Honduras The Land of Great Depths *-, '-; -i-^ - General Bogran, Pi-fsideiit ul Huiiiliiras. HON^DUEAS: THE LAND OE GREAT DEPTHS. MAP AND PORTRAITS. CECIL CHARLES, AUTHOR OF " SAN JOSE DE COSTA RICA," TRANSLATOR OF ^ BIOLLEY'S "COSTA RICA AND HER FUTURE," ETC, ^YOFCO.Y- r ' / chicago and new york: Rand, McNally &. Company, Publishers. 1890. '>^^J./ \ ~>;";'^ Copyright, 1890, by Rand, McNally & Co., Chicago., Hooduraii. I. 1 r.qp"^ TO the president of honduras, se:Sor general don luis bogran, IN testimony of admiration and esteem. (5) CONTENTS. Introduction. Part I.— Saddle and Hajimock. Page, I. Getting Ashore and a Start 11 II. On the Road up to the Capital 20 III. Tegucigalpa, City of the Silver Hills 25 IV. Sunshine and Storm 36 V. How to be Comfortable 44 Part II. — Rock and River. I. The Oldest Mines 53 II. Mines of Importance 63 III. Life in a Mining Camp 71 lY. Some Suggestions 80 V. The Opals of Honduras 86 Part III. — Immigration and Agriculture. I. Some Plans and Attempts to Colonize 91 II. Mr. Packer's Diary 95 III. Condition of the Country 102 IV. Some Folks You May or May Not Meet 114 Y. Some Hints for Agriculturists 120 YI. Live-stock, Poultry, Etc 136 YII. The Pita 142 Part IY. — Hammock and Saddle. I. The First Day Out 149 II. Night in a Hammock 158 III. Comayagua 164 IY. On to Yojoa 170 (7) 8 CO INTENTS. Page. V. The Finish 176 VI. A Resume 181 Appendix. General Information . . 187 Some Spanish Words 191 Nomenclature 193 Importations of Merchandise 195 INTRODUCTION. The preparation of this little work, upon a country in which it was my good fortune to pass many happy days, and among the people of which I trust that even in absence I may count warm friends, has been from first to last a labor of love. Realizing at the outset that this would prove the case, and that under such circumstances the danger of depicting with over-enthusiasm must be guarded against, I determined to write with moderation upon all topics introduced. It is possible that in my desire not to err in the one direction I have gone too far to the other extreme, and allowed some chapters to become more prosy than was necessary. Nevertheless, the purpose of the book is less to entertain the casual reader than to supply practical information to a vast number of per- sons who contemplate seeking their fortunes in Honduras, and who desire to become ac- quainted first with some of its customs, resources, and industries. To such I believe it C9) 10 INTRODUCTION^. will prove of value, as far as the experience of one person may avail another. I have to acknowledge the very valuable assistance afforded me by the Honduras Progress and its able editor, Dr. R. Fritz- gartner, to whom I am indebted for informa- tion unobtainable elsewhere. I have quoted also from various other writers of interesting articles, to whom I have not failed to credit the quoted extracts, and to whom I am under lasting obligations. If the book shall j)!*©^"© successful in that for which it is intended, I shall be more than content as The Author. .<^^?^, ^^- DR. Fritzgartner. THE REPIBLIC OF HONDURAS. PAKT I. SADDLE AND HAMMOCK. I. GETTING ASHORE AND A START. It was August when I first arrived in Teguci- galpa. I am sure I sliall never forget riding in through Comayguela, where all the people— or it seemed all— came to the door-ways and out into the street to survey the newest *' Gringos." It was late afternoon. I was very tired, very stiff, very sun-burned, very humble in the con- sciousness of not knowing how to sit a mule with a hard gait or to speak Spanish. The journey up from Amapala had been exhausting. I do not know why people should prefer to go ^ to Honduras via the Isthmus and Amapala. It is so much more direct by New Orleans and Puerto Cortez. Nevertheless, I had left New York by the Pacific Mail steamer of July 1st, had landed on the 10th in Colon, and remained (11) 12 THE EEPUBLIC OF HONDUKAS. there over night, although the mosquitoes held the most extraordinary sort of bacchanalian revels inside my mosquito canopy, and sleep was difficult. Next day I had crossed the Isthmus, by rail, and sailed at seven p. m. in a dubious coasting steamer (since discarded) with one of the kindest and cleverest com- manders that exist. The coasting steamer touched at Puntarenas, Costa Rica, where I went ashore to stand for the first time on Cen- tral American soil — San Juan del Sur, and Co- rinto of Nicaragua in turn. On the fifth night we should have dropped anchor before twelve in Amapala Bay, but a tremendous storm made imperative our putting out to sea. It was near morning when the anchor was down and a couple of small boats brought out waiting friends to board the steamer. Large vessels do not make the wharf in Amapala. We did not go ashore until six o'clock. Dawn brought slowly out of the soft obscurity — for after the storm there was the infinite quietude of a moonless tropical night — a sweet and smiling picture, Tigre Island with its splendid verdure, its sunlit shores inviting to a new world. The queer little garrison of barefooted, jean-clad soldiers interested me on GETTING ASHORE AND A START. 13 landing. They filed from the cuartel down to the plaza, drilled a little, were inspected, and returned to their quarters. But for the bugle notes and the soft sounds of the sea- water, the place was utterly quiet. The main street still showed signs of the previous night's storm; but the sky above was a glorious azure. As the sun rose gradually higher and higher, the light grew more daz- zling upon land and sea. The blaze was intense on one who stood out of the shade; but under an umbrella or in the shadow of a door- way, one only felt the cool, pure sweep of wind from the sea. I remained in Amapala until about noon, when, having breakfasted very comfortably and passed the custom-house scrutinies, I again embarked for the mainland. The breakfast, it may be mentioned without irrelevance, consisted of eggs, fried chicken, fried oysters, frijoles, tortillas, cheese, excel- lent bread, super-excellent coffee with milk, and wine. It was provided by a sort of inn, dignified with the name "hotel." The voyage to the mainland^ was about my * A small steamer now makes regular trips from Amapala to San Lorenzo and La Brea. 14 THE EEPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. first curious experience in the country. The boat was apparently nothing but a huge hol- lowed-out tree. It had a cax)tain and half a dozen oarsmen. It was provided with one sail and a canvas covering, which, however, we asked to have removed, preferring to bear the unhindered blaze of the sun rather than shut out the splendid sea-breeze. The luggage filled the bottom of the boat, and we sat upon it. The captain steered at the stern, and the rowers occupied the forward part. They were the first copper-hued sons of Honduras that I made any studies of. They wore two garments — white jacket and trousers — and a hat to begin. When they had become iDretty warm from rowing, they strij)ped oft' the jackets and stood revealed, without thought of immodesty, in all their pride of muscular biceps and bronze statue- like chests. Their oars were broom-shaped two- piece affairs, which they handled somewhat like brooms, reminding me of the old lady in Stockton's story, who swept herself ashore after the shipwreck. The voyage to the mainland was long enough to be tedious, save lor the diversion of watch- ing the crew. They did not all row at once, GETTING ASHORE AND A START. 15 but took turns at it, and by-and-by they hoisted the sail and let tlie wind carry us along. The captain maintained a dignified but smiling countenance, and steered us slowly toward the green banks of the mainland. It was six in the evening when we sprang upon terra firma at San Lorenzo. It was not much of a place. There was one habitation, a bodega or warehouse. But there were two clever young English-speaking gen- tlemen to interpret and give points, and, in short, behave most sweetly toward a bewildered new arrival. The pack and saddle mules for our party were in waiting; but we decided to remain in the bodega all night and make an early morn- ing start. We had comida. I will say frankly it was very plain, gotten up rather extempore, cooked on one of the out-door native stoves. I believe it consisted of eggs, tortillas, queso, and coffee without milk. It was, however, wholesome and satisfying, for we were hungry. The night in the bodega was not altogether .pleasant. We foreigners slept in our ham- mocks. There were seven human beings, two or more pigs, half a dozen chickens, a rooster 16 THE REPUBLIC OF HOISTDUEAS. who crowed conscientiously, and not a few insects. I was glad enough when the lirst streak of daylight crept through the wide cracks about the door. The bodega keeper and his wife arose and went forth about their duties. The rest of us were not slow to quit our ham- mock suspense, or suspension, and after coffee and pan dulce, we were in the saddle. I am ready to acknowledge that until that moment I never really knew what riding meant. It was not at all like having a noble, saddle-horse in the bridle-path of Central Park, or on the boulevards of some breezy Western city. It was being pounded up and down on the hardest-gaited old villain of a quadruped that ever wagged his long ears or flourished his heels in the air. The sun grew very hot as we rode. The country was level; the scenery was not es- pecially tropical. There was not the sight of a human habitation, but now and then we met pack-mules and their owners plodding contentedly behind them. Being new to a mule's back, I was not always securely seated; my hat would bob over my eyes, and a cramp crept into my knees. I was uncomfortable and cross before reaching Pespire. Had we GETTING ASHORE AND A START. 17 made fairly good time, we should have reached Pespire at ten or eleven o' clock at the latest. It is but twenty miles inland. The road is excellent, being the first twenty miles of the wagon-way constructed by President Bogran from the coast to the capital, at a cost of a hundred thousand dollars. Ox-carts travel over it, but the most of the freight is carried on mule-back — two hundred and fifty pounds equally divided — two one hundred and twenty- five pound packages or boxes constituting a load. Strangers going to Honduras should always remember to carry small stout trunks in pairs, not weighing over one hundred, or one hundred and twenty -five XDOunds at most, apiece. With luggage in this convenient shape, one can get about easily and without delay. Mules can be obtained at Pespire at from five to ten dollars apiece for freight or passenger transportation to the caj)ital. I have heard some talk of a pony express between Teguci- galpa and San Lorenzo, but the project has never been definitely undertaken. It would pay, I believe, for there is a vast amount of freight brought by steamers to Amapala and lightered over to the mainland, to lie waiting- its turn in the bodega for weeks, if not months. 2 is THE EEPUBLIC OF HONDUEAS. I remember a gentleman wlio ordered a dress suit to be sent Mm from 'New York for the Fourth of July. It was sent promptly and arrived up at the cax)ital at the Christmas holidays. We did not reach Pespire until- after one o' clock, the very hottest part of the day. We found a pretty little white adobe town, with a cathedral in Moorish style of architecture. A wide but shallow river flows through the town. The white stones of its bed blaze dazzlingly in the noon-day sun, and he who touches them with his bare fingers is apt to get a bad burn. Pespire is one of the principal towns of the department of Choluteca. But it has no hotel accommodations. The best arrangement you can make will give you but a room — empty of furniture, but probably having human occupants — in which to swing your hammock. If you are acquainted with any of the principal mining companies, or bring letters to their managers, you may be accom- modated with a canvas cot and a blanket or two at one of their agencies. Fortunately, I was so circumstanced. I had not wished or intended to remain over night in Pespire. It was our plan to i3roceed to La Yenta, twelve GETTING ASHORE ATs^D A START. 19 miles further on— a place that is a thousand feet above sea-level. It is well, as a rule, for strangers arriving for the hrst^time in Honduras to make haste up to the interior, and to remain there until acclimated — not that the coast is such a deadly place as some would have one believe, but as a matter of precaution. At the time I am writing of I had more than an ordi- nary fear of tropical lowlands. The remark of a (Certain gentleman, who, as the general manager of an im]3ortant mining company, was in the habit of taking out a number of Amer- ican employes with him every year from New York to Honduras, had made a dee]) imi)ression upon me. The remark was to the effect that, having once landed on Honduras soil, he never allowed his party to rest for a moment, day or night, until they had reached LaYenta; because, he said, 7ie did not carry coffins wiili Mm. Months afterward I discovered his reason for this ghastly exaggeration in the fact that he desired to prevent the wives of some of the emplo^^es he was taking out wishing to accom- pany them. Women in a mining camp always made trouble, he said. We had breakfast at Pespire, brought to us at the mining company's agency. It was re- 20 THE REPtJBLlC OF HOlStDtTRAS. markably good, or else we were very hungry. None but the natives have the peculiar knack of cooking the Mjoles so that you can eat a platter full and sigh for greater capacity. The coffee, too, was so good ! I can not understand why such vile decoctions are served to one on certain steamshixD lines under the name of this delicious beverage. And in Honduras we had the reality to contrast with the base imitation of the past fortnight. When we had finished, it was nearly three o'clock. The sky had clouded over. Soon a sj)lendid tropical rain-storm, with occasional thunderous reverberations, had burst upon us. It rained tremendously for an hour or two. The Pespire agent x)ersuaded us that it would be highly unwise to set out again that night. He was hospitable in regard to cots and bed- clothes, and we concluded to remain and make an early start. II. ON THE ROAD UP TO THE CAPITAL. From Pespire to La Venta is an easy ride, and yet an uneasy one. The distance is slight — twelve miles at a guess. But what ui3s and ON THE EOAD UP TO THE CAPITAL. 21 downs ! What climbings to rise a thousand feet above the ocean! Now the difference be- tween the two worlds, the temperate and the tropical begins to dawn u^Don the traveler. Now, in the fresh of the early morning, ere the sun is high enough to scorch your shoulders and arms — which, by the way, you will be wise to cover with a large white towel — you gaze on either side of your path and begin to feel a sense of strangeness. There is a curious, broken look of the ground. As a gentleman once said/ to me, it looks as if Omni]3otent hands hadi caught up huge masses of rock and earth and\ flung them hither and thither to form an awe- inspiring, inexplicable region of wildness. Now the traveler begins to realize for the first time the beauty of the prosaic mule. This beauty lies wholly in his sure and wise footed- ness. He steps cautiously down the stony road where it makes an abrupt descent; he leaps an ugly rut; he springs nimbly up a hill; he keeps on cheerfully and sagely, and does all the necessary thinking for you — except that as to how you shall best sit in your saddle. La Yenta is a small adobe village. There is a posada, which you easily find on inquiry. Your animals should be rested here, and fed if 22 THE REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. you like. The old woman of the iDosada is not especially agile, but she can get you a good breakfast. We had the native dishes — eggs, chicken, tortillas, and beans. The house was but a single- roomed hut, clean, with an earthen floor. A hammock swung in the center, into which I piled rather stiffly, I remember, and from which breakfast was hardly enough to tempt me to rise. The old lady overcharged us for the meal, but we did not complain. We started out bravely again. This time we had a much longer distance to cover before nightfall, that of ten leguas, about thirty miles, which, with the morning's twelve, would make the day's Journey forty-two miles. This would bring us to Sabanagrande. At this x)lace were several Americans of the San Marcos Mining Company, to whom we had introductions, and we felt assured of kindly courtesies. There was no hotel then, as there is at present. We did not make great sjDeed that afternoon. At first , the landscape interested us, and we rode slowly to look around. The pita and the various cacti, of which we knew absolutely nothing — not even a name— became frequent. The road was fairly good, but that ON THE KOAD UP TO THE CAPITAL. 23 there was a great deal of climbing and a greater deal of jogging down into little declivities, which to a saddle-sore traveler is anything but bliss. The afternoon fled. All of a sudden dusk came on. We were not there. We beat ujj our weary animals, and kept on for another hour or two. My companion tried to cheer me up, but I was on the brink of a breaking- down when at last we reached the village. The door of one of the little low houses opened as we rode u^d. There was the glow of warm lamp-light, kindly American voices, and the smell of freshly steeped tea ! They had expected us, and supper was pre- pared. I don't know that anything else ever tasted as good to me as that tea. We occupied the newly built house of a gentleman who was absent at a camp several leagues distant, but who, knowing we were coming, had most kindly tendered us his dwelling for the night. It was only a two-room affair, with rough inner walls and a door through which daylight crept in wide bars early the next morning; but it was clea», and there was a comfortable bed and wash-stand and a small looking-glass. It seemed like recovering civilization. The distance on to Tegucigaljoa now was but 24 THE KEPUBLIC OF HONDUEAS. thirty miles, mostly a sx)leiidid road. Much refreshed by a good rest and sound sleep — the muscular lameness, having disappeared, as it always does after the second day in the saddle — we made excellent time. Now we were on the heights. At one point we could see Tegu- cigalpa glistening whitely in the distance, twenty miles away. The sun ascended the heavens, and its rays burnt ux^on ns when we rode out from under the shade of magnifi- cent trees; but we did not mind this, for the sjDlendid breeze of the mountains sweiDt to and fro, refreshing and invigorating us. Half-way to the capital we were galloping across Cerro de Hule, a grand wind-swept table-like sum- mit, five or six thousand feet above sea-level. Here it was deliciously cool. There was a fine mist in the air. A solitary house, known to my companions as a posada, from previous investi- gations, became apparent at noon. We made a brief stop and obtained milk and tortillas. From Cerro de Hule on to Tegucigalpa we could have driven a four-in-hand. There was no more fording of streams or threading of precipitous winding paths. The wide road was white and smooth, a veritable boulevard. The road-bed looked to be of limestone. There CITY OF THE SILVER HILLS. 25 were capital bridges. We began to see fenced- I in property, with stone walls and cactus hedges, and to guess at farms and estates. ', The indescribable opulence of tropical nature / was more strikingly j)erceptible now, because placed in contrast with the elements of civili- j zation. ■ We began to see houses, comfortable looking places, mostly of one story, to be sure, but long and of ample breadth, with airy porches, in \ whose shade hammocks swung invitingly. Built of adobe, like almost all the buildings, and roofed with the heavy red tiles that cost about two cents apiece and are used by the thousand for all dwellings, the interiors could not be other than impervious alike to heat or dampness, and comfortable in proportion. It was after six when we rode through Co- mayguela, that supplementary part of Teguci- galpa which lies on the other side of the Rio Grande. III. TEGUCIGALPA, CITY OF THE SILVER HILLS. I could make a book entire about this quaint and quiet town. It is situated about three thousand two hundred feet above sea-level, 26 THE REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. upon a plateau enclosed by mountains rising some three thousand feet still higher. To the north and immediately back of the city is " LaLeona," of volcanic formation. Up and around the side of this mountain, one sees the white cart-road leading off to San Juancito, twenty miles distant, where are situated the Rosario Mining Company's works. By and by — not yet — we shall set off thither. There are three or four good hotels at Tegu- cigaliDa. If you stop, as I did, not far from the presidential palace, you are quite in the center of town, convenient to the post-office, the x)laza, the cathedral. Very early in the morning you awaken, against your will. They are beating the re- veille in the cuartel. The notes of the bugle come sweetly out of the distance. You open your still heavy eyes and see chinks of light overhead. They grow wider and brighter as you gaze. You study them uncomj)rehend- ingly for awhile. The room is dark otherwise. After awhile you crawl out of bed, feel for your shoes, and put them on with vague appre- hensions of alacranes. Then you grope your way to the window, which is perhaps window and door combined. After fumbling for a time, CITY OF THE SILVER HILLS. 27 you grasp a monstrous iron bolt and slip it back. The ponderous wooden shutters — there are few glass windows in the country — swing open. All the splendid freshness of the morn- ing pours in and blinds you for the moment. You stand there dazzled by the beauty of the heavens; you draw long, delicious breaths. Oh, this is weather that they might have in Para- dise ! Already — perhaps it is six o'clock — people are astir in the streets. They rise early. You dress yourself and hurry out to the dining- room. It is a bare-looking place with imita- tion stone floor, some little tables and chairs. There are great windows with their heavy shut- ters wide open, through which the wind sweeps coolly and the pleasant sunlight looks in. If you do not hurry and take your coffee and pan dulce or pan frances, you will be in dan- ger of feeling a most untropical appetite for breakfast, which is not served before ten or eleven o'clock. After taking coffee you will do well to set out and see the town. But it is so strangely quiet, you say. Even so. There are no noisy mills, or factories, no steam- whistles, no engine-bells, not even the rattling of carriage-wheels in the 28 THE EEPUBLIC OF HONDUEAS. narrow streets of Tegucigalpa. Tliere are only the human footfalls and the sound of human voices, or the soft-stepping unshod horses and mules with their packs projecting on either side, or at rare intervals a curious two-wheeled chariot drawn by oxen. / Here at Tegucigalpa — an Indian name signi- ; fying city of the silver hills — is the seat of government. That two-story curious building, pleasantly painted in drab and rose-color, is the President's palace. It is an extensive build- ing; its walls are of tremendous thickness, and the interior is well furnished. Here, during certain hours of the day, anyone may obtain audience with a truly American President, General Don Luis Bogran. Passing on down the street which leads to the fine stone bridge across the Rio Grande to Comayguela — the same bridge, several hundred feet in length, over which you rode into the city on your arrival — you come to the post- office and the central telegraph office. The postal system is very good, and the telegraphic I supposed to be excellent, the general superin- ( tendent of both being an American, Mr. Bert Cecil. If you keep on down to the river you may see some of the native washerwomen beat- CITY OF THE SILVER HILLS. 39 / Y ing the clothes to spotless whiteness on the I great stones below. But possibly you will pre- ( fer to return and take a look next at the cathe- dral. It is of Moorish style, this great white edifice. It has a clock, and a bell that is rung more energetically than melodiously. It is very old. There are no seats; pious people are sup- posed to kneel and pray when they are in / church. There is an altar which, they say, / was once of solid gold, but much of the pre- / cious metal has disappeared in the course of I years. Do you care to visit the university next? It is near the |)alace. Do you wish to go presently to a young ladies' seminary ? There is one called " El Progreso." There are eighty . to one hundred ]3U]3ils. The principal is Miss Jesusa Medina, a charming and clever young lady — not at all the prim and precise type of lady teacher we know in the United States — who speaks English gracefully, having been educated in Guatemala. In this seminary are taught all the elementary branches, languages, j and a good deal of useful and ornamental / handiwork as well. Before starting out to see the city, you will most probably have met a gentleman whom I 30 THE REPUBLIC OF HOKBURAS. do not hesitate to style tlie good angel of the foreigners in Honduras. This is Dr. Reinhold Fritzgartner, Government Geologist, Inspector- General of Mines, and editor of Honduras Progress^ a most valaable and necessary little bi-weekly newspaj)er printed in English. Doc- tor Fritzgartner is a Prussian by birth, but was for some time in the United States. He is a caxDital linguist, and his good nature, in inter- preting for helpless new arrivals is nnfailing. If by any chance you should not yet have met this gentleman, you should make haste to do so. In front of the cathedral is the x)ark, Mora- zan Park, with Morazan' s statue in the center. Great is the name of this hero, and great his glory in the land of his birth to-day, forty- seven years after his cruel death in another republic. His tomb, they say, is in Salvador. But his statue, an equestrian figure in bronze, is there in the joark of Tegucigalpa, and his name is sx)oken, as is that of Washington in the United States, with love and reverence, nearly half- a century after his fall on the market-place of San Jose de Costa Rica. Something of a dreamer was Morazan. He had the face of a poet. The Hondurenos have CITY OF THE SILVER HILLS. 31 placed Ms head upon all denominations of their postage-stamps. When I went home to breakfast after looking at the statue, I wrote down a rhyme that had sung itself into my brain out there in the sunshine of the park. It was echo-like to what I had been listening about the hero of Central American independ- ence, MORAZAN. There are other statues in the park — four of them, one in each corner. They reiDresent the four seasons ! Who in the world ever conceived the idea of placing them there, I do not know. They are beautiful white pictures, but slightly incongruous in the land of eternal June. Fronting on the streets that bound the park or square are some of the principal stores and shops. Many of these occupy the front of the lower story of the owners' residences, for there are some two- story dwellings, although one-story is the rule. The houses are built even with the street, and the patios or inner court-yards are very large, and usually contain beautiful gardens with orange and pomegran- ate trees. When a family gives a ball, the patio is lighted with Japanese lanterns, and serves as a conservatory for lovers to stroll and whisper in. • v.. 32 THE REPUBLIC OF ITOT^DtJRAS. The social life of Tegucigalpa is charming. Balls and weddings are of frequent occurrence. The weddings are occasions of great rejoicing. They are of twelve hours duration, beginning usually at eight in the evening. At that hour, the invited friends having assembled at the home of the bride's parents, the civil ceremony takes place with every due form. After this the priest appears and performs the first part of the religious ceremony. There is then a sort of intermission. The couple are not yet com- pletely married. Nevertheless, dancing and feasting begin. Champagne unlimited flows; speeches and good- wishes are still more abun- dant. They keep it up with unflagging zest until the small hours of the morning. At four o'clock the cathedral bell begins to ring, and summons them to that holy spot. The ladies throw their wrajjs about their heads and shoulders, and bride and groom lead a long procession, still in full ball costume, through the silent streets. The priest meets them just at the church door. He reads a short prayer, then gives the groom thirteen golden coins. The groom pours these into the hand of the bride, saying : ' ' Wife, take these in significance of our marriage." And the bride responds : CITY OF THE SILVER HILLS. u Husband, I accept them." After this they follow the priest to the altar. A white veil is placed over the couple and a golden chain to encircle them. They remain thus enveloped and linked with golden fetters while mass is said. And so at last they are married. By this time it is broad daylight. On leaving the church they proceed to their own new home, which is ready for them. Here a wedding breakfast is laid for themselves and their most intimate friends. One of the dishes which is never wanting is the nacatamales, so well relished by all Central Americans. There is very little domestic unhappiness in Honduras. The married couples are fond of each other, contented, and deeply devoted to their children. Love-matches are the rule. The balls at the Christmas holidays, and also the 15th of September ball, which is usually held at the palace, are always exceedingly pleas- ant affairs. To be really happj^ in Central America, one must dance. It is the great amusement. There is a good theatre in Tegu- cigalpa, but in order to fully enjoy a perform- ance, you must understand some Spanish. I have heard strange stories of buried treas- ure having been discovered under more than 34 THE REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. one old house in TegncigalxDa. When or why it was buried there, has never been made precisely clear to me. It seemed to have been hidden by the iDossessors in time of war, when they were forced to fly hastily, hoping, doubtless, to return later on. I have heard of peojDle buying old jplaces and coming into sud- den fortunes by prudent excavations. I have heard of others who dug so hard that they undermined the houses, and these collapsed, total ruins, without a sign of a coin of any description. I would like to be able to give a clear idea of the houses of Tegucigalpa. Those of one story are from fifteen to eighteen feet high — that is, from the sidewalk to the eaves of the tile roof, which slopes toward the street and pro- jects out over the cera or brick pavement. The sidewalk is rarely wide enough for two to walk abreast. The house is built of adobe, which means blocks of earth mixed with tough grass and dried in the sun. The blocks are generally two feet long by one wide by six inches thick. The outside is finished oJff smooth, tind whitewashed or painted. Inside, *1 the walls are plastered and papered liand- \ somely. The windows rarely have glass. The CITY OF THE SILVEK HILLS. 