CHAPTER XX 
Indian population of the country lying between the great lakes of 
Nicaragua and the Pacific—Discovery and conquest of Nicaragua 
by the Spaniards—Cruelties of the Spaniards—The Indians of 
Western Central America all belonged to one stock—Decadence 
of Mexican civilisation before the arrival of the Spaniards—The 
designation ‘‘ Nahuatls”’ proposed to include all the Mexican, 
Western Central American, and Peruvian races that had descended 
from the same ancient stock—The Nahuatls distinct from the 
Caribs on one side, and the Red Indians on the other—Discussion 
of the question of the peopling of America. 
I RODE for some distance around the Lake of Masaya, and 
reached an Indian village named Nandasme, about two 
leagues from the city. As usual the streets were laid out 
at right angles, and the houses of the Indians embowered 
in trees, many of which are grown entirely for the beautiful 
odoriferous flowers they produce. There are several other 
Indian villages around the lake, from each of which paths 
have been cut through the forest down to the water, along 
which the women are constantly ascending and descending 
to fill their vessels for the supply of their houses. 
All the fertile country lying between the great lakes and 
the Pacific was densely populated at the time of the con- 
quest, and it was not far from Masaya that the great chief, 
Diriangan, lived, who tried, but tried in vain, to stem the 
onward course of the Spaniards. Gil Gonzales de Avila 
was in command of the first expedition sent to explore the 
country of Nicaragua. He sailed from Panama with one 
hundred followers and four horses, the latter, auxiliaries 
whose aid was never dispensed with in these expeditions on 
account of the superstitious terror with which the unaccus- 
tomed sight of a man and a horse, apparently joined together, 
inspired the Indians. He landed somewhere on the Gulf 
of Nicoya, near which he entered the country of a powerful 
chief, after whom the gulf was named. Nicoya entertained 
the Spaniards courteously, supplied them with food, and 
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