24 



The National Geographic Magazine 



with regard to the edge of the river, Nica- 

 ragua claiming that it should be the edge 

 at high water and Costa Rica claiming 

 the edge at low water. Both claims were 

 overruled, that of Nicaragua including 

 as a portion of the river large areas of 

 land covered with vegetation submerged 

 at extreme high water, and Costa Rica's 

 including within her territory numerous 

 islands which were connected to the land 

 by sand-bars, exposed at extreme low 

 water. As the river was referred to in 

 the treaty always as a navigable stream. 

 General Alexander decided the line to be 

 that indicated by the surface of the water 

 at the lowest navigable stage of the river, 

 which is rather above the average height, 

 the lower river being scarcely navigable 

 at mean stages. 



The survey followed this line on the 

 right bank of the river to a point three 

 English miles below the Castillo Viejo. 

 Here the line left the river, the point be- 

 ing marked by a large concrete monu- 

 ment. From here, owing to the dense 

 tropical jungle, the line was not actually 

 run, but points upon the line were located 

 on streams, and at other places which 

 were accessible either by boat or by land, 

 and every foot of the line from Castillo 

 to the Pacific is located by a compromise 

 of the engineers. 



Another important point of difference 

 was with regard to the definition of the 

 expression " the right margin of Lake 

 Nicaragua." The argument and award of 

 General Alexander are as follows : 



" Under the influence of rainy seasons 

 of about seven months, and dry seasons of 

 about five, the level of Lake Nicaragua 

 is in constant fluctuation. We shall have 

 to discuss five different stages. 



" I St. Extreme high water; the level 

 reached only in years of maximum rain- 

 fall, or some extraordinary conditions. 



" 2nd. Mean high water ; the average 

 high level of average years. 



" 3rd. Mean low water ; the average 

 low level of average years. 



" 4th. Extreme low water ; the lowest 



level reached in years of minimum rain- 

 fall, or other extraordinary conditions. 



"5th. Mean water; the average be- 

 tween mean high water and mean low 

 water, 



" The argument presented to me in be- 

 half of Nicaragua claims that the level to 

 be adopted in this case should be the first 

 level named, to-wit : extreme high water. 

 It argues that this line and this line alone 

 is the true limit of what the argument calls 

 the ' bed of the lake.' Costa Rica claims 

 the adoption of the third level, to-wit: 

 mean low water. This is argued prin- 

 cipally upon two grounds: First, it is 

 shown by a great number of legal deci- 

 sions that, in most states, all water boun- 

 daries are invariably held to run at either 

 extreme or mean low water. Second, it 

 is claimed that, in case of any doubt, 

 Costa Rica is entitled to its benefits, as 

 she is conceding territory geographically 

 hers. 



*' I will begin with Costa Rica's first 

 argument. The equity of adopting a low 

 water line in the case of all water boun- 

 daries is readily admitted, even though in- 

 stances of contrary practice exist. 



" Between all permanent lands and 

 permanent waters usually runs a strip of 

 land, sometimes dry and sometimes sub- 

 merged. We may call it, for short, semi- 

 submerged. Its value for ordinary pur- 

 poses is much diminished by its hability 

 to overflow, but, as an adjunct to the per- 

 manent land, it possesses, often, very 

 great value. If the owner of the perma- 

 nent land can fence across the semi-sub- 

 merged he may save fencing his entire 

 water front. He also can utilize what- 

 ever agricultural value may be in the semi- 

 submerged land in dry seasons. Both of 

 these values would be destroyed and 

 wasted if the ownerships were conferred 

 upon the owner of the water. Therefore 

 equity always, and law generally, confers 

 it upon the owner of the permanent land. 



" I recognized and followed this prin- 

 ciple in my award. No. 3, where I held 

 that the boundary line following the right 



