m BANCROFT LIBRARY THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Ubnu* AX EXTRAORDINARY HOAX. //.- ^ ? '; A most extraordinary hoax has recently taken place in France. There is in that country a most respectable ecclesiastic and man of letters, the Abb6 Domenech, who has lived many years as a missionary among the Indians in Mexico and the adjacent portions of the continent, and written a curious book on the subject, which has t been trans lated into English, and may be seen in the Bos- I ton Athenaeum. It further appears that in the library of the Arsenal, once the library of the Marquis de Paulmy, there is, and has been for many years, at the bottom of a box, a manuscript without a name, but designated as "Livre des Sauvages," Book "of the Savages, or Indians. The librarian drew to it the attention of the Abbe Domenech. as one who had lived among the In dians of North America, and could no doubt make out its meaning. The good Abbe, more credulous than wise, was very much struck with it, and deemed it a very important contribution to history. He hurried with it to M. Walewski, praying that it might be fac-similed at the public expense, and intimating that the American Gov ernment would be only too happy to have the honor and glory of ushering this precious treasure to the world, if that of France were so unwise as to reject the golden opportunity. M. Walewski is pretty sharp on ordinary occasions, but he had the glamour cast over him by the enthusiastic Abbe. The gates of the treasury were opened, and the manuscript was lithographed and reproduced at the public cost. The Abbe composed for it a learned introduction upon North American " Ideography" in general, together with a commen tary explaining the meaning of the symbols in the manuscript. For the manuscript was almost wholly composed of symbols, hieroglyphics, or rude pictorial designs, in which the Abbe Dome nech found records of battles, treaties, emigra tions, deaths, and the introduction of Christianity \ among the Indians. Many of the symbols were I of a kind which not to put too coarse a point / upon it would render the book an unfit append age to a drawing-room table ; and this false scent leads off the unsuspecting Abbe into all sorts of slippery bye-paths, and discussions about sundry ancient forms of mystic worship, well known to such scholars as have a taste for raking in the gutters of the past. We give the title of the vol ume, as it was published: Manuscrit Picto- graphique Am&ricain, prtc&d& d'une Notice sur V Ideographic des Peaux-Rouges. Par VAbbe Domenech. Ouvrage publie sous les Auspices de M. le Ministre de 1'Etat et de la Maison de 1'Empereur. Paris: Gide. 1860." We have said that the manuscript was almost I wholly exposed of symbols or designs ; but it was not entirely so. The Abb6 noticed and re- f ferred to certain alphabetic or syllabic signs, occasionally occurring, which appeared to be of Teutonic origin, which puzzled him a little, for which he presented no solution. Alas for the Abbe ! whose fate was like that of the astrono mer in the fable, who tumbled into a well while following the movements of a star through his glass. He had a great deal of curious and use less lore, but wanted one piece of useful knowl edge a little acquaintance with the German lan guage. It was by these alphabetic symbols that he came to grief. As soon as any one with a German eye in his head looked at these, all the Abbe's elab orate structure of learned speculation disappeared like the airy pageant with which Prospero enter tained his guests on his enchanted island. These were German words, written in the German hand writing and badly spelt in some eases. For instance, there was an uncouth-looking vessel delineated, which ttye Abbe took to be a barrel of rum, and disserted accordingly ; but underneath was writ ten the German word honig (honey), showing that the object was really a beehive. The long and short of the story is, that the manuscript proved to be nothing more or less than the copy book of a coarse and idle German schoolboy, with some talent for design, who instead of minding liis work, employed himself in caricaturing famil iar scenes and objects, much like idle schoolboys all the world over. There is a frequently recur ring scene, in which a birch rod plays a conspic uous part of which, doubtless, the reprobate young artist had had many a feeling reminiscence which the Abbe, whose withers, we presume, were never wrung in that way, reads as meaning "a medicine man seeking for supernatural power In the entrails of a spirit." With what delight the news of this hoax was received among the Germans may well be con ceived. The French are great masters in the art of making fun of their neighbors, and the Teutons frequently expose themselves to be made game of in this way ; it is not often that Germania gets such a chance to avenge itself upon Gallia. Since the tattle of Leipsic, there has been no such national triumph as the Abbe Domenech's publication has occasioned. Dr. Petzholst, of Berlin, has pub lished a pamphlet, which is a long shout of vic tory over a fallen foe. As far the Abbe Dome- ^KJJ nech, the best thing he can do is to crawl into the from which his manuscript was taken, and there the rest of his life. THE HIEROGLYPHIC HOAX.