SMITHSONIAN

CONTRIBUTIONS TO KNOWLEDGE.

VOL. VIII.

EVERT MAN 19 A VALUABLE MEMBER OF SOCIETY, WIIO, BY HIS OBSERVATIONS, RESEARCHES, AND EXPERIMENTS, I'ROCURES

KNOWLEDGE FOR MEN. — SMITHSON.

CITY OP WASHINGTON:
PUBLISHED BY THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION.

MDCCCLVI.

ADVERTISEMENT.

Tnis volume forms the eighth of a series, composed of original memoirs on dif-
ferent branches of knowledge, published at the expense, and under the direction, of
the Smithsonian Institution. The publication of this series forms part of a general
plan adopted for carrying into effect the benevolent intentions of James Smithson,
Esq., of England. This gentleman left his property in trust to the United States
of America, to found, at Washington, an institution which should bear his own
name, and have for its objects the " increase and diffusion of knowledge among
men." This trust was accepted by the Government of the United States, and an
Act of Congress was passed August 10, 1846, constituting the President and the
other principal executive officers of the general government, the Chief Justice of
the Supreme Court, the Mayor of Washington, and such other persons as they might
elect honorary members, an establishment under the name of the " Smithsonian
Institution for the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men." The
members and honorary members of this establishment are to hold stated and special
meetings for the supervision of the affairs of the Institution, and for the advice
and instruction of a Board of Regents, to whom the financial and other affairs are
entrusted.

The Board of Regents consists of three members ex officio of the establishment,
namely, the Vice-President of the United States, the Chief Justice of the Supreme
Court, and the Mayor of Washington, together with twelve other members, three of
whom are appointed by the Senate from its own body, three by the House of
Representatives from its members, and six persons appointed by a joint resolution
of both houses. To this Board is given the power of electing a Secretary and other
officers, for conducting the active operations of the Institution.

To carry into effect the purposes of the testator, the plan of organization should
evidently embrace two objects: one, the increase of knowledge by the addition of
new truths to the existing stock; the other, the diffusion of knowledge, thus
increased, among men. No restriction is made in favor of any kind of knowledge;
and, hence, each branch is entitled to, and should receive, a share of attention.

[y ADVERTISEMENT.

The Act of Congress, establishing the Institution, directs, as a part of the plan of
organization, the formation of a Library, a Museum, and a Gallery of Art, together
with provisions for physical research and popular lectures, while it leaves to the
Regents the power of adopting such other parts of an organization as they may
deem best suited to promote the objects of the bequest.

After much deliberation, the Regents resolved to divide the annual income into
two equal parts — one part to be devoted to the increase and diffusion of knowledge
by means of original research and publications — the other half of the income to be
applied iu accordance with the requirements of the Act of Congress, to the gradual
formation of a Library, a Museum, and a Gallery of Art.

The following are the details of the parts of the general plan of organization
provisionally adopted at the meeting of the Regents, Dec. 8, 1847.

DETAILS OF THE FIRST PART OF THE PLAN.

I. To increase Knowledge. — // is proposed to stimulate research, by offering
rewards far original memoirs on edl subjects of investigation.

1. The memoirs thus obtained, to be published in a series of volumes, in a quarto
form, and entitled " Smithsonian Contributions to Knowledge."

2. No memoir, on subjects of physical science, to be accepted for publication,
which does not furnish a positive addition to human knowledge, resting on original
research; and all unverified speculations to be rejected.

3. Each memoir presented to the Institution, to be submitted for examination to
a commission of persons of reputation for learning in the branch to which the
memoir pertains; and to be accepted for publication only in case the report of this
commission is favorable.

4. The commission to be chosen by the officers of the Institution, and the name
of the author, as far as practicable, concealed, unless a favorable decision be made.

5. The volumes of the memoirs to be exchanged for the Transactions of literary
and scientific societies, and copies to be given to all the colleges, and principal
libraries, in this country. One part of the remaining copies may be offered for
sale; and the other carefully preserved, to form complete sets of the work, to
supply the demand from new institutions.

6. An abstract, or popular account, of the contents of these memoirs to be given
to the public, through the annual report of the Regents to Congress.

ADVERTISEMENT. V

II. To increase Knowledge. — It is also proposed to appropriate a portion of (lie
income, annually, to special objects of research, under the direction of suitable
persons.

1. The objects, and the amount appropriated, to be recommended by counsellors
of the Institution.

2. Appropriations in different years to different objects; so that, in course of time,
each branch of knowledge may receive a share.

3. The results obtained from these appropriations to be published, with the
memoirs before mentioned, in the volumes of the Smithsonian Contributions to
Knowledge.

4. Examples of objects for which appropriations may be made : —

(1.) System of extended meteorological observations for solving the problem of
American storms.

(2.) Explorations in descriptive natural history, and geological, mathematical,
and topographical surveys, to collect materials for the formation of a Physical Atlas
of the United States.

(3.) Solution of experimental problems,, such as a new determination of the
weight of the earth, of the velocity of electricity, and of light; chemical analyses of
soils and plants; collection and publication of articles of science, accumulated in
the offices of Government.

(4.) Institution of statistical inquiries with reference to physical, moral, and
political subjects.

(5.) Historical researches, and accurate surveys of places celebrated in American
history.

(G.) Ethnological researches, particularly with reference to the different races of
men in North America; also explorations, and accurate surveys, of the mounds
and other remains of the ancient people of our country.

I. To diffuse Knowledge. — It is proposed to publish a series of reports, giving an
account of the new discoveries in science, and of tlie changes made from year to year
in all brandies of knowledge not strictly professioncd.

1. Some of these reports may be published anntWly, others at longer intervals,
as the income of the Institution or the changes in the branches of knowledge m.ay
indicate.

2. The reports are to be prepared by collaborators, eminent in the different
branches of knowledge.

vi ADVERTISEMENT.

3. Each collaborator to be furnished with the journals and publications, domestic
and foreign, necessary to the compilation of his report; to be paid a certain sum for
his labors, and to be named on the title-page of the report.

4. The reports to be published in separate parts, so that persons interested in a
particular branch, can procure the parts relating to it, without purchasing the
whole.

5. These reports may be presented to Congress, for partial distribution, the
remaining copies to be given to literary and scientific institutions, and sold to indi-
viduals for a moderate price.

The following are some of the subjects which may be embraced in the reports: —

I. PHYSICAL CLASS.

1 . Physics, including astronomy, natural philosophy, chemistry, and meteorology.

2. Natural history, including botany, zoology, geology, &c.

3. Agriculture.

4. Application of science to arts.

II. MORAL AND POLITICAL CLASS.

5. Ethnology, including particular history, comparative philology, antiquities, &c.

6. Statistics and political economy.

7. Mental and moral philosophy.

8. A survey of the political events of the world; penal reform, &c.

III. LITERATURE AND THE FINE ARTS.

9. Modern literature.

10. The fine arts, and their application to the useful arts.

11. Bibliography.

12. Obituary notices of distinguished individuals.

II. To diffuse Knowledge.—/;! is proposed to publish occasionally separate treatises

on subjects of general interest.

1. These treatises may occasionally consist of valuable memoirs translated from
foreign languages, or of articles prepared under the direction of the Institution, or
procured by offering premiums for the best exposition of a given subject.

2. The treatises to be submitted to a commission of competent judges, previous
to their publication.

ADVERTISEMENT. vii

DETAILS OF THE SECOND PART OF THE PLAN OF ORGANIZATION.

This part contemplates the formation of a Library, a Museum, and a Gallery of
Art.

1. To carry out the plan before described, a library will be required, consisting,
1st, of a complete collection of the transactions and proceedings of all the learned
societies in the world; 2 d, of the more important current periodical publications,
and other works necessary in preparing the periodical reports.

2. The Institution should make special collections, particularly of objects to
verify its own publications. Also a collection of instruments of research in all
branches of experimental science.

3. With reference to the collection of books, other than those mentioned above,
catalogues of all the different libraries in the United States should be procured, in
order that the valuable books first purchased may be such as are not to be found
elsewhere in the United States.

4. Also catalogues of memoirs, and of books in foreign libraries, and other
materials, should be collected, for rendering the Institution a centre of bibliosra-
phical knowledge, whence the student may be directed to any work which he may
require.

5. It is believed that the collections in natural history will increase by donation,
as rapidly as the income of the Institution can make provision for their reception;
and, therefore, it will seldom be necessary to purchase any article of this kind.

6. Attempts should be made to procure for the gallery of art, casts of the most
celebrated articles of ancient and modern sculpture.

7. The arts may be encouraged by providing a room, free of expense, for the
exhibition of the objects of the Art-Union, and other similar societies.

8. A small appropriation should annually be made for models of antiquity, such
as those of the remains of ancient temples, &c.

9. The Secretary and his assistants, during the session of Congress, will be
required to illustrate new discoveries in science, and to exhibit new objects of art;
distinguished individuals should also be invited to give lectures on subjects of
general interest.

In accordance with the rules adopted in the programme of organization, each
memoir in this volume has been favorably reported on by a Commission appointed

viii ADVERTISEMENT.

for its examination. It is however impossible, in most cases, to verify the state-
ments of an author; and, therefore, neither the Commission nor the Institution can
be responsible for more than the general character of a memoir.

The following rules have been adopted for the distribution of the quarto volumes
of the Smithsonian Contributions : —

1. They are to be presented to all learned societies which publish Transactions,
and give copies of these, in exchange, to the Institution.

2. Also, to all foreign libraries of the first class, provided they give in exchange
their catalogues or other publications, or an equivalent from their duplicate volumes.

3. To all the colleges in actual operation in this country, provided they furnish,
in return, meteorological observations, catalogues of their libraries and of their
students, and all other publications issued by them relative to their organization
and history.

4. To all States and Territories, provided there be given, in return, copies of all
documents published under their authority.

5. To all incorporated public libraries in this country, not included in any of
the foregoing classes, now containing more than 7000 volumes; and to smaller
libraries, where a whole State or large district would be otherwise unsupplied.

OFFICERS

OF THE

SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION.

THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES,

Ex officio PRESIDING OFFICER OF THE INSTITUTION.

THE VICE-PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES,

Ex officio SECOND PRESIDING OFFICER.

ROGER B. TANEY,

CHANCELLOR OF THE INSTITUTION.

JOSEPH HENRY,

SECRETARY OF THE INSTITUTION.

SPENCER F. BAIRD,

ASSISTANT SECRETARY.

W. W. SEATON, Treasurer.

ALEXANDER D. BACHE, ~\

JAMES A. PEARCE, I Executive Committee.

JOSEPH G. TOTTEN, J

RICHARD RUSH, ~j

WILLIAM H. ENGLISH, V Building Committee.

JOSEPH HENRY, J

REGENTS

Vice-President of the United States.

Roger B. Taney, Chief Justice of the United States.

"William B. Magruder, .... Mayor of the City of Washington.

James A. Pearce, Member of the Senate of the United States.

James M. Mason, " " "

Stephen A. Douglas, " " " " " "

William II. English, Member of the House of Representatives U. S.

Benjamin Stanton, " " " " " "

Hiram Warner, " " " « " «

Gideon Hawley, Citizen of New York.

Richard Rush, ...*.... " of Pennsylvania.

James E. Badger, " of Georgia.

Alexander D. Bache, Member of Nat. Inst. Washington.

Joseph G. Totten, " " "

MEMBERS EX OFFICIO OF THE INSTITUTION.

Franklin Pierce, President of the United States.

Vice-President of the United States.

William L. Marct, Secretary of State.

James GIuthrie, Secretary of the Treasury.

Jefferson Davis, Secretary of War.

James C. Dobbin, Secretary of the Navy.

James Campbell, Postmaster- General.

Caleb Cushing, Attorney- General.

Roger B. Taney, Chief Justice of the United States.

Charles Mason, Commissioner of Patents.

William B. Magruder, Mayor of the City of Washington.

HONORARY MEMBERS

Robert Hare, Albert Gallatin,*

Washington Irving, Parker Cleaveland,

Benjamin Silliman, A. B. Longstreet.

(*Deceased.)

TABLE OF CONTENTS.*

ARTICLE I. Introduction. Pp. 16.

Advertisement ....

List of Officers of the Smithsonian Institution
Table of Contents ....

in

ix

xiii

ARTICLE II. Archeology of tiie United States, or, Sketches Historical and Biblio-
graphical, of the progress of information and opinion respecting
Vestiges of Antiquity in the United States. Ey Samuel F. Haven.
Pp. 172.
Introductory note ........

Chapter I. General Opinions Respecting the Origin of Population
in the New World .......

Chapter II. Progress of Investigation in the United States

Chapter III. Conclusion .......

3

17
141

ARTICLE III. On the Recent Secular Period of the Aurora Borealis. By Denison
Olmstead, LL.D., Professor of Natural Philosophy and Astronomy in
Yale College. Pp. 52.
Introductory remarks
Classification of Auroras
History of the recent secular period
Laws of the Aurora Borealis
Origin and cause of the Aurora Borealis

3
4
5

24
39

ARTICLE IV. The Tangencies of Circles and of Spheres. By Benjamin Alvord.
Major United States Army. Pp. 16, and nine plates.
The tangencies of circles ....•••
The tangencies of spheres .....••

3
10

* Each memoir is separately paged and indexed.

XIV

CONTENTS.

ARTICLE V. Researches, Chemical and Physiological, concerning certain North
American Vertebrata. By Joseph Jones, M. D. Pp. 150, and twenty-
seven wood-cuts. ....

Table of Contents ....

List of Tables ....

List of Wood-cuts ....

Introduction .....

Chapter I. Method employed in Analyzing the Blood
CnArTER II. Blood of Vertebrate Animals in its Normal Condition
Chapter III. Physical and Chemical Changes of the Solids and Fluids
of Cold and Warm-blooded Animals, when deprived of Food and Drink
Chapter IT. Effects of Starvation and Thirst, combined with a change

of diet, upon the Solids and Fluids of Carnivorous Chelonians .
Chapter V. Observations upon the Alimentary Canal, and Digestior
of Albumen and Flesh ......

Chapter VI. Comparative Anatomy and Physiology of the Pancreas

Chapter VII. Observations upon the Liver

ChapterVHI. Observations upon the Spleen

Chapter IX. Observations upon the Kidney . :

Chapter X. Urine of Cold-blooded Animals .

1

iii

vi

viii

xi

1

6

40

81

90
97
110
11C
123
128

APPENDIX

Record of Auroral Phenomena observed in the higher Northern Lati-
tudes. Compiled by Peter Force. Pp. 122.

Publications of Learned Societies and Periodicals in the Library of
the Smithsonian Institution, May, 1850. Part II. Pp. 38.

SMITTISONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO KNOWLEDGE.

ARCHEOLOGY

UNITED STATES

SKETCHES, HISTORICAL AND BIBLIOGRAPHICAL, OF THE PROGRESS OF

INFORMATION AND OPINION RESPECTING VESTIGES OF

ANTIQUITY IN THE UNITED STATES.

BY

SAMUEL F. HAVEN

[accepted fob publication, januaey, 1855.]

COMMISSION

TO WHICH THIS PAPER HAS BEEN REFERRED.

Peter Force,
Brantz Mayer,

Joseph Henry,

Secretary S. I.

T. K. AND P. Q. COLLINS, PRINTERS,
PHILADELPHIA.

ERRATA.

Pago 143, line 3d from bottom, for cast to west, nail west to east.
" 145, liue 3d from top, fur parallel, read principal.

CONTENTS.

PAGE

Introductory Note .......... i

CHAPTER I.
General Opinions respecting the Origin of Population in toe New World . . 3

CHAPTER II.

Progress of Investigation in the United States . . . . . .11

CHAPTER III.

Conclusion ........ . . 141

INTRODUCTORY NOTE

The .adventurous activity of the people of the United States, joined to a wander-
ing propensity, partly national and partly characteristic of the age, has left few,
if any, considerable portions of the country unexplored. The emigrant overtakes
the government surveyor, and railroads and other improvements advance with
equal rapidity in the steps of the latter. It would be difficult to point out upon
the map a section of much extent, however secluded, that has not been traversed
by intelligent observers, taking note of the quality of its soil, its vegetable and
mineral productions, and whatever else would contribute to an appreciation of its
resources. In these expeditions, often conducted by topographical engineers, and
accompanied by naturalists constantly looking out for objects of interest, it is
hardly to be supposed that vestiges of ancient art would fail to attract attention.
We can therefore anticipate little of novelty hereafter in that class of discoveries,
and now that the peculiar earthworks of Wisconsin have been carefully investi-
gated, it may reasonably be inferred that all the prominent varieties of aboriginal
remains, which are found in the United States east of the Rocky Mountains, have
been more or less minutely described.

The memoir of Messrs. Squier and Davis, constituting the first volume of the
"Smithsonian Contributions," although entitled "Ancient Monuments of the Mis-
sissippi Valley," and mainly devoted to the antiquities of that extensive region, yet
aimed to embrace within its scope all that was known of similar vestiges north
of the Gulf of Mexico. Hence, the writers added to their own materials the
results of previous and contemporary researches in other parts of the United States,
as well as that to which their personal observations were confined. Their treatise
contains a faithful and able exposition of the subject, corrects many errors pre-
viously entertained, and defines and classifies the information collected with great
clearness and particularity.

In the second volume of the "Contributions," again under a limited title, that
of the " Aboriginal Monuments of the State of New York," Mr. Squier has ex-
tended his private explorations to the aboriginal relics of that State, and, in an
ample appendix, has once more gone over the whole ground, for the purpose of
presenting a general view of the characteristics of such antiquities in the United
States, and comparing them with analogous remains in other countries. Some of
his former opinions respecting the earthworks in that section are changed or modi-
fied, and the fruits of much inquiry and mature study are brought to bear upon
the question of the origin and use of the various structures.
1

2 INTRODUCTORY XUTE.

Tim.1?, without looking beyond the publications of tliis institution, we have a fund
of materials, of recent compilation, for a clear understanding of the nature of these
remains, and a proper estimation of the kind and degree of archa3ological interest
attached to tbem.

We have also other and distinct sources of information and opinion not com-
prehended, or only partially considered, in tbose volumes; some relating to the
character and design of existing monuments, and others to the origin and peculiari-
ties of ante-Columbian population in tbe country. Among the latter are vocabu-
laries of the native languages, analyzed and compared by able philologists. Mr.
Gallatin, especially, in his elaborate essay published by the American Antiquarian
Society, and in later communications to the American Ethnological Society, has
enlarged the range of that branch of inquiry, and poured a flood of light upon the
subject by an acute and philosophical analysis of the subtleties of grammatical-
construction ; the late eminent physiologist, Dr. Morton, has, in his speciality,
examined the analogies belonging to the physical attributes of the American races ;
Mr. Schoolcraft has collected the miscellaneous results of his protracted study of
the past and present history of the aborigines into the magnificent quartos pub-
lished at the expense of our national government; and these are only some of the
prominent writers who have studied the subject in one or another of its aspects.
A mass of information has thus accumulated, gathered from our whole territory by
intelligent and comparatively recent observers.

The present may therefore be a favorable occasion for introducing a retrospective
view of the progress of opinion and information concerning the ethnological position
and social advancement of the people by whom our soil was occupied in ages beyond
the reach of history. The way would then be prepared for an estimate of the real
knowledge, thus far obtained, of the customs, arts, and civil condition of those mys-
terious races.

This inquiry involves the necessity of referring to early hypotheses concerning
the origin of American population which embrace the whole of both continents,
although little beyond a mere allusion to the prolific themes of controversy they
have generated is permitted by the limits to which this paper is restricted.

CHAPTER I .

GENERAL OPINIONS RESPECTING THE ORIGIN OP POPULATION

IN THE NEW WORLD.

After the discovery of America, the minds of the learned and ingenious were
much exercised to account for its habitation by men and animals. On the pre-
sumption that all the varieties of the human race were descended from a single
pair, and that after the flood the earth was indebted solely to the ark of Noah for
the replenishment of man and beast, the manner in which these reached the
western world became to scholars and divines a subject of anxious inquiry. The
complete isolation of the newly-discovered land was not, it is true, immediately
suspected; and Columbus and Vespucius both died in the conviction that they had
only touched on portions of Asia. Indeed, so late as 1533, it was maintained, by
the astronomer Schoner, that Mexico was the Quinsai of Marco Paulo. But when
this was ascertained to be a vast continent by itself, separated by broad oceans or
by frozen barriers from the rest of the globe, the solution of the mystery of popu-
lation became a matter of intense philosophical interest ; and the materials relied
upon for such a solution, drawn from sacred and profane history, and the writings
of ancient philosophers, poets, and geographers, were employed to sustain a great
diversity of opinions. As these materials have continued -to be reproduced in
various combinations, and the hypotheses they suggested are constantly repeated by
modern theorists, it becomes essential to an understanding of the subject, not only
as formerly regarded, but in its existing position, that they should be succinctly
enumerated.

While most authors have been content to go no further back in their specula-
tions than the period of the division of the earth among the descendants of Noah,
there are others who take a less limited flight, and assume a still earlier date for
the peopling of America. It has been held that the earth before the flood was one
mass of land, and that, when this was broken at the deluge, Providence made pro-
vision to save a remnant of people in every country, although we have accounts of
what happened in one continent only.1 It has been argued, from differences in
the animal kingdom, many of whose species would not survive transportation,
that they must have been originally bred where they are found ; and it has been
maintained that, according to the prevailing traditions of antiquity, Paradise was
without the eastern continent, and beyond the ocean.2

1 Burnett's "Theory of the Earth," Lond., 1684. a Ibid.

4 A M E K I C A N ARC II M O L O G Y .

What the prolific fancy of Paracelsus suggested, among the bold assumptions of
his peculiar genius,1 and Voltaire, Lord Karnes, and others, have argued upon
general philosophical principles, some naturalists are now attempting to deduce
from observation, viz: that the races of men and animals were severally created
in the regions which they inhabit. A distinct and intimate connection is asserted
to exist between the fauna of different latitudes and the races of men associated
with them. The diversity and distribution of men and animals were a stumbling-
block to early writers, which but few ventured to overleap by explanations deemed
inconsistent with sacred history. If we may judge from the tendency of recent
publications, we must be prepared for the readvancement of an ancient theory, now
based upon geological phenomena, the structure of native dialects, and other scien-
tific data, which would give the New World precedence of the Old one, as sooner
prepared for the occupancy of human and brute creation, and as actually inhabited
at a more remote period.2

The plausible theory of an original communication between the two continents
by means of lands now submerged in the Atlantic, has always found numerous
supporters. A belief has also prevailed that without such means of transmission,
emigration took place from Africa to America before the flood.3

Passing from the question of an antediluvian population on the American Continent,
supposed, moreover, to be indicated by Mexican traditions, we meet with writers
who imagine they discover evidences of settlement in this country by the immediate
descendants of Noah. For example, it has been advanced by biblical critics that
Juctan, or Joctan, son of Heber, founded a city in Peru; and that colonies were
planted by Ophir and Johab his sons. It was a belief entertained" by distinguished
Hebrew scholars, that Ophir, to which land of gold the ships hired of the Tyrians
by Solomon, sailed on a three years' voyage, must be in America.

Tornielli, the annalist, was of opinion that the descendants of Shem and Ham
passed to America by way of Japan.

From some supposed resemblance of religious rites, Gomara, De Lery, and Les-
carbot,4 who had opportunities of personal observation in America., and in different
regions, concluded that the natives were descended from the Canaanites whom
Joshua compelled to seek a new habitation ; a theory which, in later times, and
upon different grounds, seemed to President Stiles, of Yale College, the most pro-
bable of any that had been advanced.

' "Omnium Stnltitiain Theophrastus Paracelsus exhausit, qui duplicein Adamum, alium in Asia, in
America alium creatum asserit." — JJornhis de Originibus Americanis, Lib. I , Cap. 2.
'- "Types of Mankind," by Messrs. Nott and Gliddon, Ch. IX., p. 271, et seq.

3 "Opus Chronographicum ab orbe Condito" of Peter Opmeer, Auvers, 1611.

4 Francesco Lopez de Gomara, professor of rhetoric, who came to Mexico to prepare his history of
its conquest, Jean de Lery, a French Calvinist, who was sent to aid Villegnanon in establishing a
protestant colony in Brazil, in 1556-7. An English translation of his account of Brazil was printed in
L611. Mark Lescarbot, advocate of the parliament of Paris, who aided in forming the first French
establishment in Canada, and wrote " Ilistoire de la Nonvelle France," Paris, 1609.

EARLY Or IN IONS. 5

But of all opinions having their foundation in sacred history, that which traces
the origin of our Indian tribes wholly, or in part, to the lost ten tribes of Israel,
has found the warmest and most numerous supporters. It is among the oldest
hypotheses, has been supposed to find the strongest corroboration in the customs
and traditions of the Indians, and has been continually discussed to the present
time. The four principal grounds on which the argument in its favor rests, are :
1st, that the ten tribes, on being carried into captivity by Psalmanazar, were esta-
blished in the northeastern provinces of the Assyrian Empire, from whence they
disappeared in a direction towards that part of Asia which is nearest to America, -
the point from whence some kind of emigration is commonly believed to have taken
place ; 2d, that the book of Esdras, classed among the Apocryphal Scriptures, but
regarded as possessing claims to historical authenticity, speaks of the tribes as having
resolved to go forth into a further country where never man dwelt, and as passing over
the waters into another land, &c. ; 3d, that many of the customs of the Indians indi-
cate a Hebrew origin ; 4th, that numerous Hebrew words and idioms are found in
the languages of the latter. Genebrard and Andrew Thevet were among the early
writers who traced the lost tribes in America. But a new and more vigorous
impulse was given to this course of investigation in the succeeding century, when
the labors of Mayhew and Eliot for the conversion of the natives in New England
began to excite much interest abroad, where a belief prevailed that the restoration
of the Jews was at hand. Thomas Thorowgood, a member of the Assembly of
Divines, published in 1650 a book entitled "Jews in America, or probabilities that
the Americans are of that race." This was first circulated in manuscript, and
attracted the attention of John Dury, a divine of some celebrity, who wrote urging
its publication, and communicated two remarkable stories he had heard in Holland,
that were printed with it. The first story was of a messenger from the ten tribes,
who had made his appearance in Palestine to inquire after the remnant that
remained when they themselves were carried into captivity. The other was the
narrative of Antonie Monterinos, who professed to have found a community of Jews
in Peru, by whom he had been entertained for several days. This had been sworn
to before Manasseh Ben Israel, the chief Rabbi, at Amsterdam, who testified to the
good character of Monterinos. The inquiries of Dury induced Manasseh Ben Israel
to write his well known treatise, " The Hope of Israel," in which he endeavored to
prove that the Israelites were " the first finders out of America." It appears to
have been from these sources that Mayhew, Eliot, Roger Williams, and other New
England preachers of Christianity to the children of the forest, received impres-
sions concerning the descent of the Indians from the Jews, which their own obser-
vations tended to confirm.1 The Mathers, Samuel Sewall, and most of the prominent
scholars and theologians of Massachusetts, were inclined to the same opinion, which
has never failed to find supporters. The Earl of Crawford and Lindsay, who, as

1 Dury was a friend and correspondent of the New England Clergy, and when the letters from Eliot
and others, giving an account of the progress of the gospel among the Indians, were printed in London,
he added an appendix, in which he gives some reasons for believing the Indians to be descended from
the Jews. This was previous to Thorowgood's publication.

6 AMERICAN ARCHAEOLOGY.

an officer of the British army during the war of the Revolution, was much among
the Indians, wrote a tract on the subject. Adair, the distinguished Dr. Elias
Boudinot, Rev. Ethan Smith, the late M. M. Noah, Lord Kingsborough, and Mrs.
St. Simon, continue the series of persevering advocates of that view of the ques-
tion.

Profane history and the ancient classics, have suggested more numerous, if not
more plausible conjectures, respecting the origin of the Americans. Vague intima-
tions derived from that mysterious repository of primeval lore, the Egyptian Priest-
hood, have been supposed to warrant a belief in the former existence of a seat of
arts and empire now buried beneath the Atlantic Ocean. Of these the most dis-
tinct is recorded in the Timeeus of Plato as having been related to Solon, about
six hundred years before Christ, by a priest of a temple in the Delta. This keeper
of the secrets of the past, looking down, as it were, from a superior antiquity, tells
Solon that the Greeks are ever children ; that an air of youth is visible in all their
histories ; while in the Egyptian temples are the records of ages and nations long
buried in obliyion. He proceeds to inform him that there have been innumerable
deluges and conflagrations of the regions of the earth; some of them faintly
shadowed in the fables and mutilated traditions of the Greeks. In one of these
the great Island of Atlantis, larger than Lybia and Asia together, was submerged
in the ocean that inherits its name. This island was stated to be opposite the
Straits of Gades (Gibraltar), and its inhabitants extended their sway over all the
adjoining regions, until checked by some ancestors of the Athenians.

Allusions to this lost island, or continent, are frequent in Greek and Roman
authors, and it is not supposed to be a fiction of Plato's devising. • Buffon believed
in the probability of the story; and Bailly, in his "Lettres sur TAtlantide de
Platon," maintains its reality by the additional authorities of Homer, Sancho-
niathon, and Diodorus Siculus. Whether the island was in fact submerged, or
simply the means of communication with it lost, has been a question much dis-
cussed. Various islands have been assigned as its locality, and even regions in the
north of Europe connected with the main land. Many supposed it to be America.
According to Plato, there were first smaller islands from which there was an easy
passage to the larger one, or continent, beyond. The theory of a chain of islands,
with slight intervals, if not a solid body of land, quite across both the Atlantic and
Pacific Oceans, is supposed, by some modern writers, to be geographically sus-
tained.

The celebrated lines in the "Medea" of Seneca, who lived about the time of our
Saviour, have been received as indicating either a ray of traditionary light or a
prophetic inspiration.1 Humboldt and Bishop Horsley have shown how slight are

1 Venient annis sscula seris
Quibns Oceanus vincula reruru
Laxet, et ingens pateat tcllus,
Tethysque novas detegat orbcs,
Nee sit terris ultima Thulc."

ANCIENT VOYAGES. 7

their claims to the latter construction.1 They were doubtless an accidental, and
not unnatural, though very felicitous stretch of a poet's fancy.

Another remarkable passage is in the " Varia Historia" of Aelian, where Silenus
is represented as saying to Midas, King of Phrygia, that Europe, Asia, and Africa
are surrounded by the ocean ; and that beyond there is a great continent sustaining
huge animals, and men larger and longer lived than their own. There were, he
said, great states, various institutions and laws, unlike those of Phrygia, and the
land possessed an abundance of gold and silver, which the people regarded less
than the Phrygians did iron.

To these ancient references to lands in the Atlantic, far removed from the Euro-
pean shores, may be added the story of the mythological Hesperides, which Lescar-
bot believed to be the Antilles of the Gulf of Mexico ; the island called Antilla,
mentioned by Aristotle as having been discovered by the Carthaginians ; the very
large island described by Diodorus Siculus as many days' sail from Africa, abounding
in mountains and navigable rivers, which the Carthaginians wished to conceal
from the rest of the world, as a place of retreat in case of misfortune to their city ;
and the story of Pomponius Mela of certain Indians being cast on the German coast,
who were given to Metellus Celer by the King of the Suevians.2 Nor must the
tradition of the island of the Seven Cities be omitted, where, on the conquest of
Spain and Portugal by the Moors, seven bishops, and a multitude of followers,
escaping in ships, accidentally landed, concerning whom rumors reached Portugal
in the time of Prince Henry.

There are records, bearing marks of authenticity, of voyages made by the com-
mercial inhabitants of the African shores of the Mediterranean, that are deemed to
indicate a degree of maritime skill and enterprise rendering possible a knowledge
on their part, not only of the Canaries, the Cape Verde Islands, and the Azores,
but also of the Antilles, and even the continent of America ; and many theories of
the origin of population here have been based upon them which are adhered to by
various recent writers.

The first in order of time is that, so celebrated, of Hanno, the Carthaginian,
many centuries before Christ, and related by himself in what is called " the Peri-
plus of Hanno." Efforts have been made to prove the Periplus a spurious produc-
tion ; but Robertson considers its authenticity established by unanswerable argu-
ments.3 According to Pliny, Hanno sailed from the Straits of Gibraltar around
Africa to Arabia. Bougainville, Gosselin, and other commentators, have endeavored
to trace his course, step by step ; and the latter affirms that all the authorities, not-

' Examen Critique, I. 162, el seq. ; Horsley's Sermons, II. 44. Yet Humboldt says:—
" When Strabo tells us that in the Atlantic Ocean, in that part of the northern hemisphere which is
not occupied by our habitable land, there may exist another habitable earth, or even many, above all in
the parallel of Thinne, which is that of the widest part of the continent of Europe and Asia, he prophesies,
that is to say he divines, as seems to me, the discovery of America, and the Isles of the South Sea." —
Humboldt, Examen Critique, I. 165.

2 Aristotle De Mirabiles Auscultationes, Cap. 84, p. 836 ; Diodorus Siculus I>e Fabulosis Antiquo-
rum Gestis, Cap. 84, Lib. 6, p. 331 ; Humboldt, Exam. Critique, I. 130-131.

3 Hist, of America, I., note to p. 13.

8 AMERICAN ARCHAEOLOGY.

withstanding apparent contradictions, bring us to the same result, and fix the
limit of his voyage near Cape Non, or Cape Bajador.1

The next expedition is that of some Phoenicians, whom Pharaoh Necho, about
604 B. C, dispatched from a port in the Red Sea, with orders to return through
the Pillars of Hercules. This they are said to have accomplished in somewhat less
than three years. The account in Herodotus is quite circumstantial, and, although
much controverted, is received as correct by Humboldt, who cites Rennell, Heeren,
Sprengel, and a more recent writer of great repute, Etienne Quatremere, in its favor,
and adds that the command of Necho implies a previous knowledge of the possi-
bility of such a navigation.2 It is stated, moreover, by Pliny, from Cornelius
Nepos, that one Eudoxus, a great sailor, in the reign of Cleopatra, " at the time he
fled from King Lathyrus, departed out of the Arabian Gulf, and held on his course
as far as Gades" (Gibraltar). Not much weight, however, is given to this story by
reliable authorities.3

It will be seen that, if it is once admitted that Phoenicians, Carthaginians, or
Tyrians, actually sailed around Africa, their knowledge of the islands opposite to
its western shores may be presumed, as they would almost of necessity be driven
near them by the well-known courses of the winds. By the same means, in case
of a tempest, they might be carried still further to the westward, and to the Amer-
ican coast. It was thus that Brazil was discovered in A. D. 1500, by Pedro
Cabral, while on his way from Portugal to the East Indies. A fact, which, like
the wreck of a Japanese junk at the mouth of the Columbia River in 1833, sub-
stantiates the possibility of such occurrences in more ancient times.4 It was on the
coast of Brazil that the Pilot, who is alleged to have preceded Columbus in the
passage of the Atlantic, was by some reported to have been cast.

And this brings us to the last class of narratives, viz : those which are adduced
to show that Columbus was not entitled to the credit of original discovery, but may
have been indebted to other navigators who preceded him for a knowledge of the
existence of western lands far beyond the limits of ordinary communication.

Many persons find it difficult to realize that things so simple, as great truths uni-

1 Irving's Colunib. III., Appendix No. 14. a Cosmos, II. 127, note.

8 Reinholdt Foster says : " The Phoenicians sent out for the purpose, by the Egyptian king and con-
queror, Sesostris, and his father, Amasis I., gradually discovered the coasts of all Africa.

The third epocha of the circumnavigation of Africa fell in the time of Solomon, nearly five hundred
years later. Three hundred and eighty years after this Necho gave orders for the circumnavigation of
Africa to be performed; and, in the reign of Ptolemy Euergetes II., one Eudoxus sailed once more
round Africa, which is four hundred and fifty years later than the voyage of Necho ; and yet, in Strabo's
time, many people doubted of the possibility of making the tour of Africa by sea." — Voyages and Dis-
coveries in the North, p. 7, n.

See also Jeremy Belknap's Dissertation on the Circumnavigation of Africa by the Ancients, attached
in his Discourse in Commemoration of the Discovery of America by Columbus, before the Massachu-
setts Historical Society, Oct. 23, 1792.

* Gumilla, in his History of Orinoco, states that, in December, 1731, a batteau, from Teneriffe, bound
lor the Canaries, was driven upon the South American coast, near the month of the Orinoco. Tome
II. p. 208

ANTE-COLUMBIAN VOYAGES. 9

versally are, should remain for ages entirely concealed from mankind ; and a suc-
cessful enterprise is often reluctantly admitted to have proceeded from the original
conceptions and intuitive sagacity of its author.1

Partly perhaps upon this principle, and it may be somewhat stimulated by
national jealousy, statements prejudicial to the claims of Columbus were early
circulated, and have- been since repeated as entitled to belief, or have undergone
investigation as questions of scientific interest.

Thus Oviedo, in his history of the Indies, printed A. D. 1535, mentions, but as
a rumor merely, that about the year 1484, a certain pilot, in one of his customary
voyages, was driven by a violent storm to an unknown land, and on his return
was received, with a few survivors of his crew, into the house of Columbus, where
they died, leaving their papers in his hands. This, although disregarded by con-
temporary authors, was brought forward against Columbus, in 1552, by Gomara, a
writer not esteemed entirely trustworthy f and, one hundred and twenty years
after the event, was seriously narrated by Vega, in his commentaries of Peru.
Vega gives the name of the pilot and the number of his crew, with many other
details, which he professes to have heard when a child. He refers for confirmation
to Gomara, and also to Acosta, who, in 1591, slightly noticed the circumstance.
It is a good illustration of the manner in which a tale expands and develops itself
in the process of transmission. The fact that Columbus communicated his idea of
discovery ten years before the assigned date of the occurrence is believed to be
well established.3 The same tendency to expansion is exhibited in the case of the
claim that, at a still earlier period, about 1464, John Vaz Casta Cortereal, a gentle-
man of the royal household of Portugal, explored the northern seas by order of
Alphonso 5th, and discovered the Terra de Baccalhaos, or land of codfish, after-
wards called Newfoundland. The descent of this remarkable statement is traced, by
the author of a memoir of Sebastian Cabot, from Cordeyro, an obscure Portuguese
writer, of the date of 1717, to "Barrow's Chronological History of Voyages," and
from thence to " Lardner's Encyclopedia," as a reliable fact, and to the " Edinburgh
Cabinet Library," where the event is spoken of as happening " nearly a century
before the celebrated voyages of Columbus and Cabot" !4

The uncertain expedition of the eight Arabian brothers, who, it is related,
some time previous to 1147, sailed from Lisbon, and "swore they would not return
till they had penetrated to the farthest bounds of the Dark Sea," — which resulted
in the discovery of an island inhabited by a people of lofty stature and a red skin —
has by some writers been extended to the Coast of America; but the better opinion
seems to be that the island referred to was one of the Canary group.6

' Enunmot, Colomb n'est point du tout un genie transcendant, une espfece de prophete, qui ait devim?
le noveau monde, e'est tout bonnement un navigateur instruit et courageux, e'est le Cook de son siecle.
Son mente rdal est trop grand pour qu'il ait besoin d'une gloire imaginaire.— Geographie Mathema-
tique de Mentelle et Malte Brun. Tome XIV. p. 8, n.

a Irving's Life of Columbus, III. Appendix, No. 11.

3 Humboldt's Examen Critique, I. 12.

1 Biddle's Memoir of Sebastian Cabot, Book ii. cli. xi.

5 N. A. Review, XLVII. 17 8.
2

K) AMERICAN ARCHAEOLOGY.

In the History of Wales, translated by Dr. Powell from the original British of
Caradoc of Lhancarvan, is the foundation of the story of Madawk ap Owen
Gwynedh, who, about 1170, as it is represented, sailed westward with a small fleet
of ships, and leaving Ireland on the north, came at length to an unknown country,
where he left a part of his followers, and returning home for more, bade a final
adieu to his native land, and sailed again with ten ships.

Concerning this country, Humphrey Lloyd, the first translator of Caradoc, says
(and from him Hakluyt has adopted the expression) : " It must of necessity be
some part of that vast tract of ground of which the Spaniards since Hanno's time
boast themselves to be the first discoverers." Lloyd supposes it to be New Spain or
Florida ; but Powell is inclined to consider it a part of Mexico.1 Here is really all
that is known in history respecting the voyage of Madoc, which has been the basis
of so many theories, supported by the imagined detection of Welsh words and a
Celtic race in America.2

The assertion that Columbus may have derived his knowledge of a western
continent from the Scandinavians, during his voyage to the north, in 1477, or from
a map representing the discoveries of the Zeni, is invalidated by a comparison of
dates. The claims of Martin Behem, the German contemporary of Columbus,
ingeniously presented by M. Otto in the Transactions of the American Philo-
sophical Society for 1786, are also disposed of by similar scrutiny.3

That the Northmen planted themselves in Greenland, and, about A. D. 1000,
coasted the North American shores as far south as 41° 30' N. latitude, seems to
be established by documentary proof. A greater extent of discovery is claimed
for them by Scandinavian writers upon similar testimony ; and wonderful tales are
told of what they heard from the natives, of white men, supposed to be from
Ireland, who had preceded them, and occupied the country as far south as Florida.
Moreover, an Icelandic chief, Are Marson, was said to have been driven by a storm
among the same white men as early as A. D. 982 ; who being detained, was
baptized in the Christian faith, and was recognized subsequently by some sailors
from the Orkney Islands and Iceland.4

Belonging to the same region of mystical adventure, although its heroes were
natives of Venice, is the marvellous tale of the Zeni. These brothers, Nicolo
and Antonio Zeno, were of a distinguished family in Venice, and, according to the
narrative, Nicolo, the elder, having a strong desire to see the world, about A. D.
1380, crpiipped a vessel at his own expense, and passing the Straits of Gibraltar
sailed towards the north. The incidents of the story are that he was wrecked
upon an island north of Great Britain, called Friseland ; and being rescued from

1 Hist, of Wales, p. 196. Price's Edition.

3 For a summary of evidence supposed to indicate the emigration of a Welch colony to this conntry,
and a knowledge of the language by certain tribes of Indians at the south and west, see "Enquiry into
the truth of the tradition concerning the Discovery of America by Prince Madog," by John Williams
LL. D., London, 1T91, and Carey's American Museum for April and May, 1792.

a Irving's Columbus, III. Appendix.
" Antiquitates Americans," Transactions of the Royal Society of Northern Antiquaries.

ANTE-COLUMBIAN VOYAGES. 11

the natives by a powerful chief who happened to arrive just then for the purpose
of making a conquest of the island, was received into his favor, knighted, and
became the commander of his navy. Antonio having been sent for, the brothers
engaged in various enterprises together, and founded a monastery and church in
Greenland. Nicolo dies, but Antonio remains in the service of the chieftain, Earl
Zichmni, fourteen years. At some time during this period he obtained, from a
mariner who came to Friseland, the following statement : That twenty-six years
before, the mariner was one of a party which was cast upon an island called
Estotiland, a thousand miles distant, a populous and civilized country, there being
Latin books in the King's library ; that being sent by the King to visit a country
to the south called Drogeo, they narrowly escaped being devoured by the inhabit-
ants, who were cannibals ; but learned that far to the southwest was a more
civilized region and temperate climate, where the people had a knowledge of gold
and silver, erected splendid temples to idols, and sacrificed human victims ; and
that after a long time, having acquired wealth in Estotiland, the mariner fitted out
a bark of his owm and made his way back to Friseland.

Stimulated by this story Earl Zichmni sent Antonio in search of the countries
described. The mariner died before Antonio sailed ; but some of his companions
from Estotiland were taken as guides. The voyage proved unsuccessful; and there
the matter appears to have ended.

These particulars are said to be derived from the letters of the Zeni to their
friends in Venice. They were first published in 1558, by a descendant of the family
who represented that, when a child, he had mutilated the manuscript, not knowing-
its value, but afterwards collected the fragments and disposed them in the best
possible order. Some able writers and candid judges have considered the account
as authentic and credible. It was rather difficult to find a locality for Friseland,
which was described as larger than Ireland ; but the name was decided to be a
corruption of Ferrisland, or Faro Islands. Zichmni was supposed to be a Scottish
chieftain named Sinclair, known as the Earl of the Orkneys. In construing the
tale of the mariner, Estotiland is determined by Malte Brun, to be Newfoundland,
Drogeo the country intermediate between that and Florida; while Mexico is con-
sidered as the civilized region spoken of as lying far to the southwest.1

To this list of sources from whence the ante-Columbian population of America
may have been derived, should be added the supposition that the fleet of Kublai
Khan, first emperor of the Moguls, which, being sent to conquer Japan, disappeared
in a storm, about A. D. 1294, may have been driven to this continent. It has been
remarked that the two empires of Mexico and Peru, about that time, sprang up in
the midst of savage and rude nations ; a circumstance which has been thought to
favor the supposition that the founders of those empires came to their respective
localities by sea, and may have belonged to the missing ships.2

1 For a favorable view of the narrative of the Zeni, see an article in the North American Review,
for July, 1838, written by Hon. George Folsom.

2 Foster's Hist, of Voyages and Discoveries in the North, p. 43. n.

12 AMERICAN ARCHAEOLOGY.

It remains to mention, with great brevity, the manner in which the various hints
from history have been used in accounting for the population of the new world.

Many writers upon this subject, particularly those of ancient date, refer to nume-
rous authors, whose works, however famous in their time, are now seldom perused,
and whose names, to most persons, will convey no definite idea of the value of their
opinions. Among those who were supposed to be able to throw light upon the sub-
ject, out of the abundance of their learning, were cejebrated hebraists, biblical
critics, and professors of history, the expression of whose views is often quite
incidental, and founded upon facts or analogies which happened to strike them
while pursuing investigations but indirectly connected with it. Annalists, geo-
graphers, and chronologists, who made a special study of cosmogony, are more
legitimate authorities ; and authors who wrote concerning any portions of this
country from personal observation, or as compilers of the narratives of others, are
entitled to a due consideration of their impressions in regard to the probable
sources of its population.

It would be too wide a departure from the object of this cursory review to attempt
a scrutiny of the circumstances under which opinions were formed, or the grounds
on which they were based, beyond such allusions as in the course of a rapid sum-
mary have been, or may be, casually introduced.

The theory of an indigenous origin of men and animals in America, goes behind
all others, of course, whether relating to a part only, or to the whole of the conti-
nent. This view has not been uncommon among writers of a certain school.
Cornelius de Pauw, one of the philosophic coterie of Frederic the great, argued that
life in the New World was not only distinct in its origin but of inferior quality, the
men having less vigor of mind and body, and animals less of spirit and strength
than their congeners elsewhere.1

Count Carli, an Italian of distinguished scientific attainments, undertook a refu-
tation of the opinions of de Pauw, and at the same time endeavored to establish
his own in favor of the former existence of the island or continent of Atlantis, five
or six thousand years before our era; which he supported by a learned analysis of
mythological and historical traditions, geological phenomena, and astronomical
calculations.2

The hypothesis of submerged land in the Atlantic Ocean is, in fact, that which
is most generally resorted to by those who suppose the western continents to have
been peopled anterior to the flood of the Scriptures.

Peter Martyr d'Anghiera, whose history of the discovery of the New World was
compiled from the manuscripts of Columbus, held that the inhabitants of Yucatan
were descended from Ethiopians. Oviedo, under whose administration as Director of
the mines of St. Domingo, the natives melted away beneath the severity of their task-
work, in his History of the Indies affirms, that the Antilles are the Hesperides of
the ancients. Andrew Thevet, a Frenchman of great learning, but accused of

3 Recherches Philosophiqnes sur les AnuSricaines, &c.

3 A French translation of Carli's American Letters, with notes and additions by Lefebre de Ville-
bruue, was published in Boston and Paris simultaneously, in 1*788.

THEORIES AND SPECULATIONS, 13

credulity, who came to Brazil in 1555, charged with the establishment of a religious
colony, believed in the transatlantic migration of the Israelites. Gomara and de
Lery, with similar opportunities of observation, as already stated, made the Ameri-
cans to descend from the Canaanites.

William Postel, an ingenious ethnological writer and oriental scholar, sometimes
called a visionary,1 maintained that all North America was peopled from Mauritania.
He is the first who made a distinction between North and South America, sup-
posing them to have nothing in common in their origin. The Peruvians and Chili-
ans, he traced to the Gauls; in which conjecture he is sustained by Jaques Charron
author of a history of the Gauls. Paolo Giovio, an Italian historian of great repute,
imagined that the Mexicans derived from the Gauls their practice of human sacri-
fices. Edward Brerewood, an English antiquary of the sixteenth century, deduced
the whole population of the New World from the Tartars. Martin Hamkema
(Latinized Hamconius), and Suffrid Petri, two historians of Dutch Friseland, agreed
in deriving the occupants of Peru and Chili from the Frisians. Acosta and Garcia,
Jesuit Missionaries long in Spanish America, thought the country was peopled by
degrees, and from various sources. The former, deeming it not improbable that
vessels might, from time to time, have been cast upon these shores, inclined to credit
the story from Aristotle, of a Carthaginian ship driven far to the westward, which
discovered lands till then unknown, that might have been America. He was at a loss
to determine how animals were transported. Athanasius Kircher, a German mathe-
matician and antiquary, who wrote several works concerning Egypt, traced the
Americans to the Egyptians, and thought the Atlantis extended from the Canaries
to the Azores. Arius Montanus, a Spaniard very learned in Jewish antiquities,
Francis Vatable, and Gilbert Genebrard, both eminent professors of Hebrew, at
Paris, Anthony Possivin, a learned Jesuit of Mantua, and Martin Becan, a German
professor of theology and philosophy, concurred in the belief that the Ophir of
Solomon was in America.

Among the most prominent of those who, at an early period, wrote expressly
upon the question of the origin of the American nations, are the learned Grotius,
the Flemish geographer John De Laet, and the Leyden Professor Horn. Grotius
supposed that the Isthmus of Panama was an impenetrable barrier between the two
divisions of the continent. With the exception of Yucatan and its neighborhood,
he makes the whole of North America to have been peopled by the Norwegians,
by way of Iceland, Greenland, Estotiland, &c, who were followed, some ages after,
by Danes, Swedes, and other German nations. He believes, with Peter Martyr,
that some Ethiopians, who were Christians, may have been cast on the shores of
Yucatan. He would derive the Indians of South America, near the Straits of
Magellan, from the Moluccas and Java. The Peruvians, he doubts not, are a
Chinese Colony. The Tartars, or Scythians, he excludes entirely.

Upon the dissertation of Grotius, De Laet published a sharp criticism, and a warm
controversy arose between them. Having disposed of most of the theories of Grotius,

1 " Celebre visionaire, et Pun des plus savants homines de son siecle." — Biog. Universclle.

14 AMERICAN ARCHAEOLOGY.

successfully, as Charlevoix thinks, whose convenient summary ol' their views is
here abbreviated, and having also reviewed the positions of other writers, De Laet
expresses his own, viz : that the ancient inhabitants of the Canaries, whose deserted
edifices were seen, according to Pliny, by the first Europeans who discovered those
islands, had passed over to America, and that, with equal probability, passages
might have been effected from the Cape Verdes to Brazil. Great Britain, Ireland,
and the Orcades, are also admitted as probable sources of emigration, and the story
of Madoc is received with favor. He thinks colonies might have come from the
Scythians, and that South America was peopled from New Guinea. He concludes
with an examination of the opinion of Emanuel de Moraes, that the whole country
was peopled by the Carthaginians and Israelites.

Prof. Horn, who had the advantage of coming after most of the authors already
referred to, discusses the subject in a Latin treatise of two hundred and eighty-two
pages, 12mo, printed in 1652. Having reference to previous opinions, he excludes
from the New World, as original colonists, Ethiopians, Norwegian's, Danes, Swedes,
Celts, Samoides and Laplanders, Greeks and Latins, Hebrews, Christians and Ma-
hometans. He supposes that the country began to be peopled from the north by
the Scythians ; that the Phoenicians and Carthaginians afterwards got footing by
the Atlantic Ocean, and the Chinese by the Pacific ; that other nations might from
time to time have landed here ; and, lastly, that some Jews and Christians may
have arrived, but not till the land was already peopled. He considers it probable
that the Atlantis of Plato was part of America, and was submerged in the deluge
of which traditions remained among the Mexicans.

The relation of Diodorus Siculus, respecting the large island visited by the Phoe-
nicians, he regards as indicating their second emigration to America; their third
and last being in the service of Solomon to Ophir, which is Hayti. The later emi-
grations he would make out to be of three sorts of Scythians, viz : the Huns, the
Tartars of Cathay, and the Chinese. The following are some of his fanciful deri-
vations. The Apalaches of Florida from the Apaleans of Solinus ; the Tombas of
Peru from the Tabians of Ptolemy ; the northern Hurons from the Huyrons, neigh-
bors of the Moguls; the Irocpiois from the Yrcas, or Turks.

These references might be very much extended ; but the foregoing are perhaps
sufficient to indicate the principal varieties of opinion, and the more prominent
among early authors by whom they have been entertained. Other writers appear
to have added little to their facts or their arguments, although many changes have
been rung upon these in their application.

The sources of derivation that appear to have been regarded as possessing the
strongest claims to consideration, are the Hebrews (by whom the lost tribes are
most commonly signified) ; the Phoenicians under various names, as Carthaginians,
Tyrians, Canaanites, &c. ; the- Scythians, and the Scandinavians. Analogies in
arts and customs have led to the supposition of Greek, Roman, Etruscan, Chinese,
Hindoo, and other colonies in America; but the four sources above mentioned
seem to have found the most numerous advocates.

Some of the later supporters of the Hebrew origin of the Indian tribes have
already been mentioned. The Phoenician emigrations are presented under a new

THEORIES AND SPECULATIONS. 15

aspect in the work of Dr. Cabrera, published in 1822 -,1 and the somewhat peculiar
production of George Jones, printed in 1843,2 not only maintains the advent of the
Tynans, but also the arrival of St. Thomas and the introduction of Christianity, a
notion to which certain supposed Christian symbols in Central America gave rise
at a very early period.3

In the work of Rivero and Von Tschudi, on Peruvian anticpiities, recently trans-
lated by Rev. Dr. Hawks, the Scandinavian tale of Whitemen (Irish), established
in the Carolinas, and perhaps in Florida, who had horses, is admitted as a certainty,
while credit is also given to various ancient speculations ; and the translator states
that the hypothesis of a Phoenician origin for that body of settlers who peopled
Guatemala, has, within the last two or three years, been invested with fresh inte-
rest by the new discoveries of the Abbe de Bourbourg, whose work was said to be
in the press at Paris.

With regard to the maritime skill and enterprise of very early periods, it may be
remarked that the tendency at present is to ascribe to those periods a wider know-
ledge of the form and surface of the earth, and of the arts of navigation, than has
sometimes been deemed warrantable ; and this tendency is the result of enlarged
information upon cosmical questions.

Humboldt not only yields a belief to the circumnavigation of Africa at a very
remote era, but expresses the opinion, founded upon careful investigations, that the
Canary Islands were known to the Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Greeks, and Ro-
mans, and, perhaps, even to the Etruscans.4 This admission, of course, implies a

1 Translation of Del Rio's Description of an Ancient City near Palenque ; to which is added a Cri-
tical Investigation and Research into the History of the Americans, by Dr. Paul Felix Cabrera, Lond.
1822.

3 An Original History of Ancient America, founded upon the Ruins of Antiquity, the Identity of
the Aborigines with the People of Tyre and Israel, and the Introduction of Christianity by the Apostle
St. Thomas, by George Jones, R. S. I : M. F. S. V., &c., London and New York, 1843.

3 Clavigero's Mexico, pp. 13 and 14, Cullen's translation.

Madame Calderon de la Barca inserts the following account of these emblems of Christianity in her
" Life in Mexico," 1843 :—

" It is strange, yet well authenticated, that the symbol of the cross was well known to the Indians
before the arrival of Cortez. In the Island of Cozumel, near Yucatan, there were several, and in
Yucatan itself there was a stone cross. And there an Indian, considered a prophet among his coun-
trymen, had declared that a nation, bearing the same as a symbol, should arrive from a distant country!
More extraordinary still was a temple, dedicated to the hoty cross by the Toltec nation, in the city of
Cholulu. Near Tulansingo, there is also a cross engraved on a rock with various characters, which the
Indians, by tradition, ascribe to the Apostle St. Thomas. In Oajaca, also, there existed a cross, which
the Indians, from time immemorial, had been accustomed to consider as a divine symbol. By order of
the Bishop Cervantes, it was placed in a sumptuous chapel in the cathedral. Information concerning
its discovery, together with a small cup cut out of its wood, was sent to Rome by Paul V., who received
it on his knees, singing the hymn ' Vexilla Regis,' &c."

1 Cosmos, N. Y. ed., II. 135, u.

16 AMERICAN ARCHEOLOGY.

considerable degree of maritime skill on the part of those nations, and the proba-
bility of more extended voyages by chance or design.

It is difficult to say anything on a subject like this without saying either too
much or too little. It seemed desirable to present a view of the influences under
which the investigation of ancient remains in the United States began, and which
have continued to affect its progress; but, unless restrained within the limits
of a special and well-defined purpose, the theme would expand beyond the com-
pass of a preliminary chapter, and demand a volume for its proper consideration.
Too little is, on the whole, better than too much for the object intended. Few
persons have undertaken to treat of American antiquities without being seduced
into speculations upon their origin founded upon analogies which appeared to them
evidences of connection with some nation or race of the eastern continent ; yet
nothing is more deceptive than are such superficial resemblances. Proof of this
may be seen in the fact that all the learned discussions that have taken place, and
all the ingenious theories of this nature that have been suggested, have left the
questions in their original perplexity; at least have made no advances towards
their solution that are satisfactory to the public mind. In most cases, analogies of
customs, of arts, and of terms in language, if they prove anything, prove more than
can possibly be admitted, as* researches into that field of inquiry abundantly show.
If trusted implicitly, there is hardly a people on the globe that may not be sup-
posed to have left traces of occupancy or communication in some section of our
continent. Whether an examination of the physical characteristics of the native
tribes, and the grammatical structure of their dialects, to which scientific men have
turned with the hope of detecting reliable tokens of national lineage, has been
productive of more certain conclusions, succeeding inquiries may disclose.1

1 Morton, in "Crania Americana;" Morton's " Inquiry into the Distinctive Characteristics of the
Aboriginal Race of America;" "The Physical Type of the American Indians," in Schoolcraft's
large work ; the " Mithridates" of Adelung, Vater, &c. ; Vater's " Untersuchungen iiber America's
Bevolkerung ;" Duponceau and Heckewelder, in "Trans, of the Historical and Literary Committee of
the Am. Phil. Society ;" Duponceau, in " Memoire sur les Langues de L'Am£rique du Nord ;" Gal-
latin, in "Trans, of the Am. Antiquarian Society," and "Trans, of the Am. Ethnological Society;"
"Types of Mankind," by Messrs. Nott and Gliddon ; &c. &c.

CHAPTER II.
PROGRESS OF INVESTIGATION IN THE UNITED STATES.

In passing from general opinions and speculations to such as relate to that por-
tion of the continent which alone is now the subject of consideration, the attention
is first directed to a class of authorities from which we might reasonably expect to
derive much valuable information. To this class belong the narratives of those
early adventurers who saw its inhabitants in their natural condition, occupying
their original seats, and in the exercise of their hereditary customs and habits. The
Atlantic shores of the United States do not, indeed, present such remains of ancient
art as would be likely to attract the observation of those who first visited them ;
but, in the records of the Spanish expeditions to Florida and Louisiana, we should
look for some descriptive recognition of the extensive earthworks that are found in
those regions. More especially should we anticipate that the French priests, Fran-
ciscans, and Jesuits, who, very early in the 17th century, penetrated to the upper
lakes, and thence worked their way through the Valley of the Mississippi to the
Gulf of Mexico, would have seen the mounds and inclosures there so frequent, and
have been impressed by their numbers and magnitude.

The followers of Narvaes and Soto passed through the sections of country that
contain the largest and most imposing of the southern earthworks. The French
emigrants that succeeded to the Spaniards, accompanied by missionaries who ren-
dered to ecclesiastical authorities at home periodical accounts of their operations,
were in the midst of those structures. At the north, the same class of learned and
devoted men were historians of the progress of discovery. In the narratives of the
Franciscan Friars, and in the reports of the Jesuits to their Superiors, we have
elaborate notices of the natural history of the country, the manners, customs, and
dialects of the natives, and their faculties and dispositions.1 At a later period,

1 These Reports, commonly termed Relations, "Relations de ce qui e'est passe, &c," are not only
very valuable, as sources of important and peculiar information, but they are, unfortunately, very rare.
They are printed in small volumes, 12mo or 8vo, in number about forty, extending, with some intervals,
from 1611 to 1671, and perhaps later. It is said that a complete series is not to be found even in the
Royal Library at Paris. Dr. O'Callaghan prepared an account of them, which was printed with the
Proceedings of the New York Historical Society for November, 1847, and contains a table showing
what volumes are in this country, aud where they may be found. This account was printed in French
in 1850, with notes, corrections, and additions, by the Superior of St. Mary's College, Montreal. Mr.
James Lenox, of New York, has recently caused to be reprinted fac-simile copies of the letters of
Father Le Mercier, written in 1655, aud those of Jerome Lallemant, written in 1659, and has added
to them the Relation for the years 1676 and 1677, which had not before been published.

18 ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE UNITED STATES.

similar returns, published under the title of "Lettres edifi antes et curieuses," con-
tain much of the same kind of information. But, from all the explorations of these
educated men, apparently observing as well as learned, very little is to be derived
illustrative of the antiquities of the country, or even referring to their existence.
It is remarkable how completely monuments, now viewed with surprise, were
unobserved or disregarded by French and Spanish adventurers and travellers. Not
only the pictorial mounds of Wisconsin, whose slight elevation and large dimensions
might in uncleai'ed lands conceal their forms, but the massive and regular parapets
and lofty tumuli of the middle and southern portions of the west, seem to have been
unheeded, at least as antiquities, or not esteemed worthy of special examination.

La Hontan, in one of his letters, dated May 16, 1689, gives a drawing and descrip-
tion of a medal that he professes to have found among the savages west of the Mis-
sissippi, and which he calls a modern antique (antique moderne). It is represented
as of copper, with figures of animals on one side, and characters on the other. But
the whole story of his expedition in that quarter is held to be apocryphal.

It may be that minds preoccupied with the grandeur of Mexican structures would
be likely to consider the inferior elevation and extent of earthworks north of the
gulf as rendering these undeserving of notice ; and, in Florida and Louisiana, they
may have been so far used, and even formed, by existing tribes, as to create no
impression of an ancient or other than contemporaneous origin.

In the letters of Charlevoix and Father le Petit, and in the " History of Louis-
iana," by Du Pratz, we have very minute accounts of the Natchez Indians, who,
with the Arkansas, were the most civilized of the North American aborigines. We
learn that they worshipped the sun, had temples in which was kept the " eternal fire,"
and a despotic government ; that their chiefs were the high priests, and were called
suns, or children of the sun ; and that the temples and the dwellings of the chiefs
were raised upon mounds, and for every new chief a new mound and dwelling were
constructed.1 Thus, a civil and religious system, with customs and ceremonials per-
taining to it, is described, which explains the use of some of the artificial elevations,
and may indicate the purpose of others. But parapets and tumuli, and other
structures of earth, are found in that region, which seem to imply the existence of
more cultivated or more populous nations, and a larger scale of ceremonial ob-
servances, than these writers have represented. A mere diminution of numbers,
and consequently of power, without any material difference of customs or capacities,
may perhaps be sufficient to explain the diminution of grandeur in the ceremonies
and structures of the later inhabitants. The decay of energy and enterprise, rather
than of arts — the result, probably, of a decrease of population — which, in other parts
of the country, led to a discontinuance of the construction of works consecrated to
religious rites, or intended for permanent defence — may have been less advanced
in its influence at the south. Hence the contrast between the monuments of the
past and the productions of the living inhabitants would be less striking. Still, the
absence of archaeological discoveries and speculations, on the part of the intelligent

1 See also Garcilazo de la Vega's Account of Soto's Expedition, I, 218.

FIRST OBSERVATIONS. 19

and well-informed men who first visited the interior parts of the present United
States, is somewhat singular, in view of the fact that so much has .-ince been brought
to light in the very paths on which they trod.1

We therefore advance to the period when investigations may be said to have
commenced; and it is proposed to refer, in chronological order, to the observations
and opinions of which the antiquities of the United States have been the subject,
since they were noticed as such, and regarded as objects, not of curiosity merely,
but of mystery and wonder.

It is not to be expected that every allusion which may have been made by
travellers or others to the existence of such remains will be included in these
references ; but it is hoped to embrace those which are of most importance, and
which represent the nature and degree of knowledge possessed at the time.

In the years 1748. 1749, and ] 750, Peter Kalm, Professor of Economy in the
University of Abo, in Swedish Finland, made a tour of scientific observation in this
country, and was careful to record everything that seemed to him worthy of
attention.2 After speaking of the entire absence of ruins or evidences of ancient
habitations that give interest to travels in other countries, he says : " There have,
however, been found a few marks of antiquity, from which it may be inferred that
North America was formerly inhabited by a nation more versed in science and more
civilized than that which the Europeans found here on their arrival; or that a great
military expedition was undertaken to this continent from those known parts of the
world." He then states that, some years before he came into Canada, the Governor-
General sent M. de Verandrier, with a number of people, across North America to
the South sea. From Montreal they went as due west as the lakes, rivers, and
mountains would permit. In a far country, beyond many nations, they met with
large tracts free from wood, many of which were everywhere covered with furrows,
as if they had formerly been ploughed and sown. " When," says Kalm, " they
came far to the west, where, to the best of their knowledge, no Frenchman or Eu-
ropean had ever been, they found in one place in the woods, and again on a large
plain, great pillars of stone leaning upon each other. The pillars consisted of one
single stone each, and the Frenchmen could not suppose that they had been erected
by human hands. At last they met with a large stone,

or pillar, in which a smaller stone was fixed that was covered on both sides with
unknown characters. This stone, which was about a French foot in length, and

1 Brackenridge, in his "Views of Louisiana," remarks, in relation to the remains of supposed forti-
fications there: "The French writers, who most probably observed them, do not speak of them; a
proof that they had no doubt as to their origin, nor thought of attributing them to any other than the
natives of the country." p. 183.

2 The expenses of Professor Kalm's scientific tour were defrayed in part by contributions from the
universities of Sweden, and in part by the king. One of the points to which his curiosity was directed
he states to be, "whether any other nation possessed America before the present Indian inhabitants
came into it ; or whether any other nations visited this part of the globe before Columbus discovered
it." The question of discoveries and settlements in the United States by the Northmen had not then
been agitated.

2() ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE UNITED STATES.

between four and five inches broad, they carried to Canada, from whence it was
sent to France, to the Secretary of State, Count de Maurepas. Several Jesuits,
who have seen and handled this stone, unanimously affirm that the letters on it are
the same with those which, in the books containing accounts of Tartaria, are called
Tartarian characters." The places where the pillars were found were estimated to
be near nine hundred French miles westward of Montreal. We believe that such
monolithic pillars as are here described have not attracted the attention of later
explorers ; but the " garden-beds" (as they are now called) exist in Michigan and
Wisconsin, and are regarded with wonder at the present day, as differing altogether
in form and arrangement from the usual remains of Indian agriculture. The men-
tion of them imparts an air of authenticity to Verandrier's narrative.

Prof. Kalm draws his own inference from the account, and believes that the
pillars and the Tartarian inscription indicate the presence of the followers of
Kublai Khan.1

In another part of his work he mentions having been informed, by an aged
Swede in New Jersey, that when the Swedes settled on the Delaware, near where
Salem is now situated, they found, at the depth of twenty feet, some wells inclosed
with walls of brick. Since that period the river had so far encroached upon the
land, by washing away its banks, that the wells were then covered with water,
which was seldom low enough to admit of their being seen. From these and other
evidences of the use of bricks discovered in that neighborhood, he infers the exist-
ence of an ante-Columbian settlement at that place.

In November, 1766, Jonathan Carver was at Lake Pepin on the Mississippi; and
in the journal of his travels mentions the embankments he saw in that neighbor-
hood, which appeared to him of a military character, and sufficient to cover five
thousand men. This is usually considered the earliest mention of western earth-
works as indicating a higher degree of art than existing races of aborigines were
supposed to possess. James Adair, whose History of the American Indians was
published in 1775, began his acquaintance with Indian life as early as 1735, and
most of his book was written among the Chickasaws, with whom he first treated
in 1744. He says that, from the most exact observations he could make, in the
long time that he traded among the Indians, he was forced to believe them lineally
descended from the Israelites ; and the main object of his book seems to be to
demonstrate that proposition. His references to vestiges of antiquity are few and
rather indefinite. He speaks of traces of the ancient warlike disposition of the
people as being found, " through the whole continent and in the remotest woods,"
that, " great mounds of earth, either of a circular or oblong form, having a strong
breastwork at a distance around them, are frequently met with," but does not give
the details of configuration or measurement.

The celebrated botanists, John and William Bartram, father and son, may be
regarded as the first by whom a careful and intelligent observation of these
structures has been recorded. They were in Florida together in 1765 ; and in

1 "Travels into North America," Til, 123, et scq.

REMAINS AT THE SOUTH. 21

January, 176G, discovered the remarkable works at Mt. Royal near Lake George.
Eight years later William visited the same scene, and found it much changed by
the whites who had begun to occupy and cultivate the land. He describes Mt.
Royal as a magnificent Indian mound, from which a noble Indian highway fifty
yards wide, sunk a little below the common level, and with a slight embankment
on each side, led in a straight line three-quarters of a mile to an artificial lake.

William Bartram commenced his journey in the spring of 1773, and passed
through the Carolinas, Georgia, East and West Florida, and. as far west as the
Mississippi river. He gives an account of "many very magnificent monuments of
the power and industry of the ancient inhabitants" visible near Wrightsborough,
Columbia Co. Georgia, "the work of a powerful nation whose period of grandeur
perhaps long preceded the discovery of this continent."

A fortification on the Altemaha, opposite the town of Darien, he mentions as
supposed to be of Spanish origin ; and he takes note of mounds, terraces, embank-
ments, &c, at the junction of the Ocmulgee and the Oconee rivers ; at Charlotia on
the river St. Johns; at the junction of the Broad and Savannah rivers in Georgia;
at fort Prince George, Pickens Co., South Carolina ; and at Taensa and Apalachicola.
At the close of his narrative he remarks : " To conclude this subject concerning
the monuments of the Americans, I deem it necessary to observe as my opinion,
that none of them that I have seen discover the least signs of the arts, sciences, or
architecture of the Europeans, or other inhabitants of the old world ; yet they
evidently betray every sign and mark of the most distant antiquity."1

It is singular that Captain Bernard Romans, who in 1771-2 travelled through
the same regions, and, in 177G, published "A Concise Natural History of East and
West Florida," should have paid no attention to the remains of ancient labor that
he must have seen. He mentions, in one instance, a large tumulus as the only
remarkable thing in a certain place, but it did not seem to excite his curiosity.
His decided views respecting the aborigines may have influenced his mind in this
regard; as he expresses his belief that "from one end of America to the other, the
red people are the same nation, and draw their origin from a different source than
either Europeans, Chinese, negroes, Moors, or any other different species of the
human genus." Again he says : "I am firmly of opinion that God created an
original man and woman in this part of the globe, of a different species from any in
the other parts," p. 38. He speaks of having noticed some stones deeply marked
with lines straight and crossed, which "do not ill resemble inscriptions;" but con-
jectures that they are made by the savages in grinding their awls, p. 327.

In 1772-3, the Rev. David Jones, of Freehold, N. J., spent some time among the
Indians west of the Ohio, and in his journal notices the " Old Fortifications" near
Chilicothe and on the Scioto.

1 In a MS. work on the Creek Indians, left by Bartram, that came into the possession of Dr. Morton,
he describes " public squares," alluded to by Adair, which were used by the Indians for religious ceremo-
nies and deliberative councils, and states that ancient inclosures and other remains, concerning the
origin of which they professed no knowledge, were also sometimes appropriated to such purposes. —
Smithsonian Contributions, II, page 135 of Mr. Squier's Memoir.

22 ARCHEOLOGY OF THE UNITED STATES.

A plan and description of the earthworks at Circleville, Ohio, were communicated
anonymously to the Royal American Magazine, printed in Boston, and were inserted
in the number for January, 1775. The plan was taken on horseback, by computa-
tion only, Oct. 17, 1772.

During the struggle of our revolution, the minds of all classes of people were
absorbed in the exciting political and military events of the time, and little inclina-
tion or opportunity existed for archaeological investigations. Near the conclusion
of the Avar, Mr. Jefferson gratified his taste for such pursuits, by preparing his
"Notes on .Virginia," which were written in 1781-2, though not fully published
till 1787. 1 His opinions there expressed in regard to the great antiquity of the
American races are well known. He was uncertain whether to believe that the
Americans were derived from the northern Asiatics, or the Asiatics from the
Americans, but saw positive indications of a common origin. Our community was
less prepared than now for the reception of views opposed to the usual interpre-
tation of scripture history, and when Mr. Jefferson was a candidate for the
presidency, his supposed sceptical sentiments upon this question were strongly
urged against him. Of the great earthworks at the west and south he appears to
have known little or nothing. He says : " I know of no such thing as an Indian
monument." " Of labor on a large scale I think there is no remain so respectable
as would be a common ditch for the draining of land." He refers to the barrows
found all over the country as possible exceptions, but had in his mind only the
small burial mounds of modern date, such as he had seen in Virginia. William
Bartram's work had not then been published. Mr. Jefferson's speculations manifest
the philosophical acuteness of his mind; and his remarks on a study of the abori-
ginal languages, as affording the best evidences of derivation, and as most likely
to lead to a true solution of the question, indicate the ability and relish with which
he would have examined the subject, if the duties of a statesman had left him
leisure to devote to it.

No sooner were our citizens relieved from the cares and restrictions of war, than
they began to explore and occupy the western country. From Fort Pitt, as a centre
of operations, military and surveying parties were sent in different directions to
prepare the way for emigration, and to secure the protection of the frontiers. Pioneer
settlements had already been made in Kentucky ; of which an account was printed
by John Filson in 1784, containing a brief notice of two "ancient fortifications,"
with ditches and bastions, near Lexington.

The design of making an organized settlement northwest of the Ohio, appears to
have been first publicly suggested by the soldiers of the revolution in June 1783.
A grant had been solicited from the British government as early as 1772, on behalf
of the provincial officers and soldiers who had served in the war against France ;
and on receiving a favorable reply, Israel Putnam and Rufus Putnam, the first
afterwards the celebrated general of the revolution, the other, also, subsequently, a

Jefferson distributed to his friends in Paris, copies of Lis "Notes," bearing the date of 1782, but
supposed to be printed in 17*4. A more complete edition was printed in 1787— Rich. Bibliotheca
Americana.

DISCOVERIES ON THE MUSKINGUM. 23

general officer, but better known as the pioneer of settlements in Ohio, went with
one or two more to the southwest, and spent some months in exploring and locating
townships on the Big Black river near its junction with the Mississippi, about
latitude 33° north. Several hundred families are said to have left Massachusetts
and Connecticut to make the settlement ; but the grant was revoked by the king,
many of the emigrants sickened and died, and war breaking out soon after, the
enterprise was abandoned.1 It would be a matter of curious speculation to deter-
mine what might have been the results if a New England colony had then been
planted so far to the southwest. We may at least suppose that one of the Putnams
would have been lost to the army of the revolution, and the other have given
priority in prominence to the antiquities of the Yazoo country, instead of to those
of the Muskingum.

It was not till April 7, 1788, that the company organized by General Rufus
Putnam, after the Revolution, arrived at the mouth of the Muskingum to take
possession of lands they had purchased of the United States Government. That
day is commemorated by the Historical Society of Ohio, as introducing the first
organized white settlement in the region northwest of the Ohio river.

The remarkable earthworks of Marietta are doubtless the first that were care-
fully surveyed, and of which drawings were presented to the consideration of
scientific men. Dr. Mannasseh Cutler, and General Rufus Putnam, are usually
cited as original observers of the remains among which the new village was located.
The precedence of discovery and description is, however, due to other persons, as a
comparison of dates will show.2 During the years 1785 and 1786, letters from
officers in the army to their friends at home, containing allusions to Indian antiqui-
ties, were published in the newspapers of the day. The accounts were often
highly exaggerated, and gave rise to burlesque descriptions of wonderful adventures
and discoveries that affected the credit of well-founded narratives. General
Samuel H. Parsons, an officer of standing and character, from Connecticut, gave
to these observations an authentic character, in a communication addressed to
President Willard, of Harvard College. In his letter, dated Oct. 2, 1786, the
mound at Grave creek is described, and the works at Marietta are referred
to, and mention is made of a plan of the latter, which the writer had previously
sent to President Stiles, of New Haven. This communication was afterwards
published in the Memoirs of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Vol. II,
1793, but without the plan. There is good reason to believe that the plan for-
warded by General Parsons to President Stiles is the same that may be found in
the Columbian Magazine of May, 1787. This was drawn by Captain, afterwards
Major Heart, and is accompanied by an elaborate description. In the winter of
1786, President Stiles had written to Dr. Franklin, requesting his opinion of the
fortifications at Muskingum, &c, described by General Parsons and others. It may

1 MS. Autobiography of Gen. Rufus Putnam.

3 Dr. Cutler, who with Winthrop Sargent had negotiated the purchase of the land for the Ohio
company, did not arrive at Marietta till August, 1788. — Historical Disc, of Rev. Thomas Wickes,
at Marietta, Dec. 6, 1846.

24 ARCHEOLOGY OF THE UNITED STATES.

be presumed that the drawing was sent at the same time, as it would be required,
of course, to enable Franklin to form a judgment of the nature and object of the
structures. Franklin might naturally transfer it to the editors of the magazine in
Philadelphia for publication, as a matter of general interest and curiosity. It
does not appear as a communication from Captain Heart, and is inserted without
note or comment. General Parsons, who was but two days at Marietta,1 on his
way down the river, speaks of having left at that place, a request with an officer
of learning and great curiosity in his observations of the natural world, to inform
him of his discoveries, from whom it would appear that much of his information
had been derived. Captain Heart was stationed at Fort Harmar, on the opposite
bank of the Muskingum, and subsequent papers written by him manifest the
qualities attributed to the officer alluded to.

We may justly conclude that the plan in the Columbian Magazine, is the one
referred to by General Parsons, and that, next to the sketch of the works at Circle-
ville in 1772, before mentioned, it is the earliest diagram made of western antiqui-
ties. Captain Heart was not only one of the earliest observers in this field of
investigation, but manifested a zeal, intelligence, and comprehensiveness of research,
that promised the most satisfactory results. A few years later (Jan. 1791), in
reply to inquiries of Dr. Benjamin Smith Barton, he wrote a paper, embodying
much valuable information, that was read before the American Philosophical
Society, and is included in the third volume of the transactions of that body.
In this communication, he refers to a large number and variety of earthworks
observed by himself and others in the western country, at the mouth of the
Muskingum, at Grave creek, at Paint creek, and along the Scioto, on the Ken-
tucky side of the Ohio opposite the mouth of the Scioto (the last said to have been
accurately traced by Col. George Morgan), and on the Great and Little Miami.
He mentions that others have been described to him as situated on the Big Black
river (the intended site of the colony from New England before the Revolution),
at Bio Pierre on the Mississippi, and on the head waters of the Yazoo and Mobile
rivers. This was an extensive range for that period, and includes remains whose
discovery has been ascribed to later explorers. Contrary to the general tendency
of the time, the writer indulges in no visionary speculations, but simply gives his
opinion that the earthworks were not constructed by De Soto, because he did not
visit the regions where they are principally found, and had no time for such labors
anywhere ; that the state of the works and the trees growing on them indicated
an origin prior to the discovery of America by Columbus; that they were not
due to the present Indians or their predecessors, or some tradition would have
remained of their uses ; that they were not constructed by a people who procured
the necessaries of life by hunting, as a sufficient number to carry on such labors
could not have subsisted in that way ; and, lastly, that the people who constructed
them were not altogether in an uncivilized state, as they must have been under
the subordination of law, with a strict and well-governed police, or they could

1 Then called "Muskingum," from the river at whose mouth it is situated.

PIONEER OBSERVERS. 25

not have been kept together in such numerous bodies, and been made to contribute
to the execution of such stupendous works.

It is evident that, with the aid of persons so competent and so well disposed to
pursue such investigations as Captain Heart and General Parsons, a rational develop-
ment of the nature, extent, and probable origin of our aboriginal antiquities, need
not have been postponed for thirty years, which actually elapsed from this period
before any detailed and connected view of them was given to the public. Unhap-
pily both met with a premature and violent end. General Parsons was drowned
in the Ohio, in December, 1789; and Heart, then a major, was slain at the disas-
trous defeat of St. Clair, in November, 1791, when the flower of the western army
were involved in the same destruction.

In reply to the inquiry of President Stiles, Franklin would undertake to give no
explanation of the works described, but suggested that they might possibly have
been constructed by Ferdinand De Soto as a defence against the savages. Upon
this hint, Noah Webster addressed a series of letters to Dr. Stiles, in which he
attempted to trace the route of the Spanish adventurer, and to show that the em-
bankments at Marietta might have been erected by his followers. These were
written in 1787, and first published in the "American Magazine," of which Mr.
Webster was editor, and reprinted two years later in the " American Museum."

Col. Winthrop Sargent, who afterwards occupied high official positions at the
West, was among the earliest to collect information on matters of antiquarian and
scientific interest there. In March, 1787, he wrote to Governor Bowdoin, President
of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, inclosing a plan and description
of the remains at Marietta, discovered (he says) by the garrison at Fort Harmar
the year previous. For some reason this communication was not published at the
time ; but, having been brought to the notice of the Academy by Dr. Bowditch,
the librarian, so recently as 1850, was first printed in 1853.1 The sketch is a more

1 Memoirs of Am. Acad., Vol. V, Part I. Dr. Bowditch remarks that the plan bears a date four
years earlier than any documents mentioned by Messrs. Squier and Davis. He also refers to the plan
alluded to in the letter of Gen. Parsons to President Willard, of which he says he has no knowledge ;
and, supposing the latter to be lost, would be right in considering that of Col. Sargent as the earliest
now extant. In Part IV. of Mr. Schoolcraft's history of the condition and prospects of the Indian
tribes, under the head of "Epoch of the Discovery of the Western Tumuli," it is said, "Accounts of
these antiquities at Marietta were first published by Dr. Manasseh Cutler and the Rev. Thaddeus M.
Harris, with diagrams of the antique works drawn by Gen. Rufus Putnam, made immediately after the
settlement of the town." This statement is evidently taken from Mr. Atwater's treatise in the first
volume of the Transactions of the American Antiquarian Society. The facts are, that Dr. Cutler's
very brief account is in a note to his charge at the ordination of Rev. Joseph Story, at Marietta, August
15, 1798, which was printed the same year; while Dr. Harris's "Tour" was not published till 1805.
The error has so often been repeated that a specific correction is desirable.

In this connection it may be well to refer to another misapprehension in the same volume of the work
of Mr. Schoolcraft, viz : that " assertions of a Celtic element in the Indian languages first originated in
America in 1782, in certain accounts given by Isaac Stuart, of South Carolina, an early Western trader."
The letter of Morgan Jones, " Chaplain to the Plantations of South Carolina," dated New York, March
10, 16S5-6, and published in March, 1740, in the "Gentleman's Magazine," London, X, 104, is pro-
bably the most remarkable "assertion" that has appeared. The letter affirms that, being taken prisoner
by the Tuscaroras in 1660, the writer found himself able to converse with them in the British (Welsh)
language, and actually preached to them several months in the same tongue.
4

26 ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE UNITED STATES.

elaborate one, and more highly finished than that of Captain Heart, from which it
differs in a few slight particulars, being evidently drawn from a subsequent survey.

A few j'ears later, Col. Sargent forwarded to Rev. Dr. Belknap, the historian, and
also to the American Philosophical Society, a paper, with drawings of ornaments and
implements taken from the mounds at Cincinnati ; which formed the text of an
elaborate treatise on the subject of western antiquities, read before the Philosophical
Society by Dr. Benjamin Smith Barton.1

In 1787, Dr. Barton, then a student of medicine at Edinburgh, commenced the
publication of a work entitled " Observations on Some Parts of Natural History."
The first part, which alone was printed, relates to antiquities, and contains an
account of the discoveries at Muskingum, and remarks on the first peopling of the
country. This was noticed the same year in the London " Critical Review," where
the writer, differing from what he supposes to be the opinion of the author, viz :
that America derived its inhabitants from the north of Europe, is disposed to regard
the south of Europe as the source of their origin. Dr. Barton intended merely to
assume, as an hypothesis, that the Danes were the ancestors of the race that built
the mounds and fortifications, while the country at large had probably been peo-
pled from a thousand sources.2

In 1788, Rev. Samuel Kirkland, missionary to the Senecas, of New York, ob-
served the remains of embankments and inclosures in Monroe and Genesee Counties,
in that State.

Notices of earthworks are not infrequent, about this period, in the journals of
travellers, and persons connected with the army at the West. The third volume
of the Collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society contains an extract
from the MS. journal of a gentleman connected with the forces under the command
of Gen. St. Clair, in which the vestiges of ancient "fortifications" are spoken of as
" ever presenting themselves to the view." The writer says he has been told that
they owe their origin to the Welsh ; referring evidently to the statement of Isaac
Stuart, of what he professed to have learned from certain Indians respecting their
origin from a foreign country, supposed, from their knowledge of the Welsh lan-
guage, to be Wales ; which statement was printed in some of the newspapers, in
October, 1785.3

1 See "Massachusetts Magazine," July, 1795, and "Transactions of Am. Phil. Society," TV, 1799.
Dr. Barton's paper was in the form of a letter to Rev. Joseph Priestley.

a Letter to Dr. Priestley, Trans, of Am. Phil. Society, IV.

a The circumstances that may be adduced to prove the former existence of a Celtic colony in the
southern regions of the United States arc certainly curious, and exhibit some remarkable coincidences.

The Scandinavian tales of an " Irish Christian people," somewhere south of the Chesapeake, relate
to a period nearly two centuries prior to the alleged expedition of Madoc, but deserve to be noticed in
this connection. The same localities, near the Gulf of Mexico, have been assigned to them that are
designated as the original abode of the followers of the Welsh chieftain. Then we have the story of
the Rev. Morgan Jones, that the Tuscaroras understood his preaching "in the British tongue," about
A. D. 1660 ; and the less definite accounts of "one Stedman," and " one Oliver Humphreys," respect-
ing natives, somewhere near Florida, who spoke Welsh. To these are to be added the statement of
Mr. Charles Beatty, a missionary, who visited the interior in the year 1766. Benjamin Sutton, a
captive, informed him that he had been with the Choctaws to an Indian town, a very considerable

WELSH INDIANS. 27

In the American Museum for May, 1792, and also in the Massachusetts Magazine
for August, 1792, is an article that purports to be "an extract from the MS. of a
late traveller," which is of interest as showing how far west and north the antiqui-
ties of the interior had already been observed. The writer refers to the " ruins,"
in the Illinois and Wabash countries, and adds, that there are others no less remark-
able many hundred miles further west, and particularly about the great falls of the
Mississippi. He speaks of pyramids from thirty to seventy or eighty feet high,
some of which were examined, and a stratum of white substance like lime generally
found in them ; and of circular fortifications inclosed with deep ditches and fenced
with a breastwork.

The attention of literary and scientific men in the eastern States was now fairly
roused, by the well authenticated descriptions of remarkable antiquities which had
been transmitted from the West. The presidents of the colleges at New Haven
and Cambridge, and the members of learned societies in Boston and Philadelphia,
were called upon to express an opinion respecting their purpose and origin.

The celebrated discourse delivered by President Stiles, before the general As-
sembly of Connecticut, in 1783, upon the past, the present, and the future of the
United States, gave him distinguished prominence as a curious student of American
history, as well archaeological as civil and political. In that discourse he assumed
as " certain conclusions," 1st, that all the American Indians are one kind of people;
2d, that they are the same as the people of the northeast of Asia. With regard to
their origin, he considered them as " Canaanites of the expulsion of Joshua," some

distance from New Orleans, whose inhabitants were of different complexions, not so tawny as the other
Indians, and who spoke Welsh, and that they had a book among them wrapped in skins, but could not
read it ; that he heard some of these afterwards in the lower Shawanaugh town speak Welsh with one
Lewis, a Welshman, a captive ; and that this Welsh tribe now live on the west side of the Mississippi,
a great way above New Orleans. Levi Hicks, another captive, told Beatty that he had been in a town
of Indians, on the west side of the Mississippi, who talked Welsh, as he was told, for he did not under-
stand them. The account given by Captain Isaac Stuart, said to be taken from his own mouth in
1782, and inserted in the Public Advertiser, Oct. 8, 1185, is in substance as follows : That eighteen
years before, he was taken prisoner about fifty miles west of Fort Pitt, and carried by the Indians to
the Wabash. After two years of bondage, he, and a fellow captive named John Davy (or David), were
redeemed by a Spaniard, and accompanying him they crossed the Mississippi, near Red river, up which
they travelled seven hundred miles, when they came to a nation of Indians remarkably white, and whose
hair was mostly of a reddish color. The day after their arrival, the Welshman (David) declared his
intention of remaining with that people, as he understood their language. Stuart's curiosity being
excited by that information, he questioned the chiefs with the aid of his companion, and learned from
them that their forefathers came from a foreign country and landed on the east side of the Mississippi,
the chiefs describing particularly the country of Florida ; and that, on the Spaniards taking possession
of Mexico, they fled to their theu abode. As a proof of their story they exhibited rolls of parchment
carefully tied up in otter's skins, on which were large characters written with blue ink, which the
Welshman, being ignorant of letters, was unable to read.

If these statements are compared with Mr. Catlin's account of the Mandaus, they will be found to
correspond remarkably with his convictions respecting the physical differences between them and other
tribes, their probable descent from the followers of Madoc, and the course of their migrations. He
would doubtless have employed them to strengthen his argument had he been aware of their existence.
Autiquitates Americana?, p. XXXVII. Williams's "Inquiry," &c, Am. Museum for April and May
1792. Catlin's North American Indians, 6th Lond. Ed. I, 206, TI, Appendix A.

28 ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE UNITED STATES.

of whom, in Phoenician ships, coasted the Mediterranean to its mouth ; as appears
from the inscription they left there in the ancient Phoenician letter, viz : "We are
they who fled from the face of Joshua the robber, the son of Nun." From thence he
supposes they crossed the Atlantic, driven by the trade-winds, and commenced the
settlement of Mexico and Peru. Another branch of the same people, be inferred,
might travel northeastward, become the Tartars of that part of Asia, and finally,
passing over to America, constitute the sachemdoms of the northern regions of this
continent.1

This appears to be an independent opinion of President Stiles, as he does not
refer to those early writers (Gomara, De Lery, Lescarbot, &c.) who derived the
population of certain portions of this country from the Canaanites, though upon
different grounds; but he strengthens his view with the judgment of M. Gebelin, of
the Paris Academy of Sciences, who had pronounced the characters on the Dighton
rock to be Punic (as M. Jomard has since decided those on the Grave creek stone
to be Lybian), and interpreted them as denoting that the ancient Carthaginians
once visited these distant regions.

Aboriginal monuments are rare in New England ; but her scholars did not fail
to observe and investigate such as were found. A copy of the inscription on the
Dighton rock was made by Rev. Mr. Danforth, as early as 1680. In 1712, Cot-
ton Mather sent a very rude and incorrect drawing of the same to the Royal
Society. The Professor of Hebrew in Harvard College, Stephen Sewall, made, in
1768, the first copy that bears any near resemblance to those of recent date; and
another was taken, with special care, by Professor James Winthrop, in 1788. The
last two delineations are those which reminded Washington of what he had seen
in his youth, while carrying the surveyor's chain through western forests."

President Stiles was active in the examination of American inscriptions. He
visited an inscribed rock at a place in Connecticut called by the Indians Scaticook,
took full sized drawings of some of the characters, and wrote an account of it in
1789. He also collected accounts of sculptures that had been noticed in other
parts of the country, viz : on the south shore of Lake Erie, observed by the mis-
sionary Kirkland ; on the Alleghany river, below Venango, visited in 1789 by Mr.
Frothingham ; and others in Brattleboro' Vt., on the Alatamaha in Georgia, and
on Cumberland river in Kentucky. In 1790, he prepared an account of a stone
bust, supposed to have been an Indian god, which had been found the year before,

1 The story of the inscription is derived from Procopius, the Greek historian, a native of Palestine,
who says that he saw and read it at Tangier, on two marble pillars, in the ancient Phoenician character.

3 An account of the Dighton rock, and the various conjectures and speculations to which it has given
rise, would Gil a volume by itself. Since 1680, copies have continued to be taken by different
methods, each aiming to be more accurate than others. These are often widely diverse from one
another, and no two of them are precisely alike. The construction given to the inscription by the
Scandinavian antiquaries is well known. It is not as well known, perhaps, that the now commonly
received opinion, that it is the work of the native Indians, was expressed by Gen. Washington, at Cam-
bridge, in IT 89. He remarked to Dr. Lathrop, who visited the college with him, that he had
repeatedly noticed similar inscriptions in the Indian country, in early life, which were unquestionably
executed by the natives. — Memoirs of Am. Acad, of Arts and Sciences, III, 205.

REMAINS IN NEW ENGLAND. 29

at East Hartford, Conn., and deposited in the museum of Yale College. Other
remains of aboriginal art and labor, little conspicuous as they were, also attracted
attention.

Rev. Gideon Hawley, who about A. D. 1754, was among the Indians of western
Massachusetts and eastern New York, as a missionary, on one occasion saw his
Indian guide near Schoharie, looking for a stone, which, when found, he carefully
added to an ancient pile. Being pressed for a reason the Indian was reluctant to
speak on the subject, but stated that his father had done so before and enjoined the
same duty on him. Mr. Hawley remarks that he observed such heaps of stones in
every part of the country ; the largest being on the mountain between Stockbridge
and Great Barrington, in Massachusetts. He says, moreover, " we have a sacrifice
rock, as it is termed, between Plymouth and Sandwich, to which stones and sticks
are cast by Indians who pass it. This custom, or rite, is an acknowledgment of an
invisible God whom this people worship. This heap is his altar. The stone that
is collected is the oblation of the traveller."1

A similar heap, or mound of stones, was described by Noah Webster, in 1789, as
situated about seven miles from Hartford, on the road to Farmington, Conn., where,
according to the tradition of the inhabitants, an Indian was buried, and every one
of his race on passing by was accustomed to add a stone to the pile.2

In 1795, Rev. Jacob Bailey communicated to Jeremy Belknap, the historian,
then Corresponding Secretary of the Massachusetts Historical Society, an article
entitled, "Observations and conjectures on the antiquities of America." In this,
as proving the existence of works which exceed the contrivance and ability of the
existing generation of Indians, he describes a mound upon an extensive plain, near
the mouth of the Kennebec river, in Maine, which he states to be six hundred
feet in circumference, and perhaps fifty feet high, and composed of stones inter-
mingled with earth and sand — the summit being a flat surface, nearly twenty feet
in diameter, and exhibiting a kind of pavement of large smooth stones. Thus it
had appeared twenty-five years before ; and its artificial character was supposed to
be indicated by the fact that the surrounding lands, for some distance, were entirely
destitute of stones — excepting on the beaches of the river, where they resembled
those forming the mound.3

Rev. Jonathan Edwards, of New Haven, afterwards President of Union College,
at Schenectady, a son of the celebrated metaphysician, communicated to the Con-
necticut Society of Arts and Sciences, in 1788, his important "Observations on the
language of the Muhhekaneew (Mohegan) Indians." This treatise was reprinted
in 1823, in the collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society, with great
additions by Mr. Pickering, and may fairly be considered as the foundation of the
significant philological discovery of a radical connection among Indian languages,
notwithstanding a wide local separation, and great diversities of dialect. The author
had remarkable cpjalifications for detecting and developing the most delicate gram-
matical peculiarities ; having begun to learn the language of the Mohegans at six

' Mass. Hist. Coll., 1st se. IV. 59. s Am. Museum, VI. 234.

3 Mass. Hist. Coll., 1st se. IV. 104.

30 ARCHEOLOGY OF THE UNITED STATES.

years of age, and having lived with them till it became "more familiar than his
mother tongue."

Dr. Barton's "New Views of the Origin of the Tribes and Nations of America,"
printed at Philadelphia in 1797, and much enlarged the following year, is wholly
devoted to the subject of language, and the comparison of vocabularies. A refer-
ence to philological studies, so intimately associated with inquiries into the origin
and affinities of population, is deferred to a later period of our narrative, when these
may appropriately form a distinct topic of consideration ; hence, no notice has been
taken of the efforts of travellers and writers to procure comparative tables of words
and phrases. The principal and most trustworthy compilers of vocabularies were
the missionaries, who could not communicate theological doctrines to the untutored
savage without a more careful study of the shades of meaning in words than ordi-
nary intercourse would require. Much is due to the Jesuit and Franciscan priests ;
more to Mayhew, Eliot, Roger Williams, and their associates. Some useful addi-
tions were also contributed by traders, and other casual residents among the natives.
Enough had been collected when Dr. Barton wrote to furnish attractive materials
for study to philologists, not only in this country, but in Europe.1

From what has been said it will be seen that, before the close of the last century,
men of science in the United States had become warmly interested in the vestiges
of ancient art which had been discovered; and, supposing the amount of knowledge
of the subject possessed by learned men in 1787, to be indicated by Jefferson's
opinion that there existed " no remain as respectable as would be a common ditch
for the draining of lands," a few succeeding years had certainly witnessed rapid
advances of information, derived from nearly every portion of our national territory,
and relating to extraordinary and nrysterious monuments of antiquit}^. It is
undoubtedly true that, before 1800, the existence of tumuli and inclosures in great
numbers, and of imposing magnitude, throughout the valley of the Mississippi, at
least on its eastern side, and from the Gulf of Mexico to the Lakes, was well known
to the public ; and, moreover, that many of the principal localities had been pointed
out, some of the works had been described with great particularity, and collections
had been made of the curious contents of the mounds. The inclosed works were
generally regarded as fortifications, and were supposed to demonstrate the former
possession of the country by a people skilled in the means of military defence.

In 1803, two well educated gentlemen, of observing habits of mind, were exam-
ining these structures at no great distance from one another, but on opposite sides
of the Ohio River, and came to very different conclusions respecting their origi-
nal purpose. One of them, Bishop Madison, of Virginia, became satisfied that the
parapets and inclosures were never intended for military uses ; and gave his rea-
sons at length in a letter to Dr. Barton, which was read before the Philosophical

1 Among the foreign correspondents of Dr. Barton, was Sir Joseph Banks, President of the Royal
Society. In 1795, Sir Joseph sent over some specimens of earthenware found near Lake Huron, in
"the ruins of an ancient town," by Dr. Nooth, of Quebec. — Massachusetts Magazine of Oct. 1795.

In 1796, the celebrated French philosopher, Volney, travelled through many of the Western States,
and collected a vocabulary of the language of the Miamis. He saw mounds at Cincinnati, and in
Kentucky ; and, from the account of the works at Muskingum, did not think they exhibited evidence
of military art — Volney's "View," &c, translated by C. B. Brown, Phil., 1804.

DIVERSE OPINIONS. 31

Society, and published a few years later in one of its volumes. The other, Rev.
Thaddeus Mason Harris, of Massachusetts, was disposed to agree with the prevailing
opinion, that they must have been places of defence.

It appeared to Bishop Madison that such remains were too numerous, too various
in form and dimensions, and often too unfavorably situated to be regarded as for-
tresses ; while certain striking features, in which they all agreed, indicated one
common origin and destination. The lowness of the walls, the fact that the ditch
was generally within, the whole being usually commanded by natural or artificial
elevations without, were circumstances that, in his judgment, pointed to some very
different design. The mounds he considered as burial-places, raised by the gradual
accumulation of deposits. He does not allude to the conjecture which had been
ventured by some, that the supposed forts were sacred inclosures, and the elevated
squares areas of temples, or places of sacrifice.

Mr. Harris, on the other hand, adopting from Clavigero his account of the emi-
gration of the Toltecs from the North, ascribed to them the construction of the
" fenced cities," whose walls of earth he imagined to have been surmounted by
palisades, and to have been intended for protection in the gradual progress of that
people through the territories of less civilized tribes.1

These gentlemen are often cited as pioneers in this field of investigation. They
are among the first who, uniting opportunities of personal observation to, the ad-
vantages of scientific culture, imparted to the public their impressions of western
antiquities. They represent the two classes of observers whose opposite views still
divide the sentiment of the country; one class seeing no evidences of art beyond
what might be expected of existing tribes, with the simple difference of a more
numerous population, and consequently better defined and more permanent
habitations ; the other finding proofs of skill and refinement, to be explained, as
they believe, only on the supposition that a superior native race, or more probably
a people of foreign and higher civilization, once occupied the soil.

The official expedition of Capts. Lewis and Clark to the sources of the Missouri,
in the years 1804, 1805, and 1806; and that of Lieut. Pike to the sources of the
Mississippi, and through the western parts of Louisiana in the years 1805, 1806,
and 1807, were productive of very little increase to the stock of archosological
information ; although Allen's narrative of the former contains a drawing of earth-
works observed on the Missouri, near Bon Homme Island.

Robin, a French naturalist, who was in Louisiana in 1805, described the re-
markable tumuli near the junction of the Washita and Tcensa rivers.2 The account
of these in the memoir of Messrs. Squier and Davis, is derived from Major Stoddard's
" Sketches of Louisiana," published in 1812. In his brief chapter on the remains
of antiquity at the West, that author expresses the opinion that " Till we are better
informed, it seems fair to attribute them to the Welsh."3

1 "Journal of a Tour in the Territory Northwest of the Alleghany Mountains in 1803, &c."
Rev. Dr. Harris was subsequently an active and distinguished officer of the American Antiquarian
Society, and contributed to that institution many valuable relics, and some MS. notes of observations.
3 "Voyage dans Louisiane, &c, par C. C. Robin, Taris, 1801."
3 Stoddard's Sketches, p. 34T.

32 ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE UNITED STATES.

The Portfolio, in 1810, furnished an excellent plan of one of the most unques-
tionable works of defence to be found in the country, and also the most elaborate
and extensive, situated on the east bank of the Little Miami, in Warren County,
Ohio. In 1814, the same periodical contained other accounts and drawings of
remains found in different localities, and in that year Mr. Brackenridge published
his " Views of Louisiana," with a sensible chapter, and some notes, devoted to the
subject of antiquities.

In 1812, an organization was first adopted for promoting the study of antiquities,
and collecting and preserving the materials of our national history. The need of
such a measure had become apparent ; objects of archaeological interest were known
to exist in great numbers ; but in the crude and defective state of information
respecting them, no inferences worthy the name of scientific deductions could be
derived from the features they presented. Not only accurate delineations and
trustworthy descriptions, but aggregation and classification, were wanting to a
development of their real nature and probable origin. Generations of forests, it
was asserted, had flourished and decayed over curious relics and surprising works
of art. Gigantic bones had been disinterred from the morasses of the West. Vestiges
of human forms of unnatural dimensions, were supposed to have been discovered.
The valley of the Mississippi was like a wonder-book, full of marvels and mysteries,
and productive of vague and dreamy lucubrations. While men of education were
reviving one or another of the many theories of colonization from the old world, at
some dim and distant period, faintly indicated by history or tradition, another
class convinced themselves that giants and pigmies had, in turn or together, inha-
bited that region.

Among those who were impressed with the importance of subjecting these ques-
tions to scientific scrutiny, and seasonably securing facts of every kind, necessary
to the completeness of American history, in its relation both to the past and the
future, was Isaiah Thomas, an eminent printer and publisher, of Worcester, Mas-
sachusetts. He did not confine himself to personal influence and exertions, but, as
a literary nucleus to the proposed institution, offered the gift of his private collection
of rare and curious books, valued at not less than five thousand dollars. The design
found favor with many gentlemen of literary and political prominence ; and, in
October, 1812, the American Antiquarian Society was established, with an act of
incoi'poration from the Legislature of Massachusetts. It was supposed that the
United States Government had not constitutional power to grant charters to public
societies without the District of Columbia. For some reasons of convenience, to
which pecuniary inducements were afterwards added, the institution was located
at Worcester, the residence of Mr. Thomas, who had been chosen its President.

The war with Great Britain, and the Indian hostilities which had been excited
throughout the West, rendered the period an unfavorable one for active researches.
Immediate measures were, nevertheless, adopted to awaken public attention, and
prepare the way for future success. Meetings were held at which addresses were
delivered that were afterwards printed and circulated. Members were selected from
all parts of the Union, and the correspondence of persons who had manifested an
interest in historical and antiquarian studies, was earnestly solicited. Valuable

AMERICAN ANTIQUARIAN SOCIETY. 33

communications were from time to time received, some of which are/inserted in the
first volume of the Society's Transactions.

When peace was restored, and the interior of the country tranquillized,. a lively
spirit of inquiry sprang up in the midst of the antiquities to be investigated. Men
of intelligence at Lexington, Ky., at Cincinnati, and in other parts of Ohio, resorted
to accurate measurements of works in their neighborhood, and to excavations for
the purpose of ascertaining the contents of the mounds. Among the most enter-
prising of these was Caleb Atwater, of Circleville, Ohio, a village deriving its name
from a remarkable aboriginal structure that occupied its site, and which it destroyed.

At the request of the President of the Antiquarian Society, and assisted by him
with pecuniary means, Mr. Atwater undertook to prepare a comprehensive account
of the antiquities of the Western States, with plans of the principal earthworks,
and drawings of the most characteristic relics. This was published by the Society
in 1820, and occupies the greater part of the first volume of " Arch.eologia
Americana."

Thus, a connected and authentic representation of these objects of interest and
curiosity was at length accomplished ; and in a manner that, under the circumstances,
must be regarded as highly creditable, both to the author, and the institution under
whose auspices it was effected. Considering the difficulties that were to be sur-
mounted in tracing lines often buried in forests, and otherwise obscured by time,
before repeated observations had assisted the judgment, the surveys are more
accurate than could reasonably be anticipated. When we take into view the fact
that almost every writer on the subject, thus far, had been engaged in determining
by what foreign people the mounds and fortifications might have been reared, rather
than in seeking in the works themselves to find their true significance and history,
the treatise of Mr. Atwater is entitled to the praise of being more than ordinarily
practical, and free from visionary tendencies ; while its claims to the general merit of
faithful and comprehensive research have not been impaired by later investigations.

It is not surprising that Mr. Atwater should indulge to some extent in the se-
ductive practice of premature speculation, instead of confining himself to a simple
exhibition of facts ; but he did not arrange or employ the latter for the support of
any peculiar theory or private opinion. If the literary merits of his narrative are
not of a high order, he escaped the dangers of an ambitious and imaginative style
of description. He was greatly assisted by other gentlemen at the West, whose
attention had been directed to particular localities. From many he received draw-
ings and useful information acknowledged in his work. Great credit is due to Dr.
Daniel Drake, for the sensible account of the antiquities of the Miami country,
contained in his "Picture of Cincinnati," published in 1815.

The "Western Gazetteer," compiled by Samuel R, Brown, in 1817, embraced in
its statistics the known antiquities of the States to which it refers ; and in the same
year, De Witt Clinton read before the Literary and Philosophical Society of New
York, his memoir on the antiquities of that State, having previously touched upon
the subject of aboriginal remains in a discourse before the Historical Society, in 1811.

By these publications, and others of a more limited and incidental nature, near
the same period, the preparation of Mr. Atwater's summary was doubtless facilitated.

34 ARCHEOLOGY OF THE UNITED STATES.

The first volume of the Archa?ologia Americana contains, besides the principal
memoir, communications from various correspondents of the Society, relating to the
same subject, and bearing different dates, from 1815, to 1820.

Among these is a series of characteristic papers by the learned Dr. Samuel L.
Mitchell ; who, as chairman of the Committee on Indian affairs in the United States
Senate for several years, had been accustomed to a good deal of intercourse with
the aborigines.

The work, as a whole, may probably be regarded as an exponent of the opinions
of investigators at that period, as well as an embodiment of facts which had then
been ascertained.

Mr. Atwater assumes that the present race of Indians was most numerous near
the sea, and in the northern and eastern portions of the United States, as shown
by the greater quantity of arrow-heads, and other implements of war and peace,
found in those regions ; that of the few eartJitvorks discovered east of the Alleghanies,
the most northerly is near Black River, south of Lake Ontario, in New York, and
the most easterly at Oxford, on the Chenango river, in the same State ; while west
of the Alleghanies, and as far as the Rocky Mountains, tumuli are numerous; and
in the eastern valley of the Mississippi, remains of a more remarkable character
are met with, from the Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico, that gradually increase in size
and frequency towards the south. Some of these structures he believes to have
been fortifications ; others sacred inclosures, with their mounds of sacrifice, or sites
of temples ; others places of diversion ; and others mounds of burial.

The contents of the tumuli are described as articles of pottery, implements and
ornaments of stone, similar to those of modern Indians ; figures wrought in stone ;
carved pipe-bowls ; articles of copper, such as tubes, bracelets, arrow-heads, pipes,
«fec, of rude workmanship; beads of bone or ivory; mirrors of mica; marine shells;
and, in a few instances, ornaments plated with silver. Knives and swords of iron
were also supposed to be indicated by their oxidized remains.

The skeletons from the mounds are represented as those of a people unlike our
present Indians — the latter being tall, slender, and straight-limbed ; the former
short and thick, rarely over five feet in height ; their faces short and broad, with
rather high cheek bones ; their foreheads low, their eyes very large, and their chins
broad .

The relics were said to be found, in some instances, at the bases of excavated
mounds, in connection with one or more skeletons lying upon hearths or altars of
burnt clay; the whole having been subjected to the action of fire, implying a cere-
monial of sepulture or sacrifice, followed by the heaping of earth upon the remains.

Plans are given of the most prominent works in Ohio; where are found nearly
all the varieties of form and construction which had then been recognized, except
such as belong to the States bordering on the Gulf of Mexico. Concerning the
latter, Mr. Atwater's information was limited to general accounts of inexact obser-
vations ; and he does not undertake to exhibit their figures or dimensions, although
some relics from that section are engraved with those of other parts of the country.

The growth of generations of forests over these remains, and the changes in the
levels and courses of streams on whose ancient banks they are situated, are applied

CONCURRENT VIEWS 35

as tests of their antiquity. The mathematical accuracy of squares and circles
inclosing large areas, often many acres in extent, is adduced as evidence of scientific
culture. The indications of improvement in art, and apparent increase of population,
observable in following the courses of the streams towards the south, are received
as proofs of migration from the north, protracted, perhaps, and with long intervals
of interruption, but still ever progressive in one direction.

These data, and others of a similar character, were naturally made the basis of
conjectures respecting the people to whom the vestiges of ancient residence and
ultimate removal should be ascribed.

On this point there appears to have been a general coincidence of opinion among
those who occupied the position of authorities at the time of Mr. Atwater's publi-
cation.

That the inhabitants of America were chiefly descended from two branches of
the same Asiatic family, was a doctrine advocated by the learned Dr. Hugh
Williamson in 1811 and 1812— the arts of civilization being, in his judgment,
traceable to the Hindoos.1 Dr. Mitchell, whose multifarious erudition sometimes
impaired the definiteness and consistency of his reasoning, had taken the ground,
in 1815, that " the original inhabitants of America consisted of the same races with
the Malays of Australasia, and the Tartars of the North ;" that the former landed
in North America, and penetrated across the continent to the region lying between
the Great Lakes and the Gulf of Mexico, where they constructed the fortifications,
mounds, &c. ; and that they were probably overcome by the more warlike and
ferocious hordes that came from the northeast of Asia, and were the ancestors of the
present race. In 1816, he claimed to establish these hypotheses " by a process of
reasoning not hitherto advanced," and, at the close of his argument, declares : " I
forbore to go further than to ascertain by the correspondences already stated, the
identity of origin and derivation of the American and Asiatic nations, avoiding the
opportunity that grand conclusion afforded me of stating that America was the
cradle of the human race. I had no inclination to oppose the current opinions
relative to the place of man's creation and dispersion, and thought it scarcely worth
while to inform a European that on coming to America he had left the new world
behind him, for the purpose of visiting the OLD." At a later period of the same
year he gave another exposition of his views, repeating his assertion that the phy-
siognomy, manufactures, and customs, of the North American tribes of the middle
and low latitudes, and of the South Americans, show them to be nearly akin to the
Malay race of Australasia and Polynesia. But a new element had entered his
calculations, from a suggestion of De Witt Clinton, that some of the " old forts" in
New York were of a Danish character. " In the twinkling of an eye," he says, " I
was penetrated by the justness of his remark. An additional window of light was
suddenly opened to me." He then proceeds to the supposition, that the Danes, or
Finns, and the Welshmen (for he puts the followers of Madoc and the Scandinavians
together) performed their migration gradually to the southwest, and fortified them-

1 Some account of the aborigines of America, in his " Observations on the Climate," &c. Hist, of
North Carolina, I, appendix B.

36 ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE UNITED STATES.

selves in the country south of Lake Ontario. There the Tartars or Samoiedes found
them ; and having first exterminated the Malays, who had advanced along the Ohio
and its tributaries, had a harder task to subdue the warlike Europeans entrenched
and fortified in the country. The Scandinavians, he thinks, were ultimately over-
powered in New York, and finally retreated to Labrador.

The theory that the mound-builders came from India, or were of a common origin
with the Hindoos, was greatly strengthened by the discovery in Kentucky of a
piece of pottery, fashioned in the form of three human heads united at their backs
with a vase, which they supported. It was commonly called the " Triune idol, or
vessel." " Does it not represent the three chief gods of India — Brahma, Vishnoo,
and Siva ?" is the exclamation of Mr. Atwater. Moreover, no less than nine murex
shells had been found in the same State, within twenty miles of Lexington. Shells
so highly esteemed in India, and consecrated to the god Mahadeva, corresponding
to the Neptune of the Greeks and Romans.

These articles had been collected by Mr. John D. Clifford, of Lexington, a rival,
and sometimes antagonist of Mr. Atwater, in the field of archseological research ;
who, while the latter was preparing his notes for the press, was aiming, in a series
of articles in the " Western Review," to demonstrate the proposition that the mound-
builders were the ancestors of the Mexicans, and descended from the ancient Hindoos.

Mr. Clifford's argument, and his investigations, were both suddenly arrested by
his death ; yet they doubtless had an influence in strengthening the views of his
contemporary.

Mr. Atwater's opinions are expressed in the following extracts : —

" The Scythians, from whom the Tartars are descended, in all probability first
peopled the British Isles. The fact that our works are in all respects like those in
Britain, and that similar works may be found all the way from this part of America
to Tartary, furnishes no contemptible proof that the Tartars were the authors of
ours also. But were the ancestors of our North American Indians the authors of our
works ? Had not such an opinion been advanced by some great and good men in
the United States, the foundation on which it rests is so frail, that I certainly should
•not trouble myself or my readers to refute it."

" Have our present race of Indians ever buried their dead in mounds ? Have
they constructed such works as are described in the preceding pages ? Were they
acquainted with the use of silver, or iron, or copper ? All these, curiously wrought,
were found in one mound at Marietta. Did the ancestors of our Indians burn the
bodies of distinguished chiefs on funeral piles, and then raise a lofty tumulus over
the urn that contained their ashes ? Did the North American Indians erect any-
thing like the 'walled town' on Paint creek? Did they ever dig such wells as are
found at Marietta, Portsmouth, and above all such as those on Paint creek ? Did
they manufacture vessels from calcareous breccia, equal to any now made in Italy ?
Did they ever make and worship an idol representing the three principal gods of
India?"

" An idol found in a tumulus near Nashville, Tennessee, and now in the museum
of Mr. Clifford, of Lexington, Kentucky, will probably assist us in forming some
idea as to the origin of the authors of our western antiquities. Like the ' Triune

MR. ATWATER'S CONCLUSIONS. 37

vessel' hereafter mentioned, it was made of a clay peculiar for its fineness, which
is quite abundant in some parts of Kentucky. This idol represents a man in a
state of nudity, whose arms have been cut off close to the body, and whose nose
and chin have been mutilated ; with a fillet and cake upon his head. In all these
respects, as well as in the peculiar manner of plaiting the hair, it is exactly such
an idol as Professor Pallas found in his travels in the southern part of the Russian
empire.

"The idol discovered near Nashville, shows from whence its worshippers derived
their origin and religious rites. The ' Triune idol, or vessel,' shows, in my opinion,
that its authors originated in Hindostan, and the one now under consideration
induces a belief that some tribes were from countries adjacent.

" If the ancestors of our North American Indians were from the northern parts of
Tartary, those who worshipped this idol came from a country lying further to the
south, where the population was dense, and where the arts had made great progress.
While the Tartar of the North was a hunter and a savage, the Hindoos and southern
Tartars were well acquainted with most of the useful arts. The former (the Tar-
tars of the north), lived in the vicinity of our continent, and probably found their
way hither at an early day, while the latter came at a later period, bringing along
with them the arts, the idols, and religious rites of Hindostan, China, and the
Crimea. The ancestors of our North American Indians were mere hunters ; while
the authors of our tumuli were shepherds and husbandmen. The temples, altars,
and sacred places of the Hindoos were always situated on the bank of some stream
of water. The same observation applies to the temples, altars, and sacred places
of those who erected our tumuli. At the consecrated streams of Hindostan devotees
assembled from all parts of the empire, to worship their gods, and purify themselves
by bathing in the sacred water. In this country, the sacred places were uniformly
on the bank of some river ; and who knows but that the Muskingum, the Scioto,
the Miami, the Ohio, the Cumberland, and the Mississippi, were once deemed as
sacred, and their banks as thickly settled, and as well cultivated, as are now the
Indus, the Ganges, and the Burrampooter !

"Ablution, from the situation of all the works which appear to have been devoted
to sacred uses, was a rite as religiously observed by the authors of our idols, as it
was neglected by our North American Indians. If the coincidences between the
worship of our people and that of the Hindoos and southern Tartars furnish no
evidence of a common origin, then I am no judge of the nature and weight of
testimony."

Mr. Atwater assigns a very early period for the migration of these people into
the territory now included in Ohio, as indicated by the rude state of many of the
arts among them, and the proofs of primitive times seen in their manners and cus-
toms. He thinks the numerous cemeteries are evidences of long residence ; and
that, while contending against foes from the northeast, they moved gradually down
the streams towards the country where they finally settled.

As this work was the first in which a consideration of North American antiquities
was based upon elaborate explorations, and as it was prepared at the instance, and
published under the sanction of a scientific association, the conclusions it seemed to

38 ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE UNITED STATES.

justify deserve to be carefully stated. They doubtless exerted an important influ-
ence upon subsequent speculations, but cannot be held answerable for the vagaries
of enthusiastic and visionary writers. The points in whose favor the " Archseologia
Americana" gives the weight of its opinion, are 1st. That the vestiges of antiquity
in the United States are indicative of the former occupation of the country by a
people having a regular government and laws, and possessing many of the customs,
arts, and institutions of civilized communities. 2d. That they were not the an-
cestors of the modern tribes of Indians; but probably retired to Mexico and Peru,
and founded the semi-civilized empires that were encountered and overcome by
Cortes and Pizarro. 3d. That, with some exceptions of insufficient magnitude and
permanency to affect the general characteristics of the people, the American races,
ancient and modern, were derived from different portions of Asia. 4th. That the
early inhabitants were very numerous, and occupied fixed abodes for long periods
of time.

These are a sufficient foundation for the support of many visionary hypotheses,
and were susceptible of indefinite enlargement and extension from the same ma-
terials, and such others as might from time to time be added to them.

It may be well to leave, for a moment, the chronological order of narration, for
the purpose of introducing together the most remarkable instances of fanciful de-
duction, resulting from this stage of discovery, and the prevailing tendency of public
sentiment.

In 1823, Mr. John Haywood published an 8vo. volume of 450 pages, entitled " The
Natural and Aboriginal History of Tennessee, up to the first settlements therein
by the White People." A small portion of the work only is devoted to the natural
or plrysical history of the State. The aboriginal history commences with a com-
parison of the Mexicans and Peruvians with the Hindoos and Persians, the Natchez
Indians with the Mexicans, and the ancient inhabitants of Tennessee with both
the latter. Not only are all admitted discoveries of an archteological nature, pressed
into the service of this examination, but many of doubtful authenticity, and cir-
cumstances irrelevant as well as unverified, are made to swell the mass of analogies
which the writer has accumulated. With the aid of these he undertakes to compile
a history of the ancient Tennesseeans, applicable also to other Western States,
describing the ceremonies and superstitions of their religious faith, their civil polity,
their sciences and arts, their games and pastimes, &c. &c, with a particularity that
could hardly be surpassed in a history of a living and familiar people. We are
told, among other things, that they burnt incense on their high places, to the sun,
moon, and planets, and to the host of heaven ; that they placed altars on their
mounds, and sacrificed human beings ; that in worshipping, they stood towards the
east, and lifted up their hands towards heaven, and towards their idols ; that they
venerated the number three, and worshipped triune idols ; that they deemed the
cross a sacred symbol ; that they used the conch-shell as emblematic of the properties
of their god of the ocean ; that they made wells, walled up with stone from the
bottom ; that they had swords of iron and steel, and steel bows, and mirrors with
iron backs; knives of iron, with ferules of silver, and iron chisels and spades; that
they buried their sacred animals; that they made bricks and burnt them, and used

VAGARIES. . 39

both them and stone in their buildings ; that their complexion, hair, and eyes were
like those of the Baroans of Chili;1 that their stature was of the common size; but
that of their exterminators — a new and modern race, like the Gauls in the time of
Lucullus — was frightfully gigantic ; that those same marauders, who, from the 7th
to the 11th centuries of the Christian era converted the cultivated fields of Italy
into a wilderness, came hither also, searching through all the corners of the world
for plunder and subsistence ; and that the new comers into America worshipped a
spiritual God, without mounds, idols, or human sacrifices.

All these things, and much more, the author claims to be able to prove respecting
the primitive inhabitants of the country watered by the Ohio and its branches ;
who came, as he believes, from the South, and had intimate connections with the
people of Mexico, and some intercourse with the Peruvians and Chilians. Antici-
pating that the reader may regard his programme as somewhat conjectural, he
declares that " it will soon be converted into real history."

The writei*'s facility of belief is not limited to the necessary support of his
principal theory; but is extended to the accounts of pigmies, whose remains had
been disinterred in large numbers, and to the discovery of Roman coins, that must
have been buried before the age of Columbus, and to vestiges of the sanctity of the
number seven.

Of a somewhat similar character, and not less remarkable, are the " Ancient
Annals of Kentucky," by Prof. C. S. Rafinesque — prefixed to Marshall's History of
that State, printed in 1824.

Beginning with the origin of the human race, the learned Professor accepts the
tradition that mankind was created in Asia, and follows down the course of gene-
rations and migrations with surprising minuteness. Having reached the proper
period, he informs us that " the principal nations of the eastern continent, which
have contributed to people North America and Kentucky, were the Allans and
Cutans, who came easterly, through the Atlantic Ocean ; and the Iztacans and
Oghuzians, who came westerly, through the Pacific Ocean."

The history of those two nations, and of their settlements in America, he divides
into five periods : " 1st. From the dispersion of mankind to the first discovery of
America, including several centuries. 2. From the discovery of America (by the
Atlans, Cutans, &c.) to the foundation of the Western empires, including some
centuries. 3d. From the foundation of those empires to the Pelagian revolution of
nature, including several centuries. 4th. From the Pelagian revolution to the
invasion of the Iztacan nations, including about twelve centuries. 5th. From the
Iztacan invasion to the decline and fall of the Atlan and Cutan nations in North
America, including about thirty centuries to the present time."

The details of incidents in these periods are so fully recorded as to leave little
to be desired in the way of precise information. A chronological chart of events
happening in North America from the beginning, presents the succession of peoples
and empires, with a lavish profusion of names and pedigrees, and an air of intimate

that is comparative!)' light, and of variable tints.

40 . ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE UNITED STATES.

acquaintance with their civil and religious customs, and the motives and results of
military operations, which seem to imply the possession of an insight the reverse
of prophetic, but equally supernatural. He informs us that several other nations,
besides the Atlans, Cutans, Iztacans, and Oghuzians, had reached various parts of
America before the modern Europeans; such as the Mayans or Malays, the Scan-
dinavians, the Chinese, the Ainus of Eastern Asia, the Nigritians or African negroes,
&c. ; but, as they did not settle in or near Kentucky, they did not fall under his
present scope. He states that the country watered by the Ohio and its branches
was the centre of the Atalan empire, which was divided into "several provinces, and
was ruled by a powerful monarch of the Atlas family ; that an intercourse was kept
up, more or less regularly, between all the primitive nations and empires, from the
Ganges to the Mississippi ; and that Chrishna or Hercules, and Ramachandra, two
heroes of India, visited Atala and the court of the western monarchs, which is called
one of the heavens on earth by the holy books of the East. But, he says, the
Atlantes of the interior of America were separated from the rest of the Atlantic
empire by that dreadful convulsion of nature which is recorded in the oldest annals
of many nations. In this cataclysm, which is signified by the division of the earth
under Peleg, the flood of Ogyges or Ogug, and the Sanscrit convulsion of the White
sea, or Atlantic ocean, many countries were destroyed or changed; and the eastern
Atlantes thought the whole American continent had sunk, like the Atlantic and
many Antillan islands. After this event, the history is of necessity, for awhile,
more exclusively American. But, he tells us, in the lapse of centuries, a casual
intercourse was restored between the two continents. The Caribs, who appear to
be of Cantabrian origin, came to South America. The great nation of Guarini, of
Daran derivation, had arrived earlier, and extended itself over Guiana, Brazil, and
Paraguay. When the Arcutans or Femurians of Ireland were expelled by a tribe
of the Gaels, they fled to Hayti, and became probably the Arohuac nation. Before
the Christian era the Phoenicians traded to America. The Numidians and the Celts
frequented Hayti 2000 years ago ; and the Etruscans attempted to settle colonies in
this country, but were prevented by the Carthaginians. Owing to numerous ship-
wrecks, and the warlike habits of the Caribs, Iztacans, and Oghuzians, this intercourse
gradually declined, till the knowledge of America became almost lost or clouded in
fables and legends.

The annals of Kentucky, however, are by no means interrupted ; but continue
to flow through intricate revolutions, which the author is fortunately able to describe,
briefly, to be sure, but with great exactness, until the history is broken in upon
and obscured by the arrival of the present race of Caucasian interlopers.

So perfect a revelation necessarily removes all mystery from the origin and pur-
pose of the ancient remains of the Mississippi valley.

Mr. Rafinesque was a man of very considerable scholastic and scientific attain- •
ments. He was connected with Transylvania University as professor of Historical
and Natural Sciences, and subscribes himself a member of many learned societies
in Europe and America. He had been actively engaged in researches among the
antiquities of the West, and left, at his decease, a manuscript work on the subject,
illustrated with drawings, which proved very serviceable to Messrs. Squier and

VAGARIES. 41

Davis in the preparation of their memoir. A list of seats of ancient population in
North America, ascertained by him, is attached to his "Annals," of which he says,
that out of 541, 393 are in Kentucky; and of 1830 monuments observed by him,
505 are in the same State. In 183G, he commenced at Philadelphia, the publication
of " A General History, Ancient and Modern, of the Earth and Mankind in the
Western Hemisphere; including the philosophy of American History, the Annals,
Traditions, Civilization, Languages, &c, of all the American Nations, Tribes, Empires,
and States." It was to be comprised in twelve volumes, of 300 pages each, and was
dedicated to the Society of Geography of Paris, as a homage due to the public
approbation given by that body to his first analogous labor, a series of researches
on the origin of mankind.

Two volumes only, it is believed, were printed, which are far from being intelli-
gible to a common capacity, or to ordinary erudition.1

With the productions of Haywood and Rafinesque, may be associated that of
Josiah Priest, upon " American Antiquities and Discoveries in the West," published
in 1 833. We are informed, in the title page of the fifth edition of this book, that
twenty-two thousand copies had been printed within thirt}7 months, for subscribers
only. It must therefore have had a wide "circulation, and perhaps a corresponding
degree of influence on the opinions of certain classes of readers. It is a collection
of odds and ends of theories and statements, relating, more or less directly, to
American antiquities, many of them derived from Rafinesque — a sort of curiosity-
shop of archaeological fragments, whose materials are gathered without the exercise
of much discrimination, and disposed without much system or classification, and
apparently without inquiry into their authenticity. It is not strange that references
should sometimes be rather confused, and labels be occasionally misplaced. It must
be in some such way that Prof. Horn, whose treatise " De Originibus Americanis"
we have had occasion to mention, comes to be represented as "a son of Theodosius
the Great, Emperor of the West, who lived in the third century !"2

To return from these eccentricities to the period of Mr. Atwater's publication,

1 Mr. Rafinesque was a laborious student in almost every conceivable department of knowledge, and
only wanted the faculty of judicious discrimination to secure him a distinguished name among men of
science. He was of foreign birth, and had been a resident in Sicily, and first travelled in the United
States in 1802, 1803, and 1804. Before 1815, he had published a very considerable number of treatises,
chiefly upon natural history, from observations in this country and in Sicily, with others of a more general
character. In 1815, he returned to America, and had the misfortune to be shipwrecked on the coast;
losing, according to his own statement, all his "books, manuscripts, plates, drawings, maps, herbarium,
collections, minerals, &c, the fruit of twenty years' labors, exertions, and travels." Some of his lost
MSS. on botany, zoology, mineralogy, &c, he undertook to re-write, and endeavored to obtain sub-
scriptions for their publication here. In 1838, he printed an essay introductory to a proposed work, to
be entitled " Researches on the Antiquities and Monuments of North and South America." He died
at Philadelphia, in 1840.

3 Rafinesque, who did not relish the use made of his own theories, charged Priest with asserting that
Noah's ark rested in America, and that he had three sons — one white, one red, and one black ! This
statement does not appear to be quite correct, unless Mr. Priest's expressions were modified in the later
editions of his work.
6

42 ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE UNITED STATES.

Ave find the field of research gradually extending its limits, and the results of
investigation discussed in various connections.

In 1819, Professor Silliman, of Yale College, established his " American Journal
of Science," which, associated with geological and other scientific observations,
contains many interesting notices of antiquarian discoveries. The first volume
has ah account of remarkable remains on the Etowee (or Hightower) river, in
Georgia, by Rev. Elias Cornelius, afterwards a distinguished clergyman of Massa-
chusetts ; and another of mounds in East Tennessee, by Mr. John H. Kain, of
Knoxville.

The same year, David Thomas printed his " Travels through the Western Country,
in the Summer of 1816," with notices of antiquities, and a dissertation of more than
twenty pages on the ancient inhabitants of the United States.

In 1820, Sir Gilbert Blane, Bart., communicated to the "London Quarterly Journal
of Science and Arts," a letter addressed to Dr. Mitchell, on the antiquities of New
York.

Nuttali's "Journal of a Tour in Arkansas," appeared in 1821; and in 1822,
Jacob B. Moore, Esq., of New Hampshire, made known to the Antiquarian Society
the very interesting and important fact of the former existence in that State of an
extensive fortification in Sanbornton, near Lake Winnipisiogee. It was represented
as a double inclosure, perfectly symmetrical in form, having mounds at the entrances,
and a large one without the walls, in the manner so common at the West. The
walls were of stone externally, filled in with clay, shells, and gravel ; and, when
first discovered, about eighty years before, were breast high, and six feet in thickness,
and had evidently diminished considerably in height since their erection.1 Unless
certain traces of regular embankments on the Merrimack, near Concord, also men-
tioned by Mr. Moore, are to be excepted, this is believed to be the only instance,
east of New York, of an inclosure like those so common beyond the Alleghanies.

During a few succeeding years, we are not aware that the archseology of the
United States was advanced or elucidated by the development of new features, or
the conception of new hypotheses deserving consideration. Mr. Atwater's Memoir
was received with much favor, and read with great interest both at home and abroad.
The celebrated Dr. Adam Clark wrote to Mr. Duponceau, expressing the delight
and instruction with which he perused it. After referring to the mounds, forts, and
gigantic rings or stone circles of Ireland, as not unlike those on the Ohio, and as
little understood, but which, with certain customs and habits of the Irish, he supposes
to be of Asiatic derivation, he declares himself particularly struck with what in the
memoir is called the " Triune Vessel," as telling a more direct tale of Asiatic origin
than anything else in the volume.2

In local histories, gazetteers, &c, the subject was sometimes discussed at con-
siderable length, and with occasional additions to the list of remains. Thus, Beck's
"Gazetteer of Illinois and Missouri," published in 1823, Yates and Moulton's

1 Belknap, Hist, of New Hampshire, III, 89, speaks of "the appearance of a fortress at Sanbornton,
consisting of jive distinct walls."

- The letter is in the 2d vol. of the Transactions of the American Antiquarian Society.

INDIAN TRADITIONS. 43

History of New York," in 1824; "Flint's Recollections of the Mississippi Valley"
in 1826; and "Macauley's History of New York," in 1829, are often referred to.
In the two histories of New York above named, the subject of American antiquities
is treated of at considerable length. In the American Journal of Science and Arts,
(Vol. Ill, p. 37) is an account of a fortification on the Arkansas River, 320 miles
from its mouth, inclosing about twenty-five acres, with a wall eight feet high, and
a ditch twenty-five feet wide ; and having in the centre two mounds about eighty
feet in height.1

Although the general sentiment was in favor of attributing the ancient monuments
of the United States to a race or races entirely distinct from our Indian tribes, there
were those who, with unusual means and opportunities of forming an enlightened
judgment, adopted a different opinion, and upon grounds entirely aside from those
philological and physiological considerations that will presently be adverted to.

A prominent argument opposed to the descent of the Indians from the mound-
builders, had been the absence of traditions among the savages, pointing to such a
connection, and their entire ignorance of the purposes for which the structures were
designed. Yet it is not true that real or pretended traditions are entirely wanting.
The Senecas related to the missionary Kirkland, that the fortifications in their
territory were raised by their ancestors in their wars with the western Indians,
three, four, or five hundred years before — they having no very definite idea of the
time;2 and Indian Legends have been more common than faith in the sincerity of
the narrators.

The most particular and pertinent traditions referring to ancient fortifications,
are those collected from the Delaware Indians (Lenni Lenape) by Rev. John
Heckewelder, the Moravian missionary.3

According to these, the ancestors of the Delawares resided many hundred years
ago far away in the western part of the American continent. For some reason,
they determined on migrating to the eastward, and set out together in a body.
After a long journey, they came to the Mississippi, where they fell in with the
Mengwe or Iroquois, who had likewise emigrated from a distant country, and were
also proceeding eastward until tke'y should find a land that pleased them. The
spies sent forward by the Delawares had already discovered that the region east of
the Mississippi was inhabited by a powerful nation having many large towns built
on the rivers flowing through their land. These people called themselves Tallegewi
or Allegewi. They were remarkably tall and stout, and had regular fortifications
or entrenchments.

The Delawares sent a message to the Allegewi, asking permission to settle in
their neighborhood. This was refused, but leave was given them to pass through
the country in search of a residence beyond. But when they began to cross the
river the Allegewi, alarmed at their numbers, attacked them with great fury, and
threatened them with destruction if they persisted in their attempt.

1 Letter from L. Bringier, Esq., to Rev. Elias Cornelius.

3 Mass. Hist. Coll., 1st se., IV., 106. See also Cusic's "Ancient Hist, of the Six Nations."
3 "Account of the History, Manners, and Customs of the Indian Nations who once inhabited Penn-
sylvania and the Neighboring States," in Trans, of Hist, and Lit. Committee of the Am. Phil. Soc'y,
I., 1819.

44 ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE UNITED STATES.

Indignant at such treachery, the Delawares and the Mengwe united their forces
and declared war against the Allegewi. The enemy fortified their large towns, and
raised entrenchments on large rivers and near lakes, which were attacked and
sometimes stormed by the allies. No quarter was given ; and after the war had
lasted many years, the Allegewi at last abandoned the country to the victors, and
fled down the Mississippi river, from whence they never returned.

The Delawares charged the Mengwe with hanging back always and leaving them
to face the enemy. But in the end they divided the conquered land between them,
tbe Mengwe choosing the vicinity of the Great Lakes, and the Delawares taking
possession of the country further south.

The tradition continues, giving an account of subsequent wars with the Mengwe,
(better known as the Iroquois), and the ultimate confederacy of the Five Nations.

This is a simple story, viewed by itself, containing nothing marvellous or incredi-
ble. Yet the traditions recorded by Heckewelder, taken together, have not been
regarded as entitled to confidence. Lie has been charged with credulity, and even
suspected of a desire to embellish his narrative. It is also declared that no reliance
can ever be placed on the legends of the Indians, as they are usually invented to
amuse or mystify the inquirer.

Admitting this to be the case as a general rule, still the statements of the Mora-
vians should be fairly considered in connection with the circumstances under which
their information was obtained.

These " United Brethren," as they best liked to be called, who sought, in their
system of organization, to combine the simple social habits and the apostolic office
of the primitive Christians, came to Pennsylvania about the year 1740.

Their communities had been driven from Bohemia to Moravia, and were every-
where persecuted. Under the guidance of Count Zinzendorf, at once their pro-
tector and their leader, they found a partial security at home, just enough to enable
them to become the nurseries of missionary enterprise abroad. Seeking opportu-
nities to spread the gospel among the heathen wherever they might be found, their
first mission in this country was with the Indians of Georgia, The hostilities of
the English and Spanish claimants of jurisdiction, between whom they were not
permitted to retain a position of neutrality, compelled them, after a few years'
residence, to remove from that section of the United States.

Their efforts were then directed to the conversion and civilization of the Delawares,
the Iroquois, and the Mohegans, among whom they labored with great perseverance
for many years. Their influence over the natives even exceeded that of the Jesuits
and Franciscans of an earlier period ; and communities of converts grew up around
the solitary posts of the preachers far in the wilderness. Constantly pressing towards
the interior, in 1772 they had villages beyond the Ohio, where the savage assumed
the habits and adopted the worship of civilized men. Living in the midst of their
pupils, directing their agricultural labors, and working with them, the missionaries
gained their affections while they studied their habits and mental peculiarities, and
prepared dictionaries and grammars of their language. To Zeisberger, Pyrlaeus,
Schultz, and Heckewelder, philologists have been indebted for some of the most
important materials used in their investigations.

THE MORAVIANS. 45

However simple and credulous these men might be, they were not without intel-
ligence and culture ; and their sincerity was attested by their toils and sufferings.
Their knowledge of Indian character and languages was of wide extent, and in
Heckewelder's case of forty years' duration. If deceived by fictitious tales, it was
not as inquisitive strangers that deception was practised upon them, but they were
imposed upon by neighbors and familiar friends.

What May hew and Eliot had been to the aborigines of New England, the Mora-
vians were to the Delawares and Iroquois; but with more protracted and more per-
fect intimacy. As the villages of Christian Indians in Massachusetts were broken
up, one after another, as, in time of war, their occupants fell under suspicion, now of
their own people, and now of the whites, and were massacred in turn by both ; so
the " Tents of Grace" of the Moravian converts were destroyed, and their " Beautiful
Prospect" laid waste and made desolate. No enduring monument of the toils of
those missionaries remains, except the vocabularies they collected, and the narra-
tives they compiled ; save that, in the names of some of their settlements which
have been preserved, the memory of their pious endeavors may be transmitted.

Heckewelder's narrative, and even his linguistic accuracy, were, many years
ago, subjected to severe criticism by one of our prominent statesmen, Hon. Lewis
Cass.1 Few men of education have had better opportunities than Governor Cass,
of acquiring a knowledge of the characteristics, customs, and capacities of the
Indians. He has lived among them, explored their distant abodes, and dealt with
them in many different relations ; and his opinion is entitled to great weight on all
points connected with their history. It is proper, however, to remark that he
belongs to that class of writers who arc careful to divest the character of the
aborigines, as well as their history and antiquities, of all romantic and poetical
coloring.

In the article referred to, Governor Cass describes Heckewelder as a worthy
missionary, of moderate intellect, and still more moderate attainments, of great
credulity, and strong personal attachments to the Indians, who had passed almost
his entire life among the Delawares, and derived his knowledge of the natives wholly
from them. Even the correctness of his interpretations is questioned; and it is said
of him : " Every legendary story of their former power, and of their subsequent
fall, such as the old men repeat to the boys in the long winter evenings, was received
by him in perfect good faith, and has been recorded with all the gravity of history.
It appears never to have occurred to him that these traditionary stories, orally
repeated from generation to generation, may have finally borne very little resem-
blance to the events they commemorate; nor that a Delaware could sacrifice the
love of truth to the love of his tribe. To those who know something about Indian
traditions, nothing can be more unsatisfactory than these details, unless they are
corroborated by the accounts of the early travellers, or by concurrent circumstances."
Governor Cass also speaks of having listened to Heckewelder in his own house, "as
anxious to hear as he was to relate the marvellous events of his intercourse with

North American Review, for January, 1826.

46 ARCIIvEOLOGY OP THE UNITED STATES.

the Indians ; and when both narrator and hearer believed all that was told, and
frequently in an inverse proportion to its probability."1

If the fact is admitted, as intimated above, that the tales communicated to
Heckewelder were " traditionary stories, orally repeated from generation to genera-
tion by the old men to the boys," they would seem to be entitled to all the faith
that is ever due to merely traditionary evidence. But it has been generally denied
that the Indians possessed any such system of transmission. Major Long, to whose
observations Governor Cass refers, as according entirely with his own, says : " The
knowledge they have of their ancestry is very limited; so much so that they can
seldom trace back their pedigree more than a few generations ; and then know so
little of the place whence their fathers came, that they can only express their ideas
upon the subject in general terms, stating that they came from beyond the lakes,
from the rising or setting sun, from the north or south," &c.2

Governor Cass's experience of savage life, as viewed by him, if it might " point
a moral" would hardly '■' adorn a tale." He says : " The effect of Mr. Heckewelder's
work, upon the prevailing notions respecting Indian history, is every day more and
more visible. It has furnished materials for the writers of periodical works and
even of history ; and in one of those beautiful delineations of American scenery,
incidents, and manners, for which we are indebted to the taste and talent of our
eminent novelist (Cooper), 'the last of the Mohegans' is an Indian of the school
of Mr. Heckewelder, and not of the school of nature."

We may reply that, romance is seldom a positive attribute of circumstances or
things, but rather a quality in the mind of the observer. The very time and people
from whence the term was derived, the age of chivalry itself, and the characters
and habits of knights and troubadours, would hardly bear the test of a literal and
unpicturesque delineation.

With regard to the possession of hereditary information by the Indians, respect-
ing the origin or migrations of their ancestors, it is probably true, that their legends
are too indefinite, and often too contradictory, to serve any useful purpose in the
solution of archa)ological questions. They seldom relate to very remote periods of

1 Governor Cass's estimate of the capacity and information of Heckewelder does not accord with
that of other persons who cannot be regarded as incompetent judges. The Ilistorical and Literary
Committee of the American rhilosophical Society, in their Report of 9th January, 1818, say: "The
intimate knowledge which this respectable missionary (Heckewelder), is known to possess of the lan-
guages and manners of various Indian nations, among whom he resided more than forty years, pointed
him out to us as a person from whom much information could be obtained ; nor were our hopes deceived.
In answer to the inquiries of your committee, he laid open the stores of his knowledge, and his corre-
spondence gives us a clear insight into that wonderful organization which distinguishes the languages of
the aborigines of this country from all the other idioms of the known world. Mr. Pickering, in his pre-
face to Eliot's Indian Grammar, describes him as "the venerable Mr. Heckewelder, whose fidelity, and
intelligence, and skill (in the Delaware dialect in particular), are beyond all question." A reviewer of
his Indian History in the " Portfolio" of September, 1819, calls him " a learned and inquiring man,
doing good among this people, and possessing their confidence. His opportunities have been better than
those of any person living to give the views which he has now presented to the public ; and his cha-
racter is a sure pledge for the fidelity of his work."

3 Expedition from Pittsburg to the Rocky Mountains, II, 311.

THE EARTHWORKS OF INDIAN ORIGIN. 47

time; and the events to which they refer are often found, on examination, to have
occurred since the arrival of the whites.

Although rejecting the traditions of the Delawares, which ascribe the defensive
structures of the west to the Allegewi, Governor Cass is by no means disposed to
attribute them to a foreign race, now removed or extinct. His opinion is expressed
in the following paragraph from the same article to which we have been referring.

"The ancient fortifications scattered through the United States, and attributed
by Mr. Heckewelder to these Allegewi, have been the fruitful source of abundant
speculation. We have no doubt that they were erected by the forefathers of the
present Indians, as places of refuge against the incursions of their enemies, and of
security for their women and children when they were compelled to leave them for
the duties of the chase. And much of the mystery in which this subject has been
involved owes its origin to a want of due consideration of the circumstances and
condition of the Indians. We do not reflect on their almost infinite division into
petty tribes, and on their hereditary and exterminating hostilities. Nor have we
reflected that the stone tomahawk is a very inefficient instrument for cutting timber
into palisades ; nor that, if fire be adopted as a substitute, the process is tedious
and laborious. Their transportation too, must have been a serious objection to
their use, and in a few years they required renewal. Even when otherwise proper,
they were always liable to be burned by the enemy. These circumstances render
it probable that the erection of earthen parapets was the most economical and
desirable mode in which the Indians could provide for the security of themselves
and those most dear to them. And their migratory habits will sufficiently account
for the number of these works, without resorting to the existence of a dense popu-
lation utterly irreconcilable with the habits of a people who have not yet passed
the hunter state of life."

This theory is at an opposite extreme from most of those which have thus far
been considered. Neither the introduction of arts from other continents, nor the
supposition of higher civilization here, nor even the probability of a denser popula-
tion and more stationary habits of life, are deemed essential to explain the origin
of those numerous and extensive structures. Their erection is held to be entirely
consistent with the civil condition, the degree of mechanical skill, the manners and
the wants of the savage, as these have been known to us since the settlement of
the country.

A reaction of sentiment respecting the antiquities of the United States naturally
followed the excessive credulity of which they were sometimes the subject, and
the absurd theories often founded upon them. Other circumstances also materially
affected the aspect of archaeological questions, and gave a new direction to scientific
inquiry. The most important of these was the progress now making in the ana-
lysis and comparison of the words and idioms of American languages. But before
proceeding to speak of that branch of investigation, which deserves to be considered
by itself, it is proper to notice a very elaborate and highly valuable work that
appeared in 1829.

This was entitled " Researches, Philosophical and Antiquarian, concerning the
Aboriginal History of America, By J. II. McCulloh, Jr., M. D." It was the com-

48 ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE UNITED STATES.

pletion of a labor commenced by the author many years before, of which some
partial results were printed in 1816. No more perfect monument of industry and
patient research connected with this subject has been published. The author's field
of inquiry was the whole American continent. He made no personal explorations,
but contented himself with collecting under different heads the facts related by
those who wrote from obseiwation, and arranging with them analogies derived from
every historical and literary source within his reach ; thus forming a convenient
cyclopedia of that kind of information. All that relates specifically to the mounds
and fortifications of North America is contained in a brief appendix ; but much
of the entire work has a pertinent bearing upon the questions of their nature and
history. It demonstrates with how little safety affinities of race, or an identity of
origin, can be deduced from partial similarities of customs, arts, or superstitions ;
which often proceed from the instincts of a common human nature; and even for
practices apparently the most anomalous the author finds parallels elsewhere. He
pursues his search for definite conclusions, through the complexity of his accumulated
facts and illustrations, with untiring patience ; and his opinions have this claim to
deference, if no other, that they are the result of painful and protracted study. They
are liable, however, to whatever diminution of weight is due to the mistakes and
misrepresentations of the authorities on whom he relies; a source of error to which
such a compilation of miscellaneous evidence is peculiarly exposed.

In his chapter on the complexion and appearance of the American Indians, after
rejecting, for reasons shown, the term copper colored applied to the Americans, as
not being either correct or distinctive, and adopting that of broivn as more gene-
rally accurate, he finds described by different writers, three classes of complexion
among the aborigines, viz : white, brown, and black ; not to mention the interme-
diate shades. The existence of a white class is supported by extracts from the
journals of travellers who profess to have observed in certain tribes the complex-
ional characteristics of the races to which that term is usually applied — red and
white cheeks, a fair skin, and varied shades of color in the hair, some chestnut,
some auburn, some flaxen, as well as some black and curling. The Mandans and
Gros-ventres of the United States, the Guayanas of Brazil and Paraguay, the Eski-
maux, and the Greenlanders, are adduced as instances of this peculiarity. The light
complexion of the Eskimaux led Dr. Kobertson to conjecture that they were descend-
ants of the Norwegian discoverers. Captain Lyon and Captain Parry had remarked
that their skins, when washed, and such portions as were kept covered by clothing,
were clear and transparent, and not darker than that of the natives of southern
Europe. Captain Dixon is still more explicit in his statement to that effect; and
La Peyrouse, Marchand, Cook, and sundry others whom he mentions, testify to the
whiteness of the children at their birth. Baron Humboldt, the Abbe Molina,
Ilerrera, Dobrizhoffer, &c. &c, are quoted as authorities for the existence of tribes in
South America that may more probably be called white than copper colored or
brown.

Dr. McCulloh's opinion, that aboriginal Hacks or negroes had been found on this
continent, was grounded on the statements of Torquemada, La Peyrouse, and
Langsdorf, that some tribes of Indians in California were black, and, as asserted by

INDIAN LEGENDS OF KENTUCKY. 49

the latter, with "large projecting lips, and broad, flat negro noses;" and upon Peter
Martyr's account of Balboa's journey across the Isthmus of Darien, where, it is said,
" There is a region, not above two days' journey from Quarequa, in which they
found only blackamoors, &c." Stevenson's Travels in South America, and Juarros'
History of Guatimala, are quoted as confirming this story by collateral evidence.

If the country had been as thoroughly explored when Dr. McCulloh wrote as it
has been since, he would hardly have considered the admitted diversity of shades
of complexion as justifying so distinct a classification as he has adopted.1

At the close of his chapter on the " social and moral institutions of the barbar-
ous tribes," his views of their traditions are thus expressed : —

" The ancient histories of the migrations of the barbarous tribes are equally
confused with those they relate concerning their origin, and in no instance can be
presumed to extend back beyond a century of years anterior to the immediate
inquiries of the Europeans.

" After a deliberate examination of their respective traditions of emigration,
I cannot consider them as throwing the least degree of light upon the history of
their origin. They certainly only relate to the partial removals or emigrations of
these people from one to another part of the American continent. This belief is
in strict conformity with everything we know of their actual condition when we
first became acquainted with them. They were continually engaged in war with
each other, and, according as they were fortunate or unsuccessful, they either
enlarged their country, or abandoned it, to be incorporated with another people.

"Every change of political circumstances, therefore, altered the limits of an Indian
territory ; which would, in the course of a single century, leave but an indistinct
impression on their minds as to any former country from which they may have
emigrated. A vague idea of a previous removal might be retained by their oldest
people, which they might state to be from some particular point of the compass ;
but beyond this they seem to have retained no precise information."

As native traditions have not been without their believers, and are blended with
the progress of information and opinion, it may be well, before leaving the subject,
to illustrate them further.

In a manuscript history of the western country, by Rev. John P. Campbell, of
Chillicothe, who died near the close of 1814, it is said: —

" Mr. Thomas Bodley was informed by Indians of different tribes northwest of
the Ohio, that they had understood from their old men, and that it had been a
tradition among their several nations, that Kentucky had been settled by whites,
and that they had been exterminated by war. They were of opinion that the old
fortifications, now to be seen in Kentucky and Ohio, were the productions of those
white inhabitants. Wappockanitta, a Shawnee chief, near a hundred and twenty
years old, living on the Anglaze river, confirmed the above tradition.

"An old Indian, in conversation with Col. James F. Moore, of Kentucky,

1 See Dr. Morton's remarks on the complexion of the American Indians, in Schoolcraft's Itistory,
Condition, and Prospects of Am. Indians, II, 320.
1

50 ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE UNITED STATES.

informed him that the western country, and particularly Kentucky, had once been
inhabited by white people, but that they were exterminated by the Indians; that
the last battle was fought at the falls of the Ohio; and that the Indians succeeded
in driving the aborigines into a small island below the rapids, where the whole of
them were cut to pieces. He said it was an undoubted fact, handed down by tradi-
tion, and that the Colonel would have ocular proof of it when the waters of the
Ohio became low. This was found to be correct on examining Sandy Island, when
the river had fallen, as a multitude of bones were discovered.

"Col. Joseph Daviess, when in St. Louis, in 1800, saw the remains of an
ancient tribe of the Sacs, who expressed some astonishment that any person should
live in Kentucky. They said the country had been the scene of much bloodshed,
and was fdled with the manes of its butchered inhabitants. They stated, also, that
the people who inhabited this country were wldlc, and possessed such arts as were
unknown by the Indians.

"Col. McKee, who commanded on the Kenhawa when Cornstalk was inhumanly
murdered, had frequent conversations with that chief, respecting the people who
constructed the ancient forts. He stated that it was a current and assured tradi-
tion, that Ohio and Kentucky had been once settled by white people. That, after
many sanguinary contests, they were exterminated. Col. M. asked him if he could
tell who made those old forts, which displayed so much skill in fortifying. He
answered that he did not know, but that a story had been handed down from a
very k»t<j ago people, that there had been a nation of white people inhabiting the
country, who made the graves and forts."

In the Portfolio, of June, 1816, from which the above extracts are taken, it is
said that the MSS. of Eev. Dr. Campbell had been placed in the hands of a friend
of the family to be prepared for publication. It is believed, however, that they
were never printed. The wJiite men spoken of, in the traditions recorded by the
author, may possibly have been the early Spanish and French adventurers; the
want of conformity to facts, in regard to events and localities, being explained by
the usual absence of consistency in the legendary tales of the natives.

The Kaskaskia chief, Baptist Ducoign, told Gen. George Rogers Clark, that the
works on the Kaskaskia river were the palaces and fortifications of his forefathers
" when they covered the whole country and had large towns."1

The traditions related by Cusic, an educated Tuscarora, in his Ancient History
of the Six Nations, may be compared with the statement of the Iroquois to the
missionary Kirkland, that the defensive inclosures of New York were erected in
their wars with the southern and western Indians, three, four, or five centuries
ago. Cusic refers to the mounds and fortifications of the west, as the works of
ancient southern and western tribes, who had penetrated and occupied the country
nearly to the banks of Lake Erie. They were, he says, opposed by the northern
tribes, who were more skilled in the use of bows and arrows ; and after long and
bloody wars, which are conjectured to have lasted for centuries, the Algonco-Iro-

1 Schoolcraft's Cond. and Prosp. of Am. Indians, IV, 135.

THE EARTHWORKS OF FLORIDA. 51

quois confederacy of the tribes prevailed. The towns and forts in the Mississippi
valley fell before these conquering tribes, and were left in ruins.

Mr. Gallatin says : " The evidently fabulous annals of the Iroquois were in-
vented by a pure Indian (Cusic). They (the Indians) have no scruple in telling
what are called white fibs. If any inquiry is made on any subject, they have
considerable tact in discovering the answer which would please the inquirer, and
immediately invent a tale for that purpose. I have traced some, evidently of
that character, in reference to the supposed Welsh Indians. Yet some of the tradi-
tions may be founded on a true fact, though altered, as is so generally the case, in
order to answer some immediate purpose. Thus, the assertion of the Delawares
that they came from beyond the Mississippi has been confirmed by the affinities of
their language with that of the Black Feet. But the story of their having come
with the Iroquois, and the recital of their subsequent relations, have evidently
been invented."1.

In his chapter on the Natchez and other Indians of Florida, Dr. McCulloh
regards the evidence as conclusive that those tribes were competent to the erection
of all the earthworks found in that region ; as they are known to have constructed
similar ones, and to have had customs that indicate their use.

It has been remarked already, that in the accounts of early Spanish and French
occupation of the country, no notice is taken of mounds or parapets, except such as
were then formed or used by the natives. By reference to Smithsonian Contribu-
tions, Vol. I, Ch. IV, it will be seen that the characteristic monuments of Florida
and Louisiana are pyramidal elevations, often of large horizontal dimensions, but
not lofty in proportion, with a flat surface at the toj), and a graded way of easy
ascent on one side. These are sometimes surrounded, at a little distance, by ditches
or parapets.

Now, it happens, that Garcilazo de la Vega, in his history of Florida, describes
the formation and purpose of such structures, with a particularity that seems to
admit of no misapprehension.

" The town and house of the Cacique of Osachile are similar to those of all other
caciques in Florida, and, therefore, it seems best to give one description that will
apply generally to all the capitals, and all the houses of the chiefs in Florida. I
say, then, that the Indians endeavor to place their towns upon elevated places; but
because such situations are rare in Florida, or that they find a difficulty in procuring
suitable materials for building, they raise eminences in this manner. They choose
a place to which they bring a quantity of earth, which they elevate into a kind of
platform two or three pikes in height (from eighteen to twenty-five feet), of which
the flat top is capable of holding ten or twelve, fifteen or twenty houses, to lodge
the cacique, his family, and suite. They trace around the foot of this mound a
square place, conformable to the extent of the town they intend to build, and
around this square the more considerable people erect their dwellings. The com-
monalty build around them in the same manner, and the whole population thus
surround their chief. The mound upon which the cacique lives has its sides made

" Trans, of Am. Ethnol. Soc, II, cxlvii.

52 ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE UNITED STATES.

so steep that it is impossible to ascend it but by the artificial steps or way that is
fixed alone on one side."

From this and other notices, less particular but equally distinct, of mounds as
the sites of temples, and as fortresses, and of fortified inclosures, found in the early
narratives as well as from the arts, religious system, and despotic government of
those tribes, and from all we know of their history, Dr. McCulloh felt himself
justified in maintaining that they and their ancestors were the authors of all the
works whose remains exist in that portion of the country. He inferred, too, " that
other tribes, also of a certain degree of civilization, inhabited the shores of the
Mississippi and Ohio, even up to Pennsylvania, who were fully able to construct
any monument hitherto discovered north of Mexico." These he supposed might
have been exterminated by the barbarian, nations around them, or compelled to
migrate elsewhere, perhaps pressed down towards Florida, where they were incor-
porated with a people of congenial disposition.

He might have added to his references wdiat Ribault says of the great chieftain
Chiquola. " They (the Floridians) gave me to understand that they would bring
me to see the greatest lord of this country, which they called Chiquola, Avhich
exceeded them in height (as they told me) a good foot and a half. They said unto
me that he dwelt within the land, in a very large place, and inclosed exceeding high,
but I could not learn wherewith. * * * I began then to show them all the parts
of the heaven, to the intent to learn in which quarter they (Chiquola's people)
dwelt. And straightway one of them stretching out his hand showed me that
they dwelt towards the north. * * :): Besides this proof, those which were left in
the first voyage have certified me, that the Indians showed them by evident signs,
that further within the land, toward the north, there was a great inclosure or city
where Chiquola dwelt."1

Dr. McCulloh's conclusions respecting the mounds and fortifications of North
America may be embraced in a few sentences.

He was decidedly of opinion, in opposition to the views held by him at the com-
mencement of his researches, that they were erected by Indian tribes; the more
eminent monuments, probably by nations kindred with the Natches, Tcensas, Mobi-
lians, &c, if not by the ancestors of those very people, whose traditions point to
some ancient establishments in the western country.

The fortifications, as they were usually termed, he regarded as simple walls, which
surrounded towns and villages, including also cultivated grounds, thrown up for
protection against surprisals, but without reference to any general system of military
defence. The mounds within the inclosures he considered as sites for the dwellings
of the chiefs, for council halls, or for temples, the conical mounds being generally
for sepulchral purposes.

He thought he had been able to show that, on opening the mounds, nothing had
been discovered indicating a state of civilization materially different from that of
ordinary Indian society; and certainly nothing surpassing the demi-civilization of

1 Ribault's account of Florida, in Haklnyt, III, SICu

AMERICAN LANGUAGES. 53

the Florida Indians. All articles of a higher order of manufacture, said to have
heen occasionally met with, he believed to have been derived from the early Spanish
or French adventurers, or from other external sources.

Although Dr. McCulloh's deductions are usually sensible and discriminating, the
plan of his work is open to serious objections. It may serve for a dictionary of
reference, but as a method of reasoning it is unsound and deceptive. Detached
quotations Yieed not of necessity mislead the compiler, provided he carefully studies
the connection in which they are found, but they are liable to have in their separate
position, or when combined with other extracts, a force and signification their authors
by no means intended. They can never be admitted as evidence, or made the basis
of a solid judgment, without a knowledge of the circumstances in which they were
written. Dr. McCulloh's work has this great merit and interest : It contains the first
clear and definite statement, upon evidence, of opinions that have since been adopted
by some of the latest and most influential writers. Dr. Morton employs the term
brown, suggested by him, to express the general color of the Indians, recognizing
also the various shades of complexion which Dr. McCulloh has described, without,
however, regarding them as indicative of distinctions of race. Mr. Schoolcraft con-
firms his views respecting the southern origin of the mound-builders, and the probable
history of those remains, and apparently concurs with the general conclusions of his
research.1

It is time to notice more particularly a department of research, thus far but
indirectly referred to, which is destined to exert a prominent, if not decisive influ-
ence, upon archaeological questions.

An examination of American languages, as a means of determining from what
branch of the human family the original inhabitants of the country were descended,
was suggested at an early period. Efforts have never been wanting, since vocabu-
laries began to be collected, to trace affinities with the languages of the Old World,
through words having a similarit}^ of sound and signification; yet, although many
striking cases of apparent resemblance between single words of various Indian dia-
lects and those of parallel import in other tongues were detected, philological
inquiries produced no satisfactory fruits, because the proper principle on which they
should be conducted was not understood.

When Psammeticus, king of Egypt, caused two children to be brought up
without an opportunity of hearing speech, iu order, by the first words they should
utter, to settle a dispute between the Egyptians and Phrygians, as to which was
the most ancient language, he acted under the same philosophical misapprehension.
The first word spoken happened to be beccos; and the Phrygians claimed the victory,
because beccos in their tongue signified bread.

If Psammeticus had prolonged his experiment until the children sought to com-
municate their ideas to one another, and, after having given names to things,
endeavored to combine and modify them to express relation, quality, and action,
he might, perhaps, have ascertained in what manner the human mind, governed
solely by instinctive impulses, would proceed to the construction of language.

1 Hist. Cond. and Prosp. of the Ind. Tribes, II, 84 and 320. lb., IV, 115.

54 ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE UNITED STATES.

It is in the forms of grammatical structure, the modes of associating and express-
ing ideas, without regard to the meaning of particular words, that modern philolo-
gists have found the true key to the origin and connection of the varieties of
human speech.

This is claimed to be a discovery so newly made as to be known and practised on
only by scholars of the present generation. It is to Frederic Schlegel that Chevalier
Bunsen attributes the establishment of this principle, and so recently as 1S0S.1 It
is relied upon to solve the question of the relative antiquity of nations, and to
elucidate some of the mysteries connected with the descent and distribution of
races. The proposition is, simply, that names of things, and terms of expression,
are transitory, and in the course of time may be wholly replaced by others; but
the system of grammatical construction is permanent, assimilating to itself, and
distributing, according to its own laws, whatever new material is acquired; and,
unless overwhelmed by the irruption of a new system, sustained by the dominating
force of numbers and conquest, maintains its vitality through all changes.

As applied to American languages, the results of this rule of exegesis have been
most remarkable. No theories of derivation from the Old World have stood the
test of its alchemy. All traces of the fugitive tribes of Israel supposed to be
found here, are again lost.2 Neither Phoenicians, nor Hindoos, nor Chinese, nor
Scandinavians, nor Welsh, have left an impress of their national syntax behind
them. But the dialects of the Western Continent, radically united among them-
selves, and radically distinguished from all others, stand in hoary brotherhood by .
the side of the most ancient vocal systems of the human race. " It deserves
notice," says Mr. Gallatin, " that Vater could point out but two languages that, on
account of the multiplicity of their forms, had a character, if not similar, at least
analogous to those of America. These were the Congo and the Basque. The first
spoken by a barbarous nation of Africa, the other now universally admitted to be
a remarkable relic of a most ancient and primitive language found in the most
early ages of the world."3

The science of comparative philology is yet in its infancy, and investigators are
constantly pointing out new analogies, and as often invalidating those which had
before been suggested. The subject is one of great complication and difficulty; and
it is not always easy to draw the line of distinction between resemblances incident
to the attributes of a common human nature, and affinities upon points of structure
that constitute the original and peculiar genius of a language. With whatever
primordial forms of speech the American languages may be associated by different
writers (and on this point they are by no means agreed), their primitive unity and
long separation from those of other countries seem to be generally admitted.

There arc three epochs in the progress of information respecting the languages

1 Buusen's " Outlines of the Philosophy of Universal History, applied to language and religion."
Lond., 1854, I, 50.

■ The essential diversity between the Indian languages and the Hebrew, is learnedly exhibited in the
Discourse of Rev. Dr. Jarvis before the N. Y. Hist. Soc. in 1819, on the Religion of the Indian tribes.

3 Trans, of Am. Antiquarian Soc., II, 203.

AMERICAN LANGUAGES. 55

of America. In the first, the study of words was the principal object of attention,
for the purpose of detecting similarities of sound and sense with those of other
nations. In the second, the radical connection subsisting between the native dialects
of the whole continent excited the special interest of inquirers. In the third, the
modern linguistic system was adopted, and the philosophy of organization, the
grammatical machinery by which ideas are combined, and quality, relation, and
action, are indicated, became the prominent subject of investigation.

Vocabularies were not collected at first with a view to comparison, but to facilitate
communication with the natives. Tables of Mexican words with a Spanish trans-
lation were printed in Mexico as early as 1571; and there are few early travellers
and missionaries who did not preserve similar specimens in their journals, from the
different regions they visited.

When terms and phrases were analyzed for grammatical purposes, the object was
still limited to the convenience of intercourse, or the conveyance of religions
instruction. Koger Williams, who preceded Eliot in this kind of labor, prepared
his "key," "as a help to the language of the natives;"1 and Eliot's "Grammar
begun,"- was "for the help of such as desired to learn, and for the furtherance of
the gospel among the Indians." Father Rasle's copious MS. dictionary, commenced
in 169U, had no other design. The same may be said of Josiah Cottons Vocabu-
lary, compiled in 1707-S.

It is not until the treatise of Jonathan Edwards appeared, in 1788, that we find
the recognition of a different purpose; and in this the same principles of investigation
are declared and practised that have given to Schlegel the reputation of establishing
a new school of comparative philology.3 The title of Dr. Edwards's tract deserves
to be inserted at length, as significant of the nature and scope of a plan which he
suggested and illustrated, but did not attempt to execute upon any extensive scale.4
The principal merit of Edwards undoubtedly consists in the detection of a pre-
vailing identity of language among tribes widely separated, and employing words
apparently dissimilar.

Although not fully aware, it may be, of the ethnological importance of a study
of the mechanism of language, it must have always been regarded with interest
by men of philosophical minds. Maupertuis. the celebrated mathematician, in his
"Reflections on the origin of language," first printed about 1750, recommended
the study of barbarous languages, " because we may chance to find some that are

1 Printed in 1643. a Printed in 1666.

s Schlegel's Essay is thus referred to by Bnnsen : "In 1808 a book appeared, small in extent, and
on the whole a mere sketch, but possessing all those properties which constitnte an epoch-making work.
I mean Schlegel's Essay on the language and philosophy of the Hindoos. It fully established the
decisive importance and precedence which grammatical forms ought to have over single words in prov-
ing the affinities of languages. To the impulse given by Schlegel's work we are indebted in a high
degree, for the ideas on which the new linguistic school of Germany has proceeded." Phil, of Universal
Hist, I, 50.

4 " Observations on the language of the Muhhekaneew Indians. In which the extent of that language
in North America is shown ; its genius is grammatically traced; some of its peculiarities, and some
instances of analogy between that and the Hebrew, are pointed out.''

56 ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE UNITED STATES.

formed on new plans of ideas." His contemporary, Turgor, professed not to under-
stand what was meant by "plans of ideas;" but he was then a youth, a little over
twenty years of age, and aiming to write a smart criticism on the essay of Maupertuis.

Jefferson's remarks in his Notes on Virginia, Quere IX, contain the idea that
Schlegel subsequently made productive. " Were vocabularies formed of all the
languages spoken in North and South America, with the inflections of their nouns
and verbs, their principles of regimen and concord, it would furnish opportunities
to those skilled in the languages of the Old World to compare them with these,
and hence to construct the best evidence of the derivation of this part of the
human race."1

The labors of Dr. Barton are entitled to the highest praise ; but they were in a
path which had been travelled before. His comparisons related almost exclusively
to words, their sense, and etymology, and did not penetrate to the vital principle
that controls their regimen, as the vital principle of a plant determines the form of
its growth. Pursuing the same line of investigation, he advanced further than his
predecessors, and having, with great patience and industry, accumulated a larger
stock of materials, he very much extended the field of inquiry.

As early as 1708, Adrian Keland, distinguished as an oriental scholar and a
philological writer, published, at Utrecht, a dissertation on the languages of Ame-
rica. The dialects he had examined were, as enumerated by him, the Brazilian,
the Peruvian, the Chilian, the Poconchi or Pocoman, the Carib, the Mexican, the
Virginian, the Algonkin, and the Huron. That which he called the " Virginian"
was the language of Eliot's Bible and Grammar, and his specimens of the Algonkin
and the Huron were derived from the vocabularies of Baron de la Hontan. He
states, as the result of his observations, that, while most of the languages of Europe,
Asia, and Africa, can easily be traced to their origin, it is very different with those
of America ; as, on comparing the latter with others, it is almost impossible to dis-
cover sufficient resemblance to excite even a suspicion of what people took posses-
sion of this vast continent. Yet, supposing that the New World must have received
its population from the Old, he seeks an explanation for the radical changes of
speech in the known fact, that the priests and chiefs of some tribes created a lan-
guage for themselves, purposely unintelligible to the lower orders, which, from being
exclusively a court language, might gradually be communicated to the people, and
supersede their own. To this he adds the fluctuating tendency of all speech, in
the absence of written symbols to give permanency to sounds. If any relation is
to be found between the tongues of the two hemispheres, he thinks it must be
looked for among the languages of Asia. He inserts an Icelandic vocabulary, by
which, he says, "they who imagine there is any affinity between the languages of
the North and those of America may be undeceived." Even Clavigero, the con-
temporary of Jefferson and Barton, was somewhat in advance of them in express-

1 It is stated that President Jefferson had himself gathered vocabularies which, at some interval of
leisure from public employments, he intended to digest and publish; but in 1801 his MSS. were
destroyed by fire, and he had not the heart to commence his work anew. Schoolcraft's Hist, of the
Cond. and Prosp. of the Indians, II, 356.

AMERICAN LANGUAGES. 57

ing the opinion, based upon his own philological researches, that the Americans
do not derive their origin from any people now existing in the ancient world.1

The great names that have given lustre to the modern school of comparative
philology are mostly German ; and the number of American dialects collected and
analyzed by the two Adelungs, Vater, and William Von Humboldt, caused our own
distinguished philologists, Duponceau and Pickering, to unite in an expression of
astonishment and admiration towards them as their masters in a knowledge of the
customs, manners, and languages of the aborigines of this country .'-

Frederic Adelung ascribes to the Empress Catharine II, of Russia, the honor of
commencing, personally, the solid foundation on which philological science now
rests. For her private gratification and amusement, she had formed the plan of
procuring vocabularies of all the languages in the world; and directed her Secretary
of State to write for that purpose to the powers of Europe, Asia, and Africa.
Application was made to President Washington for our Indian languages, and
several specimens were furnished. The empress pursued her studies of comparison
in solitude for many months ; but at length growing tired of this hobby, she sent
for Professor Pallas, and "after a full confession" (as she says in a letter to a friend)
of the manner in which she had been occupied, it was agreed between them that*
the translations she bad made of a list of Russian words into more than two hun-
dred languages or dialects, should be printed for the benefit of those who were
willing to engage in such labors.3

' Hist, of Mexico, first printed in 1780.

9 Mass. Hist. Col., 2d se., IX, 232.

3 Catherinens der Grossen Verdienste urn die Vergleichende Sprachenkunde. Mini, of Am. Acad.,
IV, 321.

The Russian Empress and Eugene Aram are singular persons to lie brought together in this con-
nection ; yet they both appear to have entertained views upon philological subjects somewhat in advance
of their contemporaries. The following note, received through Professor Henry, from Col. C. A. Alexan-
der, of Washington,, will be found to possess more than a merely scientific interest. It will increase the
regret that the eminent abilities of Aram could not have been employed in pursuits that might have
proved honorable to himself, and useful to mankind.

" In any work treating of the affinities of language, it would seem to be unjust to overlook the claims
of the remarkable but unfortunate Eugene Aram, to be considered as an early (if not the earliest) culti-
vator of this branch of philological science, upon the right principle, and with anything like an adequate
comprehensiveness of purpose. Some account of his labors may be found in the Annual Register
(Dodsley's) for 1159, page 360, where we are told that having discovered a surprising affinity through-
out the Latin, Greek, Hebrew, French, Chaldee, Arabic, and Celtic languages, 'he resolved to make
a Comparative Lexicon, and, at the time of his trial aud death, had collected for that purpose above
one thousand notes.' He had observed that all previous lexicographers had limited their views to
tracing such accidental derivations as might have sprung from commerce or occasional intercourse,
without adverting to the radical affiliation which a more profound inquiry discloses. ' Yet,' as he well
remarks, 'it is not to be thought of, much less concluded, that the multitude of English words which
are certainly of Latin, Greek, and Phoenician origin, are all the relics of the Roman settlements in
Britain, or the effects of Greek or Phoenician commerce; on the contrary, the resemblance was coeval
with the primary inhabitants of the island. How nearly related is the Cambrian, how nearly the Irish,
in numberless instances, to the Latin, the Greek, and even the Hebrew, and both possessed this con-
similarity long ago, before Julius Csesar and the Roman invasion. I know not but the Latin differed
more from itself in the succession of six continued centuries, thnn the Welsh and Irish at this time
S

58 ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE UNITED STATES.

From Pallas to the compilers of the " Mithridates" the transmission of the design
of the empress is direct. That great work, commenced by Professor John Christo-
pher Adelung, and continued by Professor Vater, the Hon. Frederic Adelung, and
Baron William Von Humboldt, was published at Berlin, gradually, from 1806 to
1817. Two volumes, containing together no less than eight hundred and seventy-
four pages, are exclusively dedicated to the languages of the Indians of North and
South America, and were written almost wholly by Professor Vater.

We are, without question, indebted to the fruits of the labors of those learned
men, for the active proceedings of the Historical Committee of the American Phi-
losophical Society, in 1816.

In that year, Mr. Duponceau commenced a correspondence with Mr. Hecke-
welder, the object of which was " to ascertain the structure and grammatical forms
of the languages of the aboriginal nations of America."

To facilitate this investigation, the library of the society was enriched with a
collection of valuable MS. dictionaries, grammars, and vocabularies, prepared by
the Moravian missionaries, a series of vocabularies presented by Mr. Jefferson, and
various tables obtained from different quarters. Thus, in addition to the resources
provided by professor Vater, the society had become possessed of new materials of
an important character, with the advantage of having at hand an experienced
interpreter, able, from personal knowledge, or by correspondence with his brethren
at different missionary stations, to supply the most exact and pertinent information.1

The duty of the Historical Committee, begun by Dr. Wistar and Mr. Duponceau,
was continued by the latter alone, in consequence of Dr. Wistar's death ; and the
results were published in 1819, in connection with Mr. Heckewelder's "Historical
Account of the Indian Nations." Their report describes the peculiar characteristics
of the American languages, thus: " We find a new manner of compounding words
from various roots so as to strike the mind at once with a whole mass of ideas; a
new manner of expressing the cases of substantives by inflecting the verbs that
govern them; a new number (the particular plural), applied to the declension of
nouns and conjugation of verbs; a new concordance in tense of the conjunction
with the verb ; we see not only pronouns, as in the Hebrew and some other lan-
guages, but adjectives, conjunctions, adverbs, combined with the principal part of
speech, and producing an immense variety of verbal forms. When we consider

from the Latin. We find pure Greek in the Peak (of Derbyshire) itself, whither foreigners can
scarcely be supposed to have come, there having been but few invitations to it twice ten centuries ago,
and perhaps not many now.'

" In the work quoted from, an example of his method is given in the word ' beagles,' which he traces
from its Celtic root, pig, id est, little — through the Greek (rtvy^cu'os, t. e., a dwarf), the Irish (beg
aglach, i. e., little fearing, &c), the Scotch (philibig, i. e., a little petticoat), as well as in several
English provincialisms. Thus, beagle is not only a little dog, but also a cowslip, from the littleness of
its (lowers, and the appellation Peggy, is properly applicable to no female as a Christian name, but is
merely an epithet of size, and a word of endearment only."

1 The Moravians had paid great attention to Indian lexicography. Zeisberger prepared a dictionary
and grammar of the Iroquois, and a copious vocabulary and grammar of the Delaware language ; Fyr-
leiis, a collection of Iroquois words and phrases, grammatically arranged ; and Schultz, a dictionary
and grammar of the Arnwack language.

AMERICAN LANGUAGES. 59

these and many other singularities, which so eminently characterize the American
idioms, we naturally ask ourselves the question : Are languages formed on this
model to be found in any other part of the earth ?"

Mr. Duponceau gives the following summary of the products of philological
research at that period, in his notes on Eliot's Grammar, printed by the Massachu-
setts Historical Society, in 1822.

" Before I proceed to the language of the Massachusetts Indians, I may be per-
mitted to show what fruits have been derived from our science, since it has begun
to be considered an interesting object of study.

" By the labors of the illustrious Adelung, a census, as it were, has been taken of
all the languages and dialects (that are known to us) existing on the surface of the
earth ; they have been all registered and enumerated, and it is now ascertained, as
nearly as possible, that their aggregage number amounts to 3,004 ; of which Africa
has 276 ; Europe, 587 ; Asia, 987 ; and America, 1214 — being more than Asia and
Africa together, and nearly as many as the whole of the old continent, Africa
excepted."

" It is ascertained, at least nothing has yet appeared to the contrary, that the
languages of our American Indians are rich in words and grammatical forms; that
tbey are adequate to the expression of even abstract ideas ; and that they have a
mode (different from our own), by which they can easily combine their radical
sounds with each other, so as to frame new words whenever they stand in need of
them. What is still more extraordinary, the model of these languages has been
found to be the same from north to south ; varieties being only observed in some of
the details, which do not affect the similarity of the general system ; while, on the
eastern continent, languages are found, which, in their grammatical organization,
have no relation whatever with each other. And yet our American idioms, except
where they can be traced to a common stock, differ so much in point of etymology,
that no affinity whatever has been yet discovered between them."

" It has been, moreover, ascertained, that one nation at least, on the eastern con-
tinent of Asia, the Sedentary TschuJdschi, speak an American language (a dialect of
the Eskimaux). On the other hand, no nation has yet been discovered on this
continent that speaks an Asiatic language."

" It has been also ascertained that from the peninsula of Malacca, in Asia, to the
Cocos Island, and through the various clusters in the South Sea, and also in the
island of Madagascar, dialects of the same language (the Malay) are spoken. No
traces of this language have been yet discovered on the coast of the American con-
tinent ; but they may appear on further research."

One of the greatest obstacles to a successful and satisfactory comparison of Indian
vocabularies, was caused by the capricious and ever varying orthography adopted
by writers of different nations. The elementary sounds were often so variously repre-
sented that the same word could not be recognized in the dissimilar combinations
of letters employed to express it. Thus, for example, if the letter j was used by an
Englishman, to a German or Italian it would represent the sound of our !/; to a
Frenchman or Portuguese, that of zh or s in pleasure; while a Spaniard would give
it the strong guttural accent of his country. As the tables of words were collected

60 ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE UNITED STATES.

by persons of all these different nations, it is evident that they could not be com-
pared, with any reasonable expectation of determining their affinities, without a
careful reduction to some common standard of orthography. Dr. Barton attempted
it in his own researches; other philologists were less careful; and even Vater was
led into many mistakes arising from this difficulty.

The investigations of the Committee of the Philosophical Society were no sooner
published than they excited a deep interest in that able scholar and lexicographer,
Mr. John Pickering, of Massachusetts, and led him to prepare a treatise on the
orthography of the Indian languages of North America, with a view to obviating
the embarrassments that had been experienced. This was printed by the American
Academy, in the 4th volume of its Memoirs.1 Becoming more engaged in the sub-
ject, Mr. Pickering wrote a valuable introduction to Eliot's Grammar, republished
by the Massachusetts Historical Society in 1822, with elaborate notes by Mr.
Duponceau ; and, the year following, prepared his edition and extension of the
work of Dr. Edwards, which was printed by the same Society. The able and
learned article on Indian languages, in the appendix to the sixth volume of the
Encyclopa;dia Americana, was also written by him.

In that article, Mr. Pickering refers to Mr. Duponceau as " the first to discover
and make known to the world the remarkable character which pervades the abori-
ginal languages of America from Greenland to Cape Horn," and states that it is
from his writings we derive nearly all that is known of the general characteristics
of those dialects, while his theory has been confirmed by all subsequent observa-
tions.

Mr. Duponceau attributed the origin of his own interest in this subject to
his undertaking a translation of Zeisberger's Delaware Grammar on behalf of the
Committee of the Philosophical Society, and to his correspondence with Hecke-
welder, of whom he always spoke in terms of the highest respect and regard. He
continued to promote inquiry by various contributions to the transactions of the
Philosophical Society, and crowned his labors in this department of science by his
elaborate memoir on the grammatical system of the languages of the North Ame-
rican Indians, to which the Royal Institute of France awarded the prize founded
by Volney for the encouragement of philological studies.2 That work was pub-
lished by the Royal Institute, in 1838, and constitutes a volume of four hundred
and sixty-four pages, embodying the substance of the author's information scien-
tifically arranged, and the views that had resulted from his investigations. These
views differ from those already presented in a single particular. An apparent
exception to the rule of uniformity in the structure of the American languages was
pointed out to Mr. Duponceau by Don Manuel Najera, a Mexican. This was in
the case of the Otomis, a rude tribe of central Mexico, whose language is mono-
syllabic, like the Chinese. Najera demonstrated that peculiarity in a Latin treatise,

' Mr. Pickering's system of orthography was adopted by the American Board of Commissioners for
Foreign Missions, and has been used in their numerous publications.

0 " Memoir sur 1c systeme grammatical des langues de quelques nations Iudiennes de 1'Amerique du
Nord."

AMERICAN LANGUAGES. 61

in the fifth volume of the new series of the transactions of the American Philo-
sophical Society.1 The fact was not made known to Mr. Duponceau until his
memoir was in the possession of the French Institute, and is first mentioned in the
preface attached to it when printed, accompanied with the reflection that " in sci-
ence, especially in metaphysical science, it is not well to be in haste to generalize."2

When Mr. Gallatin prepared his " Notes on the semi-civilized nations of Mexico,
Yucatan, and Central America," in 1845, he examined Najera's treatise with a good
deal of care. Some exceptions or objections were found to his theory, and some
affinities to other dialects were detected, yet the theory appeared to him to be
substantially correct ; and he drew from thence a moral similar to that of Mr. Du-
ponceau. " The distinct character of the Otomi, teaches us we must be cautious
in drawing too general conclusions. It appears certain that almost all the Indian
languages are similar in their grammatical forms, structure, and general character.
But it does not follow that there are no exceptions."

