Interesting facts about Lake Nicaragua. Interesting facts about Lake Nicaragua: description, nature and fauna of Nicaragua where sharks live 5 letters

Lago de Nicaragua

Nicaragua is the only freshwater lake in the world that is home to sharks. In view of this fact and due to the small distance to the Pacific Ocean, scientists believe that the territory on which the lake is now located used to be a large sea bay. Over time, the passage to the sea was closed and a lake was formed, in which sharks still live.

Nicaraguans call it Lago Cocibolca or Mar Dulce (Sweet Sea). Indeed, it differs from the sea only in freshwater and isolation. As well as at sea, there are strong waves that raise the east winds blowing westward towards the Pacific Ocean. There are whole groups of islands on the lake, such as Ometepe and Solentiname. Powerful storms periodically occur on the lake.

Prior to the construction of the Panama Canal, there were plans to build a Nicaraguan Canal across the lake to pass from one ocean to another. With the completion of the Panama Canal construction, Nicaraguan projects have become less relevant, but the idea of \u200b\u200bnew construction comes up from time to time.


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    Republic of Nicaragua, state in the Center. America. Named for the lake. Nicaragua, and it is according to the Nicarao Indian tribe that lived on its shores; the gua element, which does not have an unambiguous translation, is widely represented in the aboriginal place names throughout Latin America ... Geographical encyclopedia

    Nicaragua isp. Lago de Nicaragua Coordinates: Coordinates ... Wikipedia

    Nicaragua - Nicaragua. Volcano Momotombo. NICARAGUA (Republic of Nicaragua), a state in Central America, washed by the Pacific Ocean in the southwest, and the Caribbean Sea in the east. Area 130 thousand km2. The population is 4.27 million people, mostly Nicaraguans ... ... Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary

    Nicaragua - (Nicaragua) State of Nicaragua, geography and history of Nicaragua, political system Information about the state of Nicaragua, geography and history of Nicaragua, political system Contents Contents Nature Population State system ... ... Investor encyclopedia

