Papers Relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States, Transmitted to Congress, With the Annual Message of the President, December 9, 1891
Mr. Egan to Mr. Blaine
Santiago, October 28, 1891. (Received December 3.)
Sir: On 23d instant I received from Capt. Schley, of the United States man-of-war-Baltimore, a communication (inclosure No. 1) transmitting, by order of the Secretary of the Navy, copy of the report of a board of investigation held on board of the Baltimore into the circumstances of an attack made upon a number of the sailors of that ship on the 16th instant in Valparaiso (inclosure No. 2).
On same day I had the honor to inform you of same by telegraph.
The following day, Saturday, 24th instant, at night, I received your telegraphic dispatch, and in accordance with the instructions therein contained I addressed on Monday morning a note to the minister of foreign relations (inclosure No. 3) conveying particulars of the killing of Charles W. Riggin, the wounding and death of William Turnbull, and of a number of cases of wounds inflicted upon others of the United States sailors, together with particulars of a number of cases of brutal treatment on the part of the police inflicted upon the men whom they arrested; and I conveyed to the honorable minister the views of my Government in the terms, and almost in the exact language, of the telegram.
I immediately informed you by telegram of having done so.
I inclose a translation of the reply of the minister of foreign relations dated 27th instant (inclosure No. 4), in which he says that my note Of 26th instant emits appreciations, formulates demands, and advances threats that, without being cast back with acrimony, are not acceptable, nor could they be accepted in the present case, nor in any other of like nature. He maintains that the only authority having the power to deal with such cases occurring in Chilean territory is that established by the Chilean people, that local authorities are now engaged making investigations, the results of which when completed he will communicate to this legation, and he declines to accept that there was anything in the occurrence which took, place in Valparaiso that could imperil the maintenance of friendly relations between the two countries,
I at once conveyed a synopsis of this letter by telegraph, and at the same time I conveyed the information given me by Capt. Schley, that permission was refused to one of his officers to be present at the investigation and that his men were obliged to sign a paper in Spanish which they did not understand.
I shall await Instructions before replying to this note.
I have, etc.,
Capt. Schley to Mr. Egan.
Valparaiso, October 22, 1891.
Sir: In accordance with instructions received from the honorable Secretary of the Navy, I have the honor to inform you that I have instituted a hoard of investigation, composed of carefully selected officers, to investigate the causes leading to the disturbances which took place on the evening of October 16, while my men were on liberty on shore at this place, during which Boatswain’s Mate Charles W. Riggin was killed; Carpenter’s Mate John Hamilton, Landsman John H. Davidson, Seaman Apprentice John W. Talbot, Coal-heaver Jerry Anderson, Coal-heaver George Panter, and Coal-heaver William Turnbull were dangerously “stabbed with dirks and bayonets, [Page 205] were assaulted and beaten with clubs, and knocked down with stones, while many others of the crew were less seriously injured.
As nearly as the origin of the outbreak can be established, it may be traced to a quarrel between Riggin and a Chilean sailor about 6 p.m. in a saloon. It appears that Talbot came into the saloon at that moment, and, approaching them, he states that the Chilean sailor spit in his face and that he knocked the sailor down. At all events, there appears to have been a crowd on the outside ready and waiting, as numbers of men immediately rushed into the saloon and began the assault on these two men. They escaped and took refuge in a street car then passing, but were assailed there and dragged from the car, and Riggin was stabbed in the back many times by the crowd and left to die in the street. When he was picked up by a shipmate, Armorer Johnson, and in his arms to be taken to a drug store near by, a squad of police appeared on the scene and one of the number deliberately fired upon these two men. One of the shots entered Riggin’s neck, killing him almost instantly.
Talbot escaped with a number of severe stab wounds in the back, two of which penetrated the lungs, and was arrested by the police subsequently in a house where he had fled for safety.
Coal-heaver Jerry Anderson was robbed by a mob of least twenty-five persons in broad daylight, and then knocked down and dangerously stabbed several times in the back, one wound penetrating the lungs. This occurred before the disturbance later in the afternoon.
Coal-heaver William Turnbull was stabbed eighteen times in the back and beaten with clubs. As two of the wounds penetrated the lungs, his condition is most critical.
Carpenter’s Mate John Hamilton was knocked down with stones and then stabbed seriously in the buttock, groin, and back, and has many other bodily injuries. He was afterwards brutally dragged in an unconscious condition by two policemen to the carcel.
Coal-heaver George Panter and Landsman John Davidson were severely wounded, with stones, clubs, and cut with knives. Many others of the crew were assaulted and stoned and clubbed and cut with knives, though to a less serious extent. Complaint is made by several men that after arrest they were “nippered” with catgut cords and dragged to the station. In one case a lasso or lariat was used.
