HONDURAS 789 in. long, and easily fordable in the dry season; and the Choluteca, which rises on the northern slope of the Lepaterique mountains, around the N. E. extremity of which it sweeps, and then runs S. W., having a total length of more than 150 m., and passing the cities of Tegucigalpa and Choluteca. Large canoes (bongos') and other light craft navigate the latter to a con- siderable distance from the sea. The only lake of note is that of Yojoa, in the bottom of the valley between the mountains of Santa Barbara and Canchia, at an elevation of 2,050 ft. ; it is 25 m. long by about 7 wide, with an average depth of 4 fathoms ; it sends to the Humuya two tributaries, the Santa Barbara from its southern extremity, and the Blanco from its northern, which join the Humuya within two or three miles of each other. Near the E. shore of Yojoa an immense spring of crystal- line bluish water, 75 ft. in diameter, gushes from the earth, and flows into the lake in a volume equal to that of any of the outlets of the latter. The eastern portion of the Carib- bean coast is lined with salt-water lagoons and marshes, some of the former being of consider- able extent, such as the Laguna de Cartago, 40 m. long, and the Laguna de Cartine, 50 m. long. Mining, in early times the absorbing in- dustry of the country, has dwindled almost to insignificance for lack of capital and enterprise, and of suitable roads for the transport of ade- quate machinery to the mining districts. Civil strife has also contributed to restrict opera- tions, and hundreds of mines susceptible of being profitably worked are abandoned in every part of the country. Silver and gold are the most abundant metals; the silver mines lie mostly in the S. W. ranges of mountains, while gold is more plentiful toward the Atlan- tic. The chief silver mines are those of Te- gucigalpa and Gracias; the mineral is there found in various combinations with iron, lead, copper, and sometimes antimony, while chlo- rides are among the richest of all the ores. Few gold mines are now worked, those of San Andres in the department of Gracias, and others near San Juan Cantaranas in Teguci- galpa, forming almost the only exceptions. The rivers Guayape and Jalan, as also the Guayambre, in the department of Olancho, abound in auriferous sands, the washing of which is still extensively carried on, and yields handsomely. Copper mines are numerous and of great value ; but most of them have been abandoned, or rather were never worked ex- cept in the search for silver. Coal exists in several localities, and there is an abundance of limestone, veined, white, and blue, in every part of the republic, and especially in the transverse valley extending from Fonseca bay to the bay of Honduras ; and there are quarries of beautiful marble suited for statuary in the Omoa mountains. Ancient monuments in the vicinity of Copan, near the Guatemala frontier, and of the same or a kindred type with those of Palenque, would seem to point to the early occupation of that region by a civilized people. (See COPAN.) The climate is hot on the Carib- bean coast, but remarkably mild and equable in the highlands, the temperature varying for the whole year from 62 to 86 F., according to elevation. In the interior the months of ' April, May, and June are the hottest, while in November, December, and January the atmo- sphere is sufficiently cool to admit of fire. Elsewhere than on the Caribbean coast the dry season lasts from November to June, little rain falling during that period. The rainy sea- son is usually ushered in by violent thunder- storms, which rarely occur in the forenoon; while thunder, accompanied by northers, is frequent at the end of that season. Squier says that " there can be no generalization on the subject of the climate of Honduras, except so far as to say that it has a variety adapted to every caprice, and a temperature suitable for the cultivation of the products of every zone." Miasmatic and intermittent fevers are only known on the coast ; goitre is prevalent in the highlands. The soil of Honduras is ex- tremely fertile ; in the coast regions the various species of tropical vegetation are luxuriant; and on the elevated table lands of the in- terior maize and the several European grains yield ample harvests with the rudest cultiva- tion. The sugar cane is indigenous in Hondu- ras as in the other Central American states, and of a distinct species from that cultivated in the Antilles ; it thrives well in all parts of the country, even at elevations of 4,000 ft. Coffee likewise flourishes, but its culture is greatly neglected ; indigo and other dyes are produced in limited quantities ; but cochineal is no longer an object of care, although the nopal abounds in the plain of Comayagua, and its leaves are covered with the webs of the cochinilla silvestre or wild cochineal. Tobacco of excellent quality is raised, and even export- ed at times to Cuba, where it is prepared and sold as of native production. Pimento, capsi- cum, and many other spices are plentiful. The various fruits and vegetables of the temperate zone abound in the interior and require but little care; manioc is everywhere produced; and the yams of Omoa are celebrated alike for their prodigious size and exquisite flavor. The arboreal vegetation of Honduras is unsurpassed by that of any other region N. of the Orinoco ; the mahogany, rosewood, and other precious cabinet wood's, together with the vast forests of timber for constructions of all kinds, may be classed among the chief sources of the na- tional wealth. Fustic, Brazil wood, annatto, and other dyewoods, and also gum and medi cinal trees and plants, as copaiba, copal, liquid- amber, and India-rubber trees, ipecacuanha the palma Christ! (yielding castor oil), _ and many others, are very abundant. The indi- genous fauna includes animals both of more northerly and of the equatorial regions. The felidffi comprise the jaguar, puma, black tiger (felis discolor), and ocelot ; the coyote or Mex-
