The Lexington intelligencer. [volume] (Lexington, Mo.) 1901-1949, 1902-11-22
NICARAGUA, ITS PEOPLE AND RESOURCES
A Land of Hardwood Forests, Great Mineral Wealth,
Reptiles, Birds and Insects.
'ooR SANITATION THE scoURGE OF THE TRoPI
The Spanish Hybrid is Revolutionary and will not
Abide Government

fects nor wear oyster shell bonnets to
hide round shoulders.
sanitary laws are not observed
Garbage and slop and other refuse
is thrown Into the streets and alleys
and ground into the mud. After
shower the earth reeks with the
odors of a dungeon. 1t appears that
man born in the tropics is heir to a
rich inheritance that smothers him
and saps from him his energy After
one Of those thunderstorms of the
the tropics, when the rain comes
down in torrents and beats down the
flowers, the atmosphere is filed with
the richest incense.
1.-The country is alive with all
manner Of insects that fly and crawl.
II you 60 into the woods at any time
and lean against a tree colony Of
ants will crawl up your trousers legs
while another lot will be going down
your back, playing the DEVILS tattoo
on your spine. The sand is alive
with fleas. lice and iiggers You
cannot sit down to table but some
nondescript insect will dive into your
coffee and others scamper across your
plate. The land is full Of centipedes,
larantulas and spiders and other
insects that sting and stink at the
same time. The rivers are full Of
alligators, the forests full Of monkeys,
wild beasts, sloths, armadillos, pan
theirs, wildcats and venomous snakes,
The serpent family would become
troublesome If it was not for the
peccary or wild hog which roams the
fc -est in droyes in quest Of such pests.
In all tropical lands, where the
fecundity Of animal life is great,
Dame Nature has arrayed one class
against another to keep them in
bounds. The same Is true in the
insect world. From early dawn until
9 a. m. the forests are alive with
chattering monkeys and vocal with
the songs of the canary and mocklng-
bird rejoicing at the dawn Of a new
day. Parrots in large flocks will
display their brilliant plumage in
their aerial flights. The rivers and
lakes are swarmiug with aquatic fowl.
While these enjoy themselves in the
water treacherous alligators swim
beneath and pull them under one by
one. The bird disappears with a
shrill cry of despair. The rest of the
flock arises from the water like a
cloud, but in its simplicity 1t again
lights upon another pond to be served
once more ia the same way. II you
90 to the edge Of the forest at night
you are startled by the rush and roar
of the carnivorous animals hunting
their prey and the herbivorous trying
to escape. AS you hear the roar OF
the victor and the cry OF the van.
quished you exclaim that this is a
savage world.
Speaking Of the two routes, Mr..
Catherwood says that by the Nicara-
qua route New Yoak is l,lOO miles
nearer San Francisco or the Philip
pines than by the Panama. "Tc
undertake to build a canal through a
tropical wilderness ISL miles, to
buld locks to lift ship ITO feet tu
the level of the lake, is on engineer
ing prob em that few nations would
care to undertake to solve, not know
ing the difficulties 10 be overcome, !,
l he says. "The Panama canal is
partly dug and Its length is only fifty
miles from ocean to ocean, and il will
require longer to pass through the
Nicaragua canal than for ships to &c
through by way Of the Panama canal
What one gains in distance the Other
gains in time. Second, the country
through which tile Panama passes i:
q desert country and cannot supply
anything TO feed the wolkmen along
the route. The chagres fever is more
deadly than all the fevers in Nicar
aqua combined 1t is admitted thai
at the terminus OF the Nicaragu;
canal at either ocean there are nt
deep harbors, while at Panama there
is a deep haTbor Mt both ends. II