The Works of Hubert Howe Bancroft Part 85

On the bench was laid the dead chief dressed, ornamented, and jeweled, while around him sat his wives gaily attired with ear-rings and bracelets. All being prepared the a.s.sembled mult.i.tude raised their voices in songs declaring the bravery and prowess of the deceased; they recounted his liberality and many virtues and highly extolled the affection of his faithful wives who desired to accompany him. The singing and dancing usually lasted two days and during its continuance wine was freely served to the performers and also to the women who were awaiting their fate. At the expiration of such time they became entirely inebriated and in a senseless condition, when the final act was consummated by throwing dead and doomed into the grave, and filling it with logs, branches, and earth. The spot was afterwards held in sacred remembrance and a grove of trees planted round it. At the end of a year funeral honors were celebrated in memory of the dead. A host of friends and relatives of equal rank with the deceased were invited to partic.i.p.ate, who upon the day appointed brought quant.i.ties of food and wine such as he whose memory they honored delighted in, also weapons with which he used to fight, all of which were placed in a canoe prepared for the purpose; in it was also deposited an effigy of the deceased. The canoe was then carried on men's shoulders round the court of the palace or house, in presence of the deceased, if he was embalmed, and afterwards brought out to the centre of the town where it was burned with all it contained,--the people believing that the fumes and smoke ascended to the soul of the dead and was pleasing and acceptable to him.[1039] If the body had been interred they opened the sepulchre; all the people with hair disheveled uttering loud lamenting cries while the bones were being collected, and these they burned all except the hinder part of the skull, which was taken home by one of the princ.i.p.al women and preserved by her as a sacred relic.

[Sidenote: ISTHMIAN CHARACTER.]

The character of the Costa Ricans has ever been that of a fierce and savage people, prominent in which qualities are the Guatusos and Buricas, who have shown themselves strongly averse to intercourse with civilization. The Talamancas are a little less untameable, which is the best, or perhaps the worst, that can be said. The Terrabas, also a cruel and warlike nation, are nevertheless spoken of by Fray Juan Domingo Arricivita as endowed with natural docility. The natives of Boca del Toro are barbarous and averse to change. In Chiriqui they are brave and intelligent, their exceeding courage having obtained for them the name of _Valientes_ or _Indios Bravos_ from the early discoverers; they are also noted for honesty and fair dealing. The same warlike and independent spirit and fearlessness of death prevails among the nations of Veragua, Panama, and Darien. The inhabitants of Panama and Cueba are given to lechery, theft, and lying; with some these qualities are fashionable; others hold them to be crimes. The Mandingos and natives of San Blas are an independent and industrious people, possessing considerable intelligence, and are of a docile and hospitable disposition. The inhabitants of Darien are kind, open-hearted, and peaceable, yet have always been resolute in opposing all interference from foreigners; they are fond of amus.e.m.e.nts and inclined to indolence; the latter trait is not, however, applicable to all, a noticeable exception being the Cunas and Chocos of the Atrato Valley, who are of a gentle nature, kind, hospitable, and open-hearted when once their confidence is gained; they are likewise industrious and patient, and M.

Lucien de Puydt says of the former: "Theft is altogether unknown amongst the Cunas." Colonel Alcedo, speaking of their neighbors, the Idibaes, calls them treacherous, inconstant, and false. In the interior and mountain districts the inhabitants are more fierce than those from the coast; the former are shy and retiring, yet given to hospitality. On the gulf of Uraba the people are warlike, vainglorious, and revengeful.[1040]

Thus from the icy regions of the north to the hot and humid sh.o.r.es of Darien I have followed these Wild Tribes of the Pacific States, with no other object in view than faithfully to picture them according to the information I have been able to glean. And thus I leave them, yet not without regret: for notwithstanding all that has been said I cannot but feel how little we know of them. Of their mighty unrecorded past, their interminable intermixtures, their ages of wars and convulsions, their inner life, their aspirations, hopes, and fears, how little do we know of all this! And now as the eye rests upon the fair domain from which they have been so ign.o.bly hurried, questions like these arise: How long have these backings and battlings been going on? What purpose did these peoples serve? Whence did they come and whither have they gone?--questions unanswerable until Omniscience be fathomed and the beginning and end made one.

