This is a reproduction of a book from the McGill University Library 
 collection. 
 
 Title: An account of the British settlement of Honduras : being a brief 
 
 view of its commercial and agricultural resources, soil, climate, 
 natural history, &c. : to which are added, Sketches of 
 the manners and customs of the Mosquito Indians, preceded by 
 the journal of a voyage to the Mosquito shore ... 
 
 Author: Henderson, Capt. (George) 
 
 Publisher, year: London : Printed for C. and R. Baldwin, 1809 
 
 The pages were digitized as they were. The original book may 
 have contained pages with poor print. Marks, notations, and other 
 marginalia present in the original volume may also appear. For wider 
 or heavier books, a slight curvature to the text on the inside of pages 
 may be noticeable. 
 
 ISBN of reproduction: 978-1-926810-89-8 
 
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 reproduced, re-published, or re-distributed commercially. For further 
 information on permission regarding the use of this reproduction 
 contact McGill University Library. 
 
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 www.mcgill.ca/library 
 
AN 
 
 ACCOUNT 
 
 OF THE 
 
 BRITISH SETTLEMENT 
 
 OF 
 
 9 
 
 BEING 
 
 A brief view of its commercial and agricultural re- 
 sources, SOIL, CLIMATE, NATURAL BISTORT, &C. 
 
 To -which are added, 
 
 SKETCHES 
 
 OF THE 
 
 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS 
 
 OF THE 
 
 MOSQUITO INDIANS, 
 
 PRECEDED BY THE JOURNAL OF A VOYAGE TO TIIE 
 MOSQUITO SHORE. 
 
 ILLUSTRATED BY A MAP. 
 
 By CAPT. HENDERSON, fe. »; 
 
 7 -V, / 
 
 OF HIS MAJESTY’S 5th WEST INDIA REGIMENT, 
 
 LONDON : 
 
 PRINTED BY AND FOR C. AND R. BALDWIN, 
 NEW BRIDGE-STREET. 
 
 1800 
 
TO 
 
 BRIGADIER GENERAL BARROW, 
 
 LATE HIS MAJESTY’S SUPER IN TEND ANT ; COMMANDER OB THB 
 TROOPS ; &C. &C. 
 
 AT HONDURAS. 
 
 AIT the moment I submit the following 
 pages to the indulgence of the Public, I feel a very 
 sincere gratification that I am also enabled to offer 
 an acknowledgment to you , however unequal to 
 my wishes, of the perfect recollection I hold of 
 the favour unde ) • which I have been placed. 
 
 And I beg you to believe that, in common with 
 many others, I cannot but recur with singular sa- 
 tisfaction to the period of service passed under your 
 command, throughout the whole of which you in- 
 variably shewed that the duties of the Superior and 
 the urbanity of the Gentleman were not incompa- 
 tible. 
 
 I have the honour to be, 
 
 Sir , 
 
 Your obedient 
 
 and most humble Servant, 
 
 GEORGE HENDERSON, 
 Capt. 5 th W. I. Regiment. 
 
 London, 
 
 Dec. 1809. 
 
THE CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAP. I. 
 
 Page 
 
 Geographical position of the British Esta- 
 blishment of Honduras. Short political 
 account of the condition of the Settlers until 
 the present period . Climate. Description 
 of the Town of Balize. Outline of the Coast , 
 
 &c. &c. First Settlers exposed to hostile 
 Indians. . . 1 
 
 CHAP. II. 
 
 Considerations on the Commercial Advantages 
 of Honduras. Agricultural Resources. 
 
 Soil and Climate adapted to the culture of 
 most of the productions of the West India 
 Islands. Domestic Animals. Fisheries. 
 Fruits. ........ ?o 
 
 CHAP III. 
 
 Rivers Balize and Sibun, their importance to 
 the Settlement : particulars connected with 
 ih ? history of both. Seasons for cutting, 
 mahogany : the operation described. Com- 
 mercial advantages annexed to the above. 
 Staves, their labour and condition. Con- 
 cluding remark 39 
 
 b 
 
X 
 
 THE CONTENTS, 
 
 CHAP. IV- 
 
 Pag© 
 
 A code of laws formed by Capt. Burnaby. 
 Present administration of justice. Courts 
 of Honduras, how held. Humane regula- 
 tion for protecting manumitted slaves. Re- 
 venue. Population. Diseases. . . . 6-2 
 
 CHAP. V. 
 
 The pursuits of the Settlers of Honduras lead 
 to distant and ividely different directions. 
 Christmas the season of general festivity. 
 
 The slaves particidarly happy at this period. 
 Water sports. The Dory and Pitpan boats, 
 peculiar to the Settlement, described. Shoot- 
 ing and fishing parties . . . . 74 
 
 CHAP. VI. 
 
 Subjects connected with the Natural History 
 of Plonduras. Extraordinary advantages 
 that might attend many pursuits annexed 
 to cultivation again insisted on. Trees and 
 plants , their great variety : the uses of se- 
 veral species described . . . ........ 81 
 
 CHAP. VII. 
 
 Natural History continued. Quadrupeds . . 94 
 
 CHAP VIII. 
 
 Natural History continued. Birds lop 
 
 4 
 
THE CONTENTS. 
 
 XI 
 
 CHAP. IX. 
 
 Page 
 
 Natural History concluded. Fishes. Reptiles. 122 
 
 Journal of a Voyage to the Mosquito Shore . 133 
 
 Sketches of the Manners and Customs of the 
 Mosquito Indians .. 177 
 
 Signification in English of some words in the 
 Mosquito Tongue .. 193 
 
 Meteorological Table kept at Balize in the Bay 
 of Honduras - . . 197 
 
ACCOUNT 
 
 OF THE 
 
 BRITISH SETTLEMENT 
 
 OF 
 
 HONDURAS 
 
 CHAP I. 
 
 Geographical position of the British Establishment 
 of Honduras. Short political account of the con- 
 dition of the Settlers until the present period . 
 Climate. Description of the Town of Balize. 
 Outline of the Coast, &c. &fc. First Settlers 
 exposed to hostile Indians. 
 
 The British Settlement of Honduras 
 is situated in the province of Yucatan, 
 or Jucatan, a peninsula extending from the 
 province of Honduras to the sea north- 
 wardly, forming the Bay of Campeachy 
 on the west, and the Bay of Honduras on 
 
 B 
 
2 
 
 BRITISH SETTLEMENT 
 
 the east. It extends from about 16 to 21 
 deg. north latitude, and from about 84 to 
 94 deg. west longitude. .This part of Ame- 
 rica was discovered by Columbus in 1502. 
 
 Previous to the treaty of Paris, in 1763, 
 the English settlers had established them- 
 selves, with the friendly approval of the 
 Indians, their immediate neighbours, on 
 the east coast of Yucatan. The nearest 
 Spanish settlements are those of Bacalar 
 to the northward, and of Omoa and Trux- 
 illo to the southward. An inconsiderable 
 military body is kept at each of the for- 
 mer places, but the latter is a situation of 
 much more importance, possessing a re- 
 gular force, and having ' very extensive 
 fortifications. The harbour of Truxillo 
 is also large, open, and commodious, an 
 advantage that is connected with very few 
 places on this immense coast. 
 
 On concluding the treaty of peace, 
 in 1763, by the 17th article it was sti- 
 pulated, that all tlie fortifications which 
 
OF HONDURAS. 
 
 3 
 
 had been formed by the subjects of 
 Britain in the Bay of Honduras should 
 within four months after its ratifica- 
 tion be entirely demolished. The works, 
 which had been raised for their de- 
 fence, were consequently destroyed ; and 
 in consideration of this, his Catholic 
 Majesty engaged to protect them during 
 tlieir residence in the country. And 
 by the reciprocal article ( 36 ) of the 
 treaty of Madrid, the king of Spain fur- 
 ther engaged, fC that in case of war, no- 
 tice should be given to the respective 
 subjects of the King of Great Britain, 
 that six months would be granted them to 
 remove their merchandise and effects with- 
 out molestation.” This condition is un- 
 derstood to have made part of every sub- 
 sequent treaty between the two nations. 
 
 Truth, however, urges the recital, that 
 notwithstanding the abov'e engagements, 
 so liberally made and so solemnly con- 
 cluded, in the month of September, 1779, 
 
 b 2 
 
4 
 
 BRITISH SETTLEMENT 
 
 the subjects, of Great Britain, without any 
 previous information being given to them 
 on the part of the government of Spain, 
 of any misunderstanding having taken 
 place between the countries, were attack- 
 ed in their defenceless state by a strong 
 force, their properties materially injured, 
 their persons seized and treated in a way 
 of rather unusual severity. Many per- 
 sons were blindfolded and put closely in. 
 irons, and all of them, of different sexes 
 and ages, marched from their homes to 
 Merida* the capital of Yucatan* after- 
 wards countermarched to the coast, thence 
 shipped to the Havannah, where they 
 were held in captivity until July, 1782 * 
 when they were suffered to return to 
 Jamaica. 
 
 The losses sustained by many indivi- 
 duals by this extraordinary event, amount- 
 ed to a very considerable sum ; and al- 
 though many respectful solicitations 
 were made to the British ministry to ob • 
 
OF HONDURAS. 
 
 5 
 
 tain, if possible, someindemnification from 
 the court of Spain for the outrage, the 
 frequent changes, added to the very fluc- 
 tuating and uncertain state of public af- 
 fairs, at this particular juncture, rendered 
 all applications of the kind ineffectual. 
 
 Between 1779 and 1784, many of the 
 settlers sought a refuge among the Indians 
 on the Mosquito shore, and formed their 
 principal establishment on Black-river : 
 but in the month of November of the lat- 
 ter year, the treaty of convention was 
 concluded between England and Spain, 
 and the British subjects again took pos- 
 session of their former situation. Since 
 this period no particular opposition has 
 been shewn towards them, with the ex*- 
 ception of an ineffectual attack made in 
 the year 1798. This force was fitted 
 out at Bacalar, and conducted by Don 
 O’Niel, a field-marshal in the service of 
 Spain, but which, after an imperfect at- 
 tempt, was forced to retire with insigni* 
 
6 
 
 BRITISH SETTLEMENT 
 
 ficant loss from before St. George's Key, 
 a distance of ten or twelve miles from the 
 chief settlement of Balize. It was com- 
 puted that the number of the enemy em- 
 ployed on this occasion amounted to near 
 three thousand.* 
 
 * The sense his Majesty entertained of the united 
 exertions of the Navy and Army, and the settlers, 
 he was pleased to express, by directing the follow- 
 ing communication to be made to them through 
 Lieutenant-general the Earl of Balcarras. 
 
 Extract of a letter from his Grace the Duke of 
 Portland, to Lieutenant-general the Earl of Bal, 
 carres, dated, Whitehall, 8 February, 1799* 
 u My Lord, 
 
 tc I had great pleasure in laying before his Ma, 
 jesty the account you transmitted of the defeat of 
 the Spanish Flotilla, in its attack upon our Settle, 
 Blent of Honduras. 
 
 u The able and judicious conduct of Lieutenant- 
 colonel Barrow, and Captain Moss of the Merlin 
 sloop, the bravery of the troops and seamen under 
 their respective commands, and the spirited exer- 
 tions of the Settlement in general, on this occasion, 
 have be£n such as to receive his Majesty’s appro. 
 
OF HONDURAS. 
 
 7 
 
 Previous to this attack, commissioners 
 had been regularly appointed by the Spa- 
 nish government to visit the British set- 
 tlement at certain stated periods. The 
 chief purport of their mission was to ex- 
 act a scrupulous observance on the part 
 of the settlers of the several conditions en- 
 tered into by the respective countries * 
 that no forts or fortifications of any kind 
 should be again erected ; that the limits 
 assigned for the cutting of mahogany and 
 dye-woods, should not be exceeded ; that 
 no plantations beyond a certain extent 
 should be formed, nor any but particular 
 modes of culture pursued. The above 
 event, however, occasioned the disconti- 
 nuance of these visits, and the settlers, in 
 
 bation, which your Lordship is hereby directed to 
 signify through Lieutenant-colonel Barrow, to. 
 gether with the just sense his Majesty entertains 
 of their gallant and meritorious conduct.” 
 
 A true extract. 
 
 (Signed) 
 
 Baixarrfs 
 
8 BRITISH SETTLEMENT 
 
 consequence of it, have ever since consi- 
 dered themselves less bounden to an ob- 
 servance of their original obligation. 
 
 The intercourse which subsists between 
 the English and Spaniards is chiefly car- 
 ried on bv a communication with Merida, 
 
 v 
 
 the capital of the province of Yucatan. 
 During war the English are not permitted 
 to approach nearer Merida than the 
 look-out post, as it is termed, of St. Anto- 
 nio, a short distance from the town of 
 Bacalar : from this last place the public 
 dispatches are forwarded by Indian cou- 
 riers to the capital. The officer who at 
 present holds the distinguished rank of 
 Captain-general of Yucatan is, Don Be- 
 nito Perez, a most respectable character, 
 who enjoys a full share of the esteem of 
 those he is placed over, as well as the high 
 regard of all who approach him in his of- 
 ficial capacity. 
 
 The climate of this part of the Ameri- 
 can continent is greatly superior to that 
 
OF HONDURAS. 
 
 9 
 
 of most other parts of the same vast por- 
 tion of the globe, either in higher or 
 lower degrees of latitude. It is equally 
 superior to the climate of the West India 
 islands generally ; for persons whose 
 health and constitutions have become im- 
 paired from the effects of the latter, very 
 frequently acquire a sudden restoration of 
 both, after an arrival at Honduras. 
 
 With the exception of a few months in 
 the year, this country is constantly re- 
 freshed by regular sea-breezes, accom- 
 panied by an average of heat that may be 
 taken at the temperature of 80 degrees. 
 The seasons have also their marked diff- 
 erence, though Nature may not have de- 
 termined the shades of variation here with 
 the same strong lines she has affixed to 
 most other situations under her dominion. 
 Within the tropics, a change of wind, 
 or a shower of rain, often produces a sud- 
 den and singular revolution in atmosphe- 
 rical regularity, and occasions a no less 
 
10 BRITISH SETTLEMENT 
 
 sudden effect on the human system. The 
 periodical rains which fall in this country, 
 and which are neither considered unsea- 
 sonable nor extraordinary, might almost 
 presage a returning deluge, did they hap- 
 pen in some other parts of the world. But 
 the wet-season, as it is emphatically deno- 
 minated, is not considered here the season 
 of disease. It is fatally otherwise with the 
 whole of the West Indies. The most fre- 
 quent and violent instances of sickness 
 which occur at Honduras, happen during 
 the dry-season , which is usually compre- 
 hended within the months of April, May, 
 and June. The sun, during this space, 
 is always most powerful, and its scorching 
 rays are not mitigated by the same unifor- 
 mity of breeze which prevails during the 
 other months of the year. At the begin- 
 ning of October, what are called the 
 norths, north winds, commence, and ge- 
 nerally continue, with little variation, till 
 the return of February or March. Whilst 
 
 3 
 
OF HONDURAS. 
 
 11 
 
 these winds last, the mornings and even- 
 ings are cold, frequently unpleasantly so ; 
 and what in this country is understood by 
 a wet-north, might perhaps furnish no very 
 imperfect idea of a November day in 
 England ; a dry-north, on the contrary, is 
 healthful, agreeable, and invigorating. 
 The state of the weather during the norths 
 is extremely variable ; for a depression of 
 more than 15 degrees in the thermometer 
 has been remarked in the space of a few 
 hours. Thunder storms are frequent dur- 
 ing the greater part of the year, and in 
 the hottest months are often tremendously 
 violent. 
 
 The town of Balize, which is placed at 
 the mouth of the river of the same name,* 
 is the only regular establishment which 
 the English settlers have formed in this 
 country. It is immediately open to the 
 sea ; and, though the situation is low, the 
 
 * The Spaniards invariably name this river, 
 
 W A LLIX, 
 
BRITISH SETTLEMENT 
 
 12 
 
 groupes of lofty cocoa-nut trees, and 
 thickly interspersed and lively foliage of 
 the tamarind, contribute to give a very 
 picturesque and pleasing effect to the 
 dwellings of the inhabitants, independ- 
 ent of the advantage conferred by their 
 grateful shade, a luxury which only those 
 who have felt the powerful and subduing 
 influence of a tropical sun, can fully 
 appreciate. The regularity of the winds 
 which prevail in this country has been 
 mentioned, and were it not for the salu- 
 brity of these, the settlement would cer- 
 tainly be far less healthful than it is, as it 
 is placed at the edge of an immense 
 swamp which extends many miles back, 
 and which at most seasons abounds with 
 stagnant waters, but that during the rains 
 is completely overflowed. 
 
 The number of houses of all descrip- 
 tions contained in Balizc may be number- 
 ed at about two hundred. Many of these, 
 particularly such as are owned by the 
 
OF HONDURAS. 
 
 13 
 
 opulent merchants, are spacious, commo- 
 dious, and well finished. They are en- 
 tirely built of wood, and generally raised 
 eight or ten feet from the ground, on pil- 
 lars of mahogany. The stores and offices 
 are uniformly on the lower story, the din- 
 ing and sleeping apartments on the up- 
 per. Every habitation has likewise its 
 upper and lower piazzas, appendages 
 which are indispensably necessary in hot 
 climates, and that are resorted to as 
 forming the most cool and pleasant parts 
 annexed to it. The buildings within 
 these few years have mostly been shingled, 
 an improvement, which, independent of 
 the security it affords from accident, at 
 the same time furnishes a more finished 
 appearance to the town. Before the in- 
 troduction of this, the roofs were entirely 
 thatched with a material of the country ; 
 the leaves of the palmetto-tree ,( Chamrerop& 
 excelsa ) and which has obtained the name 
 of bay-thatch . It supplies an excellent 
 
14 
 
 BRITISH SETTLEMENT 
 
 and durable defence against the weather, 
 and is found particularly valuable for 
 plantation buildings, and those of an infe- 
 rior kind. 
 
 The town being situated as previously 
 described, renders any intercourse with the 
 interior country, especially by land, ex- 
 tremely difficult ; there not having been 
 any roads formed, nor is it possible there 
 could without extraordinary labour and 
 expence : travelling to this can therefore 
 only be conveniently performed by water ; 
 a distance, however, of four or five miles 
 has been cut through the swamp, which, 
 in fine weather, affords a tolerably pleasant 
 ride on horseback : the sides of this road 
 being profusely lined with a most agree- 
 able variety of foliage, of which, that af- 
 forded by the stately mangrove, ( rhizophora 
 mangle ,) manchineel, (hippomane manci- 
 ntlla ,* ) and poponax, is most predomi-* 
 
 * The deleterious quality of the fruit of the 
 manchineel is well known. It is believed, however, 
 
OF HONDURAS. 
 
 13 
 
 irant: the last is a singularly pleasant 
 tree from the delicate fragrance of its 
 small yellow flower. A lavish species of 
 the mimosa, or sensitive-plant, is also 
 found in every spot. 
 
 In all directions, the approach of the 
 extensive coast which lies contiguous to 
 the Bay of Honduras, is attended with 
 imminent anxiety and danger; and the 
 difficulty of the navigation is alarmingly 
 demonstrated by the numerous remains of 
 vessels which have been wrecked on the 
 different reefs and keys which are so abun- 
 dant in those seas. The hazard is great 
 at all times, but, during the continuance 
 
 in this country, that cattle do not experience any 
 injury from eating it. This noxious property may 
 also be considered as being connected with the 
 leaves or bark of the tree, a soldier belonging to 
 the 5th West Indian R egiment having been com- 
 pletely deprived of the sight of one of his eyes, by 
 the insinuation of some drops of rain which had 
 fallen from it whilst he was sleeping under its 
 shade. 
 
16 feRLTISH SETTLEMENT 
 
 of the north-winds, the danger becomes 
 much increased. The weather at such 
 seasons is usually hazy and thick, and the 
 currents, which, in this part of the 
 world, are peculiarly governed by the 
 influence of the winds, run with such 
 extraordinary rapidity, as frequently de 
 ceives all calculation, and renders every 
 precaution ineffectual. There is another 
 thing which may also be deserving of re- 
 mark : so deceptious are the different keys 
 from the general resemblance they bear to 
 each other, that the most experienced sea- 
 man, when placed amongst them, often 
 becomes fatally perplexed from the impos- 
 sibility he finds of accurately ascertaining 
 his situation. Indeed, on making this 
 coast, it is seldom safe to proceed without 
 a pilot. On taking a departure from Hon- 
 duras, the hazard becomes, if possible, 
 gr eater than that of approaching it, from 
 the increased number of the foregoing im- 
 pediments. The first object to attain in 
 
OF HONDURAS. 
 
 17 
 
 this instance is to make what are called the 
 Northern Triangles, which are three keys 
 immediately close together, of a form ana- 
 logous to that which their name imports, 
 and distant in a N.N.E. direction about 
 10 leagues from Balize. A further depar- 
 ture is then taken for Cape Antonio, on 
 the west side of the Island of Cuba. The 
 making of this last place is considered as 
 most important on the voyage homeward, 
 for it has sometimes happened that ves- 
 sels failing in this respect have been 
 driven, by the force of currents and light 
 winds, into the Gulf of Mexico and not 
 unfrequently remained becalmed there 
 many weeks, or have had to beat up for the 
 Gulf of Florida, an equally tedious time. 
 
 Though on a retrospective view of the 
 difficulties and privations which are inse- 
 parably connected with first establishments 
 in remote countries, much could not be 
 found interestingas far as such events relate 
 to the settlement at Honduras ; yet there 
 
 c 
 
IS BRITISH SETTLEMENT 
 
 Oan be little doubt but that some portion 
 of that persevering energy, of mind, which 
 has compassed more sublime designs, 
 might be found to have actuated the early 
 settler in his solitary and unprotected avo- 
 cations in the early history of this. Not 
 many years past, numerous tribes of hos- 
 tile Indians often left their recesses in the 
 woods for the purpose of plunder. This 
 they often accomplished; and if resistance 
 were offered, not unfrequently committed 
 the most sanguinary murders. The habi- 
 tations of these people have never been 
 traced. Their dispositions are peculiarly 
 ferocious, and they are always armed with 
 bows and arrows of curious workmanship : 
 the latter are generally thought to be 
 poisoned. They are without cloathing of 
 any kind, and wander over an immense 
 extent of country but little known. The 
 Spaniards have given to these people the 
 general appellation of Bravos. 
 
 The Indians, however, of this paid of 
 
OF HONDURAS. 
 
 19 
 
 America possess little resemblance to the 
 tribes of the more northern parts of it, hay- 
 ing neither their personal bravery, nor 
 characteristic hardihood: and the dread 
 of the military, 'whom it has been found 
 expedient frequently to dispatch in pur- 
 suit of theke fugitives, has latterly ope- 
 rated as a very effectual check to their oc- 
 casional visits. 
 
20 
 
 BRITISH SETTLEMENT 
 
 CHAP II. 
 
 Considerations on the Commercial Advantages of 
 Honduras} Agricultural Resources 1 * 1 Soil and 
 Climate adapted < to the ■ culture of most of the 
 productions . of the West India Islands. Do- 
 mestic Animals. Fisheries. Fruits. 
 
 If opportunities were offered for an un- 
 interrupted exercise of the many great 
 commercial advantages which the settle- 
 ment of Honduras possesses, it might per- 
 haps prove as valuable to the parent 
 country as any one of its dependencies. 
 In point of situation, it is so favourably 
 placed for such purposes in the Spanish 
 American dominions, that the benefits re- 
 sulting from the indulgence of a licensed 
 trade, granted so late as 1806 , have been 
 already very sensibly felt ; and there can- 
 not be a doubt, but that a more unre- 
 strained intercourse, especially during 
 
OF HONDURAS. il i 
 
 21 
 
 peace, would be productive of* the moist 
 substantial ends. This must, however, 
 in a very essential degree, depend 1 on 
 Spanish colonial arrangementj which has 
 seldom discovered an excess of encourage- 
 ment towards any attempts of the kind : 
 the times, nevertheless,' are more favour- 
 able than heretofore. 
 
 It might perhaps he founds the most 
 convenient depdt of trade in this part Of 
 the world. Its immediate contiguity to 
 so many important stations on the con- 
 tinent seems to strengthen this Opinion, 
 and to render it in most respects, for "all 
 the purposes required, more eligible than 
 any of the West India or Bahama Islands. 
 
 The establishment at Balize could at 
 once command the trade of Yucatan to 
 the r northward, and of the extensive pro- 
 vince of Guatimala" and its valuable de- 
 pendencies to the southward. This last 
 is peculiarly rich in mahy important ar- 
 ticles of export^ of which may b‘e parti- 
 
£S BRITISH SETTtEMENT 
 
 cu.la.rly enumerated a superior kind of In^ 
 digo, which has always obtained avfery 
 marked .preference in the several European 
 markets/ w Large quantities of this com- 
 modity sometimes find a vent by the oppo- 
 site sfea., hut more frequently by the river 
 Dolce, which empties itself into the At- 
 lantic, through the Gulf of the same na«ne. 
 Considerable sums in specie are also ship- 
 ped at stated periods from Guatemala for 
 Old Spain,, t The articles of commerce 
 obtained from the Spaniards are > chiefly 
 procured by money, but it is exceedingly 
 well understood, that goods * of British 
 manufacture, . suitable to their i .wants, 
 would be far, more acceptable to them, 
 The Gulf of Dolce, but a few leagues 
 distant from the English Settlement, and 
 Truxillo, from the excellence of its = har- 
 bour, would deserve important considera- 
 tion, if an extension of our commercial in- 
 tercourse were attempted in this quarter of 
 the world. Establishments for the purposes 
 
OF HONDURAS, 
 
 23 
 
 of trade might also be formed in various 
 parts of the neighbouring Mosquito 
 country, and the friendship of its inhabi- 
 tants, which it has been the good fortune 
 of the English at all times to preserve, 
 would certainly give very material encou- 
 ragement to such views. 
 