35 shutters open inward, and are tremendous affairs with huge bolts. Outside all the win- dows are strong iron bars. The width of the house-walls make the windows the nicest little alcoves to sit in. As to furniture, carpets are not much used. There is a great deal of Canton and straw matting, and rugs are liked. The native petates, or mats woven of straw and brightly colored, are pretty and inexpensive. The bent-wood chairs and sofas are imported in great quantities from Europe. Pianos are numerous — strangely enough, when you know how they are brought up from the coast. And Tegucigalpa has many fine musicians. There is one young pianist, Mr. Meany, whose play- ing would attract attention in New York or London. Candles are mostly used for lights, but there are also handsome lamps. Kerosene is rather costly. The rooms are large and airy. There is an interior porch on all four sides of the patio. Doors from all the rooms open into this porch. There are some ugly, uncared-for patios, and some that are very beautiful with; flowers and fruit trees. Besides the cathedral, in Tegucigalpa there are four or ^ve churches. There is a hospital, and early in January, 1889, President Bogran 36 THE REPUBLIC OF IIOi^DURAS. himself laid tlie corner-stone of the new orphans' home. There is a good library in connection with the nniversity, and there are several newsi3apers. La Nacion and La Re- publica are the principal ones. The Honduras Progress, the first English paper ever issued in Central America, is full of valuable information for foreigners. IV. SUNSHINE AND STORM, / I found it a little difficult at first to under- stand the seasons. Arriving in a month that in the North means midsummer, I was told, that it was now the invierno, or winter, and that the verano, or summer, beginning in November and lasting until May, would be much pleasanter. I felt as if the people who told me this might be making a mistake. Fancy August being a winter month ! Travel- ing, I learned, would be bad for the next three months. The roads were muddy — in some 1^1 aces, mud above the horses' knees. I mean, SUNSHINE AND STORM. 37 of course, the roads leading to the various smaller towns and the numerous mining camps. Some of them, such as the new road over the mountain to San Juancito, were dangerous, if not absolutely impassable. It rained nearly every afternoon. Sometimes the rain came down in torrents, as if the bottom of the sky had fallen out, and it was all over in an hour or two, leaving the heavens clear until night should fall and all the magnificent constella- tions of the south appear. Sometimes the rain continued to fall the night long; but always the mornings were peerless. I think the climate of Tegucigalpa might satisfy anyone. The only time of day when the heat is at all oppressive is between one and three of the afternoon. The custom of the Hondurehos is to take their siesta during those hours. After three the breeze springs up again, and the temperature is delightful. A table showing the temperature of Tegucigalpa during the year 1888, as observed and recorded by Dr. Fritzgartner, the Government Geologist, has seemed to me of sufficient interest to be given below in this connection : 38 THE EEPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. TEMPERATURE OF TEGUCIGALPA. F.— Fahrenheit. C— Centigrade, Year 1888. MONTH. January . . February . March .... April May June July August . . . September October. . . November December. Average mini- mum. Degrees. F. 60 60 61 63 67 67 67 66 65 65 65 59 C. 15 15 16 17 19 19 19 18 17 17 17 15 Average maxi- mum. Degrees. F. 76 81 83 84 84 82 81 81 82 79 78 75 C. 24 27 28 29 29 28 27 27 28 26 25 24 Average differ- ence. Degrees. F. 16 21 22 21 17 15 14 15 17 14 13 16 C. 9 12 Lowest temper- ature. Degrees. F. 54 52 12 55 12 10 9 8 9 11 9 8 9 Highest temper- ature. Degrees. Extreme differ- ence. Degrees. F. 79 84 13 88 56 63 65 64 62 61 61 61 50 14 17 18 18 17 16 16 16 10 89 90 86 84 84 84 83 82 81 C. 26 29 31 32 33 30 29 29 29 28 28 27 F. 25 32 33 33 27 21 20 22 23 22 21 31 C. 14 18 18 18 16 12 11 12 13 12 12 17 TJie coldest month, altliougli it comes dur- ing the verano, is December; the warmest, May. The temperature of Tegucigalpa may be also considered the temperature of a great many other neighborhoods, for the altitude of the city, three thousand two hundred feet, is probably the average altitude of the Repub- lic. Naturally, one will find it much cooler at points five and six thousand feet above sea-level, and much hotter in valleys from which the breeze is shut out by surround- ing hills. It is said that the heat on the Pacific coast is less o^ipressive than that on the Atlan- SUNSHINE AND STOEM. 39 tic. This is perhaps true. Yet people wlio live at Truxillo do not think the climate bad at all. At Puerto Cortez the sea-breeze is con- stant and refreshing. I did not feel uncomfort- able either there or at San Pedro Sula, thirty miles inland. The only time I really suffered from heat in Honduras — the only truly mem- orable time — was down by the River Ulua, at midday, sitting under a huge lemon tree. Just at that spot, by the house of the ferry- man, to whom we shall come in an after chap- ter, the road curves so that there is no passage of air. There was not a breath astir that day; the sun was hot, suffocatingly hot. I sat motion- less, with iDerspiration oozing from every pore; and the hot, huge lemons fell around me, as if themselves overcome. A rain-storm never is a great bore in Hon- duras. If you are out for a ride, you carry a rubber cloak — one that does not gape in front is best. If it rain very hard, take refuge under some friendly thatched roof. In town, if it rain, you need not go out until it stops. The only provoking shower I can call to mind dilring all the months I spent in Honduras, was one which began promptly at half-past seven o'clock of the evening, on the Idth 40 THE KEPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. of September. It was the night of Independ- ence Day, and there was a grand ball at the President' s palace. I was one of a party who were to attend. At eight o' clock the rain was still pouring in torrents. Now, the annoy- ing part was that one of the ladies of our party was to open the ball with the President ! We could not, therefore, go late. Imagine six or eight ladies and gentlemen in full dress parad- ing through the street in a drenching storm! No carriages; not even an ox-cart ! There was no other way than for the ladies to be carried in chairs. Three were procured — chairs I mean — and six stout mozos were quickly engaged. Each lady was carefully seated; her satin and tulle train, her fan, gloves, and flowers carefully placed in her lap, and a rubber cloak thrown over her. She was given an umbrella to hold. Presently the procession started. Two of the ladies, including the one who was to dance with the President, were light-weights; the third was rather solid. The mozos who carried this lady groaned and slipped on the wet stones, and groaned again and slipped again, and finally down with a crash came lady, mozos, and all, in the middle of the street. No one was hurt, fortunately, and none of us laughed more SUNSHINE AND STORM. 41 at the recollection, for days afterward, than the lady herself. A great many people have a terrible dread of Honduras as an unhealthf ul place. For the most part, such a feeling is unwarranted. It is certainly a wise plan to go at once to the inte- rior on first arriving in the country. But the coast lands are by no means such deadly regions, providing one exercise proper care as to living. Wait until you have been two or three weeks in the tropics before you eat fruits to which you are unaccustomed. Be careful not to drink impure water without first boiling it. There is no danger in the water of the crystal clear mountain streams. Avoid getting wet and chilled. If you get caught in the rain, take immediately a little brandy. Do not eat too much animal food; if you do, you are apt to become bilious. Be temperate in the matter of liquors. The aguardiente of Hon- duras is very powerful, and should be taken sparingly. The guaro is better in the bottle than down the throat. ^o one who has been in Honduras can be unaware of the perfection of the climate of the interior in restoring health to those suffering from diseases of the respiratory organs. The 42 THE REPUBLIC OF HOJN^DUEAS. j pure and gentle atmosphere of these high alti- I tildes is the best possible cure for consump- tive tende^ncies. Persons, indeed, whose lungs 1 are already seriously affected, may hope for comjDlete recovery here among these upland forests of pine and oak. For such, an altitude of three to four thousand feet is the best /region. In this cool and even temx3erature they should wear light flannel underclothing and sleep with sufficient coverings during the really cold nights. Daily bathing in the mountain streams, and not too much riding, will give them unheard-of axDpetites and make new creatures of them in a short time. October is perhaps the prettiest month in Honduras. After the long months of the rainy season, the look of the world is enchanting. Tlie air is clearest then, for the rains have « washed out all the dust. Miles and miles across splendid emerald valleys are distant mountains veiled in sax3phire and azure. Some- times, beyond low floating snowy clouds, rise dark-green peaks like islands in an aerial sea. The flowers are all at their best. The road-sides in places are ablaze with yel- low and scarlet. In other, shadier siDOts there are ferns and orchids. On a mountain-side SUNSHINE AND STORM. 43 where a thousand tiny streams trickle con- stantly down across your narrow path, there is maiden-hair, delicate and beautiful beyond description — inexhaustible quantities. And mingled with it are begonias that you instantly crave to transport to the North. Further on are giant ferns, amazing trees that make you stare. In another place you will find black- berries growing wild — bushes and bushes, limit- less and unheeded. But it is the very same old blackberry — red when it is green — that you have eaten all tiie summers of your life since you were old enough, in the North. The natives call it the mora. And everywhere you will see the mimosa, the sensitive plant, which in the tropics becomes quickly a tree, and does not quiver and recoil so easily at rude contact. There are two species — one with little pink fuzzy balls, and one whose fuzzy balls are yellow. O, how truly beautiful is the spring-like October of the Honduras uplands ! 44 THE REPUBLIC OF HOl^DUEAS. V. HOW TO BE COMFORTABLE. A great many foreigners go to Honduras leaving their families behind in the United States. A few take their wives and children along with them. There is no good reason why they should not. With a little forethought, life may be as agreeable for a woman as for a man. But, to be sure, there are women who are not easily contented. If you go to Hon- duras ready to groan and grumble at every trifle, i)rex3ared to believe the inhabitants a set of savages, and firmly convinced that the climate is deadly, and, in short, everything "horrid," you are not apt to be comfortable yourself or to render anyone else so. Go there cheerfully, prepared to do without gas- light and street-cars, also matinees (except in Tegucigal23a), fresh oysters (excex)t in Amapala), art exhibitions, green apples, and American butter (except in cans from the United States), and you may be serene, if not absolutely happy. If you are going to stay any length of time in any one place, you must find a house. Rents vary. In El Valle de los Angeles you can HOW TO BE COMFORTABLE. 45 secure a habitation at from five to thirty dollars per month. In Tegucigalj)a houses rent for from ten to one hundred and fifty dollars. Supposing you take a place that is rather roughly finished inside — indeed, outside of Tegucigalpa or Comayagua, the houses are not, as a rule, very artistic. In such case you will want to have a deal of cretonne for curtains and portieres and mantles. You will want plenty of muslin or lace window-curtains. Rugs will make your bare floors comfortable. The ladies' and chil- dren' s dresses should be all of summer materials. Don't let anyone delude you into taking spring costumes. You want June and July attire. Sun and shade hats you will need; parasols and umbrellas in x^l^ii^y '-> shoes and boots enough to last a good while; rubber cloaks of the best possible quality — cheap ones will not stand the climate. Sheets and pillow-cases, blankets and bed-spreads you must take also. Hammocks and steamer-chairs are the nicest things in the world for a house in Honduras. Some little knick-knacks and pictures will make bare walls more home-like. If I were a lady going to Honduras with my husband, I should also take two or three pretty evening dresses with me, because people who are agree- 46 THE REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. able and come well introduced are treated very amiably in a social way, and there is not always time to get a dress made for a party; besides, how much nicer to have the latest New York cut ! And I would take ever so many x)airs of kid gloves — undressed kid, which do not spot like dressed kid, in the tropical rainy season. ( But about comfortable living: The house fixed, you must have a servant or two. They work for low wages, but you must not be sj)lenetic at the bare shoulders and bare feet of your kitchen maid. See that she is clean from head to foot; that is all. Her camisa should be spotless, and her calico skirt should not drag behind and wix)e up the dust. Trust to her to cook the frijoles and tortillas. Instruct her on other iDoints kindly and repeatedly, and do not lose patience. Go about the kitchen (I am speaking now for the benefit of the foreigner's loife) with your Spanish book in your hand, giv- ing orders as grammatically as possible; and all of a sudden you will be surprised to find how well you speak and understand the language. Be as kind as you can to your native servants. The Hondurenos, even of the lower classes, are as proud as Lucifer is said to be. You can HOW TO BE COMFOBTABLE. 47 never force them to do anything. On the other hand, they will show the greatest devotion to an employer for whom they have affection. In order to be comfortable, one must duly respect the inner man. What is one to eat in Honduras ? There is good beef to be had, and occasionally veal. There is no mutton yet; there are few sheep in the country. Pork is rather high. Yery good sausage is manufact- ured by the natives. Brains and sweetbreads nicely cooked are tasty dishes. Iguana, the meat of which is white and delicate, is not at all bad, and there is a certain kind of monkey that need not be desx)ised. Mr. E. W. Perry says that " boiled monkey, tender and fat from much feasting on za^Dotes and other sweet and wholesome fruits, is delicious food. There is another excellent reason why people who might turn with aversion from a diet of even so remote an ancestor should eat the fat, white-bellied mono. His oil is a superior remedy for catarrh and kindred ailments, and excels cod-liver oil in curing consumption." The same gentleman speaks favorably of the armadillo, baked in its many-banded, scaly armor. The wild turkey is very good, and the tepescuintle is tasty. In regard to vegetables, 48 THE EEPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. a good plan is to have yonr own kitchen gar- den, raising your own tomatoes, string-beans, radishes, lettnce, j)arsley, onions, beets, cab- bages, cucumbers, squashes, and so forth. All these things grow as by magic. You have but to water them and watch that the ants do not get at them. If you waken one morning and find a thousand of these busy little insects streaming into your garden-patch and walking off with your precious green stuff, do not faint or shriek. Go quietly and find a mozo. Offer him two or three dollars to discover and remove the ants' nest. He will do so effectually, and then you may pay him. With a little trouble you may have thus all the fresh vegetables you wish, the year round. Flour is exx3ensive. You will do well to buy your bread. They have a secret for making it, with white of eggs, I fancy. SiDeaking of eggs, keep your own hens if possible, and raise chickens for your table. Rice is plentiful and cheap. Fried bananas and plantains are dishes that you will very soon grow fond of. Ripe mangoes stewed are harmless, and green mango ^ie is worth tast- ing. Figs are delicious stewed. Pineapples, anonas, zapotes, aguacates, jocotes, oranges, and lemons are abundant in the market-places, and HOW TO BE COMFORTABLE. 49 cost little. Among familiar fruits to the stranger are the duraznos (peaches), which are plucked green and hard, and must always be stewed. I do not know why the natives do not let them ripen. There are quinces, too, but these cost more. The blackberry grows wild at four thousand feet altitude. Little girls gather them and bring them to your door to sell. For a real (twelve and a half cents) you can buy a heaping measure. Water-melons, in their season, can be had for twenty or twenty- five cents apiece. They are small, but of good flavor. Now for some purely native dishes — the tor- tilla, the tamale, the frijoles, and the Spanish " boiled dinner." Maize is certainly the staple breadstuff of the country. A requisite for your kitchen is the metate, or jpiedra de moler. This is a stone about two by two feet in dimen- sions and slightly concave in the center. Ac- companying it is a stone rolling-pin. T^pon this stone the tortillas are prex)ared, and should you lack a coffee-mill, your coffee may thus be ground. The first thing in tortilla-making is to cook the corn on the cob in lime-water, or water with a little ashes in it. The kernels come off easily then in the shape of what we 4 50 THE EEPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. call hulled corn. Tins is placed on the stone and ground to a paste-like mass with the stone roller. When there are no kernels left, the roller is laid aside. The wet meal is taken np in small masses and patted between the hands into thin, round cakes from four to eight inches in diameter. These are baked quickly on a stone or a thin pan over a hot fire; and behold, the tortilla ! The tamale is different. It con- sists of the wet meal made into rolls, placed in large, thick leaves, or else in tough corn-husks, and boiled for a good while. But, as a rule, some fine chopped meat or raisins are added before the boiling. The raisin tamales are little else than boiled Indian puddings. A pleasant native drink is made by stirring pinole into a glass of water and sweetening it. The pinole is parched grains of maize ground to a fine powder. Pinole also makes good hasty pud- ding, they say. Uabul is the name of a Mosquito coast drink. It is made from the butuco, a thick, stumpy plantain with an acid flavor. This butuco may be eaten either stewed or fried, in which case it tastes like stewed x^eaches or like fried apples. The drink from it is made by boiling the fruit soft and making a mush of it, then stirring HOW TO BE COMFORTABLE. 51 in cold water, adding a little lime-juice and sweetening to your taste. The frijoles, or black beans, are always eaten for breakfast. They are boiled first with a small piece of pork. Next, they should be mashed with a wooden masher. After this, j)lace them in a deej) earthen dish if possible, add sufficient lard, some slices of onion, and bake awhile. The boiled dinner of tropical lands is as detestable as the boiled dinner of New England. It con- sists of a piece of meat with some bone and fat, some plantains, some yams, some yuca, some ayotes and chayotes, native squashes, and any- thing else that the cook may fancy. During many months of the year honey is brought to your door in bottles. It is wild honey and of excellent flavor. Good coffee and chocolate are easily obtainable. Fine sugar is rather high. The native dulce is usable. If you want good tea, you must take it with you; they do not know tea very well in Honduras. The native cheese and mante- quilla are good. Milk you must buy early in the morning. The cows are milked but once a day. In a few localities it is almost impos- sible to obtain it, but as a rule you can have it brought to you at from ten to fifteen cents per 52 THE REPUBLIC OF HOT^DURAS. bottle. EverytMng in the fluid line is brought in bottles, you will find — wine, whisky, and beer bottles, whose original contents were long since absorbed, and whose astonishing num- bers suggest all sorts of thoughts about a remarkable thirst in the land. PART II. ROCK AND RIVER. I. THE OLDEST MINES. The great attraction of Honduras for stran- gers and foreign capital has thus far been the precious metals locked in the bosoms of the mighty Cordilleras or hidden in the sands at the bottom of the rivers flowing northward. Until quite recently, little attention has been paid to the subject of colonization for agricult- ural purposes, although the lowlands afford magnificent advantages for these. The mines have been the vast and absorbing question, back as far as the beginning of the sixteenth century, when Columbus a^Dpeared with his adventurous followers to discover and conquer another world. The first fifty years of Spanish industry were doubtless devoted to placer-mining in the rivers not far from the north coast. Silver was then discovered, but no movement was made to mine it out until the beginning of the seventeenth century. The first steps toward this were taken amid the mountains (53) 54 THE REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. to the east of what is now the capital, and in the districts or minerales to-day known as those of Santa Lucia, San Juan de Cantarra- 'nos, and San Juancito. The last-named place is now the site of the Rosario works, probably thus far the best developed and most success- ful in all Honduras. Formerly one had, on leaving the capital, to i^ass through Santa Lucia and either Cantarranos or El Yalle de los Angeles to reach San Juancito; but during the past three or four years a new cart-road has been completed, leading thither direct from Tegucigalpa. This road leads up the ' ' Leona ' ' side, curving now this way and now that along her white limestone walls for some miles, then dips into a pleasant woods; on through the w^oods, and out again into pleas- ant pastures a,nd fields of waving corn; uj) and down into wilder and grander woodland spaces; high for a last climb, and then you come all at once upon the Rosario Mine itself, from which on to San Juancito the road is but a descent of one thousand feet in the course of three miles. For eight or nine years the Rosario Company had little to show for hard work and constant expenditure for labor and improvements. To- day the bullion output is over one hundred THE OLDEST MINES. 55 thousand dollars per montli, I am told, the number of bars averaging forty, each weigh- ing one hundred and twenty-five pounds and averaging two thousand Hve hundred dollars in value. The camp at San Juancito is like a noisy bit of the United States brought out and set among the peaceful hills of a dreaming, dream-like world. The old pueblo has gotten used to the thunder of the thirty- five stamp mill, the new frame houses, the water-pipes, the furnaces, and the bucket tramway that brings the ore down over their heads from the mine to the mill. The camp has a post-office, a telegraph office, and tele- phonic communication with Tegucigalpa. There are about two hundred employes, half of the number being foreigners. In February, 1889, President Bogran, accompanied by Doc- tor Gamero, President of Congress,' Doctors Leiva and Bogran, and a number of members of Congress, visited San Juancito and started the first air-drill plant in Honduras. The plant is a duplex Rand compressor, and there are five drilling machines. The following table from the Rosario Com- pany's report for the year 1888 is worth glanc- ing at, and gives a clear idea in figures of what they have been doing : 56 THE REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. a) o g . <1 s a o o o ?? O) (3 c o o 00 C5 CO CO t- OS CO O C5 O O CS i> ■I— It— IrH -r-lT-lt—l-i— iCiT-HOJO^rHi— I T-l ^ CO lO O O lO O CO O t- QOCO Oi CO GO T-it- 00 Oi ^ •^ CO 03 O CO -^ ^ CO Ci Oi 05 ^ i> i>QO C5 00^ G lO 05 0p00'*t-C3CO-^'<^lO00 lOCOQ0CQCOCOiO-<^COTH COCOOOCOOiOOlOC-iOOO C5 CO o »o OiT-H}>-t-00T-l»HJ>£-C0 C5CO00'*CO00T-lT^C0i> OS ;^ CO IC 00 CO CO COOOSIOCOC500 T-i T- 1 CO 03 r-t 00 CO C5 »o T-I CO t- C5 ~>ti}' OlZiP 1-5 ^ P«i S <^ f^ »-3 t-s -«1 02 THE OLDEST MINES. 57 RESUME. Feet driven 3,029 Feet sunk 228i Feet raised 549i Cubic yards extracted 10,532^ Ore productioD, tons 24,525 Average number of men employed per month 200 ADDITION TO MINING PLANT, December 1, 1887, to December 1, 1888. 1 duplex Rand compressor. 3,000 feet cast-iron 16-incli fluming pipe. 1,000 feet cast-iron 12-incli vertical pipe. 5 Rand drilling machines and their outfit, with a complete outfit of air-pipe for the mines, with all the fixtures for work- ing " air plant." 1 4-ft. Pelton hurdy-gurdy water-wheel and gearing for running compressor. 1 2-ft. Pelton hurdy-gurdy water-wheel, with 250 feet of pipe to run the vanners. 1 planing mill. 1 battery of 5 stamps, making 35 stamps in mill. 4 1,200-lb. silver retorts and furnaces. 1 power band-saw. 1 mortising machine. 1 portable miuing hoist, with ropes and buckets. The same report gives also as a RESUME OF MILLING. Total tons pulp milled 23,411i Average assay of ore pulp, per ton $46.90 Average assay of tailings, per ton 13.72 Average per cent, of yield from pulp milled 74 76-100 And as a RESUME OF BULLION SHIPMENTS AND RETURNS. Net bullion value from December 1, 1887, to October 31, 1888 $716,384.64 Gold, ounces 10,886 18-100 Silver, ounces 534,546 44-100 58 THE REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. Beside the five Rand drills, ten more Inger- soU and Sargent drills liave been ordered; and the company contemplates the building of a one-hundred-and-fifty-stamp mill, and the use of electricity for the power. From San Juancito on toward Cantarranos, one should pass through a small settlement called Guadalupe. Here is the mine "El Cru- cero," belonging to the Hon. Abelardo Zelaya, and at i^resent unworked. This property was for a time in the hands of an American syndi- cate, but owing to some mistaken rej^orts, they abandoned their claims. There is talk of a French company being organized to work the mine. Rich ore has been taken out, showing silver and gold similar to that of the Rosario vein, these two concessions aiDproaching each other as near as twenty -five feet. n, instead of taking this road, we take an- other leading eastward out of San Juancito, and passing over high, loine-covered mountains, we shall come first to El Yalle de los Angeles, and later to Santa Lucia. In contrast to the somewhat ugly and barren apx^earance of San Juancito, El Yalle de los ADgeles (the valley of the angels) is one of the loveliest spots that eye ever gazed upon. For miles there stretches THE OLDEST MINES. 59 out a sweet and smiling prosj^ect — green fields, with little rivers sparkling through, and splen- did trees casting their shade along the level wagon-roads. On every side, but far enough away, a guard of hills, all beautiful with ame- thyst and pale-green lights. Flowers every- where, and comfortable-looking houses and well-paved streets. Here are the mines of Las Animas. Thirty- ton furnaces are used by the Los Angeles Min- ing and Smelting ComxDany, and both steam and water power employed. Mr. N. A. Foss is the superintendent. The company's build- ings are commodious, and the management is prudent. Proceeding on from the beautiful valley, you come next to Santa Lucia, a picturesque little town of white adobe, nestling amid the green of coffee and banana fields. Its site is upon one of the foot-hills of the Cantarranos Mount- ains, and its altitude about four thousand ^ve hundred feet above the sea. It is one of the very oldest mining camps of the country. There are a number of old o]3enings abandoned by the Spaniards seen all over the tract, some of them caved in, others just as they were left. The present principal working was begun by 60 THE REPUBLIC OF HOXDURA.S. the driving of a tunnel of over seven liundred feet into the mountain. This tunnel passes through strata containing large de^DOsits of high-grade silver ore. True fissure veins are seen on the surface, not differing from the deposits. Ruby silver and sulx>hurets are found in the ore, the gangue of which is chiefly marl, calcite, and quartz. The Santa Lucia Mining and Milling Company was originally organized in New York, but is now controlled by Pennsylvania capitalists. In the Santa Lucia district is also La Plomosa, a i^roperty owned principally by Mr. Frederick E. Adie, of London, and Doctor Fritzgartner, of Honduras. Some specimens lately taken from this have assayed one and three-tenths ounces of gold to thirty ounces of silver. The vein (ten feet in width) averages forty dollars in silver, with a considerable amount in gold. A company is being organized in London to work the concession. In the same jurisdiction is the Santa Elena Mine, worked by the Victoria Mining and Milling Company, of which Mr. Thomas D. Wayne, of Chicago, is joresident. Another old mine is the Guasucaran. This is situated on Guasucaran Mountain, twenty- seven miles south from Tegucigalpa and fifty- THE OLDEST MINES. 