398 AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS-GOVERNMENT FINANCES, &c. acres, 461; the produce of which was, onions, 328,830 lbs. at 6s. 8d. per 100 lbs.; arrow-root, 18,174 lbs. atls. 8d. per lb.; potatoes, 10,404 bushels, at 4s. 4d. per bushel; barley, 435 bushels, at ditto; garden vegetables, 65,800 lbs. at 1 d. per lb.; Number of horses, 250; horned cattle, 1,538; sheep, 228; and goats, 199. The colonial revenue is about £ 10,000 per annum,* of which £6,000 is derived from custom duties. The value of the trade inwards in 1831 was £79,953; outwards, £27,428, and the shipping inward, tons, 15,500.† The colonists have their own Legislative Assembly and council; the men are distinguished for their industry, the women for their beauty, and both sexes are celebrated for their morals and hospitality. Although the Bermudas are not, properly speaking, West India settlement, they are, or I should now say have been, always included among the western slave colonies, I have, therefore, given this brief sketch of these singular isles of the Atlantic, the origin of which I am unable to account for, unless I consider them the remains of the vast continent Atalantis, which, tradition informs us, sunk beneath the ocean. * Bermudas Gross Revenue and Expenditure in pounds sterling : + In 1825 there was of sugar exported 406,347 lbs.; of rum, 113,636 gal. of molasses, 7,744 lbs. ; and of coffee, 9,400. This amount of staple W. I. produce has of late years diminished. CHAPTER XV. HONDURAS. LOCALITY-EARLY HISTORY-PHYSICAL ASPECT-GEOLOGY-CLIMATE-RIVERS AND MOUNTAINS-NATURAL PRODUCTIONS-COMMERCE-GO VERNMENT-FINANCES-STATE OF SOCIETY, &c. &c. LOCALITY. The British settlement of Honduras, in the Province of Yucutan, is situate in the southern part of the North American continent, between the parallels of 17 and 19 N. lat. and 88 to 90 W. long., on a peninsula extending from the W. side of the Bay of Honduras (that either gives or takes its name from the settlement) to the sea, northwardly forming the Bay of Campeachy on the W. and the Bay of Honduras * on the E. side of the peninsular, the coast here extending about 270 miles-but the inland boundaries are ill-defined. According to Henderson, the line which includes the settlement commences at the mouth of the Rio-Grande, or Hondo, whose course it follows and afterwards runs parallel with for thirty miles-then, turning S., passes through the New River Lake, in a straight line, to the river Balize, up which it ascends for a considerable distance-and then again proceeds S. till it reaches the head of the Sibun, whose windings it pursues to the sea-coast-the whole settlement embracing an area of 62,750 square miles. HISTORY. The Honduras coast was discovered by Columbus in 1502-its period of early settlement is very vague. At first it was occasionally resorted to by mahogany and * The Spanish term Hondura, signifying depth, was thus given to the coast by its discoverers from the great depth of water along the shore. †The Mosquito shore-the Indians of which are in alliance with, and, in some respects, subject to, the Crown of Great Britain-extends from Cape Gracios a Dios, southerly, to Punta Gorda and St. Juan's river; N. W. and Westerly, to Romain river; and S. E. beyond Boco del Toro to Coclee or Coli, near the river Chagre and Porto Bello. 400 EARLY HISTORY OF THE HONDURAS. other wood-cutters, whose chief place of residence was then a small island called St. George's Key, about nine miles to the N. E. of the town of Balize, the present capital of the settlement. The first regular establishment of British logwood cutters was made at Cape Cartoche by some Jamaica adventurers, whose numbers increased so that, in a short time, they occupied as far S. as the river Balize, in the Bay of Honduras, and as far W. as the island of Triste and the Laguna de los Terminos, adjacent to Campeachy. The territorial jealousy of the Spaniards was soon roused, and the Governor of Campeachy fitted out several expeditions against the logwood-cutters, in which he not only failed but, on two occasions, in 1659, and 1678, the cutters actually took possession of the town of Campeachy, without a single cannon, and aided only by the seamen engaged in the trade. By a treaty concluded with Spain in 1670, by by Sir W. Godolphin, the seventh article generally, though not specifically, embraced the territorial right of British occupancy at Honduras-and in consequence the English population fast augmented, the number of whites (no negroes were introduced) being then 1700. The jealousy of the Spanish monarch at the success of the English led to a renewed discussion of the territorial right of our settlers, which the imbecile ministers of the pusillanimous Charles II. so far admitted as to direct the Governor of Jamaica (Sir Thomas Lynch,) in 1671, to inquire into the same, and had it not been for the spirited and patriotic conduct of Sir Thomas Lynch, the conduct of Spain would have been sanctioned by the court of St. James'. The Spaniards at all events determined to drive the woodmen from the Campeachy shore, and, by 1680, they succeeded in confining the English to the limits now occupied. From this period the establishments on the other side of Cape Cartoche were entirely abandoned by the settlers. In 1718 the Spaniards sent a large force to try to dispossess the English from the Belize river, as they had done from the opposite coast, but the bold front of the log wood cutters de SPANIARDS' JEALOUSY OF THE SETTLEMENT. 