 The principal articles imported at pre- 
 sent from Europe, into the Settlement of 
 Honduras, are linens of all kinds, printed 
 cottons, muslins of the most costly manu- 
 facture, negro-clothing, broad-cloths, ho- 
 siery, hats line and coarse, shoes, boots, 
 earthen and glass wares, silver and plated 
 goods, hardware and cutlery; of the latter 
 large quantities, particularly of cutlass 
 blades, which are Used for clearing the 
 grounds of underwood. Salted provisions 
 of different kinds, either from Britain or 
 America, are also continually demanded 
 for the support of the slaves.: 
 
 The vast consumption, independent of 
 any re-exportation, of most of the fore- 
 
24 
 
 BRITISH SETTLEMENT 
 
 going articles is extraordinary, consider- 
 ing the size of the Settlement. This is in 
 a great degree occasioned by the compa- 
 rative affluence of the greater number of 
 the persons comprising it. The proprie- 
 tors of slaves are in general wealthy : that 
 is,, the productiveness of labour renders 
 them so. The slaves themselves possess 
 indulgencies which are not granted to 
 their condition in any other country. 
 The people of colour and free-blacks, 
 who are likewise numerous, all possess 
 same property; a few are rich, and are 
 alike distinguishable for the feature which 
 so strongly characterizes the same race 
 throughout the West Indies, an expensive 
 gratification of their appetites, and an 
 extravagant passion for dress* 
 
 Many of the vessels, however, engaged 
 in this trade, arrive partly in ballast, a few 
 cargoes being adequate to the demands of 
 the country. The case is widely different 
 with those which arriye from the States 
 
OF HONDURAS; 
 
 25 
 
 of America; for here, as it happens in 
 our colonies generally, articles of Ame- 
 rican production are determined to be 
 almost indispensably requisite. What are 
 obtained in this way usually consist of 
 flour, salt-fish, potatoes, onions, &c. &c. 
 An importation of beef or pork is only 
 occasionally permitted, on a representa- 
 tion of scarcity by the Governor of Ja- 
 maica. Lumber of all kinds from the 
 same quarter also finds a ready and ad- 
 vantageous market. The prohibitions 
 exercised at Honduras towards the Ame- 
 ricans, are much the same as those used 
 towards them in our different islands, 
 particularly in that of Jamaica, which 
 in this respect must be supposed to 
 direct. 
 
 Vessels from the United States are par- 
 ticularly restricted in the size of the ma- 
 hogany they are suffered to carry : - this 
 must not exceed twenty inches in the 
 widest part, and for carrying ten thou* 
 
2G 
 
 BRITISH SETTLEMENT 
 
 sand feet of the above, they are permitted 
 to take three tons of the dye-wood.* 
 
 A very profitable commerce, in cattle, 
 is carried on by a few individuals of the 
 ■Settlement with the Spaniards^ who are 
 resident on what is called the Main. It is 
 principally conducted by barter, the Spa- 
 niards exchanging their cattle for linen, 
 cloths, sugars, rum, &e. &c. It is con- 
 jectured that a profit of five or six hun- 
 
 * The number of American vessels which clear, 
 ed outwards from the Settlement of Honduras, 
 /rom the 1st of January, 1 80f>, to 31st of December, 
 1807, amounted to_ 
 
 Ships .... 
 
 4 ~ 
 
 Brigs . . . . 
 
 25 
 
 Schooners . . 
 
 
 Sloops .... 
 
 1 
 
 Total 
 
 49 
 
 
 
 Tonnage 5966. Carry- 
 ing about 14000 feet 
 > of mahogany, and a 
 proportionate quantity 
 of dye-wood, &c. &c. 
 
 The embargo having taken place during the last 
 year, the intercourse has consequently subsided, 
 and any privilege to import provisons is no longer 
 of effect. 
 
‘G'F HONDURAS. 
 
 27 
 
 deed pet scent.’ is very commonly realized 
 by> this traffic. The cattle obtained in 
 this way are either slaughtered, or pur- 
 chased by the cutters of mahogany, to 
 whom they are peculiarly valuable/ for 
 the purpose of draught. The breed is 
 large, and well formed, and the meat they 
 afford extremely well-flavoured. On the 
 Spanish Main is likewise raised an uncom- 
 monly large and serviceable breed of 
 mules ’ these are usually transported to 
 Jamaica; 
 
 The frequent inconvenience which is 
 felt in the West India Islands, for the 
 want of regular supplies of provisions 
 from the mother country, is felt as severely, 
 at least in a comparative degree, in the 
 Settlement of Honduras. And without 
 the remotest attempt to arraign that po- 
 licy which is so peremptorily insisted on 
 as the exclusive privilege of the parent 
 state, it may nevertheless be determined, 
 that unless it had been for the occasional 
 
BRITISH SETTLEMENT 
 
 28 
 
 relaxation of this spirit, the small depen- 
 dency of which we speak, as well as the 
 islands collectively, would in numberless 
 instances have been reduced to a condi- 
 tion little, short of famine. Indeed, at 
 this moment, the most gloomy prospects 
 may be said to await the whole of them, 
 and which a war with the American States 
 would too sorrowfully demonstrate. Un- 
 less some amelioration shall suddenly take 
 place in this respect, it can scarcely be 
 doubted, hut that many persons must be 
 forced to the unavoidable expedient of 
 turning their thoughts from their present 
 pursuits, to the exclusive one of cultivat- 
 ing articles of food for the sustenance of 
 their families and slaves. 
 
 Few countries, perhaps, ever possessed 
 higher advantages, in an agricultural 
 point of view, than the greater part of 
 that which is placed contiguous to the 
 Bay of Honduras. It is certainly but im- 
 perfectly known to us, but what has been 
 
OF HONDURAS. 
 
 29 
 
 ascertained respecting it, discovers in a 
 very striking degree, the vast obligation it 
 owes to Nature, if it be not in any way 
 beholden to the industry of man. The 
 extraordinary benefits which might result 
 from the happiest combination of climate 
 and soil, are almost disregarded ; and the 
 cultivation of the earth, which, in almost 
 every other spot of the habitable world, 
 claims our first regard, is here held of 
 no consideration at all. Pursuits, there- 
 fore, of the most important utility give 
 place to those which are viewed as being 
 infinitely more profitable. Nor is it pro- 
 bable that such resources will suggest 
 themselves until the opportunities afforded 
 by the latter shall begin to fail. This 
 must happen, and it will be only then 
 that the real value of this country can 
 possibly be discovered. The mahogany 
 and log-wood cutters have long since 
 complained of the limits assigned them by 
 treaty with Spain, within which limits 
 
30 
 
 BRITISH SETTLEMENT 
 
 both these commodities are becoming’ ex- 
 ceedingly scarce. 
 
 Tire productions common td the West 
 India Islands, with a considerable variety 
 of those morfe familiarly known to that 
 part of the continent, which is comopret- 
 hCnded within the Tropics, might un- 
 questionably be cultivated at Honduras 
 with equal, if not, in many instances, with 
 Superior success. The sugar-cane^ viewed 
 as the most valuable of all, thrives with 
 the richest luxuriance.* Coffee* another, 
 and now become one of the most profitable 
 articles of our island culture, gro ws equally 
 Well. Cotton must likewise be included. 
 Indigo might also amply reward tha 
 labour of the cultivator : an inferior sort 
 
 * Previous to the evacuation of the English set. 
 tiers from the Mosquito shore, several sugars plan- 
 tations had been formed on Black River, and the 
 sugar and rum which they furnished were very ge- 
 nerally deemed, by competent judges, not inferior 
 to the same articles from Jamaica." 
 
OF HONDURAS. 31 
 
 is indigenous. Indian arrow-root is abun- 
 dantly produced, and pimenta has been 
 fried under the most encouraging appear- 
 ance of profit. 
 
 Contiguous to the banks of the many 
 rivers with which this country is so abun- 
 dantly supplied, the lands would, without 
 question, be found, from the extraordi- 
 nary richness of their soil, exceedingly 
 well adapted to the growth of rice : and 
 the periodical rains would certainly be 
 highly conducive to the perfection of this 
 most useful grain. That which has been 
 produced for domestic use in many situ- 
 ations on the River Balize in particular, 
 for goodness of quality and quantity to 
 the acre, has been considered every way 
 equal to the finest from the American 
 States. 
 
 The above may be contemplated as the 
 most important kinds of culture that 
 might be advantageously attempted. Of 
 other kinds, however, though perhaps nob 
 
 1 
 
32 BRITISH SETTLEMENT 
 
 of equal consideration in an extended view, 
 yet scarcely less valuable from their con- 
 tributing so immediately to the wants of 
 man, may be enumerated : the maize, or 
 Indian corn, yams of various species, 
 cassava-root, of which is made a very pa- 
 latable bread.* But of all, perhaps the 
 best known substitute for this indispen- 
 sable necessary, is the plantain, which 
 flourishes under the congenial influence 
 of a tropical climate, scarcely requiring 
 the labour of attention. - Every Settle- 
 
 * Until the cassava receives very particular pre- 
 paration, it is known to possess the most dangerous 
 poisonous qualities. Ulloa (Voyage to South 
 America, Vol. i. p. 70,) observes, that it is used, 
 after carefully taking off the upper skin of the root. 
 It is grated and steeped in water to free it from its, 
 acrid juice, the water being frequently shifted. 
 In a quotation from Dr. Darwin, by Bryan Ed- 
 wards, Hist. West Indies, Vol. i. p. 128, it is 
 remarked, that cassava, when made into ! fcread, is 
 rendered mild by the heat it undergoes, rather 
 than by expressing its superfluous iuice. 
 
OF HONDURAS. 
 
 33 
 
 ttient at Honduras has its plantain-walk ; 
 and many of these comprehend an extent 
 of, at least, an hundred acres : nor can 
 any thing exceed the beauty and richness 
 which the continued groves of these trees 
 display, as the traveller pursues his course 
 up the different rivers. The pine-apple 
 and melon, being very commonly inter- 
 spersed between the rows of plantains, 
 contribute to heighten the luxuriance of 
 the scene; and the mountain-cabbage, 
 occasionally rearing its lofty head far 
 above the whole, adds no inconsiderable 
 share of grandeur to the general effect. 
 
 The domestic animals of Honduras are 
 such as are familiarly known in most 
 parts of the world. The pasturage af- 
 forded them here being extensive and 
 good, cattle, particularly oxen and cows, 
 thrive uncommonly well ; and the latter 
 supply a plentiful quantity of milk. Sheep 
 also, and goats, are found to succeed, the 
 last in a most prolific degree.: - Off the 
 
 D 
 
34 BRITISH SETTLEMENT 
 
 sheep it may be observed, as a singular 
 circumstance, and as an additional proof 
 of the mildness of this climate, contrasted 
 with that of the West Indies, that it does 
 not loose its fleece, as it invariably does 
 in the different islands, and which is sud- 
 denly succeeded by a kind of goat-like 
 hair ; a change that may be very fairly at- 
 tributed to the extreme violence of the 
 heat. 
 
 Of fisheries, the most profitable, and 
 consequently the most pursued in this 
 country, is that of the turtle. This forms 
 an exclusive occupation, and the quan 
 tity usually taken is considerable. A 
 few of the turtle find their way to the 
 London market, being purchased for the 
 purpose by the masters of vessels from that 
 port ; but the principal consumption of 
 this article of food is domestic, and it is 
 very generally preferred by the settlers. 
 The taking of the species called the 
 hawks-bili is particularly desirable, from 
 
OF fiOXDU&ASi 3 b 
 
 tile value which is affixed to its shell : 
 this in Europe usually obtains the name 
 of tortoiseshell, and is manufactured into 
 a variety of ornamental articles. 
 
 The persons engaged in turtling are 
 generally inhabitants of the different keys 
 in the neighbourhood of Balize. Many 
 of them,, however, have placed themselves 
 close to the Spanish settlements ; but they 
 seldom meet with interruption from this 
 circumstance. At the seasons of their 
 employment, they commonly form them- 
 selves into parties of four or five; and, 
 perhaps, with a small share of occasional 
 industry, a more independent description 
 of beings could scarcely be found. When 
 the time for taking the turtle is past, they 
 are chiefly occupied in the catching of 
 fish for themselves and their families. 
 The produce of their labour, which in 
 successful seasons is often considerable, 
 is invariably disposed of in the most li- 
 centious way, being solely appropriated 
 
 d 2 
 
36 
 
 BRITISH SETTLEMENT 
 
 to the gratification of one indulgence, an 
 immoderate consumption of rum. During 
 the period of their labour, nevertheless, 
 they are conspicuous for a religious ad- 
 herence to sobriety, water only being per- 
 mitted to be taken on the excursion. 
 But, this over, a penance so mortify- 
 ing is at once atoned for in weeks of con- 
 tinued drunkenness. An entire puncheon 
 of their favourite beverage has often been 
 deemed no profuse allowance for the 
 celebration of a single orgie. Of the 
 Turtler, as of the voluptuous Antony, it 
 may be said, 
 
 He fishes, drinks, and wastes 
 
 The lamps of night in revel. 
 
 From the uncommon variety of fishes 
 with which the sea, contiguous to this 
 coast, so plentifully abounds, it might be 
 conjectured that the curing of several sorts 
 of them would form an advantageous em- 
 ployment. Of the kinds which might 
 
OF HONDURAS, 
 
 37 
 
 more immediately answer this purpose, 
 may be named, the baracouta, and jew- 
 fish, both exceedingly well-flavoured and 
 firm. The former is often caught of sixty 
 pounds weight ; the latter frequently up- 
 wards of two hundred. The manati is 
 also taken on the coast and in the neigh- 
 bouring lagoons, the flesh of which, either 
 fresh or salted, is .considered a great deli- 
 cacy. The weight of this sometimes ex- 
 ceeds a thousand pounds. 
 
 The inferior kinds are so numerous, 
 that a particular specification of them, 
 with that of many other productions, 
 connected with the natural history of this 
 part of the world, will appear more con- 
 veniently reserved for another part of these 
 sketches. 
 
 Whoever has become at all acquainted 
 with tropical countries, must have dwelt 
 with peculiar delight on the grateful pro- 
 fusion of fruits with which they have 
 been so kindly furnished by an indulgent 
 
BRITISH SETTLEMENT 
 
 3S 
 
 Providence : the whole, or the greater 
 part of which being so singularly adapted, 
 from the exquisite properties they possess, 
 to the convenience of man. Amongst 
 the choicest of these, and which are abun- 
 dantly obtained in the country of which 
 we speak, may be here enumerated : me- 
 lons of several sorts, pine-apple in equal 
 variety, oranges of superior flavour, shad- 
 docks, mango, guava, mammee, cashew- 
 apple, tamarind, prickly-pear, avocado- 
 pear, pomegranate, wild-plums of many 
 species, sea-grape, &c. It may also be 
 worthy of remark, that the grape of Ma- 
 deira has been recently introduced into 
 Honduras, and gives every promise of be- 
 coming familiarized to its new situation. 
 
OF HONDURAS. 
 
 39 
 
 CHAP III. 
 
 Rivers Balize and Sibun, their importance to the 
 Settlement : particulars connected with the his- 
 tory of loth. Seasons for cutting mahogany: 
 the operation described. Commercial advan- 
 tages annexed to the above. Slaves, their la- 
 bour and condition. Concluding remark. 
 
 It has been already observed that cul- 
 tivation forms no part of the leading 
 pursuits of the British Settlers at Hon- 
 duras. The cutting of mahogany and 
 logwood, is, therefore, almost their sole 
 occupation. 
 
 The River Balize, from which the 
 principal establishment has obtained its 
 name, from having the oldest and most 
 valuable mahogany works connected with 
 it, claims the first consideration. Some 
 of the wood-cutters have placed them- 
 selves as high up the Balize as two hun- 
 
BRITISH SETTLEMENT 
 
 dred miles from its entrance, and from 
 the sea to this distance, it is perfectly na- 
 vigable for all the purposes required ; the 
 continuance of it further, though conjec- 
 tured to be far, is not very accurately 
 known. 
 
 At no very great distance, however, 
 
 from the more remote situations of the 
 
 \ 
 
 settlers in this direction, it has been ascer- 
 tained, that roads of communication can 
 be found which extend from the northern 
 possessions of the Spanish government to 
 its southern ones. Cross ways are also 
 spoken of, which lead to and unite with 
 its interior dependencies. It is perfectly 
 well understood, that the public dis- 
 patches which relate to the Spanish colo- 
 nial departments are principally forward- 
 ed by land, particularly during war. 
 They are entrusted to Indian couriers, 
 who perform the longest journies with ex- 
 traordinary dispatch. Few English have 
 had the opportunity of knowing any thing 
 
OF HONDURAS. 
 
 41 
 
 accurately of these roads, or of the places 
 to which they lead. It having been in* 
 variably the policy of Spain to guard as 
 strictly as possible against every informa- 
 tion of the kind being obtained ; those 
 persons therefore who have travelled over 
 them, have in most instances been in a 
 state of captivity, and not un frequently 
 compelled to have their eyes closely ban- 
 daged. At the head of the River Balize, 
 a town of considerable size and popula- 
 tion, named Potent, is situated. It is 
 placed in the centre of a large lake, and 
 is considered a place of banishment for 
 Spanish culprits. It has a governor and 
 small garrison annexed to it, and in a 
 south westerly direction is deemed about 
 eight or ten days journey from the highest 
 of the English Settlements. The com- 
 munication from Potent, to the rich and 
 extensive city of Guatimala is believed to 
 be uninterrupted. 
 
 The Sibun, or Sheeboon, as it is usually 
 
42 BRITISH SETTLEMENT 
 
 called, is the next river of importance in 
 this country. The navigation of this is 
 much bolder than that of the Balize, and 
 vast quantities of mahogany are floated 
 down it, and from the many branches and 
 creeks with which it is united. The 
 banks of this river are thickly studded with 
 plantations, and the soil connected with 
 it is generally considered of rich and pro- 
 ductive quality. During the rains, the 
 floods in the Sibun are extremely great, for 
 in a few hours, it has been known to rise 
 from its original level upwards of fifty 
 feet : its decrease is usually as rapid ; and 
 little inconvenience, excepting the occa- 
 sional loss of a few cattle, happens to the 
 settlers from this circumstance. Its en- 
 trance from the sea is about three leagues 
 in a southwardly direction from the ri- 
 ver Balize. 
 
 Several of the rivers comprehended 
 within the English limits, plentifully 
 abounding with both mahogany and 
 
OF HONDURAS. 
 
 43 
 
 logwood, were abandoned at the com- 
 mencement of our recent hostility with 
 Spain. The immediate contiguity of these 
 rivers to the possessions of the latter, and 
 the insecurity that might have attended 
 the unprotected settler in his employment, 
 no doubt suggested the expediency of this. 
 Our establishments of this kind were more 
 particularly confined to the Rio-Neuvo, 
 and Rio-Honda, each of them a very short 
 distance from the principal settlement, 
 and both navigable for vessels of consider- 
 able burthen. 
 
 About thirty miles up the Balize, on 
 its banks, are found, what in this country 
 are denominated, the Indian-hills. These 
 are small eminences, which are supposed to 
 have been raised by the aborigines over 
 their dead, human bones and fragments 
 of a coarse kind of earthen-ware, being 
 frequently dug from them. The Indian- 
 hills are seldom discovered but in the im- 
 mediate vicinity of rivers or creeks, a 
 
 6 
 
44 BRITISH SETTLEMENT 
 
 circumstance which has afforded another 
 supposition, that they were formed by the 
 natives as places of refuge during the pre- 
 valence of floods. The foot of these hills 
 is regularly planted round with large 
 stones, and the whole may perhaps be 
 thought to bear a very strong resemblance 
 to the ancient barrows, or tumuli , so 
 commonly found in various parts of 
 England. 
 
 On a branch of the river Sibun, named 
 Indian-creek, are situated the caves. 
 These are subterraneous passages which 
 have been formed at the base of three or 
 four mountains of very considerable 
 height, no doubt by the force of the cur- 
 rent of water, which probably for many 
 centuries has forced its way through them. 
 The largest of these passages is somewhat 
 more than a quarter of a mile in length, 
 though in this country it has a greater 
 extent given to it. 
 
 It would certainly require no cornmon 
 
OF HONDURAS. 
 
 45 
 
 powers of description to delineate with 
 fidelity the exquisite beauties connected 
 with the largest of the caves. The en- 
 trance to it from Indian-creek, after many 
 windings, bursts suddenly on the sight, 
 and resembles very closely the aperture of 
 an oven, and is thickly overhung with 
 rocks and trees of the grandest, hut wild- 
 est workmanship. When this is passed, 
 a wide and spacious lake instantly com- 
 mences, the water of which is silent and 
 deep, being scarcely heard to murmur, 
 but during the most tempestuous floods. 
 The lofty roof is arched with the most 
 exact proportion, and is profusely studded 
 with glittering crystallizations. Torch- 
 light affords the visitor the only means of 
 advantageously viewing this sublime piece 
 of scenery ; for if in one or two places, an 
 occasional beam of the sun, bursting with 
 inconceivable lustre through clefts of the 
 mountain, be withdrawn, entire darkness 
 pervades the whole ; and the smallest 
 
46 BRITISH SETTLEMENT 
 
 sound made in passing, being quickly 
 loudly reverberated, is forcibly calculated 
 to strike the ear with a feeling of solemn 
 grandeur. 
 
 The caves are thought by some to have 
 been produced by the labour of the In- 
 dians : hence the name of the water 
 which finds its course through them ; but 
 this conjecture stands divested of every 
 probability to support it. When the 
 waters are at the lowest, the solitary re- 
 cesses of the caves are the chosen haunts 
 of many animals of prey, of which the 
 tiger may be most frequently traced. 
 
 There are two seasons in the year for 
 the cutting of mahogany : the first com- 
 mencing shortly after Christmas, or at 
 the conclusion of what is termed the wet 
 season, the other about the middle of the 
 year. At such periods all is activity, and 
 the falling of trees, or tbe trucking out 
 those that have been fallen, form the 
 chief employments. Some of the wood is 
 
OF HONDURAS. 
 
 47 
 
 rough-squared on the spot, but this part 
 of the labour is generally suspended until 
 the logs are rafted to the different rivers’ 
 mouths. These rafts often consist of more 
 than two hundred logs, and are floated as 
 many hundred miles. When the floods 
 are unusually rapid, it very frequently 
 happens, that the labour of a season, or 
 perhaps of many, is at once destroyed by 
 the breaking asunder of a raft, and the 
 whole of the mahogany being hurried 
 precipitately to the sea. 
 
 The gangs of negroes employed in this 
 work consist of from ten to fifty each; few 
 exceed the latter number. The large 
 bodies are commonly divided into several 
 small ones, a plan which it is supposed 
 greatly facilitates labour. 
 
 Each gang of slaves has one belonging 
 to it, who is styled the huntsman. He is 
 generally selected from the most intelli- 
 gent of his fellows, and his chief oceupa- 
 
48 BRITISH SETTLEMENT 
 
 tion is to search the woods,, or as in this 
 country it is termed, the ‘bush, to find la- 
 bour for the whole. A negro of this de- 
 scription is often valued at more than five 
 hundred pounds. 
 
 About the beginning of August, the 
 huntsman is dispatched on his errand, and 
 if his owner be working on his own 
 ground, this is seldom an employment of 
 much delay or difficulty. He cuts his 
 way through the thickest of the woods to 
 the highest spots, and climbs the tallest 
 tree he finds, from which he minutely sur 
 veys the surrounding country. At this 
 season, the leaves of the mahogany tree 
 are invariably of a yellow reddish hue, 
 and an eye accustomed to this kind of ex- 
 ercise can discover, at a great distance, 
 the places where the wood is most abun- 
 dant. He now descends, and to these his 
 steps arc directed ; and without compass 
 or other guide than what observation has 
 
Of HONDURAS. 
 
 49 
 
 imprinted on his recollection, he never 
 fails to reach the exact point to which h 
 aims. 
 
 It not unfrequently happens, when the 
 huntsman has been particularly successful 
 in finding a large body of wood, that it 
 becomes £ contest with his conscience, 
 whether he shall disclose the matter to 
 his master, or sell it to his neighbour : a 
 liberal equivalent for this breach of fide- 
 lity being always punctually discharged. 
 Those, however, who afford encourage- 
 ment to such practices, by such impolitic 
 temptation, are perhaps not more mindful 
 of the old adage than of their interest, as 
 it cannot but indirectly sanction their 
 own slaves to take equal advantage when- 
 ever the opportunity presents itself. 
 
