we should all get very tired i am sure if we tried to follow the spaniards into every nook and corner of the new world where they went in search of el dorado, but we are interested in knowing that the name costa rica means the rich coast, because it was one of the el dorado regions, and in panama, the little narrow strip of land which unites north and south america, they expected to find a castle of gold, while the island of porto rico is also one of the homes of el dorado. it made no difference to the spaniards whether the natives in these places had heard of the golden hearted or not. they only wanted to find the riches of the country, and would not have listened to any teaching other than that brought by the padres. so for years and years they kept on making mistakes and undergoing the most terrible hardships trying to acquire sudden wealth. 220

one of the stories that is very queer was that about the amazon queens. columbus wrote of them, and this is what he said:

"on the first island discovered on the voyage from spain to the indies, no men are allowed to live. the female warriors do not follow any womanly occupations, but use bows and arrows of cane, and cover as well as arm themselves with brazen plates, of which they have many."

he says nothing of their having great wealth, but cortez also heard of them, and wrote to the king of spain that the island was ten days distance from a province in mexico, and that many persons had gone there and seen the women warriors. he concludes his letter by saying:

"i am told that these fighting women are rich in pearls and gold."

this news was quite enough to start the spaniards on a search for the island, and, as usual, the indians gave them much contradictory information about its location. some said it was north and some said it was south, so exploring parties were sent in both directions. a man by the name of guzman came up into mexico as far north as sinaloa, looking for this wonderful island, and his march was one of devastation and murder. he not only compelled the indians to accompany him as slaves to do all the drudgery, but tortured such chiefs as he thought had gold, and in many cases killed them because they either did not give it to him quickly enough, or in as large quantities as 221 he wanted. the farther north he went the poorer the natives were.

"instead of a rich island inhabited by soldierly women," he exclaimed, in disgust, "i find a few insignificant villages occupied by women and children, because the men have all fled to the mountains. in the whole country there is not a trace of gold, pearls or treasures of any kind."

along the way he found very scant supplies of gold, and this made him furious, for he returned to the city of mexico poorer than when he left it.

pizarro and his followers in peru heard of the amazon queens, and so did sir walter raleigh and the german adventurers, but their country was said to be along the banks of a very wide river in south america. the indians called them the great ladies, and the river has since been named the amazon in their honor.

"if the great ladies do not invite you to visit them, it is a very dangerous thing to attempt," said the indian guides to orellana, the man who discovered the amazon river, and was the first to sail its entire length.

"why do you say that?" asked orellana.

"because they are tall, strong-limbed and fair, and are great fighters. they wind their long hair across their foreheads in thick bands, and defend themselves well."

"what kind of weapons do they use?" queried the spanish soldiers, when they could stop laughing at the indians for being afraid of a lot of women. 222

"they shoot with blow-pipes, bows and arrows, and have a war-club that they wield with great vigor," answered the indians, with serious faces.

"are they always so hostile to men?"

"only the grandfathers of this generation have seen them, and none save the kings of the borderers ever venture near their habitation."

"how are the kings of the borderers received by these strange women?"

"they meet them at the frontier of their possessions with bows and arrows in their hands, but after an exchange of pledges the great ladies invite the men to come and feast and dance with them. sometimes they stay a month, and then the queens escort them to the edge of their land, and send them home loaded with presents."

"what kind of presents do they give?" asked the spaniards, suddenly taking a great interest in what was being said.

"there are gold ornaments in plenty, and emeralds and pearls, besides the grains of gold carried in eagle quills."

"we will capture these great ladies," interrupted the spaniards, excitedly. "we will teach them their proper places when we get hold of them. why do you indians allow them to live in such a manner?"

"our forefathers have taught us to hold them in great veneration, because they live in a mansion of the sun. long years ago they were virgins of 223 the sun, but in the wars between the different tribes they were allowed to separate from the rest and live in a community by themselves."

"do they build houses?"

"they have temples, and keep the sacred fires burning on the altars, as was done in olden times."

"who rules them, and what do they do with their boy babies?"

"they select their own queen, and the boy babies are given to the kings of the borderers; they only keep girl babies in their tribe, and when they grow up they become either warriors or priestesses."

"how do they support themselves?"

"by hunting, fishing, weaving cloth and trading with their neighbors."

"where do they get their riches?"

"from the mountains of parima, where they have secret storehouses filled with treasures they have been hoarding for ages."

this pleased the spaniards very much, and quite decided them to make a raid upon that country. even after they had talked the matter over fully among themselves they recalled the indians and questioned them still further.

"would you be afraid to undertake to fight these strange women?" they asked, when they saw that the guides were unwilling to accompany them.

"no, we are not afraid, but we are enjoined to let them alone. none of us would ever think of disturbing them. they are very fierce, and will kill any man that they do not like." 224

"a flower offering"

225

"but you could easily conquer women warriors," urged the spaniards, now eager to commence the journey.

"it would not be so easily done as you imagine," said the guides, shaking their heads doubtfully. "the great ladies wear thick shields and cover their clothes with metal discs which turn away an arrow point."

"we can easily overcome that protection with our guns, and we are not commanded to respect them," replied the spaniards.

"you will find that they have deep underground retreats to which they fly in times of danger, and they are known to be excellent shots."

just then a party of prospectors returned from the mountains where they had been looking for gold. among the things they brought was a number of thin, flat green stones with holes pierced in each end, showing that they had been used for ornaments. the indian guides said at once they were the same kind of emerald as that worn by the amazon queens for an amulet against disease.

"how did you succeed in getting them?" they asked.

"from some indian pedlars we met with packs on their backs. they said the stones would cure the spleen, and we have been wearing them ever since."

"did you have any difficulty in persuading the pedlars to part with them?"

"no; they said they got them from a tribe of 226 women warriors many leagues to the south, but we did not believe them."

"it is all true," said the guides, "and these great ladies have been in that land a very long time."

"if we can find enough of these spleen stones to make our trip profitable we do not care whether we meet the great ladies or not," said the prospectors, when told of the proposed trip in search of the amazon queens.

as the party pushed forward into the tangled thickets, they found cocoanuts, and plantains, ripe and ready to eat, and they also found some very juicy little canteloupes growing on a vine, but none of the indians living on, or near the amazon river, could tell them where to find the queens. they searched up and down the banks for a hidden passageway which was said to guard the entrance to their mountain home, but to all questions the river made no answer. to the disappointed spaniards it looked angry, sullen and relentless in the untamed might of its turbid waters.

"it seems to be always summer here," said the weary soldiers, "but one would die of malarial poisoning if compelled to stay long."

some of the guides felt sorry for the sick men, and went into the woods and brought them sarsaparilla bark, and made them a tea of it.

"drink this," they said, "because it will cure your sickness which comes from the head. if your heart was strong with love for your brothers 227 you would find blessings in this land. as it is you seek to plunder and rob the great ladies, but the sun is their father, and he will make the mountains, trees and rocks hide them and their treasures."

"it is no use to look for these women any longer. we shall all die before we can reach them," said the leader, wearily.

and no one to this day knows just where the amazon queens lived.