would it
have availed him ? Certainly nothing. On the
contrary, it would have sealed at once his doom
and have precipitated it. Had he persistedin
maintaining his incognito, and passed himself
off for a common, vulgar, venal spy, he would
have been disposed of in a very summary
manner. " Short be the shrift and sure the cord !"
would have been the order ; but being an officer
of high rank and standing, a more formal mode
of procedure was deemed advisable. The case
was referred to a court-martial, which was
composed of fourteen officers of the highest
rank in the army — Americans and French —
and never, in my opinion, before or since has
a court been constituted for the trial of such a
delinquent, so numerous, or of officers of such
high rank, or more disposed to give full weight
to any extenuating testimony that might be
adduced by the prisoner, and certainly never
did a military court, sitting for such a purpose,
comport itself more indulgently towards the
accusei^. Every latitude allowed hy law or by
usage, and much that was not, was enjoyed by
him in the investigation, that every circum
stance in any degiee favorable to him inight
be brought within its cognizance. And never
before or since did any commander-in-chief
act on a similar occasion with more tenderness,
or delicacy, or humanity, than did Generac.
Washington. But yet I do not credit the as
sertion that he wished to save Andre, or that
he made an effort to do it, or that he Would
have consented to it unless Arnold could
have been had in exchange for him, in which
case, 1 have no doubt that the American army
and the American people would all have been
pleased at seeing the arch-traitor punished in
stead of his accomplice- and coadjutor.
Andre's tragical fate seems to have been a
favorite theme with the historians ofthe Revo
lution. All of them, I believe, have consigned
Arnold to the infamy be deserved, and all, I
believe, have commiserated Andre ; almost
all have eulogized, and some have exculpated
him. IJewasin his life — at the close ofltat
least — unfortunate ; after his death, the most
fortunate of men — for certainly never before
had the associate and accomplice of a traitor
and a detected and acknowledged spy, so much

26

sympathy and so much lofty and eloquent eu
logy bestowed apon him. And why? This
question which I have asked myself many
times, I have never been able satisfactorily to
answer. He w^is talented, accomplished,
amiable, and brave, say his eulogists, and 1 do
not question it; but at the same time 1 am
constrained to believe that the delinquency
which brought him to an untimely end,
was a great drawback upon the Idftiness and
chivalrousness of his character.
" One loselact will spoil a name for aye."
Had Andre appeared in the character of a
spy only, his case, casuistically considered,
would have been, in my opinion, a much bet
ter one than it is. Brave, honorable, and esti
mable men have appeared, under certain cir
cumstances, in the character of spies — occa
sionally, but not habitually and professionally—
but to be associated with such a vile traitor as
Arnold, and to' be the willing agent a'nd in
strument of his treason, is not compatible, it
appears to me, with those refined and high-
toned principles which have been so prodigally
ascribed to him. There were many officers
in the British army as brave and as ambitious
as Major Andre, who, I have no doubt, would
have indignantly spurned a proposition to be
associated as a complotter of .treason with Ar
nold, or to have advanced his treasonable pro
jects in any way requiring disguise and dupli
city; and fortunate had it been for the Adju
tant General had he been of the number. In
his inoral composition there must have en
tered some laxity of principle, which influenc
ing him to prefer what was expedient and pro
fitable to'wbat was honorable and high-minded,
Jed to his own ruin instead of that of the glo
rious cause against which he had directed his
dark and clandestine machinations. But, say
his apologists, he had no intention when he
left New i.ork of acting as a spy, or of as
suming a disguise. To which I answer, that
may or may not be the case. There is no
proof that it was, and if proven, it amounts to
nothing. Had not his so-much-vauuted honor
been formed of somewhat pliant and malleable
stuff, he would neither have gone into the
American lines, nor assumed a disguise, let
what would have come of a refusal; and cer
tain it is that he could have refused to do both
without incurring the least personal risk. But
then it would have been necessary to leave,
¦unconsummated for the present, the treasona
ble project which he ascended the Hudson to
further and to finish.
That is a pretty true saying of the French.
Ce n'estpas que le premier pas qui coute. It is
the first step only in iniquity that embarrasses.
After becoming the correspondent and coadju
tor of a blackhearted traitor, Andre's percep
tion of what was right and what was wrong,
of what was noble and high-minded, and what
was not, became naturally obtuse and undis-
criminating, for there is nothing truer in the
whole science of ethics, than the old and time-
tried adage, that evil communication corrupts
good manners — that is, good morals ; and there
never has been, perhaps, a more remarkable
exemplification of its truth than this very West
Point tragedy.
It is said by some historians that the British

officers at New York looked with loathing
upon Arnold after he had received a commis
sion in the British army as the reward of his
meditated treachery; that they avoided him,
and refused in some cases to have any social
relations with him ; and to account for this
avoidance and disgust requires the assumption"
of something more satisfactory than antipathy
and resentment growing out of the share be
had in the transaction that caused Andre's
melancholy fate. To have felt and to have
manifested this antipathy would have been
unreasonable and cruel, unless they had loathed
the traitor and his treason, as they did, no
doubt, an(l could not have, 1 am inclined to
think, the most exalted notions of the scrupu-
lousness of him who was their victim, or rather
the victim ofhis own nnchastened ambition,*
War is a game in the playing of which almost
all kinds of stratagem and duplicity are allow
able. The French phrase ruse de guerre—
trick of war — has become vernacular in almost
all the languages of Europe, and the thing
itself of constant practice and recurrence.
Strategy is the learned technical word, the
generic term for all kinds of military opera
tions — the rusis de guerre inclusive. One of
these ruses, the employment of spies, has been
legitimated, and he is regarded as the adroitest
commander who can employ them most advan
tageously. The calling of a spy is not regarded
as particularly, reputable-^1 speak now of what
may be called a professional spy — spying for
pay being his trade and occupation. He is in
general rather a loose kind of a character,
not being over scrupulous in any respect, is
bold, cunning, dexterous, and enterprising.
Sometimes he is in the pay and confidence of
both the commanders of hostile armies, and de-
'ceives both, or but one of them, it may be.
This depends upon the quality of his conscience
and upon the quantum of the consideration.
His trade is rather a perilous one, and he car'
ries it on generally with a halter round his
neck, for the so-called laws of war, though
very elaborate and learnedly compiled, aBord
him not the slightest protection. The vilest
felon, the pirate, the traitor can appeal to the
tribunals, but for the spy there is no appeal,
except to Heaven's mercy seat. If he is suc
cessful and serviceable, he is rewarded— if
caught he is hanged, and there ends the matter.
This being the status of espionage, it would
be natural to suppose that men of principle
and honor would never so far compromise
themselves as to become spies ; but this would
be a mistake. They do sometimes act in that
capacity, but from far different "motives than
those, which actuate the vulgar mercenary
spy. Devotedness to their country or to a
cherished cause, or fondness for adventure, or
for " hair breadth 'scapes," or buoyancy oP
spirits, or an exuberance of personal daring,
may influence them now and theii to embark
in this Very ticklish occupation. It ia not a
very common thing though, in an army, for a
commissioned officer to attempt it. No com-

* Botta says that' the English detested Ar
nold for his treason, and for having been thei
cause of Andre's death. (Gl' Inglesi stessi il
delestarono e pel suo tradimento e per essere
stato cagione della morte d'ANDRE.j

27

mander would press him to do so, unless under
veiy extraordinary circumstances, and no one
ever counsels his friend to play the spy, for two
reasons — because of the danger to which he
must expose himself of dying the death of a
felon, and because, in the bosom of every hon
orable man, there is an abiding repugnance to
the duplicity and disguise, which must be re
sorted to by a spy, even when acting as such,
under the most praiseworthy and justifying cir
cumstances. This repugnance, we are told, was
felt by Andre, but the Devil, who is always
present when treason is concocting, prevailed
upon him to stifle the nascent sentiment. He
<fid so, and discovery and destruction followed.
The "amiable spy," as he is called by his
countryman, Charles Lamb, (Elia) though
possessing many good and estimable qualities —
I am willing to admit — lacked one that would
have adorned those he had — high and uncom
promising principle.
General Washington said of Andre,
that "he met his fate with that fortitude,
which was to be expected from an accomplish
ed man and a gallant officer."
Chief Justice Maesh.4li, (Life of .Wash
ington) speaks of Andre's " candor, open-
ne.'s and magnanimity ;" — says he was " only
mindful of his fame, disdained evasion, and
rendered the examination of any witness un
necessary." Botta says, (History of the War of Inde
pendence) that before the court, he (Andre)
spoke with admirable candor, confessing more
than he was asked;" — that " he died with that
fortitude that belongs to brave and Virtuous
men, and that he was worthy of a better fate."
£Cosi fu tratto a giusta ma indegua morte un
dabben giovine meritevole in tutto di miglior
•destino.] Mr. Sparks says, (Life of Washington)
that "the conduct of Andre was marked with
a candor, self-possession and dignity, which
betokens a brave and nohle spirit."
To these authorities — all Americans, except
Botta, who, though an Italian, had an ob
vious leaning to the American cause — I will
add a few extracts from English authors.
Bisset says, in his Reign of George the
Third, " the only evidence of the fact was
Andre's owu admission. Not only humanity,
but justice required that his evidence, if allow
ed such weight against him. should also be al
lowed in his favor, and that his declaration of
pure intention ought to be considered as well
as his acknowledgement of an act contrary to
the laws of war." * * * • "If
criminality is to be estimated by intention, he
was put to death without any proofs of guilty
design, and with the strongest presumptions of
innocence." « » * « "The
death of Andre, which Washington could
have prevented, will certainly, in future ages
be regarded as a dark spot in the bright charac
ter of the Ainerican General."
AnOLPHiTs says; in his History of .Enelandj
that "Andre went on sTiore with a flag of
truce — that he had neither advocate, witness,
nor friend on the spot." [at his trial] *
* * . * " Lafayette urged the
;fate of the u-nfortunate captive, with unremit-
¦iing malignity," * * * *

" In the opinion of all liberal and generous
minded men, the manner of the execution
(Andre's) was infinitely more disgraceful to
those who inflicted, than to him who suffer
ed it."
The Reverend T. S. Hughes says, (His
tory of England.) " As the Board intended to
govern itself entirely by his answersto their
interrogatories, by means of these reiterated
and modified, they extracted from the un
fortunate prisoner, something like an ac
knowledgement that he could not return on
board the Vulture, under the sanction of
the flag which brought him ashore." *
' * * * " Lafayette is
said to have urged on the fate of the unfortu
nate captive with a malignity, hardly to be
reconciled with his chivalrous character."
The following is an extract fiom Wade's
British Clironology. — "Oct. 2, 17S0: Major
Andre hanged as a spy by tlje Americans. He
had been detected in the American lines with
a false passport, disguised in plain clothes, and
the papers found ou him, shewed that he had
been employed in negotiating the infamous
treachery of General Arnold, to betray his
position at West Point, and troops to the Brit
ish general.
Baxter, in his History of England, says: —
"And soon as he (Andre) found whose hands
he was in, he offered them a purse of gold and
a valuable watch, if they would suffer him to
escape, with promises of present provision and
future promotion, fee, but these honest provin
cials refused his bribe." « * *
* * * " Andre was tried by a
board of officers, French and " American, and
executed as a spy."
Thus write some of the British historians of
this transaction. Comment would be thrown
away on Bisset and ADOLPHDS„for I doubt
whether as much untruth, as much unmixed
stupidity. and nonsense, and rabid rancor can
any where be found in the same number of
lines in any book, purporting to be history.
And the reverend historian, Mr. Hughes, is
not far behind them. He conveys the idea,
that Andre's confessions, artfully extracted
by the Court, were the only proofs of guilt,
and that upon these he was condemned! He
confessed it is true, and voluntarily enough to
convict him, but nothing that was material,
that could not have been proven. What his
Reverence and the rest say about Lafayette's
" malignity," merits but little notice. Such a
charge against such a man requires neither de
nial nor refutation, nor remark.
It is worthy of being remarked, that whilst
some of the English historians were writing in
this calumniating style of Washington, and oS
the illustrious heroes of our Revolution, and
long after the event, the American histo
rians were putting into requisition all their
ability and all their eloquence, to elevate and
adorn the character, and to consecrate the
memory of an English spy — the , accomplice
and co-conspiiator of an American traitor. —
Magnanimity is without doubt, a noble senti
ment, but when I think of all this, it half in
clines me to beUeve, that it is possible to be too
magnanimous,

28

Wape's remarks are succinct, unornaraent-
ed and impartial. He states the fact without
circumlocution and without commentary, evi
dently regarding the subject, as one not calling
for amplification, and not justifying any elabo
rate display of eloquence and pathos.— -Bax
ter has written in about the same spirit, and
has borne honorable testimony to the integrity
of the 'honest provincials ' who captured An
dre. The two last have written like histo
rians; the two first like bitter and unscrupu
lous partisans.
I come now to the American accounts, and
in the face of such names and such authority,
it would be preposterous were I disposed, to
deny that Andre possessed in a great degree,
the good and prepossessing qualities so liberal
ly ascribed to him. Nevertheless ¦! cannot but
believe that a deliberate and dispassionate ana
lysis of the facts, and of the documents relat
ing to his case would lead an impartial inves
tigator to the conclusion that his conduct was
not distinguished by that perfect ingenuous
ness and chivalrous abandonment of self attri
buted to him so eloquently by some, so pro
fusely by almost all.
In his letter written to General Washing
ton, the day after his capture, Andre says,
his object in writing is to "vindicate his
fame" — its vindication being necessary in con
sequence of the " equivocal position in which
he had placed himself" — that it was against bis
"stipulation and intention" that he " was con-
.ducted within one ^f the American posts" —
that he " was betrayed into the vile condition
of an enemy in disguise within your posts " —
that he "was involuntarily an impostor;" —
and that what he says, " is true on the honor
of an officer and a gentleman." And in his
written statement to the Court Martial he says,
that Sir Henry Clinton's directions were
" not to go within an enemy's post or quit his
own dress " — that Arnold made him put the
papers between his stockings and his feet. —
These papers, let it be remembered, were a
detailed description of West Point, the strength
of the garrison, dispositions &c., &c., which in
the hands of Sir Henry Clinton, with the
co-opeiation of Arnold, would have rendered
the capture of that most important post, no
very arduous or hazardous undertaking.
Now, from this explanation or vindication,
or defence or whatever it is, it is clearly dedu-
cible that Major Andre was not altogether
indisposed to exculpate himself by inculpating
others. The "head and front of the offend
ing" is laid at Arnold's door, though Sir
Henrv Clinton and be were willing and ac
tive participants in the intrigue, and just as
guilty as it was possible for alien enemies to
be. Andre was not generous enough either to
do justice to his captors, whom he accused of
plundering him. saying that he was "rifled by
the three volunteers. " The word rifle means
to take feloniously, to plunder; and was not
applicable to (hose incorruptible men. They
did no more than their duty in searching him
closely, and what they rifled from him was the
papers that Arnold " made" him put between
hia stockings and his feet. How could Ar
nold make bim put them there \ And how

and by whom was he betrayed into the vile
condition ot a spy ? . i .
MajoA Andre says that he was " involunta
rily an imposter." Now it appears to me that the
annals of military stratagem and imposture
cannot exhibit a case where the vohticn has
been more complete, more deliberate, more un
deniable. For eighteen months he had been
in correspondence with Arnold, eliciting from
time to time, information useful to the British
commander, and concerting measures prepara
tory to the surrender. An interview is neces
sary for the purpose of making arrangements
forthe consummation ofthe atlrocious-conspir-
acy, and Andre not choosing to confide to
another, plans and projects which he had so
adroitly and so successfully matured, pr not
choosing lo divide with another, the credit and
recompense which would naturally and cer
tainly follow success; determines to visit Ar
nold in person and to arrange every thing him
self for giving promptly and effectually the
coup de grace to the American cause. He meels
the traitor, his correspondent Gustavis, who
conducts him within the American lines, and
the latter goes not reluctantly and resistingly;
but assumes at once, the calling and responsibi
lities of a spy by assuming a disguise ; and
from that moment his life was justly forfeited
if caught, without the superadded aggravation
of the treasonable practices of which he was
art and part while at West Point. Yet all this
was against his " stipulation " he says, and
against the " directions " of Sir Henry Clin
ton. Yet he does it all without the shadow of
compulsion or necessity. The truth is most
obviously, that, apprehending no danger and
looking to the end only, without regarding the
means, he was alike forgetful of the rules of
honorable warfare, the dictates of prudence and
the injunctions of his commanding general.
And had success attended his machinations, cer
tainly we should never then have heard a word
about his amability; his high sense of honor;
his sensitiveness about his fame ; bis unfitness
for tbe occupation of a spy, and of his detesta
tion of imposture. Oh, no! But we should
have heard as miserable and oppressed, aod
down trodden, and crouching colonists, to this
day it might have been, of the glorious, daring
and heroic achievement of Major Andre,
which put an end to the revolutionary struggle,
and brought back the revolting colonies to their
allegiance. I do not assume that the revolutionary cause
would have failed even had Arnold and An
dre succeeded ; probably it would not, but the
negative cannot be assumed either. It can
never be known of course, what the effect upon
the contest would have been; certainly it
would have been very serious ; for besides the
loss of such a position as West Point, a large
quantity of military stores and a considerable
number of troops, the moral effect would have
been incalculably injurious. It could not then
have been known tojvhat extent the American
officers were contaminated by the spirit of dis
affection and disloyalty. Consternation, distrust
and despair would have been uuiv.ersal, and it
might not have been possible to remedy the
disaster or to stem the refluent tide. Bnt Hea
ven ordered otherwise, and whilst the holy

29

cause of freedom was sustained, the ptyril in
which it had been placed, furnishes the bright
est page to be found in all human history. 1 hat
page is the one where is recorded the ever glo
rious fact, that during a bloody civil V'ar of
six or seven years, of the thousands of com
missioned officers who fought on the side of
Liberty, amidst all the fluctuations of the con
test, in defeat and in the face of the apparent
ruin of their cause ; in nakedness and starva
tion, and amidst all the wants and privations
that can afflict human nature ; in the dungeon;
in the British prison-ships, and on the scaffold,
there 'was to be found but one, only one
solitary traitor, "Arnold," says Chief
Justice Marshall, "remains the solitary
instance of an American officer who abandon
ed the side first embraced in this civil contest,
and turned his sword upon his former compan
ions in arms."
Botta says, that " on his trial Andre con
fessed more than was asked." This may be
true and yet establish nothing in his favor — not
even the self-sacrificing frankness which some
of the historians have so elaborately eulogized.
Had he confessed any thing unfavorable to him
self that could not have been proved, then the
¦eulogies would have been more pertinent. But
'this was nut the case, for there were witnesses,
to establish every material fact as he well
knew. A confession then might have had for
¦its object to produce a favorable impression on
¦the court, by a show of candor, and it did pro
duce it ; whereas, a contumacious denial and a
captious course on the part of the prisoner
could not have benefitted him, there being
•proof enough aliunde, as the lawyers say, to
establish his guilt. Nevertheless, his conduct
at his trial was certainly such as to do him
honor as a man and as an officer. Pity 'tis that
it had ever been otherwise.
If I have not been able to perceive in the
character and conduct of Major Andre, all
the amiableness and excellence, and surpassing
endowments, with which some historians have
invested him, my failure is to be imputed
to natural obtuseness and want of perspica
city, and not to a Sisposition to be illiberal,
because he .was an Englishman, and the enemy
of my country. I long ago formed the opinion
that he was morbidly and madly ambitious,
and that his ambition was not exactly of the
legitimate kind — of that kind that incites to
the performance of high and chivalrous deeds
in the face of day. and of the enemy, scorn
ing all that is covert and crafty. Compared with
the Duguesclins and Bayards of France and
the Sydneys, Hampdens and Falklands of his
own country — all of his own profession — he
seems to me to fall far in the rear of those
noble and heroic men. He was not like them
sans peur et sans reproche. Without fear he
was, but not without reproach, for his con
nexion with Arnold and partidipation in his
treason, leaving out even that he was a spy,
lias left an ineffaceable stain upon his charac
ter as posterity will be apt to decide I think,
notwithstanding the pathetic declamation and
rhetorical fluorishes of contemporary 'histo
rians. ijrepeat, that Arnold's being an Englishman
and tbe enemy of my country, has not in any

manner influenced my Opinion with respect ft»
him. Sir Guy Carleton was the same, and
so far woidd that humane and noble-minded
man have been from playing such a part in
such a game as the one played between Ar
nold and Andre, that I doubt much whether
he would have actedthe part even of employ
er and principal, as Sir Henry did. He was
an honor to his profession ; to his country, and
to human nature, and among the passages in
the history of our revolution, which can be
read wilh more pleasure, are those where we
find' recorded bis humane and generous con
duct towards our countrymen, who fell into his
hands after the unsuccessful attack upon Que
bec, in 1775. He was able too, as well as
brave and generous, and had the command of
the army which surrendered at Saratoga, been
given tu hiin instead of being given to the
gasconading Burgoyne, it would not have been
lost probably. He was entitled to the command
and wished to have it, but the British ministry
selling aside the claims and services ofthe able
man of merit, gave it to the plausible and
courtly braggart. At that time, fortunately or
providentially, for the cause of Liberty, the
British monarch, his ministers, and the majori
ty in Parliament, seemed lo be all struck with
judicial blindness ; and, whoever, reads the his
tory of that period, begining ten or twelve
years before the commencement of the great
strugg'le, cannot fail to remark the inefficiency
and ineptitude of the men and measures, pol
icy and proceedings of the British government
with respect lo American affairs. With an in
fatuation and short-sightedness, rarely paral-
. leled, they seemed to make a point of doing
all that they should not do, and of leaving un
done all that they should do. They stumbled
not by chance even on a solitary measure that
was politic or expedient, and true to the single
idea of reducing Ihe colonies to unconditional
submission, they blundered on from absurdity
to absurdity, until they brought the relations
between the two countries to such a state, that
tbe questions at issue admitted of no settlement,
solution or remedy, but an appeal, to arms.
Having now said more than I intended to
say about Major Andre, I will say something
about an American officer who also met an
untimely fate, having subjected himself like
wise to be treated as a spy by venturing within
the British lines. This was Captain Nathan
Hale. He was young, intelligent and ardent,
generous and intrepid ; resembling Andre in
many points of his character, but superior to
him in patriotism and single mindedness. After
the battle of Long Island, willing to risk all
for his country, whose affairs were then very
critical, against the advice of his friends, he
approached the British camp with the view of
getting information and of observing the dispo-
aitians of the royal army. He was discovered,
captured, hastily examined and very summari
ly executed ; and I wish it could be added that
the same delicacy and humanity were display
ed in his case that were afterwards in Andre's.
But they were not. Poor Hale instead of
awakening in' the bosoms of those into whose
hands he liad fallen, sentim'ents of sympathy
and compassion, was hurried with brutal haste
lo the scaffold— denied the privilege of writing

to his friends or even the use of a bible, and
amidst the scorn and mocking of the soldiers,
branded as a traitor and a spy was launched
into eternity. But firm and courageous as he
was patriotic, these cruel and studied insults
moved_ him not. A-nd in my opinion as well as
in that of a more competent judge, (Mr.
Sparks.) His last woids "embodied a nobler
and more sublime sentiment" as Mr, Sparks
says, than Andre's, and betokened it appears
to me much more concentration of mind and
elevation of soui.'' Andre's last thought was
for himself, Hale's for his country. An
dre's Solicitude was for his 'fame, as his so
much applauded speech demonstrates. He
called upon those around him to bear witness
that he died like a brave man, and so undoubtf
edly he did die, and 1 would be very sorry to
disparage the sentiment that was predominant
in his mind, but in preferring the calm and
modest and unostentatious manner in which
Hale met his fate, ^ do not think I disparage
it. He asked no body to bear witness to his
courage — that showed for itself, as did Andre's.
Higher and more ennobling thoughts occupied
his last moments, and it seems to me that
among all the recorded deaths of heroes and
patriots there cannot be found one moro touch
ing or more deserving of everlasting remem
brance than his. " I only lament " he said,
'*that 1 have but one life to lose for my coun
try." — To the deep devotedness, the noble self-
abandonment of these few words, it would be dif
ficult to add any thing that would improve them.
Now mark the cause of human and hisloac
justice ! Andre descends to the tomb accom
panied by the regrets, the admiration and the
sympathies of two great nations — one an"
enemy. His virtues, his valor and his un
timely death are recorded on marble monu
ments and commemorated in eloquent and
elaborate prose, and in yet more elaborate
poetry, (the Monody.) The historians of the
two hostile countrys vie with each other in
embalming his memory.'and the rivalry among
them seems to be, which of them should say of
him tbe most laudatory things, and should say
them best. They pity, they praise, they ad
mire him, reserving for Arnold the outpour
ings of their indignation, and richly did he
deserve all they have said of him, and 1 marvel
not, that they have made him so hateful and re
volting, but that they have made his co-adjutor
and CO -traitor so amiable and so peerless. Co-
traitor 1 say, for such he was by the laws then
and would be by the laws now ; for it cannot
be doubted, 1 presume, that an alien enemy
coming voluntarily and without cofistraint or
duress of any kind, withiu the jurisdiction of
a country, and whilst there sojourning is guilty
, of treasonable practices, is punishable by the
civil law for the civil offence.
But what do these eloquent and magnani
mous writers say of Hale? Scarcely a word.
If he is mentioned at all by our native histo
rians even, he is very briefly mentioned, and
they who have whole pages to bestow upon
Andre, have scarcely a line to give lo their
equally brave and meritorious, and amiable and
much more disinterested fellow-countryman.
This indifference, or this ' negligence, or this
want of information is enough to make one ex
claim vvith Voltaire—  • 

Voilajustement comment on ecrit rhistoire.
For poor Hale there has been ^^
"Nor storied urn nor annimated bust.
For him no Monodies have been written,
no m'bnument erected, no generous enemy
whilst recording his fate, has recorded his vir
tues and his merit, transmitting to posterity
the story of his tragic fate and heroic enthusi
asm. Of bim there are but meagre historical
reminiscenses, besides Mr. Sparks's just
and eloquent tribute to his memory, with the
concluding paragraph of which I will close the
subject. Mr. Sparks says : " But whatever
may have been the parallel between these two
individuals while living, it ceased with their
death. A monument was raised and consecrat
ed to the memory of Andre, by the bounty
of, a grateful sovereign. His ashes have been
removed from the obscure resting place, trans
ported across the ocean, and deposited with
the remains of the illustrious dead, in West
minster Abbey. Where is the memento of the
virtues, the patriotic sacrifice, the early fate of
Hale ! It is not insciibed in marble ; it is
scarcely recorded in books. Let it be more deep
ly cherished in the hearts of his countrymen."
Were this letter — already too long — much
longer, 1 could not resolve to close it, without
saying a few more words about the captors
of Andre, — John Paulding, David Wil
liams and Isaac Van Wert, whose names
cannot be too often repeated by an American,
Whilst another high in rank and rich in repu
tation,' was a false traitor and renegade ; these
individuals without rank and unknown to fame,
were faithful to their country's cause which it
may be, they saved. They were men in re
spectable biit humble life, without pretensions,
without infiuence, without wealth, but rich in
that glorious purity of principle, which comes
from Heaven. Upon how slender a thread
seemed to hang the whole great cause! — upon
the integrity of three, obscure, rustic militia
men — perhaps of one, and yet how secure It
was ! I believe that those three men would
have refused as unhesitatingly, all the rank
and gold promised to Arnold, by Sir Henry
Clinton, as they did the offers and promises
of Andre ; and this shows that thete is no rock
so firm, no panoply so impenetrable, no atk of
safety so sure, as an honest .man's patriotism.
But these great benefactors of their country,
if not her saviours. — How were they re
warded? Not as liberally, I grieve to say, as
they ought to have been. Their country was
not ungrateful it is true ; but, there was no
great munificence, it must be confessed, in her
manifestations of gratitude. An appropriate
medal was struck and presented to them, and a
pension granted to each, of two hundred dollars
annually for life, and this was all, I believe,—
"a reward, it must be admitted," says Chief
Justice Marshall, " much more accurately
apportioned to the poverty of the ' public trea
sury, than to the service which had been re
ceived." Yours sincerely,
J. C. PICKETT.
Francis Markoe, Jr., Esq.,
Cor. Sec. of the Nat. Institute.

