Page:Guatimala or the United Provinces of Central America in 1827-8.pdf/238

Rh amount of about five millions of dollars, and receiving in exchange 4,702,800 lbs. of indigo; 729 arrobas of zarza; 1015 jars of balsam, and 192,059 dollars; the whole being equal in value to 4,942,131 dollars, and averaging only 988,426 dollars annually.

The present importations are made almost entirely by the ports of Omoa and Yzabal. The former about 15° 23' N. lat. and 88° 56' W. long. 100 leagues from Guatimala, is the principal depot for goods from the Havana and the Peninsula, with which some trade is still carried on; and the latter for British merchandize from Belize. A few French vessels, and three or four from the United States, have recently arrived at Omoa; and, as the Dutch have appointed a Consul in Truxillo, and a Consul-General in Guatimala, it is to be presumed, that they will soon become competitors.

From Omoa, goods are forwarded by the river Motagua to Gualan, and, from thence, to the capital, by mules, while all the goods arriving at Yzabal, are transported across the mountain of Mico to Gualan; from whence they proceed by the same route. In each case, from six to nine months is consumed, before any quantity of packages can arrive. To the scarcity of mules, and want of energy on the part of the muleteers, the delay must be attributed, as, with immediate forwarding,