THE LAST AMERICAN
By J. A. Mitchell
Amos JuddThe Pines of LoryThe Last AmericanThat First AffairGloria VictisLife's Fairy Tales
"--In the soft earth was the imprint of human feet!"]
The Last American
A Fragment from The Journal of KHAN-LI, Prince ofDimph-Yoo-Chur and Admiral in the Persian Navy
Presented by J. A. MITCHELL
EDITION DE LUXEIllustrated in Color by F. W. ReadWith Decorative Designs by Albert D. Blashfield andIllustrations by the Author
NEW YORKFREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY_PUBLISHERS_
1889By Frederick A. Stokes and Brother
1902By Frederick A. Stokes Company
TO THOSE THOUGHTFUL PERSIANSWHO CAN READ A WARNING IN THE SUDDEN RISEAND SWIFT EXTINCTION OF A FOOLISH PEOPLETHIS VOLUME IS DEDICATED
A FEW WORDS BY HEDFUL
SURNAMED "THE AXIS OF WISDOM"
_Curator of the Imperial Museum at Shiraz.__Author of "The Celestial Conquest of Kaly-phorn-ya," and of__"Northern Mehrika under the Hy-Bernyan Rulers"_
The astounding discoveries of Khan-li of Dimph-yoo-chur have thrownfloods of light upon the domestic life of the Mehrikan people. Helittle realized when he landed upon that sleeping continent what aservice he was about to render history, or what enthusiasm hisdiscoveries would arouse among Persian archaeologists.
Every student of antiquity is familiar with these facts.
But for the benefit of those who have yet to acquire a knowledge ofthis extraordinary people, I advise, first, a visit to the Museum atTeheran in order to excite their interest in the subject, and second,the reading of such books as Nofuhl's "What we Found in the West," andNoz-yt-ahl's "History of the Mehrikans." The last-named is a completeand reliable history of these people from the birth of the Republicunder George-wash-yn-tun to the year 1990, when they ceased to existas a nation. I must say, however, that Noz-yt-ahl leaves the readermuch confused concerning the period between the massacre of theProtestants in 1927, and the overflow of the Murfey dynasty in 1940.
He holds the opinion with many other historians that the Mehrikanswere a mongrel race, with little or no patriotism, and were purelyimitative; simply an enlarged copy of other nationalities extant atthe time. He pronounces them a shallow, nervous, extravagant people,and accords them but few redeeming virtues. This, of course, is just;but nevertheless they will always be an interesting study by reason oftheir rapid growth, their vast numbers, their marvellous mechanicalingenuity and their sudden and almost unaccountable disappearance.
The wealth, luxury, and gradual decline of the native population; thefrightful climatic changes which swept the country like a mower'sscythe; the rapid conversion of a vast continent, alive with millionsof pleasure-loving people, into a silent wilderness, where the sun andmoon look down in turn upon hundreds of weed-grown cities,--all thisis told by Noz-yt-ahl with force and accuracy.
"Here's Truth. 'T is a bitter pill but good physic."
ABOARD THE ZLOTUHB IN THE YEAR 2951
_10th May_
There is land ahead!
Grip-til-lah was first to see it, and when he shouted the tidings myheart beat fast with joy. The famished crew have forgotten theirdisconsolate stomachs and are dancing about the deck. 'T is not I,forsooth, who shall restrain them! A month of emptiness upon a heavysea is preparation for any folly. Nofuhl alone is without enthusiasm.The old man's heart seems dead.
We can see the land plainly, a dim strip along the western horizon. Afair wind blows from the northeast, but we get on with cruelhindrance, for the _Zlotuhb_ is a heavy ship, her bluff bow andvoluminous bottom ill fitting her for speed.
The land, as we near it, seems covered with trees, and the white breakersalong the yellow beach are a welcome sight.
_11th May_
Sighted a fine harbor this afternoon, and are now at anchor in it.
Grip-til-lah thinks we have reached one of the western islands mentionedby Ben-a-Bout. Nofuhl, however, is sure we are further North.
