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Exordium.

My enquiries during several years, concerning the antiquities of the western states, have led me to extend my researche over the whole circle of North American antiquities, and compelled me to enter the dedalus of ancient history.

The result of my researches may be given in a more ample form at some future period, when rendered adequate to illustrate the interesting primitive periods of human existence in both hemispheres. I shall merely attempt at present to delineate the first rudiments of the ancient history, involving the revolutions of nature and nations, in that central part of North America, now known under the name of Kentucky, and surrounded by Virginia, Tennessee, the rivers Ohio and Mississippi, extending upwards of 400 miles from east to west, and from latitude 36 1-2 to 39 degrees north.

In order to ascertain the filiation, migrations and annals of the American nations, all the sources have been consulted from which plausible or certain information might be derived. The evidences which they afford, stand in the following order:1, Features and complexions of nations; 2, their languages; 3, their monuments; 4, their religions; 5, their manners; 6, their histories; and 7, their traditions.

1. The white, tawny, coppery, brown and black varieties of mankind are connected by numerous links, and claim a common origin; they have been early divided, variously separated, and occasionally blended again, yet preserving a sufficient distinction to guide us in tracing their successive settlements.

The white men became tawny by constant exposure, brown. in warm climates, coppery in cold regions, and black in the sands of India and Africa. The Mongol features had origin in the deserts of Northern Asia, and the negro features in those of Southern Asia and central Africa. There are Mongols with

different complexions, white, pale, tawny, yellow, olive, coppery, &c.; and there are white, yellow, brown and black negroes. Real negroes have been found in all the parts of the world, except Europe and North America, while in Africa they are confined to the central and western parts of that

continent.

2. The primitive language of mankind was gradually modified and divided into dialects, which became languages after producing other dialects: their mixture has produced all those which have existed or still exist. The analogies of those dialects, in their roots and most important words, afford the best mean to trace the relative parentage of nations.

3. 4. 5. Monuments of arts, traces of various religions and similarity of manners, compared and elucidated by each other, are of high importance in historical investigation.

6. 7. There is such a diversity in the ancient history, chronology and traditions of the several nations, that it is very difficult to fix precisely the dates of many events; but we may trace with a bold hand a general view of their migrations and settlements: although the revolutions of the earliest empires are involved in fables, we can draw even from those fables, some correct inferences and true events.

It is almost impossible to make a plausible choice among the various chronological tables, even of the many texts of the Sepher or Hebrew Bible, and not easy to make them harmonize with the contradictory accounts of Berosus, Plato, Herodotus, Sanchoniato, Manetho, the Hindoux, Chinese, &c. I shall not attempt it at present, as this would require too many discussions, and I shall substitute thereto mere periods of time, or epochs, which may be composed of indeterminate ages.

Part I.....Pro Clio,

OR, GEOLOGICAL ANNALS OF THE REVOLUTIONS OF NATURE IN KENTUCKY.

1. EVERY complete history of a country ought to include an account of the physical changes and revolutions, which it may have undergone.

2. The documents for such a geological survey, are to be found every where in the bowels of the earth, its rocks and strata, with the remains of organized bodies imbedded therein, which are now considered as the medals of nature.

3. The soil of Kentucky shows, like many other countries, that it has once been the bed of the sea. In James's Map, the primitive ocean is supposed to have covered North America, by having a former level of 6000 feet above the actual level. Since the highest lands in Kentucky do not exceed 1800 feet. above the level of the actual ocean, they were once covered with at least 4200 feet of water.

4. The study of the soil of Kentucky, proves evidently the successive and gradual retreat of the salt waters, without evincing any proofs of any very violent or sudden disruptions or emersions of land, nor eruptions of the ocean, except some casual accidents, easily ascribed to earthquakes, salses and submarine volcanoes.

5. There are no remains of land or burning volcanoes in Kentucky, nor of any considerable fresh water lake. All the strata are nearly horizontal, with valleys excavated by the tides and streams during the soft state of the strata.

6. After these preliminary observations, I shall detail the successive evolution of this soil and its productions, under six distinct periods of time, which may be compared to the six epochs or days of creation, and supposed to have lasted an indefinite number of ages.

14

1st Period.-General Inundation.

"In the beginning, GoD created the heavens and the earth." "And the spirit of GoD was moving over the waters."

The briny ocean covers the whole land of Kentucky, and the United States, rising above 4000 feet over the Cumberland or Wasioto mountains, and 5000 feet over the limestone region near Lexington. The Oregon and Mexican mountains alone rise above the waters in North America.

Gradual decrease of the ocean, by the decomposition and consolidation of the waters in the formations of rocks and deposi tion of strata. The rate of this decrease can only be conjectured, and is rather immaterial. The ocean subsides to 3000 feet.

The parallel strata are formed in the following order, or nearly: 1, limestone; 2, slate; 3, sandstone; 4, freestone; 5,grit; 6, pebble stone. They are not always superincumbent, nor coexistent: but are generally horizontal, except the four last towards the Cumberland mountains, which having probably a granitic nucleus, have compelled the incumbent strata to become obliqual or slightly inclined from 10 to 30 degrees,

By the operation of submarine volcanoes, the strata of coal, clay and amygdalvid are formed and intermixed at various intermittent times with the above strata.

Several minerals, flint, quartz, calcedony, onyx, ovulites, marls, barytes, iron, lead, pyrites, &c, are successively formed and imbedded or alternated with the proeminent strata.

CREATION OF SEA ANIMALS, fishes, shells, polyps, &c.; the exuvia of many pelagic animals become buried under or within the strata, where they exist to this time: they belong principally to the genera terebratula, gonotrema, orthocera, encrinites, pentremites, turbinotites, astrea, millepera, cyclorites, mastremą, favosites, &c.

2nd Period.-Emersion of Mountains.

The Cumberland or Wasioto mountains emerge from the sea, which sinks to the level of 1500 feet above its actual level, and form a peninsula attached to the Allegheny Island or moun tain. The schistose formations proceed under water.

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