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Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 in 2010 with funding from 
 The Library of Congress 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/documentsiwithwaOOratt 
 
DOCUMENTS. 
 
 I. With Walker in Nicaragua. The Reminis- 
 
 cences of Elleanore (Callaghan) Ratterman. 
 
 II. Walker-Heiss Papers. Some Diplomatic 
 
 Correspondence of the Walker Regime in 
 Nicaragua. 
 
 With Introduction and Notes By 
 WILLIAM O. SCROGGS 
 
 (Reprinted from the Tennessee Historical Magazine, December, 1915} 
 
DOCUMENTS. 
 I. 
 
 With Walker in Nicaragua. The Reminiscences of 
 Elleanore (Callaghan) Ratterman. 
 
 (Reprinted from the Tennessee Historical Magazine, December, 1915.) 
 
 [For permission to reproduce that part of the narrative of Mrs. 
 Ratterman which is of historical importance in connection with the ac- 
 tivities of William Walker, the Magazine is indebted to the members of 
 Mrs. Ratterman's family now resident in Nashville, especially to Mrs. 
 Thomas J. Tyne and Mrs. W. B. Ratterman. The original manuscript 
 which is understood to have been in the form of a diary, has been mis- 
 placed and the text here printed reproduces a typewritten copy compiled 
 some years ago. This copy has been followed literally, with no change 
 other than the supplying in brackets of a letter or word obviously dropped 
 out. The mistakes of the typewritten copy, which are frequent, are cor- 
 rected, in important cases, in the notes. 
 
 Extensive extracts from this document were published in the "Woman's 
 Edition" of the Nashville Banner in the number for Saturday evening, 
 October 12, 1912. But this reproduction omitted a great deal of the paper 
 and much was compressed and modified. 
 
 For the introduction and notes the Magazine is under obligation 
 to Dr. William O. Scroggs, Professor of Economics and Sociology in the 
 Louisiana State University, the author of a Life of William Walker to 
 be published in the near future. Dr. Scroggs's intimate acquaintance 
 with the material bearing upon Walker's career has made it possible for 
 him to contribute the explanations and comments, which greatly increase 
 the value of the document.] — Ed. 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 The following narrative, written by Mrs. Elleanore Rat- 
 terman, nee Callaghan, after her return from a sojourn of 
 four years in Nicaragua, contains an interesting account of 
 affairs in that country after its invasion by William Walker, 
 the noted filibuster. This remarkable man, who plays the 
 leading role in Mrs. Ratterman's story, was born in Nash- 
 ville on May 8, 1824. His father, James Walker, was a 
 Scotchman who had settled in Nashville in 1820 and had 
 married Mary Norvell, of Kentucky. There were three 
 other children, Norvell, James, and Alice. William Walker 
 graduated from the University of Nashville in 1838, and 
 in 1843 received the degree of Doctor of Medicine from the 
 University of Pennsylvania. After two years of study and 
 travel in Europe, he returned to Nashville with the inten- 
 tion of following his profession in that city. Finding this 
 vocation uncongenial, he next studied law and opened his 
 
 4^, ^if-vivo. ^' 'j A^tn'i-iiii-M 
 
316 TENNESSEE HISTORICAL MAGAZINE 
 
 office for practice in New Orleans. Meeting with no success 
 as a lawyer, he turned to journalism, and in 1848 became 
 one of the editors of the New Orleans Crescent. Late 
 in 1849 he severed his connection with this journal and in 
 the following year migrated to San Francisco, where for a 
 year he engaged in newspaper work. In 1851 he removed 
 to Maryville and again took up the practice of law. Short- 
 ly thereafter he conceived the plan of "colonizing" the 
 Mexican states of Sonora and Lower California with Amer- 
 icans, and in 1853 led a filibustering expedition into this 
 region. He met with a series of misfortunes, however, and 
 in May, 1854, was driven back across the American border. 
 
 Undaunted by this failure. Walker soon turned his at- 
 tention to Nicaragua, where a revolution was in progress. 
 The leader of one of the revolutionary parties invited him 
 to bring a company of American "colonists" to that coun- 
 try. The "colonists" were to have the privilege of bearing 
 arms and were to receive grants of land for such services 
 as they might render the government. On May 4, 1855, 
 Walker set sail from San Francisco with fifty-eight fol- 
 lowers. Reinforcements were sent in large numbers by 
 his associates in San Francisco, and in October the filibust- 
 ers and their native allies had brought the revolution to an 
 end and set up a provisional government. Walker was 
 made commander-in-chief under the new regime, and be- 
 came therefore the real head of the State. The news of 
 his success caused adventurers from the United States to 
 join his army in such large numbers that many of the na- 
 tive leaders became alarmed and fled to the neighboring 
 republics, where they succeeded in effecting a coalition of 
 the Central American States against the ftlibusteros. In 
 the meantime, Walker, perceiving the growing disaffection, 
 took the bold step of having himself chosen President of 
 Nicaragua by the votes of his soldiers, who were mainly 
 Americans. 
 