The fact that a number of the wounds are recognized as bayonet wounds would appear to point to police participation in some few cases, though I am glad to be able to say that there were some instances in which the officers intervened most courageously to protect our men against the mob.
Thirty-six of my men were arrested and detained in prison and in hospital, then examined, and ultimately discharged, as no proof of their guilt could be adduced. I can personally bear witness to the sobriety, orderliness, good behavior, and politeness of my men to Chilean officers up to 5:30 p.m., when I left the shore, returning to my ship. This fact is corroborated later by many eyewitnesses on shore at or after 6 p.m., when the disturbance occurred.
It is believed that the assault was instigated by Chilean sailors recently discharged from the transports, together with the longshoremen, and that it was premeditated. Several of the men were told to keep within doors after night, as an assault upon them was intended by the crowds. That this was so is shown from the attacks made in widely separated localities in the town while the men were at supper in the hotels and restaurants. It is not believed that the sailors of the Chilean fleet assisted in this work of butchery, as there are instances in which some of them generously assisted our men against the mob and into places of safety, audit is a pleasant duty to dispel this infamous idea as published in the press of Valparaiso.
I can assure you most positively that my men were unarmed and defenseless, and the fact that the police authorities failed to discover an instrument beyond several small pocket knives and a small iron pestle about 4 inches long, such as druggists use, that could deserve the name of a weapon, is a most complete refutation of this charge.
I transmit a copy of the report of the board, and would add that the testimony therein given is corroborated by a score or more of eyewitnesses, who denounce the assault as unprovoked and brutal beyond expression.
In times of peace, in the port of a nation with whom we are on terms of amity and friendliness, this brutal assault and butchery of my men is an indignity of such gravity that I have been obliged to refer it in plain terms to the honorable Secretary of the Navy, and in transmitting the report to you I feel certain that it will receive both from yourself and from the authorities that attention and that serious consideration which it merits.
I must add that his excellency the intendente of Valparaiso and his honor the juez de crimen were most humane in hastening the hearing of my men and in promptly discharging them when no guilt appeared,
I have, etc.,
Captain Commanding.
Report to Capt. Schley by the board of investigation.
Valparaiso, October 19, 1891.
Sir: In obedience to your order of October 18, 1891, to investigate the disturbance which took place on the 16th instant, while our men were on liberty on shore, resulting in the death of Boatswain’s Mate Charles W. Riggin, U. S. Navy, and the wounding of six others of, the liberty party, we have the honor to submit the following report:
On the afternoon of October 16, 1891, about 2 p.m., a liberty party of about 120 men went on shore, C. W. Riggin (B. M.) being among the party.
During the remainder of the afternoon our men were seen by several officers of the ship strolling about the streets in a sober and orderly manner, saluting all officers, American and foreign (especially Chileans).
As far as we have been able to learn from a large number of witnesses who were on shore from this ship, there was no trouble of any moment till a little past 5 p.m.
About this time a large mob, made of civilians, sailors, and soldier’s, began throwing stones and shouting “Yanks” at two or three of our men near a saloon called the “True Blue.”
From this time on the mob increased, and wherever any of our men could be found they were stoned, beaten, and stabbed.
This was not confined to the above-mentioned locality, but extended up town as far as “Plaza Victoria.”
The trouble was not the fault of our men, but was caused by the bitter feeling of the mob against our men and the desire to rob them, as several cases of men being robbed occurred in broad daylight.
The police not interfering, the worst of the assault lasted about an hour, and there are many complaints made by the men of brutal treatment at the hands of the police, such as being assaulted with the butts of muskets and kicked, taken to the police station by mounted police, having catgut “nippers” around their wrists, and in one case the arrested man was taken with a lasso around his neck.
The following are some of the cases of brutality committed by the police:
R. I. I. S. Hodge (S. A. I. C.), U. S. Navy, says that in company with Davidson he started from the mole to the scene of the riot, when they were assaulted with stones; also that an officer wearing a white cap struck at him with a sword, when he ran. He saw Davidson being beaten, and was then himself arrested.
I. Butler (S. A. I. C.), U. S. Navy, says that he saw Hamilton at the police station lying wounded on the floor. He endeavored to make a pillow for him with his shirt, but was threatened by a policeman with the butt of a musket and made to stop.
C. G. Williams (S. A, I. C), U. S. Navy, says that he was arrested by a mounted policeman, who put a “nipper” around his wrist and started his horse on a gallop, throwing him down. After he got on his feet the policeman walked his horse to the station.
