St Francisco de Omoa is a town, with a well forti fied castle, on the sea coast near Truxillo. It has been considered the key of Honduras. The silver from the mines used to be deposited here to be trans ported to Europe, and it was the principal depot for the quicksilver which was required for producing the silver. The legal trade from Guatimala centered here, but, during the war, the contraband transom lions at Truxillo very far exceeded the lawful com merce, and whilst one place has been increasing the other has diminished. Omoa, too, has been consider ed less a place of safety than it was formerly held to be. When the war broke out between Spain and England in 1779, a small expedition of two frigates sailed from Jamaica to attack it, and, by a coup de main, took possession of the fort, with all the trea sure it contained, amounting, in bars of silver, in dol. lays, and in quicksilver, to more than a million of piastres.
Gracias A Dios, another town in the Bay of Hon duras, has some commerce, chiefly the export of ma hogany and logwood, but the recent wars have injur ed its trade very materially, and it has gradually gone to decay.
The British settlement within this province de serves to be noticed, and may be properly introduced here. It is on the river Belize, which runs a con siderable distance through the country, and is navi gated by boats more than 200 miles from its mouth. The town contains not more than 1200 inhabitants. It has always a small garrison of regular troops to defend the entrance of the river.
The English have always claimed a right to the whole of what is called the Muskito shore, and have, at various times, held and relinquished different set tlements on its borders; but, of late, their possessions have been confined almost exclusively to the river Balize. The entrance to this river is peculiarly dan gerous, from being surrounded with shoals and quick sands, and from the coast being very frequently en veloped in fogs. The ships that carry on the trade are the worst description of vessels that sail from Great Britain, and the loss by shipwreck greater than in any other department of her commerce. The most valuable production of the British settle ment, and that which is the principal inducement to maintain it, is mahogany, which grows here to a large size. The felling of these trees is performed by ne gro slaves, who, in gangs, with a leader called the Finder, penetrate into the thickes,t of the woods, ascend the lofty trees, and spy out the mahogany. These trees are much dispersed, but are known at a distance by the excessive deep green of their leaves. The tree is generally cut at about ten feet from the ground ; the trunks are the most valuable part from their size adapting them to tables, and larger articles of furniture ; but the wood in the branches is more richly veined, and more beautiful. The far greater part of the expense of obtaining mahogany is in the labour of conveying the wood from the place of its growth to the river side; after it is once there, the cost of conveying it to the ships, though sometimes at SOO miles distance, is but small. Logwood is an other production of this settlement. This tree grows very rapidly, so as to be in a state fit for the pur poses of the dyer at the end of five years. The trees are usually, on the spot of their growth, cut into logs about three feet long; and in that state conveyed to Europe, and used for dyeing the most beautiful pur ple and black colours. Another branch of industry
of some importance is the turtle fishery, which is carried on to a considerable extent by the British settlers on this coast. Many of the green turtle ta ken here are sent to Jamaica, and many furnish ban quets for the richer inhabitants of our capital, and our larger sea-port towns. The hawksbill turtles are likewise taken here; the flesh is sometimes eaten by the black colonists ; but the principal value is deri ved from the shell, well known by the common name of tortoise-shell, the export of which is considerable. The attention of the settlers is too much engrossed by their peculiar pursuits, to devote much applica tion to agriculture; but the soil is excessively fertile, and, with little labour, produces all the tropical fruits and vegetables in abundance, especially plantains, bannanas, and maize We have before mentioned the Musquito Indians. Though usually denominated by that appellation, they are not indigenous, and therefore not entitled to the name of Indians. They are evidently of African ori gin, as their woolly heads and thick lips demonstrate. The traditionary history of these tribes is, that, in a ship from Africa, the male and female slaves rose on the mariners, and murdered them all; that, not understanding the art of navigation, they were driven by the trade-winds to leeward of all the islands, and at length landed on this coast, where they increased and peopled the country. It is not clearly ascer tained at what time this event occurred; but for one hundred and ten years the British have had connec tions with them, and they have obtained a kind of superiority, which, however, principally consists in the nominal command being conferred on one of their chiefs, by a commission from the Governor of Jamaica. The Spaniards, in their vicinity, when they approached, wished to subject them to their regulations, the resistance to which produced cruel wars, far from being yet terminated. These Mus quitos took refuge in the mountains, till they had opportunities of intercourse with the British, from whom they obtained fire-arms. They were then, with the help of these allies, sufficiently powerful to resist the Spaniards, and to keep open the intercourse by several of the rivers. They were more numerous seventy years ago than they are at present. About that period, the small-pox was introduced, which made a sad havock ; and the indulgence in rum has had a similar effect. They are, however, now scattered on the whole coast ; and though they have mingled with some of the aboriginal tribes, from which they have derived the name Zam boa, yet the mark of their African origin is vi sible among all of them. The principal stations of these tribes are in the vicinity of Cape Gracias A Dios, where they are said to be capable of muster ing fifteen hundred warriors. Attempts have been made by their means to carry on a contraband trade in European goods, with the more populous parts of Guatimala ; but it has been found easier to effect the same object by bribing the Spanish governors and officers of revenue, than to trust to the sobriety and honesty of these uncivilized tribes.