n in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male
and female created he them." And, in the second chapter, "And the Lord
God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom
he had formed." Now, it is known, by the names of the rivers which are
mentioned in the chapter, that the garden of Eden was in Asia; so that
you see our first parents, whence the whole of mankind have sprung,
dwelt in Asia.

_Austin._ Yes, that is quite plain.

_Hunter._ Well, then, you recollect, I dare say, that when the world
was drowned, all mankind were destroyed, except Noah and his family in
the ark.

_Brian._ Yes; we recollect that very well.

_Hunter._ And when the ark rested, it rested on Mount Ararat, which is
in Asia also. If you look on the map of the world, you will see that
the three continents, Europe, Asia, and Africa, are united together;
but America stands by itself, with an ocean rolling on each side of
it, thousands of miles broad. It is easy to suppose that mankind would
spread over the continents that are close together, but difficult to
account for their passing over the ocean, at a time when the arts of
ship-building and navigation were so little understood.

_Austin._ They must have gone in a ship, that is certain.

_Hunter._ But suppose they did, how came it about that they should be
so very different from all other men? America was only discovered
about four hundred years ago, and then it was well peopled with red
men. Besides, there have been discovered throughout our country,
monuments, ruins, and sites of ancient towns, with thousands of
enclosures and fortifications. Articles, too, of pottery, sculpture,
glass, and copper, have been found at times, sixty or eighty feet
under the ground, and, in some instances, with forests growing over
them, so that they must have been very ancient. The people who built
these fortifications and towers, and possessed these articles in
pottery, sculpture, glass, and copper, lived at a remote period, and
must have been, to a considerable degree, cultivated. Who these people
were, and how they came to America, no one knows, though many have
expressed their opinions. But, even if we did know who they were, how
could we account for the present race of Indians in North America
being barbarous, when their ancestors were so highly civilized? These
are difficulties which, as I said, have puzzled the wisest heads for
ages.

_Austin._ What do wise men and trav