*Behold, after what manner history is written !

MATE, OR TEA OE PARAGUAY.

LIMA, October 20, 1844.
DeAr SiR: i now send to the United States
the apparatus I mentioned in a former letter,
for taking what is generally called in South
America, mate, the tea of Paraguay. It is a
small silver vessel, holding less than half a
pint, rather more like an urn than a cup, and a
silver tube nine or ten inches long, called a
ftomWte, [little pump,] with small perforations
for the admission ofthe liquid at the large end,
and the oilier entirely open, which is taken in
the mouth.
The word mate, applied to the tea, is in
strictness a misnomer, and signified originally,
and still does, the cup in which the herb or leaf
is prepared. This herb is called yerba mate, or
yerba del Paraguay, in Spanish, and its pre
sent botanical name is, if I mistake not,
ilex paraguanensis. It is found in the dense
and almost impenetrable forests of Paraguay,
whence comes nearly all that is nsed, I believe;
for, though it is found in Brazil of an inferior
quality, I am not aware that it is now exported
largely. It was in former years. The tree is
rather a small one, not exceeding the orange
tree in KEight, and is of all sizes under that.
For making the tea mate the leaves and the
small twigs are gathered, dried by fire on a
kind of kilu, called a barbacua, imperfectly
pulveriaed in a "rough wooden mill," as Rob
ertson,* who describes all the processes, calls
it, packed firmly and rammed with a wooden
maul into a raw-hide bag, called zurron, con
taining between two hundred and two hundred
and fifty pounds, and is then ready for market.
One hand can gather and prepare two hundred
pounds daily, and it costs in the forest about
one cent per pound, but is sold at Lima nearly
as high as China tea. But, if it were as cheap
as it might be, perhaps nobody would use it,
for costliness seems to be a necessary condi
ment to give zest to a luxury which, it cheap,
is despised. The Chinese pay for birds' nests
their weignt in silver, or more, which, though
not the revolting dish by any means that some
suppose, yet would not be eaten, probably, if
they could be had for nothing. The otto or
attar of roses is undeniably a most fragrant
perfume, but its being worth its weight in
gold adds much to its exquisiteness, I suspect,
If frogs, at Paris cost fifty times as much as they
do, they would be a recherche dish all over Eu-
ropej for they are certainly most delicious eat-

• Letters from Paraguay.

ing — so all say that try them. The ancient
Romans carried the absurdity of expensive
dishes, which had nothing but their costliness
to recommend them, further, perhaps, than any
other people ever did, but this was in the days
of their decadence and degeneracy.
Of the Paraguay tea the, exportation was for
merly very great, and is yet considerable, I
suppose, though from various causes it has
greatly fallen off'. The amount has been staled.
at from five to eight millions of pounds. The-
consumption in La Plata, Chili, and both Peru8'_
was once enormous, and it is still used pretty
freely, with the exception of Lower Perui of.
which Lima is the capital, where it has been
superseded to a great extent by chocolate and
coffee, and by the herbof China, our tea, which
seems to be destined to acquire an influence;
and popularity never before acquired, I imai-
gine, by.the leaf of any tree or plant. If it has
a rival, it is tobacco, and I think it little crodi-
table to human reason or to human good taste
that such a rivalry exists, Or may be eVen sup
posed to exist — the one a nauseous and poison
ous narcotic, the other an innocent, elegant,
aod somewhat exhilerating beverage.
Having gathered, and dried, and packed!, and
exported the mate or yerba, we will now pro-
caSteto the preparation of it for use, which is
ve^ summary and very simple, as I have
sent you a small quantity, you can try it for
yourself, following my recipe, viz : Put into
the cup a spoonful of the yerba, with as much
sugar as you choose, then fill' with hot water,
and in a few moments it is ready for suction.
It is never drank as we drink the tea of China ;
put in the bombiila, and suck gently, not rap
idly and gormandizingly, but in a soft and in
sinuating manner, as though you would rather
coax than coerce the liquid into your moijtb.
The holes of the bombilla I send are rather
large, and let in too much of the yerba, which
ought to be excluded as much as possi
ble. Al tbe top of the tube a piece of reed,
or something hollow and non-conducting, is
usually inserted. The sugar used vvith the
yerba is generally burnt by being put on coals
for a few moments. This adds considerably
to the flavor. Some add, also, a little lemon
or orange-peel, or cinnamon, or any thing they
fancy; and some there are who lake ft with
out sugar or other appliance — a pure and unso-
phisticateddecoction or infusion — the hot water
and yerba, and nothing more. Thus prepared,
it is called'cimorron, literally wiZi, me^aning in
I the state in which it comes from the woods.

Those who take it so are called materos, and
are " hardened and shameless" mate takers,
as Dr. Johnson said of his addictedness to tea.
One cup is the quantity generally taken ; but
some veterans, " the hardened and shameless,"
go as high as ten or twelve, which is running
into excess. There is, however, in imagina
tion or in fact, a redeeming concomitant that
accompanies this intemperance. Mate is said
to be both a preventive and a remedy for the
dropsy, and I have been assured that a mxitero
was never known to die of that disease, or to
be afflicted with it. I have some doubts about
this myself, and give it just as I got it, neither
vouching, affirming, nor denying.
A mate is a kind of small gourd, or the pro
duction of a cucurbitaceous plant, which was
Ihe first Clip used; and hence the name. But
now behold the progress of luxury ! First, a
gourd was used for a cup, with a reed proba
bly for a tube ; then a cocoa-nut shell, mounted
in silver; next, pure silver, and a silver bom
billa; and, finally, which is the ne plus uHra,
so far, both of gold. In our tea-drinking, how
ever, we may trace a similar progress in re
finement, though the extremes are not quite
so farapart, because metallic vessels have never
been much used, or not generally, for taking
tea; Ihey are no where preferred, I believe.
The distance, though, between the plain and
unpretending pottery from which tea was taken
when fiirst introduced into Europe, and the su
perb and costly porcelain now used, is pretty
considerable. The mate and the tea remain
the same, but tbe vessels in which it is taken
have undergone many changes in form, fashion,
and material. Nature is fixed and unchanging ;
man is whimsical, desultory, and " studious of
change." With him nothing is flxed except a
£xed determination to unfix, unhinge, and in
novate, whenever and wherever he can.
As I wish to tell the truth, the whole truth,
about mate, I must disclose -the fact that it is
sometimes taken in a manner not in accord
ance with our northern ideas of delicacy^ajd
refinement; but Which custom not only tore-
rates in South America, but sanctions. I must
first prei&ise that the higher classes in among
the Spanish Americans are of polished man
ners, refined habi,ts, and au fait as respects the
current conventionalities of social life; but
they do, nevertheless, sometimes, as many as
three or four, suck, not sip, the yerba from the
same tube, without replenishing or cleaning.
This to us would seem rather free and easy.
and sociable, if not offensive — un tant soil peu.
But ''use reconciles," as Charles Lamb says;
and here, where it is the custom, it excites no
disgust, because it is the custom, and besides
the bombilla is often pressed by lips to which
an ascetic would not be unwilling to follow
suite, and would hasten to apply his own be
fore the aroma had exhaled. 'They are not all
so fragrant, however.- It is not much more
philosophical, it appears to me, to dispute about
customs than about taste. The South Ameri
can takes mate out of the same cup with his
ffiends, which a North American might say
was disgusting ; but he of the North would
perhaps discharge a shower of " tobacco tinc
tured saliva," as Dickens euphuistically calls
it, on a fine carpet, without the least compunc

tion or Ihought, which he of the South would
regard as little less than atrocious, because he
does not ehew; not that he is guiltless of to
bacco by any means ; for he has a cigar in his
mouth about fourteen hours of the twenty-tour,
and would smoke you to death with the great
est composure in the world, only wondering
that tobacco smoke could be disagreeable to
any body. .
I am going to make a few remarks about tea
(of China) whatever merit or excellence there
may be in the Asiatic plant, there are certainly
others that are equal in every respect to it, if
not superior, and want nothing but the suffrage
of the fashionable to bring them ihto use-
such as sage, balm, sassafras, •&c., in the Unit
ed States ; but this suffrage these vulgar do
mestic productions can never have, because
they can be had for nothing; and, as Burke
said of vice, that by taking away its grossness
you take away half its evil, [which I do not
admit,] so take away the costliness of luxui^y
and you take away half or rather all its
charm. Not long ago volumes were written
in praise of sage, [saliza;] Latin odes werfe
addressed to it ; it was styled the queen of
plants, the paragon of the vegetable world;
and the learned and scientific vied with each
olhei in exalting its wonderful virtues. It
was Considered in medicine to be almost a pan
acea, and the " sovereignest thing on earth"
for a multitude of ailments. But now, who
hears of sage among the scientific or the fash
ionable ? Trojafuit. It is said, though, to be
still highly esteemed in China. Sassafras, too,
is famous, both for its aromatic and its medici
nal qualities, and I have known some weajthy
persons to prefer it (the root and bark of tbe
root) to the leaf of China ; but they were rara
nantes in gurgite vasto, and had but few imita
tors ; for not many have the courage to avow
a preference for a cheap domestic luxury when
a costly foreign one can be had. What is ex
otic is preferred to the home produced, because
it is expensive — not because it is always bettei.
I have drank cinnamon tea in South America;
but do not recollect to haye ever seen it in the
United States. It is very pleasant to the taste
and perfectly innoxious, I suppose. This list
might be greatly extended ; but I have said
enough to De said in a hasty, careless, desul
tory letter.
I have not the slightest intention of disparag
ing the tea of China, and although I think
substitutes might be found equal in every good
quality, and infinitely cheaper, yet, unless
something should come in its place, I would
not willingly see a pound less of it used ; on
the contrary, I would be glad to see the con
sumption of it much greater than it is; for, in
my opinion, it is something more and some
thing better than its great advocate. Dr. S.
Johnson, contended for against Jonas Han-
way, its assailant, who pronounced it to be
" pernicious. " The doctor's defence did much
for the cause of tea-drinking, but it does not ap
pear to me to be among the happiest of the
many happy efforts of his gigantic mind. He
was, as he avows, a hardened tea-drinker, who
scarcely allowed his kettle time to cool, and',
yet, much of his vindication of his favorite
beverag'e is but very "fair r;aise." Here-

33

fotea, triumphantly, Hanwat's assertion, that
it was pernicious, but he admits, that it was but
a " watery luxury," a " barren superfluity ;"
that tea is " a liquor not proper for the lower
classes, as it supplies no strength to labor, and
that its proper use is to amuse the idle and re
lax the studious." Had he lived to this day,
he would not now probably make a single one
of these admissions. I do not. Tea, as gene
rally taken with cream and sugar, is something
more than wateryand barren,and imparts in some
degree both aliment and animation ; for, al
though the doctor admits too, that it is not ex
hilarating, yet, the accompaniments generally
are, which amounts to about the same thing.
It seems to me, that cheerfulness and good hu
mour, almost, always prevail at the tea table,
not it may be, because the tea is drunk, but be
cause people meet for the purpose of drinking
it, and of enjoying each other's society. But,
be this as it may, tea has the merit of being the
cause of those agreeable re-unions round ihe
tea table ; tor, if there were no tea, there
¦would be no tea table, and nothing of those
pleasant relaxations, so indispensable to those
who have once acquired the habit of them.
When Dr. Johnson said, tea was not a
liquor proper for the lower classes, the cir
cumstances of that day should be considered.
He said this nearly a hundred years ago, when
tea was dear, and the use of it confined almost,
entirely to those who claimed to belong,
from rank or wealth or occupation, to the high
er classes. He says, that tea was introduced
into England, in 1666, and was sold at three
pounds sterling per pound, which, allowing for
the reduced value of money, would be equal
now, perhaps, to thirty or forty dollars. The
Srice had been greatly reduced, it is true, when
e wrote, but tea was still costly, and scarcely
within the reach of the poor, and might be
said then, with some plausibility, not to be
" proper " for them. But times have greatly
changed, and, since the Doctor wrote, many
things that were then acknowledged luxuries,
are now regarded as absolute necessaries, and
tea from the universality of its consumption,
may he assumed to be one of them. An act
of Parliament 'repudiating' the whole national
debt might be submitted to in England, but one
prohibiting the use of tea would produce a
revolution probably. ;
It is my opinion, then, that tea or an equiv
alent — any 'elegant, innocent, socializing,
quasi-exhilarating (not intoxicating) bever-
age^s of far too much value in the world to
be designated, if not stigmatized, as a " watery
luxury," a mere "barren superfluity;" and
though, as Dr. J. said, it may be neither,
" medicinal nor nutritious, nor supplies strength
nor cheerfulness, nor relieves weariness nor
exhilarates sorrow," (not all of which is true
me judice,) yei still I cannot but think that in
some degree it exercises a kind of civilizing,
5

refining influence, among tea-drinking na
tions. It is a nice and elegant potation ; all
the processes for the preparation of it are
cleanly, the apparatus for drinking it, and ac-
coApaniments are elegant ; it is suggestive of
elegant ideas, and promotive very olten of ele
gant conversation, and " engenders good feel
ing and consolidates society," as Dr. JoHNSoir
said about card-playing, but which he might
more properly have said about tea-drinking ;
for every body can drink tea without any
compunctious visitings of conscience," I sup
pose ; but not all can or will, or should play
cards, and, indeed, comparatively very few.
Scandal, it, may be said, is too often heard at
the tea table — and it is true, I dare say ; but
this proves nothing. The fault is not in the tea ;
those who indulge in scandal there, indulge
iu it elsewhere, and every where.
I think 1 can venture to express the opin
ion, that there is not, never was, and perhaps
never will be, a decidedly tea-drinking people
who are at the same time gross and vulgar,
considered under the aspect of national char
acter. Either use of tea refines and improves,
or the refinement previously existing will lead
to the use of tea, and the first is most com
mon. I think. The beer-drinking of tbe Eng
lish is greatly redeemed by their tea-drinking,
and as they drink less of beer and more of tea,
in the same ratio their social and moral habits
and propensities will be improved. And there
is another Anglo-Saxon nalion, whose tobacco-
chewing, &c., is greatly redeemed, also, by its
tea-drinking; and I take the liberty of saying
to the legislators of this last nation, that tea is
the last article upon which an import duty
ought to be laid. Let them lay it on heavy
upon ardent spirits, and upon every thing that
has alcohol in it ; but tea should not be taxed.
unless fiscal necessities imperiously demand it.
But, jam satis — of tea and tea-drinking.
To the mate cup I send you there is a top —
why, I might have explained sooner. It is a
travelling-cup, and has, therefore, a narrow
mbiith and a cover. With a small and light
boiler and a spirit-lamp, the mate could be
taken by the way-farer at any time or at any
place , in the desert, on a mountain fifteeii
thousand feet high, or even on horseback or
muleback. But it was seldom taken, I imagine.
in the last manner, though so, to take it, would
be perfectly practicable. 1 mention this, by
way of throwing out a hint to my ingenious,
time-economising fellow-countrymen. Those
who travel on horseback, if they could boil their
kettle and take their tea without stopping,
might refresh themselves with that beverage
ad libitum and lose no time ; and so of those
who travel in coaches and on railroads.
I am, veiy respectfully, yours,
J. C. PICKETT.
Francis Mabkoe, Jr., Esq., 'on.

GUANO, OR HUANO.

WASHINGTON CITY, Atro. 22, 184S.
Dear Sir ; Finding on my return recently
to the United States, after an absence of seven
years, that the article called guano has attracted
considerable attention among oqr citizens, par--
ticularly among those devoted' to agriculture
and horticulture, I have concluded to trouble
you wilh a communication upon the subject.
1 have resided several years in the country
(Peru) where that manure most abounds ;
and haying picked up a little information
about.it, it may be in my power, possibly, to
say something that is new, but not much, I
fear, that will be interesting.
Guano, or humw, as it is now written in
Peru, (the A not aspirated,) but originally with
the g, is, as is known to every body, the ex
crement of sea-fowl, in the condition, chemi
cally considered, to be used in agriculture at
once, and without any previous preparation, as
manure. The word huano is applied also to all
kinds of animal excrement entirely or partially
decomposed ; and dry, pulverulent mules, and
horses' dung used for mixing with mortar, or
for packing ice to be sent from the snowy
mountains to the hot country below, is called
huano too; and it is an excellent non-ccmductor.
Guano is more abundant, I presume, on the
coast of Peru than in any otper country, and
of a superior quality, for Which it is not difli
cult to assign veiv satisfactory reasons. The
principal one is, that on the coast it does not
rain as it does in most other intertropical re
gions I and thus one great obstacle to its accu
mulation and preservation is removed, or, to
speak more accurately, does not exist. For
this reason (as I suppose) all the guano either
already found, or to be found, in countries
where it lains much, will contain, pound for
pound, less fertilizing matter than the Peruvian
gmno. This is the case with that brought
from Ichaboe, on the coast of Africa, which is
of an inferior quality, and commands in Eng
land only about two-thirds of the price at
which the other is sold. That heavy and fre
quent rains would produce this deteriorating
effect, appears to me to be very probable ; and
I can almost venture to predict that, for this
reason, the guano said to be lately discovered
on the coast of Florida, will be found also to
be inferior to the Peruvian. It will be, though,
notwithstanding, a most valuable manure, I
have no doubt ; and if it exists in large quanti-
tiflS, and is easy of access, it will be of more

value to our country than all our gold mines
and gold' washings together; which I, who
have lived long in countries abounding m
gold and silver mines, am inclined to think
are, nationally considered, of no benefit to any
country — that they do not contribute either to
its wealth, its health, its morals, or its happi
ness. I speak only of the mines of the pre
cious metals. Of those of iron, copper, lead,
&c., I have a different opinion ; though they,
too, sometimes occasion much wild and ruia*
ous experiment and speculation.
I have said that it does not rain in Peru
where guano is found. I will explain. At
Lima, in 12 deg. 2 min. S. latitude, and for
some hundreds of miles to the north and to the
south, and until the Cordilleras ("the high
mountains of the Andes) are reached, from 60
to 70 or 80 miles, rain, as known in our coun
try, is a phenomenon of very rare occurrence.
It may happen once or twice in a century at
Lima, and once in tour or five years on the
part of the coast five or six hundred miles far
ther north j and then along the sea shore,
where nothing is seen generally but dry barren
sand, unblessed by any visible trace of vegeta
tion, there springs up suddenly, as if by en
chantment, a tolerable growth of grass and
wild flowers. Nevertheless, Captain Belcher,
of the British navy, distinguished as a naviga
tor and hydrographer, says in his work
'¦ Cruise in the Sulphur," that he had been told
it never rained at Lima ; but that he heard (in
July and August, 1838,) at that place "heavy
patteringof rain, and saw heavy streams issuing
from the tops of houses, and traversing the
streets." This to me is inexplicable. I resided
at Lima about six years, and never heard any
of this " pattering," or saw any of these " heavy
streams;" and I inquired particularly of intel
ligent and observant persons if they had seen
all this in 1838. They replied that they had
not^-never had seen such things — netfer had
heard of them, and yet those persons had re
sided many years at Lima. I have -seen, in
deed, whole floods of water" issuing from the
tops of houses," thrown during the carnival,
by merry and mischievous persons, upon those
passing along the streets, and some of if. not
altogether as sweet and transparent as it comes
from the clouds ; and 1 have seen, too, daily,
" heavy streams" running along the gutters in
the centre ot the streets ; but as it ia impossi
ble that Captain Belcher could have mistaken

