The Rice belt journal. (Welsh, Calcasieu Parish, La.) 1900-19??, 1910-05-13

near the coast, many of which are constantly
changing their courses. Along the banks of these
rivers the Spaniards found the richest Indian vii
lagos. The Indians extracted gold from the
sands of many of these rivers and worked it into
weird figures representing alligators, frogs, birds
turtles, fish, snakes bells, platesl images and
others, which 1t was the custom to bury with the
owners thereof in the rockwalled tombs in which
their dead were inferred
Among the documents referred to are found
the records of an expedition that set out from the
city Of Garci-Munoz in Costa Rica, in the year
1863, for Quepo, Couto, Boruca and the valley Of
Guaymi. An extract from this document liter
ally translated reads as follows:
Going up the Guaymi valley one arrives at
place called Couto, where much gold has been
found, and the natives have it worked into all
forms; and on being questioned as to where they
obtained it they stated that they had gotten it
in very big grains from river four days journey
from that place. in the dominion of an Indian
caciQue called Ucaraci Not one days march
from Couto lies the village of Turucaca, the in
habitants of which stated that they had obtained
gold in the same river as the inhabitants of Couto
The provinces Of Couto and Turucaca lie so
leagues from the city of Garci-Munoz at the be-
ginning of the valley of Guaymi 10 leagues from
tuS SUulu SEA III front OF the COLO Dulco. 1t Is
known that following up the Guaymi valley to
the mountains toward the north there are to be
found numerous villages, such as Quepo Couto,
Boruca, Aci Uriaba Xarixaba, Yabo, Duba, Ca
bara, Barerto Tabicte, Arabora, Cabangara, Que
cabangara
The following year, 1854, another expedition
set out from Carriage. Costa RIGA, to explore this
same country and the chronicler, writing of their
discoveries, says:
Crossing the province Of Ara and passing the
valley Of Coaca, We arrived in the province of
Terbi and made our camp in the village Of Co.
curu, which lies in the valley of Duy And the
Indians having brought to the leader great
quantity of gold he sent the slaves to explore,
and they brought back such large pieces that the
leader himself decided to explore We then ar
rived at river called La Estrella which is the
principal one as to the quantity of gold found
from Carriage the expedition re-
turned to the province of Terbi to the village of
Cururu IN the valley of the Duy (Indian name
LOT Quequexque); and from there we went to the
big river which had already been named Rio de
la Estrela."
Since the sixteenth century the land bordering
the Slxicla river, which lies to the north of the
ChlrlQm volcano and which empties into the Ca
rlooean sea, had been in dispute between the
governments Of Costa Rica and that of Panama
Al that time it was claimed by both the governor
OF costa RIGA and the governor of Veraguas. The
province OF ChiriQui adjoins Sixola and formerly
formed part of the province of Veraguas, now one
OF the seven provinces of Panama After the
independence Of Panama in 1903 this dispute
again arose. due, to great extent, to changes
IN the names of many of the rivers of this part
OF the two countries. some of which still retain
their Indian names, while others have been re-
named. The question was finally submitted to
PRESIDENT FallieTes of France for arbitration and
an entirely new boundary line was traced in &C.
cordance with his findings
The Indians inhabiting the country lying near