The Portland daily press., 1895-05-04
THREE BLUEFIELDS EXILES
Continued from Ninth Page.


tion and her energy and efficiency as a
housekeeper, such sharp contrast to what
had previously seen in jamaica. were very
refreshing. Her Dutch ancestry was very
apparent, despite her dark skin.
There were two other boarders besides
myself. One of them the New York COM
mercial traveller for large jewelrY house,
whom have eyiously mentioned in these
articles. and the other a very dark skinned
young man, of perhaps 28 years of age.
He was something of puzzle to me from
the first. Though SO dark Of skin his Eng
lisn was not only perfect in pronunciation,
but faultless in diction. He betrayed every
evidence of liberal education and his man.
ner was that of cultured, courteous gen :
tleman. He seemed to have no occupation.
but kept himself in the house most of the
time, reading and writing letters. His
name WAS Hooker. One evening we took
a short STROLL together and sat and talked
for while ir the beautiful marine gar
dens, under a palm tree on the edge of the
bay. Everything was visible in the bright
moonlight. on the surface OF the cleaning
water. Directly in front of US. about half
mile away. the great Warsblps OF the
United States squadron, the New York,
Columbia, Minneapolis and Cincinnati, We're
flashing their search lighs across the sky
and water and upon the fat roofs and way
ing palms of the city. My companion had
an engagement later in the evening and
was dressed for the occasion. lie wore a
black. we'll fitting cut-away coat but no
vest. His immaculate shirt-bosom extended
below the waist land of his trousers. which
were as tight as those of the most extreme
devotee of fashion during the tight trousers
craze in our own country. Being very slen-
der of limb, his appearance seemed a tride
queer in that respect, yet there was some-
thing very graceful about him, neverthe-
less. A rose in his buftonhole, slende r
cane and a straw hat completed his cos
tune.
He told me that he was Mos quito Creole
and that mis- home was in Bluefields. his
grandmother was full blooded Indian, but
there was white blood in his veins. His
father was one of the rich merchants of
Bluefields and he. himself, had been edu-
Gated at home by a private tutor. Mani
fessly this home life was changed when
Nicaragua took possession. although he
said nothing about hat. He traced the
history of the Mosquito Reservation, briefly
and clearly. When the half-savage Nieara-
guam soldiers had con quered and taken
possession of Bluefields. they made it very
disagreeable Tor be residents of the city.
it was-tha oppression OF the Cubans by the
Spanish officials. only more so.
"You might be walking along the street"
said Mr.. Hooker "and a Nicaraguan soldier
would snatch your cane from your hand
and arrest you declaring that you had no
right to carry cane. 1t would be only one
OF many pretexts to make you give him
money!
Those residents of Blpet1elds who could
do SO. left their homes. Mr.. HOOKER came
to Kingston, Jamaica. He went back to
Blue last sum mer. but returned to
Kingston, last fall and had been there ever
since. That was all that he told me about
himself, but ! happen to learned later and
quite accidentally of the reason for his re-
turn to Jamaica.
1t seems that there was movement in
Bluefeids to bring about the death of the
young chief Robert Clarence, whom Eng
land was protecting in Kingston. 1t would
be worth about $4,000 to whoever could
bring about his assassination. Some Amer
ican adventurers in Bluefields, knowing
young Hooker's intelligence and education
approached him with the following propn-
sition. He was to go to Kingston and urge
the young chief to go with him to America
TO act as the illustration of a lecture that
he. Hooker, was to deliver about Rluefelds
in our great cities. The Americans were
to be the managers of the enterprise and
all three parties. the managers, the leetur-
er and the illustration. were to share the
profits, which the former declared would be
very large. ---s+
When young Hooker arrived in Jamaica.
OH this errand. he learned there to his great
CONSERVATION that the Enlgish government
had information of the departure of a man
form Bluefelds to Kingston for the pur
pose of assassinating Robert Clarence and
that an English war-yessel was hunting fol
this man.
Hooker lost no time in seeing the Colo
NAL Secretary at Kingston and informing
him of the reason of his visit there as hs
| understood it, and that he had no idea that
the Americans meditated any violence Il
the young chief. And SO the matter
dropped. Undoubtedly the Americans were
simply plotting to get Clarence out of ia
maioa, Then it would be an easy matter
to earn the $4,000.
This is the story as it was told to me ano
l have good reason to believe that it is sub
| stantially true. E. Fl. E.