* WE owe the Abbe Domenecli some apology for not having yet noticed a work which is likely to secure him a place in the memory of literary men for a very long time to corne. And we feel that the apology is the more due, because the work cornea out under the exequatur of even a higher authority than himself. It appears at the cost of the Imperial Treasury, and under the personal auspices of the Minister of State. It purports to be the publication of a relic which undoubtedly ought to be curious a Red Indian manuscript. It appears that in the library of the Arsenal once the library of the Marquis de Paulmy there exists, and has existed for a considerable number of years, at the bottom of a box, a manuscript which bears no name itself, but is designated in the catalogue by the mysterious title of " Livre des Sauvaqes" The Abbe justly observes that the library of the Arsenal was not exactly the place where you would anticipate the discovery of such a monument, and that probably there is no other similar relic in the world. The evidence of its being of Red Indian origin appears to have been entirely internal ; at least the external testimony to that fact is confined to the mysterious and laconic entry in the catalogue. But the keeper of the library, M. Paul La Croix, drew his attention to it, as one who had lived in Red Indian territory, and could no doubt decipher lied Indian writing. The good Abbe's mind is full of faith to the brim, as appears sufficiently from the legends with which he entertains his readers in the Historical disquisi tions of some of his former works. He received it nothing doubting, and was so struck by its value, that he took it to M. "Walewski with the intimation that, if the French Government did not take it up, the American Government would. M. Walewski seems also to be giftt d with as great a docility of belief as if he had been an Apostolic missionary all his 1'fe. It was the idle of himself and his master to play Meccenas and Augustus, whenever the stern exigencies of political necessity did not force them to be Vandals against their will. JNo difficulties were therefore made ; the money was forthcoming ; and the Livre des Sauvages was lithographed in extenso. The Abb6 composed for it an erudite introduction upon North American " Lleo- graphy " in general ; and also accompanied it with a commentary in which the probable interpretation of the m} 7 stic symbols that filled its pages was learnedly set forth. His rendering is certainly open to the criticism that it is disjointed, and leaves no very coherent impression upon the reader's mind. But if this be so, it is undoubtedly the fault of the manuscript and not of the inter preter ; for the Abb6 is as bold a commentator as a truth-loving Frenchman need be. He finds in its pages medicine-men, and spirits, and chieftains, and wigwams in abundance records of treaties, deaths, wars, emigrations, and (of course) of the intro duction of Christianity among the tribes. He even discovers a picture of the Fall, a representation of a priest in the act of eleva-l tion at the mass, and several other allusions to the practices ofl the Roman Catholic religion. But these do not form the burden of the pictorial chronicles of the Red Men. The mass of the Livre des Sauvages consists of representations which would have made the late Lord Chancellor's blood run cold, but "which only call up in the Abbess passionless mind memories of the mystic worships of the ancient world. He reminds his readers of the culie du phallus, di( priape, et du lingam he remembers the symbol of Ceres and the sorrows of Osiris ; and even discovers a sect of Indians whose 1 * Manuscrit Picloyraphiqne Americain, precede d'une Notice sur Video- graphic des Peaux- Rouges. Par 1'Abbe Em. Domenech. Ouvrage publie sous les Auspices de M. le Miiiistre de 1'Etat et de la Maison de 1'Empereur. Paris: Gide. London: Jeff's. 1860. Das BucJi der Wilden im LicMe Franzosischer Civilization. Von J. Petzholdt. Dresden: Schonfeldt. London: Williams and Norgate. 