New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1872-11-03
NEW ORLEANS AND AsPINWALL.
New Line of Ocean steamers-The COuB
tries Tributary Thereto.


New Line of Ocenn steamers-The COuH-
tries Tributary Thereto.
For some time there has been advertised
a new line of steamers to run from New Or
leans to Central America and Aspinwall-
10 that terra .caliente Of civil wars, where
no quarter has been given or asked-that
land of cougars and tigers, of monkeys and
macaws and paroqucts, of heas, centipedes,
garrapatos and venomous serpents-the
region Of hurricanes, volcanoes, earthquakes
and tropical rains-of indigo, cochineal,
oOcoanut trees and mahogany-of horrors
and delights, of aguardiente and of q God
and Liberty !" The line is advertised to
touch at Balize, Honduras, and run all
along the great coast of Mosquito $50
famed for its mosquitoesl, at San Juan del
Forte, now called Greytown, Nicaragua,
and at Port Limon, Costa Rica. This will
comprise the ports of a majority Of the five
republics of Central America, formerly the
republic of Guatemala, ending at Aspin-
wall (Colombia), after passing along the
State Of Panama, in the same republic Of
South tAmerica. The steamer Juan q.
Meiggs, the pioneer OF the line, strongly
built in the noted ship yards Of Glasgow,
and named after the originator of the rail
road enterprise Of Costa Rica, is now lying
at our levee, and will be ready to start
about the thirteenth instant Here shall
follow some notice of the ports, islands and
countries tributary to this new line of Cres-
cent City steamers.
BAIIZB
The Gulf Of Mexico, waste Of waters Of
some 600 miles, has to be crossed before
reaching the eastern coast of the Mexican
peninsula of Yucatan, in the southern part
of which, some 300 miles further, the city
Of Balize is situated. There are found to-
gether in British Honduras the colony or
country called Balze, as well as the river
and city of that name. The city rises out
of the water like those almost cOnsecrated
cities, Venice and Alexandria. More than
thirty years ago it was a place of consid |
cradle trade, it's exports amounting to two |
millions of dollars annually, and it was the |
entrepot for goods for Guatemala Hondu- |
ras and the Southern States of MexiCo-the |
depot rather, for British manufactured |
goods and foreign merchandise designed for /
the consumption of all Central America.
The population in 1888 was 1857. 1t is
built on both sides Of the mouth OF the
river of the same name, and it is rather
dsmper climate than is agreeable. John
l.. Stephens, the traveller who wrote of it on
his visit in 1889, says its streets and stores
were lined with blacks, as though it were
the capital Of negro republic. He de-
scribes them as fine looking race, and well
dressed, and adds:
They talked of their mahogany works, of
England, hunting, horses ladies and wine,
and before | had been an hour in Balize |
learned that the great work of practical
amalgamatiOn, the subject of SO much
angry controversy at home, had been going
ON quietly for generations, etc.
Stephens was invited to a seat in court
among the judges, two out of the five of
them being blacks, and adds:
The Judge was aware of the feeling ex-
listing in the United States with regard to
color, and said that ID Balize there was, in |
political life, no distinction whatever except
on the ground of qualifications and char
acter, and hardly any in social LIFE even in
contracting marriages.
As before said, Balize derives its principal
Importance from being the commercial :
entrepot and depot for the neighbOring c
Spanish States of Yucatan, Guatemala and
yet the productions of the dis
1rict are large and important, the principal
being mahogany, yet also the other material !
growths Of the country are as various as
there are the rosewood, palmetto, :
cabbage tree, cedars, pines iron-wood, log s
wood, fustic, braziletto, sapodilla, ETC., be- t
sides such fruits as oranges lemons, lines, Il
shaddocks, mangOes, guavas, cashOo nuts, Il
tamarinds, pomgranates, grapes, etc. Then il
3here are cochineal, and manatis and alliga- '
tors. Indeed all tropical fruits grow there .
with such luxuriance that their very fra O
GRANGE is at first oppressive. o
We believe it is in Honduras where they p
are constructing a railroad of some $50 X
miles from the Atlantic to the Pacific. 1t te
IS, probably the one recommended by Mr. "
Squier, Charge d'Afairs from the United D
States to Central America. Late news from in
Central America says the first section of the al
railroad has been completed as
ar as Porto Cabell0, and B running two "
rains day. The famous fruit islands OF ~
&uatan, Utilla and Bonacca are under the az
'ADN4olVEHL government VI 44OIuuIb57
which will much resemble in form the ~
government of the United States Dr. so
formerly with Fredericks0n & ca
Iarte, Of this city, has been appointed co
Governor of Ruatan. Not far from Belize, an an
owards the Rio Dolce, is town with a N,
Amiliar name to Louisianiaus, at which II
his line will probably stop, that of Living tn
ton, named in honor of our once distin- f f."
uished citizen, whose criminal code was at cl,
hat time introduced into Guatemala It's CT
xpeotations, as an important port were le a
ever realized. ~
Steaming along away further south, by ia
40 part Of the continent Columbus dis fc
overed in his last voyage, but whose verd- ~
mt beauties could not win him to the shore, 70
70 reach mi
GREYTowN, NICARAGUA. pc
This port is noted for many things-for So
aving been occupied, January, 1913, by YO
ritish force, under pretense that it be- &c
'nged to the so-called Mosquito Kingdom G aiv
Dr its being bombarded and burned BY ira
avail force of the United States in 1854. on an
charge that it's inhabitants had infringed ing
40 rights of the Transit Company; little ars
vie for the tilibuster Walkers expedition am