Daily national Democrat., 1860-06-02
The Chiriqui Mines.

From Mr.. w. a. Person, who returned re.
Gently TO San Francisco from Central A,oori-
ca whore he had been for all out seven months
digging for golden images in the groves and
mounds of the Chiriqai region, the Alta OBJ
toins the following Intelligence, which it pub.
fishes editorially:
These mounds are in different sects, about
ten miles apart, with perhaps twenty thous-
ana graves in the largest and about fen
thousand in the smallest These have evil
dently been the burial places Of the ancient
people OF the countrv-the aborigincs who
inhabited this part of the continent, and pass
ed out of existence long before Aiuerica was
discovered in the fifteenth century. No
r,cords-nothing remains to typify this lost
race, save these vast fields Of the Gead-the
relics of "a departed people There are per
haps in ChiriQui million Of these mounds or
graves, being situated, for the most part ON
elevated plAteaus on the tops of hills Each
mound stands alone--about the size Of a
grave in the present day. Nearly all are
vaulted with a white Slab rock, and The ma
sonry is uniform and very neatly executed
All these places but one, contain single
graves But ut Coma, the principal place
graves were found having from FIVE to ten or
twelve skeletons. When these were opened.
the bones crumbled into ashes, skulls and all
No gold was found in these larger ones 10
use our informants rather technical Ian
guage, hundreds of them were prosreeted
but not one paid the color
4 curious circumstance was that tha bodios
lay hve ana i've, and one out of these gencr-
ally contained the gold images. These were
nttpppcf 81,
from the elbow to the skull. but never beioy
that, looking as if they had been attached to
the upper part of the arm or around the
meek An Infinite variety of grotesque,
hideous and curious gold images were diseoy.
efed, such as bats, crocodiles, butterflies liz
ards, tigers, scorpions, birds, serpents. drap.
figures.
When exhumed these were as BRIGHT rs
FURNISHED gold. (We have one now beforr
us, representing a lizard. II is Of pure poll.
and unlike anything we have ever seen) The
largest prize found was in an ordinary look
ing grave, whence was obtained n human
hgure OF solid gold worth 81 800 1t repre-
sented an Indian chief was very Handsomely
made, and was bought by the Governor Of
Panama. In some graves as much as four
pounds Of gold were obtained in figures from
Il dollar up TO eighty dollars value. The best
grave our informant opened, paid him S6a
and he had several natives emploved for
long time The luck was against him.
The greatest number Of people engaged, al
one time, was at Guinea or Camaron where
about seven hundred were at work. Norule
could be laid down for digging. II was the
merest chance. Only two foreigners were
employed in the district where Mr.. Pierson
was at work, and, when he left. there was
not a whiteman to be seen in th { country
There are innumerable graves (h5tacas) vet
unexplored, and which may pay. They can
be traced across the boundary, into Costa
Riea, and many years must elapse before they
are exhausted of their treasures. The natives
are still engaged there, but it will scarcely
pay foreigners for the future-the PRINCIPAL
human placers being dug out
The terra Gotta, of which we have several
curious patterns before us, as we write, are
found in the same graves with the gold images
near the head, or at the foot. These are
also Of every conceivable shape, Of which i,
would be impossible to give description.
Now and then jars, vases and cups of this
carthenware are found moulded In very SYM
metIical forms, but as a general thing, ihcv
are grotesque and shapeess, representing
nothing, apparently, but fashioned after the
whin Of the friends of the 3efunct. They
are painted with odd doyices-round, square
and angular figures, not unlike those found
in the rHins of Copan, Palenque Chchen,
and UXmal in Honduras and Guatemala.
evidently having some relation to the rude
religion Of tlis lest race Some of them bear
lierog.yphics, bat who shall decipher them