New-York daily tribune., 1859-09-29

A VISIT TO THE INDIAN GRAVES OF
CHIRIQUf.

yalse Of the discovery as opening new held Tor
hnigratiop, induced NE to pay visis TO the Local
ny for The purpose of ebtsiOipg the most reliable
hh,mstion. Frrm Psaama 70 the anchorage of
~ mouth Of the river on Shco the town oi D''ia
i situated is about "a houh voyage ~ steam ana
bep Boea Chies the landing place, to DAVID
scsspies from TO 10 hours IN canoe. so'r'
No Of three miles, over fine open country, onog'
- traveller from the river landing to the town.
-,.s steamer fare was S25; the boat up the river
n charged for at the rate Of 81 so for each oar and
a for the boat. We had elk rowers and our
es~v- esud comfortably have accommodated 20
,,r..ns, with their baggage. A horss to the town
s,st, 90 cents, ox-carts bring in the baggage at
~ rae ef 20 ee per package.
David, the cspit, of the department, is one
he few towns that has sprung up in New Granada
siace its independence. 1t is sisuated In the center
Of an extensive plain at the base of the sope OF the
yolcsn Gas its name implies, an extinct volcano);
the population may number about 5000, among
whom are few foreigners, mostly Germans, ltal-
isns aid French; but heretofore only q few of the
Yankee nation have found their way into this quiet
little spot, and of those appear TO have settled
down, probably from not finding sufficient enter
Prise among the easy going people, whose amoition
does rot 20 beyond te0diDg their herds ana raising
a suffc,epcy of the products Of the soil for their
support. There is a pretty good hotel in the town,
Kept by FreDchmsn, and since the gold excite
pent twO or three more f0Ddas are about being
opened. HOuse-reDt is reasonable Beet and
provisions are cheap. cattle estate may be
bought for about ST head, all round; horses from
S. 20 $50 (not very good), and so in proportion:
Inc la ID of the department Is held under an Old
Spanish cedula real, and in common. There is no
such tn Dg az ownership, the holder having no title
for longer time than he is in actual occupancy.
All lands not thus held may be squatted upon, and
tbe settlers right is good and cannot be inrlnsed
Already some Germans from Texas, sent Out by
the members of one of the Western settlements,
have decided upon making it their new home and
are recommending their frIeDdstO JOIN them They
declare the soil to be suitable for growing cotton,
and anticipate much larger crops than in the United
States. The entire of the department is abuud-
autiy watered by streams, that rise in the Cor
dDlsrap and run with quick descent to the sea
though they offer some OF the fnest mill-stes IN
the world, there is not single wheel In the whole
country, and all the work OF preparing corn, cane
&c. is done by hand. There are two seasons
the dry, which lasts from December to May, and
the wet for the rest of the year. Ascending the
slope of the VOlcaD, which rises to hight OF al
most ~, 600 feet, any temperature can be found,
from the burning tropical to that OF perpetual
Spring; from the region OF the palm to that OF the
throughout the rest of the department few vii
lagos are scattered; but the greatest part Of the
laLd il entirely unoccuped and, to most OF people
residing there, rs lit le known AS the interior OF
Africa. This Introduction may be useful To tnose
who propose visiting the gold diggngs or think OF |
exploring the interior for the rich mines OF the |
precious metal said to exist and at one time To |
have been immensely productive. =,
Guara not Huaccd nor Hudcd az generally witt |
ten is an Indian name for the buryDg places OF the
dead, referring chiefly 10 those sepulchres dug 10
the ground and surmounted with circular or
cSnical mouod Of eartn 1t IS probably OF fsruviah
oriein, but is generally used throughout Spanish
Anp r,ca and is 10 be found in Sslva's Dictionary
The "Guscas abound throughout the provinces
of ChiriQui, Veraguss, and Azuer0, ana tnelr vast
numbers prove that at one period the country must
have been very densely inhabited. They are found |
iD all situations in the plains as well as on the sides
of the Cordills ra, and the islands OF the coast
Those who have paid most attention to the subject
eay that they are more generally found on the side
Of hill facing toward the west and nesr river or
stream. In Chiri4ui they are divided by thePeople
into two classes" Guacas de PnaIes, or |
Pillar Guhcas, marked oy rows o, uPiIgns
stones Say from eight inches to foot square, aud
from one to four feet high, and "Guacas Tapa. |
dss " or Covered Guacas, consisting OF mounds
paved or Oversid with stones taken invariably from |
some river bed. There exists no Distinguishing |
mark BY which Guacs containing gold can be |
Known from one in which only coarse pottery IS |
found and ii is only very careful search In the |
earh at the bottom that brings to light the golden
treasures.
The Guaca varies in depth from two to five yards,
and appears in all cases to have been sunk until the
hard sub stratum was reached which the stone |
eofn or box containing the remains of the deceased
was placed This coffin is msde Of species OF flag
stone found in OF the rivers, and is from hVe
to seven feet in leDgh by eighteen or twenty inches
broad and deep in some cases II IS covered on
the top with two or three of these flat stones; IN
Others there is no cover Within these graves rich
black mold is fOuud-the remains, evidently OF the
boey-snd around it are placed earthenware
pots ard the golden ornaments, with sometimes
stJre hstchets and arrow heads When the gold is
not found in the stone incosure it is sometimes OBJ
tanned at the left hand side of the body and in some
cases il has been discovered in lateral excavations
made at the Bottom of the grave. The quantity as
well as the quality of the gold varies very much;
the smallest size tgures generally Of the purest
NETS. aud the round plates of very thin gold are al
ways of hg h standard; but many Of the largest |
animals and bells are highly alleged with copper, |
and perhaps some other metal. The largest guam
tity found in any one grave VAS said to BE- about |
ak pounds; but it may be confidently asserted that
in tie graves opened up to the present time
not one in ten has contained gold. j know OF
one party who opened nearly ffy Guscss without !
finding anything. Another hsd small figure |
weighing probably one ounce as his share |
of eighteen. Excavations of others equally
fortunate. Perhaps it is that the strangers who so
70 x do not know where to look for the gold, or
perhaps they too hasty in their examinations but
certain il is that most of the gold hss been dlscov
eitd BY natives of the country. Ii is impossible
to arrive at any thing like true estimate Of the
quantity discovered up to the present time; those