B-'ai^,51 Digitized by tine Internet Archive in 2010 witii funding from Tine Library of Congress http://www.arcliive.org/details/liandbookofnicaraOOinte I,OTi.^Wde"West jEe. Copyright 1894, by Wm; M. Bradley & Co., 45- / 52d Congress, ) SEI^ATE. ) Ex. Doc. 149. 1st Session. > '( Part 2. BUREAU OF THE AMERICAN REPUBLICS, WASHINGTON, U. S. A. ,<' HAND BOOK "^Pr^r^r^rr NICARAGUA. BULLETIN NO. 51. 1892. [Revised to August i, 1893.] BUREAU OF THE AMERICAN REPUBLICS, NO. 2 LAFAYETTE SQUARE, WASHINGTON, D. C, U. S. A. Director. — Clinton Furbish. Secretary, — Frederic Emory, \ / 0^ While the Titmost care is taken to insure ^icciiracy in the publications of the l^ureau of the Ameri- can Republics, no pecuniary responsibility is assumed on account of errors or inaccuracies which may occur theicin. WASHINGTON, D. C, U. S. Government Printing OFFici. / 6^3 LIST OF BUREAU PUBLICATIONS. I. Hand Book of the American Repub- lics, No. I. •2. Hand Book of the American Repub- lics, No. 2. 50. Hand Books of the American Repub- lics, No. 3. 7. Hand Book of Brazil. 9. Hand Book of Mexico. 31. Hand Book of Costa Rica. 32. Hand Book of Guatemala. 33. Hand Book of Colombia. 34. Hand Book of Venezuela. 51. Hand Book ot Nicaragua. 61. Hand Book of Uruguay. 62. Hand Book of Haiti. 67. Hand Book of the Argentine Republic. £.5. Hand Book of Bolivia. J. Import Duties of Mexico. rt. Import Duties of Brazil. I'l. Import Duties of Cuba and Puerto Rico. . Import Duties of Costa Rica. 12. Import Duties of Santo Domingo. 20. Import Duties of Nicaragua. 21. Import Duties of Mexico (revised). 22. Import Duties of Bolivia. 23. Import Dufies of Salvador. 24. Import Duties of Honduras. 25. Import Duties of Ecuador. 27. Import Duties of Colombia. 36. Import Duties of Venezuela. 37. Import Duties of the British Colonies. 43. Import Duties of Guatemala. 44. Import Duties of the United States. 45. Import Duties of Peru. 46. Import Duties of Chile. 47. Import Duties of Uruguay. 48. Import Duties of the Argentine Re- public. 49. Import Duties of Haiti. 13. Commercial Directory of Brazil. 14. Commercial Directory of Venezuela. The above list includes all the publications of the Bureau to December 15, 1893. Orders for copies based on the above 'will not be noticed. On the following page will be found a list of publications, of which a limited number remain for dis- tribution. Address: Director, Bureau of the American Republics, Washington, D. 0. 15. Commercial Directory of Colombia. 16. Commercial Directory of Peru. 17. Commercial Directory of Chile. 18. Commercial Directory of Mexico. 19. Commercial Directory of Bolivia, Ec- uador, Paraguay, and Uruguay. 26. Commercial Directory of the Argen- tine Republic. 28. Commercial Directory of Central America. 29. Commercial Directory of Haiti and Santo Domingo. 38. Commercial Directory of Cuba and Puerto Rico. 39. Commercial Directory of European Colonies. Commercial Directory of Latin Amer- ica. 42. Newspaper Directory of Latin America. 3. Patent and Trade-Mark Laws of Amer- ica. 4. Money, Weights, and Measures of the American Republics. 6. Foreign Commerce of the American Republics. 30. First Annual Report, 1891. Second Annual Report, 1S92. 35. Breadstuifs in Latin America. 40. Mines and Mining Laws of Latin America. Commercial Information Concerning the American Republics and Col- onies. Immigration and Land Laws of Latin America. 63. How the Markets of Latin America may be reached. Manual de las Repfiblicas Ameri- canas, 1891. Monthly Bulletin, October, 1893. Monthly Bulletin, November, 1893. 41 53- BUREAU PUBLICATIONS AVAILABLE FOR DISTRIBUTION. Hand Books of the American Republics, No. 3. Hand Book of Guatemala. Hand Book of Colombia. Hand Book of Venezuela. Hand Book of Nicaragua. Hand Book of Bolivia. Hand Book of Uruguay. Hand Book of Haiti. Hand Book of the Argentine Republic. Import Duties of Brazil. Import Duties of Cuba and Puerto Rico. Import Duties of Costa Rica. Import Duties of Nicaragua. Import Duties of Mexico (revised). Import Duties of Bolivia. Import Duties of Salvador. Import Duties of Honduras. Import Duties of Ecuador. Import Duties of Colombia. Import Duties of Venezuela. Import Duties of Guatemala. Import Duties of the United States. Import Duties of Peru. Import Duties of Chile. Import Duties of Uruguay. Import Duties of the Argentine Republic. Impoit Duties of Haiti. Commercial Director)' of Brazil. Commercial Directory of Cuba and Puerto Rico. Commercial Directory of the European Colonies. Commercial Directory of Venezuela. Commercial Directory of Colombia. Commercial Directory of Peru. Commercial Directory of Chile. Commercial Directory of Mexico. Commercial Directory of Bolivia, Ecua- dor, Paragua}', and Uruguay. Commercial Directory of the Argentine Republic. Commercial Directory of Haiti and Santo Domingo. Commercial Directory of Central America. Commercial Directory of Latin America. Newspaper Directory of Latin America. Patent and Trade-Mark Laws of America. Money, Weights, and Measures of the American Republics. Foreign Commerce of the American Re- publics. First Annual Report, 1891. Second Annual Report, 1892. Immigration and Land Laws of Latin America. How the Markets of Latin America may be reached. Manual de las Repfiblicas Americanas, 1891. Monthly Bulletin, October, 1893. Monthly Bulletin, November, 1893. CONXKNTS. Page. Chapter I. Geography and Ph)^sical Features i II. Geology, Minerals, and Mining lo III. Climate and Seasons i6 IV. Forests and Fibrous Plants 22 V. Agricultural Resources 28 VI. The Interoceanic Canal 42 VII. Railroads and Transportation 5^ VIII. Constitution and Laws ; Finance and Taxation ; Public Improve- ments "5 IX. Religion and Public Instruction 76 X. Cost of Living, Wages, etc • 78 XI. Commerce 84 XII. Postal and Telegraph Service 9^ XIII. Immigration and Colonization loo XIV. Historical -and Bibliographical Notes 105 Appendix A. Import Duties of Nicaragua 109 B. Reciprocal Commercial Arrangement Between the United States and Nicaragua I39 C. The Jewell Irrigation Contract '. I43 D. The Mining Code 146 E. The Mines of Nicaragua ; Report of Consul Newell 163 Index • 179 IIvLXJSTR ACTIONS. Map of Nicaragua Frontispiece, Page. Government Palace, Managua i Ancient Castle on the San Juan River 7 In the Suburbs of Rivas 20 Bread-fruit Tree and Peon's Cabin 3° View of Nicaragua Canal 42 Dredges, Nicaragua Canal 53 Railroad Station at Granada 56 A Nicaraguan House 79 Principal Street, Greytown 83 Cathedral at Leon io5 V Government Palace, Managua. Chapter L GEOGRAPHY AND PHYSICAL FEATURES. Nicaragua, from the fact that it offers a ready means of com- munication 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 Cosigiiina, 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 freaty of i860, are inclosed in a line commencing at the mouth I NICARAGUA. 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 mid- course 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 a 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 experi- encing the scouring effects of the quantity of water that had for- merly poured into it, began to fill with muddy deposits until 'ft 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 a Dios was also in former times an excellent har- bor, 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 bana- nas and other tropical fruits, and the establishment of regular lines of steamers from the United States, Bluefields is assuming a posi- tion of importance as a port. The lagoon has an area of 100 square miles and in some parts has considerable depth, although NICARAGUA. it suffers from the deposit of sediment brought down by the Blue- fields 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 nav- igation dangerous, and the volcanic peaks, visible at a distance of many miles, form admirable landmarks for the guidance of nav- igators. 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 asuiider 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 best- protected 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 over- grown with mangrove trees. Corinto is the terminus of the rail- road 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 4 NICARAGUA. 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 extend- ing through Guatemala, Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua ter- minates 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 Cosigiiina, 3,000 feet in height, which has been inactive since its tremendous eruption in 1835; Madera, 4,590 feet ; Ometepe, 5,747 feet; Momibacho, 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 rhem showing evidences of recent activity and others which bear no signs of even com- paratively late eruptions and of which no traditions of such energy ^re extant. NICARAGUA. ^ 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 1 00 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 consider- ably 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 con- spicuous 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 Nica- ragua. 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 O NICARAGUA. Corinto, on the Pacific coast, and Managua, the capital of the Republic, which is situated on the southern shore of the lake. The towns of Mateare and Tipitapa are also on its southern shore. The fluvial system of Nicaragua lies almost entirely to the eastward of the mountain ranges and consists of numerous rivers, varying in volume according to the length of their course. The principal are the Coco or Wauks, the Rio Grande, the Bluefields or Mico, and the San Juan. The Coco, towards the Honduran frontier, is about 300 miles in length. It was named Wauks by the English mahogany-cutters, who had settlements on its banks. It has also been known by various other names. Although it receives the waters of numerous streams, as it runs through a narrow valley, it does not carry a volume of water proportionate to its length. It flows into the Caribbean sea near Cape Gracias a Dios. The Rio Grande or Matagalpa River rises in the Sierra de Guaguali in the department of Matagalpa. It receives in its course the waters of many streams and of several considerable rivers. For a distance of 100 miles from the sea it averages 300 yards in width and 15 feet in depth, and would be navigable for vessels of considerable size, and would form a magnificent avenue for commerce and immigration if it were not for the bar at its mouth, which is very dangerous and seldom carries more than 8 feet of water. It was at this point that Columbus lost a boat and its crew, and this circumstance gave to it the name of "El Rio del Desastre." The deepening of the water on the bar would not be a difficult or very expensive undertaking, and there is no doubt that, in the near future, it will be done, and this fine river opened to the commerce of the world. The whole length of the river is about 230 miles. The Bluefields River, or, as it is sometimes called, the Mico or Escondido, has its source in the mountains of the Department of Chontales. Its general course is from west to east. It receives Ancient Castle on San Juan River. NICARAGUA. the waters of many rivers and streams of more or less importance and flows through a, region covered with magnificent forests. It is a beautiful river, and for a distance of about 65 miles, from Bluefields to the Boca de Rama, large steamers running to Gal- veston, New Orleans, New York, Philadelphia, and Boston ascend without difficulty, and, when the contemplated deepening at the bar has been carried out, ocean vessels of large draft will be able to reach the same point. It discharges into the Bluefields lagoon, a landlocked and well-protected harbor. The San Juan River is the most important water course in Central America, as it forms the outlet through which are discharged the waters of the great hydraulic system of Lake Nicaragua, from which circumstance it was named by the Spaniards " El Desa- guadero." Its navigation is interrupted by rapids and rocks at several points. It was, however, used for some years by the small steamboats of the transit company to carry passengers and freight between the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. It is now again brought, and more prominently than ever, to the notice of the world as the scene of operations of the Nicaragua Canal Company, who will use its waters as a part of their system of interoceanic communi- cation. There are several islands near the Caribbean coast, the most important of which are St. Andrews, Old Providence, and Great and Little Corn Islands. These two latter have been claimed by the Mosquito authorities; but, as the treaty of i860 defines the Caribbean coast line as the limit of the reservation, the Nica- raguan Government has ignored their claim and established a post on the Great Corn Island and placed an official in charge. This island is situated about 38 miles from Bluefields and 82 from San Juan del Norte. Banana and cocoanut growing are the industries that are rendering these islands valuable. .—J 8 NICARAGUA. POLITICAL DIVISIONS AND POPULATION. When the "kingdom" of Guatemala was definitely oiganized, in 1568, Nicaragua formed one of its five provinces and w2ls in turn divided into seven departments, called Realejo, Granada, Nicaragua, Matagalpa, Monimbo, Chontales, and Quezaltepeque. Under the ordinances published by Charles III in 1778, the prov- ince of Nicaragua was divided into five political divisions, Leon, Matagalpa, Realejo, Subtiaba, and Nicoya. The Republic is now divided into twelve departments : Chinan- dega, Leon, Managua, Masaya, Granada, Carazo, Rivas, Chontales, Matagalpa, Jinotega, Nueva Segovia, and Esteli. Nicaragua, enjoying all the richest gifts of nature, presenting an ever-varying panorama of mountain and valley, broad plains, and fertile valleys, forest and pasture land, lake and river, with a productive soil and salubrious climate, provided conditions emi- nently favorable for sustaining a vast population and bringing together great communities of the aboriginal people. That this was the case, is amply proved by the testimony of the ancient chroniclers. As was asserted by Las Casas, it was one of the best- peopled countries of Central America. Those same early historians tell us how its inhabitants were decimated by war, slavery, torture, and pestilence until but a rem- nant remained of its once teeming population. Indeed, so rapidly were they reduced in numbers that, in the year 1586, negro slavery was introduced by Governor Diego de Artieda to supply the demand for laborers, and it continued to be a legalized institution until April, 1824, when it was abolished by act of the Congress of the Republic of Central America, and the owners were compen- sated by the payment of the money value of their slaves. The present population of the Republic, according to the census of 1890, is 360,000 inhabitants (16,200 white, 198,000 Indians, 1,800 negroes, and 144,000 of mixed races), little more than 8 to the square mile. How inadequate this is for the development of KICARAGUA. the resources of the country and how much smaller than the num- ber it would comfortably maintain, may be estimated by a compari- son with the population of four Commonwealths of the United States which closely correspond in area to Nicaragua, viz: Maine, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island, which contain, on the same space of the earth's surface, nearly 4,000,000 of inhab- itants. In Nicaragua, as throughout Central America, females exceed the males in number. The Indians, who form the bulk of the laboring inhabitants, are docile and industrious, and fofm an excellent rural population, free to labor for their own benefit or for others, as their inclination or interest may dictate. Most of the people in the rural districts live in towns and villages, necessitating, in many instances, a jour- ney of several miles to and from their field of labor. This has arisen largely from the necessity for mutual protection during times of disturbance through which the country has passed. This fact frequently induces travelers when passing through the coun- try to estimate the population to be even more scanty than it really is, as they may pass, at times, many miles without seeing a house and meeting but few people. Many schemes have been from time to time proposed to secure immigration, but none have yet proved successful on any con- siderable scale ; but, while the Government has been seeking a solution of the problem, the march of events has steadily tended to show that it will settle itself as soon as facilities are provided for transporting the products of the country to the ports of the Atlantic seaboard and the improvement of the ports by deepening the bars at the mouths of the rivers is effected. Whenever these conditions are fulfilled, giving access to the markets of the world for the products of their labor, immigrants will flow in as they have done in other parts of Central and South America. Chapter 11. GEOLOGY, MINERALS, AND MINING* Geologically, Nicaragua maybe divided into five zones, differing from each other in many characteristics. The first or central division extends from southwest to northeast in direction. Its rocks are composed of granite, gneiss, sandstone, porphyry, slate, quartzite, limestone, and hornblende, and it contains large deposits of titanic iron ore and graphite. The Laurentian rocks occupy the center of the northern part of the division, while rocks of later age overlie them on the west and east. Devonian rocks rest unconformably upon the Silurian. They consist of marls, coarse and gritty shale, and red sandstone. These rocks resemble those of Scotland more closely than similar formations in the State of New York. In parts of this division are many fis- sures or lodes, frequently having walls of diabase or diorite, or one of these and slate, which have gold deposited in them, or they include veins of the ores of silver, tin, nickel, antimony, arsenic, etc. In a few places platinum, iridium, and osmium are found in creeks, mixed with the gangue of mineral veins, from which they have been removed by erosion and transported to the creeks by ancient glacial action or water. Many of these veins are very rich in the precious metals. A few of the peaks on these mountain ranges are the highest in Nicaragua, from 6,500 to 6,700 feet above the ocean level. At several places in the mountains are areas of nearly flat table-lands called "mesas," from 9 to 20 square miles in superficial dimensions. * For recent developments in mining in Nicaragua, see report of U. S. Consul Newell, Appendix E. 10 NICARAGUA. 1 1 They are inclosed almost completely by peaks and ridges, which rise to a height of from loo to 500 feet, and have nearly per- pendicular external walls, intersected in places by canons through which the rain waters find their way to the streams which flow into the Caribbean Sea. A few ancient extinct volcanic cones and fissures can be seen, and some mineral springs are found, having temperatures of from 131° to 215° F. The second division is a narrow annex on the east of the division just described, and extends to within about 100 miles of the Carib- bean coast. Its mountain system is monogenetic, forming iso- lated cones, short ridges, and long valleys, all from 1,000 to 2,800 feet above sea level. There are many dry beds of ancient rivers, traceable for many miles, along which are small hills. Those near the old river, north of the river Prinzapulca, consist of iron clay slates and partly stratified fragments of chlorite and talcose slates; quartz, pebbles, sands, and occasionally clays, interspersed with numerous small and a few large particles of gold. Fifteen miles north of the Indian village of Wylowas, on the Prinzapulka River, the old river channel and its valleys contain very rich gold placers. Another large placer, very rich in gold, is found in the bed of a pre-glacial river, on the southeast side of and near the river Eas, a confluent of the river Tooma. Among the rocks of this division are Lower Carboniferous limestones, Permian magnesian limestones, red sandstones, and variegated shales. In the Laramie, brown coal or lignite is found, and in the Cretaceous formations, volitic rocks and clays, gypsum, salt, and slightly metamorphosed sandstones. At several places mountain limestone of the Lower Carboniferous forms the outcropping eastern margin of the rocks. At some localities there are long groups of hills and ridges which are evidently terminal moraines referable to a glacial epoch in Nicara- gua contemporaneous with a similar era in North America. Numerous mineral springs have been discovered in this uninhab^ ited part of Nicaragua. The waters are cool, except in one case, where the water has a temperature of 1 20° F. 12 NICARAGUA. The delta-shaped area of all the east-flowing rivers forms the third division. It comprises about 15,000 square miles, or 75 miles from east to west and about 200 miles from north to south on the seacoast. This part of the coast has subsided until within the past few years, and the ancient coast line was formerly far to the eastward of its present position. Recently, its elevation ap- pears to have recommenced. Formerly, corals grew nearly into the mouths of the rivers Matagalpa, Escondido, and others. Now, the tops of their branches are dead, and the muddy river waters that killed them are distinguishable several miles seaward. The fourth division lies on the western side of the first. It has for its western limit the foot of the mountain ridges which extend to near the margin of lakes Nicaragua and Managua, and extends from the lakes northwestward to about latitude 13° 15' north. Formations of the following ages occur in this as well as in the second division: Recent. — Submerged forests, clay, peat, marl, volcanic tufas, stratified sand and ashes, and uncompacted volcanic ashes. Pleistocene. — Terrace beaches and deposits, metamorphosed rock-walled gulches, erratic bowlders, striated rocks, moraines, volcanic tufas and agglom- erates, and alluvial conglomerates. Pliocene. — Lignites, loams, and flinty shingle. Miocene. — Greenish marly limestones, clay, fresh-water marly limestone, and sandstones. Eocene. — Limestones, clay, fresh-water marly limestones, and sandstones. Mesozoic. — Oolitic flinty limestones, conglomerates and slates, bluish marly clays, greenish sandstones, pebbly sandstones, gypsum, salt beds, bituminous earths, and marls. Permian. — Magnesian limestones, variegated shales, red sandstones, and lignite. Carboniferous. — Coal, mostly anthracite in character, sandstone, and lime- stone. There are ancient volcanic fissures in this division, but the rocks filling them are rapidly disintegrating. They are not distinctly outlined in many places, but are partly covered by eruptions from NICARAGUA. I3 more recent volcanoes. Several large springs, having a tem- perature of 158° to 212° F., flow from the foot of the mountains in the northwestern part of this division. They usually contain large percentages of alkalis. This division is very interesting, and wonderfully varied in its stratification, lithology, mineralogy, and mineral springs. The fifth division embraces the northwestern and southwestern parts of Nicaragua, including lakes Nicaragua and Managua, which were once part of the Cenozoic ocean; also several small lakes in the craters of extinct volcanoes. Some of these contain pure or slightly alkaline water, as Masaya, Apoyo, Tiscapa, etc. Others contain large amounts of sulphur and alkalis, as Nejapa (which gives iodine reactions and possesses in a remarkable de- gree the property of preserving and strengthening animal mem- brane, tissues, etc.), Asososca, and others. The northwestern part of this division extends to near the Gulf of Fonseca. Its rocks are paleozoic. It is intersected by many lodes, generally running from northeast to southwest, which contain gold as the principal metal, but those passing into granite rocks, or between granite and gneiss and shales, have as their principal metal silver, tin, or manganese. The gangue of all these veins is quartz and mag- nesian slates, and their walls are granite or gneiss, or one of these on one side and shales on the other, excepting a £gw of the gold- bearing veins, which have walls of diabase or diorite. Some of the most valuable mineral veins in the southern part of this- division have been largely faulted and disturbed. The western and southwestern parts of this division, with the exception of a few low hills, are composed to great depths of mat- ter ejected from the line of volcanic fissures and cones which pass through or appear above it. On this erupted mass, are situated all the large towns and cities in Nicaragua excepting Matagalpa and Jinotega; and more than seven-tenths of the population of the country reside in the towns, fertile valleys, and mountain slopes of 14 NICARAGUA. this vicinity. In several places, the darker and more easily melted minerals, basalt, dolorite, andesite, and black scoriae have been transported by water to greater distances from the volcanoes than the lighter-colored and more acidic minerals, pumice, obsidian, trachyte, light-colored scoriae, and rhyolite. MINES AND MINING LAWS. The northern part of this division, in the department of Segovia, contains many mines, and some that were once famous ; and there is no doubt that, under conditions of peace and good govern- ment, the influx of capital and labor will, before long, make this one of the richest mining regions in Central America. Chontales is a very rich mining district, where mines are now in active operation which have contributed in no small degree to augment the wealth of the Republic. Matagalpa is also very rich in minerals, requiring only capital and improved means of trans- portation to develop a great mining interest. The code of mining laws of Nicaragua is a very voluminous document, forming a book of ii2 pages, published in the year 1877. It is based upon the- old Spanish mining laws, but is very liberal in its provisions. The most important part of this Code (Cbdigo de minerid) was published in English in the chapter " Nicaragua," of Bulletin No. 40, of the Bureau of the American Republics, " Mines and Mining Laws of Latin America ". This chapter is reprinted in full, at the end of this Hand Book, as Appendix D. Mining machinery is admitted free of duty, and there are no taxes, either government or municipal, levied on mines. There is no distinction between foreigners and natives in the right to acquire and hold mining property. Senor Don Jose D. Gamez, in his "Noticias Geograficas de la Republica de Nicaragua," which the Nicara^uan Government sent to the Bureau of the American Republics to aid in the prepara- NICARAGUA. 15 tion of this Hand Book, refers to the mines of Nicaragua in the following terms: In the whole of Central America the only country which goes ahead of Nica- ragua, as far as mineral wealth is concerned, is the Republic of Honduras. The vast mountain system which extends to the Atlantic coast, although almost unexplored in this respect, is the great mining region of the country; but independently of it there are the districts of Nueva Segovia and Chontales, which have become celebrated for the gold they yield in abundant quantities. The mines thus far discovered are very valuable; but the mining industry has not developed in proportion, because of the lack of capital, skilled labor, and convenient means of transportation. This is the reason why few mines have been worked up to this date; but those which have been worked, most of which belong to foreigners, are yielding large profits. At present only gold mines are worked in Nicaragua. The famous silver mines, which gave such fabulous yieldings in the Sixteenth and the Seventeenth centuries, are no longer in operation. They require larger expenses and a greater knowledge of the subject. The gold mines of Chontales yield from one-fourth to 2 ounces of gold, from 14 to 20 carats, per ton of 2,000 English pounds of ore. Those of Nuevo Se- govia yield from one-half to 3 ounces of gold per ton. The bad roads of the department of Nueva Segovia render the introduction of mining machinery very difficult, and for this reason no mine which yields less than 1 ounce of gold per ton of ore is worked with profit. Every town, every hill, every mountain, and almost every river in this department, contains gold, or gold and silver, or copper, tin, zinc, antimony, or other metals. Sam- ples of these metals and ores commanded the attention of the world at the Paris Exhibition of 1889. * * * The total production of gold in Nicaragua can be estimated at 22,754 ounces per year. Chapter III. CLIMATE AND SEASONS. It is a common error among persons unacquainted with the country to suppose that Nicaragua, being, geographically, a tropical country, must suffer from excessive heat, and consequently, is un- healthy for people of northern origin. The truth is that, while on the low lands of the coast and forests of the plains the climate is tropical, in the higher regions it is varied and temperate. Situated between two great oceans, the country enjoys an insu- lar regularity of temperature, while the absence of mountains toward the Atlantic coast and the broad expanse of its lakes per- mit the trade winds to sweep across the country and ventilate it so thoroughly as to produce a climate agreeable to the senses and favorable to health. There are in Nicaragua only two seasons — the wet, called by the natives winter, and the dry, called summer — but on the Atlan- tic side these seasons are not so well defined. The time of com- mencement and ending of these varies according to locality. On the eastern coast, the rainy season is from June to December, inclusive; on the Pacific slope the rains commence about the 15th of May and continue until the 15th of November. The climate of the Caribbean coast is much more humid than that of the Pacific side of the mountains. The amount of precipitation at San Juan del Norte during the past year was 29.7 inches. This heavy rainfall and humidity of the atmosphere are largely attribu- table to the dense forests, As the country is cleared and brought 16 NICARAGUA. 