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SCENES ON NICARAGUA CANAL ROUTE.--View on a Costa Rican River. Ometepe,
Volcano in Lake Nicaragua. San Carlos on Lake Nicaragua. Salico

Lake Railroad.

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difficult. Another disadvantage of the Nicaragua route is that the rainfall is exceedingly heavy, varying from 300 to 100 inches annually between Greytown and Lake Nicaragua.

These

The engineering plans for the Nicaragua route include a large masonry dam on the San Juan River about 53 miles from Lake Nicaragua to store and regulate the fall of water from Lake Nicaragua so that a bountiful supply of water might at all times be afforded for the canal and for its locks, of which four on each side of the lake would be required to pass ships up to the lake level from either ocean. locks would have lifts varying from 18 to 37 feet, and would be distributed at points along the line where foundation rock has been found. From Lake Nicaragua to the Caribbean, the route to be followed approximates to that of the San Juan River. Between the lake and the continental divide toward the Pacific, the canal line follows the course of the small Lajas River, and from the divide to the Pacific it follows the course of another small river, the Rio Grande. The construction for the Panama Canal includes as its main feature the construction of an artificial lakeLake Bohio-at the summit of the divide between the Atlantic and Pacific. This lake would be supplied by the Chagres River and would be 85 feet above mean sea level. The final line of the canal would be from the entrance to Colon Harbor on the Caribbean to the Bohio locks and dam, 16.81 miles; thence vessels would traverse the lake to the two locks on the Pacific side, at Pedro Miguel, a total distance of 21.87 miles. From Pedro Miguel, the entrance to Panama Harbor on the Pacific, the distance is 10.41 miles, making the total distance traversed 49.09 miles.

NICKEL. The only nickel and cobalt produced in the United States in 1900 were obtained as by-products from the smelting of lead ores at Mine Lamotte, Mo. The matte containing these two metals are refined at New York and at Camden, N. J. From 75,220 pounds of matte there were extracted 9,715 pounds of metallic nickel and 6,471 pounds of cobalt. This is a decrease of 12,826 pounds of nickel and 3.759 pounds of cobalt from the 1899 production. Attempts were made in 1900 to develop properties in Oregon and Idaho, and even to start up the old Gap Mine in Lancaster County, Pa. The imports of nickel in 1900 had a total value of $1,183,884, while those of cobalt oxide were valued at $88,651. Most of the nickel matte which is produced at Sudbury, Ont., from ores mined in that locality, is sent to the United States for refining. The exports of nickel oxide from this country in 1900 amounted to 5,869,900 pounds, valued at $1,382,727. There was an active demand for nickel in 1901, the price being from $50 to $60 a ton. Active prospecting in the past few years has resulted in the finding of a deposit of nickel and cobalt ore near Bunkerville, in southeastern Nevada. The deposit is said to be very similar to that at Sudbury. The new alloy of iron and nickel similar to Josephinite has been found near Gasquette, Del Norte County, Cal.

NICOLAY, JOHN GEORGE, historian, and former private secretary to Abraham Lincoln, died in Washington, D. C., September 26, 1901. He was born at Essingen, Bavaria, February 26, 1832, and came to the United States in 1838, where he was educated in the Cincinnati (O.) public schools. From the position of editor and proprietor of the Pike County (Ill.) Free Press, he went in 1857 to Springfield as an assistant to the secretary of state, and when Abraham Lincoln was nominated for the Presidency in 1860, became his secretary, retaining the position until Lincoln was assassinated. In 1874 Nicolay, in collaboration with John Hay, who was also a private secretary to Lincoln, began the biography of the dead President which, under the title, Abraham Lincoln: A History, finally appeared in 1890. Nicolay also wrote, in 1881, The Outbreak of the Rebellion, besides contributing the article on Abraham Lincoln to the Encyclopædia Britannica, and various articles to American magazines. NIGERIA, comprising the two British protectorates, Northern Nigeria and Southern Nigeria, extends from the eastern part of the Gulf of Guinea northward to the French Soudan. The area and population are unknown, estimates of the former ranging from 350,000 square miles to 500,000 square miles, and of the latter from 25,000,000 to 40,000,000. Of particular interest is the Hausa race, who have attained considerable development in civilization and industry. Revenue and expenditure for the fiscal year 1900 amounted to £164,108 (of which £156,491 from customs) and £176,140 respectively; in the following year the revenue amounted to £380,894. The total imports and exports for the fiscal year 1900 were valued at £725,798 and £888,954 respectively; for 1901, imports £1,199,680, and exports £1,166,147. In the latter year the imports from and the exports to Great Britain were valued at £987,092 and £181,365 respectively. Trade with Germany is increasing. The leading products and exports are palm kernels, palm oil, rubber, ivory, ebony, hides, gums, and cacao; the chief imports are cotton goods, spirits, salt, and tobacco. The importation of spiritous liquors to Northern Nigeria is prohibited.

