The Works of Hubert Howe Bancroft Part 84

Slight differences only are observable in the Isthmian physique. The people are generally well-built, muscular, and of average height, although old authorities, such as Herrera, Andagoya, and Gomara, describe a tribe, whom they locate near Escoria and Quarecas, as being very tall--veritable giants. Women, as a rule, are small and of delicate proportions, but after attaining a certain age, incline to obesity. The mountain tribes are generally shorter in stature, with more pleasing features than the coast-dwellers. A notable difference between the Isthmians and the other aborigines of the Pacific States, is the short, rather flat nose, in contradistinction to the almost universal aquiline cast. In color they are of a medium bronze tint, varying according to localities, the mountain tribes being the darker. Black, straight, and very abundant coa.r.s.e hair, black or dark eyes, and excellent teeth predominate.[1006] In Costa Rica, on the Rio Frio, is the frequently spoken of but never accurately described nation--the _Guatusos_--whom somewhat mythical accounts describe as of fair complexions, with light hair and blue eyes. Likewise Albinos are spoken of by Wafer, who relates having seen people "milk white, lighter than the colour of any Europeans, and much like that of a white horse." Furthermore, it is said that their bodies were covered with a milk-white down, which added to the whiteness of their skin; hair and eyebrows white, and eyes oblong, with the corners pointing downwards. During daylight they were weak-sighted, restive, and lacking energy, but after sundown, their cheerfulness, activity, and eyesight returned--the latter being apparently as good as that of other people.[1007]

[Sidenote: DRESS OF THE ISTHMIANS.]

Cotton textures and the bark of a certain tree, beaten in a wet state until soft and pliant, were the materials used by the Isthmians to cover their nakedness, if, indeed, they covered it at all. Where cotton was used, as in parts of Costa Rica, the costume was simply a small strip of cloth which both men and women wound round the loins or, as on the islands in the gulf of Nicoya, the women pa.s.sed it between the legs, and fastened it to a string round the waist. These latter ornamented their scanty raiment prettily with various designs painted in colors, and also with seeds and sh.e.l.ls. Near the bay of Herradura the men wore a kind of mantle covering the whole front and back of the wearer, made of the above-mentioned bark, in the centre of which was a hole through which the head pa.s.sed. The women of this locality only wrap themselves in a piece of bark, without taking the trouble to fashion a mantle of it. Yet more simple was the dress of the men near Cartago; a few cotton strings wound round the foreskin of their virile member, sufficed them.[1008]

Near Panama and Darien, the caciques only wore long cotton mantles thrown over the shoulder and reaching nearly to the feet, the common people going naked, only encasing their privy parts in a kind of funnel made of gold, silver, sh.e.l.l, or bamboo, according to the wealth of the wearer, and which was held in place by a string fastened to two holes in the sides which was pa.s.sed round the waist. Women in the same localities wore cotton petticoats reaching to the knees, or, if ladies of quality, to the ankles. Near the gulf of Nicoya, women wore the long hair parted in the middle from the front to the back of the head, and plaited into two braids which hung down on either side over the ears.

The men tied the hair up in a stiff queue with a cotton band, which was at times arranged so as to rise straight over the crown of the head.

Necklaces of colored beads or of tiger's teeth were worn as ornaments.

Like many nations of the Hyperborean group, the Chorotegans of Nicoya pierced the lower lip and inserted a round piece of bone. Their arms they painted with a mixture of their own blood and charcoal. In portions of Veragua and Behetrias even the funnel or cotton strings were omitted, and the Gugures, Mandingos, and many others on the Pacific seaboard, like the people of Veragua, went entirely naked, the chiefs only wearing long mantles. All of the Isthmians were fond of ornaments; among those which deserve special notice is the nose-pendant. This was a crescent-shaped piece of gold or silver, of various sizes for different occasions, those used on holidays hanging down so as to cover the mouth, while those for ordinary use only reached the upper lip. Besides the nose-pendant were ear-rings and a number of heavy necklaces of gold, silver, tiger's teeth, colored seeds, sh.e.l.ls, and coral, according to the wealth of the wearer. Under their b.r.e.a.s.t.s the richer women also wore gold bars as a support, which were held up by strings pa.s.sed over the shoulders. _Guanines_, or figures of animals made of gold, were worn around the neck by the men on the coast of Veragua, Chiriqui, and Uraba; others again wore on their heads fillets or crowns of gold or of the claws of wild beasts, or of feathers. Thus did these naked savages decorate themselves, often to the extent of several pounds weight. Women considered it a mark of beauty to have thick legs, and to that end wore bandages round them. Another Hyperborean custom is here met with--the anointing of the body with oil--which in these tropics is extracted from the _bixa_ or seed of the _arnotto_, and over which they sprinkled down and feathers. Painting the body was everywhere practiced, and was carried to a great extent, the different colors and figures employed each having its peculiar significance.

[Sidenote: ISTHMIAN BODY-PAINTING.]

On going to war, paint was used more freely than at other times, and the greater the warrior the thicker the paint. Among the men of Cueba painting had a double object; it served as an ornament to the person, and also as a mark of distinction of rank. The chief, when he inherited or attained his t.i.tle, made choice of a certain device, which became that of all his house. Freemen were painted from the mouth downward, and on the arms and chest, while slaves were only painted or tattooed from the mouth upward. All the lords, servitors, and va.s.sals who were freemen, were painted in exactly the same manner. If the son of a chief adopted the ancestral totem, he could not afterward change it on coming into his inheritance, but if during his father's life-time he declined to use the distinctive badge of his house, he could, when he became chief, choose any new device he might fancy. A son who did not adopt his father's totem was always hateful to him during his lifetime. The natives on the northern coast of Chiriqui painted the body in wavy lines, from the shoulders to the heels; through the cartilage of the nose they stuck a porcupine-quill, and in the chin the tooth of a wild beast. The women had holes made in their cheeks through which they stuck little bunches of feathers; they also wore tiger's claws in their ears.

