The Native Races (Vol. 1-5). Hubert Howe Bancroft

Nicaraguans gave as a reason for speaking in whispers at night, that loud talking attracts mosquitos. The Quichés, of Istlávacan, among others, believe in certain evil and certain good days, and arrange their undertakings accordingly. When meeting a stranger, they present the forehead to be touched, thinking that a beneficial power is imparted to them by this means. They still adhere to their sorcerers, who are called in upon all important occasions, to predict the future, exorcise evil spirits and the like, with the aid of various decoctions and incantations. The Chontales have diviners who, with the aid of drugs, taken after a fast, fall into a trance, during which they prophesy. They form a sort of guild, and live alone in the mountains with a few pupils, who support them in return for the instruction received. Although idolatry proper is abolished, some ancient practices still live, blended with their Christian worship, and it is said that tribes inhabiting the remote mountain regions still keep up their old rites in secret. Dollfus is apparently inclined to believe that the songs he heard the natives chant every morning and evening may be the relic of some ancient religious ceremony. The Itzas hold deer sacred, and these animals were consequently quite familiar with man, before the conquerors subdued the country. The Lacandones are said to have been the last who publicly worshiped in their temple, and whose priests sacrificed animals to idols. By the side of the temple stood two other large buildings used as meeting-houses, one for men, the other for women. Dogs and tame parrots formed part of their domestic establishment. The native is very taciturn before strangers, but on paying a visit to friends he will deliver long harangues full of repetition. It is almost impossible to obtain a direct answer from him to any question. Another peculiarity with many is to hoard money at the expense of bodily comfort. It is buried in some secret place, and the owner dies without even caring to inform his kin of the whereabouts of his treasures. The favorite occupation of the people is to act as porters, and Guatemala certainly possesses the most excellent carriers, who are trained for the business from an early age. They usually go in files, headed by a chief, all armed with long staffs and water-proof palm-leaf mats, and travel from twenty to thirty miles a day, for days in succession, without suffering any inconvenience. The weight varies from one hundred to two hundred and fifty pounds, according to road and distance, and is carried on the back, supported by straps passed over the forehead and shoulders. They are very moderate in eating, and never drink cold water if they can avoid it; when tired, they stretch themselves at full length on the ground, and are speedily refreshed. Women are also accustomed to carry burdens, and may frequently be seen taking several filled pitchers to market in nets suspended from their forehead and shoulders. Water they usually bring in jars balanced on the head.976

      MEDICAL PRACTICE.

      The ruling diseases are small-pox, which makes yearly havoc; dysentery, which is also not uncommon in the highlands during the summer; and leprosy, manifested by wounds and eruptions, and caused by filth, immoral habits, and bad food. In some parts of Nicaragua, the latter disease breaks out in horny excrescences, similar in appearance to the tips of cow-horns. Rheumatism and chest diseases are rare, in spite of their rough life. Superstitious practices and empirical recipes transmitted from their ancestors are the remedies resorted to. Hot bathing is the favorite treatment. They are skillful at blood-letting, making very small punctures, and applying a pinch of salt to them after the operation is ended. Cauterizing wounds to prevent inflammation is not uncommon, and does not affect the patient much. The principal remedy of the Chorotegans consists of a decoction from various herbs injected by means of a tube. Some tribes of the highlands call in sorcerers to knead and suck the suffering part. After performing a variety of antics and grimaces, the wise man produces a black substance from the mouth, which he announces as the cause of the sickness; the friends of the patient take this matter and trample it to pieces amidst noisy demonstrations.977

      Their dead are washed, and dressed in a fresh suit; friends then assemble to express their regard and sorrow by burning copal and performing a wild dance round the corpse, which is buried with all its belongings, as well as food for sustenance on the long journey. The Itzas, inhabiting the islands in the lake Peten, are said to have thrown their dead into the lake, for want of room.978

