9 



in our vicinity and generally regarded as stone pestles. 

 The place where these implements were discovered has not 

 . been inhabited within the recollection of the present gen- 

 eration. These relics* are therefore undoubtedly quite 

 ancient, and are valuable as furnishing an explanation of 

 some of the relics of the aborigines of North America, 

 as already alluded to. 



Some coarse but strong and durable fabrics, made from 

 vegetable fibre, and some elegant carvings upon hard- 

 shells, of some kind of fruit, show that this people have 

 considerable ingenuity, but they lack the disposition to rise 

 by it above a certain level. A few Americans and other 

 foreigners have taken up their residence in Nicaragua. 

 They have carried with them the customs of civilization ; 

 but the natives show great aversion to adopting any im- 

 provements suggested, however obvious the advantage to 

 be gained, or however easy it may be made for them to 

 change to better methods. To illustrate this Mr. McNeil 

 told the following story : 



Some American residents wishing to greatly please 

 some friendly Nicaraguans living near by, procured from 

 New York at great expense, as a present for them, a 

 cooking stove of the most approved model. It was 

 thought that this would be welcomed as a marvellous im- 

 provement upon the little fire of sticks, by which the 

 Nicaraguans did all their cooking. The present was 

 received with expressions of much pleasure, and forth- 

 with tested. The first experience was repellaut. Smoke 

 poured forth from every seam, the fire smouldered, and 

 the kettles refused to heat. But this difficulty was obvia- 

 ted when at the suggestion of their more experienced 

 American friends, they transferred the fire from the oven 

 to its proper place. For a time they used the new cook- 



* They are now deposited in the cabinets of the Peabody Academy. 



ESSEX INST. BULLETIN. 2 



