358 



IDAHO. 



The principal exports were: Silver, $732,059; 

 live animals, $667,340; bananas, $211,940; cocoa- 

 nuts, $91,990 ; tobacco, $49.314 ; coffee, $41,393 ; 

 sarsaparilla, $19,883 ; gold, $19,657. The United 

 States furnished 46 per cent, of the imports, and 

 took 57 per cent, of the exports, and 31 per cent, 

 went to the other Central American countries, 

 from which 9 per cent, of the imports came, 

 while 44 per cent, were divided among Great 

 Britain, Germany, and France. The tobacco of 

 Honduras, the finest grown in Central America, 

 is mainly exported to Cuba, where it is redressed 

 and sold as Havana tobacco. The once nourish- 

 ing mahogany trade has become insignificant, 

 owing to lack of enterprise. Besides silver and 

 gold, the mineral wealth includes copper, lead, 

 iron, antimony, and coal. 



In 1892 there were 201 United States vessels, 

 153 British vessels, and 589 of other nationali- 

 ties entered at the ports of the republic. Of the 

 total number, 316 were steamers, of 246,405 tons, 

 and 627 were sailing vessels, of 20,168 tons. 



Communications. There is a railroad from 

 Puerto Cortez to San Pedro Sula, 37 miles. A 

 line from Tegucigalpa to the Pacific is projected. 

 There are 1,800 miles of telegraph. Postal re- 

 ceipts in 1890 were $19,436, expenses $157,851. 



Overthrow of the Vasquez Government. 

 Policarpo Bonilla, the leader of the revolutionary 

 army, retired into Nicaragua with his defeated 

 forces in the spring of 1893, his supplies and 

 ammunition being exhausted. In December he 

 brought his adherents together once more, and 

 was joined by a large auxiliary force of Nica- 

 raguan volunteers. The revolutionists invaded 

 Honduras, and on Dec. 30, 1893, captured the 

 town of Yuscoran after a fight lasting five hours, 

 in which 23 men on the Government side and 2 

 on the side of the insurgents were killed. The 

 capture of Corpus soon followed, and there Bo- 

 nilla set up a Provisional Government, which 

 was at once recognized by President Zelaya, of 

 Nicaragua. He advanced, and invested Cholu- 

 teca, cutting off communication with the inte- 

 rior, forming a junction with 3,000 Nicaraguan 

 troops sent to his aid under Gen. Ortiz, who had 

 previously occupied San Luis and Cincopino. 



In the first attack the allies were repelled by 

 Gen. Villela, and Gen. Rosas was killed. The 

 place was finally carried by storm, with a loss 

 of 150 men, and Gen. Villela retreated. Gen. 

 Bonilla, on assuming the presidency, named 1 he 

 following Cabinet : Minister of Foreign Affairs, 

 Caesar Bonilla; Minister of the Interior. Angel 

 Arias; Minister of Finance, Miguel Da vela; 

 Minister of War, Manuel Bonilla. The Hondu- 

 rian leader remained in Choluteca, and prepared 

 for the march upon Tegucigalpa, while Gen. 

 Ortiz guarded the Nicaraguan frontier against 

 the threatened invasion of Gen. Vasquez. The 

 latter was not well prepared for the invasion of 

 his own country, and had to resort to a forced 

 loan of $320,000, levied upon the merchants. A 

 diversion on the northeastern border of Nicara- 

 gua proved futile ; and on Jan. 3, Gen. Vasquez, 

 with 1,500 men, attacked Choluteca. His force 

 was repelled with heavy loss, and retreated upon 

 the capital, pursued by the allied armies. V;is- 

 quez made a stand at Cerrito, and was again 

 defeated. Most of the provinces declared for 

 Bonilla, who was recognized by Honduras and 

 Salvador. On Jan. 25 the invaders laid siege to 

 the capital. The barracks were bombarded, but 

 the operations made slow progress, because the 

 besiegers wished to spare the civil population, 

 and because both armies were short of ammuni- 

 tion. On Feb. 23 Gen. Vasquez was driven from 

 his last fort, and fled by night with 500 men, of 

 whom 300 soon left him, across the frontier of 

 Salvador. The losses of the allied armies dur- 

 ing the siege were 2 generals, 7 colonels, and 

 200 private soldiers. The Nicaraguan troops 

 returned to their own country. Gen. Bonilla 

 set up his Provisional Government in the pal- 

 ace, decreed a general amnesty, and appointed a 

 date for new elections. The country was gener- 

 ally pleased with the advent of the young Lib- 

 eral leader to power. 



In the autumn a Constitutional Assembly was 

 held in Tegucigalpa, and a new Constitution was 

 framed. Policarpo Bonilla was elected Presi- 

 dent by an overwhelming majority, and Manuel 

 Bonilla, his brother, was elected Vice-Presi- 

 dent. 



IDAHO, a Northwestern State, admitted to 

 the Union July 3, 1890; area, 84,800 square 

 miles; population, according to the census of 

 1890, 84,385. Capital, Boise City. 



Government. The following were the State 

 officers during the year: Governor, William J. 

 McConnell, Republican ; Lieutenant-Governor, 

 Frank B. Willis ; Secretary of State, James F. 

 Curtis; Auditor, Frank C. Ramsey; Treasurer, 

 William C. Hill; Attorney-General, George M. 

 Parsons; Adjutant-General, E. J. Curtis; Su- 

 perintendent of Public Instruction, B. B. Lower ; 

 Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, J. W. Hus- 

 ton; Associate Justices, Francis E. English, 

 Thomas M. Stewart. 



Finances. The report of the State Auditor, 

 covering the period between Jan. 1, 1894, and 

 June 30, 1894, shows that the receipts for the six 

 months were $308,497.72, while the warrants 



issued amounted to $99,985.53. The taxable 

 property in the State is given at $33,511,890, 

 based on the reports of the county officers for 

 1893. The State's portion of taxes levied was 

 $284,170.90. The total bonded debt is $383,000, 

 of which $80,000 are Capitol-building bonds, for 

 the payment of which there is on hand about 

 $59,000. A summary of the report for the last 

 six months of 1893 is as follows : 



Total balance in funds July 1, 1893 

 Receipts to Dec. 30, 1S93 



$165.051 



Total ..................................... *276.84557 



Total paid out ............................. I1ii.ll!' 57 



Balance in funds on hand. . . ........ * 1 1 ." 



Bonds outstanding ............................. .-MJ.ooo 00 



Warrants outstanding ......................... 24(5,009 01 



The State tax was 85 cents on the $100. 



