198 



ble than the hypothesis, according to which the 

 ancient traditions of the Hebrews and Chris- 

 tians passed into America with Scandinavian 

 colonies, formed since the eleventh century on 

 the coasts of Greenland, at Labrador, and per- 

 haps even in the island of Newfoundland. These 

 European colonists undoubtedly visited a part of 

 the continent, which they called Drogeo ; they 

 were acquainted with the countries situate to 

 the south-west, and inhabited by cannibals col- 

 lected in populous cities ; but, without examin- 

 ing in this place whether these cities were those 

 of the provinces of Ichiaca and of Confachiqui, 

 visited by Hernando de Soto, the conqueror of 

 Florida, it may suffice to observe, that the reli- 

 gious ceremonies, the dogmas, and traditions, 

 which struck the imagination of the first Spanish 

 missionaries, were incontestably found at Mexi- 

 co ever since the arrival of the Toltecks, and 

 consequently three or four centuries before the 

 navigation of the Scandinavians to the eastern 

 coasts of the New Continent. 



The ecclesiastics, who, following the armies 

 of Cortez and Pizarro, penetrated into Mexico 

 and Peru, were naturally inclined to exaggerate 

 the analogies, which tjiey fancied they had re- 

 cognized between the cosmogony of the Aztecks, 

 and the dogmas of the christian religion. Im- 

 bued with the Hebrew traditions, comprehend- 

 ing imperfectly the languages of the country, 