 On some occasions no ordinary strata- 
 gem is necessary to be resorted to by the 
 huntsman to prevent others from availing 
 themselves of the advantage of his disco- 
 veries; for if his steps be traced by those 
 
50 BRITISH SETTLEMENT 
 
 engaged in the same pursuit, which is a 
 very common thing, all his ingenuity must 
 be exerted to beguile them from the true 
 scent. In this, however, he is not always 
 successful, being followed by those who 
 are entirely aware of all the arts he may 
 use, and whose eyes are so quick, that the 
 lightest turn of a leaf, or the faintest im- 
 pression of his foot, is unerringly per- 
 ceived : even the dried leaves which may 
 be strewed on the ground often help to 
 conduct to the secret spot. Patents for 
 discovery having never been contemplated 
 by the Honduras wood-cutters, any inva- 
 sion of the right appertaining to it has 
 therefore seldom been very scrupulously 
 regarded by them. And it consequently, 
 happens, that persons so engaged must 
 frequently undergo the disappointment 
 of finding an advantage, they had pro- 
 mised to themselves, seized on by others. 
 
 The mahogany tree is commonly cut 
 about twelve feet from the ground, and a 
 
OP HONDURAS. 
 
 51 
 
 stage is erected for the axe-man employed 
 in levelling it. This to an observer would 
 appear a labour of much danger, but an 
 accident rarely happens to the person en- 
 gaged in it. The body of the tree, from 
 the dimensions of the wood it furnishes, 
 is deemed the most valuable ; but for pur- 
 poses of ornamental kind, the branches 
 or limbs are generally preferred, the grain 
 of these being much closer, and the veins 
 more rich and variegated. 
 
 The last day of falling, if the negroes 
 have not been disturbed in their labour, 
 is always one of festivity and merriment ; 
 and these people now anticipate a leisure 
 that will allow them to think of comforts 
 in which they could not indulge at the 
 commencement of their work. Some are 
 busily employed in the improvements of 
 their dwellings, which are nothing more 
 than huts composed of a few sticks and 
 leaves, that of the master being seldom 
 better : whilst others search the woods Tor 
 
 e 2 
 
52 
 
 BRITISH SETTLEMENT 
 
 game, in which they generally are abun^ 
 dantly successful. The more ingenious 
 turn their attention to the manufacture of 
 a variety of small articles, from the less 
 valuable mahogany, for domestic use; 
 and which, either as presents to their 
 wives, or as matters for sale, are disposed 
 of on their returnTrom the woods. 
 
 The mahogany tree is seldom found in 
 clusters or groups, but single and often 
 much dispersed; what, therefore, is de- 
 nominated a mahogany work, compre- 
 hends an extent of several miles. The^ 
 growth of this tree is considered rapid, 
 but that of the logwood much more so, 
 which, it is said, attains maturity in five 
 years. 
 
 It has been remarked, that the maho- 
 gany which is fallen between the months 
 of February and September i9 very liable 
 to split ; the same observation extends to 
 that also which grows in rocky or moun- 
 tainous situations. This is the bay-mans 
 
OF HONDURAS. 
 
 53 
 
 greatest evil, for the wood more particu- 
 larly subject to this inconvenience, is in- 
 variably the largest and of the finest qua- 
 lity. There is but one precaution against 
 this, whenever the tendency towards it is 
 discovered, which is to keep the tree im- 
 mersed as closely as possible in deep 
 water. 
 
 The logs of mahogany are generally 
 brought out by cattle and trucks to the 
 water side, or to the Barquadier, as it is 
 termed in this country, which has been 
 previously prepared by the foreman of the 
 work for their reception. When the dis- 
 tance is great, this is a labour of infinite 
 and tedious difficulty. As soon as a suf- 
 ficient number to form a raft is collected, 
 and the waters have gained the necessary 
 height, they are singly thrown from the 
 banks, and require no other aid or guid- 
 ance than the force of the current to float 
 them to the booms, which are large cables 
 placed across the rivers at the different 
 
oi BRITISH SETTLEMENT 
 
 eddies or falls. Here they are once more 
 collected, each party claiming his own 
 from the general mass, and formed into 
 separate rafts for their final destination. 
 Sometimes more than a thousand logs to- 
 gether are supported by the booms, and 
 the catastrophe attendant on their break- 
 ing asunder, which during extraordinary 
 floods often happens, has been previously 
 noticed. 
 
 The mahogany, when disposed of at 
 Honduras, produces from sixteen to thirty 
 pounds, Jamaica currency, per thousand 
 feet: the price of this article, however, 
 can seldom be fixed, and must always 
 fluctuate as it may be governed by qua- 
 lity or size. The shipping of it to Eu- 
 rope, especially during war, has seldom 
 been found advantageous, excepting to a 
 few individuals, who have succeeded in 
 establishing a kind of preference in the 
 London market. The exporting of it to 
 the American States would, it is const- 
 
OF HONDURAS. 
 
 55 
 
 dered, be highly beneficial to the settlers, 
 were there less restriction in the way 
 of the dimensions of that which is per- 
 mitted to be carried to them : this ren- 
 ders the intercourse, as it exists at pre- 
 sent, of insignificant importance. 
 
 To give some idea of the profit, though 
 perhaps the instances of such success are 
 not numerous, which has been known to 
 attend the cutting of mahogany : a single 
 tree has been found to contain, 12000 su- 
 perficial feet, and this to produce up- 
 wards of one thousand pounds sterling. 
 This certainly is a most flattering view of 
 the subject, but unquestionably many 
 more examples of opposite advantage 
 might be produced. The great expence 
 the settler must incur in the purchase, 
 feeding, and clothing of a number of 
 slaves ; the tools, cattle, and furniture, for 
 the purposes of draught, exclusive of a 
 variety of miscellaneous disbursements, 
 are all material drawbacks from any 
 
 6 
 
56 BRITISH SETTLEMENT 
 
 tiling like extraordinary gain in this un- 
 dertaking. 
 
 The annual cost of the negro alone 
 is estimated by each proprietor at Hondu- 
 ras, at something more than 35 pounds 
 Jamaica currency : an expence which, in 
 the history of slavery, is probably without 
 parallel. As a fact so unusual may re- 
 quire more than naked assertion to sup- 
 port it, it. may not be unnecessary to par- 
 ticularize what is commonly granted on 
 such occasions, and which custom has 
 long since brought into a regular exac- 
 tion. First, therefore, of provisions : 
 
 Of Irish salt pork, to each ne- s. d. 
 
 gro, 5ft> per week, which 
 on an average of price, may 
 be estimated for 365 days at 8 10 Q 
 Of flour, always the finest, 
 lib per day each, estimated 
 at. 10 0 0 
 
 Carried forward 
 
 £ 18 10 0 
 
OF HONDURAS. 
 
 57 
 
 Brought forward 
 Of rum, supposing a gill to be 
 allowed to each slave per 
 day, durino; the days that 
 work is carrying on, which 
 may he numbered at 260 : 
 the spirits at 10s. per gallon 
 Of sugar, 12}fe allowed, at 
 each, to each, at Is. 3d. 
 per ft. 
 
 Of clothing : two suits of fa- 
 tigue, or working clothes, 
 usually of osnaburgs, at 
 about Is. 8d. per yard to 
 each, and making 
 One pair of coarse shoes ditto 
 ditto 
 
 Miscellaneous : tobacco and 
 pipes to each negro 
 Medical attendance, or medi- 
 cine, per contract, to each 
 
 s. d. 
 18 10 Q 
 
 4 1 3 
 
 0 15 0 
 
 1 3 4 
 
 0 13 4 
 
 1 10 0 
 
 0 13 4 
 
 Carried forward ^ 27 6 3 
 
58" BRITISH SETTLEMENT 
 
 £ . s. d. 
 
 Brought forward 27 6 3 
 
 Saturday's labour, invariably 
 the privilege of the slave, 
 and which is generally en- 
 gaged by his owner : esta- 
 blished rate 3s. 4d. per day* 8 13 4 
 
 Jamaica currency £ 35 19 7 
 
 Equal in sterling, for each 
 
 slave, per annum. £ 25 13 ll£ 
 
 * If he be not employed in regular mahogany 
 cutting, he is at least engaged in some occupation 
 by his master which gives him claim to this com. 
 pensation. This allowance, however, though it 
 be paid at the nominal rate of 3s. 4d. per day, 
 seldom actually amounts to any thing like so 
 much ; it being in most instances accounted for 
 in slops, trinkets, or liquors, of the most infe- 
 rior kind ; and which no doubt are given out in 
 this way at a profit of more than 200 per cent, 
 besides, the principal number of the persons en- 
 gaged in the cutting of mahogany being also in 
 
OF HONDURAS. 
 
 59 
 
 The chief property of the settlers of 
 Honduras, from what has been advanced, 
 must be supposed to consist in slaves. 
 These have mostly been imported from 
 Africa by the intercourse with Jamaica, 
 no direct importation having ever taken 
 place ; but many of these people are cre- 
 oles of the different West Indian Islands, 
 and several have been brought into the 
 Settlement, by their owners, from the 
 United States. And in no part of the 
 world, where slavery prevails, can the 
 condition of beings so circumstanced be 
 found of milder or more indulgent form. 
 The labour they undergo bears no pro- 
 portion to that which they sustain 
 throughout the islands : nor is it more to 
 
 trade, of course the above is provided for in the 
 vray of business. To those who may not be so si- 
 tuated, of whom there are likewise several, and 
 who must depend on the merchant for such supplies, 
 this expence consequently bears a very different 
 proportion. 
 
60 BRITISH SETTLEMENT 
 
 be compared with what they experience 
 in the States of America, a country which 
 at least professes to confer a higher portion 
 of freedom than most others, whether it 
 really happen or not. 
 
 The value of the negro, if recently from 
 Africa, is computed from ^*120 to ^160 
 Jamaica currency. Those who have 
 passed a few years in the country, and 
 have become accustomed to the labour of 
 it, frequently produce from <^200 to 
 <^ 300 . 
 
 A convoy is appointed from Jamaica 
 for the protection of the Honduras trade 
 to Europe twice a year, in January and 
 July. 
 
 It may be here observed, that if the 
 English were removed from the privileges 
 they at present enjoy at Honduras, scarcely 
 any other people could derive equal ad- 
 vantage from them. Even the Spaniards 
 themselves, in the very limited state of 
 
OF HONDURAS. 6l 
 
 their immediate commercial relations, and 
 while a maritime superiority remains to 
 the former, could be little, if in any way, 
 benefited by the circumstance. Indeed it 
 will possibly be not too much to assert, 
 that the people of the Spanish colonies 
 generally would very cheerfully wave all 
 pretensions of the kind, for the advantage 
 of obtaining an extension of mercantile 
 intercourse, by which the manufactures 
 of Britain might more readily reach 
 them, and for which they at all times 
 discover the most eager predilection. 
 
62 
 
 BRITISH SETTLEMENT 
 
 CHAP IV 
 
 A code of laws formed ly Capt. Burnaby. Pre- 
 sent administration of justice. Courts of Hon- 
 duras, hovj held. Humane regulation for pro- 
 tecting manumitted slaves. Revenue. Popu- 
 lation. Diseases. 
 
 A code of laws or regulations was 
 formed for the English settlers at Hon- 
 duras by Capt. (afterwards Sir William) 
 Burnaby, in the year 1779. These yet 
 retain the name of their founder, and 
 Burnaby's laws have always been consi- 
 dered the fundamental or statute law of 
 the settlement. An examination of this 
 code will discover that it comprehends 
 little more than what is adapted to society 
 in its most contracted state, and which 
 never could have been intended to em- 
 brace any thing connected with a more 
 extensive population and growing in- 
 
OF HONDURAS. 
 
 63 
 
 crease of property. When these regula- 
 tions were therefore enforced, it must be 
 believed, it was merely intended, that 
 some direction or restraint should be im- 
 posed on a description of persons, who 
 had before lived without respect to rules 
 of any kind ; and whose irregularities, 
 murders, piracies, and atrocities of every 
 sort, were continually perpetrated with a 
 barbarous indifference, because punish- 
 ment was unknown. Such unquestion- 
 ably was the state of society in this re- 
 mote quarter, and one that, no doubt, 
 powerfully actuated the British com- 
 mander, to adopt such measures as he 
 very properly considered might be pro- 
 ductive of results more consonant to jus- 
 tice and humanity. 
 
 The present administration of justice 
 is vested in a bench of magistrates, con- 
 sisting of seven. These officers are elect- 
 ive, annually : a mode of appointment, 
 which, in this respect at least, must have 
 
64 
 
 BRITISH SETTLEMENT 
 
 .many obvious defects, and which, when ex- 
 ercised in small communities, will not al- 
 ways be found the most certain way of se- 
 curing the impartial ends which ought ever 
 to be borne in view when annexed to a 
 matter of such solemn importance. And 
 it may very fairly be presumed, that a 
 proper interpretation of laws would be 
 more likely to occur, from the nomination 
 of persons in some previous shape quali- 
 fied to fill such situations, than could 
 possibly happen from the accidental, or 
 as it is more frequently found, capricious 
 privilege of electing to them. In the 
 weighty and serious business of jurispru- 
 dence, the maxim, 
 
 Ne sutor ultra crepidam } 
 
 should never be forgotten. 
 
 If it be the will of government to re- 
 tain this establishment, it may be hoped, 
 that an early attention of the legislative 
 
 power towards this momentous point will 
 4 
 
OF HONDURAS. 
 
 G5 
 
 occur ; for, as it has been remarked, the 
 increase of property, the more fixed state 
 of society, and above all, the commercial 
 consequence it has attained, would cer- 
 tainly seem to require something of a 
 more defined and systematic form than 
 what at present is acknowledged in it. 
 
 The courts of Honduras are held three 
 times in each year : other courts are also 
 occasionally held to determine matters of 
 inferior kind, and to adjust the differences 
 of transient persons. From the adjudi- 
 cations of these courts it is contended there 
 can he no appeal : a conclusive power, 
 that may not appear altogether so satis- 
 factory, especially to those who may have 
 become in any degree acquainted with the 
 more enlarged system of jurisprudence 
 adopted in other countries. 
 
 A recent law has been enforced, which 
 entitles the settlers to much commendation, 
 though the feeling idea which suggested 
 
 p 
 
66 
 
 BRITISH SETTLEMENT 
 
 th£ necessity of so humane a measure may 
 have originated in another quarter.* It is 
 one prohibiting the manumission of slaves, 
 unless the owner previously enters into a 
 specific engagementwith an equivalent se- 
 curity, that the persons so manumitted shall 
 
 * It is believed, in the island of Jamaica. Pre- 
 vious to the introduction of this regulation, it will 
 not be denied, that the condition of the slave was 
 often found truly deplorable. Broken down by 
 age or infirmity, the boon, thus obtained, was more 
 frequently extended, because perhaps that he had 
 ceased, from one or both of the foregoing causes, to 
 be longer capable of toiling, than from any impulse 
 of a more generous nature. 
 
 A temple of iEsculapius might occasionally have 
 been quite hs convenient in our colonies as it was 
 found on the island in the Tiber, to which the Romans 
 consigned their sick slaves, and from which, if the 
 god was indulgent in restoring them to health, they 
 once more were taken into their masters’ employ : 
 if they died, no farther inquiry was made about 
 them. 
 
 Mors ultima linea rerum est. 
 1 
 
OP HONDURAS. 
 
 67 
 
 not, in sickness or old age, become burthen- 
 some to themselves or to the public- A si- 
 milar regulation also extends to such 
 freedom as may be granted by testa- 
 mentary bequest. 
 
 The domestic revenue of the settlement 
 is principally drawn from a duty or tax 
 on transient traders, who pay five pounds 
 per cent, on all articles of merchandise. 
 This duty is productive, but much more 
 so whilst an intercourse with the United 
 States remains uninterrupted. 
 
 From all wines and spirits imported, 
 one shilling and sixpence per gallon is 
 levied : this contributes very considerably 
 to the Honduras treasury. 
 
 From annually licensing retail liquor 
 shops, of which the number in Balize, if 
 its size be considered, is prodigious : these 
 shops are rated as high as thirty pounds 
 each. 
 
 From fines levied by the courts on civil 
 and criminal actions. 
 
 p S 
 
6S 
 
 BRITISH SETTLEMENT 
 
 From non-performance of the duty 
 of magistrate, when elected, one hun- 
 dred pounds. Non-attendance of ju- 
 rors, &c. 
 
 From public retailers of goods, ten 
 pounds per annum each. 
 
 From tonnage of vessels, seven-pence 
 halfpenny per ton ; and a harbour duty 
 on ships of three pounds. 
 
 The total of this revenue may be taken, 
 communibus annis, at between six and seven 
 thousand pounds Jamaica currency. It 
 is disposed of at the will and under the 
 direction of the magistracy for the time 
 being. 
 
 It is computed that there is not more 
 than 200 white inhabitants in the settle- 
 ment of Honduras, and somewhat more 
 than 500 people of colour and free blacks. 
 The number of negro slaves is supposed 
 to be near 3000. No census of the 
 entire population has been recently 
 taken. It may be observed, however, that 
 
OF HONDURAS. 
 
 69 
 
 the increase of the white population 
 bears no kind of proportion with its de- 
 crease. 
 
 The diseases more particularly inciden- 
 tal to this part of the world are fevers, 
 chiefly of the intermittent kind. During 
 the hottest months those of a bilious and 
 inflammatory nature are likewise preva- 
 lent, and frequently prove fatal to per- 
 sons newly arrived. Complaints of a 
 pulmonic description are seldom the at- 
 tendants of hot climates, and are therefore 
 but little known in this. 
 
 The influenza, so common and fre- 
 quently so fatal in Europe, proved pecu- 
 liarly destructive here during the months 
 of December 1807 , and January 1808 . 
 It may be remarked, as a singular cir- 
 cumstance connected with this complaint, 
 that it proved invariably more fatal to 
 blacks than to whites. 
 
 There is an evil with which the ne- 
 groes employed in the woods are very com- 
 
70 BRITISH SETTLEMENT 
 
 monly afflicted, and from which the 
 whites are not entirely exempt; this is 
 called the bay-sore. This disorder is believ- 
 ed to be peculiar to Honduras. It usually 
 breaks out in the hands or legs, and is at- 
 tended in almost every instance with very 
 acute pain. Medical opinion has deter- 
 mined it to be of cancerous description, 
 and the Cure is only effected by powerful 
 caustics, or applications of a corrosive 
 nature. 
 
 The tetanus, or locked-jaw, the fre- 
 quent and dreadful attendant on almost 
 every kind of wound throughout the West 
 Indies and the greater part of the Ame- 
 rican continent, is not known here. 
 
 The force contributed by government 
 for the defence of the settlement of Hon- 
 duras, both maritime and military, is 
 highly respectable. The settlers from 
 amongst themselves have formed a body 
 of militia, composed chiefly of persons 
 ©f colour and free blacks; confidential 
 
OF HONDURAS. 
 
 71 
 
 slaves may likewise he included. A con- 
 siderable share of reliance is placed on 
 the militia, and which, from the zeal and 
 collective energy it evinced, when the 
 Spaniards attempted an invasion in thd 
 year 1798, seems very justly to belong to 
 it. And in any instance of future attack, 
 it is entirely evident that the most essen- 
 tial service might be expected to result 
 from a cO-operation of this body with the 
 regular force. Still, however, it must be 
 declared, that the present organization of 
 the militia is in no shape as perfect as it 
 is capable under proper direction of beihg 
 made. 
 
 It never has been believed that the 
 settlement can be attacked but by sea. On 
 
 I 
 
 the land side it is an entire swamp or 
 morass for many miles back, at most sea- 
 sons nearly covered with water, through 
 which it would be impossible to move 
 guns of the lightest weight, and indeed 
 through which a man would find infinite 
 
BRITISH SETTLEMENT 
 
 difficulty to move himself. If an attempt 
 should be made by the river Balize, an 
 event that at certain periods has been ex- 
 pected, innumerable small vessels would 
 be required for the purpose, and after 
 these were obtained, the passage of them 
 could only be effected during the rains, a 
 season most disadvantageous for every 
 kind of hostile operation in tropical 
 countries. At every other time the navi- 
 gation of this river would be effectually 
 impeded. 
 
 The channel is protected by the guns 
 of a strong fort lately erected by a com- 
 petent engineer ; and, in honour of his 
 Majesty, this work is named Fort 
 George. Its situation is singularly com- 
 manding, and, in any attempt of a land- 
 ing, would be capable of throwing a most 
 destructive fire, An enemy not choosing 
 to face this fort, but inclining to either 
 flank of the town of Balize, the only pos- 
 sible points of gaining the shore, would 
 
 4 
 
OF HONDURAS. 
 
 73 
 
 have to encounter the passage of shoals of 
 mud and sand which extend a conside- 
 rable way into the sea, and on each side 
 would be received by the guns of several 
 batteries most judiciously placed, and 
 which must inevitably expose him to the 
 most annoying of all opposition, a cross- 
 fire, independent of what, in addition to 
 this, he might expect to be treated with 
 from the shore, a well-directed discharge 
 from light field-pieces and musquetry.* 
 
 * The whole of the slaves of Honduras are per- 
 mitted to use arms, and possibly a more expert tody 
 of marksmen could no where be found. To many 
 this would appear an impolitic and questionable 
 kind of indulgence ; but let it be borne in view, 
 that the expectation of fidelity and attachment 
 may be best founded on the consistent exercise of 
 humanity and forbearance, and much of every in- 
 convenient result will be at once diminished. 
 
74 
 
 BRITISH SETTLEMENT 
 
 CHAP V. 
 
 The pursuits of the Settlers of Honduras lead to 
 distant , and widely different directions. 
 
 Christmas the season of general festivity. The 
 
 slaves particularly happy at this period. 
 Water- sports. The Dory and Pit-pan boats, 
 peculiar to the Settlement, described. Shooting 
 and fishing parties. 
 
 One of the most frequent, and cer- 
 tainly not least founded, complaints, that 
 has been advanced against establishments 
 in remote countries, is the entire want of 
 neighbourhood and society connected 
 with them ; an inconvenience that can 
 scarcely be compensated for by the posses- 
 sion of every other advantage, and one that 
 has often shaken the resolution of the 
 
 hardiest adventurer. Thus it happens in 
 the country of which we speak; for labour 
 here, and that with a small share of occa- 
 
OF HONDURAS. 
 
 75 
 
 sional relaxation, almost exclusively occu- 
 pies the attention of whites and blacks ; 
 and, engaged in pursuits that lead to di- 
 stant and in widely different directions, it 
 seldom 'happens, perhaps not more than 
 once in many months, that the settlers of 
 Honduras have any kind of intercourse 
 with each other, or for the same interval 
 with their homes or families. The set- 
 ting out on a mahogany-cutting expe- 
 dition resembles in some degree that of 
 departing on a long voyage, the prepa- 
 rations for both being nearly similar ; and 
 the dreary time that must be passed in the 
 woods, in this employment, may not un- 
 aptly be compared to what is felt by many 
 in a long confinement on shipboard. 
 
 Christmas, however, is the season that 
 in this country usually brings all ranks 
 together — the bond and the free ; and the 
 hilarity which prevails amongst the former 
 order cannot possibly be more largely par- 
 
76 
 
 BRITISH SETTLEMENT 
 
 taken of by any beings in the world. The 
 young, the old, even the maimed and the 
 decrepid, all unite in contributing to ren- 
 der this period joyous and happy; it may 
 be added, and noisy ! 
 
 The morning of Christmas-day is inva- 
 riably ushered in by the discharging of 
 small* arms in every direction, every thing 
 now from established custom being free 
 and unrestrained ; and the master s house 
 (where the festivity commences) and 
 whatever it contains is now open to all. 
 The members of the several Africantribes, 
 again met together after a long separa- 
 tion, now form themselves into different 
 groups, and nothing can more forcibly 
 denote their respective casts of national 
 character than their music, songs, and 
 dances. The convulsed rapid movements 
 of some, and the affectedly reluctant steps 
 of others, appear inconceivably ludicrous; 
 whilst the occasional bursts of loud chorus. 
 
OF HONDURAS. 
 
 77 
 
 with which all are animated, contribute 
 greatly to heighten the singularity of the 
 entertainment. 
 
 The endurance of the negroes during 
 the period of their holidays, which usually 
 last a week, is incredible. Few of them 
 are known to take any portion of rest for 
 the whole time ; and for the same space 
 they seldom know an interval of sobriety. 
 It is the single season of relaxation grant- 
 ed to their condition; that it should he 
 partaken of immoderately may therefore 
 appear not altogether so extraordinary. 
 
 At this season water-sports are also com- 
 mon, and Dory-rcicing affords a very gene- 
 ral amusement ; and on these occasions 
 large sums are freely betted both by 
 owners and slaves. This species of diver- 
 sion has no small share of utility attached 
 to it, as it contributes to render the latter 
 highly expert in a kind of exercise that is 
 inseparably connected with the labour in 
 which they are principally engaged. 
 
 The Dory is usually formed of maho- 
 
78 
 
 BRITISH SETTLEMENT 
 
 gany or cedar, generally from a solid piece; 
 its length is from 25 to 50 feet; and so 
 buoyant and safe is this sortof vessel found, 
 that persons accustomed to the manage- 
 ment of it often fearlessly venture out to 
 sea in it, and in weather when it might 
 be unsafe to trust to vessels of much larger 
 kind. It is worked with paddles instead 
 of oars, and the fastest and best manned 
 rowing boats have universally failed in a 
 competition w ith it and the negro paddlers 
 of Honduras. 
 
 The Pit-pan is another w ater vehicle 
 much used in this country, and for cele- 
 rity is preferred to the former; but this 
 can only be employed in smooth water. 
 It is formed of the same materials, the 
 shape alone constituting the difference — 
 the Pit-pan being flat-bottomed, the Dory 
 round. Much taste is displayed by all 
 orders in fitting out both these convey- 
 ances ; and as they afford the only opportu- 
 nities of travelling in this country, every 
 expedient is resorted to, to render them 
 
OF HONDURAS. 
 
