USE OP GOLD AND COPPER. 35 



GOLD AND COPPER. 



The Chiriquians, like many of their neighbors in the tropical por- 

 tions of the American continent, were skilled in the working of met- 

 als. Gold, silver, enpiicr. and tin — the last iiialloyswithcopper form- 

 ing bronze — ai'f fuinid ill tin- i;ra,vcs. ( idld is the most important, 

 and is associati'd witii all tin- others in alloys or as a surface coating. 

 The inhabitants of the isthmus at the time of the discovery were 

 rich in objects, chiefly ornaments, of this metal, and expeditions sent 

 out under Ballioa, Pizarro, and others plundered the natives without 

 mercy. Wlion tlic Indian village of Darienwas captured by Balboa 

 (1510) he obtained ■•plates of gold, such as they hang on tlieir breasts 

 and other parts, and other things, all of them amounting to ten thou- 

 sand pesos of fine gold. " * From an expedition to Nicaragua the same 

 adventurers brought back to Panama the value of " 113,53-4 pieces of 

 eight in low gold, and 145 in i^earls."'' Early Spanish-American his- 

 tory abounds in stories of this kind. Among others we read that 

 Columbus found the natives along the Atlantic coast of Chiricxui and 

 Veragua so rich in objects of gold that he named the district Cas- 

 tillo del Oro. It is said that the illusory stories of an El Dorado 

 somewhere within the continent of South America arose from the 

 lavish use of gold ornaments by the natives whom the Spaniards en- 

 countered, and that Costa Rica gets its name from the same circum- 

 stance. It is also recorded that the natives of various parts of Cen- 

 tral and South America at the date of the conquest were in the habit 

 of opening ancient graves for the purpose of securing mortuary 

 trinkets. The whites have followed their example with the greatest 

 eagerness. As far back as KU".' the Sjiaiiiards passed a law claiming 

 all the gold found in the Imi-ial plai'esof Spanisli A nierica,^ the whole 

 matter being treated merely as a- means i.if re\enue. 



The objects of gold for which the tombs of Chiriqui are justly 

 famous are generally believed to have been simple personal orna- 

 ment s. the jewelry of the primeval inhabitants, altlioui^li it is highly 

 prnhalile that many of the figures, at least as oi-i-inallyeiiiplnyed. had 

 an enilileinatic meaning. They were douhtless at all times regarded 

 as possessed of potent charms, and thus capable of protecting and for- 

 warding the interests of their owners. They have been found in great 

 numbers within the last twenty-five >'ears, but for the most part, even 

 at this late date, have been esteemiMl for their money value only. 

 Very many si^ecimens found their way to this country, where they 

 were either sold for curiosities or, after waiting long for a purchaser, 

 even in the very shadow of our museums, were consigned to the melt- 



' Herrera: Hist. America, Vol. VI, p. 369. 



-Herrera: Hist. America, Vol. Ill, p. 287. 



^Mr. Hawes's letter answeriiiK questions about ( 'liiri(|ui. read V)y Mr. Davis before 

 the American Ethnological Society. Aiiril 17, ISfid. 



