C8 General A^olices. 



in the woods, in this employment, may not unaptly be compared to 

 what is felt hy many duriiij^ a lon^ confinement on shiplioard. Christ- 

 mas, however, is the season wliicli brings all ranks toiiCther — the bond 

 and free; and the hilarity which prevails amongst the slaves caiuiot 

 possihly be more largely partaken of by any beings in the world. The 

 young, the old, the decrepit — all unite in contributing to render this ])e- 

 riod joyous, happy and noisy. Af;er a w eek or ten days of the most 

 unbounded hosj)itality, festivity, and relaxation from every care, all be- 

 comes activity and preparation for the labors of ihe mahogany harvest; 

 of which, the felling of the trees and the trimming, marking, and truck- 

 ing out of those that have been felled, form the chief employments. 

 Some of the wood is rough squared on the spot; but this part of the 

 work is getierally suspended unfi! the logs have been rafted to the 

 mouths of the several rivers. These rafts often consist of more than 

 two hundred logs, which are generally floated at least as many miles. 

 When the floods are unusually rapid, however, it very frequently hap- 

 pens that the labor of a whole season, or perhaps of several seasons, 

 is at once destroyed by the breaking asunder of the rafts; the whole of 

 the logs being thereby precipitated into the sea, and consequently lost 

 forever to the owners. 



"The gangs emj)loyed in this work consist of from ten to fifty ne- 

 groes; each having one belonging to it who is styled the hxmlsman. He 

 is generally selected from the most intelligent of his fellows; and his 

 chief occu[)ation is to search the woods, or, as it is termed, the bush, to 

 find labor for the whole. About the middle of January, and the begin- 

 ning of August, the huntsman is despatched on his errand; and, if his 

 master be working on his own estate, this is seldom an employment of 

 much delay or difliculty. He cuts his way through the thickest of the 

 woods, to the highest spot, and climbs the highest tree he can find, from 

 which he minutely surveys the surrounding country'. In August the 

 leaves of the mahogany tree are invariably of a yellow-reddish hue; 

 therefore, an eye accustomed to this kind of exercise can easily discov- 

 er, at a great distance, the places where the wood is most abundant. 

 Having descended, on descr3nng the desired object, he bends his step 

 thitherward, and, without com|)ass, or other guide than Avhat observa- 

 tion has imprinted on his mind, he never fails to reach the exact point 

 at which he aims. It not unfrequently happens, however, that when 

 the huntsman has been very successful in finding a large clumj), or body 

 of trees, it becomes a matter of contest with his conscience whether he 

 shall disclose the fact to his master, or sdl the knowledge thereof to his 

 master's neighbor — a liberal equivalent for this breach of fidelity being- 

 always punctually and immediately discharged. Those, however, who 

 afford encouragement to such treacherous practices, are generally paid 

 back in their own coin. 



" On some occasions no ordinary stratagem is requisite, on the part 

 of the huntsman, to |)revent others from availing themselves of the ad- 

 vantage of his discovery; for, if his steps be traced by those engaged 

 in the same pursuit, which is a very common thing, all his ingenuity 

 is requisite to beguile them from the true scent. In this exertion of 

 cunning, however, he is not always successful; for he is often watched 

 and followed by those who are well aware of all the arts he is capable 

 of using; the eyes and ears of these are so quick, that the slightest turn 

 of a leaf, or the faintest impression of his foot, is imerringly [icrceived 

 and noted; and even the dried leaves strewed on the ground, frequently 

 assist in conducting to the secret spot. Patents for discovery having 

 never been contemplated by the wood-cutters of Honduras, any inva- 

 sion of rights a])pertaim'ng to the same has seldom been very scrupu- 

 lously regarded, or attended to by them; and it therefore happens that 

 persons so engaged must frequently undergo the disappointment of 



