Nicaragua

VISIT TO THE CAPITAL CITY, MANAGUA—LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY; HOW TO PROCURE A QUORUM—EXECUTIVE MESSAGE—RATIFICATION OF TREATY WITH THE UNITED STATES—ANTIQUITIES—LAKE OF NIHAPA—HUERTAS—DIVIDING RIDGE—TRACES OF VOLCANIC ACTION—HACIENDA DE GANADO—AN EXTENSIVE PROSPECT—EXTINCT CRATER—ANCIENT PAINTINGS ON THE CLIFFS—SYMBOLICAL FEATHERED SERPENT—A NATURAL TEMPLE—SUPERSTITIONS OF THE INDIANS—SALT LAKE—LAGUNA DE LAS LAVADORAS—A COURIER—THREE MONTHS LATER FROM HOME—THE SHORE OF LAKE MANAGUA—ABORIGINAL FISHERIES—ANCIENT CARVING—POPULATION OF MANAGUA—RESOURCES OF SURROUNDING COUNTRY—COFFEE—INHABITANTS—VISIT TIPITAPA—SUNRISE ON THE LAKE—HOT SPRINGS—OUTLET OF LAKE—MUD AND ALLIGATORS—DRY CHANNEL—VILLAGE OF TIPITAPA—SURLY HOST—SALTO DE TIPITAPA—HOT SPRINGS AGAIN—STONE BRIDGE—FACE OF THE COUNTRY—NICARAGUA OR BRAZIL WOOD—ESTATE OF PASQUIEL—PRACTICAL COMMUNISM—MATAPALO OR KILL-TREE—LANDING AND ESTERO OF PASQUIEL OR PANALOYA—RETURN—DEPTH OF LAKE MANAGUA—COMMUNICATION BETWEEN THE TWO LAKES—POPULAR ERRORS.

AlthoughAlthough Leon is de facto the seat of the Nicaraguan Government, yet the framers of the existing constitution of the State, in view of the rivalry and jealousy which exist between the cities of Granada and Leon, and in order to relieve the Legislative Assembly from the overawing political influence of the latter, designated the city of Managua as the place of its meeting. The choice was in many respects a good one; Managua is not only central as regards position, but its inhabitants are distinguished for their attachment to “law and order,” and their deference to constituted government.

The task of getting together the members of the Assembly, which is comprised of a House of Deputies and a Senate, is not an easy one. The attractions of the city of Managua are not great: the pay is only a dollar and a half per diem, and such is the precarious condition of the Treasury, that this small sum is not always secure. Nor are there any profitable contracts to be obtained for friends, with contingent reversions to incorruptible members; no mileage to speak of; in fact, few if any of those inducements to patriotic zeal which make our citizens so ambitious of seats in the National Congress. As a consequence, it is usually necessary, in order to secure a constitutional quorum for the transaction of business, to announce beforehand that a sufficient sum for the payment of members is actually in the Treasury, and will be reserved for that express purpose. But even this is not always sufficient, and the Government has several times come to a stand still for want of a quorum. An instance of this kind occurred during the administration of Gen. Guerrero, who found himself for a week in Managua, with his cabinet officers around him, but utterly unable to act. The Assembly lacked two of a quorum, and precisely that number of members, elected from the city of Leon, were absent. They were the Licenciado Z., and the Doctor of Medicine J., men of mark in the country, but for a variety of reasons not then desirous of committing themselves on the measures of public policy which were to be brought before the Chambers. The Director wrote to them, stating the condition of the Assembly, and soliciting their immediate attendance. The lawyer excused himself on the ground of illness, and the doctor, because he had no horse, nor money for his expenses. But they mistook their man; in a few minutes after their replies were received, the General had despatched two officers of the National Guard to Leon, and before daylight the next morning the Licenciado was politely waited upon by one of them, attended by a file of soldiers, and informed that there was an ox-cart at the door, with a good bed of straw, wherein the soldiers would carefully lift him, and where he would find the army doctor, to administer to his necessities during his journey to Managua. The Licenciado expostulated, but the officer looked at his watch and coolly observed that the cart must start in precisely three minutes, and dead or alive the Licenciado must go. The doctor was waited upon in like manner, with the information that the Director had sent his own horse for his accommodation, and four rials (half a dollar) for his expenses, and that he had five minutes wherein to prepare himself for the excursion! It is needless to add that the lawyer was suddenly cured, and that both he and the delinquent doctor duly filled out the quorum at Managua. They each tell the story now as an exceedingly good joke, but the General avers that at the time of their appearance in their seats, their manners and temper were far from angelic.

