The subject of this dispatch would not be deserving of so extended a notice,
and would perhaps have little claim upon your attention, * * * were it not
for the complications which may possibly arise between the Colombian and
German Governments on account thereof. For this reason, and in order to
enable you to form a judgment as to the matter, I deem it my duty to lay all
the facts connected with the riot reported in my No. 139 of September 22,
1879, before you.
[Inclosure in No. 146.]
BucaraManga, State Of Santander,
September 15, 1879.
I shall begin at the beginning. In Colombia all parties have contributed
to the present evil on account of political interest; liberals or
conservatives, we have all contributed more or less to the ruin of
morality and the bases of society. Some excite the poor against the
rich, and for the purpose of getting votes flatter vice and court the
rabble, talking of equality and the sovereignty of the people; others
stir up fanaticism smoldering in the masses and enliven hatred and
passion in the name of the religion of peace and love. All of us,
whether in power or in the opposition, have resorted to immoral means in
order to gain elections, and have struck a blow at virtue in the
republic.
The governments have given their entire attention to these matters;
appointments are not made according to merit and capacity, but according
to the audacity and skill possessed by the candidate to carry elections,
and from this evil I do not even except the radicals in their best
days.
Latterly, we have seen a condition of affairs which follows the general
demoralization as a natural result; soldiers preventing citizens from
being present at the opening of the ballot-boxes, votes counted in
advance by hundreds, polling-lists arranged with apparent legal
formality in such a manner that districts which did not have more than a
dozen voters appeared with more than one hundred; soldiers sent to all
districts and placed at the side of the ballot-box; alcaldes, judges,
and inspectors all working actively and walking arm in arm with the most
ignorant men, bringing the latter to the polls in order to vote early
and often under fictitious names. We have seen at the last election the
independents work for a ticket for members of the council of this city
composed of names of the most ignorant men belonging to the lowest
classes of society. It suffices to say that many of these men are now
prisoners for their participation in the great crime of the riot; in
fact enough of them are prisoners to form a quorum of the council. This
picture is a sad one, but we are all to blame for it, radicals,
independents, and conservatives, in neglecting the interests of society
for those of a clique or party.
But to pass now to the more immediate cause of the catastrophe. When
General Vilches (the governor of Santander), made the appointment of
Pedro Rodriguez, a chief of this department, he could not have known
that the latter was entirely un-suited to the place on account of his
antecedents, which are very bad, and particularly on account of his
intimate connection with the “Culebra.” [Culebra—Snake, the name of a
secret society of communistic tendency. The name itself is suggestive of
the purposes and mode of accomplishing them.—E. D.]
On the day on which Rodriguez arrived to take possession of his post he
was met by the members of this society and given a dinner, on which
occasion Pedro Callazos talked against the merchants, saying that they
were thieves and robbers, and should be exterminated.
[Page 318]
On the following day this orator, who had been chief of the “Culebra,”
and who has been sentenced to the penitentiary for various crimes, was
appointed alcalde of this city of Bucaramanga.
The task which the new alcalde took upon himself was to cause the poor
people to rise against the merchants and property-holders, and to this
end he made speeches every day in the plaza [square], exciting the
savage passions of the lower classes.
On the 7th instant the elections for President of the Republic took
place, audit may be said that they passed off quietly. The radicals and
conservatives had agreed upon a ticket for members of the council,
comprising the most honorable names of both parties. The ticket of the
independents, as has already been said, was composed of the most obscure
names belonging to the lowest classes of society.
At last the hour of explosion came. On the evening of the 7th instant Mr.
Vicente Mateo was wounded by a bullet while passing the portico of the
church, and Mr. Obdulio Estéves, while standing in front of a
billiard-room, was killed by a shot from a revolver, fired into his
back, and from so short a distance as to burn his clothes. The alcalde,
who was near by, soon arrived on the spot. He kicked the body and
otherwise insulted the dead victim. Seeing Dr. Guillermo Forero, he
called him, insulted him, pulled his hat off, and obliged him to carry
the body on his back.
The death of Mr. Estéves was celebrated by the bandits with great
shouting, the firing of rockets, and a dance.
On the following day the chief of the department left the city early in
the morning. In the afternoon many of us were at the funeral of Señor
Estéves, and while in the church one of the bandits made an attack with
a dagger upon Senor Valenzuela, who avoided the blow and defended
himself with his revolver.
Soon the gang of armed bandits arrived on the spot, headed by the
alcalde, and as only three of us had revolvers we took to flight,
seeking for a place where to hide. We made for the house of Señor Albert
Fritsch, and leaping a mud wall were safe. Two young men, Eduardo Mutis
and Ernesto Mueller, did not leap the wall, but remained in a room of
the house. The first was killed while on his knees begging for his life,
and the last was beaten almost to death. They were quite young men, and
the last was entirely foreign to our quarrels.
From the house of Fritsch the ruffians went to different houses, breaking
doors, windows, and furniture, firing shots and yelling like demons.
Ladies and children had to climb the roofs of houses for safety. What an
awful situation! Two Germans, Mr. H. Hedrick and Mr. C. Goelkel, both
entirely foreign to our political difficulties, and relying upon their
national character, went to inquire about Mrs. Valenzuela; they were
killed upon falling in with the ruffians. The former was shot, and the
latter was first cruelly beaten and then shot.
As I have said before, the chief of the department absented himself early
on the morning of the 8th, when the murder of Señor Estéves had just
taken place on the evening before, and when the ruffians had tasted
blood and manifested their joy by giving a dance, where a list was made
of those who were to be murdered.
On the evening of the 9th the chief of the department returned from his
excursion to see the work of his alcalde.
On Wednesday, the 10th instant, while the criminals were still walking
the streets, he caused a proclamation to be made declaring order
restored, but nobody dared leave their hiding-places until protection
was afforded the same evening by a friendly force which came from a
neighboring village.
The excesses committed by the ruffians are beyond my powers of
description Fortunately, the first night they became so drunk they could
not continue their work of destruction. Upon his arrival, the chief of
the department appointed Carlos Delgado alcalde of this city, and to-day
this new alcalde is among the prisoners who are accused of participating
in the riot.
The President of the State came to this scene of misfortune, and
appointed M. A. Vilches chief of the department, upon the unanimous
request of the citizens. The latter is a young man whose name inspires
confidence and gives security to this society.
But God forbid that we may have authorities placed over us again who do
not afford us security, for in that case we are resolved to protest in
all possible forms, and as the last resort we had better leave with our
families and seek the peace and security of the woods.
