The Neshoba Democrat., 1910-05-12

ABOVE sea level. Two other craters of lesser
height rise one on either side of the main crater:
tnen sheer drop Of several thousand feet of sui
phur-coated rock to the highest signs of vegeta.
uoh. Below this on the Pacific slopes stretch
beautiful rolling llanos or steppes lower and
lower, on down to the palm-fringed coast line
somewhere on these immense slopes lies the
iost mine OF the Indians. "Tisingal," known to
ana worked by the early Spanish settlers who
changed its name to LA Estrella," or Mine of the
Star.
During the year 1S33-34, in going through the
archlves atCartago Costa Rica, some official doc
uments pertaining to this mine were found and
permission was obtained from the Costa Rican
government for their publication Shortly there
after company was formed in Cartago to send
out exploring parties and although considerable
time and money were wasted and several lives
lost in an endeavor to locate this mine no indica.
lions OF its whereabouts found
Reprints Of some of the documents referred to
nave come into the hands of the writer in which
Is preserved the old style Spanish in which they
were originally written during the sixteenth and
seventeenth centuries. Translations of these pa
pers nave been made and the information con-
talned therein summarized, to which have been
added data obtained through personal acquaint-
ance with the country described. During last
year an unsuccessful attempt was made by the
writer to ascend the highest crater of the Chiri-
qm volcano for the purpose of verifying certain
information purported to have been secured in
the year 1905 from this point and pertaining to
the T1slngal mine. During the dry season Of this
year second attempt will probably be made.
Among the documents consulted is one that
literally translated reads as follows:
Within the limits of the department of Chiri.
Qui. contiguous to the Republic of Costa Rica
exist places rich in gold known by the names Of
Ilslngal Quebrada Ancha, Quebrada de Orc and
others quite important The first of these places
was explored some time ago by Spanish colony
which in the year 1901 founded the city of Con-
cepc1on de la Estrella, near this mine of great
wealth. The excessive stnginess of the conquer
ors reduced the Indians Of the locality to the con-
dltion OF slaves they being forced by the Spanish
to work. mining the gold of the Tisingal These
Indians became tired Of the excessive work and
bad treatment and became desperate In the year
Ibll they revolted against their oppressors and
extermlnated them; but other Spaniards at the
place OF the mutiny again compelled the Indians
to resume the working of the mine and made
harder for them their state of slavery. This al
most eliminated the Indians from this stretch of
country.
"On the twenty-eighth of September, some
years after these happenings, the Indians re-
turned and without pity consideration took
the lie OF every foreigner living in the country:
and not only this but, carrying stones from dis
tant localities they covered up and DESTROYED all
udCec oI Lue workings Oh the mines, and thew
also razed all houses and churches belonging to
the Spaniards. The only traces remaining of
these ancient buildings today are the foundations
or the church and bell belonging to it.
AT last the of the new rebellion reached
Cartago In Costa Rica, where immediate prepa-
ratlons were made for revenge. 1t is known that
at the beginning of the year 1710 the government
at Cartago sent 200 men by the way of Boruca
and Tuis to San Jose Cabecar town to the east
\ about 15 leagues from Conception. This expedi.
tion took 500 Indians of both sexes prisoners and
& rednced them to state of slavery, and as such
consigned them to the inhabitants around about
Cartago upon their return to that place. These
prisoners and all other Indians they met along
the way were massacred shortly thereafter
From that time all Indians living in the
mountains IN all directions up to distance of 70
leagues turned bitter enemies of the foreigners
ana up to few years ago would have nothing to
40 with the white races. Due to these events all
traces OF the villages of Turrialba Tuis. Atirro
san Jose Cabecar and other places that law on
the route to Conception de la Estrella and Tisin.
gal were lost and the trails of communication
with the mines were covered with brush and
completely destroyed, SO that after 40 years in
Cartago no knowledge was to be obtained as to
the locality of the Estrella and practically no
person living knew or had seen the mines at