61 seven miles inland from Port La Brea, on the Gulf of Fonseca. The altitude is about five thousand feet above sea-level, and the old mine has a curious history. It is related that early in the sixteenth century a party of Spaniards were going down from the interior to the coast, and lost their way on the mountain- side. They camped there as night came on. Next morning they built a fire to cook something for break- fast, and afterwards they discovered in the ashes of their fire some small silver slugs. They examined the rock, and found it coated with small drops of silver. They said nothing, but some of their number returned to Spain and obtained a patent to work the mine, and to introduce a large number of slaves for the labor. In 1821, when independence was declared, the owner was a Sehor Rosa. This gentleman fled from the country, and the mine was left in the hands of natives, who worked it leisurely in the most primitive way. From 1850 to 1860 it was worked by Caj)tain Moore, an English- man, who had bought it for sixty thousand dollars. In 1860, Mr. John Connor came out from London and joined Captain Moore, who died in 1865, and left all his Honduras property 6^ THE REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. to Mr. Connor. This latter gentleman lias worked it ever since in the primitive, native fashion, with an arrastra, a wooden five-stamj) mill, and barrels for amalgamation. The pres- ent development of the mine consists of fifty- odd drifts and cross-cuts, from two hundred to six hundred feet in length, with thirty head- ings, all in ore, from which one hundred tons can be mined daily for an indefinite period. The "pockets" assay four hundred to ^ve hundred dollars per ton, and the ore averages forty dollars. A company has been formed recently, known as the Guasucaran- California Mining and Milling Company. Mr. John Con- nor, Jr., is superintendent. A ten-stamp mill is being built, with boiler, saw-mill, and lixiv- iation xolant. The new company has secured a concession of adjoining land in the depart- ment of Tegucigalpa and jurisdiction of Ojo- jona. II. MINES OP IMPORTANCE. Yuscaran, perhaps, is the place we should visit next. Yuscaran is the principal town of the department of Paraiso. It is east and a little south from Tegucigalpa, at a distance of MINES OF IMPORTANCE. 63 about forty miles. Its altitude is about tlie same as that of the capital, and the climate is therefore good. The town is so hidden by mountains that as you approach you have no idea of its proximity until all at once the sight bursts upon you. During the past six or seven years Yuscaran has become something of a business centre, owing to activity in mining matters. " The market-place," says Mr. Lom- bard, in an interesting article, "affords a prod- uce exchange for the entire department of Paraiso; all the towns from the great Indian settlement of Texiquot to Danli, the centre of the coffee district, sending every week their several products thither. On the broad plains round about this important town, not only the finest coffee in all Central America is cultivated, but also a superior quality of sugar-cane, in such quantities that the aguardiente, or native rum, distilled therefrom is sufficient to supply the demand of the entire department of Paraiso, and that of the department of Tegucigalpa as well." • It seems that the mines of Yuscaran were discovered in the eighteenth century, by one Juan Calvo. He was riding over a pass in the Plata Mountains, and his mule stumbled and 64 THE EEPUBLIC OF HOI^DURAS. fell. Calvo slipped off unhurt; the mule rolled on down to the bottom of the incline. Calvo clambered down to recover the animal, and noticed a bit of dislodged rock glistening in the sun. He picked it up and found it to be silver ore. He went away quietly enough with his mule. Some days later he returned with a few rude tools and began work on the vein that he had discovered. In a few weeks he was known to possess large sums of money, which he spent rather prodigally. His actions excited susiDicions. His acquaintances began to watch him closely, and thus his secret was discovered. As he had not taken any meas- ures to obtain a patent, others gathered from all sides and began to work the mine, whicli was called from that time Los Quemazones. Other veins were discovered, the most im- portant being the Guayabillas, Monserrat, Iguanas, Sacramento, Santa Elena, Jesus, Tor- nagas, San Miguel, California, Sayate, Capiro, Platero, and Yeta Grande. Yuscaran came into existence as a town; houses were built and streets paved; a cathedral was not forgotten. The natural surroundings were and are excel- lently adapted for a mining town. There are three rivers— the Eio Grande, the Rio Aurora, MIKES Oi' IMPOETANCE. 6b and the Rio de los Ingenios — close by. There are forests of x)ine on the mountains and forests of hard-wood in the valleys. To-day the principal mining companies at work at this spot are the Z archer & Streber Mining and Milling Company, the Monserrat Mining Comx)any, and the Guayabillas Mining ComjDany. There is also, I think, the Paraiso Reduction Company, which has a tw^enty-stamp mill near Yuscaran. The Zurcher & Streber Company are working the Iguanas and the Mercedes tunnel, with rich results. The Mon- serrat, at latest reports, had developed a bonanza at one thousand feet under the mount- ain, where two converging four-feet veins meet and continue on as one. The ore shows ruby silver, and assays from two hundred dollars upward. The company runs twenty stamps night and day. The Guayabillas is worked with Cornish pumps. This is the famous old mine from w^hich, in the years 1813-17, the output was over two million dollars. South from Yuscaran some sixty miles are the mines of the Potosi district, a tract con- taining nine square miles, and comprising the following mines : El Tajo, El Socorro, Los 5 6Q THE KEPUBLIC OF HONDUEAS. Corales, La Loma, La Mina Grande, Guada- lupe, San Benito, Santa Rosa, Los Melones, El ChapaiTO, Jiganta, San Rafael, El Carmin. They liave all been worked to deptlis of from fifty to two hundred feet. The San Benito and the Jiganta were abandoned because the ore was too hard to work by native methods. El Socorro is full of water. The Guadalupe Min- ing Company, Limited, of Potosi, an English company, has a fifteen-stamp mill and an air plant, and is working the Guadalupe mine. The Potosi Mining and Reduction Company is Avorking the San Benito, with bullion out- put of thirty bars per month. About five leagues distant from this tract, and on the same mountain range, at Corpus, are the famous old mines, Clavo Rico and El Corpus. The Clavo Rico has lately been re- opened, the old tunnel cleared and re-timbered. Mr. J. B. Daniel is superintending the work. Besides the tunnel, he has started shafts on El Pulpito and El Altar veins, just back of the Corpus church, which was built over the very richest part, in consequence of some supersti- tion about a golden dragon in the mine that had to be suppressed. Thirty-six miles from Choluteca, and over MINES OF IMPOKTANCE. 67 the Nicaragua frontier, is tlie mine belonging to the Segovia Mining Comi)any, El Golfo. The company was organized in New York, with a capital of $300,000. The directors are Mr. H. M. Braem, Mr. C. Littlefield, and Mr. H. A. Spears, of New York, and Hon. Abelardo Zel- aya, of Honduras. The property consists of quartz fissures richly impregnated with gold. A twenty-stamp mill is in ox)eration. The Dos Hermanos Mining and Milling Com- pany has a valuable property in the jurisdic- tion of El Corpus, department of Choluteca. The Cortland Honduras Association and the San Rafael Mining and Milling ComxDany have a concession, embracing three gold and silver mines, near Nacaome, on the Pacific coast. A stamx^-mill is being built. The San Marcos Comjpany has a ten-stamp mill at Sabana Grande, and makes regular bull- ion shipments to New York. The San Marcos mine, desj)ite interrujptions and lack of prox)er machinery, j)roduced in the fifteen months end- ing with September, 1889, over $100,000. The New Orleans and Curaren has, at Cur- aren, a mill with two batteries of five stamps each, four pans and two settlers, and other equipments. 68 THE EEPtJBLlC OF HONBTJRAS. The Aramecina United Gold and Silver Min- ing Company, Limited, was lately organized in London, with $1,000,000 capital. The directors are : Mr. Henry Wethered, of London, presi- dent ; Mr. Oliver Wethered, of London ; Mr. William Morgans, of London ; Mr. F. B. Beach, of New York ; Mr. A. E. Morgans, of London, managing director. The company owns a gronp of mines at Ara- mecina, the Santa Lucia lode being the most important. The mill plant is one suitable to treat three hundred tons of ore per day. A rock-drilling plant of engine, boilers, and air- compressor to work eight drills, is in position. Thirty more drills will be added before long. The mining camp of Aramecina is thirty miles from Port Aceituno, on the Gulf of Fonseca, and about three miles east of the village of Ara- mecina. The altitude is about one thousand two hundred feet, the climate fine, and there is good sujDply of wood and water. The Opoteca Mines, at Opoteca, department of Comayagua, and about thirty miles north- west of the old capital, now belong to an Eng- lish syndicate, to which they were sold, during the past year, by their owner, Capt. Frank M. Imboden, for two hundred and fifty thousand MINES OF IMPORTANCE. 69 dollars, cash. The company is preparing to expend a million dollars in equipping the new plant. The San Bartolo Mine, department of Copan, belongs to Captain Payne, of New Orleans. The ore is a pure chloride of silver, and assays about ninety ounces. The Santa Cruz Gold Mining and Milling Company (an English syndicate) is building a new one-hundred-stamp mill on the banks of the Chamelecon River, in the department of Santa Barbara. The Monte del Cielo Mining and Milling Company, of the Minas de Oro district, has a five-stamp mill and three Huntington mills for gold plate amalgamation. The Esperanza Mine, of the same district, is owned by Mr. Smart. The Eureka Mine is owned by Mr. Wer- muth, who works it with an arrastra, pulveriz- ing sixteen tons of soft ore in twenty -four hours. The Tempano Mine has a gold plant. The Clarita Mine, owned and worked by Americans, has a five-stamp mill. The ore of the Minas de Oro is mostly a free milling gold ore, with gangue of decomposed 70 THE REPUBLIC OF HOISTDUEAS. quartz and ferruginous clay. The veins are from eight to twenty feet in width. The New York and Camalote Mining Com- pany has a water-power stamp-mill at Cama- lote. The Hector Mining and Milling Company, which was organized in Fargo, North Dakota, by the Messrs. Miller, Sweaton, Wickersham, Milickan, and Bell, has its works at Quebrada Grande, Olancho. There are some six hundred feet of flume sluicing, with good reservoirs. The bed-rock of the stream is rich in coarse gold; it is covered with two to three feet of gold gravel. The Poso Grande is a mining com^Dany lately organized in Kansas City, which has located some gold placer claims at Macueliso, below the mines Los Tarros and El Oro, belonging to General Kraft. The Honduras Gold Placer Mining Company was organized in London in October, 1889, by Major E. A. Burke, of New Orleans. This company is to work the concessions obtained by Major Burke in Olancho. The working capital is two hundred and fifty thousand dol- lars. An important undertaking of the com- pany is the turning of the River Jalan, at LIFE IN A MINING CAMP. 71 Retire, south of Juticalpa, in order to work its bed. Other companies organized by Major Burke are the Guayape and Jalan. III. LIFE IN A MINING CAMP. To live in Tegucigalpa, or Comayagua, or Yuscaran, or Santa Cruz de Yojoa, or San Pedro Sula, or even the Valley of the Angels, is different from living in that which is purely a mining camp, and where there is absolutely no pleasant native society. In such a camp, for instance, as that of San Juancito, there is no social life outside of the little colony of foreigners. And wherever there is no social life, wherever there is nothing but toil from morning till night, without relaxation, without break, without change of any sort, life becomes at times a most awful monotony; it comes to resemble most painfully the grind of the stamp- mill, that never ceases day or night. Despite the magnificent blue of the sky, the splendor of the tropical sunshine, the brilliance of the myriad stars, the pine-fragrant breeze rushing through the mountain passes, one loses heart, 72 THE EEPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. or, rather, feels liis heart growing hard and dull, if he is shut away from humanity. He forgets many of the nice little customs of polite society; he grows awkward and diffi- dent, if not uncouth. It is therefore vastly to the credit of many of the American mining companies that they endeavor as far as XDOssible to provide frequent harmless recreations for their emjoloyes. The superintendents often arrange entertainments at their own houses- music, dancing, occasionally some little dra- matic representation, followed by refreshments, are the order of the evening. To the wives of one or two of these gentlemen— charming ladies, who seem ever desirous of brightening the prosaic life of the comx)any's toilers — is due much kindly feeling from all who have spent any length of time in the camps. There are some companies, however, whose employes are worked too hard, I think. Not that the superintendents are not humane men, or men with a x3roper sense of justice; but the truth is— and xDarticularly if they own stock themselves — they are so interested in making the mine a grand success that they forget, at times, to have any mercy on flesh or blood — even their own. One gentleman in particular LIFE IN A MINING CAMP. 73 I remember to have told that he not only over- worked his employes, but also himself. Their hours were from six in the morning until ten and eleven at night, with but half an hour for meals. They were supposed to work nearly the same time on Sundays! I prophesied to this man that bad would come of such a strain. He laughed at me. "You will pay for it, and dearly," I warned him. And he did; for he died very suddenly, a few months later, from what was supposed to be apoplexy. The "seventh day" rest is just as important in / Honduras as anywhere else. If the stamp- mills must keep on running, as is not unreason- able, let the Sunday force be men who rest on Saturday. If men must be worked from six in the morning — and must rise at five in order to dress and get their coffee — do not keep them up until midnight, I should say, unless you per- mit them an hour or two for a midday siesta. Some attention should be paid to the fact that the climate is not that of the temperate zone. Superintendents from Dakota should not com- pel their employes — many of them natives, totally unused to such meal-hours — to eat a hearty breakfast at half -past five a. m., a heavy dinner at twelve noon, and an unsubstantial 74 THE REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. sort of supper at five or six p. m., in true Dakota fasMon. Such a course means large mortality among the employes — a mortality that nine out of ten will not hesitate to blame upon the deadly climate of Honduras ! Far better, far truer economy to avoid such radical changes. Let the men have their coffee on rising, their breakfast at ten, their dinner at four or five. Do not work them too hard dur- ing the hot part of the day, when everyone feels drowsy and more like taking a nap than wielding a tool. The superintendents ought to insist on their employes obeying hygienic laws, instead of forcing them to violate them. The men should be given proper time for their meals, and also for daily bathing. The com- panies would, I believe, find it a cheaper course, in the long run, than that of employing a doc- tor, importing a vast stock of drugs to be dealt out gratis, and every few weeks ordering the carpenter to knock together some rough boards . in the shape of a coffin for an unfortunate, whose shanty will be vacant on the morrow, and whose name marked forever off the pay- list! Eeflections of this kind should not be deemed irrelevant, since the various boards of directors LIFE IN A MINING CAMP. 75 in the United States and England make it a point to consider economy in working their properties. On the other hand, one can always find a great many bright spots to remember in a period of several months spent in a mining camp in Honduras. A little colony of forty to sixty humans, isolated, as it were, in a strange land, thousands of miles away from home and friends, is like a family. The members of it become attached one to another, and regard one another as brothers. If one is ill or in- jured, the others watch with and nurse him. If one dies, the others follow his coffin, borne on men' s shoulders, in silence and sadness to its last resting-place. Some one of them reads the burial service; others in turn throw a shovelful of earth gently upon the coffin. The grave is filled, and they turn away to leave him there. On the Day of the Dead, the decoration day of all Spanish -American countries, his grave is not forgotten; there are flowers laid upon it. If one takes a wife, the others rejoice with him. Sometimes a courageous sweetheart comes out to Honduras to be married to a fiance too busy to go to New York and fetch her. In such cases the lady is most courteously received by the 76 THE REPUBLIC OF HOTTDURAS. entire camp and every attention paid her. Two or three mount their mules and start down to the coast — a trifling distance of a hundred or a hundred and fifty miles — to meet and escort her up to the interior. She is the guest of the superintendent's family, perhaps, until mar- ried. If she be a Protestant, the ceremony must of course be the civil marriage, performed by the Governor of the department, unless her fiance chance to be a Catholic. Beyond parlor entertainments, there is little amusement for the colony. Horseback riding loses its novelty when it comes to be the only means of traveling. Once in awhile there is a game of ball. Tennis has never taken ahold; I know not why. The mountain streams are too narrow and rocky for swimming. At rare intervals there comes the maromero. This is the Spanish- American acrobat. All of a sud- den, one day early in the verano, or dry season, you notice an unusual brightness of countenance of the small, barefooted native urchin who has come to sell you a bottle of milk (for twenty-five cents, if you are in an in- accessible camp). The youngster presently ex- X3lains his or her cheerfulness by telling you that "To-night is the maroma. They are putting LIFE IN A MINING CAMP. 77 up the poles clown in the open space below the bridge and in front of the bodega." Later on, you see for yourself the prep- arations. There are two or three hori- zontal bars — one very high, the others smaller — with their uprights, and there are ropes dan- gling limply, as if someone were going to be hanged. The j)erformance takes place from seven o'clock until nine or ten. It is imblic. The lights— small regard is paid to the moon — consist of fires kindled in four places around the imaginary ring. The maromero has ob- tained sawdust sufficient to make the ground soft for his tumbling. The wood for the fires is a kind of pine. It blazes beautifully, and the smoke is not offensive. Long before the fires are kindled the XDeople begin to congregate, coming from a considerable distance, some of them. If the night be dark, each one carries a torch of his own, of the same resinous pine, to light him up and down the steep hill-sides; or perhaps he has placed a bit of lighted candle downward in a bottle neck and carries the bot- tle wrong side up, as a lantern; for bottles are versatile objects in Honduras, as I have re- marked before. As they arrive, the good folks form a dense ring around, seating themselves 78 THE REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. on the ground or on any lumber or pieces of macliinery that may happen to lie near. The women wrap themselves comfortably in their paholones and light their cigarettes. The men smoke too. It should be understood that I am describing the humbler and poorer country people, not the higher class Hondureiios. At length the pine piles are kindled. They blaze up royally, and the ruddy light illumines the radiant, expectant faces of hundreds. The ma- romero soon makes his apx3earance — from the bodega, iDerhaps, where the mining comj^any folks have granted him the privilege of ]3lacing his iDaraijhernalia and swinging his hammock for the night. If he does liot appear prom^Dtly, the crowd begin to whistle and call for him, much like the gallery of a theatre in any Northern city under similar circumstances. They also call for "La Musica ! " I should not omit to state that the maromero has obtained the services of the pueblo' s best musicians — a violinist, a flutist, and a man with a guitar, usu- ally. This clever little orchestra arrives and seats itself on boxes provided for the pur j)ose. It tunes up, and is ready for work. The maro- mero finally comes running lightly through a space kept ojDen for him by a soldier or two be- LIFE IN A MINING CAMP. 79 longing to the pueblo, and makes his bow to the audience in his best manner, and very much a la ballet-girl. He is dressed in white tights, dark -green velvet trunks, and a little jacket of velvet with gold lace trimming, which he msij remove, if he choose, and display a white jersey. He begins with a topical song, and a dance on the soft sawdust between the verses. His songs are humorous, for the most part, but never coarse. The crowd enjoy them, and ap- plaud enthusiastically. After the song he gives some exhibitions on the horizontal bars, which are really very good; then songs again. Then he retreats to the bodega and rests a little, while the music plays. After this he comes out again and continues his x:)erf ormance. Just before the last number on the imaginary pro- gramme he goes around with his hat and takes the voluntary contributions — his sole compen- sation. From iive cents to a dollar a head are contributed with the greatest willingness. And he may collect from twenty-five to fifty or sev- enty-five dollars, depending on the size of his crowd, who disperse in the pleasantest humor after hearing his ' ' Buenas noches ' ' and seeing him retreat from the ring for the last time. 80 THE REPUBLIC OF liONBURAS. SOIVIE SUGGESTIONS. There are people who should never go to Honduras. These are persons lacking in stead- fastness of purpose; irresolute, easily discour- aged folks. They are the class that soon become disgusted with the life, and set up a tremendous wail to return to civilization, as they call it. They are people who have not the slightest idea of adapting themselves to cir- cumstances and getting at the best side of life. They are utterly incapable of learning Spanish, for one thing; they have no desire to learn it, indeed. They depend on others to interpret for them, and when there is no one at hand to do their talking for them, they are miserably helpless. Such are some of the employes of the mining companies. They spend a year or two in tlie country, grubbing along at their work, and grumbling at the cruelty of Fate in bringing them to such a spot. They draw their salaries with a vindictive air, as if their only remaining satisfaction was in knowing that the comi)any had to count out so many silver dollars every first of the month on their account. These x^eople finally return to the United States, no wiser, no better off— save for SOME StTGGESTIOKS. 81 their paltry earnings — for tlieir experience in the tropics, than so many horses or oxen would be. And these are the people, I believe, who make the ridiculous and depreciating reports of Honduras that we sometimes read in the newspapers. They do not scruple to assert that the country is inhabited by half-nude savages; that life is unsafe, and that outra- geous liberties are taken with the property of foreigners. These are the people who would have you believe that your letters are oj)ened in the post-offices, and that esj)ionage of the most annoying sort exists. No stories of the sort sliould be credited. The post-office authorities are too bus}^ to meddle with any- one's corresjjondence. They would consider it a great bore to devote unusual attention to any letter or package — unless there were reasons to apprehend smuggled goods or the violation of the postal laws. Patience and i^erseverance are requisites to success in mining matters. Anyone who starts for Honduras with the idea that he is going to step at once into the possession of a mountain of gold is doomed to disappoint- ment. He must take time and go slow. He must learn the language; that is absolutely 6 82 THE EEPUBLIC OP HOI^DUEAS. necessary — at least, sufficiently to read and converse on ordinary subjects. He must adapt himself to the ways of the country and the people. He should know something of its topography and its early history, which may be easily gotten at in Wells' Honduras and in Squier's and H. H. Bancroft's works. Then he should visit the principal mining camps, and learn how they have arrived at their present respective conditions. He will soon have dis- covered that the mining industry is no child' s play, but a hard reality. A good property will avail him little unless properly worked. Only high-grade ores, assaying at least sixty dollars, i)ay when worked in the j)rimitive native methods; that is an established fact. To equip a mine with the plant required for its successful working, means a large outlay. This is why comjoanies must be formed, and why the natives themselves do not work their prop- erty on a large scale. The concessions granted by the Government to foreigners are remark- ably liberal. 'No one can say that President Bogran has not shown a most progressive and truly American spirit in his encouragement and api)robation of foreign enterprise, i3articu- larly in regard to the mining industry. SOME SUGGESTIONS. 83 The Government Mining Bureau is an excel- lent institution. At the head of this is the In- spector-General of Mines, Doctor Fritzgartner. At this office may be seen some valuable and interesting specimens from all parts of the republic. Here are nuggets from all the prin- cipal gold and silver mines. Here, too, are samples of coal-slate from Choluteca, with strong odor of petroleum, and from the north coast as well. A fortune awaits the man who discovers the coal-seams which are thought to exist. Samples may be seen, at this bureau, of fine gypsum discovered in the red marl forma- tion very near to Tegucigalx)a. The occurrence of this gypsum would point to the presence of rock-salt. A good cement may be made by adding small quantities of gypsum to the trachytic tufa found throughout Honduras. Calcined gypsum, or plaster of Paris, is im- ported and sold in the drug- stores at a high price. It is apt to be sjooiled by the moisture of the rainy season. A vast amount of machinery and mining implements is admitted to the country duty free, with a view to encouraging foreign enter- prise. The Honduras Progress during the years 84 THE EEPtJBLIC OF HOi^DUEAS. 1888-89 printed tlie mining laws, witli all their latest amendments, in English. These, for a person who does not read Spanish easily, are of the greatest assistance and convenience; the numbers of the paper containing them should be obtained from the office. They are very clear and concise, as, for example, the follow- ing, from — TITLE IX. A IvnNER'S RIGHTS UPON HIS CLAIM, AND INTERSECTION OF MINES. Article 100. The miner is the exclusive owner within the limits of his claim, and in all its depth, not only of the registered vein or deposit, but also of all the other veins, cross- veins, and mineral substances which exist or may be found in it. Article 101. But he is forbidden to follow or w^ork them into someone's else claim. Article 102. Every trespass subjects him to restitution of the amount taken out, according to the valuation of experts, without prejudice of an action for theft, should bad faith be proven against him. Article 103. Fraud will be presumed when the trespass exceeds twenty-five yards. Something about the comparatively new stamp-mill process may not be out of x>hice before closing this chapter. This is a device arranged generally in what are called bat- teries, each one comprising five stamps. At the Rosario works there are seven bat- teries, making thirty-five stamj^s. Each stamp may weigh seven or eight hundred i)ounds. SOME SUGGESTIONS. 85 The battery is set in a mortar or cast-iron box, with iron blocks called dies at the bottom, on which the stamps are to fall. The ore passes through a crushing machine, and then is fed into the mortars to be crushed under the stamps. Water also enters with the ore, and the finely crushed mixture iDasses out through sheet-iron perforated screens of the mortar. The stamps drop a distance of eight or ten inches, making from fifty to ninety strokes per minute. The stamps are about ten feet in length, and consist of four parts, called stem, collar, stamp-head, and shoe. The collar is on the upper part, and i)rojects three or four inches. The cam of the driving-shaft catches under this, and lifts and turns the stami3. The stamp-head is a cylinder of tough cast-iron, and on its bottom there is a steel shoe which can be removed when worn out, and replaced. A thirty -five-stamp mill can reduce from sev- enty to ninety tons of ore in twenty-four hours. By the old arrastra method tliis would require weeks. The crushed ore is treated in various ways for the extraction of the gold. Some- times experiments are necessary, at no little expense, before the best method is hit upon, particularly in the case of refractory ores. 86 THE REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. V. THE OPALS OF HONDURAS. You will not have been long in the country when one morning you will receive a visit from a couple of traveling salesmen from Gracias. These gentlemen may not at first sight im- press you with their appearance. They will be carelessly dressed in jacket and trousers of some light cotton material, a i^ita hat the worse for wear, or a nondescript felt article of headgear, possibly a handkerchief around the neck, and feet without shoes or stockings. They will wear sandals of hide, perhaps, with strings tied around the ankle and between the great toe and its neighbor. They will have come a long and weary distance, and if it be break- fast-time, will ask you to accommodate them with something to eat, for which, of course, they will X3ay. Then they will j)roduce their wares, the i^oorest and lowest priced always to begin with. As a rule, they carry the opals in tiny bottles — always the bottle in Honduras ! — filled with oil. I do not know whether the oil spoils the stones, or whether the stones are of poor quality to begin with; but I do know that opals that have been in oil are not worth buy- ing; for once removed from the bottles they THE OPALS OF HONDURAS. 