A VILLAGE NEAR THE COAST.
There are only a few villages from Gualan to Puerto Barrios and they are not very populous. They looked almost like African towns with their huts made of palm and bamboo. The paths in the villages were all narrow, and grass and weed grown. There were thorns to scratch the bare feet and hooked seeds of plants that cling to the clothes—but this can be duplicated almost anywhere. The building of a hut is a simple proposition, for all the Indian has to do is to go into the forest and cut some bamboo poles and some palm leaves or banana stalks for a roof, and he has all the material necessary. A few poles are set into the ground, establishing the size, and to these, by means of vines, are attached many horizontal reeds or poles. These may be close together or several inches apart, and sometimes mortar or stones are used to fill in the wall. The same style of steep roof is always made. Sometimes the entrance is closed by a hinged door, but a piece of loosely swinging cloth answers the same purpose and does just as well.
After an all-day’s journey we at last reached Puerto Barrios. The nearer we approached the coast the denser became the vegetation and the more impenetrable the forests, or jungles, which is really a more appropriate term.
Near Puerto Barrios and a few miles to the west is the port of Santo Tomas. It is situated on a bay which makes a good harbour and was established in 1843 by a colony of Belgians. Like many tropical colonies it proved a failure because of the lack of foresight on the part of the promoters and an absolute ignorance of tropical conditions and the precautions necessary for health and success. Several hundred people comprised the original colony, but it soon dwindled through deaths and departures until now it is a small village although it is still a port of entry. The railroad terminus being established at its near-by rival sealed the doom of its future prospects, although its natural advantages are probably superior to its more fortunate neighbour. The fate of this colony is simply another illustration of the care and foresight necessary on the part of those seeking to establish colonies in a new country and under conditions so much different from those with which the prospective colonists are familiar.
PLANTATION HOUSE ON LAKE IZABAL.
It would be unfair to the reader and an injustice to the country to leave this coast without a description of Lake Izabal and the river leading to it, for this river rivals the far-famed Saguenay in beauty and grandeur of scenery. It is a sail of less than two hours across the choppy seas of the Gulf of Amatique from Puerto Barrios to Livingston, which is situated at the mouth of the Rio Dulce (the sweet river), the entrance to which is through a high wall of cliffs. For the first few miles after leaving Livingston on the way up the river the shores are lined with some fine banana plantations and a succession of gently sloping and verdant hills that reach an altitude of a thousand feet. To the north are the Sierra de Santa Cruz mountains running parallel to the river, and to the south and in plain view are the more distant Sierras de Las Minas, both of these ranges being covered to their very summits with many shades of rich green foliage. Then after passing a bend in the river the little steamer enters a narrow canyon with towering cliffs on either side, and for several miles there is a succession of scenes of wild beauty.
At one point the rocky walls rise almost perpendicularly from the water to a height of several hundred feet. Instead of barren cliffs, however, the sides are almost completely covered with vegetation so that the rocks are seldom visible. From every foothold springs a dense growth of tropical vegetation and from every crevice hang vines and shrubbery swaying like green curtains in the breeze, and dipping their foliage in the river. Higher up are giant trees, covered with thousands of beautiful orchids, which cast their shadows in the deep blue waters underneath. All of this renders the scene one of dazzling beauty when the overhead skies are clear and the bright sun brings out the contrasts of sunlight and shadow.
LAKE IZABAL.