492 



NIC.EA 



NICARAGUA 



Nilielungs' treasure ; but Hagen liad wrested it from 

 her and sunk it at the bouoin of tin- Khine. At 

 tin- enil uf several years Kriemhild, who still 

 mourns for Sigfried, and still imui i-!ic.- the desire 

 for revenge upon Hagen and Gunther, invites her 

 brother mnl his court to visit her. They do so, 

 accompanied by a body of 11,000 knight* and men- 

 at aims. The conclusion of the epic relates the 

 bloody incident* attendant upon the total annihila- 

 tion of tin- liurgundians at the court of Etzel, and 

 the slaughter they made amongst their foes. There 

 is a continuation of the poem, called the .Y// /- 

 genklagc, or Lament for the Nilielungs, a produc- 

 tion in every way much inferior to the Xibuungen- 

 lifil. In spite of the uncouth versification of this 

 last, it exercises a strong fascination upon the 

 reader, owing to the grandeur of its conception, its 

 strong charactrUatiou, its earnestness and tragic 

 intensity. 



There exist numerous old MSS. of the poem ; but the 

 most valuable are three, called respectively the Munich, 

 St Gall, and Lassberg MS&, all of the 13th century. The 

 best modern Ilu'h Herman versions are those by Sim- 

 rock (40th ed. 1880), Bartscli (2d ed. Issin, and I, 

 FrvyUg (2d ed. 1886 ). There are English translations by 

 Lettaom (1850), Foster- Uarhnin (1887), and Birch 

 ( 3d ed. 1887 ). See also Carlyle's Mucellanitt ( voL iii. ). 



Xirji-a. See NICE. 



Nirarntflia, an independent state of Central 

 America, stretching right across the isthmus from 

 the Cariblwan Sea to the Pacific, between Costa 

 Rica on the south and Honduras on the north. 

 An irregular square, the east (Caribbean) coast 

 measuring 293 miles and the west coast 185, 

 Nicaragua has an estimated area of alxjut 49,500 

 sq. m. The Central American Cordilleras form 

 the backbone of the country ; they run north-west 

 and south-east at a distance of 12 to 30 miles 

 from the Pacific, and attain elevations of 4000 and 

 6000 feet aliove sea-level. On the west the surface 

 ginks rapidly to a longitudinal degression (110 

 feet), the southern two-thirds of which are filled 

 by the large lakes of Nicaragua (115 miles long, 

 45 broad, and 140 feet deep in most parts) and 

 Managua (35 miles long, 20 brood, 30 feet deep), 

 the latter lying north of the former and 25 feet 

 higher. This depression is studded with a chain 

 of volcanic cones, standing on islands in the lakes 

 (Ometepec and Modem, 4190 feet), and clustering 

 thickly between the northern end of Lake Managua 

 and the (!ulf of Fonseca at the north-western 

 extremity of the country, as Coseguina (3835 feet, 

 which was the scene of a tremendous outbreak, 

 lasting over four days, in 1835), Viejo (0267), 

 Telica (4200), Momotombo (6890), Mombacho 

 (4600), and several others. Though most of these 

 are quiescent, some of them burst forth in eruption 

 from time to time ; Ometepec poured out ii - lavas 

 during seven days in Iss.'l. Another low range 

 separates this depression from the Pacific. The 

 district* west of the central l>ackbone are the chief 

 fteata of the population. There stand the towns 

 Managua (the capital), Leon, Granada, Chinan- 

 dt'ga, Kivax. On the western coast there are three 

 harbours- -the Gulf of Fonseca in the north, Salinas 

 !! iv in the south, and the port of Corinto towards 

 the north. The only port on the east side is Grey- 

 town, at the mouth of the river Sun Juan. 



