IDSUMMER 1 RIP 
 
 TO Nicaragua 
 
 »^ JOHN S. KENDALL 
 
 
 v.t, Orleans La 
 
 I o n V 
 
A Midsummer Trip 
 TO Nicaragua 
 
 »^ JOHN S. KENDALL 
 
 g TRADES [ |^li'j,^]j cqUNCIL g 
 
 J^etv Orleanjt, La. 
 TICAyjJJ^B JO'S VRIMT 
 1905 
 
In Excliange, 
 JBaward Mem. Lib. 
 13 b m 
 
A Midsummer Trip to Nicaragua. 
 
 Notes of a Voyage from New Orleans to Bluefields. Picturesque Places 
 Where the Tourist Finds Much to Enjoy. 
 
 Great Enterprises Under Way at Cape Gracias a Dios. Bluefields One of 
 
 the Coolest, Healthiest and Most Delightful Towns 
 
 in Central America. 
 
 M 
 
 _HE recent development of the 
 fruit trade between New Or- 
 leans and Central America 
 has led to the addition to 
 the Blueflel.ds Steamship Com- 
 pany's fleet of a number of 
 handsomely equipped steam- 
 ers, adapted to the needs of 
 a rapidly expanding passenger busi- 
 ness. Of these splendid ships tl"ie_C.p- 
 riiLta.ii,nd. the Bluefields, are admira- 
 ble types. Thbug-h built and owned in 
 Norway, they are designed express- 
 ly for ^service between New Orleans 
 and Nicaragua, and embody all the 
 best features of modern marine 
 architecture. The Bluefields, for ex- 
 ample, is a steel ship 224 feet long, 
 of J.COl tor.s l.nuden, and is capable 
 of making a speed of eleven knots 
 per hour under ordinary circum- 
 stances. She has facilities for the 
 safe and convenient transportation 
 of 27,000 bunches of bananas, a 
 cargo which can be considerably 
 augmented whenever the necessity 
 arises. There are accommodations 
 for nineteen first-class passengers. 
 Most of the staterooms are located 
 on the main deck, opening into a 
 large and well-ventilated dining sa- 
 loon. They are fittc^d with all the 
 conveniences ordinarily found on a 
 transatlantic liner. The saloon is 
 beautiful in white enameled wood- 
 work and upholstered in "art nou- 
 veau" velvet, and is one of the most 
 attractive places in the whole vessel. 
 On the deck above are a smoking- 
 room for men and a parlor for la- 
 dies, both apartments elaborately fin- 
 ished in mahogany and upholstered, 
 the one in leatlier, the other in vel- 
 vet. The ample deckroom permits 
 the traveler to enjoy the delicious 
 coolness of the ocean breezes, and 
 everywhere are found comfortable 
 steamer chairs in which to lie at 
 
 ease. The Bluefields is equipped witli 
 all the newest devices to promote 
 safety and comfort, including the 
 supplemental keels, which reduce the 
 rolling of the vessel at sea. Most 
 people are liable to seasickness, and 
 it must always be the best of rec- 
 ommendations for a passenger ship 
 to say that she is "steady as a 
 house," a verdict which one has no 
 hesitation in rendering in favor cf 
 the Bluefields after an experience 
 which, like mine, extended over near- 
 ly fifteen days of travel and in- 
 cluded just enough bad weather to 
 adequately test the good ship's merit 
 in tliis important regard. 
 
 It was our good fortune to make 
 the trip from New Orleans to Blue- 
 fields on the fifth voyage of this 
 splendid ship. We left New Orleans 
 on July 15 and were safely back 
 home again on Aug. 1. Ordinarily 
 the vessels of the Bluefields Steam- 
 ship Company make the trip in 
 five or six days, the longer schedule 
 including one day at Cape Gracias 
 a Dios. At present there are no 
 stops on the return trip, which is 
 thus made in better time in order to 
 avert any danger that might other- 
 wise threaten the precious cargo of 
 fruit neatly stored away 'tween 
 decks. Thus the passenger gets from 
 eleven to twelve days at sea, wliere 
 he can inhale the salty and invig- 
 orating sea air, and enjoy the de- 
 licious idleness nowhere else obtain- 
 able in this wlioie busy world ex- 
 cept on board ship. We left New- 
 Orleans about 11 o'clock in the morn- 
 ing, a gratifying circumstance, inas- 
 much as it brought us to the bar at 
 the mouth of the river just at sun- 
 set. The trip down the river was 
 full of interest. On either hand the 
 verdant shore unrolled itself in a 
 long panorama of green and fertile 
 fields, interrupted hero and there by 
 the tall chimney of a sugar refinery 
 
or the clustered roofs of a little 
 village. At length we passed 
 
 through the jetties and emerged upon 
 the tranquil Gulf in the full glory 
 of a matchless Louisiana sunset. As 
 the coast line faded from view we 
 found ourselves floating upon a sea 
 bathed in the golden radiance of the 
 declining day, every tiny wave gilded 
 with the light of the setting sun. In 
 the immense solemnity of the place 
 and hour the reverberation of the 
 good ship's screw made a sort of 
 restful murmur that fitted into the 
 poetry of the scene, and prepared 
 us as by some subtle magic for the 
 vast peace and solitude of days and 
 days when we would not see any 
 trace of land or of man's handiwork 
 butside of our own stalwart ship. 
 
 Our commander. Captain Hansen, 
 proved himself a valuable addition to 
 the merry party that assembled three 
 times a day around the bountifully 
 served dining tables of the Blue- 
 fields. A Norwegian by birth and by 
 nationality, he has a good knowledge 
 of the English tongue, and an ex- 
 perience of the sea which dates back 
 to his early boyhood. For many years 
 he has traded along the West Indian 
 and the Central American coasts, and 
 his knowledge of the local conditions 
 in each of the many countries to 
 which his vocation has called him 
 at one time or another is as thorough 
 as his command of his profession. 
 Moreover, he is a well-read man, 
 with a large fund of humor, and the 
 unfailing cheerfulness that seems the 
 attribute of all navigators in Central 
 American waters. Captain Hansen 
 was only temporarily in charge of 
 the Bluefields, replacing Captain Hal- 
 vorsen during the latter's illness In 
 New Orleans; but having served some 
 time as second in command on the 
 ship, he brought adequate experience 
 to the post, and acquitted himself 
 very gracefully of a difficult and deli- 
 cate task, 
 
 A congenial group of passengers 
 made the voyage extremely pleasant. 
 In the party were two young New 
 Orleans men, who are now perma- 
 nently identified with Nicaragua, and 
 who laave made more than ordinary 
 success by dint of great personal 
 capacity and extremely hard work. 
 Mr. A. V. Beer, of the New Orleans 
 and Central American Trading Com- 
 pany, proved to be a most interesting 
 man. At the age of 27 he shares with 
 his brother the active management 
 of a very large and important gen- 
 eral supply business, the headquar- 
 ters of which are established in Blue- 
 fields, but the ramifications of which 
 cover the adjacent coast very thor- 
 ouglily. About ten years ago Mr, Beer 
 went to Bluefields to join his father, 
 whose energy and enterprise brought 
 the business into being twenty-two 
 
 years ago, and under the paternal 
 eye he was trained in every detail of 
 the trade, from the hard work of the 
 warehouse to the scarcely less onerous 
 routine of the office and the counter. 
 Every year he returned to the city 
 to continue his studies at Tulane 
 University, of which he is an 
 alumnus, but after his graduation, 
 three or four years ago, he cast liis 
 lot definitely in Nicaragua, where he 
 is widely known and generally re- 
 spected. The dogged courage and the 
 splendid patience which make such a 
 career possible are worthy of admira- 
 tion, and indicate just the qualities 
 that are requisite for success in Cen- 
 tral America, where, wliile oppor- 
 tunities are abundant, ability and in- 
 dustry, honesty and sobriety, are es- 
 sential to turn them to account. 
 
 Mr. Rene J. La Villebeuvre, another 
 member of the party, was returning 
 to his home in Managua, after a 
 brief visit to the United States. Mr. 
 La Villebeuvre came to Nicaragua 
 nine years ago and found employ- 
 ment first in Bluefields, then in the 
 mines on the upper courses of the 
 Wanks River. He made an excellent 
 reputation in both places, and won 
 for himself an enviable circle of 
 warm friends. Subsequently becoming 
 connected with the Central Ameri- 
 can Commercial Company, a gigantic 
 corporation which controls a large 
 part of tlae public utilities of Nica- 
 ragua, he was placed in charge of 
 the electric light plant in Managua, 
 where he has since remained. Mr. La 
 Villebeuvre is a practical electrician, 
 with five years' experience in the 
 shops in New Orleans. This knowl- 
 edge of the business has stood him 
 in good stead in a position the diffi- 
 culties of which cannot well be 
 imagined by people to whom the 
 electric light is the commonplace of 
 every day existence. Mr. La Ville- 
 beuvre is a careful, painstaking, 
 conscientious man, highly esteemed 
 by the Government officials In Nica- 
 ragua, where his sterling qualities 
 are warmly appreciated. 
 