35

ttiese ibr a shower of rain, I am wholly at a
ioss to account for his statement, so at variance
With the experience of others. I have seen
also, every year — and always in the month of
December, I think— a fall of rain for a few mo
ments, composed of enormous drops, peihaps
lialf an inch in diameter, falling ten or fifteen
feet apart ; but not enough oflt to wet any thing,
or to be avoided. This depended, of course,
upon a peculiar state of the -atmosphere, and
upon electrical phenomena, to the solution
of which I did not feel equal, and do not now;
and leave it,, therefore, unsolved.
It will not do, though, to say that it does not
. rain at Lima, without saying what it does do
in the way of precipitating numidity. From
the last of May to the month of December,
there falls a considerable quantity of water
from the heavens, in the shape of mist, or rather
what we call drizzle. It falls generally in the
night-time ; and in consequence of it, the streets
are often inconveniently muddy of a morning.
What quantity is precipitated during the sea
son, I do not know; nor do 1 believe it has
«ver been ascertaineH, for the philosopher has
not been much " abroad" along that coast. I
<io not recollect whether Humboldt made any
estimate of the quantity that falls, or not. If
any one has, he is the man, probably. I sup
pose it to be not much more than a toot for the
whole season. This drizzle, though it assists
vegetation somewhat, is not relied upon by the
cultivators ofthe soil in that region, whose de
pendence is upon artificial irrigation — the
water being brought from the small rivers that
have their origin in the Andes. The plain
about Lima, for instance, is supplied with
¦water drawn from the Rimac, which flows
through the city. During this moist season,
which at Lima 13 called tvinter, (the mercury
in Fahrenheit varying from 56 to 62 degrees,
generally,) the naked, stony, desolate, unculti
vated hills about the city, from aix or seven
hundred to two thousand feet high, become
somewhat verdant, and with the verdure are min
gled various flowers. But 1 return to the guano.
The quantity of guano within the jurisdic
tion of Peru has been estimated at from 40 to
90 millions of tons. The last, I have no doubt,
is too high, and the first may be pretty near
the truth. The article being found in many
places, andin deposites of very irregular forms,
it is impossible to get at the quantity, even ap-
proximatively. The visible contours might be
managed ; but, then, the form ofthe floor upon
which the mass reposes cannot be known with ¦
out being uncovered. There are considerable
fluantities, also, pf guano on the coasts of Bo
livia and Chile ; and I have thought that, in
cluding allof. it between the 6th and 31st de
grees ol south latitude, there may be not less
than fifty millions of tons. Taking other cal
culations for my data, I am placing the quantity

ries. But it has been said, that there exist
other deposites in the interior of the country,
and at a considerable distance from the sea
shore, which are found by excavating the
earth, as other hidden treasures ai:e. But this
is an illusion, or delusion, or both. .Some per
sons about Lima, took it into their heads,
whilst I was there, to maintain that guano was
a mineral substance, and not an animal pro
duct. Their proof of this was the vast quan
tity — more, they said, than all the birds in the
world could have produced from the days of
Adam — and the inland subterranean deposites,
the existence of which they either assumed, or
admitted upon very questionable authority.
But this only proved that those savani knew
but little about guano— or its history, or the
history of the country, or its agriculture. And
had the inland mines of the article really ex
isted, it would have proved nothing more than
that their locality must once have been near
the sea.
Guano was much more used, and much more
appreciated, I have no doiubt, by the ancient
Peruvians, in the time of the Incas, (four or
five hundred years ago,) than it has ever been,
either by the Spaniards, or by the present oc
cupants of the country — the indepiendent Span
ish Americans. And agriculture, it is certain,
was much more flourishing than it has ever
been since the conquest. Fevs'er vegetable
productions were cultivated, and none of the
cerealia, I believe, except maize, (Indian corn,)
yet at least double the present population was
supported in more abundance, more comfort,
and more happiness, than has since been
known among the common people. There is
not, on the face of the earth, a more wretched
and down-trodden creature than the poor In
dian in some parts of South America. He
is a Christian nominally, and is thoreti-
cally and constitutionally a free man; but,
spiritually considered, he is practically no
more than a heathen, and his., condition,
under every social and political aspect, is
vastly inferior to the slave in the United
States. He is not as intelligent, nor as much
respected, nor as well fed, nor as well clothed,
nor as well cared for in any sense. He has no
more political rights, or rights of any Kind,
and is, in truth, a much more degraded being.
I say this, and I believe it ; yet I am no advo
cate of slavery — am neither its friend nor its
apologist — but I have seen enough to convince
me Ihat, " bitter draught" as it is, the slave,
when well treated, as he is in this country, is
by no means the lowest in the scale of human be
ings. In South America, the poor arid unpro
tected classes (about three-fourths of the whole
mass) are subjected to an oppression more
galling and intolerable than all the wrongs and
injustice of our system of slavery together —
which is, military impressment ; not conscrip-

place it. And if it is true, as has been asserted,
that large subterranean deposites have been dis
covered, the quantity actually in existence
may be .vastly greater than I have supposed.
But I have doubts, about these deposites, ex
cept near the seashore, where some may have
been buried in consequence ofthe drifting of
(he sand, continued, probably, for many centu-

lower, perhaps, than any person in Peru would tion, for that operates equally — but there every

indigent, friendless man is liable to be seized
at any moment, and torn from, a starving and
helpless family, (to which he probably never
returns,) to be dragged, , fiettered, and band-
cuffed, to the army,, there to die of disease, to
starve, or to be shot, as the case may be ; and
the servitude on our farms and plantalipfis is
a boljday, compared with the condition of a

86

South American common soldier when on a '
campaign. And this enormous wrong is not
inflicted hy virtue of any law, or system, or
rule; but a brutal o'/caZ^e, <a sort of justice
of the peace,) or a still greater brute, it may
be, in epaulettes, (which he disgraces,) may
kidnap, at discretion, the poor, and powerless,
and unprotected. Revenons a nos mautons! —
i. e. to the guano.
I recollect to have seen it stated, in some
printed document in Peru, that the quantity of
jfuano annually consumed there amounts to
about three thousand tons— which is not the
tenth part of what ought to be used ; but the
Spanish American could not well be called a
manure using animal. He generally goes on
cultivating his ground, as it had been culti
vated for ages before he was born ; not know
ing whether its fertility may be increased or
not, by any appliance of the kind, and caring
nothing either. There are thousands of tons
of manure within the walls that surround the
city of Lima, which might be very advantage
ously used in the neighliorhood, but it is very
little in requisition. Guano, it would be natu
rally supposed, from its applicability to all sorts
of crops, with a few exceptions, and from the
facility with which it might be obtained, would
be in great request in Peru. Yet it is not so ;
and could it be furnished at a reasonable price,
the demand would not be less than a hundred
times as great for it in England, as it is in the
country where it is produced. Agriculture is
yet in its infancy as a science in South Ameri
ca. But very few, if any, wealthy and enlight
ened persons have dedicated themselves to its
improvement; and where any atteippt of the
kind has been made, the results have not been.
In general, very encouraging. In all South
America there is not, I believe, a singl? pe
riodical, or a single newspaper, devoted to ag
riculture; and it is as rare an occurrence to
see a work upon agriculture, as it is tq see a
Bible, which is scarcely ever seen, unless in
the possession of a priest. Rambling about
some years ago in the Andes, I spent a day
with a proprietor, who was somewhat a farmer,
and somewhat a grazier, and in his possession
1 found, to my very great surprise, a Spanish
translation of a part of Columella's work upon
rural economy, entitled " De Re Rusiica,"
written about eighteen hundred years ago.
This was his oracle about all matters pertaining
to his rural occupations; and he studied it, not
doubting for a moment that it was a recent and
standard publication. And finding him felix
in suo ertore, ("happy under his mistake,) I
thought it would be cruel to disabuse him, and
I dif not. Columella is a favorite, 1 think,
with Spanish agriculturists — for the not un
natural reason, perhaps, that hewas a Spaniard
himself. His work possesses great merit,
Iiowever, and is a very remarkable one, con-
sidering the state of agriculture at the time it
was written.
In Peru, guano, though it is used very spa
ringly, is applied, notwithstanding, to almost
every kind of vegetable production, except the
sugar-cane ; and it would be to that, if it was
thought to need manure. It is used chiefly in
ithe cultivation of maize (Indian corn J and po-
tatos, (Irish,) and is supposed to increase the

crop from one-fourth lo one-third. It has been
frequently asserted, and I have seen it stated in
Chamber's Edinburgh Journal, that it increases
the product thirty and forty fold. This is a
great mistake, and is ¦ nothing more nor less
than a gratuitous assumption, warranted neither
by actual experiment, nor by any rational hy
pothesis. I append hereto an extract of a let
ter to me from WiLLf am F. Taylor, Esq., for
merly United States consul at Arequipa, about
the use of guano. It is used roore than any
where else in Peru, at that place, siy or seven
hundred miles to the southward of Lima, where
agriculture is in a more respectaWe and eiScient
condition, perhaps, than anywhere else in that
country. Mr, Taylor is right, I suppose, in
saying that guano is "never" used (atAre-
quipaj " for wheat and other crops." But
still it has been used for them elsewhere, and
is considered to be suitable. This I say upon
the authority of Dr. Rivero, a man of science
at Lima, who has written some articles upon
the subject. He says, that in the province
of Tarapaca it is used for wheat, and for all
kinds of fruit-trees, though not for sugar-cane ;
but at Arequipa, Indian cern and potatos only
require it.
It was formerly, and may be yet, the custom
in some parts of Peru, to apply tbe guano to
the soil, and then let it lie fallow a whole
year ; which seems to be the worst kind of
husbandry, thus improvidently to permit the
precious material for so long a time to
" Waste its sweetness on the desert air."
Bad tillage, because, when committed to the
ground, it is completely decomposed, and ready
at once to impart its fertilizing properties to the
crop, (whatever it may be,) a great portion of
which, by exposure to the sun and atmosphere ibr
so long a time, must be lost,' But this opinion I
advance diffidently, and under correction ; for,
to say the triith, I am myself rather a sorry
agriculturist, though I have had opportunities
of being a tolerably good one, I would take
rank, probably, in the same category with the
famous Triptolemus Yellowly, who figures in
Sir Walter Scott's novel of the '¦ Pirate,"
though not quite so persevering an improver.
Though I express myself rather depreciatingly
of Peruvian agriculture in general, yet, in jus
tice, it must be admitted that some productions
are cultivated here and there, in a few places,
with considerable success — particularly the
tropical fruits, the sugar-cane, and the vine,
Grapes are very abundant in some districts,
and of a fine quality. Pretty fair and palatable
wines are made of them, too, which might pass
very well with any one that was not a con
noisseur. They have a good body, are pure
and well flavored, and though they might fail
to tickle the palate of a bon vivant, would go
down very well with a hearty and unsophisti
cated feeder. About the port of Pisco, 170 or
180 miles from Lima, there is an extensive
vine district, and in it some wealthy and intel
ligent proprietors, and among them Don Do
mingo Elias, supreme chief at Lima about a
year ago— whose supremacy, however, like
that of malny of his predecessors, was rather
ephemeral ; he, being but a cultivator, had to

37

succumb with liis pruuing-hook to anotheif that
wielded the sword.
There has been considerable speculation with
respect to the rate with which guano accumu
lates. Humboldt was of opinion Cforty years
ago) that tbe deposites increased in bulk very
iskiwly — not more than a few lines (12 to the
inch) annually; thus assigning to the great de
posites a very high antiquity, for some of them
are said to be more than a hundred feet in
depth — about the depth, I suppose, ofthe snow
on the summit of Chimborazo, judging with
the eye at the distance of seven or eight thou
sand feel below. I have npt Humboldt at hand
to refer to; but, from the data given hy hirfi,
(which are, however, rather assumptions than
Verified facts,) the guano may have been ac
cumulating for the last two or three thousand
years. Dr. Rivero (the same that I have
quoted above) does not hesitate, however, to
assign to some of the guano deposites a much
higher antiquity, which " ought to be calculat
ed," he says, "from epochs anterior to the
fleluge." This may seem lobe extravagant;
^ut I perceive nothing in the supposition that
is absolutely absurd.
A British subject (Dr. Hamii,ton) made
¦Various calculations to determine the rate at
which the guano accumulates ; and he fixed
upon the quantity of fifteen tons per diem for
the ooast of Peru, assuming the number of birds
to be one million ; that each bird would depo-
site daily one ounce, one half of which would
be lost by evaporation, leaving for the total re
sult about the amount given — 15 tons. This
calcuUtion must be, however, very erroneous ;
for the number of birds is greatly underrated,
whilst the quantity of guano that each produces
daily is, I have no doubt, overrated. Instead
of one million, there must be many millions.
Dr. Rivero says that the great quantity of
guano " will cease to attract admiration when
the millions of birds that produce it are con
sidered." Don Antonio Ulloa, who trav
elled in Peru about one hundred years ago,
says, io his Voyage, that he saw at the pQrt of
Arica, seven or eight hundred miles south of
Lima, a flight of birds that was an hour and a
half passing on the wing; and that, during
that time, he saw no sky anywhere. Don An
tonio was an accurate observer, scientific
and intelligent, and, as we must suppose that
he saw what he relates, there must have been
in that one flock a good many millions — and
that be saw at one spot, on a coast sixteen or
seventeen hundred miles in extent, where
guano is to be found. I, too, have seen the
bay of Callao covered with birds sometimes for
several square miles in extent — the number
not being under a million, 1 think, certainly.
Had Dr. Hamilton assumed the number to be
ten millions, I should still suppose him to be
short <)f the reality.
A very natural question maybe asked, Why
are those marine birds (of various sizes, colors,
species, and variety) so much more numerous
on the coast of Peru than elsewhere? The
reason is, that they find a climate adapted to
their nature, and suitable food in great abun
dance. The food is fish, the number of which
js still more surprising than the number of
\he birds that prey upon it, "Jlie fish abound

as they ^o, because they too find a plenty of
food adapted to them. If asked, though, Why
that food is so abundant, I should haye to con-'
fess that the question would be rather too deep
for my philosophy. Along that coast the va
riety of fish is veiy great, of all sizes and of
every flavor: and every epicure and every
glutton can have his palate gratified, be he
man, bird, or beast.
There have been many analysis of guano,
by FoDRCRov & Vauquehn, Brett, Ube,
LiEBEG, and others — the first analysis being
made by F. and V. about forty years ago, the
fuano having been sent to them by Humboldt.
(1 no two cases have Ihe results been exactly
alike ; but the discrepancies imply neither
carelessness nor ignorance on the part of the
chemists. The samples may not have been of
the same quality. Some might have been more
completely decomposed than the others, or
have contained more extraneous matter — ^sa
line, silicioiis, earthy, aqueous, &c. Or they
may have been of different kinds ; for in Peru
three are known, differing all from each other,
mere or less, in their constituent parts. These
three kinds are the reddish, (rojo,) the gray,
(paiduzco,) and the white, (bianco,) of which
the latter is considered to he the strongest,
being the most recent; and it, as well-as the
gray, becomes red by age. All the difference
between the three kinds is the result of time,
and Ihe accidental introduction of the foreign
matter already mentioned.
Dr. Ure's analysis seems to, be considered in
Peru to be the most exact, and is the one most
relied on; but I am not aware of any good
reason for this preference. Dr. U. is certainly
a profound chemist; but so are, or were, the
other analysers. According to him, the red
guano contains 50 parts of one hundred of or-^
ganic azotised matter, including urate of am
monia, giving from 8 to^l7 parts of ammpnia„
water 11 parts, phosphate of lime 25 parts,,
phosphate of magnesia and ammonia, and of
oxalate of ammonia 13 parts, silicipus matter
l=:100. 1 take this from a Spanish document,.
in which Ure's analysis has been mutilated;.'
it is minute enough, though, to show at once
that guano, as a manure, must possess very
great fertilizing qualities — a decisive proof of
which is, that British agriculturists can afford
to pay a higher price for it than for any other
known manure which is attainable in large
quantities. It has been fiaund, by experiment,
that the genuine Peruvian oir Bolivian guano,
furnishes, put of )0Q parts, 88 parts promotive
of vegetation ; the Ichaboe, 77 ; Possession
Island, 61 ; Porto Cabello, 37; the latter being
of a very inferior quality. But still this does
not show the relative value in commerce, and to
the agriculturist, of these various species of
guano ; for in England the Peruvian is now
selling for about eight pounds sterling the ton,
whilst the Ichaboe commands not much more
than five pounds. It seems to show, in fatt,
nothing roore than the amount of extraneous
matter contained in each, leaving still a great
difi'erence in the quality, when every substance
is removed that is not guano.
Guano was not exported from Peru, 1 be->
lieve, as an article of commerce, until withii)
the last ten years, The quantity exported, so

38

far, has not yet reached a hundred thousand
Ions, I think. Abont five years ago, thfe gov
ernment at Lima made a contract vvith some
individuals, slipillatii% that they should'eX-port
¦within five years one hundred and twenty thou
sand tons, the government (to which all the
guano belongs) receiving about twenty dollars
per ton for all exported. But, in conse
quence of the decline of the article in
the English market, this has been a losing
speculation for the contractors so far, and not
one -half of the hundred and twenty thousand
tons has been yet exported. Some guano,
when first taken to England, sold as high as
140 dollars a ton; some at 90 dollars; and it
got down finally as low as to 35 dollars ; and it
could not be sold for much less than that, sup
posing it to cost nothing in Peru. This is a
matter about which the English farmers appear
to inave been very capricious. At one time
jjaey would give for it an enormous price —
mere than it could possibly be worth ; and at
anether, they would not give near its indispu
table value; for, in England, I have no doubt
that the farmer can aftbrd to pay 50 dollars
per ton for it, and Ife amply remunerated at
the same time. In the United Slates it is
doubtful whether this price can be given for
the general purposes of agriculture. For hor-
ticultufal purposes, it may be, I imagine, near
our large towns.
It seems to be admitted in Peru, (and if so it is
to be deplored,) that the sea-fowl that produce
the guano are sensibly diminishing in numbers.
This is there imputed to three causes : the ex
cessive heat of the summers of late years, the
scarcity of food, and the: great increase in the
numbei- of vessels that frei^uent the ports, lo
the noise made by their crews, and to the firing
of cannon. The two first I consider as of no
cogency, and as ideal. The summers, if they
have been a little warmer than usual, (which
is doubtful,) would not drive away the birds ;
or, if it drove away any, itwould drive nearly all;
for, among the inferior anima!s,(inferior to man)
instinct is uniform and utivacillating.. If it in
fluences any, it influences nearly all. With
the reasoning biped, man, it is otherwise. In
his migrations he may be influenced by a hun -
dred motives that may influence roany, or but a
small portiijn. If is not so, though, with the
feathered biped. Nor can I subscribe to the
alleged scarcity of food. Nobody has observed
a diminution in the number ot fish — the whale
excepted, upon which the birds do not prey;
nor has there been any, in my opinion. They
are as abundant, I suppose; as they have been
for some thousands of years past, and as they
will be, probably, for some thousands to come.
The' noise made l^ the cannon, 8cc., may have
produced some effect upon the more sensitive
and timid of the birds, perhaps, but, judging
from the fearless and familiar manner in which
they come into the bay of Callao, where there
is much noise and firing, I should conclude
that they are not so very easily frightened'.
The guano which is exported fi-om Peru is
taken at present from a small island near the
shore, called Chincha, 160 or 170 miles south of
Lima. Upon this island is the great deposite,
which astonishes all who see it; and which
was estimated by a Peruvian Minister of, For

eign Affairs, a few years ago, a conscientions
and intelliaent 'man, CDon Jose Villa,; ta
contain fifty millions of tons alone. ThoBgh 1
have assumed that to be the whole quantity to
be found in the country, I do this because 1
am an enemy of all hyperbole and exaggera
tion, and because I know that it is a very com
mon thing to exaggerate a little on such occa
sions. Fifty millions of tons is a very large
quantity ; if it is there, so much tbe better for
somebody. I hope that Mr. Villa was right.
Fifty millions of tons, at twenty dollars a ton,
which it is worth at the island, is a thousand
millions of dollars— enough to pay one-fourth
o( that financial monstrosity, the British na
tional debt. Or, supposing each ton of guano
to represent, in grain, two tons of wheat-"
which it does, at least, I think— we have 100,-
000,000 tons of wheat, or 2,600,000,000 bushels
— equal in value, perhaps, to all the gol4 and
silver that have been found on this continent
since its discovery by Columbus. And to carry
away the guana from Chincha at once, would
require seven or eight times as much shippiog|
as there is in the world.
This is an interesting- calculation, and' one
that may not only be true, as far as it goes, but
short even bf the whole truth. On a barren
nook of only a square ihile or two — not worth,
of itself, a single dollar — there exists, at this
moment, tangible, positive, indisputable wealth
of greater value than all the gold and silver
mines bf Peru, rich as some of them are. And
what is remarkable is, that, until within a very
few years, this vast amount of wealth was not
only not appreciated, but out of Peru was
scarcely known to exist. And what is more
remarkable still is, that the country which owns
this great treasure is, fiscally and agricultur
ally considered, a poor country, though rich
in resources. So much for bad government!
Dr. Feuchtwanger, of New York; has
suggested that an artificial guano might be
made to rival tbe Peruvian. I doubt this my-*
self. All the ingredients might be put together,
to be sure, and the' result would be, I have no
doubt, a very valuable compost; but it would
not be guano. Il would lack some thousands
of years of age; and, even with that, itwould
be but a counterfeit still. Nature does not
permit herself to be rivalled by Art in any of
her operations. The chemist can compose and
decompose, analyse and destroy ; but he cannot
create. All the ingenuity of man, wilh all the
appliances of science, cannot make a blade of
grass, or a diamond of the lowest water, al
though many tons of charcoal have been burnt
in the attempt to make it. And I consider it
equally impossible to make by art a single
ounce of genuine Peruvian guano.
In the guano deposites, and far below the
surface, ancient tools and instruments are fre
quently found, and sometimes birds' eggs-<-
some of them externally pretty perfect, but
probably altogether changed from their origi
nal nature in the interior; for those of which
the shells have been abraded, present the ap
pearance of ian inorganic, indurated mass ; the
vital principle having .been extinct for many
ages, I presume.
It woul*l)e a curious and interesting expert-'
ment, were it practicable, (in my opinion, it is

39

not,) to hatch some of those eggs, which may
te four or five thousand years old, to see what
kind of birds would be produced — whether
identical with the species that produce the
guano at present, whether any change had taken
place in the external appearance or internal
organization, or whether a new race had suc
ceeded to what Dr. Rivero might call the an
tediluvian, and which may now be extinct.
It is very certain that great changes have
taken, and^ will yet take place, in all the de
partments of nature, but not to the extent, I
imagine, that some ingenious though visionary
investigators have assumed : Loid Monboduo,
for instance, who advanced the opinion, that
man was originally an ape or a monkey, and
had, through lapse of time, lost his tail, and
gained the faculty we call reason — thus leaving
the matter in doubt, whether, upon the whole,
he has been a gainer or loser. And Bory St.
Vincent seemed to think that the monkey
was rather the more perfect animal ofthe two,
physically considered — having the advantage
of possessing four hands, which answer the
purpose also of four feet., But enough of this
philosophy. Besides its admirable agricultural and fructi
fying qualities, guano possesses a virtue (as is
supposed) that cannot be made too public. It
is believed in Peru, to be a specific against that
foul and loathsome disease, leprosy. Whether
it is or not, I cannot determine ; but I will
state facts, and then every one can judge for
himself. Three or four years ago, two lepers,
whose cases were considered incurable and
desperate, were sent from the main land to the
island of Chincha, to live or die as Providence
might will it. They were deported, and in
fact marooned. There they remained two
years, living amidst the guano, sleeping on it,
and working in it a little ; and, at the end of
that time, they were perfectly cured. Of this
fact, therp can be no doubt, I think. The proof
is official and documentary. The medical
faculty in Lima, imputed the cure to the am
monia contained in the guano — and with rea
son, perhaps. But it does not follow, though,
that ammonia will per se cure leprosy. , It may
be requisite that it should be in combination
with other substances ; or it may be that the
curative principle really exists in some other
component part of the guano, not now regard
ed, it may be, as possessing any therapeutic
virtue. But I will leave the matter to the
physicians, saying no more lest I get beyond
my depth. I will merely add, that the food of
the lepers, and the pure sea air they breathed,
might have had some effect. Their food was
simple and scanty, the flesh of wild ducks
mostly. Having stumbled, incidentally, upon the lep
rosy, I am going to ^ay a few more words about
it, though what I shall say has nothing to do
with guano. My object is to correct a fallacy
that has gone abroad, and which includes a libel
upon that most useful and piost valuable, though
not very graceful or attractive quadruped, the
hog. I recollect to have seen it stated, in some
letters written from Texas, that it is univer
sally admitted, thronghout Spanish America,
that the eating of pork causes leprosy. This

I consider to be altogether a mistake. It is a
mistake to suppose that eating pork produces
the leprosy; and a mistake to assume that it is
admitted, throughout Spanish America, to
produce it. I have travelled considerably
through that country, and have not seen pork
any where repudiated among the natives,
though it may be in some places. But, on the
contrary, it is in several parts the favorite
butcher's meat of the laboring classes — as at
Lima, where it is consumed in great quanti
ties, and where, although there are cases of
leprosy, yet that disease does not predominate
in any remakable degree. If pork generated
it, not less than three- fourths of the people
would be afflicted with it, instead of one out of
three or four thousand.
I am of opinion, that if pork is at aU con
nected with leprosy, it is the want, and not ths
use of it, that causes it. My own theory is,
right or wrong, that the causes of leprosy,
where there is no hereditary taint, are bad air,
filthy habits, scarcity of -nutritious food, (not
pork enough,) and laziness. I must explain
what I mean by bad air ; for I have seen cases
of the leprosy in the Andes, some thousands of
feet above the sea level, where the atmosphete
was pure and transparent to a degree of which,
we who dwell but a few feel above tide-water,
can scarcely form an idea. The bad air is in
the wretched, smoky, suffocating, stinking,
windowless hovels, the usual abodes of the la
boring classes in South America.
Wherever a prejudice prevails against po)rk
in Spanish America, it has been brought from
Spain three hundred years ago ; and the Span
iards had it from the Jews or Moors — from the
latter, probably. The Jew regarded the hog,
as an unclean animal, because be was com
manded so to do ; the Mahometan, because he
had a tradition, that he believed, which as-
sighed to that animal an impure and revolting
origin. It was, that he was spontaneously en
gendered in Noah's ark, from the excrement
of the ' elephant. He was considered, there
fore, to be too filthy to be eaten. And, singu^
lar as it may appear, it may possibly be true,
that a Christian repugnance to pork, where it
exists, may have its origin in this whimsical
and puerile Mahometan legend. I take this
story from Montesquieu's Lettres Persanes;
and having given my authority, 1 am not re
sponsible for it in any manner.
Peruvian guano is selling at present in the
United States, I believe, at three dollars per
hundred pounds. This is, in ciy opinion, a
higher price than the farmers will be able to
give habitually, until the price of grain gets
up again — such, 1 mean, as apply it to grain
crops. Other kinds of guano will be import
ed, probably, and sold much lower ;¦ but it
ought to be home in mind, that, though nomi
nally cheaper, it may in fact be dearer ; for
none has yet been discovered, that is to be
compared with the Peruvian in point of fertil
izing capability. Another suggestion I will
make is, that those who purchase an inferior
kind of guano to experiment with, and the ex
periments do not result satisfactorily, ought not,
for that reason, to, condemn all guano, but only
the particular kind they have used. With our
present limittd knowkdged of that manure, ani

of its various kinds and qualities, it does not
seem to be safe for the agriculturist to experi
ment with any other kind than the genuine,
nnadulterated Peruvian article.
A very important question is, to what kind
of crops is guano best adapted '. And ii is one
that I confess myself not at all qualified to cn-
swer. I have made no experiments, and do not
suppose I shall make any. 1 incline, though,
strongly lo the opinion, that guano is adapted,
if any manure is, to every kind of soil, and to
every kind of crop. But, since the researches
of Sir Humphrey Davy and of Liebig— in
consequence of the discoveries they have
made in chemistry as applied to Agriculture —
it may be doubted whether there exists any
such manure ; but there must be a mutual
adaptation — the soil suitiiig the manui-e, and
this suiting the Soil. But as this is a mat
ter that I am not competent to discuss; and
as it has no necessary connexion with ihe ob
jects of this letter, I leave it to abler beads and
to abler pens. And 1 here ilonclude this long,
and, I fear, dull and uninteresting epistle ; as
suring you that I am here, as 1 was in Peru,
ever, and With the most perfect respect,
ifour very obedient servant,
J. C. PICKETT.
FnANCis Markoe, jr., Esq,,
Cor. Secretary Of National Institute.