Northern Nigeria. This protectorate, formerly called the Niger Territories, is administered by a high commissioner, Brigadier-General Sir F. J. D. Lugard. The commandant of the troops, who number abcut 2,500, is Colonel Sir James Willcocks.

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As soon as the West African Frontier Force returned to the Niger from their campaign of 1900 in Ashanti, they were dispatched in two expeditions against the emirs of Kontagora and Bida, who for some months had terrorized and almost depopulated a large extent of territory, killing or enslaving 8,000 natives, and who, it was feared, would combine forces against the British. These emirs were the most powerful, excepting the emir of Sokoto, in Northern Nigeria. On January 10, 1901, General Lugard sent out northward from Jebba, a town on the Niger, two companies under Colonel Kemball, which were joined near Momba by two other companies, the total number being about 400. These were native troops officered by Englishmen. Not far from Kontagora the enemy were easily dispersed, but when the British force came within sight of that town, it was confronted by 5,000 men, including cavalry, who made a stubborn resistance. They were armed with bows (and poisoned arrows), rifles, and trade guns. They finally gave way after sustaining heavy losses, and the British entered Kontagora, which was found to be an extensive walled city that had had some 25,000 inhabitants. It was deserted, however, and the emir had escaped, and, though his forces were crushed, he was not subsequently captured. Colonel Kemball proceeded to Kaduna, where he met the high commissioner commanding a battalion. The united forces were concentrated at Wuyu, near Bida, and the forces of the emir of the latter place were overpowered. The emir, however, like the emir of Kontagora, escaped. On February 17 the high commissioner installed the makum; that is, the heir-apparent, as emir of Bida. It should be remembered that the makum had been installed by the British in 1895, but had been ousted by the former emir. Captain Cochrane was made military resident and given a strong garrison. The expedition brought about the release of thousands of slaves, and its general effect on the country was doubtless far-reaching and salutary. It was thought that the emirs of Kontagora and Bida would not be able again to assemble a force of any considerable magnitude.

A punitive expedition commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Morland against the Emir Zuberu of Yola reached that town on September 2. Zuberu, who was one of the most powerful of the Fulani rulers of the Sokoto empire and who had governed the large province of Adamawa, had raided large tracts of country for slaves, disregarding repeated warnings from the Nigerian administration. Consequently an expedition, consisting of upwards of 380 men, with two 75-millimetre guns and four Maxims, advanced on Yola, which has some 30,000 inhabitants and is situated on the river Benué not far from the Cameroon border. The town was taken after a sharp engagement in which the emir's forces suffered about 150 casualties and the British 41. The emir escaped, and on September 8 his brother, Bobo Amadu, was installed as emir of British Adamawa, to the general satisfaction of the inhabitants. Although the administration did not intend to interfere immediately with domestic slavery in the province, slave-raiding, it was thought, had ceased.

Southern Nigeria.-The protectorate borders the Gulf of Guinea between Lagos and Cameroon. It is administered by a high commissioner, Sir R. D. R. Moor. The seat of government is the port Old Calabar. The military force consists of about 1,100 men. The construction of new roads is progressing. Prospects for the development of the timber and rubber industries are good; a forestry department has been organized for the preservation of the rubber forests in Benin.

In November, 1899, a small British party was attacked in the northeastern part of the Benin region, which had never been brought under authority of the government, and though the offenders were punished, the establishment of actual control could not be attempted, on account of the service of the troops in Ashanti during 1900 and unsettled conditions in other parts of the protectorate, until the spring of 1901. On March 1, of the latter year, an expedition numbering about 250 under Major Heneker, sailed from Old Calabar for Gilli Gilli en route to Benin City. From that point the border of the district aimed at-known as Ishan territory, a large tract of country and thickly populated-is about 70 miles distant. Opposition was first encountered by the British force on March 15 at Akisibaw, about 65 miles from Benin City, and severe fighting ensued. On the 20th, Uromi was taken, and soon after Etlia, the chief town. The native chiefs then considered terms of submission. Toward the end of 1900 an expedition of 1,500 troops, in four columns, was dispatched against the Aro tribes who occupy the country between the Cross and Niger rivers. For some time these tribes had been engaged in slave dealing. It was expected that the military operations would be somewhat protracted in character, lasting perhaps until the following April. In December, however, the expedition, though meeting considerable resistance, was making rapid progress. Bendi was occupied on the 16th, and on the 28th Arochuku was burned. Considerable fighting was reported, in which the natives suffered many casualties. By the end of the year six important chiefs had surrendered.

