The Neshoba Democrat., 1910-05-12

near the coast many of which are constantly
changing their courses. Along the banks of these
rivers the Spanards 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, plates images and
others, which it the custom to bury with the
owners thereof in the rock-walled 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 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 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
the South sea In front of the Golfo Duce. 1t is
known that following up the Guaymi valley to
the mountains toward the north there are to be
Boruca, Aci, Uriaba, Xarixaba, Yabo Duba, Ca
bara, Barerto, Tabcte, Arabora, Cabangara, Que
cabangara.
The following year, 1864, another expedition
set out from Cartago Costa Rica, to explore this
same country, and the chronicer, writing of their
discoveries. says
Crossing the province of Ara and passing the
valley Of Coaca, arrived in the province of
Terbi and made 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 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 we went to the
big river which had already been named Rio de
la Estrea"
Since the sixteenth century the land bordering
the Sixcla river, which lies to the north of the
Chiriqui volcano and which emptes into the Ca
rlbbean sea, had been in dispute between the
governments of Costa Rica and that of Panama
AT that time it was claimed by both the governor
OF Costa Rica and the governor of veraguas The
province of Chirqui adjoins Sixiola and formerly
formed part of the province of Veraguas, now one
or 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 tn
President Fallieres of France for arbitration and
an entirely boundary line was traced in ac
cordance with his findings.
The Indians inhabiting the country living near