Rensselaer Republican, Volume 12, Number 7, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 30 October 1879 — ATLANTIS. [ARTICLE]

ATLANTIS.

Evidence* Showing That It Really DM Eilat—A Lgat Covering a Large Part of the Atlantic Ocean- TMe People, - Rich, Powerful and Ctrl lined, Peno trate Both America and Europe—The Land Saddenly Ingulfed hy the Ben, Inn nighty Convulsion of Nature. Our sturdy worker in the coppermines of Lake Superior, finding both himself and his vein of copper growing poorer day by day, determines to seek more paying clpim in the as yet unexElored portion of the copper country. [e gathers his kit of tools together and starts; and, after many a hard hour's travel over the wild and rugged country, fihds a region with abundant signs of copper, ana where seemingly no human foot has trod since creation's dawn. He strikes a rich vein and goes steadily to work digging and blasting his way to the richer portions, when suddenly, right in the richest part, he finds his lead cut off by what looks to his experienced eye marvelously like a mining shaft. A mazed ly he begins to clear out of the pit the fallen earth and the debris of ages, and the daylight thns let in reveals to bis astonished gaze an immense mass of copper raised some distance from the original bottom of the pit on a platform of logs; while at his feet lie a number of strange stone and copper implements—some thin and sharp like knives and hatchets, others huge and blunt like mauls and hammers—all being left in such a manner as though the Workmen had just gone to dinner and might be expected back at any moment. Bewildered, he ascends to the surface again, and looks about him. He sees mounds that from their positions are evidently formed from the refuse of the pit, but these mounds are covered with gigantic trees, evidently the growth of centuries; and, looking still closer, he sees that these trees are fed from the decayed ruins of trees still older—trees that nave sprung np, flourished, 1 grown old, and died since this pit' was dug or these mounds were raised. The more he thinks of the vast ages that have elapsed since this pit was dug, that mass of copper quarried and raised, the more confused ne becomes; his mind cannot grasp this immensity of time. . .

“Who were these miners? when did they live? and where did they come from?” are the questions he asks himself, but gets no answer. However, one fact is patent to him: that, whoever they were, they will not now trouble his claim; and consoled by this reflection, he goes to work again. ’ The traveler, in wandering through the dense and almost impenetrable forests of Central and South America, suddenly finds himself upon a broad and well-paved road, but a road over which in places there have grown trees centuries old. Curiously following this road, be sees before him, as though brought thither by some Aladdin’s lamp, a vast city, a city built of stone—buildings that look at a distance like our large New England factories—splendid palaces and aqueducts, all constructed with such massiveness and grandeur as to compel a cry of astonishment from the surprised traveler—an immense but •deserted city, whose magnificent palaces and beautiful sculpturing are inhabited and viewed only by the iguana and centipede. The roads and paths to the aqueducts, once so much traveled as to have worn hollows in the hard stone, are now trodden only bv the ign l °. ra ° t mestizo or simple Indian Of this deserted homie of a lost race, the traveler asks the’same question as the miner, and the only answer he gets from the semi-civilized Indian is a laconic “ Quien sabe ? ” And who does know? / *

The curious and scientific world, however, are not so easily answered, and ▼anous are the theories and conjectures as to these diggers of mines and builders of mounds and strange cities. One of the most plausible of these—one beleved by many scientists to be the true theory is this: Ages ago the Americas presented a very different appearance from what they now do. Then an immense peninsula extended itself from Mexico, Central America and New Granada, so far into the Atlantic that Madeira, the Azores and the West India Islands are now fragments of it. This peninsula was a fair and fertile country, inhabited by rich and civilised nations —•people versed in the arts of war and civilisation—a countoy covered with large cities and magnificent palaces—their rulers, according to tradition reigning not only on the Atlantic Continent, but over islands far and near even into Europe and Asia. Suddenly! without warning, this whole fair land ,was ingulfed by the sea, in a mighty convulsion of Nature. ' Now, this catastrophe is not impossible or even improbable. Instances are not, wanting of large tracts of land, several hundred miles in extent, disaoP«*nagin a like manner. The of Ferdmandea suddenly appeared, and after a while- as suddenly disappeared In 1819. during an earthquakTmSdia! an immense tract of land near theßiver Indus sank from view, and a large now occupies its place. °* where Atlantis is said to have been situated, consists extinct volcanoes. Tb«

terrible Lisbon earthquake of 1766, and the later American shock, created a commotion throughout the whole Atlantic area. That Atlantis possessed great facility* for making a sudden exit, cannot be doubted- Its very situation gives good oolor to the narratives of ancient Grecian historians and Toltecian tradition*, that “It (Reappeared by earthquakes inundations." Not only is it within the bounds of possibility that it might have occurred, but, if traditions so clear and distinct as to be almost authentic history are to be believed, then it did occur. Listen to what one of the most cautious of ancient writers, Plato* says; “Among the great deeds of Athens, of which recollection is preserved in our books, there is one thfffahtmld be placed above all others. Our books tells us that the Athenians destroyed an army that came across the Atlantic seas and insolently invaded Europe and Asia, for this sea was then navigable; and beyond the straits where you place the Pillars of the Hercules was an immense island, larger than Asia and Libya combined. From this island one could pass easily to the other islands, and from these to the continent beyond. The sea on this side of the straits resembled a harbor with a narrow entrance, but thebe is a veritable sea, and the land which surrounds it is a veritable continent, On this Island of Atlantis there reigned three Kings with great and marvelous power. They had under their domain the whole of Atlantis, several of the other islands and part of the continent. At one time their power extended into Europe as far as Tyrrhenia, and, uniting their whole force, they sought to destroy our country at a blow; but their defeat stopped the invasion, and gave entire freedom to the countries this side of the Pillars of Hercules. Afterward, in one day and one fatal night, there came mignty earthquakes ana inundations, that ingulfed that warlike peopeople. Atlantis disappeared, and then that* sea became inaccessible, on account of the vast quantities of mud that the ingulfed island left in its place." It is possible that the debris said to have been left by this catastrophe might be identical with or the nuclei of me sargaxo field that, many centuries later, Columbus found almost impenetrable. Again, Plato, in an extract from Proclua, speaks of an island in the Atlantic whose inhabitants preserved knowledge from their ancestors of a large island m the Atlantic, which had dominion over all other islands of this sea.

