8°, 236 p., is a diary of the author's trip to and from the
Mosquito shore, which also furnishes an interesting account
of Belize and her resources, climate, etc., together with a
map of Honduras, and ends with sketches on the manners and
customs of the Mosquito Indians. _Thomas Strangeways' Sketch
of the Mosquito Shore_, Edinburgh, 1822, 8vo, 355 p. The
author, who calls himself a K. G. C., captain of the first
native Poyer regiment, and aide-de-camp to his Highness, the
cacique of Payais, gives with a portrait of that cacique,
Sir Gregor MacGregor, a historical preface, and a map of
Mosquitia, and the Poyais territory. The book also contains
a descriptive sketch of that country, its productions, mode
of cultivation, and other facts, all compiled for the special
use of settlers. _Peter F. Stout's Nicaragua, Past, Present,
and Future_, Phila., 1859, 12°, 372 p. With the exception
of a cursory glance at affairs in Mosquito, on interoceanic
communication, and ancient history of Mexico, this work is
confined to the resources, history, and general features
of Nicaragua, the chief object being to furnish a general
description of the country rather than its history. The
author was U. S. vice-consul, and his opinion on questions
between his country and Great Britain might be deemed by
a subject of the latter not wholly impartial. _Orlando W.
Roberts' Narrative of Voyages and Excursions on the east
coast, and in the interior of Central America_, Edinburgh,
1827, 16°, 302 p., preceded by a map of a part of Cent. Am.
showing the route from the Atlantic to the Pacific, via the
river San Juan and lakes Nicaragua and Leon, with an index
and a preface by Edward Irving, is a little book descriptive
of the author's journey up the San Juan River to Leon through
Lake Nicaragua, and of trading voyages in which he was many
years engaged among the Indians of Hond., Nic., and Costa R.
His opportunities for observation seem to have been good, and
his manner of setting forth the information thus obtained is
clear and apparently reliable. On Mosquitia and her govt and
people he gives much that is really interesting and useful.
_R. H. Bonnycastle's Spanish America, or a descriptive,
historical, and geographical account of the dominions of
Spain_, London, 1878, 8o, 2 vol., pp. xxix. 336, v. 359,
map and engraving, is mostly a compilation, poor in style,
divided into two parts. The first treats of the Spanish
dominions in North America; the second of those in South
America. Everything is treated in a cursory manner, and
the part relating to Cent. Am. and the isthmus of Panamá is
meagre and trifling.
[XII-42] More details in _Squier's Cent. Am._, 641-3;
_Mosquitoland_, 31-3, 38-40, 47-50, 225-9; _Nic. Nueva
Discusion_, 6; _Crowe's Gospel_, 208-10; _S. Juan_, _Ocup._,
33-5, 45-9; _Niles' Reg._, lxiv. 130; _Frisch_, _Staaten von
Mex._, 94; _Reichardt_, _Cent. Am._, 134, 140-1, 208-11.
[XII-43] At the court of Gracias á Dios, Apr. 19, 1820. The
grantee called himself 'his Highness the cacique of Poyais,'
and claimed absolute dominion over the Poyer district on the
extreme west of Mosquitia, including the Rio Tinto.
[XII-44] The plan comprised well-equipped regiments of
infantry and cavalry, a theatre and theatrical company,
a band, and paper currency. _Crowe's Gospel_, 207-8;
_Mosq.-Küste und Texas_, 28; _Mosquitoland_, 34-8; _Quart.
Rev._, xxviii. 160-1; _Eco_, _Hisp.-Am._, July 31, 1860.
[XII-45] This settlement was called Fort Wellington, and
was brought to ruin by a succession of calamities, including
shipwrecks. _Mosq.-Küste und Texas_, 29-33; _Young's Mosq.
Shore_, 53-9, 65-71.
[XII-46] It has an abundance of mahogany, rosewood,
caoutchouc, and other valuable trees, and is capable of
producing cotton, sugar, rice, indigo, and most of the
tropical staples.
[XII-47] Slavery was abolished in 1841. _Nic._, _Gaceta_,
Feb. 10, 1866.
[XII-48] There was neither church nor pastor in the place.
_S. Juan_, _Ocup._, 13-15; _Squier's Cent. Am._, 661-2.
[XII-49] Macdonald answered Aug. 13th that the object of
his visit to the coast had been to convey a message of H.
B. M. to her ally the sovereign of the Mosquito nation, and
to ascertain by his own observation the true boundaries
of the Mosquito dominions, upon which point he wished to
be enlightened by Quijano. He made further demands for
a recognition of his demand, but the Nicaraguan official
invariably returned a refusal. _Mosquitoland_, 29, 223-5;
_Niles' Reg._, lxi. 98; lxii. 64, 275; lxiii. 19, 194; _U.
S. Govt Doc._, H. Ex. Doc. 75, vol. x., 31st cong. 1st sess.;
_Young's Mosq. Shore_, 33-4.
[XII-50] An English writer says: 'This farce hardly seemed
consistent with the dignity of a British officer, gov.
of a settlement.' _Dunlop's Trav._, 215-16. Crowe, also
an Englishman, declares it to have been an infamous act.
_Gospel_, 212. It was not disavowed by the Brit. govt.
_Squier's Travels_, ii. 449; _Nouv. Annales Voy._, xciv.
251-2.
[XII-51] He was left on a desert island on the coast.
_Marure_, _Efem._, 54; _Montúfar_, _Reseña Hist._, iii. 612.
Macdonald himself on the 15th made his acts known to the govt
of Nic., alleging that he had been specially requested by
many persons of San Juan to remove Quijano. The latter was
undoubtedly a bad man, but no foreign authority had any right
to interfere with him.
[XII-52] Consul Chatfield claimed that Quijano was removed
from Mosq. and not Nic. territory; that he had himself
notified the govt of Cent. Am. of the existence of the
Mosq. nation, and that Great Britain would not look with
indifference upon any usurpation of the territory of a
monarch with whom she had close relations; that Spain had
recognized the Mosq. nation when Prince Stephen visited San
Salvador and Guatemala. His letter was dated Oct. 24, 1842.
Further correspondence followed between Nic. and Chatfield
without the former giving way to his pretensions. The whole
correspond. may be seen in _Mosq. Doc._, 5-23; _Nic._,
_Cor. Ist._, Sept. 26, 1850; _Montúfar_, _Reseña Hist._, iv.
98-111.
[XII-53] In a treaty with Thomas Lowry Robinson, signed in
Comayagua Dec. 16, 1843. _Montúfar_, _Reseña Hist._, iv.
112-14. The aristocrats of Guat. wanted a protectorate of
Great Britain over Cent. Am., and it was believed in Nic.
for a while that Costa R. had given way to the influence
of Pavon, Chatfield, and J. J. Flores of Ecuador, and had
accepted the scheme. Chatfield having concluded, on the
26th of Nov., 1849, a treaty with Costa R., attempted on
the strength of it, on the 1st of Dec., to dictate to Nic.
He said that differences between Nic. and Costa R. must be
amicably arranged in the understanding, that other means
would not be looked on with indifference by Great Britain.
[XII-54] That was pursuant to orders from Lord Palmerston,
in which for the first time a protectorate over the Mosquito
shore was asserted by Great Britain. Chatfield and Walker
had claimed rights over the entire eastern coast, from
Cape Honduras to Chiriquí Lagoon, an extent of 700 miles,
but Palmerston set the limits 'from Cape Honduras down to
the mouth of the river San Juan.' Meantime the Nicaraguan
authorities had obtained, Oct. 28, 1847, from the Princess
Inez, believing her the heir of Robert Charles Frederick, a
full recognition of the authority of Nic. over the shore of
Mosq., and her command to all interloping foreigners to leave
the country. The British officials of course paid no heed
to this arrangement. _Squier's Cent. Am._, 644-6; _Salv._,
_Gaceta_, March 15, 1850.
[XII-55] _Squier's Travels_, i. 78-80; _Morelet_, _Voy._, ii.
304; _Edinb. Rev._, no. 211, 144; _Niles' Reg._, lxxiii. 273;
_Tucker's Monroe Doctrine_, 46-7, 52-4.
[XII-56] But the Nicaraguans never relinquished their claim
of sovereignty over the port, nor even by implication
recognized the king of Mosquito. _Nic._, _Manif. sobre
Trat._, 1-13; _Castellon_, _Doc. Rel._, 27-8; _Nic._, _Doc.
Dipl._, 32-9; _Guerrero_, _Manif._, 1-7; _Stout's Nic._,
278; _El Siglo_, Nov. 22, 1852; _Nic._, _Gaceta Gob. Supr._,
Oct. 14, Nov. 4, 25, Dec. 2, 1848; _Niles' Reg._, lxxiv. 100;
_Squier's Cent. Am._, 647; _Id._, _Trav._, i. 101-2.
[XII-57] The other articles refer to the construction of an
interoceanic communication, either in the form of a canal
or of railroads, securing the neutrality of interoceanic
ways. _Annals Brit. Legis._, 97-110, 239-41; _Nic._, _Nueva
Discov._, 1-44; _Montúfar_, _Reseña Hist._, iv. 87-91; _Costa
R._, _Gaceta_, March 4, 1854; _Abbott's Mex. and U. S._,
340-2; _Molina_, _Bosq. Costa R._, 111; _Polynesian_, vi.
165-6; vii. 46; _Nic. y Hond._, _Doc._, 122-5; _Am. Quart.
Reg._, iii. 310-13; _Brit. Quart. Rev._, xcix. 237-70;
_El Nacional_, July 31, 1858; _Nic._, _Seman Nic._, Feb.
14, 1874; _Hunt's Merchants' Mag._, xxiii. 109-11; _Wells'
Walker's Exped._, 125-33; _Caicedo_, _Lat. Am._, 73-5.
[XII-58] The local chief was prevailed on to accept this
arrangement with a pension of $5,000 a year, during ten
years, that is to say, till 1870, payable by the suzerain,
but the last chief died in 1864 or 1865, and Nic. has never
recognized his successor. _Nic._, _Gaceta_, Dec. 23, 1865;
_Encyclop. Brit._, xvii. 493; _Nic._, _La Union_, June
15, 1861; _Hond. Gaceta_, Feb. 20, 1861; _Rocha_, _Cód.
Nic._, i. 118-27, 132; _Belly_, _Nic._, i. 297-301; _Nic._,
_Conv. Mosq._, 1-8; _Pim's Gate of the Pac._, 409-12.
Further details on the Mosq. question, giving diplomatic
correspondence and parliamentary discussions, in _Hansard's
Parl. Deb._, cxlv. 1003-7; _Annals Brit. Legis._, x. 129-41;
also in _U. S. Govt Doc._, Ex., Sen. and House, which are too
numerous to quote here; and likewise in _U. S. Cong. Globe_,
1855-6, 1857-8, 1859-60; _Diario de Avisos_, Apr. 24, 1857;
_Nic._, _Boletin Ofic._, Jan. 23, March 4, 1857.
[XII-59] _Rocha_, _Cód. Nic._, ii. 21-2; _Pan. Star and
Herald_, Mar. 26, 1884; _Nic._, _Mem. Rel._, 1867, 3-12.
[XII-60] Autograph letters were exchanged in 1848, between
Pres. Herrera of Mex. and Director Guerrero. _Nic._, _Gaceta
Gob. Supr._, Sept. 16, 1848.
[XII-61] Ratified by Nic. March 21, 1851; _Rocha_, _Cód.
Nic._, i. 99, 103; _Nic._, _Trat. de Paz_, etc., 1-13.
[XII-62] By Cardinal Antonelli, for the pope, and Fernando
de Lorenzana for Nic. The treaty was published in the latter
country as a law Aug. 28, 1862. _Nic._, _Gaceta Gob. Supr._,
Oct. 7, 1848; _Rocha_, _Cód. Nic._, i. 79, 132-7.
[XII-63] Full particulars will be found in _Id._, 137-43;
_Nic. Trat. etc. entre Nic. y Hond._, 1-8; _Id._, _Gaceta_,
1853-74, passim; _Id._, _Col. Doc. y Acuerdos_, 1850-1872,
passim; _Id._, _Trat. con Costa R._, 1-7; _Costa R._, _Inf.
Rel._, 1876, 5-11; 1878, 1; 1880, 3-4; _Salv._, _Gaceta_,
Aug. 12, 1853, Oct. 26, 1876, March 21 to April 20, 1879,
passim; _Nic._, _Mens. del Presid._, 1879, i.-v. 1-25; and
numerous other authorities.
[XII-64] They first endeavored to regard the alleged
Mosquito authority, but finally treated it as a mere fiction.
_Squier's Cent. Am._, 652.
[XII-65] Municipal ordinances for the place which had now
taken the name of Greytown. _Reichardt_, _Cent. Am._, 241-6,
251; _Munic. Ordinances_, in _Cent. Am. Affairs_, no. 4,
1-10.
[XII-66] He is said to have been acting under improper
influences. _Squier's Cent. Am._, 653.
[XII-67] The town authorities had refused to pay an
indemnity. This was the first direct aggression by the U. S.
in Cent. America. _Nic._, _Doc. Diplom._, 7-12; _Costa R._,
_Gaceta_, June 17, 22, 29, 1854; _Salv._, _Gaceta_, Oct. 12,
1854; _Tribune Alm._, 1857, 31; _U. S. Govt Doc._, 33d cong.
sess. 1, Sen. Doc. 8, vol. iv.; Doc. 85, vol. xii.; 126, xvi.
31 pp.; _Id._, H. Ex. Doc. 1, vol. i., pt ii., 385-6.
[XII-68] _Lévy_, _Nic._, 335. _Pablo Lévy_, _Notas
Geográficas y Económicas sobre la República de Nicaragua_,
Paris, 1873, Roy. 8°, 627 pp. and map, is a treatise on
Nicaragua and its inhabitants. Beginning with an historical
résumé of ancient and modern Nicaragua, it gives a review of
the topography, climate, natural productions, government,
people, and their institutions. The writer's information
on the country's physical peculiarities may be set down as
useful, though some deficiency is noted; but that on the
political and administrative branches is unreliable, showing
him to have had but little knowledge of Central American
politics. He evidently had not the documents upon which
to form a correct judgment. The question of a canal across
the isthmus of Nicaragua is also reviewed, and a résumé of
its history given. The last general treaty with the U. S.
was negotiated in 1867. There was also a convention for the
extradition of criminals in 1871. Nic. has made arrangements
to pay Am. claims against her, and on her part asked
compensation for the damages caused by the bombardment of
San Juan, which the Am. govt refused. _Perez_, _Mem. Camp.
Nac._, 18-19; _Rocha_, _Cód. Nic._, i. 93; _Nic._, _Trat.
de Amistad, etc., entre Nic. y los EE. UU._, 1-16; _San Juan
del Norte_, _Las Cenizas_, 1874, 1-12; _Lévy_, _Nic._, 235-9;
_Salv._, _Diario Ofic._, Nov. 10, Dec. 22, 1878; _Berruel,
Frères et Cie_, _Petition_, 1-20; and a multitude of U. S.
govt docs., and other papers.
[XII-69] Treaty with Belgium, May 18, 1858; with France,
Apr. 11, 1859; with G. Britain, Feb. 11, 1860; with Italy,
March 6, 1868; and a consular convention made in 1872; with
Perú, 1879. _Trat. de Amistad entre Nic. y la Bélgica_,
1-15; _Id._, _entre Nic. y la Francia_, 1-26; _Nic._, _Ley.
Emit._, 11-30; _Rocha_, _Cód. Nic._, 106-18; _Rouhaud_,
_Régions Nouv._, 365-86; _Trat. de Amistad, etc., entre
Nic. y S. M. B._, 1-15; _Annals Brit. Legis._, ix. 378-81;
_Trat. de Amistad, etc., entre Nic. y el reino de Italia_,
1-17; _Convention Consular entre Nic. y el reino de Italia_,
1-19; _Nic._, _Gaceta_, Sept. 7, 14, Oct. 26, Nov. 2, 1872;
_Salv._, _Diario Ofic._, Oct. 29, 1879.
[XII-70] Damages for the injured Germans $30,000, and a fine
of $8,000, besides the punishment of the official accused of
insulting German dignity. Thus the superior force dictates
unjust terms to the inferior.
[XII-71] His term began Apr. 1, 1849.
[XII-72] He was tried by court-martial, sentenced, and shot
June 17th. _Nic._, _Boletin Ofic._, June 15-28, July 4, 5,
12, 1849; _Squier's Trav._, i. 121, 166-72, 295-9; _Cent.
Am. Miscel. Doc._, no. 7. Muñoz was rewarded with a gold
medal, and the friends of the soldiers who perished received
pensions. _Rocha_, _Cód. Nic._, i. 216-17.
