The new era., 1910-05-19

Volcan de Chiriqui' Chiriqui ~
volcano. rising nearly 10000 feet
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-
tlon Below this the Pacific slopes stretch
oeautlful rolling llanos steppes. lower and
lower, on down to the palm-frnged coast line.
Somewhere on these immense slopes lies the
lost mine of the Indians, "Tisngal," known to
and worked by the early Spanish settlers. who
changed its name to La Estrella," or Mine of the
Star.
During the year 1s3334 in going through the
archives at Cartago Costa Rica some official doc
uments pertaining to this mine were found and
permission obtained from the Costa Rican
government for their publication. Shortly there
after a company was formed in Cartago to send
out exploring parties. and although considerable
time and money were wasted and several lives
In an endeavor to locate this mine. no indica-
tons Of its whereabouts were found.
Reprints of some of the documents referred to
have 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. Translatons of these pa
pers have been made and the information
tanned therein summarized. to which have been
added data obtained through personal acquaint-
ance with the country described During last
year unsuccessful attempt was made by the
writer to ascend the highest crater of the Chiri-
qui volcano for the purpose of verifying certain
information purported to have been secured in
the year 1905 from this point and pertaining to
the Tisngal 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
Tisingal Quebrada Ancha. Quebrada de Orc and
others quite important. The first of these places
explored some time ago by Spanish colony.
which in the year 1901 founded the city OF Con-
cepcion de la Estrella, near this mine Of great
wealth. The excessive stnginass of the conquer
reduced the Indians of the locality to the
dition of slaves they being forced by the Spanish
to work. mining the gold Of the Tisngal. These
Indians became tired of the excessive work and
bad treatment and became desperate. In the year
1911 they revolted against their oppressors and
exterminated them; but other Spaniards at the
place of the mutiny again compelled the Indians
= resume the working of the mine and made
harder for them their state of slavery. This al
list eliminated the Indians from this stretch of
country.
"On the twenty-eghth of September. some
years after these happenings. the Indians re-
turned and without pity consideration took
the life of every foreigner living in the country;
and not only this. but carrying stones from dis
tant localities. they covered up and destroyed all
traces of the workings Of the mines. and they
also razed all houses and churches belonging to
the Spaniards The only traces remaining of
these ancient buildings today are the foundations
Of the church and bell belonging to 1t.
"At last the news of the new rebellion reached
Cartago in Costa Rica, where immediate prepa-
rations made for revenge. 1t is known that
at the beginning Of the year ITO the government
at Cartago sent 200 men by the way Of Boruca
and Tuis to San Jose Cabecar, town to the east
about is leagues from Conception. This exped
tion took 500 Indians Of both sexes prisoners and
reduced 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
Prom that time all Indians living in the
mountains in all directions up to distance of 70
leagues turned bitter enemies OF the foreigners
and up to few years ago would have nothing to
do with the white races. Due to these events all
traces of the villages Of Turrialba. Tuis. Atirro
San Jose Cabecar and other places that lay on
the route to Conception de la Estrella and Tisn-
gal were lost and the trails of communication
with the mines were covered with brush and
completely destroyed, 30 that after 40 years in
Cartago no knowledge was to be obtained to
the locality Of the Estrella and practically no
per,on living knew or had seen the mines at