CHAPTER V. 

 CONCLUSION. 



In an attempt at a chronological arrangement of the antiquities of Ometepec 

 it will be move convenient to begin at the time of the conquest with the material 

 which history affords, and work back as well as we may with the aid of tradition, 

 philology, and archaeology. 



The Spanish chroniclers record the fact that this department of Rivas was 

 in a thriving condition, and peopled by a dense population engaged in peaceful 

 pursuits. The authorities arc pretty well agreed that the inhabitants were of 

 kindred stock to the Aztecs of the valley of Mexico. Dr. Bcrendt, through his 

 researches in southern Mexico, Guatemala, and Nicaragua found remnants of 

 language confirming the traditions which were preserved by the natives after the 

 discovery. He gives the following condensation of these legends : 



" From the comparison of the somewhat obscure traditions preserved prin- 

 cipally by Ovicdo, Torquemada, and Hcrrera, it seems to result that the people 

 in question first inhabited the ancient city of Cholula, on the famous table-lands 

 of Mexico called Anahuac, and that from this city they were named Cholutecas, 

 or, with a corruption, Chorotcgas ; that afterwards, being pressed by their neigh- 

 bors, they emigrated to the southeast and settled in the deserts between Tehuan- 

 tepec and Soconusco." " Attacked by their old enemies, they migrated still 

 further to the south, and finally settled on the strip of land between the Nica- 

 ragua lakes and the Pacific, occupying the coast from Fonscca Bay to Nicoya. 

 But even here they were not destined to remain unmolested. Another invasion 

 by a tribe of the Nahuatl stock took place, and this time the invaders, wedging 

 themselves right into their midst, got possession, and that permanently, of what 

 is now the department of Rivas in Nicaragua, from which they likewise peopled 

 the islands of the great lake."* 



Squicr's investigations as late as 1850 showed the remains of the Aztec 

 language on the island of Ometepec. 



The people found here by the Spaniards buried the dead of the common 

 people, with their ornaments and utensils, in the fields, gardens, or even under 



*Address road before the American Geographical Society July 10, 1876. 



(79) 