 This was the situation when Miss Callaghan, the author 
 of the narrative, arrived at Walker's headquarters in the 
 city of Granada. Her first reference to Walker shows him 
 at war with the Central American allies. 
 
 W. 0. SCROGGS. 
 
 A Short Sketch of My Life for the Last Four Years in 
 Nicaragua. 
 
 In the year of our Lord 1856, the 4th day of April, My Sister and 
 her husband and child, Brother and self and a little slave boy. left Council 
 Bluffs, Iowa, to emigrate to Nicaragua, then the rendezvous of all classes 
 
WITH WALKER IN NICARAGUA 317 
 
 of speculators : On the 7th day of May we embarked at New Orleans 
 on a small schooner, (called the Minnie Schiffer) in company with 
 about 150 men, soldiers who, were going to join their fortunes with Genl 
 Wm Walker's, to Americanize, that garden of the world : — Also there 
 were about six families going to colonize — from the great inducements 
 held out to foreigners, by the President, Patricis^ Rivas — On the 28th 
 of May we landed at Greytown, under the guns of a English Man of 
 War called the "Everydice,"" whose officers came aboard to see if there 
 were any "fililjusters," and if so, to prevent their landing. There was 
 not a gun, nor a missile of war to be seen, and all and each were emi- 
 grants. Without any delay they proceeded to Granada, on small River 
 Steamer's belonging to the Transit Company, and reached that city about 
 the first of June. All the families were taken with the "Fever" of that 
 country, and about the 12 of July my niece died, a few days after my 
 sister, and a short time after my brother in law. I was left entirely alone, 
 with only my brother, and our slave f after trying to return home twice, 
 I gave up to fate to await my destiny. Genl Walker was constantly en- 
 gaged in skirmishes with the enemy,* , after he was elected President, 
 which event took place on the 12th of July^ — his popularity with the native 
 population decreased in a degree, as rapidly as it had increased tip to that 
 time. The first great battle which took place after my arrival in Nicar- 
 agua was on the 13th of October. 
 
 Genl. W. left Granada for Masaga* about ten o'clock on the nth with 
 every man that was able to walk that distance^ which is 12 miles, and left 
 the garrison under the charge of Brigadier Genl Fry, which all told, 
 counting the sick, and wounded, citizens, numbered about 150. Abouti 
 o'clock the cry was the "Enemy is coming,"* when the rain came down in 
 such torrents it seemed that the whole town was deluged, many of the 
 citizens did not wish to go to the church, which was on the Plaza or 
 Square, and if there was to be a pitched battle Genl W. was determined 
 to keep the Square if every other point was taken. And when he left 
 he gave such orders, that one and all had to be taken to the Church. The 
 enemy was right in our midst, and we were fearful to leave our house, 
 for fear of meeting them. However, we started, towards the Lake of 
 Nic[aragua] which is about half a mile from the City of Granada, when 
 some American, called to us for God sake to return and go to the Church as 
 the enemy was waiting, in ambush, in case we went to the steamer, to 
 attack us. We turned and advanced a few steps towards the Church 
 when about 100 of those savages rushed from) their hiding places down 
 another street, they intended to fall upon our party but as soon as one 
 of their dusky forms were seen, there was volley after volley fired at them 
 from the tower of the Church, until they all disappeared. — ^When at last 
 
 iPatricio. 
 
 ^Eurydice. 
 
 °As slavery had been abolished in Nicaragua since 1824, it is interesting to note 
 that Miss Callahan retained possession of a negro slave in that country. On Septem- 
 ber 22, 1856, Walker repealed the laws against slavery, but this was several months 
 after the narrator had arrived in Nicaragua. 
 
 *The enemy here referred to consisted of disaffected Nicaraguans and troops from 
 San Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. Costa Rica was invited to join this coali- 
 tion and later did so. 
 
 ^The author has here confused the date of Walker's election with the date of 
 his inaugural. He was elected — in form rather than in fact — on June 29, and was 
 inaugurated on July 12. 
 
 "Masaya. 
 
 'When Walker advanced to attack Masaya he led a force of 800 men, the largest 
 number he had ever commanded in battle. 
 
 ^During Walker's attack on Masaya a contingent of Guatemalans in the neighbor- 
 ing village of Doriomo, instead of going to the support of their allies, took the road 
 to Granada, expecting to find that city undefended. The small garrison of civil 
 employes and hospital attendants sustained an attack of twenty-fouf hours before 
 Walker returned and drove out the enemy. It is this attack on the city which is 
 here described. 
 