Extract of a letter frnrn Wnt. F. Tayht, late
United States Qmsvl at Arequipa.
* * * "April, 19th, 1845:
" The yellowish-red huano is the class ex
ported. There is, also, a white species — actual
birds's excrement. It is applied almost ex
clusively to crops of Indian corn, though some
times used for potatos — for wheat, cr other
crops, I believe never. This may be owing
to corn and potatos' being sown in hillocks
or furrows ; for it would be diflicult to apply
it to wheat the way it is used here, and would
be expensive. I know of no other reason for

not using it. It is applied but once to a crop—
viz ; Indian corn is sown as with ns — that is,
in hillocks about 12 inches apart; and when
they ' amontonar,' (hill up,) which is done but
once to each plant after getting to be about
24 to 26 inches high, the weeds being remov
ed, women take a handful of guano, (wo
men's hands are rather small here,) and place
at the foot of the plant (there are generally
3, 4, and 5 plants in each hillock) as much
huano as may be held between tbe three fin
gers—so that a handful serves for three or
four plants: At the time of applying, they
Scrape a little earth over' itj lightly with the
toes. Then follow the hillocking, and, as
soon as done, the plants are irrigated at once.
All cultivation is done here by irrigation, and
not by rains, as it only rains a little here in
January and February. Maize is sown at the
end of August and September, and is gathered-
at the last of April and the beginning of May ;
so that id the seasons of rain bere, the corn is
well grown — say, 7 or 9 feet high. In Decem
ber and January, we have roasting ears. Each
stalk has two or three, and sometimes more
earsj nearly as large as ours. The grain i^
much larger, though flatter, not round, and I
think not so sweet ; rather of tbe yellow kind,
though there are different species.
To each topo of land, (a measure of five
thousand square varaS of 33 inches each,)
they use from 3 to' 4 fanegas of huano. — each
fanega being. 200 pounds Spanish, ,, or 2Q6
pounds Engligh. To potatos, it is applied
just in the same manner — once only, and when
the plant bears tbe first flowers.
I cannot state exactly the effect of guano,
more than that, they say it is heating — fortifies
the plant, ripens it more promptly, and pro-
daces a larger crop — (more ears of corn and a
fuller grain.) It is supposed that land huane-
ada (dressed with huanb) should produce from
one-fourth to one-third more thao, land on
which.it is not used.
* * * < W. F. TAYLOR.

HON. WADDY THOMPSON, POCAHONTAS, CORTEZ
AND SANTA ANNA.

The following letter, addressed to- the Hon.
AVaddy Thompson, was published in the
Washington. (7nion, in tbe month of September
last, and is now printed in pamphlet form as it
then appeared, a few alterations only having
been made, none of them very material, or af
fecting the sense in any manner.
In venturing these remarks upon the " Re
collections of Mexico," I have not been in any
manner influenced by a desire to play the
critic, for to critical acumen 1 make no preten
sions. I read the Recollections, part of them
with pleasure and with profit, and part of them
with regret, I must confess ; the latter portions
being those that I have commented on in the
letter. It was not through the excessive and
elaborate laudation of Cortez and Santa
Anna, as it seemed to me to .be, that deter
mined me to dip pen in ink. I thought that
General Thompson had misconceived entirely
the characters of these two remarkable per
sonages. But that 1 cared not much for. The
first he called a hero, his " favorite hero ;" the
second a "patriot," though, by his own admis
sion, a peculating and cock-fighting one. But
the author of the " Recollections " was not
alone in his admiration of Cortez ; for others,
who have devoted more time, peihaps, as the
study of his character, and to the actions that
have secured him immortality, or " damned
him to everlasting [fame " — an issue yet to be
tried — than he had, had come to the same con
clusion nearly respecting him ; leaving out his
being a " sincere and devout Christain," how
ever, which I do not think any other author
except the Spanish writers have called him ;
and of true religion, I consider them to be in
his case, as Mrs. Peachum said about another
matter, " bitter bad judges." Of this any body
that will read their histories of the conquest of
Mexico will be convinced — excepting, always,
the virtuous and excellent Las Casas. I leave
Cortez, therefore, to General Thompson, and
toother able and eloquent writers who have of
fered themselves to the world as the heralds of
his actions and guardians, of his fame. For
myself, were I called upon to Sjim up his merit
and demerit in twenty-five words, neither more
nor less I should not attempt any thing original,
but woald borrow four lines from Southey,
which he wrote for Napoleon, but which fit
the conqueror of Mexico rather better. Here
they are :
— '¦  " Bold man and bad,
Remorseless, godless, full of fraud and lies,
And black wiw murders and with perjuries.
Himself in Hell's whole panoply be clad."
6

Of Santa Anna, I have not much more t«
say than [ have said in my letter. He is now
at the head of the Government of Mexico, as
General Thompson wished him to he. I say
at the head, because it is well known that he is
the government, although another may be the
nominal chief. His being there, does not affect
my opinion of him any way. Badas he is, he
may be no worse than some of his predecessors
have been, or than some of his successors will
be. But 1 shall not farget readily, that the
blood of four hundred of my fellow-country
men, by him wantonly, ruthlessly and remorse
lessly slaughtered, has yet to be avenged ; and
I have an abiding belief and conviction, that in
Heaven's own good time it will be.
Raro antecedentem scelestum,
Deseruit pede Poena claudo.*
His chief excuse, or his defence rather, for
the murderof Fanning's detachment was, that
a law of the Mexican Congress made it his
duty to put them to death. Now, when before
or since did he ever obey a law, unless it suited
him to do so? For him, whose whole career
has been one of violence and blood, and a vio
lation of all laws, to cant about obeying laws,
is rather too bad. Why did he not imitate the
officers and soldiers ' of France, who, when
commanded by the National Convention to give
no quarter to the invaders of their country, re
fused to obey, saying that they were soldiers
and not assassins ? Had there been any tiling
noble and generous in his nature he would
have done so ; but there was nothing of that
in him, and he was happy, doubtless, to have
it in his power to shed blood, when he could do
it without danger to himself.
Dismissing this par nobile fralrum, Cortez
and Santa Anna, 1 have next to say, that
my chief inducement to notice certain passages
in the "Recollections " was, the injustice, as
it seems to me to be, that the writer, through
inadvertence, as I must believe, has done to the
character and memory of Pocahontas, in the
passage in which, in the enthusiasm of his ad
miration for Marina, the chere amie and in
terpreter of Cortez, he institutes a compari
son between them very much to the advantage
of the latter, saying that Pocahontas is
thrown into the shade by her. From this judg
ment I appeal, first, to the "sober second
thoughts " of the, author himself; next, to the
people of Virginia ; then to our countrymen

? Vengeance, though slow and lame of foot,
suffers not the villian to escape.

42

*nd 'cotrntrywomen generally; and, finally, to
the admirers of virtue, humanity and nobleness
of soul, wherever they are to be found; for all
such mu.st admire the'danghter of Powhatan.
Had General Thomfson pronounced Acr to be
"a miracle of a woman," instead of Marina,
he would then have been right, and nolhing
more than just. His "miracle" had, I wil
lingly admit, no little merit of a certain
kind. She was shrewd, talented and cour
ageous, and it appears that she was not
without good qualities ; but in the company
in which she found herself, there was certain
ly not much room for the display or for the
developement of them. But I am not aware
that she possessed a single attribute worth pos
sessing, or a single good quality, that Poca
hontas did not possess in an equal degree at
least, and the latter possessed what the other
did not; that which, according to Shak
speare, in man or woman, is the immediate
jewel of their souls — a " good name."
In all history and in all romance it would be
difficult to find a more perfect character Ihan
Pocahontas ; and taking heras she bas come
down to us, it appeal's to me to be impossible
to say wherein it could have been improved.
And she was doubtless what'she has been re
presented to be. This I conceive to be one of
the most incontestible facts in history. The
proof is, the account given of her by Captain
Smith, a man incapable of falsehood, and not
adicted to exaggeration, who wrote that he
himself had witnessed and experienced, and
whose accounts had the Sanction and belief of
contemporary thousands, hundreds of them
being eye-witnesses of what he narrated and
discribed. I imagine myself, rather vainly, perhaps, a
tolerably competent judge of the relative mer
its of these two remarkable women. I think
so, because I have read, in the course of my
life, the best Spanish his'tories of the conquest
of Mexico in the original language. I have
read also much about Pocahontas, and it is
impossible to become acquainted with her story
without loving and admiring a being so good,
so gentle, so humane, and so heroic ; who,
when but a child of the age of twelve or thir
teen gave proofs of goodness and of greatness
of soul not often evinced by either sex at ma
ture years. She saved the life of Captain
Smith, freely and fearlessly putting her own
in jeopardy to do it. She saved the English
colonists from destruction, relieved their wants,
and was always the willing and triumphant
mediatrix between them and her father, who,
though suspicious, and fierce, and crafty, and
violent, was yet a noble-minded savage. And
when transplanted from her native forests to the
English court, where she was recognized as a
princess, and treated with the respect due tp
one, the admirable propriety with which she
sustained her new character is not the least
striking part of her history, and it proves abun
dantly ihat she must have been a woman of
great natural talent as vvell as of great and
noble qualifies. And this glorious creature
died at the age of twenty-two ! She left one
child, a son, by her husband, Mr. Rolfe ; and
through that son her blood.-which I should

value more than " all the blood of all the
Howards," yet flows in the veins ot many
persons of high standing in Virginia.
The extracts from various authors, whicli
form an appe'ndix to my letter to General
Thompson, and. to which large additions
might easily be.made, are not brought forward
for the purpose of proving what Pocahontas
was, or what she did All that is now uncon
tested and incontestable matter of history. My
object has been to place before the public some
portion of what grave, and learned, and elo
quent historians, writing in various languages,
who have treated of the early settlement of
Virginia, have said respecting her. She was a
favorite with all, and all have taken pleasure ia
paying a tribute to her good and excellent
qualities ; and not one of them, can 1 be per
suaded, would have thought for a moment of
admitling that she "was thrown into the
shade " by General Thompson's " miracle of
a woman," Marina.
Being by birth a Virginian, with strong at
tachments for my native State, as well as for
the one from which I hail, (Kentucky) and
the memory of Pocahontas being deaf to
every son and daughter of the "Old Dominion)"
I trust that, in vindicating her memory, I am
doing nothing culpable, presumptuous, or ofli-
cious ; and I presume to think, that the authof
ofthe "Recollections" ought, in the next
edition of his work, to show clearly how the
Mexican heroine was superior to " our own, ''
if he cari ; and if he cannot, then he ought
frankly to admit that it was through miscpn-
ception or inadvertence that he yielded the
palm of superiority to the former ; and he pos
sesses, I have no doubt, magnanimity enough
to do this. * P.
Washington City. December 1846.

LETTER
To the Hon. Waddy Thompson,
Late Envoy Extrfiordinary and
Minister Plenipotentiary to MexiiOf
Sir: 1 have read recently your " BecoUtdr
tions of Mexico," and whilst 1 say (and I say
it with pleasure) that I found much ;in your
bock that is both amusing and instrDctive*
candor obliges me to say, also, that there are
some things I regret-^things which have not
my concurrence, which I do not approve, and
cf which I am obliged to think you have taken
decidedly erroneous views. Judging from
what I know of your character, 1 am per
suaded that you will ndt be displeased should
I make a few remarks upon some passages in
the " Recollections " in a spirit of frank and
liberal criticism } not for the sake of finding
fault, but for the purpose of neutrahzihg in
some degree, the efl'ect that your opinions and
assumptions (such as I think wrong) are like
ly to have upon your numerous readers.
Consulting at once both brevity and perspi
cuity, I wiJI bring together some quotations
from your work relative to the topics on
which I propose making, currente calamo, a
few observations.

43

Of Hernak or Fernando CortEz, the
conqueror of Mexico, you say that he was •' a
miracle of a man"—" siaughter of the Cholu-
lans a stain on his character," however — "glo
rious and wonderful character of Cortez."—
Ohap. IV.
BerNal Diaz, " a veracious old chronicler"
— " the most enchanting book 1 ever read
(Diaz) in any language, in which the beauties
of Ossian and Froissart are combined" —
"most reliable authority upon the conquest of
Mexico. Mr. Prescott has fallen into some
errors as to the old chronicler, and, I think,
underrates his work."
"1 knoW- of no hero, ancient or modern, for
whom I have more admiration than for Cor
tez" — "vindicate my favorite hero, Cortez,
against the imputation of unnecessary cruelty."
Of the murder, or slaughter, or slaying, or
killing, whichever it was, of Guatemosin,
the Mexican emperor, you say ; " Cortez had
satisfactory evidence that, on the marqh Guat
emosin had formed a plan that was ripe for
execution, for the Mexicans to rise and massa
cre the Spaniards. It is absurd to impute to
Cortez any other motives for the fact."
" Cortez was at all points a hero himself, and'
could have no other feeling on this occasion
than that of sympathy and admiialion for
Guatemosin, the greatest of Indian heroes— a
being of romance, rather than of history." —
Appendix. " Cortez was <i Christian, a most sincere
and devout one, and in this particular he stands
at an immeasurable height above all other con
querors, &c., &c.— that " miracle of a woman.
Dona Marina, the Indian interpreter of Cor
tez, whose great qualities throw into the
shade our own Pocahontas." — Chap. IV and
Appendix. Of President Santa Anna you say, "his
great vice is avarice." " Ifl may believe half
of what I heard, he is not free from peculation
and bribery." " I should be glad to see him
at the head of government." " Santa Anna
has a finely formed head and face , there is
scarcely a feature or a point in either that
Sl>URZHEiM or Lavater would desire to
change" — "Indicative of talent, firmness, and
benevolence." "So said a distinguished
American statesman." — Chap. VIL
"I believe Santa Anna is a patriot."
"He (Santa Anna) said that Gen. Jackson
expressed himself satisfied with his explana
tions of the massacre at the Alamo, and of
Fanning's command. "The massacre of
Fanning.s men was not without illustrious
examples" — an " unmitigated murder," how
ever. These are tlie passages upon which I pro
pose to make a few remairks. I will begin
with the " veracious old chronicler," Behnal
Diaz; and respecting him~I agree with you,
except that I do not at all partake of the enthu
siasm of your admiration for him. 1 think his
book a very entertaining one, but 1 do not
consider it by any means the "most enchant
ing" in any language; and, when you said
this, it was not in your mind, probably, that
you had read Robinson Crusoe, DbN Quix-
otte, Gil Blas, Rabelais, and others that
inight be named— all at least as enchanting,

though not capable of exciting the same pain
ful interest, for the reason that they are fictions,
and the other a solemn and serious relation of
facts — the bloodiest, the most atroeiou^i and
most harrowing of any on record; or, at all
events, as much so as any others.
I do not think, either, that between OssrAN
and Diaz there are many points of resem
blance; and I scarcely know any two books
that treat so much of the same subject, (war,)
that, in my judgment, are more unlike tach
other. And as for Froissart, I cannot but be-
lieve.that whoever has waded through hisvolum-
nous work, must confess that he has found
some rather heavy reading on the way ; though,
on th^ whole, it undoubtedly deserves the eu
logiums Ihat have been so profusely bestowed
upon it.* I think you have done no more than
justice to Diaz, when you give him the credit
of being "veraciou3"^truth being the cream
and essence and quintessence of history, as ve
racity is the glory of a historian; pity 'tis that
some of them have been so indiflerent to this
glory ! 1 am of opinion that there is, peihaps,
no book purporting to be a narrative of facts,
written under aadisadvanlageous circumstances
as Diaz wrote, that contains more truth. I
believe that he saw and heard all that he says
he did, or that, at all events, he religiously be
lieved that he did. I think so, because the
most competent judges, whatever fault they
may find with his manner or style, or his vanity
or illiteracy, all agree, 1 believe, that he is
honest. And I have another reason, which is,
that his history contains as much internal evi
dence of its truthfulness as any other book of
the kind, probably, though now and then there
are passages to be found, particulaily where he
plays the theologian and natural philosopher,
that are raiher ludicrous and absurd ; as when
he says of the Virgin Mary, era virgin antes del
parto, en el parto y despues del pai to. And of
a horse that died of heat on the expedition to
Guatamala, he says, that the cause of his death
was, that the grease in his body was melted by
the excessive heat — (se le derritio la mantecd
en el cuerpo con el gran lalor) — a death we
were all in danger of dying here in the month
of July last, when, as the Hon. C. J. Inqer-
soLL says, (War of 1812,) of this same City of
Washington in 1813, "the weather was in
canicular sympathy with our condition."
You have done right, I think, to vindicate
the old chronicler against Mr. Prescott's dis-
paraging critique, in which he does hot charge
him with falsehood, or with any thing disrepu
table or criminal ; yet, taken altogether, the
article is unfavorable, notwithstanding that
there is some " faint praise" flung over and
through it here and there. But Cortez was
the favorite hero of Mr. Prescott as well as
of yourself, and I am inclined to believe that
he does not consider the old chronicler's testi
mony as favorable to him as you do, and was
easily led insensibly, by his partiality to' the
one, to underrate the other. And here I will
remark, that Mr. Prescott has done the work
* Bayle, one of the ablest of critics, says of
Froissart, that he is diffuse and needlessly
circumstantial — feet historien est fort diffus et
chargg de circons^ances peu necessaires.]

44

of whitewashing the character of that remorse
less cut-throat and robber, (Cortez,) in the
most effectual manner, and with but too much
success ; for, with .few exeeptiops, the thou
sands and tens of thousands \yho read his ad
mirable and eloquent pages, will admit as gos
pel and historic truth all that he has said of
that bloody and unscrupulous butcher and op
pressor. And behold the omnipotence of ge
nius ! I, who believe nothing that Mr. Pres
cott has said of Cortez, that represents him
as noble, and generous, and humane, and mer
ciful — I read his " Conquest of Mexico" with
as much pleasure, I suppose, as those who be
lieve it all ; and, carried away with his fascin
ating style, scarcely think of regretting, until
1 get through the work, that so much talent,
and learning, and time, have been expended
upon one of the very worst characters in all
history. Mr. Prescott is writing, it is understood,
a history also of the conquest of Peru ; and 1
am curious lo know what sort of a character he
will make of Pizarro, who as much mciits
laudation as Cohtez ; though they both de
served, in truth, to be loaded with infamy in
this world, and to be sent far beyond purgatory
in the next. There can be but one opinion
about the " Conquest of Mexico" as regards '
the execution of the work and the good faith
of the author, but I am Sorry that he did not
dedicate his great powers to a subject worthier
of them, as I should say ; and thit he did not
leave to SpaiJards the task of vindicating the
detestable workers of iniquity of their own na
tion ; and this, in the case of Cortez, had been
already very plausibly and ably done by Solis
Cadalso, Mojo, and others.
^ We agree that the " veracious old chroni
cler" is an unexceptionable witness, as re
spects the conquest of Mexico and the conduct
of Cortez; and this premised, I do not hesi
tate to express the opinion, that at least four
readers out of five, who will peruse his narra
tive carefully and deliberately, without pre
possession or prejudice, will come to the con
clusion that his hero, whilst brave, skilful,
politic, and persevering, and even eloquent —
for Diaz says he could employ honeyed worfls
(palabras melosas) when he chose to do so —
was at the same time cruel, sanguinary
and lapacious. Diaz does not say so in
so many words, it is true ; nor did he intend
that inference to be drawn ; for Cortez was
his favorite hero as well as yours. But he was
honest, truthful, plain to bluntness, with a good
deal of naiveti about him, as Dr. Robertson
says, who expresses himself in his History of
America very favorably of him ; and he is, or
was, as good a judge of his claims to credibility
as Mr. Prescott is; but not a better, cer
tainly. Diaz calls his own work a "plain and
tru? history,' fclara y verdadera historia,) and
such it is admitted almost universally to be.
The slaughter of the Cholulans, you say to
yourself, is a stain on the character of Cortez;
and undoubtedly it is ; but I do not perceive
that it tarnishes his character any more than
any other of the countless slaughters that be
commanded and superintended; as at Capist-
lan, for idstance, where Mexican blood flowed

so profusely that it discolored the water of a
stream that was near, rendering it unfit to be
drunk. This I say, not upon the authority of
Diaz, but cf the historian Solis, who lelates
the fact in his " Conquest of Mexico. His
words are, " rivulets of Mexican blood flowed
for awhile so abundantly into the river, that
the Spaniards, who repaired to it to drink,
were obliged either to continue to sufler from
thirst, or to reconcile themselves to the horrid
refreshment." (Fue necesario aguardase la ted
h se compusiese con el horror del refrigerio.)
And SoLis was as great an admirer of Cortez
as you are ; for he was his favorite hero also,
and he labors hard to make him henpic through
out his work, which is well written, his style
being greatly superior to Diaz's, though not
so entertaining; but I do not believe him to
have been as veracious or as conscientious as
the old chronicler. He was a furious and un
compromising bigot, who regarded the cutting
of throats, and all atrocities, as meritorious
acts, if done for the advancement of the holy
Catholic faith. The words he uses in relating
the death of Montezuma, prove that he had
a heart of flint. "During the battle," be
says, "that lasted three days, he (Montezuma)
rendered to the Devil eternal possession of his
soul," (rindih al demonio la etema posesion de.
su espirilu.) He claims much for his hero.
but is modest enough to place bim, as regards
pbwer and merit, after the Almighty ; for " the
work," (the conquest) he says, " was not en
tirely his, for as it was the will of God that that
empire should be reduced, he availed'himself
of his talent, &c., (sirviendose de su ialento.)
The slaughter at Cholula you condemn,
though you acquit Cortez of " unnecessary
cruelty," which is a phrase not perfectly intel
ligible to me, though it may be to you, and to
many others. I am not casuist enough to be
able to distinguish between necessary and un
necessary cruelty, being rather of opinion that
cruelly can iiever be necessary. Harsh, stern,
and severe measures may be, but if dictated by
inevitable and overpowering necessity, they
can scarcely be called cruel, it appears to me.
But what do you say to Corte z's branding the
prisoners he made (being first made slaves)
with a hot iron, precisely as cattle are branded ;
thus superadding to the greatest wrong that
can be inflicted, the greatest insult that can he
offered to a human creature — burning into
his flesh an ignominious and indelible token
of his degradation aud ruin ! Was this cruelty,
and was it necessary ? And upon whose au
thority do I relate this? You know well
enough, without doubt ; but it will surprise
some probably lo learn, that it is the veracrous
old chronicler himself who vouches for such
an unparalleled barbarity, or to be paralleled
only perhaps by the atrocities perpetrated on
board slave ships, and which have been so
eloquently and indignantly denounced by
Burke, Wilbebforce, Fox, Brougham,
and others.
These massacres and this branding are had
enough, but they are not all the stains that dis
color and deform your favorite hero, and which
I feel assured, and am hap^y so to feel, not all
the eloquent historians and eloquent diploma-

43

tists who have come so chivalrously t* the
rescue, will be able, in the opinion of a just
aud impartial posterity, to remove. And the
time will come, if mankind do not retrograde,
that this beau ideal of a hero, as he is now rep
resented ta he, and who is placed upon the
same eminence with great and good men, will
finally find his level in history among the
Neros and Caligulas of antiquity, and the
Viscontis, and Muley Ishmaels, and Pi-
zARROS of more modern times.
I will now call your attention to an act of
necessary cruelty, as you seem to regard it,
which casts a shade'over the chiiracter of Cor
tez of yet deeper darkness than his slaughters
and brandings — the murder — the execution, as
you call it, of his prisoner Guatemosin, the
Mexican monarch, who you say had formed a
plan for the massacre of the Spaniards. This
plan you assume as undeniable, and pronounce
. it to be absurd to impute to Cobtez any otber
motives for the act, he being a hero at all
points 1 You argue at some length to prove
this, but cite no authority. I will cite one,
though, to establish the murder — one, unim
peachable in your eyes and in my own; pro
nounced by you to be most reliable authority ;
no less a man than the old chronicler himself,
who, upon this point is most explicit, and be-
tcays feelings that do him honor, such as cer
tainly never influenced the actions or softened
the heart of the hero. The truth of this dark
transaction is plainly as follows: Guatemo
sin bad become an incumbrance to Cortez.
No more treasures could be extorted or dis
covered by flireate, imprisonment, ill treatment,
or tortures. To set him at liberty might be
dangerous; it would have been, no doubt.
What, then, was to be done ? To this question
the same answer suggested itself, that has ever
suggested itself to every unscrupulous tyrant
who has been placed in the same circum
stances — put him out of the way. But a pre
text was necessary. That was soon found— a
conspiracy of an inconsiderable number of
naked, miserable, starving, uiMrmed, and ex
hausted Indian slaves, against the lives of the
Spaniards, armed to the teeth, and one of
whom, as previous combals had proven, was
more than a match for two hundred, when free
and armed, and iu martial array, and fighting
for their country, their homes, theu liberties,
their wives and children, and all that is dear to
man, savage or civilized. Never, in my opin
ion, was the allegation of a conspiracy more
utterly groundless and absurd, if I may borrow
your own work. You must know — no man
knows better — that this charge of conspiracy is
an old device, and one long since discredited.
Availing herself of this pretext, Queen Eli
zabeth murdered Queen Mary, with some
Judicial forms, it is true, such as they were,
because she could not prevail upon an honest
man. Sir Amias Pawlet, to take her ofl' pri
vately. Guatemosin was disposed of with
out any forms that deserved even the name ;
and ta add to the "deep damnation ofhis taking
off," he was made to die a death of all others
the most disgraceful, and which the Spaniards
-do not, I believe, inflict upon the worst male
factors — he was bung, and with him the Ca
cique of Tacuba, charged also with conspi-
lacy— (some say two caciques were executed.]