 One of the pleasant features of the 
 voyage from New Orleans to Blue- 
 fields is the fact that there are many 
 small interruptions in the long mo- 
 notony of sea and sky. The Gulf of 
 Mexico is one of the busiest of the 
 great marine subdivisions, and near- 
 ly every day reveals somewhere 
 along the horizon line the smoke of 
 a ,far-off steamer or the tapering 
 spars and snowy sails of a full-rigged 
 vessel. On the evening of the sec- 
 ond day out w^e passed the w^estern 
 end of Cuba, known as Cape San An- 
 tonio — a low-lying point of land, dot- 
 ted with straggling palm trees and 
 terminating in a tall white light- 
 house. Twenty-four hours later the 
 Bluefields passed within a mile of 
 
 i 
 
■)*• ' 'r'k,yyjS^ii"„//jSf//, 
 
Swan Island, a tiny little speck of 
 land lying, like a derelict, in mid- 
 ocean, yet with a population of 
 twenty-five or thirty souls. For- 
 merly Swan Island was the scene of 
 considerable activity, but the guano 
 deposits are not now being worked, 
 and the only traffic is in cocoanuts. 
 The island is the property of a Bos- 
 ton company, and really, if not legal- 
 ly, is an outpost of the United States, 
 the flag of which nation the island- 
 ers proudly display whenever a ves- 
 sel passes near. We did not get much 
 of a chance to view the place, but 
 from the distance it seemed very 
 beautiful, thickly set with lofty 
 trees and washed by green water 
 and sparkling surf. 
 
 A little after daybreak on Wednes- 
 day morning the Bluefields found 
 herself approaching Cape Gracias a 
 Dios, the fOrest-clad promontory 
 where the Wanks River pours its 
 muddy waters into the Carribean and 
 divides Honduras from Nicaragua. 
 Cape Gracias owes its name to Co- 
 lumbus, who stopped here on his way 
 northward toward Truxillo, on one 
 of his latter voyages. Up to within 
 a few months the steamers vs^hich 
 called at the cape anchored off the 
 little town which bears the same 
 name, situated at the former mouth 
 of the Wanks River, five miles from 
 its present mouth. Fifty years ago 
 the town was of considerable size, 
 and the harbor so deep and spacious 
 that the ships of many nations and 
 of any draught found convenient an- 
 chorage close inshore. The Wanks, 
 however, proved treacherous. The 
 silt it brought down from the interior 
 gradually filled the harbor and drove 
 the sliipping to anchorages further 
 and further from shore, so that to- 
 day there is hardly water enough to 
 float a small sailboat where formerly 
 men-of-war were accustomed to 
 ride. Early in the present year the 
 port of entry was transferred to the 
 town of Port Dietrick, -which is 
 in course of construction at the new 
 mouth of the Wanks, and this change 
 practically completed the ruin of the 
 older settlement. With the Govern- 
 ment offices went almost all the 
 white population', so that the resi- 
 dents of Gracias nowadays are In- 
 dians only, and do not number more 
 than a few hundreds. 
 
 Port Dietrick. in spite of its ex- 
 cessive newness, is one of the most 
 interesting places in Central Amer- 
 ica. For one thing, it is an Amer- 
 ican enterprise, named after an 
 American, and largely built, or build- 
 ing, with American money. An en- 
 terprising American, who is said to 
 be backed by Senator Clark, of Mon- 
 tana, and other wealthy men, has se- 
 cured a concession for the exploita- 
 tion of several enterprises in north- 
 eastern Nicaragua, including mines, 
 cattle, etc. In part payment for his 
 
 extensive privileges he is under ob- 
 ligation to improve the navigatioii of 
 the "Wanks River, a tortuous and 
 turbulent stream, broken by numer- 
 ous waterfalls and obstructed by 
 mighty rocks. But the Wanks leads 
 to the rich gold mines of the in- 
 terior, and is one of the chief routes 
 by which provisions are conveyed 
 thither and the bullion shipped dov/n 
 to the sea. There are, then, good 
 reasons why a town should exist at 
 the mouth of this picturesque stream. 
 Port Dietrick has already a popula- 
 tion of 400, of whom twenty are 
 Americans. The Government has 
 erected a commodious custom-house; 
 a hotel to cost $40,000 is now near- 
 ing completion, and a channel is to 
 be excavated from the present an- 
 chorage in such a way that vessels 
 will be able to lie practically along- 
 side the custom-house vs^liarf. Pend- 
 ing the completion of the last-men- 
 tioned improvement, the Bluefields 
 was obliged to anchor about a mile 
 from the shore, but in a sheltered po- 
 sition. The natives, in "dories," as 
 their long, narrow boats, hewn out of 
 single mahogany logs, are termed, 
 received the freight in their little 
 vessels and conveyed it safely ashore. 
 
 Port Dietrick is, in fact, a noted 
 center of the Indian population of the 
 northern part of the Mosquito Terri- 
 tory. The Indians are a most inter- 
 esting race. They make their homes 
 along the rivers in the interior, but 
 as their livelihood is earned by work- 
 ing along the coasts they have many 
 temporary settlements there, one 
 of which is included in the 
 town of Port Dietrick. They 
 
 have the reputation of being 
 incurable petty thieves, and we 
 were cautioned to keep the ports in 
 our staterooms closed while the 
 Bluefields lay in harbor, lest they 
 should secure admission by these 
 openings and rifle our property. It 
 appears, however, that they are dis- 
 honest only with respect to trifles. 
 The theft of large articles or of im- 
 portant sums of money is very rare. 
 The Indians who came under our ob- 
 servation during our brief stay at the 
 Cape vsrere evidently of mixed race; 
 and, in fact, the Jamaican negroes 
 and the so-called Caribs are found 
 scattered along the coast, working 
 alongside of the natives, and prob- 
 ably affiliating with them socially. 
 The Caribs are of somewhat superior 
 mental abilities, inasmuch as many 
 of the Indian boat crews are found "' 
 under the leadership of one of these 
 coal-black individuals. As boatmen, 
 the Caribs and the Indians are won- 
 derfully expert. Among the dories 
 which flocked around the Bluefields 
 ■were many in which twelve or four- 
 teen men found room, one to steer at 
 each end, and the rest to paddle, and 
 so skillful were they all that even 
 when their little vessel was laden al- 
 
-7— 
 
 most to the water's edge they navi- 
 gated it successfully to land in spite 
 of the mighty surge of the Caribbean 
 perpetually rolling upon the bar. Al- 
 most amphibious by habit, these in- 
 trepid boatmen venture out in almost 
 all weathers, inviting risks which 
 would appal other people. 
 
 One amusing peculiarity exhibited 
 by our Indian visitors was a method 
 of cutting the hair which left a sort 
 of thick thatch upon the top of the 
 skull, but denuded the lower portion 
 of the head of its legitimate adorn- 
 ment. This is accomplished by plac- 
 ing a gourd upon the victim's head 
 and trimming away all the hair which 
 projects below its somewhat re- 
 stricted margins. Some of the natives 
 had the further peculiarity — not un- 
 common, it appears, but quite devoid 
 of offense — of a mild leprosy, which 
 mottles the dusky skin with curious 
 patches of white. This disease is 
 strictly hereditary, and does not 
 seem to cause the sufferer either pain 
 or inconvenience; nevertheless, its 
 effect upon the cuticle is abnormal 
 and unattractive. 
 
 The Bluefields carried quite a 
 quantity of lumber and machinery for 
 ^Port Dietrick. We did not take any 
 cargo from the place, though I un- 
 derstand considerable quantities of 
 timber and cattle are exported an- 
 nually, in addition to the gold of the 
 interior. Among our passengers was 
 a Mr. Duran, a Cuban cattle dealer, 
 who left us at Port Dietrick to com- 
 plete arrangements for a shipment 
 of beeves, a sort of experimental 
 transaction, which, if successful, will 
 no doubt initiate a profitable busi- 
 ness. There appears to be a demand 
 for the Nicaraguan cattle to be fat- 
 j tened in the rich pastures of Pinar 
 ' del Rio and eventually consigned to 
 Hhe abattoirs in Havana. All of this, 
 however, is a matter of the future. 
 Port Dietrick is not more tlian seven 
 , months old, and there is much to do 
 tliere yet before a large city is called 
 into existence, with its attendant 
 commercial and mercantile enter- 
 prises. 
 