_12th May_
What a change has come over Nofuhl! He is the youngest man aboard. Weall share his delight, as our discoveries are truly marvellous. Thismorning while I was yet in my bunk he ran into the cabin and,forgetting our difference in rank, seized me by the arm and tried todrag me out. His excitement so had the better of him that I capturedlittle meaning from his words. Hastening after him, however, I wasamazed to see such ancient limbs transport a man so rapidly. Heskipped up the narrow stairs like a heifer and, young though I am, itwas faster than I could follow.
But what a sight when I reached the deck! We saw nothing of ityesterday, for the dusk of evening was already closing about us whenwe anchored.
Right ahead, in the middle of the bay, towered a gigantic statue, manytimes higher than the masts of our ship. Beyond, from behind thisstatue, came the broad river upon whose waters we were floating, itssurface all a-glitter with the rising sun. To the East, where Nofuhlwas pointing, his fingers trembling with excitement, lay the ruins ofan endless city. It stretched far away into the land beyond, furthereven than our eyes could see. And in the smaller river on the rightstood two colossal structures, rising high in the air, and standinglike twin brothers, as if to guard the deserted streets beneath. Not asound reached us--not a floating thing disturbed the surface of thewater. Verily, it seemed the sleep of Death.
I was lost in wonder.
As we looked, a strange bird, like a heron, arose with a hoarse cryfrom the foot of the great image and flew toward the city.
"What does it all mean?" I cried. "Where are we?"
"Where indeed!" said Nofuhl. "If I knew but that, O Prince, I couldtell the rest! No traveller has mentioned these ruins. Persian historycontains no record of such a people. Allah has decreed that wediscover a forgotten world."
The City of Ruins]
Within an hour we landed, and found ourselves in an ancient street,the pavements covered with weeds, grass, and flowers, all crowdingtogether in wild neglect. Huge trees of great antiquity thrust theirlimbs through windows and roofs and produced a mournful sight. Theygave a welcome shade, however, as we find the heat ashore of aroasting quality most hard to bear. The curious buildings on eitherside are wonderfully preserved, even sheets of glass still standing inmany of the iron window-frames.
We wandered along through the thick grass, Nofuhl and I, much excitedover our discoveries and delighted with the strange scene. Thesunshine is of dazzling brightness, birds are singing everywhere, andthe ruins are gay with gorgeous wild flowers. We soon found ourselvesin what was once a public square, now for the most part a shady grove.(Afterward ascertained to be the square of the City Hall.)
"We soon found ourselves in what was once a public square."]
As we sat on a fallen cornice and gazed on the lofty buildings aboutus I asked Nofuhl if he was still in ignorance as to where we were,and he said:
"As yet I know not. The architecture is much like that of ancientEurope, but it tells us nothing."
Then I said to him in jest, "Let this teach us, O Nofuhl! the folly ofexcessive wisdom. Who among thy pupils of the Imperial College atIspahan would believe their venerable instructor in history andlanguages could visit the largest city in the world and know so littleabout it!"
"Thy words are wise, my Prince," he answered; "few babes could knowless."
As we were leaving this grove my eyes fell upon an upturned slab thatseemed to have a meaning. It was lying at our feet, partly hidden bythe tall grass, having fallen from the columns that supported it. Uponits surface were strange characters in bold relief, as sharp and clearas when chiselled ten centuries ago. I pointed it out to Nofuhl, andwe bent over it with eager eyes.
It was this:
ASTOR HOUSE
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"The inscription is Old English," he said. "'House' signified adwelling, but the word 'Astor' I know not. It was probably the name ofa deity, and here was his temple."
This was encouraging, and we looked about eagerly for other signs.
Our steps soon brought us into another street, and as we walked Iexpressed my surprise at the wonderful preservation of the stone work,which looked as though cut but yesterday.
"In such an atmosphere decay is slow," said Nofuhl. "A thousand yearsat least have passed since these houses were occupied. Take yonderoak, for instance; the tree itself has been growing for at least ahundred years, and we know from the fallen mass beneath it thatcenturies had gone by before its birth was possible."
