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11~ INT.l!:.K.NATIONAL AM..KlUCAN CON.l!'ERENCE.
tbe time will likely come wbeu it will be scarce in some of the mineral district8,
aml unfort nnately, there has not yet been dit~covered sufficient coal or other fuel to
take it¡,¡ place. For the e reasons it is very necesRary, when one wishes to purchase
or locat.e a mine, to have a care, not alone for the richness of the ore, but also the
wa ter and their rights, privileges, and facilitie ·.
There is no mining now of a.n.r minerals in Hondnrasexcept tha.t ofgold autl sil ver.
AL this time Honduras i not the place for prot>pectOl's. There is no roow here now
for eir.hex· American prospectors or mining tmmps. In the first place, because
CfJtlDtry 1s alreacly thorongbly prospected, and even if it were nota poor prospector,
sin~le-handetl and alone, can not compete with the rich Honduras syndicate before
allnded to~ And, moroover, thongh the nativos havo not the means to work thoir
mines, they are, nevertheless, recognized aR good prospectors, and they know the
couutry and the mineral indioations peculiar to the country, and they ha ve had very
long experience. Althongh their conntry may havo been neglected or forgotteu by
capitalists and the outside world they themselves have never 1ost thc be8t mines of
the old Spaoiard~< or ceased to bunt uow veius. The native prospector, as well as
tbe common miner, can live well on what an American wonld think starvation to
him. They can live ou 10 cents a da.v as comfortably to them as the average Amer–
ican can live on a e.ollar a da.y-ten times as much. vVages are verylow. Not even
the Chinaman cau compete with the nativas, and I, tberefore, do uot know a single
Chinese laborar in the wbole Renublic. Wben skilled Americana are needed to direct
the commou labor they are nsuail 'contractecl with in tbe Statos aod bronght here at
tbe expense of the compauies.-(.Report by D. W. Herring, U. S. Consnl, Tegucigalpa,
OcLobe.r 31, 1888.)
SALVADOR.
This is smallest and most populous of tbe Central American Republics, there
being no less than sixty-three iuhauitauts to the square milo. The central part
is au upland of a meau elevatioo of :t,OOO feet above the sea, bonnded on the Pacifie
Flope by a chain ofvoleanic peaks, beyond which is a strip of lowland from 10 to :lO
miles wide. Tbe Gnlf of Fonseca, 50 miles long and nearly 30 miles wide, is said to
be tbe mo t beantifnl harbor on the Pacific coast.
Mines of gold, silver, copper, lead, irou, and antb.racite coal are fouud within the
borders ofSalvador. Sorne ofthe principal citi~s are Santa Ana, 25,000 inhabitants;
Salvatlor, 16,3~7; Chinandega, San Miguel, etc.
RAILROADS IN SALVADOR.
In 1882 tbe first rail way in the Republic was openerl from Aca_jutla to Sonsonate, 15
miles, with :3-foot gange. The Governrnent gnaranties an annual dividend of 12 per
cent. 'fhisline is to be extenneC! to .Amate Marin over a distance of 80~ miles. Work
·¡s progressing ou a milroad from Amate Marin to the capital, whlch will be approxi–
mately 25 miles in lengtb.
A line i projected to conuect Santa .Ana with Acajutla, in aid of which about
$300,000 have been suhscribNl by native capitalists.
Anotber line is projected. from La Un·ion toSan Miguel, anda company is being or–
ganizad in Loodon to build it.
A road is projected by the Government from the port of La Libertad toSan Salva–
dor.
Tbe Salvadore Central Railway is projected from La Union, Golf of Fonseca., to the
boundary line. The preliminary work has been completed. The Gov-ern–
ment has gran ed a subsitly of ·IO,OOO and guaranties net earni.ngs of ·1,000. D. But–
terfieJd i tbe concessionare.
A tramway 10t miles in length is in between San Salvador and Santa
Tecla; itwas built by the Government ata cost of $:200,000, but has recently been,
sold to 1''. Camacho, Guatemala.
In "Capitals of Spani h America," Mr. Cnrtis says that a road wa.s spoken oí to
traverse the entire State in the interior valley paralle1 t.o the sea-coast, wi th brancbM
t.o the importaut aud tha.~ work wu not oollSidered eiiher difficuU or ex·
pensivG.