[XII-73] Recognized by the assembly March 14th as duly
elected. _Nic._, _Cor. Ist._, March 20, 1851; _El Siglo_,
March 28, 1851.
[XII-74] Nov. 10, 1851. Muñoz had been declared a traitor and
deprived of his military rank. He was allowed to leave Nic.,
and went to reside in Salv. Chamorro was made commander of
the forces. _Nic._, _Dec. y Acuerdos_, 1851-3, 92-6, 116-18;
_Hond._, _Gaceta Ofic._, Jan. 15, 1852.
[XII-75] A new constituent assembly was convoked May 13,
1853. _Nic._, _Gaceta Ofic._, May 28, 1853.
[XII-76] 'Se denominará República de Nicaragua.' _Rocha_,
_Cód. Nic._, i. 94-7; _Costa R._, _Gaceta_, March 4, Apr.
1, 1854; _Guat._, _Gaceta_, Apr. 7, 21, 1854; _El Eco
Hisp.-Am._, May 15, 1854.
[XII-77] In a circle bordered on the inside with two sprigs
of laurel, was a volcano with its base laved by the two
oceans. In the upper part of the volcano was a civic crown
with the words Libertad, Órden, Trabajo. Around the circle,
República de Nicaragua. The national flag was given three
horizontal stripes, the centre one white, with the coat of
arms in the middle; the upper one yellow, and the lower,
'nácar,' or light blue. Merchant vessels were to use the same
flag, without the coat of arms, and had on the centre stripe
República de Nicaragua, in golden letters. _Rocha_, _Cód.
Nic._, i. 163. During the Walker régime, 1856-7, his flag
had two blue stripes divided by a white one double the width
of the blue, and in the centre of the white a lone red star.
_Stewart's Filibusters_, 12-13.
[XII-78] Among the members elected were Castellon, Jerez,
Guerrero, diputados propietarios, and F. Diaz Zapata,
suplente, from the western department. The govt reported
them out of the state, having been expelled for their
revolutionary attempts. The assembly on the 1st of March
declared them disqualified to take their seats. _Nic._,
_Gaceta Ofic._, March 4, 1854; _Perez_, _Mem. Hist. Rev.
Nic._, 12.
[XII-79] It had 104 articles, and somewhat restricted the
right of citizenship, created a single chamber, composed of
an equal number of senators and representatives; priests were
excluded from these positions. The terms of the president,
senators, and representatives were to begin March 1, 1855,
and last four years. After the expulsion of the filibusters,
a junta de gobierno, composed of the leading men of the
two opposing parties, was established, which declared the
constitution of 1838 in force, and a constituent assembly
was convoked, its members being from among the best and most
talented men of the republic. _Id._, 23-4; _Nic._, _Semanal
Nic._, Apr. 17, 1873. The powers granted the executive, which
were included in the fundamental law of 1854, though with the
additional clause that when using them he should report the
fact to the next legislature, greatly alarmed the opposition.
_Perez_, _Mem. Hist. Rev. Nic._, 24.
[XII-80] In Nov. 1853. _Id._, 9-12; _Guat._, _Gaceta_, Dec.
16, 1853; Jan. 6, 1854; _Salv._, _Gaceta_, Dec. 30, 1853;
_Hond._, _Boletin Ofic._, Dec. 5, 1853; _Costa R._, _Boletin
Ofic._, Dec. 15, 1853; _Id._, _Gaceta_, Dec. 12, 19, 24,
1853; Jan. 15, 30, 1854.
[XII-81] He thought Chamorro was evading the obligation
of Nicaragua to aid Honduras with troops for the war with
Guatemala.
[XII-82] His manifesto of June 12th was moderate in tone but
significant in its substance. It promised a liberal policy,
and to reconstruct, if possible, the federal republic.
_Wells' Hond._, 508-9; _Belly_, _Nic._, i. 268-70; _El Rol_,
Oct. 6, 1854.
[XII-83] They tendered their mediation. _Perez_, _Mem. Hist.
Rev. Nic._, 67-75.
[XII-84] Early in Jan. 1855, J. Trinidad Muñoz was made
general-in-chief, Jerez having been disabled by a severe
wound. _El Rol_, Feb. 9, 28, 1855; _Costa R._, _Boletin
Ofic._, Feb. 28, 1855. The successes of the legitimist
party—so called because of the motto on its colors,
Legitimidad ó muerte—were obtained by Gen. Ponciano Corral
and his subordinates, Chamorro being too ill for service in
the field. _Perez_, _Mem. Hist. Rev. Nic._, 30, 42-3, 108-20;
_Eco Hisp.-Am._, Apr. 30, 1855.
[XII-85] In the hacienda of Quismapa, south of Granada, March
12, 1855. Chamorro was a wealthy citizen, born in Granada.
A brave, resolute man, firm in sustaining his political
principles, but lacking discrimination, and easily duped.
_Perez_, _Mem. Hist. Rev. Nic._, 126; _Astaburuaga_, _Cent.
Am._, 67.
[XII-86] Perez, _Mem. Hist. Rev. Nic._, 128, considered the
act of the assembly as a serious blunder.
[XII-87] His propositions were: Corral and himself were to
constitute themselves a junta de gobierno, and direct public
affairs until a constitutional president could be elected.
If Corral objected to this arrangement, he, Muñoz, would
recognize the legitimate government, provided Corral became
the head of it.
[XII-88] Facundo Goñi from Spain, and John H. Wheeler from
the U. S. Wheeler was cordially received in Granada, but
afterward was abhorred by the Nicaraguans.
[XII-89] Being too limited in its scope, the measure produced
no good effect.
[XII-90] He had gone direct to Granada, saying nothing to
Corral from Muñoz, which made the former suspect that Muñoz
was deceiving him.
[XII-91] Ephraim George Squier, whose works I have often
quoted, was born in Bethlehem, in the state of New York, June
17, 1821, and devoted most of his life to civil engineering,
journalism, and the pursuit of science, winning for himself a
distinguished name as an archæologist and author. His first
distinction was awarded him for his labors on the archæology
of the Mississippi Valley and the state of New York. Having
been appointed in 1849 chargé d'affaires to the states of
Central America, he employed much of his time in gathering
data upon those countries, which he afterward embodied in
several books. In 1853 he was engaged in the survey of a route
across Honduras, and organized a company for the construction
of an interoceanic railway. In 1863 and the following year he
was employed by the U. S. govt as a commissioner in Peru for
the adjustment of claims against that republic, and then
devoted several months to the exploration of ancient monuments
in that country. In 1868 he was for a time U. S. consul-gen.
to Hond. He visited Europe several times both for pleasure and
business. In addition to the works that will be herein
enumerated, he contributed many papers on antiquities and
other subjects to American and European scientific
periodicals. The following list comprises his principal works,
most of which have been translated into several languages:
_Monuments of the Mississippi Valley_, being vol. i. of the
Smithsonian Contributions to Knowledge; _Aboriginal Monuments
of the state of New York_, in vol. ii. of the Smithsonian
Contributions; _Antiquities of the state of New York_, with a
supplement on the antiquities of the west; _The Serpent
Symbol, or Worship of the Reciprocal Principles of Nature in
America_; _Waikna, or Adventures on the Mosquito Shore_, under
the pseudonym of Samuel A. Bard; _Question Anglo-Américaine_;
_Report of the survey of the Honduras interoceanic railway_;
_Monograph on authors who have written on the aboriginal
languages of Central America_; _Tropical fibres and their
economic extraction_; _Is cotton king? Sources of cotton
supply_; _Incidents of Travel and Explorations in the land of
the Incas_. Other works of this author quoted in my volumes on
Central America are: _Notes on the states of Honduras and
Salvador_, with maps and illustrations, which gives valuable
data on those countries. In treating of diplomatic relations
he expatiates on manifest destiny and British intrigues, his
conclusions not being probably palatable to the subjects of
the British crown, and others disposed to oppose the
absorption of more territory, or the exercise of exclusive
influence by the U. S. The maps drawn by Hitchcock under
Squier's directions are the best that to that time had been
published. _Travels in Central America, particularly in
Nicaragua_, N. Y., 1853, 8vo, 2 vol., pp. 424 and 452, maps
and cuts, contains a description of aboriginal movements and
scenery, together with a concise account of the history,
agricultural and other resources, of Nicaragua, the language,
manners, and customs of the people, with illustrations of the
principal buildings, towns, ports, etc. The work also
describes at length the proposed canal route, setting forth
its advantages. The author had every facility as U. S. chargé
d'affaires to obtain the most exact data, and used them
conscientiously and with marked ability. _Nicaragua, its
people, scenery, monuments, and the proposed interoceanic
canal_, Lond., 1852, N. Y., 1856, 2 vol. This work is similar
in all respects to—in fact a reprint of—_Travels in Cent. Am._
Another edition under the aforesaid title appeared in New
York, 1860, 1 vol. of pp. 691, which with the exception of
about 18 pp. in the append., and a few more illustrations, was
similar to _Trav. in Cent. Am._ _The States of Central
America_, N. Y., 1858, 8vo, p. 782, maps and illust. The
author issued in 1855, with the title of _Notes on Central
America_, an 8vo vol. of 397 pages, with maps and cuts,
intended to serve as a basis for this more extensive one,
which treats of the physical peculiarities, population,
productions, commerce, and other resources, political
organization, aborigines, etc., of the country in general, and
of the states separately, and also of Belize, the Bay islands,
and Mosquito shore. Squier was evidently conversant with his
subject. The style is vivid and interesting, as well as
instructive, and the statements, as a rule, worthy of
acceptance. In his treatment of diplomatic affairs between
Great Britain and Cent. Am., in which his own country was
interested on the side of the latter, he espouses the Central
American side with so much warmth as to awaken a suspicion
that his judgment may have been warped by his patriotism. The
question of an interoceanic railroad having engrossed public
attention since the publication of this work the author felt
justified in reproducing, under the title of _Honduras_,
Lond., 1870, 12º, 278 pp., with a map, in a more compact and
accessible form, a description of this country. With the
exception of a fuller information on the route, and its
alleged advantages over all others, and an appendix relating
to immigration, the contents of the book have been fully
treated in the bibliographical notice on the _States of Cent.
Am._
_Report to the Directors of the Honduras Interoceanic
Railway_, Lond., 1858, fol., 102 pp. and map. Fours years
previously a preliminary report was published on this subject,
and in 1857 another containing no additional information, but
in the appendix were given further correspondence and the
charter in full. The present work gives a complete report with
all details, presenting valuable statistics, and evidences of
the feasibility of the proposed railway. _Compendio de la
Historia Política de Centro-América_, Paris, 1856, 12º, pp.
7-114, as the title implies, is an outline of the political
history of Central America from 1821 to 1851, that is to say,
a sketch of the revolution and struggle between republicans on
one side and monarchists on the other, by which Central
America was annexed to Mexico, and of the subsequent wars
between the federalists and the oligarchs, which culminated in
the destruction of the federation, and the ultimate rise to
unrestricted power of the latter with Carrera as their chief
as well as tool. _Translation with notes of the letter of Don
Diego de Palacio (1576) to the crown of Spain on the provinces
of Guatemala, San Salvador, etc._, N. Y., 1860, sq. 8º, pp.
132, is a report which in Spanish bears the title of _Carta
dirigida al rey de España_, and was addressed by Palacio, a
member of the royal audiencia of Guatemala, to the king,
giving an account of the ancient provinces of Guazacapan,
Izalco, Cuzcatlan, and Chiquimula, together with their
languages, customs, and religion of their aboriginal
inhabitants, and a description of the ruins of Copan. Palacio
evidently collected this information by order of his
sovereign, and showed himself an intelligent as well as a
kindly, well-meaning man; somewhat superstitious, but less so
than most men of his time. His narrative is both readable and
instructive, and his description of the ruins of Copan
extremely interesting, its correctness being established in
after years by the accounts of Fuentes and Stephens. Squier
added numerous and interesting notes, but his translation is
in places open to criticism, partly for erroneous meanings
given to words, and partly for a not strict adherence to the
spirit of the original. The book, though a beautiful specimen
of typography, is disfigured with many misprints. Besides
these I have in my library numerous valuable documents in
manuscript relating to Central American history, from the
earliest days after the Spanish conquest, which Mr Squier
gathered from various sources and never published.
_A Travers L'Amérique Centrale. Le Nicaragua et le Canal
Interocéanique_, Paris, 1867, 8º, 2 vol., maps, 427 and 480
pp., by Félix Belly, who was the director-general of a French
canal company for opening a Nicaragua route. He was also a
chevalier and a well-known writer. To him had been intrusted
the task of obtaining a charter from Nicaragua for this canal,
and with this object he visited Central America in 1858,
obtained the charter, and made the necessary explorations for
routes and resources. The delays and uncertainty of the
undertaking caused Belly to visit the country more than once,
and he thus became well acquainted with its resources, people,
government, and institutions generally. This information he
imparts in connection with the narrative of his journey and in
articles, under the respective states, given in the first
volume. The second volume is wholly devoted to the
interoceanic projects, and particularly to a detailed history
of his own canal scheme. The style is attractive, the
observations clever, and the information excellent. A second
edition, a reprint, appeared in 1870. _Belly_, _Carte
d'études, etc._, Paris, 1858, contains notes on the project of
building a canal through Nicaragua, and the survey made for
that purpose. _Félix Belly_, _Durchbruch der Americanischen
Landenge. Kanal von Nicaragua. Ubersetzt von Karl Schöbel_,
Paris, 1859, 8o, 103 pp., one map, is the same as _Carte
d'études ..._ by Félix Belly, but enlarged with a few sketches
of the country and people of Nicaragua and Costa Rica.
[XIII-1] At this time, in 1840, he could neither read nor
write, and used, for appending his signature, a stamp. Later
he learned to sign his name.
[XIII-2] He sent his resignation to the assembly, implying
that it was condescension on his part to lay it before that
body, as he owed his position directly to the votes of the
people.
[XIII-3] He was wrathful at the thought that they had
tendered a dictatorship to Morazan, and enlisted the
Quezaltecs against himself. He did not forget Rivera Paz'
proclamations calling him a bandit and an _antropófago_. He
asked for the meaning of this last word, and on being told
it, flew into a rage which threatened a repetition of the
horrid scenes of Quezaltenango. _Montúfar_, _Reseña Hist._,
iii. 512.
[XIII-4] He referred to Pavon, Batres, and Aycinena. It was
evident that he then knew of Juan Fermin Aycinena's bargain
in Madrid which made him marqués de Aycinena.
[XIII-5] His press was called Imprenta del Ejército. He had
brought it from Quezaltenango.
[XIII-6] Several deputies, under one pretext or another,
tried to resign, but only the clergyman Lorenzana was
permitted to do so. _Tempsky's Journey_, 341-56. A man named
Andrade slightly wounded Carrera in the evening of Aug. 8,
1841. He was murdered by the troops, and Carrera, with the
assent of the govt, had the body quartered in the presence of
hundreds of persons, and the pieces placed on exhibition at
the city gates. The order for so doing was signed by Rivera
Paz, and his minister Viteri, afterward bishop of Salvador.
_Id._, 541-8; _Guat._, _Gac. Ofic._, no. 22, 86-7; _Dunlop's
Cent. Am._, 248; _Nouv. Annales Voy._, xcii. 375; _Niles'
Reg._, lxi. 177.
[XIII-7] He had promised, he said, to remain in private life.
His voice would be unheeded. Without freedom or influence, he
could no longer do the country any good. 'Ningun pensamiento
hay aceptable en la crítica complicacion de sus negocios, y
en el movimiento retrógrado que se le ha dado.' _Montúfar_,
_Reseña Hist._, iii. 528-9; _Gac. de Salv._, Oct. 12, 1854.
[XIII-8] Rivera Paz did not escape insult; but not more than
Carrera deemed needful to keep him humble.
[XIII-9] The _Gaceta_, no. 173, mentioned that number. Others
made it larger. The Indian chief Ricardo Catzum and others on
their way to the place of execution, in loud tones declared
that they had only obeyed their general's orders.
[XIII-10] Carrera had threatened Viteri with 'la fuerza,' and
the latter answered that he had on his side 'la fuerza de la
razon.' Carrera understood this to mean cannons and muskets,
and rushing out to the plaza came back soon after with
troops and artillery, surrounded the government house—then
opposite the Santa Rosa church—and furiously entered the
building, demanding of Rivera Paz to show him his forces.
Viteri then explained the meaning of fuerza de la razon.
_Montúfar_, _Reseña Hist._, iii. 536-7. Squier, _Travels_,
ii. 443, describes something similar as done by Carrera to
the assembly.