Mr. Gallatin commenced his labors in this field of inquiry, in 1823, with an
attempt to classify the Indian tribes of North America in families according to their
respective languages, at the request of his friend Baron Alexander Von Humboldt.
That essay having been communicated by Humboldt to M. Balbi, was noticed by
the latter in the Introduction to his " Atlas Ethnographique," and there attracted
the attention of the American Antiquarian Society, whose officers applied to Mr.
Gallatin for a copy. As he had kept none, but had collected many additional
materials, the essay was re-written and much enlarged, and occupies the greater
part of the second volume of " Archteologia Americana," published in 1836.

The synopsis was originally intended to embrace all the tribes north of the semi-
civilized nations of Mexico; but the want of materials confined the inquiry towards
the south to the territory of the United States. Within that territory, east of the
Rocky Mountains, nearly all the dialects were ascertained, as well as most of the
families of languages north of the United States.

Mr. Gallatin's general conclusions were not dissimilar to those of Mr. Duponceau.
Being less imaginative, and less under the influence of excitement produced by the
development of unexpected and extraordinary characteristics in the American
languages, he employed a cooler and stricter logic in their examination. He had
the advantage also of a wider scope, and a field of observation prepared, to a con-
siderable extent, by previous labors. Hence, his view is more comprehensive, and
his exposition of details more complete.

His own account of the result is that " it appears to confirm the opinions
already entertained on that subject by Mr. Duponceau, Mr. Pickering, and others ;
and to prove that all the languages, not only of our own Indians, but of the natives
of America from the Arctic Ocean to Cape Horn, have, as far as they have been
investigated, a distinct character, common to all, and apparently differing from any
of those of the other continent with which we are most familiar."

1 In the title to that treatise, the name is written Naxera ; but the author usually employed the
other form of Na/era, the sound in Spanish being the same in either case.

3 Dans les sciences, et surtout dans les sciences metaphysiques, il ne faut pas se hater de generalise!-.

62 ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE UNITED STATES.

" Those of America seem to me to bear the impress of primitive languages — to
have assumed their form from natural causes, and to afford no proof of their being
derived from a nation in a more advanced state of civilization than our Indians.
Whilst the unity of structure, and of grammatical forms, proves a common origin,
it may be inferred from this, combined with the great diversity, and entire differ-
ence in the words of the several languages of America, that this continent received
its first inhabitants at a very remote epoch, probably not much posterior to that of
the dispersion of mankind."

" I rather incline to the opinion, that the civilization of Mexico, and some por-
tions of South America, grew out of natural causes, and is entirely of American
origin."1

While declaring that the languages of America attest the antiquity of its popula-
tion, Mr. Gallatin is careful not to be understood as expressing views "inconsistent
with the opinion of an Asiatic origin, and with the received chronology."

" Assuming the central parts of Asia to have been the cradle of mankind, since
three couples would, in thirty periods of duplication, increase to more than six
thousand millions of souls, we may fairly infer, not only the possibility, but even
the probability, that America began to be inhabited only five or six hundred years
later than the other hemisphere."

"On the probable supposition, that the whole continent of America was inhabited
one thousand years after the flood, or near four thousand years ago, the faculties of
man, gradually unfolded and improved, may, in the course of so long a period, have
produced, without any extraneous aid, that more advanced state of society and
knowledge, which existed in some parts of America when first discovered by the
Europeans."

In regard to the monuments of the United States, he remarks : " It is not ne-
cessary to refute the opinion of those who would ascribe these works to European
emigrants. There is nothing in them which may not have been performed by a
savage people. The Scandinavian colony of Vinland is out of the question. The
Norwegians might, indeed, have penetrated through the Straits of Bellisle to the
St. Lawrence ; but, if not destroyed by the savages, a considerable time must have
elapsed before they could, in their subsequent progress, have reached the Mississippi
and ascended its western tributaries. The well ascertained age of trees growing
on those ramparts in the lower part of the valley of the Ohio, proves that some of
those works were erected before the thirteenth century ; and we know that the
insignificant colony of Vinland had not left its original seats in 1120. Ignorant
as we are, and shall ever remain, of the internal revolutions which may have
formerly taken place among the uncivilized tribes of North America, it is not pro-
bable we can ever know by whom the works in question were erected."

In 1845, Mr. Gallatin communicated to the American Ethnological Society his
" Notes on the semi-civilized nations of Mexico."

In that valuable paper he not only extended his philological comparisons to the
languages of those nations, but reviewed their history and chronology, and their

1 Prefatory letter.

AMERICAN LANGUAGES. 63

astronomical system ; devoting a chapter to conjectures on the origin of American
civilization.

After the lapse of nine years from the period of his first publication his opinions
were not materially changed. Referring to his previous essay, he says : " Taking
into view the words or vocabularies alone, although seventy-three tribes were found
speaking dialects so far differing, that they could not be understood without an
interpreter by the Indians of other tribes; yet the affinities between the words of
many of them were such, as to show clearly that they belonged to the same stock.

Sixty-one dialects, spoken by as many tribes, were thus found to constitute only
eight languages, or rather families of languages, so dissimilar, that the few coinci-
dences which might occur in their words appeared to be accidental. But it was,
on the other hand, ascertained that all the languages of which partial grammars
could be obtained, however dissimilar in their words, were in their structure of the
same character."

" As a general result, it appears to me indubitable that, however dissimilar in
their words, the grammar proper and general structure of all their languages is,
with the exception of the Otorni, founded on the same principles."

His remarks upon the Eskimaux are worthy of particular notice, on account of
the contradictory opinions held respecting that people.

" Several writers have taken it for granted that the Eskimaux were a different
race from the other Indian nations of America. Their language is eminently poly-
synthetic, and, in that respect, in its mode of forming other derivative or com-
pounded words, as well as in its grammatical forms, it is perfectly similar to the
other Indian languages, and evidently belongs to the same family. The physical
type seems to be essentially the same, and no further varied than might be expected
from the excessive severity of the climate. There is not in their size a greater dif-
ference between them and the Algonkins, than between the Laplanders and the
Finns. With respect to their true color, not easily discernible, Captain Clavering,
Avho reached the most northerly inhabited parts of the eastern coast of Greenland,
having thoroughly washed a boy, found that he was copper colored."1

After stating that the most striking points of resemblance between the Americans
and the inhabitants of the other hemisphere, refer almost exclusively to Asiatic
countries ; and that, as our knowledge of the languages of northeastern Asia is as
yet limited, further investigations are necessary before any legitimate inference can
be drawn, he says : —

" From whatever quarter America may have been peopled, the first important
question is that of the time at which that event must have taken place."

" We find in America more than one hundred languages, which, however similar
in structure, differ entirely in their vocabulary, or words. This difference must
have originated either before or after America was inhabited. The first supposition
implies that of America having been settled, not by a few distinct nations, which
is very possible, but by more than one hundred distinct tribes and nations of dif-
ferent origin, and speaking entirely different languages. This supposition, so utterly

1 See ante, p. 48, respecting the supposed color of the Eskimaux.

CI ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE UNITED STATES.

improbable in itself, is, moreover, inconsistent with the great similarity in their
physical type, and the structure of their languages, between almost all the several
nations and tribes which inhabited America when discovered in modern times by
the Europeans. If, as is highly probable, the prodigious subdivision of languages
took place in America, after making every allowance for the greater changes to which
unwritten languages are liable, and for the necessary subdivision of nations, in the
hunter state, into separate communities, yet, for producing such radical diversity
and great multiplication of languages, we want the longest time we are permitted
to assume. There is the highest probability that America was inhabited at a date
as early as is consistent with the laws which govern the multiplication of the human
species, and with the time necessary for the spreading of men to the extreme shores
of the other hemisphere."

" I beg leave once more to repeat that, unless we suppose that which we have no
right to do, a second miraculous interposition of Providence, in America, the pro-
digious number of American languages, totally dissimilar in their vocabularies,
demonstrates, not only that the first peopling of America took place at the earliest
date which we are permitted to assume ; but also that the great mass of the exist-
ing Indian nations are the descendants of the first emigrants ; since we must other-
wise suppose that America was peopled by one hundred different tribes, speaking
languages totally dissimilar in their words."

After expressing his opinion that, if the articles from the mounds do not afford
evidences of a much greater progress in the arts than the Indians had attained
when first visited by the Europeans, the monuments themselves are proofs, not
only of a more dense, and therefore agricultural population, but also of a different
social state, he proceeds to say : —

" As now informed, there is but one leading fact which may aid us in forming
any conjecture respecting that extinct race. Their monuments are found exclu-
sively in the valley of the Mississippi, and they are not even seen on the upper
or northwestern branches of the Missouri. Not a single one has ever been found
either east of the Alleghany, or west of the Rocky Mountains. It seems impossi-
ble that, if coming immediately either from Europe or Asia, they should have left
no traces whatever of their existence in the regions where they must have landed.
There seem to be but two alternatives. Either they were a colony from Mexico;
or some of the savage tribes must by concmest, or by some other means unknown
to us, have converted themselves into an agricultural nation. The first supposition
seems to me the most probable ; and, at all events, their agriculture must have been
derived from Mexico. In either case, and whatever opinion may be entertained
respecting their origin, or their apparent progress in agriculture, it appears that they
were not numerous or strong enough to maintain their position ; and they must
have been ultimately either exterminated or driven away by the savage tribes which
surrounded them."

Mr. Gallatin had previously gone into an argument to prove the domestic origin
of the astronomical knowledge possessed by Peruvians and Mexicans. He had,
also, endeavored to show that the cereals of the eastern hemisphere (millet, rice,
wheat, rye, barley, oats), were entirely unknown to the Americans ; and that maize,

AMERICAN LANGUAGES. 65

which was the great and almost sole foundation of American agriculture, was ex-
clusively of American origin, indigenous in Mexico and other tropical regions, from
whence it spread in different directions.1

A few years later he had an opportunity to give a degree of completeness to his
philological observations, and to mature his views upon the general subject of Ame-
rican archasology. The results of studies continued through a period of more than
twenty-five years, are given in his most copious and elaborate introduction to the
principal article of the second volume of the Transactions of the Ethnological
Society, printed in 1848. The article is entitled " Hale's Indians of Northwest
America, and Vocabularies of North America," being composed of ethnological
materials collected by Mr. Hale, while attached, in the capacity of Philologist, to
the United States exploring expedition of 1838-42.

Mr. Gallatin's Introduction occupies one hundred and sixty-four closely printed
8vo. pages; and, when we reflect that, at the time of its publication, he was eighty-
seven years of age, we cannot but be surprised at the clearness of his ideas and the
youthful vigor of his style. To any one else, the labor of analysis and comparison
involved in his essays, would, at almost any period of life, be fatiguing, however
agreeable ; but to him it seemed only a source of amusement and recreation. His
mind was well adapted by nature to such investigations ; the subject was one with
which he had become familiar; and his latest efforts indicate no diminution of
activity or interest.

In this, his last important work, most of his previous conclusions are repeated,
as confirmed by enlarged observation. A table is given of thirty-two distinct
families of languages in and north of the United States; but care is taken to
explain that this division is made without any reference to their grammar, or
structure ; " as, however differing in their words, the most striking uniformity in
their grammatical forms and structure appears to exist in all the American
languages, from Greenland to Cape Horn."

As a fact bearing upon the antiquity of American dialects, which, from an original
identity of nomenclature, have by some means become so diversified, it is stated
that the tenacity of even unwritten languages has been proved by a multitude of
instances ; and that those of the same tribes cannot have materially altered during
the last three hundred years — the vocabulary taken by Cartier, in the middle 6f
the sixteenth century, being still recognized as belonging to the Iroquois family,
while, with the aid of a few words found in the narrative of De Soto's expedition,
Mr. Gallatin had been able to trace his march as far west as the Mississippi. Mr.

*

1 Dr. Bachman doubts whether the native country of maize is positively determined. He says: " We
have as yet been unable to find any spot, either in North or South America, where it may be said to
be indigenous. In every locality where it has been found, it had been planted by the Indian tribes,
and was only preserved from extermination by artificial culture. Liunaius, Willdenow, Pursh, &c,
regarded it as a native American production; on the other hand, Crawford, and several other botanists,
who travelled extensively in India, have expressed an opinion that it was a native of the warmer parts
of Asia." — Doctrine of the Unity of the Human Race Examined, &c, p. 281.
9

66 ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE UNITED STATES.

Duponceau also made himself intelligible to the Wyandots, with no other assistance
than the imperfect vocabulary taken in the year 1625, by the Franciscan Sagard.

In Bradford's "American Antiquities," published five years before, arguments
had been brought forward tending to show an affinity between the Polynesian
and American languages. Mr. Gallatin's opinions on this point are very decided.
He admits that there are some analogies of structure between the two, inviting
further investigation, which he proceeds to bestow upon them, but says : " No
traces of the Malay language are found in the vocabularies of any of the American
languages which have been investigated. On the other hand, all the languages of
the Polynesian Islands (not including among these either Australia or the black
Papuan race) were at once recognized as belonging to the great Malay family, as
soon as vocabularies of their various dialects had been published. The supposition
that this language had its origin in Polynesia, and was transferred thence to the
Asiatic Islands and Continent, is inadmissible. The fact that the connection
between the Polynesian and Malay languages is still so visible, proves that the
migrations from Asia, by which Potynesia was colonized, are of a comparatively
recent date. If any portion of the Continent of America was ever settled by Malay
emigrants, which is extremely improbable, it must have been at a very early and
remote period."1

In 1846, Mr. Gallatin wrote to Mr. Schoolcraft for certain vocabularies that he
wished to possess, and in his letter, remarks: "I am preparing for the press — 1st, a
general, but still very imperfect, view of the grammar or structure of the several
languages of the aborigines of America; 2d, a comparative vocabulary of the
languages of the tribes within the United States, and north of their northern
boundaries."

" As this, if I live long enough to complete it, will be my last contribution to
that object, I naturally feel anxious to make it as full, and as useful to those that
may succeed me, as possible."2

He mentions that he shall publish the work at his own expense. But, with the
exception of such portions as are used in the Introduction to Mr. Hale's essay, it is
presumed that the materials were never fully arranged for publication.

No one appears to have caught the mantle of Mr. Gallatin, and sought to fulfil
his mission. Many valuable contributions have been added to the means of effect-
ing his purpose ; but the purpose itself, the completion of a full and well digested
analysis of the American languages, exhibiting their peculiarities, and their affinities
with one another, and with those of other parts of the world, has never been
accomplished.

We are not unmindful of what Mr. Schoolcraft has written at various periods,

1 In Dr. Lieber's brief essay on the "Plan of Thought of the American Languages," in the second
volume of Mr. Schoolcraft's large work, the author states that, in 1843, he addressed a letter to Mr.
Gallatin, calling his attention to certain points of similarity between American idioms and those spoken
by the Islanders of the South Pacific Ocean. This had reference apparently to Mr. Bradford's hypothesis
that the American red race is of Mongolian origin, and reached this continent by the islands of the
Pacific. Mr. Gallatin's observations may, therefore, be regarded as a reply to those gentlemen.

' Schoolcraft's Hist., &c, of the Indian Tribes, III, 397.

AMERICAN LANGUAGES. 67

and collected in his summary of Indian history, in course of publication by the
United States Government. His philological treatises contain rich stores of
information ; but they do not aggregate the materials in a manner to admit of
conclusions that are well defined, and at the same time so universal as to be free
from important exceptions.

A series of essays upon the languages of the Indians, some of them accompanied
with vocabularies, was commenced in the second part of his general history, and
has been continued in subsequent volumes; but the facts and views presented are
either partial, being derived from an investigation of particular dialects, or, if
general, are brief, and by no means intended to be absolute or conclusive. The
article entitled "Plan of Thought of the American Languages," by Dr. Lieber,
occupies but four pages, and is chiefly devoted to the suggestion and recommenda-
tion of a new term for expressing a prominent idiomatic feature.

Mr. Schoolcraft's prolonged and familiar acquaintance with various Indian tribes,
and his connection with the race, seem to give him almost unequalled advantages
for such investigations, and the fruits of his local studies are of superior importance.
It remains to be seen whether the state of his health will permit him to prepare,
for a future volume, a comprehensive view of the whole subject, from which may
be deduced some formula? exhibiting, with satisfactory clearness, the principles of
organization that constitute the distinctive genius of American speech. The idea
is held up, however, throughout his work, that the time has not yet come for that
most desirable consummation.

Mr. Gallatin commenced his latest endeavor to point out some striking features com-
mon to all the numerous dialects, with the following disclaimer of qualification :

"The process by which languages are gradually formed, and a clear conception
of the fundamental principles which distinguish those of America from those of
other parts of the world, are subjects beyond my competence. Although I per-
ceive, and am satisfied of, the similarity of character in the structure of all the
known American languages, I cannot define with precision the general features
common to all. I can only state those which, on a very superficial view of the
subject, have struck me as characteristic; and it is with unfeigned diffidence that
I submit some general and desultory observations."1

The peculiarity most frequently mentioned, as characteristic of the Indian
idioms, is a tendency to accumulate a multitude of ideas in a single word. This
process was called by William Von Humboldt, and by other philologists after him,
agglutination. Mr. Duponceau preferred the term poly synthetic. Dr. Lieber sug-
gested encapsulated (which is explained by Mr. Schoolcraft as applicable to those
cases that are "clustered or botryoidal, thought exfoliating thought, as capsule
within capsule, or box within box"), but endeavored to show that holophrastic —
from two Greek words, signifying to speak or express the whole — best conveys a
correct idea of the principle.2

1 Trans, of Ethnol. Soc, II, 120.

a "Coalescence" is the word employed by Governor Cass. "The power of coalescence, if it may be
so termed, possessed by the Indian languages, is one of their most extraordinary features. Words,

68 ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE UNITED STATES.

The process, in fact, is simply that of condensing a sentence into a single word;
it may be by running the several words together, somewhat clipping a portion or
all of them; or by using their most emphatic and expressive syllables, and insert-
ing vowels or consonants when required for euphony. The Delaware word
" nadliolineen," is composed of the first syllable of the verb naten, to fetch, of the
last syllable of the noun amochol, a boat, and of ineen, a termination giving a per-
sonal application to any word or phrase, and corresponding in sense to the English
vs. A free translation of the compound is, " Come and fetch us across the river in
a canoe." In the condensed form it becomes a verb, that is conjugated through
all the moods and tenses. The third person singular, indicative, is nadholawall —
" He is fetched over the river in a canoe." In like manner, " Wunaquim," an acorn,
is formed from wunipach, a leaf, nach, a hand, and quim, a nut. Thus it signifies
the nut of a tree whose leaves are in the form of a hand.1

The Indian seldom makes use of terms that are either abstract or arbitrary. He
does not say a tree, a man, or a horse; but the word employed indicates some par-
ticular tree, man, or horse, identified by certain qualities or circumstances connected
with it, and often by the gender to which it belongs. Thus many ideas are em-
braced in a name ; and a combination of words, or parts of words, suggesting all of
them, is required in its construction.

Mr. Gallatin adduces, from the English, such words as "incompatibleness, incom-
municableness, congregationalist, &c," as not differing essentially, either in the
number, nature, or arrangement of the elements of which they are composed, from
a large portion of the Indian compounded words. But words derived from other
languages, with changes to adapt them to English idioms, cannot be regarded as
perfect analogies. There is a fine illustration of holophrasm in the perhaps fanciful
derivation, that we have somewhere seen, which, from the Latin "euro data ver-
mibus, deduces ca-da-ver, a dead body, or corpse.

The want of general and abstract terms would necessarily give rise to a poly-
synthetic method of expression, as the characteristics of every object of thought
or observation must be included in the term that denotes it. The habit may have

and parts of words, are detached and attached so as to form others, conveying simple or complex ideas,
and sometimes without any apparent connection between the new word and its roots."

The above is from an article in the North American Review of July, 1828, said to be written by
Governor Cass. It is, professedly, a notice of one of Mr. Schoolcraft's publications, and also of a vindi-
cation of Heckewelder's Indian History communicated to the Historical Society of Pennsylvania by its
President, William Rawle. It is, however, principally devoted to a repetition and justification of the
doubts the writer had formerly expressed of the accuracy of Heckewelder's philosophical investigations
and knowledge of the Delaware language, and to an exposition of his own views of the idioms of that
and other Indian dialects. He differs from Edwards and Duponceau on some points of grammatical
construction (perhaps it would be more correct to say, points of grammatical definition), but concurs in
the general ethnological principle that, except in those elements of universal grammar which are com-
mon to all tongues, these languages have no affinity, either in etymology or construction, to any others
that are known to us.

1 These examples are taken from Heckewelder's Illustrations of Delaware Idioms, in his correspond-
ence with Mr. Duponceau, Letter XVIII.

AMERICAN LANGUAGES. 69

commenced with the names of persons and things, where, to some extent, it is
common to all languages, and have been gradually extended to other parts of
speech, in which its chief peculiarity consists.

Another feature of American languages, pronounced by Mr. Gallatin to be the
most remarkable one, may, possibly, be attributed to the absence of the substantive
verb to he, as an auxiliary. It is a controverted question, whether a true sub-
stantive verb — that is to say, one that conveys the abstract idea of existence — can
be found in the American languages. But it is certain that, where we use the
verb to be in connection with an attribute or a noun, that verb is omitted by the
Indians, and the attribute or noun is converted into an intransitive verb. Instead
of saying, I am cold, I am a man, the Indians say, "I cold," "I man," and the
nouns "cold" and "man" become intransitive verbs, and are conjugated through all
the persons, tenses, and moods, like other verbs; number and person being ex-
pressed by variations of the pronoun, while other distinctions are produced by
inflexions of the word itself.

Nearly all parts of speech are, in like manner, convertible into verbs; and very
nice varieties of action are indicated by the insertion of particles having the effect
of adverbs, but having no separate existence as such. Thus, an action may be in
contemplation, or on the point of execution ; it may be done well or ill, quickly
or otherwise, jointly, rarely, repeatedly, habitually, &c. ; or doubt, denial, and
various degrees of assertion, may be expressed — whether it rains hard, by showers,
steadily, &c. — whether you see near, or far off, &c. &c.

By the joint means of agglomeration, and the use of particles and inflections, it
will be seen that very delicate shades of meaning may be attained; but they are
applicable only to the case in hand, and the expression cannot be made to serve a
general or abstract purpose.

In some dialects, a form of plural has been noticed, that distinguishes between a
particular number and an indefinite number of objects, and by some writers this
has been termed " the American plural."

Extreme precision is, indeed, a general characteristic of American languages;
and yet the masculine and feminine genders are not always clearly distinguished.
The distinction made by most of the northern Indians is whether the object is
animate or inanimate; and this is indicated with great care. A remarkable pecu-
liarity, however, in relation to sex, may be mentioned, as a feature said to be com-
mon to all the American nations. While the terms for younger brother and
younger sister are identical (except among the Iroquois), in expressing the various
degrees and modifications of kindred, such as elder or younger brother or sister,
paternal or maternal uncle or aunt, &c, the women use different words from the
men; a habit that seems to be confined to that subject, or analogous ones.

We shall venture to specify no more peculiarities. It is only in its bearings
upon ethnological questions that the philosophy of language has any connection
with our purpose. Mr. Bancroft has undertaken to explain the characteristic
features of the American languages in the third volume of his history. His
description is at once elaborate and felicitously graphic. If not universally appli-

70 ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE UNITED STATES.

cable in all its details, it is probably a correct analysis of tbe most prominent
dialects of the United States. Speaking of tbe practice of agglutination, or syn-
thesis, be says :

" If we searcb for the distinguishing traits of our American languages, we shall
find tbe synthetic character pervading them all, and establishing their rules. The
American does not separate the component parts of the proposition which he
utters; he never analyzes his expressions; his thoughts rush forth in a troop. His
speech is as a kindling cloud, not as radiant points of light. This absence of all
reflective consciousness, and of all logical analysis of ideas, is the great peculiarity
of American speech. Every complex idea is expressed in a group. Synthesis
governs every form; it pervades all the dialects of the Iroquois and tbe Algonkin,
and equally stamps tbe character of the language of the Cherokee."

" It has been asked if our Indians were not the wrecks of more civilized
nations? Their language refutes tbe hypothesis; every one of its forms is a wit-
ness that their ancestors were, like themselves, not yet disenthralled from nature.
The character of each Indian language is one continued, universal, all-pervading
synthesis. They to whom these languages were the mother tongue, were still in
that earliest stage of intellectual culture where reflection has not begun."1

Mr. Schoolcraft, in his Essay on the grammatical structure of the Algonkin lan-
guage, one of the most extensive of Indian forms of speech, has intimated an opinion
that it was built up from monosyllabic roots.2 It is very probable that the same
may have been the case with all American dialects; and, while they exhibit dif-
ferent degrees of advancement from that primitive condition (the Otomis, a rude
and inferior tribe, retaining most of the original form) to whatever stage of refine-
ment they may have attained, the system of progression has been determined by
the laws of intellectual and physical organization peculiar to the race; hence the
radical unity observable throughout the continent.3 It may be, therefore, that tbe
philosophy of American speech, the phenomena constituting its genius, will not be
fully comprehended until the metaphysical, physiological, and possibly phreno-
logical traits of the aborigines are accurately determined. The acuteness of tbe
senses, especially that of hearing, exerts a material influence on the structure of.
language. Many compounded words of the Indians require a delicate articu-
lation, and a very nice discrimination of tone, assisted by signs addressed to the
eye. The predominance of certain 'faculties of mind, and the absence or inac-
tivity of others, by which different families of men are distinguished, a prevailing
temperament, and purely physical habits, all combine to constitute the mould in
which the forms of speech are modelled; and where these attributes are the same,
a similar linguistic system will be generated.

It is by no means improbable that the aspect of the question concerning the

1 See also Mr. Prescott's "Conquest of Mexico," III, 393, el seq.
* Gov. Cass, N. A. Rev., XXVI, before referred to, makes a similar suggestion.
3 The supposed grammatical isolation of the Otomi language has beeu questioned by Dr. Latham,
"Varieties of Man," p. 408.

AMERICAN LANGUAGES. 71

abnormal character of American forms of speech may be much modified hereafter,
that the number of distinct dialects may be reduced, and that their apparent con-
trast to the grammatical systems of other nations may prove to be less marked
than has been imagined.

It was suggested by Alexander Von Humboldt (who, although devoting less
attention to philological studies than his brother William, shared with the latter
his interest in American languages, and supplied a portion of his materials), that
the rigid distinction between development by inflexion and the combination of
agglutinated particles might not always bear the test of scrutiny.1

There are recent indications that the verb substantive, even as an auxiliary, may
be discovered to exist in effect where it has been believed to be wanting. The
indefinite article, and the masculine and feminine genders, are also claimed for
some dialects.2

There are very few points asserted by any one philologist that are not questioned
by some other. Mr. Gallatin's illustration of the permanency of dialects, derived
from the supposed fact that the earliest vocabularies could still be used in com-
municating with the Indians, is opposed to the observation of Colonel Smith, who
mentions having learned on the spot that the catechisms printed in the Huron and
other languages, not quite a century ago, are now understood only in consequence
of daily repetition and careful explanation.3

But notwithstanding contrarieties of opinion and testimony, the archreological
inferences of principal importance that have been drawn from such inquiries are
not materially disturbed. These are that the ancestors of the present Indians must
have occupied this country, or have been separated from other nations, at a very
remote — perhaps the remotest — period of history, and that proofs of connection
with more civilized races are not manifest in their dialects.

Whatever discoveries may be claimed, or suggestions ventured, by partial
observers, at variance with the judgment of those who have made the whole subject
a matter of study, they cannot be regarded as entitled to similar confidence until
they have received the sanction of investigations equally prolonged and extended.

A greater reliance may be placed upon the general uniformity of structure among
the American languages, and a general diversity from those of the eastern hemi-

1 Personal Narrative, 2d Lond. ed., Ill, 263-4.

0 See " Grammar of the Dakota Language," by Rev. S. R. Riggs, Smithson. Contrib. IV.

Rev. Dr. Hawks, whose translation of the work of Rivero and Von Tschudi on Peruvian antiquities
was published in 1853, says, in a note to the chapter on American languages, where the writers adopt
and confirm from their own observations the conclusions of Duponceau and Gallatin : " He who has
studied these most carefully will be most cautious in making general conclusions." And he cites,
in confirmation of this view, the opinion of Mr. Wm. W. Turner, who has devoted a good deal of
attention to the subject of American languages, and according to whose suggestions the Dakota gram-
mar of Rev. S. R. Riggs was entirely remodelled before publication.

In another place, Dr. Hawks informs the reader that he is himself engaged in researches for "a work
on the antiquities of America generally." Its completion will be looked forward to with interest.

3 Nat. Hist, of the Human Species, p. 259.

72 ARCHEOLOGY OF THE UNITED STATES.

sphere, than upon any exceptional instances that may be detected.1 Thus while the
question of foreign derivation may be left to stand or fall with that of the unity of
the human species, the philological indications of extreme antiquity claimed for the
American race as a variety of mankind will hardly be disputed.

There is a curious circumstance which deserves to be mentioned before leaving
this subject. It is that the European language which has been pointed out as most
nearly resembling those of the American aborigines, in its employment of the prin-
ciple of agglutination, is the Basque or Euskarian; and this is supposed to have
been a language of the aborigines of Europe, who, by the irruption of the Celts and
Indo-Germanic races from the East, were either exterminated or driven to inacces-
sible regions. Of these the Lapps and Finns, and the Euskarians of the Biscayan
provinces, have been regarded by some writers as the remnant.2

The physical attributes of aboriginal Americans have furnished arguments in
favor of the unity and antiquity of the race, subject to an equal want of harmony
of sentiment in regard to matters of fact.

As in what has been said of native languages the object has been to present the
American view of the subject almost exclusively, for similar reasons the archaeo-
logical deductions of the physiologist will be examined chiefly from the same point
of observation.

The inquiry is not what opinions Buffon, Cuvier, Blumenbach, Prichard, Law-
rence, Smith, and other writers on the natural history of man in general, have
entertained concerning the origin and varieties of the human species — and refer-
ence to these must be brief and incidental — but the aim is to ascertain what
impressions have been interwoven with ethnological studies and discussions here ;
what special comparisons have been instituted ; and what substantial results, if
any, have been reached by the scientific men of our own country.

There has been great unanimity among writers usually regarded as authorities,
in considering the American race — not including the Eskimaux — as a distinct variety
of human kind; and whatever deviations have been made from the systems of Lin-
naeus, Buffon, and Blumenbach, this division has generally been retained by their
successors.

The propriety of distinguishing between the occupants of the polar regions and
other inhabitants of the continent has also been commonly recognized.3

1 " Neither the analogy nor the diversity of language can suffice to solve the great problem of the
filiation of nations." — Humboldt, Personal Narrative, III, 285.

"Humanity has a common character. The ingenious scholar may find analogies in language, cus-
toms, institutions, and religion, between the aborigines of America and any nation whatever of the Old
World."— Bancroft, Hist, of U. &, Ill, 312.

3 Prof. Carpenter, in "Cyclop, of Anat. and Physiol.," p. 1349. Latham, in "Varieties of Man,"
p. 551, who quotes Arndt and Rask, distinguished Scandinavian ethnologists.

3 " The Eskimaux are manifestly a race of men distinct from all the nations of the American con-
tinent, in language, in disposition, and in habits of life. But among all the other inhabitants of
America there is such a striking similitude in the form of their bodies, and the qualities of their minds,

PHYSIOLOGICAL RESEARCHES. 73

The physical resemblance of the residue of the original population to each other
has impressed the observer more forcibly than any variations of form and color. It
is mentioned by Robertson as remarkable, that there is less variety in the human
form throughout the New World than in the ancient continent; and that the
varieties in any single race of the Old World are greater than in the widely scat-
tered inhabitants of the two Americas.

With this general uniformity among themselves, the striking similarity of the
Americans to two other classes or varieties of the human species has been not
less universally noticed.

Aside from the theories of multifarious origin, and of colonial settlements by
civilized nations at different periods, the belief has prevailed, as stated in previous
pages, that the physical, moral, and intellectual traits, as well as the arts and
customs of the various tribes, were to be explained by tracing their descent from
either the Northern or Southern Asiatics. These were often confounded under a
common name, as Tartars or Scythians, but correspond to the separate divisions of
Mongolian and Malay in Blumenbach's classification.

When opportunities of comparison were more rare than they have been since, it
was customary to refer to the testimony of Smibert, the portrait painter, and Led-
yard, the traveller, as having somewhat of the authority which in our courts of
law is given to the evidence of experts. The first had painted several Tartars for
the Duke of Tuscany ; and when he arrived with Bishop Berkley at Newport, in
1739, and saw our Indians, he pronounced them to be the same people. The
other, who had been familiar from boyhood with the Indians of Connecticut,
declared the Mongolians of Siberia to be universally and substantially like the
American natives.

Governor Pownal stated, in 17GG, that "the American inhabitants are the same
race of people from one end of the continent to the other ; and are the same race

that, notwithstanding the diversities occasioned by the influence of climate, or unequal progress of
improvement, we must pronounce them to be descended from one source." — Robertson's Am.,
Lib. iv. p. 41.

"We ought to admit, as an established fact, that the Americans, whatever their origin may be,
constitute, at the present day, a race essentially different from the rest of mankind. The truth of this
proposition has been demonstrated by a long course of physiological observations." — Malte Brim,
Geoff., Lib. lxxv.

" The nations of America, except those which border the polar circle, form a single race, charac-
terized by the formation of the skull, the color of the skin, the extreme thinness of the beard, and the
straight glossy hair." — Humboldt's Researches, Preface, p. 14.

" The fourth, or American variety, includes all the Americans, excepting the inhabitants of the
northern parts of the Continent, which I have placed in the Mongolian division." — Lawrence's Lec-
tures, p. 313.

" The aborigines of America, or those nations whose abode in the Western Continent dates from a
period antecedent to history, may be said to form a well-marked division of the human family; from
which, however, we ought to except the Esquimaux, and some other tribes."— PricharoVs Researches,
I, 268.

" The American race includes all the aborigines of the New World, except the Esquimaux."— Wise-
man's Lectures, I, 167.
10

74 ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE UNITED STATES.

or family as the Tartars, precisely of the same color, of the same form of skull, of
the same species of hair, not to mention the language and their names."1

Jefferson says, in his Notes on Virginia, " The resemblance between the Indians
of America and the eastern inhabitants of Asia, would induce us to conjecture
that the former are descendants of the latter, or the latter of the former ; except-
ing, indeed, the Esquimaux, who, from the same circumstances of resemblance, and
from identity of language, must be derived from the Greenlanders, and these, pro-
bably, from some of the northern parts of the old continent."2

Still, notwithstanding that kind of similitude which is best expressed by the
phrase tout ensemble, a decided difference of particular features has been evident to
careful observers. While pointing out the remarkable resemblance between the
Americans, Mongols, and Malays, Alexander Von Humboldt refused to admit a
necessary identity of race, asserting that, in fact, osteology teaches us that the
cranium of the American differs essentially from that of the Mongol.3

In the very difficult operation of drawing lines of demarcation between the
assumed varieties of mankind, some test more certain than color, or any merely
external attribute, has been regarded as necessary. Camper and Blumenbach
advanced the idea more than half a century ago that a comparison of crania was a
principal requisite in such inquiries. But, according to Cardinal Wiseman, this
conception of deriving from cranial peculiarities a basis of classification originated
with our Provincial Governor, Thomas Pownal, who was equally remarkable for
political sagacity and a love of philosophical research.4 Camper has the merit of
devising a rule by which the crania of different nations might be mutually com-
pared, so as to give definite results, and his system of observation was matured and

1 Knox's New Coll. of Voyages, II, 213.

3 Notes on Yirginia, p. 148.

In the Boston News Letter of June 29, 1749, is a notice of a meeting between three Indians from
Greenland and two from Surinam, and some Delawares and Mohegans, at Bethlehem, in Pennsylvania,
they being all converts of Moravian missionaries. Though their native lands were so wide asunder,
"what they observed of each other's hair, eyes, and complexion, convinced them that they were all of
the same race."

3 "What we have been stating as to the exterior form of the indigenous Americans, confirms the
accounts of other travellers of the striking analogy between the Americans and the Mongol race. This
analogy is particularly evident in the color of the skin and hair, in the defective beard, high cheek
bones, and in the direction of the eyes. We cannot refuse to admit that the human species does not
contain races resembling one another more than the Americans, Mongols, Mantchoux, and Malays.
But the resemblance of some features does not constitute an identity of race. In fact, osteology teaches
us that the cranium of the American differs essentially from that of the Mongol ; the former exhibits a
facial line more inclined, though straighter, than that of the negro ; and there is no race on the globe
in which the frontal bone is more depressed backwards, or which has a less projecting forehead. The
cheek bones of the American are almost as prominent as those of the Mongol ; but the contours are
more rounded, and the angles not so sharp. The under jaw is larger than the negro's, and its branches
are less dispersed than the Mongol's. The occipital bone is less curved (bombe), and the protuberances
which correspond to the cerebellum, to which the system of M. Gall attaches great importance, are
scarcely sensible."— Political Essay, Black's trans., I, 153-155.

An equal difference in the form of the nose is noted in his Personal Narrative, III, 224, 2d Lond. ed.

♦ Wiseman's Lectures, 5th Lond. ed., I, 158.

PHYSIOLOGICAL RESEARCHES. 75

materially improved by Blumenbach ; while to the methods of these naturalists
important additions have been suggested by Professor Owen.

Very high expectations were formed that more trustworthy conclusions would
be derived from osteological comparisons than other methods of examination had
yielded; and an eager desire was manifested to obtain from this country the
means of tracing anatomically the affiliation of its people.1

Although the attention of scientific Americans was particularly called to this
department of inquiry by the philosophers of Europe, its prosecution was attended
with difficulties which only the most persevering zeal could overcome. Not only
were cabinets of foreign crania beyond the reach of our students, but skulls of our
aborigines, well authenticated with regard to the period and the tribe or race to
which they belonged, were by no means easy to be obtained ; yet a response credit-
able at once to the enterprise and the ability of American scholars has not been
wanting.

In September, 1837, Dr. John C. Warren, of Boston, read before the British
Association for the Advancement of Science a paper on crania found in western
mounds. After stating that these crania differed from those of the present Indians,
from the Caucasian or European, and from all existing nations so far as they are
known, but had an exact resemblance to the ancient Peruvian heads, he remarked
upon a degree of similarity shown by anatomy between the crania spoken of and
those of the modern Hindoos. From all the facts he had observed he drew the
following inferences :

" 1st. The race whose remains were discovered in the mounds were different
from the existing North American Indians. 2d. The ancient race of the mounds
is identical with the ancient Peruvians." To these conclusions he thought others
might be added tending to support existing opinions, but which are hypothetical : —
" 1st. That the ancient North American and the Peruvian natives were derived
from the southern part of Asia. 2d. That America was peopled from at least two

Governor Pownal appears to have possessed a very suggestive mind, and one unusually quick and
prospective in its perceptions. His political anticipations are among the most striking instances of
foresight to be found on record. Cardinal Wiseman's reference is to a passage in Knox's " New Col-
lection of Voyages," printed in 1766. In 1782, Governor Pownal published a treatise on the study of
antiquities as the commentary to historical learning ; with an appendix on the elements of speech, and
the origin of written language. In 1781, appeared his "Hydraulic and Nautical Observations on the
Currents in the Atlantic," in some measure anticipating the idea since realized by modern research.
In 1795, he printed what he called "An Antiquarian Romance; endeavoring to mark a line by which
the most ancient people, and the processions of the earliest inhabitant of Europe may be investi-
gated," &c.

It is to be regretted that only a portion of his philosophical and ethnological treatises (which were
numerous) are known to be in this country.

1 " Let us hope," said Humboldt, " that the learned men who now honor the United States will
hasten to convey the skeletons of the tumuli, and those of the caverns, to Europe, that they may be
compared together, and with the present inhabitants of native race, as well as with the individuals of
Malay, Mongol, and Caucasian race, found in the great collections of MM. Cuvier, Soemmering, and
Blumenbach." — Personal Narrative, VI, 319.

76 ARCHEOLOGY OF THE UNITED STATES.

different parts of Asia ; the ancient population having been derived from the south,
and the present Indian race from the more northern part of the same continent."1

It will be noticed that these views, so far as they relate to the origin of popula-
tion, are simply in accordance with such as had been long entertained, although
previously founded on other than anatomical facts.

Dr. Warren's examinations, however carefully and scientifically conducted, were
limited to a small number of crania ; but a collection was then in progress, intended
to be sufficiently numerous and varied to insure reliable results.

In 1830, Dr. Samuel G. Morton, of Philadelphia, already distinguished as a
naturalist, having occasion to lecture on the form of the skull as exhibited in the
five races of man, found himself unable to procure specimens of each for his illus-
trations. Impressed with this great scientific deficiency, he resolved upon making
a collection himself.

By the most indefatigable exertions, and a large expenditure of time and money,
he succeeded in obtaining a cabinet of crania superior to any in the world.2 With
these means he prepared his Crania Americana, which has been received by
common consent into the highest ranks of that department of literature.3 In 1842,
he read before the Boston Society of Natural History an essay which was after-
wards printed with the title of "An Inquiry into the Distinctive Characteristics of
the Aboriginal Race of America." A second edition appeared in 1844, and in that
year his Crania JEgyptiaca was published with the Transactions of the American
Philosophical Society.

As having more elaborately than any predecessor investigated the comparative
physiology of our aborigines, and applied to a greater extent those anatomical tests
supposed to be most conclusive in determining national affinities, he must be
regarded as representing the highest advance which that branch of science has
made in this country. And more than this, his reputation abroad and at home as
an able and learned ethnologist has given to his views a position of authority that

1 Am. Journal of Science, XXXIV, 47.

3 The cost to Dr. Morton was estimated at from ten to fifteen thousand dollars, and at the time of his
death he had accumulated nearly a thousand human skulls, derived from all quarters of the globe. — Dr.
Patterson's Memoir of Morton, in " Types of Mankind."

3 "Crania Americana, or a Comparative View of the Skulls of the various Aboriginal Nations of
North and South America. To which is prefixed an Essay on the Varieties of the Human Species."
Philad. and Lond., 1839.

Alexander Von Humboldt addressed a complimentary letter to Dr. Morton in January, 1844, con-
taining these expressive words :

" Les richesses craniologiques que vous avezete' assez heureux de reunir, ont trouve en vous un digne
interprete. Votre ouvrage, Monsieur, est egalement remarqualjle par la profondenr des vues anatomiques,
par le detail numerique des rapports de conformation organique, par l'absence des reveries poetiques
qui sont les mythes de la physiologie moderne, par les generality's dont votre ' Introductory Essay'
abonde. Redigeant dans ce moment le plus important de mes ouvrages, qui sera public sous le titre
imprudent de Kosmos, je saurai profiter de tant d'excellents apercus sur la distribution des races
humaines qui se trouvent epars dans votre beau volume. Que de sacrifices pecuniaires n'avez vous pas
du faire, pour atteindre une si graude perfection artistique, et produire un ouvrage qui rivalise avec
tout ce que l'on a fait de plus beau en Angleterre et en France."

PHYSIOLOGICAL RESEARCHES. 77

is not merely national, and one that can be yielded only to advantages and talents
that are shown to be superior.1

Dr. Morton undertook to furnish for Mr. Schoolcraft's national work an article
on the Physical Type of the American Indians ; but his death occurring before the
paper was completed, it was brought to a conclusion by his friend, John S. Phillips,
Esq., to whom the Crania Americana was dedicated.2

The Inquiry into the Distinctive Characteristics of the Aboriginal Race contains a
compendious view of the author's deductions in reference to the arcb geological points
of which we are treating; and from that our condensed summary will be mainly,
but not exclusively drawn.

Dr. Morton adopts the general divisions of mankind assumed by Blumenbach,
simply substituting the word race for the term " variety" of the German author.
While he admits the unity of the human species, he conceives that "each race was
adapted from the beginning (by an all-wise Providence) to its peculiar local desti-
nation ;" in other words, that " the physical characters which distinguish different
races are independent of external causes." He regards the American race as pos-
sessing certain physical traits that serve to identify it in localities the most remote
from each other. He divides the race into the " Toltecan family," or demi-civilized
nations, and the "American family," which embraces all the barbarous tribes of the
New World, excepting the Polar tribes, or Mongol Americans. The Eskimaux,
and especially the Greenlanders, are held to be a partially mixed race, among
whom the physical character of the Mongolian predominates, while their language
presents obvious analogies to that of the Chippewas who border them on the south.
The two " families" above mentioned are regarded as similar in physical, but less
alike in intellectual attributes.

He says it is an adage among travellers that he who has seen one tribe of Indians
has seen all, so much do individuals of this race resemble one another. All possess
alike the long, black, lank hair, the brown skin, the heavy brow, the dull, sleepy
eye, the full, compressed lips, and the salient, but dilated nose. Although physical
diversities do occur, they are mere exceptions to a general rule, and do not alter
the peculiar physiognomy of the Indian, which is as undeviatingly characteristic
as that of the negro, and cannot be mistaken for that of any other race. This
remark, he maintains, is equally applicable to the ancient and modern nations of
our continent; for the oldest skulls from the Peruvian cemeteries, the tombs of
Mexico, and the mounds of the United States, are of the same type as the heads
of the most savage existing tribes. Their physical organization proves the origin
of one to have been equally the origin of all. The various civilized nations are to
this day represented by their lineal descendants, who inhabit their ancestral seats,
and differ in no respect from the wild and uncultivated Indian. He had been of
opinion that the ancient Peruvians who inhabited the confines of Lake Titicaca

1 " The magnificent publication of Dr. Morton, which far exceeds in its comprehensiveness, and in
the number and beauty of its engravings, any European work that has yet appeared on national varieties
of the skull, comprises nearly the sum of our information on the distinctive characters of the head and
skeleton in the several tribes of the New World." — Prichard, Nat. Hist, of Man, 4th ed. II, 502.

a Hist, and Prosp. of the Indian Tribes, II, 315.

78 ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE UNITED STATES.

presented a congenital form of head entirely different from that which characterizes
the great American race, but believed it to have been fully established by the
observations of M. D'Orbigny that the peculiarities of shape were wholly artificial,
and the result of pressure in infancy.1

The osteological characters are thus detailed in Dr. Morton's latest production :
" The Indian skull is of a decidedly rounded form. The occipital portion is flattened
in the upward direction, and the transverse diameter, as measured between the
parietal bones, is remarkably wide, and often exceeds the longitudinal line. The
forehead is low and receding, and rarely arched as in the other races ; a feature that
is regarded by Humboldt, Lund, and other naturalists, as a characteristic of the
American race, and serving to distinguish it even from the Mongolian. The cheek
bones are high, but not much expanded; the whole maxillary region is salient and
ponderous, with teeth of a corresponding size, and singularly free from decay. The
orbits are large and squared, the nasal orifice wide, and the bones that protect it
arched and expanded. The lower jaw is massive, and wide between the condyles;
but, notwithstanding the prominent position of the face, the teeth are for the most
part vertical."2

Such are the traits indicated by a comparison of upwards of four hundred crania
of tribes inhabiting almost every region of North and South America. It is stated
that the acute angles of the eyes seldom present the obliquity so common in the
Malays and Mongolians; that the color of the eye is almost uniformly between
black and gray; and that, even in young persons, it seldom has the brightness, or
expresses the vivacity, usual in the more civilized races.

The moral constitution of the Americans is regarded as not less specific than the
physical, and as equally pervading the entire race. The intellectual appears to
exhibit greater diversity, and Dr. Morton has arbitrarily grouped the aborigines
into two families : one embracing the tribes which had made advances in civiliza-
tion, and termed by him Toltecan; the other, a more numerous division, consisting
of those remaining in a barbarous condition, which he calls American. These
appellations are by no means satisfactory or distinctive, unless the Toltecans are

1 It will be seen, on subsequent pages, that this curious question continues to be involved in its
original obscurity. Humboldt wrote, in 1808, " This extraordinary flatness is found among cations to
whom the means of producing artificial deformity are totally unknown, as is proved by the crania of
Mexican Indians, Peruvians, and Atures, brought over by M. Bonpland and myself, of which several
were deposited in the Museum of Natural History at Paris. I am inclined to believe that the barbarous
custom which prevails among several hordes of pressing the heads of children between two boards, had
its origin in the idea that beauty consists in such a form of the frontal bone as to characterize the race
in a decided manner." — Political Essay, I, 154.

Dr. Morton, when he published his Crania Americana, concurred in this view, but was led to change
his opinions by the statements of D'Orbigny, who was supposed to have proved, by an examination of
the tombs of the ancient race, that the greater number of crania were not flattened ; that the peculiarity
was confined to the men; and, as the most ill-shaped heads were found in the largest and finest tombs,
that the deformity was a mark of distinction. Traces of the bandages and the mode of their application
were also believed to be clearly discernible. — L'homme Americain considere sous ses Pap. Phys. el
Mor., par Alcide D'Orbigny. 1839.

1 Schoolcraft's Hist, and Prosp., &c, II, 316.

PHYSIOLOGICAL RESEARCHES. 79

regarded as a different race from the Americans, which is expressly denied. It is
remarked that the civilized states do not stand isolated from their barbarous neigh-
bors, but that these gradually merge into each other, so that some nations are with
difficulty classed with either division, and that the diversity is not greater than
has been known to exist between the same people, in other parts of the world, at
different periods of their history. The intellectual disparity that is pointed out
as existing between the Mongolians and Malays, and the more barbarous Ame-
ricans, would seem to admit of some qualification. The latter are regarded as
decidedly of an inferior nature; as not only averse to the restraints of education,
but, for the most part, incapable of a continued process of reasoning upon abstract
subjects; as wanting mechanical ingenuity, and as possessing but an humble grade
of the imitative faculty. " Savage or civilized, the sea has had few charms for the
American, and his navigation has been almost exclusively confined to lakes and
rivers, and a canoe, excavated from a single log, has been his principal vessel. On
the other hand, the Mongolians and Malays are proverbially aquatic in their habits,
and exhibit a considerable degree of mechanical contrivance. Their greater con-
structiveness is exhibited in their dwellings, as well as in their implements and
utensils, while an absence of the courage, cunning, cruelty, and improvidence, that
are so habitual in the red man, is characteristic of the moral nature of the
Eskimaux. These people, too, are remarkable for a large and rather elongated
head, which is low in front and projecting behind ; great width and flatness of the
face; eyes small and black; mouth small and round; and nose so diminutive and
depressed that, on looking at a skull in profile, the nasal bones are hardly visible.
Their complexion, moreover, is comparatively fair, and there is a tendency through-
out life to fulness and obesity. It is stated by the traveller Hearne that the Indian
tribes who are their proximate neighbors on the south once excused an unprovoked
massacre of Eskimaux men, women, and children, by asserting that they were a
people of a different nature and origin from themselves."

Dr. Morton adverts to the opinion of Gallatin, that analogies of words and gram-
matical forms prove the cognate relation of the Eskimaux and other Indians.
This he pronounces a mere postulate. " For, from the evidence adduced in respect
to the ethnographic difference between these people, we have a right to infer that
the resemblance in their respective languages has not been derived by the greater
from the lesser source — not by the Americans from the Eskimaux — but the reverse;
for the Asiatics, having arrived at various periods, and in small parties, would natu-
rally, if not unavoidably, adopt more or less of the language of the people among
whom they settled, until their own dialects finally merged in those of the Indians
who bound them on the south."1

In addition to what has been said of the Mongolian features, as seen in the
Eskimaux, it is remarked that there are some characters so prevalent as to per-
vade all the ramifications of the great Mongolian stock, from the repulsive Calmuck

1 Latham seems to accord with Morton on this point. "Physically, the Eskimaux is a Mongol
and Asiatic; philologically, he is an American, at least in respect to the principles upon which his
speech is constructed." — Varieties of Man, p. 288.

80 ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE UNITED STATES.

to the polished and more delicately featured Chinese. These are, the small, de-
pressed, and seemingly broken nose; the oblique position of the eye, which is drawn
up at the external angle; the great width between the cheek bones, which are not
only high but expanded laterally ; the arched and linear eyebrow ; and, lastly, the
complexion, which is invariably some shade of yellow or olive, and almost equally
distant from the fair tint of the European and the red hue of the Indian. "In
fine," says Dr. Morton, "we are constrained to believe that there is no more re-
semblance between the Indian and Mongolian, in respect to arts, architecture,
mental features, and social usages, than exists between any other two distinct races
of mankind."

In reference to the idea that America has been peopled by the Malay race
(which, in the ordinary classification, includes the Malays proper of the Indian
Archipelago and the Polynesians in all their numberless localities), it is said:
"These people have so much of the Mongolian character, that nearly the same
objections arise to both. The head of the Malay proper is more like that of the
Indian, because it not unfrequently presents something of the vertical form of the
occiput, and the transverse diameter, as measured between the parietal bones, is
also remarkably large. But, excepting in these respects, the osteological develop-
ment coincides with that of the Mongolian; while the category of objections
urged against the latter people is equally valid in respect to the whole Malay race."

The various points alluded to in the above summary, are discussed by Dr. Mor-
ton with force and ability, and his essay closes with the following comprehensive
declaration :

"Our own conclusion, long ago deduced from a patient examination of the facts
thus briefly and inadequately stated, is, that the American race is essentially
separate and peculiar, whether we regard it in its physical, its moral, or its intel-
lectual relations. To us, there are no direct or obvious links between the people
of the Old World and the New; for, even admitting the seeming analogies to which
we have alluded, these are so few in number, and evidently so casual, as not to
invalidate the main position. And, even if it should be hereafter shown that the
arts, sciences, and religion of America can be traced to an exotic source, I maintain
that the organic characters of the people themselves, through all their endless
ramifications of tribes and nations, prove them to belong to one and the same race,
and that this race is distinct front all others."

These are the views that have, in substance, been repeated by Dr. Morton in
various connections, and at different periods. In one place he says: "I can aver
that sixteen years of almost daily comparisons have only confirmed me in the
conclusions announced in my Crania Americana, that all the American nations,
excepting the Eskimaux, are of one race, and that this race is peculiar and distinct
from all others."1

In one of his papers he observes: "I regard the American nations as the true
autochthones — the primaeval inhabitants of this vast continent — and when I speak
of their being of one race and of one origin, I allude only to their indigenous

1 ''Ethnography and Archaeology of the American Aborigines," p. 9. New Haven, 1846.

PHYSIOLOGICAL RESEARCHES. 81

relation to each other, as shown in all those attributes of mind and body which
have been so amply illustrated by modern ethnography."1 He admits that there
might have been, in ancient times, occasional or accidental immigrations from
the Old World, though too small to affect materially the language or the type of
the Aborigines.2

The subject of American ethnology passes so insensibly into the general question
of the original unity or diversity of mankind, that it is not easy to refer to the vari-
ous forms and shades of opinion pertaining to a consideration of the former without
an appearance of entering a field of contention which it is desirable to avoid. Yet
the convictions of men of science, that may be supposed to influence, more or less
directly, the manner of regarding the archaeological problem of primeval population
in this country, cannot be entirely excluded from these pages on account of the
polemical associations they have acquired. Whether man was created in one pair,
or in many pairs, in one locality or in many localities, is an inquiry that forces
itself into the study of any division of his history. Its discussion has added to the
interest of philological and physiological investigations, but has no other neces-
sary bearing upon the proper theme of this memoir, than as it affects the question
of the derivation of the American aborigines from any other people within the
historical period. In alluding briefly to these collateral elements of opinion, it is
intended to observe strictly the rule of the Ethnological Society of Paris, in rela-
tion to the vexed point of dispute : " Dans l'£tat actuel de nos connaissances, la
question est insoluble au point de vue scientifique et ne peut etre utilement debattue.
Or telle a toujours £te" a cet £gard l'opinion adoptee et la ligne de conduite suivie
par la Socitite Ethnologique."3

Dr. Morton endeavored to avoid the topic in his principal work ; but as his senti-
ments were freely declared in subsequent publications, they are usually blended
with his purely technical exposition of American physiology. They have been
made more prominent by the authors of " Types of Mankind" in connection with a
"Sketch of the natural provinces of the animal world, and their relation to the different
types of man" contributed by Professor Agassiz.4 The elevated standing of these

1 Trans, of the Am. Ethnol. Soc, II, 219.

2 In noticing a few of the hypotheses that have been formed to solve the problem of the origin of the
monuments of America, independently of any agency of the aboriginal race, Dr. Morton refers to the
opinion which has been advanced, that they are the work of a branch of the great Cyclopean family of
the old world, known by the various designations of the Shepherd Kings of Egypt, the Anakim of
Syria, the Oscans of Etruria, and the Pelasgians of Greece. Wandering Masons they were also called,
and are supposed to have passed from Asia into America at a very early epoch of history, and to have
built the more ancient monuments which are attributed to the Toltecan nation.

It is probable that he had in his mind an article on Mexican antiquities in the Foreign Quarterly
Review for October, 1836, where the proposition is maintained that the Toltecans were a branch of the
Shepherd Kings, or Cyclopeans— that is, they were Canaanites. "The builders of the Cyclopean
monuments of Palenque, &c. &c, were the Anakim or Cyclopean family of Syria, who, with their
brethren the Canaanites, were vanquished or expelled by Joshua"— thus reviving the theory of Presi-
dent Styles.

3 Bulletin de la Societe, 1846, p. 81.

♦.Types of Mankind, or Ethnological researches, based upon the ancient monuments, paintings,
11

82 ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE UNITED STATES.

prominent naturalists gives great weight, and a high degree of scientific interest, to
■whatever conclusions have resulted from their researches.

They both disavow any inconsistency between their theories and a rational
interpretation of Scripture, and they claim that these involve no greater latitude
of construction than geologists require for their material systems. They assert the
moral and physical unity of the human species, which they do not imagine to be
dependent on a common parentage, but regard as possessing a common and indi-
visible nature under whatever varieties of aspect and manifestation it is acknow-
ledged to be found.

The deductions from natural science of Professors Morton and Agassiz, as applied
to both local and general ethnology, are materially relied on in the work of Messrs.
Nott and Gliddon ; and those of Dr. Morton, in particular, are represented as the
basis of that extended dissertation.1

Without attempting an analysis of the doctrines there maintained, or aiming to
follow the order of their discussion, we may state, in a condensed form, some of the
leading paleological propositions which relate to this continent, as follows : —

" There exists no data by which we can approximate the date of man's first
appearance upon earth ; and for aught we yet know, it may be thousands or millions
of years beyond our reach."

"Human Fossil Remains have now been found so frequently, and in circumstances
so unequivocal, that the facts can hardly be denied."

" Geology finds the oldest landmarks in America."

" The human fossils of Brazil and Florida, carry back the aboriginal population
of this continent far beyond the necessity of hunting for American man's foreign
origin through Asiatic immigration."

" The form of these (fossil) crania, moreover, proves that the general type of
races inhabiting America at that inconceivably remote era was the same which
prevailed at the period of the Columbian discovery."

" There are natural relations between the different types of man and the animals
and plants inhabiting the same regions."

" The laws which regulate the diversity of animals, and their distribution upon
the earth, apply equally to man, within the same limits, and in the same degree."

11 Not a single animal, bird, reptile, fish or plant, was common to the Old and
New Worlds."-

sculptures, and crania of races, and upon their natural, geographical, philological, and biblical history:
Illustrated by selections from the inedited papers of Samuel George Morton, M. D., and by additional
contributions from Prof. L. Agassiz, LL. D. ; W. Usher, M. D. ; and Prof. II. S. Patterson, M. D. By
J. C. Nott, M. D., and Geo. R. Gliddon. 1854.

1 Dr. Nott, in his Introduction, says : " It will be observed that, with the exception of Morton's, we
seldom quote works on the Natural History of Man, and simply for the reason that their arguments are
all based, .more or less, on fabled analogies, which are at last proved by the monuments of Egypt and
Assyria to be worthless. The whole method of treating the subject is herein changed. To our point
of view, most that has been written on human natural history becomes obsolete ; and therefore wc have
not burdened our pages with citations from authors, even the most erudite and respected, whose views
wc cousider the present work to have, in the main, superseded."

PHYSIOLOGICAL RESEARCHES. 83

These passages, taken almost at random, indicate the bearing of the argument
upon the archaeology of this continent.

The writers have aimed to construct a theory of human natural history from
purely scientific facts and archaeological discoveries.

The monuments of Egypt and Assyria, as explained by Belzoni, Champollion,
Rossellini, Wilkinson, Lepsius, Layard, and others, are regarded as sources of
reliable chronology, and, under the physiological expositions of Morton, as illus-
trating the original types of man. The geological and paloeontological revelations of
nature are studied, in preference to records and traditions, for light upon human
origins ; and in the general harmony, consistency, and uniformity of physical laws,
and the mutual relations of the phenomena of the natural world, are professedly
sought the means of solving the mystery of the creation and distribution of all
organized beings.

Considered from this point of view, and without reference to any theological
speculations or controversial disquisitions, in which the authors have indulged,
their work is an exponent of a method of inquiry which might be expected to
yield interesting results.

Professor Agassiz, in his contribution to this work, points out the manner in
which the physical and organic features of the American continents vary from
those of the Old World. In the Old World, the tropical realms are in strong con-
trast to the temperate zone; tropical Africa has hardly any species of animals in
common with Europe; tropical Asia differs equally from its temperate regions;
and Australia forms a world by itself. On the contrary, the range of mountains
which extends in almost unbroken continuity from the Arctic zone to Cape Horn,
establishes a similarity between North and South America, which may be traced
also to a great extent in its plants and animals. Entire families, which are pecu-
liar to this continent, have their representatives in both Americas. " Thus, with
due qualification, it may be said that the whole continent of America is charac-
terized by a much greater uniformity of its natural productions, combined with a
special localization of many of its subordinate types, which will justify the esta-
blishment of many special faunae within its boundaries." " With these facts before
us, we may expect that there should be no great diversity among the tribes of man
inhabiting this continent. At the same time it should be remembered, that in
accordance with the zoological character of the wdiole realm, this race is divided
into an infinite number of small tribes, presenting more or less difference one from
another."

In the chapter on The Aboriginal Races of America, by Dr. Nott, it is remarked
that, in treating of American races, the purpose is " simply to bring forward such
facts as may be sufficient to establish their origin and antiquity," without going
into details "respecting the infinitude of types which compose them." Having
shown, as he thinks, " that the major divisions of the earth, or its different zoolo-
gical provinces, were populated by groups of races bearing to each other certain
family resemblances, notwithstanding that, in reality, these races originated in
nations, and not in a single pair — thus forming proximate but not identical spe-
cies"— he adduces the Mongols, the Caucasians, the Negroes, the Americans, as

84 ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE UNITED STATES.

each constituting a group of this kind. He considers it as acknowledged by all
travellers that there is among the latter people a pervading type, a family resem-
blance, quite as strong, for example, as that seen at the present day among the
full-blooded Jews; yet, although every tribe has some characters that mark it as
American, there are certain sharply drawn distinctions among some of these races
which cannot be explained by climatic influences. The two divisions adopted by
Morton (viz : the Toltecan and the Barbarous tribes) are taken as illustrations.
The first (says Dr. Nott) " comprising all the semi-civilized nations of Mexico,
Peru, and Bogota, who, there is every reason to believe, were the builders of the
great system of mounds found throughout North America," possessed certain cere-
bral peculiarities distinguishing them from the savage tribes by whom " the semi-
civilized communities of America seem at all times to have been hemmed in and
pressed upon as they are at the present day." Mr. Phillips's Appendix to Morton's
memoir on The Physical Type of the American Indians, in the second volume of
Mr. Schoolcraft's large work, and Mr. George Combe's phrenological remarks in
the Appendix to Morton's Crania Americana, are quoted in explanation of this dif-
ference. According to these writers, the barbarous tribes have larger brains than
those races capable of considerable progress in civilization, but the animal propen-
sities outweigh and subordinate the intellectual portion of the character; while in
the Mexicans and Peruvians, "the intellectual lobe of the brain is at least as large,
and the intellectual and moral qualities being not so subordinate to the propensi-
ties and violent passions, are left more free to act."

This attempt to explain why races possessing an apparently inferior phreno-
logical organization should exhibit superior reflective and inventive capacities, is
accompanied by the following corollary: —

" These facts afford very instructive material for reflection. We here behold
one race, with the larger though less intellectual brain, subjugating the unwarlike
and half-civilized races; and it seems clear that the latter were destined to be
either swallowed up or exterminated by the former. Who can doubt that similar
occurrences had been going on over this continent for many centuries, or even
thousands of years? There are scattered over North America countless tumuli,
which it is believed were built by races different from the savage tribes found
around them on the advent of the whites, and an impenetrable oblivion rests upon
these earth-works. There are many reasons for supposing that these mound-
builders were either identical with, or closely allied to, the Toltecs; and that they
were driven south, or exterminated by more savage and bellicose races."

Dr. Nott expresses the opinion that the opposite intellectual and physical cha-
racters in the two great American families cannot be explained " except by primi-
tive cranial formations, each aboriginally distinct;" and regards it "as more
probable that each of these families, instead of springing from a single pair, have
originated in many."

After quoting from the Christian Examiner of July, 1S50, the views of Professor
Agassiz upon the natural origin of speech, in which a parallel is drawn between
the analogy in sound and structure of the languages of kindred nations and the
similarity of intonation of the notes of closely allied species of birds, he suggests,

PHYSIOLOGICAL RESEARCHES. 85

in explanation of the general uniformity of structure of the American languages,
that among races osteologically allied, and possessing physical characters and in-
stincts in common, it is probable that their primitive languages would more or less
resemble each other; and that all languages which, in their infant state, come
together, would necessarily become fused into one heterogeneous mass, after a period
of more than five thousand years, for which, he considers, there is every reason to
believe that this continent has been inhabited.

Dr. Nott presents his conclusions respecting the aboriginal races of America in
the form of eight propositions, viz: —

"1. That the continent of America was unknown, not only to the ancient
Egyptians and Chinese, but to the more modern Greeks and Romans.

2. That at the time of its discovery, this continent was populated by millions of
people resembling each other, possessing peculiar moral and physical characteristics,
and in utter contrast with any people of the Old "World.

3. That the races were found surrounded everywhere by animals and plants
specifically different from those of the Old World, and created, as it is conceded, in
America.

4. That these races were found speaking several hundred languages, which,
although often resembling each other in grammatical structure, differed, in general,
entirely, in their vocabularies, and were all radically distinct from the languages
of the Old World.

5. That their monuments, as seen in their architecture, sculpture, earth-works,
shell-banks, &c, from their extent, dissemination, and incalculable numbers, fur-
nish evidence of very high antiquity.

6. That the state of decomposition in which the skeletons of the mounds are
found, and, above all, the peculiar anatomical structure of the few remaining
crania, prove these mound-builders to have been both ancient and indigenous to
the soil; because American crania, antique as well as modern, are unlike those of
any other race of ancient or recent times.

7. That the aborigines of America possessed no alphabet, or truly phonetic
system of writing — that they possessed none of the domestic animals, nor many of
the oldest arts of the eastern hemisphere ; whilst their agricultural plants were
indigenous.

8. That their system of arithmetic was unique — that their astronomical know-
ledge, in the main, was indubitably of cis-atlantic origin ; while their calendar was
unlike that of any people, ancient or modem, of the other hemisphere."

"Whatever exception," he adds, "may be taken to any of these propositions
separately, it must be conceded that, when viewed together, they form a mass of
cumulative testimony, carrying the aborigines of America back to the remotest
period of man's existence on earth."

The extracts from Morton's inedited MSS., and Dr. Usher's chapter entitled
"Geology and Paleontology, in connection with Human Origins," contain a sum-
mary of accounts, claiming to be authentic, of discoveries of human bones in a
fossilized state.

Omitting the references to those of foreign lands, we find enumerated a human

86 ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE UNITED STATES.

skeleton preserved in the museum at Quebec, that was dug out of the solid schist-
rock on which the citadel stands; several skeletons from Guadalotipe, preserved in
European cabinets, found in a rock described as " harder under the chisel than the
finest statuary marble;" human fossils discovered by Dr. Lund, the Danish natural-
ist, in eight different localities, among the calcareous caves of Brazil, in connection
with those of extinct species of animals — all represented as incorporated with a
very hard breccia ; and, from the same source, a human skull taken out of a sand-
stone rock now overgrown with lofty trees. Remains of a similar character, although
from positions supposed to be less unequivocal, found in Mississippi and Florida, by
Dr. Dickeson and others, are also named. All of these, it is believed, had previ-
ously been the subjects of communications to learned societies, with testimony in
favor of their geological antiquity, and their cranial conformity to the aboriginal
American type, exhibiting, in some instances, as stated, the American peculiarity
of configuration in an excessive degree.1 The concluding passage of Dr. Morton's
inedited MSS. contains this prediction : " I have no doubt that man will yet be
found as low down as the Eocene deposits, and that he walked the earth with the
Megalonyx and Palajotherium."

The following is quoted by Dr. Usher as the language of Professor Agassiz, at
Mobile, in April, 1853 : —

1 Am. Phil. Soc. Trans., Ill, 286-29G: Communication from C. D. Meigs, M. D., on the human
bones found at Santos, in Brazil. Am. Journ. of Science, &c, XXXII, 361 : Dr. Moultrie's
description of the skull of the Guadaloupe fossil human skeleton. Proceed, of Phila. Acad, of Nat.
Sciences, Dec, 1844 : Lieut. Strain's letter to Dr. Morton, respecting Dr. Lund's discoveries. Me-
moirs de la Soc. Royale des Antiquaires du Nord, 1845-'49, pp. 49-T7 : Communication from Dr.
Lund. Dr. Lund states that the remains examined by him manifested not only the cranial character-
istics common to the American and the Mongol, and also those peculiar to the American ; but a form
of teeth unknown among existing races of men, which, being found alike in young and old, he believed
to be natural, although resembling a conformation noticed among Egyptian mummies, and ascribed to
attrition. On this point Dr. Morton refrains from expressing an opinion for want of opportunities of
personal observation.

Dr. Lund declares his belief that South America was inhabited, not only in remote historical times,
but also probably in the geological eras, as many species of animals seem to have disappeared since the
existence of man in this hemisphere ; and that the race of men occupying this part of the world in ages
the most remote, was, as to its general type, the same that was found by European discoverers. He
remarks, that the cranial conformation of the Americans, similar but inferior to that of the Mongols,
has led to the supposition that the former were Mongolians who had degenerated as a result of emigra-
tion ; but that this opinion is opposed by the fact that no indication of an ancient superior development
is found. Moreover, if wc consider that nature habitually advances from the imperfect to the perfect,
that this part of the world is, according to geological evidence, of a date anterior to what is commonly
called the Old "World, and that an examination of the caves referred to leads to an admission of the
antiquity of its original inhabitants, while the primitive type has continued without change, there is
good reason, he thinks, to entertain an opinion the reverse of that which would establish a relation
between the Mongolian and American races. He mentions, in a note, that the interior plateau of
Brazil is composed of horizontal strata of the transition period, which are nowhere covered with the
secondary or tertiary formations ; which proves that the New World was elevated above the sea before
the secondary period, so as to form an extensive continent. No part of the Old World, to his know-
ledge, presented the same phenomenon to such an extent that an equal antiquity could be attributed
to it.

PHYSIOLOGICAL RESEARCHES. 87

" Kespecting the fossil remains of the human body I possess from Florida, I can
only state that the identity with human bones is beyond all question; the parts
preserved being the jaws with perfect teeth, and portions of a foot. They were
discovered by my friend, Count P. D. Portales, in a bluff upon the shores of Lake
Munroe, in Florida. The mass in which they were found, is a conglomerate of
rotten coral-reef limestone and shells, mostly Ampullarias of the same species now
found in St. John River, which drains Lake Monroe. The question of their age is
more difficult to answer. To understand it fully, it must be remembered that the
whole peninsula of Florida has been formed by the successive growth of coral reefs,
added concentrically from north to south to those first formed, and the accumula-
tion between them of decomposed corals and fragments of shells; the corals prevail-
ing in some parts, as in the everglades, and in others the shells, as about St.
Augustine and Cape Sable. Upon this marine limestone formation, and its ine-
qualities, fresh-water lakes have been collected, inhabited by animals, the species
of which are now still in existence, as are, also, along the shores, the marine
animals, remains of which may be found in the coral formation. To this lacustrine
formation belongs the conglomerate containing the human bones mentioned above;
and it is more than I can do to establish, with precision, the date of its deposition.
This, however, is certain, that Upper Florida, as far south as the head-waters of the
St. John, constituted already a prominent peninsula before Lake Okeechobee was
formed ; and that the whole of the southern extremity of Florida extends for more
than three degrees of latitude south of the fresh-water system of the northern part
of the peninsula.

" If we assume that rate of growth to be one foot in a century, from a depth of
seventy-five feet, and that every successive reef has added ten miles of extent to
the peninsula (which assumption is doubling the rate of increase furnished by the
evidence we now have of the additions forming upon the reef and keys south of
the main land), it would require 135,000 years to form the southern half of the
peninsula.

" Now, assuming further, which would be granting by far too much, that the
surface of the northern half of the peninsula, already formed, continued for nine
tenths of that time a desert waste, upon which the fresh waters began to accumu-
late before the fossiliferous conglomerate could be formed (though we have no right
to assume that it stood so for any great length of time), there would still remain
10,000 years during which, it should be admitted, that the mainland was inhabited
by man and the land and fresh-water animals, vestiges of which have been buried
in the deposits formed by the fresh waters covering parts of its surface. So much
for the probable age of our conglomerate."1

Dr. Usher says the phenomena of geology "establish not only that South
America was inhabited by an ancient people long before the discovery of the new
continent, or that the population of this part of the world must have preceded all
historical notice of their existence — they demonstrate that aboriginal man in

1 For a general account of bones of man among organic remains, see Smith's Nat. Hist, of the Human
Species, pp. 93-110.

88 ARCHAEOLOGY OP THE UNITED STATES.

America antedates the Mississippi alluvia, because his bones are fossilized; and
that he can even boast of a geological antiquity, because numerous species of ani-
mals have been blotted from creation since American humanity's first appearance.
The form of the crania, moreover, proves that the general type of races inhabiting
America at that inconceivably remote era was the same which prevailed at the
period of the Columbian discovery; and this consideration may spare science the
trouble of any further speculation on the modes through which the New World
became peopled by immigration from the Old."

In the chapter on the comparative anatomy of races, Dr. Nott maintains that
the distinctions between the Americans and the Polynesians are marked and deci-
sive; that, with perhaps some very partial exceptions along the Pacific coast, the
types of America are entirely distinct from those of Oceanica; and that American
languages, civilization,, social institutions, &c, are utterly opposed to Oceanic
intluence. " It is," he saj's, " from the so-called Polynesian and Malay races, that
many writers have derived the population of America; yet in no' two types of man
do we find cranial characters more widely different." * * * " The American
heads differ more widely from all Oceanic crania than they do even from those of
the Chinese, or true Mongol races. The Oceanic races, including even the Sand-
wich Islanders, when compared with our Indians, exhibit crania more elongated,
more compressed laterally, less prominent at the vertex, and more prognathous in
type. American races are strongly distinguished by the reverse of all these points,
in addition to their own greatly flattened occiput."

The suggestions, speculations, and opinions, collected in the volume now under
notice, had, for the most part, been previously advanced in some less connected
and more incidental shape — in lectures, in papers communicated to learned socie-
ties, in essays, prefaces, and casual discussions, but had not been deliberately
applied in this country to the construction of an entire ethnological system.

In whatever form the views there combined have heretofore found expression,
they have been earnestly opposed in the United States, as elsewhere, by those who
have deemed them unsound and objectionable. They are to be regarded as indi-
vidual sentiments, which, as elements of opinion, are entitled to a place with other
materials out of which theories relating to our subject have arisen.

The late Dr. Samuel Forrey, of New York, published in the American Biblical
Repository of July, 1843, an elaborate essay, entitled "Unity of the Human Race
confirmed by the Natural History of the American Aborigines." From this we
have desired to select salient passages that might be set against those which have
been quoted of an opposite bearing; but the subject is treated in a manner that is
unfavorable to such a purpose. The investigation is not a technically scientific
one, nor does it aim to add to the existing materials of opinion. Receiving Dr.
Morton's statements of facts, but rejecting his inferences, Dr. Forrey's design was
to show that the former do not necessarily conflict with the reasoning of Prichard,
Lawrence, and other naturalists, who believe in the singleness of human origin.
He gives a list of authors on tne natural history of man, and of writers on Ameri-

PHYSIOLOGICAL RESEARCHES. y9

can antiquities, whose works he had carefully studied in reference to his subject,
and states his proposition thus: "What we propose to demonstrate is, that revela-
tion and science are both beams of light emitted from the same Sun of Eternal
Truth. As truth can never be in opposition to truth, so it has been found that
many investigations into the laws of natural science, which were thought at first
to conflict with Holy Writ, have been discovered in the end, as will be shown in
this inquiry into the unity of the human family, to afford confirmation and eluci-
dation of its divine truths."

He maintains that there is nothing in the position of America that forbids the
supposition of an exotic origin of its primitive inhabitants, and that Morton's con-
clusion that there are no direct or obvious links between the people of the Old
World and the New, can be successfully refuted. In his argument it is not
claimed that his facts are new, or the views original. They are mainly derived
from the great authorities upon human history, in whose larger field of reasoning
the inquirer can seek a solution of the doubts which partial or local observations
may engender. "Anyone," says Dr. Forrey, "who allows himself to speculate
upon this subject, will, at first view, be inclined to adopt the opinion, that every
part of the world had originally its indigenous inhabitants — autochthones — adapted
to its physical circumstances. By this hypothesis a ready solution is afforded of
some of the most difficult questions presented in the investigation of the physical
history of mankind. * * But many of these obscurities will be made to disap-
pear before the light of science, like mist before the morning sun ; thus reconciling,
in many points, science and revelation." We believe Dr. Forrey first introduced,
in this connection, that striking illustration of the tendency of physical organiza-
tion to modify its characters in conformity to external circumstances which is
found in the fact that fishes, in the sunless waters of the Mammoth Cave, have
no eyes.

The archaeological conclusions of his essay are, that all our aborigines, with the
exception, perhaps, of the Eskimaux, have the same origin; that the emigration of
the Eskimaux tribes is of comparatively recent date, while the arrival of what is
considered an aboriginal race dates back to the earliest ages of mankind, and can-
not be said to be derived from any nation, or variety of mankind, now existing ;
but it is assimilated by so many analogies to the most ancient type of civilization
in the eastern hemisphere, that the character of its civilization cannot be regarded
as wholly indigenous.1

In 1850, public attention was particularly drawn to these questions, not only
by reviews and debates at scientific meetings, but by more elaborate efforts to meet
and overcome whatever objections had been started to the commonly received doc-
trine of human descent. The treatises of Drs. Bachman and Smyth, having imme-

1 A brief article by Dr. Forrey, under the title of "Considerations on the Distinctive Characteristics
of the American Aboriginal Tribes" is inserted in Vol. IV of Mr. Schoolcraft's general work. The
American variety is there regarded as having a relation to the Caucasian and Mongolian, as the Malay
variety has a relation to the Caucasian and the Ethiopian, they being merely intervening shades of
those leading types.
12

90 ARCHEOLOGY OF THE UNITED STATES.

tliate reference to the conclusions of Morton and Agassiz, appeared in that year.1
They both emanated from Charleston, South Carolina, a city which has been dis-
tinguished for the attention given to natural science by its literary men, and in
some branches (that of herpetology, for example), has taken the lead in this
country. Dr. Bachman's argument is based, to a great extent, upon his personal
observations and researches as a naturalist; whilst that of Dr. Smyth is chiefly
historical and theological. Neither of them alludes, except incidentally, to the
origin of American population, and they do not profess to have given special atten-
tion to that inquiry.

Dr. Bachman, however, places his private observations in opposition to Dr.
Morton's belief of a physical diversity between the Americans and the Mongolians.
He says : " The early writers on the history of the aboriginal races of America,
were of opinion that these people descended from the Mongols on the north of the
eastern continent, and others that they originated from the Malays of the Indian
Archipelago. The writings of Dr. Morton, however, appear to have silenced, for a
time, the advocates of the old theory. *** The opinions of an intelligent naturalist,
possessing so many materials to direct his judgment, are entitled to much weight
on a subject with which he has long been familiar. We readily admit that in this
he possesses superior claims on public confidence, and it would, therefore, appear
presumptuous in us to express a contrary opinion. We regard this, however, as
still an open question; and, as all men are entitled to an honest expression of their
views, so long as they are not injurious to public or private interests, we will pro-
ceed without entering into a discussion which, if fully treated, would occupy a
volume, to express the grounds of our conviction, that when this whole subject is
more fully investigated, it will }^et be discovered that the original theory, which at
present seems to have few advocates, will, notwithstanding the many erroneous
speculations on which it was founded, prove to a considerable extent correct. Nor
do we express this opinion hastily, or without due deliberation founded on personal
and minute examinations. Opportunities have been afforded us of seeing many
individuals in every Indian tribe that existed within the last forty years, in all our
Atlantic States, from the Canadas to South Florida. We have never had an oppor-
tunity of seeing the Eskimaux, and possess no further knowledge of that race than
from the skulls and the many portraits with which the public is familiar; we have
not visited Florida, and our only knowledge of those tribes is derived from an
examination of the prisoners brought to Sullivan's Island during the late Florida
war ; but with all the intermediate Atlantic tribes we became acquainted, studied
their forms, features, and habits of life, and at one period spent three months in
their villages. On the eastern continent we possessed opportunities of examining
several individuals from all but one of the families regarded by Professor Morton

1 The Doctrine of the Unity of the Human Race, examined on the Principles of Science. By John
Bachman, D.D., Charleston, S. C. 1S50.

The Unity of the Human Baccs proved to be the doctriuc of Scripture, Reason, and Science,
with a review of the present position and theory of Professor Agassiz. By the Rev. Thomas Smyth,
D.D. New York, 1850.

PHYSIOLOGICAL RE SEA R C II E S. y i

ae belonging to the Mongolian race, viz : the Mongol ^Tartars, Turkish, Chinese,
and Indo-Chinese families. "We saw no individuals of the Polar family. Although
we did not examine these races of men in regard to the question of unity or plu-
rality of their origin, we were anxious to render ourselves familiar with the different
varieties. We became satisfied that the characters so confidently insisted on as
pervading all the ramifications of the great Mongolian stock are far from being uni-
form or permanent in all the varieties of the Mongolian family. In a crew of
thirteen Chinese, which we examined at Liverpool, all represented to us by gentle-
men who had resided in China, as of unmixed blood, there were only three who
possessed any claims to the oblique eye, so generally represented as characteristic
of this nation. Among a crew of Japanese, which we examined in London, we
sought in vain for the striking peculiarity spoken of by Thunberg, who says, 'the
eyelids form in the great angle of the eye a deep furrow, which makes the Japanese
look as if they were sharp-sighted.' An impression was left on our minds that
several peculiarities ascribed as the invariable characteristics of the Mongolian race
were confined to the races existing in the Polar regions, and that the causes might
yet be traced to the snow-clad regions which they inhabited. The color was not
as uniformly yellow as has been represented, nor have we found that the red man
of America is always entitled to the latter appellation. We saw a considerable
number of individuals who belonged to several of the Mongolian families on the
eastern continent, whom, if we had met with them in America, we should immedi-
ately have classed with some of the tribes of our now dispersed and almost extinct
aborigines. We observed the same high cheek bones, the same very straight hair
with scarcely a tendency to curl, the same beardless lace, so very striking and
peculiar in every branch of the Mongolian family; a few partial exceptions exist
in both countries, but we observed at least as much beard in two of the Japanese
as we ever witnessed on the face of an American Indian. "We could add many
other resemblances in countenance, language, and modes of life, but our only object
in this place is to draw the attention of naturalists again to a subject which, we
believe, when properly investigated, will once more direct the current of opinion
into the original, but now apparently choked-up channel.

" From all the observations we were enabled to make, we have been led to the
firm conviction that the descendants of what is called the Mongolian race, are found
in a variety of forms and shades of color in America, from Greenland on one side,
and Kamtschatka on the other, in the arctic circle, through the Russian settlements
and Oregon, down to California in the west ; and through the Canadas and the
Atlantic United States on the east, down to the southern point of Florida, on the
very borders of the tropics; that with occasional admixture of the Malays, which
appear to predominate in many tribes of California, Mexico, and South America,
and an admixture of the negro in some of the Florida and Cherokee tribes, the
same race, with many variations, may be traced through the whole range of the
American continent, down to Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego."1

1 Doctrine of the Unity of the Haman Race, pp. 36&-272.

(J2 ARCHEOLOGY OF THE UNITED STATES.

It is admitted by Dr. Bachman, that every species of animal and plant has its
central birth-place, from which it spreads to certain limits, where it ceases to exist,
unless removed to other localities by artificial means.

It is also claimed that the native plants, animals, and insects of America, are all
of species distinct from those of the other hemisphere, except where the continents
approach one another at the north ; and the constitutional adaptation of man to
every part of the world is attributed to superiority of organization.1

If naturalists shall be found to agree in considering the zoology and botany of
America as distinct from those of all other countries, and indigenous to the soil, a
branch of archaeological" inquiry, originally deemed a troublesome one, will be dis-
posed of, viz : that relating to the manner in which the inferior orders of creation
reached this continent.

Dr. Bachman still pursues the discussion with unwearied industry. In addition
to articles in the Charleston Medical Journal, he has lately printed an examination
of the theories in natural history of Professor Agassiz, and has announced that he
is preparing for publication, a work on the skulls, the general anatomy, the color
of the skin, and the nature of the hair of the varieties that compose the human
family.2

Dr. Smyth's work may, in some respects, be regarded as an appendix to that of
Dr. Bachman, on which it leans for many of its arguments and illustrations, and
whose conclusions it follows in reference to the sources of American population.

The influence of the American climate in modifying the physical character of
its inhabitants is a point of considerable importance in estimating the possible
sources of their origin. One of the most celebrated ethnological treatises which
this country has produced, that of President Smith, of Princeton College, was
based upon the doctrine of climatic influences. Although adopting the prevalent
opinion that the Malays, or Tartars, colonized America, and founded the semi-
civilized empires existing at the time of the discovery by Columbus, this author
believed it could be shown that a change had already begun to take place in the
Anglo-Saxon and other European inhabitants, both in complexion and feature;
and that, in the Southern States at least, if the people were thrown like the
Indians into a state of absolute " savageism," they would, in no great length, of
time, be perfectly marked with the same complexion.3

This supposition better accords with the views of Blumenbach, Buffon, and Zim-
merman, than with those of most phyisologists of a later date. Lawrence and Pri-
chard agree in deciding that the effects of climate and of habits of life, &c, are not
transmitted from parent to child;4 and President Smith's general theory has not

1 Doctrine of the Unity of the Unman Species, pp. 250, 2G6.
3 Charleston Med. Journ. of July, 1855.

3 Essay on the Causes of the Variety of Complexion and Figure in the Human Species, &c. By
Samuel Stanhope Smith, D. D. Edinb., 1188.

4 " In all changes which are produced in the bodies of animals by the action of external causes, the
effect terminates in the individual ; the offspring is not in the slightest degree modified by them.'' —
Lawrence's Lectures, p. 436.

' Nothing," ?n_vs Dr. Priehard, ; seems to hold true more generally than that all acquired conditions

I'll VS 10 LOGICAL II ESE ARGUES. 93

found favor with the principal American writers who have subsequently treated of
the same or kindred subjects. It was severely criticized by Dr. Caldwell, in the
American Review of July, 1811, soon after a second edition of the Essay was printed;
and more at length in the Portfolio, Vol. IV, 1814, by the same writer, who endea-
vored to show that we are acquainted with no cause, short of the power that first
created man, capable of producing " that striking difference which exists between
the African and the European, the American Indian and the Hindoo, the Patago-
nian and the Laplander."

Following up the subject in after years, Dr. Caldwell published a small volume,
in which he took more decided ground in favor of a distinct origin for different
races; regarding our Indians as fitted and intended to inhabit uncultivated forests,
and wild prairies, and destined to disappear, as these are converted into fruitful
fields, on the same principle of adaptation that called them into existence.1

Kinmont, — who resorted to the hypothesis of an innate tendency in man to give
rise, in the progress of generations, to several distinct races, which, separating
under Providential influences, were led to distinct quarters of the earth, — remarks
in his lectures: "To say that all mankind originally perfectly resembled each
other, and that the several natural varieties which now exist have arisen out of
local circumstances — the action of external causes — is to adopt a gratuitous expla-
nation, which cannot be shown to have any foundation in fact. To say that the
different races have sprung out of separate original pairs, is equally absurd and
unsupported."2

With similar positiveness it is declared by Van Amringe, that "the differences
in the races of men cannot be accounted for by climate, mode of living, or any
natural causes now in operation, or which have been in operation within the period
of history." He is equally confident that they cannot be explained by the supposi-
tion of accidental or congenital varieties springing up in the human family. This
American author has sought to establish a new system of human history and phi-
losophy. He regards the zoological classification of man by his animal properties,
excluding his psycliieal attributes, as unphilosophical, on the ground that there is
no analogy between man and animals which can assist us to classify man, or to
understand his history. He assumes that there are at least four distinct species of
men, proved by their physical and psychical properties and powers, but a single
original centre of distribution, or creation of man, in the neighborhood of the Eu-
phrates; while of animals and vegetables there were several centres of distribution
or creation. He considers that specific differences among the races of men are
established by the principles of Zoology, and by Anatomy, Physiology, Psycho-
logy, and the natural law of sexual love; and proposes a new classification and

of body, whether produced by art or accident, end with the life of the individual in whom they are
produced." — Ibid., quoting Prichard,s Disp. Inaug.

1 Thoughts on the Original Unity of the Human Race. By Charles Caldwell, M.D. Phila,, 1831 ;
second edition, with additions. Cincinnati, 1852.

a Twelve Lectures on the Natural History of Man, &c. By Alexander Kinmont. Cincinnati, 1839.

94 ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE UNITED STATES.

nomenclature, adapted to his own compounded physical and psychical theory.1 And
finally, Dr. Bachman disavows the doctrines of Smith in these terms : " While we
are willing to allow some weight to the argument of President Smith, who endea-
vors to account for the varieties of man from the combined influence of three
causes — ' climate, the state of society, and manner of living;' we are free to admit
that it is impossible to account for the varieties in the human family from the
causes which he has assigned."2

That all forms of life in this country were wanting in vigor, and generally infe-
rior to those of the eastern continent, was maintained by Buffon, De Pauw, and
the Abbe Raynal, and partially adopted by Robertson. It was indignantly repelled
by Jefferson, and is termed by Morton "an idle theory," and an hypothesis of
" closet naturalists," which there is ample evidence to disprove. An explanation
of the assumed fact was sought by its supporters in the supposition that this conti-
nent emerged from the water at a later period than the other, and had not reco-
vered from the effect of cold and moisture, which exerted an enervating influence
upon the inhabitants, whose resemblance and uniformity showed them to be more
recent than the people of the other hemisphere, and that time had not been
afforded them to become as robust as the latter.

In curious contrast with these persuasions of the older school of European phi-
losophers, we have now the conviction of Dr. Lund, already cited, and of other
eminent geologists, that land in America must have emerged earlier than any
known portion of the so-called Old World; and the conclusions of Dr. Martius that
the natives of the New World are not in a state of primitive barbarism, but are
the last remains of a people once high in the scale of civilization and improvement;
but now worn out and perishing. Prichard, after testifying to the learning and
ability of Martius, and to the ample resources possessed by him for acquiring an
accurate knowledge of the American aborigines, avers that the structure of the
American languages, and the national customs and institutions, indicate habits of
thought and reflection, and cultivation of mind, very different from the state of
savages in general ; declaring, also, that attentive observers have been struck with
manifestations of greater energy and mental vigor, of more intense and deeper
feeling, of a more reflective mind, of greater fortitude, and more consistent perse-
verance in enterprises, and all pursuits, when they have compared the natives of

1 An Investigation of the Theories of the Natural History of Man, by Lawrence, Prichard, and
others, founded on Human Analogies; and an outline of a new Natural History of Man, founded upon
History, Anatomy, Physiology, and Human Analogies. By William Frederick Van Amringe. New
York, 1848.

Mr. Yan Amringe's classification recognizes four species, viz: the Siiemitic, comprehending the
Israelites, Greeks, Romans, Teutones, Slavons, and Celts; the Jai>iietic, comprising the Chinese,
Mongolians, Japanese, Chin Indians, and probably the EsMmaux, Toltecs, Aztecs, and Peruvinns;
the IsriMAELiTic, comprising most of the Tartar and Arabian tribes, and t/ie whole of the American
Indians, unless those mentioned in the second species should be excepted ; the Canaanitic, comprising
the Negroes of Central Africa, Hottentots, Caffirs, Australasian Negroes, and probably the Malays. —
P. 73.

1 Doctrine of (he Unity of the Human Race, &c, p. I1?1?. •

PHYSIOLOGICAL RESEARCHES. 95

the New World, with the sensual, volatile, and almost animalized savages, who are
still to be found in some quarters of the Old World.1

On the other hand, according to Professor Guyot, it is vegetable life alone that
receives a favorable development under the moist and warm influences of the Ame-
rican climate. In both the southern and the northern continents, " this luxuriant
vegetation, it might be said, seems to stifle the higher life in the animal world.
Animal life is, as it were, overruled, enfeebled; it does not occupy here the first rank,
which is its due." " Among the superior animals, development seems to be arrested ;
it is incomplete ;" and, with the exception of some superior types in North America,
"they have not the strength nor the indomitable courage, nor the ferocity, nor the
intelligence, of the similar creatures of the Old World." He pronounces that " man
himself, the indigenous man, bears in his whole character the ineffaceable stamp of
this peculiarly vegetative nature." " His lymphatic temperament betrays the pre-
ponderance in his nature of the vegetative element." " If he sometimes exhibits
a display of prodigious muscular force, he is yet without endurance." " The con-
formation and position of the New World give to it a hot and watery climate ; this
impresses its own character on all the organized creation."2

Instead of perceiving any analogy between the laws that govern the animal and
vegetable kingdoms, and control their distribution, and those that affect mankind,
Professor Guyot finds a decided opposition in the two. " There is," he says, " a
particular law which presides over the distribution of the human races, and of
civilized communities taken at their cradles ; a different law from that which
governs the distribution of plants and animals."3

If we may believe Dr. Knox, this climate, which so depresses the energies of the
red man, is positively destructive to the European. He maintains that climate has
no permanent influence in altering the races of man, but may and does destroy
them; that the Saxon decays in Northern America; and were the supplies from
Europe not incessant, he could not stand his ground in these new countries ; that
already the United States man differs in appearance from the European. Not that
this indicates the conversion of the Anglo-Saxon into the red Indian, but is a warn-
ing that the climate was not made for him, nor he for the climate.4

If climate has power to change not only the complexion, but the bony structure
of man, the form of his skull, the cast of his features, and the model of his frame,
and if association among different races, without intermixture, tends to produce
similarity of appearance, all arguments against the European or Asiatic origin of
the American Indians, derived from their peculiar physiological conformation are
deprived of their force; for, however various the sources, from which they might
have sprung, they would become. moulded, according to that theory, into uniformity,
by a natural proclivity incident to this hemisphere.

A doctrine similar to that of President Smith is advanced by Dr. Carpenter as

1 Nat. Hist, of Man, II, 497, 501.

3 The Earth and Man. By Arnold Guyot: Boston, 1850. Lecture VIII.

3 The Earth and Man. Lecture "VII.

* The Races of Men : a fragment. By Robert Knox, M. D. ; Thilad. ed., pp. 44 and 57.

96 ARCHAEOLOGY OF TIIE UNITED STATES.

an independent conclusion of his own. The following rather startling passage is
from his essay on the varieties of mankind : —

" It has not been pointed out, so far as the writer is aware, by any ethnologist,
that the conformation of the cranium seems to have undergone a certain amount
of alteration, even in the Anglo-Saxon race of the United States, which assimilates
it, in some degree, to that of the aboriginal inhabitants. Certain it is, that among
New Englanders more particularly, a cast of countenance prevails, which usually
renders it easy for any one familiar with it, to point out an individual of that
country in the midst of an assemblage of Englishmen; and though this may
chiefly depend upon the conformation of the soft parts, yet there is a certain sharp-
ness, and an angularity of feature, about a genuine 'yankee,' which would probably
display itself in the contour of the bones. So far as the writer's observation has
extended, there is especially to be noticed an excess of breadth between the rami of
the lower jaw, giving to the lower part of the face a peculiar squareness that is
in striking contrast with the tendency to an oval narrowing which is most common
among the inhabitants of the 'old country.' And it is not a little significant, that
the well marked change ivhich has thus shown itself in the course of a very few genera-
tions, should tend to assimilate the Anglo-American race to the aborigines of the
country ; the pecidiar physiognomy here adverted to, most assuredly presenting a transi-
tion, however slight, loicard that of the North American Indian."1

As an example of the influence of association, the same writer states that,
according to the concurrent testimony of disinterested observers, both in the West
Indies and the United States, an approximation in the negro physiognomy to the
European model is progressively taking place in instances where, although there
has been no intermixture of blood, the influence of a higher civilization has been
exercised for a lengthened period. He cites Dr. Hancock, as a most intelligent
physician of Guiana, who asserts that it is frequently not at all difficult to distin-
guish a negro of pure blood belonging to the Dutch portion of the colony, from
another belonging to the English settlements, by the correspondence between their
features and expression, and those which are characteristic of their respective
masters. Sir Charles Lyell is also referred to as having informed Dr. Carpenter
that he had been assured by numerous medical men in the slave States of the
North American Union, that a gradual approximation is taking place in the con-
figuration of the head and body of the pure negro to the European model.2

With the cases of assimilation last adduced, climate has of course nothing to do.
They would probably be ascribed to the. influence of mental habits and associa-
tions upon the muscles of expression, gradually extending to the more inflexible
parts of the system, as husband and wife are said to grow into a sort of resemblance,
and persons of a particular trade acquire an aspect that distinguishes them ; or as the
favorite dog of the " Ettrick Shepherd" was humorously said to have gained such a
likeness to his master as sometimes to occupy his place in the pew at church, with-
out the minister's ever noting the difference.

Carpenter on the Varieties of Mankind, in Todd's Cyc. of Anat. and Thysiol., p. f 330.
Ibid., p. 1330.

PHYSIOLOGICAL RESEARCHES. 97

A recent contributor to the Protestant Episcopal Quarterly Revieio, published in
New York, gives his countenance to the idea, that the Anglo-American is gradually
assuming the physical type of the aborigines, and seems to regard the tendency as
varying according to the special influence of particular localities. Thus, he
believes that the New Englander is acquiring the craniological formation of the
family of tribes to whom he has succeeded as possessor of the soil, whose skulls
differed somewhat from those of the Indians in general.1

In referring to the various aspects which archaeological science, as applied to
this country, has from time to time presented, the endeavor has been to maintain
the order of progression so far as practicable, while regarding also the natural con-
nection of different theories, and their bearing upon one another.

Advancing from that stage of opinion when the necessity of looking abroad for
the origin of our primitive population was almost universally acknowledged, and
when the belief prevailed that physical, moral, and traditionary evidence pointed
to Asia as the principal source whence that population was derived, we entered
upon one in which another class of sentiments predominated. In this, the deduc-
tions from an analysis of dialects, the results of physiological and palteontolo-
gical investigations, and the conclusions of men of science respecting a radical
diversity of races, were combined to favor the hypothesis of an independent and
indigenous creation of man in America. We have now come out upon a conjunc-
tion of theories, claiming a scientific foundation, from which a new series of infer-
ences may be drawn.

Agassiz and Guyot mutually recognize a peculiar homogeneity in the geological
structure of the American continent, from which a like homogeneity might be
expected to exist, or to be produced in its animal and vegetable kingdoms seve-
rally, such as observation has shown to be the case.

Professor Guyot has superadded the conception that vegetative life is here uni-
versally paramount over animal vitality, absorbing the elements of growth and
vigor, and affecting the development not only of inferior orders, but of the primi-
tive man, whose nature, inert and passive, is held to be deficient in those mental
and corporeal energies which have marked and diversified the history of his race
in other lands.

Moreover, aside from the deteriorating influence ascribed to the climate, it is
alleged, as has been seen, that it possesses the quality of changing the physical,
and, as a consequence, the mental characters, of other varieties of man, into those
which distinguish the families that constitute the American division.

And while the tendency to this metamorphosis has, by one authority, been con-
sidered stronger in the Southern States, others declare it to be now in gradual but
perceptible progress among the Anglo-Saxons of New England.

Thus, if the argument rested on these physical propositions alone, all the nations
of the earth might, at some former period, have contributed to the population of the
western hemisphere, as they are doing now, and in process of time all traces of dis-
tinction would have become obliterated in a common and irresistible degeneracy.

1 Prot. Episc. Pev., Julv, 1855, p. 330.
13

98 ARCHEOLOGY OF THE UNITED STATES.

A prospective consequence of a similar kind would seem to follow from the same
premises, unless it is presumed that the immense and continuous immigration of
superior races, which has succeeded to the discovery by Columbus, will keep in
check the operations of nature until exhalations from the soil are modified by cul-
ture, and other unfavorable conditions are overcome by the arts and habits of
civilized life.1

Here, then, are three distinct modes of reasoning upon the problems of American
archaeology; the first resting mainly upon historical intimations and superficial
affinities of person, habits, and arts; the second based upon philological, physiolo-
gical, and geological phenomena; the third dependent on a theory of climatic and
geographical agencies. By the first, a direct, and not very distant relationship,
between Asiatic and American races, is maintained; by the second, either an entire
separation from the rest of mankind, or a connection so remote as to be beyond the
limits of recorded events, has been supposed to be indicated; by the third, from
whatever source or sources, the population of the country has originated, it has
been subjected, as alleged, to physical influences here, destructive of all external
means of identification.

Happily our task is to record, not to reconcile opinions. It would be as easy to
give unity and consistency to a picture made up of sketches taken from different
stand-points, under different lights, and at various degrees of perspective, as to'
project a congruous scheme of ethnology out of materials that writers have col-
lected from different points of observation, often for contrary purposes, and affected
by the coloring of opposite prejudices.

Dr. Bachman's conviction that the original theory which designated the Mongols
and Malays as the principal sources of primitive population in America, silenced,
as he supposed, for a time, by the doctrines of Morton, would ultimately prove
correct, is fortified by the judgment of many writers of authority.

Dr. Pickering, and Col. Smith, whose opportunities for comparison have been
highly favorable and extensive, both dissent from Dr. Morton's conclusions. The
first, while a member of the U. S. Exploring Expedition, examined the natives
on the American coasts in nearly every latitude, and included in his general
survey, nearly every variety of the human race.2 The other claims to have per-
sonally compared, and drawn from life, many individuals of different tribes, from
Canada to the extremity of the southern continent.3

1 Dr. Knox does not appear disposed to admit even this possibility, but anticipates the ultimate
decadence of the European stock, if not the ultimate restoration of the native race, should the latter
escape annihilation in the mean time. He holds that the probable result is exemplified by the condition
of the Spanish American provinces, where, since immigration from the parent country has ceased, the
Spanish race has progressively decliued, while the descendants of the original inhabitants are gaining
in numbers, so that in another century, unless both are destroyed by the Anglo-Saxon, their blood will
predominate, and the Castilian be all but extinct. A permanent amalgamation of races, even of those
most nearly allied, and the permanent duration of any race in an uncongenial climate, he regards as
ecpaally impossible.

s The Races of Men, and their Geographical Distribution. By Charles Pickering, M. D. 1848.

3 The Nat. Hist, of the Human Species. By Lieut.-Col. Charles Hamilton Smith, K. H. 1848.

PHYSIOLOGICAL RESEARCHES. 99

Dr. Pickering's map, prepared to exhibit his view of the distribution of the races
of men, assigns the whole of the two continents of America to the Mongols,
excepting a portion of the western coast of North America, and some islands of
the Gulf of Mexico, which he yields to the Malays. In the text of his work he
mentions the possibility that the Malay race is more widely extended than is
represented in the map ; and he is disposed to attribute to that race whatever is
authentic in the accounts of " black aboriginals" as geographical considerations
render it improbable that any third race had reached America prior to the European
discovery.1

At San Francisco, where there were many Polynesians, he found it difficult to
distinguish them from the natives of California ; the only perceptible difference
being in the hair, which among the islanders was wavy or curled, while that of the
Californians was uniformly straight. The manufactures, habits, and customs of the
latter, in his estimation, notwithstanding " a strong American impress," bore equal
indications of Polynesian affinity. He remarks that, while to persons living around
the Atlantic shores, the source of aboriginal population seems mysterious, had
writers upon the subject made a voyage to the north Pacific, much of the discussion
would, in his opinion, have been spared ; as it was only on visiting that part of the
world, that the whole of the matter seemed to open to his view. For while the
facilities of transit along the northern coast of the Pacific, by means of land-locked
passages are, perhaps, unparalleled, the climate is genial for the latitude, and the
means of subsistence are abundant. In the chain of population he found no break.
He also regarded the Polynesian groups and Japan as favorably situated for com-
munication with California, notwithstanding their distance, on account of the winds
and currents that tend from them to the latter; exemplified, in the case of Japan,
by the chance arrival of tempest-tost junks on our northwest coast.2

The circumstances adduced in support of the common idea that the Aztecs came
from the direction of Oregon, such as the terminal "tl" so characteristic of the
Mexican language, and found also among the Chinnooks and Nootkas, with other
resemblances, in costume, modes of dressing the hair, forms of sculptured pipes, &c,
are sustained by his testimony ; and, in addition to these direct references of origi-
nal population to particular exotic sources, he advances the scientific opinion that
" it could be shown, on zoological grounds alone, that the human family is foreign
to the American continent.

Col. Smith considers the decay of the American races, amounting to prospective
extinction, a proof that they are not a typical people, but are stems, such as are
alone liable to annihilation. He holds that there exist sufficient coincidences of
manners, practices and language, between the natives of this continent and those
of eastern Asia, to overthrow the hypothesis of an exclusively aboriginal species

1 Yet, in another passage, he speaks of having met, in a few instances, in the United States, with a
race which was neither Mongolian nor Malay, and which he terms "the Telingan or true Indian."
P. 281, Bohn's ed.

9 See, in this connection, Humboldt's "matured opinions,'' Views of Nature. Bohn's ed., 1850,
pp. L31-3.

[00 ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE UNITED STATES.

of man in America, unless the "Flathead type" mny be considered an exception.
The primitive flatheads, if not constituting a distinct species of man, were, he
imagines, "at least the oldest and first wanderers that reached the American conti-
nent." In his judgment, an immigration, continuous for ages, from the east of Asia,
is indicated by the traditional pressure of nations from the northwest coast, east-
ward and southward.

Regarding the flatheadecl Paltas, and Aturians, or primeval race of South Ame-
rica, as anomalous, though evidently mixed with tribes whose origin is more marked,
and admitting that some of them, such as the, so-called, Frog Indians, are still in
being about the east side of the Cordilleras, he states that the stock has in fact
been supplanted for ages by other nations, whose Malay aspect countenances the
supposition of their original arrival from the islands of the Pacific. The tribes on
the Sacramento Paver he derives from the Sandwich Islands; and he thinks that
Polynesians, from the direction of the winds and currents, could hardly fail to reach
the coast of Chili, whence they might mix with the Brazilian tribes, and form the
race of Araucas.

That abnormal configuration of the skull, commonly expressed by the texniflat-
hcad, is undoubtedly the most remarkable phenomenon connected with the human
physiology of these continents. The regions of country where its existence has
been noted, the extent to which it prevailed, and the evidences of honor and rever-
ence with which it appears to have been associated, from a period of unknown
antiquity, render it an object not only of anatomical interest, but of striking
historical significance.

From Lake Titicaca, the original seat of the oldest, and perhaps the highest
forms of Peruvian civilization,1 the practice of moulding the head by compression
in infancy, has been traced among the Caribs of the continent and islands; in
Central America, Mexico, and Yucatan ; and along the southern shores of the
United States, from the Mississippi River to the Atlantic Ocean ; and it appears
again among the tribes of the northwest coast, from Columbia River nearly to the
54 th degree of latitude. Thus, in the United States, the Attacapas, the Natchez,
the Choctaws, the Waxsaws, the Creeks, and the Catawbas, are known to have had
the usage among them ; but from these it is necessary to pass the Rocky Mountains
and approach the Arctic regions, before meeting with it again. The custom was
prohibited in Peru, by an ecclesiastical decree, as early as 1585, and was abandoned
where the authority of the Spaniards could be enforced ; and with the breaking up
of native communities, and the decay of the race, it has generally ceased in both
continents ; but in Oregon it still continues, as essential to the holding of office or
rank in the tribes that make use of it, while it is forbidden to those who are in

bondage.

A like distinction and social supremacy appears to have attended this strange
disfigurement wherever it has been noticed. In Peru, its possessors were interred
with the most costly rites, in the largest and finest tombs; and in the sculptures

Prescott's Couquest of Peru, I, 12.

.PHYSIOLOGICAL RESEARCHES. 1()1

r

and hieroglyphic memorials of the Mexican provinces they occupy the position of
conquerors and divinities. Hence the association of dignity and conventional beauty
with a configuration so unseemly has been ascribed to traditional veneration for the
dominant power and intellectual superiority of a race with whom the deformity
was congenital. Whether such a race ever existed, is a question now at issue
among naturalists.

Baron Humboldt and M. Bonpland are believed to be the first who made this
anomaly a subject of scientific investigation. The extraordinary configuration,
exhibited by the skulls deposited by them in the Museum of Natural History at
Paris, was to be found, according to their testimony, among nations to whom the
means of producing artificial deformity were totally unknown. Dr. Morton having
adopted this view in his Crania Americana, regarded the cranial conformation
indicated by the specimens referred to as characteristic of a primitive type of the
American man. Subsequently, he became convinced that, at least in its excessive
forms, it was always the result of mechanical pressure.1

Dr. Nott, the friend and commentator of Morton, suggests, as a mode of recon-
ciling these different conclusions, that they arose from an examination of "contra-
dictory materials;" while he himself receives the doctrine of the former existence
of an autochthonous race to whom the deformity was natural — a fact which he
deems to be established by Dr. Lund's discoveries of fossil crania, as described by
Lieut. Strain, and by the developments of Kivero and Von Tschudi.2

It is proper, however, to state that Dr. Morton had before him all the means of
forming a judgment that are referred to by Dr. Nott, except the Peruvian Antiqui-
ties of Bivero and Von Tschudi. Lieut. Strain's account was in the form of a letter
addressed to him. In the Essay on the Primitive Type of the American Indians,
which Morton commenced for Mr. Schoolcraft's work, but left unfinished at his
death, he reaffirms the change of opinion that he had avowed ten years before.
After mentioning that Pentland, Tiedemann, Tschudi, and Knox deny the applica-
tion of art in the case of the Peruvian skulls, and attribute their shape to an
original and congenital peculiarity, he says that his own views on that point were
changed by the acquisition of a very extended series of crania from the Peruvian
tombs. "I, at first," he continues, "found it difficult to conceive that the original
rounded skull of the Indian could be changed into this fantastic form; and was led
to suppose that the latter was an artificial elongation of a head remarkable for its
natural length and narrowness. I even supposed that the long-headed Peruvians
were a more ancient people than the Inca tribes, and distinguished from them by
their cranial configuration. In this opinion I was mistaken. Abundant means of
observation and comparison have since convinced me that all these variously formed
heads were originally of the same rounded shape."3 v

• See Ante, p. 18, a. n. s Types of Mankind, p. 440.

3 Schoolcraft's Hist, and Prosp., &c, II, 320. Dr. Morton began to doubt the correctness of his
first opinion before he had seen the work of D'Orbigny, and subsequently announced his "matured
conclusions" in connection with the facts he had derived from that distinguished naturalist.— See Am.
Journ. of Science, XXXVIII, No. 2, 1840, and "Inquiry into the Distinctive Characteristics of the
Aboriginal Race of America," pp. 40-3.

102 ARCII^OLOGY OF THE UNITED STATES.

The shape of head artificially produced has varied in different, and even in the
same tribes. Sometimes the bulk of the cranium was thrown backward by pressure
in front, the sides being confined to prevent expansion in a lateral direction. This
was the common Peruvian form. In other cases, both the forehead and the occiput
were compressed, causing the skull to spread laterally. Another form was conical,
inclining backwards. The Arrowacks of the larger West India Islands flattened
the head downwards, in the direction of the spine ; and, in some instances, an irre-
gular constriction occasioned a one-sided effect.

Dr. Morton ascribes his original conclusions to the difficulty of conceiving in
what manner the form first mentioned above could be artificially produced from an
originally rounded skull ; and it was after he had, with the aid of D'Orbigny's sug-
gestions, ascertained how the bandages could be applied for the purpose, that he
adopted the theory subsequently retained by him. Other naturalists were probably
influenced by the same inability; and it appears to have been on the ground that
those forms could not be attributed to pressure, or any external force, that M. Pent-
land supposed them to be congenital, and that his view was confirmed, as he says,
by "Cuvier, Gall, and many other celebrated naturalists and anatomists." Tiede-
mann's expression is, moreover: "A careful examination of these skulls has con-
vinced me that their peculiar shape cannot be owing to artificial pressure. The
great elongation of the face, and the direction of the plane of the occipital bone,
are not to be reconciled with this opinion, and therefore we must conclude that
the peculiarity of shape depends on a natural conformation." The language of
Knox is: "That the Carib and Chinnook, and the ancient Macrocephali, fancied
that by pressure they could give to the human head what form they chose, is
certain enough ; but does it follow that they could do so ? The form of the head I
speak of is peculiar to the race; it may be exaggerated somewhat by such means,
but cannot be so produced." Dr. Morton was able to show how it could be and
was produced, and therefore he believed it to be always artificial.

But investigations not alluded to by Morton, and of equal authority with those
of D'Orbigny, present other and stronger reasons for admitting the natural origin
of these deformities. Sir Robert Schomburgk found, near the sources of the Coren-
tyne, a branch of the Orinoco, the remnant of a race called the Maopityans, or
Frog Indians, whose heads were flattened by nature; at least he could not learn,
by the most minute inquiries, that artificial means were employed. A child was
born while he was with them, which he saw within an hour of its birth, that had,
he states, all the characteristics of the mother's tribe; "and the flatness of its head,
as compared with the heads of other tribes, was very remarkable."1

The national work on Peruvian antiquities, by Rivero and J. J. Von Tschudi,
contains an examination of the question; and, as the result of "the numerous and
scrupulously careful observations" of Dr. J. D. Von Tschudi, long a resident in
Peru, and of the writers' own private researches, it is affirmed that those physiolo-
gists are in error, who suppose that the different phrenological aspects offered by

1 Journ. of the Royal Geograph. Society of LoncloD, XV, pp. 53 and 57.

PHYSIOLOGICAL RESEARCHES. 103

tlie Peruvian race were exclusive!// artificial." Such an hypothesis they imagine to
have been based solely on the crania of adults; whereas the heads of children of
the most tender age, exhibiting no vestige of pressure, were of similar conformation,
and the same fact was observable in the case of infants yet unborn, which had been
discovered among the mummies. The phenomenon is made more remarkable by
the statement that jn the crania of these children is found a peculiar bone, or divi-
sion of the occipital portion of the skull, wanting in all other human beings, and
corresponding to the os interparietalis of Eodentia and Marsupiata. This anomaly
was first brought to notice, by Dr. Franklin Bellamy, an English naturalist, in
1842, and subsequently the bone received, from Dr. J. D. Von Tschudi, the name
of uOs Incce" in reference to the nation to which it was confined. Messrs. Rivero
and J. J. Von Tschudi declare that they can " assert with certainty" that in some
departments of Peru remnants of the races whose natural form of head has been
imitated by compression may still be found, as they have themselves had occasion
to see.1

We are not aware that such cranial deformity has been supposed to have ever
existed naturally anywhere in the United States; and if the source from whence
the practice was derived as an imitation could be determined, it might be the means
of solving important archaeological propositions.

The inquiry arises, whether these peculiarities, let them be natural or artificial,
must have been indigenous to the country, or might have been introduced from
abroad. To which it may be answered, that history is not entirely silent on this
subject. In that border land between Europe and Asia, which was in earlier ages,
as it is again, the seat of great events affecting the world's history — at once the
birthplace and the battle-ground of nations — Hippocrates has located a people whom
he calls the Macrocephali, or Longheads. Some of them dwelt near the river
Phasis, and not far from the recently captured Turkish province of Kars. The
shape of their heads, he tells us, " was at first a work of art, because they esteemed
those having the longest heads the most noble, but nature had accommodated her-
self to it. It began in this way. As soon as an infant was born, they moulded
the soft and tender head with their hands, and compelled it to grow into the desired
form by bandages and other contrivances. In the course of time, this configuration
became natural to the people, and the use of means to produce it ceased to be
necessary."2

On Bactrian coins, in crania from the coast of Yemen, and in the islands of the
Indian Archipelago, a similar configuration is reported to have been observed.3
The former existence of " Flat-heads' in Asia Minor has been confirmed by the

1 Peruvian Antiquities, ch. ii., Dr. Hawks' translation, N. T., 1853. The original edition of this
national work was printed for the authors at Vienna, in 1851. v

3 Hippocrates, Opera Omnia, ed. 1595, sec. iii. p. 72, freely translated. "If other singularities are
transmitted to offspring," Hippocrates asks, "what hinders then that a Macrocephalus should be born
of a Macrocephalus ?" Though now, he intimates, they are not in like manner so born, because, for
want of care, the model has become extinct.

3 Smith's Races of Men, p. 143, and Plate V. Crawford's Ind. Archipel., I, 218.

104 ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE UNITED STATES.

discoveries of William Burckliardt Barker, who, in 1845, obtained a large quantity
of terra-cotta images from a mound on the site of the ancient Tarsus. Among
these were many specimens of flattened or compressed heads, exhibiting, in some
instances, the precise contour of the heads upon the monuments of Central America.
Others illustrated the form produced by downward pressure in the direction of the
spinal column. The whole collection having been submitted to Mr. Abington, a
gentleman skilled in artistic pottery, he was led by the resemblance between a por-
tion of the heads and those portrayed by Mr. Stephens in his Incidents of Travel in
Central America and Yucatan, to the construction of a theory connecting them
together. He imagined that the anomalous faces were faithful portraits of Huns,
or the Hiongnu, whose inhuman faces and horse-like heads so terrified the inhabit-
ants of the countries they invaded, and one division of whom, after sweeping all
before them as far as China, and penetrating the wilds of Siberia, might, as Hum-
boldt has suggested, have crossed to America. In addressing Mr. Barker, he says:
" Perhaps you have the gratification of first bringing before the world a true and
exact representation of that once terrible but now forgotten race, and that too
by an illustration probably unique ; also of removing the veil which has hitherto
concealed the mysterious origin of the men who have left the memorials of their
peculiar conformation upon the sculptured stones of America."1

With the heads above described, Mr. Barker obtained images of the divinities of
classical Greece and Rome in great numbers, and in a high style of art — the "Lares
and Penates" which give the title to his book; and, what is very remarkable, the
disfigured heads were also crowned with the tokens of divinity, indicating that
they also had at some time been objects of worship. These curious facts may be
added to the many coincidences that have been supposed to imply an Asiatic
derivation for at least a portion of the original population of this country.

The statement that, under* the microscope, the hair of the American Indians
exhibits a form and structure peculiar to itself, or at least distinguishing it from
that of whites and negroes, should not be omitted from this physiological sum-
mary. This subject has been elaborately investigated by Peter A. Browne, Esq., of
Philadelphia, and the results are given, with illustrations, in the third volume of
Mr. Schoolcraft's general work; having before appeared in literary and scientific
journals. It is claimed that the hair of the American natives is cylindrical in
form, while in the Caucasian races it is oval, and among negro nations it is eccen-
trically elliptical. These distinctions, if sustained, are expected to have an im-
portant bearing upon the affinities and diversities of races. It has, however, been
questioned by other naturalists whether the phenomena observed are sufficiently
uniform to establish a scientific principle.2

1 Lares and Penates; or Cilicia and its Governors, &c. By Wm. Burckhardt Barker, M. R. A. S.
Lond., f 853, p. 203, et seq.

a Dr. Carpenter asserts that the characters specified by Dr. Browne will not stand the test of exten-
sive observation; that the form of the shaft varies greatly in the hairs of the same race, and even in
those of the same individual ; for not only is it sometimes round, sometimes oval, and more rarely
eccentrically elliptical, or nearly flat, but may be even rcniform, or channelled on one side.— Oyc. of
Annt. unit Phys., Part XLI, p. 1338.

PHYSIOLOGICAL RESEARCHES. 105

While recording the various forms of opinion that have sprung from philological
and physiological observations in this country, we hope that sufficient care has
been taken to avoid giving any adscititious weight to particular views. If ideas
opposed to the original unity of mankind appear anywhere to be relatively promi-
nent, it is owing, perhaps, to the circumstance that whatever conforms to general
opinion arrests attention less than that which differs from it. It is only as ideas,
which their authors have connected with our subject in a manner not to admit of
separation, that they find a place in our pages. As a portion of the bibliography
of American Archaeology they can neither be omitted with propriety nor be so
disguised as to conceal their tendency. The great question of human unity or
diversity rests upon a far wider survey of men and nations than the ethnology of
this continent comprehends; and all local facts or phenomena require to be asso-
ciated with researches linguistic, physiological, and historical, as general and
thorough as those of Prichard and Bunsen, before they can prudently be made the
basis of argument, much less the foundation of faith. The conclusions of Prichard
and Bunsen appear not to have been invalidated in their own estimation by any
phases of human condition or conformation developed in the New World; Hum-
boldt's personal researches in this hemisphere have not impaired his faith in the
singleness of human origin;1 and one of our historians, at the close of an elaborate
survey of the American aborigines in connection with other races, asserts that " the
indigenous population of America offers no new obstacle to faith in the unity of
the human race."2

Having endeavored to present in a connected form the various aspects which
philological analysis and physical science have given to the question of the origin
or derivation of the Indian race, we may continue the chronological resume of
leading publications that relate, either specially or inclusively, to the antiquities of
our national territory.

At about the period of 1830, a rage for migration to the West spread like an
epidemic through the Eastern States. In New England particularly, under the
influence of a depressed condition of manufacturing and commercial enterprise, the
feeling was prevalent that the Atlantic States, with a sterile or exhausted soil, must
decline in wealth and population before the rising importance of the productive
regions of the Mississippi Valley. While the Southern emigrant transferred the
movable appurtenances of his plantation to Louisiana or Arkansas, the farmers of
Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont, sought some locality between the
Ohio and the Great Lakes. From Illinois and Michigan they soon advanced into
the Territory of Wisconsin, and prepared the way for the discovery of a new and
curious class of antiquities. At that time, during half a dozen or more succeeding
years, the press was prolific of Notes on the Western States, Guide Books, Sketches
of Travel, Letters from Emigrants, and other publications descriptive of the
country, in which a chapter was often bestowed upon mounds and other ancient

' See "Cosmos," Vol. I, closing chapter.
2 Bancroft's History of the United States, III, 318.
14

106 ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE UNITED STATES.

remains, and the crude speculations to which the sight of them gave rise. These
not unfrequently added to the stock of local information, but did not throw much
new light on the general subject.

It was in 1S3G, that the first knowledge appears to have been gained of the
emblematic earthworks of Wisconsin. Mr. Lapham, whose elaborate Memoir
respecting them has recently been published by the Smithsonian Institution, claims
to have been the original discoverer, and to have described some of them in the
newspapers of that date. They were brought more prominently to public notice
by Mr. R. C. Taylor in a paper accompanied by illustrations, communicated to the
American Journal of Arts and Sciences of April, 1838. They will be considered
hereafter under the period of their fall development by Mr. Lapham.

Indian Biographies, or works relating to native manners, customs, and exploits,
which come within the period of our own national history, do not properly belong
to the class of publications that are the subjects of notice in this memoir, although
they may indirectly elucidate archaeological questions. But the comprehensive
sketches of Indian history and adventure, compiled by Mr. Drake (which, in suc-
cessive editions, have, since 1832, continued to expand in bulk and improve in
accuracy), contain also an account of North American antiquities, and a summary
of theories and speculations respecting the origin of population on this continent.
The authors organ of marvellousness is not large, and he is not disposed to attach
an unnecessary degree of wonder and mystery to relics of antiquity, or to circum-
stances that happen not to be easy of explanation. He comments freely upon
hypotheses that appear to him irrational or visionary, and is satisfied with referring
the erection of the earthworks at the West to the ancestors of the existing native
race, under some condition favorable to a more stationary life and a denser popula-
tion. His book is the result of great industry and careful research, and contains
a large amount of interesting and useful information.1

When Professor Rafn was engaged, on behalf of the Royal Society of Antiqua-
ries at Copenhagen, in preparing the extensive work on the Discovery of America
by the Northmen, published by that institution in 1837, letters were sent to socie-
ties and individuals in this country soliciting the communication of facts that
would illustrate the subject. There followed a correspondence with the Historical
Society of Rhode Island, through its secretary, Dr. Webb, in relation to the cele-
brated Dighton rock, and other inscribed stones in the same vicinity.

As the Icelandic manuscripts were supposed to point to the precise region where
that rock is placed, as halving been occupied by Northmen, the characters drawn
upon it were naturally studied with anxious interest by the Danish antiquaries.
A new transcript of the lines and figures carefully drawn, a sketch of the rock
and surrounding scenery, and maps of the neighboring coasts and country, were
forwarded by gentlemen of the Rhode Island Society to Copenhagen. These were
submitted to scholars familiar with Runic monuments and inscriptions, who.pro-

1 Biography and History of the Indians of North America, from its first discovery to the present
time; with an Account of their Antiquities, Manners and Customs, Religion and Laws. By Samuel
<i. Drake: Boston, 1832, 18-11.

THE DANISH ANTIQUARIES. 107

nounced the rock at Dighton to be si monument of that class, and the characters
upon it a memorial of the occupation of the country by the Scandinavian navigators.

It was, therefore, with some elation of feeling, and greatly increased confidence,
that the routes of the Northmen were traced along the shores of New England,
and the positions determined, where they had stationed themselves. Supported
by such tangible evidences of habitation, there was also less hesitation in extending
the claim of Scandinavian discovery to the more Southern portions of the United
States. Anticipations were indulged in, that the interpretation put upon the
Dighton inscription would be confirmed by the development of other vestiges of
that people; and when, after the publication of the volume devoted to these
proofs, its author received from Dr. Webb a drawing of the circular stone structure
at Newport, of whose erection no distinct account had been preserved, and some
copper ornaments or implements found with a skeleton at Fall River, much learning
was employed to prove by analogies that these also were of Scandinavian deriva-
tion.1

But if hopes were thus excited that the veil of mj'stery was to be lifted from
any portion of American archaeology, they were not sustained by cooler reflection
and more careful scrutiny. The great dissimilarity in the different delineations of
the forms of the marks on the Dighton stone, impaired confidence in the possibility
of assigning to them any positive signification as linguistic characters. The im-
probability that the structure at Newport could have been in existence when that
place was settled by the English without attracting general attention and remark,
combined with the fact that both records and traditions referred to it as a wiad-

1 Antiquitates Americans, sive Scriptorcs Septentrionales Rerum Ante-Colurabiauaruin, in Ame-
rica. Hafnias, 1837.

Supplement to Antiquitates Americans : 1841.

Memoires de la Societe Royale des Antiquaires du Nord : 1840, 1844.

An Advertisement by the Danish Society, of the "Antiquitates Americaua;" after an account of the
Sagas embraced in the work, contains the following statement : —

" To which are added : 1. A description accompanied by delineations and occasionally by perspective
views of several Monuments, chiefly Inscriptions, from the middle ages, found partly in Greenland and
partly in the States of Massachusetts and Rhode Islaud in North America, on the one hand confirming
the accounts in the Sagas ; and on the other illustrated by them. II. Detailed Geographical Inquiries
lately undertaken at the instance of the Society, whereby the sites of the regions and places named in
the Sagas are explored, and are pointed out under the names by which they are uow commonly known,
viz : Newfoundland, Bay of St. Lawrence, Nova Scotia, and especially the States of Massachusetts
and Rhode Island, and even districts more to the South, probably situate in Virginia, North Carolina,
and in Florida, which is supposed to be the most southerly land mentioned in the most authentic Saga
accounts, although sundry of the northern geographers of the middle ages would seem to intimate their
knowledge of the easterly direction taken by the continent of South America. They are chiefly based
on the accounts in the ancient MSS., and on the explanations of the astronomical, nautical, and geo-
graphical statements contained in the same, which besides receive the most complete confirmation from
accounts transmitted by distinguished American scholars, with whom the society have entered into
correspondence, and who, after several journeys undertaken for that object in Massachusetts and Rhode
Island, have communicated accurate illustrations respecting the nature of the countries, their climate,
animals, productions, etc., and have furnished the society with descriptions and also with delineations
of the ancient monuments found there."

108 ARCHEOLOGY OF THE UNITED STATES.

mill, discountenanced the idea that it could have any other than a modern origin;
and a more particular investigation of the circumstances connected with the Fall
River skeleton showed that little weight could he attached to that relic as a source
of reliable evidence.

The narratives of the voyages of the Northmen, and their discovery of this
country, are, however, regarded as well attested, leaving the question open as to
the distance in a southerly direction to which their observations extended; and
many striking coincidences seem to justify the conclusion that the Vinland of these
narratives was really in Narraganset Bay.1

There is a fact which deserves to be mentioned in connection with the " Fall
River Skeleton" that we have not seen anywhere so employed. The articles found
upon it which excited the interest of the Danish antiquaries were, as described, a
brass breastplate; brass arrow-heads; and a belt made of small tubes of the same
metal, a few inches in length, fastened together side by side. These are certainly
unusual articles to find associated with the person of a savage who lived before the
occupancy of the country by the English. But in Brereton's Brief and True Rela-
tion of the Discovery of the North Part of Virginia (New England), by Gosnold, in
1602, it is stated that Avhile they were at an island, since identified, and lying off
the coast nearest to Fall River, the natives came to them from the mainland, and
the articles they brought with them are described as follows: "They have great
store of copper, some very red and some of a paler color; none of them but have
chains, ear-rings, or collars of this metal; they head some of their arrows herewith,
much like our broad arrow-heads, very workinanly made. Their chains are many
hollow pieces cemented together, each piece of the bigness of one of our reeds, a
finger in length, ten or twelve of them together on a string, which they wear about
their necks; these collars they wear about their bodies like bandeliers, a handful
broad, all hollow pieces like the others, but somewhat shorter, four hundred pieces
in a collar, very fine and evenly set together. Besides these, they have large
drinking cups made like skulls, and other thin plates of copper made much like
our boar-spear blades, all which they so little esteem, as they offered their fairest
collars or chains for a knife or such like trifle."2

As Gosnold, according to the same narrative, had just previously found a Bis-
cayan shallop, with mast and sail and an iron grapple, in possession of eight Indians,
one of them " apparelled in a waistcoat and breeches of black serge," and another
in " a pair of breeches of blue cloth," there is no difficulty in supposing that all
these materials came from the wreck of some unfortunate fishing vessel, notwith-
standing Brereton says the Indians intimated by signs that they obtained their
metal from the earth.

In 1838, the late President Harrison prepared his well-known Discourse for the

1 A very lucid synopsis of the contents and claims of tlie "Antiqtiitates Americana;," by Hon. Edward
Everett, appeared in the A7". A. Review, for January, 1838; and a translation of all the most important
Sagas, with a critical examination of their authenticity, by Joshua Toulmin Smith, was published at
Boston, and also reprinted in Loudon in 1830, with maps; and was again printed in London in 1842,
with maps and plates.

- Pnrchas's Pilgrims, Vol IV; reprinted in Mass. Hist. Coll., 3d ser. Vol. VIII.

HARRISON'S DISCOURSE. 109

Historical Society of Ohio*1 a dissertation not only creditable to bis literary taste
and general scholarship, but containing a large amount of valuable information
upon points of Indian bistory, and the result of bis observations and reflections
respecting tbe ancient remains of that region. He had been familiar with the
latter many years, having accompanied General Wayne in an excursion to examine
those at Cincinnati in 1793, and had studied them both as a militar}^ man and as
an antiquary. Referring to the fact that the country immediately bordering on
the Ohio, when first made known to the whites, appeared not only to have been
deserted by its more ancient inhabitants, but to be left by recent races of Indians,
as a common hunting-ground or battle-field, without permanent occupancy, he
seeks an answer to the question why so beautiful and fertile a portion of country
had been thus abandoned.

To aid in forming a satisfactory conclusion, we possess, he says, but a single
recorded fact, viz : that the pictorial records of Mexico ascribe the origin of that
nation to the Aztecs, who are said to have arrived in Mexico about the middle of
the seventh century. He quotes Bishop Madison as declaring his conviction, after
much investigation, that tbe Aztecs are the people who once inhabited the valley
of the Ohio; and, on the ground that probabilities are in favor of that opinion, he
adopts it, and endeavors to explain the cause and manner of their departure. He
assumes, from the appearance of the remains, that they were a numerous people,
and congregated in considerable cities ; that they were essentially agricultural in
their habits, and possessed a national religion, marked by imposing and cruel cere-
monies; and that they were driven from their seats by the assaults of a ruder and
hardier race on both their northern and southern frontiers. These conclusions were
founded on an observation of the differing character of their works at different
places. The great inclosures at Circleville and Newark, he was persuaded were
not of a military nature; while those on the Ohio River were evidently designed
for that purpose, and both could never have been created for the. same use by the
same people. The contest he regards as having been long and bloody, and the
retreat, which was gradual, and delayed at positions favorable for defence, he con-
siders to have been along the descent of the Ohio. In a note to his Discourse,
General Harrison remarks upon some objections that may be suggested to the
theory of the identity of this people with the Aztecs.

"The circumstance which militates most against the supposition of the identity
of the Aztecs with the authors of the extensive ancient works in Ohio, is the
admitted fact that the latter entered the valley of Anahuac from the northwest,
that is, from California, which is much out of the direct route from Ohio to Mexico.
A strong argument in favor of it is the similarity of the remains which are found
in that region (California), as well as in Mexico itself, with those in the valley of
the Ohio. I am not informed whether there are any such in the intermediate
country between tbe lower Mississippi and California. If there are none, it will
rather confirm and strengthen my opinion that the fugitives from the Ohio were,

1 A Discourse on the Aborigines of the Valley of the Ohio. By William Henry Harrison. Cin-
cinnati, 1838.

110 ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE UNITED STATES.

like those from Troy, a mere remnant, whose numbers were too small to erect works
of so much labor as those they left behind had required ; but after their strength
had been increased by a residence of some time in California, the passion for such
works returned with the ability to erect them."

" If the opinion is adopted that the Aztecs were never in Ohio, but had pursued
the direct route from Asia (whence it is believed they all came) to California, along
the coast of the Pacific Ocean, and that the authors of the Ohio erections were from
the same continent and stock, the question may be asked : AVhere did the separa-
tion take place ? Was it before they left Asia, or after their arrival on the Ameri-
can continent?"

If there are no similar works in the northeast of Asia, or on the route thence
towards the Ohio, he thinks that fact would go far to show that such works
originated in Ohio, and that those who erected them were the same people who
afterwards sojourned in California and finally settled in Mexico ; but if the opinion
is adopted, that these were distinct peoples or different branches of the same
Asiatic stock, it must be believed also that each fell into the practice of erecting
extensive works of the same form and materials, in a manner not known to be
practised by any other people, without any previous knowledge to guide them, and
without any intercourse. This he deems very improbable, and adds that: "If the
Aztecs were not the authors of the Ohio works, we can only account for the ulti-
mate fate of those who were, by supposing that they were entirely extirpated,
preferring, like the devoted Numantians, to be buried under the ruins of their own
walls to seeking safety by an ignominious flight."

It will occur to the reader who is aware how wide an extent of country on this
side of the Mississippi the remains referred to by General Harrison are now known
to occupy, that any hypothesis respecting them must apply not merely to the valley
of the Ohio, but to a territory reaching to Lake Ontario, if not to the St. Law-
rence on the north, and to the Gulf of Mexico on the south; that, in the State of
New York, there are works of defence of a character as distinctly marked as those
on the Ohio, and that in Florida are mounds and inclosures as suggestive of reli-
gious ceremonials and barbaric pomp as those of Circleville and Newark.

The main portion of General Harrison's discourse is devoted to a correction of
the prevalent opinion that the confederacy of "the Five Nations" had subjugated
the tribes which formed the Illinois confederacy, and occupied the region between
the Ohio and the Mississippi.1

* The argument in favor of the great antiquity of some of the earthworks at the west derived from
the nature and size of the forest trees that cover them, is well illustrated by General Harrison in the
following passage: " The process by which nature restores the forest to its original state, after being
once cleared, is extremely slow. In our rich lands, it is, indeed, soon covered again with timber, but
the character of the growth is entirely different, and continues so, through many generations of men.
In several places on the Ohio, particularly upon the farm which I occupy, clearings were made in the
first settlement, abandoned, and suffered to grow up. Some of them, now to be seen, of nearly fifty
years growth, have made so little progress towards attaining the appearance of the immediately conti-
guous forest as to induce any man of reflection to determine, that at least ten times fifty years would
be necessary before its complete assimilation could be effected. The sites of the ancient works on the

DELAFIELD AND BOTURLM. HI

The next year a fac simile of one of the pictorial records referred to by General
Harrison was published in connection with an essay on American Antiquities, by
Mr. Delafield, of Cincinnati.1 About the year 1780, the Chevalier Boturini, an
Italian, visited Mexico for the purpose of obtaining information concerning the
ancient inhabitants of America. He there received the polite attentions of the
government, and every facility was afforded him of becoming acquainted with the
history and customs of the country. He was highly successful in amassing valua-
ble information, and in collecting hieroglyphic paintings, maps, drawings of the
temples, idols, &c. From some unknown cause, before he was quite ready to return
to Europe, he incurred the displeasure of the government, and was thrown into
prison. There the unfortunate gentleman died, and his collections and manuscripts
were taken from him and scattered.

Subsequently, Mr. Bullock, of London, went to Mexico with nearly the same
views as those of Boturini. He also succeeded in obtaining many articles of

Ohio present precisely the same appearance as the circumjacent forest. Tou find on them all that
beautiful variety of trees, which gives such unrivalled richness to our forests. This is particularly the
case on the fifteen acres included within the walls of the work at the mouth of the Great Miami, and
the relative proportions of the different kinds of timber are about the same. The first growth, on the
same kind of land, once cleared and then abandoned to nature, on the contrary, is more homogeneous —
often stinted to one or two, or at most three kinds of timber. If the ground had been cultivated,
yellow locust, in many places, will spring up as thick as garden peas. If it has not been cultivated,
the black and white walnut will be the prevailing growth. The rapidity with which these trees grow
for a time, smothers the attempt of other kinds to vegetate and grow in their shade. The more thrifty
individuals soon overtop the weaker of their own kind, which sicken and die. In this way there is
soon only as many left as the earth will well support to maturity. All this time the squirrels may plant
the seeds of those trees which serve them for food, and by neglect suffer them to remain — it will be in
vain ; the birds may drop the kernels, the external pulp of which has contributed to their nourishment,
and divested of which they are in the best state for germinating, still it will be of no avail; the winds
of heaven may waft the winged seeds of the sycamore, cotton-wood, and maple, and a friendly shower
may bury them to the necessary depth in the loose and fertile soil — but still without success. The roots
below rob them of moisture, and the canopy of limbs and leaves above, intercepts the rays of the'sun
and the dews of heaven ; the young giants in possession, like another kind of aristocracy, absorb the
whole means of subsistence, and leave the mass to perish at their feet. This state of things will not,
however, always continue. If the process of nature is slow and circuitous, in putting down usurpation
and establishing the equality which she loves, and which is the great characteristic of her principles, it
is sure and effectual. The preference of the soil for the first growth, ceases with its maturity. It
admits of no succession, upon the principles of legitimacy. The long undisputed masters of the forest
may be thinned by the lightning, the tempest, or by diseases peculiar to themselves ; and whenever this
is the case, one of the oft rejected of another family will find between its decaying roots shelter and
appropriate food ; and, springing into vigorous growth, will soon push its green foliage to the skies,
through the decayed and withering limbs of its blasted and dying adversary, the soil itself yielding
it a more liberal support than to any scion from the former occupant. It will easily be conceived what
a length of time it will require for a denuded tract of land, by a process so slow, again to clothe itself
with the amazing variety of foliage which is the characteristic of the forests of this region. Of what
immense age, then, must be those works, so often referred to, covered, as has been supposed by those
who have the best opportunity of examining them, with the second growth, after the ancient forest
state had been regained :" pp. 30, 31.

1 An Inquiry into the Origin of the Antiquities of America. By John Delafield, Jr. : New York,
London, and Paris, 1839.

112 ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE UNITED STATES.

interest, which he took home to London and exhibited in a room fitted up for the
purpose'. Among other curiosities, he obtained a very long pictorial record,
declared by the native Mexicans to be a chart, delineating the travels of the Aztec
race through the continent to their resting-place in the valley of Anahuac. This
was said to have been among the collections of Boturini, and to have upon it
numerical figures and a table of references in his handwriting.

Mr. Bullock afterwards left London and established his residence in Cincinnati,
Ohio, bringing with him two copies of the chart, fac similes of the original. From
one of them the exact transcript engraved for Mr. Delafield was taken, and that
gentleman expressed his "full and unhesitating faith in the genuineness and
authenticity" of the document. This chart, or pictorial record, is seven and a half
inches wide, and unfolds to the length of eighteen feet. It begins with a repre-
sentation of an island on which are two human figures, an altar or tumulus (appa-
rently), and the Mexican symbol for house six times repeated. From the island a
figure is rowing a boat to what appears to be intended for the main land; and a
series of human figures — sometimes marching, and sometimes at rest — with sym-
bols of various kinds, and rude drawings of natural objects, continues through the
length of the chart. These are interpreted as exhibiting a passage across a strait
corresponding to Behring's Strait, and a gradual progress southward, of many years'
duration, often interrupted for considerable periods, and diversified by events of a
varied nature; all these circumstances being indicated, either by the evident sig-
nificance of the drawings or by Mexican symbols and characters, whose meaning
is well established. It is not claimed that any of the signs point to a residence, or
even a transit east of the Mississippi ; but coincidences of climate, soil, and natural
productions, have been detected, or imagined, with a route nearer the Pacific.1

In the text of Mr. Delafield's book, the notice of this document is preceded by
his inquiry into the origin of American antiquities. Assuming that, on the dis-
covery of the country, there were two distinct races inhabiting the continent — one
civilized, comprehending the Mexicans and Peruvians, the other savage and
nomadic, embracing all the families of the North American Indians; and that the
civilized race went from the north, where they constructed the remains yet exist-
ing he proposed to trace these races respectively to the source from whence they

sprang. He divided the analogical evidence on which he rested his argument into
seven classes, viz: I. Philological. II. Anatomical. III. Mythological. IV.

HlEROGLTPHIC. V. ASTRONOMICAL. VI. ARCHITECTURAL. VII. MANNERS AND CUSTOMS.

These branches of inquiry, he fancied, unite in pointing to Egypt and Hindostan
as the homes of the ancestors of the Mexicans, while they indicate the Mongolian
origin of the barbarous tribes. Then, resorting to the national genealogies of Scrip-
ture and history, he followed the descent of the American aborigines from Chus or
Chush, also called Cuth, the son of Ham, whose posterity, the Cuthians or Cuthites,
were always a disorderly and wandering race ; and some of whom, in process of
time, were termed 2,xvdai, or Scythians, having the Greek 2 prefixed to their name.

1 For a full exposition of Boturini's Chart, by Mr. Gallatin, see Trans, of Am. Etbnol. Soc, I, p.
120, cl seq.

BRADFORD'S ANTIQUITIES. 113

The author is able to track a division of the Cuthites, through various incidents of
their history, to the northeastern parts of Asia, towards the point whence the
Aztec emigration is supposed to have proceeded, as indicated by the Mexican
chart.

In \he work of Mr. Delafield, the antiquities of the United States are only
referred to in connection with his argument, without any drawings, or details of
description.

A different view of the introduction of population to this country, is taken in the
able and more elaborate treatise of Mr. Bradford, published, under a somewhat
similar title, in 1843. * This writer made no personal explorations, but, sitting in
his study, carried forward his argument under the burden of an immense numher
and variety of citations from all classes of authorities. Hence his work is entitled
to the merit, and is subject to all the disadvantages, attending that method of
reasoning. Many of the statements so collected are such as will not bear the test
of a rigid verification; and, although the justness of the author's conclusions should
not be impaired by them, the erroneous impressions they convey are liable to be
received by the incautious reader, and perhaps transferred to narratives and argu-
ments where their influence is less likely to be corrected by the entire body of
information with which they are associated.

Thus, a wrong idea of the state of art among the ancient Americans may easily
be occasioned by admitting the hasty inferences of travellers and chance observers
to the fellowship of better considered relations. A much higher degree of artistic
and mechanical skill on the part of the primitive occupants of the regions now
embraced in the United States, would be inferred from the summary in this volume
than well-authenticated facts will warrant. Fur example, the passages respecting
evidence of the working of gold and silver (including the process of gilding), the
manufacture of glass beads, and the unqualified statement that "the inhabitants of
New England appear to have possessed and manufactured chains, collars, and drink-
ing cups of copper;" and many other citations, introduced as reliable illustrations
of native skill and industry, exhibit the dangers incident to such a compilation.

But, aside from these considerations, Mr. Bradford's treatise is of high value and
interest, not only on account of its great store of references, but for the reflections
and opinions that are embodied with or deduced from them.

Mr. Bradford thus defines his purpose: —

" To embody and collate the descriptions of the most remarkable of the ancient
remains and ruins scattered over the continent; to compare the traditions, manners,
customs, arts, language, civilization, and religion, of its aboriginal inhabitants, inter-
nally, and with those of other nations ; and thence to deduce the origin of the
American race and its subsequent migrations — in a word, to attempt the determi-
nation of a portion of its unwritten history, is the object of this work."

His subject is treated of in two parts; the first having for its distinctive title,

1 American Antiquities, anil Researches into the Origin and History of the Red Race. By Alexan-
der W. Bradford. New York, 1843: pp. 135.
L5

1U ARCHEOLOGY OF TILE UNITED STATES.

"American Antiquities;" the second that of "Eesearches into the Origin and
History or tiie Red Race." Four chapters of Part L are devoted to an enumera-
tion and consideration of the different classes of antiquities in the United States;
.and two chapters are taken up with the antiquities of Mexico, the Central American
States, and South America. Part II. consists of twelve chapters; and the matters
embraced in them are discussed under the heads of " Comparison of Ancient Monu-
ments; Ancient Civilization; Aboriginal Migrations; The Routes of Migration;
Ancient Navigation, and the Drifting of Vessels ; The Physical Appearance of the
Aborigines — their Language, Astronomy, and Religion; The Pyramids; The Con-
clusion.

The whole is characterized by extensive research, and a careful analysis and
combination of facts. At the close of the review of the relics and monuments of
the United States he deduces from them: "1. That their authors were all of the
same origin, branches of the same race, and possessed of similar customs and insti-
tutions. 2. That they were numerous, and occupied a great extent of territory.
3. That they had arrived at a considerable degree of civilization, were associated
in large communities, and lived in extensive cities. 4. That they possessed the
use of many of the metals, such as lead, copper, gold and silver, and probably the
art of working in them. 5. That they sculptured in stone, and sometimes used
that material in the construction of their edifices. G. That they had the know-
ledge of the arch of receding steps; of the art of pottery; producing utensils and
urns formed with taste, and constructed upon the principles of chemical composi-
tion; and of the art of brick-making. 7. That they worked the salt springs, and
manufactured that substance. 8. That they were an agricultural people, living
under the influence and protection of regular forms of government. 9. That they
possessed a decided system of religion, and a mythology connected with astronomy,
which, with its sister science, geometry, was in the hands of the priesthood. 10.
That they were skilled in the art of fortification. 11. That the epoch of their
original settlement in the United States, is of great antiquity; and lastly, That the
only indications of their origin, to be gathered from the locality of their ruined
monuments, point towards Mexico."

The results of Mr. Bradford's general inquiry are stated in the following ex-
tracts from his final chapter: "The facts adduced in the course of the preceding-
investigation, tend, it is conceived, to support the following conclusions : —

" I. That the three great groups of monumental antiquities in the United States,
New Spain, and South America, in their style and character present indications of
having proceeded from branches of the same human family :

" II. That these nations were a rich, populous, civilized, and agricultural people;
constructed extensive cities, roads, aqueducts, fortifications, and temples; were
skilled in the arts of pottery, metallurgy, and sculpture; had attained an accurate
knowledge of the science of astronomy; were possessed of a national religion; sub-
jected to the salutary control of a definite system of laws; and were associated
under regular forms of government :

"III. That from the uniformity of their physical appearance; from the posses-
sion of relics of the art of hieroglyphic painting; from universal analogies in their

BRADFORD'S ANTIQUITIES. 11,-,

language, religion, traditions, and methods of interring the dead ; and from the
general prevalence of certain arbitrary customs; nearly all the aborigines appear to
be of the same descent and origin ; and that the barbarous tribes are the broken,
scattered, and degraded remnants of a society originally more enlightened and cul-
tivated :

"IV. That two distinct ages may be pointed out in the history of the civilized
nations — the first and most ancient, subsisting for a long and indeterminate period
in unbroken tranquillity, and marked towards its close by the signs of social deca-
dence; the second, distinguished by national changes, the inroads of barbarous or
semi-civilized tribes, the extinction or subjugation of the old and the foundation of
new and more extensive empires : and,

"V. That the first seats of civilization were in Central America; whence popula-
tion was diffused through both continents, from Cape Horn to the Arctic Ocean."'

In relation to the question of their origin, it appears :

" I. That the Red race, under various modifications, may be traced phj'sieally
into Etruria, Egypt, Madagascar, ancient Scythia, Mongolia, China, Hindoostan,
Malaya, Poljnesia, and America, and was a primitive and cultivated branch of the
human family : and,

" II. That the American aborigines are more or less connected with these several
countries, by striking analogies in their arts, their customs and traditions, their
hieroglyphical painting, their architecture and temple-building, their astronomical
systems, and their superstitions, religion, and theocratical governments.

" It has long been a favorite theory, to trace the aborigines to a Tartar or Mongol
migration from Siberia, by Behring's straits. But the Mexicans and Peruvians
resemble the cultivated nations of oriental Asia even more closely than do the
ruder tribes, the Siberian nomades ; in fact they are all of the same race, and both
in Asia and America, a decline into barbarism has produced analogous develop-
ments, which in connection with the relics of their ancient religion and customs,
nearly assimilate the savages of both continents. It is not to be denied that there
are some tribes in North America, which may have proceeded in modern times
from Siberia; for example, the Chippcwyans, and perhaps the Sioux, the Osages,
Pawnees, and some of the northwestern nations; but even in relation to these, the
proof depends mainly upon vague and uncertain traditions. But to suppose that
the Mexicans, the Toltecs, the Chiapanese, the Mayas, and the Peruvians, were the
descendants of such degraded and savage hordes as occupy northeastern Asia; or
that they wandered from more southern Asiatic countries through the cold and
inhospitable regions of the north, without leaving any vestiges of civilization on
their way, appears equally contrary to experience and philosophy. The ancient
monuments in Siberia are situated to the west and to the south, those of America
are limited in their extent on the northwest; and in spite of the facility of com-
munication afforded by the contiguity of the two continents in that direction, these
facts would seem to be decisive of that question. On the other hand, the evidences
of an early knowledge of the compass in China, of the great maritime skill of the
Malays, and of their navigation, in remote ages, of the Asiatic seas, the facts stated
in relation to the peopling of Islands by the accidental drifting of canoes, and more

11(3 ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE UNITED STATES.

than all, the actual proof of the distribution of population over the numerous and
distant islands of the great Pacific, from Asia to Easter Island, render it unne-
cessary to resort to the violent hypothesis of a northern route. What greater
obstacles were there to impede a passage from Easter Island to the American
coast, than attended a migration to Easter Island ? Indeed this island itself
appears to have been successively occupied by different families; and its pyrarnidical
edifices, and its colossal obelisks and statues, are closely analogous to the American
monuments."

"The Red race, then, appears to be a, primitive branch of tlie human family, to
have existed in many portions of the globe, distinguished for early civilization ;
and to have penetrated at a very ancient period into America. The American
family does not appear to be derived from any nation now existing ; but it is
assimilated by numerous analogies to the Etrurians, Egyptians, Mongols, Chinese,
and Hindoos ; it is most closely related to the Malays and Polynesians ; and the
conjecture possessing perhaps the highest degree of probability, is that which main-
tains its origin from Asia, through the Indian Archipelago."

It will be perceived that Mr. Bradford's inferences have many points of origi-
nality; and that while his views harmonize with those which derive the Americans
from Asiatic races, they are antagonistical to the idea of a connection by way of
Behring's Strait, and a gradual advancement thence of emigrating tribes into
Mexico and Peru, bearing with them the seeds of their ultimate civilization. He
deems it best to employ in his survey the simple classification of mankind into
three divisions, the White, the Bed, and the Black, that is, the Caucasian, the
Mongolian, and the Ethiopian, without taking into account the varieties that have
sprung from intermixture ; and his comprehensive application of the denomination
Red, as a distinction of race, enables him to include nearly every people with whom
analogies of customs, arts, or physical attributes, have been supposed to be traced in
this country.

In 1845, the Amei'ican Ethnological Society published the first volume of its
Transactions, containing an account of mummies from the nitrous caves of Ten-
nessee, and of various images of stone and clay found in that State; from Professor
Troost, of the University of Tennessee; and also an historical and descriptive account
of the Grave Creefc Mound, and an inscribed stone, said to be found therein; from
Mr. Schoolcraft. Much has been written about that "Grave Creek Stone';" and
the characters upon it have been submitted to the judgment of various learned
men and learned associations, but its authenticity has not been satisfactorily estab-
lished. It will be referred to again in another place.

At an early stage of this historical sketch, it was proper to specify the minor
efforts to convey information, or solve questions connected with our subject,
appearing in the form of communications to literary and scientific journals, or in
some incidental way brought to public notice. Whilst a large portion of facts and
discussions relating to the archaeology of the United States existed in no other shape
this course was a matter of necessity. But such particularity would be inappro-
priate at the present period of the narrative; and only in case of the development
of some new variety of antiquities, or a new field of research, is it desirable to

SQTJIER AND DAVIS. 117

enter into so minute a detail. We may mention, generally, that in the American
Journal of Science, during the years from 1834 to 1844, were printed valuable
papers from gentlemen who had examined particular works, or particular sections
of country. The official reports of Topographical and Geological Surveyors also
record many interesting facts and observations. The substance of these has, how-
ever, been mostly transferred to the archaeological work of Messrs. Squier and
Davis, to which we may next direct out attention.1

This was the first publication of the Smithsonian Institution, and was the result
of explorations and investigations, commenced by the authors in the spring of
1845, and continued to the summer of 1847.

Dr. Davis had been previously located as a practising physician at Chillicothe,
Ohio, which is in the heart of the most interesting remains that are found in the
Mississippi basin, and apparently near the centre of the principal seats of ancient
population. There he had been led by scientific curiosity, not only to examine
the exterior of mounds and mural structures, abounding in the neighborhood, but
to excavate in search of buried contents to explain the purpose of their formation.
He had thus collected many singular and striking specimens of art, of superior
execution, found in positions and connected with circumstances that promised well
to repay the labor of more careful and more extended scrutiny ; and, so far as his
professional engagements permitted, he was devoting his time and his means to the
pursuit.

While Dr. Davis was thus engaged, Mr. Squier became a resident of the State,
and was soon attracted to the discoveries which his future colleague had com-
menced. Combining a knowledge of practical surveying, with that readiness of pen
which experience in the editorial chair of a daily press was calculated to bestow,
and prompted by the energy and ardor that have since characterized his scientific
and literary labors, he gave himself up to the prosecution of studies and researches
that might enable him to illustrate the nature and origin of those yet mysterious
relics.2

These gentlemen, having united their exertions and resources for this mutual
purpose, endeavored to obtain the co-operation and assistance of scientific institu-
tions in the accomplishment of their design; and were so fortunate as to make an
arrangement with the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, which encouraged
them to proceed, and secured the publication of their work in a manner to give
effect to its merits.

It was a little remarkable, considering all that had before been said and done
about the same antiquities, how fresh the subject was to the public mind, how few
had any intelligent information respecting it, and how generally unprepared was

1 Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi Valley : comprising the results of extensive Original Sur-
veys and Explorations : By E. G. Squier, A. M., and E. H. Davis, M. D. Published by the Smith-
sonian Institution, Washington, 1848.

2 The writer visited Chillicothe in 1845, on behalf of the American Antiquarian Society, with
reference to the movement for a re-survey of the antiquities of the west ; and was made acquainted
with the operations and intentions of the gentlemen above named, and the circumstances under which
these originated.

118 ARCHEOLOGY OF THE UNITED STATES.

the community at large for any correct conception of the nature of the marvels
that might be revealed to an explorer. The time had certainly arrived when new
efforts were called for to determine with accuracy the nature and extent of those
vestiges of a higher social condition than had been transmitted to later races; and,
happily, the men and the means were provided for the accomplishment of the object.
No national questions of Science were capable of creating equal interest abroad, or
were likely to excite more general attention at home. A more active spirit of
inquiry upon all points connected with the primeval history of the western hemi-
sphere, has evidently been promoted by the publication of the work of Messrs.
Squier and Davis, and more correct ideas have in consequence been attained.

An analysis of this work in detail will not be attempted ; but an effort will bo
made to gather from it the prominent impressions that a new and wider survey of
these remains produced, after the lapse of twenty-five years from the time when
they were first collectively examined and illustrated.

The authors satisfied themselves that aboriginal monuments in the United States
are diffused over a vast extent of country; that they are found on the sources of
the Alleghany river, and in the western part of the State of New York, on the
east ; and extend thence westwardly along the southern shore of Lake Erie, and
through Michigan and Wisconsin to Iowa and Nebraska, on the west. They found
no account of their occurrence above the Great Lakes. They refer to Lewis and
Clarke as reporting their existence on the Missouri, one thousand miles above its
junction with the Mississippi, and state that they have been observed on the
Kansas and Platte, and other remote western rivers. They are represented as
being found all over the intermediate country, and through the valley of the Mis-
sissippi to the Gulf of Mexico, and as lining the shores of the Gulf from Texas to
Florida, extending, in diminished numbers, into South Carolina. They are declared
to exist in great numbers in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Missouri, Arkansas,
Kentucky, Tennessee, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, and Texas ;
and to be found, in less numbers, in the western portions of New York, Pennsyl-
vania, Virginia, and North and South Carolina; as also in Michigan, Iowa, and
the Mexican Territory beyond the Rio Grande del Norte. In all these various
regions they are said to be mainly confined to the neighborhood of the principal
streams, and when occurring far from them to be of small size.

In this wide extent of country, three geographical divisions were apparent to
the authors as possessing remains peculiar to themselves, although certain general
points of resemblance pervaded them all. Thus in the region .bordering the Upper
Lakes, particularly in Wisconsin, the earth-works were in emblematical forms,
rudely representing animals and other effigies. In the great section watered by
the Ohio and its tributaries, very few such structures were to be seen; but fortified
elevations, and large enclosures of symmetrical shape abounded ; the latter occup3-
ing the river bottoms, and appearing from their formal arrangement, their suites of
mounds, and their graded avenues, adapted rather to religious ceremonials than to
purposes of habitation or protection. Nearer the Gulf of Mexico, the fortifications,
the enclosures, and the conical tumuli, became more rare ; and truncated pyra-
midal structures of less height than the mounds of the north, but of greater hori-

SQUIER AND DAVIS. 119

*
zontal dimensions, and connected with systems of dependent works, were spread

numerously through those southern districts.

The central or intermediate region, between the northern and southern extremes,
was the principal field of investigation by Messrs. Squier and Davis, as it had been
that of Mr. Atwater. To this their personal explorations were confined ; and
notices of antiquities beyond its limit necessarily assume a supplementary position
in the work, as derived exclusively from extraneous sources of information, and
are not strictly embraced within the descriptive classifications applied to the
varieties of remains they had themselves examined.

Although the vestiges of ancient art and labor, in all their forms, usually con-
stitute an associated system, the different earth and stone-works, for convenience
of exploration, were resolved into two general classes, viz : Enclosures, bounded
by embankments, circumvallations, or walls ; and simple tumuli, or mounds. Of
these, subordinate divisions were made; as Enclosures for Defence, and Enclo-
sures for Sacred and Miscellaneous Purposes; Mounds of Sacrifice, Temple
Mounds, Mounds of Sepulture, &c.

The writers state that "nothing can be more plain than that most of the re-
mains in northern Ohio are military works." They are of a slight character,
requiring palisades upon their embankments to render them of much service for
protection; but they are contiguous to water, usually cutting off the bends of
rivers, guarding the space thus enclosed from access by land, or they are on the
high bank of some stream, and invariably have no higher land near them from
which they could be commanded. The walls are generally double, and the ditch
always without. The scarcity of mounds, the absence of pyramids of earth, and
of rectangular works, and their general difference from the fortified positions
nearer the Ohio, are supposed by Messrs. Squier and Davis to indicate that they
belonged to a distinct people.

It is mentioned that entrenchments of a similar character occur still further
northward and eastward, and also in Kentucky and Tennessee, implying the
existence of sparse but warlike tribes around that central region which bears
evidence of denser population and more stationary habits of life.

The defensive works of this interior section are described as exhibiting much
judgment in the choice of their locations and much skill in their construction.
They are usually upon places above the level of the surrounding country, and
naturally difficult of access, having on all sides, or all but one, a precipitous
descent. The common defence is a simple embankment thrown up along, or a
little below the brow of the hill, varying in height and solidity as the declivity is
more or less steep ; but the parapets, in form and character, are adapted to the
nature of the position, which is guarded by a fosse, by double walls, and mounds,
or other contrivances, as circumstances require.

These fortresses vary in size, enclosing from five acres to one hundred and forty.
The average of twenty-four of them is forty-six acres. Within some of the largest
are marks of habitation, as if they had been occupied by communities in some time
of prolonged danger. The smaller ones are most numerous. The w-alls of earth
and stone, it is remarked, although often high and heavy, would in themselves

!2() ARCHEOLOGY OF THE UNITED STATES.

furnish very imperfect means of protection and resistance; hence it is obvious that
they were surmounted by palisades, or by something equivalent. They also have
many gateways, or openings, which must have been defended by perishable' or
temporary obstructions.

The enclosures whose form, position, and attendant circumstances, indicate that
they were erected for other than defensive purposes, are elaborately exemplified.
They are termed sacred enclosures, on the ground that the supposition of their
being designed for religious rites and ceremonies is the most natural and satis-
factory one. Some of them prove to be circles or squares of exact proportions:
and precisely the same dimensions have been found in separate localities. The
characteristics ascribed to them are, that they are often in a position to be com-
manded by adjacent heights; that when a ditch occurs, it is within the embank-
ments; that, although occasionally isolated, they are usually in groups, forming
fanciful figures, but evidently the result of a plan or system; that the larger circles
are oftenest found in combination with rectangular works, and connected with
them either directly or by avenues; that the walls are comparative^ slight, from
three to seven feet high, seldom accompanied by a ditch, and formed from earth
taken evenly from the surface near them, or from large pits in the neighborhood ;
and that they enclose pyramidal mounds not much elevated, flat on the tops, with
graded paths of ascent, and well adapted to be used for altars or for the founda-
tions of sacred edifices.

The greater number of circles are said to have a nearly uniform diameter of two
hundred and fifty feet ; yet many of the examples given contain from twelve to
twenty-five acres, and some include a space of fifty acres.1

The broad and graded avenues ascending the plateaus on which the principal
structures are situated, as if prepared for the solemn march of a procession ; the
lines of low parallel embankments uniting in a curve at one end, suggesting no
conceivable design of practical utility; and the nature and discovered uses of the
tumuli connected with the systems of works designated as sacred, are explained
and delineated in a manner which confirms and illustrates their adaptedness to
the purposes ascribed to them.

If Messrs. Squier and Davis were enabled thus to corroborate previous opinions
respecting the two classes of Enclosures, they were even more successful in exem-
plifying the characters and designs of the various kinds of Tumuli.

The low conical or dome-shaped tumuli within the enclosures termed sacred, or
closely adjoining them, were found to exhibit these peculiarities. At their bases
beneath the vertex were raised and concave symmetrical fabrics, usually of clay,
that might well be called altars, inasmuch as they had upon them the customary
evidences of sacrifice : There were human bones mixed with the articles likely to
be most precious to a rude people, viz : beads, pipes, images, and other ornaments
and implements ; all of which had been subjected to fire of sufficient intensity or
duration to bake the fabric of clay on which they were deposited. Then over

1 The greal circle al Newark, enclosing 30 acres, lias a wall of 12 feet perpendicular height and
50 feet ba.se; with an interior ditch 7 feet deep and 35 feel wide.

SQUIER AND DAVIS. 121

them had been ceremoniously placed a covering of earth in layers, or strata, of
different materials, carefully and evenly spread, and adjusted to a conical shape —
the first stratum, perhaps, of loam, the next a thin covering of pure sand ; earth
and sand, or small stones, continuing to alternate, but in different proportions, till
the mound was completed. In consideration of their position, and the circum-
stances attending them, these received the name of sacrificial mounds. They were
the most fruitful of relics; the richest among them being of slight elevation and
un imposing exterior. Some of them contained altars alone, or relics without
human remains, showing that they could not be regarded as places of interment.

A more numerous class of mounds, generally removed from enclosures, and often
of great height, were found to cover a single skeleton — in very rare instances more
than one — enveloped in bark or coarse matting, and surrounded by a rude protection
of timber. The great Grave Creek mound, the most striking example of this
class, is a double monument of unusual character. At its base were two skeletons,
and thirty-live feet (or half the total height of the mound) above them, was another;
so that the superior altitude of this tumulus is the result of two interments, probably
at different periods of time.

These mounds contain, with the human remains, various ornaments and imple-
ments, but no altars, and the remains have not been burned. They are therefore
denominated sepulchral mounds, and might with equal propriety be styled monu-
mental mounds.

The third variety of earthen elevations, termed temple mounds, were so named
because their place within the enclosures, their rectangular and truncated forms,
and the peculiarity of inclined planes of easy ascent attached to them, make them
correspond to the Mexican structures on which sacred edifices were situated. In
the United States, near the gulf of Mexico, such was also the use of the similarly
shaped mounds which characterize that region.

These diversities are clearly defined by Messrs. Squier and Davis, their antiquity
well established, and their occasional invasion by later races satisfactorily dis-
tinguished from their original and legitimate use.

Another kind of mounds, erected on commanding positions, they believe to have
been intended for signal or alarm posts ; ranges of them being so situated that by
their means signals of fire could be transmitted a great distance in a few moments.
These are called mounds of obseroation.

While the authors are confident that the leading purposes of the mounds (at
least those in Ohio) have been rightly determined, they admit the existence of
many of an anomalous character, conforming to no classification. It appears
natural enough that this should be so when we consider that mound building, for
some purpose or other, is a common practice with rude nations, and still pre-
vailing to some extent among the aborigines of the country. There are mounds
that are composed of bones collected with pious care by recent tribes from the
burial places of their fathers ; and there are others known to have grown from
gradual contributions made by the passing Indian, in recognition of an inherited
obligation to mark the spot, for some reason that he may not himself be able to
explain. It would be too much to expect that the motive for these varied and
16

122 ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE UNITED STATES.

multitudinous erections should in all cases be made apparent. If the most
prominent and remarkable have been classified, and their single or associated
purpose elucidated, it is quite as much as can reasonably be required of an explorer.

The labors of these gentlemen were specially rewarded by the number and
quality of the works of art obtained by them from the sacrificial and sepulchral
tumuli; and, what is of great importance, they established the principle of dis-
crimination between articles of European origin, or modern manufacture, which
have by some means been buried in and about the ancient works, and the true
relics of their builders. Many of the hypotheses that have confused in so remark-
able a degree the archrcology of the United States are due entirely to the careless-
ness and ignorance which in this particular have heretofore prevailed.

The true relics of the mounds were found to be articles of pottery of delicate
material and graceful form, in the shape of vases, pipes, and moulded figures ; im-
plements and ornaments of copper, hammered without melting from the native
metal ; arrow-heads and spear-heads and various ornaments and implements of
stone, precisely similar to those of modern use ; strings of pearls, and beads of shells,
bone, ivory, and the claws of animals ; plates of mica, pieces of galena, and small
portions of silver, hammered thin and made to cover some of the smaller
ornaments ; and, with these, sculptured figures of animals and the human head, in
the form of pipes, wrought with great delicacy and spirit from some of the hardest
stones. The last-named are relics that imply a very considerable degree of art, and,
if believed to be the work of the people with whose remains they are found, would
tend greatly to increase the wonder that the art of sculpture among them was not
manifested in other objects and places. The fact that nearly all the finer specimens
of workmanship represent birds, or land and marine animals, belonging to a different
latitude, while the pearls, the knives of obsidian, the marine shells, and the copper,
equally testify to a distant though not extra-continental origin, may, however,
exclude these from being received as proofs of local industry and skill. Whether
they can be considered as evidences of commercial relations with remote places
and people, as suggested by Messrs. Squier and Davis, or as having been casually
obtained through intermediate agencies, must depend upon other circumstances
than their mere presence where they are found.

The silver crosses, the glass beads, the plated and gilded ornaments, the iron
instruments, that have figured in so many speculations, are shown to be modern
deposits whose origin it is not difficult to trace; and the stone medal from the
Grave Creek mound, fancied to contain either Libyan or Runic characters, which
has excited so much discussion, is pronounced to be wholly unworthy of confidence
as a genuine relic.

The account, in this volume, of the pictorial or emblematic earthworks of that
district which is chiefly included in the State of Wisconsin, was derived from papers
of Messrs. Richard C. and S. Taylor, published in the American Journal of Science
and Arts, and from a notice by Prof. John Locke, in his Report on the Mineral Lands
of the United Stales, presented to Congress in 1840.

The account of the monuments of the Southern States is also compiled from the

ANTIQUITIES OF NEW YORK. 123

descriptions and delineations of other writers ; but these chiefly in manuscript, and
therefore not generally known to the public.

In some respects the earthworks of the South are comparatively of minor in-
terest, because they are less varied in form and less anomalous in character than
those of the middle region, and because they are to a considerable extent explained
by the usages of the people existing when Europeans entered the country. On the
other hand, their numbers, their magnitude, and the necessary labor of their
execution, render them equally objects of surprise and curiosity, if they lack, in
any degree, the bewildering attraction of vagueness and mystery.

In closing their remarks upon what they have investigated and described, these
gentlemen wisely refrain from drawing many general conclusions. They regard
the antiquity of the ancient monuments of the Mississippi valley as manifested by
their position beyond the latest formed terraces of the river banks, by the exceed-
ingly decayed state of the skeletons in the mounds, and by the age of the trees
upon them that are in no way distinguishable from the primitive forests. They
think it clear that the population must have been numerous, and essentially homo-
geneous in customs, habits, religion, and government ; that as their remains are
almost entirely confined to fertile valleys, or productive alluvions bordering on
lakes and streams, that circumstance, in connection with their nature and extent,
necessarily implies the derivation of sustenance from agriculture, involving also
such particulars of manners and customs as are incident to stationary and agricul-
tural life ; and they venture to suggest that the facts collected point to a connec-
tion, more or less intimate, between the race of the mounds and the semi-civilized
nations of Mexico, Central America, and Peru.

While Messrs. Squier and Davis were completing their general survey of the
antiquities of the United States, Mr. Schoolcraft published his " Notes on the
Iroquois."1

Next to the valley of the Ohio, no other northern section of the Union presents
so great a number and variety of aboriginal remains as the State of New York ;
and no other native race has been found to possess so much of warlike energy,
capacity of organization for combined effort, and profound national policy, as the
Iroquois. Their celebrated confederacy, first of five, then of six nations, their
systematic plans of conquest, their sagacious management of the fruits of victory,
their high-toned manliness of character, their eloquence, their decision and tenacity
of purpose, have given a peculiar interest to their history. How far the evidences
of former conflicts — the fortified enclosures, and defensive parapets, so frequent in
western and northwestern New York, and extending even to more interior locali-
ties— are to be explained by their warlike and aggressive habits, has always been
a matter of uncertainty and debate. Reference has already been made to inquiries
that have, from time to time, been directed, sometimes by eminent citizens of the
State, towards the materials of archaeological information existing within its limits.

Mr. Schoolcraft was at pains to collect the statistics of the ancient and present

1 Notes on the Iroquois ; or Contributions to American History, Antiquities, and General Eth-
nology. By Henry R. Schoolcraft, Albany, 1847.

X24 ARCIIyEOLOGY OF THE UNITED STATES.

condition of the Iroquois population ; and to gather from facts and traditions what-
ever information could be obtained of their origin and history, the principles of
their government, their religious ideas and ceremonies, their arts and sciences, and
their military enterprises. To these he added archaeological investigations respect-
ing the structures and relics that are found upon their ancient seats.

Whether the traditionary tales of Cusic, the chronicler of his race, or any of the
poetical legends preserved by Mr. Schoolcraft, have in them gleams of historical
truth, or no, is a point on which opinions are divided. They have, at least, served
to fire the genius of one of our most accomplished poets; and the Lay of Hiawatha,
"the Iroquois Quetzalcoatl," has been transferred from the cabin of the savage to
the drawing-rooms of literature and fashion, like a captive Indian maiden, with as
much of native decoration, and as little of artificial costume, as the conventionalities
of civilized taste would permit.

" With the odors of the forest,
With the dew and damp of wigwams,
With the rushing of great rivers,
With its frequent repetitions,
And their wild reverberations
As of the thunder of the mountains."

The " Notes" of Mr. Schoolcraft constitute a comprehensive treatise, uniting all
the varieties of illustration, historical, topographical, philological, and anecdotical,
that might serve to elucidate his subject; while vestiges of former arts and labors
receive a prominent share of consideration and representation.

The aboriginal remains of New York were, however, deemed of sufficient import-
ance to justify a more special and thorough exploration ; and this was subsequently
accomplished by Mr. Squier, under the joint auspices of the Smithsonian Institu-
tion and the Historical Society of the State.1

Without dwelling on the particulars of his investigation, we may remark that,
after examining many, and taking a general observation of others, he estimated
the number of works in New York to be two hundred, or two hundred and fifty,
all of which he considered to have been intended for defensive purposes. Mounds
are not included in this enumeration; and as they are not connected with the mural
structures, but are uniformly sepulchral, and similar to the tumuli not unfrequently
raised by existing tribes, they were not regarded as deserving special attention.
They are said to be far from numerous, and to owe their origin, probably, to the
custom, common to many tribes, of collecting, at fixed periods, the bones of their
dead, and depositing them together, with solemn ceremonies.

It is stated that the enclosures are marked by great similarity of position, and
are, for the most part, small, including from one to four acres, though sometimes
embracing as many as sixteen acres ; that the embankments are slight, and the
ditches shallow, the former varying from one foot to four feet in height ; and that

1 Aboriginal Monuments of the State of New York. Comprising the results of Original Surveys
and Explorations, with an Illustrative Appendix. By E. G. Squier, A- M. Smithsonian Contribu-
tions, Vol. II.

ANTIQUITIES OP NEW YORK. 125

there appears to be entire uniformity in conditions of occupancy, and in remains of
art within their walls. It is represented that these relics of art and traces of
occupancy are absolutely identical with those which mark the forts and fortified
towns occupied by Indians within the period of historical records.

"All the facts and coincidences," says Mr. Squier, "go to show that if the earth-
works of western New York are of remote date, they were not only secondarily,
but generally occupied by the Iroquois, or neighboring and contemporary nations,
or else — and this hypothesis is most consistent and reasonable — were erected by
them. I am driven to the conclusion that they were erected

by the Iroquois or their neighbors.

" Except so far as they illustrate the system of defence practised by the aborigi-
nal inhabitants, and show that they were, to a degree, fixed and agricultural in
their habits, they have slight bearing upon the grand ethnological and archeeologi-
cal questions of the country."

And yet — and here is food for reflection — we learn from the drawings and
descriptions that, while enclosures of a sacred or ceremonial character, with their
accompaniments, are wanting, the mural remains of New York bear a striking
resemblance to those of Northern Ohio ; and, with less of symmetry, less expenditure
of labor, and general inferiority of size, do not differ materially in form and struc-
ture from works of defence ascribed to the ancient race. Many of them are now
covered with heavy forests ; and the suggestion of Mr. Squier, that it may not
have been essential to the purposes of the builders that the forests should be
removed, cannot be more applicable to them than to others, especially as he speaks
of trees, from one foot to three feet in diameter, standing upon the embankments,
and in the trenches. The relics they yield, though characterized as such as are
known to have been common among the Iroquois, exhibit a near affinity to those
of the same class from the western mounds. The vases are described as of very
good material, and worked and ornamented with considerable skill and taste ; the
pipes as often fancifully moulded, some bearing the forms of animals, whose distinc-
tive features are well preserved, others in shape of human heads, of fine quality
and well burned ; some, indeed, so hard, smooth, and symmetrical, as almost to induce
doubts of their aboriginal origin. The terra-cottas, other than pipes, are also pro-
nounced to be very creditable specimens of art.

The Appendix, in this publication, is of greater length than the memoir to which
it is attached; and treats more or less fully, with frequent illustrative drawings,
and much evidence of research, upon many points of general archaeological interest
essential to a comprehensive view of the subject of American antiquities. For the
convenience of readers seeking information, the titles of its contents are here sub-
joined in a note.1

1 Contents of Appendix to Aboriginal Remains of New York, viz : Ancient works in Pennsylvania
and New Hampshire. Character of Indian defences. Defences of the ancient Mexicans and Peru-
vians. Comparison of the defensive structures of the American Aborigines with those of the Pacific
Islanders, Celts, etc. Construction of mounds by existing Indian tribes. Sepulchral mounds in Mex-
ico, Central America, etc. Sepulchral monuments of the ancient world. Probable funeral rites of the

126

ARCHEOLOGY OF THE UNITED STATES.

An opportunity of indulging in comparisons, and drawing inferences from analo-
gies, to which the author and his colleague, Dr. Davis, felt it imprudent to yield
while recording their observations, was thus afforded to Mr. Squier ; and many
interesting collateral facts, as well as many instructive coincidences, are added to
their more strictly limited narrations.

The region between Lake Michigan and the Mississippi, now constituting the
State of Wisconsin, had hitherto been comparatively unexplored for archaeological
purposes ; although known to present some peculiar features, and to possess remains
of a singular and distinctive character.

Works intended for defence, and such as are apparently designed for religious
or sacrificial ceremonials, are there seldom found ; but structures of no great eleva-
tion, though often on a scale of considerable horizontal extent, representing a
variety of fanciful forms, are frequent along the courses of the streams, and by the
borders of the lakes.

The figures are described as chiefly those of Lizards, Turtles, Birds, Bears, Foxes,
and Men ; combined with straight lines, angles, crosses, curves, and other simple
embankments. Whatever these may have been intended to portray, there is a
uniformity in their configuration which manifests that the outlines are not acci-
dental, but possessed to their makers a distinct and definite meaning.

They appear to be confined within a limited territory, between the Mississippi
and Lake Michigan; not extending far below the southern line of Wisconsin, nor
much beyond the northern extremity of Lake Winnebago ; and diminish in num-
bers and variety as the two last named boundaries are approached.

That they exist there, and there only, is a fact hardly less remarkable than the
anomalous nature of the works themselves ; and attention is naturally directed to
the physical peculiarities of the district where they are found.

Wisconsin is marked by no great or sudden variations of surface. The hills are
seldom more than gentle swells or undulations of land ; the highest ridges being
those that separate the rivers which run to Lake Superior from those that flow
into the Mississippi. At certain points the waters of opposite streams sometimes
mingle at high floods, and the portages are always short and easy. In general
the flow of the rivers is even and sluggish, expanding, especially on the eastern
side of the State, into a profusion of shallow basins, or forming lakes of larger
dimensions. Yet, springing from cold and limpid fountains, these are free from
miasma and exuberant with wholesome animal life. The fishes are of the finest
flavor; and the wild rice that chokes the shallower, and lines the borders of the
deeper waters, affords sustenance to myriads of aquatic birds and beasts, that fatten
upon the abundance of nutritious aliment. Even the most wet and marshy dis-
tricts are said not to be productive of fogs or humid exhalations. The air is clear,

Mound-Builders. The Mounds not general burial-places ; Great Indian cemeteries. Aboriginal sacred
enclosures; Temples of the North American Indians; of the Mexicans, Central Americans, and Peru-
vians ; of the Polynesian Islanders, Hindus, etc. ; Primitive temples of the British Islands; Symbolism
of temples. Stone-heaps ; Stones of Memorial, etc. Additional monuments in New York. Use of
copper by the American Aborigines. Use of silver-

ANTIQUITIES OF WISCONSIN. 127

dry, and healthful ; the climate milder than that of the interior of New York ;
both summer and winter are tempered by the vicinity of the great lakes; and the
season and the soil are favorable to vegetation.

It may be assumed, therefore, that the seat of these remarkable works is well
adapted to the support of a numerous population, supplying, as it does, the means
of savage comfort, and even luxury, without the necessity of laborious exertion.
A nation so located, sheltered on three sides by great bodies of water, and favored
with such facilities for interior communication, we might expect to find maintain-
ing its independence, and cultivating arts or founding institutions which would
leave numerous and distinguishable traces behind them. Yet, the emblematic
monuments excepted, no prominent relics have been discovered. The remains of
protective, and of ceremonial enclosures, the usual evidences of stationary popula-
tion, are almost entirely wanting ; and only the mounds of more recent date appear
to contain the ornaments and utensils so commonly placed in the graves of the
aborigines.

Though one of the youngest States, "Wisconsin is among the oldest historical
regions of the Union. Before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth, the French
missionaries ascended the Ottawa River from the St. Lawrence, and advanced
towards the Great Lakes ; and before Boston was settled they had established posts
in the neighborhood of Lake Michigan. In 1639, Nicolet, the interpreter, explored
Green Bay, ascended Fox River, and embarked on the Wisconsin. Thirty-four
years later, Marquette and Jolliet, following in his steps, completed the discovery
and exploration of the Mississippi. Thus the rivers and lakes of Wisconsin were
made memorable by first opening the way to the interior of the West.

Another circumstance of antiquarian interest is connected with the territory
bounding on Lake Superior. The copper mines, that have recently attracted so
much attention, are supposed to have been wrought at some distant period by the
natives. It has even been conjectured that they were the source of supply to the
whole aboriginal population of the country north of the Gulf of Mexico; and that
remote tribes were accustomed to send deputations to these localities, or obtained
the metal by traffic with natives nearer the mines. Mr. Schoolcraft has suggested
that the region may have been consecrated to neutrality like that of the celebrated
pipe-stone quarries, and that parties of different tribes, thus secured from molesta-
tion, may have assembled there at certain seasons to procure their supplies of ore.

The reports of Dr. Jackson, Messrs. Foster and Whitney, and others, employed
by Congress as topographical and geological surveyors, afford curious accounts of
the evidences of ancient operations observed by them. They found not only
masses of native copper from which portions had been rudely severed, but excava-
tions in the solid rock, apparently wrought with great labor, with the simple im-
plements of the savage— the tools with which they had worked lying near in large
quantities.

There may, however, be some danger of confounding the results of the labors
of Europeans at the mines, with those of the natives. As early as 1632, the
existence of the mines was known to the French; for they are mentioned in
the narrative of Gabriel Sagard, printed at Paris in that year ; and they must have

128 ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE UNITED STATES.

been frequently visited by traders, who may have endeavored to detach from their
beds some of the masses now bearing the marks of such efforts. As any tools
of iron that might be. left behind would be eagerly seized by the Indians, it is
hardly to be expected that such should be found in the vicinity.

