Chapter I.

GEOGRAPHY AND PHYSICAL FEATURES.

Nicaragua, from the fact that it offers a ready means of communication between the two great oceans, holds an important position among the Central American Republics. Its territory is comprised between the limits of 10° 41′ and 15° north latitude, and 83° 15′ and 87° 40' west longitude from Greenwich. The boundaries are: on the east, the Caribbean Sea; on the south, the Republic of Costa Rica; on the west, the Pacific Ocean, and on the north, the Republic of Honduras. It contains about 40,000 square miles, or an area nearly equal to that comprised in the combined territories of the States of Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. In shape, it resembles an isosceles triangle, the base of which is the Caribbean coast and the apex the cone of the volcano of Cosigüina, on the bay of Fonseca.

The boundary between Nicaragua and Costa Rica was long in dispute, but was defined by a treaty between the two Republics, which was concluded on April 15, 1858. The claim having been made by Nicaragua that this treaty was not valid, the question was submitted to the arbitration of President Cleveland, who made an award on March 22, 1888. This decision, accepted by both parties, declared the treaty to be valid, and gave interpretations of all doubtful points.

The Caribbean coast of Nicaragua measures about 300 miles from north to south. Of this extent, 150 miles is comprised in the Mosquito Reservation, the limits of which, as settled by the treaty of 1860, are inclosed in a line commencing at the mouth

of the river Rama, in the Caribbean Sea, thence up the midcourse of that river to its source, and from such source due west to the meridian of 84° 15' longitude west from Greenwich; thence due north up the said meridian to the river Hueso, and down the midcourse of that river to the sea, and thence southerly along the shore of the Caribbean Sea to the point of commencement, at the mouth of the river Rama. This territory contains about 7,000 square miles of the richest, most fertile, and valuable part of Central America.

The ports of entry on the Atlantic side are San Juan del Norte, or Greytown, as it was named by the English; Cabo de Gracias. á Dios, and Bluefields. The port of San Juan del Norte was formerly a splendid harbor, having 30 feet of water at low tide, but in 1855 the river San Juan burst through its left bank near the Colorado and discharged a large portion of its water into that stream. Consequently the harbor at its mouth, no longer experiencing the scouring effects of the quantity of water that had formerly poured into it, began to fill with muddy deposits until it became so silted up as to be useless. Since the Nicaragua Canal Company selected it as their Atlantic terminus, they have built a breakwater, and by this means, combined with powerful dredges, have so improved the harbor that ocean steamers are again able to enter, and it will soon be fit to receive the largest vessels. The port of Gracias á Dios was also in former times an excellent harbor, but now has scarcely 15 feet of water at the deepest place. Vessels have to cast anchor at some distance outside the bar, and therefore the landing of passengers and merchandise is difficult, and in some cases attended with danger.

In consequence of the great development of the trade in bananas and other tropical fruits, and the establishment of regular lines of steamers from the United States, Bluefields is assuming a position of importance as a port. The lagoon has an area of 100 square miles and in some parts has considerable depth, although

it suffers from the deposit of sediment brought down by the Bluefields or Mico and other smaller rivers which empty into it.

The Pacific coast of Nicaragua is about 200 miles in length, from the Gulf of Fonseca to the bay of Salinas. The water is deep close to the shore, while neither reefs nor shoals render navigation dangerous, and the volcanic peaks, visible at a distance of many miles, form admirable landmarks for the guidance of navigators. The heavy swell of the mighty Pacific rolls in high on the sandy beach and forms a constant heavy surf, called by the natives “La Tasca," affording splendid facilities for sea bathing. The bay of Fonseca, of which Nicaragua possesses a share with the neighboring republics of Salvador and Honduras, is the finest port on the entire western coast of America. It contains several good interior harbors, and has the appearance of having once been an inland lake, like those of Nicaragua and Managua, which has been opened to the ocean by some mighty convulsion of nature which has torn asunder its rocky barrier and left an outlet 18 miles in width. The southern shore of this great bay, which belongs to Nicaragua, is about 25 miles in length. Here, a wide creek or inlet called "El Estero Real" extends some 50 miles into the interior. At 30 miles from its mouth, it is 3 fathoms in depth. Whenever the Interoceanic Railroad of Honduras is completed to La Brea, on the bay of Fonseca, this inlet will form an admirable avenue of commerce between it and Nicaragua.

