Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1901-01-03
drawing powers, ,altho it has little to
recommend it in other directions.
A Railroad

Puerto Cortez, in Spanish Honduras,
boasts of one of the few railroads
along the coast 1t extends for thirty
miles into the interior, and spasmodlc
trips are made, on an average of every
other day. The tracks are used by
the street car line for three miles,
and the ADDED furnishes the chief
thorofare of the city, which extends
in long line of five miles between a
salt marsh and the sea- The railroad
company has an exceedingly limited
amount of rolling stock, altho the ties
are OF mahogany, and its rusty rails
the laid on ballast of marble. The
company, notwithstanding the fact
that it is hampered greatly by lack OF
facilities for pushing business, and
by heavy expenses incurred during the
rainy season, with the attendant
washouts and serious accidents to
rolling stock, is said to be earning
large sums yearly by the Transports
ton of fruits and woods from the IN
terror and by it's control of the wharfs
at the harbor. It's most serious rival
today is the American syndicate which
proposes to open UP the rivers for a
distance of 200 miles into the interior,
which will develop the richest forests
| of valuable woods in the country.
An Incident.
The enforcement of the United
States immigration laws is often at
tended by great hardships. A coffee
| planter with his wife and seven chill.
dren had engaged passage to the
| States on one of the boats of the
United Fruit company. Accompany,
| ing them were two Carib Indians, one
little girl of Z and a boy of IA, who
had been adopted in early childhood
Central America was the mothers ma,
tive country and all of her children
had been born there. They felt, in
coming to the States that they We're
giving up everything most dear to
them, and that their future was full
of uncertainty. To the two Indian
children they had become greatly at
1 tached, and all of them conyersed free
| ly in the Indian tongue. Not wishing
them to return to their former uncivi
lized life, the parents had decided tt
bring them to the States, the thought
not suggesting itself that either woulc
be excluded. A few miles out iron
Puerto Cortez the captain and pursel
| of the vessel came to the conclusion
1 that he did not wish to incur the re
| sponsibility of taking the Indian boy
1t seems that an Indian boy of certain
age wishing to gain admission to the
| United States must be able to NEE
certain requirements as to education
and the company had been frequentl.
warned in cases of similar nature, tina
they would be held responsible TO
transporting ineligible persons. Thu
boy came within the scope of the re
1 strictions outlined by the law and thu
mother was informed that at Punt'
Gordo, $50 miles distant he would b,
compelled to leave the boat. Every
thing possible was done to influenc,
i the officers to change their decision
The mother pleaded persistently, an,
the father offered to give bond for tn
boys appearance for examination ii
New Orleans, or to pay his return pas
sage to Central America, but the car
tain was inexorable. To this distress
ing condition of things was added tn
Discrimination of the boy himself t