87 begin to crack. Some of tliem are very lovely bits of color. But if you are wise you will decline to invest, and insist on being shown some better ones. After considerable argument and protesting* on both sides, the Gracias gen- tlemen will contrive to fumble in their pockets and bring forth some little folded papers con- taining more expensive specimens. Ah, some of these are gorgeous! If you are wily you can purchase actual beauties for a dollar or two apiece. The little clieaj) ones sell from dos reals (twenty -five cents) to a dollar. I have seen very beautiful opals in Hon- duras, but never any that struck me as being as durable as those of Mexico. One should make it a point to visit the department of Gra- cias and see the mines; without so doing, you can gain very little idea of them. It is no use to ask people in Tegucigalpa, for few of them — outside of the government geologist, and per- haps a jeweler or two — can give you any infor- mation. They will tell you that the principal mines are near the town of Erandique, and are worked by Messrs. Peacock & Burdet. And you will need a map to show you that Gracias is west a good distance from Tegucigalpa, and that it is a long ride thither. And you will be 88 THE REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. iiardly any wiser tlian you were before leaving the United States, on this point. But if you can speak any Spanish at all, ask the opal venders such questions as come into your mind. In that way you may learn a good deal. Just how much one should be swayed by the popular superstition concerning these beautiful stones, I would not attempt to say. Speaking from my own experience — twice during my life have I possessed opals, the first time Mexican, the second from Honduras — they have been for me harbingers of the most cruel and un- foreseen events, followed, however, by un- dreamed-of and more than compensating good fortune. They fascinate me, and yet fill me with terror. They are always associated in my mind with tragedy. I never see an ojDal now without recalling George Parsons Lathrop's beautiful poem, "A Casket of Opals." One of the sets of verses tells of two dead lovers meeting : " He asked, ' Am I forgiven? ' ' And dost thou forgive? ' she said. Long time in vain for peace they'd striven, And now their hearts were dead." "On the Pacific coast," says Honduras Progress^ '4arge veins of common opals are THE OPALS OF HONDURAS. 89 found, of bluish and reddish colors. Blocks of opals weighing from one hundred to three hundred pounds can be easily extracted. In future years, no doubt, this class of mineral deposits will be utilized by the lapidaries for articles of luxury, as well as for the decoration of dwellings and railroad cars, in a similar manner as the 'Mexican onyx,' which is but a calcite, and of no great hardness." PART III. IMMIGRATION AND AGRICULTURE. I. SOME PLANS AND ATTEMPTS TO COLONIZE. Two great necessities of Honduras — perhaps the two greatest — and recognized as such by President Bogran and many other progressive Honduraneans, are those of immigration and agricultural development. Agriculture, as we hear repeated over and over, is the true basis of national wealth, and bright will be the day for Honduras when her splendid fields are cul- tivated even to a quarter of the full extent of their resources. The first steps of actual importance toward colonization and agricultural progress have been taken lately by what is called the Ameri- can Honduras Company. The president of this company is Mr. E. W. Perry, a man of foresight and pluck. Mr. Frank M. Imboden, the former owner of the valuable Opoteca mines, is the vice-president. The company has offices in the principal cities of the United States, as well as in Tegucigalpa, in Patuca, in (91) 92 THE EEPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. Juticalpa, and Catacamas. Its object is the colonization of tlie vast yet little known east- ern region of the republic, which is called Mosquito. Mr. Perry's work is genuine. What he says and writes of the country — and he has done a great deal in this direc- tion — may be credited, every word, for he is speaking from actual knowledge, not from hearsay. He has personally explored Mos- quito, and knows the land. The simple fact that such a man is the president of the com- pany, and that he is seconded by another of such experience and prudence as Mr. Imboden, should guarantee success in all that may be undertaken. The vast tract of Mosquito com- prises areas of land heretofore unsalable, be- cause so remote and unreachable. According to the contract of Mr. Perry with the Govern- ment, this land is purchased by the American Honduras Company, the payment to be made in extensive public works which will prove of inestimable value to the entire eastern half of the republic. There will be a wagon-road built over three hundred miles in length, leading from the capital to the north coast. The cost of this is estimated at three hundred and twenty -three thousand three hundred and fifty- ATTEMPTS TO COLONIZE. 99 three dollars. There is a canal to be made between the Caratasca Lagoon, which is close to the Mosquito coast line, and the Guayape, an important river. This canal will be at least twenty miles long by twelve yards wide, and five feet deep. The cost will be nearly three hundred thousand dollars. The channel be- tween Caratasca and the sea may have to be deepened at a cost of sixty-five thousand dol- lars. One hundred miles of telegraph line must be strung, and other improvements made, to permit communication between this region and the interior. The cost will be at least seven hundred thousand dollars. These are the works with which the company pays for its Mosquito lands. That it is in earnest, having already begun active measures toward coloni- zation, is very gratifying. A steam saw-mill has been brought to Patuca, which will cut ten thousand feet of lumber per day, and houses are being built at that place and at Caratasca. There is a steamer to carry mail and freight — including fruit — from points along the eastern coast to Trujillo and Puerto Cortez, there to connect with the steamers for the United States. Land has been cleared between the Caratasca Lagoon and the sea, and planted with fruits — 94 THE REPUBLIC OF HOIS-DURAS. such as bananas, cocoa-nuts, and pine-apples. Along the Patuca, or Guayape, other fruit plantations have been begun. The natives of the region — chiefly Sambos — have been stimu- lated to improve their fruit crops, perceiving that a way to market their produce will speedily be opened. There is a good n^ule trail now between Dulce N ombre and the Patuca or Guayape River. This will probably be made into a wagon-road later on. The company has begun to introduce materi- als and implements for building houses and making furniture. It has brought wagons and harnesses, and tools for constructing roads. It is now introducing animals of the finest breeds into the region, in order to improve the native stock. Among these are a number of Norman stallions. The exploration of such a country is by no means a trifling task. To read of anyone having done so, conveys but little idea of the achievement. 'No one, save he who has tried it for himself, realizes what it means to ride from one hundred to three hundred miles through a region where tliere is hardly the shadow of a mule trail. There may. be no wikl beasts, it is true, but there will be other ATTEMPTS TO COLONIZE. 05 formidable difficulties. The pioneers who have attemx)ted the Mosquito tract are certainly courageous souls. Some of their experiences, jotted down at the time, are most interesting. Mr. W. W. Packer, of Sabanagrande, was one of the first to explore for a direct route between Tegucigalpa and Patuca. Some extracts from his diary, as published in Honduras Progress, seem to me worth preservation. II. MR. packer's diary. January 17, 1889. In the Works, near Dulce Nombre, Honduras, C. A., — away up in Catacamas. Mr. Hines and myself are halting here on our return march from Rio Patuca, while a courier, one of our Indians, has been sent ahead for our mules, which were left at Dulce Nombreon beginning this exciting journey by foot and canoe. After several weeks of rough life, w^e are in a deserted In- dian hut, wishing we might see the reflection of our faces in a mirror, cleaning them with the keen edge of a Swedish razor. But here are the dates and events: Sunday, December 23, 1888. Met the Governor, who advised change of route, saying he once sent a party of six old mountaineers on the same errand, and that they lost their way and were eleven days in wander- ing out. He very kiodly gave us all means at his disposal, and wished us a safe journey. We were much pleased by his 9Q THiE EEPtJBLIC OF HONDURAS. kindness; but oh! the vanity of earthly things! A little fly destroys the enjoyment of your coffee; a flea cools the ardor of your wooing ! Our worthless mozo, Silvestre, has deserted — but we have engaged another just as bad, Christmas, December 25, 1888. Rose at five a. m., not with the lark, but with the humming- bird, and while we cooked our breakfast over a fire of cedar logs, we had the voices of bright-hued songsters overhead. A scorpion, also, was on my blanket, but I have forgiven him. We killed three chickens; I trust they have forgiven us. We took a drink (from the river) — I have no hopes of forgiveness after doing this on the great holiday — and then we cantered away for Catacamas, which we reached at three p. m. The day was very mild, and ihe mules were not very wild, or they might have been shocked as we entered the town. We re- covered the next morning by a shock, when it was announced that our mules — Jose and Maria — were missing, and would only be found on the payment of dos pesos (two dollars). December 30, 1888. We have now been at Rio Tinto several days, and though one courier after another has arrived from our region of pro- posed action, and reported a horrible and infernal wilderness before us, we will, however, try the ghosts to see if they be flesh or spirit. To-night, sixteen Indians occupy the space in front of the casa, lying with the goats and calves on the wet ground. December 31, 1888. Ant-eaters, condors, rubber trees, and oinei novelties, as we drive from Rio Tinto to Dulce Nombre, to spend New Year's eve. A feast is in progress, and not only the native population resort thither, but the Indians come to drink and pray. In the midst of a beautiful country, rolling like the grand waves of the sea, we ride till night settles down; the rain descends, and our mules pick the way for the last two leagues in the inky darkness and drenching rain, till the flashing of pine fires shows us our wished-for resting-place — the place where rampant hostility is to confront us, instead of peaceful rest. In one of these uiud huts, however, we find MR. packer's diary. 97 a place to stop, for the President has given us his protection, and it is powerful — a command, in writing, that we shall be aided by all alcaldes — and the power of the law is acknowl- edged. Amid the imprecations outside and the curses we hear from between set teeth, we go to sleep. We know the Indians only dread the pick and shovel, but they must do their share of the hard work to-morrow. January 3, 1889. The new year has begun, and with it our work. As every- one at this time should divest himself of all the superfluities of life, so we have divested ourselves of all the superfluities of weight and clothing that might hinder the pilgrim's progress. Oh, mula grande! I stroke thy large dark ears, and pat thy handsome neck, while I say good-bye! Five stalwart Indians from three tribes are to take thy place and bear thy burdens — for often shall I expect one of them to carry me, and then say: Thy pace, oh mula, is more pleasing! The bundles are strapped on the Indians' backs, seventy-five to one hundred X)Ounds on each swarthy fellow. A guide, a cook, and so our party is now ten. Away we go, "over fern and fen," till the night; then camp, drenched with rain and wading — and sleep on the muddy ground, amid the sighing and weeping forest trees. Now let a day pass, but not as we passed it, unless, may be, you behold the grandeur of the scene from mountain-peak, or look upward from the quebrada in tlie beauteous glen; but go to the place, thirty miles from the nearest Indian settlement, where, as all true travelers must, we made a discovery. An apple falling led Newton to the enunciation of a great and important law. A monkey dancing, prancing, amid the lofty trees leads us to a "mine of antiquities." A shot, a rush, of both monkey and Indians — one inflight, the rest in pursuit; Mr. Hines, fleet-footed as a mountaineer, follows, calls me, and, oh heavens! to think of the labor a thousand years agone! A "barranca," a mass of stone, a ruin, tables in one piece of granite, bowls in delicate tracery ornamented, turtles, innu- merable things with tiger heads and tails, and adorned by the hand of art. How I longed for a swift steamer to transport 7 98 THE KEPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. these thousands of articles, wrought by hands long since turned to dust and scattered by the wind, to my own city ! but the errand we are on calls us. We can not linger, like district messenger boys, to play. (We will work the claim by and by.) One more day's journey, and the strength given us by that monkey meat has taken us to the bed of Rio Lagarto; and after many crossings through water, cold, yet mercifully clean, we come upon a band of Sumo Indians. We bargained with the hunters for two " pitpans," which, a few hours later, we found on the banks at the junction of the Guampu and Lagarto. The splendid craft, looking so rakish and piratical, was made from a mahogany log — thirty- five feet in length, two feet six inches in breadth, hollowed by fire. On Monday, January 7th, we took our seats in one, to try the beautiful Guampu and the country along its banks; one-half mile, and we took from a breakfast of iguana a party of three Sumos, to navigate our boats. Our party thus augmented numbered thirteen — a fatal number, say the super- stitious and so it proved to one who dined that day on the bank amid the roarings of a cataract. Entering the rapids, in a few minutes we experienced that charming sensation in shooting them, which, mixed with the unknown element of danger, gives a piquancy that is the greatest delight. We were in one of a series of rapids that extend about forty-five miles, and among them we may class about forty as perilous, running with great swiftness, often very tortuous, some with very narrow courses, full of rocks that we often grazed; some so shallow that we had to lighten boats and wade, and in one place unload the canoes and haul them around. I waded at first barefoot in the water, but was very glad, on regaining the boat, to put on shoes, with a firm resolve to escape that torture at the risk of being overturned by the current; so we went all day in the pouring rain. One of the most picturesque objects in the midst of Nature's grandeur was, I am proud to say, myself — shoes, but no socks, trousers rolled high, a rubber coat, and a white helmel . The macaws and parrots along the banks must MR. packer's diary. 99 have envied my dress (or my lack of it). At six P. m., we were at the mouth of the Pan, at an Indian "pueblo," and entered a wigwam. Each man here has two wives (excepting, of course, our party). All dress in a more primitive way even than myself during the shooting of the rapids. As the wig- wams have no sides, we can look around on the domestic arrangements of each happy family. One proud matron has two pairs of garters ornamenting her dusky legs and two pairs of bracelets on her shapely arms, and the beautiful blending of natural complexion with that achieved by the juice of achote, makes her one of the grandest features in this region of scenic delight. I noticed one feature that shows how the influence of civ- ilization has penetrated these mountains. The chief thrashed his dog for presuming to clean the cooking utensils before the family had eaten their contents. I have sworn by the holy San Marcos to be that good man's friend forever. Another night has passed, and as the morning breaks, an obstacle to travel presents itself. Don Guadalupe, our ' ' major- domo," has had a bad attack of cholera morbus, which we supposed to have under control yesterday. To-day we have f«ars that cholera symptoms are prevailing. We must wait here, for he has been a faithful friend. He lies on one side of us in agony, and on the other the Indians are eating breakfast, cutting ten-inch phmtains with two-foot " machetes." At four p. M., we have seen that the end is near. We allow the Indians to handle none of our utensils, scald- ing each article, and have our clothiug hanging in the smoke. At 9.17 P. M., Sefior Don Guadalupe Carrillo, alcalde of Rio Tinto, died at Sumos Pueblo, Honduras, C. A. We two, Mr. Hines and myself, stood on his right, the In- dians on the left. Yesterday he was guiding me through a swift rapid; to-night he crossed the dark river, but his guide was unseen. Dami Samu has placed the body on the ground, a little cedar cross on the breast. The pine knots flicker and light up his haggard face as he lies beneath our swinging beds, the hogs, dogs, and cats being kept away only by constant vigilance. 100 THE EEPUBLIC OF HONDUKAS. At dinner on the rocks, yesterday, he was one of the fatal number — thh-teen. Farewell, good and faithful friend ! Thou wert true to Don Guillernio, who in thought sees tliee on the shore of the river where death is vanquished and life is eternal. On the morning of the 9th, leaving two of our Indians to bury Don Guadalupe, we continued our journey, entering Rio Patuca at 11.51 a. m. Its beautiful banks were like a terraced lawn, a fringe of heavy grass against a background of forest. I began, almost unconsciously, humming from Haydn's Crea- tion, "Most beautiful appear," for the rich, fertile lands and fresh verdure suggested not only beaut}^ but a grand future of wealth to those who were here in this paradise. Of croco- diles there were many, an enormous fellow lying on the bank in easy range, tempting me to salute him. My salute was forcible as a Colt's 44 revolver could make it, and as the leadi n compliment went to him, it glanced from his scaly covering as harmless as" flattery tossed to an experienced society belle. Mr, Hines' rifle caused another leviathan to toss his head, and with a loud voice acknowledge that he felt hurt at the pre- sumption. Through the beautiful l.nds, amid forest and sa- vana, we went all day, till, at seven p. m., we entered the hos- pitable house of Mr. Nestor A. Gross, and 1 spent a good part of the night in talking with him and Mr. Charles Coleman. We shall long remember the sack of flour and the cut loaf sugar — a gift — for, as we lunched on batter-cakes and turtle eggs, we thought of their liberality witli every liberal mouthful. The next day, while eating of the flesh of a very tender iguana, I looked at the face of an enormous cliff, and wondered if, amid this beauty on one side and the fertility on the other, the crocodile should monopolize it, or a teeming population of workers find health, sustenance, and life. Our return journey is of necessity slow, and as I stand in the water after wading, and wait for our boatmen to reach us, I improve the opportunity by committing to memory from a Spanish book a number of verbs and nouns; also a few phrases. IVly neighbor smiles at my energy under the circumstances; but it is all the chance I have, and the boatmen wonder why I do it (for have I not someone with me who can speak for MK. packer's diary. 101 me?) not knowing that one of the joys of existence is to do your own talking; and tliis is no dreary, poorly ventilated school-room, but in each breath of Honduras air there is an impulse to do and persevere. One thing we have failed to do — secure any steaks from the enormous tapirs that frequent this region. We have shot three, but they have died in almost inaccessible places, and our time has been of " more value than many tapirs." We are, on the 14th of January, at camp on a sandbank. A hut covered with twenty-nine plantain leaves is sufficient shel- ter against the weather; but we must sleep lightly, for on one side is a mountain swarming with jaguars, twenty-seven feet from our hut the crocodile marks of to-day, and with us five beings who have not yet known what Matthew Arnold called " the humanization of man in society " — viz. , civilization — and who have not forgotten that we took them, with no very gentle words, from their hunting and fishing, to toil here for money which they do not worship. Our guide and his family have deserted, so we have only five attendants left, and they would rather hunt and swim than continue the journey. Onward we go, however, carefully watching, and at last we reach the hut where I am writing. Close by us is a wild cotton plant, so large I hardly dare speak of its size. Mr. Hines has crawled into it four feet from the ground, and, stretching his hands up- ward, asks for a stick to touch the top. Nearly three hundred bolls of superfine cotton growing, and so each of us must secure a quantity of seed to send to North America. I wish I could tell you more of this choice spot on earth, but till our road is made you will prefer to delay coming. In two months we expect to have reduced the time four days, and made stations that one may travel with a surety of com- fort which we long for, as at present we are very tired. Not one hour for sixteen days have we had dry clothing, or a dry blanket at night, except the one night when we found a dry bed at the house of Mr. Gross. We are well, however, which is the best evidence that the climate of Honduras is par excel- lence, and that we are tough. 102 THE EEPUBLIC OF HONDUEAS. III. CONDITION OF THE COUNTRY. Something about tlie political and financial condition of Honduras at the present time may be thought in place by those who may read these pages with a view, soon or late, of trying their fortunes in this— to them — new world. It may be stated at once that the country has never enjoyed a more peaceful era, or one characterized by greater enlightenment. The religion is the Roman Catholic, but the constitution guarantees absolute freedom in religious matters. Church and state are sep- arated, but the utmost harmony prevails be- tween the two. The existing tolerance may be understood from the fact that there are Baptist and Methodist churches on the Bay Islands and on the mainland, as, for example, at San Pedro Sula. Of the Protestant religions rei3resented in the country, there are, I believe, some two thousand Methodists, a few Episcopalians and Presbyterians, two or three Spiritualists, two Buddhists, two Anabaptists, and one or two Lutherans. The population of Honduras, for the past century, has been estimated as follows : CONDITION OF THE COUNTRY. 103 Year. Inhabitants. 1791 95, 500 1836 200,000 1881 307,289 1887 331,957 The male population is 163,073; the female, 168,884. Of the foreign element, there are 1,033 English subjects, 592 of these dwelling in the Bay Islands. The others are mostly in the north coast departments of Santa Barbara and Colon. There are about two hundred I^orth Americans in the country. For every human being at present in Hon- duras there are eighty acres of land. From the very first, President Bogran firmly refused to repudiate the great debt imi)osed uxDon the country, some twenty years since, in connection with the then proposed inter- oceanic railroad. That enormous burden was contracted, as everyone knows, by the issue of bonds, which, the railroad not being built — save the poorly equix)ped little branch from Puerto Cortez inland to San Pedro Sula — the republic refused to X3ay. At last, however, •and after strenuous efforts, the government has effected an arrangement with London capitalists, by means of which the old claim 104 THE REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. will be canceled and the railroad actually bnilt. The financial condition of the republic in other respects is sound. The j)ublic debt — ex- clusive of the railroad enormity — has been gradually reduced during President Bogran's administration. The income of the republic for the fiscal year ending July, 1888, was $2,818,264.51, and the expenditure for the same period, $2,826,- 531.91. This would show an outlay of $8,267.40 greater than the income; but $617,341.94 was IDaid toward extinguishing the public debt showing an actual gain of $609,074.54 for the year. The government's intention is to iDay over half a million of the remaining debt during the year 1889, and thus to leave less than $200,000 of debt to be carried over into the year 1890. The country has nearly $600,000 invested in public roads and other jDermanent improvements; $216,028 in public buildings; $121,234.15 in articles from which the govern- ment derives an income, and $2,355,187.58 in telegrajjh, military, and j)ostal service equip- ments. The income of the rej)ublic from revenues and customs for the month of August, 1889, was as follows : CONDITION OF THE COUNTRY. 105 Port of Amapala $ 43,010.921 Port of Puerto Cortez 25,900.66 Port of Las Islas 9,193.25 Department of Colon 15,942. 73i Department of Tegucigalpa 23,904.71 Department of Santa Barbara 10,593.76 Department of Comayagua 8,147.20^^ Department of La Paz 4,513. 27i Department of Copan 11,994. 97i Department of Gracias 6,095. 51i Department of Choluteca 12,876.851 Department of El Paraiso 9,067. 73i Department of Yoro 4,680.69i Department of Intibuca 3,756.91 Department of Olanclio , 12,293.78 Total $201,972.98i- The import duties are calculated at so much per pound, according to class, uj)on the mer- chandise."^ Goods belonging to Class I. are duty free. The rate for Class II. is two cents per pound; for Class III., four cents; for Class ly., eight cents; for Class Y., twelve cents; for Classes YL, YII., YIII., IX., and X., respect- ively, eighteen cents, twenty-four cents, thirty cents, and fifty cents. For Class XI., the duty is one dollar and fifty cents per pound. For liquors, the duty is sixteen cents per pound, and for spirits, twenty-eight cents. It has been hoped by many that the Uni- versal American Congress of 1889 would do * See importations for year 1887-88, in Appendix. 106 THE REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. much to increase tlie trade between Honduras — and other Central American republics — and the United States. In relation to this subject, the Hon. D. W. Herring, formerly American Consul at Tegucigalpa, gave, not long since, in an article in the American Exj^orter^ some ex- cellent advice to merchants and manufacturers of the United States. "They vrould do well," he said, ' ' to study the peculiarities of Central American trade. Over good roads, each freight mule may be required to carry t^vo hundred and fifty x)Ounds. When the trails are rough, mountainous, or muddy, the maximum limit of weight for a cargo is two hundred pounds, and his should be divided into two packages as nearly as possible alike, so as to be slung over the native pack-saddle and rest on each side of the mule. ISTo x)ackage should weigh over one hundred and twenty-five i^ounds if going over a good trail, or more than one hundred j)ounds when there is no certainty that the road will be smooth, level, and dry. The best rule is to limit the weight in all cases to one hundred pounds, including casing or box. Duties in Honduras are charged by the weight of the im- ports — boxes, barrels, sacks, or other casing included. It is easy to see how the shipper of CONDITION OF THE COUNTRY. 107 goods to this country may increase the amount of duties and freight charges on a consignment, without adding to the profits of the importer or strengthening the inclination of the buyer to increase his orders. ''Boxes should be made of some thin, tough lumber, such as elm would make, and should snugly fit the goods they inclose, or be stuffed full in the vacant places around the article shipped with some light material, or so braced that they will resist the crushing tendency of the lassos or ropes used for lashing the cargo to the saddle. "Coal oil should be shipped in zinc cans. When shi]Dped in wooden barrels, it is not only too much wasted by evaporation, but barrels are very liable to breakage by rough handling, or to be punctured by nails, rocks, etc. The import duty is two cents per pound, and coal oil sells here at one dollar and twenty-five cents to one dollar and fifty cents per gallon. Besides candles, coal oil lights are the only kind used. ' ' There are two good banking houses now in Tegucigalpa. The Banco Nacional Hondureho will buy and sell foreign drafts, and issue drafts and bills against tlie public treasury and cus- 108 THE EEPUBLIC OF HONDUEAS. tom-houses of the republic. Its rate of discount is one per cent, j^er month. It receives deposits at four per cent, per annum for three months, and at six per cent, per annum for six months. The president is the Hon. Don Ponciano Planas; the manager, Don J. Diaz Duran. The Banco Centro Americano does a general banking business, buying and selling exchange and discounting bills. The president is Don Santos Soto; the directors, Don Ignacio Agur- cia and Don Cipriano Yelascjuez; the manager is Don Julio Lozano. American gold, paper money, and drafts com- mand a x)remium of twenty-five to thirty-five per cent. The Hondurehos are a peaceful and friendly people. Exclusive of a few of the Indians in the remoter districts, they are wonderfully kind and hospitable to all strangers. You can travel from Amapala to Puerto Cortez, alone and utterly unarmed, with any amount of money and jewels upon your person, and have no fears whatever. The people have great reverence and affection for their President. General Bogran could not possibly be more popular than he is with all classes. He was born June 3, 1849, and is CONDITIOTT OF THE COUNTRY. 