Daily Iowa State Democrat. [volume] (Davenport, Iowa) 1856-1859, 1859-08-20


The Chiriqui gold discoveries form
the topic Of discussion in the Panama
papers. The schooner Carolina bad
sailed for that region with fifty pas.
ssngers on board, and another vessel
WAS shortly to leave. The Panama
Star and Herald says:
Letters received in this city from
David, dated July l4tb, state that the
people from all directions continued TO
flock TO the gold d'ggings, and that
the weld Of gold obtained from the
+" huacas" continues undiminished.
A letter received at this Office yes.
terday, from Sr. Carlos Wagner, con-
tains a few items worth transcribing !:
IAN old half cast Indian who lives
in Dolega, Roberto Delsi, whom you
probably know, and who has been in
the habit of digging up Indian graves,
for the sake of the earthenwsre and
piedras de moler generally found
therein, took it into his head to dig q
little deeper, which brought him to
the real grave, where the body is de-
posted 10 a coffin of rudely fixed
stones, and there found the skeleton
Of the deceased, together with beau.
tiful worked bat in gold. Since then
it has been ascertained that every
'huaca' contains gold images in more
or less number. the earthenware and
other articles having been buried only
half way down, and this explains why
up to the present time SO few of the
remains OF the bodies had been found
in the graves. One man took out Of
one grave in one day, $1,000 worth Of
things, among which we're three gold
plates, of the size of dessert plates, and
the thickness Of a stout tin plate, an
eagle OF the size Of span, and many
other animals aud insects beautifully
manufactured.
"This is the richest grave that has
been found as yet, but none haye been
opened that have not produced some
thing. The old man who made this
discovery kept his secret for some
time, and it is reported that he sue
ceeded in accumulating about four
thousand dollars"
A correspondent Of the same paper,
who is evidently familiar with the To-
cality in which the discoveries have
been made, writes
"The discovery is very interesting
one in many points of view. The pos
session of such quantity of the pre-
cious metal must inevitably tend to
improve the industrial prosperity Of
that province, populate the country,
and eventually lead to the discovery of
the mines from which the gold has
been originally obtained, and which
can only be in the adjacent Cordlleras.
The ancient burying-g grounds are in
Dictated in various ways; some have a
heap of stones piled up rudely over
the grave. others are shown by a piece
of the column OF basaltic rock, placed
in the centre, some have a circle of
stones enclosing the grave. They are
found everywhere throughout the pro-
vince from the shores of the Lagoon
of Chiriqui to the islands of the Paci-
fic. They exist in the deepest valleys
and along the highest recesses of the
Cordilleras. Such as have been open
ed hitherto in the unwooded plains
produced but little gold. They were
probably an agricultural race, and the
utensils OF the dead were in relation
thereto. The present discovery has
taken place near the two villages call
ed Bovueron and Bujaba-westward,
toward Punta Burica, and Colo Dulce.
The plains thence become heavily
wooded. Trees Of large girth are
found over the "huzcas." The data as
to their age is by no means precise
That they were there before the con>
quest is plain enough, seeing that the
conquerors respected neither the tenn
pies Of God, nor the repose Of the
dead, if gold was to be gained.
"These tribes, then, we're we'll &C.
quainted with the precious metals, and
show a great deal of ingenuity and
taste in the working of it into favor
tie images, and figures of reptiles and
tigers. l have miseIf traced these
graves in happy ignorance some years
ago to the shores of the Golto Dulcc,
and if the gold mines are found they
will probably be about the head wa
tiers Of the Chiriqui Viejo, or the
abandoned gold mines Of Tisingal,
which used to give the King of Spain
an annual fifth of 100000 castellanos
Of gold. These mines were located
somewhere between Bocas del Toro
and Gulfo Dulce. The enmity of the
buccaneers, combined with that of the
Mosquito Indians. is said to have
caused their abandonment.