The Legislative Assembly had been called to meet on the 15th of September, to act on the treaty just negotiated with the United States, and on the canal contract which had been conceded to certain American citizens, under the conditional guaranty of their government. The hopes of the people were much elevated, from the nature of the subjects to be brought before the Assembly, and it was thought that the constitutional quorum would be got together at the time appointed, without resort to any extraordinary measures for the purpose of securing it. It was not, however, until the 19th that we received official information of the organization of the Chambers, and we lost no time in proceeding to Managua, where Pedro Blanco had long before received orders to prepare a house for our reception, and to adopt efficient measures for the extirpation of “las pulgas.” We left Leon on the afternoon of one day, and reached Managua during the forenoon of the next. Don Pedro had newly white-washed a house, occupying the “esquina,” or corner opposite his own, and installed a couple of servants, in anticipation of our arrival. So we were at once comfortably provided for.

The address, or message, of the Director had been delivered in joint meeting of the two Houses on the morning of our arrival, and everything was going on smoothly and harmoniously in the Assembly. It was, according to custom, delivered in person, to the two Houses in convention, and responded to by the President of the Senate. The subjoined passages from both the address and reply, for reasons already given, will prove of interest. The Director, Señor Ramirez said:

The President of the Senate, Don Toribo Teran, responded to this address at length. The tenor of his remarks will appear from the following passages:

It will not be out of place to add here, that both treaty and contract were unanimously ratified, at the earliest moment, after passing through the forms prescribed by the constitution,—a proof of the confidence and friendship of the people and Government of Nicaragua, which we, as Americans, should never forget. The news of the event was everywhere received with extraordinary demonstrations of satisfaction and joy; and it is most earnestly to be desired that the hopes which it created may not, from the mistaken policy of Government, or the bad faith of companies, owing their very existence to Nicaraguan generosity, give place to despair, and respect be changed into contempt, and friendship into hate.

I had heard much in Leon of ancient monuments in the vicinity of Managua, and particularly of an ancient Indian temple cut in the solid rock, on the shore of a small lake, amongst the hills at the back of the city. I now learned that the lake was called Nihapa, and that upon the rocks which surrounded it were many figures, executed in red paint, concerning the origin of which nothing was known, but which were reported to be very ancient, “hechando antes la Conquista,” made before the Conquest. The next morning, having meanwhile procured a guide, we started for this lake. The path, for a league, led through a beautiful level country, magnificently wooded, and relieved by open cultivated spaces, which were the hattos and huertas of the inhabitants of Managua. Nearly every one of these had a small cane hut, picturesquely situated amidst a group of palms or fruit trees, in its centre, reached by broad paths beneath archways of plantains. Here the owners reside when weary of the town. We overtook hundreds of Indian laborers, with a tortilla and a bit of cheese in a little net-work bag thrown over one shoulder, pantaloons tucked up to the thighs, and carrying in the right hand, or resting in the hollow of the left arm, the eternal machete, the constant companion of every mozo, which he uses as an axe to clear the forest, a spade to dig the earth, a knife wherewith to divide his meat, and a weapon in case of attack. Passing the level country adjacent to the city, we came to the base of the hills which intervene between the lake and the sea. Here, at every step, traces of volcanic action met our view, and the path became rough and crooked, winding amongst disrupted rocks, and over broad beds of lava. The latter extended down the side of the ridge, showing that anciently there had existed a crater somewhere above us, now concealed by the heavy forest. The eruptions, however, must have taken place many centuries ago, for the lava was disintegrated at the surface, and afforded a luxuriant foothold for vines, bushes, and trees. For this reason, although we knew that we had attained an elevated position, we found it impossible to see beyond the evergreen arches which bent above us, and, which the rays of the sun failed to penetrate. The ascent was steep, and our progress slow,—so slow that a troop of indignant monkeys, swinging from branch to branch, grimacing, and threatening vehemently, was able to keep pace with us. We fired our pistols at them, and worked up their feelings to a pitch of excitement and rage, humiliatingly like the ebullitions of humanity. These amusing denizens of the forest, I frequently observed, seem annoyed by the presence of white men, and will fret and chatter at their approach, while the brown natives of the country may pass and repass, if not without attracting their notice, at least without provoking their anger.

