The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1897-05-29
AMONG CORAL rs.
BEAUTIFUL seen ALONG THE
CENTRAL AM fN COAST
The Mosquito Coast, Or the s'Reserva
M"squita," as 1t Is Now Known to
Central America-A Famous Reef
Cape "Thanks to God"-Carxo OF
Ruber---Ab AmphibiOus Race.

B,uefelds, Nicaragua, Special Cor
ENTHUSIASTICALLY speaking. the Mos
quito coast, or the "Reserva Mosuuitiay' as
It Is now known to Central Americans, occu-
PIES only small portion Of that ancient IN y
Gan kingdom which the discoveries dubbed
Moscos, Spanish for mosquitoes. The insig:
nlficant four-mile-wide strip, which for two
centuries monopolized 80 much Of the word s
attention, stretches along the Nicaraguan
coast from Cape zGracias asDios southwara
TO the Bluefe!ds lagool-a distance of 200
miles, as the crow flies. or course England,
with her customary dexterity IN enlargiag
her boundaries, Claimed a good dea. more
Tor 1t in the days Of the protectorate 1t IS
hard to tell just why her Britannia majesty
whose proud boast 1t is that upon her Vas;
possessions the sun never sets, skoul:, have
shown more interest in this comp irat'vely
worthless corner Of America than Americans
themselves! The first view Of Mosouitia
IS certainly not inspiring. The mon oton GUS
sWampy coast, broken by agoons and fringed
with dangerous reefs and Gays. bears out
columbus description Of ''una tiorra muy
oa1a'-a very low land. The coral ,"cays. -
or keys, like the "ato.ls" Of the Pacific. sre
mere sandbanks, elevated few feet above
the water, each supporting a few scrubb J
palms and bushes and frequented by myrads
Of sea birds and turtles. Most dreaded among
them al are FL Roncador, Great Corn, Little
vi Roncador, the bones of our good ship
Kearsarge lie bleaching in the sun and here
also ex-senator Warner Miller and his party
were wrecked few years ago, on their way
down to inspect the beginning Of the Mica
ragua Canal.
It's name, "Roncador," meaning "The
snorer," is as deceptive as It's appearance,
for the hidden monster Is very wide awake
TO destroy all vessels that venture too near
Nothing can be more innocent-looking than
the small bank of g.istening white sand, just
showing above the water perhaps three
quarters Of mile long by 300 yards wide,
with clump OF distorted shrubs and tempest
twisted palm trees growing at one end of it.
A Famous Reef.
The reef is famous for the great number
Of turtles which come here to lay their eggs
and during the turtle season many turtle
FISHERS" come over from Old Providence and
the main land. The so-caled fishermen erect
rude huts among the palm trees, using bits
OF stranded vessels and other flotsam with
which the beach is streWn, and have literally
to anchor their temporary habitations to the
trees with ropes and withes, to prevent them
from being blown away by fierce Caribbean
gales. The natives do not kill the turtles,
fearing to exterminste them, and so destroy
Z source Of profit; but they "shel" them alive
by process so.barbarous that it lakes ones
flesh creep to con template. When the turtles
are coming ashore to deposit their eggs the
men hide themselves in the bushes, rush out
upon them, and with iron hooks turn the;
ungainly creatures over on their backs, where
they lie helpless and spraWling, awaiting
their captor's pleasure. One by one each
turtle is firmly fastened to the ground and
his back covered with dry leaves or grass,
which is then set on fire. The heat causes
the plates Of the valuab bic she'll to separate at
khn 1otr
horizontally between them, and the laminae
lifted from the back, care being taken not to
inJure the shell by too m . -. nean nuv =. force
1t OF until the heat has fully prepared it
FOR the separation. large turtle affords
about eight pounds of shell, the "plates," or
Iamlnae averaging a quarter of an inch in
thickness. Many turtles die under the cruel
operation, but instances are known in which
they have been caught second time with the
outer coating reproduced-as in rare cases
men have lived after being scalped What the
turtles suffer is the least consideration Of
their captors. and had the poor creatures
the power Of shreking, they would make
the barren Island ring with cries of agony.
Think of It, philanthropic sisters who wear
tortose-sheli combs and cr.ticise women witt
birds in their bonnets.
Cape 'Thanks to Cod"
On the way down to Mosquitoes capital
We visited the village of Gracias, on the point
OF land which Columbus named Cabo Gracias
Dios-"Cape Thanks to Cod From the
vessel, anchored some distance out, we were
roWed In pit-pan two or three miles up
the river, which forms the dividing .ile
between Nicaragua and Honduras and is
various.y called the Rio Caco, Wanks, Waux
or SegoVla, and then across wide, wind
swept lagoon, upon the southern bank of
which stands C:aciaS. Perhaps the best that
can be said of it is that to no town in the world
is it easier to say a1!ss. Most of it's seventy
i've or one hundred icabby houses are hni,t
In what they cali american style" down mere
-barn-like wooden structures with roofs OF
corrugated iron painted red; the rest In the
more picturesque native fashion, with cane
pole sides and palm leaf thatch.
A few Weishmen and Engishmen are here,
mostly engaged in the rubber trade, up the
Waux River, and there are two or three stra!
specimens from the land Of the stars and
stripes who are probably not greatly missed
at home. Among the latter is weakened
gentleman-now tanned to the hue OF Ole
leather, like any Spaniard-who says that M
came from Pennsylvania and has resided II
this for.orn region more than quarter OF {
century. His little box Of a store contains I
lot Of cheap dry goods and yankee notions.
on which he confesses to 4 modest profit o
800 per cent. There Is musty cd churcl
in, the village, jail, barracks, and school 9TH
latter with about dozen pupils, not counting
the dogs and chickens which range the room
strangers are found along the river front
There all sorts Of strange craft may he seel
-plt-pans, dories. bongo yawls-some gayl
Dpainted or otherwise ornamented, other
with the oldest sails imaginable; while tn
boatmen, with their strong bronze limbs an
supple figures, would serve we'll as artists
models in the altogether" A dory, by tn
way, Is usually followed from single 10
of mahogany or cedar, and is from twenty
five to so feet in length-.a magnificent boa
so buoyant and cafe thatathose accustome
to its management may venture fearlessly GU
to sea in weather which wolld surely swan
q larger vesse. The pit-pan is 4anotheraVa
riety Of canoe, not so large as the dory, bu
excel.ing it in point!Of speed. 1t is of tn
same material, but has perfectly fiat boz
tom. The ends Of both are sharp, trim,s an
graceful in shape, and the natives prope
them with remarkable rapidity, by sing,'
broad-bladed paddles, stuck vertically in th
water first on one side, then on the other.
Cargo of Rubber.
AS we were leaving Thanks to God'' tow
repeating its name softly to ourselves e
2 the prlvilege-an immense canoe shot past u
manned by score Of naked Indians-ju
come down from the far interior with care
of crude rubber to sell. At Gracias they fin
ready market for the rubber; and, havir
invested the proceeds In agaurdiente (run
and cheap John motions from the Pennsy
vanian's store and the little that may r.
main In needed provisions for the dista;
camp, they will row back again UP tho sis;
river, 10 richer than they cana te the
lonely Hss IN the forest. l'5
Approaching Bluef1elds Ut used to be SHELL.
4 M @icyY- ol0