 It is only a matter of twenty-four 
 hours from Port Dietrick to Blue- 
 fields. On Friday morning we found 
 our good ship steaming into a superb 
 lagoon, following a channel that 
 wound in and around a succession of 
 tliickly-wooded keys, and finally 
 brought us safely to anchor under the 
 shadow of a. bold headland known as 
 The Bluff. The Bluff is seven miles 
 distant from Bluefields, the roofs of 
 which were distinguishable, glimmer- 
 ing in the morning sunshine, across 
 the lagoon. It is, however, flie point 
 at w^hich the commerce of the port is 
 done. At the foot of the bluff an 
 extensive wharf roofed -with corru- 
 gated iron is provided for the recep- 
 tion and storage of freight. Ships of 
 a certain draught can lie directly be- 
 
 side the wharf; but the Bluefields 
 drew more than the available depth 
 of water, and it was necessary for us 
 to take passage in a sort of ferry- 
 boat which transferred us thither in 
 order to undergo the scrutiny of the J 
 Custom-house officials. These gen- 
 tlemen are reputed locally to be very 
 searching in their examinations, but 
 I must say that the inquisition, inso- 
 far as our baggage was concerned, 
 was accomplished with the minimum 
 of inconvenience. This important 
 matter attended to, we were directed 
 back to our ferry-boat, which, in the 
 course of an hour, delivered us at the 
 wharf in Bluefields. 
 
 Bluefields, as I shall have occasion 
 to point out more in detail in a sub- 
 sequent letter, is a flourishing little 
 
 ■town built of American lumber and 
 corrugated iron. The lagoon of Blue-, 
 fields is sheltered from the fury of 
 storms, taut open to the breezes of 
 the ocean, facts which, conjoined witii 
 the heavy rainfall- and excellent 
 natural drainage, make it one of the 
 coolest and healthiest places on the 
 Central American coast. Prom the 
 harbor the town presents an ani- 
 mated and attractive appearance. The j 
 ground rises from the water's edge 
 in a series of gentle elevations, cul- 
 minating within a mile or two in the; 
 heavy forests which clothe all the 
 interior of Nicaragua. Along the hill- 
 side the streets of the little city are 
 arranged in a picturesque way, with 
 the vivid green of bread-fruit trees, 
 palms and almonds to relieve the 
 gray uniformity of metal roofs. With- 
 out doubt Bluefields is destined to be 
 one of the greatest ports in Central 
 
 America. A time will also come when 
 its charm and beauty will attract 
 scores of travelers, w^here one now- 
 adays finds his ^vay to its hospitable 
 doors. The delicious purity of the 
 atmosphere, the intense azure of its 
 skies, the invigorating trade winds 
 which blow perpetually, are all ele- 
 ments which render a visit to tlio 
 little city a matter of genuine pleas- 
 ure. Now that the enterprise of the 
 Bluefields Steamship Company has 
 provided the facilities for reaching 
 the place in comfort and even in 
 luxury, the tide of travel must in- 
 evitably set thither in constantly 
 augmenting volume. 
 
 — II. 
 
 BLUEPIELDS, Republic of Nic- 
 aragua, Aug. 12. — Tlae long 
 stretch of rocky coast which 
 borders the Caribbean, from 
 Panama to Cape Gracias a 
 Dios, and which, under the 
 name of the Spanish Main, 
 figures prominently in the early 
 history of the continent, is not 
 now the great center of maritime 
 enterprise which it once was. Colum- 
 bus, adventuring northward along an 
 
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unknown shore as far as the cape, 
 set an example which was followed 
 by Morgan, Drake and Nelson, by 
 Walker and Gregg, and by many an- 
 other valiant sailor and soldier be- 
 side. There exist few memorials of 
 Columbus or Drake now; Morgan is 
 scarcely a name; but some of Nel- 
 son's rusty cannon have been dis- 
 covered on the Nicaraguan coast and 
 Walker's incursion is still fresh in 
 the minds of the people he once 
 ruled. A hundred years ago when 
 Spain was mistress of Latin America, 
 a lucrative commerce existed in tlie 
 precious metals; fleets of treasure- 
 ships gathered at Panama to bear 
 home the ingots collected from Costa 
 Rica, Nicaragua and Honduras, and 
 the cheerful pirates from Tortuga, 
 Old Providence and a dozen other 
 
 naturally converges towards it, while 
 the banana plantations along the Bs- 
 condido River, which discharges into 
 the Bluefields lagoon a few miles 
 from the town, invite American en- 
 terprise and capital. There is prob- 
 ably no place in Latin America, nortli 
 of Panama, which offers more op- 
 portunities for investment. The mines 
 are not far distant, the vast mahog- 
 any forests are now being opened up, 
 every kind of agricultural, indus- 
 trial and manufacturing enterprise 
 can count on a fair chance of suc- 
 cess. Blueflelds must also appeal to 
 the tourist as the handsomest, most 
 convenient and healthiest of the 
 coast towns in Central America. The 
 comfortable steamers which connect 
 the town with New Orleans suggest 
 the trip as an ideal way of spending 
 
 Cutting Bananas on the Escondido River, Near Bluefields. 
 
 near-by islands maintained an illegal 
 navy, which subsisted upon the Catli- 
 olic King's costly galleons. Now, a 
 new civilization is developing tlie re- 
 sources of the Spanish Main, and 
 fleets are again gathering at Puerto 
 Cortez, Cape Gracias, Blueflelds and 
 Limon; but they are the peaceful 
 vessels of the United Fruit Company, 
 the Bluefields Steamship Company 
 and other companies engaged in the 
 banana business or the passenger 
 trade, and if there are no pirates to- 
 day to add romance to the voyage it 
 is not without interest of its own. 
 
 Bluefields, with the noblest harbor 
 on the Spanish Main, is without 
 doubt destined to be a great commer- 
 cial city. Situated almost exactly in 
 the center of the east coast of Nica- 
 ragua, the trade from the interior 
 
 a tw^o weeks' vacation. The notion 
 that ii is hot in the summer time is 
 erroneous. The temperature never 
 rises above 88 degrees and never 
 falls below 68. Bluefields faces the 
 trade winds, which blow without 
 ceasing. Sweeping across the wide 
 waters of the sea, tliey bring to the 
 land a delicious freshness and cool- 
 ness, so that all the year round one 
 may sit on the verandas with which 
 every dwelling is provided and lux- 
 uriate in the perfect comfort they 
 provide. At night the temperature 
 falls low enough to make a ll^t 
 blanket a desirable covering. Rains 
 fall nearly every day, except in the 
 spring; in the wet season the show- 
 ers occur several times a day, and 
 occasionally two or three days of 
 deluge cleanses the city and stlmu- 
 
—10- 
 
 lates the already luxuriant vegeta- 
 tion. 
 
 The town is built upon the side of 
 a low hill, back of which the land 
 continues to rise in elevations of in- 
 creasing' height till lost in the thick 
 forest of the interior. The situation 
 facilitates drainage, an important 
 matter where the rainfall at tlie 
 present season of the year may 
 amount to six or seven inches a day. 
 The architecture assimilates as near- 
 ly as local conditions admit to the 
 familiar American types. Instead of 
 the tile and adobe of the typical 
 Spanish town, Blueflelds favors 
 American lumber and corrugated 
 zinc. The blank walls, barred w^in- 
 dows, flat roofs and flowering court- 
 yards of the hinterland give place to 
 irregular lines of tiny cottages, some 
 of which are set in the midst of small 
 gardens, and all of which are pic- 
 turesquely placed against a back- 
 ground of palm, mango and bread 
 fruit trees. The clay found in the 
 vicinity is unsuited for the manu- 
 facture of brick or tile, and the for- 
 eign element in the population ad- 
 heres to the building methods with 
 which it is familiar. But as duties 
 are imposed according to weight, 
 manifestly only the lighter kinds of 
 material are imported, and the use 
 of zinc for roofing in lieu of slate is 
 thus accounted for. The result is by 
 no means unpleasing. One is most 
 impressed by the tiny size of the 
 dwellings, in which two or three un- 
 ceiled rooms suffice for the accom- 
 modation of the average family. 
 There are several large general 
 stores, the owners of which occupy 
 residences of some size and elegance, 
 but the most sumptuous of them cost 
 less than $4,500 to erect, and could 
 be duplicated in Louisiana for half 
 the money. A tiny cottage of two 
 apartments costa $700 to build; the 
 average dwelling rents for $25 per 
 month or more, and there is a con- 
 stant demand for property for both 
 purposes. In fact, the buildings 
 erected since the last fire, by which, 
 about three years ago, nearly the 
 whole town was consumed, are larger 
 and handsomer than those they re- 
 place 
 
 Housekeeping in Blueflelds is not 
 without its problems. Aside from the 
 high rents, the absence of the usual 
 sources of supplies compels the popu- 
 lation to rely largely upon New Or- 
 leans for food. There is an interest- 
 ing market housed in a handsome 
 frame building overlooking the 
 lagoon, and a good grade of meat can 
 be purchased there at about 18 cents 
 per pound. But fruits and vegetables 
 are not easily obtained. Eggs sell 
 readily at 63 cents per dozen, but 
 chickens do not thrive, and the sup- 
 ply is not equal to the demand. The 
 army ant is said to be particularly 
 skilled in locating and consuming the 
 newly-planted seeds, so that vegeta- 
 
 ble gardens do not flourish to any 
 extent. Bananas are cut green and 
 sold to the Fruit Company for ex- 
 port, so that one rarely sees them 
 eaten in Bluefields. The tamarind, 
 a nut with an acid but agreeable 
 flavor; the zapote, a heart-shaped 
 fruit with the flavor of baked sweet 
 potatoes; the cocoanut, too common 
 to be much valued; the guava, 
 when in season, are a few of the 
 native fruits which grow without 
 cultivation. The bread fruit, which 
 is much eaten, especially by the poor, 
 is sliced and fried; only rarely do the 
 natives allow it to become ripe 
 enough to eat raw. Fish, oysters, 
 crabs and turtle can be procured, 
 when the boatmen develop enterprise 
 enough to go after them, and furnish 
 delicious eating. The natives cook 
 fish with green bananas and eat the 
 mixture with tortillas, a species of 
 flapjack made of corn meal and roast- 
 ed over the coals. But the main re- 
 liance of all classes is' the American 
 canned goods, which are imported in 
 great quantities, and considering the 
 freights, duties, etc., are sold at very 
 reasonable prices. 
 