1861. mysteries seem to be worthy to rank: by the side of those of the Bona Dea. He plunges into these matters with all the cold, anato mical precision of a Sanchez ; and, in truth, if he had not been en dowed with a confessor's callousness, three quarters of his author must have been left uncommented. After more than a hundred pages devoted to disquisitions of this kind, the Abbe finishes by solemnly committing his labours to the charge of the archaeo logists and learned societies of America, with the just observation that their task will be a serious one, inasmuch as his manuscript contains a multitude of symbols hitherto unknown in Indian in scriptions. But he is confident, nevertheless, that he is founding a new scienct that ultimately he shall attain the same results for American inscriptions which have already been achieved for those of Egypt and the East and that before long the science will be so far advanced that the manuscript of the Arsenal " sera lu couramment d'un bout & 1'autre." It was a beautiful dream, and, if prosaic facts had allowed some respite, would no doubt have been easily realized. The ingenuity of scientific men would have succeeded in ex tracting a story of some kind out of that or any other set of hieroglyphics under the sun. But, unfortunately, the Abbe, having an imperial purse at his command, was too candid. He lithographed the whole of the mysterious book from beginning to end, down to the very last symbol, and so it was discovered that there was one portion one very little portion of the mystic relic, to which he had forborne to apply his vigorous exegesis. He notices the existence, here and there, of symbols which he calls ' alphabetic or syllabic," but no solution of their meaning pre sents itself to his mind at once, and therefore he resolves to reserve them for deeper reflection at some other time. Some of them, he sees, " if not English or German, are at least of Teutonic origin ;" but this suspicion conveys no misgiving to- his mind. Probably a vision floated across it of some still more startling 1 discovery, which should revolutionize the whole science of race and language, and place the original home of the Aryan race among the valleys of the Eocky Mountains. Unluckily, the book fell into the hands of critics of a .more prosaic turn of mind, who possessed an accomplishment which the Abbe has neglected to add to his stores of learning. This one thing wanting was an acquaintance with the German language. The moment any one who is even slightly acquainted with that abstruse dialect glances at the book, the v\ hole of the Abbe Domenech's splendid erec tion of Indian hieroglyphics, mystic sects, phallus-worship, intro duction of Christianity, and the rest, falls to the ground. The " alphabetic and syllabic symbols" are simply German words written in a childish hand, in the current German character, and not remarkably well spelt. There are upwards of five- | ami-twenty of them in various parts of the book, consist- i ing of all the commonest words that a little boy who was learning to write would scribble down. The mysterious manu script is nothing but the copy-book of a dirty little German boy, the son of some emigrant to* America, who amused himself with drawing when he ought to have been doing his lessons. The favourite subjects of his pencil were, of course, the objects and events most iamiliar to him. A little knowledge of this youth's vernacular mi^ht have saved the Abbe from a tissue of ludicrous blunders. An uncouth-looking vessel is interpreted by him to represent a barrel of fire-water, and to be the record of some Red Indian bartering expedition of which it was the fruit : but if he had only possessed the abstruse accomplishment we have mentioned, the word "honig," written very plainly beneath, might have betrayed to him the fact that it was only a bee-hive. One of the most'frequent subjects of the young artist's efforts is what the Abbe would call a " scene scholastique," in which the birch-rod plays a prominent part. JNo doubt itj?vas a scene with ~~\fliicl),"if the little boy's natural guardians~chct not very much neglect their duty, he must have been exceedingly familiar. Such discipline is presumably unknown in France,, for the Abbe gravely interprets the attitudes, which are intelligible and familiar enough to most English eyes, as " a medicine-man seeking for super natural powers in the entrails of a spirit." There are other blunders of a still more comical character, but which, on account of the delicacy of the subject, we must fqrbear to particularize ; for this budding artist was a very nasty little boy, and wanted more the skill than the knowledge to emulate the two Roman friends of Aretino. The pedagogue especially, who was the author of