26 



NATURE 



[November 8, 189 + 



to news paper. " Whatever," says Theophrastus, " be 

 the condition of the air at the setting of the Pleiades, 

 such it continues for the most part, until the winter sol- 

 stice." This would cover practically nine months of the 

 year, if by the setting of the Pleiades is meant the setting 

 with the sun. The moon, too, is either the cause of a 

 change or the prognostication of it. " The change takes 

 place for the most part on the fourth day, and if not then 

 on the first quarter, aad if not then at the full." A 

 weather prophet of to-day would be discredited if he 

 hedged in this way. .^ clear crisp statement is now 

 necessar>' to secure credence, and attach disciples to the 

 school of the modem weather prophet. As one turns 

 over the pages that give the signs of fair or foul weather, 

 signs all more or less puerile, one is reminded of the 

 saying that Plato has preserved for us, "EXXi)«r (iei 

 iraidfV fffTf. 



We can have no hesitation in asserting that the 

 appendix is the most valuable part of the book. Herein, 

 Mr. Wood has given an excellent account of the gradual 

 changes introduced in the nomenclature and in the sub- 

 division of the winds from the time of Homer and Hesiod, 

 through the Middle Ages, down to the present time. 

 Such an account is not only of great assistance to the 

 correct apprehension of old authors, but gives a great 

 deal of information on the introduction of fresh terms in 

 the description of the winds. Mr. Wood seems dis- 

 tressed as to the exact localisation of a wind that is 

 defined by reference to the azimuth of the sun, at rising 

 or setting at the summer and winter solstice. Of course 

 the azimuth varies with the latitude of the place of 

 observation, but .-Aristotle, writing for Greeks, described 

 positions as they were seen in Greece. Mr. Wood might 

 as well have taken into account the effect of refraction at 

 the horizon, or the alteration in the obliquity of the 

 ecliptic. In these days, we rarely attempt to determine 

 the direction of the wind within zd', and it is scarcely 

 likely that greater accuracy was attempted in Greece. 

 But whether Aristotle spoke of the equator or .Vthens, 

 the whole difference is only about 6^ so that the question 

 of accuracy hardly enters. We congratulate Mr. Wood 

 upon the amount of well-digested information he has 

 been able to give in this chapter. W. E. P. 



TWO BOOKS ON AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES. 



Travels amongst American Indians, their Ancient 

 Earthworks and Temples ; including a Journey in 

 Guatemala, Mexico, and Yucatan, and a visit to the 

 Ruins of Patinnmil, Ulatlan, Palenque, and Uxmal. 

 By Vice-Admiral Lindcsay Ijrine. (London : Sampson 

 Low, 1894.) 



Journal of tlu Academy of Natural Sciences of Phila- 

 delphia. Second series, vol. x. part L (Philadelphia : 

 Academy of Natural .Sciences, 1894.) 

 \ U.MIRAL BKINE'.S pleasantly written book is the 

 ■^ *• record of a journey made through the United 

 States, Guatemala, and Yucatan in the years 1869-70. 

 It is to be regretted lh.it his notes were not published at 

 once on his return home, as in those days Guatemala 

 and Yucatan were still almost unknown lands, and since 

 that date half a dozen books— few of them, it must be 

 HO. 1306, VOL. 51] 



admitted, of great value — have made the country more 

 familiar to us. 



The particular object of Admiral Brine's journey was 

 the examination of the earthworks and temples of the 

 American Indians, and the first portion of the book is 

 devoted to the red man and his works. Several months 

 were occupied in examining the mounds and earthworks 

 in Ohio. 



On the difficult question of age, the author favours 

 the view that the circular and octagon enclosures are of 

 comparatively late date. 



"But the figure which would have been absolutely 

 impracticable to construct without proper surveying 

 appliances for making accurate measurements, and fixing 

 the true angles, is that of the octagon. Even under the 

 most favourable circumstances, with the help of suitable 

 instruments, it would have required much skill and 

 calculation to trace a true octagon, whose embankments 

 contained within them an area exceeding forty acres. 

 It is difficult to suppose that an accurately designed 

 work of this shape and magnitude could have beeo 

 planned by Indians, or that the construction of a figure 

 so essentially scientific and unusual, could have been 

 originated by them. It is therefore possible to conclude 

 that the geometrical earthworks in Ohio may have been 

 raised by native tribes, acting under the direction 

 of European surveyors, or men who had received a 

 mathematical education." 



Concerning the Indian tribes who actually did the 

 work of raising the embankments, the author adds in a 

 note that — 



" Nothing has been found amongst the ornaments or 

 weapons that were placed in their burial mounds, which 

 supports the hypothesis that they w-ere different in race 

 or intelligence from the tribes that surround them." 



From San Francisco, Admiral Brine sailed down the 

 Pacific Coast to Guatemala. He tells a story of Carrera, 

 th.it remarkable Indian of pure blood, who was for so 

 long the President of the Republic, and of whom mention 

 is often made in " Stephens' Incidents of Travel in 

 Central America." 



" Colonel Garcia told us that Carrera always had on 

 his writing-table a toy representing Louis Philippe with 

 his hat in his hand. This toy had a rounded base, and 

 was so weighted that, when it was touched, it rolled 

 backwards and forwards, and would thus represent Louis 

 Philippe constantly bowing, hat in hand. Carrera when 

 engaged in official work would frequently make the toy 

 inove, and then would say to those who stood near him, 

 ' It seems in that way, by too much bowing, that Louis 

 Philippe lost his throne. I shall take care that I do not 

 make the same mistake.' " 



A journey in Guatemala in 1S70 was by no means as 

 free from risk as it is at the present day, " pronuncia- 

 mientos" and Indian risings were not of uncommon 

 occurrence, and .Admiral Brine was fortunate in escaping 

 any serious danger ; but he, no doubt, principally owed his 

 immunity from trouble to tact and good temper in his 

 dealmgs with the Indians. He was usually indebted to 

 the "padres" for hospitality on the road, and learnt 

 from the priests themselves how independent the Indians 

 had become in matters of religion. 



'"The Indians come and go as they please,' said 

 Father Hernandez, ' light their own candles, hold their 

 own services before the altar, and frequently take one 

 of the saints out of the church, and carry it away to 