1^ under cultivation this will doubtless meet with a proportionate diminution, as has been the case in other tropical countries. Even on the hottest part of this coast, the heat is never oppres- sive while the trade wind is blowing, but during calms it is very sultry. The climate, however, is anything but unhealthful. The prevailing type of disease appears to be a low form of intermittent fever, mild in its character, and yielding readily to simple remedies. In the majority of cases, where foreigners suffer from it, the cause may be traced to their own imprudence and careless habits of life. With ordinary attention to hygienic laws, and temperance in eat- ing and drinking, there is no reason why any person of good con- stitution should not enjoy as good health in Nicaragua as in any other part of the world. A naval officer, who has written on the subject, states that he once commanded a ship of war, with a large crew, that was sta- tioned on the coast for five months, during which time he never had more than four men on the sick list, and not a single death occurred. The following notes, taken during a more extended residence on this coast, by the same officer, will afford a good idea of the climate and its variations: January. — Strong breezes from northeast ; dry weather; occasional showers, principally during the night. February. — Squally weather, wind changing from north to east in sudden gusts. This month is sometimes showery, but wind never shifts beyond north or east. March. — Strong breezes from eastnortheast. Generally, about the 20th, an equinoctial gale may be expected, which generally lasts about three days, with heavy rain, and violent winds from north to northwest. Otherwise, March is a dry month. April. — Light southeast and south winds, with calms. No rain. Rivers low and lagoons shallow. May. — Calms; dry weather; winds very light and variable. June. — Heavy rains, with much thunder and lightning; generally calm, but subject to squalls and sudden gusts of wind. Bull. 51 3 1 8 NICARAGUA. July. — The same as June, but varied by strong steady breezes from east- northeast to northeast. August. — The same as the two preceding months, with the addition of heavy squalls of short duration. September. — Calms and light variable winds, thunder and lightning, with occasional rains. October. — Northers commence in this month; generally, about the 15th, heavy northerly gales may be expected, with rain and squalls. These may be looked for occasionally between October and January. During a wet norther the weather is chilly and unpleasant, but should it be dry, it is both healthy and invigorating. November. — Similar weather; plenty of rain. Sometimes the trade wind blows uninterruptedly, and the entire month passes without a norther. December. — Passing showers, the trade wind blowing strongly, occasionally interrupted by northers. January, February, March, and April are considered the most healthful months of the year. March and April are the hottest. The thermometer seldom rises above 85° or falls below 70°. A report published by the Nicaragua Canal Company gives some interesting details as to the healthfulness of the country. It says: "No better proof of the healthfulness of the country can be asked than the practical experience of the men who have been employed in surveys of the route and on actual work of construc- tion thus far accomplished. The surveys were made through dense forests and jungle, where every foot of advance was gained by the use of the ax or machete, and through swamps and streams where the men were often compelled to do their work up to their waists in water. In December, 1887, ^^ engineering expedition under the charge of Mr. Peary, consisting of some forty-five survey- ors, including their assistants, and accompanied by about one hun- dred negroes from Jamaica, landed at Greytown and commenced, work. Peary says that, excepting the negroes only five members of the expedition had ever been in tropical climates before, and the rodmen and chainmen of the party were young men just out of college, who had never done a day's work nor slept on the ground a NICARAGUA. 19 night in their lives. The rainy season prevailed more than a month beyond the usual period, during which time and for months after- ward all the members of the party, engineers and laborers alike, were equally exposed in their tents and in the forests, working sometimes on land, sometimes in the streams and swamps, to all the vicissitudes of the climate. Yet, notwithstanding all this exposure, not only were there no deaths on the expedition, but there was not a single case of serious illness; and those who, at the expiration of their contract, returned to the United States came back in better health and weight than when they went away. Of course, the men were well fed and sanitary rules were strictly enforced, but the results proved the natural salubrity of the climate." The annual report, for the year 1890, of Dr. J. E. Stubbert, surgeon in chief to the Nicaragua Canal Company, shows the same remarkable immunity from disease and sickness among the em- ployes. The following is the meteorological report of observations taken at the company's headquarters at San Juan del Sur for the year ending December 31, 1890: Month. January . . February . March . . . . April May June July August . . . September October . . November December Total rain- fall. Inches. 26.80 6.36 5-93 18. II 4-93 46.84 52.55 35-72 8. 14 24.36 25-55 41.65 Daily aver- age. Inches. .86 . 227 .191 .60 . 164 1-55 I. 69 I. 15 .27 .78 .85 1.34 Maximum temv>erature 81 80 81 78 80 84 81 81. 5 89-5 80.5 82 81 Minimum temperature. 70 72 73 72 72 74 75 75 75 74 71 72 Average temperature. 75 76 77 75 76 79 78 78 83 77 76.5 76.5 Inches. Average monthly rainfall for the year 24. 75 Average daily rainfall for the year 819 Total rainfall for the year 296. 94 In the more elevated regions and on the Pacific slope, the tem- perature is also very equable, differing a little according to locality, NICARAGUA. but preserving a nearly uniform range, during the wet season, of from 75° to 88° F., occasionally sinking to 70° during the night and rising to 90° in the afternoon. During the dry season, the average temperature is less, for although it ranges from 80° to 90° during the day, it falls frequently to 65'' or 68° during the night. The sky is cloudless, the fields become parched and dry, and the effect of this season is practically that of a northern winter, check- ing and destroying ephemeral vegetation, thereby purifying the atmosphere and rendering it the healthiest part of the year. In all the elevated regions of Nicaragua, no sense of oppression or exhaustion is felt, even on the hottest day. The air is so pure and fresh and the radiation of heat so rapid that, even when the direct rays of the sun may be felt to be intolerable, the temper- ature is pleasant and refreshing in the shade, forming a great con- trast in this respect to northern cities, where, at times, it is impossible to escape from the exhausting heat, either in the house or even during the night. Observations taken during one year at the town of Rivas gave the following results: Mean highest temperature 86° F., mean lowest 71°; mean average for the year 77°, mean range 1 9°. The amount of rain which fell from May to November, inclusive, was 90.3 inches; from December to April, inclusive, 7.41 inches; total for the year, 97.44 inches. Hail is almost unknown in Nicara- gua, as are also frost and snow, and none of the mountains or vol- canic peaks are high enough to be liable to a perpetual or even an occasional covering of snow. Cyclones, hurricanes, and destruc- tive storms, which at certain seasons are so devastating in other countries, never reach this favored land. It is a remarkable fact that in Nicaragua, although the barometer varies in one place or the other according to the altitude, as is natural, in any fixed spot the variation throughout the year is almost inappreciable, so much so as to render it almost useless as an indicator of atmospheric dis- turbance or changes of weather. This proves that the atmosphere In the Suburbs of Rivas. NICARAGUA. 2l has a. uniformity of pressure "that is very remarkable, a condition very favorable to the maintenance of good health, and particularly beneficial to the respiratory organs. Earthquakes, to which all volcanic countries are more or less subject have at times been felt on the Pacific slope, but they have never been so violent or destructive as in other countries. The volcanic energy which, in remote ages, has had such a marked influence on the topography of the whole Pacific coast of America, is gradually dying out, and seismic disturbances subside in the same ratio. Chapter IV. FORESTS AND FIBROUS PLANTS. In the luxuriant forests that cover so many square miles of ter- ritory, Nicaragua possesses an element of incalculable wealth, which, from its accessibility to the great markets of the world, will, in the very near future, become the foundation of a great in- dustry. Some beginning in this direction has been made in the neighborhood of Bluefields, but with the improvement of the bars at the river mouths and the opening of routes of transportation, this will expand in all directions and contribute in no small degree to the national prosperity. The mahogany (caohd) is the monarch tree of Central Ameri- can forests and is abundant in Nicaragua, growing to an enormous size, frequently measuring from 40 to 50 feet in height below the first branches and from 9 to 1 2 feet in diameter at the base. At a short distance the tree is a magnificent object, its giant arms stretching outward over a wide space and surmounted by a great dome of verdure, which at certain seasons of the year is colored with hues like the autumnal foliage of our northern trees. This change of color is the guide of the mahogany hunter, whose busi- ness it is to find the trees in the dense forest and point them out to the choppers. He climbs the highest tree he can find, detects the spot where they are growing, cuts a way to them through the undergrowth and carves on the trunk his employer's mark. This magnificent wood has long been appreciated for its beauty by cabinet-makers and for decorative work, but its value for ship- 22 NICARAGUA. 2,3 building and other similar purposes has never been estimated as highly as it deserves. It is in all respects better than oak. It shrinks less, warps and twists less, is more buoyant, holds glue better, and weighs less. (The average weight of mahogany is 44 pounds per cubic foot, while oak weighs ^^.) Mahogany is slow to take fire, is free from dry rot and the effects of acids, and does not suffer from any change of temperature. The non-corrosion of metals is a very valuable property in this wood. A decoction of it gives hardly any chemical reaction, and has no effect on iron or copper. The tree can be cut at anytime during the year, but it is generally felled in the dry season, between October and May. When the tree is down, the branches are lopped off and the logs squared. They are then drawn by oxen to. the nearest water course, where they are rafted and allowed to remain until the high water of June or July, when they are floated to the port of ship- ment. When railroads penetrate the forest districts, vast quanti- ties of this timber that are now remote from the streams will become available. The tree second only to mahogany in beauty and value is the cedar (cedro), so well known from its extensive use for pencils and cigar boxes. In Nicaragua, it is abundant, grows to an immense size, and produces wood of the finest quality. It can be worked as easily as pine, and when polished is as beautiful as mahogany, while its aromatic odor preserves it from the attack of insects. It also, like the common red cedar of the North, is very durable, and is not liable to rot when exposed to damp. The wild cotton tree (fe2ba) is one of the grandest forest trees. It grows rapidly and to great size ; trunks of 70 feet in length and 14 in diameter near the root are not uncommon. The wood is very useful for building purposes; it is hghter than pine but per- haps not quite so durable, and can be worked very easily. It is largely used by natives to make canoes, or bongos, many of them of large size, which are hollowed out from a single log; also for 24 NICARAGUA. making barrels. It produces large pods, filled with a downy sub- stance like floss silk ; the shortness of the fiber renders it unavail- able for textile purposes, but it is frequently used for stufBng cush- ions, pillows, etc., and is doubtless available for other economic uses. The guanacaste is a noble tree, notable for the immense size it attains and the enormous spread of its branches. It produces fine, durable lumber, and large quantities of gum exude from it, which might be made available as an article of commerce. The jemsero^ a tree of the acacia family, also reaches great pro- portions and produces an excellent wood, which is unknown to commerce, but occupying a middle place between mahogany and cedar, with somewhat of the good qualities of both. The guayacan Qignum-vita). The wood of this tree is too well known to need description; there are two varieties, black and green, both abundant in the forests of Nicaragua. The granadillo, rourSn, and nd??ibaro (rosewood) are all beautiful and valuable cabinet woods, which grow abundantly. The nispero, which produces one of the best tropical fruits, also furnishes a most valuable wood which, for cabinet uses, rivals mahogany in beauty. It is hard and heavy; under water it becomes as hard as iron, and will last almost indefinitely. The madrono produces a very fine grained wood, suitable for turning, and would be very useful as a substitute for boxwood, for wood engraving and other purposes. The tree called tnadre de cacao (mother of cacao), which is used extensively to shade the cacao plants, does not grow to a large size, but produces a wood called by the natives madera negra (black wood), which is useful for foundations, posts, etc., as it is almost indestructible when under ground. The guapinol produces a fruit from which an edible substance is made and a gum equal in every respect to copal. Its wood is also very beautifiil and useful either for construction or cabinet purposes. NICARAGUA. 2^ The rorfes is a large tree which produces a beautiful fine grained wood of a pale yellow color. It is very hard, and could, without doubt, be made available for many purposes of manufacture. The za-potillo produces wood which is the only kind known that will resist the attacks of the teredo or boring sea worm, so destructive in the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea. There are also a number of trees such as the guachipiUn, the guiliguiste^ the palo de carbon^ the coyote^ and the chiquirin^ which produce woods excellent for underground use and especially valu- able for railway ties or sleepers. Oaks of several varieties, and particularly the live oak, which grows to an enormous size, and the long-leaved pine, called by the natives jocote^ grow abundantly in the more elevated regions. The latter are particularly rich in resinous juices and would pro- duce abundant harvests of turpentine and tar. Dyewoods also abound in the dense tropical forests. One of the most valuable of these is that called moran. Brazil wood, a variety of which is called in the country " Nica- raguan wood" {inadera de Nicaragua)^ is abundant, also sandal wood, nance, elequeme, and many others that produce valuable tinc- tures and dyes well known to the natives, but which have no com- mercial nomenclature and are unknown in the markets of the world, although they can be found everywhere in Nicaragua. The several varieties of palms are very beautiful and striking features of Nicaraguan forests. They are often so numerous as to form groves extending for miles. The best known are the corozo or cohune palm and the coyol, both of which produce great crops of oleaginous nuts. The vegetable oils that can be produced in these forests present an admirable field for commercial enterprise. The trees and plants producing them exist in great variety and abundance, such as the jolio, the marango, the cacaguate, and the castor-oil plant. Medicinal plants of all kinds abound in countless numbers and 26 NICARAGUA. infinite variety, a few of them known in the pharmacopoeia of the United States, but these latter are insignificant in number when compared with the vast resources of medical botany in tropical America. Among those known to commerce, Nicaragua produces sarsaparilla, ipecacuana, jalap, croton, hellebore, cundurango, bella- donna, quassia, ginger, copaiva, aloes, vanilla, and great numbers of others, the virtues of which are well known to the natives, although even their names are unknown outside the country. This slight sketch of the products of the Central American for- ests is merely an indication of their vast resources; anything like a full list or description would occupy a volume of no inconsider- able dimensions. It may serve to direct attention to the subject, and invite enterprise to their utilization. FIBROUS PLANTS. Besides cotton, which will be mentioned more fully in another chapter of this Hand-Book, Nicaragua has many other textile plants that are valuable to commerce. The pita {Bromelia pita) produces a fiber the roughest of which is superior to manila hemp for length, strength, and suppleness, but when bleached and carefully prepared for mixing with silk, it can not be distinguished from it except by aid of the microscope. Its length, from 5 to 9 feet, makes it available for twines of single thread and its lightness and durability render it valuable for cord- age. Monsieur Chevremont, a Belgian engineer, who has closely studied the question, says: "Ropes made from pita possess a greater average strength by four times than those made from hemp of similar dimensions." Squier also .tates that this fiber is probably more valuable in every sense than that of any other tropical plant. There are three varieties oi yuca^ bearing leaves from 18 to 36 inches in length, which produce valable fibers. The Agave sisalana that produces the henequen or sisal hemp NICARAGUA. I'J of commerce, which forms such an extensive article of export from Yucatan that a capital of $6,000,000 is invested there in its pro- duction, is not confined to that country alone, but grows even more luxuriantly in Central America. It is found as a wild plant throughout Nicaragua, as are also other members oi the agave family well known as fiber-producing plants. Ramie and jute could also be grown in perfection in Nicaragua and would prove valuable additions to her export commodities. The consumption of fibers in the United States is very large and constantly increasing. During the year 1891, there were im- ported 733,296 bales of jute from the East Indies and an immense quantity of other fibers. With such a market in close proximity and with vast facilities for production, this industry must become an important interest in Nicaragua and Central America gener- ally. There is so little realization of the hidden wealth in this direction that nobody moves or takes the opportunities now open. The plants abound; all that is wanting is energy and far-seeing capitalists. Chapter V. AGRICULTURAL RESOURCES. Peter Heylyn, in his Cosmography, published in London in 1652, says, in reference to Nicaragua: "It is stored with plenty of cotton wool and abundance of sugar canes, and is so pleasing to the eye that the Spaniards call it by the name of Mahomet's Paradise." Its productions, however, far from being limited to the staples mentioned by the old geographer, are of the most varied character, but its resources have been very imperfectly developed. The facilities for transportation have been so poor that little more has been raised than is sufficient for the wants of its population, and the portion of land brought under cultivation has been rela- tively small. With the development that is now in progress, and the opening up and improvement of roads and other means of transport, the condition of affairs is gradually changing, and the boundless wealth of its resources is beginning to be recognized. COFFEE. The principal agricultural wealth of Nicaragua lies in its coffee plantations. Although this industry is still in its infancy, every year witnesses its augmentation, and the time is near at hand when the coffee of Nicaragua will take the prominent position to which it is certainly entitled. There are millions of acres of land in the Republic that are especially adapted to the cultivation of coffee. Senor Don Jose D. Gamez in his Noticias Geogrdficas de la Re- fuhlica de Nicaragua^ already cited, says: Coffee grows well almost everywhere in Nicaragua, but preferably in the mountainous districts. The production at a height of from 200 to 2,000 feet above the level of the sea is generally at the rate of one-half pound, and in some cases I pound per tree. At an elevation of 2,000 or 3,000 feet, the production 28 NICARAGUA. 29 tion fluctuates between 1, 2, 3, 4, and even 5 pounds per tree, according to the quality of the ground. At a higher altitude the production diminishes gradually until it ceases entirely on account of the cold temperature. There are in Nicaragua certain coffee regions offering the best possible advantages for the cultivation of this plant. They are to be found in the departments of Managua, Carazo, Matagalpa, Chontales, Jinotega, and in the skirts of the hills and vol- canoes of the other departments. The Government charges $1.50 for each manzana of public land. (A man- zana is equivalent to l% acres.) The number of coffee trees which have been planted in Nicaragua up to the month of August, 1892, is as follows: Trees. On the mountains of Managua ... 15, 000, 000 On the Mombacho volcano (Granada) i, 000, 000 In the Department of — Carazo , 5, 000, 000 Jinotega I, 844, 000 Matagalpa I, 294, 600 Masaya 1, 000, 000 Ribas 50, 000 Chinandega 30, 000 Chontales 30, 000 Total 25, 748, 600 The number of trees planted in the present year (1892) will raise the above total to 27,000,000. The expenses vary in proportion to the quality of the ground, the height at which it is situated, the distance from the coast, and the facilities of transporta- tion. The results thus far obtained allow the following statement to be made with certainty : Tear. 879. 880. 881. 882. 887. 890. 891. Total production in quintals. 35. 293 45, 283 46, 982 73,283 54,581 72, 384 70, 525 72,531 68, 470 88, 166 84, 145 113, 820 91. 540 Average price per quintal. Dollars. 8.00 8.50 9. GO 9. 00 9-50 9.50 10. 00 10.00 20. 00 18. 00 20. 00 24. 00 22. 00 Total value of the production. Dollars. 282, 344. 00 384, 905. 50 422, 838. GO 657, 547- 00 518,519.50 687, 648. GO 701, 210. GO 723, 5IG. 00 I, 369, 400. GO I, 586, 988. 00 1, 682, 900. 00 2, 731, 680. GO 2, G13, 88g. GO Cost per quintal. Dollars. 5- 50 6.00 Net profit per quintal. Dollars. 2.50 3- 00 3-50 3- 50 4. GO 4. GO 4. GO 4.00 14. 00 12. GO 14. GO 18. 00 16.00 Net profit in the production of the year. Dollars, 88, 232. 50 135, 849. 00 164 437. 00 256,495. 50 218, 324. 00 289, 536.00 2 So, 484. 00 289, 404. 00 958, 580. GO I. 057, 992. GO 1, 178, 030. 00 2, 048, 760. 00 1,464, 640.00 3© NICARAGUA. In Starting a coffee plantation, it is usual to form a nursery, where the seeds are planted at the beginning ot the rainy season — say April or May. Thus the young plants are growing while the land is being cleared. The following year, about the same time, the plants will be ready to set out, which is usually done when they have attained a height of 1 8 to 20 inches. The plants require plenty of air, light, and water, but should be sheltered from the full glare of the sun. The best time for watering is in the even- ing. Nursery beds should always be in operation, either for extending the plantation or replacing defective or worn-out trees. In transplanting, the new ground should be carefully prepared, and holes dug to receive the plants from 10 to 15 feet apart. The coffee tree is essentially a tender shrub, and needs protection from the sun from the time of planting and even for years after it has begun to bear. For this purpose, bananas, plantains, or quick- growing, wide-branching trees are planted between the rows. At no time, from its first sprouting until its death from old age, should a single weed be permitted to remain in the vicinity of a coffee plant. Even after the tree has reached maturity and is in full bearing the plantation must be thoroughly weeded five or six times in the course of the year. This work must be carefully done by hand. As the tree grows, it is improved in health and condition by pruning, but this must be judiciously done and at a time when it is not bearing. In two years, the trees will begin to bear a small number of berries, and at the end of three years, a fair crop will be produced, which will continue to increase until the plantation is seven years old, by which time it will have reached its maximum. For persons who have the necessary capital to start and cultivate a plantation and wait until its maturity for returns, there is no more profitable industry in existence at the present day. The fruit should never be picked until fully ripe, as any admixture of green berries has a detrimental effect on the re- mainder. After the berries have been picked, the preparation of the NICARAGUA. 31 coffee for the market must be carefully conducted, as on this depends in great measure the value of the crop. The berries are first lightly ground and washed in running water and allowed to ferment. In some cases the grinding is omitted, but the fermentation is essen- tial. The berries are thus freed from the outer skin and pulp which surrounds them. They are then spread out in the open air in patios or yards, where the drying is effected by the heat of the sun. After they are thoroughly dried, they are passed through a mill to remove the fine skin which covers each grain. The coffee thus prepared is then sorted, the grains being separated according to size and quality, and all broken and damaged ones removed. This work is usually performed by women and children. For some years past, in consequence of the high price of coffee, a great impulse has been given to its production. According to the public records, between December l, 1889, and December l, 1890, 24,598 manzanas of public land were taken up, of which 16,740 manzanas, it is estimated, were fit and intended for the cultivation of coffee. Of these, 8,491 manzanas are in the depart- ment of Matagalpa, and 4, 1 o l in that of Managua. In the depart- ment of Matagalpa alone, there are now about 2,000,000 of young trees under cultivation, which will begin to yield in about a year. The amount of coffee exported from Nicaragua during the ten years, 1881-1890, is as follows: Year. 1881-82, 1882-84, 1884-86, Quantity. Pounds. 12, 026, 200 12, 696, 400 14, 247, 200 Year. 1886-88. 1888-90, Quantity. Pounds. 12, 424, 300 19, 786, 400 The main obstacle in the past to the progress of this most im- portant industry has been the lack of facilities for transportation. But few of the roads are practicable for wagons or carts, necessi- tating the moving of freight on the backs of mules. The Gov- 32 NICARAGUA. ernment is doing all in its power to remove this obstacle by making new wagon roads, and the opening of the railroad to the Pacific coast and the increase of steam navigation on the lakes have been of the greatest assistance. The freight on coffee by rail and steamer is as follows: From Granada to the port of Corinto, per lOO pounds, 65 cents. From Masaya to the port of Corinto, per 100 pounds, 62 cents. From Managua to the port of Corinto, per 100 pounds, 55 cents. Coffee can be shipped also by steamer on the lake from Granada to San Jorge, thence by wagons or carts to the port of San Juan del Sur on the Pacific; or it can be sent by v^ay of the lake and the San Juan River to San Juan del Nort( ^oreytown) on the Caribbean coast, but in the dry season, this route is inconvenient on account of the scarcity of water and obstructions in the river at certain localities. The construction of the Nicaragua Canal and of railroads that are projected to the Atlantic coast will give an immense impetus to coffee growing, as they will quicken and cheapen access to the markets of the United States and Europe. INDIA RUBBER. The production of India rubber is an important Industry in Nicaragua, but it is yearly decreasing from the reckless slaughter of the trees. Even with the most careful treatment, they will stand but a few years of tapping, and as they have not been culti- vated to any extent, the export of India rubber will dwindle into insignificance at no distant period, unless tliere is a change in this respect. India rubber, called in South America caucho, and in Central America hule^ is obtained in Nicaragua from the siphonia elastic a, a tree growing to 50 or 60 feet in height. The collectors of rub- ber, called Imleros, employ several methods to obtain it. The following are the three most generally used. -. 1. The trees are felled and V-shaped channels about 2 inches NICARAGUA. 33 deep and 2^ inches v, ide at the top and cut around the trunk l foot apart, from vv^hich the sap or milk flows through funnels formed of leaves into calabashes of holes made in the ground and lined with leaves. 2. The tree is left standing and two or three vertical channels, according to the size of the tree, are cut through the bark from top to base ; then numerous oblique channels are cut connecting with the vertical ones. To do this work, the huleros improvise ladders from the vines and creepers which everywhere abound in the tropical forests. T!^^ milk from these channels is collected in the same manner rs in the first process. 3. The hulerob scrape off the outer bark of the tree with a " machete," commencing 8 or 1 o feet above and extending down to within 1 or 2 feet of the ground. A ridge of clay, or a vine and clay, is so placed around the tree as to direct the flow of the milk into the receivers at the foot. This process is somewhat similar to that used in the turpentine orchards of North Carolina, Alabama, and Mississippi. The milk having been collected, coagulation is hastened by adding to it a decoction made from the vines of the liana or vines of the convolvulus or morning glory tribe, which abound in the forests, in the proportion of 1 pint of the decoction to a gallon of the milk. The rubber is then kneaded into round cakes. Sometimes, after the coagulating decoction is added to the milk, it is heated in the calabashes to 160° or 175° F., which produces a more elastic and less sticky rubber than is obtained by other processes. The huleros make waterproof blankets and bags, which they prefer to any imported articles, as they do not become so heated when exposed to the sun and are less liable to crack or scale off. Their process is to spread the cloth on the ground, pour the milk over it, and distribute it evenly by paddles or cocoanut husks. A short exposure serves to dry the milk, and the goods are then ready for service. :3uU. 51 -3 34 NICARAGUA. - Although the Government of Nicaragua has exercised no super- vision of the forests and has taken no steps to prevent the ruthless destruction of the rubber trees, it has endeavored to stimulate their cultivation by issuing a decree giving a premium of lo cents for every tree planted where the number does not go below 250 planted by one person. The decree also provides that the trees must be planted in squares of not less than 6 varas for each plant, equal to about 16 feet. In all the lower regions of Nicaragua, particularly in those ex- tending toward the Caribbean coast, there are large tracts of land suitable for growing rubber trees, and there is no doubt that their cultivation would prove very profitable to anyone who could afford to wait for a return from the capital invested until the trees reach maturity, which is from seven to ten years, or they could be planted as an investment where the planter is deriving an income from the other crops. The value of the India rubber exported from Nicaragua, accord- ing to the latest report, which covered the period from July 1, 1888, to June 30, 1890, was $519,447.85. BANANAS. The cultivation of bananas for export has hitherto been largely confined to the Caribbean coast, finding the principal outlet at Bluefields, in the Mosquito reservation ; but whenever the bars at the mouths of the rivers are improved so as to freely admit ocean steamers, and the interoceanic canal and railroads afford means of transportation, this fruit will become a still more prominent fea- ture in the exports from Nicaragua, and the large profits yielded to the producers will stimulate agricultural operations on thousands of acres of fertile but now unoccupied lands. The lands that have been generally used for the culture of ba- nanas are the rich alluvial deposits of the valleys and river bot- toms, but there are many upland regions where rain is abundant NICARAGUA. 