NO. I HONDURAS STRONG, KIDDER, AND PAUL lOI 



meters across and 4 meters high. The borrow-pit or ditch is 25 to 

 30 meters wide and is flanked by high ground to the east. At El 

 Eden, where it crosses the road to the cemetery, the mound is 21 meters 

 wide, 3.5 to 4 meters high on the ditch side, and 2-3 meters high on 

 the west side. The ditch here is 9 meters wide across the bottom. 

 About 100 meters north of this road is an apparently intentional break 

 in the mound wall about 16 meters wide (Strong, 1937, fig. y^))- 

 About 22 meters farther on is another smaller break, perhaps worn 

 through by an old road. With these exceptions the mound or causeway 

 appears to be continuous throughout its entire length, though the 

 poor visibility due to the dense bush prevented our perceiving all 

 details as we cut our way through. About half a kilometer north of 

 El Eden the mound, now definitely turned to the west, crosses the 

 road, where it shows in cross-section on the east side. The ditch 

 here is not marked. Beyond the road both mound and ditch again 

 become very definite with fairly steep walls. Here, as elsewhere, the 

 mound has a flat top. Both terminate in a series of mysterious, deep, 

 dry gorges which mark the underground course of the Rio Blanco. 

 Miguel pointed out another series of deep pits or small gorges just 

 south of here extending to the west (map, fig. 20), which he said 

 marked the course of another underground stream called the Jutosa. 

 At the time of our visit (April 4) no water was visible in either stream 

 at this point, but during certain seasons the water level is said to rise 

 to a considerable height. 



It is certain that any clear understanding of the function of this 

 interesting causeway and " canal " will depend on an equally clear 

 understanding of the nature and recent history of these mysterious, 

 semisubterranean streams. Hidden amidst almost impenetrable bush 

 and marked by precipitous canyons and yawning sink-holes, the solu- 

 tion of the problem of the Rio Blanco, which apparently drains Lake 

 Yojoa by some subterranean passage, is not one to be lightly attempted. 

 There is probably some connection between the past level of this 

 stream and the "canal" in question. If the river level was at one 

 time higher than at present, the " canal " would have served to irrigate 

 a large portion of the lower plain. Strange to say, local tradition 

 reverses this explanation and claims that the ancient Indians sought 

 to drain the lake ! Since returning to Washington, the senior author 

 has also heard a story that a canal was dug in this vicinity about 1880 

 by a commercial company with some similar end in view. We have 

 as yet been unable to secure more definite information in this regard. 

 We are unable to state positively that the causeway and ditch are 

 not of historic origin, but, to say the least, this seems highly improbable. 