[XIII-11] Lopez was a Nicaraguan educated in Guat., an
honorable man and an accomplished jurist; but owing to bad
health, personal habits, and other causes, was unfit for the
executive office.
[XIII-12] The assembly considered a bill granting him large
tracts of land.
[XIII-13] The constitution to be framed was to be ratified
by the first subsequent council of double the no. of
representatives. The doc. had 12 articles. _Guat._, _Inf.
Pavon_, 2-5; _Niles' Reg._, lxvi. 242.
[XIII-14] On the 14th of March, 1844. _Guat._, _Recop. Ley._,
i. 114-16.
[XIII-15] 'Consejo constituyente' it was first called;
afterward it adopted the name of 'congreso constituyente.'
[XIII-16] Being appointed early in 1849 corregidor of
Jutiapa; while on his way there he was murdered with others.
[XIII-17] They had counted on Carrera's aid, and he failed
them, for which they again at their secret conferences
reapplied to him the name _antropófago_.
[XIII-18] A number of persons were blindly persecuted,
particularly Brigadier Monterrosa and his family.
_Barrundia_, _Rev. de los Partidos_, in _Montúfar_, _Reseña
Hist._, iv. 662.
[XIII-19] Duran's pledges went for nothing. Blood and
extermination ended the drama of Feb. 1845. _Id._, 663-9;
_Dunlop's Cent. Am._, 244-7.
[XIII-20] The most despotic captain-generals of the colonial
period, without excepting the tyrant Bustamante, are not to
be compared with these men. Barrundia, in trying to console
the young men who bewailed the condition of the country,
assured them that it was transitory, 'un régimen salvaje
en pleno siglo XIX. no puede ser perpétuo en la América
independiente. La luz nos viene por el Norte y por el Sur;
solo el centro está en tinieblas, y esa noche lúgubre no
puede ser eterna.' _Montúfar_, _Reseña Hist._, v. 9.
[XIII-21] Azmitia was an enlightened man, and thirsted for
no one's blood; but his influence, outside of the foreign
department, was small, and men, unheard and untried, were
shot before his eyes, without his being able to prevent it.
His friends claimed, however, that through him Guat. was
spared many more acts of barbarity.
[XIII-22] It consisted of 222 articles, and was drawn up
at Quezaltenango; it came to nothing. _Pineda de Mont_, in
_Guat._, _Recop. Ley._, i. 86.
[XIII-23] Cruz had risen with Carrera, but had a mild
disposition, and was liberal-minded. He learned erelong that
the people had nothing to expect from the aristocrats.
[XIII-24] Barrundia left an account of all the proceedings.
One man only, José Gándara, had the courage to back his
convictions and vote for the constitution.
[XIII-25] The plan had been to shoot him as he came out of
the cathedral. _Dunlop's Cent. Am._, 248; _Iris' Españ._,
Dec. 12, 1846.
[XIII-26] The arms to be those Cent. Am. used on the obverse
side of her coin, but so arranged that the sun and volcanoes
should be in the centre of a shield, with the inscription,
Guatemala en Centro América, 15 de Setiembre de 1821, having
in the quiver an olive crown.
[XIII-27] A shield divided transversely into two quarters;
the upper one on an open field azure with vertical bars
argent; and the lower with three volcanoes on a light
sky-blue field. Over the shield was a sun, and on each side
of it two flags with the national colors displayed, and the
extremities gathered downward, and knotted on the poles.
On the right side of the shield is an oak bough, and on
the left, one of laurel. On a white waving ribbon is the
legend in golden letters, Guatimalæ Respublica sub D. O. M.
protectione.
[XIII-28] The man-of-war flag has the coat of arms on the
yellow stripe. The mercantile flag does not show the coat of
arms. The flag consists of seven stripes; the uppermost and
lowermost, or be it the 1st and 7th, blue; the 2d and 6th
white; the 3d and 5th red; and the 4th, which is the centre
one, yellow. _Guat._, _Recop. Ley._, i. 55-8; _Dublan_ and
_Lozano_, _Leg. Mex._, vi. 119-20; _Mex._, _Col. Ley. Ord._,
1850-1; i. 388-9; _Mex._, _Leg._, 1851, 307-9. New national
flag decreed Aug. 17, 1871. _Guat._, _Recop. Leges. Gob.
Democ._, i. 9.
[XIII-29] With France, March 8, 1848, and one for the
settlement of French claims, Aug. 18, 1854; Costa R., March
10, 1848; G. Britain, Feb. 20, 1849; U. S., March 20, 1849;
Belgium, Apr. 1849; Mex., Nov. 1850; the pope, Oct. 7, 1852;
Peru, 1857; and others in later times.
[XIII-30] _Crosby's Events in Cal._, MS., 103. It tried to
avoid entanglements in the questions then pending between
Spain and Peru. The time came, however, in 1875, when the
govt was not afraid to make recognition of Cuba, then in the
throes of revolution for independence from Spain as a nation.
[XIII-31] Full particulars on the foreign relations may be
found in _Guat._, _Recop. Ley._, i. 303-81, 423-30; _Id._,
_Gob. Dem._, i. 209-19; _Squier's Trav._, ii. 451-2; _Annals
Brit. Legis._, 1866, 333; _Guat._, _Gac._, Feb. 21, March 7,
May 3, 1850; July 29, 1853; Jan. 27, Apr. 7, 1854; _Comm.
Rel. Flagg's Rept._, i. 792; _Derecho Intern. Mex._, 2d
pt, 325-8; _Mex._, _Mem. Rel._, 1851, 10-11; _Dublan_ and
_Lozano_, _Leg. Mex._, v. 755-7; _Nic. Corr. Ist._, May 1,
June 1, Aug. 1, 1849; _Id._, _Gac. Ofic._, Feb. 25, 1854;
Aug. 4, 1866; _Costa R._, _Gac._, Feb. 13, March 13, June
10, 1854; _Salv._, _Gac._, Jan. 13, 1854; _Crosby's Events
in Cal._, MS., 90-5, 102-4; _Rocha_, _Cód. Nic._, i. 141-5;
_Salv._, _Diario Ofic._, Apr. 20, Sept. 9, 1875; _Guat._,
_Mem. Rel._, 1882, 26-7, and annex 8; _La Estrella de
Occid._, Dec. 2, 1864.
[XIII-32] Molina accepted this trust believing Minister
Azmitia, with whom the committee would have to treat
directly, was a liberal; but Azmitia was not such, nor would
the aristocrats have permitted him to control the situation.
[XIII-33] Molina accepted, under the pressure of
circumstances, a number of clauses opposed to his own
opinions, thinking that a conservative constitution would be
better than an unbridled dictatorship.
[XIII-34] Some of the measures being imprudently executed
only increased the trouble. To make matters worse, the
monopoly of aguardiente in the departments of Guat.,
Sacatepequez, Escuintla, and Amatitlan, was given to a single
company, in consideration of money advances to the treasury.
Carrera was supposed to share in the profits.
[XIII-35] The Indians rose against the ladinos, who deprived
them of their lands, and forced them to work at raising
grain.
[XIII-36] 'La tranquilidad continúa inalterable.' _Guat._,
_Gac. Ofic._, Aug. 14, 1847. The archbishop was asked to
instruct his priests to preach obedience to the authorities
and laws; and with the view of winning the good-will of
the Dominicans the govt restored them the large hacienda
of Palencia, which had been theirs prior to 1829. The
property had fallen into Carrera's hands by donation from the
government, and now, in order to restore it to the friars, it
was bought from him at his own price.
[XIII-37] Carrera's decrees of Jan. 12 and 22, 1848.
[XIII-38] Foreign relations, José Mariano Rodriguez;
government, Luis Batres; treasury and war, José Nájera.
[XIII-39] His last words on that occasion were: 'Queda al
público el sempiterno duo de la Revista y Gaceta, que daran
solos la ley y seran la esclusiva ilustracion de Guatemala.'
_Montúfar_, _Reseña Hist._, v. 444; _Salv._, _Gac._, Oct.
12, 1854. It must be borne in mind that those two organs
were edited by Pavon and Milla for the express purpose of
upholding the ideas of the middle ages.
[XIII-40] This affair was later settled, the assembly passing
resolutions highly complimentary to France and her people,
embodying also a desire to see the French flag again waving
over the French consulate. A copy of the resolutions was
transmitted to the consul. The flag waved again and was
saluted with 21 guns. _Montúfar_, _Reseña Hist._, v. 577;
_Niles' Reg._, lxxiv. 142-3, 415-16; _Nic._, _Gac. Gob.
Suprem._, Dec. 9, 1848; _El Heraldo_, Jan. 15, 1849.
[XIII-41] The members were to be at the capital on the 1st of
the month. Decree of May 24, 1848. _Guat._, _Recop. Ley._, i.
121-36.
[XIII-42] This was done by the advice of Batres, who told
him the liberal party would soon commit suicide, and he might
then return in triumph.
[XIII-43] A merchant or agent; he was sickly, and totally
unfit for the position.
[XIII-44] The other two were his message on gen. affairs,
and his greeting to the chamber on its installation. _Nic._,
_Gac. Gob. Suprem._, Sept. 16, 1848; _Salv._, _Gac. Ofic._,
Sept. 9, 1876; _Montúfar_, _Reseña Hist._, v. 470, 494-508.
[XIII-45] His proscription was decreed on the 13th of Oct.,
1848. _Reg. Cent. Am._, Jan. 29, 1850. He went to Chiapa,
and the Mexican govt was requested not to let him cross the
frontier. _El Siglo_, Jan. 10, 1851.
[XIII-46] This was an unmerited slight to Vice-president
Cruz, which he resented afterward.
[XIII-47] His ministers were Manuel J. Dardon of the govt;
José M. Vidaurre of treasury and war, and Luis Molina of
foreign relations.
[XIII-48] Francisco Carrillo, Serapio Cruz, Roberto Reyes, J.
D. Nufio, and A. Perez.
[XIII-49] The chief being the convocation of a new
constituent assembly; the recognition of Los Altos as
independent, efforts to restore the Central Am. republic,
and meantime Guat., Salv., and Los Altos, to be under one
govt; the revolutionary army to hold the capital and other
important points; Rafael and Sotero Carrera and their agents
to make good with their property all damages caused by them
to private persons; objectionable persons to be banished, and
the Brit. govt to be asked to recall Consul Chatfield.
[XIII-50] Their only division was in open and covert
serviles.
[XIII-51] A provisional govt was established at Quezaltenango
on the 5th of Sept., 1848, consisting of a triumvirate;
namely, Presbyter Fernando Antonio Dávila, Rafael de
la Torre, and José Velasco, with Manuel J. Fuentes as
secretary-gen. _Id._, 588-9; _Guat._, _Gac._, Sept. 22, 1848.
[XIII-52] The nobles, aided by the clergy, surrounded the
brothers Cruz, and Luis Molina undertook to dissuade Nufio,
who was a very ignorant man.
[XIII-53] The necessity of procuring money for the war, which
could not be had except from partisans of the oligarchs,
prompted it, as they made that act of ratification a sine quâ
non before loosening their purse-strings.
[XIII-54] _Guat._, _Col. Ley._, i. 77-9; _Montúfar_, _Reseña
Hist._, v. 584-5. Gándara and Pineda de Mont, the other
liberals trying to persuade themselves that the separation
would be only temporary.
[XIII-55] By Col. M. Paredes. _Guat._, _Gac._, Sept. 22,
1848; _Id._, _Col. Ley._, 50-3; _Nic._, _Gac. Gob. Suprem._,
Nov. 18, 25, Dec. 9, 1848; _Montúfar_, _Reseña Hist._, v.
606-8, 634-9.
[XIII-56] The attempt to gain over Nufio to the side of the
govt proving successful, he had been appointed comandante
general. On the other hand, Vice-president Vicente Cruz,
smarting under the slight put upon him by the selection of
Martinez for pres., joined his brother Serapio in his armed
contest against the govt. _Id._, v. 555, 570-1, 588, 591.
[XIII-57] Escobar was an orator, a true republican, and well
disposed to deal fairly by all men, regardless of political
affiliations.
[XIII-58] His ministers were Revd Narciso Monterey, of govt;
Basilio Porras, of relations; Mariano Galvez Irungaray,
of treasury; and Manuel Jonama, an old retired officer of
Morazan, of war.
[XIII-59] The two opposing parties had not yet fixed upon his
successor.
[XIII-60] The Molinas and Arrivillagas, Vidaurre, Dardon,
Barrundia, and Martinez, who were held responsible for the
blood already spilled.
[XIII-61] A large number of official docs. connected with
the last two administrations are given in _Montúfar_, _Reseña
Hist._, v. 593-601, 611, 622-44, 695-715.
[XIII-62] In forming his cabinet he slighted Luis Molina
and his party. His ministers were José Mariano Rodriguez,
Raymundo Arroyo, José M. Urruela, and Manuel Tejada. Arroyo
was succeeded in Aug. by Pedro N. Arriaga, and Cerezo became
min. of war.
[XIII-63] The principal clauses were: the revolutionary
forces to be incorporated with the army of the republic;
Vicente Cerna to become general-in-chief of the army;
elections of deputies to be made in unrepresented districts;
damages caused private parties by the army to be paid by the
government.
[XIII-64] The aristocrats made a great display of regret at
his death, but it was well known that they did not love him.
In eliminating him from the revolution, they had in view to
weaken the latter, but still wanted it to continue as a means
for Carrera's return.
[XIII-65] Paredes made him believe the govt really intended
to oppose Carrera. He also pledged the govt to protect Los
Altos, and provide for the advancement of education and
commerce in that region. Under such pledges Guzman placed
himself and his Quezaltecs at the service of the govt and
proceeded to the capital. _Montúfar_, _Reseña Hist._, v.
769-71.
[XIII-66] Jan. 24th he wrote the govt from Ayuto that he
was on his march to the capital, not to avenge, he said, the
insults heaped upon him by Martinez' administration, or rake
up by-gones, but to restore peace and justice. The assembly,
before which his letter was laid, adopted no resolution.
[XIII-67] To raise a foreign loan of one million dollars; to
procure troops from other friendly states; and if necessary
to remove the capital. After granting such power the assembly
adjourned, leaving in the city a 'comision permanente.'
[XIII-68] His govt said that aid afforded to Carrera
was treason under the decree of Oct. 13, 1848. Ministers
Arroyo and Tejada in a manifesto assured the people of the
government's best efforts to defeat his projects. _Nic._,
_Gac._, March 17, 1849. It is astonishing that an ignorant
man like Paredes could so easily hoodwink Luis Molina and the
rest. They soon opened their eyes to see the falseness of the
man they had elevated from the command of a battalion to the
chief magistracy, and who was on the point of consummating
his treachery. Guzman saw through his plan, and escaped
out of the city with a number of his Quezaltec officers and
men, and succeeded in reaching Salvador. He first joined the
mountaineers, and aided them to take Jutiapa, but on seeing
the outrages of Leon Raymundo, he left them in disgust.
[XIII-69] Zavala was connected by blood and marriage with
supporters of Carrera in the aristocratic clique.
[XIII-70] The first two decrees were of June 4th and 5th.
His appointment to the chief command was on the 3d of Aug.
_Nic._, _Corr. Ist._, July 1, Sept. 1, 1849; _Montúfar_,
_Reseña Hist._, v. 779-80, 784-5.
[XIII-71] He had come disposed to do his duty, he said. The
ayuntamiento of Guat. on the 10th of Aug. gave a banquet
in honor of Carrera. The corregidor presided, having on his
right Paredes, and on the left Carrera. _Guat._, _Gac._, Aug.
23, 1849.
[XIII-72] The comision permanente had represented the
danger to the govt before Carrera entered the city, and its
representations remaining unheeded; it again on the 27th
of July called the attention of the minister of government
demanding requisite protection for the representatives. See
Andrés Dardon's letter in _Montúfar_, _Reseña Hist._, v.
811-12.
[XIII-73] Barrundia had gone to Salv. Luis Molina was
now defeated, and had to go away. He wished to visit San
Salvador, but could not face Vasconcelos, and went to
Ahuachapan. Ex-president Escobar, who, as president of the
assembly, signed the proscription act of Oct. 13, 1848, died
in exile, poor and miserable; the two subscribing secretaries
were Manuel Irungaray, whom Carrera caused to be shot
some time afterward, and Lorenzo Montúfar, the author and
statesman.
[XIII-74] Vasconcelos, president of Salv., Dec. 4, 1850,
announced to his people that forces of Guatemala were about
to invade the department of Sonsonate, with the view of
inciting the inhabitants to rebel against their government.
