260 COSTA RICA. 



CHAPTER XXIII. 



COSTA RIGA. 

 " MY DEAR SlR, 



"In the month of June, 1822, I disembarked in the port 

 of Punta de Arenas, in the Gulf of Nicoya, the only one corre- 

 sponding to that province at present in use on the Pacific side. 

 My object was to dispose of a cargo of cotton which I had 

 brought from Realejo, and to purchase sugar in return. Circum- 

 stances, not necessary to mention, and the loss of the small 

 vessel with which I was trading on the coast, caused me to 

 remain in Costa Rica. Its name implies a very early conviction 

 of its natural opulence ; it is certain that gold and silver 

 abounded among the Indians at the period of its conquest by 

 the Spaniards. It was at one time a favoured and flourishing 

 agricultural colony, but from various causes sank into neglect. 

 Such was the apathy, both of the Government and of in- 

 dividuals, that the very existence of the precious metals in the 

 country had been almost entirely forgotten. In the end of 

 1821, a poor man, Nicolas Castro by name, opened the first gold 

 mine known in Costa Rica since the conquest, and his success 

 soon induced others to try their fortunes ; with fortunate results, 

 in a few months a mining district sprang into being. 



" A gentleman of the name of Alverado constructed at a very 

 considerable expense what is called an Ingenio, consisting of 

 various edifices for depositing the ore, machinery driven by 

 water for grinding it and afterwards blending it with quick- 

 silver for amalgamation. 



" When I landed in June, 1822, only five or six mines had 

 been discovered, but in January 1823, when I left the country, 

 I cannot pretend to enumerate those in a state of progress and 

 of promise. It is not only in the mining part of the business 



