The Ravalli Republican. [volume] (Stevensville, Mont.) 1894-1899, 1897-07-28
FROM GUATEM
Frank Wanner Writes Inter.
estingly. m.
Climate is Unhealthy, Water Bad,
Money No Good and Farming
Very Primitive

y
>. +. Wanner, who recently sole
MS farm near Stcvcnsvillc, has since
wandered into Central America, and
writes the following very interesting
letter about conditions in that Dor
tlon of the footstool to j. Z. Borouuh
Of this place:
Guatemala City, June 20, 1897.
Frlend Borough;
! Pro, promised to write you and let
try, and l will give you a slight idea
of it as l see it. l have Travelled over
500 miles on a mule and about 100 by
rail. First ! will tell you what |
saw in Honduras. From Puerto Cor
tcs to San Pedro Sula, Il distance Of
about 35 miles, the country is low
and covered very heavily with trees
and tropical vegetation. This is
known as the great banana district.
Train loads of Is to 20 cars almost
daily are shipped to Puerto Cortcs
and there loaded on steamers for diff
fercnt points in the United States
and Europe. Cocoanuts and pine
apples arc also grown very extensive
ly in this district, Seven hard
punches and over Of bananas are
worth 49, cents. gold value, Oil tho
ranch. There is very little money in
banana raising at preseut prices, l
am told, and much Of this is because
1n1 In 1,nr |,
the crop. The natives have thcil
own banana plantations and tend
their own crops first, consequently
q white man takes chances and gets
left.
The country is undoubtedly vcly
unacalohy; a horrible stencil arises
from the swamps, which is very nau-
seating, at times to such an extent
that it is almost unbearablc to one
not used to it,
At Ulna and beyond there are cof.
fee plantations. Coffee is not of very
fine quality here, as it is too low
elevation only about 1900 feet. All
the coffee raisers l have consulted in
regard to coffee growing claim tho
best quality is grown on the high
| lands, from $500 to $500 elevation
Trees at five years Of age arc consjd-
cred worth $1.00 each, and in buying
a plantation here the estimate is
based On the number Of trees and tho
age. There arc good lands in tho
but the trouble is that everything
would have to be transported to mar
ket on mules over rugged mountain
trails for q distance OF about GO
miles. Native labor is 50 scarce in
this country, and SO uncertain, that
il q man has good thing he is not
safe; liable to lose his all.
At San Pedro Sllla there is an ice
factory; ice is only worth $500 pei
100 .pounds. One can get good
drink Of Canadian Club whisky and d
glass Of ice water for 25 cents. Can
adlan Club takes the lead and is sold
| everywhere in Honduras and Guatc-
maa. Most saloons handle no other
brand. Honduras raises a fine cua,
ity Of tobacco: can get sixteen good
cigars for 25 cents. Six for 25 cents
are SO much superior to the Royal
Banner that / concluded | never had
q good smoke in my life until / came
to Honduras.
Now [ will give you something of
Guatemala as | sec it. From Puerto
Barrios to Morales, a distance of 40
miles, is very much like the Uondur-
ian coast, only intcrspcrscd more
with high hills surrounded by
sWimps. Imagine a tract Of land
covered with ant hills from 100 to
600 feet high and you have it. Ban
anas. plncapplcs and cocoanuts grow
here, also corn. Have seen corn
along the Motagua river, in the same
field, some ripe, some III what we call
roasting ears, and from beginning to
tassel down to planting. In these
damp lands, which arc very fertile,
corn is 4 continuous crop as we'll as
the fruits, although the corn ears are
only from 4 to 6 inches long. Ground
is never plowcd and often not cult
waited. The .machetc is the only
thing used. The brush is cut down
with the machctc, burned, and the
corn ot"o'r in tl'u S.uu.u won q
stick. The weeds and brush are cut
from between the corn rows with the
machctc. That is the only cuItiva-
tiOn it gets on the low lands, but in
the interior Of the country we have
another system Of farming.
For instance, we take the ZaraDa
Desert, a valley about the size Of the
Gal]atin valley in Montana, surround
cd by high mountains. The valley
has an elevation Of about 1900 feet,
and is very rough and broken; do not
think there is 100 acres Of level land
in one patch Oh it. Here they only
raise one crop in a year, that IS in
the rainy season, which we are having
right now. The desert is covered
with cactus, which is used for fcnc-
ing. The whole valley is fenced in
small fields: nearly all use cactus
fences. The only plow used is a
crooked stick with one handle, and
drawn by oxen with a bar Of wood
strapped to their horns. l have seen
hundreds Of these used. Stopped for
a few days with Spanish rancher
who had two small steel pows, but
he said they were no good, which was
Il fact, as ] saw them and had to pro-
nounce them Of no practical value
whatever in this country.
And still yet another system of
farming is carried on here. We leave
the valley now and 90 to the noun
tains, at an elevation Of from 2OOO to