CULTURE OF PEOPLE OF SOUTHEASTERN PANAMA 13 



new physical type as well. As one travels away from the beaten 

 paths of migration, away from the interoceanic passes, a more and 

 more primitive, likewise older, ethnic stratum is encountered. 



Spanish influence in Darien. — The Caribbean coast of Darien was 

 first discovered by Rodrigo de Bastidas about the beginning of the 

 sixteenth century. Columbus later visited the north coast on his 

 last voyage to the New World and founded a colony on the Belen 

 River, which was soon destroyed by Quiban, a native chieftain. 

 Columbus discovered the San Bias coast with its numerous islands, 

 which he named " Islas Berbas.'' He found the coast densely in- 

 habited. Starting from the small settlement at Santa Maria del 

 Antigua, Balboa, in 1513, then serving as governor, crossed the 

 isthmus and discovered the Gulf of San Miguel on the Pacific. The 

 Bayano River is named after a fugitive slave who, uniting with other 

 fugitives, waged warfare against the Spanish; the river is also called 

 Chepo, from Cheapes, a chief met by Balboa. Balboa found the 

 southern coast similar to the north coast, densely populated and the 

 tribes divided into clans, some of the names of which are to-day 

 perpetuated in the names of rivers and other topographically descrip- 

 tive terms; tribal designations applied by later arrivals were derived 

 from rivers 'upon which the tribes lived. Examples on the Carrib- 

 bean coast are the Caledons and the Sasardi ; upon the Pacific slope 

 are the Sucubdi, Asnati, Morti, Chucunaques, Paya, and Bayanos. 



The western half of Panama from the Canal Zone to Costa Rica, 

 and from the Pacific coast to the central mountain range is scantily 

 populated. Occasional small hamlets occur along the coast fringes, 

 at the mouths of navigable rivers, and adjacent to fresh water. 



On the Pacific side are several important towns of several thousand 

 inhabitants, such as Penonome, Los Santos, Santiago, and David, 

 as well as others of less importance. On the Carribbean coast, near 

 the Costa Rican border, is the American plantation of the United 

 Fruit Companj^ at Bocas del Toro. 



Panamanians. — The inhabitants of the towns on the Pacific Coast 

 west from the Canal Zone are what have come to be known as Pan- 

 amanians, a mixture of Spanish, Indian, and Negro, with occasional 

 pure Spanish or other European stock. 



" Some of the interior Cordillera towns of western Panama still 

 treasure the old ' cross ' money, silver or brass shoe-shaped stirrups 

 of the grandees, ancient swords, and bits of armor worn by the first 

 hidalgoes who penetrated the interior. People still live and 

 dress as did their ancestors centuries ago. An example of these 

 towns is San Francisco, with its church built in 1522. Some of the 

 isolated towns in Veraguas have descendants of old Spanish settlers 

 who speak pure Castilian, where men still wear loose blouses and 



