MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION RELATIVE ΤΟ THE NATURAL AND CIVIL STATE OF THE COUNTRY. CHAP. XIX, Containing some historical account of the discovery of America. To those about to emigrate to America, who through the disadvantage of education are unacquainted with history, the following brief sketch of its (late) discovery, &c. as related by Dr. William Robertson may be interesting. Conditions of Columbus' voyage on discovery in behalf of Spain; on which voyage he discovered America. Signed by Ferdinand and Issabella, king and queen of Spain.... April 17th, 1492,. He had only three ships allowed him, viz. Santa Maria (St. Mary) so called out of respect to the virgin Pinta, and Nigna. Left Gomara, one of the Canary Islands, Sep. 6th, do. Saw land,. October 12th, do This was an Island, which he called, San Salvador : the natives calling it Guanahani,-being one of the Lucaya or Bahama Isles. Wrecked one of his vessels, December 25h, do. Guacanahari the Cazıca, or chief, of Espagnola, came to the shore, took care of all that was saved, for the owners, and feeling so much sympathy for the loss of those strangers far from their home, that he actually offered Columbus all his own property, to help make up the loss! Little thinking that these strangers were coming there to rob them, and make them and their children slaves. What will not some men do for the sake of filthy gain even stifle every impulse of gratitude. Columbus returned to Spain......March 15th, 1493. On his third voyage he had six ships, and discovered an Island on the coast of Guinea, which he called Trinadad August 1st, 1498. Alonso de Ogeda went on discoveries... 1499. Amerigo Vespicci, a gentleman of Florence went with him and sailed to Paria. Amerigo being a man of letters, and possessing a vigorous mind, wrote an account of the voyage, and on his return published it. This being the first account that had been published to the world of the discovery of this new Country, a name was soon found to distinguish it by, being the country Amerigo had visited, and was called Amerigo's land, or Amerigo's country, and smoothed into the pronunciation of America. At first it was called the West Indies; persons should remember this in reading ancient authors. As Columbus' object at first was, by sailing a westerly course to find a passage to the East Indies, when he found America, he hoped he had obtained his purpose, and was come to the western part of the Continent to which he was bound, and called the inhabitants Indians; and the land was called Western India, or the West Indies for a considerable time. So does Christopher Brown even as late as when he wrote his Synopsis: but now that name is confined to the Western Islands, and as to the Continent it is now universally known by the name America. It seems that it must have borne the name West Indies for at least a dozen or fifteen years. The reader may see above that the country was discovered about seven years before Amerigo sailed thither; then allowing him only four years for travelling into the country, making enquiries and observations, to obtain sufficient acquaintance with, and information concerning this strange land, to enable him to write a book, so as to give the world some satisfactory account of it, and returning and printing it; and only allowing two years more for the publicity, so as to give name to the country by it, will altogether make more than twelve years, on a reasonable conjecture, for that country bearing the name of the Western Indies. The bearing this in mind may considerably aid the reader who may be unacquainted with this circumstance, in reading the early history relative to the said country, when he finds it called the Western India, or West Indies, not to exclusively attach to it the idea of the Islands, which are now called by that name. As much of the comfort of a voyage depends on the accommodations on board; the passenger should be careful in choosing his ship, Captain, other officers &c. let him read carefully the several observations, and advices given in different parts of this book; and then after that follow his own judgment. CHAP. XX. Containing a conjecture relative to the original peopling of America. The following is an extract from a paragraph in the Arminian Magazine, published in the year 1790, entituled, "A conjecture concerning the peopling of America, By the Rev. Alexander Catcott, M. A. "That America was peopled after the flood is plain, from the inhabitants thereof having the knowledge of that event. In addition to other reasons for supposing that America was peopled, or at least stocked with animals, by land, is, that that vast continent is every where inhabited by wild beasts, and the most noxious creatures, such as lions, tygers, rattle snakes &c. which we cannot imagine that any person would be at the trouble, or expose themselves to the danger of conveying thither in ships, and at the same time leave behind them the horse, the Camel &c. Nay, what is most remarkable, America has at present creatures peculiar to itself, such at least as