 Of society as such, Blueflelds pos- 
 sesses little or nothing. The Ameri- 
 cans, as one of them happily phrased 
 it, consider themselves exiles, and, 
 therefore, bound to stand together. 
 They visit among themselves, and 
 the International Club, which occu- 
 pies a large, low, two-storied build- 
 ing on the principal street, has a 
 membership of fifty, and is very 
 popular. Here the foreigners assem- 
 ble nearly every evening to enjoy 
 the breezes on the spacious porch 
 or to look over the books and papers 
 with which the reading-room is pro- 
 vided, or to play cards "for drinks." 
 "For drinks" is permitted, but other 
 stakes are illegal, infringing upon 
 the gambling concession, a monop- 
 oly which no one grudges its holder. 
 Some beautiful examples of the spirit 
 of brotherhood which links the 
 Americans together in Blueflelds are 
 known. Young men who have landed 
 here penniless, hoping to win for- 
 tune by "nerve" and luck, have been 
 quietly cared for till they found em- 
 ployment, often for five or six 
 months at a time. They say that no 
 young man who is able and willing 
 to work has gone wrong through any 
 lack of assistance and advice on the 
 part of his compatriots in Bluefields. 
 "We feel," said a well-known mer- 
 chant to me, "that the prosperity and 
 reputation of each individual white 
 man is the prosperity and reputa- 
 tion of all." 
 
 There are occasional dances at the 
 Club to provide entertainment. The 
 visit of an American warship is al- 
 ways an occasion for much dining 
 and dancing. Sometimes Governor 
 Estrada celebrates a birthday with 
 a reception and concert at the Fed- 
 
 f 
 
-11- 
 
 eral building. But the chief social 
 events of the week are the concerts 
 on Thursday and Sunday evenings at 
 the botanical" garden. Situated on 
 the outskirts of the town, in front of 
 a really handsome school for boys, 
 the garden occupies an entire 
 square, and ,is filled with a remark- 
 able collection of shrubs. The hibis- . 
 cus here grows to the dimensions of 
 a large tree; there are bushes the 
 leaves of which glow like a painter's 
 palate; colias nriottled with crimson, 
 gold and blue; cacti of unusual size 
 and queer shapes; mimosas tall and 
 stately, and hundreds of plants of 
 name unknown, but of an Oriental 
 gorgeousness of foliage. In the cen- 
 ter, an iron kiosk offers a retreat to 
 the military band, which plays with 
 taste and feeling the waltzes and 
 romances of ten years ago. A circle 
 of white-washed benches accommo- 
 dates the crowd — white and black — 
 for here the color line is hardly 
 drawn — all as gayly dressed as the 
 sumptuous vegetation surrounding 
 them. Some of the toilettes of the 
 colored belles are remarkable. Sky- 
 blue skirts, with green blouses, rich- 
 ly trimmed ■with "white embroidery 
 and cotton lace; purple skirts, with 
 broad splashes of black velvet sewn 
 haphazard upon thein; picture hats, 
 with long ostrich plumes pointing 
 straight out in every direction — 
 these are some of the effects which 
 may be noted in the course of a 
 casual inspection. But the loudness 
 of the ladies' apparel is the one ag- 
 gressive feature of the entertain- 
 ment, which really is far more dig- 
 nified and enjoyable than a popular 
 concert could possibly be in our own 
 more boisterous country. 
 
 Society of a kind, however, there 
 is among the colored people. They, 
 too, support a club, larger and richer 
 than the International. But that is 
 only for an el,ect hundred or so. Many 
 of the Blueflelds blacks are employed 
 as clerks in the stores, and are said 
 to be faithful, competent, admirable 
 penmen and good accountants. Others 
 are in Government employ; many run 
 little businesses of their own; a 
 larger number find work on the 
 docks, and the rest gain a livelihood 
 by cutting bananas along the Escon- 
 dido. The fruitships enlist a couple 
 of hundred blacks at Bluefields, car- 
 ry them to the scene of operations, 
 and when the cargo is aboard con- 
 vey them back to town. The nu- 
 merous saloons garner no small part 
 of their earnings. A very character- 
 istic experience it is to see the col- 
 ored population of Bluefields going 
 to church on Sunday. The Moravian 
 missionaries, who have for years la- 
 bored with excellent results among 
 the people of the coast, maintain a 
 large establishment here, consisting 
 of a handsome wooden church, a two- 
 story dwelling where the dozen 
 
 whites connected with the mission 
 are lodged, and two stores that do a 
 thriving business. There is a col- 
 ored preacher, recently ordained, and 
 nearly all the church members are 
 negroes. They are -faithful attend- 
 ents and always wear their best at 
 the four or five services celebrated 
 on Sunday, The men — such as can 
 muster the garments — turn out in 
 old dress suits, with straw hats and 
 white gloves. The women belong 
 to different church societies, and garb 
 themselves a';cordingly. At a certain 
 age they are admitted to the Daugh- 
 ters of the King, and wear bright 
 purple skirts and white shirt waists. 
 When they are a little older they 
 enter another organization, and wear 
 white from head to foot. It is all 
 very picturesque, and hot nearly so 
 ridiculous as it may sound. In fact, 
 the Bluefields negroes furnish much 
 food for thought. They are clearly 
 of a grade superior to our "corn 
 field" darky, far more self-respect- 
 ing, industrious and thrifty. - They 
 furnish only a small part of the crim- 
 inal class, which in Blueflelds is very 
 small anyway. Drunkenness, small 
 thefts, occasional fighting are the 
 offenses of which they are oftenest 
 guilty. The darker tragedies which 
 stir the righteous indignation of the 
 Southerners against the negro rare- 
 ly or never occur. Crimes of vio- 
 lence are not unknown in Bluefields, 
 but they are, as a rule, perpetrated 
 by Indians and Spanish. I may men- 
 tion in passing that at the present 
 time there are nine murderers in 
 duress, who are constantly seen 
 working about the streets, guarded 
 each by two soldiers. The death 
 penalty does not exist in Nicaragua, 
 and sentences of fifteen or twenty 
 years are usually inflicted for homi- 
 cides. 
 
 There are auite a number of 
 Louisianians in Bluefields, among 
 them Dr. T. B. Layton, of the Marine 
 Hospital Service, and Dr. Braud, of 
 the State Board of Health. Dr. Lay- 
 ton is one of the most delightful ac- 
 quaintances one could desire to have. 
 Being graduated at Tulane five years 
 ago, he took service under the British 
 Government and saw two years' ex- 
 perience on the transports conveying 
 troops to South Africa. His ad- 
 ventures would occupy a profitable 
 volume. He has spent some time in 
 Central America, not only at Blue- 
 fields, but in Honduras and Costa 
 Rica. His popularity with the Amer- 
 ican colony in Bluefields is deservedly 
 great. Dr. Braud is from Donaldson- 
 Tille, and is a capable and efficient 
 official. The courtesy of these young 
 men to the transient visitor is un- 
 failing, and goes far to prejudice one 
 in favor of the place. Other Louisi- 
 anians who are prominent in Blue- 
 fields are Messrs. A. V. and Joseph 
 Beer, the resident managers of the 
 
(A 
 
 E 
 
 Q. 
 