35 or water is plentifully supplied by other means, which will produce abundant crops ; and it is well known that bananas grown on high ground are finer fruit, being harder and less liable to damage from a sea voyage, and reach their destination in better condition. There is perhaps no industry in Central America that is more attractive to men of small capital than banana-growing, from the fact that the clearing of the land is effected cheaply and from the small cost of after cultivation which is limited only to such clearance of weeds and undergrowth as may be sufficient to allow access to the trees, and the short time necessary to produce a paying crop. When the trees and brush that have been cut in clearing the land become sufficiently dry, they are burned, and the banana suckers are then planted among the charred remains and ashes without any further preparation of the soil. The best results are obtained by giving the trees plenty of space, say from 15 to 18 feet apart. In about ten months, the first fruit can be gathered ; but in the second year, the trees reach maturity, and by a proper management of the fruit stalks in a fair-sized plantation, a constant succession in the crop may be secured and fruit gathered every week throughout the year. The only careful work necessary on a banana plantation is in handling the heavy bunches so as to avoid bruising them, as any such injury causes a black spot to appear, beneath which decay rapidly commences as the fruit ripens. The natives have learned by experience, when they cut into the fruit stalk, so to gauge the strength of the blow as to cut just deep enough to cause the stalk to bend slowly over until the end of the bunch reaches the ground when another slash with the machete severs it, and it is loaded carefully into the cart. A plantation of 40 manzanas (about 69 acres) will, during and after the second year, produce about 54,000 bunches. The lowest price paid for bananas, for some years past, is 37^ cents per bunch, which would give an annual value for the crop of $20,250, or more than double the expenditure for purchase of land, clearing, cultivating, gathering the crop, and all expenses to the end of the second vear. 36 NICARAGUA. There is anotiier variety of the banana family, the plantain, with which the people of North America are only slowly becoming acquainted, but which deserves to be better known. Its production in Nicaragua need only be limited by the demand for it, which must become immense when its merits are appreciated. There, it is boiled, stewed, baked, roasted in the ashes, fried, dried and ground into flour, cooked in the skin or out of it, green or ripe, and produces vastly more nutriment per acre than is yielded by wheat, corn, or potatoes. When the cooks of the northern coun- tries learn its use, it will become as valuable an article of food as the potato, and its cultivation in Nicaragua will become a large business. CACAO. Cacao (^lieohroma cacao) Is too well known to need any expres- sion of opinion as to its value. That grown in Nicaragua is sold with advantage in the markets of the world. The tree which produces it seldom exceeds 20 feet in height. The leaves are large, oblong, and pointed. The nuts are con- tained in long oval-pointed pods. It produces two crops a year. The trees are planted about 15 feet apart. When young, the plants are delicate, requiring to be sheltered from the sun in the same manner as is practiced in coffee plantations. At first, plantains or bananas are used for that purpose, but other quick- growing trees, such as that called by the natives madre de cacao (mother of cacao), are planted with them ; and as these reach suf- ficient size, the plantains are cut down, leaving the trees as a per- manent shade. The cacao begins to bear in about seven years^ and continues to produce for from thirty to fifty years. Capital is therefore necessary to start a plantation, but when once well estab- lished and in full bearing, very little outlay is necessary, and the revenue is large, sure, and steady. It may be well to notice here the confusion that exists in the United States in respect to thv KlCARAGUA. 37 words cocoa, cacao, and coca. Although very similar in sound, they represent widely different articles. Cocoa is the name of the species of palm that produces the cocoanut, a fruit too well known to need description ; also, the fiber so largely used for making matting, mats, brushes, etc. Cacao Is the fruit of the cacao tree (^heobro?na cacao) from which we obtain chocolate, and what is universally misnamed by the manufacturers as cocoa. Coca Is the name given to the South American shrub {Ery- throxylon coca) which Is used by the natives of Peru, Chili, and Bolivia, as the betel nut is in Asia, to allay hunger and thirst and supply a stimulant which gives energy to endure extraordi- nary exertion, and from which the well-known drug cocaine is prepared. SUGAR. Sugar cane grows in Nicaragua with extraordinary luxuriance. The canes are soft and contain no more woody substance or less sac- charine matter than those produced in the East or West Indies, while their duration Is wonderful. A crop can be secured within twelve months after planting, and thenceforward two, and in some localities, three crops a year can be cut for an indefinite number of years. It is not uncommon In traveling through the country to find fields of sugar cane In full production of which no one In the neighborhood can remember the date of planting. A great deal of the sugar manufactured In Nicaragua is of a coarse, brown quality, the juice being merely boiled until It crystallizes, without being cleared of the molasses. In this crude state, It is poured into molds forming small cakes, which are sold to the poorer classes. A very large quantity of the sugar cane is used in the manu- facture of a species of rum called aguardiente. The sale of spirits being a Government monopoly, the distillation can only be carried 38 NICARAGUA. on by license, and is principally confined to the larger producers. The bulk of the sugar produced in the Republic is manufactured in the district of Jinotepe, in the Department of Granada, where, although very primitive and imperfect methods are employed, it is stated that in the year 1890 the production amounted to about 2,500,000 pounds. The soil is admirably adapted for producing the cane, and a superior quality of sugar is made, but scarcity of water is a great drawback, and for this reason, unless artificial means of overcoming the difficulty can be devised, it will be impos- sible to carry on large plantations in the district. In the neighbor- hoods of Granada, San Rafael, and Pital, in the same department, there are also a number of plantations; those at Granada produc- ing from 300,000 to 400,000 pounds of good vacuum-pan sugar, while those near San Rafael and Pital yield annually about 1 50,000 pounds of muscovado sugar. These plantations are under English management. A company with a capital of $300,000 has lately been started for the working of a large plantation in Chinandega, at a place known as San Antonio. It is intended to use a first-class plant, with all modern improvements as regards machinery and cultiva- tion, and to produce at least 300 tons of sugar yearly. Another company has taken in charge the Polvon plantation in the same department, and has imported new machinery capable of produc- ing 500 tons of sugar annually. In the department of Leon, there are two plantations, the Polvoncito and San Pedro, produc- ing together about 600,000 pounds of excellent vacuum-pan sugar. The total production for the year 1890 amounted to about 3,500,600 pounds, in addition to which Nicaragua yearly imports from her neighbor Salvador nearly half that quantity. COTTON. Cotton is Indigenous in Nicaragua, and the finest quality can be produced in vast quantities. Columbus, when he discovered the NICARAGUA. 39 country, found the natives dressed in garments of cotton cloth, and the Indians of the present day manufacture from it hammocks, sail cloth, and coarse cloth for clothing. The quantity raised is considerable, but entirely for home consumption, as, in spite of all natural advantages, Nicaragua can not compete, in raising cotton for export, with the capital, abundant labor, improved machinery, and ample facilities for transportation possessed by the United States; but if the time should arrive when Nicaraguan cotton will be required, either to supply manufactories at home, or in response to some demand from abroad, it can be produced in unlimited quantities and of quality equal to the best. Instead of being an annual plant as in the United States, it is here perennial, and, growing much larger, yields double the quantity that it does in the most favored locality in the Northern Republic OTHER AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS. Com (maize) flourishes luxuriantly and forms, both for man and beast, literally the staff of life. Three crops can be raised from the same ground annually. Tobacco. — All the tobacco used in Nicaragua, which is consid- erable in quantity, as every one smokes, is raised in the country. It is of good quality and can be cultivated to any desired extent, as there are large tracts of land well adapted to its use. Rice is abundant and is extensively used. The climate and soil are suited to it, and it can be raised to supply all demands for it. Indigo and cochineal were formerly produced in large quantities, but as they have been superseded by the introduction of mineral dyes, the cultivation of these articles has almost entirely ceased, particularly of the latter. The yuca^ the yam (name), and the sweet potato are the principal farinaceous roots that are extensively cultivated. The potato also thrives well and produces large crops in the more elevated regions. 40 NICARAGUA. The yuca Is not only useful for food, but valuable from an indus- trial point of view, as the starch it yields could readily be made an extensive article of commerce. The bread fruit grows to perfection in Nicaragua, although few of the natives seem to appreciate its full value. It can be easily raised from a slip and forms a tree with massive trunk and large dark green leaves, as handsome as it is useful. It begins to bear about three years after planting. It yields two crops in the year, one lasting through March and April and the other trom August to October, although if a variety of trees were planted judiciously the fruit could be obtained every month in the year. Each fruit will weigh from six to ten pounds, and it is delicious either fried or boiled. The cocoanut tree, which in the tropics is one of the most useful productions of nature, is abundant. It commences bearing at from five to seven years old and continues to yield for many years. On the Caribbean coast, it is an important article of commerce, although no efforts have been made to utilize the fiber of the husk, which in the East Indies has added so largely to the profits derived from cocoanut groves. Frijoles^ the brown beans that form such a prominent article of diet throughout Spanish America, are produced abundantly in all parts of the Republic, while all other edibles and fruits of the tropics yield ample crops, such as oranges, lemons, limes, citrons, shaddocks, pine apples, fnameys, chtnmoyas, guavas, mangoes^ and aguacates (alligator pears). The vegetables of the temperate zone grow luxuriantly in the more elevated districts, where cabbages, turnips, radishes, lettuce, ^^^ plants, and tomatoes can be obtained with a minimum of labor and care. CATTLE-RAISING INDUSTRY. Cattle-raising is one of the greatest sources of the public wealth of Nicaragua. Its production is large enough to supply with NICARAGUA. ^j 1 abundance all the necessities of home consumption, and to allow a very profitable commerce in the exportation of cattle. Large haciendas^ O'SNntd by the richest and most influential peo- ple of the country, are entirely devoted to this industry. According to Seiior Gamez, dairy farms in considerable num- bers have been established in the neighborood of the principal cities and towns of the Republic, and are doing well. Chapter VI. THE INTEROCEANIC CANAL. While the question of interoceanic communication across the American Isthmus has been continually presented to the attention of the civilized world, with more or less persistency, since the days of Columbus, and while the route by way of the San Juan River and Lake Nicaragua has always been among those which offered the strongest claims for consideration, yet the special prominence of that route as a means to the end proposed may be said to date from the beginning of this century only, when that eminent ex- plorer and scientist, the Baron Alexander Von Humboldt, pub- lished the account of observations made by him during a period of ten years spent in explorations and scientific research in the Spanish-American States of South and Central America. In his "Personal Narrative of Travels," Volume VI, he remarks: The five points that present the practicability of a communication from sea to sea are situated between the fifth and eighteenth degrees of north latitude. They all consequently belong to the States washed by the Atlantic — to the territory of the Mexican and Colombian Confederacies, or, to use the ancient geographical denominations, to the intendencies of Oaxaca and Vera Cruz and the provinces of Nicaragua, Panama, and Choco. They are the Isthmus of Tehauntepec (latitude i6°-i8°), between the sources of the Rio Chimalapa and the Rio del Passo, which empties itself into the Rio Huascualco or Goazcoalcos. The Isthmus of Nicaragua (latitude io°-l2°), between the port of San Juan de Nicaragua and the coast of the Gulf of Papajuyo, near the volcanoes of Granada and Mombacho. 42 PANORAMIC VIEW OF THE NICARAGUA CANAL Pacific Ocean brito tola basin Inactive Volcanoes Lake Nicaragua soLENTiNAne is. fort san carlos rk OMBTEPB and HADBRA (JUAN RIO SAN CARLOS OCHOA DAM EASTERN LOCKS SAN JUAN DEL NORTE Atlantic OcCail FORT CASTILLO DIVIDE OR gREVTOWN "l"a""^ ">* SAN FRANCISCO BASIN DESEADO BASINS. NICAR>^GUA. 43 The Isthmus of Panama (latitude 8° is'~9° 3^')' The Isthmus of Darien or Cupica (latitude 6° /\.o'—y° 12'). The canal of Raspadura, between the Rio AtraU) and the Rio San Tuai) ae Choco (latitude 4° 48-5° 20'). After some general remarks concerning features of the different routes, Von Humboldt continues : " The Isthmus of Nicaragua and that of Cupica have always appeared to me the most favorable for the formation of canals of large dimensions;" and what is very significant of his opinion as to the comparative advantages of these two routes is that, in his illustration of the advantages to commerce of a trans-isthmian canal, he uses the Nicaraguan route as the standard of his comparisons and the premise of his argu- ments. Though more recent and more exact information has not fully corroborated all of his opinions, it has fully confirmed all that he said or implied concerning the Nicaraguan route. A few years after the completion of his explorations, the Central Amer- ican provinces threw off the yoke of Spain and became inde- pendent states confederated as the Republic of the Centre. One of the earliest acts of the Government of the new Republic was to empower and instruct Senor Don Antonio Jose Canaz, envoy extraordinary to the United States, to call the attention of the United States Government to the project of opening a canal for communication between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans in the province of Nicaragua. Senor Canaz accordingly, on the 8th of February, 1825", addressed a communication to the Department of State, at Washington, upon the subject. The Secretary of State, in his reply, gave Senor Canaz assurance of the deep interest felt by the United States Government in the undertaking, and promised an official investigation of the facilities offered for its accomplishment by the Nicaraguan route. In pursuance of the assurance thus given, the United States charge d'affaires in Central America was instructed to make tlie investigation promised and to report thereon. From that time onward, the United States have given more or less attention to the 44 NICARAGUA. investigation of the question of isthmian transit, at times by indi- vidual or associated enterprise of private citizens, but more fre- quently under the direct control and direction and at the expense of the Government. In 1826, a survey and estimate of cost — very inadequate, how- ever — were made under the auspices of De Witt Clinton, Stephen Van Rensselaer, and Monroe Robinson, of New York, Edward Forsyth, of Louisiana, and C. J. Catlett, of the District of Columbia, and others. In 1831, the Secretary of State instructed the United States charge d'affaires in Central America to protect the interests of citizens of his country in certain negotiations concerning a canal then pending with the King of the Netherlands. In 1835, Congress ordered an inspection of the different routes, and an agent was appointed, who, however, failed to comply with his instructions. In 1837-38, a survey of the route was made for the Govern- ment of Nicaragua by Lieut. John Bailey. In 1838, Messrs. Aaron Clark, Herman LeRoy, William Rad- cliffe, of New York, Matthew Gary, of Philadelphia, and others memorialized Congress concerning the subject, in consequence of which a committee was appointed and a report made, and, in 1839, Mr. John L. Stephens was sent on a special and confidential mission to Central America, during which mission he made an investigation of the canal route and subsequently submitted a report upon it. In 1844, the Nicaraguan Government solicited the aid of the French Government in prosecution of the undertaking, but failed to obtain any valuable cooperation. In 1847, Nicaragua solicited the intervention of the United States against the attempts of Great Britain to secure control of the interoceanic canal route. This resulted in the negotiation of the Hise-Selva treaty, which, though never ratified, appears to NICARAGUA. 43* have been an important factor in the negotiation of the Clayton- Bulwer treaty in 1849, under which treaty, the United States understood that Great Britain relinquished the attempt so obnox- ious to Nicaragua. In 1849, ^^ ^^^ same time with the ratification of the Clayton- Bulwer treaty, a concession was granted by Nicaragua to Cor- nelius Vanderbilt and his associates for an interoceanic canal. Under its provisions, a survey of the route was made, in i85o-'5i, by Col. O. W. Childs, of Philadelphia, who is entitled to the credit of discovering and pointing out the lowest depression in the Cordillera between the Arctic Ocean and Cape Horn. His was the first thorough instrumental examination of the whole route, of which a record has been preserved, that responds fully to the demands of engineering science, and its general accuracy has been fully confirmed by all subsequent explorations. The canal proposed by Mr. Vanderbilt was not built,'and after several modifications of the contract, made at the request of the grantees, the concession finally lapsed and was declared forfeited by the Nicaraguan Government. In 1858, a concession was granted to Felix Belly, of Paris, and associates, for construction of a canal by the route proposed by Col. Childs. Mr. Belly had devoted many years of his life to explorations and to the solution of the Isthmian transit problem. He was an enthusiast concerning the advantages of the Nicaraguan line, but neither his knowledge nor his zeal won success. For several years, Central American affairs were in a very disturbed condition, and later on, the civil war in the United States had a discouraging effect upon the successful inauguration of large enterprises on this continent. Before Mr. Belly succeeded in obtaining the neces- sary funds, notwithstanding the favorable disposition of the Nic- araguan Government, his concession lapsed. In 1852, there was commenced a series of explorations cover- ing the whole of the American Isthmus. Some were undertaken 46 NICARAGUA. by individual enterprise directed to particular routes, but the more important were under the control and direction of the United States Government, the object being to secure a systematic exam- ination of any and all the routes which presented any possibilities of a practicable solution of the problem. These explorations were carried on with more or less continuity until 1880; every locality possessing any claims for consideration was carefully examined, and data were accumulated for a competent and impar- tial comparison. The route through Nicaragua was explored in 1872-73 and made the subject of a thorough report by Comman- der E. P. Lull, aided by Mr, A. G. Menocal as chief engineer. In 1872, President Grant appointed a commission, consisting of Gen. A. A. Humphreys, Chief of Engineers, U. S. Army; Capt. C. C. Patterson, Superintendent of the Coast Survey; and Admiral Daniel Ammen, U. S. Navy, Chief of the Bureau of Navigation, "to examine into, make suggestions, and report upon the subject of interoceanic ship canal communication." In 1876, the Commission reported as follows: To the President of the United States : The Commission appointed by you to consider the subject of communication by canal between the waters of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans across, over, or near the isthmus connecting North and South America, have the honor, after a long, careful, and minute study of the several surveys of the various routes across the continent, unanimously to report: That the route known as the "Nicaragua route," beginning on the Atlantic side at or near Greytown, running by canal to the San Juan River, thence fol- lowing its left bank to the mouth of the San Carlos River, at which point navi- gation of the San Juan River begins and by the aid of three short canals of the aggregate length of 3.5 miles reaches Lake Nicaragua, from thence across the lake and through the valleys of the Rio del Medio and the Rio Grande to what is known as the port of Brito, on the Pacific coast, possesses, both for the con- struction and maintenance of a canal, greater advantages and offers fewer diiE- culties from engineering, commercial, and economic points of view than any of the other routes shown to be practicable by surveys sufficiently in detail to enable a judgment to be formed of their relative merits, as will be briefly pre- sented in the appended memorandum. NICARAGUA. dfj In 1879, ^^ report was printed by order of Congress and the subject occupied the attention of one House or the other in the sessions of 1879, 1880, and 1881. In 1880, a concession for a canal was again obtained from Nica- ragua, this time by Capt. S. L. Phelps and his associates; but the failure of the bankers, with whom negotiations for capital were under consideration, prevented the achievement of the project. The United States Government, at this point, became alive to the importance of facilitating the work as a national enterprise. In December, 1884, there was submitted to Congress a treaty which had been negotiated with Nicaragua for the construction of the canal by the United States and its joint ownership by the two Governments. At the same time, Mr. A. G. Menocal, civil en- gineer United States Navy, was ordered to Nicaragua to make final surveys for the Government. The treaty, however, failed of ratification by the Senate, and, the administration having changed, it was withdrawn for further consideration and was not again pre- sented. In 1887, the concession now held by the Maritime Canal Com- pany of Nicaragua was granted to the Nicaragua Canal Association and the work of final survey and location was commenced thereunder by the association without delay. Early in 1888, a movement was made to secure a charter from the United States Government for the incorporation of the concessionary company. Bills were in- troduced in the Senate and House of Representatives for the purpose. That before the Senate passed without delay and, being identical in form, was permitted to take the place of the House bill. It finally passed the House, February 7, 1889, ^^^ ^"^^ approved by the President and became a law February 20, 1 889. On May 4, the Maritime Canal Company, thus incorporated, was formally organized. In the meantime, the association had also caused to be incorporated, as a necessary adjunct, a construction company, under whose direction the surveys and the work which had been commenced were carried on. 48 NICARAGUA. Since that time, the work of construction has progressed slowly, but steadily, until its recent suspension for lack of funds, demon- strating, step by step, the correctness of tlie theories and plans of the projectors of the enterprise. The following is a concise description of the work proposed: San Juan del Norte, or Greytown, on the Atlantic, and Brito, on the Pacific, are the termini of the canal. Its length from port to port is 169^ miles, of which 26% will be excavated channel and 142^ miles is lakes, rivers, and basins. The summit level is necessarily that of Lake Nicaragua, 1 10 feet above the sea. There will be three locks near either end. The summit level commences 1 z% miles from the Atlantic and extends to within ^% miles of the Pacific. The summit reach will, therefore, be 153X miles long. For g% miles from the inner harbor at San Juan del Norte, the canal extends southwesterly across the lowlands of the coast to the foothills of the Cordillera, known as the Eastern Divide, where is located the first of the three eastern locks. Up to this point, the formation through which the canal is to be cut is entirely alluvial and will be excavated by machinery. The locks follow in close succes- sion: No. 1 at g% miles, as above stated, with a lift of 31 feet; No. 2, ij^ mileS further on, with a lift of 30 feet, and No. 3 about 2% miles farther on, with a lift of 45 feet. Here commences the summit level of the canal, at an elevation of 106 feet above the sea, which allows 4 feet of fall from the lake for fiowage. Beyond the locks, a cutting is to be made through the eastern divide to the river San Juan, at a place called Ochoa, near to its junction with the San Carlos, where a large dam of the same elevation as lock No. 3 will be built, which, with such other embankments as are ascertained to be requisite, will impound the waters of the river and of small tributary streams in their valleys, forming a series of large basins at the elevation determined by Ochoa dam and by the locks. The material to be moved in the excavation through the divide is principally solid, homogeneous rock and vs^ill all be needed and used in building dams, em- bankments, breakwaters, and other structures, for which it will also furnish a sufficient supply. The cutting through the divide will be about 3 miles long, with an average depth of 141 feet. The dam at Ochoa is to hold the waters of the river permanently at the height of 106 feet above the sea. The lake level will be 110 feet. The difference, three-quarters of an inch per mile in the 64 miles of river, is taken as the slope necessary to enable a free discharge of the lake and river waters. By this darn, slack-water navigation all the way to the lake will be secured, and, with the exception of 28 miles above Toro Rapids, the navigation channel will be 1,000 feet wide and from zS to 1 30 feet deep. Rock blasting and dredging above Toro NICARAGUA. 49 to the lake will be required to an average depth of ^^ feet in several localities; in all, for 24 miles. When the river channel is deepened it will have a bottom width of 125 feet and a top width from 500 to 1,500 feet. At two or three points the river bends will be improved by. removal of projecting promontories, so as to decrease abruptness of the curves. The San Carlos debouches into the Rio San Juan a few miles above Ochoa. The hills bounding its valley on the east are not continuous at the proposed water level, and several embankments of inconsiderable height will be required to retain the waters backed up in the San Juan. Dredging in Lake Nicaragua to an average depth of 10 feet in soft mud bottom, width 150 feet, for 14 miles from the shore, will secure a navigable channel of 30 feet to deep water. From this point, the course of the canal is across the lake to the mouth of the Rio Lajas, where the western division of the canal commences. From the mouth of the Rio Lajas across the Western Divide, which is 43 feet above the canal level, to the valley of the Rio Grande and the Tola Basin, for 9 miles from the lake, there will be required considerable earth and rock excavation. About ^% miles farther on, near La Flor, are located locks Nos. 4 and 5 and a large dam which impounds the waters of the Tola Basin. These locks terminate the summit level of the canal. They are close together, and will have a lift of 42^ feet each. Lock No. 6, about 1% miles beyond, is the last of the western series, and will lower the canal to the level of the Pacific, with a lift of 21 to 29 feet, varying according to tidal conditions. From lock No. 6 to Brito, the western terminus, is \% miles of alluvial excavation. The terminal harbors of the canal will, in the case of San Juan del Norte, require restoration, and in the case of Brito, construction. The plans for the restoration of the port of San Juan del Norte, which, until i860, was* easily accessible for vessels of 20 feet draft, but since then has been closed by drifting sands, are based on long-continued observation and investi- gation, and particularly take cognizance of the fact that the northwesterly move- ment of the ocean sands (brought to the coast from the mountains by the lower San Juan and its tributaries), under the influence of the prevailing winds, have extended the sand pits entirely across the entrance and sealed the port. It is intended to oppose to the further movements of the sand drift a solid jetty or breakwater, about 3,000 feet long, projecting seawards at right angles to the shore line, to the 6-fathom curve, then to dredge under the lee of this jetty a new entrance. The shifting sands, arrested by this structure, will accu- mulate in the angle formed by it and the coast. As the triangular space becomes filled, the water may shoal towards the sea end of the jetty, and this will neces- sitate its extension until the new shore line is at right angles to the prevailing Bull. 51 4 p NICARAGUA. wind, which, it will be remembered, is the northeast ''trades." Eighteen hun- dred feet of the jetty, constituting its shore end, is to be built of creosoted timber, filled in with rock or concrete and fascines, the stone to be brought from the divide cut and laid or deposited at random. The entrance channel is to be 30 feet deep and 500 feet wide at that depth. The inner basin or harbor proper, the depth of which is to be increased to 30 feet, is to have an area of upwards of 200 acres, which, with the enlarged section of the port reach of canal, gives a total harbor area of about 350 acres, exclusive of the remainder of the inner bay, where, throughout a considerable area, there is now a depth of from 10 to 20 feet. Brito, the western terminus, is not now a harbor in any proper sense of the word, or even a roadstead, yet the practicability of constructing a harbor at this point has never been questioned, the only difference of opinion being as to details. The Rio Grande discharges here; its lower course for 6,000 feet back from the beach is through a low valley, which, it is believed, once formed a large bay. A high, rocky promontory, connecting with the interior ridge, juts out into the ocean just north of the river mouth. It is proposed to build from this rocky point a breakwater 900 feet long, its extremity to be in 7 fathoms of water; also to build another jetty, normal to the beach, 830 feet long, the extremity of the latter to be nearly opposite and some 800 feet distant from the sea end of the former. A considerable area of deep water will be thus inclosed ; but the principal portion of the harbor will be formed by excavation in alluvium, thus securing a deep, broad basin, penetrating 3,000 feet from the present shore line and 3,900 feet from the entrance. The work of canal construction on the plan thus outlined went forward systematically until the summer of 1893. What has been accomplished, briefly stated, is as follows : As soon as the first corps of engineers was landed, the surveying parties were organized and at once pushed out. Traversing the lowlands for a few miles back of San Juan del Norte were some sluggish streams, whose courses favored the idea of utilization for water-borne carriage of supplies. A steam snag boat was immediately set at work removing the obstructions, and barriers too heavy and massive for displacement otherwise were broken up with dynamite. The San Juanillo and Deseado were thus cleared and utilized for a distance of upwards of 30 miles of their course, but the streams were so crooked that the actual land mileage accomplished was only about one-third the distance by water. Then trails for the packers were cut out and footbridges built across impeding NICARAGUA. 