376 REVIEWS — NOTES OX CENTRAL AMERICA. ' 



country to the southward as far as the Gulf of Xicoya. Their country was less thana 

 hundred miles long by scarcely twenty-five broad ; yet here they preserved the same 

 language and institutions, and practised the same religious rights with the people 

 of the same stock iO dwelt more than two thousand miles distant, on the plateaus 

 of Auahuac, from whom they were separated by numerous powerful nations, speak- 

 ing a different language, and having a distinct organization.'' 



Referring exclusively to the fragment of the Nahual stock in the 

 San Salvador State, the author thus proceeds : 



" As a general role the aboriginal population has been much modified by three 

 centuries of contact with the whites, and an equally long subjugation to the Spanish 

 rule, yet there are town? even in the immediate vicinity of the capital, which have 

 retained to a surprising degree their primitive customs, and in which the aboriginal 

 blood has suffered scarcely any, if indeed the slightest intermixture. In most places, 

 however, the native language has fallen into disuse, or only a few words, which 

 hava also been accepted by the whites, are retained. The original names of places, 

 however, have been preserved here with the greatest tenacity, and afford a very sure 

 guide in defining the extent of territory over which the various aboriginal nations 

 were spread. 



In the neighborhood of Sonsonate there are several large towns, inhabited al- 

 most exclusively by Indians, who also use the national language in ordinary, inter- 

 course among themselves. The same is true of some of the towns on the southern 

 flank of the volcano of San Vicente, whose inhabitants, no later than 1832, attempt- 

 ed to reassert their ancient dominion, and exterminate not only the white9, but 

 all who had a trace of European blood in their veins. 



There is, nevertheless, one portion of the State of San Salvador where the abo- 

 rigines have always maintained an almost complete isolation, and where they 

 still retain their original language, and to a great extent, their ancient rites and 

 customs. This district is known as the " Costa del Balsimo" or Balsam Coast. It 

 is about fifty miles in length by twenty to twenty-five miles in breadth, lying be- 

 tween La Libertad, the point of the city of San Salvador, and the roadstead of 

 Acajutla, near Sonsonate. This district is entirely occupied by Indians, retaining 

 habits but little changed from what they were at the period of the conquest. It is 

 only traversed by foot-paths so intricate and difficult as to baffle the efforts of the 

 Ftranger to penetrate its recesses. The difficulty of intercourse is enhanced, if not 

 by the absolute hostility of the Indians themselves, from their dislike to any in- 

 trusion on the part of the whites, be they Spaniards or foreigners. I was, however, 

 fortunate in numbering among my warmest friends in Central America two gentle- 

 men, who are the principal purchasers of the celebrated " Balaam of Peru," which 

 is obtained exclusively by these Indians, and constitutes their only article of sale, 

 and sole source of wealth. They not only have an extensive acquaintance with 

 the Indians, but also great influence over them, which was exercised in putting 

 me in relation with some of the more intelligent ones in their visits to the city of 

 San Salvador. I was thus enabled to obtain a vocabulary of their language, which 

 is nearly identical with the ancient Xahual or Mexican." 



It appears, however, from further remarks of Mr. Squier, that a 

 greater change has been produced on this remnant of the Aztec stock 

 than the above remarks would lead us to suppose. They have adopted 