He stopped speaking, his eyes fixed upon an inscription over adoorway, partly hidden by one of the branches of the oak.
Turning suddenly upon me with a look of triumph, he exclaimed:
"It is ours!"
"What is ours?" I asked.
"The knowledge we sought;" and he pointed to the inscription,
NEW YORK STOCK EXC....
He was tremulous with joy.
"'The knowledge we sought;' and he pointed to theinscription."]
"Thou hast heard of Nhu-Yok, O my Prince?"
I answered that I had read of it at school.
"Thou art in it now!" he said. "We are standing on the WesternContinent. Little wonder we thought our voyage long!"
"And what was Nhu-Yok?" I asked. "I read of it at college, butremember little. Was it not the capital of the ancient Mehrikans?"
"Not the capital," he answered, "but their largest city. Itspopulation was four millions."
"Four millions!" I exclaimed. "Verily, O Fountain of Wisdom, that ismany for one city!"
"Such is history, my Prince! Moreover, as thou knowest, it would takeus many days to walk this town."
"True, it is endless."
He continued thus:
"Strange that a single word can tell so much! Those iron structures,the huge statue in the harbor, the temples with pointed towers, allare as writ in history."
Whereupon I repeated that I knew little of the Mehrikans save what Ihad learned at college, a perfunctory and fleeting knowledge, as theywere a people who interested me but little.
"Let us seat ourselves in the shade," said Nofuhl, "and I will tellthee of them."
In a Street of the Forgotten City]
We sat.
"For eleven centuries the cities of this sleeping hemisphere havedecayed in solitude. Their very existence has been forgotten. Thepeople who built them have long since passed away, and theircivilization is but a shadowy tradition. Historians are astounded thata nation of an hundred million beings should vanish from the earthlike a mist, and leave so little behind. But to those familiar withtheir lives and character surprise is impossible. There was nothing toleave. The Mehrikans possessed neither literature, art, nor music oftheir own. Everything was borrowed. The very clothes they wore werecopied with ludicrous precision from the models of other nations. Theywere a sharp, restless, quick-witted, greedy race, given body and soulto the gathering of riches. Their chiefest passion was to buy andsell. Even women, both of high and low degree, spent much of theirtime at bargains, crowding and jostling each other in vast marts oftrade, for their attire was complicated, and demanded most of theirtime."
"How degrading!" I exclaimed.
"So it must have been," said Nofuhl; "but they were not withoutvirtues. Their domestic life was happy. A man had but one wife, andtreated her as his equal."
"That is curious! But as I remember, they were a people of elastichonor."
"They were so considered," said Nofuhl; "their commercial honor was ajest. They were sharper than the Turks. Prosperity was their god, withcunning and invention for his prophets. Their restless activity noPersian can comprehend. This vast country was alive with noisyindustries, the nervous Mehrikans darting with inconceivable rapidityfrom one city to another by a system of locomotion we can only guessat. There existed roads with iron rods upon them, over which smallhouses on wheels were drawn with such velocity that a long day'sjourney was accomplished in an hour. Enormous ships without sails,driven by a mysterious force, bore hundreds of people at a time to thefurthermost points of the earth."
"And are these things lost?" I asked.
"We know many of the forces," said Nofuhl, "but the knowledge ofapplying them is gone. The very elements seem to have been theirslaves. Cities were illuminated at night by artificial moons, whoseradiance eclipsed the moon above. Strange devices were in use by whichthey conversed together when separated by a journey of many days. Someof these appliances exist to-day in Persian museums. The superstitionsof our ancestors allowed their secrets to be lost during those darkcenturies from which at last we are waking."
At this point we heard the voice of Bhoz-ja-khaz in the distance; theyhad found a spring and he was calling to us.
Such heat we had never felt, and it grew hotter each hour. Near theriver where we ate it was more comfortable, but even there theperspiration stood upon us in great drops. Our faces shone likefishes. It was our wish to explore further, but the streets were likeovens, and we returned to the _Zlotuhb_.