5*1 Streams and ravines, so that supplies could be transported with certainty, though slowly, to and beyond the eastern divide. The San Juan River has long been used by a steamboat transportation com- pany, and a large part of the produce of Nicaragua has, for forty years, been moved from the interior by this route. Steam transport, via the river, was, of course, availed of by the engineers when it served their needs, but much of the surveying work was remote from the river, and hence its unavailability, except in the region beyond "the divide" towards Ochoa, where the canal and river were in closer proximity. The canal line, beyond the dividing ridge, intersected the valleys of the San Francisco, Chanchos, and Danta. The channels of these streams were also cleared and made available for canoe traffic from the San Juan River. Numerous camps and depots of supplies were constructed and stocked wher- ever necessary, and fleets of light steel canoes were employed as means of com- munication and supply. At the site of all important works, such as dams, embankments, and locks, as well as at the points where heavy cuttings will be required, subterranean examinations have been made in great numbers. Earth augers were used where there was no rock, and when this was encountered, the annular diamond drill was used and cores of the rock itself brought up and preserved for future refer- ence and examination by engineers and contractors proposing to submit tenders for work. Owing to the transportation difficulties, steam drills were impracti- cable and the work was accomplished with hand power. The necessity of securing at once a safe entrance to the old harbor was real- ized as indispensable to economical and rapid progress, and the first work of actual construction begun was in execution of the engineers' plans for restoring the harbor. One of the means to this end was the erection of a breakwater for protection of the entrance. As the pier advanced, it afforded a partial shelter to the beach to leeward, and also served as a barrier to the moving beach sand, which, impelled by the waves and prevailing winds, had formerly been driven constantly to the west- ward, and so built up and maintained the sand spit that thirty years ago closed the old port San Juan. This artificial interruption to the operation of the winds and current, which were always active in bringing sand to build and renew the beach, permitted countervailing forces of nature to come into play, and the result was that, by the time the pier had been pushed out 600 feet, the sand beach under its lee was swept away and an open channel formed, communicating from the open ocean to the old harbor, now restored to the extent of permitting the entrance of light-draft seagoing vessels, and this at a point where, aix months before, was 52 NICARAGUA. a sand bank 3 or 4 feet above the sea level. The outer end of the pier is in 20 feet of water, and a force is constantly engaged in filling in the spaces between the piles with mattresses, rock, and concrete. The depth of the channel under its lee reached 10 feet when the structure had been extended to 800 feet. In the winter of 1890— '91, a dredge increased this depth to about 15 feet, and this has been maintained since, except in very restricted areas, which are easily deepened by the dredging machines, if necessary. During the summer of 1889, permanent buildings were begun, and building constructions have been in progress ever since. The structures are all of wood (pine from the United States) and roofed with corrugated galvanized iron. The offices, quarters, and hospitals are all ceiled and painted inside, have wide verandas outside, and are neat and comfortable. All the permanent buildings so far erected are in the immediate vicinity of San Juan, for at this point, is located the general headquarters, and here have been concentrated the most important operations. The buildings now occupied consist of five groups, as follows : Headquarters, 8 buildings; hospital, 10 buildings; La Fe depot, 8 buildings; railroad head- quarters, 9 buildings; Camp Cheney, 4 buildings; in all, 39 buildings. Besides the above, there have been constructed numerous and extensive wharves equipped for unloading freight, sheds, small outhouses, water tanks, etc. The machine and smiths' shops are equipped with a varied and extensive assortment of modern machine tools, and a tramway connects the more important of these establishments. Work in clearing the canal line of forest growth was begun in January, 1890, and for a distance of about 10 miles back from the coast, the clearing has the full width of 486 feet. The same work was commenced on the west side of Lake Nicaragua in the month of November, 1890, and for a distance of 9 miles, this ground is made ready for the active construction work. The necessity for a telegraph line reaching to the interior, connecting with the telegraph system of the country and the ocean cables, very soon became apparent. The construction of aline was commenced and soon pushed through to Castillo, with its loops amounting to 60 miles. As the heaviest body of work to be accomplished on the whole line is concen- trated within a distance of 3 miles, at what has been designated as the " East- ern Divide," and as the time that will be required to complete the'canal is measured by the time spent in the opening of this deep cut, it was felt to be important to install a plant for heavy rock-cutting at the earliest date possible. But so great were the difficulties of transporting heavy machinery, etc., from the harbor to the site that it was at once apparent there was no alternative to be considered but the immediate construction of a railroad, The road was begun Dredges, Nicaragua Canal. NICARAGUA. 5*3 in the summer of 1890. It extends across what had always been considered an impassable swamp. For the first 10 miles, there are but about 4 miles of nat- urally hard ground. There are several places along the line where streams and other water courses are crossed. These are spanned by pile bridges, and a powerful steam pile- driver has been used in their construction. The length of road already built is 1 1 miles; — the most difficult of the whole line — and 7 miles remain to be com- pleted in order to reach the ''divide." There are several miles of side track, switches, etc., already put down. The road is equipped for construction work, and supplied with four locomo- tives, fifty cars, steam shovel, ballast unloader, jacks, and other requisite appli- ances. All the cross-ties and bridge timbers are of Northern pine and charged with 16 pounds creosote oil to the cubic foot. At the railroad terminus in the harbor is a fine wharf 264 feet long, built in the best manner of creosoted timber and equipped with modern steam conveniences for handling freight rapidly. The survey for the remainder of the line, extending to the San Juan River at Ochoa, has been completed ; in fact, there have been two lines surveyed and profiles prepared in sufficient detail to enable a close estimation of cost. In the summer of 1890, there was purchased from the American Contracting and Dredging Company the very extensive and valuable plant used so success- fully on the eastern end of the Panama Canal from the year 1881 to the collapse of that enterprise in 1888. It consisted of seven dredges, the most powerful ever built; two fine tugboats, twenty lighters, several launches, and a vast quantity of tools, spare parts, materials for repair and renewals, an entire machine shop, stationary engines, pumps, etc. Many of the articles are in abundance sufficient for completion of the canal. During the autumn of 1890, this property was transferred to San Juan del Norte. Upon its arrival, portions of it were immediately equipped for work, and three of the dredges have since been in use for various periods — two upon the line of the canal proper and a third in increasing the depth of the water at various points in the harbor and upon the bar. The canal line, to the width of 280 feet and depth of 17 feet, has been opened for 3,000 feet inland from the harbor, the material excavated being sand almost wholly. No buried wood or other obstructions to free dredging has been found. Under a provision of the concession, the Canal Company has the right to expropriate private lands found requisite for its uses. It also possessed similar rights as against a company which held the exclusive privilege of navigating the San Juan River and Lake Nicaragua with steam vessels. In 1889, the Con- struction Company became the purchaser of the rights and property of the steamboat company, and since the purchase has opened the line in the interest 54 NICARAGUA. of tne canal. The franchise is valuable independently, but in connection with construction its ownership became necessary to the company. Considerable acquisitions of private lands between Lake Nicaragua and the Pacific have been made under the expropriation provisions mentioned. The country through which the course of the canal is laid for the first lo miles from the coast is a flat, alluvial formation, the accumulation of centuries, with occasional lagoons and swamps covered with zacate and silico palms or the primeval forests and a dense, tangled, almost impenetrable, mass of underbrush and vines. From thence its course is through wooded and fertile valleys be- tween low hills to the divide cut, and thence to a connection at Ochoa with the San Juan; above Ochoa, it receives the waters of the San Carlos. From the mouth of the San Carlos, the course of the San Juan — then and thereafter the route of the canal — is through what may be termed the highlands of the river, the abut- ting flanks of the Cordillera. Sixteen miles above the San Carlos occur the Machuca Rapids ; 5 and 6 miles farther on, Balas ; 6 miles beyond are Castillo Rapids, the most important of all ; and 9 miles farther the Toro Rapids, beyond which, to the lake, the course of the river is through a broad valley of lowlands, bounded by remote hills. Above the San Carlos and at Machuca, the for- ests which clothe the banks of the river are tropical in luxuriance. The lofty trees are draped with vines which creep and twine among their branches and droop to the water's edge in massive walls of verdure. Above Machuca there are occasional clearings — where the lands are cultivated or grazed — through which the distant hills appear. At other places the hills themselves rise with steep and almost precipitous slopes directly from the river. Squier likens this part of the river to the highlands of the Hudson. At Castillo is an old Spanish fort, garrisoned by the Nicaraguan Government. It was considered impregnable by its builders, but was captured by a British force in 1780. Post Captain (afterwards Admiral) Nelson was in command of the naval corps of the expedition. NICARAGUA. 55* The erection of a dam at Ochoa and the execution of other works of canalization will, of course, change many of the present aspects of the river, deepening its waters over the rapids, and in numerous places expanding them into broad and lake-like surfaces, adding to its advantages for navigation and to its beauties as part of an already delightful landscape. One important peculiarity of the San Juan, already adverted to, should be particularly noted. It is exempt from the floods common to other tropical streams. This is owing to the fact that the great lakes serve as receiving reservoirs, on the broad expanses of which the rainfall is stored and from which it is delivered slowly instead of being concen- trated from the adjacent hillsides into narrow valleys, and thus massed into rushing torrential floods. The commercial problem which the opening of a canal across Nicaragua would solve is the same to-day as that which stimulated Columbus and his contemporaries and successors to their arduous efforts. The only difference is in the increased magnitude of its advantages. It is still the discovery of a direct east and west route for the commerce of the world. Four centuries ago, that commerce con- sisted of the interchange of commodities between Europe and Asia. Since that time, there has been added to the nations then existing and to their growth in population, production, and con- sumption, a new continent, peopled now by 100,000,000 inhabit- ants, to whom the advantages of such a route for extension of their commerce is proportionately greater in a degree almost beyond computation than it was believed in the fifteenth century that it would be, if discovered, to the Spain, or France, or 'England, of those days, or than it can be to them to-day when completed. Chapter VII. RAILROADS AND TRANSPORTATION. The existing railroad system of Nicaragua consists of two sepa- rate divisions. The first commences at the port of Corinto, on the Pacific, and terminates at Momotombo, on the northwestern shore of Lake Managua, where it connects with the line of steamers plying on the lake. The stations and distances are : From Corinto to — Miles. Chinandega .' 13 Chichigalpa 21 Posoltega 25 Quezalguaque 29 Le6n 35 La Paz 50 Momotombo 58 The second division commences at the capital, Managua, on the southern shore of the lake of that name, and terminates at Granada, on the northwestern shore of Lake Nicaragua. From Managua to — Miles. Sabana Grande 8 Portillo , II Campuzano 14 Nindiri 17 Masaya lO San Bias . '. 21 Granada 32 The distance from the port of Corinto is therefore : Miles. Corinto to Momotombo, by railroad 58 Momotombo to Managua, by lake steamboat 32 Managua to Granada, by railroad 32 122 56 NICARAGUA. ^J At Granada, connection is made with the steamboat service on the lake and San Juan River, running to San Juan del Norte (Greytown), on the Caribbean coast, thus forming an interoceanic trunk line of communication through the country. The above-named railroads and steamboat line on Lake Managua are owned and operated by the Government. The railroads were only completed throughout in 1886, but they had an immediate and most gratifying effect on the commerce and progress of the country. The total cost for the Government amounted to $2,005,583.90, most of which was paid out of economies made in several branches of the public service. The first division of the railroad was opened to the public on February 27, 1884, the second on May 1, 1886. There are three classes of passenger coaches in use on these roads, first, second, and third class. The charge for first-class passengers is a little over 5" cents per mile, but in the third-class, the fare is somewhat less than 2'^ cents per mile. First-class passengers are allowed 40 pounds of baggage free; third-class passengers, 25 pounds. All above this quantity is charged as first-class freight. The rolling stock is all of American manufacture ; the locomo- tives use wood as fuel. The first-class cars have a smoking com- partment at one end, but in other respects are like the first-class cars used in the United States. The third-class cars are similar to the ordinary smoking cars run on the railroads in the United States, and they are used in the same way, as the women of the laboring classes smoke as much as the men. The cars are clean and comfortable, and the roads are well managed. Freight is divided into six classes, and is carried at rates varying from about 25 cents per ton per mile for first class to about 6 cents per ton for that of the fifth class. The sixth class is for dyewoods, which are charged at about 3^ cents per ton per mile. According to Senior Gamez, this railroad yields annually to the Government a net profit of about $100,000. 58 NICARAGUA. The account for 1890 was: Gross receipts $295, 860. 20 Expenses 187, 851. 23 Net profit 108, 009. 06 representing an interest of a little over 6^ per cent per annum. The movement of passengers in 1 890 was as follows : First-class passengers 41, gio Second-class 41, 014 Third-class 292, 937 Total 375, 861 WAGON OR COMMON ROADS. The topography of Nicaragua, especially all along the Pacific coast, is very favorable for the construction and preservation of wagon roads. Nature itself aids the Government in keeping them in good condition. The carreta, drawn by oxen, is the principal means of transporta- tion used on these roads. There are two lines of stages between Granada and Rivas (51 miles), and between Masaya and Jinotepe (18 miles), subsidized by the Government, the former with $150 per month, and the latter with $50 also per month. They make daily trips during the dry season. TRAFFIC ON LAKE MANAGUA. The steamers plying on the lake belonged originally to a private company liberally subsidized by the Government. The charges which they made were so onerous that it became necessary for the commercial interests either to establish a new line, which would make competition with the old one in existence, or to induce the Government to buy the whole concern and organize the service upon a satisfactory basis. In pursuance of this plan a second com- pany was organized, but when it was about to receive a steamer NICARAGUA. 59 which had been built in England by its order, the Government saw the necessity of making this service national and of freeing it from all contingencies. Contracts were then entered into with the two companies, and their vessels, as well as the whole property which belonged to them, became the property of the Government. The first advantage which was derived from this transaction, besides a considerable reduction in the rates of freight, was the establishment of regular connections with the railroad trains, so as to cause the whole trip from Corinto to Granada, or vice versa, to be made in one day. The movement during the first six months of the new arrange- ment was as follows : Gross proceeds $33,231.09 Expenses 13, 241. 04 Net profit 19, 990. 05 which is equivalent to an average monthly profit of $3,331.67. The Government paid for the steamers $278,229.83. The steamers now engaged in this service are : The Managua, 120 tons; the Angela, 120 tons; the Progreso, 100 tons; the Isa- bel, 20 tons, and the Amelia, 50 tons. The three first named are spacious and have good accommo- dations for passengers. In addition to the "national line," there is now another line of steamers, belonging to a foreign company, a large portion of whose stock belongs to the Interoceanic Canal Constructing Com- pany. This company is called " Great Lake Steamers Company" (Co?npania de vapores del Gran Lago), but it has only one steamer, called the Victoria, of 180 tons, which goes around the lake, touching at all its ports, eight times a month. The table following gives the amount of cargo transported by the Lake Managua steamers during the space of six months, from January 1 to June 30, 1891: 6o NICARAGUA. Table showing the amount of cargo transported by the national steamers from January i to June 30, iSgi. Months. January. Febniarv March . . April . . . Cargo. Pounds. 2, 140, 519 3, 306, 632 4, 248, 972 5, 851, 507 Months. May June Total Cargo. Pounds. 6, 080, 906 6, 413, 803 28, 042, 339 The following statement shows the cargoes transported for the first six months of 1890 and 1891 : Tons. 1890 6, 970>^ 1891 14,021 Difference in favor of 1891 7. 050^ THE SAN JUAN RIVER ROUTE. The Steamboat line via Lake Nicaragua and the San Juan River is the natural route for the commerce of the Republic, but complaints are loud and constant of the long delays that occur in transit. The fact is that competition is much keener in business than it was a few years ago; consequently, merchants can not afford the uncertainty and delay which attend the river service. The result is that since the construction of the railroad to Corinto, on the Pacific, the river transit company has been gradually losing its hold, and the bulk of the trade to and from the interior is find- ing its way via Corinto. This is certainly unfortunate, as the rates are necessarily high via the Pacific, and the route is much longer either to the United States or Europe; but the service is regular and frequent, and therefore obtains the preference. The difficulty with the river route is the impossibility of main- taining a good service whenever the rains are insufficient to keep the lake at a high level. The rapids and shallows on the river are numerous and the cargo has to be carried over them in lighters when the river is low, causing delay and risk of damage to the NICARAGUA. 6l goods, necessitating also high freight rates, though they are less than the rates via the Pacific. The river steamers, three or four in number, are flat-bottomed, and make the trip twice a month. OCEAN STEAMERS. To facilitate foreign commerce the Government of Nicaragua has entered into contracts with several steamship companies, to which it pays liberal subsidies to perform the service in the follow- ing way : On the Pacific side. — The steamers of the Pacific Mail Steam- ship Company from San Francisco to Panama regularly touch at San Juan del Sur and Corinto. When going north they touch at San Juan del Sur on the 5th, the 14th, and the 24th of each month, and Corinto on the I2th, the 15th, and the 25th. When going south they touch at the same ports, respectively, on the 7th, the 14th, and the 27th, and the 6th, the 13th, and 26th. Passengers and merchandise carried by these steamers can reach the Atlantic when landed at San Francisco by means of the Pacific Transcontinental Railroad, and when landed at Panama by the Panama Railroad. On the Atlantic side. — The steamers of the British Royal Mail from Southampton and the West Indies, which leave Aspinwall every two weeks. Compagnie Generale Transatlantique, whose steamers leave Marseilles on the 9th, Bordeaux on the 19th, and Saint Nazaire on the 29th. The Hamburg- American Company, whose steamers leave, Hamburg on the 4th, the 12th, and the 23d of each month. The Compania Transatlantica de Barcelona, whose steamers leave Santander on the 6th and 19th of each month. The West Indies and Pacific Company and the Harrison line some of whose steamers leave Liverpool every Thursday, while some others leave every two weeks. 62 NICARAGUA. Steamers of the lines just named leav^e Colon or Aspinwall in the following way: (i) For Plymouth, Cherbourg, and Southampton, via West Indies, every two weeks. (2) For St. Nazaire on the 3d of each month; for Marseilles on the 12th, and for Havre and Bordeaux on the 2 2d. (3) For Hamburg, Havre, and other ports on the 7th, the 15th, and the 26th of each month. (4) For Santander and other ports on the 7th, the 15th, and the 26th. (5) For Liverpool, via New Orleans, every Saturday; and for Liverpool, via Vera Cruz and New Orleans, every two weeks. The steamers of the Pacific Mail make connection also at Pa- nama with those of the South American Pacific Steamship Navi- gation Company, which touch at Guayaquil, Callao, Valparaiso, and other intermediate points. The Pacific Mail is subsidized by the Government of Nicara- gua with $8,000 per year, and is bound to carry the mails. The steamers of the Cosmos German Line touch irregularly at Nicaragua. According to the arrangement made, the company is bound to send to Nicaragua at least five steamers during the year, some of which must touch at Corinto and some others at San Juan del Sur. They bring directly from Europe, or carry there from Nicaragua, cargoes of merchandise with the reduction of 10 per cent in the freight, such as is charged by the steamers of the Pacific Mail. The Government subsidizes the Cosmos Line with $300 for each round trip. The steamers of the British Royal Mail touch at the port of San Juan del Norte, or Greytown, twice a month. An independent steamer of 250 tons burden does the service between San Juan del Norte, Bluefields, Boca del Rama, Rio Grande, Wuonanta and Princapulca, Cabo de Gracias a Dios, Corn Island, and Puerto Limon, making four round trips every month. This steamer re- NICARAGUA. 63 ceives a subsidy of $24,000 per year and carries the malls. It charges $10 per each ton of cargo, except when taken to Corn Island, in which case the freight is $15". The fare for passengers varies from $8 in first class and $5 in second class to $20 and $10, respectively, according to the distances. DEVELOPMENT OF THE ATLANTIC SLOPE. Nicaragua presents the remarkable feature of a country having its best lands and navigable rivers on the Atlantic slope, overlook- ing that ocean which is the highway to all the great markets of the world, but having all its great towns, its cultivated soil and its commerce on the Pacific side, where it is practically debarred from all the advantages offered by its opposite coast. This is also the condition of the other Central American republics, and it has long been their hope and effort to change this anomalous state of things. The Government of Nicaragua is fully alive to the importance of utilizing the magnificent resources of its eastern slope. It has done all in its power to encourage immigration, but it has become convinced that immigration on any useful scale is impossible without improved means of communication, and is, therefore, wisely bending all its energies in that direction, and evincing the most praiseworthy spirit of liberality in dealing with all plans that promise to aid in solving this all important problem. The progress of events and the attention that is now being attracted towards Nicaragua are steadily tending toward a removal of the difficulties that have hitherto stood in the way, the chief of which has been the lack of capital to effect the necessary improvements, to build the railroads and open the ports and rivers that will give access to the inestimable wealth of forest, field, and mine that lie awaiting the awakening hand of labor. When once these improvements are effected, there will be no need of laws to encourage immigration ; thousands of the surplus population of Europe will readily find their way to Nicaragua. 64 NICARAGUA. INTEROCEANIC CANAL AND INTERCONTINENTAL RAILROAD. In addition to the plans of internal improvement, indicated there are two great enterprises now before the world which promise ines- timable advantages to the Republic — the Nicaragua Interoceanic Canal, a work of such importance that a chapter in this work has been especially devoted to it, and the Intercontinental Railroad from North to South, connecting the three great divisions of America. The railroad has not yet taken shape, but surveying parties have located pathways for the locomotive. Chapter VIII. CONSTITUTION AND LAWS; FINANCE AND TAXATION; PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS. Nicaragua is a Republic, sovereign, free, and independent. The form of government is popular and representative, and its powers are defined by a written constitution, which was adopted in 1858, and was based upon that originally formed in 1838 when the Central American federation was dissolved. The Government is divided into three branches — legislative, executive, and judicial. The legislative power is vested in a Congress, consisting of two bodies, the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies. The Senate is composed of two Senators from each department, who are elected for a term of six years, but one-third of their number is renewed by election every two years. No person can be elected to the Senate who is less than 30 years of age, or a minister of the church; he must be the father of a family, and the owner of property not less than $2,000 in value. The members of the lower House are called Deputies and are elected for four years, but one-half are renewed by election every two years. By virtue of the Constitution, there is one Deputy for every 20,000 inhabitants in each district; but if the population of the district shows an excess of 10,000 or more over and above that number, then one more Deputy may be elected. The neces- sary qualifications for a Deputy are that he must be not less than 25 years of age, and not a member of the priesthood. Congress meets on the 1st of January every second year. The session lasts for ninety days, but may be prorogued after thirty days. Neither Bull.5i' 5 65 66 NICARAGUA. chamber can adjourn for more than three days without the consent of the other. The executive power is vested in a President, whose term of office is four years and who can not be reelected for the term im- mediately following; he must be a native and resident of the Republic, not less than 30 years of age, not a member of the priest- hood, must be the father of a family, and the owner of property worth not less than $4,000. But a native of any of the other Central American Republics may be chosen, provided that he is a naturalized citizen and has resided in the Republic of Nicaragua not less than fifteen years. He is inaugurated and enters upon his administration on the 1st of March. The President is assisted by a Cabinet, which on November 30, 1892, consisted of four Secretaries or Ministers (Ministros). One of these secretaries was the head of the Department of Foreign Relations and Fomento or Promotion of Public Welfare. An- other presided over the Department of War, the Navy and Pub- lic Instruction. The third Secretary was the head of a Depart- ment of the Interior, Police and Ecclesiastical Affairs, and the fourth was the head of the Department of the Treasury and Public Credit. The Ministers may take part in the delibera- tions of Congress, but without the power of voting. The judicial power is exercised by a Supreme Court, divided into two sections, one of which is located in Leon and the other in Granada. Each section is composed of at least four judges and two alternates. There is also a well-organized system of subordinate courts and tribunals throughout the country, and justice is well administered. The Constitution is wisely framed and liberal in its provisions, and the laws are as just and well adapted for the needs of a civ- ilized community as can be found in any nation of the world. By virtue of the Constitution, all persons born on the soil are free, and slavery and traffic 'm slaves is prohibited. No person NICARAGUA. 