At the distance of about two leagues and a half from Managua, we reached what appeared to be a broad, broken table-land, the summit of the dividing range intervening between the Lake and Ocean. We had not proceeded far, before we discovered a high conical peak, made up of scoriæ and ashes, and bare of trees, which had evidently been formed by the matter thrown out from some neighboring volcanic vent. Here our guide turned aside at right angles to our path, and clearing the way with his machete, in a few minutes led us to the edge of the ancient crater. It was an immense orifice, fully half a mile across, with precipitous walls of black and riven rocks. At the bottom, motionless and yellow, like a plate of burnished brass, was the lake of Nihapa. The wall of the crater, upon the side where we stood, was higher than at any other point, and the brain almost reeled in looking over its ragged edge, down upon the Acheronian gulf below. Upon the other side, the guide assured us there was a path to the water, and there too were the rock temple, and “los piedras pintadas.” So we fell back into our path again, and skirting along the base of the cone of scoriæ to which I have referred, after a brisk ride of twenty minutes, came suddenly, and to our surprise, upon a collection of huts pertaining to a cattle estate. Here burst upon our sight an almost boundless view of mountain, lake, and forest. Behind us towered the cone of scoriæ, covered with a soft green mantle of grass. Upon one side yawned the extinct crater with its waveless lake; upon the other were ridges of lava, and ragged piles of trachytic rock, like masses of iron; while in front, in the foreground, stood the picturesque cane huts of the vaqueros, clustered round with tall palms and the broad translucent leaves of the plantain. But beyond all,—beyond the mountain slopes and billowy hills, shrouded with never-fading forests, among which, like fleecy clouds of white and crimson reflected in a sea of green, rose the tops of flowering trees,—beyond these, flashing back the light of the morning sun from its bosom, spread out the Lake of Managua, with its fairy islets and distant, dreamy shores!

We left our horses at the huts, and followed a broad, well-beaten path which led to the point where the walls of the extinct crater were lowest. Here we found a narrow path between the rocks, barely wide enough to admit a horse to pass. It had in part been formed by man, probably before the Conquest, when, according to the early chroniclers, even these hills were thronged by a happy and industrious people. The descent for a few hundred feet was very steep, between high walls of rock. It then turned short, and ran along the face of the cliff, where fallen masses of stone afforded a foothold, and clinging trees curtained with vines concealed yawning depths and perilous steeps, which would otherwise have dizzied the head of the adventurous traveller. Near the bottom the path widened, and at the water’s brink we reached a kind of platform, edged with rocks, where the cattle from the haciendas came down to drink, and whence the vaqueros of the huts obtained water for their own use. Here a few trees found root, affording a welcome shelter from the rays of the sun; for the breezes which fan the hillsides never reach the surface of this almost buried lake.

The walls of the ancient crater are everywhere precipitous, and at the lowest point probably not less than five hundred feet in height. Except at the precise spot where we stood, the lake washed the cliffs, which went down, sheer down, to unknown depths. We looked up, and the clouds as they swept over seemed to touch the trees which crowned the lofty edges of the precipice, over which the vines hung in green festoons.

Upon the vertical face of the cliff were painted, in bright red, a great variety of figures. These were the “piedras pintadas” of which we had heard. Unfortunately, however, long exposure had obliterated nearly all of the paintings; but most conspicuous amongst those still retaining their outlines perfect, or nearly so, was one which, to me, had peculiar interest and significance. Upon the most prominent part of the cliff, some thirty or forty feet above our heads, was painted the figure of a coiled, plumed, or feathered serpent, called by the Indians “el Sol,” the sun. Amongst the semi-civilized nations of America, from Mexico south-ward, as also among many nations of the old world, the serpent was a prominent religious symbol, beneath which was concealed the profoundest significance. Under many of its aspects it coincided with the sun, or was the symbol of the Supreme Divinity of the heathens, of which the sun was one of the most obvious emblems. In the instance of the painting before us, the plumed, sacred serpent of the aborigines was artfully depicted so as to combine both symbols in one. The figure was about three feet in diameter, and is accurately represented in the accompanying Engraving. Above it, and amongst some confused lines of partially obliterated paintings, not represented in the sketch, was the figure of a human hand,—the red hand which haunted Mr. Stephens during all of his explorations amongst the monuments of Yucatan, where it was the symbol of the divinity Kab-ul, the Author of Life, and God of the Working Hand.^[26]

Upon some rocks a little to the right of the cliff upon which is this representation of the serpent, there were formerly large paintings of the sun and moon, together, as our guide said, “con muchos geroglificos,” with many hieroglyphics. But the section upon which they were painted, was thrown down during the great earthquake of 1838. Parts of the figures can yet be traced upon some of the fallen fragments. Besides these figures, there were traces of hundreds of others, which, however, could not be satisfactorily made out. Some, we could discover, had been of regular outline, and from their relative proportions, I came to the conclusion that a certain degree of dependence had existed between them. One in particular attracted my attention, not less from its regularity than from the likeness which it sustains to certain figures in the painted historical and ritual MSS. of Mexico. It is designated by Fig. 2, in the same Plate with the figure of the serpent already described.

Upon various detached rocks, lying next to the water, beneath trailing vines, or but half revealed above fallen debris and vegetable accumulations, we discovered numerous other outline figures, some exceedingly rude, representing men and animals, together with many impressions of the human hand. Some of these are represented in the Plate.