318 TENNESSEE HISTORICAL MAGAZINE 
 
 we reached' the Church, everything was consternation and dismay, women 
 and children shrieking, and screaming that all was lost, that if our General 
 was here all would be safe. We fired a signal gun for the Genl to return, 
 but he was very busy fighting, in Masaga,* and thought he could depend 
 on the Citizens, who were fighting for their lives and interest, the 
 welfare of their families, and well did they sustain the confidence placed 
 in them by him. I who had never witnessed bloodshed was sickened by 
 the sights I saw during the next 24 hours — Our citizens, and the sick 
 soldiers were being constantly brought in wounded, the Ladies under- 
 skirts, and other underclothes were torn in Bandages for the poor fel- 
 lows, and if more was needed, it would have been given with a free 
 heart — All day there was a constant firing kept up. We had nothing to 
 eat — and when night came there was so much excitement, there was no 
 need of sleep — the next day was a repitition of the same, only about 
 twelve o'clock, some one of the soldiers saw a fine hog which he appro- 
 priated to his. own use, therefore it became the Ladies to turn cook, a 
 young lady and self got that honor of cooking the breakfast or dinner, 
 which ever you might call it at one o'clock on Monday 14th of October. 
 We all remained, in the Church till Friday morning when the cry was, 
 that the Genl was coming. What hope, what enthusiasm, was expressed 
 by all. He heard the signal gun and came to relieve us. As he was 
 coming in the main entrance to Granada, the enemy was in ambush on 
 both sides of the road. Genl W. was advised to alight, when his reply 
 was "let the cowards" shoot the more balls that are thrown at me, the 
 less will my men feel." After he arrived in the City, about a quarter 
 of an hour, the Enemy retreated, and we were left to talk about the ex- 
 citement. 
 
 There was constant excitement and alarms, up the 25 of Nov when 
 it was secretly whispered that Granada was to be evacuated and de- 
 stroyed by fire." and the advice of all, was for the Lady's and children 
 to embark on the Steamer, to leave G, for when the Natives, saw their 
 City, their churches leveled to the ground, they would raise, and come 
 down to G. prepared to fight, and to besiege us. Brother and I prepared 
 everything our trunks and baggage and left in charge of our Brother in 
 Law to send to us, to the Steamer." When the Steamer pulled up her 
 anchor, and left for the Island of Ometepec a Volcanic island situated 
 in the middle of Lake Nicaragua.^^ 
 
 Genl W had passed a decree, that all should be taken there, and there 
 remain, till he had fixed on his headquarters. Therefore I left G. with 
 only the clothes I had on. When all had left Granada except 100 men 
 and a few females, who were to embark at two o'clock as the steamer 
 was lying at the wharf, when about twelve o'clock, 2000 of the Allied 
 troops of Central America, marched in and cut the Americans off from 
 the Steamer, placed themselves between the Lake and the main Square, 
 where the Americans, at that time were, — The Steamer when she saw this, 
 commenced firing, but being at such a distance could not effect what 
 
 •Masaya. 
 
 ^'Walker had made Granada his headquarters for about thirteen, months, and* his 
 occupation of the capital city gave him a kind of moral advantage in the eyes of the 
 natives. The location, however, was exceedingly unhealthful, and when Costa Rica 
 joined the hostile coalition in November, 1857, he found it necessary to evacuate the 
 place for both strategic and sanitary reasons and occupy the more advantageously sit- 
 uated towns of Rivas and Virgin Bay. 
 
 "This sentence and the next are confused, probably because of defective punctua- 
 tion in the copy. 
 
 ^"This island was thirteen miles from the mainland, and the non-combatants and 
 sick and wounded placed there were safe from attack by the invaders. The Indians 
 who lived on the island, however, resented the intrusion, as the narrative shows fur- 
 ther on. 
 
WITH WALKER IN NICARAGUA 319 
 
 she wished. Genl Hemmingsen" then comman[d]ed the American party 
 and a better commander never could have been found. 
 