Again, Jan. 10, 1851, he sets forth the motives actuating the
oligarchs, who had Carrera for their tool, and British Consul
Chatfield for their ally, which were to destroy Central
American liberties, and to domineer over the other sections.
_Cent. Am. Pamph._, vi. nos. 2 and 3.
[XIII-75] The objective point was the city of Guat., which
the allies felt sure of capturing, to judge from the context
of a letter from Dueñas to Vasconcelos of Jan. 20, 1851.
_Cent. Am. Pamph._, iv. no. 17.
[XIII-76] Carrera's report from the field contained the
following incredible result: a loss on the part of the
confederates of 528 killed, 200 prisoners, 1,000 muskets,
and 9,000 rounds of ammunition; while his casualties were
only 20 killed and 42 wounded. That was probably one of his
characteristic falsehoods. The Salvadoran minister called
it 'desgracia sensible aunque pequeña.' But Carrera was
promoted to be captain-general, and a memorial medal was
struck in honor of his victory. _Frisch_, _Die Staaten_, 98;
_Astaburuaga_, _Cent. Am._, 80-1; _Salv._, _Mem. Sec. Gen._,
1821-5.
[XIII-77] Feb. 6th, martial law was proclaimed; 13th, all
men capable of bearing arms were called into service; those
failing to obey, or aiding the invaders, were declared
traitors; 22d, the assembly decreed a forced loan of $20,000
monthly during the continuance of the war. _Nic._, _Cor.
Ist._, March 13, 1851; _Salv. Decreto_, in _Cent. Am.
Pamph._, iv. no. 16.
[XIII-78] He would return, however, if peaceful overtures
were not made at once. _Guat._, _Boletin de Noticias_, March
1, 1851.
[XIII-79] The commissioners were Manuel F. Pavon for
Guatemala, and Francisco Zaldívar for Salvador. It was a
treaty of amity and commerce, calling also for extradition
of army deserters and common criminals upon formal demand
for them. Political refugees were to be made to live at a
considerable distance from the frontier. Neither contracting
party had to pay any pecuniary indemnity. _Guat._, _Recop.
Ley._, i. 431-3; _Costa R._, _Gaceta_, Sept. 10, 1853; Jan.
30, 1854; _Guat._, _Gaceta_, Aug. 5, 1853.
[XIII-80] Efforts were made by the sister states to avert
a war, and even after it broke out Salvador continued
her efforts. Preliminaries of peace had been agreed upon,
and negotiations entered into at Cojutepeque by the two
belligerents, Salvador acting as mediator at the conferences;
but this effort also failed because the commissioner at the
last moment presented an ultimatum which neither Salvador
nor Honduras deemed just. _Hond._, _Gaceta Ofic._, Oct. 30,
Nov. 15, 30, Dec. 15, 1852; _Id._, _Boletin Ofic._, Oct. 13,
Nov. 11, Dec. 5, 1853; _Perez_, _Mem. Hist. Rev. Nic._, 18;
_Guat._, _Gaceta_, July 8 to Nov. 11, 1853, passim; Jan. 27,
Feb. 24, Sept. 22, 1854; _Nic._, _Gaceta_, Aug. 20, 1853;
Feb. 28, 1854; _Costa R._, _Gaceta_, Dec. 12, 1853; Jan. 7,
18, Feb. 24, March 4, 1854; _El Rol_, Oct. 13, 1854; Feb. 21,
March 7, 1855; _Prelimin. de Paz_, in _Cent. Am. Pamph._, i.
no. 20; iv. no. 41. It seems from Guatemalan sources that the
Hondurans invaded Guat., and were defeated at Atulapa July
12, 1853. _Guat._, _Boletin de Noticias_, Aug. 5, 1853.
[XIII-81] The commissioners being Pedro de Aycinena, min.
of foreign affairs of Guat., and Florencio Castillo for
Hond. This treaty bound the contracting parties to surrender
deserters from either army, and common criminals, when
claimed. Political refugees were to be kept away from the
frontier. No pecuniary indemnity was stipulated. _Guat._,
_Recop. Ley._, i. 433-6; _Guat._, _Gaceta_, Feb. 16, 1856.
[XIII-82] Under this law the president was to be chosen for
four years by a general assembly composed of the house of
representatives, the archbishop, justices of the supreme
court, and the members of the council of state. He might be
reëlected. Before being placed in possession of the executive
office, he was to be sworn by the archbishop who presided,
for the occasion, over the house of representatives. The
executive was clothed with almost absolute powers, being
authorized, among other things, to issue, in accord with the
council of state, decrees having the force of law, to raise
loans, declare war, make peace, ratify treaties, etc. In the
event of his death or permanent disability, the executive
duties devolved temporarily on the ministers in their order
of seniority; and in default of them, on the members of the
council; until the house of representatives, to be forthwith
summoned, could meet and make a choice in general assembly.
During temporary absences of the president, the government
devolved on the council of ministers. The council of state
was formed of the cabinet ministers, eight members chosen by
the congress, and such others as the executive might appoint.
They held office for four years and might be reëlected. The
following functionaries might also be called by the executive
to take part in the deliberations and vote, namely: the
archbishops, bishops sojourning in the capital, regente of
the supreme court, president of the ecclesiastical chapter,
rector of the university, prior of the consulado, president
of the sociedad económica, and comandante general. The house
of representatives consisted of 55 deputies elected for four
years. The cabinet ministers had seats in the house, which
was to open its session Nov. 25th, and close it Jan. 31st.
The administration of justice was intrusted to a supreme
and lower courts. The former consisted of a regente, six
justices, and one fiscal or attorney-general, all chosen by
the congress for four years, one half being renewed every two
years, but all might be reëlected. _Guat._, _Recop. Ley._,
i. 79-87; _Astaburuaga_, _Cent. Am._, 181-2; _El Siglo_, June
18, 1852; _Squier's Cent. Am._, 483.
[XIII-83] Those of the judiciary, consulado, university, and
sociedad económica. _Guat._, _Recop. Ley._, i. 140-50.
[XIII-84] _Salv._, _Gaceta_, Oct. 31, 1851.
[XIII-85] This was the result of public meetings held in
the departments by the garrisons, officials, and parish
priests, at which it was made to appear that it was the will
of the people that Carrera should be president for life,
with the privilege of selecting his successor, and that
other amendments should be made to the acta constitutiva,
as permitted by its 15th art. It is understood that at
the meeting of officials in the capital there was but one
dissentient vote to the proposition. He had in a manifesto of
June 22d expressed a weak objection to the proposed change,
but it was evidently a preconcerted plan of the aristocrats
and the military element. _Guat._, _Gaceta_, May 12 to Sept.
15, 1854, passim; _Guat._, _Recop. Ley._, i. 87-90; _Costa
R._, _Gaceta_, July 1-29, 1854; _Id._, _Boletin Ofic._, July
27, 1854; March 17, 1855; _Carrera_, _Manifiesto_, in _Cent.
Am. Pamph._, v. no. 21; _Squier's Cent. Am._, 514. Carrera
before this received honors from foreign governments; he was
a knight grand cross of the papal order of St Gregory the
Great; the same of the Mexican order of Guadalupe; and knight
commander of the Belgian order of Leopold. _Guat._, _Recop.
Ley._, i. 90.
[XIII-86] This amendment conferred still larger powers on the
president, and made the term of the representatives, and of
the councillors chosen by them, seven years instead of four.
[XIII-87] As he had no knowledge of the science of
government, the direct management of public affairs was left
to those supposed to possess it. Carrera did not govern;
he merely represented the unity of government. 'Sin embargo
que su voluntad prevalecia en todo.' _Astaburuaga_, _Cent.
Am._, 82. The reform in regard to the presidential tenure was
personal, and exclusively in favor of Carrera. Thus at his
death the constitutional provision was restored, the minister
of relations, Pedro de Aycinena, assuming the reins, and at
once summoning the legislative body, which was de facto and
de jure a return to constitutional order. _Pineda de Mont_,
_Nota_, in _Guat._, _Recop. Ley._, i. 87.
[XIII-88] The govt decreed that their portraits should be
placed in the hall of the council of state. Pavon's widow,
Victoria Zebadúa, got a pension of $900 a year. _Guat._,
_Recop. Ley._, ii. 638-9; iii. 351.
[XIII-89] The government, whose temporary chief was Pedro
de Aycinena, as senior cabinet minister, decreed April 4th
that the funeral should take place on the 17th at 9 A. M.,
the remains to be interred in the cathedral church. _Guat._,
_Recop. Ley._, iii. 351-2; _Nic._, _Gaceta_, Apr. 29, May
6-20, 1865.
[XIII-90] It has been asserted that even his ministers
trembled for their lives when Carrera was in his cups. Though
they knew he would commit outrages, they often induced him
to visit the departments, in order to have a little peace
themselves.
[XIV-1] They conclude offering to the assembly the 'swords
which aided to triumph in Guat. and Los Altos over the tyrant
Morazan.'
[XIV-2] Cañas, considering himself the only lawful executive,
though set aside by the military on Sept. 20th, also made his
resignation.
[XIV-3] The decree greatly displeased the people, and had no
effect. But it revealed the plot of the aristocrats of Guat.
They appointed commissioners to the diet of Cent. Am., who
were to pretend that they favored a reformed union; but their
real aim was an absolute separation. _Marure_, _Efem._, 54.
[XIV-4] Its support was sworn to on the 11th of April.
[XIV-5] In a proclamation he stated that the expelled
senators and deputies were working to restore the order of
affairs existing at the time of Morazan's departure. His
suspicions were partially confirmed on Morazan appearing at
La Union about the middle of Feb. 1842. _Montúfar_, _Reseña
Hist._, iv. 63-4; _Marure_, _Efem._, 54-5; _Astaburuaga_,
_Cent. Am._, 74-5.
[XIV-6] They promised to confine their action to only such
objects as were of absolute necessity, namely, to rid the
government of surrounding obstacles, make amendments or
additions to the constitution, and pass such laws as would
conduce to its development. After doing this they purposed
to close their ordinary session, and await the election of
the constitutional chief of the state. It would then be the
proper time to deliberate upon calling a constituent assembly
to review the constitution.
[XIV-7] Cañas had been chosen on the 1st of Feb., but
afterward resigned it. His health was poor, and he died at
the hacienda del Jocó on the 24th of Feb., 1844. The assembly
honored his memory in a special decree. _Salv._, _Diario
Ofic._, Feb. 14, 1875; _Montúfar_, _Reseña Hist._, iv. 509.
[XIV-8] It was this govt that rejected Morazan's proposals
when he appeared at La Union. While appreciating his
patriotic purposes, it could not disregard its obligations
toward the other states. Hence, together with Malespin, it
set the other govts in motion against Morazan, whom Malespin
called 'el enemigo comun.'
[XIV-9] Even private correspondence was forbidden.
Postmasters had orders to deliver to governors of departments
all letters received at their offices from Costa Rica.
[XIV-10] His ideas were commended as 'justas, sanas,
salvadoras.' _Guat._, _Gac._, Oct. 18, 1842.
[XIV-11] Even Malespin had favored the act of the govt;
for though uncultured, he was a Salvadoran; and now that
Morazan was dead, he began to listen to the advice of his
more enlightened fellow-citizens, and to understand the
Machiavelism of Aycinena, Pavon, and their ally Chatfield.
[XIV-12] J. J. Aycinena repeatedly said that the revolt
could not be quelled, and it were better to accede to the
wishes of the volcaneños. This will explain the object of
a doc. dated Oct. 18, 1843, and published at Comayagua at
the govt printing-office under the signature of Manuel José
Arce. The ex-president had taken advantage of an amnesty
decree to return to Central America. He was now very old,
but still ambitious of power. In that manifesto, addressed
to the states of Cent. Am., he endeavors to demonstrate the
necessity of their again uniting under one govt. He spoke
of Guzman and Malespin trying to hold power for life; of
intrigues to make the latter president, even if some of his
opponents had to be shot; of abuses he had been subjected
to; the war those men were planning, with the aid of Nic.,
against Guat. and Hond., on the false charge that Carrera
intended to annex Salv. to Guat. He accused Malespin of
atrocities, and yet praises Carrera, who placed Malespin in
Salv. The full text of the manif. is in _Montúfar_, _Reseña
Hist._, iv. 222-5.
[XIV-13] The min. of state, Agustin Morales, reminded him
that freedom of the press was a palladium of liberty in
England, adding his surprise that her consul should want
such a precious boon to disappear from Salvador. Chatfield
threatened to refer the subject to his govt, and was told to
do so, not failing to accompany the answers he had received.
[XIV-14] The circulation of _El Amigo del Pueblo_ in Guat.
was forbidden; but many numbers got out, and were read by
artisans, students, officials. Chatfield often found it on
his desk without knowing how it came there.
[XIV-15] Several Salvadorans were murdered, and it was proved
that the murderers had come from Jutiapa. The govt of Guat.
pretended to have had no agency in these acts.
[XIV-16] In later years he was bishop of Panamá, but much
toned down.
[XIV-17] _El Amigo del Pueblo_ invited him to discuss public
questions, but not from the pulpit, where he could not be
answered. Vazquez did not heed it, and went on with his
wrathful sermons.
[XIV-18] In his letter of Dec. 5th, he uses these words:
'Jorge de Viteri no será obispo de farsa, ni permanecerá
jamás en un suelo, en que la potestad humana coarte las
amplias facultades que le conceden, y de que le hacen
responsable los sagrados cánones.' The correspondence, and
his secretary's address to the people, are given in _Id._,
351-4, 373.
[XIV-19] The president blamed him for leaving the capital
at a time of disturbance. He, on his part, demanded the
government's return to S. Salv. to attend to the bishop's
complaints. He accused the president, in a manifesto, of
attempting to disturb the public peace.
[XIV-20] The ecclesiastical fueros were restored; the govt
was authorized to allow monasteries established, and the
bishop to demand the aid of the secular arm to enforce his
orders in ecclesiastical affairs. This last act was, however,
issued, as it appears, with much reluctance, judging from the
number of restrictive clauses in it.
[XIV-21] Guzman had waged war against Malespin, not for his
own aggrandizement, but to do away with arbitrary rule, and
to restore the authority of the constitution. This being
accomplished, he resolved to return to private life.
[XIV-22] A physician by profession, and a modest, honorable
citizen, actuated by the purest motives; an excellent family
man and friend; but unfortunately, as events showed, he was
weak when firmness and resolution were demanded to uphold his
position. Aguilar, in his later years, after losing his wife,
was ordained as a priest.
[XIV-23] Eustaquio Cuéllar, J. M. San Martin, J. M. Zelaya,
the clergyman, Isidro Menendez, and Indalecio Cordero.
[XIV-24] He hinted that he had power to annex the state
to the archdiocese of Guat. The text of his letter is in
_Montúfar_, _Reseña Hist._, v. 54-5.
[XIV-25] The officer Anjelino, sent to reënforce the guard
of the jail, was waylaid, and nearly murdered, and in that
condition taken to the bishop's house, where the bishop
abused him by word of mouth, and turned him over to the
rabble, by whom he was stabbed, beaten, and kicked. He was,
however, rescued by the priest M. Serrano, and taken back
into the bishop's house. These facts were testified to by
Anjelino, in the criminal prosecution of Viteri.
[XIV-26] _Nic._, _Registro Ofic._, 330; _Dunlop's Cent. Am._,
249-50; _Iris_, _Esp._, Oct. 3, 1846.
[XIV-27] It is given in full in _Montúfar_, _Reseña Hist._,
v. 70-4.
[XIV-28] The decree was dated July 27, 1846, and referred to
articles 210-13, 304-9.
[XIV-29] The Salvadoran govt published a decree against
seditious persons from Hond. _Nic._, _Registro Ofic._, 272-3.
The authorities of Hond. solemnly promised that Viteri should
not be allowed to reside near the Salv. frontier; but the
promise went for nothing; Viteri and Malespin being aided
from that state. They found material assistance in Nacaome,
Tegucigalpa, Sensenti, and Guarita. Guardiola's note of Aug.
31, 1846, to the min.-gen. of Salv., in _Id._, v. 87, 254-7.
[XIV-30] His decree of Feb. 23, and pastoral of June 10,
1845.
[XIV-31] His execution left a bad impression in the public
mind. Ignacio Malespin had been a friend of Morazan, served
with him in 1840, and was one of the heroes of the capture
of Guatemala as well as of the subsequent escape. He was
gentle, kind, and sociable, and but for Viteri's influence
never would have joined the revolution. He ought to have
been spared. The women of San Salvador, both old and young,
pleaded for a commutation of his sentence, but the govt was
relentless.
[XIV-32] The head was for some time exposed in an iron cage,
to the disgust of the community. It was finally delivered to
the family for interment.
