The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1896-10-18
DOWN In HONDURAS.
First Impressions of an indianapolis
Boy Who Has Lately Gone There.

The following is an extract from a letter
received from Mr.. John S. Butler, one of
the young men who constituted a party of
five, who left about a month ago for Hon.
duras, Central America, to engage in coffee
raising:
w arrived last night and are well
pleased. Things look very much as they do
in all rolling countries, but the fact that
the coffee will grow is established. and we
nave decided to take out our ~eighty-acre
surveyors fees; the fencing considerable.
What a trip we have had! From bad to
worse until the worm has just struck bed
rock and been compelled to turn. This is
Sunday morning. We got here about 3
O'Clock yesterday. riding single file on our
mules, our numerous bundles. guns and
fishing rods strapped behind. in front and
beside us. You can imagine we were a sight
worth seeing. After our six days trip
across the Gulf we had landed on Wednes-
day at Puerto CorteZ, the great port of
Honduras. 1t consists of about two miles
OF the Wettest town lots Imaginable, mud
houses, cane houses, and a choice variety
OF old board arrangements. The railroad is
the street car track and main street; in
tact, only street, path or dry hundred yards
| saw. We stayed all night at the port. Our
MOTEL was a recent erection, from which
the scantling had not yet been torn away.
me bed mattresses were Of some heavy,
hot stuff that kept one at about 100 degrees
on the down side. That was the last bed /
nave mad the pleasure of sleeping in since
L lave been in this country.
Thursday morning, after wearisome
waiting, we got our goods through the GUS
tom house and took the great Honduras In
land Express for Pimiento. Speaking of
railroads.. this is the greatest country for
a railroad to grow | ever saw. The ground
IS SO productive that the ties sprout, and it
Keeps a force of men trimming them down.
the telegraph poles turn into trees. Such
9ense growth Of plants n never imagined;
palms, say fifty feet high, ending in the
most graceful curves. Many places our
train simply ran through leafy tunnels. I
tell YOU If was worth coming this far to
see. AT Pimiento. which consists of two
houses and a railway shed, / slept on the
table. Toner on the floor and Morris in a
shred of a hammock about four feet from
the floor. he couldn't move for fear of
dog or two on the floor, but all went
smoothly.
The next morning we got our baggage
across the Ulna, by ferry, and sat down
to wait for the mules which We're to take
us over the last twenty miles of our trip
up the mountains to Santa Cruz. This is a
land of waiting and the usual answer you
oct from a native when you want to hire
him a shrug and 'manana' (to-morrowl,
but finally at about IL O'Clock we got off
seven Of us on the smallest of mules. It
was raining. None of your Indiana cloud
bursts, but simply one continuous sheet of
water. We had on our rubber coats and
rode along u~ndaunted, with our hats pulled
over our eyes.
lowing to the late start we had to stop
over night on the way. Our hotel was a
native adobe house, clay floor, one bed and
q hammock. The owners of this palatial
itSluellC6 IldQ the DGu, we Joys the IOOF,
with our saddles for pillows and our rubber
coats for beds. A drunken native and his
wife had the hammock; another native on
the floor with us. For supper we had black
coffee, two dishes of black beans and tor
thlas a sort of uncooked corn meal cake).
the same for breakfast, plus Sardines: no
dinner Friday; no dinner Saturday until 4
O'Clock. We were just about starved. But
we had a crack dinner here in Santa Cruz
at 4 o'clock last night, and If we didn't do
it justice-well. I don't know.
IF a man wished TO get in a place where
he would be entirely protected from the
intrusions of the inquisitive world. here it
i~s-beautiful and all right enough. I've only
been here one night. so haven't had time
to look around. BY the next boat will give
you a full description. We only made one
m~istake-we should have brought seeds.
Anything and everything will grow. sc
please send as many and as large a variety
as you can, for We want to get our gar
dens in right away