By carefully poising myself on the very edge of the narrow shelf or shore, I could discover, beyond an advanced column of rock, the entrance to the so-called excavated temple of the ancient Indians. I saw at once that it was nothing more than a natural niche in the cliff; but yet to settle the matter conclusively, I stripped, and, not without some repugnance, swam out in the sulphurous looking lake, and around the intervening rocks, to the front of the opening. It was, as I had supposed, a natural arch, about thirty feet high, and ten or fifteen feet deep; and seen from the opposite cliff, no doubt appeared to the superstitious Indians like the portal of a temple. The paintings of which they had spoken, were only discolorations produced by the fires which had once flamed up from the abyss where now slumbered the opposing element. Our guide told us that there were many other paintings on the cliffs, which could only be reached by means of a raft or boat. The next day M. returned with a canoe from Managua; it was got down with great difficulty, and in it we coasted the entire lake, but without discovering anything new or interesting.

We were told that there were alligators in this lake, but we saw none, and still remain decidedly skeptical upon that point, notwithstanding the positive assertions of the vaqueros. That it abounded in fish, however, we could not fail to discover, for they swarmed along the edge of the water, and at the foot of the cliffs. This lake, was no doubt anciently held in high veneration by the Indians; for it is still regarded with a degree of superstitious fear by their descendants. Our guide told us of evil demons who dwelt within its depths, and vengefully dragged down the swimmers who ventured out upon its gloomy waters. It was easy to imagine that here the aboriginal devotees had made sacrifices to their mountain gods, the divinities who presided over the internal fires of the earth, or who ruled the waters. This half buried lake, with no perceptible opening, situated amidst melted rocks, on the summit of a mountain, with all of its accessories of dread and mystery, was well calculated to rouse the superstitious fears and secure the awe of a people distinguished above all others for a gloomy fancy, which invested nearly all of its creations with features of terror and severity,—creations whose first attribute was vengeance, and whose most acceptable sacrifices were palpitating hearts, torn from the breasts of human victims.

It was past noon before we had finished our investigations at the lake, and we returned to the huts of the vaqueros weary, hot, and hungry. The women—blessed hearts the world over!—swung hammocks for us in the shade, and we lay down in luxurious enjoyment of the magnificent view, while they ground the parched corn for the always welcome cup of tiste. And although when we came to leave, they charged us fully ten times as much for it as they would have required of their own countrymen, yet they had displayed so much alacrity in attending to our wants, that we sealed the payment with as hearty a “mil gracias,” as if it had been a free offering.

Our guide took us back by a new path, in order to show us what he called the Salt Lake. It was not an extinct crater, like that of Nihapa, but one of those singular, funnel-shaped depressions, so frequent in volcanic countries, and which seem to have been caused by the sinking of the earth. It was a gloomy looking place, with a greenish yellow pool at the bottom, the water of which, our guide said, was salt and bitter. The sides were steep, and covered with tangled vines and bushes, and we did not attempt to descend.

There are other lakes, with musical Indian names, in the vicinity of Managua, which closely resemble that of Nihapa, and owe their origin to similar causes. One of these occurs within a mile of the town, and is a favorite resort for the “lavanderas,” or wash-women. It is reached by numerous paths, some broad and bordered with cactus hedges, and others winding through green coverts, where the stranger often comes suddenly upon the startled Indian girl, whose unshod feet have worn the hard earth smooth, and whose hands have trained the vines into festooned arches above his head. There is but one descent to this lake; which in the course of ages has been made broad and comparatively easy. The shore is lined with large trees of magnificent foliage, beneath the shadows of which the “lavanderas” carry on their never ending operations. The water is cool and limpid; and the lake itself more resembles some immense fountain, where bright streams might have their birth, rather than a fathomless volcanic pool, so well has nature concealed beneath a robe of trees, and vines, and flowers, the evidences of ancient convulsions, rocks riven by earthquakes, or melted by fires from the incandescent depths of the earth.