[XIV-33] He obtained 13,222 votes out of a total of 19,215.
Being governor of San Vicente, where he was exceedingly
popular, he could not, under the constitution, be a candidate
in that department.
[XIV-34] Vasconcelos had been a friend of Morazan, and
prominent in Guat. at the time the liberal party was divided
into ministerialists and oppositionists.
[XIV-35] Chatfield's pressure against Hond. and Nic. inspired
them with hopes. Vasconcelos was a partisan of Central
American unification for various reasons, not the least of
which was that of checking the preposterous claims of the
Brit. agent. This explains the origin of future questions
between Chatfield and Pavon on one side, and Vasconcelos on
the other. In 1849, the latter was made to appear before the
other states as an innate foe of Guat., whose debasement
and destruction he strove for. The govt of Salv. gave
explanations on its course denying the charges. _Montúfar_,
_Reseña Hist._, v. 801-8.
[XIV-36] Even Lindo of Hond., a militant in the reactionary
ranks of Guat., though acknowledging the republic, did
so with the proviso that Hond. left intact and in force
Guatemala's engagements and duties toward other states as
regarded the reëstablishment of a gen. govt. Guardiola's note
of Aug. 10, 1847, to min. of relations of Guat., in _Id._,
260.
[XIV-37] He favored the restoration of the state of Los
Altos, in order to divide the power of Guat., and counted
on the coöperation of Guatemalan liberals; but the spirit
of provincialism was strong with them, and a large portion
opposed him.
[XIV-38] It was bitterly censured by the leading liberals of
Salv., Nic., and Hond., and not a few of those of Guat., such
as Pineda de Mont and Rivera Caberas.
[XIV-39] Gomez was a Salvadoran, educated abroad, and well
versed in political economy and literature.
[XIV-40] He committed an error in supposing that Zaldaña
would care more for him and his party than for Archbishop
García Pelaez, who was influenced by Canon Larrazábal, the
mouthpiece of Guatemalan aristocracy.
[XIV-41] The following is a brief synopsis of the
constitution: No ecclesiastic or military man in active
service could hold any civil office. Congress consisted
of the house of representatives, chosen annually, and the
senate, elected one half every second year; it met on the
1st of Jan. of each year, and its sessions were limited to
40 days. The president must not be under 32 years of age nor
over 60; must have been a resident of the state for the five
years preceding the election, and own property within the
state worth at least $8,000. He had to receive an absolute
majority of votes; otherwise congress should choose one of
the two candidates having the largest number of votes. Term
of office two years, without the privilege of two terms in
succession.
[XIV-42] Félix Quiróz was chosen his substitute. _Nic._,
_Cor. Ist._, Feb. 16, March 7, 1850; _Costa R._, _Gaceta
Gob._, March 2, 1850. Art. 44 of the constitution,
prohibiting reëlections, was revived by an act of Feb. 25,
1851. _Cent. Am. Pamph._, iv. no. 20.
[XIV-43] The minister of foreign affairs, in his annual
report to the Salvador assembly, Jan. 29, 1850, speaking
of Chatfield's course, says: 'Desatenciones, violencias,
bloqueos; he aquí las relaciones y conducta que ha observado
el Sr. cónsul inglés.' _Salv._, _Mem. Rev._, 1850, 5.
[XIV-44] The British had also seized, with Tiger Island
belonging to Hond., several isles of Salvador in the gulf
of Fonseca. _Salv._, _Gaceta_, May 17, 1850; _Nic._, _Cor.
Ist._, Dec. 1, 1849; _Guat._, _Gaceta_, Nov. 30, 1849; _U. S.
Govt Doc._, 31st cong. 2d sess., Sen. Doc., 26-99.
[XIV-45] Immediate fulfilment of the convention of Nov. 12,
1849; and a formal contradiction in a note to him of all
accusations in official organs of the Salvador government
against Great Britain and her officials.
[XIV-46] It offered to submit the questions at issue to
the arbitration of the U. S. or any of their agents, or to
accept some other device that might promise an impartial
decision. The note making the offer, dated Aug. 17th, was
sent to Chatfield by special courier, but he refused to
receive it because it had not been transmitted through the
hands of Idígoras, the Brit. consular agent at San Salvador.
_Nic._, _Cor. Ist._, Sept. 5, 26, Nov. 7, 21, 1850; _Salv._,
_Gaceta_, Aug. 23, Sept. 6, 1850; _Guat._, _Gaceta_, Nov. 16,
1850; _Cent. Am. Pamph._, vi. no. 7; _El Progreso_, Sept. 5,
1850.
[XIV-47] _Salv._, _Mem. Relaciones_, 1851. The blockade
was removed at the friendly mediation of the American and
Prussian consuls and others. _Nic._; _Cor. Ist._, March 20,
1851.
[XIV-48] Besides arrangements with sister states, the
republic maintained treaties of friendship, commerce, and
navigation with Belgium, the U. S., France, Great Britain,
Spain, Germany, and nearly all the nations of America.
A concordat on ecclesiastical affairs was concluded with
the pope in 1862. _Squier's Cent. Am._, 313; _Cent. Am._,
_Miscel. Doc._, 48; _Costa R._, _Boletin Ofic._, March 7,
1855; _El Rol_, Oct. 27, 1854; Feb. 9, 1855; _Nic._, _Cor.
Ist._, March 21, 1850; _Id._, _Gaceta_, Feb. 17, 1836;
_Salv._, _Gaceta_, March 8, Apr. 12, 1850; Aug. 5, 12,
Nov. 25, 1853; _Id._, _Diario Ofic._, Feb. 24, 1875; _Id._,
_Concordato_, 1-20; _Laferrière_, _De Paris à Guat._, 319-37;
_Annals Brit. Legis._, 1866, 334; _Mex._, _Mem. Rel._, 1878,
7, 11, 45-54, 119; _U. S. Govt Doc._, 43d cong. 1st sess., H.
Ex. Doc. 1, pt 1, 112, pt 2, 796, 821; _Id._, 48th cong. 1st
sess., H. Ex. Doc. 1, pt 1, 236-7.
[XIV-49] Congress was installed Feb. 18th, and one of the
first acts of the house of deputies was to pass an act of
impeachment against Vasconcelos, and the senate constituted
itself as a court to try him upon the charge of violation
of the constitution. On the 22d of February, pleading not
guilty, he demanded a trial. The result was against him.
_Salv._, _Sen. y Cám. de Dip ... á sus comit._, in _Cent. Am.
Pamph._, vi. no. 9; _Vasconcelos al Sen._, in _Id._, no. 13.
[XIV-50] During Vasconcelos' absence the office had been in
charge of Senator Francisco Dueñas.
[XIV-51] Thus we see that Dueñas, whose wont it was while
he was working for popularity to use energetic language on
behalf of liberalism, now that he has reached the goal of his
ambition, changes his tune and calls for the assistance of
Carrera against Honduras. _Hond._, _Gaceta Ofic._, June 10,
1853.
[XIV-52] Public education was duly attended to, new codes
and ordinances implanted to render more regular the national
administration.
[XIV-53] This was the seventh time the capital was destroyed;
the previous ones being in 1575, 1593, 1625, 1656, 1798, and
1839; none of these, however, were to be compared in violence
with the one of 1854. It had been supposed at first that at
least one fourth of the population had been buried under the
ruins, but it was subsequently ascertained that the number
of killed did not exceed one hundred, and of wounded fifty;
among the latter were the bishop, Dueñas, and a daughter
of Pres. San Martin. The wells and fountains were filled up
or made dry. The cathedral and other churches were greatly
damaged; the college of the Asuncion and the university
building were ruined. Only a few dwelling-houses remained
standing, and all were rendered uninhabitable. Money was
raised by subscription for the benefit of the destitute, the
government of Guat. sending a donation of $5,000. _Pineda de
Mont_, _Nota_, in _Guat. Recop. Ley._, iii. 349-50; _Squier's
Cent. Am._, 304-7, 350; _Salv._, _Gaceta_, May 26, 1854;
_Id._, _Diario Ofic._, Jan. 26, 1875; _El Rol_, Dec. 1,
1854; _Guat._, _Gaceta_, Apr. 28, May 19, 1854; _Costa R._,
_Gaceta_, June 10, July 29, 1854; _Packet Intelligencer_,
June 17, 1854. The city and about 20 surrounding towns
were destroyed March 19, 1873; _Pan. Star and Herald_, Apr.
8, 1873; _El Porvenir_, Apr. 6, May 11, 25, 1873; _Nic._,
_Gaceta_, Apr. 5, 1873.
[XIV-54] Campo on the 10th of May, 1857, warmly congratulated
his fellow-citizens on the end of the campaign in Nic. when
the news came of Walker's surrender. _Nic._, _Boletin Ofic._,
May 28, 1857.
[XIV-55] _Am. Cyclop._, xiv. 611; _La Nacion_, Apr. 14,
1857. The Salvador flag is required to be 4 varas in length,
with horizontal stripes, five blue and four white, the
uppermost and lowermost being blue; and a red union with 14
white stars, covering a space up and down equivalent to that
occupied by the four upper stripes, and to the extent of 1⅝
varas. The flag-staff is 20 varas high, exhibiting the same
arrangement of colors as the flag.
[XIV-56] On the 10th Barrios and a committee of officers
had demanded of Campo that the troops should be ordered to
Cojutepeque to receive thanks for their services, adding that
a dissolution of the force implied distrust of the general.
Campo disregarded this, and also a number of propositions
from Barrios, reiterating his order for the disbandment.
[XIV-57] Astaburuaga, _Cent. Am._, 75-6, assures us it was
so, highly commending Dueñas. The president was supported by
public opinion, and many of the officers that had taken part
in the pronunciamiento afterward tendered him their services.
_Guat._, _Boletin de Noticias_, June 18, 1857.
[XIV-58] 'No hizo otra cosa que rendir la espada ante la
autoridad de Campo.' _Perez_, _Mem. Hist. Rev. Nic._, 2d pt,
214.
[XIV-59] One half of the deputies were to be renewed every
two years. The assembly was to meet biennially. _Salv._,
_Diario Ofic._, Feb. 21, 1875.
[XIV-60] Convention concluded Aug. 9, 1859, between Guat. and
Hond. to recognize the constitutional authority established
in Salvador, and to repress any attempt to disturb it. Hond.
declared herself disposed to keep the peace with Salv., and
Guat. guaranteed reciprocity on the part of the latter. This
convention was ratified by Carrera, Sept. 20, 1859, and by
Barrios and his minister M. Irungaray, Sept. 30th, the same
year. _Guat._, _Recop. Ley._, i. 439-43.
[XIV-61] In his inaugural address, Feb. 1, 1860, he promised
a conservative policy: 'Órden, progreso, libertad bien
entendida.... La paz y el órden en el interior, la amistad
con los estados vecinos.' _Barrios_, _Discurso_, 6-7. But,
as it will be shown, his policy both in the interior and in
regard to the other states of Cent. Am. met with disastrous
results from the animosity it engendered. He had had himself
made a captain-general, and was accused by his enemies of
inordinate vanity, insincerity, fondness for unrestricted
power, and lukewarm patriotism; and finally came to be looked
upon as a disturber of the peace for his own aggrandizement.
He accepted, without leave of the assembly, a decoration
tendered him by the king of Sardinia. _Nic._, _Cap. Gen.
Barrios_, 3-14; _Arriola_, _Rep. del Salv._, 2.
[XIV-62] May 13, 1862. _Nic._, _Boletin Ofic._, July 19,
1862.
[XIV-63] Barrios was said to entertain the plan of
partitioning Hond., which was not effected because of
Carrera's disapproval; but the murder of Guardiola had
afforded him an opportunity to harness Hond. to his car.
He was likewise accused of scheming with the aid of Máximo
Jerez to control Nic. _Barrios_, El por qué de la caida,
3-4; _Nic._, _Gaceta_, March 23, May 23, June 6, 1863.
Barrios claimed that he was striving to secure the rights of
Salvador, supporting at the same time the patriotic aims of
the Nicaraguan liberals to establish a government in their
country.
[XIV-64] The Capuchin friars had also been expelled.
[XIV-65] The course of the Salvadoran govt was not to the
pope's liking. _Arriola_, _Rep. del Salv._, 2. However,
the bishop, at papal suggestion, offered to return to his
diocese, and was told there had never been any objection to
his exercise of episcopal functions. _Barrios_, _Procl. á los
Pueblos_, 1-8.
[XIV-66] A treaty of alliance was concluded with him by
Samayoa and Dueñas, both Salvador refugees, acting for Guat.
[XIV-67] Notes of E. O. Crosby, U. S. minister, Feb. 2, 1863,
and Geo. B. Mathew, Brit, minister, Feb. 8, 1863, to Pedro
de Aycinena, minister of foreign affairs of Guat. _Barrios'
Manifesto_, 44-52.
[XIV-68] 'Il ne vit dans cette dernière lutte qu'un duel
d'homme à homme.' _Belly_, _Le Nicaragua_, i. 118-19.
[XIV-69] This was on the 24th of Feb., 1863. _Salv._, _Diario
Ofic._, Apr. 8, 1876; _Belly_, _A Trav. l'Am. Cent._, 119-20.
_Barrios_, in his _Manifiesto_, 32, asserts that his own
force was 4,000 men, and Carrera's 6,500.
[XIV-70] The army was in three divisions, two of which were
under generals Zavala and Cruz.
[XIV-71] _Nic._, _Discurso ... prim. aniv._, 3. The
Salvadoran contingent in the action was 1,117 men under
General Eusebio Bracamonte; but Jerez had the chief command
of the allied force. _Nic._, _Gaceta_, Apr. 18, May 9, 16,
20, 23, June 6, Sept. 12, 1863; _Nic._, _Boletin del Pueb._,
July 11, 1863.
[XIV-72] June 16, 1863. _Nic._, _Boletin del Pueb._, July 4,
1863.
[XIV-73] Sonsonate declared against Barrios June 29th,
Cojutepeque July 27th, Zacatecoluca Aug. 14th.; _Nic._,
_Gaceta_, Aug. 22, Sept. 19, 1863; _Id._, _Boletin del
Pueb._, July 23, 1863. For map of Hond. and Salv., see
_Squier's Cent. Am._
[XIV-74] It has been said that Tallien de Cabarrus, the
French chargé, endeavored, after Carrera's defeat at
Coatepeque, to persuade a number of French officers who were
with Barrios to leave him, which they refused to do.
[XIV-75] Carrera's official report of July 4, 1863, in
_Nic._, _Boletin del Pueb._, July 17, 23, 1863; _Id._,
_Gaceta_, Aug. 22, 1863.
[XIV-76] He established his headquarters in Coatepeque.
Zavala marched on and occupied Santa Tecla, about 12 miles
from San Salvador; Col Iraeta was stationed at Chalatenango;
and Col Parker in Ilobasco. _Salv._, _Pronunc._, 1; _Nic._,
_Gaceta_, Oct. 8, 1863. Dueñas in a proclamation at Santa
Ana, July 18th, promised that Carrera and his army, after
fulfilling their mission, would return to Guat. leaving the
Salvadorans to reorganize a friendly government, in lieu of
the turbulent one of Barrios, with the assistance of Bishop
Zaldaña. Barrios accused Dueñas, at Panamá Dec. 8, 1863, of
having offered Carrera $100,000 for his assistance to get
him into the presidential chair; to pay which a forced loan
was decreed. He added that at one time Carrera had made war
against the govt of Hond. for $30,000 that Guardiola offered
him. _Barrios_, _El Presid. legít._, 3-4.
[XIV-77] Sept. 18, 1863, Zavala, commander of the besieging
army, and Dueñas demanded a surrender, and submission to the
provincial govt. Dueñas claimed to be recognized as president
by Guat., Nic., and Hond. _Nic._, _Boletin del Pueb._, Oct.
3, 1863; _Id._, _Gaceta_, Oct. 17, 1863.
[XIV-78] Carrera not long after had M. Irungaray, minister
of state, Yarzun, treasurer, Gen. Perez and his brother, and
colonels Abelar and Luna shot, for the sole offence of having
served in Barrios' administration.
[XIV-79] Carrera, Oct. 30th, called it a 'vergonzosa fuga.'
_Carrera_, _Procl._, 1. Barrios was subsequently in 1865
allowed by Costa R. to reside in her territory against the
remonstrances of the other Cent. Am. states. These suspended
relations with her. Previous to this time he had resided in
N. York, where he made many friends. Nic. reopened, through
the mediation of the U. S. of Colombia, on the 31st of May,
1865, relations with Costa R., Barrios having departed.
_Guat._, _Recop. Ley._, i. 458-9; _Nic._, _Gaceta_, June 17,
1865; _Id._, _Col. Dec._, 1865, 8-9, 52-3.