TRIBAL BOUNDARIES.

The WILD TRIBES OF CENTRAL AMERICA, the last groupal division of this work, extend from the western boundary of Guatemala, south and eastward, to the Rio Atrato. I have divided the group into three subdivisions, namely: the _Guatemalans_, the _Mosquitos_, and the _Isthmians_.

The GUATEMALANS, for the purposes of this delineation, embrace those nations occupying the present states of Guatemala, Salvador, and portions of Nicaragua.

The _Lacandones_ are a wild nation inhabiting the Chamma mountains on the boundary of Guatemala and Chiapas. 'Mountains of Chamma, inhabited by the wild Indians of Lacandon ... a distinction ought to be drawn between the Western and Eastern Lacandones. All the country lying on the W., between the bishopric of Ciudad Real and the province of Vera Paz, was once occupied by the Western Lacandones.... The country of the Eastern Lacandones may be considered as extending from the mountains of Chamma, a day and a half from Coban, along the borders of the river de la Pasion to Peten, or even further.' _Escobar_, in _Lond. Geog. Soc., Jour._, vol. xi., pp. 93-4. Upon the margin of the Rio de la Pa.s.sion.

_Juarros' Hist. Guat._, p. 271. 'Un tribu de Mayas sauvages appeles Lacandons, qui habitent un district immense dans le centre du continent, embra.s.se toute la partie occidentale du Peten; erre sur les bords superieurs de l'Usumasinta et le pays qui se trouve au sud de l'endroit d'ou j'ecris.' _Galindo_, in _Antiq. Mex._, tom. i., div. ii., p. 67.

'The vast region lying between Chiapa, Tabasco, Yucatan, and the republic of Guatemala ... is still occupied by a considerable body of Indians, the Lacandones and others.' _Squier_, in _Hist. Mag._, vol.

iv., p. 65, 'The vast region embracing not less than from 8000 to 10,000 square miles, surrounding the upper waters of the river Usumasinta, in which exist the indomitable Lacandones.' _Id._, p. 67. 'Mais la contree qui s'etendait au nord de Cahabon, siege provisoire des Dominicains, et qui comprenait le pays de Dolores et celui des Itzas, etait encore a peu pres inconnue. La vivaient les Choles, les belliqueux et feroces Mopans, les Lacandons et quelques tribus plus obscures, dont l'histoire a neglige les noms.' _Morelet_, _Voyage_, tom. ii., p. 78, tom. i., p.

318. 'They are reduced to-day to a very insignificant number, living on and near Pa.s.sion river and its tributaries.' _Berendt_, in _Smithsonian Rept._, 1867, p. 425. 'In the north of Vera Paz, to the west of Peten, and all along the Usumacinta, dwell numerous and warlike tribes, called generally Lacandones.' _Boyle's Ride_, vol. i., pref., p. xvi.; _Fossey_, _Mexique_, p. 471; _Pimentel_, _Mem. sobre la Raza Indigena_, p. 197.

[Sidenote: THE MAMES OF GUATEMALA.]

The _Mames_ 'occupied the existing district of Gueguetenango, a part of Quezaltenango, and the province of Soconusco, and in all these places the Mam or Pocoman language is vernacular. It is a circ.u.mstance not a little remarkable, that this idiom is also peculiar to places very distant from the country of the Mams: viz. in Amat.i.tan, Mixco, and Petapa, in the province of Sacatepeques; Chalchuapa, in St. Salvador; Mita, Jalapa, and Xilotepeque, in Chiquimula.' _Juarros' Hist. Guat._, p. 169. 'El Mame o Pocoman le usan los mames o pocomanes, que parecen no ser mas que dos tribus de una misma nacion, la cual formaba un estado poderoso en Guatemala. Se extendio por el distrito de Huehuetenango, en la provincia de este nombre, y por parte de la de Quetzaltenango, asi como por el distrito de Soconusco en Chiapas. En todos estos lugares se hablaba mame o pocoman, lo mismo que en Amat.i.tlan, Mixco y Petapa, de la provincia de Zacatepec o Guatemala; en Chalchuapa, perteneciente a la de San Salvador; y en Mita, Jalapa y Jiloltepec, de la de Chiquimula.'

