Mr. Scruggs to Mr. Bayard .
Bogota , August 11, 1885. (Received September 15.)
Sir: Since the date of my No. 221, of July 21, we have information of the evacuation of Barranquilla by the insurgents, and of the capture, by the Government forces, of the mulatto assassin and incendiary, [Page 218] Prestan. You have doubtless received all the particulars from our consuls on the coast.
The insurgents still hold the river between Calamar and Naré, and likewise all the river steamers but one. It is believed here that they have landed a force of some 1,500 men at Puerto Naçional, with the intention of marching upon Socorro, the capital of the State of Santander; but as the National Government has about 4,000 troops in that State, this raid will be a failure.
With the exception of two or three recent outbreaks of a feeble character in Cundinamarca, everything continues quiet off the line of the Magdalena.
All business has been practically suspended since the 25th December last, and the financial distress in the interior cities of the Republic is almost unprecedented.
I have, &c.,