[XIV-80] _Nic._, _Gaceta_, Nov. 6, 14, 1863. The outrages
committed by Carrera and his men are said to have been almost
beyond description. One of his acts was to cause Morazan's
grave to be broke open, and his ashes to be scattered to
the winds. He insulted, plundered, and persecuted citizens,
and carried off the Salvadoran artillery and trophies. He
took with him to Guat. the prisoners of rank, and confined
them many months in the castle of San Felipe situated on the
deadly northern coast.
[XIV-81] Cabañas had gone off to Pan. in the steamer
_Guatemala_. Particulars of the rebellion, and measures
against its authors, in _Nic._, _Gaceta_, May 6, June 10,
July 1, 1865.
[XIV-82] The vessel was sailing without the papers required
by law, as was certified by the U. S. consul in Corinto.
_Nic._, _Col. Acuerd. y Dec._, 61-2; _Id._, _Boletin del
Pueb._, July 4, 1863.
[XIV-83] The Salv. minister solemnly accepted this condition,
and the Nicaraguan govt then delivered Barrios on board the
brig _Experimento_. _Nic._, _Convenio 14 de Julio_, 1-18;
_Nic._, _Docs. Rel. á la recl._, 1-19; _Nic._, _Gaceta_, July
29, 1865.
[XV-1] He had been the sole candidate, obtaining 3,400 votes,
which did not constitute a majority. Ferrera was of obscure
parentage, and of inferior ability. He was educated by a
reactionary priest named Garin, who, wishing him to become
a musician of the parish church at Cantarranas, sent him to
Tegucigalpa to take lessons on the violin; but the boy made
no progress in that direction, and finally was made sacristan
of Cantarranas, which position he held a long time, till the
revolutionary movements drew him into military life, and he
began upholding liberal principles. He figured afterward as
vice-jefe, hating his chief, Joaquin Rivera, because he was
a democrat. Now we see the sacristan of Cantarranas made
president of the state. Francisco Güell, Francisco Zelaya,
and Santiago Bueso were recognized as his substitutes in the
order named. It was also decreed by the chamber that in the
event of a vacancy, absolute or temporary, if the substitutes
should be unable to assume the executive duties, the latter
should devolve on the ministers of state. _Montúfar_, _Reseña
Hist._, iv. 191-203. _Wells' Hond._, 494; _Squier's Trav._,
ii. 449.
[XV-2] We are assured there were 44 te deum masses on that
day.
[XV-3] He was credited with having, by his energy, wisdom,
and disinterested patriotism, saved the state from civil war
and anarchy.
[XV-4] The govt justly attributed the movement to Ex-jefe
Rivera, Orellana, Álvarez, Castro, and others, believing the
centre of it to be in Leon. It demanded satisfaction from
Nic., but obtained none.
[XV-5] The whole was published in _El Descubridor_, official
journal of Hond. Every one of Rivera's letters counselled
discipline, moderation, and honorable dealing, so as to save
the cause from obloquy.
[XV-6] Decree of Dec. 13, 1844.
[XV-7] I mentioned elsewhere the defeat this year at Nacaome
of a Nicaraguan force by the garrison under Commandant
Morales. The credit of this victory was given to Ferrera, who
happened to be in the place at the time, by the ministers in
charge of the executive office awarding him a gold medal with
the inscription, 'A la heroicidad del General Ferrera en la
batalla de Nacaome.' The supreme court had compared him with
Alexander, Octavius, Augustus, and Napoleon. The soldiers
of Hond. made him a Miltiades, Temistocles, and Demosthenes.
And finally, the official journal pronounced him superior to
Julius Cæsar. _Montúfar_, _Reseña Hist._, iv. 576-9.
[XV-8] Guardiola was a rough and cruel soldier.
[XV-9] His substitutes were Francisco Güell, Leonardo Romero,
and Manuel Emigdio Vazquez.
[XV-10] Rivera, Landa, and Martinez were shot together.
[XV-11] Decrees of Feb. 4 and March 19, 1846.
[XV-12] This proceeding was communicated to the governor
of Chiapa for the information of his government. The
proclamations were published in Mexico, and probably
elsewhere; but I am not aware that the American government
took any action upon them. _Id._, 236-7; _Sun of Anáhuac_,
Sept. 14, 1847; _El Arco Iris_, Sept. 22, Oct. 4, 17, 1847;
_El Razonador_, Oct. 30, 1847; _El Sonorense_, Nov. 12, 1847.
[XV-13] It provided for only one chamber, and he wanted
another for the aristocracy. It recognized freedom of
conscience and religion, which to his mind was heresy.
[XV-14] It contained 114 articles; recognized the people
as the source of power and sovereignty. All persons born
in the states of Cent. Am. and residing in Hond. were given
the privileges of full citizenship. Foreigners might become
naturalized. The right of suffrage was given to citizens
over 21 years of age who could read and write. The state
recognized no other religion than the Roman catholic,
excluding the public exercise of all others. The government,
declared to be popular and representative, was vested in
three powers, namely, legislative, executive, and judicial.
The executive was placed in charge of a president for
four years, and not eligible for two consecutive terms. He
appointed his ministers, who had a seat in the legislature.
There was a council of state provided, its members being
one senator chosen by the gen. assembly, one justice of the
supreme court, the minister of the interior, the treasurer,
and two citizens elected by the gen. assembly. The assembly
was formed of one chamber with 14 deputies, being two for
each department, and the senate with 7 members. The judiciary
consisted of the supreme and lower courts. The supreme
court was divided into two sections, of three justices
each, one to sit in Comayagua, and the other in Tegucigalpa.
Each department had a jefe político at its head. _Hond._,
_Constit. de 1848_, 1-21; _Squier's Cent. Am._, 258-65.
[XV-15] The next term would begin on the 1st of Feb., 1852.
[XV-16] _Nic._, _Cor. Ist._, Aug. 1, 1849; _La Union_ (S.
Salv.), June 15, 1849.
[XV-17] The following were the terms agreed upon: a general
amnesty; the confederate diet was to meet at Nacaome,
protected by 200 Salvadorans and as many Nicaraguans at the
expense of Hond.; and the state assembly also to redress
certain alleged grievances; and Jáuregui's conduct in Costa
R. to be investigated. All of which was done. _Cent. Am._,
_Miscel. Doc._, nos. 29-33, 36-43, 50-5; _Salv._, _Gaceta_,
March 15, Apr. 4, 18, May 10, 1850; _Costa R._, _Gaceta_,
March 2, 1850; _Nic._, _Cor. Ist._, Apr. 4, May 2, 16,
1850; _Guardiola_, _Carta Ofic._, March 30, 1850; _Squier's
Travels_, ii. 182. The chambers on the 29th of June declared
Lindo a benemérito de la patria, conferring on him the rank
of general of division for life, from the expiration of his
presidential term. _Hond._, _Gaceta Ofic._, Aug. 31, 1850.
[XV-18] The Spaniards knew but little of this region,
believing it unhealthy, and had hardly made any attempts
themselves to cut wood there. Cancelada, _Tel. Mexicano_,
104-11, computed at nearly twenty-two million dollars the
loss sustained by Spain to 1812, including in that sum the
original cost, and the resulting profits which had accrued,
mostly to the English.
[XV-19] They were likewise forbidden to cultivate sugar,
coffee, or cacao, or to engage in manufactures; and they were
not to supply arms or ammunition to the Indians dwelling on
the frontiers of the Spanish possessions. _España e Ingl.
Covenio_, July 14, 1786, in _Cent. Am. Pamph._, no. 4, 1-7.
[XV-20] Certain acts of that body in 1817 and 1819, in
consequence of measures adopted to punish crimes committed
in Belize, declared that the crimes could not be punished
under British laws, because that territory was not a portion
of the United Kingdom. _Peniche_, _Hist. Rel. Esp. y Mex. con
Ingl._, in _Ancona_, _Hist. Yuc._, iv. 223.
[XV-21] The treaty of 1826, with the annexed treaties and
conventions of Spain with England and other nations having
any bearing on the subject may be found in _Mex._, _Derecho
Intern._, i. 437-524.
[XV-22] Villiers, Brit. min. in Madrid, asked the Sp. govt
in 1835, and again in 1836, to cede to England any right of
sovereignty she might have over Brit. Honduras. The request
was not granted, but it implied that England in 1836 did
not consider herself to possess the full sovereignty over
Belize. Villarta, Mexican min. of foreign affairs, refers
to Villiers' efforts in a note of March 23, 1878, to the
Brit. govt. The latter, however, in 1836, claimed a larger
extent of territory, including the whole coast as far south
as the River Sarstoon, and as far inland as the meridian of
Garbutt's Falls on the Belize River.
[XV-23] Details in _Bustamante_, _Hist. Iturbide_, 161;
_Squier's Travels_, ii. 412-14; _Id._, _Cent. Am._, 582-4,
627-8; _Arrangoiz_, _Méj._, ii. 306; _Méx. Soc. Geog._,
_Boletin_, 2d ep., iv. 698-710; _Annals Brit. Legis._, ii.
84; _Suarez_, _Informe_, 32-6; _U. S. Govt Doc._, For. Aff.
(Mess, and Doc., pt 1, 65-6, pt iii. 360-1), Cong. 39, Sess.
1.; _Id._, _Foreign Rel._, i. 656-61, Cong. 43, Sess. 1.;
_Salv._, _Diario Ofic._, Nov. 21, 1878; _La Voz de Méj._,
Jan. 31, 1865; Sept. 19, Nov. 1, 1882.
[XV-24] The settlement, as it was called, for it had not even
the name of a colony, was ruled by a code of laws established
in 1779 by Sir W. Burnaby. Justice was administered by
a board of seven magistrates chosen annually. The chief
authority was the superintendent, a position always held by
a military officer, combining the duties both of first civil
magistrate and commander of the forces. _Henderson's Brit.
Hond._, 75-9.
[XV-25] He entitled himself then her Majesty's superintendent
and commander-in-chief in and over her possessions in Hond.
[XV-26] M'Donald then appointed an executive council. He also
assumed control of the finances. Not satisfied with the right
of veto, he legislated in his own person by proclamation,
assuming the right of punishing any one acting against
his authority or obstructing his mandates. The inhabitants
protested against his usurpation of powers, and appealed
to the British government and parliament, obtaining some
trifling relaxation. They also petitioned that the government
should openly assume the sovereignty, so that they might
possess their lands without reservation in respect to Spain
or Mexico. Their petitions did not receive any direct reply.
However, the govt in 1845, sent out a chief justice, a
queen's advocate, and other judicial appendages. _Crowe's
Gospel_, 205-6.
[XV-27] The coat of arms of Belize is read as follows: Chief
dexter-argent—the union jack, proper. Chief sinister, on
the proper—the chief divided from the body of the shield by
a chevron-shaped partition from the fess of the dexter and
sinister base. Points—the intermediate space azure—a ship
with set sails on the sea, passant proper. Crest, mahogany
tree. Motto, 'Sub umbra floreo.' Supporters, negroes; that to
the left, with a paddle; the other to the right, with an axe
over his shoulder. _Stout's Nic._, 258.
[XV-28] One of the superintendents—supposed to be Col
Fancourt—had relations with the ferocious Cecilio Chí, which
was officially communicated by Mexico to the Brit. chargé,
Doyle, March 12, 1849. _Ancona_, _Hist. Yuc._, iv. 234;
_Yuc._, _Expos. Gob. Créditos_, 98-102.
[XV-29] The population about 1804 was set down at not more
than 200 white persons, 500 free colored, and 3,000 negro
slaves. The white pop. gradually decreased. In 1827-8, the
pop. was between 5,000 and 6,000; in 1838, 8,000; in 1850,
15,000; in 1863, 25,000. _Squier's Cent. Am._, 587-8; _Dunn's
Guat._, 13-14; _Osborne's Guide_, 234; _Valois_, _Mexique_,
150; _Pim's Gate of the Pac._, 20. The town of Belize,
at the mouth of the river of the same name, generally has
6,000 inhabitants. The dwellings of the wealthy class are
large and comfortable. Besides the govt houses, court-house,
barracks, and jail, there are several churches, episcopal,
methodist, baptist, and presbyterian, and some large and
costly fire-proof warehouses. The town has experienced two
destructive conflagrations, one in 1854 and another in 1863.
_Packet Intelligencer_, June 17, 1854; _Guat._, _Gaceta_,
Sept. 7, 22, 1854; _La Voz de Méj._, May 9, 1863.
[XV-30] It was effected without disturbance, and attended
with the happiest results. _Crowe's Gospel_, 205.
[XV-31] Much smuggling was carried on to and from it.
[XV-32] _Annals Brit. Legis._, iii. 368; v. 263; vii. 228;
x. 386-7; 391-2; xii. 139-40; xiv. 304; _U. S. Comm. Rel._,
1863-77, passim. _The Encyclop. Brittan._, xii. 136-7.
[XV-33] He concluded to proceed to Jamaica for further
instructions. _El Revisor_, Jan. 5, Feb. 16, 1850; _Hond._,
_Gaceta Ofic._, Oct. 19, 1849.
[XV-34] Chatfield, the Brit. chargé, was present at the
act. _Id._, Nov. 30, 1849; _Stout's Nic._, 278; _Salv._,
_Gaceta_, Feb. 15, 1850. The object of the seizure was to
secure Honduras' proportion of the indebtedness of Cent. Am.
to Brit. creditors.
[XV-35] Under a convention in three articles concluded at
Leon Sept. 28, 1849. The cession was for 18 months, and had
been made known the same date to all diplomatic agents in
Cent. Am. _Hond._, _Gaceta Ofic._, Oct. 19, 1849; _Nic._,
_Cor. Ist._, Nov. 16, 1849. The corresp. of the govt of Hond.
with the Brit. chargé appears in _Cent. Am. Correspond., Isla
de Tigre_, 1-8; _Cent. Am._, _Miscel. Doc._, nos. 21, 25,
28; _U. S. Govt Doc._, Cong. 31, Sess. 2, Sen. Doc. 43, 1-26;
_Id._, Cong. 31, Sess. 1, H. Jour., 1739, 1801.
[XV-36] _Nic._, _Cor. Ist._, Jan. 16 and suppl., Feb. 16,
1850.
[XV-37] 1st. Great Brit. recognized the independ. of Hond.
as a sovereign republic, pledging her good offices to avert
any attempts against that independ. Hond. at this time was a
member of a confederacy with Salvador and Nicaragua, and was
made to bind herself not to dispose of any portion of her
territory before she had definitely settled Brit. claims.
2d. Hond. was to accredit within six months a commissioner
in Guat. to conclude a treaty of friendship, commerce,
and navigation with G. Brit. 3d. Hond. recognized the
indebtedness of $111,061. 4th. She bound herself to pay that
sum in yearly instalments of $15,000 at Belize. The other
articles were of less importance. _Salv._, _Gaceta_, Apr. 5,
1850; _Hond._, _Ligeras Observ._, 1-10.
[XV-38] Jáuregui, March 24, 1850, in a pamphlet issued
at Leon, defended his conduct, alleging that he had ample
powers. _Justific._, in _Cent. Am. Pamph._, i. no. 7.
[XV-39] Independent of £1,425 paid for her proportion of
Cent. Am. indebtedness to Finlay, Hodgson, & Co. of London.
_Hond._, _Gaceta Ofic._, Jan. 30, 1853.
[XV-40] The British seized Roatan June 3, 1830, driving
away the small Central American garrison. Similar attempts
have been made since 1743 by British subjects, though
unsuccessfully. The seizure of 1830 lasted only a short time,
having been disallowed by the British government. _Crowe's
Gospel_, 212; _Montúfar_, _Reseña Hist._, iii. 424-7; iv.
71-5.
[XV-41] 'Whose territorial right is indisputable,' he
alleged. He based his action on the treaty of April 19,
1850, between the U. S. and Great Britain, under which
neither power was to have colonies or settlements in Central
America. The U. S. took part in defence of Honduras' rights
and overthrew the British pretensions. _Squier's Cent. Am._,
621-6, 740-8; _Democratic Rev._, xxx. 544-52.
[XV-42] Under a decree of the superintendent of Belize. The
comandante of Trujillo, by order of his government, protested
against the occupation Sept. 13, 1852. _Hond._, _Gaceta
Ofic._, Dec. 15, 1852; _El Siglo_, Jan. 1, 1853.
[XV-43] Art. 1. Great Britain recognized the islands to
belong to Hond. The latter pledged herself not to cede them
to any other nation. Art. 2. The former power recognized as
part of Hond. the country till then occupied or possessed by
the Mosquito Indians within the frontier of the republic,
whatever that frontier might be. _La Union de Nic._, March
9, 1861; _Pim's Gate of the Pac._, 412-15. Further details in
connection with the Bay Islands question may be seen in _Bay
Islands, Queen's Warrant, etc._; _La Nacion_, Nov. 9, Dec.