Lake Nicaragua (Lago de Nicaragua) is the largest lake in Nicaragua. It is of tectonic origin, fills a tectonic depression and, as a result, has an almost perfect oval shape. The shores of the lake are mostly low-lying. Its appearance is the result of the volcano's work: lava filled a narrow strait, separating the bay from the ocean and turning it into an inland body of water. Over time, salt water in the newly formed lake was replaced by fresh water - from the forty rivers that flow into Nicaragua.
The largest of the inflowing rivers is the Tipitapa, flowing from the neighboring (heavily polluted) Lake Managua. The San Juan River flows out of the lake and flows into. This connection allows the lakeside city of Granada to be called an Atlantic port, although it is closer to the Pacific Ocean. Such geographic location Granada in the old days also led to sad consequences: in the middle of the 17th century. pirates passed by the river to rich Granada and besieged it three times.
Lake Nicaragua ranks first in terms of surface area among freshwater lakes in Latin America and in second place among all lakes in Latin America. Depending on the counting system, it ranks 19th or 20th in the list of the largest lakes in the world.
Like most large lakes, Nicaragua has its own special character. In the eastern half of the lake, sheltered by mountains, the waters are fairly calm; on the western side, which is influenced by the trade winds, there is a constant strong swell. Powerful storms are not uncommon here.
Only a few islands on the lake are inhabited. The largest island, Ometepe, is formed by two volcanoes - Concepcion (1610 m) and Maderas (1394 m). The name of the island reflects the history of its origin: in the Nahuatl Indian language "ome" is two, and "tepe" is a mountain. In 2010, the territory of the island of Ometepe was recognized by UNESCO as a biosphere reserve.
The third volcano, Mombacho (1344 m), is located on west coast lakes. The presence of volcanoes in the vicinity of Lake Nicaragua led to its clogging with ash brought by rivers from volcanic regions.
Even before the Panama Canal was built, a plan to create the Nicaraguan Canal had been pondered for a long time. All projects boiled down to the construction of a canal across Lake Nicaragua and the San Juan River. Back in the XVI century. Spanish King Charles V of Habsburg (1500-1558) ordered to explore the isthmus in Nicaragua in order to connect two oceans, but the level of technology at that time did not allow construction to begin, and the Spaniards themselves did not seek to invest in large-scale projects in Latin America ...
This project was repeatedly returned later, and often the authors of new proposals were outspoken adventurers who collected money from gullible investors.
After the construction of the Panama Canal, interest in the Nicaraguan Canal project weakened, but sometimes this idea becomes relevant again, especially in times of international political crises.
In ancient times, Lake Nicaragua was an ocean bay, which, as a result of a volcanic eruption, turned into an inland body of water. Its waters are quite rich in fish, and of marine origin. There are over 400 islands on the lake, and some of them are inhabited.
In the fresh waters of Nicaragua, you can find marine life such as sharks.
The population on the shores of the island is mestizo, the descendants of the Indians who have lived here since ancient times. The main occupation of the locals is the cultivation of bananas, coffee and cocoa. A significant part of the plantations is concentrated on the islands, where the land is covered with extremely fertile volcanic ash, which, combined with a favorable climate, allows for large harvests. Nicaragua has its own lakeside flotilla, represented by both a small fleet and rather capacious vessels, intended, among other things, to serve numerous tourists. Lake Nicaragua is popular with surfing and sport fishing enthusiasts.
Nicaragua is the only freshwater lake in the world with sharks. This is the clearest evidence that the area now occupied by the lake was once a large sea bay. When the lava flows blocked the outlet to the sea, sharks remained in the lake, which settled in new conditions. This shark has its own scientific name: the Carcharhinus nicaraguensis Nicaraguan shark.
Until recently, the Nicaraguan shark was mistaken for a bull shark, which also lives in the lake. Subsequently, it turned out that a bull shark enters the lake from the Caribbean Sea, rises up the San Juan River against the current - like salmon - and ends up in Lake Nicaragua. This journey can take up to two weeks. Currently, so many sharks are bred in the lake that the surrounding residents are allowed to engage in their commercial fishing.
In addition to sharks, marine life such as swordfish and tarpon, which looks like a very large herring, live in Lake Nicaragua. Although Lake Nicaragua is connected by the Tipitapa River with Lake Managua, due to the strong pollution of the latter, sharks do not enter there.
Granada is the largest city on the lakeside. It ranks third in the country (after the capital and Leon), is the administrative center of the department of Granada and proudly bears the title of the oldest city founded by Europeans in Central America (founded in 1524). Nowadays it is also the main tourist center of the country.
Another large city on the lake, San Carlos, stands at the point where the San Juan River flows out of Lake Nicaragua, near the border with Costa Rica. The municipality of San Carlos includes the Solentiname Islands, which have the status of a National Monument to Nicaragua. The fauna is exceptionally rich here, and the deer population has survived on the island of La Venada, after which the island is named (venado in Spanish for "deer").
The beauty of the Solentiname Islands on Lake Nicaragua attracted artists of the pen and brush, including the poet and politician Ernesto Cardenal (b. 1925), who founded a commune of artists on the island in 1966, as well as an art gallery.
On the neighboring island of Ometepe, there are preserved archaeological sites of pre-Columbian civilizations - petroglyphs and stone idols - created at the latest in the 2nd millennium BC. e. In ancient times, the islands on the lake, due to their volcanic origin, were considered sacred by the Indians, which is why they were chosen as a place for burial. Currently, there is a biosphere reserve, which is home to rare species of koat - representatives of the arachnid monkey family.


general information

Location: Central America.

Administrative affiliation: Republic of Nicaragua.

Origin: tectonic.

Food: mainly rain.

The largest rivers: flows into the Tipitapa; follows - San Juan.

Largest island: Ometepe Island (276 km 2).

The most important ports are: Granada - 83,439 people. (2013), San Carlos - 15 157 people. (2013).

Numbers

Area: 8264 km 2.

Catchment area: 23 844 km 2.

Volume: 108 km 3.

Lenght: 177 km.

Width: 58 km.

Maximum depth: 45 m.
Average depth: 13 m.

Mineralization type: fresh.
Height above sea level: 32 m.
Number of islands: OK. 400.

Climate and weather

Tropical, trade wind.

Average annual temperature: +28 - + 32 ° C.

Average annual rainfall: 1200 mm.
Relative humidity: 70%.

Water level change: decreases during the dry period from December to April and increases during the rainy season from May to October.

Economy

Lake shipping.

Fishing.
Agriculture: crop production (bananas, coffee, cocoa, avocado, cotton, corn).
Traditional Crafts: wood carving, twig weaving.

