The Iuka vidette., 1910-05-12

near the coast. many of which are constantly
changing their courses Along the banks of these
rivers the Spaniards found the richest Indian viii
lages 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, plates. images and
Others which it 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 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 follows:
Going up the Guaymi valley arrives at
place called Couto where much gold has been
found. and the natives have it worked into all
forms; and being questioned 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 Indian
cacique called Ucarac Not days march
from Couto lies the village of Turucaca, the in
habitants of which stated that they had obtained
gold in the river the inhabitants of Couto,
The provinces of Couto and Turucaca lie so
leagues from the city of GarcMunoz at the be-
ginning of the valley of Guaymi, 10 leagues from
the South sea in front of the Golfo Dulce. 1t Is
known that following up the Guaym valley to
the mountains toward the north there are to be
found numerous villages, such as Quepo Couto,
bara, Barerto, Tabicte. Arabora. Cabangara Que
cabangara.
The following year, 1864, another expedition
set out from Cartago Costa Rica, to explore this
same country, and the chronicler, writing of their
discoveries. says
Crossing the province of Ara and passing the
valley of Coaca 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 a river called La Estrella, which is the
principal one to the quantity of gold found
from Cartago the expedition re-
turned to the province of Terbi to the village of
Cururu in the valley of the Duy (Indian name
for Quequexque); and from there went to the
big river which had already been named Rio de
la Estrea"
Since the sixteenth century the land bordering
the Sixiola river which lies to the north of the
Chriqui volcano and which emptes into the Ca
ribbean sea, had been in dispute between the
governments of Costa Rica and that of Panama
At that time 1t was claimed by both the governor
of Costa Rica and the governor of Veraguas. The
province of Chiriqui adjoins Sixiola 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
their Indian Names while others have been re-
named. The question was finally submitted to
President Fallieres of France for arbitration and
an entirely new boundary line was traced in ac-
cordance with his findings.
The Indians inhabiting the country lying near