At San Blas, some of the men painted themselves in black streaks, and the women in red. At Porto Belo, the king was painted black and all his subjects red. The natives of Escoria tattooed breast and arms; the women of Darien across the bridge of the nose from one cheek to the other; they also blacken their teeth. Others have figures of birds, animals, or trees painted all over the body, according to fancy; their favorite colors being black, red, and yellow, which are laid on with pencils made of wood, chewed at the end till they become soft.[1009] All the Isthmians pull out the hair from every part of the body except the head, and rub themselves with herbs, which prevent its further growth. Both s.e.xes pride themselves on the length of the hair, and most of them allow it to grow to its full length and hang loose over their shoulders, but keep it cut on the forehead as low as the eyebrows. The men of Cariai and some parts of Chiriqui, bind it with fillets and wind it in rolls round the head, fastening it with a comb made of the heart of the palm-tree; others wear round their head a band made of bark or certain fibres of plants, and at festivals they often wear high caps, made from the gaudy feathers of parrots. At Tanela married women cut their hair short. It appears that head-flattening again crops out in these parts.

Las Casas states that infants had their heads placed between two pads, one in front and another behind, in order to increase the length of the head and width of the forehead.[1010]

[Sidenote: DWELLINGS ON THE ISTHMUS.]

In Costa Rica many of the natives live in small huts built of plaited rushes. In the year 1545, Diego Gutierrez, governor of Nueva Cartago, in Costa Rica, attempted to explore that territory. Arriving at the province of Suere upon a river of that name at a point some twelve leagues distant from the North Sea, he came to a village, and there occupied a house belonging to the chief of the district. The old Milanese chronicler, Girolamo Benzoni, who accompanied the expedition, describing the dwelling of the cacique, says it was shaped like an egg and was forty-five paces in length and nine in breath. The sides were of reeds and the roof of palm-leaves all interlaced and well executed.

There were but few other houses in the village and those of inferior character. Padre Zepeda, a jesuit, who in 1750 lived among the Guatusos for several months, speaking of their towns and gardens, says that when the rains commence, they construct small huts in the trees, where they live safe from the danger of floods.[1011] Unlike most other nations, the Isthmians do not build their villages in squares, but generally form long streets, keeping the houses well apart from each other, probably as a precaution against conflagrations. On many parts of the coast of Darien and on the gulf of Uraba, the villages are built in the water.

Others are on the banks of rivers, and many of them are s.p.a.cious and constructed with great skill and attention to details. The supporting posts of the roof are large bamboos or palm-trees. Three or four of these are driven into the ground at equal distances, proportioned according to the intended length of the house, and across the top is laid the ridge-pole; on each side a number of shorter posts are sunk, from which long rafters are laid to the ridge-pole; the whole is then covered with palm-leaves, both roof and sides. Other houses are plastered inside and outside with mud, and these have a flooring of open bamboo work, raised six or eight feet from the ground. The dwellings are divided into two or more rooms, having no doors to the entrances, which are reached by ladders. Sometimes the house is built without walls, in which case the roof descends to below the level of the floor, and the structure is left open at both ends, having the appearance of an elevated platform. The Savanerics and some others on the coast of Veragua build circular or pyramidal dwellings, by driving strong posts into the ground sloping toward each other, so as to unite in a point where they are strongly bound with withes or vines, across which are tied small sticks, some peeled, others with the bark on, or blackened, thereby producing a pleasing effect. The walls inside are lined with reeds beautifully interwoven. The upper portion of the structure is thatched on the outside with straw and on the apex is placed an ornament of baked clay. In the centre of the dwelling is a s.p.a.cious apartment, and round the walls are small rooms in which different families reside.[1012] Each village has a public, town, or council house, or fort, one hundred or more feet in length, constructed in the same manner as the dwellings, but with no interior part.i.tions; in the walls are loop-holes for the discharge of arrows. There is an entrance at each end, and thick doors, made of split palm-tree and bamboo strongly bound together with withes, are kept in readiness to shut out the enemy. The doors are kept in position by strong posts set in the ground behind them. In the province of Veragua they build strong wooden fences or palisades round some of the villages, to protect them from attacks of enemies and wild beasts. During the expedition of Gaspar de Espinosa in 1517, Diego de Albitez, who invaded the province of a cacique named Tabraba, some distance south-west from Panama, found the inhabitants protected by strong fortifications. Their forts are built with much skill. The ground is first enclosed by a deep trench, upon the inner bank of which trees are planted, and the interstices filled up with logs and rocks. In many parts of the country the inhabitants were found living in the tops of trees like birds, laying sticks across from one branch to another, and building their houses upon them. In 1512, Vasco Nunez de Balboa surveyed several channels at the mouth of the River Atrato in quest of gold and plunder. The surrounding country was low and marshy, but the soil sent forth immense palm-trees, in the branches of which the natives built their houses. Vasco Nunez, entering an affluent of the Rio Negro, discovered a large tree-top village, the name of whose ruler was Abieiba. The houses were divided into several apartments, each of a size sufficient to accommodate several families. They were built of wood and willows, and were so pliable and yet so strong, that the swaying to and fro of the branches, to which the elastic tenement yielded, did not in the least interfere with the safety of the occupants. Ladders, made of a single large bamboo split in two, were used in making the ascent and descent. These were drawn up at night, or in case of the invasion of an enemy. On the coast of Veragua Columbus discovered similar dwellings, and he says that he could not account for the custom, unless it was through fear of griffins which abound in that country, or of enemies, each tribe being at war with every other tribe along the coast. The true cause, however, of their taking to trees for places of residence, is to place themselves beyond the reach of sudden and violent floods, which are caused by the swelling of streams after storms in the mountains, and also in order to be out of the reach of reptiles and wild beasts in which that country abounds.[1013] Some of the Isthmians built large enclosures for the chiefs, which early contemporary writers call the king's palace. Vasco Nunez de Balboa, on his march through the province of Comagre, situated on the northern coast of Darien about thirty leagues from the gulf of Uraba, relates that he visited the dwelling or palace of the cacique Comagre, which he describes as follows: It was one hundred and fifty by eighty paces in dimension, constructed upon heavy posts, which stood within a stone wall. The upper part of the building was beautifully finished with timbers, interlaced in such a manner as to strike the beholder with amazement. The building contained various apartments--chambers, pantry, and wine-cellar. In one very large apartment were sacredly kept the remains of the king's ancestors arranged round the walls.[1014]

[Sidenote: FOOD OF THE ISTHMIANS.]

