Evening star., 1894-03-27
The Action of the English in Mica
ragua Defended.
AMERICAN INTERESTS THREATENED
Views Expressed in a Letter Re.
ceIved in This City.
THE PRESENT SITUATION

Bluefieids, Nicaragua, has been received in
this city in a letter from an American citi-
zen, now resident Of that place. 1t is dated
the 18th instant. and is as follows:
''Since the 9th of this month we have been
protected by Englands guns, and II 1t had
not been for them some of US would be
under the sod. 1 am at present up the river
as pilot of Morgan ship, having left Blue
fields yesterday. A guard Of English marines
has been placed at my home there while
am absent. so 1 know my family is safe.
This is what England is doing for us Amer
icans and this is how badly we need
warship of our own. OF course, you know
this part of Central America is controlled
by the Mosquito Indians, under the sover-
eign right of Nicaragua, as the treaty of
1860 provides During the last few years
the reserve has developed very fast; Blue
fields has grown from the little hamlet YOU
knew to large town. and the most pros
porous on the coast. Our imports and ex-
ports about six million dollars year.
and the value of the American interests in
the reserve are about five millions.
There are $50 foreigners in the reserve,
nine-tenths of them being Americans. Each
month fifteen steamers arrive here for fruit.
During the year 500. 900 punches OF bana-
mas are exported, ninety per cent Of the
trade being with the United States. The
reserve was never troubled with revolutions,
although they were common enough in Hon
duras. Nicaragua, Costa Rica and in the
rest of the Central American republics. Un-
til the present affair happened we were en-
joying rights and privileges that could not
be obtained anywhere else in Central Amer
lea.
How the Trouble Started.
1.-THE treaty of Managua, of 1850, provides
for a commissioner from Nicaragua to the
! reserve, who used to reside in Bluefelds.
| Gen. Ortacha was the commissioner, with
| whom l was we'll acquainted. Whenever
Ortacha wished to send soldiers through
| the reserve he first notified the chief and
| obtained his consent. At the beginning Of
this revolution Ortacha was recalled and the
! reserve left without a commissioner for two
years more Last october, just before
| Nicaragua and Honduras went to war, a
! commissioner and about half dozen other
| Spanish officials were sent to Bluefields.
| One Gen. Cabaza. inspector general OF the
coast, was with them. When they arrived
| Commissioner Calos A. Lacayo told US he
was going to take the reserve. We Ameri-
| cans. knowing the treaty Of Managua. and
| also knowing that England was a party to
| that treaty, did not pay any attention to
what he said at the time.
| I'm November the San Francisco arrived
at Bluefelds with Admiral Benham on
| board and Capt. Watson in command. The
American CONSUL invited DR.. Osterhaut
and myself to accompany him on board.
Commissioner Lacayo also went. Lacayo
|
] when the time arrived he would take the
| reserve for Nicaragua AS soon as Capt.
Watson got the chance he took me to his
private cabin and asked me about the re-
| serve and assured me that Lacayo was
just talking to hear himself talk. After the
war was declared between Honduras and
Nicaragua, in January. the government of
| Nicaragua sent about $50 soldiers from
! Greytown to Bluefields. The chief Of the
| reserve protested against bringing SOL
oiers into the reserve as being viola
| ton Of the treaty. The commissioner re-
| piled to his protest that the soldiers were
| passing through to Honduras. A few days
after these troops were sent to Cape Gro
| clos a Dios, where a battle was fought
About February 6, go soldiers from Grey
| town were landed in Bluefields from the
S. S. Marinda. Again the chief protested
and was this time again told that the SOL
| diers were on their way to Honduras; but
We Americans knew better. We believed
] that Lacayo was going to take the re-
| serve he had long since told us.
Action of the Americans.
"On the 10th of February a meeting of
all the Americans in Bluefields was held,
! a committee Of three was appointed to wait
on the chief and tell him if he would turn
the reserve over to the Americans We
| would protect him from the Nicaraguans
and hold 1t against all comers. Not be-
lieving that Lacayo would go so far as to
seize the reserve he declined our offer.
Roma, located sixty miles from Bluefelds
up the river, seized the American steam
launch Aida and her two lighters. and told
the captain that he had one hour to get up
steam and proceed to Bluenelds with
soldiers. If he did not comply he would
be shot. The boat arrived at Bluefelds
at am. the 18th, with 100 soldiers, max
ing about NO In all. Lacayo then seized
Bluetelds, deposed all the officers Of the
reserves declared the city in a state of
| siege, and proclaimed martial law, giving
as an excuse the refusal Of the chief to al
low the soldiers to pass through the terri
tory. He stated that Gen. Cabazo, in COM
mand Of the Nicaraguan forces, had oc-
cupied the town to protect foreign lives
and property against Honduras.
"Lacayo and Cabazo then commenced to
show their hand by raising the duties on
everything; taxing bananas 3 cents per
bunch; compelling every boat that wanted
to go to the bluff to get a permit. and re-
quiring every one to register under penalty
of a fine of SO. They wanted money and
were bound to get it, for Nicaragua is
bankrupt. The streets were full of soldiers,
business was paralyzed, people were Icing
insulted on the streets and we Americans
expected to have a fight on our hands at
any moment in order to protect our wives
and children The chief asked for a Brit
ish war ship through Consul Bingham of
Greytown, and we were looking for the
kearsarge, not knowing she was on Rom
cador at that time The British ship Cleo
patra, arriving in Colon for coal, hearing
the loss of the Kearsarge, came to Blue
fields to see what was going on. On the
way she stopped at Greytown and took on
board Mr. Bingham, the British consul ar
riving here Sunday, the 9th, just in the
nick of time. When Capt Howe landed
the streets were full of people, the church
being emptied of Its worshipers to witness
his landing. You cannot imagine how glad
we were to see that flag at the stern of
the captains cutter. Capt. Howe and the
consul went direct to the commissioners,
large crowd of negroes following, every
one, except the Americans, cheering the
British.
Protection of British Marines.
I'VE Americans were all congregated at
our club house. When the British officers
left the commissioners we asked them in
and told them what had taken place. Capt.
Howe told us that. learning of the loss of
the Kearsarge, he had come to be of as
sistance to all foreign residents, and would
protect Americans at all hazards.
Just as the captain and consul were TAX
ing their leave from and were about to
go into the street, about one hundred and
fifty Nicaraguan soldiers were driving the
people off the streets at the point of he
bayonet. Women and children were run
ming like sheep The soldiers were yelling
az