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.
Although 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:
“I experience the liveliest emotions of joy in witnessing once more
the union of the representatives of the Nicaraguan people, after the
terrible tempest which has passed over the country, and which at one
time threatened not only to subvert its liberties, but to destroy its
very existence as a civilized nation. Brighter days have succeeded to
that period of confusion and fear, and we are now again enjoying the
unspeakable blessings of peace. In view of this happy result, your
satisfaction, Citizen Representatives, must equal my own; and I am
sure that the desires for the future happiness and prosperity of
Nicaragua which swell my own bosom, and to which words are too weak to
give utterance, exist also in yours.
“We have undoubtedly arrived at a crisis in our national career. After
unparalleled sufferings, heroically endured, our country has risen
from the abasement to which many years of civil war and the ferocious
passions of men had reduced it. But these evils have only passed away
to give place to others scarcely less deplorable, resulting from
foreign pretensions and aggressions. From these it is our obvious
duty, not less than our only safety, to solicit the interposition of
some powerful and friendly arm. Should this be generously extended in
our favor, we may smile at the intrigues and harmless malice of the
enemies of society and social order, which exist in our midst. We may
then look forward with well-grounded anticipations of a glorious
future. We may then devote our energies to the development of our
almost limitless resources, to the promotion of commerce and industry,
the revival of education, the improvement of our roads and our
navigable lakes and rivers;—in fact, to all those grand and useful
objects to which no government, unless at peace with the world, and
free from foreign interference and annoyance, can successfully devote
its energies.
“For this relief we need not despair. We may yet be called upon to
make sacrifices to secure it; but it must come with the successful
prosecution of that grand enterprise of connecting the two great
oceans, which is now occupying the paramount attention of the
commercial world:—an enterprise which is not only fraught with immense
results to trade, but which must work a total change in the political
and moral relations of all the countries of the globe; the greatest
work, not of this cycle alone, but of all ages.
“As a direct and essential step toward the consummation of this grand
enterprise, with its train of consequences so important to our
independence and prosperity, I have the honor to submit a Treaty of
Alliance, Friendship, Commerce, and Protection, negotiated with the
Honorable Plenipotentiary of the great and enlightened Republic of the
United States of North America, and a contract for opening a Ship
Canal, concluded between the agent of an American Company and this
Government,—upon both of which you will be called to act, in
conformity with the constitution.”
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:
“Sir, this Assembly is actuated by the earnest desire of coöperating
with the Executive in whatever shall promote the interests or the
glory of the State; and offers its prayers to Heaven for light and
guidance in the discharge of its intricate duties. It desires me to
felicitate you upon the wisdom and firmness with which you discharged
the responsible duties of your position during the late troubles, and
which saved the State from the terrors which at one time impended on
the political horizon. It congratulates you also upon the dignity and
skill with which you have conducted the foreign relations of the
country, which have raised it in the estimation of other and more
powerful nations, and secured for it their sympathy and confidence.
“The efforts and sacrifices of the State in support of civil and
social order have been great, but most happily successful; the hydra
of anarchy is crushed, and, so far as the internal relations of our
country are concerned, we look forward to a peaceful future, and a
rapid and constant progress. To foreign pretensions and the
territorial aggressions with which we have been persecuted, and which
are now the only sources of disquiet to the State, let us hope for the
early interposition of that nation to which we have always been
accustomed to look as a model for ourselves—a nation powerful,
enlightened, and naturally called to defend our territory, in
conformity with the great and glorious principle which it was the
first to proclaim, and which finds a response in every American heart,
viz.: that ‘The American Continent belongs to Americans, and is sacred
to Republican Institutions.’”
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.
[Illustration: LAKE NIHAPA—AN EXTINCT CRATER.]
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]
-----
Footnote 26:
Those who feel interested in the subject of symbolism as it existed
amongst the American semi-civilized nations, or as connected with
their religions systems, will find it illustrated to a certain extent,
in my work entitled “THE SERPENT SYMBOL AND THE WORSHIP OF THE
RECIPROCAL PRINCIPLES OF NATURE IN AMERICA,” in which particular
prominence has been given to the worship of the serpent, so
extensively diffused, and yet so enigmatical. These are subjects which
it is not my design to discuss in a popular work like the present.
-----
[Illustration: PAINTED ROCKS OF MANAGUA.]
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.
[Illustration: ANCIENT CARVING IN WOOD; MANAGUA.]
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.
[Illustration: IDOL AT MANAGUA.]
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.
-----
Footnote 27:
Capt. Belcher, who was here in 1838, says of Managua, that “it
suffered severely in the late cholera visitation; losing six hundred
out of the population of twelve thousand. Of this number it is rather
remarkable that females between the ages of fifteen and twenty-five,
and principally newly married, were the predominant victims. Generally
this place is considered as peculiarly healthy, the average deaths
seldom exceeding one per cent.”—_Voyage round the World_, vol. i. p.
172.
-----
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:
“It was inhabited by Chorotegans, and, to tell the truth, it was a
beautiful and populous village, but so far from forming a city, was
composed of isolated houses, at considerable distance from each other.
Before it had been destroyed by war, it covered a great space, and
resembled the villages to be seen in the valley of Alva, in Biscay, in
Gallicia, among the mountains and valleys of Ibarra, where all the
houses are in view of each other and occupy considerable room. This
village of Managua extends in a line along the lake; but so far from
having three leagues of extent, it scarcely has one. However, at the
time of its prosperity, it was the finest place of the province, and
contained 40,000 inhabitants, of which 10,000 were archers, or
slingers. But when I visited it, six years after the Conquest, it was
the most completely abandoned and desolate place of the government. It
now contains 10,000 souls, of which 600 are archers. On the opposite
side of the lake, is the domain of the Cazique, Tipitapa, which has an
extent of six leagues, and 6,000 inhabitants, of which 800 are
archers.
“In conclusion, from what I have heard from those who have visited
this country from the times of Gil Gonzalez Davila to those of Captain
Francisco Hernandez, the country was so populous that the inhabitants
may be said to have fairly swarmed. But this is not the place to speak
of the devastation of the country and the massacre of so many
Indians.”
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.