 At the time that the enemy came in, there was about 7 men on the 
 wharf." All were taken prisoners except one who swam to the Steamer, 
 during which time many balls were fired at him, tho' he luckily escaped." 
 When the Steamer saw there was no help, for the Americans, left her 
 anchorage and went to Virgin Bay, Where our Genl then was, who im- 
 mediately embarked and went to try to investigate the affairs, and to try 
 to relieve them, but he could not effect a landing and he returned to 
 await fresh recruits. Now to return to the besieged. At first they reveled 
 in every luxury that could be found, they were extravagant in their 
 liquor, in eating and every thing when at last they became so reduced 
 for the want of provisions, and exposure, as they had no roof to pro- 
 tect them from the rain, which at that time was very bad as it was the 
 breaking up of the rainy season — they felt the change so quickly after en- 
 joying every luxury then to be reduced to piece of mule meat about four 
 inches square for twenty four hours — No salt, nor anything but mule 
 meat, and coffee, that the handfull of men dwindled down to a mere 
 nothing. They died, at the rate of three a day, and were buried about 
 three yards from where the people eat, and slept, as it was dangerous 
 to bury them any distance on account of the enemies , balls. At this 
 time the balance of Walkers men were on Ometepee," where we ex- 
 perienced a secon[d] siege. There was no provision, except plantain and 
 Beef and those who had a little pocket change were fortunate, but other- 
 wise suffered, living some of us in sheds with only the name of a roof 
 over our heads no sides to the house. Myself and Brother found a 
 Friend in a german Lady, who had five children, we shared her board 
 and bed such as it was — the bed consisted of straw thrown on the ground 
 and over that a quilt was laid, thereon eight in family slept, as the climate 
 is such that thick covering was useless, we fared well. But oh ! the suf- 
 fering I saw there, never can be realized again. Men dying in roads, 
 every day the Ox Cart would hail at your door enquiring if any person 
 dead was lodged within who wished to be buried. Once a Lady in com- 
 pany with Self were walking towards the Lake, to see if we could see 
 anything of the Steamer (as the suspense we were in was terrible, not 
 knowing, what had become of the besieged, no communication between 
 us) we saw a poor fellow lying on the ground in a dying state, lying 
 in mud. — We went to him bathed his face and hands, and rubbed his 
 throat with oil, to relieve his breathing, and placed him in a comfortable 
 position, laying as he was on the ground. When as we concluded to 
 proceed on our walk, he grasped our dresses and made signs to feel 
 his pocket, but we felt a delicacy in so doing, and remained with him a 
 
 ^^Charles Frederick Henningsen, whom Walker charged with the destruction of 
 Granada after its abandonment, was a soldier of fortune of world renown. A natiye 
 of England, he had served under Don Carlos in Spain, in the Russian army in 
 Circassia, and had gone to Hungary to aid that country in its struggle for inde- 
 pendence; but finding the Hungarian cause already lost, he followed Kossuth to 
 America and later joined Walker in Nicaragua. He attained the rank of brigadier- 
 general in the Confederate army during the Civil War. Literature as well as military 
 matters engaged his attention, and he has left several volumes of travel and reminis- 
 cences which have substantial value. 
 
 "The actual number was twenty-seven. 
 
 i°The narrator has here confused two different events. The man who swam to the 
 steamer was a young Hawaiian called "Kanaka John," who carried Walker a message in 
 a bottle from Henningsen, and was not one of the besieged party on the wharf. One of 
 the latter did escape, deserting to the enemy and showing them a way by which his 
 former comrades might be attacked from the rear and exterminated. Me was a 
 Venezuelan named Tejada, whom Walker had found in chains and set free when he 
 entered Granada a year before. The filibuster's kindness was thus repaid with 
 treachery. 
 
 "Ometepec. 
 
320 TENNESSEE HISTORICAL MAGAZINE 
 
 few minutes longer, when we started, and in less than a half hour after 
 he was dead, he was searched as is the rule, and in his pocket was $75> 
 and letters to his wife, which I suppose he meant for us to take, so as it 
 should not fall in the hands of those Robbers — as the officers under Genl 
 W. was nothing else. Death had become so familiar, to me, that I could 
 have no pleasure then to assist the dying, and to help bury the Dead — ■ 
 It is so pleasant to know you have cheered or been of assistance to some 
 poor unfortunate, it has paid me often for my lon[e]liness and misery, to 
 think I have done some one good. The same evening or rather the 
 next morning at three o'clock, the alarm near the church was given that 
 the enemy were coming, as we were situated living between the Square 
 and the Lake, we could not make our way to the garrison, therefore 
 rushing from our beds — and catching what we could, we ran to the Lake, 
 this German Lady and family, went also. When we reached there, there 
 was a Barge filled with half full of water, but we all tumbled in pell-mell 
 — above our waists in water, when the men had to bail it out with their 
 hats and us Ladys assisted with our shoes — , there were a considerable 
 numbers of others, one who happened to be officer he took command, 
 there we were till day light broke, our anxiety being great about those 
 who had been left there, also the dying. When it was day light we dis- 
 covered the Steamer which then appeared as a speck on the horizon, until 
 it gradually came in sight. The Genl was on his way to see the prospect 
 of assisting the besieged, and mistook us for a party of the enemy, and 
 had we not hoisted a shirt as a flag of truce, we would have been fired 
 into and perhaps sunk to the bottom of the Lake. When the Genl saw 
 our flag of truce he bore down to us — and had us all to come aboard and 
 have refreshments, whilst he sent a Company of his men ashore to see 
 if the danger was over, they returned, and said the enemy had retreated, 
 and then he sent us ashore again but with the hope that he was going 
 to liberate us in thirty-six hours, how anxiously did we all wait and look 
 for the time to roll around. At about 24 hours afterwards we heard the 
 shrill whistle of the Steamer. What joy, what hope, to each and all, at 
 last about ten o'clock, at night the word was given that all was aboard, 
 when the Steamer pulled up her Anchor and left, about ten minutes after 
 our sailing, we observed the heavens glaring in a light, which was caused 
 from all the baggage of the poor sufferers — being set on fire on the bank 
 of lake Nicaragua, those who had saved some little from the fire of 
 Granada was all now destroyed. 
 