Kast of thn Cordillera* the surface falls away 

 gradually; the spurs that break oil" from the main 

 ridge sink into the low alluvial plains that face the 

 Cariblican Sea. Thirk forest* clothe extensive 

 areas on this side. Several rivers carry oil' the 

 surplus water eastward, a few being of rood length, 

 ncli an the Coco or Wanks (350 miles Tony), which 

 nerves as the conventional northern Imundary ; the 

 San Juan (125 miles), which drains ' Lake 

 Nicaragua and separates the state of Nicaragua 



from Costa Hica on the south; the Illnelields and 

 the Kin GnadalMO miles). The low coast- Ml, 

 called the Mosuiiito Coast (q.v.), is lined with salt 

 lagoons IV.u I MflOOa having an area of about 200 

 sq. m., anil Minefields lagoon hull" as imirh. The 

 mountain-spurs east of the main chain are rich in 

 minerals; gold is mined in the neighbourhood of 

 LilxTtadon toMatagalpa,intheheait of tin-count i\ , 

 and silver near the sources of the Coco in the north ; 

 coal, copper, tin, iron, lead, zinc, antimony, i|iiick- 

 silver, marble, v \c. exist, but are not worked. As 

 a rule the climate varies between 70 and 90 I . 

 and there is a dry season lasting from about 

 December to May. The natural products of tin- 

 soil are accordingly tropical. The forest trees 

 include mahogany, rosewood, logwood, fustic, 

 sandalwood, india-rubber, and numerous others 

 that yield fancy woods, medicinal plants, gums, 

 and dye-woods. Large herds of cattle are bred 

 and reared on the extensive plains of the cenln* 

 and cast. The rich soil of the cultivated western 

 region yields maize (the staple food of the people), 

 coffee, cocoa, sugar, cotton, rice, tobacco, indigo, 

 and a great variety of tropical fruits. 'Pin- exports 

 chiefly coffee, india-rubber, bananas, hides, 

 metals, gums, woods average 82,400,000 ; the im- 

 ports, mostly manufactured goods, $2,800,0!>0. The 

 animal life is similar to that of Guatemala (q.v.). 

 The |K filiation in 1895 was 420, 000 about 1500 per- 

 son-i <if European descent, Indians, mulattocs. and 

 negroes. The state religion is the Roman Catholic, 

 but all creeds are tolerated. The educational 

 standard is low, in spite of two universities (so 

 called), at Leon and Granada, with a bunt 350 

 students in all. The country is governed by a 

 president (elected for four years), a legislative 

 assembly of eleven members, and a senate of ten ; 

 lioth these liodies are elected by the people, the 

 former for four, the latter for six years. Tliere are 

 100 miles of railway, connecting the chief towns 

 with Corinto. The public revenue (about $3,840, 

 000) is derived chiefly from monopolies on spirite, 

 tobacco, and gnopowdtr, and from import dues. 

 The national debt amounts to $2,960,000. 



Nicaragua, like the states north of it, was a 

 centre of Aztec civilisation ; but the Aztecs were 

 preceded by another race, likewise civilised, who 

 nave left stone sculptures and monumental 

 remains. The Aztec influence survives in archa-o- 

 logical ruins and relics and in the Indian dialects. 

 Columbus Bailed along the Mosquito coast in 1502. 

 Twenty ^eare later the country was overrun by 

 the Spaniards under Gil Gonzalez D'Avila, and in 

 1524 the city of Granada was founded. This town 

 soon developed as the head of a stream of commerce 

 that flowed up and down the San Juan River. In 

 1610 was founded Leon, the democratic rival of 

 the aristocratic Granada. During the Spanish 

 supremacy (after 1550) Nicaragua was a province 

 of Guatemala. In 1821 it asserted its independence, 

 and two years later joined the federation of the 

 Central American states, a connection that lasted 

 sixteen years. The history of the country after 

 the severance from Spain until 1865 is a record of 

 war and dissension, war with Costa Uica, with 

 Guatemala, and with Great Britain ( 1848), which 

 had asserted a protectorate over the Mosquito 

 Ciiimt since 1855. This region was given up to 

 Nicaragua in 1X(K). Hctwecn 1855 and 18fiO the 

 aristocratic and the democratic party were fighting 

 tooth and nail, the latter being assisted by the 

 adventurer William Walker (q.v.). Since then 

 Nicaragua has made laudable efforts to develop 

 her resources and to advance along the path of 

 civilisation, and she now compares most favour- 

 ably with her sister states in Central America. 



See Squier, Nicaragua (1852); licit, Naturalitt in 

 Nicaragua (1873); Bodham-Whetham, Acroa Central 



