1S95.] 40j [Brlnton. 



The material for this is supplied by an article from an intelligent 

 instructor, Don Jeremias Mendoza, of Yoloaiquin, published in the 

 journal La Universidad, at San Salvador, Central America, in June 

 last (1895). The discovery was to me unexpected, as Mendoza's 

 article is descriptive of the Indian town of Cacaopera, which lies 

 "in the Sierra of San Salvador, a hundred and fifty miles from Mata- 

 galpa ; nor does he express any knowledge that the dialect of this 

 mountain hamlet is identical with that of much of the native popu- 

 lation of the departments of Matagalpa and Segovia in Nicaragua. 



The village of Cacaopera is in the department of Morazan, six- 

 teen kilometers from its capital, and is noteworthy for the tenacity 

 with which its inhabitants have preserved the purity of their blood 

 and also their ancient customs, usages and language. They have 

 always occupied the locality, so far as written history goes. Ac- 

 cording to their own traditions, their ancestors before the conquest 

 occupied a site about three kilometers to the west of the present 

 village. At that spot an enclosure about one square kilometer in 

 area is still visible, within which are mounds and ruins of ancient 

 edifices. The ground is rich in fragments of pottery, some bearing 

 " hieroglyphs " and painted figures upon their surfaces ; and frag- 

 ments of carved stones have also been exhumed. This spot is 

 known as the "pueblo viejo," old town. 



These facts are important, both as showing the long occupancy 

 of the region by these people and as evidence of the grade of cul- 

 ture they attained. 



They number now about three thousand souls, most of whom are 

 engaged in the cultivation of the maguey and the manufacture of 

 ropes and cords from its fibres. These they color, and with them 

 make hammocks, harness, halters, nets and the like, which are 

 highly esteemed by their neighbors. 



They are industrious and temperate, all good Catholics, of course, 

 but mingling with the rites of the Church many strange elements 

 from their ancient cult, as dances and masked dramatic per- 

 formances. 



Phonetics. 



The sounds of the tongue appear to offer little difficulty to a 

 Spanish student. The words furnished by Mendoza are written 

 according to the Spanish alphabet, the only point he notes being 

 that the / and the k should be pronounced forcibly. 