_Balbi_, in _Pimentel_, _Cuadro_, tom. i., p. 81. 'Leur capitale etait Gueguetenango, au nord-est de la ville actuelle de Guatemala, et les villes de Masacatan, Cuilco, Chiantla et Istaguacan etaient enclavees dans leur territoire.' _Squier_, in _Nouvelles Annales des Voy._, 1857, tom. cliii., p. 177. 'A l'ouest, jusqu'aux frontieres de Chiapas, s'etendaient les Mams, proprement dits Mam-Yoc, dans leurs histoires, partages en plusieurs familles egalement puissantes qui gouvernaient souverainement cette contree, alors designee sous le nom commun d'Otzoya (de otzoy, sortes d'ecrevisses d'or): c'etaient d'un cote les Chun-Zak-Yoc, qui avaient pour capitale Qulaha, que son opulence et son etendue avaient fait surnommer Nima-Amag ou la Grande-Ville, dite depuis Xelahun-Quieh, ou Xelahuh, et Quezaltenango; les Tzitzol, dont la capitale etait peut-etre Chinabahul ou Huehuetenango, les Ganchebi (see note below under Ganchebis) et les Bamaq. Ceux-ci, dont nous avons connu les descendants, etaient seigneurs d'Iztlahuacan (San-Miguel-Iztlahuacan), dont le plateau est encore aujourd'hui pa.r.s.eme de ruines au milieu desquelles s'eleve l'humble bourgade de ce nom: au dessus domine, a une hauteur formidable, Xubiltenam (ville du Souffle).... Ganchebi, ecrit alternativement Canchebiz, Canchevez et Ganchebirse. Rien n'indique d'une maniere precise ou regnait cette famille: mais il se pourrait que ce fut a Zipacapan ou a Chivun, dont les ruines existent a trois lieues au sud de cette derniere localite; la etait l'ancien Oztoncalco.'

_Bra.s.seur de Bourbourg_, _Popol Vuh_, introd., pp. 264-5. 'Habitaban el Soconusco, desde tiempos remotos, y era un pueblo autocton; los olmecas que llegaron de la parto de Mexico, les redujeron a la servidumbre, y una fraccion de los vencidos emigro hasta Guatemala.' _Orozco y Berra_, _Geografia_, p. 168. The Mamey, Achi, Cuaahtemalteca, Hutateca, and Chirichota 'en la de los Suchitepeques y Cuaahtemala.' _Palacio_, in _Pacheco_, _Col. Doc. Ined._, tom. vi., p. 7. Mame 'Parle dans les localites voisines de Huehuetenango.' _Bra.s.seur de Bourbourg_, _MS.

Troano_, tom. ii., p. viii. 'On retrouve encore aujourd'hui leurs restes parmi les Indiens de la province de Totonicapan, aux frontieres de Chiapas et des Lacandons, an nord-ouest de l'etat de Guatemala. La place forte de Zakuleu (c'est-a-dire, Terre blanche, mal a propos orthographie Socoleo), dont on admire les vastes debris aupres de la ville de Huehuetenango, resta, jusqu'au temps de la conquete espagnole, la capitale des Mems. Cette race avait ete anterieurement la maitresse de la plus grande partie de l'etat de Guatemala.' _Bra.s.seur de Bourbourg_, _Hist. Nat. Civ._, tom. ii., pp. 119-20.

The _Pokomams_, or Pokonchis, lived in the district of Vera Paz in Guatemala, 'sous le nom d'Uxab et de Pokomam, une partie des treize tribus de Tecpan, dont la capitale etait la grande cite de Nimpokom, etait maitresse de la Verapaz et des provinces situees au sud du Motagua jusqu'a Palin' (2 leagues N. W. of Rabinal). _Bra.s.seur de Bourbourg_, _Popol Vuh_, introd., p. 264. Ils 'paraissent avoir occupe une grande partie des provinces guatemaliennes.' _Bra.s.seur de Bourbourg_, _Hist.