 7& 
 
 pleasant and commodious. They are 
 commonly furnished with capacious 
 awnings, hung round with curtains to 
 defend the passenger from the sun by day 
 and the dews of night; precautions that 
 are extremely necessary, for in journey- 
 ing to the distant mahogany works, an 
 abode for some time must frequently be 
 taken up in them, and when any exposure 
 in an unhealthy climate might be attended 
 with evil consequences.* 
 
 * It is probable that little alteration has taken 
 place in the form and construction of these vessels 
 since the time that Bartholomew Columbus, (on the 
 authority of Herrera and as related by B. Ed- 
 wards, Hist. West Indies, vol. i. 8vo. p. 103) met 
 one of them in passing through the gulf of Hondu- 
 ras. It was eight feet in breadth, and in length 
 equal to a Spanish galley. Over the middle was an 
 awning, composed of mats and palm-tree leaves ; 
 underneath which were disposed the women and 
 children, secured both from rain and the spray of 
 the sea ; it was laden with commodities from, 
 Jucatan* 
 
80 BRITISH SETTLEMENT 
 
 Numerous parties of the settlers also 
 now avail themselves of this period of 
 leisure, to make excursions to the woods, or 
 out amongst the sea islands or keys/ to 
 enjoy the amusements of fowling and 
 fishing. On these occasions an ample 
 stock of wines, liquors, &c. is laid in, and 
 the gun and net seldom fail to procure an 
 abundant supply of whatever else is re- 
 quisite. Wherever the most sport pro- 
 mises to be found, a temporary encamp- 
 ment is speedily formed ; and the hours 
 not occupied in the pursuit of game are 
 always passed with great hilarity. 
 
OF HONDURAS. 
 
 81 
 
 CHAP VI. 
 
 Subjects connected with the Natural History of 
 Honduras. Extraordinary advantages that 
 might attend many pursuits annexed to cultiva- 
 tion again insisted on. Trees and plants, their 
 great variety : the uses of several species des- 
 cribed. 
 
 An early attention has been directed 
 towards the probable degree of success 
 that might attend the culture of most of 
 the vegetable productions peculiar to tro- 
 pical situations in the settlement of 
 Honduras. An outline,, or general descrip- 
 tion of those which at present are most fa- 
 miliarly known in it having likewise been 
 given, a farther enumeration of them 
 cannot be necessary. But previous to 
 concluding this part of the subject, it 
 may yet be remarked, that this pros- 
 pect of advantage is very materially encou- 
 
 G 
 
82 
 
 BRITISH SETTLEMENT 
 
 raged by the acknowledged superiority of 
 the climate and soil of this part of the 
 continent, and from the circumstance of 
 its being happily removed from the dis- 
 couraging inconvenience of the frequent 
 and continued droughts so fatal to every 
 agricultural attempt in many other parts 
 of it, and from which the greater num- 
 ber of the West India islands are seldom 
 exempt. 
 
 It will, therefore, only remain for hu- 
 man industry, if no intervention shall 
 offer to the exercise of it, to improve 
 the benefits thus conferred by the indul- 
 gence of nature; for beside her almost 
 spontaneous gifts, little has hitherto 
 been sought in this quarter of the 
 world. 
 
 Leaving this branch of the natural 
 history of the country, we now proceed 
 to another, which it is presumed may be 
 less known,, though certainly, from the 
 many valuable advantages annexed to 
 
OF HONDURAS. 
 
 83 
 
 it, it can scarcely be deemed less impor- 
 tant. 
 
 Independent of the mahogany tree, the 
 value of which has been previously point- 
 ed out, there is an infinite variety of other 
 kinds, the growth of Honduras, fitted in 
 as many ways for the most useful purposes, 
 but more particularly for purposes of a 
 maritime nature. Of this class may be 
 enumerated, as being entitled to particular 
 distinction, the three species of the Man- 
 grove, red, white, and black: that of the 
 former colour is greatly preferred for 
 the firmness of its texture and its extraor- 
 dinary durability : the bark it furnishes 
 has been thought little inferior to that 
 of the oak, when applied to the pur- 
 pose of tanning leather. This species 
 of the Mangrove usually grows on the 
 borders of the sea, or on the edges of 
 the rivers and creeks contiguous to it : 
 the second and last kinds are found 
 more inland. 
 
84 BRITISH SETTLEMENT 
 
 The Santa Maria, Sapodilla, and Sea- 
 grape, are all found extremely useful ; the 
 last particularly so, from the naturally 
 formed knees and timbers it supplies for 
 small vessels. Cedar is also found plenti- 
 ful and large, and is usually applied ta 
 similar purposes. 
 
 The Palmetto, ©f two kinds, the royal 
 and the humble,* 1 is abundant on the dif- 
 ferent islands or keys. The first is a tree, 
 of considerable size, and found remark- 
 ably serviceable in the constructing of 
 wharves, or when put to any use where 
 a continued resistance to water may he 
 needed. The last is useful in building, 
 and furnishes a durable thatch from its 
 leaves. 
 
 Parallel with the different rivers, in al- 
 most every direction, are found extensive 
 Pine Ridges, tracts of land abounding with 
 the Pine tree. The timbers which these 
 
 * So distinguished by Browne, Nat. Hist. Ja- 
 maica, Fol. 190 , 330. 
 
OF HONDURAS. 
 
 85 
 
 furnish can scarcely be exceeded in sine, 
 and are very generally considered* for 
 every necessary purpose, greatly superior 
 to what can be imported of the same kind 
 from the United States. But the cause 
 which has been before assigned* the high 
 value of labour in this country* has occa*- 
 sioned the settlers in most instances* rather 
 to prefer purchasing such materials from 
 the Americans than have recourse to those 
 before them of domestic growth. Of the 
 pine the kinds are various. 
 
 For a variety of purposes, the Bullet 
 tree. Iron-wood tree* Calabash tree* and 
 Button-wood ttee, are all much admired. 
 On the sides of most of the rivers the 
 Willow is common* so likewise is a 
 species of the Bamboo. 
 
 The Mohoe* or Althaea, is also found 
 at some distance up the several rivers. 
 The body of this tree is usually converted 
 into rafts to float the logwood down to 
 the sea. The bark of it is woven into 
 
86 
 
 BRITISH SETTLEMENT 
 
 ropes, which are found to be little inferior 
 to those made from hemp for strength and 
 durability. 
 
 The tree which exudes the resinous 
 substance called Caoutchouc, or elastic 
 gum, from which the well known material 
 of Indian rubber is made, is abundantly 
 found in most places. The name which 
 this tree hears in Honduras could not be 
 learned; Siphonia elastica is that by 
 which it is familiar to naturalists.* The 
 Locust tree, which affords another valua- 
 ble gum is likewise common. 
 
 * It would be impossible to contend for the accu- 
 racy of the nomenclature, which, when treating 
 of the natural productions of remote countries, can 
 only in many instances be resorted to. And as an 
 infinite variety of subjects, connected both with the 
 vegetable and animal kingdoms, may have escaped 
 enumeration in the catalogues of the scientific, sueh 
 names, therefore, can alone be properly continued 
 to them, which may have been suggested by their 
 respective uses, or which local circumstances may 
 have pointed out. 
 
OF HONDURAS, 
 
 87 
 
 Of the trees which furnish dye woods, 
 the most plentiful and easily obtained are 
 those of the Fustic and Logwood. Some 
 other kinds adapted to the like uses are 
 occasionally found, but not in such quan- 
 tities as to render the discovery of them of 
 much importance. A species of that 
 which bears the name of Brasiletto is 
 sometimes met with on the islands con- 
 tiguous to the coast, and forms an article 
 of export. The Pterocarpus Draco, 
 which yields the valuable commodity of 
 Dragon's blood, is a native of the interior 
 country. 
 
 Of a class different from the foregoing, 
 the first place may very properly be as- 
 signed to the Cocoa-nut tree, from 
 the well known variety of uses to 
 which it may be applied. This is 
 the common inhabitant of almost 
 every situation within the tropics ; and 
 in this country, both on the con- 
 
 4 
 
88 BRITISH SETTLEMENT 
 
 tinent and different islands,, is most abun- 
 dant. 
 
 The Cabbage-tree, the Areca oloracea 
 of Linnams, and Palma of Browne, the 
 beauty of which has been before slightly 
 noticed, is justly entitled to more particu- 
 lar remark. It may be considered, as the 
 latter has denominated it, the queen of the 
 woods. In height it frequently rises to 
 upwards of an hundred feet, entirely erect, 
 and tapering with exquisite proportion to 
 its summit. The trunk is without branches 
 or leaves until within a few feet of the top; 
 and the cabbage, or substance from which 
 it has derived its familiar appellation, is 
 also found near the top, enclosed within 
 a thin, green, spongy bark. In trees that 
 have acquired full growth, the cabbage is 
 large, in form not unlike the thick part 
 of the tusk of the elephant, perfectly white, 
 and in long thin convolute Hakes. When 
 boiled it is exceedingly pleasant to the 
 
OF HONDURAS. 89 
 
 taste, closely resembling that of the arti- 
 choke ; and in its natural state animals 
 of most kinds eat of it with avidity. It 
 likewise forms a very agreeable pickle, in 
 which way it is often used. The young 
 Cocoa-nut tree also contains a similar kind 
 of substance within its trunk, equally 
 good with the above ; but in this it is 
 found nearer the root. 
 
 The Silk Cotton tree, a species of the 
 Bombax of Linnseus, in this country at- 
 tains an height nearly equal to the former; 
 and whilst in bloom, is certainly one of 
 the most splendid productions of nature.* 
 At such season it is entirely crowned with 
 a profusion of brilliant flowers of rich 
 and variegated hues, of which the colour 
 of the carnation is the most predominant. 
 
 * This is not altogether assented to by Browne, 
 Nat. Hist. Jamaica, Fol. 2 77- But the species of 
 which he speaks, as being common to the East and 
 West Indies, may perhaps differ from that which 
 is found on the American continent. 
 
90 
 
 BRITISH SETTLEMENT 
 
 This bloom is suddenly succeeded by a 
 multitude of small pods which contain 
 the cotton, and which burst when suffici- 
 ently ripe. The crop of cotton it affords 
 is said to be triennial.* The trunk of this 
 tree is much used in the building of ca- 
 noes and small vessels. 
 
 For purposes of a medicinal nature, the 
 variety of trees and shrubs peculiar to this 
 country is astonishingly great. Indepen- 
 dent of which, many others have become 
 familiar to it from cultivation. Of the 
 former, the Jatropha, or Physic nut, 
 claims particular notice. It is the pro- 
 perty of this nut to act upon the human 
 system either in the way of emetic or ca- 
 thartic ; or if it be required, powerfully 
 as both ; effects which depend on the 
 mode of its preparation, and which in 
 all ways is intimately understood by the 
 inhabitants. It is very generally consi- 
 dered one of the most efficacious antidotes 
 * Natural Hist, of Guiana, Oct. 6’6'. 
 
OF HONDURAS. 
 
 91 
 
 to bile, and consequently must be deemed 
 singularly valuable in a climate where 
 the disposition to such habit is so pre- 
 valent. 
 
 The Palma Christi, from which the 
 castor oil is obtained, grows abundantly. 
 
 The plant which bears the name of the 
 Vegetable Musk, or, as it is commonly 
 called. Snake Okro, is also plentiful. The 
 seeds of this contain an highly aromatic 
 oil; and which when bruised and taken 
 internally, are believed to be an infallible 
 remedy for the bite of the most venomous 
 snake. An application to the wounded 
 part, in the way of poultice, of the same 
 kind, is likewise recommended. The 
 Eryngo, alio a native of Honduras, is 
 much resorted to for the like purpose. 
 
 The Dolichos pruriens, or Cowhage, is 
 common. Its generally established qua- 
 lity as a powerful vermifuge is well 
 known, and occasions it to be much used 
 in this country. 
 
92 BRITISH SETTLEMENT 
 
 The Contrayerva, a species of the 
 Dorstenia of Linnaeus, is found in almost 
 every spot. A preparation from the root 
 of this is known to produce abortion, and 
 is much used for such purpose by negro 
 females. This practice is extremely com- 
 monwith these people, and has its avowed 
 professors. 
 
 The Digitalis, or Foxglove, is a native 
 of the high lands. The well known ar- 
 ticle of Sarsaparilla is plentifully obtain- 
 ed to the southward of the English settle- 
 ment, and forms a profitable export 
 Four sorts of Ipecacuanha have also 
 been enumerated. 
 
 The Gouania, or Chaw-stick, is also 
 abundant. This is ,the common denti- 
 frice of the aborigines, from whom the use 
 of it has been learned; and for preserving 
 the teeth pure and delicately white, this 
 simple application perhaps exceeds all 
 others. With the natives any appearance 
 of decay in this respect very rarely occurs. 
 
OF HONDURAS. 93 
 
 It will not be contended that the 
 foregoing can be considered, other 
 than an imperfect and diminutive cata- 
 logue of the class of vegetable produc- 
 tions, of which it attempts to speak. 
 For, with the requisite ability to ac- 
 complish such an undertaking, and which 
 in the present instance is not by any 
 means assumed, it would certainly de- 
 mand months, if not years, to inves- 
 tigate with any kind of fidelity the 
 profuse variety of subjects dispersed over 
 the immense forests and plains pecu- 
 liar to this part of the world. There can 
 however be little doubt, but that such 
 research would be most amply rewarded 
 by the extent and value of the disco- 
 veries it would be enabled to make 
 
94 
 
 BRITISH SETTLEMENT 
 
 CHAP VII. 
 
 Natural history continued. Quadrupeds , 
 
 Many 
 
 of the animals found at Hon- 
 
 duras are such as are common to the con- 
 
 tinent of America generally. A very con- 
 siderable variety, however, will only be 
 recognised as the inhabitants of the 
 warmer latitudes of it. 
 
 It is believed that few, if any, of the 
 domestic kind of quadrupeds which are 
 familiarly known in Europe, can be trac- 
 ed as the natives of this quarter of the 
 world. But the supposition rather is, 
 that the greater number of this descrip- 
 tion have become naturalized to it, from 
 having been introduced by the early Euro- 
 pean settlers. 
 
 It would be entirely foreign to the end 
 in view to particularize the number and 
 
OF HONDURAS. 
 
 95 
 
 quality of animals of the above class, as, 
 it has been already remarked, they are 
 chiefly such as are common to most parts 
 of the earth. But certainly, it may 
 be repeated, in no part of it, if the least 
 care or attention be extended towards 
 them, can every species thrive better, or 
 more abundantly multiply. Within the 
 Spanish territory in particular. Nature has 
 supplied a rich and almost boundless pas- 
 turage, and where the number of cattle and 
 horses raised is prodigious. Many of the 
 latter, so little are they regarded, return to 
 a state of wildness, and associate in im- 
 mense droves, from which it frequently be- 
 comes a task of much difficulty and dan- 
 ger to reclaim them. 
 
 Of the less familiar or unreclaimed 
 kinds, which inhabit this country, we may 
 begin by enumerating two kinds of Tiger, 
 the Felis Onca, or Brasilian ; and the Dis- 
 color, or Black. The former species is ex- 
 tremely numerous, and often commits the 
 
96 
 
 BRITISH SETTLEMENT 
 
 most open and daring outrages on the 
 plantations of the settlers. Sheep, goats, 
 and hogs, are the particular objects of its 
 depredation. Reports are also given that 
 it has sometimes attacked man, but it 
 is considered that such reports are un- 
 founded ; for it fortunately happens, 
 that the otherwise established reputation 
 for courage in this animal is usually 
 found deficient in this respect. The Black 
 Tiger, which is deemed much the fiercest, 
 is but rarely discovered. The Felis Par- 
 dalis, or Mexican cat, is likewise com- 
 mon, and proves very destructive to the 
 smaller kinds of stock, such as poultry, &c. 
 
 The Deer, and a species of Gazelle, 
 or Antelope, are both abundant. The 
 former of the small fallow kind, and which 
 inhabits most parts of the American con- 
 tinent, and the islands contiguous to it. 
 The meat this animal affords is always 
 found extremely poor, which may most 
 probably be attributed to the very ha- 
 
 1 
 
OF HONDURAS. 
 
 97 
 
 rassed life so timid and inoffensive a crea- 
 ture is forced to undergo. In the im- 
 mense forests of this country it is sur- 
 rounded by enemies, of which the tyger 
 is the most frequent, and not the least 
 inveterate. Nor is it by any means secure 
 from the hostility of the inhabitant of 
 another element, the alligator ; a mon- 
 ster which infests every watery spot, and 
 whose stratagems are often successfully 
 employed in surprising animals of larger 
 and swifter kind than itself. The Gazelle 
 is a most beautiful little creature, and has 
 been considered the Dorcas, or Barbarian 
 Antelope, of Linnaeus.* It is about half 
 the size of the deer. 
 
 The Peccary, and the Warree, are ani- 
 mals of the hog kind. The former is the 
 
 * Perhaps with questionable accuracy, as it ap- 
 pears in contradiction to the established opinions of 
 some of the most able and distinguished naturalists. 
 Mr. Pennant, in particular, has determined, that 
 not a single species of the Antelope has been dis- 
 
 H 
 
98 
 
 BRITISH SETTLEMENT 
 
 Sus Tajassu of Linnasus ; or the Tajassu, 
 of other naturalists. On the hack of this 
 animal is placed a glandulous orifice, 
 which has furnished a very common be- 
 lief that in this part of it the navel is 
 situated. The flesh of the Peccary 
 considered particularly good either fresh 
 or. salted ; hut on killing it, if the glands 
 just mentioned be not instantly removed,, 
 the whole carcase becomes tainted with 
 the most noxious and fetid odour. The 
 latter animal has not been so particularly 
 described. It has been denominated the 
 hog of the isthmus of Darien ; and an 
 opinion has been suggested, that it may 
 only be^ the European hog run wild. 
 
 covered in any part of the new world. If the ani- 
 mal in question, however, and which in this country 
 is not known by any other name, be not a member 
 of this tribe, it might be difficult to point out to 
 wlxat other class, it should properly belong. The. 
 resemblance, as far as description- can be relied on, 
 is in every jespect essentially the same. 
 
OF HONDURAS. 
 
 99 
 
 Both the Peccary and the Warree usually 
 go in large bodies ; and at such times it 
 is not considered at all safe to 1 wound or 
 kill any of the party, by firing on them, 
 unless a retreat or place of security be 
 nigh, for those, which remain unhurt, 
 commonly attack the offender in the 
 most desperate way. The approach of 
 these animals may be heard in the woods 
 at a great distance, by the loud and cla- 
 morous noise they.continually make ; and 
 like the domestic hog, it is asserted that 
 they destroy and eat snakes and reptiles of 
 different kinds. 
 
 The Gibeonite, (CaviaPaca) is a small 
 animal greatly resembling, though some- 
 what larger than, the guinea-pig. It is 
 plentifully found at Honduras, and easily 
 domesticated. The flesh of it is extolled 
 as a peculiar delicacy. Under the same 
 head may he included the Indian Coney, 
 or Agouti, which sometimes has been 
 confounded with the former. This ani- 
 
 h 2 
 
100 BRITISH SETTLEMENT 
 
 mal, in size, form, and liabit, is very like 
 the hare. It does not run, but leaps; 
 and whilst in the act of listening, it rears 
 itself on the hind legs exactly in the same 
 way. The meat of it is wholesome, but 
 exceedingly dry. 
 
 Of the Armadillo, three species are 
 very commonly found ; the three, eight, 
 and nine banded. They are all easily tam- 
 ed, and are most inoffensive little animals. 
 But in this state they seldom long exist; 
 a circumstance, it is believed, chiefly 
 owing to the difficulty of supplying 
 them with the kind of food to which 
 they have been accustomed, and which 
 principally consists of the insects found in 
 the decayed roots of trees. It has been 
 generally asserted that this animal usually 
 feeds on fruits, &c.; an opinion that has 
 been in some degree contradicted by ob- 
 servation. The Armadillo forms another 
 luxury of the table in this country. 
 
 The Quash, a species of the Yiverra, 
 
OF HONDURAS. 
 
 101 
 
 at the head of which is placed the cele- 
 brated Ichneumon, is likewise an inhabi- 
 tant of this part of America ; and, like 
 that singular animal, is destructive to most 
 kinds of vermin. Whenever the Quash 
 makes an attack, it rather strikes with its 
 teeth than bites, and always lacerates in a 
 most severe degree. A dog of the best 
 breed and courage, once wounded by this 
 animal, will seldom again face it. 
 
 Two kinds of the Myrmecophaga, or 
 Ant-eater, may also be enumerated ; the 
 Didactyla, and the Pentadactyla. These 
 animals are easily domesticated; but are 
 slothful and stupid, usually sleeping 
 throughout the day, and roaming at night. 
 
 The smaller sort of Opossum, Dorsi- 
 gera, is abundant. The singular way in 
 which the females of most of this species 
 protect their young from danger, by in- 
 closing them in an abdominal pouch, is 
 well known. When frightened or pur- 
 sued, the young ones instinctively fly to 
 
102 BRITISH SETTLEMENT 
 
 this receptacle of the parent, which can 
 be closed or opened at will. 
 
 The Racoon is extremely common, and 
 very destructive to gardens, poultry, &c. 
 The Grey Fox is likewise said to be a na- 
 tive ofthe mountainous parts; but if it 
 be, it must be rare. 
 
 The small Red Squirrel is exceedingly 
 numerous. 
 
 The Hystrix Mexicana, or Mexican 
 Porcupine, is frequently taken in out- 
 houses, and on the different plantations. 
 The flesh of this animal is much com- 
 mended by the negroes, and is said very 
 -closely to taste like pork. 
 
 But of all the animals which may occa- 
 sionally be discovered in this country, 
 the most extraordinary is unquestionably 
 the Tapir; or as it is here vulgarly, and 
 certainly with no great accuracy, named, 
 the Mountain Gow. This animal is an 
 inhabitant of .the thickest and most retired 
 woe dr," in the neighbourhood of rivers and 
 
OF HONDURAS. 
 
 103 
 
 ^creeks. It is described as being about the 
 size of a small cow, and is gregarious. It 
 swims, dives, and is considered to possess 
 the property of walking beneath the 
 water. It may frequently be traced on 
 the sands by the large, flat, and nearly 
 round impression of its feet. As this ani- 
 mal cautiously avoids the day, it is but 
 rarely met with. Sometimes, however, 
 as the traveller pursues his course up the 
 distant rivers, and when but little noise is 
 made, it is surprised on the banks and 
 shot. The meat of the Tapir, contrary 
 to what has been pronounced of it, is in 
 this country considered exceedingly coarse 
 and rank. 
 
 The Monkey tribe is numerous, and the 
 species various: though confined, it is 
 believed, exclusively to the classes which 
 naturalists have denominated Sapajous, 
 and Sagoins. The animals of the former 
 kind are peculiarly distinguishable from 
 all others by the use they make of their 
 
104 BRITISH SETTLEMENT 
 
 tails, by which they seize and hold on the 
 branches of trees or any other substance, 
 supporting the whole weight of their bo- 
 dies with surprising tenacity : even 
 
 when desperately wounded, they are sel- 
 dom known to quit this grasp but with 
 life. It is very doubtful whether any of 
 the Ape or Baboon species can be traced 
 as inhabitants of the American continent, 
 though such have occasionally been enu- 
 merated in the journals of travellers. 
 
 The Fatuellus, Horned Sapajou, the 
 Apella, Brown Sapajou, and the Capu- 
 cina, or Capuchin Monkey, are the kinds 
 most frequently met with in the woods of 
 Honduras. The last is very common, 
 and is a mild, playful little animal. 
 
 There is one species of monkey also 
 found in this part of the world, which 
 may perhaps have escaped particular 
 notice. In size and form it resembles the 
 Apella; and the female, in which the 
 characteristic difference appears most 
 
OF HONDURAS. 
 
 105 
 
 strongly to exist, is peculiarly denoted 
 by a loose fleshy appendant membrane, 
 which frequently occasions its sex to be 
 mistaken.* 
 
 The persons engaged in mahogany cut- 
 ting, whites and blacks, include the mon- 
 key in the foremost delicacies the woods 
 afford. But we should wish to believe, 
 
 * A monkey of this kind was for many months an 
 inhabitant of the writer’s quarters. It was the 
 most gentle creature imaginable, and was passi- 
 onately fond of wine or spirits of any kind, if high- 
 ly sweetened. When so indulged, it would inva- 
 riably sip to intpxication, and then become un- 
 boundedlysportive and diverting; frequently seizing 
 a small kitten, an inmate of the same abode, and 
 springing with it up the rafters with extraordinary 
 agility, but taking care always to return its captive 
 unhurt on the floor. In this way it would continue 
 until overpowered by fatigue, and then drop on its 
 hands to sleep. Indeed the chief characteristic of 
 this species seems to belong to the ludicrous ; and 
 for a morbid or melancholy affection, perhaps a 
 more efficacious cure could not be resorted to than 
 the risible actions of this imitative animal. 
 
BRITISH SETTLEMENT 
 
 IGS 
 
 ihat the singularly affecting circumstances, 
 often accompanying the destruction of 
 this animal, would in most instances 
 operate as a powerful- incentive to let it 
 remain undisturbed. ' It is commonly told, 
 that when the mother and her young are 
 found together (.a very usual thing)* and 
 one falls or is wounded by the, hunter’s 
 aim, that the other is seldom known to 
 quit its afflicted companion, but to cling 
 to it, and bewail, the disaster with 
 piteous cries and lamentations. In this 
 way they both become prey. 
 