C. McWilliams (C. H.), U. S. Navy, says that he was arrested and taken to the police station with “nippers “on each wrist and a lasso around his neck, and was also bitten in the arm after being arrested.
J. Quigley (C. H.), U. S. Navy, says that whilst trying to escape from the mob he was struck with a sword by a police officer.
J. Talbot (S. A. I. C.), U. S. Navy, says he was arrested in a saloon where he had closed himself up for safety. He was taken by two policemen (one an officer) to the neighborhood of the intendencia, and was there turned over to a mounted policeman and one foot policeman, and “nippers “placed on his wrists. On the way to the police station he was repeatedly struck by the policemen with their fists. On arrival there it was only by urgent demands of one Of the men that Talbot’s condition received attention. He was finally taken, in company with Panter and Hamilton, to the hospital in a carriage.
The men that were stabbed were all stabbed in the back while either running before the mob or after having been knocked down on their faces with stones, etc.
The circumstances of the killing of Charles W. Riggin (B. M.), U. S. Navy, were as follows:
It appears that C. W. Riggin and an apprentice named J. W. Talbot were drinking in a saloon called the “True Blue” with a Chilean sailor. A dispute arose and the Chilean spit in Talbot’s face. Talbot knocked the Chilean down, and during the fight between them there a mob of sailors and civilians rushed in upon them. Riggin and Talbot forced their way out and jumped on a passing horse car. The mob boarded the car and forced the two men off the rear platform. They again ran, after fighting their way clear.
The next information we have of Riggin was, he was seen by J. M. Johnson (armorer), [Page 207] U. S, Navy, in the hands of a crowd, being stabbed, Riggin at the time being down and four policemen standing around him. The locality was Calle Arsenal. Johnson saw the stabbing from an upper room of an English boarding house. The mob left Riggin, and Johnson went to his assistance. He found him face down and apparently dead, with several stab wounds. Johnson raised him, and after a few minutes Riggin showed signs of life.
Johnson attempted to carry him to a drug store near by, but had proceeded but a short distance when he saw a squad of police with fixed bayonets charging up the street. When at close quarters they fired at Johnson, the muzzle of one piece being so near that Johnson’s face was blackened by the discharge. A second shot was fired from Johnson’s right, the bullet passing over his right breast, through his overshirt, undershirt, and neckerchief, and striking Riggin in the neck. His head fell on Johnson’s left arm, as though his neck had been broken. Some one in the crowd shouted to Johnson to drop him or he would be the next.
Johnson dropped Riggin and escaped. Later in the evening Riggin’s body was taken to the hospital.
In addition to the killing of Riggin, a number of men were wounded in different ways, as follows:
W. Turnbull (C. H.) has eighteen wounds in back, two of them entering the lung; also two contused wounds of head and several other bruises. Some of his wounds were made with a bayonet.
J. Hamilton (C. M.) has a wound of buttock and right loin, two contused wounds of head, and several stabs in back made with bayonet.
J. Talbot (S. A. I. C.) has two penetrating wounds of back, which entered the lung between the seventh and eighth ribs, also a number of severe bruises about the body.
G. Panter (C. H.) has one contused wound of head and a number of severe bruises.
J. H. Davidson (Lds.) has a contused wound of the head, and his body severely bruised.
J. Anderson (C. H.) has two incised wounds of back, on left side, one made with a bayonet, entering the lung. This wound is downward and slanting between the seventh and eighth ribs, and is 5 inches in depth. It is of a very serious nature.
W. Caulfield (P. M.) has a severe contusion of right knee and calf of right leg.
J. Quigley (Q. C. F.) has severe sprain of right thumb.
F. Clifford (Drum.) has contusion of left eye.
M. Houlihan (Q. C. F.) has an incised wound of left thumb, extending down to the bone and joint and may leave him a stiff joint.
T. Smith (S. A. Q. C.) has an incised wound of the scalp on right side, and his body is severely bruised.
J. Butler (S. A. Q. C.) has an incised wound on right side of scalp; also a severe contusion of right arm and leg.
J. McBride (J. C. F.) has an incised wound of left wrist and a contused wound at back of the head.
J. Gillen (C. H.) has sprain of left wrist.
W. Lacy (C. H.) has contused wound of back of head and incised wound of elbow joint, which may leave him with a stiff joint.
R. I. Hodge (S. A. I. C.) has two contused wounds of the head, made with a blunt instrument.
I. Rooney (C. H.) has body severely bruised by clubs and stones, which may be followed by pneumonia.
H. Fredericks (O. S.) has an incised wound over right eye, which will leave a very ugly scar.
Thirty-six of our men were arrested, five of whom were sent to the hospital on account of their wounds, and thirty-one confined in police stations.
