INTRODUCTION.               XXXV

a different oriain from that of the present RED MEN Of
the North, it is quite reasonable to suppose, that the ear-
liest colonies that settled in America were of the line of
Shem, and came, no doubt, from the eastern or north-
eastern parts of Asia, such as China or Corea; and from
the latter, the journey could easily be performed, as we
shall afterwards see. The descendants of Shem -were
certainly the first of the posterity of Noah that arrived
at a state of civilization, and consequently might be
looked upon as the authors of the innumerable monu-
ments of antiquity which are scattered over this vast
continent; for the present Indians of North America
were utterly unacquainted with the art of constructing
them, as well as with their history, even by tradition.
  Of Ham, the third son of Noah, we have nothing to
say, as his posterity are not considered to have anything
to do with the early peopling of America, except inass
much as refers to the claims of the Carthaginians, by
passing through the straits of Gibraltar, at a very remote
period, when, according to some historians, they discov-
ered this continent; but this we shall examine in its
proper place; suffice it to say now, that Haml was the
founder of almost all African nations, and of the Philis-
tines and Canaanites in Asia.