      The character of the Guatemalans exhibits a number of excellent traits. They have always been a gentle race, and easily led by kindness, but centuries of oppression have thrown over them a timid, brooding spirit. Far from warlike, they have nevertheless proved themselves efficient soldiers during the late civil wars. Their honesty and faithfulness to a trust or engagement is universally admitted, and every traveler bears witness to their hospitality and obliging disposition. Although taciturn before strangers, whom they naturally distrust, they are quite voluble and merry among themselves, especially the women; their mirth, however, wants the ring of true happiness. Looking at the darker side, it is found that drunkenness stands preëminent, and if the native is not oftener drunk, it is because the means for carousing are wanting. Surrounded by a bountiful nature, he is naturally lazy and improvident, whole days being passed in dreamy inaction, without a symptom of ennui. He is obstinate, and clings to ancient customs, yet he will not dispute with you, but tacitly forms his own opinion. Taught to be humble, he does not possess much manliness, has a certain cunning, will weep at trifles, and is apt to be vindictive, especially if his jealousy is aroused. The highlanders form an exception to these general characteristics in many respects. The purer air of the mountain has infused in them a certain independent energy, and industry. Nor are the women to be classed as lazy, for their position is rather that of slaves than of wives, yet they are vivacious and not devoid of coquetry, but of undisputed modesty. Many of the remoter tribes are brave, and the Manches, for instance, behaved lately in so spirited a manner as to compel the government to treat with them. The Itzas are said to have been warlike and cruel, but their neighbors the Lacandones are not so ferocious as supposed. The Quichés bear a high character for industry, and intelligence, while those of Rabinal excel in truthfulness, honesty, and morality. The Vera Paz tribes are less active and industrious than those of the plateau; this applies especially to the eastern nations who are also more stupid than the western. The Salvador people are noted for their phlegmatic temperament, and the provoked stranger who seeks to hurry them, is merely laughed at; otherwise they, as well as the Nicaraguans, are more docile and industrious than the Guatemalans, but also more superstitious. Scherzer thinks that they have all the inclination for becoming robbers, but want the energy. The Aztec remnants in Nicaragua are particularly patient and thrifty, but extremely shy and brooding. The Chontales, on the other hand, are said to have been a savage and debased race, while the Cholutecs were brave and cruel but subject to petticoat rule. Opinions concerning the intelligence of the natives and their prospect of advancement are varied, some affirming that they are dull and spiritless, incapable of making any progress, while others assign them a high character and intelligence, which, properly directed, would give them a prominent position.979

      THE MOSQUITOS.

      The Mosquitos, the second division of the Central American group, are at the present day composed in part of an incongruous mixture of Carib colonists and negro importations, and in part of a pure native element. Owing to the independent spirit of the tribes along the central chain of mountains, which successfully resisted the attempts of Spaniards to penetrate the territory, and to the unhealthy climate of the coast, this country, with the exception of the northern part of Honduras, has as yet escaped subjection to the white race. The country, aside from the sea-shore, possesses many attractive features. The transverse ranges, radiating from the principal chain, form a series of terraces which gradually lessen in elevation, until they disappear in a low coast region. Between them innumerable rivers, fed by the moisture-laden sea-winds, now rushing boisterously from heavily wooded heights, now sluggishly wending their way through luxuriant prairie-land, flow through a region of most pleasing variety, and at last empty into vast lagoons bordering the ocean. The aborigines still form the greater part of the population, and are composed of a large number of tribes which, while practicing agriculture to a limited extent, subsist chiefly on natural fruits and on the products of the chase. Excepting the small tribes of the eastern Mosquito country, Mr. Squier, who has given much patient research to their languages, includes the natives of this sub-division among MOSQUITO NATIONS. the Lenca family, at the head of which stand the Guajiqueros in western Honduras, essentially an agricultural people. East of these are the Xicaques, and Poyas, names given to a collection of closely related tribes, some of which have been brought under the subjugating influences of the missionary Fathers,