The International Monthly, Volume 4, No. 4, November 1, 1851Various
History
The International Monthly, Volume 4, No. 4, November 1, 1851
Various
Art, Modern -- 19th century -- Periodicals; Literature, Modern -- 19th century -- Periodicals; Science -- History -- Periodicals
Mr. Gould proceeds to repeat the particulars respecting Cleopatra's Needle,
which were contained in the October number of this magazine. Signor
Tisvanni D'Athanasi also writes to the _Times_, proposing to undertake the
removal of this obelisk, and says:
"Every body knows that from the time of the Romans up
to the present century the only colossal objects which
have been transported from Egypt, with the exception of
the obelisk of Luxor, are the two sphynxes which are
now at St Petersburgh, and which were found and sent to
Alexandria through my means."
DR. LATHAM ON THE MOSKITO KINGDOM.
The last portion of Dr. ROBERT G. LATHAM'S learned work on the Ethnology of
the British Colonies and Dependencies, treats of American ethnology, a
branch of the subject which, though extensively investigated, is greatly in
want of systematic arrangement. Some of Dr. Latham's views are novel. The
following sketch of the Nicaraguan Indians is interesting at the present
moment for political reasons:--
"The Moskito Indians are no subjects of England, any
more than the Tahitians are of France, or the Sandwich
Islanders of America, France, and England conjointly.
The Moskito coast is a Protectorate, and the Moskito
Indians are the subjects of a native king. The present
reigning monarch was educated under English auspices at
Jamaica, and, upon attaining his majority, crowned at
Grey Town. I believe that his name is that of the
grandfather of our late gracious majesty. King George,
then, King of the Moskitos, has a territory extending
from the neighborhood of Truxillo to the lower part of
the River San Juan; a territory whereof, inconveniently
for Great Britain, the United States, and the commerce
of the world at large, the limits and definition are
far from being universally recognized. Nicaragua has
claims, and the Isthmus canal suffers accordingly. The
King of the Moskito coast, and the Emperor of the
Brazil, are the only resident sovereigns of the New
World. The subjects of the former are, really, the
aborigines of the whole line of coast between Nicaragua
and Honduras--there being no Indians remaining in the
former republic, and but few in the latter. Of these,
too--the Nicaraguans--we have no definite ethnological
information. Mr. Squier speaks of them as occupants of
the islands of the lakes of the interior. Colonel
Galindo also mentions them; but I infer, from his
account, that their original language is lost, and that
Spanish is their present tongue; just as it is said to
be that of the aborigines of St. Salvador and Costa
Rica. This makes it difficult to fix them. And the
difficulty is increased when we resort to history,
tradition, and archæology. History makes them
Mexicans--Asteks from the kingdom of Montezuma, and
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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