the
Survey, by following some obscure indications, discovered a vein of
very pretty glassy opals and yellow fire-opals, not of great value, but
serving to strengthen the general belief in the ultimate discovery of
precious opals in the vicinity. Near Choluteca are found fire-opals,
some of which possess merit. One, not of the best, is precisely similar
to those obtained by Mr. Wright near Tambla. Within one league of
Goascoran is a mine producing opals with a good play of color. Another
remarkable deposit of opal was found by Mr. Wright about five miles
east of Villa San Antonio in the plains of Comayagua, which though not
of high value, may be used for ornamental purposes, being of a fine red
color with transparent amethystine bands. It occurs in veins of gray
porphyry, sometimes several inches in thickness, and may be procured in
large quantities.
Dr. LeConte
had a favorable opportunity to purchase a series of fine opals, which
he did, and these still remain in the possession of his family. From
the fact that parcels of opals are occasionally brought to the large
cities by Indians, it may be considered certain that there are many
mines in Honduras and other parts of Central America, and future
investigation may show that an opal belt exists that extends from
Mexico southward perhaps to Central America.
The
opals of Mexico are well known throughout the world, although they do
not rank in value, and often not in durability, with those from
Hungary. Del Rio mentions that in 1802 in Zimapan, near the sanctuary
of Guadaloupe Hidalgo, in a red trachytic porphyry, fire-opals were
found in abundance, the color of the opal being a hyacinth red ; and
the same variety of opal is mentioned by Sonnenschmidt as occurring in
the mine of Toli-man, in a trachytic conglomerate. John Mawe' mentions
these opals in his work on precious stones, published in 1812, as
having been sent to England in quantities at that time. The fire-opal
still occurs in its greatest perfection in the porphyritic rocks at
Zimapan in Mexico. It is generally of a translucent hyacinth-red or
topaz color, and flashes forth dazzling beams of fiery carmine-red,
with yellow and green reflections of more or less intensity. When these
opals are still in the compact red porphyry, they form ob-
1 A Treatise on Diamonds and Precious Stones (London, 1812).
