f" University of California Berkeley A LADY'S RIDE ACEOSS SPANISH HONDURAS ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN ' BLACK WOOD'S MAGAZINE' A LADY'S RIDE ACROSS SPANISH HONDURAS BY MARIA SOLTERA p 5-/o4>7-& ILLUSTRATIONS i WILLIAM BLACKWOOD AND SONS EDINBURGH AND LONDON MDCCCLXXXIV TO THE DEAR MEMORY OF THE MOST REVEREND ROGER BEDE VAUGHAN LATE ARCHBISHOP OF SYDNEY, N.S.W. THIS RECORD OF MY WANDERINGS IS INSCRIBED. LIST OF ILLUSTKATIONS. HACIENDA NEAR SAN ANTONIO, . . Frontispiece SE DUEKMA HE SLEEPS, . . . To face page 158 PASS BEYOND GOASCARON, ... 164 COMAYAGUA, ,,207 MANIOBAR, ...... ,,244 POSADA NEAR SAN PEDRO SULA, . 276 A LADY'S BIDE ACEOSS SPANISH HONDUKAS. CHAPTEE I. IT was the question of pounds, shillings, and pence. Should I take steamer from San Fran- cisco to Panama, cross the isthmus, and from the Atlantic side enter Spanish Honduras \ or had I better travel by steamer as far as Ama- pala, and thence take mules and ride across the country to San Pedro Sula my destination a distance of about two hundred and nineteen miles \ Thus was perplexed the mind of your globe-trotting servant " Soltera," as she pored over railway and steamboat guides and calcu- lated expenses, in her comfortable but very costly bedroom in the Palace Hotel, San Fran- A A LADY'S RIDE cisco, in the month of June, in year of grace 1881. The steamer to Panama ! A fine expense ! And once arrived at that place, the end of the journey is not by any means reached. After en- during more or less sea-sickness, much thunder, and lightning unlimited, for about twelve days, there would be the further risk of catching the Panama fever. This fever is often irreverently styled the canal fever (in grim compliment to that cutting), and its general result is to put a decided stop to all plans and locomotion for many a day ; often for ever. Should I avoid that misfortune, there would be the certainty of being detained at some miserable place to wait for a vessel going to Puerto Cortez. A bill for " discomfort sup- plied," at a fearful charge of dollars, would be the inevitable result of that detention. Arrived at Puerto Cortez, which is also called Puerto Caballo, there would still be fifty miles to travel over mountains, through streams, and upon the ruins of the late Inter-Oceanic Rail- way of Honduras, till the haven of San Pedro ACROSS SPANISH HONDURAS. 3 Sula were reached. So far the one side of the question. Now for its converse. Take steamer as far as Amapala, which is the only Pacific port of entry to Spanish Honduras ; invade the consulate thereat ; make a friend and ally of good Senor Don Pedro Bahl ; ask him to provide mules, servant, and muleteer ; and thus ride straight and hard for San Pedro Sula. That is the better plan. It will also be the cheaper route; and I shall, by this means, enjoy the mountains I love so well, and see them in all their beauty, the grand Honduras mountains, over which few Englishmen, and still fewer Englishwomen, have ridden ! It has been ascertained, and I have been assured of this from Honduras, that the dangers of this route have been much exaggerated, the chief drawback being the bad roads and the peril of fording some of the streams. There exists also a great difficulty in obtaining food. But I shall have a servant and a muleteer to forage, and I can live as they do for twelve days or so (rash asseveration) ; and let me only A LADY'S RIDE come by a tolerable supply of milk, and I will travel far and well. Now falls on my soul the remembrance that I am alone in the world ; and at this moment the knowledge brings no pang. No one near of kin exists whose anxieties might deter me ; no loving heart will be broken should my por- tion be evil. Suffering, physical and mental, will fall upon myself solely ; and should this expedition end in the "last disaster," there re- main those outside the ties of kin, thank God, who will hold me in kindly remembrance and deal gently with my name. Let me forward whilst I have health and willing spirit. I am alone in the world. Yes ; but I go with God. " What are you doing, Soltera I why are you going to San Pedro Sula, and where on earth is the place ? " had inquired of me, some weeks previously, my handsome young cousin of the clan Campbell, who had come on board at Auckland, whereat the steamer Australia (in which I formed one of the passengers) touched, from lovely, hospitable Sydney. "We were bound to San Francisco, and had to stay a few hours in ACROSS SPANISH HONDURAS. 5 Auckland in order to take in the New Zealand contingent of mails and seafarers. This cousin and his wife were bound " home " on a visit, and it was quite in the usual accidental nature of things in travel, that we should thus meet with- out the slightest provocation thereto on either side. Kail and steam here gave evidence that the world is small enough to render chance en- counters with long-parted friends a common incident. Apart from the fact that the presence of this relative would contribute to throw an air of re- spectability over me, I was very glad to meet him, and to secure an auditor as to my plans and intentions. In answer to his inquiries, I informed Mr Campbell that San Pedro Sula was a large town in the Eepublic of Honduras, situate about fifty miles, or rather more, off the Atlantic coast, at the foot of a range of mountains, name forgotten. That its climate, according to a pamphlet com- piled by the Rev. Dr Pope, is salubrious (it is no such thing but the nights are bearable) ; that 6 A LADY S RIDE a colony of Britons and some French people were being located thereat. In addition to this, the Government of Honduras was granting large concessions of land (quite true), and doing its utmost to get Europeans to make a settlement there. " What has all this to do with you ? " cut in my cousin, who seemed to fear that the whole contents of the pamphlet were about to be let loose upon him. " Simply this : as I speak Spanish fairly, and can be otherwise useful, I am invited (after some correspondence on the subject) to take charge of the school which is being erected for the colonists' children at San Pedro Sula. A salary has been guaranteed me ; and in addition to this, the Government will assign me a planta- tion of one hundred and sixty acres for the taking it, subject, of course, to its being cul- tivated and kept in order. Dr Pope writes me that a plantation once put in working trim, re- quires little further outlay, beyond the first or second year's expenses." " Who is this Dr Pope ? " ACROSS SPANISH HONDURAS. 7 " The agent of the Honduras Government and a Catholic priest. He has already located a number of families from Ireland, and he is to return shortly and fetch out four hundred more. The pamphlet is circulated as a proclamation and confirmation of his position to the outside world, and contains, both in the Spanish and the English language, a copy of all the engagements existing between the President of the Eepublic, Dr Soto, and this agent. There are also pub- lished letters of authority from most of the principal persons of the State, the Dutch con- sul, and the Bishop of Comayagua." " Coma what ? " " Comayagua," I replied, " the ancient capital of Spanish Honduras. The seat of government is transferred now to a town which lies further south of Comayagua. The name of this town is Tegucigalpa perhaps you like that better ? " " Don't chaff a fellow ; the names are wonder- ful ! What a country it must be to stand such queer-sounding appellations ! Excuse me fur- ther. Let me hope that you have not bought any land, or placed money in this agent's hands." A LADY'S HIDE " Certainly not. You know that I have been obliged to increase my pittance by taking pupils in Sydney. I am very, very sorry to part with these dear people ; but I am not get- ting younger, and I want to make a home of my own. This appointment will help me on till I do so. Don't you see \ " " Yes well and if it does not do, you can go back again. I dorr t know much about the matter, but I have always had the impression that the climate out there is rather awful. Hot as fire, is it not ? " " Not among the mountains," I retorted quickly ; for a shadow of suspicion must not be allowed to fall upon my beloved mountains.