Page:Essays ethnological and linguistic.djvu/85

Rh negresses, and to the Mestigos thence arising they gave the name of Dayhagang.

These immigrations of Bornese, the arrival at the Philippines during our domination of embarcations from the islands of Palaos or Carolinas, driven by the winds, and other facts of the same kind which might be cited, are not however opposed to another theory which I am inclined to sustain as at least reasonable. If we look at a Map it will be seen that the Philippine Archipelago appears united to the points Unsang and Banguey of Calamantan or Borneo by means of two strings of islands; and what yet more calls for our attention is the line that from Cape Nigres in the Bay of Bengala to Papuasia or New Guinea, is formed by the Isles Audaman, Nicobar, Sumatra, Java, Bali, Lombok, Sambana Floras, Timor, and others, which are undoubtedly a chain of mountains running from one end to the other. Might it not have happened that all these islands formed a Continent, and that in some Cataclysm the waters had inundated the plains when the inhabitants had taken refuge in the mountains which remained above the sea and now form so many islands? It appears that the current runs from America to Asia and the former of these may be a modern Continent. The supposition is not of a nature to be termed incredible. There have certainly been revolutions on the earth of greater extent, and if these islands in other times did not form a Continent, how can it be explained that in some are found Brahminical monuments, when by the books of the Hindoo religion no permission is given to pass the Ganges and go out to sea? How can it be explained that the inhabitants of Oceania communicated with one another, unless we suppose that in very remote times they had a civilization very anterior to ours, whose traces have disappeared, since we scarcely find any other than huge ruins, as for example those of Tinian? The destruction of the Continent might have been effected by means of sinkings caused by a great quantity of matter having been drawn from the inner part of the earth by Volcanic eruptions. Depressions of the earth happening in different places are facts admitted in Geology. Twice during our domination have mountains sunk in the Philippines, of which one opened a way for an arm of the sea.