26, 1856; _Brit. Quart. Rev._, xcix. 270-80; _Caicedo_, _Lat.
Am._, 76-80.
[XV-44] The grounds alleged for this violent action were:
1st, That the Brit. vice-consul's residence had been broken
into by Hond. troops, and robbed; 2d, That Omoa was sacked
by these troops, and goods to the value of $100,000 had been
stolen from British subjects; 3d, That some British subjects
had been drafted into the army, and an Englishwoman unjustly
imprisoned. _Nic._, _Gaceta_, Oct. 25, 1873; _El Porvenir de
Nic._, Sept. 21, 1873; _Nic._, _Semanal Nic._, July 27, 1874.
[XV-45] Streber, who commanded the troops accused of these
abuses, defends the rights of Honduras in the controversy, in
_Exposic. Doc. Suc. Omoa_, 30-44, 66-103.
[XV-46] She had to settle, in 1850, claims of French
citizens, and in 1851 of Prussian subjects. _Hond._, _Gaceta
Ofic._, Aug. 31, 1850; Jan. 15, 1852; _Costa R._, _Gaceta_,
Nov. 16, 1850.
[XV-47] Nic. had claimed on the N. E. the river Patuca to its
mouth, Hond. claimed the Coco to its mouth. The commissioners
agreed upon a compromise line between those rivers, namely,
the summit of the Dilpito cordillera, from the point where it
becomes detached from the main body, which divides the waters
running to both oceans; and from the point where it and the
line continues eastwardly to the waters of the Atlantic in
lat. 15° 10' N., and long. 83° 15' W. of Greenwich. _Nic._,
_Mem. Rel._, 1871, 5-7.
[XV-48] About this time he was on the Nic. frontier mediating
for peace between the belligerents of that state. His
efforts proving successful, he was warmly congratulated by
his friends on his return. _Hond._, _Gaceta Ofic._, Nov. 26,
1851; _El Siglo_, Dec. 13, 1851; _Cent. Am. Pamph._, vii. no.
2.
[XV-49] _Cabañas_, _El Presid ... á sus Conciud._, 1-6. The
office had been provisionally in charge of Senator Francisco
Gomez. _El Siglo_, Feb. 21, March 19, 1852.
[XV-50] Cabañas was of diminutive stature, but of erect
mien. He was aged about 50 at this time. His face was pale
and mild; his gestures were in keeping with the intelligent
play of his features; his manners gentle, almost womanly,
but beneath this placid exterior was a stern, indomitable
spirit. After many years of prominence as a leader, during
an anarchical period, even his enemies never accused him of
selfishness or rancor. _Squier's Trav._, ii. 177; _Wells'
Hond._, 184. Cabañas was a brave soldier, but could not be
called a successful general. Perez, a political opponent,
speaking of him as the chief of the coquimbo party, says:
'Mal general, excelente soldado, nunca vencedor, siempre
con prestigio, y uno de los mas fogosos promotores de la
nacionalidad centro Americana.' _Mem. Hist. Rev. Nic._, 16.
The assembly, May 21, 1851, had conferred on him the title of
'soldado ilustre de la patria.' His death occurred Jan. 8,
1871. _El Siglo_, June 12, 1851; _Nic._, _Gaceta_, Aug. 19,
1851; Jan. 29, 1871.
[XV-51] Astaburuaga attributes this war to Cabañas' attempts
to promote an insurrection in Guat. against his old enemy
Carrera. _Cent. Am._, 70-1.
[XV-52] The Guatemalans took the fort and city of Omoa,
and carried away all the useful artillery, against the
stipulations agreed upon at the surrender. _Wells' Hond._,
507-8; _Guat._, _Gaceta_, Sept. 16, 23, 1853.
[XV-53] This Lopez commanded at Omoa when the place was given
up in 1853 to the Guat. Col Zavala, since which he had been
suspected of treachery. _Wells' Hond._, 515; _Costa R._,
_Gaceta_, Jan. 15, 1854; _Id._, _Boletin Ofic._, Dec. 30,
1854; _Hond._, _Gaceta Ofic._, May 10, 1854, to Feb. 10,
1855, passim; _Guat._, _Gaceta_, Nov. 3, Dec. 22, 1854.
[XV-54] He had received no aid from Salv., owing to Carrera
having falsely reported his intention to sell territory to a
foreign power.
[XV-55] The executive office went, Oct. 14, 1855, into the
hands of Vice-president S. Bueso, who pleading ill health
left it in charge of Senator Francisco Aguilar. _Guat._,
_Gaceta_, Nov. 9, 1855, Feb. 16, 1856.
[XV-56] _Perez_, _Mem. Hist. Campaña Nac._, 13.
[XV-57] Guardiola was a dark-colored, stout-built, and
rather corpulent zambo, a man of fiendish instincts, but
popular with his soldiers, whom he indulged in every way.
He possessed all the vices and was guilty of about all the
crimes known to man. When in his cups he would order men to
be shot by way of pastime. At the mention of his approach to
a town, the inhabitants would flee to the woods. He was the
tiger of Cent. Am. _Dunlop's Cent. Am._, 237; _Wells' Hond._,
517; _Wappäus_, _Mex. und Cent. Am._, 306-7. William V.
Wells, _Explorations and Adventures in Honduras_, New York,
8vo, 588 pp., with maps and illustrations, went to Honduras
with the object of obtaining from her government leave to
work gold placers, and of opening commercial relations. He
visited several places, both in Nicaragua and Honduras,
which he describes quite accurately, together with the
manners and customs of their inhabitants. His information
on mines and mining is valuable. There are in the work three
chapters devoted to history from 1821 to 1857, the groundwork
of which is mostly from other authors, and one chapter is
filled with data on commerce, revenue, debt, etc., and still
another treats of coins and currency, weights and measures,
and productions, with illustrations. The style is good, the
work readable and instructive. Portions are evidently taken
from Squier, and the illustrations are mostly identical
with those of Squier's _States of Central America_. The same
author gave to the press in New York, a 12mo, with 316 pp.,
map and portrait, under the title of _Walker's Expedition
to Nicaragua_. This work, as the title implies, is almost
entirely devoted to Walker's career in this country, which is
justified as well as praised. Here and there he mentions some
historical facts on British pretensions in Mosquito, a short
résumé on Nicaragua, the Nicaragua transit route, and a short
review on colonization, commerce, and mining, compiled from
several sources. There is no system or arrangement, having
been, as the author alleges, 'written, published, and put in
circulation in twenty days,' a feat few authors would go out
of their way to boast of. But taken all in all, the book is
well worth perusing.
[XV-58] Decree of Jan. 5, 1861. _La Union de Nic._, Feb. 2,
March 9, May 25, 1861.
[XV-59] Chiefly in Nacaome and Choluteca.
[XV-60] _Nic._, _Boletin Ofic._, Jan. 25, March 22, 1862.
This deed was said by the enemies of Pres. Barrios of Salv.
to have been instigated by him. _Id._, _Boletin Pueb._,
July 11, 1863. There was no ground for the charge. The
government of Guat. proposed to other states to recognize
no administration of Honduras until the criminals, who had
been arrested, should suffer punishment. _Costa R._, _Informe
Rel._, 1862, 24.
[XV-61] Nic. despatched P. Zeledon as mediator, but the
motives of his gov. were bitterly denounced by the press of
Comayagua.
[XV-62] Feb. 4, 1862. _Nic._, _Boletin Ofic._, March 22,
1862.
[XV-63] Castellanos declined going to the capital, and Medina
went to his residence and formally surrendered the executive
authority to him.
[XV-64] This was the result of the defeat of the troops of
Salv. and Hond. by the forces of Guat. and Nic. on the plain
of Santa Rosa.
[XV-65] This decree is signed by Medina as 'presidente de la
república de Honduras,' July 20, and rescinded Sept. 8, 1863.
_Nic._, _Boletin Pueb._, Aug. 9, Oct. 9, 1863.
[XV-66] His senatorial term having expired. _Nic._, _Gaceta_,
Feb. 13, 1864.
[XV-67] The election of Xatruch was afterward declared
unconstitutional, Feb. 26, 1865. _Nic._, _Gaceta_, April 1,
1865.
[XV-68] Its sittings lasted from Sept. 7th to Oct. 29th. The
sovereignty of the people was recognized. The catholic, any
other kind of public worship being forbidden, was declared
the state religion. The executive authority was vested in a
president for four years, with a council of state consisting
of his two ministers, one senator chosen by both houses of
the assembly, and the chief justice. The legislative power
rested in a senate and house of deputies. The existing
political division of the republic was left unchanged.
_Id._, Nov. 11, 1865; _Camp's Year-Book_, 1869, 527; _The Am.
Cyclop._, viii. 790.
[XV-69] He had temporarily, pleading ill health, left the
executive in the hands of Crescencio Gomez. The assembly
appointed, as substitutes of Medina, Saturnino Bogran, C.
Gomez, and Francisco Medina.
[XVI-1] Also with the view of extending the area of African
slavery, as had been successfully carried out in Texas.
[XVI-2] The expedition was antagonized by the Transit
company, and arrested by the authorities of the U. S. as a
violation of their neutrality laws. Kinney reached San Juan
del Norte, after some mishaps, with only a few followers,
and was unable to do any serious injury to Cent. Am. _Costa
R._, _Inf. Rel._, 1858, 4-6; _Id._, _Boletin Ofic._, March
16, 1854; _Nic._, _Doc. Dipl. Hist._, 15-58. His arrival was
after the destruction of the town by the U. S. sloop of war
_Cyane_, and infused new energy into the inhabitants. At a
public meeting held on the 6th of Sept., 1855, the necessity
of establishing a provisional government for the maintenance
of peace and order was recognized, and Kinney was chosen
civil and military governor to rule by and with the advice
of a council composed of five persons. Among the resolutions
was one adopting as a basis to regulate the action of the
govt, the former constitution of San Juan del Norte, or
Greytown, which was modelled after that of the U. S. with a
few exceptions. Kinney did not hold the position long. He was
disappointed in his expectations, and resigned; he afterward
visited Granada, and at William Walker's instance an order of
expulsion was issued against him. _Stout's Nic._, 177-82; _S.
F. Alta_, Oct. 3, 1855; _S. F. Golden Era_, March 9, 1856.
[XVI-3] Jerez had made a similar arrangement at Jalteva with
one Fisher, to bring 500 men; and Gov. Espinosa of Rivas
stipulated with Hornsby and De Brissot for the capture of
Fort San Juan from the legitimists. These parties tendered
their contracts to William Walker, the so-called ex-president
of Sonora, who would not accept them.
[XVI-4] Under the contract the so-called colonists were
to arrive at Realejo in Feb. or March 1855, and the time
having elapsed, Castellon wrote Walker Apr. 9th authorizing
him to land at that port 'la gente y municiones, ó tren de
guerra que V. traiga á disposicion del gobierno provisorio.'
_Perez_, _Mem. Hist. Rev. Nic._, 136-7; _Sac. Union_, Feb.
15, 1855.
[XVI-5] _El Nicaragüense_, Aug. 3, 1856; _S. F. Alta_, May 5,
1855.
[XVI-6] William Walker was born in Nashville, Tenn., in
1824, being of Scotch descent. After receiving a classical
education, he studied law, and later followed the medical
profession for a time in Philadelphia. He then travelled
in Europe one year, and on his return was connected with
some of the important newspapers of the country, north,
south, and west. Tiring of that, he successfully practised
law in Marysville, Cal. In 1852 he visited Guaymas, and
from the operations of Count Raousset, conceived the plan
of creating with adventurers from California independent
republics in some of the sparsely populated territories of
Mexico. Hence his expeditions to Sonora and Lower Cal., of
which I give full accounts in my vol. on the north-western
states of Mex. Few persons, unacquainted with Walker, would
suspect the presence of so much ability and energy beneath
his plain exterior. He was but little more than 5 ft. 4 in.
in height, with a rather dull and slow appearance; a man
of few words, though an attentive listener, his aspect was
that of a serious, thoughtful person. A remarkable feature
of his face was a deep, intensely brilliant blue-gray eye,
large and intelligent. Sincere and devoted to his friends,
says a devoted adherent, his enmity, though not violent,
was not easily appeased. He was indifferent to personal
ease and comfort, and to the acquisition of wealth. _Wells'
Walker's Exped._, 21-3, 199-201. He was not incapable of
lofty conceptions, and possessed courage and abnegation;
but there was little of what might be called genius about
him, though his mind was sufficiently unbalanced in certain
directions to give him a title to that distinction. He wished
to be a great man like Cæsar or Napoleon, but the elements of
that quality of greatness were absent. He might have carved
for himself a career of honor and usefulness, but for the
restless ambition that possessed him to attain a place among
the notabilities of the world, even by a disregard of law
and justice. The idea of manifest destiny, so prevalent among
his countrymen, which implied the conquest of the Latin race
in America by the Anglo-Saxon, afforded him, as he imagined,
the opportunity for attaining the coveted renown, and at the
same time securing, through his instrumentality, the future
happiness of Spanish America. But unfortunately for him,
he committed, at the inception of his career in Nic., acts
which alienated him the men who had invited him to coöperate
in the consolidation of democratic principles; and some of
his later measures, whatever may be thought of his earlier
ones, savored of recklessness, and of disregard for the good
opinion of mankind.
[XVI-7] Muñoz had openly opposed all interference of
foreigners in the affairs of Nic.
[XVI-8] They afterward returned to Leon, via Realejo, to
continue serving. The legitimists had many killed and
wounded, among the first being Col E. Argüello and F.
Elizondo. Of Walker's foreign force, Col Achilles Kewen,
Maj. Crockett, and eight others were killed, and 12
wounded. _Wells' Walker's Exped._, 52; _Perez_, _Mem. Hist.
Rev. Nic._, 138; _S. F. Alta_, July 16, Aug. 14, 1855;
_Astaburuaga_, _Cent. Am._, 88; _Belly_, _Nic._, i. 271;
_Ferrer de Conto_, _Cuest. de Méj._, 155.
[XVI-9] In his official report of the affair Walker laid
the blame for his ill success on Muñoz, who had apprised
Corral of the intended operations, and had induced Ramirez to
forsake him during the action. He demanded an investigation
into Muñoz' conduct, and if it were not granted he would
quit the service. Castellon informed him in reply that in
the present critical condition of the democratic cause it was
unadvisable to displease Muñoz. After much correspondence and
negotiation, Walker agreed to continue his services.
[XVI-10] Cholera spread rapidly throughout the country,
causing great havoc everywhere.
[XVI-11] Muñoz' death never was attributed to the enemy's
bullets. It was a regular case of assassination resulting
from intrigues in his own party to rid themselves of him.
The assassin was a young Honduran named José María Herrera,
who later deserted from Walker's ranks, and being arrested
and sentenced to death, confessed that he had killed Muñoz.
A Nicaraguan named Santa María, who was shot at San Jorge in
1857, seems to have been an accomplice. _Perez_, _Mem. Hist.
Rev. Nic._, 141-3.
[XVI-12] He was suspected of treachery. He had displeased the
officers by his coarseness, and had spread terror among the
troops with his exaggerated reports of Yankee valor and skill
with fire-arms. _Id._, 145; _Wells' Walker's Exped._, 55-8;
_S. F. Herald_, Oct. 10, 1855; _Id._, _Alta_, Oct. 10, 1855;
_Sac. Union_, Oct. 19, 1855.
[XVI-13] He was joined by such men as T., C., and Daniel
Canton, Máx. Espinosa, and Ramon Umaña. The last named
brought troops and supplies from Leon.
[XVI-14] In the early part of Sept., Gen. José M. Ballestero,
Muñoz' successor, had sent two companies in the direction of
Managua, who were undone by Col Tomás Martinez with 200 men;
on the 12th Gen. Pineda marched afterward with a double force
against the legitimists, but failed to meet them.
[XVI-15] Corral was in Rivas with his numerous army.
Fulgencio Vega, the comandante of Granada, who was hated by
the democrats as the author of persecutions, hid himself and
was not discovered.
[XVI-16] The legitimists who were pent up in the city
tendered their allegiance, among them the minister Mayorga.
There were others who volunteered their coöperation; among
them the naturalized citizens Charles and Emile Thomas,
Fermin Ferrer, a wealthy citizen, and the beloved and
respected clergyman, Agustin Vigil, noted for his virtues,
learning, and eloquence, who from the pulpit called Walker
the 'angel tutelar de Nicaragua,' or the north star that was
to guide Nic. to her advancement. _Wells' Walker's Exped._,
61-5; _Perez_, _Mem. Hist. Rev. Nic._, 150-1; _Belly_,
_Nic._, i. 271-2; _Astaburuaga_, _Cent. Am._, 89.
