uthor of Genesis did not have access to actual records, but could
merely generalize from the legends then in existence. There are two
events in the history of the world which stand out pre-eminently
important. First, the Flood, which destroyed mankind, and second, the
discovery of America, which restored a lost continent. That these two
events have a very close relationship is suspected only by a few
scientists."

"How are they connected? A great period of time separates them."

"True. But let me tell you the real story of the Flood, and you will
comprehend my meaning. I shall not stop to give you arguments to
substantiate what I say, because that would take too long, and would
lead us away from what I am aiming at. However, while my own knowledge
of the facts was received from other sources, when you have the time
you will find the whole subject ably expounded in a work in my
library, entitled _The Lost Histories of America_, by Blacket.

"At the time of the Flood, or just prior thereto, the highest
civilization in the world existed in Mexico. There, a vast empire
flourished. The arts and sciences had received much attention, and
beautiful cities, populated by cultured people, abounded everywhere in
the land. Navigation was well understood, and colonies from Mexico had
made new homes for themselves on the western coast of Africa, in
Ireland and England, along the Mediterranean, and, in the opposite
direction, they had even penetrated Asia, crossing the vast Pacific.
Then came that great convulsion which all peoples, in all climes,
remember to-day through legends of waters rising and submerging the
whole surface of the earth. It is probable that a great tidal wave
narrowed the continents of North and South America along both shores,
eating away the central portion more extensively, the complete
division of the two being prevented only by the mountainous character
of the region. In South America, we find the southermost part narrowed
to a point."

"Do you mean that South America was once wider?"

"The proof of my assertion lies in the ruins and monuments still to be
found buried beneath the waves, hundreds of miles from the shore,
though some were undoubtedly on islands which also sunk at this time.
What would be the first effects of a cataclysm of such magnitude? The
ships at sea, if they escaped at all, would sail for home. Arriving
where the original shores had been, and finding nothing for even fifty
miles beyo