The Costa Ricans live chiefly by hunting and fishing, and many of them cultivate maize, beans, and bananas; the Talamancas, especially, are agriculturists. According to Father Zepeda, and others who penetrated some distance into the country of the Guatusos, they had large fields under cultivation. Salt is seldom used by any of these tribes, and none of them ever eat dogs, as they keep them for hunting purposes. Their chief game is wild hogs and deer, but they are not very particular as to their animal diet, for they eat whatever they can catch, including reptiles. Their mode of cooking fish renders them exceedingly palatable, which is by roasting them wrapped in plantain-leaves. Bananas are usually pulled when green, and buried in sand to ripen.[1015] Many of the other Isthmians are agriculturists, and grow considerable quant.i.ties of maize, plantains, cacao, pimiento, and cocoa-nuts; their means of subsistence are further largely supplemented by game and fish.

A staple article of food among the coast tribes is turtle, of which they capture large numbers. Monkeys afford them a favorite meal, and they are especially fond of iguanas, young alligators, and their eggs. From the yucca as well as corn they make a good quality of bread. The Doraches and Guaimies of Veragua subsist mainly on wild roots and a fruit called _pixbaex_, somewhat resembling dates, which toasted, makes an agreeable and wholesome food. Most of their dishes are highly seasoned with pimiento, a kind of pepper produced by a small shrub which is very abundant on Tierra Firme. The toocan bird lives chiefly on the berry, which it discharges from the stomach almost immediately after swallowing it; the natives prefer it thus, as its bitterness is partly absorbed by the bird. It is said that the Caribs ate human flesh whenever they had an opportunity. Herrera says that some of the Isthmians purchased slaves, whom they sold to the Caribs for food, and the inhabitants of Paria supplied boys to the natives of Tubraba for the same purpose. They cooked the flesh of their enemies, and ate it seasoned with salt and _aji_ (chile).[1016] When a piece of ground is to be planted, a number of the villagers collect and cut down the brushwood on a selected spot; the seed is then scattered among the wood as it lies. In due time the grain, which is well sheltered from the sun by the branches, springs up and overtops them, and when fit for harvesting the ears are gathered.

After this, the underwood and corn-stalks are set on fire, and the ground continues to be used for agricultural purposes. In hunting deer and wild swine, dogs are used to drive them out of the dense forest; at other times they set fire to a part of the woods, and as the animals try to escape, they kill them with spears and arrows. Birds are killed with a blow-pipe. When fishing they use nets made of mahoe-bark or silk-gra.s.s, and in places where rocks prevent their using a net, they catch them with their hands or shoot them with arrows. Fishing by torchlight with spears is frequently practiced. The Savanerics poison pools with pounded leaves of the barbasco, and thus obtain fish without much labor. For duck-hunting they also employ the often-described trick of placing a calabash on the head, and in this manner approach the game.

The men of Cueba are celebrated for making pure white salt from sea water--an article much used in this locality. In the same province a kind of communism obtained; all provisions were delivered to the chief, who distributed to each his share. Part of the community were employed as agriculturists, and part as hunters and fishermen. At his meals the cacique was served by women, some of his princ.i.p.al men eating with him.[1017]

In their personal habits the Isthmians are cleanly; they bathe generally twice a day and sometimes oftener; but commonly at sunrise and sunset.

The interior of their dwellings has a neat appearance, and order and cleanliness prevail in all their domestic arrangements.[1018]

[Sidenote: WEAPONS OF THE ISTHMIANS.]

Bows and arrows, long spears, javelins, flint-edged clubs, and blow-pipes, are the weapons used in these parts. The bows are beautifully made, those of the Costa Ricans being about seven feet long, of a dark-colored, very hard wood, with the string of well-twisted silk-gra.s.s. Arrows are of the same wood, very long, and pointed with a porcupine-quill or fish-bone. The bows and arrows of those farther south are much shorter, and of black palm-wood, as are also their lances and javelins. The arrows are pointed with flint or fish-bone, or are hardened in the fire and barbed; the shaft is of reed having a piece of hard wood eight or ten inches in length inserted in the end. The inhabitants of Coiba and some of the tribes on the western sh.o.r.e of the gulf of Uraba, do not use bows and arrows. In this respect, so far as I have observed, they form an exception; as among the almost innumerable tribes situated between the gulf of Uraba and the Arctic Ocean I know of none others where bows and arrows are not used. These people in battle employ a long wooden sword, and wooden spears, the ends of which are hardened in the fire and tipped with bone; they also make use of slings and darts. Their javelins are thrown with much force and dexterity by means of a stick slightly grooved to hold the projectile. It is called _estorica_ and is held between the thumb and two fingers, there being a small loop on the side, near the centre, in which the forefinger is placed; the dart is cast straight from the shoulder, while the projector is retained in the hand. I have noticed a somewhat similar contrivance employed by the Aleutian Islanders.[1019] The blow-pipe which is used with much effect, is about six or seven feet long, and the darts shot from it are made of Mucaw-wood, very thin with an exceedingly sharp point, notched, so that when an object is struck it breaks off and it is almost impossible to extract the broken point; others are poisoned so that a slight wound causes death in a short time. One end is wrapped with a little cotton, until it fits the tube which is placed to the mouth and the dart blown out. It is quite effective for a distance of one hundred yards. Different varieties of poison have been described by writers and travelers. Herrera speaks of one which he says was made with certain grey roots found along the coast, which were burnt in earthen pipkins and mixed with a species of poisonous black ant; to this composition were added large spiders, some hairy caterpillars, the wings of a bat, and the head and tail of sea-fish called _tavorino_, very venomous, besides toads, the tails of snakes, and manzanillas. All these ingredients were set over a fire in an open field and well boiled in pots by a slave till they were reduced to a proper consistency. The unfortunate slave who attends to the boiling almost invariably dies from the fumes. Another poisonous composition is spoken of as having been made of fourteen different ingredients and another of twenty-four, one that kills in three days, another in five, and another later, and when one was employed it was stated that sometimes the wounded lived as many days as the poison had been made. The natives said that fire, sea water, and continency were the antidotes against the venom, others affirmed that the dung of the wounded person taken in pills or otherwise was a cure. Peter Martyr writes that the poison was made by old women skilled in the art, who were shut up for two days in a house where they boiled the ingredients; if at the expiration of the time, the women were found in good health instead of being half dead, they were punished and the ointment was thrown away. Captain Cochrane in his _Journal in Colombia_, says that they obtain the poison from a small frog called the _rana de veneno_. These frogs are kept in a hollow cane and regularly fed. When required for use, they take one and pa.s.s a pointed stick down its throat and out at one of its legs. The pain brings to the back of the toad a white froth, which is a deadly poison and in it the darts are rubbed; below the froth a yellow oily matter is found which is carefully sc.r.a.ped off, as it is also a powerful poison, but not so lasting as the first substance, which will retain its deadly properties for a year while the yellow matter looses its strength after five or six months.[1020] The javelins used by the Caribs were not made pointed but square at the end, they also have very long pikes and heavy clubs. When Bartolome Hurtado in 1516 visited the island of Caubaco he relates that the cacique presented him with a golden armor valued at one thousand castellanos. At the island of Cabo seven leagues distant, the warriors wore a thick matted armor of cotton impervious to arrows; they were armed with pikes and in their march were accompanied with drums, conchs, and fifes.[1021]

