a feather, the sash about the waist, and the spur upon the right heel, all corresponded with the paintings of the Indians subsequent to the conquest. The eyes of the cavalier are raised, and his entire attitude denotes the moment of his embarking upon some enterprise, such as the advancement of the Holy Cross into new lands. The horse is executed with a boldness seldom seen in the engravings or paintings of the early Mexicans or Indians. The carving occupies the entire side of the cane hut; and the reply to my query, as to whom it was supposed to represent, was, "Hernando Cortez." As to its history, they knew nothing more than it had been in their family for many years. The panels encompassing it are filled with dim, and nearly obliterated tracings. They represent armed white men, with long beards, battling with nude Indians with primitive weapons; while interspersed, are seen dogs with open mouths, rushing upon the terrified natives.

In the court of our posada, I saw a large brass bell, which had rung the tocsin of a revolution in Spain, the name of which I have forgotten. I was told it was brought here by the Spaniards, but for what purpose was not known. The casting was superb, and the metal equal to the matchless cannon of Chagres Fort and those lying on the lake-side at San Carlos.

The Indians of this country were, we learn from the early chroniclers, divided into "two distinct families, corresponding with the sections of the Provinces. The Caribs maintained a

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precarious living on the Atlantic coast, with a peculiar religion." Squiers remarks: "A portion of their descendants, still further debased by the introduction of negro blood, may stil be found in the wretched Mosquitos, who, by a brazen fraud, are attempted to be passed off on the world as a sovereign nation, comprehending the duties, and capable of fulfilling the requirements of government." It is not our province, nor our intention here, to dilate upon the title of the Mosquito king to that part of the country, known as the "Mosquito Territory," and inhabited by the Moscos or Mosquitos, Valientes, Wawas, and other tribes on the shores of the Caribbean Sea, from the ninth to the fifteenth degree of north latitude. We shall speak of it hereafter, and furnish the titles of the claimants in juxtaposition, and draw our inferences.

On the river San Juan, are the few Melchoras of Carib stock, and the same is said to be true of the Woolwas, Poyas, Ramas, Toacas, and the Bravos to the southward on the Atlantic coast, toward Chiriqui Lagoon. In the interior, the natives partook of the characteristics of the Mexicans, and were divided into distinct governments. They appear to have been one people, with the exception of those living on the small isthmus between the Pacific and Lake Nicaragua. These latter spoke the language of the ancient Mexicans, and possessed their customs and religion. The other races, called

Dirians, occupied Masaya, Managua, Tipitapa, Diriomo, and Diriamba. Oviedo says, "they were true Chorotegans." The Nagrandans occupied the plain of Leon between the northern extreme of Lake Managua and the Pacific. The Orotinians settled the country south of Lake Nicaragua around the Gulf Nicoya. The Cholutecans, occupied the districts north of the Nagrandans, extending along the Gulf of Fonseca into what is now Honduras territory. The Chontals covered Chontales, northward of Lake Nicaragua, and lying between the tribes already given, and those on the Caribbean Sea. That these tribes should have migrated is no great wonder, for migrations greater occurred prior; that they should be remnants, or entire tribes from Mexico, is not at all strange-for after the conquest of Mexico, various tribes sought safety from the swords of the conquerors; and that Nicaragua should have been the home of their exile should not be as strange, as to know positively that the language of Mexico is spoken by some of them, and yet, not to believe them hereditary descendants of the Aztecs.

Many statues, or "antique stones" have been discovered, either too much broken to be entirely recovered, too bulky for the means of present transportation, or too difficult of access; and there can be but little doubt that numbers have been hidden by the Indians, who yet retain a distinct remembrance of their traditional virtues. Could these senseless blocks

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speak, with what eloquence would they tell the wrongs of their worshippers, and how depict the fanaticism of the holy fathers, who waged a long crusade against them and their venerators! Yet some of them remain, pure as when chiseled, while the Confessors of the Conquest sleep in dusty chambers, far from the scenes of their rapine, remembered by their atrocities, and revered, certainly not for their advancement of the Holy Cause. Time will weigh each in his balance, and justice will be accorded by Him who "marks the sparrow's fall," the Father of the Fatherless.

CHAPTER XII.

IDOLS GOOD TEETH CIGARITAS-UNIVERSAL USE-A PRIMITIVE PEOPLE— A CLEAN BREAST OF SEVERAL MATTERS-A VISIT WITH THE CONSUL-GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES-AN INTERESTING DOMESTIC GROUP-RECOGNITION OF A WELL-KNOWN VOICE-COMFORTS NOT EXPECTED-COUNTRY ABOUT THE CITY FRUITS FIELDS-COOKS-SOCIETY-OUR POSADA-BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF CHAMORRO-ALSO OF JOSE TRINIDAD MUNOZ-OUTSIDE OF MANAGUA-ON OUR TOUR AGAIN-SCOUTS-NEW ROAD OVER THE MOUNTAINNARROW PATH-AN INCIDENT BY THE WAY-SIDE-GLIMPSES OF THE COUNTRY

-OUTPOSTS AHEAD, AND OUR PREPARATION.

A NUMBER of statues may be found in this city, though much defaced, and so rude in execution, that for me they possessed but little interest, and probably for the reader less. I of course consider them idols; I could not mistake them for modern statues, for Nicaragua has erected no monuments, that I discovered, to the memory of any of her sages or patriots. Had I been told that these rude stone cuttings portrayed a Sophocles or a Hannibal, I should have questioned the likenesses,