THE SClExriST. 
relic which, if antliciit ic, cists a ray of 
Jiiiht on pre-CoJunibian linies in tliis 
country he carried on an assiduous and 
careful inquiry which i-esulted in clear- 
ing- Rafinesque from all suspicion in this 
particular and placino" the Walain Oliim 
aniono- the authentic monuments of ab- 
original America. It would require too 
much space to set forth the process by 
which these results were reached, suffice 
to say that Dr. Brinton was satisfied from 
internal evidence that it was genuine be- 
yond question ; and his authority does not 
need the support ol a less competent cor- 
roborator. 
The Walam Olmn was originally paint- 
ed on w^ooden tablets in a red pigment 
and consisted of a large number of pic- 
tographs, or mnemonic symbols, record- 
ing the wanderings and vicissitudes of 
the Lenape from some remote, but un- 
ascei-tained epoch, down to the coming 
of the white-men. It begins, like most 
primitive chronicles, with a sort of cos- 
mogony in which a flood and an evil 
spirit figure. Dr. Brinton's translation of 
this portion is as follows: 
At fli-st, in that place, at all times, 
above the earth, on the earth, was an ex- 
tended fog and there the great Maiiito 
vv^as. At first, forever, lost in space, the 
great Manito was. He made the extended 
land and the sky. He made the sun, the 
moon, the stars. He made them all to 
move evenly. Then the wind it blew vio- 
lently and it cleared and the waters flow- 
ed ofTfar and strong. And groups of 
islands grew newly and there remained. 
Anew spoke the great Manito, a Manito 
to Manitos, to beings, mortals, souls and 
all, and ever after he was a Manito to 
men and their grandfathers. He gave the 
first mother, the mother of beings. He 
gave the fish, he gave the turtles, he 
gave birds. But an evil Manito made evil 
beings only, monsters, he made the flies, 
he made the gnats. All beings were then 
friendly. Truly the Manitos were active 
and kindl}'^ to those very first men and to 
those very first mothers ; fetched them 
wives and fetched them food when first 
they desired it. All had cheerfid knowl- 
edge, all had leisure, all thought in 
gladness. But, very secretly, an evil be- 
ing, a mighty magicion. came on earth 
and with him biought badness, quarrell- 
ing, unhappiness, brought bad weather 
brought sickness, brought death. All 
this took place of old on the earth, be- 
yond the great tide-water, at the first."' 
Then it proceeds to tell of ''a mighty 
snake and beings evil to men," who re- 
solved to injure mankind and of the 
great strife between them until the men 
"were finally driven from home, though 
they still struggled with their enemy. 
Then the snake brought in ''three per- 
sons, he brought a monster, he br(»ught 
a rushing wat(?r," and the men fied down 
the stream to escape the torrent and 
wei-e rescued by ''Nanabush, the strong 
White One," at the Turtle Island, whose 
"Manito daughter, coming, helped with 
her canoe, helped all, as they came and 
and came." *Then the rescued people 
"on the turtle, like to turtles," prayed 
•'that what was spoiled should'be restored 
and the water ran off, the earth dried, 
the lakes were at rest, all was silent and 
the mighty snake departed." 
This is the cosmogonal part of the re- 
cord and it is all that we have space to 
present at this time. The remainder con- 
sists of a sort of itinery of the migration 
of the Lenape from some northern region 
across a frozen body of water, into the 
country of the Talegewa. From these, 
who were encountered in battle and, after 
much difficulty driven away, the Lenape 
learned to cultivate the soil, for at that 
time they knew nothing of the grain 
called rnaize afterwards so sacred in In- 
dian legend and song. 
It would be interesting to discuss the 
