At the suggestion of Captain Steever, Mr. Caspar Wistar Haines, a civil engineer, was added to the party, in order to relieve it of its exclusive military character, as some objection to such a feature had been made by one of the delegates present on the Commission.

The party was organized, instruments bought and supplies obtained by its chief, when unfortunately he became ill from overwork a few days before the date set for sailing from New York, and his place was supplied by 1st Lieut. M. M. Macomb, 4th Artillery, who reported to the Commission in Washington on the 19th of April, pursuant to the following order:

5. The following order has been received from the War Department:

WAR DEPARTMENT,

WASHINGTON CITY, April 16, 1891.

By direction of the President 1st Lieutenant Montgomery M. Macomb, 4th Artillery, is detailed for duty under the Intercontinental Railway Commission, appointed under a provision in the act of Congress approved July 14th, 1890, for the purpose of making a preliminary survey for information in respect of a continental railway recommended by the International American Conference,' and he is relieved from duty at the U. S. Military Academy, West Point, New York, and will report in person to the Commission in this city accordingly.

The party sailed for its destination via the Isthmus of Panamá on April 20th. On the 9th of May, Guatemala City was reached and preparations were made to begin the survey. At this point, the Government of the Republic showed its

interest in the work by increasing the personnel, detailing four officers from the Guatemalan Army, namely, Don Francisco Orla, Don Santiago Romero, Don Antonio Camey, and Don Pedro Lorenzana. At the end of the first year's fieldwork, Lieutenants Foote, Rowan, Reber and Hedekin were relieved at their own request, while Lieut. Rowland G. Hill, 20th Infantry, was added to the field-force. After completing their investigations in Guatemala, surveys were made in El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica, the Corps undergoing some further changes in its composition and returning to the United States in July, 1893. The details of the work accomplished and the results attained will be found in extenso in the voluminous report devoted to this party to be found in Volume I, Part II, of the publications of this Commission.

I.

GUATEMALA.

The Republic of Guatemala is bounded on the north by Mexico, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; on the east by Belize, Honduras, and El Salvador; on the south by the Pacific Ocean; and on the west by Mexico. The boundary line between Guatemala and Mexico is somewhat in dispute, but the area of the former Republic is estimated at about 66,400 English square miles. According to the census of 1893, as quoted by one authority, there is a population of 1,364,678, about 60 per cent. of which is said to be pure Indian, most of the remainder halfcaste, the descendants of Europeans being few. The foreign population is less than 12,000. The President of the Republic is elected for a term of four years, and is assisted in the administration of the Government by the heads of six departments, viz.: that of Foreign Affairs; Government and Justice; Hacienda and Public Credit; Public Instruction; Fomento; and War. There are 22 administrative departments, each under a jefe político, appointed by the President. The Capital is Guatemala City, otherwise called Guatemala La Nueva, to distinguish it from the former Capital, which has been more or less completely destroyed by numerous earthquakes. The present Capital has a population of about 65,000 inhabitants; other principal towns being Quezaltenango, 30,000; Cobán, 28,000; Totonicapam, 40,000; San Marcos, 16,000; and Antigua, Escuintla, Amatitlán, Jutiapa, Jalapa, Chiquimula, Salamá, Zacapa, Quiché, and Huehuetenango, between 10,000 and 12,000 each. In 1896 the imports of the Republic amounted to over $26,000,000, and the exports to more than $23,000,000, both

amounts being expressed in native currency. The most important agricultural occupations are the cultivation of coffee, tobacco, maize, bananas, pulse, wheat, and oats. There are large tracts of forest containing many valuable woods. Stock-raising also flourishes in many parts. The leading industries are the manufacture of cotton and woolen goods, cement, bricks, earthenware, furniture, cigars, etc. Foundries, sugar-mills, breweries, and distilleries also thrive. Although a number of minerals exist, the mines are but little worked.

PHYSIOGRAPHY.

A few words upon the physiography of Guatemala are desirable for the purpose of a better understanding of the explorations undertaken by the Commission in that Republic. The topography of the region will be found quite exhaustively treated in the report of Corps No. 1, and its accompanying atlas of maps; but for the purpose now in view a reference is. made to Map II, to be found in Volume I, Part I. If a right line be drawn from the mouth of the Río Suchiate, which forms part of the boundary between Guatemala and Mexico, to the mouth of the Río de Paz, separating Guatemala and El Salvador, the direction of said line will be nearly west-northwest to east-southeast, and approximately 151 miles (243 kilometers) long.

The Continental Divide, separating Atlantic and Pacific waters, is, if we disregard its sinuosities, nearly parallel to the line just indicated. North of this Divide the principal stream within the limits of the Republic is the Río Motagua; its two principal tributaries rising, one to the eastward of Cerro Calel, and the other near Guatemala City, the latter branch being called the Río de las Vacas. The waters of the Motagua reach the Atlantic Ocean not far from Puerto Barrios. Generally parallel to the Motagua is the Río Polochic, which likewise belongs to the Atlantic drainage and empties into the Sea of the Antilles at Livingston. Rising near Volcán Tacaná and flowing first easterly, then northerly, and next westerly until the boundary is crossed, and thence northerly again, is the Río Cuilco, the waters of which join those of the Saleguá after entering the Republic of Mexico. Springing southwest of Huehuetenango, and near the Cuilco, is the Río Chixoy, which first flows nearly due east, until its junction with a branch rising to the east of Salamá, whence a sharp turn to the north is taken, and running between the Cuchumatanes Mountains on the west, and the Sierra de las Minas and Chama on the east, unites with other streams, and later forms the Usumacinta, on the boundary between Mexico and Guatemala. The waters of this stream reach the Gulf of Mexico at Frontera.