The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1898-02-19
NICARAGUA.
AND SOME ODD BITS ABOUT
THAT COUNTRY.
Who the People are-Natfve Products
Status as Foreigners-Many Cane
Plantations in the Countrywide Laws
Very Liberal Toward Foreigners.
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quaHty can be produced in llmitless auznt,-
| ties. When Columbus discovered the coup-
| try he found the natives dressed in garments
OF cotton cloth, and to this day the Indians
manufacture their own clothing from home
grown cotton, besides hammocks, sail cloth
etc. A considerable quantity is raised, bur
entirely for home consumption. ..... :, -.
instead OF being an annual plant, as in the
united states, Nicaragua cotton is perennial.
ana growing much larger yields double the
quantity that it does in the most favored
localities in our country. All the tobacco
used in Nicaragua land that means q great
DEAL as everybody smokes incessantly) is
raised In the country. It is said ic be CT
good quality, and large tracks of land are
We'll adapted to its cultivation. Corn -four
1shes luxuriantly here, and is literally the
staff of life, for both man and beast Three
crops OF it can be raised from The same ground
every year. Rice is another abundant and
extensively used product. The yucca, yam.
and the sweet potato are also extensively cul-
! l1vated, and the Irish potato produces enor-
mously In the more elevated regions Fri
| 1oles, the little brown beans that form sucf,
an important article of diet throughout
| Spanish America are produced abundantIy-
! vegetables OF the temperate zone thrive as
! ton1shingly in the uplands, and all the fruits
OF the tropics in the lowlands. Indigo and
| Ccchlneal were formerly produced in large
| quantities. but since their use has been large
~ superseded by mineral dyes their cultiva-
ton has been almost abandoned. OF the CO.
| coanut tree we need not speak, for everybody
! knows that this is it's home, par excellence
! The bread-fruit tree also grows to perfection
here and though the natives do not seen,
TO appreciate its full value no foreign settler
is satisfied until he has one growing in his
docryard. The beautiful and massive tree
IFS Snr0a01np Of oil
leaves can be easily, raised from the slip and
| comes to. maturity within three years after
planting. It yields two annual crops. one
lasting through March and April, the other
from August to October. Each fruit will
weigh from six to ten pounds, and is delicious
either fried or boiled. i
~ =" Cattle.
Perhaps the greatest source Of public wealth
in Nicaragua is cattle-raising Large hacf-
ondas. owned by the richest and most in
fuent1al people of the country, are entirely
devoted to this industry, and a few dairy
farms have recently been established In the
vicinity Of the larger cities. Among the queer
things to be seen in Nicaragua are farm
carts, which furnish transportation for the
produce, as they come, creaking and groan-
ing, to market or to the shipping port They
are rude contrivances Of native manufacture.
from pattern that has not been improved
upon since the conquest. The body consists
of very heavy framework of wood, and
the wheels are solid sections hacked from the
trunk of some large tree, usually mahogany.
They are not sawed but chopped into more
or less circular shape, and are generally about
Ave feet in diameter by ei ght -efA ten inches
thick, and weigh several hundred hounds.
The oxen do not wear yokes, but the pole of
the cart is fastened to a bar of rough wood,
usually lignum vitae, which is lashcd with
cowhide to horns. There are always swo
pairs of oxen attached, one to haul the cart
rs ha 1p3f
have decidedly the best of the bargain. The
average rate of speed is a mile an hour over
good road, and ten miles day is considered
fast travelling.
Speaking Of roads, the best one in Nicaragua
Is still the old canine real (royal road), built
by the Spaniards more than three centuries
ago. 1t runs from Lake Nicaragua to Corinto,
the Pacific port, uniting the principal cities.
Over it hundreds of armies have passed. and
no end OF insurgent forces, and its whole
public and private quarrels. Wherever man
has been murdered, it is customary to erect.
a. rude cross over the spot, as a perpetual ap-
peal to all pious passers to say prayer for
the unshriven soul.
The canine real is lined with these CROSSES,
60 thickly set that il one were to heed the nu-
merous appeals, it would keep him continu
ally praying from one end of the journey to
the other. In Nicaragua everybody rides,
and horses are plenty and fine. They re-
semble those Of Arabia. being small, but feet.
and capable of much endurance. Great pains
are taken to train them to an easy gait,
half-trotting, half-pacing, called plato
trole. A well-broken animal will take this
as soon as the reins are loosened and continue
II all day, at six or eight miles an hour,
without fatigue to himself or to his rider.
status OF FOrefgners.
The laws of Nicaragua in regard 10 i'm
migration and colonization are very liberal
Foreigners can acquire real estate and tlls-
rosc of it as freely as the native citizens.
The provisions of the naturalization laws are
also simple and liberal At present, there
are not more than thousand foreigners
of different nationalities in the whole coun-
try. Among the most important laws bear
ing upon this subject are the following: THE
executive shall have authority to give to each
| family Of immigrants, coming from the. Unit
ed States, or any other nationality, for the
coming naturalized, tract of public unCc-
cupied lands, not exceeding 12O manzanas-
the said tract to be more or less extensive.
within said limits, according to the number
| Of persons composing the family. Single per-
sons shall not be allowed more than sixty
manzsnas each" "Emigrants from the Unit
ed States domiciled in Nicaragua, even II re-
tanning their American citizenship. are en-
titled to concessions Of land, not exceeding
sixty acres per family, which they may hold
and cultivate as il their own during the whole
time of their residence in the country. II
they declare their intentions to become nat
uralized and in due time acquire Nicargunn
citizenship, then the land which had been
granted to them under the above pl oylsacn
shall become theirs in fee simple