It was late in the afternoon when we returned from Nihapa; but whatever might have been the pleasure or satisfaction of our visit, it went for nothing as compared with that which we experienced in finding a courier from Granada, bringing us letters and papers from the United States, three months later than any we had yet received. Dinner was forgotten in the eager haste to learn what the great world had been about, all the time we had been vegetating amongst orange and palm trees in this secluded corner of the world. The trivial items of news which the dweller in Gotham, sipping his coffee over the morning papers, would pass by with an idle glance, were to us momentous matters, and every paragraph of every column was religiously read, with a gusto which no one but the traveller similarly situated can appreciate. The newspaper is a luxury which the poorest day laborer in the United States may possess; and the American would sooner deny himself his tea and coffee, than the satisfaction of glancing over its columns, however dull, in the morning, or after the labors of the day are closed, in the evening. We missed many things, in Central America, which we had come to regard as essential to our comfort and happiness, but the newspaper most. Its place was very poorly supplied by the Padre Paul’s little “Correo del Istmo,” filled with government decrees, and published twice a month. It was in vain that we looked there for our daily home pabulum of “Late and Important by Telegraph”—“Terrible Catastrophe!” “Horrible Explosion, and Probable Loss of Life!” served, up in delectable fat type, and profusely seasoned with exclamation points. For three months we had not had our souls harrowed by the awful details of murder, nor our hearts sickened by recitals of treachery, infamy, and crime; knew nothing of what had followed the Astor riot, whether the struggling Hungarians were free or fallen. In fact the great drama of life, with its shifting scenery, and startling denouements, so far as we were concerned, had been suspended,—the world had gone on, on, and it seemed as if we alone had been left behind,—though living, yet practically dead and forgotten. No romance, with its plots and highly colored incidents, in which fancy and invention had exhausted itself, could compare in point of interest with the columns of these newspapers, redolent with the damp mustiness of a sea voyage, and the tobacco of the courier’s maléta, which we now perused in silence, by the aid of the tropical evening light, slowly swinging in our hammocks, beneath the corridor of Pedro Blanco’s house, on the shores of the Lake of Managua!

Towards evening all the women of Managua go down to the lake shore, under the plausible pretext of filling their water jars. And when it became too dark to read, we fell into the movement, and followed by a train of youngsters, mostly naked, also went down to the shore, which was enlivened by hundreds of merry groups—mozos bathing their horses out in the surf, and girls filling their water jars in the clear water beyond the breakers. At one point bushes were planted in the lake, like fish wears, between which women were stationed with little scoop-nets, wherewith they laded out myriads of little silvery fishes, from the size of a large needle to that of a shrimp, which they threw into kettle-shaped holes, scooped in the sand, where in the evening light, leaping up in their dying throes, they looked like a simmering mass of molten silver. These little fishes are called sardinas by the natives, and are cooked in omelets, constituting a very excellent dish, and one which I never failed to order whenever I visited Managua. The first travellers in Nicaragua mention this novel fishery as then practised by the aborigines, and it has remained unchanged to the present hour.

In returning through a bye street to our own house, we observed, within the open door of a rude cane hut, what we first took to be a large painting, but which upon examination proved to be a carving in wood. It was cut in high relief, and represented, nearly of the size of life, a mounted cavalier, dressed and armed after the style of the fifteenth century, having in one hand a cross and in the other a sword. We were struck with the spirit and execution of the carving, which filled one entire side of the hut, and were told that it was a representation of Hernando Cortez, the conqueror of Mexico. The people in whose possession it then was knew nothing of its history, beyond that it had been in the hands of their family for more than seventy years. I subsequently inquired of the “sabios” or sages of Managua about the figure, but they could give me no information, except that it was very ancient, and, according to tradition, represented Cortez. Don Pedro Blanco and some others suggested that it might have been intended for Santiago, the patron saint of Managua, but gave no good reason for their conjecture. That it is very ancient appears from a variety of circumstances, and from none more clearly than the now half-obliterated paintings which fill the panel around the figure. These, in style of execution, correspond entirely with the paintings made by the Indians immediately subsequent to the Conquest, and after their first acquaintance with the whites. They represent disembarkations, and battles between mounted, bearded white men and naked Indians armed after their primitive fashion. Dogs too, are represented participating in these encounters,—mute witnesses to those atrocities which everywhere attended the Spanish arms in America, and to which all the brilliancy of the achievements of Cortez, Alvarado, Cordova, or Pizarro, can never blind the impartial historian. Notwithstanding the popular tradition, I am disposed to regard the figure as a representation not of Cortez, but of Cordova, the conqueror of Nicaragua, or its first Governor, Pedro Arias de Avila; perhaps of that daring Contreras who meditated the vast design of separating all America from the crown of Spain.

A number of idols, obtained from Momotombita and other places, have been brought to Managua, from time to time, by the Indians, and planted at the corners of the streets. Nearly all of them, however, are small, and have been so much defaced as to possess little interest. But one particularly arrested my attention. It is set at one of the corners of a house, fronting on the little plaza of San Juan, and is very well represented in the accompanying engraving. It projects about four feet above the ground, and probably extends two or three feet below. In common with all others obtained from Momotombita, it is black basalt.

