HARRY TRUMAN LIBRARY Papers of NATHANIEL DAVIS ON Despatch no. 159, April 22, 1949, American Embassy, San José, Costa Rica.
UNCL ASSINIED Enclosure no. when the Indians were leaving, the chief asked me to send the greetings of the Guatuso people to President Truman and ask him to give them a Landing field go they could have airplanes to ship their arricultural products to market instead of selling them to the thieving agents at Guatu so who didn pay enough.
These Indians in the old days had chiertainesses, the royal power descending in the female line and the practice of polyandry was common. The practice still exists to some extent. The Indians had been told that Mrs. Stone was arriving accompanied by two Ministers of State. When she showed up with five men, they assumed that two were ministers and three were husbands and kept asking repeatedly not which is the husband? but which are the husband They got me straightened out as one of the ministers and who does not have ministerial rank but is a high official in the government, as theother. So, by deduction, they assumed that the other three were Doris!
husbands. Then they discovered that Doris, Ronnie and were sharing a room which seemed to put me back in the husband cla88 and got them utterly confused.
They immediately recognized Teosfero as one of the Indian race and when they found he could read and write and teach school they urged him to stay among them and said they had just the bride for him if he would only settle down. Teoafero is not the impassive Indian but the constantly grinning one. His grin perhaps got a little wider but that was the only reaction to their tempting offer.
During the afternoon great hilarity was caused by the story that a hon had just laid an ege in my bed. The story appeared to be premature as chased her out and found not one but two heng. no eggs. had to repeat the performance several times as she seemed to find some peculiar attraction to my bed over all other possible laying places On the whole the Chiatuso Indians were far legs advanced and far more beaten down than those recently saw in the south. They have been exploited by the white man go Long that they seem to have lost all ambition and initiative.
Although must say one of them who had been trying unguccessfully for a long time to get the price of a drink out of me showed considerable initiative. Coming back he asked me if it was true that came from the United States. Then replied ifirnatively he asked what language was spoken in the United States. told hin English and he asked how to say buenos dias in English, then buenos noches, then machete, then vacaand various other words. Finally conong to the point he said, And how do you say in English Dame un trago. Give me a drink. The chief asked me to take word back to San José to don Pepe that the Cuatu so Indians UNCLASSIFIED