We believe that most of the sailors mentioned in the mob were men recently discharged from the Chilean fleet. In one case Chilean men-of-war’s men assisted one of our men against the mob.
The statement that has been made that our men went on shore armed is false, as the only evidence to support this statement is the list of arms said to have been taken from our men by the police, which is as follows: Seven ordinary pocketknives. One iron pestle (about 4 inches long).
Very respectfully,
- S. H. May,
Lieutenant, U. S. Navy. - James H. Sears,
Lieutenant, U. S. Navy. - Stephen S. White,
Passed Assistant Surgeon, U. S. Navy.
I certify the above to be a true copy.
Captain Commanding.
Mr. Egan to Señor Matta.
Santiago, October 26, 1891.
Sir: In compliance with instructions received from my Government, it is my duty to bring to the attention of your excellency a most painful occurrence which took place on the 16th instant, in the streets of Valparaiso, in the form of an assault upon a number of sailors belonging to the United States man-of-war Baltimore, resulting in the death of two men and the wounding, more or less seriously, of some seventeen others.
Immediately upon the receipt by the Navy Department of the United States of information of the assault, the commander of the Baltimore, Capt. Schley, was directed to cause an immediate and thorough inquiry to be made into the origin and incidents of that tragic affair, and to communicate the result simultaneously to the Government of the United States and to this legation.
The result of this inquiry, made by a board composed of carefully selected officers of the said ship, is now received, as well as a report from Capt. Schley, which show that the sailors of the Baltimore were unarmed, were entirely correct and orderly in their conduct, gave no cause of provocation, that the attack was apparently premeditated, and that the assaults were made by armed men greatly superior in numbers, and who, as my Government must conclude, were animated in their bloody work by hostility to those men as sailors, of the United States.
The outbreak appears to have been begun by a Chilean sailor spitting in the face; of one of the sailors of the Baltimore, while close at hand was a crowd, composed chiefly of sailors recently discharged from the Chilean fleet, ready and waiting for the assault. The two men originally attacked having escaped, were pursued and dragged from a tramway car, and one of them left wounded and dying on the street. While a companion endeavored to assist him to a medical establishment, they were both deliberately fired upon by the police, and the wounded man, Charles W. Riggin, was killed by a bullet through the neck. Then commenced an indiscriminate attack, extending to parts of the city widely distant, against United States sailors wherever they could be found, with corvos, bayonets, clubs, and stones. The police; meantime, either did not interfere to protect them, or joined in the attack, as in the case of the killing of Riggin; or they captured and dragged off to the prison, under circumstances of the utmost barbarity, those United States sailors.
In addition to the killing of Riggin, other men were grievously wounded in different ways, as follows:
W. Turnbull, eighteen wounds in back, two of them entering the lung; also two contused wounds of head and several bruises. Some of the wounds were made with a bayonet. This man died on yesterday.
J. Hamilton, a wound of buttock and right loin, two contused wounds of head, and several stabs in back made with bayonet.
J. Talbot, two penetrating wounds of back, which entered the lung between the seventh and eighth ribs, also a number of severe bruises about the body.
C. Panter, one contused wound of head and a number of severe bruises.
J. H. Davidson, a contused wound of head and his body severely bruised.
J. Anderson, two incised wounds of back on left side. One made with a bayonet enters the lung; this wound is 5 inches in depth and is of a very serious nature.
W. Caulfield, J. Quigley, F. Clifford, M. Houlihan, F. Smith, J. Butler, J. McBride, J. Gillen, W. Lacey, R. J. Hodge, J. Rooney, and H. Fredericks, wounded in various ways.
Your excellency will perceive from the character of many of the wounds that the public police, or some of them, instead of affording protection to the men assaulted, took part in this cowardly attack and generally acted toward those unarmed men with brutality; John Hamilton, for example, when, after being knocked down with stones, was stabbed seriously in the buttock, groin, and back with bayonets, was afterwards cruelly dragged in an unconscious condition by two policemen to the carcel.
J. S. Hodge, while being assaulted with stones, was struck at with a sword by an officer wearing a white cap.
G. G. Williams was arrested by a mounted policeman, who put a “nipper” around his wrist and started his horse at a gallop, throwing him down. After he got on his feet the policeman walked his horse to the station, leading Williams by means of the “nippers.”
C. McWilliams was arrested and taken to the police station with “nippers “on each wrist and with a lasso around his neck.
