The Republican journal., 1896-10-08
The Republican Journal Thursday Morning. October g. 1885,

~, ~ 'no lduu OF the mississippi,
-"'ssout1 and Ohio. At this point.
ana at this season, it is merely a brook Of
BOILING foam, from 100 to 200 feet wide
us bed full of smooth. round rocks. wbi1e
'ne ohlqulto, as its name implies. (Span-
lsh Tor '1ittle one,'') is even smaller.
During the rainy season, however. both
are greatly increased. The fine arched
bridge of brick and white sand STONE
winch connects Teguciga1pa with it's sub
w. Cohayagualta, as the BROOKLYN
bridge connects New York with it's anvil
larry, IS really an imposing work of art.
ohe never tires Of lounging upon its para
pet and watching the lavenderas at work
IN the shallow current below. Each has
before her tray of Spanish cedar in
"hieh is pile OF some unfortunates soil
ed clothing, which she proposes to whip in
70 'a'tefs upon the stones by way of cleans
ing. Dipping the garment into the water
III which she stands, she returns it to the
tray, and smears it all over with the
pltchy soap OF the country. Then she
vigorously rubs every part of the cloth
between her hands, dipping it from time
to time III the suds in the tray. When the
garment is perfectly clean she ella ps it on
the pile of washed clothes which tons
some convenient stone, until all have I'M
Gergona this process. Then she rinses
them one by one, in the clear water rip
ping around her, over and over again till
all are white as snow; and last but bv no
means least, she twists each article into
tight club and whacks the surrounding
| rocks with it, with all the strength of her
practieed arms, until the buttons jly off.
the seams crack open, and the edges hang
in fringes before her ardor is appeased.
Why they do this, am unable to learn.
except it was the way of their ancestors,
handed down from mother to daughter
through countless generations.
Tegucigalpa is eminently city of
| contrasts, in which primitiveness and
advanced civilization are curiously blend
ed. 1t is laid out with tole1able regu-
larity, its narrow streets roughly paved
with cobble stones, sIoping toward
the centre, thus providing that sur
face drainage which is so unsanitary.
The sidewalks, hardly wide enough
ed with stones or bricks and lighted with
kerosene lamps. Through the open door
of many mud hut, with its floor of earth
and scarcity of furniture, as we'll as in
more pretentious homes, we see an Amer
lean sewing machine buzzing away; or.
not unfrequently a harp, organ or
piano. There are three pretty parks be-
sides the plaza Moyoz all adorned with
flowers and statuary. There ire two
banks - the Banco Centre Americana
and the Banco Nacional Hondureno, and
country. Three newspapers are publish
ed in Tegucigalpa-La Nacion, weekly,
and La Gaceta and La Bepublca, both
semi weekly. There. are two universities,
several colleges and 573 public schools
within the Republic. The schools are
nominally free and education compulsory
according to the constitution; but the law
in the latter respect is not enforced Dur
ing recent years the government has been
paying more attention to educational mat
ters; but formerly tie school funds we're
always appropriated by those in power,
or diverted to other purposes, and only
in the cities where public sentiment was
strong in their favor were any schools
maintained. But the law compelling all
able bodied men between the ages of II
and % years to render active military ser
vice for AT least one year, was never neg
lected in this revolution haunted country.
There is standing army of 800 men and
a militia force of 20, 767 men. The police
force of Tegucigalpa consists of n boys
hardly old enough to be called young men.
They are under the captainship of an
American, Col. E. II. Baker, who says
they are very brave and ''bidable." They
are barefooted, but wear sort of uniform
of blue cotton duck and large straw hats,
with their respective numbers on their
jacket fronts, and the word s'police'
stamped in large letters on the hat band
They are paid dollar day, which is
considered high wages for their class in
this country. Petty thefts are the chief
| delinquencies, the people being too lazy
for more serious crimes. They tell us
there has been but one murder in a whole
year-and that occurred in a drunken
brawl among some American miners
Capital punishment, as we know it, does
not exist in Central America, though
thousands of political offenders have been
sent to glory via the bullet. Tegucigalpa' S
great model penitentiary is almost empty,
for it is difficult to convict man Of theft
the one besetting sin. The stolen prop
erty must be actually found upon him,
though perhaps in the case of horse
thieves it would do if the man were found
upon the stolen property, or else two wit
nesses must swear to having seen the theft
committed. Gambling is illegal and
''dens' are often raided, and saloons are
under strict surveillance of the police
The movements of the stranger within
the boundaries of Honduras are as closely
watched as if he were a newspaper CORE