which there were no trees, and little or no vegetation of any kind, with but few regions excepted. Hence, rightly interpreted, all the sciences are in harmony with the venerable records of scripture; and the Christian may with confidence defy his adversary, the scientific atheist, to point out and prove biblical errors. Even anthropologists have failed to settle the boundary between civilized folk and savages. But let them turn the light in the right direction, and remote antiquity will prove to be within a measurable distance and archæology will be a blazing torchlight, verifying and not contradieting scripture. We have too long endeavored to trace the ancestry of civilization to primitive savages. And the public seems to welcome such mysterious allusions or delusions. Why not reverse the order? Why omit reference to a golden age? Then we will find that there were just as many savages of the white races as there were of brown or black, in the middle ages. The ancient Celtic druids, the Gauls, the Teutons, the Northmen, and the Italian all present striking analogies to the most savage brown tribes. Indeed, as scripture tells us, the savage tribes of the world did not exist until the middle ages, when even the ancient Britons before the Roman invasions were not far removed from actual savages or barbarians. Indeed, all history and science teem with proofs that the most ancient races lived in a golden age in its earliest state, and that not until the dark middle ages do we find savages, a period about three thousand years ago. As to why this was, let those who seek to learn read Duet. 28:15-29, and he will ask no more questions as to man's fall to a savage state. Then glance at the Christian nations today, and their civilization which is the reward of God to all people who "depart not from his ways." THE ANCIENT LAKE DWELLERS. We must not overlook the so-called pre-historic ancient Swiss Lake Dwellers, and the mystery concerning them. In a previous chapter, they were referred to, simply as ancient agri cultural tribes and herders. They were ancient inland fishermen, who depended, part of the time on agricultural pursuits and hunting and fishing. The hardy Norwegians, today, practice the same thing, being in turn fishermen, herders or agriculturists, according to the season. Identical with the remains of Swiss Lake Dwellers are remains found in Ireland and Scotland. Each race had their small plat of ground, his flocks or herds, goats, sheep or cattle. They were fisher tribes and agricultural tribes together. In Scotland and Ireland these dwellings are called "Cranages." Indeed they are merely ancient fisher folk, there being no mystery about them. Like the mound-builders, or Lake Dwellers, they probably abandoned these dwellings, or were driven. out by other tribes who perhaps burned their habitations after dispossessing them, The ruins show evidence of a civilization of no mean order, as well as previous intercourse with nations and people of far advanced types. They were in a way far from being savages, as their abundant relics testify. They had domestic animals, cattle, sheep, hogs and fowl. There are found grains of corn, wheat, barley and maize, also stones of fruits, acorns and nuts. Stone of various kinds of the fruits have been found and petrified, even whole fruits, nuts and cereals. The woods do not denote great growths, but there were oaks, beech, fir, maple, hazel, yew and pine. They wove cloth and nets of flax, and had corn-crushers, grinding or mealing stones, pottery, hearthstones for cooking and baking. Among their relics are found bone, stone and bronze implements, and jewelry. There were hairpins, knives, bracelets, sickles, chisels, swords, fish-hooks, buttons and bronze wire rolls. There were also nets, sinkers and needles, even bobbins for weaving, and hand-looms similar to the most ancient kinds. Their finer bronze relics show copper and tinpure bronze-while others contain copper, zinc and brass. They give evidence of being fishermen of no mean order. They were also hunters, herders and agriculturists on a small scale. That is, in certain seasons they were land dwellers, and in others, lake dwellers. Fishers, hunters, nomads in turn. They seem to be a Celtish, peaceable advanced race, similar to the inland fisher-folk of today. They show that they had a Phoenician knowledge of certain arts and crafts. At most, they did not live more than three thousand years ago, probably much less, those of Lake Constance, Neuchatel, Switzerland, and Moosedorf especially. The discovery of these was in 1853, when a period of drought, with its accompanying shrinking of the waters of the lakes and rivers, exposed the ancient ruins, and paved the way for further exploration. These habitations take the form of dwellings erected on piles inserted in the soft mud, interspersed with stones, layers of sticks, brush and stems, built break-water fashion, the whole surrounded by a stockade of piles, reinforced by clay, gravel, sand, or earth. The buildings were made of hattle hurdle, thatched with brush and roofed with sod, showing knowledge somewhat akin to the ancients. There is no necessity of making mystery of them. They were a migrating people, no doubt, finally choosing a favorable region for a permanent dwelling. They lived here a somewhat isolated life until others dispossessed them. Or they may have abandoned them of their own free will, and migrated elsewhere. Their dwellings were simply fishermen's huts similar to those found all over the world-in Ireland, Scotland, Sweden and Norway, and even in the more remote districts. |