174 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



the pleasure of the company of his Excellency on a canter over 

 the plain. The little chief proved a furious rider, and spurred 

 his horse to a breakneck gait, so that I had the greatest difficulty 

 to keep up with him. Jumping from his horse, he disappeared 

 for a moment in the brush, and presently returned with some 

 luscious pineapples, which he peeled and, cutting lengthwise, 

 offered me to eat. Among the institutions at Pearl City is the 

 brass band of fourteen pieces. The band is under the leadership 

 of Mr. J. W. Cuthbert, Jr., the Secretary of the Executive Coun- 

 cil of the Mosquito nation. The Sambos performed for our edifi- 

 cation and to their own satisfaction for at least two hours. Among 

 the tunes were some which I recognized as having done long 

 service on our variety stage. 



The genuine Mosquitos, although they number over six thou- 

 sand, are rarely met with at the coast settlements. They do not 

 care to observe the restrictions put upon them by the local au- 

 thorities in clothing themselves. Scantiness of dress is character- 

 istic of a true Mosquito Indian, and in the interior of the country 

 they can be observed in all their natural simplicity of costume. 

 It must be admitted that for this hot, moist climate this is not an 

 unreasonable state of affairs. I was fortunate in securing pictures 

 of a number of groups of natives, both of the true Mosquito and 

 of the Sambo variety, and some of these, with a picture of a 

 native " shack" or bamboo house, are shown in the illustrations. 

 Besides the banana and mahogany, the Mosquito country has 

 other valuable resources. In its northern portion the country 

 has extensive savannas covered with luxuriant grass the whole 

 year round, affording admirable opportunities for cattle-raising. 

 This business is yet in its infancy, but promises to assume respect- 

 able proportions. Cotton blooms wild and will bear through the 

 entire year ; sugar cane will produce a crop every seven months ; 

 rice, every four months ; and oranges, lemons, limes, pineapples, 

 and a host of other fruit grow wild. The upper runs of the north- 

 ern rivers and creeks have gold-bearing sand, and it is not impos- 

 sible that some day the " Reserve " will take rank as a gold-pro- 

 ducing country. 



THE u amber and jade " mines of Upper Burma have been visited by Dr. 

 Noettling, who has reported upon them to the Geological Survey of India. The 

 "amber" is a fossil resin corresponding with that called burin ite, fluorescent, 

 looking like solidified kerosene oil, and darker and harder than ordinary amber. 

 The "jade" is jadeite, worked in pit and quarry mints for forty miles along the 

 bank of the Uru River and on the top of a plateau at Tammaw. The industry is 

 a thriving one, employing five hundred men, and promises well for future more 

 systematic and skilled development. White is the commonest color; green is- 

 rare; and some of the bowlders are red. 