Diaz says on this occasion : " I much pitied
the great Guatemuz," [Guatemosin.]
"They" [G. and the Cacique of Tacuba]
" were most unjustly put to death, and the act
was condemned by all of us that were on that
expedition." [7\fve gran lastima del gran
Guatemuz yfu^ esta muerte que les dieron muy
injustamente dada y parecia mat a todoa losque
ibamos aquella jornada.'\ Not only did Diaz
condemn the murder, but it was condemned
by all the soldiers ; men to whom blood and
slaughter were famiUar, wbo regarded but little
the life of an Indian, certainly; yet even these
men, callous as tbey may be supposed to have
been, were touched by the cruel fate of the
fallen monarch, disapproved the putting of him
to death, and pionounced it to be unjust. One
only approved, and he ctught to have been the
last to approve. You say, though, that 6n that
occasion Cortez, whilst imbruing his hands
in the blood of his prisoner, couU have " had
for him no other feeling than that of sympathy
and admiration." I do not know what au
thority you have for this opinioni on assertion,
whichever it is ; but if DiazIs good authority,
1 do not think that there is any ground for be
lieving that it was felt; and, if att'ected, it was
just that kind of sympathy that Elizabeth
affected to feel for Mary after she had beeni
executed, and which only prmved thai her per
secutor and destroyer was a profpund hypo
crite, as w*ll as an unfeeling tyrant.*
Thus perished Guatemosin, dying" the
death of a felon, by the command of him by
whom he had been first ro&bed! of country,
kingdom, liberty, friends, happiness, and of"
every thing that force can filch from weak
ness; thus he perished, whom you pronounced
to have been " the greatest of Indian heroes. a>
being of romance rather than history.," You
have read his speech to Cortez, when about
to be led to execution. It is a memorable one,
well worth reading, and well worth remember
ing. " Malinchk," CCortez,J he said, "I
have long perceived, from your false words,
that you had destined me for such a death, he-
cause I did not lay violent hands upon myself
when you entered' the city of Mexico. Why
are you going thus to put me unjustly lo death.^
God, one time, will ask this of you." Yes I
unless the Christian religion is only an impos
ture, future accountability a fallacy, and the
justice of Heaven an illusion, this question
will one day be asked beyond all doubt. When
it is, you and I will be present ; and, for my
self, such is my bad taste, or my undevoutness,.
that I would far rather he, on that tremendous
occasion, the murdered heathen than the "de
vout Christian," his destroyer. Heathen, I
call Guatemosin, although he had been bap
tized. Such a baptism is a desecration of that
holy ordinance.
Ofthe execution of GuATEMosiN,,Dr. Rob,-

* 1 am not defending Queen Mary, whose
character and coAduct cannot stand the test,
in my opinion, of a severe and impartial scru
tiny. But her long imprisonment an/i suffer
ings terminated by the axe of the execnlioocr
through the procurement of her persecutor and
oppressor, have enlisted the, sympathy of man
kind in her favor, more or less, which may he
right, for if she sinned much, she suifered much.

ERT90N says: "On a slight suspicion, con
firmed by very imperfect evidence, that Guat
emosin had formed a scheme to shake off the
yoke, and to excite his former subjects to take
arms, Cortez, without the formality of a trial,*
ordered the unhappy monarch, together with
the caciques of Tezcuco and Tacuba, the two
persons of greatest eminence in the Empire, to
be hanged.
Of the same tragedy, Mr. Prescott says :
"The most probable explanation of the atfair
Seems to be, that Guatemosin was a trouble
some, and indeed formidable captive."
Here, then, we have the opinion of two cele
brated historians, one our cotemporary, and
the other almost so, whose opinions are clearly
against the hypothesis of Guatemosin's con
spiracy. And neither of these historians is
unfavorable to Cortez. One of them [Mr.
Prescott] is, on the contrary, his apologist
and eulogist, as the following brief quotations
from his Conquest of Mexico abundantly
show : " Cortez was not cruel, at least not
cruel as compared with most of those who fol
lowed his iron trade ; not wantonly cruel. He
was not a vulgar conqueror. He did not con
quer for the meie ambition of conquest." The
bigotry of Cortez should be termed only a
falling." Bigotry only a failing ! Then Charles the
Ninth, Louis'the Fourteenth and Queen Mary,
of England, who persecuted, massacred and
roasted their Protestant subjects, and the Whole
hell-brood of inquisitors, who have murdered
their thousands ahd tens and hundreds of thou
sands, can be charged only with 3. failing ; for
bigotry was the cause of all these atrocities.
Alas I forthe morality of history I when ^uch
a writer as Mr. Prescott can soften down to
a mere failing such a fatal and infernal obli
quity, from all that is good, and merciful, and
just, as bigotry, that has produced as much
mischief and misery as almost any other of the
fierce and demoniac passions, and that has oc
casioned the shedding of blood enough the
" multitudinous sSa. to incarnadine." If big
otry is only a failing, it would be difficult, in
my judgment, to say what would be a crime.
Mr. Hallam has said, {Middle Ages,) what is
but too true, I fear, that "Historians have, in
general, more indulgence for splendid crimes
than for the weakness of virtue." Cortez
was a splendid criminal, and therefore he has
been almost deified by them.
When you place Cortez at an f immeas
ura-ble height" above Napoleon and all coo
querofs, because he was a " most sincere and
devout Christian," I at first thought I had read
the passage Wrong ; but, finding that it stands
plainly as I quote, my next thought was,
whether it might not be ironical; that.cannot
be, however, and it is clear that you mean pre
cisely what you say. This, certainly, is as
cribing to your favorite hero a crowniag per
fection; but never, in my opinion, was the
word " Christian" applied with less propriety,
taking the Scripture definition of religion to
be the true one — " lo do justice, to love mercy,

* GoMARA and Tokqueiiada say there
was a trial ; what a mockery it must have been!

and to walk humbly ;" "to forgive our ene
mies, and to do unto others what we would
that [hey should do unto us." Which of these
commands did Cortez fulfil '¦ Certainly not
one, if there is any truth in history ; nor can 1
be persuaded that there is one single Christian
virtue that he practised. He was just such a
Christian as Pizarro, whose conduct in Peru
was ahout like his own in Mexico. He was
a fierce and bloody bigot ; a sort of believer,
who attended mass and murdered the poor
Mexicans by thousands on the same day. Can
that farrago of fanaticism, cruelty, and intol
erance, professed and practised by Cortez and
his followers, be called the Christian religion?
The term that Tacitus ignorantly applied to
Christianity at Pagan Rome, nearly 1,800 years
ago — exitiabilis superstitio — a pernicious super
stition — might well be applied to the faith
transplanted from Spain to Mexico by such
missionaries as Cortez and his followers ; and
very different were the weapons with w'hich
they propagated it from those employed by
Christ and his Apostles. These were not per
suasion, argument, and the example of a'
blameless life; but fire, the sword,, the halter,
and the rack. Cortez a sincere and devout
Christian ! " Angels and ministers of grace
defend us !"*
I am not among the admirers of Napoleon.
He was a tiaitor to the cause of human liberty,
and what Mr. Jefferson, who but seldom
erred in his opinion of men,.called him — " the
apostle of desolation." But, bold, bad, and un
scrupulous as he might have been, I cannot
admit that the Christian piety of CoRTEr
placed him at any height above him, mea
surable or "immeasurable." Most certain it
is that Napoleon had no religion at all, al
though he died in conynunion with the
Roman Catholic church. He was inditf'erent
lo all religions, and would just as readily have
made the Jewish, or Mahomedan, or Mormon',
(had it then existed,) the religion of the State
as the Christian, would it have answered his
purpose as well. But he persecuted no re
ligion; tolerated all, protected all ; the blood
that he was the cause of shedding was shed
by bis ambition, not by his bigotry. In prac-^
tice he was a better Christian than CortEz ;
and, as to faith and creeds, I think it getting
rather late in the day to suppose that he that
practises no virtue, whose life is one continu
ous career of murder, rapine and robbery, can
atone for his mis-deeds by holding fast tp a
creed. This might pass 320 years ago, but will
not in the year 1846. I will again call the old
chronicler into court.
Bernal Diaz, not inferentially and by in
nuendo, but pretty plainly, establishes on Cor
tez the fact, that he swindled his companions
in arms out of their just share of the booty,
after the capture ofthe city of Mexico, saying
that theyedid not receive from him more than
* It may not be amiss to observe, that what
is said in the text respecting the Roman Cath
olic religion, is intended to apply to it onlyin
the shape in which it was introduced into
South America by the conquerors — Cohtez
Pizarro, Quesada, cum multis allis.

47

a fifth or sixth of what was dite Ihem; even
after deducting one-fifth of the whole for the
King, and another filth for himself. There is
a hero for you ! Why no bucanier chief would
have been guilty of such basen'ess and ingrati
tude as this j for among the bucaniers the
maxim, " honor among thieves,'' was held sa
cred. I say ingratitude, because if ever a com
mander owed a debt of gratitude to his soldiers,
it was Cortez- For him they had braved all
perils, and committed almost every crime ; had
become rebels to their sovereign, and imbrued
their hands in the blood of their fellow-coun
trymen, (the troopsof NArvaez ;) had poured
out their own blood like water ; had endured
all privations and suffered all that human na
ture could suffer ; and when, at last, reduced
toless, I believe, than one-third of their origi
nal number, they had accomplished the crown
ing work of the enterprise — the capture of the
city— they are defrauded, cheated, swindled
out of their share of their hard-earned, though
ill-gottert spoilsj by their own commander,
that "sincere and devout Christian," lor whom
they had won so much glory and so much
gold— for the fifth, to which he was entitled,
was more than a princely fortune- Now, if
the annals of human meanness and human
baseness can furnish any thing meaner and
baser than this, I know not where it is to be
found. to show that I do not stand alone in the
opinion I have farmed of Cortez, I will quote
Lord Brougham, than whom there is not
perhaps an abler or more sagacious man ; a
ii-ienc(, too, of human liberty ; an admirer of
our institutions, and the eulogist of Washing
ton and JeffEkSon. In a biographical no
tice of Dr. RoRERtsoN, vyritten by him, he
speaks ofthe "measures" of Cortez "as
bold and masterly, but cruel and profligate ;" a
just sentence, and coming from a most compe
tent judge.
Atpresent I have nothing more to say, with
reference to the character or conduct of Cor
tez, but will submit a brief vindication of " our
own Pocahontas," whom you have, roost
inistakingly,! think, represented as being in
ferior to that " miracle of a woman, Marina,"
the Indian interpreter of Cortez. In this
opinion I differ with you ioto ccslo — the whole
length and breadth of the heavens. Was
Pocahontas not "our own," still I should
regard her as a much nobler character than the
other, for she was her superior in all womanly
virtues. Marina was as good a Christian as
Cortez, but not so good a one as Pocahon
tas. She was dexterous, courageous, talent
ed, and devoted to the Spaniards. Her liason
with Cortez, without the sanction of a nuptial
benediction, may be in some degree excused,
perhaps, on account of her unprotected situa
tion, and the all-infecting, all-polluting liceu
tiousness of the invaders. But what great
qualities she possessed that " throw the other
into the shade," 1 know not. If birth were
any thing, Pocahontas has the advantage,
for she was a princess. Marina was not,
though of noble blood; so says Diaz, who
does not give a very satisfactory account, how
ever, of her family and origin. There is not
to be, found in all liistory, a more interesting

feiiiale character than PocahontAs. She was
gentle, affectionate, and goodheaited; she ex
erted herself to maintain peace between the
English and, her father. Her eflbrts were al
ways on the side ot humanity, and to prevent
the effusion' of blood — Marina's on the side of
the op.t*ressor, ravager and desolator of her
countryi Pocahontas betjame n Christian
more than nominallyi married 4 respectable
Englishman, and her blood yet ilows in the
veins of persons of the first reSpet;tability in
Virginia. Of that bloodj one might be proud;
not because she was a princess, but because
she was a woman of a noble soUl, and an or
nament to her sex. She was " our own," too,
which is something in my estimation. I think
her superior than Marina, throwing her en
tirely into the shade ; and I think Captain John
Smith, whose life she saved, a much more per
fect hero and man than Cortez ; for he pos
sessed all the good qualities of the Spaniard,
and none of the bad that so abounded in him.
He was as enterprising, as chlvalric, and as
brave ; and, as a man and a Christian, stands
imroeasurably higher ; but his career not being
emblazoned with blood and devastation-^as he
conquered no kingdoms, and sacked and de
stroyed no cities, exterminated no communi
ties, dethroned no monarch, and murdered
none, the historians notice him but briefly; for
history, whose delight seems to be to record
wicked actions, if they are but brilliant, and
to exalt the Cutthroat and robber into the
hero;, if but successful, takes not much plea
sure in recording actions, however useful and
meritorious they may be, unless connected with
a great naffln ; and if great, no matter how
bad'. Thus, even in the United States, the
history of Cortez is much better known than
that of Captain SMiTrt.
Passing over 320 years, 1 will now say some-
thing about another worthy, who has figured
largely on the same theatre, on which Cortez
" played such fantasitic tricks before high hea
ven." This is Santa Anna. I do not recol
lect that you call him your " favorite hero," or
a hero of any kind ; but you express a pretty
favorable opinion of him upiJn the whole,
much mare so than he deserves in my opin
ion ; for, in my judgment, he is not much bet
ter in any respect than Cortez, and at an im
measurable distance behind him in courage and
capacity, notwithstanding his " finely formed
head and face," "indicative of talent, firmness
and benevolence," according to " a distinguish
ed American statesman," — high authority about
a political or financial question without doubt ;
but no better than yours or mine, or any other
persons's, respecting Santa Anna,s head and
face, unless he is a physiognomist and phreno
logist, and that does not appear ; or, if he is, as
1 have no faith in either of those humbugs —
physiognomy and phrenology — I should still
be a little skeptical.
You consider Santa Anna to be a patriot,
and wish to see him at the head of the govern
ment, though you say that he is avaricious, and
admit that he is ' addicted to peculation and
bribery, if you may believe "half" that you have
heard. You may safely believe that half, and
the other half too. It is but little consequence
who is at the head of tbe Mexican government

to

under the present system. It must be either a
military despot, or the tool of i military fac
tion ; and Santa Anna, bad as he is, may be
perhaps not much worse than the man who
would be, if he were not. PareiIes Is, per
haps, one among the best of the military
men of Mexico. That he (SantA Anna)
is a patriot, though, I cannot believe even
upon your authority, which 1 grant to be
high. I do not understand how any man can
be a patriot wbo is the plucderer df his coun
try ; and that he is, you do not deny. No pec
ulator, no receiver of bribes, can be devoted to
the public weal. At least such Was the old-
. fashioned doctrine among us in other days.
Whether it can be said tempora lAvtantUr or
not, I do not prelehd to decide. I hop6 it Can
not be. ¦ God forbid it ever should.
This patriot, among bther accomplishments,
possesses that of being, an adept ih (risum
ttneatis ?>) the noble and glorioUs science of—
cock-fighting I tt is the first time I recollect
ever to have seen greatness, patriotism and
cock-fighting in juxtaposition. We have heard
a good deal of Julius CjESar, Washington.
NAPOLfeoif and of other heroes, but nothing of
their cock fighting ; and, in my humble judg
ment, thei'e never was a great man who was
an habitual cock-fighter; for the very plain
reason, that a great mind Could not ilet itself
down, habitually, to such a pitiful and paltry
amusements But of thii'^jam satis.
San*A Anna told you that •' General Jack
son was saitisfied with his explanations of the
massacre 4t the Alamo, and of Fanning's
command j" and I grieVe to think myself au
thorized by your silence, in dr'awing the infer
ence that you, too, were, in some degree, satis
fied, as far as regards his (Santa Anna's)
own justification. I am not, nor can I persuade
myself that General Jackson was, until it
comes from higher authority than the culprit
himself. If there is any higher I have not
heard of it, and if the old " Old Roman '' ever
%xpressed any satisfaction, it was, Without
doubt, qualified wilh an if — if all that the' per
petrator of the enormity said in his exculpa
tion Was true. Was it true ? Do you believe
it ? Tou do not say in your " Recollectiohs,"
and I am sorry that you do not;- for upon that
point, above all others, you ought to have ex
pressed an opinion, it seems to me. You call
it an " unmitigated mUrder,'' it is true, but do
not fix the murder on Santa Anna quite
clearly enough. You say that " the massacre
of Fanning^s men is not without illustrious
examples," to wit, the slaughter of the Turks
at Jaffa, by Bonaparte, and of our country
men by the British Indians at the river Raisin,
The slaughter of the Turks was what you
would call an "unnecessary cruelty," and
wholly without defence ; but I think it pretty
certain that there was no capitulation, stipula
ting that their lives .should be saved. The want
cf this, thoughl couldnot justify the wholesale
slaughter of them.* The massacre at the riv er

* Of the massacre at Jafia, General Jomini
than whom theie is not a more competent judge,
says, ia his great work, The Wars of the
French Revolution, "that it tarnished the
greatest reputation (Napoleow,s) of mod-

Raisin was fully as atrocious as that of Fan
ning's detachment.
It may be, that according to the laws ol war,
which, respecting such cases as the storming
of the fort at Alamo, are extremely rigorous,
that massacre may be susceptible of some pal
liation, and but little either. In the case of
Fanning, though the slaughter was what you
pronounce it to be, "unmitigated murder,
and Santa Anna the murderer, for he doeS"
not deny the capitulation, but alleges necessity
as a justification for the slaughter; that the
prisoners were near five hundred in number,
and had secret arms, Whilst the Mexican guard
was but three hundred strong. Can you believe
this? Is it credible? Never, in my opinion,
did shuffling villany attempt to escape by a
foulSr falsehood. Would five hundred Ameri
cans, with arms, or without them, suffer them
selves to be butchered in cold blood by three
hundred Mexicans ; and they, loo, the timid,
miserable creatures you rep;>esent them to be ?
Impossible I Had these been the relative num
bers, a very diiferent account of that affair
would have been rendered, be assured. The
Americans would have taken their muskets
fi'om them, ahd beaten their brains out with the
butt ends.
Santa AnnA) I admit, is not without some
merit — he might be worse than he is, and yoii
were very successful in prevailing upon him
to spare the lives of your captive countrymen
in his power. With respect to that matter he
behaved, upon the whole, very well, though I
cannot help thinking that you owed your suc
cess as much to his fears as to his good feelings ;
he preferred your friendship lo your hostility.
The former might be of service lo him, as your
work (the Recollections) shows it to have
been ; the latter might have been injurious, as
no doubt it would ; and as putting the prisoners

ern times;" and that from the moment the
Turks " werf permitted to surrender their arms,
no consideration of prudence could deprive
them of the rights they had acquired by the
capitulation I !" And JomiNI does not use the
word capitulation in the sense in which we un
derstand il generally—^ stipulation in favor of
life, _as there was In the case of Fanning's
detachment. He means, that the simple fact
of consenting to receive the arms of an enmy,
implies an understanding that his personal
safety is guarantied. At Jafia there was no
capitulation but this ; with Fai^ning's there
was an express stipulation, that the lives ofthe
prisoners should be safe. And if Jomini, so
unhesitatingly condemns the " great captain "
for his barbarity al Jafla, what would he have
said of Santa Anna's massacre, so much mo'e
atrocious in its character? The following are
JoMiNi's words:
Cet acte d'une feroce barbarie porta atteinte
a la plus belle reputation des temps modernes.
En vain on a voulu couvrlr ce massacre de la
imperieuse loi de la necessite ; les persotines
de piisonniers sont sacres ; elles sont sous la
sauvegarde de I'honneur ; des qu'on avail con-
senti ^ recevoir les armes de ces ennemis, au-
cune consideration de prudence ne pouvait les
priver des droits qu'ils 's'etaient acquis par la
capitulation..

49

to death could have been of no possible benefit'
to him, he wisely resolved to be governed by
his interest, which was to be merciful, rather
than by his instinct, which led him to shed
blood. I am willing to admit, though, that he
may not be so atrociously cruel and hard
hearted, but that he may be capable of doing a
just and generous action when he is to gain by
it, or even when it may be a matter of perfect
indifference to him.
Here I should close my remarks, having
nothing more to say about Cortez or Santa
Anna; but there are a few other passages in
your " Recollections" that particularly attract
ed my attention. A word about them.
General Miller, the British consul general
for the Sandwich Islands, said to you that he
was " surprised that any standing army should
be kept up in the United Slates." To this, your
reply was, that you " thought so, loo ; and that
it was somewhat remarkable, that the most
creditable achievements of American arms
had been in battles where the larger part of
the troops engaged were militia.
I am not at all surprised that an Englishman
should express an opinion that we need no stand
ing army ; but, aln, somewhat, Ihalan American
statesman and diplomatist should concur in
that opinion. It would suit the English ex
tremely well, if we would abolish both army
and navy, for Great Britain has, some time
since, most benevolently manifested a willing
ness to act as constable-general of the ocean—
as General Cas^ says, in his very able essay
on Impressment and Search — adopting and en
forcing such police regulations as might best
suit her ; and, doubtless, influenced by that
maternal and affectionate kindness she has ever
felt for us, would be equally willing to take
charge, also, of our interests ashore, as well
as of those afloat. A wolf once persuaded a
shepherd to let him take .charge of his flock,
protesting a great affection for that gentle and
defenceless animal, the sheep ; and he told the
truth, for he was very partial lo mutton. I
need not say what followed.
I will do myself the justice to say, ere 770s-
sant, however, that 1 indulge no rancorous
anti-Anglican feeling. England is a great
country— at present, the grandenation ; but we
will get ahead of her in less than fifty years.
The English are a great people, and we ought to
be proud of being descended from such a stock.
With any other people for our ancestors, we
would not have been what we now are ; and
never could be, in my opinion, what our desti
ny has in reserve for us.
It is not going a little too far to say, that the
most creditable achievements of our arms have
been in battles where the militia were the most
numerous ? That* they have behaved admira
bly on many occasions, have fought courage
ously and heroically, I take both pleasure and
pride in saying; hut, at the same lime, I
think" it cannot be questioned that some of the
most creditable achievements, for instance, the
bloody and severely-contested battles injCana-
da, in 1814, have taken place in the entire ab
sence of any militia force. Those battles were
the most severely contested, I believe, of any
that have been fought in this part of the conti
nent. There, truly, was " the tug of war."
7 .

