Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-01-21
AIRPORT PROBABLE /
! AHEAD OF RAILWAY
i eguCigalpa, Honduras, May
Have Landing Field Before
Locomotive Is Seen.

An airport may be built at Teguci-
Ealpa, Honduras, before its inhabitants
hear the whistle of a railroad engine.
It is reported that the Honduran cap
ital will be made a base on an air
route between the United States and
Central American Republics.
"Tegucigalpa, which lies in the hills
OF Honduras, due south of Chicago, Is
one of those cities which, though some-
what isolated, keeps travel writer's re-
vising their notes." says bulletin from
the headquarters of the National Geo.
graphic Society.
Slightly more than a decade ago
CORRESPONDENT of the Society, deScrib-
ing his visit to Tegucigalpa wrote !:
From Amapala "a port on the PaclIlc
coast of Honduras) a launch Is taken
To San Lorenzo where necessary mules
should be arranged for in advance
since they have to come from a town
some miles away. If light pack Is
all the traveller has, it can be taken
with him on mule; otherwise it is
better and cheaper to send heavy bag
gage forward by oxcart. Tegucigalpa
should be reached in three days,
Famous for Hospitality.
"while the same route now is taken
the Pacific Coast. the three days trip
has been cut to but few hours. Three
hours after boarding boat at Amapala
the traveller arrives at San Lorenzo ana
Is comfortably seated in an automoplle
for the trip over the Honduran hills TO
the capital. 81 miles inland. The mules
and oxcarts still plod the highway nut
truck and automobile traffic Is replac-
ing this antiouated mode OF tranSpor-
tation. :,
s'Tegucigalpa means Silver HILL Sill
yer and gold mined in the neighbor-
hood brought the city into the spot
light many times during the past two
centuries. Between 1778 and 1871
5000 900, 900 worth of thes, precious
metals was produced. Intermittent po-
litical trouble threatened the cltys
growth from time to time but between
disturbances it prospered.
To-day Tegucigalpa has 39,OOO IN
habitants, who are noted for their nos
pitality. Commenting on his Vlslt 10
the Honduran capital during his south
American flight, Col. Charles A. Lind
bergh wrote: For two days visited
with the friendly people of Tegucigalpa
and it W: /; with regret that took the
air on January -
City among HIS.
sThe city, nesting among the fer
sile Honduras hills, baskS in the tropl-
cal sun. No railroad yards or ship
docks are there to disturb the eardrums
of the natives, but the noise OF the
market place furnishes excitement
aplenty. Here the rural fol- attempt
sunersalesmanship by word OF mouth
and wild gestures. while the city folk,
LatinS that they are, wait for an OPEN
ing to drive home bargain.
most of the buildings in the capital
are but one story, forming monotonous
rows along narrow cobbled streets. Now
and then the streets open into parks
but the real beauty spots of the city
ar to be <ound in the courtyards
which many of the houses surround.
A peep into some of them reveals ar
tistically laid out gardens and walks,
forming colorful frames for splashing
fountains.
Modern buildings, rising above the
old, tiled, housetops are appearing, but
the outstanding structure is the Casa
Presidencia, the Honduran White
House 1t is a magnificent stone
building of two stories with q fortress
like wall nearly surrounding it.
while the airplane reached Teguci-
galpa before the steam engine, rail-
roads are pushing their way from the
Atlantic Coast inland toward the city.
Nearly e-third of the trip from
Puerto Cortes on the Atlantic Coast. to
Tegucigalpa now may be made by rail-
road, which connects with good high
way"