the inflictions to which we have alluded, comes in for an amount of vigorous satire, of a Fescennine character, which we will only trust, for the little boy's sake, never met his eyes. The shout of derisive delight with which this discovery of the Abbe's was received, as soon as it penetrated across the German frontier, may well be imagined. Dr. Petzholdt's pamphlet is a long paean of triumph over his prostrate foe. Frenchmen are in the habit of speaking so contemptuously of their German neigh bours, that such an opportunity was not to be lost. If it could teach some wholesome doubts as to the omniscience with which every Frenchman is supposed to be born, the blunder will have had its moraluses. Perhaps it may convey to the Abbe Domenech a glimmering suspicion that a smart pen and a missionary's ex perience do not, of themselves, make an archaeologist, and to M. Walewski'that the rudiments of knowlege are ; necessary to enable even an Imperial favourite to play the part of Mececnas with effect. An act of justice, however, remains tp be done. They have no right to neglect the humble instrument that has promoted the Emperor's Government to this great literary honour. They ought to seek out without delay the youthful artist who hos been the occasion of so great a display of learning, and present him to the world. It is not every day that the leisure pencilling of a nasty-minded little boy have the honour of being lithographed and edited at an Emperor's expense, and hoaxing a polite and learned capital. The public have a right to a closer acquaintance with the hero if he be still alive who is the author of so unexampled a good joke. ~ ~ < ' THE CHEVALIER DE PONTELLI'S DISCOVERIES IN CENTRAL AMERICA. A CELEBRATED traveller, the Che valier de Pontelli, has lately been exploring Central America. We give extracts from his letters, which can not fail to interest our readers : 'After having traversed a great part of Africa and of Asia, and visited Southern America in its whole extent, my scientific researches conducted me to Central America, where I have passed three consecutive years. From the isthmus of Panama to Tehuan tepee, I have explored everything, and it is thus that I have had the good fortune to discover a country entirely unknown in geography. ' The most interesting portion of the country is situated at one of the limits of the Mexican Empire of the State of Chiapas. It occupies a very extensive surface in the southern part of Mexico, and on the Pacific Ocean. it embraces about 19,000 square leagues. Watered by a multitude of rivers and of rapid and sinuous canals, this land, intersected by high mountains, brought Switzerland so warmly to my mind the country where my youth was spent, that I immediately called it the "American Switzerland." ' The numerous ruins with which the soil is covered deeply interested me. Countless tombs of ancient warriors and of their families still bear hieroglyphical traces, and are covered with ancient sculptures. With astonishment and admiration we come upon the tombs of kings find here a sarcophagus and there a tower ; see everywhere the ruins of palaces, beautiful mosaics, aqueducts well preserved, but in part buried under the soil, square towers of the very finest porphyry and jasper. The beauty of the ruins surpasses everything which can be imagined. Some of these I shall briefly attempt to describe : INTERIOR OF A TEMPLE. ' The idol is placed in a sun formed of mother-of-pearl, of silver, and of gold. Hieroglyphics are everywhere visible. This sanctuary is continually illuminated by a fire of odorous essences, and adorned with a pavement in Mosaic, representing flowers of every kind. THE TOWN OF UACHAJOU. ' The Chieftain of the country and his Council reside at Bachajou, on the top of a mountain. The houses are always built of bamboo. The house of the chieftain is the loftiest, and is surrounded by palm trees planted symmetrically. TOMBS IN THE FOREST. ' The tomb in the middle is flanked on each side by a warrior hold ing a trophy. When any one visits this place of the dead, the Indian guard follows with a quiet vigilance the steps of the visitors. An arrow or a poniard would quickly put a stop to any attempt to examine the tombs more completely and closely. ALTAR IN THE FOREST. 