The town of Managua now contains about ten or twelve thousand inhabitants, who live in the simplest manner possible, manufacturing barely enough to supply their limited wants, and carrying on but little trade. The region around is very fertile, and capable of sustaining a large population. The hill-slopes, between the lake and the sea, are well adapted for the cultivation of coffee; and the quality of that which is produced from the few estates existing there, is regarded as superior to the coffee of Costa Rica, which ranks next only to the best Mocha. This valuable staple might be produced here to any extent, and at comparatively little cost; but the condition of the country, and the general lack of enterprise amongst the people, have prevented attention to this, as well as every other branch of industry or source of wealth. There is no part of Nicaragua which, from its position, beauty, salubrity, and capacity for production, surpasses the district around Managua;^[27] and here, it seems to me, is the most favorable point for the commencement of any system of colonization from the United States or from Europe.

This portion of the country was densely populated in ancient times. After the expedition of Cordova, it was announced in Spain, that Managua was a city “nine miles long;” and this report of its extent and vast population, amongst other things, induced Oviedo to visit the country. He seems to have been disappointed in respect to its size, bn p4040.png and denounces the reports which had been made in Spain, as gross exaggerations. He nevertheless adds:

From Managua we proposed to visit the Rio Tipitapa, or Panaloya, the stream which connects the lake of Managua with that of Nicaragua, and which, from the constant references made to it, in all speculations concerning the opening of a canal, has been invested with peculiar interest. We accordingly engaged Victorino, our patron in the expedition to Momotombita, to take us by water to the outlet of the lake, a distance of twenty or twenty-five miles. In order to have the entire day, or the greater part of it, to devote to our investigations at Tipitapa, we directed Victorino to be in readiness to start as early as two o’clock the next morning, thinking, from our past experience in native tardiness, that he would probably arrive at about four or five. But what was our horror, when he aroused us in the early stages of our first doze (for we had gone to bed late), with the information that all was ready! It was just half-past one; and although I suspected that this early call was one of Victorino’s practical jokes, yet we had been too precise in our directions to have any good cause of complaint against him. So we dressed ourselves silently, and followed the patron to the shore of the lake. Here we found everything in readiness, and got off, for the first time, at the appointed hour.

As I passed through the corridor, I had caught up a blanket, with a vague idea of getting a nap in the boat, and after we pushed off, wrapped myself in it with a chuckle, and lay down to sleep. But the blanket was saturated with fleas; sleep departed, and I was exercised in a most lively manner, for the rest of the night. The men rowed in silence, and the water of the lake looked black and forbidding under the sable sky. It was with a feeling of relief, therefore, that I discerned the tintings of morning, in the east. First, a faint light revealed the outlines of the rugged mountains of Chontales and Segovia, followed by a yellow, then a rosy tinge, so faint that it might have been a mere fancy of the spectator; then it deepened, and the clouds, with their glowing edges, and purple folds, disclosed their rich, deep masses above the rim of the horizon, while the lake flung back tremulously from its quivering bosom the reflected radiance of the sky. Brighter and brighter, its rays shooting upwards to the empyrean, and glowing on the summits of the volcanoes, higher and higher, came up the monarch sun, until rising above the horizon, he shone forth on the queenly earth, its emerald robes sparkling with dew-drops, and gemmed with flowers.

Our men had improved the time, and at sunrise we found ourselves within six or eight miles of the outlet, moving along half a mile distant from a low and densely wooded shore. I thrust a pole over the side, and found that there was less than a fathom of water, with a soft muddy bottom. At various places I observed a slight bubbling on the surface of the lake, and a strong smell of sulphurous or mephitic gases; and in others rose little columns of vapor, indicating the presence of hot springs at the bottom.

We finally reached what appeared to be a narrow estuary of the lake, extending between two low bars, covered with reeds, and literally alive with cranes and other water fowls. The boat was directed into it, but it was so shallow that the mud rose to the surface with every stroke of the oars. I found, upon sounding, only two or three feet of water, with about an equal depth of soft gray mud—the dwelling-place of numerous alligators. We proceeded up this estuary for three or four hundred yards, the water every moment becoming shallower, until finally we stuck fast in the fetid mire. The crew leaped overboard and sunk at once to their armpits in the slime. They nevertheless pushed us some distance nearer the shore, and then, when the boat could be moved no further, we mounted on their shoulders and were carried to the land. We found the shore low, but gravelly, and covered with grass and bushes. A clear little stream of tepid water flowed at our feet, and at intervals all around us rose columns of vapor from thermal springs. We advanced a little further to what appeared to be a bank, covered with trees, and then discovered for the first time that the estero extended down a broad and rocky but shallow channel, which had anciently been the bed of the stream connecting the two lakes. No water flowed through it now, although there were pools here and there in the depressions of the rock, supplied with water from springs, or from the rains. Clumps of bushes were growing in the dry channel, and amongst them cattle and mules were grazing. I can readily believe that anciently, during the wet seasons, a small quantity of water found its way through this channel, and over the falls, a mile below; but nothing is more evident than that no considerable body of water ever flowed here.