109 therefore still young. He was educated in Eu- rope, then returned and became a soldier, serving honorably in time of revolutions, and returning home, when peace was brought about, to devote himself to agricultural pursuits. When President Soto resigned, in 1883, an election was called, according to the constitu- tion, and Luis Bogran was enthusiastically chosen by the jDeople to stand at their head. The x^residential term of Honduras, like that of the United States, is for four years. In 1887, Bogran was unanimously reelected for another four-year period. The President is charming personally. He is deeply interested in agricult- ure, and has a fine country place in Santa Barbara, where he resides with his family dur- ing certain months of the year. The Cabinet is composed of Ministers or Sec- retaries. The members at present are ; Secre- tary of State, Hon. Don Simeon Martinez; Secretary of Public Works, Hon. Don Fran- cisco Planas ; Secretary of War, Hon. Don Francisco Alvarado. There is a Senate and a Chamber of Deputies, who are elected from the thirteen departments. Each department has a Governor. Elementary education is compulsory. There 110 THE EEPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. are free scliools in all tlie villages. Tlie rights of iDroperty and j)ersoiial security are taught to be regarded as sacred. ^ The better classes are well-read and thought- ful. The President has fine literary taste, and lends his approval to all literary and scientific organizations. He is a member of the Hondu- ras Scientific Literary Academy, and is doing much to encourage the Society of Antiquities, lately organized. This society is to construct and maintain a museum at Copan. It will undertake to exxDlore that region for antiqui- ties, and to preserve them and the Copan ruins. It is to enjoy the privilege of exploring all ruins throughout the republic, beginning February 1, 1890. The government has granted the society two caballerias of land at the spot where the museum is to be built. Mr. E. W. Perry is one of the principal organizers of the society. There are seventeen newspapers printed in Honduras. In Tegucigalpa: La Nacion^ La Republican El Tren, Los Debates^ La Gaceta Oficial, La Academia,' La Remsta Judicial, El Estudiante, El Catolico, Honduras Prog- ress; in Comayagua : El Repiiblicano; in Santa Rosa : El Lidependiente, El Ensayo; in Santa CONDITION OF THE COUNTRY. Ill Barbara : El Progreso; in Trujillo : El Repitb- licano, La Frensa Libre^ El Democrata. The x)ostal service is well conducted, and let- ters are promjotly received and dispatched, although the couriers are mostly foot-travelers. Some of these men make the most astonishing trips between the coast and the interior, out- stripping mounted passengers, and always arriving safe and sound at their destination, with their heavy bags of mail-matter upon their slioulders. They make a great many short cuts across the mountains, letting themselves down perpendicular hill-sides, and creeping up ascents that are almost sheer walls. They usu- ally make some town by nightfall, but if not, they can curl themselves up and sleep comfort- ably anywhere, provided it be a dry spot. The schedule of the mail arrivals and departures for the month of August, 1889, gives some idea of the service : MAILS LEAVE TEGUCIGALPA. August 2d. — For Sabanagrande, Pespire, Nacaome, Repub- lic of Salvador (by San Miguel), La Brea, Amapala, Corinto, San Juan del Sur, Puntarenas, Panama, South America, Antil- las, North America, Europe, etc. August 11th. — For Sabanagrande, Pespire, Nacaome, San Miguel, La Brea, Amapala, La Union, La Libertad, Acajutla, San Salvador, San Jos 6 de Guatemala, and Champerico. August IdtJi. — For Sabanagrande, Pespire, Nacaome, Re- 112 THE REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. public of Salvador (by San Miguel), La Brea, Amapala, Co- rinto, San Juan del Sur, Puntarenas, Panama, South America, Antillas, North America, Europe, etc. August 20t7i. — For Sabanagrande, Pespire, Nacaome, Re- public of Salvador (by San Miguel), La Brea, Amapala, Co- rinto, San Juan del Sur, Puntarenas, Panama, South America, Antillas, North America, Europe, etc. August 21st. — For Sabanagrande, Pespire, Nacaome, Repub- lic of Salvador (by San Miguel), La Brea, Amapala, La Union, La Libertad, Acajutla, San Jose de Guatemala, and Cham- perico. August 2Qt7i. — For Sabanagrande, Pespire, Nacaome, Re- public of Salvador (by San Miguel), La Brea, and Amapala. August 30t7i or dlst. — For Sabanagrande, Pespire, Nacaome, Republic of Salvador (by San Miguel), La Brea, Amapala, La Union, La Libertad, Acajutla, San Josa de Guatemala, Cham- perico. Republic of Mexico (by Acapulco), United States, Asia, and Oceanica (by San Francisco, Cal.). MAILS ARRIVE AT TEGUCIGALPA. August M. — From Amapala, La Brea, Nacaome, Republic of Salvador (by San Miguel), Pespire, and Sabanagrande. August 9fh. — From abroad, by Panama; from Costa Rica and Nicaragua; from Amapala, La Brea, Nacaome, Republic of Salvador (by San Miguel), Pespire, and Sabanagrande. August 10th. — From abroad, by Panama; from Costa Rica and Nicaragua; from Mexico (by Acapulco); from Champerico, Guatemala, and Salvador (by Amapala); from La Brea, Naca- ome, San Miguel, Pespire, and Sabanagrande. August 20th. — From abroad, by Panama; from Costa Rica and Nicaragua; from Amapala, La Brea, Nacaome, Republic of Salvador (by San Miguel), Pespire, and Sabanagrande. August 21st. — From San Francisco, California, Mexico (by Acapulco), Guatemala and Salvador (by Amapala); from La Brea, Nacaome, San Miguel, Pespire, and Sabanagrande. August 20th. — From Guatemala and Salvador (by Amapala), La Brea, Nacaome, San Miguel, Pespire, and Sabanagrande. August ^Oth. — From abroad, by Panama; from Costa Rica CONDITION OF THE COUNTRY. 113 and Nicaragua; from Amapala, La Brea, Nacaome, Republic of Salvador (by San Miguel), Pespire, and Sabanagrande. The mail steamers proceeding from Panama arrive at Ama- pala on the following days of each month: 4th, 6th, 16th, and 26th. They leave for Panama and intermediate ports on the fol- lowing days: 5th, 6th, 17th, and 25th. The mail which leaves on the 2d of each month will carry correspondence for La Union, La Libertad, Acajutla, San Jos6 de Guatemala, Charaperico, and Acapulco, Republic of Mexico. SOME GENERAL POSTAL RULES. The post-office is opened for the public service on mall days from 8 to 11 a. m., and 2 to 4 p. m. After 4 p. m,, no corre- spondence is admitted. Postage to the interior of the republic, to Guatemala, Sal- vador, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica is as follows: Letters, from 15 to 50 grammes, 5 cents; printed matter, for each 50 grammes, 1 cent; commercial circulars, 5 cents for the first 230 grammes, and 1 cent for each additional 50 grammes; samples, 2 cents for the first 100 grammes, and 1 cent for each additional 50 grammes; packages, o, 5, 15, 25 cents for each 450 grammes in the respective distances of 5, 10, 20, 35 leagues; over 85 leagues, 40 cents. The postage for foreign countries is double that for Cen- tral America. Packages are admitted only for Central Amer- ica. The sender of a letter, addressed to whatever country in the postal union, can partially frank it, or not at all, but the re- ceiver has to pay double the amount of the deficiency. The previous frank of letters is necessary with letters for countries which do not belong to the postal union, and inland letters; this is also a rule with all and any class of correspond- ence. Paper mail and other printed matter for Central Amer- ica are free. Correspondence addressed to the bishop and postmasters are free of postage. Letters containing enclosures, such as gold, silver, jewelry, etc., are not admitted. 8 114 THE EEPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. Packages containing inflammables, explosives, or matters easily decomposed, are not admitted, nor those exceeding the size and weight as stated in the postal tariff. The mail closes at 4 p. m. Tlie Postmaster- General is an American, Mr. Bert Cecil, who received tlie appointment in December, 1889. Mr. Cecil is also Director- General of the Telegraph. SOME FOLKS YOU MAY OR MAY NOT MEET. You might go to Honduras, arriving from the Pacific side, and live year in and year out, at Tegucigalpa or other interior city, without I so much as catching a glimpse of a Carib. I And yet you will nearly always find them mentioned, if not discoursed upon, in the writ- ings of travelers who have visited Honduras. For my own part, I find these creatures — they are hardly human beings — in no way attract- ive. They have certain negative virtues; they are clean in their habits, and they are not given to murder. Their life is i3olygamous; the lazy males are supported by their wives, who are much the more muscular and stalwart of the \ two. Tliey are coast-dwellers, and may also be found in the Bay Islands. I have seen it FOLKS YOU MAY OR MAY NOT MEET. 115 alleged that they are fine linguists, speaking Spanish, English, Indian, and Mosquito, be- sides their own tongue; but I have never heard anything but gibberish from them, myself. There is an old Indian legend that tells of the experiments of the gods in creating man. They made a man of clay, but he was no good; the rain soon dissolved him. They tried again with cork. These cork men did not become perfect. They had heathenish proclivities, and were destroyed by a cataclysm, only a few remaining — a degenerate kind, supposed to be the apes. The third trial was successful, the material emi)loyed being corn. I think the Caribs must have sprung from the degenerate survivors of the second experiment. Isabel Cantini, a clever waiter in Puerto Cortez, says: Outwardly, the men differ imperceptibly from some of the African tribes. It is in their mental characteristics that they show a marked difference. The common African is anxious to forget his native land and its customs, and adopt what he considers civilization — that is, dress and manners of the white people. Not so the Caribs; on the contrary, they cling tena- ciously to their traditions, and neither care to inform an out- sider about their private lives, nor do they welcome any inno- vations or improvements, and, if possible, would hinder any attempt towards the progress of a country. Their language — if the articulation of sounds jerked out spasmodically may be termed by such a name — attracts inva- riably the stranger's attention. Whenever two or three Caribs 116 THE REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. are talking together, they create such a hullabaloo that the unwary listener expects every moment that what he takes to be a quarrel will turn into a fight, until a sudden burst of laughter convinces him that this gibberish, harsh and quarrel- some as it may sound, means no ill. And yet their language must be based on certain grammatical rules, for some twenty years ago a Belgian f)riest had succeeded in translating a part of the New Testament into the Carib dialect. The missionary priests who labored here, in years long gone by, at the con- version of these people, can hardly boast of any great success, for the conversion was only superficial, and with the depart- ure or expulsion of the priests the Caribs have returned to' their dual religion — their Good and Bad Genius. The good one troubles them but very little, for under all circumstances he caa not be otherwise than wise and generous; it is the evil genius that needs continually to be propitiated, being revengeful and cruel. Their feasts of Mafia, as the god of evil is called, are still celebrated at certain seasons of the year, though they are no longer accompanied by the orgies and holocausts of former days. The common belief is that they came to the Bay Islands from St. Vincent, whence they had been driven by the Spaniards. Certain it is that the women of the race are all of it that is worth consideration, and they, simply be- cause they are such tremendous toilers. Each lazy lout of a male has usually three wives, each having her own hut, with whom he con- descends to live in turn. Once in awhile, but not often, he may deign to work for some wood-cutter. His chief occupation is the put- ting on of fresh linen, which his Amazonian wives toil constantly, knee-deep in the shining FOLKS YOU MAY OK MAY NOT MEET. 117 rivers, under the tropical sun, to whiten for their abominable example of a lord and master. When the women are not washing, they are working their plantations of bananas, yams, plantains, and yuca. They dig the root of the last named and grate it on their curious graters, which are made by driving j)ieces of flint into the surface of a mahogany board. The skin is removed from the root, which is very white. When the root is grated, it is placed in the casava snake. The snake is of palm, plaited in such a way that its diameter can be enlarged by pushing the ends toward each other. The snake, empty, is about four inches in diameter and ten feet long. With the ends shoved together, its length is reduced to five feet and the diameter enlarged to six inches. The yuca is put in and one end fastened. Then the other end is pulled on, and the snake contracts, forcing the juice of the plant through the meshes. The fluid makes a very good quality of starch. The yuca when removed from the snake is called casava. The casava is made into large, thin cakes, and cooked on an iron plate over a fire. ''The houses of the Caribs," says Mr. Charles Hansel, " are made of a frame of poles; the walls 118 THE REPUBLIC OF HON^DURAS. are formed by thatcliing twigs loosely and fill- ing the interstices with, the red clay of the country. The roof is steeply pitched, and covered with the long leaves of the cabbage palm, which is laid eight or ten inches thick, and lasts seven or eight years. These huts cost about forty dollars (sols) of Honduras money. " All furniture is of mahogany; and a chest, two or three stools, a table, and sometimes a bedstead, with a calabash or two, a tray, a mortar for pounding maize or corn in, with the ever-present casava grater and snake, and ham- mock, completes the household furnishing." At Puerto Cortez, and at the ports at which the steamers for New Orleans touch after leav- ing Cortez, in order to load on more bananas, there are plenty of Caribs. You will see them in their canoes or dories when they bring out fruit — chiefly bananas — to the vessel. The women do a great deal of this, while the men seem to enjoy riding around merely for pleas- ure in their small boats. They oiianage these with wonderful skill. It is really a sight worth seeing — a dusky dame with a single oar steer- ing a canoe heavily laden with the huge bunches of green fruit, and coming alongside the steamer just in the right X3lace. There is a FOLKS YOU MAY OR MAY NOT MEET. 119 terrific clamor, a good deal of hard language, of course, for a great many of tliem reach the vessel at the same moment, and dispute their turn. They know when the steamer is due, and are on the lookout. The moment her whistle is heard, into the canoes go the bananas, dragged hastily through the surf to them, and out they x)ut, paddling and steering desx^er- ately to get there first. The women are usually ahead. They are certainly repulsive enough in aiipearance, with but a calico garment or two, the head adorned with the inevitable handkerchief, and countenances like huge apes. Their tongues run like windmills ; the purser of the steamer must be a sharp one to battle with them. As they deliver their fruit aboard they receive a paper receipt for the number of bunches, which they present to the purser in order to get their money. The atmosphere sur- rounding the steamers Avhile loading at Puerto Cortez, Sarstoon, Livingston, and so on U|) to Belize, is one of noisy profanity. When they have disiDOsed of their produce, these curious creatures dance around recklessly in their empty boats, until you wonder why they do not fall into the sea and get gobbled up by the sharks which abound oflc that coast. I stood 120 THE KEPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. on tlie deck of a New Orleans steamer, watch- ing one of tliem, who was ugly enough to satisfy the most critical curiosity-seeker, and marvel- ing how anything so repulsive could really be a woman, when the second mate came up and joined me. "Look at that face," he said, in a mild sort of despair. ' ' Regular beefsteak over a clothes-line, isn' t it ? " He had been battling with the lady of the countenance referred to for some twenty minutes, she having evinced a disposition to thrust her canoe in ahead of a man who had preceded her. The second mate sighed, and seemed to find a sort of consolation in his reflection, which he presently rex)eated without waiting for my opinion. ''Yes, sir, that's it," he said; " beef steak over a clothes- line — nothing else in the world 1 ' ' V. SOME HINTS FOR AGRICULTURISTS. There are a great many people in the North who have not large capital and yet who might do well in Honduras, and prove a valuable accession to the country. These people know hardly anything about Central SOME HINTS FOR AGRICULTURISTS. 121 America, yet have vague ideas that they would like to go there and try their fortunes. They are the people for whom this book is mainly in- tended. What can one profitably engage in, if he go to Honduras? That is the question that they would i^robably like answered, first of all; and, in this chapter and the next, an en- deavor will be made to answer it. What can one engage in, without large capital, and hope to succeed ? I might answer, in a general way, a hundred things. But let us consider, in a manner as concise and practical as possible, the principal chances. In the first place, no one should set out for Honduras without having pretty thoroughly informed himself as to the existing conditions. I should strongly advise him to open correspondence with some respon- sible x^erson at Tegucigalpa — as, for instance, the representative of the American Honduras Company. Both Mr. Perry and Mr. Imboden are men of long experience in the country, who will say neither a word too much nor a word too little for it. They will not romance in its favor, nor will they exaggerate to de]preciate it. But let us look at some chances in agricult- ure — first, the tropical staples, whose culti- vation on a moderate scale is easy, and requires 122 THE REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. small outlay. These are bananas, cocoa-nuts, pine-api^les, oranges, coffee, sugar-cane, lem- ons, mangoes, figs, j)omegTanates, etc. The banana production of Honduras now amounts to millions of bunches per year. Each steamer leaving the north coast carries from ten to twenty thousand bunches, bought, as brought out in canoes to the vessel, at from twenty-five cents to one dollar and fifty cents X)er bunch. The exx)orting began about ten years ago, with one little schooner. There are now twenty vessels which come regularly to the coast to load with bananas and other fruits as well. Between Puerto Cortez and La Masca, near the Guatemala frontier, a distance of about twenty miles, there are i^roduced about eighty thousand bunches jDer month. Honduras at XDresent furnishes the greater x)art of all bananas exported from Central America. So great an importance, indeed, has her banana production attained, that the iDeople of Belize (British Honduras) have begun to feel the comiDetition as something serious. A late issue of the Belize Admrtiser contained an article in reference to the subject, in which the admission is made that ''in Puerto Cortez, Omoa, Cieneguita, Chetche, Walla, Muchelena, SOME HINTS FOR AGRICULTUKISTS. 123 Mascot, and other jolaces in Honduras, the fruit is infinitely superior to any grown in, or at least shipi^ed from," that colony (Belize). A letter addressed by Captain Leitch, who had a contract with the British Honduras govern- ment, to the Colonial Secretary, ir September, 1889, asking for the revision of the price of bananas, says: A superior class of fruit is purchased at Port Limon, Boca del Toro, and the coast of Honduras for thirty-seven and one- half cents a bunch, and in consequence it is impossible for us to compete with the other companies; and I have to ask that the standard bunch of eight hands be reduced from lifty to thirty-seven and one-half cents. And yet the fruit trade of Honduras may be said to be still in its infancy. How should one set out to start a banana, farm ? Let us see. First, we must select some good land, not too far away from a river, where the earth is deep and rich; for this is a plant that taxes the soil severely. The woods or the bush must be cleared by the laborers, called peones, who do this with but tw^o tools, the axe and the machete. The machete is something like a cutlass; it is the long, heavy knife with which every man of the lower classes is provided, and is carried in a leather g^se suspended from his belt. It is, in short, 124 THE REPUBLIC OP^ HONDURAS. the universal sword. Witli this machete, be- sides the axe, a single man can clear a manzana, which is eqnal to nearly two acres, of heavily wooded land in from twenty to thirty days. Two men can, of course, do the same work in from ten to fifteen days. The roughly cleared spot must be left to dry for about a month; then it is set fire to, and the fire completes the clearing iDrocess. ISTow Ave must buy our suck- ers, or "matas," to ]3lant. These we can get for about a dollar jDer hundred. For one man- zana we shall want about four hundred plants, which we mnst place about five yards distant one from another. One man can dig about two hundred holes — he must have a spade for this — a day. Two men can put in the four hundred of a manzana in the same time. When the "matas" are in the ground they need little care. In about eight months the first bunch should be looked for. When this is ready to be taken for the market, the entire jDlant is cut near the ground; this leaves a stump. New sprouts or suckers ajDjDear quickly on each side of this. Not more than three should be allowed to grow, in order to have fine quality fruit, which should be ready in about six months, when the suckers are again cut dowai, and new SOME HINTS FOR AGEICULTURISTS. 125 ones again spring up. This is the process, which may be rexDeated for six or seven years, after which it is wise to turn the plantation into something else and give the soil a rest. The outlay should be something as follows, for one manzana: Clearing $10 Four hundred matas 4 Planting the matas : . 4 Bringing them 2 Cleaning plantation first two years 10 Total $30 The returns to be expected for the first two years are : 350 bunches at least from the first 400 plants; the second year, having three new suckers to each 400, should give at least 1,000 bunches, making in all 1,350 bunches. These at, say, 30 cents per bunch, would give $405. The profit is $375, or over 1,000 per cent. Besides exporting bananas in their ordinary state, attention might be turned to drying and to canning the fruit. Mr. De Leon, of the firm of De Leon & Alger, at Puerto Cortez, reports that he has made some very successful experi- ments in canning bananas to send to European markets. Next, let us look at the cocoa-nut groves. The fifth or sixth year after the planting, the 126 THE REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. cocoa-nut palm bears fruit; thence on, they say, for a hundred years. The cocoa-nut plan- tations are mostly near the coast, and, to a stranger, present a beautiful — indeed, I may say a marvelous — picture. The leaves are like tremendous feathers waving in the breeze, some of them being fifteen to twenty feet in length. The trees grow to a height of from forty to fifty feet. The average annual yield of a tree is one hundred nuts, although some produce from two to three hundred. These nuts bring in 'New Orleans twenty -five dollars per thou- sand. They may be marketed to the steamers for a dollar and a quarter per hundred. A plantation of five or ten thousand trees will give the owner an income of five or ten thou- sand dollars per year, beyond expenses. The leaves of the trees may be used for thatching houses, for making sails, baskets, and mats. From the nuts, when half ripe, is obtained a pleasant drink called pipa. The nut-meat is used in many ways as food; the hull and the bark will make string and nets, and the oil of the nut can be used for half a dozen different purposes. The cultivation of pine-apples and oranges may be advantageously combined with banana SOME HINTS FOK AGRICULTURISTS. 127 and cocoa-nut plantations. These, as well as lemons and limes, appear to be indigenous. Coffee is grown in the uplands of the interior with great success. The question of transpor- tation thence to the coast but needs to be solved, in order that coffee plantations, similar to those of Costa Rica and Guatemala, may be begun upon the many mountain-sides. The coffee grows best at an elevation of one to four thousand feet. The best kind of land is a slope, affording easy drainage and some shelter. On level ground the coffee trees must be planted in alternation with bananas, which will provide shade for them. The young trees are usually set out when they have attained a growth of eighteen inches. The holes should be dug a few days before the plants are placed in them. The plantation needs the most watchful care. Weeds must be constantly removed, and insects looked out for. The coffee blooms in March. The blossom is a delicate, white flower, with the faintest imao:- inable fragrance. It lasts but a few days. Fields of coffee in bloom are very beautiful. During the rainy season the fruit is growing and ripening. In November, with the begin- ning of the summer season, or verano, the har- 128 THE EEPUBLIC OF HONDUEAS. vest is ready to be gathered. There are as yet .< no great coffee-benefiting establislinients in ^ Honduras; these are to come by and by. Sugar-cane fields may be seen as one rides down through the splendid valley of Comaya- gua, stretching off greenly into the distance. ] Farther on toward the coast, in the department , of Santa Barbara, and near Lake Yojoa, there \ are vast quantities of cane. In Olancho it is \ extensively grown, and, indeed, all over the ; country there is more or less of it. Everyone j owning cattle has a patch to feed to his stock. The cattle are very fond of it. The ; cane, with proper machinery, might be made to \ produce a sugar equal or superior to that which : is imported and sold at "twesty-five cents per S-; pound. More of the native dulce, or common • yellow product, might be had, and at lower j prices. The aguardiente which is made from ^ it is a government monopoly, and the right to ! manufacture this has to be obtained from the government. There is probably considerable \ illicit business carried on in a small way. \ Aguardiente brings seventy-five cents and one \ dollar per bottle. Lemons grow abundantly on the coast lands, ; and limes in the interior. Mangoes grow I SOME HINTS FOR AGRICtJLTURISTS. 129 almost everywhere. From the mangoes deli- cious preserves might be made, or the fruit could be canned for exi^ortation. Figs in a similar shape could, I think, be profitably sent to North America and Europe. Pomegranates and granadillas are plentiful, and are not so perishable. On all the north coast lands there are found a great variety of other tropical fruits, whose cultivation might well be included in a x^lanta- tion. Some of these are guavas, anonas, mel- ons, aguacates, plums, sapotes, olives, and negritos. From fruits we may turn to other vegetable products which may be cultivated. Of these, cotton, tobacco, indigo, vanilla, cocoa, pimento, ginger, pepper, and capsicum might well be considered. A general farm in any mountain locality might include potatoes, rice, wheat, corn, yams, plantains, beans, and all the tem- perate zone vegetables, such as tomatoes, string-beans, peas, cabbages, beets, turnips, cauliflower, lettuce, cucilmbers, squashes, musk-melons, celery, radishes, etc. The Honduras tobacco is of excellent quality. Cotton was grown twenty-five years ago in the country, by an American from Georgia, who 9 l30 THE REPUBLIC OF HONDUEAS. undertook its culture somewhat as an experi- ment. He chose the neighborhood of San Pedro Sula, the present inland terminus of the railroad line starting from Puerto Cortez, and there planted several acres with seed he had brought from his home in the States. It was that called the Sea Island variety. He suc- ceeded in producing cotton trees having stalks seven and eight feet high, and measuring four- teen in circumference. He was able to gather three or four times a year, the pickings pro- ducing ^ye hundred pounds to an acre. This plantation yielded well for ten years or so, at the end of Avhich time the trees seemed to run to wood. There is a native cotton which nearly always has a pale-reddish fibre. The chief obstacle would seem to be the scarcity of labor, rendering it impossible to get the cotton picked properly. With sufficient capital, and perhaps a certain amount of imported labor, one could look for large profits. Negroes from the United States, who understood how to do the work, would naturally be the best hands to have. One should set up his own gins and presses, and go into the industry with zeal and deter- mination. The wonderful wealth of Honduras in her SOME HINTS FOll AGRICULTURISTS. 