 The Manati, which as described as 
 forming the boundary between quadru- 
 peds and fishes, has been* previously noti- 
 ced as; an inhabitant of the waters con- 
 tiguous to the shores of .Honduras. The 
 male and female of this species of animal 
 are usually found together, and whilst 
 sporting on the surface of the different 
 lagoons, are frequently destroyed by the 
 harpoon or dart, in the use of which the 
 
OF HONDURAS. 
 
 107 
 
 slaves of the Settlement, and the Indians 
 of . the neighbouring Mosquito nation, 
 are wonderfully dexterous. The extraor- 
 dinary size of this singular production has 
 likewise been remarked. The flesh of it 
 is particularly admired, and thought very 
 closely to resemble that of veal. The 
 tail, which forms the most valuable part 
 of the Manati, after laying some days in 
 a pickle prepared for it with spices, &c. 
 and eaten cold, is a discovery of which 
 Apicius might have been proud, and 
 which the discriminating palate of Elaga- 
 balus would have thought justly entitled 
 to the most distinguished reward . 
 
 With the above, observation, an opi- 
 nion cannot but suggest itself, that either 
 necessity or curiosity must in a great 
 variety of instances have actuated man 
 in the attempt of converting many pro- 
 ductions,? animal and vegetable, into the 
 means *0# his- support or gratification. 
 But surely it * could only have been the 
 
108 BRITISH SETTLEMENT 
 
 former, and that of the most peremptory 
 kind, that first placed on the table some 
 things now enumerated amongst its 
 choicest delicacies — we need only name 
 the turtle, guana, &c. &c. 
 
OF HONDURAS. 
 
 109 
 
 CHAP. VIII. 
 
 Natural History continued. Birds. 
 
 Of the several productions in animated 
 nature connected with tropical countries, 
 few have more powerfully awakened the 
 admiration of the naturalist than the 
 number and splendid variety of their 
 feathered inhabitants. It will not, 
 however, be contended, that any of the 
 birds of the new world, at least such 
 as are known in that part of it to which 
 these sketches are confined, are entitled 
 to claim a competition with those of 
 the old, in the agreeable powers of har- 
 mony and song. Surrendering therefore 
 such pretension, the former must remain 
 content to place their claim for distinction 
 on another qualification — the gaiety of 
 their attire ; and in which, with few ex- 
 
110 
 
 BRITISH SETTLEMENT 
 
 ceptions, they in turn may equally defy 
 all rivalry. 
 
 Indeed, in some instances, it would al- 
 most seem, and such may be the influence 
 of climate, that in individuals of the 
 same species, an additional lustre had 
 been acquired from the accidental differ- 
 ence of the degrees of latitude under 
 which they, had become placed. Thus it 
 certainly happens with the Turkey, which 
 is a native of most parts of America: 
 that in the colder region of Canada is 
 greatly extolled for the brilliancy of its 
 plumage; but that in more southerly and 
 hot situations, is admitted, by all ■ who 
 have beheld it, tube the mostsuperb^pro- 
 duction of nature. ^ The splendid ^arb 
 of the peacock, even that of Thibet, 
 which is said to surpass the whole of the- 
 feathered creation, can scarcely perhaps^ 
 exceed the beauty of this. 
 
 In this part of the continent, the Tur- 
 key is usually discovered in the thickest 
 
OF HONDURAS. 
 
 ill 
 
 and most sequestered recesses of the 
 woods. It can rarely be taken alive, and 
 when so taken has seldom been known to 
 exist arty time, in the northern parts of 
 America it is gregarious ; but in the 
 neighbourhood of Honduras, it is not 
 often seen in the company of more than 
 one associate. The eggs of this bird have 
 frequently been taken from the nest, and 
 placed under the domestic hen of the same 
 species, and hatched; but the young 
 ones produced in this way seldom live, 
 and if not closely confined, invariably 
 disappear, in quest as it is supposed of* 
 more congenial haunts. 
 
 The bird next in size to the Turkey in? 
 this country, artd whose habits are nearly 
 similar, is the Curassow ^ a species of the 
 Grax, of the order Gallinse, of Linnaeus. 
 This also is remarkably beautiful, and in 
 one respect differs very materially from 
 the generally established order of nature, 
 the male being found much inferior in 
 
112 BRITISH SETTLEMENT 
 
 size and plumage to the female. The 
 former is nearly black, having only a few 
 downy white feathers on the lower part of 
 its belly. The latter is of a deep rich 
 chocolate colour, with variegated spots 
 of white and black on its neck and pi- 
 nions. The shape of both is delicately 
 proportioned; and the crest which is 
 placed on the head in a longitudinal form, 
 and which is erected when their attention 
 is excited, gives to both a stately and ma- 
 jestic appearance. These birds soon be- 
 come perfectly domesticated, going about 
 and feeding familiarly with poultry, &c. 
 They are extremely impatient of cold, 
 which renders their removal to other 
 countries to he seldom attended with 
 success. 
 
 Of the same order may likewise be 
 included the Penelope Cristata, or Quam, 
 as it is named in this part of the world. 
 In appearance this bird has little to recom- 
 mend it, but it is eagerly sought for on 
 
OF HONDURAS. 
 
 113 
 
 account of the delicacy of its flesh, which 
 is thought equal to that of the pheasant. 
 The Coquericot, another inhabitant of 
 the woods, is much admired in the same 
 way. 
 
 The Partridge, with the exception of 
 one species, the Tetrao Naevius, or 
 Mexican Partridge, has not, it is believed, 
 been discovered to inhabit any part of 
 America. The single bird of the kind 
 just mentioned, however, is quite com- 
 mon in the neighbourhood of Honduras ; 
 and in size, form, and the colour and dis- 
 posal of its feathers, very closely resem- 
 bles the Guinea-hen. The Quail at par- 
 ticular seasons is plentifully found in the 
 pine-lands, and affords considerable 
 amusement to the sportsman. 
 
 The Dove is common; and several 
 kinds of the Wood Pigeon are also abund- 
 ant. There is one species of the latter 
 in particular, which is perhaps the Leu- 
 cocephala, or White-crowned Pigeon of 
 
 I 
 
1 14 BRITISH SETTLEMENT 
 
 Linnaeus, that is migratory from the 
 mountainous parts of the continent to 
 a small island or key about twenty miles 
 distantfrom the settlement of Balize in a 
 north-east direction. This spot, in con- 
 sequence of the annual resort of these 
 birds during the months of July and 
 August, has obtained the name of Pigeon- 
 key. And the principal motives for this 
 visit would in all likelihood be found in 
 the avoidance of some enemy, and for 
 the purpose of rearing their young in 
 security, for as soon as the latter object is 
 accomplished they entirely disappear. 
 Nor does the parent find even this retreat 
 free from peril, for during the latter part 
 of the season, and when the objects of 
 its care have acquired some size, numer- 
 ous parties, chiefly of young negroes, 
 repair to this haunt, andbringoff vast num- 
 bers, which are afterwards retailed by the 
 score. The nests being formed on the 
 limbs and branches of the lowest trees. 
 
OF HONDURAS. 
 
 115 
 
 the young Pigeons are consequently ob- 
 tained with the least possible difficulty ; 
 and the old ones afford no inconsiderable 
 attraction to the marksman, for, thus dis- 
 turbed, they present themselves to his aim 
 in every direction., and much faster than 
 his gun can be prepared for them. The 
 old birds have a peculiarly disagreeable 
 bitter taste, but the youngonesare extreme- 
 ly rich and well flavoured, and on being 
 first taken are deemed very choice food. 
 
 Of the Crane species, the Platalea 
 Ajaja, or Spoonbill, is the most com- 
 mon. The plumage of this bird may be 
 considered handsome, being chiefly of a 
 bright scarlet colour, but in every other 
 respect it is singularly ugly and deformed. 
 With the above may be included several 
 members of the numerous tribe of the 
 Heron, and which are more familiarly 
 known by the names of the grey, blue, 
 and white Gaulding, &c. Many kinds 
 
 i 2 
 
116 BRITISH SETTLEMENT 
 
 of the Plover, and of the Curlew, are 
 also regularly periodical visitants. 
 
 During the season of the rains, , the 
 Snipe abounds in the swamps and marshes. 
 At the same period the different rivers and 
 lakes are likewise plentifully stocked with 
 wild Ducks, Teal, &c. The Muscovy- 
 Duck is very frequently shot in the neigh- 
 bourhood of Balize. 
 
 Two species of the Maccaw, the Psit- 
 tacus Macao, and the P Aracango, the 
 red and blue, and the red and yellow, are 
 natives of the woods to the southward of 
 Balize ; in which direction an almost in- 
 finite variety of the Parrot kind can also 
 be found. The greater part of the latter 
 are quickly domesticated, and if taken 
 young, are as suddenly taught tp talk 
 fluently. The kinds which are most es- 
 teemed for their aptness in this respect are 
 the yellow, and the blue-headed. The 
 former of which is extremely numerous 
 
OF HONDURAS. 
 
 117 
 
 in the country of the Mosquito Indians, 
 and on the contiguous island of Ruatan. 
 The confused, clamorous noise of these 
 birds, may be heard from the last place 
 some miles before the shore is gained. 
 The smaller sorts, or Parakeets, are equally 
 abundant, and many of them are ex- 
 tremely pretty. 
 
 The Toucan, or Bill-bird, as it is de 
 nominated in this country, is very com- 
 mon. Its plumage is prettily variegated; 
 but it is remarkably singular for the length 
 and breadth of its bill, which is nearly 
 equal to the bigness of its body, and this 
 is about the size of that of the jack-daw 
 
 A species of the Oriole, which in Hon- 
 durashas obtainedthe name of the Banana- 
 bird, perhaps from its resorting to the 
 fruit of the Banana tree for its food, 
 is greatly admired for the beauty of its 
 dress, which forms an elegant intermix- 
 ture of the most gay and vivid colours. 
 This birdislittle larger than the European 
 
118 BRITISH SETTLEMENT 
 
 goldfinch. But the most singular in- 
 dividual of this kind, is the O. Domini- 
 censis, or St. Domingo Oriole of Lin- 
 naeus, which is also an inhabitant of this 
 country, and is somewhat larger than the 
 former. Immense numbers of this species 
 resort to the neighbourhood of the river 
 Sibun, where they form their pendant 
 nests at the extreme end of the branches 
 of the tallest trees, and generally over- 
 hanging the water. Frequently upwards 
 of an hundred of these habitations may 
 be found on a single tree, and the busy 
 and clamorous solicitude of the old ones 
 in attendance on their young cannot but 
 be particularly interesting to the spec- 
 tator. 
 
 The Rice-bird, the Emberiza Oryzi- 
 voraof Lmnzeus, or as it is frequently term- 
 ed, from its peculiar richness and delicacy, 
 the American Ortolan, ( a distinction that 
 an epicurean palate must confess to be not 
 undeservedly bestowed on it), is also mi- 
 
 1 
 
OF HONDURAS. 119 
 
 gratory, and is usually found in this coun- 
 try on plantations where the grain is cul- 
 tivated from which it has derived its fa- 
 miliar appellation. 
 
 The whole of this extensive coast, and 
 the numerous islands and keys annexed to 
 it, abound with an infinite variety of the 
 aquatic species, which are chiefly such as 
 are usually found within the tropics. Of 
 which, however, the Pelican and the 
 Cormorant may be enumerated as being 
 the most predominant. The peculiar 
 transparency of the sea in most seasons in 
 this quarter of the world, the multitude 
 and extraordinary variety of its inhabi- 
 tants, and the great depths at which these 
 may be clearly discerned, are powerful 
 inducements to tempt the resort of such 
 voracious neighbours. 
 
 Myriads of Swallows are also the oc- 
 casional inhabitants of Honduras. The 
 time of their residence is generally con- 
 fined to the period of the rains, after 
 
120 BRITISH SETTLEMENT 
 
 which they totally disappear. There is 
 something remarkably curious and deserv- 
 ing of notice in the ascent of these birds. 
 As soon as the dawn appears, they in a 
 body quit their place of rest, which is 
 usually chosen amidst the rushes of some 
 watery savanna ; and invariably rise to a 
 certain height in a compact spiral form, 
 and which at a distance often occasions 
 them to be taken for an immense column 
 of smoke. This attained, they are then 
 seen separately to disperse in search of 
 food, the occupation of their day. To 
 ihose who may have had the opportunity 
 of observing the phenomenon of a water- 
 spout, the similarity of evolution in the 
 ascent of these birds will be thought sur- 
 prisingly striking. The descent, which 
 regularly takes place at sun-set, is con- 
 ducted much in the same way, but with 
 inconceivable rapidity. And the noise 
 which accompanies this can only be com- 
 pared to the falling of an immense tor- 
 
OF HONDURAS. 
 
 121 
 
 rent, or the rushing of a violent gust of 
 wind. Indeed, to an observer it seems 
 wonderful that thousands of these birds 
 are not destroyed in being thus propelled 
 to the earth with such irresistible force. 
 
 The Humming-bird, in the greater 
 number of its splendid varieties, can per- 
 haps be found in this country. The 
 Exilis, one of the most minute and beau- 
 tiful of this elegant tribe, is quite com- 
 mon. The singular ferocity of this little 
 creature is astonishing. Disappointed of 
 its repast, the honey of a flower, it has 
 been frequently observed to tear and scat- 
 ter the leaves in the most passionate way 
 And in the contests it holds with its own 
 species for the possession of some favou- 
 rite blossom, it often happens that the 
 death of one of the claimants alone grants 
 the other an undisturbed enjoyment of 
 the prize. 
 
122 
 
 BRITISH SETTLEMENT 
 
 CHAP IX. 
 
 Natural History concluded. Fishes. Reptiles. 
 
 Of the Fishes which inhabitthe seas and 
 rivers of Honduras, perhaps the follow- 
 ing' catalogue may afford the most distinct 
 and comprehensive view. Some kinds 
 of them will be recognized as being like- 
 wise familiar to many parts of Europe, 
 but the greater number will be found 
 common to the coast of America gene- 
 rally, and to the West India islands. 
 Rock-fish Stone-bass 
 
 Hog-fish Sword-fish 
 
 Jew-fish Gar-fish 
 
 King-fish Parrot- fish* 
 
 Baracouta Cavallee 
 
 * This fish is the Coryphaana Psittacus of Lin- 
 naeus, and is certainly one of the most beautiful 
 of the watery tribe. The description of it, as 
 
OF HONDURAS. 
 
 m 
 
 Grooper 
 
 Snook 
 
 Drummer 
 
 Sting-ray 
 
 Piper 
 
 Pike 
 
 Tropon 
 
 Old-wife 
 
 Mud-fish 
 
 Flounder 
 
 Snapper (red) 
 
 Eel 
 
 Ditto (black) 
 
 Porgee 
 
 Mullet 
 
 Grunt 
 
 Ditto (Mountain* ) 
 
 Cat-fish 
 
 Calapaver 
 
 Sprat f 
 
 Mackarel( Spanish ) Porpoise 
 
 Sheep-head 
 
 Shark, &c. 
 
 given by that faithful historian of nature, roust be 
 the best that can be supplied. — 44 Head finely va- 
 riegated; iris flame colour, surrounded with blue ; 
 in the middle of the body towards the back a purple 
 rhombic spot, varied with green, yellow, and bine; 
 vent in the middle of the body ; dorsal and anal 
 fins linear, reaching nearly to the tail.” Tur ton’s 
 Linnmus, oct. vol. i. 744. It is very generally 
 considered poisonous, and therefore never eaten. 
 
 * Perhaps the Mugil Albula. This fish is deem- 
 ed the roost choice of its species, and is usually 
 caught at some distance np the rivers of this country. 
 
 + The Clupea Thrissa of naturalists. This fish. 
 
124 BRITISH SETTLEMENT 
 
 The variety of Shell-fish with which 
 every part of this coast abounds can 
 scarcely be exceeded in any part of the 
 world. Three species of the Turtle, the 
 Green, the Logger-head, and the 
 Hawks-bill, are taken in their seasons 
 in prodigious numbers. The former 
 kind, from having been included, at least 
 in this country, amongst the foremost ne- 
 cessaries of life, constitutes an advantage- 
 ous employment to those engaged in tak- 
 ing it : an allusion to this occupation has 
 been made in the preceding pages. The 
 
 which is somewhat larger than the common sprat, 
 is much admired for the sweetness of its flavour, 
 though in certain situations, at particular seasons, 
 it is considered to be highly poisonous, a quality 
 which in this, however, it is not thought at any 
 time to possess. In some of the West India is. 
 lands, especially in that of Nevis, it can rarely be 
 eaten from the above circumstance. This noxious 
 property is also very generally determined to be- 
 long'to some other species when taken in certain 
 latitudes ; namely, the Baracouta, Snook, &c. &c. 
 
OF HONDURAS. 
 
 125 
 
 Sea-Lobster, or as it is here called, the 
 Craw-fish, is extremely plentiful, and is 
 much admired for the whiteness and deli- 
 cacy of its meat. Crabs are also caught 
 in great numbers, and are equally esteem- 
 ed. The Mangrove Oyster, so named 
 from its adhering in clusters to the branch- 
 es of the tree of the above name, which 
 incline to the water, is likewise found in 
 most places, but is perhaps the most in- 
 ferior of the species. The Conque, and 
 the Wilk, are abundant in the neighbour- 
 hood of the different keys, and afford a 
 wholesome and nutritious food. 
 
 It is very far from being pretended 
 that the above should in any shape be 
 considered other than an extremely limit- 
 ed enumeration of the inhabitants of this 
 vast element, as connected with this part 
 of the world. The kinds, therefore, that 
 have been thus briefly noticed, must only 
 be viewed as being such as came most fre- 
 quently under familiar observation, and 
 
126 BRITISH SETTLEMENT 
 
 which consequently seemed more inti- 
 mately allied to the present attempt. 
 
 The number and variety of Reptiles 
 which infest most hot countries are known 
 to be astonishingly great. And perhaps 
 few situations could be found to exceed 
 the one of which we more particularly 
 speak, in both respects. 
 
 Snakes of several species are numerous; 
 but fortunately the greater part of them 
 are not considered of a dangerous descrip- 
 tion. The Rattle-snake is very frequent- 
 ly seen in the high lands, but is seldom 
 found so large as in the American States. 
 The Black-snake is also common, but 
 harmless. The kinds which, next to the 
 first mentioned, are avoided as being the 
 most venomous, are those which have ob- 
 tained from the Settlers the familiar names 
 of the Tommy Goff, and the Barber s Pole. 
 These usually infest out-houses or thatch- 
 ed buildings. 
 
 The snake called the Wowler, which i# 
 
OF HONDURAS. 
 
 127 
 
 more plentifully discovered than any of 
 the former, grows to an immense size, and 
 its appearance is certainly terrific; but it 
 is only in this way that it is alarming, as 
 it has never been known to hurt the hu- 
 man species. It is, nevertheless, a mortal 
 enemy to birds generally, and to the smal- 
 ler kinds of animals, which it usually 
 swallows entire. 
 
 The woods abound with almost every 
 kind of the Lizard tribe; and the Guana, 
 or Iguana, which, next to the alligator, 
 may be viewed as the largest of this class, 
 is eagerly sought as a peculiar delicacy. 
 The Basilisk, in appearance the most dis- 
 gusting of this unsightly family, is like- 
 wise common. It invariably flies the 
 approach of man, and appears but to 
 direct its hostility again the insects which 
 seem to have been appointed for its 
 support. 
 
 Of the inferior species of Lizard, he 
 
128 BRITISH SETTLEMENT 
 
 Galley-wasp, and the Wood-slave, are the 
 only kinds in this country that have the 
 reputation of being venomous; the former, 
 however, is thought particularly so, and 
 much dreaded. They both are the fre- 
 quent inhabitants of old buildings. But 
 much the greater part of this very nume- 
 rous class will be found, if prejudice can 
 be surmounted, and the least encourage- 
 ment be extended towards them, the most 
 inoffensive little creatures in nature, and 
 that may even be soon brought into a state 
 of playful familiarity. 
 
 In conclusion it may be observed, that 
 it would greatly exceed the limits of any 
 undertaking which had not professedly 
 embarked on the subject, to point out, 
 from a mass so infinite, the individual ob- 
 jects most entitled to investigation. This, 
 therefore, is left to more competent 
 ability, with the unaspiring, but sincere 
 hope, that whatever may be found imper- 
 
OF HONDURAS. 
 
 129 
 
 feet in the foregoing sketches of .the vege- 
 table and animal economy of an highly 
 interesting part of the world, may be 
 early supplied by superior science and 
 industry. 
 
SKETCHES 
 
 OF THE 
 
 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS 
 
 OF THE 
 
 MOSQUITO INDIANS, 
 
 MADE DURING A SHORT RESIDENCE AMONGST THEM 
 
 IN THE YEAR 1804 ; 
 
 PRECEDED BE THE JOURNAL OF A VOYAGE TO THE 
 MOSQUITO SHORE. 
 
 Juvat integros accedere fontes 
 
 Atque baurire Lucretius. 
 
JOURNAL 
 
 0 * 
 
 A VOYAGE 
 
 TO THE 
 
 MOSQUITO SHORE. 
 
 Thursday, September the 27th, at 
 two in the afternoon, I sailed from Balize 
 in the bay of Honduras, on board the 
 schooner Huntress, for the Mosquito shore, 
 having under my charge a variety of pre- 
 sents ordered by government for the chiefs 
 of the above nation. The companions of 
 my voyage were, an Indian Major, named 
 Hall, about six or seven men of his country, 
 and a 1 ike number of Char aihes, wh o acc om* 
 panied us in a small open boat. The last. 
 
134 VOYAGE TO THE 
 
 I may observe, are the remains of a race' 
 of people now almost extinct, the aborigi- 
 nal inhabitants of some of the West India 
 islands, particularly that of St. Vincent. 
 Before sun set we had passed many of the 
 numerous keys of the Bay, and at the close 
 of the evening, were abreast of the larger 
 one of TurnefF. At eight we came to an 
 anchor for the night off Key Bokel. 
 
 Friday, 28th. — An hour after day-liglit 
 we got under weigh. The morning dark 
 and heavy, with rain and thunder. Our 
 wind fair, with a good deal of sea. To- 
 wards noon the weather became fine and 
 clear. Bush Key in sight on our lee quar- 
 ter, Glover's reef on our lee bow, and the 
 high mountains of the continent to the 
 north-west. About three we went on 
 shore on Glover's Key, which is c ontiguous 
 to the reef; wehad previously caught, whilst 
 sailing, several remarkably large fine fish. 
 On this Key we obtained an abundant 
 supply of cocoa nuts, and 1 plenty of dif- 
 
MOSQUITO SHORE. 135 
 
 ferent kinds of shell fish. We returned 
 on board to dinner at four, and imme- 
 diately after put to sea. Before dark we 
 took the Charaibes in tow, they having 
 expressed their apprehension of parting 
 from us, and falling in with the Spaniards, 
 whom they consider their most implacable 
 foes. Our favourable weather continued 
 during the night. 
 
 Saturday, 29th. — At sun rise becalmed, 
 with heavy rain. At ten a breeze favoured 
 us, and shortly after the high mountain 
 of Congrehoy shewed itself, bearing from 
 us about southrsouth-east. At one, the 
 island of Ruatan directly a head in a south- 
 east direction, and that of Utila to the 
 south-west. In the afternoon becalmed, 
 distant from Ruatan about three miles; 
 becalmed also during the greater part of 
 the night. 
 
 Sunday, 30th. — For the most part of 
 the day the calm continued. At ten we 
 dispatched the Charaibes on shore at 
 3 
 
136 VOYAGE TO THE 
 
 /* 
 
 Ruatan for cocoa nuts. From the sea 
 this island appears singularly rich and 
 beautiful. It is entirely covered with 
 trees, of which the cocoa flut is the most 
 common. Oaks, pines, and many others of 
 various descriptions are also abundanton it. 
 Ruatan is considerably larger than many 
 of the West India islands which are cul- 
 tivated. Its soil, and the natural advan- 
 tages connected with it, might perhaps 
 be found in no degree inferior to any of 
 them. It abounds with deer, wild-hogs, 
 Indian rabbits, and birds of many species; 
 parrots are innumerable, and their inces- 
 sant noisy chattering may be heard a 
 considerable distance from the shore. 
 The Spaniards have a kind of military 
 station, or look-out post, on this island : 
 this, however, may rather be considered 
 as intended to establish their right to it 
 by occupancy than as a means of defence, 
 as the force does not consist of more than 
 five or six men. Towards the evening a 
 
MOSQUITO SHORE. I3f 
 
 breeze springing up, we once more pur- 
 sued our course, and shortly afterward* 
 cleared Ruatan, and passed the small ad- 
 joining islands of Helene, Moratte, and 
 Barbarette ; these may be deemed only as 
 detached parts of the former, being 
 merely separated from it, and from each 
 other, by a narrow channel of the sea. 
 At sun set, we saw the island of Bonacca, 
 distant about eight leagues. During the 
 whole of the night the wind was adverse, 
 and the Charaibes had nearly parted 
 from us, the tow-line of their boat having 
 broke, 
 
 Monday, 30th.— Off the north side of 
 Bonacca at day break. A fresh gale from 
 the south-east with a long heavy sea roll- 
 ing. At nine went on shore. The Cha- 
 raibes employed the whole forenoon re- 
 pairing their vessel. Some of the Indians, 
 almost as soon as we had landed, went 
 into the bushes and shot several large 
 parrots. The part of the island we 
 
138 
 
 VOYAGE TO THE 
 
 were on was highly romantic and pictu- 
 resque, and, like Ruatan, profusely covered 
 with trees. Its natural productions ap- 
 peared nearly the same. The little bay 
 in which we anchored was of great depth, 
 and so transparent that the shell fish and 
 coral rocks at the bottom might be clearly 
 discerned. On this island we found the 
 flies and mosquitoes intolerably trouble- 
 some. At four we were again unde 
 weigh, having previously dispatched the 
 CharaibeS before us. Towards evening 
 we wore round Bonacca, our wind blow- 
 ing fresh from the south-east, with much 
 sea. Vivid lightning during the greater 
 part of the night. 
 
