[IX-38] Nov. 29, 1828. It is said that the vice-jefe, Argüello, decreed a suspension of the sentence; but purposely delayed the courier, so that the reprieve arrived too late at Rivas. A full biography of Cerda, with scattered historical items, is given in Id., 29-72, passim.
[IX-39] The installation of the assembly was on Nov. 1, 1829. The elections had been decreed by the vice-jefe, Argüello, and his act, as well as the elections effected under it, were on the 23d of May, 1830, declared to be legitimate. Rocha, Cód. Nic., i. 80. Herrera had been inducted in office on the 12th of May. Montúfar, Reseña Hist., i. 199-203.
[IX-40] The services of the Nicaraguans were recognized by both the federal president and the state assembly. Honors were decreed to the survivors, and pensions to the wounded, and to the widows and orphans of the dead. Rocha, Cód. Nic., i. 214-15.
[IX-41] This last action was attributed by the revolutionists to Herrera's machinations and Morazan's influence; but the truth was, that the people recognized Herrera's services as the pacificator, and his good qualifications as a ruler. Montúfar, Reseña Hist., ii. 31-2.
[IX-42] A detailed account of this revolt is given in the Centro Americano, 89-97. It is said that a number of medals were found of tortoise-shell, gold, and other metals, with the image of Fernando VII., and bearing the inscription 'Viva Fernando VII. Rey de España y de las Indias, Año de 1828,' which gave rise to the supposition that the revolt had been in his interests. Montúfar, Reseña Hist., ii. 36-8. Herrera issued a proclamation calling on the people to stand by the government. Marure, Efem., 33-4.
[IX-43] The assembly, installed on the 21st of Aug., 1833, at Leon, approved all of Herrera's acts.
[IX-44] On the southern coast of Nicaragua, 12 leagues distant from Leon.
[IX-45] A dense yellow cloud rose suddenly, accompanied by a strong smell of sulphur and a shower of fine white dust. The alarmed inhabitants closed their doors and windows, but the dust could not be kept out. Breathing became difficult. This lasted nearly three days. On the 23d, at 1 a. m., a loud detonation, followed by heavy shocks of earthquake, rain of sand, and total darkness, rendered the terror of the people complete. Flocks of birds fell dead to the ground, and wild animals sought refuge in buildings. The frightened inhabitants ran to their yards, or hurried to the churches to implore divine mercy. Forty-three hours passed before the earth became quiet, when a strong wind cleared the atmosphere, enabling the people to ascertain the damage. The ashes in the vicinity of the volcano were several feet deep. The river Chiquito had been wholly dried up, and two new islands were formed. A large number of animals had perished, and the living ones were in a state of starvation. Such had been the force of the convulsion that the detonations and the rain of ashes had reached a distance of hundreds of leagues, as far as Oajaca, Jamaica, and Bogotá in Colombia. Montúfar, Reseña Hist., ii. 145-50, in giving an account of the event, adds that the priests called it a punishment from heaven because tithes had been abolished, freedom of conscience proclaimed, and the decrees of 1829 and 1830 upheld. The parish priests in several towns, during the prevailing darkness, preached from their pulpits that this shaking of the earth was a manifestation of God's wrath for the crimes of the liberals. Squier, Trav., ii. 110-11, says that the superintendent of Belize, on hearing the explosions, mustered his troops, thinking that a battle was being fought somewhere near the coast. Stephens, Cent. Am., ii. 38, relates a similar incident of the military commander of Guatemala.
[IX-46] Accounts of the catastrophe, differing more or less in details, according to the various points where it was observed, are given in Marure, Efem., 36-7; Stephens' Cent. Am., ii. 35-8; Squier's Trav., ii. 110-14, 162-3, with a view of the volcano; Byam's Wild Life, 32-7; Dunlop's Cent. Am., 15-17; Lond. Geog. Soc. Journ., v. 387-92; Astaburuaga, Cent. Am., 23; Wells' Hond., 230-1; Cor. Atlánt., May 9, 1835, 10; Dicc. Univ. Hist. Geog., x. 919-20.
[IX-47] Not in 1836, as Dunlop has it. Cent. Am., 191-2.