But if we were disappointed in the so-called outlet of the lake, our disappointment was more than compensated by the magnificent view which was afforded, from this point, of the great volcano of Momotombo, with its background of volcanic peaks, constituting the chain of the Maribios, and terminating with the tall Viejo, dim and blue in the distance. It seemed to rise from the bosom of the mirror-like lake, a giant guide to direct future navies across the continent from sea to sea. I could not help picturing the black hulls of great steamers trailing their smoky plumes at its base, and the white, cloud-like sails of majestic Indiamen, relieved against the purple of its arid sides.

After following along the bank of the vanished river for a short distance, we came to a path, by which the Brazil wood collected on the shores of the lake is carted to Pasquiel, the first and nearest landing point on lake Nicaragua. A rapid walk of a mile brought us to the village of Tipitapa, a miserable little place, of some two or three hundred inhabitants, with a tumble-down church or two, and a drove of cattle in quiet possession of the plaza. We found our way, with little trouble, to the house of the principal officer,—I have forgotten his rank,—a disagreeable fellow, who made himself unnecessarily offensive by one or two cross-grained attempts at being civil. He hadn’t the decency to offer us breakfast; but that gave us little concern, for Ben had come supplied for contingencies, and had, moreover, a happy knack of pressing into his service any utensils and other articles of use which might come to hand. He despatched Victorino to the cura’s for some milk, and helped himself to plantains from the garden. And after half an hour, which we had spent in drumming up horses, he announced a breakfast, if not fit for a prince, at any rate far from unacceptable to men who had started on an exploring expedition at two o’clock in the morning. Through the aid of the cura, who was a fine looking man, with rather a singular expression, nevertheless, for a padre, we got horses for our ride to Pasquiel; and the cura, accompanied by a young darkey who was qualifying himself for the church, volunteered to accompany us. We had brought no saddles, and were obliged to put up with “albardos” and wooden stirrups. Albardos were not in existence in Job’s day; had they been, he would have wished his enemy to ride on an albardo, rather than write a book. A savage critique in the Jerusalem Quarterly could not have “used up” Job’s enemies more effectually than an “albardo” and a hard trotter.

After riding for half a mile through deserted fields, now overgrown with tall, rank weeds, we came once more to the channel or river-bed, at a place called the Salto or falls. Here the rock, which appears to underlie the whole region, is entirely exposed, worn into basins and fantastic pot-holes by the water. It seems to be a calcareous or volcanic breccia, and though not hard, is solid. Through this the hot springs find their way to the surface. The Salto is a steep ledge of this rock, from twelve to fifteen feet in height, extending entirely across the ancient channel, which is here not less than two hundred yards broad. Although it was now the middle of the rainy season, not a drop of water flowed over it. A little distance below the Salto is a stone bridge, the second one which I had seen in the country, and the only one in actual use. At the foot of its western buttress, upon the lower side, I observed a column of vapor, and descending, found that it proceeded from a copious hot spring, from which flows a considerable stream of scalding water. It has formed a thick deposit upon the rocks and stones around it, the apparent constituents of which were carbonate of lime, sulphur, and sulphate of copper; the taste of the water is not unpleasant, and, as observed by Capt. Belcher, is esteemed a sovereign remedy, “if taken by the advice of the padre!”

From the bridge we rode along the eastern bank of the ancient channel, which below the falls becomes deeper and narrower, filled with detached and water-worn rocks, with here and there large pools of still water. We found the country level, with a soil of exceeding fertility, and dotted over with cattle estates. It is not densely wooded, but has many open glades, covered with grass, and affording rich pasturage. Here Nicaragua wood, or Brazil wood, is found in greatest abundance, and contributes materially to the value of the land. It is a tree which seems to require a rich, moist soil, and the absence of overshadowing trees of other varieties. Quantities of the wood, already cut and prepared for exportation, were scattered here and there over the savannahs. A ride of three miles brought us to the cattle estate of Pasquiel, one of the largest and most valuable in the country, belonging to our friend Don Frederico Derbyshire, of Granada. We were well received by his superintendent, who had seen us in Granada, upon our first arrival. The buildings on the estate consisted of two immense roofs, supported on posts, entirely open at the sides, and placed in the centre of a kind of stockade of posts. In a corner of one of these sheds, a number of poles set on end and withed together, fenced off a little space for the beds of the mayor-domo and his spouse. Ailing calves, independent pigs, and multitudinous chickens shared the remainder of the accommodations, on terms of perfect equality and harmony with the children of the superintendent. Some large troughs, supported on posts, to receive the milk in manufacturing cheese, and a couple of rude presses for use in the same manufacture, also mounted on stilts, completed the furniture of the establishment. There was enough of novelty in all this, but nothing particularly attractive; and as I suspected there might be a “smart chance” of fleas in the sand under the roofs, I declined dismounting, but rode beneath the shade of a gigantic tree, called the mata-palo, or kill tree. It has great vigor, and preserves a dense green foliage during the dry season, when most other trees become seared. It starts as a kind of vine, and clasps itself around the first tree which it can reach; and as it grows with astonishing rapidity, in a few years it entirely destroys the tree which raised it from the ground, and occupies its place. It does not run up to any considerable height, but extends its branches laterally to a great distance, and like the banyan tree, sends down new trunks to the ground, which in their turn promote its vigor and its growth. These trunks come down with their roots ready formed, and look like a number of exceedingly bad brooms suspended from the principal limbs.