181 forests alone can hardly be realized without visiting the country. Mahogany, cedar, and rose-wood are the principal cabinet-woods ex- ported. The mahogany and rose- wood are most plentiful on the north coast; the cedar is quite common in all the departments. It is found in great abundance, as also is the lignum-vita3, in Comayagua. Near the Sulaco River there are some remarkable qualities. There are noble forests of oak, pine, ronron, walnut, live-oak, higueron, guayacan, ceiba, masica, granadilla, greenthorn, tuberose, alazar, guano, tamarind, and mulberry for silk- worms. Olancho and Colon have magnificent natural resources in this direction. From the coast to Juticalpa, along the Guayape or Patuca and the Guyam- bre, are forests of balsams, mahogany, and cedar, and vast tracts of pine. The dye-woods are abundant — logwood, fustic, Brazil-wood, and others. The medicinal trees and x)lants in- clude the sarsaparilla, ipecacuanha, castor-oil plant, Peruvian bark, etc. The trees yielding resinous products comprise the copal, guapinal, and balsam. The hule, or rubber tree, abounds on the coast. According to information supjplied by Mr. Mahler, of Puerto Cortez, an old pioneer tim- 132 THE REPUBLIC OF HOKBURAS. ber mercliant, the principal woods shipped at present to England and the United States are mahogany, cedar, rose-wood, zebra, and fustic. He savs: The price of mahogany in London ranges from one hun- dred and ten to one hundred and seventy-five dollars per one thousand superficial feet, and cedar from ninety to one hundred and thirty dollars in gold. These are cut in as long lengths as can be shipped conveniently, while rose- wood, zebra, and fustic are cut into short lengths, and are shipped as stowage or ballast, making the freight on these cost less than it would for long lengths. These latter are sold by the ton — rose- wood bringing from twenty-five to forty dollars, and fustic thirty to forty-five dollars. The logs are all squared before shipment, so as to avoid paying freight on the slabs and refuse, as well as also to take up less space in the vessels. The present average cost of the squared timbers on the bars, ready for shipment, is from thirty to forty dollars per one thousand feet for mahogany and cedar, and eight to ten dollars per ton for rose-wo«d, fustic, and zebra. Freights to London for mahogany and cedar are from forty to fifty dollars per one thousand feet; and as rose -wood, zebra, and fustic are used as stowage, they are shipped at a less expense, the cost being from five to six dollars per ton, thus leaving a handsome profit to the shipper of these woods. Tlie same gentleman informs ns that the first wood- cutters in the territory of Honduras came from the British colony Belize, about one hundred and fifty years ago, bringing with them their slaves and cattle. Tlieir old camps are yet j)ai'tly visible among the new and thickly rising forests between the rivers Ulua, Chamelecon, Patuca, and Wanks, on the Atlan^ SOME HINTS FOR AGRICULTURISTS. 133 tic coast of this republic, the hunters after timber frequently coming across sites occux)ied by their forerunners nearly two centuries ago. Logging is a business peculiar to itself, and requires a hardy set of men, as there is not ^only a great deal of hard work, but a great deal of exposure to the wet and hot climate of the coast lands. There are usually thirty or forty men to a logging camj), with a foreman. The men are di- vided into companies, each one having a caj)tain. There is also the ' ' hunter, ' ' who examines trees to be cut, and reports to the foreman. The men work by the task, each one being provided with axe and machete. No tree is felled that is less than eight feet in circumference, two trees making a day' s task for a man. There are some trees found having a circumference of twenty- five feet. Such will occupy four of the most expert men for a day. The masica, or bread- nut tree, is never cut, the leaves of this consti- tuting the food of the cattle used to haul the logs. The cutting of the timber can be done at any time of year, but usually the logs are on the river-banks at the beginning of the wet Reason. There they are stamped with the own- 134 THE EEPUBLIO OF HOT^DUKAS. er' s initials and rafted down the stream to the sea, to be loaded aboard the steamer The foreman' s wages are from sixty to one hundred dollars per month; the captains re- ceive fourteen to twenty dollars per month and rations; the choppers, ten to fourteen dollars per month and rations. The timber on government lands may be cut by anyone who has gone before the Admin- istrator of Customs and satisfied him that he has means to transport what he cuts to market. This is made obligatory, because formerly a great deal was cut and left to decay on the ground. Statistics of 1888 show that during that year there were exported to the United States 611,538 superficial feet of mahogany and cedar, representing in Honduras a value of $37,952. The export duties on mahogany and cedar are eight dollars per thousand superficial feet. The hule, or rubber, is mostly taken from the forests by native huleros, or rubber-men, who dispose of it to the coast-traders and those in the neighborhood of the Guayape. The process is a simple one. The hulero sets out in the morning, x^i'ovided with a shotgun, a machete, a rope fifteen or sixteen feet long, SOME HINTS FOR AGRICULTURISTS. 135 and a pair of climbers like those used by tele- graph line-men. He penetrates the forest depths and looks out for the slender rubber trees with their smooth trunks. He selects one, and at its base he digs a hole in the ground to catch the sap. Sometimes he cuts a joint of bamboo for this purpose. He passes the rope around the tree several times and fastens the end. Then he cuts the bark in such a way as to make a circle which slopes downward at the point where he wants the sap to run to, some- thing like a V. He arranges a piece of leaf here to form a spout from which the sap may fall into the hole in the ground or the bamboo joint. He then slowly mounts the tree by means of the rope and the climbers, cutting notches that encircle the trunk at every eight- een inches, each one, like the first, forming a sort of V on the side next him. These begin to bleed very soon, and the thick, cream-colored fluid runs down into the hole in the ground. The liquid hule is coagulated with the juice of a wild vine which grows in the forest, and after a few hours it has become solid rubber. A good tree at its first cutting should produce forty or fifty pounds of rubber. 136 THE REPUBLIC OF HONDUKAS. VI. LIVE STOCK, POULTRY, ETC. The natural advantages of Honduras as a country for live stock are undeniable. The splendid valleys of Comayagua, Santa Barbara, Gracias, Yoro, Olancho, and Colon are already ranged in places by herds of cattle; but there is room for a vast increase of the industry, not only in the departments mentioned, but in others as well. On the Pacific slope, in Cho- luteca, La Paz, and Tegucigalpa, where there is much less rain-fall, the pasturage is not as good as on the Atlantic side, where the moist- ure-laden winds of the Caribbean are con- stantly forcing themselves upward and bring- ing with tliem showers to freshen the land. Nevertheless, at certain seasons, when rain comes from the Pacific, there is luxuriant vege- tation on the slopes of the departments of this region. During long periods of drought the cattle must be fed with sugar-cane, green corn, plantains, and various fruits of which they are fond. It may be stated, then, that the best regions for grazing j)uiTOses are those of Santa Bar- bara, Gracias, Comayagua, Yoro, and Olancho. LIVE STOCK, POULTRY, ETC. 137 These vast savanas are covered with glorious emerald grasses the year round, and are watered at frequent intervals by beautiful little streams. • In all Honduras there are i3robably six hun- dred thousand head of cattle. The present methods of breeding show some laudable attempts at imx)roving the stock. These are being made mostly by foreigners. The natives have yet much to improve. In some parts of the country the cows are permitted to suckle their calves far too long a time. In an inter- esting article ux^on the cattle of Honduras, the Hon. D. W. Herring, formerly United States Consul, says : '' Frequently a cow may be seen standing quietly, while a young calf tugging at a teat on one side is aided in emjjtying the udder by a yearling sucking away at a teat on the other side. The s^Dectacle has been seen of a cow suckling a calf, while a heifer stood sucking the opiDOsite teat, and at the same time gave suck to her own newly born scarcely dried by the sun." The same writer says: ^'The custom of selecting for slaughter the strongest, smoothest, and best bulls in the herd, has doubtless done much to check the natural tendency to the imj)rovement of the breed." The cattle of the country do not reach ma- 138 THE EEPUBLIC OF HOl^DUEAS. turity early. The heifers do not bear their first calves until three years old. No animals are slaughtered under six or seven years. The dangers that must be guarded against are those of an occasional wild beast, such as the mountain lion or the tiger, which will kill young calves or even yearlings. There is also an insect, known as the cattle spider, which sometimes fastens itself upon the animal just above the hoof. Unless treated in time with ammonia or tobacco juice, this may result in the loss of the hoof. The public lands are free as pasture -ground to all cattle-owners; should one wish to enclose space, he must obtain the right from the gov- ernment. Fencing is not absolutely needful; the stock will not stray from any place to which it is accustomed, when there are shade, shelter, water, and no severe storms to drive it hither and thither. Mr. Herring says that "fifty cents per head will pay all necessary expenses of keeping a herd of cattle in Hon- duras. The native or Indian is, by instinct, training, and inclination, a ' vaquero,' or herds- man. He can readily drive herds through the forest paths among the hills, and as readily find any animals that stray from the herd. He LIVE STOCK, POULTRY, ETC. 139 is a keen hunter, and therefore useful in pro- tecting the herd from attacks by wild animals. Such men can be hired for from one hundred to one hundred and fifty dollars per year. They are docile, faithful, and even affectionate to those who deal justly with them. They are easily fed, for plantains, bananas, yams, and other food upon which they usually live, grow in every ]3art of the country." There is a government tax of two dollars per head on the sale of cattle, and a municipal tax of fifty cents for every animal slaughtered. Slaughtering cows that are capable of breeding is forbidden by law. The exxiortation of cattle is mostly to British Honduras, although some animals are sent to the neighboring Central American republics. There is an export duty of two dollars per head on bulls and steers, and of sixteen dollars on cows. This is a very wise regulation, which virtually forbids the sending out of the coun- try of that which is needed in it. The latest statistics show that about the same number of head is exported from Puerto Cortez as from Truxillo; from Amapala about one-fifth as many as from either of those ports, and from the frontiers about six times 140 THE REPUBLIC OF HONDUEAS. as many as from either Puerto Cortez or Trux- illo. The cattle in Honduras are branded as in the United States. The brands are recorded in the districts where the various herds are kept, and when an animal is sold, its brand is indicated in the bill of sale. Some time since, the Honduras Progress^ in an article referring to the improvement of for- age in certain parts of the republic, took the occasion to refer to the plant known as esper- cet, which has become the principal fodder- grass of Germany. It says : As a forage-plant it richly merits consideration, .... and, from the almost entire lack of necessity for cultivation after its first planting (being a perennial), might almost be re- garded as a weed. Its growth is very rapid, even upon the poorest and most porous soil, and the great length to which its tap-root pene- trates the ground precludes all necessity for other irrigation than that caused by the natural moisture of the land, leaving it almost entirely unaffected in the midst of the most severe drouth. It will grow to a height of from eighteen inches to two feet upon a hard, red soil that will fairly resist the pick, but neces- sarily flourishes best under more favorable conditions; while a few summer showers will make it grow both high and rank, frequently rising to the height of a man's chin, growing so dense as to be very troublesome in mowing — seven to eight tons an acre being no unusual yield. For the first year it produces no seed; but after that the seed forms in large pods, and in great quantities. LIVE STOCK, POULTRY, ETC. 141 It succeeds best upon a dry soil which con- tains lime. It should not be forgotten that hides are ex- ported in large quantities from Honduras, as well as from other Central American countries. They are also employed for a great many pur- poses by the natives. The poorer classes use them in many ways, often making their beds upon them. There are very few sheep in the country. A single flock of perhaps thirty, in the depart- ment of Comayagua, was all that I saw in over a year in the country. An attempt to raise sheep would involve the providing of shelter against the hard rains. Goats I saw frequently in the mountain dis- tricts. Hogs are kept by almost every family out- side of the larger cities. Without any partic- ular attention being paid them, they thrive, and in due time are turned into excellent pork- chops, sausage, and manteca, or lard. The lard, it must be confessed, is extremely ex- pensive. It is used for cooking purposes of every sort, for it must be remembered there is no butter to be had, except that which is im- ported in cans and costs a great deal. There 142 THE EEPUBLIC OF HONDUEAS. is no reason, I may remark, wliy butter, sucli as that which is made in Costa Kica, should not be produced in Honduras, when the cattle and the dairy products shall have been improved in certain ways. I do not see why raising hogs should not prove immensely profitable. Corn, that which needs but to be jplanted, or yams, would be the finest feed imaginable. Poultry -raising on a somewhat larger scale than is yet known in the country would also pay. Chickens, turkeys, ducks, and geese sell at good XDrices; eggs sometimes are depressingly scarce and high. I should recommend the importing of good incubators and the building of fine henneries. VII. THE PITA. The best kind of fibre plants, we are assured on good authority, are the Musa textilis^ Bceli- meria nwea and B. tenacissima^ Agave sisal- ana^ Fourcroya glgantea^ Sanseviera zeylan- ica^ Karatas jplnmieri., Ananassa nativa^ and Bromelia pinguin — in plainer language, the Manila hemjD, China ramie, sisal hemp, bow- THE PITA. 143 String hemp, pita hemp, silk grass, and pin- guin fibre. The pita is commonly known as the Agave Americana, or American aloe. It belongs, according to best authorities, to the ananas family. It may be raised from seed; the ordinary practice, however, is to plant suckers, which are obtained by dividing the root-stock and by taking viviparous buds. The pita has never been cultivated in Hon- duras, but it grows wild on both lowlands and on mountain slopes to an altitude of four thou- sand feet. When it once has taken possession of a region, this plant begins rapidly to monop- olize the soil, to the exclusion of all other veg- etation except trees. Each plant has thirty to forty huge leaves which measure six to ten feet in length and are two or three inches thick. The fibre extends in filaments the entire length of the leaf. The outer covering is extremely hard to remove. The Indians usually pound the leaf on a stone, drying it afterward in the sun and pounding it a second time, after which they comb it to obtain a clean fibre. The Caribs, on the other hand, soak the leaves in water until the covering is sufiiciently decom- posed to be easily removed. A great deal has been thought and said on 144 THE EEPUBLIC OF HONDUEAS. the subject of machinery to properly perform this work of extracting the fibre. Until quite recently, no one had succeeded in inventing a wholly successful method. I believe, however, that during the year 1888 accounts were pub- lished of a machine that could do what was required, and that was soon to be placed on a Nicaragua j)iaiitation. Until such machines can be introduced in Honduras, the pita will remain a wasted wealth. It is true that the hand-prepared fibre is already much used for shoemaker's thread, nets, cordage, hammocks, and so forth. It can be bought of the Indians, out in the country, in packages, at thirty cents per pound. In the towns it is sold to shoe- makers and others at eighty cents per pound. The native method of hand preparation is, of course, too costly, and the quantities are too small to admit of exx)ortation. On the other hand, suitable machinery could prepare an- nually thousands of tons of fibre, which might prove of immense benefit to the commerce of the country. The best plan for j)ropagation is to set the young plants in regular rows, and to keep the intervening spaces clear for the first six months; at the end of that time the plants THE PITA. 145 can take care of themselves. They should attain full growth in about six years time. A single pita plant in bloom, with its long, slen- der blossom-stem twenty or thirty feet high, is a beautiful sight. Fields containing thousands of such would be well worth gazing at. About one thousand plants may be grown to an acre, the yield from which should be at least six thousand j)ounds. The X3lantation ought to last for ten or twelve years. Mr. Thomas R. Lombard says of the pita that it seems to yield a finer fibre than the cor- responding plant in Mexico, the maguey. This latter is the plant from which the great native drink, the Mexican pulque, is obtained. The natives have their peculiar method of extract- ing the juice, by sucking it up into a hollow stalk which they have inserted in a cut made in the stem of the plant, and letting it run out of the stalk again into a gourd. They let the juice stand one week to make pulque; if it stands two weeks, it becomes mescal, which is much stronger. The pulque is prescribed by many physicians as a daily health-drink, to be taken at noon only. In Yucatan the Agave sisalana, or henequin, has been grown and exported for some time 10 146 THE REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. witli remarkable success; indeed, we liear of vast fortunes being made by men engaged in this industry. The finer parts of the sisal hemiD can be advantageously woven with jute, linen, or even cotton. It bleaches and takes dye perfectly, and without loss of strength. The natives of Yucatan use the hemp chiefly to make nets, mats, and hammocks. In 1888 the number of henequin hammocks exported from Yucatan to the United States was about forty thousand. Mr. Lombard says further of the pita; The crude fibre is equal in value to manila liemp, when applied to light uses; but in fineness, strength, and durability- it is far superior. The ultimate fibre is even finer than that of the threads of silk spun by the silk-worm. The writer was shown the two under a powerful microscope at Lyons, France, and heard many exclamations of surprise on the part of man^r facturers at this unexpected result, and at the fact that the pita fibre did not lose its strength when reduced to the fine floss state. Experiments have been made of weaving this fibre when flossed with cotton, wool, or silk ; and it has been found that this can be done advantageously As the pita fibre possesses a silky gloss of its own, it has been thought by manufacturers that it would be found valuable to mix with silk, especially in the manufacture of heavy curtain fabrics, where weight, strength, durability, and finish are required. Samples of the pita fibre have been sent to Europe, and there converted into ribbons, handkerchiefs, wigs, and false hair. All jDer- sons who have made any thorough examina- THE PITA. 147 tion of the subject, declare that a tremendous factor of commercial prosperity is as yet lying idle in Honduras,, which, if properly handled with sufficient capital and the required machin- ery, might yield vast returns to those under- taking the enterprise, and to the nation itself as well. PART IV. HAMMOCK AND SADDLE. I. THE FIRST DAY OUT. It was on a Sunday morning in October that I set out to ride alone — except for a mozo — from Tegucigalpa dowi\ to San Pedro Sula, there to take the train for Puerto Cortez, and thence the steamer for New Orleans. The day previous I had engaged one Trinidad Cisneros, an interesting type, originally from Salvador, to guide me safely to the coast. This gentle- man was going down with a couple of pack- mules to meet some incoming freight, and he was glad to "kill two birds with a single throw." On Saturday he had assured me posi- tively that he would be on hand at five in the morning, so that we might have an early start. I knew so much about the slowness of the average mozo that I was not surprised at hav- ing to wait until nearly eight o' clock for him to appear. When at last he arrived, I saw, to my amazement, that he had brought but one mule and a burro of under-size. (149) 150 THE EEPUBLIC OF HONDUKAS. ''Pray, Mr. Cisneros," I observed, "do you intend me to ride the burro ? Or are my trunks to be left behind ? ' ' He at once explained that the burro could carry the trunks as far as Comayagua, where he would be replaced by a IDroper cargo-mule, fresh from the potrero. I was naturally annoyed at such a beginning of the trip. My luggage was i^urposely light, so that it might keep up with me — an easy matter, if it were loaded on a good animal. But as things now stood, I should have to ride slowly in order to wait for the burro. Another thing, the dignity of my departure from the capital was marred, if not ruined. I had counted upon a very early start, unaccom- panied by friends to see me off, as is usual in Honduras; and instead, I must parade through town with a ridiculous burro wagging his ears between my steamer trunks, just at the time when the streets would be full of people going to mass. In the midst of my annoyance, up rode Don Joaquin Escobar, the Postmaster- General, mounted on his splendid white horse. Napo- leon. " I am going out on the road with you," he said, ''as far as I can go and get back in time for some business that must be attended THE FIRST DAY OUT. 151 to." It was *' foreign mail day," and tliere- fore I tliouglit it remarkably good of the gen- tleman. We started off in gay spirits, leaving Trini- dad to follow with burro and luggage. Don Joaquin knew the way, of course, and we were not long crossing the long bridge, i^assing down through Comayguela, and making head- way at full gallop out along the yellow road leading off toward Comayagua. When Don Joaquin had gone as far as he possibly could, and return in time, we stopped and waited for guide and luggage to come up. My friend gave the mozo some sound advice as to the rubber coats, keeping the equipage dry, and taking good care of me in general and par- ticular. We patted each other on the shonlder, Hon- duranean fashion, and said "Adios." Don Joaquin' s splendid horse disappeared at a gal- lop in the distance, and I continued on my hundred-league journey. From Tegucigalpa to Comayagua is reckoned twenty leagues, or sixty miles. I hoped to make this distance by noon of the following day. In the meantime, the burro might prove a serious obstacle. As the sun rose — the tre- 152 THE REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. mendoiis tropical sun, overpowering in those circular hollows where the wind can not rush, as it rushes elsewhere through the long jDasses, like some demon lately unchained — we pro- gressed at moderate speed. I rode ahead, for the path was still a cart-road; it had not yet dwindled to a trail, as it should farther on. The burro ran on gaily just behind; the trunks he bore creaked slightly in their cording. The mozo j)lodded airily after — afoot. As a rule, the Honduras mozos prefer to travel afoot. This one wore the usual comfortable costume of white trousers and white jacket, white pita hat, and sandals of hide fastened with cords over the feet, between the toes and around the anldes. He carried a good pistol, a machete, and a gourd to drink from. His name was *' Trinity; " he was obliging, honest, and given to grandiloquent speeches. Having formed this estimate of the individ- ual who was to be my sole human comjDanion during some six or seven days communion with Nature, I dismissed him from my thoughts. The memory of Tegucigalpa, quaint and quiet city, was fresh in my mind. Fourteen months experience in the tropics absorbed me. The roar of a thirty-stamp mill THE FIRST DAY OUT. 153 in a mining town whence I had lately come rang in my ears. Voices of people from whom I had lately parted returned as in a dream; faces rose up before me that perhaps I might not see again. I had, for an instant, the help- less feeling of being out adrift on some strange sea; then the sensation of one who has barely learned to swim, when someone i^ushes him into the water. The cheerful voice of Trinidad recalled me: ' ' There is a house not far away, where we can get some breakfast." ' ' Breakfast ! " I had forgotten about that important meal. ' ' How far off is it ? " ' ' About two leagues. ' ' " Hombre ! Two leagues are six miles. That is not near." "Pues, hombre. They are little leagues." And I am quite sure we rode ten miles before the place was reached. The Honduras mozos have no idea of distance. The "long leagues " and the ''short leagues" are matters of con- jecture. To travel with comfort in Honduras you must be suitably dressed, have a good animal, and know how to ride. For the first of the three conditions, corduroy makes a good cos- 154 THE EEPUBLIC OF HONDUEAS. tume; it is not too heavy except in the middle of the day, when one should not ride, but rest. A broad-brimmed hat is indispensable. For- eigners usually prefer the helmet, two -peaked. The natives often ride carrying oi^en umbrellas, which, though incongruous, is not always ill- advised. As to securing a good beast, that is not usually so easy. A mule with reasonable speed is safer than a horse, and endures more. And in the matter of horsemanship, some peo- ple are born riders, while others never acquire the first principles of equestrianism. Practice, of course, is important. There is a certain little insect — which also grows to be a larger insect — against which the traveler must guard. Certain bushes and plants are covered with thousands of these pests, one of which, if he get ujDon you, will make you most uncomfortable. The name of the insect is garra]3ata — it is of the tick species. The smaller sized is more to be dreaded than the larger, as it is almost imperceptible. It has the habit of burying its head in the flesh and leaving a part of it there, making a very painful and lasting sore iDlace. In riding along the narrow trails where j)lants and bushes rise on either side, one should be careful not to get THE FIRST DAY OUT. 155 covered with garrapatas. The fleas of the tropics torment many persons from the North extremely at first. Cleanliness and attention will keep one' s house free from this annoyance, unless it happen to be built u]3on loeculiarly sandy soil. On the coasts, wliere the earth is black and moist, there are no fleas, I believe. On the other hand, no one ever thinks of mos- quito-netting, in the mountains, for there are no mosquitoes, Avhile at Truxillo there are jDlenty, and at Puerto Cortez a few. At San Pedro Sula there are sand-flies which revel from noon to dusk. My intention, previous to the advent of the burro, had been to reach the place called Pro- teccion, which is something like half-way be- tween Tegucigalx)a and Comayagua, that after- noon, and to stay there all night. But now, what with the late start and iDoor animals, I foresaw this to be impossible. It was provok- ing at first, but on reflection, and knowing I had abundant time to catch the steamer if I took ten or twelve days in going down, it seemed to me I might as well proceed leisurely, and learn the country all the better. The house that Trinidad had in mind sud- denly came in sight. We rode up — I did, at 156 THE EEPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. least— and Trinidad steered the burro into the shade of the projecting thatched roof. When I say ''steered," I speak with premeditation, for he often had hold of the donkey's tail. I dismounted, although the woman of the house was at first quite certain she had nothing to sell us. This is nearly always the way at the places where one tries to get food in such countries. All the travelers who have been over the ground are accustomed to it, and they will all relate the identical experience of "no hay. " As a rule, they conclude thus : ' ' Well, I was determined to have something. I saw a chicken running about. I knocked it over with a stone, wrung its neck, and took it to the woman. 'Now,' says I, 'cook me this, and I'll pay you whatever it's worth!'" I never met a Honduras-traveled individual yet who had not this tale to tell. Somehow it has always seemed strange to me that the unfortu- nate chicken has never been missed by the stone ! I, for my part, saw chickens, it is true; but I aimed no stones at them. Had I tried to do so, I should most likely have hit the woman herself in the eye, for I throw very poorly at times. But I talked, and Trinidad talked; and between us we softened the old THE FIRST DAY OUT. 15? lady, who was fat and bare- shouldered, with a gorgeous neclvlace of gilt beads, into providing us with a tripe-stew— which she lamentingly protested had been prepared for her mother-in- law— and some tortillas and milkless coffee. I had put some French bread and a can of potted ham in the saddle-bags, along with a flask of brandy, before leaving Tegucigalpa. I now found, on investigation, that the ham, which I had opened in order to make sure of its con- dition, had been associating rather intimately with my note-book, somewhat to the latter' s detriment. After correcting this unforeseen condition as far as was possible, I remounted, having first paid the moderate sum of one real (twelve and one-half cents) for our entertainment, and sig- nified my desire to be off. Trinidad lingered, conversing amicably with the hostess. Fi- nally I got him away. When we were in the road once more, I asked where he thought we might stop that night. "Taniara," he smilingly assured me; and on we went toward Tamara. It was a lovely, though uninhabited, stretch of country that I never shall forget. I rode very slowly. Trin- idad walked alongside, and the burro jolted 158 THE REPUBLIC OF HONDtJEAS. on in advance. I saw that there could be no haste until we reached Comayagua, and Trini- dad was very entertaining with his grandilo- quent speeches and flowery metaphor. He had a passion for making diminutives of his nouns, ending them all in itos or itas. He also took a bland delight in picturing to me the gra- cious reception accorded him by the Sehor Presidente, upon whom he had called in Tegu- cigalpa. I judged that he was not lying, for President Bogran receives the humblest callers with the greatest kindness. II. NIGHT IN A HAMMOCK. Afternoon, a little past four, it was when we reached Tamara. A few little houses were scattered over si)lendid fields. We paused to look for a posada. They told us to go on about a league and a half. I took a drink of water and proceeded. The league and a half resolved itself into about three leagues. It was nearly dark, and I was woefully hungry and tired, when we saw a house somewhat up a hill-side. There were women and children visible, some NIGHT IN A HAMMOCK. 