 The order from Genl W. was for all to be brought to San Jorge or 
 George, then his headquarters, when we had just anchored, the Steamer 
 San Carlos, hove in sight, and a short time after, she dropped her anchor, 
 she had aboard about 150 men, recruits from N. G. N. O. and California, 
 w'hich Genl. W. embarked on board the Steamer La Virgin, and at ten 
 o'clock at night on the 15 of Dec 1856," he went to raise the siege of 
 Granada, and succeeded. I have heard from those who were so unfortu- 
 nate to be there, that after Gen. W. fired on the Enemy, and made them 
 beat a retreat, that the thanks, the joy which was expressed on each 
 countenance paid them for their trouble, and anxiety. Some died imme- 
 diately from eating so much, after living about 15 days on a small bit of 
 mule meat, without salt, without bread, they indulged too freely. Some 
 of the men, when liquor, tobacco, cigars gave out, lived on opium, till it 
 killed them." The greatest sight of misery of poverty was seen the 
 morning when all came to San George. Mothers eagerly asking of some 
 friend if her son was dead or living, with hope that he might be one of 
 
 "The correct date is December 11. 
 
 ^^During the siege" of seventeen days 120 of those left in the city died of disease, 
 134 were killed or wounded, two were captured, and forty deserted, bringing the 
 total loss to 286 and leaving only 135 whole survivors. Many of these succumbed 
 later as a result of their trying experiences. 
 
WITH WALKER IN NICARAGUA 321 
 
 the few saved, and still fearful to hear the truth. Wives, and sisters 
 inquiring also, with the same feeling of hope and fear. When I saw my 
 Brother in Law I did not know him, he was so emaciated, at last the 
 disease which he had contracted in the siege, terminated fatally on the 6 
 of April 1857, the very anniversary which we had left Iowa the year be- 
 fore. Therefore in the short space of 9 months I had seen three of the 
 [«V] my family buried, all of my property, and health, clothes and every- 
 thing gone, never to be recovered, as I then thought, not knowing what 
 was to be my fate. 
 
 On the 20 of Dec. the cry was that the Barricades in Rivas (a city 
 built three miles inland from San Jorge) were so very high, that the 
 whole town was surrounded by a walls of barricades.^'* Genl. W. sent 
 out detached companys to see if there was really any danger if the enemy 
 was there according ta( report, when about the 226. he gave orders for all 
 to march to Rivas, which was to be his headquarters, for the present 
 time ; — Miles and my Brother in law and self all were sick, but we con- 
 trived to get to Rivas as well as we knew how. Mr. Tarbox rode on a 
 Government wagon, and I walked the short distance of three miles which 
 appeared to me the distance of 12 miles. 
 
 We fared extremely well for the entire first two months There was 
 constant attacks from the enemy, and false alarm.s, when at the dead 
 hour of night we were forced to leave home and go to the strongest 
 citadel or fortress, sometimes with nothing, sometimes perhaps, without 
 shoes or stockings. I at last resorted to tliisi plan, which was not to un- 
 dress, for near four months I did not know what it was to sleep un- 
 dressed; — On the first of Feb.^" W. marched on the enemy, who had 
 taken possession of San George. Three hundred of the enemy were 
 killed, and only ten killed and wounded on our side, he gave them two 
 other attacks, the last one on the 26 of March," on the 20 he was sur- 
 rounded by them, so confined were we, that we could not even get plan- 
 tains, our bread, which is of the same family as Bananas, except a great 
 deal larger, that being the "pan del Pais" or bread of the country. Genl 
 W, used it also, as his bread, on the 25 of March^^ we commenced eating 
 mule meat — Coincident to this we were anxiously awaiting the arrival 
 of Col Lockridge, with forces — ^but he, the black hearted villain, sold us, 
 for the paltry sum of [ Y^ Reports every day was spread, about his 
 
 coming, untill we had no hope ; and was awaiting with Christian sub- 
 mission, our fate. We never knew till after the "Capitulation" what had 
 become of himj, which was this.^ He had started up the River on one of 
 
 "Rivas was a small town with thick-walled adobe houses, and had been barricaded 
 and used as a fortress by the Costa Ricans in their invasion during the spring of 1856. 
 
