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Show • 204 PISS,ER'r. I. ~ H I S T 0 R y 0 F M E X I C 0. 1 d. [c c ·1 of the furnamc of V.otan, who w ·re the 'reputed t 1at wee e, a nll1H y drft-endan ts of that ancient popnlator. We ar~ not here e1_1deav ~nr. · t'q 'ty to tll'' l)Oj)U\·Itor of Amenca ou the f.11th of til<.: 111g to g1vc an 1 u1 " ·· . . C.hiapancfc, but merely to {hew that the Amen(';ant~ conct.avcd thcm- {elves the defct.:ndcnts of\.Noah. . Of the ancient Indinn of Cuba fcveral hiflori<lllS of Amcn?a rclat~ , t1'l at w 11 e n they w rc itlttrrog:~ tcd by th<.: Sp~1 11iards C011CCI'I111lg thCll' 1 c; d origin, they ani\vcrcd, they 1 ad beard fr~m their aJ1ccflors t 1a,t o . c_rc-atcd the he• vens, the earth, and all th111gs; that ;m old. m.m, l~aV111g fore(ecn the deluge with which 'od dctigned to_ chafl:~fe the illls of , m n, built a large canoe, and embarked in it with h1s fannly, and n:any anit 1a)s; that when the inundation' ceaft.:d, he fent out a raven, wluch, becauie it found carrion to feed on, never returned to the canoe; thlt he then fent out ~ pigeon, which foon returned, bearing ~ branch of Hoba a cert~in fruit of America, in its month; that when the old man faw the earth was dry, he difcmbarked, and having made himfclf .fome wine of the wood-grape, he became intoxicated and fell afieep; that then one of his fons tnade ridicule of his nakedncfs, and that anothet· fon piouOy covered him; that, upon awaking, he bl.eft~d. t~e latter, and cuded the former. Lailly, that they rlrcw the1r ongm from the cUt-fed fon, and therefore went almoll: naked; that the Spaniards, as. they were well clothed, defccnded perhaps from the other. The Mexicans ufcd to call Noah Coxcox, and Teocz'paCI/i; and the Michuacanefe, 'lczpi. They ufed to iny, " That there was once a great dclnge, and that Tezpi, in order to fave himfelf from being ctrowned, embarked in a {hip formed like an ark, with his wife, hi& children, and many different animals, and feveral feeds of fruits; and that as the water abated, he fent out that bird which bears the name of aura, which remained eating dead bodies, and then fent out other birds, who did not return either, except that little bird (the flowerfucker) which was much prized by them on account of the variety of the colours of its feathers, that brought a [mall branch with it; and from this fam i.ly they all believed they drew their origin. If therefore . we refer to the f:tcred writings, or the traditions of thofe Ameri ans, we mufl: feek for the peoplers of America among the defcendants of Noah. I But H I S T 0 R Y 0 F M E X I C 0. But who were they? Which of the fons of Noah was the root of msc;ERT •. the Amcdcnn nations ? D. Siguenza, and the very ingenious Mex1can ., -~· 1 Siller J. Agnes de b. Crnz, believed or conjeCtured. that the Mexi-cans, and other nations of Anahuac, were the defcendants of N a ph .. tuhirn, fi111 of M<'zraim, and nephew of Cham. Doturini was of opi-nion, that they dc!l:cndcd not on ly from Naphtuhim, but likewifc from his otltcr five brothers. The learned Spaniard Arias Montano was perfuadcd that the Americans, and particularly the Peruvians, b<:- longed to the poficrity of Ophir, fourth fon of Shem. The reafons of this author arc fo weak that they do not merit mention. Of thofe of Siguenza we {hall fpeak prefcntly. The other authors, who have not been willing to carry their inquiries fo £11· into antiquity, h.lVe fought for the origin of the Americans in _di fl' Tent cou ntrics of the world. Tl1eir opinions are fo numerous and diffcrt:11t, it is not cafy to recite them. Son1e think they find the ;1ncdl:ors of the Americans in Afia, others trace them in Africa, and others from ~ urope. Among thofc who imagine they have found them in E urope, fome have fuppoied their ancell:ors the Grecians, others the Romnns, others the Spaniards, others the Irilh, others the Courhnders, ;llld fome the Ruffians. Among thoie who report them originally from Africa, fome make them the deiCcndants of the Egyptians, fom<: of the Carthaginians, and {orne of the N umidians. Bnt there is no where greatet· variety of fcntiment than among thofc who believe the popubtioll of America due to A.fia. The Ifraelites, the Canaanites, the AHyrians, the Phcenicians, the Per.fians, the Tartars, the Eat1: Indian , the Chincfe, the Japanefe, all have.: their advocates among the hit1:orians and philoiophers of the two lait cen turies. Some, however, not content to look for the populators in, the known countries of the world, Jraw the famous ifie Atlantida ont of the waters of the ocean, to fend colonies from it to America. But this is not extraordinary; fince there are authors who, in order to do wrong to no people, believe the Americans the defcendants of all the nations uf the world. So great n variety and extravagance of opinion is owing to. a pcrfuafion, that to make one nation be believed to have fprung fi·om another, no more is n ~;vfiary tl{an to find fume aHin ity in the words of their languages, and !orne fimilarity in their rites, cu{toms, anJ m:1nuers. Such & are • |