The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1899-01-18
EARLIER AMERICANS.
A Prehistoric People TO BE InvestI.
gated In Nicaragua.
Great Quantities ofTheir Remains vviIl
he Di-interred Incidentally to the
Digging of the New Canal.

people which buried its dead In pots is 20
be dug up and investigated by Govern
ment scientists.
ton with the making Of the new inter-
oceanic canal. inasmuch as 1t Is believed
that this work will unquestionably bring
about the resurrection" Of Immense
quantities Of prehistoric relics. Particu-
larly on the Pacific side, Nicaragua Is
rich in such remains--evidences Of the
former existence of an important civiliza-
ton. Naturally anxiety is felt to take
advantage OF this extraordinary oppor-
tunity for studying. so far as practicable,
the arts and customs Of vanished
American race.
There Is no question that plenty Of ma
terial will be obtainabie. The population
anciently inhsbiting that region was
very large and the relics left behind are
proportionate in quantity. No very ser
ious effort has ever been made to study
the archaeology of this part Of Central
America, and dense forests now cover to
a great extent the vestiges of lost people.
very day great stsne images which they
worshipped as gods. The practice of
burial In pots was only ons Of their odd
customs Many such pots have been dug
up. They are huge urns of earthenware,
five feet high and four feet in diameter.
In each one, ordinarily Is found u human
skeleton Ia sitting Rposture. with the
knees drawn up to the chin.
In every ease the burial pot, when suffi
ciently preserved, has cover, which is an
inverted bowl of earthenware deliberately
decorated with figures OF curious design
that evidently had a meaning OF their
own. Possibly only persons Of u certain
class were Inferred In these urns, for
graves and tomts of other kinds are
found. Some OF them are stone-walled
sepulchres OF rectangular shape covered
with n slab of stone. There are also heaps
OF stones which evidently are tombs, In
asinuch as they are discovered to contain
human remains, together with painted
pottery, metates, etc. A metate Is the
Ia bl G. shaped tray OF stone on which In
Mexico ana Central America the Indian
corn Is ground to -four with the aid OF
roller shaped crusher. The modern
natives of Nicaragua consider the metates
obtained from tombs SO far superior 10
those which they make themselves that
they pay % TO s. apiece for them, and the
business of mining for them in prehis-
toric graveyards is quite an important in
dustry.
Whatever the pattern Of she burial re-
ceptacle whether urn, stone cyst or
mound, the human remains are invaria-
bly, accompanied by articles such as were
utilized by the peopls themselves when
alive. These include beads, whistles
t.trs lAu nd hAr 1uls
burnt corn, beans, peculiar green stones,
and small images of gold. These images,
some of which represent human beings or
gods perhaps, we're made in very peou-
liar fashion. To begin with, sor of
silhouette in the outline OF the hfure
was cut out from sheet of very thin
gold hammered out. Upon this was
solaered gold wire, drawn to the finest
thread and in this way bulk and design
were added. In the burial pots have been
found good many gold beads, and IL is
evident that these ancient people pos
sessed considerable quantitis OF the yellow
metal, which they utilized In u commerce
that was extended by SEA over great
part of the Antillean archi elago.
Green was their sacred color, and orpa-
ments of green stone were beld in highest
estimation. In fact, green stones AMI
gold made up their wealth. Common
people were not allowed to wear Z green
stones the art OF polishing WIFI oh was be-
lieved to have sbeen invented and conf
IN unicated by "a certain god. This dtvin-
ity was worshipped by fishermen and was
supposed to be attired customarily in
green robe. Persons who have beheld the
tropics ut the close of dry spell, when
the vegetation WAS parched and dying,
and have seen the whole face OF nature
rejuvenated by the first showers OF the
rainy season. can we'll understand how In
for nan n "A
for life and green the color in which the
water goddess was clothed.
The richest remains of this departed
race are found on the great island OF
Ometejpec, eight miles from the west
coast of Lake Nicaragua. The lake, 1t
will be remembered. Is about one hun
dred miles long, and the island named is
twenty miles long by nine miles wide.
Some parts of IL are very fertile, and at
the present time II maintains popula
ton of three thousand natives. IL was
formed originally by two might! vol
ca noes, which. now extinct, uplit their
peaks TO elevations of 1000 and i5oo feet
above sea level. The top OF one of them
seems to have been blown OF actually by
some tremendous subterfanean outburst
This may have been the last great erup-
ton, which occurred some centuries be
fore the Spanish ronouerors came. 1t
overwh slmed several villages and destroyed
all OF the 1nhaDltans VINO ulu not get away
In boats The story OF the catastrophe
has teen learned by digging through the
lava crust, beneath which are discovered
lots of interesting antiquities.
The natives who live on the fsland-the
bulk of them that Is to say-are OF the
modern Nicaraguan type, of short stature,
low browed, with dark copper skin and
coarse hair. There are few, however,
who keep themselves apart, and are sur
missed to be . remnant Of the ancient race
described. They are of commanding
stature some of the men being considera-
bly, over six feet in heigh, ana women Of
proportionate size. Almost everywhere
In the euluvat I'd parts of the island are
found relics of the prehistoric Inhabitants
and In the woods that olothe the foothills
are still to be seen the gods OF their idola-
try. One OF these idols has been described
as stone image five feet high. IL repre-
sents a man seat ed, with sullen and
cruel expression. 1t wears headdress
which Is supposed to bs the head of
large animal. the face Of the man looking
out of its mouth.
1t is believed that these ancient aborigi-
mes came from much farther North, and
that thew were driven southwark by more