REVIEWS. 



279 



They were a great trading people, and had money of several kinds in general 

 use, but the art of weighing was utterly unknown to them ; while, on the 

 other hand, the Peruvians habitually used scales and weights, but had no idea 

 of the use of money. 



" To return to the stone knives. The Mexicans may very well have invented 

 the art themselves, as they did so many others ; or they^ may have received it 

 from the Old World. The things themselves prove nothing either way. 



" The real proof of then- having, at some early period, communicated with 

 inhabitants of Europe or Asia rests upon the traditions current among them, 

 which are recorded by the early historians, and confirmed the Aztec picture- 

 writings ; and upon several extraordinary coincidences in the signs used by 

 them in reckoning astronomical cycles. Further on I shall allude to these 

 traditions. 



" On the whole, the most probable view of the origin of the Mexican tribes 

 seems to be the one ordinarily held, that they really came from the Old World, 

 bringing with them several legends, evidently the same as the histories recorded 

 in the book of Genesis. This must have been, however, at a time when they 

 were quite a barbarous, nomadic tribe ; and we must regard their civilization 

 as of independent and far later growth. 



" We rode back through the woods to Guajalote, where the Mexican cook 

 had made us a feast after the manner of the country, and from her experience 

 of foreigners had learnt to temper the chile to our susceptible throats. Deci- 

 dedly the Mexicans are not without ideas in the matter of cookery. We 

 stayed talking with the hospitable Don Alejandro and his sister till it was all 

 but dark, and then rode back to the Real, admiring the fire-flies that were dart- 

 ing about by thousands, and listening to our companion's stories, which turned 

 on robberies and murders — as stories are apt to do in wild places after dark. 

 But, save an escape from being robbed some twenty years back, and the history 

 of an Indian who was murdered just here by some of his own people, for a few 

 shillings he was taking home, our friend had not much reason to give for the 

 two huge horse-pistols he carried, ready for action. His story of the death of 

 a German engineer in these parts is worth recording here. He was riding 

 home one dark night with a companion ; and, trusting to his knowledge of the 

 country, tried a short cut through the woods, among the old open mines near 

 the Regla road. They had quite passed all the dangerous places, he thought, 

 so he gave his horse the spur, and plunged sheer down a shaft, hundreds of 

 feet deep. His friend pulled up in time, and got home safely.' 5 



. From this interesting subject we pass on to a discourse on numerals and 

 counting ■ then to the siege and capitulation of Puebla ; to miracles, rival 

 virgins, Indian canoes, water-snakes, salt and salt-pans, fried flies'-eggs, Aztec 

 pictures, the mammoth bones in the Mexican museum, bull-lazoing and cock- 

 fighting, gambling and fortunate miners, travelling companions and Mexicans 

 who live by their wits, artificial lightning, the future destinies of Mexico, cum 

 multis aliis, which are, as the puffing advertisers say, " too numerous to men- 

 tion." With them we do not meddle ; luckily for us, our province is confined 

 to the geological : we do not say all we could say about that ; but if we were 

 tempted out of our course, eight pages would not suffice for this review. 



We linger only to add a valuable note which Mr. Tylor gives us in an 

 appendix, on the manufacture of obsidian knives. 



" Some of the old Spanish writers on Mexico give a tolerably fall account of the manner in 

 which the obsidian knives, &c, were made by the Aztecs. It will be seen that it only modi- 

 fies in one particular the theory we had formed by mere inspection as to the way in which 

 these objects were made, which is given at p. 97 ; that is, they were cracked off by pressure, 

 and not, as we conjectured, by a blow of some hard substance. 

 Torquemada (Monarquia Indiana, Seville, 1616), says (free translation) : 

 " ' They had, and still have, workmen who make knives of a certain black stone or flint, 



