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MOST of the contacts between Marine patrols and hostile forces in Nicaragua have been made in the Department of Nueva Segovia. No one who has served in this wild corner of the Republic will ever forget it. On every hand rise mountains and cliffs which awe the American who sees them for the first time. It seems impossible for man or beast to pass beyond such barriers. But these natural walls have been scaled time after time by patroling Marines who have also sweated through the blistering heat of the valleys and forded the innumerable streams which cut the trails and add to the hardships of the march. It is hardly necessary to remind the readers of THE GAZETTE that there are no roads in Nueva Segovia and that many of the trails are mere cattle tracks. It is difficult to imagine a more discouraging country for the traveler.
The department has the rainy and dry seasons common to most tropical countries. Between September 15 and May 15 all ground below high altitude is parched and dry. The smoke from brush fires fills the air and settles like a fog over portions of the terrain, seriously impairing visibility. Miniature cyclones sometimes occur and are a warning of more hot, dry days ahead. The nights are cool and generally beautiful, giving a few hours' respite from the intense heat of the day. An interval of about one month marks the mean between the extreme dry and rainy periods. It is then that the rainy season shapes itself. Intermittent showers settle the dust and make the ground firm. All vegetation takes on color and the aspect of the whole country changes. During the rainy season hardly a day passes without torrential rains of many hours' duration. All trails become difficult to negotiate. Pack animals sometimes sink to their bellies in the mud. They become frightened and throw off their packs. Not infrequently they are badly injured. Many trails are completely washed out, and in the mountains dangerous landslides occur.
The Coco, principal river of Nueva Segovia, has a network of tributaries. All of these are swelled by the rainfall; creek beds that were bone dry become rushing mountain torrents flowing so swiftly that it is extremely...