 2<>The correct date is February, 4. 
 
 2iThe correct date is March 16. 
 
 ^^Other accounts give this date as March 27. At first mules were slaughtered at 
 nifht and their meat mixed with that of a few beeves, so that the men for a short 
 time did not suspect their change in diet. 
 
 -^The sum is not given. 
 
 ^''Colonel S. A. Lockridge, of Kentucky, whom the narrator castigates so severely, 
 had been in charge of recruiting for Walker in Texas and the Middle West, and late 
 in 1856 he had gone to Nicaragua with nearly 300 recruits for Walker's service. On 
 landing at Grey town he discovered that the steamers on the San Juan River and on 
 Lake Nicaragua, which were the sole means of reaching Walker in the interior, had 
 fallen into the hands of the Costa Ricans. He succeeded in recapturing several of the 
 steamers, but was unable to force his way past Castillo Viejo, a fort on the river 
 in the hands of the enemy, and returned to Greytown. On the return trip the boiler 
 of the steamer Scott exploded, killing and injuring a number of officers and men. 
 Fortunately, the accident occurred while the steamer was moored to the bank, and 
 most of the men were ashore. The narrator's statement that "all were killed imme- 
 diately or died shortly after" is incorrect. Among those who escaped was Walker's 
 brother Norvell. Two of the officers who were iniured by the explosion have left 
 accounts of this episode, and no one associated with Lockridge accused him of 
 treachery, as does the author of this narrative. See the story of Marcellus French in 
 Overland Monthly, n. s., XXL, 517-23; and of Charles W. Doubleday in his Remin- 
 iscences of the "Filibuster" War in Nicaragua (New York, 1886). 
 
322 TENNESSEE HISTORICAL MAGAZINE 
 
 the little Steamers but sold us to the enemy, in this wise, he placed gun- 
 powder in the wood to be used as firewood, and of course the poor fire- 
 men, who worked their own death, did not know it, he and others who 
 were his accomplices, did not go aboard. O ! no, their good for nothing 
 carcass, was to[o] good to be blowed up with their victims. All were 
 killed immediately or died a short time after. Genl W. was so anxiously- 
 waiting for their assistance, to relieve us, from our unpleasant position, 
 but his hopes were placed, in a man who was every way unworthy of the 
 confidence of such a man as- the "eagle eyed man of destiny." 'The siege 
 of Rivas was protracted from the 20 of March till the 25 of April, when 
 hostilities were suspended, during that time they fired 200 cannon balls, 
 each one weighing 24 lbs. Only three of our men were killed. About 
 the 8 of April, myself, in company with two other Ladys, and my Brother 
 (as my Brother in law had died on the 6th) were sitting near our front 
 door, very busily engaged in a conversation, when each one of us and 
 all were surprised to notice something Hke a flash of lightning directly 
 opposite to us, but before either could speak the Ball struck the pavemend 
 [sici and rebounded, took off half of a very large door, broke the back of a 
 chair in which a Lady was sitting, broke open a trunk scattered the con- 
 tents in the air, and then disappeared in a wall. All which transpired 
 in one second, or quick as thought. A Spanish Lady who was present 
 said "O ! Dios mitunieo."'' I was knocked on the floor in a kneeling posi- 
 tion. You could not have told who or what color we had ever been. 
 About the 15, I was cooking our supper about 5 oclock in the evening, 
 when a ball came within three feet of my feet, in a place which I had 
 stood a moment before, the fire was put out, all was completely covered 
 with dirt as the houses are adobe, a kind of brick, made of straw and mud 
 mixed and then well baked in the sun, each one is about 3 feet long by 
 two wide, of course when it has been used for such a length of time, it 
 becomes very dry. 
 
 Genl W. expected, that on the nth of April that we would have a 
 serious attack, as it was their feast day, and they claimed a victory 
 gained by them over us on the nth preceding,^" and of course they were 
 sure of conquering, every one was expecting it, when about 3 oclock in 
 the morning, a signal from them was fired, when we were to be attacked 
 on all sides, which if done would have compelled our few men to have 
 yielded, (but as the American people, knows not the meaning of that 
 word) owing to some misunderstanding we were attacked from only 
 one point : — 300 of the Costa Ricans, entered the Square, took possession, 
 of a building in which there was two lonely females who had been left 
 widows about three months, one of the Ladys had two children, they 
 broke open the door, and entered whether or no. Some said she had 
 written to them, to come and gave her place as a place of rendezvous. 
 Genl. W. sent them word the day before, to leave that house, as he ex- 
 pected they would enter, PERHAPS, that building, her obstinancy in 
 remain remaining lsic'\ gave room for persons to blame her. 
 