Nat. Civ._, tom. ii., pp. 84, 506. 'Toute la rive droite du Chixoy (Lacandon ou haut Uzumacinta), depuis Coban (ecrit quelquefois Coboan) jusqu'au fleuve Motagua, les montagnes et les vallees de Gagcoh (San-Cristoval), de Taltic, de Rabinal et d'Urran, une partie des departements actuels de Zacatepec, de Guatemala et de Chiquimula, jusqu'au pied des volcans de Hunahpu (volcans d'Eau et de Feu), devinrent leur proie.' _Id._, pp. 121-2. 'Le pocomchi, le pokoman, le cakchi, semes d'Amat.i.tan a Coban.' _Bra.s.seur de Bourbourg_, _MS.

Troano_, tom. ii., introd., p. viii. In 'La Verapaz, la poponchi, caechi y colchi.' _Palacio_, in _Pacheco_, _Col. Doc. Ined._, tom. vi., p. 7.

'La lengua pocomana se habla en Amat.i.tan, Petapa, San Chrisobal, Pinula, y Hermita o Llano de la Culebra de Guatemala.' _Hervas_, _Catalogo_, tom. i., p. 305. 'A la nacion Poconchi pertenecen los lugares o misiones ... llamadas Santa Cruz, San Christobal, Taktik, Tucuru, y Tomasiu.' _Ib._

The _Quiches_ inhabit the centre of the state of Guatemala. 'Quiche then comprehended the present districts of Quiche, Totonicapan, part of Quezaltenango, and the village of Rabinal; in all these places the Quiche language is spoken. For this reason, it may be inferred with much probability, that the greater part of the province of Sapot.i.tlan, or Suchiltepeques, was a colony of the Quichees, as the same idiom is made use of nearly throughout the whole of it.' _Juarros' Hist. Guat._, p.

168. 'Les Quiches, or Utletecas, habitaient la frontiere du sud, les chefs de Sacapulus et Uspatan a l'est, et les Lacandones independants au nord. Ils occupaient probablement la plus grande partie du district actuel de Totonicapan et une portion de celui de Quesaltenango.'

_Squier_, in _Nouvelles Annales des Voy._, 1857, tom. cliii., p. 177.

'Leurs postes princ.i.p.aux furent etablis sur les deux cotes du Chixoy, depuis Zacapulas jusqu'a Zactzuy.' _Bra.s.seur de Bourbourg_, _Hist. Nat.

Civ._, tom. ii., pp. 131-2; _Wappaus_, _Geog. u. Stat._, pp. 286, 288, 291.

The _Cakchiquels_ are south of the Quiches. 'The territory of the Kachiqueles was composed of that which now forms the provinces of Chimaltenango and Sacatepeques, and the district of Solola; and as the Kachiquel language is also spoken in the villages of Patulul, Cotzumalguapan, and others along the same coast, it is a plausible supposition that they were colonies settled by the Kachiquels, for the purpose of cultivating the desirable productions of a warmer climate than their own.' _Juarros' Hist. Guat._, p. 169. 'La capitale fut, en dernier lieu, Iximche ou Tecpan-Guatemala, lors de la declaration de l'independence de cette nation.' _Bra.s.seur de Bourbourg_, _Popol Vuh_, introd., p. 270. 'Der westliche Theil der Provinz [At.i.tan] mit 16 Dorfern in 4 Kirchspielen, von Nachkommen der Kachiquelen und Zutugilen bewohnt.' _Ha.s.sel_, _Mex. Guat._, p. 338. 'Los paises de la nacion Cakchiquila son Chimaltenango, Zumpango, Tejar, Santo Domingo, San Pedro las Huertas, San Gaspar, San Luis de las Carretas, y otros diez lugares, todos pertenecientes a las misiones de los PP. dominicos; y a las de los PP. observantes de san Francisco pertenecen Isapa, Pason, Tepan-guatemalan Comalapa, San Antonio, San Juan del Obispo, y otros quince lugares a lo menos de la misma nacion Cakchiquila, cuyas poblaciones estan al rededor de Guatemala.' _Hervas_, _Catalogo_, tom.

i., p. 305.

