The Narrow Pass Within the Neck of Land

When Mormon introduces a narrow pass or passage within the narrow neck of land that leads between the Land Northward and the Land Southward, we find an interesting corollary about this pass which was recorded in the 16^th century by the Spanish conquistador and chronicler of Peru, Pedro de Cieza Leon. At the time, Huayna Cápac (Wayna or Guayna Qhapaq), considered the last of the great Inca Emperors, was in Quito (Ecuador), which northern boundaries of the Empire went clear to the Ancasmayo River (present-day boundary between Ecuador and Colombia).
    As Pedro de Cieza Leon recorded the event as he received it from the Inca: “Huayna Cápac was in Quito with all his captains and veteran soldiers, when he received word that one of his armies he sent to conquer a neighbor had been routed and were in rapid retreat. He sent fast runners to stop the retreat and for his army to take the high ground and wait for him to arrive. Huanyna Cápac not wanting to tell his soldiers one of their armies had been defeated, merely said they were marching against an enemy.

The Inca always rode in his litter, carried by his trusted servants and guarded by his assemblage of warriors

“The Inca, Huayna Cápac, rode in his litter south to the narrow pass through the mountains, but once in the passage, he dismounted and marched in front of his army for a day and a half through the Pass. Those Inca who had been retreating in great numbers, when they saw the approaching army consisting of their own people, stopped on one side, while the pursuers began to attack usurpers.

Huayna Cápac’s (red dotted arrow) trek through the narrow pass from his (yellow circle) stronghold north of the narrow neck of land to attack usurpers south of the narrow neck

“Huayna Cápac surrounded them on three sides, which amazed them not a little and even those who had been conquered, rallied and fought with such resolve that the ground was covered with dead. When the pursuers wished to retreat, they found the pass occupied, and so many were slain that very few remained alive except the prisoners, who were numerous. In honor of this great victory, Huayna Cápac named the pass or corridor through the mountains after himself in honor of his great victory” (taken from The Second Part of the Chronicle of Peru by Pedro de Cieza Leon, Antwerp, 1554; translated by Clements R. Markham, 1883, London. pp214-215).
    Trying to reach this pass much earlier in time, the Nephite Morianton found himself in the same condition as the later usurpers to the Inca throne, when he tried to get through the pass from which Teancum cut him off (Alma 50:34). This area was such a natural division between the lands, that it was chosen by the Lamanites and Nephites as the boundary between their two lands for the treaty they agreed to in 350 A.D. (Mormon 2:28). 
    Thus, we can see the narrow neck of land Mormon describes was simply that—a “narrow” neck of land—that could be easily defended against an enemy attack, was basically a natural division of land, had the sea on the east and west, with a natural pass or passage through it. Obviously, the 140-mile wide Isthmus of Tehuantepec does not qualify for this “small” and “narrow” neck.
    Current definitions of the word “narrow,” suggest it to be “of small or limited width,” and “limited in area,” and “a part of little width, as a pass through mountains.” And from 1828, the definition is “A strait; a narrow passage through a mountain,” “of little breadth; not wide or broad; having little distance from side to side; as a narrow board; a narrow street; a narrow sea; a narrow hem or border,” “of little extent; very limited; as a narrow space,” ”near, within a small distance, close.” Webster also says of narrow: “It is only or chiefly applied to the surface of flat or level bodies.” 
    Thus, when we look at a piece of land that is “narrow,” it should show some indication that it is considerably narrower than that surrounding it, in fact, extremely narrower to meet Webster’s definition—a small distance, close from side to side, and certainly not wide or broad. One needs only look at the Isthmus of Tehuantepec  in Mesoamerica to see that these descriptions easily discount that isthmus as a “narrow” area. And most importantly, for people from 600 B.C. to 420 A.D. able to recognize that it was a narrow neck of land for they would not have possessed satellite images, aerial photography, global maps or charts as we do today to get an overall view of an area. It would also have to be so designed to show land-bound people that the sea “divided” the land at that point (Ether 10:20), such as a very large bay or inlet cutting into most of the land’s width.
    Of course, if you are a Mesoamerican theorist, such as John L. Sorenson, you would look on a map for a narrow neck, which you consider an isthmus, and find the Isthmus of Tehuantepec in Central America (Mesoamerica) as the narrowest point in the area. It would be an obvious choice as a narrow isthmus compared to the rest of the land mass on either side, yet not actually qualify for a narrow neck of land.
    The fact that this isthmus is not noticeable from the ground unless you know it is there, would not be understood as a “narrow neck” to any ancient people populating the area, has no significant earmarks of a narrowing of the land when standing upon that land (it is about 140 miles across from the Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific Ocean—a distance that is unobserveable from the ground), you might make a claim it is Mormon’s narrow neck, but only if you have never been there. To think that Nephites, without any type of overall view of the land except a ground-level view, would never think to call this a “narrow neck of land.”
    But if you ignore that, as Sorenson had to have done, then you could feel free to make any judgment about the land that is evident on a map.