[XVI-17] The commissioners were Sebastian Escobar, José
Argüello Arce, Hilario Salva, and R. Vives. _Perez_, _Mem.
Hist. Rev. Nic._, 152.
[XVI-18] The commissioners, Rosalío Cortés and Ramon Marenco,
were imprisoned in irons at Leon.
[XVI-19] This person took asylum in the house of U. S.
Minister Wheeler, who assured him that he was under the
protection of the U. S. flag. But as Wheeler was mixed up in
filibustering schemes, he broke his pledge and surrendered
Mayorga. _Perez_, _Mem. Hist. Rev. Nic._, 157.
[XVI-20] An American, who had been the recipient in Granada
of many marks of consideration.
[XVI-21] Walker's organ gave a list of killed and wounded.
_El Nicaragüense_, Nov. 17, 1855; _S. F. Herald_, Nov. 4,
1855; _S. F. Bulletin_, Nov. 5, 1855.
[XVI-22] It is claimed that he had been tried for treason by
a court-martial of native officers. _Wells' Walker's Exped._,
77.
[XVI-23] They reported, as coming from Walker, that he was
resolved to shoot all the prisoners if he did not receive
at 9 P. M. a satisfactory answer respecting arrangements.
_Perez_, _Mem. Hist. Rev. Nic._, 159; _Belly_, _Le
Nicaragua_, 273.
[XVI-24] Walker claimed to have powers, and Corral was
'facultado omnímodamente.' The following is a synopsis
of the convention: 1st. Peace and friendship between the
contending parties; 2d. Patricio Rivas to be president for
14 months, unless he should resolve, with the advice of his
ministers, to order elections before the expiration of that
term; 3d. The president is to have four ministers, namely,
for war, relations, treasury, and pub. credit; 4th. Govt
to respect and cause to be respected chapters 2d, 3d, and
4th, and clauses 2d and 3d of the general regulations of
the constitution of 1838; 5th. General forgetfulness of and
amnesty for past political offences; 6th. Debts incurred
by both belligerents to be recognized by the govt; 7th.
Military grades of both belligerents to be recognized; 8th.
All persons desirous of leaving the republic may freely
do so, with full guaranty of persons and estates; 9th. The
French legion may continue in service by becoming Nicaraguan;
10th. Walker to order the force in front of Managua to
retire at once to Leon, reducing it to 150 men; after which
Corral should reduce the force in Managua to 100, under Gen.
Martinez, and that in Masaya to 50, under Col Lino César,
or some other honorable officer; 11th. The Rivas force
will remain under Gen. Florencio Xatruch; 12th. The govts
existing in Nic. to cease acting upon being notified of this
arrangement by the respective generals; any one refusing
to comply was to be treated as a disturber of the peace.
Additional articles: 1st. Twenty-four hours after Rivas'
arrival in Granada, Corral's army from Masaya was to enter
Granada, and together with Walker's, escort the president
and the two generals to church to return thanks to God for
the restoration of peace. Walker to be the general-in-chief
of the army, appointed by a special decree. Corral should
surrender the command, arms, etc., unless otherwise ordered
by the new govt; 2d. The govt must reside in Granada; 3d.
The army was to use no other badge than a blue ribbon, with
the inscription Nicaragua Independiente. _Id._, 161-4; _El
Nicaragüense_, Oct. 27, 1855; _Nic._, _Boletin Ofic._, Apr.
9, 1856; _Guat._, _Gaceta_, Nov. 16, 1855; _Stout's Nic._,
182; _S. F. Alta_, Nov. 17, 1855; _Wells' Walker's Exped._,
77-80; _Guat._, _Gaceta_, Nov. 16, 1855.
[XVI-25] A plan had been formed to proclaim Martinez their
general, and to march against Granada, but the principal
chiefs discountenanced it. Corral assured the troops
that their former enemies were now friends and brothers,
recommending strict discipline 'so pena de ser pasado por
las armas el que de cualquiera manera violase la amistad y
alianza prometidas.' _Perez_, _Mem. Hist. Rev. Nic._, 166-7.
[XVI-26] 'Cedí únicamente al imperio de las circunstancias,
Sin tener libre voluntad para ello.' _Nic._, _Boletin Ofic._,
May 29, 1856.
[XVI-27] Sacaza, Dueñas, Pedro J. Chamorro, and two others.
[XVI-28] Norberto Ramirez, who favored its ratification as
the least of two evils, said in the council: 'I know that
we have before us two abysms; one close by, and the other
a little farther off: that the disapproval of the treaty
carries us to the nearest one, and its approval to the other
somewhat more distant.' His advice was followed. _Perez_,
_Mem. Hist. Rev. Nic._, 168.
[XVI-29] Máximo Jerez, B. Selva, A. Orozco, Rafael Jerez,
Justo Lugo, P. Fonseca, and José Salinas.
[XVI-30] Rivas was reputed an honorable, firm, and
enlightened man. He had repeatedly been a candidate of the
conservatives for the executive office.
[XVI-31] To Xatruch he said, 'Nosotros estamos muy mal, muy
mal, muy mal. Acuérdese de sus amigos. Ellos me han dejado
esta pesada carga y espero su socorro.' To Guardiola, Nov.
1st: 'It is necessary that you write our friends of the peril
we are in, and that they must go actively to work. If there
is a delay of two months, it will then be too late. Think of
us and of your offers.... Nicaragua, Honduras, San Salvador,
and Guatemala will be lost if they allow this to assume
proportions; let them come quickly if they expect to find
auxiliaries.'
[XVI-32] Benito Lagos, the man to whom they were intrusted
for delivery, took them to Granada and gave them to Valle,
who surrendered them to Walker.
[XVI-33] Walker had, after adopting precautions against
resistance, made them stack their arms in the plaza, and
disperse.
[XVI-34] It was a violation of the constitution of 1838,
and of the laws. Corral, as a minister, could not be tried
without a prior impeachment, and only by the senate; and as
a private citizen, by the common courts.
[XVI-35] Hornsby was president of the court; Fry, auditor or
judge-advocate; French, counsel for the prisoner; and Charles
Thomas, interpreter.
[XVI-36] He died bravely, Father Vigil attending him to
the scaffold. He was shot by a squad of American riflemen,
commanded by Lieut-col C. H. Gilman. _Astaburuaga_, _Cent.
Am._, 91; _Perez_, _Mem. Hist. Rev. Nic._, 171-3; _Stout's
Nic._, 197-8; _Wells' Walker's Exped._, 92-4.
[XVI-37] As opportunity occurred, they all ran away, some to
the mountains, and others to the neighboring states to work
in saving their country from the ruthless foreign sway.
[XVI-38] Yankees, so called, were all foreigners, of whatever
nationality, serving with Walker.
[XVI-39] José Hilario Herdocia, vicario capitular, having
addressed him a congratulatory letter, he answered that 'el
temor de Dios es el fundamento de toda organizacion política
y social.'
[XVI-40] His contract with Castellon authorized him only to
bring 300 immigrants; but he soon obtained leave to augment
his forces, and to enlist men as best he could. A decree
published Nov. 23, 1855, offered 250 acres of land to each
immigrant, and 100 more to each family. The title deed was to
be issued six months after arrival. Fabens was named director
of colonization.
[XVI-41] Art. 1st required the return of those sojourning
in the republic within 15 days, and of those who were abroad
within one month. Art. 2d imposed fines ranging from $50 to
$10,000 on such as failed to obey. _El Nicaragüense_, Nov.
17, 1855.
[XVI-42] Among them Pres. Estrada, Gen. Martinez, and Col
Fulgencio Vega.
[XVI-43] Hornsby went to Managua in the early part of
December, and brought him to Granada, where he was treated as
the guest of the nation.
[XVI-44] Diplomatic correspondence of the Salv. and Hond.
govts Nov. 22 and 28, 1855, in _El Nicaragüense_, Jan. 5,
1856.
[XVI-45] 'Aunque sea en un rincon de Honduras.' Estrada well
knew this was illegal; but following the advice, he applied
to Guardiola for permission, and it was refused him.
[XVI-46] Though the Costa Ricans had a cordon sanitaire to
prevent intercourse with cholera-stricken Nic., Gen. Cañas
received orders to furnish resources to Gen. Florencio
Xatruch, and other officials of the dept of Rivas, who fled
to Costa Rica on hearing of Corral's execution.
[XVI-47] Bishop Llorente also warned them that their religion
was in peril.
[XVI-48] Sec. of state Marcy wrote Dec. 21st, in answer to
his communication of the 12th, that the president saw as yet
no reason to hold diplomatic intercourse with the persons
'who now claim to exercise the political power in the state
of Nicaragua.' He said that the persons chiefly instrumental
in overthrowing the former govt were not citizens of Nic.,
'nor have those citizens, or any considerable part of them,
so far as is now known here, freely expressed their approval
of, or acquiescence in, the present condition of political
affairs in Nicaragua.'
[XVI-49] Wheeler was told, however, by the foreign minister
of Nic. that though official relations were suspended, the
utmost good feeling existed toward him. _El Nicaragüense_,
Feb. 2, 1856.
[XVI-50] The assistance would have been given him but for
Walker, 'no mandaban los democráticos, sino Walker.' It was
not for Walker's interest just then to engage in hostilities
against any neighboring power. _Perez_, _Mem. Camp. Nac._, 2d
pt, 21.
[XVI-51] He exerted himself there in promoting action for the
expulsion of Walker from Cent. Am.
[XVI-52] His most influential opponent was a small club of
conservatives, the leaders of which were Fernando Guzman,
Agustin Avilés, and Ramon Alegría. Gerónimo Perez was also a
member. _Id._, 23-6.
[XVI-53] Hermenegildo Zepeda, G. Juarez, and N. Ramirez came
from Leon to Granada to arrange it with Walker, who at once
caused the decree to be issued. This journey brought Ramirez
to his death, resulting from a fall, which broke a leg. He
was an able, enlightened man, and had been chief of Salvador,
and also of Nicaragua in 1849.
[XVI-54] The govt of Nic. was entitled to a share of the
company's receipts, which it had never succeeded in getting.
Chamorro had taken measures to force the company to pay
their indebtedness, but was precluded by the revolution of
1854. The company was accused of aiding the revolutionists,
and of having afterward encouraged the importation of the
filibusters who overthrew the legitimist govt.
[XVI-55] Randolph, W. R. Garrison, and Macdonald had arrived
at Granada from California, Dec. 17, 1855, bringing upwards
of 100 recruits for Walker, contracted for with Crittenden,
his friend and agent.
[XVI-56] This was done by Rivas, though firmly convinced that
it was tantamount to a sale of Nicaragua.
[XVI-57] The decrees, orders, and editorial comments thereon,
in the government's organ. _El Nicaragüense_, Feb. 23, 1856;
_Astaburuaga_, _Cent. Am._, 97-8; _Belly_, _Le Nicaragua_,
279-80; _Wells' Walker's Exped._, 208-15; _S. F. Bulletin_,
March 22, April 10, 1856; _S. F. Alta_, March 23, 1856; _Sac.
Union_, March 24, April 25, 1856.
[XVI-58] 'Para que recabe de aquel gabinete una franca
explicacion sobre la política que ha estado observando con
respecto al actual Gobierno de Nicaragua.' _El Nicaragüense_,
Feb. 16, 1856.
[XVI-59] Joaquin B. Calvo, min. of relations of Costa R.,
in his report to congress, Aug. 11, 1856, speaks of that
mission with contempt, 'porque desconocida aquí la mision del
filibustero, se le hizo regresar de la frontera.' _Costa R._,
_Mem. Rel._, 1856, 4.
[XVI-60] Laws of Feb. 27 and 28, 1856; _Costa R._, _Col.
Ley._, xiv. 7-14, 16; _U. S. Govt Doc._, Cong. 34, Sess. 1,
Sen. Doc., 68, 121, 133-49, vol. xiii.
[XVI-61] Nominally; the real commander was a German officer
named Baron Bulow. _Perez_, _Mem. Camp. Nac._, 2d pt, 34;
_Costa R._, _Pap. Sueltos_, no. 8; _Wells' Walker's Exped._,
169.
[XVI-62] Perez, quoted above, 42, gives the 21st.
[XVI-63] According to Costa Rican reports, only 480 of their
men took part in the action, the enemy's defeat being the
effect of a surprise and a bayonet charge. Their casualties
were set down at 4 officers and 15 soldiers killed. The
filibusters had upwards of 20 slain. Id., 42-5; _Salv._,
_Gaceta_, Apr. 3-24, 1856; _Nic._, _Boletin Ofic._, Apr.
9, 16, 1856. In California the report received was of 90
killed in the fight and 19 executed. _S. F. Alta_, May 2,
1856; _Belly_, _Le Nicaragua_, 283; _Wells' Walker's Exped._,
153-68.
[XVI-64] As armed invaders not serving under the flag of
any recognized nation. _Costa R._, _Mem. Rel._, 1856, 4;
_Astaburuaga_, _Cent. Am._, 94. However correct the logic,
it was an imprudent act, as Walker might retaliate on Costa
Rican and other Cent. Am. prisoners. Wheeler, without
instructions from the U. S. govt, took upon himself to
officially say to Mora that the execution of these men was
a cold-blooded murder, assuming at the same time that the
men serving under Walker were citizens of his own country.
_Wells' Walker's Exped._, 170-5. The fact is that only two or
three were natives of the U. S.
[XVI-65] He was accused of cowardice and even of treachery,
and arrested for trial, but escaping afterward from prison,
was sentenced to death as a deserter. He turned up in
Teustepe, where he was allowed to serve in the legitimist
force. _Wells' Walker's Exped._, 257-8.
[XVI-66] Commanded respectively by majors Alfaro Ruiz and
Escalante, and Col Salvador Mora.
[XVI-67] 'Triunfó completamente sobre ellos,
escarmentándolos, y poniéndolos de nuevo en vergonzosa
fuga.' _Costa R._, _Mem. Rel._, 1856, 5. According to
Astaburuaga, _Cent. Am._, 96, the Costa Ricans had 120
killed, and Walker upwards of 200. Perez, _Mem. Camp. Nac._,
2d pt, 48, gives the Costa Rican casualties to have been
150 killed and 300 wounded; and Walker's 60 killed and 70
wounded. Wells, claiming a glorious victory for his hero
Walker, says that the Costa Rican loss could not have been
less than 600 killed; and that of the wounded and deserters
no precise estimate could be formed. Walker's loss he sets
down at 30 killed and as many wounded. There is no honor or
profit in such mendacity. _Walker's Exped._, 175-88, 245-7;
_S. F. Bulletin_, June 2, 3, 1856; _S. F. Alta_, June 2,
1856; _Sac. Union_, June 4, 1856. Belly, _Le Nicaragua_,
283-4, states that though the battle cost the Costa
Ricans 700 men, 'mais qui fit éprouver de telles pertes à
l'envahisseur, qu'à dater de ce moment, il perdit confiance
dans sa destinée.' His letter of April 15th to Senator Weller
of Cal. proved this.
[XVI-68] Minister Salinas' circular Apr. 15, 1856. _Nic._,
_Boletin Ofic._, Apr. 16, 1856.
[XVI-69] Perez says: 'Trató con humanidad á los soldados
que le fueron encomendados.' _Mem. Camp. Nac._, 2d pt,
49-52. _Jerónimo Perez_, _Memorias para la Historia de la
Revolucion de Nicaragua, y de la guerra nacional contra
los filibusteros, 1854-1857._ Managua, 1865, 8vo, pp. 173,
21. This first part of this author's work is a historical
account of the civil war in Nicaragua, in the years 1854-5,
during which latter year the filibuster chief, William
Walker, appeared on the scene, taking part with one of the
two parties to the strife, and temporarily destroying the
power of the other. The political and military events of this
period are concisely though vividly depicted, so that the
reader may become fully informed on the mode of carrying on
the war, and on the miserable condition of the country, as
well as bitter animosity exhibited by the opposing parties.
_Memorias para la Historia de la Campaña Nacional contra
el filibusterismo, 1856-1857._ Masaya, 1873, 8vo, i.-iv.,
and 216 p., is a sequel or second part to the preceding by
the same author, in which he furnishes a detailed history
of Walker's filibustering schemes and career in Nicaragua
during 1856-7, till his final surrender and removal from the
country; ending with a short account of Walker's two other
attempts to invade Central America. Perez took a part in
the operations against Walker, and later has occupied high
positions in his country.