The Güetares made their homes on the slopes of the Turialba. Irazú and Barba to the southeast of the Mexicans and Chorotegas, and, in a less degree, they shared in the skill and advancement of the latter, but their pottery was inferior in artistic method and quality of material and workmanship, judging from collections in the National Museum of Costa Rica.
Peralta says, “The Nahuas and Mangues of the regions of Nicoya have completely disappeared, although the first still survive in Mexico, and the latter are represented here and there by a descendant in Masava (Nicaragua) and in Acalá (Chiapas).” The Nahuas (Aztecs) left notable monuments of their material civilization and of their scientific attainments, and a language that served as the instrument of a cultivated and thoughtful race.
During the colonial period the Spaniards, in several efforts to explore the River Frio, were driven back by the Guatuso Indians, who still occupy the greater part of its valley and the slopes of the volcanic mountains. It was not until 1856 that a small expedition penetrated across the country to the Rio Frio from the mouth of the River Arenal, a branch of the San Carlos. They reported fertile, hilly slopes in its upper reaches, and beautiful plains for most of the distance traversed to its mouth.
The rubber collectors of Nicaragua for many years have ascended the Rio Frio and other rivers in canoes and plundered the settlements, plantations and property of the Indians, forcing them to retire further up the river. The Guatusos live in palenques (stockades), and their houses are similar to the maloccas among Amazon tribes. Each palenque shelters several families, who cook their food at separate fires built on the ground. They live principally on plantains, yucca, maize, sugar cane, cacao, game and fish, the latter being abundant in the Rio Frio. They also cultivate and smoke tobacco.
Their weapons are bows, arrows, stone axes, and wooden knives. They drink chicha, made by fermenting roasted green plantains, and also chicha mascada de maiz. As the bishop of Costa Rica, Dr. Bernardo A. Thiel, a very noted ethnologist and archæologist, says:
“The Guatuso country is probably one of the most delightful portions of Costa Rica. Every tropical product can be grown there in abundance, for the lands are immeasurably rich and the climate one of the best in the tropical belt.”
The last census of the Guatuso Indians is as follows:
| Palenques. | Men. | Women. | Children. | Total. | Graves. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| On the river Tojifo: | |||||
| Tojifo | 26 | 12 | 9 | 47 | 25 |
| Margarita | 24 | 13 | 17 | 54 | 60 |
| Pedro Joaquin | 15 | 11 | 13 | 39 | 101 |
| Sabara | 8 | 5 | 7 | 20 | 18 |
| Culolo | 9 | 8 | 4 | 21 | 23 |
| Napoleon | 8 | 5 | 3 | 16 | 36 |
| On the river Cucaracha: | |||||
| Juana | 8 | 5 | 4 | 17 | 26 |
| On the river La Muerte: | |||||
| Congo | 10 | 3 | 3 | 16 | 9 |
| La Muerte | 8 | 3 | 1 | 12 | — |
| On the river Pataste: | |||||
| San Juan | 5 | 1 | 1 | 8 | — |
| Grecia | 11 | 4 | 2 | 17 | — |
| Total | 132 | 70 | 64 | 266 | 298 |
Of the Talamanca Indians, Professor H. Pittier distinguishes two tribes, the Brilio and Cabécar. The first live in the valleys and mountains of Urén and Arari and along the lower course of the Coen River, while the Cabécars dwell in the upper parts of the Coen. Other Indians, probably of the Tiribi tribe, live in the upper part of the Teliri valley.
The Talamanca Indians have a higher grade of civilization than the neighboring Boruca or Brunca and Térraba Indians.