Anti-slavery bugle. [volume] (New-Lisbon, Ohio) 1845-1861, 1857-04-11


or failed iu il. why is he still lingering? Is all
this blood, and grief, and desoation of country,
the consequence OF cUnmerciOl nmtitiOnT Ihei
merchant princes arc as inbuman MS lndiai
caciques. Is it all part of an agitation to be vsee
Tor the benefit Of the great Christian blessing o,
slavery? Then its facts should be made pateht to
every voter in the land.
Walker, himself is an adveuturer in whose
whole career there is not solitary indication OF
ability. lie is, We understand, u Tonnesseean.
abont thirty.six or eight years of age; who has
stude law and medicine; has edited newspapers
in New Orleans and San Francisco; practced law
in Maysvile, California; and, in the year 1854, at
the head Of fifty OF sixty missionaries of human
progress and democratic equality, proclaimed him
self President of Sonora, small Mexican State
bordering upon California. His presidency was
very brief, and ended in trial i'll California for
a violation of the Neutrality Laws. llo was ac-
Quilted; for the California of four years ago
naturally judged such lapses lightly, and bis ser
vices in the van of empire were not required again
until he received, in the spring of 1855, commits
sion, general in the army of Nicaragua, and a
grant of $4,000 acres of land. On the 9th Of
May, in that year, he sailed for that country with
fity-six followers
Nicaragua is one of tho loveliest of tropical
states; rich in natural products, aud upon its
pacific slopes, not unhealthy in climate; while.
through its lakes and rivers il offers convenient
and rapid transit from sea To sea. Its government
is nomnally republican, but the languor and ig-
nUrance OF its inhabitants, who are Ut mixed races
kept it ia semi-harbarous condition, without
manufactures or Industry, or any practical i'm
provement of its natural advantages. 1t has been
constantly embroiled in civil since the dssO-
lntJn o: the Central American COntederacy, in
1888. 1t is not necessary to state the details of
these struggles 1t is enough to know that in
the month of May. 1854. there had been battle
which resulted in he assumption Of two govern
in ha vel irh had
headquarters at Leon, the old capital Of Nicaragua,
and the legitimist "a the government party called
itsef.) which centred at Granada. The latter
traction held the southern portion of the State
and the fOimer occupied the northern. After the
battle, in May. 1854 the liberals beseiged Granada
for ten months but. in February, 1865, retired.
and, pursued by the legitimists, n bloody battle
was fought between the factions at Massaya, which
was disastrous to the liberals
In May, 1855 Walker and lis Fifty six men ar
rived from California, and, mt the end OF june,
marched with two hundred Nicuraguan liberals.
upon Rivas, city upon Lake Nicaragua, occupied
ny the legitimists. The attack repulsed.
Walker and his ffty-six men had taken up their
position in house, which the enemy fired, and
the ex-presdent Of Sonora and his men cut
their way back to the coast of San Juan del Sur.
There was some skirmishng during the summer
and. in .tober. at the head of two hundred Ame-
ricans, and two hundred and fifty natives, Walker
took vssession of one of the Transit Company's
steamers at Virgin Bay. sailed TO GraaAda, which
lies anon the lake: at,,l pap,.red te CITY after
few shots, while the enemy we're expecting him al
| Rvas forty miles distant treaty followed be-
tween the two uarties and government selected
from bn,h sides we're constituted. Don Patricio
R;,as whn had heen an uficial under the Ieuiti
mist rule. was made provisional president for
fourteen months: Walker was commander in-chei
of the army; Corral, the legitimist general, was
minister of wal Parker ii. French, an ex Cali
| lornia editor. minister of the Hacienda; Don FIR
min. a gentleman of Grana IA. minister of public
credit; and General Muximo Here's (who had been
the predecessor of Walker in the command of the
liberals minister OF foreign affairs. This gov
Icrnment was recognized ty Mr.. Wheeler minister
of the United States, the only foreign minister
then resident in Nicaragua. But, unfortunately
the new ve:nmcnt commenced, by shooting il,
minister Of war; who was detected in reasonable
lcorrespondence with :he enemy: and by sending
| Mr. French to Washington as minister, w no was no
recupnized by the United States Government anc
also lv disnntchiny Major Louis Schlessnger n
Ambassador to Costa Rica, to propose n treaty o
,mity whi,h that STATE answered bv declaring wa
Iunon Observation-Disclosures regarding Walker a.
tbe small Europ.an states regarded Napoleon, a
M less DANGEROUS a friend than enemy.
-.
These steps were not anspicisus; out the h'Vas
i Walker government was hot lh"ctl'e' III \ne yea
1917 the stare ot Nicaragua h"' E'"n' E. - ~"
l'' way N"'''0' or
i."y, up." ;n,orn,l wars his steam shin connn
'''s 'l'ce'aa". ] ,"a i",Is ~, beoyy ,ayotnp and
ny PruPer'y ""' i'e " ' ,;I -;
naturally asGreG Fi penve hnt M'S Wiher baS use
country anu III Lus"' t%r fnr his ,rnnsnort uno,
tne shipS % 'na' .% 80 yy",naI ;n,elgence wns
lne lake, H,";o ;ocerred hn, in FshruarT 1886
o'''e4uo",..' 'f o,orvLody ,nd es9eciollv n
The am"zement ol e.c'yno'SS;; any w H.
Nlcaragna SoS"oT ,S, v"1 of rho c,n,nanv uno
ment se'zg' tn, pa"pu3 p3,;nrs w ~ the ramnor, IL,
the ground ihnt 'he c'hu'lonS VI ane s, ~
tween u anu .ne s,,,e dah, tho State at s3o co
mh,'ng .no o","p %, 5000 600 and ,hereunon tran,
and its property at SZou'ouu' anu tnereupon u"n
ierred the grant to c'her pn'tes, euppoou pp ~ Tt,
commercial rivals OF OF the M "r,g,na. sneI sn for al
representat"h o, .ne o"i ;,nS Cnu.rn,os,
at Washington; but the uh'tea states uoVeraner Maer
plonerea no eohTEllop p; ~ ,ms areheS ;n,o Nco,
m",'e d , ,rsre in nnssess;on Of Riyas one of III
qua ano were u, p"ssess'o' II. a"; o.u " no
chief towns oi that otate. iler1 u uis"Si"us VA