The silver star., 1900-02-09

~AM
man may live comfortah,, y
life without doing any wo,. y
Lemuel Cooper, who was hor.
island Of Ruatan, one of ~.
group. a little chain or kew lv,s. II.
80 miles on the coast Of spaniss :
duras. To starve there wou,d =
ply impossible: II would he ny =
ing to drown a fish. We hava ~ !.
gars and NO pauper class to MI. T.
There has never been a murd..
10 unknown and locks are unn...
Last year our mortality was onss,.
Of one per cent.
Ruatan. continued Mr. coo,..
miles long and three miles "a.
has a population Of about q ooo -.
mostly Carib Indians, and
whether there is in all the vo,,.
more beautiful and prolific spot
people are lazy simply because
don't have to work. Cocoanp,,
their mainstay and there ia noJ
easier to grow. To start a pro,.
merely burns off a piece OF lans
plants the nuts In rows 20 feet !.
In from four to five years tim
trees are dozen feet high and \.
ming to bear and after that tho n,
Is fixed for lie. He may bid M.
care. The nuts are never pictA
as they mature they drop on .ns
shower Of fruit goes on steadily n
after month all the year around !,
long a tree will bear nobodr c.s
but there are some on the island
are known to be over hall GA,
old and are still dropping their h,,
Of nuts.
Mnen the native needs some,b,,
the store all he has to do is to 4
together some nuts and trade
for what he wishes. He hulh
by striking them on a stake a
into the ground ana a man car Z
hull 5000 day in that manner
two brothers and myself shipped d
900 nuts last year. and the total
ment from the islands would n,
about 100000. Elsewhere the n
q valuable by-product and is q
factured into mats and brushes II
sorts OF fiber ware. but no al
has ever been made to utilize il Ill
Bay islands. Thousands upon
sands OF dollars worth OF mated,
thus been allowed to rot on the n
Everybody admits that q fiber
would be a profitable industry
what is the use?" the people
Haven't we everything we vnl
ready?" 1t Ia the indolence thn
in the blood. The longer you IN
Ruatan the less you approve Of 4
Other fruits grow just as es
the cocoanut and the only reasa
that especially is grown Is becs1
furnishes an easy crop. for which
is always ready market. We
plenty OF bananas, oranges. ma1
plums and pineapples. and they
delicious. They grow wild, u
the slightest cultivation. and u
has to do is to pick them. vees
are equally prolific. and our
yams easily average 40 to 80
in weight. A piece Of cane 81
the ground takes root and renew
perennially for years. A strangz
comes to the islands is lnvr
amazed at the prodigality OF
and the apathy Of the natives-u
before the lazy feeling gets inn
blood. why don't you grow
and why don't you cultivate
he asks. The natives Simply
why not take things easy =
happy"
The next island to Ruatan
which has a population OF aba
and Is touched by several ste
lines. There Is a good deal Of
from the island along the Hondu
coast and the owners Of the
sloops and schooners make %
able money that way. but us
business Is In cocoanuts. Thsp
and Of the chain is called Bonses
has about the same populane
Utilla. Then there are two ven
islands-Barbarat and Morat'
The strangers who occasionalg
to the Bay islands. through on
and another. rarely leave. Isq
like the lotus eaters In Teal
poem. The American consul :
ent is Mr.. johnson. who CON.
Wisconsin. He was delighted
spot and sent at once for Dis
daughter. They are all there
now and insist that they '"
leave. The climate. by the
singularly equablc The theln
has never been known to fan
Go or to rise above ~. Being
Spanish Honduras. we are.
under the government OF thai
but we are too far away 70
disturbed by the storms Of ~
and at present things are
serene.
The Bay islands have the ~
Of having the largest shaIn
world In their waters. They
three or four miles from the
frequently grow to q length "