401 terred the Castilians, who contented themselves with erecting a fortification in the N. W. branch, of which they held possession for a few years, and finally abandoned it. The logwood cutters were left for thirty-six years in peace, until the attack on Truxillo by the English in 1742, which led to the long projected expedition of 1754, to exterminate the latter from Honduras. By the treaty of peace in 1763, the Spaniards were compelled to give a formal permission of occupancy to the British colonists, though they subsequently endeavoured to annul it. The Spaniards made another attack on the settlements in 1779, destroyed a great deal of property, and marched off many of the English settlers of both sexes, blindfolded and in irons to Merida, the capital of Yucutan, and thence shipped them to the Havannah, where they were kept in captivity until 1782; but, in 1784, a commission from the crown of Spain was authorized to make a formal delivery to the British nation of the lands allotted for the cutting of logwood,' &c. It is necessary to state this explicitly, because many persons are not only ignorant whether Honduras is an island, or part of the continent, but very many, who are aware of the position of the settlements, think the British have merely a right to logwood and mahogany cutting in the Bay of Honduras, and that it is not a territorial occupancy of the British crown, which, in fact it is, as much as Jamaica or any other settlement. The last Spanish attack on the settlements was during the war in 1798, and consisted of an expedition of 3,000 men, under the command of Field Marshal O'Neil, who was gallantly repulsed by the Bay Men,' (as the Honduras settlers are termed), for which they received the thanks of His Majesty.* PHYSICAL ASPECT. The sea coast of our territory at the Bay of Honduras† is low, and the shore studded with low * This act of conquest is a perfectly good title of occupancy. The bay reaches from Cape Catoche, in 21.31, the N. point of the peninsula of Yucutan, to Cape Honduras, in 16 S. Lat. and 86 W. Long. From thence the coast, comprehending Cape Gracias a Dios, and extending between 500 and 600 miles to the mouth of the Rio de San Juan as it 402 APPEARANCE OF THE TOWN OF BALIZE. and verdant isles (keys); from the land the coast gradually rises into a bold and lofty country, interspersed with rivers and lagoons, and covered with the noblest forests. The town of Balize,* the capital of the Honduras settlement, is divided into two parts by the river Balize, which empties itself by two mouths in a tortuous manner into the sea, at the western side of the Honduras Bay, where, as before observed, the shore is extremely flat, with numerous keys or small islands, dispersed along the coast, and densely covered with trees or shrubs, so exactly resembling each other as to puzzle the most experienced sailor, and rendering navigation exceedingly difficult. That part of Balize which flows from the Nicaragua lake, is known by the name of the Mosquito shore; within these limits lie the settlements which have been considered the dependencies of Jamaica * Called by the Spaniards, Valize; corrupted from the original, Wallis, the noted English buccaneer. + For the same reason given under the Trinidad chapter, I append, from the Honduras Almanac, the following directions for making the coast of Honduras and the harbour of Balize; together with a description of the bay light-house. The Island of Bonacca should be made early in the day, so that you may run down to the middle or west end of Ruatan by the evening, and from thence take your departure for the Southern Four Keys, at 6, 7, or 8 o'clock, according to the breeze. If you take your departure from the middle of Ruatan steer W. N. W. W. making that course good. To avoid Glover's Reef keep to leeward, and on no account whatever run more than 45 miles from Ruatan before day-light; if you run more than that distance you are in danger of running your vessel on the Reef. At day light, if you do not see the Keys, make sail, and you will soon lift them. The principal Key is called Half Moon Key. On the Key there is a light-house, elevated about 50 feet from the surface of the sea; its lat. is 17.12 N. and long. 87.28 W. A fixed light is exhibited from sun-set to sun rise each night. It was lit on the 1st December, 1821. This highly useful building is situated on the eastern point of the island, and resembles a pyramid. The whole is neatly shingled and painted white. These keys ought to be made as early in the day as possible, in order to ensure an anchorage in harbour before night. It frequently happens that vessels, after leaving Ruatan, are becalmed during the night, and, in consequence, they will not make Half Moon Key before the afternoon. In this case it is advisable to brace sharp upon a wind, and beat to windward all night, tacking every two hours; for it must be noticed that the current sets strongly down on the Southern Four Keys Reef, and several vessels have been lost on this Reef owing to their laying-to; and by keeping the light in sight till morning it will be sufficient to prevent accident by maintaining your position till you get a pilot, or till you have the day before you. Should it happen that pilots cannot be had, all possible sail must be made, keeping a watch at the mast-head, and you will soon discern Hat Key, with only low trees upon it. After rounding the elbow of the Reef, steer W., and you will very soon lift the island of Turneff. At the south end of this island is Key Bakel, with several cocoa-nut trees upon it, and where pilots formerly resided. You may round this key by your lead, and if it be later than three o'clock, P. м. you must anchor there for the night. The anchorage |