J. Quigley, while trying to escape from the mob, was struck with a sword by a police, officer.
J. Talbot, while severely wounded, was arrested in a saloon, where he had taken [Page 209] shelter from the mob; was dragged through the streets with “nippers” on his “wrists, and was repeatedly struck by the policemen.
Over thirty United States sailors were arrested in this manner without any apparent cause and some of them held for four days by the authorities in prison.
The friendly efforts of a few of the public officers and men of the Chilean fleet to give succor to the men attacked furnishes the only redeeming feature of this affair,
I am directed by my Government to call the attention of the Government of your excellency to the fact that although this cruel work, so injurious to the United States, took place on the 16th instant, no expression of regret, nor of a purpose to make adequate searching inquiry with a view to the institution of proper proceedings for the punishment of the guilty parties, has been so far offered to the Government of the United States.
I am further, your excellency, instructed to inquire whether there are any qualifying facts in the possession of the Government of your excellency, or any explanation to be offered of an event that has very deeply pained the people of the United States, not only by reason of the resulting death of two of the sailors of my nation and the pitiless wounding of so many others, but been more as an apparent expression of an unfriendliness toward the Government of the United States, which might put in peril the maintenance of amicable relations between the two countries.
If the facts be as reported by Capt. Schley, my Government can not doubt that the Government of your excellency will offer to it prompt and full reparation proportionate to the gravity of the injury inflicted.
Renewing to your excellency, etc.,
Señor Matta to Mr. Egan.
Santiago, October 27, 1891.
Sir: The undersigned received yesterday at 3:30 p.m. the note in which your excellency, under date of 26th instant, complying with the instructions of your Government, makes a statement of the deplorable events which occurred the 16th instant, and after explaining the result arrived at by a commission of officers and the commander of the cruiser Baltimore, it emits appreciations, formulates demands, and advances threats that, without being cast back with acrimony, are not acceptable, nor could they be accepted by this department, either in the present case or in any other of the like character.
The undersigned does not doubt nor protest against the sincerity, the rectitude, nor the expertness of the investigations made in relation to the lamentable occurrences between some North American sailors and some discharged Chilean sailors and boatmen, but by duty and in compliance with international rules and customs never denied by civilized nations, he abides by and will abide by, the jurisdiction of the authority of his own country, which are the only ones which have full right and will have sufficient power to judge and punish the guilty whoever they may be and wherever they may be found in the territory of Chile.
The occurrence took place in Valparaiso, and since the date on which it took place the authorities, administrative and judicial, respectively, have been engaged in ascertaining upon whom is the blame and who should be punished in the very deplorable and rJt yet determined or judged occurrence that took place the 16th instant.
As the undersigned believes, in the post which he occupies, that he has the obligation, most precise and defined, as it is his desire, to cultivate the best relations, not only with friendly countries, but also with those who are their distinguished and authorized representatives, he does not take into account the manner in which the honorable minister plenipotentiary makes his complaints and protests in some parts of his note, and he proceeds to reply to the only two points in it which demand an answer, in order that matters may be placed upon the proper grounds and in the proper light.
The disorder having occurred between American sailors and Chilean citizens, which resulted in the deaths and number of wounded which the note of your excellency states, the authorities to whom corresponds the duty of making the necessary investigations to establish who were the responsible parties and the punishment to be inflicted, and of the result of that investigation, the commander of the Baltimore must have received information and testimony since the 22d or 23d of the present month, according to a copy existing in this department addressed by the intendente [Page 210] of Valparaiso and transmitted by him in accordance with instructions given under date of 19th instant.
The judicial investigation into these facts, and which in our judicial practice is called summary (sumario), is made in secret up to a certain point, when it may be made public, which time has not yet arrived, and for this reason this department does not possess nor can it transmit the knowledge of the guilt or the guilty which may result from the investigation.
As soon as this investigation shall arrive at a conclusion, and whatever may be its results with respect to the guilt or the guilty, the undersigned will have the honor and will deem it his duty to bring it to the knowledge of the honorable envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary of the United States, whose Government and people have never failed and can not fail to recognize in the other countries with which they have relations of friendship, the privileges and rights of sovereignty, which in no place is more evident and of more proper application than in the exercise of the jurisdiction which belongs to each independent country, although the undersigned does not recognize any other legitimate authority as competent to judge criminal cases occurring in Chilean territory than that established by the Chilean people.
Until the moment arrives to know and to make known the result of the summary relating to the occurrences and the parties culpable on the 16th instant, without accepting that the disorder which occurred in the streets of Valparaiso, and the silence kept by this department should appear as “an expression of unfriendliness towards the Government of the United States, which might put in peril the maintenance of amicable relations between the two countries,” the undersigned has the honor to reiterate, etc.,