From the houses of the estate to the landing of Pasquiel there is a broad open road. The distance is little upwards of a mile. This landing is at the head of an estuary running up from the north-western extremity of Lake Nicaragua, in the direction of Lake Managua, and which is about fourteen miles in length. It is part of what is called the Rio Tipitapa, but is, in fact, the Estero de Pasquiel, or de Panaloya. The actual distance between the two lakes is therefore but little over four miles. The landing of Pasquiel is simply an open space on the bank of the Estero; there was neither house nor shed, nor sign of humanity, except several large piles of Brazil wood, and the ashes left by the sailors’ fires. The Estero, at this point, is about one hundred yards broad, and six feet deep. This is, in fact, about its average depth; although in some places lower down, I was informed by the boatmen, it is as much as twelve and fourteen feet in depth.

There was very little to see; and so, after sitting on the shore for an hour, we started on our return, following a path which led along the bank of the Estero, with a view of determining how much higher it extended. We found that it came to an end a short distance above the landing, as did also our path. But we had started to go through, and persisted in our purpose. Between cutting, and stooping, dismounting and making a multitude of evolutions, we finally succeeded in clearing the forest, well scratched and smarting from rough contact with thorny bushes and prickly vines—for nearly every petty bush and contemptible vine in Central America is armed with thorns, great or small.

Stopping for a few moments at a cattle hacienda, where we left the cura making love to the daughter of the mayor domo, we returned to Tipitapa. Our gloomy host of the morning had mustered up a little good humor. The secret of his civility, however, came out before we left; he wanted a guitar, a guitar with four strings, a guitar withal worth seven dollars; and expected us to send him one of that description from the United States, which we, of course, promised to do. whereupon, in the fullness of his heart, he ordered his servant to assist Ben in preparing dinner.

At three o’clock, we had reëmbarked, and with a fair wind, were soon speeding our way to Managua, where we landed in the edge of the evening, well wearied with our day’s excursion.

In returning, I had sounded the lake, and found the entire bay in front of Managua exceedingly shallow. For nearly a mile out it was only about a fathom in depth; and for full two miles further it preserved a uniform depth of about two fathoms. That part nearest the old outlet of Tipitapa was also shallow, and for a mile and upwards from the shore, nowhere exceeded a fathom and a half in depth. The middle portions of the lake, however, are represented to be very deep. The full statement of these facts and of a variety of others, bearing upon the question of a canal route, are reserved for another and more appropriate place, when I come to speak specifically of the canal project. It is only necessary to add here, that the grossest ignorance prevails as to the dependence between the two lakes of Nicaragua and Managua, and the nature of the communication one with the other. The publications of the British Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge speak of Lake Nicaragua as flowing into Lake Managua; and nearly all geographical works refer to the river Tipitapa, or Panaloya, as a considerable stream, navigable were it not for the Salto or falls, which is almost uniformly represented to be nearer Lake Nicaragua than to Lake Managua. There is also an error prevalent amongst the natives of the country, which has been inconsiderately adopted by some recent observers, that the lake of Managua has formed a subterranean outlet, or has subsided, from some unexplained cause, within the past fifteen or twenty years. There is, however, little or no reason for supposing that any material or perceptible change has taken place in the level of the lake, or any diminution in its volume, since the period of the Conquest. The early explorers represented the two lakes as entirely disconnected; and Oviedo, although combatting this idea, nevertheless describes the communication to be very nearly what it now is. He says that in summer little water flows through the channel, and speaks of the “canal,” by which is undoubtedly meant the Estero of Panaloya, as only breast deep. That the level of the lake changes somewhat with the different seasons, I can myself bear witness. The evaporation on the twelve hundred square miles of surface which this lake presents, beneath a tropical sun, is nevertheless quite sufficient to account for the absence of water at Tipitapa, without entertaining the hypothesis of a subterranean outlet.

A few days after, I was suddenly called to return to Leon, where I was detained by official business until the close of November. The events which transpired in the interval do not fall within the scope of my Narrative, and I shall consequently pass them by without remark.