Omaha daily bee., 1889-06-03
LIFE IN THE HESpERIDES.
1t is Almost Realized In Portions
of Central America.
THE suLA VALLEY OF HONDURAS
A Land of waving Palms, Pinnated
Cocoas, Luscious Fruits and
Dark Eyed Castiiians-The
Leg nd of Belize.
An Earthly Paradise.

An Earthly Paradise.
We who live in the cold climate OF
the north and witness the animating
and radical changes of the season, says
correspondent OF the Chicago News,
writing from San Pedro Sula, Hondu-
ras, have some very vague and spicy
ideas OF the tropics, and people the i'm
agination with languid and dreamy fan
cies of veritable lotus-eaters. We are
stirred by a fascination for waving
palms, pinnated cocoas, luscious fruits,
dark-eyed Castilians and an existence
rs enchanting as that enjoyed in the
ancient gardens of the Hesperides. And
while our passionate faucies may have
thrown too much coloring into the pic
ture and marred it's real beauties with
the deformities of exaggeration, it must
be confessed that even some of our
widest fancies are fully realized IN
Central America.
One cannot truthfully dissipate these
glorious dreams OF the tropics who has
visited and lived for awhile in the Sula
valley OF Honduras, where our party Is
at present stopping. Our voyage across
the gulf was comparatively uneventful,
and we reached Belize on the evening
OF our fourth day from New Orleans.
This is the capital OF British Honduras
and is beautifully situated behind u
series of reefs and Islands and inter-
sected by small river of the same
name. The harbor is an excellent one,
and but for its shallowness near the city
would be considered one of the finest on
on the coast. The city receives its
name from y famous freebooter, Walice
or Balice, whose piracies became the
scourge of this coast between l630-70.
But he was finally displaced when the
valuable mahogany and dye woods OF
this section attracted English attention.
THE LEGEND OF BELIZE.
The historical and legendary account
Of this city is just now receiving con-
siderable attention in the colony as one
of the sensations of the hour, when we
arrived there, was the revival of the
excitement regarding fabulous buried
treasures of the old buccaneers on
Turneffe, an immense island which lies
in front of the city. 1t will be recalled
that an expedition was fitted out some
where in the north last year and fur
nished with a yacht and supplies, with
which they came down to one of the
reefs on the coast to search for this
treasure. The party was led by A. G.
Horne and Thomas Peck, who came
here, and, after digging for consider
able time at Calabash Cay, the princi-
pals fell out, and the work was
abandoned. Peck has since died, and
Horne returned last week and has just
negotiated with the colonial govern
ment for the privilege of making
further excavations. The compact has
just been signed whereby her maje sty's
province is to receive 10 per cent of the
find and Horne is to pay the expense of
guard, who Is to watch the interests
of the government. In addition, the
owners of the land are to receive 10
per cent additional il the treasure is
found. Horne is u very quiet, intelli-
gent gentleman, who does not seem to
have any of the elements of a crank
about him, though thoroughly imbued
with the idea that nearly $2,O00,O00 of
buried treasure lies untouched beneath
the tangled morass OF Turneffe. The
details OF the matter were very difficult
to obtain, as HorLe is very reticent, ex-
cept in his declaration that he pos
sesses exclusive information, and holds
the key to the whereabouts of this fab
ulous treasure of the old pirates. Many
theories and wild statements are natur-
ally ahoaJ concerning how and when
Horne came into possession of his secret
and there is considerable credence
placed in his ultimate success in find
ing the treasure.
The state of Belize was erected into
colony In 1862, and since that time has
been more or less n self-sustaining PROV
inco. One of the chief industries of
the city is its hide and cattle business,
carried on within the state and with
Spanish Honduras. 1t also does an ex-
tensive trade in medical plants. Sarsa-
parilla, sasafras, cochineal, gum arabic,
quassia, and numerous gum trees
abound in this section. Its mahogany
cedar and india rubber interests,
though not so large as formerly, play
no small part in its commerce, while
numerous dye woods and fancy woods
are exported in large quantities. Bra
zil wood, sandal and snake wood, rose
wood. and many other handsome speci-
mems, SO much priced for fancy wood
work, are found here. The city has a
population of 1000 souls, of which only
about two hundred and fifty are white,
the remainder being composed of not
less than eight other nationalities.
WHERE CoRTEz LANDED.
We spent about twelve hours ut this
port and again sailed for Puerto Cortez.
This latter is the chief port OF Spanish
Honduras on the Caribbean sea. 1T
the first landing made by the great and
heartless adveDturer, whose name it
still bears. 1t was founded about 1919,
and was first called Natividad. During
the reign of the viceroys it attained
considerable commercial Importance.
In 1874 it was made the northern ter
minus OF the Inter-Oceanic railway,
but with the decline of that enterprise
fell into decay, until more recent years,
when it has once more assumed its an
cient prominence, and is now the great
fruit depot for the United States mar
ket. ThesaRopulation, consisting of
about eighth. hundred, is entirely Span
ish. The houses, like most OF those
encountered in the interior, have
thatched-grass roofs on, many OF more
humble pretensions arc made entirely
OF grass or cahoon leaves. The natives
do but little work, contenting them
selves with small supply of plantains
and bananas, which they grow around
their huts, and pass the greater portion
OF their time in dreamy inertness.
There are, of course, many respectable
executions to this rule as attested bv