Scope of services: tourist (surfing, fishing), transport.

sights

City of Granada: San Francisco Convention Museum, Iglesia de Guadeloupe Cathedral.
Natural: Mombacho Volcano, San Juan River, Ometepe Island (with Biosphere Reserve), Tipitapa River, Concepcion Volcano, Maderas Volcano, Solentiname Archipelago (Los Guatusos Wildlife Sanctuary).
Historical: monuments of pre-Columbian civilizations (Ometepe island).
Cultural: commune of artists (Solentiname islands).

Curious facts

■ The San Juan River, which begins in Lake Nicaragua and empties into the Caribbean Sea, runs a large part of the Nicaragua-Costa Rica border.
■ Ometepe Island is the largest freshwater volcanic island on earth.
■ The question of building the Nicaraguan Canal was last raised at a meeting between the presidents of Russia and Nicaragua on December 18, 2008.
■ One of the most famous projects of the Nicaraguan Canal is called the Ecocanal.
■ Since the XVI century. pirates often landed on the island of Ometepe, choosing it as a refuge in case of persecution by the Spaniards and displacing the local population who settled higher on the slopes of the volcanoes.
■ The islands of Lake Nicaragua are home to 76 species of parrots and toucans.

■ The Nicaraguan shark reaches a length of 2-2.5 m and is classified as a species of potential danger to humans.

■ The first option for a canal between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans involved building it across Lake Nicaragua, but the Panama Project lobbyists cleverly used Nicaraguan postage stamps showing the active Momotombo volcano smoking against the backdrop of Lake Managua. Despite assurances from the Nicaraguan authorities that Momotombo Volcano was too far from the canal construction site, the Panama Project was adopted. In addition, it was three times cheaper than the Nicaraguan. And the volcano Momotombo began to erupt inappropriately during the construction of the Panama Canal.

■ Large lizards live along the shores of the lake - helmet-bearing basilisks (up to 60 cm long), capable of running on their hind legs even on the water surface.
■ Ancient petroglyphs - paintings on rocks depicting parrots, monkeys and people - have been discovered on the Solentiname Islands. The country's authorities have awarded the Solentiname Islands the status of a national natural monument of Nicaragua.
■ Before the construction of the Panama Canal, the San Juan River, which flows from Lake Nicaragua, was used to transport goods and people between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. For a long time, it was the shortest east-west waterway in the United States. During the California Gold Rush, the American transport company Vanderbilt used this route to transport miners to the east coast of the United States.
■ Between 1981 and 1990, opposition units (contras), whose base camps were located in Costa Rica, almost completely blocked navigation on the San Juan River, which caused significant damage to the Nicaraguan economy.

Lake Nicaragua is located in the eponymous state of Central America, in the southwestern part of the country, almost on the border with Costa Rica.

It is the largest freshwater body in Latin America, with an area of \u200b\u200bover 8600 sq. km, and the maximum depth is almost 70 meters. The surface of the lake is 32 meters above sea level. Lake Nicaragua is connected to the Caribbean Sea via the navigable San Juan River. Fresh water enters it from many rivers and streams. The deepest of them is Tipitipa, which flows out of Lake Managua.

There are more than three hundred small and large islands, the largest of which is Ometepe Island with an area of \u200b\u200b276 sq. km. On about. Ometepe has two impressive volcanoes - Maderas and Concepciennes, overgrown with lush tropical vegetation.

Lake Nicaragua acquired its uniqueness not even because of its size, but because of the inhabitants who live there. Nicaragua is the only freshwater lake in the world that is home to sharks. In view of this fact and due to the small distance to the Pacific Ocean, scientists believe that the territory on which the lake is now located used to be a large sea bay. Over time, the passage to the sea was closed, and a lake was formed, in which sharks still live. Sharks are not found in any freshwater lake on the planet, At least - as permanent inhabitants. This shark species belongs to the family of gray sharks, being a relative species of the gray bull shark. There is even no consensus among zoological scientists - to consider the shark of Lake Nicaragua an independent species of Carcharhinus nicaraguensis, or this species is completely identical to the blunt shark Carcharhinus leucas. It is known that the bull shark easily tolerates desalination of water, therefore it often enters the mouths of rivers, sometimes climbing many kilometers inland. Individuals of the Nicaraguan shark reach a length of 2-2.5 meters and are classified as potentially dangerous to humans, although there are no official statistics.