As I sat upon the deck this afternoon recording the events of themorning in this journal Bhoz-ja-khaz and Ad-el-pate approached, askingpermission to take the small boat and visit the great statue.Thereupon Nofuhl informed us that this statue in ancient times heldaloft a torch illuminating the whole harbor, and he requestedAd-el-pate to try and discover how the light was accomplished.
They returned toward evening with this information: that the statue isnot of solid bronze, but hollow; that they ascended by means of aniron stairway into the head of the image, and from the top looked downupon us; that Ad-el-pate, in the dark, sat to rest himself upon a nestof yellow flies with black stripes; that these flies inserted stingsinto Ad-el-pate's person, causing him to exclaim loudly and descendthe stairs with unexpected agility; that Bhoz-ja-khaz and the otherspushed on through the upraised arm, and stood at last upon the bronzetorch itself; that the city lay beneath them like a map, covering thecountry for miles away on both sides of the river. As for illuminatingthe harbor, Bhoz-ja-khaz says Nofuhl is mistaken; there are novestiges of anything that could give a light--no vessel for oil ortraces of fire.
Nofuhl says Ja-khaz is an idiot; that he shall go himself.
"The great statue in the harbor."]
_13th May_
A startling discovery this morning.
By landing higher up the river we explored a part of the city wherethe buildings are of a different character from those we sawyesterday. Nofuhl considers them the dwellings of the rich. In shapethey are like bricks set on end, all very similar, uninteresting, andmonotonous.
We noticed one where the doors and shutters were still in place, butrotting from the fantastic hinges that supported them. A few hardblows brought down the outer doors in a dusty heap, and as we steppedupon the marble floor within our eyes met an unexpected sight.Furniture, statues, dingy pictures in crumbling frames, images inbronze and silver, mirrors, curtains, all were there, but in everycondition of decay. We knocked open the iron shutters and let thelight into the rooms sealed up for centuries. In the first one lay arug from Persia! Faded, moth-eaten, gone in places, it seemed to askus with dying eyes to be taken hence. My heart grew soft over theancient rug, and I caught a foolish look in Lev-el-Hedyd's eye.
As we climbed the mouldering stair to the floor above I expressedsurprise that cloth and woodwork should hold together for so manycenturies, also saying:
"These Mehrikans were not so unworthy as we think them."
"That may be," said Lev-el-Hedyd, "but the Persian rug is far thefreshest object we have seen, and that perchance was ancient when theybought it."
On this floor we entered a dim chamber, spacious and once richlyfurnished. When Lev-el-Hedyd pushed open the shutters and drew asidethe ragged curtains we started at the sight before us. Upon a
wide bedin the centre of the room lay a human form, the long, yellow hair stillclinging to the head. It was more a mummy than a skeleton. Around, uponthe bed, lay mouldering fragments of the once white sheets that coveredit. On the fingers of the left hand glistened two rings which drew ourattention. One held a diamond of great price, the other was composed ofsapphires and diamonds most curiously arranged. We stood a moment insilence, gazing sadly upon the figure.
"Poor woman," I said, "left thus to die alone."
"It is more probable," said Nofuhl, "she was already dead, and herfriends, departing perhaps in haste, were unable to burn the body."
"Did they burn their dead?" I asked. "In my history 't was writ theyburied them in the earth like potatoes, and left them to rot."
And Nofuhl answered: "At one time it was so, but later on, as theybecame more civilized, the custom was abandoned."
"Is it possible?" I asked, "that this woman has been lying here almosta thousand years and yet so well preserved?"
"I, also, am surprised," said Nofuhl. "I can only account for it bythe extreme dryness of the air in absorbing the juices of the body andretarding decay."
In the Mouldering Chamber]
Then lifting tenderly in his hand some of the yellow hair, he said:
"She was probably very young, scarce twenty."
"Were their women fair?" I asked.
"They were beautiful," he answered; "with graceful forms and lovelyfaces; a pleasure to the eye; also were they gay and sprightly withmuch animation."