Perth Amboy evening news., 1923-05-01
Geographic News
Bulletins by the
National Geographic Society
%NEGLECrEn PATCH

1 linz lIiG ICpOII u IL fOlCdillC hP
ton in New York or a blizzard in
Death Valley. A bulletin from the
Washington, d. c. headquarters Ct
the National Geographic Society
| tells why.
"Set down in the midst OF a group
of republics in which revolutions
have beer at least not infrequent for
the country of their existence" says
the bulletin, "Belize's bid to fame
has been that it was 100 per cent
revolutionless. Although it Is one
| of the least known and most neg
lected patches of the British Empire.
, still British law and order hoyered
over it, and it has been TO a certain
extent. like the Dutch West Indian
colony of Curacao. an asylum for
alien leaders who were more revolu-
+, tionasy than successful.
Tropical But British
'"Tne country's $4,000 inhabit-
! ants include probably less than 1000
| whites. The remainder. of the pop.
| ulation is made up of negroes and
fmulattos and Spanish Indians. the
| latter living chiefly in the back
country. But in the capital. Belize,
throughout the whole coast country,
| and wherever governmental machin
cry has been set up, the atmosphere,
| whether it be made up of business,
| government, or sport, is unmlstak-
ably British.
Few concessions have been made
to the climate. The two and three
| story houses that line the main res
| idence street of Belize are OF ac-
| cepted British architecture. COAL
| black policemen are clothed much
| like the London Bobby and be-
wigged and begowned judges sit IN
| the courts. In the open spaces
cricket matches will often be found
in progress. and boxing bouts and
bull fights of their Latinized nelgn'
! bors
Geographic Names Tell Story
Geographic names tell of the
| sudden transition from the lands OF
| Spanish culture to this little paIch
| of the Spanish Main that has been
Anglicized. One leaves Puerto
| Cortez, Honduras or Puerto Barrios,
Guatemala, 10 sail a few miles fa"-
Their on past the CoXcomb noun
tains. All Pines, and Siam creek.
Inland are MiddleseX and Orange
Walk. Belize is one of the few eA-
ceptions, and even that is said TO be
a corruption of the OF an
early Scotch settler. Walls. Direct
English nomenclature reaches Its
apex in Belize where the ferry is
| called the Haul-over.'
British Honduras. a tribe larger
than Massachusetts, or New JERSEY,
IS wedged in between the Mexican
| States of the Yucatan Peninsula on
| the north and Guatemala on the
west and south. while Honduras.
| Nicaragua, Salvador and Costa Ria
are nearby. 1t is due west of ia
maica, some coo miles across the
Caribbean and has always been TO q
| certain extent under the wing OF
that British island.
| Swamps Reclaimed With Chips ana
Rum Bottles
THE mahogany industry is justly
| commemorated on the flag of British
| Honduras by the representation
there of the tools of the trade. Ma
hogany lured early settlers TO Be-
lie: put money in their purses;
furnished something for them m
their broker. Great Britain, to hight
| the Spaniards about and has always
been chiefly responsible for the
lands main industry. numbering.
1.-THE people of the colony even
tell solemnly how the lowest por-
tons of the city of Belize. once u
| seemingly bottomless swamp have
been filed in and made disable by the
millions of mahogany chips hacked
| there from logs which must DE
| roughly squared before they are
ready for market. Assisting the
chips in the work of st~abilization-
| they tell with equal solemnlty-
were the thousands of empty rum
bottles thrown aside by the axmen.
british Honduras came under the
British flag largely through the well
| 1r,..-, s-1t,offoret fiUhfgi NrOWn 10
international stature. Spain claimed
the entire Main or mainland, from
the time Of the earliest explorers.
But she was interested chiefly IN
gold and silver mere trees seemed
beneath notice. So British and
other adventures who cut timber
on the eastern coast of 9ucatan, the
present British Honduras, and the
mosquito country. farther south.
were not molested at first.
when the settlers were seen 10
be making a good thing of their
mahogany trade, the Spanish chang
ed their policy and began harassing
them. A series of wars and treaties
between spain and Great Britain
followed. In 1898 the Spanish made
a supreme effort to drive what they
considered the 'squatters' out OF Be-
lie. But the settlers with q
| cannOn mOunSQ Ul RATS uiu AA@b
boats, had the best of the strategic
situation and won a signal victory.
From that time the British claim to
the territory rested on conquest as
well as settlement. In 1862 the set
Element was declared a colony
and was given q lieutenant governor
a :tine under the governor OF ia
ma'ta. In 1884 it was made a SGD
a:Gte crown colony.
Keeps American Jews Dusy
Belize, like the other countries
along the east side of Central amer
lea. has a low-lying region alo TX the
coast with highlands farther inland
is dense tropical forests have dis
coE.seec agriculture. Growth is so
rlpic that it is a task of the utmost
difficulty to keep trails open. Most
traTs. is along rivers, and little is
known of the interior away from
the streams. The one important ex-
ceptioL is the southern region tap
ped by the only railroad, along
which thousands of acresof banana
plantations have been established
TO supply a part of the market IN
the United States. Down the riv-
ers millions of dollars worth of ma
hogany and log-wood have been
flo itcd during the life OF the colony.
In lata years tens of thousands Of
bales Of chicle, the raw material uf
chewing gum have Joined stream
to be shipped north to keep busy
the restless jaws of America.
For this outflow to America
Their is an inflow not wholly cou-
/ Hoo CO.