159 animals grazing calmly, and a clotlies-line hung with sausage casings. ''Aqui hay posada?" inquired Trinidad, cheerfully. "Como no !" said one of the women. And mighty glad I was to hear it. The animals were speedily unloaded; my hammock came out of the maleta and was swung in -doors. Heavens, what a place! There were three beds and another hammock besides my own. In one of the beds there was a young man ill with fever. When I saw, however, that his mother was feeding him with corn baked on the cob, I concluded the illness to be less seri- ous than I had at first imagined. I stayed out- side as much as possible. Trinidad requested that coifee and tortillas be prepared. How good these tasted, we being so hungry! There were also some savory chunks of pork, which seemed to have been roasted on the ashes. Having eaten and drunk, I walked up and down outside until it was quite dark and a slight rain fell. Then I went inside and crawled into my hammock. Trinidad reposed on a small blanker, which he had carried strap- ped with my luggage upon the unfortunate 160 THE EEPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. bnrro, spread upon tlie earth floor. He smoked cigarettes, for wliicli I was tliankfii], and fought what he called the pulguitas, audibly and with- out cessation. " They bring them in the clothes from Tegu- cigal]Da," remarked the sick man, consolingly, from his bed. Trinidad went on smoking. He turned un- easily now and then, and groaned at times, for the ground was not soft. But for the rain, we might better have stretched ourselves on the grass outside. ^'Trinidad," I said, when the others were all asleep, as could be told from their breathing, " we go on at four o'clock." "Pues, liombre," he returned, "it will not be daylight." "No matter," 1 insisted, "we go on all the same." I dozed a little then, and I supjDose he did the same. The next thing I knew, daylight was shining through the cracks of the door. The mozo was u^d and making his i3reparations to go. We paid a real and a medio (eighteen cents) for the supper, and were off again. The animals had been fed, but I do not remember what that cost. My arrangement was to pay NIGHT IN A HAMMOCK. 161 the mozo a certain sum and provide his food going down. The animals grazed at night, and whatever else he fed them he paid for. We did not wait for coffee, but took this a league further on, at a newly built, clean, but lone- some house, where they gave us also tortillas and eggs, all for another real. The road now led us up and down wind- ing courses, through rivers sometimes shallow, sometimes of serious depth, always crystal clear, and alluring one to pause under the splendid shade of the surrounding trees. Once Trinidad, after dipping me up a gourdful of the shining liquid, calmly assured me that he was going to stop and bathe — would I kindly look after the burro ? I rode ahead, and kept an eye on the i^atient little beast struggling along under its heavy load, and found a shady spot, where we rested until the mozo caught up with us, clean and cool from plunging in the river. By noon we were at Proteccion, and there found a capital place to get breakfast. It was three reals (thirty-eight cents) for myself and the mozo, and there were several courses, which we ate from a single plate, mostly with our fingers, aided by the tortillas and a spoon out 11 162 THE REPUBLIC OF HONDUEAS. of my saddle-bags. We ate sitting on a couple of boards resting on kegs — goodness knows wkere these came from originally; and there were others breakfasting in the same fashion — natives who seemed to be traveling also, for their horses waited outside. But for the fact of the burro again, we might easily have made €omayagua by night-fall. As it was, we could only hope to reach Las Flores. It was warm riding, but the views were splendid all that afternoon. I^ow glorious valleys, now towering hills; multitudes of tiny streams to cross, numberless rocky ascents to climb; stillness and heat about one; sun blaz- ing overhead; the myriad birds quiet, hidden in the depths of the mountain forests. Five leagues — about fifteen miles — from Proteccion to Las Flores! Night came on, and we were still far from sign of human habitation. ''It is not long," said Trinidad, composedly, as we began to see the new moon glittering faintly in the sky. We were not so far off, I agreed, for the ground was level, and seemed a neighborhood likely to have a settlement. The path that the mozo chose, however, led us astray. The first I knew we were riding aim- lessly through fields *of something that grew NIGHT IN A HAMMOCK. 168 very tall and rattled about one. Tlie burro began to wander hither and thither. Finally Trinidad came to a stop, and spoke, rather plaintively : "Pues, hombre, I think we are lost. I don't know this way." ' ' Pues, hombre, ' ' I remarked, " } ou are a fine guide, to get us lost at this hoiir of the night ! " We paused there, adrift, as it were, on a strange sea. The moon was covered with float- ing masses of cloud. Stars, too, were visible in the sky above. In the distance we heard the barking of dogs. I told the mozo we must steer for that barking; and w^e did so. But it was no easy task, for the tired burro with his tremendous luggage was not esi)ecially manageable, though Trinidad exhorted him piously and without pause. ''^ Burro! AndaT^ and various other inter- jections, not precisely profane, but verging on it. Back and forth, here and there, to and fro we wandered for what seemed hours. About nine o'clock we felt ourselves saved by the faintly glimmering light that shone in the dis- tance. "Now I know," said Trinidad, joyously. ' ' I can tell the way. ' ' 164 THE REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. ''So could any fool," I muttered, savagely. The old lady of tliis dwelling was a certain Mna Paula. There were three rooms in the house. The posada x>art was a large, bare apartment, with a couple of hammocks and a long table of rough boards; absolutely no other furniture. "Coffee and tortillas for two," I observed, dramatically; and they were at once forthcom- ing. I slejjt with comfort in one of the ham- mocks, and Trinidad occupied the other. It was cold, but clean. We made another late start in the morning, and passed through San Antonio al Norte about nine o' clock, reaching Comayagua at noon, and proceeding at once to the Hotel Americano. Sixty miles of the three hundred had been achieved without anything remarkable hav- ing occurred— no wild beasts, no narrow^ escapes from robbers, absolutely nothing to make a fuss about. III. COMAYAGUA, The old capital is a sleepy town. There is never a sound but the church-bells all day long; quieter than Tegucigalpa, which is quiet COMAYAGUA. 165 enough for anyone. It was with an inexjjress- ible sense of relief that I got down from my mule in the patio of the American Hotel; for I knew that the burro would now be returned to his native potrero, and a couple of fresh beasts replace him and the jaded animal 1 had ridden thus far. The smiling native proprietor — a woman^of the house welcomed us pleasantly. The luggage was carried into a large corner room, where there was a hammock and a bed- stead. There were a couple of great shutter- windows in the sides of the room, which, with three large doors, two of which opened upon the street, precluded the idea of privacy. I let the mozo take care of himself, and ordered breakfast. It was prepared leisurely, and set forth on a table in the patio corridor or porch. There were eggs, rice, boiled meat, chicken, tor- tillas, bread, frijoles, all well cooked and appe- tizing. There were also cheese, citron pre- serves, and coffee, with plenty of milk. After this satisfactory meal, I asked that the bed be arranged for me, and inquired as to bathing facilities. The good lady directed me to the nearest river, which was not far, and even of- fered to send a servant to sliov/ the way. I did uot wish to go at once, however. I took a rest 166 THE REPUBLIC OF IIOjN^DURAS. < in the hammock while the bed was made up by the easy process of spreading a single blanket over the smooth board bottom and laying a small pillow at the head. I Avatched these preparations lazily from the hammock, and wondered if she thought I was going to sleexD on the blanket or under it ; there would not be much choice for softness. About two o'clock I asked the servant to show me the way to the river. Gracious powers ! or the S^Danish equiva- lent, was I going to bathe at that hour ! I would certain! y have fever. ' ' Nonsense ! " I returned, and started out, followed by various entreaties from the entire household to reconsider. The sun was blazing hot, but the stream was deli- ciously clear and just of the nicest depth. I came back wonderfully refreshed, and found an American gentleman then residing in the city waiting to see me. He kindly volunteered to show me about. "Why don't you stay over another day," he asked, ' ' and get rested ? ' ' "Do you really think," I asked, "that one is axDt to get very rested on a bed like that f ' ' He prodded it with his finger, and laughed. "Hello!" he said; "it isn't even a canvas bottom." COMAYAGUA. 167 "Well, what is there to see in the town?" I asked. " Not much beside the cathedral. Stay over, and I will show you all there is to-morrow." I thanked him and decided to do so, and to send the mozo ahead with the luggage-mule as far as the next stoj), which would be Cuevas. Trinidad accordingly started off early next morning, having brought the two fresh animals up for my inspection late in the afternoon. They looked pretty well; but one never can tell from the look of a mule, of course* ''0, well," I said, "after a year in Honduras, one ought to be able to ride a zebra. Leave me the best saddle-beast, and get you gone at day- light." I meant to have a delightful time all to my- self as far as Cuevas. The next day the American gentleman camo around and took me to the cathedral, where we were shown first all the right royal vestments of the bishoi3. These were of the richest white silk, some of them wrought with joure gold and silver threads; others were embroidered with flowers. All were very heavy and precious, and kept most carefully in massive chests and ward- robes of cedar. When we had taken an extended 168 THE REPUBLIC OF IIOI^DURAS. and artistic delight in these beautiful robes, we examined tlie old paintings upon the walls of the cathedral, and the images — mostly old and mummy suggesting — of various saints — chiefly Saint Peter — and lastly, a figure said to be act- ually the mummy of a bishop of years agone. There were also magnificent staffs of silver and gold, censers, and altar-pieces of quaint old designs, which the obliging sexton disclosed to us by opening various other closets. We spent an hour or two in the sacred edi- fice, emerging in time to return to the hotel for breakfast, after which we took a look at the business part of the old town. "Oh, what a waking-up you will get one of these days," I said, apostrophizing the sleepy site, "when railway trains go whistling through the land ! " Of the two places, Tegucigalpa is, to my mind, much more attractive in every way. When the American gentleman heard that I was x)urposing to go on alone to Cuevas next morning, he lifted his voice in horror. " Where is your mozo ? " he asked. "Gone ahead with the trunks." "But you can't go alone; you'll get off the track. There's a turn that will take you off to Espino, on the Trujillo road." COMAYAGUA. 169 "Can't I take the left-hand road when I reach the fork ? " "You could if you knew it." And he worked upon my mind so that I finally sent out and engaged a fine-looking, tall, and sinewy stripling, whom the professor recommended as strictly honest. I was carry- ing a bag of jingling silver for road supplies, and was unarmed. Half the quantity of "pisto," as they call it, would have sufficed, had I known how little the posada exiDense was to be. At ^ve o'clock next morning (Thursday), the mozo, Jesus Galeano (Jesus pronounced Haysoose, and being a very com- mon name), came rapping on my street door. "Bueno," I said, stretching myself sleex)ily in the hammock, between which and the inflex- ible, board-bottom bed I had alternated all night long. But he kept on rapping until I rose and opened the heavy shutters at one of the windows, to prove myself really awake. He went and saddled my horse then, while I dressed quickly and got my coffee. I tried the new mule at a brisk canter for a few miles out of town, leaving Jesus to come on after me, knowing I could not go wrong, as there was but one path. The mule was awful ! 170 THE REPUBLIC OF IIONDUEAS. He could go pretty fast, but Ms gait was tlie hardest I had ever encountered. When tlie road Lad narrowed, as it soon does after leav- ing Comayagua, to a mere trail, I i:)aused and waited for my new guide. Jesus came up very promx)tly; lie was one of the swiftest walkers 1 had ever seen — a natty specimen of the peon class, in his white jacket and trousers, little round felt hat, luncheon tied in a clean hand- kerchief, and machete hanging from his belt; barefooted, of course, with the hide sandals usually worn. By noon we were at Sabana Larga, where I bought some coffee and pan dulce, and Jesus ate the contents of his hand- kerchief. We had safely passed the Espino road, and I had half a notion to dismiss the boy and let him return at once to Comayagua. Nevertheless, as I had engaged him for doce reales (one dollar and fifty cents), and he would probably grumble at less, I concluded he would better go on. IV. ON TO YO.TOA. It rained a little during the afternoon. I put on a rubber cloak, and rode under the trees as much as possible. The sky was cloudy, but 01^ TO YOJOA. 171 the landscape was freshly green and glorious from the rain. At five we were at Cuevas. Trinidad came out of almost the first little house we arrived at, and stood smiling. "Pues, hombre," he observed, pleasantly; '* that's a good mule, isn't it ? " I asked him, as sternly as I could, how he came to give me the wrong animal. "The other onust be better," I insisted. "I'll try it to-morrow, anyway." The little house j)roved to belong to some friends of Trinidad. He graciously informed me that there would be nothing to pay, such being the case, which, of course, made me feel uncomfortable, until I saAv some youngsters playing about, to whom I made a little present of a couple of reales — and afterward felt still more uncomfortable at their disposition to swallow them. It was a very clean, new place. I had an excellent sleep, after a very good supi^er. Jesus received his doce reales with many thanks, and made polite arrangements for something to eat and a j)lace to lay himself in the porch. Next morning he was off on his way back to Comayagua before Trinidad had gotten our mules saddled. 172 THE REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. I do not care very much to remember that day's journey and that night's pause. It rained, and we got wet; there were several deep rivers to ford, all easier for myself than for Trinidad, who grumbled at rolling up or, indeed, taking off his nice white trousers, and for the luggage -mule, who had ideas of his own about drinking and sailing down-stream at inconvenient moments. Trinidad, trouser- less, made me think of one of Rider Haggard' s Englishmen in Africa. About noon we came to Miambur, and rode under a sort of thatched shed which appeared i)rovided purposely for travelers. Across the road was a house where the mozo knew we would get a good breakfast. He took the trunks off the pack-mule to give him a rest, and unloosened the saddle-girth of my animal. He thought he would feed them as well. This was Miambur. I sat down on one of my trunks and looked around me. A level space, dotted with a few dreary habitations, mostly thatched; splendid hills rising on all sides, and a river of some width and force close at hand — one of many streams flowing down ultimately to mingle in the waters of the Ulua. A half-dozen soldiers came and studied ON TO YOJOA. 173 me, then took up lounging positions under tlie sx)acious shed, and began to banter good- humored remarks with Trinidad, who was plaintively reciting a serious grievance, as fol- lows : The last time he had passed through that place he had loaned an acquaintance some rawhide lassos, expecting to receive them back on his next trip down to the coast. The bor- rower now boldly denied any such loan. Trini- dad thereux3on addressed him a severe dis- course upon his morals, to which the other mildly replied : " Amigo mio, don't stain my reputation with unjust aspersions;" and thus they harangued for an hour or more. But Trinidad did not get back his lassos of raw- hide, or any compensation for them. When we left the place, he was still reciting his grief at such treatment from people who were noth- ing less than ladrones. That night! ugh, that night! We did not reach Youre, much less Santa Cruz. There was more rain, and Trinidad hesitated at cross- ing a certain river, which at night was high, and by morning ran dry, or nearly so; in con- sequence of which he piloted me to a spot where a small thatched hut with walls, supple- mented by a smaller thatched hut without 174 THE BEPUBLIC Oi' HONDtTRAS. walls, slieltered a family of half a dozen. The family all slept in the hut with walls. The smaller place was about three yards square, and contained a native stove, a rude table, and a tortilla board, which almost filled it. By swinging my hammock over the stove and table we managed to squeeze under shelter for the night. My clothing was damp, but I could not remove any of it. It was stickily uncom- fortable, but I caught no cold, and had no fever. The blessed morning came at last. Coffee, tortillas, one real; mules, and — oif again for Youre, and, later, Santa Cruz. Discomforts and rain aside, one sees between Cuevas and Santa Cruz the most grandly diversified coun- try, I supjjose, to be found anywhere. IN'ear Miambur there are mountains to cross where the road has been cut in steps which appear hewn out of marble. U]d and down this beau- tiful path leads through splendid forests and over wind-swept slopes, where the silence is broken only by distant water- falls or the won- derful music of the birds. At Youre a solitary thatched house sat on the high brow of a hill. A woman and a little girl were the only human beings when we arrived. But as we sat enjoy- ON TO YOJOA. ' 175. ing oar breakfast in the coolness of that airy height, other voices Avere heard, and up came, along the same road that we had traversed, two couriers from TegucigaliDa, with the leather mail-bags on their backs. They had started afoot two days later than we. They dropped down on the earthen floor under the x^leasant shelter, and chatted as if they were not so very tired. They, too, ordered some breakfast, which hav- ing made quick work of, they were off ahead of us, making short cuts impossible for our beasts, and letting themselves down steep hill- sides with wonderful swiftness and surety. And now, as we plodded on, the mountains grew gradually less formidable. A wonderful world of gently rolling slopes spread out before us. The grass was of a rich and brilliant em- erald. The broken earth, as that of the road, showed red as blood in places. To the left, in the distance, were vast and splendid fields of cane. A pond-like marsh, densely surrounded with beautiful bamboos, made one think that Lake Yojoa was not far away. And by night-fall we were once more out of the wilds, having reached the pretty little town of Santa Cruz de Yojoa. Here, in a spacious room of a comfortable house, once more my 176 THE REPUBLIC OF HO]^DURAS. liammock was swung, and after supper I crept into it for tlie last night but two. V. THE FINISH. From Santa Cruz — a very habitable spot, some of the best peojDle, G-eneral Leiva for one, having country places there, and there being both postal and telegraph facilities — we should have made the remaining distance of about forty miles to San Pedro in a day or a day and a half, that is, had the mozo been mounted, and no luggage included. As it was, we left early on Sunday morning, and reached San Pedro only on Tuesday afternoon. There were now no more mountains to climb, but a fine level road, along which the happy rider of a good saddle animal might canter with delight. Sosoa, then Pio Blanco, and presently Potrerillos — ' ' little pastures. ' ' At Pio Blanco, refreshments. At Potrerillos, a river to cross in a canoe — a ferry-man to be hallooed for on the ojDposite side; mules to be unloaded; trunks to be put in the canoe; traveler to sit ux)on trunks; mules to be whacked with the ferry-man's oar to make them go into the water and swim across, Trini- THE FINISH. 177 dad holding their bridles. Thank heaven! the Ulua is crossed ! On the opposite side we sit sweltering under a lemon tree. It is one o'clock, the hottest hour of day. I gather some of the fallen lemons; then I take the gourd from the saddle lying on the ground, creep down to the river side and fill it Avitli water. I come back and squeeze the lemon juice into it and put in some dulce which I bought at the last stopping-place. The drink is capital. The settlements for the rest of the way were close to each other — Caracol, Pinto, Chamele- con, then San Pedro. But Trinidad and the mules were not as fresh as at the beginning of the long trip. We spent that night at a house a little before Caracol. It was a marshy region, and the mosquitoes were unbearable — actually the first I had seen in the country. The hut was one of two surrounded by the luxuriant vege- tation which thence on was continuous to the coast. Under my hammock, on the earth floor, I kindled some sticks of resinous wood that smoked the insects out, and made me feel like the saint that was broiled on a gridiron. I was glad to be off again at dawn. The country was now a i3erfect tropical garden. We fol- 12 178 THE KEPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. lowed along the side of the unused railroad track, which is laid as far inland as the TJlua E-iver, but almost completely overgrown with bushes and grass. One more night — a com- fortable one — at Pinto. One more early start; more riding through the indescribable beauty of groves of cocoa palms, a perfect covering overhead of the sweeping, immense leaves; coolness, moist black earth below. The blaze of the sun completely shut out. An absurd idea occurring to one: "What lovely bowers these are for a summer garden ! Just to have little tables here and there, and waiters to bring beer and ginger ale, and a good band to play constantly! Wouldn't it be comfortable!" Miles and miles through these groves; then breakfast at Chamelecon, and another ferry to be crossed in canoe. At Chamelecon, as at all these coast settlements, X3lenty of milk to drink, rich and delicious. The old woman forgets to give one his change, but no matter. Only a few more miles to San Pedro. And mid-afternoon we were winding our wa}^ along the well-kept roads leading into that x>retty i^lace. Trinidad was stopped presently by an inspector, and had to pay real of entrance toll. By this we felt that vve were in the town. San Pedro some- THE FINISH. 179 how reminded me of Coney Island; I suppose it was the summery style of the houses; It is situated on the plain of Sula, back from which rise, circle shape, the everlasting hills from which we had come down. There is a fine Catholic church and a Protestant meeting- house. The Catholic church stands in a plaza planted with orange trees. There are many good stores and a court-house. Picturesquely considered, the town could not be sweeter. There are two or three streams flowing by and through it, the Rio de las Piedras being the principal one. There are three main streets run- ning the entire length of the town, and the trees that grow along all the roads are covered with vines that blossom riotously the year round. We made our way in the direction of the Inter- national Hotel, a long, rambling wooden build- ing. I slipped out of the saddle and left the mules in charge of the mozo, while I entered the office. The hundred-league ride was over ! I had a bath, and discovered that the dinner hour was not far off. Trinidad brought in my luggage. I settled accounts and said ^'good- bye" to him. He shook hands with me and wished me good luck. Exit the mozo. When I dined, an hour later, I realized for the first 180 THE EEPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. time that I had been on short allowance as to rations for the past ten days. My appetite was simply terrifying. Everything tasted de- licious. I slept soundly on a bed with a mat- tress, and spent the next day rambling about the town. The day after, the train went down to the Port giving us thirty-eight miles of rail- way travel of the most singular description. An engine, a tender, a baggage and freight car combined, and a passenger coach, the last not much longer than a New York street-car, and having the seats similarly arranged — that is, running lengthwise. There were, of course, a good many passengers; among the number, Mr. Jones, a Welsh missionary, interested me with his sincerity and evident goodness of heart, although, as a lady remarked to me, ' ' the poor, dear man has a formidable task in prospect if he thinks to convert any of the Catholics of Honduras to Protestantism." I noticed, how- ever, the invariable respect wdth which he was treated by one and all, who accepted his Span- ish and English tracts and put them carefully in their pockets. The train made a stop every three or four miles to load with mahogany and other timber and fruit. At Choloma, reached at noon, we A RESUME. 181 took a breakfast of actual luxuries. On we went again, making slow progress all afternoon long. It was not that the train did not make good time while in motion, but that the inces- sant stopping to load kept us back. It was extremely hot in the cars. Not a breath of air blew through. We sat there, moist and heljD- less, until the end. The day drew toward its close. We began to pass little lagoons. At last a pause. We were at Puerto Cortez. But we did not get out. The train would go down another mile. It went down. It came to a final stop. We got out-. There, close at hand, was the Hotel Biraud, a comfortable-look- ing place. And yonder, that which I had not seen for over a year, softly swaying, far- stretching, the measureless meadows of blue — of the sea ! VI. A RESUME. A good rider, well mounted and unhindered with luggage, which it is always »well to send on a day or two, or even three, in advance, can make the trip from Tegucigalpa to San Pedro easily as follows ; 182 THE REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. Tegucigalpa to Proteccion first day. Proteccion to Comayagua second day. Comayagua to Cuevas third day. Cuevas to Miambur fourth day. Miambur to Santa Cruz fifth day. Santa Cruz to Pinto , sixth day. Pinto to San Pedro seventh day. As the crow flies, the distance from capital to coast is not, of course, anything like the distance to be covered in riding up and down and around the tremendous mountains and wonderful valleys which lie between the inte- rior and the sea. I, myself, hampered by luggage and servant afoot, spent nine nights en route — one of which, at Comayagua, being unnecessary. My journey was divided as follows : Tegucigalpa to roadside house before reaching Tamara .' . .first day. Roadside house to Las Flores .second day. Las Flores to Comayagua third day. In Comayagua fourth day. Comayagua to Cuevas fifth day. Cuevas to near Miambur sixth day. From near Miambur to Santa Cruz de Yojoa seventh day. Santa Cruz de Yojoa to near Caracol eighth day. Near Caracol to Pinto ninth day. Pinto to San Pedro tenth day. A EESUME. 183 The places through which we passed were: Tamara, Protecciou, Las Flores, San Antonio al Norte, Comayagua, Sabana Larga, Cuevas, Miambur, Youre, Santa Cruz de Yojoa, Sosoa, Rio Blanco, Potrerillos, Caracol, Pinto, Cham- elecon, San Pedro Sula. It would be absurd in anyone to pretend that making a trip of little less than three hundred miles in the saddle, with only the rudest shelter at night and small chance of obtaining proj)er food, is a trifling undertaking. It looks easy enough on paper, X3erhax)s, but put into execu- tion, the plan is somewhat more formidable. One should endeavor, of course, to get good animals; not so much spirited and handsome beasts as those with easy gaits, sure-footed, and likely to hold out well to the end. One should travel as light as possible. Do not load yourself down with x)otted meats that will mix themselves up with other articles most unac- countably, once the tins are opened; loaves of bread to get stale at once, and the like — I mean, if you wish to go through in quick time. If you are in no hurry, and have an idea of camping out, it is different. Carry a nice cloth hammock, that will not take up too much room and that will not need 184 THE REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. a blanket to make it absolutely comfortable. If ,yon want a blanket over you, carry one not too large. Take a flask of brandy along, but do not drink it unless you get wet and chilled. Take a gourd to drink out of, and carry some small change, averaging two reales for every 13lace you expect to stop at. Do not lose courage when the posada peoi^le tell you ''No hay." Be persistent, and use a great deal of politeness. Do not try to kill chickens with stones; their owners will get angry and refuse to cook them for love or money. American drafts and American money, gold and bills, bring a premium of about twenty-five per cent. You can sell your drafts higher at the port than at the interior. There are two good banks in Tegucigalpa. It is not a bad idea to take your own saddle with you. For a lady, indeed, it is necessary to do so; otherwise she will probably be obliged to ride one of the left- sided saddles of the country, which are very awkward and uncom- fortable. Summer garments and broad-brimmed sum- mer hats should be remembered. There are very good old-school ]3hysicians in A RESUME. 