The Houma courier. (Houma, La.) 1878-1939, 1900-03-10


oqt ana said hemNei
Cooper 81 RnatRn men MAJ e
very comfortably aH his dfea and with
out doing 5 single lieE - WORK. TO.
starve there would BE- simply impos-l
aible; it would IS ike trying 20 drown.
q fish. ne have AZ beggaf ana as.
pauper class to maintain. Ihefe
never been a mutder, theft ans
known, and locks are unneeassa
Some go as FAR as to claim that peos
pie don't die there. but that S ID
a~ggefahons They occasionally expire
Of extreme old age, 4
The Lazy Mani paradise thus
sketehilY described IS a corner Of The
world about which curiously little is
known. Raatan is the largest OF the.
1--WE Bay Islands, a little chain or.
key lying some 80 miles off the coast
Of Spanish Honduras, southeast of
Port CorteE, and only four days travel
from New ORLEANS. Their . indus
try is the raising of cocoanuts, and ale
together they form a domain chat Is
absolutely unique in the western hem-
ispheHes Mr. Cooper is the most
49, ~ GU kAyAAEaLaH1 AU4l14a nc was
born there, and with bis brothers be
now conducts very considerable
business. Several times a year he
comes to the United States for recrea-
fion and diversion, and he b at pres
ent in New Orleans on one Of these
periodical jaunts. In conversation.
with a reporter he told an interesting
story Of his island home
'RuatRns where i live, said Mr..
Cooper Sis some 40 miles long and.
three miles wide. IT has a popui8i ion.
Of about 5000 people, mostly carib
Indians and 7 doubt whether there is
an all the world a more beautiful and
prolific spot. The people are lazy,
simply because they don't have to
work. Coeoanuts form their maine
stay, and there IS nothing easier ta
grew. To start 8 grove, one merely
burns of q piece Of land and plants
the nuts in rows 20 feet apart in
from four % five years time the trees
{ q dozen feet high ana are Begin
ming to bear and after that the plant
er IS fixed for Effe. He may bid adieu
6 care The nuts are never picked,
but as they mature they drop Of, and
this shower Of fruit goes GA steadily
month sitter month all the year
aroun& How long a tree win bear
nobody al say, but there are some on
the island that are known to be over
half a century old and are still drop
ping their harvest of nuts.
"When the native needs something
at the store" continued Mr.. Cooper.
call he has to do is to gather together
some nuts and trade them for what he
wishes. He huIls them by striking
them on a stake driven in the ground,
and a maj can easily hull 5000 a day
in that manner. Roses and flowers OF
almost every imaginable variety run
wild from one end Of Ruatan to the
other. I should add, too, that other
fruits grow just as easily as the cocoa
nut, and the only reason why that
especially is grown is because it. fur
nishes an easy crop, for which there
is always a ready market. We have
plenty Of bananas, oranges, mangoes,
plums and pineapples, and they are
delicious. They grow wild. without
the slightest cultivation, and all one
has to do is to pick them. Vegetables
are equally prolific, and our native
yams easily average 40 or so pounds
in weight. A piece Of cane stuck in
the ground takes root and renews it.
self p~erennially for years. A stranger
who comes to the islands is invariably
amazed at the prodigality of nature
and the apathy Of the natiVes-that is
before the lazy feeling gets into his
blood. why don't you grow thisY'
and why don't you cultivate that?' he
asks. The natives simply smile.
"Why-not take things easy and be hap
py2' they say.
Ehe next island to Ruatan is Utilla,
which has a population of about 500,
and is touched by several steamship
lines. We regard the people of UtiIa
a quite eitified and feverishly pro-
gressive. They have several stores
and a distinct social set, to move in
which one must be well vouched for.
There is a good deal of trading from
the island along the Honduranian
coast, and the owners of the larger
sloOps and schOoners make consider
able money that way, but the main
business is in cocoanuts. The first
island Of the chain is called Bonaceo,
and has about the same population
as Utilla. Then there are two very
small islands-Barbarat and Morat.
Barbarat, which is some three miles
long, is owned outright by my two
brothers-in-law. 7. and A. Morgan,
who live at Utilla. 1t is a charming
spot, and years ago was simply taken
possession of by an old Englishman,
an educated gentleman, about whom
very little is known. He held It by
right Of occupation, and his title was
conceded by the Honduranian govern
ment. Later on he wanted some
money, borrowed it of the Morgan
brothers and gave his island in pawn.
He neveF paid the debt, and at his
death the property passed into their
possession. AS i said before, it is a
beautiful place, and several capitalists
from the north have tried to buy it,
but my ~brothers-in-law prefer to keep
81 for their children. ] dare say It win
be very valuable one Of these days.