[Sidenote: WEAPONS, ARMOR, AND WARS.]

Wars arise chiefly from the jealousies and ambition of rival chieftains.

Battles are frequent and sanguinary, often lasting for many days, and are fought with tenacious courage. Throughout Darien it is customary to place sentinels at night in the highest houses of the towns, to keep watch and give warning of the approach of an enemy. At the commencement of a campaign, chiefs and captains experienced in war are nominated by the head of the tribe, to lead the men in battle and conduct the operations; they wear certain insignia, so as to be distinguished from the rest of the men, lofty plumes on the head, and a quant.i.ty of golden ornaments and jewels, besides which they are painted in a different style. All, however, adorn themselves when going to battle, with a profusion of necklaces, bracelets, and golden corselets. The men are cheered on to battle and encouraged during the fight by the blowing of large sh.e.l.ls and the beating of drums. In the province of Cueba, women accompany the men, fighting by their side and sometimes even leading the van. The action is commenced with the slings and estoricas, but they soon meet at close quarters, when the heavy wooden swords and javelins are brought into use. Certain rules and military regulations are observed whereby the brave are rewarded, and offenders against military discipline punished. n.o.bility is conferred on him who is wounded in war, and he is further rewarded with lands, with some distinguished woman, and with military command; he is deemed more ill.u.s.trious than others, and the son of such a father, following the profession of arms, may inherit all the father's honors. He who disobeys the orders of his chief in battle is deprived of his arms, struck with them, and driven from the settlement. All booty is the property of him who captured it. The prisoner is the slave of the captor; he is branded on the face and one of his front teeth knocked out. The Caribs, however, used to kill and eat their prisoners. Wafer mentions that upon some occasions, he who had killed an enemy cut off his own hair as a distinguishing mark of triumph, and painted himself black, continuing so painted until the first new moon.[1022]

[Sidenote: ISTHMIAN DISHES AND IMPLEMENTS.]

The Isthmians sleep in hammocks, often beautifully made, and suspended between two trees or upright posts. Owing to the material of which they are composed they are exceedingly cool and well adapted to the climate.

Gourds, calabashes, and cocoa-nut sh.e.l.ls are employed for water-bowls and drinking-cups. Their other household utensils consist of earthen jars, flint knives, stone hatchets and boxes ingeniously made of palm-leaves, and covered with deer or other skins. Drums of different sizes, some very large, others small, are made of the hollow trunk of a tree covered at the ends with deer's hide. Those of the largest size are kept at the chief's residence or at the town-house. Hammocks are made of finely woven cloth, or more frequently of plaited gra.s.s of various colors and curiously ornamented. Wooden mortars, made from the knotty part of a tree, are used to pound yucca, from which they make their ca.s.sava. The metate or rubbing-stone is also in use among them. They have nets of different kinds for both fishing and hunting. At night, as a light for their dwellings they use torches made from palm-wood dipped in oil and beeswax. The lords and princ.i.p.al men of the provinces of Darien and Uraba are reputed to have drunk from golden cups of rich and beautiful workmanship. Peter Martyr gives an account of golden trumpets and a great number of bells found by the Spaniards in a town situated on the River Dabaiba (Atrato). The bells were used at ceremonies and festivals, giving forth a sweet and pleasant sound; the tongues or clappers were beautifully made, of fish-bones. In another part of the country, on the gulf of Uraba, says Peter Martyr, as rendered by the ancient translator: "They founde also a great mult.i.tude of shetes, made of the silke or cotton of the gossampine tree; likewise diuers kindes of vessels and tooles made of wood, and many of earth; also many brest plates of gold, and ouches wrought after their manner."[1023]

They manufacture strong cords from the bark of the mahoe-tree, which is taken off in long strips, beaten with sticks, cleaned, and then twisted.

