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CHIQUITOS CHIROMANCY 491 tivated the fields, established manufactories, and carried on a remunerative trade with the neighboring Spanish settlements. D'Orbigny and other writers assert that these towns were in advance of those of the Spaniards, that their manufactures were better, and the produce of their lands superior and more abundant. Their churches and mission buildings rivalled any in the new world, and were remarkable for the costliness of their decorations. Music and singing were taught, and the church choirs were composed of natives, who attained a rare degree of excellence in the art. Thus, in 50 years after the arrival of the fathers, the Chiquitos and the neighboring tribes had be- come moulded into a civilized race. One of the most wonderful changes effected was in the language. Until the latter part of the 17th century, so slight was the intercourse be- tween the tribes that 13 different languages were spoken, of which the Chiquito was the most general. The Jesuits proceeded to sup- plant the others, with the object of making the latter the language of all the Indians set- tled in the missions. Chiquito Indians were sent among the surrounding tribes as instruc- tors, prayers and services were read in that tongue only, and all business transactions were conducted in it. These efforts gradually be- came successful, and now none but the Chi- quito tongue is used by the Indians of the prov- ince. At the time of the expulsion of the Jesuits, in 1767, the missions had acquired an extraordinary degree of prosperity ; but with the withdrawal of the fostering care which the fathers had always exercised over their con- verts, and the bad administration of the gov- ernment, they began to decline. Many of the Indians fled to the forests and relapsed into the rude ways of their fathers ; the thriving villages decreased in population, and the splendid buildings and churches of the mis- sions fell into decay. In the beginning of the present century, 34 years after the decree of expulsion, more than two thirds of the original inhabitants had disappeared ; and the popula- tion is estimated now at only about 25,000. CHIQUITOS, a province of Bolivia, in the de- partment of Santa Cruz de la Sierra, between lat. 14 and 21 S., and Ion. 57 30' and 62 30' W., bounded E. by the Paraguay river, N". by marshes and immense forests lying between it and the country of the Moxos, W. by the prov- ince of Santa Cruz, and S. by the Gran Chaco ; area, 108,000 sq. m. ; pop. about 28,000. It forms the middle part of a great plain extend- ing N. and S. at the eastern base of the Andes, from which rises a mountain system, composed of several chains of hills, which divides the waters flowing into the Amazon from those which feed the Plata. The rivers belonging to the former are the San Miguel, Serre, Eio Verde, Baures, and Barbados, tributaries of the Guapore. On the other side of the moun- tains, the Tucabaca, San Rafael, Latiriquiqui, and San Tomas all flow into the Paraguay. The country abounds in marshes and fresh- water lakes ; but the largest bodies of water are the salinas of San Jos6 and Santiago, which yield excellent salt. The climate is warm, but not so hot as its position would indicate, and is generally healthy, intermittent fevers not prevailing to any extent. The soil is rich, yet little cultivated, there being no markets for produce. Cotton, sugar, and tamarinds, how- ever, are exported to some extent. CHIRIQUI, a province on the isthmus and in the state of Panama, United States of Colom- bia, bounded N. by the Caribbean sea, S. by the Pacific, E. by the province of Veragua, and "W". by Costa Rica; area, 500 sq. m. ; pop. about 18,000. It is unsurpassed in diversity of surface, fertility of soil, and luxuriance of vegetation ; has an abundance of land fit for pasture or tillage, contains extensive beds of good coal, and has commodious harbors, both on the Caribbean sea and the Pacific. The coast is sickly, but many districts in the inte- rior are healthy. Its resources have been but imperfectly developed. The chief town, David, on the Pacific coast, has a population of about 3,000. The isthmus here is 46 m. wide. Its principal river, the Chiriqui, empties into the lagoon of the same name, formed by the Ca- ribbean sea. The lagoon is a spacious bay, ex- tending about 90 m. along the coast, and from 40 to 50 m. inland. It has three entrances, the largest of which is 2 m. wide, with an average depth of about 100 ft. It is separated from the Caribbean sea by the islands form- ing the archipelago of Chiriqui, 11 in number, the principal of which is Boca del Toro. There is a mountain called Chiriqui on the borders of Costa Rica, and a desert of the same name, peopled by about 5,000 savages. CHIROMANCY (Gr. x^P, hand, and pavrda, divination), the pretended art of judging the character and foretelling the fortune of a per- son from the aspect of his hand. The elements to be observed are the thumb and fingers, nails, joints, lines, and mountains. There are 15 joints, three to each finger, two to the thumb, and one connecting the hand and arm. There are four principal lines. The line of life (linea vitalis), which is the most important, curves from the side of the hand between the thumb and forefinger, around the base of the thumb, to the centre of the wrist joint. The line of health (linea naturalis, or cephalica) has the same origin as the line of life, and extends di- rectly across near the centre of the hand. The line of fortune or happiness (linea mensalis) is nearly parallel to the latter, and extends from near the base of the forefinger to near the base of the little finger. The line of the joint (linea rasceta) is the fold which marks the passage from the hand to the arm. There is a fifth line (linea hepatica}, not found in all hands, which extends from the middle of the wrist joint to the base of the little finger. There are seven mountains (monies), named after the seven planets of the ancients. The elevation