2 A STUDY OF CHIRIQUIAN ANTIQUITIES. 



of Nomen dei, and emptieth it selfe in the sea nere vnto an Hand cauled Bastimento, 

 where is a very good and safe port. Yowr maiestie may now therfore consyder howe 

 great a thynge and what commoditie it may be to conuey spices this way, foras- 

 much as the ryuer of Chagre hauyng his originall only two leaques from the South 

 sea, contineweth his course and emptieth it selfe into the other North sea. This 

 ryuer runneth fast and is very greate, and so commodious for this purpose as may 

 be thowght or desyred. . . . But to returne to speake sumwhat of the conueying 

 of spices, I say that when it shal please almighty god that this nauigation afore- 

 sayde shal bee founde by the good fortune of yowre maiestie, and that the spices 

 of the Ilandes of the South sea (which may also bee otherwyse cauled the Ocean 

 of the East India in whiche are the Ilandes of Molucca) shalbe browght to the sayd 

 coaste and the porte of Panama, and bee conueyd from thense (as we haue sayde) 

 by the firme lande with cartes unto the ryuer Chagre, and from thense into this 

 owr other sea of the North, from whense they may afterward bee browght into 

 Spayne, I say that by this meanes the vyage shall bee shortened more then seuen 

 thousande leaques." 



It was, in fact, the belief in the existence of a short trade route to the Far 

 East that led to the discovery of America. Although called the discoverer of 

 the New World, Columbus saw very little of the mainland — only a short stretch 

 of the South American coast near Trinidad island on his third voyage ; and 

 Central America and Panama, on his fourth and last voyage. It was while searching 

 for the straits that might lead him to that part of East India already known to 

 geographers that Columbus entered the bay which forms a part of Chiriqui lagoon 

 and which was named for the great Admiral (Bahia del Almirante). He had fol- 

 lowed the coast from a point off northern Honduras, opposite the island of Guanaja, 

 stopping at a number of places before reaching the coast of Chiriqui. The story 

 of what he did and saw is full of interest, as being the first historic account of 

 a land whose antiquities inspired the present study. On the 25th of September, 

 1502, " the expedition cast anchor off a certain island called by the natives Quiriviri, 

 by Columbus Husita, at more than one and a half leagues distance from Cariay, 

 a population situated along the banks of a great river (probably San Juan de 

 Nicaragua). The natives came running in great numbers attracted by the strangers. 

 They were armed with bows, arrows and darts made of black palm and pointed 

 with strong fish spines. Others carried long lances and macanas [wooden weapons 

 generally edged with sharp flint], and all were nude except about the loins which 

 were wrapped in white and red cotton cloth. The men with long hair tied at the 

 back of the head, and the women with the hair trimmed (cortado). Some wore 

 plates of low-grade gold (guanin) and others wore jewels of the same metal sus- 

 pended about the neck." 1 



Before leaving this region, now called the Mosquito Coast, Columbus took on 

 board two of the natives as guides. Sailing on the 5th of October, he soon reached 

 what is now known as Boca del Toro, one of the entrances to Almirante bay. 

 " In one of the ports of these islands in Almirante bay were anchored twenty 

 canoes. The natives went about nude with their bodies painted in colors, wearing 



1 Transl. from J. Acosta. Compendio historico, etc., 2, Bogota, 1901. 