Plutarch, in his life of the philosopher solon, Herodotus and other ancient writers, speak of this island as a known fact; and it is impossible to believe otherwise than that Seneca thought of Atlantis when he writes in bis tragedy of “ Medea”: “Late centuries will appear when the ocean’s veil will lift to open .’ a vast country. New worlds will Thetsys unveiL Ultima Thule [lceland] will not remain the earth's boundary.” He evidently believed in. the unknown island and continent, and knew it would not remain forever unknown. Diodorus Sicßos says that “ Opposite to Africa lies an island which, on account of its magnitude, is worthy to be mentioned. "It is several days distant from Africa. It has a fertile soil, many mountains, and not a few plains, unexcelled in their beauty. It is watered by many navigable rivers, and there are to be found estates in abundance adorned with fine buildings.” Again he says, “ Indeed, it appears, on account of the abundance of its charms, as though it were the abode of gods, and not of men.” The situation, the description of the country—in fact, every particular—agrees precisely with our idea of Atlantis; and what other land now in existence agrees in any way with this description—what islands or magnitude that contain navigable rivers, large fertile plains and mountain l ? Turning from our well-known ancient writers, we find in all the traditions and books of the ancient Central Americans and Mexicans a continual recurrence to the fact of an awful catastrophe, similar to that mentioned by Plato and others. Now, what are we to believe? This: That either the traditions and narratives of these ancient writers and historians of both lands are but a tissue of fabrications, evolved from their own brains, with perhaps a small thread of fact, or else that they are truths, and truths proving that the Americas, instead of being the youngest habitation of man, are among] the oldest, if not, as De Bourbourg affirms, the oldest. Brasseur de Bourbourg, who, Baldwin says, has studied the monuments, writings and traditions left by this civilization more carefully and thoroughly than any man living, is an advocate of this theory; and to him are we indebted for most of our translations of the traditions and histories of the ancient Americans.

To the imaginative and lovers of the marvelous this theory is peculiarly fascinating; and the fact that there is plausible evidence of its truth, adds to the effect. With their mind’s eye they can see the dreadful events, as recorded by Plato, as in a panorama. They see-the fair and fertile country, filled with people, prosperous and happy; the sound of busy life from uns-n and beast fills the air. Comfort and prosperity abound. The sun shines clear overhead, and the huge mountains look down upon the cities and villages at their feet, like a mother upon her babes; all is a picture of peacefulness. Suddenly, in a second, all is changed. The protecting angels become destroying fiends, vomiting fire and liquid hell upon the devoted cities at their feet, burning, scorching, strangling their wretched inhabitants. The earth rocks horribly—palaces, temples, all crashing down, crushing their human victims, flocked together like so many ants. V ast rents open at their very feet, licking with huge, flaming tongues the terrified people into their yawning mouths. And then the inundations. Mighty waves sweep over the land. The fierce enemies, fire and water, join hands to effect the destruction of a mighty nation. How they hiss and surge, rattle and seethe! How the steam rises, mingled with the black smoke, looking like a mourning-veil, that it is, and. when that veil is lifted, all is still—the quiet of annihilation! Of all that populous land, naught remains save fanning, seething mud. It is not to be supposed that all perished in that calamity. Long before this they had spread over the portion of the Americas contiguous to the Peninsula, building cities, palaces, roads and aqueducts, like those of their native homes; and adventnrous pioneers continually spreading north, east and westward, their oonstant increase of .numbers from their former homes enabling them to over-

come the resistance offered to their progress by both natives and Nature, tul at last they reached and discovered the copper country of Lake Superior. That they appreciated this discovery is evinced by the innumerable evidences of their works, and of their skill in discovering the richest and most promising veins. Wherever our miners of the present day go, they find their ancient fellow-craftsmen have been before them, worked the ricfiest veins and gathered the best copper? and it is supposed that they continued thus till the terrible blotting out of their native country cut short all this, and left this advancing civilisation to wither and die like a vine severed from the parent

Having no further accession to their numbers, and being continually deci-

everv step, as is shown by thair nmneroos defensive works along their path, they to their cities on them from Ohs nnhreriJ* 1 their country, where the tome and aiand where, rednoed by war, pestflesoe sad other causes, to a feeble band, their total extinction was only a matter of time. Such is probably the history of this lost civilization; sad such wonld have been the history of oar civilisation had we in oar infant growth been cut off from receiving the nourishment of the mother countries. —Bernard H. Thompson, *« Popular Science Monthly.