, 1888-04-21
A REPUBLIC OF THE LAKES.
(From the Victoria Colonist.)

supremacy Ill Central America, the pro-
vince and now the republic of Nicaragua,
enjoyed a prosperity unknown to-day. The
district and the city of Leon were regard
Ell as a terrestrial paradise, to whom not
even the paradise of MahOmet could he
compared, as It prOverb said. The city
had one hundred thousand inhabitants, and
was the most populonS and most important
place of Central America; its fame went
far and wide, and crowds of adventurous
SpaniardS used TO arrive every year at
Nicaragua to enjoy the celebrated hOspita-
lily of Leon, not to get rich, for a hundred
years ago money was as plentiful us water
in Nicaragua.
But Temporal mutdntur ct nos mutdmUr IN
i(liS, aud these splendid days of old are
over. Still, even now Nicaragua is a plea
SAINT coutry to live III, and its inhabitants
a polite, hOSpitaOle and courteous race OF
people, especially from the upper parts.
And though the city of Leon is not the city
OF d century ago, yet it is large enough to
accommodate many travellers, and its in.
habltants are as hospitable as ever. 1t
remains until today the city Of music and
pleasure.
Nicaragua, the land of ETERNAL sunshine,
the home of burning volcanoes, the para
disc Of song and dance, clad in the rich
verdure of the tropics, bathing i'll the rays
of a t0rrid zone. Nicaragua surely is one OF
the most beautiful countries of Spanish
America, though ii has none Of the noun.
famous grandeur OF Guatemala, nor the
astounding wilderness of Costa RlCa. 1t
has, however, a charm ofitS own, II charm
never to he forgotten by those who have
dWelt amidst its %luXuramt fields and It's
virgin forests. | surely never will for
get its beautiful coun try Of silyery rivers,
OF immense uneXpl0red forests and Of blue
lakes. whose hue is almost equal 10 the
matcLlrSS canopy Of heaven.
The geographical position of the repub-
lie of Nicaragua, lis splendid interior lakes,
its Institutions and its stable government,
are and will always remain an object OF
study for a geographrr and historian, and
i'll our days, when there is a project of II
canal from the Atlantic to the Pacific,
utilizing San Juan river and the lake OF
Nicaragua, the small republic assumes a
great Importance for every InhaOi ant on
the WeSt coast of this continent.
The greatest importance OF Nicaragua
consists In its splendid interior
cation. There are two great fresh water
lakes in the interior, Lake Manayua and
Nicaragua, the last one ITO miles long,
and from thirty to thirty five miles broad,
and its elevation above the Pacific ocean is
Ollh al lIlllC HiOlC thtl w Ills
splendid lake is to be utilized in the con.
s~truCti0n of the canal.
Speaking about the canal we must men
tiOn that there are two projects presented,
the first, elaborated 10y MeSsrS. Nemcoll
and Lull, and the second by Mr.. Blanchet.
According to the first project the canal will
run on the lef5 bank Of the San Juan river,
starting from GreytOwn, until San Carlos
river is met, Il distance of 423 miles, where
a dam is to be thrown across the San Juan
river, which fOwS from the lake, distant
from this point 68.3S miles. Farther the
streams will run through the lake for
about 80 or 60 miles to the mouth of
the river Medis. Using this river and
also La ChicOlula stream, and the val
ley of the Rio Grande, the canal will
end near the mouth of the last named river
at the point called Brito. The total length
Is 1870 miles, of which 81 miles are artificial.
According to the second project, the
level of the lakes is to be preserved through
out the greatest part of the San Juan river
by the constitution of a dam, aud the valley
of the Rio Grande river to be transformed
into an artificial lake. The descent to Brito
is to he made by locks. The total length
would be 1924 miles.
The first of these two projects has more
admirers in America, the second is looked
upon with more favor i'll Europe.