At any rate, at a later period, yet so long ago as 1771, an English company
under Alexander Henry, was employed for a time at the forks of the Onontagon
river; and it may not always be easy to distinguish the operations of the unassisted
Indian, anterior to the arrival of the whites, from those of later date, when the
labors of the two races may have been combined or contemporaneous. Still, it is
said that excavations bearing marks of extreme antiquity not to be mistaken, are
found in several localities ; and that great quantities of metal must have been
obtained from the surface alone ; fully warranting tbe opinion, strengthened by
native tradition, that, from periods of unknown remoteness, the aboriginal in-
habitants of a large extent of country obtained their copper ornaments and utensils
from that quarter.

When first made known to the whites, "Wisconsin was occupied, in part, by two
tribes, the Winnebagoes and the Menomonies, not only distinct from one another,
but differing materially, in important circumstances, from others in their vicinity.
Carver tells us, that while with the Winnebagoes he employed himself in collecting
the most certain intelligence of their origin, language, and customs ; and, from the
information obtained, he came to the conclusion that they originally resided in some
of the provinces belonging to New Mexico. Mr. Schoolcraft, in his narrative of
Gov. Cass's expedition, describes them as a " savage and bloodthirsty tribe, who
came many years ago from the South, and are related to some of the Mexican
tribes."

The supposed discovery of the remains of an ancient city in the valley of Rock
river, within the territory of the Winnebagoes, gave rise, at one period, to much
speculation, which, on the other hand, would make the Mexicans to have been
emigrants from Wisconsin. The name of Aztalan was given to the imaginary city,
in the belief that it must be the place referred to in the traditions of the Aztecs,
which represent their ancestors as coming from a country at the north, Hear large
bodies of water, and called Aztalan from that circumstance. Later investigations,
however, have not confirmed the original marvellous statements of the discoverers;
and the place is chiefly to be regarded as furnishing the only instance, among the
numerous works in Wisconsin, of an enclosure in some degree analogous to those
which in other States are supposed to be intended for religious purposes.

The territory south of Lake Superior, which includes the State of Wisconsin
and a small portion of Michigan, certainly possesses no little archaeological interest.
Its striking physical features are associated with many early incidents of romantic
adventure ; it is the seat of mineral treasures towards which the desires of a whole
continent of barbarous tribes might converge, and may have been rendered sacred
by that circumstance ; and, moreover, its aboriginal monuments are anomalous
and strange, appearing not so much like structures for any sacred or civil purpose,
as like hieroglyphic or symbolic characters. If instead of being clustered on the
surface of the earth they had been drawn on rocks and stones, efforts would be

SCIIOOLCRAFT'S NATIONAL WORK. 129

made to read them as records. They would derive a superior interest from the
supposition that they are, as has been suggested, the "totems" of tribes, perhaps
memorials of amity or alliance, written upon the ground where adverse nations
were accustomed to meet in peace. It must be confessed that pictorial writing on
so immense a scale, with a sovereign state for a tablet, is a phenomenon unparal-
leled in monumental history.

The great horizontal dimensions of these effigies, raised but a few feet above the
surface of the ground, was doubtless the reason why they failed to arrest the atten-
tion of travellers at an early period, their forms not being always perceptible from
a single point of view, and sometimes only developed by the measurements of the
surveyor.

It has been remarked that they were observed first by Mr. Lapham, in 1830.
In 1850, that gentleman entered into an arrangement with the American Antiqua-
rian Society, and, on behalf of that institution, commenced a thorough archaeological
survey of the State. His notes and drawings, when completed, were transferred
to the Smithsonian Institution, and constitute a portion of the volume of Contri-
butions published in 1855.1

The ordinary mounds were found to possess no peculiar interest ; except that a
few of them, even as far north as Lake Superior, have the pyramidal truncated
form, common at the South, and, in the Middle States, confined to sacred enclosures,
where they are regarded as altars, or the sites of temples. The emblematic tumuli
were seldom seen in isolated positions, but usually in groups, with a mound at some
elevated point, commanding a view of the whole. They yielded no relics to illus-
trate the habits and arts of their builders, or the design of their construction.

We have had frequent occasion to mention the publications of Mr. Schoolcraft,
who has been foremost among pioneers in the investigation of Aboriginal History,
and is now the chronicler of its ultimate results. A reference to the labors in
which he is still engaged will appropriately conclude this bibliographical epitome.

Under an act of Congress, of March 3d, 1847, the Secretary of War was required
" to collect and digest such statistics and materials as may illustrate the history,
present condition, and future prospects of the Indian tribes of the United States ;"
and the fulfilment of this duty was committed to the charge of Mr. Schoolcraft.

By the plan of execution adopted, the several points of investigation were divided
into numerous heads or titles ; and minute questions in relation to each, framed
for the purpose of eliciting information, were distributed, in the form of a circular,
throughout the country.

The results of these inquiries, combined with documents in possession of the
government, and the editors private stores of experience and observation, have
been arranged under a series of distinct titles, that are continued through the pub-
lished volumes ; each title embracing the portion of new matter that falls to its
share, while new titles are occasionally created, when required by the nature of the
materials.

1 "The Antiquities of Wisconsin, as Surveyed and Described, By I. A. Lapham, Civil Engineer,
&c, On behalf of the American Antiquarian Society.''
17

130 ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE UNITED STATES.

These collectanea are necessarily of a miscellaneous, and not always entirely
consistent character, and are liable to a good deal of repetition. Whether they are
to have no other than their present documentary form, or are to be digested in a
future volume, has not been announced. In the mean time, through the various
communications and compilations of which the work is composed, a current of
editorial opinion is permitted to flow, that, to a careful reader, may sufficiently
indicate the general conclusions which the aggregate of information is deemed to
justify.

Under the title of Antiquities, some new surveys have been registered, and fresh
information collected, especially respecting remains at the South, and relating to
rocks bearing sculptured marks and figures. Implements, utensils, ornaments, and
fabrics, are minutely described and illustrated ; and, in this and other connections, the
number and variety of archaeological elements embodied in the volumes are too great
to be particularized. They comprehend comparisons of ancient and modern arts and
customs; the traditionary legends of the natives; the scientific deductions of natu-
ralists; philological analyses and classifications; and, in brief, whatever else has
been supposed in any way to pertain to the subject. Throughout all departments
of the work admitting of exemplification, the artist and the engraver have profusely
distributed the highest efforts of their illustrative skill.

It has been less necessary, and less desirable, to notice particularly, in previous
pages, the numerous publications of Mr. Schoolcraft during his protracted study of
Indian history, because the wide range of these national volumes may be presumed
to embrace his latest knowledge, and his matured reflections, on all points to which
his attention has at any time been directed. We may gather, from the different
connections in which his views are expressed, some prominent examples that will
disclose their general nature and tendency.

While frequently admonishing the reader of the little reliance to be placed upon
Indian traditions, they are still received as legitimate, if sometimes deceptive,
elements of opinion; and generally, in the hypotheses that are framed, have more or
less of weight attached to their evidence. As they have played no part of much
importance in our narrative thus far, it is of more interest to observe the degree of
consideration they receive from Mr. Schoolcraft.

Speaking of the origin of the natives, he says : " Thus we have traditionary
gleams of a foreign origin of the race of the North American Indians; from separate
stocks of nations, extending, at intervals, from the arctic circle to the valley of
Mexico. Dim as these traditions are, they shed some light on the thick historical
darkness which shrouds the period. They point decidedly to a foreign, to an
oriental, if not a Shemitic origin." (Vol. I, p. 26.)

On page 199 of Vol. IV. he says, in reference to the Erics : " The veil that
conceals their history is lifted in a curious, ill-digested, and obscure pamphlet of
Indian traditions, by a semi-educated Tuscarora (Cusic), which was printed in the
ancient country of the Iroquois in 1825. 'n

In adverting to the Iroquois traditions recorded by Cusic, that refer to the

1 Sketches of the Ancient History of the Six Nations. Dy David Cusic.

SCHOOLCRAFT'S NATIONAL WORK. 131

mounds and fortifications of the West as the works of the southern and western
tribes — which, " after long and bloody wars, that are conjectured to have lasted for
centuries," were overcome by the Algonco-Iroquois confederacy — although remarking
that the chronology and dynastic terms of Cusic's pamphlet are believed to be
conjectural or faulty, he says : " That the ancestors of the Iroquois had been
parties in this ancient war against the southern intruders, or Allegans, may be
inferred. . . The epoch of these old and general wars, so obscurely yet certainly
pointed to, is deducible chiefly from the state of the archaeological vestiges." (Vol.
IV. p. 137, and Vol. V. p. C3.)1

Again, alluding to western earthworks, he remarks, " The fullest consideration
of the Indian history and character denotes these works to have been built by
aboriginal hands. That these beginnings of an Appalachian Indian empire were
finally frustrated by the surrounding barbarous tribes, is denoted by the few
traditions recorded. It foil, we may affirm, by division, anarchy, and mutual
distrust, &c." (Vol. IV. p. 148.)

Again : " We may, on the most enlarged view which can be taken on the
subject, recognize in the mounds, earthworks, and mural monuments of the Mis-
sissippi valley, the results, and final extinguishment of that impulse towards
civilization which was commenced by the Toltecs of Mexico. It cannot be
inferred, from our present survey of the languages, that large numbers of the
Toltecs mingled in this exodus of tribes from the interior of Mexico into the
northern hemisphere ; but the movement which led to their downfall in the
twelfth century, and gave the sovereignty to the Aztecs, appears, from monu-
mental indicia, to have impelled them northward and eastward, disturbing other
tribes impinged on in their progress towards Florida and the Mississippi valley,
and across the Appalachian range into the Atlantic slopes. The traditions of the
tribes, even of central New England, point to such a migration. They came from
the southwest. Their traditions place in the southwestern tropical regions the
residence of the benevolent god, from whom they affirmed that they had derived
the gift of the zea maize. The Leno Lenapes had also a distinct tradition of their
origin in the south and west, and of their crossing the Mississippi river. The
Shawnees trace themselves to Florida. The Winnebagoes have a tradition that
they came from Mexico. The whole Algonkin family, till the mass of continually
dividing tribes reached the confines of New England, trace their origin south and
west. The Muscogees assert that they came from the Red river valley, west of

' Considering the limited period to which Indian traditions, when fairly tested, have generally been
found to extend, these legends of Cusic might not unreasonably be accounted for without referring
their origin to a distant date. The English title to a large portion of the eastern valley of the
Mississippi, was founded on a purchase from the Six Nations, who claimed to hold it by right of
conquest ; and the alleged era of that conquest is fixed at about the year 1064, when the Iroquois are
said to have "carried their arms as far south as Carolina, and as far west as the Mississippi, over a vast
country, which extended twelve hundred miles in length, and about six hundred in breadth ; where
they destroyed whole nations, of whom there are no accounts remaining among the English." This
claim, which Great Britain was as much interested to sustain as the Six Nations were to make it, General
Harrison endeavors to refute in his Historical Discourse. See, also, Butler's Hist, of Kentucky, eh. 1.

132 ARCHEOLOGY OF THE UNITED STATES.

the Mississippi. The ancient Chigantalgi, whom De Soto found on the east hanks
of the Mississippi, as high as the Yazoo, had the worship of the sua established
with all the fixity and rites of the Toltecs. From these we date the Natches, who
still at the period of their overthrow by the French retained the art of mound-
building, two of which structures they erected in the Ouichita (Wachita) valley.
The large mound developments formerly existing on the Kaskaskia and Cahokia
rivers in Illinois, display traits of the Toltecan arts of building, and of their religion
and mythological ideas. The ancient displays at Marietta, at the mouth of the
Muskingum, the circular walls of Circleville, and the striking remains on Paint
creek, the Little Miami, and in the Scioto valley generally, all within the limits of
Ohio, have the same air and traits of the southern element worshippers." (Ibid.,
147-8. See also Vol. V. p. Gl.)

The above citations are selected as serving to illustrate Mr. Schoolcraft's manner
of employing native traditions as materials of evidence, and also as in part exhibit-
ing his views on some leading archaeological questions. The authority of traditions
is in fact recognized incidentally, if not directly, throughout the work ; and the
inquiry suggests itself whether he does not make, and whether there should not be
made, a distinction between traditions that have been long known to be current in
tribes and larger divisions of the Indian race, and such as have only the warrant
of individual testimony. There are, doubtless, national legends that have been
transmitted through generations of savages with a view to the preservation of some
historical truth. It is equally true that individuals among them have the habit of
inventing tales founded upon questions asked them, and in accordance with what
they conjecture to be the expectation of the inquirer, which they are often very
quick to discern. It is, therefore, extremely important that careful discrimination
should be exercised respecting the sources of traditions, and the nature of the
authority on which they rest. If Mr. Schoolcraft would draw the line so that it
should be as evident to the reader as it is perhaps to himself, greater justice might
be done to the merit of this kind of testimony.1

Mr. Schoolcraft has thrown much light on another archaeological element of
great interest, that of Indian inscriptions, or pictography. The ideographic devices
and symbols of the natives are very elaborately explained and illustrated in his
volumes; and it is shown that the aborigines have a hieroglyphic and pictorial
system of considerable power in the conveyance of ideas. It appears, from his
account, that the Algonkins have a form of symbolic characters called " Kekeewin,

1 Even statements like the following are insufficient to guard the reader from the danger of mis-
apprehension : —

" Aboriginal history, on this continent, is more celebrated for preserving its fables than its facts.
This is emphatically true respecting the huuter and non-industrial tribes of the present area of the
United States, who have left but little that is entitled to historical respect. Without any mode of
denoting their chronology, without letters, without any arts depending on the use of iron tools, without,
in truth, any power of mind or hand to denote their early wars and dynasties, except what may be
inferred from their monumental remains ; there is nothing in their oral narrations of ancient epochs
to bind together, or give consistency to, even this incongruous mass of wild hyperboles and crudities."
(Vol. I. p. 13. See also Ibid., p. G5, Vol. III. p. 314, etc.)

SCHOOLCRAFT'S NATIONAL WORK. 133

i. e." teachings" which prevails among the tribes from the Atlantic to the Mississippi.
Having become acquainted with a highly intelligent chief, who was familiar
with the use and signification of those characters, Mr. Schoolcraft put himself under
his instructions, and subsequently employed him to decipher the inscription on the
Dighton Rock.

Tbis chief (Chingwauk) accordingly took the volume containing the various
delineations of those figures to his lodge, and studied it with some of his compa-
nions. The next day, he appeared with two of his brethren, one of them acting
as his principal assistant, and in the presence of an approved interpreter and two
members of Mr. Schoolcraft's family, all well versed in the Chippewa and English
languages, the explanation was given.

The inscription was determined to be of a kind practised by " an ancient class
of seers, and termed " Muz-zin-na-bik (i. e., rock writing)," and was attributed to
" the ancient YVa-be-na-kies, or New England Indians." It was said to relate to
two nations, both Indian, and that none of the figures denoted a foreigner ; but
the record had reference to a battle, and was made by the triumphant party.
The details of this exposition are minutely illustrated, and the force or meaning
given "to each particular mark explained.

For some reason, which he did not mention, Chingwauk confined himself strictly
to the drawing made by Dr. Baylies and Mr. Goodwin, in 1790. There were some
characters which he threw out, as having no significancy. Two of these were
among the number interpreted by the Danish antiquaries ; three others connected
with them could be spared from Chingwauk's reading without impairing its sense ;
and Mr. Schoolcraft inferred, at that time, that these were due to the Northmen,
and perhaps had given the hint to the natives, at a later period, to record their own
traditions on the same stone. (Vol. I. p. 108, et seq.)

In 1853, a new copy was taken from the rock, under his own supervision, by the
daguerreotype process; and from this he decided that the inscription was entirely
Indian, without those traces of Runic letters and Roman figures wdiich were thought
to be discernible in former drawings. (Vol. IV. p. 120.)

An inscribed rock on Cunningham's island, near the southern shore of Lake Erie,
described as the most extensive and best preserved inscription that has been found
(which we imagine to be the same that the missionary Kirkland noticed in 1788)
has also been interpreted by Chingwauk. In this case, the events recorded are
explained as having occurred since the arrival of Europeans, whose hats are drawn
among the figures. (Vol. II. p. 88, Vol. III. p. 85.)

As these pictorial sculptures have a marked family resemblance wherever they
are found, throughout the United States, they may fairly be ascribed to the same
people, even if they belong to different eras.

Mr. Schoolcraft has, in former times, given his opinion very decidedly in favor
of the genuineness of the " Grave Creek Stone," having communicated respecting
it with various learned societies abroad and at home. He still regards it as
belonging to a class which he denominates " Intrusive Antiquities." He says,
" An inscription, in apparently some form of the Celtic character, came to light in
the Ohio valley in 183S. This relic occurred in one of the principal tumuli of

134 ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE UNITED STATES.

western Virginia (the ancient Huitramann aland). It purports to be of an appa-
rently early period, namely 1328.1 It is in the Celtiberic character, hut has not
been deciphered. Its archaeology appears corroborative of the Cimbrian and the
Tuscarora traditions, representing a white race in the Ante-Columbian periods in
this part of America." (Vol. IV. p. IIS.)'2

Although Mr. Schoolcraft does not admit that any race, except the true aboriginal
one, has erected any of the monuments of the country, he refers, occasionally, to
indications of foreign presence that may have left an impression upon the arts of
the people. " There may also be forms of art, disinterred from American soil,
introduced from Asia, or by early adventurers from the Mediterranean, which have'
tended to direct the Indian mind to incipient steps of art or civilization. But
these vestiges only serve to perplex, without unravelling the subject." (Vol. V. p.
85. See also Ibid., p. 115.)

Vague intimations of this kind are apt to excite the imagination, and to mislead
it. We should be glad to see gathered into one chapter, under an appropriate
head, all the evidences of art beyond the ability of the natives, that must be assigned
to an ante-Columbian period, and all other indications of a foreign people, before
that era, in the United States. They cannot be numerous, and the point is of
sufficient importance to be distinctly presented, with all the force it possesses.
They have hitherto proved unsubstantial whenever we have attempted to grasp
them. We have before us the " Alabama Stone," found, some thirty years ago,
near the Black Warrior river, which has been described as containing the following
inscription in Roman letters — 3

HISRNEHNDREV.

To our eyes, it reads, HISPAN. ET IND. REX. as plainly as the same inscription
on a Spanish quarter of a dollar that is somewhat worn. The figures may be as
above represented, but of course they cannot be intended for a date.

We have seen the " Rutland stone," on which " the strokes, filled with a black
composition," resemble remarkably a regular series of literal characters; but they
were formed by the same hand that formed the stone, and are only freaks of
crystallization.4

1 Judging from the age of a tree on the mound. The stone has no date.

5 This much controverted relic is a hard piece of sandstone in an irregular elliptical shape, an inch
and three-fourths in length, and an inch and a half in breadth, having upon it three lines of characters,
apparently alphabetic, which M. Joraard thought to be Lilian, while other European archajologists
have considered them nearer to the Phoenician, the Old British, or the Celtiberic. No one professes
to interpret their meaning. Its claims to notice rest entirely upon the assertion of the owner and exca-
vator of the Grave Creek Mound, that it was found in the heart of that tumulus. It is stated, in
opposition to its authenticity, that its discovery was not mentioned at the time of the excavation, nor
until the mound and its contents were used as an exhibition. If genuine, it is at least unicpie, and is
unsupported by any similar or analogous relic. Trans, of Am. Ethnol. Soc, Vol. I. Ibid., Vol. II.
Articles by Mr. Schoolcraft and Mr. Sqnier.

'J Western Messenger, May, 1838. l An'Tiqihtates American.!?, p. SCO.

SCHOOLCRAFT'S NATIONAL WORK. 135

We received, a year or two since, a careful drawing of a piece of foreign copper
money, found, in the interior of Ohio, in digging a well ; and happened to have its
exact counterpart among a collection of modem oriental coins.

We have at hand Jewish phylacteries that were taken from beneath the soil in
a country village, where, it was declared, Jews were never known to have been ;
but a follower of Moses was ultimately traced to the very spot where these were
found.

We have the following inscription, discovered, according to most respectable
authority, on a plate of mica upon the breast of a skeleton, buried after the ancient
manner, in a mound near that at Grave Creek, from whence the more celebrated
inscribed stone was derived.1

" Trem Nebo, thou who did Py for me
and ray son Jero and wife peto.
1587. AYilliaw Welch."

Our faith has not, thus far, been strengthened by sight; and we should be at a
loss to form a list of evidences pointing to the presence of an ancient people of
foreign origin at any mysterious period of time, or to collect a series of traditions
worthy to be presented as possessing an historical value. It is not less desirable
that all claims of the kind, having a shade of plausibility, should be by some one
assembled for investigation, however frequently, in particular instances, they may
have proved to be fallacious.

Mr. Schoolcraft's views of the antiquities of the United States are often emphat-
ically expressed —

" The aboriginal archaeology has fallen under a spirit of misapprehension and
predisposition to exaggeration. The antiquities of the United States are the
antiquities of barbarism, and not of civilization. Mere age they undoubtedly have ;
but it must require a heated imagination to perceive much, if anything at all,
beyond the hunter state of arts, as it existed at the respective eras of the Scandi-
navian and Columbian discoveries." (Vol. I. Introduction.)

" There is nothing, indeed, in the magnitude and structure of our western mounds
which a semi-hunter and semi-agricultural population, like that which may be
ascribed to the ancestors or Indian predecessors of the existing race, could not have
executed. The interior of these earthy pyramids has disclosed nothing beyond
a rude state of the arts, or, at best, such arts of pottery and sculpture, shell-work
and stone implements, as are acknowledged to belong to the hunter or semi-hunter
races before they or their descendants had fallen into their lowest state of barbarism,
or that type in which they were found by the colonists between 1584 and 1620.
There is little to sustain a belief that these ancient works are due to tribes of more
fixed and exalted traits of civilization, far less to a people of an expatriated type
of civilization, of either an Asiatic or European origin, as several popular writers
very vaguely, and with little severity of investigation, imagined." (Ibid., p. 62.)
" It is a mistake to suppose that the pipe-sculptures of the Scioto valley — the

1 From James E. Wharton, Esq., Editor of the Wheeling Times and Gazette.

136 ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE UNITED STATES.

ancient capital of Indian power in the Ohio valley — evince a state of art superior
to the general aboriginal type." (Vol. IV. p. 141.)

" The birds of prey and reptiles, chiselled chiefly from sandstone, found buried
in the small altar-mounds of the Scioto valley, constitute a feature in this forest
sculpture which is not at all at variance with other evidences of the sort from the
hunter age of America." (Vol. IV. p. 142.)

Of the animal or emblematical mounds of Wisconsin, he says : " Their connection
with the existing Totemic system of the Indians who are yet on the field of action,
is too strong to escape attention. By the system of names imposed upon the
men composing the Algonkin, Iroquois, Cherokee, and other nations, a fox, a bear,
a turtle, &c. is fixed upon as a badge or stem, from which the descendants may
trace their parentage. To do this, the figure of an animal is employed as an
heraldic sign or surname. This sign is called, in the Algonkin, town-mark, or
Totem. A tribe could leave no more permanent trace of an esteemed sachem, or
honored individual, than by the erection of one of these monuments. They are
clearly sepulchral, and have no other object but to preserve the names of distin-
guished actors in their history." (Vol. I. p. 52.)

" The totemic mounds are the simplest structures of all. Their object seems to
be, by raising mounds on the prairies, with a peculiar mineralogic pictography, to
create a symbolic record which shall be understood by their countrymen. They
constitute a species of symbolic mounds. Nothing could be more characteristic of
these people, or within the means and power of being comprehended by the hunter
tribes, than those earth-formed pictographs. It is antiquity adding its voice to
modern Indian history." (Vol. IV. p. 128. )l

The opinion of the editor respecting the uses of the mounds and enclosures of the
Ohio valley corresponds very nearly with that of Messrs. Davis and Squier. He
connects the sacrificial altars with the religious habits of modern Indians. " That
offerings were made by fire by the mound-builders, as well as by the existing race
of Indians, is clearly shown. An altar of earth, not very imposing in height or
circumference, was made by them from the loose earth. Here the people could
freely make their offerings to the officiating jossakeeds, which appeared to have
consisted most commonly of the pipe, in which incense had been offered, and which
was probably, from its ordinary and extraordinary uses, one of the most cherished
objects in the household. It is probable, from the number of these altars in the
Scioto valley, that it had a dense population. By long use, the bed of loam or
earth composing the altar would become hard, and partake, in some measure, of
the character of brick. What circumstance determined its disuse we cannot say.
It is certain that, in the end, the fire was covered up, with all its more or less
burned and cracked contents, and the earth heaped up so as to bury it most
effectually, and constitute a mound." (Vol. I. p. 52.)

1 Whatever explanation of the object of these mounds may be derived from the native custom above
referred to, the inquiry remains, Why are they almost wholly confined to a comparatively limited
region ? They might lie expected to exist wherever the totemic custom prevailed. The latest
investigations have shown, as stated by Mr. Lapham, that they arc not sepulchral.

SCHOOLCRAFT'S NATIONAL WORK. 137

According to his classification, mounds may be considered as tumuli proper,
(meaning the larger class of mounds, termed sepulchral by Davis and Squier) ;
propyls, or redoubt mounds, at the gates of enclosures, barrows or small earthen
heaps, generally under nine or ten feet in height; the small "sciotic" mounds of
sacrifice; the totemic or imitative mounds; and the massive platform mounds of
the South.

The purposes to which the latter were applied, he considers as sufficiently shown
by the manner in which they were used and occupied within the period of observa-
tion, viz : for the dwellings of the caciques and priests. To this is added the
testimony of tradition. " With regard to the platform mounds, it is the recorded
tradition of the Muscogees, and Appalachian tribes, that these were public works
laid out on the selection of a new site' for a town, and engaged in immediately by
the whole tribe, to serve as the official seat of their chief ruler." (Vol. IV. p. 130,
quoting from Pickett's History of Alabama, and Vol. II. pp. 83, 84.) The celebrated
work at Marietta he believes to have also been of the same character.1

" In Oregon and Washington," he says, " there is not a mound or earthwork
analogous to those of the Mississippi Valley, or, indeed, of any kind." " The
tribes who had reached the Mississippi in their migrations, did not come from the
elevated, bleak, and barren deserts stretching at the east of the Rocky Mountains.
There are no indications that they crossed that broad and forbidding barrier." (Vol.
V. pp. 100, 101, and authorities there cited.) (Ibid., Appendix, p. 062, et seq.)

In further limitation of the extent of such remains, he says : " In the highest
latitudes occupied by the Algonkins, on and north of the Lake Superior basin, we
search in vain for any striking objects of antiquity. There are no artificial mounds,
embankments, or barrows, in this basin, to denote that the country had been
anciently inhabited. It is something to affirm, that the mound builders who have
filled the West with wonder — quite unnecessary wonder — had never extended their
sway here." (Vol. I. p. 06.)

Mr. Schoolcraft has, in various passages, expressed an opinion respecting the
period when the mounds, &c. were abandoned.

" Could we determine the age of these works, one great object of their considera-
tion would be attained. The opening of the great tumulus at Grave Creek re-
vealed the mode which brought structures of earth of this capacity within the
means of the semi-industrial tribes. The cortical layers, counted in the mature
and heavy forest trees, denoted the period of its completion to have been at, or
soon after, the twelfth century ; but there was no proof that it had not been com-
menced centuries earlier. It appeared, conclusively, that the structure was the result
of comparatively trivial sepulchral labors during an immense period ; one age and
tribe having added to another the results of its easily accomplished and slowly
accumulating toils." (Vol. IV. p. 129.)

" The testimony drawn from the cortical layers of trees on an antique fort in

1 Reference is made, Vol. II. p. 127, to a Creek tradition respecting the construction of mounds of
refuge from sudden inundations.
18

138 ARCHEOLOGY OF THE UNITED STATES.

Adams County, Ohio, denoted the twelfth century as the period of its abandonment."
(Ibid., p. 130.)

" The cortical annular layers in the growth of large and mature trees, occupying
the walls and interior areas of the abandoned works, tell a tale, of which we must
judge from tumuli, and fortified camps and towns. These data indicate parts of
the twelfth and thirteenth centuries as the active period of tumult among the
Mississippi Valley tribes." (Vol. IV. p. 137.)

" It is true, that data derived from the monuments of the Mississippi Valley and
of Florida, denote the early part of the twelfth century to have been an epoch of
great changes and disturbances in that quarter. Of these ancient wars, the tradi-
tions of the Iroquois, as recorded by Cusic, and by Ducoigne, both native authori-
ties, represent a period of great ancient wars and disturbances in the Mississippi
Valley. But a view of Western antiquities denotes that the wars referred to can-
not be located further back than about six hundred years." (Vol. V. p. 61.)1

It is a theory of Mr. Schoolcraft, that the arrival of the Aztecs in Mexico, about
1190 (as indicated by their pictorial scrolls), and the dispersion of the Toltecans,
created a general movement in different directions, and that some of the latter
pressed northwardly and eastwardly. " It is most reasonable to suppose," he says,
" that the ancient population of the Mississippi Valley, and thence, in process of
time, of the Atlantic coast and plains south of the great lakes, was thus derived."
Hence the knowledge and general use of the maize, or Indian corn, &c. (Vol. I. p. 63.)

He is disposed to look for the primitive origin of the American race in the re-
motest periods of time.

" It must be recollected as one of the fundamental points in our antiquities, that
the Indian tribes are of an age that is very antique — that they have occupied
various parts of the continent, not only for centuries, but, probably, for scores of
centuries." (Vol. I. p. 62.) " Where such a race may be supposed to have had
their origin, history may vainly inquire. It probably broke off from one of the
primary stocks of the human race before history had dipped her pen in ink, or
lifted her graver on stone. Herodotus is silent ; there is nothing to be learned
from Sanconiathus, and the fragmentary ancients. The cuneiform and Nilotic
inscriptions, the oldest in the world, are mute. Our Indian stocks seem to be
still more ancient. Their languages, their peculiar idiosyncrasy, all that is pecu-
liar about them, denote this." (Vol. I. pp. 16, 17.)

" Considered in every point of view, the Indian race appears to be an old, a very
old stock. Nothing that we have in the shape of books, is ancient enough to recall
the period of his origin but the sacred oracles. If we appeal to these, a probable
prototype may be recognized in that branch of the race which may be called
Almogic (from Almodad, son of Joctan), a branch of the Eberites." (Ibid., p. 17.)

1 Iu his paper on the " Grave Creek Mound," Trans. Am. Ethnol. Soc, Vol. I., Mr. Schoolcraft
suggested that the pestilence of the year 1330, which swept from Tartary and China through India into
Europe, might have prevailed in America (as did the cholera of 1832, which was also of Eastern origiu),
ami have destroyed entire bauds of the Red race. In the same paper, he speaks of being " impressed
with the belief that the common trenches, fortifications, and defenced mounds of the Ohio Valley," are
of the era of the wars of the ancient Alleghauians with the ancestors of the Iroquois.

SCHOOLCRAFT'S NATIONAL WORK. 139

" Thousands of years must have elapsed to produce such diversities of languages
and character, and general obscuration. Instead of eighteen hundred years, as the
apocryphal Spanish pictographs presuppose as the period of their roving in these
forests, there is more probability that the period of their abiding on the continent
is thrice that time." (Vol. V. p. 69.)

Mr. Schoolcraft has no very high estimate of the value of the picture writings of
Mexico, and thinks the loss of those destnxyed by the Spanish ecclesiastics not so
great as might be expected. He quotes Mr. Gallatin's statement, that those which
have been preserved contain but a meagre account of Mexican history for one
hundred years preceding the concpaest, and hardly anything that relates to prior
events. (Vol. V. p. 102.)

The pictographic scrolls often commented upon as betokening an inkling of
Christianity among the natives, he regards as undoubtedly of a date since the con-
quest. The supposed existence of traditions of the Deluge, in both North and South
America, he apprehends to be due to the " fervor of imagination, or the enthusiasm
of theory.'' "While there are no traces of the Christian scheme to be found among
the Indian tribes, and no Hindoo element in their population, no relics of Buddhism
or Brahminism,or Mahomedanism, " their manners and customs present some traits
which denote them to be the descendants of a more ancient race whose opinions
and dogmas once overspread the oriental world." " There are evidences of the
ancient prevalence of the worship of the sun throughout America." (Vol. V. pp.
62, 63.)

Elsewhere he says : " Any attempt to fix on local divisions of the oriental world
as the probable theatre of the origin of the Indian tribes, in the absence of all
history — without even traditions, poor as they generally are — and on the mere
basis of suppositions, must prove unsatisfactory. But where history is baffled,
conjecture may sometimes plausibly step in." " The only nation, it must be con-
fessed, with which his (the Indian's) origin has been, with some just probability,
compared, is the Hebrew, or at least the Shemitic stock. There are not only some
striking principles of agreement in the plan of utterance of the Indian with the
Shemitic, but some apparent vestiges of the vocabulary." (Vol. V. pp. 86, 87.1)

1 Some of the preceding sentences have been transposed for convenience of quotation, but without
affecting their sense or connection. In a note the writer says, " The Hebraic theory has not been, in
my opinion, thoroughly examined. The attempt of Mr. James Adair, in 1774, to prove it, by customs
and languages, is an utter failure on the face of it." On p. 82, Vol. Y., he refers to the arguments of
President Smith, and Boudinot, on this point, as unsatisfactory, and to the Discourse of Dr. Jarvis
questioning the theory as "deemed a paper of sound deduction."' He directs the attention of the
reader to Vol. I. pp. 30 to 43, for a summary of traits which appear to connect the Indian with the
oriental world ; and to Yol. II. p. 353, and Vol. IT. p. 3S6, for some evidences for a comparison of
the Indian with the Hebrew language. But it is intimated that the subject requires more time, read-
ing, and elaboration, than the nature of this work admitted. He says, in the same connection, *' It
has likewise, thus far, been impossible, in this volume, to bring forward, in a digested form, the com-
parison of manners, customs, rites, and opinions, social and religious, which appear to refer the origin
of the Indian tribes to an ancient and general epoch of political mutations over a wide surface of the
Asiatic continent, affecting the Mongol, Chinese, and their affiliated nations." Yol. V. p. 82.

!40 ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE UNITED STATES.

We are conscious of the difficulty, if not the impropriety, attending an effort
to collect from an unfinished work the views of its author. In a compilation like
that required of Mr. Schoolcraft by the United States government, a passing com-
mentary may often represent only an impression suggested by the subject as
regarded from a particular stand-point; and while anxious to add to our summary
the results of his long and varied investigations, there is a risk of error in under-
taking to designate his deliberate and ultimate conclusions.

We have therefore merely selected a few passages bearing upon some of the
chief points in the history of opinion, and its progress towards a solution of promi-
nent questions, without expecting to give any just idea of the nature or extent of
the valuable information and learned discussions comprehended in the archaeological
portion of his volumes.

CHAPTER III.

CONCLUSION.

In the preceding pages we have endeavored to select and condense, from a mass
of miscellaneous notes, such materials as would illustrate the views entertained at
different periods, and by various writers, upon subjects relating to the archseolog}'
of the United States.

This has been done under whatever disadvantages are incident to the circum-
stance of having portions of the text printed before other portions were written.
Had opportunity and leisure been afforded for revision of the entire paper, changes
and additions might have been made that would have been likely to improve the
consistency as well as the completeness of the narrative.

After a consideration of statements and speculations that have failed to present
a harmonious result, the mind naturally craves the satisfaction of being able to
distinguish acknowledged verities from data that are problematical, if it is only for
the sake of some solid basis on which to build new theories, or some fixed point
from which future investigations may take their departure. The reader will
doubtless expect to be assisted in an effort to separate matters of fact from infer-
ences and hypotheses, by a recapitulation of the principal points that have been
with reasonable certainty established.

We shall endeavor, while glancing rapidly along the course of inquiry, to ascer-
tain in what direction, and to what extent, the way is tolerably clear and the path
tolerably firm.

The comparative geological antiquity of the two hemispheres is accounted by
some an element of weight in estimating the probabilities of an indigenous popula-
tion on this continent. It is a point, however, that cannot be determined in the
present stage of geological observations. If we admit that portions of the western
continent exhibit appearances of an earlier emergence than is known to be indi-
cated elsewhere, it might still be true that the mass of the eastern hemisphere was
sooner developed, and sooner prepared for the habitation of man. But until it is
generally accepted as a fact by scientific men that America really has claims to
priority of age, the assertion is, at any rate, entitled to no more than the rank of an
hypothesis.1

The discovery of human skeletons in a fossilized state, might, under the first

1 " There exists no reason for assuming that one side of our planet is older or more recent than the
other." Humboldt, "Views of Nature," p. IOC.

142 ARCHEOLOGY OF THE UNITED STATES.

impression, be received as conclusive evidence of the presence of mankind in what
are called the geological periods. The petrified condition of remains whose place
in the rocky tablet of the earth's chronology is not beyond the reach of question,
is, however, often to be explained by the rapid growth, under certain circumstances,
of calcareous, silicious, and other mineral formations ; while the great and sudden
changes of level, produced by terrestrial convulsions and elemental influences,
afford a solution of the mystery of many deep deposits beneath the soil.

The association of human bones with those of extinct species of animals, ob-
served by Dr. Lund in the caves of Brazil, has been attributed to accidental causes.
A comparatively modern date has also been assigned for the disappearance of many
species of animals that have ceased to exist. The remains of the megatherium
and the mastodon are found near the surface of the earth, in the United States,
and do not exhibit signs of having been rolled by floods, or seriously disturbed by
commotions. From the stomach of a mastodon, disinterred, at no great depth,
from the mud of a small pond in Warren County, New Jersey, were taken seven
bushels of the vegetable substances on which it fed, resembling the young shoots
of the white cedar, still a common tree in our forests. The bones of the nearly
complete specimen from Newburg, New York, purchased by the late Dr. John C.
Warren, contain a considerable portion of their original gelatine, and are firm in
texture. A megatherium, exhumed while digging the Brunswick Canal, was so
near the surface that the roots of a pine tree penetrated its bones. Sir Charles
Lyell has shown that the fresh-water and land shells, lying, in some cases, beneath
such remains, are of the species now living in the same region ; so that their climate
could scarcely have differed very materially from that now prevailing in the same
latitudes. In another passage, speaking of extinct quadrupeds, he says : " That
they were exterminated by the arrows of the Indian hunter, is the first idea pre-
sented to the mind of almost every naturalist."1

An account is given of a mastodon found in Gasconade County, Missouri,
which had apparently been stoned to death by the Indians, and then partially
consumed by fire. The pieces of rock, weighing from two to twenty-five pounds
each, which must have been brought from the distance of four or five hundred
yards, "were," says the narrator, "evidently thrown with the intention of
hitting some object." Intermixed with burned wood, and burned bones, were
broken spears, axes, knives, &c, of stone. " The fire appeared to have been
largest on the head and neck of the animal, as the ashes and coals were
much deeper there than on the rest of the body." " It appeared, by the
situation of the skeleton, that the animal had sunk with its hind feet in the
mud and water, and, being unable to extricate itself, had fallen on its right side,
and in that situation was found and killed, as above described ; consequently, the
hind and fore-feet, on the right side, were sunk deeper in the mud, and thereby
saved from the effects of the fire." " Between the rocks that had sunk through
the ashes were found large pieces of skin, that appeared like fresh tanned sole-
leather strongly impregnated with the lye of the ashes, and a great many of the

A Second Visit to the United States," II. pp. 2T0, 211 ; I. pp. 234, 258-9.

CONCLUSION. 143

smews and arteries were plain to be seen on the earth and rocks, but in such a state
as not to be moved, excepting in small pieces, the size of the hand, which are now
preserved in spirits."1

In a chapter on " Traditions respecting Extinct Species," Col. Smith remarks,
that the bones of the megatherium, in Brazil, are on or near the surface, in a recent
state. " Now," he continues, " could they have resisted disintegration during four
or five thousand years, considering these to have lain exposed to, or at least within,
the influence of a tropical sun and the periodical rains ? Yet they often occur on
the surface, and the bones of the pelvis have been used for temporary fire-places by
the aborigines, wandering on the pampas, beyond the memory of man. In North
America, there are native legends which indicate traditional knowledge of more
than one species. Such is that of the great Elk or Buffalo, which, besides its enor-
mous horns, had an arm protruding from its shoulder, with a hand at the extremity
(a proboscis). Another, the Tagesho, or Yagesho, was a giant bear, long bodied,
broad down the shoulders, thin and narrow about the hind quarters, with a large
head, powerful teeth, short and thick legs, paws with very long claws, body almost
destitute of hair, except about the hind legs ; and therefore called ' the Naked
Bear.' Further details are furnished by the Indians, which, allowing for inadequate
terminology, incorrectness in tradition and translation from the native dialects to
English, leave a surprisingly applicable picture to a species of megatheridce, perhaps
the Jeffersoniim rnegalonyx. The colossal Elk, another name for the mastodon, or
Pere aux Bceufs, points out, that with designations of existing species, the Indians
describe extinct animals with a precision which, in their state of information,
nothing but traditionary recollections of their real structure could have furnished."2

Thus the bones of men and non-existent species of animals may be admitted to
be contemporary without supposing that either perished previous to the chronolo-
gical period.

So great advances have recently been made in Physical Geography, that we are
able to determine, with reasonable accuracy, not only the probability of arrivals
on the American coasts from the eastern continent, before the age of Columbus,
but the points to which vessels would be driven, and the regions from whence they
would be most likely to come.

3To present in a few words a general idea of the currents and prevalent winds of
the ocean, let us suppose the earth at rest, and the equatorial regions continually
heated by the sun in his diurnal revolutions. In this condition, a continuous cur-
rent of air from the north, and another directly opposite from the south, would
blow towards the equator, there ascend and flow backward above toward the poles.
If we next suppose the earth to be in motion on its axis from east to west and
compound the effects of this motion with that of the winds towards the equator on
either side, they will not meet directly opposite each other, as in the previous sup-

1 American Journal of Science and Arts, Vol. XXXVI. pp. 199, 200.
8 Nat. Hist, of the Human Species, pp. 104-5.

3 This sketch of the currents of the ocean we give on the authority of the Secretary of the Smith-
sonian Institution.

144 ARCII2E0L0GY OF THE UNITED STATES.

position, but in an acute angle, and produce a belt of wind from east to west entirely
around the earth in the region of the equator. The continued action of this wind
on the surface of the water would evidently give rise to a current of the ocean in
the belt over which the wind passed. If, now, instead of considering the earth
entirely covered with water, we suppose the existence of two continents extending
from north to south, so as to form two separate oceans similar to the Atlantic and
Pacific, then the continuous current to the west we have described would be deflected
right and left at the western shore of each ocean, and would form four immense
whirlpools, viz : two in the Atlantic, one north and the other south of the equator,
and two in the Pacific similar in situation and direction of motion. The regularity
of the outline of these whirls will be disturbed by the configuration of the deflecting
coasts, the form of the bottom of the sea, as well as by islands and irregular winds.
Such is a very general view of the tendencies in the direction of motion of the
principal currents of the ocean.

The great whirl in the north Atlantic, the western and northern portions of
which are known as the Gulf Stream, passes southward down the coast of Africa,
crosses the ocean in the region of the equator, is deflected from the northern portion
of South America and the coast of Mexico along the United States, and recrosses the
Atlantic to return into itself at the place where it started. A portion, however, of
this current, probably owing to the configuration of the bottom, passes off in a
tangent to the circumference of the great whirl, and flows northward along the
coast of Ireland and Norway. The great whirl of the south Atlantic may also be
considered as starting from the coast of Africa, crossing the Atlantic, passing down
the coast of Brazil, and again recrossing the ocean at the south to near the Cape of
Good Hope, and then returning to the place of original departure.

In like manner, the primary currents of the north Pacific Ocean may be described
as an immense irregular whirl, the longer axis of which is in an easterly and
westerly direction. Starting from the west side of Central America, it passes along
the tropical region, across the ocean, then flows northerly past Japan, returns in
the vicinity of the Aleutian Islands, and down the coast of Oregon and California
to the place of starting. A similar, but perhaps less perfectly defined, current
may be traced in the south Pacific.

The winds follow the same general law. Their prevailing direction, as we have
before stated, is from the east toward the west in a belt of several degrees in width
on either side of the equator, while in the northern and southern latitudes, between
40° and G0° the tendency of the wind is easterly.

A slight consideration of the foregoing views of the currents and winds of the
ocean will render the fact evident, that bodies floating on the eastern shore of the
Atlantic, near the equator, will tend to move in a westerly direction towards the
American continent, and that bodies in higher northern and southern latitudes will
move in an easterly direction, towards the coasts of Europe and Africa; that in the
Pacific the currents near the equator tend to carry floating masses from the conti-
nent of America, and, in higher north and south latitudes, to bring them to its
shores. For example, if a body be cast into the axis of the Gulf Stream, it will
tend to move along the curve of the current towards the Cape De Verd Islands, or

CONCLUSION. 145

to be deflected by the tangential current we have mentioned to the coast of Ireland
or Norway,

Besides the parallel currents we have mentioned, there is a narrow polar current
from Baffin's Bay passing in part between the Gulf Stream and the American
coast, and which probably bore the Icelandic navigators to Labrador and to New
England.

" From present knowledge of currents, we can hardly be justified in the suppo-
sition that South America was peopled from Asia by vessels being driven south of
the Equator to the American shores. The distance by that route (west-wind
region south of the S. E. Trades) is not less than 10,000 miles without any
islands, except New Zealand, for a resting place. The route by the Aleutian
Islands, with the North Pacific 'Gulf Stream' is a much more probable route."1

From tbe foregoing view, it appears that both the winds and the currents favor
an approach to this continent ; and there seems to be no reason in the nature of
things why both oceans may not from time to time have poured their casual and
perhaps irreclaimable contributions on our shores.

Not many instances have been recorded of chance arrivals upon the European
coasts from the western hemisphere. Some however may be mentioned in con-
nection with a few illustrations of the general tendencies of the ocean currents.

Humboldt says : " There are well authenticated proofs, however much the facts
may have been called in question, that natives of America (probably Eskimaux
from Greenland or Labrador) were carried by currents or streams from the north-
west to our own (the eastern) continent. James Wallace relates that in the year
1082 a Greenlander in his canoe was seen on the southern extremity of the Island
of Eda by many persons, who could not, however, succeed in reaching him. In
1084, a Greenland fisherman appeared near the Island of Westram. In the church
at Burra, there was suspended an Eskimaux boat which had been driven on the
shore." " In Cardinal Bembo's History of Venice I find it stated, that in the year
1508 a small boat manned by seven persons of a foreign aspect was captured near
the English coast by a French ship. The description given of them applies per-
fectly to the form of the Eskimaux. Six of these men perished during the voyage
and the seventh, a youth, was presented to the king of France."2

The men called Indians that appeared on the coasts of Germany in the tenth and
twelfth centuries, and the stranded dark-colored men given to Metellus Celer by
the king of the Suevi (see ante, p. 7) are supposed to have been natives of Labra-
dor. The corpses of men of a peculiar race, having very broad faces, are said to
have confirmed Columbus in his belief of the existence of countries situated in the
west.

The mainmast of the English ship of war, the Tilbury, which was destroyed by
fire near St. Domingo, was carried by the Gulf Stream to the northern coasts of
Scotland; and casks of palm oil from the wreck of an English ship on a rock off
Cape Lopez, in Africa, were carried to Scotland, having followed the equinoxial

Schoolcraft's Hist, and Prosp., &c. I. pp. 23-f>. ' "Views of Nature," p. 123.

19

146 ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE UNITED STATES.

current from east to west between 2° and 12° north latitude, and the Gulf Stream
from west to east between tbe latitudes 45° and 50°, north. Of two bottles, cast
out together, in south latitude, on the coast of Africa, one was found on the Island
of Trinidad ; the other on Guernsey in the English channel. Another bottle,
thrown over off Cape Horn by an American master, in 1837, was picked up within
a few years on the coast of Ireland.

In A. D. 1500, Pedro Cabral, while on his way from Portugal to the East Indies,
was driven to the coast of Brazil, which he thus accidentally discovered. In
1731, a batteau from Teneriffe came ashore near the mouth of the Orinoco. In
1797, the slaves in a ship from Africa rose upon the crew, who leaped into a boat
and cut it adrift. At the end of thirty-eight days the survivors were cast upon
Barbadoes. In 1799, six men in a boat from St. Helena lost their course, and after
being a month at sea, and resorting to cannibalism, as was the case in the previous
instance, four of them reached the South American coast alive.

To account for the population of the islands of the Pacific, Sir Charles Lyell has
collected examples of the drifting of parties of savages to very great distances in
their frail canoes. In one case, eight months are reported to have been passed on
the broad ocean, with no other sustenance than the fishes they caught, and the
rain water they found means to secure. It is remarked, in the same connection,
that " the space traversed, in some instances was so great, that similar accidents
might suffice to transport canoes from various parts of Africa to South America, or
from Spain to the Azores, and from thence to North America."1

It seems necessary to concede that casual passages from the eastern to the western
continents have been possible in very rude ages ; and at whatever periods human
enterprise has ventured to leave the immediate proximity of the land, before the
arts of navigation were assisted by the compass, the probability of their occurrence
must have been great.

There is within the American continent no deficiency of evidence tending to
confirm the presumptions that rest on maritime facts and principles. The
natives of Hispaniola are said to have intimated to Columbus that a black peoph
lived south and southeast of them.2 According to Peter Martyr, Balboa, in 1511,
found " blackamoors" on the isthmus of Darien.3 Torquemada says the Californians
signified to Yiscaino, in 1602, that there was a village of negroes not far from their
neighborhood.4 A race of very white Indians was said to exist in Brazil.'5 Huin-

1 Principles of Geology, II. pp. 57-58. Mr. Gallatin was accustomed to assert that the Pacific
Islands were populated at a far more recent period than the American continent, as evinced by their
languages, and hence could not have contributed to the primitive occupation of this country. In one
place, he says, " Their colonization is of a date so comparatively recent that the Malay origin of the
inhabitants of Otahiti and the Sandwich Islands was immediately recognized when their vocabularies
were first brought to Europe. It seems probable that some of these people may have reached the main
land of America ; but they found the country inhabited, and either were killed or became mixed with
the ancient inhabitants. No trace of the Malay language is found on the western shores of America."
— Trans, of Am. Ethnol. Soc, I. p. 17 G.

2 Herrera, I. 374. 3 Third Decade, p. 97.

« Ycnega's Hist, of California, p. 239. 6 Southey's Hist, of Brazil, I. 339.

CONCLUSION. 147

boldt speaks of "several tribes of a whitish complexion" in the forests of Guiana.1
Legendary references to bearded men, with a white skin, arriving from the sea,
are common to both the northern and the southern continents. Diversities of
color and of physical conformation, and traces of foreign influence supposed to be
detected in arts, customs, language, religion, and astronomical science, too numerous
to mention, are often cited in proof of intercourse with inhabitants of the other
hemisphere before the arrival of Columbus.

But all these evidences fall short of sustaining the probability of intentional
colonization. They do not even suggest the arrival of men in any considerable
numbers, or by other than accidental means. They imply the previous presence
in the country of a native population, in whose language, arts, and physical attri-
butes, all foreign traits have been merged almost to extinction. However frequent
foreign accessions may have been, they have not had power to affect materially the
structural uniformity of speech and physical conformation, and the homogeneous
mental type, of the aboriginal inhabitants.

It may be inferred, from observations upon the land, as well as from the pheno-
mena of the sea, that the casual voyagers who, in ancient times, have crossed the
breadth of either ocean to our shores, were in small and feeble parties, last
survivors of tempest and famine, and without women to perpetuate their race.
They appear to have brought no agricultural productions from their native regions,
and to have taught none of the useful arts of civilized industry. According to the
laws that determine the transmission of hereditary qualities in the crossing of
breeds, all traces of foreign ancestry might, under these circumstances, disappear
in a few generations.

Tbese remarks are applicable to arrivals that may be supposed to have
taken place from the western shores of the eastern hemisphere, and across the
middle and southern latitudes of the Pacific; but in the northern regions, where
the two continents are brought almost into contact, there are other circumstances
to be considered.

The practicability of voluntary passages to America, at an early period, by way
of Iceland and Greenland, has been demonstrated by the Northmen; but we are
unable to produce any well-established facts going to show that this practicability
has ever been followed by results affecting the population of the country. We are,
indeed, justified by the present aspect of the question in assuming that tbe Scandi-
navians have left no marks of residence, linguistic, physical, or monumental, to
prove that they have, primarily or secondarily, been important contributors to the
peopling of the New World.

The probability of permanent settlements from the Pacific side of the eastern
hemisphere, near Behring's Strait, has the support of more positive indications.

The Aleutian Islands, about fifteen degrees south of the Strait, appearing on the
map like stepping-stones from one continent to the other, are admirably adapted
to facilitate communication between the two countries. The diminished space to
be traversed, the protective proximity of the islands, a climate mild for tbe latitude,

1 Political Essay, I. 144.

U8 ARCUiEOLOGY OF TOE UNITED STATES.

and «a plentiful supply of fish and game, are favorable, not to chance passages merely,
but to intentional and continuous transits. The opposing shores are in fact occu-
pied by divisions of the same tribe j1 and the neighboring regions of Asia are held
by that variety of mankind whose physical characters are nearly identical with
those of the American race. These are circumstances that, of themselves, give
plausibility to the theories which point to that quarter as the place where inhabi-
tants were originally, and have been consecutively, transported to this continent.
Those theories also derive some confirmation from the traditions and pictorial records
of the southern nations, referring to a pilgrimage of their ancestors from the northwest.2

There are also some striking ethnological analogies which seem to connect
these distant sections. The Peruvian practice of flattening the skull by
compression, as a mark of nobility, is a prominent peculiarity of the tribes on
Columbia Kiver. There, too, prevails the singular and inconvenient custom of
inserting disks of wood in the lips and ears, found again in Brazil ;3 and, in the
dialects of the Columbians and Nootkas, may be observed that distinguishing
characteristic of Mexican words, the terminal tl}

But beyond a few such coincidences, the evidence of connection does not extend.
Though often imagined, vestiges of migration from the north to the south have not
been satisfactorily traced. Mr. Bartlett, while at the head of the United States
Boundary Commission, gave much attention to this subject ; an inquiry for which
his previous ethnological studies had given him interest and preparation. " I have
been unable," he says, " to learn from what source the prevailing idea has arisen
of the migration of the Aztecs, or ancient Mexicans, from the north into the valley
of Mexico, and of the three halts they made in the journey thither. I confess I
have seen no satisfactory evidence of its truth."

" The traditions which gave rise to this notion are extremely vague, and were
not seriously entertained until Torquemada, Boturini, and Clavigero gave them
currency. But they must now give way to the more reliable results of linguistic
comparisons. No analogy has yet been traced between the language of the old
Mexicans and any tribe at the North in the district from which they are supposed
to have come ; nor in any relics, ornaments, or works of art, do we observe a
resemblance between them."5

1 The sedentary Tchuktchi.

9 Mr. Prescott, in his treatise on the origin of Mexican civilization, after considering the weight due
to various affinities of arts, customs and dialects, remarks : "The theory of an Asiatic origin for Aztec
civilization derives stronger confirmation from the light of tradition, which, shining steadily from the
far northwest, pierces through the dark shadows that history and mythology have alike thrown around
the antiquities of the country. Traditions of a western or northwestern origin were found among the
more barbarous tribes, and by the Mexicans were preserved both orally and in their hieroglyphic maps,
where the different stages of their migration are carefully noted. But who at this day shall read them ?
They are admitted to agree however in representing the populous North as the prolific hive of the
American races." — Conquest of Mexico. Appendix, p. 307.

3 Mr. Ewbank suggests that the term Oregon or Orejones was bestowed by the Spaniards on account
of the custom of prcternaturally enlarging the cars. — Life in Brazil. Appendix, p. 459.

4 Vatcr thought he detected words of common origin in the vocabularies of these widely separated
peoples. — Mithridates, theil III. abtheil. 3. p. 312.

5 Personal narrative of Explorations, &c, II. p. 283.

CONCLUSION. 149

There are no antiquities in Oregon.1 On the route from thence, there are no
monuments or other works of art, such as the southern nations have left in their
ancient seats, until the northern limits of a reflux influence are attained. And it
is equally true that there are none of the traits of Chinese, or Japanese, or Tartarian
semi-civilization, which emigrants from those nations might be expected to have
brought with them.2

Affinities which have no united reference to any particular nation, but point now
to one people, and then to another totally distinct from the first, and, in a
third case, to others equally disconnected, however numerous they may be in
the aggregate, tend, by their diversity, to weaken the force of each individual
analogy as an evidence of origin, and can only serve to illustrate the possibility
of accidental and partial communications. If congruous affinities, of a positive
character, should be found in some detached locality, they might seem to
indicate descent from a special stock ; but claims to distinctive derivation, founded
on such evidence, are opposed by the linguistic and physical proofs of a general
unity of race throughout the entire continent.

If a feature in the customs, institutions, or dialect, of a particular tribe, or of
many tribes, has a resemblance to some feature in the customs, institutions, or
language, of any well-known historical people (the Jews for example), before receiving
it as a proof of connection, or as an inheritance, a reason may be required why
other features, more likely to be retained, are wanting ; and even if many such
features are adduced, unless a decided national impress accompanies them, adventi-
tious causes may afford an explanation, which, if not entirely satisfactory, will
often correspond to the real importance of the problem.3

Thus, if able philologists have shown the existence of certain general principles
or phenomena in the languages of America, which are peculiar and characteristic,
uniting them together, and distinguishing them from other languages ; and if able
anatomists have become assured of physical traits in the American aborigines which
justify their classification as a separate variety of man; exceptions which may be
pointed out in either case do not necessarily impair the soundness of their general
conclusions. For exceptions may, with plausibility, be attributed to causes that

1 Letter from George Gibbs, Esq., Indian Agent, to Mr. Schoolcraft. — Hist, and Prosp., &c, Vol.
Y. Appendix, p. 662.

9 Some minor arts, or handicrafts, may be traced, perhaps, to Asiatic sources. A letter from the
" Alta Californian," quoted by Dr. Bachman, states that the writer obtained from Queen Charlotte's
Island some specimens of native sculpture, which struck him as resembling the sculptures of the Japan-
ese; and on taking them to Japan, they were claimed at once as Japanese articles, without any remark
directing attention to them. (Charleston Med. Journal of July, 1855, p. 527.) As Japanese junks
have sometimes been cast on the coast of California, articles derived from thence may have been imitated
by the natives.

3 No practice less likely to have a natural origin can be produced than one that has prevailed among
some tribes in Brazil and Guiana. At the birth of a child, the husband is put to bed, and nursed with
great care for a certain period, while the mother goes about her ordinary concerns. Yet the custom
is alluded to as having existed among the ancient Cantabrians, the people of Congo, certain Tartars
visited by Marco Paulo, the ancient Corsicans, and in the southern French provinces. — McGidloWs
Researches, p. 99.

150 ARCHEOLOGY OF THE UNITED STATES.

are accidental, and applicable only to particular instances; and although philo-
logical and physiological affinities with other races should be equally well estab-
lished, the argument drawn from' radical peculiarities and idiosyncrasies may still
remain unsubverted, so long as the latter are paramount,

If, in the process of reasoning, a lapse of time, whose duration cannot be defined,
and an isolation without material interruption, are admitted as probabilities, the
comprehensive deductions of leading European ethnologists need not of necessity
conflict with those of investigators in this country, which, while claiming that the
American aborigines are a distinct and peculiar people, do not deny the primitive
unity of the human race.

The Chevalier Bunsen, in his recent Philosophy of Universal History, remarks :
" It is not yet proved in detail, but it appears highly probable, in conformity with
our general principles, that the native language of the northern continent of
America, comprising tribes and nations of very different degrees of civilization,
from the Eskimaux of the polar regions to the Aztecs of Mexico, are of one origin,
and a scion of the Turanian tribe. The similarity in the configuration of the skull
renders this affinity highly probable."

Having subserviently to writing the above seen the first three volumes of Mr.
Schoolcraft's national work, he adds: " But the linguistic data before us, combined
with the traditions and customs, and particularly with the system of pictorial or
mnemonic writing (first revealed in that work) enable me to say, that the Asiatic
origin of all these tribes is as fully proved as the unity of the family among them-
selves. According to our system, the Indian languages can only be a deposit of a
north Turanian idiom. The Mongolian peculiarity of the skull, the type of the
hunter, the Shamanic excitement, which leads by means of fasting and dreams into
a visionary or clairvoyant state, and the fundamental religious views, and symbols,
among which the tortoise is not to be forgotten, (II. 390.) bring us back to primi-
tive Turanism. As to the languages themselves, there is no one peculiarity in
them which may not easily be explained by our theory of the secondary formation
and the consequences of isolation. The verity of the grammatical type was long
ago acknowledged, but we have now (as I think) the evidence of the material,
historical, physical unity. The Indian mind has not only worked in one type but
with one material, and that a Turanian one." (Vol. II. pp. 111-13.)

" We thus see that a very considerable part of the inhabitants of America, and
the Polynesian Islands, belong to that one great family which we call the Turanian
race, and that the former travelled off from the Mongolian, and the latter from
Malay tribes." (Ibid., pp. 115.)

"The first, however, to trace with a bold hand the broad outlines of the Tura-
nian, or as he called it, the Scythian philology, was Bask. He proved that the
Finnic had once been spoken in the northern extremities of Europe, and that
allied languages extended like a girdle over the north of Asia, Europe, and
America. In his inquiries into the origin of the Old Norse, he endeavors to link
the idioms of Asia and America by means of the Gronlancl language, which he
maintains is a scion of the Scythian or Turanian stock, spreading its branches over
the north of America, and thus indicating the antediluvian bridge between the con-

CONCLUSION. 151

tinent of Europe and America. According to Rask, therefore, the Scythian would
form a layer of language extending in Asia from the White Sea to the valleys of
Caucasus, in America from Gronland southward, and in Europe (as Rask accepts
Arndt's views) from Finland as far as Britain, Gaul, and Spain. This original
substratum was broken up first by Celtic inroads ; secondly by Gothic; and thirdly
by Sclavonic immigrations ; so that traces appear like the peaks of mountains and
promontories out of a general inundation." (Vol. I. p. 272-3. )*

As the affinities claimed in the above extracts are not those of verbal significa-
tion but grammatical construction, the classification of American languages with
those comprehended in the term Turanian amounts simply to this; that the struc-
ture of the former exhibits that stage of advancement from an inorganic, or mono-
syllabic dialect, which is indicated by the system of agglutination ; in other words,
it belongs to the oldest organic stage.2

The admitted order of development in forms of speech appears to be 1st, the
monosyllabic, or inorganic, of which the Chinese and the "so called Original
People," in the Malayan Peninsula, furnish examples;3 2d, the agglutinated; 3d,
the inflected, or highest form. But while this division corresponds with the relative
antiquity of the three forms, ethnologists do not agree in supposing the last to have
necessarily, in all cases, passed through the two previous stages.4

According to Prof. Midler's translation of grammatical conclusions into historical
language, the first migration from the common centre of mankind proceeded
eastward, where the Asiatic language was arrested at the first stage of its growth,
and where the Chinese, as a broken link, presents a reflection of the earliest con-
solidation of human speech. The second dispersion was that of the Turanian
tribes, who went in two divisions, Northern and Southern. In the first division
are comprehended the Tungusic, Mongolic, Tartaric, and Finnic branches. In the
second the Taic, Malaic, Bhotiya, and Tamulic branches. He supposes that these
divisions had not attained to any social or political consolidation before they were
broken up into different colonies ; that they broke up, carrying away each a portion
of their common language — and hence their similarity ; but they possessed as yet
nothing traditional, nothing like a common inheritance in language or thought,
and hence their differences. In secluded districts these differences would ulti-
mately "change the whole surface of grammar and dictionary." The American

I Prof. Miiller, in his " Last Results of Turanian Researches." Bnnsen, I. p. 484, says : —

" The Greenland language has been pointed out as showing a transition into American dialects ; and
the researches of physical science have already indicated the islands east of Siberia as the only bridge
on which the seeds of Asia could have been carried to the New World."

Yet neither Rask nor Mullcr intend to imply that Greenland is to be considered a route of migra-
tion from Europe, as the islands referred to were from Asia. The mixed character of the Greenland
language is otherwise explained.

II The Turanian dialects share one thing in common— they all represent a state of language before its
individualization by the Arian and Semitic types. — Max Mullcr in Bunsen's Phil, of Un. Hist., II.
476.

3 Pickering's Races of Men, Bohn's edition, p. 305.
* Bnnsen, Phil. ofUn. Hist., I. p. 283.

152 ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE UNITED STATES.

dialects are adduced as an exemplification of the principle that if the work of
agglutination has once commenced, without any literature to keep it within limits,
the languages of tribes separated only for a few generations will become mutually
unintelligible. (Bunsen, Phil, of Un. Hist., I. 480, et seq.)1

It thus appears that a common element required by philological theories, whether
European or American, respecting the origin of population in this country, is time —
no less than all the time that history can grant ; and while they go back nearly to
the most primitive form of human utterance for a matrix in which the American
system of speech might have been cast, they demand for the special development
of that system, and the peculiar phenomena it exhibits, a protracted term of
isolation. (See ante, pp. 63-4.)

A like duration of separate existence would go far to explain the physical pecu-
liarities and idiosyncrasies of the American race. A divergence from their kindred
types would seem to be the inevitable result of disconnection for ages, under dif-
ferent influences, moral and material; and while changes of conformation might be
philosophically anticipated, the fact that a wild and savage life tends to promote phy-
sical uniformity, as domestication and civilization tend to produce variety, may
suffice to account for the common direction those changes have taken.

And having the element of time granted, we may go behind the commencement
of Chinese, Japanese, and other forms of Mongolian culture, and imagine the
ancestors of our aborigines to have been still mere wanderers, without arts, and
with no religious faith save the primitive oriental worship of the Sun. While the
parent stock upon the eastern continent would attain to whatever development it
might reach under circumstances not entirely excluding it from being acted upon
and instructed by other races, the offshoot in America would experience no external

* The anonymous author of a recent treatise possessing a high degree of literary and scholastic merit,
draws the following conclusions from his studies and observations.

"That the first stock of man was created in the equatorial region of Africa; * * or in other
words, that the true negro, the aboriginal inhabitant of Nigritia, is the primary variety of our species.

"That from the Nigritian stock, in regions eqni-distant from the equator, sprang the Hottentots
and the Chinese; whose striking mutual resemblance has been remarked by the accurate Barrow.
And that from the Chinese sprang all the Mongolian, or Turanian races, extending from the limits of
the Malayan region, through Asia and Europe to the coldest limits of the habitable earth, and through
the American continents, pervading every zone of climate.

" That the Malayan variety, judging from physical and philological evidences together, sprang from
a branch of the Mongolian or Turanian Stock nearly allied to the Chinese.

"That the Caucasian variety was brought into existence after all the other varieties mentioned
above had become developed ; commencing with Adam, the man created in the image of God."
{The Genesis of the Earth and Man: A critical examination of passages in the Hebrew and
Greek Scriptures, chiefly with a view to the solution of the question whether the varieties of the human
species be of more than one origin ; &c. &c. Edited by Reginald Stuart Poole, Edin., 1856.)

" Dr. Prichard, Mr. Pickering, and Hamilton Smith, are of opinion that the African was the primi-
tive form and race of man, and that all the others are divergences from this earliest type ; while Dr.
Bachman thinks the probability in favor of the supposition that the primitive form and color was inter-
mediate between the African and white races ; and that these are therefore variations equally removed
from the original." (Smyth's " Unity of the Human Races," p. 2G4.)

CONCLUSION. 153

influences but those of Nature, and would possess as a basis of advancement only
the native instincts, and possibly a few traditions, of its race.

In this manner time and isolation, which are regarded as indispensable to one
division of the problem, may be made to answer the exigencies of other divisions ;
and whatever is wanting to account for exceptional facts or circumstances may be
supplied by the supposition of waifs from other nations, occasionally cast upon
these shores.

Leaving the question of origin where the latest opinions place it, among the
enigmas of immemorial time, we turn to a brief summary of the archaeological facts
that have been disclosed by investigation within the United States.

The characteristic antiquities of the United States are confined within certain
limits. They are scanty through the entire rauge of the Atlantic States. A mound
of some elevation on the Kennebec, in Maine, and vestiges of enclosures at San-
bornton, and near Concord, New Hampshire, are all that can be named in New
England, and few of any importance are in the eastern portions of the country
elsewhere. In New York they are more numerous, especially towards its western
borders. Beyond the Alleghanies, and east of the Mississippi, they extend from*
the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico ; and occupy in greater or less numbers the
southern regions towards the Atlantic as far as the Carolinas. They are also found
on the promontory of Florida. West of the Mississippi they have been seen on
the Missouri 1300 miles from its mouth ; and are said to exist on the rivers Kansas
and Platte. They are also known to be on some of the principal streams in Louisiana.
In Texas they have not attracted attention as prominent features of the country.1

The earthworks are of two classes, viz : enclosures and tumult. The enclosures
are of various sizes and forms. Some are of no greater dimensions than the ordi-
nary circumference of an Indian Council House ; others are sufficiently extended to
include a village. Some are evidently defensive, occupying positions of natural
strength, and adapted to the nature of the ground in a manner to promote security
from attack ; but, in most cases, requiring the additional protection of palisades, or
parapets of timber. Others have the appearance of being intended for ceremonial
or religious purposes, or designed for sports and games.

The tumuli are of various forms, conical, pyramidal, dome-shaped, and pictorial,
or symbolic.

The largest and loftiest of the conical tumuli are apparently monumental, covering
at the base the remains of one person, or in rare instances two ; and are sometimes
increased in altitude by a second interment on the summit of the original mound.
Their inconsiderable numbers indicate that they are special and extraordinary
memorials, whose growth may be due to the tributes of generations.

1 Mr. Schoolcraft says that Texas is entirely without aboriginal monuments of any kind ; and that
neither tumuli, nor remains of ancient ditches, nor attempts at rude castrametation, occur, from the
plains of that State and New Mexico, east of the foot of the Rocky Mountains, till the prairie country
embraces both banks of the Missouri, and reaches to the plains of Red River, and the Sascatchawine,
west of the sources of the Mississippi. (Hist, and Prosp., II. 10, IV. 115. See also respecting the
absence of antiquities in Oregon, Washington, and California, Ibid., V. 101.)
20

154 ARCHEOLOGY OF THE UNITED STATES.

The pyramidal tumuli, usually of moderate elevation, but with a broad base and
truncated summit, are without remains, and are generally connected with the cere-
monial class of enclosures. At the South, temples and the dwellings of chiefs were
placed upon them.

Dome-shaped mounds, or barroics, tending more or less to a conical form, are
very numerous. They may contain a single skeleton, or may be nearly composed
of human bones, or they may not have been used for sepulchral purposes. A
class of them, within or near enclosures such as have been termed sacred, cover
altars and sacrificial relics.

The pictorial or symbolic mounds are almost exclusively local, and are nearly
confined to the single State of Wisconsin.

All the relics which the seats of ancient habitation have yielded are similar in
kind to the utensils, ornaments, and implements of existing races.

We may regard it as established, that there are not in the valley of the Missis-
sippi any remains of edifices from which can be inferred a knowledge of the art of
working solid materials into permanent and ornamental buildings for religious or
secular purposes. There are no ruins of temples or other structures of stone,
wrought by the hammer or the chisel, such as abound in Central America. There
are no traces of roads and bridges to connect territorial divisions, or facilitate the
commerce of an organized state, such as are found in Peru. There are no distinct
evidences of arts and manufactures employing separate classes of population, or
conducted as regular branches of industry. There are no proofs of the practice of
reducing metals from their ores, and melting and casting them for use and
ornament — none of a knowledge of chemistry or astronomy. There are no sculp-
tured memorials exhibiting national manners and customs, the religious ideas, or
the physical characteristics of the people. In a word, tokens of civil institutions,
of mechanical employments, and the cultivation of science and literature however
humbly, such as appear among the remains of Mexican and Peruvian civilization,
have no positive counterpart in the regions of which we are speaking. What-
ever may have been the kind or degree of social advancement attained to by the
ancient dwellers in the valleys of the Ohio and Mississippi, those domestic arts and
habits of luxury which attend the division of labor and the accumulation of private
wealth, had not been sufficiently developed to leave any symbols behind them.

Yet the great enclosures at Newark, at Marietta, at or near Chillicothe, and in
many other localities, with their systems of minor embankments, mounds, and
excavations, manifest a unity of design, expressive of concentrated authority and
combined physical effort. If those structures were produced by a sudden exertion
of these agencies, they would require the presence of large bodies of disciplined
men, having experience in such labors, and some regular means of subsistence. If
they were gradually formed, or brought to completion by labors at various intervals
of time, they imply, in addition to unity of power and action, permanent relations
to the soil, and habits inconsistent with a nomadic life.

Many of these works are also such as we should expect to see appropriated to
the religious ceremonials of a populous community accustomed to meet for the
common observance of solemn and pompous rites. Their arrangements correspond

CONCLUSION. 155

to those which are known to be applied elsewhere to that use. The consecrated
enclosures, the mounts of adoration or sacrifice, the sacred avenues approaching
guarded places of entrance, are recognized as common features of semi-civilized
worship, or rather as exemplifications of the manner in which the instinct of reli-
gious reverence has everywhere a tendency to display itself.

The number of works of this character, and the scale on which they are con-
structed, suggest irresistibly the idea of an organized multitude fond of spectacles,
and habituated to public displays of an imposing nature.

It is a circumstance of great significancy that the intelligent Spanish and French
adventurers and missionaries who first explored (and that pretty thoroughly), the
regions where some of the most remarkable of these remains are situated, observed
no want of harmony between the social condition of the natives and whatever
works of art came to their notice. They evidently regarded the tribes among
whom they sojourned as fully capable of producing every form of structure that
they saw. It is true they might not have looked with the eyes of antiquaries, or
have estimated the age of works overgrown by venerable forests, and therefore
their accounts included no archaeological problems.

If we proceed according to logical propriety, from the known to the unknown,
and compare the historical habits, customs, and arts, of the aborigines, with the
vestiges of a more ancient era, we shall at least determine what residuum of
mystery is left for future solution.

It has been a common opinion, that articles of ornament and use taken from the
mounds manifest a much higher grade of mechanical proficiency than those known
to have been made by modern Indians. 'There is, however, reason to believe that
the former are the choicest specimens of art belonging to their period ; and because
these are found in the tombs of chiefs and upon altars of sacrifice, it does not follow
that such were in common use among the people. They do not necessarily indicate
any general condition of mechanical or artistic dexterity; but are likely to be the
best of their kind, from whatever source they may have been obtained.

In order to estimate correctly the degree of skill in similar handicrafts possessed
by the people who were found in occupation of the soil, we must go back to a time
antecedent to the decline in all domestic arts which resulted immediately from
intercourse with the whites. So soon as more effective implements, more service-
able and durable utensils, and finer ornaments, could be obtained in exchange for
the products of the chase, their own laborious and imperfect manufactures were
abandoned; and not only their industrial but their military habits underwent
essential modifications from the same influence.

All articles of metal wrought or compounded with the aid of fire, whether iron,
copper, or silver, and all enamelled or glass ornaments, are now equally regarded
as of extraneous if not of recent origin. The highest archaeological position as-
signed to any of them, is that of " intrusive antiquities" which may or may not
have preceded European settlements in the country.

If from the relics of the mounds are separated those finer sculptures in hard
materials, representing tropical quadrupeds, birds, fishes, &c, which, with some
mineral substances, must have come from a different latitude, the residue might

156 ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE UNITED STATES.

have belonged to any savage chief of any savage tribe that the first European
invaders encountered.

Mr. Schoolcraft has recorded his matured opinion that the antiquities of the
United States preserve a general parallelism with the condition of manners, customs,
and arts of the later tribes, and seldom or never rise above it (Hist, and Prosp., V.
p. 115); and, so far at least as minor works of art are concerned, his conclusion
appears to be well sustained. The stone axes, hatchets, gouges, chisels, arrow-
heads, and other implements from the mounds, cannot be distinguished from the
same articles that everywhere through the country have proved to be almost
identical in kind and in form. In pipes there is more variety, yet without much
departure from a few established patterns. It was upon these that the aborigines
expended their greatest ingenuity. From an Indian burial-place in Canada (where
there are no earthworks), have been taken shell-beads, pipes, and copper bracelets,
precisely like those from the Grave Creek mound, in connection with articles of Euro-
pean manufacture. (Schoolcraft, Hist, and Prosp., I. pp. 103-5. f From whatever
source or sources derived, copper seems to have been in use throughout all America.
On the Atlantic coasts it was noticed by all the early navigators from Nova Scotia
to Patagonia. (McCulloh's Researches, p. 85.) In New France, copper ornaments,
pipes, sea-shells, mica, and flint-stones, were objects of traffic. (Schoolcraft, Hist,
and Prosp., V. p. 108.) The excellence of the vases and terra-cottas of the Iro-
quois is attested to by Mr. Squier in his work on the antiquities of New York, even
as compared with the best antique specimens. The Natchez are known to have
made fine earthenware of various composition and much elegance of shape, which
is described by the Portuguese historian of De Soto's expedition, as differing little
from that of Portugal.2 Indeed, the art of pottery, with unequal degrees of ex-
cellence, was practised by almost every tribe. Very large vessels were made by
the Natchez Indians for the collection of salt by evaporation from saline springs.
(McCulloh, p. 153.) There is nearly, if not quite, as much of spirit and power of
imitation to be seen in the carvings and mouldings in clay of recent native workman-
ship as in the specimens collected from the sacrificial mounds of the Scioto Valley;
and the origin of those ancient deposits is satisfactorily illustrated by modern
examples.

Thus the Chippewas were accustomed, after the shedding of blood, to perform a
sacrifice of expiation, by throwing all their ornaments, pipes, &c, into a fire kindled
at some distance from their huts. (Hearne's Journey, pp. 201-6.) Winslow, in his
" Good News from New England," says, " The Nanohiggansets have a great spacious
house wherein only some few (that are, as we may term them, priests) come; thither
at certain known times, resort all their people, and offer almost all the riches they
have to their gods, as kettles, skins, hatchets, beads, knives, &c, all which are cast
by the priests into a great fire that they make in the midst of the house." They

1 Some of the copper implements delineated by Messrs. Squier and Davis were from Canada. Smith.
Cont, I. p. 201.

2 Conquest of Florida, Paris ed. 1685, p. 242.

CONCLUSION. 157

attributed their freedom from the plague, which had prevailed in other places, to
this custom. (Mass. Hist. Col., 2d series, vol. IX. p. 94.)

The later aborigines have not unfrequentl y erected mounds and other earthworks.
Those formed by collecting the bones of ancestors at certain periods have been in
some instances traced to modern tribes. (Jefferson's "Notes on Virginia," pp. 139—
43.) A mound was erected over the body of a chief of the Omahas on the Missouri,
who died of smallpox in 1800. (Lewis and Clarke, Exp., I. p. 43.) Another was
raised, about twenty years since, at Coteau des Prairies, in honor of a young Sioux
chief who perished while attempting an exploit of much daring. (Catlin's N. A.
Indians, II. p. 170.) In Beck's Gazetteer of Missouri, a large mound is described
as having been formed by the Osages within the last half century. It is said to
have been gradually enlarged at intervals. (Appendix to Squier's Ab. Mon. of
N. Y., p. 107.) The Natchez Indians, after they were driven from their original
seats, built a large mound near Nachitoches. (Ibid., p. 108.)

It is among these retreating tribes that we might expect to find the last traces of
hereditary customs. Lewis and Clarke mention seeing repeatedly, on the upper
waters of the Missouri, villages either occupied at the time, or recently deserted,
that were surrounded by earthen embankments, sometimes in the form of a circle.
(Exp., I. pp. 54, 92, 94, 97, 112; II. 380, &c.)

Brackenridge, while travelling in the same region, "observed the ruins of several
villages which had been abandoned twenty or thirty years, and which, in every
respect, resembled the vestiges on the Ohio and Mississippi." (Views of Louisiana,
p. 183.) All the numerous and extensive earthworks of New York have been
decided by Mr. Squier to be due to the Iroquois. The process of erecting the
mounds and enclosures at the South, and the uses to which they were applied, are
fully described in the narratives of the early adventurers into that region. The
places constructed for the performance of games, or used for such purposes, though
the work of earlier generations, are noticed as among the features characteristic of
modern habits and practices; and processions, and other public ceremonies, are
described as occurring on a scale hardly less imposing than such as we may imagine
to have filled the stately avenues and sacred enclosures of the Scioto Valley. (Du
Pratz, Hist, of Louisiana, and Bartram's travels in E. and W. Florida.)

We may narrow the circle of unexplained antiquities by tracing the cordon of
less mysterious vestiges surrounding that great centre of ancient habitation which
is composed of States bordering on the Ohio.

East of the Alleghanies, from the Carolinas to New York, the country is nearly
destitute of such remains. In New York they assume a character so nearly resem-
bling those on the Ohio as to have been classed with them, until Mr. Squier decided
by exploration that both relics of art and traces of occupancy were " absolutely iden-
tical with those which mark the sites of towns and forts known to have been occu-
pied by the Indians within the historical period." The earthworks of northern
Ohio are described by the same writer as corresponding with those of New York.
No higher claim can be asserted for the remains north of the same line (omitting
for the present the emblematic mounds of Wisconsin) and east of the Mississippi.
Beyond the Mississippi the works on the Missouri, the Platte, and the Kansas,

158 ARCHEOLOGY OF THE UNITED STATES.

do not differ from the character of Indian structures. Further south, where such
remains occur, they are comprehended in the class to which the accounts of early
adventurers apply. The same may be said of those in the entire region south of
Tennessee. In fact the Natchez, according to Du Pratz, maintained that their
nation once extended as far north as the Ohio.1

Within the boundaries thus described lies a region from which no voice has
come to tell when, why, and by whom, its structures were reared. They differ
less in kind than in degree from other remains respecting which history has not
been entirely silent. They are more numerous, more concentrated, and, in some
particulars, on a larger scale of labor, than the works which approach them on their
several borders, and with whose various characters they are blended. Their num-
bers may be the result of frequent changes of residence by a comparatively limited
population, in accordance with a superstitious trait of the Indian nature, leading
to the abandonment of places where any great calamity has been suffered; but they
appear rather to indicate a country thickly inhabited for a period long enough to
admit of the progressive enlargement and extension of its monuments.

What mighty cause of destruction anticipated by a few centuries the mission of
the whites it is not easy to conjecture. That the people perished by plague or war
is not more improbable than that they transferred themselves and their institu-
tions to some yet undiscovered locality. The terrible appellation of " The Dark
and Bloody Ground" applied to Kentucky, may relate to these distant events ; and
the fact stated by President Harrison, that the attractive banks of the Ohio, on
either side, were without permanent occupants at the advent of European settlers,
may have been owing to a lingering instinct of apprehension on the part of the
native race.2

There are two other classes of remains whose origin is involved in equal obscurity
— the emblematic earthworks of Wisconsin, and the so called " Garden Beds,"
found in the same State, and also in Michigan and Indiana. The last have hitherto
been but incidentally noticed in this paper.

It is known that the culture of maize, tobacco, and a few kinds of vegeta-
bles, was practised by the aborigines throughout the United States, wherever the
climate and soil were propitious, though in a careless and irregular manner ; but
the garden beds referred to are laid out with all the neatness and symmetry of
modern husbandry. They cover large surfaces of prairie land, and as they some-
times cross the low mounds and pictorial embankments, they are supposed to have
been formed after these had ceased to be objects of reverence. Mr. Schoolcraft and
Mr. Lapham have fully described them.

We desire to stop where evidence ceases; and offer no speculations as to the
direction from which the authors of the vestiges of antiquity in the United States
entered the country, or from whence their arts were derived. The deductions from
scientific investigations, philological and physiological, tend to prove that the

1 London ed., 1774, p. 313.

- The region in which Kentucky is embraced was known to the Indians by the name of the Dark
and Bloody Ground. (Filson's Disc, and Settl. of Ky., p. 4.)

CONCLUSION. 159

American races are of great antiquity. Their religious doctrines, their supersti-
tions, both in their nature and in their modes of practice, and their arts, accord
with those of the most primitive age of mankind. With all their characteristics
affinities are found in the early condition of Asiatic races; and a channel of com-
munication is pointed out through which they might have poured into this conti-
nent before the existing institutions and national divisions of the parent country
were developed. Fortuitous arrivals, too inconsiderable in numbers and influence
to leave decided impressions, may at intervals have taken place from other lands;
and geographical facts, and atmospherical phenomena, may serve to explain why the
New World remained so long a sealed book to the cultivated nations of Europe, or
was only known through the vague intimations and rumors alluded to in histoiy,
such as the chances of the sea, and indefinite reports from barbarous regions and
peoples would be likely to bring to their ears.

INDEX

A.

Abington, Mr., his suggestion respecting the origin
of the Flathead race in America, 104.

Acosta, reference to an ante-Columbian voyage to
America, 9 ; theory of the peopling of the conti-
nent, 13.

Adair, James, his theory of the peopling of America,
6,20.

Adelung, John Christopher, 58 ; Frederic, 58, 59.

iElian, statement of the existence of another conti-
nent, 7.

Agassiz, Prof. Louis, his opinions adverse to the
unity of the human race, 83 ; on the antiquity of
the human race in America, 87.

Aleutian Islands, a feasible route for migration to
America, 144, 147.

Allegewi or Tallegewi, Delaware traditions respect-
ing them, 43, 44.

American Antiquarian Society, 32, 33, 38, 61, 129.

American Ethnological Society, 62, 65, 67, 112,
116, 134.

American Journal of Science, its papers on Ameri-
can archaeology, 43, 117.

Ante-Columbian voyages to America, 9-11.

Antilla island, legend of, 7.

Antilles, supposed by Oviedo to be the Hesperides
of the ancients, 12.

Arabian brothers, expedition of, 9.

Aristotle, legend of the island of Antilla, 7.

Arkansas. See Nuttall.

Arrowacks, their mode of flattening the head, 102.

Assimilation of the white to the Indian type, 95-97 ;
of the negro to the European type, 96.

Atlantis island or continent, legend of, 6 ; its former
existence advocated by Count Carli, 12 ; by Kir-
cher, 13 ; by Horn, 14.

Atwater, Caleb, his account of Western Antiquities,
33-37.

Aztalan, place in Wisconsin so called, 128.

Aztecs, discussion as to whether they once inhabited
the Ohio valley, 109, 110; their migration from
the north disputed, 148.
21

B.

Bachman, Dr. John, his advocacy of the unity of
the human race, 90-92, 94, 98.

Bailey, Kev. Jacob, his description of a mound of
stones, 29.

Bailly, " Lettres sur l'Atlantide de Platon," 6.

Bancroft, George, his description of the American
languages, 69, 70.

Barker, Wm. B., his discovery of flat-head images
in Asia Minor, 103, 104.

Bartlett, John B., finds no proof of the migration
of the Aztecs from the north, 148.

Barton, Bcdj. Smith, his inquiries respecting Ame-
rican antiquities, 24; treatise on the same, 26;
his work on the origin of the American tribes,
30; his collection and comparison of Indian vo-
cabularies, 56.

Bartram, John and William, the first to study Ame-
rican earthworks, 20, 21.

Basque language, supposed to resemble the American
languages, 54, 72.

Beatty, Charles, his story of Welsh Indians, 26, note.

Becan, Martin, supposed Ophir to be in America, 13.

Beck's " Gazetteer of Illinois and Missouri," 42.

Behem, Martin, his alleged discovery of America, 10.

Behring Straits, a probable route of migration to
America, 147.

Blane, Sir Gilbert, his letter on the antiquities of
New York, 42.

Bodley, Thomas, account given him of white Indians
in Kentucky, 49.

Boturini, Chev., his collections on the subject of
Mexican antiquities, and fate, 111.

Boudinot, Elias, his theory of the peopling of Ame-
rica, 6.

Brackenridge, Mr., his observations on American
antiquities, 32, 157.

Bradford, W., his work on American antiquities,
66, 113-116.

Brasseur de Bourbourg, Abb6, his theory of the
settling of Guatemala, 15.

Brazil discovered by Pedro Cabral, 8, 146.

162

INDEX.

Brerewood, Edward, Lis theory of the peopling of
America, 13.

Bringier, L., account of earthworks near the Ar-
kansas river, 43.

BrowD, Samuel R., his accounts of antiquities in the
Western Gazetteer, 33.

Browne, Peter A., his assertions respecting the shape
of the hair in different races, 104.

Buffon, believed the story of the island of Atlantis,
6 ; considered the forms of life in America in-
ferior to those of the eastern continent, 94.

Bullock, Mr., his collection of Mexican antiquities,
111, 112.

Bunsen, Chev., considers the American languages to
belong to the Turanian stock, 150.

C.

Cabral, Pedro, his accidental discovery of Brazil, 8,
146.

Cabrera, Paul Felix, his theory of Phoenician emi-
gration to America, 14.

Caldwell, Dr., advocates the distinct origin of the
different races of mankind, 93.

Campbell, Rev. John P., traditional accounts of
white Indians collected by him, 49, 50.

Cauaanites, Americans supposed to be descended
from, 4, 13, 27, 81, note.

Canary ii-lands, America supposed to be peopled
from, 14.

Cape de Verdes, Brazil supposed to be peopled from, 14.

Carli, Count, his theory of a submerged island or
continent of Atlantis, 12.

Carpenter, Dr., his opinion that the Anglo-American
race is assimilating to the Indian type, 95, 96.

Carolinas, the, supposed early migration of White
Men (Irish) to, 15 ; earthworks in, described by
Bartram, 21.

Carthaginians, supposed to have aided in peopling
America, 14.

Carver, Jonathan, his mention of earthworks, 20.

Cass, Lewis, his criticisms of Heckewelder's narrative,
45-47, 68.

Catharine, Empress of Russia, comparison of vocabu-
laries instituted by her, 57.

Charlevoix, his account of the Natchez Indians, 18.

Charron, Jaques, supposed the Peruvians and Chi-
lians to be descended from the Gauls, 13.

Chili, its inhabitants supposed to be descended from
the Gauls, 13.

Chinese, supposed to have aided in peopling America,
13, 14.

Chingwauk, his interpretation of the Dighton Rock
inscription, 133; of the Lake Erie do. ibid.

Clark, Gen. Geo. Rogers, tradition communicated to
him respecting the earthworks, 50.

Clarke, Dr. Adam, his observations on American
antiquities, 42.

Clavering, Capt, asserts that the Eskimaux are cop-
per-colored, 63.

Clavigero, considered the Americans an independent
race, 57.

Clifford, John D., his discovery of antiquities in
Kentucky, 36.

Climate, its influence in modifying races discussed,
92-98.

Clinton, De Witt, his memoir on the antiquities of
New York, 33.

Columbus, Christopher, narratives adduced to dis-
credit his title to original discovery, 8 ; did not
derive his idea of a western continent from others,
9, 10.

Combe, George, his remarks on American crania, 84.

Congo language, supposed to resemble the American
languages, 54.

Copper, its early use in America, 156.

Cornelius, Rev. Elias, his account of remains on the
Etowee River, 42.

Cortereal, John Vaz Casta, said to have discovered
Newfoundland, 9.

Cotton, Josiah, his Indian vocabulary, 55.

Crawford, Earl, his theory of the peopling of Ame-
rica, 5.

Crania, study of them suggested by Gov. Pownal,
74 ; Dr. J. C. Warren's paper on crania from the
western mounds, 75 ; Dr. Samuel G. Morton's
works on x\merican and Egyptian crania, 76-81.

Currents of the ocean, direction of, 143-146.

Cusic, David, his traditions respecting the mounds
and fortifications of the West, 50, 51, 130.

Cutler, Dr. Manasseh, an explorer of earthworks at
Muskingum, 23.

D.

Danes. See Northmen.

Danforth, Rev. Mr., made copy of Dighton Rock
inscription, 28.

Daviess, Col. Jos., account given him of white In-
dians in Kentucky, 50.

Davis, Dr. E. H. See Squier and Davis.

Delafield, John, his work on American antiquities,
111, 112.

Delawares, their traditions respecting ancient forti-
fications, 43.

De Laet, his theory of the peopling of America, 14.

De Pauw, Corn., his theory of a distinct origin of

INDEX.

163

life in the new world, 12; all forms of which he
considered inferior to those of the eastern conti-
nent, 94.

De Soto, the supposition that he erected the West-
ern fortifications, 25.

Dighton Rock inscription, supposed by De Gebelin
to be Punic, 28 ; early copies made of it, 28 ; its
examination by Danish antiquaries, 10G; Ching-
wauk's interpretation of it, 133. "

Diodorus Siculus, an authority for the island of At-
lantis, G, 7, 1-4.

D'Orbigny, A., his opinion that the peculiar shape of
certain Peruvian skulls is owing to compres
78, 102.

Drake, Dr. Daniel, his account of the antiquities of
the Miami country, 33.

Drake, S. G., his work on the American Indians and
antiquities, 106.

Drogeo, story of a visit to, 11 ; supposed to be the
country between Newfoundland and Florida, 11.

Dury, John, narratives in support of the Israelitish
origin of the Americans, 5.

Duponceau, P. E., his correspondence with Ilecke-
welder, 58 ; his views of the general character of
the American languages, 59 ; his memoir on the
grammatical system of these languages, 60.

Du Pratz, account of the Natchez Indians, 18, 157,
158.

E.

Earthworks, American, explorations of and theories
respecting, 17-53, 106, 109, 110, 117-131,
137-8 ; their location and classification, 153-158.

Edwards, Jonathan, his observations on the language
of the Mohegans, 29, 55.

Eliot, John, on the descent of the Indians from the
Jews, 5 ; his Indian grammar, 55.

Eskimaux, testimony of travellers to the lightness
of their complexion, 48 ; believed by Mr. Galla-
tin to belong to the same stock with the other
American races, 63 ; generally held to be distinct
from the rest of the American races, 72 ; Jeffer-
son's opinion respecting them, 74; held by Dr.
Morton to be a partially mixed race, 77, 79 ; pro-
bable instances of their being carried in early
times across the Atlantic to Europe, 145.

Estotiland, story of a visit to, 11; supposed to be
Newfoundland, 11.

Etowee (or Hightower) river, remains on, described,
42.

Eudoxus, his asserted circumnavigation of Africa, 8.

Everett, Hon. Edward, his synopsis of the contents

and claims of the " Antiquitates Americans,"
108.
Ewbank, Thos., his etymology of the name Oregon,
148, note.

Fall River skeleton, the, discussions respecting, 107,
108.

Filson, John, notices of earthworks in Kentucky,
22; appellation given to Ky. by the Indians, 158.

Flat-head Indians, where found, 100; theories re-
specting their origin, 101-104.

Flint's " Recollections of the Mississippi Valley,"
43.

Florida (ancient), supposed early migration of White
Men (Irish) to, 10, 15; earthworks in, described by
Bartram, 21 ; characteristics of its monuments,
51.

Forrcy, Dr. Samuel, his advocacy of the unity of
the human race, 88, 89.

Foster and Whitney, their surveys of the Lake Su-
perior region, 127.

Franklin, Benjamin, his theory of the origin of the
American earthworks, 25.

Frisians, supposed descent of the Peruvians and
Chilians from, 13.

G.

Gallatin, Albert, his distrust of Indian traditions,
51 ; his writings on the nations, languages, and
antiquities of America, 61-71.

Garcia, his theory of the peopling of America, 13.

Garden-beds of Wisconsin, &c. 20, 158.

Gauls, the supposed source of American peoples and
customs, 13.

Gebelin, Count de, supposed the Dighton Rock in-
scription to be Punic, 28.

Genebrard, G., his theory of the peopling of Ame-
rica, 5 ; supposed Ophir to be in America, 13.

Georgia, earthworks in, described by Bartram, 21 ;
by Cornelius, 42.

Gliddon, George R. See Nbtt and Gliddon.

Giovio, Paolo, his theory of the origin of the Mexi-
can human sacrifices, 13.

Gomara, F. L., his theory of the peopling of Ame-
rica^, 13 ; notice of an ante-Columbian voyage, 9.

Gosnold, his intercourse with the Indians near Fall
River, 108.

Grave Creek mound, described by Gen. Parsons, 23,
24.

Grave Creek stone, its characters supposed by Jo-
mard to be Libyan, 28 ; Schoolcraft's remarks on,
116, 133, 134.

104

INDEX.

Greenland discovered by the Northmen, 10; visited
by the brothers Zeni, 11.

Grotius, Hugo, his theory of the peopling of Ame-
rica, 13.

Gulf Stream, its course and other peculiarities, 143-
145.

Guyot, Prof. A., his theory of the American conti-
nent and its inhabitants, 95, 97.

H.

Hamconius. See Hamkema.

Harnkema, Martin, his supposed origin of the Peru-
vians and Chilians, 13.

Hancock, Dr., his opinion of an approximation in
the negro physiognomy to the European model,
96.

Hanno the Carthaginian, his " Pcriplus," 7.

Harris, Rev. T. M., his opinion of the design of the
earthworks, 31.

Harrison, President W., his discourse on the mounds
of Ohio and their builders, 108-110.

Hawks, Rev. Francis L., translator of Rivero and Von
Tscbudi on Peru, 15.

Ilawley, Rev. Gideon, his remarks on Indian stone-
heaps, 29.

Haywood, John, his archaeological speculations, 38.

Heart, Capt., his drawing of earthworks at Mari-
etta, 23, 24 ; account of various earthworks, 24.

Hcckewelder, Rev. John, his account of the Dela-
ware traditions referring to ancient fortifications,
43-47.

Henry, Alexander, directed an English mining com-
pany on Onontagon river, 128.

Herodotus, his account of the expedition ordered by
Pharaoh Necho, 8.

Hesperides islands, legends of, 7 ; supposed by
Oviedo to be the Antilles, 12.

Hindoos, supposition that they may have been the
mound-builders, 36, 37.

Hippocrates, his statement of the former existence
of Maerocephali, or Longheads, 103.

Homer, an authority for the island of Atlantis, 6.

Hontan, La, account of a medal found by him,
18.

Horn, Prof., his theory of the peopling of America,
14.

Horseley, Bishop, on Seneca's so-called prophecy, 6.

Humboldt, Alexander, his remarks on Seneca's so-
called prophecy, 6; suggests classification of Ame-
rican tribes according to languages, 61; on the
formation of words in the American languages,
71 ; denies the identity of the Americans, Mon-
gols, and Malays, 74 ; his theory of the natural

origin of flattened heads, 101 ; speaks of tribes

of a whitish complexion in Guiana, 147.
Humboldt, William, a contributor to the " Mithri-

dates," 58.
Humphreys, Oliver, his story of Welsh Indians, 26,

note.

Inclosures, 119, 120, 153.

Inscriptions on stones, 19, 28, 107, 132-135.

Irish, Scandinavian story of their expedition to Ame-
rica, 10, 15, 20, note.

Iroquois, thought to have produced all the earth-
works of New York State, 125, 157.

Israelites, supposed to have peopled America, 5, 14,
20, 139.

J.

Jackson, Dr. Chas. T., his surveys of the Lake Su-
perior region, 127.

Jefferson, Thos., his opinion of the antiquity of the
American nations, 22 ; recommends the investi-
gation of the Indian languages, 56 ; vocabularies
presented by him to the American Philosophi-
cal Society, 58 ; his derivation of the American
Indians from eastern Asia, 74.

Joctan, supposed to have founded a city in Peru, 4.

Jomard, M., supposes the Grave Creek stone in-
scription to be Libyan, 28.

Jones, Rev. David, his notice of earthworks in Ohio,
21.

Jones, George, his theory of the Tyrian emigration
and introduction of Christianity into America, 15.

Jones, Rev. Morgan, his story that the Tusearoras
understood Welsh, 26, note.

K.

Kain, John H., his account of mounds in east Ten-
nessee, 42.

Kalm, Peter, his observations on American antiqui-
ties, 19.

Kames, Lord, his theory of the peopling of Ame-
rica, 4.

Kentucky, notice of earthworks in, 22 ; traditions
of white Indians in, 49, 50.

Kingsborough, Lord, his theory of the peopling of
America, 6.

Kinmont, A., his theory of an innate tendency in
man to originate distinct races, 93.

Kircher, Athanasius, his theory of the peopling of
America, 13.

INDEX.

165

Kirkland, Rev. Samuel, notices earthworks in New
York, 20.

Knox, Dr. Robert, his opinion that the white race
decays in America, 95 ; that the flat heads of cer-
tain tribes are not produced by pressure, 102.

Kublai Khan, his fleet supposed to have been driven
to America, 11.

Languages of the American Indians, 53-72.

Lapham, I. A., his description of the earthworks of
"Wisconsin, 100, 129.

Ledyard, considered the Mongols of Siberia to re-
semble the Americans, 73.

Le>y, Jean de, his theory of the peopling of Ame-
rica, 4, 13.

Lescarbot, M., his theory of the peopling of Ame-
rica, 4, 7.

Lewis and Clark, their expedition to the sources of
the Missouri, 31, 157.

Locke, Prof. John, his notice of earthworks in "Wis-
consin, 122.

Long, Major, his opinion of the unreliable nature of
Indian tradition, 40.

Louisiana, characteristics of its monuments, 51.

Lund, Dr., his discovery of fossil crania, 80, 101 ; con-
siders the American to be the older continent, 94.

Lyell, Sir Chas., his assertion of a gradual approxi-
mation of the negro to the European model, 90 ;
observations on the situation of the remains of
extinct quadrupeds, 142.

M.

Macauley's " History of New York," 43.

Madawk ap Owen Gwynedh, his alleged ante-Co-
lumbian voyages to America, 10.

Madison, Bishop, his opinion of the design of the
earthworks, 30, 31.

Madoe, Prince. See Madaiclc, &c.

Maize an indigenous American cereal, 04, 65.

Malays, supposed by some to have aided in peopling
America, 35, 40, 91, 92, 98-100 ; though this
could only have been at a very remote epoch, 00;
characteristic differences between them and the
Americans, 79, 80 ; their identity with the Ame-
ricans denied by A. Von Humboldt, 74.

Manasseh ben Israel, "The Hope of Israel," 5.

Mather, Cotton, sent drawing of Dighton inscription
to Royal Society, 28.

Marietta, earthworks at, described, 23-26.

Marquette and Jolliet, their exploration of the Mis-
sissippi, 127.

Marson, Are, alleged discovery of America, 10.

Martius, Dr. K. F. von, his theory that the Ame-
rican aborigines are a worn-out race, 94.

Martyr, Peter, his theory of the origin of the in-
habitants of Yucatan, 12, 13; account of " blacka-
moors" on the Isthmus of Darien, 146.

Mastodon, contemporary with the Indians, 142, 143.

Maupertuis, his recommendation of the study of
barbarous languages, 55.

Mauritania, North America supposed to be peopled
from, 13.

Mayhew, descent of Indians from Jews, 5.

McCulloh, Dr. J. II., his researches into the physi-
cal characteristics and history of the Indian tribes,
47-49, 51-53.

McKee, Col., traditions communicated to him of
white Indians in Ohio and Kentucky, 50.

Miami, antiquities of, described by Dr. Drake, 33.

Mongols. See Turanians.

Mitchell, Dr. Samuel L., his papers on the Ameri-
can aborigines and their remains, 34 ; his hypo-
thesis of the peopling of America, 35.

Megatherium, of a recent era, 142, 143.

Mexicans, their practice of human sacrifices sup-
posed to be derived from the Gauls, 13.

Mexico, supposed early discovery of, 11; supposed
to have been founded by Kublai Khan, 11 ; sup-
posed by Stiles to have been peopled by the Ca-
naanites, 28.

Montanus, Arius, supposed Ophir to be in America,
13.

Monterinos, A., professed to have found Jews in
Peru, 5.

Moore, Jacob B., his notice of an ancient fortifica-
tion in New Hampshire, 42.

Moore, Col. Jas. F., account given him of white
Indians in Kentucky, 49, 50.

Moraes, Emanuel de, his theory of the peopling of
America, 14.

Moravian missionaries, their labors to convert and
civilize the Indians, 44, 45 ; their works on the
Indian languages, 58.

Morton, Dr. Samuel G., adopts the term "brown"
to express the color of the American Indians, 53 ;
his work on American crania and the distinctive
characteristics of the American race, 70 ; repels
the theory of the inferiority of races on the Ame-
rican continent, 94 ; his opinions as to the origin
of the Flathead Indians, 101, 102.

Mounds of stone. See Stone-heaps.

Mounds of earth. See Earthworks.

Mount Royal, near Lake George, described by Bar-
tram, 21.

Muskingum. See Marietta.

166

INDEX.

N.

Najera, Don Manuel, his treatise on the Otomi lan-
guage, GO, 61.

Natchez Indians, accounts of, by Du Pratz and
others, 18.

Necho, Pharaoh, his expedition to circumnavigate
Africa, 8.

Newfoundland, said to have been discovered by Casta
Cortereal, 9 ; supposed early discovery by a mari-
ner from the Faro Islands, 11.

New Hampshire, remains in, described, 42.

New York, earthworks in, noticed by Kirkland, 26 ;
described by De "Witt Clinton, 33; by E. G.
Squier, 124-5.

Nicolet, his explorations of Wisconsin, 127.

Noah, Mordecai M., his theory of the peopling of
America, 6.

North America, its supposed discovery by the North-
men, 10; and peopling by the same, 13.

Northmen, their discovery of Greenland and sup-
posed migration to America, 10, 13, 35 ; supposed
by Barton to have built the American earthworks,
26 ; their colony of Vinland not believed in by
Mr. Gallatin, 62 ; publications of the Royal So-
ciety of Antiquaries of Copenhagen respecting
the voyages of the Northmen to America, 106-
108.

Nott, Dr. J. C, his view of the origin of the Flat-
head Indians, 101.

Nott and Gliddon, their " Types of Mankind,'
81-88.

Nuttall, his Journal of a tour in Arkansas, 42.

O.

Ocean currents and trade-winds, 143-147.

Ohio, earthworks in, described, 21-26; traditions of
white Indians in, 50 ; President Harrison's dis-
course on earthworks of, 108-110.

Ophir, supposed to be in America, 4, 13 ; supposed
to be Hayti, 14.

Opmeer, his theory of the peopling of America, 4.

Oregon, the practices of flattening the skull and of
inserting disks of wood in the lips and ears found
there and in South America, 148 ; Mr. Ewbank's
etymology of the name, 148, note; no antiquities
found in it, 149.

Otomi language, peculiar structure of, 00, 01,
63.

Oviedo, account of an ante-Columbian voyage to
America, 9 ; his theory that the Antilles are the
Hcsperidcs of the ancients, 12.

Pallas, Prof., employed by the Empress Catharine
in the collection and comparison of vocabularies,
57.

Paracelsus, his theory of the peopling of America, 4.

Parsons, Gen. Samuel H., his letter on the Grave
Creek mound, &c. 23, 24.

Paulo, Marco, the Quinsai of which he speaks sup-
posed to be Mexico, 3.

Pentland, Mr., his opinion of the origin of the Flat-
head Indians, 102.

Peru supposed to have been founded by Kublai
Khan, 11.

Peruvians, supposed by Charron to be descended
from the Gauls, 13 ; by Grotius, from the Chinese,
13 ; by Stiles, from the Canaanites, 28 ; the pe-
culiar shape of some of their skulls owing to arti-
ficial compression, 77, 78 ; this practice common
to them and to the tribes on the Columbia River,
148.

Petit, Father le, account of the Natchez Indians, 18.

Petri, Suffrid, his supposed origin of the Peruvians
and Chilians, 13.

Phillips, J. S., his remarks on American crania, 84.

Phoenicians, supposed to have aided in peopling
America, 14, 15.

Physical characteristics of the American people, 72.

Pickering, Dr. Chas., his theory of the population
of America, 98, 99.

Pickering, Dr. John, his writings on the American
languages, 60.

Pike, Lieut., his expedition to the sources of the
Mississippi, &c. 31.

Plato, legend of the island of Atlantis, 6.

Pliny the Elder, account of the Periplus of Hanno, 7.

Polo, Marco. See Paulo.

Polynesians supposed to have aided in peopling
America, 99, 100.

Population of America, theories respecting it, 3.

Portfolio, the, works of defence described in, 32.

Possivin, Anthony, supposed Ophir to be in Ame-
rica, 13.

Pomponius Mela, story of Indians cast on the Ger-
man coast, 7.

Postel, William, his theory of the peopling of Ame-
rica, 13.

Pownal, Gov., his opinion that the Americans belong
to the Tartar race, 73, 74 ; suggested a compara-
tive study of crania, 74.

Prescott,W. H., respecting traditions pointing to an
Asiatic origin for the Aztecs, 148, note.

Prichard, Dr. J. C, his opinion respecting the en-
ergy and mental vigor of the American race, 94.

INDEX.

167

Priest, Josiah, his book on American antiquities, 41.
Psammeticus, story of his experiment to ascertain
the original language, 53.

Q-

Quinsai of Marco Paulo, supposed to be Mexico, 3.

R.

Rafinesque, Prof. C. S., his theory of the peopling
of America, 39-41.

Rafn, Prof., his publications on the discovery of
America by the Northmen, 106-108.

Rask, Erasmus, considered the Greenland language
to be of the Scythian or Turanian stock, 150.

Rasle, Father, his Indian dictionary, 55.

llaynal, Abb6, considered the forms of life on the
American inferior to those on the eastern conti-
nent, 94.

Poland, Adrian, his dissertation on the American
languages, 56.

Relics found in earthworks, 154-156.

Ribault, his account of the chief Chiquola, 52.

Rivero and Von Tschudi, their work on Peruvian
antiquities, 15, 101 ; statement respecting an ori-
ginal race of Flatheads in Peru, 102, 103.

Robin, O. C, describes tumuli on the Washita River,
31.

Romans, Capt. Bernard, his belief that the Ameri-
can nations are indigenous, 21.

S.

Sagard, Gabriel, his mention of aboriginal mines on
Lake Superior, 127.

Sanchoniathon, an authority for the Island of Atlan-
tis, 6.

Sargent, Col. Winthrop, describes the earthworks at
Marietta, 25; and at Cincinnati, 26.

Scandinavian discovery of America. See Northmen.

Scaticook Rock inscription, copied by Pres. Stiles,
28.

Schlegel, Frederic, his indication of the importance
of grammatical structure as an element of lin-
guistic comparison, 54.

Schomburgk, Sir Robt., his statement respecting the
Frog Indians, 102.

Schoolcraft, H. R., adopts the view of the southern
origin of the mound-builders, 53 ; his writings on
American languages, 66, 67 ; remarks on the
structure of these languages, 70 ; his papers on
the Grave Creek mound inscription, 116, 133, 134;
his "Notes on the Iroquois," 123, 124; his"His-

tory, Condition, and Prospects of the Indian
Tribes," 129 ; his remarks on the value of Indian
traditions, 130-132 ; on Indian inscriptions, 132-
134 ; on American antiquities, 135-140, 156.

Scythians. See Turanians.

Seneca, his prophecy of the discovery of a new
world, 6.

Seneeas, the, their traditions respecting ancient for-
tifications, 43.

Seven Cities, island of, tradition of, 7.

Sewall, Samuel, descent of Indians from the Jews, 5.

Sewall, Prof. Stephen, made copy of Dighton Rock
inscription, 28.

Silliman, Prof. Benj., notices of antiquarian disco-
veries in his journal, 42.

Smibert, his opinion that the Tartars and the Ame-
rican Indians are the same people, 73.

Smith, Col. Chas. H., his opinion of the unstable
character of the American languages, 71 ; his
theory of the peopling of America, 99, 100 ; ob-
servations on the remains of extinct quadrupeds,
143.

Smith, Ethan, his theory of the peopling of Ame-
rica, 6.

Smith, J. T., his work on the claims to the disco-
very of America by the Northmen, 108.

Smith, Pres., his theory of the changes produced by
climatic influences, 92.

Smithsonian Institution, its publication of the "An-
cient monuments of the Mississippi Valley," 117.

Smyth, Rev. Thos., his treatise on the unity of the
human race, 90, 92.

South America, supposed to be peopled from the
East India islands and China, 13 ; from New
Guinea, 14.
'Squier and Davis, "Ancient Monuments of Missis-
sippi Valley," 1, 117-123.

Squier, E. G., his "Aboriginal Monuments of the
State of New York," 124-126. See also Squier
and Davis.

Stiles, Pres., his theory of the peopling of America,
4, 27; his letter to Franklin respecting earthworks
at Muskingum, 23 ; his examination of American
inscriptions, 28.

Stoddard, Major, attributes the earthworks to the
Welsh, 31.

Stone-heaps, American, their design and formation,
29.

Strain, Lieut. J. G., his account of the discovery of
fossil crania, 101.

St. Simon, Mrs., her theory of the descent of Indi-
ans from the Jews, 6.

Stuart, Isaac, his supposition that the Indians under-
stood Welsh, 26, 27, note.

168

INDEX.

T.

Tartar-Mongols. See Turanians.

Taylor, R. C. and S., their papers on the earthworks
of Wisconsin, 106, 122.

Tennessee, remains in, Kain's account of, 42.

Terra de Baccalhaos, alleged discovery of, 9.

Thevet, Andrew, his theory of the peopling of Ame-
rica, 5, 12.

Thomas, David, notices of American antiquities, 42.

Thomas, Isaiah, founder of the American Antiqua-
rian Society, 32.

Thorowgood, Thos., "Jews in America," &c, 5.

Tiedemann, his opinion of the origin of the Flat-
head Indians, 102.

Toltecans, supposed by Schoolcraft to have peopled
the Mississippi Valley, 138.

Tornielli, his theory of the peopling of America, 4.

Torquemada, speaks of a village of negroes in Cali-
fornia, 146.

Trade-winds, direction of, 143-146.

Traditions, Indian, their unreliable character, 46,
49; Mr. Gallatin's remarks on, 51; Mr. School-
craft's remarks on, 130-132.

Troost, Prof. G., his account of mummies in Ten-
nessee, 116.

Tschudi, Von. See Rivero and Von Tschudi.

Tshuktshi, sedentary, speak the Eskimaux language,
59.

Turanians, supposed to have aided in peopling
America, 13, 14, 35-37, 73, 91, 92, 98, 99,
150, 151 ; this denied by Grotius, 13 ; character-
istic differences between them and the Americans,
74, note, 79, 80.

U.

United Brethren. See Moravian Missionaries.
Unity or diversity of the human race, discussions

respecting, 81-105.
Usher, Dr., his remarks on American crania, 85-88.

Van Amringo, Wm. F., his physical and psychical
theory of the origin of races, 93, 94.

Vatable, Francis, supposed Ophir to be in America, 13.

Vater, Prof. Severin, one of the authors of the
" Mithridates," 58.

Vega, Garcilazo de la, account of an ante-Columbian
voyage to America, 9 ; his description of the
construction of mounds in Florida, 51.

Vinland, supposed by some to be in Narraganset Bay,

108.
Voltaire, his theory of the peopling of America, 4.
Von Humboldt. See Humboldt.
Von Tschudi, J. J. See Rivero and Von Tschudi, 15.

W.

Warren, Dr. John C, his paper on crania from the
western mounds, 75 ; account of mastodon ob-
tained by him, 142.

Washington, George, considered the Dighton Rock
inscription to be of Indian origin, 28.

Webb, Dr., his correspondence with Danish antiqua-
ries on the subject of the Dighton Rock inscrip-
tion, 106, 107.

Webster, Noah, advocates the theory that De Soto
built the American earthworks, 25 ; description
of a stone-heap, 29.

Welsh, tradition of, expedition to America under
Madoc, 10, 35 ; Indians said to understand their
language, 26; the American earthworks, attribu-
ted to them, 31.

White Indians, alluded to, 146.

White Men (Irish), their supposed establishment in
the Carolinas and Florida, 15.

Williams, Roger, his view of the descent of Indians
from the Jews, 5 ; his Indian grammar, 55.

Williamson, Dr. Hugh, his theory of the origin of
the American nations, 35.

Winthrop, Prof. Jas., made copy of Dighton Rock
inscription, 28.

Wisconsin, its earthworks described by Lapham and
Taylor, 106, 122, 126-129; Schoolcraft's re-
marks on, 136.

Wistar, Dr., his labors in the Historical Committee
of the American Philosophical Society, 58.

Y.

Yates and Moulton's " History of New York," 42.
Yucatan, Peter Martyr's theory of the Ethiopic
origin of its inhabitants, 12, 13.

Zeisberger, his Delaware grammar, 60.
Zcni, the, their narrative, &e., 10-11.
Zichmni, Earl, patron of Antonio Zeno, 11 ; sup-
posed to be the Earl of the Orkneys, 11.

PUBLISHED BY THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION,

WASHINGTON, D. C.

JULY, 185G.

SMITHSONIAN CONTHIBUTIONS TO KNOWLEDGE.

ON THE

RECENT SECULAR PERIOD

AURORA BOREALIS

DENISON OLMSTED, LL.D.,

PROFESSOR OF NATURAL THILOSOrHY AND ASTRONOMY IN YALE COLI.KOE.

[ACCEPTED FOR PUBLICATION, JANUARY, 1855.]

• COMMISSION

TO WHICH THIS PAPER HAS BEEN REFERRED.

Prof. J. B. CflERRIMAN,

Trof. J. II. Coffin.

Joseph Henry,

Secretary S. I.

T. K. AND P. O. COLLINS, PRINTERS,
PHILADELPHIA.

ON THE

RECENT SECULAR PERIOD OF THE AURORA BOREALIS.

On the evening of the 27th of August, 1827, after a long absence of any striking
exhibition of the Aurora Borealis, there commenced a series of these meteors which
increased in frequency and magnificence for the ten following years, arrived at a
maximum during the years 1835, 183G, and 1837, and after that period regularly
declined in number-and intensity until November, 1848, when the series appeared
to come to a close. The recurrence, however, of three very remarkable exhibitions
of the meteor, in September, 1851, and of another of the first class as late as
February 19th, 1852, indicates that the close was not so abrupt as was at first
supposed ; but still there was a very marked decline in the number of great auroras
after 1848, and there has been scarcely one of the higher class since 1853.

A review of the history of the foregoing series of Auroras, appears to warrant
the conclusion that it constituted a definite period, which I have ventured to call
the "Secular Period," having a duration of a little more than 20 years; increasing
in intensity pretty regularly for the first ten years, arriving at its maximum about
the middle of this period, and as regularly declining during the latter half of the
same period.

It has appeared to me incumbent on some one devoted to the studies of nature,
who has witnessed this exhibition of the Aurora Borealis, probably among the
most remarkable that have ever occurred since the creation of the world, to write
its history; to give an accurate description of its varieties; to present at one
view a classification of the principal facts, in order, if possible, to ascertain the
laws of the phenomenon ; and finally, to determine the origin, or primary cause to
which it may be referred. I am the more encouraged to undertake this labor, from
having enjoyed peculiarly favorable opportunities for observing these exhibitions
from their commencement, and from having amassed, from the accounts published
in the periodicals of the day, and from an extensive correspondence, a greater
amount of facts, than, so far as I know, any other person has taken the trouble to
accumulate.

I know of no other method of successfully investigating a subject of this kind,
than, first, to examine all the facts of the case ; secondly, to bring together into

4 ON THE RECENT SECULAR PERIOD

one view in separate groups, such as are similar, forming a full and accurate classi-
fication ; thirdly, to inquire what general truths these facts reveal, since these deduc-
tions form the proximate laws of the phenomenon ; and, finally, to make the
laws the groundwork of a general theory, which shall assign the true cause of all.

CLASSIFICATION OF AURORAS.

The Aurora Borealis presents itself to us under six different forms.

1. Auroral TuoUigM. — A light in the north resembling the dawn of day, and of
various degrees of intensity.

2. Arches. — Arcs of circles or zones, formed at various altitudes between N. E.
and N. W., being sometimes the mere boundary of a segment, at other times a
dense pillar of light, forming a grand columnar arch which spans the heavens from
east to west. It frequently moves from north to south, usually advancing but
little further than the zenith, but in a few instances, in our latitude, it has been
seen to reach within twenty degrees of the southern horizon.

3. Streamers. — Acute cones or spindles, usually shooting up from an arch, or
from a dark smoky cloud which lies along the northern horizon, or rises a few
degrees above it.

4. Corona. — A circular zone around the pole of the dipping needle, formed of
wreaths of auroral vapor, either of pure white, or of various prismatic colors, with
streamers radiating from the circumference.

5. Waves. — Undulations which commonly flow upwards towards the centre of
the corona, along the line of the streamers, but sometimes course along the line
of an arch from east to west.

G. Auroral Clouds. — A milky vapory bank in the north, the quantity and appa-
rent depth of which afford a prognostic of the intensity of the approaching aurora.
These clouds are sometimes of a smoky hue, especially in front, while the margins
are luminous. The term Merry Dancers is loosely applied to several different
appearances, constituting the more active portions of the phenomenon. Thus
rapid coruscations, Bickerings, and swift horizontal movements across a forest of
streamers, have been, by different writers, severally denominated merry dancers.

In different exhibitions of the aurora borealis, the various forms above enumer-
ated, are sometimes seen single, but commonly more or less combined. In the
most magnificent examples they all are seen in company. At first, usually at an
early hour of the evening, appears the northern twilight, as though the sun after
he had set was rising prematurely in the north. If a large bank of luminous vapor
(which is so peculiar in its external properties, and so distinct from watery vapor,
as to warrant the denomination of auroral vapor), rests on the northern horizon,
we may expect to see the aurora put on successively more of its higher forms —
streamers will begin to shoot upwards; a dark smoky front will cover the auroral
vapor, exhibiting here and there changeable and transient white spots, which
suddenly swell out, and often as suddenly disappear — then large columns of a clear
silvery lustre will form in the northwest and northeast simultaneously, which will

OF THE AURORA BOREALIS. 5

sometimes meet and span the heavens with an entire arch ; suddenly the columns
and clouds of auroral vapor will assume a crimson hue — next, all the columns and
streamers will rush towards a point a little southeast of the zenith, corresponding
to the pole of the dipping-needle, and wreathe themselves around it in a splendid
coronet — and finally auroral waves will begin to flow upward from the horizon
towards the same point in surprising undulations, which are often continued a great
part of the night. Meanwhile, the magnetic needle is violently agitated, and
deflected from its normal position.

It is the occurrence of these great auroras, repeated with unusual frequency,
that constitutes a period like that under review, which I have denominated the
Secular Period of the aurora borealis; while auroras presenting some of the
humbler forms of the phenomenon, as the northern twilight, or the streamers, are of
ordinary occurrence.

We shall find it convenient to distribute the different forms of the aurora into
four distinct classes, with a description of the characters belonging to each class
respectively.

Class I. This is characterized by the presence of at least three out of four
of the most magnificent varieties of form, namely, arches, streamers, corona, and
waves. The distinct formation of the corona is the most important characteristic
of this class; yet, were the corona distinctly formed, without auroral arches or
waves, or crimson vapor, it could not be considered as an aurora of the first class.

Class II. The combination of two or more of the leading characteristics of the
first class, but wanting in others, would serve to mark class the second. Thus
the exhibition of arches and streamers both of superior brilliancy, with a corona,
while the waves and crimson columns were wanting; or of streamers with a corona,
or of arches with a corona without streamers or columns (if such a case ever
occurs), we should designate as an aurora of the second class.

Class III. The presence of only one of the more rare characteristics, either
streamers or an arch, or irregular coruscations, but without the formation of a
corona, and with but a moderate degree of intensity, would denote an aurora of the
third class.

Class IV. In this class we place the most ordinary forms of the aurora, as a
mere northern twilight, or a few streamers, with none of the characteristics that
mark the grander exhibitions of the phenomenon.

HISTORY OF THE RECENT SECULAR PERIOD.

From about the year 1780 to 1827, striking exhibitions of the aurora borealis
were very unfrequent, although, probably, more or less of an inferior description,
as those of the third and fourth classes, were seen every year, even in our own
latitude, and a still greater number in the regions north of us ; but aged people
who witnessed the displays of eighteen hundred thirty-five, six, and seven, testified
that these were similar to such as occurred in their youth, from 1760 to 1781.

6 ON THE RECENT SECULAR PERIOD

Indeed, in my childhood, nearly fifty years ago, I recollect to have heard very
aged people tell of the strange sights which were seen in the air during "the old
French Avar" (which closed in 17G3), when, as some of the more ignorant described
them, " armies and spearmen were distinctly seen engaged in battle." From 1781,
none of equal intensity, it is believed, occurred for nearly half a century. The
splendid arch, therefore, and other striking accompaniments of the aurora of August
28th, 1827, took us by surprise, and were viewed with wonder by nearly all the
existing generation of the countries where it was visible. Immediately after
this great aurora, exhibitions of the phenomenon became more frequent than for a
long time before, as is obvious from the catalogue of auroras published by the late
John Dalton, and appended to the last edition of his Meteorological Essays} The
period of seven years, from 1819 to 1826, averaged per annum, in Great Britain
but If ; whereas from 1827 to 1834, the average was 16. The number recorded
by Dalton in 1826 was only two, while the number for 1827 was ten.

I observed the great aurora of August, 1827, with the deepest interest ; but
having preserved but few notes of it, I avail myself of the accounts published at
the time in a paper in the American Journal of Science," communicated by Benja-
min D. Silliman, Esq., occasionally, however, drawing upon my own recollections.

The appearances of the aurora were found to be nearly uniform in all the North-
ern States of the Union. It was first observed at New Haven at haf-past nine
o'clock, at which time the light resembled that of a fire at some distance, and was
by many attributed to that cause. The light, however, soon became more intense,
and its outline better defined, gradually assuming a columnar shape, and extending
from about N. N. W. to E. N. E. At 9 h. 45 m., waves of light, in detached masses,
but all in the line of the luminous arch, began to flow from east to west, until the
whole were blended, and the heavens were adorned with a beautiful arch, culmi-
nating at a point about 15° north of the zenith. The greatest breadth of the arch,
at its centre, was 9 or 10 degrees, and it tapered from that point to its western
extremity, where the light was much brighter. The eastern segment was at no
time so distinct as the western, but was rendered very beautiful by the constant
passage of waves of apparently illuminated vapor, the lines of which were at right
angles to the line of the arch, and extended from north to south. Their westward
motion was contrary to the course of the wind. The whole arch moved with a
gradual and nearly uniform motion toward the south, and passed the zenith about
10 h. 45m., presenting to the eye through its whole length, a broad bright band of
wavy light, studded with stars which were seen distinctly through it. The color
was a shining white. This arch was remarkable for its duration, which was nearly
two hours. A great bank of light lay almost constantly above the northern hori-
zon, sometimes surmounted by, and sometimes resting upon, a dark cloud, which
was visible during the whole time.3 This was visible in the same situation at sea,

1 Meteor. Observations and Essays, Ed. 2d, p. 218. 3 Vol. XIV.

3 It may be doubtful whether this was anything more than the naked sky, which, by contrast with the
illuminated portion often resembles a dark cloud. In (he aurora of September 29th, 1851, the base of

OF THE AURORA BO REALIS. 7

off Nova Scotia (lat. 42° 12' N., long. Go0 9' W.), as reported by the British ship
Dalhousie Castle. The dark cloud remained until midnight. It was elevated 12
or 15 degrees above the horizon, and the space below it was occupied by a dense
haze. It was said that, at Utica, New York, sounds were heard attended by a sharp
snapping noise, like the discharge of an electrical battery. Peculiar sounds referred
to the aurora were also said to have been heard at this place (Yale College). One
of the students, indeed, was under the impression that he distinctly heard such
sounds, but I was unable, either on this or on any subsecpuent occasion, to detect
any sound which in my judgment could be fairly attributed to the aurora borealis.
The bow was seen as far south as Norfolk, in Virginia. It was also conspicuous in
Cincinnati, and was said in the newspapers published at that place to have been
the first occurrence of the aurora borealis in the southern part of Ohio, since the
first settlement of the country. At Montreal, on the previous evening, the 27th
(when only an aurora of the fourth class was seen at New Haven), the corusca-
tions are represented to have been "awfully grand," extending in broad columns
to the zenith, and even beyond it. At Perth, in Scotland, also, there was the
same evening (the 27th), a splendid exhibition of the aurora. The account given
of it in the Courier, a newspaper published at that place, will serve to indicate the
similarity of its appearances to those exhibited here on the following evening.
"One of the most brilliant and picturesque appearances (says the Courier) of the
aurora borealis ever seen in this quarter, exhibited itself on the evening of Mon-
day last. The coruscations were very rapid and transparent, and overspread
nearly the whole northern hemisphere. Some of the Hashes were almost vertical,
and latterly they resembled in clearness and motion the undulations of a bright
flame. At one time the meteors formed themselves into a narrow belt, crossing the
heavens from east to west."

The great aurora of August 28th, afforded to the existing generation the first
example they had seen of those flickerings, and rapid coruscations called Merry
Dancers. These continued until after midnight, and were accompanied by an
unusual frequency of shooting stars.

On the 25th September, 1827, a great aurora was seen all over England.1 It
does not, however, appear to have been equal in magnificence to some which were
seen here a few years later, and can therefore rank only in the second class. This
aurora was visible at Paris, accompanied by striking magnetic effects, although its
luminous phenomena were less imposing than in Scotland. According to M. Arago,
previous to this, no aurora had been witnessed at Paris for twenty years.2 Also, a
splendid exhibition of the phenomenon occurred at Paris on the 28th of September,
described in the Journal cles Dehats, as tinging the sky with so fiery a hue as to
resemble a great conflagration, and call out bodies of firemen. According to the

the aurora rested on a dark segment resembling a black cloud, but the bright star in the extremity of
the tail of the Great Bear (n Ursa Majoris), then only three degrees above the horizon, shone with
undiminished lustre.

' Brande's Journal, XXIV, 385. Phil. Mag., II, 375, and III, 75.

5 Amer. Jour. Sei , XIV, 107.

8 ON THE RECENT SECULAR PERIOD

same paper, a beautiful aurora had been seen in every part of Denmark as early
as the 8th of September.

From the preceding accounts it appears that after a long period of comparative
repose, the aurora borealis suddenly presented itself to the existing generation both
in the north of Europe and in the United States, under forms far more imposing
than most persons on the stage had ever witnessed before ; and if we pursue its
history, we shall find that these exhibitions increased, during the following years, in
number and intensity. This increase is strikingly shown by Dallon's Catalogue of
Auroras, extending from the year 1794 to 1834 inclusive, embracing those observed
during this period in Great Britain and Ireland. If we compare the seven years
previous to 1827, with the seven years following, the numbers are as follows : —

1820

1821

1822

1823

1824 t

1825

182G

2

2

(l

0

0

1

9

1S27 . . .

... 10

1828 . . .

... 11

1829 . . .

... 18

1830 . . .

... 32

1832 . . .

... 5

1833 . . .

... 12

Total . . .

. . .111

Total 7

In intensity, the increase during the latter period is equally remarkable, as will
be evident by descending to particulars.

In 1828, September 29th, there was a grand auroral arch seen in Great Britain
and Ireland, and also in the State of New York.1 Although in 1829, the number
recorded by Dalton was 18, yet none occurred above the third class. The follow-
ing year, 1830, still manifested an increasing series, the number given in the same
catalogue being 32, those of April 19th, August 20th, September 7th, September
17th, Oct. 5th, December 11th and 12th, having been more or less splendid, and
some of them entitled to rank in the second class. For 1831, only 23 auroras
are given, but that of January 7th is characterized as "one of the finest auroras
ever seen," and as lasting from sunset till morning. It was observed in England,
Scotland, Paris, and Brussels.2 That of March 7th is said to have been fine; but
most of the exhibitions of 1831 were of the ordinary kind. In the American Journal
of Science for October, 1831, is a paper by General Martin Field, giving an account
of auroras observed by him at Fayetteville, Vermont (lat. 42° 58'). lie says:
"On examining my meteorological journal, which I have kept for many years, I
find the occurrence of the aurora borealis has varied from 10 to 28 nights in dif-
ferent years, and that for ten years previous to the last, the average number of
evenings when it has been seen is 18 annually. But within the last twelve
months, from May, 1830, to May, 1831, the aurora has been visible on 56 nights,
which is twice the number of any former year of which I have any record." The

1 Dalton's Ess., 221; Brewster's Jour., I, 256, X, 146 ; Phil. Mag., V, 153.

s Luke Howard, Meteor. Ess., Ill, 873; Phil. Mag., IX, 127, 151, 233; Jameson's Jour , X, 381.

OF THE AURORA BOREALIS. 9

same writer has delineated a remarkable arch observed by him on the 9th of
March, although an aurora which occurred on the 14th of July, appears to have
been the most remarkable of the year.

In 1832, Dalton has recorded only ./lire auroras; but at this period the returns of
the academies of the State of New York, embodied in the annual reports of the
Regents, begin to furnish a more complete list of these occurrences, than had been
kept anywhere in this country anterior to that time. The number observed and
reported in the State of New York for 1832 was 24, the most remarkable of which
occurred on the 10th of April, and the 22d and 23d of August. That of Septem-
ber 25th, which was conspicuous in the State of New York, was also visible at
London and Edinburgh.1

Twelve only are recorded in Dal ton's list for 1833 ; but in the Eegents' report,
Ave find no less than thirty-six. The most brilliant were those of May lGth and
17th, July 10th, Sept. 5th, and November 3d. In September alone the phenome-
non was repeated no less than ten evenings. The instances which attracted most
attention in Great Britain during the year 1833, occurred March 21st, September
17th and October 12th, but none were observed in the State of New York on those
evenings.

Dalton's catalogue extends only to February, 1834, a loss the less to be regretted
as from that time the phenomenon became more an object of attention to observers
on this side of the Atlantic, and the catalogue contained in the Regents' reports
becomes yearly more and more complete. During 1834, that report describes
thirty-two auroras, of which that of November 2d was the only one particularly
remarkable.

In 1835, there is an unexpected falling off in the number of auroras, since in the
Regents' report the entire number for the year is only twenty-six; but the aurora of
November 17th of this year, was greatly distinguished for its magnificence and
beauty, and constitutes the first in the series of those entitled to rank in the first
class. It exhibited itself with very similar phenomena, though with features
somewhat varied at points very remote from each other, as at Montreal and New
York, at Dartmouth College and Cincinnati.2

Although minute descriptions of these grand exhibitions of the aurora
borealis, resembling each other as they do in many particulars, may, when re-
peated, become tedious by their monotony, yet it appears to me a matter of great
importance to science, to place on permanent record a full account of such displays
of this mysterious phenomenon, in order to furnish data for comparison at succes-
sive returns of the secular periods, and thus finally to establish its physical laws.
The following description of the great aurora of November 17th, 1835, was pub-
lished the next morning, by the author of this article, in the New Haven Daily
Herald:—3

" Last night, our northern hemisphere was adorned with a display of auroral
lights remarkably grand and diversified. It was first observed by the writer at
fifteen minutes before 7 o'clock, when an illumination of the whole northern sky,

Phil. Mag., II, 233. 2 Amer. Jour., XXIX, 388. 3 Amer. Jour. Sci., XXIX, 389.

2

10 ON THE RECENT SECULAR PERIOD

resembling the break of day was discernible through the openings in the clouds.
About 18° east of north was a broad column of shining vapor tinged with crimson,
which appeared and disappeared at intervals. A westerly wind moved off the
clouds, rendering the sky nearly clear by 8 o'clock, when two broad white columns,
which had for some time been gathering between the stars Aquila and Lyra on the
west, and the Pleiades and Aries on the east, united above so as to complete a
luminous arch spanning the heavens a little south of the prime vertical. The
whole northern heavens being more or less illuminated and separated from the
southern by this zone, was thrown into striking contrast with the latter, which
appeared of a dark slate color, as though the stars were shining through a stratum
of black clouds. The zone moved slowly to the south, until about 9 o'clock, when it
had reached the bright star in the Eagle (Altair) in the west, and extended a little
south of the constellation Aries in the east. From this time it began to recede
northward, at a nearly uniform rate, until twenty minutes before 11 o'clock, when
a vast number of columns, white and crimson, began to shoot up, simultaneously,
from all parts of the northern hemisphere, directing their course to a point a few
degrees southeast of the zenith, around which they arranged themselves as around
a common focus. The position of this point was between the Pleiades and Alpha
Arietis, and south of the Bee, having a right ascension of 42°, and a declination of
24°, as nearly as could be determined without the aid of instruments ; but this
comes so near the pole of the dipping needle at the place of observation (which is
about 17° from the zenith), and to the magnetic meridian, that we need not hesi-
tate to conclude, that, agreeably to what has been observed of similar phenomena
before, the columns arranged themselves exactly in obedience to the laws of terres-
trial magnetism. Soon after 11 o'clock commenced a striking display of the auroral
waves. They consisted of thin horizontal sheets of light, coursing each other upward
with astonishing speed, inspiring awe in every beholder, as something unearthly in
appearance. Those undulations which play upon the surface of a field of rye or
tall grass, when gently agitated by the wind, may give to the reader a faint idea of
the auroral waves. One of the crimson columns, the most dense and beautiful of
all, as it ascended towards the common focus (the vanishing point of perspective
for parallel lines), crossed the planet Jupiter, then at an altitude of 36 degrees.
The appearance was peculiarly interesting, as the planet shone through a crimson
cloud, with apparently augmented splendor. A few shooting stars were seen at
intervals, some of which were above the ordinary magnitude and brightness. One
that came from between the feet of the Great Bear, at eight minutes after 1 o'clock,
and fell apparently near to the earth, exhibited a very white and dazzling light,
and, as it exploded, scattered shining fragments, much after the manner of a sky
rocket. As early as 7 o'clock, the magnetic needle began to show unusual agitation,
and it was afterwards carefully observed by Tutor Loomis.1 Near 11 o'clock, when
the streamers were rising, and the aurora forming, the disturbance of the needle
was remarkable, causing a motion of 1° 5' in five minutes of time. This disturb-
ance continued until 10 o'clock next morning, the needle having traversed an entire

1 Now Professor Loouris, of N. Y.

OF THE AURORA BOREALIS. 11

range of 1° 40', while its ordinary diurnal variation is not more than four minutes.
The thermometer, at 11 o'clock, was at 33°; it shortly fell to 31°, and continued
nearly at this point during the remainder of the night, a degree of cold consider-
ably below that of the few preceding nights. About 3 o'clock, the sky grew cloudy,
"and the moon rising shortly afterwards, further observations were prevented; but
the continued disturbance of the magnetic needle, would induce the belief that the
aurora prevailed through the night, and to a late hour next morning."

On the evening following the above exhibition of the aurora borealis, that is, on
the 18th of November, 1835, a fine aurora was witnessed at London, having all
the characteristics of the first class except the corona. It is described in the
Arcana of Art and Science, for 1836, by Dr. Armstrong, as seen at Vauxhall. The
writer remarks that the aurora had made its appearance, with greater or less dis-
tinctness, on every clear and calm evening from the middle of October; a frequency
very unusual for that climate.

On the 11th of December, of the same year, an aurora of the more brilliant kind
(2d class) was observed by Captain Bonnycastle, at Toronto, which he has described
and figured in the thirtieth volume of the American Journal of Science.

The Regents Eejwrt, for 1836, contains an elaborate paper by Professor Joslin,
then of Union College, Schenectady, on the auroras of 1835, and several preceding
years. He had carefully observed and recorded, during the five years ending in
1835, fifty-six auroras, of which twelve were of the last year; and he was the first,
in this country, to describe certain appearances, seen in the daytime, resembling
auroral exhibitions, and which, according to him, are truly such. Dr. Joslin's paper
also contains valuable records of the state of the weather preceding and following
an aurora, from which he deduces the general rule that, "previous to an aurora, the
barometer is rising and the thermometer falling; and that the air is much nearer
than usual to the point of saturation with moisture."1

It may be remarked that each of these circumstances betokens that fair and
transparent state of the atmosphere, which is peculiarly favorable to the exhibition
of the aurora.

Dr. Gibbons, of Wilmington, in the State of Delaware (lat. 39° 41'), has given
a record of all the auroras seen by him during the six years from 1827 to 1833,
amounting to 52, — a number which is evidently much greater than the average for
that latitude, and, therefore, plainly indicating that the time fell within the secular

1 In Jameson's Journal we find the following account of an aurora borealis seen in the daytime, at
Canonmills, September 9th, 1827. The morning of Sunday, September 9th, was rainy, with a light
gale from the N.E. Before mid-day the wind began to veer to the west, and the clouds in the north-
western horizon cleared away; the blue sky in that quarter assumed the form of the segment of a very
large circle, with a well-defined line ; the clouds above continuing dense, and covering the rest of the
heavens. The centre of the azure arch gradually inclined more to the north, and reached an elevation
of nearly 20°. In a short time very thin fleecy clouds began to rise from the horizon within the blue
arch; and through these, very faint, perpendicular streaks of a sort of milky light could be perceived
shooting ; the eye, being thus guided, could likewise detect the same pale streaks passing over the
intense azure arch ; but they were extremely slight and evanescent. Between nine and ten in the even-
ing of the same day, the aurora borealis was very brilliant-.

12 ON THE RECENT SECULAR PERIOD

period. Dr. Gibbons, like Professor Joslin, took particular note of the state of the
thermometer, and infers that the occurrence of an aurora is always attended and
followed by a depression of temperature. He shows that the average temperature
of the days immediately preceding the auroras was 55°; that of the daj's following
52° ; and that the difference between the second days before and after the auroras"
was G°.

In 1836 the number of the exhibitions of the aurora borealis greatly increased;
being, as given in the Regents' Report, no less than sixty-one. The month of April
was remarkably productive, the aurora being seen on the 8th, 11th, 12th, 19th,
20th, 21st, 22d, 23d, and 24th. That of the 22d was of the first class, and the
description of it, written by the author of this paper at the time, was as follows : —

" Soon after 7 o'clock, near the end of twilight, a thick covering of auroral vapor
was seen to overspread the northern hemisphere, and streamers began to shoot up
towards the zenith, accompanied by faint undulations, all tending towards the pole
of the dipping needle as a common focus. At this period, the color of the aurora
was a dull yellow, with a slight tinge of red ; but, as the exhibition advanced, the
red predominated. The aurora made slow progress, but the firmament was surpass-
ingly beautiful, particularly in the west, where the planet Venus, now approaching
its maximum splendor, the planet Jupiter, and the Moon, near its first quarter,
appeared one above the other along the zodiac, while the large constellation Orion,
with Sirius and Procyon in his train, conspired to adorn the western sky. Saturn
also was shining brightly in the southeast. About half past 10 o'clock began the
auroral waves (which were very remarkable on that night), and increased rapidly
until 11 o'clock; after which they continued, with surprising activity, nearly all
night, ascending with swift undulatidns towards the magnetic focus, traversing
about half the quadrantal arc in half a second of time. At five minutes after 11,
a number of broad stripes of silvery whiteness appeared in the east and west, all
tending upwards to the same point. These were soon replaced by sheets of crimson
eight or ten degrees broad below, but tapering above. They crossed the constella-
tion Leo in the west. They had a counterpart in the east, though somewhat less
splendid. Soon afterwards broad sheets wreathing themselves in serpentine curves,
flowed towards the magnetic pole, with astonishing rapidity, on every side, but
most abundantly from the N. W. and the N. E. Their margins were fringed with
a white light of peculiar softness. They were like crimson billows, separated by
horizontal lines, and rolling towards the zenith. During the fifteen minutes, while
these crimson sheets were in view, two parallel arches stretched across the southern
sky, the lower about 30° in altitude, from both of which streamers arose. From
half past eleven o'clock, the auroral waves exceeded everything as they rushed in
pallid, filmy sheets towards the zenith, along the line of the streamers, though
apparently much below them, increasing their velocity as they ascended.

" The focus changed its position slightly at different times-; first moving northwards,
and then returning. At 12 o'clock it had a declination of 23 i degrees, and a right
ascension of 209 degrees. The barometer remained through the night nearly
stationary, and the thermometer fell only 2° after midnight : namely, from 32° to
30°. At half past 2 o'clock clouds (cirro-stratus) came up, and were scattered over

OF THE AURORA BOREALIS. 13

a great part of the sky. Although the moon was clown, it was still light enough
to see the time of night by the watch."

Such were the appearances at Yale College; but it seems to me desirable to place
on record the phenomena of these highest exhibitions of the aurora borealis, as
"they were observed at places remote from each other, in order to see how far they
preserved their identity, or how far they were altered by a change of place in the
spectator.

At Mount St. Mary's College, at Emmettsburg, Maryland, this aurora was atten-
tively observed by Professor M'Caffrey.1 The phenomenon is seldom seen at all
in that latitude (39°), and especially in any of its more splendid forms. About 7
o'clock in the evening of the 22d of April, a large part of the northern heavens
was covered with a thin vapor-like appearance, white at the base, of a pale red
at the upper edges, and of a deeper hue, red and yellow intermixed, about the
middle. It spread through an arc of 00° near the horizon, and extended half way
up to the zenith. Before 9 o'clock it had disappeared, leaving nothing but a bank
of white auroral vapor, stretching along the northern and northeastern horizon. At
fifteen minutes after 10, on looking towards the north, I perceived a few well-defined
columns, shooting up a short distance, each of them appearing and vanishing
momentarily; yet so that, to a careless observer, they might seem to remain per-
manently before the view. Gradually the northern streamers increased, both in
number and in length, as new ones sprung up east and west of those obscured origi-
nally. Stars could be seen dimly shining through them. The color of the corus-
cations was of a bluish white near the base; further up, it was of a brighter and
more silvery hue. Those nearest the moon, which was then in her first cpjarter,
and gave a strong light, assumed, for a short time, a pale green, then a bright orange
color ; and one, which shot up to a great length, became particularly remarkable
by its redness. The whole scene was still further enlivened by a beautiful play of
crimson light gracefully undulating upwards along the streamers. The long rays
continued to shoot up higher and higher, until they all converged to a point on or
near the meridian, about midway between Arcturus and Beta Leonis. The right
ascension was found to be 19-4° 20', and its declination 18° N. At this point, the
streamers, which magnificently decorated the whole northern hemisphere, reddening
as they converged, formed a superb oval crown of deep crimson light. This crown,
which seemed like a lake of blood, extended about 15° east and west, and 10° or
12° in the opposite direction. It had such a preternatural aspect, and, viewed in
connection with the accompanying phenomena, one of such overpowering sublimity,
as to inspire a profound feeling of religious awe. It lasted from five minutes before
11 o'clock until five minutes after. Gradually the redness faded away; the corus-
cations, which had lately met and mingled in the color of blood, no longer entirely
converged; around the focus was left a blank space of very irregular outline; south
of it were seen the broken off extremities of the most northern rays; while all the
rays near the convergence had a peculiar brushy appearance. At later periods the

1 Awcr. Join-. Science, XXXI, 85.

j4 ON THE RECENT SECULAR PERIOD

point of convergence, as well as it conld be determined, was found nearer and nearer
to Arcturus, indicating that the whole meteor moved with the earth.1 During the
more brilliant stages of the phenomena, the stars looked very dim; and the moon,
previous to her setting, shorn of more than half her lustre, had a sickly, pallid
aspect. For the space of two hours after the disappearing of the auroral crown,
the illuminated portion of the heavenly dome exhibited, in great brilliancy and
variety, the phenomenon fancifully called the " merry dancers." It was the inces-
sant play of a flickering light, not so bright as the Vespertine, which in some
respects it resembled, glancing about in various directions, but chiefly towards the
zenith, over the vast expanse. Its motions were far too varied and fantastic to
admit of description. In general, one flash seemed to chase another, as they arose
in graceful undulations, or rather darted up the sky, along and between the white
auroral columns. At half past 11, the spectacle began to lose its attractive bril-
liancy. Still later, the luminous rays were intersected by two irregular belts of
white vapor, which appeared successively in the north and northeast, one of them
spanning an arc of about 30, the other about 40 or 45 degrees. About 12 o'clock
the " merry dancers" renewed the splendor of their exhibition, and continued it, in
less and less brillianc}^ for an hour. Between 11 and 12, a dark cloud had arisen
in the northeast ; before 2, the wind was blowing from the south, and the sky was
so far overcast as to hide completely from our view all that remained of magnifi-
cence and splendor.

These two exhibitions of the aurora of April 22d (one of the greatest on record),
being both minutely described, and taking place at places removed from each other
by 24° of latitude, or by a rectilinear distance of nearly three hundred miles,
present circumstances very favorable for comparison, and we will pause a moment
to consider their points of similarity or dissimilarity. In both places the exhibi-
tion commenced about 7 o'clock, and was marked by like appearances of the
northern sky, although, as might be expected, the elevation of the aurora was less
at the southern than at the northern station. At the latter the display made slow
but constant progress ; while at the former it disappeared before 9 o'clock, leaving
nothing but a bank of white auroral vapor. Then, however, soon after 10, the
aurora revived, exhibiting abundant streamers. At half past 10, at the north,
commenced a grand display of auroral waves, which, at the south, appeared as a
beautiful play of crimson light, gracefully undulating upwards along the streamers.
At both places the magnificent aurora was formed about 11 o'clock; but in Mary-
land it lasted only ten minutes, while in Connecticut it was visible until after 12
o'clock. Although the display at the southern station was probably unparalleled
in that climate for splendor and magnificence, yet the greater abundance and more
sublime evolutions of the sheets of crimson vapor that flowed upward between 10
and 11 o'clock, as well as the more striking display of auroral waves, which lasted
all night, rendered the northern exhibition far the more grand and impressive.

1 This merely indicates that, the point of convergence was the pole of the dipping needle, and, there-
fore, maintained a fixed position with respect to the meridian O.

OF THE AURORA BOREALIS. 15

The year 1836 was also distinguished on the Eastern Continent for great auroras.
That of October -lSth was seen all over Europe.1

The year 1837 may be called the maximum year of the whole period ; for although
the number of auroras recorded in the Regents Report is not equal to that of 1836,
being only 50, while that of 1836 was 61, yet this year was distinguished above all
for three auroras of the first class, which occurred January 25th, July 1st, and
November 14th, while no other single year had hitherto presented more than one of
this class. The aurora of January 25th was for some time afterwards known among
our small corps of observers as the "magnificent." In many respects it resembled
that of November 17th, 1835, but its colors were brighter and more diversified, and its
columns were arranged with more symmetry around the magnetic pole, supporting a
canopy of unrivalled grandeur. My attention was first attracted to the aurora as early
as six o'clock, before the twilight was over. At this time the northern sky exhibited
a blush not unlike that of the fairest dawn. This was skirted on the east and west by
ill-defined columns of crimson light, which moved slowly from north to south. At
7 o'clock these began to send up streamers, all of which tended, as usual, to a com-
mon focus, situated a few degrees S. E. of the zenith. At 7 h. 10 m., the corona was
distinctly formed, embracing the Pleiades, which were nearly at its centre. At three
different times during the evening, the corona was dispersed and as often re-formed;
but the position of its centre at or near the pole of the dipping needle remained
invariable. Meanwhile, the twilight of the northern sky had moved slowly south-
ward, its boundary spanning the firmament from west to east in a well-defined zone,
until it left only a segment of the southern hemisphere, about 30° in altitude.
This portion of the heavens, thrown as it was into striking contrast with the illu-
minated parts of the sky, appeared of a dark slate color, and exhibited the interest-
ing spectacle of stars seeming to shine brightly through a stratum of black clouds.

These phenomena exhibited various interesting evolutions until 15 minutes after
10 o'clock, when suddenly the meteor rallied all its forces. Innumerable spindles
of silvery lustre darted from the crimson folds of light that hung around the sky,
all pointing towards the common focus; and sheets of a thin vapor of mingled white
and red ilowed over them, and wreathed themselves around the same point in wavy
folds. A universal stillness reigned; and the ground itself now covered with snow,
which exhibited a delicate rosy tint, contributed to enhance the beauty of the scene.
It is obvious, also, to one that reflects on the position of the principal constellations
at that time, that a large part of all the brightest of the fixed stars were above the
horizon. Sirius and Procyon, Castor and Pollux, Capella and Aldebaran, were
arranged around the field in striking array, along with the planets Jupiter and
Mars, both at the period of their greatest splendor. So delicate was the auroral
covering, that the light of the stars was but little obscured by it. The cluster of
small stars in the head of Orion, when most enveloped, was distinctly visible; and
the two planets appeared through a dense mass of red vapor with seemingly aug-
mented splendor. In these various attributes of grandeur and beauty, the present
exceeded all former exhibitions of the aurora; but there were wanting the auroral

1 BibliouVque Univers. for Oct., 183G.

1G ON THE RECENT SECULAR TERIOD

leaves which made so conspicuous a figure in the great exhibitions of November,
1835, and April, 183G. Although the moon was shining in the east, and was but
little past the full, yet the distinctness of the auroral lights seemed scarcely impaired
by it. This is remarkable; perhaps there is not more than one other instance on
record where so splendid an exhibition of the aurora borealis was witnessed in the
presence of so full a moon.

The magnetic needle was watched attentively by Mr. E. C. Herrick, and was
observed to undergo extraordinary fluctuations at one time (7 h. 41m.), deviating
a Avhole degree west of its normal position, and at another time traversing 45
minutes in two minutes of time. The barometer had previously been subject to
uncommon variations. On the night of the 21st, between 11 and 12 o'clock, it
stood at 28.70 inches, a depression seldom equalled at this place. From that time
it had steadily risen, and during the aurora it stood at 30.1 inches. Its entire range
from December 19th, when it was 30.91, was very remarkable, since its maximum
in ordinary years is seldom above 30.70, and its minimum seldom below 29 inches,
making the entire annual range 1.7 inches; whereas, during the 24 hours preceding
this aurora, the range was 1.4 inches. The thermometer early in the evening of
the aurora was at 20° (Fahr.), but sank rapidly, and at 10 o'clock was only 4° above
zero, and before morning fell quite to zero. The zodiacal light was at that time
very conspicuous in the S. W. in the evening, and continued through the two or
three months, considerably brighter than in ordinary years.

This great aurora called out many good observers in various parts of the United
States and in Canada, and the periodicals of the day abound with descriptions of it.
At Annapolis (Maryland), lat. 39°, it was accurately observed by President Hum-
phreys, of St. John's College. Instead of the twilight blush in the north, an appear-
ance which it first presented at New Haven, as early as six o'clock, Dr. Humphreys,
although abroad and engaged in taking an astronomical observation, discovered
nothing of it until 40 minutes after six, when his attention was suddenly arrested by
a column of red light which shot up from the southwest. At its maximum, the
aurora afforded light sufficient to cast a deep shadow from trees, houses, and other
objects, while the snow reflected a rich crimson. The magnetic needle constantly
vibrated in the horizontal arc, and was so affected in the dip, as to be brought
closely into contact with the glass plate; and, on inclining the needle so as to cause
it to traverse, the difference of declination between 9 o'clock that evening and sun-
rise next morning was more than ten degrees} This result is remarkable, not only
for the extent of the change of declination, which, I believe, is altogether unprece-
dented, but from the fact that at New Britain, twenty-five miles north of New
Haven, Mr. Burritt, an experienced observer, watched the needle for two hours
during the most active period of the same aurora, and could not discern the least
change of declination, while the change of declination at New Haven was, as already
stated, a whole degree.2

1 Annapolis Republican, Jan. 28, 1837. We can hardly avoid suspecting either an error of observa-
tion, or a misprint, in a result so unparalleled. — O.

2 Captain Richardson also reports that in his observations on the auroras of the polar regions, he
could discover no effect on the needle. Captain Parry says the same.

OF THE AURORA BOREALIS. 17

I have before me minute descriptions of this grand aurora covering a region of
six degrees of latitude from N. to S. and extending indefinitely from E. to W.1 In
all those places, the phenomena were remarkably uniform; all observers remarked
the early commencement of the display (before the end of twilight) — the predomi-
nance of crimson vapor — the broad and splendid arches — the sudden increase of
intensity about 7 o'clock, and the formation of the corona soon after around the
Pleiades — and the general illumination and fiery appearance of the canopy extend-
ing far towards the southern horizon. Numbers also mention the renewal of the
principal features with augmented splendor, from half past ten to half past eleven
o'clock, although comparatively few observers had the perseverance to follow out
their observations through the whole nisht.

The same year (1837) afforded two other exhibitions of auroras of the first class,
namely, on the 1st of July and on the 14th of November. According to Professor
Dewey, that of July 1st, as seen at Rochester, N. Y., exceeded in splendor that of
January 25th.2 It followed a sudden depression of temperature. At 2 o'clock P. M.
the preceding day, the thermometer was at 86°; a shower ensued, a cool wind
set in, and the following evening the thermometer fell to 58°. Soon after twilight
the aurora appeared in short, flocculent, cloud-like forms, all across the northern sky.
Soon it extended quite round to the east and west points, at both of which broad
and bright arches arose, and extended more than half-way to the zenith, while
numerous streamers rose all around the northern sky towards the same point. The
corona was formed ten minutes after ten o'clock, but the display was more striking
at half past ten. The whole expanse except the south was most splendid; and
soon afterwards the flashing towards the vertex from all sides was renewed with
great power. The maximum of intensity was about 11 o'clock. The colors were
constantly changing; from all the northern, eastern, and western parts, the flashing-
light rose to the vertex and seemed to shoot back again. Often the light would
flash through thirty or forty degrees, disappear within twenty degrees of the vertex,
and reappear flashing as before, for the last ten degrees, as if it passed in the inter-
mediate space, through some opaque substances. Mr. E. C. llerrick's description of
the same aurora,3 corresponds in most particulars to that of Professor Dewey. At
half past ten the action appeared to him most energetic, and the scene eminently
beautiful. From east, north, and west, and all points between, streamers shot up
from near the horizon in quick succession, with wonderful celerity, and passed be-
yond the zenith; while others, starting from an elevation of about 30° in the south
met the former about the corona. The display began to decline at 11 h. 10 m.,
and by midnight became quite faint. At 2 o'clock the aurora began to revive, and
soon presented a spectacle in many respects surpassing the former. The exhibition

1 It was accurately observed and described by Judge McCord, at Montreal ; by Professor Dewey, at
Rochester; by Mr. R. Haskius, at Buffalo; by Mrs. G. S. Silliman, at Brooklyn, X. Y. ; by Mr. E. H.
Burritt, New Britain, Ct. ; by President Humphreys, at Annapolis, Maryland; also, by a spectator,
at Norristown, Pennsylvania, and another in Sussex, New Jersey. Also, at Bermuda.

' Amer. Journal Sci., XXXIII, 143.

3 New Haven Daily Herald, for July 6, 183?.
3

18 ON THE RECENT SECULAR TERIOD

continued with diminishing intensity all night, and streamers were seen until an
hour after daj'break.

In this account, the fact is first distinctly enunciated that when the aurora is
unusually brilliant, there sometimes occur two fits of greatest intensity at an interval
of about four hours. The following are given as the successive positions of the
corona :

At 2 h. 31 m. centre of corona 75° 25' alt.— S. 4° 27' E. az.
" 39 . . . . 74° 55' 3.30

" 42 . . . . 74° 40' 5.07

Dip, at New Haven, 73° 27'; Declination, G° 10' W.

The magnetic needle was much disturbed. Between 10 h. 44 m. and 11 o'clock,
it traversed an arc of 3° 41'. After midnight the range did not exceed 1°.

Of the great aurora of November 14th of the same year, Professor Barnard, of
the University of Mississippi, then resident in the city of New York, prepared a full
account from the statements of different observers, which was inserted in the Ameri-
can Journal of Science (XXXIV, 267).

At New Haven the exhibition was first noticed about 6 o'clock, while a very thin
cloud covered the sky from which a light snow was falling. All things appeared
as if dyed in blood. The entire atmosphere, the surface of the earth, the trees, the
tops of houses, and in short the whole face of nature, were tinged with the same
rosy hue. The disturbance of the magnetic needle was cpuite remarkable, its entire
range, according to Mr. Herrick, being nearly six degrees. At 6 h. 26 m. it stood at
3° 10' W.; and 9 h. 10 m. at 9° 7' W. From a tabular statement, containing 70
observations made between 5 h. 40 m. and 11 h. it appeared that the influence of
the aurora was not uniform in producing a deflection of the needle in the same
direction. At 6 h. 6 m. having returned to its normal place from east to west,
it suddenly turned and moved rapidly eastward for five minutes, and thus oscil-
lated continually.

Professor Barnard observed this aurora in the city of New York, where the cloud
was thinner than at New Haven, and only a few light flakes of snow were falling,
so that the exhibition was recognized as early as a quarter before 6. After several
variations of intensity, the phenomenon rallied a few minutes before 9, when Pro-
fessor Barnard was summoned to witness a new exhibition of auroral magnificence,
"the glories of which no tongue could tell." It formed a grand corona, and had
the other characteristics of an aurora of the first class. The duration of the maxi-
mum state of intensity was very remarkable. For three-quarters of an hour after
its formation, which took place about 9 o'clock, the corona continued, with variable
brightness, to maintain its position at the magnetic pole. Within a few minutes
after 9, the southern sky was as completely filled with auroral columns as the
northern. For a long time, therefore, the spectator was overspread by a perfect
canopy of glory. Professor Barnard continued his observations the greater part of
the night, to see whether, as had been observed before, there would be a recurrence
of the display at a later hour. Such proved to be the fact, as the aurora returned,

OF THE AURORA BOREALIS. 19

and came again to a period of maximum intensity about half past 2 o'clock. But
the display in this case was much inferior to that of the preceding evening.

Numerous accounts of this grand aurora were published in the newspapers in
different parts of the Union, as at Buffalo and St. Louis on the west, and at Anna-
polis and Richmond on the south, and it was observed as far south as Society Hill,
in Soutb Carolina, lat. 34° 35' N. But at this place it only exhibited red streamers
and low arches, without the corona, or any otber of those magnrficent features
which rendered it so remarkable in countries further north. Its appearance at the
extreme south is thus noted in a letter from W. Darby, of Culloden, Georgia, lat.
32° 45' N., addressed to Professor Silliman : "Immediately after dark, or about G
o'clock, the sky, a little to the north of the star Capella, began to appear luminous,
and an arch was soon formed of about G or 8 degrees in breadth, and extending
over to the northwestern horizon, having the pole star at its highest point. The
color of the arch was light scarlet. It appeared to be a semicircle, having for its
base about 60° of the horizon. It was observed with wonder by many in this
region, and was such as no one had ever witnessed before."

This aurora was seen in England, and was described in the Cambridge Chronicle
published in November, and also in Loudons Magazine of Natural History, for
December, 1837; but its splendors seem to have been greatly obscured by clouds.
"At half past 12 a patch of the most intense blood-red color was visible, free from
the interposition of clouds ; the whole of the sky had an awful appearance ; for the
tinge of red which pervaded the whole expanse assumed, in many points, from the
depth of color above, and the density of the clouds below, the dark copper tint
which is seen on the disk of the moon in a lunar eclipse."

The year 1838 was less prolific of fine auroras than the preceding year had been,
and the whole number recorded in the Regents' Report, was 42. The most remark-
able occurred February 21st, August 22d, and, in continued succession, the 13th,
14th, 15th, 16th, and 17th of September. The following year, 1839, gave 58 auroras
in all, of which the most remarkable occurred January 10th and 14th, and September
3d. The aurora of September 3d, 1839, was, for its extent as well as its splendor,
one of the most extraordinary on record, and requires particular consideration. A
minute account of it, furnished by Mr. E. C. Herrick, is given in the thirty-eighth
volume of the American Journal of Science ; and various other descriptions may be
found in the Regents Report, and in the newspapers of Great Britain, as well as in
those of the United States. The appearances at New Haven were as follows : It
was first noticed about half an hour after sunset, and of course while the twilight
was quite strong. Previous to midnight, there were three or four seasons of maxi-
mum energy, during which a large portion of the heavens was covered with a
vast assemblage of streamers of various hues, in which crimson and silver-white
predominated. Several times in the course of the evening, the corona was distinctly
formed, and in all cases at or near the pole of the dipping needle. Before 9 h.
2G m., there was but little undulation; but about this time the waves began to show
themselves, and soon flashed up towards the zenith with great magnificence. Low
in the north appeared, at the same time, short dark columns rising across the
intensely luminous band wdiich lay there, and then almost instantly vanishing.

20 ON THE RECENT SECULAR PERIOD

This was often repeated. The southern part of the heavens was occupied by
streamers to a very unusual extent. The arch bounding the aurora on the south
gradually descended, so that, at 10 o'clock, its vertex was not more than 10° above
the horizon.

The observations made with the magnetic needle, though not very accurate, were
sufficient to show that it was greatly affected.

As late as 1 o'clock, the spectacle, after having declined, was renewed with great
splendor, and waves and streamers were numerous until daylight.

At Nashville, Tennessee, lat. 36°, this auroral exhibition was more striking than
any one seen within the memory of the oldest inhabitants; yet the phenomena were
far less imposing than at New Haven. No corona was formed. The northern bank
of auroral vapor attained its greatest height at 8 h. 40 m., having then an
altitude of 25°. It was soon after this period that, at the north, the aurora was
putting on its finest forms.1 Even as far south as New Orleans, lat. 29° 58', the
auroral display was so conspicuous that it was mistaken for a great conflagration,
and the fire companies were out. On the corresponding evening, London was strik-
ingly illuminated by the auroral lights. At 2 o'clock in the morning, the pheno-
menon was described as exceedingly gorgeous. It was accompanied by numerous
meteors or shooting stars.

The year 1840 was productive of a great number of auroras of the third and
fourth classes, but of none of the highest class. The entire number recorded in
the Regents' Report was no less than 75. That of May 29th was the most remark-
able. Those of August 10th, and September 25th, and December 25th, were of
superior brilliancy.

The record for 1841 was nearly the same in respect to number, being 72 ; but
only one was characterized as peculiarly splendid, and that occurred Nov. 18th.

The year 1842 shows a great decline in numbers, only 36 being recorded in the
Regents' Report for that year; and of these only one, that of April 15th, was at all
remarkable.

The report for 1843 gives 55, an increase of number, but a diminution of inten-
sity, as none occurred of the first or second class. That for 1844 shows a still
further decline, being 30. Again, that for 1845 gives only 25. Neither year .was
distinguished for any exhibition of the higher orders. The year 1846 indicates a
rapid increase, the number being 47; and the following year, 1847, has 46, of which
those of March 19th, April 7th, and November 25th, were characterized by some,
though not by all, of the features of the highest class. In all three, the maxi-
mum of intensity was near 11 o'clock. The year 1848 was, however, distin-
guished by a larger number, 64, and for two auroras of superior brilliancy, which
occurred April 6th and November 17th. Of the former, my note-book has the
following passage: "In all the exhibitions of the aurora borealis which I have
seen, I have never before been so much struck with the resemblance of the flashes,
as they succeeded each other from near the horizon towards the zenith, to the

1 Amcr. Jour., XXXVIII, 263.

OF THE AURORA BOREALIS. 21

appearances exhibited by a strong electric spark in traversing a space of rarefied
air, in what is called the auroral tube." Having very recently performed this expe-
riment, in a dark room, with a powerful electric machine and a tube four feet in
length and two inches in diameter, I was well prepared for making the comparison.
Although I am not a believer in the hypothesis which ascribes the origin of the aurora
borealis to electricity, yet the supposition that the aurora derives its illumination
from the passage of electricity through it, was favored by this remarkable display
of the phenomenon.1 The aurora of November 17th was equally distinguished
for its superior brilliancy and great extent. In respect to extent, I know not that
it was ever surpassed, being seen in extraordinary magnificence and splendor hi
Asia, Europe, and America. We have accounts of it from Odessa, long. 31° E.,
to San Francisco, long. 122° W., through 153° of longitude; and from 46° to 21°
of north latitude; making from north to south a breadth of 25°. Nor is there any
reason to suppose that these were the actual limits of the exhibition. "We should
not, perhaps, exceed the truth if we should assert that this aurora was seen in a
zone of 30° in breadth, reaching half round the globe. The Rev. Chester S. Lyman,
who has described its appearance at San Francisco,2 was informed by an old Califor-
nian that it was the first time he had ever witnessed anything of the kind ; and
the same was probably the case with most of those who saw it on the Island of
Cuba.

Previous to this return of the aurora, splendid exhibitions of the phenomenon
had become so unfrecptent as to induce the belief that the secular period, which
was supposed to have commenced in 1827, was over; and after this exhibition, so
long a period of comparative repose followed, that we again supposed that no more
of the highest forms of the aurora would be witnessed by the present generation ;
but the recurrence of three grand displays in the month of September, 1851, on
the 3d, the Gth, and the 29th, has again excited doubts respecting the end of this
period.3 But, meanwhile, the most important facts we have assembled, respecting
the progress, so far, of the period under review, may be reserved for future use, and
it may add to their value to reduce a few of the leading facts to the tabular form.

1 New Haven Palladium, for April 7, 1848.
3 Amer. Jour., New Series, VII, 293.

3 The almost total disappearance of auroras of the higher class for several years past, must be
obvious to every observer.

22

ON THE RECENT SECULAR PERIOD

Auroras according to Classes, from 1827 to 1848, inclusive.

Year.

i.

ii.

in.

IV.

Total.

Remarks.

1827
1828
1829
1830
1831
1832
1S33
1834
1835
1836
1831
1838
1839
1840
1841
1842
1843
1844
1845
1846
1847
1848

0

0
0

1
1

0

1

0

1
1

3
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
1

4
1
1
3
1
3
2
0
2
3
1
7
2
3
3
1
0
2
1
0
2
3

1

3

8

6

1

2

8

3

4

11

9

13

9

12

11

4

8

4

5

8

10

21

5
6
8
21
20
19
25
29
19
46
37
22
46
60
58
31
47
24
19
39
32
39

10
10
17
31
23
25
36
32
26
61
50
42
58
75
72
36
55
30
25
47
46
64

1. Before 1832, the numbers relate to auroras seen in Great Bri-
tain, as given in Dalton's Meteorological Essays, p. 218 (2d edition).
After 1831, the numbers relate to those seen in the State of New
York, as given in the Regents' Reports.

2. The greatest number in any one year occurred in 1840, and
was 75 ; in 1841, 72 ; in 1848, 64 ; in 1839, 57 ; in 1837, 50.

3. The average number for the whole period, per annum, is 39^.

4. The numbers of the respective classes are 12, 45, 161, 652;
aud the sum total for 22 years, is 871. The series is nearly geome-
trical, increasing in a fourfold ratio.

5. The number for 1826, the year preceding the period, is only
2, according to Dalton, and those of the 3d class, and that for 1849,
the year following this period, is only 14, all of the 4th class. The
sudden falling off, both in numbers and intensity, after the year
1848, induced the belief that that year terminated the secular
period ; but the recurrence of three grand auroras as late as Sep-
tember, 1851, of another in February, 1852, and of another still,
in September, 1853, renders the length of the period somewhat
doubtful.

6. Of auroras of the 1st class, the year 1830 has 1 ; 1831, 1 ;
1833, 1; 1835, 1; 1836, 1; 1837, 3; 1839, 1; 1847, 2; and 1848,
1. Of examples of the 2d class, the year 1838 was the most pro-
ductive, having afforded no less than 7.

7. In 1849, only 14 were observed at New Haven. Nearly 40
were mentioned in the Regents' Report, but most of them were a
mere trace.

12

45

161

652

871

1826
1849

0
0

0
0

2
0

0
14

2
14

Auroras of the separate Months, from 1832 to 1848, inclusive.
[From the Regents' Report.]

Months.

CO
OO
l-H

CO
CO

CO

-r

CO
QO

T-l

CO
OD

rH

CO
CO
i—l

CO
OO

I—l

OO
CO
OO

I—l

CO
CO

I— 1

O

CO

t—l

OO

r-l

OO

l-H

CO
CO

1— 1

5

OO
rH

1
1
5
3
5
1
1
1
4
3
4
1

m

3)

00
l-H

3
3
0
3
1
0
3
5
2
2
1
2

CO

CO

rH

3
0

1
5
9
2
3
6
8
5
2
3

oo

i-H

2
1
7
' 6
3
1
3
4
3
3
9
4

OO
OO

1-1

8
8
6
9
2
2
5
5
1
7
6
5

o

EH

58
57
65
93
63
46
66
82
84
66
62
37

January
February
March
April .
May .
June .
July .
August
September
October
November
December

1

0
2
5
3
3
0
5
3
2
1
0

0
0

1

3

5
2
3
3
10
6
1
2

2
2
5
2
1
0
2
2
1
7
2
6

5
3
2
0
0
2
2
1
6
1
3
1

0

2

1

9

4

10

10

11

3

4

6

1

5
2
6
6
3
3
4
5
8
2
5
1

5
4
0
4
1
3
4
3
10
1
4
3

9
3
6
8
8
2
2
6
5
5
3
1

6
5
8
10
10
3
3
9
6
6
5
4

2
12
9
6
5
2
8
12
5
5
5
1

3
3
2
6
0
3
6
1
3
2
5
2

4
8
4
8
3
7
7
3
6
5
0
0

25

36 32

26

61 50

42

58

75 72

30 ,55

30

25

47

46

64

780

Remarks.

1. The average, per annum, for the entire period, is nearly 46.

2. The greatest number for any single year, was in 1840 — being 75.

3. Average for the spring months, 73s ; autumnal months, 70s; summer months,
G4 5 ; winter months, 501. The six months on the side of the perihelion (Octoher,
November, December, January, February, March), 57*; on the side of the aphelion,

OF THE AURORA BOREALIS.

23

72 J. Whence it appears that, during this period, the number of auroras was
greater when the earth was in the part of its orbit most distant from the sun than
in the nearer part, in the ratio of 724 : 57£, or nearly of 24 to 19. This result is
very different from that obtained by Mairan, who found the number for the six
winter months greatly to exceed that for the six summer months ; but the cases
collected by Mairan were those only of the higher classes, or of the greatest
intensity. We shall see that there is no fixed relation between intensity and
number.

4. The monthly average is nearly 4 ; but that for April is about 5i, and that for
September is about 5 ; while that for December is but little more than 2, and for
June is only 21.

Auroras oj

the two highest Classes.

Months.

1833.
1834.

in

CO
CD

CO
CO

r-

co

CO

CO
CO
CO

CO
CO

o

1

CO

CI

-f

OO

1

CO
CO

5

CO

1

1

U3

CO

1

CO

fc-

CO

1

2
1

CO
CO

1

1

1
1

En

2
2
3

6
4
0
3
8
11
0
8
1

January

February

March

April .
May .
June .
July .
August
September .
October
November .
December .

•

3

1
1
1
1

.

1
1
1
1

1

2

1

1

1
1

2

1
1

5

l

2

1

2

1
1

1

3

4

4

1

4

4

7 3

3

3

1

0

2

1

0

4

4

48

Remarks.

1. The average per annum for the whole period, is nearly 3.

2. Maximum year, 1838; maximum month, September. The year 1837 was
distinguished for three examples of the first class; 1838 was distinguished for a
greater number, but they were chiefly of the second class. September, 1838, pro-
duced no less than 5 of this class.

3. There is no apparent connection between number and intensity. The year
1835 was the least productive year of the series; but the exhibition of November
17th, of that year, was one of the highest class. In 1S3G there were 61 auroras,
and in 1837 only 49 ; yet in the latter year there were three of peculiar grandeur;
while in the former there was only one of the highest order.

4. The auroras of the first class, during the period under review, occurred at the
following dates : —

1833. May 17th. 1839. September 3d.

1835. November 17th. 1S47. March 19th, April 7th.

1836. April 22d. 184S. November 17th.

1837. January 25th, July 1st, November 14th.

0± ON THE RECENT SECULAR PERIOD

With the foregoing data before us, compared with such as have been recorded
in different countries and in different ages, we now proceed to classify the leading
facts appertaining to this mysterious phenomenon, with the view of ascertaining
its laws.

LAWS OF THE AURORA BOREALIS.

I. Beginning. — An aurora of the first class usually commences near the end of
evening twilight, in the form of a northern light resembling the dawn. The greatest
exhibitions are always found in their incipient and never in their maturer states, at
this time of the evening. No instance is on record of an aurora suddenly bursting
upon the view, as the light of day disappeared, with its corona or its crimson columns,
or its magnificent arches, or its waves fully formed, and in complete operation.1

Moreover, the beginning at different places is nearly at the same instant of local
time at points widely different in longitude. Thus the exhibition of November
17th, 1835, was first seen at Boston and Cincinnati at 6 o'clock, and in the incipient
stage, although these places differ nearly an hour in longitude; and that of November
17th, 1848, distinguished above all others for its extent from east to west, began,
arrived at its maximum, and, in short, performed all its evolutions at nearly the
same hour of the night, in Western Asia, in Europe, and in the United States, even
to the shores of California.

II. Maximum. — An aurora of the first class commonly arrives at its maximum at all
places from 10 to 11 o'clock, and more frequently a little before ll.2 At this period,
the columns suddenly increase in size and splendor, the bloody hue becomes most
conspicuous, and there is a general rush from the northeast and northwest towards
the common point of concourse, forming the corona.

In some cases, the meteor rallies and forms a second maximum, though of inferior
intensity to the first, at a later hour of the night, often about 2 o'clock, a fact first
remarked by Mr. Herrick, in the auroral display of July 1, 1837;3 and the same

1 That auroras usually begin* at a certain hour of the evening, and that great auroras begin earlier
than others, was noticed by Mairan in the following terms: Le commencement du phcnomene arrive
commencement deux, trois, ou quatre heures tout au plus apros le concher du soleil, c'est-a-dire qu'il
arrive presque toujours le soir, et jamais, que je sache, le matin apres minuit, lorsque les nuits sont un
pen longucs. Les grandes aurores boreales commencent ordinairement de bonne heure, peu de temps
apri-s la fin du crepuscule, et qnelques fois auparavant. — Traite Phys. et Hist. dul'Au. Bor., p. 115.

a Capt. Lefroy (Preliminary Report on the Observations on the Aurora Borealis, made in Canada, in
Regents' Rep. for 1850) recognizes this law, and remarks that he had observed it as early as 1843-4.
In my account of the great aurora of Nov. 18, 1841, published the next day after its occurrence in the
New Haven Daily Herald, I remarked as follows: In all these respects, as well as by the grand display
of auroral waves, this exhibition of the aurora resembled that of November, 1835. Indeed, both came
to their maximum and formed their corona around the pole of the dipping needle at almost precisely
the same time of the night, namely, about 1 1 o'clock. Nor does this appear to have been a casual coinci-
dence. It was the case, also, with a great exhibition of the aurora seen in France about a century ago,
(particularly described by Mairan), and with so many others as to constitute a striking and important
feature in relation to the true theory of the phenomenon.

3 Amer. Journal of Sci., XXXIII, 143.

OF THE AURORA BOREALIS. 25

fact has since been observed repeatedly, varying as to the time of night from 1 to
3 o'clock.

III. End. — Ordinary auroras commonly end before midnight, bid those of the first
class frequently continue all night. In the aurora of July 1, 1837, streamers were
observed an hour after daybreak. Auroral waves are sometimes the most conspicu-
ous feature of grand exhibitions after midnight; as was particularly the case in the
great displays of November 17th, 1835,1 April 22d, 1836, and November 18th, 1841,
in which these impressive phenomena made their appearance after the corona had
vanished, but lasted the greater part of the night.

The foregoing propositions relating to the time of the beginning, maximum, and
end of auroras of the first class, have been derived from the comparison of a large
number of instances, but are especially exemplified in the six greatest of the series,
namely, those of November 17th, 1835; April 22d, 1836; January 25th and
November 14th, 1837; September 3d, 1839; and November 18th, 1841. Those
exhibitions which extend to an unusually low latitude, sometimes arrive at their
maximum at an earlier hour than common. Thus, the aurora of September 3d,
1839, is stated in some reports, to have attained its greatest magnificence between
9 and 10 o'clock, and that of September 29th, 1851, formed its first corona as early
as 7 o'clock; but, with these exceptions, there is much uniformity in regard to the
times of beginning, middle, and end, in most cases the exhibition commencing
near the end of twilight, coming to its maximum splendor about 11 o'clock, and
continuing, with an increased display of auroral waves, the greater part of the night.
Also, if we examine the accounts of great auroras of other times, and of foreign
countries, there appears to be much uniformity in these results. Thus Mairan,2 in
his account of the aurora of 1726, that first drew his attention to the subject which
he afterwards investigated with consummate ability, states that its maximum
occurred a little before 11 o'clock. Indeed, in the polar regions, when the aurora is
observed during the period of the year when the sun is constantly below the
horizon, the exhibition is not indifferently at all hours of the 24, but, according to
the French Commission at Bossekop, consisting of Lottin and others, the usual display
is from 10 P. M. to 4 A. M.; and during the short days, the auroras begin there as
elsewhere at a certain definite interval after sunset, the hour varying with the time
of year.3 Something of the nature of auroral clouds is occasionally seen in the
daytime, but that great exhibitions do not occur by day, may be inferred from the
fact that the extraordinary variations of the magnetic needle which attend such
displays, are seldom if ever seen in the daytime.

IV. Extent. — Auroral exhibitions of the higher order are commonly of great extent.
The arch of August 28th, 1827, was seen all over the Northern States of the Union,
and also in Scotland. The display of November 17th, 1848, was witnessed with
very similar appearances, in Asia, Europe, and America, accounts of it having
reached us from Odessa on the east to San Francisco on the west, through 150° of

1 Amer. Journal of Sci., XXIX, 388.

5 Traite Phys. et Hist, de lAurore Boreale.

3 Voyages en Scandinavie, etc. Tar MM. Lottin, &c.

2G ON THE RECENT SECULAR PERIOD

longitude.1 That of Sept ember 3d, 1839, which was very splendid in the Northern
States, was also so conspicuous at New Orleans as to be mistaken for a fire, and to
call out fire companies with their engines. At places nearly in the same latitude,
however widely they may differ in longitude, the exhibition is everywhere nearly the
same; or at least has the same leading characteristics, and a similar degree of mag-
nificence. But in different latitudes, especially in places differing widely in latitude,
the effect of parallax is plainly discernible. Thus the great aurora of September 3d,
1839, which was described as very brilliant in England, in Connecticut, and in
Missouri, exhibited in Tennessee only an auroral bank in the north, and a few bril-
liant streamers, although it was pronounced to be the most splendid aurora ever seen
there by the oldest inhabitants.2 So that of July 1, 1837, which was magnificent at
New Haven, only exhibited streamers for half an hour at Columbus in Georgia.3
The extraordinary exhibition of September 29th, 1851, which in the Northern
States was attended by a gorgeous retinue of columns, arches, and coronas, formed
at the city of Washington, but half the corona, and at places farther south scarcely
any traces of it.4 While, about 7 o'clock, the corona was completely formed at New
Haven, there were seen at Charleston, S. C, only different cloudy masses of purple
light, occupying the region of the sky above the northern quarter of the horizon,
extending about 40° to the east, and as much to the west of the north point, and
rising nearly to the height of the pole star.3 At 11 o'clock only a faint gleam of
auroral light was visible, and soon after a dark band whose culminating point was
only two thirds the altitude of the pole star; yet was it at this time that Hon. A.
N. Skinner, of New Haven, then at Staten Island, saw a splendid arch with a dense
bank of auroral vapor which sent forth streamers, within 20° of the southern horizon.6

V. Auroral VAroR. — A great aurora is preceded by a large bank, or cloud, of a
peexdiar vapor, resting on the northern horizon, commonly of a milky ap>pearance, but
sometimes of a smoky hue, or of the two mixed together. This vapor apparently contains
the material from which the aurora is fed, and when it is either wanting, or is
small in quantity, the exhibition seldom reaches a high order or lasts long. That
the auroral vapor has a density extremely low — less than the lightest fog, is
evident from the stars being seen through it with little loss of light. It is, how-
ever, sometimes so much accumulated and so luminous as sensibly to impair the
brightness of the stars, or even to extinguish those of the lower magnitudes.

