424 



HONDURAS. 



HOUSES, PORTABLE. 



Steamships. In October the Honduras and 

 Central American Steamship Company con- 

 tracted for the building of two new steamers 

 on the Clyde, Scotland, to measure 245 feet in 

 length and 35 in width. 



Commerce. The imports in 1886 amounted 

 to $2,000,000, and the exports to $2,500,000 

 The chief articles exported were coffee, India- 

 rubber, ores, hides, skins, medicinal plants, and 

 precious stones. The imports into the United 

 States during the fiscal year 1886 amounted to 

 $730,559, and the domestic exports from the 

 United States to Honduras to $428,104. 



Mining. American capital continues to be 

 actively engaged in exploiting the resources of 

 the Yuscaran and other mines. The Central 

 American Syndicate Company of New York, 

 organized in 1882, being the owner of valuable 

 franchises granted by the Honduras Govern- 

 ment, and being furnished with a capital of 

 $78,000, without having any of its stock on the 

 market, has made good progress in developing 

 its interests. Its business is to advance the 

 mining interests of Honduras, and it has aided 

 in promoting several companies that are now 

 actively engaged in reopening some of the 

 abandoned mines, which had previously been 

 worked as far as was possible without pump- 

 ing or ventilating machinery. Each of these 

 companies owns distinct properties, and is an 

 independent organization, and each is in pos- 

 session of ample funds. Under the auspices 

 of these companies, a good wagon-road was 

 built from San Lorenzo, on the Pacific coast, 

 by way of Tegucigalpa to Yuscaran, 114 miles. 

 This road was completed on June 3. The San- 

 ta Lucia Mining and Milling Company owns 

 twenty -five old mines in the district. The 

 Animas mine, of the Los Angeles Mining and 

 Smelting Company, has been paying since the 

 time of its discovery, and has been continu- 

 ously worked by its native owners. Capt. J. 

 P. Imboden has supervised the building of the 

 road alluded to, connecting all the works about 

 Yuscaran with good roads. The shaft of the 

 Guayabillas mine, which is 600 feet back of 

 the crop of the vein, and will cut all the veins 

 in the set far below where they were worked 

 by the old miners, is 6 by 12 feet and well tim- 

 bered. The gold placers are in and adjacent 

 to the head- waters of the Guayape river, a tribu- 

 tary of the Rio Patuca, a region long known 

 for its mineral resources. 



Education. An evening school for mechan- 

 ics was opened at Tegucigalpa, in January, 

 1886, the number of pupils being 219, and the 

 average daily attendance 180. 



Frnit. The cultivation of tropical fruits for 

 export to the United States constitutes the 

 chief industry and almost the only source of 

 trade and revenue in the Ruatan district. It 

 was begun only a score of years since, in a very 

 small way, but has gradually monopolized the 

 labor and enterprise of the inhabitants. The 

 trade in bananas, plantains, and pineapples 

 is most active from March to July. Fruit is 



shipped constantly during the entire year, but 

 from July to March the prices are lower. New 

 Orleans receives the largest part ; thence they 

 are forwarded in fruit-cars to the North and 

 West. The freights carried by the railroads 

 from New Orleans on bananas alone during 

 the past year amounted to over $200,000, and 

 the business is increasing. There are seven 

 regular steamships constantly employed in the 

 iruit- trade between the Ruatan district and 

 New Orleans. These vessels have an aggre- 

 gate carrying capacity of 100,000 bunches of 

 bananas, 250,000 cocoanuts, and 175,000 plain- 

 tains, besides an assortment of pineapples, or- 

 anges, etc. They can make two round trips a 

 month, but probably do not average over ten 

 annually. There are also two steamships from 

 New York, which call regularly at Ruatan for 

 cocoanuts. Besides the steamers, there are 

 schooners engaged in carrying fruit from the 

 district to New Orleans, Mobile, and Key West. 



Events of 1886. On February 14 the Ameri- 

 can man-of-war " Galena " captured, near the 

 Colombian island of San Andres, the Ameri- 

 can steamer '" City of Mexico," with an alleged 

 filibustering party and arms on board, said to 

 have Honduras for their destination, and 

 brought them into Key West, where the vessel 

 was libeled and the leaders Gen. Delgado, 

 Col. Morey, M. Soto. and Capt. Kelly were 

 prosecuted in the United States District Court. 

 This attempt having failed, ex-President Mar- 

 co Aurelio Soto left New York for Costa Rica, 

 and thence sent a small revolutionary force 

 of 77 devoted political adherents to Hondu- 

 ras, for the purpose of stirring up the people 

 to revolt against the constituted authorities; 

 but not a man could be induced to join them. 

 Meanwhile the Government force, sent against 

 them, defeated the little band on August 18, 

 at La Mani, eighteen miles from Comayagua, 

 the Cuban Col. Morey being killed, together 

 with Velasquez and seven other chiefs and 

 officers. Four leaders Gen. E. Delgudo, Lieut- 

 Col. Indalecio Garcia, Commander Miguel Cor- 

 t6z, and Lieut. Gabriel Loyano were shot at 

 Comayagua on October 18. President Bogran 

 offered to spare Gen. Delgado's life, on condi- 

 tion of a promise not to take up arms against 

 Honduras again ; but the offer was spurned. 



HOUSES, PORTABLE. The demand lor ready- 

 made houses began shortly after the great mi- 

 gration of gold-seekers to California in 1849, 

 and it has continued to increase ever since. 

 At first the buildings were made with ordi- 

 nary frames, so that they could be readily set 

 up and fastened together on reaching their des- 

 tination. Skilled workmen and machinery 

 were so scarce in California in the early days 

 that houses could be made on the Atlantic 

 coast and shipped round Cape Horn at a fair 

 profit ; but, of course, the abundance of lum- 

 ber on the Pacific slope put a stop to this traf- 

 fic as soon as machinery could be transported 

 and set in operation. During the Crimean war 

 (1854-'55) barracks and quarters, made in Eng- 