A finer description of thread is made from a species of pita, of which the leaves undergo a somewhat similar process in preparation as flax, being steeped in water for several days, then dried in the sun and afterwards beaten, producing fine silky threads, from which their hammocks and finer kinds of nets for catching small fish are made. From the same plant they make excellent baskets and matting; the materials are first dyed in different colors, prettily mixed and woven together so closely as to hold water. They are of a soft texture and exceedingly durable. The Dorachos are famed for the manufacture of pottery, water-bottles, and other household utensils, elegantly shaped and prettily painted. Cotton cloths are woven by women, and considering the rude and simple implements they work with, the fineness of texture and blending of colors present a marvel of skill and patience. The process of weaving is thus described by Wafer: "The Women make a Roller of Wood, about three Foot long, turning easily about between two Posts. About this they place Strings of Cotton, of 3 or 4 yards long, at most, but oftner less, according to the use the Cloth is to be put to, whether for a Hammock, or to tie about their Waists, or for Gowns, or for Blankets to cover them in their Hammocks, as they lie in them in their Houses; which are all the Uses they have for Cloth: And they never weave a piece of Cotton with a design to cut it, but of a size that shall just serve for the particular use. The Threads thus coming from the Roller are the Warp; and for the Woof, they twist Cotton-yarn about a small piece of _Macaw_-wood, notch'd at each end; And taking up every other Thread of the Warp with the Fingers of one Hand, they put the Woof through with the other Hand, and receive it out on the other side: and to make the Threads of the Woof lie close in the Cloth, they strike them at every turn with a long and thin piece of _Macaw_-wood like a Ruler, which lies across between the Threads of the Warp for that purpose."[1024]

[Sidenote: ISTHMIAN BOATS AND NAVIGATION.]

The canoes and rafts of the Isthmians are admirably adapted to the navigation of their rivers and gulfs, and the men who manage them are skillful boatmen. The canoes vary in size; some are dug out from the single trunk of a tree, others are constructed of bark. The largest are thirty-five feet in length by three in breadth, and are capable of carrying many persons, besides a considerable amount of cargo. They are so lightly built that little difficulty is experienced in pa.s.sing them over obstructions, and those of smaller size are often carried on the head. They draw very little water, and are propelled with paddles by two persons, one in the stern, the other in the bow. When pa.s.sing over rapids, palancas, or poles, are used, with crotchets attached, which answer the purpose of a boat-hook in laying hold of the bank or overhanging branches of trees, where the depth of water prevents the pole reaching the bottom. The rafts are made from an exceedingly light and soft timber similar to cork-wood. Three or four logs are bound together with ropes and across them are laid smaller timbers of the same wood, fastened down with hard wooden pegs that are easily driven through. The rafts are chiefly employed for fishing or crossing large rivers. Canoes are, however, quite as frequently used for fishing purposes.[1025]

The native products are gold, pearls, tortoise-sh.e.l.l, ivory-nuts, cacao, caoutchouc, corozo-nuts, cocoa-nuts, dried venison, lard, and deer-skins; these are offered in considerable quant.i.ties to foreigners, and in exchange they receive salt and ironware, besides various trinkets and such domestic utensils as they are in need of. The value of the pearls was lessened on account of their practice of throwing oysters into the fire in order to open them, which partially destroyed their l.u.s.tre. The natives of the coast carry into the interior dried fish and salt, which they barter for gold dust and other products. At Pueblo Nuevo sarsaparilla forms a princ.i.p.al article of trade. The native traders are very shrewd, and as a rule practice fair dealing. On his march through the country, Vasco Nunez de Balboa found the people in possession of large quant.i.ties of gold, jewelry, and pearls. Everywhere along his route he received presents of gold; indeed, in some places he found this metal in greater abundance than food.[1026]

The streams of this region are subject to frequent swellings, caused by heavy rains. After the subsiding of these floods, the natives procure gold from the river-beds; they also burn the gra.s.s in the mountains and pick up the metal left exposed on the surface in large quant.i.ties. In the district of Veragua and in Darien they have workers in gold, crucibles for melting metals, and implements of silversmiths. They understand the alloying of gold, from which they make vases and many kinds of ornaments in the shape of birds and different varieties of animals. The relics which from time to time have been exhumed in Chiriqui and other parts of the Isthmus, prove that the natives had an excellent knowledge of the art of working and also of sculpturing in gold and stone. Painting and glazing on jars and other descriptions of pottery was an art in which the men of Chiriqui were famous.[1027] The Isthmians possessed only a very slight knowledge of the computation of time. They calculate the hour of the day by the height of the sun in the heavens, and have no division of time into years, months, or weeks.

Their enumeration is limited to twenty, and beyond that they count by twenties to one hundred; their knowledge of numbers does not go further.[1028]

[Sidenote: ARTS AND GOVERNMENT.]

In the provinces of Cueba, Comagre, and other parts of Darien the eldest son succeeded to the government upon the death of his father. As soon as the funeral ceremonies were over, the heir received the congratulations of the attendant n.o.bles, the highest and most aged of whom conducted him to a chamber and laid him in a hammock. His subjects then came to offer their submission accompanied with presents, which consisted of large stores of edibles and fruits of every kind. They greeted him with triumphal songs in which they recounted the deeds of his ancestors, as well as those of other lords of the land, telling him who were his friends and who his enemies. Much wine was consumed and the rejoicing lasted several days. Afterwards amba.s.sadors were dispatched to inform all the neighboring caciques of the new accession, desiring their good will and friendship for the future. In the province of Panama upon the death of the lord, the eldest brother succeeded him, and if there were no brothers the succession went to a nephew by the sister's side. The chiefs held undisputed authority over their people and were implicitly obeyed. They received no tribute but required personal service for house-building, hunting, fishing, or tilling the ground; men so employed were fed and maintained by the chief. In Cueba the reigning lord was called _quebi_, in other parts he was called _tiba_. The highest in rank after the _tiba_ had the t.i.tle of _sacos_, who commanded certain districts of the country. _Piraraylos_ were n.o.bles who had become famous in war. Subject to the sacos were the _cabras_ who enjoyed certain lands and privileges not accorded to the common people. Any one wounded in battle, when fighting in presence of the _tiba_, was made a cabra and his wife became an _espave_ or princ.i.p.al woman. A constable could not arrest or kill a cabra; this could be done only by the tiba; once struck by the tiba, however, any person might kill him, for no sooner was he wounded by his chief than his t.i.tle and rank dropped from him.

