The Nephites lived in cities, some of which attained great size
and were distinguished by great architectural beauty.
Continually advancing northward, these people in time occupied
the greater part of the valleys of the Orinoco, the Amazon, and
the Magdalena. During the thousand years covered by the Nephite
record, the people crossed the Isthmus of Panama, which is
graphically described as a neck of land but a day's journey from
sea to sea, and successively occupied extensive tracts in what is
now Mexico, the valley of the Mississippi, and the Eastern
States. It is not to be supposed that these vast regions were
all populated at any one time by the Nephites; the people were
continually moving to escape the depredations of their hereditary
foes, the Lamanites; and they abandoned in turn all their cities
established along the course of migration. The unprejudiced
student sees in the discoveries of the ancient and now
forest-covered cities of Mexico, Central America, Yucatan, and
the northern regions of South America, collateral testimony
having a bearing upon this history.

Before their more powerful foes, the Nephites dwindled and fled;
until about the year 400 A.D. they were entirely annihilated
after a series of decisive battles, the last of which was fought
near the very hill, called Cumorah, in the State of New York,
where the hidden record was subsequently revealed to Joseph
Smith.

The Lamanites led a roving, aggressive life; kept few or no
records, and soon lost the art of history writing. They lived on
the results of the chase and by plunder, degenerating in habit
until they became typical progenitors of the dark-skinned race,