1() MASSACHUSETTS HOi: TKl LTIKAL SOCIETY. 



the inidriljs ami then tied to llu' rafter poles. They are laid oji 

 (luite thick, siilliiMeiitly s(j to make the roof i)roof against leakage, 

 anil to pnjteel tlu' inmates from the fervent heat of the snn. I 

 was told liy ouv of the I'Jiglish niercliMids, who was having his 

 thatch rclaid, that it was better than any <jther kind of roof, as it 

 kept the luingalow cool and dry. Altout seven feet of rain is the 

 annual fall in that country, and you will readily see that the roof 

 is a very important factor in the sum total of one's happiness. 



From Livingston we i)roeeeded to Omoa, a picturesque little 

 village situated in a beautiful indentation of the coast, and at the 

 foot of the Omoa Mountains; which rise immediately back of the 

 village to the height of 1),00U feet, and are wooded with beautiful 

 shrubs and trees to their very summits. Nothing can be prettier 

 than the view of this village and the surrounding scenery, from the 

 deck of a steamship ; but as I did not land at this point I cannot 

 speak of the inhabitants from personal observation. 



Our next stop was at Puerto Cortez, one of the most important 

 points on the coast, being the terminus of the onl}- railway in 

 Spanish Honduras. The ba}' makes a good harbor, and at one 

 time while our steamship was there five others lay at anchor along- 

 side. Some were loading mahogany and cedar for Europe, while 

 the others were taking bananas, cocoanuts, and an}' other produce 

 procurable, for the United States. 



Puerto Cortez is situated on a tongue of land running out into 

 the sea, and forming one side of the bay ; and on the centre of this 

 tongue of land is the railway track. There is no other street in 

 the village, and the houses and stores are set on i)osts on either 

 side of this street or track. The land is very low, and in the rainy 

 season is all submerged except the railway track. Vegetation is 

 of very quick growth and decays as easily as it grows; therefore 

 this [)lace is very unhealthy, everybody being subject to malaii-.d 

 fever. We had not been there more than a week before half our 

 crew were under the doctor's care, although our ship was a half- 

 mile from shore. I did not get the fever, as I was careful not to 

 drink ihe water of the country. 



The other terminus of this railway is San Pedro, a snug inland 

 village, thirty-seven miles from Puerto Cortez. It was proposed 

 when this railway was beguji to extend it across Honduras through 

 the capital city, Tegucigalpa, to the Bay of Fonseca on the Pacific 

 Ocean side ; but after the work was under way, and bonds to the 