The _Zutugils_ dwelt near the lake of At.i.tlan. 'The dominion of the Zutugiles extended over the modern district of At.i.tan, and the village of San Antonio, Suchiltepeques.' _Juarros' Hist. Guat._, p. 169. 'La capital de los cachiqueles era Patinamit o Tecpanguatemala, ciudad grande y fuerte; y la de los zutuhiles, At.i.tan, cerca de la laguna de este nombre y que se tenia por inexpugnable.' _Pimentel_, _Cuadro_, tom.

ii., pp. 121-2.

The _Chortis_ live on the banks of the Motagua River. The Chiquimula 'Indians belong to the Chorti nation.' _Gavarrete_, in _Panama Star and Herald_, Dec. 19, 1867; _Ludewig's Ab. Lang._, p. 48.

[Sidenote: GUATEMALANS.]

Bra.s.seur de Bourbourg describes quite a number of very ancient nations, of some of which he endeavors to fix the localities, and which I insert here. Dan or Tamub founded a monarchy on the Guatemalan plateau. Their 'capitale, Amag-Dan, existait, suivant toute apparence, entre les monts Tohil et Mamah, a trois lieues a peine au nord d'Utlatlan.' _Popol Vuh_, introd., pp. 148, 262. 'Ilocab etendait sa domination a l'ouest et au sud de Tamub, et la cite d'Uquincat, siege princ.i.p.ale de cette maison, occupait un plateau etroit, situe entre les memes ravins qui ceignent un peu plus bas les ruines d'Utlatlan.' 'La ville d'Uquincat (forme antique). Avec le filet (a mettre le mas), etait sur un plateau au nord-ouest de ceux d'Utlatlan, dont elle n'etait separee que par ses ravins; on en voit encore les ruines connues aujourd'hui sous le nom de P'-Ilocab, en Ilocab.' _Id._, p. 263. Agaab, 'dont les possessions s'etendaient sur les deux rives du Chixoy ou Lacandon.' 'C'etait une nation, puissante dont les princ.i.p.ales villes existaient a peu de distance de la rive gauche du fleuve Chixoy ou Lacandon (Rio Grande de Sacapulas). L'une d'elles etait Carinal, dont j'ai visite le premier, en 1856, les belles ruines, situees sur les bords du Pacalag, riviere qui se jette dans le Lacandon, presque vis-a-vis l'embouchure de celle de Rabinal, dans la Verapaz.' _Ib._ Cabinal, 'la capitale etait a Zameneb, dans les montagnes de Xoyabah ou Xolabah, [Entre les rochers].' _Id._, p. 270. Ah-Actulul, 'sept tribus de la nation Ah-Actulul, qui s'etaient etablies sur des territoires dependants de la souverainete d'At.i.tlan.'

'Ces sept tribus sont: Ah-Tzuque, Ah-Oanem, Manacot, Manazaquepet, Vancoh, Yabacoh et Ah-Tzakol-Quet ou Queh.--Ac-Tulul peut-etre pour Ah-Tulul.' _Id._, p. 274. 'Ah-Txiquinaha, ceux ou les habitants de Tziquinaha (Nid d'oiseau), dont la capitale fut At.i.tlan, sur le lac du meme nom.' _Id._, p. 296. Acutee, 'nom aussi d'une ancienne tribu dont on retrouve le souvenir dans Chuvi-Acutec, au-dessus d'Acutec, sur le territoire de Chalcitan, pres de Malacatan et de Huehuetenango.' _Id._, pp. 342-3. Cohah, 'nom d'une tribu antique dans l'orient des Quiches.'

_Id._, p. 353.