67 can be deprived of life, property, honor, or liberty except by due process of law. The death penalty is inflicted only for murder, assault in a town if followed by death, or in the country if accompanied by wounds and robbery, and for arson under aggravated circum- stances. The rights of petition and lawful assembly are recog- nized. The right to carry arms for lawful self-protection and de- fense, and to enter, reside in, travel over and leave the Republic without molestation, is guaranteed. Titles of nobility, hereditary honors, privileged classes, and prerogatives are not recognized. The inviolability of private correspondence, and of the house or domicile, as well as the right of private property, is recognized. Every citizen of Nicaragua has a right to vote at all elections if he is 21 years of age or more, or he will be enfranchised at 18 years of age if he holds a scientific degree or is the father of a family, holding property of not less than $100 in value, or has some trade or profession that produces that amount annually. NATURALIZATION LAW. Citizenship may be acquired by foreigners in the following manner : 1. If the applicant is a Central American, upon proof of his residence for one year within the Republic. 2. If the applicant comes from any other Spanish- American Republic, the residence must be for two years. If he comes from any other country, four years' residence is required. It will be sufficient for Central Americans, after one year of resi- dence has been completed, to state their desire to become natur- alized in the Republic, but all other Spanish-Americans are obliged to give notice of their intention one year before their ap- plication for citizenship, and all otljer foreigners are required to give notice of their intention two years before their application. All foreigners, however, h^ve the power, without forfeiting 68 NICARAGUA. thereby their own nationality, to acquire public unoccupied lands on the same terms and conditions as the citizens of Nicaragua. TAXATION AND FINANCE. Taxation in Nicaragua is indirect, the revenue being derived from import duties, stamps, the Government monopolies of tobacco, liquors, and gunpowder, the tax on cattle exported, and the sale of unoccupied lands. The Government owns the railroad and the steamers on Lake Managua, which together have yielded, at date of last report, about 6 per cent on the cost. There are no taxes levied on real estate. Municipal taxation is moderate, and in the towns, consists principally of taxes for street lighting, police, water supply, etc. The revenue of Nicaragua is steadily increasing. This im- provement is indisputable evidence of the growing wealth and prosperity of the country. The revenue from all sources was — In the year 1851 ;... $122,686.00 In the year 1870 737, 284. 00 In the year 1889. 2,036, 137.43 In the year 1890 2, 370, 183. 49 In the year 1891 2, 847, 729, 08 This improvement is demonstrated equally in every source from which the public income is derived. Thus, in the year ending June 30 — 1890, telegraph yielded $34. 152.92 1889, telegraph yielded 30, 793. 67 Increase 3, 359. 25 1890, post-office 35, 774. 73 1889, post-office 24,275.74 Increase 11, 498. 99 1890, railways 280, 819. 16 1889, railwa)^s 236, 853. 92 Increase 43. 9^5. 24 1890, public lands 15, 770. 56 1889, public lands 2, 129.66 InQTPMP r , T r . . f . r f ' . r r f » ,.,,,,,,,,, , 13. 64O. 90 NICARAGUA. 69 The expenses of the Government in 1891 were $2,968,961.14 which is slightly in excess of the income, which is accounted for by considerable sums having been spent in improvement of track, buildings, and rolling stock of railways, piers on the lakes, and public roads. The sources of revenue of the Government of Nicaragua yielded in 1891, according to ofScial statement, the following result: Customs Customs House confisca- tions Fines Tax on cattle Public lands National railroad National steamers Telegraphs Post-offices $1,058,913.53 835. 02 23, 676. 74 III, 134 20 2S, 517, 26 365, 070. 83 89, 754. 09 35. 510. 95 28, 195. 44 Tobacco 270, 857. 23 Brandy 733, 454- 85 Stamped paper 27, 772. 48 Gun powder 18, 404. 50 Sale of official publications. 130. 85 Miscellaneous revenue . . . 52, 714. 33 Unforeseen income 2,776.78 Total $2, 847, 729. 08 The expenses in 1891 were as follows: Executive department $675, 719. 50 Justice 71,186.54 Public worship and chari- ties 25, 728. 00 War 465, 077. 56 Collection of revenue 612, 069. 81 Public works Foreign relations Public instruction Extraordinary expenses 497. 039. 33 46, 184. 69 215,309.78 360, 645. 93 Total $2, 968, 961. 14 The national debt of Nicaragua, according to the official state- ment contained in the report of the Secretary of the Treasury in 1891, was as follows: Interior debt $932, 309. 20 Foreign debt 2, 105, 227. 07 Total $3, 037, 536. 27 The largest portion of the foreign debt is represented by bonds payable in London in July, 1919, with interest at 6 per cent per annum. This interest is regularly paid. There are two incorporated banks in the Republic, through which most of the commercial business of exchange, discounts, yO NICARAGUA. etc., is done, but many private capitalists and merchants carry on a banking business and make loans on mortgages. The banks above referred to are the Bank ot Nicaragua at Man- agua and the Agricultural and Mercantile Bank {Banco Mgrkola Mercantit) at Leon. Both of them have branches in all the im- portant cities of the Republic. The unit of monetary value is the peso fuerte, or dollar; but foreign coins are allowed to circulate for their value in pesos fuertes. The Peruvian sol^ the United States silver dollar, and all other Spanish American coins, are found in circulation, and re- ceived without difficulty. The subsidiary small coins are 5, 10, and 25 cents, and many of the old Spanish reals of 12^ cents are in circulation. The standard of measurement is the vara, which is equal to 2.75 English feet. The manzana contains 10,000 square varas, equal to about 1 ^ acres. The caballeria contains 64 manzanas. RECENT PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS. [Report in 1893 by U. S. Consul Newell, of Managua, on public improvements. Reports from the consuls of the United States, No. 150, March, 1893, p. 369.] During the past year and a half there have been a number of improvements made throughout the Republic of Nicaragua, the more important ones being the erection of markets, construction of street railways, and organization of water companies. Upon these I have the honor to report the following: GRANADA MARKET. For a number of years Granada was illy supplied with market facilities; in fact, I might say that she had none at all. The venders of merchandise, vegeta- bles, fruits, salt, and sugar occupied stands in the wide corridors of the build- ings that stand to the south and west sides of the plaza. Though the men and women standing and sitting in the corridors with their stock in trade presented a unique picture for the eye of the tourist, it was far from businesslike and the resort was an eyesore to the city. Around the plaza, the streets were always dirty, as the market women and men were constantly throwing into them the NICARAGUA. 7 1 goods that had proven unsalable. This condition of affairs at last aroused the attention of the more public-spirited men of the city, and the consequence is that Granada can now point with pride to a fine edifice. This building is constructed in the usual form — -that of a hollow square — the main portion of which is one story high, with a slightly pitched roof. Running from the main entrance through the entire building, is an arched corridor, the roof of which is of corrugated iron; this arch is supported by many iron columns, with fancy corrugated-iron capitals. At the four corners of the struc- ture, stand towers which extend one story above the main building. These towers are ornamented with pilasters, crowned with cornice and pediment. On either side of the main entrance rise towers that project a story and a half be- yond the roof of the main edifice. There is a stone pavement on the north and west sides of the market, the portion now completed, and cemented floors within the stores and other portions of the structure. The construction of the market was begun May 20, 1891. It will occupy, when completed, a space ef a little over 2 acres. The style of architecture is Renaissance. Stone and brick, with hydraulic mortar, are the materials of which the building is composed. The roof is constructed of iron and wood, covered with plastic slate from the United States. At this time only one-half of the structure is finished, while in the other half there is a provisional open market place. The estimated cost of the edifice, when completed according to the plans, is ^206,000 (soles). Already, there has been expended the sum of $70,000. The stone, brick, and mortar entering into the composition of the building are all native products; the ironwork is from England and the United States. In the part now finished there are twenty-two rooms for stores, but the building, when fully completed, will contain forty-four such rooms. Besides these rooms there are one hundred and fifty stands for selling small articles, and fifteen special meat stalls. There are also a large number of pavement or curbstone spaces for the Indians, who come daily to sell small quantities of fruit, vegetables, and native wares. From 250 to 300 persons are daily in attendance at the market, engaged in vending some commodity. The average daily revenue is $50 ; the expenses amount to $300 per month. Granada's market was erected by the city council from money raised by a loan, which was floated at 80 cents on the dollar. The management of the enterprise was given into the hands of the capitalists subscribing the funds, and the struc- ture was also mortgaged to them, along with the ground, until the nominal capital is repaid with interest at the rate of 1 per cent per month. The edifice is open every day in the week, Sundays and holidays not excepted. 72 NICARAGUA. MASAYA MARKET. For many years anterior to the date of this report, Masaya possessed worse market facilities than Granada. It did not have even the corridors of buildings, like its sister city, for the congregation of its market people. They usually congre- gated in the plaza, under the shadow of the principal church, and there, in the wind and rain, sitting or standing upon the bare ground, awaited their patrons. The matter of a market was considered by the Nicaragua Company (limited), an organization of English capitalists who have varied interests in this Republic, with headquarters in London, and to it is due the edifice that now adorns the city of Masaya. This structure is very similar in design to that of Granada, and covers the same extent of surface — -2 acres. It is entirely completed, and has sixty-four rooms that can be used as stores. There is a large covered way through the center of the building, which is in part for the accommodation of butchers and for the sellers of fruit, salt, and vegetables. The courts of the markets are sur- rounded with corridors, giving plenty of space for stalls. In the courtyards, are spaces allotted for carts. As in Nicaragua, many vendors come to market with sugar, salt, and plantains and sell direct from their carts, instead of selling from stalls. In connection with the market is a large public kitchen, where the market restauraters can prepare and cook food. It is the intention of the management to soon introduce water into the building and add public baths. The edifice was constructed at a cost of $106,000 in gold. It is built of vol- canic stone taken from a quarry not far from the site of the market. As this stone is very black, the structure presents an appearance of great antiquity, and if it possessed an altitude greater than one story, would resemble more a castle than a market. The roof is surmounted with a parapet that extends around the entire building. At the main entrance, are two large, iron open-work gates painted dark blue and lined with gold. The market has four entrances, and on each side, there are handsome iron bracket lamps. Throughout the entire struc- ture, in the stores and in the corridors, the floors are laid in Portland cement. The monthly income is $1,150, and the expenses $300. GRANADA TRAMWAY. The street railway of Granada was projected about one year ago, and cars were run over the line for the first time in September last. The persons com- posing the company are citizens of Nicaragua, and, I believe, all residents of Granada. Originally, the idea of a tramway in the city was that of a foreigner, the same gentleman who conceived and carried into effect the Rivas street-car NICARAGUA. 73 line. After the company was organized, tliis foreigner disposed of his interest to the syndicate that now owns the line. The length of the route is i mile 300 yards, extending from the railroad station to the market. The rails and the cars are of American manufacture, the first costing $5,000 and the latter $3,000 in gold. For laying the track, the sum of $3,000 was expended. It cost to bring the cars and rails to the city of Granada from New York, via San Juan del Norte, the sum of $2,000. An expenditure of $2,000 has been made for the purchase of land for the erection of a car shed and necessary ofEces, which will be erected at a cost of $1,000. Twenty-four mules now comprise the number of animals in service ; these ani- mals were bought for $60 per head. Besides the sums mentioned, the company has expended the sum of $1,000 for incidentals and $1,500 for the rights held by the organizer of the enterprise. The total amount expended in organizing the company and constructing the line, to ddte, has been $24,740 (soles). Originally the company was organized on a basis of thirty-five shares, valued at $500 per share. Since beginning and completing the line the company has been compelled to issue five more shares at the former valuation, so that there are now forty shares, representing a capital of $20,000 (soles). The daily income averages from $13 to $15. On holidays, the earnings reach the sum of $50. The employes number seven, and the daily expenses are about $10. The cars are the usual pattern denominated in the United States " bobtailed," though here they use two animals and employ both conductor and driver. Ac- cording to the opinion of many, the company made a mistake in not having selected open or summer cars, which would be preferable in this tropical clime. At the present time, all the cars run one way, that is, the three cars leave the railroad station at about the same moment and change at the market. This necessitates delay, and in consequence the line is not as popular as it might be. The fare is 5 cents. This innovation has compelled the hack-owners to reduce their fares from 20 cents from the station to any part of the city to 10. cents, and from 30 cents from any part of the city to the station to 15 cents. MASAYA WATERWORKS. These works have been in operation since September 1, and were commenced about two years ago. The originators of this enterprise are foreigners, though a large portion of the stock is owned by Nicaraguans. The estimated cost of the plant is $130,000. 74 NICARAGUA. The point from which the water is derived is known as Tincuantepe, distant from Masaya 16 miles, and elevated above the city 800 feet. Around the fall of Tincuantepe, the scenery is very picturesque. The water is pure, wholesome, and clear as crystal. At Nindiri, a small Indian village, 1^ miles from Masaya, the company has built an immense reservoir, with an elevation of 140 feet, capable of holding 600,000 gallons. From Nindiri to Masaya, there is a pres- sure equal to 500 pounds to the square inch. The mains are of 3 and 4 inch iron pipe. The principal main is laid on Monibo street. Few mains as yet have been laid on the side streets. This company was organized with a capital stock of $126,000; that is, thirty shares, at $4,200 per share. The piping was purchased in the United States. There is every indication to believe that the enterprise will prove a paying one. Masaya has a population estimated at 16,000, and is on the line of the national railroad running from Managua to Granada. MASATEPE WATERWORKS. Masatepe is a small village, about one hour and a half's ride from Masaya, and has within and around its confines a population of 10,000. The source of the water supply is Lake Masaya. This lake lies 300 feet below the town of the same name, surrounded, excepting on the western side, by precipitous cliffs, down which three or four rocky paths have been cut. In order to reach a proper level, the water is pumped from the lake to a height of 1,020 feet. The length of the main, that is, from the lake to Masatepe, is 3 miles. A company was organized to construct these works on a basis of one thou- sand shares at $25 per share, and it is estimated that the plant cost $25,000. LEON WATERWORKS. On the 7th of July last, a concession was granted by the city of Leon to a company for the introduction of water and the erection of the necessary works. A company has been organized, with a capital stock amounting to $107,500, divided into two hundred and fifteen shares, at $500 per share. The munici- pality of Leon has subscribed for six shares. It is believed that the works will not cost less than $120,000. The water is to be taken from the Rio Chiquita, distant about half a mile from the city. It is understood that the company will lay about 13 miles of piping between now and the early part of next year. The enterprise should be successful, as it has a greater population to draw from than any other portion of Nicaragua. The inhabitants of Leon are sup^ posed to number 40,000. NICARAGUA. * '] ^ SAN ANTONIO SUGAR REFINERY. Upon this enterprise I have already reported, but as the management has made some improvements since that report, it is proper to revert to it again. The company has just lately purchased a mile of portable railway, costing ^5,000 in gold. This machinery was bought in the United States, because it comes free into this country under the reciprocity treaty and because it is supe- rior to all others. The company has also added electrical machinery to its already perfect sugar-refining plant. Electric lights will be placed in the main building and in the houses set apart for the officers and employes. The San Antonio Sugar Company is the most important undertaking in Nica- ragua, and, I believe, in the whole of Central America. Their object is to rev- olutionize the sugar industry of these countries, which their capital and extensive plant will well enable them to do. The gentleman who has charge of the purchasing department of this concern assures me that American pumps and boilers take the lead of all others. PROPOSED IMPROVEMENTS. The business men of Granada are now considering the advisability of improv- ing their water system. At this time the supply is very limited and inadequate to the needs of the city. This system will be improved if the gentlemen who have the new venture in hand can induce the old company to dispose of its interests. It is believed that the old company will sell. As soon as the trans- fer is consummated, the new company will proceed to expend ^60,000 in im- proving the water system and $40,000 for electrical machinery. I am assured that the city of Granada will be lighted by electricity not later than the middle of the year 1893. Besides the tramway that runs from the station to the market in Granada, it is proposed to construct another from the cemetery to Lake Nicaragua. Those interested in the project have estimated the cost to construct the line at $50,000 (soles). The young men of Granada are considering the proposition of erecting a hip- podrome, where there can be racing and a place for athletic games of all kinds. It is proposed to construct public baths on the shores of Lake Nicaragua, in Granada. Capitalists of Leon are considering the suggestion to build a tramway through the principal street and to the railroad station. William Newell, Consul. Chapter IX. RELIGION AND PUBLIC INSTRUCTION. Nicaragua is a Catholic country, and the constitution recognizes this fact by declaring : Article 6. The religion of the Republic is the Roman Catholic Apostolic. The Government protects its practice. No person is molested, however, on account of religious ideas. Public instruction has been under the immediate and direct con- trol of the Government ever since 1877, and that it is fully alive to the importance of the work is proved by the fact that it expends upon it 8 per cent of its income. Senor Gamez, in his Noticias geogrqficas,ttc.^S2ijs that the Nicaraguan Government expends for this purpose no less than $18,883,286 per month, or $226,599.38 per year. Besides the schools supported by the Government, there are others supported by the respective municipalities, and others exclu- sively private, or established and conducted by private enterprise. When Sefior Gamez wrote (1892), there were 263 Government schools, with 303 teachers, and an attendance of 16,554 pupils; 10 municipal schools, with 15 teachers and 871 pupils; and 37 private schools with 95 teachers and 1,895 pupils; total, 310 schools, 413 teachers, and an attendance of 19,320 pupils. In addition to the primary schools, there are two "intermediate," or rather high, schools for boys, and one of the same character for girls, having together 5 1 teachers (42 for boys,- 9 for girls), and an attendance of 1,441 pupils (724 boys, 717 girls). 76 NICARAGUA. yy Until very recently, there have been two universities in Nica- ragua, one in Leon, and another in Granada, fully equipped for the teaching of jurisprudence and medicine, with powers to confer academical degrees. Under a decree promulgated by President Sacasa, the two universities have been consolidated into one. There is but one public library in Nicaragua, which is located at Managua. It contains a very choice collection of the works of foreign and American authors, numbering 6,310 volumes and 600 pamphlets. This library is supported by the national Government, and derives no revenue save from that source, as it is free to the public. Chapter X. COST OF LIVING, WAGES, ETC. The Style of domestic architecture in Nicaragua is the same that prevails throughout the whole of Spanish America. The houses of the laboring classes vary in solidity according to the variations of climate ; being, in the hot lands, near the coast, merely light structures of wood or cane and thatched with palm leaves. In the colder regions, they are built of adobe, or sun-dried brick, and roofed with tiles. The better class of houses are built in the old Spanish style which was introduced into Spain by the Moors, some- times of two stories, but more frequently of one only, built around a courtyard or patio. In a warm climate, no pleasanter residence can be imagined than these houses. The thick walls are built of adobe, cemented and whitewashed, or of stone. These and the heavy-tiled roofs exclude the heat. The rooms are spacious and very lofty, with great doors, and windows without glass sashes, but closed by heavy wooden shutters and protected on the outside by a grating of iron bars. All the doors of the rooms open upon a veranda surrounding the patio, which is filled with shrubbery and flowers. Here, easy chairs and hammocks afford inviting resting places. In the towns, however delightful these houses may be as places of residence, the fact that the verandas and other embellish- ments are on the interior gives the street a gloomy appearance. The majority of city residences are also connected with stores. As a rule, few merchants or traders reside away from their places of business. Rents are high and have greatly increased of late 78 "^^ NICARAGUA. 79 years. The better class of houses rent at from $40 to $100 per month. In the larger cities, many of the houses are built of stone, which is abundant and easily procured. The quality generally used is soft when first quarried and can be worked very easily, but hardens with age and exposure. With abundant material and cheap labor, there is no reason why such high rents should be maintained. In Managua, the capital, where the population is rapidly increasing, and in several other cities, the erection of houses for rent would be a lucrative investment, particularly as there are no taxes levied on real estate. The markets are well supplied, but usually do not present any great variety of vegetables. In Managua, the market building covers an entire square. It was built by English capital under a Government concession granting a monopoly for twenty-five years. The selling is done principally by women. The following is a list of retail prices prevailing there at date of latest advices : Coffee per pound . . $o. 30 Coffee, black ; do 20 Rice do 10 Cacao do 80 Sugar, second class do 10 Sugar, first class do 20 Milk cheese, or queso de leache do 30 Butter cheese, or queso de mantequilla do 45 Frijoles do 07 Corn per medio, 12 pounds. . . 30 Starch Per pound. . . 20 La,rd per quart bottle . . .50 Butter : Native per pound . . .60 Foreign do i. 00 Lemons per dozen. . . 12 Potatoes per pound. . . 07 >^ Flour do 10 Plantains ... •■ - three.. .05 Kerosene : Astral .... box of 5 gallons.. 8.00 Radiant do 6. 00 Soap .per bar of 30 ounces, , . 20 Beef, the best , per pound.. .15 8o NICARAGUA. Fork per pound. . . lO Pepper, sold only unground do 30 Salt do 02 J^ Ham do 38 These prices, as well as all others quoted, are in Nicaraguan currency, which averages from 30 to 35 per cent less in value than the United States gold dollar, consequently reducing prices in a corresponding ratio as compared with United States currency. In journeying through the country, the traveler has to depend on such fare as he may be able to obtain at native houses and such stores as he may carry with him, but in the principal towns and cities there are hotels where fair accommodations and good rations are the rule. Hotel charges throughout the Republic are from $1 to $2.50 per day, the latter rate only at those of the higher class and in the principal cities. There are places where board can be obtained for less, but they are frequented by the lower class of natives only and would not be very attractive, especially to foreigners. The rates usually charged by the meal at the best hotels are: Early coffee, 25 cents; breakfast, 75 cents; dinner, 80 cents to $1. Board by the month is from $25 to $30, without room. An extra charge of $5 per month is usually made when meals are sent to the house of the boarder. Tea is rarely used and is only prepared at special request. Coffee and chocolate are the usual beverages, and both are invariably excellent. Beer, both European and American, can be obtained, but costs from 30 to 50 cents per pint bottle. California wines, 80 cents per pint bottle. Butter is rarely seen on hotel tables, and is not usually palatable when obtained. Meat is generally good. Chickens, turkey, and venison are usually served at dinner, and in the lake cities espe- cially, fish is abundant and good. Eggs, cooked in omelets and in every other way, are staple articles of food. Frijoles (beans) and rice are the usual vegetables, occasionally varied by potatoes, cabbage, squash, and pease, but as a rule, vegetables are not served in great variety. NICARAGUA. 8l Clothing is reasonable in price. The customer usually provides his own cloth, which costs from $3 to $5.50 per yard, and the tailor charges from $10 to $16 for making a suit, according to the style and trimmings required. Ready-made clothing can be ob- tained at from $9 per suit upwards. Shoemakers charge from $5 to $6 per pair for gaiter shoes and for low-quarter shoes $4 to $5.50. Ready-made shoes are sold at $4 for low quarters and $7.50 for gaiters. Russet shoes sell for $4. Ladies' shoes, from $3 up per pair. The shoes found in the stores are invariably of American manufacture and come largely from Bos- ton. It is very rarely that shoes of European make can be found in the stores of Nicaragua. Dressmakers charge for making dresses as follows: Ordinary calico house dress, $2; street costume, $5 to $7; ball dress, $10 to $15. Ladies' hats, trimmed, sell from $4 to $20, but there is little demand for millinery, as the panolon and reboso are used in preference to the hat or bonnet. Labor is plentiful in Nicaragua, at least so far as present needs are concerned. But to carry out any great public work or to develop the immense resources of the country on the scale that will be required whenever the facilities for transportation are im- proved, it will be necessary to import laborers and encourage immi- gration. The following is a statement of the wages received by the dif- ferent classes of labor. It also shows the salaries paid by the Government to those employed in the railroad, steamboat, and telegraphic service. The amounts are stated in Nicaraguan cur- rency : Description. Clerks, mercantile: Natives per month. . Foreigners do ... . Stone masons _ pgr day, . Carpenters do ..." ! Furniture-makers do. . . .' Journeymen tailors (jo Bull. 51 6 Wages. Dollars. 20. 00 to 40. 00 50. 00 to 150. 00 I. 50 to 2. 00 I. 00 to 2. 00 I. 50 to 2. 00 . 80 to 2. 00 82 NICARAGUA. Description. Machinists per day . Cooks per month. Blacksmiths , per day. Shoemakers do . . Tile roofers do. . . Wagon-makers do . . . Railway service : Auditor per month. General superintendent do. . . Private secretary do. . . Traffic manager — Eastern section do. . . Western section do. . . Secretary do. . . Assistant auditor do . . . Telegraph operator, superintendent's office do. . . Storekeeper do. . . Road master do . . . Bridge inspector do. . . Conductor do. . . Machinists do . . . Collector and paymaster do . . . Inspector of cars do . . . Ticket agent do. . . Station master — Granada do . . . Central station do . . . Sabana Grande do. . . Campuzano do. . . Nindiri do. . . Masaya do. . . San Bias do. . . Master mechanic do. . . Foreman, machine shop do. . . Founder do. . . Timekeeper '. .do. . . Telegraph service : Operators do. . . Linemen do. . . Steamer service : Captain — Steamers Managua and Angela do. . . Steamer Progreso do. . . Steamer Amelia do. . . Steamer Isabel do. . . Superintendent of steamers do. . . Master mechanic of steamers do. . . Wharf master — At Managua do. . . At Grenada do. . . Engineers, railvs^ays and steamers do. . . Firemen , per day. Brakemen do. . . Wages. Dollars, 3. 00 to 5 6. 00 to 1. 00 to I. 00 to I. 50 to I. 00 to 00 14.00 3- 00 2.00 2.00 2.00 80.00 200. 00 100.00 130.00 150. 00 45.00 60. 00 25. 00 35- 00 125.00 60. 00 60.00 110. 00 60.00 55.00 30.00 55.00 50.00 40. 00 40.00 30.00 70,00 30.00 200.00 150.00 115.00 50.00 60.00 to 125. 00 18. 00 to 19. 00 100. 00 80.00 60. 00 60.00 100. 00 300. 00 60,00 50.00 110.00 1.40 .80 NICARAGUA. 83 The coffee-pickers are paid by the task, about 40 pounds of green berries for 10 cents. Ordinary laborers, cartmen, and farm laborers receive from ^o to 80 cents per day. Notwithstanding these low wages, food and clothing are so easily obtained, the climate is so genial, and nature has been so bountiful that the people all look contented and well fed. Old people and children appear to be well cared for, few beggars are seen in the streets, and nowhere are such appearances of poverty and squalor as may be seen in the large cities of the United States and Europe. Chapter XI. COMMERCE. Notwithstanding the natural difficulties of insufficient means of transportation, the commerce of Nicaragua is steadily increasing. This is due in part to the extension of its fruit trade, which is principally transacted on the Caribbean coast, and in part to the growth of the coffee shipments, made chiefly from Pacific ports. The following table shows approximately the increase of the trade between Nicaragua and the United States. Such statistics are to be considered with a knowledge of the fact that the imports are stated in Nicaraguan currency, while the exports are calculated in that of the United States. Notice must also be taken of the further fact of possible undervaluations on goods upon which im- port duties are collected. 