In addition to sharks, there are also some others, exclusively marine inhabitants - these are saw-fish and sword-fish. Therefore, the lake will be interesting for sports fishing lovers, for whom special services are organized. In addition, some of the fish that live in the lakes of Central America, including Lake Nicaragua, are known as beautiful and unique aquarium fish that are in great demand among aquarium enthusiasts.

Lake Nicaragua is connected with the Caribbean Sea by the navigable river San Juan. Fresh water is fed by numerous rivers and streams, among which the most abundant is the Tipitapa River, flowing from Lake Managua.

At one time, when planning the connection of the waters of two oceans - the Atlantic and the Pacific, there were projects providing for the construction of a canal across this lake. However, these ideas sometimes pop up in our days. The only question is the sources of funding.

Lake Nicaragua, according to scientists, was formed on the territory of the Pacific Ocean that existed in antiquity. Over time, the depression in which the bay was located lost contact with the ocean, and a lake formed in its place. However, the past oceanic connections of the lake have remained alive in its waters and often remind of themselves. We are talking about the unique fish that live in the waters of the lake - the famous sharks of Lake Nicaragua. Sharks are not found in any freshwater lake on the planet, at least as permanent inhabitants. But in Lake Nicaragua, they live and live for many millennia.

Sharks of Lake Nicaragua

They learned about the sharks of Nicaragua only in 1877 and for a long time could not determine what kind of shark they belong to. Scientists later concluded that the Nicaraguan sharks were gray bull sharks. Bull sharks are a small family of sharks, to which only eight species belong, but sharks of this family can be found in completely different parts of the world. The inhabitants of the shores of Nicaragua themselves claim that not one, but two species of sharks live in the lake - the white-bellied visitor and the red-bellied tintoreros. Only the visitor, unlike the tintoreros, comes from the ocean, so it is smaller and more mobile. What else is the difference between these two species of sharks, despite the eloquent names, none of the local residents can say. However, they are equally afraid of them.

Sharks from Lake Nicaragua are quite typical for their appearance. Dense head with small eyes, rounded mouth. The lower surface of the body is white and the upper surface is gray. The teeth of the front jaw are smaller and sharper, and the teeth of the back are larger and stronger. Despite the fact that members of the bull shark family usually lay eggs, sharks from Lake Nicaragua are viviparous.

Their length is also very atypical for their family. The sharks of Lake Nicaragua are quite large and can be up to four meters long, but most often there are individuals of two, two and a half meters. Why these fish can live in fresh water is still unknown.

One American physiologist suggested that this ability was influenced by the presence of urea in the shark's blood. In humans, this would cause uremia - protein poisoning of the body. However, the physiologist could not prove his theory. She also did not explain why some sharks are so eager to freshwater.

There are so many sharks in Lake Nicaragua that commercial fishing for this fish is carried out in the reservoir. Fishermen claim to catch seven thousand individuals a year. Shark attacks on the lake are far from uncommon, so the state has appointed a reward for their extermination. Shark attacks kill at least one person every year in Lake Nicaragua. But the number of attacks is far from limited to one per year.

Many victims lose their limbs and suffer numerous injuries, while others do not survive at all in this unequal battle. In the middle of the last century, a shark attacked three at once, while two of them died. Sharks of Lake Nicaragua are so dangerous because, unlike sharks living in the ocean, they come very close to the shore. Among the recorded attacks, the vast majority occurred in shallow water.

Even if some sharks live in the lake all their lives, many individuals still get there from the ocean. Scientists have long been asking the question: What attracts them to Nicaragua? While the luminaries of science are puzzling over him, the Indians living on the shores of the reservoir have long had an answer to this question. There is a legend that earlier, in order to appease sharks, the bodies of deceased tribesmen were lowered into the water, richly decorating them. The bodies were carried out into the ocean and there they became prey for sea predators. Since then, sharks began to swim further along the river into the reservoir in order to profit from the next prey.

Other inhabitants of the lake

Visitors to Lake Nicaragua are surprised not only by the presence of sharks in it. There are also some other, exclusively marine inhabitants. This is a sawfish and even a swordfish. For fans of sport fishing, special services are organized, where for a low fee they will provide you with tackle and everything you need for fishing.