VI. Auroral Waves. — These leaves, when peexdiarly grand, make their appearance
later than the streamers and arches, and usually later than the corona; and they con-
tinue to a later hour of the night, often presenting a sublime feature after the other
leading characteristics of the aurora are over. They appear at a lower level than

' It is worthy of remark, that great auroras extend much further from east to west than from north
to south. As they are very seldom seen below lat. 30°, we may take 60° from the pole as the maxi-
mum in latitude, while in longitude they extend, as in the case of that of November, 1848, at least 150°.
Since, however, there is reason for believing that the exhibition which descends as low as 30° does not
reach to the pole on the north, probably the extent from north to south is much less than 60°.

a Amer. Journ., XXXVIII, 261. 3 lb., XXXIII, 144.

4 National Intelligencer, Oct. 4th. 5 Professor Gibbes, in Charleston Daily News.

0 New Haven Journal and Courier, Oct. Gth.

OF THE AURORA BOREALIS. 27

the columns, and flow upwards in the direction of the columns towards the centre
of the corona. The velocity of their motions is amazing, the entire progress
being such as would carry them from the horizon to the zenith in a second of time,
passing over half that distance (their usual track) in half a second. The appearance
is that of undulatory rather than of progressive motion, resembling the waves
that sweep over tall, fine grass, when gently agitated by the wind. The finest
specimens of auroral waves were exhibited in the displays of November 17th, 1835,
April 22d, 1836, November 18th, 1841, and in all three of the great auroras of
September, 1851. l

VII. Magnetic Phenomena. — The aurora borealis is accompanied by remarkable
magnt tic phenomena.3 During the great exhibition of November 14th, 1837, accord-
ing to Mr. Herrick, the needle often moved thirty minutes in three seconds, and its
greatest deflection was nearly 0°. The disturbances of the dipping needle are also
frecpuently enormous during great auroras. The position of the streamers in direc-
tions parallel to the magnetic meridian, and the situation of the centre of the
corona at the pole of the dipping needle, are also facts constantly observed. There
does not, however, appear to be any established relation between the state of
intensity and the effect on the needle ; and there are singular local peculiarities in
respect to the accompanying magnetic phenomena. Professor Henry detected an
increase of horizontal intensity in the needle be/ore an aurora, and a diminution
of intensity at the maximum ; and the same fact is noticed by Hansteen (Kaimtz!
Meteorol., p. 461). ,

During the magnificent aurora of January 25th, 1837, while the maximum
declination at New Haven, according to Mr. Herrick, was one degree, at New
Britain, twenty-five miles north of New Haven, the change of declination was
nothing, according to Mr.. Burritt, who watched the needle attentively for two hours
during the most active part of the exhibition. Captain Parry also says that, in no
instance was the magnetic influence affected by the aurora borealis during the three
winters he passed within the polar circle. Captain Franklin states that, when the
aurora was streaming with prismatic colors, it had an obvious effect upon the
needle; but when it gave a steady, dense light, without motion, it produced no
effect on the needle.3

VIII. Geographical Relations. — The aurora borealis occurs most frequently in
the polar regions. It is only in the great periods that it descends much below the lati-
tude of 40°; but it descends lower on the western than on the eastern continent, and
prevails more in the northern than in (he southern hemispheres. Franklin observed,
in the polar seas, 142 auroras in six months ; and the French Commission, at

1 Also in the recent exhibition of February 19, 1852.

3 Dalton supposes that he was the first to discover the relation between the aurora borealis and the
earth's magnetism, in his observations on the exhibition of October 13, 1792 {Essays, second edition,
p. 147). But he seems to have been unacquainted with the fact that their connection had been detected
long before, being mentioned by Mairan, in the second edition of his TraiU de VAurore Boriale,
published in 1754, p. 450.

3 Aorer. Jour. Sci., XVI, p. 148.

28 ON T1IE RECENT SECULAR PERIOD

Bossckop (lat. G9° 58'), recorded 143 auroras in two hundred and six days. The
greatest number recorded in any one year, in the temperate zone, is believed to be
75, which is given in the Regents' Report as the number for 1840. The auroral
arch of August 28th, 1827, which marked the commencement of the period under
review, was the first auroral exhibition seen in the southern part of Ohio, after the
settlement of the State; and that of September 3d, 1839, was the first ever seen in
Tennessee by the generation then on the stage.1 On comparing the same latitudes
on the eastern and on the western continents, it is found that a far greater number
occur on the western continent. Indeed, at the latitudes of Spain and Italy, these
exhibitions are seldom seen at all, while in the same latitudes in New England,
many usually occur every year ; and, in the State of New York, from 1832 to 1848,
inclusive, the number recorded in the Regents' Reports, is 780 — being an average
of more than 43 per annum. We have, in fact, many more auroras in New England
and New York, than occur in England ten degrees north of us. The greatest
number ever recorded by Dalton, in England, in a single year, appeared in 1830,
being 30, which was nearly twice the average of auroras from 1827 to 1834, a
period which Dalton considers as very extraordinary for these exhibitions, although
during this period, the average number, per annum, was 1G; while from 1819 to
1820, the average number was only II. According to a record of auroras kept at
Deerfield, Massachusetts, by General Field, the average for 1830 and 1831, was 56.2
Although the aurora occurs in the southern hemisphere, yet such evidence as we
have, indicates that it is less frequent and less magnificent, than in the northern
hemisphere. I have conversed with whalers and others, who have been repeatedly
around Cape Horn without ever seeing an aurora australis ; and, although we find
in Commodore Wilkes's Narrative of the United States Exploring Expedition,
instances described and delineated sufficient to establish the fact of the existence
of these lights around the southern pole, yet the number appears to be far less
than in corresponding latitudes of the northern hemisphere. In the year 1750,
Mairan addressed a note of inquiry respecting the aurora australis to Don Ulloa,
the celebrated navigator who carried out the French Academicians to Peru. The
reply of Don Ulloa, who was much conversant with the southern hemisphere, is so
curious and instructive, that it appears to me worthy of more general notice than
it is likely to receive in the old and rare volume where it was first published, and
I therefore subjoin the original form, as given by Mairan.3

M. C'est avec bien du plaisir que j'ai recu la lettre que vous in' avez fait l'honneur cle lnYerire, du
'24 de ce mois, sur les Aurores de 1 'hemisphere austral, dont M. Jallabert vous a parle, d'aprfes l'entretien
que j'avois eu avec lui sur ce sujet. Je lui ai dit que j'en avois vu quelques-unes, lorsque le temps
etoit favorable, mais non que j'en eusse fait des observations dans tous les formes, comment il auroit et<§
a desirer, parceque le brouillard plus ou moins epais dont notre navire etoit presque toujours enveloppe
ne le permettoit pas. C'est la raisou pourquoi je n'en ai point parle dans la relation de mon voyage.
Et il est bon que je vous dise a ce sujet, que tout ce que j'ai pu distinguer, lorsque les brouillards se

1 In this classification of the general facts, we may be permitted to repeat occasionally individual
facts which have been mentioned before.

a Amer. Jour. Sci., XX, p. 272. 3 Mairan, Traite de l'Aur. Bor., p. 439.

OF THE AURORA BO REALIS. 29

dissipoient du cote dii sud, c'etoit une grande clarte dans le ciel, qui montoit quclquefois jusqu'a 30
degres au dessus de l'horizon, k peu pres comme quand la luue est prete a se lever, quelquefois plus
rougeatre, et quelquefois plus brillante ou plus blanche. Ces entreviies ne duroient gui're au dela de
trois ou quatre minutes, parce qu'un nouvel amas de brouillard en reprenoit la place, et si celui-ci
veuoit a etre dissip6 par le vent, il en succtdoit bien-tot un autre qui nous empechoit de voir
l'horizon, et meme les autres vaisseaux de la compagnie. Et pour vous faire mieux compreudre I'effet
de ces brouillards dans la saison ou je passai le Cap de Horn, j'aurai l'honneur de vous dire, que
quelquefois nous ne nous voyions point reciproquernent entre les trois navires, et que d'autres monieus,
lorsque nous nous croyions le plus £loignes les unes des autres, nous en deeouvrions les girouettes qui
paroissoient assez proches, sans voir le corps du vaisseau, et que quelquefois nous voyions le corps du
vaisseau, et une partie de la mature, sans rien apercevoir de tout le reste. Un moment apres nous ne
nous voyions plus, et vous devez imaginer que c'est comme par une fenetre qu'on y decouvre les objets,
et qu'ou les y perd avec la meme promptitude qu'on les avoit vus, et lorsqu'on s'y attend le moins.
C'est ce qui arrivoit aussi ;\ l'egard de tout l'horizon, par ce brouillard qui nous accompagna depuis les
40 degres de latitude sud, en allant vers le Cap de Horn, jusqu'a pareille hauteur apres l'avoir double.
Je passai le Cap dans le mois de Mars et partie d'Avril de 1'aunee 1745. Mais suivant ce que j'appris
de ceux qui avoient fait plus tot la meme traversee, c'est-a-dire, aux mois de Janvier et de Fevrier, les
brouillards n'y sont pas alors si communs, ou meme y sont-ils assez rares. Mais en pareille saison on
ne peut guere s'apercevoir de ces aurores, parce que le crepuscule n'a pas le temps de finir, celui du
matin se confondant avec celui du soir. Je pense qu'elles doivent etre frequentes dans l'hiver de cet
hemisphere, puisque toutes les fois que les nuages le permettoient, et que le ciel venoit a se decouvrir
du cote du pole, j'en apercevois quelque chose. Pour ne pas m'y tromper, je comparois cette partie ou je
voyois la clarte, aux autres parties du ciel, en attendant qu'il s'y fit quelque ouverture de cote ou d'autre.
II me falloit quelquefois attendre plus de deux heures, et pour lors je ne me fiois pas a ma comparaison.
Quant a 1'heure ou paroissoit cette aurore, j'aurai l'honneur de vous dire, que je restois d'ordinaire sur
la gaillard jusqu'a minuit, et que j'en ai quelquefois vu la clarte jusqu'a pareille heure, mais le plus
souvent c'etoit jusqu'a dix heures, et ce ne'est que deux ou trois fois que je l'ai apercue plus tard. Je
faissoit aussi attention a l'etat de la lune, et ^ voir si ce que j'apercevois nY'toit pas plustot un effet de
la reflexion de sa lumiere sur le brouillard delie des particules de glace repandues dans l'atmosphere,
qu'une veritable aurore, et ce n'est que lorsque la lune etois sous l'horizon, que je la regardois comme
telle. Je la lis observer aussi aux offieiers du vaisseau, qui jusqu' alors n'avoient pas fait attention h un
pareil phenomene. Je serois charme de pouvoir vous donner de plus amples instructions sur ce sujet,
et vous pouvez etre persuade, &c.

From the statements of Don Ulloa we see reasons •wh}' the aurora should seldom
be seen in the southern hemisphere by navigators, even if they were of frequent
occurrence ; for the antarctic seas are very seldom visited except at those seasons
of the year when the shortness of the nights, and the presence of a strong twilight,
would prevent their being seen ; and at other seasons, removed more or less from
their mid-summer, the prevalence of constant and dense fogs would be very unfa-
vorable for observation. It is not, therefore, conclusive evidence against the occur-
rence of such exhibitions in the southern high latitudes, that whalers and other
navigators, who double Cape Horn, so seldom see any signs of the aurora. But the
long continuance in those seas of the several exploring expeditions which have
recently visited them, affords better means of determining the character of the
aurora australis. In the antarctic cruise of Captains Wilkes and Hudson, during the
summer months of 1839 and 1840, namely, the months of December, January,
and February, mention is made of auroras, and the accompanying descriptions leave
no doubt that the phenomena are similar to those of the aurora borealis. Some
of the exhibitions were striking and interesting, showing a very active state of the
cause, whatever it may be, although no instance is given where the combination of

30 ON TUE RECENT SECULAR PERIOD

great features was fully equal to that in an aurora borealis of the first class, or in
many of the exhibitions described by the French Commission as seen at Bossekop.
If the number reported by the antarctic cruise is small in comparison with those
seen at Bossekop, during an equal period, it must be considered that in the
southern polar regions it was mid-summer with hardly anytbing of night, while in
the northern polar regions it was mid-winter with hardly anything of day.

IX. Sound. — There is no decisive evidence that the aurora borealis is accompan in I
by any peadiar sound. Aware that sounds have been attributed to the aurora in
different countries and at different times, I have for many years listened attentively,
during the greater exhibitions especially, but have never been able to detect any.
In one or two instances, a sound was heard which, at the time, I was inclined to
ascribe to the aurora, but afterwards ascertained that it proceeded from other
sources. Let one unaccustomed to nocturnal observations, be abroad in a still night,
and attentively listen, and he will hear a sound which had never before arrested
his attention, and which he will be likely to ascribe to any extraordinary pheno-
menon then prevailing. He will usually liken it to the rustling of the wind through
dry leaves, or to a distant waterfall ; but either of these sounds may be heard on
almost any still night when the ear is on the alert, being nothing else than the
resultant of all the minute sounds which nature is ever uttering. A company of
my pupils were strongly impressed with the belief that they heard peculiar sounds
connected with an aurora borealis ; but on taking them abroad on the next clear
evening, and bidding them listen, they were forced to acknowledge that they heard
the same sound as before. Men of science who have visited countries most fre-
quented by these lights, as Biot, in the Western Isles, Lottin and his associates in
Lapland, and navigators of the polar seas, have been nearly unanimous in the
statement that they never heard any sound which could be certainly predicated of
an aurora. Judge M'Cord, of Montreal, an attentive and accurate observer,
informed me that he had, on one occasion, and only one, heard a sound — a "rustling
noise," which he attributed to an aurora then prevailing. The possibility, however,
that it might have proceeded from some other source is obvious ; and perhaps such a
conclusion is more probable than that this, among hundreds which he had observed,
should alone afford such a token of its presence. The popular belief in peculiar
noises attending these exhibitions, is said to have been extensive, particularly among
the Western Islands of Scotland; but scientific observers, even those who, like
Farquh arson, maintain that these displays are often below the clouds, make no men-
tion of any accompanying noise, and I incline to the opinion that the aurora is
not attended by any peculiar sound.

X. Height. — The exhibitions of the aurora borealis take place usually at a great
but variable height above the earth. On this point different observers have held
widely different opinions; some, as Farquharson, Parry, and Bichardson, having
assigned these phenomena to the region of the clouds ; and others, as Dal ton, and
the greater number of philosophers, to regions of the atmosphere not less than one
hundred miles above the earth. On a point of such importance, it may be useful
to compare a few of the leading authorities.

Mairan, about the year 1731, by comparing good observations made at Paris and

OF THE AURORA BOREALIS. 31

Rome, on the aurora of 1726, estimated the height at 260! French leagues, or
about 735 miles;1 and he concludes that the greater part give an elevation of 200
leagues, but that they range from 100 to 300 leagues.

In 1790, Cavendish published, in the Philosophical Transactions, an estimate of
the height of an arch observed at different places on the 23d of February, 1781,
making it between 52 and 71 miles. Soon afterwards, Dalton wrote his celebrated
Essay on the Aurora Borealis, in which he calculated the height of an arch seen
in England, February 15, 1793, at 150 miles. But, in the Philosophical Transactions
for 1828, appears an article by the same author, in which he determined the height
of an arch, from what he deemed satisfactory data and more accurate than any
before used, to be nearly 100 miles.

But the investigations of Professor Alexander C. Twining, on this subject, con-
tained in the 32d volume of the American Journal of Science, appear to me more
satisfactory and conclusive than an}' within my knowledge, and therefore, deserving
of particular consideration. He appears to have been equally fortunate in the
selection of his instances, and in the definiteness and variety of the observations
on which he founded his estimates. Not all the phenomena of an aurora are alike
favorable for this purpose. The corona, for example, being merely the effect of
perspective, it would be as useless to attempt to determine its height, as that of the
rainbow. The streamers, likewise, are objects too indefinite and evanescent for
such estimates. We must be sure that different observers are looking at the same
object, before we can attempt to determine its parallax. The boundary line of an
arch is such an object, and moving, as it frerpuently does, slowly from north to south,
the instant of time when it reaches a known star, furnishes to different observers
situated nearly in the same meridian an opportunity for marking its position at
a given moment, and thus supplies the requisite data for determining its parallax.
Another class of objects the most favorable for this purpose, are detached fragments
or patches of an auroral cloud,2 which, presenting to observers in different places a
single insulated object, leaves no doubt that they are all looking at the same thing;
and its position with respect to particular stars at a given instant, affords oppor-
tunity for observations of the requisite degree of precision. It was from both these
classes of objects seen in the }rear 1835 and 1836, that Professor Twining deduced

1 Traite de Aur. Bor., p. 62.

a My observations on the aurora borealis, continued for many years, leave no doubt on my mind of
the existence of clouds composed of a peculiar kind of matter, and properly denominated "auroral
clouds," not being formed of aqueous vapor, although, from their resemblance to certain forms of the
cirrus cloud, they are sometimes confounded with that, and are adduced by certain writers, not
personally conversant with these exhibitions, as proof that the aurora occurs in the region of the clouds.
Thus, Professor Secchi, in a late able and comprehensive review of the discoveries in Terrestrial
Magnetism {Phil, Mag., June, 1855, p. 445), remarks that, "at Rome, the perturbations of the
needle exhibit themselves in that particular state of the atmosphere in which there are slightly phos-
phorescent clouds, having at night the appearance of the rudiments of the aurora borealis." That
these were not ordinary cirrus clouds, composed of aqueous vapor, is evident from the description which
he proceeds to give of them, being from a very unusual quarter, being luminous, and being magnetic,
while the only proof that they were cirrus clouds was, that they looked like them.

32 ON THE RECENT SECULAR PERIOD

the height of the aurora in three different instances, namely, the auroral cloud of
December, 1835; the auroral arch of August, 1836, and of May of the same year.1
In each case there were at least three scientific observers, all much conversant
■with observations of this kind. The identity of the object seen by all was proved
by a number of coincidences, such as the time of formation and of disappearance —
the correspondence of position in azimuth — in the peculiar appearances and success-
ive changes of aspect, described by one observer as parallel fleeces, and by another as
ridges into which the arch broke up. These coincidences apply more particularly
to the arch of August, 1S36, observed by Professor Twining and myself at a
distance from each other of twenty-two miles. On comparing notes, no doubt has
remained on the mind of either of us that we were both gazing at one and the
same object, and our minutes were sufficiently copious and definite to determine
the parallax. The calculation was made by Professor Twining, with all possible
accuracy, and gave an altitude of 144 i miles. The same authority, in his observa-
tions upon the auroral cloud of December, 1835, remarks that it was not his object
to determine the exact height, but to find the limit below which it could not have
been, and this limit he fixes at 42 J miles; but he still believes this to have been,
iu fact, an elevation far less than the true one. In regard to the arch of May, 183G,
he concludes that the largest parallax which could be assigned, consistently with
the observations, made the height more than 100 miles; and he supposes that it
might have reached the elevation which I had deduced from my observations
compared with those of Dr. Ellsworth, of Hartford, namely, 160 miles, although
he believes that this was the utmost limit.

On the whole, I think we are authorized to infer from all the foregoing authori-
ties, that the auroral arches seldom, if ever, fall below an elevation of 70 miles
above the earth, and that they do not often exceed a height of 160 miles. The
probability is that they vary between these extremes. In fixing these limits, however,
it may be thought proper to take notice of certain observations on record, which
indicate a much lower elevation, descending even to the region of the clouds, or
below it. I allude particularly to the views of Ptev. Mr. Farquharson, of Scotland,
and of Captain Parry, and one or two other navigators of the Polar Seas.

To nearly all who have attentively observed tins phenomenon, a difference of
stations of a few miles or even of a few degrees, has made but slight changes in
the position of an auroral arch ; to an inhabitant of Montreal and to one of
Washington City, the same exhibition has been still north; but, according to Mr.
Farquharson, an aurora changed its place to the view of an observer, from north to
south, merely by crossing a hill in the opposite direction. Moreover, according to
the same authority, accurate trigonometrical measurements at the extremities of a
base line only 6,810 feet long, afforded so great a parallax as to give a perpen-
dicular height above the lower place of observation of only 5,693 feet, or a little
more than a mile ; and of only 1,500 feet above the summit of the neighboring
hills. These results, and other similar ones reported by the same authority, are so

Aracr. Jour, of Science, XXXH, p. 211.

OF THE AURORA BOREALIS. 33

different from those obtained by nearly all others who have observed this phenome-
non at different ages and in different countries, that, if we admit these observations
to be accurate, we are compelled to believe that there exists at that place some
local peculiarity which brings down the aurora to a lower level than it is ever
known to reach in any other part of the world. Dal ton has assigned several
reasons for believing that the observations of the reverend gentleman were at fault.1

The statement of Captain Parry that when at Port Bowen (lat. 73° 13' N.), he
saw a ray from an auroral cloud dart down between him and the neighboring land,
has been considered by many as decisive of the low level of the aurora. His words
are as follows: "About midnight on the 27th of January, this phenomenon broke
out in a single compact mass of brilliant yellow light, situated about a southeast
bearing, and appearing only a short distance above the land. This mass of light,
notwithstanding its general continuity, sometimes appeared to be evidently composed
of numerous pencils of rays, compressed, as it were, laterally into one, its limits both
to the right and left being well defined and nearly vertical. The light, though
very brilliant at all times, varied almost constantly in intensity; and this had the
appearance (not uncommon in the aurora) of being produced by one volume of
light overlaying another, just as we see the darkness and density of smoke increased
by cloud rolling over cloud. While Lieuts. Sherrer and Ross and myself were
admiring the extreme beauty of this phenomenon from the observatory, we all
simultaneously uttered an exclamation of surprise at seeing a bright ray of the
aurora shoot suddenly downward from the general mass of light and between us and
the land, which was then distant only three thousand yards. Had I witnessed this
phenomenon by myself, I should have been disposed to receive with caution the
evidence even of my own senses, as to this last fact; but the appearance conveying
precisely the same idea to three individuals at once, all intently engaged in looking
towards the spot, I have no doubt that the ray of light actually passed within that
distance of us."2

On this statement I remark, first, that the surprise with which the phenomenon
was regarded, indicates that it was never seen by the same observers before, and
must therefore be an exceedingly uncommon occurrence, while spectators who live
on high mountains describe all the appearances of the aurora borealis as similar to
those seen at the level of the sea. Secondly, as the auroral cloud appeared only " a
short distance above the land," and it appears from other accounts that the land
was only about 700 feet high and was distant from the spectators nearly a mile
and three-quarters, the land was seen under an angle of only 4°,3 and must have
afforded but a small base on which to project the auroral ray. The fact that it did
actually descend below the top of the hill would hardly be conclusive, unless it had
come quite down to the surface of the earth and remained in position long enough
for the eye to take a deliberate survey of it. Thirdly, the known difficulty of
locating a transient light seen in a dark night, the appearance of the spark of a
chimney being, as Dalton observes, scarcely distinguishable from a fixed star,

1 Dalton's Ess., p. 231. 2 Parry's Third Voyage, p. 01. 3 Dalton's Essays, p. 239.

5

34 ON THE RECENT SECULAR PERIOD

throws much doubt and uncertainty upon the accuracy of the observation. Finally,
if the case be as supposed by Captain Parry, it will only be an exception, and a
very rare one to a general rule, and will by no means prove that ordinary auroras
are at a lower level than that assigned them by Dalton, Twining, and others, who
have estimated their heights from undoubted parallaxes, on the sure principles of
trigonometry.1

XI. Periodicity. — Auroras of the higher classes have three distinct forms ofjjcriodi-
city — a diurnal periodicity, commencing, arriving at their maximum, and ending
at definite hours of the night; an annual periodicity, rarely or never occurring in
June, and the greatest number of the higher order clustering together in September
and November, these last bearing a striking resemblance to each other; and a secular
periodicity, the most remarkable of all, recurring in great series.

1. Diurnal periodicity. — We have already seen that auroras of the higher orders
usually begin near the end of evening twilight, come to their maximum from 10 to
11 o'clock, and more frequently a little before 11, and last nearly or quite through
the night, although those of an inferior kind usually terminate before midnight.

2. Annual periodicity. — For the period of twenty years, beginning with 1832
and ending with 1851, of 51 auroras of the first and second classes, 14 were in
September, 8 in November, 8 in August, and 6 in March ; while there were none
in June and October, but 1 in December, and but 2 in January and February,
respectively. The sum total for August, September, and November, was 30,
averaging 10 to each month, while for December, and January, and February, the
number was only 5, averaging but If to each. If, however, we regard number
merely without reference to intensity, then for the period of seventeen years, from
1832 to 1818 inclusive, out of 780 auroras the sum for each month was as follows :

1. April 93 7. May 63

2. September 84 8. November G2

3. August 82 9. January 58

4. October GO 10. February 57

5. July GG 11. June 46
G. March 65 12. December 38

In respect both to number and intensity, June and December stand at the bottom
of the scale, while September stands highest in intensity and next to the highest in
number. October is the fourth in respect to number, but at a minimum for
intensity. These results, however, do not appear to be uniform for different
periods. According to Celsius, out of 384 auroras, observed in the North of

1 An instance communicated to Captain Lefroy by Mr. Ilardisty, showing the low descent of the
aurora, is stated as follows : It (the aurora) appeared between me and the trees on the opposite side of
the river, which could not have been 40 feet above the level of the stream, the trees toward the top of the
hill being high above it. — Lefroy's Second Report, 1850-1, p. 14. A similar case is mentioned by Rev.
Mr. Cowles in the American Journal of Science, XIII, p. 429. But should it be proved that, in
some rare instances, portions of auroral vapor have descended near the earth, this fact will not militate
against our views of its cosraical origin.

1.

January

40

2.

February

44

o

March

59

4.

April

25

5.

May

11

6.

June

1

3.

March

40

4.

April

22

5.

May

o
O

6.

June

0

OF THE AURORA BOREALIS. 35

Europe, from 1716 to 1733, inclusive, the number for each month was as
follows : — l

7. July 2

8. August 23

9. September 42

10. October 57

11. November 46

12. December 36

From a similar table, given by Delisle, of auroras observed at St. Petersburg,
from 1726 to 1737, inclusive, we derive the following results: —

1. January 9 7. July 1

2. February 20 8. August 16

9. September 42

10. October 43

11. November 24

12. December 13

A list, digested from the London Philosophical Transactions, embracing thirty-
five years, from 1716 to 1850, inclusive, gives the following numbers : —

1. January 10 7. July 3

2. February 12 8. August 8

3. March " 32 9. September 24

4. April 15 10. October 45

5. May 3 11. November 20

6. June 1 12. December 29

Remarks.

1. Combining the three foregoing lists, and averaging the months, in the order
of their respective numbers, we obtain the following ratios: —

1. October 145

2. March 131

3. November 90

4. September 88

5. December 78

6. February 77

2. On comparing these results with those obtained for the recent period from
1832 to 1848, we perceive that they agree in some respects, but disagree in others.
In both, September stands high on the scale, and June low ; but October, which,
in the former period, occupied the first rank, stands fourth in the latter period ; and
it is remarkable that, except June, this month was the only one during this period
which afforded no example of an exhibition of either the first or second class.

7.

April

62

8.

January

59

9.

August

47

10.

May

17

11.

July

6

12.

June

9

Mairan, pp. 495 and 497.

36 ON THE RECENT SECULAR PERIOD

3. Making a comparison with respect to seasons of the year, the case stands
thus: —

Former period. Latter period. Former period. Latter period.

Winter months 71 51 Summer months 18 65

Spring " 70 74 Autumnal " 74 71

In the former period there was a great excess of the winter OArer the summer
auroras, the numbers being as 71 to 18 ;l whereas, in the latter period, the disparity
is small, and the advantage on the side of summer in the ratio of 65 to 51. More-
over, the former gave 74 to autumn, and 70 to spring; while the latter gives 71
to autumn and 74 to spring. In regard, however, to intensity, the balance has
always been in favor of autumn, the greatest auroras having been most numerous
in September and November,2 while they have never occurred in June ; but, in
respect to number, the balance between the seasons, of late years, has been just
the opposite of what it was a century ago, the minimum, instead of the maximum
number, having of late occurred during the winter months; and this is the more
remarkable, since the greater lengths of the winter nights would, of itself, lead us
to expect a greater number of auroras at this season of the year.3

3. Secular Periodicity. — The great returns of the aurora borealis, which we have
denominated secular periods, occur at intervals of from sixty to sixty-five years, reclaming
from the middle of one period to the middle of another, and last from twenty to twenty-
five years. It is, in general, an acknowledged fact, that there are long intervals
during which great auroras are seldom seen, and other periods of less duration
during which they occur with remarkable frequency and magnificence. Dr. Halley
had reached an advanced period of life before he had an opportunity of witnessing
a striking display of this phenomenon, when the great aurora of 1716 announced
the recurrence of one of the great periods, which afforded this eminent philosopher
numerous occasions for seeing the long desired spectacle; and, as has been before
remarked, for a long interval, from about the year 1783 to 1827, there was not,
perhaps, a single aurora of the highest class, and but few above those of the lowest.
We have seen that, in 1827, there commenced a period of unusual frequency, such
as to arrest attention both in Europe and in America; that beginning with ten per
annum the number increased by a pretty regular gradation to thirty, fifty, and even
seventy-five a year, reaching this latter number in the year 1840, and then
declining in number and still more in intensity, until, since 1852, scarcely an
example has occurred above the lowest forms of the meteor.

Being assured of the fact, that the phenomenon in question is truly characterized
by long periods during which it occurs in unusual intensity and frequency, between

1 Mairan institutes a labored comparison, to show that the number of winter greatly exceeds that of
summer auroras, and hence argues that auroras arise from the earth's coming within the sun's atmosphere
(as he took the zodiacal light to be), being, of course, most within that atmosphere at the perihelion;
but, from the above comparison, it appears that this argument has no weight.

2 Great Auroras about the middle of November, in 1574, 1607, 1835, 1837, 1840, 1841, 1844, 1848.

3 "We may hope that, by the labors of Mr. E. C. Herrick, at New Haven, and of Lieut. Lefroy, in
Canada, both of whom have, for some time, been keeping accurate records of all current auroras, we
shall soon have the means of determining more accurately than at present the nature of the annual
periodicity.

OF THE AURORA BOREALIS. 37

which are still longer intervals when it is hardly seen in any of its higher forms,
I must regard it as a problem of much interest to ascertain the length of these
cycles after which a great return of the aurora borealis may be expected, and the
number of years it may be expected to prevail.

The interval from the middle of one secular period to the middle of another,
appears, so far as we can judge from imperfect historical data, to be about sixty-five
years. Pliny says, " We sometimes see (than which there is no presage of woe
more calamitous to the human race) a flame in the sky, which seems to descend
to the earth in showers of blood; as happened in the third year of the 107th
Olympiad, when Philip was endeavoring to subjugate Greece." He adds, that
about the year G41 from the building of Rome, they saw, during the night, a light
which shone as the day; that it was nothing uncommon about that time to see the
heavens all on fire. He cites examples of those which appeared to meet in conflict
from the east and west ; and says that they heard the clash of arms and the sound
of trumpets ; and that the heavens themselves were on fire.1

Along with the fabulous accompaniments which usually graced such narrations
among the ancients, Ave recognize in these statements the middle of one of the
great returns of the aurora; nor have the same phenomena, at much later periods,
been described without a tincture of the marvellous; for it was the popular belief,
at least among the more uneducated classes, during the great auroral period which
immediately preceded the one under review, namely, that which covered the time
of the American revolutionary war, that conflicts of armies were frequently wit-
nessed in the skies.

About the year 400, historians relate that columns were seen suspended in the
sky for the space of three days, and that a fire burned behind a cloud which was
terrible for its splendor, sometimes overspreading the sky.3 Comparing the interval
between this period and that described by Pliny, we find that eight periods, of 65
years each, would bring us to the year 408, or into the midst of the remarkable
exhibition of auroras thus described.3 In the year 585, occurred the famous aurora
recorded by Gregory of Tours, which Mairan considers as resembling the great
exhibitions of his time, as that of 1726, most of all those described by the ancients,4
and this would fall in the third return after that which occurred about the year
400. In the month of September, 1583, there arrived in Paris, in formal proces-
sion, and in the habit of penitents, or pilgrims, eight or nine hundred persons, to
present their gifts and ask prayers, on account of signs seen in the heavens, and
fire in the air. On comparing this date with the period mentioned by Pliny, which
was 112 years before the Christian era, we have an interval of 1695 years,
embracing twenty-six periods, of 65 years each. In 1607, November 17th, a great
aurora occurred, and is minutely described by Kepler, which greatly resembled our
auroras of the first class. Since the aurora of 1583 excited great surprise, it was
probably the commencement of the period, and that of 1607 near its close, making
the duration 24 years.

1 Hist, Nat., 1. 11, c. 57. 3 Mairan, p. 1*79.

3 Building of Rome, B. C. 753; and 753— 611 x 40S=520=8x65. 4 Mairan, p. 181.

3y ON THE RECENT SECULAR PERIOD

Taking later dates, let us compare the grand aurora described in CamdcriPuis-
tory of the Reign of Queen Elizabeth, which occurred in November, 1574, with that
of November, 1835, which it greatly resembled. We find the interval to be 261
years, and 4 periods, of 05 years each, make 260 years. Finally, if we take 1837
as the middle of the late return, and subtract from it 65 years, we are carried back
to 1772, which is about the middle of the next preceding period, which lasted from
about 17601 to 1783. By a continual subtraction of 65 years backwards from 1837,
we fall successively on periods of which we have no records of auroras. As in. the
case of HalLy's comet, auroral returns might have occurred, but passed into obli-
vion for want f historians. Still, by this process, we fall in with many periods of
auroras which iid not fail to arrest the attention of contemporary writers; we
annex a few examples : —

1837 — 65=1772, the middle of the last return before the present.

1772-65 1707, one of the Reprises of Mairan.

1707-2x65 = 1577, the middle of a great period.2

From the foregoing and many similar inductions, I think it may be inferred with
considerable probability, that the greatest secular periods of the aurora borealis
occur at intervals of about 65 years, reckoning from the middle of one period to
the middle of another, although returns of a less remarkable character are probably
interspersed among these.

The duration of one of these great periods appears to be from 21 to 25 years.
That which we have just passed through, commenced in 1827 ; and if we consider
it as completed in 1848, when there was almost a cessation of the phenomenon in
its higher forms for two years, its duration was 21 years. The occurrence of three
exhibitions of the first class, in September, 1851, and of one in February, 1852,3
throws some doubt on this point. Although the greatly diminished intensity since
1848, would incline me to consider the period as terminating then, yet these later
exhibitions indicate a duration of 25 years. If we examine into the duration of

1 A very inconsiderable aurora, which appeared at Philadelphia in November, 1757, is described as
a remarkable and an unusual occurrence; which shows that there had been for some time a period of
intermission of the phenomenon. — Bartrani's Letter to Dr. Franklin, Phil. Trans., V, 474.

3 Mairan, p. 184.

3 No aurora of the higher classes has appeared at New Haven since that of February, 1852, to the
present time, December 21st, 1855. In the Regents'' Report, for 1854, only four are recorded, all of which,
with one exception, were of the humbler forms ; whereas, in 1840, near the middle of our secular period,
the same publication contained accounts of seventy-five auroras for that year.

I have recently been favored, through the kindness of Mr. M. H. Boye, of Philadelphia, with manu-
script notes, made by himself, by Mr. Charles Bullock, and by Mr. Isaac Lea, containing, severally,
interesting accounts of auroras of the higher classes, observed by them at later dates than any of this
description observed by myself.

On the 11th June, 1852, Mr. Lea, while on a voyage to England, off Newfoundland, saw an aurora
which possessed so many remarkable features as to rank it in the first class. What was quite singular,
the exhibition began on the south, and streamers ascended finally from the entire circumference of the
horizon. It was also remarkable that streamers shot up from beloiv the dark segment. As late, also,
as Sept. 2d, 1853, Mr. Boye saw, off Cape Race, a splendid auroral exhibition which covered almost
all parts of the sky. From the drawings which he has been so kind as to send me, I infer that this also
must have been one of the higher class of auroras.

OF TIIE AURORA BOREALIS. 39

other similar periods, we obtain corresponding results. Thus the return immedi-
ately preceding the recent ones, lasted from 1760 to 1783, a period of 23 years;
and the next preceding that lasted from 1716 to 1740,1 another period of 24 years.
On the whole, therefore, I conclude that the aurora borealis is subject to periodical
returns, during which it is exhibited in extraordinary frequency, and greatly aug-
mented splendor and magnificence ; that these periods are at intervals of about 65
years; that they last for a period not exceeding 25 years; and, consequently, that
from the end of one visitation to the beginning of another is an interval of nearly
40 years ; during which time the phenomenon is far less remarkable both in fre-
quency and intensity.

Probably similar periods occur in the polar regions, since travellers differ much
in their account of the numbers and degrees of splendor of these exhibitions at
different times.

While I feel assured of the general fact of the existence of such great returns of
the aurora borealis, as those which I have denominated secular periods, yet in this
first attempt to determine the intervals between them and to fix the average dura-
tion of each, I am sensible of the want of more precise historical data than we at
present possess, and therefore submit the foregoing conclusions to the candid inquirer
after truth with much diffidence. Philosophers justly regard with some distrust
attempts to trace numerical relations, in natural phenomena, since these coinci-
dences are often entirely imaginary. Examples of this are familiar to all who are
conversant with the biography of Kepler; but that such attempts sometimes conduct
to valuable discoveries, is also evinced in the labors of the same illustrious astro-
nomer.

ORIGIN AND CAUSE OF THE AURORA BOREALIS.

At the next return of the secular period of the aurora (which I anticipate will
commence about the year 1890, and be at its maximum about the beginning of the
succeeding century), we may justly expect that, from the more advanced state of
the natural sciences, and from the accumulation of more accurate data, philosophers
will be able to arrive at more correct conclusions respecting the cause of these
m3Tsterious exhibitions than we of the present age can attain. The record contained
in the preceding pages, of the facts as observed during the recent period, and of the
laws as far as they are already ascertained, may nevertheless, should this record
endure so long, afford to the observers of that day some useful examples for com-
parison, and possibly some valuable hints for reflection, even should our main
conclusions be set aside for those which are more definite and just. And I enter-
tain the hope that the inquirers after truth will regard with indulgence any efforts
to clear up the mystery which environs this subject, even should they fail to
acquiesce in the conclusions to which I have been conducted.

The leading inquiries involved in this discussion are the following: What is

Mairan, p. 426.

4() ON THE RECENT SECULAR PERIOD

the origin of the vapor, or material itself that forms the basis of the aurora?
"What causes the periodicity of thcs£ exhibitions; or why do they occur in certain
parts of the twenty-four hours rather than in others? why in certain months of
the year more than in other months; and, especially, why do they return in secular
periods? Can any explanation be given of their sensible appearances, such as their
luminous phenomena, of their remarkable motions, of their definite arrangement in
columns, arches, and coronas? Can any reason be assigned why the auroral exhi-
bitions take place in the higher latitudes rather than in the equatorial regions,
and why they are more intense in the corresponding latitudes on the western than
on the eastern continent? A theory of the aurora borealis can hardly be considered
as satisfactory unless it can render a full explanation of most of these points, and
be not inconsistent with any known facts. Moreover, an explanation that will
account for a part only of the facts and render no reason for other facts equally
requiring explanation, must be considered as defective and inadequate. Thus a
theory which explains merely the luminous appearances, but renders no account of
the origin of the aurora itself, must be held as very incomplete, since the origin is
the main thing to be accounted for. Nor ought we to lose sight of the distinction
between an h}q:>othesis and a theory, an hypothesis being a principle assumed to
account for a class of facts, and having no other claims to be considered the true
cause except that it explains the facts, while a theory is a deduction from the facts
themselves made in accordance with the established laws of nature. We now
proceed to consider what causes have been assigned or may be assigned in explana-
tion of the aurora borealis.

In the year 1716 commenced one of those remarkable series of the aurora borealis
which we have ventured to denominate secular periods ; and the men of science on
the stage at that time viewed the exhibitions with great attention, and a few of
them eagerly inquired into their cause. Of these philosophers, the most distin-
guished were Halley and Coates in England, and Mairan in France. Ilalley offered
the following explanation. He considered the earth as a great magnet, analogous
to an artificial spherical magnet, and supposed that a certain subtile matter or
eflluvium passing into the pores of the earth near the south pole, and issuing at the
north pole, caused both the polarity of the needle and the phenomena of the aurora
borealis.1 This connecting the cause with magnetism was the more remarkable,
because the magnetic properties of the aurora itself were then unknown, being first
discovered in 1740 by Celsius, and Hiorter, two Swedish philosophers. But with
Halley, the idea of such an origin was suggested by his notion that the magnetism
of the earth is owing to the circulation of such an "effluvium," which, as he con-
ceived, might be so condensed as to form the palpable vapor of the aurora, and so
exalted in intensity as to exhibit the luminous appearances connected with the
aurora. Since no such effluvium as that supposed is known to exist, it cannot be
made the basis of an explanation, and it seems unnecessary to argue further against
the hypothesis of Ilalley.

Roger Coates has left, in the Philosophical Transactions, a very minute description

1 Phil. Trs., No. 347, or abridged, IV, 138.

OP TEE AURORA BOREALIS. 41

of an aurora which occurred in England in 1720, deemed to be exceedingly accu-
rate, from the exact correspondence of the appearances to those now witnessed in
the highest class of auroras ; but his reasoning on the cause is sufficiently crude.
The auroral bank of vapors usually seen acting on the northern horizon at the
commencement of a great display, he ascribes to a mixed mass of exhalations ; the
streamers, to the fermentation of the mass ; their inclined direction, to the prevail-
ing wind; and the waves, to irregular gusts of wind blowing upon and shaking the
columns. But Coates was an able geometrician, and we find in this paper the first
illustration, upon the true principles of perspective, of the mode of formation of
auroral arches, by the projection and superposition of parallel columns; a method of
illustration afterwards adopted and considerably extended by Dalton.1

Other writers of that age, ascribe the auroral lights to a nitro-sulphurous vapor,
a mixed mass of nitre and sulphur in a state of comminution, and, therefore, pos-
sessing the properties of gunpowder;2 which vapor was supposed to rise above the
clouds, where it was kindled by pressure and motion, and subjected to continued
explosions ; and hence the agitation, smoky vapor, peculiar sounds, and bright
flashes of the aurora.3

In the year 1733, was published the great work of Mairan on the aurora borealis.4
Mairan was a leading member of the French Academy, and one of the ablest philo-
sophers of his time. His work bears internal evidence of great research, guided by
superior powers, and a competent knowledge of the laws of nature, so far as they
had then been unfolded. It contained a full history of the aurora borealis,. as far
as it could be gathered from the records of past ages, and proposed an original
theory, which the author illustrated and defended with great ability. He ascribed
the aurora to the zodiacal light, the outer portions of which, according to him, the
earth traverses at certain periods in its revolutions around the sun, attracting to
itself the matter of the zodiacal light, which mingles with its atmosphere, and pro-
duces the various phenomena of the aurora. Mairan, therefore, appears to have
been the first to propose the doctrine of the cosmical origin of the aurora bore-
alis. Respecting the nature of the zodiacal light itself, he adopted the common
opinion, that it is the sun's atmosphere ; but this hypothesis scarcely affects his
conclusions, in assigning it as the cause of the auroral exhibitions, since the
existence of the cause assigned is unquestionable, whatever views may be enter-
tained of its relations to the sun. This theory was embraced by some of the ablest
philosophers of the day, and opposed by others equally eminent; but on the dis-
covery of the identity between electricity and lightning, and after the agency of
atmospherical electricity in the phenomena of thunder-storms was proved, and espe-
cially after the resemblance was recognized between the flashes of electricity in an

1 Phil. Trans., No. 365, or abridged, VI, 82.

2 Phil. Transactions, No. 395, or abridged, VI, 94.

3 The most complete and precise description of any of the auroras of that remarkable period, was
given by Professor Greenwood, of Harvard University, of an aurora which occurred October 22d,
1730, published iu the Philosophical Transactions, No. 418, or abridged, VI, 115.

4 The first edition was issued in 1733, in 12mo. A second edition, greatly enlarged, was published
in 1754, in 4to.

6

42 ON THE RECENT SECULAR PERIOD

exhausted tube and those of the aurora, the whole scientific world seemed to
acquiesce in the belief that the true cause of this phenomenon was at length disco-
vered; and accordingly, for a long time, a quietus was given to any further speculations
on the subject.1 The discoveries recently made in the science of magnetism, have
led to some modification of these views ; many men of science are still tenacious
of the idea that electricity is the beginning and end of all that belongs to the aurora
borealis.2

Having examined some of the ablest authorities in favor of the doctrine that
ascribes the aurora borealis to the agency of electricity, and found that they are
very discordant with each other in regard to the modus operandi, and that their
explanations are, as appears to me, unsatisfactory, being either erroneous or defec-
tive, or both, I am compelled to believe that the aurora borealis does not owe its
origin to electricity. This opinion is strengthened by the consideration that, during
the prevalence of an aurora, electrometers indicate no unusual amount of atmo-
spheric electricity. This fact was noticed many years ago by Bergman, the Swedish
philosopher; and Humboldt says, recent experiments made with very sensitive
electrometers, have indicated no change during the finest auroras.3

The "currents" supposed by M, De La Rive would not, it is true, be indicated by
the electrometer, but only by the galvanometer. Yet it is to be remarked that
most of the electrical hypotheses contemplate electricity under such a form as
would affect the electrometer.

Those who ascribe the aurora borealis to magnetism, seem to argue with more
probability, and comprise also names of high distinction in science. No one can
doubt that magnetism has some connection or other with the aurora, though it may
still be uncertain whether it be as cause or effect. The change produced in the
needle — the relation of the auroral columns to the magnetic meridian — the forma-
tion of the aurora around the pole of the dipping-needle — and the disturbance of
the magnetic telegraph sometimes observed during the prevalence of a great auroral
exhibition : these facts plainly indicate the existence of such a connection. But it
is to be remarked, that none of these facts touch the question of the origin of the
aurora, and may severally take place alike whether the origin is terrestrial or
cosmical. They do not account for the production of the matter of the aurora, the
auroral vapor; all they prove is that this vapor has magnetic properties. Even
Humboldt, who has been supposed particularly to favor the magnetic hypothesis,
since he was the first to denominate these exhibitions "magnetic storms," plainly
indicates in his latest publication on the subject (the third volume of Cosmos)
his belief in the cosmical origin of the matter of the aurora. If (says he) we
regard falling stars and meteoric showers as planetary asteroids, we may be
allowed to conjecture that in the streams of the so-called November phenomena,

1 Sec Priestley's History of Electricity.

3 Discussions of contested hypotheses being deemed inconsistent with the object of the Smithsonian
Contributions, the writer reserves his discussion of " Electrical Hypotheses of the Aurora Borealis," for
some other medium of publication.

3 Cosmos, I, 186.

OF THE AURORA BOREALIS. 43

when, as in 1799, 1833, and 1834, myriads of falling stars traverser! the vault of
heaven, and northern lights were simultaneously observed, our atmosphere may
have received from the regions of space some elements foreign to it, which were capable
of exciting electro-magnetic processes} If magnetism is inadequate to account for
the origin of the aurora and for the production of the material of which it is com-
posed, no more adequate is it to account for the phenomena that attend it, such as
the extent, the light, the motions and the periodicity.

After having carefully examined the leading hypotheses which have been
advanced to explain the cause of the aurora borealis, they all appear to me to be
inadequate and unsatisfactory. It is required of a theory that it be a deduction
from well-established truths; and of an hypothesis, that it explain the leading facts,
and that it be not inconsistent Avith any known facts, although its application in
certain cases may not be readily perceived. An explanation which unites the
characters of both, which is at once an inference from acknowledged truths, and
which affords an adequate solution of the leading phenomena, is deemed peculiarly
worthy of confidence until a better can be proposed. Such is the explanation which,
in conclusion, I shall attempt.

The origin of the Aurora Borealis is cosmical, the matter of which it is composed
being derived from the planetary spaces? First, I argue the cosmical origin of
the material of these exhibitions from their great extent. That of November
17, 1848, was seen under nearly the same appearances, at Smyrna and Odessa,
and on the western coast of Asia, in England and Scotland, in Cuba, and
throughout the United States as far west as San Francisco,3 extending over at
least 153° of longitude and 40° of latitude, and we know not how much further.
Does it seem probable that such an amount of auroral vapor could have been
all at once emitted from the earth, or have been precipitated from the atmosphere,
like the particles of ice and snow supposed by M. De La Rive, for example ; or
that the electric or magnetic equilibrium should, in an instant, or within a few
hours, have been disturbed over so large a portion of the earth's surface? And
if the causes supposed could give such an amplitude to the aurora, are any known
exhalations from the earth, or precipitations from the atmosphere, ever found to
reach so high as the elevation to which the auroral matter sometimes, if not
always, attains — a height at least 100 miles above the earth ? The very extent of

1 Cosmos, III, 41.

2 My opinion of the cosmical origin of the aurora, was expressed in my lectures to the students of
Yale College, as early as 1835, and soon afterwards at a meeting of the Connecticut Academy. In my
account of the great aurora of January 25, 1837, in the American Journal of Science, Vol. XXXII,
p. 180, the following language is used : "Nor can I add, at present, anything respecting the origin of
the aurora borealis, except to declare my conviction that it is not satisfactorily accounted for by any
existing theory. In assigning it so hastily to electricity, a quietus was given to all further attempts at
explanation, while yet even the presence of this agent, in any extraordinary degree, has never been
proved. Magnetism has done more ; the auroral vapor is proved to have magnetic properties ; but stifl
this fact gives us no information respecting its origin. This, I believe, is to be sought for in a source
extrinsic to the earth."

3 Amer. Jour, of Science, N. S., VII, pp. 121, 293.

41 ON THE RECENT SECULAR PERIOD

the phenomenon, therefore, appears to me to remove it from the sphere of terrestrial
causes, and leads us to look to the nebulous matter, which is known from the
zodiacal light, and from meteoric showers, to exist in the planetary spaces of
dimensions sufficiently ample to correspond to the extent of these exhibitions.
There is, however, much reason to believe that the nebulous body which affords
the auroral matter does not, in fact, cover the entire extent of display from east to
west, but that the diurnal revolution of the earth brings successive portions of the
earth's surface under that body, or through the portions of it which afford the
auroral matter. This view of the origin of the aurora is entirely consistent with
the fact that its exhibitions take place within the atmosphere. The material comes
from the planetary spaces, but is visible only when it traverses the atmosphere.

Secondly, we argue the foreign origin of the aurora borealis, from the fact that,
in places differing many degrees in longitude, the different stages of the aurora {the
beginning, maximum, and end) occur at the same hour of the night. When a great
exhibition, like that of November 17, 1848, is seen at various places from east to
west, as in London and in New York on the same evening, on comparing the hours
at which corresponding parts of the display took place, we find the hour of the
day the same at both points. At both it began (say) at an hour after sunset, at
both it came to its maximum between 10 and 11 o'clock, and ended at both at 3
o'clock. Such a correspondence, at given hours of the night, we have traced in
numerous examples, and it will generally be found to hold good. But were the
display produced by any cause acting simultaneously over the regions where it
prevailed, then these corresponding parts of the display would occur at different
hours of the night, corresponding to the longitude. If it began at New York at
7 o'clock, it would begin at London at 12. If it arrived at its maximum at 10
o'clock at New York, at San Francisco the time of maximum would be half past
5. But the maximum was nearly at the same hour at both places. Were the
cause of a terrestrial nature, whether exhalations from the earth, or precipitations
from the atmosphere, or electricity flashing from the denser portions of the atmo-
sphere towards the rarer, or the circulation of currents from the upper terminations
of electrical atmospheric columns from the equator to the poles, after the manner
of De La Rive ; or from one point to another through the rarefied air of the upper
regions, after the manner of Priestley, Morgan, and the elder electricians generally;
or were the cause the flashing of electricity along inclined columns of metallic
vapor, standing over the whole region through which the aurora prevails, after the
manner of Biot; in each and all these cases, corresponding stages in the exhibition,
such as the beginning or the maximum, could not happen at the same hour of the
night unless the cause operated from east to west at the same rate as that at which
the earth turns on its axis; and this would be required, not only in a single
instance, but in nearly every instance wherever the phenomenon has been observed.
Indeed, the progress of the supposed agent westward, would have to vary in
different latitudes, corresponding to the diurnal velocity due to the latitude. But
if, as we suppose, the source of the aurora is extrinsic to the earth, consisting of
portions of a nebulous body attracted down to the earth from the part of the body
to which the earth successively approximates nearest, then as places differing in

OF TUE AURORA BOREALIS. 45

longitude come up to this point, one after another, they would receive their
respective portions of the auroral matter at times corresponding to the diurnal
revolution, and have their exhibition everywhere at the same hour of local time,
for the same reason that it is now everywhere noon to places coming successively
under the meridian.1

Thirdly, we urge the cosmical origin of the aurora borealis, from the considera-
tion that the velocity of the motions is too great for any terrestrial matter. These
motions (as, for example, that of the streamers rushing up to the pole of the
dipping needle to form the corona) cannot be considered as the progress of light
itself, or of electricity, or of magnetism, since the apparent motion of each of these
agents is instantaneous, while this is progressive; nor can they be ascribed to
electric or magnetic attractions and repulsions, because they are too rapid to
be produced by them, since auroral vapor, estimated at the height of 70 or 100
miles above the earth, is translated from the horizon to the zenith in a few seconds,
and auroral waves dart over 90° in a single second. Where do we meet with
matter moved by any terrestrial force that is subject to a velocity like this ? If
indeed the motions of what are called auroral waves are undulatory and not
progressive, their appearance is wholly unearthly, and unlike to any other undula-
tions with which we are acquainted. But portions of a nebula, under or through
which the earth passes, may easily be conoeived to have any velocity relative to
the earth, within the limits exhibited by the auroral matter. This matter is
present; it has motions too rapid to be produced by any terrestrial forces; we
infer, therefore, that it has come to us from a region extrinsic to the earth, endued
with a velocity known to exist among bodies, whether solid or nebulous, that
revolve around the sun.

Fourthly, we infer the cosmical origin of the aurora borealis from its periodicity,
especially its secular periodicity. "Whether we have succeeded or not in establish-
ing a definite interval of 65 years, from the beginning of one of these auroral
visitations to the beginning of another, the general fact cannot be doubted of the
occurrence of great periods when, during 20 years or more, these exhibitions return
in greatly increased splendor and frecmency, and then, for many years, are scarcely
seen except in their humbler forms. Now the terrestrial forces assigned, as elec-
tricity and magnetism, are not subject to any such periodicity, but are in a state
of constant activity. The most delicate instruments indicate no corresponding long
periods of activity and repose in these agents. On the contrary, a nebulous body
revolving around the sun, may readily be conceived to have its periods so nearly
commensurable with those of the earth that the two bodies shall remain for a long

1 Captain Lefroy, an able and assiduous inquirer into the laws of the aurora borealis, has remarked
this fact, although he probably would not agree with us in respect to the cause assigned. He says :
" It is remarkable that, in many cases, the phenomenon was first seen, in absolute time, at the north-
eastern stations, notwithstanding the earlier commencement of darkness at the extreme north, where the
difference of latitude in some cases more than compensates for the difference of longitude. It would
appear from this, that the aurora does not commonly appear at a station on any meridian until that
meridian generally is in darkness ; a result which, if established by the whole body of evidence, will be
both new and interesting." — Second Report, 1850-1.

4(3 ON THE RECENT SECULAR PERIOD

period, in the neighborhood of each other, and then gradually separating, not return
to the same relative position until after a C}*cle of years. Indeed, it would not be
difficult to give to the nebulous body such an orbit as to make it always remain, as
is the fact with the zodiacal light, near to the plane of the earth's orbit, and to
assign to it such an extent as to render it practicable for extreme portions of it at any
time to enter the earth's atmosphere, and produce auroral appearances, on a dimi-
nished scale at least, while the peculiar positions relative to the earth, which occur
only after certain cycles, are essential in order to exhibit the higher forms of the
phenomenon.

The foregoing considerations proceed no further than to show simply that the
material out of which the aurora borealis is formed, is derived from the planetary
spaces ; in other words, that its origin is cosmical and not terrestrial ; and this is
the main point we have in view, and this conclusion will not be affected by any
opinions we may entertain respecting the nature of the material itself, or respecting
its mode of existence before it came into the earth's atmosphere. Still, it may be
important to the cause of truth, to determine, if we can, what sort of matter the
auroral vapor consists of, in what form it existed in space, and what relation it
sustained to the solar system.

First, what is the nature of the auroral vapor itself? It is exceedingly light and
rare, since the stars are seen through it; those of the first magnitude, and the pla-
nets with no perceptible diminution of lustre; and though small stars are rendered
invisible by it, yet it is difficult to decide whether this is a real obscuration, or
merely the loss of contrast. There is often, however, especially in the earlier
stages of the exhibition, an accumulation of auroral vapor near the northern horizon,
which is so dense as entirely to obscure the stars.

With respect to the specific nature of the matter itself, the idea was long since
advanced, both by Dalton and Biot, that it is metallic. Dalton goes further, and
considers it ferruginous. This opinion has had but few advocates, and some have
thought it not deserving of the least attention.1 But what inconsistency is there
in supposing it ferruginous vapor? Iron, when sublimed by a high heat, as that of
the oxyhydrogen blowpipe, assumes the form of an exceedingly attenuated vapor.
Moreover, it is a striking fact that the matter which comes to us from the regions
of space is, to a great extent, ferruginous, as in the case of meteoric stones; nor does
there seem to me any great improbability in supposing that the matter which com-
poses the tails of comets is iron, in a state of extreme diffusion. Although iron is
not the only substance susceptible of magnetism, yet an unknown substance exhi-
biting this property is so commonly ferruginous that, without special evidence to
the contrary, it is inferred to be so. Now here is a substance which arranges itself
in obedience to all the laws of magnetism : conforming to them in respect to the
magnetic pole, the magnetic meridian, and the pole of the dipping needle, and pro-
ducing the most striking changes in the motions of the compass needle. The inference
that the substance is iron is so natural, that it would require special evidence to
the contrary to assume that it was anything else.

Becqucrel, Vol. VI.

OF THE AURORA BOREALIS. 47

If it be held as proved that the light of the aurora is direct and not reflected light,
as experiments on polarization made by Arago would indicate, it must be either
self-luminous, or be developed in the passage of the auroral vapor through the
atmosphere. The latter case is plainly conceivable; for a vaporous matter passing
through even the upper regions of the atmosphere, with the immense velocity which
the auroral vapor is known to have, would become luminous by the condensation
of the air before it, as tinder is set on fire in the air match. A wad, shot from a
cannon with such a velocity, would take fire by the heat elicited by condensation ;
or if it wTere constituted of some filmy, incombustible substance, that would become
red-hot.

Although I am unable to find any evidence that electricity is the cause of the
aurora borealis, yet that certain of the local appearances it exhibits occasionally
may be owing to electricity, is not incompatible with the views I entertain of its
origin. Among the various phenomena, there is one which has much resemblance
at times to the passage of electricity through rarefied air. I allude to the momen-
tary flashes which sometimes constitute a striking feature in auroras of the first class,
as was the case in that of April 6, 1848. Respecting this, I find recorded in my
note-book the following remark : " The appearances of the luminous flashes more
strikingly resemble those of the auroral tube [in which a strong electric spark is
transmitted through a long glass tube containing rarefied air] than anything of the
kind I ever witnessed before. I had recently been experimenting with a very large
auroral tube, and a powerful electric machine, and was, therefore, peculiarly fitted
to make the comparison. At 2 h. 20 m. the luminous undulations extended east-
ward to Aquila, covering the Swan and the Lyre, and the appearances much resem-
bled those of the auroral tube." In the exhibition of February 20, of the same
year, at about 4 o'clock in the morning, similar appearances were seen, which
possibly might, and perhaps did, result from the passage of electricity through the
upper regions of the atmosphere ; but I regard these appearances rather as one of
the effects than as the grand cause of the aurora borealis. They may arise from
a disturbance of the electric equilibrium in the auroral columns, but cannot be
regarded as producing the columns themselves.

The term " nebulous matter" is not well defined, but is applied, in general, to a
kind of matter found in the celestial spaces in a state of extreme diffusion, compos-
ing a cloud of dust lighter, to any extent, than atmospheric air. Of such a material
we conceive to be constituted not only the nebuloB proper, but also comets' tails, and
the zodiacal light; and of such a material we have evidence that the aurora borealis
is constituted. We deem it, therefore, allowable to call this material nebulous
matter, and to denominate a collection of it existing in space a nebulous body.
The number of separate nebula? that have been discovered among the heavenly
bodies, and the vast extent which they severally occupy, and the immense volume
which comets' tails sometimes fill as well as the zodiacal light, are facts which
strongly indicate the great prevalence of nebulous matter in the celestial spaces ;
nor would it seem a violent presumption to suppose that more or less of this matter
may be diffused in the planetary spaces, even were we not assured of its presence
there by the zodiacal light, and its descent in the form of meteoric showers.

48 ON THE RECENT SECULAR PERIOD

But we are not to regard the nebulous body, or bodies, from which the auroral
matter is derived, as floating loosely in space, but as revolving around the sun, with
an orbit and periodic time of its own ; subject, however, to perturbations from the
action of the planets, and possibly also from the "resisting medium." We can
think of no other way in which this nebulous matter can come into the earth's
atmosphere, and produce the aurora borealis, than to suppose that the earth, in its
revolution around the sun, comes so near to the nebulous body, or bodies, as to
bring within its own sphere of attraction some portion of them. The swiftness of
motion accompanying the auroral displays (by which we mean the motions of trans-
lation, and not mere flashes or undulations) may naturally result from the relative
motion of the earth and the nebulous matter, or from that motion combined with
the effect of the earth's attraction. The magnetic phenomena may be referred to
the earth, acting as a magnet on ferruginous, or other magnetic matter, of which the
auroral vapor gives clear indications of being constituted. The luminous appear-
ances, it seems to me most probable, are owing to the evolution of light and heat,
due to the sudden condensation of air, and naturally consequent upon the rapid
passage through it of such matter as the auroral matter. The great returns which
we have denominated secular periods, imply that the nebulous body from which
they are derived, returns to the same relative position with respect to the earth
after a cycle of years, and remains near to it, on account of the near ecpiality of
their periods, for a long time. Such a relation between the two bodies may be con-
ceived to produce the great periods of auroras, while the ordinary forms of the
phenomenon may result either from a more distant approach of the nebulous body,
or from the earth's encountering other portions of the same material, in a more
diffusive state. It will readily be perceived that a nebulous body, like that inferred
to exist in the neighborhood of the earth's orbit, could not remain stationary, since,
without a motion of revolution, it would descend directly to the sun. It must,
therefore, have an orbit and a period of its own. The duration of the great periods
of the aurora for upwards of twenty years together, and the almost nightly occur-
rence of the exhibitions in their humbler forms at the higher latitudes, prove that
some portions of this body are always hovering near the earth.

The idea of a connection between the aurora borealis and meteoric showers,
occurred to me as early as April, 1835, according to a record made at that date in
my note-book. Many great auroras have occurred about the time of the November
meteors, and during a grand auroral display, an uncommon number of shooting
stars have frequently been observed. In the great auroral exhibition of August,
1827, they made a very conspicuous figure. In the Regents' Report of the State
of New York, for 1836, Professor Joslin remarks, that in the great aurora of
November 17, 1835, many shooting stars were seen, and he expresses the opinion
that shooting stars are intimately connected with the aurora. On this point the
illustrious Humboldt thus expresses himself: " The aurora borealis showed itself
with great intensity during the occurrence of the most magnificent display of
meteors j'et observed, that described by Olmsted on the 12th and loth November,
1833. The aurora was also seen during the periodical phenomenon in 1S38, at
Bremen, where, however, the fall of meteors was much less striking than at

OF THE AURORA BOREALIS. 49

Richmond, near London. I have noticed elsewhere the remarkable observation of
Admiral Wrangel, which he repeatedly confirmed to me verbally, viz : that during
the appearance of the aurora on the Siberian coast of the Polar Sea, he frequently
saw portions of the sky not previously luminous, which seemed to kindle when a
falling star shot across them, and continued bright for some time afterwards."

In a paper which I had the honor to read before the American Association, at
their annual meeting, held at Albany, in 1851, on the Zodiacal Light, I stated
several ■presumptions, that the meteoric showers of November are derived from that
body. After recapitulating some of the reasons I had previously offered, to show
that the meteors of November have their origin in a nebulous body revolving
about the sun, I submitted the following presumptions in favor of the opinion that
the zodiacal light is the nebulous body itself. Such are the following : —

1. The zodiacal light is a nebulous body.

2. It has a revolution around the sun.1

3. It reaches beyond, and lies over the earth's orbit, at the time of the November
meteors, and makes but a small angle with the ecliptic.

4. In the meteoric showers of November, the meteors are actually seen to come
from the part of the heavens covered by the extreme portions of this light.2

It may be added that, in the great showers of 1833, this light was remarkably
conspicuous ; and that soon after this period of the year, it suddenly makes its
appearance on the eastern side of the sun, being before seen only on the western
side — a change of position which indicates that, at this period, we pass by it, or
through it, so as to project it on opposite sides of the sun.3

It is well known that Mairan, in his treatise on the Aurora Borealis, first
published in the year 1733,4 ascribed this phenomenon to the zodiacal light,
which he supposed to be the atmosphere of the sun. His opinion was embraced
by some, and opposed by others of the men of science of that age. Some of its
reasonings, the progress of science has clearly shown to be fallacious ; but others
have great force, and are still deserving of much consideration. After the
discovery of the presence of electricity in the atmosphere, and of its identity with
lightning, there was almost a universal conviction among philosophers, that elec-
tricity is the true cause of the aurora, and all further investigations on the sub-
ject were suspended, and the work of Mairan, the most learned of all those
hitherto written on the aurora borealis, fell into neglect, and has remained so ever

1 At the meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, August, 1855, Rev.
George Jones, Chaplain in the United States Navy, presented a new and elaborate series of observa-
tions on the Zodiacal Light, from which he concluded that this phenomenon is owing to a ring around
the earth, instead of being, as heretofore supposed, an appeudage to the sun. Should this opinion prove
to be correct, it will not, perhaps, affect unfavorably the doctrine that the periodical meteors and the
aurora borealis are both derived from the zodiacal light.

3 See Trs. American Association for the Advancement of Science, for 1851 ; or, Amer. Journal of
Science. »

3 See this point fully explained in the American Journal of Science, Vol. XXV, p. 168, and Vol.
XXXIII, p. 391.

1 A second edition, embracing additional matter of great importance, was issued in 1754.
7

50 ON THE RECENT SECULAR PERIOD

since. But it docs not appear to me altogether improbable that the zodiacal light
is, indeed, the body which affords, at once, the material of the aurora boi'ealis and
of meteoric showers. Lying, as it does, nearly in the plane of the earth's orbit,
reaching beyond the earth's path around the sun, and having an immense volume;
corresponding in constitution, so far as we can judge, with the auroral vapor itself;
nothing can be imagined more competent than this to meet all the exigencies of
the case. Some portions of it are always near enough to the earth to afford
occasional displays of the aurora in its humbler forms, and the known variations
of apparent magnitude and brightness to which the zodiacal light is subject, render
it competent to meet the most extraordinary exhibitions of the phenomenon.

In conclusion, we will return to the questions with which we started, and state,
briefly, the answers to which we have been conducted.

1. What is the origin of the auroral vapor, or the material itself which forms the
basis of the exhibition? We think it fully proved that the origin of the aurora
borealis is cosmical, being derived from the planetary spaces. My meaning is, that
the material itself comes into the atmosphere from a region beyond, and so remote
as not to be influenced by the earth's rotation, although the phenomena are exhibited
in the atmosphere. It must of course be either terrestrial or cosmical. But we
argue that the extent of some of the exhibitions is too great to be produced by any
terrestrial exhalations or atmospherical precipitations; that in places differing many
degrees in longitude, corresponding phases of the exhibition, as the time of arriving
at the maximum, for example, occur at the same hour of local time — a fact inconsistent
with the doctrine of a simultaneous development of the cause over so vast a space,
but entirely compatible with that of a nebulous body in space under or through
which successive places on the earth are brought in the diurnal revolution; that the
velocity of many of the motions, where there is evidence of actual translation of
material, and where the movements are not due to mere flashes or undulations of
light, is too great to arise from any terrestrial forces; that the periodicity which
attends the phenomenon takes it out of the pale of atmospheric changes and places
it within the sphere of astronomical causes, depending on revolutions and the
mutual relations of the earth and foreign matter.

2. What causes the periodicity of these exhibitions ; or why do they occur in certain
parts of the twenty-four hours, commencing, for example (in the case of the greatest
exhibitions), a little before the end of twilight, and coming to their maximum from
10 to 11 o'clock? why in certain months of the year, as in September and November,
while they are seldom seen in June and December? and, especially, why do they
return in secular periods?

The occurrence of these exhibitions at certain hours of the night, that is, the
diurnal periodicity, a circumstance which belongs to auroras of the polar regions,
when it is continual night, as well as to lower latitudes1 — plainly indicates that the
phenomenon has some relation to the position of the sun, although, after much
reflection, I have not been able to satisfy myself as to the precise nature of that
relation. The most promising chance of solution of the case which has suggested

See Obs. of Lottin, &c, at Bossekop.

OF THE AURORA BOREALIS. 51

itself to my mind, is that which connects it with the zodiacal light, which is known
to maintain a nearly constant position with respect to the sun. Mairan. as before
remarked,1 thought he had discovered the true cause of the greater frequency of
auroras during the winter than during the summer months, in the fact that in that
half of the annual revolution, the earth is on the side of its perihelion, while during
the summer months, it is on the side of the aphelion ; consequently, it would plunge
deeper into the zodiacal light in winter than in summer. But the result of our
collation of the exhibitions recorded in the Regents Repiorts, indicates that in respect
to number the aggregate for the winter months is less than for the summer, although
the balance is in favor of the winter for the greatest exhibitions. If the comparison,
when instituted from more extensive and more accurate observations, should continue
to afford the same result, then the argument of Mairan could not be held as conclu-
sive ; but should a more reliable collation of auroras give the same result as that
which appeared so uniform^ to attend the researches of that distinguished philoso-
pher, then the argument will gain weight and. be deserving of much consideration.
Since only extraordinary displajs of the phenomenon would be recorded in history,
probably the comparison of Mairan was instituted in respect to these alone, and of
those the balance still appears to be in favor of the winter months. Yet the argu-
ment is weakened by the fact that auroras of the first class have sometimes (though
rarely) occurred in the summer, as that of July 1, 1837. It is, however, an acknow-
ledged fact that the exhibitions of summer are generally much feebler than those of
winter; nor can this be ascribed merely to the shorter duration of the nights, for
in winter the displays occur chiefly at hours when they might be seen equally well
in summer nights. We are still much in the dark respecting the true cause of the
annual periodicity, but shall anticipate a more full and satisfactory explanation of
it, when it has longer engaged the attention of philosophers, and afforded more full
and accurate data for investigation.

The cause of the secular periodicity appears less obscure, since, referring the
phenomenon, as we do, to a cosmical origin, and proving, as we think, the existence
of a nebulous body in space which affords the material of the aurora, we recognize
at once in the necessary astronomical relations of such a body reasons for the
recurrence of the secular periods.

3. Can any explanation be given of the sensible appearances of the aurora, such as
the luminous phenomena, their remarkable motions, and definite arrangement in columns,
arches, and coronas? It would not be incompatible with the views I entertain of
the origin of the aurora borealis, to suppose that the luminous appearances attending
it are due to electricity, since foreign matter through which the earth plunges with
immense velocity, might naturally be expected to develop electrical effects in the
atmosphere; and I have mentioned a few cases where the auroral flashes did, in
fact, look much like those produced by the passage of electricity through rarefied air.
But a more general cause of the auroral light is, I think, due to condensation, from
the rapid transit of the auroral matter through the air, as tinder is ignited in the

Vide supra.

52 ON THE RECENT SECULAR PERIOD, ETC.

air match. If the matter is combustible like ferruginous particles, a real combustion
would ensue ; if incombustible, ignition, simply, would follow.

It may not be easy or possible to explain all the varieties of motion which attend
auroral displays, but that "rapid motions," in general, should occur, is a natural
consequence of the passage of the earth through a nebulous mass revolving around
the sun, either in a direction opposite to that of the earth, or in the same direction
with a less velocity.

The magnetic phenomena accompanying the aurora, imply that the auroral matter
has magnetic properties. Tbese make it tend towards the magnetic pole of the
earth, cause it to arrange itself in columns parallel to the magnetic meridian, and to
form, by perspective, the corona around the pole of the. dipping needle. They like-
wise, for the same reason, produce marked effects on the compass-needle, and cause
exhibitions of the phenomenon to be more frequent in the polar than in the equa-
torial regions, and more abundant and intense on the western than on the eastern
continent, since here the principal magnetic pole of the earth is situated.

PUBLISHED BY THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION,
WASHINGTON, D. C.

MAT, 1856.

SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO KNOWLEDGE.

THE TANGENCIES

CIRCLES AND OF SPHERES

BY

BENJAMIN ALVOKD,

MAJOR UNITED STATES ARMY.

[ACCEPTED FOR PUBLICATION, JANUARY, 1855.]

COMMISSION

TO WHICH THIS PAPER HAS BEEN REFERRED.

Prof. A. E. Church,
Prof. L. R. Gibbbs.

The Smithsonian Institution is under special obligations to the above-named gentlemen, for
assistance, in the absence of the author, in revising this paper, and carrying it through the
press.

Joseph Henry,

Secretary S. I.

1. K. AND P. O. COLLINS, PE1MTEKS,
PHILADELPHIA.

A GEOMETRICAL SOLUTION

TEN PROBLEMS IN THE TANGENCIES OF CIRCLES ; AND, ALSO, OP THE FIFTEEN PROBLEMS
IN THE TANGENCIES OF SPHERES, BASED UPON THE PRINCIPLE THAT THE TANGENT
LINE, OR TANGENT CURVE, IS THE LIMIT OF ALL SECANT LINES OR CURVES.

The solution herein given to the problems in the tangencies of circles and of
spheres, is strictly based upon the principle that the tangent line, or curve, is the
limit to all secant lines or curves. This principle is frequently employed in de-
scriptive geometry, and in the discussion of tangents in analytical geometry, but I
am not aware that it has ever been employed in the manner set forth in this
memoir. Solutions are given of most of these problems in the eleventh volume of
the Annales de Mathematique (par J. D. Gergonne, Paris, 1820), and in the first
volume of Crelle's Mathematical Journal, Berlin, 1S2G. But the methods employed
are cpuite different from that herein explained. It is believed that the following
is a more complete generalization of this mass of problems than any heretofore
published. The classification given of the problems in the tangencies of spheres,
and also the classification of all the cases under each problem, both in the tan-
gencies of circles and in the tangencies of spheres, are believed to be novel.

THE TANGENCIES OF CIRCLES.

The following table exhibits the ten problems in the tangencies of circles pro-
posed by a Greek geometer, Apollonius Pergaeus, who lived A. C. 200. A trans-
lation of his Geometria Tactionum (the Geometry of Tangencies), was made by
Francis Vieta. An edition of Vieta, in French, was published by M. Herigon, in
1644. Apollonius recorded some complex solutions, but nothing of a general
character.

THE TANGENCIES OF

THE TEN PROBLEMS OF APOLLONIUS IN TIIE TANGENCIES OF CIRCLES.

No. 1.

To draw a circle through three points. Number of solutions,

No. 2.
To draw a circle through two points, and tangent to a given
right line. Number of solutions, two.

No. 3.

To draw a circle through a point, and tangent to two right
lines. Number of solutions, two.

No. 4.
To draw a circle through two points, and tangent to a given
circle. Number of solutions, two.

No. 5.

To draw a circle through a given point, and tangent to a given
right line, and to a given circle. Number of solutions, four.

No. 6.

To draw a circle through a given point, and tangent to two
given circles. Number of solutions, four.

No. 1.
To draw a circle tangent to three given right lines, of which
not more than two are parallel. Number of solutions, four.

No. 8.

To draw a circle tangent to two right lines and a given circle.
Number of solutions, four.

No. 9.

To draw a circle tangent to a given right line and to two given
circles. Number of solutions, eight.

No. 10.

To draw a circle tangent to three given circles. Number of
solutions, eight.

CIRCLES AND OF SPHERES. 5

In the above table, we have added the number of solutions of which each
problem is susceptible, or the number of different tangent circles which fulfil the
conditions. This number can, of course, be reduced in each case by particular
suppositions, but the number given above refers to the general problem. Par-
ticular suppositions can also be made in which some of the cases would become
impossible, or the circles become straight lines, or circles with infinite radii.
This table exhibits all the problems which occur in the tangencies of circles, the
geometrical elements being the point, the right line, and the circle — all being in
the same plane.

The fact that the tangent circle is the limit of all secant circles, leads to the solu-
tions which I shall present, and which will be more fully explained in the solution
of' Problem 4.

The solutions of Problems 1, 2, 3, 7, and 8 (as see Plate I), are very simple. In
Problem 2, extend the line A B, joining the two given points A and B, until it
meets the given line at 0. Draw any secant circle, as A B M N, through the two
given points. Let the radius and position of the centre of this secant circle be
changed until the two points of intersection, M and N, come together; then this
circle will become the required tangent circle. From 0, draw a tangent line, as
0 E, to this secant circle. Lay off the distance O E in each direction, as 0 D and
O D\ and D and D are the points 'of contact of the two circles which will fulfil
the conditions. For, &$ 0 A x 0 B= 0 1>\ the circle drawn through the points
A, B, and D, will be tangent at D to the given line. The same reasoning applies
to the point D.

In Problem 3, C being the given point, let fall a perpendicular to the line A L,
which is drawn to bisect the angle formed by the two given lines, and lay off
N D = N G. The point D will lie on the circumference of the recpiired circle, as
A L must be an indefinite diameter of that circle. The problem is thus reduced
to Problem 2, to draw a circle through the two points C and D, and tangent to the
line A E.

In Problem 8, draw the auxiliary line L D parallel to L I, and distant from it
D F= A P, the radius of the given circle. From A, the centre of the given
circle, let fall A B perpendicular to L II (bisecting the angle), and lay off KB= A K.
Then if, through B and A, circles BAD and B A D be described tangent to L' D
(by Problem 2), and OD and HD be drawn, we have F and I, the points of contact
of two of the required circles. For 0 D = O A = 0 N, and FI) = PA = MN; there-
fore, 0 F '= 0 P = 0 M, H I = H P'. By drawing an auxiliary parallel line L" S
within the angle, and distant also the radius of the circle, by a like process, two
more tangent circles, X Y and Q T, will be found to fulfil the conditions of the
problem. There are thus four solutions to the problem ; two of the circles convex,
and two concave to the given circle.

&*•

Problem 4. To draw a circle through two points, and tangent to a given circle. —
Draw through the two given points .Band A (see Fig. 1, Plate II), any circle, as

6 THE TANGENCIES OF

B A CD, secant to the given circle M N D, and cutting it in the two points Cand D.
If the radius ami position of the centre of this circle he changed until the two points of
intersection G and D come together, it icill become the required tangent circle. Join
1) G, and extend the line until it meets B A prolonged at Z. From Z, draw two
lines, ZM&nd Z N, tangent to the given circle; the points of contact iVand M will
be the points of contact of the required tangent circles. For Z A x Z B= Z C
x ZD = Z N- = Z IP; therefore, the circle B A JVwill be tangent at N to the
line Z N, and both circles, being tangent to the same right line at the same point
iV^ must be tangent to each other. The same course of reasoning applies to the
other tangent circle BAM. There are, then, two solutions ; one tangent circle
convex, the other concave to the given circle.

With the use of any other secant circle, as B A L P, by a like construction, the
same tangent circle B A iV would be obtained, and the same point of contact N.
Therefore, the secant line drawn through PandL will pass through the same point
Z as in the case of the secant line D G. Fig. 2 exhibits the case when the two
given points are within the given circle.

Therefore, it follows that if, through any two points in the plane of a given
circle, any number of secant circles be drawn intersecting said circle, and right
lines be drawn through the points of intersection, they will all meet in a common
point on the prolongation of the line joining the two first named given points.

This solution of Problem 4 is derived, it will be seen, from the fact that the
tangent cikcle is the limit of all secant circles. The tangent circle B A N is
the limit of all secant circles, as B A G D, B A L P, &c. This principle, and the
construction in this problem, will be found of universal application in all that follows.

Problem 5. To draw a circle through a given point, and tangent to a given right
line, and to a given circle. — Draw the line G B (see Fig. 1, Plate III) through the
centre of the given circle, and perpendicular to the given right line C E. Suppose
Pis the given point, and, for the purpose of analysis, that 0 P Eis the required
tangent circle. S D, joining the centres, will pass through the point of contact 0.
Join B 0 and 0 E. B 0 E will be one continuous straight line. For, D E and
B /S being parallel, the angles 0 8 B and ODE are equal, and, the triangles being
isosceles, the angles at 0 are equal. In the similar triangles B A 0 and B G E,
we have B C x B A = B E x BO. Join B P, and suppose that P' is the point in
which B P cuts the required circle. BPxBP'=BExBO. Therefore, B P
x B P'= B Ox B A. But B G, B A, and B P are given distances; therefore, the
point P can be found by taking B P' equal to the fourth proportional to B P, B G,
and B A. This will readily be done by making the angle B AP' = the given angle
B P G ; or, passing a circle through the three given points C, A, and P, it will cut
B P in the required point P. Then, by Problem 4, through the two points P and
P', draw a circle tangent to the given circle; it will also be tangent to the given
right line. This gives two circles, PP' 0, PP O, fulfilling the required conditions.

Also join PA. By a similar process, we shall find the triangle A E' G similar
to the triangle A O" B, and A Px A P" = A E' x A 0'" = A B x A G. Find,
then, A P" a fourth proportional to A P, A B, and A G. This can be done by

CIRCLES AND OF SPHERES. 7

drawing the line B P" so as to make the angle A B P" = the angle A P G ; or,
pass a circle through P, B, and G, and it will cut PA prolonged at P". Then, by
Problem 4, through Pand P", draw circles 0'" P" E' and P" P E" tangent to the
given circle ; they will also fulfil the conditions of the problem.

This makes four solutions in all ; two of the tangent circles convex, and two con-
cave to the given circle.

Fig. 2 exhibits the case in which the given right line intersects the given circle,
the given point being within the circle. There are only two solutions in this
case, each circle being convex to the given circle.

Problem 6. To draw a circle through a given point, and tangent to two given circles.
— In Fig. 1, Plate IV, let E and F be the two given circles, and A the given point.
Find the point 0, on the line joining their centres, where the line T T', tangent to
both on the same side of E F, will cut it. Suppose, for the sake of analysis. AG D
to be the required circle. Join the points of contact G and D. This line, pro-
longed, will pass through the point 0. For, mark the point L where this line cuts
the circle F. The triangles G F L, D D' G, and MD Pwill be similar. There-
fore, the angles MD i?and G L Fare equal, and the radius F L is parallel to the
radius ED. Therefore, the line D C L passes through the point 0, which is the
intersection of all right lines passing through the extremities of parallel radii on
the same side of E F. (See Biot's Analytical Geometry, Chap. II.)

Join 0 with the given point A, and suppose A' to be the point in which this line
cuts the required circle. The triangle 0 C Sh similar to the triangle 0 M N; but
0 M Nis also similar to 0 D K. Therefore, the triangle 0 C Sis similar to the
triangle 0 D K, and 0 K x 0 S= 0 D x 0 G= 0 Ax 0 A'. Therefore, if we
lay off 0 A' equal to a fourth proportional to 0 A, 0 K, and 0 S, we obtain the
point A'. This point can be obtained by making the angle 0 S A' = the angle
OAK. Or, pass through the given points A, K, and S, a circle, it will cut 0 A in
the point A'. Then, by Problem 4, drawing, through A and A', the circles A A' G
and A A' C' tangent to one of the given circles, they will also be tangent to the
other. This construction gives two of the required circles.

If, in Fig. 2, the line T T' be drawn tangent to the two given circles, the points
of contact being on different sides of the line joining their centres, the point 0',
in which these lines intersect, enjoys properties entirely similar to those found for
the point 0 in Fig. 1. We shall find the triangles O G C", O MN, and 9 D K,
all similar, and O Kx O G = 0' D x O C" = O A x Q A". Thus, the triangle
0' G A" is similar to the triangle 0' A K; and laying off O A" equal to a fourth
proportional to O A, O K, and O G, we obtain the point A".

A" is easily found in construction by drawing G A" so as to make the angle 0' GA''
equal to the angle OAK. Or, passing a circle through A, K, and G, it also should
cut the line A O at A". Then, through A and A", by Problem 4, pass two circles,
A C" A" and A G'" A", tangent to the circle F, they will also be tangent to the
circle E.

This completes the four solutions of this problem ; one of the circles being convex

y TIJE TANGENCIES OP

to both of the given circles, one concave to both, one convex to F and concave to E,
and the fourth concave to F and convex to E.

We shall hereafter name the point 0 the "external similar point," and the point
O the "internal similar point' of the two circles.1

We will now suppose that one of the given circles encloses the other, as in Fig. 3.
If the extremities of any two parallel radii E Q and F C, on opposite sides of E F,
are joined, the line C Q will cut the line joining the centres at a fixed point 0.
If the extremities of parallel radii, as F N, and E Q, on the same side of the line
E F, be joined by the line Q N, this line, prolonged, will meet the line joining the
centres at a fixed point O. And it will readily be seen that they are the "similar
points" of these circles, and that, by using these points 0 and 0' in the same man-
ner as 0 and 0' in the former cases, the four solutions of the problem (exhibited
to the eye in Fig. 3) will be obtained.

It is worthy of note, that in Problem 5 (see Fig. 1, Plate III) we can regard the
points B and A as every way analogous to the points 0 and 0' in Problem 6. Re-
garding the given right line C E as the circumference of a circle of infinite radius,
B G is the line joining the centres of the two given circles, and B and A are the
points where the lines B i^and A M, tangent to both (and parallel to G E), inter-
sect the line joining the centres. The points B and A answer precisely, therefore,
to the description of the "external and internal similar points" O and O' in
Problem 6.

Problem 9. To draw a circle tangent to a given rigid line and to two given circles. —
In this problem, as see Fig. 1, Plate V, draw the auxiliary line KB parallel to the
given line, G G, and at a distance equal to the radius of the smaller of the two
given circles, and the auxiliary circle B N with a radius equal to the difference of
the radii of the circles. Then, by Problem 5, through the point F, draw a circle,
as F B D, tangent to the circle B N, and to the auxiliary line K D. The centre
of this circle will be the centre of the required circle. For, join O, the centre of
this tangent circle, with A and F, and let fall O D perpendicular to the given line,
we shall have E F= G D — B S; and, taking these distances from the radius of
the circle F B D, we have O S= O E= O G. Therefore, a circle passed through
S, E, and G will be tangent to the two given circles at S and E, and to the given
right line at G So, by the use of a similar auxiliary line, T P, on the other side
of the given line, the circle N P F is found, whose centre, L, is the centre of
another circle, MR E', which will fulfil the conditions of the problem.

Thus, in each case, the centre of the required circle is found by obtaining the
centre of an auxiliary circle, whose radius differs from the required one (either less
or greater) by the radius of the smallest of the given circles.

It will be found that there are eight solutions to this problem. They are all

-

1 These are the names given to these points in the dissertations of the German mathematician Steiner,
in the first volume of Crelle. It is proper to add that the writer had made use of said points, and,
indeed, arrived at nearly all these solutions, in 1838, and communicated them to his friends at West
Point, long before he had seen the very curious German memoir referred to.

CIRCLES AND OP SPHERES. 9

exhibited in the two figures of Plate V. They are numbered as the points of con-
tact are numbered in circle A in both figures. Nos. 1 and 8 are convex to both
circles ; Nos. 2 and 7, concave to both ; 3 and 6, convex to circle A and concave
to circle F; 4 and 5, concave to A and convex to F.

Problem 10. To draw a circle tangent to three given circles. — In Plate VI, let A,
B, and E, be the centres of the given circles. Draw the auxiliary circle B S,
having the same centre as the largest circle, and a radius equal to the difference
between the radii of the largest and of the smallest of the given circles. Draw,
also, the auxiliary circle A G with a radius equal to the difference between the
radii of the given circle A F and of E D, the smallest of the given circles. Draw
through E, the centre of the smallest circle, by Problem 6, a circle, as ESQ, tan-
gent to both these auxiliary circles. The centre, O, of this will be the centre of
one of the required circles. For D E = S C = F Q. Therefore, O D = O C = OF.

By a construction entirely analogous, all the other solutions of this problem will
be readily obtained. Sometimes, the radius of the auxiliary circle is longer than
the radius of one of the circles by the radius of the smallest circle.

It will be found that there are eight solutions to the problem, and they are all
exhibited to the eye in Plate VII. In each case, as in Problem 9, the centre of
the required circle is found by obtaining the centre of an auxiliary circle whose
radius differs from the required one (either less or greater) by the radius of the
smallest of the given circles.

The following statement exhibits the auxiliary circles from which the different
solutions are obtained. The numbers refer to the required circle, whose point of
contact is numbered in Plate VII.

Prom the auxiliary circles A G and B S are obtained, by Prob. 6 . Nos. 1 and 2.

Prom B S' and A G' Nos. 3 and 4.

From A G and B S' Nos. 5 and 6.

From B S and AG' Nos. T and 8.

It will be found on examination that the eight solutions are made up by tangent
circles, which are situated as follows in reference to the three given circles, viz: —

No. 1, convex to the three circles.

No. 2, enclosing or concave to all.

Nos. 3, 5, and 7, concave to one and convex to the other two.

Nos. 4, 6, and 8, convex to one and concave to the other two -circles.

10

THE TANGENCIES OF

THE TANGENCIES OF SPHERES.

Upon examining the question, How many problems are possible in the tangencies
of spheres? I find there are fifteen, which can be classified as follows, viz: —

THE FIFTEEN PROBLEMS IN THE TANGENCIES OF SPHERES.

+

+ *

t

No. 1.
To draw a sphere through four points given in position. Num-
ber of solutions, one.

+

No. 2.
To draw a sphere through three points, and tangent to a given
plane. Number of solutions, two.

4-

No. 3.

To draw a sphere through two points, and tangent to two
planes. Number of solutions, two.

/ ~

No. 4.
To draw a sphere through a point, and tangent to three planes.
Number of solutions, two.

*/o

No. 5.
To draw a sphere through three points, and tangent to a given
sphere. Number of solutions, two.

CO

No. 6.

To draw a sphere through two points, and tangent to a plane
and to a sphere. Number of solutions, four.

CO

No. 1.
To draw a sphere through a point, and tangent to two planes
and to a sphere. Number of solutions, four.

CO

No. 8.
To draw a sphere tangent to three planes and to a sphere.
Number of solutions, four.

+ +

o O

No. 0.

To draw a sphere through two points, and tangent to two given
spheres. Number of solutions, four.

No. 10.

To draw a sphere tangent to four planes. Number of solutions,
eight.

Ol

CIRCLES AND OF SPHERES.

11

^°o

No. 11.

To draw a sphere through a point, and tangent to a plane and j
to two spheres. Number of solutions, eight.

c00

No. 12.

To draw a sphere tangent to two planes and to two spheres.
Number of solutions, eight.

1 00°

No. 13.

To draw a sphere through a point, and tangent to three spheres.
Number of solutions, eight.

o°°

No. 14.

To draw a sphere tangent to a plane and to three spheres.
Number of solutions, sixteen.

0?0

No. 15.

To draw a sphere tangent to four spheres. Number of solu-
tions, sixteen.

All of those problems can be solved by the application of the same principle
which is employed in the above investigation of the tangencies of circles.

The solutions of Problems 1 and 10 are found in all elementary works on de-
scriptive geometry, and are obvious.

In Problem 2, pass a circle through the three given points, it will be a small
circle of the required sphere. Through its centre, pass a plane perpendicular to
the given plane, and also to the plane of the circle. It will cut the circumference
of the circle in two points, and the given plane in a line which must contain the
required point of contact. By Problem 2, in the Tangencies of Circles, through
those two points draw a circle tangent to this line, and you will have a great circle
of the required sphere, and its point of contact with the plane. It is obvious that
there are two spheres which will fulfil the conditions of the problem, as there are
two points of contact found by this construction.

In Problem 3, draw a plane bisecting the angle formed by the given planes. It
must pass through the centre of the required sphere. Let fall a perpendicular from
one of the given points upon said plane, and find on it a point equidistant on the
opposite side. The required sphere must pass also through this last point. There-
fore, the problem is reduced to Problem 2.

12 THE TANGENCIES OF

In like manner, Problem 4 can be reduced to Problem 2.

In Problem 5, pass a circle through the three given points. This must be a
small circle of the required sphere. Let fall, from the centre of the given sphere,
a perpendicular to the plane of this circle. Puss, through this perpendicular and
the centre of the small circle, a plane. This will cut the circumference of the
small circle in two points (found readily in construction by joining the foot of the
perpendicular with the centre of that circle), and it will cut the given sphere in a
great circle. Then (by Prob. 4, in Tangencies of Circles) pass through these two
points a circle tangent to the great circle. The point of contact will be the point
of contact of the required sphere. Two such tangent circles can be drawn, and
thus two spheres can be obtained to answer the conditions, viz : one convex and
one concave towards the given sphere.

Problem 6. To draio a sphere through two points tangent to a given sphere.and to a
given plane. — Suppose the required point of contact (on the plane) to be known.
Through this point, and the centre of the given sphere, pass a plane perpendicu-
lar to the given plane, and suppose, for the sake of analysis, that to be the
plane of the paper. In Fig. 1, Plate VIII, let A be the given sphere referred
to two planes of projection (according to the principles of descriptive geometry),
A' X' being the ground line, let the vertical plane of projection be the given
plane, and (P, P) ( Q, Q) the projections of the given points. Let O and O' be
the "similar points," used as in the analogous problem (Prob. 5) in Tangencies
of Circles. Suppose, for the purpose of analysis, that Fis the required point of
contact on the given sphere and in the horizontal plane, and that X Y is the
required tangent sphere. Join Fwith O and J'. O Y X will be one continuous
straight line; see Prob. 5, in Tangencies of Circles. Also, O Yx O X' = O A'
x O O. Join one of the given points (P, P) with O. Let the point whose pro-
jections are MM' be the point in which this line pierces the tangent sphere. As
this line and O Y X' are in the same plane, cutting a small circle out of the tan-
gent sphere, we have O M" x O P" — 0 Y x O X' = O A' x O O'. Thus, the
point whose projections are M, M' will be found by finding O M" a fourth propor-
tional to O P", O A', and O O', all these being known distances. We have thus
three points (P, P), (Q, Q), and (M, M') in the required sphere, and the question
is reduced to Prob. 5, Tangencies of Spheres. By this process, two solutions are
obtained. By the use of the point C, two more will be obtained ; making four in
all. Two of the required spheres will be convex, and two concave to the given
sphere.

In Problem 7, pass a plane bisecting the angle formed by the two given planes.
Through the given point, let fall a perpendicular to this plane, and find a point
on the opposite side equidistant from the plane. This point must also be found on
the required tangent sphere. Then, through these two points, draw a sphere tan-
gent to the given sphere and to one of the given planes; it will be tangent, also,
to the other plane. This reduces the problem to Prob. 6.

CIRCLES AND OF SPHERES. 13

In Problem 8, pass three auxiliary planes parallel to the three given planes, and
distant from each the radius of the given sphere. Through its centre, draw (by
Prob. 4) a sphere tangent to these three auxiliary planes. Its centre will be the
centre of the required sphere. Four solutions will be found ; two of the tangent
spheres concave, and two convex to the given sphere.

Problem 9. To draw a sphere through iwo points, and tangent to two given spheres.
— Let A and B (see Fig. 2, Plate VIII) be the two given spheres, and G and D
the two given points; not necessarily in the plane of the paper. Join Cwith the
point O, the " external similar point' of the two given spheres. By a method
analogous to that explained in Prob. 6 (in Tangencies of Circles), we can find the
point, C" in which the line O G pierces the required tangent sphere. For, suppose
F and F' to be the recpuired points of contact (not necessarily in the plane of the
paper). Join F F', and the line will pass through the same point O, as seen in
the problem just quoted. The lines F F' and G G', passing through the same
point O, are therefore in the same plane, cutting a small circle out of the required
sphere. Therefore, O C x O C = O F x O F' = O H x O G. Thus, find O C
a fourth proportional to O C, O G, and O H, and you have O C. This gives us
the point C. This reduces the problem to that of Prob. 5. By the use of the
point O, two of the solutions will be found. By making use of the point O, the
" internal similar poinf of the two given spheres, two other tangent spheres will
be obtained ; making in all four solutions to the problem.

In Problem 11, join the given point with one of the similar points of the two
spheres, and, by the method emploj'cd in Prob. 9, find another point, which must
be on the required sphere. Then, by Prob. 6, through these two points, draw a
sphere tangent to the given plane, and to one of the given spheres ; it will also be
tangent to the other sphere. Eight solutions will be found to this problem. Call
r and r' the "similar points" of the two spheres, and o and o' of one of the spheres
and the plane. Two of the solutions are obtained by the use of o and r, two from
o and r", two from o' and r, and two from d and r'. The eight solutions are classi-
fied as seen in Prob. 12.

Problem 12. Todraiv a sphere tangent to two planes ami to two spheres. — Pass two
auxiliary planes parallel to the two given planes, outside of them and distant from
each the radius of the smaller of the given spheres. Pass within the larger sphere
an auxiliary sphere, having the same centre, and distant from its surface by the
above named radius. Through the centre of the smaller sphere, draw (by Prob. 7)
a sphere tangent to these two auxiliary planes and to the auxiliary sphere. Its
centre will also be the centre of the required sphere. By passing an auxiliary
concentric sphere outside the larger sphere, and auxiliary planes on the opposite
_ side of the given planes, other tangent spheres will be found. There are eight
solutions in all. The classification will be analogous to that in Prob. 9 (in Tan-
gencies of Circles), and the same as in the preceding problem, viz : two of the re-

14 " TIIETANGENCIESOF

quired spheres convex to the two given spheres, two concave to them, two convex
to one and concave to the other, and two concave to one and convex to the otlier.

Problem 13. To draw a sphere through a given 'point, and tangent to three given
spheres. — Let P (see Fig. 1, Plate IX) be the given point, not in the plane of the
paper, and ^i, B, and C, the centres of the three given spheres. Find the points
0, M, and ^V, the "external similar points" of the spheres taken in pairs, and O',
M', and N', their "internal similar points." The three points O, M, and N, are
shown,' by a well-known proposition, to be in the same straight line. Join the
given point P with each of these points, and, by the principles explained in
problem 9, three other points will be found, which must lie on the required
sphere. These four points will be in the same plane (as O M N\s a straight line),
and on a small circle of the required sphere; and the solution is thus reduced to
Prob. 5. By making use of the points O', M', and N', other tangent spheres will
be found to answer the conditions of the problem. There are eight solutions in all,
viz : one of the tangent spheres convex to the three spheres ; one, concave to all ;
three, convex to one and concave to the other spheres ; three, concave to one and
convex to the other spheres.

Problem 14. To draw a sphere tangent to one plane and to three spheres. — Pass an
auxiliary plane parallel to the given plane on the side farthest from the spheres,
and distant the length of the radius of the smallest of the given spheres. Within
the two otlier spheres, pass auxiliary concentric spheres, and distant from their sur-
faces by the above-named radius. Pass, by Prob. 11, through the centre of the
smallest of the given spheres, a sphere tangent to these two auxiliary spheres and
to the auxiliary plane. Its centre will be the centre also of one of the required
spheres. By passing auxiliary concentric spheres outside of the two largest
spheres, and another auxiliary plane on the other side of the given plane, other
tangent spheres will be found to answer the conditions. The process is analogous
to that pursued in Prob. 9, in the Tangencies of Circles. Sixteen solutions will be
found to this problem, classified as follows, calling the three given spheres A, B,
and G: —

Two convex to all the spheres.

Two concave to all.

Two convex to A and concave to B and C.

Two B A and O.

Two " C " A and B.

Two concave to A and convex to B and O.

Two " B " A and C.

And Two " C " A and B.

Problem 15, and last. To draio a sphere tangent to four given spheres. — In Fig.
2, Plate IX, let A, B, G, and D be the centres of the given spheres. The centres
A, B, and G may be regarded as in the plane of the paper, D being out of it.
Within the three largest spheres, A, B, and C, pass auxiliary concentric spheres
A E, B I, and G G, distant from their surfaces by the length of the radius of the
smallest of the given spheres. By Prob. 13, pass through D (the centre of the

CIRCLES AND OF SPHERES. 15

smallest sphere), a sphere tangent to these three auxiliary spheres. Its centre will
be the centre of one of the required tangent spheres. Pass three other auxiliary
spheres, A E', B I', and C G', outside the same three given spheres, and distant
also the length of the radius of the sphere D. By combining in all possible ways
these six auxiliary spheres, all the solutions, numbering sixteen, will be found. The
following table classifies the different tangent spheres : —

No. 1 convex to or inside of all the spheres.

No. 2 concave to or enclosing all.

No. 3 convex to A and concave to the other spheres.

No. 4 " B

, No. 5 " G

other three |^ a « J) " " "

No. 1 concave to A and convex to the other spheres.

No. 8 " B

No. 9 " G

I No. 10 " D
"No. 11 convex to A and B and concave to the other spheres.

No. 12 " ^ and C

No. 13 " A and D

No. 14 " OandD

No. 15 " A and G

No. 16 " B and D

Four are convex to one
and concave to the

Four are concave to one
and convex to the
other three

Six are convex to two
and concave to the
other two spheres

From the auxiliary spheres AE,B I, and G G, are obtained, by Prob. 1 3, Nos. 1 and 2.

From A E', C G, and B I " 3 and 7.

From A E, < ' G, and B l "4 and 8.

From A E, B I, and C G' " 5 and 0.

From A E' , G G' , and B T " 6 and 10.

From A E',B I, and G G " H and 14.

From AE,B T, and G G' "12 and 13.

From A E' , B I, and C G' "15 and 10.

If, in this or in any of the previous problems, some of the spheres are enclosed
in one of the others, if the problem remains possible, it can be solved on analogous
principles, by making use of the " similar points" described in Prob. 6, in Tan-
gencies of Circles, see Fig. 3, Plate IV.

It is interesting to notice that, if these problems had been solved algebraically —
as, for instance, by referring the circles, in the last problem in the Tangencies of
Circles, to co-ordinate axes, the abscissa of the centre of the required circle being
the unknown quantity — the resulting equation would be one of the eighth degree,
the eight roots giving the eight solutions. It is not surprising, then, that Descartes
should acknowledge (see Montucla's Eistory of Mathematics, p. 264) that, in attempt-
ing to apply algebraic analysis to this problem, he "obtained, by one process, an
expression so complicated that he would not undertake to construct it in a month ;
and, by another process, one less embarrassee, but which was so difficult as to deter
him from touching it." If a full analytical expression could be obtained to embrace
all cases in Prob. 10, in Tangencies of Circles, the other nine problems could all be
solved from it by different suppositions ; as, that the radius of one of the circles
was zero and the other infinity, which would reduce it to Prob. 5.

16 THE TANGENCIES OP CIRCLES AND OF SPHERES.

If the last problem in the Tangencies of Spheres had been solved algebraically,
by referring the spheres to three co-ordinate planes, the resulting equation would be
of the sixteenth degree. It will, therefore, be seen that still greater complexity
would attend any attempt thus to solve this problem, than was encountered by
Descartes in his trial of the questions in the Tangencies of Circles. As the num-
ber of solutions, in the separate problems in the Tangencies of Spheres and of
Circles, is 16, 8, 4, 2, and 1, all even multiples of 2, I had conjectured that the
resulting equation, in either case, might be in the form of a quadratic, but I do not
think it has ever been obtained by mathematicians.

But it will be readily admitted that a geometrical solution, generalizing the
entire series, such as we have presented, is much more satisfactory than any which
could be obtained by the aid of algebra:

Besides the elaborate dissertations referred to on the third page of this paper, fre-
quent geometrical solutions of the problems in the Tangencies of Circles have been
given — as in the first book of Newton's Principle/,, in Leslies Geometry, and in the
Geometry of the " Library of Useful Knowledge" — but none of them reduce the
question to the elementary principle above announced.

The author offers this memoir for publication, under the belief that it is one of
the highest aims of science to simplify and reduce a complex subject to its elements.
An ingenious solution of detached problems would be less valuable, but the eluci-
dation and classification of an entire system, and the development of a principle,
however simple, which underlies said system, may be considered worthy of record.

PUBLISHED BY THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION,

WASHINGTON, D. C.

JANUARY, 1856.

PROBLEM 2nd

PROBLEM 1ST

PROBLEM 3

PROBLEM 7th

PROBLEM 4™
ft a circle throu

III.

PROBLEM 5th
n6h a. & ii

■

PROBLEM 6th
To draw a. circle through a. (Siven point and tanfient to two 6iven circles

T Sinclair' lith. Phi5-

PROBLEM 9T.H
to a. (Siven n6ht line son

'

lirs lithKul*

VI.

PROBLEM 10th

To draw 3. circle tanoent to taree given circles.

T Sinclair's lith, FWa

T Sinclair's I :

.

0^-::

Fig 2nd

s.

;g'

T Sincla

SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO KNOWLEDGE.

INVESTIGATIONS,

CHEMICAL AND PHYSIOLOGICAL,

RELATIVE TO CERTAIN

AMERICAN YERTEBRATA.

BY

JOSEPH JONES, M.D.,

PROFESSOR OF CHEMISTRY IN THE SAVANNAH MEDICAL COLLEGE.

[ACCEPTED for publication, march, 185C]

COMMISSION

TO WHICH THIS PAPER HAS BEEN REFERRED.

Samuel Jackson, M. D.,
Josem Leidy, M. D.,
Jeffries Wyman, M. D.

JosEPn Henry,

Secretary S. I.

1. K. AND P. G. COLLINS, PRINTKRS,
PUILADELPHIA.

ANALYTICAL INDEX AND TABLE OF CONTENTS

List of tables .

List of figures

. Introduction .

PAGE

vi

viii

xi

CHAPTER I.

METHOD EMPLOYED IN ANALYZING THE BLOOD

General remarks

Treatment of first portion of blood

second portion of blood
third portion of blood

CHAPTER II.

BLOOD OF VERTEBRATE ANIMALS IN ITS NORMAL CONDITION

Fishes ....

1. Try/jon sabina

2. Zyrjtena malleus

3. Lepisosteus osseus
Batrachians

4. Rana caicsbiana
Ophidians

5. Heterodon platyrhinos

6. Heterodon niger
1. Psammopliis flageUiformis

8. Coluber constrictor
Saurians

9. Alligator Mississippiensis
Chclonians

10. Chelonia caretta

11. Chelonura serpentina

12. Emys terrapin

13. Emys reticulata

14. Emys serrata .

15. Testudo polyphemus
Birds

16. Ardea nycticorax
1*7. Syrnium nebulosum
18. Cathartes alratus

8

0

'.)

10

10

11
12
13
13
14
15

1G
16

16

IV

ANALYTICAL INDEX AXD TABLE OF CONTENTS.

Mammals

19, 20. Common Cur-flog .

Amount of blood in the bodies of animals in a normal condition
Color of the blood and serum .
Odor of animals ....

Specific gravity of serum and blood
Structure of blood corpuscles
Effects of gases on the blood of cold-blooded animals

Carbonic oxide gas

Hydrogen gas ....

Complete deprivation of air
Fibrin in the blood ....
Fixed solid constituents in the blood

18

2 0

2a

23
23
30
32
34
35
35
37
38

CHAPTER III.

PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL CHANGES OF THE SOLIDS AND FLUIDS OF

DRINK

Series I. Alligator {Alligator Mississippiensis)
Series II. Salt-water Terrapin {Emys terrapin)
Series III. Yellow-bellied Terrapin {Emys serrata)
Series IV. Gopher {Testudo polyphemus)
Series V. Warm-blooded animals
Comparison of warm and cold-blooded animals
Relative size of the heart
Rapidity of circulation .
Respiratory system of animals .

ANIMALS WHEN DEPRIVED OF FOOD AND

40

.

40

•

43
49
59
62
11

■ • *

73
71
75

CIIAFTER IV.

EFFECTS OF STARVATION AND THIRST, COMBINED WITn A CHANGE OF DIET, UPON THE FLUIDS AND SOLIDS

OF CARNIVOROUS CHELONIANS . 81

81

85

Series I. Experiments upon the Yellow-bellied Terrapin {Emys serrata)
Series II. Experiments upon the Salt-water Terrapin {Emys terrapin)

CHAPTER V.

OBSERVATIONS UrON THE ALIMENTARY CANAL, AND DIGESTION OF ALBUMEN AND FLESH . 90

CHAPTER VI.

COMPARATIVE ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY OF THE PANCREAS

Structure and shape of the pancreas in different animals

Physiology of the pancreas .......

Comparative weight of the pancreas ......

General conclusions ........

97

97

104

107

109

CHAPTER VII.

OBSERVATIONS ON THE LIVER

Shape of the liver in different animals
Comparative weight of the liver
Function of the liver

110
110
113
114

ANALYTICAL INDEX AND TABLE OF CONTENTS.

CHAPTER VIII.

OBSERVATIONS ON THE SPLEEN

Shape of tlit; spleen in different animals

Comparative weights of the spleen ....

General considerations ......

116
116
119
121

CHAPTER IX.

OBSERVATIONS UPON THE KIDNEY

General considerations .
Comparative weight of the kidneys
Conclusions

123

123
124
12G

CHAPTER X.

URINE OF COI

Fishes .
Reptiles

Serpents .

Saurians .

Cheloniana
Comparison between warm anil cold-blooded animals

n-BLOODED ANIMALS

128
128
128
128
129
129
136

LIST OF TABLES.

TAGE

Table of the specific gravity of the blood and serum of animals . . . .24

Tables showing the amount in 1000 parts, of the water and solid matters of the blood and serum

of different animals ......... 24,25

Table of the moist blood corpuscles and Liquor Sanguinis in 1000 parts of blood . . 27

Table of blood corpuscles in 1000 parts of blood ...... 28

Table of the fibrin in 1000 parts of the blood of animals . . . . .37

Table of the fixed saline constituents in the blood of different animals . . . .38

Tables showing the changes in the relative amounts of the organic and inorganic constituents of

the blood of Salt-water Terrapins (Emys terrapin), during different periods of starvation

and thirst ........... 47

Table showing the actual amounts of blood and its constituents in Salt-water Terrapins, during

different periods of starvation and thirst ....... 48

Tables showing the actual losses of blood and its constituents by Emys terrapin, during different

periods of starvation and thirst ........ 49

Tables showing the changes in the relative amounts of the constituents of the blood of animals

during different periods of starvation and thirst ...... G5

Tables showing the losses of blood and its constituents by animals during different periods of

starvation and thirst . . . . . . . . .07

Table of the temperatures of warm and cold blooded animals ..... CO

Table showing the relation between the temperature and the chemical changes of the molecules

of the solids and fluids of warm and cold blooded animals ..... 70
Table showing the losses in weight of animals during different periods of starvation and thirst . 70
Table showing the comparative weight of the heart in fishes . . . . .73

Table showing the comparative weight of the heart in reptiles . . . . .74

Table showing the comparative weight of the heart in birds . . . . .74

Table showing the comparative weight of the heart in mammals . . . . 7 t

Table showing the rapidity of the circulation in different animals -. 75

Tables showing the changes in the amount and chemical constitution of the blood of Emys ter-
rapin during starvation, thirst, and a change of diet . . . . . 84, 85
Tables showing the effects upon terrapins that were first starved, and then transferred to fresh

water and supplied with food . . . . . . . . 8G, 87

Table showing the effect of change of diet upon the quantity, chemical and physical constitution

of the mine .... ... 89

LIST OF TABLES. x{[

PAGE

Tables showing the length of the alimentary canal in different animals . . .92, 93

Tables showing the comparative weight of the pancreas in different animals . . .101

Table showing the comparative weight of the liver of animals . . . . .113

Table showing the weight of the body and spleen in different animals . . . .119

Table showing the comparative weight of the spleen in animals . . . .120

Table showing the comparative weight of the kidneys in animals . . . .125
Table showing the specific gravity of the urine in its normal condition, and during starvation

and a change of diet ....... 130

Table showing the loss of weight and the amount of urine excreted by Chclonians deprived of

food and drink ........ 135

Table showing the effects of starvation and thirst, also of a change of diet upon the urine of

Chclonians

137

LIST OF WOOD-CUTS.

Figure 1. Blood corpuscles of Hammerhead Shark (Zygcena malleus) in their normal condi-
tion. Magnified 210 diameters ......

Figure 2. The same treated with a drop of acetic acid, showing the different stages of its
action. 210 diameters ........

Figure 3. Blood corpuscles of Salt-water Terrapin in their normal condition. 210 diameters
Figure 4. The same acted on by acetic acid. 210 diameters . . . .

Figure 5. Blood corpuscles of a Yellow-bellied Terrapin (Emys serrata), kept without food

or water for several weeks, then placed in water and abundantly supplied with

vegetable food, and finally placed in carbonic acid gas. 210 diameters

Figure G. Blood corpuscles of a Yellow-bellied Terrapin (Emys serrata), which had been

destroyed in hydrogen gas. 210 diameters ....

Figure 7. Blood corpuscles of Terrapins which had been deprived of air by a ligature rouuc
their necks. 210 diameters ......

Figure S. Viscera of Snapping Turtle ( Chelonura serpentina). One-half diameter .
Figure 9. Viscera of Gopher (Tesludo polypliemns). One-half diameter
Figure 10. Rudimentary pancreas of the Plaice (Platessa oblonga). One-half diameter
Figure 11. Viscera of Fresh-water Gar (Lepisosteus). One-half diameter
Figure 12. Position of stomach, spleen, and intestine of Stingray (Tryyon sabina), after re
moval of liver. One-half diameter .....

Figure 13. Stomach and spleen of the same, turned over to one side and exposing the pancreas
One-half diameter .......

Figure 14. Stomach, spleen, and pancreas of Menobranchus maculatus. One-half diameter
Figure 15. Spleen and pancreas of Water Snake (Tropidonotus sipedon)
Figure 16. Pancreas of Soft Shelled Turtle (Trionyx ferox). One-half diameter
Figure 17. Pancreas of Yellow-bellied Terrapin (Emys serrata). One-half diameter
Figure 18. Pancreas of Gopher. (Testudo polyphemus). One-half diameter
Figure 19. Viscera and impregnated uterus of Stingray (Tryyon sabina). One-half diameter
Figure 20. Viscera of Congo Suake (Amphiuma means). One-half diameter
Figure 21. Viscera of Black Snake (Coluber constrictor). One half diameter
Figure 22. Stomach, spleen, and pancreas of the Hammerhead Shark (Zygmna malleus). One
half diameter ........

Figure 23. Stomach, spleen, and pancreas of Congo Snake (Amphiuma means). One-half
diameter . . ...

31

31
32
32

35

3G
90
91
93
99

100

100
101
102
102
103
103
110
111
112

110

116

LIST OF WOOD-CUTS. ix

PAGE

Figure 24. Stomach, spleen, and pancreas of Hellbender (Menopoma AUeganensis). One-
half diameter ......... lit

Figure 25. Spleen, pancreas and gall-bladder of Corn Snake (Coluber guttalus). Natural size 117
Figure 26. Spleen and pancreas of Soft-shelled Turtle (Trionyx ferox). One-half diameter . 118
Figure 27. Spleen, pancreas and stomach uf Salt-water Terrapin (Emys terrapin). One-half

diameter . . . . . . . . .118

INTRODUCTION.

The investigations recorded in the following pages were for the most part con-
ducted in Liberty Count}', Georgia, where the author had opportunities of obtaining
fresh specimens of vertebrata, living and dead, seldom enjoyed by observers. The
researches, however, were necessarily attended with great labor and many embar-
rassments consequent upon the peculiar habits of the animals and the extreme
difficulty of access, and miasmatic condition of their localities.

Owing to the extent and complexity of the topics discussed in this Memoir, the
results presented must necessarily be very imperfect; and, in fact, are to be con-
sidered merely as contributions to science, to be continued and completed hereafter
by the author, or by others who may have proper opportunities for so doing.

Whatever may be thought of the deductions and generalizations of the author,
he is confident that the experiments which he has presented, and which have been
made at so great an expense of time and labor, and which have involved so many
sacrifices, will not be considered without value in throwing some light upon the
important questions to which they pertain.

CHAPTER I.

METHOD EMPLOYED IN ANALYZING TIIE BLOOD.1

The blood is a very complex fluid, and owing to the small quantity which, in
most cases, can be obtained from the cold-blooded animals, it is difficult to determine
all or even a majority of the constituents.

As, however, but little has been done in the study of the circulating fluid of
cold-blooded animals, I deemed it important to ascertain even approximately the
relative amounts of its principal constituents. The components of the blood which
I have endeavored to determine, are the following, viz : —

The Water. The Liquor Sanguinis.
" Solid Constituents. " Water of Liquor Sanguinis.

" Solid Portions of the Serum. " Solid Constituents of do.

" Moist Corpuscles. " Albumen and Extractive Matter.

" Solid Parts of Moist Corpuscles. " Fibrin.

" Water of Moist Corpuscles. " Fixed Saline Constituents.

The following is a brief statement of the method employed in the analysis : —

(a.) From twenty-five to fifty grains of blood are received into a porcelain capsule,

previously weighed.
{b.) A sp. gr. bottle, containing 100 grs. is filled with blood, if the animal be large

enough to yield a sufficient quantity for this and other purposes,
(c.) The remainder of the blood is received into a porcelain capsule, previously

weighed, and capable of containing about 500 grs.
In the majority of experiments with reptiles, small birds and small mammals,
the blood is exhausted in filling the last vessel.

Treatment of the Portion («).

The weight of the capsule, with the blood, is carefully ascertained by means of
a delicate balance, and subtracting from this the weight of the capsule, there
remains the weight of the blood.

1 Those who wish to investigate this subject further, will find much useful information in Simon's
Chemistry of Man, p. 142, Philadelphia, 1846; Lehmann, Lehvbuch der Phys. Chemie (Lehmann's
Physiological Chemistry, translated by G. E. Day, and edited by Prof. R. Rogers, Vol. I, pp. 541-648,
Philadelphia, 1855); Bowman's Medical Chemistry, pp. 145-194, Philadelphia, 1850.
1

2 METHOD EMPLOYED IN ANALYZING THE BLOOD.

The capsule is then placed upon a chloride of calcium bath, and subjected to a
temperature of from 220° to 230° F. until it ceases to lose weight. Subtracting
the weight of the capsule from the last weight, we obtain the amount of solid matter
in the portion of blood under examination, and subtracting the solid matter from the
amount of blood employed, we ascertain the amount of water.

To ascertain the amount of solid matter in 1000 jxtrts of blood, we use the follow-
ing proportion : —

Weight of ) . ( Weight of| , , ,„„„ . (Proportion of solid matter
blood employed i (dry residue] tin 1000 parts of the blood.

Having ascertained the solid matter in 1000 parts of blood, the amount of water
may be determined by simply subtracting the solid matter from 1000.

The solid residue is next incinerated in a porcelain or platinum1 crucible, until
all the carbonaceous portion is consumed, and a light-red or yellow ash remains.
A high heat and much care are indispensable in this process.

Another method, recommended by Dr. R. E. Rogers, Professor of Chemistry in
the University of Pennsylvania, is to treat the dried residue with nitric acid, and
gradually boiling down, incinerate the remainder. The organic matter readily
dissolves in the hot nitric acid, and passes off in the form of gas.

The proportion of fixed saline matter in 1000 parts of blood may be calculated
in the following manner: —

Weight of \ ( Weight of ash ^ . 100„ . (Proportion of fixed saline matter

blood employed) (after incineration} I in 1000 parts of blood.

From this portion of blood, we have now obtained —

Water in 1000 parts.
Solid matter in 1000 parts.
Fixed saline matter in 1000 parts.

Treatment of the Portion (b).

The specific gravity of the blood is determined accurately with the balance. This
should be done immediately after the porcelain capsule containing the blood is
placed upon the chloride of calcium bath.

Treatment of the Portion (c).

The weight of the porcelain capsule, and the blood which it contained, is next
ascertained; and, subtracting the weight of the capsule, we have remaining that
of the blood. The blood is then to be set aside until it is completely coagulated,
and the serum separated from the clot. The length of time required for this varies
according to circumstances and the character of the animal.

The specific gravity of the serum is next to be ascertained by means of a specific
gravity bottle holding one hundred grains. We then pour into a porcelain cap-
sule (the weight of which has been previously noted), from ten to fifty grains

1 For general purposes, a crucible of porcelain is to be preferred to one of platinum.

METHOD OF ANALYZING THE BLOOD. 3

of serum, and evaporate upon the chloride of calcium hath until it ceases to lose
weight. The water, solid residue, and fixed saline constituents in 1000 parts of scrum
may be ascertained in a manner exactly similar to that by which these ingredients
were determined in 1000 parts of blood.

From the numbers now obtained, the proportion of solid matters of the serum of
1000 parts of the blood may be calculated in the following manner: Knowing the
quantity of water in 1000 parts of blood, and assuming that this water exists
wholly in the form of serum; knowing also the amount of water and solid matter
contained in a given portion of serum; we may, from the quantity of water in the
blood, estimate the quantity of solids held in solution in the serum, thus:—

Weight of water -> ( Weight of solid ) ( Water in } f Solids of serum

in the quantity of I : ] matter in the quantity [ : : ] 1000 parts \- -j in 1000 parts

serum employed ) ( of serum employed ) (of the blood) (of the blood.

This is not absolutely correct, and all physiological chemists have failed to ascertain,
with absolute accuracy, the amount of solid matter in the serum of 1000 parts of
blood." The error,1 in the present state of our knowledge, is unavoidable.

The clot which remains after the removal of the serum, is next cut into thin
slices, and inclosed in a muslin bag, and carefully washed under a stream of water
until the fibrin remains in the bag free from serum and blood-corpuscles, and
becomes almost colorless.

Another method of obtaining the fibrin, is to receive into a small glass botrle
(capable of containing from two to four fiuidounces) a portion of blood, and then
dropping in some dozen small strips of lead, and closing with the stopper, agitate
and shake until the fibrin coagulates around the lead strips. Two strong objec-
tions lie against the employment of this method in investigations upon cold-
blooded animals. 1st. Their blood, in most cases, cannot be obtained in sufficient
quantities. 2d. The fibrin, in most individuals, is so soft, that it will not coagulate
around the lead strips. Neither of these methods is strictly correct. A portion of
the fibrin is necessarily lost during the process of washing, and that which remains
always contains colorless blood-cells and remains of colored cells.

The fibrin thus obtained is placed in a small evaporating dish, and dried upon
the chloride of calcium bath, until it ceases to lose weight. If we wish still greater
accuracy, the fatty and extractive matter may be removed by alcohol and ether,
and, after complete drying, its weight is ascertained, and it is finally incinerated
and the weight of the ash deducted. The proportion of fibrin in 1000 parts of
blood may be determined by a simple proportion.

The amount of albumen and extractive matters in 1000 parts of blood may be
determined by subtracting the saline matter of the serum of 1000 parts of blood,
from the solid residue of the same.

From the third portion of blood (/), we have determined the following con-
stituents:—

1 Several physiological chemists have attempted, without success, to avoid this source of error, by
determining absolutely the amount of blood-corpuscles.

4 METHOD OF ANALYZING THE BLOOD.

Water in 1000 parts of serum.

Solid constituents in 1000 parts of serum.

Solid constituents in serum of 1000 parts of blood.

Albumen and extractive matters.

Fixed saline constituents in 1000 parts of serum.

Fibrin in 1000 parts of blood.

We have now sufficient data from which to calculate the dried blood-corpuscles,
moist blood-corpuscles, and liquor sanguinis.

To ascertain the weight of the dried blood-corpuscles, add together the weights
of the fibrin and the solids of the serum contained in 1000 parts of blood, and
deducting the sum of them from the weight of the entire solid matter, which con-
sists of fibrin, solids of the serum, and blood-corpuscles; the difference will repre-
sent the proportion of the latter in 1000 parts of blood.

Another method is founded upon the fact, that a solution of the sulphate of soda
possesses the property of rendering the blood-corpuscles capable of being retained
upon a filter. This method was first applied by Figuier, and afterwards improved
by Dumas and Hcifle. Defibrinated blood is treated with eight times its volume of
a concentrated solution of Glauber's salts, and filtered, the residue on the filter is
rinsed with the same solution, a stream of oxygen is passed through the mass of
blood-cells on the filter, and, finally, the mass of blood-cells is either coagulated
with hot water, upon the filter, or washed off into tepid water and coagulated by
boiling.

This method is not to be depended upon in practice, because some of the blood-
corpuscles always pass through the filter, and it is impossible to determine whether
all the serum is actually separated in this manner, and also because the solution of
the sulphate of soda passes into the corpuscles by endosmosis, whilst the organic
constituents of the corpuscles pass out.

F. Simon's method of finding the quantity of the blood-corpuscles directly, is not
only tedious, but also wanting in accuracy.

C. Schmidt, to whose intelligence and indefatigable researches physiological
chemistry is indebted for many brilliant discoveries, first attempted to determine
the relation of the moist blood-cells to the intercellular fluid, or liquor sanguinis.
He found that 4 is the constant factor by which we may calculate the moist blood-
cells from the dry blood-corpuscles. If we multiply the number of dry blood-cor-
puscles by 4, we obtain the quantity of fresh blood-cells. Subtracting these from
1000, we have remaining the amount of liquor sanguinis in 1000 parts of blood.

Having briefly described the method by which these important constituents are
obtained, we will next state the manner in which the results are exhibited. The
constituents of 1000 parts of blood are always presented in two lights.

1st. The fixed saline matter of the dried blood-corpuscles is subtracted from
their weight, and we have remaining the dried organic matter of the blood-cor-
puscles in 1000 parts of blood. In like manner, the fixed saline constituents of the
serum of 1000 parts of blood are subtracted from the solid matter of the serum of
1000 parts of blood, and we have remaining the dried organic portion of the albu-
men and extractive matter. It is evident that, if the analysis has been properly

METUOD OF ANALYZING THE BLOOD. 5

conducted, the sum of the water, dried organic matter of the blood-corpuscles,
dried organic matter of the albumen and extractive matters, the fibrin, and fixed
saline constituents will equal 1000.

2d. The relation of the moist blood-cells to the intercellular fluid, or liquor san-
guinis, in 1000 parts of blood is represented separately.

The exhibition of the constituents of the blood in two different lights, enables
us to comprehend more correctly its true constitution, and compare more readily
the blood of different animals.

Without stopping to consider the various steps of caution and accuracy which
would naturally suggest themselves to every careful observer, Ave will simply state
that the balance used in all these investigations was reliable, and would, with
proper care, indicate yoVo^1 of a Troy grain.

BLOOD OP FISHES.

CHAPTER II.

BLOOD OF VERTEBRATE ANIMALS IN ITS NORMAL CONDITION.

Blood of Fishes.

1. Tryrjon sabina, Les. (female). Stingray. Aug. 14, 1855.

The appearance of the left uterus of this Ray, indicated that it had been
delivered of young ones only a short time before its capture.

The appearance of the viscera and impregnated uterus of one of these fishes is
represented in Fig. 19.

The portion of blood first drawn coagulated, in a few moments, into a dense,
firm clot, which, in the course of an hour, commenced to dissolve, and in two
hours, entirely disappeared. Another portion of blood, drawn subsequently, coagu-
lated imperfectly, allowing the majority of the blood-corpuscles to settle to the
bottom of the vessel, and, in the course of half an hour, the fibrin was completely
dissolved.

Solid constituents in 1000 parts of blood

1000 parts of blood contained —

Water .

Solid organic constituents

Fixed saline constituents

115.80

884.20
101.10
. 14.10

2. Zyrjfvna malleus, Val. Hammerhead Shark. Sept. 10.

The blood coagulated imperfectly, allowing the blood-corpuscles to settle, and
the fibrin, in the course of a few hours, was dissolved.

Solid constituents in 1000 parts of blood
" " " serum

" " in scrum of 1000 parts of blood

Water in 1000 parts of blood
" " serum

138.86

70.96

65.50

861.14

929.31

1000 parts of blood contained —

Water . . . • • • • .861.14

Blood-corpuscles (dried organic constituents) .... 10.24

Albumen, extractive and fatty matters (dried organic constituents) . 60.24

Fibrin . . Unstable, coagulating imperfectly, and readily dissolving

Fixed saline constituents ....•• 8.38

Fixed saline constituents of blood-eorpuseles of 1000 parts of blood . 5.26

" " solid matter of serum of 1000 parts of blood 3.12

BLOOD OF BATRACHIANS.

1000 parts of blood contained —

( Water
Moist blood-corpuscles 293.44 ■< Organic constituents .

( Fixed saline constituents

( Water
Liquor sanguinis 706.56 -i Organic constituents .

(Fixed saline constituents

220.08

68.10

5.26

041.06

62.38

3.12

3. Lepisosteus osseus, Linnaeus. Salt-water Garfish.1 Aug. 13.

In the southern part of Georgia, we have two species called garfish. The
largest inhabits the salt-water rivers and Atlantic ocean, and the other our swamps
and fresh-water canals of the rice-fields. The head and jaws of the former are
much longer and more slender than those of the latter.

The viscera of the fresh-water species are represented in Fig. 11.

The blood coagulated in an imperfect manner, and, in the course of an hour, the
fibrin dissolved and the blood-corpuscles settled to the bottom of the vessel, leaving
the clear serum above. In one of the vessels, the blood scarcely coagulated, and
the fibrin dissolved in twenty minutes.

It is characteristic of the blood of Fishes, that the arrangement of the atoms of
albumen, so as to form fibrin, is very unstable. This instability and imperfection
of the fibrin is indicative of a feeble state of the vital force, and, as a necessary
consequence, of an imperfect condition of the organs which elaborate the blood.

Solid constituents in 1000 parts of blood
" " " serum

" " in serum of 1000 parts of blood

Water in 1000 parts of blood

serum

1000 parts of blood contained —

Moist blood-corpuscles 229.00 <

(solid constituents

(Water

i Solid constituents

Liquor sanguinis

771.00

113.30

59.45

56.05

886.70

940.55

171.75

57.25

714.95

56.05

1000 parts of blood contained —

Water ......... 886.70

Blood-corpuscles (dried organic constituents) . . . .52.11

Albumen, extractive and fatty matters ..... 50.92

Fibrin . . Unstable, being readily dissolved and converted into albumen

Fixed saline constituents ...... 10.27

Blood of Batrachians.

4. Eana catesboeana, Shaw. Bullfrog. July 30.

The stomach of this Batrachian contained several Crawfish (Astacus Bartoni), and
a long slender Grass Snake [Tropklonotus ordinatus) about three feet in length. It

1 This name, as well as some others, is used provisionally until a more critical examination shall
have settled its precise synonymy.

8 BLOOD OF OPHIDIANS.

had also swallowed, apparently along with the snake, a bunch of shank grass.
Although this large frog had been captured for more than seventeen hours, and
retained alive in water, the exterior part only of the body of the serpent showed
the action of the gastric juice. The stomach contained none of the chyme so often
referred to by writers on digestion. We have repeatedly examined the stomachs
of Alligators, other Reptiles, and Fishes, and warm-blooded animals, during diges-
tion, and we have never in a,ny instance found a large amount of fluid either in the
stomach or intestines. The products of digestion are absorbed almost as fast as
they are formed.

The portions of blood first drawn coagulated more slowly than those drawn last.
After the blood had flowed for a few moments, it coagulated as soon as it left the
wound. The coagulum formed in the different portions of blood embraced most of
the blood-corpuscles, and yielded clear serum.

In every instance, after standing for a few hours, the fibrin entirely disappeared,
the clot was dissolved, and the blood-corpuscles set free.

The coagulum formed in the blood of the frog was firmer than that of Fishes,
but not so firm as that of Serpents and Terrapins and the higher orders of vertebrate
animals.

The color of the blood was purplish-red, intermediate between that of venous
and arterial blood in Birds and Mammals.

The serum was of a light yellow color.

The strength of the Frog was exhausted more rapidly by the loss of blood than
that of Serpents and Chelonians.

Solid constituents in 1000 parts of blood
" " " scrum

" " in serum of 1000 parts of blood

Water in 1000 parts of blood
" " serum

167.49
61.93
54.96

832.51

938.01

1000 parts of blood contained —

Water ......... 832.51

Blood-corpuscles (dried organic constituents) .... 108.68

Albumen, extractive and fatty matters ..... 53.03

Fibrin .... Unstable, readily convertible into albumen

Fixed saline constituents ...... 5.78

1000 parts of blood contained —

Moist blood-corpuscles 450.12 {Water . . . 337.59

1 (Solid constituents . . . 112.53

T. . . ,,Q QQ (Water .... 494.92

L.quor sanguis 549"88 |Solid constituents . . . 54.96

Blood of Ophidians.

5. Heterodon p?«fr/?7mjos, Latreille (female). Hog-nose Viper. June 8.

The alimentary canal was completely empty, and the rectum contained fiscal
matter in small amount. All the blood that could be obtained with the greatest
care was 33^ grains.

BLOOD OF OPHIDIANS.

From these facts, it is probable that the serpent had been without food for some
days, and perhaps weeks. It had been captured only three days previous to the
analysis.

From the small amount of blood yielded by this animal, it was impossible to
determine the amount of fibrin.

Solid constituents in 1000 parts of blood

" serum
" in serum of 1000 parts of blood

Water in 1000 parts of blood
" " serum

1000 parts of blood contained —

Water ......

Blood-corpuscles and fibrin
Albumen, fatty and extractive matter
Fixed saline constituents

1000 parts of blood contained —

Moist blood-corpuscles 444.84 j Water .

(Solid constituents

Liquor sanguinis 555.16 |Water •

(.Solid constituents

1GG.T6

62.50

55.55

833.24

937.50

833.24

102.22

51.07

13.47

333.63

111.21

499.61

55.55

Moist blood-corpuscles 270.40

Liquor sanguinis
Amount of blood obtained

(Water .

( Solid constituents

729.60 {^er • . •
(.Solid constituents

6. Heterodon niger, Catesby (female). Black Viper. May 21.
This reptile had been kept without food for more than two weeks.

Solid constituents in 1000 parts of blood

" " " serum

" in serum of 1000 parts of blood

Water in 1000 parts of blood
" " serum

1000 parts of blood contained —

Water .....
Blood-corpuscles (dried organic constituents)
Albumen, fatty and extractive matter
Fibrin .....
Fixed saline constituents

1000 parts of blood contained —

139.43

74.89

69.67

860.57

925.11

860.57

64.07

66.16

2.16

7.04

202.80

67.60
657.77

71.83

230 grains

7. Pmmmophis flagelliformis, Catesby (male). Coach whip Snake. June 13.

This serpent is active and strong, and its movements, like those of the Black
Snake [Coluber constridtor), are characterized by great swiftness. It had been con-
fined without food for one day. Amount of blood obtained, 480 grains.

10

BLOOD OF SAURIANS.

Specific gravity of its blood
Solid constituents in 1000 parts of blood
" " " serum

in scrum of 1000 parts of blood
Water in 1000 parts of blood
" " serum

1000 parts of blood contained —

Water .....

Blood-corpuscles (dried organic constituents)
Albumen, fatty and extractive matter
Fibrin .....
Fixed saline constituents

1000 parts of blood contained —

Moist blood-corpuscles 488.80 jWator -

(Solid constituents

Liquor sanguinis

511.20

(Water .

(Solid constituents

1036

181.70

65.78

57.62

818.30

934.22

818.30

118.34

55.91

1.88
5.57

366.60

122.20

451.70

59.50

8. Coluber constrictor, Linnams (male). Black Snake. May 17.

This snake had been kept without food for ten days.

This is one of the swiftest and strongest of all our North American Ophidians.
I have seen it attack the Kattlesnake, and sever the head almost completely from
the body. In its habits, food, and swift motions, it resembles very much the Coach-
whip Snake (Psammophis jlagelliformis).

Amount of blood obtained
Solid constituents in 1000 parts of blood

" serum
in serum of 1000 parts of blood
Water in 1000 parts of blood
" " serum

1000 parts of blood contained —

Water .....
Blood-corpuscles (dried organic constituents)
Albumen, fatty and extractive matter
Fibrin .....
Fixed saline constituents

1000 parts of blood contained —

Moist blood-corpuscles 469.20 |Water ■

(Solid constituents

Liquor sanguinis

530.80

(Water .

(Solid constituents

350 grains
211.37
101.42
89.01
788.63
898.58

788.63

112.22

85.32

5.00

8.77

351.90

117.30

43&73

94.07

Blood of Saurians.

0. Alligator Mississippiensls, Daudin (female). Alligator. April 30.
The blood was abstracted a short time after the animal was shot in a small stream.
The reptile was remarkably fleshy, and the abdominal cavity, especially about
the kidneys, was lined with fat.

BLOOD OF CHELONIANS.

11

The blood was much more abundant than in a male Alligator, which was cap-
tured in the same locality in the mouth of March, and kept without food or drink
for three weeks. It also did not coagulate so rapidly.

From the starved Alligator, not more than three fluidounces of blood, with care,
could be collected, the veins and arteries of the neck having been opened whilst
the animal was living. Although the subject of experiment had been shot for
half an hour, still the blood flowed from the jugular veins and carotid arteries in
rapid streams, and more than ten fluidounces were readily obtained.

The hole of this Alligator was in the bank of a small stream, which flowed
through an extensive salt marsh, abounding with small Fishes and Crustaceans.
This reptile, thei-efore, was abundantly supplied with food.

Specific gravity of defibrinated blood
Solid constituents in 1000 parts of blood
" " " serum

in serum of 1000 parts of blood
"Water in 1000 parts of blood
" " serum

1000 parts of blood contained —

Water ......

Blood-corpuscles (dried organic constituents)

Albumen

Fibrin ....

Water and alcohol extractive

Fatty matter

Fixed saline constituents

1000 parts of blood contained —

(Wratcr

Moist blood-corpuscles 364.08

(Solid constituents

Liquor sanguinis

635.92 \Water ■

(Solid constituents

1046

176.14

90.80

82.05

823.86

909.20

823.86
86.39
63.75
3.07
9.26
5.02
8.65

273.06
91.02

550.80
85.12

Blood of Chelonians.

10. Chelouia, carctta, Linnams. Loggerhead Turtle. July 20.

The blood was examined two days after its capture. During this time, it was
kept in a tub of salt water, and supplied with small Fishes.

The blood first drawn coagulated more slowly than that drawn last.

Portions of the blood were placed in several vessels and allowed to coagulate;
and, in every instance, the blood-corpuscles settled to the bottom of the vessel,
leaving above a transparent clot.

When first abstracted, it was of a dark red color, not so black as venous, but
much darker than the arterial blood of warm-blooded animals. This is readily
explained when we consider that -the venous and arterial blood is mixed in the
ventricle of the heart.

The reaction of the blood was slightly alkaline.

Whilst taking the specific gravity of the serum, which had been separated from

12

BLOOD OF CUELONIANS.

the clot for several hours, another small clot separated in the specific gravity hottle,
having the characteristic appearance of fibrin.

The cavity of the abdomen contained half a fluidounce of clear serous fluid,
which coagulated upon standing.

Specific gravity of the blood
" " serum

Solid constituents in 1000 parts of blood
" " " serum

" in serum of 1000 parts of blood

Water in 1000 parts of blood
" " serum

1000 parts of blood contained —

Water .....
Blood-corpuscles (dried organic constituents)
Albumen, fatty and extractive matter
Fibrin .....
Fixed saline constituents

1000 parts of blood contained —

Moist blood-corpuscles 289.52-} '

(Solid constituents

(Water
Liquor sanguinis 710.48 -!

(Solid constituents

1032.5

1014.8

120.81

49.44

45.82

879.19

950.56

879.19

69.99

44.63

2.61

3.58

217.14
72.38

662.05
48.43

11. Chelomira serpentina, Linnaeus (male). Snapping Turtle. July 16.

The viscera of this Chelonian are represented in Fig. 8.

This reptile had been captured four days, during the greater portion of •which
time it was placed in water and supplied with Purslain (Portulacca oleracea).

The portions of blood drawn first coagulated more slowly than those drawn last.
We have found this phenomenon to occur with all animals whose blood coagulated
sufficiently slow to admit of a comparison of the times of coagulation. It appears
to be an effort of nature to arrest hemorrhages. The manner in which the albumen
of the blood is converted into fibrin is unknown. From the rapidity of the change
during bleeding, it appears to have some connection with the nervous system.
Whether it be due to nervous influence, or the action of the capillaries upon the
albumen, or the mutual reactions between the corpuscular floating glands of the
blood, remains to be demonstrated.

The coagulum was small and inconsistent.

The great majority of the blood-corpuscles settled to the bottom of the vessel,
and were not included in the clot. In these respects, the blood of the Clielonura
serpentina resembled that of Fishes and Frogs.

The serum was of a light 3<-ellow color, and, when treated with sulphuric acid
and gently heated, the characteristic musky odor of the animal was developed.

Specific gravity of the blood
" " serum

Amount of blood obtained

1025.5
1013.6

700 grains

BLOOD OF CHELONIANS.

13

Solid constituents in 1000 parts of blood
" " " serum

" in serum of 1000 parts of blood

Water in 1000 parts of blood
" " serum

1000 parts of blood contained —

"Water .....
Blood-corpuscles (dried organic constituents)
Albumen, -extractive and fatty matter
Fibrin .....
Fixed saline constituents

1000 parts of blood contained —

r

Moist blood-corpuscles 235.40 -

T • ■ • >•!• , on (Water .

Liquor sanguinis ,64.60-!

(Solid consti

Moist blood-corpuscles 235.40 - .

(Solid constituents

constituents

105.00

48.68

45.80

895.00

951.32

895.00

56.37

43.89

.35

4.39

176.55
58.85

718.45
46.15

12. Emys Terrapin, Sclicepff (female). Salt-water Terrapin. July 3.
Tbis terrapin bad been captured twelve bours.

Specific gravity of its blood
" " serum

1035.3
1012.7

Tbe serum was of a golden color, resembling that of the Emys serrata and Emys
reticulata.

Amount of blood obtained, about
Solid constituents in 1000 parts of blood
" " " serum

" in serum of 1000 parts of blood

Water in 1000 parts of blood
" " serum

1000 parts of blood contained —

Water .....

Blood-corpuscles (dried organic constituents)
Albumen, fatty and extractive matter
Fibrin .....
Fixed saline constituents

1000 parts of blood contained —

Moist blood-corpuscles 447.28 |Water •

(Solid constituents

Liquor sanguinis

552.72 -[Water •

(Solid constituents

1000 grains
154.72

43.83

38.75
845.28
956.17

845.28
103.82

36.01
4.15

10.74

335.46

111.82

509.82

42.90

13. Emys reticulata, Bosc. Cbicken Tortoise. June 6.

Tbis Cbelonian was captured in a pine-barren, and kept without food or drink
for thirty-six hours.

The portions of blood first drawn coagulated more slowly than those last drawn.
This is universally the case with the blood of cold-blooded animals.

The serum was of a bright orange color.

u

BLOOD OF CUELONIANS.

The alimentary canal was empty as far as the colon. The rectum and colon
contained the claws and shells of small crustaceans, and the seeds of berries.

Specific gravity of the blood
Solid constituents in 1000 parts of blood
" " " serum

" in serum of 1000 parts of blood

Water in 1000 parts of blood
" " serum

10G0 parts of blood contained —

Water . . .

Blood-corpuscles (dried organic constituents)
Albumen, fatty and extractive matter
Fibrin . . . . .

Fixed saline constituents

1000 parts of blood contained —

(Water .

(Solid constituents

(Water .

(Solid constituents

Moist blood-corpuscles 372.00
Liquor sanguinis 628.00

1034

153.02

63.58

57.51

846.98

936.42

846.98

88.01

54.71

2.51

7.79

279.00
93.00

567.98
60.02

14. Emys serrata, Daudin (female). Yellow-bellied Terrapin. May 26.

This terrapin was taken in a swamp and kept out of the water, without food,
for three and a half days.

The first portion of blood drawn was placed in a small beaker glass, and coagu-
lated so slowly that the blood-corpuscles sank to the bottom of the vessel, and a
transparent clot floated above. This was not the case in the portions abstracted
subsequently.

The serum was of a bright golden color, and, when kept for twelve hours,
partially coagulated, resembling jelly.

Specific gravity of the blood
" " serum

Solid constituents in 1000 parts of blood
" " " serum

in serum of 1000 parts of blood
Water in 1000 parts of blood
" " serum

1000 parts of blood contained —

Water .....
Blood-corpuscles (dried organic constituents)
Albumen, fatty and extractive matter
Fibrin .....
Fixed saline constituents

1000 parts of blood contained —

Moist blood-corpuscles 336.76 \ Water ■

(Solid constituents

Liquor sanguinis

663.24 {^ater .

(Solid constituents

1026.5

1013.7

124.59

43.03

39.36

875.41

956.97

875.41

80.67

37.66

1.04

5.22

252.57
84.19

622.84
40.40

BLOOD OF C MELON IAN S.

15

15. Testudo Polyphemus, Daudin (male). Gopher. June 23.

This Gopher had been kept for five days, during which time it was abundantly
supplied with vegetable food.

When the neck was cut, the blood flowed in a jet with considerable force, as from
a severed artery of a warm-blooded animal.

This animal is remarkable for its muscular powers. It required all the force
that I could exert with my arms to draw its head out of the shell. The adult
will frequently support, and move about with a full-grown man upon their backs.

They live in troops in pine-barren countries, and subsist entirely upon vegetable
substances. Their intestinal canal is modified so as to contain large stores of
nutritive matters. The appearance of their viscera is represented in Fig. 9. By
comparing this with the viscera of a carnivorous Chelonian, as the Snapping Turtle
(Chelonura serpentina), Fig. 8, we see the modifications by which the alimentary
canal is adapted to the habits and food of animals.

The shell of the Gopher is much softer, and its bony structure much thinner
and imperfect, even to old age, than that of other Terrapins, as the Emys serrata.
The shell of }roung Gophers is composed almost entirely of a material resembling
horn, and contains little or no osseous matter. This is due to the character of
their food, which contains the fixed alkaline and earthy salts in much less amount
than animal food.

The serum was of a light yellow color, differing from the bright golden color of
the serum of the Emys serrata, Emys reticulata, and Emys Terrapin. When
treated with a drop of sulphuric acid and gently heated, the peculiar smell of the
animal, similar to that of a Sheep, was developed.

Amount of blood obtained
Specific gravity of its blood
" " serum

Solid constituents in 1000 parts of blood
" " serum

" in serum of 1000 parts of I

Water in 1000 parts of blood
" " serum

1000 parts of blood contained —

Water .....
Blood-corpuscles (dried organic constituents)
Albumen, fatty and extractive matter
Fibrin .....
Fixed saline constituents

1000 parts of blood contained —

ilood

Moist blood-corpuscles 303.56

Liquor sanguinis

(Water .

(Solid constituents

606.44 jW^er • . •
(Solid constituents

2500 grains
1030
1018
156.62
66.41
60.00
843.38
933.59

843.38

87.28

57.18

5.73

5.83

302.67
90.89

540.71
65.73

16

BLOOD OF BIRDS.

Blood of Birds.

10. Ardea Nyciicorax, Linnaeus (female). Night Heron. June 12. •

This bird had its wing broken, and was also wounded in the neck, where some

blood had been extravasated into the cellular tissue. The blood was drawn about

two hours after its capture.

Specific gravity of the blood
Solid constituents in 1000 parts of blood
" " " serum

" in serum of 1000 parts of blood

Water in 1000 parts of blood
" " serum

1000 parts of blood contained —

Water .....
Blood-corpuscles (dried organic constituents)
Albumen, fatty and extractive matter
Fibrin .....
Fixed saline constituents

1000 parts of blood contained —

( Water

Moist blood-corpuscles 315.84-!

(Solid constituents

Liquor sanguinis

684.16 -f™" • . •

(.Solid constituents

1028

127.11

50.00

45.95

812.89

950.00

872.89

74.91

43.41

2.20

6.59

23G.88
78.96

636.01
48.15

17. Sj/rnium nebulosum, Linnaeus. Barred Owl. May 14.

This bird had been shot in the eye, wing, and other parts of the body, and kept
without food for twenty-four hours.

Solid constituents in 1000 parts of blood
" " " serum

" in serum of 1000 parts of blood

Water in 1000 parts of blood
" " serum

1000 parts of blood contained —

Water .....
Blood-corpuscles (dried organic constituents)
Albumen, fatty and extractive matter
Fibrin .....
Fixed saline constituents

1000 parts of blood contained —

( Water
Moist blood-corpuscles 427.36 ■{._,.,

(Solid constituents

Liquor sanguinis

572.64 jWater •

I Solid constituents

160.34

54.94

48.81

839.66

945.06

839.66

101.08

46.51

4.69

8.06

320.52

106.84

519.14

53.50

18. Cathartes alratus, Wils. Black Turkey-Buzzard. Sept. 8.

Tbe blood had a strong, disagreeable, musky odor, similar in all respects to that

BLOOD OF BIRDS.

17

of the bird itself. When the serum was treated with sulphuric acid and gently
heated, this smell was developed with great power.

The odor of the Turkey-buzzard is not only disagreeable in the extreme, but
also lasts for a great length of time. It was difficult to remove it from the hands,
and my laboratory was fumigated for a considerable length of time after this analysis.

The serum, like that of several Terrapins, was of a bright orange color.

The fibrin was unusually soft and inconsistent, and much of it dissolved during
the process of washing.

Solid constituents in 1000 parts of blood
.11 « «i serum

" " in serum of 1000 parts of blood

Water in 1000 parts of blood
" " serum

1000 parts of blood contained —

Water .....
Blood-corpuscles (dried organic constituents)
Albumen, fatty and extractive matters
Fibrin .....
Fixed saline constituents

1000 parts of blood contained-

Moist blood-corpuscles 626.88

Liquor sanguinis

(Water .

(.Solid constituents

373.12 \ Willpr ■

(Solid constituents

200.83

51.85

43.70

799.17

948.15

799.17

150.47

41.62

.41

8.33

470.16

150.72

329.01

44.11

The number of the analyses of the blood of Birds which have been published
is very limited. The following analyses of the blood of the Goose and Hen were
made by Nasse : —

Water. B,00d;
corpuscles.

Albumen and ex-
tractive matter.

Fibrin.

Fat.

Soluble
salts.

Insoluble
salts.

Goose .
Hen .

814.88
793.24

121.45
144.75

50.78
48.25

3.46
4.67

2.56
2.03

6.87
6.97

1.09

1.82

The following analyses of the blood of domestic Birds were made by Dumas and
Prevost : —

Water. Solid constituents.

Blood-corpuscles.

Residue of serum.

Raven .....

Heron

Duck

Hen

Pigeon ....

797.0
808.2
765.2
779.9
797.4

203.0
191.8
234.8
220.1
202.6

146.6
132.6
150.1
157.1
155.7

56.4
59.2
84.7
63.0
46.9

18

1*. LOOP OF MAMMALS.

Blood of Mammals.

]9. Common Cur-Dog. June 28.

Previously to this analysis, the dog had been poorly fed, principally upon vege-
table food.

The blood coagulated rapidly; the clot was large, and the relative amount of
serum small. After standing for several hours, 400 grains of blood yielded not
more than 40 grains of serum suitable for analysis.

The serum was transparent, but of a bright red color.

Specific gravity of the blood ....

. 1043.0

Solid constituents in 1000 parts of blood

. 188.13

" " " serum

. 128.95

" in serum of 1000 parts of blood

120.18

Water in 1000 parts of blood ....

. 811.87

" " scrum ....

. 871.05

1000 parts of blood contained —

Water .......

. 811.87

Blood-corpuscles (dried organic constituents)

62.72

Albumen, fatty and extractive matter

116.33

Fibrin .......

3.04

Fixed saline constituents ....

6.04

1000 parts of blood contained —

Moist blood-corpuscles 263.64 ] „ ' ,

(Solid constituents

. 197.73
65.91

t • •• hn/i n/) i VV (lit! • • •

Liquor sanguinis 736.36-!, ,.,

(Solid constituents

. 613.14
. 123.22

20. Common Cur-Dog, used in the preceding analysis. August 7th.

For a week previous to this analysis, the dog was supplied with more mutton
than he could devour. Upon this diet of animal food, he became very fat and
fleshy in a few days.

The blood coagulated in a few moments after it left the body.

Specific gravity of the blood
" " serum

Solid constituents in 1000 parts of blood
" " " serum

" in serum of 1000 parts of blood

Water in 1000 parts of blood
" " serum

1000 parts of blood contained —

Water .....
Blood-corpuscles (dried organic constituents)
Albumen, fatty and extractive matter
Fibrin .....
Fixed saline constituents

1045.5
1030.5
193.48
119.67
109.64
806.52
880.33

806.52
78.04

106.18
3.15
0.11

BLOOD OF MAMMALS.

19

1000 parts of blood contained-
Moist blood-corpuscles 322.76 •]

Liquor sanguinis 677.24

(Water .

(Solid constituents

(Water .

(Solid constituents

242.07

80.69

5G4.45

112.79

Andral, Gavarret, and Delafond, made no less than 222 analyses of the blood of
155 Mammals. The following results of their investigations may be compared
with my analyses of the blood of cold-blooded animals.

Water.

Blood-
corpuscles.

Residue of
serum.

Fibrin.

( Mean

810.5

102.9

82.6

4.0

Blood of 17 Horses

-; Maximum

833.3

112.1

91.0

5.0

( Minimum

795.7

81.5

74.6

3.0

( Mean

810.3

99.7

86.3

3.7

Blood of 14 Cattle

-j Maximum

824.9

117.1

93.6

4.4

( Minimam

799.0

85.1

82.9

3.0

Blood of 19 Sheep (Rambouillet
breed)

l Mean

-; Maximum
( Minimum

815.3
830.3

98.1

109.6

83.5
96.6

3.1
3.8

808.7

82.5

74.7

2.6

( Mean

■ Maximum
(Minimum

810.8

106.1

80.3

2.8

Blood of 1 1 Sheep (cross variety)

827.2

123.4

87.7

3.4

789.8

94.6

74.7

2.3

( Mean
•< Maximum
( Minimum

810.8

95.0

92.4

2.6

Blood of 13 English Sheep .

822.1

110.4

97.0

3.3

•

795.3

83.8

S2.II

2.0

( .Mean

• Maximum

( Minimum

809.6

105.7

80.1

4.6

Blood of 6 English Swine

816.9

120.6

88.7

5.0

793.9

92.1

73.6

4.1

1 Mean

804.0

101.4

91.1

3.2

Blood of 2 Goats ....

- Maximum

809.2

105.7

92.0

3.5

( Minimum

798.8

97.2

90.8

2.6

( Mean

774.1

148.3

75.5

2.1

Blood of 16 Dogs

■< Maximum

795.5

176.6

88.7

3.5

(Minimum

744.6

127.3

60.9

1.6

The following are the analyses of the blood of different Mammals made by
Nasse. The extractive matter and insoluble salts of the blood are included with
the albumen.

Water.

Blood-corpuscles.

Albumen.

Fat.

Fibrin.

Soluble salts.

Horse

804.75

117.13

67.85

1.31

2.41

6.82

Ox .

799.59

121.86

66.90

2.04

3.62

5.98

Calf .

826.71

102.50

56.41

1.61

5.76

7.00

Goat

839.44

86.00

62.70

0.91

3.90

7.04

Sheep

827.76

92.42

68.77

1.16

2.97

6.91

Rabbit

817.30

1.90

3.80

6.28

Swine

768.94

145.35

72.7S

1.95

3.95

6.74

Cat .

810.02

113.39

64.46

2.70

2.42

7.01

Dog .

790.50

123.85

65.19

2.25

1.93

6.28

Dumas and Prevost analyzed the blood of numerous animals. The method of
analysis which they employed was similar, in some respects, to that of Andral.

20

AMOUNT OF i;LOOD EXISTING IN ANIMALS.

Gavarret, and Delafond. The fibrin, however, was not determined. The follow-
ing are the results which they obtained with the blood of the Mammals : —

Water.

Solid constituents.

Blood-corpuscles.

Solid matter of serum.

Ape (Suiiiu cdttitriche)

176.0

224.0

146.1

77.9

Dog ....

810.7

189.3

123.8

65.5

Cat

795.3

204,7

120.4

84.3

Horse ....

818.3

181.7

92.0

89.7

Calf ....

826.0

174.0

91.2

82.8

Sheep ....

829.3

170.7

93.5

77.2

Goat ....

814.6

185.4

102.0

83.4

Rabbit ....

837.9

162.1

93.8

68.3

Guinea-pig

784.8

215.2

128.0

87.2

Having examined in detail the blood of cold and warm-blooded animals in a
normal condition, we shall next compare the individual results and analyses
together, and endeavor to point out the characteristic distinctions of the blood of
these two great classes of animals.

Amount of Blood existing in the Bodies of Warm- and Cold-blooded Animals

in a Normal State.

In determining the amount of blood, several methods have been employed by
different chemists and physiologists.

M. Valentin1 adopted the following ingenious mode : —

Having weighed the animal, he abstracted a definite amount of blood, deter-
mined its solid constituents, and then injected a given quantity of distilled water
into the bloodvessels. Time was allowed for the diffusion of this by the circula-
tory apparatus throughout the mass of the blood. A fresh portion of blood was
then abstracted, and the amount of solid matters determined. The relation between
the amount of solid matters in the blood first drawn and the blood diluted with a
given quantity of distilled water, enabled him to calculate the quantity of the
entire blood of the animal.

Although this method is sufficiently accurate for general purposes, still the fol-
lowing objections have been urged against it with justice.

The water injected is not diffused uniformly throughout the mass of blood.
This is determined by the fact that the blood drawn from different veins yields
different proportions of water and solid matters. When an excess of water is in-
jected into the circulatory system, it has a tendency to lodge in certain organs, as
the kidneys and spleen, and in a less degree in the lungs. Other circumstances
affect the accuracy of the results; as the loss of blood in any of the steps of the
operation, the elimination of the water by evaporation from the surface of the lungs
and skin, and by the action of the kidneys, and exosmose into the surrounding
tissues in the interval of time between the injection of the water and the abstrac-
tion of the second portion of blood.

Eept. der Physiol , Bd. s. 281-293.

AMOUNT OF BLOOD EXISTING IN ANIMAL*. 21

Tf, however, the experiment be carefully performed, without allowing any loss
of blood, or too great a length of time to elapse between the injection of the water
and the abstraction of the second portion of blood, results approaching very nearly
to the truth may be obtained.

Another method has been suggested, dependent for its accuracy upon the fact
that iron exists only in the blood-corpuscles and hair, and consequently when the
latter is shaved off, it will be found only in the former.

A definite portion of blood is abstracted, and the proportion of iron determined.
The whole animal is then burned, the ashes collected, and the amount of iron
ascertained. By a comparison of this with the amount existing in a definite quan-
tity of blood, the whole amount of blood may be determined. This method, if
practicable, promises accurate results.

Another method, proposed by Lehmann,1 is founded upon the fact that only a
definite amount of grape sugar can exist in the blood at any one time, without its
elimination by the kidneys.

Having ascertained how much grape sugar the blood may normally contain
under favorable circumstances, the quantity of blood contained in an animal may
be calculated by ascertaining the quantity of sugar which must be introduced into
the circulatory fluid in order to make it pass into the urine.

The methods of Valentin and Lehmann might be applicable to warm-blooded
animals, whose circulation is rapid, and whose excretions and secretions are corre-
spondingly abundant. They nre, however, wholly inapplicable to cold-blooded
animals.

In the first place, the circulation in this class is sluggish, and the blood, owing to
the peculiarities of the structure of the circulatory apparatus, is not diffused uni-
formly to all the organs and tissues, as in the higher animals. In the second
place, the secretions and excretions are exceedingly slow, and small in amount.
Many animals of this class do not void their urine more than once in a month
during starvation, and then in exceedingly small quantities. In many the bladder
is absent, and where it does exist, even supposing that the urine was rapidly
excreted, owing to the structure and position of the urinary apparatus, it is next
to impossible to draw off the contents of the bladder.

From these considerations, then, it would be utterly impossible to determine the
amount of blood in cold-blooded animals, by injecting into the circulatory system
either water or grape sugar.

The method, also, of determining the quantity of blood from the relative pro-
portion of iron in a definite amount of blood and in the ash of the whole body,
-would also, in many animals of this class, be absolutely impossible. The Chelonians.

1 Lehinann's Physiological Chemistry, translated by G. E. Day, Amer. edit, Philad., 1855, I, 639.

Other methods of determining the amount of blood have been proposed, but not practised, by the
following physiologists: Vogel, Pathol. Anat. des menchl. Korpers, Leipz., 1845, s. 59 (or English
translation, p. 84). Dumas, Chim. Physiol, et Med., Paris, 1848, p. 326. Weisz, Zeitsch. d. k. k.
Gesellsch. d. Aertze, Dec. 1847, s. 203-229.

22 AMOUNT OP BLOOD EXISTING IN ANIMALS.

are provided with such an enormous external skeleton, that the errors in the calcu-
lation of the amount of iron in this would be numerous.

The only practical method which I was able to devise, was, to cut the jugular
veins and arteries, and, stretching the neck out, hold the body perpendicular, with
the head downwards. The contraction of the heart, bloodvessels, and capillaries,
aided by gravity, expelled very nearly all the blood; a fact which was often
proved by the thin, watery aspect of the last portions.

This method is more accurate in cold than warm-blooded animals, because their
nervous and muscular system, requiring but little nutriment from the blood, the
heart continues to beat, and the muscles, bloodvessels, and capillaries to contract,
for hours after almost all the blood has been abstracted. In warm-blooded animals,
the heart ceases to beat, and the contractility of the muscular system is lost, when
not more than one-third of the blood has been abstracted. This method, then,
which I employed to determine the amount of blood in cold-blooded animals, should
not be condemned because it is not applicable to warm-blooded animals.

Great discrepancies have prevailed amongst physiologists with regard to the
amount of blood contained in the bodies of warm-blooded animals.

Blumenbach estimated the quantity in an adult man at 8.5 to 11 pounds, and
Keil at 44 pounds.

M. Valentin, by his method of injecting water, arrived at the following results,.
The numbers represent the relation existing between the quantity of blood and
the weight of the body.

Large Dogs (the mean of four experiments) . . . . as 1 : 4.5

A lean, debilitated Sheep . . . . . . as 1 : 5.02

Cats, female (the mean of two experiments) . . . . as 1 : 5.18

A large female Rabbit . . . . . . as 1 : 6.20

From these data, he estimated the amount of human blood to be

Male sex . . . . • • • . as 1 : 4.36

Female sex . . . . • • • . as 1 : 4.93

At the present day, the blood is generally estimated at 22 pounds, which is equal
to about the eighth part of the weight of the body.

Lehmann1 determined the amount of blood in the bodies of two criminals, who
were decapitated, to be from 17.5 to nearly 19 pounds, or one-eighth the weight of
their bodies.

From numerous careful examinations of cold-blooded animals, by the method
previously described, I have arrived at the following results, which must be con-
sidered only as an approximation to the truth.

Amount of blood in Serpents . . • tV to tV °f tue weight of body.

" Emys terrapin . . j\ to Tj " "

" Emys serrata . . T\ to T'g

" Testudo polypltemas . . Jj to

1 1

1 Loc. cit, p. 638.

SPECIFIC GRAVITY OF SERUM AND BLOOD. 23

Our investigations have shown that the hlood is far less abundant in cold than
in warm-blooded animals.

This fact is important, because it will aid us in the investigation of many of the
phenomena of cold-blooded animals, and in the explanation of the differences which
distinguish the two great classes of animals.

Color of the Blood and Serum.

The arterial blood of cold-blooded animals is never of that bright red color of
the arterial blood of warm-blooded animals, on account of the mixture of the
arterial and venous blood in the common ventricle of the heart. For the same
reason, the venous blood is not of so dark a color as that of warm-blooded animals.

The color of the serum in most Reptiles — as Ophidians, Batrachians, Fishes-—
and some Chelonians — as the Gopher (Testudo £>olyp>hem.us) — is of a light yellow
color.

In many carnivorous Terrapins — as the Yellow-belly Terrapin {Emys serrata),
Chicken Terrapin {Emys reticulata), and Salt-water Terrapin [Emys terrapin) — the
serum is of a golden color.

In most Birds and Mammalia which I have examined, the serum is of a light
yellow color. In the Black Turkey-buzzard (Cathartes alratus), it is of a golden
color.

Odor of Animals.

The strong smell of both cold and warm-blooded animals appears to reside espe-
cially in the serum, and may be developed by treating the serum with a little sul-
phuric acid, and applying a gentle heat. I have demonstrated this fact in numerous
instances, and often in the serum of disagreeable animals, with disgusting power.
The odor of animals is also due, as in the Alligator and Rattlesnake, to peculiar
glands. The secretion of the anal gland of the Rattlesnake emits such a powerful
and disagreeable odor, that it may produce giddiness of the head and sickness of
the stomach.1

Specific Gravity of the Serum and Blood.

These results were accurately determined upon the balance used in all my
analyses, which, as we have before stated, was capable of indicating j^^tli of a

1 In dissecting a large male Rattlesnake (Crolahts durissus), I accidentally cut the anal gland, and
the odor was so peculiar, heavy, and disgusting, and exerted such an effect upon the head, that it was
with the greatest difficulty that the dissection and drawing were completed.

24 WATER AND SOLID CONSTITUENTS OF BLOOD AND SERUM.

7 able of the Specific Gravities of the Blood and Serum of Animals.

Name of
observer.

Name of animal.

Sp. gr. of
blood.

Sp. gr. of
serum.

Jos. Jones

Psammophis fiagclliformis (Coachwhip Snake) . 1036.0

a

Alligator Mississippiensis (Alligator)

1(146.0

tl

Chelonia caretta (Loggerhead Turtle)

1032.5

1014.8

it

Chelonura serpentina (Snapping Turtle)

1025.5

1013.6

tl

Emys terrapin (Salt- water Terrapin)

1035.3

1012.7

tl

Emys reticulata (Chicken Tortoise) .

1034.0

tl

Emys serrata (Yellow-bellied Terrapin)

1026.5

1013.7

tt

Enlys serrata (Yellow-bellied Terrapin)

1029.6

1014.0

tl

Testudo polyphemus (Gopher) .

1030.0

1018.0

tl

Testudo polyphemus (Gopher)

103*7.0

1017.0

tl

Common Cur-Dog ....

1043.0

it

Common Cur-Dog ....

1045.5

1030.5

Becqnerel ^
and RodierJ

( Mean
Pregnant Women -j Maximum .
(Minimum .

1051.5

1025.5

1055.1
1046.2

1026.8
1023.6

it

20 human beings, mean

1055.0

1026.1

it

10 human beings, mean

1056.0

a

11 Men, mean .....

1060.2

1028.0

tt

8 Females, mean ....

1051. 5

1027.4

Lehmann

Iluman ......

1057.4

1028.0

From this table we learn that the blood becomes more concentrated as the organs,
and apparatus, and intelligence of animals are developed.

Table showing the Amounts, in 1000 parts, of the Water and Solid Matters of the Blood and Serum

of different Animals.

COLD-BLOODED ANIMALS.
BLOOD OF INVERTEBRATE ANIMALS.

Water

Solid

Water

Solid

Solid
matter

Name of observer.

Name of animal.

in 1000

matter
in 1000

in 1000

matter .

• innn m serum

in 1000 „ . „~~

parts of
blood.

parts of
blood.

parts of
serum.

. ,: of 1000
parts ot ,.
r parts of
serum. ,r. , ,
blood.

C. Schmidt

Anodonta cygnea (Pond Mussel)

999.146 0.854

0.565

Harless & Bibra

Helix pomatia (Shell Snail)

985.482 14.518

8.398

a n

Loligo and Eledone (Cephalopods)

J 992.67 | 7.33

4.70

BLOOD OF VERTEBRATE ANIM

ALS.

Fishes.

Jos. Jones

Trygon sabina (Stingray) ....

884.20

115.80

a

Zygana malleus (Hammerhead Shark)

861.14

138.86

929.31

70.96

65.50

it

Lepisosteus osseus (Garfish)

886.70

113.30

945.55

59.45

56.05

J. F. Simon

Carp .......

872.00

128.00

83.85

a

Tench ... . .

900.00

100.00

68.80

Dumas &Prevost

Trout ....

863.70

136.30

72.50

a a

Eelpout

886.20

113.80

65.70

a a

Eel

Aquatic Reptiles

846.00

154.00

94.00

Jos. Jones

Rana catesbceana (Bullfrog)

832.51

167.49

938.07

61.93

54.96

Duinas&Prevost

Frog .......

884.60

115.40

46.40

Jos. Jones

Chelonia caretta (Loggerhead Turtle) .

879.19

120.81

950.56

49.44

45.82

tt

Chelonura serpentina (Snapping Turtle)

895.00

105.00

951.32

48.68

45.80

a

Emys terrapin (Salt-water Terrapin) .

845.28

154.72

956.17

43.83

38.75

tt

Emys reticulata (Chicken Tortoise)

846.98

153.02

936.42

63.58

57.51

tt

Emys serrata (Yellow-bellied Terrapin)

875.41

124.59

956.97

43.03

39.36

Alligator Mississippiensis (Alligator) .
Land Reptiles.

823.86

176.14

909.20

90.80

82.05

J. F. Simon

Bufo variabilis ......

848.20

151.80 1

112.33

Jos. Jones

Meter odon plat yrhinos (Hog-nose Viper)

833.24

166.76

937.50

62.50

55.55

Heterodon niger (Black Viper) .

860.57

139.43

925.11

74.89

69.67

Psammophis flagelliformis (Coachwhip Snake)

818.30

181.70

934.22

65.78

57.62

Coluber constrictor (Black Snake)

788.63 1

211.37

S9S.5K

101.42

89.01

Testudo polyphemus (Gopher)

843.38

156.62 933.59

66.41

60.00

WATER AND SOLID C 0 X STITU EXTS OF BLOOD AND SERUM. 25

WARM-BLOODED ANIMALS.
BLOOD OF BIRDS.

Name of observer.

Nasse

Name of animal.

• JliilSC

Heii
Dumas & Prevost Hen

Pigeon .

Duck

Raven

Heron
Jos. Jones Ardea nycticorax (Heron)

Syrnium nebulosum (Hooting Owl)

Cathartes atrulus (Black Turkey-buzzard)

Andral, Gavar-")
ret, and Dela- >
fond )

Nasse

Dumas & Prevost

Andral, GavarO
ret, and Dela- >
fond )

Nasse

Dumas & Prevost

Andral, GavarO
ret, and Dela- >■
fond )

Nasse

Dumas & Prevost

Nasse

Andral, Gavar-

ret, and Dela

fond
Nasse
Dumas & Prevost

Jos. Jones

tt

Dumas & Prevost
Nasse

M. Lecanu

BLOOD OF MAMMALS.

f Mean .
17 Horses •< Maximum

(Minimum
Horse
Horse

( Mean .
14 Cattle ■< Maximum

(Minimum
Ox.
Calf

30 Sheep, mean

Swine

Rabbit

Rabbit

Goat

Goat

16 Dogs, mean

Dog

Dog

Common Cur-Dog

Common Cur-Dog

Cat

Cat

( Maximum
Man < Minimum

( Mean .

Water
in 1000
parts of

blood.

Solid
matters
in 1000
parts of

blood.

Water
in 1000
parts of
serum.

185.12

206.76

220.10

202.60

234.80

203.00

191.80

872.89 121.11 950.00

839.66 160.34 945.06

200.83 948.15

814.88
793.24

179.90
797.40
765.20
797.00
808.20

799.17

Solid
matters
in 1000
parts ot
serum.

Solid
matters
in serum
of 1000
parts of

blood.

50.00
54.94
51.85

810.50
833.30
795.70
804.75
818.30
810.30
824.90
799.00
799.59
826.00

189.50'

204.30

166.70

195.25

181.70

189.70

201.00

176.10

200.41

174.00

813.50 186.50

768.94
817.30
837.90
814.60
839.44

774.10

790.50
810.70
811.87
806.52
795.30
810.02

231.06
182.70
162.10
185.40
160.56

225.90

209.50
189.30
188.13
193.48

204.70
189.98

853.135 221.37

778.625 146.86
815.880 184.12

871.05
880.33

128
119

55 78
53.25
63.00
46.90
84.70
56.40
59 20
45.95
48.81
43.70

82.60
91.00
74.60
70.85
89.70
86.30
93.60
82.90
69.90
82.80

82.40

75.78
68.30

83.40
65.70

75.50

68.19
65.50
120.18
109.64
84.30
68.46
78.27
57.89
68.08

26 WATER AND SOLID CONSTITUENTS OF BLOOD AND SERUM.

A careful comparison of these results leads to the following conclusions: —
1. The proportion of water is greatest in the Invertebrata. The hlood of these
animals has, according to Genth, a specific gravity not many degrees above that of
common water.

l2. Amongst vertebrate animals, the amount of water existing in the blood is
greatest in Fishes and Aquatic Reptiles, and least in Serpents, Birds, and Mam-
mals. As a necessary consequence, the solid matters of the blood are least in the
Invertebrata, Fish, and Aquatic Pteptiles, and greatest in Serpents, Birds, and
Mammalia.

3. It may be laid down as a general law, that as the organs and apparatus of the
animal are developed, and the temperature and intellect correspondingly increased,
the blood becomes richer in organic constituents.

The blood of serpents appears, at first sight, to form an exception. The large
amount of solid constituents, however, existing in their blood, is readily accounted
for, when we consider their habits. These Reptiles seldom or never drink water;
consequently, the fluids of their bodies are derived from the animals which they con-
sume. In all animals, the water of the blood and tissues is continually evaporating
from the surface of the lungs and body. The amount of evaporation is in propor-
tion to the structure, habits, and temperature of the animal, and the temperature and
moisture of the atmosphere. It is greatest in warm-blooded animals, and in hot
and dry climates. Amongst cold-blooded animals, it is greatest in those having
naked skins, and least in those covered by scales, bone, and horn. No matter how
slow and small this evaporation, if it be not counteracted by a corresponding supply
of water, the blood necessarily becomes concentrated, and yields a larger propor-
tion of solid constituents upon analysis.

4. Our knowledge is as yet too limited to develop any laws respecting the
amount of water and solid materials which characterize the blood of each species
and genus. By comparing the analysis of the blood of the Mammalia, we see that
the proportions of its constituents vary as much in individuals of the same species
as in individuals of remotely separated genera.

WATER AND SOLID CONSTITUENTS OF BLOOD AND SERUM. 27

Table of the Moist Blood-corpuscles and Liquor Sanguinis in 1000 jwts of Blood.

Observer.

Name of animal.

MOIST BLOOD-CORPUSCLES.

LIQUOR SANGUINIS.

Blood-
corpus-

Water.

Solid
matters.

Liquor

san-

Water.

Solid
matters.

cles.

guinis.

Jos. Joues

Zygana malleus (Shark) .

2H3.44 220.OS 73.36

706.56 641.06

65.50

<<

Lepisosteus osseus (Garlish)

229.00 171.75 57.25

771.00

714.95

56.05

Dumas & Frevost Trout ......

215.20 206.40

OS. S(]

jEelpout .

1112.40 144.30

48.10

tt It

Eel

240.00 1S0.00

60.00

Jos. Jones

Rana pipiens (Bullfrog) .

450.12 337.59 112.53

549.88

494.92

54.96

I) ama^ & Prevost

Frog . . | .

276.00

207.00

69.00

Jos. Jones

Heterodonplatyrhmos (flog-nose Viper)

144.S4

333.63

111.21

555.16

499.61

55.55

tt

Heterodon niger (Flack Viper)

270.40

202.80

67.60

729.60

657.77

71.83

tt

Psammophis flageUiformis (Coach-

whip Snake >

488.80

366.60

122.20

511.20

451.70

59.50

ti

< 'oluber constrictor (Black Snake)

169.20

351.90

117.30

530.80

436.73

94.07

tt

< 'helonia caretta (Turtle)

289.52

217.14

72.38 710.48

662.05

48.43

tt

< Jielonura serpentina (Alligator Coo-

ler)

235.40

176.55

58.85 764.60

718.45

46.15

tt

Emys terrapin (Salt-water Terrapin)

447.28

335.46

111.82 552.72

509.82

12.110

ti

Emys reticulata (Chicken Terrapin)

372.00

279.00

93.00

r,2s.<i(i

567.98

00.02

tt

Emys serrata (Yellow-belly Terrapin)

336.76

252.57

84.19

663.24

622.84

40.40

it

Testudo polyphemus (Gopher) .

3113.56 3(12.67

90.89

606.44

540.71

65.73

tt

Alligator Mississippiensis ( Alligator)

364.08 273.06

91.02

635.112

550.80

85. 1 2

Nasse

Goose ......

185.80 364.35

121.45

Hen

5711. no 434.25

114.75

Dnmas & Prevost Hen ......

628.40 461. .'Ki

157.10

Duck

C,(MI. 40 450.3(1

150.10

tt a

Pigeon . ' .

622.80 467.10

155.70

tt tt

Raven ......

586.40 339.80

1 16.60

tt a

Heron ......

530.40 367.80

132.00

Jos. Jones

Anli it nycticorax (Heron)

315.S4 236.88

78.96

684.16

636.01

18.15

tt

Syrnium nebulosum (Hooting Owl) .

127.36

320.52

106.84

572.64

519.14

53.50

n

Cathartes alratus (Black Buzzard)

626.88

470.16

150.72 :;73.12

329.01

44.11

Andral, Gavar- )

t Mean ....

411.60 308.70

102.90

ret, and Dela- >- 1 17 Horses -< Maximum

448.40 !336.30

112.10

fond )

(Minimum

326.00:244.50

81.50

Nasse

Horse

468.52,351.39

117.13

Andral, Gavar-')

ret, and Dela- > 30 Sheep, mean
fond )

404.40 303.30

101.10

Xasse Sheep

369.68 277.26

92.42

Andral, GavarO ( Mean ....
ret, and Dela- > ,14 Cattle -| Maximum

398.80 299.10

99.70

468.40 351.30

117.10

fond )

(Minimum

340.40 255.30

85.10

tt tt

G Swine, English breed, mean .

( Mean ....
16 Dogs -| Maximum

422.80 317.10
593.20 444.90

105.70
148.30

a tt

7(10.40 52!i. no

176.60

(Minimum

509.20 387.90

121.30

Jos. Jones

Common Cur-Dog ....

363.64 197.73

65.91

736.36

613.14

125.22

"

Common Cur-Dog ....

322.76 242.07

80.69

677.24

504.45

112.79

The following general facts and conclusions have been derived from a careful
comparison of the results contained in this table, and those derived from our pre-
vious investigations.

In the Invertebrata, the number of blood corpuscles is very small in comparison

28 WATER AND SOLID CONSTITUENTS OF BLOOD AND SERUM.

with the number which exists in the blood of the Vertebrate. In this class, we
find only colorless corpuscles.

In the Braneliwstoma or AmpMoxus, the connecting link between the highest
orders, the Mollusca and Fishes, the blood, like that of the Invertebrata, is described
as containing only colorless corpuscles, and exceedingly rich in water, and corre-
spondingly poor in solid constituents.

As the organs and apparatus are developed, the blood is correspondingly improved.

The increased development of the cerebrospinal system, and the organs of vertebrate
animals, is attended by a corresponding increase in the solitary gland-cells of the blood.

In this class, the number of blood-corpuscles is, as a general rule, least in cold-
blooded animals, and greatest in Birds and Mammals. There are, however, excep-
tions to this rule. I have found the number of blood-corpuscles in some cold-
blooded animals, especially Serpents, higher than that of some Birds and Mammals.

The following table will illustrate this fact: —

Name of observer.

Name of animal.

Blood-corpuscles in
1000 parts of blood.

Jos. Jones . . . Sana catesbceana (Bullfrog) ....

Emys terrapin (Salt-water Terrapin)
Alligator Mississippiensis (Alligator)
Heterodon platyrhinos (Hog-nose Viper)
Psammophis flagelliformis ( Coachvvhip Snake)
Coluber constrictor (Black Snake)
Ardea nycticorax (Heron) ....
Syrnium nebulosum (Hooting Owl)

Andral, Gavarret, and Delafond Horse ........

Dumas and Prevost . . Horse ........

Goat ........

Goat ........

Cur-Dog .......

Cur-Dog .......

Dog

Calf

Nasse .
Jos. Jones .

Dumas and Prevost

450.12
447.28
3G4.08
444.84
488.80
469.20
315.84
427.36
326.20
368.00
408.00
344.00
363.64
322.76
495.20
364.80

Notwithstanding the differences in the number of blood-corpuscles, the differences
of temperature were preserved, not only between the warm and cold-blooded
animals, but also between the individual species of each class.

The thermometer indicated a temperature of over 100° in the Heron, having
only 364.08 parts of blood-corpuscles, whilst in the Frog, Serpents, and Chelonians,
having nearly double the number of blood-corpuscles in a given quantity of blood,
the thermometer indicated a temperature several degrees below that of the sur-
rounding medium.

Several physiologists assert that the sole office of the blood-corpuscles is to cany
oxygen in, and convey carbonic acid gas out of the animal econoimr. If this be
true, the temperature of an animal would, at first sight, seem to be determined, in
great measure, by the number of its blood-corpuscles; but the temperature also
depends upon the velocity of transfer of the oxygen, and consequently upon the
rapidity of the circulation. Many facts, however, might be brought forward, to

WATER AND SOLID CONSTITUENTS OF BLOOD AND SERUM. 29

prove that the office of the blood-corpuscles is not solely the introduction of oxygen,
and the carrying out of carbonic acid. The following facts will show that the
liquor sanguinis is also active in the performance of these important offices.

In the capillaries and bloodvessels, the colored corpuscles rush along in the
centre of the streams, whilst pure liquor sanguinis alone is in contact with the
walls of the vessels. In the capillaries of the lungs, the oxygen, from this arrange-
ment, must necessarily be absorbed first by the liquor sanguinis. Again, in no case
do we find the organic cells, the active agents in all secretion and excretion, in
immediate contact with the blood-corpuscles. They are separated from them by
the coats of the capillaries, and a structureless basement membrane. The same is
true of the anatomical elements of the muscular tissue. From whence do they
derive oxygen, a continuous supply of which is absolutely necessary for the life
and activity of every living molecule of organized beings? The same argument
will also prove that the blood-corpuscles are not the sole agents in the conveyance
of carbonic acid gas out of the organs and tissues.

These conclusions can be sustained by numerous examples.

Do we find blood-corpuscles in plants? Do we find blood-corpuscles in the lowest
orders of invertebrate animals? These bodies absorb oxygen, and give out carbonic
acid gas, notwithstanding the absence of blood-corpuscles. Spallanzani1 has long
since demonstrated that all organized bodies, whether living or dead, possess the
property of absorbing oxygen and giving out carbonic acid gas.

We do not for one moment deny that one important office of the blood-corpuscles
is the absorption of gases, for it has been often demonstrated that blood containing
its corpuscles possesses far greater powers of absorbing oxygen, nitrogen, and car-
bonic acid than pure serum. We wish to show that this is not the sole office of
the blood-corpuscle, because it is performed by the liquor sanguinis, and all organic
matters, whether living or dead; and respiration is carried on in plants and the
lowest animals, which are without blood-corpuscles; and an increase in the number
of blood-corpuscles is not necessarily followed by an increase in the temperature.

