Spanish Honduras by A. N. Allen

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Nov 28, 1907

Spanish Honduras

By A. N. Allen

THE winds of strife have blown, and are still blowing in Central America. Fever nearly cut off several of our workers here this summer. Still God has been with us, and souls have been born into the kingdom of love.

We are beginning to realize that what might have been accomplished in times of peace, must now be done under difficult circumstances and at a much greater expense of time and labor, and perhaps even at the expense of the lives of missionaries.

Brother Morgan and the writer just completed a trip of over three hundred miles through the mountains and along the coast of Honduras. Traveling on muleback and afoot, we could average only about thirty-five miles a day. The exposure and fatigue of traveling in this way under a tropical sun is very wearing.

The towns we visited were those where our literature had been sold. In two places Sabbath-schools can soon be organized. God’s word is taking effect, and we hope to see churches raised up among the Spanish people.

While on this trip, we also visited several Carib Indian towns. The Caribs are a race of people scattered all along the Caribbean coast, from Mexico to South America. Along the coast of Honduras alone there are probably eight or ten thousand Caribs. Subsisting largely upon fish, they are never found far from the sea. Their features are those of the African.

The town in which we spent one night had about four hundred houses. They were regularly arranged to form streets parallel with the beach. Cocoanut palms give an abundance of shade, and with the thatched mud houses, the town has a very picturesque appearance.

They are a cleanly people, and quite industrious. They also seem to take considerable pride in their homes, and a few of them have good banana plantations. They have a language of their own, but nearly all speak Spanish or English, and some all three languages.

A few books have been sold to the Caribs, and some are interested, but as yet none have obeyed. They must have the message. Now is the time to work. The longer we put it off, the harder it will be to reach them. Are you where God wants you? A. N. ALLEN.