Our soldiers met and conquered, man for man,
or with inferior numbers, the best troops to be
found in Europe, probably — the conquerors of
Napoleon's veterans. No militia could have
done that, and you have given the reason, the
unanswerable reason, in your own book — the
want of discipline. Without that, militia can
not meet regulars in the open field, and a fair
field fight " a regular pounding match," as the
Duke of Wellington called the battle of
Waterloo, is the decisive test of the. skill and
efliciency of troops. Elsewhere the militia
may be very formidable. This is clear, with
out going so far as to adopt the opinion that
you seem to have adopted, of suppoyng the
disciplined soldier to be five times as efficient
as the undisciplined. Whether this odds exists
or not, depends upon the kind of militia in
question. Between American regulars arid
Mexican militia there may be iftat diflerence ;
but certainly not that, or any, between Mexi
can regulars and American militia, unless il be
in favor of the latter.
Instead of having no regular army, we ought,
in my opinion, to have one of at least twenty
thousand rank and file ; and this, if not already
proven by our pijesent Mexican war, will be
proven by the time it is finished. If General
Taylor had had a force of fifteen or twenty
thousand regulars when he first marched to the
Rio Grande, he might now be in the city of
Mexico, had it been necessary to go that far
to "conquer a peace;" and the war would not
then have cost one-half of, what it will under
the militia system. Militia can well be relied
upon for defensive purposes, but are not equal
ly efficient for offensive war ; though with such
a commander as General Jackson, they wojild
be equal to any achievement almost.*
One objection with us to a large standing
army, as one of twenty thousand would be
* And they have recently performed won
ders at Monterey, under the command of Gene
ral Taylop — fighting and storming batteries
with the steadiness and resolution of veterans.
The foregoing note was written before the
battles of Buena Vista, Cerro Gordo, Churu-
busco and others, in which our armies in Mexi
co covered themselves with-glory. In those
severe engagements the volunteers fought he
roically — wilh the valoracd firmness of vete
rans, which discipline as well as their native
courage enabled them to do. But I am not
writing their panegyric : 1 am not equal tp the
task: Would that I were ! Then it would soon
be written.
Nevertheless, nothing that has been ai-hieved
or that could be achieved, can remove the ob
jections to relying on militia force for al! pur
poses, dispensing with a regular one : These
are great expensiveness and great consumption
of life. Were our commanders to be always
Scotts, Taylors and Butlers, though in
the camp and in the field, they would do all
that skill and courage and patriotism could do,
yet, they could not prevent the enormous ex
pense and the enormoiis mortality, ever and in
evitably attendant upon military operations car
ried on, on a large scale with a militia force
exclusively — serving for three, six and twelve
months.— May, 1848.

50

called, is the expense ; But this is a miscon
ception ; for, upon an average of twenty .years,
the regular system would be found to be the
cheapest; that is, it would cost less money,
saying nothing of its superior effectiveness.
Economy pleads, therefbi-e, fdr the regular
force, and so does humanity, for there wpuld
be a great saving of human life. There is
another objection to it, though, sometimes
made, which 1 will notice; it is, that standing
armies are dangerous to the liberties of a coun
try. This, to my mind, is but a phantom in the
United States. That we should have any
thing to apprehend from an army of twenty
thousand seems to me ridiculonS, or from an
hundred -thousand. Who could corrupt that
army, if we had it, and prevail upon it to de
clare against the country ? General Jackson
exercised as much influence over the public
mind as any other man ever has — as much as
General Washington— and the time never
was, in my opinion, that he could have engaged
one' hundred men to unite with him in a war
upon our liberties, had it been possible for that
noble patriot to make shch an attempt; nor
could General Washington, or any other
general, past, present, or to comej provided we
maintain our present institutions unimpaired;
for the plain reason that ours is, what Is called —
a government of the people, in which the
humblest citizen knows and feels that be has
an interest, and of which he is a Constituent.
You say, " I want no more territory, for we
have already too much. If I were to make
an exception to this remark, it would be to ac
quire California.
In this sentiment we do not agree exactly.
1 do not think we have too mtich territory,
though with California we should haive enough.
That 1 hope will be' acquired, either by pur
chase in peace, or by conquest in war, if the
war must continue. It is of no use to Mexico ;
never will be ; never can be. It is too remote
from tbe centre, for a country where the fede
ral principle can never be practised or under
stood probably ; and as the population Will
soon be mostly American, it must, in the
cCurse of human events, separate from Mexi
co, "and it will form either an independent
state, will join the United Slates, or will fall
into the hands of Great Britain.
I cannot subscribe to the opinion you eX:-
press When you say, ," I know no great people
who have not been crowded into asmall space —
the Egyptians, the Romans, the Greeks, the
Jews and the English."
This has somewhat the appearance of a post
hoc, ergo propter hoc argument — that the people
you name have been great, because their terri
tories were small — a strange conclusion to ar
rive at, I think, and one not authorized by,
facts. The people you name were great, be
cause the elements of greatness were inherent
in their races, and because their geopraphical
position, and other circumstances were favor
able to their development. The Jews, how
ever, ought to be excepted, their government
being a theocracy ; God himself directing and
superintendiiig tneir national affairs ; whereas,
judging from the manner in which the govern
ments if the Old World, and in many parts of
ihc New, ,are conducted generally, we might

suppose them to be under the guidance of a
very diff'erent kind of a .ruler. For the Jews
you might substitute the Carthagenians— a
great people crowded into a small space. But
I cannot addpt your fhebty ; there are so many
small states that afe not great, ahd sO many
large ones that are, that ydof rule cannot Be re
ceived, either as a universal or as a general
one, or as a rule at all. Rome was great before
she was large, and great afterwards. China
w-is both large and great before RoMULtis and
RiMUS sucked the wolf at Romfe, [if Suck
her they did,! then a forest ; and will be, prob
ably, when the site even of the " eternal city"
will be a matter of dispute ambng antiquaries.
" Time doubts of Troy; and time will doubt
Rome."
Then there is Russia, With her sixty millions
of inhabitants and colossal power, greater and
more powerful than ever Rome was. The Ro
man Empire, all the provinces and triljutaries
included. Was twice as populous, perhaps, at
one period, as Russia now is, but the real and
effective strength of the latter is greater than
thatof Romeinherbestdays. The proof of this
is, that were there no more formidable barriers
presented to the ambition of Russia, than there
were to that of liome, all Europe would be at her
mercy in less than twelve months- And France^
in the time of Napoleon; , when her territory, in-
qluding Italy, &c., comprised nearly half a mil
lion of square miles — was she not great ? Is she
not yets And still she is not, by any means,
a small state in point of size. England is
great, but without doubt she owes a portion of
her greatness to her foreign possessions. India
lost, she would soon be reduced to' a second
rate power. And ourselves, the " model re
public,^' have we not some pretensions tor
greatness ? Which surely we could not have,
if national deterioration were a consequence of
great territorial extent, or of territocial ac
quisition. In some respects, we are un-
challengeably in advance of all the world
— as regards form of government,- civil in
stitutions, freedom of conscience, &c., &e.
To the exaniple of the United States, Eu
rope is indebted for a somewhat humanized
criminal code, and for ameliorated institutions-
in general; and, above all* the United States
took the first step towards abolishing the slave-
trade, " the biggest outrage ever practised on
our nature," as Dr. Chalmers truly says,'
and which, to the shame of civilization and of
humanity, yet flourishes. And it would be well
if thedeclaimers and philanthropists at Exeter
Hall, ("London) andour own ultra abolitionists
would direct their ire and their efforts against
this ^outrage,' instead of meddling with the sla-
•very in the United States, a matter nowise wihin
their jurisdiction and cognizances-one in which
they have no interest, over which they have no
control, and for which they are in no manner
responsible. By their intermeddling, they may
do much mischief, but will most assuredly
never achieve any good.
If we cannot be a great people without
being "crowded into a small space," the
acquisition of California, which you and I
are in favor of, would be a great oversight, for
it is of itself an extensive country. But I

51

have no fears, either of its preventing or of its
impairing our greatness.
If small States were great because they are
small, what a wonderful people the! good citi
zens of San Marino ought to be I that vast re
public in Italy, that has twenty-two square
miles of territory and eight thousand inhabi
tants! Or some of the German principalities,
too diminutive to find a place on the map, and
whose contingent to the military force of the
Confederation would be three quarters of a
man or such a matter.
I am now going to close this long letter. So
far J have differed with you generally ; but I
have a word to say, to show you that, although
I have been wielding the pen of a critic, in my
heart there is nothing towards you but respect
and good will. I have to say, then, that for the
manner in which you discharged yeur duties

when minister to Mexico, and for your kind
and hospitable canduct towards your fellow-
countrymen and the Texans— not then your
countrymen — whom you found prisoners, and
in distress and danger, you are entitled, in my
opinion, to great credit. But for your humane
and resolute interference in their behalf, many
of them would have been put to death without
doubt. You saved them. You give the credit
to Santa Anna ; 1 give it to you, to whom it
is due. You say, " 1 have no words to express the
scorn that I feel for one, who, in a foreign
country, or in his intercourse wilh one, could
for a moment remember our party dissentibns."
This is spoken like an American, and like a
patriot. The sentiment is a noble and a gen
erous one ; and I would say to every citizen,
and to every public sgent a'aroad— Go thou an^
do likewise, P.

APPENDIX

Extracts from Captain John Smith's General
History of Virginia, New England, and tbe
Summer Isles, ^c.
Having feasted him [Captain Smith] after
their best baibarous manner they could, a long
consultation was held, bfit the concluiiion was,
two great stones were brought before I'owha-
tan ; then as many as could lay hands on him,
dragged him to them and thereon laid his head,
and being ready with their clubs to beale out
his brains, Pocahontas, the King's dearest
daughter, when no intreaty could prevail, got
his head in her arms and laid her own upon his
to save him from death. Whereat, the Em
peror was ' contented he should live lo make
him hatchets, and her bell.', beads, and copper;
for Ihey thought him as well of all occupations
as tnemselves. For the King himself will
make his own robes, shooes,' bows, a.-rows,
pots ; plant, hunt, or do any tbing as well as
the rest.
They say he (Smith) bore a pleasant shew,
But sure his heart was sad, .
For who can pleasant be, anH rest,
That lives in fear and dread ;
And having life suspected, doth
It still suspected lead.
* ii< iti * « * *
Now every once in foure or five days, Poca
hontas, wilh her attendants, brought him so
much provision, that saved many of their lives,
that els for all this had starved with hunger.
Thus from numbe death, our good God sent
reliel'e,
The sweet asswagerof all other griefe. ,
But to conclude our peace — thus it happen
ed. Captam Aegall having entered into
great acquaintance «itli .jArAZAWS, an old
friend of Captain Smith's, and so to ail our
nation, ever since bee di-eovered the countrie.
Hard by him; there was Pocahontas, whom
Captain Smith's relations intituleth the num-
parell (nonpareil) of Virginia; and though she
bad been many limes a preserver of him and
the whole colonic, yet, still this accident, [her
captivity,] she was never seen at Jamestown
since his departure, &c.
« * 4 * * # *
Long before this. Master John Rolfe, an
honest gentleman and of good behaviour, had
been in love with Pocahontas, and she wilh
him ; which .thing, at that instant, I made
Jinown to Sir Thomas Dale, by a letter from
him wherein hee intreated his advice, and ah«

acquainted her brotber with il, which resolu
tion. Sir Thomas Dale well approved. The
brute (report) of this marriage came soon to
the knowledge of Pohatan, a thing accepta
ble to him as appeared hy his sudden eon-
sent, &c. * * * * ^ *
«
Extract from Captain Smith's Memorial ta the
Queen of England on behalf of Pocahontus.
And this relief, [provisions,] most gracious
Queene, was, commonly brought us by ihis
lady, Pocahontas ; notwitbslanding all these
passages, when inconsistant fortune turned our
pease to warre, this tender Virgin would stilt
not spare to visit us, and by her our janes have
been ofl appeased and our wants still supplied ;
were it the policie cf her father thus to em
ploy her, or tne oidinance of God thus to make
her his instrument, or hex extraordinarie affec
tion to our nation, 1 know not; but of this I
am sure, when her father, with the utmost of
his policy and power, sought to surprise aee,
having but eighteen with mee, the darke night
could not affright her from comming through
the irksome woods, and with watered eies,
gave me intelligence, with her best advice, to
escape bis furie ; which had he knowne,
hee had surely slaine her. Jamestown, with
her wild traine, she has freely frequented as
her father's habitation ; and during the time
of two or three yeeres, she, next under God,
was still the instrument to preserve this cojp-
nie from death, famine and utter confusion ;
which if in those times had once been dis
solved, Virginia might have line [lain] as it
was at at our first arrival to this day, |ic. •
****** m
The first Christian ("Pocahontas.) ever of
that nation, the first Virginian ever spake En
glish or had a child in marriage by an English
man ; a matter, surely, il my meaning bee
truly considered and well understood, worthy a
Prince's understanding," &c, * * *
"Hhe Treasurer, Councell, and companie,
having well furnished Captaine S.amuel An-
GALL, the Lady Popahontas, alias Rerecca,
with her husband and others, 'in the good ship
called the George, it pleased God, at Grave
send, lo take this young lady to his mercie ;
where shee made (caused) not more sorrow for
her unexpected death, than joy to the behold
ers to heare and see her make so religious and
goodly an end. Her little child, Thojhas
Rolfe, therefore, was left at Plimouth with
Sir Lewis Siuckley, and desired the keeping
oi' it," "^

63

Extracts from Stith's History of Virginia.
"He [Captain A bgall] there found the
English boy, Henrv Spilman, preserved by
Pocahontas and those Indians from the fury
of Powhatan, He was a young gentleman
well descended," Sac.
" Whatwas the reason of her [Pooahontas]
absconding from Werowocomoco, cannot easily
be judged ; except it was to withdraw herself
from being a witness to the frequent butche
ries of the E^lglish, whose folly and rashness,
after Smith's departure, put it out of her
power to save Ihem." « . «
" In the mean while, Pocahontas, or the
Ladv Rebecca, as they now affected to call
her, was kindly received in England. She
was by this time well instructed in Christianity,
spoke good and intelligible English, and was
become very civil aud ceremonious after the
Enghsh fashion. She was likewise delivered
of a son, of whom she was extremely fond, and
the treasurer and company gave order for the
handsome maintenance of both her and her
child. Besides which her company was court.
ed, and she kindly treated by many persons of
highest rank and quality in the nation. There
hath heen indeed a constant tradition, that the
King became jealous and was highly offended
at Mr. Rolfe for marrying a Princess. That
anointed pedant [James the First] had so high
an idea of the jus divinum and indefeasible
right of Powhatan, that he held it. a great
crime and misdemeanor for any private gentle
man to mingle with his inferior hlood. And
be might perhaps likewise think, consistently
with his own principles, that the right of these
dominions would thereby be vested in Mr.
Rolfe's posterity."
He [the son of Pocahontas] left behind
him an only daughter, who was married to Col.
Robert Rolling, by whom she left an only
son, the late Major John Rolling, who was
father to the present Col. John Bolling and
several daughters, married to Col. Richard
Randolph, Col.' John Fleming, Dr. Wm.
Gav, Mr. Thomas Eldridge, and Mr. James
Murrav. So that the remnant of the impe
rial family of Virgihia, which long ran in a
single person, is now increased and branched
out into a very numerous progeny.','
Extracts frQm Sir WiUiam Keith's IJiatory of
Virginia,
" The Indians, with all the many sports they
could devise, spent the time till night, when
Ihey withdrew and returned to 'Powhatan,
who was making every tbing ready to surround
the house aud surprise Captain Smith while
he was at supper. But Providence once more
interfered in his favor, and sent that humane
creature, the Princess Pocahontas, who ven
tured herself iii a dark night, through the woods
to advertise the President, [Captain Smith,]
ithat her father was preparing to send him an
elegaat Siupper; but in case the people that
brought it should miscarry in executing the
orders they had received to kill him while he
was eatiiilgj then the E;ing, with all the forces
he could raise, was in readiness to attack him
and cut tbem all off."
"This incomparable lady, [Pocahontas,]
with R tender flood of tears, told ber story in

so moving a manner, still beseeching Captain
Smith to be gone, that the generous President
used all possible means to comfort her, and
offered her several valuable presents, which
she refused, saying she was a dead woman if
any thing could be found about her. So she
departed unobserved by any of her father's
people, and in an hour's lime came eight or ten
lusty tall Indians, loaded with platters full of
venison and other food. They were very im
portunate to see the President and his com
pany sil down to their supper, intreating at the
same time that he would order the matches lo
be put out, alleging that the smoke made them
sick; but instead of that,' the President obliged
each of them to taste of every dish that they
had brought ; and then ordered them back
to tell Powhatan that he was ready'for his
coming, with all the force he could bring."
Extract from Chief Justice Marshall's Life of
J Washington.
"They [the Indians] conducted him [Cap
tain Smith] in triumph through several towns
to the palace of Powhatan, the most potent
King in that part of the country. There he
was doomed to he put to death by laying his
head upon a stone and beating out his brains
with clubs. He was led to tho place of execu
tion, and his head bowed down for the purpose
of death, when Pocahontas, the King's dar
ling daughter, then about thirteen years of age,
whose entreaties for his life had been ineffec
tual, rushed between him and his executioner,
and holding his head in her arms, and laying
hers upon it, arrested the fatal blow.* Her
father was then prevailed upon to spare
his life, and after a great many savage cere
monies, he was sent back to Jamestown."
Extracts from Doctor Belknap's jlmerican
Biography.
''He [Powhatan] retired in the evening
and formed a design to surprise Smith and his
people at their supper ; and had it not been for
the affectionate friendship of Pocahontas, it
would probably have been effected. This
amiable girl, al the risk o f her life, stole from
the side of her father, and passing in the dark
through the woods, told Smith, with tears in
her eyes, of the plot, and then as privately
returned." « « « « •
" The fame of an Indian princess [Poca-
Hostas] excited great curiosity in London ;
and Smith had the address to'write a band-
some letter to the Queen, setting forth the
merits of his friend, and the eminent services
she had done him and the colony of Virginia.
She was introduced by the lady De la Warre;
the queen and royal family received her with
much complacency, and she proved herself
worthy of their notice and respect. At her
first interview with Smith she called him
father ; and because he did not immediately re
turn the salutation,, and call her'child, she was
so overcome with grief that she hid her face
and would not speak for some time; She was
ignorant of the ridiculous afiectation that
reigned in the court of James, which forbid
Smith assuming the title of father to the
daughter of a King; and when informed of it
she despised it, passionately declaring that she
loved bim as a father, aru] had treated him as

54

such in her own country, and would be his
child wherever she went. The same pedantic
affectation caused her hysband lo be looked
upon as an offender, for having; though a sub»
ject, invaded the mysterious right of royalty,
by marrying above his rank. This marriage,
however, proved beneficial lo the colony."
Extracts from Vie Rfv. Jared Spark's Ameri
can Biography. — Life of Capt. John Smith,
"Pocahontas, the King's daughter— at
that time a child of twelve or thirteen years of
age — finding that her piteous entreaties to
save the life of Smith were unavailing, rushed
forward, clasped his head in her arms, and laid
her own'upon it, determined eith'er lo save his
life or to share his fate. Her generous and he
roic conduct touched her father's iron heart,
and the life of the captain was spared, to be
employed in making hatchets for himself and
beads for his daughter.
"The account of this beautiful and most
touching scene, familiar as it is to every one,
can hardly be read wilh unmoisfened eyes.
The incident is sp dramatic and startling, that
it seems to prese/ve the freshness of novelty
amidst a thousahd repetitions. We could al
most as reasonably expect an angel to have
come down from heaven and rescued the cap
tive, as that his deliverer should have sprung
from the bosom of Powhatan's family. The
universal sympathies of mankind, and the best
feelings of the human heart, have redeemed
this scene from the obscurity which, in the
progress of time, gathers over all but the most
jmpol-tanl events. It has pointed a thousand
morals, and adorned a thousand tales. Innu
merable bosoms have throbbed, and are yet to
throb, with generous admiration for this daugh
ter of a people whom we have been too ready
to underrate.
Extracts f^om the History of the United States —
by George Bancroft. (Mr. Bancroft, late
Secretary of the NUvy, and noiO U. S. Minister
at London.)
" Smith had easily won the confiding fond
ness of the Indian maiden, [Pocahontas,]
and now the impulse of mercy awakened
within her breast ; she clung firmly to his
neck, as his head was bowed to receive the
strokes of the tomahawk. Did the childlike
superstition of her kind reverence her interfe
rence as a token from a superior power ? Her
fearlessness and her entreaties persuaded the
council to spare the agreeable stranger, who
might make hatchets for her father, and rattles
and strings of beads for- herself, the favorite
child. The barbarians, whose decision had
long been held in suspense by the mysterious
awe which Smith had inspired, now resolved
to receive him as a friend, and to make him a
partner of their councils. They tempted him
to join their bands, and lend assistance in an
attack upon Jamestown ; and when his deci
sion 'of character succeeded in changing the
current of their thoughts, they dismissed him
with mutual promises of friendship and benev
olence. Thus the captivity of Smith did it
self become a benefit to the colony ; for he
had not only observed with care the country
between the James and the Potomac, and had

gained some knowledge of the language and
manners of the natives, but he now established
a peaceful intercourse between the English
and the tribes of Powhatan; and with her
companions, the child who had rescued him
from death, afterwards came every few days to
the fort wjth Ijaskets of corn for the garrison.
"Returning to Jamestown, Smith found
the colony reduced lo forty men, and of these
the strongest were again preparing to escape
with the pinnace.' The third, attempt at de
sertion he repressed at the hazard of his life.
Thus passed the few first months of colonial
existence in discord and misery ; despair re
lieved, and ruin prevented, by the fortitude of
one. man, and the benevolence of an Indian
girl." ******* " A foraging party of the colonists, headed
by Argall, had stolen away the daughter of
Powhatan, and now demanded of her father a
ransom. 'The indignant chief prepared rather
for hostilities. But John Rolfe, a young
Englishman, winning the favor of Pocahon
tas, desired her in marriage ; and with the
favor of Sir Thomas Dale, and to the express
delight of the savage chieftain, the nuptials
were solemnized according to the rites of the
English church. Every historian of Virginia
commemorates them with approbation ; dis
tinguished men trace their descent from this
union ; the Indian wife, instructed in the Eng
lish language, and bearing an English name,
sailed wilh her husband for England. The
daughter of the wilderness possessed the mild
elements of female loveliness, half concealed,
as if in the bud, and rendered the more beauti
ful by the childlike simplicity with which her
education in the savannahs of the New World
had invested her. How could she fail to be
caresssed at court and admired in tbe city?
As a wife, and as a young mother, Her con
duct was exemplary. She had been able to
contrast the magnificence of European life
With the freedom of the western forests; and
now as she was preparing to return to America,
at the age of twenty-two, she fell a victim to
the English climate; saved, as if by the hand
of mercy, from beholding the extermination of
the tribes from which she sprung, leaving a
spotless name, and dwelling in memory under
the form of perpetual youth."
Extracts from Dr. Robertson's History of
America .
" Pocahontas, the favorite daughter of the
great Powhatan, to whose intercession Cap
tain Siuith was indebted for his life, perse
vered ih her partial attachment to the English ;
and as she frequently visited theif settlements,
where she was always received with respectful
hospitality, her admiration of their acts and
manners continued to increase. During, this
intercourse her beauty, which is represented
as far superior to that of her countrywomen,
made such an impression on the heart of Mr.
Rolfe, a young man of rank in the colony,
that he warmly solicited her to accept him as
a husband. Where manners are simple, court
ship is not tedious ; neither artifice prevents,
nor ceremony forbids, the heart from declaring
its sentiments. Pocahontas readily gave her