 3 
 C 
 
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 u 
 
 CA 
 
 €3 
 
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-13- 
 
 New Orleans and Central American 
 Trading Company. Mr. Hulse, of the 
 local steamship office, hails from L/a- 
 fayette, and is a brother of Miss "Vic- 
 toria Hulse, a well-known member of 
 the Faculty of the New Orleans Nor- 
 mal School. Solomon Weil, a well- 
 known merchant, who has resided 
 here for many years, comes from New 
 Orleans, as does his nephew, Mr. J. 
 M. Cohn. H. J. Shields, Cashier of the 
 Bluefields Banana Company, is an- 
 other Louisianian. J. S. Lampton, 
 formerly of Bluefields, but now of 
 Prinzpulca, and T. M. Solomon, for- 
 merly of Bluefields, but now of 
 Managua, are both Louisianians. Mr. 
 Solomon has large lumber interests 
 in Bluefields still, but has just parted 
 with his warehouse concession here, 
 returning it to the Government in 
 
 century ago, to the hardy followers 
 of the Black Flag. True, the Span- 
 ish treasure ships which attracted the 
 enterprise of Drake, Olonnois, Pierre 
 Liegrand and other Brothers of the 
 Coast, had then passed away. But a 
 lucrative traffic still flourished along 
 the Central American coast, and on 
 this the pirates preyed. A Spanish 
 lady, whom we met in Bluefields, told 
 us that her great-grandfather per- 
 ished while defending the ship he 
 commanded from pirates, and people 
 who knew the late Mr. Hudson, who 
 died a few years ago in Bluefields, 
 at the patriarchal age of 102, recall 
 many interesting stories of the 
 pirates which he used to relate as 
 one having personal experience of 
 them. At any rate. The Bluff, which 
 as a settlement, considerably ante- 
 
 View of Bluefields From the Governor's Palace. 
 
 return for an equivalent of $500,000 in 
 gold. Other New Orleans people now 
 resident here include Messrs. Harter, 
 "Wright, Ducros and Frank. 
 
 III. 
 
 BLUEFIELDS, Nicaragua, Aug. 
 19. — The early history of 
 Bluefields is lost in obscurity. 
 A local tradition attributes 
 the name to a pirate named 
 Blewfeldt, who used to careen 
 his vessels in the lagoon off 
 The Bluff. Blewfeldt flour- 
 ished in the age of Sir Henry Mor- 
 gan, when piracy, as a fine art, at- 
 tained its fullest development in the 
 Caribbean. Pirates frequented the 
 Spanish main down to a compara- 
 tively recent period. Catalina Island, 
 only a hundred miles or so from Blue- 
 fields, was one of their strongholds. 
 There were ample inducements, a 
 
 dates Bluefields, is full of tales of 
 buried treasures accidentally un- 
 earthed. One morning, in the '30s, a 
 German leaning out of his bedroom 
 window, saw something shining in 
 the grass of his garden. He inves- 
 tigated; it proved to be the top of a 
 long-interred earthenware jar full of 
 Spanish doubloons. Only a few years 
 ago a young American, digging in 
 his garden, found a deposit of old 
 pots, but they were empty — some 
 luckier man had preceded him. 
 There are still rumors of an in- 
 scribed rock which gives a clew to 
 treasures galore, but nobody is look- 
 ing for it now. Bluefields cherishes 
 no such wild old tales of pirate gold. 
 If any buried their spoils on the 
 mainland, the secret remains unre- 
 vealed. 
 
 It was in 1812 that the British 
 erected forts at The Bluff and Blue- 
 fields, neither of which survives. At 
 
—14- 
 
 that date Bluefields was a little set- 
 tlement of MosQLuitos Indians. It 
 remained unchanged for sixty or 
 seventy years. The Mosquitos recog- 
 nized the authority of a chief to 
 whom the politic English accorded 
 the title of King. Whenever a new 
 monarch succeeded to tlie throne, he 
 was taken to Belize and there s.ol- 
 emnly crowned. In a curious vol- 
 ume, "Waikna," by Baird, an Ameri- 
 can traveler, who visited Bluefields in 
 1?55, there is a description of the Mos- 
 quito settlement as it then was. An 
 Englishman named Greene was nomi- 
 nally acting as tutor to the heir ap- 
 parent, really as the British Viceroy. 
 At the end of a week Baird expressed 
 a desire to see the young Prince, and 
 great was his surprise when, turning 
 to the barefoot waiter who served the 
 matutinal coffee, Greene introduced 
 this ragged servant as the future 
 King. In fact the Mosquito mon- 
 archy was a farce. The King was 
 surrounded by a court much better 
 supplied with titles than with clothes. 
 A strapping native, wearing a loin- 
 cloth and an old military coat, was 
 the Lord Nelson Napoleon Bonaparte. 
 Another who possessed a part of a 
 naval uniform was known as the 
 Admiral Smart. The other fea- 
 tures of the monarchy were equal- 
 ly ridiculous. Nicaragua en- 
 croached more or less upon the 
 Mosquito kingdom during the early 
 part of the last century. In 1862 the 
 treaty of Managua, to which the 
 United States consented, assured to 
 the Indians the possession of the dis- 
 puted territory. But it soon became 
 evident that Bluefields was essential 
 to the development of the Republic. 
 The imperial impulse, when once 
 felt, is not _ to be confined by 
 treaties, liowever numerous the 
 signatories. So, in 1894, the Nicara- 
 gua Government marched troops into 
 the Mosquito territory, upset the 
 monarchy, and formally annexed 
 what had practically long been a part 
 of the Republic. Since then, the In- 
 dians have been induced to partici- 
 pate in one or two conventions, 
 where the new Government has been 
 confirmed and the legitimist preten- 
 sions effectually outlawed. At pres- 
 ent the town is included in the dis- 
 trict of Zelaya, which has a pop- 
 ulation of about 4,000 souls, and is 
 ruled by a Governor appointed by 
 the President. General Juan Es- 
 trada, the present incumbent, is a 
 man of more than average ability, 
 very popular with all classes of the 
 population. He is a handsome man of 
 stalwart physique, a fine horseman, 
 and a distinguished soldier. He is af- 
 fable, approachable and keenly alive 
 to the interests of his people, as is 
 demonstrated by the fact that Blue- 
 fields is steadily improving in every 
 direction. Good schools, a drain- 
 
 age system, and a handsome 
 botanical garden where a mili- 
 tary band plays twice a week, are 
 some of many evidences of the foster- 
 ing care of a wise and progressive 
 administration. There is a municipal 
 organization which supplements the 
 local Federal establishment, and 
 which is domiciled in an attractive 
 little frame building near the park. 
 It works in perfect harmony with 
 the Governor, and deserves a share 
 of the credit for the recent improve- 
 ments which have been made in the 
 city. 
 
 The population of Bluefields, the 
 town, is about 2,500, representing a 
 large number of nationalities. There 
 are, of course, many Americans. I 
 have met Canadians, English, Bel- 
 gians, Germans, Australians, French, 
 and Chinese. Doubtless other Euro- 
 pean nationss are also represented 
 more or less numerously. The bulk 
 of the population is black. During 
 tlie time when English influence was 
 supreme, many negroes from Jamaica 
 were settled in Bluefields, whose de- 
 scendants continue to reside here. 
 Mosquito Indians are numerous; 
 Caribs, Caymen Islanders and blacks 
 and half-breeds from all parts of 
 Central America abound. But the 
 prevailing tongue is English. The 
 Nicaragua coinage is seen less fre- 
 quently than American silver. In a 
 handful of change one gets money 
 from Hayti, Guatemala and Costa 
 Rica, oftener than from Nicaragua. 
 The only paper money in circulation 
 is American. A good deal of con- 
 fusion naturally arises from the dif- 
 ferences in vaKie in the various kinds 
 of circulating media, but not so 
 much as might be expected. Tlie 
 silver sol (dollar) is rated pretty 
 uniformly at 42 cents, Ameri- 
 can, and business is done on that 
 basis. It is estimated that business 
 aggregating from $4,500,000 to $5,000,- 
 000 is annually transacted in Blue- 
 fields alone. 
 
 In fact, in proportion to its size, 
 Bluefields is a very active commercial 
 center. The American Consul, Mr. 
 Clancy, estimates the value of 
 the exports in 1904 at $1,562,853.98, 
 chiefly in bananas, rubber and gold. 
 The figures for 1905 will probably 
 show a handsome increase. The im- 
 ports last year were valued at $800,- 
 000, of which probably two-thirds 
 represented merchandise purchased 
 in the United States, chiefly in New 
 Orleans. The rest came from Europe 
 by way of New York and New Or- 
 leans. The entire import trade 
 passes through New Orleans on its 
 way to Bluefields. The Bluefields 
 Steamship Company, which handle's 
 traffic, is a New Orleans firm, and 
 appears to be keenly alive to the 
 needs of the business. The manage- 
 ment appears to realize that New Or- 
 
-15- 
 
 leans is the center to which the trade 
 of all this region naturally con- 
 verges and is doing all in its power 
 to direct it thither. There are, how- 
 ever, many impediments which, it is 
 to be hoped, the New Orleans mer- 
 chants will themselves remove, as 
 they can do, if so disposed, and which 
 are responsible for the fact that their 
 share of the trade is not larger than 
 it is. The Bluefields merchants 
 roughly classify these under three 
 heads, in which order I, will, for con- 
 venience, discuss them here. At the 
 present time New Orleans cannot 
 sustain the comparison with Europe 
 in respect to prices and tlie packing 
 and billing of merchandise. Take 
 the matter of hats. In Europe the 
 package is first made up, and the 
 box then built around it, in such a 
 way that its contents are not crushed 
 
 assortment in the hope of gaining 
 a good customer eventually. One 
 large New Orleans manufacturer of 
 shoes who does an immense business 
 througliout Central America made a 
 success by imitating the example of 
 his European rivals. Four members 
 of the firm at different times have 
 visited Bluefields solely with a view 
 to ascertain from the local merchants 
 what their needs were. It is in- 
 teresting to observe tliat the lasts 
 in favor in Central America differ 
 markedly from those popular in the 
 United States. How absurd, then, 
 must it seem, for drummers to solicit 
 orders in Nicaragua who carry the 
 same line of samples they would take 
 to Florida or Arkansas! 
 
