Note XXVII-29 — Chapter XXVII · CENTRAL AMERICAN INSTITUTIONS. 1886.

Granada has a good commercial position on the N. W. end of Lake Nicaragua, and at the foot of the Mombacho volcano. It was burned by pirates in 1665, nearly ruined by the freebooters in 1670, the raiders having come on both occasions by the San Juan River and the lake; and a third time destroyed by fire in 1685, the work of pirates who landed at Escalante on the Pacific. In 1844 it was greatly damaged by earthquakes. In 1856 it was burned by William Walker, the filibuster. But it has risen from its ashes, and become prosperous. The city is irregular in its construction, the streets not being straight or rectangular. They are mostly unpaved, and generally in a bad condition. The city obtains water for consumption from the lake, distant about a mile, brought by men on their shoulders; and its food supplies, not from the surrounding fields, but from numerous Indian pueblos on the S. E. Masaya was an Indian town, but raised to the rank of a city in 1839. Rocha, Cód. Nic., i. 148. It is supplied with water from the deep lagoon south of and near the city. There were women who for 80 cents monthly supplied two large jars of water every day. A steam-pump was put up in 1872 to raise the water of the lake to the plaza. There is no building worthy of mention in the place. Other notable towns in the department of Granada are Nandaimé, Jinotepe, San Rafael de la Costa, Diriomo, Tipitapa, Nindirí, and Zapatera Island. The towns of San Cárlos and El Castillo, on the San Juan, belong to the same department, though governed in a special manner. San Juan del Norte, alias Greytown, has little importance now; its houses are of wood and palm-thatched. Rivas bore the name of Nicaragua till the early part of the present century. The city has suffered greatly from earthquakes, particularly in 1844. It was partially destroyed during the Walker war. A real curiosity in the department of Rivas is the island of Ometepe in the lake, having two towns, the Pueblo Grande, or villa de Altagracia, and the Moyogalpa, united by a good wagon road. Chinandega is one of the most beautiful spots in Nic. It is a perfect garden. In the wild or uncivilized portion of the territory lies the Mosquito region, whose chief town is Blewfields, having two wooden buildings; the rest being mere huts. Lévy, Nic., 373-90; Laferrière, De Paris á Guatém., 73-6; Saravia, Bosq. Polít. Estadist., 10-11; Marure, Bosq. Hist. Cent. Am., 153-4; Froebel's Cent. Am., 19, 29-47, 62-75, 92-104; Froebel, Aus Amerika, i. 250-80, 311-17, 350-4; Squier's Trav., i. 138-40, 146-50, 211-15, 258-67, 339, 353-6, 365; Squier's Cent. Am., 346-7, 356-9, 366-76; Squier's Nic., 646; Belly, Nic., i. 196-9, 212, 225-9, 249; Stillman's Golden Fleece, 206-8; Dunlop's Cent. Am., 6-8; Stout's Nic., 27-9, 41-5, 98-100, 156-64; Baily's Cent. Am., 117-18; Bates' Cent. Am., 131-2; Marr, Cent. Am., i. 158-9, 165-71, 228-30; Boyle's Ride, i. 13, 83-91; ii. 8; Reichardt, Nic., 6-18, 20-7, 59, 62-3, 71-2, 81-9, 105-6, 129-31, 134, 155-9, 165-9, 231; Wells' Hond., 39, 42, 72-4.