6 MEMOIRS OF THE CARNEGIE MUSEUM 
finished all the women present raised a loud ery and fled to the woods and moun- 
tains hiding themselves. 
The ceremonies and rites thus resembled those of the Mexicans, the stage of 
civilization being barbaric. ‘These Indians, like the Mexicans, had folded books 
made of parchment of deer skin. In these they painted characters and figures in 
red or black ink, which ‘although neither print nor script,’ represented very clearly 
whatever they wished to record. In such books they had depicted their boundary 
lines, landed property, roads, rivers, mountains, woods, etc., in order thereby to de- 
termine these things in time of dispute, or litigation. 
The form of government in these parts is described as differing very much in 
various localities. The messengers and army officers were always believed on their 
word. They carried in the hand a fan made of plumes. On the islands in the gulf, 
however, a long staff served the purpose. On the top of the staff there was a hollow 
shell with small pebbles inside Fixing the lower end of this staff in the ground of 
the market-place, the messenger swung it back and forth producing a loud noise, 
and, calling on the people, he delivered his message. 
Asa rule a man had only one wife, but some had more, especially the chiefs. 
The caciques had as many as they desired and were entitled to the jus prime noctis. 
The largest island of the gulf, Chira, is described by Gil Gonzalez at the time of 
his visit as being about seven or eight leagues in circumference and as having a popu- 
lation of more than five hundred warriors of full age, not to mention the old men, 
women, and children. In front of the island of Cachoa, now the island of Venado, 
was the people and province of Orotifia; more to the east the people and province 
of Chorotegua ; and on the opposite side, more to the north and north-east, were the 
sierras and peoples called Giietares. The latter were said to be very numerous and 
to extend along the coast of the gulf to the frontier of the Choroteguas. 
Oviedo gives the following vivid description of one of the feasts of the Chorote- 
guas: “There are other dances in connection with which drinking is common, at 
which the wine is as frequent as the singing, until the participants drop dead-drunk 
stretched out upon the ground like hides (hechas cuéros). And many of those, who 
thus get intoxicated, remain where they happen to fall, until the effect of the wine is 
gone the next day. Any one seeing a companion fall rather envies than pities him, 
because they do not go to the feast to dance, but for the pleasure of getting drunk. 
Moreover, I would say, that in truth I and a priest and three or four other Spaniards 
who were present, would have preferred to be far away when we saw these seventy 
or eighty Indians with their chief drunk and a whole people so beastly and idola- 
trous and so steeped in vices. I am convinced that those Indians who are Christians 