The _Chontales_ dwell in the mountain districts N.E. of Lake Nicaragua, besides having miscellaneous villages in Guerrero, Oajaca, Tabasco, Guatemala, and Honduras. 'En el Departamento de Tlacolula ... y se encuentran chontales en Guerrero, en Tabasco y en Guatemala.' _Orozco y Berra_, _Geografia_, pp. 186-7. In San Salvador, Choluteca, Honduras, Nicaragua. _Palacio_, in _Pacheco_, _Col. Doc. Ined._, tom. vi., pp. 7, 26, 35. 'Quiechapa 20 Leguas sudostlich von Oajaca und 10 Leguas sudwestlich von Nej.a.pa.... An den Granzen des Landes der Chontales.' ...

'Tlapalcatepec. Hauptort im Lande der Chontales.' _Muhlenpfordt_, _Mejico_, tom. ii., pt. i., pp. 172-3, 175, 192. 'Les Chontales s'etaient vus en possession de toute la contree qui s'etend entre la mer et la chaine de Quyecolani ... etaient en possession non seulement de Nexapa, mais encore de la portion la plus importante de la montagne de Quiyecolani.' _Bra.s.seur de Bourbourg_, _Hist. Nat. Civ._, tom. iii., pp.

3, 47. 'Au nord-ouest du grand lac, les Chondals occupaient le district montagneux appele encore aujourd'hui Chontales, d'apres eux.'

_Holinski_, _La Californie_, p. 290. 'Inhabitants of the mountainous regions to the north-east of the lake of Nicaragua.' _Froebel's Cent.

Amer._, p. 52. 'Au nord des lacs, les Chontales barbares habitaient la cordillere.' _Bra.s.seur de Bourbourg_, _Hist. Nat. Civ._, tom. ii., p.

110. 'The Chontals covered Chontales, northward of Lake Nicaragua, and lying between the tribes already given, and those on the Caribbean Sea.'

_Stout's Nicaragua_, p. 114. 'Bewohner der Gebirgsgegenden nordostlich vom See von Nicaragua.' _Froebel_, _Aus Amer._, tom. i., p. 285. 'In Nicaragua die Chontales im Hochlande im N. des Managua-Sees.' _Wappaus_, _Geog. u. Stat._, p. 246. 'Deste lugar [Yztepeque] comiencan los Chontales.' _Herrera_, _Hist. Gen._, dec. iv., lib. viii., cap. x. 'The Chondals or Chontals, the third great division mentioned by Oviedo, occupied the wide, mountainous region, still bearing the name of Chontales, situated to the northward of Lake Nicaragua, and midway between the nations already named and the savage hordes bordering the Caribbean Sea.' _Squier's Nicaragua_, (Ed. 1856,) vol. ii., p. 311. 'On the northern sh.o.r.es of the Lake of Nicaragua.' _Ludewig's Ab. Lang._, p.

48. 'The Lencas ... under the various names of Chontals, and perhaps Xicaques and Payas, occupying what is now the Department of San Miguel in San Salvador, of Comayagua, Choluteca, Tegucigalpa, and parts of Olancho and Yoro in Honduras, including the islands of Roatan, Guanaja, and their dependencies.' _Squier's Cent. Amer._, p. 252.

The _Pipiles_ 'n'y occupaient guere quelques cantons sur les cotes de l'ocean Pacifique, dans la province d'Itzcuintlan et ne s'internaient que vers les frontieres de l'etat de San-Salvador, le long des rives du rio Paxa.' _Bra.s.seur de Bourbourg_, _Hist. Nat. Civ._, tom. ii., p. 120.

'Welche den ganzen westlichen Theil des heutigen Staates von S. Salvador sudlich vom Rio Lampa, das sogen. Reich Cozcotlan bewohnten.' _Wappaus_, _Geog. u. Stat._, pp. 322, 326. 'Are settled along the coasts of the Pacific, from the province of Escuintla to that of St. Salvador.... In a short time these Pipiles multiplied immensely, and spread over the provinces of Zonzonate, St. Salvador, and St. Miguel.' _Juarros' Hist.

