. . . There was
heard a great noise above their heads, as if produced by fire. Then were
men seen running, pushing each other, filled with despair; they wished
to climb upon their houses, and the houses, tumbling down, fell to the
ground; they wished to climb upon the trees, and the trees shook them
off; they wished to enter into the grottoes (eaves), and the grottoes
closed themselves before them. . . . Water and fire contributed to the
universal ruin at the time of the last great cataclysm which preceded
the fourth creation."
Observe the similarities here to the Chaldean legend. There is the same
graphic description of a terrible event. The "black cloud" is referred
to in both instances; also the dreadful noises, the rising water, the
earthquake rocking the trees, overthrowing the houses, and crushing even
the mountain caverns; "the men running and pushing each other, filled
with despair," says the "Popul Vuh;" "the brother no longer saw his
brother," says the Assyrian legend.
And here I may note that this word hurakan--the spirit of the abyss, the
god of storm, the hurricane--is very suggestive, and testifies to an
early intercourse between the opposite shores of the Atlantic.
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