Left: A Mohave Indian of the American southwest, known for their running stamina; Center: Toltec Indians who could run and entire day without tiring; Right: Indian who ran 100 miles in a day

You might even feel free to change the narrow neck to any distance you want and  justify the day-and-a-half journey from a Nephite to a remarkable group of  American natives who had achieved remarkable fetes in running, such as the Toltecs who “could run an entire day without tiring,” or “Mohave Indians who could cover nearly 100 miles a day sometimes going without food or even water for days,” or the American Indian who ran 100 miles, rested for a few  hours, then returned, as Sorenson points out in his book (An Ancient American Setting for the Book of Mormon, Deseret Book, Salt lake, 1985, p9).
    Obviously, as you increase the ability to cover the distance, you can widen that distance—say to 140 miles for the Isthmus of Tehuantepec (many claim it is 125 miles wide, though the Mexican Government states it is 144 miles). However, and the all-important factor involved, the scriptural record does not change the fact that Mormon gave us a simple parameter—the width of the narrow neck was what “a Nephite could cover in a day-and-a-half journey.” A journey is not a race, it is not an endurance factor, it is not a world record. It is simply a common man (Nephite) journeying (traveling) a distance in a day-and-a-half. How far could such a person travel in a day and a half? First of all, we don’t know directly that it was 18 hours (12 hours daylight, 12 hours darkness for eating and rest, 6 hours daylight), however, the word journey suggests a normal travel sequence.
    The 1828 dictionary defines “journey” as “the travel of a day; travel by land to any distance and for any time; passage from one place to another,” all of which suggests a normal journey, trip, travel of an individual from one place to another. Thus, we can only conclude that the narrow neck of land was, indeed narrow, and the width of it was the distance a normal person could cover in a day-and-a-half without looking for unusual circumstances.
    The point is the same as we have pointed out numerous times. The scriptural record is not open to personal interpretation that is not consistent with the descriptions of the original writers. After all, Mormon knew what he was talking about because he walked that land from one end to the other, fighting battles, directing events of tens of thousands of people, and having to know the finest details of the entire land over which he moved his armies in battle and retreat, as well as in preparation for wars. No modern-day academician, historian or theorist is going to know more than Mormon did, and should never put words in the ancient prophet’s mouth he did not speak or imply. To do so is the worst kind of scholarship. To claim, as Sorenson does throughout his book, that Mormon meant something entirely different than what he said is simply foolhardy and without merit.

Mormon recorded, wrote and abridged the majority of the scriptural record of the Book of Mormon, having at his disposal the entire record of all the writers, including the large plates which we do not have

Mormon in Alma 22:27-34 and elsewhere has made it clear that there was a narrow neck of land between the Land Southward and the Land Northward, that it was the only land between these two areas, and therefore, that there was a narrow pass within that narrow neck of land—and that the pass was very narrow, and had the sea on both sides. He also makes it quite clear that this narrow neck of land was observable to the Nephites, which means that someone in the Nephite era, without aid of aerial photography, etc., could see that this neck was both a neck and that it was narrow—something that cannot be observed of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec on either shore. And isn’t it about time that we, as so-called scholars and historians, stop adding our thoughts, beliefs and ideas to the scriptural record, claiming the ancient writing says or implies things it clearly does not. The scriptural record, even in the area of geographical setting, was never intended for any of us to add our own personal ideas and develop entire scenarios out of them when they are clearly in conflict with the ancient writings.
    When Mormon tells us quite clearly the narrow neck of land could be crossed in a day-and-a-half by a Nephite, we cannot add tht he meant some marathon runner, or unique person, since he knew he was describing events for future readers that would not know something out of the ordinary that he alone knew. A day-and-a-half for a normal man would mean a distance of about 20 to 30 miles, perhaps 35 miles—but certainly not more, and certainly not 100 miles or more.