55

consent, Dale encouraged the alliance, and
Powhatan did not disapprove it," &c.
Extract from Graham's History of the United
States gf North America,
"The colony of Virginia had once been
saved in the person of ils own deliverer, Cap
tain Smith, by Pocahontas, tbe daughter
ofthe Indian king Powhatan.
******* " Here he (Argall) learned that Podahonias
was living in retirement at no great distance
Irom him, and'bojiing by possession of her per
son to obtain such an ascendant over Pow
hatan, as would insure an ample contribution
of provisions, he prevailed on her, by soroe ar
tifice, to come on boatd his vessel, and then
set sail with her to Jamestown, where she
was detained in a state of honorable captivity.
But Powhatan, more indignant at such treach-
<ry than overcome by his misfoi-tune, rejected
with scorn the demand of a ransom ; he even
refused to hold any communication wilh the
robbers who still kept his daughter a prisoner ;
declaring, nevertheless, that if she were re
stored to him he would forget the injury ; and,
feeling himself at liberty to regard the authors
of it as friends, would gratify all their wishes."
******* " During her residence in Ihe colony, Poca
hontas, who has been described as a woman
possessed of uncommon beauty, gained the
affections of a young man named Rolfe, a per.
son of rank and estimation among the planters,
who forthwith offered her his hand, and with
her approbation, and the warm encouragement
of the governor, solicited the consent of Pow
hatan to their marriage. This tlie old prince
readily bestowed, and sent some ofhis relations
to attend the ceremonial, which was performed
with extraordinary pomp, and laid the founda
tion of a sincere and firm friendship between
his tribe and the English."
Extract from Purchas. — His Pilgrimage.—
London, 1626. — Unusdeus una Veritas.
" Samuel Argall, in the yeere 1613, affirmed
likewise, that hee found the State of Virginia
farre better than was reported. In one voyage
they had gotten 1,100 bushels of corne. "They
found a slow kind of cattle, as big as kine,
(buffalo?) which were good meate; and a
medicinable sort of earth. They took Poko-
kantis, {Powhatan's dearest daughter) pri
soner, a matter of good consequence lo them,
of best to her, by this means being become a
Christian, and married to Master Rolph, an
English gentleman."
Extract from Histoire Generate de Voyages.^
Vol. 14, Paris, 1757.
En 1612, on vit arriver deux vaisseaux avec
^e nouvelles provisions. Argall qui en com-
mandoit un fut envoye a Polawmeck your y
former une liaison de commerce. II y trouva
une princesse Indienne nomme Pocahontas,
fille du chef de Powhatan, et I'ayant engagee
a passer sur so'n vaisseau sous pretexte de lui
rendre les honneurs dus a son rang, il I'amena
prisonniere a Jamestown, dans la vue de faire
servir ea delivrance a conclure une paix solide
avec son pere. Mais le fier Indien fut si vive-

ment piqu£ de cet outrage que malgre la len-
dresse du sang, on ne put lui faire accepter
d'autres conditions que le mariage de sa fille
avec un gentilhomme Anglais nomme Jean
Rolfe. Cette marque d'estime, qu'il jugea sin
cere, le fil consentir a se lier par un tr.aite."
[Translation.]
In 1612, two vessel^ arrived with a supply of
provisions. Argall, who commanded one' of
them, was sent to the Potomac for the purpose
of trading. There he found an Indian prin
cess named Pocahontas, daughter of the chief
Pow/mtan, and having prevailed upon her to
go on board of his vessel, under the pretext of
paying her the honors due to her rank, he car
ried her to Jamestown, hoping to secure, as
the price of her liberty, a lasting peace with
her father. But the Indian was so deeply
off'ended at this outragej that notwithstanding
the force of blood, he could not be prevailed
upon to accept any other conditions than the
marriage of his daughter wilh ah English gen
tleman named Jolin Rolfe. This mark of es
teem, which he supposed lobe sincere, induced
him to consent to bind himself by a treaty.
Extract from Histoire dt la Virginie, traduite
de I'Angloii. — Amsterdam, 1707.
Le Capitaine Jean Smith, qui etoit alors en
Angleterre, n'eut pas plutot apris I'arrivee de
Pocahontas a Portsmouth, qu'il n'o-jblia rien
pour marquer sa leconnoissance. II avoit ^te
condarnne parle pere de cette princesse a avoir
le tete cassee, et lors qu'il I'avoil sur le bloc elle
mit la sienne tout aupres, de sorte qu'on n'osa
frapper le coup. 11 devoit s'embarquer inces-
samment pour la Nouvelle Angleterre, et dans
la crainte qu'il ne manqua I'occasion de lui
tenioignersa gratitude avant qu'elle se rendit
a Londres, il presenta un placet a la Reine en
sa faveur. La Reine fil de grands honneuis
a Pocahontas sur ce que le Capitaine Smith
lui avoit represente." [Translation.]
Ciptain John Smith, who was then in Eng
land, as soon as he heard that Pocahontas had
arrived at Plymouth, left nothing undone to
show his gratitude. He had been condemned
by the father of this princess to have his brains
beat out, and when his head was on the block,
she placed hers near it so that the blow could
not be struck. He was about to sail for New
England, and fearing that he might lose the
occasion of testifying his gratitude towards
her before she would reach London, he pre
sented a petition to the Queen in her' favor.
The Queen, in consequence of Captain Smith's
representations, paid great honors to Poca-
honiaa.Extract frorA Warden's L'Art de verifier les
Dates  Vol. 9..
Pocahontas etant. debarquee a Plymouth le
12! Juin, fut traitee comme fille de prince,
sous le litre de Lady Rebecca, et presentee a
la cour de la reine Anne par Lady Delaware.
Bile y fut tres bian accueillie par suite d'une
lettre ou requete du Captain Smith, dans la-
quelle il expiimait toute la reconnoisance qu'il
portaSt a cette princesse pour avoir risqu^ sa

56

vie afin de le sauver. " Ni les tenebres de la
nuit, dit il, ni I'epaisseur des bois, ne I'em-
pecherent de me venir trouver et de me con-
seiller les larmes aux yeux de ne point me
livrer a la fureur de son pere, qu'il aurait
tuee s'il avail eu le moindre soupgon de sa de
marche." " Durant I'espece de deux ou trois ann^es,
ce fut elle qui apr^s Dieu garanlil cgtte colo
nic de la famine et d'une entiere desolation."
[Translation.]
Pocahontas having landed at Plymouth the
12th of June, was treated as a prince's daugh
ter, uuder the title of the Lady Rebecca, and
was presented to the court by Lady Delaware.
She was well received, in conxequence of a
letter or petition from Captain Smith, in which
he expressed the gratitude he owedthis prin
cess lot having risked her^ life to save hi?.
Neither the darkness of the night, said he, nor
the dense forest, prevented her from seeking
me, and from counselling me, with tears in
her eyes, not to expose myself lo the fury of
her father, who would have put her to death
had he suspected her. For the space of two
or three years it was she who, under God, pre
served the colony from famine and from utter
ruin. Eztract from. Londonio's Storia delle Colonic
Inglesi in America. Milan^ 1812.
Mentre i salvaggi stavano gia colle mazze
alzate per ucciderlo [Smith] Pocahontas che
aveva inutilmente perorato presso il padre a di
lui favore si getta fra mezzo e col suo corpo
gli fa scudo. Quest aCto generoso comraosge
talmente I' animo Powhatan che cedendo alle
preghiere della figlia consenti a rimandarlo
illeso e libero a Jamestown. [Translation.]
Whilst the savages stood ready with unlifted
clubs to kill him, [Captain Smith,'] Pocahon
tas, who had in vain besought her father lo
save him, threw herself in the way, and pro
tected him with her body. This generous ac
tion so wrought upon the mind of Powhatan,
that, granting the prayer of his daughter, he
consented to send him back unharmed and free
• to Jamestown.
Extracts from Die Geschichte der Vereinisten
Staaten von Nord-Amerika. By Doctor Lewis
Rufahl, Berlin, 1832.
" Smith beugte has Haupt viber einen Stein,
um von des Salchem's aufgehobener Keule den
Todesstreich zu empfangen, aber in demselben
Augenblick stUrtzte sich Pokahontas, Powha
tan's geliebteile Tochter, zwischen den Ge-
fangenen und ihren Vater, und nur Gewalt
vermochte sie von der Stelle zu reissen. Das
Mitleid und der Heldenmuth des Miidchen's
erschiitterten den Satchsem, und Smith erhielt
die Freiheit fiir das Versprechen ihm einen
Schleifstein und zwei Kanonen zu iiberlieffen.
Dieuniiberwindliche'SchwierigkeitFeldstucke

fortzuschaffen, nSthigfe indess die Eingebor.
nen sich des Besitzes derselben zu entschla-
gen, und Smith versbhnte bald darauf ihre
FUrsten durch einen freundschaftlichen Besuch
und andere Geschenke."
******* "Pokahontas war durch die Verratherei
eines Indiauischen Hauptlings in die Gewalt
der Englander garathen, und wurde trotz
ihrer vielen Verdienste um die Ansiedler als
Gefangene nach Jaroestown gefu^irt, wo die
kunstlose Liebenswiirdigkeil eines Kindes der
Natur ihr schnell das Hertz eines jungen Man-
nesvon Stand und Verdienst, Namens Rolfe,
gewann. Sie erwiederte seine Zuneigung,
aber der Stoltz des grossen Satchem's versch-
roahete einen fremden weissen Mann und
einen Feind seinen Sohn zu nennen. Doch
endlich willigte auch Powhatan ein ; die
Vermahlung ward mit grosser Pracht gefeiert,
und nicht lange darauf gingen Rolfe und seine
junge Gemahlinn nach England, wo die Prin-
zessin mit alien ihr gebiirenden Ehrenbezeu-
gungen aufgenommen ward, und nach sorgfal-
liger Belehrung Uber die Wahrheiten der
Christlichen Religion getauft ward. Sie starb
aber kurtze Zeit nachher als sie Jm Begriff
wair nach Virginien zuriickzukehren, wo noch
jetst manche ehrenwerthe Familien Powhatqn
and Pokahontas under ihre Ahnen zahlen."
[Translation.]
Smith placed his head upon a large stone in
order lo receive the stroke from the Sachem's
uplifted club ; but at the same moment Poca
hontas, Powhatan's favorite daughter, rushed
between the prisoner and her father, and could
only be removed by force. The courage and
compassion of the maiden moved the Sachem,
and Smith obtained his liberty by promising
him a grindstone and two pieces of artillery.
But the great difficulty of furnishing the can
non obliged the natives to forego them, and
Smith soon satisfied the pritice by paying him
a friendly visit and making him other presents."
******* " Pocahontas was betrayed through the
treachery of a petty chief into the power of
the English; who, notwithstanding the many
and meritorious services to tlie colonists, car
ried her a prisoner to Jamestown, where the
artless amiability of the child of nature soon
won the heart of a young Englishman of rank
and merit, named Rolfe. She reciprocated his
affection, but the pride of the great Sachem
revolted at calling a stranger, a white man, and
an enemy, his son. But Powhatan consented
at last. The marriage was celebrated wilh
great splendor, and Rolfe and his young bride
went soon afterwards to England, where the
princess was received with well merited hon
ors, and after being carefully instructed in the
truths of the Christian religion, was baptized.
She died soon afterwards, when about to return
to Virginia, Where many worthy families yet
reckon Powhatan and Pocahontas among their
ancestry."

CONQUEST OF PEEU.

BY WM. H. PRESCOTT.

I propose making a few remarks in the
spirit of Uberal and friendly criticism on Mr.
Prescott's Conquest cf Pery. — a work with
which I have been delighted and instructed, as
tens of thousands besides myself have been,
which does honor to the head and heart of the
author, and to tbe literature of his country, or
to English literature, if that phrase is more
comprehensive and complimentary — a work,
which ranks among the best historical produc
tions in any modern language, and which will
be regarded as a classic in the department of
history, as long as the subject of which it
treats continues to be viewed with any interest
by the reading portion of mankind.
Having premised this, I cannot be suspected,
I flatter myself, of playing the part of a critic
under the influence of any prejudice or fault
finding propensity. I shall certainly praise
much more than I shall blame, though I intend
to point out a few slight blemishes — not to
disparage the work which I delight to honor —
but to enable the author, should my humble
and unpretending annotations happen to come
under his notice, to make corresponding cor
rections, provided he concurs with me in my
views. Of Mr. Prescott's style in the Conquest, it
may be said, perhaps, if severely scrutinized,
that it is rather florid and figurative ; but were
it less so, his history would not be either as
dramatic or as eloquent, or as attractive as it
now is. The style, therefore, seems to be well
: adapted to the subject, though it certainly is not
as concise and as severe as are some of the an
cient, and, also, some of the modern historical
chef d'oeuvres.
In vol.- 1, page 5, of the Conquest, Mr.
Prescott speaks of the " Andes or copper
mountains, so termed by the natives, though
they might with more reason have been called
mountains of gold."
Silver mountains would I think have been
nearer the fact than either copper or gold, for
that metal is more abundant in the Andes than
either of the others. It is a saying in Peru —
oro en la costa y plata en la sierra — gold on the
coast and silver in the mountains.
Page 61.-r-" Charity doled out drop by drop,
as it were from the frozen reservoirs of the
Parish,." This is a compliment paid to ancient Pe-
ruvi.ah legislation, with respect to the subject
of poor laws, a little at the expense of the leg
islation of modern states, as wanting in chari-
8

ty and munificence, the author having In his
mind, probably, the poor laws of England and
our own, which in many, perhaps, in all the
Slates of the Union are based upon the same
principle, though not so complex or so difficult
to administer as in England. Now the poor
laws in ancient Peru, might have been well
adapted to the state of things there, but would
not work well or work al all, in any civilized
country at present- But what sur|)rises me, is
the view taken of the subject by Mr. Pres
cott, and the insinuation that certain existing
governments are ' frozen ' unfeeling and un
charitable. These cannot be our own, certain
ly, where all is given that is needed, and all
that is asked. Nor can il be England, where
more is given by law, in charity than in any
other country under Heaven — where 15 mil
lions of people pay annually in support of the
poor, from 35 lo 40 -millions of dollars, and
where the very poor laws themselves, by their
undiscriminating and unstinting liberality have
created without doubt, not less, numerically,
than one-half of the paupers — a fact in political
economy, to which Mr. Prescott would not
yield his assent I suppose, judging from what
he says about 'frozen reservoirs'; but if he
will carefully examine and compare the condi
tion of the poor in England, and their condi-»
tion in Scotland, and the poor law system of
both countries, his present opinions, as I take
them to be, will at least be shaken I think.
The state of society in ancient Peru, bore a
pretty strong resemblance to Communism, so
much talked and written about in Europe— a
tiling utterly impracticable on a large scale
with existing ideas of civilization and undesir
able if it were not. Where Communism be
gins, human progress roust stop, because its
principles are antagonistic to advancement —
not in theory it is true, but would be inevita
bly in practice, because it proscribes almost all
the sentiments and passions that make man a
progressive aniroal — love of distinction, of in
dependence, of ease, of wealth, &c., &c.
In Peru, the Inca was the chief or superin
tendent ofthe community, being bound to pro
vide for all, but being at the same time master
of all — of the soil and of every thing on it —
men, women and children included. Modern
Communism contemplates it is, true, no indi
vidual superiority and supremacy like this.
It lecognizes no superiors and no inferiors, but
a kind of Arcadian equality and felicity, where
every man will he his own master, or if not

58

that, at least the member of a community that
will have but one mind, one interest, one ob
ject — that object being the happiness of all —
a very desirable state of things truly, and if re
alized, we might reasonably expect to attain
with time and perseverance, to the enviable
condition of the beavers and prairie dogs.
Page 61. — "The roads (in ancient Peru) are
said to have been so nicely constructed, that a
carriage might have rolled over them as se
curely as on any of the great roads of Europe."
Some of the great high- ways in ancient
Peru were wonderful works certainly, consid
ering when and how, and by whom they were
made ; and this being admitted, eulogy must
stop. In point of beauty, solidity and dura
bility, they were much inferior to the ancient
Roman high-ways, and to the modern Euro
pean or American Macadamized roads, as re
gards convenience and safety. Butthe Peru
vian roads were as good, as were needed, as
there were no wheel-carriages to roll over
them, and no beast of burden to travel over
them, except the llama, not much larger than
a large sheep, whose burden was never roore
than one hundred pounds.
Page 118. — "They [the Quipus] soroetimes,
also, stood for abstract ideas." — P. 120. — " Rep
resentation of abstract ideas to a very limited
extent." Doctor Robertson, in his America, says :
«' But as by knots, (quipus) however varied or
combined, no moral or abstract idea, no opera
tion or quality of the mind could be represent
ed, they contributed little towards preserving
the memory of ancient events and institu
tions." Here is a seeming contradiction between those
two eminent historians. It seems to be only,
though, for in fact it is not. Mr. Prescott
means nothing more than the quipus represent
ed abstract ideas to a limited and conventional
extent, as for instance, it being understood
that a particular color should, when used in a
certain way, represent a particular idea, as
that white should stand for yeace, then Ihe'ab-
stract idea of peace was represented. This
amounted to Utile or nothing, and bore no re
semblance, whatever, to alphabetic writing,
which Dr. Robertson being less copious and
descriptive than Mr. Prescott, did not notice
very particularly.
Page 124.—" The beautiful Quichua dialect,
the most comprehensive and various, as well
as the most elegant of the South American
dialects." This tbe author says, on the authority of
Ondegardo, an early emigrant to Pern, who
could only have been guessing at what he said
about the Quichua language, for there must
have been at least one hundred South Ameri-
can dialects of which, he had never even
heard. I doubt whether the Quichua was the
most beautiful or most comprehensive, or most
elegant of those dialects. Judging from the
imperfect lights we have, I think it probable,
that it was not in any manner superior to the
Chibcha, the language of the Mozcas, in New
Granada, who, as well as the Peruvians had
made considerable advances towards civiliza
tion, and there may be at this day, unknown

living dialects in South America, supenbr to
both— to such an extent, still is that vast coun
try a terra incognita ; though, there cannot be,
I suppose any nation or tribe of aborigines
of any consequence, that has not been dis
covered. , , ,. ,
I have heard the Quichua spoken, and dm
not seem to me to be either very euphonious
or very elegant, or very forcible. It is simple
in its construction, and having but one declen
sion for all nouns, and but one conjugation
for all verbs, and being without the multitudi
nous rules and tbe multitudinous exceptions to
them, characteristic of almost all languages,,
and so annoying, it is not difficult of attain
ment. Here are specimens of it, which may
give an idea of the language, though, an imper
fect one, for the words were first spell accord
ing to the Spanish orthography, and are done
now into the English, by myself. Also, I will
remark, that there never has been compiled,
either a correct Quichua grammar or vocabu
lary. The following are numerals ; — ook (1)
yokeye (2) kekmsah (3) tahwah {i)peechcah (5)
sokelah (6) cahnahees (7) poosac (8) eeseone
(9) chooncah (10) yokeyechooncah {20) keemsdh-
chooncah (30) eesconchooncah (90) pahchac
flOO) wahrankah (lOOO;
Oookpahcollkeentah ppahchawtah Uahmantdh
eemah ikekantapas swahpookchookankee eemac-
tam kwankee.
Translation — Have you stolen money or
clothes, or sheep or any other thing ? What is
it that you have stolen ?
This is one of many questions propounded
by the priest to an Indian at the confessional,
and as il is according to a prescribed formula,
we may infer, that the Indians may have been
somewhat addicted to appropriating without
warrant, the articles enumerated in the inter
rogatory, as well as other articles.
According to Cantos, the Quichua language
wants the letters B. D.F. G. R. and Z. Bnt in
the vocabulary compiled by the Jesuits, Rubio
and Figueredo, at Lima, in 1754, the R is
used and J, the Spanish hotah omitted, which
of course confuses the orthography.
Page 138. — •' Yet, though the temperature
changes in this region (South America) with
the degree of elevation, it remains nearly
the same in the same spots throughout tha
year, and the inhabitant feels none of those
grateful vicisitudes of season, which belong to
the temperate latitudes of the globe."
This may be said of nearly all South Ameri
ca within the tropics, but there are exceptions,
and Peru is one of them. Along the coast
of that country the vicisitudes of season are
very sensibly felt. At Lima, there are thirty
degrees between extreme heat and extreme
cold, it being oppressively warm sometimes in
the summer, Coui winterj and uncomfortably
cold in the winter, the mercury falling to 60,
58 and 56 degrees of Fahrenheit. This is not
the case on tne Atlantic side of the continent,
in the corresponding degrees of latitude, where
it is always hot on the coast, the temperature
not being modified and mollified there, as itis
on the western side, by the cool breezes
that blow almost constantly from towards the.
south pole.

59

Pago 140 — Describing the coca leaf so much
chewed by the ludisns, in Peru, Mr. Pres
cott calls it a " weed," and the "loved nar
cotic " of the Indian, which, " when used to
excess, is said to be attended wilh all the ef
fects of habitual intoxication."
For this, Mr. Prescott quotes Pieppio, and
adds in a note,— " strange that such baneful
propensities should not be the subject of more
frequent comment with other writers- I do not
remember to have seen them even adverted
to." And no wonder that he has not for they
do not exist. Poeppig was a learned, credulous,
speculative, imaginative German, whose ac
count of Peru,, however, is interesting. He
was a pretty shrewd and accurate observer in
general, but the intoxicating, delete«ous prop
erties ascribed by him to the coca leaf, are al
most wholly imaginary. The coca plant is
a shrub and not a " weed." The leaf contains
a considerable portion of roucilage, which is
swallowed by the cbewer, who derives some
nutriment from it. It is chewed incessantly
and excessively by thousands who are neither
better nor worse for the chewing, which is
more than he said of that detestable " weed,"
tobacco, which was never intended by nature to
be eaten by any thing else than tobacco worms.
PcEPPiG was credulous— disliked the Peru
vians, whom he charges with shallowness and
frivolity \^flachheit und frivolilat ] and was gen
erally in a humor to find fault with them and
their country. But it is not more surprising
that he should have fallen into mistakes about
the coca, as il is that the editors or compilers of
the Penny Cyclopedia should have incorporat
ed his account of it into their work verbatim
et literatim I believe, and should not even have
mentioned Doctor Unanue's description of it,
which is long, elaborate and satisfactory, the
author being a Peruvian, learned and scientific
too for the country and the time. He flour
ished at Lima, forty years ago, and his essay
on the Coca, is to be found in the Mercurio
Peruano, a periodical of considerable merit, all
things considered.
Page 152.— "But that they (the Peruvians)
should have shewn the like facility in cutting
the hardest sdbstances, as emeralds and other
precious stones, is not so easy to explain."
It may be explained without difficulty 1
think, and the solution is, that time was not of
much value to the Peruvian artisan, and that
he could aflbrd to devote a month or two to the
doing of what a modern mechanic would exe
cute in a day or in an hour perhaps. A con
tinual dripping will wear away a stone and so
will continual friction, although that stone be
an emerald or a diamond even. I have seen
emeralds, tbe work of the ancient Peruvians,
perfectly polished, but it appeared to me that
it could not have been done otherwise than
by a tedious process.
' Page 166. — " Was it not (the Peruvian Gov
ernment) as we have said, the most oppressive,
though the mildest of despotisms ?"
"Most searching " Mr. Prescott. says, in
the passage to which he refers, as I suppose —
page 115. I do not understand how the most
oppressive of despotisms could have been the
mildest, or how the most searching could be,
far all searching governments are more or less

oppressive. Had Mr. Prescott used the word
absolute, his meaning would have been clearer.
Doctor Robertson says, " the dominion of
the Incas, though the most absolute of all des
potisms, was mitigated by its alliance with re
ligion." The alliance cannot be questioned, but I
doubt tbe mitigation. The Doctor main
tains his theory pretty ably and very plausibly ;
but for my own part I am inclined to believe
that the ' alliance ' subjected the poor Peru
vian to two despotisms instead of one — civil
and ecclesiastical?. This is the case all over tha
world, where church and state are united, and
when the head of the state governs the con
sciences, as Well as the bodies of his subjects.
Let us hear another high authoriiy upon this
subject. Baron Humboldt, who says that "the
founder of the empire of Cuzco, (Manco
Capac) in flattering himself that he could
force men to be happy, had reduced them to Ihe
condition of simple machines" — (a I'etat de
simples machines.)
Page 186. — Mr. Prescott says in a note —
" Seneca's well known prediction in his Me
dea, is perhaps, the most remarkable random
prophecy on record.
 quibus oceanus
Vinc'ula, rerum laxet et ingens
Patent lellus Typhusque Novos
Deteget Orbes.
II was the lucky hit of the philosopher'
rather than of the poet."
11 seems lo me, that considering the state of
science in general, and of geographical sci
ence in particular, at the time Seneca wrote
his "prophecy," it was much more probably,
a flight of the poet's imagination than a philo
sophical speculation.
Page 194, — " The startling intelligence, that
Balboa achieved the formidable adventure of
scaling the mountain rampart of the Isthmus,
which divides the two mighty oceans from
each other."
This adventure was far less formidable than
many others that were achieved in those days,
without exciting much surprise. In the Isth
mus, the mountains are but hills, of no great
elevation and easily scaled, and the distance
across is not more than 70 or 80 miles at most —
least distance from 40 lo 50. Balboa's good
fortune in discovering the Pacific ocean, was
what gave lustre and glory to the adventure,
and not the scaling of the ' mountain rampart.'
Page 198. — "This most unhealthy spot,
(Panama) the cemetery of many an unfortu
nate colonist," 8ic.
Panama is not a healthy place, but it is much
more so than some other places; more so than
Chagres and Portobello on the Atlantic, not
far off, or than New Orleans. To call it most
unhealthy is being rather severe. It is one of
the most beautiful sites for a city in the whole
world, not excepting Coustantinople or Naples,
or Washington.
Page 224. — " But soon returning wilh admi
rable ferocity to the charge they singled out
Pizarro, &c-"
"Admirable ferocity," is rather an unusual
phrase I think. Is ferocity the subject of ad
miration ? Il seems to me, that any thing that
is admirable must be in some manner com-