185 Honduras, but people who believe in liomoeop- athy should take along their little medicine- cases freshly filled. A timely remedy of this sort may prove of inestimable value in case of sudden illness. But with proper care of one- self one may enjoy, uninterruptedly, the best of health in Honduras. APPENDIX. GENERAL INFORMATION. Honduras is the second in size and fourth in population of the five Central American Re- publics. Name. — Honduras, signifying great depths or profundities. Area. — Forty-seven thousand and ninety- two square miles. . GeograpMcal Position. — In the northern part of Central America, between 13° 10' and 16° north latitude, and stretching from 83° to 89° 45' west longitude. Boimdaries. — North, Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Honduras; east, Caribbean Sea and Republic of Nicaragua; south. Republic of Nicaragua, Gulf of Fonseca, and Republic of Salvador; west, Republics of Salvador and Guatemala. Topography. — Grandly mountainous; coun- try traversed by the Cordilleras, connecting the Sierra Madre with the Andes. Toward the coasts the mountains die away into gently roll- ing hills. The principal valleys are in the (187) 188 THE EEPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. departments of Comayagua, Gracias, Santa Barbara, Yoro, and Olancho. Principal Rivers. — Tlie Guayape or Patuca, Guayambre, Ulua, Chamelecon, Sulaco, Clio- luteca, Aguan, and Agalta. Lakes. — Yojoa, in the department of Santa Barbara. Islands. — Tigre Island, in the Gulf of Fon- seca, and the Bay Islands, off the north coast. Ports. — Pacific side : Amapala, on Tigre Island, San Lorenzo, and La Brea. Atlantic coast: Omoa, Puerto Cortez, Trujillo, and Ceiba. Departments. — Tegucigalpa, Comayagua, Paraiso, La Paz, Intibuca, Choluteca, Santa Barbara, Copan, Gracias, Yoro, Olancho, and Colon. Principal Cities and Towns. — Tegucigalpa, the capital; Comayagua, the old capital; Yus- caran, Santa Barbara, Trujillo, San Pedro Sula, and Amapala. Climate. — Hot on the coast lands; mild and even at the interior. Language. — Spanish. Means of Traveling. — On horse or mule- back, or in ox-cart. From Puerto Cortez inland thirty-seven miles to San Pedro Sula GEKERAL INFORMATION. 189 is a railroad, which is to be continued up to the capital, later on. Population. — Honduras entire, about 400,- 000; Tegucigalpa, 15,000; Comayagua, 10,000. Principal Hotels. — Tegucigalpa : Hotel Americano, Berlioz & Co., proprietors; Hotel Aleman- Americano, Pablo Nehring, proprie- tor; Hotel Yicne, Hotel Centro-Americano. Comayagua: Hotel Americano. Sabana- grande: Hotel Sabanagrande, Jose M. Mejia, proprietor. San Pedro Sula: Hotel Centro- Americano, L. Seiffert, manager; International Hotel, A. Wernle, proprietor. Puerto Cortez: Hotel Biraud. Transportation and Mining Agents. — Pes- pire : Messrs. Jiron & Medina. Steamship Lines. — Pacific Mail, touching bi-weekly at Amapala; Macheca Bros. Line, between New Orleans and Puerto Cortez, three steamers per month, Macheca Bros., New Orleans; De Leon & Alger, agents at Puerto Cortez. Honduras & Central American Steam- ship Comi3any, Williams & Rankin, New York; J. D. Mirrielees, agent, Puerto Cortez. Steamers Aguan and Hondo, touching at Puerto Cortez and Trujillo, from New York, Boston, and European ports. 190 THE REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. Seaso7is. — Verano, or dry season, lasting from November to May; invierno, or wet sea- son, lasting from May to November. TABLES SHOWING TEMPERATURE OP DRY SEASON AND WET SEASON. Locality, Tegucigalpa, west longitude 87° 10', north lat- itude 14° 15'. Altitude, 8,200 feet above sea-level. February, 1889. Date. Minimum. Maximum. Notes. 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 66° F. 65° F. 62° F. 66° F. 69° F. 67° F. 64° F. 81° F. 80° F. 80° F. 88° F. 88° F. 82° F. 79° F. r Weather fair and pleasant. y Nights cool. i Full moon. October, 1889. Date. Minimum. Maximum. Notes. 11 66° F. 76° F. 12 64° F. 76° F. 13 68° F. 79° F. Rain during the evening. 14 67° F. 78° F. Rain during the evening. 15 65° F. 78° F. 16 64° F. 77° F. 17 65° F. 77° F. 18 64° F. 77° F. Rain during the evening. Advice to Strangers. — ^^Wear summer cloth- ing; bring light overcoats and wraps for the interior; travel as lightly as possible, with small steamer trunks, in ^airs, each weighing the same; eat no fruit for a fortnight after arriving; avoid getting wet'dnd chilled; provide yourself SOME SPANISH WOEDS. l91 • I I with a good rubber cloak tbat will not open in ; front with the wind. i j SOME SPANISH WOEDS ] Used in this book, and some which the traveler 1 will hear and should understand, and their i definitions : i Gringo (Honduras word) Foreigner. \ Frijoles (freeholays) Black beans. : Tortillas Thin cakes made of corn. Queso (kayso) Cheese. •: Pan Bread. ' Mantequilla (mantayk&ya) Butter. ; Quiero (keeayro) I wish. I Cuanto How much ? I Cuanto vale (cwanto vahlie) How much does it cost? j Camino (cameeno) Road. i Lejos (layhos) Far. Cerca (sairca) Near. • Aqui no mas Right here. i Como no ! Of course. j Huevos (wavos) Eggs. ! Polio (poyo) Chicken. . '; Carne Meat. \ Caf 6 (cahf ay) Coffee. ^ Leche (laychay) Milk. Equipaje (ekkypahy) Luggage. j Baules (bah-ooles) Trunks. - ' Paraguas Umbrella. ! Posada Lodging. ] Hamaca (ahmaka) Hammock. I 192 THE REPUBLIC OF nOKBURAS. Comida Dinner. Almuerzo (almooairzo) Breakfast. Bodega Warehouse. Pan dulce Coffee-cake. Macho Male mule. Ponga Put. Traiga (triga) Bring. Quita Take away. Calentura Fever. Catarro Cold in the head. Frio Cold. Calor Heat, Cama Bed. Algo Something. Lluvia (yuveea). Rain. Va a Hover (va a yovair^ It is going to rain. Cansado (cansahdo) -. Tired. Tengo hambre (tengo ahmbray) I am hungry. Tengo sed I am thirsty. Un vaso de agua A glass of water. Hay? (pronounced I) Is there? Si, hay Yes, there is. No hay There isn't any. Alacran Scorpion. Aguardiente Brandy. Muy caro Very dear. Machete Big knife. Soy Americano I am an American. Estoy cansado I am tired. Dinero (deenairo) Money. Pago I pay. Luego (looaigo) Immediately. NOMEXCLATURE. 193 Ahora (ah-ora) Now. Mozo Guide or servant. Bestias Animals. Quiero ir I wish to go. Mas tarde Later. Tegucigalpa (Tay-goo-ci-garpa) Pues, hombre Well, sir. Hombre ! Man alive ! NOMENCLATUEE. The following interesting remarks upon tlie names of Mosquito, have been i^ublished by Dr. Antonio R. Vallejo in the latest census of Honduras: The name of the important town of Iriona, where is the easternmost custom-house in this republic, is from iri, thorn, and ona, one, or " one thorn." Mafia is the name of the devil worshiped by the Waiknas. Cropunto is a Waikna village on the bank of the Guayape. It was founded by the Payas many years ago. The name is said to be a corruption of the English word craicjish joined to the ^Y>^ms\\ 'punto, a point. The name signifies "crawfish point," and describes properly the point, or clay-bank, near which is the village landing. It is more than likely, however, that the name is from crau, crayfish, and unta, hole, from the Waikna language. Many years ago, a chief of the Payas, named Butuco, was established near the mouth of ihe River Guayape, called by English-speaking people the " Patook." It is easy to see that the latter is a corruption of the name of the old Paya. Senor Vallejo says: " Jocomacho, or Tocomacho, is said by some to have come from the English phrase 'took match.' Others believe, and this is more probable, that this name is taken from a Senor Cariiacho, whose family still exists there." It is said that Senor Camacho was jestingly called by the Eng- 13 194 THE REPUBLIC OF IIONDUEAS. lisli "the Duke of Camaclio," and that this title gradually became " Dukomacho," and finall}^ " Jocomacho." " Cusuna" is the Carib name of the fish called dormilon in Spanish. The village of Cusuna has two hundred and twenty- five inhabitants. Caratasca is a Waikna name for Cartago Lagoon, and sig- nifies " big alligator." It is from cava, alligator, and tara, big, and should be written " Caratara." Sangre-laya comes from the Waikna words sangre, a mt)th, and lay a, coast, and means "the coast of the moth." Guayape is said to be from guayapin, a robe worn by Indian women, and is the proper name for the great river which, rising in the mountain ranges surrounding Concordia, flows across the Valley of Lepaguare, past the city of Juticalpa, capital of the large department of Olancho, through the great Valley of Catacamas and the vast Plain of Mosquito, to empty into the Caribbean Sea. Not far from the sea, the Guayape divides, the main channel flowing on in a northeasterly direc- tion, and the smaller one going northwest to Brus Lagoon. This minor channel is called Toma, seed of the annato, and mirra, toward the bottom. Ualpa-tanta is an isolated mountain against which the Gua- yape washes. At its base is a large settlement where the rub- ber gatherers meet to buy goods and get drunk, once or twice a year. The name is from the Sumo words ualpa, rock, and tanta, flat. Ualpa-ulbun, or " rock written on," or carved, is itself about two days paddling above Ualpa-tanta, and is an interesting archseological study. Uaxma, the name of a settlement on the Guayape, signifies " the cry of hawk." Uampu, the name of one of the more important tributaries of the Gua3'ape, means " the upper part, the head." It is also the name of tlie Guava. There is a river which flows into the Guayape from the south, and is called Amac-uas — the river of honey-bees. An- other tributary is called Aca-uas — water of tobacco; a third is the Uas-presni — swift-running water. Farther up-stream the Cuyumel comes in. The Sumos name it the Inska-ualpa-ula, IMPORTATIONS OF MEEOHANDISE. 195 or the fish-rock place. The River Suji (pronounced soohe) flows into the River Segovia; it gets its name from the Toaca word suji, a grindstone or sandstone. Up the Plantain River is the Paya town of Sixatara. Sixa, banana, and tara is " big," The Sambo hamlet of Urang has the same name as is given to the alligator, "cacao." Tilbalacca Lagoon gets its name from the fact that a party of Waiknas once killed a tilba^ tapir, in its waters, and build- ing a fire beneath a large lacca^ locust tree, hung the flesh of their prey on the branches to cure in the smoke. The rather pretty Waikna name for the pleasantly flavored little maiden plant-ain is miel-silpa, literally little sweet, or honey-little; that is, little honey. IMPORTATIONS OF MERCHANDISE. The following is a list of merchandise im- ported into Honduras during the economic year 1887-88 : FIRST CLASS. FREE OP DUTY. Pounds. Rice 243,258 Garlic 2,821 Fence-wire 38,316 Oats 1,356 Empty barrels 1 ,316 Pumps 1,310 Onions 30,247 Carts and coaches 10,263 Piping 4,003 Lime 53,224 Coal 2,005 Terrestrial spheres 61 196 THE REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. Potmds. Beans 49,794 Empty demijolms 4,618 Flour 2,396,149 Printing machines 410 Printed books 9,869 Yeast powder 107 Samples 2,239 Machinery 64,170 Corn 103,764 Apples 4,317 Marble 439 Potatoes 66,895 Pears 208 Stone tanks 830 Empty sacks 19,671 Common salt 435,505 Seeds 17 Zinc tiles 70,233 Stone jars \ 140 Fresh grapes 554 Vegetables 742 Total 3,618,211 SECOND CLASS. DUTY, TWO CENTS PER POUND, Pounds. Linseed-oil 6,618 Turpentine 4,833 Glassware 222 Castor-oil 19,021 Tar 6,789 IMPORTATIONS OF MERCHANDISE. 197 Pounds. Sugar 328,968 Olive-oil 26,873 Mineral water , 4,571 Starch 1,077 Sulphuric acid 3,306 Codliver-oil 4,855 Resinous oil 1,061 Steel 7,938 Almond-oil 4,137 Cotton (raw) 105 Hemp-seed 306 Rosin 514 Codfish 19,002 Brooches 36 Borax 60 Advertising j^ictures 1,017 Iron nails 80,394 Chromos 24 Beer 427,936 Chalk in powder ' 33 Sieves 123 Glassware , 36,576 Salt beef 33,345 Coffee 22,987 Iron boilers 10,083 Barley 1 ,234 Rattles 3,060 Penholders 34 Cacao 6,308 Black wax 31 Bedsteads 5,106 Copper sheet, 3,055 198 THE REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. Pounds. Raw tallow 233 Heavy paper (cartoon) 160 Glue 173 Carbonate of soda 60 Dynamite 6,190 Brooms 2,463 Sheets of zinc 81 Inferior fibre ' 712 Scott's Emulsion 2,611 Glass bottles 16,066 Stone figures , 252 Crackers 75,593 Ginger ^ 15,571 Peas 425 Sheets of tin 5,074 Manufactured iron . 68,099 Lasts 860 Axes 16,692 Common soap 235,227 Books in blank 3,365 Ordinary porcelain -w are 171,160 Sealing-wax 162 Linseed 596 Hops 430 Furniture 13 Seed-planters 74,259 Ropes of all kinds 237 Common machetes (brush hooks) 11,542 Maizena 21,277 Mackerel 13,146 Axe-handles 3,755 Grinding-stones 1,293 IMPOETATIONS OF MEKCHANDISE. 199 Pounds. Electric machines. 1,923 Manila 73 Sewing-machines 1,121 Smoothing-irons 35,065 Shovels 12,730 Kerosene oil 13,740 Plow points 297,130 Copying-presses 318 Paint 514 Hog's meat 18,631 Hats 81,392 Salt fish 1,465 Potash 2,068 Steel pens 149 Lead 207 Mats 10,381 Earthen jugs 357 Scales 55 Oars 1,653 Resin 1,272 Epsom salts 775 Envelope's 11,777 Sago 7,269 India-rubber stamps 529 Leather 76 Bacon. . . 515 Writing-ink 17,521 Iron tacks 7,369 Iron screws 1,298 Writing utensils 1,382 Wines 619,953 Vinegar 9,434 200 THE IlEPUBLIC OF IIONDUKAS. Pounds. Chemicals for preserving hides 906 Glasses and glassware 23,143 Total 2,903,188 THIRD CLASS. DUTY, FOUR CENTS PER POUND. Pounds. Fish-hooks 325 Olives 9,920 Iron rings 15 Alucema 245 Zinc wire 34 Indigo 26 Almonds. . . . 435 Copper wire , 32 Pails 2,970 Baths, 432 Empty trunks 19,807 Varnish 841 Baskets 962 Glass candlesticks 660 Iron locks 411 Confectionery > 31,435 Padlocks 1,137 Tin spoons 390 Saddle cloth 211 Copper nails 1,618 Copper candlesticks 53 Capsules for bottles. 29 Mattresses 2,711 Thimbles 331 Pickles 25,969 IMPORTATIONS OF MEKCIIANDISE. 201 Pounds. 240 • Porcelain figures 13,254 *^''""°"" 39,967 Ironware Crystallized fruit • •^ ... 5,082 Ti-iP'*'^^ ; 7,767 Jams J^^^^" '.' 11,508 Lamps ^^^ Raw wool .... 12o Files Shuttles 1,550 Vegetables ^^^ Finecrockeiy ^^^^'^ ^^**^^ .. 54,788 ^^'^ . 1,105 ^"^tard 2^^g^ Ammunition lOo I^^^^^' 389 ^^^^^ . 2,103 P"^^' " ... 13,152 Wrapping-paper ^^ ^^^ W^^^^SWer ^^'^^^^ Cigarette-paper ^ ^^^ L^^^ ;;;;;''*^ 'i66 Spelter • Bronze . ^ si^°™i' ;;;;;;;; 7,844 Pianos .„ T'^^^^'^ : ; 10,915 ^^'^'""' .v.'.'.'.'.".'.'.'. 1,322 ®*™® 28,509 Sardines ' • • ■ ■ 202 THE KEPUBLIC OF HONDUKAS. Pounds. Quinine 178 Chalk 34 Utensils for lamps 378 Copper utensils 112 Candles 39,427 Bolts and liinges 567 Total 476,356 FOURTH CLASS. DITTY, EIGHT CENTS PER POUND. Pounds. Acids 627 Bitters 1,903 Scented waters 28,167 Alum 146 Anise 690 Sulphur .' 908 Crystallized candies 4 Analines 15 Blacking 2,358 Sacking 1,973 Billiards 3,135 Beeswax 2,116 Cloves 265 Carts , 108 Cumin-seed 5,720 Pasteboaid boxes 2,130 Cinnamon 2,974 Preserved provisions 33,523 Common knives , 1,897 Cherry cordial 20 Powdered cubebs 6 Champagne 4,728 IMPORTATIONS OF MERCHANDISE. 203 Pounds. Chocolate 2,434 Glass fruit dishes 30 Mirrors 9,018 Oil-cloth 1,649 Images and plates „ 5 Blank labels 63 Refined sulphur 268 Matches .' 37,992 Manufactured rubber ^ 40 Syrups 3,105 Canvas and duck 60,875 Condensed milk 8,343 Canned sausage 137 Printed music 99 Sweet nitre 10 Paper , 66 Pepper 4,225 Pipes 2,920 Raisins 17,384 Sand-paper 207 Blue-stone 12 Portraits 376 Soda. 1,484 Sulphate of iron 70 Sausages 215 Sulphate of copper , 31 Bottle corks 1,029 Wire cloth 120 Corkscrews 7 Rugs 71 Vermouth 14,994 Total ... 360,692 204 THE REPUBLIC OF HOT^DURAS. FIFTH CLASS. DU-tY, TWELVE CENTS PER POUND. Pounds, Accordeons 3,904 Cotton-seed oil 573 Pins and hooks 1,199 Rose-oil 960 Needles 715 Razor-strops \ 9 Electric pins 3 Calf leather 1,047 Brushes 397 Hemp canvas 288 Cotton thread 415 Dumb-waiters 35 Bed-ticking 5,085 Chinese fireworks 3,399 Cotton ribbons 710 Quilts 5,244 Fishing-nets 100 Glass beads 10 Patent leather 44 Cotton drills 87,929 Mouth harmonicas 1,183 Long cloth 27,670 Elastics 645 Gypsum figures 43 Cotton blankets 3,594 Gelatine 51 Gum arable 571 Cotton cloth 46,603 Cotton thread .* 33,194 IMPORTATIONS OF MERCHANDISE. 205 Poiinds. Musical instruments 3 797 Surgical instruments 19 Toys 7,766 Perfumed soap 2 107 Bird-cages jgg Liquor-stands i^q White cotton 45tj' jgi^ Madapolam •. 45 >^r^^ Lamp-wicks 1 jo Table-cloth and napkins „ 92 Mana 20 Playing-cards §29 Cotton cloth (olan) 10 603 Hooks 233 Perfumery 3g 654 Tanned leather ^ 352 Cotton umbrellas i^ 053 Wall-paper j ^ij-g Dusters (feather) 1q Cotton satin , _ ^ 3 g^g Cotton parasols 959 Siphons 49g ^^^i^ 5, 686 Towels 5g94 Te^ 1,905 Theodolites g^ Total 833,614 SIXTH CLASS. DUTY, EIGHTEEN CENTS PER POUND. Glass beads 3 293 Photographic apparatus X68 206 THE EEPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. Pounds. Buttons 2,124 Bandana 778 Brillantina 1,251 Walking-canes 165 Cotton undershirts 8,617 Penknives 1,267 Linen cloth 677 Cotton material 212 Cotton drawers 472 Glass beads (cuentas de vidrio) 22 Drills 6,217 Dies 11 Cotton socks and stockings 10,214 Spatulas 29 Riding-whips 187 Fireworks 642 Electric bands 2 Syringes 351 Cotton gloves. 1 French prints 1,671 Lotteries 115 Machetes and knives 2,732 Fine glass pearls 45 Razors 1,006 Nutmegs 152 Lamp-shades 240 Overalls 40 Painting brushes 1 Rosaries 122 Sandal cloth 1,937 Scissors 1,093 Forks 669 IMl^ORTATIONS OF MEKCHANDISE. 207 Pounds. Tela real 1'^^'^ Wax candles ^^"^ Cotton prints 110,820 Total ■ 158,817 SEVENTH CLASS. DUTY TWENTY-FOUR CENTS PER POUND. Pounds. Articles of luxury ^^ Carbolic acid ^^"^ Adornments and cotton fringes 99 Whalebones ^^ Cotton shirts 12,783 Celluloid collars and cuffs 12 Bishop lawn ^'^^^ Drill shirts ^'^^^ Oil-cloth 1'^^^ India-rubber overshoes 168 Ladies' sewing-cases * Leaden crosses 1° Velvet ribbons 1^^ Plated spoons * India-rubber neckties * Cotton cords "^ Cotton laces ^'963 Essence Coronada - ^^'^ 563 Yarn Small combs 1 125 Meat extracts ... Woolen blankets 19,521 Velvet bonnets • • • • 1^^ Glazed muslin v 11,367 208 ^ I THE REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. Pounds. Colored threads 170 Cheap jewelry 2,432 Muslin 1,486 Stencil-plates - 130 Metal lamps = 10 Medicines 37,377 Thread in skeins 439 Punks 1,687 Necessaries 94 Silk umbrellas 941 Combs 2,233 Cotton handkerchiefs 14,626 Velvet 1 3,886 Artificial flower paper 569 Percale (white muslin) 2,908 Papelillo 108 Ready-made clothing 2,068 Mantel clocks 984 Gentlemen's hats 10,517 Ladies' hats 328 Thermometers "jM Cotton braids ' 635 Sarsaparilla (bottled) 189 Total 161,906 EIGHTH CLASS. DUTY, THIRTY CENTS PER POUND. Pounds. Albums. . . .^ 118 Carpets 183 Saffron 8 Braid 370 IMPOETATIOISrS OF MERCHAjN'DISE. 209 Pounds. Pearl buttons 416 Woolen sashes 4 Linen shirts 892 Boots and shoes 23,082 Linen cuffs and collars 317 Woolen braids 78 Cotton table-covers 90 Woolen drawers 32 Cigarelte-cases 40 Woolen laces 20 Patent cigar-lighters 13 Labels for bottles 230 Woolen fringes 17 Woolen caps 41 Carpet-cloth 263 Saddle-cloth 387 Woolen thread 462 Bunting 577 Saddle undercloth 491 Muslin 2,211 ^otton shawls 10,759 Purses 705 Cotton embroidery 758 Gentlemen's ready-made clothing 3,542 Labels 37 Woolen edgings 704 Fancy cards 218 Total 47,065 14 210. THE REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. NINTH CLASS. DUTY, FIFTY CENTS PER POUND. Pounds. Alpaca 539 Pans 76 Military trappings 31 Corsets and belts ". 905 Cashmere 7,781 Casinet 187 Guitar-strings 254 Cartridges aud caps 1,335 Halters and bridles 267 Leather straps 430 Woolen shirts 361 Damask 159 Spectacles 153 Sponges 20 Guns .' 1,715 Flannel 890 Spangles 517 Garters 318 Blue-mass 28 Merino 1,896 Cloth 1 , 306 Revolvers 1,324 Saddles 963 Suspenders 1 44 Tobacco 465 Clothing for ladies 232 Clothing ft>r boys 52 Scabbards 76 Sheep-skins 282 Total 22,712 IMPORTATION'S OF MERCHANDISE. 211 TENTH CLASS. DUTY, EIGHTY CENTS PER POUND. Woolen comforters Cotton cravats . Woolen undershirts Woolen table-cloth Cigarettes Artificial flowers Curtains Riding-gloves Ornaments. Woolen shawls Linen handkerchiefs Imitation wool handkerchiefs Silk satin . . High hats Total. ELEVENTH CLASS. Pounds. 159 395 473 30 55 330 75 5 113 2,905 180 19 133 4,768 DUTY, ONE DOLLAR AND FIFTY CENTS PER POUND. Pounds. 21 36 450 53 298 ,. 93 59 278 63 5,683 348 Billiard-balls Silk cravats Silk ribbon Silk undershirts Muslin caps Kid gloves Fine jewelry Lute-strings "Olan" Silk shawls . . . Silk handkerchiefs. 212 THE REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. Pounds. Silk material 2,024 Panama liats 183 Velvet 54 Total 9, 640 LIQUORS. DUTY, SIXTEEN CENTS PER POUND. Pounds. Absinthe ,2,783 Brandy 52,071 Cordials 182 Rum 1 84 Total 55,220 DUTY, TWENTY-EIGHT CENTS PER POUND. Pounds. Alcohol 1,038 Aguardiente 3,815 Anise-seed , 8,227 Cognac 1,728 Gin 4,477 Maraschino 47 Whisky 8,381 Total 27,713 INDEX. Page. Advice to Strangers 190 Agriculture 120 Aguardiente 128 Amapala 12 American Honduras Company 01 American Money 108, 184 Aramecina 68 Area 18*7 Bananas 122 Banks 107 Boundaries - 187 Buried Treasure 33 Cabinet 109 Canal 93 Caratasca Lagoon 93 Caribs • 114 Casava Snake 117 Cathedral of Comayagua 167 Cathedral of Tegucigalpa 29 Cattle 137 Census 102 Cerro de Hule - 24 Character of Natives 108 Churches 35 Climate • : • • • 37 Clothing 45 Coal 83 Cocoa-nuts 125 Coffee. 127 Comayagua 164 Comayguela 25 Comfortable Living 46 Cotton 139 (213) 214 IT^DEX. Page. Cuevas 171 Departments 188 Duties, Export 134 Duties, Import 105 Education 109 El Valle de los Angeles 58 Exportation of Cattle 139 Fibre Plants 143 Financial Condition 104 Forage 140 Foreign Debt 103 Foreigners 103 Forest Wealth 130 Fritzgartner, Dr. Reinhold 30 Fruits 128 Garrapatas 154 Geographical Position 187 Government Mining Bureau 83 Guasucaran 60 Hides 141 Hogs 141 Honduras Progress 30 Houses in Tegucigalpa . . 34 Hule 134 Importations 195 Income and Expenditure 104 Income from Revenues and Customs 105 Interoceanic Railroad 103 Islands 188 Journey from Amapala to Tegucigalpa 11-35 Journey from Tegucigalpa to Puerto Cortez 149-180 La Leona 36 La Venta 31 Lakes 188 Literary and Scientific Organizations 110 Live-stock 136 Logging 133 Mails Ill Maroma 76 INDEX. 215 Page. Means of Traveling 188 Merchandise Impoited during 1887-83 195 Miambur 172 Mining Camp, In a 71 Mining Industry 53-70 Mining Laws 84 Morazan Park 31 Mosquitia 92 Name 187 Natural Advantages 136 Newspapers 110 Nomenclature, Mosquito 193 October 42 Opals 86 Opoteca 68 Orphans' Home 36 People who should not go to Honduras 80 Pespire 18 Pinole 50 Pita 142 Population 102 Ports 188 Postal Service Ill Poultry ■ 142 President Bogran 108 Principal Hotels 189 Principal Mining Companies , 65-70 Principal Cities and Towns 188 Proteccion 161 Public Debt 104 Puerto Cortez 181 Religion 102 Rivers, Principal 188 Rubber 134 Sabana Grande 22 Sabana Larga 170 San Juancito 54 San Lorenzo 15 San Pedro Sula ,,,...,, , . , 173 216 INDEX. Page. Sauta Cruz 175 Santa Lucia 59 Seasons 36, 190 Sheep 141 Social Life in Tegucigalpa 32 Society of Antiquities 110 Stamp-mills 84 Steamship lines 189 Stories not to be credited 81 Sugar-cane 128 Tamales 50 Tamara 158 Tegucigalpa 25 Telegraph 104 Temperature 38, 190 Theatre 33 Timber Laws 1 34 Topography 187 Tortillas 49 Transportation and Mining Agents 189 Traveling with comfort 153 Uabul 50 Weddings 32 What to eat 47 What to engage in 120 What to wear 46 Woods 131 Yojoa 175 Youre 1 74 y uscarau 62 SIR EDTVIN ARNOLD'S GREAT POEM, THE LIGHT OF ASIA WITH FULL AND COMPLETE EXPLANATORY NOTES BY MRS. I. L. HAUSER. CEothy $1.50. Half Morocco, $2.50. PRESS NOTICES. "A task which, when one thinks of it, one must wonder was not undertaken before, has been successfully performed by Mrs. I. L. Hauser." — Literary World, Boston. "These notes will be a real help to most readers." — Chronicle, San Francisco, "That there will be a wide demand for it, goes without saying." — Tidings, Buffalo. 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FABIAN DIMITRY By EDGAR FAWCETT. In Paper Covers^ 50 cents. Clothe $1.00. For Sale at all Booksellers' and News Stands. PRESS NOTICES. "Mr. Fawcett has told in 'Fabian Dimitry' a strange story, and told it well. * * * All the characters are strongly sketched, and they are managed with a degree of skill which makes the story inter- esting for much more than the plot." — New York Herald. " 'Fabian Dimitry' is a most artistic novel. Intense in its vitality, brilliant and profound in its intellectual scope, and rising to the sub- limity of sacrifice in its ideal of love, it is, indeed, a novel strangely calculated to thrill the imagination and stimulate every exalted quality in human nature." — Boston Budget. " 'Fabian Dimitry,' by Edgar Fawcett, is one of the best novels from the pen of that excellent writer." — Kansas City Thnes. "In 'Fabian Dimitry,' Edgar Fawcett has given us a character study of the most pronounced kind. Not only the chief persons of the story, but the lesser characters, represent well known types of human development." — Bostoit Times. "An unusual and original plot which Mr. Fawcett has developed in a manner that holds the interest of the reader from start to finish. ♦ * * It is concise, direct and striking." — America., Chicago. SEND FOR COMPLETE CATALOGUE. RAND, McNALLY & CO., PUBLISHERS, Chicago and New York. THE RIALTO SERIES. The books of this series are all works of special merit, and are either copyright productions of American authors, or noteworthy writings of foreign authors. They are bound in neat and modest paper covers, at 50 cts. each; and most of them also in tasteful cloth bindings, with gold back and side titles, at $ i .00 each, postpaid. The paper series, being entered at the Chicago Post OfQce, is mailable at one cent a pound. The Dream ( He Keve). By E. Zola. Illustrated. Paper and cloth. The Iron Master ( Le Ma'itre de Forges). By Georges Ohnet. Illus- trated. Paper and cloth. The Blackhall Ghosts. By Sabah Tytleb. The Immortal, or one of the "Forty" (li'Immortel) . By A. Daudet. Illustrated. Paper and cloth. Marriage and Divorce. By Ap Eichard and others. Paper and cloth. Daniel Trentworthy; a Tale of the Great Fire. By John MoGovern. Typogravure Illustrations. Paper and cloth. The Silence of Dean Maitland. By Maxwell Grey. Paper and cloth. Nikanor. By Henry Greville. Translated by Mrs. E. E. Cuase. Typo- gravure Illustrations. Cloth and paper. Dr. Rameau. By Georges Ohnet. Illustrated. Paper and cloth. The Slaves of Folly. By Wm. Horace Brown. Cloth and paper. Merze; The Story of an Actress. By Marah Ellis Ryan. Typo- gravure Illustrations. Cloth and paper. My Uncle Barbassou. By Mario Uchard. Illustrated. Paper and cloth. Up Terrapin River. By Opie P. Read. Cloth and paper. Jacob Valmont, Manager. By Geo. A. Wall and G. B. Heckel. Illus- trated. Cloth and paper. Herbert Severance. By M. French-Sheldon. Kings in Exile. By A. Daxjdet. Illustrated. Cloth and paper. The Abbe Constantin. By Ludovic Halevy, with Thirty-six Illustra- tions by Madeleine Lemaire. Double number. Half morocco, gilt top, $200. Ned Stafford's Experiences in the United States. By Philip MiLFORD. The New Prodigal. By Stephen Paul Sheffield. Pere Goriot. By Honore db Balzac. Half Morocco, $1.50. A Strange Infatuation. By Lewis Harrison. Illustrated. Journal of Marie Bashkirtseflf. Only unabridged edition published. Cloth, $2.00; half morocco, $3.50. Numa Roumestan. By A. Daudet. Illustrated. Half Morocco, $1.50. Fabian Dimitry. By Edgar Fawcett. In Iiove'8 Domains. By Marah Ellis Ryan. Spirite. By Theophile Gautier. Illustrated. Double number. Half morocco, gilt top, $2.00. RAND, McNALLY & CO., Publishers, CHICAGO AND NEW YORK. ISSUED IN THE RIALTO SERIES. My Uncle Barbassou! Being the history of his Turkish harem bequeathed to his nephew in Paris, and duly chronicled by him. By MARIO UCHARD. Beautiful Typogravure illustrations, from etchings by Paul Avrill. In paper cover, 50 cents, C/oth, §1.00. FOR SALE at all BOOKSELLERS and NEWS STANDS. PRESS KOTICES. "An astounding book that will probably meet with a ready sale." — St. Louis Republic. "My Uncle Barbassou" is one of the most realistic of these stories which have been translated of late. It is excit- ing, picturesque, and as unique as one may find in six months of reading. The fabric of the story hangs upon the inherit- ance, by a young man in Paris, of enormous wealth, estates, and other possessions, including a Turkish harem, from his Uncie Barbassou, who is a Mahommedan. For a Christian to be thus enriched is very peculiar, even for a story. However, the nephcAV being given to psychological investigations, sets about civilizing one of the four daugh- ters of the East, imbued with Mahomet's religion, and the resulting complications border on the startling. One gets quite an insight in this process into the religious beliefs and customs of the East, and here and there they contrast very favorably with some of the customs of more civilized nations. This tale is told in a manner above reproach. "--5osf on Times. <■<■* * * The title above quoted hints at a "loud" story, but the book is not shocking, nor even bad. * * * " — New Yorli Herald. "It is very interesting and graphic in description. * * * * The plot is well laid; it is equally as well told."— New Orleans Picayune. "It is an amusing story." — N^w York Tribune. "■ Is not nearly so bad a book as a hasty glance at its first few pages might lead the rash reader to infer. * * * We have read novels, backed with moral motives, that contained matter which,, taken in a wrong sense, or presented to the morbid, the prurient, or the immature, would be more likely to have a bad effect than anj-thing we have encount- ered in this tale."— /Vew/ York Morning Journal. "The humor ot the situation is almost clever enough for About, and the under plot, in which Barbassou is the chief actor, is exquisitely funny."— Boatow Herala. Send for complete catalogue. RAND» McNALLY & CO., Publishers, Chicago and N^w York. s^ -^^ -^ a r\^ ^^'>> '^ 'c- ^' r •^'i-'^^.^ O. % '%. ^ .0 ^' - ,^' v> ^ ■^ -"'".