Excerpt from On the Indian Tribes and Languages of Costa Rica

Of half a dozen persons with whom I have conversed people who have been on the upper Rio Frio, all, with one exception, distinctly assert that they have seen people of light color and with comparatively light hair among them. One person went so far as to assert, that in a fracas in which be nearly lost his life, his most valiant and dangerous Opponent was a young woman, a mere girl, as white as an Englishwoman, (tan rubia como una Inglesa). Another, who had a more peaceful Opportunity of seeing a party of two or three women, himself unseen, used the same words in describing one of them. I believe, however, that these were ex aggerations. Still another person told me that they were of all shades from a rather light Indian color, to nearly white, the same as our selves (referring to the varying shades in the mixed blood of the Costa Rican peasantry). However, in an interesting conversation with Don Tomas Guardia, President of Costa Rica, I learned that when, some years ago, he headed a party passing through their country for military purposes, they encountered one or more bodies of these people and had some skirmishes with them. He says they are ordinarily of the color of other Indians, although rare exceptions exist, of individuals markedly lighter than the others, and really possessing a comparatively white skin and brownish or reddish hair. This is in keeping with the statements made to me by others whom I consider reliable, and must, I think, in defer ence to the authors be taken as final.

The origin of light complexions among an isolated tribe of Indians has, of course, been the source of much speculation, but General Guardia, and Don Rafael Acosta, an intelligent gentleman of San Ramon, not far from the borders of the Guatuso country, both suggested to me, independently, the same theory. They claim that when, a couple of centuries ago, the town of Esparza was sacked by the English freebooters, many of the in habitants took refuge in the mountains, and were never afterwards heard of. These refugees were many of them pure whites, men and women. New from Esparza, it is only about three or four days' journey to the borders of the Guatuso country, and it does not seem improbable that some of these poor wretches may have found their way there. If this is really the case, the admixture of blood, and consequent lightening of color is satisfactorily accounted for.

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