are not known to exist in any other part of the world; which therefore cannot be supposed to have been carried from hence thither and besides, they are of such a nature that of themselves they could not have crossed the seas, and therefore must have come thither by land. : "It appearing thus clear that America was peopled early and by land, the next question is by whom, or from what land? "In order to solve this let it be observed that the sacred and most ancient historian informs us, in his account of mankind after the flood, that the whole earth was overspread by the descendants of the three sons of Noah, Shem, Ham and Japhet, who went forth of the ark Gen. ix. 19, from whence it is certain that no part of the world could have been peopled by any other antideluvians than those that went out of the ark and of course America was peopled after the flood, and by the posterity of Noah. There is reason to think that Moses has mentioned the manner in which America became peopled, or at least alluded thereto in the following passage (the event denoted by which was so singular, as to give name to one of the post deluvian patriarchs, and is twice repeated in scripture) viz. Gen. x. 25. 1 Chron. 1. 19. And the name of one of Heber's sons was Peleg, for in his days the earth was divided [Nepelege] on which words that cele brated Biblical critic Bengelius thus occasionally remarks, in his Ordo Temporum p. 54. Peleg a divisione terre nominatus est &c. i. e. Peleg was named from the division of the earth (which happened in his days) the earth after the flood was divided by degrees, by a genealogical and political division: but a very different kind of division is meant by the word Nepelege, namely a physical and geographical division, which happened at once, and which was so remarkable and of such extent, as suitably to answer the naming of the patriarch therefrom. By this word. Peleg that kind of division is principally denoted, which is applicable to land and water. From whence in the Hebrew tongue Peleg signifies a river, and in the Greek Pelagos, the sea; and in Latin Pelagus denotes the same, "From this precise meaning of the word then we may conclude, that the earth was split or divided asunder for a very great extent, and the sea came between in the days of Peleg. "Now surely when any person views the situation of America, and considers how it stands disjoined from this part of the world, and what an immense sea divides it from us, he will not be backward to allow, that this was the grand division intended by the passage under consideration. And therefore we may justly suppose, with the above mentioned writer, that soon after the confusion of tongues and the dispersion of mankind upon the face of the whole earth, some of the sons of Ham (to whom Africa was allotted) went out of Africa into that part of Amertca, which now looks towards Africa and the earth being divided or split asunder in the days of Peleg, they with their posterity (the Americans) were for many ages separated from the rest of mankind. "If this account be seconded by any similar event related in ancient heathen history, our supposition may deserve a greater degree of credit. And such an event we have recorded by Plato in his dialogue named Timeus; in which he treats of nature or the system of the universe, its generation or beginning, and the nature of man. And as a prelude to his subject, he makes mention of a fact that happened in the most early ages, the nearest of any known to the beginning of the world, and that is of a vast tract of land, or an Island greater than Lybia and Asia, situate beyond the bounds of Africa and Europe, which by the concussion of an earthquake, was swallowed up in the Ocean. "Plato introduceth this fact as related by Solon (one of the first of the seven wise men of Greece) who while he was in Egypt, had heard of an old Egyptian priest, when he discoursed with him concerning the most ancient events. This priest tells Solon, that the Greeks with regard to their knowledge in antiquity had always been children, and then informed him of the history of this famous Island (which they knew nothing of before) the description of which and its catastrophe is as follows, (which in itself is so remarkable that there must have been some ground in nature for the tradition of it.) There was formerly an Island at the entrance of the Ocean, where the pillars of Hercules stand (and so beyond the then supposed bounds of Europe and Africa) This Island was larger than all Lybia and Asia; and from it was an easy passage to many other Islands; and from these Islands to all that continent which was opposite, and next to the true sea. Yet within the mouth there was a gulph with a narrow entry. But that land which surrounded the sea, called Pelagos, where the division was made, might be justly called a continent. In after times there happened a dreadful earthquake, and an inundation of water, which contiuued for the space of a whole day and a night, and this Island called Atlantis being covered and overwhelmed by the waves, sunk beneath the ocean, and so |