Constables were appointed whose duty it was to arrest offenders and execute judgment on the guilty. Justice was administered without form by the chief in person who decided all controversies. The cases must be stated truthfully, as the penalty for false testimony was death. There was no appeal from the decision of the chief. Theft was punishable with death and anyone catching a thief in flagrante delicto, might cut off the offender's hands and hang them to his neck. Murder was also punished by death; the penalty for adultery was death to both parties. In Darien, he who defloured a virgin had a brier thrust up his virile member, which generally caused death. The facts had to be proved on oath, the form of taking which was to swear by their tooth. As I have said, a constable could not arrest or kill a n.o.ble; consequently if one committed a crime punishable with death, the chief must kill him with his own hand, and notice was given to all the people by beating the large war drum so that they should a.s.semble and witness the execution.

The chief then in presence of the mult.i.tude recited the offence, and the culprit acknowledged the justice of the sentence. This duty fulfilled, the chief struck the culprit two or three blows on the head with a macana until he fell, and if he was not killed, any one of the spectators gave him the finishing stroke. Criminals who were executed were denied the right of burial. The Caribs had no chiefs, every man obeyed the dictates of his own pa.s.sions, unrestrained by either government or laws.[1029]

[Sidenote: PUNISHMENTS AND SLAVERY.]

Slavery was in force among the various nations inhabiting the Isthmus, and every princ.i.p.al man retained a number of prisoners as bondsmen; they were called _pacos_, and, as I have already mentioned, were branded or tattooed with the particular mark of the owner on the face or arm, or had one of their front teeth extracted. When traveling, the slaves had to carry their lord's effects, and a dozen or more were detailed to carry his litter or hammock, which was slung on a pole and borne on the shoulders of two men at a time, who were relieved at intervals by two others, the change being made without stopping. On his march across the Isthmus in 1513, Vasco Nunez found some negro slaves belonging to the cacique of Quarecas, but the owner could give no information relative to them, except that there were more of that color near the place, with whom they were continually at war.[1030]

[Sidenote: FAMILY RELATIONS OF THE ISTHMIANS.]

Caciques and lords married as many wives as they pleased. The marriage of the first wife was celebrated with a great banquet, at the close of which the bride was handed over to her husband. Subsequent wives were not married with ceremonies or rejoicings, but took the place of concubines, and were subject to the orders of the first wife. The number of wives was limited only by the wealth of the lord. Vasco Nunez took prisoner the cacique Tumanama with all his family, among which were eighty wives. The children of the first wife were legitimate, while those of others were b.a.s.t.a.r.ds and could not inherit. Marriage was not contracted with strangers or people speaking a different language, and the tiba and lords only married with the daughters of n.o.ble blood.

Divorces were brought about by mutual consent and for slight causes, and sometimes wives were exchanged. If a woman was barren, they promptly agreed upon a separation, which took place when the woman had her menstrual period, in order that there might be no suspicion of pregnancy. When a maiden reached the age of p.u.b.erty, she was kept shut up, sometimes for a period of two years. In some parts of Darien, when a contract of marriage was made, all the neighbors brought presents of maize or fruits, and laid them at the door of the bride's father; when the offerings were all made, each one of the company was given a calabash of liquor; then followed speeches and dancing, and the bridegroom's father presented his son to the bride, and joined their hands; after which the bride was returned to her father, who kept her shut up in a house with him for seven days. During that time all the friends a.s.sisted in clearing a plantation and building a house for the couple, while the women and children planted the ground. The seven days having elapsed, another merrymaking took place, at which much liquor was drunk. The bridegroom took the precaution to put away all weapons which were hung to the ridge-pole of his house, in order to prevent any serious fighting during their drunken orgies, which lasted several days, or until all the liquor was consumed. If a man had several wives, he often kept each one in a separate house, though sometimes they all lived together; a woman who was pregnant always occupied a house to herself.[1031] Women are easily delivered, and the young infant is tied to a board on its back or between two pillows, and is kept so confined until able to walk, the board being removed only to wash the child. Male children are early accustomed to the use of weapons, and when able to carry a few provisions for themselves, they accompany their fathers on hunting expeditions. Girls are brought up to household duties, cooking, weaving, and spinning. Prost.i.tution was not infamous; n.o.ble ladies held as a maxim, that it was plebeian to deny anything asked of them, and they gave themselves up to any person that wooed them, willingly, especially to princ.i.p.al men. This tendency to licentiousness carried with it extremes in the use of abortives whereby to avoid the consequence of illicit pleasures, as well that they might not be deprived of them, as to keep their b.r.e.a.s.t.s from softening; for, said they, old women should bear children, not young ones, who have to amuse themselves. Sodomy was practiced by the nations of Cueba, Careta, and other places. The caciques and some of the head men kept harems of youths, who, as soon as destined to the unclean office, were dressed as women, did women's work about the house, and were exempt from war and its fatigues. They went by the name of _camayoas_, and were hated and detested by the women.[1032]

[Sidenote: INTOXICATING LIQUORS.]

Their public amus.e.m.e.nts were called _areitos_, a species of dance very nearly resembling some in the northern provinces of Spain. They took place upon occasions of a marriage or birth, or when they were about to go forth on a hunting expedition, or at the time of harvest. One led the singing, stepping to the measure, and the rest followed, imitating the leader. Others again engaged in feats of arms and sham battles, while singers and improvisatori related the deeds of their ancestors and historical events of the nation. The men indulged freely in fermented liquors and wines, the drinking and dancing lasting many hours and sometimes whole days, until drunk and exhausted they fell to the ground.

