Across Nicaragua with Transit and Machete. 321 



Under these circumstances the most observant engineer and ex- 

 pert woodsman may pass within a hundred feet of the base of a 

 considerable hill and not have a suspicion of its existence, or he 

 may be entirely unaware of the proximity of a stream until he is 

 on the point of stepping over the edge of its precipitous banks. 



The topography of the country has to be laboriously felt out, 

 much as a blind man familiarizes himself with his surroundings. 

 In doing this work the indispensable instrument, without which 

 the transit, the level, and indeed the engineer himself is of no use, 

 is the national weapon of Nicaragua, the mach'ete, a short, 

 heavy sword. 



As soon as he is able to walk, the son of the Nicaraguan raozo 

 or hidero takes as a plaything a piece of iron hoop or an old 

 knife, and imitates his father with his machete. As he gets 

 older a broken or worn-down weapon is given him, and when he 

 is able to handle it, a full size machete is entrusted to him and he 

 then considers himself a man. From that day on, waking or 

 sleeping, our Nicaraguan's machete is always at his side. With it 

 he cuts his way through the woods ; with it he builds his camp and 

 his bed ; with it he kills his game and fish ; with it at a pinch 

 he shaves himself, or extracts the thoi-ns from his feet ; with it 

 he fights his duels, and with it, when he dies, his comrades dig 

 his grave. 



When in the field the chief of a party, equipped with a pocket 

 compass and an aneroid barometer, is always skirmishing ahead 

 of the line with a mach'etero, or axeman, to cut a path for him. A 

 pushing chief, however, speedily dispenses with the mach'etero 

 and slashes a way for himself much more rapidly. 



As soon as he decides where the line is to go the engineer calls 

 to the m^acheteros and the two best ones immediately begin cut- 

 ting toward the sound of his voice. They soon slash a nar- 

 row path to him, drive a stake where he was standing and then 

 turn ,back toward the other tnach'eteros, who have been following 

 them, cutting a wider path and clearing away all trees, vines and 

 branches, so that the transit man can see the flag at the stake. 

 The moment the leading macheteros reach him the chief starts off 

 again and by the time the main body of axemen have reached his 

 former position the head macheteros are cutting toward the sound 

 of his voice in a new position. 



As soon as the line is cleared the transit man takes his sight 

 and moves ahead to the stake, the chainmen follow and drive 



