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

THE CONFESSORS OF THE CONQUEST.

115

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 PEOPLEA 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,

OBSERVATIONS ABOUT SMOKING.

117

and have given the sculptor credit for chiseling the deceased out of that transient respect, which a fair picture of a departed sage or hero receives even from the stranger.

I have said elsewhere that this city was celebrated, among other matters, for the graceful carriage of its females. This is not confined to the wealthier class; it is a general thing. The señorita, decked in her gayest apparel, possesses the same ease, the same quiet dignity; while the muchachas, who upon their heads balance the tinajas, sweep past with an eloquent motion which instantly attracts your attention. As a general thing, too good teeth are prevalent; and having heard the learned Professors of Medicine in the United States anathematize the practice of smoking and chewing as injurious to health and teeth, I felt relieved as I observed its universal use here, where from earliest infancy no restraints had been imposed, no Candle lectures from tidy housewifes, no vigorous handling from the hand of an enraged governor, who probably might have set the example to his erring child. Every one enjoys a smoke, old and young, male and female; and you at first deem it singular, that as you sit tete-a-tete with a smiling señorita, she should in a moment make a paper cigarita, and after lighting it, puff it once or twice, and hand it to you with a smile, that of course overcomes any remnant of antipathy yet lingering as to "draw."

I might mention some particulars for the curious, and whit

tling away as I am at facts, not fancies, and as probably some

of my readers may take a trip to Nicaragua some time, I may as well make "a clean breast" of that which I feel pressing to my lips and eager to have utterance. Now I wish to be fairly understood. I consider the Nicaraguans a primitive people in many respects-self-taught, self-dependent; rich in many virtues; and wanting only in that which I honestly believe is not solitaire in Spanish countries, but even has status in the United States-Nationalizing, and one other element essentially Spanish-want of self-government. My premises thus given, I shall be considered properly, I trust. A favorite, to whom your serenade is given, your sonnets improvised, your waltz or polka dedicated, is as shy of a loving embrace, or a warm, rich, ripe kiss, as are some of the blushing and beautiful daughters of my own country, but they do not object to being very scantily clad, and bathing with you. I must confess this want of consistency, or rather this primitive idea of fig-leafdate, was rather a "stopper in my pipe" at first; though, like other bashful young men, I soon recovered my equanimity, and enjoyed "old-fashions" in old-fashioned style. gether, I really believe I prefer them to the many new-fangled notions, under a heavy press of which, propriety is altogether lost sight of, nature checked, and good old common sense reduced to old fogyism, and its relative chances-bad fare and "back seats."

Alto