SOME CENTRAL AMERICAN INDIANS.

Press, Volume LVI, Issue 10270, 13 February 1899, Page 2

SOME CENTRAL AMERICAN INDIANS.

CuxMr.r.nty'i Jovrxal. Physically the Santa Cruz are rather a fine race, soma of the women being really pretty, even according to European standards. The hair is long, black, and straight, tlie complexion light brown, the limbs muscular and well proportioned, and tlio extremities small and delicate. The Indian's property consist- of liis Hammock. a few calabashes and earthen pots, his macliett (a heavy sword-like knife, which he uses indiscriminately for fighting, bush-clear- j in#. and agricultural work), and a cotton I suit. All these lie can carry in his maca- j pal (a netted bag slung over the bad: and j attached to the forehead): and with his] wife, and dogs trotting behind, lie frequent- , ly moves from place to place, as a new house j can lie put up in the course of a few days, and every man is his own architect and build- ! er. It is, in fact, quite common for whole j villages to move in this way when they have exhausted all the neighbouring corn-growins. | lands, as the same piece of land will only j produce one good crop of maize without: manuring. | Their religion is a curious grafting of Christianity on to their ancient faith. They will on no account excavate in the numerous ancient mounds which abound in the country, and firmly believe that they see tho small idols which are found in these walking an the busli at night. They will put their arms around the neck of a corpse, and whisper messages to it to be conveyed to their friends in the other world. If a chief is very ill, pavos del monte, or wild turkeys, are "sacrificed, and the blood made int.) small cakes, which are partaken of by the whole village. In their principal village is a large cross, left by the Mexicans when they were massacred, and this they worship as a god, believing that it has the power of speech, and approaching it only with bare feet. Their medical knowledge is very primitive, though they put up a simple fracture of one of the long bones verj- neatly, using a padding of cotton-wool all round the limb after bringing the fragments together; and over this aro nlaced a number of small, round, straight sticks, the whole being bound round with blue-gum fibres. Bleeding they peropening the temporal vein. This is a very common operation amongst them, nearly everyone undergoing it at some time in his life. A very favourite remedy is a decoction made from the charred remains of animals, different animals being used for different diseases. A large kind of rat was in great request for whooping-cough. When suffering from malaria they will lie in their hammocks with a small fire underneath ; or, lighting a fire on the earthern floor till it is very hot, they will lie on this, and alter getting thoroughly heated, take a plunge into cold water. Tho children are very much given to clay eating, which makes them pot-bellied and anemic. I asked a little girl of eight or nine years how much clay she ate in a day, and she scraped about a couple of ounces from the mu_-p_a_tered side ot the house as her daily allowance. The women do by far the greater part of the work; they rise at three in the morning to grind the duly allowance of corn for the family. This is done on a large, flat rub-bing-stone. A round stone rubber like a rolling-pin is used. The corn is placed on the flat stone, and the woman, standing behind, rolls it between the two stones, adding water from time to time till it is changed to a dough-like mass; pieces are taken from this as required, and made into flat, round cakes, which are baked on an earthen plate over the fire. These cakes are soapy in taste, and very gritty, as a large part of the stone is ground off''into the corn every time it is used. The maiae, the evening before it is required for grinding, is put into a large earthen pot, with lime, and allowed to boil all night over the fire, to remove the outer husk and soften the grain. The women wear a single loose garment of cotton, woven by themselves, but square at the neck and without sleeves; sometimes they embroider coloured devices into these round the neck and over the breast. Both men and women wear sandals made from the hide of the danto or tapir. The tribe is governed by a chief whose power is absolute; and they are very jealous of any outside intenerence, especially from the Spaniards. On one occasion the Mexican Government attempted to cut a road through tho bush from'Peto to the Santa Crus capital five of the Indians went to see the work, and were well treated and had presents made to them by the Mexicans, but on returning to their village they were at once executed ns traitors by order of the chief. Tlie usual mode of execution is curious. When the chief decides that a man has merited death he is not informed of his sentence, nor does he undergo any sort of trial, but some of the chiefs soldiers are despatched to his house, who, taking him unawares, slaughter him at once by chopping nim with their machetes.