Guat._, pp. 202, 224. Among 'los Izalcos y costa de Guazacapan ... San Salvador ... Honduras ... Nicaragua.' _Palacio_, in _Pacheco_, _Col.

Doc. Ined._, tom. vi., p. 7.

_Nonohualcas._ 'a la falda de un alto volcan (San Vicente) estan cuatro lugares de indios, que llaman los Nunualcos.' _Id._, p. 25.

_Tlascaltecs._ 'In mehreren Puncten San Salvadors, wie z. B. in Isalco, Mexicanos, Nahuisalco leben noch jetzt Indianer vom Stamme der Tlaskalteken.' _Scherzer_, _Wanderungen_, p. 456.

[Sidenote: NATIONS OF NICARAGUA.]

The _Cholutecs_ 'occupied the districts north of the Nagrandans, extending along the Gulf of Fonseca into what is now Honduras territory.' _Stout's Nicaragua_, p. 114. 'The Cholutecans, speaking the Cholutecan dialect, situated to the northward of the Nagrandans, and extending along the Gulf of Fonseca, into what is now the territory of Honduras. A town and river in the territory here indicated, still bear the name of Choluteca, which however is a Mexican name.' _Squier's Nicaragua_, (Ed. 1856,) vol. ii., p. 310. These Soconusco exiles settled 'dans les terres qui s'etendent au nord et a l'ouest du golfe de Conchagua, aux frontieres de Honduras et de Nicaragua.' _Bra.s.seur de Bourbourg_, _Hist. Nat. Civ._, tom. ii., p. 79. 'Beyond them (Nagrandans) on the gulf of Fonseca, a nation called the Cholutecans had their seats.' _Froebel's Cent. Amer._, p. 53.

_Maribios_, a tribe formerly inhabiting the mountain region about Leon.

'Ihre Wohnsitze bildeten die Provinz Maribichoa.' _Froebel_, _Aus Amer._, tom. i., p. 333.

'Ay en Nicaragua cinco leguajes ... Coribici ... Chorotega ... Chondal ... Orotina ... Mexicano.' _Gomara_, _Hist. Ind._, fol. 264. 'Hablauan en Nicaragua, cinco lenguas diferentes, Coribizi, que lo hablan mucho en Chuloteca ... Los de Chontal, ... la quarta es Orotina, Mexicana es la quinta.' _Herrera_, _Hist. Gen._, dec. iii., lib. iv., cap. vii. 'In Nicaragua there were fiue linages, and different languages: the Coribici, Ciocotoga, Ciondale, Oretigua, and the Mexican.' _Purchas his Pilgrimes_, vol. v., p. 887; _Oviedo_, _Hist. Gen._, tom. iv., p. 35; _Buschmann_, _Ortsnamen_, p. 132.

The _Chorotegans_ 'occupied the entire country north of the Niquirans, extending along the Pacific Ocean, between it and Lake Managua, to the borders, and probably for a distance along the sh.o.r.es of the gulf of Fonseca. They also occupied the country south of the Niquirans, and around the gulf of Nicoya, then called Orotina.' _Squier's Nicaragua_, (Ed. 1856,) vol. ii., p. 310. 'Welche die Gegenden zwischen der Sudsee und dem Managua-See von der Fonseca-Bai sudwarts bis zu den aztekisch sprechenden Indianern bewohnen und auch sudlich von den Niquirians bis zur Bai von Nicoya sich ausbreiten.' _Wappaus_, _Geog. u. Stat._, p.

246. 'North of the Mexican inhabitants of Nicaragua (the Niquirans), between the Pacific Ocean, Lake Managua, and the Gulf of Fonseca.'