NINDE, WILLIAM XAVIER, D.D., LL.D., bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church, died at Detroit, Mich., January 3, 1901. He was born at Cortland, N. Y., June 21, 1832, and graduated at Wesleyan University in 1855. After teaching school

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for a year he was ordained to the ministry and attached to the Black River Conference in New York, remaining there until 1861, when he was transferred to the Cincinnati Conference. In 1870 he was placed in the Detroit Conference and continued to labor there until chosen professor of practical theology at the Garrett Biblical Institute, Evanston, Ill., in 1873. He became president of the school in 1879 and continued as such until 1884, when the General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church elected him one of the board of bishops. Bishop Ninde was a delegate to the Methodist Ecumenical Conference at London, 1881.

NOBEL PRIZES, established by the will of Alfred Nobel, were first awarded on December 10, 1901. Nobel was born at Stockholm, Sweden, October 21, 1833, and died December 10, 1896. He was the inventor (1867) of dynamite, and acquired a fortune of nearly $10,000,000 from the manufacture of explosives. His will provided that his entire fortune be placed in a trust fund, the annual interest, divided into five equal parts, to be given to five men achieving the most distinguished results in as many departments of human activity. The branches of activity named in the will were physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature (idealistic), and efforts toward international peace and the reduction of the burdens of militarism. The prizes are awarded by the following bodies: For work in physics and chemistry, the Swedish Academy of Sciences; physiology or medicine, the Caroline Institute at Stockholm; literature, the Stockholm Academy; and for efforts toward peace, a committee of five members elected by the Norwegian Storthing. "It is my express desire," the will read, "that, in awarding the prizes, no account shall be taken of nationality, in order that the prize may fall to the lot of the most deserving, whether he be Scandinavian or not." In the articles of foundation, which were approved in June, 1900, the sum of $8,400,000 was set aside as a permanent fund, and investments were made in the national securities of England, France, Italy, Russia, Sweden, and Norway, and also in landed estates in France, Italy, and Sweden. With an average interest rate and income of 3 per cent., about $250,000 a year are available for distribution. The provision that the prizes be given for work done “during the year just passed," was interpreted to mean the most recent results in the several branches, though all work done previously by the candidates is to be considered. Further, each awarding corporation may decide whether the prize go to a society or institution. Nominations are made to the awarding corporations by recognized learned societies in the various countries, and the announcement of the winners and the awards of the prizes are to be made on December 10 of each year. Each of the winners must, if not prevented by illness or other unavoidable delay, within six months, hold a public meeting on the subject of his special work, the meetings to be called at Stockholm, or (in the case of the prize for the promotion of peace) at Christiania, Norway.

After allowing for the expenses of administration, and library and institute aid to the awarding corporations, the amount available for each prize in 1901 was $40,424. The winners were: In physics, Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen (q.v.); in chemistry, Jacobus Henricus van't Hoff (q.v.); in medicine, Emil von Behring (q.v.); in idealistic literature, Armand Sully-Prudhomme (q.v.); and in the work for the promotion of peace, one-half to Frédéric Passy (q.v.), and one-half to Henry Dunant (q.v.). These selections were thoroughly in harmony with Nobel's desire to reward those workers in pure science whose incomes are usually insignificant; for financially, few discoveries in these branches can be patented and applied to commercial uses. In the same way, the highest form of literary endeavor cannot become popular and win adequate reward. In connection with the award of one-half of the peace prize to M. Dunant, who at the time was reported to be ill and destitute in a Swiss hospital, it is interesting to record Nobel's statement that, while giving money to a man of affairs only results in intellectual stagnation, "I would willingly help a dreamer who may have got into difficulties." It is significant, too, that Nobel, who by his discoveries contributed most to the destructiveness of war, should have recognized in his benefactions the most conspicuous efforts for the prevention of war. The winning of a Nobel prize will ordinarily relieve the recipient of the care of earning a livelihood, and will thus enable him to pursue his special subject unimpeded.

NORDENSKJÖLD, Baron ADOLF ERIK, Swedish scientist and explorer, died at Stockholm, August 12, 1901. He was born at Helsingfors, Finland, November 18, 1832, and was educated in the sciences at the University of Helsingfors, and early in life entered the service of the government in the mining department. Falling under the suspicion of the Russian government, however, he was compelled to leave Finland, and settled in Sweden. He was appointed superintendent of the mineralogical museum of Stockholm in 1858; accompanied Torell on Arctic expeditions in 1859 and 1861; and led expeditions himself in 1864, 1868, and 1872, going once, in 1870, to Greenland. The results of his observations were published in geographical and mineralogical pamphlets, among which was his Redogövelse for en Expedition till Grönland (1871). In 1878 he succeeded in doubling Cape Tchelyuskin, being the first to make the northeast passage. For this he was created baron and appointed a

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