Evening capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1888-1893, 1891-11-07
TIE chleoHAs.
An Ancient People of South America
About Whom Little Is Known.

An Ancient People. of South America
About whom Little Is Known.
The rich regions of the Aztecs were
discovered in 1919, and the conqueror
of Montezuma was already returning
to Spain when Pizarro set sail for Peru.
In 1889 the empire of the Incas was
entirely overthrown, while in 1886
there still existed, unknown to the
world, upon the high tablelands of the
eastern cordillera of the Andes an agri-
cultural people composed of more
than million souls, possessing popu'
lous cities, fortified places and paved
roads; an established priesthood with
temples, altars and sacrifices; an or
ganized. hereditary government and a
standing army; an approximate com
putation of time and various indus.
tries, and no little intelligence i'm hus-
bandry.
Over this growing civilization of the
Chibchas the conquest swept like a
hurricane, devastating villages, arch.
ives, manufactures and cultivated
fields--dispersing the bones and ami
hilating the traditions of the miserable
Indians In the course of few years
they were deprived of their independ.
ence, their chiefs, their liberty and
even of their language, at the hands of
the most cruel, blind and persistent
persecution; their very name was
stricken from the catalogue of existing
nations, their descendants were CON
demned to complete oblivion of their
origin, while the antiquarian was left
in the doubt and confusion of fabulous
ages with respects to events which inn
mediately preceded this epoch.
The hurriedly written narratives of
the conquerors speak of the grandeur
of the Valley of Castles" es"-Bogota, so
called because of the high edifces of its
cities; of the extensive salt mines Of
Zipaquira; of the potteries of Tinjaca,
and especially of the great riches, the
golden decorations and the upright
mummies covered with fine mantles,
that were inclosed in the temple of
Suamoz, the principal sanctuary of the
Chibchas. Nor were these descriptions
exaggerated.
In our day there have been found in
ancient sepulchers the most delicate
cotton fabrics, well preserved mum
mics, elaborately carved wooden arti-
cles of furniture, exquisite vases of
baked earth, often initiating the human
form and the figures of animals, and an
infinite variety of golden ornaments
and images. Beyond doubt the Chib
chas had attained the third place in
the civilization of aboriginal America
yet volumes have been written upon
the Aztecs and lncas, while the name
of this enlightened contemporary is al
most unknown. They are said to have
been denominated Chibchas because of
the frequent recurrence of the syllables
''chi' and "cha" in their tongue, but
Humboldt calls them Muiscas or Mos
cas-.
According to the distinguished his
torian Acosta, the term muisca merely
signihed "people" in their language,
and mosca (Castilian for 'fly'O was
probably a corruption of the former, or
may have been applied to these Indians
because of the great number that APP
peared before, and endeavored to stay
the progress of the handful of Spaniards
led by Quesada. AS successful as Cor
tez or Pizarro, unlike them, this famous
captain was never rewarded with the
coveted marquisate of Spain, and has
lacked the master hand of Prescott to
portray the thrilling incidents of his no
less remarkable conquest. Lieut.. II. X.
Lemly in Century.