The Nicaraguan ports of entry on the Pacific side are Corinto and San Juan del Sur. The harbor of Corinto is one of the bestprotected ports on the coast. It is a part of the ancient port of Realejo, which was in former times one of the best in Spanish America, but has now become shallow and in many places overgrown with mangrove trees. Corinto is the terminus of the railroad from Lake Managua and is regularly visited by the Pacific Mail Company's steamers. Brito is not a port of entry, but has been selected as the Pacific terminus of the Nicaragua Canal, and

will be thoroughly improved and adapted by the company to accommodate the immense traffic which it expects to receive.

San Juan del Sur has a small but deep and safe harbor, with an entrance about half a mile in width between piles of rock more than 400 feet in height. It was brought into prominence from 1851 to 1855 as the Pacific port of the Nicaragua transit line, by way of the lake and San Juan River from the Caribbean coast, by which many thousands of American passengers traveled to reach the Eldorado of California.

The bay of Salinas forms a beautiful, deep port, nearly circular in shape, embracing an area of about 8 square miles. The center of this bay marks the western terminus of the boundary line between Nicaragua and Costa Rica.

The topographical features of Nicaragua are largely determined by two mountain ranges, which traverse the Republic in a general direction from northwest to southeast. The western or coast range commences in the high regions of Guatemala, and extending through Guatemala, Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua terminates in the great knot or group of Costa Rican mountains. It follows the general direction of the coast at a distance from the sea varying from 10 to 20 miles, to which fact it is due that there are no considerable streams discharging from that slope into the Pacific Ocean. This is the principal line of volcanic energy and is marked by the volcanoes of Cosigüina, 3,000 feet in height, which has been inactive since its tremendous eruption in 1835; Madera, 4,590 feet; Ometepe, 5,747 feet; Mombacho, 4,583 feet; Masaya, 2,972 feet; Momotombo, 6,121 feet, and El Viejo, 6,256 feet, all these altitudes being calculated from the surface of the surrounding country and not from the sea level. There are also many other lesser volcanic peaks, some of hem showing evidences of recent activity and others which bear no signs of even comparatively late eruptions and of which no traditions of such energy

are extant.

The eastern range enters Nicaragua from Honduras and extends in a general southeastern direction until it reaches the San Juan River, at a point about 50 miles from its mouth. It sends out numerous spurs and extensions towards the Caribbean Sea. Between these flow the many rivers and streams that abundantly irrigate the country on their way to the coast. Between these two ranges, lies the great interior basin, comprising an area of nearly 300 miles in length by 100 wide, in which are situated the two beautiful lakes which form such important features in the physical geography and economic conditions of the Republic.

Lake Nicaragua, the ancient "Cocibolca," the largest of these, is about 92 miles in length by 34 in width. It varies considerably in depth, from 83 feet in places to 12 in others. On its northwestern shore, stands the ancient city of Granada, long the rival of Leon for the site of the national capital. A few miles from Granada, is the extinct volcanic peak of Mombacho. Forty miles distant, and near the same shore, is the city of Rivas, built on or near the site of the aboriginal capital. The lake receives the waters of the Rio Frio, which has its source in Costa Rica, and of several smaller streams. Its outlet is the river San Juan, flowing to the Caribbean Sea, the waters of which and part of its bed will be utilized to form the interoceanic canal. There are several islands in the lake, the largest of which is Ometepe, where the two volcanic peaks of Ometepe and Madera form conspicuous objects in the scenery. This island has two towns and is inhabited by a considerable Indian population.

Lake Managua is about 32 miles long by 16 in width. Its level is about 134 feet above the sea, or 24 feet above Lake Nicaragua. Two points jut out into it from opposite sides, near its center, and give it somewhat the shape of the figure 8. It is not so deep as Lake Nicaragua, but a line of five steamers is now employed on its waters to accommodate the constantly increasing traffic between Momotombo, the terminus of the railroad from