158 GROWTH AND DECLINE OF CULTURE. 



vinces of Peru, wlio are perfectly familiar with tlie contents of 

 certain historical quipus preserved from ancient times ; but 

 they keep their knowledge a profound secret, especially from 

 the white men.^ 



Coming nearer to China, quipus are found in the Eastern 

 Archipelago and in Polynesia proper,^ and they were in use in 

 Hawaii forty years ago, in a form seemingly not inferior to the 

 most elaborate Peruvian examples. " The tax-gatherers, though 

 they can neither read nor write, keep very exact accounts of all 

 the articles, of all kinds, collected from the inhabitants through- 

 out the island. This is done principally by one man, and the 

 register is nothing more than a line of cordage from four to 

 five hundi-ed fathoms in length. Distinct portions of this are 

 allotted to the various districts, which are known from one 

 another by knots, loops, and tufts, of different shapes, sizes, 

 and colours. Each tax-payer in the district has his part in this 

 string, and the number of dollars, hogs, dogs, pieces of sandal- 

 wood, quantity of taro, etc., at which he is rated, is well de- 

 fined by means of marks of the above kinds, most ingeniously 

 diversified.^^^ 



The fate of the quipu has been everywhere to be superseded, 

 more or less entirely, by the art of writing. Even the picture- 

 writing of the ancient Mexicans appears to have been strong 

 enough to supplant it. Whether its use in Mexico is men- 

 tioned by any old chronicler or not, I do not know ; but Bo- 

 turini placed the fact beyond doubt by not only finding some 

 specimens in Tlascala, but also recording their Mexican name, 

 nepohualtzitzin,^ a word derived from the verb tlapohua, to 

 count. When, therefore, the Chinese tell us that they once 

 upon a time used this contrivance, and that the art of wi'iting 

 superseded it, the analogy of what has taken place in other 

 countries makes it extremely probable that the tradition is a 

 true one, and this probability is reinforced by the unlikeliness 

 of such a story having been produced by mere fancy. 



1 J. J. T. Tschudi, ' Peru ; ' St. GaU, 1846, vol. ii. p. 383. 



2 Marsden, p. 192. Keate, loc. cit. Klemm, C. Gr., vol. iv. p. 396. 

 ^ Tyerman and Bennet, Journal ; London, 1831, vol. i. p. 455. 



^ Boturini, 'Idea de una nueva Historia,' etc.; Madrid, 1746, p. 85. 



