The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1897-05-08

so eXacJIy LnaL II a Straight llne we've Drawn
across Honduras from the Atlantic to the
Pacific, its center would be just two miles
north of the plaza in the middle OF Comay-
aqua.
Country Conquered by Cortez.
No modern engineer could do better than
that, assisted by all the appliances which in
Caceres' time had not yet been invented.
Nor could a finer situation be found any
where in the world. Built along the bank OF
the Rio Humuya in a mountain valley which
is walled on three sides by semi-circle OF
peaks from 5000 to 10000 feet high, and
slopes away to the eastward to the great
plain Of Sula-both scenery and climate are
all that could be desired. The average tenn
pernture is rs degrees, with little variation
from year to year. The sDil is deep, rlcn. ana
fertile, and, while the products of the valley
are tropical in the foothills just beyond the
city and upon the lower slopes OF the noun
tains corn and wheat and other staples OF
the temperate zone can be raised in enormous
quantities with little labor. Thus palm trees
and wheat fields wave within sight or one
another, and orange groves and apple Or
chards are close neighbors. At one time the
valley was densely populated, and Comayagua
itself had sc, 600 Inhabitants; but at present
there are hardly one-ffth of that number.
BY the way, the present ugly name OF the
city is pronounced as IL spelled ko-my-ah-
gwa, accenting the third syllable; but when
and why 1t lost its more euphonlous tile OF
The town must have been worth visiting
century OF two ago. It's great, bare dusty
plaza is faced by an enormous catnedrai,
which Is by far the finest building In the
country-a really magnificent specimen
though now somewhat down-at-heeI, OF the
semi-moresque style OF architecture so popu-
lar in New Spain at the time OF its building
early in the sixteenth century. Comayagua
was made Bishops see in 1861, and Its great
university was founded ten years later. Inc
latter has been nominaliy RESTORED at least
half q dozen times. but at present does not
practically exist, except IN mucn oelaceu
empty walls. There is also an ecclesiastical
seminary, large and richly endowed hos
pital two or three converts, several rare old
churches, and the ruins OF many pretent1ous
casas Nowadays the place is dull and desc
late enough-the dilapidated remains OF old
time palaces, fountains, and statuary adding
to it's melancholy air OF decay The In
hablted houses are mostly one-storied, OF
eun-dried bricks, whitewashed outside, ana
with grated windows. Not much effort has
ever been made to repair the ravages made
by the monarchical faction OF Guatemala, who
nearly destroyed the town in 1927. The
Bishop still lives here, but the President has
removed his palace to Tegucigalpa, the
largest city in Honduras, fifty miles nearer
the Pacific, the present commercial metropo-
lis and the virtual capital, for Congress now
holds rs sessions there.
The few wealthy residents of Comayagua
are chiefly owners of haciendas farther up
the valley, and they live like proud nl1a1-
gos'' on the proceeds, idling their days away
ut the club ror discussing the political situa-
%ton over the counters of some tienda. Next
In the social scale are the shOp-keepers, a
class neither numerous nor prosperous; ana
then come 5000 or 8, 00o worthless halfbreeds.
No doubt the decay Of the place is due as much
10 the inGolarao and inhfferenna d. the peg.