THE NAME AMERICA. 649 



many years iu the dsitrict of Chontales, and who was also a i)ersonal 

 friend of Thomas Belt. Here are extracts from two of his letters to me : 



Washington, D. C, December 29, 1887. 



- - - The word Amerrique is ]>ronounced as Mr. Thomas Belt wrote 

 it by the natives of the tribe, with whom I have conversed. These In- 

 dians seem to have been formerly a powerful tribe. At a distance from 

 the sierra (range), iu the level ground, there are extensive spaces which 

 were at one time cemeteries and undoubtedly belonged to these Indians. 



It is certain that towards the south other tribes inhabited that region. 

 It is, moreover, easy to note that they kept up, from a very ancient date, 

 a communication with the Atlantic coast, cultivating probably friendly 

 relations with the once war-like tribe of the Moscos, who held the coun- 

 try from about Laguna de Caratasca (Honduras) and the Cape Gracias 

 a Dios to a little south of the Laguna de Perlas and the rio Blewhelds. 



At the present day the Amerriques are few in number, but I do not 

 feel able, at the moment, to give any sufficient reason for the fact. They 

 are not molested by any one and they live at their ease in their mount- 

 ains, but it is evident that no long time will elapse before they disap- 

 pear entirely, perhaps by absorption into other tribes. - - - Mr. 

 Thomas Belt, to whom you refer, must have had occasion to know the 

 mountains and the Indians of that name during a journey which he 

 made over the cordillera to Matagalpa and Segovia. I served under the 

 order of that gentleman iu the mines of Chontales, and enjoyed the 

 honor of his friendship and confidence. 



Washington, January 12, 1888. 



- - - I can assure you. that the insinuation, ascribed to Mr. Peralta, 

 that the name Amerrique was invented by my deceased friend, Mr. 

 Thomas Belt, is an entirely gratuitous one. The mountain range and 

 the tribe of the Amerriques have existed in Nicaragua for centuries 

 which it is beyond our power to determine ; and these facts may be veri- 

 fied at any moment. Moreover, Mr. Belt was a serious person, who 

 would never have lent himself to a deception. 



This protest of Senator J. D. Rodriguez was brought out by the posi- 

 tion taken by a few opponents, who claimed that because the map- 

 makers have not inscribed the name Amerrique on any of the maps 

 known until now, the name Amerrique applied to a chain of mountains 

 of Nicaragua was created out of Mr. Belt's " inner consciousness." 

 Don Manuel M. de Peralta, minister of Costa Rica at Washington, wrote 

 a letter to the President of the Republic of Nicaragua, Don Ad. Car- 

 denas, asking if there really is in "el departamento de Chontales" a 

 chain of mountains known by the name of Amerique, Amerrique, or 

 Americ. The answer not only confirmed the existence of the Sierra 

 Amerrique, but also of a tribe of Indians called " los Amerriques" ; and 

 that the spelling of the name was as Mr. Belt wrote it: Amerrique^ with 

 two r's. 



From those well-authenticated facts, we can be fully confident that 

 there are still in existence the remnants of an Indian tribe calling them- 

 selves Amerriques^ formerly powerful, and extending over a great part 

 of the ground between the Lake of Nicaragua and the Atlantic coast. 