What, then, are the principal offices of the blood-corpuscles, and what does an
increase in their numbers denote?

These questions can only be answered by a consideration of their constitution,
and their relations with the liquor sanguinis by which they are surrounded.

Each corpuscle is a cell, resembling, in its nutrition, growth, and general struc-
ture, the active agents in the formation, elaboration, and separation of all secretions
and excretions. Their cell walls possess the property of separating from the sur-
rounding medium certain peculiar organic and mineral compounds. If a blood-
corpuscle be placed in water, it swells up, and finally bursts. If it is placed in a
solution denser than its internal contents, they pass out more rapidly than the
exterior solution passes in, and the cell wall shrivels up. The same physical laws
of endosmose are at work in the animal economy. A mutual action and reaction
is incessantly carried on between the interior contents of the blood-corpuscles and
the exterior liquor sanguinis. Whenever water, or liquids of low specific gravity,

1 Memoirs on Respiration, by Lazarus Spallanzani. Edited by John Lenebier. London, 1805.

30 STRUCTURE OF THE BLOOD-CORPUSCLES.

are introduced into the circulatory system, they dilute the serum, and immediately
there is an endosmose of the less dense fluid into the denser contents of the cor-
puscles. Wheneveu water is withheld, the liquor sanguinis continually loses this
element by evaporation from the surface of the lungs and skin, and by the action
of the kidneys, becomes denser than the contents of tbe corpuscles, and exosmose
takes place into the surrounding medium. The cell-wall modifies the phj'sical and
chemical properties of every molecule of liquor sanguinis that passes through its
structure.

The researches of C. Schmidt have shown that the fluid contents of the blood-
corpuscles contain, in addition to peculiar organic matters, a preponderance of the
phosphates and potash salts; whilst the liquor sanguinis contains the chloride of
sodium in large amount, with a little chloride of potassium and phosphate of soda.

In the blood-cells, the fatty acids and globulin are combined both with potash
and soda ; whilst in the plasma, the organic materials are combined only with soda.
The researches of Liebig, confirmed by those of Schmidt, have shown that the
fluid contained in the tubules of muscles is, like that of the blood-corpuscles, ex-
ceedingly rich in the phosphates and potash salts. The phosphates also exist in
large amount in the brain.

These facts render it highly probable that the office of the blood-corpuscles, taken
collectively, is that of an immense gland, which separates and elaborates from the
liquor sanguinis those organic and inorganic compounds which constitute the most
important part of the structure of the muscles and brain.

In the Mammalia, we have an increase not only by weight, but also an immense
increase in numbers of the blood-corpuscles, owing to their greatly diminished size,
and the amount of secreting surface exposed to the intercellular fluid is correspond-
ingly increased. This being the case, the blood of these animals must be more
highly elaborated, and all their organs and apparatus correspondingly developed.

In the present state of our knowledge, notwithstanding the numerous theories
which have been ably advocated by different physiologists and anatomists, we are
still ignorant of the exact mode of origin of the blood-corpuscles.

Structure of the Blood-corpuscles.

There is a great want of accordance in the descriptions of the structure of the
colored blood-corpuscle, and its action under different chemical reagents. Some of
the highest authorities are opposed to each other in their statements. I shall con-
fine myself merely to the results of my own observations.

The size and form of the blood-corpuscle vary with the animal. In most of the
Mammalia, they are biconcave circular discs.

In Birds, Reptiles, and Fishes, they are biconvex, ellipsoidal, or rounded discs.
In the Shovel-nosed Shark (Zygoma malleus) and the Loggerhead Turtle (Chelonia
caretla), they are very nearly of a circular form.

In all adult Mammals — as Dogs, Cats, Raccoons, Squirrels, Deer, Sheep, Moles,
&c. — which I have examined, a nucleus is absent.

In Birds, Reptiles, and Fishes, a nucleus is always present. The convexity of
the blood-corpuscle in these animals is due to the internal nucleus. When viewed

STRUCTURE OF THE BLOOD-CORPUSCLES. 31

edgewise, as they roll over, this central prominence is rendered evident, standing
ont from the flattened disc.

The action of acetic acid shows that the exterior cell-wall is connected at the
centre with the interior nucleus. The first action of acetic acid, which is almost
instantaneous, is to reverse the shape of the blood-corpuscles. They become ex-
panded around the periphery, whilst they remain of the same diameter at the
centre, thus forming an hour-glass or dumb-bell figure when viewed in profile. The
central portion maintains its diameter, which is that of the nucleus plus the thick-
ness of the attached exterior cell-wall. Generally, the swelling is greatest at the
extremities of the ellipsoidal disc. In some cases, the entire circumference of the
disc swelled, leaving a central depression, corresponding to the internal nucleus.
The next change effected by acetic acid, is to render the exterior cell-wall perfectly
transparent, and' in some cases to dissolve it completely, thus setting free the nuclei.

Acetic acid renders the nuclei more distinct, and in many instances renders
visible a still smaller body, the original rudiment of the blood-corpuscle. The
nucleoli are situated sometimes at the centre, and at others attached to the side of
the nuclei.

The blood-corpuscles of these animals, then, correspond in structure to many
other cells, having a cell-wall, nucleus, and nucleolus.

The best method of viewing the action of acetic acid, is to place a drop of blood
upon a glass slide, and, having adjusted it to the focus of the microscope, touch its
border with a drop of concentrated acetic acid, and observe, under the microscope,
the line where the acetic acid and blood are mingling. Here we will see the blood-
corpuscles changing from ellipsoidal, convex discs to hour-glass or dumb-bell figures
and biconcave discs, and almost immediately becoming transparent, and exhibiting
nothing but the central nucleus with its nucleolus. I have verified these state-
ments by examinations of the blood of numerous Fishes, Batrachians, Ophidians,
and Chelonians.

The following figures will represent in a clear light the action of acetic acid. In
order properly to illustrate their structure, the blood-corpuscles are represented in
a much rougher manner and stronger light than they appear under the microscope.

Fia. 1. Fig. 2.

9 /

d(j

@® 3 GtsM

0 ~

Fig. 1. — Blood-corpuscles of Hammer-head Shark (Zijgsena malleus) in their normal condition. Mag. 210 diameters.
Fia. 2. — Blood-corpuscles of Hammer-head Shark (Zygsena malleus) treated with a drop of acetic acid, showing the
different stages of its action. Mag. 210 diameters.

32 EFFECTS OF GASES UPON THE BLOOD.

Fig. 4.

&■ <A-iJ'- i ^ oSv-n '(Q

-V

Fig. 3. — Blood-corpuscles of Salt-water Terrapin (Emys terrapin) in their normal condition. Mag. 210 diameters.
Fig. 4.- — Blood-corpuscles of Salt-water Terrapin (Emys terrapin) acted upon by a drop of acetic acid, showing the

nuclei, nucleoli, dumb-bell or hour-glass corpuscles, and beyond, where the acid has not extended, the

normal corpuscles. Mag. 210 diameters.

Liquor potassa dissolves the cell-walls, nuclei, and nucleoli, alters the color of
the blood to a brownish-yellow, and renders it viscid and ropy, like thick mucus.
When treated with aqua ammonia, the corpuscles are at first altered in shape,
sometimes elongated; and, in many cases, the cell-walls began to swell first toward
the periphery, as in the action of acetic acid. In a short time, aqua ammonia, like
liquor potassa, completely dissolves the corpuscles.

The colorless corpuscles are more numerous in cold than in warm-blooded animals.
Amongst Chelonians, they are most numerous in the Salt-water Terrapins [Emys
terrapin). In the blood of these Chelonians, numerous minute granules also
abound. These minute granules increase during a rapid repair of the elements of
the body. They were found to be much more numerous in the blood of Yellow-
bellied Terrapins {Emys serrata) which had been deprived of food and drink for
several weeks, and then transferred to a tub of water and liberally supplied with
vegetable food for thirty to sixty days, than in the blood of those Terrapins which
had been deprived of food and drink for several weeks.

Effects of Gases upon the Blood of Cold-blooded Animals.
Carhonic Acid Gas.

Salt-water Terrapins {Emys terrapin) and Yellow-bellied Terrapins {Emys serrata)
were placed in large receivers containing this gas. They took long inspirations
and expirations, resembling deep sighs. The noise made by the passage of the
gas in and out of their lungs, resembled that often made by human beings dying
from narcotic poisoning or congestion of the brain. The breathing of the Terrapins
became more and more laborious, and less frequent, occurring at intervals of from
ten to thirty minutes, and finally ceased in from ten to twelve hours.

The blood was of a much darker color than when the lungs were supplied with
atmospheric air, and resembled much the venous blood of the Mammalia. Upon
exposure to the air for a length of time, it became, upon its exterior, of a red

EFFECTS OF GASES UPON THE BLOOD. 33

color. The heart and lungs, and the bloodvessels supplying the intestines, were
engorged with black blood. The contractility of the muscles was completely
destroyed.

The blood-corpuscles had undergone remarkable changes. They were shrivelled
and contorted, presenting innumerable shapes, anything but ellipsoidal. These
changes had taken place in the colored corpuscles in all the organs and tissues of
the body. The effects of the gas appeared to have been confined principally to
the exterior cell wall ; for, when they were treated with acetic acid, the nuclei
were brought out unchanged. The appearance of the colored corpuscles of a
Yellow-bellied Terrapin {Emys serrata), which had been kept in the carbonic acid
gas until its death, is represented in Fig. 5.

Fig. 5.

n€<S? c

Blood-corpuscles of a Yellow-bellied Terrapin ( Emys serrata) which had been kept without fond or drink for several weeks,
and then placed in a tub of water and abundantly supplied with vegetable food for 30 or 40 days, and finally placed
in carbonic acid gas.

The urine of all these Terrapins which were confined in carbonic acid gas, con-
tained grape sugar, which is not normally present in the excretions of the kidneys
of these animals. The offices of the blood-corpuscles being arrested, oxygen being
no longer conveyed into the system, grape sugar, the product of the action of the
liver, was not decomposed, and, accumulating in the blood, was eliminated by the
kidneys.

When Terrapins were employed which had been starved for a great length of
time, the effect of carbonic acid gas upon the blood-corpuscles was not so evident,
on account of the concentration of the blood, and the sluggishness of the meta-
morphoses of their tissues, and the rapidity with which they fell victims to the
deleterious influences of this noxious gas. The effects of carbonic acid gas in alter-
ing the shape of the blood-corpuscles, were best seen in those Terrapins which had
been deprived of food and drink for several weeks, and then transferred to a tub
of water, and supplied with vegetable food.

These effects are not produced upon the blood-cells of warm-blooded animals,
because they are so rapidly destroyed that the gas has not sufficient time to come
in contact, in large quantities, with the corpuscles and materially alter their struc-
ture. Cold-blooded animals live much longer in carbonic acid gas than warm-
5

34 EFFECTS OF CARBONIC OXIDE GAS.

blooded animals, because their muscular and nervous systems are far more inde-
pendent of the circulatory fluid, and the metamorphoses of the organic and inorganic
elements of their fluids and solids are far less rapid.

Carbonic Oxide Gas:

A Corn Snake [Coluber guttatus) was placed in a jar of carbonic oxide gas. At
first, its efforts to escape were unceasing and violent. Gradually, its respiration
became more laborious; it gasped violently for breath; its motions became more
spasmodic, and were succeeded by intervals of apparent exhaustion. It died in
forty-five minutes after its introduction into the gas.

A Bullfrog [Rana pipiens) placed in the carbonic oxide gas presented similar
phenomena, but died in a much shorter time, about ten minutes. This difference
of time was without doubt due to the difference in the structure of the tegumentary
systems of the two Eeptiles; the naked skin of the Frog absorbing the gas much
more rapidly than the scaly integument of the Serpent.

In both animals (examined immediately after their death), the contractility of
the muscular system had been destroyed. The heart was the last portion of the
muscular system to yield to the effects of the poison ; it continued to beat feebly
for a short time.

The blood from all parts of the body was of a brilliant scarlet color, and coagu-
lated into a dense, firm clot, which was unstable and dissolved again. After the
dissolution of the fibrin, the blood-corpuscles settled to the bottom, and the serum
above was perfectly clear and without any marked color. Under the microscope,
the blood-corpuscles presented no unusual appearance when their broad surfaces
were turned towards the eye; when, however, they were viewed edgeways, they
appeared swollen, and the central nuclei were much less distinct than in their normal
condition, being scarcely visible.

Acetic acid exerted its characteristic action, first rendering the blood-corpuscles
dumb-bell or hour-glass in shape, when viewed edgeways, and then rendering the
exterior cell-wall transparent, and bringing out clearly the nuclei. When the
acetic acid was neutralized with diluted liquor potassa, the cell-walls were again
brought into view. Concentrated licpior potassa dissolved the blood-corpuscles with
no immediate change of color. In a few moments, however, the color changed to
a darker red, and gradually assumed a brownish-yellow color, and became, as usual,
ropy and viscid.

Vigorous streams of carbonic acid and oxygen gases, passed through separate
and the same portions of blood, produced no change whatever in the scarlet color
or form of the blood-corpuscles.

Portions of this blood were kept for several weeks, and they still retained their
scarlet color, and did not undergo putrefaction.

These reactions show that the change in the color of the blood was due, not to
an alteration of the forms of the blood-corpuscles, but to a permanent chemical
change of their coloring matter. Another effect of the carbonic oxide gas was to
render the fibrin unstable.

This gas arrests oxidation, and the rapidity of its action shows the great irn-

EFFECTS OF A COMPLETE DEPRIVATION OF AIR. 35

portance of this process. The existence of the vital force, and the performance
of the functions of the organs and apparatus of the system, are incompatible with
the sudden arrest of the chemical changes and metamorphoses of the elements of
the solids and fluids. If, however, the process of oxidation be slowly stopped, by
a gradual diminution of the temperature of cold-blooded animals, the existence of
the vital force is not destroyed, although all the vital, physical, and mechanical
functions are suspended.

Hydrogen Gas.

A Yellow-bellied Terrapin {Emys serrate), which had been placed in a large
receiver of hydrogen gas, died in ten hours.

The blood-corpuscles from all parts of the body presented an altered appearance,
similar, in many instances, to that produced by carbonic acid gas. The simple
exclusion of the oxygen of the atmosphere, by a harmless gas, produced remark-
able alterations in the shape of the corpuscles.

The urine contained grape sugar.

Fig. 6 represents the appearance of the blood-corpuscles of this Emys serrata,
after it had been confined in hydrogen gas for ten hours.

Fig. 6.

Blood-corpuscles of a Yellow-bellied Terrapin (Emys serrala) which had been destroyed in hydrogen gas.

Complete Deprivation of Air.

Ligatures were passed around the tracheas of Yellow-bellied Terrapins (Emys
serrata) and Salt-water Terrapins (Emi/s terrapin), which had been deprived of
food and drink for several weeks, and then transferred to tubs of water, and abund-
antly supplied with vegetable food. The access of air to the lungs was thus com-
pletely cut off.

These Chelonians gave signs of muscular contractility for twelve to twenty
hours. In one instance, the stomach and intestines became greatly distended with
gas, which consisted partly of carbonic acid.

3G EFFECTS OF A COMPLETE DErTvIVATION OF AIR.

In all cases, the blood examined after death was of a blackish-red color, and
much darker than that of Reptiles in its normal condition. It coagulated when
abstracted.

The blood-corpuscles had undergone important modifications. Many of them
were shrunken, contorted and contracted; others were swollen, assuming the forms
of spheroids, and cubes, and irregular ovoids. The nuclei, which were rendered
distinct by the action of acetic acid, in many cases presented corresponding changes.
Many of the colorless corpuscles appeared altered in shape.

A stream of oxygen gas, passed through the blood, did not change its color,
neither were the forms of the blood-corpuscles altered.

In every instance the urine of these terrapins contained grape sugar.

Figure 7 represents the blood-corpuscles of these terrapins, after they had been
deprived of air by a ligature around their windpipes.

Fie. 7.

Blood-corpuscles of salt-water Terrapins (Ernys terrapin) and fresh-water Terrapins (Emys serrala), which had been

deprived of air by ligatures around their necks.

We will next consider the fibrin and fixed saline constituents of the blood of
animals, in its normal condition.

TABLE OF THE FIBRIN IN 1000 ]

PARTS OF BLO

OD. 37

Table of the Fibrin in 1000 parts of the Blood of Animals.

Fibrin in 1000 parts

Name of observer.

Name of animal.

of blood.

Jos. Jones ....

Trygon sabina (Stingray) .....

unstable

a

Zygoma malleus (Hammerhead Shark) .

unstable

tt

Lepisosleus osseus (Garfish) .....

unstable

J. F. Simon

,

Carp .

unstable

tt

.

Tench

unstable

Jos. Jones .

.

Rana cate.sbcea.na. (Bullfrog) ....

unstable

J. F. Simon

. ,

Jiufo variabilis .......

unstable

Jos. Jones

Heterodon niger (Black Viper) ....
Psammophis flagelliformis (Coachwhip Snake)

2.16
1.88

tt

, .

Coluber constrictor (Black Snake)

5.06

tt
tt

•

Chelonia caretta (Loggerhead Turtle) .
CJielonura serpentina (Snapping Turtle)

2.61
0.35

tt

.

Emys terrapin (Salt-water Terrapin)

4.15

tt

.

Emys reticulata (Chicken Terrapin)

2.51

tt

Emys serrata (Yellow-bellied Terrapin)

1.04

tt

Testudo polypkemus (Gopher) ....

5.73

it

Alligator Mississippiensis (Alligator) .

3.07

Nasse .

Goose .....

3.46

tt

• . .

Hen . .

.

4.67

Jos. Jones

. . .

Ardea nyclicorax (Heron)

2.20

ii

Syrnium nebidosum (Barred

Owl)' '. '.

4.69

tt

Catharies atratus (Black

Turl

iey-Buzzard)

0.41

( Mean

4.0

Andral, Gavarret, and Delafond

17 Horses < Maximum .
(Minimum .

5.0
3.0

Nasse

Horse ....

2.41

( Mean

....

3.7

Andral, Gavarret, and Delafoni

14 Cattle •< Maximum .
( Minimum

4.4
3.0

Nasse .....

Ox .

( Mean

3.62
3.1

Andral, Gavarret, and Delafonc

1 19 Sheep < Maximum

(Minimum

i Mean

G Swine < Maximum

(Minimum

. ■ ■ • •

3.8
2.6
4.6

11 tt <<

5.0

■ . • • •

4.1

Nasse

Swine

. . • .

3.95

it

Goat .

( Mean
1 16 Dogs •< Maximum
(Minimum

3.90
2.1

Andral, Gavarret, and Delafon

.

3.5

.

1.6

Nasse

Dog .

1.93

Jos. Jones ....

Common Cur-Dog

3.04

it

Common Cur-Dog

3.15

Nasse .....

Cat .

2.42

From this table we learn that the fibrin constitutes a remarkable index of the vital,
organic, and intellectual endowments of animals.

In the whole of the invertebrate kingdom it is absent, except in a few of the
most highly organized, in which its presence is accompanied by a corresponding
improvement of the cerebro-spinal system, and all the organs.

In the lowest orders of the Vertebrata, as Fishes and Batrachians, it is soft,
unstable, and readily convertible into albumen.

In the Ophidians and Chelonians, although it is stable and does not dissolve, still
its structure is soft and inconsistent, and resembles, in many respects, the fibrin
which is formed when the vital forces of warm-blooded animals have been exhausted
by copious and continued bleedings.

Here we have a beautiful demonstration of the fact, that the animal kingdom is

a 8

FIXED SALINE CONSTITUENTS.

constructed upon one great plan. Pathological conditions of the most highly
organized animals are found to exist as the normal and permanent conditions of
those placed below in the scale of creation. If the forces of a warm-blooded animal
be reduced, it presents a condition in many respects similar to that of a cold-blooded
animal. We will illustrate this by one other example.

Warm-blooded animals, in health, are able to maintain their temperature at a
fixed standard, regardless of that of the surrounding medium. As the surrounding
temperature descends, the efforts of nature to sustain a definite degree of heat
increase. If, however, the forces of the animal economy be impaired, the efforts of
nature are no longer sufficient to keep the body heated to the normal degree, and
gradually the body assumes the temperature of the surrounding medium. Tbe
intellect and all the organic forces become torpid, the chemical actions cease, or
are performed in a feeble or perverted manner; and, finally, the once active and
warm-blooded animal is reduced to the condition of a sluggish cold-blooded one.

This table also apparently shows that the fibrin is one of the most variable of
all the constituents of the blood. This, however, probably arises in great measure
from imperfections in our methods of analysis.

We shall next consider the amount of fixed saline constituents in the blood of
different animals.

Table

of the Fixed Saline Constituents in the Blood of different Animals

FixeJ saline con-

Name of observer.

Name of animal.

stituents in 1000
parts of blood.

C. Schmidt

Anodonta cygnea (Pond Mussel)

0.256

1

Harless and Bibra

Helix pomatia (Shell Snail) ....

6.12

[ Invertebrate

Bibra

Ascidians and Cephalopods ....

2.63

animals.

Genth

Limulus Cyclops ......

3.327

Jos. Jones

Trygon sabina (Stingray) ....

14.70

it

Zygcena malleus (Hammerhead Shark)

8.36

Salt-water

11

Lepisosteus osseus (Garfish) ....
Emys terrapin (Salt-water terrapin)

10.27
10.74

> Fishes and
Reptiles.

"

Alligator Mississippiensis (Alligator)

8.65

u

Chelonia caretta (Loggerhead Turtle)

3.58

ii

Rana catesbceana (Bullfrog) ....

5.78

ii

C'helonura serpentina (Snapping Turtle) .

4.39

Fresh-water

ii

Emys serrala (Yellow-bellied Terrapin) .

5.22

Reptiles.

ii

Emys reticulata (Chicken Terrapin)

7.79

"

Heterodon platyrhinos (Hog-nose Viper) .

13.47

it

Heterodon niger (Black Viper)

7.04

Land Rep-
* tiles.

ii

Psammophis Jlagelliformis (Coach-whip Snake)

5.57

ti

Coluber constrictor (Black Snake)

8.77

ii

Testudo polyphemus (Gopher)

5.83

u

Cathartes atratus (Black Buzzard) .

8.33

it

Ardea nycticorax (Heron) ....

6 59

u

Syrnium nebulosum (Owl) ....

8.06

> Birds.

Nasse

Goose ........

7.92

ii

Hen

8.79

1 1

Sheep .

7.76

u

Horse ........

7.85

u

Ox

6.95

ii

Calf

7.87

u

Goat ........

Rabbit ........

7.84
6.28

. Mammalia.

u

Cat

7.84

ii

Bog

7.33

Jos. Jones

Common Cur-Dog ......

6.04

1 1

Common Cur-Dog

6.11

FIXED SALINE CONSTITUENTS. 39

From this table we learn that the proportion of fixed saline constituents in the
blood, is remarkably uniform throughout the whole animal kingdom. This fact
demonstrates their importance.

In the invertebrata they exist in larger amount relatively to that of the organic
constituents of the blood than in vertebrate animals. Thus, in the blood of the
Esculent Snail (Helix pomatia) there were, according to Harless and Bibra, 6.12
parts of mineral, and only 8.39 parts of organic substances. In the blood of Asci-
dians and Cephalopoda, Bibra found 4.7 parts of organic, and 2.63 parts of mineral
substances. When we consider the constitution of the shells of these animals, it is
not wonderful that the blood should contain so large a proportion of mineral sub-
stances. Schmidt found the albumen of the blood of the Pond Mussel (Anodonta
cygnea) combined with lime. This fact shows that these mineral bodies are chemi-
cally combined with the organic constituents of their bodies.

Amongst vertebrate animals, we find the largest amount of mineral constituents
in the blood of Fishes and Reptiles inhabiting the salt water. The only exception
to this rule, was found in the blood of the Loggerhead Turtle (Chelonia caretta),
which had been kept, for forty-eight hours previous to this analysis, in a tub of
fresh water. It is possible that an interchange may have taken place between the
exterior water and the salts held in solution in the blood. The blood of the Hog-
nose Viper (Heterodon platyrhinoe) yielded a larger amount of ash than that of any
other animal. This is accounted for by the fact that the reptile had been starved
for a length of time, and the blood was in a concentrated condition. The Alligator
is classed amongst the salt-water Reptiles, because it had resided in a small salt-
water stream, in a salt marsh. This reptile inhabits, most generally, the brackish
and fresh-water rivers, lakes, swamps, and rice-fields.

That the fixed saline constituents are absolutely necessary, not only for the forma-
tion of the different structures, but also for the maintenance of life itself, was
conclusively demonstrated by a series of experiments performed in France. It was
found that when animals were fed upon grain, from which only one element (phos-
phate of lime) was abstracted, they rapidly lost their forces, and died in the course
of a few weeks.

Having completed the study of the blood in its normal condition, we are now
prepared to investigate the effects of starvation and thirst.

40 EFFECTS OF THIRST AND STARVATION UPON ALLIGATORS.

CHAPTER III.

FHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL CHANGES OF THE SOLIDS AND FLUIDS
OF COLD AND WARM-BLOODED ANIMALS, WHEN DEPRIVED OF
FOOD AND DRINK.

Series I. — Effects of Starvation and Thirst upon the Fluids and Solids of
Alligators {Alligator Mississippiensis) .

21. Blood of a small female Alligator, in its normal condition.

Although this reptile had been shot for half an hour, the blood flowed from its
arteries in rapid streams, and twelve fluidounces were collected without any special
care.

This alligator had been well fed, and was in good condition ; the abdominal
cavity, especially in the region of the kidneys, was lined with fat.

Specific gravity of defibrinated blood

. 1046.

Solid constituents in 1000 parts of blood

176.14

" " " serum

90.80

in serum of 1000 parts of blood

82.05

Water in 1000 parts of blood ....

. 823.86

" " serum ....

. 909.20

1000 parts of blood contained —

Water .......

. 823.86

Blood-corpuscles (dried organic constituents)

86.39

Albumen ....

63.75

Fibrin .....

3.07

Water extract and alcohol extract

9.26

Fatty constituents

5.02

Fixed saline constituents

8.65

1000 parts of blood contained —

Moist blood-corpuscles 364.08 ■<„,.,

(.Solid constituents

. 273.06
91.02

Liquor sanguinis 635.92 \ _ ,.,

(.Solid constituei

ts

. 550.80
85.12

22. Blood of a small male Alligator. April 4.

The subject of these investigations was kept for two weeks and a half, without
food or drink. It lived in the same stream with the one used in the preceding
analysis, and was in all probability its mate.

This reptile was captured in a novel manner. The ear of the Alligator is pro-
vided with a lid which completely covers the meatus auditorius externus. When
this lid is closed, it is impossible to discover the position of the ear without close

EFFECTS OF THIRST AND STARVATION UPON ALLIGATORS. 41

inspection. When I fired at the reptile, this lid was raised, and a single small buck-
shot passed into the meatus avditorius externiis, glanced against the bones, and
ranging forwards, lodged against the eyeball. The lid was immediately shut down,
and remained thus during his confinement. The only evidence of any injury, was
a few drops of blood issuing from the corner of his eye ; and, although I saw him
every day, the true nature of the wound was not ascertained until after his death.
The injury was productive of no serious consequences whatever, and only produced
a temporary paralysis, just long enough to effect his capture.

In confinement he was exceedingly fierce, when disturbed, opening his jaws and
drawing in his breath, making a hissing noise, and swelling out his body, like some
Ophidians. When touched or approached, he would throw his head and body com-
pletely around — his head occupying the position of his tail. Simultaneously with
this movement, the tail was brought violently towards the distended jaws.

During two and a half weeks, he passed no fecal matters, and discharged his
urine but once, in quantity about two fluidounces. The urine consisted of a fluid,
and a solid, chalk-like portion, composed of innumerable globules of the urate of
ammonia.

The blood flowed slowly, and was much less in quantity than that of the female
alligator, examined in its normal condition. It coagulated into a dense, coherent
clot, immediately after its abstraction from the body.

Specific gravity of defibrinated blood ..... 1056.

Solid constituents in 1000 parts of blood .... 196.57

" " serum .... 90.80

" in serum of 1000 parts of blood . . . 80.24

Water in 1000 parts of blood ...... 803.43

" " serum ...... 909.20

1000 parts of blood contained —

Water ......... 803.43

Blood-corpuscles (dried organic constituents) .... 106.80

Albumen, and water extractive ...... 74.02

Fibrin ......... 3.41

Fatty constituents and alcoholic extract . . . . .2.00

Fixed saline constituents ...... 10.34

1000 parts of blood contained —

Moist blood-corpuscles 451.68 jWater ' ' - 338'6

(Solid constituents . . . 112.92

T . . . r,o oo (Water ..... 464.67

Liquor sanguinis 548.32 -I „ , . „„ _

1 (Solid constituents . . . 83.65

By comparing the results obtained from the female alligator, in a normal con-
dition, with those obtained from its mate — which had been kept without food and
drink for seventeen and a half days — we see that the most obvious effects of
starvation and thirst were the diminution of its blood and the consumption of the
fat deposited in its tissues. In the normal subject, twelve fluidounces of blood
were, with ease, obtained ; whilst from the one deprived of food and drink for seven-
teen and a half days, not more than one-third of this amount could with difficulty
be collected. The changes in the relative amounts of the different constituents of
the blood will be seen in the following tables : —
6

42 EFFECTS OF THIRST AND STARVATION UPON ALLIGATORS.

Specific Gravities, Water, and Solid Constituents of the Blood.

•

Specific gra-
vity of blood.

Water in 1000
parts of blood.

Water in 1000
parts of se-
rum.

Solid constitu-
ents in 1000
parts of blood.

Solid constitu-
ents in 1000
parts of se-
rum.

Solid constitu-
ents in serum
of 1000 parts
of blood.

Alligator not starved .
Alligator starved . . .

10.46
10.56

823.86
803.43

909.20
909.20

176.14
196.57

90.80

90.80

82.05
80.24

Moist Blood-

Corpuscles and Liquor Sanguinis in

1000 parts

of Blood.

Moist blood-
corpuscles.

Water in
moist blood-
corpuscles.

Solid constitu-
ents in moist
blood-cor-
puscles.

Liquor san-
guinis.

Water in

liquor san-
guinis.

Solid constitu-
ents in liquor
sanguinis.

Alligator not starved . .
Alligator starved . . .

364.08
451.68

273.06
338.76

91.02
112.92

635.92
548.32

550.80
464.67

85.12
83.65

Organic and Inorganic Constituents in 1000 parts of Blood.

Water in 1000
parts of blood.

Dry organic
constituents
of the blood-
corpuscles in
1000 parts
of blood.

Albumen and
extractive
matters.

Fat.

Fibrin.

Fixed saline
constituents.

Alligator not starved .
Alligator starved . . .

823.86
803.43

86.39
106.80

73.01
74.02

5.02
2.00

3.07
3.41

8.65
10.34

If we assume that the blood of both alligators had originally the same relative
amounts of organic and inorganic constituents, we may note the following changes
during abstinence from food and drink : —

The amount of water in the blood was diminished, and the solid constituents
relatively, not absolutely, increased.

The number of blood-corpuscles in 1000 parts of blood had increased, whilst in
the whole amount of blood originally possessed by the animal they had diminished.

The relative amount of solid constituents in the serum of 1000 parts of blood,
had neither increased nor diminished ; whilst two-thirds of the amount originally
existing in the blood of the reptile had been consumed. Therefore, the constituents
of the serum wasted more rapidly than the blood-corpuscles.

The fats and extractive matters were diminished.

The amount of fibrin was relatively increased from 3.07 to 3.41. Its relative
increment did not correspond with the concentration of the blood. It was con-
sumed more rapidly thaji the blood-corpuscles, and not so rapidly as the solid con-
stituents of the serum.

The relative increase in the fixed saline constituents correspond, in part, with
the concentration of the blood.

In comparing the blood of one animal with that of another, we determine the
influences of starvation and thirst, relatively and not absolutely. If our facts and
conclusions were drawn from a few isolated instances, we would be liable to error.

EFFECTS OF THIRST, ETC., ON EMYS TERRAPIN.

43

Sources of error, however, have heen avoided, as far as possible, by first investi-
gating the blood of cold-blooded animals in a normal state, and then performing an
extensive series of experiments upon the effects of a deprivation of food and water.
It would have, undoubtedly, added to the accuracy of these experiments, if we
could have noted the changes, from time to time, going on in the blood of the same
animal. This would have been practicable with the alligators, if they could have
been obtained alive. These animals are found in our swamps, marshes, lagoons,
and rivers. Their place of habitation is often of difficult access, and very unhealthy
in the summer season to the white man, and the reptiles themselves are shy, and
can therefore but rarely be obtained in a living state. A shot, from a rifle, in the
head (the only vital part), destroys the life, and before they can be carried home,
the blood is unfit for analytical examination. In a morning's hunt I have mortally
wounded five or six without obtaining a single one, for they all sank in deep water.

With reference to the Terrapins, they are generally so small that the extraction
of the amount of blood requisite for only two analyses, would materially affect the
final result. We have, accordingly, been compelled to choose between two evils.

By multiplying these observations, as accurate results, we think, have been
obtained as if the same cold-blooded animal had been used during the investigation.

We hope that those who may have occasion to follow us in our researches, will
make due allowance for the difficulties with which we have had to contend.

Series II. — Effects of Starvation and Thirst upon the Blood of the Salt- Water

Terrapins {Emys terrapin).

23. Blood of an Emys terrapin, in a normal condition, having been captured only
twelve hours. July 3.

The serum was of a golden color, resembling that of the Emys serrata, Emys
reticulata, and Cathartes atratus.

Amount of blood obtained, about 1000 grains.

Solid constituents in 1000 parts of blood
" " " " serum

" " in serum of 1000 parts of blood

"Water in 1000 parts of blood
" " serum

1000 parts of blood contained —

Water .....
Blood-corpuscles (dried organic constituents)
Albumen, fatty and extractive matter
Fibrin .....
Fixed saline constituents

1000 parts of blood contained —

( "Water
Moist blood-corpuscles 441.28 i ,.,

(Solid constituents

Liquor sanguinis

552.t2

(Water .

1 Solid constituents

154.72

43.83

38.15

845.28

956.17

845.28
103.82

36.01
4.15

10.74

335.46

111.82

509.82

42.90

44

EFFECTS OF THIRST, ETC., ON EMYS TERRAPIN.

24. Bl#od of a Salt-water Terrapin (Emys terrapin), which had been kept with-
out food and drink for -forty days. July 23.

Weight, June 16
July 23

14.285 grains.
11.400 "

In thirty-eight days this terrapin had lost 2.885 grains, a little more than one-
fifth of its whole weight.

The amount of blood obtained was not more than one-third as much as that
procured from terrapins, a short time after their removal from the water.

The blood coagulated rapidly, especially the portions drawn last, which coagu-
lated almost as soon as they reached the bottom of the vessel.

The serum was of a bright, golden color. It was difficult to obtain any amount
of it perfectly free from the coloring matter of the blood-corpuscles. When treated
with sulphuric acid and a gentle heat, the characteristic odor of the animal was
developed.

The blood-corpuscles presented no unusual appearance under the microscope, and
gave the characteristic reactions with chemical reagents. This fact proves that a
free interchange between the exterior liquor sanguinis and the internal fluid con-
tents of the blood-corpuscles must have been carried on without any intermission.

This animal was probably enfeebled, by long fasting, to a less extent than other
animals of this class, because it had deposited eggs only a short time before its
capture.

Amount of blood obtained, about 400 grains.

Solid constituents in 1000 parts of blood .... 199.41

serum
" in serum of 1000 parts of blood

Water in 1000 parts of blood
" " serum

1000 parts of blood contained —

Water .....

Blood-corpuscles (dried organic constituents)
Albumen and extractive matter .
Fibrin .....
Fixed saline constituents

1000 parts of blood contained —

Moist blood-corpuscles 500.00 ] ' ' .

(Solid constituents

(Water .

Liquor sanguinis

500.00

(.Solid constituents

400 parts of blood contained —

Water .....
Blood-corpuscles (dried organic constituents)
Albumen, fatty and extractive matter
Fibrin .....
Fixed saline constituents
Solid constituents in 400 grains of blood

" in serum of 400 grains of blood

79.50

6915

800.59

920.50

800.59
118.5G

64.85
5. 26

10.74

375.00

125.00

425.59

74.41

320.23
47.43
25.94
2.11
4.29
79.76
27.66

EFFECTS OF THIRST, ETC., ON EMYS TERRAPIN.

45

400 grains of blood contained —

("Water
Moist blood-corpuscles 200.00-' ,.,

(Solid constituents

Liquor sanguinis

200.00

(Water .

(Solid constituents

150.00

50.00

110.23

29.17

If this terrapin had originally an equal amount of blood of the same chemical
constitution with that of the terrapin in the normal state, used in the preceding
analysis, then it had lost, during forty days, 600 grains of blood, which had the
following composition : —

600 grains of blood, consumed during starvation, contained —

Water ......... 525.05

Blood-corpuscles (dried organic constituents) . . . .56.39

Albumen, fatty and extractive matter ..... 10.07

Fibrin 2.04

Fixed saline constituents ...... 6.45

Solid constituents in 600 grains of blood .... 14.95

" " in seruui of 600 grains of blood . . . 11.09

600 grains of blood contained —

Moist blood-corpuscles 241.28 •<_.,.,"

(.Solid constituents

Liquor sanguinis

352.12

(Water .

(Solid constituents

185.46
61.82

339.59
13.13

25. Blood of a female Salt-water Terrapin {Emys terrapin), which had been kept
without food and drink for fifty-seven days.

Weight of terrapin, June 21

August 16 .
Loss of weight during fifty-six days

12.280 grains.
9.255 "
3.025 "

In fifty-six days this Chelonian had lost one-fourth of its original weight.. The
loss each hour during its starvation, was ^-^ of the original weight of its body.

This terrapin had just deposited its eggs when captured, and this will account
for its living so great a length of time without food or drink.

The female terrapins that were captured before their eggs were deposited,
refused to lay, in confinement, became feeble, and died in the course of two or
three weeks. This was, without doubt, the result of the anxiety and irritation,
occasioned and kept up by the eggs within them.

The blood-corpuscles, under the microscope, presented no unusual appearance,
showing that a free interchange between the liquor sanguinis and their contents
had been carried on continuously.

Amount of blood obtained

Probable amount of blood consumed

Solid constituents iu 1000 parts of blood
" " " serum

" in serum of 1000 parts of blood

Water in 1000 parts of blood
" " serum

200 grains.
800 "
255.22

111.96

92.82

144.18

888.04

46

EFFECTS OF THIRST, ETC., ON EMYS TERRAPIN.

1000 parts of blood contained —

Water .....
Blood corpuscles (dried organic constituents)
Albumen, fatty and extractive matter
Fibrin .....
Fixed saline constituents

1000 parts of blood contained —

( Water
Moist blood-corpuscles 642.20 ■< „, ,.,

(.Solid constituents

Liquor sanguinis

35?. 80

f Water

744.78

156.96

90.87

1.85

5.52

481.65
160.55
263.13

94.61

(Solid constituents

The number of blood-corpuscles appears to be very great, but it is so only in
appearance and not in reality ; for, the amount of blood in the Chelonian is very
small, and the blood-corpuscles correspondingly few in number. The whole amount
of blood, obtained with great care, did not exceed 200 grains.

200 grains contained —

Water .....
Blood-corpuscles (dried organic constituents)
Albumen and extractive matter .
Fibrin .....
Fixed saline constituents
Solid constituents in 200 grains of blood
" " in serum of 200 grains of blood

200 grains of blood contained —

(Water

Moist blood-corpuscles 128.44 < _,

(.Solid constituents

71.56

(Water

148.96
31.39
18.17
.3?
1.11
51.04
18.56

96.33
32.11
52.63
18.93

Liquor sanguinis

C Solid constituents

If the starved terrapin, and the one in a normal condition possessed originally

equal quantities of blood, having the same chemical constitution, then the starved

terrapin must have consumed, during fifty-seven days, 800 grains of blood, having

the following constitution : —

Solid constituents in 800 graius of blood
" " in serum of 800 grains of blood

800 grains of blood contained —

Water .....

Blood-corpuscles (dried organic constituents)
Albumen, fatty and extractive matter
Fibrin .....
Fixed saline constituents

800 grains of blood contained —

(Water

Moist blood-corpuscles 318.84-:

(.Solid constituents

Liquor sanguinis

481.16

(Water

103.68 grains.
20.19 "

696.32
72.43

17.84
3.78
9.63

239.13
79.71

457.19
23.97

(Solid constituents

In noting the changes of the constituents of the blood of the Emys terrapin during
starvation, we might be led into error if the relative quantities of the different con-

EFFECTS OF THIRST, ETC., ON E1IYS TERRAPIN.

47

stituents in 1000 parts of blood, alone, were considered; for the blood-corpuscles
and all the organic and inorganic constituents in this case would appear to have
increased rather than diminished during starvation. A correct view of the effects
of starvation can only be obtained by ascertaining tbe absolute amounts of blood
and its constituents existing in these reptiles during different lengths of starvation.

By comparing these results with the quantity and constitution of blood in
animals in a normal condition, not deprived of food or drink, we can calculate,
approximately, the amount of blood and its various constituents that have been
consumed during starvation, to supply the wastes of the tissues and keep up the
animal temperature.

Tbe following tables give a condensed view of the effects of starvation. They
must not be considered absolutely correct, but only as an approximation to the
truth.

It would be impossible to determine these changes with absolute accuracy,
because differences in the amount and constitution of the blood always exist in
different individuals.

I. — Tables showing the Changes in the Relative Amounts of the Organic and Inorganic Constituents
of the Blood of Salt-water Terrapins (Eniys terrapin), during different periods of Starvation and
Thirst. The numbers represi nt the amount existing in 1000 parts of blood. The changes, there-
fore, are relative, and not absolute.

WATER AND SOLID MATTERS OF BLOOD AND SERUM.

Period of

starvation and

thirst.

1st female terrapin
2d "
3d "

Water in 1000
partsof blood.

,„ , . ,nnn'c 11 i-i Solid constitu-
Water in 1000 Solid constitu-, euts fa ]Q00

parts of se- entsinlOOO &e_

rum. partsof blood. r

rum.

Solid constitu-
ents in serum
of 1000 parts
of blood.

12 hours
40 days
57 "

845.28
800.59

144.18

956.11
920.50

888.04

154.12
199.41
255.22

43.83

19.50

111.96

38.15
69.15
92.82

CONSTITUENTS OF 1000 PARTS OF BLOOD.

Period of
starvation and

thirst.

Water.

Blood-cor-
puscles (dried
organic con-
stituents).

Albumen,
fatty and ex-
tractive mat-
ters.

Fibrin.

Fixed saline
constituents.

1st female terrapin

2d "

3d " "

12 hours
40 days
57 "

845.28
800.59
744.48

103.82
118.56
156.98

36.01

64.85
90.81

4.15
5.26
1.85

10.14

10.14

5.52

MOIST BLOOD-CORPUSCLES AND LIQUOR SANGUINIS.

Period of
starvation
and thirst.

1

MOIST BLOOD-CORrUSCLES. LIQUOR SANGUINIS.

Moist blood-
corpuscles in
1000 parts
of blood.

Water of
moist blood-
corpuscles.

Solid con-
stituents of
moist blood-
corpuscles.

Liquor
sanguinis in
1000 partsof

blood.

Water of
liquor san-
guinis.

Solid con-
stituents of
liquor san-
guinis.

1st female terrapin
2d "
3d "

12 hours
40 days
51 "

441.28
500.00
642.20

335.46
315.00

4S1.65

111.82
125.00
160.55

552.12
500.00
351.8/)

509.82
425.59
263.13

42.90
14.41
94.61

48

EFFECTS OF THIRST, ETC., ON EMYS TERRAPIN.

II. — Tables showing the Actual Amounts of Blood and its Constituents in Salt-water Terrapins,
during different periods of Starvation and Thirst.

WATER AND SOLID CONSTITUENTS OF BLOOD AND SERUM.

Period of starva-
tion aud thirst.

Amount of blood
obtained.

„. , - , , , Solid constitu-
Water of blood. ents of Mood.

Solid constitu-
ents of serum.

1st female terrapin
2d "
3d "

12 hours
40 days

51 "

1000 grains

400

200

S45.:N
320.23
148.96

154.12

19.16
51.04

38.15
21.66
18.56

CONSTITUENTS OF BLOOD.

Period of
starvation and

thirst.

Water.

Blood-cor- ... ,
. , , . , Albumen and
puscles (dried ,.

. v extractive
organic con-

. . matter,
stituents).

Fibrin.

Fixed saline
constituents.

1st female terrapin
2d "
3d "

12 hours
40 days
51 "

845.28
320.23
148.96

103.82
41.43
31.40

36.01
25.95
18.11

4.15

2.11

.37

10.74
4.29
1.10

MOIST BLOOD-CORPUSCLES ANT) LIQUOR SANGUINIS.

Period of
starvation
and thirst.

MOIST BLOOD-CORPUSCLES.

T.1OU0II SANGUINIS.

Moist blood-
corpuscles.

Water of
moist blood-
corpuscles.

Solid con-
stituents of
moist blood-
corpuscles.

Liquor san-
guinis.

Water of
liquor san-
guinis.

Solid con-
stituents of
liquor san-
guinis.

1st female terrapin
2d " "
3d

12 hours
40 days
57 "

447.28
200.00
128.44

335.46

150.00

96.33

111.82
50.00
32.11

552.72

200.00

71.56

509.82 J 42.90

170.23 29.11

52.63 i 18.93

III. — Talk of the Actual Loss of Weight and Blood, ly the Brays Terrapin, during different
periods of Starvation and Thirst, in Troy grains.

Period of
starvation
and thirst.

Weight

before

starvation.

Weight

after

starvation.

Loss of
weight dur-
ing starva-
tion.

Loss of

weight

compared

to weight

of body.

Loss of
weight

each hour.

Loss of
weight per
hour, com-
pared to
weight of
body.

Loss of
blood dur-
ing starva-
tion.

2d female terrapin
3d

38 days

56 ':

Grains.
14,285
12,280

Grains, j Grains.

11,400 2,885
9,255 3,025

4 th
1*

Grains.
3.311
2.25

i th

Grains.
600.
800.

EFFECTS OF TITIPvST, ETC., ON EMYS SEIIRATA.

49

IV. — TuhJes showing the Actual Losses of Blood and its Constituents hy Emys terrapin, during

diffi n at periods of Starvation and Thirst.

WATER AND SOLID CONSTITUENTS OF BLOOD AND SERUM.

Period of starva-
tion and thirst.

Amount of blood
lost.

Water of blood.

Solid constitu-
ents of blood.

Solid constitu-
ents of serum.

2d female terrapin
3d "

40 days
57 "

Grains.
600
800

Grains.
525.05
696.32

Grains.

74.95

103.68

Grains.
11.09
20.19

CONSTITUENTS OP BLOOD.

Period of

starvation and

thirst.

Amount of Blood-
water lost. I corpuscles.

Albumen and
extractive
matters.

Fibrin.

Fixed saline
constituents.

2d female terrapin
3d "

40 days
57 "

Grains.

525.05
696.32

Grains.

56.39

72.42

Grains.

10.07
17.84

Grains.
2.04
3.78

Grains.

6.45
9.63

MOIST BLOOD-CORPUSCLES AND LIQUOR SANGUINIS.

Period of
starvation
and thirst.

MOIST BLOOD-COKPUSCLES.

LIQUOH SANGUINIS.

Moist blood-
corpuscles.

Water of
moist blood-
corpuscles.

Solid con-
stituents of
moist blood-
corpuscles.

Liquor san-
guinis.

Water of
liquor san-
guinis.

Solid con-
stituents of
liquor san-
guinis.

2d female terrapin
3d " "

40 days
57 "

Grains.
247.28
318.84

Grains.
185.46
239.13

Grains.

61.82

79.71

Grains.

352.72
481.16

Grains.

339.59
457.19

Grains.
13.13
23.97

These tables show that, during starvation, the water wasted more rapidly than
any of the other constituents of the blood, which became more and more con-
centrated as starvation advanced, and hence the apparent increase in its solid
constituents in 1000 parts. The blood-corpuscles wasted as well as the albumen,
fibrin, and fixed saline constituents. This fact proves that the blood-corpuscles
have important offices to fulfil, in supplying the tissues and organs with nutriment,
and replacing the organic and inorganic constituents thrown off and consumed.

Series III. — Effects of Starvation and Thirst upon the Fluids and Solids of
Yellow-bellied Terrapins {Emys serrata).

26. Blood of a Female Emys serrata, which had been kept without food or drink
for three and a half days. May 2Gth.

Weight of terrapin, May 25th ....

" twelve hours afterwards

Loss of weight in twelve hours ....

33.417 grains.
33.258 "
159 "

In twelve hours it had lost ^^th of its whole weight, or y^rth per hour.

7

50

EFFECTS OF THIJIST, ETC., ON EMYS SEREATA.

The portions of blood drawn first coagulated much more slowly than those
drawn last. The first portion drawn, coagulated so slowly that the corpuscles sank
to the bottom of the vessel, and a transparent clot was left above. This takes
place in a less degree in the blood of females during pregnancy, in that of puerperal
fever, acute rheumatism, and inflammations generally.

The serum was of a bright golden color; and, when kept for several hours,
partially coagulated.

Specific gravity of the blood
" serum
Solid constituents in 1000 parts of blood
" " serum

in serum of 1000 parts of blood
Water in 1000 parts of blood
" serum

1000 parts of blood contained —

"Water ....

Blood-corpuscles

Albumen, fatty and extractive matter

Fibrin ....

Fixed saline constituents

1000 parts of blood contained —

Moist blood-corpuscles 336.16 jWater ■

(Solid constituents

Liquor sanguinis

663.24 jWater •

(Solid constituents

Amount of blood obtained from this terrapin, 2000 grains.

Solid constituents in 2000 grains of blood
" " " serum

" in serum of 2000 grains of blood

"Water in 2000 grains of blood .
" " serum .

2000 grains of blood contained —

Water .....
Blood-corpuscles (dried organic constituents)
Albumen, fatty and extractive matter
Fibrin .....
Fixed saline constituents

2000 grains contained —

Moist blood-corpuscles 673.52

Liquor sanguinis 1326.48 -

(Water .

(Solid constituents

Water .

Solid constituents

1026.5

1013.1

124.59

43.03

39.36

815.41

956.97

815.41

80.61

31.66

1.04

5.22

252.51
84.19

622.84
40.40

249.18

86.06

18.12

1150.82

1913.94

1150.82

161.34

15.32

2.08

10.44

505.14

168.38

1245.68

80.80

EFFECTS OF THIRST, ETC., OX EJUS SERRATA.

51

27. Blood of a female Yellow-belly Terrapin (Emys serraia), which had been
kept without food or drink for seventeen days. June S.

Weight, May 25 ...... 20.S73 grains.

June 8 ...... 18.156 "

Loss of weight in fourteen clays . . . . 2.117 "

In fourteen days this Chelonian lost a little more than one-tenth of its whole
weight.

Specific gravity of its blood
Solid constituents in 1000 parts of blood
" " " serum

in serum of 1000 parts of blood
Water in 1000 parts of blood
" serum

1000 parts of blood contained —

Water .....
Blood-corpuscles (dried organic constituents)
Albumen, fatty and extractive matters
Fibrin .....
Fixed saline constituents

1000 parts of blood contained —

Moist blood-corpuscles 478.00

Liquor sanguinis

(Water .

(Solid constituents

522.00 -fWater •

(Solid constituents

Amount of blood obtained, 800 grains.

Solid constituents in 800 grains of blood

" " serum of 800 grains of blood

Water in 800 grains of blood

800 grains of blood contained —

Water .....
Blood-corpuscles (dried organic constituents)
Albumen, fatty and extractive matter
Fibrin .....
Fixed saline constituents

800 grains contained —

Moist blood-corpuscles 383.80

(Water .

(Solid constituents

Liquor sanguinis

416.20 jWater •

(Solid constituents

1040.5

178.11

64.51

56.68

821.87

935.49

821.89

115.75

54.68

1.68

6.00

358.25

119.75

463.64

58.36

142.55

45.26

657.51

657.51

92.60

43.75

1.34

4.80

287.85
95.95

369.60
46.60

By comparing the size and amount of blood of this terrapin with that of the

terrapin in a normal condition, we obtain, as its probable loss of blood during

seventeen days of starvation and thirst, 700 grains.

Solid constituents in 700 grains of blood consumed . . . 44.40

Solid constituents in serum of 700 grains " ... 13.78

Water in 700 grains of blood ...... 055.00

52

EFFECTS OF THIRST, ETC., ON EMYS SEER AT A.

700 grains of blood contained —

Water ....
Blood-corpuscles (dried residue)
Albumen, fatty and extractive matter
Fibrin ....

Fixed saline constituents

700 grains of blood eontained-
Moist blood-corpuscles 121. GO

Liquor sanguinis 578.40 { Wate

1 I Solid

(Water .

( Solid constituents
Water .

constituents

C55.G0

28.41

12.74

0.22

3.03

91.20

30.40

564.40

14.00

28. Blood of a Female Yellow-belly Terrapin (Emys serrata), which had been
kept without food and drink for twenty-four days. May 23.

This terrapin was captured in the act of excavating a hole in which to deposit
its eggs. As usual, they were not deposited during its captivity, but remained in
the ovaries and oviducts for twenty-four days.

Solid constituents in 1000 parts of blood
" " " serum

" in serum of 1000 parts of blood

Water in 1000 parts of blood
" " serum

1000 parts of blood contained —

Water .....

Blood-corpuscles (dried organic constituents)
Albumen, fatty and extractive matter
Fibrin" .....
Fixed saline constituents

Amount of blood obtained, 500 grains.

Solid constituents in 500 grains of blood

" in serum of 500 grains of blood

500 grains of blood contained —

Water .....
Blood-corpuscles (dried organic constituents)
Albumen, fatty and extractive matter
Fibrin .....
Fixed saline constituents

1000 parts of blood contained —

( Water

Moist blood-corpuscles 508.44-1

(Solid constituents

Liquor sanguinis

491.56 {^f • . '

(.Solid constituents

500 grains of blood contained

Moist blood-corpuscles 254.22 J Water
1 (Solid <

Liquor sanguinis

constituents

245.78 -|Watcr "

(Solid constituents

206.28

88.67

77.49

793.72

911.33

793.72

122.26

74.49

1.08
7.85

103.14
38.74

396.88

61.12

37.24

0.84

3.92

381.33
127.11
412.39

79.17

190.67
63.55

206.20
39.58

EFFECTS OF THIRST, ETC., ON EMYS SERRATA.

53

Probable amount of blood consumed during twenty-four days of starvation and
thirst, 1500 grains.

Solid constituents in 1500 grains of blood

" " serum of 1500 grains of blood

1500 grains of blood contained —

146.04
39.98

Water .....
Blood-corpuscles (dried organic constituents)
Albumeu, fatty and extractive matter
Fibrin .....
Fixed saline constituents

1500 grains of blood contained —

(Water .

(Solid constituents

(Water .

(Solid constituents

Moist blood-corpuscles 419.28
Liquor sanguinis 1080.72

1353.96

100.21

38.08

1.24

6.52

314.46

104.82

1039.50

41.22

29. Blood of Female Yellow-bellied Terrapin (Emys serrata), wbich bad been
kept without food or drink for twenty-six days.

Weight, May 26 34.155 grains.

June 14 ..... . 28.615 "

Loss of weight during twenty days .... 5.480 "

In twenty-six days this terrapin had lost from one-fourth to one-fifth of its whole
weight. Loss of wTeight each hour, llTVo grains, = o qVt^ the original weight of
its body.

This Chelonian was in a feeble state, and in all probability would not have lived
many days.

When its tissues and organs were examined it was found that the yellow fat,
which is so abundant in these animals, had disappeared, having been consumed for
the maintenance of the animal function, and in the supply of the wastes of the
tissues and organs. The destruction of the fat was observed to be one of the con-
stant effects of starvation.

The amount of blood obtained was not more than one-half as much as that
obtained from a much smaller terrapin, which was killed only a few days after its
removal from the water.

Specific gravity of its blood ...... 1043.

Solid constituents in 1000 parts of blood .... 198.66

" " " serum .... 95.48

" " serum of 1000 parts of blood . . . 84.59

Water in 1000 parts of blood ...... 801.34

" " serum ...... 904.52

1000 parts of blood contained —

Water .....
Blood-corpuscles (dried organic constituents)
Albumeu, fatty and extractive matter
Fibrin .....
Fixed saline constituents

801.34
102.9T

80.09
4.15

11.45

54

EFFECTS OF THIRST, ETC., ON EMYS SERRATA.

]000 parts of blood contained —

Moist blood-corpuscles 439.68 | yatfr - . "

(Solid constituents

Liquor sanguinis

560.32

(Water .

(.Solid constituents

Amount of blood obtained, 450 grains.

Solid constituents in 450 grains of blood

" " serum of 450 grains of blood

450 grains of blood contained —

Water .....
Blood-corpuscles (dried oi'ganic constituents)
Albumen, fatty and extractive matter
Fibrin .....
Fixed saline constituents

450 grains of blood contained —

Moist blood-corpuscles 197-92

Liquor sanguinis

(Water .

(.Solid constituents

252.08 jWater •

( Solid constituents

329.76
109.92

471.58
88.74

89.40
38.06

360.60

46.34

36.05

1.86

5.15

148.44

49.48

212.16

39.92

Calculated amount of blood consumed during twenty-six days of starvation and
thirst, 1550 grains.

Solid matter in 1550 grains of blood ..... 159.78
" serum of 1550 grains of blood .... 40.66

1550 grains of blood contained —

Water .....
Blood-corpuscles (dried organic constituents)-
Albumen, fatty and extractive matter
Fibrin .....
Fixed saline constituents

1550 grains of blood contained —

Moist blood-corpuscles 475.60

(Water .

(Solid constituents

Liquor sanguinis

1074.40 jWater •

(Solid constituents

1390.22

115.00

39.27

0.22

5.29

356.70

118.90

1033.52

40.88

30. Blood of a Female Emys serrata, which had been kept without food and
drink for thirty-one days.

Weight, May 25 ....... 41.086 grains.

June 13 ...... 34.960

Loss of weight in twenty clays ..... 6.126 "

Loss of weight, each hour, 12^ grains = j-yVr^ of tne weight of its whole
body. In thirty one days this terrapin lost from one-fourth to one-fifth of its whole
weight.

On the day of the analysis the terrapin was found to be completely exhausted
by starvation and thirst, and had scarcely strength to move its muscles.

Owing to the feeble state of its circulatory apparatus, and the rapidity of the

EFFECTS OF THIRST, ETC., ON EMYS SERRATA.

55

coagulation of its blood, only a small quantity was collected, insufficient for a com-
plete analysis.

Solid constituents in 1000 parts of blood .... 222.22

Water in 1000 parts of blood ...... 117.78

1000 parts of blood contained —

Water ......... 711.18

Dried organic constituents ...... 209.66

Fixed saline constituents ...... 12.56

31. ' Blood of a Female Emys serrata, wbicb was kept without food and drink for
thirty-eight days.

Weight, May 25 ...... 38.540 grains.

June 28 ..... . 30.142 *'

Loss of weight in thirty-four days .... 8.398 "

Loss of weight each hour 10T2/g grains = 3 y^th of the weight of the whole
body. The loss of weight during thirty-eight days of starvation and thirst ecpaalled
one-fourth of the original weight of its body.

With the greatest care not more than two hundred grains of blood could be
obtained, and the terrapin was weak from long fasting.

The fat of the body had in a great measure disappeared.

The clot formed in the blood was large, and the proportion of serum small. Not
more than ten grains of serum could be obtained from 76/'^- grains of blood,
although it had stood for twelve hours. The clot showed little or no disposition to
contract. The serum was colored red by the hsematin of the blood.

The ovaries and oviducts contained twelve hard, and a multitude of soft yellow

Solid constituents in 1000 parts of blood
" " " serum

" " serum of 1000 parts of blood

Water in 1000 parts of blood
" " serum

1000 parts of blood contained —

Water .....
Blood-corpuscles (dried organic constituents)
Albumen, fatty and extractive matter
Fibrin .....
Fixed saline constituents

1000 parts of blood contained —

(Water .

(Solid constituents

(Water .

(.Solid constituents

Moist blood-corpuscles 312.96
Liquor sanguinis 681.04

Amount of blood obtained, 200 grains.

Solid constituents in 200 grains of blood

" " serum of 200 grains of blood

226.62
155.00
141.86
113.38
845.00

773.38
72.91

134.49

6.52

12.70

234.72

78.24

538.66

148.38

45.32

28.37

56

EFFECTS OF TIIIRST, ETC., ON EMYS SERKATA.

200 grains of blood contained —

Water .

Blood-corpuscles (dried organic residue)
Albumen, fatty aud extractive matter
Fibrin ....
Fixed saline constituents

200 grains of blood contained —

Moist blood-corpuscles 62.60 \ _ ,. , ' ,.,

( Solid constituents

Liquor sanguinis 131.40 •] ' ' '

1 ° (Solid constituents

154.68

14.58

2G.90

1.30

2.54

46.95

15.65

101.13

29.61

Calculated amount of blood lost during thirty-eight days of starvation and thirst,
1800 grains.

Solid constituents in 1800 grains of blood .... 203.86

" " serum of 1800 grains of blood . . . 62.69

1800 grains of blood contained —

Water .....
Blood-corpuscles (dried organic constituents)
Albumen, fatty and extractive matter
Fibrin .....
Fixed saline constituents

1800 grains of blood contained —

* (Water

Moist blood-corpuscles 561.56a„,.,

(Solid constituents

Liquor sanguinis

1238.44 |Water •

( Solid constituents

1596.14

140.16

48.42

0.18

1.90

421.11

140.39

1114.91

03.41

32. Blood of a Male Emys serrata, which had been kept without food and drink

for forty-nine days.

Weight, May 25 . . . . . . . 11.191 grains.

June 9 ...... 14.400 "

Loss of weight in forty-five days .... 3.391 "

In forty-nine days this Chelonian'lost one-fifth of its original weight. Loss of
weight daily, 75j\\ grains. Loss of weight hourly, 3-^ grains = s^oT^h of
original weight of its body.

All the terrapins [Emys serrata) heretofore examined were females, whose
ovaries and oviducts contained from eight to twelve hard, and innumerable soft

The development and nourishment of these eggs consumed the blood, and, conse-
quently, they sank more rapidly under starvation and thirst than this male, which
had nothing to support but his own body.

The desire to deposit their eggs induced restlessness. They were continually
endeavoring to escape from their confinement. This is in conformity with a law
of the animal economy that the exertion of force is always attended by a simulta-
neous chemical and physical change of the organic elements of structure and
nutrition. The amount of these changes corresponds with the force exerted.

EFFECTS OF THIRST, ETC., ON EMYS S ERR AT A.

57

The altered materials, which are no longer fit for nutrition or the formation of
structure, are eliminated by the lungs and kidneys. The loss of weight by an
animal during starvation and thirst should, therefore, correspond entirely with
the physical and chemical changes of its organic elements, whatever may be the
product of these changes, heat, nervous force, or muscular power.

This principle was strikingly verified by the results of these experiments.

The restless females lost from ^ TV «th to 3 ^igth of their weight hourly, whilst
the quiet, composed, indolent male lost j^jth of its weight hourly.

The waste of the blood and tissues was twice as rapid in the females, which
corresponds to their greater exertions of muscular and nervous power.

Many of the females grew weak and died in two or three weeks, whilst this male
remained active and fierce, apparently without any great diminution of strength
and vitality during forty-nine days of starvation and thirst. That this endurance
was not due to the peculiar constitution of this male, is proved by a reference to
the experiments with the salt-water terrapins (Emys terrapin). Those that had
deposited their eggs before their capture lived for fifty or sixty days, and their loss
of weight corresponded with that of the male Emys serrata.

The amount of blood obtained without any difficulty, was 500 grains.

By comparing this with the amount obtained from females, under different periods
of starvation and thirst, we see that the blood was consumed to a much less extent
in the male.

Specific gravity of its blood
Solid constituents in 1000 parts of blood
" " " serum

" in scrum of 1000 parts of blood

Water in 1000 parts of blood
" " serum

1000 parts of blood contained —

Water .....
Blood-corpuscles (dried organic constituents)
Albumen, fatty and extractive matter
Fibrin .....
Fixed saline constituents

1000 parts of blood contained —

Moist blood-corpuscles 387.36 -.

(Solid constituents

Liquor sanguinis

612.64 -[^f " • '
(Solid constituents

1048.7
199.06
108.90

97.88
800.94
891.10

800.94

92.29

93.38

4.34

9.05

290.52

96.84

510.42

102.22

Solid constituents in 500 grains of blood

" serum of 500 grains of blood

500 grains of blood contained —

Water .....
Blood-corpuscles (dried organic constituents)
Albumen, fatty and extractive matter
Fibrin .....
Fixed saline constituents
8

99 53
4S.94

400.47

46.15

46.69

2.17

4.52

58

EFFECTS OF THIRST, ETC., ON EMYS SERRATA.

500 grains of blood contained —

Moist blood-corpuscles 193. G8 -]

( Solid constituents

Liquor sanguinis

30G.32 {Water .

(Solid constituents

145.26
48.42

255.21
51.11

Calculated amount of blood consumed during 49 days of thirst and starvation.

1000 grains.

Solid constituents in 1000 grains of consumed blood

" serum of 1000 grains of consumed blood

1000 grains of consumed blood contained —

Water ......

Blood-corpuscles (dried organic constituents)

Albumen, fatty and extractive matter

Fibrin ......

Fixed saline constituents . .

1000 grains of consumed blood contained —

C "Water

Moist blood-corpuscles 309.04 ■< ' .

(Solid constituents

(Water .

Liquor sanguinis

690.9G

(.Solid constituents

87.36
10.10

912.64

74.85

9.80

.61

3.31

231.78
77.26

680.86
10.10

The examination of the blood of this male Emys serrata completes the series of
experiments upon the influence of starvation and thirst upon the constitution and
amounts of blood in these Chelonians.

A comparison of these analyses with each other, shows that, in every instance,
the water of the blood wasted more rapidly than the other constituents. The
rapidity of this consumption of the water, and the consequent concentration of the
blood, depended, therefore, upon the length of starvation, and the sex of the reptile.

In females whose ovaries and oviducts were filled with eggs, the anxiety to
deposit these, conjoined with their development and nutrition, produced a more
rapid consumption of the fat of the body and all the constituents of the blood than
in the male. The effects of this anxiety and demand, for the nutrition and devel-
opment of the eggs, was manifested also in a more rapid destruction of the nervous
and vital forces.

The females became weak and exhausted, and several died in two or three
weeks, whilst the males retained their usual activity and strength up to their
destruction or removal to a tub of water, a period of time varying from three weeks
to fifty days.

Tables showing the actual and relative amount of blood, also the actual losses of
blood by Yellow-bellied Terrapins (Emys serrata), will be given in conjunction with
others of a similar character, after the completion of our investigations upon the
changes of the blood of different animals when deprived of all food and drink.

EFFECTS OF THIRST, ETC., ON TESTUDO POLYPHEMUS. 59

Series IV. — Effects of Thirst and Starvation upon tde Fluids and Solids of

Gopiiers [Testvdo pdlyphemus).

33. Blood of a male Gopher which had been captured for five days, and abund-
antly supplied with vegetable food.

Weight of this gopher, 45,500 grains.

When the arteries of the neck were cut, the blood flowed out in a jet, with con-
siderable force, as from the severed artery of a warm-blooded animal.

The serum was of a light yellow color. It was not of such a golden color as
that of the Emys serrata, or Emys reticulata, or Cathartes atmtus. Heat and sul-
phuric acid developed in the serum the characteristic odor of the animal, which
was similar to that of its urine, and the odor of grass contained in its colon
resembled closely that of a sheep.

Amount of blood readily obtained
Specific gravity of its blood
" " serum

Solid constituents in 1000 parts of blood
" " " serum

" in serum of 1000 parts of blood

Water in 1000 parts of blood
" " serum

1000 parts of blood contained —

Water .....
Blood-corpuscles (dried organic constituents)
Albumen, fatty and extractive matter
Fibrin .....
Fixed saline constituents

1000 parts of blood contained —

(Water .

Moist blood-corpuscles 393. 5G

Liquor sanguinis

606.44

(Solid constituents

(Water .

1 Solid constituents

2500 grains.
1030
1018
156.62
66.41
60.00
843.33
933.59

843.38

87.28

57. T8

5.73

5.83

302.67
90.89

540.71
65.73

18.368

grains

17.919

u

16.922

u

449

it

997

it

34. Blood of a male Gopher which was kept without food or drink for thirty

days. July 11.

Weight, June 16
" 28

" July 11 ....

Loss of weight from June 16-28 (12 days)

" " " 28-July 11 (13 days)

In twenty-five days the loss of weight ecpaalled 1446 grains. In twenty-five
days this Gopher had lost TV th of its original weight. Loss of weight each hour,
grs. 2TyT = YeVi111 of tbe original weight of its body. Loss of weight each day—
57.8 grains.

The increased loss of weight after June 28, was due to the passage of excrement
at various times, and to the elevation of the temperature of the atmosphere. As

GO EFFECTS OF THIRST, ETC., ON TESTUDO POLYPHEMUS.

the temperature is elevated, the wastes of the tissues and chemical and physical
changes in the organic molecules of cold-blooded animals are correspondingly
increased. In a normal state, the converse of this proposition is true for warm-
blooded animals. When, however, the forces are impaired, the warm-blooded
animal is governed, in a great measure, by this law.

The serum resembled, in color and smell and relative amount, that of the former
Gopher in a normal condition.

The amount of blood readily obtained, was more than 1000 grains. Although
this Gopher had been deprived of food and drink for thirty days, still the blood did
not appear to have been diminished in quantity. The reason of this will be seen
in a few moments.

Specific gravity of its blood
" " serum

Solid constituents in 1000 parts of blood
" " " serum

" in serum of 1000 parts of blood

Water in 1000 parts of blood .
" " scrum

1000 parts of blood contained —

Water ......

Blood-corpuscles (dried organic constituents)

Albumen, fatty and extractive matter

Fibrin ......

Fixed saline constituents

1000 parts of blood contained —

Moist blood-corpuscles 355. 76

Liquor sanguinis

(Water .

(Solid constituents

644.24 -PVater •

(Solid constituents

1037
1017
147.23
61.16

55.55

852.77
941.45

852.77

84.7G

53.17

2.90

G.31

267.07
88.69

585.70
58.54

By comparing this analysis with the preceding one, we see that the blood of the
Gopher, unlike that of the carnivorous Chelonians, has remained unaltered, both in
quantity and the relative proportions of its several ingredients, during a period of
thirty days of starvation and thirst.

Upon an examination of its intestinal canal, and the exterior covering of its
body, this remarkable power to resist the effects of starvation and thirst will be
explained.

The colon of the Gopher enlarges into a receptacle, for food, thirty inches in
length and three and a half to four inches in circumference (see Fig. 8). The
contents of this consist of grass and leaves, resembling, both in odor and appear-
ance, the contents of the stomach of herbivorous animals. After thirty days of
starvation, the undigested vegetable contents of the intestinal canal amounted to
14G0 grains.

The skin of the Gopher is almost completely covered with horny excrescences,
which prevent all exbalation of water from the surface of the legs, head, and neck,
and all those portions of the body not covered by the shell. Hence the loss of

EFFECTS OF THIRST, ETC., ON TE S TUD 0^ P 0 L YP H E MTJ S. 61

water is very small in comparison with that of other terrapins. A large proportion
of the weight of these animals, which is lost during starvation, is pure water.

These are wonderful and manifest provisions of the Great Architect, adapting
this reptile for habitation in a barren, sandy country, where it is often impos-
sible to obtain water, and where vegetation is scarce. The colon contains a store
of vegetable food, which replaces the wastes of the blood and tissues during long
seasons of drought. The vegetable matters of the colon also supply the place
of the masses of fat found in the abdominal cavities of many Chelonians, Ophi-
dians, and Saurians. We have never noticed this in the Gopher (Testudo poly-
phemus) .

35. Blood of a male Gopher (Testudo pohjpliemus), which had been deprived of
food and drink for fifty-one days. September 15.

Weight, August 9 ...... 21.485 grains.

September 15 . . . . . . 18.127 "

Loss of weight iu thirty-seven clays .... 3.358 "

Loss of weight daily, OOy7/'^ grains. Loss of weight hourly, ycVi^h of its
original weight. During 51 days of thirst and starvation, this Gopher lost from
one-fourth to one-fifth of its original weight.

During this time it discharged several excrements, but no urine. The Terrapins
were usually kept in boxes, and examined daily, so that any discharge from the
rectum or bladder could not pass unnoticed. During our experiments, not one of
the Chelonians voided their urine, so that all these weights represent only the
amounts of organic matters and water thrown off by the lungs and the surface of
the body.

At the end of fifty one days of starvation, this Gopher, with several others con-
fined for a similar length of time, still possessed fife and activity, and were capable
of considerable muscular effort.

The quantity of blood had not diminished to any great extent.

Solid constituents iu 1000 parts of blood
" " " serum

" in serum of 1000 parts of blood

Water in 1000 parts of blood
" " serum

1000 parts of blood contained —

Water ......

Blood-corpuscles and fibrin
Solid constituents of serum

1000 parts of blood contained-

Water .

Moist blood-corpuscles 314.20 <

(.Solid constituents

Liquor sanguinis 685.80 ■<_,.,'

(.Solid constituents

170.23

99.50

91.68

929.77

900.50

829.77
78.55
91.68

235.65
78.55

594.12
91. 6S

The colon was occupied by a considerable amount of vegetable matters satu-

62

EFFECTS OF THIRST, ETC., ON A CUR-DOG.

rated with juices, and incompletely digested. Hence it appears that the Gopher
has the power of retaining, in its intestines, vegetable food for months, without
either digesting it or allowing it to ferment or putrefy. When this vegetable
food is removed from the intestinal canal, it putrefies in the course of one or
two days.

By comparing this analysis with that of the blood of the Gopher in a normal
condition, and the blood of the Alligator, Emys terrapin, and Emys serrata during
starvation, we see that the blood of the Gopher is slowly affected by starvation and
thirst. This endurance of abstinence from food and drink is a consequence of the
following conditions : —

1. The large supply of vegetable food in the great intestine, which continually
replaces the wastes of the blood, organs, and tissues.

2. The body is covered, in all parts exposed, with horny excrescences, which
prevent the escape of moisture. These are especial provisions of nature, adapting
this animal to a barren and dry country.

Series V. — Effects of Thirst and Starvation upon the Solids and Fluids of a

Warm-blooded Animal.

3G. Blood of a Cur-Dog in a normal condition.

For a week previous to this analysis, the dog was supplied with more mutton
than he could devour. Upon this diet he became very fat and fleshy. On the day
previous to the analysis, all food was discontinued.

Weight of dog, 6* o'clock P. M., August 7, 235 lbs.

The blood for analysis was abstracted at 9 o'clock P. M. It coagulated in a few
moments after it left the body.

The serum was clear.

Specific gravity of the blood
" " serum

Solid constituents in 1000 parts of blood

" " " serum . •

in serum of 1000 parts of blood
Water in 1000 parts of blood
" " serum

1000 parts of blood contained —

Water .....
Blood-corpuscles (dried organic residue)
Albumen, fatty and extractive matter
Fibrin .....
Fixed saline constituents

1000 parts of blood contained —

Moist blood-corpuscles 322.76 |Water •

(Solid constituents

Liquor sanguinis

6n. 24

(Water .

(Solid constituents

1045.5
1030.5
193.48
119.67
109.64
806.52
880.33

806.52
78.04

106.18
3.15
6.11

242.07

80.69

564.45

112.79

EFFECTS OF THIRST, ETC., ON A CUR-DOG.

63

37. Four o'clock P. M., August 11, fourth clay of starvation.
The blood coagulated in a few moments after it was drawn.
Specific gravity of blood ....

" serum

Solid constituents in 1000 parts of blood
" " " serum

" in serum of 1000 parts of blood

Water in 1000 parts of blood
" " serum

1000 parts of blood contained —

Water .....
Blood-corpuscles (dried organic constituents)
Albumen, fatty and extractive matter
Fibrin .....
Fixed saline constituents

1000 parts of blood contained —

Moist blood-corpuscles 428.00 jWater ■

(Solid constituents

Liquor sanguinis

512.00

(Water .

(Solid constituents

1054.5
1036.8
229.10
134.45
11T.18
770.90
865.55

170.90

102.55

112.53

4.92

9.10

321.00
107.00
449.90
122.10

38. Nine o'clock P. M., August 13, sixth day of starvation and thirst.

The blood from the vein was black, flowed with difficulty, and resembled tar.
It coagulated immediately after it left the bloodvessels into a firm clot. The blood
flowed so slowly, and in such a small stream, that it was difficult to obtain a sufficient
quantity for analysis. It had been consumed in supplying the waste of the system.

The dog, during the greater portion of the day, and while the blood was abstracted,
lay in a comatose condition. It was completely exhausted, and showed, in its
skeleton-like form, the ravages of hunger and thirst. By an unfortunate accident,
my last specific gravity bottle was broken, and consequently the specific gravity of
its blood and serum was not taken.

The serum was in small amount, relatively to the size of the clot, and was colored
red by the hsematin of the blood.

Many of the blood-corpuscles appear to have undergone partial decomposition.
A similar condition of the blood and serum was observed previously in a large
female Envjs serrata during starvation.

Solid constituents in 1000 parts of blood
" " " serum

" in serum of 1000 parts of blood

Water in 1000 parts of blood
" " serum

1000 parts of blood contained —

Water . . . .

Blood-corpuscles (dried organic constituents)
Albumen, fatty and extractive matter
Fibrin .....
Fixed saline constituents of blood corpuscles
" " serum

.

233.84

144.87

jd

129.80

766.16

.

855.13

766.16

96.76

•

126.32

2.92

. 4.36)
. 3.48 i

7.84

61 EFFECTS OP THIRST, ETC., ON A CUR-DOG.

1000 parts of blood contained —

„ .,,, , , ,.„., (Water ..... 301.98

Moist blood-corpuscles 402.64 < _

(.Solid constituents . . . 100.CG

,. . . .„„, (Water ..... 464.64

Liquor sanguinis • 597.36-; ,., .

1 ° (Solid constituents . . . 132.72

The dog died at eight o'clock A. M., August 14.

Weight when the experiment was commenced . 23} lbs. = 161,326 grains.

Weight after death . . . . . 16J " =112,055 "

In 158 hours (6 days and 14 hours) this dog had lost 49,271 grains; one-third
to one-fourth of its original weight. Loss of weight during twenty-four hours,
7,476 grains. Loss of weight during one hour 311 T\ grains = Z{Y °f the weight
of its whole body before starvation. During 158 hours of starvation, each pound
Avoirdupois (7,000 grains) lost 2,078 grains.

The liver was tested the next morning for grape sugar, but the tests of Trommer
and Moore failed to indicate its presence.

The substance of this organ, under the microscope, contained innumerable oil-
globules of various sizes. All the fat throughout the body appeared to have been
completely consumed. The only source of this fat was the nitrogenized elements
of the blood and tissues, which were acted upon by the cells of the liver.

It is stated by physiologists that, after prolonged starvation, the amount of urea
formed in the system is increased. The reason of this is obvious. The fat stored
up in various parts of the body is first consumed to sustain animal temperature.
As long as it supplies the demands of nature, urea, a product of the metamor-
phoses of the nitrogenized elements of the blood and tissues, is found in normal
amount. When, however, the fat is consumed, the nitrogenized elements of the
blood and tissues are attacked. The carbon unites, ultimately, with oxygen,
forming carbonic acid, whilst the nitrogen is conjoined with oxygen and carbon,
and is thrown off as urea. We have, then, in addition to the amount of urea
normally formed, that which results from the combustion of the nitrogenized
compounds.

The dense and dry condition of the muscular system of the dog, showed that the
juices of the muscles must have passed into the blood. This results as a necessary
consequence of the physical law of endosmosis.

During starvation and thirst, the blood becomes denser than the surrounding
fluids, owing to the evaporation of water which goes on continually in the lungs.
The less dense juices of the body necessarily flow into the circulatory system.
The object of all endosmotic action is the restoration of an equilibrium, and the
rapidity of that action will be determined, in great measure, by the differences of
the densities of the exterior and interior solutions.

It is probable that the death of this dog occurred sooner than should have been
anticipated, on account of the heat. During the middle of the day, the thermo-
meter generally stood as high as 94°. This heated atmosphere promoted evapora-
tion of the watery elements of the blood and tissues, both from the surface of the
body and lungs.

EFFECTS OF THIRST, ETC., ON ANIMALS.

65

These experiments complete our investigations upon the effects of thirst and
starvation upon the blood of different animals. We will now arrange the results
in tables, and study them collectively.

Tables showing the Changes in the Relative Amounts of the Organic and Inorganic Constituents
of the Blood of Warm and Cold-blooded Animals, during different periods of Starvation and
Thirst. The numbers represent the amounts existing in 1000 parts of blood. The changes,
therefore, are relative and not absolute.

(a.) SPECIFIC GRAVITIES, WATER, ANT) SOLID CONSTITUENTS OF BLOOD AND SERUM.

Period

Specific

Specific

Water Water

Solid con-

Solid con-

Solid constitu-

Name of animal.

of starva-

gravity

gravity

in 1000: in 1000

stituents in

stituents in

ents in eerum

tion and

of

of

parts of parts of

1000 parts

1000 parts

of 1000]. arts

thirst.

blood.

serum.

blood, serum.

of blood.

of serum.

of blood.

Female Alligator

| 1046.0

823.86 909.20

176.14

90.80

82.05

Male Alligator

lUdays 1056.0

803.43 909.20

190.57

90.80

80.24

1st female Eniys terrapin .

12"hrs.

1035.3

1012.7

845.28 956.17

154.72

43.83

38.75

2d " "

40 clays

800.59 920.50

199.41

79.50

69.15

3d " " '.

57 "

744.78 888.04

255.22

111.96

92.82

1st female Emijs serrala .

3i "

1026.5

1013.7 8

124.59

43.03

39.36

2d

17 "

1040.5

821.89 935.49

178.11

64.51

56.68

3d " " • .

24 "

793.72 911.33

•_'ii6.28

88.67

77.49

4th "

26 "

1043.0

801.34 904.52

198.66

95.48

84.59

5th "

31 "

777. 78|

222.22

Glh "

38 "

773.38 845.00

226.62

155.00

141.86

7 (h male "

49 "

148.7

800.94 891.10

199.06

108.90

97.88

1st male Testudo polyphemus

1030.0

1018.0

843.38 933.59

156.62

66.41

60.00

2d "

30 days

1037.0

1017.0 854.77

147.23

61.16

55.55

3d "

51 "

829.77: 900.50

170.23

99.50

91.68

1st Cur-dog

1045.5 1030.5

806.52 880 33

193.48

119.67

109.69

2d

96 hrs.

1054.5: 1036.8: 770.90; 865.55

229.10

134.45

117.18

3d " ...

158 "

766.16 855.13

233.84

144.87

129.S0

(£.) CONSTITUENTS OF 1000 PARTS OF BLOOD.

Period of

Blood- corpuscles

Albumen, fatty

Fixed

Name of animal.

starvation

Water.

(dried organic

and extractive

Fibrin.

saline con-

and thirst.

constituents).

matters.

stituents.

Female Alligator

823.86

86.39

78.03

3 07

8.65

Male Alligator

17i days

803.43

106.80

70.02

3.41

10.34

1st female Emys terrapin

12 hours

845.28

103.82

36.01

4.15

10.74

2d

40 days

800.59

118.56

64.85

5.26

10.74

3d "

57 "

744.78

156.98

90.87

1.85

5.52

1st female Enn/s serrala

H "

875.41

80.67

37.06

1.04

5.22

2d

17" "

821.89

115.75

54.68

1.68

6.00

3d "

24 "

793.72

122.26

74.49

1.68

7.85

4th "

26 "

801.34

102.97

80.09

4.15

11.45

5th "

31 "

777.78

12.56

6th "

38 "

773.38

72.91

134.49

6.52

12.70

7th male "

49 "

800.94

92.29

93.38

4.34

9.05

1st male Testudo polyphemus

843.38

87.28

57.78

5.73

5.83

2d "

30 "

852.77

84.76

53.17

2.99

6.13

3d "

51 "

829.77

78.55

1st Cur-dog .

806.52

78.04

106.18

3.15

6.11

2d " ...

4 "

770.90

102.55

112.53

4.92

9.10

3d " ...

158 hours

766.16

96.76

126.32

2.92

7.84

66 EFFECTS OF THIRST, ETC., ON ANIMALS.

(c.) MOIST BLOOD-CORPUSCLES AND LIQUOR SANGUINIS.

Period

MOIST ]

5LOOD-COKrCSCLES.

LIQUOR SANGUINIS.

Name of animal.

of starva-

Moist blood-

Water

Solid con-

Liquor san-

Solid con-

thirst.

corpuscles in

in moist

stituents in

guinis in

liquor

stituents in

1000 parts

blood-

moist blood-

1000 parts

liquor

of blood.

corpuscles.

corpuscles.

of blood.

sanguinis.

Female Alligator .

364.08

273 06

91.02

635.92

550.80

85.12

Male Alligator

llAilavs

451.68

338.76

112.92

548.32

464.67

83.65

1st female Emys terrapin

12 hours

447.28

335.46

111.82

552.72

509.82

42.90

2d " "

40 days

500.00

375.00

125.00

500.00

425.59

74.41

3d

57 "

642.20

481.65

160.55

357.80

263.13

94.67

1st female Emys scrrata

31 "

336.76

252.57

84.19

663.24

622.84

40.40

2d

17 "

478.00

358.25

119.75

522.00

463.64

58.36

3d

24 "

508.44

381.33

127.11

491.56

412.39

79.17

4th "

26 "

439.68

329.76

109.92

560.32

471.58

88 74

6th "

38 "

312.96

234.72

78.24

687.04

538.66

148.38

Tth male

49 "

387.36

290.52

96.84

612.64

510.42

102.22

1st male Testudo polyphe-

nols (Gopher)

393.56

302.67

90.89

606.44

540.71

65.73

2d

30 "

355.76

267.07

88.69

644.24

585.70

58.54

3d

51 "

314.20

235.65

78.55

685.80

594.12

91.68

1st Cur-dog .

322.76

242.07

80.69

677.24

564.45

112.79

2d "...

4 "

428.00

321.00

107.00

572.00

449.90

122.10

3d

158 hours

402.64

301.98

100.66

597.36

464.64

132.72

II. — Tulles showing the Actual Amounts of Blood and its Constituents existing in Animals
during different periods of Starvation and Thirst.

(«.) WATER AND SOLID CONSTITUENTS OF BLOOD AND SERUM.

Period of

Amount

Water of
blood.

Solid con-

Solid con-

Name of animal.

starvation

of blood

stituents of

stituents of

and thirst.

obtained.

blood.

serum.

Grains.

1st female Emys terrapin

12 hours

1000

845.28

154.72

38.75

2d

40 days

400

320.23

79.76

27.66

3d "

57 "

200

148.96

51.04

18.56

1st female Emys serrata .

3| "

2000

1750.82

249.18

78.72

2.1

17 "

800

657.51

142.48

45.26

3d "

24 "

500

396.86

103.14

38.74

4th "

20 "

4:10

360.60

89.40

38.06

6th "

38 "

200

154.68

49.32

28.37

7th male "

49 "

500

400.47

99.53

48.94

(/■)

:ONSTITUENTS OF BLOOD.

Name of animal.

Period

of starva-
tion and
thirst.

Amount
of blood
obtained.

Water.

Blood-
corpuscles

Albumen,

fatty and

extractive

matter.

Fibrin.

Fixed
saline con-
stituents.

Grains.

l~t female Emys terrapin

12 hours

1000

845.28

103.82

36.01

4.15

10.74

2d "

40 davs

400

320.23

47.43

25.95

2.11

4.29

3d "

57 "

200

148.96

31.40

18.17

.37

1.10

1st female Emys serrata

3i "

2000

1750.82

161.34

75.32

2.08

10.44

2d

17 "

800

057.51

92.60

43.75

1.34

4.80

3d "

24 '•

500

396.86

61.13

37.24

.84

3.92

4th "

26 "

450

360.60

40.34

36.05

1.68

5.15

6th "

38 "

•Jim

154. OS

14.58

•jo. no

1.30

2.54

7th male

49 "

.,1111

400. 17

46.15

4 11.09

2.17

4.52

EFFECTS OF THIRST, ETC., ON ANIMALS.

G7

(</.) MOIST BLOOD-CORPDSCLES AND LIQUOR SANGUINIS.

Name of animal.

Period

of starva-
tion and
thirst.

Amount
of blood
obtained.

MOIST BLOOD-COHPUSCLES.

Moist
blood cor-
puscles.

1st female Emys terrapin

2d " "

3d " " .

1st female Emys serrata

2d " "

3d "

4th "

6th "

7th male "

Grains.

12 hra.

1000

40 clays

400

57 "

200

3} "

2000

17 "

800

24 "

500

26 "

450

38 "

200

49 "

500

447.28
200.00
128.44
673.52
383.80
254.22
197.92
62.60
193.67

Water
of moist
blood cor-
puscles.

335.46
150.00

96.33
505.14
387.85
190.67
148.44

46.95
145.26

Solid con-
stituents of
moist blood-
corpuscles.

LIQUOR SANGUINIS.

Liquor
sanguinis.

111.82
50.00
32.11

168.38
95.95
63 55
49.48
15.65
48.42

552.72
200.00
71.56
1326.48
416.20
245.78
252.08
137.40
306.32

Water of

liquor
sanguinis.

509.82
170.23
52.63
1245.68
369.60
206.20
212.10
107.73
255.21

Solid con-
stituents
of liquor

sanguinis.

42.90
29.77
18.93
80.80
46.60
39.58
39.92
29.67
51.11

The following tables have been constructed by calculations based upon careful
comparisons of the blood of starved animals with the blood of those in a normal
condition. They are, therefore, not absolutely correct, but are the nearest approxi-
mation to the truth that can at present be obtained.

III. — Tahhs showing the Losses of Blood and its Constituents Ltj Animals during different periods

of Starvation and Thirst.

(»!.) WATER AND

SOLID CONSTITUENTS OF BLOOD AND SERUM.

Period of

Amount

Water of
blood.

Solid con-

Solid con-

Name of animal.

starvation

of blood

stituents of

stituents of

and thirst.

consumed.

blood.

serum.

Grains.

2d female Emys terrapin

40 days

600

525.05

74.95

11.09

3d " " ...

57 "

800

696.32

103.68

20.19

2d female Emys serrata .

17 "

700

655.60

44.40

13.78

3d " " ...

24 "

1500

1353.96

146.04

39.98

4th " " ...

26 "

1550

1390.22

159.78

40.66

6th " " ...

38 "

1800

1596.14

204.86

62.69

7th male " ...

49 "

1000

912.64

87.36

10.10

(m.) CONSTITUENTS OF BLOOD CONSUMED.

Period of

Amount

Blood-

Albumen, fat-

Fixed

Water

Name of animal.

starvation

of blood

corpuscles

ty and extrac-

Fibrin.

saline con-

of blood

and thirst.

consumed.

consumed.

tive matter.

stituents.

consumed.

Grains.

2d Emys terrapin

40 days

600

56.39

10.07

2.04

6.45

525.05

3d

57 "

800

72.42

17.84

3.78

9.63

696.32

2d female Emys serrata

17 "

700

28.41

12.74

0.22

3.03

655.60

3d "

24 "

1500

100.21

38.08

1.24

6.52

1353.96

4th "

26 "

1550

115.00

39.27

0.22

5.29

1390.22

6th "

38 "

1800

146.76

48.42

0.78

7.90

1596.14

7th male "

49 "

1000

74.85

9.80

.01

3.31

912.64

68

GENERAL CONCLUSIONS.

(o.) MOIST BLOOD-CORPUSCLES AND LIQUOR SANGUINIS.

Name of animal.

2d female Emys terrapin

3d "

2d female Emys serrata

3d "

4th "

6th "

Ttli male "

Period
of; starva-
tion add
thirst.

Anniunt
of blood
consum-
ed.

Grains.

40 days

600

57 "

800

IT "

700

24 "

1500

26 "

1550

38 "

1800

40 "

1000

MOIST 1ILOOD-CORPUSCLES.

Moist
blood-cor-
puscles.

247.28
318.84
121.60
419.28
475.60
561.56
309.04

Water
of moist
blood-cor-
puscles.

185.46
239.13
91.20
314.46
356.70
421.17
231.78

Solid con-
stituents of
moist blood-
corpuscles.

61.82

79.71

30.40

104.82

118.90

140.39

77.26

LIQUOR SANGUINIS.

Liquor
sanguinis

352.72

481.16

578.40

1080.72

1074.40

1238.44

690.96

Water of

liquor
sanguinis.

Solid con-
stituents
of liquor

sanguinis.

339.59

457.19

564.40

1039.50

1033.52

1174.97

680.86

13.13
23.97
14.00
41.22
40.80
63.49
10.10

A careful review of the results of these analyses and experiments leads to the fol-
lowing conclusions : —

1. In every instance, during ahstinence from food and drink, the water of the
hlood diminished more rapidly than the solid constituents.

The evaporation from the surface of the body and lungs, and the supply of a
solvent for the excretions of the kidneys, were more rapid than the consumption of
the solid organic, and inorganic constituents of the blood for the regeneration and
maintenance of the tissues and organs.

2. The rapidity of this consumption of the watery element, and consequent con-
centration of the blood depends upon the vital and physical constitution of the
animal, and is most rapid amongst warm-blooded ones.

Amongst cold-blooded animals it is slowest in the gopher. The phj'sical consti-
tution of the epidermis of this animal prevents evaporation from its surface. Its
tissues, also, are more compact than those of other Chelonians.

The character of the food of this animal, and the structure of its alimentary
canal, are such, that it is able to withstand the effects of hunger without any phy-
sical or chemical change in the amount and constitution of its blood, or diminution
of its powers, much longer than the Chelonians which inhabit the water.

3. During thirst and starvation, the rapidity of the consumption of the consti-
tuents of the blood, organs, and tissues, is in proportion to the temperature, intel-
ligence, vital force, and the amount of muscular and nervous force expended by
the animals.

4. The blood-corpuscles waste during starvation, as well as the other consti-
tuents of the blood, thus proving that they have important offices to fulfil in the
support of the tissues and organs of the living animals, and the maintenance of
the vital, nervous, physical, and chemical phenomena.

5. The fibrin decreases during starvation and thirst.

Had we considered the amount of fibrin only in 1000 parts of blood, we would
have fallen into an error committed by several observers. The increment of the
fibrin in 1000 parts was only apparent, and corresponded in a great measure to the
concentration of the blood by the rapid evaporation of its water from the surface
of the body and lungs.

ANIMAL TEMPERATURE.

69

G. During long-continued starvation and thirst, the stomach and intestines of
cold-blooded animals do not become inflamed and ulcerated, as is almost universally
the case with warm-blooded animals.

7. The fat of the body wastes more rapidly than any of the tissues. The
manner in which it re-enters the circulation is unknown.

The following tables will serve to elucidate phenomena which have been but
imperfectly studied by naturalists and physiologists.

Table of the Temperatures of Warm and Cold- Blooded Animals.

Tempe-

Temperature of

rature oi

box or medium

Temperature of

Temperature

!>f

Atmo-

in which the ani-

region of

region of

sphere.

mal was kept.

Micropogon undulalus (Croker

Fish)

Water, 84°

Viscera,

84°

Heterodon platyrhinos (Hognosc

Viper) ....

75 j

Bos, 73T-

Heart,

73°

Heterodon niger (Black Viper)

80J°

Tail, 74°

it

76°

Ps a mm opli is flagellifo rmis

(Coachwhip Snake)

72°

731°

tt

74°

Alligator Mississippiensis (Alli-

gator, starved 11 days .

G9°

Surface of body, 65°

tt

69°

Chelonura serpentina (Snapping

Turtle)

90°

85°

Muscles of thigh, 81°

" and Livei

, 82°

Chehnia caretta (Loggerhead

Turtle) ....

90°

Water, 8U°

ii

a

81°

Emys terrapin (Salt-water Ter-

rapin)

78°

Box, 78°

80°

tt

it

80i°

Emys serrata (Yellow-bellied

Terrapin) deprived of food

and drink 3j days

861°

74°

a

tt

73 1°

Emys serrata, deprived of food

and drink 17 days

vir

76°

ti

a

77°

Emys serrata, deprived of food

and drink 21 days

86°

84°

ct

tt

75i°

Emys serrata, deprived of food

and driuk 49 days

85°

81°

" " 80°

It

it

80J°

Emys reticulata

86°

80°

tt

tt

80°

Testudo polyphemus (Gopher)

82°

80°

it

tt

80J°

Corvus ossifragus (Fish Crow)

Sill

104°

tt

it

108°

Ectopistes Oarolinensis (Turtle

Dove)

66°

Intestine, 100°

Pec. maj

. muscle

1061°

Syrnium nehidosum (Barred
Owl) . . .

76°

tt

(i

102°

Ardeanycticorax (Night Heron)

78°J

tt

tt

104°

Carduelis tristis (May Bird) .

82J°

tt

1 1

105°

May Bird

82|°

n

106°

May Bird, which had lost much

blood from a bad wound

82|°

it

tt

98°

May Bird, which had lost much

blood from a wound

82|°

a

tt

10(H°

May Bird, which had lost much
blood ....

82|°

tt

tt

101°

Mammalia generally

Heart,

100°

10

ANIMAL TEMPERATURE.

Tulle showing the Eolation between the Temperature and the Chemical Changes of the Molecules of
the Solids and Fluids of Warm and Cold-Blooded Animals.

Name of Animal.

Temperature of the atmo-
sphere and box in which
the animal was kept.

0)

^3

cm

O <m
0> °

S fl

-5 B

M 0J

Pi

a

E-i

.£

°CM

o o

B 3

*- 2
£ 'til

a

EH

o

CJ
U

-B .

to •;

"5 3

fe °

<*~
o

DQ
O

hH

Loss of weight each hour
expressed in a fraction of

the original weight of the
animal.

0)

u
0

n

<= J>

p

Cm M
O ^

-M
P

O

a
■3

Amount of urine excreted
hourly, expressed in a
fraction of the original
weight of the animal.

Amount of Eolid consti-
tuents in the urine ex-
creted hourly.

Emys terrapin

Emys serrata .
Emys serrata .
Emys serrata .
Emys serrata .
Testudo polyphemiis
Cur-dog .

Fahr.

78°

74°
76°
84°
81°
82°
86°

Fahr.

Muscles of
thigh, 80°

" 80°
" 80°

Fahr.
Ileart and
liver, 80i°
73d°

li IjijO

75^°
802°
80^°
" 100°

Grains.
5.18

6. 3

10. 5

10.29

3.14

2.41

311.84

i

3 0 3 5

1
3T I 3

!

2 8 7 0

1

3 7 54

1
50 6 7

1
70 2T

1
5"! 7

Grains.

.032
1.315
0.357
1.09

.0277

1

4 4 04 0 5

1

15 8 6 5

1

846500

3"43 5 7"

)
54 2 1 30

Grains.

.00114

.0034

.00166

.00437

.0012

Those tables show that, although the union of the oxygen of the atmosphere
with the elements of the solids and fluids of cold-blooded animals is so slow that
their temperature changes with that of the surrounding medium, still they generate
within themselves a certain amount of heat. This is proved by the fact, that, the
interior of their bodies in the region of the heart and liver generally has a temper-
ature a fraction of a degree higher than that of the parts nearer the surface.

The fact that the temperature of their bodies is often several degrees below that
of the surrounding medium is readily explained by a reference to our investigations
upon the effects of thirst and starvation upon the solids and fluids. The loss of
weight is due, in a greater degree, to the evaporation of the water of the solids and
fluids than to the metamorphosis and final elimination of the organic elements in
the maintenance of animal temperature. The amount of solid matters consumed
in the maintenance of the temperature of cold-blooded animals is not always suffi-
cient to supply the heat abstracted by evaporation.

Losses in the Weights of Animals during different periods of Thirst and Starvation.

Name of animal.

Period of
starvation

and thirst.

Weight

before

starvation.

Weight

after

starvation.

Loss of
blood
during
starva-
tion.

Loss of
weight dur-
ing starva-
tion.

Loss of

weight

compared

to weight

of body.

Loss of

weight

each

hour.

Loss of
weight per
hour, com-
pared to
weight of
body.

Grains.

Grains.

Grains.

Grains.

Grains.

Female Emys terrapin

38 days

14,285

11,400

600

2,885

1

5

3.317

l

4 3 6 6

it it

56 "

12,280

9,255

800

3,025

i

2.25

1

5 4 5 8

Female Emys serrata

12 hours

33,417

33,258

159

_ 1 _

13.25

1

27 28

tt it

14 days

20,873

18,756

700

2,117

t'o

6.3

1

3 3 13

ti 11

20 "

34,155

28,675

1500

5,480

i

11.41

1

2 9 A 4

ti ti

20 "

41,086

34,960

1550

0,126

1
7

12.76

I
3 2 9 8

11 u

39 "

38,590

30,142

1800

8,398

1 1

10.29

1
3 7 5 4

Male Emys serrata

45 "

17,797

14,400

1000

3,397

1

5

3.14

1

56 6 7

6 Emys serrata

27 "

104,698

85,573

19,125

1 1
5 (J

27.97

1

3 7 43

Testudo polyphemiis

(Gopher)

25 "

18,368

16,922

1,446

_1_

2.41

7 6 2 1

4 Testudo polyphemiis

(Gophers)

37 "

98,280

86,696

11,582

1
9

13.04

t

7^36

Cur-dog

6d'ys,14

hours

101,326

112,055

49,271

i

311.84

1
5 1 7

COMPARISON OF COLD AND WARM-BLOODED ANIMALS. 71

A careful consideration of these tables, in connection with previous researches,
will tend to support the following conclusions: —

1. The intellect, temperature, nervous and muscular forces, and organic develop-
ment of animals, are in proportion to the rapidity of the changes of the elements.

In warm-blooded animals, which are endowed with intellect of a high order, and
possess great nervous and muscular force, and correspondingly developed organs, the
changes in their elements are incessant. When starved, they lose weight rapidly.

In cold-blooded animals, the temperature of which is often below that of the sur-
rounding medium, and whose nervous system and intellect are feebly developed,
the changes in their elements are correspondingly slow.

The Cur-dog lost, in six days and fourteen hours, one-third of its original weight,
whilst the Chelonians lived from thirty to sixty days without losing more than
from one-fourth to one-thirteenth of their original weight. The loss in the former
was from six to fifteen times more rapid than in the latter.

2. The loss of weight at the time of death was very nearly equal in warm
and cold-blooded animals. The maintenance of the short, vigorous life of the
former, required as large a supply of organic and inorganic materials as the pro-
longed and sluggish existence of the latter. What the warm-blooded animal
gained in intensity and power, it lost in duration.

3. The length of life of an animal during starvation and thirst, is proportional
to the rapidity of the changes of its elements, and, as a necessary consequence,
stands in direct relation to its temperature, intellect, and organic development.

The Cur-dog wasted more rapidly, lived more energetically, and died in a corre-
spondingly shorter time, than the cold blooded Chelonians.

Amongst cold-blooded animals, the Terrapins which were most active iii their
movements, and whose nervous system was the most excited, lived during a time
corresponding with their increased nervous and muscular exertions.

The female Terrapins, whose ovaries and oviducts were filled with hard and soft
eggs, lost from gyV-gth to s^i^h of their weight hourly, and died in the course of
twenty-five or thirty-five days; while the females which had deposited their eggs,
and the males, which were free from these anxieties, wasted only one-half as much
per hour — TJg gth to ^eT^h °f their whole weight — and lived twice the length of
time — from fifty to seventy days.

We may infer from these facts, as far as they extend, that the acts of life are
carried on upon the same general plan, no matter what be the physical or vital
constitution of an animal.

4. In cold-blooded animals, the organs, tissues, and apparatus are far more
independent of the blood than in warm-blooded ones.

This fact will explain the phenomena of the prolonged contraction of the heart
and muscles, and the action of the nervous system, and the continuance of life, for
a great length of time after the almost complete removal of the blood. These
functions are attended with so little waste, and consequent demand for a fresh
supply of nutriment, that a very small amount of the circulatory fluid will suffice
to keep them in action for a great length of time.

In warm-blooded animals, on the other hand, the maintenance of the nervous

72 COMPARISON OF COLD AND WARM-BLOODED ANIMALS.

and vital forces, and of a definite temperature, and the exercise of the intellect,
involve more decided and constant changes in their elements.

The circulatory apparatus filled with blood is the great laboratory in which these
physical and chemical changes of the elements are carried on and the results dis-
tributed to every living molecule of matter. According, then, to the perfection of
an animal, and the rapidity of these changes, will be the dependence of the organs
and apparatus upon the circulatory fluid. It follows as a necessary consequence
that the deprivation of this fluid will prove fatal in a length of time inversely
proportional to the development and perfection of an animal.

The question now presents itself: Why is the life of cold-blooded animals so
sluggish, and all the physical and chemical changes of their elements so tardy, and
their temperature and intellect so low? Can Nature be said to be uniform in her
operations when all the phenomena of life are so dissimilar in these two classes of
animals ?

A consideration of the important differences existing between the structure and
functions of their respiratory and circulatory systems may serve to settle definitely
this question, as will be seen in the course of this chapter.

The principal or only heart in many fishes, has but one auricle and one ventri-
cle, and is traversed by venous blood alone, and corresponds with the right heart
of the higher vertebrata.

Although the circulatory apparatus is more highly developed in the reptiles, still
a mixture of venous and arterial blood always takes place in the ventricle.

As our experiments have been confined almost exclusively to the higher orders
of cold-blooded animals, we shall consider briefly the circulatory and respiratory
systems of the Ophidia, Sauria, and Chelonia.

The ventricle of the heart in these higher orders is generally divided by an
imperfect septum, which, in the heart of the alligator, is very strong and almost
complete. Just at the outlet of the ventricle, however, we find a communication
established between the two, and thus the venous and arterial blood are mixed
together, and the similarity to the heart of the rest of the reptiles, and the foetus
of birds and mammals, is preserved. The venous blood from all parts of the body
is returned to the right auricle of the heart through the venos cava?, the terminations
of which are guarded by strong valves. The left auricle is appropriated exclusively
to the lungs, from which it receives the aerated blood through the pulmonary veins.
From the single ventricle two sets of vessels are sent off, the pulmonary and the
aortic. The pulmonary artery divides into two branches, one for each lung. The
aorta, immediately after its origin, divides into two trunks, which, winding back-
wards, join and form a large vessel, the branches of which distribute the blood to
all parts of the system. The contraction of the right auricle forces the venous blood
into the ventricle, whilst the contraction of the left auricle transmits the aerated
blood from the lungs into the same common cavity. The contraction of the ventri-
cle distributes a portion of the mixed blood into the lungs through the pulmonary
artery, and the remainder to all parts of the body through the aorta and its
blanches.

RELATIVE SIZE OF THE HEART.

7:3

From this arrangement it is evident, that not only is partially aerated blood dif-
fused throughout the system, but, also, that a moiety only of the whole amount of
blood is sent to the lungs and exposed to the action of the atmosphere at each con-
traction of the ventricle of the heart.

From the consideration of the heart and circulatory apparatus of the Chelonia
and Sauria, we pass very naturally to that of warm-blooded animals.

The circulatory apparatus differs in no essential respect in the two great classes
of warm-blooded animals, birds and mammals.

In these higher animals we have a double heart, and two distinct and complete
circulations of the blood. Each portion of blood which has passed through the
capillaries of the system and become vitiated, is aerated in the lungs before its dis-
tribution over the body. This is one of the most important of all distinctions
between warm and cold-blooded animals.

The right heart is devoted to the circulation of venous bloock and the left heart
to the circulation of oxygenated or aerated blood.

The auricle and ventricle of one heart have no communication with the auricle
and ventricle of the other except through the bloodvessels and capillaries. The
vessels of each heart are distinct, and perform distinct offices.

The right auricle receives the venous blood from all parts of the system and
transmits it to the right ventricle. The contraction of the right ventricle distri-
butes the venous blood to the lungs. The oxygenated or arterial blood is conveyed
from the lungs to the left auricle, and thence to the left ventricle, and the con-
tractions of this distributes it throughout all parts of the system.

As the circulatory apparatus is developed, the influence and importance of the
nervous system are increased, and corresponding arrangements established for its
perfect preservation.

Another consideration to be taken into account is the relative size of the heart
and the rapidity of its action in different animals.

I obtained the following results by carefully weighing the entire body of an
animal, and then ascertaining the weight of its heart upon a delicate balance
capable of turning to the y^^th part of a grain.

Comj>arative Weights of the Hearts of Fishes.

Proportion to weight
of entire animal.

Weight of the heart of female Trygon sabina (Stingray)
" " foetus of Trygon sabina (Stingray)
" " Zygcena malleus (Hammerhead Shark) .
" " Zygoena malleus (Hammerhead Shark) .
" " female Lepisosteus osseous (Garfish)

1

TBT2

1
1010

7TJ5

i

8 ft 9
965

10

74

RELATIVE SIZE OF THE HEART.
Comparative Weights of the Hearts of Reptiles.

Proportion to weight

of entire animal.

Weight of the h

eart

of Rana catesbceana (Bullfrog)

i

516

a

tt

Heterodon niger (Black Viper) .

1

496

it

a

Coluber constrictor (Black Snake)

4 2 5"

a

a

Coluber guttatus (Corn Snake) .

4 00

tt

a

Psammophis flageUiformis (Coachwbip Snake)

o.5t

a

a

Crotalus durissus (Rattlesnake) .

44 T

a

ti

Chelonura serpentina (Snapping Turtle)

1
405

it

tt

Clielonia caretta (Loggerhead Turtle) .

480

a

it

Emys reticulata (Chicken Terrapin)

1

420

a

a

Emys serrata (Yellow-bellied Terrapin)

1

5 92

ti

ti

Emys serrata (Yellow-bellied Terrapin)

1

5 7 7

tt

a

Emys serrata (Yellow-bellied Terrapin)

1

54T

n

a

male Testudo polyphemus (Gopher)

I
4 5 5

a

tt

male Testudo polyphemus (Gopher)

4 7 0

tt

n

female Alligator Mississvppiensis (Alligator)

398

Comparative Weights of the Hearts of Birds.

Proportion to weight
of entire animal.

Weight of the heart of Meleagris gallopavo (Wild Turkey)
" " Meleagris gallopavo (Wild Turkey)
" " Syrnium nebulosum (Barred Owl)
" " Cathartes atratus (Turkey-buzzard)
" " Tantalus loculator (Wood Ibis) ....
" " Tantalus loculator (Wood Ibis) ....

i

27 9

1
2Tf

]
220"

1
MS

1
1 it 8

1
100

Comparative Weights of the Hearts of

Mammals.

Proportion to weight

of entire animal.

Weight of the heart of Common Sheep ....

l

25 6

tt a

Sciurus Carolinensis (Gray Squirrel)

1

26 1

tt tt

Didelplds Yirginiamis (Opossum)

1

2 8 0

tt a

Common Cat

2T J"

it it

Procyon lotor (Raccoou)

1
1 6 4

tt it

Procyon lotor (Raccoon)

14 0

it ti

young Procyon lotor (Raccoon)

1 4 2

tt it

Pointer Dog

T2ff

By comparing these tables, we see that the heart is proportionally smallest in
Fishes and largest in Birds.

As the organs and apparatus of the animal economy are developed and per-
fected, the circulation of the nutritive materials becomes more vigorous.

As the temperature, intelligence, and activity of animals, with their correspond-
ing physical and chemical metamorphoses of the elements of organic structure
increase, there is a correspondingly rapid supply of those materials by which the
wastes may be repaired, and from which the various secretions and excretions
may be elaborated and separated.

The next consideration is the -rapidity of the circulation in different animals.

RATIDITY OF THE CIRCULATION.

75

The action of the heart may be taken as a general index of tbjs. The following
table has been drawn up from the researches of Dumas, Prevost, Midler, and Simon.

Rapidity of Circulation in Different Animals.

Number of beats per minute.

In the Amphioxus ....

1

" Carp ....

20

" Fishes generally .

20—24

" Green Toad

77

" Frogs generally

about 60

" Pigeon ....

136

" Common Heu

140

" Duck ....

no

" Raven ....

110

" Heron ....

200

" Birds generally

100—200

"Ox

38

" Horse ....

56

" Sheep ....

75

" Goat ....

84

" Hare ....

120

" Guiuea-Pig

140

" Dog ....

90—95

"Cat . ...

100—110

" Ape (Simia Callitriclie) .

90

" Human embryo

150

" " jnst after birth

. 130—140

" Human being during first year

130—115

" " during second year .

115—100

" " during third year .

100—90

" " about seventh year .

90—85

" " about fourteenth year

85—80

" " in the middle period of life

75—70

" " in old age .

65—50

" Mammals generally

38—140

Tbis table shows that the rapidity of the circulation corresponds with the struc-
ture, habits, age, and development of animals.

If the vital forces are of a low grade, either from original conformation or the
depressing influences of old age, the circulation is correspondingly sluggish and
feeble.

As tbe fluids and solids of animals become more highly elaborated and developed,
the action of the heart and circulation of the blood become more rapid and vigorous.

The next consideration is that of the structure of the respiratory system in the
different orders of animals.

One of the essential conditions of the life of all organized beings, whether vege-
table or animal, is a supply of oxygen. The modes in which oxygen is brought
in contact with the fluids and solids of organized structures, vary with the develop-
ment and peculiar manner of life of the different classes of animals.

In the lowest classes of the Invertebrata, in which the digested matters pass
directly from the stomach into the different structures of the body, and become
integral parts of the animal, we find no special circulatory system, and respiration

7G RESPIRATORY SYSTEM OF COLD-BLOODED ANIMALS.

is carried on by the whole surface of the body which is bathed by the water. In
animals still more highly developed, we find canals carrying water into all parts
of the system. Iii many individuals, bloodvessels accompany these canals, and
ramify around their walls. An incessant motion through this aquiferous respira-
tory system is maintained by cilia lining their interior. These canals open upon
the exterior of the body and into the visceral cavity. In many animals of this
class, the digestive cavity, which is bathed continually by fresh portions of water,
performs the function of respiration.

In the higher orders of the Invertebrata, the respiratory system is confined to a
definite portion of the exterior or internal membrane, which is developed within a
small space into a great extent of surface, so as to render the contact with the air
or water as extensive as possible without any loss of room or power.

According as the fluids are elaborated, and the solids correspondingly developed,
the respiratory system becomes more condensed and perfected.

In the Amphioxus, or the pulmonary apparatus corresponds with the degraded
type of the cerebro-spinal system and all the organs, and, like that of many inver-
tebrate animals, is lodged in the same cavity with the liver, generative apparatus,
kidneys, and the greater portion of the alimentary canal. In the Invertebrate
animals and the Ampliioxus amongst the Vertebrate, the circulation of the water
through the branchiae is maintained principally by ciliary action.

In Fishes, however, of higher organization, whose blood is more highly elaborated
and circulates with greater rapidity, mere filamentous tufts hanging to the side of
the neck will not suffice for the aeration of the blood. It is necessary that large
streams of water be constantly and forcibly propelled through the branchial
apparatus, in order that the blood may be exposed as much as possible to the
action of the air so scantily contained in the water. This is accomplished by the
connection of the gills with the cavity of the mouth, the muscles of which send
rapid currents of water through the branchial passages. The structure and posi-
tion of the heart, also, is such that it propels all the venous blood through the
branchiae before its distribution to the bod}' generally.

At first sight, the circulation and respiration of Fishes appear to be more perfect
than that of Eeptiles. This, however, is not the case. By a reference to the
table of the comparative weights of the heart in different animals, it will be seen
that the heart of Fishes is about j-fa ^th, whilst that of Reptiles is about T |¥th of
the weight of the entire body.

The heart of Reptiles is relatively more than twice as large as that of Fishes.

The table of the comparative rapidity of the heart's action in different animals,
showed that the circulation of Fishes is much slower than that of Reptiles.

The aeration of the blood, also, is much slower and less perfect in Fishes, from
the fact that the amount of air contained in the water is infinitely less than that
of the atmosphere.

In several remarkable Fishes having strongly marked reptilian characters, as the
Garfish (Lepisosteus osseus) and the common Mudfish (Amia calva) of our southern
swamps and ricefields, we find both gills and a pulmonary organ. The lung of these
Fishes has been considered by many physiologists and anatomists as analogous to

RESPIRATORY SYSTEM OF COLD-BLOODED ANIMALS. 77

the swimming-bladder of other Fishes. This organ is absent in some individuals,
and its presence or absence in those which possess it, appears to make no material
difference; in some, it communicates externally, whilst in others again it is com-
pletely closed, and all its offices are unknown. It is, therefore, impossible, witb
our present knowledge, to decide whether the air-bladder of Fishes should be
considered as a rudimentary lung.

The lung of the Garfish {Lepisosteua osseus) is a capacious sac, which opens by a
short trachea high up in the throat, and, extending nearly the whole length of the
abdominal cavity, terminates within a short distance of the anus. It lies between
the posterior surface of the liver and the anterior surface of the kidneys. When
removed from the abdominal cavity and inflated, its diameter is nearly equal to
two-thirds of that of the fish. Its structure resembles that of the Amphiwma
means and other doubtful Reptiles. The bloodvessels ramify upon the walls of this
sac, the internal surface of which is increased by the development of numerous
sacculi.

This increased development of the respiratory system is attended by correspond-
ing improvements in the structure and functions of the solids.

The Gar is a destructive and active pirate, and consequently needs great muscular
power to outstrip and capture the swift inhabitants of the watery element. It is
a very difficult matter to hold a recently captured Gar, two or three feet in length,
even with both hands, on account of the vigor and rapidity of its motion. In
the possession of a lung, and in the general form and appearance of the viscera,
this fish bears a strong resemblance to Pieptiles. Fig. 11 represents the viscera of
the fresh-water Garfish.

In the Congo Snake of our southern swamps and ricefields, and the Hellbender
(Menopoma Alleganiensis), we find branchial arches without any development of the
gills.

The lungs of the Congo Snake (Ampkiuma means) communicate with the exte-
rior through a short trachea, which opens by a slit in the pharynx, just opposite to
the base of the cranium. The trachea passes down between the divisions of the
hull), is arteriosus, and, a short distance below the position of the heart, divides into
two short branches which open into the lungs. The lungs are long slender sacs,
having the general structure of these organs in the Batrachia. The diameter of
the lungs, even in their inflated condition, is very small, being about half an inch,
whilst their length is very great in full-grown individuals, being about eighteen
inches. Notwithstanding the absence of gills, the lungs are far smaller than the
pulmonary organs of the Garfish (Lepisosteus osseus), which has also a large and
well developed branchial apparatus. This may be due in part to the fact that its
naked skin, as in Frogs and naked animals generally, whether vertebrate or inver-
tebrate, performs the office of a lung.

The chief cause, however, of these discrepancies in the development of the
respiratory organs of the two animals is to be found in their habits and vital
endowments.

The Gar is active and powerful, whilst the Amphiwma is sluggish and degraded
in habits and appearance. This is one of numerous instances which might be

78 RESPIRATORY SYSTEM OF WARM-BLOODED ANIMALS.

adduced to show that the consumption of oxygen, and the corresponding waste of
the tissues, corresponds exactly with the development, habits and temperature of
animals. The viscera of this animal, reduced to one-half their diameter, are repre-
sented in Fig. 20.

The lungs of the several orders of reptiles are formed upon one type, being capa-
cious sacs, whose walls are divided into sacculi, and supplied with bloodvessels
according to the perfection of the organs and apparatus, and the habits of the
animal.

From the internal surface membranous septa project inwards, dividing the inte-
rior of the organ into numerous polygonal cells, which are themselves subdivided
into smaller compartments. The bloodvessels are distributed over the internal
Avails of the lungs and over the sides of the pulmonary cells.

In serpents one lung only is developed, and the pulmonary cells are most nume-
rous in the superior portion, whilst the inferior part of the long cylindrical lung is a
mere membranous sac with few or no bloodvessels ramifying upon its walls. (See
Figure 21 .)

We find the greatest number of the polygonal cells and the greatest distribution
of the bloodvessels in the pulmonary organs of the Chelonia and Sauria, thus fore-
shadowing the condition of the lungs in birds and mammals.

In these orders the lungs are filled, more or less, by a coarse and fine network
or areolar tissue, forming angular or rounded meshes, which rest partly upon the
Avails of the lungs, and enclose lesser meshes or air-cells. The bloodvessels ramify
over the meshes as Avell as over the Avails of the lungs. The sacculi thus formed
communicate with each other, and can all be inflated from any one point.

The size of the lungs differs in the different orders according to their structure
and habits. Amongst the Chelonians, we find the most capacious lung in the
gopher (Testudo Polyphemus). These animals burrow deeply in the ground, and
need large lungs as a reseiwoir of air. In aquatic serpents which remain under
the Avater for a great length of time, the lungs are capable of holding a greater
quantity than those of land serpents.

In mammals and birds the blood is abundant, and the circulation rapid, and the
Avastes and metamorphoses of the tissues correspondingly great, and the lungs
are composed of an infinitude of minute cells containing air, and surrounded by a
capillary netAvork.

The respiratory system of birds is far more highly developed than that of reptiles,
but not so concentrated as that of the mammals. In this class the lungs are no
longer closed bags like those of reptiles, but are spongy masses of great vascularity
communicating with numerous air-sacs and the cavities of the bones. The main
trunks of the bronchial tubes pass through the lungs and open into the cavity of
the thorax. The Avhole thoracico-abdominal cavity is divided by bands of serous
membrane into numerous cells communicating Avith each other and the cavities of
the hollow and spongy bones.

In many birds, especially those of powerful flight, the air is admitted into the
interspaces between the muscles, and between the skin and muscular system. By
this arrangement, which reminds us of the tracheal system of insects, the air pene-

RESPIRATORY SYSTEM. 79

trates almost every part of their bodies, bathes all their viscera, and fills the cavities
of the hollow and spongy bones. It follows as a necessary conserpaence, that the
actions between the oxygen of the atmosphere and the organic elements of their
bodies should be rapid and incessant, and the temperature correspondingly high.

The minute structure of the lungs of birds resembles, in many respects, that of
reptiles; the cells, however, are infinitely more numerous and minute, and the
surface exposed to the action of the atmosphere correspondingly more extensive.

The entire mass of each lung is divided into innumerable lobules or lunglets, the
walls of which are formed by a cartilaginous network derived from the bronchial
tubes, and by the ramifications of the capillary vessels. From this arrangement,
it is evident that the bloodvessels are suspended in air and exposed to its influence
on every side. These cells or sacculi are never terminal cells, as in the mammalia,
but open parietal cells, communicating freely with each other through the meshes
of the capillary and cartilaginous network.

In the mammalia the abdominal cavity is completely separated from the thoracic
cavity by the diaphragm, the great muscle of respiration. The lungs are closed
bags situated in the cavity of the thorax, and are surrounded by a serous membrane,
which, after lining the ribs and intercostal muscles and thoracic surface of the
diaphragm, is reflected on the lungs from the point occupied by the pulmonic
vessels.

They are composed of innumerable cells communicating with the terminal
branches of the bronchial tubes, around which ramify a delicate and closely woven
network of bloodvessels. Collectively, these cells present an immense surface, over
which the blood circulates and is exposed to the action of the atmosphere. It has
been calculated that the number of these air-cells grouped round the termination
of each bronchial tube is about 18,000, and that the total number in the lung of
the human being is not less than 600,000,000.

In the Amphibia and Batrachia, the lungs are filled by an action that resembles
swallowing. In the Ophidia and Sauria, respiration is assisted by the ribs and
abdominal muscles. In all cold-blooded animals the mechanism of respiration
corresponds with the simple structure of their lungs and the sluggish metamorphoses
of their tissue.

The mechanism of respiration in birds is more complete than that in reptiles,
but not so perfect as that of the mammalia. From the elastic character of the
cartilaginous and bony framework, surrounding the thoracico-abdominal cavity, the
natural condition of the lungs is that of inflation. The air is expelled by the action
of those muscles which brim* the sternum nearer to the vertebral column. When
these muscles cease to act, the extended sternum, attached to the elastic thorax,
springs outwards, and the air rushes into the lungs to fill the vacuum thus formed.

In the mammalia, the inspiration and expiration of the air are effected by the
alternate movements of the diaphragm and the walls of the thoracic cavity.

The relation which exists between the number of the respirations and the
rapidity of the circulation of the blood will be seen in the following table drawn up
from the researches of Dumas, Prevost, and Simon: —

80

G B X ERAL CONCLUSIONS.

Number of the bents of the

Number of respirations

beart in one minute.

in one minute.

Horse .......

5G

16

Hare ......

120

30

Goat ......

84

24

Cat .

100

24

Dog

90

28

Guiuea-pig ......

140

36

Ape (Simia CaUitriche) ....

90

30

-Man . . .

12

18

Heron ......

2oo

22

Haven ......

110

21

Duck ......

110

21

Common Hen .....

140

30

Pigeon ......

136

34

This table shows, that, as a general rule, the activity of the respiratory function
corresponds with the rapidity of the circulation.

We are now prepared to understand the results of our experiments, and to show
that the operations of nature are carried on upon the same great plan, however
simple or complex the animal.

Cold-blooded animals are such, not from any peculiar chemical or physical endow-
ments of the organic and inorganic molecules of their bodies, but from the pecu-
liarity of the structure of their circulatory and respiratory systems.

The perfection of these two systems may be taken as the index of the rapidity
of the physical and chemical changes of the molecules of their fluids and solids, and
the facts we have presented lead to the conclusion, that the intelligence and acti-
vity of the vital actions are exactly proportional to the rapidity and amount of the
physical and chemical changes of the organic and inorganic molecules.

Our investigations show that the heart of warm-blooded animals is from two to
five times as heavy as that of reptiles, and is far more rapid and powerful in its
actions, and, as a necessary consequence, that the blood circulates with much
greater rapidity.

The respiratory system of reptiles is imperfectly developed, and its functions
imperfectly performed. Only from one-sixth to one-ninth as much blood passes
through their lungs, and is exposed to the action of the atmosphere, as circulates
through the pulmonary organs of warm-blooded animals.

The blood-corpuscles, the active agents in the elaboration of many of the consti-
tuents of the blood, are much less numerous, and the whole amount of blood exist-
ing in their bodies is much less abundant in cold than in warm-blooded animals.

The nervous system, the great apparatus for the generation of the excitor-motive
power of the animal economy, is imperfectly developed in cold-blooded animals.

From these data we are able to calculate, with almost absolute certainty, that
the vital actions of cold-blooded animals should be from one-ninth to one-fifteenth as
rapid as those of warm-blooded animals. Here we have a conclusive demonstration
that modifications in vital phenomena are accomplished by peculiar modifications
of the structure and arrangements of the various organs and apparatus, and by
peculiar applications of the forces, and not by a suspension or alteration of the
physical and chemical laws which govern all matter.

EFFECTS OF THIRST, ETC., ON EMTS SERRATA. 81

CHAPTER IV.

EFFECTS OF STARVATION AND THIRST, COMBINED WITH A CHANGE
OF DIET, UPON THE FLUIDS AND SOLIDS OF CARNIVOROUS CHE-
LONIANS.

Series I. — Experiments upon the Yellow-Bellied Terrapin {Emys serrata).

39. Examination of a female Emys serrata which was starved four weeks, and
then transferred to a tub of water, and abundantly supplied with Purslain (Portu-
lacca oleracea).

It remained in the tub of water for forty-two days.

Weight, May 25 ...... 23.696 grains.

June 21 ..... . 19.472 "

Loss of weight in twenty-seven days — during which period it

was deprived of all food and drink .... 4.224 "

Weight, August 2, after remaining forty-two days in the tub of water 25.333 "

Increase of weight in the forty-two days . . . 5.861 "

Gain above the original weight of May 25, . . . 1.637 "

The color of the blood was intermediate between arterial and venous.

The serum was of a light yellow color, resembling that of the Gopher (Tesiudo
polyphemus) which subsists entirely upon vegetable food. The serum of the Emys
serrata supplied with animal food, is always of a bright orange color. Here we
see that the color had been changed from orange to light yellow by a change of
diet.

In one portion of blood which was set aside, the fibrin did not coagulate until
nearly all the blood-corpuscles had settled to the bottom, thus affording a trans-
parent clot.

The portions of blood drawn last, coagulated much more rapidly than those
drawn first.

The cellular tissue in all parts of the body of this Terrapin, was permeated by
a limpid albuminous fluid, which coagulated when removed from the body. The
coats of the peritoneum, the cavity of the abdomen and the pleura, contained large
quantities of this fluid. The amount of this serous fluid, collected without any
special care, was more than five fluidounces, equal to 2420 grains. Its specific gravity,
1005.9. As the blood flowed from the wound in the neck, this serous fluid passed
into the bloodvessels, to supply the loss. This was shown by the change in the
specific gravity of the serum. That obtained from the portions of blood first
11

82

EFFECTS OF TIIIRST, ETC., ON EMYS SERRATA.

drawn, gave a specific gravity of 1014, whilst that of a latter period, contain-
ing numerous blood corpuscles, gave a specific gravity of only 1012.9.

The arteries and veins had lost their elasticity, owing to the great pressure
caused by the unusual amount of blood which they contained. After its removal
they were unable to contract, and were found distended with air throughout all
portions of the body. Even the heart contained air in its cavities. This pheno-
menon has never been witnessed in Terrapins fed upon animal food.

The tissues generally were relaxed, resembling those of a dropsical patient.

The shell had become much softer in its texture, the necessary amount of earthy
salts not having been supplied by the Purslain {Portulacca oleracca).

The whole amount of blood obtained was much greater than that of Terrapins
which were examined immediately after their capture, and which had been living
in a normal manner.

Amount of blood obtained, about
" " serous fluid from the tissues

Specific gravity of the blood

" " first portions of serum

last
" " serous fluid from tissues

2000 grains.
2420

1029.6 "
1014

1012.9 "
1005.9 "

The bladder contained a large quantity of light yellow transparent urine, having
a specific gravity not much higher than that of water.

Solid constituents in 1000 parts of blood
" " " serum

" " serum of 1000 parts of blood

Water in 1000 parts of blood
" " serum

1000 parts of blood contained —

Water .....
Blood-corpuscles (dried organic constituents)
Albumen, fatty and extractive matter
Fibrin .....
Fixed saliue constituents

1000 parts of blood contained —

Moist blood-corpuscles 293.64 {^f " . "

(Solid constituents

Liquor sanguinis

706.36

(Water .

(Solid constituents

122.35

51.14

47.30

877.65

948.86

877.65

70.53

45.38

1.64

4.80

220.23
73.41

657.42
48.94

40. Examination of a female Emys serrata, which was starved and deprived of
water twenty-eight days, and then transferred to a tub of fresh water and abun-
dantly supplied with Purslain {Portulacca oleracca) eighty-eight days.

Weight, when it was first captured, May 25

" after starvation, June 21 .
Loss of weight during twenty-seven days of thirst and starvation

20.372 grains.
15.797
4.575 "

EFFECTS OF THIRST, ETC., ON EMYS SERRATA. 83

Weight, September 17, after removal from the tub . . 27.125 grains.

Gain in weight during eighty-eight days subsistence upon vegetable

food . 11.328 "

The serum was of a light-yellow color, and the clot was large.

The tissues of this terrapin did not present the dropsical appearance of those of
the former terrapin.

The bladder was distended with light-yellow limpid urine, having a specific
gravity only a few degrees above that of water.

The pleura and cellular tissue, along the side of the back, contained two fluid-
ounces of a clear albuminous fluid, which coagulated when allowed to stand, and a
well-defined soft clot was formed.

The intestines were much enlarged and distended, resembling those of Chelo-
nians which live exclusively upon vegetable substances. The intestines of carni-
vorous terrapins in their normal condition are always contracted. This change
was observed in the intestines of all those carnivorous terrapins which had been
kept for a length of time upon vegetable food, and was, without doubt, due to the
character of the food.

The stomach was filled with the buds and leaves of the Purslain, which gave
an acid reaction.

The contents of the small intestines were neutral to test-paper.

The colon and rectum were filled with undigested vegetable matter, acid in its
reaction.

The pancreas was diseased in this and many other carnivorous terrapins which
had been fed entirely upon vegetable food. The diseased portion consisted of black
and brown hard masses which could be squeezed out of the substance of the
pancreas.

When subjected to the microscope, these masses were found to consist of nume-
rous large yellow cells, with divisions and nuclei, resembling certain cancer cells ;
also oil-globules, and octohedral and columnar crystals. When the diseased portion
was pressed upon the glass the crystals produced a grating noise. The cancer-
like cells were found only in the diseased portion, whilst the crystals were found in
other parts of the pancreas. We have never noticed this disease of the pancreas
in terrapins in a normal condition, and the only cause which can be assigned for
this degeneration of structure is the character of the food.

Solid constituents in 1000 parts of blood
" " " serum

in serum of 1000 parts of blood
Water in 1000 parts of blood
" " serum

115.84

50.00

46.53

884.16

950.00

1000 parts of blood contained —

Water ......... 884.16

Blood-corpuscles (dried organic constituents) .... 66.88

Solid constituents of serum ...... 46.53

Fibrin ......... 2.43

84

EFFECTS OF THIRST, ETC., ON EMYS SERRATA.

1000 parts of bloorl contained —
Moist blood-corpuscles 2G7.52 \ n

Liquor sanguinis

(Solid constituents

732.48 f Water •

(Solid constituents

200.64
66.88

683.52
48.96

Other terrapins which had been treated in a similar manner were examined, and
the results, in every instance, corresponded with those detailed above.

We shall next compare these analyses with those of the Emijs serrata in its normal
condition, and when deprived of food and drink. The following tables will give a
condensed view of the changes in the amounts and chemical constitution of the blood
of the Emijs terrapin during thirst, starvation, and a change of diet.

Solid Constituents of Blood

and Serum ; Fibrin and

(a). Specific Gravities and Water in 1000 piarls of Blood and Serum.

Fixed Saline Constituents

in 1000 parts of Blood.

Solid Solid

Specific

Specific Water in

Water iu

consti- 'Constitu-

Fixed

gravity

gravity

1000

1000

tuentsin ents in

saline

of

of

parts of

parts of

1000

serum ol

Fibrin.

consti-

blood.

serum.

blood.

serum.

parts of
blood.

1000

parts of

blood.

tuents.

(1). Female Emys serrata in a normal

condition, having been captured 3J

days ......

1026.5

1013.7

875.41

956.97

124.59 I

1.04

5.22

(2). Female Emys serrata, which had

been kept without food and drink 26

days.

1043.

801.34

904.52

198.66

84.59

4.15

11.45

(3). Female Emys serrata, which was

kept without food and drink 28 days,

and then transferred to a tub of water

and abundantly supplied with vegeta-

ble food 42 days. ....

1029.6

1014.

877.65

948.86

122.35

47.30

1.64

4.80

(4). Female Emys serrata, which was

kept without food and drink 28 days,

and then transferred to a tub of water

and abundantly supplied with vegeta-

ble food 88 days ....

884.16

950.00

115.84

46.53

2.43

(b.) Amount of Blood existing in these Terrapiins.

Weight of Terrapin

Amount of blood.

(1). Female Emys serrata in a normal condition ....

(2). Female Emys serrata deprived of food and drink 26 days

(3). Female Emys serrata deprived of food and drink 28 days, and

then transferred to a tub of water and abundantly supplied with

vegetable food 42 days ........

Grains.

33.258

28.675

25.333

Grains.

2000

450

2000

EFFECTS OF THIRST, ETC., ON EMYS TERRAPIN.

85

(c). Moist Blood- Corpuscles and Liquor Sanguinis in 1000 parts of Blood.

MOIST BLOOD-COItrUSCLES.

LIQUOB SANGUINIS.

Moist Hood-
corpuscles.

Water of

moist blood-
corpuscles.

Solid con-
stituents of
moist blood-
corpuscles.

Liquor san-
guinis.

Water of
liquor san-
guinis.

Solid con-
stituents of
liquor san-
guinis.

(1). Female Emys serrata in normal
condition .....

(2). Female Emys serrata starved
26 days

(3). Female Emys serrata deprived
of food and drink 28 days, and
then transferred to a tub of water
and supplied with vegetable food
42 days .....

(4). Female Emys serrata deprived
of food and drink 26 days, and
then transferred to a tub of water
and supplied with vegetable food
88 days

336 76
439.64

293.64

267.52

252.57
329.76

220.23

200.64

84.19
109.92

73.41

66.88

663.24
560.32

706.36

732.48

622.84
471.58

657.42

683.52

40.40
88.74

48.94

48.96

Series II. — Experiments upon the Salt-Water Terrapin [Emys terrapin).

41. Examination of a female Emys terrapin which had been starved twenty-one
days, then placed in fresh water, and abundantly supplied with Purslain.

It consumed large quantities of this vegetable, and was kept in the water for four
weeks, Sept. 9.

The blood appeared thin and watery.

The portions drawn last coagulated much more rapidly than those drawn first.
The former coagulated almost immediately after its removal from the body, whilst
the latter required for its coagulation about thirty minutes.

The Fibrin was much softer than that of Terrapins in the normal condition.

Amount of blood obtained, about
Solid constituents in 1000 parts of blood
" " " serum

" in serum of 1000 parts of blood

Water in 1000 parts of blood
" " serum

1200 grains.
114.56

34.90

32.02
885.44
965.10

1000 parts of blood contained —

Water .....
Blood-corpuscles (dried organic constituents)
Albumen, fatty and extractive matter
Fibrin .....
Fixed saline constituents

885.44

78.16

30.48

0.83

5.09

86 EFFECTS OF THIRST, ETC., ON EMYS TERRAPIN.

1000 parts of blood contained —

,,..., j , „„„ Q) (Water . .... 245.13

Moist blood-corpuscles 32G.84 l H

(.Solid constituents . . . 81.71

coic (Water 640.31

Llquor sanguinis 6*3"16 {solid constituents . . . 32.85

The bladder contained two fluidounces of clear, light yellow urine, having a
slightly acid reaction. Specific gravity, 1002.

The amount of the urine had been greatly increased, and its character also
chemically and physically, had been decidedly changed.

This subject will be more fully considered hereafter. The stomach was filled
with vegetable food, which gave a slightly acid reaction.

42. Examination of a female salt-water Terrapin (Emijs terrapin) which was
deprived of food and drink for twenty-one days, then placed in a tub of fresh water,
and abundantly supplied with Purslain (Portulacca oleracea), for thirty-three days,
Sept. 17.

The serum was of an orange yellow color.

The clot was small, and like that of the blood of Terrapins under the same cir-
cumstances, soft.

The bladder contained about half a fluidounce of clear, light yellow urine, neu-
tral to test paper and of low specific gravity.

The stomach and intestine presented the usual appearance of those of Terrapins
which had been treated in a similar manner.

Solid constituents in 1000 parts of blood
" " " serum

" in serum of 1000 parts of blood

Water in 1000 parts of blood
" " serum

113.92

28.97

26.49

886.08

971.03

1000 parts of blood contained —

Water ......... 886.08

Blood-corpuscles . . . . . . . .87.43

Solid constituents of serum ...... 26.49

1000 parts of blood contained —

Moist blood-corpuscles 349.72 iWater 262-29

(.Solid constituents . . . 87.43

T. • • »,„ no (Water ..... 623.79

Liquor sanguinis 650.28 i ' .„

(Solid constituents . . . 26.49

Several other salt-water Terrapins which had been starved, and then transferred
to fresh water, and supplied with vegetable food, were examined, and in every
instance the results were similar to those recorded above. The following tables
will give a condensed view of the effects of these experiments upon the constitu-
tion of their blood.

EFFECTS OF THIRST, ETC., ON EMYS TERRAPIN.

87

(a). Water and Solid Constituents in 1000 parts of Blood and Serum, and

Fibrin

and Fixed

Amount of Blood obtained.

Saline Constituents.

1 Solid

Solid

Water

Water

constitu-

constitu-

Amount

Fixed

in 1000

in 1000

ents in

ents in

of blood

Fibrin.

saline

parts of

parts of

1000

1000

obtain'd.

consti-

blood.

serum.

parts of
blood.

parts of
serum.

tuents.

Grains.

(1). Female Emys terrapin in normal condition

having been captured twelve hours

845.28

956.17

154.72

43.83

1000.

4.15

10.74

(2). Female Emys terrapin deprived of food

and drink 40 days

800.59

920.50

199.41

79.50

400.

5.26

10.74

(3). Female Emys terrapin which was deprived

of food and drink twenty-one days, and then

placed in fresh water and supplied with vege-

table food 28 days

885.44

965.10

114.56

34 90

1200.

0.83

5.09

(4). Female Emys terrapin which was deprived

of food and drink twenty-one days, and then

placed in fresh water and supplied with vege-

table food 33 days

886.08

9U.03

113.92

28.97

(b.) Moist Blood- corpiuscles and Liquor Sanguinis in 1000 parts of Blood.

MOIST BLOOD-COEr-USCLES.

LIQUOR SANGUINIS.

Moist

Water of

Solid con-

Liquor

Water of

Solid con-

blood-

moist

stituents of

liquor

stituents of

corpus-

blood-cor-

moist blood-

san-

liquor san-

•

cles.

puscles.

corpuscles.

guinis.

guinis.

(1). Female Emys terrapin in normal con-

dition .

447.28

335.46

111.82

552.72

509.82

42.90

(2). Female Emys terrapin deprived of food

and drink 40 days .....

500.00

375.00

125.00

500.00

425.59

74.41

(3). Female Emys terrapin deprived of food

and drink 21 days, and then placed in fresh

water and supplied with vegetable food

28 days

326.84

245.13

81.71

673.16

640.31

32.85

(4). Female Emys terrapin deprived of food

and drink 21 days, and then placed in fresh

water and supplied with vegetable food

33 days

349.72

262 29

87.43

650.28

623.79

26.49

By a careful comparison of the results of these experiments upon the Yellow-
bellied Terrapins {Emys serrata) and the Salt-water Terrapins {Emys terrapin), we
discover the following effects of starvation, thirst, and a change from animal to
vegetable food.

The blood lost during starvation was rapidly restored, in amount, upon a vege-
table diet.

The proportion between the moist blood-corpuscles and liquor sanguinis was not
altered in any great degree.

In most instances, the solid constituents of the blood were less under a vegetable
than under an animal diet.

S8 EFFECTS OF THIRST, ETC., ON EMYS TERRAPIN.

The fixed saline constituents were diminished, hecause they do not exist in so
large an amount in the Purslain (Porlulacva oleracea) as in the Small Reptiles,
Fishes, Crustaceans, and Mollusca, which constitute the ordinary food of these
Chelonians.

In many instances, the shells of the Terrapins suffered from the deprivation of
the fixed saline constituents. They were rendered much softer.

A deprivation of these constituents would prove much less injurious to cold-
blooded animals than to warm-blooded.

In the latter, all the vital and chemical actions are rapid and incessant, and the
integrity of the nervous and muscular systems depends in a great measure upon the
supply of certain inorganic salts, as the phosphate of lime, which enter into their
anatomical composition, and are absolutely essential to their existence and the per-
formance of their functions. The action of the nervous system is always attended
with a corresponding consumption of the inorganic as well as the organic elements.

In cold-blooded animals, the nervous system, circulatory and respiratory appa-
ratus, are feebly developed, and the metamorphoses of the organic and inorganic
elements of the tissues and organs are correspondingly slow.

The effects of a change of diet were strikingly exhibited in the alterations of the
digestive apparatus.

The intestines of carnivorous Chelonians are small and contracted. See Fig. 8,
which represents the digestive apparatus of the Snapping Turtle (Chelonura ser-
pentina). In frugivorous Chelonians, as the Gopher (Tesludo polyphemus), they are
large and capacious. (See Fig. 9.)

This is not surprising, since vegetable substances are much more bulky, contain
much less nutriment, and are much more slowly digested than an equal amount of
animal food; and hence we might infer that the small intestines would be enlarged,
so as to render them suitable for the digestion of vegetables.

In many cases, as already stated, the pancreas was affected with a cancerous
disease. One of the principal offices of the pancreatic fluid, is to form an emulsion
with fats, and I have found the pancreas to be always of a much smaller size in
frugivorous animals than in the carnivorous. It is probable that the gland, not
being normally exercised, degenerated in structure.

Another marked effect in a change of diet, was the production of dropsical effu-
sions into the cellular tissue, the pleural and abdominal cavities. The vegetable
albumen of the Purslain was in a much more diluted form than that derived
from flesh, consequently a much larger amount of water was thrown into the cir-
culation than with a diet of animal food. The kidneys, called upon to perform
an unusual amount of work, were unequal to the task. Water, holding albu-
men in solution, accumulated in the cellular tissues and serous cavities. Gradu-
ally, however, the kidneys became accustomed to the change, and threw off more
perfectly the large amounts of liquid. The Terrapins examined shortly after their
removal to the tub of water, contained much more fluid in their tissues and serous
cavities than those examined after the lapse of some time. This shows us the
manner in which the characters of the blood are preserved. The watery elements
absorbed along with the Purslain did not accumulate in the bloodvessels, but were

EFFECTS OF THIRST, ETC., ON CHELONIANS.

89

thrown oft' into the cellular tissue and serous cavities, and discharged by the kid-
neys. This shows that there is a tendency to a definite standard of concentration
of the blood, and also to a definite proportion of its organic and inorganic constitu-
ents, which nature endeavors to maintain, however varied the conditions.

The effects of a change of diet upon the quantity, and chemical and physical
constitution of the excretions of the kidneys, were strikingly illustrated in these
experiments. The following table will present this in a clear light.

Period of

Amount of

Specific

Solid con-

Reaction

of urine.

starvation

ami thirst.

urine ex-
creted.

gravity of
urine.

stituents
of urine.

Color of urine.

Days.

Grains.

Grains.

Female Emys serrata

17

442.3

1011.

11.33

Acid.

Turbid yellow.

it it

26

113.

1033.5

9.

tt

Clear yellow, with
chalky precipitates.

tt tt

29

223.1

1020.

10.396

tt

Clear yellow, with
precipitates.

a tt

31

741.5

1017.5

29.36

tt

Limpid yellow.

tt it

38

890.6

1017. G

37.34

tt

Yellow, with heavy
precipitates.

Male

49

300.

1019.4

13.02

tt

Yellow, with pre-
cipitates.

Female Emys terrapin

40

300.

1015.

10.4

tt

Clear yellow.

it tt

43

70.

tt

Cream-colored like
pus.

n ti

57

130.

8.05

tt

Clear yellow.

Female Emys terrapin, de-

prived of food and drink

21 days, and then placed

in fresh water and sup-

plied with vegetable food

28 days.

840.

1002.

3.40

Slightly

Limpid light-yellow.

Emys serrata, starved 30

acid.

days, and then supplied

with water and vegetable

food 42 days.

2150.

1000.

5.

Neutral.

Limpid light-yellow.

Emys serrata, starved 30

days, and then supplied

with water and vegetable

food GO days.

2160.

1004-.

18.64

Neutral.

Limpid light-yellow.

Emys serrata, starved 30

days, and then supplied

with water and vegetable

food (purslain) 88 days.

2000.

1000.

1.

Neutral.

Limpid light-yellow.

From this table we see that the effect of the change of diet was to render the
urine much more abundant, and to alter entirely its specific gravity and chemical
reactions.

This subject, however, will be considered in its important bearings, when we
come to the investigation of the kidneys and their excretions.

12

90

ALIMENTARY CANAL.

CHAPTER V.

OBSERVATIONS UPON THE ALIMENTARY CANAL AND DIGESTION

OF ALBUMEN AND FLESH.

In many cartilaginous fishes, as the Stingray {Trygon sabina), the extent of sur-
face over which the digested aliment is. spread, is increased by a spiral valve which
winds in close turns, from the pyloric to the anal extremity of the capacious intes-
tine. By this remarkable arrangement, the apparently short intestine possesses an
exceedingly enlarged surface of mucous membrane.

Fig. 19 represents the viscera and impregnated uterus of a Stingray {Trygon
sabina), reduced to half its diameter.

The intestinal canal of Ophidians, is but slightly convoluted; its length is gene-
rally about equal to that of the body.

Fig. 21 represents the viscera of the Corn Snake ( Coluber guttatus), reduced to half
its diameter.

Fig. 8.

Viscera of Snapping Turtle (Chelonura serpentina), a carnivorous chelonian, reduced to one-half diameter. A. Ventricle
of heart. B. Auricle of heart. M, M. Liver. N. Stomach. G. Duodenum ; a small portion of the pancreas is
seen in contact with the superior surface of the duodenum. P, P, P. Small intestines, which suddenly expand into
the large intestine. 0. Large intestine, filled with shells of Crustacea, and fragments of grass and leaves. T. Rectum,
S, S. Testicles. Q, Q. Kidneys. II. Bladder, partially filled with light yellow urine ; the bladder communicates
with the cloaca. X. Divided extremity of the large intestine, called, at this position, the cloaca.

ALIMENTARY CANAL.

91

The intestinal canal of the Congo Snake [Amphiuma means) resembles, in many-
respects, that of Ophidians (see Fig. 20).

The intestinal canal of carnivorous chelonians, as the Yellow-bellied Terrapin
{Emys serrala), Chicken Terrapin {Emys reticulata), Salt-water Terrapin (Emys
terrapin), and Snapping Turtle (Chclonura serpentina), is shorter and much less
capacious than that of the graminivorous Gopher [Test u Jo poly phemus).

A comparison of the viscera of a carnivorous chelonian, as the Snapping Turtle
(Chelonura serpentina) (Fig. 8), with the viscera of a graminivorous chelonian, as
the Gopher {Testudo ptolyphemus) (Fig. 9), shows the modifications by which the
alimentary canal is adapted to the habits and food of animals.

Viscera of the Gopher (Testudo polyphemus), a graminivorous chelonian, reJuced to one-half diameter. A, A. Muscles.
B, B. Auricles of heart. C. Ventricle of heart. F, F, F, F. Lungs; the lungs of this chelonian are very
extensive. D, D. Liver. G. Stomach. II. Inferior portion of the small intestine. I, K. The large intestine,
filled with grass and vegetable matters. M. Bladder: the bladder of the Gopher is capacious, and in medium-
sized individuals of this species, often contains five fluid ounces of urine; the bladder empties its contents into
the lower portion of the large intestine, or cloaca. 0. Cloaca. E. Tail and anus: the tail is remarkably small
and short in the Testudo polyphemus.

In all the gophers that I have examined, the stomach and small intestines were
completely empty ; while the colon and rectum, which are developed to an enor-
mous extent, were packed with grasses and leaves. The vegetable food contained
in the colon and rectum of medium-sized gophers, often amounted to several thou-
sand grains.

These animals are able to do without food and drink much longer than car-
nivorous chelonians, because the wastes of the solids and fluids are supplied from
this capacious storehouse of nutritive materials.

When carnivorous terrapins were starved for a length of time, and then fed upon

92

LENGTH OF ALIMENTARY CANAL.

vegetable food (purslain), the intestinal canal gradually became much enlarged,
and resembled, in some respects, that of the gopher.

The colon and rectum of carnivorous chelonians generally contain the shells of
invertebrate animals, and parts of leaves and grasses. During starvation, all the
organic constituents of the shells gradually disappear, and nothing remains in the
colon but white chalk-like masses, which I determined, in several instances, to be
carbonate and phosphate of lime. The intestines, from the stomach to the anus,
never contained any large amount of bile, showing that it was absorbed.

The stomach of cold-blooded animals gives an acid reaction during starvation and
digestion. During starvation, the small intestines give, in many places, a feeble
acid, and in others a neutral reaction. When fed upon vegetable substances, the
reaction from the stomach to the anus was acid.

Table showing the length of the

Alimentary Ca

nnl in various Animals.

Weight

Length of the

of the body.

alimentary canal.

FISHES.

Grains.

Inches.

Trygon sabina (Stingray) ........

16,400

12

Zygana malleus (Hammerhead Shark) .....

54,350

28

Lepisosteus osseus (Garfish) .......

22,303

30

Lepisosteus osseus (Garfish) .......

52,110

28J

REPTILES.

Menopoma Alleghanensis ........

24

Pana catesbaeana (Bullfrog)

9,800

34

Heterodon niger (Black Viper)

4,620

26

Psummophis flagclliformis (Coachwhip Snak

B) :

5,141

42

Coluber guttatus (Corn Snake)

9,600

54

Coluber constrictor (Black Snake)

5,100

36

Crotalus adamanleus (Rattlesnake)

.

6,180

42

Alligator Mississippiensis (Alligator), female

.

211,940

147

Alligator Mississippiensis (Alligator), male .

76,507

60

Chclonia caretta (Loggerhead Turtle) .

36,985

102

Chelonura serpentina (Snapping Turtle)

16,235

46

Emys reticulata (Chicken Terrapin)

. .

8,400

38

Emys serrata (Yellow-bellied Terrapin)

, .

27,172

66

Emys serrata (Yellow-bellied Terrapin)

. .

14,400

54

Emys serrata (Yellow-bellied Terrapin)

23,100

60

Trionix ferox (Sof'L-shelled Turtle)

a m

48

Testudo polyphemus (Gopher)

,

45,500

78

Testudo polyphemus (Gopher)

18,368

54

BIRDS.

Tantalus loculator (Wood Ibis) .... . .

39,375

84

Tantalus loculator (Wood Ibis)

37,625

84

Ardea nycticorax (Night Heron)

10,095

90

Cathartes atratus (Black Turkey-Buzzard)

31,937

60

Syrnium nebulosum (Barred Owl)

.

10,580

36

Ortyx Virginiana (Quail) .

.

2,760

40

Meleagris gallopavo (Wild Turkey)

,

36.312

72

Meleagris gallopavo (Wild Turkey)

28,875

68

MAMMALS.

Didelphis Virginianus (Opossum) ......

18,812

51

Common Cat

35,000

64

Pointer Dog

247,126

138

Procyon lotor (Raccoon)

47,787

216

Procyon lotor (Raccoon)

.

54,735

180

Procyon lotor (Raccoon)

,

59,110

180

Sciurus Carolinensis (Gray Squirrel) .

, ,

6,960

120

Sciurus capistratus (Black Fox Squirrel)

# ,

14,710

123

Cervus Virginianus (foetus of Deer)

26,935

234

Common Sheep .

385,000

1,056

DIGESTION OF ALBUMEN AND FLESH.

93

Length of the Stomach, Small Intestines, Colon, and Rectum.

Length

of stomach.

Length

of small in-
testines.

Length

of colon and

rectum.

Trygon sabina (Female Stingray)
Zygcena malleus (Hammerhead Shark)
Menopoma AUeghancnsis (Hellbender)
liana catesbeeana (Spring Frog) .
Chelonura serpentina (Snapping Turtle)
Testudo polyphemus (Gopher)
Testudo polyphenols (Gopher)
Common Cat .....
Didelphis Virginianus (Opossum)
Common Sheep .....

Inches.

H

10
3}
4
4
8
6

Inches.
8J
28
16
30
32
24
18
54
38
864

Inches.

6

10
46
30
10
18
192

Length of the Bodies cmd Alimentary Canals of Ophidians.

Length
of animal.

Length of the
alimentary canal.

Heterodon niger (Black Viper) .......

Psammojihis flagelliformis (Coachwhip Snake) ....

Coluber gutlatus (Corn Snake) .......

Coluber constrictor (Black Snake) ......

Crotalus adamanteus (Rattlesnake) ......

Water Snake

Inches.
32
68
54
54
48
40

Inches.

26

42
54
36
42
50

Digestion of Albumen and Flesh.

The process of digestion has been the subject of numerous -careful and laborious
investigations, and after the researches of Spallanzani, Magendie, Tiedemann,
Gmelin, Prout, Beaumont, Mulder, Dumas, Liebig, Blondot, Bernard, Lehmann,
Bidder and Schmidt, and many others, it seems impossible that it should still
remain in obscurity.

It has been the prevailing opinion of authors, that flesh, and the protein
bodies generally, are digested entirely in the stomach. This fact, however, has
lately been denied by physiologists of the highest authority. By recent experi-
ments, Bidder and Schmidt have convinced themselves, that one of the important
offices of the intestinal juice, is to dissolve and render fit for absorption, not only
starch, but also flesh and other protein bodies. They assert that the intestinal
juice not only metamorphoses starch with as great rapidity as the salivary and
pancreatic fluids, but also that the intestine exerts as powerful a digestive influence
on flesh and albumen as the stomach. Frerichs, on the other hand, has been
unable, in his experiments, to detect any change exerted by the intestinal juice
upon the protein elements of the food. Protein bodies, gelatinous substances, fat
and starch, remained unchanged, and he denies positively that the intestinal juice
has any action as a direct digestive agent.

Professor Lehmann, in a series of experiments upon the intestinal fluid collected
from a loop of a gut in a human being with a fistulous opening into the small
intestine, found that it possessed in a high degree, the power of converting starch

91 DIGESTION OF ALBUMEN AND FLESH.

into sugar; whilst protein bodies and fats were not affected in any appreciable
manner. Professor Lehrnann, however, attaches little importance to these experi-
ments performed by himself, from the fact that the fistulous opening was in the
lower portion of the ileum, and probably near the caecum. He adopts the experi-
ments of Bidder and Schmidt, and by an argument drawn from the amount of gas-
tric juice secreted in a given length of time, and the amount of protein substances
which it is capable of digesting, concludes that a large portion of flesh and albumen,
and the other protein bodies, pass out of the stomach undigested, and are finally
dissolved by the intestinal fluid. According to Professor Lehrnann, the amount of
gastric fluid secreted by a dog in 24 hours, equals one-tenth the weight of the whole
body. 100 grains of recent gastric juice are capable of dissolving from 3 to 5 grains
of coagulated albumen. A dog needs daily, for the perfect maintenance of all .the
physiological functions, 50 grains of flesh (containing 10 grains of albuminates) for
every 1000 grains of its weight. It secretes, however, only 100 grains of gastric
juice for every 1000 grains of its weight, only one-half the amount capable of
dissolving the albuminates of the flesh. Hence a large portion of the protein bodies
must pass out of the stomach undigested.

Careful experiments have shown that the gastric juice is deprived in the duo-
denum, of its free acid ; and, with it, of its power of digestion by the bile and
pancreatic fluid. Hence other fluids must flow into the intestines, which are
capable of dissolving the protein bodies.

The only method of deciding accurately upon the truth of these conclusions,
drawn by Prof. Lehrnann from the preceding argument, is to appeal to the
physico-chemical process of digestion, as it is performed in a normal condition in
the animal economy.

I have enjoyed numerous opportunities of examining the contents of the sto-
machs of Fishes, Reptiles, Birds, and Mammals in every stage of the digestive
process, and have never discovered undigested particles of flesh in the small
intestines. The following observations were made during the prosecution of
various researches upon the blood, urine, relative weights of the organs, compara-
tive anatomy and minute structure of the organs of different animals, without
any reference whatever to the maintenance of an hypothesis.

The stomach of an Alligator (Alligator Mmissippi&nsis) contained the bones,
teeth, hoofs, and hair of a pig. The flesh had been entirely digested, leaving the
bones as clean as those of a prepared skeleton.

In the stomach of other alligators, we have found fishes, snakes, crabs, &c, in
different stages of digestion — some but slightly acted upon by the gastric juice,
others partially dissolved ; whilst of others, little more than their bones remained.

The stomach of a Bullfrog (Sana ca(esbceana) , which had been captured twenty-
four hours, contained several Crawfish (Astacus Bartoni), and a slender Grass
Snake (Tropidonotus ordlnatus), about three feet in length. Although this food
had been swallowed for more than twenty-four hours, only the exterior parts of the
body of the serpent showed the evidences of the action of tbe gastric juice, and
the shell of the invertebrate animals was of a red color, resembling that which
they assume after they have been acted upon by boiling water.

DIGESTION OF ALBUMEN AND FLESH. 95

In the stomachs of serpents we have found smaller serpents, lizards, and mice in
all stages of digestion, whilst the small intestines contained not a particle of flesh.

These observations were also verified by an examination of the contents of the
stomachs of fishes, carnivorous birds — as buzzards, hawks, cranes, herons, &c. ; and
also of carnivorous mammals — as raccoons and dogs.

If one-half of all the flesh received into the stomach passes into the small intes-
tines, and if the process of digestion is, according to the statement of Bidder and
Schmidt, as slow as that in the stomach, why is it that its presence always eluded
observation when the intestinal canal was laid open? Especially in the case of
animals which swallow their prey whole, without any mastication, it is difficult to
see how portions of flesh could pass out of the capacious stomach into the con-
tracted intestine, without being evident to the observer? All the observations I
have thus far made, convince me that flesh is entirely digested in the stomach.

Another fact worthy of note is, that in the stomach of all animals, whether cold
or warm-blooded, which I have examined whilst the process of digestion was going
on, the amount of fluid containing the digested matter in solution, was exceedingly
small, oftentimes amounting to only a few drops, and in many cases, especially
amongst cold-blooded animals, it appeared to be almost entirely absent. This proves
that, in the normal process of digestion, the matter dissolved by the gastric juice
is almost immediately absorbed or passes into the duodenum.

"As far as my observations have extended, a solution of the albuminous matters
(chyme) does not often accumulate in the stomach. This accords with the results
of the experiments of Dr. Samuel Jackson, Professor of the Institutes of Medicine
in the University of Pennsylvania.

This fact shows the fallacy of the inference founded on the amount of flesh which
can be digested by a given quantity of gastric juice out of the body. The natural
process is far different from the artificial. A portion of gastric juice dissolves a
definite amount of flesh, and the solution is then absorbed, or passes out into the
small intestines. Another portion of gastric juice is secreted, and acts upon the
fresh exposed surface of the flesh, and the products are in turn absorbed. It is
evident that this process is far more energetic than that of artificial digestion, and
consequently the one cannot be the measure of the other.

Even granting that artificial and normal digestion are precisely similar as far as
the rapidity of their actions is concerned, how is it possible to determine the
amount of gastric juice secreted by the stomach in a given time, when absorption
is almost as rapid as secretion. In the consideration of the digestion of protein
bodies, this fact has been left entirely out of view.

The absorption and passage of the digested matters, out of the stomach, immedi-
ately after their solution, is true also of graminivorous and frugivorous animals. I
have examined the stomachs of numerous squirrels, rats, and birds fed upon grain,
acorns, nuts, and berries, and in almost every instance there was no fluid that
corresponded to the chyme. Even in those animals which subsist upon grasses and
green buds and leaves, which contain a larger amount of fluid, the contents of the
stomach are comparatively dry. Almost every one has it in his power to verify

96 DIGESTION OF ALBUMEN AND FLESH.

these observations, by simply visiting the butcher pens, and examining the con-
tents of the stomachs of cows, sheep, &c.

Amongst cold-blooded animals, the only frugivorous species which I was able to
examine, was the Gopher (Testudo jx>li/p7iemus). In this the grasses and vegetable
matters appear to be principally digested in the colon, which is enlarged into a
receptacle for food, thirty inches in length and four inches in circumference. (See
Fig. 9.) In one instance, after starvation for thirty days, the undigested vegetable
contents of the colon and caecum amounted to 14 GO grains. The Gopher, as we
have said in a previous chapter, has the power of retaining in its intestines vege-
table food, which neither digests nor putrefies, though it rapidly decomposes when
removed from the body.

COMPARATIVE ANATOMY OF PANCREAS. 97

CHAPTER VI.

COMPARATIVE ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY OF THE

PANCREAS.

Among the invertebrates no lymphatic system has been discovered, and the
existence of a pancreatic gland has not as yet been satisfactorily shown.

Siebold considers two thick walled ca?ca, lined with ciliated epithelium, and
opening into the beginning of the stomach, in many Rotatoria, a rudimentary
pancreas. Hunter, Grant, Owen, Siebold, and Rymer Jones, consider the pale-
yellow ramified tubes, which, in many species of Cephalopoda, are appended to the
hepatic ducts as true representatives of the pancreatic glands of the higher animals.
These, however, have not been definitely proved to be pancreatic glands, for no
comparative anatomist or physiologist has as yet described the special character
and offices of their secretion.

In the four great classes of vertebrate animals the circulatory system is completely
separated from the digestive cavity, all the organs are highly developed, and the
existence of a special system of absorbents appears to be absolutely necessary for
the preservation of the integrity of the animal fluids, and also for the absorption
of fatty matters, which are of great importance in the maintenance of animal
temperature.

In Fishes, the development and perfection of the pancreas corresponds in no
degree with the position occupied by different individuals in the classification of
naturalists. The most superficial examination of the gland under consideration
will show that many animals, of an exceedingly simple structure, often have
individual organs more highly developed than those which stand far above them in
physical and mental constitution. Thus in the lowest orders of the cartilaginous
fishes, the Cyclostomi and Plagiostomi, this gland resembles, in all respects, that of
the more highly organized mammals. In the Sturiones, its structure is somewhat
simplified, and, in the majority of Osseous Fishes, it is reduced to its rudimentary
form, consisting of cosca, varying in number in different species, and opening into
the duodenum below the circular valve of the stomach, whilst in others, as observed
by Cuvier in the Conger Eel, Pike, and Carp, and by Miiller in the Oplmurus
serpens, it is intimately associated with the internal mucous membrane, consisting of
simple follicular depressions lined with the peculiar cells constituted to secrete the
pancreatic fluid. It cannot, therefore, be asserted as a universal rule, without any
exception, that there is a regular progression in the development of the different
organs in animals, corresponding to the position which they occupy in the scale of
creation. This may be illustrated by comparing together the rudimentary pancreas
13

98

COMPARATIVE ANATOMY OF PANCREAS.

of the Plaice, Fig. 10; the pancreas of the Stingray {Trygon sabina), Fig. 13; the
pancreas of the Hammerhead Shark (Zygoma malleus), Fig. 22; and the pancreas
of the Garfish (Lcplsosteus osseus), Fig. 11.

It matters not whether we view the pancreas in its earlier stages of development
in the higher animals or in its permanent condition in many of the Osseous Fishes,
its structure is the same. By classifying this organ according to its development
in fishes we have an exact history of the changes which occur during its development
in the higher animals. The permanent forms of the pancreas of the former are but
transitory conditions, forming the stages in the development of this organ in the
latter. According to Miiller, Weber, and Wharton Jones, in higher animals which
have a perfect pancreas, its development, like that of the salivary glands, commences
by a simple diverticulum, or caecum, from the walls of the duodenum. This sub-
divides into bud-like processes. As the development of the gland advances, the
canal and its branches become more and more ramified and subdivided, until the
compound racemose lobulated gland is formed. Precisely the same stages of develop-
ment in a permanent form are discernible in the different orders, genera, and species
of fishes.

Mere cells or follicular depressions in the mucous membrane of the small intes-
tines, according to the observations of Cuvier, Miiller, and Solly, perform the offices
of the pancreas in several species, as the Hippoglossus rondeletus, Conger Eel, Pike,
and Carp, and Ophisurus serpens.

In the Ammodytes tobianus there is a single caecum prolonged into a pouch, repre-
senting this gland in its rudimentary condition. Several species of Plaice have two,
whilst others have three, like the River Perch and Common Loach, whilst the
Platessa ohlonga has four of these crccal pouches, which open into the pylorus and
duodenum. This form of the pancreas is seen in the following figure : —

Fig. 10.

Rudimentary pancreas of the Plaice (Platcssa oblonga) reduced to one-half diameter. A. Stomach. B. Pyloric extre-
mity of stomach. C, C, C, C. Pancreatic cocoa opening into the small intestine below the pyloric valve of the
stomach. F. Small intestine. G. Large intestine. S. Spleen.

Five of these caeca occur in Salmo spirlingulus, six in Perca lucioperca and
Sargus annularis, seven to eight in the Bass (Corvina ocellata), and ten to thirty
or more in many Salmons and Herrings, and from eighty to ninety in the Common
Salmon.

COMPARATIVE ANATOMY OF PANCREAS.

99

Fio. 11.

In Gadus and Scomber, the number is greatly augmented, and the complexity of
the gland increased by the division of the cosca. In Scomber tliynniis four large
trunks arise from the intestine, and divide into branches, each of which subdivide
and terminate at length in a tuft-like fasciculus of narrow tubular caeca.

In the salt-water Garfish {LepisohUus osseus) of Georgia, the pancreas is situated
with its superior convex border in contact with the inferior concave border of the
liver, which resembles in shape and appearance this organ in serpents. The inferior
border is in contact with the spleen. Upon the exterior it consists of numerous
short caeca, which radiating inwards unite together forming several branches, which
again unite and constitute one short duct, having a diameter almost equal to that
of the small intestine into which it opens.

The duct branches of caaca generally contain, especially after a meal of fish, a
cream-like fluid, which, under the microscope, is found to be a true emulsion, con-
taining innumerable minute globules of oil in a transparent fluid. The large opening
of the duct of the pancreas is so situated, just at the bend of the duodenum, that all
the digested food, after passing the stomach, must be sub-
mitted to the influence of its secretion and much passes
into the duct and caeca. All the oleaginous matter must,
therefore, be brought into contact with the pancreatic
juice, and in this manner an emulsion is formed and pre-
pared for absorption. The emulsion is not found in the
stomach above the opening of the duct of the pancreas,
but exists in greatest abundance in its immediate vicinity
and within the caeca.

The structure of this gland in the fresh-water Garfish
of the swamps of Georgia, is constructed on a similar
plan; its caeca, however, are longer, and the branches
more distinct. The duct, branches, and caaca, contained,
in every instance after a full meal, a similar i'atty emul-
sion.

Fig. 11 represents the viscera, with the structure and
position of the pancreas of the fresh-water Garfish.

This organ is very large in the Sword fish {Zipliiaa
gladius). Professor Grant states, in his Lectures upon Com-
parative Anatomy, that, in the Swordfish, this organ is
very large, and that it consists of innumerable small caaca
connected together by cellular tissue, in which ramify the
capillary vessels. These ca?ca form a reniform mass
which is surrounded with a muscular tunic and the peri-

Viscera of a Fresh-Water Garfish reduced one-half diameter. B. Rough outline of the head. C, C. Pectoral fins. A.
Heart. F. Superior portion of the lung. M. Lung. T. Inferior portion of the lung. The lung of the Garfish is
a capacious fibrous sac which opens by a short trachea, high up in the throat, and extending nearly the whole
length of the abdominal cavity, terminates within a short distance of the anus. It lies between the posterior surface
of the liver and the anterior surface of the kidneys. When removed from the abdominal cavity, and fully inflated,
its diameter is about equal to one-half of that of the fish. In many respects its structure resembles that of the
Amphiuma means and other doubtful reptiles. L. Liver. N. Stomach. P. Pancreas composed of numerous casca.
S. Spleen situated in a convolution of the small intestines. In many individuals I have found two spleens. R.
Inferior portion of intestinal canal. K. Anus. X. Anal fin.

100

COMPARATIVE ANATOMY OF PANCREAS.

toneiun. When opened, the innumerable component creca are found to be formed
by the successive divisions of the single great duct into which they all pour their
secretions into the duodenum immediately below the pyloric valve.

In the Sturgeon, the structure of the pancreas is similar to that of the Ziphiaa
gladius. The hundreds of cceca ramified from one common duct are inclosed in a
muscular and peritoneal coat. The contraction of the muscular tunic compresses
the ca?ca and forces their secretion into the intestinal canal. The excretory duct
opens close to the pyloric valve and the termination of "the ductus communis
cholcdochus.

In the Eel, Pike, and fresh-water Trout, we find a yellowish-white compact gland-
ular pancreas, having from two to three excretory ducts, which are frequently
accompanied in their course to the intestine by the biliary ducts. In the Trout
and some others there exist both pyloric appendages and a compact pancreatic
gland.

In the Hammerhead Shark (Zygccna malleus), we find an elongated, narrow,
flattened, light yellow, compact pancreas, with little lobulation. (See Fig. 22.)

In the Stingray [Trygon sabina), this organ is of a yellow color, and well defined,
lobulated form, resembling in all respects the perfectly-developed pancreas of the
Mammalia and other vertebrates.

The following figures represent the position and appearance of the pancreas of
the Stingray {Trygon sabina).

Fig. 12.

Fid. 10.

Fia. 12. — Position of the stomach, spleen, ami intestine of tbe Stingray (Trygon sabina) after the removal of the liver.

Reduced one-half diameter. — A. Inferior portion of the oesophagus expanding into the stomach. 15. Stomach.

S. Spleen. C. Duodenum, or commeucement of small intestine. R. Intestine with spiral valve; the dark lines

mark the turns of the valve.
Flo. 13 represents the stomach and spleen of the Trygon sabina turned over to one side, thus exposing the pancreas.

Reduced one-half diameter. — A. Inferior portion of the oesophagus expanding into the stomach. B. Stomach. C.

Small intestine, or duodenum. S. Spleen. I'. Pancreas, presenting the appearance of this organ in the higher

animals.

COMPARATIVE ANATOMY OP PANCREAS.

101

The pancreas of the Doubtful Reptiles assumes the appearance presented by that
of the Stingray, Shark, and warm-blooded animals.

In the Menobranchus maculatus, it is an irregularly-shaped gland, having four
principal lobes diverging from each other at right angles, thus presenting a stellate

arrangement.

Fig. 14.

Stomach, spleen, and pancreas of the Menobranchus maculatus. Reduced one-half diameter. — A. Stomach. S. Spleen.

P. Pancreas. D. Small intestine.

The pancreas of the Hellbender [Menopoma alleghanensis) is a long, delicate, light
yellow gland, which commences near the pyloric extremity of the stomach, and
extends down along the duodenum and small intestine for about three inches.
Its inferior portion is more expanded than the superior. (See Fig. 24.) The
pancreas of the Congo Snake [Ampliiuma means) is similar in structure and appear-
ance to that of the Menopoma alleghanensis, with the exception that it is broader and
thicker. (See Fig. 23.)

In the Batrachia, the pancreas presents a developed appearance, and generally
commences by a small slender lobe at the pyloric extremity of the stomach, and,
passing downwards and forwards, expands into a broad lobulated mass. As in
many other cold-blooded animals, it is not in contact with the spleen.

I have examined many American Ophidians,1 and in each the pancreas is a
compact, ovoid gland, often kidney-shaped, situated in contact superiorly with the

1 For example, Banded Rattlesnake (Crotcdus ditrissirs), the Water Rattlesnake (Crotcdus adaman-
teus), Ground Rattlesnake (Cratalophorus miliarius), Water Mokeson (Trigortoceplmlus piscivorus),
Copperhead (Trigonocepludiis contortrix), Hog-nose Viper (Heierodon plalyrhinos), Black Viper
(Heterodon niger), Grass Snake (Tropidonotus ordinatus), Water Snake (Tropidonotus fasciatus). Green
Snake (Leptophis cestivm), Coaehwhip Snake (Psaminophis fta gel/if ormis), Indigo Snake (Coluber
couperi), Chicken Snake (Coluber quadrivittatus), Corn Snake (Coluber guttatus), Black Snake (Coluber
constrictor).

102

COMPARATIVE ANATOMY OF PANCREAS.

gall-bladder, and inferiorly attached to the duodenum. The spleen, which is very
small in these animals, is attached to the antero-superior surface of the pancreas.
The hepatic and cystic ducts perforate the substance of the pancreas, and, uniting
with its duct, enter the duodenum.

The following figure represents the position and appearance of these viscera in
the Water Snake (Tropidonotus sipedon).

Fig. 15.

Spleen and pancreas of Water Snake (Tropidonolus sipedon). Natural size.— A. Inferior portion of the stomach con-
tracting into the duodenum. R. Small intestine. P. Pancreas, a compact ovoid gland. S. Spleen attached to
the anterior superior surface of the pancreas. By comparing the spleen of this serpent with those of other animals
(as in Figs. 10, 12, 13, 14, 1G, 17, 18, 22, 23, and 24), we see that this organ is remarkably small in Serpents.
0. Gall-bladder. N. Cystic duct passing down and joining the hepatic duct, M, just where it perforates the
pancreas. M. Inferior portion of the hepatic duct. X. Point at which the cystic and hepatic ducts perforate the
pancreas.

In the carnivorous Chelonia, the pancreas is a large, well-developed, light-yellow,
lobulated gland.

In the Soft-shelled Terrapin (Trionyx ferox), it commences opposite the pyloric
valve of the stomach. The principal lobe extends down along the small intestine
about three inches. At the inferior portion it sends off two lobes — the inferior one
short and broad, the superior longer — and, passing downwards, comes in contact
with the spleen, and passes along the anterior surface of this organ.

Fig. 16.

Pancreas of a carnivorous Chclonian (Triotii/z ferox), Soft- shelled Turtle. Reduced one-half diameter.— A. Inferior
portion of stomach contracting into small intestine. P, 1', P. Pancreas composed of numerous lobules. S. Spleen.
R. Small intestine.

COMPARATIVE ANATOMY OF PANCREAS.

103

The structure, position, and appearance of this gland do not differ in any
essential respect in the Alligator Cooter {Chelonura serpentina), Loggerhead Turtle
(Chelonia careita), Salt-water Terrapin (Emys terrapin), Chicken Terrapin {Emys
reticulata), Yellow-hellied Terrapin {Emys serrata), and other carnivorous Terrapins.
The following figure represents the pancreas of the Yellow-bellied Terrapin {Emys
serrata) .

Fro. 17.

Pancreas of a carnivorous Chelonian (Emys serrata). Reduced one-half diameter.— A. Inferior portion of the oesophagus
expanding into the stomach. B. Stomach. P. Pancreas. S. Spleen. 0. Small intestine.

In the Gopher {Testudo polyphcmus), which is the only graminivorous Chelonian
in Georgia, the size and appearance of the pancreas are far different.

It is a long, slender, delicate gland, consisting of several thin slender lobes, sub-
divided into numerous small lobules. Its size is far smaller than that of car-
nivorous Chelonians. The reason of this will be readily understood when we
consider the functions of the gland.

Fw. 18.

Pancreas of a graminivorous Chelonian ( Testudo poli/phemus), Gopher. Reduced one-half diameter.— A, A. Inferior
portion of stomach and small intestine. P, P. Pancreas. S. Spleen. R. Large intestine, which contains grass.

A comparison of Figs. 10, 17, and 18, illustrates the fact that the pancreas of
carnivorous Chelonians is larger than that of the graminivorous ones.

In Birds, the pancreas is a conglomerate gland, generally of large size, invariably
lodged within a loop formed by the duodenum, and generally consists of two por-

104 PHYSIOLOGY OF PANCREAS.

tions or lobes, united by a slender isthmoid portion. In some individuals it is
single, and in others consists of three lobes. From each lobe an excretory duct is
given off, which terminates separately in the intestine near the opening of the
biliary canals. The color and appearance are similar to those of the well-developed
pancreas in all animals, cold or warm-blooded, and so constant in this respect are
the different glands in vertebrate animals that any one familiar with comparative
anatomy and physiology can distinguish them at a glance.

The pancreas of the omnivorous and carnivorous Mammalia resembles, in appear-
ance and structure, that of Man ; its secretion enters the duodenum at the same
point as that of the liver. In the Apes, the Ruminantia, and most Carnivora and
Rodentia, it has but one duct which usually unites with the biliary. In some
animals— as the Horse, Hog, Otter, and Beaver — it has two ducts, one of which
unites with the biliary duct, and the other enters by itself, further behind, into the
duodenum. In the Rabbit, the biliary and pancreatic ducts are separated from
each other by a considerable interval.

The pancreas of all the carnivorous Mammalia which I have thus far examined
is much larger than that of the frugivorous ones. This illustrates an important
physiological fact, which will be shown by numerous comparative weights of the
organ accurately ascertained.

Having considered the development, structure, and comparative anatomy of the
pancreas in the four great classes of vertebrate animals, we shall next consider its
use in the animal economy.

Although Mayer, Magendie, Tiedemann, Gmelin, Leuret, Lassaigne, and other
physiologists and chemists had investigated the physical and chemical properties of
the pancreatic fluid, still one of its important offices was entirely unknown until
the researches of M. CI. Bernard1 demonstrated that it is indispensable for the
formation of chyle and the absorption of fatty matters. Previous to this discovery,
it was considered similar to the fluid secreted by the salivary glands, and its prin-
cipal use was affirmed to be the conversion of starch into glucose. The investiga-
tions of M. CI. Bernard demonstrated that the limpid chyle (formerly called vege-
table chyle) is the product of the digestion of materials which contain no fatty
matters, and the white chyle (called formerly animal chyle) contains fatty
matters in the state of an emulsion, and the lymphatics of the mesentery are found
to contain a white milky fluid only after the absorption of fatty matters, and that
this emulsion and modification of the fatty matters were effected by the agency of
the pancreatic juice. These conclusions were derived from the results of numerous
ingenious experiments.

If Dogs are fed upon oleaginous matters, and killed at different periods, oil will
be found unaltered until it comes in contact with the pancreatic fluid, and if the
pancreatic ducts be tied, all alteration is prevented, and the oil remains transparent.

The most conclusive and beautiful of all Dr. Bernard's experiments were per-
formed upon the Rabbit. In this animal, the pancreatic duct opens into the intes-

1 Annales des Sciences Natur. Sept. 1848.

PHYSIOLOGY OF THE PANCREAS. 105

tine very low down, from six to fourteen inches below the hepatic duct, and if fatty
matter be introduced into the stomach, and the animal killed in three or four
hours, it will be found to have become an emulsion, and the lymphatics of the
mesentery filled with white chyle only below the opening of the pancreatic duct.
M. CI. Bernard further showed that if fatty bodies be exposed to the pancreatic
fluid, out of the body, a complete emulsion is formed, and, if it be allowed to
remain long enough, the fatty substances will be decomposed into glycerine and
fatty acids, and, in the case of butter, butyric acid. Parallel experiments instituted
with other fluids — as bile, saliva, gastric juice, serum of the blood — produce no such
effects on fatty bodies.

It was probably supposed that fat was, in the animal economy, resolved into
glycerine and fat acids. This process, however, would be very complicated, and
involves many difficulties, and it is more reasonable to conclude that the action of
the pancreatic juice is limited to the formation of an emulsion, which is nothing
more than the mechanical division of the fat into minute globules, coated with a
thin film of the albuminoid elements of the pancreatic juice. That this is really
the case in living animals, I enjoyed many opportunities of rendering apparent,
whilst examining the pancreas of the Garfish (Lepisosteus osseus). In this fish, the
duct of the pancreas has a diameter almost equal to that of the intestine, and is so
situated that all the digested matters which pass out of the stomach must come
in contact with its secretion, and often pass, in considerable amount, into the duct
and caeca of the gland. When the emulsion is squeezed out, and subjected to the
microscope, it is found to consist of innumerable minute globules of oil, surrounded
by a transparent fluid.

The correctness of M. Bernard's observations has been called in question by
Drs. Bence Jones, Lenz, Frerichs, Bidder, Schmidt, Lehmann, Donders, and Herbert.
It is asserted that the bile and intestinal juice are even more active and efficient
than the pancreatic juice, in the preparation of fatty matters for absorption. It is
objected to Bernard's experiments, that he delayed his examination of the animals
too long, and allowed the emulsion, formed with the bile, to pass down and be
absorbed, before inspecting the viscera of the rabbits.1

Dr. Samuel Jackson, Professor of the Institutes of Medicine in the University
of Pennsylvania, has recently examined this subject carefully, and repeated the
experiments of Bernard, avoiding every source of error, and especially that of time,
by causing oleaginous matters to enter the digestive apparatus, constantly, until the
moment of observation. In every instance the results of his experiments confirmed
the correctness of Bernard's conclusion, that the emulsion of fatty matters is pro-
duced by the action of the pancreatic juice. The doctor concludes his valuable
paper by the following summary of the present state of our knowledge on this
point : —

"1. Liquid fats are not miscible with the aqueous albumino-saline fluid — liquor

1 American Journal of the Medical Sciences, October, 1854, p. 307.
14

106 PHYSIOLOGY OF THE PANCREAS.

sanguinis — with which all the vascular tissues are saturated; it cannot enter their
pores, and consequently cannot be absorbed.