 A very serious factor which mili- 
 tates against New Orleans in this 
 trade is the indifference of our mer- 
 
 Qroup of Natives at ''Oldbank," Bluefields. 
 
 or damaged, and no waste space left. 
 New Orleans — and the United 
 States in general, for that matter — 
 goes the other way about it. The 
 shipment is often crushed out of 
 shape in transit as a result. More- 
 over, a duty is exacted at Bluefields 
 on the weight of a package as a 
 whole. Every unnecessary ounce of 
 wood in the packing-case means that 
 much additional outlay in customs. 
 
 The European manufacturers are 
 eager to make up small orders after 
 a pattern furnished them by the Blue- 
 fields dealer, in the hope that the 
 business will grow, and larger orders 
 follow. But the American manufac- 
 turers are not willing to take the 
 risk involved, and if they do not 
 carry in stock precisely the article 
 suited for the Nicaraguan trade, are 
 averse to adding new styles to their 
 
 chants to the customs regulations in 
 force at Bluefields. The law re- 
 quires that the bills of lading should 
 be written out in a certain form 
 and contain certain information not 
 usual in the United States. The 
 lack of it entails a fine upon the 
 merchant often amounting to 10 per 
 cent of the value of the goods. An 
 error in the weights occasions anoth- 
 er fine of equal amount. Every ar- 
 ticle must be accurately described in 
 certain prescribed terms, otherwise, 
 further fines result. The New Orleans 
 merchants are, with certain excep- 
 tions, very careless in attending to 
 these details. The export houses in 
 New York give the subject much at- 
 tention, but they do not vie with the 
 European exporter whose shipments 
 are accompanied invariably by pre- 
 cisely the right kind of papers. Nor 
 
-16— 
 
 is this all. The American merchant 
 only occasionally condescends to em- 
 ploy the Spanish language; the Euro- 
 pean does so invariably. In Nica- 
 ragua, as in fact, througlaout Latin- 
 America, the greatest importance is 
 attached to details even so small as 
 a blot, the presence of which, on tlie 
 manifest, may entail additional fines 
 upon the consignee. It can be readi- 
 ly imagined, then, how far the slack 
 methods of New Orleans merchants 
 have retarded the development of 
 her trade with Nicaragua. 
 
 Most of the merchants in Bluefields 
 would prefer to deal with New Or- 
 leans, that city being nearer than 
 any other American port; goods 
 are therefore a shorter time in 
 transit, and they are, there- 
 fore, under necessity of carrying 
 smaller stocks. It takes four months 
 to get a consignment from Europe, as 
 against six days from New Or- 
 Orleans. But Europe meets this with 
 prices which more than make up for 
 the disadvantage in time. Tlie Blue- 
 fields mercliants find it cheaper in Eu- 
 rope to buy underwear, hosiery, ready- 
 made clotliing, fancy muslins, wines 
 and liquors, not to mention embroider- 
 ies, laces and other articles in which 
 European supremacy is uncontested. 
 New Orleans suffers from the further 
 handicap that prices there, in cer- 
 tain lines, compare unfavorably with 
 those in St. Louis and New York. 
 This, for example, specially is true 
 of hardware. 
 
 In addition to all these disadvan- 
 tages. New Orleans has accumulated 
 another one by ignoring the social 
 side of business relations with Cen- 
 tral American customers. There are 
 important Bluefield merchants who 
 deal largely with New Orleans 
 houses who are personally unknown 
 to every member of those firms, 
 whose visits to New Orleans are 
 ignored by them, and who never re- 
 ceive tlie courtesies tliat would lead 
 them to believe that any value was 
 attached to the connection. The North 
 and West do not make this mistake. 
 Does any New Orleans merchant ad- 
 vise his Bluefields correspondents 
 w^hen and w^here to make advantage- 
 ous purchases in view of an antici- 
 pated rise in the market? Not many, 
 if any. And yet there are St. Louis 
 and New York merchants who think 
 it well wortli tlieir while to do so. 
 
 The most serious cliarge which is 
 brought against tlie New Orleans 
 merchants is that practice which 
 they persist in of substituting some- 
 thing else "just as good" for the 
 articles ordered, w^henever it suit* 
 their convenience to do so. The mer- 
 chants in Bluefields complain bitterly 
 of the impossibility of convincing the 
 average New Orleans exporter that 
 the conditions in Nicaragua are pe- 
 culiar, and that merchandise must 
 
 be sent exactly as ordered in or-. 
 der to comply with the local condi- 
 tions. They declare that the New 
 York and St. Louis tiadesmen never 
 substitute; when the article ordered 
 is not in stock, they made no ship- 
 ment until tliey have ascertained 
 wliether something else will prove 
 equally acceptable. They assert that 
 the New Orleans merchant goes 
 bravely ahead, pitting his conception 
 of what Bluefields wants against the 
 plain letter of the order, and that 
 he is as likely to substitute ash hoe- 
 handles where oak is ordered, or a 
 No. 2 students' lamp, where a No. 1 
 is ordered, as not. Obviously, such a 
 state of things militates very serious- 
 ly against the growth of New Or- 
 leans' trade witli Bluefields. 
 
 I have perhaps written strongly 
 about these conditions. But it seems 
 to me that the occasion warrants an 
 energetic protest against the slack 
 methods which are shutting away 
 New Orleans people from their legi- 
 timate share of a profitable and 
 increasing business. I have not had 
 the time to go into the subject as 
 fully as its importance warrants, 
 but the foregoing hints are sufficient, 
 if heeded, to rectify many abuses, 
 and reassure exasperated customers 
 that New Orleans is willing to do what 
 is right. Otlierwise, the trade which 
 will continue to grow will fall more 
 and more into the hands of New York 
 and St. Louis, and to New Orleans 
 Avill . remain only such part of it as 
 her -geographical position assures, 
 joined to the monopoly of the trans- 
 portation. 
 
 ® h) 
 
 M 
 
 IV. 
 
 vHMrHE impression of Nicaragua 
 \ J which one gets in the course 
 of a voyage along the east- 
 ern coast gives little intima- 
 tion of the rapid progress 
 which is being made in al- 
 most every line of eifort in 
 the interior of the Republic. 
 Superficial observers who have visited 
 the country have not hesitated to 
 criticise much which a closer knowl- 
 edge of the facts might have proven 
 well worthy of praise. This remark 
 applies with special emphasis to the 
 attacks on President Zelaya and his 
 Administration that have from time 
 to time appeared in the American news- 
 papers. The writers of these un- 
 fortunate screeds have proceeded on 
 the assumption that whatever differed 
 from the practices in vogue in the 
 United States was necessarily wrong 
 where it were not dishonest. But a 
 little investigation shows how com- 
 pletely unfounded are both of these 
 ideas. Nicaragua, in spite of the 
 ,fact that its recorded history runs 
 'back for centuries, is really a new 
 
—17- 
 
 land, now for the first time being- 
 exploited by capital and enterprise. 
 Such a country, obviovisly, required 
 the control of a strong and resource- 
 ful government, which will preserve 
 the peace at all hazards and, having 
 done that much, will offer great in- 
 ducements to foreigners to taring 
 their money and energy into the Re- 
 public. The means to be employed 
 to effect these objects may invite 
 criticism, but it will always be safe 
 to assume that they are the best tliat 
 could be devised to meet the emer- 
 gency, and that better will be put in 
 force as soon as the opportunity pre- 
 sents itself. 
 
