[Illustration: EARTHENWARE WHISTLE FROM NICARAGUA.]
The _Pito_, or Whistle, was a simpler instrument than the _Ollita_.
It, also, was frequently made of baked clay, and in odd shapes. The
one shown in the following cut was found on the Island del Zapatero,
in Lake Nicaragua, which was also a possession of the Nahuas. Two
apertures lead into the cavity of the instrument. When they are
closed with the fingers, a higher note is produced than when they
are open.
[Illustration: NATIVE FLUTE MELODIES.]
In the investigations prosecuted in Nicaragua by Dr. J. F.
Bransford, he discovered many of these whistles in ancient burial
mounds. Indeed, in the district of Nicoya, inhabited at the period
of the Conquest by the Mangues, he states that "every body appeared
to have been interred with a small earthen vessel and a whistle."[38]
The latter are usually of odd shapes, representing some animal.