52 



NARRATIVE OF A 



hamlet nor a house were visible on the land, save the little 

 town beneath rne. 



When I considered the natural advantages of this coun- 

 try, I could not but lament that so little had been done by 

 human industry to improve them. The idea, however, 

 suggested itself, that some day this lake, now little better 

 than a watery desert, might be traversed in every direction 

 by steamboats and sailing vessels engaged in profitable 

 trade ; when the country around, instead of being encum- 

 bered with a wild and useless vegetation, might smile 

 with fields of corn, and the neat cottage of the peasant, the 

 thriving hamlet, and even the flourishing town, enliven 

 the quietude of these solitary shores. 



At present, the only town, besides Izabal, along the 

 whole circumference of the lake; is Verapaz ; the only 

 shipping is one steamboat and half a dozen sloops, and 

 the only trade carried on is the importation of part of 

 the foreign goods consumed in the interior, and the ex- 

 portation of the productions of the country, which are 

 exchanged for them. It is proper, however, to remark, 

 in justice to the natives, that the natural advantages 

 before alluded to are in some degree counteracted by cir- 

 cumstances over which they have no control. The 

 unhealthiness of the climate in the neighbourhood of 

 the lake, is a powerful check to the increase of popu- 

 lation in Izabal. Another great obstacle to the pros- 

 perity of the place exists in the mountainous and 

 rugged nature of the country, which renders the con- 

 struction of roads exceedingly difficult and expensive. 

 That leading to the capital is a mere mule path. It 

 is, therefore, on mule-back that they transport their 

 goods from the coast to the interior, or from the latter 

 to the former. The expense and labour attending this 

 mode of conveyance will easily be conceived. The 

 time required for the performance of a journey, is 

 another consideration ; the distance travelled by a load- 



