The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1910-01-15
A LAND POLLUTED WITH BLOOD.

"A LAND lGO oASOO'
The Central American Republic of Nicaragua
has, for the past few months been much in the pub
lie eye. 1t is land of sorrow ruled for fifty years
by Free Masons who nominal Catholics. The
Americans Groce and Cannon, condemned to death
by military court-martial for warning on the re-
public, made their appeal for clemency to Zelaya,
the late president on the ground of their brother
hood in Masonry.
Discovered by Columbus when his fourth
voyage to America in 1902 Nicaragua was prac-
tically unknown till 1922, when the Spanish adj
venturer, Gil Gonzalez Davila, entered the land and
sent his lieutenant Cordova to explore the country
lying around Lakes Managua and Nicaragua.
In 1928 Nicaragua, two years after all Central
America declared its independence of Spain, joined
the Federation formed by the five Central Amer
lean states: This union was dissolved in 1888.
From almost the hour that the unhappy land
wrenched itself from Spain until the present time
Nicaragua has been under curse. During the
brief Federation of the Central American States
Honduras, Guatemala, San Salvador, Nicaragua,
Costa Rica-the state was deluged in blood caused
by its wars with Costa Rica and its attempts to
break away from the Confederacy Since its ex-
istence as an independent republic, it has been no
torious, beyond all other Central American states,
for uprisngs, riots, revolutions and general devil
try. Its fields have been wasted its few industries
ruined, and the poor people reduced to state of
degradation, paralleled only, in Christendom, by
that of the feudists of the Kentucky hills or the
moonshiners of Virginia. In 1856 our own "Gen-
eral" Walker, at the head of tough gang of Cali
fornia adventurers, landed on the coast of Mica
ragua, and, uniting with the rebels of Leon, took
Grenada, then the capital, and assumed supreme
power. Then neighboring states came to Nicara-
gua's rescue and drove out Walker. He ventured to
return in 1860, captured and on September %
was executed at the military post of Truxillo
Groce and Cannon when taken prisoners, were
fighting with the rebels against the established and
constituted government of Nicaragua, and their
friends and sympathzers should remember that che
who plays the game must win or lose"
Nicaragua is democratic republic whose con-
sitution is modelled on that of the United States
with legislative assembly, senate, and presi-
dent chosen by the people, supposed to be chosen
by the people, for elections in the state as in
Mexico controlled by the party in power. In
1855 the year the constitution was promulgated the
seat of government was transferred from Leon to
the present capital, Managua, on the southwest side
of the lake of that name The population of four
hundred and fifty thousand mostly consists of In
dians, halfbloods and negroes with sprinkling of
Spaniards, Germans and Americans. The Catholic
Church is nominally the state religion, though all
forms of belief, and no belief are tolerated. Owing
to the continuous feuds petty rebellions riots and
uprisings, religion has suffered and languished pit
iably. The present Bishop, Rt. Rev. Simeon
Periera Casteon, resides at Leon, and is as
sisted by fortyfve priests scattered through the
state
By courtesy of Dean Harris author of "Days
and Nights in the Tropics" and VIII the authority
of the Morangs the publishers, have been priv
legged to spread out for our readers the fascinating
chapters of this recently published book dealing
with the blood-spattered land holding the at
tention of all North and South America. We begin
today, first page the interesting and graphic
series of articles Nicaragua by one who is ia
miliar with the country and its people,