The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-04-14
JEWELS OF THE DEAD.
DIGGING FOR VALUABLE TREAS
TRES IL GRAVES

]
Gus People.
Washington Cor. Piusburg Dispatch.
Digging for jewelry seems rather an
I odd occupation. but In Central America
il has been carried on for a long time
with success and prodt Along the coast
OF Costa Riea are vast cemeteries in which
the original inhabitants Of long ago were
buried With them were inferred great
quantities Of gold ornaments, that metal
being found abundantly in the region.
Many Of the graves have been opened.
and from them gold has been taken TO
the value OF at least 81. 900. CO. The first
discoveries Of this treasure trove caused
a rush for the field Of exploration which
promised 70 rival that OF 1919 to California.
/ Thousands Of graves still remain unopen-
ed and II IS the custom for visitors in
search Of curiosities 10 rob them.
Mr.. Robert T. Hin, the weIl-known
government geolosist. who has Just re-
turned to Washington from Panama. has
made a study OF the remains Of ancient
peoples with which the Isthmian region
may be said to fairly TEEN. The graves
in the province Of Chiriqui commonly
contain specimens Of most exquisite pot
terry, which seems TO show that its max
ers bore the same relation to the prehis-
toric art Of this continent as did the Etrus-
| cans to the early art of Europe The
same conclusion is derived from the
excellent workmanship Of the gold orna-
ments.
Of the natives who dug the graves
nothing Is known, but it is probable that
they were exterminated by the Span
iards, who, with thirst for conquest
that was chiefly inspired by a knowledge
that the Indians possessed gold, enslaved
and massacred the entire populations
/ Thirty years after the discovery of Amer
lea by Columbus they had already built
the old city Of Panama.
The graves" said Mr.. Hill yesterday.
and found everywhere and as far north
as Nicaragua. Probably the people were
related to the civilization of Yucatan and
Mexico. On the Nicoya peninsula, short
distance north of Chriqui, occur graves
that contain tools and ornaments of ia
deite. Owing to the fact that jade, which
is so highly priced by the Chinese. has
been supposed to exist only in the orient,
it was believed for some time that the
coincidence afforded evidence of a con
nection between the culture of the an
cient isthmus and of the east. But in
vestigation has shown that the Nicoya
Jades and the Chinese jades belong to diff
ferent mineral species. When Nicoya has
been studied archaelOgically as thorough
ly as the United States have been. the
source from which the jades were obtained
Will be ascertained.
The neck of lard which connects
North with South America looks on the
map as II 1t might be easily explored
and studied. The fact is quite the re-
] faafIrr
across 1.-THE Panama railroad. This is
not only railway but also a mule road
and a transcontinental highway for all
sorts Of traffic. Nowhere else is there
I trail or path in all the vast extent of coun-
try between Ecuador and the latitude OF
| san Jose, Costa Rica, by which civilized
1 man can pass from ocean TO ocean The
| crossing may only be accomplished with
safety by armed and specially equipped
| parties, hewing a passage through an al
most impenetrable jungles. Various sur
/ veying expeditions have met with terri
| bic experiences and adventures with fierce
/ Indians.
THE region between South America
proper and the Panama railroad is still
in the possession of the wild people who
| will permit no whites to sleep on their
! land. Such thing as travelling overland
along the length of the isthmus would be
task as difficult as the journey of STAN
/ ~ I'll OhSh INC AOItblH Oh tropical Africa.
! "On the Atlantic coast, just opposite
! Nlcoya, is the Costa Rican province of
Talamanca, which has fallen back into
the hands of its aboriginal people, who
bear the name of the district. Their
country is almost as little known TO
geographers as any region on the face
or the earth. They number about e. =
600, decorate themselves with feathers
| and crocodile teeth, and live in queer
/ houses of reeds built on stills. These
| dwellings are covered with immense
matched roofs. At one time the Span
iards gained a foothold here and it is
| alleged, built a large city: but even
the site OF the town is no longer known.
! FeVers and the Indians combined to drive
the white conquerors away.
1T is believed that the Talamancas
were formerly much more civilized
| than at present. and that their ancestors
| may have been the people who occu-
! pied the province of Chiriqui and made
the gold ornaments and pottery. In that
| province is still a sub-tride of Talaman-
cas-. who are known as the Guaymi-mean-
/ ing in English Men term which ex-
presses the idea of superiority. Their re-
| nglon is a system of pure terrorism
| Every noise startles them, and il at
| tributed to some wicked demon who must
! be eXcorcised by the wizards, and pro-
pitiated with offerings.
The Spaniards partly converted these
AAdAaiSs Win whose savage rites a few
"reminiscences of Catholicism are mixed
/ up. Their sick when past recovery are
taken into the forest and abandoned with
a calabash of water anda few bananas.
Another tribe that has managed to
survive in small numbers is located in
| Northern Costa Rica These people are
known as the Guatusos. Owing to the
| inaccessibility of the region which they
! inhabit they have escaped determination
and amalgamation. Nevertheless thew
! have been deeimated by the Mic
araguans who have made practice OF
capturing them and selling them as slaves
in adjacent provinces, where the price OF
a Guatuso was recently $50. 1t is doubt
full if they survive the construction of
the Nicaraguan canal They dwell in re-
markable communal houses, built with
long halls running down the middle, on
| either side of which rooms OPEN
"One reason why this part of the world
| is so interesting is that civilization has
/ been trying so hard to overcome it during
| so long a period, with only partial success.
For centuries the strip of land forming the
/ perimeter of the Caribbean Sea, from the
| mouth of the Magdalena river to Nicara-
qua, has been a scene of hattie betuaer,