i88ij 
the Distribution of Land and Sea . 
1 7 
Let us now see if anything similar can be done for or with 
“ lost Atlantis,” so as to reconcile ancient myths with re- 
cently discovered faCts. Mr. Wallace concludes, — in con- 
currence with other authorities* — that no inconsiderable 
proportion of what is now the Gulf of Mexico and the Carib- 
bean Sea was at one time taken up by land. This ancient 
region 4 ' not improbably occupied the space enclosed by uniting 
Western Cuba with Yucatan, and Jamaica with the Mos- 
quito coast. This land must have stretched eastward to 
include Anguilla, and probably northward to include the 
whole of the Bahamas. At one time it perhaps extended south- 
ward so as to unite Haiti with Northern Venezuela.” Was not 
this land, seen of course through a mythological medium, 
the lost Atlantis ? True it is more than “ some day’s sail 
from Africa.” But there is between Africa and the main- 
land of America no distinct evidence of any other region 
once existent but now submerged. The late Mr. Belt most 
decidedly held this opinion. t He suggests further that the 
Caribs, a warlike, fierce, and enterprising race, who even 
down to the time of Columbus made long voyages to ravage 
the villages of the pacific Nahuatls, were a likely people to 
have invaded the shores of the Mediterranean. 
Thus, whilst fully admitting the general permanence of the 
position of continents and oceans, we see that there are 
shallows which very probably mark out former exten- 
sions of land, and which have disappeared owing to phe- 
nomena of subsidence not greater than have been elsewhere 
established with a tolerable approach to certainty. Whilst 
an examination of the depth of the seas and of the character 
of their bottoms indicates such connections as possible, 
peculiarities in the distribution of animal and vegetable life 
give almost irresistible proof of their former existence. 
But whether they were continuous stretches of land or 
groups of adjacent islands is a question upon which few men 
of science would venture to pronounce. 
* Geographical Distribution of Animals, ii., p. 78. 
f Naturalist in Nicaragua, pp. 270 and 365. 
VOL. III. (THIRD SERIES) 
C 
