the constructors of the fortifications in the mountains of Western Virginia, to say nothing of those whose enduring works are found on almost every part of this continent, from Labrador to Patagonia, were a race of people which, according to geological data, lived long anterior to the Mosaic creation.

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CHAPTER IV.

THE DELUGE; OR, NOACHIN FLOOD-MAN'S LANGUAGE CONFOUNDED.

SECTION 1. However adept may have been Noah's stevedores, I need say but little concerning the capacity of the Ark which, as the story goes, was built by Noah for the specific purpose of preserving in it, during a whole year, specimens of each kind of all living creatures that dwelt on the land, or traversed the air, and sufficient food for their consumption during that time. It requires no argument to convince any rational mind of the utter incapacity, for such use, a three-decked scow-boat of some little over five hundred feet long, less than a hundred feet in breadth, and less than fifty feet from keel to hurricane deck, and drawing less than twenty feet of water; a capacity a little greater than one of our modern Ocean Steamers. Nor need I only just allude to the, necessarily, poisoned state of the air within the filthy apartments of that three-decked scow to convince the reasoning mind of the untruthfulness of the statement that animal life was sustained, closely pent up, within that boat a whole year. Why, the hold of a prison-ship, and the cells of the felon's dungeon, would be airy, and balmy, in comparison with that den of beasts and reptiles-the apartments being filled with their excrements, and their natural odor.

SEC. 2. A word as to the rapid rise of the waters that covered the high hills and mountains "under the whole heaven." By just interpretation of the record the waters rose to their summit in forty days; that is, they rose some twenty-six feet above Himalaya's highest peak (29,120 feet) in that time-this was rising at the rate of over thirty feet to the hour; their evaporation was not quite so rapid. These questions here arise: where did this vast volume of

water which so encircled the globe come from, and where did it go to? The record says, "the fountains of the great deep were all broken up." Commentators, those who are anxious to save the record from impeachment, say that the solid earth was compressed more compactly by the vast quantity of rain that fell upon its surface, and thereby caused the earth to disgorge itself to throw out, after the manner of a compressed sponge, waters which it had held internally.

SEC. 3. The above interpretation involves the question in a worse difficulty than it was in, in its unexplained state. The earth is not like a bellows, or a pair of lungs, that it can exhale and inhale water as the bellows and the lungs inhale and exhale atmospheric air. When solid earth is at the bottom it does not rise to the surface, and that by force of a substance of less specific gravity than it is; hence, the earth did not expand in its circumference to drink up, or absorb, again the waters of the fabled Deluge. Nor could the atmosphere above have taken it up by evaporation, for that was surcharged before "the windows of heaven were opened." But, if the atmosphere did take up that volume of water by evaporation, it must have taken it up at the rate of about 168 feet each day. On reflection, the reader will perceive that this rapid absorption from above must have caused something of a humid atmosphere. Then, it will be recollected that this rising mist was in addition to that aqueous vapor that previously was in the atmosphere; and, that it contained, before evaporation commenced, all that was required to sustain animal life-to support the lives of Noah and his immediate neighbors. And it will be further borne in mind by the reader that evaporation could go on only during the time in which the influence of the sun could be felt by its action on the waters; consequently, the evaporative period would not exceed twelve hours in each twenty-four hours-evaporation nearly three inches each minute. Hence the additional amount of humidity in the atmosphere, during the day-time, was the amount of

vapor that would be created by the conversion of fourteen feet depth of water, all around the globe, each hour till the "waters were abated from off the face the earth."

SEC. 4. The evidence gathered from the record itself, when tried by known facts and immutable laws, is abundant to condemn the whole narration as an unfounded tale. The record says that the water covered the whole earth, and it rose fifteen cubits—above twenty-six feet above the top of the highest mountain. The waters were at this elevation at the expiration of five months after the commencement of the storm. Although the record is contradictory of itself, at about the end of the fifth month Noah's caravan boat grounded on Ararat; this peak being 17,210 feet above the level of the sea, and some 6,000 feet above the line of perpetual snow. On this craggy point the boat "rested" for the space of two months and a half, before "the tops of the mountains were seen.' Here seems to be a mistake in the record which is neither small nor unimportant in a historic narration. The record says, in the first place, "the high hills, that were under the whole heaven, were covered; fifteen cubits upwards did the waters prevail; and the mountains were covered." Then, orthodox commentators say that Noah's boat drew exactly eleven cubits of water—a little less than twenty feet; and, it took two and a half months to evaporate these eleven cubits of water so that the highest land-points could be seen. And the record says that the waters had to abate eleven cubits after the boat "rested," before the tops of the highest mountains were above the circumambiant waters.

SEC. 5. Now, by the record, when the waters were at the highest stage the highest point of land on the globe was submerged twenty-six feet; and the boat rested on Mount Ararat; and, the land was not to be seen till after the ark rested. I have given, above, the exact altitude of Mount Ararat, it being 17,210 feet only. Now the summit of Ararat is 11,990 feet below the top of Mount Everest, of the Himalaya range, that peak being 29,200 feet above the level

of the sea, and some two and a half miles above the line of perpetual congelation. Consequently, Moses' record is impeached in one of two ways, if not in both ways. Either the writer of this narration knew nothing about Mount Everest or he stated falsely when he said that the tops of the mountains could not be seen, for the height of the waters, at the time when the boat grounded; for Himalaya was then looking down upon that humble locality from an elevation near twelve thousand feet above it.

SEC. 6. Again, the utter incredibility of the story may be seen in the statement that Noah cruised around in his boat, for months, in the region of perpetual ice-two, or three, miles above its lower line; then, he had to unload his cargo of tropic animals and reptiles in the field of ice glaciers. The absurdities connected with this poorly invented, and badly told, falsehood might be set forth in many ways, but the above are sufficient to stimulate the honest mind to an examination of the subject, and it is a matter of no moment whether the bigot and the hypocritical caviler examines the question, for they embrace and advocate nothing but the past, except they are forced to it by surroundings. In concluding I would say, this Deluge story of the Pentateuch involves a falsehood in every view that can be taken of it; and the more it is examined, impartially, by the light of truth, the worse it appears; then, to contemplate the enormity of the fraud of palming this Mosaic record off as divine inspiration upon the religiously honest is heart-sickening in the extreme. Thus much as to the credibility of the Mosaic record.

SEC. 7. Under my present heading I will refer to one other narration found in the Pentateuch; but, this and the foregoing do not exhaust it of those of this character, for they are scattered broad-cast throughout the five books of Moses. The subject to which I now have reference is the story wherein it is said that the whole family of man spoke one language till some four thousand years ago, and then, and for a specified reason, and for a specific object which the