Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XII.djvu/438

 424: NICARAGUA There are also hunting ants an inch long, and leaf-cutting ants (cecodoma). Whole groves of orange, mango, and lemon trees are frequently destroyed by the last. The seas, rivers, and lagoons swarm with every variety of tropical fish, and all kinds of shell fish abound on the coasts and keys. Nicaragua is divided into seven administrative departments, viz. : Chi- nandega, Ohontales, Granada, Leon, Matagalpa, Rivas, and Segovia. The E. boundary of Ohon- tales, Matagalpa, and Segovia is considered to be the Atlantic, notwithstanding the Mosquito reservation on the coast, the limits of which, according to the convention of Managua of Jan. 28, 1860, are as follows: N. the Wawa river, E. the Atlantic, S. the river Rama, and W. the meridian of 84 15' W., containing an area of nearly 9,000 sq. m. Of the 250,000 inhabitants of Nicaragua, 220,000 belong to civilized and 30,000 to uncivilized races. The former may be divided proportionately as fol- lows : Indians of unmixed blood, 550 in 1,000 ; mestizos (ladinos from whites and Indians, zambos from negroes and Indians, arid mulat- toes from whites and blacks), 400 ; whites, 45 ; negroes, 5. The ladino element predominates in Jalapa, Ocotal, Matagalpa, Corinto, Leon, Libertad, Managua, Bluefields, Acoyapa, Ri- vas, and San Juan del Sur; the mulatto in Granada, Nandaime, San Carlos, and San Juan del Norte. Masaya is almost entirely Indian, and Indians occupy a large part of the basin of the two lakes. The coast basins of the Pa- cific are peopled by Indians of Aztec descent. The uncivilized Indian tribes occupy the riv- er basins of the Atlantic slope : the Pantas- mas, Poyas, and Oarcas, in the several up- per basins of the Coco, Rio Grande, and Mico, the lower basins of which are peopled by Mosquitos, zambos, and black Caries; and the Wawas, Toonglas, and Ramas, in the up- per basins of the rivers of the same names. Most of the Nicaraguans live in towns, many going daily long distances to their planta- tions, which are often reached by paths so obscure as to escape the notice of travellers. The chief occupation is the raising of cattle, and large quantities of cheese are made on some of the estates. The Indians, who are generally a sober race, are the principal produ- cers. The half-breeds as a class are indolent, thriftless, and ignorant. Baptism is consid- ered indispensable, but the marriage ceremo- ny is often omitted. Petty thefts are com- mon, but robberies and murders are unusual. Every few years a revolution breaks out, the population divides into two parties, and all business is suspended until the insurgents are put down or a change of rulers is effected. "Ways of internal communication are limited. There are roads from Managua to Leon and Chinandega, and to Granada and Rivas, pass- able for carriages only in the summer. There is also a macadamized road from San Juan del Sur to the port of La Virgen, on Lake Nicara- gua, which was built by the old Central Amer- ican transit company. The roads in other parts of the country are little better than mule tracks. The Nicaragua mail steam navi- gation company have now four good steamers running on the San Juan river, and a steamer and a schooner on Lake Nicaragua. The Cen- tral American and Mexican steamers touch at San Juan del Sur and Corinto, and the British mail steamers at San Juan del Norte. In 1873 a concession was granted for the construction of a railway from Granada to Leon, and an- other for a railway from Leon to the bay of Corinto. The commerce of Nicaragua is small. The principal exports are sugar, cotton, indigo, coffee, India rubber, cheese, cacao, melada, Brazil wood, cedar, tortoise shells, and cocoa- nuts; imports, dry goods, groceries, liquors, hardware, and miscellaneous merchandise. The total value of exports for the year ending Sept. 1, 1873, was : San Juan del Norte, $977,918 48 ; Corinto, $463,587 40. The value of the im- ports for the same year was : at San Juan del Norte, $1,007,309 18; Corinto, $528,771 40. The greater part of the commerce is with Great Britain. The trade with the United States was: exports, $215,852 30; imports, $233,050 44. The total tonnage of vessels en- tered at San Juan del Norte in the same year was 42,463 tons; Corinto, 8,617 tons. The government consists of a president, elected for four years, and a congress of two chambers, a senate and a house of representatives, the for- mer consisting of 10 and the latter of 11 mem- bers. The president is assisted by four minis- ters, viz. : of finances ; of foreign affairs, agri- culture, commerce, and public instruction ; of war, public works, and fine arts; and of the interior, justice, and ecclesiastical affairs. The judicial power is vested in a supreme court, divided into two sections, one of which sits at Leon and the other at Granada. There are also a civil and a criminal judge in each de- partment except those thinly populated, where the two are combined in one official, and in the towns alcaldes and other officers, who have limited judicial powers. The army consists nominally of 6,000 men, including 4,800 foot, 400 horse, 500 artillery, and 300 staff officers ; but seldom more than 1,000 are under arms. Nicaragua has no navy, and there are no light- houses or buoys on her coasts. Each port has a governor intendant. The finances are in a deplorable condition. The revenue is derived mostly from import duties, a monopoly on rum, tobacco, and gunpowder, and a tax on slaughtered cattle. The total annual revenue is about $1,200,000. The expenditure is chiefly for the maintenance of the army and the gov- ernment departments, and the payment of the interest on the national debt, which amounts to about $4,000,000. Education is in a low con- dition. In 1868 a decree was passed making radical changes in public instruction, but the reform was only on paper. There are two so- called universities : that of Leon, which in 1872 had faculties of law, medicine, and theology,