" 2. Liquid fats, when emulsified by albumen, are reduced to minute particles,
each coated with albumen. In this state they are miscible with the liquor sanguinis,
moistening the tissues, can enter their pores, and are then capable of absorption.
This is the sole condition requisite for the absorption of fats.

" 3. The white milk-like fluid, named chyle, is this emulsion of the fatty mat-
ters of the food, mixed with the ordinary lymph, always contained in the lymphatics
of the alimentary canal, and other abdominal organs and mesentery. The mole-
cular base of Gully is the microscopic appearance in the chyle, of the minute globules
of fat coated with albumen.

"4. Albumen forms a perfect and persistent emulsion with oils. The pancreatic
fluid is a saturated albuminous solution, and forms with oils an emulsion equally as
perfect and permanent as that of albumen.

" 5. The pancreatic juice is the only highly albuminous fluid in the alimentary
canal, and can accomplish the formation of a perfect emulsion ; and the opinion of
M. CI. Bernard, that this process is one of its functions, is, it appears to me,
sustained.

" 6. The observations of M. CI. Bernard, that the formation of the emulsion of
fats in rabbits is at and below the pancreatic duct, and not above it, is confirmed
by the experiments reported in this communication. And further, that the experi-
ments on rabbits are the most reliable, as being a true exemplification of the natural
process, unattended with violence and torture to the animals, more or less disturbing
in their effects.

" 7. That M. CI. Bernard's view of the decomposition of fats by the pancreatic
juice is not proved, is opposed by the nature of the process, and by analogy with
other emulsions ; it is unnecessary to the accomplishment of the absorption of fats,
and introduces other and complicated processes, that are unknown to exist, and are
mere hypotheses."

Whilst engaged, last summer, in the investigation of the physical and chemical
constitution of the fluids and the comparative anatomy and physiology of cold-
blooded animals, it occurred to me that the pancreas of carnivorous animals should
be larger than that of the frugivorous or granivorous animals, because it is much
more incessantly exercised in the secretion of a fluid for the emulsifying of fats.
Accordingly, I ascertained accurately the weights of the body and pancreas of every
animal that came into my possession. Dividing the weight of the former by that
of the latter, we obtain the weight of the pancreas in relation to that of the body,
and the relative size of this organ in different animals is thus ascertained.

The weights of the animals were obtained with a pair of scales capable of turning
to half a grain, and the weights of the organs with a delicate balance, capable of
turning to y^o*0 0I> a grain. The following table exhibits the most important
results thus found.

COMPARATIVE WEIGHTS OF THE PANCREAS.

107

Comparative Weir/his of the Pancreas of Carnivorous Fishes and Reptiles.

Number of times the

1 weight of its pancreas.

Weight of Trygon sabina (Female Stingray) . . . . . 1071

Zygana malleus (Hammerhead Shark)

1045

Zygcena malleus (Hammerhead Shark)

1563

Lepisosteus osseus (Female Garfish)

193

Lepisosteus osseus (Garfish)

272

' Puna calesbeeana (Bullfrog)

1088

Heterodon niger (Black Viper)

537

Psammophis flagettiformis (Coachwhip Snake)

1353

Coluber gultatus (Corn Snake)

1371

Coluber constrictor (Black Snake) .

472

Crotalus durissus (Banded Rattlesnake)

965

Chelonia caret/a (Loggerhead Turtle)

518

Chelonura serpentina (Snapping Turtle)

630

Emys terrapin (Salt-water Terrapin)

994

Emys reticulata (Chicken Terrapin)

763

Emys serrata (Yellow-bellied Terrapin)

1067

Emys serrata (Male Yellow-bellied Terrapin)

1200

Emys serrata (Female Yellow-bellied Terrapin)

1343

Comjxirative Weights of the Pancreas of Frugivorous Cheloni

vns.

Number of times the
weight of its pancreas.

Weight of Testudo polyphemus (Male Gopher) ....
" Testudo polyphemus (Male Gopher) ....

3500
3061

Comparative Weights of the Pancreas of Carnivorous Mammals.

Number of times the
weight of its pancreas.

Weight of Procyon lotor (Female Raccoon) ....

" Procyon lotor (Female Raccoon) ....

" Procyon lotor (Female Raccoon) ....

Procyon lotor (foetus of Raccoon) ....

" Common Cat ......

Pointer Dog ......

" Didelphis T'irginianus (Opossum) ....

241
155
259
583
402
337
192

Comparative Weights of the Pancreas of Frugivorous and Granivorous Mammals.

Number of times the
weight of its pancreas.

Weight of common sheep .......

" Sciurus Carolinensis (Gray Squirrel) ....

1125
3026

By comparing these numbers, we arrive at the following conclusions : —
1. The pancreas of the Garfish [Lepisosteus osseus), a powerful, voracious and
active fish, is much larger than that of more sluggish species. The Garfish con-
sumes large numbers of small fishes, which it readily captures with its long and
well armed jaws. The tissues and organs, especially the liver of fishes, contain
much oil, and consequently a large gland is needed to afford a sufficient amount of
the peculiar substance absolutely requisite for the preparation of the oleaginous

108 GENERAL CONCLUSIONS.

matter for absorption. We have previously stated that, in the pancreas of this
remarkable fish we have conclusive proof of the function of this gland.

2. The pancreas of carnivorous fishes and reptiles is relatively much larger than
that of frugivorous Chelonians. This difference in the relative size of this organ
in these two classes, is evident at a glance. In the Ophidians it is a compact, ovoid
gland, and in the carnivorous Chelonians it is a broad, lobulated, well developed,
conspicuous gland; whilst in the frugivorous Gopher (Testudo polyphemus) it is a
thin, delicate, obscure gland, composed of several slender lobes, subdivided into
numerous lobules.

3. The pancreas of carnivorous Mammalia is much larger than that of the frugivor-
ous or granivorous. The principal exception to this assertion appears in the Beaver,
which is stated to have an unusually large pancreatic gland. A consideration, how-
ver, of the character of the food of this animal will, we think, explain this anomaly.
The stomach, and more especially the caecum of the Beaver, is stated by observers
to be filled up with fragments of bark and wood, which appear to constitute its
chief aliment. The experiments of Mitscherlich have shown that alkaline solu-
tions are capable of converting cellulose into starch, even more readily than con-
centrated acids. It is, therefore, highly probable that the great office of the alkaline
pancreatic fluid in this animal is the preparation of cellulose for absorption, by con-
verting it into starch.

4. The pancreas of carnivorous fishes and reptiles is larger than that of frugivor-
ous and granivorous mammals, notwithstanding that the digestion of the former
is much slower than that of the latter, and the amount of nutritive matters necessary
to sustain the economy much less.

5. The pancreas of carnivorous mammals is larger than that of carnivorous
cold-blooded animals ; the digestive process is much more rapid, and correspondingly
larger glands are needed to supply the secretions necessary for the proper preparation
of the food for absorption.

The difference between the weights of the organ in these two classes of animals,
does not correspond exactly with the disparity of their respective digestive processes,
probably because the sluggish circulation and aeration of the blood, and the small
amount of nervous force possessed by cold-blooded animals, require much larger
organs to accomplish precisely the same results. As circulation and respiration
are developed and perfected, and all the acts of life rendered correspondingly active,
the more perfect and condensed become the organs and apparatus.

These results were shown, as far as simple dissection and inspection, upon other
animals killed in swamps and woods, and at periods when it was impossible to
ascertain their weights.

Our investigations upon birds have not been sufficiently extended to warrant
general conclusions.

Whilst experimenting upon the effects of starvation and a change of diet upon
the blood of carnivorous terrapins I found, as stated in a previous chapter, that the
pancreas of many of those which had been deprived of food and drink for a length
of time, and then placed in a tub of water and liberally supplied with vegetable
food was diseased. Parts of the gland were of a black color and hard texture, and
under the microscope contained cancer-like cells and crystals which resembled in

GENERAL CONCLUSIONS. 109

appearance those of the triple phosphate. It is probable that the gland, not being
normally exercised, degenerated in structure.

In the first of a series of experiments which have not as yet been completed, I
ascertained the correctness of M. CI. Bernard's statement that fatty substances are
not altered in the stomach or intestines of dogs if the pancreatic duct be tied.

The abdominal cavity of a remarkably large and voracious pointer dog, noted for
his powerful digestive powers, was opened along the linea alba, and two fluidounces
of lard oil secured in the stomach by ligatures above and below, and one fluidounce
was injected and secured in the same manner in the intestines. The viscera were
then carefully returned and the wound sewed up.

At the expiration of six hours the dog was killed, and the contents of the stomach
and intestines had neither increased nor diminished, and were changed neither in
physical or chemical properties, and the lymphatics of the mesentery did not appear
to contain any milky emulsion. Under the microscope, the lard oil presented an
appearance differing in no respect from that of ordinary oil.

Lard oil was inclosed separately in the stomach and intestines of a dog, and
immersed for eighteen hours in the serum of this animal. At the end of this time
neither endosmose of the serum nor exosmose of the oil had taken place. In the
living dog the bloodvessels of the stomach and intestines retained their natural size
and appearance. When saline solutions of high specific gravity were enclosed in a
similar manner in the stomach .and intestines of dogs and cats, the bloodvessels
were congested with blood, and the internal surface of the mucous membrane pre-
sented a pinkish-purple color.

The following general conclusions have been drawn from this study of the com-
parative anatomy and physiology of the pancreas : —

1. In the Invertebrate Animals, this gland and the lymphatic system do not
exist, because the character of the circulatory system, and the manner in which it
receives the digested matters from the visceral cavity, are such, that the conditions
requiring their presence are wanting.

2. In Fishes we may study the development of the pancreas, the permanent
forms being but the transient conditions in the development of this gland in the
higher animals.

3. The assertion of M. CI. Bernard, that the chief office of the pancreas is to
prepare fatty matters for absorption, is sustained by the following facts : —

a. In the Garfish [Lcpisosteus osseus), the emulsion of the fatty matters takes
place in the duct and coeca of the pancreas and their immediate vicinity, and no-
where else in the alimentary canal.

b. The pancreas of carnivorous animals is relatively much larger than that of
frugivorous and granivorous ones. The amount of oil consumed by the former
is much greater than that consumed by the latter. It may be inferred from these
data, that the principal office of the pancreatic juice is the preparation of fats for
absorption. This is farther sustained by the fact that the size of the pancreas
amongst carnivorous animals is in a measure proportional to the amount of oleagin-
ous matters consumed. The pancreas of the active, voracious Garfish, which destroys
large numbers of small fish, is larger than that of the more sluggish fishes.

c. The pancreas of carnivorous Chelonians fed upon vegetable matters, degener-
ated in its structure.

110

OBSERVATIONS UPON THE LIVER.

CHAPTER VII.

OBSERVATIONS UPON THE LIVER.

The form and appearance of the liver vary greatly in different animals. The
shape and number of the lobes, and the general color, appear to follow no special
law. The following observations, however, will show that its general form is often
determined by that of the animal and its abdominal cavity.

The following figure represents the viscera of the Stingray (Trygon sabina).

Fig. 19.

Viscera and impregnated uterus of the Stingray (Trygon sabina), reduced to one-half diameter. A, A. Auricle of the
heart. B. Ventricle of the heart. D, D. Liver. C. Gall-bladder. E. Stomach. F. Intestine with spiral valve,
which increases the extent of surface over which tln> digestive aliment is spread. The dark lines indicate the
position and turns of the valve. H. Impregnated uterus. The tails of the Foetal Stingrays are seen projecting
out of the anus. G. Unimpregnated uterus and ovaries communicating with the cloaca. M. Cloaca. K, S. Tails
of Foetal Stingrays. X. Anus.

OBSERVATIONS UPON THE LIVER.

Ill

In many short, stout, and broad fishes, as the Stingray and Plaice, this organ is
broad and thick.
Fig. 20 represents the viscera of the Congo Snake (Amphiuma means).

Fig. 20

Viscera of the Congo Snake (Amphiuma means), reduced one-half diameter. A. Rough outline of head. B. Bulhus
arteriosus, dividing into two principal branches. C. Auricle of heart. D. Ventricle of heart. E. Trachea, dividing
and entering the lungs. F, F. Superior portions of the lungs slit open, showing their structure. G. Oesophagus
and superior portion of stomach. H, H. Exterior surface of the lungs not slit open. I, I. Liver. M. Gall-bladder.
N, N, N. Small intestines. 0, 0, 0, 0. Ovaries. P. Large intestine filled with claws of crustaceans and shells of
molluscous animals, and particles of grass and leaves. R. Urinary bladder, remarkably long. Its contents are
poured into the cloaca. S, S. Kidneys, flattened ribbon-like bodies. The lower portion of the figure is a rough
sketch of the tail.

112

OBSERVATIONS UPON THE LIVER.

Fir.. 21.

The general shape of the liver and viscera corresponds with
that of the abdominal cavity and the fish.

In the Garfish, a long round fish having a correspondingly
long and round abdominal cavity, the liver is elongated and
resembles in appearance that of the doubtful reptiles and Ophi-
dians. See Figure 11, representing the liver and viscera of
the salt-water Garfish (Lepisosteus osseus).

In the Congo Snake (AmpKinma means) (Fig. 20), a long,
slender, doubtful reptile, with an elongated narrow abdominal
cavity, the general form of the liver is that of a long irregularly-
shaped prism.

In the shorter and stouter Hellbender (Menopoma Alleganen-
sis) and Menobranchus macuhdus, this organ is correspondingly
broad and short.

The liver of Batrachians generally consists of three lobes, and
occupies the superior middle portion of the abdominal cavity.

This organ in serpents is narrow and much elongated, cor-
responding to the shape of the abdominal cavity, whilst in the
round, thick-set Chelonians, it consists of two principal lobes
extending across the abdominal cavity. These lobes in the
Chelonia are united by a small isthmus, and resemble a pair
of saddlebags.

Fig. 21 represents the viscera of a Corn-Snake (Coluber gut-
talus) This may be compared with Figs. 8, 9, 11, 19, and 20.

These differences corresponding to the general form of the
animals, will be readily comprehended by comparing together
the following figures : —

Fig. 19. Viscera of Stingray (Trygon saliva).

" 11. " Garfish (Lepisosteus osseus).

" 20. " Congo Snake (Amphiuma means).

" 21. " Corn Snake (Coluber constrictor).

" 8. " Snapping Turtle (C/ielonura serpentina).

" 9. " Gopher (Testudo polyphemus).

The size of the liver also varies much, and, as far as my
observations have extended, the difference can be accounted
for neither by the habits, nor by the vital, chemical, or physi-
cal constitution of animals. The truth of this assertion will
be readily verified by a reference to the following table of the
relative weights of the livers of different animals, which were
carefully ascertained upon delicate balances.

Viscera of Com Snake (Coluber constrictor), reduced one half diameter. C. Trachea or windpipe. A. Auricles of
heart. B. Ventricle of heart. F. Superior vascular portion of the lung. D. Oesophagus. G, G. Liver. S. Sto-
mach. M. Gall-bladder. N. Spleen. The hepatic duct is seen passing over the spleen and perforating the pan-
creas. P. Pancreas, compact ovoid gland attached to the small intestine. R. Divided end of small intestine.

COMPARATIVE WEIGHTS OF THE LIVER.

Comparative Weights of the Liver of Animals.

113

FISHES.

Weight of the body of Trygon sabina (Stingray) female
Trygon sabina (Stingray foetus)
Zygoma malleus (Hammerhead Shark)
Zygmia malleus (Hammerhead Shark)
Lepisostens osseas (Garfish)
Lepisosteus osseus (Garfish)

REPTILES.

Rana catesbiana (Bullfrog)
Heterodon niger (Black Viper)
Psammophis flagelliformis (Coachwhip Snake)
Coluber guttatus (Corn Snake) .
Coluber constrictor (Black Snake)
Crotalus adamanteus (Rattlesnake)
Alligator 3Iississippiensis (Alligator), male
Chelonia caretta (Loggerhead Turtle) .
Chelonura serpentina (Snapping Turtle)
Emys terrapin (Saltwater Terrapin) .
Emys reticulata (Chicken Terrapin)
Emys serrata (Yellow-bellied Terrapin)
Emys serrata (Yellow-bellied Terrapin)
Emys serrata (Yellow-bellied Terrapin)
Testudo polyphemus (Gopher) .
" Testudo polyphemus (Gopher) .

BIRDS.

Turtle Dove, male

Meleagris gallopavo (Wild Turkey)

Meleagris gallopavo (Wild Turkey)

Picas erythrocephalus (Redheaded Woodpecker)

Night Heron .

Tantalus loculator (Wood Ibis)

Tantalus locxdator (Wood Ibis)

Syrnium nebulosum (Barred Owl)

Cathartes atratus (Black Buzzard)

MAMMALS.

Didelphis Virginianus (Opossum)

" Common Sheep

Sciurus Carolinensis (Gray Squirrel)
Sciurus capistratus (Fox Squirrel)

" Cervus Virginianus (Foetus of Deer)

Cervus Virginianus (Foetus of Deer)
Mus rattus (Rat just born)

" Mm rattus (Rat just born)

Mus rattus (Rat half grown) .
Procyon lotor (Raccoon), female
Procyon lotor (Raccoon), female
Procyon lotor (Raccoon), female
Procyon lotor (Raccoon, just born)
" " Pointer Dog, female .

" " Common Cat, female .

Number of times the
weight of its liver.

18
16
25
41
75
62

55
26
71
64
57
55
73
47
42
53
18
36
25
48
50
45

77
70
67
33
22
68
64
56
47

26
61
43
48
35
42
39
36
20
25
19
23
24
32
36

M. CI. Bernard and other physiologists consider one essential function of the
liver to be the elaboration of the blood. Chemical analyses have shown that the
blood-corpuscles are more numerous in the blood after passing out of this organ than
15

114 FUNCTION OF THE LIVER.

when entering into it. It is, therefore, reasonable to believe that the blood-cor-
puscles have their origin in the liver. If the main offices of the liver be the
elaboration of the albumen, and the formation of the blood-corpuscles, we might infer
that it should be larger in warm than in cold-blooded animals, because in the
former the blood is more abundant and much more rapidly formed and consumed
in supplying the wastes of the tissues than in the latter.

Another function of the liver is the production of grape sugar. Physiologists of
high reputation suppose that this is used in the production of animal temperature.
If the supply of grape sugar corresponds to the temperature, the liver should be
largest in warm-blooded animals.

These are the considerations which led me to investigate the relative size of this
organ in different animals. But it must be stated, decidedly, that these views have
not been sustained by my researches. A reference to the table shows us that the
liver is smaller in Birds than in many Fishes, Reptiles, and Mammals, while
the former have the highest temperature and the greatest number of blood-cor-
puscles.

Notwithstanding these results we need not abandon the preceding physiological
doctrines, as no organ in the bodies of animals is so liable to alterations in its
weight, unconnected with its secretory or excretory apparatus, as the liver.
Fishes especially contain an extraordinary amount of oil. I have detected the
presence of oil under the microscope, in the form of innumerable small globules
in the livers of all animals, and even in the livers of cold-blooded animals which
had been starved for sixty days, and warm-blooded animals which had been
starved to death. In the coldblooded animals, although every particle of fat had
disappeared from their tissues, and the animals had died from starvation, still oil
globules were found in considerable numbers in their livers. Again, the structure
of the liver in cold-blooded animals, and fishes especially, is much softer and less
compact than in the warm-blooded ones. These facts show that the weight of
the liver is not a true exponent of that portion of the gland which is devoted to
the elaboration and formation of the constituents of the blood.

The livers of all animals, cold or warm-blooded, always, as far as my observation
has extended, yield grape sugar. I have detected its presence by various tests in the
livers of numerous Fishes, Batrachians, Ophidians, Chelonians, Birds, and Mammals.
I have found it in the livers of cold-blooded animals at all periods of starvation, and
even after death from a deprivation of food and drink. In the liver, however, of a
dog which was starved to death, I failed to discover any of it.

These facts show that, during starvation, grape sugar must be formed in the
animal economy in part, from the nitrogenized elements.

One of the most prominent effects of starvation in all animals is the consump-
tion of the fatty matters. Fat is found in considerable quantities in the livers of
all animals, whether supplied with, or deprived of food and drink ; and a universal
accompaniment of this fat is grape sugar, a substance closely allied to it in chemical
constitution. A relation, therefore, appears to exist between the consumption of
fat in the animal economy and the production of grape sugar; but what this relation
is, and whether grape sugar is formed from fat, has never been determined.

FUNCTION OF THE LIVER. 115

After its production in the liver, grape sugar passes into the circulation and dis-
appears in the lungs as long as a normal respiration is maintained. I demonstrated
by numerous careful1 experiments upon cold-blooded animals the following facts: —

1. Grape sugar is never normally a constituent of the urine.

2. If the supply of oxygen be cut off from cold-blooded animals by placing them
in carbonic acid or hydrogen gas, or by closing the trachea completely, grape
sugar accumulates in the blood and is eliminated by the kidneys. The disappear-
ance of this substance in the lungs depends, therefore, upon the introduction of
oxygen.

3. In cold-blooded animals the function of the liver in producing sugar continued
after the exclusion of the oxygen.

4. The appearance of grape sugar in the urine was accompanied in every instance
by remarkable alterations in the forms and appearance of the blood-corpuscles under
the microscope.

1 The excretions of the kidneys in cold-blooded animals, generally, are scanty. Chelonians are the
best adapted for such experiments on account of their capacious bladders. They were prepared by
being starved for a length of time, and then transferred to a tub of water and abundantly supplied with
vegetable food (Portulacca oleracea). The excretions of the kidneys were thus rendered copious.

116

OBSERVATIONS UPON THE SPLEEN.

CHAPTER VIII.

OBSERVATIONS UPON THE SPLEEN.

The spleen is absent from all invertebrate animals without exception. It is also
wanting in the Amphioxua, the connecting links between Fishes and the higher
forms of the Mollusca.

In the Cyclostomi and Lepadogaster, it is said to be of such small size as to be
readily overlooked.

It varies much in size, form, and position, in different fishes. In the Stingray
(Trygon sabina) it is large and oval (Figs. 12 and 13). In the Hammerhead Shark
(Zygoma malleus) it is narrow and much elongated, as in the following figure : —

Fig. 22.

Fio. 23.

Fig. 22. Stomach, spleen, and pancreas of the Hammerhead Shark (Zi/gmnn malleus) reduced one-half diameter. A.

Superior portion of stomach. B. Stomach. C, C. Spleen. D, D, D. Small intestine. 1', P, P. Pancreas.
Fig. 23. Stomach, spleen, and pancreas of Congo Snake (Amphiuma means) reduced one-half diameter. A. Stomach.

S. Spleen. I). Small intestine P. Pancreas.

OBSERVATIONS UPON THE SPLEEN.

117

In the Plaice (Plaiessa oblonga) it is small and oval. See Fig. 10.

The Garfish has frequently two large spleens situated in contact with the infe-
rior surface of the pancreas.

In both the salt and fresh-water Garfishes, this organ is of large' size, and often
varies in its form in individuals belonging to the same species.

The form of the spleen varies much in the doubtful reptiles. It is elongated and
ribbon-like in the Congo Snake (Amplriuma means, Fig. 23), and flatter, broader,
shorter, and more oval in the Hellbender (Menopoma Allcganensis) and Proteus of
the Lakes (Menobravchus maculatus). In these reptiles the spleen lies upon the left
side. The following figures will illustrate these differences: —

Fig. 24.

Stomach, spleen, and pancreas of the Hellbender (Menopoma AUcganensis) reduced one-lialf diameter. A. Stomach.

S. Spleen. P. Pancreas. R. Small intestine.

The spleen of Batrachians is generally oval or kidney-shaped, and of small size,
and occupies a position near the median line of the body.

Tbe spleen of Ophidians is a small oval body, firmly attached to the superior
and anterior surface of the pancreas, from which it is readily distinguished by its
color. This is true of this organ in the Hognose Viper (Ileterodon plat ij rhinos),
Black Viper (Ileterodon niger), Grass Snake (Tropidouotus oriHnalus), Green Snake,
(Leptophis aesticus), Coachwhip Snake (P*ammop1iis flagelliformis), Pine Snake,
(Pituoplds melavoleucus), Indigo Snake (Coluber couperi), Chicken Snake (Coluber
quadrioittatus), Corn Snake (Coluber guttatus, Fig. 25), Black Snake (Coluber con-

Fir.. 25.

Spleen, pancreas, and gall-bladder of Corn Snake (Culuber guttatus), natural size. A. Inferior portion of stomach.
K. Small intestine. P. Pancreas. S. Spleen. 0. Gall-bladder. N. Cystic duct. M. Hepatic duct.

118

OBSERVATIONS UPON THE SPLEEN.

stridor), Water Mokeson (Trigonocephalus piscivorus), Copperhead (TrigonocepTialus

contortrix), Ground Rattlesnake (Orotalqphorus miliarius), Banded Rattlesnake (Cro-
tahis durissas), and Water Rattlesnake (Crotalus adamauteus). (See Figs. 21 and 25.)
In the Chelonians, the spleen varies much in size and appearance, even in indi-
viduals of the same species. In the Soft-shelled Turtle (Trionyx ferox), it is of
large size, kidney-shaped, and lies a little to the left of the median line of the
hody, with its anterior concave border in contact with the inferior border of the
pancreas. (See Fig. 26.)

Fig. 2G

Spleen and pancreas of Soft-shelled Turtle (Trionyx ferux). A. Inferior portion of stomach. P, P, P. Pancreas.
S. Spleen. It. Small intestine. (Reduced one-half diameter.)

In the Salt-water Terrapin (Emys terrapin), Chicken Terrapin (Emys reticulata),
and Yellow-bellied Terrapin (Emys serrata), it is smaller and more oval in shape.
(See Fig. 27.)

Fig. 27.

Spleen, pancreas, and stomach of Salt-water Terrapin (Emys terrapin), reduced one-half diameter. A. Inferior portion
of oesophagus. B. Stomach. 0. Small intestine. P. Pancreas. S. Spleen.

The spleen is of very small size in all birds, generally oval in form, and situated
near the anterior extremity of the pancreas.

In the Mammalia this organ is larger, and presents manifold diversities of form.
In all animals it may be distinguished, almost immediately, by its color alone.

The researches of Professors Ecker and Kolliker, M. Beclard, Dr. Gray, and
other physiologists and chemists, have shown that the blood-corpuscles undergo
important changes in the spleen.

If the function of the spleen be that of the formation and destruction of the
blood-corpuscles, it is reasonable to suppose that it should be much larger in warm
than in cold-blooded animals, because the number of the blood-corpuscles is greater,

WEIGHTS OF THE SPLEEN OF ANIMALS.

119

and all the changes of the elements of the fluids and solids much more rapid in
the former than in the latter.

To determine this point, I ascertained accurately the weights of the bodies and
spleens of cold and warm-blooded animals, contained in the following tables. The
first represents the absolute weights of the bodies and spleens, and the last the
relative weights of the spleen.

Weights of the Bodies and Spleens of Animals.

Name of animal.

Weight of the body.

Weight of the spleen.

FISHES.

Grains.

Grains.

Trygon sabina (Stingray), female .

16,400

56

Trygon sabina. (Stingray), foetus .

610

_6_

Zygoena malleus (Hammerhead Shark)

54,350

89 '°

Zygoma malleus (Hammerhead Shark)

6,568

14

Lepisosteus osseus (Garfish)

22,303

38

Lepisosteus osseus (Garfish)

52,110

87

RErTILES.

Rana catesbiana (Bullfrog) ....

9,800

*r%

Heterodon niger (Black Viper) ....

4,620

_1_8_

Psammopfds flagelliformis (Coachwhip Snake)

5,141

_8_

Coluber gullatus (Corn Snake) . . .

9,600

1

Coluber constrictor (Black Snake) ....

5,100

7
To*

Crotalus adamanteus (Water Rattlesnake) .

6,180

4

To*

Alligator Mississippiensis (Alligator), male

76,507

58

Alligator Mississippiensis (Alligator), female

211,940

266

Chelonia caretta (Loggerhead Turtle)

36,985

16,8j

Chelonura serpentina (Snapping Turtle)

16,235

20 Jo-

Emys terrapin (Salt-water Terrapin)

11,937

Its

Emys reticulata (Chicken Terrapin)

8,400

oio

Emys serrata (Yellow-bellied Terrapin)

27,172

16,8o-

Emys serrata (Yellow-bellied Terrapin)

14,400

12,8S

Emys serrata (Yellow-bellied Terrapin)

23,100

20 tV

Testudo polyphemus (Gopher)

45,500

18

Testudo polyphemus (Gopher)

18,368

°T5

BIBDS.

Meleagris gallopavo (Wild Turkey), female

36,312

23 rV

Meleagris gallopavo (Wild Turkey), female

28,875

11

Picas erythrocepha/us (Red-headed Woodpecker) .

1,060

_2_

Tantalus locidator (Wood Ibis) ....

39,375

ll'°

Tantalus loculator (Wood Ibis) ....

37,625

18 Tff

Syrnium nebxdosum (Barred Owl) ....

10,580

*T5

Cathartes atratus (Black Buzzard) ....

31,937

26

MAMMALS.

Didelphis Virginianus (Opossum) ....

18,812

45

Common Sheep

385,000

652

Sciurus Carolinensis (Gray Squirrel)

6,960

lOfV

Sciurus capistratus (Fox Squirrel) .

14,710

16

Cervus Virginianus (Fcetus of Deer)

26,935

95

Cervus Virginianus (Foetus of Deer)

26,953

77

Mus rattus (Rat just born) .

99t7b-

2
1 ff

Mus rattus (Rat just born) .

8*fo

1
g

Mus rattus (Rat half grown)

1,063

2TV

Lepus sylvaticus (Common Rabbit)

20,928

14

Procyon lotor (Raccoon), female

47,787

139

Procyon lotor (Raccoon), female

54,735

391

Procyon lotor (Raccoon), female

59,110

203

Procyon lotor (Raccoon just born) .

1,750

11 TO

Pointer Dog (male)

247,126

428

Common Cat (female)

35,000

67

120

COMPARATIVE WEIGHT OF THE SPLEEN.

Comparative Weights of the Spleens of Animals.

Number of times the

weight of its spleen.

FISHES.

Weight of the body of Trygon sabina (Stingray), female

292

it *

' Trygon sabina (Stingray foetus)

1,016

u t

ll I

it l
ll l

' Zygtcna malleus (Hammerhead Shark)
' Zygcena malleus (Hammerhead Shark)
' Lepisosteus osseus (Garfish)
' Lepisosteus osseus (GarQsh)

601
443

587
599

REPTILES.

it l

' liana catesbiana (Bullfrog) ....

2,279

it I

' Heterodon niger (Black Viper) >

25,666

ii l

' Psammophis Jtagelliformis (Coachwhip Snake^

6,426

li <

' Coluber guttatus (Corn Snake)

9,600

it i

' Coluber constrictor (Black Snake)

7,285

ll l

Crotalus adamanteus (Rattlesnake)

15,450

II I

' Alligator Mississippiensis (Alligator), male

1,319

it 1

Alligator Mississippiensis (Alligator), female

798

ii l

' Chelonia caretta (Loggerhead Turtle)

2,201

li l

' Chelonura serpentina (Snapping Turtle)

800

il l

' Emys terrapin (Salt-water Terrapin) .

7,958

li l

Emys reticulata (Chicken Terrapin)

965

ii 1

' Emys serrata (Yellow-bellied Terrapin)

1,618

li l

' Emys serrata (Yellow-bellied Terrapin)

1,125

n t
.1

' Emys serrata (Yellow-bellied Terrapin)
' Testudo polyphemus (Gopher) .

1,138
2,527

il l

' Testudo polyphemus (Gopher) .

3,600

BIRDS.

il 1

' Meleagris gallopavo (Wild Turkey), female

1,538

It 1

' Meleagris gallopavo (Wild Turkey), female

2,625

ll 1

' Picus erythrocephalus (Red-headed Woodpecker)

2,120

il l

' Tantalus loculator (Wood Ibis)

3,579

" " Tantalus luculator (Wood Ibis)

2,044

ii

' Syrnium nebulosum (Barred Owl)

1,470

ii

' Cathartes atratus (Black Buzzard)

1,228

MAMMALS.

ii i

' IHdelphis Virginianus (Opossum)

418

ii i

' Common Sheep

590

it t

' Sciurus Carolinensis (Gray Squirrel) .

682

it
it

' Sciurus capistratus (Fox Squirrel)

' Cervus Virginianus (Foetus of Deer) .

919

283

ii

' Cervus Virginianus (Foetus of Deer) .

350

it

' Mus rattus (Rat just born)

498

it

' Mus rattus (Rat just born)

505

a

' Mus rattus (Rat half grown) .

506

ti

' Lepus sylvaticus (Common Rabbit)

1,494

it

' Procyon lotor (Raccoon), female

343

it

' Procyon lotor (Raccoon), female

292

it

' Procyon lotor (Raccoon), female

391

ii

' Procyon lotor (Raccoon just born)

156

ii

' Pointer Dog (male)

577

«i

' Common Cat (female)

522

These tables show that the spleen is smallest in Birds and Ophidians, and largest
in Fishes and Mammals. The temperature of Birds is high, their blood-corpuscles
numerous, their life-actions vigorous, and the physical and chemical changes of the
elements of their fluids and solids correspondingly rapid. In Fishes, circulation

OBSERVATIONS UPON THE SPLEEN. 121

and respiration are sluggish, the blood-corpuscles few in numbers, the temperature
low, the metamorphosis of the elements of their structure slow, and the intellect
and all the life actions correspondingly feeble.

If the function of the spleen be the construction, destruction, and elaboration
of some of the important elements of the blood, why is it so small and insig-
nificant in birds, and of such great relative magnitude in many cold-blooded
animals ? Is it possible that an organ, which, in many Ophidians, Chelonians,
and Birds, weighs only a few grains or a small fraction of a grain, can exert any
important influence upon the physical properties and chemical constitution of the
blood ? Do not these facts show conclusively that we do not understand the func-
tions of the spleen ?

Mr. Gray1 supposes that one office of the Malpighian corpuscles is to store up
nutritive matter when there is a surplus of alimentary materials ; to be restored
again to the blood when there is a deficiency of these elements. It is, however,
difficult to conceive, how nutritive matter of any importance could be stored up
in the Malpighian corpuscles of organs, weighing a few grains or only fractions
of a grain. The amount accumulated in such organs would be microscopic in its
character, and not much more than the hundredth part of a grain.

Even in warm-blooded animals the amount of albuminous compounds contained
in the Malpighian corpuscles of the spleen is insignificant, and unworthy of notice
when compared with that contained in the circulatory apparatus, the capacious
reservoir of the nutritive materials. The circulatory apparatus of an adult man
contains, according to the most recent and reliable calculations, about twenty-two
pounds of blood, whilst the Malpighian corpuscles of the spleen are capable of
containing only a few grains.

"Would nature construct an organ, an important office of which would be to
store up a few grains of nutritive matter, whilst the circulatory system contains
more than ten thousand times the amount?

Mr. Gray instituted a valuable series of researches upon the effects of diet upon
the spleen of Cats, Rabbits, and Rats, and found that this organ increases during
active nutrition. As far as my observations have extended this phenomenon does
not occur in cold-blooded animals.

The spleens of Salt-water Terrapins (Emys terrapin) and of Yellow-bellied Terra-
pins (Emys serrata), which had been starved and deprived of water for a great
length of time, and then transferred to a tub of water and abundantly supplied with
vegetable food, did not exhibit any increase in weight. I have also observed, in
numerous instances, that the spleen of cold-blooded animals does not act as a diver-
ticulum for any surplus water or nutritive materials in the circulatory apparatus.

The spleens of many carnivorous Chelonians, whose circulatory apparatus was so
filled with blood consequent upon a change of diet, that aqueous albumino-saline
effusions took place into the cellular tissue, and all the cavities, presented no increase
in size or weight.

The spleens of Ophidians, which are voracious and swallow large masses of flesh,

1 The Structure and Use of the Spleen, by Henry Gray, F. R.S. London, 1854.
16

\2>> OBSERVATIONS UPON THE SPLEEN.

were not enlarged, notwithstanding the large amount of nutritive substances which
were received into their circulatory apparatus.

That the spleen is an organ of subordinate importance in the animal economy
will be shown by the following facts : —

It is absent from all invertebrate animals without exception. It is also absent
from the Amphioxxis, the connecting link between fishes and the higher forms of
the mollusca.

In the Ampkioxus and Invertebrate animals the blood-corpuscles are always
colorless. The occurrence of the spleen is accompanied by a change in the color
of the blood.

Has the spleen anything to do with the production of the red blood-corpuscles of
vertebrate animals? The blood of the invertebrata, with its corpuscles, exists
before the formation of any special organs. The same fact is noticed in the
development of the foetus of warm-blooded animals.

A vascular system circulating a fluid containing colored blood-corpuscles exists
before the formation of any special organs, and hence it is probable that the spleen
has little to do with the formation of the corpuscles and the production of their red
color. This conclusion is farther sustained by the fact that the amputation of the
spleen of Dogs and other animals is not followed by any alteration in the amount
or character of the blood and its constituents, and they enjoy very good health, and
there is no sensible difference between them and those that have not undergone
the operation. From these investigations we may draw the following conclusions : —

1. The spleen of Birds and many Reptiles is too small to exert an important
influence in the animal economy.

2. Its size corresponds in no manner with the number of blood-corpuscles, or the
rapidity of the composition and decomposition of the organic and inorganic elements
of the fluids and solids of animals.

3. Of the real office of the spleen in the animal economy we are still ignorant.

4. The function of the spleen is not indispensable to the maintenance of life.

AMPUTATION OF THE KIDNEYS. 123

CHAPTER IX.

OBSERVATIONS UPON THE KIDNEY.

In the present chapter we do not propose to treat of the comparative anatomy
and physiology of this organ in general, but simply to record a few observations
which we consider of importance.1

June 27. The kidneys of a small Chicken Snake (Coluber gut(alus), about two
and a half feet in length, and those of a large Coachwhip Snake, were carefully
amputated. The bloodvessels were secured and the wounds closed. The Chicken
Snake was placed in a glass jar and remained in confinement for three and a half
days, when it pushed off the top and made its escape, although this was held
down by a pound weight. The serpent, therefore, must have been strong and
active at the time of its escape.

The Coachwhip Snake died at the end of three and a half days. Its viscera
presented remarkable appearances. The lung contained considerable quantities of
coagulated blood effused into the air-cells. The blood contained numerous minute
white particles. The exterior serous covering of the lungs, the internal surface of its
air-cells and coats of its bloodvessels, the serous covering of the intestines, abdominal
cavity, and surface of the liver, were covered with small white granules, appearing
as if fine white sand had been sprinkled over them. The deposit was in all cases
most abundant in the course of the bloodvessels. When the internal structure of
the liver was cut or torn it was found to be completely impregnated with these
small white masses which could be readily squeezed out, and appeared to occupy
principally the neighborhood of the bloodvessels.

At the lower portion of the abdominal cavity, where the kidneys had been
amputated, the blood effused, and the peritoneum, with the internal surface of the
epidermis, where it had been removed from the muscles, were completely covered
with large numbers of these white granules having the appearance to the sight and
touch of grains of sand. This increased deposition in the region of the wound was
without doubt due to the more active determination of blood towards this part.
The intestines were found to contain the same deposit, none of it, however, was
found in the humors of the eye and muscular tissue.

These granular masses from all parts of the abdominal cavity, and its viscera and
peritoneal coverings, and from the exterior and interior of the lungs were carefully

1 See Observations by the Author upon the Kidney and its Excretions in Different Animals,
American Journal of Medical Sciences, April, 1855.

124 DISTINCTION BETWEEN SECRETION AND EXCRETION.

examined microscopically and chemically. In every instance under the microscope
they were found to be composed of small granules and delicate acicular crystals.

All the characteristic chemical tests gave unequivocal evidence that these granules
were composed of uric acid and ammonia. A careful microscopical examination
also showed that they were the urate of ammonia, which is the most abundant con-
stituent of the urine of serpents.

From the results of this experiment we may draw the following conclusions : —

1. The kidneys are excreting and not secreting organs. The circulatory appa-
ratus not only carries nutriment to the different organs and tissues, but also removes
from them the products of their disintegration and metamorphosis of no further use
in the animal economy.

The amount and character of an excretion depends entirely upon the amount
and character of the excrementitious materials existing in the blood.

A secretion does not exist in the blood. "We do not find the gastric juice or the
salivary fluid existing in the blood before they are elaborated by special organs.

2. When the kidneys are amputated, other membranes and organs assume their
office of depurating the blood. In like manner, if the function of the skin be
checked it will be assumed by the kidneys. The act, then, of separating certain
materials from the blood can be transferred from one excretory organ to another.
This, however, is not true of secretions. Each secretion must have a special set of
cells, which alone can produce the peculiar material.

"We never find one organ elaborating the secretion of another distinct organ.
This is a general law. The salivary gland never secretes gastric juice, nor the
mammillary gland, bile. The stomach of a Rattlesnake never secretes the deadly
fluid of its poison gland. Thus, in two essential respects, a secretion differs from
an excretion.

3. It is probable that in the lower animals which are without kidneys, the office
of the latter is carried on by the mucous membrane of the stomach and intestinal
canal.

We will next consider the relative size of the kidneys in the four great classes of
vertebrate animals.

COMPARATIVE WEIGHTS OF THE KIDNEYS.

125

Comparative Weights of the Kidneys of Animals.

Number of times tbe

weight of its kidneys.

FISHES.

Weight of the body

of Trygon sabina (Stingray), female

188

a a

Trygon sabina (Stingray) foetus

93

tt tt

Zygcena malleus (Hammerhead Shark)

346

tt tt

Zygcena malleus (Hammerhead Shark)

335

REPTILES.

tt tt

Sana catesbiana (Bullfrog)

515

tt tt

Heterodon niger (Black Viper) .

177

tt tt

Psammophis flagelliformis (Coachwhip Snake)

88

tt tt

Coluber guttatus (Corn Snake)

152

tt it
tt tt

Coluber constrictor (Black Snake)
Crotalus adamanteus (Rattlesnake)

76
131

tt it

Alligator Mississippietisis (Alligator), male

135

tt tt

Alligator Mississippiensis (Alligator), female

145

tt tt

Chelonia caretta (Loggerhead Turtle) .

368

tt tt

Chelonura serpentina (Snapping Turtle)

249

it tt
tt tt

Emys terrapin (Salt-water Terrapin) .
Emys reticulata (Chicken Terrapin)

775
280

it tt

Emys serrata (Yellow-bellied Terrapin)

409

tt it

Emys serrata (Yellow-bellied Terrapin)

416

tt tt

Emys serrata (Yellow-bellied Terrapin)

495

tt tt

Testudo polyphemtis (Gopher) .

322

tt tt

Testudo polyphemus (Gopher) .

360

BIRDS.

tt tt

Ectopistes Carolineflsis (Turtle Dove), female .

182

tt tt

Ectopistes Carolinensis (Turtle Dove), male

237

tt it

Ortyx Virginiana (Quail)

125

it tt

Meleagris gallopavo (Wild Turkey)

204

tt tt

Meleagris gallopavo (Wild Turkey)

206

tt it

Picus erythrocephalus (Redheaded Woodpecke

r)

81

tt it

Ardea nycticorax (Night Heron)

97

tt it

Tantalus loculator (Wood Ibis)

168

tt a

Tantalus loculator (Wood Ibis)

171

tt it

Buteo borealis (Hen Hawk)

141

tt tt

Syrnium nebulosum (Barred Owl)

176

tt it

Cathartes atratus (Black Turkey-Buzzard)

132

tt tt

Ardea cundidissima (Snowy Heron) .

86

MAMMALS.

tt it

Didelphis Virginianus (Opossum)

131

tt tt

Common Sheep

350

tt tt

Sciurus Carolinensis (Gray Squirrel) .

175

it a

Sciurus capistratus (Fox Squirrel)

147

tt tt
a it
it tt
tt tt

Lepus sylvaticus (Common Rabbit)
Mus rattus (Young Rat), just born
Mus rattus (Young Rat), just born
Mus rattus (Rat), half grown .

186
90

105
92

tt tt

Procyon lotor (Raccoon), female

66

it (1

Procyon lotor (Raccoon), female

57

it it

Procyon lotor (Raccoon), female

61

tt tt

Procyon lotor (Raccoon), just born

68

it tt

Pointer Dog ....

178

tt ti

Common Cat ....

142

The following conclusions may be derived from this table: —
1. The kidneys of Ophidians and Saurians are much larger relatively than those
of the Chelonians. This difference will be readily understood by a comparison of
the habits and vital and physical constitution of these two classes.

126 GENERAL CONCLUSIONS.

Serpents take their loud in large quantities, often swallowing animals heavier
and larger than themselves. All this animal matter is capable of digestion and
absorption into the blood, a large portion of which is superfluous, and must be
eliminated by the kidneys. The carnivorous Chelonians, on the other hand, are
much more moderate, and slow in the indulgence of their appetites. This arises
from necessity rather than choice. Their motions are so slow, their disposition to
shut themselves up in their shells so great, and their mouth so small, that their
appetites are not indulged to such an extent as to burden the kidneys, and call
for an increase in their size.

The rapidity of the wastes of the tissues, as we have previously shown, is pro-
portional to the rapidity of the vital actions. Hence, the kidneys will have more
to do in active animals than in the sluggish. Many serpents, as the black snake
and coachwhip snake, are remarkably active, and all Ophidians are more energetic
than the proverbially sluggish Chelonians. Here we have another reason why the
kidneys should be larger in the former than in the latter. Those Chelonians which
inhabit the water should have smaller kidneys than those Ophidians which inhabit
the land, because the function of the skin is much more active in the former than
in the latter. The skin of most serpents is completely covered by horny scales,
and its power of removing fluids, and, the products of the metamorphoses of the
tissues must be very feeble.

2. As far as my observations have extended, it may be asserted, as a general
rule, that the kidneys are relatively larger in the carnivorous than in the frugivorous
or granivorous birds. In the carnivorous birds, the intestinal canal is much shorter
than those living upon a vegetable or mixed diet. Their food is capable of more
rapid digestion, and introduction into the circulation, and as a necessary conse-
quence, the organ which regulates, in a great measure, the amount of the solid and
fluid materials of the blood, and eliminates all waste and useless matters, must be
correspondingly large. Carnivorous birds also appear to be more active and ener-
getic than the frugivorous or granivorous.

Another reason is found in the chemical constitution of the food. This, however,
will be considered when we come to study the same law in the Mammalia.

3. The kidneys of the carnivorous Mammalia are relatively larger than those
of the graminivorous or frugivorous ones. This may be stated to be generally
true, as far as our observations have extended.

If the character of the food, the structure and size of the digestive apparatus,
and the habits of the two classes of animals, be attentively considered, we will
understand at once why this relative difference should exist in organs fulfilling the
same office in both.

The food of the Carnivora, as the name implies, consists of flesh and blood, which
is capable of ready digestion and absorption, and rapidly supplies the wants of the
animal economy. The intestinal canal is in all cases short when compared with
that of the Mammalia, which feed on vegetable substances. Carnivorous animals
have voracious, and, in most cases, almost insatiable appetites. They gorge them-
selves with food, which is capable of entering the circulation with little or no
alteration, and rapidly supplies the wants of the economy. There must be
some organ to act as a safety-valve, and remove quickly the large unnecessary

GENERAL CONCLUSIONS. 127

quantities of nutriment, which are so often received into the circulatory system.
To accomplish this effectually, there must be correspondingly large organs.

In the Herbivora and Granivora, on the other hand, the intestinal canal is long ;
in the case of the sheep, it is more than twenty times the length of the body. In
this class of animals, the food requires minute subdivision, and the materials which
they contain must go through many metamorphoses before they are ready to supply
the wastes and wants of the system. Consequently, their introduction into the
circulation is gradual ; the elimination of the products of the disintegrations of the
tissues, whose place they supply, must be correspondingly slow, and a much smaller
sized organ will perform the same office in them than in the Carnivora.

Another important cause of this difference between the relative sizes of the
kidneys of these classes of animals is to be found in the chemical constitution of
the food.

The food of the Carnivora contains much nitrogen, and in the processes of its
compositions and decompositions, for the production and maintenance of animal
heat, is not completely consumed, and the resulting compounds, as uric acid, and
urea, and ammonia, are eliminated principally by the kidneys. On the other hand,
almost all the food of frugivorous and granivorous animals is capable of being
ultimately resolved into water and carbonic acid gas, or of being converted into fat.
The amount of nitrogenized elements to be eliminated by the kidneys is on this
account greater in the former than in the latter.

The same law applies to the kidneys of cold-blooded animals. It is not, however,
so evident at first sight.

The kidneys of Ophidians and Saurians, carnivorous reptiles, are much larger
than those of the herbivorous Gopher (Tesludo polypfiemus) ; but the kidneys of
carnivorous Chelonians are far smaller than those of the Gopher. How are we to
explain this apparent anomaly ? A consideration of the peculiar habits and con-
stitution of these animals will answer the question.

The Gopher lives in a barren and sandy country, and to prevent evaporation
from the surface, it is covered with horn at all points where the skin is exposed.
The function of the skin is consequently little or nothing, and the kidneys must
perform the labor. The carnivorous Chelonians, as the Salt-water Terrapin (Emys
Terrapin), and Yellow-bellied Terrapin [Emys serrata), have a naked skin, and live
in the water. The function of the skin in all those reptiles living in the water is
far more active than that of those living out of it. That evaporation takes place
rapidly through the skin of these Chelonians was conclusively shown by our experi-
ments upon the effects of thirst and starvation upon their blood. These animals
also do not consume as much food as the Gopher.

It is evident, from these reasons, that the small size of the kidneys of carnivorous
terrapins is connected with their peculiar organization and mode of living ; and
they cannot be fairly compared with an animal differing totally from them in its
physical and vital endowments, and mode of life. The Gopher should be compared
with the carnivorous Ophidians and Saurians, because they all live upon the land,
and their tegument ary systems are similar. A reference to the. tables shows that
the kidneys of the former are far smaller than those of the latter, and the truth of
the generalization announced is sustained.

128 URINE OF COLD-BLOODED ANIMALS.

CHAPTER X.

URINE OF .COLD-BLOODED ANIMALS.

I have always found it very difficult to obtain specimens of the urine of Fishes,
for examination. Their bladders are almost always empty. I am enabled, how-
ever, to furnish the following qualitative analysis of the urine of the Bass-fish
or Red Fish (Corvina ocellata) : —

Uric acid. Phosphate of magnesia.
Oxalate of lime. " of soda.

Phosphate of lime. Chloride of sodium.
" of ammonia.

When the urine was spread upon a glass slide, and allowed slowly to evaporate,
under a magnifying power of 210 diameters, there appeared lozenge-shaped and
hexagonal crystals of uric acid, dumb-bell and octohedral crystals of oxalate of
lime, and prismatic crystals of triple phosphate.

The urine of Reptiles resembles that of Birds, not only in appearance, but also
in chemical constitution — being only a little more solid when first discharged. Here
we have the urine of two wholly dissimilar classes, alike in all respects.

Birds have a high temperature — in many cases 10° above that of Mammals.
Their blood circulates with rapidity, and receives an abundant supply of oxygen.
They are also very active in their habits.

The temperature of Reptiles is not constant; it varies with that of the surround-
ing medium. Respiration is imperfect — their lungs being, in most cases, simple
sacs — around the walls of which ramify the bloodvessels. Their circulation is
sluggish and imperfect, and their habits indolent and inactive. Would any one
suppose, h priori, that the secretions of these two classes would be similar? If the
explanation be true, that the production of urate of ammonia, in serpents, is due
to their imperfect respiration and consequent incomplete oxygenation of the blood
and tissues, why should we have the same state of things existing in birds, which
have oxygen supplied in large quantities, not only by their lungs but also through-
out the tissues, by means of their porous bones ? It is, however, useless to specu-
late upon this subject, in the present state of our knowledge.

The following is a qualitative analysis of the urine of the Coachwhip Snake
{Psammoplds flagelliformis) , which I made during the month of July.

When the urine was allowed to stand for a short time, it formed a hard, white
mass, which might have been readily mistaken for so much chalk. Under a magni-
fying power of 210 diameters, it was seen to consist of a conglomeration of innu-

URINE OF COLD-BLOODED ANIMALS. 129

merable globules of the urate of ammonia, resembling, in all respects, the solid
portion of the urine of birds. Epithelial cells and fibrinous casts of the urinary
tubes, were also found.

The following are the results of the microscopical and chemical examination of
the urine of this snake : —

Urate of ammonia, in great abundance. Phosphate of soda.

Phosphate of lime. Chloride of sodium.

" of ammonia. Epithelial cells.

" of magnesia. Fibrinous casts of urinary tubes.

We were unable to detect the presence of urea. .We have, however, found this
substance in small amount in the urine of other serpents.

The urine of the Black Viper (Heterodoa niger), Hognose Viper (Heterodon pla-
tyrliinos), Indigo Snake (Coluber couperi), Corn Snake (Coluber guttatus), Chicken
Snake (Coluber quadrioitlatus), Rattlesnake (Crolulus adamanteus), and others
yielded similar results upon a qualitative examination.

In the kidneys of the Indigo Snake (Coluber couperi), several pyriform calculi
were found imbedded in their substances, extending from their anterior surfaces to
the uterus. These calculi were found to consist, in large measure, of the oxalate
of lime. Other substances were also present — as urate of ammonia and the phos-
phates of lime, ammonia, and magnesia.

The amount of urine excreted by the kidnej-s of Ophidians, during starvation, is
exceedingly small. I have kept them, without food or drink, for several weeks,
and the amount excreted during this time, often did not amount to more than 20
or 50 grains.

A male Alligator (Alligator Mississippiensis), which weighed 76,507 grains, was
starved and deprived of water for eighteen days, and during that time it discharged
its urine but once, in quantity about two fluidounces. This consisted, as in Ophi-
dians and Birds, of a fluid and a solid, chalk-like portion, composed of minute globules
of the urate of ammonia.

We shall next consider the urine of Chelonians. In these animals the bladder
is large, and the urine resembles, in many respects, that of the Mammalia. The
following table represents the specific gravities of the urine in its normal condition,
and during starvation and a change of diet : —

17

130

URINE OF CIIELONIANS.

Name of animal.

Specific gravities.

Snapping Turtle (C/tcfoniira serpentina)
Salt-water Terrapin {Emys terrapin)
Emys terrapin, deprived of food and drink 40 days
Emys set rata " " " 17 "

ti tt tt it i)n tt

it tt tt tt 99 ((

tt a tt a 31 <(

it ti tt tt do ti

tt tt it tt AC) tt

Emys serrata, deprived of food and drink 28 days, and then transferred to

a tub of water, and abundantly supplied with vegetable food (Portu-

lacca oleracea) ..........

Emys serrata, deprived of food and drink 28 days, and then abundantly

supplied with water and vegetable food ......

Emys serrata, deprived of food and drink for 28 days, and then placed in

a tub of water, and supplied with vegetable food ....
Emys terrapin, deprived of food and drink 21 days, and then placed in

fresh water, and supplied with vegetable food {Portidacca oleracea) .
Gopher (Testudo polyphenols). The urine consists of two portions: 1.

Fluid. 2. Semi-solid Sp.gr. of fluid

Sp. gr. of serai-solid
Gopher {Testudo polyphemus), deprived of food and drink 30 days.

Sp. gr. of fluid portion of urine .......

1005.7

1009.

1015.

1011.

1033.5

1020.

1017.5

1017.6

1019.4

999.26
9999

1004.

1002.

1004.
1095.5

1008.9

81° F.
90° F.

This table shows that the specific gravity of the urine of Chelonians was in-
creased, during starvation and thirst, and also, that when carnivorous Chelonians
were fed upon purely vegetable diet, the specific gravity of the urine was greatly
diminished.

From numerous examinations, which I made last summer, the following are
selected as affording the best view of the physical and chemical properties of the
urine.

Urine of a Yellow-bellied Terrapin (Ewi/s serrata), which had been deprived of
food and drink for 29 days. June 20.

Weight of terrapin, May 25th ..... 30,132 grains.

June 19th 22,760 "

" lost in twenty-six days ..... 7,372 "

Loss of weight each hour, 10T50- grains = ^'^tli the original weight of the body.
The bladder had not been emptied during its confinement, and contained four fluid-
ounces of urine. Sp. gr. 1020. The urine was of a transparent yellow color, and
contained white and yellow chalk-like masses, which, under the microscope, were
found to consist of numerous minute globules of the urate of ammonia, and hexa-
gonal and lozenge-shaped crystals of uric acid. The presence of ammonia and uric
acid was determined by all the characteristic tests. The transparent portion of the
urine was ropy, resembling mucus. When treated with aqua ammonice, a copious
precipitate of triple phosphate was thrown down.

1000 parts of the urine contained —

Water 947.19

Solid constituents . . ... 52.81

URINE OF CIIELONIAXS.

131

Phosphate of ammonia.
" of magnesia.
Carbonate of lime in stellate crystals.
Albumen in small quantity.
Mucus.

A microscopical and chemical examination, revealed the following ingredients: —

Uric acid, in lozenge-shaped and hexagonal

crystals.
Urate of ammonia, in minute globules.
Triple phosphate, prismatic and stellate crystals.
Phosphate of lime.

If urea was present, it must have been in very small quantities, for nitric acid

and the microscope failed to reveal its presence.

Urine of a male Yellow-bellied Terrapin, which had been kept without food and
drink for 49 days. July 9.

Weight of terrapin, May 25th . . 17,797 grains.

" July 9th .
lost during forty-five days

Loss of weight each hour, 3TVo = zat^1 of weight of body.

The bladder had not been emptied during its confinement, and held six flui-
drachms of yellow-colored urine, which contained a small, white deposit of the
urate of ammonia.

Amount of the urate of ammonia, thirty minims.

1000 parts contained —

14,400
3,397

Sp.gr. of urine, 1019.4.

Water .....
Alcohol extract, and urea in small amount
Uric acid and vesical mucus
Fixed saline constituents

29.26)

4.91 [- Solid constituents
11. 18.)

954.65

45.35

The extractive matters were viscid, gummy, of a red color, and exceedingly diffi-
cult to evaporate to complete dryness. The uric acid was combined with ammonia
and other alkalies. The amount of urea present was very small.

Urine of a Salt-water Terrapin (Emys terrapin), which had been kept without
food and drink for 40 days. July 23.

Weight of terrapin, June 16th .
July 23d .
" lost during thirty-eight days

14,285 grains.
11,400 "

2,885 "

¥jVc °f original weight.

Loss of weight during each hour, grs. o^Vo

The bladder contained six fluidrachms of clear, limpid urine, having a decided
acid reaction. Sp. gr. 1015. "Whole amount of urine excreted during thirty-eight
days, about 300 grains.

1000 parts contained —

Water ... • 965.34

Urea and alcohol extract
Water extract
Uric acid and vesical mucus
Soluble fixed saline constituents
Insoluble fixed saline constituents

15.27
4.56
3.27
8.50
3.06

132

URINE OF CHELONIANS.

300 grains contained —

Water ....
Urea and alcohol extract
Water extract
Uric acid and vesical mucus
Soluble fixed saline constituents .
Insoluble fixed saline constituents
Solid constituents in 300 parts of urine
1000 "

Grains.

289.60

4.58

1.37

0.98

2.55

.92

10.4

34.GG

When the alcohol extract was treated with concentrated nitric acid, crystals of
the nitrate of urea made their appearance in great numbers. Oxalic acid added to
the alcoholic extract, gave a precipitate of the oxalate of urea. Aqua ammonia
added to the urine, precipitated stellate crystals of the triple phosphate in con-
siderable numbers. After standing for an hour or two, uric acid was precipitated
from the urine, in the form of an orange-colored sediment, which, under the micro-
scope, was composed of lozenge-shaped crystals.

Urine of a Salt-water Terrapin, which had been kept without food and drink for
37 days. Aug. 16.

Weight of terrapin, June 21st ..... 12,280 grains.
Aug. 16th ..... 9,255 "

" lost in fifty-six days ..... 3,025 "

Loss of weight hourly, grs. 2.25 = s^-gth of original weight.

The bladder contained two fluidrachms of clear yellow urine, having a decidedly
acid reaction; also, a considerable quantity of gas. After standing for a short
time, a white deposit of the urate of ammonia, and lozenge-shaped and acicular
crystals of uric acid settled to the bottom of the vessel.

When the fluid portion of the urine was allowed slowly to evaporate upon a glass
slide, under the microscope, numerous crosslets of the chloride of sodium, and
stellate, plumose and irregular crystals of the phosphate of soda and fixed alkaline
salts gradually made their appearance. When treated with aqua ammonia, nume-
rous delicate, plumose, penniform, and stellate crystals of the triple phosphate were
precipitated. When concentrated and treated with nitric acid, crystals of the nitrate
of urea made their appearance. The whole amount of urine excreted by the kid-
neys of this terrapin, in fifty-seven days, 130 grains.

Solid constituents in 130 grains of urine ..... 8.05 grs.

130 grains contained —

Wa*er 121.95

Organic constituents, uric acid, urea, ammonia, &c. . . . 6.45

Fixed saline constituents ..... . l.GO

Solid constituents in 1000 parts of urine ..... 61.92

1000 parts contained —

Water ......... 938.08

Organic constituents, uric acid, urea, <fec. ■ . . . .49.62

fixed saline constituents . ..... 12.30

URINE OF CHELONIANS. 133

We shall now proceed to investigate the effects of a change of* diet upon the urine
of Chelonians, beginning with the carnivorous.

Urine of a Yellow-bellied Terrapin (Emys serraia), which was starved for 30 days,
and then transferred to a tub of water, and abundantly supplied with vegetable
food (Portulacca oleracea) 42 days.

The bladder was distended with five fluidounces of light greenish-yellow limpid
urine, neutral to test paper, having a slight smell resembling that of the terrapin.

Amount of urine . . . . . . . .2150 grs.

Specific gravity, at 81° F. ..... 999.26

Solid constituents in 2150 grains . . . . . 5 <<

2150 grains contained —

Water . . . . . . . . .2145

Solid constituents ....... 5

1000 parts contained —

Water ......... 997.7

Solid constituents ....... 2.3

The urine of numerous Yellow-bellied Terrapins (Emys serraia), and Salt-water
Terrapins (Emys terrapins) treated in a similar manner, yielded results similar in
all respects.

In every instance the amount of urine excreted by the kidneys was greatly
increased, its specific gravity diminished — being often the same as that of pure
water — and the reaction was changed from acid to neutral. Hippuric acid was
never detected.

The important results of this series of experiments will be given in a table.

We next come to the examination of the urine of herbivorous Chelonians.

Urine of a male Gopher, examined four days after its capture.

The bladder contained five fluidounces of urine, having an odor similar to that
of the leaves and grasses in the rectum, and also resembling that of the sheep.
Four fluidounces of this was a brownish-yellow fluid. Sp.gr. 1004. The remain-
ing fluidounce was a semi-solid, grayish chalk-like precipitate, having a sp. gr. of
1095.5, and consisting, under the microscope, entirely of minute globules of the
urate of ammonia. Urea and hippuric acid could not be detected by microscopical
or chemical tests, in either the fluid or serai-solid portion of the urine. Aqua
ammonia failed to precipitate the triple phosphate.

] 000 parts of the fluid portion of the urine contained —

Water ......... 972.75

Solid constituents ....... 27.25

1000 parts of the semi-solid portion contained —

Water ......... 806.31

Solid constituents . . . . . . .193.67

Amount of semi-solid portion ...... 400 grs.

134 URINE OF CHELONIANS.

400 grains contained —

Water 322.52

Solid constituents . . . . • • .77.48

The estimate of the solid parts is below the truth, because some of the ammonia
must necessarily have been driven oft' during the process of drying.

Urine of a Gopher (Testado pohjphemus) , which was kept without food and drink
for 28 days, was as follows : —

"Weight of Gopher, June 16th ..... 18,308 grs.

July 11th 10,022 "

Loss of weight in 25 clays ...... 1,446

Loss of weight each hour, 2^ = T^T of the original weight.

Amount of urine ....... 2 fluidounces.

" of fluid portion . . . . . 1£

" of semi-solid portion . . . . -2

Specific gravity of fluid portion ..... 1008.9

The semi-solid portion was very compact, and composed almost entirely of the

urate of ammonia.

Weight of the fluid portion ....

" " semi-solid portion

Whole amount of urine .....
Amount of solid constituents, uric acid and urate of ammonia.

grs. of semi-solid matters ....
Amount of uric acid iu this ....

in 236

37.46

764

grs

236

it

1000

It

42

7
1 O

The urate of ammonia must unavoidably have lost some of its ammonia during
evaporation.

Amount of solid constituents in 704 grs. of the fluid portion of the urine 21.71

Solid matters in 1000 grains of urine ..... 04.41 grs.

1000 grains contained —

Water 935.59

Urate of ammonia . . . . . . .42.70

Extractive matters, and urea in small amount .... 15.72

Urates of soda and potassa and mucus . . . . .5.99

When the extractive matters were treated with nitric acid, effervescence took
place, and crystals of the nitrate of urea made their appearance, under the micro-
scope, in small numbers. Hippuric acid was present in the urine of this animal in
small amount. The urine of all Gophers, which I have thus far examined, resembled
in all respects that of those just described.

The urine of Chelonians was frequently tested for grape sugar. This substance
was absent from the urine of all Chelonians, in a normal condition, except in the
case of a Gopher, and its presence in this individual might be accounted for by a
suppression of the respiration consequent upon several severe blows upon its head.

Whenever the respiration was suspended, by placing the animals in hydrogen
and carbonic acid gases, or by passing a ligature around the windpipe, sugar
accumulated in the blood, was eliminated by the kidneys, and appeared in the
urine.

URINE OF CHELONIANS.

135

The following tables will present a condensed view of all the important results
obtained in these investigations : —

Table showing the Loss of Weight, and the Amount of Urine Excreted by Chelonians derived of

Food and Drink.

Name of auimal.

Emys

Emys
Emys
Emys
Emys
Emys
Emys
Emys
Emys

serrata

serrata

serrata

serrata

serrata

serrata

terrapin

terrajiin

terrapin

Days.
14
20
20
26
34
45
38
43
56

Grs.

20,873
34,155
41,086
30,132
38,590
17,797
14,285
18,832
12,280

*%

•o .i ~

°i '- *

VI o C

to c

0> O) ■-

*- ^ 3

&~ c

(1) o o

^ g £

Grs.
18,756
28,675
34,960
22,760
30,142
14,400
11,400
13,485

9,255

Grs.

2,117

5,480

6,126

7,372

8,398

3,397

2,885

5,347

3,025

i

T5
j,

B

1
T
1
4

1
4

o J
►J

3 .2 -=

u a =

"S3 3

^ « ai

o t- -3
o « o

-1

Grs.
6.3
11.41
12.76
10.5
10.29
3.14
3.317
5.18
2.25

i

3 3 13

1 _

3 29 8
1_

2 8 7 0

37S4
_ 1 _

5 bS7
1

4 3gg

■JgW
1

64 5 8

,•3

5 q

aj to

.2. 5

of |

■S 3 a

Grs.
442
113
741
223
890
300
300
70
130

• 5-
;.2 ja

■h .2 .

3 s 5

IT
_1

352
1

S 5

T35-

4 4

1
iT

iV
1_

1

Grs.

1.315
.0235

1.543

0.357

1.09
.0277
.032
.0067
.0096

qj a> t. <s

| s o a

a v o o

- - ^ 5

a 1! .g •&

15 8 05

TT5TT 0"
1

26627

1

1 TSToO

I

3 5 3 5*7
I _

0 4 2 13 0

449456

_ _J

27107 3 1
_ 1

1 27 0 1 gg

Grs.
0034
.00187
.00611
.00166
.00457
.0012
.00114

.00059

These Chelonians were kept in boxes, and were carefully and frequently examined,
and it was found that they never discharged their urine. The amounts, therefore,
noted in the table, represent all that was excreted during the period of their con-
finement. .

This table shows the slow waste of the tissues of cold-blooded animals, and the
small amount of work performed by their kidneys.

When these animals were deprived of food and drink, the loss of weight was
chiefly due to the evaporation from their lungs and skin, and also to the combina-
tion of the elements of their fluids and solids with the oxygen of the atmosphere,
and their final elimination as carbonic acid gas.

The researches of Winter, Scherer, and Lehmann have shown that a man, for
every kilogramme (15,444 grains) of his weight discharges, on an average in the
twenty-four hours, about 26 grammes (400 grains) of urine. From these data we
may calculate that the amount discharged per hour, for every kilogramme of the
weight of a man, equals 16.76 grains. According to this calculation, the amount
of urine discharged by a man, hourly, equals ^th the weight of his body. It is
probable that, during thirst and starvation, the amount would be much less.

By comparing this with the results which I obtained from cold-blooded animals
we see that the amount of urine excreted by a warm-blood animal is from forty to
several hundred times more abundant than that excreted by a cold-blooded animal.
This is true of all cold-blooded animals.

An Alligator, weighing 76,507 grains, was kept for eighteen days without food
and drink, and excreted during this time only two fluidounces of urine.

I have kept Ophidians for two and three weeks, and during this time they voided
their urine not more than once or twice, and then in small quantities.

136 COMPARISON OF COLD AND WARM-BLOODED ANIMALS.

The results of these experiments demonstrate conclusively that, as the solids and
fluids of the animal economy are developed, the temperature elevated, and intellect
perfected, the compositions, decompositions, and metamorphoses of the organic and
inorganic elements become more rapid and abundant.

When we compare the relative size of the kidneys, and the amounts of their
excretions in different animals, the question immediately arises : Why should cold-
blooded animals, whose circulation is sluggish, which eat but seldom, often abstain-
ing from food for months, whose habits are indolent, and whose excretions and
secretions are exceedingly small, be provided with large urinary organs ?

In warm-blooded animals it is natural to suppose that an elevated temperature,
rapid circulation, and active energetic mode of life, should call for large organs
capable of removing in an efficient manner from the blood the products of the dis-
integrations of the system ; but why should we have in a condition of things directly
contrary, in every respect, as large organs, to perform the same office in a much
feebler degree.

In attempting to explain this phenomenon we must consider the following facts
and laws of the animal economy : —

The blood contains a definite amount of materials to be eliminated by the kidneys,
diffused throughout its entire mass. That all these materials should be separated,
the entire mass of the blood must be presented to the kidneys, and the rapidity of
the elimination will depend upon the rapidity of the circulation, and the activity
of the excreting cells and the size of the organs.

Temperature also exerts a great influence upon all the actions of the animal
economy.

If the temperature of cold or warm-blooded animals be reduced much below the
normal standard their functions will gradually become more feeble, and finally
cease.

It may be stated, as a general law, that the lower the temperature of any organ
the more feeble will be its action.

Nervous force exerts a great influence upon the circulation, and, through it, upon
secretion and excretion.

It is known to every naturalist that cold-blooded animals have much less mus-
cular and nervous power in proportion to their size than the warm-blooded ones.

From these considerations, then, it is evident that to perform the same office, to
excrete precisely the same amount, larger organs are required in the cold than in
the warm-blooded animals.

In Ophidians which have relatively larger kidneys than the other cold-blooded
animals, in addition to the reasons stated above, the character of their alimentary
canal and their habits render the existence of large kidneys necessary.

These animals are carnivorous and have a short alimentary canal, which, in many
instances, is almost completely straight.

They take their food in large quantities, often swallowing animals heavier and
larger than themselves. All this animal matter is capable of digestion and absorp-
tion into the blood, a large portion of which is superfluous.

The great channel for the elimination of this is through the kidneys; the lungs
being mere sacks, and performing the function of respiration in an imperfect manner.

EFFECTS OF THIRST, ETC., OX U1UXE OF CHELONIANS. 137

The kidneys, therefore, must be correspondingly large to remove rapidly the
large and unnecessary quantities of nutriment which are often received into the
circulatory system.

The following table will give a condensed view of the effects of starvation and
thirst, and also of a change of diet upon the blood of cold-blooded animals : —

Table Shotting the Effects of Starvation oral Thirst, and also of a Change of Diet tq>on the

Urine of Chelonians.

Name of Animal.

Length

of star-
vation

Specific Amount
gravity of urine

Solid L . .

.. m . » ! Water in
consti- Water of \ ,, „..

tuentsol urine ex- „

Solid
constitu-
ents in

Reaction

Color of urine.

and

of urine, excret'd

urine ex-

creted. ,Pa"s 0I

lOOOpt's

of urine.

thirst.

creted.

1 urine.

of urine.

Days.

Grains.

Grains.

Grains.

Female Emys serrata

17

1011. ! 442.3

11.33

430.97 974.39

25.61

Acid.

Turbid yellow.

a a

26

1033.5 113.

9.

104. 920.36

79.64

a

Clear yellow

precipitate.

tt a

29

1020.

223.1

10.396 219.704 947.19

52.81

" Limpidyellow.

a ti

31

1017.5 741.5

29.36 712.14 900.4

39.6

ii

Yellow, with

precipitate.

tt it

38

1017.6 890.6

37.34

853.26

918.08

41.92

a

Yellow, with
precipitate.

Male

49

1019.4 300.

13.02

286.98 954.65

45.35

a

Clear yellow.

Female E myx terrapin

40

1015. 300.

10.4

289.6 965.34

34.66

a

< !ream-coIor'd.

a a

43

70.

it

i Iream-color'd.

11 a

57

130.

8.05

61.92

1 1

Clear yellow.

Female Emys terra-

pin, deprived of food

and drink 21 days,

and then placed in

fresh water and abun-

dantly supplied with

vegetable food 28

days.

1002.

810.

3.4(1 836.60

995.90

4. 04

Slightly Limpid light

Female Emys serrata,

acid.

yellow.

deprived of food and

drink 30 days, and

then supplied with

water and vegetable

food 42 days. .

1000.

2150.

5.

2145.

997.67

2.33

Neutral.

Limpid light

Female Emys serrata,

yellow.

deprived of food and

drink 30 days, and

then supplied with

vegetable food and

water 60 days.

1004. 2160.

18.04

2141.36 S

S.62

Neutral. Limpid light

Female Emys serrata,

yellow.

deprived of food and

drink 30 days, and

then supplied with

water and vegetable

food 88 days. .

1. 1999.

999.5

.5

Neutral. Limpid light

Test udo polyphemus

yellow.

(Gopher). Fluid.

1004. 2000.

54.50 1945.50

972.75

27.25

Semi-solid.

1095.5 400.

77.48

322.52

806.31

193.67

Testudo polyphemus

(Gopher). Fluid.

1008.9 764.

21.71

742.29

971.59

28.41

Semi-solid.

236.

42.70

193.30

819.09

180.91

18

PUBLISHED BY THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION,

WASHINGTON, D. C.

JULY, 1856.

APPENDIX.

RECORD OF AURORAL PHENOMENA

OBSERVED IN THE

HIGHER NORTHERN LATITUDES,

COMPILED BY

PETER FORCE.

INTRODUCTORY LETTER

Professor Joseph Henry,

Secretary Smithsonian Institution.

Sir : In compliance with your request, I place in your hands the collection of
observations on the Aurora Borealis, which was made in great part while I was
engaged, during the evening hours of relaxation, for several years prior to 1851,
in the examination of another, and, to me, at the time, a more interesting subject.
In the course of this investigation I met with so many notices of the Aurora, that
I thought it worth the time it would take, to gather such of them as came within
my reach without leaving the path over which I was travelling; it also occurred
to me that such a collection, covering so broad a surface, might be useful in any
investigation of the phenomenon, in so far at least, as it would furnish the means
of a ready reference to many of the observations recorded by careful and compe-
tent observers.

The accompanying papers are my original notes, as they were made from time
to time, from the later voyages, travels, and explorations in the northern regions,
and particularly in the northern portions of North America. A list of the journals,
&c, that I have gone over, which is added, will show how far my examination
has extended.

You will perceive that very few of the Auroral observations I have given were
made south of the fiftieth degree of north latitude.1 North of that parallel they
are cpiite full, though not entirely complete. Any omissions may, however, be
easily supplied, as the name of the observer, the point of the first appearance and

1 In a wqrk recently published by the State of New York, entitled "Results of a Series of Meteoro-
logical Observations made in Obedience to Instructions from the Regents of the University of Sundry
Academies in the State of New York, from 1826 to 1850, inclusive, compiled by Franklin B. Hough,
M. D., Albany, 1S55," will be found a very full record of all auroras noticed in New York within the
limits mentioned. I would also refer to various professed treatises on the subject, and especially to the
volume on Auroras published in the Reports of the French " Commission Seientifique du Nord en
Skandinavie, Laponie, &c."

[v INTRODUCTORY LETTER.

the direction of the Aurora, the time of observation, and the locality, by parallel
and meridian, are stated in every instance where it was found possible to do so.

I may venture to add that the observations here given, go far, as it appears to
me, to establish the following points in regard to the Aurora Borealis : —

1. That in the higher northern latitudes it frequently first appears to the east-
ward, or to the westward, or to the southward of the observer, and hence is not
strictly a north polar light.

2. That it is often at a low elevation, and sometimes near the surface of the
earth, within the range of the vision of the observer.

3. That north of the 70th degree of north latitude it is less frequent and less
brilliant than to the southward of that parallel.

4. That on and in the vicinity of the Atlantic Ocean and other open waters, it
is most frequent and most brilliant.

5. That the season for its appearance is mostly between the autumnal and the
vernal equinox.

C. That the time of its appearance is in most cases from six o'clock P. M. to
midnight.

PETER FORCE.

Washington, May 1, 1856.

RECORD OF AURORAL PHENOMENA

OBSERVED IN TUE

HIGHER NORTHERN LATITUDES.

Hartford, Ct.— Lat. 41° 45' 50" N. Long. 72° 40' 45" W. 1835,1836. A. C. Twining.
New Haven, Ct.— Lat. 41° 18' 30" N. Long. 72° 56' 45" W. do.

"The height of auroral phenomena is a subject which has divided philosophers. Some consider

them as lying in the lower regions of the atmosphere ; while others would elevate them beyond

its supposed limits, or at least into its extreme upper regions.
It is my intention to prove, in three instances of late occurrence, that the latter opinion is the true

one."— Am. Journ. Sc, XXXII, 217.
Auroral Cloud of December 10, 1835. — "Height above the surface of the earth, forty-two miles

and one-third."— Ibid., p. 220.
Auroral Arch of August 12, 1836. — "Height above the surface of the earth, one hundred and

forty-four and a half miles." — Ibid., p. 224.
Auroral Arch of May 8, 1836. — "Height, one hundred and sixty miles." — Ibid., p. 227.

N. B. — Height of aurora, December 10, 1835, 42J miles.
Do. August 12, 1S36, 144£ miles.

Do. May 8, 1836, 160 miles.

Columbia Co., N. Y.— Lat. 42° 30' N". Long. 73° 20' W. Autumn of 1S06. W.

" To the Editor of the American Magazine. Sir: I do not recollect to have read, or heard, that
any person had ever witnessed the exhibition of an aurora lorealis in the daytime, and when the
air was perfectly clear and the sky unclouded.

It is some years since I witnessed this, in company with many other persons; and having spoken
of it to some friends, lately, in New York, I have been solicited to communicate the facts to the
public. If you think them worth publishing, they are at your service.

I do not now precisely recollect the year, but it was about 1806, that I was employed, during several
successive days, in surveying some lands near the northeast extremity of the County of Columbia,
in the State of New York. The lands, comprising three or four farms, were to be subdivided
among the heirs of a person then lately deceased, and were situated on some of the highest hills
of that county. I was, of course, constantly attended by some eight, ten, and even twenty
persons of the parties concerned, who all witnessed what I am going to relate.

It was late in autumn, and so cold that ice formed every night, and hardly all disappeared during
the day. The air was very transparent, and, so far as I now recollect, none or but very few
clouds to be seen. For several nights in succession, the Northern Lights shone pretty bright,
in the valley where I slept, but disappeared in the morning.
1

RECORD OP AURORAL PHENOMENA.

On mounting these hills, at about 11 o'clock, we were surprised to witness the streaks and flushes
of the aurora borealis, occupying the same place that they had done the night before, and so
bright and luminous as to command our astonishment and admiration. The streaks were as
clearly defined as during the night, and very considerably brighter than the field of the sur-
rounding sky. •

Not a cloud was to be seen, at least during two or three hours, while we narrowly watched the
exhibition of this splendid phenomenon.

On the next and two or three of the succeeding days, we saw the same appearances at intervals;
and through the intervening nights the aurora was quite bright.

I inquired at the time, and frequently afterwards, and could find no person who had noticed it in
the day time, excepting those who had been on the hills in our party. Probably others m;iy
have observed it, and I regret that I had not sooner made public the result of our observations.

I know that these appearances could not be discovered from the valleys around us, at the time we
saw them, because several of our party made the experiment.

I have only further to observe that, during this exhibition, the air was very clear and uncommonly
bright for several days.

The streams of light from the north frequently shot up qnite over our heads, and seemed to
diverge every way, as from a point situated a very little below the visible horizon.

I shall be glad to learn if others have ever observed similar appearances under such circumstances,
and to see the observations of the learned on this singular and interesting occurrence." — Spaf-
ford's Am. Mag., I, No. 10, March 1816, p. 359.

N. B. — Streaks and flashes of the aurora at noonday. Not a cloud to be seen.

Albany, N. Y.— Lat. 42° 39' 3" N. Long. 73° 41' 49" W. April 19, 1831. Trof. J. Henry.

"On the 19th of April, 1831, at 12 o'clock at noon, an observation was made with the Ilansteen
needle, the result of which differed only the fractional part of a second from the usual mean rate
of this needle.

At 6 o'clock p. m. the same day, another observation was made with the same needle, and appa-
rently under the same circumstances ; but a remarkable change was now observed in the time of
its making three hundred vibrations, indicating a great increase in the magnetic intensity of the
earth. It was at first supposed that the needle had accidentally been placed contiguous to
ferruginous substance; but, on a most careful investigation, nothing could be discovered which
would tend in the least degree to explain the cause of the phenomenon.

At about 9 o'clock in the evening, or three hours after the above observation, an unusual appear-
ance was noticed in the southern part of the heavens, which was shortly afterwards recognized as
an arch of the aurora. It was about nine degrees in breadth, with the vertex of the arch
twenty degrees above the horizon.

At this time, the northern part of the sky was covered with light fleecy clouds. At forty-five
minutes past nine the clouds partially disappeared, and disclosed the tchole northern hemisphere
entirely occupied with coruscations of the aurora, shooting up past the zenith, and apparently all
converging to the same point. The actual formation of a corona might probably have been
observed, but for a dark cloud which remained stationary a little south of the zenith." — Am.
Journ. Science, XXII, 146.

N. B.— At 9 p. m., noticed in the southern part of the heavens. At 9h. 45m. p. m., whole
northern hemisphere entirely occupied with coruscations of aurora.

Toronto, C. "W.— Lat. 43° 39' 35" N. Long. 79° 21' 33" W. May 8, 1836. R. H. Bonnycastle.

"At a quarter past nine o'clock on Sunday night, the eighth day of May (1836) in the present year,
my attention, whilst regarding the heavens, was forcibly attracted to the sudden appearance due
east, of a shining, broad column of light.

RECORD OF AURORAL PHENOMENA. 3

At first, as ray window overlooks tlie Bay of Toronto and the low island which separates it from
the lake, I took this singular pillar of light for the reflection from some steamboat on the clouds;
but, having sought the open air on the gallery, which commands a full view of the bay and of
Ontario, I was convinced that the meteor was an effluence of the sky, as I now saw it extend
upwards, from the eastern water horizon line to the zenith, in a well-defined, equal, broad column
of white, strong light, resembling in some degree that of the aurora, but of a steady brightness
and unchanging body, whilst there were few or no clouds.

There was no moon, as on that day it rose at 2h. 4m., consequently it was dark, and, as the sky
was not very cloudy, the meteor was seen to the greatest advantage as the night wore on.

It passed very slowly and bodily to the westward, continuing to occupy the space from the horizon
to the zenith, until the upper part first faded slowly, and then the whole gradually disappeared,
after it had reached nearly to due northeast.

The weather was cold, and there was no wind.

At twenty minutes past nine o'clock the pillar of light had vanished, but it immediately afterwards
reappeared slightly in the horizon where it had been last seen [due N. E.], and in the mean
time the constant auroral arch of the halos I have before mentioned, in Vol. XXX, 131,
became visible in the northern horizon, and increased very rapidly in brilliancy, and at ten
minutes to ten, gave so intense a glow to the sky that it was light enough to enable me to see
the objects around distinctly as in pale moonlight. It was, in short, equal to the light of the
moon at the end of the second quarter.

The auroral arch rose very higli on this occasion, and then flattened, and at ten the double arch I
have already described was peculiarly beautiful, the darkness under it being singularly grand." —
Am. Jouru. Sci., XXXII, 393.

X. 13. — A well-defined, equal, broad column of white, bright light. Appeared due east.

Port Henry, two miles north of Crown Point, Lake Champlain. — Lat. 44° 5' N.
Long. ?3° 30' W. August 13, 1S3C. W. C. Redfield.

"On the evening of the 13th (of August, 1S36), we were entertained with a brilliant exhibition of
the Aurora Bbrealis, which, between 7 and 8 p. m., shot upward in rapid and luminous corus-
cations from the northern half of the horizon, the whole converging to a point apparently fifteen
degrees south of the zenith.
This appearance was succeeded by luminous vertical columns or pencils, of the color, alternately,
of a pale red and a peculiar blue, which were exhibited in great beauty." — Am. Journ. Sci.,
XXXIII, 302.

N. B. — Rapid and luminous coruscations from the northern half of the horizon. Succeeded by
luminous vertical columns or pencils, colored, alternately, with red and a peculiar blue.

St. John's, Newfoundland.— Lat. 41° 33' 33" N. Long. 52° 45' 10" W. Bonnycastle.

" This phenomenon, but little investigated, and less known, is generally supposed to be the most
perfect the nearer we approach the arctic circle in our hemisphere ; but I have long doubted
that popular opinion.

It may be more permanent in the higher latitudes, compensating for the single night of half a year's
duration ; but I believe, for I have seen it in very high latitudes, when a young man, in the
Northern Seas, that it is more splendid in Western Canada and in Newfoundland, than nearer
to the pole. There are circumstances connected with its appearance in the latter country, which
tend to upset another generally received notion.

It has been seen here, at St. John's, visibly close to the observer. One gentleman saw it between
his house and Quiddy-Biddy Pond, a lake about a mile long, near the svulh ban/: of which his
dwelling is erected, on a slope of Signal Hill.

RECORD OF AURORAL PHENOMENA.

Another gentleman, equally to be depended upon, and very fond of noticing extraordinary appear-
ances, saw it in another situation, near the quarters I occupy, equally close to him; and it always
appears to me here, as if it was not very far off.

The peculiar humid atmosphere of the east coast, and the vicinage of the ocean, between which
and the city there is a lofty barrier of rocky hills, all conduce to render the belief in this new
appearance reasonable." — Bonnycastle, I, 359.

N. B. — It has been seen at St. John's visibly close to the observer.

Cedar Lake.— Lat. 53° 12' 59" N. Long. 100° 10' 49" W. October 13, 1819. Franklin.

"Cross Lake is extensive, running towards the N. E., it is. said, for forty miles. We crossed it at
a narrow part, and, pulling through several winding channels, formed by a group of islands,
entered Cedar Lake, which, next to Lake Winnipeg, is the largest sheet of fresh water we had
hitherto seen. Ducks and geese resort hither in immense flocks in the spring and autumn.
These birds were now beginning to go off, owing to the muddy shores having become quite hard
through the nightly frosts.
At this place the Aurora Borealis was extremely brilliant in the night, its coruscations darting, at
times, over the tvlwle shy, and assuming various prismatic tints, of which the violet and yellow
were predomiuant." — Franklin, I, 46.

N. B. — Extremely brilliant. Over the whole sky.

Lake Winnipeg.— Lat. 53° 45' 53" N. Long. 98° 49' 58" W. October 8, 1819. Franklin.

"We left Norway House soon after noon, and the wind being favorable, sailed along the northern
shore of Lake Winnipeg the whole of the ensuing night ; and on the morning of the 8th
landed on a narrow ridge of sand, which, running out twenty miles to the westward, separates
Limestone Bay from the body of the lake.

From Norwegian Point to Limestone Bay the shore consists of high clay cliffs, against which the
waves beat with violence during strong southerly winds. When the wind blows from the laud,
and the waters of the lake are low, a narrow sandy beach is uncovered, and affords a landing-
place for boats. The shores of Limestone Bay are covered with small fragments of calcareous
stones.

During the night the Aurora Borealis was quick in its motions, and various and vivid in its
colors." — Franklin, I, 44.

N. B. — Quick in its motions. Various and vivid in its colors.

Cumberland House.— Lat. 53° 56' 40" N. Long. 102° 16' 41" W. Nov. 15, 1819. Franklin.

"The sky had been overcast during the last week ; the sun shone forth once only, and then not suffi-
ciently for the purpose of obtaining observations.

Faint coruscations of the Aurora Borealis appeared one evening, but their presence did not in
the least affect the electrometer or the compass." — Franklin, I, 50.

November 24, 1819. — "The Aurora Borealis had been faintly visible for a short time the preced-
ing evening." — Ibid., 51.

November 28, 1819. — " The Aurora Borealis was twice visible, but faint on both occasions. Its
appearance did not affect the electrometer, nor could we perceive the compass to be disturbed."
Ibid., 51.

RECORD OF AURORAL PHENOMENA. 5

Cumberland House.— Lat. 53° 56' 40" N. Long. 102° 16' 41" W. October 23, 1819, to June
13, 1820. Hood.

"The most material information we had obtained at this period regarded the height of the anrora
from the earth.

The following is the result of the observations that were made at the Basquiau Hill, and at the
same time, by Dr. Richardson, at Cumberland House. The instruments used for the purpose
were two small wooden quadrants, revolving on pivots and furnished with plummets. Our
chronometers were previously regulated ; though great accuracy was not necessary in this par-
ticular, as the arches of the aurora are sometimes stationary for many minutes.

On the 2d of April, the altitude of a brilliant beam was 10°, at lOh. lm. p. m., at Cumberland
House. Fifty-five miles S. S. W., it was not visible. As the trees at the latter station rose
about 5° above the horizon, it may be estimated that the beam was not more than seven miles
from the earth, and twenty-seven from Cumberland House.

On the 6th of April, the aurora was, for some hours, in the zenith at that place, forming a cou-
fused mass of flashes and beams; and in lat. 53° 22' 48" N., long. 103° 7' 17" W., it appeared
in the form of an arch, stationary about 9° high, and bearing N. by E. It was therefore
seven miles from the earth.

On the 7th of April, the aurora was again in the zenith, before 10 p. m., at Cumberland House,
and in lat. 53° 36' 40" N., and long. 102° 31' 41" W. The altitude of the highest of two

concentric arches at 9h. p. m. was 9°; at 9h. 30m. p. m. it was 11° 30' ; at lOh. p. m., 15°

its centre always bearing N. by E. During this time, it was between six and seven miles from
the earth. After lOh. p. m., it covered the sky at Cumberland House, and passed the zeuith at
the other place.

These observations are opposed to the general opinion of meteorologists ; they are nevertheless
facts. "We have sometimes seen an attenuated aurora flashing across 100° of the sky in a single
second; a quickness of motion inconsistent with the height of sixty or seventy miles, the least
which has hitherto been ascribed to it. This kind of aurora is not brighter than the Milky
Way, and resembles sheet-lightning in its motions.

For the sake of perspicuity, I shall describe the several parts of the aurora, which I term beams,
flashes, and arches.

The Beams are little conical pencils of light, ranged in parallel lines, with their pointed extremi-
ties towards the earth, generally in the direction of the dipping needle.

The Flashes seem to be scattered beams approaching nearer to the earth, because they are simi-
larly shaped and infinitely larger. I have called them flashes because their appearance is
sudden, and seldom continues long.

"When the aurora first becomes visible, it is formed like a rainbow, the light of which is faint, and
the motion of the beams undistinguishable. It is then iu the horizon.

As it approaches the zenith, it resolves itself at intervals into beams, which, by a quick undulating
motion, project themselves into wreaths, afterwards fading away, and again brightening, without
any visible expansion or concentration of matter. Numerous flashes attend in different parts of
the sky.

That this mass, from its short distance above the earth, would appear like an arch to a person
situated at the horizon, may be demonstrated by the rules of perspective, supposing its parts to
be nearly equidistant from the earth. An undeniable proof of it, however, is afforded by the
observations of the 6th and 7th of April, when the aurora which filled the sky at Cumberland-
House, from the northern horizon to the zenith, with wreaths and flashes, assumed the shape of
arches at some distance to the southward.

But the aurora does not always make its first appearance as an arch. It sometimes rises from a
confused mass of light in the east or west, and crosses the sky towards the opposite point,
exhibiting wreaths of beams,' or corona; borcales, in its way.

An arch, also, which is pale and uniform at the horizon, passes the zenith without displaying any
irregularity or additional brilliancy; and we have seen three arches together, very near the
northern horizon, one of which exhibited beams and even colors, but the other two were faint
and uniform.

RECORD OF AURORAL PHENOMENA.

On the 7th of April, an arch was visible to the southward, exactly similar to that in the north, and
it disappeared in fifteen minutes. It had probably passed the zenith before sunset.

The motion of the whole body of aurora is from the northward to the southward, at angles not
more than 20° from the magnetic meridian. The centres of the arches were as often in the
magnetic as in the true meridian.

The colors do not seem to depend on the presence of any luminary, but to be generated by the
motion of the beams, and then only when that motion is rapid, and the light brilliant. The
lower extremities quiver with a fiery red color, and the upper with orange. We once saw violet
in the former." — Franklin, I, 541.

N. B. — Height of the aurora.

Cumberland House.— Lat. 53° 56' 40" N. Long. 102° 16' 41" W. Winter of 1819-20. Hood.

" The number of aurora visible in September was 2 ; in October 3 ; in November 3 ; in December 5 ;
1819: in January 5; in February 7; in March 16 ; in April 15; in May 11; 1820.

Calm and clear weather was the most favorable for observation ; but it is discernible in cloudy
weather, and through mists. We could not perceive that it affected the weather. The magnetic
needle, in the open air, was disturbed by the aurora, whenever it approached the zenith. Its
motion was not vibratory, as observed by Mr. Dalton ; and this was, perhaps, owing to the
weight of the card attached to it. It moved slowly to the east or west of the magnetic meridian,
and seldom recovered its original direction in less than eight or nine hours. The greatest extent
of its aberration was 45'.

A delicate electrometer, suspended at the height of fifty feet from the ground, was never percep-
tibly affected by the aurora, nor could we distinguish its rustling noise, of which, however, such
strong testimony has been given to us, that no doubt can remain of the fact.

The conclusions to be drawn from the above will be found in the observations for the winter of
1820."— Franklin, I, 543.

(At Cumberland House, the aurora always to the north of east and west.)

N. B. — Number of aurora noticed. Magnetic needle disturbed. Electrometer never affected.
No rustling noise distinguished.

Cumberland House.— Lat. 53° 56' 40" N. Long. 102° 16' 41" W. Variation 11° 17' 31" E.
October 23, 1819, to June 30, 1820. Hood.

" From the 23d of October to the 25th of November, the aurora was not visible, or it did not appear

before 1 a. m.
November 26th. At 1 a. m., an aurora, arched like a rainbow, about 20° high; centre bearing

north ; color pale yellow, faint. At 8 p. in., a very faint arch, centre north.
December 6th. At 10 p. m., a faint-arched aurora, centre north by east.
8th. A similar aurora, centre north, at 10 p. m.

9th. At 11 p. m., an arched aurora, centre north; color light yellow, very bright.
12th. At 8 p. m., an arched aurora, centre north; color light yellow, faint." — Franklin, I, 543.

Upper Portage, near Knee Lake.— Lat. 55° 14' 2" N. Long. 94° 21' 54" W. September
24, 1819. Franklin.

"At seven in the morning of the 24th, we crossed the Long Portage, where the woods, having
caught fire in the summer, were still smoking.

We afterwards crossed the Second, or Swampy Portage, and in the evening encamped on the Upper
Portage, where we were overtaken by an Indian bringing an answer from Governor Williams
to a letter I had written to him on the 15th, in which he renewed his injunctions to the gentle-
men of the boats accompanying us, to afford us every assistance in their power.

The Aurora Borealis appeared this evening in a AT. W. and S. E. direction." — Franklin, I, 35.

RECORD OF AURORAL PHENOMENA. 7

Fort Isle la Crosse.— Lat. 55° 25' 35" N. Long. 101° 51' W. March 4, 1820. Franklin.

"We witnessed the Aurora Borealis very brilliant for the second time since our departure from
Cumberland" (on the 18th of January, 1820).— Franklin, I, 126.

N. B. — Very brilliant for the second time since 18th January.

Off Cape Farewell.— Lat. 5G° 17' N. Long. 42° 51" W. October 21, 1852. Inglefield.
"Weather exceedingly disturbed. Aurora Borealis frequently most brilliant." — Inglefield, p. 205.

Methye River.— Lat. 56° 26' 30" N. Long. 109° 52' 54" W. January 23, 1837. Simpson.

"On the 23d, we started at 3 a. m. Some time before daylight there was a magnificent display
of the Aurora Borealis, commencing with an arch of singular lustre in the north, which suddenly
flashed up towards the zenith, and represented the interior of a stupendous cone, the apex and
upper part being of a bright yellow hue, while the lower assumed a very rich carmine color.
I had scarcely time to admire this resplendent phenomenon when it disappeared." — Simpson,
p. 57; Ibid., Life, p. 210.

N. B. — 1. Arch of singular lustre in the north.

2. Suddenly flashed up towards the zenith.

3. Represented the interior of a stupendous cone.

At Sea.— Lat. 57° N. Long. 49° W. Monday, October 2, 1820. Tarry.

"After 10 p.m. this night, the Aurora Borealis appeared at times in almost every part of the
heavens, but most constant/// in the southern quarter.

It consisted of no distinct figure, either arch or pencils, but of a generally diffused white light,
illuminating the atmosphere at times quite as much as the moon does when six or seven days
old.

This phenomenon occurred almost every night during our passage across the Atlantic, rendering
them extremely light, even when the weather was cloudy; just in the same manner that the
moon does although her disk is not visible. When the weather was clear, it most frequently
resembled the light of that luminary when issuing from behind a dark cloud." — Parry, I, 306.

N. B. — 1. At times, in almost every part of the sky.

2. Most constantly in southern quarter.

3. Consisted of no distinct figure.

4. But of generally diffused white light.

Near York Fort, Hudson's Bay.— Lat. 57° 2' N. Long: 93° W. February, 1747. Clerk
of the California.

"When we came into the winter harbor, and during the winter, the Aurora Borealis seldom appeared
from the northwest or northeast, but generally from the northward of our zenith shooting south,
and at the same time another light, from the southwest, streaking towards the zenith; the former
from the bay, the latter over and according to the course of Port Nelson River.

There was for several successive nights, and at various times in the winter, over Hay's Island, a
broad, settled gleam of light, much resembling the Milky Way (only of a brighter color and
somewhat broader), that reached from the northward of our zenith, and seemingly joined almost
with the horizon.

The Aurora Boreales were something more frequent in the winter than in the summer months, but

RECORD OF AURORAL PHENOMENA.

were not in winter always apparent on every clear or starlight night." — Voyage to Hudson's
Bay, II, 11.

N. B. — 1. Seldom appeared from the N. W. or N. E., but generally from the N.

2. At the same time, another light from the S. W., streaking towards the zenith.

3. Aurora something more frequent in winter than the summer months.

Near York Factory.— Lat. 57° 2' N. Long. 93° W. Winter of 1T46-T. Ellis.

"The air of this country is never, or, at least, is very seldom clear. In the spring and fall of the
year there are heavy wet fogs, and in the winter the air is full of an infinite number of icy spicula,
that are visible to the naked eye, especially if the wind be northerly or easterly, and the frost
severe; the reason of it is this, wherever the water is clear of ice; in the winter there arises a
very thick vapor, commonly called frost smoke; this vapor freezing is driven by the wind in the
form we see it.

All the beginning of winter, Port Nelson River was unfroze in the stream ; this lying to the
northward of us, the wind blowing from that point, constantly brought with it showers of these
icy particles, which disappeared when it was froze.

Hence, also, frequent mock suns and halos about the moon and sun, very luminous and beautifully
tinged, with all the colors of the rainbow, are very common. Six of these parhelia, or mock
suns, I have seen at one time, which to us was very surprising." — Ellis, p. 171.

"The true sun also rises and sets there with a large cone of yellow light, perpendicular to it; and
no sooner does it disappear than the Aurora Borealis spreads a thousand different lights and
colors over the whole concave of the sky, with so resplendent a beauty that even the full moon
docs not efface their lustre. But, if the moon does not shine, these lights are much more appa-
rent, for one may then read distinctly by them, and the shadows of objects are seen upon the snoiv,
tending to the southeast, as the light shines brightest in the opposite quarter where it rises,
and whence the rays thereof are propagated over the whole face of the sky, with a waving kind
of motion.
The stars seem in this country to burn with a fiery redness, especially those near the horizon,
which strongly resemble a fire, or a ship's light at a distance." — Ibid., p. 172.

N. B. — 1. One may read distinctly by the aurora, when the moon does not shine.

2. The light shines brightest in the N. W.

3. Whence rays are propagated over the sky.

York Fort.— Lat. 57° 2' N. Long. 93° W. 1772-1780. ILmfreville.

" [York Fort, where I resided eight years, lies in the lat. of 57° 2' N., long. 93° W. from London,
as determined by Mr. Philip Turner, a gentleman employed by the company to make astro-
nomical observations within the limits of Hudson's Bay. Page 11.]

In the coldest weather, the atmosphere is the most serene. Throughout the day, the air is gene-
rally tilled with icy particles, which are small beyond conception. These are driven about in the
direction of the wind, and adhere to everything which happens to be in the way of their progress.

In the evening, the stars begin to shine with refulgent lustre, and the contemplative mind is struck
with reverence and awe to see the Aurora Borealis darting, with inconceivable velocity to all
parts of the heavens.

Very few winter nights pass in Hudson's Bay without this phenomenon making its appearance.
Sometimes the irradiations are seen of a very bright red, at other times of a pale, milky color,
undulating with every beauty it is possible to conceive or describe." — Umfrcville, p. 23.

N. B. — 1. In coldest weather, atmosphere most serene.
2. Very few winter nights without the aurora.

RECORD OF AURORAL PHENOMENA. 9

York Factory.— Lat. 51° 2' N. Long. 92° 40' W. Aug. 31 to Sept. 28, 1814. Cim-raLL.
"During our stay in Hudson's Bay, and upon our voyage home from thence, our nights were con-
stantly illuminated by the most vivid and brilliant coruscations of the Aurora Borealis.
Its appearance was very different from that which I have seen in more southern latitudes; resem-
bling continual jets of meteoric fire from the northern part of the horizon, which, after darting
upwards in long streamers towards the zenith, suddenly collapsed and receded, falling back, in
zigzag serpentine lines, with diminished splendor; and ultimately dying away and vanishing
from the sight, being succeeded by other jets as beautiful as the first." — Chappell, p. 136.

N. B. 1. Nights constantly illuminated by most brilliant coruscations.

2. Very different from that seen in more southern latitudes.

At Sea.— Lat. 57° 30' N. Long. 45° W. Tuesday, October 3, 1820. Tarry.

"On the 3d, we observed a more brilliant display than usual of this phenomenon. It appeared at
nine p. m. in various parts of the heavens, from E. N. E., round by S., to W. by K, principally
consisting at first of many detached luminous patches like clouds, irregularly scattered about,
and shifting frequently, though not very rapidly, from place to place. From W. by N. over to
the S. S. E., and passing a few degrees to the southward of the zenith, there soon appeared a
broad band of light, having a tendency to arch ; and the light of which this consisted appeared
to come from the west towards the east.
In the E. N. E. quarter, there was a luminous appearance, distinct from the rest, at about 15° or
20° of altitude, exactly resembling the light of the moon behind a dusky cloud, except that at
times vivid coruscations shot upwards from it towards the zenith.

At a quarter past ten the phenomenon suddenly became much more brilliant, its general position
and character remaining, however, nearly as before. It still appeared chiefly to the southward
of the zenith, the arch-like appearance continuing with increased splendor, and accompanied for
about a quarter of an hour by a beautifully waving light, of the rapidity and magnificence of
which it is impossible to convey any adequate idea. The motion of this light reminded me of
the contortions of a snake, except that its velocity was often so great that the eye could with
difficulty follow it. The most intense part was of a pale greenish color; the rest nearly white.

The arch, which before had been stationary, at one time shifted its position, by appearing, as it
were, to turn up its legs so as to form a part of a circle seen in perspective in the south, parallel
to the horizon. The luminous patch, or cloud, in the E. N. E. increased also very much in
brightness at the same time, emitting more vivid coruscations, but continuing, as before, quite
distinct from the rest of the phenomenon.

This Aurora, when brightest, gave nearly as much light as that of a full moon. There could not
be the smallest doubt that it dimmed, and even sometimes altogether obscured, the stars over which
it passed. We particularly remarked that, wherever there was a broad stream of its light sta-
tionary for some time in any part of the heavens, it produced exactly the effect of a curtain ; for
we could only distinguish stars of the first and second magnitude through it, while those of
inferior brilliancy were visible in great numbers by the side of it.

In this, as in several previous instances, the Aurora appeared very near us, though it was evidently
higher than some clouds which were passing, as might readily be distinguished by the latter
intercepting a part of its light.

The electrometer was tried during the most brilliant part of the phenomenon, but neither on this
or on any other occasion, in crossing the Atlantic, did the gold leaf give any indication of
electricity; nor was the magnetic needle in the slightest degree affected.

The arch-like appearance above described was not bisected by the magnetic meridian, but by
magnetic N. E. and S. W.

At a quarter before eleven, the light became less brilliant, and spread more to the northward, and
then gradually disappeared before midnight." — 1 Tarry, 306.
2

10 RECORD OF AURORAL THE NO MEN A.

N. B. — 1. Gave nearly as much light as that of a full moon.

2. Dimmed, and sometimes almost obscured the stars.

3. It appeared generally to the south of the zenith.

4. Did not affect the magnetic needle.

5. Appeared very near.

At Sea.— Lat. 5T° 30' N. Long. 45° W. Tuesday, October 3, 1820. Fisher.

"The Aurora Borealis appeared very beautifully from nine till eleven o'clock this evening, forming
an arch extending from east to west across the zenith; almost the whole of the south side of the
hemisphere was indeed illumined by it, but it was not seen to the northward, except near the
zenith.

It presented at different times a beautiful display of some of the prismatic colors, particularly the
red, orange, yellow, and green; lake was also a predominant color in some parts occasionally.

With respect to the different forms that it assumed, and its various movements, I consider it impossible
to give a correct idea of them by words. It appeared sometimes in immense sheets of light,
moving rapidly along the surface of the sky; and at other times it darted in straight columns,
from different parts of the sky towards the zenith. The most remarkable appearance, however,
that it presented, was a sort of serpentine motion that it had at one time, from west to east,
across the zenith.

The electrometer was tried, but it was not affected, nor did we hear any noise such as has been said
to be produced by this phenomenon.

Whether the Aurora Borealis dims the light of the stars or not, I can hardly pretend to say ; but I
can affirm this much, that I could see very plainly, in the thickest part of it, the four small stars
forming the diamond-shaped figure in the constellation of the Dolphin, from which I imagine
that a great part of the dimness that appears to be occasioned, is owing to the stars and Aurora
Borealis being nearly of the same color." — Fisher, pp. 288-8'.).

N. B. — 1. Whole southern hemisphere illuminated.

2. At times, displayed prismatic colors.

3. Electrometer not affected.

4. Heard no noise.

5. Small stars seen plainly through thickest part of it.

At Sea.— Lat. 58° 12' N. Long. 49° 15' W. June, &c, 1146. Clerk of the California.

"We had the Aurora Borealis some nights this month, as we had had at times from the 28th of
June, when to the ivestward and sotcthrvard of Farewell.

The Aurora Borealis in June was from the southeast, then shifting round to the east. Its appearance
was like to that of a small yellow cloud, about forty degrees above the horizon, which soon shot
out a stream towards the zenith, which stream consisted of a variety of colors — black, blue, flame-
color, &c. — continually vibrating; and, after several emanations, which lasted for a small time,
would collect and fold itself into the cloud, and then shoot out again.

The color of the others, in general, which we saw both in the bay and also after our arrival in
Hays's River, was a yellow or buff color, with large streams shooting out, and then contracting,
as we often see them in England, excepting some in the beginning of November, which were
like that in June.

The radii of the Aurora Borcales which we had in the bay, shot from the southward." — Voyage to
Hudson's Bay, II, 11.

RECORD OF AURORAL PHENOMENA. H

At Sea: Atlantic— Lat. 58° 30' N. Long. 44° 30' W. September 24, 1825. Tarry.

"The next brilliant display of this beautiful phenomenon which we now witnessed, and which far
surpassed anything of the kind observed at Port Bowen, occurred on the night of the 24th of
September, in latitude 58^°, longitude 44^°.

It first appeared in a (true) east direction, in detached masses, like luminous clouds of yellow or
sulphur-colored light, about three degrees above the horizon. When this appearance had con-
tinued for about an hour, it began, at nine p. m., to spread upwards, and gradually extended
itself into a narrow band of light, passing through the zenith and again downwards to the
western horizon.

Soon after this the streams of light seemed no longer to emanate from the eastward, but from a
fixed point about one degree above the horizon on a true west bearing. From this point, as
from the narrow poiut of a funnel, streams of light, resembling brightly-illuminated vapor or
smoke, appeared to be incessantly issuing, increasing in breadth as they proceeded, and darting
with inconceivable velocity, such as the eye could scarcely keep pace with, upwards towards the
zenith, and in the same easterly direction which the former arch had takeu. The sky imme-
diately under the spot from which the light issued, appeared, by a deception very common in this
phenomenon, to be covered with a dark cloud, whose outline the imagination might at times
convert into that of the summit of a mountain, from which the light proceeded like the flames
of a volcano. The streams of Light, as they were projected upwards, did not consist of con-
tinuous vertical columns or streamers, but almost entirely of separate though constantly-renewed
masses, which seemed to. roll themselves laterally onward, with a sort of undulating motion,
constituting what I have understood, to be meant by that modification of the Aurora called the
'merry dancers,' which is seen in beautiful perfection at the Shetland Islands. The general color
of the light was yellow, but an orange and a greenish tinge were at times very distinctly percep-
tible, the intensity of the light and colors beiug always the greatest when occupying the smallest
space. Thus the lateral margins of the band or arch seemed at times to roll themselves inwards
so as to approach each other, and in this case the light just at the edges became much more
vivid than the rest. The intensity of light during the brightest part of the phenomenon, which
continued three-quarters of an hour, could scarcely be inferior to that of the moon when full.

We once more remarked, in crossing the Atlantic, that the Aurora often gave a great deal of light
at night, even when the sky was entirely overcast, and it was on that account impossible to say
from what part of the heavens the light proceeded, though it was often fully equal to that
afforded by the moon in her quarters.

This was rendered particularly striking on the night of the 5th of October, in consequence of the
frequent and almost instantaneous changes which took place in this way, the weather being
rather dark and gloomy, but the sky at times so brightly illuminated, almost in an instant, as to
give quite as much light as the full moon similarly clouded, and enabling one distinctly to recog-
nize persons from one cud of the ship to the other.

We did not, on auy occasion, perceive the compasses to be affected by the Aurora Borealis." —
3 Parry, 170-11-72.

N. B. — 1. First appeared in the (true) east.

2. Very brilliant.

3. On no occasion perceived the compasses affected.

Fort Chippewyan.— Lat. 58° 42' 38" N. Long. Ill0 18' 20" W. April, 1820. Franklin.
"The month of April commenced with fine and clear, but extremely cold weather; unfortunately,
we were still without a thermometer, and could not ascertain the degrees of temperature.
The coruscations of the Aurora were very brilliaut almost every evening of the first week, and were

generally of the most variable kind.
On the 3d they were particularly changeable. The first appearance exhibited three illuminated
beams issuing from the horizon in the northeast and west points, and directed towards the zenith;

12 RECORD OF AURORAL PHENOMENA.

in a few seconds these disappeared, and a complete circle was displayed, bounding the horizon
at an elevation of fifteen degrees.
There was a quick lateral mutton in the attenuated beams of which this zone was composed. Its
color was a pale yellow, with an occasional tinge of red." — 1 Franklin, 143.

"On the 17th and 19th the Aurora appeared very brilliant in patches of light, bearing N. W." — Ibid.,
p. 114.

May 2, 1820. — "On the 2d the Aurora faintly gleamed through very dense clouds." — Ibid., p. 145.

June 16, 1820. — "On the evening of the ICth the Aurora Borealis was visible, but after that
date the nights were too light for our discerning it." — Ibid., p. 1G2.

N. B. — 1. Three illuminated beams in the N. E. and W. points.

2. A complete circle bounding the horizon, 15° high.

3. A quick lateral motion.

At Sea: Atlantic Ocean.— March 29, 1817. O'Reilly.

March 29, 1817. — "At 8 p. m., the electric coruscations suddenly appeared, running about at thirty
degrees above the horizon, ascending in a perpendicular direction from a base in a rapid suc-
cession of brassy-yellow flames, from W. to E., and soon died away. •

Immediately after, from the westward there slowly extended upwards to the zenith four faintly-
marked radii, which diverged as they ascended ; two, more approximating to each other and
nearly of equal breadth throughout. One only remained, stretching in a magnificent arch over
the zenith, embracing the horizon east and west, and of a splendor exceedingly faint: it might,
on hasty observation, be supposed a cirrus." — O'Reilly, p. 28.

N. B. — 1. First appearance — yellow flames from W. to E.

2. Magnificent arch over the zenith cmbraciug the horizon E. and W.

March 30. — "At 9| p. m., the coruscations appeared again from northwest; and, in the midst of the
stunning hurly, I could not resist noticing their activity. Imagination would say, that truly the
spirit of the storm was abroad in all his majesty. The account of the lights, immediately noted,
may be of interest to some of my readers." — Ibid., p. 29.

N. B. — Coruscations from northwest.

Near Davis's Strait.— April, 1817. O'Reilly.

April 8, 1817. — "Lights very vivid, restless, and playing from every point towards the star
Beuetnach, as to a centre of afflux." — O'Reilly, p. 31.

April 1G. — "The lights, between 10 and 11 p. m., were exceedingly splendid, and seemed to make
Benetuach a centre, but moving to N. E." — Ibid., p. 33.

At Sea.— Lat. 59° N. Long. 50° W. October 8, 1818. Robertson.

" At eight in the evening, observed the Aurora very bright on the true east quarter, shooting beau-
tiful rays in bundles from the horizon to the altitude of 60°; this was soon obscm-ed by squalls
of snow and sleet. From nine to twelve the Aurora was seen in every part of the heavens
shooting streams of light in every direction; the most luminous appearing from north by west to
west by north, true bearings." — 1 John Ross (Robertson), A pp., exxii. *

N. B. — 1. At 8 p. m., very bright in true E. quarter.

2. From 9 to 12, in every part of the heavens; the most luminous appearing from N. byW.
to W. by N.

RECORD OP AURORAL PHENOMENA. 13

At Sea.— Lat. 59° 58' N. Long. 59° 53' W. August 4, 1819. Franklin.

"At nine p. m., brilliant coruscations of the Aurora Borealis appeared, of a pale ochre color, with
a slight tinge of red, in an arched form — crossing the zenith from A! W. to S.E., but after-
wards they assumed various shapes, and had a rapid motion." — Franklin, I, 12.

N. B. — 1. Arch crossing zenith from N. W. to S. E.
2. Various shapes ; rapid motion.

Hoarak (Greenland).— Lat. 59° 59' N. Long. 44° 3G' W. March 21, 1829. Graaii.

"At eight o'clock this evening, we saw an Aurora Borealis in the form of a luminous arch stretching
from A. E. to S. IF., 30° high; and, shortly after, three others, stretching from E. S. E. to
W. S. IF, the loftiest of which reached nearly to the zenith." — Graah, p. CO.

N. B.— 1. Luminous arch, N. E. to S. W., 30° high.
2. Three others, from E. S. E. to W. S. W.

At Sea.— Lat. GO0 N. Long. 56° W. October 6, 1818. Robertson.

"Strong gales and squally, with snow and sleet. Observed the whole sky suddenly illuminated,
which lasted five or six minutes. This might be aurora in the zenith. Wind N. N. \V., mode-
rating towards noon." — 1 John Ross (Robertson), App., exxii.

N. B. — 1. Whole sky suddenly illuminated.

2. This might be aurora in the zenith.

Kikkertak (Greenland).— Lat. 60° 4' N. Long. 43° 2' W. April 12, 1829. Graaii.

"In the evening of the 12th, some unusually brilliant coruscations of the Aurora Borealis were seen
in the E. and A E. They seemed to proceed'from out of a thick bank of fog, about 6° or 8°
above the horizon; and, after passing the zenith, appeared to be transformed into light clouds,
for such were seen to flit past the moon, in the southwesterly region of the heavens, while the
northern was without a cloud.
They had no sensible effect on the magnetic needle." — Graah, p. 63.

N. B. — 1. Brilliant coruscations in the E. and N. E. ; seemed to proceed from a thick bank of fog.

2. After passing zenith, appeared to be transformed into light clouds.

3. No sensible effect on the magnetic needle.

Davis's Strait.— Lat. 60° 10' N. Long. 49° 40' "W. August 2, 1852. Inglefield.

"A good deal of ice encountered off Capes Farewell and Desolation. Aurora in yellow aud reddish
coruscations on the western sky, extending near the zenith." — Inglelield, p. 201.

At Sea.— Lat. G0° 30' N. 25° W. Friday, October 13, 1820. Parry.

"At seven p. m. on the 13th, the wind being squally from the N. N. "W., the Aurora Borealis began
to display itself in a bright luminous patch in the northeast, resembling, as usual, the light of the
moon behind a dark cloud.
From this point, faint and narrow coruscations shot upwards, passing a little to the northwestward
of the zenith, and appearing to come down to the W. by S.

14 RECORD OF AURORAL PHENOMENA.

The blue sky between these streams of light looked at first like so many dark streaks or clouds, until

the eye had become accustomed to it, and the clearness of the stars in them explained the

deception.
In half an hour after, a bright arch, 34° high in the centre, and about 2° in breadth, extended
from the luminous patch in the N. E. over to the W. S. W., so that the magnetic meridian would

nearly bisect it. This part of the phenomenon remained about an hour, and then became hunt;

but the Aurora continued to give considerable light, as usual, during the rest of the night." —

1 Parry, 307.

N. B.— 1. At 1 p. m., a bright luminous patch in the N. E.

2. From this point, faint coruscations, passing a little to the N. of zenith, appeared to

come down to the W. by S.

3. Half an hour after, a bright arch, 34° high in the centre, from N. E. over to W. S. W.

4. This remained almost an hour.

At Sea.— Lat. 61° N. Long. 25 W. October 17, 1818. Robertson.

"At eight p. m., observed the Aurora to begin in two concentric arches, the greatest arch from true
east to west, passing through the zenith; the smaller arch south of the large one, at an altitude
of 45°, shooting fine rays from all parts of the arches, but most brilliant from the western part.

At half-past eight, these arches disappeared, and another most brilliant one was seen north of the
zenith, the centre passing through the pole star, the extremities touching the eastern and western
horizons, emitting fine rays having all the prismatic colors. This arch was soon broken, and
the Aurora flitted about in beautiful coruscations in the northwestern part of the heavens, shift-
ing round to the southward. The moon shone unclouded at the time, and the Aurora was some-
times seen passing her, eclipsing her in splendor.

At 9h. 30m. p. m., the Aurora disappeared, the weather moderate at the time, with some light
fleecy clouds in the sky, which had a dark appearance when passing under the Aurora." — 1 John
Ross (Robertson), App., exxii.

N. B. — 1. At 8 p. m., two concentric arches, from true E. to W., passing through the zenith.

2. At half-past 8, an arch N. of the zenith, the centre passing through the pole star; ex-

tremes touching E. and W. horizons.

3. Shifted round to the S.

4. Eclipsed the moon in splendor.

5. At 9h. 30m., disappeared.

At Sea.— Lat. 61° 4' N. Long. 49° 50' W. August 4, 1852. Inglefield.

"An Aurora Borealis was observed at midnight of the 4th, which illumined the whole of the southern
sky with its variegated coruscations of brilliant light.
During the following day, we stood in to within eight miles of the shore, and it was supposed that
we were off Omenarsuk." — Inglefield, p. 13.

Moose-Deer Island.— Lat. 61° 18' 8" N. Long. 113° 51' 35" W. 1822. Franklin.

"Observations were made on the Aurora Borealis, in 1822, at Moose-Deer Island, lat. 61° 18' 8"
N., long. 113° 51' 35" W., variation 25° 40' 4V' E. Being unwilling, however, to swell the
Appendix more than necessary, I shall not insert the tables, but merely remark, that —
Although the Aurora was frequently seen there, the coruscations were seldom either brilliant or of
the variable kind. They caused but little alteration in the position of the needle, the greatest
deviation observed being 18', and did not furnish grounds for any additional inferences to those
which were drawn from the observations on the Aurora made at Fort Enterprise.

RECORD OF AURORAL PHENOMENA. 15

The display of light was generally confined to the northern part of the sky, between the true N. E.
and S. W. points, usually at a low altitude ; and the Aurora was observed extending to the south-
ward on four occasions only. This, as well as the circumstance of the magnetic needle being
but slightly affected by the presence of the Aurora during the winter at that place, appears to me
to be deserving of notice, as affording an indication that the seat of the phenomenon lies more to
the northward ; and were I to venture an opinion as to its probable situation, I should say between
the latitudes 64° and 65° N., or about the position of Fort Enterprise [lat. 64° 28' 24" N.,
113° 6' W.], because the coruscations were as often seen there in the southern as in the northern
parts of the sky, and I should consider that latitude the most favorable in this part of the globe
for making good observations on this interesting phenomenon." — 1 Franklin, 553.

N. B. — 1. Had but little effect on the needle.

2. Generally confined to the northern part of the sky, between the true X. E. and S. W.

points.

3. Extended to the southward on four occasions only.

4. Seat of the phenomenon more to the northward.

5. Its situation probably between 64° and 65°.

G. At Fort Enterprise, coruscations seen as often in the south as the north parts of the sky.
7. That latitude most favorable for observations on the aurora.

Davis's Strait.— Lat, Gl° 37' N. Long. 52° W. August 26, 1851. Dr. Sutherland.

"In the evening the wind veered round to X., and freshened up from almost a perfect calm to a
smart breeze. The spars of the 'Sophia' again began to feel it, as she scudded before it at the
rate of five or six miles an hour.
At midnight, the whole sky was one living fire of Aurora Borealis. It far exceeded anything that
we had seen in much higher latitudes during winter. The surface of the sea was sometimes illumi-
nated so much, that had there been objects on the horizon at a distance of several miles, they
would have been plainly visible." — Dr. Sutherland, II, 346.

Davis's Strait.— Lat. 61° 58' N. Long. 54° 40' W. August 25, 1851. Dr. Sutherland.

"The temperature of the water was increasing almost hourly as we came down the Strait, and now
it was up so high as 47°, while that of the air was only 48°. In the evening, there was much
rain, and the sky was densely overcast.

There were all the indications of a southwesterly storm; but towards midnight they all disap-
peared, the blue sky opened out, and a most brilliant Aurora Borealis danced from the horizon to
the zenith.

It was really pleasant to behold the broad gleaming bands folding like curtains of the richest and
finest woven silken fabric. The color varied every moment from red to white, and from yellow
to a slight tinge of green, verging into purple, which became lost in the red.

From the sudden appearance of this beautiful phenomenon, we hardly expected fine weather or a
favorable wind, more especially as the barometer was too high for westerly winds." — Dr. Suther-
land, II, 345.

Faroe Islands. — Lat. 62° N. Treveltan.

"Mr. Trevelyan observed, that the Aurora Borealis in Faroe and Shetland was often seen very low,
not more than forty or fifty feet above the level of the sea; and he learned that in both countries
it is frequently heard.
In Faroe, Mr. Trevelyan met one person who stated that, when the color of the Aurora Borealis
is dark red, and extends from west to east with a violent motion, he had experienced a smell
similar to that which is perceived when an electric machine is in action." — Am. Journ. Sci.,
VIII, 392; from Edinb. Phil. Journ., Vol. VII.

16 RECORD OF AURORAL PHENOMENA.

Hudson's Eay.— Lat. 62° 18' N. Long. 87° 12' 12" W. September 18, 1824. Lyon.

"Running till 10 p. m., we lay to for the night, as I had reason to suppose we were to the south-
ward of Cape Southampton, and was more particularly confirmed in this opinion from the com-
passes having all again become restless.

This agitation having frequently been observed on other nights, between the hours of nine and
eleven, had always been the cause of great anxiety to me, while endeavoring to steer a course
after dark, unless the moon or stars were clearly visible ; and it is well worthy of consideration
whether this wildness of motion in the compasses is at all caused by the absence of the sun, or
is in any way occasioned by the presence of the Aurora, which phenomenon was rarely seen
earlier than 9 p. m., and the time when it was most vivid was generally at about 10. At this
hour, on one occasion, Mr. Kendall observed, that during the prevalence of an unusually bril-
liant Aurora, the larboard binnacle compass would remain stationary at no particular point,
while the starboard one, by a bearing of the pole star, had lessened its accustomed error two
points.

By a bearing of the sun, on the following morning, it was found to have resumed its original
position." — Lyon, pp. 118-19.

"At 10 p.m., I hove to, in consequence of the compasses becoming greatly agitated. This had
frequently been observed on other nights, between the hours of nine and eleven, and had always
been the cause of great anxiety to me while endeavoring to steer a course after dark.

It is well worthy of consideration, whether this agitation of the compasses is at all to be attributed
to the absence of the sun, or is in any way occasioned by the presence of the aurora, which
phenomenon was rarely seen earlier than 9 p. in., and its greatest brilliancy was generally at
about 10, although the sun had then been set some hours.

On one occasion, during the prevalence of an unusually brilliant aurora, at 10 p. m., Mr. Kendall
observed that the larboard binuacle compass would not remain steady at any point, while the
starboard one, by a bearing of the pole star, had decreased its accustomed error two points ;
but on the following morning, by a bearing of the sun, it was found to have resumed them.

N. 15. — Up to this period, the error on this bearing had been eight points E." — Lyon, p. 1GT.

N. 13. — Agitation of the compasses.

At Sea.— Lat. 02° 30' N. Long. G3° W. October 1, 1818. Robertson.

"At eight in the evening the Aurora was seen in the true S. S. W. to £. S. E. At nine, the lumi-
nous appearance spread from S. W., round by the S. E. quarter, to N. E., in an arched form; the
centre of the arch 18° high, the luminous part of arch 3° broad. There was a very dark appear-
ance under the arch, through which the stars appeared with the same glimmering light that they
shone with through the luminous parts. Small bundles of sharp pointed rays were shot perpen-
dicular from all parts of the arch to the altitude of 40°. About ten the arch shifted more
to the westward, and soon disappeared; fresh breezes from W. S. W." — 1 John Ross (Robert-
son), App., exxi.

N. B.— 1. At 8 p. m., seen in true S. S. W. to S. S. E.

2. At 9 p. m., from S. W. by S. E. to N. E., in an arch.

3. Dark appearance under the arch.

4. At 10 p. m., arch shifted more to W., and soon disappeared.

Near Rankin's Inlet.— Lat. 62° 35' 47" N. August 22, 1847. Rae.

"The Aurora was very bright last night. It appeared first to the S. S. E., moved rapidly north-
ward, spreading all over the sky, and finally disappeared in the north.
This agrees with what Wrangel asserts, ' that the Aurora is affected by the wind in the same way
as clouds arc.' " — Rae, p. 188.

R ECO R D OF A U R ORAL P 11 E N O M E X A. 17

Hudson's Bay.— Lat. 62 = 45' 44" N. Long. 72° 24' W. September 20, 1824. Lyon.

"At noon we obtained observations, and in the evening made the coast, which we neared suffi-
ciently before dark to discern to be the North Bluff, from whence at 8 p. m. we took a departure
and steered southeast.
Along the shore, a great number of very large bergs were observed, apparently aground, as if

driven to the northern land by the recent southerly winds.
We sailed past several during the night, which was exceedingly bright and fine, the stars shining
with uncommon brilliancy, and the Aurora being unusually splendid."— Lyon (Voyage), p. 134.
N. B — Aurora unusually splendid.

Fort Reliance.— Lat. 62° 46' 29" N. Long. 109° 00' 38" W. 1833-34, 1834-35. Back.
"The observations on this phenomenon [the Aurora Borealis] were made, without interruption, during
six mouths in the years 1833-34, and five months in the years 1834-35; but, as their entire
insertion would occupy too much space here, I have selected chiefly the instances possessing the
greatest interest from the effect produced by them on the needle, and from the brilliancy and
eccentric motions of the coruscations.
That the needle was constantly affected by the appearance of the Aurora, seems evident from the
facts thus stated ; and, on one occasion, indeed, this effect exceeded eight degrees. I abstain,
however, from drawing any inferences on this subject, and merely note down carefully, and with
as much precision as possible, the whole of the phenomena.
Brilliant and active coruscations of the Aurora Borealis, when seen through a hazy atmosphere,
and exhibiting the prismatic colors, almost invariably affected the needle. On the contrary, a
very bright Aurora, though attended by motion, and even tinged with a dullish red or yellow,
in a clear blue sky, seldom produced any sensible change, beyond, at the most, a tremulous
motion.

A dense haze or fog, in conjunction with an active Aurora, seemed uniformly favorable to the dis-
turbance of the needle; and a low temperature was favorable to brilliant and active coruscations.
On no occasion, during two winters, was any sound heard to accompany the motions.

The aurora was frequently seen at twilight, and as often to the eastward as to the westward.
Clouds, also, were often perceived in the daytime, in form and disposition very much resem-
bling the Aurora." — Back, p. 595.

N. B.— 1. Needle constantly affected by appearance of the Aurora.

2. Aurora frequently seen at twilight; as often to the eastward as westward.

3. Clouds often seen in daytime in form of Aurora.

Fort Reliance.— Lat. 62° 46' 29" N. Long. 109° 00' 38" W. October 28, 1833. Back.

"At 5h. 30m. p. m., while occupied in taking the transit of a star, I perceived the coruscations
streaming from behind a detached and oblong dark cloud in a vertical position at E. by S.
[magnetic bearing]. They issued along an undulating arch 38° high, and spread themselves
laterally in beams north and south. Another arch, brighter and narrower than the former,
suddenly emerged from W. by N., and passed between a nearly horizontal black cloud and the
stars, which were then not visible through the Aurora. I immediately looked at the needle,
and fonnd it slightly agitated, but not vibrating; on returning, I was surprised to see the dark
horizontal cloud to the westward not in the same shape as before. It had now taken a balloon
form, and was evidently fast spreading towards the zenith. On looking to the eastward, I
perceived that a dark cloud there also was rapidly altering its appearance.
So unusual a sight induced me to call my companions, Messrs. King and McLeod, and we saw the
dark broad mass from the westward gradually expand itself, so as to meet the other, which was
3

ly RECORD OF AURORAL PHENOMENA.

likewise rising, at or near the zenith. The effect of the junction was a dark gray arch, extend-
ing from E. by S. to W. by N. across the zenith, aud completely obscuriug the stars, though at
each side of the arch they were particularly clear and twinkling.
In the mean time, the Aurora assumed every variety of form ; such as undulating and fringed
arches, 30° to 50° high and more or less broad, with flashes and beams at right angles to them.
The cloudy arch, too, was illuminated at and around its N. W. edges near the horizon, while
rays and beams played round its eastern extremity. In a few seconds, the part of this nearest
the horizon assumed a zigzag form, like forked lightning; and immediately the western extremity
sympathized, undergoing momentary transitions which defy description. Such convulsions at
the extremes soon affected the centre of the arch, which, becoming gradually fainter aud fainter,
at last vanished entirely, leaving the stars to shine forth in all their brilliance. The detached
masses yet remained, though under various forms, and the Aurora nimbly played round and
through them, especially the eastern one, until not the slightest vestige of them remained." —
Ibid., p. 200.

N. B. — 1. At 5^ p. m., coruscations from a dark cloud, E. by S.

2. Stars not visible through the Aurora.

3. Needle slightly agitated.

4. Dark clouds — one E., one TV.

5. Meet at or near the zenith.

G. Form an arch from E. by S. to W. by N.

Fort Reliance.— Lat. 62° 46' 29" N. Long. 109° 00' 38" W. 1833-34. King.

"The Aurora Borealis, as soon as evening sets in, overspreads the ethereal space, as if intended by
Providence to cheer the hours of darkness by its beautiful and varied coruscations. For about
two hours after midnight, it was invariably observed by us to be most brilliant and active ;
passing from east to west, or vice versd, and northerly; sometimes appearing in the form of a
splendid arch flitting across the heavens with inconceivable velocity, and resembling the spiral
motions of a serpent. Then, suddenly disappearing, the veil of night would be at once diffused
around; when, as quick as the flash of a star, a thousand dancing lights would again be seen
playing mysteriously through the sky, assuming a variety of forms and diversity of motion, of
which it is too difficult for an inanimate description to convey any idea.

It seldom appeared southerly, as if there was something in that part of the heavens which it dare
not approach ; but, commencing in the eastern or southeastern horizon — in which particular
it coincides with the remarks of Parry and Crautz — would shoot across the zenith to the west,
and descend in a variety of forms to the northern part of the earth, covering the whole of that
portion of the concave with a brilliant light, while the opposite cpiarter of the hemisphere was
enveloped in darkness.

Notwithstanding the Aurora is most frequent in the severest weather during a calm, yet I have
seen equally vivid coruscations when the wind was blowiug a stiff breeze; and although directly
opposed to its motions, far from being in any way affected, it continued uninterruptedly on in
its accustomed eccentricity. At times there would appear two currents in active motion from
opposite points, approaching the zenith, where they formed a corona, presenting the appearance
of so many snakes twisting with amazing swiftness; while at the same time a fringed, undulatiug
arch, composed of numberless bright rays, would be seen flitting with inconceivable velocity
from the horizon towsfrds the zenith. Among them might be frequently observed streams of
light perpendicular to the horizon, collected together, and moving with even greater velocity
than the rest; which from their peculiar appearance have acquired the name of 'merry dancers.'

The appearance of the Aurora is not confined to an unclouded sky; it was frequently observed by
us in active motion when the heavens were partially obscured by a hazy atmosphere, and occa-
sionally perceived emerging from behind a black cloud.

Capell Brooke observed this peculiarity at Haniinerfest ; aud we had an opportunity of witnessing

RECORD OF AURORAL PHENOMENA. 19

the same strange phenomenon at Fort Reliance in November, 1833; at which time there were
two dark clouds in opposite directions, and the coruscations brilliantly streaming iu a variety of
fantastic figures from behind them. The clouds in detached masses remained for some time
assuming various forms, while the Aurora nimbly played round and through them until not the
slightest vestige of their presence remained. "We had also frequent opportunities of observing
the appearances described by Parry, of long horizontal separations of the Aurora, resembling
so many dark parallel streaks lying over it; which was evidently the dark indigo sky only, as the
stars were plainly visible.

I have often observed a gray haze, effectually obscuring the sky, suddenly give way to a mass of
light that illumined the whole face of the heavens, as if the atmosphere had instantaneously
taken fire, leaving the sky, after it vanished, of a dark blue color, and studded with twinkling
stars ; while, on the contrary, the same gray mist has been noticed to take place on the sub-
sidence of the Aurora, which was especially the case on the 4th of April, 1834.

There cannot be a doubt but that this* meteor, from the intensity of its light, dims the stars; and
from the following fact it is equally certain, that it obscures the shy also in the form of white
clouds during the day, when its luminous appearance is eclipsed by the brightness of the sun.

A mass of while cloud was observed at 10 a. m. of the 28th of October, precisely similar in shape
to an Aurora of the previous evening, and situated in the same place, at which time the sun was
shining brightly. Captain Back having placed himself in the shade of a fir-tree, imagined that he
saw a faint filmy arch of pale white issuing from it; and after watching more attentively, a pale
yellow arch was seen shooting from the mass of cloud to the westward, and extending southerly
to S. E. by S. at an angle of 30°. Afterwards several detached radial clouds became visible
in the same point, which he more than once thought differed much in brightness.

Clouds were often observed by us in the daytime, in form and disposition very similar to the Aurora,
especially on the 25th of last December [1833], when an arch of streaky and filmy clouds exactly
resembling its coruscations extended from east to west across the zenith. Captain Parry was
also 'struck with the general resemblance to the form of the Aurora assumed by the clouds, iu
the polar regions, at particular seasons.'

It has always been an interesting question with those who attempt to ascribe this beautiful phe-
nomenon to electrical causes, whether the Aurora be attended with any sound or noise; and
although many accurate observers have paid particular attention to this subject in various parts
of the northern hemisphere, yet the point is far from being settled." — King, II, 90-95.
" On no occasion, during two winters, was any sound heard to accompany the motions of the Aurora
by either Captain Back or myself. Once or twice I thought a sound was audible, but afterwards
ascertained it to be the hissing noise produced by the sudden condensation of my breath into
icy particles; and Captain Back several times positively declared he heard a whizzing noise
during the rapidity of the motion, until he convinced himself it was the faint murmuring only
of Anderson's Fall that had deceived him.

That a change of color is perceptible in the Aurora, is admitted by almost every author who has
described its appearance. I believe it, however, to be of rare occurrence; for, during two
winters of five months each, notwithstanding scarcely a night passed away without our observing
this beautiful phenomenon, Captain Back and I only witnessed it vary from the flame or straw
color eight times; five of which it appeared of a red, and the remaining three respectively of an
indigo, lake, and orange color. In about the same lapse of time also it was noticed by Parry
to vary three times only, of which it appeared twice of a lilac, and once of a green tint.

Whether the magnetic needle be affected by the appearance of the Aurora or not, still remains in
doubt. There are different opinions upon the subject, and the observations taken by Captain
Back and myself have not yet been reduced by the Professor who has undertaken to work them."
—King, II, 9G.
"In my humble opinion, there are not sufficient facts yet collected to justify us in coming to any
conclusions, either as to the effect of the Aurora on the magnetic needle, or as to the most favor-
able situation for solving that problem.

According to Captain Back, who witnessed the Aurora at Forts Franklin and Enterprise, that
meteor was not only more brilliant, but the streams of light more rapid, at Fort Reliance than

20

RECORD OF AURORAL PHENOMENA.

ho had observed it at either of the former places; from which circumstance it might be inferred
that the C2rf parallel of latitude is even more favorable for the appearance of this phenomenon
than the 65th. If, as has been stated, 'a low temperature is favorable to brilliant and active
coruscations' of the Aurora, it is to the eastern extremity of Great Slave Lake that observers
should direct their course to further this very interesting inquiry, as in that situation a more
intense cold was experienced by ten degrees than had ever before been registered.". — King,
II, 98.

Fort Reliance.-
King.

-Lat. 62° 46' 29" N. Long. 109° 00' 38" W. Winters of 1833-34 and 1834-35.

"It fell to my share, during the two winters the expedition remained at Fort Reliance, to register
the position of the needle one thousand and' fifty times; but, as the subject will shortly be brought
before the Royal Society, I shall offer only a few remarks.

I have sometimes observed the needle quite stationary, when the whole concave has been illumined
with brilliant and active coruscations; and at other times witnessed it moving horizontally several
degrees, without the least appearance of an Aurora, although, from the deep indigo color of the
sky, it must have been seen had it been present. The same anomaly was remarked in a hazy
atmosphere.

During the prevalence of counter currents, the needle was observed to dip, by estimation, at least
ten minutes. On one occasion, however, the same action was apparently caused by applying
the finger to the front glass of the frame containing the needle." — King, II, 101.

Day.
11
12
13
14
15
16

Thermometer at Fort Reliance, January, 1834.

Lowest.
—47.00

Highest.
—32.00
—41.00
—50.00
—47.00
—44.25
—52.50

—56.25
—59.50
—59.00
—52.00
—68.00

Day. Highest.

17 ... . —45.00

18 ... . —38.00

19 ... . —35.00

20 ... . —22.00

21 ... . —36.00

22 ... . —25.00

Lowest.
—70.00
—45.00
—54.00
—50.00
—49.75
—48.00
Back, p. 568.

Hudson's Bay (Howe's Welcome).
5, 1824. Lyon.

-Lat. 63° 15' 44" N. Long. 89° 3' 30" W. September

" In the evening, a bright arch rose in the northwest, and we quickly found that the gale had shifted
with increased violence to that quarter. By night, not a cloud was to be seen, and there was
every indication of a decided northwest gale." — Lyon (Voyage), p. 85.

N. B. — Bright arch in northwest.

Southern Greenland.— Winter of 1828-29. Graah.

" The northern lights (Aurora Borealis), a remarkable and beautiful phenomenon of which the
inhabitants of the greater part of Europe can form no adequate conception, are in Greenland
and Iceland a thing of every day occurrence, and serve materially to indemnify the Polar regions
for the want of solar light experienced by them, in consequence of the long absence of the sun
below their horizon.
It may be said to be of two kinds; the one appearing uniformly between the magnetic E. S. E.
and S. W., or, W. S. W., in the form of a luminous arch, shining with a steady and more or
less vivid light, its highest being, in the magnetic South, from 10° to 20° above the horizon,

RECORD OF AURORAL PHENOMENA. 21

and its legs seeming to rise out of the ocean. From this arch usually diverge rays towards the
zenith, or a point in its vicinity. This description of Northern Light is colorless; and I think
I have observed that it usually precedes, but still oftener follows after, some great change of
temperature, especially from thaw to frost.

The other sort of Northern Light, which, still more than the former, seems to stand in connec-
tion with barometrical changes, flits from place to place in the semblance either of light lumi-
nous clouds agitated by the wind, and through which the light appears to diffuse itself with a
sort of undulating motion, or of flaming rays, flashing, like rockets, across the firmament, most
commonly upwards in the direction of the zenith, or, finally, like a serpentine or zigzag belt
of vivid, undulating light, frequently colored, which at one moment is extinguished, and the
next relit. The most beautiful of this class of phenomena, meanwhile, is the Corona, a lumin-
ous ring near the zenith, of from 2° to 3° in diameter, with rays diverging in every direction,
like prolonged radii, from its centre. This highly interesting phenomenon seldom lasts longer
than a few seconds, at the expiration of which an explosion, as it seems, takes place, scattering
the luminous matter in every direction, and extinguishing it. The centre of the Corona I found
to be invariably situated to the east of the meridian, at an elevation of from 81|° to 82|° above
the horizon.

When the Aurora displays itself in all its splendor, its light is brighter than that of the full moon.
It has been asserted, that this phenomenon is sometimes accompanied by a low, hissing noise.
I myself, in fact, have often heard the sound, but am satisfied it has nothing to do with the
Aurora, but proceeds partly from the ice, partly from the wind sweeping over the snow and
ling-clad hills.

Whenever a more than usually vivid Aurora displayed itself, I made a point of taking measures to
observe its effect on a magnet suspended by a silken fibre, but never detected any agitation or
alteration in the direction of the latter, that could be attributed to this cause; though, I must
add, that in making some like experiments, in the years 1823-24, at the Colony of Good Hope,
situated in lat. 69° 14', I did think that some such effect was perceptible.

That the substance-matter of the Aurora Borealis is liable to being acted on by the winds prevailing
in different atmospheric strata seems evident, from the phenomenon itself, and as the changes
of the weather depend again, in some degree, upon the winds, it is probable that a connection
exists between them and the phenomenon of the Aurora. Many have hence inferred, that the
appearance of the latter may safely be regarded as a prognostic of the former. This opinion,
however, is, as far as I am aware, by no means well founded; aud, in fact, all that may be
securely relied on, with reference to this subject, is what follows: —

1. When the Aurora Borealis is vivid, and displays a variety of colors, boisterous or bad weather
may be expected, and the wind may be looked for from that quarter where the Aurora has dis-
appeared, or been extinguished.

2. When, after a long absence, an Aurora Borealis appears between S. W. and S. E. in the form of
an arch, from 10° to 20° high, and glowing with a steady light, it is a prognostic of approach-
ing frost.

The Greenlanders have a singular superstition connected with the phenomenon of the Aurora
Borealis. They conceive it to be the spirits of the dead, playing at ball with the head of a
walrus, and fancy that it draws nearer to them when they whistle, — a superstition at all events
not more absurd than the idea long, and, indeed, still, prevalent in some parts of Europe, of its
being ominous of war, pestilence, or famine." — Graah, p. 52.

Beresov (Russia).— Lat. G4° N. Long. 65° W. December 1, 1828. Erman.

"In order to determine the magnetic declination, I observed, about eight o'clock in the evening,
the passage of the pole-star through the transit instrument. A few minutes after the observa-
tion was concluded, the clouds, which had hitherto obscured the lower part of the northern sky,
disappeared, and we saw in their stead, a brilliant Auroral light.
Towards the horizon there was still some darkness, but above that there was bright light, which

22 RECORD OF AURORAL PHENOMENA.

rose highest at a point about 27° west of the astronomical, 38° west of the magnetical, north ;
the greatest elevation being about 6° above the horizon ; and from that point an irregular arch
of light extended downwards on both sides of the horizon. Extremely vivid bands of light,
from half to three quarters of a degree in breadth, shot up frequently from different points of
the arch. I could not perceive, however, that these radiations converged towards the zenith :
on the contrary, those from the eastern side of the arch seemed decidedly to tend towards
points east of the zenith ; those from the western side, in like manner, to lean westwards, just
as if they had all diverged from a point below the horizon and within the arch.
These phenomena continued, without any change of character, the whole night, till near sunrise,
when the sky became clouded. In every part of the fixed arch, the light was in unceasingly
tremulous motion; its brightness increased from time to time, and at those moments the radiated
pillars of light also rose higher and brighter than usual. The color of the light was yellow-red,
and underwent but little change. About twenty-five minutes past ten, the apparent width of
the region of the heavens filled with light was measured, and was ascertained to lie within the

vertical circles of N. 15° E., and N. 30° W.

***** *

The fact that, in the present instance, neither the middle of the coruscating area, nor the point of
the heavens from which proceeded the attraction for the south end of the needle, lay in the
vertical plane of the magnetic meridian ; but that while the polar light inclined to the west of
that plane, the attracting point was distant about 25°.3 from it towards the east, acquires im-
portance from the unanimous and distinct assurance of the people of Beresov, that they are
accustomed here to distinguish between two kinds of Polar Light. The one, like that seen
to-day, which appears on the western side of the sky, is always fainter and lower than that
which shows itself east of the meridian. The latter, which is sometimes observable for months
together throughout the night, begins regularly about the time of the greatest cold, and is often
so elevated and so bright, as to frighten the animals in the sledges.

December 2. — The people of Beresov all maintained that the Polar Light of yesterday announced
the return of the regular cold, and this prediction was confirmed to-day in a remarkable manner."
— Erman, I, 351-353.

Good Hope (Greenland).— Lat. 64° 10' N. Long. 51° 42' W. August 1, 1161— August 21,
1765. Crantz.

"And even if the moon does not shine in the winter, the northern lights, with their sportive streams of
variegated colors, often supply its place still better. I will not enter into the illustration of the
origin of this wonderful phenomenon, but only observe so much, that neither I nor those that
have lived many years in this country, have ever seen the true Aurora Borealis, or Northern
Lights, make their appearance in the north or northwest (except a faint blue glance over the
horizon, which might arise from the reflection of the sun), but they have always sprung up in
the east and southeast ; from whence they have often, if not always, extended over the whole
horizon as far as the northwest; and sometimes they may be seen in all the four quarters of the
sky at once. Consequently, they have a quite different situation to those that are observed in
Norway, Lapland, Russia, and all the other countries of Europe." — Crantz, I, 48.

N. B. — 1. Aurora never makes its appearance in N. or N. W.
2. It always springs up in E. or S. E.

Reykiavik (Iceland).— Lat. 64° 10' N. Long. 21° 25' "W. Winter of 1814-15. Henderson.

" The most striking aerial phenomenon exhibited by an Icelandic winter, is doubtless the Aurora
Borealis, or northern lights, which are here seen in all their brilliancy and grandeur. I had an
opportunity of contemplating them almost every clear night the whole winter, sometimes shoot-
ing across the hemisphere in a straight line, and presenting to the view, for a whole evening, one

RECORD OF AURORAL PHENOMENA. 23

vast steady stream of light; but more commonly they kept dancing and running about with
amazing velocity, and a tremulous motion, exhibiting, as they advanced, some of the most
beautiful curvated appearances. On gaining one point of the hemisphere, they generally col-
lected as if to muster their forces, and then began again to branch out into numerous ranks, which
struck off to the greatest distances from each other as they passed the zenith, yet so as always
to preserve the whole of the phenomenon in an oval shape; when they contracted nearly in the
same way as they expanded; and, after uniting in a common point, they either returned in the
course of a few minutes, or were lost in a stream of light, which grew fainter and fainter, the
nearer it approached the opposite side of the heavens.

They were mostly of a dunnish yellow, yet often assuming mixtures of red and green. When they
are particularly quick and vivid, a crackling noise is heard, resembling that which accompanies
the escape of the sparks from an electric machine.

They almost always took their rise from the summit of Mount Esian, which is about due northeast
from Reykiavik, and proceeded in a southwest direction. When visible the whole length of the
hemisphere, they were uniformly strongest towards the north and northeast, and were always sure
to be seen in that quarter, when they appeared nowhere else. Once or twice I observed them in
the south, but they were very faint and stationary." — Henderson, p. 277.

N. B. — 1. Aurora always took its rise in N. E.

2. And proceeded in S. W. direction.

3. Always to be seen in N. or N. E. when they appeared nowhere else.

4. Once or twice observed it in S., but they were very faint and stationary.

Iceland. — 1820-21. Teienemann.

"Dr. L. Thienemann, who spent the winters of 1820 and 1821 in Iceland, made numerous obser-
vations on the Polar Lights. He states the following as some of the general results of his
observations: —

1. The Polar Lights are situated iu the lightest and highest clouds of our atmosphere.

2. They are not confined to the winter season or to the night, but are present, in favorable cir-
cumstances, at all times, but are distinctly visible only during the absence of the solar rays.

3. The Polar Lights have no determinate connection with the earth.

4. He never heard any noise proceed from them.

5. Their common form, in Iceland, is the arched, and in a direction from N. E. to W. S. W.

6. Their motions are various, but always within the limits of the clouds contaiuing them." — Am.
Jouru. Sci., X, 187.

North End of Hunter's Portage.— Lat. 64° 6' 47" N. Long. 113° 23' 9" W. August 14,
1820. Franklin.

"At eight p. m., a, faint Aurora Borealis appeared to the southward. The night wras cold, the wind
strong from N. W." — 1 Franklin, 219.

N. B. — 1. Faint Aurora to the southward.

2. The night cold.

3. Wind from northwest.

Near Fort Enterprise.— Lat. 64° 15' 17" N. Long. 113° 2' 39" W. Aug. 18, 1820. Franklin.

"At ten p. m., the Aurora Borealis appeared very brilliant in an arch across the zenith, from north-
west to southeast, which afterwards gave place to a beautiful corona borealis.'''' — 1 Franklin, 221.

N. B. — 1. At ten p. m., Aurora very brilliant in an arch across the zenith, from N. W. to S. E.
2. Gave place to a beautiful corona borealis.

21 RECORD OF A U 110 HAL PHENOMENA.

Rowe's Welcome.— Lat. 64° 15' 21" N. Long. 87° 43' 46" W. September 9, 1824. Lyun.

"Rain fell heavily with the gale, and our prospects were most unpromising, when, at ten p. m., a
low red line was observed to the westward.
It slowly arose as an arch, and the whole of the black clouds began to recede from our heads.
A blue and transparent sky in the west, soon discovered a few stars shining, and, in half an
hour, the gloom which had shadowed us fell like a dark curtain to the eastward. As it sank,
the full moon burst from behind it with the greatest brilliancy; and, in less than an hour from
the first welcome appearance of the fiery streak on the horizon, not an angry cloud was to be
seen.
A magnificent Aurora, composed of all the prismatic colors, flashed wildly and beautifully for a
short period, and, as we ejected, a heavy northwest gale succeeded to that from the south-
ward."— Lyon (Voyage), p. 91.

N. B 1. At ten p. m., a low red line to the W.

2. It slowly arose as an arch.

3. All the clouds went to eastward.

4. In an hour from the appearance of the fiery streak, not a cloud to be seen.

5. Magnificent Aurora composed of all the prismatic colors.

6. And, as we expected, a heavy N. W. gale succeeded to that from S.

Fort Enterprise.— Lat. 64° 28' 24" N. Long. 113° 6' W. December, 1820. Franklin.

"The Aurora appeared with more or less brilliancy on twenty-eight nights of this month, and we
were also gratified by the resplendent beauty of the moon, which, for many days together, per-
formed its circle round the heavens, shining with undiminished lustre, and scarcely disappearing
below the horizon during the twenty-four hours." — 1 Franklin, 257.

N. B. — Aurora appeared with more or less brilliancy twenty-eight nights of the month.

Fort Enterprise.— Lat. 64° 28' 24" N. Long. 113° 6' W. January— May, 1821. Franklin.

" General Remarks. — So few observations of the Aurora Borealis in high northern latitudes have
been recorded, that I trust a minute account of the various appearances it exhibits, will not be
thought superfluous or uninteresting.

The remarks of the late Lieutenant Hood are copied verbatim from his journal. They speak
sufficiently for themselves to render any eulogium of mine unnecessary.

To this excellent and lamented young officer, the merit is due of having been, I believe, the first
who ascertained, by his observations at Bascpiiau Hill (combined with those of Dr. Richardson
at Cumberland House), that the altitude of the Aurora upon these occasions was far inferior to
that ivhich had been assigned to it by any former observer.

He also was the first who satisfactorily proved, by his observations at Cumberland House, the im-
portant fact of the action of the Aurora upon the compass needle.

By his ingenious electrometer, invented at Fort Enterprise, he seems also to have proved the
Aurora to be an electrical phenomenon, or at least that it induces a certain unusual state of
electricity in the atmosphere.

The observations of Dr. Richardson, independent of their merit in other respects, point peculiarly
to the Aurora being formed at no great elevation, and that it is dependent upon certain other
atmospheric phenomena, such as the formation of one or other of the various modifications of
cirro stratus.

With respect to my own observations, they were principally directed to the effects of the Aurora
upon the magnetic needle, and the connection of the amount, &c., of this effect with the position
and appearance of the Aurora.

RECORD OF AURORAL PHENOMENA. 25

I have been anxious to confine myself to a mere detail of facts, without venturing upon any theory.

My notes upon the appearances of the Aurora coincide with those of Dr. Richardson in proving
that the phenomenon is frequently seated within the region of the clouds, and that it is depend-
ent, in some degree, upon the cloudy state of the atmosphere.

The manner in which the needle was affected by the Aurora will need some description. The
motion communicated to it was neither sudden nor vibratory. Sometimes it was simultaneous
with the formation of arches, prolongation of beams, or certain other changes of form, or of
activity of the Aurora; but generally the effect of these phenomena upon the needle was not
visible immediately, but in about half an hour, or an hour, the needle had attained its maximum
of deviation. Its return to its former position was very gradual, seldom regaining it before the
following morning, and frequently not until the afternoon, unless it was expedited by another
arch of the Aurora operating in a direction different from the former one.

The bearings of the terminations of the arches are to be taken with considerable allowance.
They were estimated by the position of the Aurora, with respect to the sides of the house, the
angles of which had been previously determined. The bearings given in the whole of my
observations refer to the magnetic meridian, and are reckoned from the magnetic North, towards
the East, round the whole circle, which it is conceived will afford a means of more readily com-
puting the horizontal extent of the arches.

It is to be noticed, that the bearings given by Dr. Richardson and Lieutenant Hood are true,
and not magnetic." — 1 Franklin, 539.

N. B. — 1. Altitude of Aurora far inferior to that assigned to it by former observers.

2. Action of the Aurora on the compass needle.

3. Aurora an electrical phenomenon.

4. Aurora formed at no great elevation; dependent on formation of cirro stratus.

Fort Enterprise.— Lat. G4° 28' 24" N. Long. 113° 6' W. January— May, 1821. Franklin.

" Observations on the Aurora at Fort Enterprise, extracted from the Journal of Captain Franklin. —
The forms of the Aurora Borealis, during the winter, have been so various and fleeting, that it
is impossible to comprehend them in a general outline; and the inferences I have drawn on a
subject, respecting which I had not prepared my mind by previous study, are offered with diffi-
dence."— 1 Franklin, 549.

"Before adverting to the effect of the Aurora on the needle, I must premise that the arch-like ap-
pearance of the Aurora, noted in the daily remarks, did not always resemble a portion of a great
circle; but, on the contrary, frequently crossed the zenith, without originating and terminating
in opposite points of the horizon ; and although the general arrangement of the parts gave the
idea of an arch, yet this arch was frequently broken, and its portions disconnected.

The color of these arches varied from gray to a lively yellow, and in clear weather the light emitted
was generally observed to be more brilliant and dense than when an opposite state of the
atmosphere existed.

The horizontal bands or masses of light mentioned in the notes, appeared indiscriminately in every
quarter of the sky, and at different elevations ; they more frequently originated or terminated in
the magnetic east or west, but not invariably so ; and we have seen them on more than one
occasion begin and end in the magnetic meridian. Their light varied much in density, and was
generally of a yellowish hue.

The arches and horizontal bands of Aurora occasionally separated into parts or beams, which had
a quick lateral motion. At such times the colors were generally most vivid, and now and then
prismatic. The extremities of these beams did not appear to point uniformly to any particular
part of the sky, but to depend entirely upon the direction of the arch which they composed.

The term 'beam,' used in the notes, does not always allude to the appearances just mentioned, bnt
is also applied to the commencement of an arch when it appears in an uniform stream of light,
4

2Q RECORD OF AURORAL TIIENOMENA.

issuing from the horizon, and before it has attained an altitude sufficient to give it an arched
form.

The arches of the Aurora most commonly traversed the sky nearly at right angles to the magnetic
meridian, but the deviations from this direction, as has been already stated, were not rare ; and
I am inclined to consider that these different positions of the Aurora have considerable influence
upon the direction of the needle." — 1 Franklin, 550.
"In one instance only, a complete arch was formed in the magnetic meridian; in another, the beam
shot up from the magnetic north to the zenith ; and, in both these cases, the needle moved towards
the west.

The needle was most disturbed on February 13, p. m., and at a time when tire Aurora was dis-
tinctly seen passing between a stratum of clouds and the earth, or at least illuminating the face
of the clouds opposed to the observer.

This and several other appearances, recorded in the accompanying notes, induced me to infer that
the distance of the Aurora from the earth varied on different nights, aud produced a proportionate
effect on the needle.

"When the light shone through a dense hazy atmosphere, when there was a halo round the moon,
or when a small snow was falling, the disturbance was generally considerable; and on certain
hazy, cloudy nights, the needle frequently deviated in a considerable degree, although the Aurora
was not visible at the time.

Our observations do not enable us to decide whether this ought to be attributed to an Aurora con-
cealed by a cloud or haze, or entirely to the state of the atmosphere. Similar deviations have
been observed in the daytime, both in a clear and cloudy state of the sky, but more frequently
in the latter case.

Upon one occasion, the Aurora was seen immediately after sunset, whilst the bright daylight was
remaining.

A circumstance to which I attach some importance must not be omitted. Clouds have been some-
times observed during the day to assume the forms of the Aurora, and I am inclined to connect
with the appearance of these clouds the deviation of the needle, which was occasionally remarked
at such times.

An Aurora sometimes approached the zenith without producing any change in the position of the
needle, contrary to the general effect, whilst at other times a considerable alteration took place,
although the beams or arches did not come near the zenith. The Aurora was frequently seen
without producing any perceptible effect on the needle. At such times its appearance was that
of an arch or an horizontal stream of dense yellowish light, with little or no internal motion." —
1 Franklin, 551.
"I have not heard the noise ascribed to the Aurora, but the uniform testimony of the natives and of
the residents in this country induced me to believe that it is occasionally audible. The circum-
stance, however, must be of rare occurrence, as is evidenced by our having witnessed the Aurora
upwards of two hundred times without being able to attest the fact. I was almost inclined,
last year, to suppose that unusual agitations of the Aurora were followed by storms of wind ;
but the more extended opportunities I enjoyed of observing it in 1821, at Fort Enterprise,
have convinced me that no such inference ought to have been drawn." — 1 Franklin, 552.

Fort Enterprise.— Lat. G4° 28' 24" N. Long. 113° C W. January— May, 1821. Franklin.

" Notices of the Appearances of the Aurora at Fort Enterprise, extracted from Captain Franklin's
Journal. — The following appearances of the Aurora Borcalis were noted at the times when
the position of the horizontal needle was observed. They have been described as they appeared
to the eye, without any regard to perspective. The bearings of the terminations of the arches
or beams, are reckoned from the magnetic north towards the east and south, round the whole
circle.

Jan. 12, 1821, midnight. A very faint arch in the zenith, lying 324° and 144°. The sky cloudless.

14th. At 1h. 30m. p. m., the Aurora first appeared in a patch bearing 279°, from which darted a

RECORD OP AURORAL PHENOMENA. 27

slender faint beam, that passed about 4° east of the zenith and then instantly disappeared. A
horizontal stream extended from 219° to 54°, elevated about 20°. At 8h. 20m., a faint corus-
cation across the zenith. At llh. 20m., a brilliant, irregular, wreathed arch across the zenith,
from 279° to 99°, the interior motion passing rapidly from the horizon at the former bearing to
the latter. Soon afterwards, this arch twisted round, so that its extremities were directed to
122° and 234°; the internal motion very rapid. At llh. 30m., the coruscation had removed
from the zenith, and appeared in a line parallel to the horizon, extending from 99° to 234°.
At midnight, horizontal streams from 99° to 234°, and from 279° to 234°; but the latter had
the greater elevation. The needle drawn considerably to the westward. Just as I had left the
instrument, a flash darted from a beam 113° towards the zenith, and instantly a different Aurora
appeared tinged with the prismatic colors, having an agitated circular motion. A few seconds
afterwards, a beam flashed from 279°, and united with that which shot from bearing 113°; and
then a continuous though irregular arch was formed from the one horizon to the other, and the
interior motion passed rapidly from both these extremities towards the zenith. As long as the
arch continued in that direction, the needle pointed as at midnight; but in about two minutes,
the arch descended towards the east, and then the needle gradually returned eastward to its
zero, in which position it remained until the coruscation had disappeared.

At lh. a. m., Aurora visible in patches 279° and 99°, and a beam 346°; the needle then stood at
348° 16', having moved eastward 34' since midnight. At 9h. p. m., January 15th, the needle
had attained the usual position at that hour; the Aurora then appeared in the zenith. At
midnight, a waving irregular arch continued across the zenith from 279° to 99°, and a rapid
interior motion passed from the former to the latter direction. Motion of the needle westward.

16th. At 12h. 20m., faint streams from 99°, inclining to the westward.

20th. At llh., an arch crossed the zenith; and at midnight, a patch appeared 54° lying parallel
to the horizon.

21st. An arch from 99° to 212°, elevation about 10°. At midnight, a broad patch in the zenith.
Slender beams rose from 234° and 31°, which were prolonged to the zenith, and came almost
in contact with this patch ; at the same time, a low arch proceeded from 279° to 54°. Between
nine and midnight, the needle moved westward 32 minutes.

22d. At 9h. p. m., an arched horizontal stream from 110° to 54°. At midnight no Aurora per-
ceptible, yet the needle had changed its position.

23d, 9h. p. m. A brilliant arch across the zenith, from 279° to 99°, composed of slender beams
lying parallel to each other. The motion passed from 99° to the zenith. This arch separated
in the zenith. The westward part disappeared entirely, but a column of light remained at 99°.
Motion of the needle westward. At 12h., thick hazy weather; no Aurora visible. Needle
had moved eastward.

24th, 9h. p. m. Two low arches extending from 99° to 178°. At midnight, the coruscations were
generally diffused over the upper part of the sky; but the streams traversed the zenith in a
different direction from the course they more frequently take, and their extremities were at 54°
and 234°. The most conspicuous beam, rising 245°, proceeded to the zenith, and curled round
so as to point towards 335°. The next in brilliancy came from bearing 76°, which also crossed
the zenith, but did not unite with the other beam. There were two other streams of light
running in the same direction. The needle had moved 48' eastward since nine, and in a con-
trary way to the course it usually followed when vertical arches crossed the zenith at about
279° or 324°.

25th, 9h. p. m. A brilliant curve; terminations 324° and 76°, elevation about 50°. Several beams
jutted from this curve, pointing towards the horizon. At llh., abeam rose at 279°, passed
over the zenith to 99°, then ran horizontally, and formed an irregular band from 99° to 171°.
The portion of light at 99° was stratified by intervening layers of clouds.

27th. A beam elevated about 13° at midnight whilst snow was falling.

28th, 9h. p. m. An arch from 99° to 349°. At llh., the coruscation generally diffused over the
south and eastern parts of the sky, which seemed to have proceeded from a slender beam bearing
99°, from whence a flash darted to the zenith, which instantly dilated into a broad mass of light.

28 RECORD OP AUKORAL PHENOMENA.

At midnight, an elevated arch and a low convex stream extended from 99° to 200°. A beam
at 94° pointing towards the zenith. Needle stationary.

29th. At lljh., a broad arch across the zenith from 99° to 257°, and a horizontal fringed belt
from 99° towards the east, at a low elevation. At midnight, the S. E. portion of the sky was
occupied by a dense mass of light, which resembled an open fan branching upwards. A stream
shot from the eastern part of it, and proceeded in an arch to 290°, the centre being elevated 70°.
Several patches in the zenith parallel to this arch. In two minutes afterwards the fau disap-
peared, and a brilliant curved stream darted forth at 110°, and shot to the westward; its centre
bore 133°, elevated 25°.

30th. An arch across the zenith from 302° to 121°, but the extremities did not approach either
horizon by 20°.

31st. At 9h. p. m., two horizontal bauds of light extended from 99° to 212°, the lowest being
elevated 8°. The S. E. end was wavy, and it appeared as if several beams had been twisted
together. There was also a beam at 302°, directed towards the zenith. At midnight, an ellip-
tical arch proceeded from 99° to 279°, by the south and westward, at a low elevation. Several
streams issued from this band between 279° and 245°, each pointing towards the zenith. This
arch separated after a few minutes, aud then two parallel arches were displayed having the
same direction. Slight motion of the needle eastward.

February 1st. At llh., au arch across the zenith from 279° to 99°, for a considerable time
stationary. This arch descended to the westward a few minutes before midnight, and when at
an elevation of 20° it disappeared. The stars were perfectly visible through the column of
light. Needle stationary.

2d. At midnight, a stream spread from 110° to 267°, ascending gradually from the horizon to an
elevation of 30°. The stars appeared through the light with undiminished brilliancy.

3d. At 9h. p. m., Aurora commenced by a brilliant arch across the zenith, from 279° to 99°,
extending to each horizon, which remained stationary and motionless for several minutes. By
midnight, the coruscation was generally diffused over the sky. A broad brilliant band, elevated
10°, extended from 99° to 200° through an arch of about 279°. An illuminated curve branched
from the latter termination, which pointed to 245°, and from this bearing a beam shot across
the zenith towards the opposite direction ; but it had not proceeded above five degrees eastward of
the zenith, when it suddenly turned to the north and assumed a scroll shape. The needle imme-
diately moved eastward, which is the same direction it had been observed to follow on January
14th, when the streams of light appeared in nearly a similar position in the zenith, namely, lying
east and west true, or about 54° and 234° magnetic bearings, but in a contrary direction to that
in which it had been observed to move when the arches crossed the zenith, having their extremi-
ties at 279° and 99°, or at 324° and 144°. This coruscation remained for several minutes,
when the vertical arch disappeared, and a band was presented lying parallel to the horizon from
212° to 279°. Shortly afterwards, a similar band of light proceeded from 76°to 324°, and the
horizon was almost encompassed with a brilliant zone; color pale yellow. No motion of the
Aurora perceptible.

4th. At midnight, a faint slender beam arose at 290°, and flashed to the zenith; at the same
instant, another proceeded from 99° to an elevation of 50°. A broad low stream of light from
76° to 346°, and a faint belt from 189° to 234°. No change was perceived in the needle.

5th. The atmosphere very dense and hazy. The needle had been disturbed in the night, and
showed this morning a considerable change of position. At midnight, Aurora gleamed through
the haze in two arches, the extremities 54° and 234°, and they passed the zenith. One of them
turned towards the north, and the other towards the south. The needle moved to the eastward,
as on February 3d and January 14th, when the Aurora appeared in a similar position.

6th. At midnight, Aurora was perceived across the zenith, 279° and 99°, gleaming through a
very dense atmosphere, and when snow was falling. Two stars only were visible. Motion of
the needle since 9h. p. m., 28' westward.
8th. A faint stream at 99° towards the zenith.
9th. At 9h. p. m., a beam at 290°. At llh., a broad arch traversed the zenith from 290° to 110°,

RECORD OF AURORAL PHENOMENA. 29

which remained until 45 minutes after midnight, and then disappeared at bearing 99°. Motion
of the needle westward.

10th. At midnight, an arch resembling a horse-shoe, the extremities of which bore 99° and 76°.
From each of these points streams were projected across the zenith towards 290°, but they did
not reach the opposite horizon. They were of a faint grayish-yellow color. The stars shone
brilliantly through the columns of light. Moon very bright. The needle was not the least
affected. I have observed that the needle is usually most disturbed by the appearance of the
Aurora in dense hazy weather.

11th. At 3h. p. m., a cloud extended in an arch from 99° to 279°, elevated 30°, which bore a
strong resemblance to the Aurora, particularly at the end at 279°, from whence some beams
were projected towards the zenith. The needle was not affected.

12th. At 8h. 30m. p. m., faint curved streams in the zenith. At 9h., an arch from 99° to 279°,
exactly similar in shape to the cloud seen yesterday. The color resembled the halo round the
moon. The needle was not affected. At llh. 40m., the coruscations occupied a considerable
portion of the northern part of the sky, lying in parallel arches from 76° to 279°. The centre
one was brilliant, and the motion, resembling a volume of smoke, passed from the former bearing
towards the latter. Some arches appeared in the zenith lying 65° and 245°, and flashes darted
with instantaneous motion from these towards the point to which their extremities were directed.
The needle betrayed a slight motion eastward. At 12h., a broad band of light from 302° to
54°, elevated 20°.

13th. The atmosphere was so dense this night that the stars were completely obscured, and the
edges of the moon could only be faintly traced through the haze. At 9h. p. m., there was not
any appearance of the Aurora, and the needle rested at 348° 30', its usual position at this hour
when undisturbed by the Aurora. At llh. 30m., faint streams of light gleamed through a
large portion of the heavens, both in the zenith and near the horizon, and immediately afterwards
brilliant coruscations burst forth of the most agitated kind. At llh. 40m., a horizontal stream
extended from 279° to 31°, and the anterior motion, similar to rolling smoke, passed from the
first point to the latter. The needle was now drawn 3° 30' to the eastward, or as far as 345°
00'. At llh. 50m., there appeared another stream of irregular shape, which proceeded from
279° in a line nearly parallel to the horizon, until it curled round at 9°, or near the direction of
the magnetic meridian. The interior motion flashed along this stream with the utmost rapidity.
The needle moved now to 343° 50', or 4° 40' eastward of its first position; and, during the
appearance of this coruscation, I perceived the needle to oscillate between 343° 50' and 344°
40' ; and it may be remarked this was the only occasion on which a vibratory motion was
observed. On the disappearance of this display, brilliant semicircular curves were presented in
the same quarter, ornamented with all the prismatic colors. At llh. 55m., the needle had
receded westward as far as 347° 00'. The important fact of the existence of the Aurora at a
less elevation than that of dense clouds, was evinced on two or three occasions this night, and
particularly at llh. 50m., when a brilliant mass of light, variegated with the prismatic colors,
passed between an uniform, steady, dense cloud and the earth; and, in its progress, completely
concealed that portion of the cloud which the stream of light covered until the coruscation had
passed over it, when the cloud appeared as before.

The observations of this evening seem to corroborate the remark which I had previously made,
that the direction in which the needle moves appears to depend on the position in which streams
of Aurora are placed, and the quantity of the effect upon its proximity to, or distance from, the
earth. When the extremities of arches lay near the bearings of 234° and 54°, the needle moved
eastward; and when near the bearings 324° and 144°, or 279° and 99°, the motion of the
needle was westward. Both of these facts were shown to-night. At the first display, when the
extremities of the arches pointed near 234° and 54°, and the interior motion followed the
same direction, the needle moved eastward as far as 345° 00' ; but after midnight, the corusca-
tions ceased to appear in that direction, and, at 12h. 10m., were presented in three arches,
traversing the zenith, whose extremities pointed 121° and 302°; the needle then receded towards
the west, and rested at 349° 30', having varied its position 5° 40' in the course of twenty
minutes.

30 RECORD OP AURORAL PHENOMENA.

14th. At llh. 30m., a faint low band proceeded from 110° to 178°, elevated 8°, and another at a
hi "-her elevation from 121° to 212°. These streams crossed each other in the bearing 155°;
and it may be remarked that this is the only occasion on which I have seen the streams to cross
each other. They separated before midnight; the eastern one ascended some degrees higher,
but the other remained in the same state. Cloudless sky.
15th. At 9h. p. m., Aurora crossed the zenith from 257° to 16°. None visible at midnight, yet

the needle had moved forty minutes westward.

18th. At 9h. p. m., Aurora gleamed through the horizon in a continuous arch from 279° to 99°.

19th. At 8h. p. m., Aurora appeared to the eastward in five arches, having the same extremities

at 88° and 219°. The upper arch crossed the zenith, and the others were elevated between

15° and 20°. At midnight, two concentric arches appeared through the haze, lying across the

zenith; their extremities bore 65° and 245°. The needle then pointed to 348° 5', having

moved 40° eastward. At 12h. 25m., a broad and more brilliant arch crossed the zenith, from

133° to 313°; the needle then moved westward 1° 5', to 349° 10'. This change is a further

confirmation of the observations on February 13th.

20th. At 9h. p. m., beams of light issued at 99° and pointed towards the zenith. At 10b. 30m.,

a brilliant arch from 99° to 219°, elevated 80°, a small arch in the zenith, and several beams at

219°. At midnight, several beams arose parallel to each other between 335° and 349°. In a

few seconds, flashes were emitted from them, which first darted to the zenith, and then, twisting

round, shot towards a stream that had proceeded at the same instant from 212°, which they

joined. The coruscation now resembled an irregular horse-shoe, composed of many slender

beams of brilliant light. This display soon passed off to the eastward, having descended to the

horizon before it disappeared. The needle was not in any way disturbed after nine, from which

circumstance I am induced to suppose that the Aurora was very distant. We seldom witnessed

a greater variety of arches, beams, and flashes than were displayed this night, both in the

horizon and zenith. If these coruscations had passed as near to the earth as they appear to

have done at other times, some effect, I conceive, would have been produced on the needle.

The sky was cloudless.

On the following morning, it was perceived that the needle had receded two degrees eastward, and

it did not regain its usual position before 4h. p. m. At 8h. p. m., a horizontal band of faint

light extended from 88° to 245°, elevated 7°, which remained almost stationary until midnight,

at which hour two brilliant arches appeared, whose united extremities bore 279° and 76°; and

a faint broad arch traversed the zenith from 279° to 88°. Needle moved eastward. Shortly

afterwards, the horizon was encircled with an illumiuated zone, and the northern part of the sky

covered with Aurora.

22d. At 9h. p. m., a continuous arch across the zenith from 279° to 99°; the color pale yellow.

Needle moved westward.
23d. At 9h. p. m., a low band, parallel to the horizon, extending from 302° to 346°, patches at
76°, and some faint streams in the zenith pointing to 234° and 54°. The needle had moved
eastward. At llh. 15m., a broad brilliant arch extended from 29° to 99° across the zenith,
reaching to each horizon. The needle had, since 9h., receded 24' westward. At midnight,
two arches appeared; one from 54° to 324°, elevated 50°, the other from 234° to 144°,
elevated 12°.
24th. At 9h. p. m., a continuous arch, through which the stars were distinctly visible, passed from
99° to 279° across the zenith, and a beam appeared parallel to this, proceeding from 99°, which
terminated in the zenith. At midnight, two belts of brilliant light extended from 99° — one by
the south and west, the other by the north — which encircled the horizon at an elevation of 20°,
except between the points 324° and 322°. No perceptible disturbance of the needle.
26th. At midnight, a brilliant arch issued from 313° and reached to 99°, the centre being elevated
20°. At the latter point, the coruscation curved upwards, and was then prolonged across the
zenith to 200°. The stars shone through this stream with undiminished brilliancy. The needle
moved a few minutes westward.
27th. At 9h. p. m., two arches crossed the zenith from 76° to 279°, very broad and brilliant; the
stars were distinctly visible through them. At midnight, the Aurora was diffused over a great

RECORD OF AURORAL PHENOMENA. 31

portion of the sky. Three arches appeared parallel to each other in the zenith, whose extremi-
ties pointed to 54° and 234°, and a horizontal stream about 30° high, reaching from 302° to
31°, along which the interior motion was extremely rapid. Soon afterwards, some dense clouds
overspread the sky, but the Aurora gleamed through. The needle moved near two degrees
eastward after nine. It kept an easterly position until after 2h. p. m. on the next day, and then
it receded 40' in the course of an hour. The clouds were of a fleecy kind, which sailors denomi-
nate a mackerel sky. At midnight, an irregular band extended from 88° to 200°, at an eleva-
tion of 15°. A beam at 324° pointing towards the zenith.

March 1st. At 9h. p. m., an arch stretched from 99° to 155°. At ll^h., when the snow was
falling heavily, and a dense atmosphere obscured the stars, the Aurora appeared in an arch
across the zenith, having its extremities 88° and 200°, but did not extend to either horizon.
This stream disappeared before midnight. The atmosphere was then more dense, and the snow
descended in larger flakes. Between midnight and the following morning, the needle was drawn
45' to the eastward, and it did not recover its usual position before 9h. p. m. on March 2d.

2d. At 8h. 30m. p. m., Aurora appeared in a broad arch from 279° to 99°, and continued without
any alteration until nine, when the needle had moved 32 minutes westward. The breadth of the
arch then increased considerably, and a dark cloud passing along its middle gave an appearance
of two arches. At miduight, the coruscations occupied many parts of the sky. Two faint
arches crossed the zenith from 99° to 279°. A more brilliant arch extended from 7G° to 290°,
at an elevation of 60°. Several patches between 54° and 346°, and a broad band from 279°
to 223.° The needle did not evince any material change.

3d. At miduight, a slender beam at 76°, and a patch at 279°. Needle had moved 10 minutes
westward since nine.

4th. At midnight, an arch across the zenith, 54° and 234°, in which the interior motion ran swiftly
from the former to the latter bearing. A low band extended from 279° to 346°. Motion of
the needle 10 minutes eastward since nine.

5th. A low stream from 121° to 189°, at an elevation of 10°. No change in the position of the
needle.

Gth. The atmosphere very hazy, and snow fell. No Aurora visible, but the needle moved 30
minutes westward between nine and midnight.

8th. At 6h. 30m. p. m., Aurora appeared, whilst the western horizon was tinged with the rays of the
recently-departed sun, in two beams from 99° extended to the zenith. At 9h. p. m., a brilliant
stream from 121° to 212°, elevated 10°. A beam, having a wavy form, ascended from 99° to
the zenith ; its color a bright yellow ; the stars were seen distinctly through it. No change
in the needle. At midnight, Aurora was diffused over a great portion of the sky. A broad
arch crossed the zenith, whose extremities were at 88° and 200°, but they did not reach either
horizon. A band stretched from 279° to 76°, elevated 12°, from which three beams were pro-
longed nearly to the zenith, between 302° and 335°. Needle moved 1° 5' westward.

9th. At nine, Aurora brilliant and variable; the interior motion passed rapidly from 234° to 54°.
An arch across the zenith, extremities 279° and 99°. A horizontal band from 245° to 76°. No
change in the needle. At midnight, some patches bearing 324°. An arch was instantly pro-
jected from that, bearing across the zenith to 144°. This arch separated in the zenith, and
both parts passed off against the wind to the westward. The needle moved 30 minutes westward
between nine and lib. 30m.

11th. At 9h. p. m., a waving arch passed from 290° to 88°, about 2° east of the zenith, and
reached from one horizon to the other. An elliptical arch from 313° to 76°, elevated about 50°.
At llh., two waving streams stretched from 279° to 43°, and some beams shot from both these
extremities towards the zenith, but more numerously from 279°. The needle had moved 1° 8'
westward, between nine and eleven. Whilst I was looking at the instrument, a flash darted
towards the zenith from a low beam bearing 9°, and the needle immediately moved 8' westward;
but the arch having in a few seconds passed over to the south, the needle returned eastward to
its first position. At midnight, a beam arose at 54°, darted to the zenith, and then the upper
extremity turned so as to point to 144°. Another beam darted from 257° and joined the former
one. The arch thus formed descended gradually against the wind. There was only a slight

32 RECORD OF AURORAL PHENOMENA.

lateral motion perceptible while it remained across the zenith, but when it had sunk to about
60° from the horizon, an interior motion rushed from each of the extremities towards the
middle, and, at the place of contact, the greatest commotion was excited, and the prismatic
colors were exhibited. The motion of the needle 8 minutes eastward. This arch disappeared
at an elevation of 25°. Between llh. and midnight, sounds were repeatedly heard resembling
the hissing of a musket-ball or the shaking of a thin pliant stick in the air, which were at first
supposed to have been occasioned by the motion of the Aurora. Mr. Wentzel, however, who
assured us that he had often heard the noise of the Aurora, said these sounds were very dis-
similar to that which the Aurora makes, and that he supposed the noise to be occasioned by the
cracking of the snow, in consequence of a great decrease in temperature immediately after the
two preceding days of mild weather. I was of the same opinion, from the circumstance of a
similar noise having been heard after midnight coming from the eastward, in which quarter
there was not the least appearance of Aurora, and when only a faint motionless beam was visible
to the eastward. This opinion was further confirmed on the following morning, when similar
sounds were distinctly heard at the time the sun was shining bright and there was uot any symp-
tom of Aurora.

12th. At midnight, faint streams from 88°, directed towards the zenith. Some patches visible in
other parts of the sky.

13th. At midnight, a beam shot from 302° across the zenith to 88°. Another extended to the
zenith, whose lower extremity bore 290°. A horizontal band from 234° to 257°. The needle,
since nine, moved 1° 25' westward.

14th. At 9h. p. m., a faint beam at 99° pointing towards the zenith. At midnight, a faint low
stream from 76° to 110°. No change in the needle.

15th. At midnight, waving streams from 110° to 144°, and from 189° to 212°, elevated 20°. No
change in the needle.