 Tuesday, Oct. 1st. — At sun rise six 
 leagues from Bonacca; wind blowing 
 hardfromthe north-east, andTruxillobear- 
 ing from us about south. At ten we cast 
 off the Charaibes with some of the Indians 
 to make their way along shore. The main 
 land in a south-east direction from us, 
 
MOSQUITO SHORE. 
 
 139 
 
 and distant about eight leagues. The 
 wind increased considerably at sun-set, 
 and, as on the preceding night, the sea 
 ran high. During the night we got round 
 the point of Black-river. It may be 
 observed, that on this river there was 
 formerly an English Settlement, and very 
 extensive plantations of sugar, coffee, &c. 
 
 Wednesday 2d. — Early in the morn- 
 ing we were close in with the low lands 
 which approximate the Mosquito coun- 
 try. From eight until eleven becalmed, 
 when we were favoured with a strong sea 
 breeze. The whole of the day we coasted 
 along the sea beech, which extends many 
 miles, and is skirted with a continued 
 grove of palmetto trees. About eight 
 in the evening one of our Indian compa- 
 nions, flushed, not with the Tuscan grape, 
 but with new Jamaica rum, fell overboard, 
 but being a most expert swimmer, as 
 indeed are the whole of his countrymen, 
 he supported himself with little difficulty 
 
140 
 
 VOYAGE TO THE 
 
 until we hoisted out our boat and got hire 
 again on board. 
 
 Thursday,3d.- — This morningbeealmed. 
 A boat with Charaibes visited us from the 
 shore. On its leaving us I dispatched a 
 message to General Robinson, the prin- 
 cipal of the chiefs with whom my business 
 lay, announcing my being near the place 
 of our destination, and requesting that 
 he, with the rest of the chiefs, would give 
 me an early meeting. Towards the mid 
 die of the day we had a pleasant breeze 
 from the north-west, and passed the mouth 
 df the river Patook. Our course still con- 
 tinued along the shore, which appeared 
 entirely level with scarcely the interrup- 
 tion of an hillock At noon we were 
 abreast of the plantations of our fellow 
 voyager. Major Hall, and discovered some 
 of his people at work on his grounds. 
 The counte nances of the Indians on board 
 brightened at being again so near their 
 home. At seven we reached the entrance 
 
MOSQUITO SHORE. 
 
 141 
 
 of the Sound or Lagoon of Caratasea. 
 Darkness, however, prevented our crossing 
 the bar, and we came to an anchor for 
 the night, and a most unpleasant one 
 it proved, from a heavy swelling sea, 
 which occasioned our little vessel to roll 
 intolerably. 
 
 Friday, 4th. — We got up our anchor 
 at seven, but almost immediately after- 
 wards it fell calm. A breefce again favour- 
 ed us af eleven, and relieved us from the 
 most violent heat that perhaps was ever 
 felt. We passed the bar in a short time 
 and entered the Lagoon of Caratasea, and 
 had to beat up the remainder of our 
 voyage, a distance of about two leagues, 
 in a course directly contrary to the one 
 we had pursued previous to entering it. 
 It was almost the same as going back by 
 the same sea, the space of land dividing 
 the navigation we had left from that we 
 were in not being more than a few hund- 
 red yards. We came to an anchor off tire 
 
142 VOYAGE TO THE 
 
 Settlement of Crata at five. The Mos- 
 quito Indians have ether settlements on 
 every side of the sound. This terminated 
 our little voyage, which did> not prove of 
 as short duration as on setting out I was 
 given to expect. Caratasca Lagoon is 
 considered by the natives a day s journey 
 in length : its breadth, which is nearly 
 equal throughout, may be computed at 
 about ten miles; it is shallow, and only 
 navigable for. vessels of small burthen. 
 On landing, I was immediately received 
 by a Captain Potts, a man of some con- 
 sequence in the Settlement of Grata,’ with 
 most expressive marks of friendship and 
 regard, and conducted by him to his habi- 
 tation. The whole of the inhabitants of 
 the Settlement soon crowded round me, 
 and from all I could discover the same 
 signs of welcome. An excellent supper 
 of fowls, eggs, plantains, and the root of 
 the Cassava, was expeditiously prepared, 
 and I do not recollect that I ever made a 
 
MOSQUITO SHORE. 
 
 143 
 
 meal with more entire enjoyment. I 
 passed the night with my Indian friend. 
 Captain Potts appeared about sixty years 
 of age, and a more kind, amiable being I 
 never met with. His attentions and hos- 
 pitality were unceasing. He had three 
 wives ; the eldest seemed of the same years 
 with himself ; the youngest certainly not 
 more than sixteen; the other might be 
 taken at the medium age of both. 
 
 Saturday, 5th.— As soon as I had break- 
 fasted, I was informed that a house had 
 been prepared for me to occupy during 
 my stay. Few houses, I believe, had 
 ever been raised with more expedition. 
 It was begun and finished in one night; 
 and although not after any known design 
 of architecture, it was comfortable and 
 commodious, sufficiently proof against the 
 weather, and affording every requisite 
 convenience for myself and servants. Of 
 the latter I never stood in less need, for 
 the unremitted assiduity of the people of 
 
144 
 
 VOYAGE TO THE 
 
 tlie country to be useful to me would 
 scarcely allow of their interference in 
 any thing. In the course of the day,, 
 numbers that I had not seen on my arrival, 
 living contiguous to Crata, came and paid 
 their respects, bringing presents of hogs, 
 poultry, &c. &c. I invited three of the 
 principal men to dine with me. After 
 our meal was concluded, I gave several 
 toasts expressive of regard for their nation 
 and for perpetuating a good understand- 
 ing between it and my own ; all of which 
 they perfectly understood and received 
 with high marks of approbation. 
 
 Sunday 6th. — The principal Mosquito 
 chiefs not arriving as I expected, in the 
 forenoon I dispatched other messengers to 
 hasten them. During the remainder of 
 the day I amused mysolf with short ram- 
 bles round the Settlement of Crata, and 
 was much delighted with the simple and 
 rural appearance of the Indian dwellings, 
 gnd the very pleasing scenery which every 
 
MOSQUITO SHORE. 
 
 145 
 
 where presented itself. I eagerly wished 
 for the tasteful pencil of a Gilpin to de- 
 lineate some of the many agreeable sub- 
 jects before me; for, without the language 
 of affectation, most of them were wholly 
 worthy of it. At dinner I again enter- 
 tained some of the natives, and the day 
 terminated as happily as th$ preceding 
 one had done. 
 
 Monday, 7th. — Early this morning I 
 had the whole of the presents brought 
 on shore. My visitors very much in- 
 creased, and at a little past four, I had 
 the honour to receive the expected visit 
 of General Robinson. I was greatly 
 pleased with the affability of his deport- 
 ment, and the evident satisfaction he dis- 
 covered at our meeting. His suite was 
 numerous, &nd the persons who composed 
 it conducted themselves towards him with 
 the most perfect respect and deference. 
 The General, as well as most of his at- 
 tendants, was dressed in British regimen- 
 
146 VOYAGE TO THE 
 
 tals, with epaulettes, sword, sash, &c^ 
 He appeared about thirty years of age, 
 of pleasing features, a strong but active 
 form, and somewhat above the middle 
 height. He seemed likewise possessed 
 of that which is not by any means cha- 
 racteristic of the Indian, an energetic 
 and vigorous disposition. Many of the 
 Mosquito people are of a mixed breed, 
 between that of the aborigines and the 
 African of the Samba country. General 
 Robinson is entirely of Indian descent. 
 The mixed race, however, is considered 
 more active, industrious, and enterpriz- 
 ingthan the aboriginal. 
 
 Tuesday, 8th. — Immediately after 
 
 breakfast, invariably an early one, I 
 have always found my house filled with 
 visitors since I came to the Settlement ; 
 and to such unfashionable lengths were 
 these calls extended, that they regularly 
 continued until bed-time. Under such 
 trials, it may very well be believed, my 
 
MOSQUITO SHORE, 1 47 
 
 patience must frequently have undergone 
 somewhat too much for endurance. The 
 remainder of the persons with whom I 
 had business came in during the day, I 
 accordingly appointed the next for the 
 distribution of the presents. A measure 
 which did not appear displeasing to the 
 greater number of those who had been 
 first with me, for I could often discover 
 many an anxious and impatient eye di- 
 rected towards the several packages which 
 lay confusedly scattered about within my 
 dwelling. 
 
 Wednesday, 9th. — -As it might be ex- 
 pected, my appointment of yesterday 
 produced an early assemblage of the men 
 of Garatasea Sound this forenoon. Im- 
 mediately after their arrival I concluded 
 my business with them. But I must ob- 
 serve, that on this occasion like most 
 others of the same description, the ray 
 of content did not beam from every eye. 
 I could plainly discern several, whoseera- 
 
 l 2 
 
148 VOYAGE TO THE 
 
 ed to consider the favours of my country 
 by no means proportionate to their expec- 
 tation or merit. This no doubt would 
 alike have happened,, had the gifts with 
 which I was entrusted been much more 
 numerous and valuable. By the aid of 
 that, however, which often makes man 
 in more tutored situations forget the 
 frowns of fortune, a liberal distri- 
 bution of promise, I was soon suc- 
 cessful enough to remove every appear- 
 ance of dissatisfaction. An ox having 
 been slaughtered for the occasion, I had 
 as many as my house could contain to dine 
 with me, and every thing passed with en- 
 tire harmony. I cannot omit remarking 
 that the greater part of my guests, if not 
 tastefully or fashionably dressed, were at 
 least splendidly and variously so. I 
 really believe the entire costume of Eu- 
 rope, civil and military, for the last hun- 
 dred years, might at one view have pre- 
 sented itself at my table. And whatever 
 
MOSQUITO SHORE. 
 
 149 
 
 was once thought gay and ornamental 
 in the brilliant and refined circles of 
 London or Versailles* might perhaps be 
 now considered equally so on the . less 
 polished shore of Caratasca. It often 
 had been matter of surprise with me* to 
 what earthly mart the venders of cast-off 
 gaieties in London could consign the odd 
 articles frequently decorating their doors : 
 this astonishment ceased* the moment 
 my company had collected in the Mos- 
 quito nation. 
 
 Thursday* 10th. — The Indian Chiefs* 
 with their interpreter* assembled together 
 this forenoon for the purpose of framing a 
 suitable acknowledgment for the regard 
 that had been shewn them by the British 
 government. I obtained this in the after- 
 noon* when I gave them to understand 
 that my departure would take place with 
 all .expedition. General Robinson pre- 
 sented me with a horse : I had previously 
 requested his acceptance of a pair of pis- 
 
 7 
 
150 VOYAGE TO THE 
 
 tols, my gorget, and some other trifles ; 
 I had also disposed of a few little matters 
 amongst his officers. We again dined to- 
 gether ; and the expressions of regret from 
 all around me at my being about to leave 
 the country entirely satisfied me that 
 my conduct had not been displeasing to 
 them. 
 
 Friday, 1 1th. — Occupied the chief part 
 of the forenoon in making arrangements 
 for sea. The weather, however, proved 
 quite unfavourable to our getting off. It 
 rained heavily, with thunder ; it had thun- 
 dered with much violence almost every 
 day since my arrival. Many of the In- 
 dians returning to their homes came and 
 took leave of me. 
 
 Saturday, 12th. — The weather boister- 
 ous and wet. This might truly be de- 
 nominated a day of ennui ; and though 
 within the tropics, the overpowering in- 
 fluence of a November day in England 
 Was perhaps never more strongly felt. 
 
MOSQUITO SHORE. 
 
 151 
 
 Sunday 13. — The weather continued 
 .entirely against our putting to sea. Du- 
 ring the whole of the night it literally 
 rained torrents. The heaviest rains in 
 Europe might be considered April show- 
 ers compared to the sheets of water which 
 fell here. My roof, though of thatch, 
 resisted the storm surprizingly ; but I was 
 not quite so fortunate in other respects, 
 two sides of my dwelling being entirely 
 open, and one of them on the quarter 
 whence the storm came, it, meeting there 
 no opposition, deluged me completely. 
 To add to the unpleasantness of the 
 whole, vivid lightning, accompanied by 
 the most awful thunder, continued in- 
 cessantly until day-break. About three 
 the sky became clear, and assumed a mild- 
 er appearance, the wind being likewise 
 fair, we took our departure from Crata. 
 The natives, on my parting with them, 
 gave me every assurance of their wishes 
 that my voyage might be prosperous and 
 
152 VOYAGE TO THE 
 
 short, and that an opportunity might 
 speedily occur of my being deputed to 
 visit them again. We crossed the Lagoon 
 of Caratasca in a short time, where I 
 had an appointment with General Robin- 
 son, and others of the Chiefs, to receive 
 some presents of stock, &c. &c. for Col. 
 
 B , and came to anchor for the night, 
 
 I omitted to mention, that on getting 
 under weigh and hoisting our colours, 
 the inhabitants of Crata gave us a salute 
 of musquetry, which our small party in- 
 stantly returned. 
 
 Monday, 14th. — Early this morning 
 General Robinson came on board our 
 vessel, and shortly afterwards I accom- 
 panied him on shore. Whilst the matters 
 I had to take with me were collecting, I 
 amused myself with a walk of about a 
 mile through a spacious savanna, and the 
 scenery on this side the Lagoon certainly 
 greatly surpassed that we had left on the 
 other. This savanna, for a very con-' 
 
MOSQUITO SHORE. 153 
 
 siderable extent, formed an entire level 
 of continued verdure, and of the finest 
 pasturage ; skirted on one side by the 
 water of the Lagoon, and bounded on the 
 other by gentle rising hills. The clumps 
 of pine and other lofty trees irregularly 
 interspersed over the whole gave the view 
 all the appearance of cultivated art, and 
 afforded a most agreeable relief to the 
 eye. At the foot of the hills, the wood 
 in places thickening, almost deluded 
 the imagination to conceive, that in the 
 bosom of these sequestered groves might 
 be found the ornamental dwelling of some 
 tasteful owner. But awaking from this, 
 here all was Nature ; 
 
 The negligence of Nature, wide and wild, 
 Where undisguised by mimic Art she spreads 
 Unbounded beauty to the roving eye. Thomson. 
 
 Where even man acknowledges her almost 
 uncontrolled sway. At twelve I again em- 
 barked, when we shaped our course for the 
 entrance of the Lagoon, where we arrived at 
 
154 VOYAGE TO THE 
 
 dusk, and came to anchor for the night ; 
 hut such a night ! Scarcely had I attempt- 
 ed to close my eyes, when a myriad of 
 musquitoes and tormenting flies of every 
 description found their way on board 
 our vessel, and gave me feelingly to un- 
 derstand that it would be vain to seek 
 The timely dew of sleep. 
 
 Tuesday, 15th. — The forenoon em- 
 ployed in making preparation for sea. 
 Several of the Indians whom I had part- 
 ed with a few days before, met me 
 at our anchorage, and brought with them 
 presents of fruits and vegetables. The 
 wind being unfair we remained stationary 
 for the night, and, as on the one preced- 
 ing, were again visited by our enemies the 
 flies. That we should be troubled with 
 such company did not appear extraor- 
 dinary, when we discovered that the poor 
 natives, in whole families, were forced 
 every night during our stay to quit their 
 habitations on the shore, where the in- 
 convenience was yet felt in a more 
 
MOSQUITO SHORE. 
 
 155 
 
 severe degree, to sleep in tlieir little 
 barks on the water, to escape such 
 horrid torments. Frequently there were 
 not fewer than eight or ten of these 
 boats around our vessel, and some of 
 them containing not less than fifteen 
 persons ; their bed, a few loose leaves ; 
 their covering, the heavens. 
 
 Wednesday, 16th. — The sea deities 
 have never shewn the smallest kindness 
 for me. Ever awaited by foul winds ; 
 and who would not complain of foul 
 winds in the latitude of 16° 20' in a vessel 
 of twelve tons, my allotment of it a space 
 of six feet byfour, and with no alternative 
 but of incurring the danger of breaking 
 my neck, or of continually remaining 
 prostrate ? In such a situation, who would 
 deny the natural propriety of the Eastern 
 squat, or could help becoming a con- 
 vert to the singular opinions of Wortley 
 Montague ? 
 
 Thursday, 17th.— A sleepless night; 
 
1 5(3 
 
 VOYAGE TO THE 
 
 not a moment’s truce with the flies. The 
 wind still blowing from the exact quarter 
 to which our course must be shaped. My 
 stock of patience being quite exhaust- 
 ed, I wa& about having recourse to phi-, 
 losophy, but, happily there was not 
 any occasion for it, as at the moment the 
 breeze became somewhat more kind, and 
 we were about putting to sea : again arose 
 a difficulty — our vessel fast aground — now 
 she was off, and then the wind again was 
 foul. 
 
 Friday, 18 th. — About the middle of 
 last night, the horse I had received as a 
 present from General Fobinson, disliking 
 his situation certainly more than I did 
 mine, bad as I found it, jumped over- 
 board. With much difficulty we got him 
 in again, and to prevent any further des- 
 perate attempts of the kind, secured him 
 with strong ropes. One of my Indian 
 friends of Grata, learning our deten- 
 tion, kindly sent the half of a fine hog. 
 
MOSQUITO SHORE. 
 
 157 
 
 It came most opportunely, and prevented 
 a sentence being carried into execution, 
 which had been previously passed on 
 some of the poultry in our coops. 
 
 Saturday, 19th. — Our prospect not 
 
 amending, the captain of our vessel sug- 
 gested a return to our former station, the 
 Indian Settlement. ■' What is the life of 
 man! Is it not to shift from side to side; 
 from sorrow to sorrow? To button up 
 one cause of vexation, and to unbutton 
 another?” So writes Sterne, and who 
 can disagree with him ? Hope prevail- 
 ing that a change might suddenly happen 
 in our favour, we remained at our an- 
 chorage. 
 
 Sunday, 20th. "j 
 
 Monday, 21st. > At anchor. 
 
 Tuesday, 22d.J 
 
 Wednesday, 23d.— At noon, the wea- 
 ther looking more kind, and the wind 
 proving less adverse, we weighed anchor, 
 and once more passed the bar of Cara- 
 
158 VOYAGE TO THE 
 
 tasca. On the outside of it, we found a 
 very heavy sea, but our breeze proving 
 yet more fair, this was no very painful 
 inconvenience. 
 
 Thursday, 24th. — Light showers during 
 the morning, with a moderate breeze from 
 the east-south-east. The remainder of the 
 day fine and pleasant. At night the wind 
 was entirely against us. 
 
 Friday, 25th. — The wind from the 
 north-east, with much sea. Bonacca in 
 sight, bearing from us north-west, distant 
 about five leagues. At twelve becalmed, 
 with rain and thunder. Towards evening, 
 we had a breeze which soon increased to 
 a gale, and that blew during the whole 
 night with great violence. The rain 
 fell in torrents, and the sea continually 
 breaking over our small, vessel rendered 
 our situation extremely unpleasant. I 
 have before mentioned my circum- 
 scribed sphere on board, a space of six 
 feet by four; this could not be found 
 
MOSQUITO SHORE. 
 
 lo9 
 
 Very agreeable during our finest weather, 
 but how much worse did it prove this 
 night, when the hatches were neces- 
 sarily forced to be closed? but which, 
 though I was nearly deprived of the 
 power of respiration, did not prevent my 
 being almost drowned with sea and rain. 
 
 Saturday, 26th. — The storm did not 
 abate until the afternoon of this day, at 
 which time we made the small island of 
 Barbarette, not without some danger, from 
 the violence of the sea and the narrowness 
 of a passage between the rocks. We 
 gained a tolerably good anchorage, and 
 the weather still appearing relentless, I 
 went on shore and built a hut on the 
 beach. This was reared in a few mi- 
 nutes : it required only a few posts, and 
 the leaves of the cocoa-nut tree, or of the 
 palmetto ; and such materials were every 
 where around us. We had good fires* 
 made, cooked a rough repast, and prepared 
 for sleep. I do not know hoiv matters 
 
160 
 
 VOYAGE TO THE 
 
 were with my fellow voyagers, but it fared 
 rather indifferently with myself. It con* 
 tinned to rain heavily during the night, 
 and the ground, and leaves which formed 
 my bed, 'being Extremely wet, rendered 
 
 -f ’ r ? 
 
 my situation cold, damp, and uncom- 
 fortable. 
 
 , 6 i f 
 
 Sunday, 27th.— -The storm returned 
 with added violence. Our little encamp- 
 ment, if not thoroughly weather proof, 
 was at least more pleasant than remaining 
 on board. Some of the Indians rambling 
 this forenoon along the sea beach, met 
 with a fortunate, though here not an 
 uncommon prize, a nest of turtle's eggs 
 containing about 150. One of the sol- 
 diers along with me also shot an Indian 
 rabbit, an animal something larger Ilian 
 a hare, the flesh of which is considered 
 very delicate. We rested on the island 
 arid rather in a better way than on the 
 preceding night. 
 
 Monday 28th. — During the forenoon 
 
ItosQurro shore. 161 
 
 I endeavoured to make some way on Bar- 
 barette, and, if possible, to ascend the high 
 hills which immediately overtopped our 
 station. However, I soon found this im- 
 practicable, from the extremely thick 
 underwood which in every direction op- 
 posed my progress. With considerable 
 reluctance I was therefore forced at a 
 late hour to abandon the attempt. 
 
 Tuesday, 29th. — Were it not for that 
 fertile and never-failingtheme, the weather, 
 of what would the greater part of the nar- 
 ratives of most voyagers and travellers con- 
 sist? And certainly on this occasion, ours 
 has been as various as the most epicurean 
 Weather-monger could wish. It rained 
 throughout the night, and our lodging 
 was in no shape enviable. As well as 
 we were able, we endeavoured, however, 
 to remain content ff with our hard fate 
 on the cold ground.” I before mentioned 
 the danger we were in from the sea and 
 rocks of Barbarette; my occasional walks 
 
 M 
 
162 VOYAGE TO THE 
 
 along the beach have fully discovered, 
 that our escape may not be considered the 
 least fortunate event ; hulls, masts, spars, 
 &c. &c. the vestiges of former shipwreck, 
 presenting themselves in every direction. 
 The disappointment I felt yesterday fore- 
 noon, in not being able to gain the high 
 land, served but to increase my ardour for 
 another attempt this day. This was 
 greatly encouraged at noon by the wea- 
 ther turning out particularly fine. An 
 Indian bore me company, but not in the 
 way of guide, as he was quite as ignorant 
 of the way of ascending as myself. After 
 a walk of about a mile and half along the 
 beach, in a contrary course to the one I 
 had pursued the day before, we came to 
 the rocks, and here, although our progress 
 seemed less difficult fo the eye, it scarcely 
 presented fewer obstacles to the feet. 
 Difficulties, however, sink before deter- 
 mination. I was resolved to mount : to it 
 therefore I went with hands and knees* 
 
MOSQUITO SHORE. 
 
 163 
 
 After some trouble, I gained a firm station 
 on a tolerable eminence : and without 
 resorting to the extravagant and affected 
 language sometimes used on similar occa* 
 sions, I might truly say, the whole was 
 enchantingly beautiful and picturesque. 
 The spot on which I stood might be con- 
 nected with a space of somewhat more 
 than half an acre, entirely clear of trees> 
 growing with high and luxuriant grass. 
 Beyond this the whole became a thick 
 continued grove, 
 
 t£ Where scarce a speck of day 
 
 Falls on the lengthen’d gloom.” Thomson. 
 
 At the bottom of the rock, the 
 sea rolled with loud and haughty 
 sway : and the confused masses of stone, 
 which lay scattered about, at once con* 
 fessed its uncontrollable dominion. 
 
 Immediately opposite to this part of 
 the island of Barbarette, at the distance of 
 about a league, is placed the small adjoin- 
 
 m 2 
 
VOYAGE TO THE 
 
 J64 
 
 ing island of Moratte. On the souths* 
 east as far as the eye could reach, the 
 high dark mountains of the continent in 
 the neighbourhood of Truxillo terminated 
 the view. In every other direction, the 
 rest was sea. My curiosity not being yet 
 satisfied, on looking around me my am-> 
 bition aimed at a greater height : this 
 could not he accomplished without first 
 descending and searching another way up 
 the rocks, a few hundred yards further 
 along the shore, and this offered itself. I 
 Once more, hut with increased difficulty, 
 and certainly with much more danger, 
 ascended : and if every thing before was 
 pleasing, here all was grand. The height 
 I gained was considerable: the objects 
 below me had become quite diminished, 
 whilst the sea rolled with added violence, 
 and the rented crags seemed armed with 
 terrors, which below, or in getting up, 
 I did not discover or< feel. I omit the 
 description of Dover-cliff on this occa- 
 3 
 
MOSQUITO SHORE. 
 
