No. 97.
Mr. Hall to Mr.
Bayard.
[Extract.]
Legation of
the United States in Central America,
Guatemala, September 29, 1885.
(Received October 30.)
No. 427.]Sir: In my No. 410, of the 11th instant, I inclosed
a copy of a communication from the minister for foreign affairs of Honduras,
in which he reported to me the information his Government had received
relative to a hostile expedition against Honduras that ex-President Soto was
believed to be preparing in New York through the medium of A. D. Straus
& Co.
It appears from the accompanying inclosures that an unsuccessful attempt had
previously been made to land an expedition of the same character in Honduras
from the British steamer Dorian; that the vessel was cleared at New York by
the same A. D. Straus & Co., on the 29th May, for Bluefields, Nicaragua,
where she made her appearance about the 1st of July. On the 15th of July she
anchored off Cape Gracias à Dios, also in Nicaragua, where some of the
ship’s company went ashore and inquired for one General Brioso. Not
obtaining the information sought for, nor receiving any encouragement from
the Nicaraguan authorities at that place, those in command of the steamer
decided to return to New York, where, it appears, they arrived on the 8th of
August without having been able to effect a landing. After the steamer had
left the coast of Honduras the British gunboat Lily, in search of the same
vessel, arrived at Truxillo.
* * * * * * *
I have, &c.,
Inclosure 1 in No. 427.—Translation from La
Republiea, Tegucigalpa, Honduras, of August 15,
1885.]
Return of the filibustering steamer Dorian to New
York.
The following letter, dated New York, the 8th ultimo, has been received
in this city:
“Sir: The fact that the steamer Dorian,
which was dispatched at this port for Bluefields, Nicaragua, on
the 29th May, has returned with the same cargo she carried
[Page 141]
away, induces me to
give yon the data I have been able to collect, and from which it
appears that the steamer did not sail for Nicaragua, as cleared,
but for Honduras, and not being able to discharge her cargo, or
perhaps there were no inducements to discharge, has returned and
has discharged here.
“The charter was at the rate of $100 a day.
“The cargo comprised 50 cases of rifles and bayonets, 1 case
containing a drum, 10 cases carbines, 1 case cornets, 1 case
sabers and belts, 4 cases cane knives and sheaths, 20 cases
knapsacks, 3 cases saddles, 1 case tools, 8 cases hardware, 4
cases shirts, 610 cases cartridges, 3 cases percussion caps, 88½
barrels flour.”
* * * * * * *
The vessel was dispatched by A. D. Straus & Co.
[Inclosure 2 in No. 427.—Translation from
La Republica, Tegucigalpa, Honduras, August 22, 1885. Copied from El
Porvenir of Nicaragua.]
The paragraphs taken from the Nicaraguan newspaper El Porvenir, relative
to the filibustering expedition, are the following:
“The expedition against Honduras is not an invention. It is a
fact that the steamer Dorian, under the British flag, anchored
the 15th July some fifteen miles off Cape Gracias à Dios, having
on board Generals Emilio Delgado, Antonio Medina, and, it is
said, a splendid armament; there was also a Cuban general named
Rosado. Some foreigners belonging to the crew went ashore, and
inquired with great interest for General Brioso. They wanted to
ship some laborers to cut wood, but the authorities would not
consent to it.
“Some twenty-two hours later the steamer sailed in the direction
of the coast of Honduras, and finding it well sentinelled it
sailed for Belize, where the Hondurian emigrants were taken on
board, among them Don Francisco Caceres.
“Previous to the 15th of July the steamer was in the Bay of
Bluefields.
“The expedition meets with serious difficulties, for although it
might land at any point on the coast, it would be where there
are no inhabitants and no means of conveyance. The expedition
needs a place like Omoa, Truxillo, or Puerto Cortez to organize
in.”