_Ludewig's Ab. Lang._, p. 48. Before the conquest they occupied 'les regions aujourd'hui a peu pres desertes qui s'etendent entre le territoire de Tehuantepec et celui de Soconusco, sur les bords de l'Ocean Pacifique.' ... To escape the Olmec tyranny they emigrated to 'golfe de Nicoya; de la, ils retournerent ensuite, en pa.s.sant les monts, jusqu'au lac de Nicaragua et se fixerent sur ses bords.' Driven off by the Nahuas 'les uns, se dirigeant au nord-ouest, vont fonder Nagarando, au bord du lac de Managua, tandis que les autres contournaient les rivages du golfe de Nicoya, que l'on trouve encore aujourd'hui habites par leurs descendants.' _Bra.s.seur de Bourbourg_, _Popol Vuh_, introd., pp. cc., ccii. 'Als die Spanier nach Nicaragua kamen, war diess Volk an der Kuste verbreitet ... wohnten langs der Kuste des Austroloceans.'

_Ha.s.sel_, _Mex. Guat._, pp. 397-8.

The _Dirians_ 'occupied the territory lying between the upper extremity of Lake Nicaragua, the river Tipitapa, and the southern half of Lake Managua and the Pacific, whose princ.i.p.al towns were situated where now stand the cities of Granada, (then called Salteba,) Masaya, and Managua, and the villages of Tipitapa, Diriomo and Diriamba.' _Squier's Nicaragua_, (Ed. 1856,) vol. ii., p. 310. 'Groupes dans les localites encore connues de Liria, de Diriome, de Diriamba, de Monbacho et de Lenderi, sur les hauteurs qui forment la base du volcan de Mazaya.'

_Bra.s.seur de Bourbourg_, _Hist. Nat. Civ._, tom. ii., p. 111. 'Occupied Masaya, Managua, Tipitapa, Diriomo, and Diriamba.' _Stout's Nicaragua_, p. 114; _Froebel_, _Aus Amer._, tom. i., p. 287.

The _Nagrandans_. 'Entre les Dirias et la Choluteca etait situee la province des Mangnes ou Nagarandas (Torquemada dit que Nagarando est un mot de leur langue. Oviedo les appelle Nagrandas), dont les fertiles campagnes s'etendaient, au nord et a l'ouest du lac de Managua, jusqu'a la mer; on y admirait les cites florissantes de Chinandega, de Chichigalpa, de Pozoltega, de Telica, de Subtiaba, de Nagarando, appelee aussi Xolotlan, de Matiares et une foule d'autres, reduites maintenant, pour la plupart, a de miserables bourgades.' _Bra.s.seur de Bourbourg_, _Hist. Nat. Civ._, tom. ii., pp. 111-12. 'The Nagrandans occupied the plain of Leon between the northern extreme of Lake Managua and the Pacific.' _Stout's Nicaragua_, p. 114. 'An welche sich weiter nordwestwarts (the last mention was Dirians) die Bewohner der Gegend von Leon, welche Squier Nagrander nennt ... anschlossen.' _Froebel_, _Aus Amer._, tom. i., p. 287. 'Chorotega tribe of the plains of Leon, Nicaragua.' _Ludewig's Ab. Lang._, p. 130; _Squier's Nicaragua_, (Ed.

1856,) vol. ii., p. 310.

The _Niquirans_ 'settled in the district of Nicaragua, between the Lake of Nicaragua and the Pacific Ocean.' _Ludewig's Ab. Lang._, p. 134. 'Au centre du pays, sur le lac Nicaragua, appele Cocibolca par les indigenes, vivaient les Niquirans.' _Holinski_, _La Californie_, p. 290.

Ometepec. 'This island was occupied by the Niquirans.' _Squier's Nicaragua_, (Ed. 1856,) vol. ii., p. 313; _Boyle's Ride_, vol. i., p.

74.

The _Orotinans_ occupied 'the country around the Gulf of Nicoya, and to the southward of Lake Nicaragua.' _Squier's Nicaragua_, (Ed. 1856,) vol.

ii., p. 310. 'Am Golfe von Orotina oder Nicoya.... Unter den geographischen Namen im Lande der Orotiner stosst man auf den Vulkan Orosi, im jetzigen Costa Rica, wahrend einer der Vulkane in der Kette der Maribios, bei Leon, also im Lande der Nagrander, Orota heisst.'