The Republican journal., 1896-10-22

py Col. Shears himself, which is said to
pay an average of go cents per cubic yard,
with water in abundance. As the com
pany has not complied with the special
requirements of this separate grant, Mr..
Hubbell and his associates will no doubt
lose the golden opportunity of their
lives.
Some time ago the Honduras Timber
Co., whose local head is Mr. John Griffin
OF Illinois, went wild with excitement
over the ''tind' of one of the Indians in
their employ. The fellow came into the
mahogany camp, near Potoso, with about
ounces of coarse gold, which he said he
washed out in an hours time. Mr., Grif.
fin tried to induce him to tell where the
"dlggings' were located, but he steadily
refused to divulge the important secret.
until offered $50 in cash. The sight of so
much money, more than he had ever own
ed in all his life, was too much for his
discretion; he yielded, and he was prompt
ly locked up as the safest means of s'bind-
ing the bargain Next morning Mr.
Griffin. with Mr.. Alonzo Hicks, agent of
the Honduras and New Orleans Mining
Co., followed the Indians lead into the
wilderness, and eventually secured a
generous slice of placer land, which, judg-
ing from the pains they take to keep it
secret must be valuable indeed.
The timber company above mentioned
which is composed principally of Ameri-
cans, is doing remarkably well. The
government of Honduras estimates it's
forest wealth of ''precious' wood trees
at $500, 600. 900, and probably the estimate
is not exaggerated, since the greater part
of the Republic is yet practically unex-
plored. The forests afford vast stretches
of valuable timber, where huge mahog-
any trees overshadow equally valuable
"brazif' or fustic, and the frondose
tropic cedar spreads its branches far over
the dwarf rose wood, tulip and ebony that
flourish near its roots.
A German, named Kraft possesses a
valuable marble quarry, gained through
concession, tor which he paid nothing
whatever, and gets his product exempt
from export duty for 20 years. The mar
BILE is estimated to be worth from So to
SIG per cubic foot. In course of his quar-
rying he came upon traces of silver, and
straightway took steps toward possess
ing himself of that also, without money
and without price, by the usual method
of announcement. His mine, known
as the Chamiliancito, may be considered
an anomaly in mining experience. 1t is
an entire mountain, and all the rocks
in it bear silver or gold, in small guam
titles. Several working assays, of some
hundreds of pounds, each, have given an
average of S11 per ton, silver, and from
Sll.56 to S45 per ton, gold.
In short, foreigners pursuing any legiti-
mate business occupation in this country
are cordially welcomed, not only by the
government, but by the people, The law
affords them every facility and protection;
| but SO far as personal safety is concerned
Honduras is absolutely free from lawless-
ness-barring revolutionary tendencies.
1t is astonishing how many lines of indus
try may be profitably pursued in this
! old-neW country. Fortunately, perhaps,
everybody cannot become mine owners, OF
mahogany shippers, or cotton planters
OF coffee growers Besides these greater
enterprises, demanding large capital to
begin with, many lesser avenues to wealth
are open. For instance, there is cattle
raising, On as large or small Il scale as one
may care to 90 into. In Honduras the
average area allotted to one steer is some
what less than one acre, while in Texas it
is five acres, and in some parts of Dakota
and Wyoming it is from I to 10 acres
From these figures the intelligent stock
farmer may form an estimate of the vast
| Importance these grazing lands are des-
tined to assume. The principal coast in
dustry is banana growing. Bananas yield
in 8 months after planting, thence continue
for seven years, and return profit of S75
per acre per annum. The cost of clear
ing the land and planting the bananas is
estimated at $40 the acre. Cocoanuts are
also very profitable. Trees that cost
about 81 apiece to grow to maturity, yield
annually for a period of so years, 81 per
tree per annum. Oranges are from So
to IS per thousand Lines, or So called
lemons, are not picked at all. The finest
pine apples in the world are grown here,
but as yet none are raised for expectation.
The foot-hill sides produce luxurious
crops of Indian corn, while in the higher
ATTITUDES the fertile mesas and mountain
slopes return rich harvests of wheat, rye,
oats and other cereals of older climates
From the coast onward to higher ATTITUDES
the climate, together with the agriculture
al possibilities, may De divided into four
zones-tropic, semi-tropic, warm temper
ate and temperate. In the first, innu-
merable medicinal plants and flowers
flourish in cline and soil most congenal
to their perfect development. In the
semi tropic belt, at an altitude from 9, 900