60
mendable- so far as to challenge our approba
tion, al least. Admirable courage is correct,
but I doubt of admirable ferocity-
This is verbal criticism, which I hold rather
cheap, and dip into it only from a desire to see
so admirable a history as the Conquest, as per
fect as possible, in manner as well as in matter.
Page 248.—" Monkeys chattered in crowds
above -their heads, and made grimaces like the,
fiendish spirits of these solitudes."— "Here
was seen the gigantic boa coiling his unwield-
]y form about the- trees, &c."
Herrer.4, is, quoted for this, and he says,
there were many monkeys, but says nothing
about their grimaces or about fiendish spirits.
He says, there were frightful snakes loo [es-
pantosas ciilebras'] in that region, .but does not
say that there were any boas, and there were
none I think. It is a very snaky country,
hut the boa is not found there, though he is
to be met with in South America, from thirty
to thirty-five feet in length, perhaps.
Herrera was pretty good at a snake story,
although he does cot support Mr. Prescott,
when the latter locates the boa in Pizarro's
path. He tells of snakes that had mouths at
their tails, of a red one with eight feet that
shines in the dark, and of another that had
the head of a boy with the eyes of a calf, and
of one, on which eighteen Spaniards seated
themselves, taking it for the trunk of a tree.
But of all the snake stories extant, the best
I think is told by Calanch.-^, and in perfect
good failh. He says thatin Paraguay, there is
a huge serpent that swallows alligator's eggs
whole, but that they must be crushed before
they can be digested: lo effect which, his
snakeship coils himself round a tree, using
the necessary degree of force, and the eggs,
as they are crushed, make reports like mus
kets. — This is not easily beaten.
A word on behalf of the monkeys. I think
Mr. Prescott makes them out to be rather
worse than they are. I have seen trees full of
them in South America, but it did not occur
to me that they looked like fiendish spirits.
I have seen too, rooms full of them at the
Zoological Gardens, in London, and, though
they were riotous with fun and frolic and mis
chief, they had neither the bearing nor the as
pect of fiends.
Page 384. — "The adventurers now behold
only the great bird of the Andes, the loathsome
Condor, &c."
I do not know upon what authority Mr.
Prescott applies the epithet loathsome, to
this bird, which he certainly does not deserve.
He is nothing more nor less than a great vul
ture, with nothing loathsome in his appear
ance, habits or character, and he is distinguish
ed for being the bird, that of all the feathered
tribe, soars the highest in the heavens, not ex
cepting Ihe eagle, that, although, his " flight is
out of sight," as the primer says, does not, dares
not attempt such lofty flights as the condor.
Mr. Prescott does him injustice, when he
pronounces him to be loathsome, as he pro
nounces the alligator to be with much greater
propriety. Baron Hitmboldt, who -was well
acquainted with him, and because acquainted
with him in the Andes, his country and liis home,
does not speak of him so disparagingly, but

rather in terms of reSpect and admiration. The
worst that can be said of him is, that he feeds
sometimes on carrion when he cannot do better,
and the same may be said ofthe "lord of crea
tion " man, the " paragon of animals," when
acting under the same law — necessity ; and he
even does worse than this, for if hard pushed
he does not hesitate lo make a meal of bis fel
low-man, and I doubt whether the condor, un
der any circumstances, would i?rey upon a bird
of the same feather.
Page 389. — " II was obviously not his (Ata-
huallpa's) cue to manifest suspicion."
' The word cue is too trivial I think, for the
gravity of the subject: — Policy would be
better. Page 390. — "Along the slope of the hills, a
white cloudfcf pavilions was seen covering the
ground, as thick as snow-flakes, for the space,
apparently of several miles.'*
This while cloud of pavilions was the tents
of the Peruvian army. — This is rather oriental,
and sounds too much like some of the descrip
tions in the Thousand and One. Mr. Pres
cott means of course to convey no other idea
than that there was a vast number of tents,, but
the figure he employs is a lillle hyperbolical,
for il is very certain that the pavilions were
neither as numerous as snow-flakes nor as;
white, nor in any manner resembling them.
Page 407. — " Seemed to be contrived on pui-
pose for a coiip de theatre.'*
I do dot think that the French phrase coup
de theatre is happily used here. Another form
might easily have been given to the sentence,
and the meaning as perfectly and as much more
intelligibly expressed. These words convey
the idea of a stage trick, which is nearly a lite
ral translation of them, and are not to my mind
in keeping wilh the solemnity of the subject
or of the generally pure style of tlie author.
Vol. ii. page 4. — " Manco then pledged the
Spanish commander in a golden gohjet of
sparkling chicha."
True of the goblet without doubt. Gold it
was, and pure gold beyond all question, but
the sparkling chicha is a little poetical. Bur
gundy sparkles, not chicha, which is nothing
more than a very priroitive and uninviting
beverage, concocted from fermented Indian
corn, which is strong enough to intoxicate and ,
to stupify, but scarcely capable of exhilaratiug.
This is the genus. There are many varieties
of this wine of the country, {vino del pais,) as
it is called in some parts of South America,
made of various kinds of fruit, and named ac
cordingly, and is more or less palatable.
Page 8. — "The effort to Christianize the
heathen is an honorable characteristic of the
Spanish conquest."
That an author of Mr. Prescott's learning,
ability, acuteness, and judgment, should caU
Ihe incorporating of the " heathen" into the
Roman Catholic church "christianizing," is to
me a paradox. To Christianize the Indians, as
he calls it, was of all others the most effectual
method of rivetting upon them the chains of
slavery, and until this was done their subjuga
tion was not complete. Kingcraft and priest
craft went hand in hand, or the latter was an
auxiliary raiher to the former. When the work
was done, and the poor heathen transformed

61

into a Christian, he found himself 5i slave with
three or four masters — the home government
at Madrid, the government of the colony, the
encomindero or proprietor, and last, not
least, the curate of the parish, who was
the most annoying and most exacting of the
whole. And such Christians ! Of the many
millions that have been baptized, I am clear in
the. belief that not one in a thousand have
either understood or have been capable of un
derstanding the dogmas of the Christian reli
gion as explained by the Spanish propagan-
,dists. I say baptized, because merely to ad
minister the ordinance of baptism was the pro
cess by which they were made members of
the holy Roman Catholic Apostolical church.
Ulloa, Humboldt, and others let us iuto this
secret of christianizing, as it is called, and now
and then an honest missionary makes a disclo
sure that throws some light upon the farce.
Dobritzhoffer, for instance, who says that
others receive the faith by the ears, but that
the Indian receives it by the mouth ; that he
is a Christian while you are feeding 'him, but
cease to feed and he returns to his idols, saying
that as he gains nothing by being a Christian,
he will go back to his own gods. D. speaks of
such as were christianized by missionary ef
forts, not of those who were converted by fire
and sword, and by all sorts of force, and by all
sorts of fiaud. A fact is related by Archbishop
Mojo in his Mexican Letters, written in 1805,
which demonstrates how uncertain and inef
fectual was this christianizing process. To
every body's astonishment it was discovered
in 1803 that the inhabitants of an Indian village
only four or five leagues from the city of
Mexico, with the exception of five or six per
sons, were arrant and inveterate heathens,
worshipping as they worshipped in the lime of
Montezuma, having for the period of 280 years
deceived the whole world, as well as their own
Roman Catholic curates, by conforming out
wardly to the form of Christian worship, but
tenaciously adhering to their idolatrous rites
in secret. This seems to he almost incredible,
but it is nevertheless true, without doubt, as
every one who will read the archbishop's
lengthy and circumstantial narrative will at
once see and admit.
Page 114. — " The Araucana (Ercilla's poem)
may claim the merit indeed — if il be a merit —
of combining both romance and history in one.
It is a military journal done into rhyme."
If by these remarks it was the author's in
tention to disparage the .Araucana,- then I
must say, notwithstanding my deference for
his taste and judgment, uat he does injustice
to one of the finest epic poems to be found in
any language. It may have defects — has, no
doubt; but what poem of any considerable
length has not ? Is the Iliad perfect, or the
iEneid, or Paradise Lost ? No critic asserts
that I believe for even quandoque bonus dor-
mitat Homerus, as a very able one has said.
A military journal done into into rhyme !
Be it so ; but it is such rhyme as not roany
poets have written. And it combines both ro
mance and history in one I — a questionable
merit, according to Mr. Prescott. But this
is precisely what may be said, to some extent, I
^acy, of every readable epic ever written, not

excepting Paradise Lost, and Dante's Divina
Commedia, in which so much is descrihed that
it is assumed to have taken place in the two
invisible worlds — the world above and the
world below, and in the visible one.
Certain Spanish critics have underrated the
Araucana. But this proves nothing. French
critics have said .that Corneille and Racine
were not great poets, as English critics have
said that Milton and Pope were not ; but these
judgments have not been ratified by the read
ing public, either in Spain, or France, or Eng-"
land. Cervantes praises the Araucana, and
he was a better judge of its merit than those
who saw none in it.
Ercilla was under thirty years of age when
he wrote his poem, Cthe Auracana ;) was a
soldier and a brave and an able one ; would
fight a battle one day, and record it the
next on any scrap of paper he could find, or for
want of paper on a scrap of leather, in rhyme
that would lose nothing by a comparison with
the Iliad, had it been written in ancient Greek,
instead of modern Spanish.
Page 14. — Mr. Prescott describes the vol
cano of Cotopaxi, as "spouting forth cataracts
of lava that have overwhelmed towns and vil
lages in their career, and shaking, the earth
with subterraneous thunders that at the distance
of more than a hundred leagues sounded like
reports of artillery."
1 do not think that any towns or villages
have been overwhelmed by the lava from Cot
opaxi, but they have been without doubt hy
the inundations caused by the sudden melting
of the snows on that mountain by the subter
ranean heat, the waters finding an outlet
through a verdant and smiling valley south of
the volcano, and commencing immediately at
its base. In this valley there are several vil
lages and a town (Latacunga;) containing eight
or nine thousand inhabitants, which have all
been submerged at one time and another, and
then all who had not the time or means to flee
lo the mountains, were swept away by the in
exorable and overwhelming flood, and then, as
Pliny says, describing an eruption of Mount
Vesuvius, audires ululatus feminarum infan-
tium quiritatus, clamores virorum, &c.
The subterraneous thunders are said to have
been heard at tbe distance of two hundred
leagues, not measuring the.distance, though, by
a straight line — so measured, it would not bo
one hundred, probably.
Pages '23, 24, 25 —There is a little vague
ness and a little inaccuracy in Mr. Prescott's
description of the city of Lima, ' The Rimac
cannot be said to be a " broad stream" in a
country that numbers among its rivers the
Orinoko, the Amazon, and the La Plata. It is
not broad even When swollen by the periodical
rains in the Andes — never navigable for any
kind of craft, and in the dry season, as regaida
volume of water, is not very greatly ahead of
the celebrated stream that flows through the
federal metropolis, now rejoicing in the
classic name of Tiber; why so called 1 know
not, and the why and wherefore of this Roman
appellation may be a puzzle for the antiquary
a thousand or two years hence.
There is no " commodious haven" at th»

<oz

mouth of the Rimac, the port for Lima being
at Callao, a mile or two further south.
"The climate was delightful." There is
some diffisrence of opinion about this. It is
delightful a part of the year, and a part cer
tainly not. The undelighlful portion is what
they call the winter— our summer. II is then
damp, chilly, cloudy, gloomy and uncomforta
ble. Nor is Lima a healthy place, but it is
not remarkably unhealthy either. It is in
fested with fleas and musquitoes — one or the
other being always present, both periodically —
plagues from the visitation of which Pharaoh
was mercifully spared.
I have no intention, however, of maligning
the City of the Kings, as it is often called.
Audi alteram partem — hear the other side — is a
sound and safe maxim, and in willing con
formity to it I state with all cheerfulness and
impartiality, that Lima has often been pro
nounced to be one of the most enchanting spots
in the world — a sort of terrestrial paradise,
and though terrestrial, not without one feature
of Mahomet's Heaven, the black-eyed Hou-
ris. It has been panegyrized in all sorts of
prose and in all sorts of poetry, and in various
languages, the learned not excepted, for Van-
lERius has written a Latin poem in its praise,
which is not without merit, though an amusing
mixture of fiction and of fact. I quote a few
lines :
Perpetuo cives ibi vere fruunlur el annus
, Labilur usque sui similis 
'  tolumque per annum
Nullus ab innubi licet aethere decidat imber.
Here we have perpetual spring— perpetuo
vere— a cloudless sky — innubi athere — and no
rain — nvllus imber. But it seems to me to be
making a little free with the licentia poetica,
to say or sing, that at Lima it is perpetual
spring where, during two months of the year
the whole world complains of the heal and of
the dust, which united makes one think al
least of suS'ocalion— where during two or three
other months they go shivering about, wrapped
up in heavy woollen cloaks, and where, du
ring a quarter of the year the " cloudless sky"
is obscured by dense murky lowering clouds,
scarcely a momentary glimpse of the sun being
had sometimes for several days at a lime. But
mevertheless the Limanians are enthusiastic in
praise of their climate, believing it to be just
what il should be, favorable to health, to lon-
fevily, to the occupations of those engaged in
usiness, and to the votaries of pleasure.
It is but proper that 1 should say too, that
aaet all who have written about Lima and the
Jvimanians have written in their commenda
tion, Fresier, a Frenchman, who visited
iPeru 135 years ago, says many bitter things of
them, and Teralla, a Spaniard or Mexican,
who wrote a satirical poem which he called
Lima, Inside and Outside, is mercilessly sar
castic aod vituperative, beating Juvenal's fa
mous lOth, But his exaggerations about most
natters are too palpable to gain credence.
" It never rained on the coast." This is
not strictly accurate . It does rain occasion-
-ally — now and then. "The vaporous cloud
that hangs over the valley during the summer
.-Bjonths' — the winter months at Lima—dis

charges its humidity in a shape very much re-
sembling rain sometimes, or Scotch mist, at
least. It often penetrates through the roofs ot
the houses at Lima, and makes the streets very
muddy. According to Doctor Unanue, who wrote
a work on the climate of Lima, it rained on
the coast, in the year of 1710-'20-,'28 and '91.
not only copiously, but so abundantly as to
ruin the crops and carry away houses. These
were floods, but there were rains without'
doubt, between those periods at irregular in
tervals. Peru is a singular country as regards wood
and water. Rain does not fall as it does every
where else on the continent, I believe, from
the sea shore until the Andes are approached,
and there is very little wood and never" was
much probably until the first Cordillera or moun
tain range is passed. Yet in the extreme south
of Peru not far from the coast, large trees are
fbund buried at a small distance from the sur
face of the ground, though there are not now
any living trees of the same kind or analagous
to them, or of any other kind. Whence came
those trees? How long have they been in their
present position? What moving accident by
land or flood has placed them there ? I can
ask these questions but cannot answer them, and
so I leave the subject, confessing my ignorance.
" The name bestowed on the infant capital
was Ciudad de los Reyes or the City of the
Kings, in honor of the day, being the 6th of
January, 1535 — the festival of Epiphany — when
it was said to have been founded, or more pro
bably when its dale was determined as its ac
tual foundation seems to have been twelve days
later." In my opinion neither the naming nor the
founding of Lima had any reference to the
Epiphany. According to what I conceive to
be the best authority it was founded, as Mr.
Prescott supposes, on the 18th of January,
and was called Ciudad de los Reyes, not in
honor of the Wise Men from the East, but in
honor of the emperor Charle-s the 5th
and of his mother queen Juana, and should
be translated therefore City of the Sovereigns —
not Kings, which is contrary to the English
idiom, one being a female,
"Their foundations (the public buildings)
were laid on a scale and with a solidity which
defied the assaults of lime."
Nothing mortal and material defies the as
saults of time — certainly not the churches at
Lima. Solid as are their foundations, a severe
earthquake would in an instant make them a
mass of ruins. The Pyramids themselves do
not defiy the assaults ot time, for the time will
come that antiquaries will speculate and dis
pute about their sites even.
" Not a pinch of dust remains of Cheops,"
Lord Byron says, and not a pinch will re
main of those vast structures, which being not
the monuments of a great and happy people,
but of a despotic and oppressive government,
cannot disappear too soon. Sandys who saw
them in 1610, calls them "barbarous monu
ments of prodigality and vain glory" — a just
sentiment and he might ha'fre added, of despo
tism.

93

Page 196.— !' Pizarro was but an adventurer,
a fortunate Knight Errant — his success was
good fortune rather than the result of policy" —
"was eminently^perfidious."
In this page the author institutes a compari
son between Cortez and Pizarro much to
the disadvantage of the latter. Cortez was,
he says, a "gieat captain," the other but a bold
adventurer. In my opinion there is nothing
in the history of these two remarkable men,
that warrants the placing of Cortez so unap
proachably above and heyond Pizarro. I
have read a great deal about them both, and il
seems to me that with the exception that
Cortez was the most educated roan, there
have never lived two men perhaps who more
resembled each bther in their characters and
conduct and whose career after reaching this
continent was so nearly identical, except that
Pizarro came to a violent end and the other
died quietly in his bed — quietly, if the inno
cent blood that was On his soul suffered him
so to die, which may be doubted, for Bernal
Diaz says that, after the taking off of (Gua
temosin ; Cortez was gloomy and thoughtful,
which he thinks may have been in consequence
of his putting that prince to death without a
trial. In all that he planned and that he performed,
Cortez gave no higher proof of his ability and
fitness for command than Pizarro did, and he
had not to encounter half the difficulties in
his march from the sea coast to the city of
Mexico that Pizarro enceuntfered in his ex
pedition from Panama to Peru. They were
both perfidious and both cruel. The seizure of
Atahuallpa was not ' more perfidious than the
conduct of Cortez towards Montezuma, nor
was the slaying of the former a whit more
atrocious than the murder of Guatemosin —
less so, if the character of the victim could be
taken into account, for the Spaniards them
selves admit that GuatEmosin was one of the
noblest natives that ever lived, whilst the Peru
vian prince we are obliged to suppose, after
making due allowance for the exaggerations of
the Spanish chroniclers, was a usurper and
tyrant. And bloody and unsparing as Pizarro
was there is nothing laid to his charge half so
enormous as the torturing by fire of Guate
mosin to compel him to discover hidden trea
sures, of which atrocity the guilt and the re
sponsibility justly belonged to Cortez; and
of which he seemed to be a little ashamed after
the prince's minister had been roasted to death
without making any disclosure, and it was evi
dent that his master would make none.
Page 198. — "Pizarro was no bigot, like
Cortez. It was his (C's) great purpose to
purify the land from the brutish abominations
of the Aztecs, by substituting the religion of
Jesus." Herein I diff'er widely from Mr. Prescott,
presumptuous as it may seem to be and as it is,
for roe to do so. In so far as Pizarro was free
from the bigotry and fanaticism of Cortez, to
that extent was he me judice, a better man.
" The brutish abominations of the Aztecs "
were no worse nor as bad as the abominations
of the Holy Inquisition The Mexican priest
with his sacrificial knife was more merciful
than the Spanish Inquisitor with his racks and

dungeons and torments. The former despatch
ed his victim at once ; the latter made him die a
thousand deaths before finally consigning him
to the fiames, And what made the < abomina
tions ' of the latter still more abominable, was
that the victim was often a man of irreproacha
ble conduct and character, a sincere and exem
plary christain, the fellow subject of his oppres
sor aud murderer, and, perhaps, his neighbor
and friend.
The " great purpose " of Cortez was not,
as Mr. Prescott in the exercise, a very large
charity supposes, to "purify the land," but to
conquer, kill, plunder and enslave. iVIontes-
QiriEU, who well knew how to appreciate his
character, conduct and religionj says of him
and his associates — " these robbers^ who wished
to be robbers and christians at the same lime,
were very devout" (Ces brigands qui vou-
laient absolument etre brigands et Chretiens
^talent tres devots.) Esprit Le Lois,) They
were precisely what the poet Montgomery
describes them to be i —
A rabid race, fanatically bold,
And steel'd to cruelty by lust of gold,
Travers'd the waveSj the unknown world ex-
plor'd,
The cross their standard, but their faith the
sword :
Their steps were graves; o'er prostrate
realms they trod ;
They worshipped Mammon while they vow'd
to God.
Page 288.— ^Mr. Prescott informs us that
young Almagro was executed " on the same
spot where his father had suffered, but a few
years before."
This is inaccurate. The father, as Mr. Pres
cott, himself, tells us, was put to death in
prison, and afterwards decapitated in the pub
lic square. It cannot be said, therefore, that
he ' suffered ' there, as the son did.
Page 256.— "The tidings flew like wild
fire over the land." —
The word wildfire is too common and collo
quial, 1 think, to be so used by an author so
chaste and eloquent in his style as Mr. Pres
cott. What is wildfire, and how fast does it
fly ? Is it the combustible compound known
as Greek fire, about which marvellous tales
are told, or what ? Sir Walter Scott says
in some of his novels, " the infection caught
like a quick match, and ran like wildfire ;"
which is a metaphor that does well enough in
a romance or in a light narrative, but it is I
conceive, beneath the dignity of history.
Page 320. — "Like the wild huntsman of
Biirger." Certain it is I think that many who
read with pleasure the " Conquest of Peru,"
have Sever heard of this huntsman, whom to
know it is necessary to know something about
German literature, which, unfortunately, is
but little cultivated in this country, except by
the Germans. Allusions to obscure legends,
or to those not obscure in the context of a se
rious and formal history, if uot absolutely ne-
cessary for iUustration, had better be avoided.
Page 378. — " The doughty old warrior."
This is said of Carvajal. It is long I
think since the word doughty has been used,
unless ironically and in burlesque by elegant

64

Writers. Mr. Prescott has used it, however,
in the original sense in all his historical works,
I believe, and such a sanction is enoiigh, per
haps, to legitimate it. CArvajal was any
thing hut a doughty warrior, as the phrase
would be understood by every body, were it
not for the clearness of the context. He was
one of the best and bravest of soldiers, fearless
and faithful, but in other respects not over-
good. , ^,
Page 372.— « The silver soil of PerU."
This is rather too bold a figure. The soil of
Peru is not silveryi or argentiferous, to use a
more learned word. The silver is found gen
erally in combination with hard rock, and re
quires infinite pounding and grinding to pre
pare it for amalgamatSbn with mercUry. Ihe
soil, though, is auriferous in some places in
South America, and gold in small quantities
can be obtained from the earth in those places,
but it does not pay Well for the labor of ex
tracting it, unless wben washed by the rains
from the auriferous mountains, and then it is
obtained by the process called washing.
Pages 289—379. Mr. Prescott frequently
makes mention tif the city of Arequipa as a
seaport. At page 289, he says that Gonzalo
Pizarro caused galleys tp be built there " to
secure the command of the seas."
t Arequipa is not a seaport and never was. It
is not less than eighty miles by the road from
the sea— stands nearly eight thousand feet above
the level of it, and 'not connected with it by
any thing like a navigable river. Why then
galleys were built there I do not understand.
Islay is the port to Arequipa.
Page 4l6. -'In this page the author says that
Gonzalo Pizarro's army " had been school
ed hy the strictest martinet in the Peruvian
service." This martinet wa? that "doughty
old warrior," Carvajal. But this word as
now understood by military meh, cannot be
well applied to him. He was a strict disci-
pUnarian, severe to cruelty, biit not a marti

net, whose pride and glory It is to be rigid and
exacting, and annoying about matters of minor
Or of no importance. Such was not Carva
jal, whose object in enforcing a severe_ disci
pline waste teach his soldiers to obey impli
citly »nd to fight valiantly.
1 Will here conclude my critique, remarking
that I regard it as somewhat a defect in the
Canqiiest that there is such a vast amount of
untranslated Spanish quoted, with quotations
from other fo. '^n languages.^ This is unne
cessary; is taniiliising at all times, and some
times provoking to the mere English reader.
To understand and to relish the work fully —
every part and parcel of it — one must be ac-i
quainted with four or five languages, which
not more than one oUt of a hundred read
ers is, perhaps, and yet many that are not, and
who know no language but their vernacular,
are without doubt not the least qualified to com
prehend and 16 relish the beauties of the narra
tive. I think, therefore, to quote less and to
translate the quotations, would be an improve
ment.! After all, though, were there a hundred in-
accoracies, if they are such, where there is not
now more than one, still the Conquest of Peru
would be an historical work of great merit,
having no compeer or competitor, when the
circumstances under which it was composed
are considered, which are, that the author was
suffering during the progress of it from an afliec-
tion ofthe eyes, which came so near depriving
him entirely of his sight, that all vision was a
stranger tb him, except for about an hour dajly,
and tnen it was very imperfect ; and yet he
has produced a narrative that challenges the
admiration of ail — the learned, the unlearned,
the cHticlcal and the non-criticical. This
proves, were proof necessary, that he must be
not only a writer of great industry, but one
possessing much genius and vety extraordinary
mental powers>

In the foregoing pages there are some typogra
phical errors j the following are the principal ones :
Page S. Column I, 33d line from top— for understood, read undertaken.
" — for 2nd and, read or. .
<> — ^for miles, read leagues.
J, 4th line from bottom — for their, read there. " '' '
' top — for theyj read it.
' " — forlt istrue; read/stiinw?
' " — rfor.more, read most.
I « — for cause, read course.
' '" '" — for rara, read ran;
1 « — for analysis, read analyses.
' " — gfiifenook, read rock.
r " — fop as, read to,
I «• — for good, read great:
' bottom — ^forwork, read word.
' top — for than, read to.
1 « —tor inconsistant, read inconstant.

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