 No one who visits the east coast 
 of Nicaragua can fail to see that 
 great progress has been made within 
 the last few years, since President 
 Zelaya came into power and estab- 
 lis'hed the strong Government which 
 now maintains peace throughout tlie 
 country. Peace is the great desid- 
 eratum. So long as it is maintained, 
 the prosperity of the Republic is 
 bound to increase, no matter what 
 errors of administration may seem 
 at times to check its steady develop- 
 ment. *rf, therefore, President Ze- 
 laya has done nothing else for his 
 native land than to hold in check the 
 forces which make for anarchy, he 
 deserves well of his own people and 
 merits the admiration of foreigners. 
 But he has done more. He has made 
 mistakes, undoubtedly — what public 
 m.an has not? — ^but there are certain 
 policies which he has laid down and 
 partially carried out that, when all 
 is said that adverse critics can say, 
 will redound to the benefit of Nica- 
 ragua. He is developing the coun- 
 try's resources; he is building rail- 
 roads; he is restoring the finances, 
 and he is creating abroad a w^hole- 
 pome confluence in Nicaiaguan secu- 
 rities. The w^ay he has hit on to de- 
 velop the resources of the country is 
 to grant concessions; this method has 
 been freely attacked, yet it is prob- 
 ably the only means by which foreign 
 capital could be induced to come to 
 Nicaragua auickly and in large 
 amounts; and this being the object 
 which the Administration and the 
 people desire ardently, the method 
 must be Draised, for the results are 
 being attained. It must be remem- 
 bered, too, . that the concession or 
 monopoly is a recognized feature of 
 Latin policy, from Mexico to Cliili 
 and the Argentine. The Latin Ameri- 
 can statesmen turn to it instinctively. 
 In the United States a different cus- 
 tom and a different idea prevail ; but 
 because our conceptions of economics 
 are at variance with those that main- 
 tain south of the Rio Grande, it does 
 not necessarily follow that we arc 
 right. The principle of the conces- 
 sion has been successfully tested in 
 many of the Central American coun- 
 
 tries; it is regarded as a legicimate 
 way of accomplishing a worthy ob- 
 ject, and the impartial observer must, 
 therefore, refrain from criticising 
 adversely the way it is applied in 
 Nicaragua. 
 
 In fact. President Zelaya appears to 
 be a man ideally suited for the diffi- - 
 cult and onerous task which he has to 
 perform. He has now been in power 
 twelve years. The Conservative Par- 
 ty has in that time made determined 
 efforts to dislodge him; taut, thanks 
 to the absolute authority vested in 
 the hands of the Chief Executive, 
 the revolutions have so far proven 
 ineffectual. At the head of the op- 
 position is the family of Chamorro, 
 which has supplied several presi- 
 dents to the Republic in times past, 
 and is willing to supply more in the 
 future. The Chamorros numtaer three 
 or four able and resourceful men 
 who were, till recently, resi- 
 dents of New Orleans. but 
 who aio now understood to make 
 their homes in New York. Although 
 they have had no experience in gov- 
 ernment employ for many years past, 
 they have figured at the head of a 
 number of revolutionary enterprises, 
 and appear to be still very important 
 factors in the history of Nicaragua. 
 
 President Zelaya is a man of fine 
 education. He speaks a half-dozen 
 languages rluently. He is a gnidu- 
 ate of an English college. He is the 
 busiest man in Nicaragua, and yet 
 one of the most approachable and 
 democratic. He is the Govern- 
 ment. The Congress is a pliant tool 
 in his hands. The ministers transact 
 routine affairs, but all business of 
 any importance gets its initiative 
 from the Executive. Zelaya has the 
 reputation of favoring foreigners 
 and giving them every opportunity 
 to invest capital in Nicaragua and 
 develop the resources of the country. 
 It is true, as I have said, that he 
 grants concessions which are prac- 
 tically monopolies. But, as has al- 
 ready been pointed out, it is only 
 by doing so tliat foreign enterprise 
 can be induced to come to a virgin 
 country. Moreover, these conces- 
 sions are not granted gratis. An 
 example in point may be cited to 
 make the method of procedure plain. 
 An American by the name of 
 Deitrick, who is supposed to repre- 
 sent Senator Clark, of Montana, has 
 secured concessions for mining, stock 
 raising and various agricultural en- 
 terprises in the northeastern section 
 of the Republic. In payment for 
 these he is reauired to make large 
 cash returns annually, to create a 
 navigable stream of the Wanks, and 
 to construct a new town and harbor 
 as a substitute for the port hitherto 
 known as Cape Gracias. It will be 
 thus seen that in exchange for the 
 monopolies that have been granted 
 
-18- 
 
 Deitrick the Government profits in 
 cash, but still more largely in im- 
 portant public improvements which 
 will not cost the Administration a 
 cent. 
 
 A very important concession which 
 has recently been granted to Ameri- 
 cans is held by Messrs. Forbes and 
 Woodruff, who will build a large dy- 
 
 ing the ore to the coast, in view ol 
 the difficult, dangerous and uncer- 
 tain route down the Wanks and the 
 Princzapolca Rivers, which is now in 
 use. 
 
 Messrs. Forbes and Woodruff are 
 also associated in other important 
 enterprises, of w^hich the most inter- 
 esting is a concession for the impor- 
 
 PRESIDENT J. S. ZELAYA OF NICARAGUA. 
 
 namite factory and construct a rail- 
 road inland from Princzapolca, on the 
 Carribbean. The innportant gold 
 mines in the northeastern sec- 
 tion of the Republic promise an im- 
 portant field for the sale of explo- 
 sives, and the railroad will be of ma- 
 terial benefit to the same section, af- 
 fording a convenient means of bring- 
 
 tation of Chinese. The Government has 
 allowed them the exclusive right of 
 bringing coolies to Nicaragua for a 
 term of years. Ten thousand of them 
 will be brought into a state of practi- 
 cal serfdom, their services being let 
 to coffee planters in _different parts 
 of the Republic as occasion may re- 
 quire. This amounts to a labor trust 
 
—19— 
 
 in a sense, but mark how the Gov- 
 ernment reaps an advantage from 
 this seeming disregard of fundamen- 
 tal economic laws. Not only will the 
 coffee business benefit from the pres- 
 ence of reliable and readily-obtaina- 
 ble labor, but the concessionaires arc 
 obligated to pay the Government a per 
 
 struction of a wharf at Corinto, on 
 the Pacific coast. The same Com- 
 pany has already acquired extended 
 interests in the interior. It runs the 
 ice plant, the laundry and the electric 
 lighting"" in Managua, and has lately 
 acquired a ranch forty miles wide and 
 eighty miles long, on which deposits 
 
 MRS. ZELAYA. 
 
 capita tax in gold as each Celestial 
 arrives in the country. 
 
 It would be possible to continue at 
 very considerable length describing 
 the various enterprises which owe 
 their existence to the President's en- 
 lightened, progressive policy. For ex- 
 ample, the Central American Com- 
 mercial Company has begun the con- 
 
 of salt and lime have already been 
 discovered. Of course, in the prose- 
 cution of so many and so varied 
 undertakings, this Company, of itself, 
 has embarked immense sums of 
 money in the development of fields 
 which would otherwise remain vir- 
 gin. But the Government is by no 
 means conveying valuable fran- 
 
—20— 
 
 chises to foreigners indiscriminately, 
 nor does it relinquisli a certain super- 
 vision over tl:iem subsequent to part- 
 ing witli tliem. Tliis fact is well 
 illustrated in the case of the same 
 Company, "which, in the last few 
 months, farmed the municipal cus- 
 toms at ' Blueflelds. The concession 
 resulted in the erection of a wharf 
 and warehouse, but the Government, 
 keeping in vie"w the interests and the 
 desire of the local merchants, has re- 
 cently canceled this concession and 
 purchased the farmership of the cus- 
 toms which it w^ill henceforward ad- 
 minister on its own account. It is 
 true that, in bringing about this 
 change at Blueflelds an increase in 
 the customs has been found neces- 
 sary, and that much discontent ex- 
 ists regarding these extra burdens on 
 the commerce of the port. The point, 
 ho"wever, is, that the Government 
 keeps in touch with the popular de- 
 mands, and seems endeavoring to the 
 best of its faculties to meet their 
 requirements. The retrocession of the 
 wharf concession is a step in the 
 riglit direction, and it seems proba- 
 ble that as soon as circumstances 
 permit the increased charges on Im- 
 ports at Blueflelds will be reduced. 
 
 It must be a captious critic 
 indeed who, having any knowl- 
 edge of the peculiar condi- 
 tions with wliich President Ze- 
 laya has to contend, will not com- 
 mend his policy as shown in tlie in- 
 stances I have cited. Americans, how- 
 ever, will find it more difficult to 
 understand how an enlightened ex- 
 ecutive can further his own interests 
 while keeping in view the welfare 
 of his own people. This, however, is 
 a matter of tradition and custom. 
 Every nation has its own peculiari- 
 ties. Some of our practices would 
 no doubt seem equally strange to 
 a Nicaraguan investigator. President 
 Zelaya's predecessors have followed 
 this course in a brutally selfish man- 
 ner, but the morality of it has not 
 been criticised. Zelaya's merit is 
 that while he keeps for himself u 
 share in many reniunerative conces- 
 sions, they all - benefit the country 
 more than they benefit himself. He 
 was a wealthy ' man when he 
 went into office. To-day his 
 private fortune is estimated at $1,- 
 000,000 in gold. His wealth is bound 
 to increase rapidly, as his multitudi- 
 nous interests mature, and none of 
 these promise to be more remunera- 
 tive than his shares in the railroad 
 from San Ubaldo eastward to Monkey 
 Point. 
 