 165 
 
 sion, and abstain from recounting the 
 precise number of scrapes and scratches 
 which awaited my progress. The former 
 is regularly served up whenever a hill or 
 mountain is spoken of, frohi the one of 
 Highgate to those of the Andes. The 
 very pleasing way in which the greater 
 part of this day had been occupied al- 
 most compensated for all that had proved 
 unpleasant during my voyage. 
 
 Wednesday, 30th. — Last night, the 
 most flattering signs of change were be- 
 fore us. At day-break, the whole had 
 vanished, and heavy gusts of wind with 
 rain gave us feelingly to understand that 
 our departure from Barbarette would be 
 further protracted. To add to our other 
 complaints, we , were assailed in our hut 
 by a host of uncommonly large ants, 
 which proved altogether as troublesome 
 as the flies of Garatasca. At noon the 
 weather clearing, I again sallied forth, 
 but a fresh storm arising, I was soon 
 
166 
 
 VOYAGE TO THE 
 
 obliged to return. My excursion how- 
 ever, short as it was, did not terminate 
 without an adventure. One of my ser- 
 vants, a few paces before me, passing 
 through a thicket to avoid being too near 
 the edge of a projecting rock, suddenly 
 darted back with a loud exclamation. On 
 my examining into the cause of this, the 
 man certainly had very fair occasion for so 
 violent an expression of his fears: he had 
 just escaped the danger of placing his 
 foot on the largest snake I ever beheld. It 
 lay half hidden in the grass. 
 
 £ In labyrinth of many a round self-roll’d.’ Milton. 
 
 We instantly destroyed the reptile with 
 an Indian lance I had with me. The ex- 
 treme bulk of it occasioned me to have 
 it dragged to our hut and opened, when 
 we found in its inside an Indian rabbit 
 entire. I have before remarked that this 
 animal is about the size of an English 
 
 o 
 
 hare; and this did not appear a small 
 
MOSQUITO SHORE. 
 
 167 
 
 1 
 
 specimen of the kind. Certainly the 
 power of fascination, as it is contended, 
 hr a very extraordinary share of stratagem, 
 must he the natural property of some spe- 
 cies of the snake; or why animals, at 
 least as wary, and certainly possessed of 
 much superior powers of swiftness, are 
 thus surprised, must occasion some as- 
 tonishment. 
 
 Thursday, 31st. — Yesterday completed 
 our eighth day since we departed from 
 the mouth of Caratasca Lagoon. With 
 a tolerably fair wind, it is little more than 
 a day’s sail from the place we were now 
 at. And what I had feared would be the 
 Consequence of so tedious a voyage began 
 now to present itself, a scarcity of provi- 
 sions. But an excursion of some of the 
 Indians, my fellow voyagers, into the woods 
 was attended this forenoon with particu- 
 larly good fortune. They returned with 
 ho less than five wild hogs. (< Not larger 
 or fatter ever ranged the Lucanian forests.” 
 
168 VOYAGE TO THU 
 
 To.jan Indian the alternate vicissitudes . of 
 fasting and feasting are common occur- 
 rences. ...Those with me, for some days, 
 had partaken rather largely of the former 
 dish ; chance having now placed one of 
 more substantial shape before them, they 
 determined not to let the advantage escape 
 them. The five hogs were barbecued at 
 once— a Roman meal ! 
 
 The, company collected round an im- 
 mense fire, in front of my habitation. 
 An Indian youth regaled his fellows with 
 a Ivme on an instrument peculiar to their 
 country. Much could not be said of 
 the sweetness of its tones, or the skill of 
 the performer on it ; but as they seemed 
 greatly delighted with both, that I was 
 not equally charmed, must in all proba- 
 bility have been owing to my want of ear 
 or taste for Mosquito music. Nor did 
 the repast ceasey day or, night, except 
 for the short intervals ‘ granted to sleep, 
 until the whole rwai co v nsum<bd. . There 
 
MOSQUITO SHORE. 
 
 169 
 
 are many modes of driving off care: some 
 do it by sleeping ; others attempt it by 
 drinking; an Indian does it effectually by 
 eating. 
 
 Friday, Nor, 1 } 0 „ the island of Bar- 
 Saturday, 2V 
 
 Sunday, 3 J 
 
 Monday, 4th. — Incessant storms of 
 wind and rain. “King William was of 
 
 On the island of Bar- 
 barette. 
 
 opinion, and please your honour, quoth 
 
 Trim, that every thing was predestined 
 for us in this world.” It has ever been 
 
 my fortune, in contradiction to every 
 wish of my own, to have something con- 
 tinually to do with the sea. Now had my 
 inclination -been in the least degree con- 
 sulted in this matter, it would, without 
 hesitation, have at once negatived my 
 ever putting foot on ship-board. I had 
 rather, were it possible, and the strength 
 and spirits were given me to support me 
 in the attempt, make the tour of the 
 world on foot, nay,, I had almost said, 
 
Voyage to the 
 
 170 
 
 barefooted, than pass the narrow strait 
 between Dover and Calais. During a 
 short Walk this morning, an old Indian 
 with a most woeful countenance told me 
 be was afraid Potpruan would seize the 
 whole of us, should we remain much long- 
 er on Barbarette. This was a most se- 
 rious piece of intelligence, for Potpruan 
 in the Mosquito vocabulary, is no less 
 a personage than Death, whose fell power 
 6ft 
 
 Shakes the feeble props of human trust. Pope. 
 
 I was half way on the same road of 
 thought before the old man opened his 
 mouth : this hurried me to the end of it 
 with precipitation. 
 
 Tuesday, 5th. — The night was passed 
 in my old residence, the hut on shore, 
 but without sleep during any portion of 
 it, owing to the vexatious torments of 
 a vile insect called the sand-fly. Such 
 now became my anxiety to make our way. 
 
MOSQUITO SHORE. 
 
 171 
 
 that this mornings though the wind was 
 far from fair, I suggested putting to sea. 
 We therefore quitted Barbarette at eleven, 
 and passed between it and the adjacent 
 island of Moratte. I have already ob- 
 served, that the passage between these 
 islands is narrow and hazardous, and that 
 none but small vessels can safely attempt 
 it. The reef which runs parallel with 
 them is also dangerous and rocky. The 
 sea on the outside ran extremely high ; 
 and the wind shortly after became 
 entirely opposed to us. By persevering, 
 however, we succeeded in again making 
 the larger island of Ruatan. Here our 
 further progress was suddenly stopped by 
 the breaking in two of our main-boom. 
 As it was now impossible to proceed, we 
 made the best way we could towards the 
 shore, to find a place of anchorage, that 
 we might repair our damage ; this was 
 gained about an hour after we had 
 met with our accident; and some of the 
 
172 VOYAGE TO TEE 
 
 Indians and myself went oil shore 
 with our guns in search of game: but the 
 discovery of some human tracks on the 
 sand caused my companions immediately 
 to decline the pursuit. The island of 
 Ruatan, as it has been previously remark- 
 ed, belongs to Spain, and on it is re- 
 tained a small military station. This cir- 
 cumstance instantly occasioned the Mos- 
 quito-men to determine, that the tracks 
 they had seen could be no other than those 
 of the Spaniards, and as quickly urged 
 them to return on board. 
 
 Wednesday, 6th. — The morning prov- 
 ing fine and pleasant, and our damage 
 being repaired, we lost no time in getting 
 under weigh. The course we pursued 
 lay close in with the shore; with any 
 other but a vessel of small burthen this 
 would have been impracticable from the 
 numerous coral-rocks in the passage. 
 The side of the island of Ruaian we passed 
 appeared hilly and covered, with wood. 
 
MOSQUITO SHOKU. 
 
 1 73 
 
 The continued length of the beach, which 
 is computed at 10 leagues, is an entire 
 grove of cocoa-nut trees. Towards the 
 middle of the day we were becalmed, 
 with rain and much heavy thunder. 
 
 Thursday, 7th.— At anchor off Ruatan. 
 
 Friday, 8th. — Morning. We remained 
 at anchor, but the weather considerably 
 amending about noon we once more put 
 to sea. The early part of the night was 
 fine and pleasant with a favourable breeze 
 from the N. E. Towards the middle of 
 it, the sky became thickly overcast,, and 
 the wind greatly increased. 
 
 Saturday, 9th. — At day-break it blew 
 a gale, but happily from the right quar- 
 ter. We were completely drenched from 
 the sea continually breaking over us. At 
 two in the afternoon, we once more dis- 
 covered Glover’s-reef immediately a-head 
 of us, and at four got to anchor at the key . 
 of the same name, the place we galled at 
 on our passage out, 
 
174 * 
 
 VOYAGE TO THE 
 
 Sunday, I Oth. — At anchor, the 
 
 wind blowing with great violence from 
 the N.N.W With a moderate and fair 
 breeze, we were now within eight hours 
 sail of the end of our voyage, a con- 
 viction that could not in any way con- 
 tribute to render the situation we were in 
 agreeable. The north-west winds, or 
 norths, as they are termed in this part of 
 the world, prevail at this season of the 
 year, and usually blow with little varia- 
 tion frequently for a continuance of 
 some, weeks. Yesterday finished my last 
 plantain ; to a single one I had been limit- 
 ed for several days, our bread having long 
 been expended. 
 
 Monday, llth.^ 
 
 Tuesday, J 2th. > At anchor. 
 
 Wednesday, 13th. J 
 Thursday, 14th. — This morning the 
 
 wind shifted a little in our favour, and 
 
 we were soon under sail. Shortly after- 
 wards the high mountains of the con- 
 
MOSQUITO SHORE. 
 
 175 
 
 tinent again appeared bearing from us 
 TV.S.W- The day continued fine until 
 towards evening, when it rained and thun- 
 dered. The wind not proving altogether 
 fair, we attempted to get under the main 
 land to catch the breeze from the shore, 
 and at day-break we were off the small 
 settlement of Mullin’s river, a distance of 
 about 20 leagues from our home. The 
 wind being now entirely against us, I 
 went on shore at this Settlement, and ob- 
 tained from the kindness and hospitality 
 of a mulatto woman, an inhabitant of it, 
 an excellent breakfast of tea, bread, 
 eggs, &c. The sameness, and I may 
 add, the spareness of the diet, on which 
 I had fared so many days before, gave 
 this repast a zest of unusual excellence. 
 But I cannot help most gratefully ob- 
 serving, that in the midst of so much 
 adverse weather, it must ever be con- 
 sidered a very fortunate circumstance, 
 that it awaited us in situations so happily 
 
17 6 VOYAGE TO THE 
 
 formed by nature for the convenience of 
 man. For of the different islands amongst 
 which we have been so many days delay- 
 ed, I believe scarcely one could be found 
 that would not be capable, from the fruits 
 with which at most seasons it abounds, of 
 affording him sustenance for a consider- 
 able time. 
 
 Friday, 15th. — After a night of much 
 anxiety, and tacking, returning day 
 brought to our view the pleasing sight of 
 Balize at a short distance ; and with it, 
 the still more agreeable prospect of a 
 speedy termination to our voyage. The 
 wind towards noon was entirely favour- 
 able. At three the anchor dropped. I 
 immediately landed, and as I walked to 
 head- quarters, felt still more confirmed in 
 my attachment to terra firma, and abhor- 
 rence of all maritime excursions. 
 
SKETCHES 
 
 OF THE 
 
 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS 
 
 OF THE 
 
 MOSQUITO INDIANS. 
 
 Peaceful beneath primeval trees——— 
 
 What is the world to them ? 
 
 Its pomp, its pleasure, and its nonsence all ! 
 
 Thomson-. 
 
 The Mosquito Indians inhabit a con 
 siderable space of country on the cop- 
 tinent of America, extending from Point 
 Castile, or Cape Honduras, the south- 
 ern point of the Bay of Truxillo, to 
 the northern branch of the river Ni- 
 caragua, called usually St. Juans ; and 
 
178 
 
 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS 
 
 comprehending within these limits nearly 
 100 leagues of land on the sea coast, from 
 latitude 11 to 16 deg. A chain of high 
 mountains may be considered as the na- 
 tural barrier between their nation and 
 the Spanish possessions in this part of 
 the world. 
 
 These people have long been in alliance 
 with the King of Great Britain, and en- 
 tertain generally a most exalted opinion 
 of the justice and magnanimity of the 
 English, and a perfect detestation of their 
 neighbours the Spaniards. A tradition 
 has long prevailed amongst them, that the 
 grey-eyed people, meaning the English, 
 have been particularly appointed to pro- 
 tect them from oppression or bondage. 
 And they may enviably be classed with 
 the very few tribes whose liberties have 
 remained uninterrupted by European ag- 
 gression on this side the Atlantic. 
 
 The soil they inhabit is abundantly 
 fertile, and capable of many modes of 
 
 3 
 
OF THE MOSQUITO INMANS, 179 
 
 cultivation. Indian corn of the finest 
 quality, plantains, cassava-root, varieties 
 of the yam and sweet potatoe, are plen- 
 tifully raised from it. The sugar-cane, 
 cotton, and tobacco, thrive equally well ; 
 and in the mountainous situations, coffee, 
 no doubt, might be produced, not in- 
 ferior to that which is raised in the West 
 India Islands. 
 
 In this country there is also plenty of 
 mahogany, and many other kinds of wood, 
 which might probably meet the purposes 
 of ornamental use extremely well. But 
 the entire want of harbours of sufficient 
 depth for any vessels but those of the smal- 
 est burthen, must prevent any material 
 advantage resulting from these sources. 
 Several species of dye-wood are likewise 
 found, some of which are used in colour- 
 ing a coarse kind of cloth, the manu- 
 facture of the natives.* 
 
 * We learn from Mr. Edwards, Hist. West 
 Indies, vol. i. p. 55, 56, that as early as the dis. 
 
180 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS 
 
 The rivers flowing through the exten- 
 sive country are very numerous, andmostof 
 them are navigable a considerable distance 
 for canoes or small vessels. The many 
 spacious Lagoons with which it abounds 
 render it in a picturesque point of view 
 singularly interesting. Fishes of infi- 
 nite variety are the inhabitants of both ; 
 and the neighbouring grounds abound 
 with deer, antelopes, warhee, and pec- 
 cary. Birds of various species, adorned 
 with all the richness of plumage so pe- 
 culiar to tropical situations, enliven every 
 
 coyery of Columbus, the people of the islands he 
 visited were found abundantly furnished with a- 
 substantial cotton cloth of native manufacture. 
 This they stained with various colours, but the 
 one they most admired was red. A common origin, 
 to go no further, may perhaps be affixed to the 
 early inhabitants of the different islands in this part 
 of the Western ^orld and the people of the adja- 
 cent continent, hence the striking conformity in 
 manners, customs, &c. which have been so fre- 
 quently traced as characteristic of both. 
 
OF THE MOSQUITO INDIANS. 181 
 
 spot. And the whole of these may be 
 viewed as almost holding an undisturbed 
 possession of their native haunts ; for ne- 
 cessity alone, and that of the most impe- 
 rious kind, can ever impel the Indian to 
 seek for either. 
 
 The cattle are small, but, from the 
 vast extent and excellence of the pas- 
 turage, the meat they supply is fat and 
 extremely well-flavoured. Horses are 
 also very numerous, and, though generally 
 small, not unhandsome. Hogs are raised 
 in extraordinary numbers ; and poultry 
 of all kinds is abundant and large. 
 
 Many of the Mosquito Indians are of 
 a mixed breed, between that of the abo- 
 riginal and the negro of the Samba coun- 
 try. Accident produced this variety, 
 from the circumstance of an African 
 slaVe-ship, many years past, having been 
 wrecked on their coast, from which se- 
 veral women were saved, and who were 
 
182 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS 
 
 immediately chosen by the natives for 
 wives. 
 
 The men in general are athletic and 
 well formed. Their stature, on an aver- 
 age, may be taken at from five feet six to 
 five feet ten. The women are frequently 
 handsome; their children, when young, 
 are particularly so. Their habits and inter- 
 course with each other denote much af- 
 fection, the old and the young being 
 found in continual association. 
 
 They wear little elothing. Seldom 
 any thing more, men and women, than 
 a small kind of wrapper, which reaches 
 from the lower part of the waist to the 
 middle of the thigh. On particular oc- 
 casions, the chief men usually appear 
 in British regimentals, the military titles 
 of which nation they invariably adopt. 
 Many of them hold commissions from the 
 Governor of J amaica, and from his Ma- 
 jesty s Superintendant of Honduras. The 
 
OF THE MOSQUITO INDIANS. 183 
 
 women are in the habit of decorating their 
 persons with a profusion of beads, to 
 which species of finery they are pas- 
 sionately attached, and very commonly 
 paint their faces and necks with a kind 
 of red ochre, which is found in their 
 country. Their children go entirely 
 naked; and, when young, are always 
 borne onthe back of the mother. Amongst 
 these people, all the offices of domestic 
 kind are exclusively performed by the 
 female : the male would be degraded by 
 such services. 
 
 The government of the Mosquito In- 
 diana is hereditary ; and a very exact and 
 perfect idea of the British law of suc- 
 cession is entertained by them. It is a 
 subject which engages much of their at- 
 tention from its having long been one of 
 close imitation amongst themselves. In- 
 deed, it would perhaps be found, that 
 many points of our doctrine of prirrio- 
 
184 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS 
 
 geniture are much more accurately un- 
 derstood by these people than by some that 
 are more immediately interested in such 
 discussions. It certainly is not unfrequent 
 to find Indians in this nation, at least 
 those of the superior class, capable of 
 discoursing on such topics with a precision 
 that might reflect no discredit on a civi- 
 lian. 
 
 The late King, George, was mur- 
 dered, and his death attributed very 
 openly to the designs of his brother. 
 Prince Stephen. The former was unal- 
 terably attached to the English ; the 
 latter, it is confidently pronounced, has 
 been seduced by bribery to very opposite 
 interests, and with which he has sedu- 
 lously attempted to infect his countrymen. 
 The schemes of Prince Stephen, how- 
 ever, have met with little success ; which 
 has principally arisen from the unremitted 
 and active vigilance of General Robinson, 
 
OF THE MOSQUITO INDIANS. 185 
 
 one of the next persons in point of conse- 
 quence to the royal family, and who con- 
 trives to preserve a kind of regency until 
 the son and heir of the late king shall 
 become of age to take upon himself the 
 business of government. The present 
 king is but a youth, and some years ago 
 was sent to Jamaica to be educated under 
 the direction and guidance of the Gover- 
 nor of that island. 
 
 The laws of these people are simple and 
 concise. The legislative and judicial 
 power, as it usually happens in nations 
 where no fixed principles of either have 
 been acquired, resides exclusively in the 
 will of him who governs. The king, or 
 chief, is completely despotic. Whenever 
 he dispatches a messenger, his commands 
 are always accompanied by his cane : this 
 token establishes the credibility of the bear- 
 er, and a sudden compliance with the pur- 
 port of his errand. In this way decrees 
 are enforced, the punishment due to 
 
186 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS 
 
 offence remitted, or the severest sen- 
 tence annexed to it carried into instant 
 execution.* 
 
 They have one law against adultery 
 which has something curious in it. The 
 fine imposed on the offender is, that he 
 pay the injured husband an ox. This 
 penalty the head man of the particular 
 tribe to which the adulterer belongs is 
 strictly bound by long custom to see 
 punctually complied with, or one of his 
 own cattle may be taken as a lawful indem- 
 nity. Should the latter happen, the chief 
 then exacts, as an equivalent for what he 
 loses by the offence, a stated period of ser- 
 vitude from the offender. 
 
 In this country there is neither priest, 
 physician, or lawyer ; but there is a pro- 
 fessor of another science, who commonly 
 unites the duties of the three ; this is the 
 Sokee, or Conjuror, a person of high im- 
 
 * See Robertson, Hist. America, Vol. iii. p. 
 
OF THE MOSQUITO INDIANS. 187 
 
 portance, and whose occult skill is ever 
 regarded with the deepest and most impli- 
 cit veneration. 
 
 They have no modes of public worship, 
 nor could any particular forms of religious 
 persuasion be found to prevail amongst 
 them. There is little doubt, however, of 
 their paying adoration to evil spirits, from 
 a singular belief which is entertained, that 
 they have much more inconvenience to 
 apprehend from the influence of the bad 
 than the good. 
 
 In common with most, if not with all 
 rude tribes, polygamy is freely allowed, 
 and a plurality of wives is the privilege 
 of every husband in the Mosquito nation; 
 but perhaps it has seldom been indulged 
 in equal extent in any country. Many 
 men here claim from two to six wives ; 
 few can be found satisfied with one: their 
 late king surpassed all his subjects in this 
 respect, he claimed no less than twenty 
 two ! His Mosquito Majesty might very 
 
188 MANNERS AND CUSTOM* 
 
 well have exclaimed with honest Laun- 
 celot — “ Alas ! fifteen wives is nothing.” 
 At the same time it may he observed, that 
 this circumstance is attended with far less 
 inconvenience than might possibly he 
 found annexed to it in most other situa- 
 tions, the numerous claimants for the 
 affection or favour of their lord never 
 discovering the least jealousy or hatred 
 towards each other. 
 
 A singular custom is scrupulously ob- 
 served by the women of this nation. At 
 the time of parturition, an habitation is 
 prepared for them in the deepest recesses 
 of the woods, to which with a female 
 assistant they retire, and where they re- 
 main secluded from every eye for a stated 
 period. This past, a public lustration of 
 themselves and offspring must take place 
 previous to their being again admitted to 
 the society of their relatives and friends. 
 
 These Indians may in one respect be 
 thought to resemble the Improvisator! of 
 
OF TflE MOSQUITO INDIANS. 189 
 
 some other countries. Their metrical effu- 
 sions being entirely spontaneous, and 
 usually thrown into a kind of measure, 
 which, if it be rude and uncultivated, 
 possesses, nevertheless, something pecu- 
 liarly soft and plaintive to recommend it. 
 The subjects which excite their verse are 
 chiefly of the latter description. 
 
 In a political point of view, an alliance 
 with the Mosquito Indians can be con- 
 sidered but of relative importance. They 
 hold little pretension to the character of 
 warlike, the last quality, however, that 
 humanity might wish to contemplate them 
 in ; nor are there any advantages of a com- 
 mercial nature resulting from such con- 
 nexion. The implacable enmity they 
 have ever borne towards one nation, our 
 frequent foe, from what cause it may be 
 unnecessary to inquire, is perhaps the 
 best claim they can offer for the extension 
 of our friendship. 
 
190 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS 
 
 This nation cannot number at the 
 utmost more than 1500 or 2000 men 
 capable of using arms. Immediately con- 
 tiguous to it are two other tribes, called 
 the Poyers and the Towkcas. These peo- 
 ple are more numerous, and considered 
 much more enterprizing and brave, 
 although they are tributary to the former, 
 and have been so from time immemorial. 
 The acknowledgment of this dependance 
 is expressed by the annual payment of a 
 certain number of cattle. But neither the 
 Poyers or Towkcas possess any thing like 
 the civilization of the Mosquito people. 
 Hence unquestionably the cause and con- 
 tinuance of their vassalage. 
 
 In conclusion, from all that could be 
 observed during a short residence amongst 
 these Indians, it appeared that they were 
 living in the enjoyment of much social 
 happiness, and with a comparative degree 
 of plenty. That their comforts and con- 
 
OF THE MOSQUITO INDIANS. 191 
 
 venience might be greatly increased were 
 they more industrious, seemed no less ob- 
 vious ; but exertion of any kind is in no 
 shape their characteristic. 
 
Signification in English of some Words in the 
 Mosquito Tongue. 
 
 C ortee 
 
 God, or Moon 
 
 Lapta 
 
 Sun 
 
 Yoo 
 
 Day 
 
 Toma. 
 
 Night 
 
 Teetan 
 
 Morning 
 
 Tootenee 
 
 Afternoon 
 
 Tusba « 
 
 Land 
 
 Corboo 
 
 Sea 
 
 Passa 
 
 Wind 
 
 Lee 
 
 Rain 
 
 Alwonna 
 
 Thunder 
 
 Powta 
 
 Lightning 
 
 Awolla 
 
 River 
 
 Ootla 
 
 House 
 
 Bip 
 
 . Cow, or Bull 
 
 Oras . . 
 
 Horse 
 
 Querco 
 
 Hog 
 
 Cullila 
 
 . . Fowl 
 
 o 
 
194 
 
 Yowell 
 
 .Dog 
 
 Wykenar . 
 
 Man 
 
 Myrin 
 
 Woman 
 
 Lupee 
 
 Child 
 
 Opliker 
 
 Friend 
 
 Oplawalla . . 
 
 . Enemy 
 
 Isau 
 
 Father 
 
 Yaptee 
 
 . Mother 
 
 Luper-Myrin 
 
 Daughter 
 
 Moyka 
 
 Brother 
 
 Lykera 
 
 Sister 
 
 Dama . . . 
 
 Grandfather 
 
 Coka 
 
 Grandmother 
 
 Wykenikee .. 
 
 . Husband 
 
 Moya . 
 
 Wife 
 
 Weeta 
 
 Chief 
 
 Wyteniva 
 
 Head, chief, or first 
 
 Iclarbare 
 
 War 
 
 Markaswip 
 
 Peace 
 
 Warmanana . 
 
 Soldier 
 
 Rokpuse 
 
 Gun 
 
 Rokpuse- tara. 
 
