Guatemala and Her People of To-day / Being an Account of the Land, Its History and Development; the People, Their Customs and Characteristics; to Which Are Added Chapters on British Honduras and the Republic of Honduras, with References to the Other Countries of Central America, Salvador, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica - Nevin O. Winter

It is as difficult and almost as long a journey from New York to reach the capital of Honduras as the capital of Persia, which seems so far away, while Central America is so near. One must go by steamer to Colon, across the Isthmus of Panama by rail, then a several days’ journey on the Pacific to Amapala, and lastly a three or four days’ journey by mule to Tegucigalpa; or, he can take the steamer to Puerto Cortez, railroad to San Pedro Sula, and an eight or ten days’ journey over the mountains on the long-eared, but short-legged, nondescript quadrupeds above named. There are no accommodations or comforts along the way and, on arriving at the capital, one is obliged many times to depend on the good will of citizens for a decent stopping-place as the hotel is not a very desirable hostelry.

The harbour of Puerto Cortez, in the northwestern corner of the republic, is large, commodious and safe. As our boat steamed through the blue waters of the bay, the town set in among clumps of cocoanut palms following the sweep of the shore, and with its background of mountains, made a beautiful picture that lingers in the memory. We passed by the Honduras navy resting at anchor. It consisted of a single vessel, the Tatumbla, which made a great show of strength with its two little guns which have seen little more warlike service than to fire a salute when a foreign man-of-war has appeared in the harbour. Formerly it was the private yacht of an American, then saw service in the Spanish-American war, after which it was sold to Honduras.

Puerto Cortez is the principal Gulf port of the country and is a fair-sized town of twelve hundred or more. There are a few frame and corrugated-iron buildings which house the railroad office, custom-house, steamship freight house, commandancia, and offices of the United Fruit Company, generally known as the banana trust. A few frame houses are the homes of the various consular agents stationed at this port. The native quarters are made up of a row of mud and thatch huts facing the bay and almost hidden by the foliage of the palms which overtower them. A syndicate is now at work filling up the lowlands and converting it into a modern seaport by the aid of steam shovels and a good force of workmen.

Puerto Cortez is very subject to yellow fever and is often quarantined for months at a time in the summer. I had one letter from a business man written in July in which he stated that they had been quarantined since May 22nd and that it would probably last until about the first of October. This condition seriously interferes with business, for visitors cannot come in and the planters all flee to the higher lands for safety. Anyone desiring to visit the country should do so from October to March when there is no danger of quarantine delay, and during the dry season travelling is much pleasanter. Some day, perhaps, the government may learn a lesson from Havana and Panama and introduce modern sanitation, and thus destroy the breeding places of the troublesome stegomya fasciata, the yellow-fever mosquito, which is at present the bane of the country.

The most pretentious building in the town is a large two-storied building surrounded by verandas, looking like an old colonial home. In the yard were two flag-poles, on one of which was the stars and stripes and on the other the blue and white flag of Honduras. A closer inspection showed that it was the home of the exiled Louisiana State Lottery, now known as the Honduras National Lottery. After being driven from the United States by the action of the Postmaster General, and later by the State government of Louisiana, that State having refused a renewal of its franchise, this insidious monster, which at one time absorbed profits of many millions of dollars annually from the people, and supported its officers in luxury, was obliged to seek a new domicile. Mexico refused it a charter and even poverty-stricken Colombia and liberal Nicaragua denied it a home. Honduras, however, gave it a local habitation and a name upon the promise to pay an annual license fee of twenty thousand dollars and twenty per cent. of its gross receipts. So here it was housed in a great building, and here once each month a drawing took place to see which one of the many foolish persons investing their money was the successful gambler. There is not a Spanish-American country, however, which does not charter some one or more public lotteries, generally to raise money for charitable purposes, and in almost all of these the vendor of lottery tickets is a familiar sight on the streets.

From Puerto Cortez a railway runs about sixty miles inland to Pimienta. The principal town on this transcontinental line, however, is San Pedro Sula, about thirty-eight miles from that port. The train runs every other day at irregular intervals, and is made up of some poor coaches, a poor engine, and banana freight cars something like the open cars for the transportation of live stock. The track at that time was in harmony with the equipment. This line was built by an English company which took the contract for constructing the line from coast to coast, passing through the capital. The company was to do the work on a percentage basis and the government to foot the bills. The construction company worked in so many extras and padded the bills so that the government was obligated for twenty-seven millions of dollars by the time the road reached San Pedro Sula, or nearly three-quarters of a million dollars per mile of actual track. By this time the government was bankrupted and construction work stopped. Most of the bonds issued have never been paid and a great part have been repudiated, although they are still the subject of international dispute.

The road passes through a fine stretch of tropical swamp and jungle. Sometimes there are veritable tunnels of palms which reach within a few feet of the track. Beyond there is an impenetrable net-work of vines, creepers, ferns, and trees covered with all kinds of orchids. For many miles the road passes through banana fields, or forests, they might be called, for these tropical plants grow fifteen or twenty feet high in this rich soil. It requires almost four hours to cover the distance between the two towns, but the entire run was fortunately made without an accident.