 7 men were all that was defending or in the building. Genl W. had 
 the cannon of 6 lb. balls placed directly opposite the house when some 
 one of his officers remarked, that it was dangerous for the lives of the 
 two Ladys, he replied, "Shall I endanger the lives of all of my men 
 for the obstinacy of two women," No! He gave orders for a constant 
 firing to be kept up, when our skirts came in requisition again as wadding 
 for the cannon which we freely gave. Genl. had a few men only assisting 
 
 ^'Possibly "Dios mc twnibo" — "God has knocked me down;" or "Dios me tenga" — 
 "God protect me." 
 
 ^''This is a reference to the so-called first battle of Rivas of April ii, 1856. The 
 result of this engagement was indecisive, but both sides claimed a victory. 
 
WITH WALKER IN NICARAGUA 323 
 
 him ill the cannonade, about 12 men. We at that time were at the Genl 
 house for protection. We crawled along under the eves of the houses for 
 ;fea£r we should be seen, were in ear shot of the cannon, one of the 
 Ladys in the house was wounded in the foot, the Dr. neglected to 
 amputate immediately, and when he did, it caused her death, which 
 was 13 of April. About 9 oclock the firing ceased. Genl had taken 
 100 prisoners, and 3 officers : — and had sent 30 wounded ones to 
 'heir camp, as he offered first, if they would exchange cattle for the 
 prisoners, allowing ten head for each officer and one head for each 
 man, he did not have sufficient food to feed his own men. (They 
 would not ransom their prisoners) much less waste on these wounded. 
 The wells in Rivas were filled with their dead bodies so much so, 
 we feared to drink the waters. 
 
 The enemy constantly kept up firing their missiles _ of death and 
 we had always to send a armed force to the plantain patches for 
 protection to those, who went to bring the Plantains but after while 
 they became to be attacked so frequently that it was even dangerous 
 for them to go for our bread. 
 
 On the evening of the 26 of April, there was a dead silence reigning 
 around everything, when we saw a native enter with a flag of truce, pro- 
 ceed on to the Genl. quarters a few moments after we saw him return, and 
 in about half a hour after St Hustin"' of the U. S. Brig. St Mary^_ came in 
 to see if the Gen would give permission for the Ladies and children to 
 go to San Juan del Sur, to be under the protection of our flag. Cap 
 Davis^ had heard that W was going to leave Rivas with his few well men, 
 and the women children and sick men would get out the best way pos- 
 sible. I firmly believe that this report was basely false. Capt D. knew 
 the character of these savages, and thought if such is the case I vrili 
 provide for the helpless. Genl W. gave his consent, and about sundovra 
 there was an order issued, for us all to be ready, by nine oclock the fol- 
 lowing evening, to leave for San Juan. Some were willing to leave and 
 others did not wish to go, I for one. I had seen all go, and I felt as if I 
 wanted to remain with my brother but that was contrary to order, and 
 if permitted for one would be looked for for others. At first the word 
 was that we all had to walk to San Juan a distance of about 21 miles, 
 I left as much I could in the clothes line, and what I thought would 
 be absolutely necessary and no more When at last we got to the enemys 
 camp, we heard the proyision was made. Some of us had to ride over 
 others went in a wagon, as there were so many that we had to take it 
 by turns, to the village of St. George a distance of three miles, there to 
 wait till morning and all go, together, in two very large wagons — The 
 firing had ceased for 36 hours, or from the time St H^ entered the city 
 until we left the camp. To see those people enjoying everything in the 
 line of victuals and luxuries, such as tobacco, cigars and liquor made 
 me feel so bad to think that our race was absolutely starving, and were 
 almost crazed, for the loss of tobacco and this race of Mestigs or negroes 
 to be enjoying these pleasures it made me feel indignant, And they ex- 
 ercised so much inquisitiveness to find out W's real position, but we all 
 were political we told them, in such a manner as to make them clasp their 
 hands, and make sign of the cross, a mark of utter astonishment and 
 wonder When at last we arrived in San Juan,^^ we all were rejoiced, and 
 
 2'Lt. [Lieutenant] Huston. 
 
 285t Mary's. 
 
 ^Commander Charles H. Davis had arrived at San Juan del Sur in the United 
 States sloop-of-war i'f. Mary's early in February, 1857, with instructions ot safe- 
 guard American citizens and property during the disturbances in Nicaragua. 
 
 aoLt. [Lieutenant]. 
 
