The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1897-05-15
HONDURAS
FROM PACIFIC SIDE AS SEEN BY
OUR CORRESPONDENT
Some OF the Seen es In that Far Or COun~
try-Touscca Bay, Beautiful Sheet of
Water - Atlantic Supremacy Annapolis
Scenes-Gstttng to the Capital.
(Cpar1NuED FROM s1coxp oo1m11

Scenes-Gstttng to the Capital
lCnHTzNuED FROM s1coND eoLu1E1)
curas, with Sacate Grande between, looks
Pike great mangrove swamp, above whicI
| hangs thick vel. of mist; but looking c.ose-
ly behind the haze you presently discern low
hills covered with verdure, and beyond then:
more ragged peaks and cones. Directly above
Vou2Tigres 5000 feet loom skyward, growing
higher, and higher the longer you gaze, its
summit lost in cioud-cap. The whole great
cone is loaded with greenest verdure to the
waters edge, where, just visible above the
glistening surf, are gigantic masses of lava,
like back wall, outlining all. In the
sleepy little village few Germans are en-
gagged in business, few natives serve then
as roustabou.s and cargadores, and a few
Indians fish along shore; but for the moss
part the Island is still uninhabited. Tbs
| broad level pains between the ridges ara
said to be immensely fertile and capable OF
| sustaining at least 10000 people; but except
| for half dozen small cleared spaces near
%mapala, it is all den se:y wooded, the haunt
| OF deer and other game.
Getting to the Capital.
The route to Honduras capita. from its
western border Is environed with as many
| difficulties as the Mohammedans road tt
| heaven. After the custom-house inspectors
It Amapala have been wrest.ed with and
l
| engagements can be made for the rest of the
1ourney-the 105 miles to Tegucigalpa, count
| ing the fifteen miles to mainland AS else
where in this weary word. there are plenty
of people to give good advice, but the rem
| derers OF actual assistance are as rare a.
| visiting angels. They tell you that travel by
| the canine real 0he great highway across
Honduras) is unsurpassed, only it is ex-
t-emely dusty in the dry season and dan.
gerous.y Doggy in the wet. OF course, yov
l net on lnho hut sre.
it is almost impossible to get mules at e'the,
port, because passenger travel is so small.
The natives and foreigners living in the
! country have their own animals, but nobody
finds it worth while to keep extra ones fox
the few outsiders who may happen along in,
! the course of the Year. This is not cheering
to say the least, and you turn to the tee
graph to see what can be done about it. But
the telegraph Office government insti;u-
! ton, is not open until noon; you occupy the
| time as best you can until that hour. and, re-
turning. are told that the solitary Official
who conducts it is taking his breakfast, and
| vii! probably be through by 1 o'clock. A
| the office closes at you reflect within your
self what satisfactory position for Debsite
| would be that OF te1egrapher Of AmapaIa
Having decided which port to make for LIS
| Brea or San Lorenzo-there Is little choice
| between the two, the latter being a trifs
!, nearer to Tegucigalpa by road, but farther
| by water from Amapala-you proceed to hire
l A
| the first brush the boatman charges you
| enough to buy the whole outfit, without for a
moment expecting you to pay it, and grace
i fully comes down to reasonable figure &C,
cording to the national habit OF haggling. The
favorite boat is bongo, huge canoe, hoI-
lowed out of single mahogany trunk, twenty
feet long by four feet wide with fiat bottom
| and steep sides. 1t is manned by captain
and three sailors, and carries a spirit SAIL but
the oars are largely depended upon. Seats
are laid across the bottom of the boat the,
| sides used as rest for the back The row
| from Tigre to the mainland is glorious one
| through an ever-shating panorama Of noun
tain ridges, volcanic islands, tall mangrove
forests. and smooth, dark waters, where every
Clip of the oars stirs up phosphorescent moses,
| that glitter like FURNISHED silver.
| Overland Expcrfcnces
AS everything in Spanish America is done
on the manama tomorrow plan, it has been
| impossible to start on this several hours trip
until the day is far spent; consequently yorl
have the privilege OF watching the sun 60 t.
bed in the Western ocean, amid blaze OF
| glory, and the brief twilight of the tropics
| duted with the most gorgeous tints and
shades, reflected on mountain, cloud, and
| sea. Then night suddenly descends, like g
curtain rolled down from heaven, and unless
Luna lends assistance you land in darkness.
1t matters little by which port you have
elected to enter Honduras-you will wish YOU
| had chosen the other one. San Lorenzo Is
a miserable collection of straw hatched huts.
with two great wicker-slded, tile-roofed ware
houses, belonging to some silver-mining COM
pany of the interior, all swarming with feas
| gnats, and other vermin. ... h. s'
The wretched inhabitants, shaking with
:alentura from the nearby swamps, ARE mostly
engaged in the manufacture Of salt. In the
hutsTaforesaid dozens of people, Of both sex
| and several generations, occupy one small
| room: No chance in any of them for more
fas:idious strangers; SO you unstrap your
hammOcks and swing them in the wicker.
sided warehouses, to get what sleep the. gods
and gnats allow. La Brea is shade better,
having hotel, or something which bears that
name. Midway betweensthe two villages the
Rio Choluteca empties into the sea- the same
stream which flows through Tegucigalpa, and
known near its head waters as the Rio Grande.
II one could only sail to the capital on this
long and winding river! But unfortunately it
Is navigable only a short distance from its
mouth The overland journey to the interior
Is much the same from this side Of Honduras
as from the Atlantic coast, except that the
western mountains are more easily scaled
and there are fewer stretches Of sandy desert.
pine forests alternating with grassy meadows
where sleek cattle browse. The mules are
small and tough, about the size OF Newfound-,
land dogs. You can buy one for $25, while a.
good horse costs only $40. mounted. mozo.
| or man servant, goes ahead to spy out the trail
! snu Aeep WdtcuIul eye 1Or possible per1lS,
while the arriero follows on foot. driving
the pacKmules that bear your luggage. me
latter individual is rather terrifying at first.
sight. He wears huge machate "a sort OF
rude broadsword tied around his waist, an,
enormous straw hat, and incidentally pair
of abbreviated cotton drawers. You meet few
travellers on the long, long road, but many
mule trains bound for the coast, to take goods
thence to the mines. Several villages are
passed en- route-Pespire, Sapade, Grande
San Antorio de Flores, Moramulco, La Venta
-all much alike. with straw matched huts=
grouped around the regulation white doomed,
I twin-towered church. A single telegraph.
wire follows you all the way from La Brea to
Teguciga;pa, with three intermediate sta
tons. These stations serve also as postofices
| the mail being carried on foot, one man max
| Ing the entire distance from Fonseca Bay to
the capital in forty-eight fours.
! FANNIE BRIGHAM WARD.
| The memory of Col. Robert Goulds
Shaw, the leader Of the frs. Afro-Am-
e1ican regiment, is about to be honored
/ in Boston. where hrnnzo fahlat RI his