39S TRAVELS THROUGH 



*' makes all the nations defcend from Noah and 

 " his three fons. All thefe traditions manifeftly 

 " fhew, that the Americans are defcendants of 

 '' Noahy and that various accounts of the Mo- 

 ^^ faic hiftory are even come down to them. 

 " This is fufficient to overthrow the ftrange fyf- 

 *' tern which attributes anceflors to the Americans 

 " anterior to Adam'* 



Does not this quotation anfwer all the argu- 

 ments of thofe fyftematic writers, who will give 

 us the fruits of their abfurd im.ag!nation as 

 truths ? Where could the Americans get thefe 

 notions, if they were not all pofterior to the de- 

 luge, and defcended from nations that had pre- 

 ferved the tradition ? It is eafy to explain, that 

 by length of time, by the ignorance and the 

 mutability of the Indians^ they have immerfed 

 true fa6ts, which were committed to their me- 

 mory, in fables. The want of monuments, 

 chara6i:ers or letters to write down thofe events, 

 certainly impairs the purity of tradition •, as 

 foon as it is tranfmitted by word of mouth from 

 father to fon, it muit be much changed after 

 pafTing through fo many generations. 



The wars which the Indians ever carried on 

 among themfelvesj have contributed greatly to 



hinder 



