File No. 817.00/2198.
The American Minister to the Secretary of State.
Managua, October 18, 1912.
Sir: I have the honor to transmit herewith copies of correspondence1 relative to conditions at Masaya, Jinotepe and León before those places were finally entered by the United States forces.
The Consul of the Netherlands sent to me on October 1. a note requesting that if possible measures be taken by the American marines for the protection of the many Dutch families living in Masaya, and the next day a committee of twelve men and women [Page 1057] refugees, representing German, Italian, British, Dutch and Nicaraguan residents of that town, visited the Legation to solicit relief from the conditions of terror and starvation ruthlessly inflicted on them by the rebel leaders.
As already fully reported by Rear Admiral Southerland, the two hills of Coyotepe and Barranca which controlled the railroad were taken by the marines and bluejackets early in the morning of the 4th instant, Zeledón having refused to evacuate, and soon thereafter the town of Masaya was captured by the Nicaraguan Government forces. At the request of President Díaz a company of marines was sent into the city under command of Captain E. A. Green, U. S. M. C., to prevent further reprisals against the rebels by the federal troops, which were then withdrawn, leaving the Americans to do the police work and afford relief to the sufferers both in Masaya and along the branch line of railroad extending south to Jinotepe and Diriamba.
Meanwhile, conditions in León and Chinandega had grown intolerable, and many appeals of which a few are enclosed, were filed with the Legation for the relief of foreigners and natives in those towns. The British, German and Spanish Consuls wrote to me requesting protection for their nationals.
On October 5 a committee of three prominent Liberals, Dr. Paniagua Prado, Modesto Barrios and Sebastian Salinas, visited President Díaz and offered on behalf of the insurrectionists to surrender their forces and lay down their arms if given amnesty. A similar proposal was made to Lieutenant Colonel Long, U. S. M. C., in command of the American forces at León, by Dr. Rodolfo Espinosa, Julian Irias and the other emigrados from Costa Rica. Both offers were accepted, but the emigrados, either because of treachery or fear, fled from the city towards the northern boundary and were afterwards captured by the Honduran Government patrol.
As Colonel Long was entering the city of León October 6 to take control according to the arrangement previously made, his men were fired on and three of them killed. A rather sharp engagement followed, the details of which together with other military matters have already been reported by Admiral Southerland.
Within four days after the taking of León all organized opposition to the Nicaraguan Government had ceased, and after the fugitives, under General J. R. Osorio, who were endeavoring to escape into Honduras, were overtaken and captured, measures were at once adopted to pay off and discharge about 6,000 troops who were then transported to their homes in the interior where they are needed to help gather the coffee and other crops, which promise to be unusually large this year in Nicaragua.
I have [etc.]
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