Show V IL RL A 4 41 AN aa 4 N ja 0 railroad building in nicaragua prepared by bv the nut pitirim So society cletY washington D C Q service has an area of N NICARAGUA some square miles about equal to that of new york state and a population of approximately close to that of the city of 0 buffalo it Is the largest of 0 the central american republics many consider it the most beautiful much of the interior is mountainous the coasts are generally hat flat it faces the pacific with its back door to the atlantic most of its people live in the cities in the western part of the republic for the rainfall here Is moderate as 83 compared with that ot of the lite eastern coast the lie climate al tropical Is agreeable and t 11 lie e land Is fertile the cities of ChI nanae a reon acon managua Masaya are located near the west coast and along the one line of railroad extending from the port of corinto on the Pa pacific cille to granada the main port on lake nicaragua managua the lie capital Is the largest and although badly set back bach by the earthquake and ore fire that almost destroyed the city in the serij spring ig of 1031 1931 will in time again become the most important business center of the country leon and cities of artisans and small proprietors are located among very fertile farming lands and are the centers of the sugar trad masaya is an indian town and owes its importance to the coffee growing district on the sierras Sl erras located between the lakes and the pacific granada owes her early growth to the fact that she was the chief port for the trade between central america and spain by way of lake nicaragua and the san juan river her leading citizens are not only landed proprietors but merchants who sell goodsen goods in ln dersofi per Der sori ocr dier chii counters of their stores matagalpa the largest town off the railroad is the center of an important coffee growing district because of its altitude it has a more agreeable climate than the cities located in the plains but the absence of a railroad or even a good highway connection with the outside world has thwarted its growth east and west are divided eastern and western nicann nicaragua tia are divided by mountains and jungle covered country which have effectively prevented I 1 intercommunication ni cation except to a very minor degree tile physical separation has operated to prevent close political union and a common nn lional outlook to hamper trade and commerce and to obstruct a desirable interchange of people and ideas in addition the lack of a practicable route to its east coast has forced virtually all of nicaraguan Nic araguas foreign commerce to seek a longer Q and more roundabout route via the west coast an and d the Pina inn canal for these reasons it has been the desire of the goern government ment of nicaragua for many ears cars to open a menns means of communication between the west and east either by the canalization of the san juan river or by the construction of a highway or a r railroad all road A highway has been under construction from managua through tigh to rama an on the bluefields niue Blue nelds fields river where boat connections can be made with bluefields Blue fields the largest port town on tile the caribbean the population of the country Is overwhelmingly averi helmin gly of mixed spanish aal an indian blood with spanish the universal language although one finds in granada and the other large towns many families of pure spanish blood perhaps 10 per cent of the population populate Is pure indian found mostly n the area around masaya and matagalpa and in the thinly settled cattle raising sections of the nce of chontales Chon tales east of lake nicaragua still farther to the east along tile the rivers that drain into the ahw caribbean north of Grey town the sumo indiana indian have their homes they are a wild and timid race and have resisted all spanish influence the mosquito coast part of nicaraguan Nic araguas carridean Carrl Carri bean coast has the worlds worst real estate title the mosquito coast it gets ita ila name came not from the prevalence of mosquitoes qui toes but from the indians here there Is decided evidence of negro blood partly a heritage from the cargo of a slave ship that was wrecked ou on the coast years ago these blacks or mixed indians indiana and blacks called or Il were all augmented by escaped slaves from th mt plantations that sparsely dotted the coast in later years and by renegade slaves from jamaica and other islands of the west indies the mosquito coast was also a refuge for or buccaneers bucca and pirates and was visited vis teil itei by ninny many trading ships seeking turtle shells As a result tile the blood of the inhabitants became badly mixed and characteristics of 0 many races call be detected in ID the present day population san jua juaa a del norte Grey town at tile the mouth of the san juan river has haa an speaking negro population lon long ago the port had an excellent harbor and was a th therivin rivin community but dritt drifting Ing sands have closed the entrance from the sea and now only an occasional schooner calls in the boom days when hen the maritime canil canal company undertook the construction of a canal Grey town had visions of being a metropolis now it is only a dreary community of 0 rusted tin ant and frame shacks with a population of people in spite of the financial difficulties that have been general throughout bout the world and have been particularly trying in nicaragua the file president of the republic has improved the public schools and built new roads and railroads ro ads along the count rys roads iou will occasionally meet a high powered car snorting its way over ruts and bumps I 1 carrying sonic some government 0 metal or landed proprietor on business best known to himself the car has a number of occupants usually half a dozen in excess of its normal capacity for the government official travels with his guards his friends and perhaps a large part of his family while the usual car owner always lias has his entire family in the car and baggage and other impedimenta strapped on the running board and anywhere else that it can be suspended or attached cars nearly all american practically all cars are of american make and it Is a tribute to their satir illness diness that they can stand lie hie usage to which they are subjected new cars are frequently equipped with extra spring leaves as spare parts are hard to get and for service on oil nicaraguan roads springs have to tobe be strong the cars on lie roads road are few and far between but they add the touch which shows that hint you are traveling in a civilized coti country tiie the creaky ox me cart Is tile the usual means of locomotion small but bill sturdy animals with yokes or pulling bars lashed just behind the horns draw these carts creaking ant and groaning over the file trails but they got get through mud that will stop a strong pony it Is not necessary to ask for road directions there Is never more tha than one road or trail in the direction yo you want to go A question as to distance Is futile for no peon has any concep tion alon of time or distance A league may actually be any length from one to sl miles the usual answer to the ques tion alon now how far is it to any place Is no liny mas the nicaraguan equia equiv alent of the answer not fur which one so frequently gets from the small darky on our southern roads coffee Is the main crop th the e prosperity of the country de upon the coffee crop and itt its price crops have been good in recent years but the price has been very low for its future nicaragua loot looks to un building of the canal linking the pa ia ciale and the caribbean A pro nicaragua will no doubt mean a bulei nicaragua for prosperity will roean roads railroads and other public improvements prove ments merits A hungry man in nicara dicara gua Is a prospective recruit for one of the bandit gangs banditry probable 3 will cease when lien any man seeking work can get it and when every man can boast of the few dollars rattling around in his pocket gold in small Q quantities uan has been produced in nicaragua for hundreds of years the richest mines are in the province of Chont nies this area Is also bandit infested and the mines are a favorite field for bandit activities the situation has prevented the in stall stal atlon lation of modern machinery or the development of the properties on a large scale the Babl ionta mine at la Ll bertail has the distinction of having had a young mining engineer darned herbert hoover connected at one time with its management here only tile the richest strikes are now worked the ore being brought to the mill by pack mule the javall mine at santo domingo Is worked on a larger scale and at considerable sid erable profit to its owners putting butting a canal across nicaragua Is 13 a matter of utilizing uti lising some geo geographic geography graph ic features and overcoming others of outstanding importance physically are the count rys mountains and its two great freshwater fresh water in lakes kes in ID its central basin the great lakes of central Aine america |