In general, the fish of the mountain lakes of Central America are predominantly carnivorous; predators. This is not surprising - there is little aquatic vegetation and plant food. Also in Lake Nicaragua there live flat-headed catfish (catfish microgran, steel pimelodus Bloch, copepod sorbium), ordinary catfish, fish of the order of perch-like family of the cichlov family.

On the shores of the lake, there are numerous large (up to 60 cm) lizards, helmet-nosed basilisks, capable of running on their hind legs even on the surface of the water. Tiger ambistomas are also numerous - representatives of the order of amphibians, resembling salamanders.

It is noteworthy that some of the fish living in the lakes of Central America, including Lake Nicaragua, are known as beautiful and unique aquarium fish that are in great demand among aquarium lovers. These include lemon and diamond cichlazomas, some types of catfish and other medium-sized fish.

The islands of Lake Nicaragua are home to 76 species of parrots and toucans.

Islands

The area near the lake is by no means deserted, there are about three hundred small and large islands in its water area, of which only a few are inhabited.

The largest of the islands is Ometepe (translated from Indian - "two mountains"), which has two volcanoes, Maderas and Concepciennes. The island has preserved monuments of the ancient civilization of the pre-Columbian era - petroglyphs on the rocks depicting animals and birds, and stone idols marking the places of former Indian burials. Among the Indians, this island has long been considered sacred because of the volcano located on it.

Currently, there is a biosphere reserve on Ometepe (since 2010), where rare species of animals, including arachnid monkeys, live.

The largest city on the coast is Granada, the third largest city in the country (the first two places are occupied by Managua and Leon). It is one of the oldest cities in Latin America, founded by Europeans (founded in 1524). Today Granada is a major tourist destination.

Another large Nicaraguan city is San Carlos, located at the mouth of the river of the same name on the border with the state of Costa Rica. The island of Solentiname belongs to the municipality of San Carlos, which is a nature reserve due to its rich fauna.

Ancient petroglyphs - drawings on rocks depicting parrots, monkeys and people - have been discovered on the Solentiname Islands. The country's authorities have awarded the Solentiname Islands the status of a national natural monument of Nicaragua.

The climate on the islands is tropical with high humidity. The average temperature is 28-30 degrees. The water level in the lake depends on the rains: from December to April there is a dry season, but from May to October the season of tropical showers begins, which raise the water level in the lake.

Population

The population living on the shores of the lake is mainly mestizo, descendants of the ancient Indians. Their main occupation is growing bananas, coffee, avocados and cocoa. Plantations are located where the soil is fertilized with fertile volcanic ash, which, combined with the humid favorable climate of those places, allows for huge yields. The traditional crafts of the people include wood carving and weaving from twigs.

What to do on the islands?

Lake Nicaragua and the surrounding islands mainly attract amateurs active rest - sport fishing and surfing.

Beach holidays are not very popular there: the sands on the islands are gray, of volcanic origin, with small shells. And swimming on the islands is not the most pleasant because of the neighborhood with sharks.

Recently, in connection with the increasing incidence of attacks by sea predators on people and animals, the Nicaraguan authorities have allowed the commercial fishing of these sharks. So now the inhabitants of the islands offer tourists such a form of recreation as shark hunting.

The islands also have their own small fishing flotilla, which allows them to serve numerous tourists - fans of sport fishing and surfing. Here, for a separate low fee, tourists are provided with all the equipment necessary for this.

  • Since the 16th century, the island of Ometepe was chosen by pirates who took refuge there from the persecution of the Spanish authorities, and because of this, the local population was forced to move higher to the slopes of the volcanoes.
  • The Nicaraguan shark can reach a length of 4 meters, the average length of a shark is 2-2.5 meters.
  • At one time, the construction of the Nicaraguan Canal was planned more than once, which would connect the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, but these plans have remained on paper so far.
Coordinates: 11 ° 37'00 ″ s. sh. 85 ° 21'00 ″ W etc. /  11.61667 ° N sh. 85.35000 ° W etc./ 11.61667; -85.35000 (G) (I) Nicaragua (lake) Nicaragua (lake) A countryNicaragua Nicaragua RegionsBoaco, Chontales, San Juan, Rivas, Granada Height above sea level32 m Length177 km Square8264 km² Volume108 km³ Deepest70 m Average depth13 m

Catchment area23 844 km² Flowing riverTipitapa Flowing riverSan Juan

K: Water bodies alphabetically

Nicaragua is the only freshwater lake in the world that is home to sharks. In view of this fact and due to the small distance to the Pacific Ocean, scientists believe that the territory on which the lake is now located used to be a large sea bay. Over time, the passage to the sea was closed and a lake was formed, in which sharks still live.