1888. 1889. i8qo. Imports into United States from Nicaragua. . . Exports to Nicaragua from United States $1, 496, 171 927, 022 $1, 747, 246 1, 009, 687 $1,655,690 1,373.019 Balance against United States 569, 149 737, 559 282, 671 In so far as these figures show a steady increase in the trade between the two countries, they will be accepted as gratifying evidence of progress in that direction. Those, however, who see in them an advantage to the United States because of a diminu- tion of the "balance of trade" against this country will be forced 84 NICARAGUA. 85 to explain in what manner Nicaragua is benefited under their hypothesis. The shipments of coffee from Nicaragua were: For the two years ending — Pounds. June 30J 1884 12,696,400 June 30, 1886 14, 247, 200 June 30, 1888 12, 424, 300 June 30, 1890 19, 786, 400 Many new coffee plantations have been started within the past few years and it is believed that exportations of this product must continue to increase. The following table shows the amount of coffee exported from Nicaragua to the United States within the past ten years: Year. Pounds. Year. Pounds. 1881 959, 200 2, 168, 500 1, 356, 400 2, 382, 000 2, 033, 600 1886.,.. 1887 2, 331, 400 1882 2, 700, 000 1883 . . 1888 3, 426, 100 1884 i88q 3, 743, 372 1885 i8qo 3. 735. 196 Inasmuch as the price of coffee has increased, it will be under- stood that this industry is an important factor in the prosperity and wealth of the country. The following table shows the total foreign commerce of Nica- ragua, including exports and imports, for the periods stated : For the two years ending — June 30, 1884 $8, 699, 629. 59 June 30, 1886 8, 410, 188. 26 June 30, 1888 ". 9, 252,948. 83 June 30, 1890 14, 563, 113. 51 Of this last amount — The imports were 7, 566, 293. 02 The exports were 6, 996, 820. 49 Showing an apparent excess of imports of 569, 472. 53 Here, again, it must be noted that the imports are stated in Nica- 86 NICARAGUA. raguan currency, while the exports are calculated on the gold basis of Europe and the United States. The largest importers of Nicaragua's products are the United States, Germany, France, and England, in the order named, but the purchases of Nicaragua from foreign countries change this order. England stands first, followed by the United States, France, and Germany. The imports from the United States, however, are increasing so rapidly that England may not long continue to head the list The exports of Nicaragua for the two years ending June 30, 1 890, comprise the following articles : Coffee $4. 216, 834. 31 India rubber 519,447.85 Dyewoods 299, 984. 00 Extracts of dyewoods .... 153,259.20 Hides 197. 186. 49 Gold bullion $299, 023. 50 Silver coin 606, 008, 07 Sundries 705, 077. 07 Total 6, 996, 820. 59 Sefior Gamez, in his Noticias, approved by the Government, and therefore of an official character, says : In 1858, when the social and political reorganization of the country was accomplished, the total imports into Nicaragua amounted to $362,306. Subse- quent to that date a steady increase, each year larger, has taken place. In 1890 (the last year upon which the writer had official information) the total imports into Nicaragua represented the sum of $4,268,405.27. The exports in the same year were $3,833,614.28. The imports into Nicaragua in 1890, classified by countries, were: From England $1, 324, 526. 89 From British Guiana 946. 88 From France 690, 659. 77 From Germany 643,783.71 From Italy 3,224.05 From the United States. . . 811, 978. 41 From Jamaica 8, 194. 17 From Colombia 18, 415. 27 From Ecuador 4,904.19 From Trinidad 1,251.35 From the Argentine Re- public 2,283.69 From Central America . . . From other countries, through San Juan del Norte From Spain Importation made by the Government Importation of coin $74, 269. 09 38,813.85 14, 964. II 312, 222, 89 317, 966. 95 Total 4,268,405.27 NICARAGUA. 87 To Spain , . $11, 112. 80 To Chile 4, 476. 75 To Peru 1,519.10 Total 3,501,030.98 Exportation of coin 332, 583, 30 Grand total 3, 833, 614. 28 The exports were as follows : To England $461, no. 62 To France 793, 249. 50 To Germany 863, 431. 89 To Italy 34, 413. 30 To the United States i, 169, 050. 64 To Colombia 5,109,60 To Belgium 4,057,60 To Cuba 734.40 To Central America 152, 764. 78 It appears from the above that the nation which imported Nicaraguan mer- chandise in larger quantity than all others was the United States. Then came Germany, France, and England. England, however, sent more goods to Nica- ragua than the United States, and the United States more than France, and France more than Germany. The principal products capable of being exported from Nicaragua have been up to this date coffee, India rubber, dyewoods, hides, and gold in bullion. The principal articles of importation into Nicaragua are : Oils, vegetable, animal, and mineral ; spirits ; cotton, raw and manufactured ; firearms; boots and shoes; carriages; waterproof cloaks; white beeswax; canned eatables of all kinds; glassware; drugs and medicines; mirrors and all kinds of parlor ornaments; stearic candles; matches; flour; iron, in bars and plates; machetes, clubs, hoes, and all kinds of agricultural implements; household articles; soap; wool, raw and manufactured; silk, raw and manu- factured; linen, raw and manufactured; machinery; engines and materials for railroads, steamboats, and mining and agricultural enterprises; pipes; haber- dashery; toys; silver coins; wooden house furniture; school furniture; all kinds of paper; perfumery; pianos and musical instruments; tanned skins; paints and varnishes; watches, clocks, and jewelry; small metal ware; empty bags ; all kinds of hats ; all kinds of wines ; books ; lamps ; fancy articles. No consular certification of invoices is required by Nicaragua. Invoices must be made out in triplicate, and valuation and customs duties are adjusted in the custom-house of the port of debarkation. Duties are levied on all goods according to weight. The commercial interests of Nicaragua are so closely identified with the question of transportation that it is impossible to touch on one subject without some reference to the other. The ftw years that 88 NICARAGtJA. have elapsed since Lakes Nicaragua and Managua were connected by railroad and steamboat lines with the port of Corinto on the Pacific coast have been sufficient to demonstrate the immediate and gratifying effect that this improvement has had on the com- merce and progress of the country, but the great necessity remains for rapid and cheap communication v/ith the Atlantic coast. When goods reach the Pacific, they have to bear the expense of transportation over a circuitous route by way of Panama and the high freight charged by the Panama Railroad Company in order to reach either the United States or Europe. By this route and by railroad and steamboat to Corinto, the rate of freight on coffee to New York, in Nicaraguan currency, is: From Granada per ton. . $40.40 From Masaya ,. do. ... 39. 20 From Managua do ... . 36. 80 The rates by steamers on the River San Juan to the Caribbean coast are high, although considerably less than the cost of trans- portation via the Pacific, but this is more than counterbalanced by the uncertainty and delay caused by the rapids and shallows which attend the river service. The rates of freight are low between the United States or Europe and the Atlantic ports of Central America; consequently, whenever the projected railroad in that direction from Lake Nicaragua is completed, a great reduction will be made from the rates now paid by way of the Pacific ports as above quoted. But the hopes of Nicaragua are centered on the Interoceanic Canal. When that great work shall have been com- pleted, Granada will be virtually a seaport, and Atlantic liners will be able to load and discharge their cargoes at her wharves; in fact. Lake Nicaragua will become a vast dock, where, by means of railroads, the commerce of Central America will find its center and point of distribution. A complete list of freight rates between New York and the NtCAkAGtJA. 89 Pacific ports, and from Corinto to interior points by railroad and steamboat, is given hereafter. The passenger rates * are : To Bluefields from New Orleans: Cabin. . , $40 Deck 20 To Grey Town from New York direct (cabin) 100 To Grey Town from New York, via Colon 145 To Corinto from New York, via Colon 140 To Corinto from San Francisco 105 To San Juan del Sur from San Francisco 105 To San Juan del Sur from New York, via Colon 130 Rates of freight from Nicaraguan ports to New York by Pacific Mail Company's steamers* [United States gold currency.] Articles. Bark pound . Balsam ,do. . . Cochineal do . . . Coffee do . . . Coffee in shell do . . . Cacao do . . . Cotton. cubic foot. Cigars do . . . Cedar logs not exceeding 2,000 pounds each .1,000 feet. Deer and goat skins pound. Dyewoods do... Ginger do. . . Hides (dry): Folded each . Loose , do. . . In square bales, compact and well tied pound . India rubber do. . . Indisfo .do. Orchilla do. ., ' Ore (silver, copper, or tin) : Value not exceeding $500 per ton do. . . Value over $500 and not exceeding $r,ooo per ton do . . . Value over $1,000, yi per cent additional do. . . Pearl shells do . . . Plants cubic foot. Ramie and other plant fibers do. . . jar Dound. Suga .poi Sarsaparilla do . . . Tobacco , do... Wood, mahogany, rose, and other hard woods, shipped from June to Jan- uary, inclusive pound. General merchandise, not elsewhere enumerated do. . . Do cubic foot. Gold, silver, and valuables (on value), i^ percent. From San Juan del Sur 01 Corinto. Dollars. .024 .026 .02 .01 .01 .013 •50 I- 15 30. 00 .02 .0075 .01 .40 .50 .018 .015 .02 .025 .0075 .01 .0075 .013 .75 .40 .01 .025 .02 .008 • 75 *It should be noted that the rates for passengers and freight are subject to changes from time to time. go NICARAGUA. J?ates of freight from A^ew York to Nicaragtian ports by Pacific Mail Company* s steamers. [United States gold currency.) Articles. From San Juan del Sur or Coriuto. General merchandise, not elsewhere enumerated cubic foot Do pound Opium do. . Ivory goods, laces, ribbons, plate glass (released), silks, velvets, .cubic foot Billiard tables, cutlery, cigars, firearms, type, tea, wire cloth do. . Do pound Blacking, bacon, candles, common clocks, cotton seed, dried fruits, drugs, hams, hose, hops, liquors (barrels and boxes), medicines, paints, plat- form scales, pickles, raisins, solder, spices in double bags, turpen- tine, tin, varnish, vinegar, wines (boxes and barrels), yellow metal, sulphur, wax cubic foot. . Do pound. . Cotton goods, canned goods, cotton duck, domestics, linen goods, sewing machines, woolen goods, yarns cubic foot . . Do pound. . Agricultural implements, bags and bagging, brooms, boilers (iron) with furnaces, carriages, cars, car wheels on axles, doors, earthenware, felting, furniture, glue, glass (window), hardware, insulators, kettles (iron and copper), glassware, copper, edge tools, lamps (common), machinery, oakum, oil (in cans), pumps, rope, railings (iron), safes (iron), stoves and fixtures, sugar pans, soap, starch, shocks, shovels, sashes, shot, sugar mills, tinware, trunks (empty, nested), wire (brass and copper), wooden ware, printing papers, straw wrapping paper, cubic foot. , Do pound . Butter, beef, cheese, lard, pork, rice, salt fish, tallow do Axles, car wheels, caustic soda, cement, clay, fire brick, iron wire, lead, pitch, resin, roofing slate, stove castings, tar, tiles, zinc, blue vitriol, pound, , Iron (band, bar, hoop, sheet, corrugated), iron pipe and tubes (small), nails pound . , Iron-fence wire (barbed) do Lumber — White and yellow pine 1,000 feet., Oak, cedar, mahogany, etc do. . . Crackers, fiour, maizena, meal, shipbread, sugar, vegetables (boxes and barrels), dried fish, lager beer (bottled in boxes or barrels), cubic foot. Matches in tin-lined cases do. . . Acids and gunpowder pound . Cartridges (metallic) do. . . Manufactured tobacco cubic foot . ind. Do. . poui Unmanufactured tobacco cubic foot.. Do • .pound; Plated ware, silver ware, jewelry, watches, pistols, etc. (i per cent on value in addition) cubic foot. Gold and silver coin, precious stones, etc., on value, i>^ per cent. Parcels not exceeding 2 cubic feet each . Dollars. 0.65 .012 1.50 .90 • 75 .015 .65 .013 .65 .012 .55 .Oil .012 .01 .01 .Oil 36. 00' 43- 00 .50 1. 00 . 10 .02 .75 .015 .70 .014 .60 2.50 Goods taken by weight or measurement at carrier's option. NICARAGUA. 91 FREIGHT ON NICARAGUA RAILROAD. Freight is divided into six classes, and the charges are according to the fol- lowing tariffs : First c/ass.—Ba.ggage : [Per xoo pounds, Nicaragua currency.] Cents, Corinto o Chinandega , . . , 20 Chichigalpa 30 Posoltega 35 Quezalguaque 40 Le6n 45 La Paz 65 Momotombo 75 Cents- Managua 90 Sabana Grande 100 Portillo , 105 Campuzano 107 Nindiri no Masaya 115 San Bias 120 Granada 125 There is an extra charge of 25 per cent on all baggage received at station too late to be manifested. Second class. — General merchandise and any other article not specified in other classes : Cents. Corinto o Chinandega 13 Cents. Managua 67 Sabana Grande 74 Portillo 77 Campuzano 80 Nindiri 82 Masaya 84 San Bias 90 Chichigalpa 20 Posoltega 23 Quezalguaque 26 | Le6n 30 La Paz 45 Momotombo 52 | Granada 94 TAird class. — Empty sacks, cables, steel and iron in bars or plates unmanufactured, wire for fencing, galvanized iron buckets and pitchers, axletrees, springs, washers and nuts for carriages and carts, iron or copper boilers for manufacturing purposes, machetes, spades, hoes, pickaxes, wooden shovels and axes, sugar, cofTee, flour, corn, beans, rice, wheat, barley, and other cereals, potatoes, onions, garlic, fresh fish, rosin, caustic soda and potassa, unpolished marble in parts or works of 100 pounds and up- wards, starch, empty barrels or without hoops, carriages in parts or mounted, staves and shooks, plows, cultivators, asphalt, grain winnowers, quicksilver for mining, hy- draulic pumps, iron or clay pipes, steel or iron basins, galvanized iron for ro'ofing, ducts, and ridges, cheese, and hides of the country : [Per 100 pounds.] Cents. Managua 49 Sabana Grande 53 Cents. Corinto , o Chinandega 10 Chichigalpa , 16 Posoltega 17 Quezalguaque 18 Le6n 22 La Paz 30 Momotombo 34 Portillo 55 Campuzano 57 Nindiri 59 Masaya 61 San Bias 65 Granada 67 92 NICARAGUA. Fourth class. — Fruits of the country, cement, bricks, sawed timber, table salt, foreign; fertilizer, lime and cement; coal; iron or wooden buildings, complete; machinery, tiles, native soap, aniline extracts, charcoal, rice, and hay: [Per loo pounds.] Cents. Corinto o Chinandega , 6 Chichigalpa lo Posoltega II Quezalguaque 13 Le6n 15 La Paz 22 Momolombo 26 Cents. Managua 41 Sabana Grande .... 45 Portillo 46 Campuzano 48 Nindiri 49 Masaya 50 San Bias 53 Granada 55 Fifth class. — Dyewoods and extracts, building stone, roofing cane, sugar cane, hen- equen and pita fibers, clay bricks, sand, earth, aluminum, fodder, native hay and salt, lumber, ashes, and textiles: [Per 100 pounds.] Cents. Corinto o Chinandega 5 Chichigalpa 8 Posoltega 8 Quezalguaque 9 Le6n 11 La Paz 15 Momotombo 17 Cents. Managua 32 Sabana Grande 34 Portillo . . . , 35 Campuzano 36 Nindiri 37 Masa3'a 38 San Bias 40 Granada 41 Sixth class. — Dj^ewoods for exportation: Western division : From Momotombo to Corinto per ton . . From La Paz to Corinto do. . . , From Le6n to Corinto do ... , From Quezalguaque to Corinto do. . . , -From Posoltega to Corinto do From Chichigalpa to Corinto do. . .. From Chinandega to Corinto do. . . , Eastern division: From Granada to Managua . . . . do . . . From San Bias to Managua do ... , From Masaya to Managua do. .. From Nindiri to Managua do. . . From Campuzano to Managua do... From El Portillo to Managua do. . . From Sabana Grande to Managua do. . . Dollars. 2. ID 1.95 1.80 1.75 1.75 1.70 I. 60 . 1.50 I. 20 , T.OO , .90 , .80 . .70 . .6a NICARAGUA. 93 * REPORT BY CONSUL NEWELL, OF MANAGUA, ON COMMERCE. Through the courtesy of an official of Nicaragua, who was specially deputized to examine and report upon the trade condition of the country, the following information been obtained. The report covers a period extending from July i, 1890, to June 30, 1892. It shows the ports via which goods were im- ported and exported. IMPORTS. Table showing the value of imports during i8go-'gi and iSgT-'g2. Whence imported. iSgo-'gi. tSgi-'qa. VIA SAN JUAN DEL SUR, United States England France Germany . . . . Italy Ecuador Chile Mexico Colombia . . . . Costa Rica. . . Guatemala . . . Salvador . . . . Spain Total , VIA CABO GRACIAS A. DIOS. United States England Germany Austria British Honduras. Total VIA GREY TOWN. United States . England France Germany Jamaica Colombia British Guiana Dollars, 48, 989. 45 54, 260. 65 9, 750. 81 15,115.19 185. 00 2, 747. 00 45- 00 no. 00 3, 868. 00 5,051.04 250. 00 9, 277. 00 149, 649. 14 76, 069. 40 19, 704. 25 597- 76 201. 50 2, 164. 07 98, 736. 98 240, 385. 93 54, 301. 08 19, 268. 64 24, 258. 94 11,011. 36 6, 684. 21 756. 74 Dollars. 81,273.45 21,461. 78 14, 956. 80 15, 554- 59 252. 00 352. 60 623. 59 58.00 3, 700. 29 586. 60 138, 820. 00 113, 796. 93 * Reports from the consuls of the United States, No, 150, March, 1893, p. 476, 94 NICARAGUA. IMPORTS — continued. Table shmving the value of imports during i8go-gi and i8gr—g2 — Continued. Whence imported. VIA GREY TOWN — continued. Ecuador Italy. Netherlands . . . Other countries Total VIA CORINTO. France England . Germany United States Italy Spain Ecuador Colombia Salvador Guatemala Costa Rica Cuba Mexico Honduras Argentine Republic. Total 1890-91. Dollars. 2, 023. 60 669. 20 2, 312. 94 30, 439. 01 392, III. 65 356, 556. 327, 655, 8g6. 07 992. 42 928. 47 636. 56 751.38 235.25 960. 02 787. 97 043. 68 739. 00 634. 20 I, 920, 605. 02 Dollars. 373, 703. 94 998, 2, 132, 1, 042, 1.497, 12, 31, 30, 43, 150, 23, 41, I, I, 144. 43 601. 38 055.43 650. 95 245. 74 465. 06 819. 28 568. 22 314. 77 709. 73 418.98 047. 10 199. ID 70.00 495- 36 6, 006, 805. 53 EXPORTS. Table showing the quantity of exports during i8go-gi and /8gi-g2. Articles, and whither exported. FROM CORINTO. To the United States : Coffee pounds. Mora do. . . Oxhides do . . . Deerskins do. . . Rubber do. . . FROM SAN JUAN DEL SUR. To the United States : Coffee pounds . . Rubber do Oxhides , do. . . . Deerskins do. . . . iSgo-'gi. Dollars. I, 190, 834 672, 000 153,458 65, 131 61,502 40, 151 6, 069 9,5" 6, 501 i89i-'92. Dollars. 718, 619 159,010 143, 353 55.251 169 1.943 7.363 NICARAGUA. 95 EXPORTS — continued. Table ihozving the quantity of exports during iSgo-gi and i8gt-g2 — Continued. Articles, and whither exported. iSgo-'gi. i89i-'92. FROM SAN JUAN DEL suR — Continued. To the United States — Continued. Brazil wood quintals. Cedar feet . Rosewood quintals. Cacao _ pounds. Mahogany feet. Do tons. To Germany: Coffee pounds . Oxhides do. . . Deerskins do. . . Rubber do. . . Anil do. . . To England : Oxhides do. . . Deerskins do. . . Rubber do . . Mora tons. Anil pounds. Coffee do . . . To France : Anil do . . . Deerskins do . . . Oxhides do. . . Rubber do. . . Coffee do . . . Rosewood quintals. To Salvador : Cheese pounds. Queso mantequilla do. . . Butter. do. . . To Guatemala: Cheese .do. . . Hilo morado do. . . Zuelos do. .. To Costa Rica : Cheese do. . . Starch do . . . Butter do. . . Rice do. . . Tobacco , do . . . Miscellaneous articles .do. . . FROM CABO GRACIOS k DIOS. To the United States : Rubber pounds . To countries other than the United States : Oxhides do. . . Deerskins do. . . Dollars. • 4,378 4,060 I. 195 90 14. 543 100, 385 111 845 1,350 2,531 747 I, 200 456 6 3,968 169, 795 732 250 1,617 709 2,032 510 53, 607 3, 220 203 30, 399 49, 141 49. 141 148, 554 5,619 568 Dollars. 169 9, 700 22 2,486 780 6,061 23, 120 5,006 70, 448 186 890 334 56 220 3,800 23, 480 90 171,155 13.218 1,313 96 NICARAGUA. EXPORTS — continued. Table shoiving the quantity of exports during i8go-'gi and i8gi-g2 — Continued. Articles, and whither exported. FROM CABO GRACios A Dios — Continued. To countries otiier tlian tlie United States — Continued. Tuna pounds, Rubber do. ., FROM GREY TOWN. To the United States : Coffee pounds. Rubber do. . . Oxhides do... Deerskins do. . . Anil do... Cocoanuts number. Feathers pounds. Gold ounces. Silver do . . To England : Coffee pounds. Rubber do. . . Anil do. .. Gold ounces. To Germany : Coffee pounds. Oxhides do. . . Gold "ounces. Deerskins pounds. To France : Coffee do . . Anil do... Rubber do. . . Deerskins do. . . Oxhides do. . . Cocoanuts number. Gold ounces. FROM BLUEFIELDS.* To the United States : Rubber pounds. Cocoanuts number. Bananas bunches. Oxhides pounds. Mahogany pieces. Gold value. iSgo-'gi. Do liars, 5. 460 I, 775, 319 292, 965 276, 092 82,059 11,473 8,832 49 161,078 10, 504 9,924 4,348 165, 934 I, 721 24 102, 941 5,312 460 500 I. 831 9,024 168 1891-99. Dollars. l,o83 I, 547, 569 300, 520 283, lOI loi, 084 5,312 48, 624 4 7, 260 214,419 5,515 5,071 155,157 9,013 2, 602 17, 060 2, 760 743 184, 335 108, 640 729, 000 97 340 32, 273 ♦From April i to September 30, 1893. NICARAGUA. EXPORTS — continued. Table showing the value of exports during iSgo-'gr and iSgi-'gi, 97 Whither exported. To the United States : From Corinto , From San Juan del Sur From Cabo Gracios 4 Dios From Grey Town . „ . . , From Bluefields* To Germany : From San Juan del Sur From Grey Town To England : From San Juan del Sur , From Grey Town , To France : From San Juan del Sur From Grey Town , To Spanish America, from San Juan del Sur To countries other than the United States, from Cabo Gracios 4 Dios. Dollars. 182, 722 13.996 74- 293 551.345 18,633 25,628 30. 215 126, 137 2,086 26, 661 24. 521 1.832 Dollars, 60, 051 7,476 85,768 593. 107 519. 234 2,486 25, 106 19, 669 i26, 293 5,006 17. 309 22, 046 2, 723 *From April i to September 30, 1892. There were exported from Grey Town also to Italy and Colombia in 1892 goods to the value of $2,336. William Newell. Consul. Bull. 61- 7 Chapter XII. POSTAL AND TELEGRAPH SERVICE. Nicaragua is a member of the Universal Postal Union. The mail service between the Republic and the United States is as follows : TO SAN JUAN DEL SUR AND CORINTO. From New York, by Pacific Mail steamers, via Colon, 1st, loth, and 20th of each month. From San Francisco, by Pacific Mail steamers, 3d, 13th, and 23d of each month. TO SAN JUAN DEL NORTE (gREYTOWn). From New York, by Pacific Mail steamers, via Colon, 1st, loth, and 20th of each month. Honduras and Central American line, twice a month TO BLUEFIELDS, From New Orleans, by Morgan line, every week; by Bluefields Banana Com- pany's steamers, twice a month. RATES OF POSTAGE TO AND FROM NICARAGUA. Letters. — Five cents in United States and 10 centavos in Nicaragua for each half ounce or fraction thereof. Postal cards. — Two cents in United States and 3 centavos in Nicaragua, each. Newspapers. — One cent in United States and 2 centavos in Nicaragua per 2 ounces. Registration fee.— Ttn cents in either country, but Nicaragua charges 5 cents for returned receipt. NICARAGUA. 99 Paste Restante letters. — The length of time for retaining in the offices of destination of unclaimed correspondence addressed " Poste restante" is six months in the office of destination and six months longer in the dead letter office of the central administration. The postal service in Nicaragua is in excellent condition and the business transacted is rapidly increasing. A money-order sys- tem is in operation in all the principal towns of the Republic, The postal receipts as stated in the latest official report, which is issued biennially, were: For year ending — June 30, 1889 $24, 275. 74 June 30, 1890 35, 774. 73 During the two years included in the biennial report referred to, 2,237,859 pieces of mail matter were handled. TELEGRAPH. The total length of telegraph lines in Nicaragua at date of the latest report was 1,549 miles, and of telephone 61 miles, as follows: Miles. National lines (73 offices). i, 454 Nicaragua Canal Company (7 offices) 95 1,549 National telephone 10 Private telephone 51 61 During the two years embraced in the latest official report, thirteen new offices were opened and 250 miles of new lines constructed. The business done in the two years was as follows : Value. Private messages, 215,413 $63, 773. 30 Official messages, 190,034 70,074. 80 At San Juan del Sur, on the Pacific coast, connection is made with the sub- marine cable, by which dispatches can be sent from any port of Nicaragua to any telegraph office in the world. The rates charged for messages from New York via Galveston are : To San Juan del Sur .... = ,,.,,.,.<,,.,., .per word. . $0. 97 To all other offices in Nicaragua , do. ... j,©? Number of cable messages transmit:t?4 ir? X\^ WO fearSj U1O37, Chapter XIII IMMIGRATION AND COI.ONIZATION. The laws of Nicaragua in regard to immigration and coloni- zation are very liberal. Foreigners can acquire real estate and dispose of it as freely as the Nicaraguan citizens. The provisions of the naturalization laws are also simple and liberal. Immigra- tion has not as yet been carried on to such an extent as the Gov- ernment and the people of the Republic could wish ; but no efforts are omitted to encourage it and push it rapidly to success. The Government encourages it by all possible means, and immigrants are sure to find in Nicaragua the most friendly welcome on the part of both the authorities and the people. At present there are no more than one thousand foreigners of different nationalities in the whole Nicaraguan territory. Out of this number five hundred have settled in the principal cities and are engaged in industrial and professional business. The balance are to be found on the eastern coast, where they, as a general rule, have become as attached to the country as if they were native Nicaraguans. The following is the text of the principal laws of Nicaragua, having a bearing on the subject, with which the Bureau of Amer- ican Republics has had any opportunity to become acquainted: LAW ON THE ACQUISITION BY ALIENS OF REAL ESTATE IN THE REPUB- LIC OF NICARAGUA. The President of the Republic to the inhabitants of the same: Whereas, some difficulties may be encountered in the carrying into effect of the provisions of the decree of March 30, of the present year^ concerning the acquisition of real estate by certain foreigners, IQQ NICARAGUA. lOl I do, therefore, decree: Article i. All foreigners shall have the power, without losing thereby their own nationality, to acquire public unoccupied lands on the same terms and con- ditions as required by law from the citizens of Nicaragua. Art. z. The decree of March 30, of the present year, and all other pro- visions heretofore enacted in regard to public unoccupied lands, which may in any way oppose the present decree, are hereby repealed. P. JoAguiN Chamorro. Managua, May S', iS/^. LAND AND COLONIZATION LAW. Decreed by the Senate and the Chamber of Representatives of the Republic of Nicaragua : Article 1. The Executive shall have authority to give to each family of im- migrants, coming from the United States, or of any other nationality whatso- ever, with the purpose of settling in the Republic, and becoming naturalized, a tract of public unoccupied lands not exceeding 120 manzanas; the said tract to be more or less extensive, within said limits, according to the number of per- sons composing the family. Single persons shall be allowed not more than 60 manzanas each. Art. 2. The immigrants herein referred to shall enjoy the same rights and privileges as native citizens in regard to commons and common lands. They shall be exempted, also, for the period of 10 years from municipal charges and from military service, unless such service is required for the preservation of the liberty and sovereignty of the Republic. Art. 3. The lands which shall be granted under the present law shall not be allowed to be sold, unless at least one-half of the area thereof be already under cultivation, and the grantee has become naturalized in due form of law. Art. 4. The Executive shall have also the power to grant similar concessions of lands to foreign immigrants, coming to Nicaragua, and who desire to preserve their respective citizenship ; but these concessions shall not transfer to these im- migrants the right of ownership of the land, but shall place them in the posi- tion of mere tenants or beneficiaries. The same shall be the case with those immigrants who come to the Republic with the purpose of becoming natural- ized, but do not carry their intentions into effect within the period established by law. This right shall last for only 10 years, and shall not be transmissible to third parties, except by inheritance, unless at least half of the ground granted has been placed under cultivation. At the expiration of the 10 years the right shall cease, whether the land be in the possession of the immigrant him- 102 NICARAGUA. self or of a third pejson. The ten years shall be counted from the date in which the tract of land is delivered to the grantee. Art. 5. No immigrant shall be entitled to the privileges of the present law who does not come provided with a passport issued in his favor by a Nicaragua Minister or Consul, residing in the country from which he comes, which pass- port shall be issued according to the instruction already given or hereafter to be given by the Government. NATURALIZATION LAW. The President of the Republic to the inhabitants of the same: Know ye that the Congress has enacted the following : Decreed by the Senate and Chamber of Deputies of the Republic of Nicara- gua: Article 1. Nicaraguan citizenship may henceforfh be acquired by foreigners, in addition to the regular method by which Congress is authorized to grant it under Section 9, of Article 41, of the Constitution, in the following ways: (1) If the applicant is a Central American, upon proof of his residence for one year within the Republic. (2) If the applicant proceeds from any other Spanish- American Republic, upon proof of the same residence for two years ; and if he is a foreigner of any other kind, four years' residence shall be required. Art. 2. It will be sufficient for the Central Americans, after their one year's residence has been completed, to state their desire to become naturalized in the Republic; but all other Spanish Americans shall be bound to make a declaration of their intention to become such citizens of Nicaragua. All other foreigners shall make this declaration one year before. Art. 3. Such Central Americans, Spanish Americans, and all other foreign- ers who have resided in the Republic before the promulgation of the present law, the length of time required in the preceding article shall only be required to declare their intention to become naturalized before the authority designated in the next following article. Art 4. The declaration of the purpose to settle in the Republic and become invested with all the rights of a citizen of Nicaragua shall be made to the city corporation, or to the local authority of the place in which the applicant wishes to be domiciled. Art. 5. The city corporation, or local authority, as the case may be, shall enter the application on the journal or book in which its respective proceed- ings are recorded, whereupon a proper certificate thereof shall be furnished the applicant, and a notice in writing shall be also given to the prefect of the de- NICARAGUA. IO3 partment. At the expiration of the time required, upon proper evidence of the fact of the residence, a certificate shall be issued in favor of the applicant, which shall be full evidence of his being a naturalized citizen of Nicaragua. The naturalization by act of Congress to which article l of the naturalization law refers has been frequently bestowed. The Nica- raguan Congress has shown no lack of liberality in this respect. Sefior Gamez states, upon authority of law (law of March lo, 1865), that immigrants from the United States of America domi- ciled in Nicaragua, even if retaining their American citizenship, are entitled to concessions of land, not exceeding 60 acres per family, and that they can hold and cultivate said lands as if they were their property during the whole time of their residence in Nicaragua. But if they declare their intention to become naturalized, and in due time acquire the Nicaraguan citizenship, then the lands which had been granted to them under the above provision shall become theirs in fee simple. Agriculturists of whatever nationality, who may be willing to undertake the cultivation of coffee, on a larger scale than 5,000 trees, in the departments of Nueva Segovia, Matagalpa, or Chon- tales, will receive from the Government a premium of 5 cents per tree. This privilege will cease in the year 1897. (Laws of March 14, 1879, ^^^ April 8, 1889.) Those who may engage in the cultivation of cacao, in larger number than 3,000, trees, will receive from the Government a pre- mium of 2 1 cents on each tree over four years old. This privilege will cease in 1901. (Law of December 15, 1871.) Those who may engage in the cvltivation of the India-rubber tree are granted a premium of 10 cents per tree. This privilege will cease in 1897. Those who may engage in the cultivation of the cabuya (Agave americana) are granted a premium of one-half cent per plant. This privilege expires in 1894. (Law of March 16, 1889.) The cultivators of pta (Bromelia) and of cabuya are granted 104. NICARAGUA. an additional premium of $1 on each 100 pounds of fiber which they may obtain. They are also entitled to $3 for each 100 pounds of fiber exported by them. Machinery and implements of all kinds to be used for the disintegration of these two plants and the proper preparation of the fiber thereof, are admitted free, and are exempted also from taxes and local charges. The ex- penses of transportation of said machinery and implements are paid by the Government (Law of March 13, 1883.) ..