Chapter I.

GEOGRAPHY AND PHYSICAL FEATURES.

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

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

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

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

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

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

NICARAGUA.

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

The Pacific coast of Nicaragua is about 200 miles in length, from the Gulf of Fonseca to the bay of Salinas. The water is deep close to the shore, while neither reefs nor shoals render navigation dangerous, and the volcanic peaks, visible at a distance of many miles, form admirable landmarks for the guidance of navigators. The heavy swell of the mighty Pacific rolls in high on the sandy beach and forms a constant heavy surf, called by the natives "La Tasca," affording splendid facilities for sea bathing.

The bay of Fonseca, of which Nicaragua possesses a share with the neighboring republics of Salvador and Honduras, is the finest port on the entire western coast of America. It contains several good interior harbors, and has the appearance of having once been an inland lake, like those of Nicaragua and Managua, which has been opened to the ocean by some mighty convulsion of nature which has torn asunder its rocky barrier and left an outlet 18 miles in width. The southern shore of this great bay, which belongs to Nicaragua, is about 25 miles in length. Here, a wide creek or inlet called "El Estero Real" extends some 50 miles into the interior. At 30 miles from its mouth, it is 3 fathoms in depth. Whenever the Interoceanic Railroad of Honduras is completed to La Brea, on the bay of Fonseca, this inlet will form an admirable avenue of commerce between it and Nicaragua.

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