THE TABLET OF THE CROSS. 269 



ancient mines had been abandoned hundreds of years before the French became 

 acquainted with the northern tribes. 



The problems that American archaeologists and ethnologists have before them 

 for solution, are so many and so difficult, and the amount of work to be done 

 is so large, before they can unravel the mysteries of pre-historic life on this con- 

 tinent, that it is very unfortunate that the clouds of misapprehension and error 

 should be rendered more dense by careless and incorrect quotations and unsup- 

 ported statements. In some quarters there is a disposition to over-rate the culture 

 and conditions of social life among the ancient inhabitants of the Mississippi Val- 

 ley, while in others there is a tendency to err in the opposite direction. Both 

 parties in their desire to maintain their favorite theories are only too apt to ignore 

 many difficulties and to attempt to settle disputed points by baseless assumptions- 

 It is only by preserving a middle course between these extremes and by devoting 

 our energies to arrive at the truth, irrespective of preconceived opinions, that 

 any work can be done that will yield scientific results worth preserving, or that 

 ■ will aid us in giving an intelligent answer to the question " Who were the Mound- 

 Builders ? " 



THE TABLET OF THE CROSS. 



warren watson. 



Editor Kansas City Review : 



In the August number of the Review Prof. Mason and Mr. Hilder take me 

 to task for presuming to doubt the views of Messrs. Rau and Holden on the 

 Smithsonian Tablet ; and, if I permitted their articles to pass without some re- 

 joinder, their courteous strictures would go far to convict me of inexcusable ig- 

 norance concerning the subject. 



I desire to say, then, that the learned and valuable speculations of Dr. Rau 

 are quite familiar to me ; that they render extremely probable the prior views of 

 Matile and Valentini; but that they identify beyond a doubt the Smithsonian 

 Tablet as the right lateral slab of the Cross group I must respectfully deny. The 

 fact is the restoration of the complete Tablet as set forth by Dr. Rau would not 

 be received in court as evidence without further proof of its authenticity. Who 

 procured the Smithsonian fragments ? From what portion of the ruins were they 

 taken ? Did all the fragments come from the same locaUty ? When were they 

 procured? How and when did they come into the possession of Mr. Russell? 

 These questions seem to be pertinent to the inquiry, yet none of them are answer- 

 ed by Dr. Rau except in a rather perfunctory manner. He finds the Tablet at 

 Washington; he discovers that in 1842 it was consigned to the Patent Office as 

 "the fragments of a Tablet from the ruins of Palenque;" that it bears a striking 

 resemblance to the right portion of the Kingsborough's plate of the complete 

 Tablet and that it fits almost exactly the center stone as pictured by Waldeck, 



