No. 354.
Mr. Riotte to Mr. Fish.
Managua, May 10, 1872. (Received June 19.)
Sir: I have the honor of advising you that Commander Chester Hatfield, commanding United States interoceanic canal exploring expedition arrived here yesterday, and is stopping with me at the legation. Today at 12 o’clock m., by appointment, I presented him to President Quadra, who, together with two of his ministers, received him with the utmost cordiality, conversed with him through my instrumentality, for over half an hour, and sent this evening the military band to serenade him. I was happy to learn from him that the work is going on already successfully, one party being engaged in the survey of the delta of the San Juan River, another upon the traject Sapoa River, Salinas Bay, (the Belly line,) and a third one upon Colonel Childs’s line, (Las lajas-Brito.) The sanitary condition of all the members of the expedition is excellent, not one of them being so much as unwell.
Captain Hatfield seems quite sanguine of success in finding, within the territory of this republic, not only a feasible but a good and not overdifficult line for an interoceanic canal.
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I have, &c,