Actors in appropriate costumes counterfeited the various pursuits of fishing, hunting, and agriculture, while others, in the guise of jesters and fools, a.s.sisted in enlivening the scene. Their princ.i.p.al musical instruments were drums and small whistles made of reeds; they had also javelins with holes pierced in them near the end, so that when cast into the air a loud whistling noise was produced.[1033] They have various kinds of wines and liquors both sweet and sour. One is obtained from a species of palm-tree, by tapping the trunk near the top, and inserting a leaf into the cut. The liquor drawn off soon ferments, and in two or three days is fit to drink; or it is boiled with water and mixed with spices. Another kind called _chicha_ is made from maize; a quant.i.ty of the grain is soaked in water, then taken out and left to sprout, when it is bruised and placed in a large vessel filled with water, where it is allowed to remain until it begins to turn sour. A number of old women then collect and chew some of the grain, which they spit out into large gourds until they have a sufficient quant.i.ty; this, as soon as it ferments, is added to the water in the vessel, and in a short time the whole undergoes fermentation. When the liquor is done working it is drawn off from the sediment, and a strongly intoxicating liquor is thus produced, which is their favorite beverage. They have another method of making chicha, by boiling the sprouted grain in water till the quant.i.ty is considerably reduced; it is then removed from the fire and left to settle and cool. In two days it becomes clear and fit to drink, but after five or six days it begins to acidify so that only a moderate quant.i.ty is made at a time. Different varieties of wines and liquors are made from dates, bananas, pineapples, and other fruits, and we are told that the first Spanish explorers of the country found large quant.i.ties of fermented liquors buried beneath the ground under their house-tree, because if stored in their houses the liquor became turbid from constant agitation. The cellar of the king Comagre is described as being filled with great vessels of earth and wood, containing wine and cider. Peter Martyr, in his account of the visit of Vasco Nunez and his company to the king, says "they drunke wines of sundry tastes both white and black." Tobacco is much used by the Isthmians; the natives of Costa Rica roll the leaf up in the form of a cigar, and tie it with gra.s.s threads; they inhale the smoke, and, retaining it for a short time, pa.s.s it out through the mouth and nostrils. The cigar used by the natives of the isthmus of Panama is much larger. Mr Wafer thus describes their manner of making and smoking it: "Laying two or three Leaves upon one another, they roll up all together side-ways into a long Roll, yet leaving a little hollow. Round this they roll other Leaves one after another, in the same manner but close and hard, till the Roll be as big as ones Wrist, and two or three Feet in length. Their way of Smoaking when they are in Company together is thus: A Boy lights one end of a Roll and burns it to a Coal, wetting the part next it to keep it from wasting too fast. The End so lighted he puts into his Mouth, and blows the Smoak through the whole length of the Roll into the Face of every one of the Company or Council, tho' there be 2 or 300 of them. Then they, sitting in their usual Posture upon Forms, make, with their Hands held hollow together, a kind of Funnel round their Mouths and Noses. Into this they receive the Smoak as 'tis blown upon them, snuffing it up greedily and strongly as long as ever they are able to hold their Breath, and seeming to bless themselves, as it were, with the Refreshment it gives them."

After eating heartily, more especially after supper, they burn certain gums and herbs and fumigate themselves to produce sleep.[1034]

The Isthmians are good walkers, their tread firm, but light and soft as a cat, and they are exceedingly active in all their movements. When traveling they are guided by the sun, or ascertain their course by observing the bark of the trees; the bark on the south side being always the thickest. When fatigued by travel they scarify their legs with a sharpened reed or snakes' teeth. They are very expert swimmers and the dwellers on the coast pa.s.s much of their time in the water. In salutation they turn their backs to each other. No one will accept a gift from a stranger unless with the especial permission of the chief.[1035]

[Sidenote: ISTHMIAN SORCERERS.]

They believe largely in spirits and divinations, and have sorcerers called _piaces_ who are held in much respect and awe. The piaces profess to have the power of foretelling the future and raising spirits. When putting in practice their arts they retire to a solitary place, or shut themselves up in a house, where, with loud cries and unearthly sounds they pretend to consult the oracle. Boys destined to be piaces are taken at the age of ten or twelve years to be instructed in the office; they are selected for the natural inclination or the peculiar apt.i.tude and intelligence which they display for the service. Those so chosen are confined in a solitary place where they dwell in company with their instructors. For two years they are subjected to severe discipline, they must not eat flesh nor anything having life, but live solely on vegetables, drink only water, and not indulge in s.e.xual intercourse.

During the probationary term neither parents nor friends are permitted to see them; at night only are they visited by professional masters, who instruct them in the mysteries of the necromantic arts. In the province of Cueba masters in these arts are called _tequinas_. It is a.s.serted of the piaces that they could foretell an eclipse of the moon three months before the time. The people were much troubled with witches, who were supposed to hold converse with evil spirits, and inflicted many ills especially upon children.[1036]

[Sidenote: MEDICAL PRACTICE.]

The Isthmians are a healthful and long-lived race. The ills most common to them are fevers and venereal disease. The latter, as Oviedo affirms, was introduced into Europe from Hayti, or Espanola, where it was prevalent as well as throughout Tierra Firme. This is a subject that has given rise to much contention among authors, but the balance of testimony seems to indicate that the venereal disease in Europe was not of American origin, although the disease probably existed in America before the coming of Europeans. The remedies employed by the Isthmians for the complaint were _guayacan_ wood, and other medicinal herbs known to them. They are much troubled with a minute species of tick-lice that cover their limbs in great numbers, from which they endeavor to free themselves by applying burning straw. Another insect, more serious in its consequences and penetrating in its attacks, is the _chegoe_, or _pulex penetrans_; it burrows under the skin, where it lays its eggs, and if not extracted will in time increase to such an extent as to endanger the loss of the limb. The natives remove it with any sharp-pointed instrument. They are liable to be bitten by venomous snakes, which are numerous in the country and frequently cause death.

Whenever one is bitten by such a reptile, the sufferer immediately ties above the wounded part a ligature made from plants well known to the natives, and which they usually carry with them; this enables him to reach a village, where he procures a.s.sistance, and by means of herbal applications is often cured. Some of them are subject to a skin disease somewhat similar in its appearance to ringworm; it spreads over the whole body until eventually the skin peels off. Those who are thus afflicted are called _carates_. These people are generally very hardy and strong, with great powers of endurance. The piaces, as medicine-men, consult their oracles for the benefit of all those who require their services. The sucking cure obtains in these parts as well as northward.