ICth. At 3h. p. m., some clouds appeared about 219° which bore a strong resemblance to the
Aurora, particularly one of the beams, which extended 40° towards the zenith. The needle
moved 18' westward between 3h. and 5h. p. m. At midnight, a faint stream of Aurora reached
from 65° to 279°, elevation 25°. No change in the needle.

19th. At 9h. p. m., a faint arch from 121° to 212°, elevated 25°. At midnight, low streams from
144° to 324°, which nearly encircled the horizon. Seven beams were projected upwards from
different parts of this zone. Their points did not meet in the zenith, but terminated about 3°
short of that part. The whole appearance strongly resembled an artificial globe, the zone being
the equator, and the beams the meridian lines. The needle moved 25' eastward between nine
and midnight, but I observed it to move gradually westward as these beams were disappearing.
Immediately after they had ceased to be visible, an arch was exhibited crossing the zenith in the
direction of the magnetic meridian. The needle still continued to recede westward, until it
rested nearly in the position at which it was at 9h. p. m.

20th. At 9h., an arch from 99° to 279°. A beam at 99° pointing towards the zenith. A stream
from 257° to 290°. At midnight, a low stream from 302° to 54°, along which the interior
motion passed very rapidly. The needle moved 1° westward. The sky was overspread with
fleecy clouds.

21st. At llh. a. m., some clouds lying parallel to the horizon, between 346° and 76°, strongly
resembled the Aurora. At 9h. p. m., Aurora in a bright arch from 99° to 280°, passing within
3° of the zenith. This descended to the eastward against the wind. At midnight, two beams
darted from 144°; one shot across the zenith to 290°, the end of the other curved round just
beyond the zenith, and, in a few minutes, both of them rushed back to 144°, and then disap-
peared. A waving stream reached from 279° to 99^, elevated 12°; several beams were projected
upwards from this stream. A beam darted from 54° across the zenith, and, immediately after
this flash, the lower extremity of the beam moved round to 99°, and an arch was formed from
99° to 279°. The needle moved nearly 2° westward, between nine and midnight. At 12b. 30m.,
Aurora generally diffused over the sky. A brilliant arch crossed the zenith from 279° to 110°.
This soon afterwards separated, so as to form three arches parallel to each other. Some beams

RECORD OF AUROTiAL PUENOMENA. 33

laid at right angles to this arch, which had conie from the eastern horizon or bearing 54°. No
motion in the needle perceptible.

22d. At 9h., Aurora in an arch from 290° to 88°; a bright band from 88° to 65°. At midnight,
the following appearances of the Aurora were visible through a very dense atmosphere. A
beam at 324°, elevated 15°; an arch from 234° to 121°, and some short beams at 76°.

23d. At 9h., two parallel arches from 313° to 76°, supported on buttresses at both extremities.
The appearance resembled a bridge of light. At lib. 30m., the northern and eastern parts of
the sky were entirely free from Aurora. Some irregularly-curved streams extended from 99° to
234°, and dark clouds intervened between them. At midnight, three arches from 110° to 234°,
the upper one most brilliant. No perceptible interior motion of the Aurora. The needle moved
10° westward after nine.

24th. At 9h. ]). m., Aurora appeared through the clouds and snow, traversing the zenith in the
direction of 65° and 245°. The needle moved eastward 1° 5'. At midnight, a beam from 99°,
of slender breadth, when near the horizon, dilated considerably in its ascent, and at its termination
in the zenith spread so as nearly to cover the upper part of the heavens. Another beam arose
from the same point, curved several degrees to the westward, and then proceeded to the zenith.
These beams quickly disappeared, but a low arch, extending from 279° to 65° remained stationary.
The needle moved westward, between nine and midnight, 1° 22'.

25th. At 9h. p. m., faint beams at 324° and 144°. At midnight, a horizontal stream from 133°
to 223°, some beams at 324 D, and patches in several other parts; all very faint.

26th. At 9h. p. m., a faint Aurora at 99°. At midnight, a mass of dense light burst forth, bear-
ing 65°, at an elevation of 20°, which presently curved round, and assumed the shape of a horse-
shoe. At that instant, a beam flashed from 324° to the nearest part of the curve, and immedi-
ately an arch proceeded upwards, and passed about 3° eastward of the zenith. The needle
moved eastward 12'.

28th. At 8h. p. m., when daylight was perceptible to the westward, a stream of Aurora issued
from a dark mass of cloud bearing 110°, and proceeded upwards in the direction of 346°; but,
when it reached the zenith, the upper part inclined to the westward, and an arch was formed
from 110° to 290° reaching from one horizon to the other. Some smaller streams appeared
about 189°, lying parallel to a range of clouds which resembled it in color, both being a steel-
gray. The extremities of these streams pointed 121° and 257°. At 9h. p. m., clear weather.
Three arches appeared; one from 94° to 290°, elevated 80°, the other from 290°, passing about
2° east of the zenith, and the third went parallel to this, and united in the same points in the
horizon, but they were separated in the zenith by a stream of cloud. In two minutes afterwards,
the first arch disappeared, and the two others, closing in the zenith, formed one broad stream,
and passed off to the westward. Stars were faintly seen. At midnight, a very dense atmosphere
obscured the sky; neither stars nor Aurora visible. The needle, however, moved 35' westward
between nine and midnight.

29th. A faint gleam of Aurora friuged the upper part of some dark clouds between 133° and 155°.

30th. At 9h., a broad arch across the zenith from 88° to 290°, and the interior motion was rapid.
At midnight, an arch from 110° to 257°, elevated 20°. It separated in the zenith, and then
the light passed instantaneously down to each horizon. Needle moved westward.

April 1st. The changes in the position of the needle this morning deserve some notice. At 8h.
a. m. it was nearly in the same position as at midnight; an hour afterwards it had moved 12'
eastward, and by eleven 10' more. At 8h. a. m., there was a mackerel sky to the north, the
strata of the clouds being vertical. Near the west horizon there was a layer of dense clouds,
which soon spread over the whole sky. At llh., these dark clouds gave place to a thin fleecy
sky, and many blue portions were seen. The needle then returned towards the westward, and
by four had reached within two minutes of the point at which it stood at 9h. a. m. At 9h. 30m.
p. m., the Aurora appeared through a hazy atmosphere, in an arch from 99° to 234°.

5th. An arch passed from 88° to 178°, at a low elevation. At midnight, an arch, composed of
several streams apparently blended together, issued from 110°, and passed about 10° west of
the zenith to the horizon at 279". This arch separated in the zenith, and then each part passed
5

34 RECORD OF AURORAL PHENOMENA.

over to the horizon at 279°. A very slender faint arch remained from 9° to 1S9°. The needle
moved a little westward.

6th. At 9h., masses of light of irregular breadth fringed the upper part of a range of clouds
extending from 99° to 212°. At midnight, a waving low stream from 99° to 212°, of dense
light, the motion rapid, going towards the latter bearing. Motion of the needle westward.

7th. At 9h. p. m., an arch stretching from 2*19° to 110°; motion of the needle westward. At
lOh. 30m., a very irregular arch from 99° to 234°. The interior motion darted rapidly in
opposite directions, and the red, purple, and violet colors were exhibited. Numerous slender
beams, in which there was a quick lateral motion, shot from this arch; some of them were pro-
jected to the zenith. The arch separated at 121°, and the western portion immediately rushed
towards the north, preserving the same elevation. At this instant, the wind changed from the
north to the opposite direction, south. At midnight, a horizontal band appeared from 99° to
234°, and several beams to the southward. The needle moved eastward 27' between nine and
midnight.

8th. At llh. 10m. p. m., various streams appeared, stratifying a dense mass of clouds. In two
parts of this coruscation, the motion darted from 144° and 324° towards the zenith; in another,
from 76° to the horizon at 144°. The needle had moved westward 2° 19' since nine. At mid-
night, a beam rose at bearing 65°, and darted to an elevation of 30°. Nearly at the same
instant, another beam issued from 9° and joined this, and then an arch was formed terminating
in these bearings. Several other masses of light were seen to the eastward. The needle had
moved eastward 1° 55' since the last observation, lleavy dark clouds spread over a large
portion of the sky.

11th. At midnight, a faint gleam of Aurora appeared through a very dense atmosphere, and when
there was a halo round the moon.

13th. Atmosphere hazy; no Aurora or stars were visible, yet there was a motion of the needle 7°
to the westward between nine and midnight.

14th. A faint arch from 313° to 133° at midnight.

15th. At 9h., several brilliant beams bearing 54°, in which there was much lateral motion and a
variety of colors. An arch crossed the zenith from 313° to 133°. Needle moved westward 9'.
At midnight, an arch across the zenith from 290° to 110°. Another from 65° to 313°, the
motion passing rapidly from the latter to the former horizon. Needle moved a little more
westward.

18th. At midnight, a faint patch bore 144°.

19th. At midnight, streams of a dense pale yellow light, at a low elevation, nearly parallel to the
horizon, and extending from 99° to 200°. These were stationary for some hours; dark clouds
lay between them.

20th. Whilst daylight remained, the Aurora was perceived fringing the upper part of a mass of
dense cloud, in shape like the festoons of a curtain. It extended from 99° to 200°. At mid-
night, a waving arch of low elevation from 76° to 212°. Needle had moved 45° westward
since nine.

21st. At 7h. p. m., some streams of cloud which resembled the Aurora in shape aud color, crossed
the zenith; but when the daylight disappeared, no Aurora was visible.

23d. At lOh. 30m. p. m., Aurora first appeared in an arch from 279° to 189°, elevation 12°.
Needle moved westward 1° 11'.

27th. At midnight, aurora appeared through the haze in two low arches from 99° to 189°.

29th. Aurora beamed through the haze in low streams of faint yellow color.

30th. At llh. 40m., some patches of Aurora at 144°, elevated 20°. No motion perceptible in
the needle.

May 1st. The coruscations were very agitated and brilliant between llh. and midnight, but they
did not produce any change in the needle.

3d. At midnight, Aurora proceeded from a mass of dense cloud bearing 99°; passed near the
zenith to 257°. The attenuated beams of which this arch was composed had a quick lateral
motion. Little change in the needle. Daylight in the eastern part of the sky.

5th. A faint stream proceeded from 144° to an elevation of 45". Needle moved westward.

RECORD OF AURORAL PHENOMENA. 35

I did not observe any Aurora after this day, but Mr. Hood saw it on the Gth, 10th, 11th, 12th,
and 13th, after which date there was constant daylight, which prevented us from seeing it." —
1 Franklin, 554-569.

Fort Enterprise.— Lat. 64° 28' 24" N. Long. 113° 6' W. January— May, 1822. Franklin.

"The appearance of the Aurora, and the disturbance it occasioned on the motion of the needle at
Fort Enterprise, was so frequent, that the mean monthly variation must have been deduced from
but few observations if they had been rejected.

The circumstance of the mean variation being least at midnight there, and at Moose-Deer Island,
was evidently caused by the frequent disturbance in the motion of the needle ickich the Aurora
occasioned; for on those days when it was not visible, the mean diurnal variation followed the
course Mr. Hood had observed it to do at Cumberland House, being most easterly at the time
of the first observation in the morning, and least between three and four in the afternoon.

The change in the diurnal variation in these parts of North America seems to be governed by the
same law as that in England, as the decrease in easterly variation between the morning and
afternoon is in fact a motion of the needle to the westward." — 1 Franklin, 629.

N. B. — 1. Motion of the needle frequently disturbed by the appearance of the Aurora.

2. Mean variation being least at midnight, evidently caused by the frequent disturbance in
the motion of the needle which the Aurora occasioned.

Fort Enterprise.— Lat. 64° 28' 24" N. Long. 113° 6' W. Winter 1820-21. Hood.

"Appearances of the Aurora at Fort Enterprise. Extracted from the Journal of Lieutenant Hood,
R. N.— January 10, 1821. At 8h. p. m., an arched Aurora N. N. W. to N. N. E. At lib.
p. in., a double arch, much broken but not bright, from N. W. to S. E.

11th. At midnight, faint Aurora from west to east.

14th. At midnight, five arches of Aurora from N. W. to S. E. A large Corona Borealis." — 1
Franklin (Hood), 588.

Fort Enterprise.— Lat. 64° 28' 24" N. Long. 113° 6' W. 1820-21. Hood.

" On the Aurora Borealis at Fort Enterprise. Extracted from the Journal of Lieutenant Robert
Hood, R. N. — During the summer of 1820, the Aurora was only once visible before the mouth
of August, when the nightly temperature of the air was generally below 50°. The late con-
tinuance of daylight, and the few opportunities which we had of making observations at the
most favorable hours, render it possible that the Aurora may have sometimes appeared in this
long interval without our knowledge. But those opportunities were sufficiently numerous to
convince me that it is actually very seldom present in these regions during the summer.

The number of Aurora; visible in August, 1820, was ten; in September, six; in October, seven;
in November, eight; in December, twenty; in January, 1821, seventeen; in February, twenty-
two; in March, twenty-five; in April, eighteen; and in May the brightness of twilight pre-
vented us from seeing more than nine.

The whole amount is more than double the number of our observations at Cumberland House.

It is worthy of remark, that the number of Aurora; in each month of both the winters, bears some
proportion to the thermometrical range." — 1 Franklin (Hood), 5S0.

N. B. — 1. Number of appearances of Aurora at Fort Enterprise.

2. More than double the number of observations at Cumberland nouse.

"The shapes of the Aurora at its entry into the horizon and progress through the sky, maybe
reduced under two general descriptions.

;3(J RECORD OF AURORAL PHENOMENA.

In the first, I shall class those which are formed like rainbows or arches, in the earliest stage of
their appearance.

They rise with their centres sometimes in the magnetic meridian, and sometimes several degrees to
the eastward or westward of it.

The number visible at the same time seldom exceeds five, and is seldom limited to one. The
altitude of the lowest, when first seen, is never less than 4°. As they advance towards the
zenith, their centres (or the parts most elevated) preserve a course nearly in the magnetic
meridian or parallel to it. But the eastern and western extremities vary their respective dis-
tances, and the arches become irregularly broad streams in the zenith, each dividing the sky
into two unequal parts, but never crossing one another till they separate into parts.

Those ai'ches which were bright at the horizon increase their brilliancy in the zenith, and dis-
cover the beams of which they are composed when the interior motion is rapid.

This interior motion is a sudden glow, not proceeding from any visible concentration of matter,
but bursting out in several parts of the arch, as if an iguition of combustible matter had taken
place, and spreading itself rapidly towards each extremity." — 1 Franklin (Hood), 580.

N. B. — Shapes of the Aurora at its entry into the horizon ; First Class.

1. Those which are formed like rainbows or arches.

2. Rise with their centres sometimes on magnetic meridian ; sometimes E. or W. of it.

3. Number visible at same time seldom exceeds five ; seldom limited to one.

4. Rise towards zenith, with their centres nearly in magnetic meridian.

5. But the E. and W. extremities vary their respective distances.

6. Arches bright at the horizon, increase in brilliancy in the zenith.

" The second general class of Auroras are those which propagate themselves from different points of
the compass, between north and west, towards the opposite points; sometimes, also, originating
in the S. E. quarter, and extending themselves towards the N. W.

They may be subdivided, like the former, into the distant arches, which pass to the southward without
much visible change in their appearance ; and those which discover beams, and separate at
intervals into wreaths, flashes, and irregular segments, exhibiting all the phenomena described
above.

In explaining the mode by which the two general classes of Auroras are conducted into the horizon,
I shall call the motion of the arches (which is in a plane seldom deviating more than two points
from the magnetic meridian) the direct motion, and that by which the Auroras propagate them-
selves nearly at right angles to the magnetic meridian the lateral motion.

Let us suppose a mass of Aurora to be modelled at its birth in a longitudinal form, crossing the
meridians at various angles, the whole to be impelled with a direct motion towards the magnetic
south, but the parts having differeut velocities, and each extremity continually removing itself,
by a lateral motion, from the centre, so as to increase the length of the mass.

If the centre enter the northern horizon, it will appear like an arch, the real extremities being
invisible; and its direct motion will carry it to the southward in that form.

But if one extremity first enter the horizon, it will extend itself, by its lateral motion, to the
opposite point, passing at the same time, by its direct motion, to the southward." — 1 Franklin
(Hood), 582.

N. B. — Second General Class of Aurora.

1. Those which propagate themselves from different points of the compass.

2. Direct motion.

3. Lateral motion.

4. Longitudinal form.

Fort Enterprise.— Lat. 64° 28' 24" N. Long. 113° C W. March 8, 1821. Hood.

"On the 8th of March, 1821, at 5h. 30m. p. m., immediately after sunset, an arched Aurora was
visible, extending from N. W. to S. E. by S. This was the earliest period of the day at which

RECORD OF AURORAL PHENOMENA. 37

we saw it; for although it might, from the shortness of the days in December and January, have
been seen at 3h. p. m., if present, it seldom appeared before 1h. p. m., and was usually most
brilliant at midnight.
On the 11th of February, the clouds formed a regular arch, extending N. N. W. to E., and the
needle of a compass, fixed in the house for the purpose of making observations, receded 20' from
the magnetic meridian to the westward. I saw these clouds disperse, and afterwards collect in
a different form. The disturbance of the compass is another proof of the presence of the Aurora
during the day; but, on the whole, there is reason to conclude that such is not often the case." —
1 Franklin (Hood), 583.

X. B.— 1. Arch from N. W. to S. E. by E. (immediately after sunset), at 5h. 30m.

2. In January and December, it could have been seen at 3h. p. m.

3. Yet seldom appeared before Yh. p. m.

4. And was most brilliant at midnight.

Fort Enterprise.— Lat. 64° 28' 24" N. Long. 113° 6' W. March 13, 1821. Hood.

"On the 13th of November (1820), the Aurora teas seen between the clouds and the earth, by Mr.
Franklin and Dr. Richardson.

On the 13th of March (1821), I saw an Aurora, which was emanating in wreaths from the JV. W.,
pass over the lower surface of a stratum of white clouds. The upper edge of the clouds was 80
feet distant from the lower, and its azimuth S. 35° W. The Aurora passed at the altitude of
70°, and, therefore, could not have been more than two miles from the earth, supposing that the
elevation of the clouds was two and a half miles. The wind was west, aud the temperature of
the air 36°.

Another circumstance, which twice came under my observation, is too remarkable to be omitted.
The Aurora was very brilliant near the zenith, the sky perfectly clear, and the wind moderate,
when a discharge took place of small flakes of snow, which continued during several minutes.
In both instances, showers of snow had fallen about half an hour before ; but, at the precise
period of these phenomena, no clouds were visible 10° above the horizon. To account for them
on any known principles, we must wholly abandon Euler's theory of the zodiacal light and Dr.
Halley's circulation of magnetic effluvia." — 1 Franklin (Hood), 583.

N. B. — Aurora between the clouds and the earth.

Port Enterprise.— Lat. 64° 28' 24" N. Long. 113° 6' W. April 2T, 1821. Hood.

"On the 2Tth of April, 1821, at lOh. 30m. p. m., a single column of Aurora rose in the north, and
traversed the zenith towards the south; another column appearing N. E. by E., and taking a
parallel direction. The first was slightly agitated, and the beams momentarily visible. It passed
to the western horizon in ten minutes, and was followed by the other, which became brighter as
it approached the zenith.

I am noto convinced they were borne away by the wind, because the columns preserved exactly their
distance from each other during their evolution, and some detached wreaths, projected from
them, retained the same relative situations of all their parts ; which never happens when the
Aurora is carried through the air by its own direct motion. The wind was E. by N., a strong
gale, and the temperature of the air 9°.

It must be admitted that the influence of the wind upon the Aurora was never suspected until the
21th of April. However, there are several particulars connected with the subject, which may
have prevented such an influence from manifesting itself on former occasions.

1st. When the coruscations were rapid and brilliant, they forced themselves against the wind, or
in a contrary direction, without any perceptible difference of speed ; from which circumstance

38 RECORD OF AURORAL PHENOMENA.

I was led to suppose that they were not in any degree affected by the wind, and did not after-
wards pay sufficient attention to discover ray error.

2d. The prevalent winds were from the eastward and westward; and the arches usually extending
from N. W. to S. E., the influence of the wind might have been mistaken for their lateral motion.

3d. The northerly winds, acting from the same quarter as the direct motion, were confounded
with it.

Lastly. The southerly winds, which were not common, always filled the atmosphere with clouds,
so that the Aurora was not visible.

Perhaps, after all, the Aurora of the 2Tth of April was nearer to the earth than any other which
we saw." — 1 Franklin (Hood), 584.

N. B. — Aurora borne away by the wind.

Fort Enterprise.— Lat. 64° 23' 24" N. Long. 113° 6' W. March 11, 1821. Hood.

"On the 11th of March, at ten p. m., a body of Aurora rose iV. 2V. W., and after a mass of it had
passed to E. by S., the remainder broke away in portions consisting each of several beams,
which crossed about 40° of the sky with great rapidity.

We repeatedly heard a hissing noise, like that of a musket-bullet passing through the air, and which
seemed to proceed from the Aurora; but Mr. Wentzell assured us that this noise was occasioned
by severe cold succeeding mild weather, and acting upon the surface of the snow previously melted
in the sun's rays. The temperature of the air was then — 35°, and on the two precediug days
it had been above zero. The next morning it was . — 42°, and we frequently heard a similar noise.

Mr. Hearne's description of the noise of the Aurora agrees exactly with Mr. Wentzel's, and with
that of every other person who has heard it. It would be an absurd degree of skepticism to
doubt the fact any longer, for our observations have rather increased than diminished the proba-
bility of it.

"We were informed by the natives that the Aurora indicated, by peculiar appearances, the state of
the atmosphere which was to follow on the ensuing day.

For instance, when it is bright and the motion rapid, it will be succeeded by a strong wind; but
when attenuated and expanded over the sky, by mild and cloudy weather.

A careful examination of the meteorological journal does not furnish sufficient foundation for these
Conclusions. But, although the influence of the Aurora upon the weather has been deemed
insignificant, it is by no means improbable that the latter considerably affects the former.

To suppose a luminous body, floating in the air and sometimes situated near the clouds, is within
the bounds of the ordinary atmospherical changes, and may announce those changes by assuming
a form which must be in some measure determined by the circumambient pressure, is not, I should
think, inconsistent with any philosophical principles.

If we had not, unfortunately, lost the only instrument calculated for the purpose, we might at least

have ascertained what relation the weight of the air bears to this interesting meteor." 1 Franklin

(Hood), 585.

N. B — 1, Noise supposed to proceed from the Aurora.

2. Is occasioned by severe cold, succeeding mild weather, acting on the surface of the snow.

Fort Enterprise.— Lat. 64° 28' 24" N. Long. 113° 6' W. Winter of 1820-21. Richardson.
"Remarks on the Aurora Borealis at Fort Enterprise. Extracted from Dr. Richardson's Journal.—
The account of the Aurora Borealis in the following pages is an exact transcript of notes taken
at the moment of the appearance of the different phenomena.
To place a connected view of the appearances before the reader, the whole of the observations in
the month of December, 1820, have been given, to which a few remarkable nights in the other
months have been added.

RECORD OF AURORAL PHENOMENA. 39

The altitudes and dimensions of the different masses of light were ascertained merely by the eye,
and, therefore, have no pretensions to accuracy ; and it is only the apparent shapes that are
described, the effect of perspective not being taken into account.
The bearings given of the Aurora are also to be taken with some latitude, but they are more likely
to be generally correct than the altitudes, as they were ascertained by the different angles of our
buildings ; or, in some cases, when the masses of light were near the horizon, by their relations
to distant trees and peaks of hills, whose bearings from the spot of observation were known.
To reduce the bearings given to magnetic bearings, the easterly mean variation of the compass at

Fort Enterprise, amounting to 36° 20', is to be applied.
The dip of the needle there was 86° 59'.

To show the condition of the atmosphere with regard to the transmission of sound, and its capacity
for moisture, the state of a rapid about a quarter of a mile from the house, which continued
open all the winter, has been occasionally mentioned.
The forms of the Aurora are described in such language as occurred at the time, without any regard
whatever to theory; but it maybe proper to remark that, in reference to Mr. Dalton's opinions,
detailed in Bees'* Cyclopedia (which comprised the whole of my limited reading upon the subject
up to the time of observation), I have been more particular in noting the directions of the small
slender beams of light of which the masses were sometimes composed, than I should otherwise
have thought necessary.
It will be seen that the following observations do not accord with the positions he lays down ; that,
contrary to his statement, the beams would not always meet in a point if prolonged upwards;
that they do not always converge to the place in the heavens to which the south pole of the
dipping needle points; and that the rainbow-like arches do not invariably cross the magnetic
meridian at right angles.
But, independent of all theory, I think the following notes will at least serve to prove that the
Aurora is occasionally seated in a region of the air below a species of cloud which is knoivn to
possess no great altitude. I allude to that modification of cirro-stratus which, descending low in
the atmosphere, produces a hazy contiuuity of cloud over head, or fog bank in the hor.zon.
Indeed, I am inclined to infer that the Aurora Borcalis is constantly accompanied by, or imme-
diately'precedes, the formation of one or other of the various forms of cirro-stratus.
On the 13th of November and 18th of December, its connection with a cloud intermediate between
cirrus and cirro-stratus is mentioned ; but the most vivid coruscations of the Aurora were
observed when there were only a few thin attenuated shoots of cirro-stratus floating in the air,
or when that cloud was so rare that its existence was only known by the production of a halo

round the moon.
The bright moonlight of December was peculiarly favorable for observations of this kind. Had
the nights be'en dark, many of the attenuated streaks of cloud hereafter mentioned would have

been totally invisible. .

The'natives of this country pretend to foretell wind by the rapidity of the motions of the Aurora,
and say that when it spreads over the sky in an uniform sheet of light, it ,s followed by fine
weather and that the changes thus indicated are more or less speedy, according to the appear-
ance of the meteor early or late in the evening. Our observations were not continued long
enough to confirm or contradict these notions; but it may be perhaps worthy of notice that
certain kinds of cirro-stratus are also regarded by meteorologists as sure iudicat.ons of wind

and rain. , ,, ,.

In reference to Mr. Dalton's opinion that the arches of the Aurora always cross the magnetic
meridian at right angles, it may be observed that there is very often an apparent convergence of
the parts of the Aurora towards the magnetic east and west, or to some point in their neigh-
borhood; but the light in its passage across the sky, even when it traversed the zenith, very
seldom appeared to the eye to describe the segment of a circle, but was either elliptical or tormed
various irregular curves and flexures. „,,■,,

I think I have on some occasions discerned a polarity in the masses of cloud belonging to a
certain kind of cirro-stratus which approaches to cirrus, by which their long diameters, having

40 RECORD OF AURORAL PHENOMENA.

all the same direction, were made to cross the magnetic meridian nearly at right angles. The
apparent convergence of such masses of cloud towards opposite points of the horizon, which has
been frequently noticed by meteorologists, is, of course, an optical deception, produced when
they lie in a plane parallel to that on which the observer stands.

These circumstances are here noticed, because if it should be hereafter proved that the Aurora
depends upon the existence of certain clouds, its apparent polarity ma)', perhaps with more
propriety, be ascribed to the clouds themselves which emit the light; or, in other words, the
clouds may assume their peculiar arrangement through the operation of one cause (magnetism
for instance), while the emission of light may be produced by another, a change in their internal
constitution perhaps, connected with a motion of the electrical fluid. These crude opinions are
offered with diffidence, and my knowledge on these subjects is so limited, that I attach no
importance to them; but it appears to me that they would be strengthened were the attempts
now making to excite magnetism, by the electrical or galvanic fluid, to prove successful.

Generally speaking, the Aurora appeared in small detached masses for some time before it assumed
that couvergency towards opposite parts of the horizon which produced the arched form. An
observation that I would connect with the previous remarks, by saying that it was necessary
for the electric fluid (or the Aurora, if they are the same) to operate for some time before the
polarity of the thin clouds in which it has its seat is produced.

This part of the subject, however, is more intimately connected with the interesting observations
made on the variation of the magnetic needle by Captain Franklin and Mr. Hood. The object
of my notes was merely to record the optical appearances of the meteor.

An electrometer, constructed upon Saussure's plan, placed in an elevated situation out of doors,
exhibited no signs of a change from the atmosphere at any time during the winter. The elec-
tricity of our bodies, however, at times was so great, that the pith balls instantly separated to
their full extent upon approaching the hand to the instrument, and our skins were, in the middle
of winter, so dry that rubbing the hands together considerably increased their electricity, and,
at the same time, produced a smell similar to that which is often perceived when the cushion of
an electrifying machine rubs hard against the cylinder.

The same thing was observed more sensibly in some stuffed quadrupeds that hung in our apart-
ments. Their furred skins, whether rubbed or not, often accumulated such a charge of the
electrical fluid, that, when the knuckles were presented to them, they gave a smart shock, which
was felt as far as the elbow.

The Aurora did not often appear immediately after sunset. It seemed that tlie absence of that lumi-
nary for some hours was in general required for the production of a state of atmosphere favorable
to the generation of the Aurora. On one occasion only (March 8, 1821), did I observe it dis-
tinctly previous to the disappearance of daylight.

By the way of more perfectly describing one form of the Aurora, rather than with a view of draw-
ing any inference, I shall state that the slender beams of light which compose the Aurora when
its motions are rapid, are exactly similar to what would be produced by a quick succession of
electric sparks, elicited from a charged cylinder by a body, studded with a row of points, moved
rapidly to and fro before it.

Or, supposing a long range of cloud were to commence at one end to impart, from successive
points of its surface, its charge to a similar parallel mass, a current of light would be produced,
apparently consisting of parallel beams, lying at right angles to its line of direction, as described
on the night of the 29th-30th December at 2k. a. m.

Were the clouds supposed to lie in different planes, and to be bounded by curved edges, every
variety of form which that species of Aurora assumes might be produced.

The color of the light of the Aurora is not always noted in the following pages, but, when faint,
it was generally steel-gray or that of the galaxy.

When the low hazy modification of cirro-stratus appeared in the sky, the light, for the most
part, was a gold-yellow color, more or less deep ; and wheu the sky was clear, or when only a
few fine threads or thin shoots of cloud were visible, the colors were vivid and prismatic.

I have never heard any sound that could be unequivocally considered as originating iu the Aurora;

RECORD OF AURORAL PHENOMENA. 41

but the uniform testimony of the natives — both Crees, Copper Indians, and Esquimaux — aud of
all the older residents in the country, induce me to believe that its motions are sometimes audible.
These instances are, however, rare, as will appear when I state that I have now had an oppor-
tunity of observing that meteor for upwards of two hundred different nights." — 1 Franklin
(Richardson), 599.

November 13, 1820.

"In the evening the sky was covered by a stratum of fleecy clouds, their forms generally orbicular

and texture rare. They were separated from each other by intervals of clear blue sky of various

extent, but in some points came in contact.
The Aurora was observed to move along these clouds, strongly illuminating their faces next to the

earth, and very seldom passing across the blue sky, but spreading from cloud to cloud by their

points of contact, sometimes slowly, more often with considerable rapidity.
The light was generally brightest in the centre of the cloud, and it often originated simultaneously

in various parts of the heavens, more or less distant from each other.
At some moments the whole sky was illuminated.
No distinct beams were seen, and the light had uniformly a grayish color, with a light tinge of

yellow.
Thermometer at noon +10°, in the evening 4 8°." — Ibid., p. 600.

N. B. — 1. In the evening the sky was covered by a stratum of fleecy clouds.

2. Aurora was observed to move along these clouds, strongly illuminating their faces next

the earth.

3. The light was generally brightest in the centre of the cloud.

November 24, 1820.

"A bright moonlight evening, cloudless sky, with a slight breeze from "W. N. \V.

An arch-formed Aurora, extending from S. E. to N. W. This arch was composed of several dis-
united portions of arches, every succeeding one having a higher commencement and termination
than that which preceded it, reckoning from the horizon to the zenith.

Their altitude near the centre of the imperfect arch which they formed by their arrangement was
from 40° to 60°.

One of these portions presented a smooth edge inferiorly, or towards the south, but its northern
border was fringed with long falcate pointed rays, whose bases appeared to twist together to
form the southern edge.

It had a striking resemblance to a shoot of the moss called dicranum scoparium majus." — Ibid., p. 600.

N. B. — 1. Clear moonlight.

2. An arch-formed Aurora extending from S. E. to N. W.

November 2G, 1820.

"Thermometer at noon — 13°; in the evening — 25°. Sky cloudless, and of a pretty deep blue.

An Aurora appeared in the early part of the night, having a general direction from N. W. to
E. S. E. It consisted of several concentric but irregular arches, all of which, without changing
their position, occasionally assumed the falcate form observed on the 24th. The uppermost
arch nearly reached the zenith. The smaller stars became invisible when the brighter parts of
the Aurora passed over them.

Although the air appeared perfectly clear during the time the Aurora was visible, yet there was a
fall of very small snow. Its particles were so minute as to be scarcely visible to the naked eye,
and were most readily detected by their melting upon the skin. The same phenomenon of an
almost imperceptible snow falling from a clear sky, had been before observed in a bright sun,
which rendered visible a great number of icy spicule floating in the air." — Ibid., p. 600.

N. B.— 1. Sky cloudless.

2. An Aurora early in the evening from N. W. to E. S. E.

3. It consisted of several concentric but irregular arches.

4. The smaller stars became invisible when the brighter parts of the Aurora passed over

them.
6

4-j RECORD OF AURORAL PHENOMENA:

December 1, 1S20.

"During the day the sky kept tolerably clear, a slight appearance only of the stratus being visible
near the horizon; but a snow, whose particles were so minute as to be discerned only in the sun-
shine, fell at intervals during the forenoon. At noon the snow was more apparent, and a bow
was produced in the neighborhood of the sun's place in the heavens. At 8 p. m., wind E. N. E ,
light, with a very clear sky.

The Aurora commenced by a beam shooting up from the northern horizon; afterwards, masses of
light appeared in various parts of the sky, particularly in the eastern quarter; and at length an
arch leas formed from S. E. to N. W.

The centre of the arch, when it was first formed, lay to the northward of the zenith, but afterwards
passed gradually to the southward.

When about 60° above the southern horizon, it assumed the falcate appearance described on the
24th of November, the pointed tails directed towards the north. The falciform processes some-
times separated laterally, so as to appear like parallel beams crossing the line of direction of the
arch obliquely. Their altitude was not altered at the moment of their separation.

At times the general arch was dispersed, and a number of small arches formed whose ends occa-
sionally rolled inwards upon themselves in form of a scroll.

The whole body of light ultimately descended below the southern horizon and disappeared. Not
a cloud was visible during the evening." — Ibid., p. 601.

December 4, 1820. Temp. —25°.

"The Aurora forming a broad arch of bright light; its centre about 45° south of the zenith, and its
extremities bearing S. E. and N. W. respectively.
It passed gradually to the southward and disappeared." — Ibid., p. G02.

December 5, 1820. Temp. —26°.

"The Aurora to-night had its light disposed in large masses, having indefinite shapes, situated in
various parts of the sky, but most crowded in the southern quarter.
There were several layers of dark clouds uear the horizon.

The Aurora was visible in various spots where no stars were to be seen, but several of the larger
stars were visible through a bright arch which at one time crossed the zenith having a direction
from north to south." — Ibid., p. 002.

December 6, 1820. Temp. —14°.

"Aurora in an arch form ■passing from S.E. to N. W. over the zenith, broad towards its middle,
but narrow and spirally twisted near the horizon. Stars appeared through it without any per-
ceptible diminution of their brilliancy." — Ibid., p. 002.

December T, 1820. Temp. —26°.

" At ten p. m., the Aurora formed an arch, broader towards its middle, and emitting a denser light
from its southern edge, but becoming fainter by imperceptible degrees towards its northern edge,
until it disappeared altogether. Its upper or northern edge lay near the zenith.
As its limbs approached the horizon, they became more slender, and assumed a twisted appearance.
The stars appeared very dimly through the more dense parts of the Aurora.'1'' — Ibid., p. G03.

N. B. The stars appeared very dimly through the more dense parts of the Aurora.

December 8, 1820. Temp. —30°.

"At llh. p. m., sky very clear, and the stars brilliant. A well-formed arch of light crossed the
zenith, extending from N. W. to S. E.
It moved slowly to the southward, broke up into several irregular masses of light, and disappeared.
At midnight, there was no appearance of Aurora." — Ibid., p. G03.

December 9, 1820. Temp. — 3G°.

"The Aurora made its first appearance at nine o'clock p. m. near the horizon, in the N". W. by N.,
and shot over to the S. W., forming several concentric arches, the uppermost of which passed a
little to the southward of the zenith.

RECORD OF AURORAL PHENOMENA. 43

As the limbs of these arches approached the horizon, they seemed to be twisted together, and

terminated on each side in a single, suddenly acuminated point, about seven or eight degrees

high. These extremities emitted a more dense light than the middle parts of the arches, which

were rare, and permitted the stars to be seen clear/)/ through them.
At 9h. 30m., the moon arose, and the Aurora now formed broken, irregular masses near the southern

horizon.
At lOh. 30m , a depressed arch of the Aurora was formed, its extremities terminating in the

opposite points of the horizon, or in the N. W. and S. E , and its centre scarcely rising ten

degrees above the southern horizon. It was more brilliant than the former arch, and completely

hid the stars.
Half an hour after midnight, there were several large masses of light in the eastern and N. E.

quarters of the sky. The arch had disappeared, but a luminous point remained in the N. W.,

the quarter from whence it originally sprung.
About lh. a. m. (10th), several portions of light were arranged so as to form an interrupted arch

from E. to the N. W. The masses of light before noticed in the E. and N. E. had now united,

and spread along the horizon to the S. E." — Ibid., p. 603.

December 10, 1820. Temp. —43°.

" At half past six p. m., an arch of the Aurora appeared having an elevation of 30° and a direction
from II". A. W. to S. S. E. It was irregularly elevated and depressed in various parts, and its
breadth, which was in general about 6°, occasionally expanded so as to occupy thrice that space.

These dilatations were. effected with a slow motion, and were partial, seldom including more than
10° or 15° of the arch at a time. The centre of the dilating part was more brightly illuminated
than the other parts of the arch. The return of the arch to its former dimensions was equally
gradual with its dilatation.

The arch was occasionally divided into five parallel beams, which, having a direction nearly from
north to south, traversed it obliquely.

These beams had a quick lateral motion, and were sometimes gathered into masses that receded so
far from each other as to break the arch into several portions, which had pointed extremities,
arising from the obliquity of the beams which composed them.

The length of the beams was sometimes considerably increased by their northern extremities
shooting up whilst their lower ends remained stationary. These appearances were but of
momentary duration, the beams rapidly reuniting to form a homogeneous arch.

After the Aurora had continued for about half an hour to display a succession of the above forms,
the arch totally disappeared, and a horizontal mass of light was observed in the southern quarter
of the sky, having its face longitudinally barred by several thin strata of clouds.

At lOh. 30m., there were various irregular masses of light scattered over the sky, but most
luminous in the north.

The Aurora had appeared early in the night in the west; afterwards, its most luminous parts were
collected in the south. About nine, it shone most brightly in the eastern quarter of the sky,
and now, as we have just mentioned, its principal seat was in the north." — Ibid., p. G04.

N. B. — 1. The beams had a quick lateral motion.

2. Aurora early in the night in the u-est; then its most luminous parts were collected in
the south; at nine, it shone most brightly in the eastern quarter; at lOh. 30m., its
principal seat was in the north.

December 11, 1820. Temp. —31°.

"At 5h. p. m., several broad arches of rare light appeared, extending from A7". W. to S. E. At 6h.
they disappeared, no change in the weather having occurred in the interim, the sky remaining
clear, with a bright moon.
At 9h. an arch was formed in the east, broad, irregular, and rather faint. Its extremities bore

X. and S. E., and were spirally twisted near the horizon.
At lOh. 30m , there was an arch in the southern quarter of the sky, 40° high. Its extremities had

44 HE CORD OF AURORAL PHENOMENA,

an equal breadth with its centre, and bore JV. W. and S. E. respectively. Wind a little more
northerly; sky clear.

At lib., two bright arches passed near the zenith in a direction from N. W. to S. E. ; one complete,
extending from horizon to horizon, the other reaching one-half way across the sky, the west end
being deficient. The edges of both arches were well defined, their apparent acuteness throwing
the clear blue sky far back.

The arches were broadest near the zenith; and, when most bright, appeared to consist of several
streams of light, nearly but not exactly parallel to each other, and having the same direction
with the arch.

These streams receded from each other by a lateral motion, leaving interstices, sometimes of a
fainter light, sometimes of a clear blue sky ; and they were at times gathered together toward
one side of the arch, which then shone with a very dense light. The S. E. extremities of the
two arches were united near the horizon, and, bending to an angle, ran horizontally to the north-
ward for a considerable distance.

After the arches had continued for some time, they moved slowly to the southward, became rarer
and broader, were blended into each other, and finally broke into several irregular masses of light.

During the evening, many of the meteors termed falling stars were observed. The Rapid was very
loud."— Ibid., p. 605.

N. B. — At 5h. p. m., several broad arches of rare light appeared extending from N. W. to S. E.

December 12, 1820. Temp. —40°.

"At 9h. p. m , there was a broad, faint, irregular arch of light, whose extremities bore A7". N. W.
and S. E. by S.

At llh., weather rather hazy, a bur or halo closely encircling the moon. A low arch of light
from E. to S. E., and a broad horizontal mass in the north.

At midnight, there were two faint but distinct arches whose extremities, originating and termi-
nating in consort, bore N. N. E. and S. E. The upper arch had of course a greater curvature.
It nearly reached the zenith; the other was about *T0° high.

At the same time, many faint and irregular masses of light existed in other parts of the sky. After
the circles had remained stationary for a short time, they broke in the middle. The S. E. ends
disappeared ; whilst the remainder, separating laterally into several long streaks of light, shot
quickly up in flashes from the iV. W. to S. E., crossing the zenith. Sky moderately clear.

About lh. a. m. (13th), there were many masses of light in various parts of the sky, which bore a
strong resemblance to assemblages of the clouds denominated cirro-cumuli.

At one time, a remarkable body of light appeared in the N. N. E., which occasionally split into
detached parts by a lateral recession, but its general motion was directly to the S. W. It
obscured the smaller stars, but did not completely hide those of the first magnitude.". — Ibid.,
p. GOG.

N. B.— 1. At 9h. p. m., a broad, faint, irregular arch, N. N. W. to S. E. by S.

2. It obscured the smaller stars, but did not completely hide those of the first magnitude.

December 13, 1820. Temp. —34°.

" At lh. a. m. (14th), a broad arch of faint light, crossing the zenith, extended from horizon to
horizon, its extremities bearing E. and W.
A meteor, termed a falling star, was observed at this time. It remained luminous until it came

below the near side of a tree-top at no great distance.
When the arch broke up, its west end disappeared entirely, but its eastern extremities assumed for
some time the semblance of a group of cirro-cumuli." — Ibid., p. G07.

December 14, 1820. Temp. — 1G°.

"At midnight, a faint arch extended from the horizon in the S.E. by E. to the N. W. by W., its
centre passing to the southward of the zenith. Bright moonlight."— Ibid., p. GOT.

RECORD OF AURORAL PHENOMENA. 45

December IT, 1820. Temp. —30°.

"At lh. 30m. a. m. (18th), a number of detached irregular masses of light were so arranged as to
form an arch 30° high, having a direction from N. W. to S. E. Weather clear, strong wind." —
Ibid., p. 608.

December 18, 1820. Temp. —37°.

"At 1 lh. 30m. p. m , the sky, which had previously been clear, was covered by a thin stratum of
clouds belonging to that modification of cirrus which forms the mackerel sky of sailors, con-
joined with small portions of what are termed by the same people ruares'-tails. Between the
bars of the former and the long fringes of the latter, streaks of deep-blue sky appeared.
These clouds were not dense enough to hide the larger stars completely, and from their first
appearance until they spread entirely over the sky, not more than a quarter of an hour elapsed.
On attentively regarding the sky for some time, the more rounded parts of the mackerel sky were
observed to send shoots across the blue spaces to unite with similar processes of the neighboring
masses. At the moment of junction, a yellowish light, with a slight tinge of red, was emitted
most brightly from the centres of the two clouds, but extending, though more faintly, to their
margins. A longer space of time had not elapsed than was required to note down these appear-
ances, when an arch of light was observed to cross the zenith, its extremities bearing east and
west, and terminating about 50° from the horizon. It was from 3° to 4° broad, and had a pale
gold-yellow color. When it ceased to emit light, its site was seen to be occupied by a range
of small fleecy clouds, similar to those already described, but more closely aggregated. The
moon now bore nearly south, and shone brightly, strongly illuminating the arch-formed range
of clouds just mentioned ; but their rarity was such that they showed no dark sides. Winds
very variable from S. W. to W.
About a quarter of an hour after the last observation, a round mass of cloud in the S. E. was
observed to assume, suddenly, an appearance of greater density, at the same time emitting from
its centre a yellowish light. Immediately after which, it shot forth towards the S. E. several
bright parallel horizontal streaks of light, which, crossing the near face of a neighboring mass
of clouds, became slightly curved from the south. They were about 8° or 10° above the
horizon, and were prolonged after passing before the clouds, through a portion of clear sky. A
few degrees beneath them, there were two or three dark layers of cirro-stratus.
The clouds, in their general arrangement at this period, had that appearance of convergency in
opposite points of the horizon which has been frequently noticed in a sky covered with cirri.
In the present instance, these points were at right angles to the magnetic north and south. In
the zenith, the mackerel sky prevailed ; but in the S. E. and N. W. (true), the clouds were more
dense, and presented various depending fringes towards the points of the horizon already men-
tioned. The magnitudes of the masses, too, in different parts of the sky, diminished so regu-
larly, as they receded from the zenith, as to convey an idea that their long sides were seen in
the N. E. and S. W. quarters of the sky, but their ends only in N. W. and S. E. quarters.
At midnight, several of the cirriform clouds, which were in the neighborhood of the moon's place,
reflected her light strongly, and hence appeared to have a pretty dense structure ; but when they
passed before the face of that luminary, they became nearly invisible, producing only a slight
halo or bur, but not sensibly diminishing the light.
At 20m. after midnight, the northern quarter of the sky became perfectly clear to the height of 35°,
the rest of the heavens being overspread by small fleecy clouds, separated by narrow intervals.
The edge of cloud bordering on the clear sky was well defined, ran east and west, and was
made up of the ends of small and rather broad parallel bars, having a direction from north to
south; a very common modification of cirrus. The moon was at this time wading through a
collection of small clouds, and was surrounded, at the distance of 10°, by a faint though distinct
halo. In the S. W., in a clear part of the sky, there existed a small spot of yellowish-white
light, which, for a few seconds, gradually increased in brightness, and then sent forth suddenly a
luminous beam, which, crossing a portion of the deep-blue sky, passed over the well-marked
edge of cloud above described, continued its course in front of the clouds, brightly illuminating
their faces, and terminated to the southward of the zenith, near the moon's place in the heavens.

4(i RECORD OF AURORAL THE NO MEN A.

When tliis beam had attained its extreme length, it formed a half-arch concave to the westward.
It was scarcely formed, however, before it divided into a number of small parts, which, being
segments of circles and rising successively one above the other, formed a kind of tiled arch. It
disappeared altogether in three or four minutes, leaving the clouds unaltered in appearance.

At 12h. 40m., the sky had become clear as far as the zenith. The edge of the clouds, which were
now overhead, was still composed of parallel bars directed to the north and south. Under these
bars, a few streaks or threads of very rare cloud were seen floating, and at times emitting a
faint orange-colored light. The clouds in the southern part of the sky, although they appeared
pretty dense in the bright moonlight, were yet rare enough to allow the larger stars to appear
through them.

By one o'clock, the whole mass of cloud had gathered together towards the south, and disappeared
in the horizon ; but, at the same time, a few long and very rare threads of cloud, which were at
intervals faintly luminous, shot athwart from east to west in the deep blue of the northern part
of the sky. On former occasions, the Aurora had been observed to illuminate the face of the
clouds next the earth; but the present night was remarkably favorable for the observance of
that phenomenon, the brightness of the moonlight, and the clearness of the sky, rendering the
clouds very visible and well defined." — Ibid., p. 609.

December 19, 1820. Temp. —38°.

"At midnight the sky cleared up, a few cirro-strati were seen to the southward, and there was a
slight bur round the moon. The rest of the sky was of a grayish blue color.
At this time, a broad bank of the Aurora appeared in the north, lying horizontally, at an elevation
of 25°. There were also a few long parallel streamers to the westward, flashing in the direction
of their lengths from W. by N. to E. by S. They disappeared suddenly, leaving in their site a
faint yellowish light."— Ibid., p. (ill.

December 20, 1820. Temp. —46.0°.

"At lOh. 45m., bright moonlight. The sky, which had previously been very clear, was suddenly
overspread by a thin stratum of fleecy clouds. They were in general orbicular, but were much
crowded, so as to leave only small interstices of clear blue sky. A few stars were visible through
the rarer parts. About 1° or 8° above the northern horizon, there existed a mass of cloud
rather more dense, which began soon after its formation to emit a faint yellowish light. In two
minutes, the light became brighter, and spread towards the S. W. by a slow waving motion,
like an increasing volume of smoke rolling parallel to the horizon. It continued sweeping round
the sky in this manner until the produced end bore N. W., and then became irregularly elevated
in the middle, assuming an arched form. At the instant at which this elevation took place, a
stream of light, issuing from the S. W., formed an arch about 2° higher than the other, and
parallel to it. The second arch exhibited nearly the colors of the rainbow.

The red color occupied its under edge, and it darted down towards the inferior areh a number of
light-red, fringe-like processes. The two arches were scarcely formed when they disappeared,
but instantly appeared again, and continued to do so, in rapid succession, for a minute or two;
the upper one retaining its prismatic tints, and the under one an uniform pale-yellow color.
The motion of the light by which the arches were reproduced was sometimes from right to left,
sometimes in the opposite direction. The upper arch, too, was occasionally split into narrow
parallel beams, which had not only a rapid lateral motion in the direction of the arch, but were
also lengthened out, both upwards and downwards, by sudden flashes. At such moments, the
colored tints were most vivid; the red always predominating.

About five minutes after the first appearance of the Aurora, a bright mass of light was observed
bearing N. N. W., from which a column, possessing prismatic tints, shot up as high as the
zenith ; a similar column at the same time springing to meet it from the site of the two arches
which had now disappeared. A brilliant arch was thus formed, whose extremities bore W. N. W.
and S. S. E. In au instant thereafter, the whole sky was covered with small arcs and irregular
masses of light, mostly composed of short parallel beams. These masses moved rapidly from
the horizon towards the zenith, and back again. The duration of this phenomenon was about
seven or eight minutes, when the light wholly disappeared.

RECORD OF AURORAL PHENOMENA. 47

The colors of the arches, in their general appearance and arrangement, resembled those of the
rainbow; but the blue, green, or violet, were not distinctly visible. The yellow ray occupied
most space and was the faintest, whilst the orange was the brightest. The red was nearly
as abundant as the yellow, and approached in its hue to lake-red. The moon shone brightly all
the time. After the disappearance of the Aurora, the sky remained as before, covered with a
thin stratum of clouds, but their texture had become more rare, their edges worse defined, and
their masses more blended into each other. In short, they answered the description of the
cirro-stratus in the first stage of its change from the cirrus. The moon had a bur or halo round
it; and a candle, both in the open air and the house, was also surrounded by a halo.

At lib. 30m., there was a faint mass of light in the S. S. W., about 20° high, occasionally fading
away, and allowing a body of dark cloud to appear in its site. The light reappeared first in
the centre of the cloud of a gold-yellow color, but became fainter as it spread outwards.

At midnight, the weather was rather hazy, and there was very little blue sky to be seen. A few
minutes before twelve, a portion of cloud in the S. E. was faintly illuminated ; and, at the same
instant, a luminous spot made its appearance in a clear blue space in the north, about 15° high.
From this spot, an arch shot up which, passing to the eastward of the zenith, joined the luminous
cloud in the S. E. The arch was scarcely formed when it disappeared, but was as speedily
formed again by a mass of light rising in the S. E., and rolling to the north like a volume of
smoke from a chimney, increasing in dimensions as it rose. Immediately after the second forma-
tion of this arch, it assumed that appearance of a shoot of the moss alluded to in the notes on
November 24th, and which is termed by botanists falcalo-secund. The points of the rays or
streams were directed to the south. In a short time, the arch separated into small curved seg-
ments, which vanished in their turn; and the attention was next directed to the formation of a
long range of prismatic light about 60° high, its extremes bearing west and north. This
light had a pale gold-yellow color, and was attenuated towards the north, its southern or upper
edge being brightest. When this passed away, a number of irregular masses appeared in various
parts of the sky. At lh. a. m. (21st), the sky was obscured by a fog." — Ibid., p. 612.

December 21, 1820. Temp. —42°.

"During the early part of the evening, there were a few thin horizontal clouds in the N. E., but
the sky in general had a clear grayish-blue color. Some streaks of cirrus were faintly visible ill
the east. The moon shone brightly, but was surrounded by a bur, as was also the caudle.
Rapid noisy.
At lOh. 20m., the Aurora rose in the S. S. E., and, proceeding across the sky, divided into several
broad arches, which terminated about 30c from the western horizon. The common stem in the
S. S. E. appeared as if formed by the twisting of the ends of the different arches together, and
had a waving irregular motion, sometimes apparently doubling upon itself; and once or twice it
separated into small parallel portions, haviug a lateral motion in the direction of the arch, but
with their ends pointing north and south. The arches were three, and at one time four, in
number, and gradually diverged more and more from each other towards their western ends.
The uppermost passed a little to the southward of the zenith, and they were each about 4° or 5°
broad. The spaces between them were sometimes faintly illuminated. After they had continued
stationary for about ten minutes, the S. S. E. common stem moved slowly round the horizon
until it bore south, leaving a streak of light behind it, whilst the truncated ends, or those which
were directed towards the western horizon, approached each other, and were lengthened out to
the horizon in the W. N. W. by the rolling motion of smoke. Contemporaneously with these
motions, the centre of the arch moved up and down, so as to appear undulated and even con-
torted; the moving parts frequently dilating considerably, and always becoming brighter in the
centre, at the commencement of their motion. The light had a pale yellow hue, and, when
brightest, was not sufficiently dense to hide the larger stars. Its motions were in general slow,
and unattended by flashes.
At llh., a bright arch extended across the zenith from E. by S. to N. W. by W. ; the S. W. quarter
of the sky being at the time occupied by a homogeneous mass of light, which had a crescentic
edge turned towards the east, and there was a similar mass in the north concave towards the

48 RECORD OF AURORAL PHENOMENA.

south. The arch at first exhibited a vermicular motion from east to west, then split into parallel
beams, possessing, as usual, a rapid lateral motion; and, in a short time, the Aurora in every
part of the sky began to move with such velocity, and to assume such a variety of forms, as to
defy description. The central arch more than once exhibited two distinct currents, or motions
of its parts, flowing from one end to the other in opposite directions at the same instant; and
at one time all the detached parts of the Aurora appeared to collect together to form a beautiful
circle or corona, which surrounded the zenith at the distance of 45°, and in which the rapid lateral
motion of the beams was very apparent, having a direction from north, round by the south,
west and east. The beams, in this case, were apparently perpendicular to the earth's surface in
every part of the luminous ring which they formed. In a half arch, which rose immediately
afterwards from the northern horizon to the zenith, the extremities of the beams were directed
from east to west, and the ranges of beams which formed, in rapid succession, masses of light
of various shapes in every part of the sky, had no certain direction. The general color of the
Aurora was a pale yellowish-gray ; but when the beams moved with a rapidity that could scarcely
be followed with the eye, they emitted a pale but bright red light, slightly tiuged with purple
or violet. These beams sometimes lengthened and shortened themselves with extreme rapidity,
and the prolonged extremities emitted a light equally brilliant, and of the same hue, with the
rest of the beam. In about fifteen minutes, the whole of these beautiful phenomena vanished,
leaving behind only a few faint masses of light. The moon was still surrounded by a slight
bur, and the wind had changed to the west.
At midnight, the southern quarter of the sky was occupied by a broad horizontal mass of light.
At lh., there was no appearance of the Aurora whatever. Sky cloudless, but rather hazy;
minute crystals of snow falling. During the evening, the wind was very variable, but light." —
Ibid., p. 614.

December 22, 1820.. Temp. —43°.

"At 4h. 30m. p. m., dark and rather cloudy. A faint mass of the Aurora in the E. S. E., about
20° high.

At nine o'clock p. m., the sky being of a pretty deep-blue color, except in the S. E., where there was
a mass of white clouds near the horizon, the Aurora appeared in the form of an arch of yellowish-
gray light, about 70° broad in the centre, where it reached from the zenith to within 29° of the
southern horizon. Its limbs were spirally twisted and tapered, touching the horizon in the S. E.
by S. and N. W. by W. The light of this arch was arranged in longitudinal bands, having
different densities, and varying in length from 20° to 80°. These long portions of light occa-
sionally receded laterally from each other, and then formed a series of arches or parts of arches,
the upper ones including those beneath them. Whilst the arches were thus separated, some of
them exhibited a waving lateral motion, the others remaining stationary, and sometimes, one
end of an arch moving more than the other, it was carried obliquely across the general line of
direction of the parts of the large arch. The arches approached each other by an irregular,
slow, lateral motion, occurring simultaneously in the different arcs, and again formed a con-
tinuous body of light, varying in density in different parts.

At llh., a beam of light rose from the southern horizon to the height of 45°, where it terminated,
that end then bearing N. W. by N. It was about 10° broad, and gradually attenuated from its
centre outwards.

At llh. 30m., there was a long luminous bank in the south, nearly of equal dimensions throughout.
Its centre was slightly elevated, and about 40° high. Its extremities faded imperceptibly away
in the S. S. E. and western parts of the sky. It was about 6° broad, and emitted a greenish-
yellow light. The sky near its extremities was dark, and completely hid the stars. Five or
six degrees below this nearly horizontal mass, a smaller but similar one appeared for a short
time. Neither continued above two or three minutes, and they exhibited no quick motions,
but merely brightened a little, undergoing at the same time a slight dilatation. They appeared,
however, and disappeared at intervals until 2Jh. a. in. (23d), when a haziness overspread the
sky. "—Ibid., p. 010.

RECORD OF AURORAL THE NO MENA. 49

December 23, 1820. Temp. —45°.

"At llh. p. m., a faint arch of pale greenish light, about 10° broad, rose to the height of 30°. One
of its limbs, bearing S. E. by S., sprung from a collection of whitish clouds (cirri) situated
about 10° above the horizon. The other, bearing W. by N , faded away imperceptibly in a
dark part of the sky, where there were neither clouds nor stars visible.

The moon was surrounded by a bur, and did not give much light.

At 12h., the arch was still visible, but several strata of pretty dense white clouds now occupied
the sotithern part of the slcy to the height of 20°, and the extremities of the arch, which were
broader and fainter than before, bore S. by E. and W. N. W.

In the middle of the arch, there were several gentle elevations and depressions; but, although the
light occasionally brightened up in some spots, there were no quick motions amongst its parts.

The state of the atmosphere continued, as before, pretty clear in the zenith; but the bur round
the moon, of a faint gray color, with a slight tinge of orange on its outer edge, remained. A
similar bur was formed round a candle, its diameter enlarging rapidly as the observer receded
from it."— Ibid., p. 617.

December 25, 1820. Temp. —28°.

"At lh. a. m. (26th), the Aurora appeared for the first time this night, in form of a faint arch,
extending from the altitude of 40° in the N. W. to a spot near the zenith, bearing S. E.
It was composed of longitudinal bands or streams of light, connected with each other by a faint

luminousncss.
A little snow was falling at this time in minute crystals, and there was a slight haziness in the
sky."— Ibid., p. 618.

December 26, 1820. Temp. —32°.

"At lOh. 30m., an arch-formed Aurora, about 8° broad, appeared a little to the southward of the
zenith. Its extremities descended to within 15° of the horizon, and terminated in the S. E.
and N. W. At one time, the light of the arch appeared of uniform density throughout; at
other times, it was most intense along its southern or lower edge, and became gradually fainter
upwards until it disappeared.

The stars were seen obscurely through the denser light; in other parts of the sky they shone
brightly. At the same time, there appeared in the E. S. E., parallel to the horizon, a mass of
bright light with two or three dark horizontal streaks across its face, produced apparently by
intervening layers of cloud. The arch continued for a considerable time without undergoing
any material alteration in its appearance, except that it occasionally brightened up and faded
away again. Once, indeed, for a few moments, it separated into portions parallel to each other,
but having about 11° of obliquity with respect to the arch. These portions emitted a bright
light, and were separated by faintly luminous spaces.

At llh., the arch, having nearly the same direction as before, was composed throughout the greater
part of its length by two parallel portions, each gradually fading away towards their edges ;
and the S. E. end of the arch was also lengthened out and bent towards the east, so as to come
in contact with the mass of light noticed above as bearing E. S. E. This bent portion of the
arch was composed of several bars nearly of equal length, and arranged so that every succeeding
one lay to the north of that which preceded it in their approach to the horizon. The whole
were connected together by a faint diffused light; and from the same body of light in which that
end of the arch now terminated, a column of faint beams rose perpendicularly to the height of 15°.

At llh. 20m., the arch had increased its breadth to 20°, its northern edge being very near the
zenith. Its extremities, bearing S. E. and N". W., were composed of irregular and somewhat
detached roundish masses, but its centre consisted of five bright longitudinal bands, connected
by a faint diffused light. The mass of light formerly bearing E. S. E. had now moved round
towards the south, and, still resting in the horizon, formed the S. E. end of the arch.

At midnight, a great number of detached masses of light occupied the sky from 20° south to 10°
north of the zenith. These masses of light varied in shape, but the greater number had some-
what of an oblong form. They were separated in some-places by clear blue sky, in others they

50 RECORD OF AURORAL PHENOMENA.

were connected by a diffused light. They lay in various directions in the zenith, but towards
the horizon they had an appearance of convergency to the N. W. and S. E., and thus formed in
the aggregate an arch 30° high in the middle, and tapering towards its extremities.

At lh. 30m. (27th), the centre part of the above-mentioned arch, or aggregated masses of light,
had dilated so as to occupy the whole sky, except a clear blue space of 20° from the northern
horizon. The shapes of its component parts had undergone a material alteration, and were now
so arranged and blended together as to bear a striking semblance to an immense double curtain
with its ends gathered together, in the N. W. by W. and S. E., at about 10° above the horizon,
the space beneath being of a clear blue. From the zenith, to carry on the similitude, the folds
of the curtain proceeded in several beautiful festoons towards the north and south, and had
occasionally a slow motion, as if it were folding and unfolding again and again. The moon at
this time shone with a bright light, and illuminated several layers of cloud (cirro-stratus) in the
N. E., every other part of the sky being unclouded.

At 2h. a. m., a large homogeneous sheet of rare light was spread over 20° on each side of the
zenith, and near the horizon there were many layers of cirro-stratus, some of them pretty dense,
so as to obscure the moon when they passed over its face. The Rapid was quite inaudible at
this time."— Ibid., p. 618.

December 27, 1820. Temp. —45°.

"At llh. p. m., the sky clear, the moon not yet risen, but many stars visible. A beam of light,
about 8° broad, rose from 10° above the horizon in the S. E. by S., and, gradually becoming
fainter upwards, disappeared a little south of the zenith. After continuing stationary for some
time, it sent forth a beam of light from its southeast end, which extended 11° more to the north-
ward, whilst its fainter end was at the same instant prolonged so as to form a complete arch,
terminating in the N. W. by W. horizon. A little haze was visible at this time in the southern
horizon.

At midnight, the Aurora formed a somewhat interrupted circle round the sky, about 15° high,
which sent down, from its N. W. by W. and S. E. points, several pointed processes which nearly
touched the horizon. Some large flexuous streaks, and masses of light traversing the zenith,
connected the northern with the southern part of the circle; and there were also a few detached
irregular masses of light in other parts of the sky. The best-defined part of the circle was in
the N. E. quarter, and here a quick lateral motion to and fro was produced, as if by its separa-
tion into perpendicular bars. It was about 8° broad at this place. During the continuance of
this phenomenon, many beams of light rose perpendicularly from the upper margin of the circle,
but, before they reached the zenith, their extremities were bent from their course so as to make
various curves sideways, or even to appear as if rolled up upon themselves.

When the Aurora had exhibited itself in this form for a considerable space of time, the whole
mass of light suddenly appeared in motion, and, sweeping round on each side, was gathered
together to the southward of the zenith. Immediately thereafter, a large portion of it was seen
in the S. E., assuming an exact resemblance to a curtain suspended in a circular form in the air,
and hanging perpendicularly to the earth's surface. The lower edge of this curtain was very
luminous, and had a waving motion ; and the illusion was further heightened by the momentary
appearance of perpendicular dark lines or breaks in the light, in rapid succession round the
circle, exactly as the waving of a curtain would cause the dark shades of its folds to move along
it. This beautiful curtain of light was about 40° high, of a pale yellowish color, and sent forth
on the one side a process which approached the S. E. by E. point of the horizon, and on the
other was connected with a long regular arch, terminating in the N. W. horizon, similarly con-
structed, and having the same waving motion with the curtain itself. All this time the sky was
perfectly clear, except in the southern quarter, which, to the height of 4° or 5°, was occupied
by dark clouds, apparently intermediate between stratus and cin-o-stratus.

Half an hour after its first appearance, this curtain-formed Aurora was resolved into a number of
detached irregular portions, which sometimes increased rapidly in every direction until they met
with other masses, either before existing or appearing at the instant, and formed an uniform sheet
of light which covered the whole-sky. The formation of this great sheet of light was so rapid,

RECORD OF AURORAL PHENOMENA. 51

that the eye could only trace its progress partially ; and its dissolution and reappearance were
equally sudden.
At 2h. p. m., the moon arose. A clear sky. The Aurora fainter and further to the southward
than before."— Ibid., p. 620.

December 28, 1820. Temp. —49°.

"At Gh. p. m., the Aurora, in an arched form, extended from the S. E. horizon to the N. W., across
the zenith. This arch was at one time composed of a bright homogeneous stream of light
about 8° broad; at other times, it split into parallel beams, their ends directed to the east and
west. These beams receded from each other laterally, until they were separated by a space of
clear blue sky more than twice their breadth, speedily reuniting again, however, to form the unin-
terrupted arch. A fainter arch appeared to the northward of the other, springing from, and ter-
minating at, the same points in the horizon, but having an apparent curvature so much greater
as to keep their centres 5° or 6° apart.

At 8h., the low fog to the southward had increased, and minute crystals of snow were falling, but
the zenith remained clear.

At this time, there existed a zone of light in the north, about 20° high, whose extremities, united
with those of a similar zone in the south, dipped suddenly down to the horizon in the S. E. and
N. W. points.

At 9h., in a calm and clear atmosphere, there were five arches, each about 4° broad; one crossed
the zenith, another was elevated about GO0 above the northern horizon, and there were three in
the southern half of the sky, at elevations of 45°, 6P, and 80°. Their light was faint, and their
extremities converged so as to terminate conjointly in the N. W. by N. and S. E. by S. points.

At lOh. 30m., columns of faint light rose perpendicularly from the horizon in the N., S. E., and
S. W. points, to the height of 20°.

At midnight, there was an arch of light in the south, about 15° high, having its lower edge,
throughout its whole length, resting upon a fog-bank ; and there were also two or three faiut
beams rising from the horizon in the S. E., across a portion of clear sky, and a beam lying mid-
way between the zenith and horizon, about 20° long, and pointing north and south.

At lh., the sky in the zenith was clear, and was occupied by an arch tending from N. W. to S. E."
—Ibid., p. 622.

December 29, 1820. Temp. —52°.

"At 6h. p. m., there appeared an arch of yellowish-gray and pretty dense light, about 10° broad
and 25° high, which in a few minutes began to increase in breadth, and at length separated into
two parallel arches, whilst at the same time a fainter beam sprung from its northern end, taking
a direction towards the S. by E., but, becoming more diffuse as it rose, it disappeared in the
zenith. The brighter part of the light obscured the stars. The united limbs of the two arches
in the N. by W. were divided by perpendicular dark spaces so as to appear to be composed of
oblique bars.

About 10m. after these appearances were noted down, the sky was occupied, for about 70° to the
northward of the zenith, by large masses of light, arranged so as to converge towards the N. W.
by N. and S. E. by S. points of the horizon. Near these points, long slender processes of light
descended, and united so as to form a common stem on each side similar to the limbs of an arch
of the common dimensions of 2° or 3° in breadth. The internal movements of the Aurora at
this time were sluggish, but large masses of light were frequently generated almost instantaneously.

At lh. 30m., a number of arches sprung from the horizon in the N. W. by N., and, sweeping
across the sky in various directions, suddenly curved in to terminate in the S. E. by S. The
arches were in general about 6° broad, and their middles were distant enough from each other
to spread on each side of the zenith to the distance of 50°.

From 9h. to midnight, the Aurora formed many arches of light, very various in breadth and
density, all having a common origin and termination in the N. W. and S. E., but crossing the
heavens in a variety of directions, so as to occupy about three-fourths of the space on each side
of the zenith.

52 RECORD OF AURORAL PHENOMENA.

The middle portions of some of these arches ran horizontally across the sky, whilst their extremi-
ties, making sudden curves, arrived at the common origin and termination of all the arches,
which were seated for the greater part of the night. about 4° above each horizon. At one time,
the light was arranged in a series of curves, including each other and having their convexities
turned towards the north on both sides of the zenith. In short, their arrangement was con-
tinually varying, but the breadth of the arches at all times was greater in the zenith. Large
and diffuse columns of light sometimes shot up at right angles from the convex side of the
arches, and portions of broken arches were occasionally seen in various parts of the sky, lying
obliquely across the general line of direction. The changes of form were not produced by a ■
quick flashing motion, but by the different parts of a new arch appearing simultaneously but
faintly, then gradually brightening up in a manner that could be traced only by keeping the eye
steadfastly fixed on a clear part of the sky and watching the evolution of the light there.

At midnight, a clear blue sky surrounded the zenith to the distance of about 20°. The rest of
the sky had a light-grayish appearance, resembling the light of the milky way ; many stars
shining brightly at the time. In some spots this diffused light brightened up for a moment or
two, assuming at the same time a yellowish hue.

At 12h. 30m., there was an arch in the south about 15° high, and various irregular masses of
light in the north, the rest of the sky being of a deep blue.

At 2h., the sky very clear. At this time the Aurora was very brilliant, and its motions so rapid
that it was impossible to record them in the order of their occurrence with anything like
accuracy.

At one period, the S. W. part of the sky was occupied by a mass of dense light, which was con-
nected with a similar mass in the east by a current of light about 4° broad, moving with extreme
velocity from W. to E. This stream of light bore a stronger resemblance to a cascade of
water than to anything else I can liken it to ; and it in general flowed from the one mass of light
to the other, but sometimes its eastern extremity curled back in various directions, forming, as
it were, beautiful eddies. The dark lines or spaces, whose instantaneous appearance and dis-
appearance evinced the motion of the light, lay perpendicular to its line of direction, or pointing
to the north and south.

For an instant, when the motions were most rapid, the light became very vivid, and assumed a
reddish hue. At this moment, a loud crash was heard, similar to what is produced by a large
piece of ice floating down a river and crushing against a stone.

This noise was not repeated, and, as it appeared to come from the river, would not have been
noticed unless for its contemporaneous occurrence with the brightening of the Aurora. The
air at this time was rather favorable for the transmission of sound, the Rapid being distinctly
heard."— Ibid., p. G23.

December 30, 1820. Temp. —48°.

"At 5h. p. m., an arch-formed Aurora extended completely across the sky from the N. W. by N.
to the S. E. by E. From the N. W. end of this arch, a pencil of light rose perpendicularly, and
terminated at the zenith. Its hue and brightness were equal to that of the milky way, which
was distinctly visible at the time.

At 8h. p. m., two columns of light rose perpendicularly from the horizon, in the N. W. and S. E.,
to the height of 10°. Their summits being connected by a nearly horizontal beam of light, a
depressed arch was formed to the northward of the zenith, from various parts of which pencils of
light shot up directly towards the south, and rising 40° or 50°. Portions of two smaller and
concentric arches were occasionally seen under the other.

At 9h. the Aurora continued to exhibit modifications of the appearances above described.

At midnight, an irregular mass of light, having a spirally-twisted form, rose in the horizon in the
iV. W. by JV. to the height of 60°, apparently perpendicularly, then, turning to the northward,
it continued its course horizontally across the sky ; and, lastly, bent suddenly and obliquely to
terminate in the S. E. horizon." — Ibid., p. 625.

RECORD OF AURORAL PHENOMENA. 53

December 31, 1820. Temp. —40°.

"At 6h. 35m. p. m., an arch-formed Aurora 15° high, extremities bearing A. by W. and E. by S.
From its north end, several rays rose to the height of 10° or 12°, having a direction to the south.

At 9h., a zone of light, rising from the horizon in the A". E., swept round the horizon to the east-
ward and southward, with a gradual ascent, until it bore S. W. and had an elevation of 35°;
from thence it gradually descended, and finally terminated in the N. W. by N. point of the horizon.

Near the eastern horizon, this zone was coutiuuous, but towards the south it was composed of thin
and parallel layers.

At midnight, the Aurora covered the sky in fleecy masses, having the same apparent convergence
to the N. W. and S. E. points that has been described on former occasions." — Ibid., p. 626.

February 13, 1821.

"At midnight, several layers of cirro-stratus in the northern half of the sky with clear blue intervals.

A zone of light existed in the north, its extremities bearing N. W. and E. N. E. It was com-
posed of parallel beams pointing to the southward, and having a quick lateral motion. The
eastern extremity of the zone was the most brilliant, and it sometimes rolled back upon itself,
producing various curtain-like appearances, during which motions it passed in front of the neigh-
boring clouds and completely hid them.

The southern half of the sky was overspread with thin white clouds, through which a few stars
appeared. When these clouds passed over the face of the moon, they produced a bur imme-
diately around it, and a halo at the distance of 15°. The northern edge of the halo was occa-
sionally illuminated with the yellowish-red light of the Aurora, which gradually faded away into
the white moonlight reflected from the cloud.

The zone in a short time broke up, and its parts approached the zenith, often in their course
whirling into a circular form with an extremely rapid motion. At those times, the beams of
light appeared to be perpendicular to the horizon, and emitted various prismatic rays, of which
yellow and pale violet were the most conspicuous. Sometimes the violet merely tipped the
beams; at other times it appeared throughout their whole length. When these beams were
arranged in the circular form, so as to form a ring, their length varied from 2° to 4°.

The light appeared this evening, to the eye, to be near the earth, a thin white haze evidently floating
behind or above it, in some places near the moon's situation in the sky.

The needle, by Mr. Franklin's observations, diverged very much to-night.

A very short time after these observations were made, the whole sky was overspread by a tolerably
dense, uniform, hazy white cloud, which hid the stars and considerably obscured the moon. The
Aurora shot across this cloud from A. N. W. to S. S. E., in the form of parallel arches which
emitted a bright yellowish-white light.

The arches were of short duration, and when they disappeared their site was observed to be
occupied by the unaltered stratum of cloud." — Ibid., p. 627.

March 8, 1821.

"At 6h. p. m., before the daylight was gone, the Aurora appeared in the S. E., stretching up
towards the zenith.

At 7h., two faiut arches crossed the zenith.

Twilight. The Aurora was bright and copious all the evening.

At lh. a. m. (9th), it was extremely beautiful and brilliant, but its changes were too various and
rapid to be described. Its intestine motions were curved, waved, and serpentine.

Sometimes it appeared in large masses, like the modification of cloud termed the cumulus; at other
times it assumed the curtain-like appearance formerly described ; and occasionally it split into
beams varying much in altitude, but generally perpendicular to the horizon.

One of its forms was very remarkable. It was a hollow truncated cone of light, formed of rays
originating about 20° about the horizon, on every side, and terminating about 3° or 4° from the
zenith. These rays had much lateral motion, and emitted a most brilliant green light, inter-
mixed with a bright purple. Their convergence was very regular, and, had they been prolonged,
they would have terminated in the zenith. The cone was, in fact, the phenomenon we have
termed Corona Borealis, with beams longer than usual." — Ibid., p. 627.

54 RECORD OF AURORAL PHENOMENA.

March 11, 1821.

"At midnight, a zone of light was observed extending from the E. to the N. IF., lying about 20°
above the horizon, and emitting a yellowish-gray light. This zone exhibited some intestine
motion, but it was faint, and consisted rather of a brightening up and fading away again of the
light than of flashes.

At this time, sounds were heard at intervals of from five to ten minutes to a few seconds, resembling
the noise of a wand waved smartly through the air. The sounds appeared to issue from various
parts of the sky, and as they were frequently simultaneous with a brightening of the Aurora, I
was at first inclined to regard them as reports of its motions, but Mr. Wentzel stated them to arise
from the contracting of the snow upon the sudden increase of cold, and his opinion was further
supported by the same sounds being heard next morning.

We heard in the evening from 50 to 100 of these reports, and they continued nearly as frequent
after the Aurora had almost faded away as when it was brightest.

The air was not very favorable for the transmission of sound, as the Rapid was scarcely audible."
—Ibid., p. 628.

Cape Lavenorn (Greenland).— Lat. 64° 30' N. Long. 39° 30' W. August 23, 1829. Graah.

"This evening, for the first time since April last, we saw the Northern Lights." — Graah, p. 103.
[Graah remained at Nukarbik from October 1, 1829, to April 5, 1830, but does not mention a

single appearance of the Aurora.
Nukarbik is in lat. 63° 21' 38" N., long. 40° 50' W.]

Fort Norman.— Lat. 64° 40' 38" N. Long. 124° 44' 41" W. October, 1849. Lieut. Hooper.

"16th. At llh. p. m., a fine Aurora extended in a broad undulating curve from N. E. to W. S. W.
The sky was clear; temperature considerably below freezing.

22d. At llh. p. m., I observed a dim Aurora extending in a segment from N. N. W. to W., at
about 45° of elevation.

23d. At midnight, Aurora was visible spanning the sky in a broad belt, passing through Orion in
the E. and the Pleiades at S. E., and continuing to W. and N. W. Night clear and stars
brilliant.

25th. At Th. 20m. p. m., I saw a very fine Aurora formiug a brilliant arch from E. to N. by W.
(true), the centre being about 20° in altitude. At N. N. W., a column rose from the visible
horizon to the zenith, very fine below, and widely outspread above, somewhat in the shape of an
open fan which has been much torn in the web. At ten, the Aurora had shifted in position and
form, being now extended from S. S. E. through the zenith towards the western horizon, where
it formed a magnificent scroll at about 40° elevation. It was a most superb spectacle.

The rays of both of these were uncolored, except that they seemed to possess a more brightly golden
hue than usual, the moon being nearly at the full and very bright, and the stars brilliantly dis-
played. The moon went down about eleven, when also the Aurora disappeared, and the sky
became entirely overcast.

26th. At 8h. 30m., I observed an Aurora nearly similar in form and position to that first seen last
night, but not nearly so brilliant, and of greater altitude, as the inner line of curve was now just
above the Pleiades ; whereas, in that of last night, at an earlier hour, the upper edge intersected
that constellation.

29th. A faint Aurora visible, very nearly in the form and position of that of the 26th instant, with
an additional column, irregular and uncertain in form and place.

31st. A fine clear and cold day; a light air from southward, with an almost cloudless sky.
The night one of the most lovely I have seen here; perfectly cloudless; the moon high, and,
with the stars, very bright; and a beautiful Aurora, in waving tremors, all over the sky; its
laic a pale and somewhat yellowish green."— Iloopcr's Journal, 156.

RECORD OF AURORAL PHENOMENA. 55

November, 1849.

" 3d. The night very fine and clear, and freezing intensely; a slight Aurora to the northwestward.
12th. A fine Aurora visible, principally in the south and west quarters.

13th. A fine Aurora at night, extending from east, through the zenith, to west, in an irregular
curve." — Ibid., p. 158.

March, 1850.

"1st. Cloudy; very mild weather ; wind moderate, from south. In the early evening, the Aurora

was dully displayed from S. to S. W. by W., in a segment of about 25° altitude at the centre;

vertical short thick rays proceeding from its upper edge. About lib., the sky cleared, and wind

came from E. S. E. moderate.
3d. About lOh. p.m., a beautiful broad streak of Aurora extended from N. W., through the

zenith, towards S. E., of a pale yellowish green and very bright. Later, it spread all over the

sky, and, moving incessantly, threatened an increase of wind.
5th. A cold breeze from N. W. ; weather cloudy. The night clear and cold. In the early part,

an arch of Aurora was visible from 5. E. to E. N. E., of inconsiderable altitude and little

brilliance; the rays colored pale yellowish green.
6th. Rather sharp in the morning. A fine sunny day, with a fresh breeze from S. S. W. The

night very clear and nearly calm. A light vein of Aurora at E. S. E.
"Tth. Very fine and clear; a fresh breeze from the southward. The morning cold. The night

fine, clear, and cold. Midnight, a broad wave of Aurora from east, through the zenith, to west.
8th. Night fine and clear; a slight Aurora to the eastward. At lOh. p. m., a broad arch of

Aurora from E. to N. N. W. ; altitude at centre about 30°. Calm.
10th. In the evening there were visible three bright rays of Aurora, all proceeding from the east ;

later the Aurora spread all over the sky.
11th. The wind has been very unsteady during the day, but blew principally from N. E., especially

when strongest. The weather has been exceedingly mild, and even oppressive, despite the strong

breeze. At 9h. p. m., the sky was still overcast. There was a dull but distinct arch of Aurora

from E. to S. W., the centre having about 35° of altitude.
13th. At 2h. a. m., -there was a fine Aurora spread over the sky, and in particular a large mass

about 20° N. E. of the zenith; the wind was also gentle from N. E., and the sky cloudless; a

great deal of rime was falling, apparently from the large mass before mentioned.
The day fine and rather cold. At lOh. p. m., a broad and bright irregular arch of Aurora extended

from S. E. to W.N. TV., the centre having about 60° of altitude. There was at this time a

gentle westerly breeze, from which quarter the wind has been all day, light, and a rime fell, as

last night, and again, as it seemed to me, proceeded from the Aurora.
14th. About lib. p. m., there was an Aurora visible of a pale green hue, extending from S. E.

towards W. S. W. in a regular arch, thence swerving to W. N. W.
15th. At lh. a. m., the Aurora changed its position and appearance greatly, now proceeding from

E. S. E., in two branches, towards north and west. These united at about 50° altitude, N. W.

of the zenith, and a large body of light between them passed through the zenith and joined the

main branch or stem at their junction, thence a beautiful stream led nearly down to the horizon

at N. W.
A fine Aurora at lOh. p. m. from E. S. E., through the zenith, to W. N. W., in two broad streams,

in vertical waves like a heavy curtain ; the lights and shades beautifully alternating, and, as last

night, the rays of a pale yellowish green hue.
lGth. A very fine cold day; wind blowing strongly from N. N. W. until the afternoon, when it

moderated. The evening calm, mild, and overcast. A very faint appearance of Aurora at

midnight to the S. E.
'11th. A little snow fell in the small hours, but the day became very fine, sunny, cloudless, and calm.

The night fine and very clear. A beautiful pale-green 'curtain' Aurora from east, through

the zenith, to west.
21st. A very little thin snow was falling this morning when we rose, but it soon ceased, and the

day became fine and clear, a moderate breeze blowing from the N. W. The night calm and

5G RECORD OF AURORAL PHENOMENA.

clear, with a light bank of clouds on the horizon at south and west ; weather very mild. About
llh. p. m., a bright and extensive Aurora displayed itself, in the 'falling drapery form,' spread-
ing from S. E. in a broad path, and passing about 20° west of zenith to west; the weather also
became colder.
22d. A very beautiful day, but much colder than it has been of late. The evening very fine and
cold. An Aurora visible at midnight, similar in position and appearance to that seen last night."
—Ibid., pp. 171-72.

April, 1850.

"2d. At lOli. p. m., a bright Aurora visible from east to west.

3d. At llh. p. m., a fine Aurora from E. by N. to W. by N. ; centre about 70° altitude.

4th. At lOh. 30m. p. m., a firm but not brilliant Aurora visible, in parallel arcs, from E. N. E. to
N. N. E. ; centre of highest about 25°.

Cth. At llh. 30ra. p.m., calm and very mild. From east up to the zenith a fine Aurora dis-
played, spread out above like a 'sea anemone.'

I have generally found the weather calm when the Aurora is thus shown in the zenith.

8th. An Aurora at lOh. p. m., similar to that of the 6th.

28th. At 9h. 30m. p. m., there were a few beautiful patches of Aurora to the eastward, colored
pale yellowish-green, like the autumnal tint of the fading leaf.

30th. At lOh. 30m., a very faint ray of Aurora, of a pale green hue, extended from the visible
horizon at east, towards the zenith, to about 40° of altitude." — Ibid., p. 173.

At Sea.— Lat. G5° N. Long. 63° W. September 28, 1818. Robertson.

"At llh. p. m., observed the Aurora very brilliant from S. by E. to S. by W. It first appeared
from behind a cloud at the altitude of 5°, shining with a silvery light; shortly after darting up
small bundles of rays to the altitude of 16°.
There was no appearance of the Aurora in any other part of the heavens. Weather calm and
clear at first appearance ; a breeze soon sprung up from west, which shifted to S. W. Moderate
weather." — 1 John Ross (Robertson), App. 121.

N. B. — 1. At llh. p. m., very brilliant.

2. First appearance from behind a cloud.

3. No appearance of Aurora in any other part of the heavens.

4. Weather calm and clear.

At Sea.— Lat. 65° N. Long. 63° W. September 29, 1818. Robertson.

"At ten in the evening, the Aurora was seen very brilliant from S. W. to S. E., true bearings,
shooting rays to the altitude of 15°. In the morning of the 30th, the Aurora was spread all
over the heavens.
Strong breezes from westward with clear weather, continuing to blow fresh from that quarter till
past noon." — 1 John Ross (Robertson), App. 121.

N. B. — 1. At lOh. p. m., very brilliant.

2. A. M. 30th, spread all over the heavens.

3. Strong breezes from west; clear weather.

Fort Franklin.— Lat. 65° 12' N. Long. 123° 12' W. December, 1825. Franklin.

"The length of our shortest day did not exceed five hours, but the long nights were enlivened by
most brilliant moonlight, and we had frequent and very fine appearances of the Aurora Borealis

RECORD OF AURORAL PHENOMENA. 57/

The latter phenomenon made some of its grandest displays on the 26th of October, the 2d of

November, and the 7th of December.
On all these occasions, the disturbed motions of the magnetic needle were very remarkable, and a

most careful series of observations convinced the party that they had a close connection with

the direction of the beams of light of which the Aurora was composed.
My observations also led me to conclude that the deviations of the needle were, in a certain degree,

connected with changes in the weather; for, previous to a gale or a snow storm, the deviations

were always considerable, but, during the continuance of the gale, the needle almost invariably

remained stationary." — 2 Franklin, C6.

N. B. — 1. Grandest displays of Aurora.

2. Disturbed motions of the needle on these occasions very remarkable.
3 Deviations of the needle connected with changes in the weather.

Fort Franklin.— Lat. 65° 11' 5G" N. Long. 123° 12' 44" W. February 14, 1826. Franklin.

"On the 14th, at 45m. after nine a. m., the arched form of the clouds, and the appearance of a
collection of rays projected from the sun's disk in the shape of a fan, strongly resembled the
coruscations of the Aurora. The atmosphere was misty; temperature in the shade +8° 5',
and when the thermometer with a blackened bulb was exposed to the sun's rays, it rose to +43°.
The magnetic needle, at nine a. m., was perceived to have made a greater deviation to the westward
than usual at that hour, and I imagine that the cause of this increase probably arose from the
atmosphere being then in a state of electricity, similar to that in which it is when the Aurora
appears in hazy weather; on which occasions we have observed that its coruscations have the
strongest effect in causing aberrations of the needle." — 2 Franklin, 12-3.

N. B. — 1. Arched form of clouds noticed at 9h. 45m. a. m.

2. At 9h. a. m., magnetic needle was perceived to have made a greater deviation than usual.

Fort Franklin.— Lat. 65° 11' 56" N. Long. 123° 12' 44" W. 1825-26-27. Franklin.

"The results of the observations on this phenomenon made during the present expedition coinciding
with the remarks on the same subject giveu at much length in the Appendix to my former Nar-
rative, I shall here confine myself to the mention of a few brief deductions from a careful exami-
nation of our registers at Bear Lake.
A careful review of the daily registers of the appearance of the Aurora, has led me to form the
following general conclusions : —

1. That brilliant and active coruscations of the Aurora Borealis cause a deflection of the needle
almost invariably, if they appear through a hazy atmosphere, and if the prismatic colors are
exhibited in the beams or arches. When, on the contrary, the atmosphere is clear, and the
Aurora presents a steady dense light of a yellow color, and without motion, the needle is often
unaffected by its appearance.

2. That the Aurora is generally most active when it seems to have emerged from a cloud near the
earth.

3. When the Aurora is very active, a haziness is very generally perceptible about the coruscations,
though the other parts of the sky may be free from haze or cloud.

4. That the nearest end of the needle is drawn towards the point from whence the motion of the
Aurora proceeds, and that its deflections are greatest when the motion is most rapid. The
effect being the same whether the motion flows along a low arch or one that crosses the zenith.

5. That a low state of temperature seems favorable for the production of brilliant and active corus-
cations; it being seldom that we wituessed any that were much agitated, or that the prismatic
tints were very apparent, when the temperature was above zero.

6. That the coruscations were less frequently visible between the first quarter and the full moon,
8

58 RECORD OF AURORAL PHENOMENA.

than in any other period of the lunation, and that the}* were most numerous between the third
quarter and the new moon.

7. That the appearance of the Aurora was registered at Bear Lake, in 1S25-26, 343 times, without
any sound having been heard to attend its motions.

8. The height of the Aurora was not determined by actual observation; but its having been seen,
on several occasions, to illuminate the under surface of some dense clouds, is conclusive that its
elevation could not have been very great. "When Dr. Richardson and Mr. Kendall made their
excursion on Bear Lake, in the spring of 1826, the former saw the Aurora very brilliant and
active, displaying the prismatic colors, in a cloudless sky (on the 23d of April); while Mr.
Kendall, who was watching at the time, by agreement, for its appearance, did not see any corus-
cation, though he was only twenty miles distant from Dr. Richardson.

9. The gold-leaf electrometer, which was kept in the Observatory, was never affected by the
appearance of the Aurora.

10. On four occasions, the coruscations of the Aurora were seen very distinctly before the daylight
had disappeared, and we often perceived the clouds in the daytime disposed in streams and
arches such as the Aurora assumes.

The opinions I have ventured to advance above, are at variance with the conclusions drawn by
Captains Parry and Foster from their observations at Port Boweii ; those officers inferring that
the Aurora does not influence the motion of the needle. But the discrepancy may be perhaps
explained by the difference in activity and altitude of the Aurora at the two places.

I have stated that the needle is most affected when the Aurora is very active and displays the
prismatic colors. Captains Parry and Foster have informed me that the Aurora seen at Port
Bowen was generally at a low altitude, without much motion in its parts, and never exhibiting
the vivid prismatic colors, or the rapid streams of light, which are so frequently recorded in our
registers of its appearance at Fort Enterprise and Fort Franklin. At both these places, we as
often tcitnessed the coruscations crossing the zenith as at any other altitude, and under such a
variety of forms, and in such rapid motion as to baffle description.

From the difference in the appearance and activity of the Aurora at Port Bowen and Forts Enter-
prise and Franklin, an inference may be deduced that the parallel of 65° N. is more favorable for
observing this phenomenon, and its effect on the needle, than a higher northern latitude." — 2
Franklin, cxlv-cxlvii.

N. B. — 1. Brilliant coruscations cause a deflection of the needle.

2. Aurora most active when it emerges from a cloud near the earth.

3. When the Aurora is very active, a haziness is very perceptible about the coruscations.

4. The nearest end of the needle is drawn towards the point whence the motion of the

Aurora proceeds.

5. A low state of temperature is favorable for the production of active coruscations.

Fort Franklin.— Lat. 65° 11' 5G" N. Long. 123° 12' 44" W. October 26, 1825. Frankijn.

"An arch of 20° elevation, extending from W. N. W. to E. N. E. by the north. The motion of the
light rushed at the first from the former to the latter point, and then backwards and forwards,
and ultimately passed off to the southward. Needle stationary a few seconds. A beam shot
along the arch from west by north, to east. Beam from north, across the zenith, to south
horizon. Motion of light from W. N. W. along the arch. Motion from N. W. to N. E. at an
elevation of 8°. Beam from north to the zenith. Needle stationary, the Aurora having dis-
appeared. Interval of time — between lOh. 10m. and lOh. 30m. p. m.

Remarks on the l^lh. — These coruscations were extremely brilliant, and in continual motion.

The principal feature was a broad band of light that extended along the northern part of the sky,
from W. N. W. to E. N. E., at an elevation of 20°, from which beams of a less intense light were
frequently projected across the zenith from north to south, or in the contrary direction; and they
sometimes reached the opposite horizon before they disappeared.

The band, as well as the beams, seemed to be composed of an infinite number of slender rays,

RECORD OP AURORAL r HE NO MEN A. 59

which wore highly inclined and exhibited the prismatic colors, the strongest tints being red,
yellow, and greeu.
The whole of these coruscations appeared to he interposed between the spectator and a thin filmy mass
of cloud." — 2 Franklin, cxlviii.

0( cobeb 27, 1825.

"A stream of light extending from E. N. E. to the north, at an elevation of 15°. The motion of

its parts very rapid.
A beam from north to the zenith. On reaching that part, it instantly spread across the zenith,

and its extremities were pointed S. TV. by W. and E. N. E.
Another beam from north, which spread across the zenith as the former had done, having its points

directed W. by S. and E. by X.
The whole coruscation then disappeared, and the needle gradually recovered its usual position.

Interval of time — from midnight to ten minutes after that hour.
Remarks on the 21th. — It should be observed that there were two distinct issues of light from

E. X. E. along the above-mentioned stream, which, on reaching the north point, rushed towards

the zenith ; and, in both instances, similar arches were formed across the zenith.
The needle betrayed the same course of deviation in both cases.
The motion of the light was extremely rapid." — Ibid., p. exlix.

November 2, 1825.

"Motion of the Aurora rapid from S. S. E. to X. X. TV. across the zenith. Arch the same;
direction of motion not noted.
Arch across zenith from south to north; motion rapid.

Arch across zenith from X. X. W. to 8. ; motion X. X. W. to S. Aurora gradually disappearing,
and needle stationary at the last position. Interval of time — between lOh. 30m. and lOh.
45m. p. m.
Remarks on the 2d. — The Aurora this night was extremely brilliant and active, and exhibited the

prismatic tints.
The coruscations commenced with a highly illuminated arch, spreading/ron! S. E. to X. W across

the zenith, in which part it formed a corona, from whence slender rays were projected perpvu-

dicxdarly downwards, giving to the coruscation the appearance of a globe with the meridians

marked upon it.
This Aurora originally sprung/«»« a mass of cloud bearing S. S. E., which gradually changed its

position to the eastward; and, on its reaching the east point, a band of light, resembling the

fringe of a curtain, rushed forth and extended round the northern horizon at an elevation of 8°.
The corona disappeared at the time this latter change took place, and arches were projected in

rapid succession from S. S. E. to X. X. W., S. to X, and from X. X. W. to S.; all of them

displaying the most brilliant colors.
The needle betrayed its greatest deviation during the projection of the last-mentioned arches, and

was, in fact, kept in a state of vacillation for about five minutes, approaching towards, or

recediug from, the true north, according to the apparent motion of the rays of light." — Ibid., p. el.

December 7, 1825.

" A bright beam darted from an elevated arch towards the horizon at the X. X. TV. point. A stream
from E. S. E. to X. TV., with a rapid vibratory motion in its parts. Coruscations in the form
of a horseshoe; motion following that shape. Interval of time, between lib. and llh. 25m. p. m.

Remarks on the 1th. — The Aurora this night was very generally diffused, and extremely active and
brilliant.

The most remarkable part of the coruscation was three perfect arches, at the several altitudes of
40°, 50°, and 90°, having the same points in the horizon. From the lowest of these arches, a
beam flashed towards the horizon to X. X. TV., which produced a change in the needle of 2° 45',
as above noted.

TVhen these arches became faiut, a mass of light rushed from E. S. E., aud in its progress to the

60 RECORD OF AURORAL PHENOMENA.

N. W., in an horizontal direction, the rays of light of which the stream was composed were seen

vibrating backwards and forwards, between the two extremes, in the most rapid manner.
During this commotion, which lasted ten minutes, the needle deviated between 39° 15' and 41° 15'.

It afterwards continued stationary for three minutes at 40° 45', though the Aurora was violently

agitated; but the motion of the light was then nearly circular, or in the form of a horseshoe,

and confined to the zenith. The color of the light was faint red.
In a few seconds afterwards, the whole body of the light, being concentrated in the W. N. W. point,

darted in an instant across the zenith to E. S. E., exhibiting in its progress a similar agitation

in its rays to that already described.
The coruscation then branched off to the north, forming a broad band of light about 20° high,

reassumed the horseshoe form at the latter point, and its rays undulated through every part of

this figure like the waves of the sea or a rolling volume of smoke.
During these last-mentioned changes, the needle retraced its course, as shown in the last three

notices, and remained stationary at 38° 5', while the Aurora formed a zone that encircled the

horizon at an elevation of 30°, in which shape it remained a few minutes and then disappeared."

— Ibid., p. cli.

December 8, 1825.

"Aurora visible. Motion from N. W. by N. along a band of light stretching to the eastward, ele-
vated 15° and about 2° broad. The colors very vivid; motion rapid. Needle stationary for five
minutes at this position. Motion returning from the eastward, along the band, to N. W. by N.
The needle stationary at this position for five minutes, during which interval the light was rushing
from each extreme of the band, meeting in the'N. by E. point. There was but little display of
color. The motion from the N. W. prevailed. A stream of light about 20° broad darted across
the zenith from N. W. by N. to S. S. E. A beam darted from the zenith to N. W. by N., fol-
lowed by the whole mass that had ascended from this point. Motion along the first-mentioned
band from N. W. by N. to the eastward. A stream from N. W. by N. to the zenith. A beam
from zenith to N. by E. Needle stationary for some minutes, the motion rolling from opposite
directions of the arch that extended from N. W. by N. to east, and clashing in the centre.
Motion from N. W. by N, in nearly a horizontal direction, to W. S. W. Stationary for five
minutes. A stream of an irregular shape darted from N. W. by N. to S. S. E. across the zenith.
Aurora generally diffused in filmy streams without motion. Motion from E. S. E. to N. W.
by N. in a band similar to that first described. Interval of time, between midnight and 25
minutes after that hour.
At lh. 20m. a. m., the Aurora appeared in an arch from N. E. to north, but motionless.
General Remarks. — The changes in the coruscations were so various and rapid as to render their
description impossible. The band of light first mentioned as extending horizontally from N. W,
by N. to the eastward, remained nearly the whole time." — Ibid., p. clii.

Fort Franklin..— Lat. 65° 11' 56" N. Long. 123° 12' 44" W. November, 1849. Hooper.

"20th. The day pretty fine and calm. A fine Aurora in the night.
21st. Very fine, clear, and cold. A most splendid Aurora at night, spreading in waved lines all
over the sky." — Hooper's Journal, p. 161.

December, 1849.

" 4th. Weather stormy, wind strong and squally from N. W. Late in the evening it cleared up a
little, and a curious appearance of Aurora was visible to the northward, fringing the upper edge
of a heavy 'nimbus.'
5th. Clear, very fine, and cold. Calm until towards sunset, when the wind rose from N. E. and
increased much and quickly, coming in smart squalls, no doubt blowing with great force in an
open space, our position being greatly sheltered.
The night fine and very cold; a few windy clouds in the sky. Fantastically flitting rays and streaks

RECORD OF AURORAL PHENOMENA. 61

of Aurora visible, darting lather and thither through the heavens like lightning flashes. The
stars very bright.

7th. A fine day, calm and very cold. A most lovely Aurora at night, extending from east, through
north, to west, with coruscations towards the zenith.

8th. As I have generally observed to be the case, the Aurora of last evening was followed by a
strong breeze, the weather completely changing during the night ; the clear starlit sky becoming
overcast with a heavy drift of clouds from N. E., from which quarter the wind was strong,
accompanied by thickly falling and driving snow. The weather continued thus all day, and was,
moreover, bitterly cold, but improved a little towards night, the wind and snow ceasing, and a
few stars peeping out.

9th. The night was very fine ; a gentle breeze from west, a cloudless sky, and a beautiful Aurora ;
which latter first formed in an arch from N. N. E. to N. N. W., but later appeared similar to that
of the seventh, in broken and vertical rays, coruscating towards the zenith. The stars visible
in myriads, and very bright.

llh p. m. I have just come in from viewing (aye, and listening to) the Aurora, which now pre-
sents a gorgeous spectacle. It has shifted from its first position, and now covers one-half of
the heavens, from east, through south, to west. Oh, it is exquisite 1 I cannot describe it, for it
is too splendid for description, even if viewed by a Byron, but I will try to set down an idea of
it, although it can be but a faint one.

Orion is now bearing about S. S. W., and on each side of that constellation to about four points
rays are converging very nearly to the zenith, while they are perfectly regular in distance one
from the other, and in form remind me of the lines of longitude on a globe, like which, also,
they are cut just below the zenith. Around and about them are wreaths and rolls, lines and
curves, masses and skirmishers of the luminous fluid, never still for an instant, but waving and
rolling, advancing and retiring, folding and unfolding, fast and changeful as thought can fly;
never twice alike, but, like the fickle kaleidoscope, ever presenting some new appearance, beau-
tiful and wondrous as those already seen and vanished. The converging curved rays before
mentioned are just in shape, &c, as we see in those pictures where the Spirit of God is
represented descending upon the Saviour in the form of a dove. I do not think nor write this
with levity, for the phenomenon is too awe-inspiring to excite mirth or ridicule.

As the heavy curtain in a theatre is drawn up or let down, so are some of the flying lines expand-
ing and contracting incessantly; others, again, seem heavy breakers, curling and turning under
and about. There was one large mass, a perfect blaze of light, which seemed to be not twenty
feet above me; others with less body appearing far, far away. It was a glorious sight, and I
stood gazing in rapture, although not very poetical, until I found myself chilled throughout;
but one who is privileged to view a scene like this can have little soul, little of the spirit con-
templative, an he feel not his very heart-striugs thrill with solemn joy at the sight.

And now, too, a question long doubted is by me doubted no more. I have heard the Auror^
not once, nor twice, merely, but many times; not faint nor indistinct, but loud and unmistakable ;
now from this quarter, now from that; now from on high, and again from low down. At first
it seemed to be like a field of ice cracking, then like the distant stroke of an axe ; again it
resembled the noise of pile driving by a monkey, and at last like the whirring of a cannon-shot
when heard from a short distance. Once, three like this followed in rapid succession, and I
thought I could see the mass whence the sounds proceeded tumbling or vibrating.1

The night is intensely cold, the sky perfectly clear, the stars showing as brilliantly through the
illumined fluid as where the 'lights ' are not; the wind is moderate from N. N. W. I have no
doubt that we shall have heavy weather after this display. I have read that in other northern
voyages, the sound of the Aurora resembles the cracking of a whip, but to-night I heard nothing
like this, to my idea.

In a few minutes, the character of the phenomenon changed, the tremors and rays all disappearing,
and nought now appeared to view but a long low arch from E. S. E. to S. W., banking a rising

1 This error respecting the Aurora's sound affords a curious indication of the power of imagination in assisting
delusion.

62 RECORD OF AURORAL PHENOMENA.

mass of clouds, but I still heard occasionally the sounds as before, now much subdued and less
frequent. The night continued calm, but became cloud}-.

11th. Snowing and blowing hard all day. The sky clearing a little at night, a fine Aurora was
visible, and the wind increased to a strong gale, in which the squalls were very violent.

12th. Still blowing hard all day from the same quarter, N. W., as yesterday ; the snow driving
fast and furious. The Aurora at night was very fine, the wind having gradually decreased from
sunset, and the iright became very calm and fine. We again heard the cracking sounds, and our
fisherman had a fine laugh at my sounding Aurora, saying that the noise is only that of the ice
cracking on Bear Lake; but this solution of the question was not at all to my taste, and I retired
to rest perfectly satisfied that it was caused by the Aurora, and not the ice.

13th. Fine and cold, with little wind. All my enthusiastic ideas respecting the Aurora's sound
are dispelled, and I find that I have, to use a vulgar phrase 'found a mare's nest,' for those
noises which I before heard with so much rapture, as belonging to an exquisite and wondrous
phenomenon, were this morning repeated in broad daylight, and are, I now see, unmistakably
caused by the ice cracking. A moderate breeze in the evening from N. E. ; weather cloudy.

17th. A moderate breeze from ST. W. ; cloudy and cold. The night set in pretty clear, but with
the wind strong and squally from N. W. Late in the night, a fine Aurora was visible to the
southward.

18th. Very fine and clear weather; breeze moderate from W. N. W. Towards evening the sky
became cloudy, but in the night was clear, and displayed the 'merry dancers' to advantage; the
wind being then fresh from westward.

19th. Colder by far than yesterday; very fine, and, in the morning, calm. About midday, a
moderate breeze sprung up from N. E., but the night was calm, fiue, and clear.

Aurora was visible in, at first, thin bright streaks, and later in a long arch from E. S. E. to S. W. ;
and another, with less length and of greater altitude, from N. N. W. to N. E. The stars bril-
liant as gems.

20th. The day was very fine and calm, but the cold penetrated through all covering; even our
fisherman was forced to return before his usual time.

At night we saw a lovely Aurora. At one time it was like this , the point being to the east-
ward, and the flourish reaching half way down to the western horizon, breaking at the extremity
into perpendicular lines. The night calm and very fine.

22d. Light mizzling snow during the day, with a light air from the westward. Last night we
observed a fair Aurora; masses of light rolling and tumbling over each other incessantly, and
apparently very low. The weather has completely changed since yesterday, being now cloudy
and very mild. A slight Aurora to the westward visible this evening.

21th. Very fine, clear, and cold ; a fresh breeze from W. N. W. The night like that of yesterday ;
wind light from west. Our breath was distinctly audible out of doors, and our fisherman got
^ frostbitten on the cheek on returning from the nets. Some time about midnight, a pretty but not
brilliant Aurora was visible, of a pale green hue.

30th. Cloudy and mild; a light breeze from the N. W. Read prayers to the party. The evening
fine; a moderate breeze from the west. A bright Aurora visible, extending in an irregular
semicircle, of considerable altitude at the vertex, from east towards west.

31st. Very fine and not very cold. A fresh breeze from W. N. W. in the morning; the remainder
of the day and the evening calm.

A fine Aurora visible this evening, extending from the horizon at N. N. W. to E. by N., its alti-
tude in the centre about 15°, with vertical coruscations." — Ibid., pp. 1G2-G5.

January, 1850.

" 1st. The Aurora seen last evening changed its position as the moon ncared the horizon, progressing
before she appeared regularly and gradually towards south.
3d. The breeze continued all day, but with less violence than yesterday. The weather still cloudy
and mild. At night, before the moon rose, I observed an Aurora from N. E. by E. to N. by W.,
over a heavy ' incubus,' at about 15° altitude.

RECORD OF AURORAL PHENOMENA. 63

4th. The day cloudy and mild. In the evening, an Aurora visible from N. by W. to N. E., of

which I give one phase; but it was ever changing in appearance.
8th. About an hour before daybreak, there was a curious Aurora visible. Late in the day, the

wind became fresh, and, accompanied by a One driving snow, made the weather very cold. The

evening was cold, with a little snow; and moderate wind from west. Aurora showing all night,

flying about all over the sky.
9th. The night was at first very cold, the breath being slightly audible, but later the weather

became calm, misty, and much milder. A fine Aurora was visible.
10th. At night the wind was fresh, a little snow fell, and the temperature was very low. A faint

Aurora visible, similar in form and position to that of last night.
11 th. The night calm and cold. Aurora during the night to the northward.
12th. Before daylight, a fine Aurora was displayed to the southward, afterwards shifting to the

north. A moderate breeze from the west.
13th. A fine Aurora was visible about three hours before daybreak to the southward; the sky

clear. The day very fine, calm, and tolerably mild; a haze on the horizon. Read prayers.

The night Cue and cold; the breath being audible. Beautiful phases of the Aurora visible

during the night in all parts of the sky.
14th. Here it was quite calm, but on the Lake there was a very fresh breeze from the west. Yery

fine appearances of the Aurora all night; uncolored, and inconstant in position.
15th. Last night and this morning there fell a sort of rime, which was in so minute particles as to

be almost invisible. I fancy this must be frozen dew; perhaps it is this which forms the Aurora;

by reflection from the snow. The night fine and very cold. Beautiful Auroras throughout.
16th. We consider this the coldest day we have had here, the wind being strong and squally from

N. E. In the sunshine to-day, I observed the atmosphere crowded with frozen particles sparkling

brilliantly, like motes in a sunbeam. All night, beautiful phases of Aurora visible.
11th. The night was cold and clear; Auroras showing all night. It is impossible to picture them,

so various and inconstant were their positions aud forms.
1 8th. Very fine ; not a speck in the sky. The sun's warmth is now beginning to be perceptible,

but the air is, notwithstanding, very cold. A light breeze from the west.
The night fine and cold; Aurora displayed in a very beautiful manner; all the sky from E. S. E.,

through north, to west, was covered with broken vertical lines in waves coruscating towards the

zenith, and in slight motion. To the southward, was a long low arch, of perhaps 15° altitude

at the centre. There was a light northwesterly air.
22d. Just after sunset, the wind increased greatly, becoming also squally, and the weather getting

correspondingly cold. Beautiful Auroras during the night.
25th. Very fine and clear; wind N.W., moderate; the same on the Great Bear Lake; the weather

mild. The night very fine, and, late, cold.
Beautiful Auroras visible, one of which, extending from E. N. E. to N. W., was shaped like a huge

mustache, its centre about 20° north of the zenith. Another appeared as below attempted.
27th. The night very fine and very cold, the breath being again audible. Calm on Bear Lake.
When the moon had risen to about 12' of altitude, there was a very pretty Aurora about her; the

rays tinted pale yellowish-green, which hue I have always observed them to take when the

moon is near the full.
Beautiful 'tremors' all night, moving rapidly over the heavens, and of the same pale-green hue.

Whenever I have seen these rapid movements of the Aurora, wind has shortly followed." —

Ibid., p. 167.

February, 1850.

"1st. Last night was very cold, and Aurora was displayed in a beautiful manner from N. E. to N.
in 'tremors' and rolling folds.
The evening was very cold, fine, and clear. About lOh. p. m., we viewed one of the most exquisite
spectacles we ever beheld. The Aurora had been for some time visible, and it now spread over
all the sky, excepting to the southward, and kept an incessant motion, whirling, dancing, and
darting around with lightning-like rapidity. All the colors of the rainbow were displayed by

64 RECORD OF AURORAL PHENOMENA.

turns, visible at one instant, and in the next succeeded by another hue. There was a perpetually
shifting fringe, at one moment of an exquisite violet, and then again of a grass-green tint; these
were the predominant colors, but all others, in every variety of shade, were here aud there shown.
A more exquisite or more gorgeous spectacle cannot be imagined. I shall never again begrudge
the time spent in our exile here, since in it I have beeu privileged to enjoy so perfect a specimen
of the king wonder of natural pheuomena.

We knew very well that this appearance betokened wind, and this rose with the moon about three
hours later, the Aurora of course becoming faint as the darkness decreased.

2d. The wind blew freshly all night from the N. E., and did not abate any with sunrise. In the
afternoon, it increased considerably, and the sky became covered with clouds; 'cumulus' above,
and 'stratus' on the horizon. The weather clear; a slight snow drift.

I am more than ever confirmed in my conviction that the Aurora is frozen dew or vapor,
illumined by, or rather reflecting, the light of the frozen masses round the pole, or perhaps only
by that from the surrounding snow-clad earth. That it must be congealed vapor suspended
in the atmosphere and existing in atomic particles, I hold to more than all, from its instant
motion with the slightest breeze, and from the resemblance of that motion, when the mass is
strongly excited, to that of a cloud of dust raised by a strong breeze ; the same eddy-like twist-
ing, the same rolling and folding motion, and of one volume into and over another, &c.

7th. Late last night there were beautiful 'tremors' visible, principally displayed near the zenith.
A fresh breeze set in from the N. E., but declined at daybreak.

12th. The Aurora was finely displayed last night in 'tremors,' and this morning there was a strong
breeze from the west, with a heavy snow drift.

13th. A strong breeze all day from westward, and a heavy drift, moderating at night, which
was fine. Aurora dully displayed in two long arches, one to the north and the other to the
southward.

14th. Pretty fine; a fresh breeze from west both here and on the lake; weather not very cold; the
night mild and rather cloudy. Aurora displayed in much the same manner as last night, and,
towards morning, brightly and in various directions.

15th. Very fine and very mild. The night calm and fine, displaying Aurora as in the early part
of last night.

lGth. A most lovely day; clear, warm, and sunny, thawing in the sun. A light northerly air
here; calm on the Great Lake. In the eveuiug, the clouds gathered over to the east and south,
threatening wind. In the night, there was a beautiful Aurora all over the sky, in vertical
short rays, rolling and folding over each other, while at W. by S. a segment commenced, leading
towards the zenith eastward, but breaking and mingling with the mass of Aurora at about
60° altitude."— Ibid., pp. 168-70.

Duke of York's Bay (Southampton Island).— Lat. 65° 28' 13" N. Long. 84° 40' 07" W.
August 15, 1821. Parry.

"The Aurora Borealis was visible during the whole of the night, consisting of many luminous patches
or nebuloe, having, when viewed together, a tendency to form an arch, and extending from south
by east to southwest, and sometimes to west, its height in the centre being 15°. From this arch,
pencils of rays shot upwards towards the zenith.
It differed from any other phenomenon of this kind that I have seen, in being at times of a
beautiful orange color." — 2 Parry, 39.

At Sea.— Lat. 65° 50' N. Long. 61° W. September 26, 1818. Robertson.

"About nine in the evening, the Aurora Borealis was seen very brilliant in every point of bearing,
shooting bundles of rays of unequal length to the zenith.
This Aurora was first seen through a thick mist in the zenith; as the mist passed away the Aurora

RECORD OF AURORAL PHENOMENA. (J5

increased in brilliancy; the stars shone bright; not a cloud to be seen. At eleven, the Aurora
became less brilliant, and the sky again obscured with mist. The horizon continued hazy till two
next morning, when the Aurora was again seen very brilliant in the zenith." — 1 John Ross
(Robertson), App. 120.

Winter Island.— Lat. G6° 11' 25" N. Long. 83° 10' W. December, 1821. Lyon.

"As we now had seen the darkest, although not by many degrees the coldest, season of the year, it
may not be irrelevant to mention the beautiful appearance of the sky at this period.

The Aurora Rorealis does not appear affected by the brilliancy even of the full moon, but its light
continues still the same. The first appearance of this phenomenon is generally in showers of
falling rays, like those thrown from a rocket, although not so bright. These, being in constant
and agitated motion, have the appearance of trickling down the sky. Large masses of light
succeeded next in order, alternating from a faint glow, resembling the milky way, to the most
vivid flashes, which stream and shoot in every direction with the effect of sheet lightning, except
that after the flash the Aurora still continues to be seen.

The sudden glare and rapid bursts of these wondrous showers of fire render it impossible to observe
them without fancying that they produce a rushing sound ; but I am confident there is no actual
noise attending the changes, and that the idea is erroneous. I frequently stood for hours together
on the ice, to ascertain this fact, at a distance from any noise but my own breathing, and thus I
formed my opinion.

Neither did I observe any variety of color in the flashes, which were to my eye always of the same
shade as the milky way and vivid sheet lightning.

The stars which gleam through the Aurora certainly emit a milder ray, as if a curtain of the finest
gauze were interposed.

It is remarkable that whenever the weather is calm, the Aurora has a tendency to form an arch at
whatever position it may occupy in the heavens.

On the 29th of this month, we were particularly gratified by a beautiful exhibition of this kind at
near midnight. A perfect arch was formed to the southward, stretching from cast to west; its
centre elevated about 2° above the horizon.

The night was serene and dark, which added considerably to its effect, and the appearance con-
tinued unchanged for about a quarter of an hour; hut, on a slight breeze springing up, small
rays shot occasionally to the zenith, and the arch became agitated with a gentle and undulating
motion, after which it spread irregularly, and, separating into the usual streamers, soon diffused
itself over the whole sky.

In stormy weather, the Northern Lights fly with the rapidity of lightning, and with a corresponding
wildness to the gale which is blowing, giving an indescribable air of magic to the whole scene."
—Lyon, pp. 99-101.

May 30, 1822.

" Iu the afternoon, a most singular phenomenon was observed in the heavens. The western sky was
blue and cloudless, while overhead it was hazy, and abounding in what sailors call 'mackerel and
mares' tails.' The division of colors was by a most perfect arch, the legs of which stood in the
N. E. and S. W. A strong breeze from the westward did not in any way affect the edge of the
bow, which was clearly defined.
With the legs stationary, the whole clouded part receded, or fell slowly to the eastward, in the
same manner as the hood of a carriage is thrown back, until by degrees, and after the expiration
of two hours, the sky was all of the same pure azure as had at first been seen in the west. A
strong wind continued blowing all night." — Ibid., p. 204.

66 RECORD OF AURORAL PHENOMENA.

Winter Island.— Lat. 6G° 11' 25" N. Long. 83° 10' W. November 15-16, 1821. Tarry.

" At thirty minutes past nine a. m. on the 15th, the weather being rather cloudy and a light breeze
blowing from the southward, the electrometer was tried, and again at nine p. m. on the 16th, at
which time the Aurora Borealis, consisting of a stationary white light near the horizon, was
visible in the & by E. quarter of the heavens ; but in neither case was the gold-leaf in the
slightest degree affected." — 2 Parry, 133.

N. B. — 1. At 9h. 30m. a. m. electrometer tried, and again on the 16th at 9h. p. m.;

2. At which time Aurora Borealis was visible in the S. by E. quarter — stationary light ;

3. But in neither case was the gold leaf affected.

November 11-18, 1821.

" At 8h. p. m. of the 1 "7th, the Aurora Borealis was seen, consisting of a stationary li/jht occupying

a very small portion of the heavens in the S. E. by E. quarter, and close to the horizon, from

which, at times, vivid flashes shot across the zenith nearly to the opposite horizon.

After ten p. m., the stationary light shifted more to the southward, and then gradually disappeared.

At ten p. m. on the 18th, this phenomenon assumed a similar appearance in the S. by W. quarter."

—Ibid., p. 133.

November 23-24, 1821.

"On the evening of the 23d, the Aurora Borealis made its appearance in the northwest, vivid corus-
cations shooting at times across the zenith to the opposite horizon. The gold leaf of the elec-
trometer was not perceptibly affected by it.

On the morning of the 24th, it was again faintly seen in irregular streams of white light, extending
from the western horizon to the zenith. For several hours the same night, also, this extraordinary
phenomenon was visible from the southeast, round by south, to west, being principally confined
to a space about five degrees above the horizon.

The magnetic needle, which was attentively watched, teas not at all affected by any of these phe-
nomena."— Ibid., p. 135.

N. B. — 1. Gold leaf of electrometer not affected.
2. Magnetic needle not at all affected.

November 26-28, 1821.

"On the 26th, both in the morning and evening, the Aurora again appeared from S. E. to S. W.,
the brightest part being about ten degrees above the horizon, and with pencils of rays shooting
upwards towards the zenith. In almost every instance, it is observable that the light, however
irregularly disposed in other respects, has a tendency to assume an arch-like form; but I think a
plane bisecting the arch would more generally have coincided with the true than the magnetic
meridian in the phenomena we had here an opportunity of observing. This was particularly
the case on the morning of the 2tth, when, at 6h. a. m., the Aurora formed one broad, con-
tinuous, and well-defined arch, its centre passing rather to the southward of the zenith, and its
legs appearing to rest upon the horizon at east and west.

For several hours on the evening of the 28th, it was seen in the S. E. with rays darting rapidly
up nearly as high as the zenith. There is almost always one stationary jmtch of light near the
horizon, appearing, as it were, the source whence the shifting or variable part of the phenomenon
proceeds.

It will be seen from about this period, hoie much more frequently the Aurora seemed to issue from
the southeastern quarter than from any other during the rest of the winter." — Ibid., p. 135.

N. B.— 1. Appeared from S. W. to S. E. (26th).

2. However irregularly disposed in other respects, has a tendency to assume an arch-like form.

3. Plane bisecting the arch generally coincided with the true meridian.

4. Evening of 28th, seen in S. E.

5. Almost always a stationary patch of light near the horizon.

6. From about this period, Aurora seemed to issue more frequently from S. E. quarter

than from any other.

RECORD OF AURORAL PHENOMENA. 67

December 2-3, 1821.

"The concluding month of this year presented more frequent as well as more brilliant displays of
the Aurora Borealis than we had noticed at an earlier period of the winter.

On the evening of the 2d, we observed it constantly appearing, from five till ten o'clock, in one
quarter of the heavens or another, but entirely confined to the southern side of the zenith. It
consisted sometimes of luminous blotches or small clouds ; at others, of coruscations shooting
upwards, and a stationary light always perceptible near the horizon from S. S. E. to S. W. The
light was white or yellowish-white, and the compass was not affected.

On the evening of the 3d, it also appeared in little white spots, resembling the nebidae in the heavens,
as viewed by a telescope, or the milky way on a very clear night.

I may here remark, by the way, that this last beautiful feature of the heavens very seldom appeared
here, for, notwithstanding the notion generally entertained of the extreme clearness of the atmo-
sphere under a polar sky, we have always found the very reverse to be the fact. It is true, indeed,
that, with a northerly or westerly wind, the sky was generally what u-oidd be called clear; but there
is scarcely one night in twenty when the heavenly bodies, if viewed through a telescope, do not
appear surrounded with more or less haze. Indeed, it very seldom happens that a considerable
deposition of minute snow may not be observed to take place, even in the clearest nights, in
these regions." — Ibid., p. 141.

N. B. — 1. Aurora entirely confined to the south side of the zenith.

2. Appeared in little white spots resembling the nebula;.

3. Instead of the extreme clearness of atmosphere under a polar sky, we have always found

the very reverse to be the fact.

December 4, 1821.

"While making lunar observations on the evening of the 4th, Mr. Ross and myself remarked a
meteor falling from the S. E. to N. "W., being about 40° high when it disappeared. It fell so
slowly as to be visible for four or five secouds, but was in every other respect like the falling
stars, as they are called, seen in other parts of the world.
At llh. p.m., the Aurora was seen forming an arch, about 5° high in the centre and extending
from S. S. W. to S. E. The magnetic needle of Alexander's compass was not perceptibly
affected during its continuance." — Ibid., p. 142.

December 14, 1821.

"On the afternoon of the 14th, the Aurora began to show itself as soon as it was dark, consisting
principally of rays shooting up from the horizon, in the E. by N., towards the zenith, and some-
times passing through but very little beyond it towards the opposite side of the heavens. Just
before ten o'clock, however, a much finer display of this phenomenon presented itself than we
had yet seen this season.

There still remained a place near the horizon at E. by N., whence a bright light seemed constantly
to issue; and if any part of the phenomenon could be said to continue uniformly the same, it
was the leg of a broadish arch in that point, which scarcely ever changed its place or the inten-
sity of its light.

The arch was at times completed, or thrown over to the W. S. W., being 15° high in the centre
and generally about 2° broad, though in this respect it was irregular and somewhat variable.
The lower part of the arch was always well defined, the space under it appearing dark, as if a
black cloud had been there, which, however, was not the case, as we saw the stars in it unob-
scured except by the light of the Aurora. The upper side of the arch was never well defined,
but its light was gradually softened off so as to miugle with the azure of the sky, and often
sent up coruscations towards the zenith.

Thus far description may give some faint idea of this brilliant and extraordinary phenomenon
because its figure here maintained some degree of regularity ; but during the most part of its
continuance it is, I believe, almost impossible to convey to the minds of others an adequate
conception of the truth. It is with much deference, therefore, that I offer the following descrip-

G8 RECORD OF AURORAL PHENOMENA.

tion, the only recommendation of which, perhaps, is, that it was written immediately after
witnessing this magnificent display.

Innumerable streams or bands of white and yellowish light appeared to occupy the greater part of
the heavens to the southward of the zenith, being much the brightest in the S. E. and E. S. E., from
whence it had, indeed, often the appearance of emanating. Some of these streams of light were
in right lines like rays; others crooked, and waving in all sorts of irregular figures and moving
with inconceivable rapidity in various directions. Among these might frequently be observed
those shorter collections or bundles of rays which, moving with even greater velocity than the
rest, have acquired the name of the 'merry dancers,' which, if I understand aright the descrip-
tions given of them by others, I do not think I ever saw before.

In a short time, the Aurora extended itself over the zenith about half way down to the northern
horizon, but no farther, as if there was something in that quarter of the heavens which it did not
dare to approach, About this time, however, some long streamers shot up from the. horizon in
the N. W., which soon disappeared.

While the light extended over part of the northern heavens, there were a number of rays assuming
a circular or radiated form near the zenith, and appearing to have a common ceutre near that
point, from which they all diverged. The light of which these were composed appeared to have
inconceivably rapid motion in itself, though the form it assumed, and the station it occupied in
the heavens, underwent little or no chauge for perhaps a minute or more.

Suppose, for instance, a stream of light to have occupied a space between any two of the stars, by
which its position could be accurately noticed, the light appeared to pass constantly and instan-
taneously from one to the other, as if, when a portion of the" subtle fluid of which it is composed
had made its escape and vanished at the end next one of the stars, a fresh supply was uninter-
ruptedly furnished at the other. This effect is a common one with the Aurora, and puts one in
mind, as far as its motion alone is concerned, of a person holding a long ribbon by one end,
and giving it an undulatory motion through its whole length, though its general position remains
the same. One of the most striking of the various locomotive properties of the Aurora is that
which it often has laterally, by which I mean in the direction perpendicular to its length. This
motion, when compared with the other, is usually slow, though still very rapid in the 'merry
dancers,' which seem to observe no law with regard to the rest of the phenomenon. When the
streams or bands were crooked, the convolutions took place indifferently in all directions.

The Aurora did not continue long to the north of the zenith, but remained as high as that point
for more than an hour; after which, on the moon rising, it became more and more faint, and at
half past eleven was no longer visible. The color of the light was most frequently yellowish-
white, sometimes greenish, and once or twice a lilac tinge was remarked when several strata, as
it were, appeared to overlay each other by very rapidly meeting, in which case the light was
always increased in intensity.

The electrometer was tried several times, and two of Kater's compasses exposed upon the ice during
the continuance of this Aurora, but neither was perceptibly affected by it.

We listened attentively for any noise which might accompany it, but could hear none ; but it was
too cold to keep the«ears uncovered very long at one time.

The intensity of the light was something greater than that of the moon in her quarters. Of its
dimming the stars, there cannot, I think, be a doubt. We remarked it to be, in this respect,
like drawing a gauze veil over the heavens in that part, the veil being most thick when two of
the luminous sheets met and overlapped.

The phenomenon had all the appearance of being full as near as many of the clouds commonly
seen, but there were none of the latter to compare tham with at the time.

I may, in conclusion, remark that, notwithstanding the variety and changeableness displayed by
this Aurora, there was throughout a perceptible inclination in the various parts of it to form an
irregular arch from E. by N. over to S. W. by W." — Ibid., pp. 142-144.

N. B. — 1. Magnificent display.

2. Electrometer not affected.

3. Listened attentively, but could hear no noise.

4. Intensity of light greater than that of the moon in her quarters.

5. Aurora appeared to be fully as near as many of the clouds commonly seen.

RECORD OF AURORAL PHENOMENA. 69

December 20, 1821.

"From Tli. till lOh. p. m. on the 20th, while engaged in making observations upon the ice, we observed
the Aurora almost constantly appearing, though varying in its form and situation. It com-
menced with a number of vertical coruscations from the S. E., S., and N. W. horizons, darting
nearly as high as the zenith. This being discontinued after half an hour, the leg of an arch
appeared at E. S. E. inclining towards the south, which remained nearly unaltered for three-
quarters of an hour, its light being of a yellow cast and remarkably brilliant. After this an
arch was gradually formed by the light extending over to W. N. W., the brightest portion of it
being still that in the eastern quarter. The arch was irregular, and sometimes not continuous,
but divided into a number of luminous patches like nebula.

We also noticed, and now remembered to have done so once before, that there were in some places
narrow but long horizontal separations of the light, appearing like so many dark parallel streaks
lying over it, which, however, they were not, as the stars were here most plainly visible.

The magnetic needle was not affected.

This night was one of the clearest we had during the winter, the milky way appearing unusually
bright and well defined."— Ibid., p. 141.

N. B 1. From 7h. till lOh. p.m., Aurora constantly appearing.

2. Commenced with vertical coruscations from the S. E., S., and N. W. horizons.

3. Arch from E. S. E. to W. N. W.

4. The magnetic needle was not affected.

5. One of the clearest nights of the winter.

December 22, 1821.

"On the 22d, the electrometer was tried, the wind being light from the N. W., with overcast weather,
and some very small snow falling; but no perceptible effect was produced upon the gold leaf.
In the evening, the Aurora appeared like a white cloud in the E. S. E. At half past nine, an
irregular arch extended from that point of the horizon to the S. W., the breadth being from one
to two degrees, though constantly varying, and its height in the middle ten degrees.
When this kind of arch appears most perfect, it is less frequently than any other kind attended with
coruscations or very rapid motion in the light. When these do accompany it, they are almost
invariably observed to proceed from the upper side of the arch only." — Ibid., p. 145.

N. B. — 1. Electrometer tried; no effect on the gold leaf.
2. Aurora appeared like a white cloud in the S. E.

December 23, 1821.

"In the evening of the 23d, though the wind was from the N. W., a number of small roundish
clouds, very unusual here at this season, rose from the S. E., and the sky was very prettily
illuminated in the intervals by the Aurora. These clouds remaining quite dark in their appear-
ance, except about their edges, even during the most brilliant display of the Aurora, seemed to
indicate that the latter phenomenon was the most distant of the two. The light of the Aurora
was, as usual, much the brightest in the S. E. quarter.

This phenomenon again made its appearance very beautifully on the 24th, resembling, in most
particulars, that described on the 14th. It was principally confined to the southern half of the
heavens, and the streamers and coruscations, though almost infinitely varied, had an evident
tendency to arch from E. by S. over to the opposite horizon.

The 'merry dancers' were also playing about with indescribable rapidity, and many of the sheets
of light, when they overlapped in meeting, had a very perceptible lilac tinge." — Ibid., p. 145.

December 28, 1821.

"On the morning of the 28th, the Aurora Borcalis appeared faintly to the westward from four to
six o'clock. Early on the following morning, it was observed to form an arch of very bright
light from S. E. to S. S. W., its centre being 30c high. In its general form it was quite sta-
tionary, as, indeed, the more perfect arches usually are, but varied occasionally in the intensity
of the light and also in its continuity.

70 RECORD OF AURORAL PHENOMENA.

From the time that the daylight began to leave the heavens in the afternoon, the Aurora again
appeared, commencing in the S. E. by E. with very long coruscations or streamers, which after-
wards shot past the zenith over to the N. W.

At nine o'clock, the light had become concentrated into a low arch, 4° high in the centre, well
defined at the lower edge, but not so at the upper. The legs were at first situated in the E. S. E.
and S. W. by W. quarters, but the former gradually shifted about two points more to the south.

At one time in the evening, and before the phenomenon had assumed the more regular arch-like
form above mentioned, we observed for the space of a few minutes together the same radiated
appearance about the zenith as that described on the 14th. This changed pretty suddenly into
an irregularly circular band of light, like a ribbon, and then again returned to the radiated
form, but neither of these appearances continued very long. There was a great deal of lilac
tint observable this evening, and the effect of the sheets of light in obscuring the stars was again
too evident to admit a doubt.

The frequency and ill success with which we had tried the electrometer made us almost despair of
ever detecting any electricity in the atmosphere, but on the evening of the 13th, the chain being
observed to tremble very much, we thought the motion might have been occasioned by this
cause. On applying the electrometer, however, the gold leaf was not in the slightest degree
affected. We afterwards found it to have arisen from the wind acting upon the plank at the
masthead in a certain angle, the same effect being once or twice afterwards produced with a
breeze in the same direction." — Ibid., pp. 145-146.

January 14, 1822.

"There was to-day a very thick deposit of snow almost constantly occurring, though the weather
might very well be called clear. The winter atmosphere of these regions is, indeed, seldom or
never free from it, as may readily be seen by placing an instrument in the open air for an hour
or two. That of to-day only differed from the usual deposit in the degree in which it took place.
At one p. m., a thermometer on the north side of the post, on the ice, stood at — 32°, and the
other, exposed to the sun's rays on the south side, only iudicated a temperature one degree
higher."— Ibid., p. 153.

January 13, 1822.

"The appearances of the Aurora Borealis during January were generally more distinguished for

their frequency than their brilliancy or for any extraordinary forms which this phenomenon

presented.
Towards midnight on the 13th, the weather being clear, it appeared in a very bright arch from

S. to A". E., being 10° to 15° higher in the centre. It afterwards assumed a wavy or serpentine

form, which constantly varied ; and smaller streams of light seemed to be continually meeting

the larger from near the zenith.
From midnight till 2h. a. m. (on the 14th), it continued very bright, and generally extended from

east, where it was most brilliant, to W. N. W." — Ibid., p. 155.

January 15, 1822.

"The following evening [the 15th], an arch of the Aurora assumed the most perfect bridge-like
form I ever saw. It extended from S. E. to N. W., on the southern side of the heavens; both its
edges being well defined, which is very rarely the case.
At 7h. a. m. on the following morning, it appeared again in a form still more novel, three complete
arches being now visible ; the middle one, which was the brightest, passing through the zenith,
and the others, which were in the centre, about 20° distant from it on each side, gradually closing
till they joined it at the east and west points of the horizon.
It was impossible not to be struck with the general resemblance in the form of this phenomenon
to that I have frequently mentioned as assumed by the clouds in the polar regions at particular
seasons.1 This coincidence may possibly serve to throw some ligltt on the nature and peculiarities
of the Aurora.

1 Account of the Voynge of 1819-20, pp. 141, 144, 164.

RECORD OF AURORAL PHENOMENA. 71

For several hours on the same night, this meteor formed a tolerably well-defined arch from E. S. E.
to W. N. W., beiug 6° high in the centre, reaching from one horizon to the other, and confined
entirely to the southern side of the heavens.

Early on the morning of the 16th, it was seen for an hour and a quarter much in the same situa-
tion, and on the following evening it appeared faintly in almost every part of the heavens." —
Ibid., pp. 155-56.

N. B. — Resemblance in form of Aurora ; this coincidence may possibly serve to throw some light
on the nature and peculiarities of the Aurora.

January 18, 1822.

"From llh. p. m. till past midnight, on the 18th, it once more appeared very bright from W. to S. E.,
having at times a very rapid and irregular motion. Whenever the light was most concentrated
it was also the brightest, and almost always in that case we observed it to assume an arch-like
form in the southern part of the heavens.

This was particularly the case on the evening of the 19th, when there appeared two concentric
though not altogether continuous arches, extending from S. E. by E. to W. S. W., the highest
being 8° to 10° above the horizon, but in this respect at times slowly varying. At llh. p. m.,
after thus remaining, without any very remarkable alteration, for above two hours, it suddenly
became extremely variable, shifting its place laterally with a prodigously rapid motion, but still
keeping within the general limits above mentioned both in bearing and altitude. In this lateral
motion, which was somewhat of the kind I have endeavored to describe on the 14th of December,
it seemed, as it were, to roll over from one end of the arch to the other, while at the same time
numberless lighter and less brilliant coruscations were emitted from its upper margin.

Whenever the phenomenon occupied the smallest space in the heavens, the light was invariably the
most intense, and often when several sheets of it appeared to unite, in the manner before
explained, the lilac tint was quite vivid; in general its color was yellowish. Stars of the second
magnitude were almost obscured by it.

Towards the end of January, this phenomenon appeared frequently in the S. E. and E. S. E., but
it was generally faint, and unmarked by any peculiarity requiring further notice.

The electrometer was frequently applied to the mast-head chain, and the magnetic needle con-
stantly watched during all these appearances, but neither of these was on any one occasion sensibly
affected."— Ibid., pp. 156-57.

March, 1822.

"The appearance of the Aurora Borealis was less frequent during March than in the preceding
winter months, in consequence of the increased duration of daylight at this period. Whatever
slight variations might exist in these appearances, it still continued a matter of constant remark
to us, that the phenomenon almost invariably commenced in the southeastern quarter of the
heavens ; and it is perhaps worthy of notice, that the same thing was observed by Crantz in
Greenland (whose very words would truly describe what we so frequently noticed during this
winter).

The arch-like form assumed by the Aurora was also one of its almost invariable peculiarities; the
legs of the arch being usually situated somewhere between the east and west points of the
horizon, and almost always occupying the southern side of the heavens.

The only instance of this phenomenon during the month of March deserving particular description,
occurred on the evening of the 30th, when it made its appearance as usual in the southeastern
horizon, from whence it soon diffused itself in a low but tolerably regular arch extending to the
W. S. If. Again, at times, it altogether vanished, and then as suddenly reappeared much in the
same situation as before.

We often fancied that this phenomenon exhibited a light of greater actual intensity when the moon
was above the horizon than at other times, thongh its appearance was of course less splendid on
that account. Whether this was in reality the case or not, we had no means of correctly judging;
but some idea of its brightness may be formed from the circumstance of its being very often
distinctly visible when the moon was between her quarters and the full.

72 RECORD OF AURORAL PHENOMENA.

The electrometer was tried during the continuance of this evening's Aurora, but no effect was
perceptible either on that or a Kater's compass." — Ibid., p. 200.

April 4, 1322.

" The phenomenon frequently observed at Melville Island in the spring, of the white clouds assuming
the form of two continuous arches with their legs meeting near the east aud west horizons, was
finely displayed on the 4th ; the height of the arches in the centre, from the north aud south
horizons, being from 50° to 10°. " — Ibid., p. 20G.

April 16, 1822.

"Some hard, well-defined clouds, being nearly the first we had seen this season, appeared for a short
time to-day, and were welcomed as the harbingers of returning moisture in the atmosphere.
The Aurora Borealis was seen at night to the southward, and extending at times in a broad band
of light across the heavens, but at a low altitude, from east to west." — Ibid., p. 213.

May 2, 1822.

"After sunset on the evening of the 2d, a thin horizontal streak or band of vapor appeared along
the lower parts of the land. As the night advanced, it became thicker and more diffused, and
at length, for the first time this season, the ships were for an hour or two enveloped in fog." —
Ibid., p. 223.

May 16, 1822.

"On the evening of the 16th, something like small rain was falling for a few minutes, being the first
we had seen this season ; but it soon formed the less equivocal form of sleet, the thermometer
being at 31°."— Ibid., p. 228.

June 2, 1822.

"On the 2d, at 3h. p.m., a thin white cloud was observed to extend across the northern sky from
northeast to southwest, being then about 65° high in the centre. The whole of the heavens to
the southward of this was covered with a similar kind of cloud, that to the northward exhibiting
a clear blue sky. The edge, which was well defined, formed a very perfect arch, and here the
cloud was much more dense than in any other place, reminding one of a veil of gauze of which
there were more folds in that part than elsewhere. Though the wind was, with us, at W. by N.,
it blew gently over to the S. S. E., still retaining its perfect and continuous arch-like form at
the margin. In a quarter of an hour, it had got 20° on the south side of the zenith, in forty
minutes was only 25° high, and in an hour and a quarter had totally disappeared beneath the
southern horizon, leaving the whole of the heavens perfectly cloudless.
This was the most striking phenomenon of the kind we had ever witnessed, and, while the arch
remained near the zenith, this magnificent canopy had a singularly grand and imposing appear-
ance."— Ibid., p. 238.

Duekett's Cove.— Lat. G6° 12' 36" N. Long. 86° 44' 45" W. August 29, 1321. Tarry.

"The morning was beautifully clear and tranquil, and the Aurora Borealis was faintly visible at
break of day in the southwest quarter of the heavens.'" — 1 Parry, 69.

Chamisso Island.— Lat. 66° 13' 11" N. Long. 161° 41' 45" W. Sept. 28, 182T. Beecuey.

" On the 24th and 28th, the nights were clear aud frosty, and the Aurora Borealis was seen forming
several arches.
On the 28th, the display was very brilliant aud interesting, as it had every appearance of being
between the clouds and the earth; and, after one of these displays, several meteors were observed
issuing from parts of the arch, ami fulling obliquely towards the earth.

RECORD OF AURORAL PHENOMENA. 73

This was also one of the rare instances of the Aurora being seen to the southward of our zenith."
—2 Beechey, 560.

N. B. — 1. Ilad every appearance of being between the clouds and the earth.

2. This was one of the rare instances of the Aurora being seen to the southward of our
zenith.

At Sea.— Lat. 66° 30' N. Long. 59° W. September 23, 1818. Robertsox.

"About ten in the evening, the Aurora Borealis was seen in the true south horizon. The horizon
was first illuminated like the rising or setting of the moon behind a cloud, or rather like the
illumination of the atmosphere caused by great fires. This extended four points of bearings.
Rays were soon after darted up perpendicularly in bundles to 20° altitude. The Aurora spread
to S. E. without darting rays, and soon after disappeared." — 1 John Ross (Lieut. Robertson),
App. 120.

Behring's Sea.— Lat. 66° 30' N., Long. 163° 00' W., to Lat, 71° 23' 31" N., Long. 156° 21' 30"
W. Autumns of 1826 and 1827. Beeciiey.
"We had frequent opportunities of observing the Aurora Borealis in the Autumns of 1826 and
of 1827. From the 25th of August until the 9th of October, about the time of the departure
of the Blossom from the northern regions in both years, this beautiful meteor was visible on
every night that was clear, or when the clouds were thin and elevated. [In 1826 it was visible
on twenty-one nights; in 1827 only eleven.] It is remarkable that, in both years, its first
appearance was on the 25th August. The season of 1826 was distinguished by an almost
uninterrupted succession of fine weather and easterly winds, and that of the following year by
continued boisterous weather and winds from the westward. In the former year, the weather
being fine, the Aurora was more frequently seen than in the latter; but iu 1827 the displays
were brighter, and the light more frequently passed to the southward of the zenith. It never
appeared in wet weather.

In 1826, when, as before mentioned, the weather was settled, the Aurora generally began in the
W. N. W. and passed over to the A". E. until a certain period, after which it as regularly com-
menced in the A". E. and passed to the N. W. ; whilst in 1827, the appearance of the meteor was
as uncertain as the season was boisterous and changeable.

The period when this change in the course of the light took place, coincided very nearly with that
of the equinox ; and, as the Aurora Borealis has been supposed to be affected by that occur-
rence, we imagined that the change might be in some way owing thereto ; but the irregularity
of the meteor in this respect, in 1827, gave a contradiction to this hypothesis. It was, how-
ever, uniform in making its appearance always in the northern hemisphere, and generally in the
form of elliptical arches from 3° to 7° of altitude, nearly parallel with the magnetic equator.

These arches were formed by short perpendicular rays passing from one quarter to the other with
a lateral motion, or by their being met by similar rays from the opposite direction. The arches,
when formed, in general remained nearly stationary, and gave out coruscations which streamed
towards the zenith. "When at rest, the light was colorless; but when any movement took place,
it exhibited prismatic colors, which increased in strength as the motion became rapid. The corus-
cations seldom reached our zenith, and more rarely passed to the southward of it, but when that
occurred the display was always brilliant; on one occasion only they extended to the southern
horizon.

We remarked that when any material change was about to occur one extremity of the arch became
illuminated, and that this light passed along the belt, with a tremulous hesitating movement,
toward the opposite end, exhibiting the colors of the rainbow. An idea may be formed of this
appearance, from the examination of the rays of some molluscous animals in motion, such as the
nereis, but more particularly the beroes. Captain Parry has compared its motion to the waving
10

74 RECORD OF AURORAL PHENOMENA.

of a ribbon. As the light proceeded along the arch, coruscations emanated from it; and, as the
motion became violent, the curve was often deflected and sometimes broken into segments, which
were brightest at their extremities and in general highly colored. When one ray of the Aurora
crossed another, the point of intersection was sometimes marked by a prismatic spot, very similar
to that which oecurs in the intersections of corona? about the moon, but far more brilliant;
and when the segments, which generally crooked towards the zenith, were much curved, colors
were perceptible in the bend. Generally speaking, after any brilliant display, the sky became
overcast with a dense haze or with light fleecy clouds.

The Aurora has been frequently observed to rest upon a dark nebulous substance, which some
persons have supposed to be merely an optical deception, occasioned by the lustre of the arch;
but this appearance never occurs above the arch, which would be the case, I think, if these
surmises were well founded. We sometimes saw this cloud before any light was visible, and
observed it afterwards become illuminated at its upper surface, and exhibit all the appearances
above mentioned.

It was the general opinion that the lustre of all the stars was diminished by the Aurora, but par-
ticularly by this part of it.

Captain Parry, however, observes that the stars in this dark cloud were unobscured, except by the
light of the Aurora. He, however, agrees with us in the lower part of the arch being always
well defined, and the upper being softened off, and gradually mingled with the azure of the sky.
It is worthy of notice, that we never observed any rays shoot downwards from this arch, and I
believe the remark will apply equally to the observations of Captains Parry and Franklin." —
2Beechey, 2, 722.

N. P. — 1. In 1826, Aurora generally began in the W. N. W. and passed over to the N. E.

2. After a certain period, it as regularly began in the N. E. and passed over to N. W.

3. Whilst in 1827 the appearance of it was uncertain.

4. It was, however, uniform in making its appearance always in the northern hemisphere.

5. It was frequently observed to rest upon a dark nebulous cloud.
G. We sometimes saw the cloud before any light was visible.

7. The lustre of all the stars was diminished by the Aurora.

"We frequently observed the Aurora attended by a thin, fleecy, cloud-like substance, which, if not
part of the meteor, furnishes a proof of the displays having taken place within the region of
our atmosphere, as the light was decidedly seen between it and the earth. This was particu-
larly noticed on the 28th of September, 1827. The Aurora on that night began by forming two
arches from W. by N. northward to E. by N., and about eleven o'clock threw out brilliant
coruscations. Shortly after, the zenith was obscured by a lucid haze, which soon condensed
into a canopy of light clouds. We could detect the Aurora above this canopy by several bright
arches being refracted, and by brilliant colors being apparent in the interstices.

Shortly afterwards the meteor descended, and exhibited a splendid appearance, without any inter-
ruption from clouds, and then retired, leaving the fleecy stratum only visible as at first. This
occurred several times, and left no doubt in my own mind of the Aurora being at one time above
and at another below the canopy formed about our zenith.

I must not omit to observe here that, on several occasions when the light thus intervened between
the earth and the cloud, brilliant meteors were precipitated obliquely toward the south and
southwest horizons." — Ibid., p. 723.

N. B. — 1. Aurora frequently attended by a fleecy cloud-like substance;

2. Which proves that its displays were within the region of our atmosphere,

3. As the light was decidedly between it and the earth.

4. Aurora at one time above and at another time below a canopy formed about our zenith.

5. On several occasions, when the light intervened between the earth and the clouds,

brilliant meteors were precipitated.

"This supposition of the light being at no great elevation, is strengthened by the different appear-
ances exhibited by the Aurora at the same times to observers not more than from ten to thirty
miles apart, and also by its being visible to persons on board the ship at Chamisso Island after it

RECORD OF AURORAL PHENOMENA. 75

had vanished in Escholtz Bay, only ten miles distant, as well as by the Aurora being seen by the
barge detached from the Blossom several days before it was visible to persons 011 board the ship
about two hundred miles to the southward of her." — Ibid., p. 12.%.

N. B. — 1. Aurora at no great elevation.

2. Visible to persons on board the ship after it had vanished in Escholtz Bay, only ten
miles distant.

"In Kotzebue's Sound [lat. 6G° 30' N., long. 163° W.], the Aurora was seldom visible before ten
o'clock at night or after two o'clock in the morning.
We never heard any noise, nor detected any disturbance of the magnetic needle; but here I must
observe that Eater's compass was the only instrument employed for this purpose, and then on
board the ship only, the exposed situation in which we were anchored not admitting of any
establishment on shore, either for this purpose or for astronomical observations." Ibid., p. 724.

" In considering the subject of the Aurora Borealis, my attention was drawn to a fact which does
not appear to me to have been hitherto noticed. I allude to the direction in which the Aurora
generally makes it first appearance, or, which is the same thing, the quarter in which the arch
formed by this meteor is usually seen. It is remarkable that in this country the Aurora has
always been seen to the northward; by the expeditions which have wintered in the ice, it was
almost always seen to the southward ; and by the Blossom, in Kotzebue's Sound, 250 miles to
the southward of the ice, it was, as in England, always observed in a northern direction.
Coupling this with the relative positions of the margins of the packed ice, and with the fact of
the Aurora appearing more brilliantly to vessels passing near the situation of that body than by
others entered far within it — as would seem to be the case from the reports of the Greenland
ships, and from my own observations at Melville Island and at Kotzebue's Sound — it does
appear, at first sight, that that region is most favorable to the production of the meteor." —
Ibid., p. 725.

N. B. — 1. In Kotzebue's Sound, Aurora seldom visible before 10b. p. m. or after 2h. a. m.

2. Never heard any noise,

3. Nor detected any disturbance of the magnetic needle.

4. Here the Aurora has always been seen to the northward.

Fort Hope (Repulse Bay).— Lat. 66° 32' 16" N. Long. 86° 55' 51" W. Aug. 15, 1846. Rae.

"This was a beautiful day throughout, In the evening, the sky being clear and cloudless, some
stars were visible, and a few streaks of orange-colored Aurora showed themselves to the south-
ward."— Rae, p. 65.

Fort Hope (Repulse Bay).— Lat. 66° 32' N. Long. 86° 56' W. Sept., 1846, to April, 1847.
From Dr. Rae's Meteorological Register.

September, 1846.

" 22d. Aurora visible to the southward at 8h. p. m.

October, 1846.

16th. Faint Aurora to the S. and S. by E. ; altitude 12°.

17th. Much drift. Aurora to S. S. E., parallel to the horizon; altitude 12°.

18th. Drift; cirrus. Some faint streaks of Aurora to the west.

21st, Much drift. At 8h. p. in., several streaks of faint Aurora extending across the zenith in a

N. W. and S. E. direction ; many rays in different parts of the heavens.
27th. Some faint streaks of Aurora in various parts of the sky, bearing for the most part N. N. W.

and S. S. E.
28th. A few clouds near horizon ; a very faint, light-yellow cloud Aurora to the S. E. and N. W.
29th. Cirrus extending from S. S. E. to N. N. W., resembling much the Aurora.

76 RECORD OF AURORAL PHENOMENA.

November, 1S46.

5th. Drifting. A faint ray of Aurora to the S. E. extending vertically towards the zenith.

Cth. Drifting. Some faint beams of Aurora extending from S. W. to N. W. ; altitude 60°. One

ray to the S. E. pointing towards the zenith.
14th. Much drift. A faint beam of Aurora to the westward, directed towards the zenith; drifting.
17th. Drifting. Three beams of Aurora pointing towards the zenith; two of them bearing N. N.W.,

and the other S. E.
20th. At 7h. 30m., a faint Aurora extending from W. to S. E.; altitude 20°; motion rapid, no

prismatic colors.
22d. Some faint streaks of Aurora, most of them to the southeastward and pointed towards the

horizon.
23d. Some faint rays of Aurora visible this morning at 5h. 30m. in different parts of the heavens ;

drifting.
25th. Two faint beams of Aurora beariDg W. N. W. and pointing towards the zenith ; altitude of

lower limb 30°.

December, 1846.

5th. Parhelia with prismatic colors. Aurora visible to the south in two arches arising from near
the horizon to the zenith.

13th. The sky to the north had a beautiful lake-colored tint at sunset; the most brilliant display
of Aurora I have observed this winter, the centre being towards the true south, and gradually
rising from an altitude of 12° to 70° or 80°. It was of a pale yellowish-green color. Hori-
zontal needle not affected.

14th. Some faint beams of Aurora in different parts of the heavens. A very faint Aurora to the
southward.

15th. A very faint Aurora; centre true south.

17th. Wind variable from N. to E. Faint Aurora to the S. ; altitude 10°; centre S. S. W. 30°.

18th. Aurora faint to the S. by W.

21st. Arch of Aurora across zenith nearly east and west; brightest at western extremity.

January, 1847.

2d. Faint Aurora; centre S. W. by S. ; altitude 15°. Drifting. Some streaks of Aurora to the

southward pointing to the zenith.
3d. A beam of Aurora to the south pointing to the zenith.
4th. Aurora faint; centre of arch S. by W.; altitude 10°. Aurora in a narrow line parallel to

horizon; altitude 4° ; extent 70°; centre south.
6th. Drifting. A faint Aurora extending from S. S. E. across the zenith.
11th. Much drift. A beam of Aurora S. E. ; altitude 25°.
12th. Much drift. Very faint Aurora; centre W. by N. ; altitude 10°.
13th. Drifting. A very faint Aurora; centre S. S. W. ; altitude 16°; extent 60° or 70°.
14th. Drift. Arch of Aurora faint; altitude 11°; centre S. S. W. ; extent 90°.
16th. Drifting, stratus. Arch of Aurora faint; centre south; altitude 18°; extent 60°. Centre

S. S. W.; altitude 12°; extent 90°.
17th. Drifting. Aurora visible, faint but brightest to the westward; centre south; altitude 60°.
18th. A very faint arch of Aurora from N. W. by N. extending across zenith.
26th. A faint arch of Aurora across zenith S. "W. and N. E.
28th. Drifting; very cold to the sensation; spicula? of snow falling. A broad band of Aurora,

the lower edge having a reddish or lake tint, running parallel to the horizon; altitude 2° ; centre

S. W. ; extent 70°. Some beams of Aurora S. E. pointing towards the zenith.

February, 1847.

9th. Drifting; solar halo with parhelia. A faint arch of Aurora.

10th. Cirrus. Sonic faint beams of Aurora S. and S. S. W. (say S. W.).

RECORD OF AURORAL PHENOMENA. 77

April, 1847.

3d. At 8 p. m., a faint Aurora of an orange color; centre south ; altitude 5°."— Rac, pp. 225-239.

"On the 3d of April, the thermometer rose above zero for the first time since the 12th of December.
As the Aurora was seldom noticed after this date, I may here make a few remarks on this subjWt.
It was often visible during the winter, and usually made its appearance first to the southward in

the form of a faint yellow or straw-colored arch, which gradually rose up towards the zenith.
During our stay at Fort Hope, I never witnessed a finer display of this strange phenomenon than

I had done at York Factory, nor did it on any occasion affect the horizontal needle as I had

seen it do during the previous winter there.
The Esquimaux, like the Indians, assert that the Aurora produces a distinctly audible sound, and

the generality of Orkney men and Zetlanders maintain the same opinion, although, for my own

part, I cannot say that I ever heard any sound from it.
A fine display, particularly if the movements are rapid, is very often succeeded by stormy or

snowy weather, but I have never been able to trace any coincidence between the direction of its

motions and that of the wind." — Ibid., p. 96.

Cape Espenburg (Behring's Sea).— Lat. 60° 34' 5G" N. Long. 103° 36' 38" W. Sept. 22,
1826. Beeciiey.
"On the 22d, the Aurora Borealis was seen in the W. N. W., from which quarter it passed rapidly
to the N.'e. and formed a splendid arch emitting vivid and brilliantly colored coruscations."—
Beechey, 1, p. 329.

September 25, 1826.

" During the night we had a brilliant display of the Aurora Borealis, remarkable for its masses of
bright light, It extended from N. E. to W., and at one time formed three arches."— Ibid., p. 330.

Fort Confidenee.-Lat. 66° 53' 36" N. Long. 118° 48' 45" W. April, 1838. Simpson.
"Now that the constant daylight renders the Aurora Borealis no longer visible, I shall make one or

two general remarks regarding it. Its most common appearance at Fort Confidence is an arch

with little motion, passing through the zenith and spanning the heavens from northivest to sauth-

east. Now, since the variation of the compass is here little more than four points easterly, it

follows that there is a tendency in this remarkable phenomenon to dispose itself at right angles

to the magnetic meridian.
In the depth of winter, thin white clouds, seen during the short imperfect daylight, in many

instances proved to be the Aurora; which, also, not unfrequently appeared through a hazy sky.

Its displays were seldom very brilliant, and it hardly ever exhibited those vivid prismatic tints

which I had often admired in lower latitudes."— Simpson, p. 231.
" On the 24th of April, the thermometer rose at noon to the freezing point, for the first time since

the 17th of October; a period of six months and a week 1 The mean temperature for the whole

of that long and dismal interval is 14° below zero."— Ibid., 236.

March 5, 1839.

"This season, as I have already remarked, was less severe than its predecessor; and, as if it were a
consequence of the difference, the Aurora was more brilliant, displaying on several occasions
the prismatic hues ; but the same arched form from northwest to southeast predominated. Every
clear night, when not eclipsed by the moon, it was to be seen, but was brightest and most active
in the mornings some time before daylight.
At a quarter to four a. m., on the 5th of March, Ritch witnessed a most brilliant exhibition. It
formed a quadrant issuing from W. N. W. and extending to the zenith. There it doubled on

78 RECORD OF AURORAL PHENOMENA

itself, and terminated in a semi-elliptical figure, apparently very near the earth, in rapid motion,
and tinged with red, purple, and green. The half ellipse seemed to desceud and ascend, accom-
panied by an audible sound, resembling the rustling of silk. This lasted for about ten minutes,
when the whole phenomenon suddenly rose upwards and its splendor was gone.

Ritch is an intelligent and credible person, and, on questioning him closely, he assured me that he
had perfectly distinguished the sound of the Aurora from that produced by the congelation of
his breath — for the temperature at the time was 44° below zero.

I can, therefore, no longer entertain any doubt of a fact uniformly asserted by the natives, and
insisted on by Hearne, by my friend Mr. Dease, and by many of the oldest residents in the fur
countries ; though I have not had the good fortune to hear it myself." — Ibid., p. 330.

Fort Macpherson, on Peel's River.— Lat. 67° N. Long. 135° W. Sept. 1849. Hooper.

" 6th. At 0.20 a. m., witnessed an appearance of the Aurora, a broad blaze of light passing from
east, through the zenith, to west; rays uucolored ; slight horizontal coruscations and tremors
in rapid movement, with occasional light airs from S. E.

1th. At midnight of yesterday, we observed an appearance of the Aurora different in its style to
any I have ever before seen. It formed an arc from 5° in elevation at N. E. to about 10° at
E. N. E., aud presented much the same form and appearance as a lunar rainbow, but did not
possess prismatic colors; its hue being grass-green, with vertical light purple rays or stripes,
which were not constant. It fringed a heavy 'nimbus,' imparting to it a shade of ultramarine,
in which the rolling folds or waves of the cloud were finely marked. It being tolerably close to
the moon (rather below and to the eastward of her), I at first imagined it to be a lunar rainbow;
she was, however, much obscured, and I am nearly of a decided opinion that it was not such,
but an Aurora.

12th. A very mild day; the evening clear and calm. At 11.30 p. m., saw a faint Aurora extend-
ing in an arch from S. "W. to S. S. W. ; centre about 10° altitude; main color pale green, with
a few vertical purple rays.

16th. Ten p. m., observed Aurora extending in an arch from S. S. W. to "W. by N. ; central
altitude about 20°.

17th. One a. m., a very beautiful Aurora extending right round the visible horizon in regular
vertical rays, extending to, and converging in, the zenith. The weather calm, very fine, and
clear. At midnight, a faint Aurora, not having any precise tending, being dispersed in
irregular lines all over the heavens.

19th. From about 8 p. m. until midnight, there was a fine display of the Aurora, which appeared
in a succession of fretted waves or folds, constantly swaying and shifting about with the light
variable airs occasionally springing up." — Hooper's Journal, pp. 148, 151, 152.

Cape Krusenstern.— Lat, 67° 8' N. Long. 163° 46' W. August 25, 1827. Beechey.

"For the first time since we entered Behring's Straits, the night was clear, and the Aurora Borealis
sweeping across the heavens, reminded us that it was exactly on that night twelvemonth that we
saw this beautiful phenomenon for the first time in these seas. A short time before it began, a
brilliant meteor fell in the western cpiarter. The Aurora is at all times an object of interest, and
seldom appears without some display worthy of admiration, though the expectation is seldom
completely gratified. The uncertainty of its movements, and of the moment it may break out
into splendor, has, however, the effect of keeping the attention continually on the alert; many
of us, in consequence, stayed up to a late hour, but nothing was exhibited on this occasion more
than we had already repeatedly witnessed.
We were more fortunate the following night, when the Aurora approached nearer the southern
horizon than it had done on any former occasion that we had observed in this part of the globe.

RECORD OF AURORAL PHENOMENA. 79

It commenced much in the usual manner, by forming an arch from IF". 2f. W. to E. N. E. and
then soared rapidly to the zenith, where the streams of light rolled into each other, and exhibited
brilliant colors of purple, pink, and green. It then became diffused over the sky generally,
leaving about 8° of clear space between it and the northern and southern horizons.
From this tranquil state it again poured out coruscations from all parts, which shot up to the
zenkh and formed a splendid cone of rays, blending pink, purple, and green colors in all their
varieties. This singular and beautiful exhibition lasted only a few miuutes, and then the light
became diffused over the sky in a bright haze." — Beechey, 2, 538-39.

Fort Good Hope.— Lat. 67° 28' 21" N. Long. 130° 54' 38" W. September, 1849. Hooper.

" 27th. At night we observed a fine Aurora spreading all over the sky, and having very little move-
ment."— Hooper's Journal, p. 153.

At Sea.— Lat. G8° 19' 45" N. Long. 66° 5' 45" W. September 12, 1820. Parry.

"Soon after lOh. p. m., the Aurora Borealis made its appearance. I am indebted to Captain

Sabine for the following description of this phenomenon : —
'The Aurora was visible for upwards of half an hour, its appearance being comprised within about
twelve points of the heavens from S.E. by E. to W. by K, the magnetic north being about
N. 76° W.

The character of this phenomenon was peculiar, being distinguished from those which we were
accustomed to see at Melville Island, by the far greater rapidity with which it spread and
shifted from one part of the heavens to another ; by the depth and vividness of the colors, both
of red and green, with which its coruscations were tinted ; and'by its streamers breaking out
unexpectedly in places previously obscure, and extending indifferently downwards as well as
upwards. The latter distinction was contrasted with the more usual appearance of rays stream-
ing towards the zenith from an arch of faintly brilliant light.'

An Aurora of similar appearance was observed in the Atlantic during the return of the Isabella,
in October, 1818, from Davis's Strait to Shetland. The peculiarities of the present phenomenon
were more marked in the commencement than towards the conclusion of its appearance." — 1
Parry, 291-2.

At Sea.— Lat. 68° 19' N. Long. 60° 5' W. September 13, 1820. Fisher.

"The Aurora was seen last night streaming very beautifully from west to southeast; in the latter
direction its motions were very rapid, and its colors were also very brilliant. The prevailing
color was a light yellow; but the outer edge of those coruscations, that streamed towards the
zenith, appeared at differeut times of a light purple hue." — Fisher, p. 285.

Behring's Sea.— Lat. 68° 30' N. Long. 167° W. August 25, 1826. Beechey.

" The night of the 25th was clear and cold, with about four hours' darkness, during which we beheld
a brilliant display of the Aurora Borealis, which was the first time that phenomenon had been
exhibited to us in this part of the world. It first appeared in an arch extending from W. by N.
to N. E. magnetic (by the north).
The arch, shortly after it was formed, broke up ; but united again, threw out a few coruscations,
and then entirely disappeared. Soon after, a new display began in the direction of the western
foot of the first arch, preceded by a bright flame, from which emanated coruscations of a pale
straw color. An almost simultaneous movement occurred at both extremities of the arch, until a

80 RECORD OF AURORAL PHENOMENA.

complete segment was formed of waving perpendicular radii. As soon as the arch was complete,
the light became greatly increased; and the prismatic colors, which had before been faint, now
shone forth in a very brilliant manner. The strongest colors, which were also the outside ones,
were pink and green ; the centre color was yellow, and the intermediate ones, on the pink side,
purple and green, on the green side purple and pink; all of which were as imperceptibly blended
as in the rainbow. The green was the color nearest the zenith. This magnificent display lasted
a few minutes, and the light had nearly vanished, when the S. E. quarter sent forth a vigorous
display, and nearly at the same time a corresponding coruscation emanated from the opposite
extremity. The western foot of the arch then disengaged itself from the horizon, crooked to
the northward, and the whole retired to the N. E. quarter, where a white spot blazed for a
moment, and all was darkness.

I have been thus particular in my description, because the appearance was unusually brilliant, and
because very few observations on this phenomenon have been made in this part of the world.

There was no noise audible during any part of our observations, nor were the compasses percep-
tibly affected."— Beechey, 1, 281-82.

N. B. 1. There was no noise audible during any part of our observations,

2. Nor were our compasses perceptibly affected.

Nijnei Kolymsk.— Lat. 68° 31' 53" N„ Long. 160° 56' E. November 22, 1820. Yon Wkangell.

"The polar night had set in on the 22d of November (1820), and the beauty of the varied forms of
the Aurora, seen on the deep azure of the clear northern sly, was a source of unwearied enjoy-
ment to us almost every evening." — Von Wrangell, p. 83.

Nijnei Kolymsk.— Lat. 68° 31' 53" N. Long. 1G0° 56' E. 1820-21. Von Wkangell.

"The general characteristics of the Aurora Borealis are so well known that it is unnecessary to
describe them here; I will, therefore, confine myself to the following particulars, which appear
to deserve a special notice.

1. When the streamers rise high, and approach the full moon, a luminous circle of from 20° to
30° is frequently formed round it; the circle continues for a time and then disappears.

2. When the streamers extend to the zenith, or nearly so, they sometimes resolve themselves into
small, faintly luminous, and cloud-like patches, of a milk-white color, and which not unfrequeutly
continue to be visible on the following day in the shape of white wave-like clouds.

3. We often saw on the northern horizon, below the auroral light, dark blue clouds, which bear a
great resemblance in color and form to the vapors which usually rise from a sudden break in the
ice of the sea.

4. Even during the most brilliant Auroras, we could never perceive any considerable noise, but in
such cases we did hear a slight hissing sound, as when the wind blows on a flame.

5. The Auroras seen from Nijnei Kolymsk (lat. 68° 32') usually commence in the northeastern
quarter of the heavcus; and the middle of the space which they occupy in the northern horizon
is generally 10° or 20° east of true north. The magnetic variation at this place is about 10°
east.

6. Auroras are more frequent and more brilliant on the sea-coast than at a distance from it. The
latitude of the place does not otherwise influence them. Thus, for example, it would seem from
the accounts of the Tchuktches, that in Koliutchin Island (in 67° 26' lath. ..t), Auroras are
much more frequent and more brilliant than at Nijnei Kolymsk, in latitude 68° 32'. On the
coast, we often saw the streamers shoot up to the zenith ; whereas this was rarely the case at
Nijnei Kolymsk; nor was the light nearly so brilliant at the latter place.

1. The inhabitants of the coast affirm, that after a brilliant Aurora they always have a strong
gale from the quarter in which it appeared; we did not observe this to be the case at Nijnei

RECORD OF AURORAL PHENOMENA. 81

Kolymsk.' The difference, however, may proceed from local circumstances, which often either
prevent the sea-winds from reaching so far inland, or alter their direction. For example, it
often happens that there is a strong northerly wind at Pochodsk, seventy wersts north of
Kolymsk, while at the latter place the wind is southerly.

8. The finest Auroras always appear at the beginning of strong gales in November and January;
when the cold is most intense, they are more rare.

9. A remarkable phenomenon which I often witnessed deserves to be recorded; i. e., when shoot-
ing stars fell near the lower portion of an auroral arch, fresh kindled streamers instantly appeared,
and shot up from the spot where the star fell.

From some of the above remarks, it may be inferred that the freezing of the sea may be connected
with the appearance of Auroras. Perhaps a great quantity of electricity may be produced by
the suddenly rising vapors, or by the friction of large masses of ice against each other.

The Aurora does not always occupy the higher regions of the atmosphere; it is usually nearer the
surface of the earth, and this is shown by the visible influence of the lower current of the atmo-
sphere on the beams of the Aurora. We have frequently seen the effect of the wind on the
streamers as obvious as it is on clouds ; and it is almost always the wind which is blowing at the
surface of the earth." — Von Wrangell, p. 506.

N. B. — 1. We have frequently seen the effect of the wind on the streamers as obvious as it is on
the clouds;
2. And it is almost always the wind that is blowing on the surface of the earth.

"There is a remarkable phenomenon known here by the name of Teploi Weter (the warm wind),
blowing from the S. E. by S. It sometimes begins suddenly, when the sky is quite clear, and in
the middle of winter raises the temperature, in a short time, from — 4t° to +35°; so that the
plates of ice which are the substitute for glass in the windows begin to melt. In the valleys of
the Aniui, the warm wind is frequently felt; its influence does not extend to the west of Cape
Tchukotski. It is seldom of longer continuance than twenty-four hours." — Ibid., p. 49.

"Northeast wind, or more often E. N. E., is seldom of long continuance and violent. It usually
clears the atmosphere from mist, and thus causes the thermometer to rise in summer and to fall
in winter. Auroras often accompany this wind in winter.
Southeast wind drives away mist, and may be regarded as the prevailing wind in autumn and
winter. Sometimes, in the middle of winter, a wind from the S. E. by E., or S. E. |E., causes
the temperature to rise suddenly from —24° to +25°, or even to 32°; previously to this, the
barometer sinks as much as four-tenths of an inch in the course of eight hours. The S. S. E.
wind has no particular influence either on the barometer or thermometer. S. E. winds, but more
particularly E. by S. and E. winds, are frequently accompanied by Auroras." — Ibid., p. 513.

Nijnei Kolymsk.— Lat. 68° 31' 53" N. Long. 160° 56' E. March 1, 1821. Cochrane.

"The only meteorological phenomenon which occurred during my stay at the Kolynia, was the Aurora
Borealis. The scene fell far short of my expectations. I understood, however, that the months
of October and November are the most proper to view them in their greatest splendor.

Those which appeared during my stay were generally from the north, and consisted of columns of
fire moving in an horizontal direction, and generally disappearing in the southwest; the height
of the columns being from 50° to 60°.

At times, an immense illuminated space from north to east would advance very close to us, and
throwing up rays or rockets of fire, and, forming into concave arches, approached us so near
as apparently to endanger our situation, exhibiting at the same time every color of the rainbow.

The most beautiful Aurora which I saw was at midnight of the 1st of March, 1821. The wind
was from the N. N. "W., and the glass at 36° of cold. The Aurora occupied the whole circle
of the heavens, at an elevation of 28° or 30°, and, gradually rising, disappeared in the zenith.
The figure was as an illuminated tent, with festoons or fringes at the lower part, and which had
11

82 RECORD OF AURORAL THEN OMEN A.

an appearance as if constantly receiving accessions of fire, which were equally distributed to it
from every part of the foundation of the tent. The illuminated part gradually diminished in
splendor as it approached the zenith.
It lasted about two hours, and did a little affect the electrometer." — Cochrane, p. 184.

Virehni Kovima. — Winter of 1186-87. Billings.

"The effects of the cold are wonderful. Upon coming out of a warm room, it is absolutely neces-
sary to breathe through a handkerchief; and you find yourself immediately surrounded by an
atmosphere, arising from breath and the heat of the body, which incloses you in a mist, and
consists of small nodules of hoar ice. Breathing causes a noise like the tearing of coarse paper
or the breaking of thin twigs, and the expired breath is immediately condensed in the fine sub-
stance mentioned above.
The Northern Lights are constant and very brilliant; they seem close to you, and you may sometimes
hear them shoot along; they assume an amazing diversity of shapes; and the Tungoose say that
they are spirits at variance fighting in the air." — Sauer (Billings), p. 57.

Hearne's Sea, north of Coppermine.— Lat. 68° 48' 27 " N. Long. 115° 31' W. September
9-16, 1839. Simpson.

"Stress of weather sadly retarded our return. The last of the Canada and snow geese quitted the
shores of the Polar Sea, and our deer hunters' excursions were fruitless, the animals having
already made a move inland.

One night there was a most superb display of the Aurora without the prismatic tints; and on another,
that was pitch dark, the flashing of the sea almost rivalled that strange lustre of the heavens.

We pursued our way unremittingly night aud day, fair and foul, wheuever the winds permitted ;
and on the 16th, in a bitter frost, and the surrounding country covered with snow, we made our
entrance into the Coppermine, after by far the longest voyage ever performed in boats on the
Polar Sea, the distance we had gone not being less than 1,408 geographical, or 1,631 statute
miles." — Simpson, p. 388.

Igloolik.— Lat. 69° 15' N. Long. 81° 45' W. 1822-23. Pabry.
November 7, 1822.

"The appearances of the Aurora Borealis were neither frequent nor brilliant during this month.
On the 7th, near midnight, this phenomenon appeared from E. S. E. to S. W., forming an irregular
arch of white light, not continuous in every part, and about 8° high in the centre. From the
upper margin of this arch, coruscations now and then shot upwards towards the zenith." — 2
Parry, 381.

Novembeb 21, 1822.

" On the morning of the 21st, Mr. Ross remarked a bright arch of the Aurora passing through the

zenith from east to west, aud meeting the horizon at each end. Besides this, two smaller, and

apparently concentric arches, were visible to the southward; the higher arch being in the centre

about twenty degrees above the horizon, and the other about teu degrees.

An arch of the same kind appeared at night in the southivest quarter of the heavens." — Ibid., p. 381.

December 13, 1822.

"Between one and two a. m. on the 13th, while Messrs. Ross and Bushnan were employed in taking'
some observations alongside the Fury, they saw a vivid flash of light, which it afterwards
occurred to them must have come down the electric chain attached to the masthead, directly
under which they happened to be standing at the time.

RECORD OF AURORAL PHENOMENA. 83

As soon as Mr. Fisher was acquainted with this circumstance, he applied the electrometer to the

chain, but, as usual, without any perceptible effect on the gold leaf.
The Aurora Borealis had been visible to the southivard for some hours during the night, but had

disappeared for half an hour before the flash was seen." — Ibid., p. 386.

February 15, 1823.

"On the 15th, some remarkable clouds were hanging over the open water to the eastward, appearing
like vast volumes of smoke curling into rounded and almost circular forms. This peculiarity we
never observed at any other time, though there was constantly a 'water-sky' in that direction,
consisting of a general and diffused darkness, varied occasionally by numerous vertical columns
of 'frost smoke.'"— Ibid., p. 407.

N. B. — 1. Remarkable clouds hanging over the open water to the eastward.
2. Constantly a water-sky in that direction.

March, 1823.

"At the close of the month of March, we were glad to find that its mean temperature, being — 19.75°,
when taken in conjunction with those of January and February, appeared to constitute a mild
winter for this latitude. There were, besides, some other circumstances which served to dis-
tinguish this winter from any preceding one we had passed in the ice. One of the most remark-
able of these was the frequent occurrence of hard and well-defined clouds; a feature we had
hitherto considered as almost unknown in the winter sky of the polar regions.
It is not improbable that these may have in part owed their origin to a large extent of sea keeping
open to the southeastward throughout the winter, though they not only occurred with the wind
from that quarter, but also with the colder weather usually accompanying northwesterly breezes."
—Ibid., p. 418.

N. B. — Hard and well-defined clouds were of frequent occurrence ; a feature hitherto considered
as almost unknown in the polar regions.

"Another peculiarity observed in this winter was the rare occurrence of the Aurora Borealis, and
the extraordinary poorness of its display whenever it did make its appearance.
It was almost invariably seen to the southward, between an E. S. E. and a W. S. W. bearing, gene-
rally low, the stationary patches of it having a tendency to form an irregular arch, and not
unfrequently with coruscations shooting towards the zenith. When more diffused, it still kept,
in general on the southern side of the zenith ; but uever exhibited any of those rapid and com-
plicated movements observed in the course of the preceding winter, nor, indeed, any feature that
renders it necessary to attempt a particular description.
The electrometer was frequently tried by Mr. Fisher, at times when the state of the atmosphere
appeared the most favorable, but always without any sensible effect being produced on the gold
leaf."— Ibid., p. 420.

N. B. — 1. Another peculiarity observed in this winter was the rare occurrence of the Aurora
Borealis, and the poorness of its display.

2. It was almost invariably seen to the southward.

3. Electrometer frequently tried,

4. But always without any effect on the gold leaf.

Igloolik.— Lat. 69° 15' N. Long. 81° 45' W. March, 1823. Lyon.

" During the dark season, I mean the time that we did not at all see the sun, it was remarked with
astonishment that the Aurora Borealis was very rarely seen, in fact only once or twice, and then
so faintly as scarcely to call our attention." — Lyon (Private Journal), p. 306.

At Sea (Davis's Strait).— Lat, 69° 30' N. September, 1825. Parry.

"In running down Davis's Strait, as well as in crossing the Atlantic, we saw on this passage, as
well ns in :ill former autumnal ones, a srnnd rlcfil of the Aurora Boreali*.

84 RECORD OF AURORAL PHENOMENA.

It first began to display itself on the 15th of September, about the latitude of C9J°, appearing in
the (true) southeast quarter as a bright luminous patch five or six degrees above the horizon,
almost stationary for two or three hours together, but frequently altering its intensity, and occa-
sionally sending up vivid streamers towards the zenith.

It appeared in the same manner, on several subsequent nights, in the southwest, west, and east
quarters of the heavens; and on the 20th, a bright arch of it passed across the zenith from south-
east to northwest, appearing to be very close to the skip, and affording so strong a light as to
throw the shadow of objects on the deck." — 3 Parry, 170.

N. P. — Very close to the ship.

On the lee.— Lat. 69° 43' N. Long. 168° 4' E. March 1, 1821. Von Wrangell.

"The thermometer was at — 25° throughout the day.
In this day's journey we saw an unusual phenomenon : in the N. E. horizon there appeared an
insulated dark-gray cloud, from which white beams streamed to the zenith and across it to the
opposite horizon, resembling the beams of the Aurora, but whether luminous or not we could
not tell on account of the daylight. The phenomenon lasted about half an hour. One of our
Cossacks who had been before on the Polar Sea, maintained that the cloud was occasioned by
vapor rising from a sudden crack in the ice.
On the same evening, there was an Aurora extending from N. E. to N. W." — Von Wrangell,
pp. 101-2.

N. P. — Preceded by a dark-gray cloud with beams streaming from it to the zenith.

On the Ice.— Lat, G9C 58' N. 168° 41' E. March 2, 1821. Von Wrangell.

"We saw this evening an Aurora of extraordinary beauty. The sky was clear and cloudless, and
the stars sparkled in their fullest arctic brilliancy. With a slight breeze from the N. E., there
rose in the E. N. E. a great column of light, from which rays extended over the sky, in the
direction of the wind, in broad and brilliant bands, which appeared to approach us, whilst they
varied continually in form.
From the rapidity with which the rays shot through the whole space from the horizon to the
zenith, in less than two seconds, the Aurora appeared to be nearer to us than the ordinary height
of the clouds. We could perceive no effect on the compass needle." — Von Wrangell, pp. 103-4.

N. R, — 1. Aurora nearer than the ordinary height of clouds.
2. No effect on the compass needle.

Felix Harbor (Gulf of Boothia).— Lat. 69° 59' N. Long. 92° 1' 6" W. Ross.

October 18, 1829.

"It was a beautiful clay, with calm weather; the thermometer was between G° and 8°, but in the
evening it fell till it reached 1° only, at seven o'clock. This was by very much the lowest tempera-
ture we had yet experienced. Sunday found all our men well, and him who had met with the
accident recovered. More than fifty lunar distances were obtained for the longitude. The
Aurora was seen in the southeast." — 2 Ross, 204.

October 21.

"The Krusenstern was secured yesterday, and at night an Aurora made its appearance." —
Ibid., p. 205.

October 31.

" At sunset there was a large halo, being but the second we had seen; it was, however, only a white
one. There was afterwards an Aurora to the southward." — Ibid., p. 208.

RECORD OF AURORAL PHENOMENA. 85

November 1.

"There was an Aurora at night, but not brilliant." — Ibid., p. 216.

November 21.

"A very faint Aurora was seen in the southeastern horizon." — Ibid., p. 223.

November 24, 25.

"There was a brilliant Aurora to the southwest, extending its red radiance as far as the zenith.
The wind vacillated on the following day, and there was a still more brilliant one in the evening,
increasing in splendor till midnight, and persisting till the following morning. It constituted a
bright arch, the extremities of which seemed to rest on two opposed hills, while its color was
that of the full moon, and itself seemed not less luminous; though the dark and somewhat blue
sky by which it was backed was a chief cause, I have no doubt, of the splendor of its effect.
We can conjecture what the appearance of Saturn's ring must be to the inhabitants of that planet;
but here the conjecture was perhaps verified, so exactly was the form and light of this arch what
we must conceive of that splendid planetary appendage when seen crossing the Saturnian heavens.
It varied, however, at length, so much as to affect this fancied resemblance; yet with an increase
of brilliancy and interest. While the mass, or density, of the luminous matter was such as to
obscure the constellation Taurus, it proceeded to send forth rays in groups, forming such angular
points as are represented in the stars of jewelry, and illuminatiug the objects on land by their cor-
uscations. Two bright nebula; of the same matter afterwards appeared beneath the arch, sending
forth similar rays, and forming a still stronger contrast with the dark sky near the horizon.
About one o'clock it began to break up into fragments and nebula; ; the coruscations becoming
more frequent and irregular until it .suddenly vanished at four." — Ibid., p. 223-4.

December 2.

"A black cloud in the southern horizon would have prevented the sun from being seen, though it
had still risen above that line, as it did the day before. The magnetic observatory was erected,
and the other one commenced. At midnight there was a magnificent arch of an Aurora, but it
was only five degrees high. The color was a light yellow, and it emitted rays ; finally breaking
up and disappearing about one o'clock." — Ibid., p. 227.

December 9.

"The temperature fell to 26° minus in the evening, and there was an insignificant Aurora."—
Ibid., p. 228.

December 18.

"There was another beautiful Aurora this day." — Ibid., p. 229.

December 19.

"Clouds obscured the Aurora of yesterday, though it was still partially visible, as if occupying the
whole space from east to west." — Ibid., p. 229.

December 20.

"The Aurora still continued; and, in want of other variety, it afforded us amusement amid this
wearisome uniformity.
After the Aurora had ceased, it recommenced at night in a more brilliant form, with bright flashes
amid its other varieties, disappearing a little after midnight. The clearness of the sky overhead
was such, that we could see perfectly well in the cabin at midday, even through the double sky-
light, though it was covered with snow. Outside the ship, the smallest print could be read dis-
tinctly."—Ibid., p. 230.

December 24.

"There was again an Aurora; another to add to a succession of these appearances more regular and
durable than any which had been experienced in the former voyage to this climate."— Ibid., p. 231.

KG .RECORD OF AURORAL PHENOMENA.

December 25.

"It was Christmas day. There are few places on the civilized earth in which that day is not,
perhaps, the most noted of the year ; to all, it is at least a holiday, and there are many to whom
it was somewhat more. The elements themselves seemed to have determined it should be a noted
day to us, for it commenced with a most beautiful and splendid Aurora, occupying the whole
vault above. At first, and for many hours, it displayed a succession of arches, gradually increas-
ing in altitude as they advanced from the east and proceeded towards the western side of the
horizon ; while the succession of changes were not less brilliant than any that we had formerly
witnessed." — Ibid., p. 231.