The Nicaraguans call it Lago Cocibolca or Mar Dulce (Fresh Sea). Like at sea, there are strong waves that raise the east winds blowing westward towards the Pacific Ocean. There are whole groups of islands on the lake, such as Ometepe and Solentiname. Powerful storms periodically occur on the lake.

In July 2014, the Nicaraguan Canal route was approved between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, which will pass through Lake Nicaragua. Construction began on December 22, 2014. This circumstance is associated with the objections of opponents of construction, who fear that with the beginning of ocean shipping, the lake will lose its significance as a source of fresh water. But the organizers of the construction say that they have carried out the necessary dredging works on the lake, while refusing to use explosives in its waters.

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Sonya was softened, agitated and touched by everything that happened that day, especially the mysterious performance of fortune-telling that she just saw. Now that she knew that on the occasion of the renewal of Natasha's relationship with Prince Andrei, Nikolai could not marry Princess Marya, she happily felt the return of that mood of self-sacrifice in which she loved and was accustomed to living. And with tears in her eyes and with the joy of being aware of the accomplishment of a magnanimous act, she, several times interrupted by tears that dimmed her velvet black eyes, wrote that touching letter, the receipt of which so amazed Nicholas.

In the guardhouse, where Pierre was taken, the officer and the soldiers who took him treated him with hostility, but at the same time respectfully. One could also feel in their attitude towards him both doubt about who he was (is it not a very important person), and hostility due to their still fresh personal struggle with him.
But when, on the morning of another day, the shift came, Pierre felt that for the new guard - for officers and soldiers - it no longer had the meaning that it had for those who took it. And indeed, in this big, fat man in a peasant's caftan, the other day's guards did not see that living person who fought so desperately with the marauder and the escort soldiers and said a solemn phrase about saving the child, but they saw only the seventeenth of those contained for some reason, ordered by the higher authorities, taken by the Russians. If there was anything special about Pierre, it was only his awkward, concentratedly pensive look and French, in which he, surprisingly for the French, spoke well. Despite the fact that on the same day Pierre was connected to the other suspicious persons taken, since the officer needed a separate room that he occupied.
All the Russians who were detained with Pierre were people of the lowest rank. And all of them, having recognized Pierre as a master, shunned him, especially since he spoke French. Pierre sadly heard mockery of himself.
The next day in the evening, Pierre learned that all these detainees (and, probably, he was one) should have been tried for arson. On the third day, Pierre was taken with others to some house where a French general with a white mustache, two colonels and other Frenchmen with scarves on their hands were sitting. Pierre, on an equal basis with others, was asked with that, allegedly exceeding human weaknesses, with the accuracy and definiteness with which the defendants are usually treated, questions about who he is? where he was? for what purpose? etc.
These questions, leaving aside the essence of life and excluding the possibility of disclosing this essence, like all questions raised in the courts, had the purpose only of substituting that groove along which the judges wanted the answers of the defendant to flow and lead him to the desired goal, that is to the charge. As soon as he began to say something that did not satisfy the purpose of the accusation, they accepted the groove, and the water could flow wherever it pleased. In addition, Pierre experienced the same thing that the defendant experiences in all courts: bewilderment why all these questions were asked to him. He felt that it was only out of condescension or, as it were, out of courtesy that this trick of the groove was used. He knew that he was in the power of these people, that only the power brought him here, that only power gave them the right to demand answers to questions, that the only purpose of this meeting was to accuse him. And therefore, since there was power and there was a desire to accuse, there was no need for the trick of questions and court. It was obvious that all the answers had to lead to guilt. When asked what he was doing when he was taken, Pierre replied with some tragedy that he was carrying a child to the parents, qu "il avait sauve des flammes [whom he saved from the flames]. Why did he fight the marauder?" Pierre replied, that he defended the woman, that the protection of the offended woman is the duty of every man, that ... He was stopped: it did not go to the point. Why was he in the courtyard of the house on fire, where witnesses saw him? He answered that he went to see what was going on in They stopped him again: they didn’t ask him where he was going, but why was he near the fire? Who was he? They repeated the first question to which he said he didn’t want to answer. Again he answered that he couldn’t say that. ...