When summoned to attend a patient, if the pain or disease is slight, the medicine-man takes some herbs in his mouth, and applying his lips to the part affected, pretends to suck out the disorder; suddenly he rushes outside with cheeks extended, and feigns to spit out something, cursing and imprecating at the same time; he then a.s.sures his patient that he has effected a cure by extracting the cause of the pain. When the sickness is of a more serious nature, more elaborate enchantments are enacted, ending in the pract.i.tioner sucking it out from the sick person's body, not, however, without undergoing infinite trouble, labor, and contortions, till at last the piace thrusts a small stick down his own throat, which causes him to vomit, and so he casts up that which he pretends to have drawn out from the sufferer. Should his conjurations and tricks not prove effectual, the physician brings to his aid certain herbs and decoctions, with which he is well acquainted; their knowledge of medicine is, however, more extensive in the treatment of external than of internal diseases. The compensation given to the piace is in proportion to the gravity of the case, and the ability of the individual to reward him. In cases of fever, bleeding is resorted to; their mode of practicing phlebotomy is peculiar and attended with much unnecessary suffering. The operator shoots a small arrow from a bow into various parts of the patient's body until a vein be accidentally opened; the arrow is gauged a short distance from the point to prevent its penetrating too far.[1037] Oviedo tells us that in the province of Cueba the practice of sucking was carried on to a fearful extent, and with dire consequences. The persons, men and women, who indulged in the habit were called by the Spaniards _chupadores_. They belonged to a cla.s.s of sorcerers, and the historian says they went about at night visiting certain of the inhabitants, whom they sucked for hours, continuing the practice from day to day, until finally the unfortunate recipients of their attentions became so thin and emaciated that they often died from exhaustion.[1038]

[Sidenote: ISTHMIAN GRAVES AND MOURNING.]

[Sidenote: FUNERAL RITES ON THE ISTHMUS.]

Among certain nations of Costa Rica when a death occurs the body is deposited in a small hut constructed of plaited palm-leaves; food, drink, as well as the weapons and implements that served the defunct during life are placed in the same hut. Here the body is preserved for three years, and upon each anniversary of the death it is redressed and attended to amidst certain ceremonies. At the end of the third year it is taken out and interred. Among other tribes in the same district, the corpse after death is covered with leaves and surrounded with a large pile of wood which is set on fire, the friends dancing and singing round the flames until all is consumed, when the ashes are collected and buried in the ground. In Veragua the Dorachos had two kinds of tombs, one for the princ.i.p.al men constructed with flat stones laid together with much care, and in which were placed costly jars and urns filled with food and wines for the dead; those for plebeians were merely trenches, in which were deposited with the occupant some gourds of maize and wine and the place filled with stones. In some parts of Panama and Darien only the chiefs and lords received funeral rites. Among the common people a person feeling his end approaching either went himself or was led to the woods by his wife, family, and friends, who, supplying him with some cake or ears of corn and a gourd of water, there left him to die alone, or to be a.s.sisted by wild beasts. Others with more respect for their dead, buried them in sepulchres made with niches where they placed maize and wine and renewed the same annually. With some, a mother dying while suckling her infant, the living child was placed at her breast and buried with her in order that in her future state she might continue to nourish it with her milk. In some provinces when the cacique became sick, the priests consulted their oracles as to his condition and if they received for answer that the illness was mortal, one half of his jewelry and gold was cast into the river as a sacrifice to the G.o.d they reverenced, in the belief that he would guide him to his final rest; the other half was buried in the grave. The relatives of the deceased shaved the head as a sign of mourning and all his weapons and other property were consumed by fire in order that nothing should remain as a remembrance of him. In Panama, Nata, and some other districts, when a cacique died, those of his concubines that loved him enough, those that he loved ardently and so appointed, as well as certain servants, killed themselves and were interred with him. This they did in order that they might wait upon him in the land of spirits. They held the belief that those who did not accompany him then, would, when they died a natural death, lose the privilege of being with him afterwards, and in fact that their souls would die with them. The privilege of attending on the cacique in his future state was believed to be only granted to those who were in his service during his lifetime, hence such service was eagerly sought after by natives of both s.e.xes, who made every exertion to be admitted as servants in his house. At the time of the interment, those who planted corn for him during his lifetime had some maize and an implement of husbandry buried with them in order that they might commence planting immediately on arrival in the other world. In Comagre and other provinces the bodies of the caciques were embalmed by placing them on a cane hurdle, hanging them up by cords, or placing them on a stone, or log; and round or below the body they made a slow fire of herbs at such a distance as to dry it gradually until only skin and bone remained. During the process of embalming, twelve of the princ.i.p.al men sat round the body, dressed in black mantles which covered their heads, letting them hang down to their feet; at intervals one of them beat a drum and when he ceased he chanted in monotonous tones, the others responding. Day and night the twelve kept watch and never left the body.

When sufficiently dried it was dressed and adorned with many ornaments of gold, jewels, and feathers, and set up in an apartment of the palace where were kept ranged round the walls the remains of his ancestors, each one in his place and in regular succession. In case a cacique fell in battle and his body could not be recovered, or was otherwise lost, the place he would have occupied in the row was always left vacant.

Among other tribes the body after being dried by fire was wrapped in several folds of cloth, put in a hammock, and placed upon a platform in the air or in a room. The manner in which the wives, attendants, and servants put themselves to death was, with some, by poison; in such case, the mult.i.tude a.s.sembled to chant the praises of their dead lord, when those who were to follow drank poison from gourds, and dropped dead instantly. In some cases they first killed their children. With others the funeral obsequies of a princ.i.p.al chief were conducted differently.

They prepared a large grave twelve or fifteen feet square and nine or ten feet deep; round the sides they built a stone bench and covered it with painted cloth; in the middle of the grave they placed jars and gourds filled with maize, fruit, and wines, and a quant.i.ty of flowers.