December 30.

"There was very good light during the clay from ten till half after three, and, in the course of it, the
temperature rose to minus 20°. There was also a faint Aurora; and some transits of the stars
were observed." — Ibid., p. 233.

December 31.

"On the Aurora Borealis which we had so often seen, no experiments could be made, from the state
of the weather, and the force of the winds, at those times." Ibid., p. 234.

January 6, 1830.

"Another obscure Aurora made its appearance in the zenith." — Ibid., p. 241.

Sheriff Harbor (Gulf of Boothia).— Lat. 70° N. Long. 91° 53' W. Ross.

January, 1831.

"There were many gales, as the Journal has shown; and on all those days the barometer fell and the
temperature rose. But it was an invariable remark that, when the gale was from the northward,
the former fell less, and the thermometer rose more, than when it was from any other quarter ;
as this was also most striking when the wind was from the southward. The Aurora? were very
inconspicuous; but the halos were of a very striking character." — 2 Ross, 503.

February 1, 8.

"The cold weather continued through the two following days, in which there was nothing remark-
able but a slight Aurora." — Ibid., p. 504.

March 1.

"There was a bright Aurora, which agitated the magnetic needle in the manner that has been often
observed. Such light as I could collect from it by means of a large reading lens, had no effect
on the differential thermometer." — Ibid., p. 506.

March 9.

"Sunday (March 6) was somewhat warmer, the temperature rising in the day to 28° for two hours.
It was 40° on Monday night, and a hare was killed on that day. The two following days
(8th and 9th) were little noticeable for anything but a general continuance of the same weather
and temperature; except that, on the last of those, there was a bright Aurora." — Ibid., p. 506.

Baffin's Bay.— Lat. 70° 03' 33" N. [Long. 63° 20' W.] April 6, 1851. Kane.

"At 1 a.m., faint and fleeting Aurora visible to the S. E. At 9 p.m., an Aurora to the south
(true)."— 1 Kane, p. 530.

Sheriff's Bay (850 feet north of Felix Harbor).— Lat. 70° 1' N. Long. 91° 54' W. Ross.
November 14, 1830.

"A bright Aurora Borealis was the only noticeable event. They had been rare or absent for a
long time." — 2 Boss, 485.

RECORD OF AURORAL PHENOMENA. 87

December 16, 1830.

"There was little to note this clay but a splendid Aurora." — Ibid., p. 494.

January, 1831.

"The Auroras were very inconspicuous; but the halos were of a very striking character." — Ibid.,
p. 503.

February, 1831.

" 7th and 8th. There was nothing remarkable but a slight Aurora." — Ibid., p. 504.

March, 1831.

" 1st. There was a bright Aurora.
2d. There was a bright Aurora." — Ibid., p. 506.

"As the expedition which I commanded in 1818 did not winter in the arctic regions, my observa-
tions during that voyage were confined to the months of September and October, daring which
time the ships were moving in a southerly direction from the latitude of 74° to 58° N. ; when
it was observed that from the latitude of 74° until 66° the phenomenon was seen to the southward,
particularly at midnight; but that when the ship had passed to the southward of the latitude of
66°, it was seen to the northward. In several instances, the Aurora was distinctly observed to be
between the two ships, and also between the ships and the icebergs; proving unquestionably
that it could not be at that time beyond the atmosphere of the earth. This, indeed, was the
only fact which I completely established during that voyage." — 2 Ross, Appendix, pp.- 113-14.

Victoria Harbor (Gulf of Boothia).— Lat. 70° 09' N. Long. 91° 34' W. Jan. 8, 1832. Ross.

"The thermometer came down to 45°, but, being calm, it was not very cold. It is certain, also,
that we had now resumed our winter standard of sensation on this subject. The Aurora was
again seen on Saturday (the 8th)." — 2 Ross, p. 624.

On the Ice.— Lat. 70° 20' N. Long. 174° 13' E. March 21, 1823. Von Wrangell.

"I availed myself of the unavoidable delay to take a meridian altitude, which gave our latitude 70°
20'; the longitude, deduced by angles from points visible on the mainland, was 174° 13', the
variation 21^ E.
We profited by the light of a beautiful Aurora in the northeast quarter to continue our march
until the night was far advanced, when we had accomplished twenty-four wersts since noon,
among old hummocks and loose snow, which afforded comparatively easy travelling." — Von
Wrangell, p. 332.

"The winter of 1822-23 was generally considered a very mild one at Nijnei Kolymsk. The tem-
perature was only once as low as — 51° (on the 10th of January), and Auroras were rare, and
not so brilliant as usual." — Ibid., p. 318.

X. B. — Winter mild. Auroras rare ; not brilliant.

Baffin's Bay.— Lat. 70° 43' 56" N. Long. 63° 44' 33" W. Kane.

" March 26, 1851. At 11 p. m., faint Aurora to southward and eastward.
March 28. At 11 p. m., Aurora to the eastward (true)." — 1 Kane, 529.

Middle Ice of Baffin's Bay— Lat. 71° 20' N. Long. 62° 28' W. Sept. 21, 1852. Inglesfield.
" A calm, lovely night, with brilliant Aurora and starlit sky, gave symptoms of fine weather, which,

88 RE CORD OF AURORAL PHENOMENA.

in our present position, was much to be desired, although a little wind would be beneficial to
keep the ice sufficiently in motion to prevent our being frozen in." — Inglesfield., p. 98.

Moore's Harbor, Point Barrow.— Lat. 71° 23' N. Long. 156° 20' W. Winter of 1853-54.

" Compared with the last year, the winter set in with great severity ; the ship being frozen in ten
days sooner, and the temperature falling below zero on the 28th of September, sixteen days
earlier than in the previous season. This winter was altogether colder than the last, with a
considerable less fall of snow, and the sky generally clearer; but there is some reason to consider
it nearer the mean climate of the place.
Associated with this was a more frequent display of Aurora Borealis, suggesting the idea of this
phenomenon being connected with terrestrial radiation." — Maguire's Report.

Baffin's Bay.— [Lat. 72° 10' 11" N. Long. 68° 36' 40" W.] February, 1851. Kane.

"19th. At 5 a. m., an Aurora visible, passing near the zenith, in a N. N. W. and S. S. E. direction.

21st. At 1 a. m., a faint Aurora to the east. At 4 p. m., an Aurora passing through the zenith,
and extending to the horizon in a N. W. and S. E. direction (true).

24th. At 6 a. m., a faint Aurora seen about the zenith in a southward and westward direction.

25th. At 3 p. m., faint Aurora visible, passing through the zenith in a N. W. and S. E. direc-
tion. At 10 p. m., several Auroras seen to the northward and westward.

26th. At 1 a. m., an Aurora to the southward and eastward. At 9 p. m., several Auroras visible
in different parts of the heavens.

27th. At 3 a.m., Aurora passing through the zenith in an east and west direction." — 1 Kane, p. 527.

Baffin's Bay.— [Lat. 72° 15' N. Long. 68° 40' 22" W.] February 13, 1851. Kane.

"A fine, pleasant day. At 7 p. m., faint Aurora visible to the southward (true)." — 1 Kane, p. 526.

Baffin's Bay.— Lat. 72° 19' 40" N. Long. 68° 55' 20" W. February 7, 1851. Kane.

"I have quoted .the 'fog or cloud-like segment' as forming a prominent feature in the continental
descriptions, for the purpose of introducing from my Journal two anomalous exhibitions of
Aurora in the same connection. One was in direct conjunction with the diffracted solar rays ;
the other, a true daylight Aurora. I give them verbatim from my notes.
'February 7. Cold and clear ; thermometer, at 8h. 40m. a. m., at 38°, while on the vessel's stern,
and at 42° when freely suspended by the bows outside; my Green's spirit standard, some fifty
paces from the vessel, at — 48°: one more illustration of the local influence of ship-board, and
of the irregularity of our system of registration.

The sun was completely visible at about ten a. in., but his rays were subdued by a slight haziness,
caused by myriads of crystallized specks that filled the atmosphere. These, when examined by
my travelling Fraueuhofer at two hundred diameters, gave in some few cases regular hexagonal
prisms, with well-defined terminations; but this symmetry of form was generally obscured by
groupings and long oblique truncations. I have now made eight careful examinations of these
crystalline spicuke, at varying temperatures, when they come to us accompanied by parhelia,
halos, or anomalous columns proceeding from the sun. In every case, there was a decided
approach to the six-sided form.

The sun to-day exhibited an unusual phenomenon. At lOh. 20m., while very low, a column of
light was observed stretching from the upper summit of its disk to an approximate height of
15°. This expanded fan-fashion as it rose, and was lost by its pencilled radiations blending
with the illuminated sky. Thus far it did not differ materially from the vertical or crepuscular
rays accompanying rudimentary forms of parhelia. But, by eleven o'clock, this fan-like
column had enlarged to a cloudy shaft of bright yellow light, twenty to twenty-four degrees in
height, and proceeding from a complete segment of illumination, which was thickly studded with

RECORD OF AURORAL PHEXOMEXA. 89

cirrous clouds. The upper terminus of this column, unlike the parhelia which we had seen before,
assumed a curvilinear wedge shape, not unlike the section of a pear, from whose sides rose tan-
geutially a series of pencilled illuminations terminating in streaks of cloud strata.

The feature about this phenomenon of greatest interest, was a distinct play of light, a series of
coruscating changes resembling the scintillations of the Aurora. The rays which shot out from
the three-curved summit sometimes extended twelve or fifteen degrees, with a sudden movement
of increased energy almost resembling ignition; then, again, they retired, until represented by
but a few feeble points. The cloud-like segments showed in a lesser degree the same move-
ments; and, at the periods of most active display, the vertical or fan-like shaft flashed up into
more intense illumination. The diameter of this shaft at its entering base could not have been
less than eighty degrees.'

This singular exhibition recalled irresistibly the analogous phenomena of the Aurora, with those
anomalous displays of corona; which have been referred to diffraction of light by atmospheric
vesicles or icy spiculse. I give it from my notes as a simple detail of facts, without comment or
opinion.

A daylight Aurora has been described by other observers. I witnessed several, one of them
interesting enough to be worth transcribing.

'About ten o'clock, going out to exercise at foot-ball, I noticed that the usual cloud-bank of the
horizon had nearly cleared away at the south. One or two feathery cirri hung about the zenith,
and the northern horizon retained its usual deep obscurity. This was in the course of my
usual cursory examination for my weather record. Half an hour after, I observed one spot
where the banking remained, attracting attention by its nearness to the sun and its weji-defined
segmentary character. Its margin was distinctly and regularly arched; its tinting a peculiar
purple, slightly warmed or bronzed at its margins, but deepening into a heavy brown at the line
of the horizon. The centre of the segment bore south twenty degrees west (magnetic) ; its
altitude eight degrees nearly. Smoke and vapor from ship's fires purple tinted; distant objects
not very clearly visible; atmosphere filled with ice spiculffi.

Soon from the circumference of this arch proceeded a fimbriated or fringy scries of purple cirri, deli-
cately tinted at their edges, increasing with wonderful regularity, and extending in long, ray-like
processes of cloud to an altitude of some twenty degrees above the horizon. Before eleven o'clock,
these processes had become long, stratiform, illuminated clouds, beautifully marked, of a breadth,
measured roughly by the eye, of four or five degrees, interrupted where they crossed the illumi-
nated region of the sun, but everywhere else extending over the heavens to the south and west
(true) ; and, although still diminishing in intensity, extending nearly to the eastern quarter of
the sky. By coalescing at their bases, these radiating processes augmented the size of the
central segment. The intervals between them appeared, by contrast, to be artificially illuminated.

Till now there had been no movement; but, at llh. 20m., these cloud-like processes or radiations
strikingly resembled the rays or beams of a coruscating Auroral arch. Dr. Vreeland and
myself witnessed repeatedly interruptions of their continuity ; then suddenly shootings out, or
iucreasings of their length; and then a rapid and momentary formation, followed by a sudden
and complete disappearance.

At this time, too, a strange wavy movement was seen about the shorter prolongations in the
neighborhood of the vertex of the mass. These resembled the rising wreaths of 'frost-smoke'
seen in the Wellington Channel, and had an appearance almost of combustion.

During all these phases, the cloud-like character was singularly preserved; the rays appeared to
modify the processes as light would behind our ordinary clouds. The whole exhibition was a
daylight one, perfectly cloud-like, differing only in the elements of shape, movement, and radiated
illumination. It was a day Aurora.

The appearance continued until twenty minutes of meridian. At llh. 10m., when it was at its
maximum, the rayed prolongations stretched nearly across the sky ; and the centre -of the mass
from which they emanated was fifteen degrees west from the south pole of the needle. At about
the same deviation — viz : N. by E. -i E — and at a rude altitude of about fifteen or twenty
degrees, was an irregular cirro-cumulated cloud of the same purple tint, but not so much illn-
12

90 RECORD OF AURORAL PHENOMENA.

urinated. From its eastern margin, rays or processes were seen stretching as high as fifty-
degrees, and as far as due east.
Before the sun had reached his meridian altitude, the prolongations had become faint, and passed
into detached feathery clouds, when collected at the zenith and lost the radiated arrangement
altogether. The mass of cloud stratus to the south (magnetic), also, had blended with the usual
bank about the horizon.' " — 1 Kane, pp. 319-323.

Baffin's Bay.— [Lat. 72° 30' N. Long. 69° W.] February, 1851. Kane.

"2d. 1 a.m., Aurora visible to the southward and eastward (true); beams of light covering
the whole of the eastern half of the heavens, most of them parallel to the plane of the meridian.
Aurora extending to within 30° of the horizon to the N. W." — 1 Kane, p. 526.
"Between the hours of six and eight p. m., we had an interesting display of the Aurora. It was of
a luminous white, not much more marked than any of the isolated nebula? seen through a
telescope, which it indeed resembled. This white light stretched in cumulated masses from the
northwest to the southeastern horizon, forming to the northward an arch of some regularity.
From the inner circumference of this great arch proceeded a series of scintillating processes, at
apparent right angles to the plane of the horizon, and constantly shifting their positions, so as
to produce an effect nearly like that of the 'merry dancers.' To the south, however, the arch
became irregular and changing ; its diameter varied from five to thirty degrees, the augmenta-
tion being a broken series of parallel bands, no one exceeding six or eight degrees.

At the period of its greatest intensity, 7h. 10m., it enveloped Procyon and the Pleiades, obscuring
the larger portion of Taurus, and actually hiding Aldebaran. A process extended obliquely
from about twelve degrees above the horizon to Castor and Pollux, whose brightness it sensibly
dimmed. The zone then narrowed, passing about eleven degrees to the west of Polaris, and
ascending in a regular arch to the northwest. It faded gradually, and by 9h. 20m. had dis-
appeared.

Neither a silk-suspended magnetic needle, nor our rude electrometers, detected any disturbance. —
Ibid., p. 316.
" 5th. Faint Aurora seen to the southward and eastward.

6th. 7 a. m., a faint Aurora to the southward, near the horizon.

7th. 2 a. m., faint Aurora seen to N. N. E. and S. S. W. 7. a. m., Aurora to the S. E. and E.
(true)."— Ibid., p. 526.

Somerset House, Prince Regent's Inlet.— Lat. 72° 48' N. Long. 95° 41' W. Ross.

December, 1832.

"The Aurora Borealis had been seen but seldom, and was inconspicuous, while its position was
generally opposed to that of the sun. But, to end with the summary of this month, the weather,
variable and severe as it had been, became calm and clear, though cold; and thus did we termi-
nate the month of December, and the year 1832." — 2 Ross, 688.

March, 1833.

"We had taken but three foxes and two hares in the whole month; which, as food, amounted to
nothing. At the end of it, after all the changes had taken place under the gales, the ice was so
rough that it was impassable on sledges, and even on foot. No Aurora Borealis had been seen ;
and, indeed, we had scarcely noticed one the whole winter." — Ibid., p. 694.

Baffin's Bay.— Lat. 72° 49' 15" N. Long. 70° 59' 15" W. January 29, 1851. Kane.

"6 a. m., faint Aurora near the horizon. One-third of the sun's disk visible from the deck. 11
p. m., faint Aurora near the horizon, to the S. W. and N." — 1 Kane, p. 525.

RECORD OF AURORAL PHENOMENA. 91

Baffin's Bay.— Lat. 12° 52' 45" N. Long. U° 15' 35" W. January 28, 1851. Kane.

"1 a. m., light Aurora from W. to S. W. Two arcs of light, the southern being about 10°, the
western 20° from the horizon at the middle point. About two-thirds of the sun's disk visible
from the topgallant yard." — 1 Kane, p. 525.

Baffin's Bay.— Lat. 73° 09' 13" N. Long. 72°02' 21" W. January, 1851. Kane.

"26th. Aurora visible to the northward, 9 p. m.
27th. Auroras to the southward and westward, near the horizon, 2 a. m. and 8 a. m."— 1 Kane,
p. 525.

Port Bowen.— Lat. 73° 13' 39" N. Long. 88° 54' 49" W. October, 1824— March, 1825. Parry.
"The Aurora Borealis, which constitutes one of the peculiar features of a polar winter, occurred

with nearly the same frequency as on former occasions. The number of nights on which it is

registered are —

2 in October, 15 in January,

5 in November, 13 in February,

7 in December, 5 in March ;

being, in the whole, forty-seven from October to March.
It may have appeared faintly on a few other occasions, not noticed in our Journals, and unques-
tionably would have been seen more frequently but for the height of the land on the south side

of Port Bowen, which intercepted our view to the altitude of five or six degrees.
By far the greater part of these phenomena assumed one general character, and occupied nearly

the same position.
It usually consisted of an arch, sometimes tolerably continuous, but more frequently broken into

detached irregular masses or nebulae of light, extending from about W. to S. E. (true) ; which

bearings correspond with N. E. by N. and W. by S. (magnetic).
It sometimes, however, extended a few points beyond these bearings, but very rarely occupied any

of the northern part of the heavens.
Its termination to the S. E. was never exactly visible, owing to the height of land in that quarter;

but, upon the whole, the arch seems to have been more frequently bisected by the plane of the

magnetic, than by that of the true meridian.
The altitude of the upper margin of a permanent arch seldom exceeded ten or fifteen degrees, and

from this coruscations were generally observed to be shooting towards the zenith.
In a few instances, the arch itself passed as high as the zenith; and on a single occasion, on the

28th of January, its direction was from true north to south.
The lower edge of the arch was generally well defined and unbroken, and the sky beneath it

appeared, by contrast, so exactly like a dark cloud (to me often of a brownish color) that

nothing at the time of viewing it could well convince one to the contrary, if the stars shining

there with undiminished lustre did not discover the deception." — 3 Parry, 59.

N. B. — 1. Number of nights on which Aurora was seen.

2. The greater part assumed the same general character.

3. Usually consisted of an arch extending from "W. to S. E.

4. Coruscations seldom occupied any of the northern part of the heavens.

December 21, 1824.

" This winter certainly afforded but few brilliant displays of the Aurora. The following notice
includes all that appear to me to require a separate description.
Late on the night of the 21st of December, the phenomenon appeared partially, and with a variable
light, in different parts of the southern sky for several hours.

92 RECORD OF AURORAL PHENOMENA.

At seven on the following morning-, it became more brilliant and stationary, describing a well-
defined arch, extending from the E. S. E. horizon to that at W. N. W., and passing through the
zenith. A very faint arch was also visible on each side of this, appearing to diverge from the
same points in the horizon,1 and separating to twenty degrees' distance in the zenith.

It remained thus for twenty minutes, when the coruscations from each arch met, and, after a short
but brilliant display of light, gradually died away." — Ibid., p. CO.

N. B. — 1. This winter afforded very few brilliant displays.

2. This night appeared partially in different parts of the southern sky.

3. At 7 next a. m., arch from E. S. E. to W. N. W. passing through the zenith.

4. A very faint arch visible on each side of this.

5. After a short but brilliant display, died away.

January 15, 1825.

"Early on the morning of the 15th of January the Aurora broke out to the southward, and continued

variable for three hours between a N. W. and S. E. bearing.
From three to four o'clock, the whole horizon from south to west was brilliantly illuminated, the

light being continuous almost throughout the whole extent, and reaching several degrees in

height. Very bright vertical rays were constantly shooting upwards from the general mass.
At half-past five, it again became so brilliant as to attract particular notice, describing tiro arches

passing in an east and west direction very near the zenith, with bright coruscations issuing from

it; but the whole gradually disappeared with the returning dawn.
At dusk the same evening, the Aurora again appeared in the southern quarter, and continued

visible nearly the whole night, but without any remarkable feature."— Ibid., p. 61.

N. B. — 1. Early a. in., Aurora broke out to the southward.

2. From 3h. to 4h. a. m., whole horizon from S. to W. brilliantly illuminated.

3. Very bright vertical rays shooting upward.

4. At 5h. 30m., again became very brilliant.

5. Describing two arches passing in an E. and W. direction very near the zenith.

January 27, 1825.

"About midnight on the 27th of January, this phenomenon broke out in a single compact mass of
brilliant yellow light, situated about a S. E. bearing, and appearing only a short distance above
the land. This mass of light, notwithstanding its general continuity, sometimes appeared to be
evidently composed of numerous pencils of rays, compressed, as it were laterally, into one, its
limits both to the right and left being well defined and nearly vertical. The light, though very
bright at all times, varied almost constantly in intensity, and this had the appearance (not an
uncommon one in the Aurora) of being produced by one volume of light overlaying another, just
as we see the darkness and density of smoke increased by cloud rolling over cloud.

While Lieutenants Sherer and Ross and myself were admiring the extreme beauty of this pheno-
menon from the observatory, we all simultaneously uttered an exclamation of surprise at seeing
a bright ray of the Aurora shoot suddenly downward from the general mass of light, and between
us and the land, which was there distant only three thousand yards.

Had I witnessed this phenomenon by myself, I should have been disposed to receive with caution
the evidence even of my own senses as to this last fact; but the appearance conveying precisely
the same idea to three individuals at once, all intently engaged in looking towards the spot, I
have no doubt that the ray of light actually passed within that distance of us."— Ibid., pp. 61, 62.

N. B. — 1. About midnight, broke out in a single mass of brilliant yellow light, S. E.

2. Only a short distance from the land.

3. Bright ray of the Aurora shot down from general mass of light between us and the land.

1 I am aware that this appearance is usually referred to the effect of viewing the phenomenon in perspective; but I
here describe appearances only.

RECORD OF AURORAL PHENOMENA. 93

February 23, 1825.

"About one o'clock on the morning of the 23d of February, the Aurora again appeared over the

hills in a south direction, presenting a brilliant mass of light very similar to that just described

(2?th January).
The rolling motion of the light laterally was here also very striking, as well as the increase of its

intensity thus occasioned. The light occupied horizontally about a point of the compass, and

extended in height scarcely a degree above the land, which seemed, however, to conceal from us

a part of the phenomenon.
It was always evident enough that the most attenuated light of the Aurora sensibly dimmed the

stars, like a thin veil drawn over them.
Wc frequently listened for any sound proceeding from this phenomenon, but never heard any." —

Ibid., p. 62.

N. B. — 1. Appeared in a south direction ; brilliant.

2. Most attenuated light of the Aurora always sensibly dimmed the stars.

3. Frequently listened for sound, but never heard any.

Port Bowen.— Lat. 73° 13' 39" N. Long. 88° 54' 58" W. Winter of 1824-25. Tarry.

" On several occasions which seemed the most favorable for the purpose, the electrometer, with gold
leaf, was applied to the chain, but without the slightest perceptible effect.

The chain was attached to the skysail masthead by glass rods, precisely in the manner described on
our last voyage, the pointed end of the upper link being considerably above the masthead, and
one hundred and fifteen feet from the level of the sea.

That the atmosphere during the winter months was favorable to the excitement of electricity, appeared
from the facility with which a small electrical machine, constructed by Mr. Rowland, was found
to act. The sparks given out by this machine, of which the cylinder was only six inches long
and five in diameter, Dr. Neill considered as large as are usually elicited from apparatus of
much larger dimensions in England.
Our variation-needles, %chich were extremely light, suspended in the most delicate manner, and, from
the weak directive energy, susceptible of being acted upon by a very slight disturbing force,
were never in a single instance sensibly affected by the Aurora, which could scarcely fail to have
been observed at some time or other, had any such disturbance taken place, the needles being
visited every hour for severed months, and oftener when anything occurred to make it desirable."
—3 Parry, p. G3.

N. B. — 1. Not the slightest perceptible effect produced on the electrometer.

2. Variation-needles suspended in the most delicate manner.

3. Were never in a single instance sensibly affected by the Aurora,

4. Though the needles were visited every hour for several months.

"There was no want of well-defined clouds this winter; these were almost entirely of the kind called
cirro-stratus, or approaching to that modification. Cumuli and cirro-cumuli occurred only with
the advauce of spring.

The sky in this respect differed from that of our winter at Melville Island, and also from those at
Winter Island and Igloolik, clouds occurring much more frequently than at the former, and
more rarely than at the two latter stations.

This difference seems to have coincided nearly with the state of the sea in the offing at each winter-
ing-place, clouds occurring with more frequency in proportion to the extent of open water in
our neighborhood.

At Port Bowen, we had occasionally lanes of clear water in the offing as late as the 22d of January,
and the ice could be heard in motion till the 11th of February; but the water was of small
extent after the first month subsequent to onr arrival in winter quarters.

The occasional occurrence of fog, and the appearance of a dark water-sky to the northward,
frequently observed from the hills during the winter, render it extremely probable that Barrow's

94

RECORD OP AURORAL PHENOMENA.

Strait was never entirely closed; a probability confirmed by the appearance of it at all times of
the year in which it is accessible by ships." — Ibid., p. 76.

N. B. — 1. No want of well-defined clouds this winter.

2. They were almost entirely cirro-stratus.

3. Cumuli and cirro-cumuli occurred only with the approach of spring.

4. Fogs and dark water-sky.

"Lieutenant Ross tried the thickness of the salt-water ice during different periods of the winter, by
digging holes in that formed upon the canal by which the ships had entered, and found it to
have increased in the following ratio: —

Date.

November

20, 1824

December

13, "

January

1, 1825

February

2, "

March

2, "

April

2, "

May

4, "

Whole thickness

Thickness above

Proportion of that

in inches.

the sea in

above

to that below ;

inches.

the latter being = 100.

. 30.5

3.8

14.23

. 38.5

4.4

12.90

. 45.3

5.2

12.97

. 55.9

6.0

12.02

. 13.0

7.1

10.77

. 82.5

7.8

10.44

. 86.5

8.0

10.19"
Ibid., p. 1

77.

N. B. — Thickness of the salt-water ice during different periods of the winter.

Batty Bay.— Lat. 73° 17' N. Long. 91° W. October 29, 1851. Kennedy.

" The weather has been very boisterous for some time past, with heavy showers of snow falling
every day. The sun was for a very short time visible to-day.
The Aurora Borealis bright in the southwest about 9 p. m." — Kennedy, p. 86.

Batty Bay.— Lat. 73° 17' N. Long. 91° W. December 28, 1851. Bellot.

"The sky has been generally clear these last days, and this evening we have, the first time, a com-
plete Aurora Borealis, or Northern Lights, as our Shetlanders call them (they also call them
Dancing Lights).

Great luminous rays like the milky way, but with a slight yellowish tint, divide the vault of the
sky, issuing from the zenith, from which they spread like the leaves of a palm, widening at the
base.

I do not know that mention has anywhere been made of this singular phenomenon." — 2 Bellot, 73.

Lancaster Sound.— [Near Lat. 73° 40' 40" N. Long. 75° 03' 24" W.] Jan. 15, 1851. Kane.
" 3 a. m., a faint Aurora to the southward." — 1 Kane, p. 524.

Lancaster Sound. — [Near Lat. 74° N. Long. 80° W.] January, 1851. Kane.

" 1st. A faint Aurora visible to the southward, 11 p. m.
2d. An Aurora passing near the zenith in an E. and W. direction, 1 a. m. Two Auroras visible
(7 a. m.), one passing through the zenith in an E. and W. direction, the other in faint beams
radiating from the southward.
3d. An Aurora to the southward, 4 a. in.
4th. 5 a.m., an Aurora visible to the southward and westward." — 1 Kane, p. 524.

RECORD OF AURORAL PHENOMENA. 95

Captain Austin's Winter Quarters.— Lat. 74° 10' N. Long. 94° 16' W.

December, 1S50.

"The Aurora Borcalis, which has hitherto afforded other voyagers so much interest, and which some
writers allege to be almost constant in these regions, has not yet presented itself with any striking
effect to our notice, except on the night of the 1st of December. A very complete arch in a
N. N. W. and S. S. E. (true) direction, passing through the zenith, divided the celestial concave
into two equal parts. It measured about 5° in width ; it lasted about half an hour, and was of
a whitish color. Towards the north, it became tinged with red before it disappeared. The
stars were seen through it with great brilliancy ; they assumed for the time the same color as
the Aurora.
Some bright coruscations were seen on the morning of the 5th, shooting from the S. E. towards
the zenith." — Arctic Miscellanies, pp. 113-14.

January, 1851.

" The Aurora Borealis has been observed eleven times during the month, but generally of a faint
tinge. It has appeared in the form of an arch, touching the W. W. and S. E. quarters of the
horizon ; also in an arc between the S. W. and E. S. E. points, the altitude of the centre being
25°. Coruscations have been seen to cross the sky from various points of the horizon, and
diverge in a variety of directions. During its presence, the heavenly bodies were always very
bright. Many theories are advanced concerning these phenomena, one of which being that they
move in columns parallel with the magnetic meridian, which is at variance with its movement in
this locality."— Ibid., pp. 191-98.

February, 1851.

"The Aurora Borealis has been seen more frequently, though never with that brilliancy by which it
is often characterized in these regions. The number of observations in the month, of any
importance, amounts to twelve. The coruscations, when detached, flitted from various points of
the horizon, in light fleecy clouds, towards the zenith, sometimes of a straw color. When it
has appeared in an arch, its direction has been nearly north and south, passing across the zenith.
On the evening of the 20th, luminous beams of the Aurora were frequent from the southwest to
the northwest points, and continued for several hours. On the following day we had fresh winds
from the southwest. It has been observed that when this phenomenon appears unusually intense
in any particular quarter, that a strong breeze has succeeded it from that particular direction of
the compass." — Ibid., pp. 250-51.

March, 1851.

"The Aurora has appeared bright on four occasions; generally in the form of an arch, from the
southeast quarter towards the north. On the night of the 25th, it was more brilliant than on
any other occasion this season, making an arch from the southeast to the north, with corusca-
tions shooting off laterally from it toward the zenith." — Ibid., p. 291.

Lancaster Sound.— Near Lat. 74° 18' 08" N. Long. 82° 10' 18" "W. Dec, 1850. Kane.

" 26th. Faint Aurora at noon, to the southward. An Aurora in form of a bow, passing through the

zenith in a N. W. and S. E. direction.
27th. An Aurora visible at 5 a. m. ; at 6 a. m., another one. In the afternoon, an Aurora passing

through the zenith in a north and south direction, 10 p. m.
28th. Auroras visible; one passing 30° from the zenith, in form of an arch, to the westward, 1

a. m. and 8 a. m.
29th. An Aurora passing near the zenith in an east and west direction, 4 a. m.
31st. Auroras visible ; one appeared in the form of an arch, extending to the horizon, in N. N. E.

and S. W. direction, passing 15° from the zenith, 10 p. m." — 1 Kane, 523.

% RECORD OP AURORAL PHENOMENA.

Lancaster Sound.— [Lat. 14° 30' N. Long. 90° W.] December 1, 1850. Rank.

"We bad an Aurora about 7h. p. m. The thermometer at — 33°, and falling. Wind stead}',
W. N. W. The meteor resembled an illuminated cloud; illuminated, because seen against the
deep blue night sky ; otherwise it resembled the mackerel fleeces and mares' tails of our summer
skies at home.

It began toward the northwestern horizon as an irregular flaring cloud, sometimes sweeping out
into wreaths of stratus ; sometimes a condensed opaline nebulosity, rising in a zone of clearly-
defined whiteness, from 3° to 5° in breadth up to the zenith, and then arching to the opposite
horizon. This zone resembled more a long line of white cirro-stratus than the Auroral light of
the systematic descriptions. There was no approach to coruscations, or even rectangular devia-
tions from the axis of the zone. "When it varied from a right line, its curvatures were waving
and irregular, such as might be produced by the wind, but having no relation to the observed
air-currents at the earth's surface. It passed from the due northwest, between the Pleiades
and the Corona Borealis; the star of greatest magnitude in the latter of these constellations
remaining in the centre, although its waving curves sometimes reached the Tleiades. At the
zenith, its mean distance" from the polar star was 7° south, and it passed down, increasing iu
intensity near Vega, in Lyra, to the southeast.

There was throughout the arc no marked seat of greatest intensity. Around the corona of the
north, its light was more diffused. The zone appeared narrowed at the zenith, and bright and
clear, without marked intermission, to the southeast. The frost-smoke was in smoky banks to
the northwest; but the Aurora did not seem to be affected by it, and the compass remained con-
stant,"—! Kane, p. 245-46.

Griffith Island.— Lat. 74° 30' N. Long. 95° 20' W. Winter of 1850-51. Osborne.

"With one portion of the phenomena of the North Sea we were particularly disappointed — and
this was the Aurora.

The colors, in all cases, were vastly inferior to those seen by us in far southern latitudes; a pale-
golden or straw color being the prevailing hue. The most striking part of it was its apparent
proximity to the earth.

Once or twice the Auroral coruscations accompanied a moon in its last quarter, and generally
previous to bad weather.

On one occasion, in Christmas week, the light played about the edge of a low vapor which hung
at a very small altitude over us ; it never, on this occasion, lit up the whole under surface of the
said clouds, but formed a series of concentric semicircles of light, with dark spaces between,
which waved, glistened, and vanished, like moonlight upon a heaving but unbroken sea.

At other times, a stream of the same colored vapor would span the heavens through the zenith,
and from it would shoot sprays of pale-orange color for many hours; and then the mysterious
light would again as suddenly vanish." — Osborne, pp. 164-65.

Griffith Island.— Lat. 74° 30' N. Long. 95° 20' W. December, 1850. Markham.

"The Aurora Borealis began also to dart its ever-changing rays across the heavens. On the 1st of
December [1850], a very complete arch, passing through the zenith, divided the celestial con-
cave into two equal parts, of a whitish color tinged with red. The stars were seen through it
with great brilliancy, assuming, for the time, the same color as the Aurora.
On the 5th, also, some very bright coruscations were seen to dart their rays towards the zenith.
Whenever this phenomenon appeared unusually intense in any particular quarter, a strong breeze
generally succeeded from the same direction." — Markham, p. 70.

At Sea.— Lat. 74° 31' N. Long. 111° 38' W. September 20, 1819. Parry.

"The wind blew hard from the northward during the night, with a good deal of snow; and the
thermometer was at 10g° at midnight.

The Aurora Borealis was seen faintly in the S. S. W. quarter of the heavens."—! Parry, 93.

RECORD OF AURORAL PHENOMENA. 97

Barrow Strait and Lancaster Sound.— Between Lat. 74° 36' 53" N., Long. 91° 45' 45" W.,
and Lat. 74° 20' 06" N., Long. 86° 26' 16" W. December, 1850. Kane.

"3d. Faint Aurora visible for a short time.
5th. A transit Aurora, ending with luminous bands to the S. E.
6th. Faint Aurora, 4 a. m., to the west (true).
8th. Faint Aurora, 3 a. m., to the southward and eastward (true); another, 10 a.m., to the

N. W. (true).
11th. An Aurora to the southward, 4 a. m." — 1 Kane, p. 522.

Off Beeehy Island.— [Lat. 74° 40' N. Long. 92° W.] November 8, 1850. Kane.

"Aurora to the southward and westward, 5h. a. m. (true).
Ten Auroras observed during the month." — -1 Kane, p. 520.

Assistance Harbor (Cornwallis Land).— Lat. 74° 40' N. Long. 94°16'W. Sutherland.
December, 1850.

"The Aurora Borealis was frequently observed, but the extent and brilliancy of this beautiful
meteoric phenomenon never equalled what had been seen in September and October, while
crossing the Atlantic, in the latitude of Cape Farewell." — Sutherland, 1, p. 449.

January, 1851.

"The sky, during the hours of daylight — which, by this time, were lengthening out very plainly —
was frequently spread over with fleecy clouds; and at night the Aurora, of a beautiful golden
color, danced from east to west in vivid coruscations, and enlivened our midnight scenes,
although, as has been remarked already, they were much less vivid than in more southern lati-
tudes."—Ibid., pp. 457-58.

Barrow Strait (off Griffith Island).— [Lat. 74° 45' N. Long. 94° W.] September, 1850.
Kane.

"12th. A feeble Aurora at midnight.
15th. A feeble Aurora." — 1 Kane, p. 516.

Winter Harbor.— Lat. 74- 47' 13" N. Long. 110° 49' W. 1819-20. Tarry.
October 13, 1819.

"On the evening of the 13th, the Aurora Borealis was seen very faintly, consisting of a stationary
white light in the southwest quarter, and near the horizon." — 1 Parry, 109.

October 20, 1819.

"Between six and eight p. m., we observed the Aurora Borealis, forming a broad arch of irregular
white light, extending from jV. N. W. to S. S. E., the centre of the arch being 10° to the east-
ward of the zenith. It was most bright near the southern horizon; and frequent, but not vivid,
coruscations were seen shooting from its upper side towards the zenith.
The magnetic needle was not sensibly affected by this phenomenon." — Ibid., p. 111.

N. B. — 1. Light most bright near southern horizon.
2. Magnetic needle not sensibly affected.
13

98 RECORD O P A U R ORAL THE N 0 M E X A ,

November 9, 1819.

" On the same evening, the weather being fine and clear, the Aurora Eorealis was seen for nearly
two hours, forming a long, low, irregular arch of light, extending from north to south in the
western quarter of the heavens, its altitude in the centre being 3° or 4°. The electrometer-
chain was hoisted up to the masthead, and its lower end brought down to the ice, so as to keep
it perfectly clear of all the masts and rigging, which method was used throughout the winter ;
but no sensible effect was produced on the gold leaf. It was tried a second time, after the sky
became full of white fleecy clouds, but with as litlle success." — Il)id., p. 115.

November 12, 1810.

"The thermometer having fallen to — 31°, we expected to have seen the sun again, and looked out
from the masthead for that purpose, but it did not reappear.
At six p. m., the Aurora Borealis was seen in a broken irregular arch, about G° high in the centre,
extending from N. W. by N. to S. by W., from whence a few coruscations were now and then
faintly emitted towards the zenith." — Ibid., 115.

November 13, 1819.

"From eight p. m. till midnight, on the 13th, it was again seen in a similar manner from S. W. to
S. E., the brightest part being in the centre, due south." — Ibid., p. 115.

November 15, 1819.

"On the 15th, Lieutenant Beechey informed me that he had seen, in the N. N. W. and S. E. quarters,
some light transparent clouds, from which columns of light were thrown upwards, resembling the
Aurora Borealis; those to (he S. E., being opposed to a very light sky, had a light-brown
appearance." — Ibid., p. 115.

N. B. — 1. Light transparent clouds N. N. W. and S. E.

2. From which columns of light were thrown upwards,

3. Resembling the Aurora Borealis.

November 16, 1819.

"This phenomenon was again observed on the IGth, consisting of a bright stationary light from
S. S. W. to S. by E., and reaching from the horizon to the height of about G° above it." —
Ibid., p. 11G.

November 17, 1819.

"At three p. m. a remarkable variety of the Aurora Borealis was seen by several of the officers.
Having about this time been confined for a few days to my cabin by indisposition, I am
indebted to Lieutenant Beechey for the following description of it : —
'Clouds, of a light-brown color, were seen diverging from a point near the horizon, bearing S. W.
by S., and shooting pencils of rays upwards at an angle of about 45 : with the horizon. These
rays, however, were not stationary as to their position, but were occasionally extended and
contracted. From behind these, as it appeared to us, (lashes of white light were repeatedly
seen, which sometimes streamed across to the opposite horizon ; some passing through the zenith,
others at a considerable distance on each side of it.
This phenomenon continued to display itself brilliantly for half an hour, and then became gradually
fainter till it disappeared about four o'clock. The sun, at the time of the first appearance of this
meteor, was on nearly the same bearing, and about 5C below the horizon.'" — Ibid., pp. llfi— 17.

X. B. — 1. Remarkable variety of Aurora Borealis.
2. Clouds of a light-brown color.

November 18, 1819.

"The stars of the second magnitude in Ursa Major were just perceptible to the naked eye a little
after noon this day, ami the Aurora Borealis appeared faintly in the southwest at night." —
[bid., p. 117.

RECORD OF AURORAL PHENOMENA. 99

November 26, 1819.

"On the 26th, in the morning, some vivid coruscations of the Aurora Rorealis were observed from
S. to N. Jr., commencing at 4° or 5° of altitude, and streaming toward the zenith." — Ibid., p. 118.

December 14, 17, 1819.

"On the 14th of December, the day was beautifully serene and clear, and there was more redness
in the southern sky about noon than there had been for many days before ; the tints, indeed,
might almost be called prismatic.

At 6 p. m., the Aurora Borealis was seen forming two concentric arches, passing from the
western horizon on each side of the zenith to within 20° of the opposite horizon, resting on a
dark cloud about seven degrees high, from behind which the light appeared to issue, and par-
tially streaming from the cloud to the zenith. No effect was produced by it on the electrometer
or the magnetic needle.

The appearance I have just described of the light seeming to issue from behind an obscure cloud,
is a very common one ; it is not always, however, easy to tell whether any cloud really exists, or
whether the appearance is a deception arising from the vivid light of the Aurora being contrasted
with the darker color of the sky near it.

Ou the 17th, in the morning, this phenomenon was again observed, being a stationary faint light
from S. W. to W. S. ir." — Ibid., p. 121.

N. B. — 1. At 6 p. 111. Aurora formed two arches.

2. Passing from western horizon on each side of zcuith.

3. Resting ou a dark cloud,

4. From behind which light seemed to issue.

5. No effect produced on electrometer or needle.

6. The appearance of light seeming to issue from behind a cloud is a very common one.

December 19, 1819.

"On the 19th, the weather being tine and clear, the Aurora borealis appeared frequently at different
times of the day, generally from the south to the W. N. W. quarters, and uot very vivid. From
eight p. m. till midnight, however, it became more brilliant, and broke out in every part of the
heaveus, being generally most bright from S. S. W. to S. W., where it had the appearance of
emerging from behind a dark cloud about five degrees above the horizon.
We could not, however, help feeling some disappointment in not having yet witnessed this beautiful
phenomenon in any degree of perfection which could be compared to that which occurs at Shet-
land, or in the Atlantic, about the same latitude as these Islands." — Ibid., p 122.

N. B. — 1. Aurora appeared frequently at different times of the day.

2. Generally from S. to the W. N. W. quarters ; not very vivid.

3. From 8 p. m. to 12, more brilliant.

4. Most bright from S. S. W. to S.W.,

5. Where it appeared to emerge from behind a dark cloud.

6. We had not yet witnessed this beautiful phenomenon in any degree of perfection.

December 20, 1819.

"On the morning of the 20th, the Aurora Borealis again made its appearauce in the N. W., which
was more to the northward than usual. It here resembled two small bright clouds, the one
nearly touching the other, and being about seven degrees above the horizon. These remained
quite stationary for half an hour, and then broke up into streamers shooting rapidly towards the
zenith."— Ibid., p. 122.

January 8, 1820.

"At half-past five p. 111. on the 8th, the Aurora Borealis was seen forming a broken and irregular
arch of white light, 10° or 12° high in the centre, extending from N. by W., round by W., to
S. S. E., with occasional coruscations proceeding from it towards the zenith. It continued thus
for an hour, and reappeared from eight o'clock till midnight in a similar manner, making, how-

100 RECORD OP AURORAL PHENOMENA.

ever, but a poor display of this beautiful phenomenon. Neither the magnetic needle nor the
gold leaf of the electrometer were, in either instance, in the slightest degree affected by it." —
Ibid., p. 133.

January 11, 1820.

"At eight a. m. on the 11th, faint coruscations of the Aurora Borealis were observed to dart with
inconceivable rapidity across the heavens from W.N. W. to E. S. E., from horizon to horizon,
and passing about 25° to the south of the zenith.
At noon to-day, the temperature of the atmosphere had got down to 49° below zero, being the
greatest degree of cold which we had yet experienced." — Ibid., p. 133.

N. B. — 1. At 8h. a. m., faint coruscations,

2. Across the heavens from W. N. W. to E. S. E., from horizon to horizon,

3. Passing 25° to the south of the zenith.

4. At noon to-day, temperature — 49°.

January 15, 1820.

"On the evening of the 15th, the atmosphere being clear and serene, we were gratified by a sight
of the only very brilliant and diversified display of Aurora Borealis which occurred during the
whole winter. I believe it to be almost impossible for words to give an idea of the beauty and
variety which this magnificent phenomenon displayed; I am at least certain that no description
of mine can convey an adequate description of it, and I therefore gladly avail myself of the
following account, by Captain Sabine, which was furnished by my request, at the time, for inser-
tion in my Journal.

' Mr. Edwards, from whom we first heard that the Aurora was visible, described it as forming a
complete arch, having its legs nearly north and south of each other, and passing a little to the
eastward of the zenith.

' When I went upon the ice, the arch had broken up. Towards the southern horizon was the ordi-
nary Aurora, such as we had lately seen on clear nights, being a pale light, apparently issuing
from behind an obscure cloud, at from six to twelve degrees of altitude, extending more or less
towards the east or west on different nights, and at different times of the same night, having no
determined centre or point of bisection, the greater part, and even at times the whole of the
luminous appearance being sometimes to the east, and sometimes to the west of south, but rarely
seen in the northern horizon, or beyond the east and west points of the heavens. This corre-
sponds with the Aurora most commonly noticed in Britain, except that it is there as peculiar to the
northern as here to the southern horizon, occasionally shooting upwards iu rays and gleams of light.
It was not distinguished by any unusual brilliancy or extent on this occasion ; the splendid part
of the phenomenon being detached, and apparently quite distinct.

' The luminous arch had broken into irregular masses, streaming with such rapidity in different
directions, varying continually in shape and intensity, and extending themselves from north, by
the east, to south. If the surface of the heavens be supposed to be divided by a plane runniug
through the meridian, the Aurora was confined, during the time I saw it, to the eastern side of
the plane, and was usually most vivid and in longer masses in the E. S. E. than elsewhere.
Mr. Parry and I noticed to each other that, where the Aurora was very brilliant, the stars seen
through it were somewhat dimmed ; though this remark is contrary to former experience.

' The distribution of light has been described as irregular and in constant change ; the various
masses, however, seemed to have a tendency to arrange themselves into two arches ; one passing
near the zenith, and a second about midway between the zenith and horizon, both having
generally a north and south direction, but curving towards each other, so that their legs pro-
duced a complete ellipse ; these arches were as quickly dispersed as formed. At one time, a part
of the arch near the zenith was bent into convolutions, resembling those of a snake in motion,
and undulating rapidly ; an appearance we had not before observed. The end towards the north
was also bent like a shepherd's crook, which is not uncommon. It is difficult to compare the
light produced by the Aurora with that of the moon, because the shadows are rendered faint
'and indistinct by reason of the general diffusion of the Aurora ; but I should think the effect of

RECORD OF AURORAL PHENOMENA. 101

the one now described scarcely equal to that of the moon when a week old. The usual pale
light of the Aurora strongly resembles that produced by the combustion of phosphorus. A
very slight tinge of red was noticed on this occasion, when the Aurora was most vivid, but no
other colors were visible. Soon after we returned on board, the splendid part wholly disap-
peared, leaving only the ordinary light near the horizon ; in other respects the night remained
unchanged, but on the following day it blew a fresh gale from the north and N. N. W.

' This Aurora had the appearance of being very near us, and we listened attentively for the sound
which is said sometimes to accompany brilliant displays of this phenomenon, but neither on this
nor on any other occasion could any be distinguished.'

On the following day, the Aurora was repeatedly seen for an hour or two together, assuming the
shape of a loug low arch, from 3° to 12° high in the centre, extending from south to N. W." —
Ibid., pp. 134-35-36.

N. B. — 1. The only brilliant display of Aurora seen during the whole winter.

2. Towards southern horizon, the ordinary Aurora.

3. Apparently issuing from behind a cloud.

4. Aurora seen sometimes east, and sometimes west of south, but rarely seen in the

northern horizon.

5. Aurora in Britain as peculiar to the northern horizon as here to the southern.

6. This Aurora appeared to be very near us.

T. Heard no sound, which is said sometimes to accompany brilliant Aurora.

February 3, 1820.

" At six p. m., the Aurora Borealis appeared very faintly in a horizontal line of white light, extend-
ing from S. to S. S. W. and about 5° above the horizon. From nine till eleven, it was again
seen quite stationary aud very faint, from S. S. W. to \V. N. W., at three or four degrees of
altitude.

Captain Sabine had, for some time past, kept one of the needles used for determining the intensity
of the magnetic force, suspended by a silk thread, in the Observatory, for the purpose of remark-
ing more satisfactorily than it could be done on board the ships, whether any effect was pro-
duced upon it by the Aurora Borealis.

It might be supposed that in these regions, where the directive power of the needle had almost
entirely ceased, it would be more easily disturbed by any adventitious cause than in those parts
of the globe where the directive energy was greater; but we never could perceive the slightest
derangement to be produced in it by the Aurora.'1'' — Ibid., p. 139-40.

N. B. — 1. At 6 p. m., appeared very faintly.

2. From 9 till 11, again seen very faint.

3. Could never perceive the slightest derangement of the needle produced by the Aurora.

February 8, 1820.

" On the 8th, at noon and for half an hour after, an appearance presented itself in the heavens which
we had not before observed. A thin fleecy cloud, of a pale-red color, and shaped like part of an
arch, commenced pretty strongly from the top of the land in the N. W., and ran more and more
faintly to N. by W., beyond which it could no longer be traced; it was here fifteen degrees
above the northern horizon. On looking for a continuation of it in the opposite quarter of the
heavens, we perceived a larger portion of another and fainter arch of pale-red or orange, com-
mencing at the horizon in the E. by N., and extending to 60° of altitude in the N. N. E., so as
evidently not to form a part of the western arch. Captain Sabine afterwards observed the
whole phenomenon to alter its position ; the leg of the eastern arch shifting considerably more
to the southward. In the evening, the Aurora Borealis was seen forming a confused and irregular
arch of white light, continually varying in brightness, about 8° high in the centre, and extend-
ing from S. by E., round by the W., to N. N. W. From the upper part of this arch, corusca-
tions occasionally shot upwards, and a few streamers now and then burst forth also from the
horizon in the S. S. E. ; these latter went nearly up to the zenith, while the rest were more
faint, and did not reach so high. I am confident that Aldebaran and the Pleiades were very

102 RECORD OF AURORAL PHENOMENA.

sensibly dimmed by the most vivid of the coruscations, which appeared, in this respect, not to
differ from any thin vapor or cloud floating in the atmosphere. The gold leaf of the electrometer,
as well as the magnetic needle suspended in the Observatory, was carefully attended to, but
neither of them suffered any sensible disturbance." — Ibid., pp. 141-42.

N. B — 1. At noon, a thin fleecy cloud.

2. Commenced in N. TV., and ran more faintly to N. by W.

February 10, 1820.

"At a quarter past six p. m. on that day, the Aurora began to appear in the south and S. W,, in
detached and not very brilliant pencils of rays darting upwards from near the horizon.

Soon after, an arch of the usual broken and irregular kind appeared in the western quarter of the
heavens, extending from N. W. to south, and being from 5° to 8° high in the centre. From the
upper part of the arch proceeded a few faint coruscations reaching to no great height.

At a quarter before seven, a second and better-defined arch crossed over from S. E. to N. W. byN.,
passing on the northern side of the zenith, from which it was distant from 10° to 15° in the
centre.

This arch was very narrow, and seemed to be formed of two parts, each shooting with great rapidity
from those parts where the legs stood, and joining in the centre. In a short time, this second
arch entirely disappeared, and the first became less brilliant.

The phenomenon was then for some minutes confined to some bright pencils of rays in the south
and S. S. E., which were generally parallel to each other, but sometimes also diverged at an
angle of about 15°.

At a quarter past seven, two long and narrow streams of light crossed over, at 35° to 40° of alti-
tude, on the western side of the zenith, from the N. W. by N. and south points of the horizon.
Their upper ends did not quite meet in the centre so as to complete an arch, but inclined to the
shape of shepherds' crooks, as described on the 15th of January, and often remarked by former
observers ; but they were neither so brilliant nor so well defined as when we saw them before.

About a quarter before eight, as we were returning on board from the Observatory, the low arch
to the westward first described, and which had never altogether disappeared, increased con-
siderably in brilliancy. It was still, however, so irregular as to appear in detached roundish
clouds or blotches, from which the pencils, which shot upwards, appeared immediately to pro-
ceed. These pencils, which were infinitely varied both in length and breadth, were observed to
have also a slow, though very sensible, lateral motion from north to south and vice versa; and we
remarked on one occasion that, when two of them met and had the appearance of overlapping,
they produced, for about fifteen seconds, the most intense degree of light we had yet seen from
the Aurora. Tlie 2^ncils appeared generally to travel bodily in one direction, but sometimes to
widen out in both at the same time.

We were all decidedly of opinion that the fixed stars were very perceptibly dimmed by this pheno-
menon, which gradually disappeared by nine o'clock." — Ibid., p. 142.

N. B — 1. At 0 p. in., a very brilliant display S. and S. W.

2. Soon after, an arch from N. W. to S.

3. At a quarter before seven, a second arch, better defined, from S. E. to N. TV. by N.

4. Then for some minutes coufmed to some pencils of rays in S. and S. E.

5. At Th. 15m., two long streams of light, west side of zenith, from N. W. by N. and S.

points of the horizon.
G. Lateral motion from north to south.
1. The pencils appeared to travel bodily in one direction.

8. Disappeared at 9h. p. in.

9. Fixed stars perceptibly dimmed.

February 11, 1820.

"At half-past eight p. m., the Aurora Borealis made its appearance for a short time in an arch,
very irregular but at times very bright, from S. W. to S. S. E., at 4° or 5° above the horizon
in the centre." — Ibid., p. 1 14.

RECORD OF AURORAL PHENOMENA. 103

February 10, 1820.

"At half-past ten p. m. on the 19th, the Aurora Borealis was seen, as described by Lieut. Beechey,

in bright coruscations, shooting principally from the S. by W. quarter, across the zenith, to

N. N. E., and partially in every part of the heavens.
The light, when most vivid, was of a pale-yellow, at other times white, excepting to the southward,

in which direction a dull red tiuge was now and then perceptible. The coruscations had a

tremulous waving motion, and most of them were crooked towards the E. N. E.
The fresh gale which blew at the time from the N. N. E. appeared to have no effect on the Aurora,

which, as before observed, streamed directly to windward, and this with great velocity.
The brighter part of this meteor dimmed whatever stars it passed over, even those of the first

magnitude; and those of the second and third magnitude so much as to render them scarcely

visible.
The wind blew too strong for the electrometer to be used, but Rater's compass was not in the

slightest degree affected.
The whole of the phenomenon disappeared in about three-quarters of an hour." — Ibid., p. 141.

N. B. — Dimmed whatever stars it passed over, even those of the first magnitude.

March 4, 1820.

" The Aurora Borealis was seen faintly near the S. S. W. horizon, for three or four hours before
midnight."— Ibid., p. 152.

March 8, 1820.

"From nine p. m. till midnight, the Aurora Borealis appeared faintly in the horizon to the south,
occasionally streaming towards the zenith in coruscations of pale-white light." — Ibid., p. 15G.

April 16, 1820.

"In the afternoon of the 10th, the weather became clear and nearly calm ; Mr. Hooper and myself
observed a coloring in some light fleecy clouds, which formed one of the most beautiful phenomena
that I had ever seen.
These clouds, which were small and white, and almost the only ones in the heavens, assumed, as
they approached and passed under the sun, the most soft and exquisite tints of light lake, bluish-
green, and yellow about their edges that can possibly be imagined. These tints appeared only
wheu the clouds were within 15° or 20° of the sun, were brightest as they passed under it,
which they did as close as 2°, and began to be again indistinct at 10° from it. Some of the
clouds remained colored in this way for upwards of a quarter of an hour. There did not seem to
be any regular arrangement of tints, as in the prismatic spectrum, but the lake was always next
the sun."— Ibid, p. 1G6.

Winter Harbor.— Lat. 74° 47' 13" N. Long. 110° 49' W. Fisher.

October 27, 1819.

"The Aurora Borealis was seen to the southward, but it was too faint to deserve any description."—
Fisher, p. 150.

November 17, 1819.

"Between three and four o'clock this afternoon, a remarkable cloud was observed in the southwest;
the centre of it, indeed, bore S. W. by S. (true). It diverged from a centre, at the horizon,
in straight lines or columns, which extended to a great distance over the surface of the sky. The
lower edge of it, on each side, was very straight and well defined, and formed an angle of about
45° with the horizon. Directly over its centre, instead of straight lines, it had more the
appearance of an immense volume of smoke than anything else. The whole was compared by
our gunner to a powder magazine in a state of explosion ; which those who had au opportunity
of seeing such a sight thought a very apt comparison, for the reflected rays of the sun, which

104 RECORD OF AURORAL PHENOMENA.

illumined that part of the sky behind the cloud, gave it very much the appearance of an immense
explosion.
It is probable that this remarkable cloud had some connection with the Aurora Borealis; for after
it had vanished, which took place about six o'clock, that phenomenon was seen in the same part
of the heavens that the cloud occupied. It made its appearance, indeed, before the cloud dis-
appeared entirely, but not before it had lost its radiated form, and dispersed so much that nothing
particular could be seen about it." — Ibid., pp. 156-57.

N. B. — 1. Between three and four p. m. remarkable cloud.

2. It is probable that this remarkable cloud had some connection with the Aurora Borealis.

Wellington Channel.— [Lat, 74° 54' N. Long. 93° W.] October, 1850. Kane.

" 17th. A faint Aurora to the southward (true) at one a. m.
21st. A faint Aurora 8° east of magnetic north.
22d. A faint Aurora, more bright, with segment.
26th. Yery faint Aurora.

27th. Bistre-colored auroral segment, 20° east of magnetic axis.
29th. Faint nebulous Aurora.
31st. Observed a small Aurora to the northward (by compass) at one a. m." — 1 Kane, p. 519.

Baffin's Bay.— Lat. 75° 12' N. July 21, 1817. O'Reilly.

"July 21, 1817. Thermometer 34°, 48°, 42°. Wind, a perfect calm.

At three a. m. this morning, a most magnificent display of radiation occurred, of which a sketch
has been attempted.

The cirrus radiation here remarked is always observed to issue from a body of detached clouds
assuming the form of an arch. Whether this curved arrangement be actually in a portion of a
circumference of a circle, or merely an optical delusion, I will not undertake to assert, but the
curve invariably appeared to me arched as I have related. The basis arch of the phenomenon
which occurred this morning was of amazing span, embracing several leagues of sea, the
central radius passing through the horizon in nearly E. by N. per compass; which corresponds
closely with the point of variation.

The radiation darted rapidly and irregularly towards the opposite point of the sky in pale white
spires. The atmosphere in the southern region immediately became suffused with whitish-brown
cirro-stratus. Soon afterwards, various beautiful changes to minute cirro-cumulus and comoid
cirrus were observable.

Within the arch lay a long linear bed of cirro-stratus, almost black, which preserved a horizontal
position and unaltered form during the radiation and the changes mentioned. In the space of
three hours from the first appearance, the whole was dissolved and dissipated, leaving the atmo-
sphere free of visible cloud, but not quite clear, being of a milky blue.

I should not have intruded upon the reader's notice the detail of this radiation, had I not been
convinced, by repeated observations, that there exists a close, it may be said a direct, corre-
spondence between its appearance and the variation of the needle. From what cause this
singular coincidence proceeds, it will still longer, I fear, remain to be explored. The facts,
however, which are herein exhibited, may be relied on for the accuracy and faithfulness of report,
and may induce some enlightened and able mind to study a satisfactory illustration of the
phenomenon.

It is right, also, to inform the reader that, during the formation and continuance of the radiation,
no irregular motion of the compass was observable ; the entire process appearing to go on at an
elevation far too great to admit of any influence on the needle.

The state of the cloud, its being invariably a base of distinct cirro-stratus in a curved chain, the

RECORD OF AURORAL PHENOMENA. 105

radiation always issuing, as it would appear, from behind the cirro-stratus, and having a cirrous
consistence, and all those appearances being usually succeeded by a wind from the opposite
point, besides the correspondence with the variation, are circumstances well worthy the philoso-
pher's attention."— O'Reilly, pp. 169-71.

Northumberland Sound (Winter Quarters). — Lat. 76° 52' N. Long. 97° W. December,
1852. Belcher.

"On the evening of the 2d of December, about nine p. in., the first well-authenticated Aurora was
observed. All our instruments being then available, I was anxious to ascertain its effect on
them. Mr. Cheyne was directed to report on the electrometers, and I add his remarks, as I
believe he was called in time to see it in part.

'Sir: Last night, at 9.20, I observed an Aurora, a light narrow streak, extend from the summit of
the Observatory Hill, passing immediately through the zenith in a direction south by east (true),
terminating in a feather about 25° north of the zenith (?). Four cumulous-shaped masses
appeared as though only about a couple of hundred feet from the mastheads ; these masses lasted
about three minutes, and then suddenly disappeared, having apparently shifted their position
about twenty feet during that time. The long streak gradually vanished in about eight minutes.
The magnetometer read 116.50°, was perfectly steady ; nor was the electrometer in the least affected.
The sky was perfectly clear.

(Signed) J. P. Cheyne, Lieutenant.

December 3, 1852.'

Mr. Cheyne was not an observer; he probably took this 116. 5u° from the register for nine hours,1
which is there so recorded, but he could not judge of the steadiness of the magnetometer: at
eight it was 117.30° ; at ten, 120.60°. But it is not clear to my mind that it was not affected,
and that the causes which produced this Aurora had not been in action the last eight hours ; viz :
from four p. m. until midnight, when it reached 137.80°, equal to 27.60° of deflection; a dis-
turbance not before recorded. Even between nine and midnight, we have a deflection of 21.30° !

The barometer, during the interval between eight and midnight, suddenly changed from 29.860 to
29.650, regaining its height, and rising to 29.900 when the magnetometer, at sixteen hours,
showed 107.90.

I had almost begun to conjecture that we were in too cold a medium, or that it might not extend
to so high a latitude. Considering, too, that its first appearance generally occurs with the first
shades of winter, I could hardly understand its prolonged absence. I had observed it to the
north of Behring's Strait on the 25th August, and continuously up to the 5th October, in its
greatest brilliancy ; and in Wales, at Swansey, in August. But I notice that Parry, in his
first voyage, and nearest to us, did not record it until the 8th of January; on his third, which
follows in order of latitude, in October and November; and in his second, in October. I did
not witness it myself; indeed, it was not reported. I casually heard of it next day, and issued
orders ' invariably to call me.' It was only on perusing the official report called for from Lieut.
Cheyne, that I was induced to search the magnetometer records for its motions.

December 5. Another Aurora, noticed this evening, presented vertical shoots or broom-like fasciae
shooting towards the zenith (from behind the hill N. N. W), in pale flame-tinted rays, to an
altitude of 20°. No disturbance was recorded, but it is highly probable that the variations
registered at nine and ten p. m. are attributable to this influence. It recurred about midnight,
but it is not indicated by the magnetometer. At noon, it is suddenly deflected." — Belcher, 1,
p. 173.

"On the 6th, 9th, and 10th of December, further exhibitions of Aurora occurred, and .sonic slight
deflections of the magnetometer were apparent, but generally preceding or following.

1 All terms of time refer to astronomical periods from noon to noon.
14

106 RECORD OF AURORAL PHENOMENA.

About three a. m. on the 12th, the Aurora was reported by the officer of the watch as very brilliant.
But as I was comfortably in bed, and it was beyond my examination, and would vanish before I
could possibly be in a proper state to receive such a delicate visitor, I directed Messrs. May and
Cheyne to pay every attention. It was Mr. May's guard at the magnetometer, and Mr. Cheyne
was excused watch solely to attend to the electrometers, &c. It was asserted that the electric
fluid was noticed on the wires fairly caught; certes Mr. Cheyne found no disturbance. I am
not quite sure that he had his instruments placed in connection with his wires, or that he reached
in time, possibly thinking as I did. (?) Mr. May repaired to the Observatory, and, unfortu-
nately, my later orders were not then in force, or we should have had a full history of this
visitation. The magnetometer exhibited the most unmistakable signs of disturbance, moving
instantaneously from 114° to 128°, and up to 150°, returning at four a. m. to 111.90.

This, then, I consider as strong proof; and, taking into consideration other very decided deflections
when no cause was apparent, I am induced to believe that the affection precedes or follows what
may be indistinct, or not at all noticed by simple atmospheric observers, and nothing short of
very close watching at the magnetometer will indicate the truth. But it must be borne in mind
that this extra duty is a delicate service, and, to maintain even moderate interest, I know full
well that the greatest tact is necessary to keep up the importance of the operators. No 'soft
sawder' will do here; it is only by making the observer feel his importance, and in this aspect
his responsibility to the civilized world, that he can be persuaded to extend his labors. Science
will never be driven.

This Aurora was reported 'to have been duly captured, but broke the wires;' and as we could not
find any of her (she has become a female) on the wires, and I could obtain no direct testimony
(but the reverse) that Mr. Cheyne's electrometers were not influenced, the question remained in
nubibiis." — Ibid., p. 178.

At Sea.— Lat. 77° 55' N. Long. 0° 55' W. May 20, 1818. Scoresby.

"The nights being light, the Aurora Borealis could not be seen; but on the evening of the 20th
of May, an appearance was observed very much resembling the Aurora Borealis, yet no signs
of electricity were observed in the electrometer applied to the conductor." — 1 Scoresby, 383.

Van Rensselaer Harbor (N. E. of Smith's Sound).— Lat. 78° 45' N. Long. 71° W. Kane.

November 13, 1853.

" Three a. m. Nebulous patch to the south by east, closing in S. S. W. with slight illumination.

November 26, 1853.

Nine p. m. Bright belt crossing the zenith from north to south ; wavy in outline, but destitute of
color or scintillation.

November 28, 1853.

One a. m. Bright auroral light to the southward (S. 14° W.).

Four a. m. Same; west 21° south to south, quite fixed; a nebulous patch of illuminated sky;
elevation never exceeding 30°.

November 30, 1853.

Five hours thirty minutes p. m. Aurora of same character but very faint, nearly due east; faded
by 7 p. m.

December 1, 1853.

Eight p. m. Two horizontal belts to S. W.

t
RECORD OF AURORAL PHENOMENA. 107

December 4, 1853.

Two a. m. A very slight illumination noted to S. W.

December 8, 1853.

Three a. rn. Same, more defined, from N. E., at altitude of 30°, passing through the zenith and
lost in diffused light.

December 24, 1853.

Tour to eight a. m. Bright ' spots ' described by watch on the horizon to S. W. Perhaps auroral.

December 29, 1853.

Twelve (noon) to four p. ra. Light illumination above northern horizon.

January 27, 1854.

Five a.m. to eight a. m. Brilliant Aurora of same character as that of November 26; no colors;
needle undisturbed ; altitude 70°.

January 28, 1854.

Twelve (midnight). A slight auroral light, extending from S. E. to N. in a belt.

February 4, 1854.

Four hours thirty minutes a. m. Bright arch to W: and N. W. extending towards zenith.

February 5, 1854.

Seven p. m. Auroral arc ; altitude of centre of segment 35°; direction from N. to E. N. E.

November 13, 1854.

Four p. m. Nebulous patches S. and S. W. (Too light to observe.)

November 18, 1854.

Six p. m. A belt seen to S. W.

November 22, 1854.

Two a. m. Slight approach to arch-like arrangement.

December 14, 1854.

Ten p. m. Tolerably defined arc passing through zenith ; limbs lost about 40° above horizon ;
quite anomalous.

January 7, 1855.

Twelve to two a. m. Bright patch of illumination about 15° above horizon, S. by W., as seen from
outside floes.

February 10, 1855.

Two a. m. Diffused light with slight motion, S. by W.

General Remarks. — During second winter only were marked exhibitions noted. In but two
instances — viz : January 27, 1854, and February 10, 1855 — was any motion detected allied to
'merry dancers' of the south. The processes had no apparent connection with the magnetic
dip, and iu no case did the needle of our unifilar indicate disturbance. The scintillations
noted November 26 were very imperfect. The general character of the display was analogous
to that of Lancaster Sound, but less intense in illumination, wanting in definition, and having
no uniform relation to any quarter of the compass." — Kane's Expedition through Baffin's Bay
to the Open Polar Sea, Lat. 82° 30' N.

lUS RECORD OF AURORAL PHENOMENA.

\_TIie following observations were accidentally omitted."]

Cumberland House.— Lat. 53° 56' 40" N. Long. 102° 16' 41" W. October 23, 1819, to June
13, 1820. Hood.

"January 14, 1820. At ten p. m., Aurora faintly visible north.
19th. An Aurora, embracing the horizon from N. N. W. to N. N. E., about 12° high, 5° broad ;

faint, but permanent; twelve p. m.
20th. At eleven p. m., an arched Aurora, centre north, 15° high, and 5° broad.
21th. At ten p. m., an Aurora 40° high and 5° broad ; usual color, and faint; centre north.
February 2d. An Aurora very faint; centre north, about 2° high; extending from east to west.
8th. Appearance of an Aurora, at ten p. m., in the northern horizon.
10th. An Aurora arched, centre N. by E., about 4° high and 30° long.

12th. At ten p. m., an arched Aurora, centre north, about 6° high. Between it and the zenith,
were sometimes visible several perpendicular streams, with one extremity pointed, and declining
nearly in the direction of the dipping needle. They sometimes reappeared in the same place
which they had occupied at first. I shall, for the future, call them flashes.

19th. An Aurora across the zenith, cutting the meridian at right angles. That side of it which
faced the south was a regular line ; but the other streamed at intervals towards the east or
west, separating itself into portions resembling the flashes, but much smaller ; color as usual ;
many flashes near the northern horizon. This Aurora was followed, on the 20th, by a storm of
snow E. S. E.

29th. An Aurora arched, centre north, extending 60°; height 30°, breadth 5°. Towards the
eastern extremity, it was broken, by a quick undulating motion, into those portions described
above, which I shall call beams, because they appear to tend towards a common centre, though
their direction is sometimes altered when in motion. Color as usual.

March 4th. At twelve p. m., a beautiful and singular Aurora; four regular concentric arches, the
outermost extending from N. N. W. to E. N. E., about 30° high, and the others at equal dis-
tances within it, the last being 7° high. Each was 3° broad; faint, but visible for three hours.

5th. An appearance of Aurora in the northern horizon.

6th. A large, brilliant, arched Aurora, centre N. N. E., at nine p. m. It advanced rapidly to the
southward, separating into beams, and scattering many flashes. The motion of the beams was
exceedingly quick, and they were bright, but of the usual color. They ranged themselves in
wreaths, forming Corona? Boreales in the zenith, which faded gradually, leaving a pale undis-
tinguished body of light, out of which they were soon again renovated, without apparent com-
munication with any other body of the Aurora.

7th. At one a. in., the above Aurora spread over the whole sky, except a portion from S. S. E. to
S. S. W.

At nine p. m., an arched Aurora, centre N. N. E. ; many flashes, which, at twelve p. m., filled the
northern half of the sky.

8th. An arched Aurora, centre N. N. E. It did not advance to the zenith, but separated into
brilliant beams, and scattered many flashes. The motion of the beams was in wreaths, or seg-
•ments of circles ; rapid, and exhibiting at the lower extremities a red-orange color, and at the
upper faint yellow.

9th. At eight p. m., an Aurora consisting of several arches, the highest of which was the faintest.
They were almost obscured by flashes between them and the spectator.

10th. At nine p. m., an Aurora, in-rapid motion, seen through breaks in the clouds.

11th. An Aurora, in many segments, from E. N. E. to W. N. W. ; beams in rapid motion; ordi-
nary color.

12th. At eight p. m., an arched Aurora, centre N. by E. At ten p. m., it approached near the
zenith, and broke into beams and flashes. Ordinary color.

14th and 15th. Aurora just visible through the clouds.

16th. A bright Aurora, but almost hid by the clouds.

17th. Aurora visible through a dense haze.

RECORD OF AURORAL PHENOMENA. 109

18th. At twelve p. m., an arched Aurora, centre N. N. E., about 20° high, 6° broad, extending

from N. W. to E.
19th. At eight p. m., an appearance of Aurora in the northern horizon.
N. B. — From March 22 to April the 8th, the descriptions of the Aurora? and other observations

relative to their height, have been delivered in a separate paper.
April 10th and 12th. Appearance of Aurora north.
14th. At nine p. m., an arched Aurora, about 15° high; centre north.
15th. An arched Aurora, 16° high, centre N. by E.
16th. Appearance of Aurora N. N. E.
1 9th. At ten p. m., an arched Aurora 25° high, centre N. by E., extending from N. E. to N. N. W.

At eleven p. m., it was 35° high, and its eastern extremity turned back upon itself, and appeared

to dart a flash perpendicularly towards the earth. At llh. 30m. p. m., several flashes reached

the zenith. Color as usual.
20th. Appearance of Aurora through a thick fog.

27th. At twelve p. m., a segment of an arch, and several flashes, north, and about 30° high.
29th. Several flashes of Aurora bearing north.
30th. At eight p. m., an arched Aurora 30° high ; centre bearing N. N. E., extremities N. E. by E.

and N. W. by N.
May 1st. A twelve p. m., a remarkable Aurora rose from E. N. E. like the trunk of a tree, and

spread forth branches all over the sky, but principally towards the south. They were composed

of beams, which always are distinguishable when the Aurora is much agitated. Ordinary

color; many scattered flashes round the horizon.
2d. At eleven p. m., an arch across the zenith, 6° broad, and faint ; extremes E. by S. and W. by N.
3d. At ten p. m., an Aurora in rapid motion, seen through the clouds.
5th. At eleven p. m., an arched Aurora, very faint ; centre N. N. E.
12th. At twelve p. m., the northern half of the sky was filled with a light attenuated Aurora, not

more brilliant than the milky way ; but flashing with such rapidity that the eye could not follow

its motion, nor determine its form.
12th. At eight p. m., appearance of Aurora north.
18. Ditto.

23d. An arched Aurora 15° high ; centre N. by E.
28th. Appearance of Aurora in the northern horizon.
N. B. — The above descriptions were taken at the times inserted. The Aurora no doubt often

changed its form afterwards. Many of the faint arches, however, altered only their positions in

the course of four or five hours, by approaching nearer to the zenith." — 1 Franklin (Hood),

543-46.

Christian's Sound.— Lat. 60° 04' N. Long. 43° 00' W. October 26, 1828. Graah.

" In the evening a beautiful Aurora Borealis displayed itself, in the shape of a bow stretching through
the zenith from east to west. It produced no perceptible effect on the magnetic needle. " —
Graah, p. 48.

Nennortalik (Greenland).— Lat. 60° 08' N. Long. 45° 16' W. March 21, 1829. Graah.
" Between nine and eleven p. m., we had a brilliant display of the Aurora, which, particularly
towards the south and zenith, exhibited a succession of the most vivid colors."— Graah, p. 58.

HO RECORD OF AURORAL PHENOMENA.

Off Winter Island (Hudson's Bay).— Lat. 66° 11' 26" N. Long. 82° 53' 45" W. August
31, 1823. Lyon.

" During the night, we saw the Aurora very bright over Winter Island.
It was remarkable that we should have seen it so seldom and faintly at Igloolik, and that now

again we should, on returning to Winter Island, find it as brilliant as we had been accustomed

to see it at the same place two years before.
The nights were now very cold, long, and dark, and the sea froze thickly when not agitated." —

Lyon, pp. 455-56.

LIST

JOURNALS, ETC., REFERRED TO IN THE PRECEDING PAGES.

American Magazine. — A Monthly Miscellany, conducted by Horatio Gates Spafford, A. M.,
F. A. A. Albany, N. Y., March, 1816.

Arctic Miscellanies. — A Souvenir of the late Polar Search. By the Officers and Seamen of the
Expedition. A MS. Newspaper, called " The Aurora Borealis," published on board H. M. S.
Assistance, Captain Ominaney, 1850-51. London, 1852.

Austin. — Report of Proceedings of Arctic Searching Expedition, under command of Captain
Austin, R. N.

Austin. — Report of H. T. Austin, Captain of her majesty's ship Resolute and in charge of an
Expedition to the Arctic Seas in search of Sir John Franklin, 1850-51. Inclosing Reports
and Journals of Proceedings of Searching Parties acting under his orders.

Back. — Narrative of the Arctic Land Expedition to the mouth of the Great Fish River, and along
the shores of the Arctic Ocean, in the years 1833, 1834, and 1835. By Captain Back, R. N.,
Commander of the Expedition. London, 1836.

Beechey. — A Voyage of Discovery towards the North Pole, performed in his majesty's ships
Dorothea and Trent, under the command of Captain David Buchan, R. N., 1818. By
Captain F. W. Beechey, R. N., F. R. S., one of the lieutenants of the Expedition. London,
1843.

Beechey.— Narrative of a Voyage to the Pacific and Behring's Strait, to co-operate with the Polar
Expeditions, performed in H. M. ship Blossom, under the command of Capt. F. W. Beechey,
R. N., in the years 1825-26-27-28. London, 1831.

Belcher. — Narrative of a Voyage round the world, performed in her majesty's ship Sulphur, during
the years 1836-42. By Captain Sir Edward Belcher, R. N., Commander of the Expedition.
In two volumes. London, 1843.

Belcher.— Proceedings of the Squadron in the Arctic Seas, under the command of Sir Edward
Belcher, C. B. August, 1852, to July, 1853.

Belcher.— Narrative of Sir Edward Belcher; detailing his visit to Jones's Sound, and further pro-
ceedings to the 10th of November, 1853, when the "Assistance" was frozen in near Cape
Osborn in the Wellington Channel. And his further proceedings to March, 1854, and
August, 1854.

112 LIST OP JOURNALS, ETC.

Belcher. — The Last of the Arctic Voyages ; being a Narrative of the Expedition in H. M. S. Assist-
ance, under the command of Captain Sir Edward Belcher, C. B., in search of Sir John
Franklin, during the years 1852-53-54. In two volumes. London, 1855.

Bellot. — Memoirs of Lieutenant Joseph Rene Bellot, Chevalier of the Legion of Honour, &c. With
his Journal of a Voyage to the Polar Seas in search of Sir John Franklin. In two volumes.
London, 1855.

Billings. An Account of a Geographical and Astronomical Expedition to the Northern parts of

Russia, performed by Commodore Joseph Billings, in the years 1785, &c, to 1794. Nar-
rated from the original papers by Martin Sauer, Secretary to the Expedition. Loudon, 1802.

Bonnyeastle. — Newfoundland in 1842. By Sir Richard Henry Bonnycastle, Knt., Lieutenant-
Colonel in the Corps of Royal Engineers. In two volumes. London, 1842.

Cartwright. — A Journal of Transactions and Events, during a residence of nearly sixteen years on
the Coast of Labrador. By George Cartwright, Esq. In three volumes. London, 1792. 4to.

Chappell. — Narrative of a Voyage to Hudson's Bay in his majesty's ship Rosamond ; containing
some account of the Northeastern coast of America, and of the Tribes inhabiting that remote
Region. By Lieut. Edward Chappell, R. N. London, 1817.

Cochrane. — Narrative of a Pedestrian Journey through Russia and Siberian Tartary, from the
frontiers of China to the Frozen Sea and Kamtschatka, performed during the years 1820, 1821,
1822, and 1823. By Capt. John Dundas Cochrane, R. N. Philadelphia, 1824.

Collinson. — Proceedings of Captain Collinson, C. B. Her majesty's discovery ship Enterprise,
Behring's Strait division of Arctic Search, 1851-54.

Cook. — A Voyage to the Pacific Ocean. Undertaken by the command of his majesty for making
Discoveries in the Northern Hemisphere. Performed under the direction of Captains Cook,
Clerk, and Gore, in his majesty's ships the Resolution and the Discovery, in the years 1776,
1777, 1778, 1779, and 1780. In three volumes. London, 1784. 4to.

Crantz. — The History of Greenland : containing a Description of the Country and its Inhabitants,
&c. By David Crantz. In two volumes. London, 1767.

Dixon. — A Voyage round the World ; but more particularly to the Northwest Coast of America.
Performed in 1785, 1786, 1787, and 1788. By Captain George Dixon. London, 1789. 4to.

Dobbs. — An Account of the Countries about Hudson's Bay, in the Northwest part of America. By
Arthur Dobbs, Esq. London, 1744. 4to.

Duncan. — Voyage to Davis's Strait. By David Duncan, Master of the ship Dundee. Loudon, 1827.

Ellis. — A Voyage to Hudson's Bay, by the Dobbs Galley and California, in the years 1746 and
1747, for discovering a Northwest Passage, &c. By Henry Ellis, Gent. London, 1748.

Erman. — Travels in Siberia; including Excursions Northwards, down the Obi, to the Polar Circle,
and Southwards to the Chinese frontier. By Adolph Erman. Translated from the German
by W. D. Cooley. In two volumes. Philadelphia, 1850.

Fisher. — A Journal of a Voyage of Discovery to the Arctic Regions, in his majesty's ships Hecla
and Griper, in the years 1819 and 1820. By Alexander Fisher, Surgeon R. N. Third edition.
London, 1821.

LIST OF JOURNALS, ETC. 113

Forsyth.— Proceedings of Commander Charles C. Forsyth, II. N., of tin- "Prince Albert" discovery

vessel, in the summer of 1850.

Franklin. — Narrative of a Journey to the Shores of the Polar Sen, in the years 1819, '20, '21, and
'22. By John Franklin, Captain R. N., F. R. S., and Commander of the Expedition. Lon-
don, 1823.

Franklin. — Narrative of a Second Expedition to the Shores of the Polar Sea, in the years 1825, 1826,
and 1827. By John Franklin, Captain R. N., F. R. S., &c, and Commander of the Expedi-
tion. Including an Account of the Progress of a Detachment to the Eastward. By John
Richardson, M. D., <fec. London, 1828.

Frederick. — Proceedings of Captain Charles Frederick, Commander II. M. ship Amphitrite, on
a visit to Behring's Straits and the vicinity. 1852.

Freminville. — Voyage to the North Pole in the frigate The Syreone; including a Physical and
Geographical Notice relative to the Island of Iceland. By the Chevalier de la Poix de Fre-
minville, Lieutenant, Chief of the Brigade of the Marine Cadets, &c. London, 1819.

Goodsir. — An Arctic Voyage to Baffin's Bay and Lancaster Sound, in search of friends with Sir John
Franklin. By Robert Anstruther Goodsir, late President of the Royal Medical Society of
Edinburgh. London, 1850.

Graah. — Narrative of an Expedition to the East Coast of Greenland, sent, by order of the King of
Denmark, in search of the Lost Colonies, under the command of Captain W. A. Graah, of the
Danish Navy. London, 183T.

Hearne. — A Journey from Prince of Wales's Fort, in Hudson's Bay, to the Northern Ocean. Under-
taken, by order of the Hudson's Bay Company, for the Discovery of Copper Mines, a North-
west Passage, &c, in the years 1769, 1770, 1771, and 1772. By Samuel Hearne. London,
1795. 4to.

Henderson. — Iceland; or, the Journal of a Residence in that Island during the years 1814 and 1815.
By Ebenezer Henderson, Doctor in Philosophy, &c. Second edition. Edinburgh, 1819.

Hooper. — Ten Months among the Tents of the Tuski ; with Incidents of an Arctic Boat Expedition,
in search of Sir John Franklin, as far as the Mackenzie River and Cape Bathurst. By Lieut.
W. H. Hooper, R. N. London, 1853.

X)

Hooper. — Journal of Proceedings of Lieutenant W. H. Hooper, R. N, from Fort Macphersou, on
the Peel's River (6th September, 1849), to Winter Quarters on the Bear Lake, and subse-
quently after he had separated from Commander Pullen.

Inglefield. — Proceedings of Commander E. A. Inglefield, R. N, commanding the screw steam-vessel
Isabel (Private Expedition) on a Voyage of Arctic Discovery. 1852.

Inglefield. — Proceedings of Captain E. A. Inglefield, Commander of H. M. steam-vessel Phoenix,
by Baffin's Bay to Beechy Island, in search of Sir John Franklin, in the year 1853.

Inglefield. — A Summer Search for Sir John Franklin; with a peep into the Polar Basin. By
Commander E. A. Inglefield, R. N. London, 1853.

Jukes. — Excursions in and about Newfoundland, during the years 1839 and 1840. By J. B. Jukes,
M. A., &c. In two volumes. London, 1842.

15

114 LIST OF JOURNALS, ETC.

Kane. — The U. S. Grinnell Expedition in search of Sir John Franklin. A Personal Narrative. By
Elisha Kent Kane, M. D., U. S. N. New York, 1854.

Kellett. — Narrative of the Proceedings of Captain Kellett, of her majesty's ship ITerald, through
Behring's Straits, and Discovery of Herald Island, in 1849.

Kellett. — Narrative of the Proceedings of Captain Henry Kellett, of her majesty's ship Herald, from
May, 1849, to October, 1850.

Kellett. — Proceedings of Captain Kellett, C. B., of II. M. S. Besolute, and Senior Officer in
Barrow Strait, August, 1852, to May, 1853.

Kennedy. — Proceedings of Mr. William Kennedy, commanding the Prince Albert, discovery vessel
(Lady Franklin's Private Arctic Expedition), accompanied by Lieutenant Bellot of the French
Navy. 1852.

Kennedy. — A Short Narrative of the Second Voyage of the Prince Albert in Search of Sir John
Franklin. By William Kennedy, Commander of the Expedition. London, 1853.

King. — Narrative of a Journey to the Shores of the Arctic Ocean in 1833, 1834, and 1835, under the
command of Captain Back, R. N. By Richard King, M. R. C. S., &c. In two volumes.
London, 183fi.

Kotzebue. — A Voyage of Discovery into the South Sea and Behring's Straits, for the purpose of
Exploring a Northeast Passage. Undertaken in the years 1815-18, in the ship Rurick, under
the command of Lieutenant Otto Von Kotzebue, of the Russian Imperial Navy. In three
volumes. London, 1821.

Krusenstern. — Voyage Round the World, in the years 1803, 1804, 1805, and 1806, under the com-
mand of Captain A. J. Von Krusenstern, of the Russian Imperial Navy. London, 1813.

Laing. — A Voyage to Spitzbergen ; containing an Account of that Country, &c. By John Laing,
Surgeon. Third edition. Edinburgh, 1820: 12mo. London, 1815: 8vo.

LangsdorfF. — Voyages and Travels in various parts of the World, during the years 1803, 1804, 1805,
1806, and 1801. By G. H. Von Langsdorff. London, 1813.

Lisiansky. — A Voyage Round the World, in the years 1803, 1804, 1805, and 1806; performed in
the ship Neva. By ITrey Lisiansky, Captain in the Russian Navy. London, 1814.

Lyon. — The Private Journal of Captain G. F. Lyon, of H. M. S. Hecla, during the recent Voyage
of Discovery under Captain Parry. London, 1825.

Lyon. — A Brief Narrative of an unsuccessful attempt to reach Repulse Bay through Sir Thomas
Rowe's Welcome, in his majesty's ship Griper, in the year 1824. By Captain G. F. Lyon,
R.N. London, 1825.

Mackenzie. — Voyages from Montreal, on the River St. Lawrence, through the Continent of North
America, to the Frozen and Pacific Oceans, in the years 1789 and 1793. By Alexander
Mackenzie, Esq. London, 1801. 4to.

M'Clure. — Proceedings of Captain M'Clure, of her majesty's discovery ship Investigator, in search
of the Expedition under Sir John Franklin, from August, 1850, to April, 1853; and report-
ing the Discovery of the Northwest Passage.

LIST OF JOURNALS, ETC. 115

M'Cormiek. — Narrative of a Boat and Sledge Expedition up Wellington Channel and round Baring
Bay, in search of Sir John Franklin aud the crews of the discovery ships Erebus and Terror.
By Dr. M'Cormiek, of the North Star.

M'Keevor. — A Voyage to Hudson's Bay during the Summer of 1812. By Thomas M'Keevor,
M. D., of the Dublin Lying-in Hospital. London, 1819.

Maguire. — Proceedings of Commander Rochfort Maguire, Commanding her majesty's ship Plover in
the vicinity of Behring's Straits. With a Journal of Proceedings of Plover's boats on an
Expedition to and from Point Barrow, commencing 19th July, and ending 12th August, 1852.
And further Report of Proceedings to August, 1853.

Maguire. — Narrative of Proceedings at Moore's Harbor (east of Cape Barrow), September, 1852, to
August, 1853. By Rochfort Maguire, Commander of her majesty's discovery ship Plover.

Maguire. — Proceedings of Commander Maguire, her majesty's discovery ship Plover, Behring's
Straits division of Arctic Search, during her second winter passed at Point Barrow, 1853-54.

Manby. — Journal of a Voyage to Greenland in the year 1821. By George William Manby, Esq.
London, 1822.

Markham. — Franklin's Footsteps: a Sketch of Greenland, along the shores of which his Expedition
passed, and of the Parry Isles, where the last traces were found. By Clement Robert Mark-
ham, late of n. M. S. Assistance. London, 1853.

Meares. — Voyages made in th^ years 1788 and 1789 from the Northwest Coast of America. By
John Meares, Esq. London, 1790. 4to.

Moore. — General Proceedings of Commander T. E. L. Moore, of her majesty's ship Plover, through
Behring's Strait, and towards Mackenzie's River, 1848-49.

Moore. — Narrative of the Proceedings of Commander T. E. L. Moore, of her majesty's ship Plover,
from September, 1849, to September, 1850.

Moore. — Proceedings of Captain Thomas Moore, Commanding her majesty's ship Plover, in the
vicinity of Behring's Straits, during the winter of 1851-52.

O'Reilley. — Greenland and the adjacent Seas, and the Northwest Passage to the Pacific Ocean ; illus-
trated in a Voyage to Davis's Strait during the Summer of 1817. By Bernard O'Reilley,
Esq. London, 1818. 4to.

Osborne. — Stray Leaves from an Arctic Journal : or, Eighteen Months in the Polar Regions, in
search of Sir John Franklin's Expedition, in the years 1850-51. By Lieutenant Shevard
Osborne. London, 1852.

Parry. — Journal of a Voyage for the Discovery of a Northwest Passage from the Atlantic to the
Pacific ; performed in the years 1819-20, in H. M. ships Hecla and Griper, under the orders
of William Edward Parry, R. N., F. R. S., and Commander of the Expedition. London,
1821.

Parry. — Journal of a Second Voyage for the Discovery of a Northwest Passage from the Atlantic
to the Pacific; performed in the years 1821-22-23, in H. M. ships Fury and Heela, under
the orders of Captain William Edward Parry, R. N. London, 1824.

Parry. — Journal of a Third Voyage for the Discovery of a Northwest Passage from the Atlantic to
the Pacific ; performed in the years 1824-25, in H. M. ships Hecla and Fury, under the orders
of Captain William Edward Parry, R. N. London, 1826.

116 LIST OF JOURNALS, ETC.

Parry. — Narrative of an Attempt to reach the North Pole, in the year 1827, in boats from the Hecla,
under the command of Captain William Edward Parry, R. N., F. R. S., &c. London, 1828.

Penny. — Mr. Goodsir's Narrative of the Voyage of the Advice (whale ship), Mr. Penny Commander,
through Lancaster Sound, 1849.

Penny. — Report of Proceedings of Expedition in search of Sir John Franklin, commanded by
Captain William Penny.

Penny. — Letter from Mr. William Penny, inclosing Reports of Proceedings of the Travelling Parties
from her majesty's ship Sophia, in search of Sir John Franklin, in the Spring and Summer
of 1851.

Phipps. — A Voyage to North Pole, undertaken by his majesty's command, 1773. By Conslantiue
John Phipps. London, 1774.

Portlock. — A Voyage around the World ; but more particularly to the Northwest Coast of America.
Performed in 1785, 1786, 1787, and 1788. By Captain Nathaniel Portlock. London,
1789. 4to.

Pullen. — Proceedings of a Boat Expedition from Wainwright Inlet to Fort Simpson, on the Mac-
kenzie River, July 25 to October 3, 1849. By Commander W. J. S. Pullen, of H. M. brig
Plover.

Pullen. — Journal of the Proceedings of the Party from Mackenzie River towards Cape Bathurst, in
search of Sir John Franklin's Expedition; thence back again, and on to Fort Simpson. July
17 to October 5, 1850. By W. J. S. Pullen, Commander R. N., commanding the Expedition.

Pullen. — Journal of the Proceedings of her majesty's ship North Star, in Erebus and Terror Bay,
Beechey Island. Winter of 1852-53, and to August, 1853. By W. J. S. Pullen, Com-
mander R. N.

Rae. — Narrative of an Expedition to the Shores of the Arctic Sea, in 1846 and 1847. By John Rae,
Hudson Bay Company's service, Commander of the Expedition. London, 1850.

Rae. — Narrative of the Proceedings of an Expedition, under the command of Dr. Rae, from Fort
Confidence to the Shores of the Arctic Sea, by way of the Coppermine River, in the Summer
of 1849.

Rae. — Expedition under Dr. Rae from Fort Confidence, April, 1851, in which he examined the shore
of Wollaston Land to the eastward of long. 110°, and westward as far as long. 117° 17'.

Rae. — Proceedings of Dr. John Rae, Chief Factor Hudson's Bay Company, by Repulse Bay to Castor
and Pollux River, in 1853 and 1854, during which journey he obtained conclusive information
of the fate of a portion of Sir John Franklin's Expedition.

Richardson. — Narrative of the Proceedings of Sir John Richardson to the Shores of the Polar Sea,
between the Mackenzie and Coppermine Rivers, in 1848.

Richardson. — Arctic Searching Expedition; a Journal of a Boat-voyage through Rupert's Land
and the Arctic Sea, in search of the Discovery Ships under command of Sir John Franklin.
By Sir John Richardson, C. B., F. R. S., &c. In two volumes. Published by authority.
London, 1851.

LIST OF JOURNALS, ETC. 117

Ross, John — A Voyage of Discovery, made under the orders of the Admiralty, in H. M. ships
Isabella and Alexander, for the purpose of Exploring Baffin's Bay, and inquiring into the
probability of a Northwest Passage. By John Ross, K. S., Captain Royal Navy. London,
1819.

Ross, John. — Narrative of a Second Voyage in search of a Northwest Passage, and of a Residence
in the Arctic Regions during the years 1829, 1830, 1831, 1832, 1833. By Sir John Ross,
R. N.

Ross, Sir John. — Proceedings of Sir John Ross in the Felix discovery vessel, 1850-51.

Ross, Sir James. — Narrative of the Proceedings of Captain Sir James C. Ross, in command of the
Expedition through Lancaster Sound and Barrow Straits, 1848-49.

Sabine. — The North Georgia Gazette and Winter Chronicle. Edited by Captain Edward Sabine.
Melville Island, winter of 1819-20. London, 1821.

Saunders. — Proceedings of her majesty's ship North Star, Mr. James Saunders Master-commanding,
on an Expedition to Barrow Straits, in 1849 and 1850.

Seoresby. — An Account of the Arctic Regions, with a History and Description of the Northern
Whale Fishery. By W. Seoresby, Jr., F. R. S. E. In two volumes. Edinburgh, 1820.

Seoresby. — Journal of a Voyage to the Northern Whale Fishery ; including Researches and Dis-
coveries on the Eastern Coast of West Greenland, made in the Summer of 1822, in the ship
Baffin, of Liverpool. By William Seoresby, Jr. F. R. S. E., &c, Commander. Edinburgh,
1823.

Seemann. — Narrative of the Voyage of II. M. S. Herald during the years 1845-51, under the com-
mand of Captain Henry Kellett, R. N., C. B. ; being a Circumnavigation of the Globe, and
three Cruises to the Arctic Regions in search of Sir John Franklin. By Berthold Seemann,
F. L. S., &c. In two volumes. London, 1853.

Simpson, A. — The Life and Travels of Thomas Simpson, the Arctic Discoverer. By his brother,
Alexander Simpson. London, 1845.

Simpson, T. — Narrative of the Discoveries on the North Coast of America, effected by the Officers
of the Hudson's Bay Company during the years 1836-39. By Thomas Simpson, Esq. Lon-
don, 1843.

Smith, — An Account of a Voyage for the Discovery of a Northwest Passage by Hudson's Straits to
the Western and Southern Ocean of America. Performed in the years 1746 and 1747, in the
ship California, Captain Francis Smith, Commander. By the Clerk of the California. In
two volumes. London, 1748.

Snow. — Voyage of the Prince Albert in search of Sir John Franklin : a Narrative of every-day life
in the Arctic Seas. By W. Parker Snow. London, 1851.

Sutherland. — Journal of a Voyage in Baffin's Bay and Barrow Straits, in the years 1850-51, per-
formed by H. M. ships Lady Franklin and Sophia, under the command of Mr. William
Penny, in search of the missing crews of H. M. ships Erebus and Terror. With a Narrative
of Sledge Excursions on the ice of Wellington Channel. By Peter C. Sutherland, M. D.,
&c. In two volumes. London, 1852.

US LIST OF JOURNALS, ETC.

Umfre ville. The Present State of Hudson's Bay ; containing a full Description of that Settlement

and the adjacent Country, &c. By Edward Umfreville. London, 1790.

Vancouver. A Voyage of Discovery to the North Pacific Ocean, and round the World; in which

the Coast of Northwest America has been carefully examined and accurately surveyed, &c.
Performed in the years 1790, 1791, 1792, 1793, 1794, and 1795, in the Discovery sloop-of-
war, and the armed tender Chatham, under the command of Captain George Vancouver. In
three volumes. London, 1798. 4 to.

Wrangell. — Narrative of an Expedition to the Polar Sea in the years 1820, 1821, 1822, and 1823.
Commanded by Lieutenant, now Admiral, Ferdinand Von Wrangell, of the Russian Imperial
Navy. London, 1844.

PUBLISHED BY THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION,

WASHINGTON, D. C.

July, 1856.

APPENDIX.

PUBLICATIONS OF LEARNED SOCIETIES

AND PERIODICALS

IN THE LIBRARY OF THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION.

PART II,

NOTICE

The present list completes the European portion of the series intended to show
what works have been received in the way of exchange by the Smithsonian Insti-
tution, and includes likewise all transactions of learned societies and periodicals
which have in any way been added to its library. Part first was published in Vol.
VII. of Smithsonian Contributions to Knowledge, and embraced the countries for
which Dr. Fliigel acted as agent, namely, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Russia,
Holland, Germany, Switzerland, and Belgium. The present or second part includes
France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland, the agents for which countries are Hector Bossange, Paris, and Henry
Stevens, London.

The Smithsonian Institution, desirous of collecting together all published trans-
actions of societies and scientific periodicals, will be happy to receive from its
correspondents any additions to these lists, especially when such will serve to

complete series already in its possession.

Joseph Henry,

Secretary S. I.

Smithsonian Institution, May 1, 1856.

PUBLICATIONS

LEARNED SOCIETIES AND PERIODICALS IN THE LIBRARY OF THE
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, MAY, 1856.

PART II.

FRANCE

Congres Scientifique de France.*

Congres Scientifique de France. V, 1837. Metz, 1838. X. I & n, 1842.
Strasbourg, 1843. 8vo.

AMIENS.

Societe des Antiquaires de Picardie.

Me"moires de la Societe" des Antiquaires de Picardie. Documents ine'dits con-
cernant la province. I, 1845 ; II, 1S53 ; IV, 1855. Ilistoire generate de la
province de Picardie. I & II, 1853. Amiens. 4to.

Memoires de la Socie'te' des Antiquaires de Picardie. Deuxieme serie. I, 1851 ;
II, 1853 ; III, 1854. Amiens et Paris. 8vo.

Bulletin de la Societe des Antiquaires de Picardie. 1853, I— iv; 1854, i — iv;
1855, I — in. Amiens. 8vo.

Annuaire administrate et historique de la Somme, pour les annees 1852 et
1853, public sous les auspices du conseil general du Department, par la
Socie'te' des Antiquaires de Picardie. Amiens, 1852. 8vo.

Seance publique du 29 Juin 1854, et inauguration de la statue de Pierre
l'Ermite, 3, Amiens. Amiens, 1854. 8vo.

Deliberation du 23 Decembre 1852, concernant les travaux de la cathedrale
dAmiens. Amiens, 1853. 8vo.

ANGOULEME.

Societe d'Agriculture, Arts et Commerce du Departement de la Charente.

Annales de la Socie'te dAgriculture, Arts et Commerce du departement de la
Charente. XXXIY, i & II, 1852. Angouleme. 8vo.

* Unless otherwise stated, the works mentioned in this list are a donation or exchange from the address under
which they are recorded.
1

2 PUBLICATIONS OF LEA 15 NED SOCIETIES.

AKCUEIL.

Societe d'Arcueil.

Memoires de physique et tie chimie, de la SociJte d'Arcueil. I & II, 1807 et
1809. Paris. 8vo.
(Purchased).

BEZIERS (Herault).

Societe Archeologique.

Bulletin de la Societe" Archdologique de Boziers. Livr. I — XIV. 1836 — 1855.
Btiziers. 8vo.

BORDEAUX.

Academie des Sciences, Belles-Lettres et Arts de Bordeaux.

Recueil des Actes de l'Academie des Sciences, Belles-Lettres et Arts de Bor-
deaux. XIII, 1851; XIV, 1852; XVI, 1854. Bordeaux. 8vo.

Societe Iiinneenne de Bordeaux.

Bulletin d'histoire naturelle de la Socie*te Linne'enne de Bordeaux. Deuxieme
Edition. 1(1826), 1830; II, 1845. Bordeaux. 8vo.

Actes de la Socie'td Linne'enne de Bordeaux. V — XIX, 1832 — 1853. Paris et
Bordeaux. 8vo.

Compte-rendu des travaux de la commission institute par la Societe- Linne'enne
de Bordeaux pour IV'tude de la maladie de la vigne pendant l'anuee 1852
(Extrait des Actes de la Societe Linne'enne de Bordeaux, XVIII). Bordeaux,
1853. 8vo.

CAEN.

Academie Royale des Sciences, Arts et Belles-Lettres.

Memoires de l'Academie royale des Sciences, Arts et Belles-Lettres de Caen.
1847; 1849; 1851; 1852; 1855. Caen. 8vo.

Bulletin de 1'instruction publique et des Soeie'te's savantes ae TAcademie de
Caen. Premiere annee, I & II, 1840 — 41 ; Deuxieme annee, I & II, 1841 — 42 ;
Troisieme annee, I & II, 1842—43. Caen. 8vo.

Societe d'Agriculture et de Commerce de Caen.

Precis des travaux de la Societe- royale dAgriculture et de Commerce de Caen.
I, 1801—1810; II, 1827; IV, 1836. Caen. 8vo.

Societe des Antiquaires de Normandie.

Memoires de la Societe des Antiquaires de Normandie. 2e seYie. II, 1841;
IV, 1844; VI, 1852; VII, 1847; VIII, 1851; IX, 1851; X, 1853. 3e se"rie.
I, 1855. Paris. 4to.

Societe de Medecine.

Stiance extraordinaire de la Socie'te' de Medecine de Caen, tenue le 10 Juin
1853. Caen. 8vo.

FRANCE. 3

CAEN.

Socicte Linneenne de Normandie.

Me*moires de la Socie'te Linneenne de Normandie. V — IX, 1835 — 1853.
Paris. 4to.

Memoires de la Socie'te' Linneenne du Calvados. 1824 et 1825. Caen. 8vo.

CHERBOURG.

Societe Aeademique.

Memoires de la Socie'te Aeademique de Cherbourg. 1852. Cherbourg. 8vo.

Societe des Sciences Naturelles.

Memoires de la Societe* des Sciences naturelles de Cherbourg. I, i, 1852; II,
1854. Cherbourg. 8vo.

DIJON.

Academie des Sciences, Arts et Belles-Lettres.

Memoires de l'Academie des Sciences, Arts et Belles-Lettres de Dijon. Deuxieme
serie. I k II, 1851—1853. Dijon, 1852 et 1854. 8vo.

EVREUX.

Societe libre d'Agriculture, Sciences, Arts et Belles-Lettres de l'Eure.

Receuil des travaux de la Socie'te' libre d'Agriculture, Sciences, Arts et Belles-
Lettres de l'Eure. 3e sfrie. II, 1852—1853. Evreux, 1853. 8vo.

LE MANS.

Societe d'Agriculture, Sciences et Arts de la Sarthe.

Analyse des travaux de la Societe' royale des Arts du Mans, depuis l'epoque de
son institution, en 1794, jusqu'a la fin de 1819. I, 1820. Au Mans. 8vo.

Bulletin de la Societe" royale d'Agriculture, Sciences et Arts du Mans. Ill &
IV, 183S— 1841. Le Mans, 1840 & 1843. 8vo.

Bulletin de la Societe" d'Agriculture, Sciences et Arts de la Sarthe. V — VIII,
1842—1849. Le Mans, 1844—1848. 8vo.— He serie. I & II, 1850—1853.
Ill, I — iv, 1854. Le Mans. 8vo.

Memoires de la Socie'te' d'Agriculture, Sciences et Arts de la Sarthe. I, I, 1855.
Le Mans. 8vo.

LILLE.

Societe des Sciences, de l'Agriculture et des Arts de Lille.

Memoires de la Socie'te' royale des Sciences, de l'Agriculture et des Arts de Lille.
1847; 1850; 1851; 1852; 1S53. Lille. 8vo.

4 PUBLICATIONS OF LEARNED SOCIETIES.

LYON.

Societe d' Agriculture, Histoire Naturelle et Arts utiles de Lyon.

Compte-rendu des travaux de la Societe" d'Agriculture, Histoire naturelle et Arts
utiles de Lyon. 1812—1813; 1814; 181-1—1815; 1817; 1819—1820; 1821;
1822— 1823; 1823— 1824. Lyon, 1813— 1824. 8vo.

Memoires de la Societe d'Agriculture, Histoire naturelle et Arts utiles de Lyon.
1825—1827; 1828—1831; 1832; 1833—1834; 1835—1336. Lyon, 1828—
1837. 8vo.

Annales des sciences physiques et naturelles, d'agriculture et d'industrie, publiees
par la Societe royale d'Agriculture, &c. de Lyon. I, 1838; II, iv, V & vi; III,
vi ; IV, v & vi ; V, I & vi; VI, II, v & vi ; VII, 1844; VIII, 1845; IX, 1846;
X, 1847; XI, 1848. Deuxieme se"rie. I, 1849; II, 1850; III, 1850—51. Lyon
et Paris. 8vo.
( Wanting : livr. 1, 2 and 3 of vol. II; livr. 1—5 vol. Ill; livr. 1—4 vol. IV;
livr. 2, 3, 4 and 5 of vol. V, and liv. 1, 3 and 4 vol. VI.)

Puipport a la Socie'te" royale d'Agriculture, Histoire naturelle et Arts utiles dc Lyon,
sur l'essai oomparatif des differentes charrues, fait par ordre de la chambre
royale d'agriculture de Savoie, par C. Gariot. Imprime" par ordre de la Societe
d'Agriculture de Lyon. Lyon, 1831. 8vo.

Notice sur les travaux de la Societe" royale d'Agriculture, Histoire naturelle et Arts
utiles de Lyon, pendant le eours de l'annee 1832, lu dans la seance publique du
3 Septembre meme annee, par L. F. Grognier. Lyon, 1832. 8vo.

Kapport fait a la Societe" royale d'Agriculture, nistoire naturelle et Arts utiles de
Lyon, au nom de la commission chargee de proposer des sujets de prix pour
etre decernes en 1833 et 1837, lu dans la seance du 5 Aout 1832. Commis-
saires : MM. Gensoul, Buisson, Jurie, et Bottex, rapporteur. Imprime' par
ordre de la Societe. Lyon, 1833. 8vo.

Eapport fait a, la Societe" royale d'Agriculture, Histoire naturelle et Arts utiles de
Lyon, sur la fete agricole du cornice de Meyzieu (Isere), tenue le 27 Mai 1834 ;
par Charles Gariot. Imprime par ordre de la Socie'te. Lyon, 1834. 8vo.

Societe royale d'Agriculture, Histoire naturelle et Arts utiles de Lyon. Seance
publique, tenue le 23 Juillct 1S35. Lyon, 1835. 8vo.

Academie des Sciences, Belles-Lettres et Arts de Lyon.

Comptes rendu des travaux de l'Academie royale des Sciences, Belles-Lettres et
Arts de Lyon. 1824; 1825; 1826; 1835; 1837; 1839; 1841. Lyon. 8vo.

Memoires de l'Academie des Sciences, Belles-Lettres et Arts de Lyon. Classe des
Sciences. II, 1850. Classe des Lettres. I & II, 1848 & 1850. Lyon. 8vo.

Memoires de l'Academie nationale des Sciences, Belles Lettres et Arts de Lyon.
Nouvelle serie. Classe des Sciences. I, 1851. Classe des Lettres. I, 1851.
Lyon. Svo.

Societe Linneenne de Lyon.

Societe Linneenne de Lyon. Compte-rendu des travaux des annees 1839 ct 1840 ;
1841; 1842; 1844. Lyon. 8vo.

Annales de la Societe" Linneenne de Lyon. Anne"es 1847—1849 ; 1850—1852.
Lyon. Svo.

FRANCE. 5

MARSEILLE.

Academie des Sciences, Lettres et Arts de Marseille.

Ilistoire de 1' Academie de Marseille depuis sa fondaticm en 1726, jusqu' en 1826 ;
par Mr. J. B. Lautakd. I— III, 1826—1843. Marseille. 8vo.

Lettres archeologiques sur Marseille, par M. J. B. Lautard. Seconde edition.
Marseille, 1811. 8vo.

MENDE.

Societe d' Agriculture, Industrie, Sciences, et Arts, du Departement de la
Lozere.

Memo-ires et analyse des travaux de la Societe" d' Agriculture, Commerce, Sciences
et Arts de la ville de Mende, chef-lieu du departement de la Lozere. 1827;
1828; 1829; 1830; 1831; 1832—33; 1833—31; 1831—35; 1835—36; 1837—
38; 1839—10; 1841—42; 1813—44; 1845—46; 1847—1848—1849. Mende.
8vo.

Bulletin de la Society d'Agriculture, Industrie, Sciences et Arts du departement
de la Lozere. I, 1850; II, 1851; 111,1852; IV, 1853; V, 1851; VI, 1855.
Mende. 8vo.

METZ.

Academie de Metz.

Memoires de l'Academie royale de Metz. Lettres, sciences, arts et agricul-
ture. 1819—1853 (31 vols.). Metz et Paris, 1821—1853. 8vo.

Societe d'Histoire Naturelle du Departement de la Moselle.

Bulletin de la Societe d'Histoire naturelle du departement de la Moselle. I — vii,
1813—1855. Metz. 8vo.

MONTPELLIER.

Societe Archeologique.

Memoires tie la Societe Archeologique de Montpellicr. I, 1840; II, 1850; LU

1850—1854. Moutpellier. 4to.
Thalamus parvus. Le petit thalamus de Montpellier, publie pour la premiere
fois d'apres les manuscrits originaux par la Societe Archeologique de Mont-
pellier, 1810. Montpellier. 4to.
Publications de la Societe- Archeologique de Montpellier. No. 17. Documents
historiques. No. 6. Les coutumes de Perpignan. Montpellier, 1848. 4to.

Academie des Sciences et Lettres.

Academie des Sciences et Lettres de Montpellier. Seance publique de l'annee
1847.

Acaddmie des Sciences et Lettres de Montpellier. Memoires de la section des
lettres. 1847; 1819; 1850; 1851; 1851. (Suite et compl. du fasc. de 1849.)
Memoires de la section des sciences. I, 1817 — 1850; II, I, 1851, II, 1852 —
1853. Memoires de la section de medecine. I, 1819—1853. Montpellier. 4to.

6 PUBLICATIONS OF LEARNED SOCIETIES.

NIMES.

Academic du Gard.

Memoires de l'Academie du Gard. 1835 — 1855. Nimes. 8vo. (11 vols.)

ORLEANS.

Societe des Sciences, Belles-Lettres et Arts d'Orleans.

Mdmoires de la Societe royale des Sciences, Belles-Lettres et Arts d'Orleans.
I— IX, 1837—1849. Orleans. 8vo.

PARIS. *

Institut de France : Academie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres.

Histoire de rAcade"mie royale des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres, avec les memoires,
de literature tire's des registres de cette academie. I — L, 1666 — 1793. Paris,
1736—1808. 4to.

Tableau general raisonne et methodique des ouvrages contenus dans le recueil des
memoires de rAcaddmie royale des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres, depuis sa
naissance jusques et compris l'annee 1788, servant de supplement aux tables de
ce recueil. Paris, 1791. 4to.

Institut de France : Academie des Sciences.

Regise scientiarum academias historia, in qua prater ipsius Academise origiuem
et progressus, variasque dissertationes et observationes per triginta quatuor
annos factas, quam plurima experimenta et inventa, cum Physica, turn Mathe-
matica in certum ordinem digeruntur. Secunda editio priori longe auctior.
Auto re Joanne-Baptista du Hamel, ejusdem Academiaj socio. Parisiis.
1701. 4to.

Histoire (et Me"moires) de l'Academie royale des Sciences. 1666—1790. Paris,
1733—1797. 4to. (107 vols.)

Memoires de mathematique et de physique, present's a, l'Academie royale des
Sciences, par divers scavans, et lus dans ses assemblies. I — XI, 1750 — 1786;
et 1773. Paris, 1776. 4to. (12 vols.)

Machines et inventions approuve"es par l'Academie royale des Sciences. I — VII,
1666—1754. Paris, 1735—1777. 4to.

Recueil des pieces qui ont remporte" les prix de l'Academie royale des Sciences.
I— IX, 1720—1772. Paris, 1721—1777. 4to.

Suites des memoires de l'Academie royale des Sciences. 1720 — 1764. Paris.
4to. (7 vols.)

Jugement de l'Academie royale des Sciences et Belles-Lettres sur une lettre
pre"tendue de Leibnitz. Paris. 4to.

Table alphabetique des matieres contenues dans l'histoire et les memoires de
l'Academie royale des Sciences, publie"e par son ordre, et dressee par M. Godin,
de la meme academic I— IV, 1666—1730. Paris, 1729—1734. 4to.

Table ge"neYale des matieres, &c. Par M. Demours. V— X, 1731—1790. Paris,
1747—1809. 4 to.

FRANCE. 7

PARIS.

Institutde France: Academie des Sciences.— Continued.

Nouvelle table des articles contenus dans les volumes de l'Academie royale des
Sciences de Paris, dans ceux des arts et metiers publics par cette acade"mie, et
dans la collection academique. I— IV, 1775— 1776. Paris. 4to.

Memoires de l'lnstitut national des Sciences et Arts. Sciences matWmatiques et
physiques. I— VI, 1798—1806. Paris. 4to.

Memoires de la classe des Sciences mathematiques et physiques de l'lnstitut de
France. 1806-1812. Paris, 1806— 1820. 4to. (8 vols.)

Memoires de l'Academie royale des Sciences de l'lnstitut de France. I -XVI,
1816—1838. Paris. 4to.

Memoires presents a l'lnstitut des Sciences, Lettres et Arts, par divers sa vans
et lus dans ses assemblies. Sciences mathematiques et physiques. 1-11, 180b
et 1811. Paris. 4to.

Memoires present^ par divers savans a l'Academie royale des Sciences de l'ln-
stitut de France et imprimes par son ordre. Sciences mathematiques et
physiques. I-VI, 1827-1835; et XIII, 1852. Paris. 4to.

Memoires de l'lnstitut national des Sciences et Arts, Literature et Beaux- Arts.
I_V, 1798—1804. Paris. 4to.

Rapports et discussions de toutes les classes de l'lnstitut de France, sur les ouvrages

admis au concours pour les prix decennaux. Pans, 1810. 4to.
Rapport historique sur les progres des sciences mathematiques depuis 1789-

1808 et sur leur Stat actual. Redige par M. Delambre. Paris, 1810. 4to.
Base du systeme m^trique decimal, ou mesure de l'arc du meridien compris entre
les parallels de Dunkerque et Barcelone, execute en 1792 et annees suivantes,
par MM. Mechain et Delambre. Suite des memoires de 1 Institut. 1-111.

Paris, 1807—1810. 4to.

(All the preceding ohtained by purchase)
Comptes rendus hebdomadaires des stances de l'Academie des fences publics
conformement a une decision de l'Academie en date du 13 Ju, let 1835, par
MM. les secretaires perpetuels. I-XLII, 1835-1855. Pans. 4to.

Institut de France: Academie des Sciences Morales et Politiques.

Memoires de l'lnstitut national des Sciences et Arts. Sciences morales et poli-
tiques. I, III, IV &V. Paris, 1798-1804. 4to.
Memoires de l'Academie royale des Sciences morales et politiques de l'lnstitut de
' France. Deuxieme serie. I-VII, 1837-1850. Pans. 4to.
Savans Grangers. I et II, 1841 et 1847. Paris. 4to.

Institut Historique. .

Journal de l'lnstitut historique. I-XII, 1834-1840. Pans. 8vo.

L'Investigateur, Journal de l'lnstitut historique. He serie. I-X, 1841-1850.

Paris. 8vo.
Con-res historique. 1837; 1838; 1839 ; 1843. Paris. 8vo.
Congres historique europeen. I & II, 1835 & 1836. Paris. 8vo.

8 PUBLICATIONS OF LEARNED SOCIETIES.

PARIS.

Ministere de la Marine.

Annales hydrographiques, receuil d'avis, instructions, documents et rncmoires
relatifs a l'hydrographie et a, la navigation, public par le Depot general de
la marine. Ill & IV, 1850. Paris. 8vo.

Ministere de l'lnstruction Publique.

Annuaire des Societe's savantes de la Prance et de l'etranger. Public sous les
auspices du Ministere de l'lnstruction publique. I, 1846. Paris. 8vo.

Museum d'Histoire Naturelle.

Archives du Museum d'Histoire naturelle, publiees par les professeurs-adminis-
trateurs de cet e"tablissement. I, 1839 ; II, 1811 ; III, 1813 ; IV, 1814 ; V, 1852 ;
VI, 1852; VII, 1853—1855; VIII, I & n, 1855. Paris. 4to.

Societe d'Histoire Naturelle.

Actes de la Socie'to d'Histoire naturelle de Paris. I, i, 1792. Paris. Polio.

Societe d'Horticulture.

Annales de la Societe d'Horticulture de Paris, et journal special de l'etat et des
progres du jardinage. I— X, 1829—1832 ; LXII & XLIII, 1851 & 1852 ;
XLIV (except 8th, 9 th and Dec. Nos.), 1854. Paris. 8vo.

Societe de Geographic

Bulletin de la Societe de Geographie. I, 1822; III— XX, 1825—1833. Deu-
xieme serie. I— XX, 1834—1843. Troisieme serie. I— XIV, 1814—1850.
Quatrieme serie. I — IX, 1851 — 1855. Paris. 8vo.

( Wanting : tables des matieres of vol. I ; vol. II ; June No. of vol. V ; July,
August & September No's, of vol. VI.)

Societe Ethnologique.

Memoires de la Societe" ethnologique. I & II, 1841 & 1845. Paris. 8vo.
Bulletin de la Socie'te' ethnologique. I, 1847. Paris. 8vo.

Societe des Antiquaires de France.

Annuaire de la Societe" (royale, imperiale) des Antiquaires de France. 1848 ;
1849; 1850; 1851; 1853. Paris. 12mo.

Memoires de la Socie'te' (royale, impenale) des Antiquaires de France. XVII —
XX, 1844—1850. Paris. 8vo.

Societe Philomatique de Paris.

Extraits des proces-verbaux des seances. Pendant l'anne'e 1848; 1849; 1850;
1851; 1852; 1853; 1854; 1855. Paris. 8vo.

FRANCE. 9

PARIS.

Soeiete Zoologique d'Aeelimatation.

Bulletin de la Soeiete zoologique d'Aeelimatation. I, 1854, & II, I — vir, 1855.
Paris. 8vo.

Soeiete de Biologic

Comptes-rendus des seances et Mt-moires de la Soeiete de Biologic. Deuxierne
serie. I, 1854. Paris, 1855. 8vo.
{Purchased)

Ecole des Mines.

Annales des Mines, ou recueil de me'moircs sur 1'exploitation des mines et sur les
sciences et les arts qui s'y rapportent; redigdes par les inge'nieurs des mines,
et public'es sous l'autorisation du Ministre des travaux publics. Quatrit>me
serie. IX — XX, 1S4G — 1851. — Table des matieres de la 4e serie. 1 vol. Svo.
— Cinquieme serie. I — IV, 1852 — 1853. — Partie administrative. Vol. I & II.
Paris. Svo.

Annales de Chimie, ou recueil de me'moires concernant la chimie et les arts qui
en dependent. I— XL VI, 1789—1803; L— XCVI, 1S04— 1815; tables gene"-
rales des matieres et des autcurs. Paris. 8vo.
( Wanting XL YII—XLIX)

Annales de Chimie et de Physique. I — LXXV, 181G— 1838 ; tables geneVales
des matieres et des auteurs. Paris. 8vo. — Troisieme serie. I— XXXVI,
1841—1852. Paris. Svo.
{Wanting XV.)

Annales des Sciences naturelles, comprenant la zoologie, la botanique, l'anatomie
et la physiologie comparees des deux regnes, et l'histoire des corps organises
fossiles. Troisieme serie. Zoologie et Botanique. XIII- — XX, 1850 — 1853. —
Quatrieme serie. Zoologie et Botanique. I — III, 1854 et 1855. Paris. 8vo.
{Purchased.)

Miscellanea.

Magazin de Zoologie. I— VIII, 1831—1838. Paris. Svo.
Magazin de Zoologie, d'anatomie comparee et de pakeontologie. Deuxierne sdrie.
I—VII, 1839—1843. Paris. 8vo.

Revue zoologique, par la Soeiete Cuvierienne; association universale pour
1'avancement de la zoologie, de l'anatomie comparee et de la palasontologie ;
Journal mensuel. Publie sous la direction de M. F. E. Guerin-Meneville.
1838—1848. Paris. 8vo. (11 vols.)

Revue et Magazin de Zoologie pure et appliquee; recueil mensuel destine- a
faciliter aux savans de tous les pays les moyens de publier leurs observations
de zoologie pure et appliquee a l'industrie et a l'agriculture, leurs travaux de
paleontologie, d'anatomie et de physiologie comparees, et a les tenir au courant
des nouvelles decouvertes et des progrds de la science. Par Messieurs F. E.
Guerin-Meneville et Ad. Focillon. 2e se"rie. I —VII, 1849 — 1855. Paris.
8vo.

{Purchased.)
2

10 PUBLICATIONS OP LEARNED SOCIETIES.

PARIS.

Miscellanea. — Continued.

Archives de physiologie de the'rapeutique et d'hygiene sous la direction de M.
Boucuardat. No. 1, Janvier 1854. Me'moire sur la digitaline et la digitale,
par E. IIomolle et Quevenne. Paris, 1854. 8vo.
(From the editor.)

Bulletin general et universel des annonces et des nouvelles scientifiques; dedie
aux savants de tous les pays et a la librairie nationale et etrangere : public" sous
la direction de M. le Bon de Ferussac. I — IV, 1823. Paris. 8vo.

Bulletin des Sciences naturelles et de Geologie. Deuxieme section du Bulletin
universel des sciences et de l'industrie publie sous la direction de M. le Bou
de Ferussac. I— XXVII, 1824—1831. Paris. 8vo.
(Purchased.)

ROUEN.

Academie des Sciences, Belles-Lettres et Arts de Rouen.

Precis analytique des travaux de l'Acade'mie royale des Sciences, Belles-Lettres
et Arts de Rouen. 1842—1848. Rouen, 1843—1854. 8vo. (12 vols.)

SAINT-LO

Annuaire du departement de la Manche. IV— IX, 1832—1837; XI & XII,

1839 & 1840; XVI & XVII, 1844 & 1S45 ; XXIII— XXV, 1851—1853
Saint-Lo. 8vo.

(From Mr. Jules Travers of Caen)

SAINT-QUENTIN.

Societe Academique.

Socie"te Academique de Saint-Quentin. Annales agricoles, scientifiques et indus-
trielles du departement de l'Aisne. Deuxieme serie. X, 1852. Saint-Quentin,
1853. 8vo.

STRASBOURG.

Societe des Sciences, Agriculture et Arts de Strasbourg.

Me moires de la Societe" des Sciences, Agriculture et Arts de Strasbourg. I & II,
1811 & 1823. Strasbourg. 8vo.

Nouveaux Memoires de la Socidte' des Sciences, Agriculture et Arts du departe-
ment du Bas-Rbin. I— III, 1832—1842. Strasbourg. 8vo.

Bulletin agricole de la Societe des Sciences, Agriculture et Arts, du de'partement
du Bas-Rhin. 1843—1845. Strasbourg. 8vo.

Seance publique de la Societe des Sciences, Agriculture et Arts du Bas-Rhin.
1846—1849. Strasbourg. 8vo.

Journal de la Societe des Sciences, Agriculture et Arts, du departement du Bas-
Rhin. 1826. II, in & iv. Strasbourg. 8vo.

ITALY. 11

STRASBOURG.

Societe du Museum d'Histoire Naturelle.

Memoires de la Societe du Museum d'Histoire naturelle de Strasbourg. II, 1835;
III, 1810— 1816; IV, 1S50— 1853. Strasbourg. Ito.

TOULOUSE.

Academie des Sciences, Inscriptions et Eelles-Lettres.

Histoire et Memoires de TAcademie royale des Sciences, Inscriptions et Belles-
Lettres de Toulouse. I, 1782 ; IV, 1790. Toulouse. 4to.

Histoire et Mcmoires de TAcademie royale des Sciences, Inscriptions et Belles-
Lettres de Toulouse, depuis son e"tablissement en 1807, pour faire suite a
Thistoirc ct aux memoires de l'ancienne academie. I — VI, 1827 — 1813.
Toulouse. 8vo.

Mcmoires de TAcademie (ro}rale, nationale) imperiale des Sciences, Inscriptions
et Belles-Lettres de Toulouse. Troisieme serie. I — VI, 1811 — 1850. Quatrieme
sene. I— IV, 1851—1851. Toulouse. 8vo.

Annuaire de l'Acaddmie (royale, nationale) imperiale des Sciences, Inscriptions
et Belles-Lettres de Toulouse pour Tannee 1816; 1818; 1819; 1850; 1851;
1851. Toulouse. 32mo.

Statuts et reglements de TAcademie (royale) nationale des Sciences, Inscriptions
et Belles-Lettres de Toidouse. 1817; 1819. 32mo.

ITALY.

Riunione degli scienziati Italiani.

Atti della prima riunione degli scienziati Italiani tenuta in Pisa nelT Ottobre del
1839. Pisa, 1810. Ito. — Seconda edizione aumentata dell orazione dell Prof.
Rosini per Tinaugurazione della statua del Galileo e della biografia del Cav.
Pr. Gerbi. Pisa, 1810. Ito.

Atti della seconda riunione, Settembre, 1810. Torino, 1811. Ito.

terza " " 1811. Firenze, 1811. Ito.

II congresso di Pisa, Lettere di Gottardo Calvi. Milano, 1839. 8vo.

Diaro del settimo congresso degli Scienziati Italiani in Napoli dal 20 di Settembre
a' 5 di Ottobre dell anno 1815. No. 1 — 20 di Settembre. Ito.

Dei lavori scientifici dell' VIII congresso Italiano radunato in Genova nel Set-
tembre del 1816. Relazione del Dottore Carlo Lurati. I & II. Lugano,
1817. Svo.

Alcune osservazioni sopra i congressi scientifici Italiani lettera di Tizio a Seji-
proxio e riposta di Semproxio a Tizio. Milano, 1817. 8vo.

12 PUBLICATIONS OF LEARNED SOCIETIES.

BOLOGNA.

Accademia delle Scienze dell' Istituto di Bologna.

Novi Commentarii Academiae Scientiarum Instituti Bononiensis. I, 1S34; II,
1836; III, 1839; IV, 1810; V, 1812 ; VI & VII, 1811; VIII, 1816; IX & X,
1849. Bononiae. 4to.

Rendicouto delle Sessioni ordinarie dell' Accademia delle Seienze dell Istituto di
Bologna. (Extratto dal Bullettino delle Scienze Mediclie.) I. Bologna,
1833. 8 vo.

Rendiconto delle Sessioni dell Accademia delle Scienze dell' Istituto di Bologna
dal Novembre 1837, al Novembre 1838; 1838-39; 1839-40; 1810-41; 1811-
42; 1812-43; 1813-14; 1844-45; 1845-46; 1846-47; 1817-48; 1848-49,
1849-50; 1850-51; 1852-53; 1853—1851. Bologna. 8vo.

Memorie della Accademia delle Scienze dell' Istituto di Bologna. I & II, 1850;
III, 1851 ; IV, 1853 ; V, 1854. Bologna. 4to.

Opere edite ed inedite del Professore Luigi Galvani raccolte e publicate per cura
dell' Accademia delle Seienze dell' Istituto di Bologna. Bologna, 1851. 4to.

Osservazioni intorno ad un articolo del chiarissimo signor Professore G. Grimelli
sulla collezione galvaniana publicata dall' Accademia delle Scienze dell' Istituto
di Bologna e nuove notizie sal Galvani illustrazioni e difese delle opere sue
Discorso del Dottor Silvestro Gherardi letto all Accademia nella seduta del
24 Febbrajo 1812 e nella stessa seduta decretato alia stampa in aggiunta alia
detta collezione con appendice sopra un' edizione di opere del Cel. P. Beccaria
pocbissimo conosciuta in cui si fa menzione di un opuscola del Galvani. Bo-
logna, 1842. 4to.

Primo decennio di osservazioni meteorologicbe fatte nella specola di Bologna
ridotte esposte ed applicate da Alessandro Palagi. Bologna, 1850. 4to.

Universality dei mezzi di previdenza, difesa, e salvezza per le calamita degl'
incendi opera premiata in concorso dalla Accademia delle Scienze dell' Istituto
di Bologna Sorilta da Francesco del Guidice. Bologna, 1848. R. 8vo.

Della Instituzione de' Pompieri per Grandi citta e terre minori di qualunque stato
libri tre ne' quali si tratta, delle regole generali per fonlare compagnie di soc-
corritori contro gl' incendi; si compendiano, esaminano, e paragonano &-a loro
molti regolamenti oggi in vigore in Europa; e si propone una nuova forma di
statuto per quelli da essere dovunque a datto. Opera premiata in concorso
dalla Accademia delle Scienze dell' Istituto di Bologna e scritta dal Cavalicre
Francesco del Guidice. Bologna, 1852. Svo.

BRESCIA.

Ateneo di Brescia.

Commentari della Accademia di Scienze, Lettere, Agricultura, ed Arti del Diparti-
mento del Mella per l'anno 1808. Brescia, 1808. Svo.

1809. " 1811.

(1

a

1810.

I!

1811

a

a

1811.

11

1812,

I T A l y

13

BRESCIA.

. Ateneo di Brescia-

•Conttnued.

3iitari del

1 Ateneo d

i Brescia per

l'anno 1812.

Brescia, 1814. 8vo

11

it

u

1813-

14 & 15.

1818.

it

u

it

1816 & 17.

1 1818.

it

it

u

1818 & 19.

' 1820.

it

u

u

1820.

1823.

u

ii

a

1821.

' 1824.

it

u

u

1822.

1824.

a

u

11

1823.

1 1824.

ii

u

11

1824.

1825.

u

ii

11

1825.

' 1826.

u

u

11

1826.

' 1827.

ii

ii

11

1827.

1828.

a

u

11

1828-

-40.

' 1829—42.

ii

ii

11

1842-

-50. '

1844—50.

CATANIA.

Accademia Gioenia di Scienze Naturali.

Atti dell' Accademia Gioenia di Scienze naturali di Catania. I — XX, 1825 —
Messina and Catania. 4to. — Serie seconda. I — VIII, 1844—1853.

1843.

Catania.

4to.

FIRENZE.

Accademia del Cimento.

Saggi di naturali esperienze fatte nell' Accademia del Cimento terza edizione
fiorentina preceduta da notizie storiche dell' Accademia stessa e seguitata da
alcune aggiunte. Firenze, 1841. 4to.

Notizie sulla storia delle Scienze fisiche in Toscana cavate da un manoscritto
inedito di Giovanni Targioni-Tozzetti. Firenze, 1852. 4to.

LUCCA.

Reale Accademia Lucchese di Scienze, Lettere, ed Arti.

Memorie e documenti per servire all 'istoria del principato Lucchese. I, 1813.
Memorie e documento per servire all' istoria della citta e stato di Lucca. II, 1814,

III, i, 1816; ii, 1817; IV, I, 1818; ii, 1836; V, I, 1844; n, 1837; in, 1841;

VII, 1834 ; IX, 1825 ; X, 1831. Lucca. 4to.
{Wanting VI & VIII)

Atti dell' I. E. R. Accademia Lucchese di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti. I — XIV.
Lucca, 1821—1858. 8vo.

MILANO.

Imperiale Regio Istituto Lombardo di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti.

Giornale dell' I. R. Istituto Lombardo di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti. I, 1841
II & III, 1842; IV, 1843; V, 1844; VI, 1845; VII, 1846
Milano. 8vo.

VIII, 1847.

14 PUBLICATIONS OF LEARNED SOCIETIES.

MILANO.

Imperiale Regio Istituto Lombardo di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti. — Continued.

Giornale dell' I. R. Istituto Lombardo di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti e Bibliotbeca
Italiana. (Nuova serie.) I, 1847; II, 1850; III, 1851; IV, 1852; V, 1853;
VI, 1854. Milano. 4to.

Memorie dell' I. R. Istituto Lombardo di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti. I, 1S43 ;
II, 1845; III, 1852; IV, 1854. Milano. 4to.

MODENA.

Societa Italiana delle Scienze.

Memorie di matematica e di fisica della Societa Italiana delle Scienze residente in
Modena. XXIV, I & n, 184S & 1850 ; XXV, I, 1852. Modena. 4to.

NAPOLI.

Reale Accademia delle Scienze, e Belle Lettere.

Atti della Reale Accademia delle Scienze, sezione della Societa Reale Borbonica.
I, 1819; II, 1825; III, 1832; IV, 1839; V, I, 1843; V, II, 1844. Napoli. 4to.

Rendiconto della Reale Accademia delle Scienze sezione della Societa, Reale Bor-
bonica. Anno I della nuova serie. I, n, V, vi. Napoli, 1852. 4to.

Relazione sulla malattia della vite apparsa nei contorni di Napoli ed altri luoghi
delle provincia fatta da una commissione appositamente nominata e presentata
alia Reale Accademia delle Scienze nella tornata de' 12 Novembre 1851.
Napoli, 1852. 4to.

TADOVA.

Imperiale Regia Accademia di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti di Padova.

Saggi Scientifici e Letterarj dell' Accademia di Padova. I, 1786; II, 1789; III,
i & II, 1794. Padova. 4to.

Memorie della Accademia di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti di Padova. V, 1809.
Padova. 4to.

Nuovi Saggi della Cesareo-Regia Accademia di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti di Padova.
I, 1817; II, 1825; III, 1831; IV, 1838; V, 1840; VI, 1847. Padova. 4to.

PALERMO.

Accademia Palermitana di Scienze e Lettere.

Atti della Accademia di Scienze e Lettere di Palermo. Nuova serie. I. Palermo,
1845. 4to.

Miscellanea.

Speccbio delle Scienze o Giornale enciclopedico di Sicilia deposito Letterario delle
modcrne cognizioni, scoperte, ed osservazioni sopra le Scienze ed Arti e parti-
colarmenta sopra la Fisica, la Cbimica, la Storia naturale, la Botanica, l'Agri-
coltura, la Medicina, il Commercio, la Legislazione, l'Educazione, &c. Scritto

ITALY. 15

PALERMO.

Miscellanea. — Continued.

dal Signor C. S. Rafinesque. Tomo primo. Prima annata e primo semestre.
Tomo secondo. Prima annata e secondo semestre, I — xi. Palermo, 1814. 8vo.

ROMA.

Osservatorio Astronomieo del Collegio Romano.

Memoria intorno ad alcune osservazioni fatte alia specola del Collegio Romano nel
corrente anno 183S. Roma. 4to.

Memoria intorno a parecchie osservazioni fatte nella specola dell' Universita
Gregoriana in Collegio Romano dagli Astronomi della Compagnia di Gesu
l'anno 1839. Publicato il di 31 Gennajo 1840. Roma. 4to.

Anni 1840-41. Publ. Feb. 1842. "

Anno 1842. " Lugl. 1843. "

Osservazioni fatte nella specola dell' Universita Gregoriana in Collegio Romano
diretto dai PP. della Compagnia di Gesu. Anno 1843. Roma. 4to.

Annali dell' Osservatorio Astronomieo diretto dai PP. delle Compagnia di Gesu
nell Collegio Romano. I. Roma, 1843. 4to.

Memorie dell' Osservatorio dell' Universita Gregoriana in Collegio Romano diretto
dai PP. della Compagnia di Gesu. Anno 1850. Roma, 1851. 4to.

Stelle del Catalogo di Baily dal Polo boreale fino a 30° di decl. Australe contras-
segnate secondo i loro diversi colori asservati nella specola del Collegio
Romano. I.

Nuova cometa di Breve periodo ossia Memoria intorno alle perturbazioni cagionate
dall' azione di giove nell' orbita d'una delle comete comparse il 1819 creduta
identica coll' osservata il 1743, e di cui si attende probabilimente il ritorno
verso lafine del presente anno 1S36. Roma, 183d. 4to.

Memoria sopra i colori delle stelle del Catalogo di Baily osservati dal P. Bene-
detto Sestini della compagnia di Gesu. ' Roma, 1845. 4to.

Memoria seconda intorno al colori delle stelle del Catalogo di Baily osservati dal
P. Benedetto Sestini. Roma, 1847. 4to.

Accademia Pontifica dei Nuovi Lineei.

Atti dell' Accademia Pontificia de' Nuovi Lineei publicati conforme alia decisione
Accademica del 22 Bicembro 1850, e compilati dal Segretario. I (1847 —
1848), 1851; IV (1850— 51), 1852; V (1851— 1852), I— in. Roma. 4to.
( Wanting II, III)

TORINO.

Accademia Reale delle Seienze.

Memorie della Reale Accademia delle Seienze di Torino. Serie II. I, 1S39 ;
II, 1840; III, 1841; IV, 1842; V, 1843; VI, 1844; VII, 1845; VIII, 1846;
IX, 1848; X, 1849; XI, 1851; XII, 1852; XIII, 1853; XIV, 1854.
Torino. 4to.

l(i

PUBLICATIONS OF LEARNED SOCIETIES.

VENEZIA.

I. R. Istituto Veneto di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti.

Atti delle Adunanzo dell' I. R. Istituto Veneto di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti.
Marzo 1840, all' Ottobre 1841. I. Venezia, 1841. 8vo.

Dal

II, 1841—43.

1843.

Ill, 1843—44. '

' 1844.

IV, 1844—45. '

' 1845.

V, 1845—46. '

' 1846.

VI, 1846—47. '

' 1847.

VII, 1847—48. '

' 1848.

Serie secunda. I, 1850.

' 1850.

II, 1850—51. '

' 1851.

III, i— iv, 1851—52.

' 1852.

VERONA.

Aeeademia d'Agrieoltura, Commercio ed Arti di Verona.

Memorie dell' Aeeademia d'Agrieoltura, Commercio ed Arti di Verona. I & II,
1807; III, 1812; IV, 1813; V, VI & VII, 1815; IX & X, 1824; XI, 1829;
XII & XIII, 1831; XIV, 1833; XV, 1834; XVI, 1840; XVII, XVIII &
XIX, 1841; XX, 1842; XXI, 1846; XXII, 1848; XXIII, 1849; XXIV,
1850; XXV, 1851 ; XXVI, 1850; XXVII & XXVIII, 1851. Verona. Svo.
(Wanting VIII.)

Storia della Aeeademia di Agricoltura Commercio ed Arti di Verona pel triennio
1848 — 49 — 50. Compilata dal Socio Antonio Manganotti. Letta nella
tornata 2 Dicembre 1852. Verona, 1853. 8vo.

SPAIN.

BARCELONA.

Academia de Buenas-Letras de la eiudad de Barcelona.

Real Academia de Buenas-letras de la eiudad de Barcelona ; origen, progressos, y
su primera Junta'general baxo la proteccion de su Magestad, con los papeles
que en ella se acordaron. Tomo primo. Parte I & II. Barcelona. 4to.

MADRID.

Real Academia de la Historia.

Historia general y natural de las Indias, islas y tierra firme del mar oceano, por el
Capitan Gonzalo Fernandez de Oviedo y Valdez, primer chronista del nuove
mundo. Publicala la Real Academia de la Historia, cotejada con el cudice
original, enriquecida con las enmiendas y adiciones del autor, 6 ilustrada con la
vida y el Juicio de las obras del Mismo-por D. Jose Amador de los Rios.
Primera parte. 1851. Tomo primero de la segunda parte, segundo de la obra.
1852. Madrid. 4to.

SP A IX. 17

MADRID.

Real Academia de la Historia. — Continued.

Opusculos legales del Rey don Alfonso el Sabio, publicados y cotejados con varios
codices antiguos por la Real Academia de la Historia. Tomo I. El especulo 6
espejo de todos los derechos. 1836. Tomo II. El fuero real, las leyes de los
adelantados mayores, las nuevas y el ordinamiento de las tafurerias ; y por
apendice las leyes del estilo. 1836. Madrid. 4to.

Memorias de la Real Academia de la Historia. VIII. Madrid, 1852. 4to.

Diccionario geografico-bistorico de Espaiia, por la Real Academia de la Historia.
Soccion II. Comprende la Rioja 6 toda la provincia de Logroilo y algunos
pueblos de la de Burgos. Su autor el individno del numero Don Angel
Oasimiro de Govantes. Madrid, 1846. 8vo.

Viage Literario a las Iglesias de Espana. Su autor Don Jaime Villaneuva.
XI— XXII, 1850— 1S52. Madrid. 8vo.

Memorial bistorico espanol : coleccion de documentos, opusculos y antigiiedades,
que publica la Real Academia de la Historia. I & II, 1851 ; III & IV, 1852.
Madrid. 8vo.

Elogio historico del Excelentisimo Senor Don Antonio de Escano, &c, por Don
Francisco de Paula Quadrado y de Roo. Lo publica la Misma Real Academia.
Madrid, 1852. 8vo.

1'isertacion sobre la historia de la nautica, y de las ciencias matematicas que ban
contribuido a sus progresos entre los espanoles. Obra postuma del Excmo. Sr.
Don Martin Fernandez Navarrete: la publica la Real Academia de la His-
toria. Madrid, 1846. 8vo.

EspaSa Sagrada, continuada por le Real Academia de la Historia. XLVTI.
Tratodo LXXXV. De la Santa Iglesia de Lerida en su estado moderno. Su
autor el Doctor Don Pedro Sainz de Baranda. Madrid, 1850. 8vo.

Coleccion de fueros y cartas-pueblas de Espana por la Real Academia de la nis-
toria. Catalogo. Madrid, 1852. 8vo.

Memoria bistorico-critica sobra el Gran Disco de Tbeodosio, leida a la Real
Academia de la Historia por su anticuario Don Antonio Delgado en la Junta
ordinaria dc 9 Setiembre de 1848. Madrid, 1849. 8vo.

Discurso leido a la Real Academia de la Historia por su Director el Excmo. Senor
Don Martin Fernandez de Navarrete, en Junta de 24 de Noviembre de
1837, al terminar el trienio de su direction, en cumplimiento de lo mandado en
los Estatutos. Madrid, 1838. 8vo.

Discurso leido a la Real Academia de la Historia por su Director el Excmo. Senor
Don Martin Fernandez de Navarrete, en Junta de 27 de Noviembre de
1840, al terminar el trienio de su direccion en cumplimiento de lo mandado en
los Estatutos. Madrid, 1841. 8vo.

Discurso leido a la Real Academia de la Historia por su Director el Excmo. Senor
Don Martin Fernandez de Navarrete, en Junta de 15 de Diciembre de
1843, al terminar el trienio de su direccion, en cumplimiento de lo mandado en
los Estatutos. Madrid, 1844. 8vo.

18 PUBLICATIONS OP LEARNED SOCIETIES.

MADRID.

Real Academia de la Historia. — Continued.

Discurso leido a la Real Academia de la Historia por su Director el ilmo Seflor
Don Marcial Antonio Lopez, Baron de Lajoysa, en Junta general de 27 de
Noviembre de 1846, al terminar el trienio de la direccion, en cumplimiento de
lo mandado en los Estatutos. Madrid, 1847. 8vo.

Discurso leido a la Real Academia de la Historia en Junta de 30 de Noviembre
de 1849, por su Director el Excmo. e ilmo Senor Don Marcial Antonio Lopez,
Baron de Lajoyosa, al terminar el trienio de su direccion en cumplimiento de
lo mandado en los Estatutos. Madrid '1850. 8vo.

Real Academia de Cieneias de Madrid.

Memorias de la Real Academia de Cieneias. I. Madrid, 1850. 4to.

Resumen de las actas de la Academia real de Cieneias de Madrid en el alio
academico de 1849 — 1850, leido en la sesion del dia 11 de Octubre, por el
segretario perpetuo Doctor Don Mariano Lorente. Madrid, 1850. 4to.

Memoria que comprende el Resumen de los trabajos verificados en el alio de 1852
por las diferentes secciones de la comision encargada de formar el mapa geolo-
gico de la provincia de Madrid y el general del Reino, presentada en 11 de
Junio de 1853 al Excmo. senor ministro de Fomento por Don Francisco de
Lujan. Madrid, 1853. 4to.

Memoria sobre las causas meteorologico-fisicas que producen las constantes sequfas
de murcia y almeria, sellalando los medios de atenuar sus effectos : Premiada
por el ministerio de comercio, iustruccion y obras piiblicas, & juicio de la Real
Academia de Cieneias, en el cert&men abierto por Real decreto de 30 de Marzo
de 1850. Su autor Don Manuel Rico y Sinobas. Madrid, 1851. 8vo.

PORTUGAL.

LISBOA.

Academia Real das Seiencias.

Memorias de Litteratura Portugueza, publicadas della Academia Real das Seiencias
de Lisboa. {Nisi utile est quod facimus, stulta est gloria?) I, 1792; II, 1792;
III, 1792; IV, 1793; V, 1793; VI, 1796; VII. 1806. Lisboa. 8vo.

GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND. 19

GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND.

British Association for the Advancement of Science.

Reports of the British Association for the Advancement of Science. 1835—
1854. London. 8vo.

BATH.

Bath and West of England Agricultural Society.

Journal of the Bath and West of England Society for the encouragement of
Agriculture, Arts, Manufactures, and Commerce, established 1777. I— III,
1853—1855. London. 8vo.

BELFAST.

Natural History and Philosophical Society.

Miscellaneous sheets relating to its meetings. 8vo.

The Ulster Journal of Archosology. I— IV, 1853. Belfast. 4to.

B ER WICK-ON-T WEED.

Berwickshire Naturalists' Club.

Proceedings of the Berwickshire Naturalists' Club. Ill, I — v. 8vo.

CAMBRIDGE.

Cambridge Philosophical Society.

Transactions of the Cambridge Philosophical Society. I— VIII, 1822—1849;
IX, i & in, 1851 & 1853. Cambridge. 4to.
( Wanting II, I ; IX, II.)

Cambridge Observatory.

Astronomical observations made at the observatory at Cambridge. I— XVII,
1828—1848. Cambridge, 1829—1854. 4to.

DUBLIN.

Dublin University Philosophical Society.

Transactions of the Dublin Philosophical Society. I— V, 1843—1852. Dublin.
8vo.

Geological Society.

Journal of the Geological Society of Dublin. I— IV, 1838—1849; V, I & II,
1850—1852. Dublin. 8vo.

20 PUBLICATIONS O P L E A G X ED S O C 1 E T IBS.

DUBLIN.

Royal Dublin Society.

The Journal of the Royal Dublin Society. Published quarterly. I, I, 1856
Dublin. 8vo.

Royal Irish Academy.

Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy. I— V, and VI, I & II. Dublin,
1841—1855. 8vo.
{Wanting IV, n.)

Transactions of the Royal Irish Academy. I— XXII, 1787—1855. Dublin. 4to.

DURHAM.

Observatory.

Results of astronomical observations, made at the Observatory of the University,
Durham, from October, 1849, to April, 1852. Durham, 1855. 8vo.

EDINBURGH.

Eotanical Society.

First annual report, laws, and proceedings of the Botanical Society of Edin-
burgh. Instituted 17th March, 1836. Session 1836— 37. — Third, fourth and
fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth reports. 1839—44. Edinburgh. 8vo.

Transactions of the Botanical Society. I— III, 1844—1850; IV, I, n, 1850 & 51.
Edinburgh. 8vo.

Laws, by-laws, and regulations of the Botanical Society of Edinburgh. Cor-
rected to 1st October, 1841. Edinburgh, 1841. 8vo.

Royal Observatory.

Astronomical observations made at the Royal Observatory, Edinburgh. I — X,
1834—1847. Edinburgh, 1838—1852. 4to.

Royal Scottish Society of Arts.

Transactions of the Royal Scottish Society of Arts. Ill, i, n, in & V, 1845—51;
IV, i & in, 1852—1855. Edinburgh. 8vo.

Royal Society.

Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. Session 1851—2; 1853—4;
1854—5. Edinburgh. 8vo.

Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. IV— XX, and XXI, I & n,
1804-1855. Edinburgh. 4to.

Society of Antiquaries of Scotland.

Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland. I, I, II, in, 1852—1855.
Edinburgh. 4to.

GREAT BRITAIN A.NM) IRELAND. 21

EDINBURGH.

Society of Antiquaries of Scotland. — Continued.

Archaeologia Scotica: or Transactions of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland.
I— IV, 1792—1823. Edinburgh. 4to.

The Bannatyne Club.

Original Letters relating to the ecclesiastical affairs of Scotland, chiefly written
by, or addressed to his majesty King James the Sixth, after his accession to the
English throne. I & II, 1703—1725. Edinburgh, 1851. 4to.

Historical notices of Scottish affairs, selected from the manuscripts of Sir John
Lauder of Fountainhall, Bart., one of the senators of the College of Justice.
I— II, 1661—1688. Edinburgh, 1848. 4to.

Historical observes of memorable occureuts in church and state, from October,
1680, to April, 1686. By Sir John Lauder, of Fountainhall. Edinburgh,
1840. 4to.

Registrum honoris de Morton : a series of ancient charters of the earldom of
Morton, with other original papers, in two volumes. I. Original papers. II.
Ancient charters. Edinburgh, 1858. 4to.

Origines Parachiales Scotiie. The antiquities ecclesiastical and territorial of the
parishes of Scotland. I — II, I, n. Edinburgh, 1850 — 1855. 4to.

Carte monalium de Northberwic prioratus cisterciensis B. Marie de Northberwic
munimenta vetusta quas supersunt. Edinburgi, 1847. 4to.

Descriptive catalogue of impressions from ancient Scottish seals, royal, baronial,
ecclesiastical, and municipal, embracing a period from A. D. 1094 to the Com-
monwealth. Taken from original charters and other deeds preserved in
public and private archives. By Henry Laing, Edinburgh. Edinburgh,
1850. 4to.

Liber S. Thome de Aberbrothoc. llegistorum Abbacie de Aberbrothoc pars prior.
Registrum aetus munimentaque eidem coetanea complectens. 1178 — 1329.
Edinburgi, 1848. 4to.

The Darien Papers : being a selection of original letters and official documents
relating to the establishment of a colony at Darien by the company of Scotland
trading to Africa and the Indies. 1695—1700. Edinburgh, 1849. 4to.

Registrum S. Marie de Neubotle abbacie cisterciensis beate virginis de neubotle
chartarium vetus accedit appendix cartarum originalium. 1140 — 1528. Edin-
burgi, 1849. 4to.

Horn et Rimenhild. Rccueil de ce qui reste des poe'mes relatifs a leurs aventures
composes en francais, en anglais et en ecossais dans les treizieme, quatorzieme,
quinzieme et seixieme siecles public d'apres les manuscrits de Londres, de Cam-
bridge, d'Oxford et cVEdinburgh par Francisque Michel. Paris, 1845. 4to.

Breviarum Aberdonense. I — II. Londini, 1854. 4to.

The Black Book of Taymouth, with other papers from the Breadalbane Charter
room. Edinburgh, 1855. 4to.

The Bannatyne Miscellany ; containing original papers and tracts, chiefly relating
to the history and literature of Scotland. III. Edinburgh, 1855. 4to.

22 PUBLICATIONS OF LEARNED SOCIETIES.

EDINBURGH.

The Bannatyne Club. — Continued.

Album of the Bannatyne Club. No. III. 8vo.

Catalogue of the books printed for the members of the Bannatyne Club since its
institution. February, 185-1. 8vo.

Thomas Thomson, Esq., Advocate, President of the Bannatyne Club. 4to.

Bannatyne Club. Nos. XXIII, XXIV & XXV. Abstract of the Treasurer's
accounts, 1852, 1853 & 1854. 4to.

The Letters and Journals of Robert Baillie, A. M., Principal of the University of
Glasgow. 1737—1772. In three volumes. Edinburgh, 1841—1842. 4to.
(Purchased.)

Miscellanea.

The Edinburgh Philosophical Journal, exhibiting a view of the progress of dis-
covery in natural philosophy, chemistry, natural history, practical mechanics,
geography, statistics, and the fine and useful arts. Conducted by Dr. Brewster
and Professor Jameson. I— XIV. Edinburgh, 1819—1826. 8vo.

The Edinburgh Journal of Science, exhibiting a view of the progress of discovery
in natural philosophy, chemistry, mineralogy, geology, botany, zoology, com-
parative anatomy, practical mechanics, geography, navigation, statistics, anti-
quities, and the fine and useful arts. Conducted by David Brewster. I — X,
1824—1829. New series. I— VI, 1829—1832. Edinburgh. 8vo.

The Edinburgh New Philosophical Journal, exhibiting a view of the progressive
improvements and discoveries in the sciences and the arts. Conducted by
Robert Jameson. I— LVII. Edinburgh, 1826—1854. 8vo.

The Edinburgh Journal of Natural and Geographical Science. Under the direc-
tion of William Ainsworth and Henry A. Cheek. I — II. Edinburgh,
1830. Svo.

The Edinburgh Review or Critical Journal. I— CII, 1802—1855. Edinburgh,
8vo.

Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine. LXXIV, 1853. Edinburgh. Svo.

The North British Review. I— XVI, 1844—1851 ; XX, XL, & XXI— XXIII,
XXIV, xlvii, 1854 & 1855. Edinburgh, Svo.
(Purchased.)

GREENWICH.

Royal Observatory.

Tables containing the sum of three equations of aberration, solar nutation, and
precession, for twenty-three principal fixed stars, for every day in leap year,
the first, second, and third years after. Folio.

The sum of three equations of aberration, solar nutation, and precession, of forty
principal stars, for every day of the year, in leap year, the first, second, and
third years after. Folio.

GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND. >);l

GREENWICH.

Royal Observatory. — Continued.

The sum of three equations of aberration, solar nutation, and precession, for
twenty-three principal fixed stars, for every day in leap year, the first, second,
and third years after. Folio.

Description of the transit circle of the Royal Observatory, Greenwich. 1852. 4to.

Description of the altitude and azimuth instrument, erected at the Royal Observa-
tory, Greenwich, in the year 1847. 4to.

Description of the instruments and process used in the photographic self-registra-
tion of the magnetical and meteorological instruments at the Royal Observatory,
Greenwich. London, 1849. 4to.

Regulations of the Royal Observatory, Greenwich. 1852. 4to.

Astronomical observations made at the Royal Observatory at Greenwich. I — IV,
I & in; V, i & II, 1811—1820; 1815—1820, & 1822—1826; 1827, i, II, in, iv;
1828, i, ii, in, iv; 1829, i, n, in, iv, v; 1830, i, n, in, iv, v; 1831, i, n, in, iv,
v; 1832, i, ii, in, iv, v; 1833, i, n, in, iv, v; 1834, i, n, in, iv, v; 1835, i, n,
in, iv, v. Eolio.

{Wanting IV, n ; one? 1821.)

Approximate right ascension and north polar distance of 720 stars, from observa-
tions made at the Royal Observatory at Greenwich. Folio.

A catalogue of 1112 stars, reduced from observations made at the Royal Observa-
tory of Greenwich from the years 1816 to 1833. London, 1833. Folio.

Astronomical observations made at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich. 1836 —
1853. London. 4to.

Appendix to Greenwich Observations. 1836 ; 1837 ; 1812 ; 1845. London. 4to.

Reduction of the observatious of the moon, made at the Royal Observatory,
Greenwich, from 1750—1830. I & II. London, 1848. 4to.

Cancels for the introduction to the reductions of the Greenwich Lunar Observa-
tions. 4to.

Reduction of the observations of planets, made at the Royal Observatory, Green-
wich, from 1750 to 1830. London, 1845. 4to.

Magnetical and meteorological observations made at the Royal Observatory,
Greenwich, in the years 1840 and 1841; 1844; 1845; 1846; 1847. London,
1842—1849. 4to."

Appendix to the Greenwich Observations, including the results of Magnetical and
Meteorological Observations. 1848 ; 1849 ; 1850 ; 1851 ; 1852 & 1853. 4to.

Report of the Astronomer Royal to the Board of Visitors. 1836—1852, and
1854 & 1855. 4to.

KILKENNY.

Kilkenny and Southeast of Ireland Archaeological Society.

Proceedings and Transactions of the Kilkenny and Southeast of Ireland Archaeo-
logical Society. Ill, 1854 & 1855. Dublin. *vo.

24 J' U 15 1, 1 C A T 1 0 N S ( > F L E A R NED S 0 C I E T I E S.

KILKENNY.

Kilkenny and Southeast of Ireland Archaeological Society. — Continued.

Proceedings and Papers of the Kilkenny and Southeast of Ireland Archaeological

Society. New series. I, i, 1856. Dublin, 1856. 8vo.

Transactions of the Kilkenny Archaeological Society. II, i & n, 1852 & 1853.
Dublin, 1853 & 1855. 8vo.

LEEDS.

Philosophical and Literary Society.

Reports of the Council, on the general state of the Leeds Philosophical and
Literary Society, v— vii, 1824—1827; XI— XXX, 1830—1850; xxxn, 1850—
1852. Leeds. 8vo.

Laws and regulations of the Leeds Philosophical and Literary Society. (Insti-
tuted the 14th of January, 1820.) Eevised and corrected to May 7, 1841.
Leeds. 8vo.

Transactions of the Philosophical and Literary Society of Leeds, consisting of
papers read before the Society. I, I. London, 1837. Svo.

LIVERPOOL.

Historic Society of Lancashire and Cheshire.

Proceedings and papers. Session I — III, 1848 — 51 ; session II, 1819 — 50. II, i.

Transactions of the Historic Society of Lancashire and Cheshire. VII, 1854 —
55. London, 1855. 8vo.

LONDON.

Annals and Magazine of Natural History.

The Magazine of Natural History, and journal of zoology, botany, mineralogy,
and geology. Conducted by J. C. Loudon. I — IX, 1829 — 1836. London. 8vo.

The Magazine of Natural History. Conducted by Edward Charlesworth.
I— IV. New series. 1837—1840. London. Svo.

Magazine of Zoology and Botany. Conducted by Sir W. Jardine, P. J. Selby,
and Dr. Johnston. I & II. London, 1837 & 1838. Svo.

The Annals and Magazine of Natural History, including zoology, botany, and
geology (being a continuation of the "Magazine of Zoology and Botany,"
and of Loudon and Charlesworth's Magazine of Natural History). Conducted
by Sir "W". Jardine, P. J. Selby, Dr. Johnston, Sir "W. J. Hooker, and
Richard Taylor. I— XX, 1838— 1S47. Second series. I— XVI, 1848—
1855. London. 8vo.

British Government.

Observations made at the Magnetical and Meteorological Observatory at Hobarton,
in Van Diemen Land, and by the Antarctic Naval Expedition. 1—1X1, 1841 —
1846. London, 1850—1853. 4to.

GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND. 25

LONDON.

British Government. — Continued.

Observations made at the Magnetical and Meteorological Observatory at St.
Helena. I, 1840— 1843. London, 1847. 4to.

Observations made at the Magnetical and Meteorological Observatory at the Cape
of Good Hope. T, 1841—1846. London, 1851. 4to.

Observations made at the Magnetical and Meteorological Observatory at Toronto,
Canada. I, 1840—1845. London, 1845—1853. 4to.

Observations on days of unusual magnetic disturbance, made at the British colo-
nial magnetic observatories, under the departments of the Ordnance and Admi-
ralty. I, i, 1840—1841 ; n, 1842— 1S44. London, 1843—1851. 4to.

Allelodidaetic Society.

Transactions of the Allelodidaetic Society. 1, i & n. Loudon, 1847 & 1848. 8vo.

Duke of Northumberland.

Eesults of astronomical observations made during the years 1834, 5, 6, 7, 8, at
the Cape of Good Hope; being the completion of a telescopic survey of the
whole surface of the visible heavens, commenced in 1S25, by Sir John F. W.
Herschel. London, 1847. 4to.

Account of the Northumberland equatoreal and dome, attached to the Cambridge
Observatory. Cambridge, 1844. 4to.

Archaeological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland.

Proceedings at the annual meeting of the Archaeological Institute of Great

Britain and Ireland, at Winchester, September, 1845. Loudon, 1846. 8vo.
Also —

York meeting, July, 1846. London, 1847.

Norwich " 1847. " 1851.

Lincoln " 1848. " 1850.

Salisbury " 1849. " 1851.

British Archaeological Association.

The Journal of the British Archaeological Association established in 1843, for the
encouragement and prosecution of researches into the arts and monuments of
the early and middle ages. I— IX. London, 1846—1854. Also No. xxxvn
& xxxviii, 1854. London. 8vo.

The Archaeological Journal. Published under the direction of the Central Com-
mittee of the British Archaeological Association for the encouragement and
prosecution of researches into the arts and monuments of the early and middle
ages. I— VII. London, 1845—1850. Svo.

Transactions of the British Archaeological Association, at its second annual con-
gress, held at Winchester, August, 1S45, consisting of the papers read at the
several meetings, together with an account of the exhibitions, and excursions
made by the Association. London, 1846. 8vo.

Also —

Third annual congress, held at Gloucester, August, 1846. London, 1848.
4

26 PUBLICATIONS OF LEARNED SOCIETIES.

LONDON.

Chemical Society.

Memoirs and proceedings of the Chemical Society of London. 1S41 — 1848.
London, 1843—1848. 8vo.

The Quarterly Journal of the Chemical Society of London. I— V, 1849—1853 ;
VI, I, in, IV, 1853—1854 ; VII, i, n, iv, 1854 ; VIII, I, II, in, 1855. London.
8vo.

Entomological Society.

The Transactions of the Entomological Society of London. I— V. London,
1836—1849. 8vo.

Ethnological Society.

Journal of the Ethnological Society of London. I, 1848; II, 1850; III, 1852;
IV, 1856. London. Svo.

A Manual of ethnological inquiry; being a scries of questions concerning the
human race, prepared by a sub-committee of the British Association for the
Advancement of Science, appointed in 1851, and adapted for the use of
travellers and others, in studying the varieties of Man. London, 1852. Svo.

Address to the Ethnological Society of London, delivered at the annual meeting
on the 25th of May 1855, by John Conolly, President ; and a sketch of the
recent progress of Ethnology, by Eichard Cull. London. Svo.

Geological Society.

Proceedings of the Geological Society of London. 1826 — 1842. I— III. Lon-
don, 1834—1842. 8vo.

Transactions of the Geological Society of London. Second series. II — VI, 1826
—1842 ; & VII, i, II, in, 1845—1846. London. 4to.

The Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society of London. Edited by the
Assistant Secretary of the Geological Society. Part the first. Proceedings of
the Geological Society. Part II. Miscellaneous. I— XI, 1843—1855; XII,
i, 1856. London. Svo.

The Hakluyt Society.

The history of the great and mighty kingdom of China, and the situation
thereof. Compiled by the Padre Juan Gonzales de Mendoza, and now
reprinted from the early translation of E. Parke. I. London, 1853. Svo.

Horticultural Society.

Transactions of the Horticultural Society of London. I— VII. London, 1812—
1830. 4to.

Journal of the Horticultural Society of London. I— IX, 1846—1854. London.
8vo.

Charters and by-laws of the Horticultural Society of London. London, 1816.
4to.

GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND. 27

LONDON.

Horticultural Society— Continued.

Additional by-laws of the Horticultural Society of London. London, 1817. 4to.

List of the Horticultural Society of London. January, • 1818; May, 1818;
January, 1819; May, 1819; May, 1820; May, 1821; May, 1822; May, 1823;
May, 1824 ; March, 1825 ; May, 1825 ; May, 1826. London. 4to.

Horticultural Society of London. Report of the garden committee on the
formation and progress of the garden. March 31, 1823 ; March 31, 1824.
London. 4to.

Institute of Actuaries of Great Britain and Ireland.

The Assurance Magazine and Journal of the Institute of Actuaries. IX ; XIII &
XIV ; XV— XXI ; XXIII, 1852—1856. London. 8vo.

List of members of the Institute of Actuaries of Great Britain and Ireland.
1S53 ; 1854 — 55. London. 8vo.

Linnean Society.

Transactions of the Linnean Society. I — XXI, 1791 — 1855. London. 4to.

Proceedings of the Linnean Society of London. I & IT, 1838 — 1855. London.
8vo.

List of the Linnean Society of London. 1848. 4to.

Museum of Practical Geology and Geological Survey.

Records of the School of Mines and of Science applied to the Arts. I, i — iv.
London, 1852 & 1853. 8vo.

Industrial instruction on the continent. (Being the introductory letter of the
session 1852—1853.) By Lyon Platfair. London, 1852. 8vo.

Memoirs of the Geological Survey of Great Britain, and of the Museum of prac-
tical (economic) Geology in London. I; II, i & II. London, 1846 — 1848. 8vo.

Memoirs of the Geological Survey of the United Kingdom. Figures and descrip-
tions illustrative of British organic remains. Decade I — VII, 1849 — 1853.
London. R. 8vo.

Numismatic Society.

The Numismatic Chronicle, and Journal of the Numismatic Society. Edited by
John Yonge Akerman. XL — XLIII, 1848 & 1849. London. 8vo.

Remains of pagan Saxondom, principally from tumuli in England, i — in, vi, vm,
xv— xs. London, 1852—1855. 4to.
{From John Yonge Ackerman.)

Philological Society.

Proceedings of the Philological Society. 1842—1852. I— V. London, 1844—
1854. 8vo.

28 PUBLICATIONS OF LEARNED SOCIETIES.

LONDON.

Ray Society.

The British species of angiocarpous lichens, elucidated by their sporidia. By the
Rev. W. A. Leighton. London, 1851. 8vo.

On the alternation of generations ; or, the propagation and development of animals
through alternate generations : a peculiar form of fostering the young in the
lower classes of animals. London, 1845. 8vo.

Bibliographia zoologias et geologias: a catalogue of all books, tracts and memoirs on
zoology and geology. By Louis Agassiz. I— III. London, 1841 — 1852. 8vo.

A monograph of the British nudibranchiate Mollusca : with figures of all the
species. By Joshua Alder and Albany Hancock. I — V. London, 1844 —
1851. 4to.

A monograph of the British naked-eyed Medusa : with figures of all the species.
By Edward Forbes. London, 1848. 4to.

The organization of trilobites, deduced from their living affinities ; with a sys-
tematic review of the species hitherto described. By Hermann Burmeister.
London, 1846. 4to.

Reports and papers on botany. London, 1846 & 1849. (2 vols.) 8vo.

Outlines of the geography of plants. By F. J. F. Meyer. London, 1S46. 8vo.

Reports on the progress of zoology and botany. 1841, 1842. London, 1845. 8vo.

Reports on zoology for 1843, 1844. London, 1847. 8vo.

Memorials of John Ray, consisting of his life by Dr. Derham ; biographical and
critical notices by Sir John E. Smith, and Cuvier and Dupetit-Thouars.
With his itinerary, &c. London, 1846. 8vo.

The correspondence of John Ray, consisting of selections from the philosophical
letters published by Dr. Derham, and original letters of John Ray in the col-
lection of the British Museum. London, 1848. 8vo.

The natural history of the British entomostraca. By "W. Baird. London, 1850.
8vo.

A monograph on the sub-class Cirripedia, with figures of all the species. By
Charles Darwin. The Lepadidas; or Pedunculated cirripedes. London,
1851. 8vo.

Royal Agricultural Society of England.

The Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society of England. I— XVI, 1840—
1856. London. 8Vo.

Royal Asiatic Society.

The Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland. I —
XVI, I, 1834—1855. London, 8vo.
{Wanting XI, II, & XIV, II.)

Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland. The thirty-second annual
Report. 1855. London. 8vo.

Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland. List of members, commit-
tees, &c. 1855. London. 8vo.

GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND. 29

LONDON.

Royal Astronomical Society.

Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, containing papers, abstracts
of papers, and reports of the proceedings of the Society. I — XV, 1831 — 1855 ;
XVI, I, II, in, v, VI, 1856. London. 8vo.

Memoirs of the Astronomical Society of London. I — XXIII, 1822 — 1854.
London. 4to.

Royal Geographical Society.

The Journal of the Royal Geographical Society of London. 1830 — 1831, and
I— X, 1831— 1841. Index. XI, i, XII, i; XIV— XX, 1844—1851. Index.
XXI— XXIV, 1851—1854. London. 8vo.
{Wanting XI, n; XII, ii; XIII.)

Addresses at the anniversary meetings of the Royal Geographical Society. 1851
— 1854. London. 8vo.

Royal Institution of Great Britain.

Notices of the meetings of the members of the Royal Institution of Great Britain.
ii — v, 1851 — 1855. London. 8vo.

The Royal Institution of Great Britain. A list of the members, officers, &c, with
the report of the visitors for the years 1851, 1852, 1853. London. 8vo.

The Journal of Science and the Arts. Edited at the Royal Institution of Great
Britain. Published quarterly. I— VI, 1816—1819. The Quarterly Journal
of Literature, Science, and the Arts. VII — XXIX, 1819— 1830. London. 8vo.
(The latter oldained by purchase!)

Royal Society.

Philosophical Transactions, giving some account of the present undertakings,
studies and labors, of the ingenious in many considerable parts of the world.
I— LXV, 1665—1775. London. 4to.

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. LXVI — CXLV,
1776—1855. London. 4to.

(TFan^l831; 1843; 1845— 1848 inclus.)

The Philosophical Transactions and Collections, abridged and disposed under
general heads. I— XI, 1732—1756. London. 4to.

Diplomata et statuta regalis societatis Londini, pro scientia naturali promovenda:
Jussu prsesidis et concilii edita. Londini, 1819. 4to.

Abstracts of the papers communicated to the Royal Society of London (Proceed-
ings). V, 1843—1850 ; VI, 1850—1854 ; VII, i & ii, and v— xi ; VIII, 1, 1855.
London. 8vo.

(Wanting V, pp. 1—802.)

Addresses read at the anniversary meetings of the Royal Society. 1852 & 1853.
London. 8vo.

A History of the Royal Society, with memoirs of the presidents. Compiled from
authentic documents, by Charles Richard Weld. In two volumes. Lon-
don, 1848. 8vo.

30 PUBLICATIONS OP LEARNED SOCIETIES.

LONDON.

Royal Society. — Continued.

A review of the works of the Royal Society of Loudon ; containing animadver-
sions on such of the papers as deserve particular observation. In eight parts,
under the several heads of arts, antiquities, medicine, miracles, zoophytes,
animals, vegetables, minerals. By John Hill. London, 1751. 4to.

Society of Antiquaries of London.

Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of London. I. xvi & XVII ; II, xvin —
xxxvi ; III, xxxvii— xlii. London, 1853—1855. 8vo.

Lists of the Society of Antiquaries of London. 1853; 1854; 1855. London,
8vo.

Letter addressed to the fellows of the Society of Antiquaries, on the objections
urged against the proposal of the president and council to reduce the payments
to the Society. By John Bruce, Esq., Treas. S. A. London, 1852. 8vo.

Archajologia : or miscellaneous tracts relating to antiquity, published by the
Society of Antiquaries of London. XXXIII— XXXV, XXXVI, I, 1849—

1855. London. 4to.

Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures, and Commerce,

Transactions of the society, instituted at London, for the encouragement of arts,
manufactures and commerce; with the premiums offered. 1783 — 1845. I — ■
LIV, 1806—1845. London. 8vo.

Transactions of the Society of Arts for 1846 — 7 ; 1847 — 8. I & n. London,
1847 & 1849. 4to.

The Journal of the Society of Arts, and of the institutions in union. I — III,
1852—1855; IV, 157—179, 1856. London, 1853—1855. R. 8vo.
(Wanting of Vol. I, Nos. 18, 19, 26 & 27.)

Catalogue of the Eighth Exhibition of Inventions. London, 1856.

Statistical Society.

Journal of the Statistical Society of London. I — XVIII, 1839 — 55 ; XIX, i,

1856. London. 8vo. — General index to the first fifteen volumes. Loudon,
1854. 8vo.

(Wanting XIII & XVI, i.)

List of fellows of the Statistical Society of London. Founded in 1834. No. 12,
St. James's Square. Session 1854— 55 ; 1856. London. 8vo.

Objects and regulations of the Statistical Society of Loudon. 1855. 8vo.

Twentieth anniversary meeting of the Statistical Society. Session 1853 — 54. 8vo.

Zoological Society.

Transactions of the Zoological Society of London. I— III, 1835—1849. Lon-
don. 4to.

Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London. I— XXII, 1833—1854.
London. Svo.

GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND. 31

LONDON.

Miscellanea.

The University College, London, calendar for the session 1855—1856. London. 8vo.

The Zoologist : a popular miscellany of natural history. Conducted by Edward

Newman. IX— XIII. London, 1851—1855. 8vo.
The Archeologist, and Journal of Antiquarian Science. I, 18-41—18-42. London,

8vo. (Vol. II incompl.)
The Chemical Gazette, or Journal of Practical Chemistry, in all its applications

to pharmacy, arts and manufactures. Conducted by William Francis. VIII

& IX, 1850 & 1851 ; XII & XIII, 1854 & 1855. London. 8vo.

The Lancet. A journal of British and foreign medicine, physiology, surgery,
chemistry, criticism, literature, and news. 1852 — 1856. London. R. 8vo.

The Philosophical Magazine, or Annals of Chemistry, Mathematics, Astronomy,
Natural History, and General Science. By Richard Taylor and Richard
Phillips. I— XL London, 1827—1832. 8vo.
The London and Edinburgh Philosophical Magazine and Journal of Science.
Conducted by Sir David Brewster, Richard Taylor, and Richard Phillips.
I— XVI. New and united series of the Philosophical Magazine and Journal
of Science. 1832—18-40. London. 8vo.
The London, Edinburgh, and Dublin Philosophical Magazine and Journal of
Science. Conducted by Sir David Brewster, Richard Taylor, Richard
Phillips, and Robert Kane. XVII— XXXVII. New and united series of
the Philosophical Magazine, Annals of Philosophy, and Journal of Science.
1840—1850. London. Svo.

The London, Edinburgh, and Dublin Philosophical Magazine and Journal of
Science. Conducted by Sir David Brewster, Richard Taylor, Richard
Phillips, Sir Robert Kane, and William Francis. Fourth series. I— IX,
1851 — 1855. London. 8vo.

Annals of Philosophy ; or, Magazine of Chemistry, Mineralogy, Mechanics, Natu-
ral nistory, Agriculture, and the Arts. By Thomas Thomson. I— XXVIII.
1813—1826. London. Svo.

The Retrospective Review. I— XIV, 1820— 1826. -The Retrospective Review,
and Historical and Antiquarian Magazine. Second series. I & II, 1827 &
1828. London. Svo.

The London Journal of Arts and Sciences; containing reports of all new patents,
with a description of their respective principles and properties: also, original
communications on subjects connected with science and philosophy; particularly
such as embrace the most recent inventions and discoveries in practical me-
chanics. By W. Newton. I— XIV, 1S20— 1827. Second series. I— IX,
1828—1834. London. Svo.

The London Journal of Arts and Sciences, and Repertory of Patent Inventions.
Conducted by W. Newton. Conjoined series. I— XXXIX, 1832—1851.
London. Svo.

A Journal of Natural Philosophy, Chemistry, and the Arts. Illustrated with
engravings. By William Nicholson. I-XXXVI, 1802—1813. London.
8vo.

32 PUBLICATIONS OF LEARNED SOCIETIES.

LONDON.

Miscellanea. — Continued.

The Monthly Review, or New Literary Journal. A periodical work, giving an
account, with proper abstracts of, and extracts from, the new books, pamphlets,
&c. as they come out. By several hands. I — LXXXI, 1749 — 1789. London.
8vo.

A General Index to the Monthly Review, from its commencement to the seventieth
volume. In two volumes. London, 1786. 8vo.

The Monthly Review, or Literary Journal, enlarged. I— LXXXVIII, 1790—
1819. London. 8vo.

The Westminster Review. I— XL, 1824—1842. London, 1825—1843. 8vo.

The Westminster Review. New series. I, III & IV, 1852 & 1853 ; V (except
title and index) VI, i, VII, I, VIII, 1854—55. London. 8vo.

The Foreign Review and Continental Miscellany. I — V. London, 1828 — 1S30.
8vo.

The Foreign Quarterly Review. I— XXIII, 1827—1839; XXVII— XXIX;
XXXIII— XXXVII, 1841—1846. London. 8vo.

The Westminster and Foreign Quarterly Review. XLVII— XLIX, 1847—1849.
London. 8vo.

The Quarterly Review. I— LVIII, 1802—1837, & LXII— XCVI, 1837—1855.
London. 8vo.

The Gentleman's Magazine. New series. I— XXVI, 1834—1846 ; & XXXIV—
XLI, 1850—1854. London. 8vo.

The British Quarterly Review. I— XXII, 1845—1855. London. 8vo.

Frazer's Magazine for Town and Country. XLIII— XLVI, & XLVIII, 1851—
1853. London. 8vo.

The Banker's Magazine, Journal of the money market, and railway digest. XI
—XIV, 1851—1854. London. 8vo.

The Dublin Review. XXVIII— XXXVIII, 1850—1855. London. 8vo.

The Art Journal. New series. XI— XV, 1849—1853. London. 4to. — And
Illustrated Catalogue. 1851. 4to.

The Illustrated London News. I, 1843 ; IV, 1844 ; VI, 1845 ; XX & XXI, 1852.
London. Folio.

The Spectator. A weekly journal of news, politics, literature, and science.
XXIV, 1851. London. Folio.

The Atbenasum ; Journal of Literature, Science, and the Fine Arts. 1836—1855.
London. 4to.

Notes and Queries : a medium of inter-communication for literary men, artists,

antiquaries, genealogists, &c. I— VIII, 1849—1853 ; XI & XII, 1855. Lon-
don. 4to.

{Wanting IX & X, 1854.)

The Architectural Magazine, and journal of improvement in architecture, building,
and furnishing, and in the various arts and trades connected therewith. Con-
ducted by J. C. Loudon. I— V. London, 1834—1838. 8vo.

GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND. 33

LONDON.

Miscellanea. — Continued.

The Mechanic's Magazine. Edited by R. A. Brooman. LXII (except three lirst

Nos.), LXIII, LXIV. London, 1855. Svo.
Colburn's United Service Magazine and Naval and Military Journal. 1851 —

1854. London. Svo.

The Artizan. A monthly journal of the operative arts. IX — XI, 1851 — 1854.
London. 4to.

The Penny Magazine of the Society for the Diffusion of Knowledge. I — IX,
1832—1840. London. R. 8vo.— New series. I— V, 1841—1845. London. Svo.

The Penny Cyclopaedia of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge.
I—XXVII, 1833—1843. London. R. Svo.— Supplement, I— VI.

The Quarterly Journal of Education. I — II. London, 1831. 8vo.

Encyclopaedia Metropolitana ; or Universal Dictionary of Knowledge, on an ori-
ginal plan: comprising the twofold advantage of a philosophical and an alpha-
betical arrangement, with appropriate engravings. I — XXVI. London, 1845.
4to.

Encyclopaedia Britannica, or Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, aud General Literature.
Eighth edition. With extensive improvements and additions, and numerous
engravings. I— IX, 1843—1855. London. 4to.

Reports of the British and Foreign Bible Society, with extracts and correspond
ence, &c. I— XII, 1805—1839. London. Svo.
( Purchased)

MANCHESTER.

Literary and Philosophical Society.

Memoirs of the Literary and Philosophical Society of Manchester. I— V, 1785—
1798._Second series. I— XII, 1S05— 1855. London. 8vo.

NEWCASTLE-UPON-TYNE.

Natural History Society of Northumberland, Durham, and Newcastle-upon-
Tyne.

Transactions of the Natural History Society of Northumberland, Durham, and
Newcastle-upon-Tyne. I & II. Newcastle, 1831 & 1838. 4to.

OXFORD.

Radcliffe Observatory.

Astronomical observations made at the Radcliffe Observatory, Oxford, 1840—
1854. I— XV. Oxford, 1842—1856. Svo.

PENZANCE.

Royal Geological Society of Cornwall.

Transactions of the Royal Geological Society of Cornwall. Instituted February
11, 1814. I— VI, 1818—1846. Penzance. 8vo.
5

34 PUBLICATIONS OF LEARNED SOCIETIES.

PENZANCE.

Royal Geological Society of Cornwall. — Continued.

Eoyal Geological Society of Cornwall. Thirty-fourth annual report of the
Council, with the President's Address, and papers and notices read to the
Society. Penzance, 1847. 8vo.

Also, thirty-fifth, thirty-sixth, thirty-eighth, and thirty-ninth Reports. 1848 —
1851.

YORK.

Yorkshire Philosophical Society.

Proceedings of the Yorkshire Philosophical Society. I, I. London & York,
1849. 8vo.

ADDENDA.

LEEDS.

Geological and Polytechnic Society of the West Riding of Yorkshire.

Proceedings of the Geological and Polytechnic Society of the West Riding of
Yorkshire. I, 1839—42 ; II, 1842—48 ; III, pp. 1—296. Leeds. 8vo.
( Wanting I, I.)

Reports and proceedings of the quarterly meeting of the Geological and Poly-
technic Society of the West Riding of Yorkshire, held December 6, 1839.
Leeds, 1839. 8vo.

The Geological and Polytechnic Society of the West Riding of Yorkshire.
Established December, 1837. 8vo,

LEICESTER.

Leicester Literary and Philosophical Society.

Leicester Literary and Philosophical Society. Instituted June, 1835. Report of
the council presented to the annual general meeting, assembled, June, 1855 ;
and a selection of papers read before the Society since its formation. Leicester,
1855. 8vo.

SMTTHSONAIN
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