 There is already in existence a rail- 
 road from Corinto, on the Pacific, to 
 Managua. Formerly this property was 
 administered by the Government di- 
 rectly. The graft, however, was too 
 good. Everybody was getting rich 
 at the expense of the railroad and 
 the Government. It did not take 
 
 Zelaya long to see what was up. He 
 took steps at once to cure the eviJ. 
 He made a contract with the Nica- 
 ragua Government Railroad and 
 Steamship Company to take over the 
 road, the Government to receive a 
 stipulated sum monthly. This ar- 
 rangement has worked extremely 
 _well. The Government has made 
 money and a hitherto unprofitable 
 enterprise is now paying handsomely. 
 The management is in the hands of 
 a German by the name of Wiest, a 
 capable administrator and particu- 
 larly useful because of the fidelity 
 with which he keeps in view the in- 
 terests of the Government. Wiest is 
 also charged with the construction 
 of the new road from San Ubaldo, on 
 Lake Nicaragua, to the Caribbean, 
 and when this line is finished his 
 concession will apply to it equally 
 with the Pacific road. The enter- 
 prise is particularly interesting, not 
 only for the fact that the President 
 does not find it inconsistent to re- 
 tain an interest in it, but because it 
 signalizes the definite abandonment 
 of any hope of the construction of 
 the Nicaragua Canal. The railroad 
 is Zelaya's alternative. If he can- 
 not have the ■ canal he will con- 
 nect the Atlantic and the Pacific 
 by rail. He is sufficiently a states- 
 man to see that he gains thereby for 
 his country practically all the ad- 
 vantages that might have accrued 
 from the canal. 
 
 It is interesting to observe in pass- 
 ing that the Government retains 
 control of the telegraph and tele- 
 phone systems throughout the coun- 
 try. The reason for this is immedi- 
 ately apparent. The Government is 
 practically in a state of siege at all 
 times. It must be prepared at any 
 moment to deal effectively with re- 
 bellion. The control of the media 
 of communication is one of the most 
 effectual means to this end. But 
 here again the President's states- 
 manlike knack of joining the im- 
 mediately, necessary military course 
 of action with that which makes for 
 the general welfare of the people of 
 the Republic asserts itself. The 
 telegraph and telephone are ac- 
 cessible to everybody in times of 
 peace. Telephones cost about a dol- 
 lar and a half a month. Long-dis- 
 tance connection is about 5 cents 
 extra per call. The telegraph rates 
 are equally low. Both are extensive- 
 ly patronized. They extend to all 
 the large towjn and the service is 
 excellent. In times of war these con- 
 ditions are subject to modification; 
 but under Zelaya's patriotic regime 
 times of war are growing less fre- 
 quent and a great deal shorter when 
 they do occur. 
 
 The Government, in the last analy- 
 
 / sis, owes its existence to the Army. 
 
 Zelaya came into power as the result 
 
 of a revolution which defeated the 
 
-21- 
 
 eonservative Party that had, for 
 thirty years, monopolized tlie Gov- 
 ernment. There are no issues on 
 whicli the parties divide except tlie 
 actual possession of power. Politics 
 simply mean the struggles of the 
 "outs" to get "in." That is to say, 
 the control of the Army is the key 
 to the situation. So long as Zelaya 
 controls the forces he ^vill probably 
 continue at the head of affairs. The 
 Nicaraguan Army is a very interest- 
 ing, not to say instructive, institution. 
 But it would be a decided mistake to 
 conclude that it cannot flght and 
 fight hard. Military service is uni- 
 versal. The names of citizens are 
 drawn quarterly. Those who can 
 afford to pay a fine, the amount of 
 which is proportioned to their re- 
 sources, in this way avoid military 
 service, taut the conscription is rig- 
 
 $55 American), considered a very de- 
 sirable income. The soldiers are 
 uniformed in red trousers and blue 
 jumpers of the cheapest mr|terial. 
 They bear a certain family resem- 
 blance to the familiar monkey on 
 the New Orleans hand-organ. But 
 they make very good soldiers in spite 
 Of that. In times of war the "Gov- 
 ernment "recruits" in a way of its 
 own. A sufficient force of soldiers and 
 police will surround a tlieatre, raid 
 tlie pit, and march tlie spectators off 
 to the scene of hostilities. Or, some 
 afternoon when the Dark is full of 
 idlers and pleasure-seekers, the mil- 
 itary drag net descends and th£ ^rmy 
 is suddenly augmented by some hun- 
 dred "volunteers." 
 
 But the Army gets its pay regu- 
 larly every evening, and it is loyal 
 to the master that feeds it. This 
 
 ■' ''^,i^Yf,^ ''^ 
 
 Residence of the President of Nicaragua, flanagua. 
 
 orously enforced everywhere else. 
 Tlie lower grades of commissioned 
 officers are recruited in the same way, 
 or promoted from tlie ranks as a le- 
 ward for service or capacity. It 
 strikes one as aueer to find a lieu- 
 tenant in the Army working as a 
 lamp trimmer in the Capital, or fol- 
 lowing some other equally obscure 
 position in this land of curious con- 
 trasts. The higher officers are gen- 
 erally in the Government employ. 
 A chief of police is likely to be a 
 colonel at least. A minister is almost 
 invariably a general. The private 
 soldier receives 50 cents a day in Nic- 
 araguan currency, which is now 
 worth in American money about one- 
 sixth of its face value. Out of this 
 he must procure his food and sup- 
 port his family, if he has one. This 
 can be done in a land where a square 
 meal is purchasable for 5 cents in 
 the native currency. The officers 
 are better paid. A brigadier general 
 will get about $400 a month (about 
 
 principle of good pay is one which 
 accounts for much of Zelaya's suc- 
 cess. He looks out for his friends. 
 His supporters get good jobs and op- 
 portunities to invest their savings 
 where they will do the most good. 
 
 The most remarkable recent inci- 
 dent in wliich President Zelaya has 
 figured is one regarding which there 
 must necessarily be a diversity of 
 opinion. In decreeing thtit the 
 clergy should no longer wear in 
 the streets a distinctive garb, the 
 Government manifested a hostility 
 to the Catholic Church which has in- 
 vited some criticism. The priests re- 
 fused almost unanimously to obey the 
 law, and were obliged to leave the 
 country. But, obviously, it was impos- 
 sible to deprive a population, largely 
 Catholic, of its spiritual leaders, and 
 recently a number of the exiles have 
 returned to the country, subscribing 
 to the conditions under which their 
 presence is tolerated. It may be 
 frankly said that the Government is 
 
—22- 
 
 free-thinking rather than religious. 
 In fact, the Church is supported by 
 the women of the Reriublic rather 
 than the men. It will be readily seen 
 that this latent spirit of hostility to 
 the Church, however developed, would 
 be liable to express itself harshly if a 
 good pretext could be found. Unfortu- 
 nately, the Church is supposed to fa- 
 vor the Conservative Party, and, un- 
 der a Liberal regime, has had to pay 
 the penalty of this alleged political 
 affiliation. The outcome of the move- 
 ment against the Church in Nica- 
 ragua cannot be guessed at present, 
 but is bound to be imDortant and, 
 perhaps, momentous. 
 
 But, in the main. President Zelaya, 
 then, is giving Nicaragua what it 
 needs — • a strong, stable govern- 
 ment. He has in him something 
 of Diaz, just as Diaz has in him 
 something of Napoleon. Both of 
 them are typical Latin American 
 statesmen. They differ in ideals and 
 methods from us, but they have this 
 aim in common — the creation of a 
 prosperous and Deaceful country. 
 Zelaya's financial policy is wisely 
 
 adapted to this end. He is meeting 
 the payments on the national debt 
 promptly and in full. The need for 
 the money to make these payments is 
 probably the reason why he has 
 granted so many concessions, but the 
 better reputation of Nicaragua among 
 the nations would seem to justify 
 even more radical riiethods. How 
 Icng can he keep control? Can he 
 carry out his olans uninterruDted by 
 his opDonents? Probably as long as 
 he remains on the scene, no success- 
 ful effort will be made to oust him 
 from power, but his death in the next 
 few years would most likely precipi- 
 tate civil war. 
 
 The interests of the United States 
 are not sufficiently imDortant as yet 
 to justify intervention in the case of 
 ren,ewed internal dissensions. It is, 
 therefore, greatly to be hoped that 
 the present Executive will survive for 
 many years to consolidate the policies 
 lie has so vigorously initiated, and 
 to round out a remarkable career 
 fraught with many important 
 achievements for the benefit of his 
 native land.