Mr. Russell to Mr. Hay.
Caracas, September 8, 1899.
Sir: I have the honor to hereby confirm and acknowledge cables1 sent and received, copies of which will be found on the sheet annexed hereto.
Confidential. The first cable I sent on September 5 was the result of direct information from Government officials in the interior. The second cable was also the result of reliable information, and I lost no time in sending it after I had investigated the source. I thought it advisable to have a war vessel somewhere within call if the revolution made much more progress.
The leader of this uprising is Cipriano Castro from the State of Los Andes, and whose defeat by the Government troops I communicated to the Department in my No. 313 of August 7. Castro, after his defeat, fled with the remnant of his band, about 1,000 men, and was making his way to Valencia, which is only a day’s journey from Caracas. On his march he had captured one or two squads of the national troops with their arms and ammunition. He arrived at a town called Nirgua, in the State of Carabobo, two or three days’ march from Valencia, with about 3,000 men that he had collected on his march from Los Andes. The Government officers reported to Caracas that the revolutionary force was too strong for them to attack, and that the only thing they could do would be to act on the defensive. Castro, with his knowledge of the country and his peculiar tactics, had separated by long distances the Government troops and was encountering no resistance. One of the Government generals was ordered to reenforce the national troops already in that section, but had to come by forced marches from Maracaibo, a three days’ journey. These troops are supposed to have arrived by this time, and if the Government’s figures, are correct Castro will have to engage a superior force or retire. Nothing definite has been heard from the scene of action yet. When Castro was so badly defeated it was thought that the troubles were over. But just after this the Government discovered a revolutionary plot of the followers of General Hernandez, the one who started the first revolution against General Andrade. Hernandez was arrested and placed in prison here with a great many of his followers, and it is believed that Castro’s forces have been increased by the Hernandistas joining him.
General Pietri, a prominent politician and ex-minister to Paris, is a refugee in Curaçao with other disaffected notabilities, and Castro is undoubtedly being aided by this contingent. I had a long conference with the President day before yesterday, and while he was optimistic as to the ultimate result, I could see that he was not as sure of himself as he ought to be.
The country is in a bad financial condition, and there is a good deal [Page 795] of discontent with the present administration. I will keep the Department advised by cable, and I would suggest that all telegraphic communication from Washington be in cipher, as otherwise the contents of cables will be divulged as soon as they reach here.
I have, etc.,
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