^r:--^ri o Chapter XIV. HISTORICAL AND BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTES. The history of Nicaragua may be divided naturally into three different periods, namely : 1. The Colonial period, from the discovery (1502) to the proc- lamation of independence from Spain and the formation of the Central American Confederation (1821). 2. The Federal period, from 1821 to 1848, in which year the Central American Confederation ceased to exist. 3. The period of the Republic, from 1848 to the present time. Colonial Period. — The most prominent figure in the subjugation of the territory called Nicaragua was Gil Gonzalez de Avila, who found the country under the rule of a cacique, named Nicarao. The latter's capital was situated on the shore of the great lake, then called Cocibolca, near the site of the present city of Rivas. The Spaniards named this lake Nicarao-agua, or water of Nicarao. The name Nicaragua was thus created, and it has since been be- stowed on the whole Republic. The history of the long Spanish rule in Nicaragua is more or or less the same as in all the other countries in America which be- longed to Spain, and need not be repeated here. Federal Period. — On the 15th of September, 1821, Guatemala, to which Nicaragua had been attached as a province, proclaimed its independence from Spain. This movement was followed by Nicaragua and the other provinces, and the Central American Confederation was formed. But this federation did not live long. 105 106 NICARAGUA. Nicaragua and Honduras withdrew from the Union and pro- claimed themselves "free and sovereign states," and when Gen. Morazon, the great advocate of the federation, died in 1840, the cause of the Union was lost. Though efforts have been made from time to time to reunite the Central American Republics, all have failed, and Nicaragua has continued to control its own gov- ernment. Period of the RepiMk. — This period witnessed the British inva- sion of 1847, ^^ "filibustering" expedition of William Walker in 1855, the settlement of the question of limits with Costa Rica by the treaty of April 15", i85'8, and the award of President Cleve- land who declared it valid, and the initiation of the great work of the interoceanic canal. In spite of occasional political troubles, the progress of Nica- ragua has been uninterrupted and rapid. Public attention is ab- sorbed by the important enterprise of the interoceanic canal. The entire civilized world has joined Nicaragua in her expectations in regard to this work, and it is hoped that, through it, she will attain an extraordinary position of prosperity and power, to which she was evidently predestined by nature, as a great highway of nations and a gateway of the world's commerce. The following list of books on Nicaragua can be consulted with profit by those who may wish to be informed, from reliable sources, in regard to that country: NICARAGUAN OFFICIAL PUBLICATIONS. Mensaje que S. E. el Senor General Presidente, Doctor Don Roberto Sacasa dirige al Congreso de la Republica, January 4, 1893. Informe presentado al Honorable Senor Ministro de la Gobernacidn por el Director-General de Correos y Telegrafos. i889-'90. Informe de la Comisi6n Nicaragiiense en la Exposici6n Historica Americana de Madrid. 1893. Memoria de Relaciones Exteriores. Republica de Nicaragua. i889-'90. Ap^ndice a la Memoria de Relaciones Exteriores e Instrucci6n Publica. Re- publica de Nicaragua. 1891. NICARAGUA. IO7 Breves Noticias de la Republica de Nicaragua mandadas Publicar de Orden del Ministro de Relaciones Exteriores. 1892. UNITED STATES OFFICIAL PUBLICATIONS. 1. Reports on the commerce and inventions of Nicaragua, and on the revenue of the same Republic. In Nos. 53, 54, and 64 of the "Reports of the Consuls of the United States." 2. Report on the trade of the district of Greytown in i889-'90. In "Diplo- matic and Consular Reports," 1891. No. 913. 3. Report of the United States Nicaraguan survey party, 1885, by Civil Engi- neer A. G. Menocal, U. 8. Navy. BRITISH OFFICIAL PUBLICATIONS. 1. Report by Mr. Edwin Corbett, British Charge d' Affaires, May 29, 1869. In "Reports by Her Majesty's Secretaries of Embassy and Legation." No. IV. 1869. London, 1869. 2. Report by Consul GoUan on the commerce of Greytown and the construc- tion of an interoceanic canal through Nicaragua. January, 1876. In "Reports of Her Majesty's Consuls." No. 8. 1876. 3. Report by Consul Gollan on the trade and commerce of Nicaragua. Janu- ary, 1877. In "Reports of Her Majesty's Consuls." No. 8. 1887. 4. Reports by Consul Jessel on the commerce of Nicaragua, and by Consul Bingham on the commerce of Greytown. 1882. 5. Other reports of British Consuls in 1883, 1884, 1885. UNOFFICIAL PUBLICATIONS. Belly, N. Percement de I'isthme de Panama par le canal de Nicaragua. Paris, 1885. ix Belt, Thomas. The Naturalist in Nicaragua. London, 1873. Biilow, A. von. Der Freistaat Nicaragua in Mittelamerika. Berlin, 1849. Keller, J. Le canal de Nicaragua. Paris, 1859. ^ Levy, P. Notas geograficas y econ6micas sobre la Republica de Nicaragua. Paris, 1873. Marr, Wilhelm. Reise nach Centralamerica. Hamburg, 1863. Scherjer, Karl Ritter von. Wanderungen durch die mittelamerikanischen Frei- staaten. Braunschweigh, 1857. Squier, E. G. Sketches of travel in Nicaragua. New York, 1851. Squier, E. G. Nicaragua, its people, scenery, monuments, and the proposed interoceanic canal. London, 1852. io8 NICARAGUA. Whetham, J. W. Bodhain. Across Central America. London, 1877. Plata u Oro. Managua, 1892. Algunas palabras sobre la cuesti6n monetaria. Managua, 1892. Catecismo de historia patria de la Republica de Nicaragua, por Jos6 D. Gamez. Managua, 1889. Nicaragua Canal. Report on prospective tonnage of traffic by the Nicaragua Canal Construction Company. New York, 1890. Notes on the Nicaragua Ship Canal, by W. I. Chambers. La Costa de Mosquitosj por J. B. Calvo. Guatemala, 1890. Appendix A. IMPORT DUTIES OF NICARAGUA. DERECHOS DE IMPORTACION EN NICARAGUA. In the preparation of these tables the official classification of the Nicaraguan tariff has been followed, which differs materially from that of the United States. The valuations expressed in English are calculated on the basis of the official valua- tion of foreign coins issued by the Director of the Mint of the United States, July i, 1891, in which the peso is valued 73.6 cents United States currency. Duties are assessed on gross weight, no deduction being made for the package. Articles. Duty per pound. Artfculos. Derechos per libra. Cotton and manufactiires of cotton. Trimmings for dresses Dollars. 0.368 . no .147 .007 ,022 .368 . 221 .294 .442 .147 .088 Algodones. Adornos para vestidos Pesos. 0. 50 .15 • 20 Damask, tablecloths, napkins, and any other damask textures. Alemanisco, damasco, manteles, servilletas y cualquier otro tejido adamascado Carpets and mats, of shag Cotton, raw, in the seed Cotton, without seed Alfombras afelpadas Algod6n en rama con pepita Algod6n sin pepita .01 •03 .50 .30 Antimacassars and all kinds of textures of net or for crocheting, not otherwise specified Barege or balzarine, dress goods, imitation of wool, plain or with stripes, squares, or flowers of cotton Antimacasares y todo tejido de punto de red 6 al crochet, no especificado Bareje 6 balsarina, genero para trajes, imitaciondelana, llanos 6 con listas, cuadros 6 flores. . Bareje 6 balsarina, genero para trajes, imitaci6n de lana, con listas, cuadros 6 flores de lana. Bareje 6 balsarina, genero para trajes, imitacion de lana, con listas, cuadros 6 flores de seda. Bandana lisa 6 labrada de cual- quier color Barege or balzarine, dress goods, imitation of wool, with stripes, squares, or flowers of wool Barege or balzarine, dress goods, imitation of wool, with stripes, squares, or flowers of silk Bandana, plain or figured and of any color .40 .60 . 20 Irish linen, jean, madapolam, im- perial, etc., and any other sim- ilar bleached texture, under whatever name •• 1 1 • f t •••>••• • Bogotana, estribilla, irlanda, co- quillo, madapolan, setin, im- perial y cualquier otro tejido blanqueado semejante, con cualquier otro nombre .13 fo? no NICARAGUA. Articles. Cotton and mannfactnres of cotton — Continued. Cambric muslin and long lawn, printed, worked, or figured. . . . Cambric muslin, gauze or muslin or any other similar texture with stripes, squares, or flowers of wool Shirts, nightshirts, shirt fronts, collars, cuffs, trousers, coats, jackets, drawers, and similar articles, white or colored, plain or worked, for men or women. , Shirts, with linen collars, cuffs, and bosoms , Undershirts and drawers,of stock- inet Canvas for tapestry Table covers Corduroys, of all kinds, for men's wear , Tapes or ferret ribbons, webbing for boots, plain, fancy, white or colored Velveteen ribbons of all kinds. . , Counterpanes, plain or damasked, calendered or worked, with or without fringe, and any other quilted texture Cords, tassels, and fringes, for curtains and other similar uses. Corsets, finished or not , Lace curtains and bed covers ... Curtains and bed covers of dam- ask or any other similar texture White crea or stuffs for sheeting, etc Creas, etc Drills, satinets, imitation cassi- meres, etc. , for men Embroidered skirts or petticoats Laces Socks for men and children Socks, with woolen or silken clocks or embroidered for men and children, . 1 1» • Duty per pound. DtUart. .221 255 .184 .258 , 162 ,096 , II .132 , 132 ,368 II 221 ,28 ,368 ,147 ,096 . 132 . II .221 .442 .184 .221 Artfculos. Algodones — Continda. Cambray y estopillas estampa- das, trabajadas 6 labradas. . . . Cambray, gasa 6 muselinati otro tejido semcjante con listas, cuadros 6 flores de lana Camisas, camisones, pecheras, cuellos, pufios, pantalones, sacos, chaquetas, calzoncillos ycualquier otra obra blanca6 de color, lisa 6 librada, para hombre 6 mujer Camisas con cuello, pufios y pechera de lino Camisolas y calzoncillos de punto de medias Canamazo Carpetas Casinetes, casicuero 6 terciopelo de algodon, para vestido de hombre Cintas de reata 6 hiladillo, cintas para botin' lisas 6 labradas, blancas 6 de color Cintas de pana 6 terciopelo de algod6n y cualquiera otras semejantes Colchas lisas 6 adamascadas, prensadas 6 labradas, con fleco 6 sin 61 ycualquier otro tejido acolchado Cordones, borlas y fiecos para cortinas y otros usos seme- jantes Corses hechos 6 en cortes Cortinas ysobrecamas de punto 6 tejido de encajes Cortinas y sobrecamas de da- masco fi otro tejido semejante. Crea blanca 6 tela para sdbanas 6 manta de la China Creas, 6 enagiiillas Driles, rasetes, panillas, imita- ci6n casimires, etc., para hombres Enaguas 6 fustanes bordados. . . Encajes Escarpines, 6 calcetines para hombres 6 nifios Escarpines 6 calcetines con listas 6 adornos de lana 6 seda para bombres 6 nifiost * < t • t . t » • • • • Derechos por libra. NICARAGUA. Ill Articles. Cotton and mannfactures of cotton — Continued, Waistbands, braces, belts, and garters Fringes for trimming dresses Blankets, covers, and ponchos. .. Gambroon, Italian cloth, and ladies' cloth Gauzes and muslins, for bed cur- tains or curtains and any other similar texture Gauzes, muslins, printed, worked, or figured White gauzes, plain or embroid- ered Batistes of low quality, plain or worked Fancy stuffs not otherwise spec- ified, plain or worked, with stripes, squares, or flowers of wool for ladies' dresses Fancy stuffs, with stripes, squares, or flowers of silk Children's caps, plain or with cotton trimmings Children's caps, with woolen or silk trimmings , Gloves and caps, plain or em- broidered , Ginghams of all kinds , Hammocks Sewing thread for hand or ma- chine, white or colored, on wooden or metal spools Sewing, embroidering, or knitting thread, in balls or hanks Druggets and floor coverings of all kinds, without pile Lawns or fine cambric, plain or worked Canvas for sails, bed sacking, or other uses Yarn, raw or bleached Yarn, colored Domestics, unbleached, of all kinds and widths Domestics, with colored stripes and squares Drills, unbleached or bleached, bedticking, drills, blue, etc., or striped in colors ........... Duty per pound. Dollars. . 221 ,368 .257 .184 .199 . 162 .132 .294 .442 .294 ,442 .368 . 132 . II . 10 .118 .074 .199 .088 .044 .066 .052 .074 .065 Artfculos. Algodones — Continda. Fajas, tirantes y ligas Flecos para adornos de vestidos. Frazadas 6 cobertores y ponchos. Gambron, pano de Italia y pafio de damas Gasas y muselinas para pabe- Uones 6 cortinas y cualquier otro tejido semejante Gasas 6 muselinas estampadas, trabajadas 6 labradas Gasa lisa 6 labrada blanca Gasa-zaraza de tejido liso 6 la- brado Genero de fantasia, liso, 6 labra- do, con listas, cuadros 6 flores de lana para vestidos de senora, no especificados Gfenero de fantasia con listas, cuadros 6 flores de seda Gorros para ninos, sin adornar6 adornados con algodon Gorros para ninos adornados con lana 6 seda Guantes y birretes, lisos 6 bor- dados Guinga 6 guingam Hamacas Hilo para coser d mano 6 en mdquina, bianco 6 de color, en garruchas de madera 6 metal Hilo para coser, bordar 6 tejerd mano, en ovillos 6 madejas. . . Jergon, genero para pisos de toda clase Linon i\ oldn clarin, liso 6 la- brado Lona para velas de embarca- ciones, forros de catres y otros usos Madejon crudo 6 blanqueado. . . Madej6nde cualquier otro color. Manta lisa cruda, de toda clase y ancho Manta 4 listas y cuadros de color. Manta-dril cruda 6 blanqueada, cotin, manta-dril azul, caf6 6 4 listas de color. , Derechos por libra. Pesos. 30 50 12 35 .25 27 22 ,40 ,60 ,40 ,60 .50 ,18 .15 .14 .16 , 10 .27 , 12 ,06 ,09 .07 .10 112 NICARAGUA. Articles. Duty per pound. Artfculos. Derechos por libra. Cotton and manufactures of cotton — Continued. Mantillas, shawls, and similar articles of lace Dollars. .368 . 132 . 184 . 221 .368 .147 ,044 .258 . IIO . 184 . 132 . 162 .294 .442 .368 .368 .442 . 184 .221 .515 . 132 .074 . II Algodones— Continfia. Mantillas, paiiolones yartlculos semejantes de punto Pesos. SO Wicks, for smokers and lamps. . . Mechas para fumadores y para alumbrado . l8 Stockings for men, women, or children Medias para hombres, mujeres 2^ Stocki ngs with any kind of woolen or silken embroidery, for men, women, or children Medias conlistas 6 adornos de lana6 seda para hombres, mu- jeres 6 nifios . 30 Small wares, not specified Obras de pasamaneria no espe- cificadas , SO Bishop's or Victoria lawn, or any other similar cloth, plain or worked Oldn de obispo 6 Victoria, 6 cualquier otro tejido seme- . 20 Candle wick Pdbilo .06 Corduroy or velveteen, plain or worked, and any similar article. Pana 6 terciopelo de algod6n, liso 6 lab rado,y cualquier otro articulo semejante . t; Towels of all kinds. Paiios de mano 6 tohallas Paiiuelos y panolones de muse- lina, rasete, olin, zaraza, co- quilloy de cualquieraotra cali- dad, lisos, asargados 6 bor- dados . I"! Handkerchiefs and shawls, of muslin, satinet, batiste, chintz, jean, or any other texture, plain, twilled, or embroidered. . . 2S Percales, plain or worked, and piqu6, for ladies' wear Pique for vests Percalaslisas 6 labradas y pique para mujer 18 . 22 Poplin or any similar texture, with stripes, squares, or flowers of wool Poplin u otro tejido semejante con listas, cuadros 6 flores de lana . 40 Poplin, etc., with stripes, squares or flowers of silk Poplin fi otro tejido semejante, con listas, cuadros 6 flores de seda .60 Lace nets for bed curtains and curtains Punto para pabell6n y cortinas, tejido de encajes ... . . SO Bobinet, tulle, crape, and similar textures, plain or worked Bobinet, etc., with gold or silver embroidery Punto, tul, crespon y tejidos semejantes, lisos 6 labrados. . . Punto, tul, cresp6n y tejidos semejantes escarchados Raso, rasete y cualquier otro tejido semejante para mujer . . Rebozos .50 6a Sateen, satinet, or any similar texture for ladies' wear Rebozos (Central American shawls) •25 • 30 Rebozos mezclados con seda. . . . Sdndalo, lustrina, coletilla 6 cualquiera otra tela paraforro de vestidos Rebozos, mixed with silk Silesias, lustring, nankeen, or any other similar cloth for dress lining . 70 18 Sacks and bags Sacos 6 costales . 10 Traveling bags, saddlebags, and 3,nd other similar articles, ..... Sacos de noche, bolsas, alforjas y cualquier otro articulo seme- jantes.. .15 NICARAGUA. ir Articles. Cotton and manufactures of cotton — Continued. Materials for hammocks, carriage curtains, mattresses, and other uses Satin stripe batistes, printed .... Embroideries, edgings, and in- sertions Dresses made up, or in lengths, of lawn, muslin, tulle, cambric, net, or like textures, embroid- ered Dresses, etc., of cambric, muslin, percales, satinet, or any other similar texture, trinuned Dresses in lengths, plain or with- out trimmings. (.S^,? cloth of which they may be made.) Braids of all kinds Baptismal dresses Chintzes, plain or figured Wool and woolen goods. Ladies' wraps Ladies' wraps trimmed with silk. Carpets, rugs, and similar articles Alpacas and other similar tex- tures, plain or worked Antimacassars Mats, for lamps and other uses. . Sashes Barege or balzarine, plain or worked, for ladies' wear. Bar6ge with stripes, squares, or flowers of silk Baize, flannel, or any other similar texture Mufflers, comforters, and other similar articles Brocades Socks, stockings, undervests, drawers, and other articles of similar webbing , Shirts of all kinds, plain, figured, or embroidered , Table covers Cassimeres, broadcloths, Vene- tians, and other similar textures Bull, 51™-^a Duty per pound. , 162 .736 ,442 .368 .294 .368 .132 .589 736 ,294 ,442 ,294. .368 .368 .552 .368 ,368 .552 ,368 331 552 Articulos. Algodones — C ontinda, Tela 6 genero para hamacas, cor- tinas de carros, colchones y otros usos Tela real estampada para mujer Tiras y metidos bordados Trajes hechos 6 en cortes, de lin6n, muselina, tul, cambray, punto 6 tejidos semejantes bordados Trajes hechos 6 en cortes, de cambray, muselina, percala, rasete y tejidos semejantes, adornados Trajes en cortes, lisos 6 sin adornos. ( Vdase el g6nero de que fueren.) Trencillas de toda clase Vestidos bautismales Zarazas, lisas 6 labradas Lauas. Abrigos para senoras Abrigos para senoras con ador- nos de seda Alfombras, tapetes y articulos semejantes Alpaca y cualquier otro tejido semejante, liso 6 labrado. . . . Antimacasares Asientos para lamparas y otros usos Bandas Bareje 6 balsarina.lisa 6 labrada, para vestidos de mujer Bareje 6 balsarina para id., con listas, cuadros 6floresde seda Bayetas, franelay cualquier otro tejido semejante Bufandasy articulos semejantes Brocades Calcetines6 escarpines, medias, camisolas, calzoncillosy cual- esquiera otros articulos tejido de medias Camisas de cualquier tejido, lisas, labradas 6 bordadas. . . Carpetas Casimires, pafios, satinesy cual- quier otro tejido semejante, , . Derechos por libra. Pesos. 114 NICARAGUA. Articles. Wool and woolen goods — Continued. Shawls, capes, cloaks, and simi- lar articles Shawls, etc., embroidered with silk or with silk lace or fringe. Blankets, rugs, and ponchos Tapes and ribbons or fringes. . . . . Cords, tassels, fringes and borders for curtains, doors, windows, and similar uses. . . . . Uppers for slippers, printed or embroidered , Cubicas, lastings and similar tex- tures, plain or worked Damasks Damasks with silk flowers Laces Waist bands, braces, and garters Fringes and trimmings for dresses Gauzes, muslins, and any other similar cloth, plain or worked, for ladies' dresses Fancy dress stuffs with silk squares, stripes, or flowers. . . . Gloves and caps, plain or em- broidered Sewing and embroidering thread Woolen yarn for weaving Frieze, and similar textures Coarse floor cloths of all kinds. . Wool, raw Wool in skeins, loose or twisted, for sewing and embroidering. . Saddlecloths Merinos and cashmeres, and similar textures, plain or worked Small wares Trousers, jackets, coats, and all kinds of men's ready-made clothing Sheepskin rugs, long or short hair Lace, tulle, crape, and similar texture in pieces or made up. . Serge and similar textures. ..... Bed covers Dresses in lengths, or ready- made, or any parts of same, plain or trimmed. Duty per pound. Dollars. .580 .736 . 132 .442 .368 ■552 ,883 .589 .331 .515 .368 .552 .589 ,294 .I84 .257 ,147 .074 .294 . 221 368 589 ,662 ,294 .552 .368 .552 736 Artlculos. Lanas — Continda. Chales, panoletas, mantos 6 pafiolones y articulos seme- jantes Chales, panoletas, mantos 6 paiiolones bordados con seda 6 con blonda 6 fleco de seda. Chamarras, frazadas, mangas y ponchos Cintas 6 franjas Cordones, borlas, fldcos y blon- das para cortinas, puertas, ventanas y usos semejantes. . Cortes parachinelasestampadas 6 bordadas Cfibicas, duraderas y tejidos se- mejantes, lisos 6 labrados. . . Damascos Damascos con fiores de seda. . . Encajes Fajas, tirantes y ligas Flecos y adornos para vestidos. Gasas, muselinas y cualquiera otra tela, lisa 6 labrada para vestido de mujer Genero de fantasia, con cuadros, listas 6 fiores de seda Guantes y birretes lisos 6 bor- dados Hilo para coser 6 bordar Hilo para tejer (madej6n) Jergas y tejidos semejantes. . . . Jergon, genero para pisos, de toda clase Lana en bruto Lana en madejas, suelta 6 torci- da para coser 6 bordar Mantillones Merino, cachemira y tejidos se- mejantes, lisos 6 labrados. . . Obras de pasamaneria Pantalones, sacos, levitasy toda clase de rope hecha para hombre Pellones o zaleas Punto, tdl, cresp6ny tejidos se- mejantes, en piezas fi obras. . Sarga y tejidos semejantes Sobrecamas Trajes en cortes 6 hechosy cual- quiera otra pieza lisa 6 ador- nada para vestido de mujer. . NICARAGUA. 115 Articles. Duty per pound. Artlculos. Derechos por libra. Wool and woolen goods— Continued. Dresses, etc., trimmed with silk. Braids of all kinds Dollars. .883 .368 .022 •037 .074 .096 .147 .015 . II . II .014 .088 .147 .258 .368 .383 .442 .405 .552 .221 .405 .405 .552 .206 .405 .553 Lanas— Continda. Trajes en cortesohechosy cual- quiera otra pieza adornada con sedapara vestido demujer. . . . Trencillas de toda clase NoTA. — Todo articulo de lana mezclado con algodon 6 lino pagara como lana, y los no espe- cificados y mezclados con seda pagardn como seda. Cauamos. Bramante de toda clase Pesos. I. 20 Note. — Articles of wool mixed with cotton or linen pay as wool, and articles not specially enu- merated of wool mixed with silk pay as silk. Hemp and manufactures of hemp. Bagging of all kinds .01 Cordaere or risrsfinaf .Ci Hemp, common, for sewing.loose, in skeins or twisted Canvas for crewel-work, etc . . . . - Canamo ordinario suelto, en madejas 6 torcido para coser. . . 10 Drills raw or bleached Driles crudos 6 blanqueados. . . . Estopa 6 cailamo en rania Panos de mano 6 tohallas Rusia, brin 6 crehuela 2C Tow or hemp, undressed Towels .02 . I'? Russia duck, sailcloth or osna- . I"! bu rg Sacos 6 costales Sacks and bao^s 02 Hemp cloth, such as canvas Linen and linen goods. Damask and other similar tex- tures Tela de caiiamo como lona Linos. Alemanisco, damasco y tejidos . 12 Britanny, Irish linen, long lawn, white crea, and similar textures. Bretafia, irlanda,estopilla, royal, crea blanca y tejidos seme- jantes . '^5 Drawers for men Calzoncillos para hombres Camisas y pecheras lisas Camisas y pecheras bordadas. . . Camisones, calzoncillos, sacos y cualquiera otro obra lisa 6 la- brada para mujer Shirts and shirt fronts, plain Shirts, etc., embroidered •52 6c Chemises, drawers, bodices, and any other article, plain or figured, for women's wear Chemises, etc., embroidered . "^"i Camisones, calzoncillos, sacos y cualquiera otra obra bordada para mujer 7"^ Nankeen, etc., hollands and other similar tissues, raw or colored Cotray, coleta, holanday tejidos semejantes, crudos 6 de color. Cuellos y pufios para hombres. . Cuellosy punoslisos paramujer. Cuellos y pufios bordados para .3c Collars and cufTs for men Collars, etc., plain, for women. . . Collars, etc., embroidered, for women ■ 55 • 55 Drill, plain or worked Dril militar, liso 6 labrado Enaguas 6 fustanes, lisos 6 la- 28 Skirts and petticoats, plain or worked Skirts, embroidered Ensiguas 6 fustanes bordados , .. •71 ii6 NICARAGUA. Articles. Linen and manufactures of linen — Continued. Laces, fringes, and trimmings of an}' kind for women Thread on wooden or metal spools Thread in skeins or hanks, or other forms for sewing or em- broidering Linen yarn for weaving , Canvas and duck , Tablecloths and napkins Small wares not otherwise speci- fied Linen cambric Trousers, coats, drawers, and other articles not otherwise specified, for men Handkerchiefs, shawls, and simi- lar articles, embroidered , Handkerchiefs, etc., plain , Sheeting Embroider)', edgings, and inser- tions , Dresses, in lengths or made up, or any other article trimmed for women's dresses Dresses, etc., embroidered, not otherwise specified. , Note. — Articles of linen mixed with cotton pay duty as linen. Silk and silk goods. Trimmings of all kinds, fringes, braids, cords, etc Silk alpacas and Chinese silks. . . Sashes of Canton crape, net, lace, or any other texture Tassels, guipures, fringes, and cords for curtains and similar uses Brocades, plain, worked, or em- broidered Brocades, plain, worked, or em- broidered with gold or silver. . Canton crape Undershirts, stockings, drawers, and socks Table covers, plain, worked, or cuibroidcred Duty per pound. .736 , IIO , 132 ,074 ,088 ,147 .736 .442 .368 .552 ,442 .184 552 736 1.472 1. 104 1.288 I. 104 1.472 1.656 1.472 1.472 1, 47» Artfculos. Linos — Continfia. Encajes, blondas y adornos de toda clase para mujer Hilo en garruchas de madera 6 metal Hilo en medcjas, ovillo 6 en cualquiera otra forma para coser 6 bordar Hilo para tejer (madejon) Manta lona Manteles y servilletas Obras de pasamaneria no espe- cificadas Oldn batista Pantalones, sacos, calzoncillosy cualquiera otra obra no espe- cificada, para hombre Pafiuelos, panoletas y panolo- nes, bordados Pafiuelos, panoletas, panolones y articulos semejantes, lisos. Tela para sdbanas Tiras y metidos bordados Trajes en cortes 6 hechos, 6 cualquiera otrapieza adorna- da para vestidos de mujer. . . Trajes en cortes 6 hechos, 6 cualquiera otra pieza bordada 3' no especificada para vestidos de mujer NoTA. — Todo articulo delino mezclado con algodon se repu- tara como lino. Sedas. Adornos de toda clase, flecos, trencillas, cordones, etc , Alpaca de seda 6 genero chino. . Bandas de burato, redecilla, punto 6 cualquier otro tejido. . Borlas, blondas, flecos y cordo- nes para cortinas y usos seme- jantes Brocado liso, labrado 6 bordado. Brocado liso, labrado 6 bordado con oro 6 plata Burato Camisolas, medias, calzoncillos y escarpines Carpetas lisas, labradas 6 bor- Derechos por libra. KICARAGUA. 117 Articles. Silk and silk goods— Continued. Tapes and ribbons of all kinds. . . Cravats for men or women Damasks and similar textures. . . . Laces Gauze, muslin, lawn, crape, lace, tulle, and similar textures Children's hoods or caps Gros, taffeta, serge, satin, and any similar tissues, plain, worked, or embroidered Gloves and caps Garters Handkerchiefs, plain, worked, or embroidered Shawls, wraps, and cloaks, plain, worked, or embroidered Rebozos (Central American shawl). Rebozos, half cotton and half silk . Coats, jackets, or any other made- up article for men Floss or twisted silk on bobbins. Floss, etc., in skeins Velvet, plain or worked Braces and waistbands Ladies' dresses in lengths or made up, or any other article of dress for ladies, plain, worked, or embroidered Sacerdotal robes, or vestments for images, ministers, or servants of the church, as dalmaticas, chasubles, mantles, palls, etc., ornamented or not, with gal- loon or embroidery Note. — Articles of silk mixed with cotton, wool, or linen pay duty as silk. Metals and manufactures. Steel in bars or plates Needlesof steel or any other met- al, other than gold or silver. . . . Packingneedles for sewing sacks, etc Iron or steel wire of any thick- ness, galvanized or not Copper wire Pins, clasps, eyelets, hooks, hair- pins . ,,,, ,,,, , Duty per pound. Dollars. 1.288 I. 251 1.472 1.84 1.325 I. 104 1.472 2. 208 .515 1.288 1.472 1.472 .515 1.472 •736 I. 104 1.472 I. 104 1.472 .014 .368 . 221 .029 .037 . 221 Articulos. Sedas — Continua. Cintas 6 listones de toda clase. . . Corbatas para hombre 6 mujer. . Damasco y tejidos semejantes.. Encajes Gasa, muselina, olan, crespon, punto, tuly tejidos semejantes, Gorros para ninos Gro, tafetin, sarga, raso y cual- quier otro tejido semejante, liso, labrado 6 bordado Guantes y birretes Ligas Pafiuelos, lisos, labrados 6 bor- dados Pafiolones, chales, manteletas, lisos, labrados 6 bordados . . . Rebozos Rebozos de media-seda (seda y algodon) Sacos 6 cualquiera otra obra tra- bajada para hombre Seda fl[oja6torcida encarreteles. Seda fioja otorcidaen madejas. . Terciopelo liso 6 labrado Tirantes y fajas Trajes en cortes 6 hechos, y cualquiera otra pieza para vestido de senora, lisos, labra- dos 6 bordados Vestiduros sacerdotales 6 vesti- dos para imdgenes, ministros 6 sirvientes de iglesia, como dalmaticas, casullas, mantos, palios. etc., esten 6 no adorna- dos con galon 6 bordaduras . . NoTA. — Articulos de seda mezclados con algodon, lana 6 lino pagardn como seda. Acero en barras 6 planchas Agujas de acero 6 de otro metal, no siendo oro ni plata Agujas grandes para coser sacos. Alambre de hierro 6 acero de cualquiergrueso, seao nogal- vanizado Alambre de cobra Alfileres, gafetes, ojetes, horqui- Ilas y ganchos para el pelo Derechos por libra. Pesos. 