1 Interlaced with serpents, this altar received the blood of victims. On the pedestal are inscribed hieroglyphical signs. A little brook flows to . the foot of the altar, and there disappears. According to tradition, the priest plucked the heart from the victim, held it up to the people, and then devoted it to the divinity. RUINS OF OSTUTA. ' These are situated in an exceedingly picturesque position. This town, formerly the residence of the chieftains, extended along a river, in a magnificent valley, surrounded by mountains. From OIK; of the summits we beheld the ruins of an ancient palace, and the whole valley lies before us, with its countless remains, and its infinite natural beauties. FLOATING GARDENS. ' Nothing is more picturesque than these gardens, which swim on the lakes like boats. Houses are constructed on them, and vegetables and flowers of every kind are cultivated. Festivals are celebrated on them, and they are favourite fishing stations by night and by day.' tf j A I fij&AJ^ fl* ^^^G^iAjO^-^L PRETENDIDOS DESCUBRIMIENTOS DEL SR. PONTELLI. Insertamos hoy un Remitido que se refiere a ciertos supuestos descu- brimientos de poblaciones desconocidas has- ta ahora, que dice haber hecho en esta Republica un Sr. Leon de . Ponfelli que estuvo en esta ciudad hace poco tiempo, ocupado en dar lecciones de litogralia. Ha- biamos visto los articulos relatives a esos maravillosos descubrimicntos publicados por la Illustration de Paris y despues por el Correo de Ultraumr; y desde luego nos parecio que habia en esas relacionos inn notorias inverosimilitudes, que no creimos pudiesen engafiar a ningyna. person a que tenga un mediano cenocimienio de la geo- grafia y de la historia de este pais. Por esto habiamos dejado desapercibido el ro- I mance de Mr. Ponlelli, cnyo tcslo va a- companadode retrains y vistas de los preten- didos habitantes del pais que supone haber descubierto, de los 1-ugares que ocupan &c. Creiamos que la fabula de los Nihos ftztecas, [que no eran mas que unos pobres indizue- los de UsulutanJ acogida con tanta facilidad en Europa no hace mucho tiempo, ha- bria hecho mas cautas alia a muchas per- sonas; pero la inclinacion a lo mnravi- lloso puede mas que los desenganos, y los que conoceri ese lado debil de la hu- manidad, no dejan ni dejaran jamas de esplotarlo en su provecho. El Sr. Ponteiii, con su territorio de 19,000! leguas cua- dradas [que no las tiene todo Cenlro-Ame- ricaj sus seiscientos mil combatientes! [mas de dos tercios de toda la poblacion de Guate mala] sus salvages con botas federicas y pis- tolas de dos ca nones, ha compuesto nna j novela que podria tal vez ocupar el fo- lletin de un diario como obra de imagi- nacion, pero que no debio encontrar ca- bida entre las cosas serias ni merecer la atencion de personas respetables como Jo son algunasde las que parecen. haber dado credito a sus imagmarios descubrimientos. UEMITIDO. Coban Julio de &60. Sr. Redactor do la "'Gaceta oficial de temala." iVluy^ apreciable Sr. mio. Me kmio la libertacfde dirijir a U. algunos cor- tos renglohes coo el proposito de llamar so atencion acerca de descubrimientos fa- | bnlosos que se habrian hecho ultimamente en Centre.- America, liacia las fronteras de j esta Repubiica y que ban llamado a tal punlo la atencion de Euroqa, que no se i titnbea en colocar al autor de tamanos i descuhrimientos al laclo de los mas famo- ! sos viajeros conocidos como Cook, Bour- I gainvilie, Magallaries, etc. Sin duda U. ha- I bra leido las descripciones harto abrevia- das publicadas ultimamente por el "Correo de Ultramar" (niimeros 375 y 378 de la paste ilustrada) acompanados de muchos grabados que se re fie re n a puntos si bien hasta a bora desconocidos, de ma si ado cer- Ccinos de nosotros para no excitar nnestio inieres y uveriguar si es posible la auten- ticidad de semejantes datos. No disimu-* lare a U. el asonibro que me ha causado la lectura c!e los relatos del senor Leon de Pont.clli, quien, via jero atrevido, como, no ha habido hasta abora, sin esceptuar 1 aun a la famosa sciiora Beecher, se ha internado en el pais de los Lacandones arrostrando tocla clase de peligros, hacien- ; do ami de misionero, pues dice haber ' ! bautizado a los hijos de un poderoso gefe I de aquellas tribus ilamado el Leon de los i Andes, y a muchos otros de sus mismos subditos. Sin embargo, sin atvcvci-j-ne '' ! poner en duda las esped\ r it>nes arriesgadas del senor de Pontelli, creo haber descu- 1 bierto en algiuias de sus relaciones va- rias cosas demasiado increibles y que no se admitirian tan facilmcnte entre nosotros como en el seno de las sociedades geo- g-raficas de Europa, para las cuales sirven de un alimento tanto mas necesario hoy dia, cuanto que parece haber poco que descubrir en nuestro viejo planeta. Muy sensible es en todo caso para los hijos de Guatemala, saber que existe dentro de su territorio (pues la alta Verapaz com- prende al pais de los Lacandones, si bien no esta aun conquistado;) un pais tan ri- co, tan poblado, jgnorado de todos hasta ; la fecha, y cuya conquista parece prome- , ter tanto que seria capaz de atraer a un I nuevo Hernan Cortes.