HONDURAS 131 trade is chiefly with Olaneho, of which department it may lie con sidered the port. There are some mines of gold in its vicinity. Triunfo de la Cruz is a large bay, commencing at Puerto Sal, bend ing thence inward and terminating at Cabo Triunfo, with a coast line of upwards of 20 miles. To the northward of Honduras, in the bay of the same name, distant from 30 to 50 miles, is a cluster of islands, sometimes called the Bay Islands, consisting of Roatan, Guanaja or Bonacca, Utila, Barbaretta, Helena, and Morat. They have a good soil, fine climate, and an advantageous position. Koatan, the largest, is about 30 miles long by 9 miles broad, with mountains rising to the height of 900 feet, covered with valuable woods, and abounding with deer and wild hogs. Its trade is chiefly with New Orleans in plantains, cocoa-nuts, pine apples, &e. Guanaja, discovered by Columbus, is 9 miles long by 5 miles broad ; it lies 15 miles north-east of lioatan, has interior highlands thickly wooded, with beds of limestone, and, it is said, ores of zinc. Wild hogs are numerous. The other islands are comparatively small, and may be regarded as detached parts of Roatan, with which they are connected by reefs. Minerals. In respect to mineral resources, Honduras ranks first among the states of Central America ; the work 7 ing of the mines, however, has been conducted on a very small scale, and in a very rude manner, and as a conse quence most of them have been abandoned and have filled with water, and have thus or otherwise been allowed to go to ruin. Silver ores are most abundant and valuable. They are chiefly found on the Pacific ranges or groups of moun tains, while the gold washings, if not the gold mines proper, are most numerous on the Atlantic slope. The silver is found in various combinations with iron, lead, and copper, and in a few instances with antimony. Chlorides of silver are not uncommon, and rank among the richest ores in the country. The principal supply of gold is from the washings of Olancho, which are exceedingly productive. There are also rich mines of copper, the ores, in all cases, containing a considerable proportion of silver. Iron ores are common, most of them magnetic, and some so rich that they can be worked without smelting. Antimony, zinc, and tin also exist. Lignite has been discovered in various localities, and large beds exist in the department of Gracias, in which opals are also abundant. Animals. The domestic animals of the country are much the same as those of England and the United States. Cattle are everywhere abundant, and form one of the great sources of wealth in the country. Of late great numbers have been taken to Cuba, where there is a large and increasing demand for them. The forests are frequented by the ocelot or American tiger, and the peccary and deer ; the tapir is found near the sea, and the manatee in the northern creeks. Monkeys are numerous and of many varieties ; the raccoon, squirrel, opossum, ant-eater, and armadillo abound. The alligator is found in all the rivers and lagoons on both coasts. Of lizards there are numberless varieties, including the iguana. Serpents are very rare, and of but two or three varieties, of which one only is venomous. Tortoise and turtle are everywhere numerous, and of several kinds. Oysters of two varieties are plentiful, namely, the bank and mangrove oyster. Vast beds of the first are found in the Bay of Fonseca. Crusta ceans of various kinds and sizes, from the largest lobster to the smallest crab, are abundant. The lagoons and creeks of the coast abound in endless varieties of fish, as do also the waters of the interior. Several varieties of honey bees also are found. Mosquitoes are almost unknown in the interior, and are found at but few points on the coast. The woodtick and flea are common everywhere. The insect most dreaded is the "langosta"or " chapulin," which at intervals afflicts the entire country, vast columns passing from one end to the other, darkening the air, and destroying every green thing in their course. The parrot, macaw, and toucan are found everywhere. Hawks, vultures, owls, and sea eagles are among the birds of prey. The crow, black bird, Mexican jay, ricebird, swallow, rainbird, and humming bird are common. There is a very great variety of water birds. The wild turkey, quail, and pigeon are numerous in the interior. Inhabitants. The inhabitants of Honduras are princi pally of the Indian or aboriginal type. In the eastern portion of the state, between the Rio Roman and Cape Gracias d Dios and Segovia river, the country is almost exclusively occupied by native Indian tribes, known under the general names of Xicaques and Poyas. Portions of all of these tribes have accepted the Catholic religion, and live in peaceful neighbourhood and good understanding with the white inhabitants. There are, however, consider able numbers who live among the mountains, and still con form closely to the aboriginal modes of life. They all cultivate the soil, and are good and industrious labourers. A small portion of the coast, above Cape Gracias, is occu pied by the Sambos, a mixed race of Indians and negroes, which, however, is fast disappearing. Spreading along the entire north coast are the Caribs, a vigorous race, descendants of the Caribs of St Vincent, one of the Windward Islands, who were deported in 1796, by the English, to the number of 5000, and landed on the island of Roatan. They still retain their native language, and are active, industrious, and provident, forming the chief reliance of the mahogany cutters on the coast. A portion of them, who have a mixture of negro blood, are called the Black Caribs. They profess the Catholic religion, but retain many of their native rites and superstitions. In the departments of Gracias, Comayagua, and Choluteca are many purely Indian towns, with industrious, peaceable inhabitants, retaining many of their primitive habits and their ancient language. The aggregate population, in the absence of trustworthy data, can only be estimated approxi mately. Attempts were made under the crown and subse quently under the republic to effect a complete census, but with very unsatisfactory results, since it has always been found that the ignorant masses of the people, and especially the Indians, avoid a census as in some way connected with military conscription or taxation. The bulk of the Spanish population exists on the Pacific slope of the continent, while on the Atlantic declivity the country is uninhabited or but sparsely occupied by Indian tribes, of which the number is wholly unknown. Nevertheless, from the im perfect data which are accessible, the population of Honduras may fairly be estimated at about 400,000, 6000 to 7000 being whites, and the balance Indians ami the mixed races. Departnients. Honduras is divided politically into seven depart ments, viz., Comayagua, Gracias, Choluteca, Tegucigalpa, Olancho, Yoro, and Santa Barbara. That of Comayagua, lies in the very centre of the state. It con tains the capital of the same name (see COMAYAGUA). The trade of the town is small, but the plain around it is very fertile, and capable of sustaining, as formerly, a large and flourishing population. Numerous monuments of antiquity are scattered over the plain, consisting of large, pyramidal, terraced structures, conical mounds of earth, and walls of stone. 1 Pine and oak are abundant on the hills, and mahogany, cedar, and lignum vitse, as well as other useful woods, are found in the valleys. The nopal, cultivated in Guate mala and Mexico as the food of the cochineal insect, is indigenous. 1 The most remarkable of these are the ruins of Tonampua, .situated on a high hill, 20 miles to the south-east of Comayagua. The hill is of the prevailing soft sandstone, about 1600 feet high. At the acces sible points are heavy stone walls, terraced on the inner side for con^ venience in defence. At various points are traces of towers, and 1 remains of water reservoirs. Most of the mounds occur in groups, I arranged with obvious design in respect to each other, from 20 to 30 i feet square, and of several stages. The principal enclosure is in the | very midst of the ruins, at a point conspicuous from every portion of the hill, and is 300 feet long by 80 feet broad, but now elevated only a few feet above the ground, on which are indications of buildings. Great quantities of fragments of pottery are found here, painted and ornamented. Altogether there are the remains of between 300 and 400 truncated, terraced pyramids of various sizes. The whole served
probably for defensive and religious purposes.