1-75 1. 70 2. 00 2. 50 I. 80 1.50 1-75 2. 00 2.00 .70 2. 00 1. 00 1.50 2. 00 1.50 2.50 50 .30 .04 .05 ,30 ii8 NICARAGUA. Articles. Metals and manufactures — Cont'd. Imitation gold and silver jewelry of all kinds Gold jewelry of all kinds Silver jewelry of all kinds Gold and silver jewelry set with precious stones Anchors, chains for ships, ma- chinery, wagon tires, nails, screws, rivets, round-headed nails, bolts, balconies, and grates, whether of cast iron or not Fishhooks Chandeliers and candelabra of any kind of metal, with the ex- ception of gold and silver Side arms, such as swords, dag- gers, rapiers, and sabers Firearms, percussion, as guns in separate or parts or finished. . . . Firearms, such as revolvers or pistols Firearms, precision (by special permission of the Government). Guns for shooting galleries, fire and air, up to 6 millimetres cali- ber Firearms for purposes of war, as rifles, cannons, mitrailleuses, etc. (prohibited). Pails, tubs, axles, carriage springs, kitchen utensils, and similar articles Bayonets (prohibited). Iron hinges Copper or brass hinges Brass or copper in bars or sheets Brass articles of all kinds not oth- erwise specified Cables, iron or steel Chains for dogs or horses Safes and chests for keeping money or valuables Padlocks, locks, door knockers, bolts, ke)'s, picklocks, sash bolts, jambs, knobs, and any ar- ticles for doors and windows not otherwise specified Duty per pound. Pinchers and pans of galvanized iron Dollars. 1.84 7-36 4.416 II. 04 ,014 .147 .074 .736 . 132 1.472 I. 104 .552 .022 .029 .044 •037 ,096 ,014 ,022 ,022 Articulos. Metales — Contintia, Alhajas de toda clase, imitacion de oro 6 plata, como double, plaqu6 6 cualquier otro metal. Alhajas de oro de toda clase. . . . Alhajas de plata de toda clase . , Alhajas de oro 6 plata con pie- dras preciosas , Anclas, cadenas para embarca- ciones, maquinaria 6 carretas, llantas, clavos, remaches, per- nos, balcones, y verjas, scan 6 no de hierro fundido Derechos por libra. 059 ■059 Anzuelos Aranasy candelabros de cual- quier metal, no siendo oro ni plata Armas blancas, como espadas, dagas, floretes y sables Armas de fuego, de piston, como escopetas,en piezas 6 armadas. Armas de fuego como rev61vers 6 pistolas Armas de fuego de precision (con permiso especial delGobierno). Armas de salon, de fuego 6 aire, calibre hasta de 6 millmetros . Armas de fuego para ej^rcito, co- mo rifles, canones, ametralla- doras, etc. (prohibidas). Baldes, banaderas, ejes, muelles para carruajes, utensilios de cocina de toda clase y articulos semejantes Bayonetas (prohibidas). Bisagras de hierro Bisagras de cobre 6 bronce Bronce 6 cobre en liminas 6 barras Bronce en obras de toda clase no especificadas Cables de hierro 6 acero Cadenas para perros 6 caballos. . Cajas 6 areas para guardar di- nero 6 valores Candados, cerraduras, aldabas, cerrojos, Haves, picaportes, pasadores, maniguetas y peri- llas, y todo articulo parapuer- tas 6 ventanas, no especifica- do C^ntaros y panas de hierro gal- vanizado , 1 • . . . • . 1 1 • • t • NICARAGUA. 119 Articles. Metals and manufactures— Cont'd. Imitation gold and silver thread. . Bells, sheaves, pulle)'S or blocks, casters for furniture and similar articles Small bells of any metal except gold or silver Caps or cartridges of metal or cardboard, loaded or unloaded, for all kinds of arms Capsules of metal for bottles . . . . Harness bells of any metal except gold or silver Sieves, screens, or stminers and articles of steel or iron wire cloth Copper nails, tacks, and screws, pans, kettles, boilers, and sim- ilar articles of copper Copper ornaments of any kind not specified Iron stoves Table knives and forks Spoons and forks of tin plate, zinc, tin, pewter, or any other metal except gold or silver , Thimbles of any metal except gold or silver , Steel and tinder boxes of any kind of metal except gold or silver. . Imitation enamel, tinsel, and span- gles Tin in bars or sheets Manufactures of tin of every kind and for all purposes Bits, curbs, muzzles, spurs, stir- rups, currycombs, buckles and rings for saddlery; and similar articles of any metal except gold or silver Duty per pound. Hooks and pegs for clothes and other purposes, of any metal ex- cept gold or silver Axes Buckles of every kind, for trousers and vests, except those of gold and silver Buckles for ornaments, of any metal except gold and silver.for waistbands, braces, shoes, trou- sers, and any other use. Dollars. . 221 .022 . II .059 .037 .037 059 , II .014 ,074 Artlculos. ,368 , 022. ,074 .037 .059 ,037 .074 184 Derechos por libra. Metales — Contintia. Canutillo que no sea de oro 6 plata Campanas, roldanas, carrillos 6 motones.ruedas para muebles y articulos semejantes Campanillasdecualquier metal, no siendo oro ni plata Capsulas 6 cartuchos metalicos 6 de carton, cargados 6 sin car- gar, paratodaclase de armas. . Capsulas de cualquier metal para tapar botellas Cascabeles de cualquier metal, no siendo oro ni plata Cedazos, zarandas 6 cribas y de- mds artefactos de tela deacero 6 de hierro Cobre en clavos, tachuelasytor- nillos, pailas, calderos, pero- les y articulos semejantes .... Cobre en obras de adorno deto- da clase, no especificadas .... Cocinas de hierro Cubiertos de mesa Cucharas y tenedores de hoja lata, zinc, estano, peltre, etc. no siendo oro ni plata Dedales de cualquier metal, no siendo oro ni plata Eslabones y yesqueros de cual- quier metal, no siendo oro ni plata Esmalte false ti oropel y bri- chos Estano en barras 6 planchas. . . . Estano en obras 'de toda clase y para cualquier uso Frenos, barbadas,bozales,espue- las, estribos, almohazas, hebi- llas y argollas para talabarte- ria, y articulos semejantes de cualquier metal, no siendo oro ni plata Ganchos 6 perchas para roperos y otros usos, de cualquier me- tal, no siendo oro ni plata. . . . Hachas Hebillas de toda clase para pan- talones y chalecos, no siendo oro ni plata Hebillas de adorno de cualquier metal, no siendo oro ni plata, para fajas, tirantes, calzado, pantalones y cualquier otro uso 120 NICARAGUA. Articles. Metals and manufactures — Cont'd. Tools for crafts and trades, such as adzes, gimlets, augers, com- passes, bistouries, burins, chis- els, gouges, hatchets, files, ham- mers, picks, punches, cork- screws, pincers, wrenches, planes, jack planes, awls, nip- pers, saws of all kinds and sizes, masons' trowels, squares, pliers, and all kinds of similar articles Tools for agricultural purposes, such as hoes, spades, rakes, shovels, and other similar arti- cles , Iron in bars or sheets Articles of cast iron, such as rail- ing, boilers, smoothing irons, rails, pillars, posts, pieces for buildings, axle boxes, pans, ovens, etc Articles of cast iron of any kind not otherwise specified Iron, enameled, colored, in man- ufactures of any kind, such as cups, basins, plates, jugs, mugs, pots, candlesticks, etc Iron, malleable, in articles of any kind not specified Tin plates or sheet brass Tin and brass articles Cages, traps and mouse traps of iron Bird cages of copper Lamps, of iron or other metal ex- cept of gold and silver,and met- al utensils of all kinds for light- ing Spangles of any metal except gold or silver Watch keys, except of gold and silver Machetes and knives for indus- trial purposes .,...,,, Duty per pound. .037 ,022 ,007 014 037 , 029 , 014 .059 .037 ,074 074 , 184 , 184 ,074 Metales — Continda. Herramientas para artes y oficios, como azuelas, barrenos, berbi- quies, compases, bisturies, buriles, escoplos, formones, hachuelas, limas, martillos, picos, saca-bocados, saca-cor- chos, tenazas, Haves univer- sales, desatornilladores, cepi- llos, garlopas, garlopines, alesnas, pinzas, serruchos de toda clase y tamano, cucharas de albanileria, escuadras, ali- cates, y toda clase de articu- los semejantes Herramientas para agricultura, como cobas, macanas, azadas, rastrillos, palas y articulos se- mejantes , Hierro en barras 6 planchas . . . . Hierro fundido en obras, como carriles, calderos, planchas paraaplanchar, rieles, pilares, postes, piezas para edificios, bocinas para ruedas de carre- tas, pailas, hornillas 6 articu- los semejantes Hierro fundido en obras detoda clase, no especificadas Hierro csmaltado en colores, en obras de toda clase, como ta- zas, bacinillas, platos, jarros, picheles, palanganas,.candele- ros, etc Hierro maleable en obras de to,- da clase, no especificadas . . . . Hoja lata 6 laton en hojas Hoja lata 6 laton en obras de toda clase y para cualquier uso Jaulas, trampas y ratoneras de hierro Jaulas de cobre para pdjaros. . . . Ldmparas de hierro 6 cualquier otro metal, no siendo oro ni plata, y titiles de metal para alumbrado de toda clase Lentejuela de cualquier metal, no siendo oro ni plata Llaves para relojes, no siendo de roo ni plata Machetes, cutachas y cuchillos para artes y oficios NICARAGUA, 121 Articles. Metals and manufactures — Cont'd. Plated metal, electroplate, or nickel plate, manufactured for table use, such as plates, trays, spoons, forks, mugs, basins, cups, pitchers, casters, etc., and objects of luxury and ornament, etc Moldings of any metal, painted, enameled, silvered, or gilded. . , Furniture of iron or steel, such as beds, cots, and cradles, with or without wire mattresses, chairs, and similar articles Furniture, etc., with brass posts, with or without wire mattresses, chairs, lounges, and similar fur- niture, with brass parts or orna- ments Razors, penknives, scissors, and all similar instruments Pieces of clockwork Lead, worked or not Steel pens Gold pens Fancy daggers Watches of any metal except gold or silver Gold watches Silver watches Clocks of all kinds Balances and scales Tacks and screws of iron and steel Netting of copper wire Netting of iron or steel wire. . . . Zinc in sheets or plates Zinc, manufactured Food products and condiments. Olives, capers, and pickles in vinegar or brine Olives in oil Sirups and jellies of any kind. . Saffron Duty per pound. Dollars. 552 037 .257 .368 . 014 .294 3.68 . 221 2. 208 7.36 4.416 .147 .074 .029 .074 •037 . 022 .074 , 014 ,088 ■059 , 184 Artfculos. Metales — Continua. Metal plateado, electro-plata 6 nikel manufacturado, en obras de vajilla, como azafates, ban- dejas, cucharas, tenedores, picheles, palanganas, tazas, jarros, convoyes, etc., y en obras de lujo, de adorno 6 para cualquier uso Molduras de cualquier metal, pintadas, esmaltadas, platea- das 6 doradas Muebles de hierro 6 acero, como camas, catres y cunas, con 6 sin colchones de alambre, sillas, butacasy muebles seme- jantes Muebles de hierro 6 acero, como camas, catres y cunas con pilares de bronce, con 6 sin colchones de alambre, sillas, butacasym.ueblessemej antes, con piezas 6 adornos de bronce Navajas, cortaplfimas, tijeras y todo instrumento semejante. . . Piezas para relojes Plomo en brute 6 labrado Plumas de acero Plumas de'oro. Punales finos Relojes de bolsa de cualquier metal, no siendo de oro ni plata Relojes de bolsa de oro Relojes de bolsa de plata Relojes de toda clase para pared 6 mesa Romanas y balanzas Tachuelas ytornillos de hierro 6 acero Tejidos de alambre de cobre. . . . Tejidos de alambre de hierro 6 acero Zinc en pliegos 6 planchas Zinc manufacturado. Alimentos y condimentos. Aceitunas, alcaparras yencurti- dos en vinagre 6 salmuera. . . . Aceitunas en aceite Almibar 6 jalea de toda clase. . . Azafran de comer Derechos por libra. .75 •15 .03 • 05 • 35 .50 . 02 .40 5.00 .30 3.00 10. 00 6.00 . 20 . 10 .04 . 10 • 05 • 03 . 10 .02 , 12 25 122 NICARAGUA. Articles. Food products and condiments — Continued. Sugar Cocoa in beans or ground Coftee in beans or ground Cinnamon in sticks or powder. . . Meats of all kinds, dried, smoked, or salted Meats, in brine, in barrels Meats, preserved or seasoned, canned or not. including hams. . Pearl barley , Onions and garlic Cloves Cumin seed, lavender, canary seed, aniseed, coriander, and pepper Confectionery, sweetmeats, bon- bons, and sugar orgum pastes, in any form, wrapper, or pack- age Rennet for cheese making Residuum of brown sugar in loaves or cakes Fruit essences for sirups Extract of meat Vermicelli, macaroni, and other farinaceous pastes i . , Fresh fruit in its natural state. . . . Fruits preserved in juice Fruits, dried, with or without their skins or shells, not sugared, and dried fruits, such as rai- sins and prunes Fruits of all kinds in sugar, honey, or any other sweet liquor Biscuits or crackers of all kinds. , Peas in cans Flour Condensed milk Vegetables of all kinds, preserved orpickled, inany kindof pack- age Vegetables, fresh in natural state, not otherwise specified , Lard Butter and prepared mustard. . . , Shellfish of all kinds, preserved in oil, vinegar, etc Shellfish, dried or smoked Duty per pound. Dollars. .029 •74 .037 . II . 022 . 014 .059 .022 . 014 .059 .044 .059 . 184 .014 .368 .147 . 022 . 014 •037 ,044 ,052 ,029 .022 .007 .037 ,014 .007 .037 .059 . 029 .022 Art(culos. Derechos por libra. Alimentos y condimentos— Contintia. Azficar Pesos. .04 . 10 •05 .15 •03 .02 Cacao en grano 6 molido Cafe en grano 6 molido Canela en rama 6 molida Carnes de toda clase, secas, ahumadas 6 saladas Carnes de toda clase en sal- muera, enbarriles Carnes de toda clase conserva- das 6 condimentadas, vengan 6noenlatas, inclusivejamon. . Cebada perlada .08 .03 . 02 Cebollas y ajos Clavos de olor .08 Cominos.alhucema, alpiste, anis, culantro y pimienta .06 Confituras, confites, dulces, pas- tillas de azucar 6 goma, en cualquierforma, envase 6 em- naaue .08 Cuajo para leche •25 . 02 Dulce, chancaca 6 rapadura en panela 6 marqueta Esencias de frutas para siropes. Extracto de carne •50 . 20 Fideos y demds pastas deharina. Frutas frescas en estado natural . Frutas en su jugo •03 .02 .05 .06 .07 .04 .03 . 01 Frutas secas, con 6 sin ciscara, no confitadas y frutas pasa- das, como uvas y ciruelas. . . . Frutas de toda clase, conserva- das en dulce, miel, rosoli 6 cualquier otro licor dulce Galletas de toda clase Guisantes 6 petitpois Leche condensada .05 . 02 Legumbres de toda clase, conser- vadas 6 encurtidas en cual- quier envase Legumbres frescas en estado na- tural, no especificadas Manteca de puerco .01 •05 .08 .04 .03 Mantequillaymostaza compuesta Mariscos de toda clase conser- vados en aceite, vinagre, etc. . Mariscos de toda clase, secos 6 ahumados. NICARAGUA. 123 Articles. Food products and condiments — Continued. Molasses and honey Sausage, Bologna, and others. . . . Fish of all kinds, preserved in oil, vinegar, etc Fish, dried or smoked Cheese of all kinds Sago, maizena, tapioca, and simi- lar food substances Salt, table Sauces, of all kinds Sirups and juices Tea Bacon and salt pork Vinegar Medicines, drugs, and apothecary's sundries. Oils, olive, linseed, almond, cas- tor, cocoanut, cod-liver, and other similar oil , Acids, hydrochloric, muriatic, sulphuric, and nitric Acids, phenic, carbolic, and ox- alic (binoxolate of potash) Spiritsof turpentine, and gaseous, mineral, and acidulated waters. Orange and rose water Eau de Cologne, lavender, Florida, kananga, and other similar per- fumed waters White lead or carbonate of lead. . Alum Liquid ammonia or volatile al- kali Rock candy Sulphur of all kinds Bicarbonate of soda and crystal- lized carbonate of soda Borax Bandages and trusses of all kinds Boxes of wood or cardboard for drug stores Chloride of lime Medicinal sweetmeats or pas- tilles Corks for stoppers of bottles or vessels, Duty per pound. Dollars. •037 .074 . 052 •037 •059 .029 .0036 .037 .022 . II .029 .073 ,022 ,022 .037 .014 .074 .052 .029 .014 .029 .059 ,022 .014 .037 ,147 ,014 ,007 , II ,074 Artfculos. Derechos por libra. Alimentos y condimentos — Continfia. Miel de azficar 6 de abejas Mortadela y salchich6n Pescados de todaclase, conser- vados en aceite, vinagre, etc. . Pescados de toda clase, secos 6 ahumados Quesos de toda clase Sagfi, maizena, tapioca, y otras materiasalimenticias semejan- tes Sal para comer. Salsas de toda clase Siropes y jarabes Te Tocino y tocineta Vinagre Medicinas, drogas y utiles de hoti- cas y droguerias. Aceite de olivas, linaza, almen- dras, castor, coyol, coco,baca- lao y cualquiera otro de este g^nero Acido clorhidrico, muriitico, sulffirico y nitrico Acido fenico 6 carb61ico, y ox4- lico (sal de acedera) Aguarris, aguas gaseosas, mi- neralesyaciduladas Agua de azahares y de rosas Aguade Colonia, labanda fiori- da,divina, kanangay otras aro- miticas semejantes Albayalde6 carbonatodeplomo, Alumbre Amonaco liquido6dlcali voldtil Azucar cande Azufre de toda clase en flores, lavado, en barras, etc Bicarbonate desoda y carbonato de soda cristalizado Borax, atincar 6 borato desoda. Bragueros de toda clase Cajitas de madera 6 carton para uso de boticas Cloruro de cal Confites 6 pastillas medicinales Corchos parataponesdebotellas 6 vasos Pesos. .05 . 10 .07 •05 .08 .04 .oo>^ .05 • 03 .15 .04 .01 03 ,03 ,05 ,02 , 10 .07 .04 .02 .04 ,08 ,03 ,02 ■05 . 20 .02 .01 .15 124 NICARAGUA. Articles. Medicines, drugs, and apothecarys' sundries— Continued. iriedicinal barks Chalk, fuller's earth or pipe clay. All kinds of glass bottles and vessels for chemists and drug- gists Artificial teeth and gums and dentists' rubber Perfumed and medicinal essences . Sponges of all kinds Glycerine Gum arable and shellac , Bitters Lint Soap and medicinal sirups Syringes, siphons, and any other article of India rubber or gutta- percha Syringes and similar articles of metal, except gold and silver. . Syringes and other similar articles of glass Linseed or flaxseed in the grain or ground Cocoa butter Fat for ointments and pomades. . Medicines and drugs, in paste, powder, liquid, gum, or any other form, prepared in any manner not otherwise speci- fied Mustard in seed or ground.... . Artificial eyes , Oxide of zinc Filtering paper Rosin Pill tiles and other metal instru- ments for chemists and drug- gists Epsom salts (sulphate of mag- nesia) and Glauber's salts (sul- phate of soda) Sal ammoniac (hydrochlorate of ammoniac) Saltpeter, or nitrate of potash. . . Medicinal seeds Persian sherbet Caustic soda Duty per pound. Dollars. . II .014 .037 .368 .736 •736 .059 . II .132 . II . II , 221 ,074 .037 ,022 , II .037 , II .059 ,147 ,029 .037 .014 .014 ■037 .022 . II .037 ,014 Artfculos. Medicinas, drogas y utiles de boti- cas y droguerias — Continda. Cortezas medicinales Creta, greda 6 tiza Cristaleria en vasos ii objetos de toda clase para boticas y dro- guerias Dientes y paladares artificiales y gomas dentales Esencias de olory medicinales. . Esponjas de toda clase Glicerina Goma ardbiga y goma laca Gotas amargas 6 amargo esto- macal Hilas para cirujia Jabones y jarabes medicinales. . Jeringas, chupones y cualquier otro articulo decaucho6guta- percha Jeringas y articulos semejantes de cualquier metal, no siendo de oro ni plata Jeringasy cualquier otro articulo semejante de cristal Linazao semillas delino engrano 6 molidas Manteca de cacao Manteca para ungiientos 6 po- madas Medicinas y drogas en pasta, polvo, liquido, goma 6 cual- quiera otra forma, preparadas de cualquier manera de las no especificadas Mostaza en grano 6 molida. . . . , Ojos artificialesdecualquierma- teria Oxido de zinc Papel para filtrar Pez resina Pildorerosydemdsinstrumentos raetalicos para boticas y dro- guerias Sal de Epson (de Inglaterra 6 sulfato de magnesia) y sal de Glauber (sulfato de soda). . . Sal amoniaco, clorhidrato 6 hi- droclorato de amoniaco Salitre, sal de nitro, 6 nitrato de potasa Semillas medicinales Sherbet persian Soda caustica. , . , ,.,(..... I NICARAGUA. 125 Articles. Medicines, drugs, and apothecarys' sundries — Continued. Sulphate of iron Sulphate of zinc, or white vitriol. . Sulphate of copper or blue stone. Sulphate of quinine Sulphite of soda Suspensories, waistbands, band- ages, and similar articles Sticking plasters, cerecloths, etc. . Tinctures, medicinal or jjiot Turpentine Utensils for chemists and drug- gists, of china, stone, or compo- sition, such as mortars, evapo- rators, etc Vaseline, cosmoline, and petro- late Poisons for skins, insects, etc . . . . Medicinal wines, such as quinine, beef, etc Bristol's sarsaparilla and other similar patented articles Miscellaneous articles. Glass beads and bugles of all kinds. ... Fans of paper, cardboard, or palm Fans, with framework of bone, ivory, mother-of-pearl shell, wood, tortoise shell, with or without feathers, plain or em- broidered Mineral oils, such as camphene, petroleum or naphtha ..... Perfumery oils Crochet needles of bone or any other material Alabaster, marble, and si m i 1 a r stones manufactured into arti- cles of any kind and for any use, weighing over 5 pounds each Alabaster, etc., weighing less than 5 pounds , , . , , Albums with binding of card - board, leather or India rubber. Albums with binding of ivbry, tortoise shell, or velvet Duty per pound. Dollars. .007 . 014 .022 . 221 .037 .147 .184 . II .074 .074 .074 , II 059 221 , i«4 .736 ,007 .074 , 184 ,007 , II 221 368 Artfculos. Medicinas, drogas y iitiles de boti- cas y droguerias — Continua. Sulfato de hierro Sulfato de zinc 6 vitriolo bianco . Sulfato de cobre 6 piedra lipis . . Sulfato de quinina Sulfito de soda Suspensorios, fajas, ligas, y arti- culos semejantes Tafetan, espadrapo, apositos, etc, Tinturas, sean 6 no medicinales, Trementina Utiles paraboticasy droguerias, deloza, piedra 6 composicion, como morteros, evaporadores, etc Vaselina, cosmolina y petrolato Venenos para pieles, hormigas, moscas, etc Vinos medicinales de quina, carne, etc Zarzaparrilla de Bristol y otras semejantes de patente Articulos varies. Abalorios y canutillos de toda clase Abanicos de papel, carton 6 palma Abanicos con armaz6n dehueso, marfil, concha nacar, madera, carey, con 6 sin plumas, lisos 6 bordados Aceites minerales, como canfin, petroleo 6 nafta Aceites de olor Agujas de hueso 6 cualquiera otra materia para crochet. . . . Alabastro, marmol y piedras semejantes, en obras de cual- quiera clase y forma y para cualquier uso, de mas de 5 libras Alabastro, marmol y piedras semejantes, en obras de cual- quiera clase y forma y para cualquier uso, de menos de 5 libras Albums con forro de carton, piel 6 caucho Albums con forro de marfil, carey, nacar 6 terciopelo Derechos por libra. Pesos. .01 .02 .03 .30 •05 .20 .25 .15 .10 .30 .25 126 NICARAGUA. Articles. Miscellaneous articles — Continued. Alcohol Saddlebags, hammocks, and sim- ilar articles of sisal grass, agave, osier, or other like fiber Jewels of all kinds, imitation of coral, pearl, jet, etc., of any ma- terial Starch or feculse for industrial purposes Pillows and mattresses of wool, horsehair, or straw Feather mattresses and pillows. . Tar, pitch, and lampblack Manufactures of amber Anilines and carmine Eyeglasses, spectacles, binocular glasses, telescopes, and lenses, mounted in gold or silver Eyeglasses, etc., not mounted in gold or silver Electrical apparatus for tele- graphs and telephones Chandeliers of glass or crystal. . Frames for umbrellas and para- sols Harness for coaches, carriages, berlins, and calashes Harness for carts Articles of sadlery not otherwise specified Stationery articles, not specified, not of gold or silver Razor and knife strops Jet manufactures Dressed sheepskins Buckets, molds and tubs of wood India-rubbercushions for billiard tables Playing cards Whalebone, manufactured and for any use Varnish of all kinds Barometers, thermometers, and similar articles. ,,,,,,,%,,,,>- Duty rcr pound. Dollars. Prohib. ited. .037 .442 .022 .074 .184 .014 .589 , 221 2. 208 •736 Prohib- ited. .059 .096 ,147 .074 . 221 .074 . 096 .589 . II .014 .294 • 059 .294 .059 .184 Arttculos. Articulos varies — Continfia. Alcohol Alforjas, hamacas y objctos semejantes, de cabulla pita, mimbre, \\ otras fibras pareci- das Alhajas de toda clase, imitaci6n de coral, perla,azabache, etc., de cualquier materia Almidon 6 feculas de uso indus- trial Almohadas y colchonesdelana, crin 6 paja Almohadasy colchonesdepluma Alquitran, brea y negro humo. . . Ambar en objetos manufactura- dos Anilinas y carmin . Anteojos, espejuelos, gemelos 6 binoculos, catalejos 3'^ lentcs, que tengan oro 6 plata Anteojos, espejuelos, gemelos 6 binoculos, catalejos y lentes, que no tengan guarnicion dc oro 6 plata Aparatos electricos para tele- grafos y telefonos Arailas )' candelabros de crista! 6 vidrio Armaduras para paraguasy qui- tasoles Arneses para coches, carruajes, berlinas y calesas Arneses para carretonesytrillos Articulos de talabarteria no es- pecificados Articulos de escritorio no es- pecificados y que no sean de oro 6 plata Asentadores 6 suavizadores de navajas de cualquiera clase. . Azabache en articulos manufac- turados Badanas Baldes, moldes y tinas de ma- dera Bandas de caucho para billar. . . Barajas 6 naipes Barbas de ballena manufactura- das para cualquier uso Barnices de toda clase Barometros, term6metros y arti- culos semejantes ,.,......., 1 NICARAGUA. 127 Articles. Miscellaneous articles — Continued. Barrels, casics, and hogsheads, hooped or in shooks , Earthenware, glazed or unglazed, in common articles of any kind not specified Earthenware figures, busts, and similar articles Canes (without swords), thongs, and whips of any kind Canes with sword or dagger. . . . , Canes with ivory or metal tops. . . Trunks of wood, iron, tin, brass, covered or not , Trunks, portmanteaus, and valises of leather or hide Trunks,etc,,of cloth or cardboard. Calfskins Blacking for shoes, harness, etc . Billiard table and accessories, not specified Balls of ivory, markers, and simi- lar articles of the same mate- rial, for billiard games, etc. . . . , Marbles of all kinds for children's toys , Cigar holders and smoking pipes of amber, meerschaum, porce- lain, or any other similar mate- rial Cigar holders, etc., of wood, clay, or similar material Common boots and shoes Glass bottles and demijohns, empty , Buttons covered with silk or wool Buttons, linen or cotton , Buttons of bone, wood, china, horn, metal, and other materials not specified Buttons of mother-of-pearl, tor- toise shell, or ivory, and India rubber Paint brushes of all kinds Satchels and portfolios of any ma- terial Human and artificial hair, worked Cables and ropes of hemp, sisal, manilla and other similar fibers, Duty per pound. Dollars. .007 .007 .059 . 221 •552 I. 104 ,074 , 221 ,147 ,199 ,022 .736 ,014 ,368 ,184 ,221 ,007 i 221 .368 ,147 .147 .368 .029 Artfculos. Articulos varies — Continiia. Barriles, pipas y bocoyes, arma- dos 6 sin armar Barro vidriado 6 sin vidriar en articulos ordinarios de toda clase no especificados Barro en figuras, bustos y arti- culos semejantes Bastones sin estoque, Idtigos y fuetes de toda clase Bastones con estoque 6 daga . . . Bastones finos con pufio de marfil 6 metal Baules de madera, hierro, lata 6 laton, forrados 6 no Baules, maletasybalijasdecuero 6 pieles Baules, maletasy balijas de tela 6 cart6n Becerros Betun para calzado, arneses, etc. Billares y sus titiles no especifi- cados Bolas de marfil, fichas y objetos semejantes dela misma mate- ria, para juegos de billar, etc . . Bolas de piedra, marmol, cris- tal, barro, etc., para juegos de ninos Boquillas y pipas parafumar, de ambar, espuma, porcelana, 6 cualquiera otra materia seme- jante ..... Boquillas 6 pipas para fumar, de madera, barro, 6 cualquiera otra materia semejante Botas ordinarias y zapatones. . . . Botellas y garrafones de vidrio, vacios Botones forrados en seda 6 lana Botones forrados en lino 6 algo- dori Botones de hueso, madera, loza, corozo, cuerno, meta! y otros no especificados Botones de nacar, carey, marfil y caucho Brochas y pinceles Bultos y portafolios de cualquier materia Cabello humano manufacturado y sus imitaciones Cable 6 jarcia de cabulla, manila, si3al, {1 otra fibra semejante. . . Derechos por libra. 128 NICARAGUA. Articles. Miscellaneous articles — Continued. Wooden or cardboard boxes for packing Fancy boxes, empty Paint boxes Boots and shoes for men and boys not otherwise specified Boots and shoes for women and girls Boots and shoes, silk, for women and girls Boots and shoes, India rubber. . Camera obscura for drawings or photographs and other similar apparatus Baskets, large and small, and oth- er articles of willow and cane. Manufactures of tortoise shell of any kind not mentioned. . . Masks of all kinds Pocketbooks, cigar cases, purses, match boxes, cardcases, and other similar articles not mounted in gold or silver Papier-mache in articles of all kinds, painted, lacquered, var- nished, or gilded Cardboard, fine, or bristol board, for visiting cards Cardboard, common Trucks, carts, and wheelbarrows. Hand bags for travelers Carriages, coaches, berlins, and calashes India rubber in cotton stuffs, as shoes, capes, covers, boots, and other similar articles India rubber manufactured in any article not specially mentioned India rubber in woolen fabrics, such as capes, etc India rubber in silk fabrics, as capes, etc Brushes, floor, animal, or shoe . . Brushes, tooth, nail, hair, clothes, etc White wax, pure or mixed, un- manufactured Duty per pound. Dollars. . 014 .147 .074 .294 ..368 •515 .184 ,147 736 .037 . 014 •037 .184 • 074 . 184 .294 .257 .368 .074 .147 .II Arttculos. Articulos varies — Ccntinfia. Cajas dc madera 6 carton para cmpaques Cajas vacias de fantasia 6 delujo Cajitas de pintura Calzado para hombres y ninos, no especificados Calzado para mujeres y ninas . . Calzado de seda para mujeres y nifias Calzado de caucho Cimaras oscuras para dibujos 6 fotografias y demds aparatos semejantes Canastos, canastillos y otras piezas de mimbre 6 junco. . . . Carey en obras de toda clase no especificadas Caretas 6 mascaras de toda clase Carteras.cigarreras, porta-monc- das, fosforeras, tarjeteras ydc- mds articulos semejantes que no tengan oro ni plata Carton-piedra 6 papier-mache en articulos de toda clase, pin- tado, charolado, barnizado 6 dorado Carton fino 6 cartulina para tar- jetas, etc Cart6n ordinario Carretones, carretas y carretillas. Carrieles 6 bolsas de mano para viajeros Carruajes, coches, berlinasy ca- lesas Caucho en tela de algodon, como zapatos, capas, cubier- tas, botas y demas articulos semejantes Caucho manufacturado en obras de toda clase no especificadas. Caucho en tela de lana, como capas, etc Caucho en tela de seda, como capas, etc Cepillos paralimpiar pisos, bes- tias 6 calzado Cepillos para dientes, unas, ca- bellos, ropa fi otros usos seme- jantes Cera blanca pura 6 mezclada, sin labrar. NICARAGUA. 129 Articles. Miscellaneous articles— Continued. Wax, etc., in candles Wax, etc., manufactured in arti- cles not mentioned , Horsehair, crude , Beer i , Patent leather Epaulets, tassels, and cords of imitation gold and silver , Slippers in parts or made , Saddle girths of all kinds Children's carriages of all kinds Glues of any material Colors of all kinds not specified, in powder, paste, or oil Colors ready mixed Mother-of-pearl shell manufac- tured in articles of all kinds, not specified Coral, manufactured Coral, mounted with gold or silver Cork, manufactured Cork, unmanufactured Funeral wreaths and ornaments. Shoe uppers of lasting, plain and without tips Shoe uppers of lasting, plain and with tips Shoe uppers of lasting, fancy, or patent leathered Shoe uppers of calf or any other skin Shoe uppers of patent leather. . . Shoe uppers of enameled hide . . Shoe uppers of silk Workboxes or toilet cases for ladies Crinolines, dress improvers, and similar articles Glass, common, in sheets, plain and clear plass, in sheets, ground, white, or colored, plain or fancy t . . . Duty per pound. Dollars. .147 . 029 .014 .331 I. 104 . 221 .074 ■059 .044 ,029 .368 1.84 3.68 ,074 ,014 .368 ,294 .331 .368 294 294 .515 ,184 , 184 014 ,039 Artfculos. Articidos varios — Contin