198 Doc. No. 75. 



grounds are to be discerned ^ and sometimes these come down to the edg& 

 of the river. At the mouth of the San Carlos there are hills 2,0^0 feet 

 highland the river is much contracted. The entrance of the passage 

 between them, from the west^ somewhat resembles the opening of the 

 highlands of the Hudson from the north. 



The banks of the river are in some places rocky ^ elsewhere they are 

 far from being as crumbling as those of the Ohio and Mississippi and 

 other rivers of the western States oi the Union. This is, perhaps, due^ 

 in some extent, to the roots of trees and plants which penetrate and bind 

 the earth in all directions. The bed of the river may be regarded as es~ 

 sentially permanent; it nevertheless abounds in islands, of which there 

 are hundreds. Some of these are low and covered with garnalote, or with 

 canes; but most are as high as the banks of the river, and wooded in like 

 manner. 



The width of the river varies from one hundred to four hundred yards^ 

 and its depth from two to twenty feet. I should estimate the average 

 volume of water at about that of the Hudson below its confluence with 

 the Mohawk. The bottom seems generally to be gravel. There are 

 four considerable rapids, where the bed is rocky and the water shallow;; 

 these will be noticed hereafter in detail. The current, from the mouth of 

 the river to the Del Toro, is very rapid. With the water at a medium 

 stage, in a light bungo, and wiih a stout erew of ten men, I was sis days 

 in passing from San Juan to San Carlos. The men labored hard at the 

 oars and setting-poles from long before daylight until after dark each day» 

 We passed other bungos which had left three days before us, and oor trip 

 was regarded as one of extraordinary rapidity. From these facts, some 

 idea may be formed of the strength of the current. Bulow calculates the 

 fall of the stream at twenty inches per mile, except at the various rapids^ 

 where it is more.* 



The banks of the river are totally uninhabited, nor is it known that any 

 one has penetrated the country in either direction. A small garrison is 

 stationed at Castillo Viego, about twenty-five miles below the lake, at the 

 Rapides Del Castillo. There is no doubt that the entire region is emi- 

 nently fertile, and capable of producing all the fruits and staples of the- 

 tropics in the greatest abundance. 



The accompanying map (No. 2, of the San Juan) is corrected from thafe 

 constructed by Baron Bulow in 1847 upon the basis of a MS. map made 

 by Messrs. Rouchaud and Dumartray. Bulow descended the river iii* 

 July, when the Avater was at its highest stage; his bungo was fifty feet 

 long by nine broad, and had a freight of five tons and thirteen persons,, 

 the boat drawing about four feet of water. His notes, as far as they were 

 confirmed by my own observations, are imbodied in the subjoined explar 

 nations of the map. 



The fort of San Carlos, at the head of the river, is a collection of some 

 fifteen or twenty cane-built houses, occupied by perhaps one hundred 

 people. The defences were formerly considerable, but have of late years- 

 been allowed to fall into decay. The position is a strong one, and the old 

 works might soon be put in a condition to control the entrance of the- 

 lake. A small body of troops is maintained here, and here also, since the 



*Mr. Bailey estimated the elevation of Lake Nicaragua above the Pacific oceaaat 12S fealj 

 above the Atlantic at 140 feet. 