 Great Gun 
 
 Tara 
 
 Great 
 
 5 
 
 nmn 
 
195 
 
 Man 
 
 Me 
 
 Nowree 
 
 You 
 
 Blamna 
 
 I come 
 
 Makhomenaor 
 
 Makwopee 
 
 j 1 go 
 
 Yamnee .. 
 
 Good 
 
 Soura 
 
 Bad 
 
 Wollosma 
 
 Hear me 
 
 Nee 
 
 I hear 
 
 Ploonadogsa 
 
 Hunger, or I am hungry 
 
 Ploonarjka .. 
 
 Give me to eat 
 
 Mislaryka 
 
 Give me to drink 
 
 Outlaryka 
 
 Give me lodging 
 
 Oya 
 
 Corn, or bread 
 
 Weree 
 
 I am sick 
 
 W eree-dowkee 
 
 I am very sick 
 
 Potpruan 
 
 Death 
 
 Yapee 
 
 Sleep 
 
 Itenikee 
 
 A rest, or loll 
 
 o % 
 
METEOROLOGICAL TABLE 
 Kept at Balize in the Bay of Honduras, 
 
 FEBRUARY, 1806. 
 
 Height of Fahreiahett’s 
 Thermometer. 
 
 Day of 
 Month. 
 
 Morn. 
 
 Noon. 
 
 Winds. 
 
 General State of Weather. 
 
 I 
 
 70 
 
 83 
 
 N. 
 
 Morning rain. Noon clear 
 
 2 
 
 69 
 
 83 
 
 E.S.E. 
 
 Clear and fine 
 
 3 
 
 68 
 
 81 
 
 E. 
 
 Clear 
 
 4 
 
 71 
 
 80 
 
 E.S.E. 
 
 Clear 
 
 5 
 
 74 
 
 81 
 
 E. 
 
 Clear 
 
 6 
 
 79 
 
 82 
 
 E. 
 
 Clear 
 
 7 
 
 80 
 
 80 
 
 N.E. 
 
 Clear 
 
 8 
 
 79 
 
 81 
 
 E, 
 
 Clear 
 
 9 
 
 79 
 
 80 
 
 S.E. 
 
 Showery during the day 
 
 io 
 
 78 
 
 82 
 
 S.E. 
 
 Ditto 
 
 II 
 
 79 
 
 81 
 
 E.S.E, 
 
 Clear 
 
 12 
 
 78 
 
 80 
 
 E. 
 
 Clear 
 
 13 
 
 80 
 
 81 
 
 S.E. 
 
 Clear 
 
 14 
 
 81 
 
 81 
 
 S.E. 
 
 Occasional showers 
 
 15 
 
 73 
 
 80 
 
 N. 
 
 Morning foggy. Noon fine 
 
 l6 
 
 7 i 
 
 78 
 
 N.E. 
 
 Cloudy with rain 
 
 17 
 
 7 * 
 
 80 
 
 E. 
 
 Rain 
 
 18 
 
 76 
 
 79 
 
 E.N.E. 
 
 Clear 
 
 19 
 
 78 
 
 80 
 
 E. 
 
 Clear 
 
 20 
 
 79 
 
 81 
 
 E. 
 
 Clear 
 
 21 
 
 76 
 
 80 
 
 E. 
 
 Clear 
 
 22 
 
 75 
 
 82 
 
 E.N.E. 
 
 Morning rain. Noon clear 
 
 23 
 
 78 
 
 82 
 
 E.N.E. 
 
 Rain. Strong breezes 
 
 24 
 
 7 i 
 
 78 
 
 N.E. 
 
 Rain 
 
 25 
 
 74 
 
 79 
 
 N. 
 
 Rain 
 
 26 
 
 72 
 
 78 
 
 N. 
 
 Rain. Strong winds 
 
 27 
 
 7 i 
 
 79 
 
 N. 
 
 Clear. Ditto winds 
 
 28 
 
 68 
 
 ; 79 
 
 ' N. 
 
 Rain. Blowing hard 
 
 Remarks. — Heavy rain generally during the night ; frequent 
 heavy showers in the day. This month, being included in 
 what is denoted' the dry season, the rains that have fallen have, 
 therefore, been considered unusual. 
 
198 
 
 MARCH, 1806. 
 
 Height of Fahreinheit’s 
 Thermometer. 
 
 
 Day of 
 Month. 
 
 Morn. 
 
 Noon. 
 
 Winds. 
 
 General State of Weather. 
 
 I 
 
 68 
 
 80 
 
 N. 
 
 Clear 
 
 2 , 
 
 69 
 
 78 
 
 N. 
 
 dear 
 
 3‘ 
 
 69 
 
 75 
 
 N. 
 
 Cloudy and moist 
 
 4 
 
 74 
 
 78 
 
 N.E. 
 
 Cloudy and wet 
 
 5 
 
 76 
 
 79 
 
 N.E. 
 
 Rain. Clear at noon 
 
 6 
 
 -79 
 
 8 r 
 
 E.S.E. 
 
 Clear 
 
 7 
 
 78 
 
 81 
 
 S.E. 
 
 Clear 
 
 8 
 
 78 
 
 82 
 
 S.E. 
 
 Clear 
 
 9 
 
 77 
 
 Si 
 
 S.E. 
 
 Clea r . Noon showery 
 
 JO 
 
 80 
 
 82 
 
 E. 
 
 Clear. Noon rain 
 
 I C 
 
 77- 
 
 ^3 
 
 S.E. 
 
 Clear 
 
 12 
 
 80 
 
 83 
 
 E.NT.E. 
 
 Clear 
 
 *3 
 
 79 
 
 83 
 
 N.E. 
 
 Cloudy 
 
 14 
 
 79 
 
 82 
 
 N.E. 
 
 Clear. Noon showery 
 
 *5 
 
 80 
 
 83 
 
 e.n.e. 
 
 Clear 
 
 36 
 
 80 
 
 84 
 
 S.E. 
 
 Clear. Noon sultry, with 
 showers 
 
 17 
 
 72 
 
 82 
 
 N. 
 
 Clear 
 
 18 
 
 80 
 
 83 
 
 N.E. 
 
 Clear 
 
 i9 
 
 80 
 
 83 
 
 N.E. 
 
 Clear 
 
 20 
 
 80 
 
 82 
 
 N.E. 
 
 Clear 
 
 21 
 
 8l 
 
 84 
 
 E.N.E. 
 
 Showery 
 
 22 
 
 80 
 
 83 
 
 E. 
 
 Clear 
 
 ~3 
 
 80 
 
 85 
 
 E.S.E. 
 
 Clear 
 
 -4 
 
 73 
 
 80 
 
 N. 
 
 Cloudy and moist 
 
 2 5 
 
 74 
 
 80 
 
 N. 
 
 Cloudy 
 
 26 
 
 7S 
 
 83 
 
 e.n.e. 
 
 Light rains 
 
 27 
 
 So 
 
 83 
 
 N.E. 
 
 Clear 
 
 28 
 
 82 
 
 84 
 
 N.E. 
 
 Clear 
 
 29 
 
 79 
 
 83 
 
 N.E. 
 
 Clear 
 
 30 
 
 76 
 
 82 
 
 S.E. 
 
 Showery morning. Clear noon 
 
 31 
 
 79 
 
 83 
 
 S.E. 
 
 Clear morning. Showery noon 
 
 Remarks . — -The greater part of this month has been dry and 
 pleasant. Light dews at night. The sea breeze, which 
 usually prevails with much regularity at this season, has been 
 partial and moderate. 
 
199 
 
 APRIL, 1806. 
 
 Height of Fahreinheit's 
 Thermometer. 
 
 Day of 
 Month. 
 
 Morn. 
 
 Noon. 
 
 Winds. 
 
 I 
 
 81 
 
 86 
 
 S.E 
 
 2 
 
 80 
 
 85 
 
 S. 
 
 3 
 
 79 
 
 84 
 
 N.E. 
 
 4 
 
 80 
 
 85 
 
 S.E. 
 
 5 
 
 81 
 
 85 
 
 S.E. 
 
 6 
 
 81 
 
 86 
 
 S. 
 
 7 
 
 81 
 
 86 
 
 S.E. 
 
 8 
 
 78 
 
 85 
 
 S.E. 
 
 9 
 
 81 
 
 85 
 
 S.E. 
 
 10 
 
 82, 
 
 85 
 
 S E. 
 
 1 1 
 
 80 
 
 86 
 
 E.S.E, 
 
 12 
 
 82 
 
 86 
 
 S.E. 
 
 13 
 
 82 
 
 86 
 
 S E. 
 
 *4 
 
 83 
 
 «5 
 
 S.E. 
 
 IS 
 
 82 
 
 84 
 
 S.E. 
 
 16 
 
 81 
 
 85 
 
 E.S.E. 
 
 17 
 
 82 
 
 87 
 
 s. 
 
 18 
 
 81 
 
 86 
 
 S.E. 
 
 19 
 
 82 
 
 86 
 
 E. 
 
 20 
 
 75 
 
 83 
 
 E.N.E. 
 
 21 
 
 82 
 
 85 
 
 N.W. 
 
 22 
 
 81 
 
 8S 
 
 N.E. 
 
 23 
 
 82 
 
 84 
 
 E.N.E, 
 
 24 
 
 75 
 
 85 
 
 N. 
 
 2 S 
 
 82 
 
 86 
 
 E. 
 
 26 
 
 81 
 
 85 
 
 S.E. 
 
 27 
 
 83 
 
 86 
 
 E.S.E. 
 
 28 
 
 So 
 
 84 
 
 S.E. 
 
 29 
 
 81 
 
 85 
 
 S.E. 
 
 30 
 
 82 
 
 84 
 
 S.E. 
 
 General State of Weather. 
 
 Cleat and sultry 
 Clear morning. Evening rain 
 and loud thunder 
 Morning cool and hazy ; noon 
 
 fine 
 
 Clear 
 
 Clear 
 
 Noon thunder 
 
 Clear 
 
 Clear 
 
 Clear 
 
 Clear 
 
 Clear 
 
 Clear. 
 
 Strong breezes 
 
 Clear. 
 
 Ditto 
 
 Clear. 
 
 Ditto 
 
 Clear. 
 
 Ditto 
 
 Clear. 
 
 Ditto 
 
 Clear. 
 
 Noon rain 
 
 Clear morning. Noon rain and 
 
 thunder 
 
 Clear 
 
 Clear 
 
 
 Cloudy morning ; noon fair 
 Clear morning; noon rain and 
 hail 
 
 Clear. Hazy and damp to- 
 wards noon 
 Clear 
 
 Heavy rains during the greater 
 part of the day 
 Clear and sultry 
 Clear 
 
 Clear morning; noon rain and 
 thunder 
 Clear 
 Clear 
 Clear 
 
 Remarks . — The whole of this month has been particularly 
 fine, and the breezes regular and strong. Rains, with loud 
 thunder, frequent during the night ; sometimes accompanied 
 with sudden and violent gusts ol wind. 
 
MAY, 1806. 
 
 Height of Fahreinheit’s 
 Thermometer. 
 
 Day of 
 Month, 
 
 Mom. 
 
 Noon. 
 
 Winds 
 
 i 
 
 82 
 
 85 
 
 
 2 
 
 80 
 
 84 
 
 
 3 
 
 83 
 
 86 
 
 s. 
 
 4 
 
 81 
 
 ' 85 
 
 s. 
 
 5 
 
 8r 
 
 84 
 
 S.E. 
 
 6 
 
 79 
 
 S3- 
 
 S .E. 
 
 7 
 
 81 
 
 84 
 
 E.S.E, 
 
 8 
 
 83 
 
 85 
 
 E S.E. 
 
 9 
 
 82 
 
 85 
 
 S.E. i 
 
 10 
 
 80 
 
 84 
 
 S.E. 
 
 i r 
 
 81 
 
 8S 
 
 E.S.E. 
 
 12 
 
 82 
 
 86 
 
 s.?. 
 
 13 
 
 80 
 
 84 
 
 S.E. 
 
 14 
 
 81 
 
 84 
 
 S.E. 
 
 15 
 
 82 
 
 85 
 
 E.S.E. 
 
 16 
 
 83 
 
 85 
 
 s.ih 
 
 17 
 
 80 
 
 58 
 
 s. 
 
 18 
 
 8r 
 
 83 
 
 s. 
 
 19 
 
 82 
 
 85 
 
 ’ E.s E. 
 
 20 
 
 82 
 
 87 
 
 E.S.E. 
 
 21 
 
 - 82 
 
 85 
 
 E.S.E. 
 
 22 
 
 83 
 
 8S 
 
 E.S.E. 
 
 23 
 
 82 
 
 84 
 
 E.S.E. 
 
 24 
 
 83 
 
 86 
 
 S. 
 
 25 
 
 82 
 
 86 
 
 S. 
 
 26 
 
 81 
 
 8-5- 
 
 E. 
 
 27 
 
 83 
 
 87 
 
 S.E. 
 
 28 
 
 82 
 
 86 
 
 S.E. 
 
 29 
 
 83 
 
 87 
 
 S.E, 
 
 30 
 
 82 
 
 85 
 
 S. 
 
 3i 
 
 82 
 
 86 
 
 E.S.E* 
 
 General State of Weather. 
 
 i Clear 
 Clear 
 
 Morning clear. Noon sultrv 
 with rain 
 Clear 
 Clear 
 
 Morning rail). Noon clear 
 Clear 
 
 Clear; occasional shojwers 
 
 Clear 
 
 Clear 
 
 Clear 
 
 Clear and sulfrv 
 
 Clear 
 
 Clear 
 
 Clear 
 
 Clear. Noon light shpwers 
 Light showers, breezes fresh 
 occasionally 
 Clear 
 Clear 
 
 Clear. Wipds high during 
 night 
 
 Morning cloudy. Noon clear. 
 
 Breezes strong. 
 
 Clear 
 
 Clear 
 
 Clear and.sultry 
 Clear 
 Cloudy 
 Cloudy 
 Heavy clouds 
 
 Cloudy. Heavy showers at 
 noon 
 Rain 
 
 Showery morning. Heavy ( rains 
 towards evening 
 
 Reworks . — This month has been particularly dry, but ex- 
 ceedingly pleasant from the regularity and strength of the sea- 
 bree.ze- The conclusion of it, however being cdoudy and at- 
 tended with frequent heavy showers, shows the approach of 
 the periodical rains* This month, the early part of it espe- 
 cially, is generally very destructive to cattle, which suiter 
 much from want of water. 
 
201 
 
 JUNE,, 1806. 
 
 Height of Fahreinheit’s 
 Thermometer. 
 
 Day of 
 Month. 
 
 
 
 Winds. 
 
 I 
 
 81 
 
 84 
 
 S.E. 
 
 “Z 
 
 82 
 
 8S 
 
 S. 
 
 
 83 
 
 84 
 
 S.E. 
 
 4 
 
 81 
 
 83 
 
 S.E. 
 
 5 
 
 fi 
 
 84 
 
 E.N.E. 
 
 6 
 
 80 
 
 81 
 
 N.E. 
 
 7 
 
 80 
 
 84 
 
 . N.E. 
 
 3 
 
 84 
 
 86 
 
 E.N.E, 
 
 9 
 
 8l 
 
 86 
 
 S. 
 
 10 
 
 83 
 
 85 
 
 E. 
 
 II 
 
 83 
 
 86 
 
 N.E. 
 
 12 
 
 82 
 
 86 
 
 E. 
 
 i3 
 
 83 
 
 86 
 
 N.E. 
 
 14 
 
 83 
 
 8S 
 
 E N.E. 
 
 IS 
 
 8l 
 
 78 
 
 E.N.E. 
 
 16 
 
 78 
 
 84 
 
 N.E. 
 
 17 
 
 82 
 
 84 
 
 E. 
 
 18 
 
 83 
 
 8s 
 
 E. 
 
 r 9 
 
 82 
 
 85 
 
 N E. 
 
 20 
 
 83 
 
 8S 
 
 E. 
 
 21 
 
 82 1 
 
 85 
 
 E.N.E. 
 
 22 
 
 82 
 
 8S 
 
 E.N E. 
 
 23 
 
 83 
 
 84 
 
 N.E. 
 
 24 
 
 81 
 
 83 
 
 E. 
 
 25 
 
 76 
 
 84 
 
 S.W. 
 
 26 
 
 82 
 
 85 
 
 E.N.E. 
 
 27 
 
 82 
 
 8'S 
 
 E. 
 
 28 
 
 81 
 
 84 
 
 N.E. 
 
 29 
 
 77 , 
 
 83 
 
 E.N.E. 
 
 30 
 
 8l 
 
 83 
 
 N.E. 
 
 General State of Weather. 
 
 Heavy rains; light winds 
 Sultry rains, and during the 
 whole of the night 
 Continued rains with loud 
 thunder 
 
 Showeryduringiheday; stor- 
 my at night, violent thunder 
 Rains with thunder 
 Blowing hard . Noon showery 
 Clear 
 Clear 
 
 Heavy rains 
 
 Clear and blowing strong 
 Clear, blowing fresh 
 Clear, Ditto 
 
 Morning fine ; noon rain with 
 gusts of wind 
 Clear and blowing hard 
 Cloudy. Mid-day heavy rains 
 Morning heavy rains with 
 much thunder 
 Cloudy and blowing hard 
 Cloudy, blowing hard 
 Clear, high winds 
 Clear 
 Clear 
 
 Clear morning. Noon showers 
 Clear 
 
 Rain during night, ditto part 
 ofday Thunder 
 Cloudy, with showers 
 Clear 
 Clear 
 Clear 
 
 Rain and thunder 
 Cloudy. Noon clear 
 
 Remarks . — The wet seasem generally commences in the early 
 part of this month, about the roth, and continues throughout 
 the whole of the temainder of it. This season, the rains have 
 setin earlier than common. Thunder at this time is also fre- 
 quent, a nd often tremendously violent. 
 
202 
 
 JULY, 1806. 
 
 Height of Fahreinheit’s 
 Thermometer. 
 
 Diy of 
 Month . 
 
 Morn 
 
 • Noon. 
 
 Winds. 
 
 1 
 
 82 
 
 85 
 
 E.N.E. 
 
 2 
 
 82 
 
 86 
 
 S E 
 
 3 
 
 82 
 
 84 
 
 E. 
 
 4 
 
 82 
 
 8S 
 
 E. 
 
 5 
 
 82 
 
 8j 
 
 S.E. 
 
 6 
 
 82 
 
 84 
 
 E.S.E. 
 
 n 
 
 83 
 
 85 
 
 E. 
 
 8 
 
 U 'J 
 
 84 
 
 E.S.E. 
 
 9 
 
 77 
 
 86 
 
 S. 
 
 50 
 
 80 
 
 85 
 
 S.E. 
 
 1 I 
 
 83 
 
 85 
 
 S.E 
 
 1 2 
 
 84 
 
 85 
 
 E.S.E. 
 
 >3 
 
 83 
 
 §5 
 
 S.E. 
 
 
 S 3 
 
 80 
 
 S.E. 
 
 J S 
 
 82 
 
 80 
 
 E. 
 
 16 
 
 82 
 
 1 
 
 1 83 
 
 S.E. 
 
 17 
 
 i 77 
 
 84 
 
 N.E. 
 
 j8 
 
 78 
 
 83 
 
 W. 
 
 J 9 
 
 79 
 
 82 
 
 N.E. 
 
 20 
 
 80 
 
 83 
 
 N.E. 
 
 2 t 
 
 82 
 
 83 
 
 E. 
 
 22 
 
 82 
 
 86 
 
 E. 
 
 23 
 
 8i 
 
 83 
 
 S.E. 
 
 2 4 
 
 80 
 
 83 
 
 N.E. 
 
 25 
 
 80 
 
 8s 
 
 E. 
 
 20 
 
 8 1 
 
 86 
 
 E. 
 
 27 
 
 8 1 
 
 85 
 
 W. 
 
 28 
 
 80 
 
 Sb 
 
 W. 
 
 29 
 
 76 
 
 87 
 
 N W- 
 
 30 
 
 '82 
 
 86 
 
 W. 
 
 31 
 
 77 
 
 87 
 
 w. 
 
 General State of Weather. 
 
 Clear 
 
 Clear. Noon cloudy 
 Clear 
 
 Rain, high winds and loud 
 thunder 
 
 Clear morning. Noon heavy 
 showers 
 Clear 
 Clear 
 
 Clear and blowing strong 
 Heavy rains, violent thunder 
 storm 
 Clear 
 
 Clear, vivid lightning during 
 night 
 Clear 
 
 Clear, blowing hard 
 Clear morning. Noon heavy 
 rain 
 Rain 
 
 Morning fine, noon rain and 
 thunder 
 Heavy rains 
 Cloudy with showers 
 Rain, loud thunderduiing night 
 Squally with thunder 
 Rain and thunder 
 Showery 
 Clear 
 
 Cle.tr, blowing fresh 
 High winds and showery 
 Clear 
 
 Cloudy, with showers 
 Ditto, wind and rain 
 Thick fog and sultry 
 Sultry 
 
 Rain, with much lightning and 
 heavy thunder 
 
 Remarks. The weather for the greater part of this month 
 has been unsettled and stormy; much vivid lightning, chiefly 
 during the nights, and frequently accompanied with loud 
 thunder. 
 
203 
 
 AUGUST, 1806. 
 
 Height of Fahrenheit's 
 Thermometer. 
 
 Day of 
 Month. 
 
 
 ■ 
 
 Winds- 
 
 I 
 
 77 
 
 87 
 
 w. 
 
 2 
 
 
 85 
 
 w. 
 
 3 
 
 
 86 
 
 w. 
 
 4 
 
 82 
 
 87 
 
 es.e. 
 
 5 
 
 82 
 
 85 
 
 E. 
 
 6 
 
 83 
 
 86 
 
 E. 
 
 7 
 
 84 
 
 79 
 
 E. 
 
 8 
 
 
 85 
 
 E.N.E. 
 
 9 
 
 
 82 
 
 N.E. 
 
 10 
 
 I 77 
 
 80 
 
 W. 
 
 ri 
 
 82 
 
 85 
 
 E. 
 
 12 
 
 82 
 
 85 
 
 N.E. 
 
 13 
 
 
 85 
 
 •f? 
 
 14 
 
 
 85 
 
 E. 
 
 G 
 
 
 86 
 
 E.S.E. 
 
 16 
 
 
 80 
 
 E. 
 
 17 
 
 
 85 
 
 W. 
 
 18 
 
 82 
 
 86 
 
 E. 
 
 19 
 
 81 
 
 86 
 
 E. 
 
 20 
 
 82 
 
 86 
 
 E.S.E. 
 
 21 
 
 79 
 
 87 
 
 W. 
 
 22 
 
 82 
 
 87 
 
 E. 
 
 23 
 
 82 
 
 8? 
 
 E.N.E. 
 
 24 
 
 83 
 
 85 
 
 E. 
 
 25 
 
 82 
 
 86 
 
 E.N.E. 
 
 26 
 
 83 
 
 86 
 
 E. 
 
 27 
 
 82 
 
 86 
 
 E. 
 
 28 
 
 83 
 
 85 
 
 E. 
 
 29 
 
 83 
 
 86 
 
 E.S E. 
 
 30 
 
 78 
 
 86 
 
 W. 
 
 3 i 
 
 77 
 
 84 
 
 S. 
 
 General State of Weather. 
 
 Cloudy. Noon sultry with 
 thunder. 
 
 Cloudy and sultry 
 Sultry, much thunder during 
 night 
 Clear 
 Clear 
 
 Clear, blowing fresh 
 Noon rain and thunder 
 Clear 
 
 Showery with high winds 
 Cloudy and wet, thunder dur- 
 ing night 
 Clear 
 
 Clear morning. Showery noon 
 
 Clear 
 
 Clear 
 
 Clear 
 
 Clear morning. Noon heav y 
 rains 
 
 Cloudy and showery 
 
 Clear 
 
 Clear 
 
 Clear 
 
 Showery 
 
 Clear 
 
 Clear 
 
 Clear, blowing hard 
 
 Clear 
 
 Clear 
 
 Clear 
 
 Clear 
 
 Clear 
 
 Light rains and cloudy 
 Rains and loud thunder 
 
 Remarks . — The greater part of this month has been extremely 
 close and sultry. Frequent and heavy thunder storms have, 
 also prevailed.- 
 
C, and R. Baldwin, Printers, 
 New Bridge-street, I.ondon. 
 
WORKS 
 
 Recently published by C. and R. Baldwin. 
 
 I. AFRICAN MEMOR AND A, relative to an At- 
 tempt to establish a British Settlement on the Island of 
 Bulama, on the Western Coast of Africa, in the year 
 1792. With a brief Notice of the neighbouringTribes, 
 Soil, Productions, &c. and some Observations on the fa- 
 cility of Colonizing that part of Africa, with a view to 
 Cultivation, and the Introduction of Letters and Reli- 
 gion to its Inhabitants : but more particularly as the 
 means of gradually abolishing African Slavery. By 
 Captain Philip Beaver, R. N. Illustrated by a very 
 large Nautical Map of the South-west Coast of Africa, 
 and Plans of a Block-house erected for the Defence of 
 the Colonists. 4to. boards, 1/. 1 Is. 6d. 
 
 II. AN ACCOUNT of the ISLAND of CEYLON, 
 containing its History, Geography, Natural History, 
 with the Manners and Customs of its various Inhabi- 
 tants ; to which is added, the Journal of an Embassy to 
 the Court of Candy. Illustrated by a Map, Charts, 
 and Engravings of some interesting Scenes in the 
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