 ^iSan Juan del Sur, on the Pacific, should not be confused with the Atlantic 
 port of San Juan del Norte, also called Greytown. 
 
324 TENNESSEE HISTORICAL MAGAZINE 
 
 but one thing marred our pleasure, to know that our relations and 
 friends were constantly in danger. Capt Davis sent us many little nicities 
 from his ship, which he was aware the'^ we had not enjoyed in some 
 time: — He also held divine worship and invited all the Ladies, to join 
 him, after the refreshments were set out for us all to regale, which I 
 assure you we did. . . .^^ Excursions on the Pacific, he had us all to 
 join, to try to divert us from melancholy thoughts. When at last he^* 
 was induced to go to Rivas, to capitulate,''^ he went I believe, instigated by 
 Charity and good feeling to his countrymen; he went on the ist of May, 
 he effected what he wanted, establish peace he did not but he effected 
 what he wanted, which was to save Genl W. and to cause hostilities to 
 subside ! — But be it understood, that the conditions of the treaty he made 
 to suit himself, which was that all Americans, who looked for protection 
 from Genl W. be sent home to some port in the U. S. He himself^ 
 chose i6 of his men, who he wished to have with him on board of the 
 St. Mary's.^^ This showed the real disposition of Genl W. when he 
 would not accept the treaty, till all and each had been provided for. 
 Some blame him for selfishness but tell me is there ought of self in this? 
 
 As I said before we all had heard of the treaty, but we heard con- 
 flicting rumors, when at last on the ist of May about 8 oclock in the 
 evening, we heard it whispered that they'^ had passed the bridge, about 
 a quarter of a mile from town we all congregated on the balconies of the 
 Hotel to see if we could recognize any of our relations : — As they came 
 galloping up to the Hotel. When Gen. W and Capt Davis alighted and 
 entered the Consuls office, at the same time,''" they fired a signal for the 
 Cap's gig to be sent over to take himself and the Gen abroad the Brig, 
 as the ofificers could go in the small boat, of the Boats crew : — It was 
 done more as a mark of respect to the then President of Nicaragua 
 When all last word was brought that, Capt Davis desired Gen W to 
 fix upon some day to leave, the Gen declined doing so, then it suited all 
 for him_ to leave on the 8th of May, just two years to the day*" that he 
 left California with 56 followers to help a race of people, whose charac- 
 teristics are deceit, jealousy, ingratitude, to have seen all most adoration 
 given to Gen W. by thesei people, it is all most impossible to believe that 
 they are the same who tried to expel him and those who followed in his 
 footsteps, nevertheless, it is true. 
 
 When at last the ship drew in her anchor at 7 oclock at night, every 
 sail was expanded, and seemed like a messenger bird with her wings 
 open to the breeze, when the farewell cannon shot, came across the water, 
 then it was we began to realize that, all hope was gone, that it was true 
 that Genl W was going to leave us, we who had joined our fortunes to 
 his, for better or for worse, was with him in prosperity, and suffered 
 with him in adversity. Some of us watched, until the ship was lost to 
 sight and then, and not till then, did we ask the question What is to be- 
 
 s^That. 
 
 '^The indication of an omission is in the copy. 
 
 ^*Davis. 
 
 s^That is. to persuade Walker to capitulate, not to the natives but to Com- 
 mander Davis. 
 
 3«Walker. 
 
 s'By the terms of capitulation Walker was allowed to choose sixteen of his offi- 
 cers to accompany him aboard the St. Mary's and proceed to Panama, while the rest 
 of his men were to be taken to Panama by another route, accompanied by a United 
 States officer. Unlike the author of this narrative, Walker's men did not regard 
 his care for his officers as an indication of unselfishness, and his rank and file 
 bitterly resented his leaving them behind. 
 
 ^^Walker and his sixteen officers. 
 
 ^°The narrator is again in error as to details. Davis did not accompany Walker to 
 San Juan del Sur, but arrived there the following day. 
 
 ^"Walker left San Francisco for Nicaragua on May 4, 1855. The statement that 
 he left Nicaragua on the anniversary of his sailing from the United States to this 
 country is therefore incorrect. 
 
WITH WALKER IN NICARAGUA 325 
 
 come of us? We asked of several officers before we could get any an- 
 swer, at last we asked the Consul, he replied that we all were going to 
 Virgin Bay on the loth, to embark on the Steamer to proceed thence to 
 Greytown, where we all would embark, to proceed to N. Y. he said I am 
 not certain but I think that is the arrangements. All passed as usual 
 until Sunday the gth inst when we received a order to be ready the next 
 morning at 9 oclock to leave for HOME What joy, what a disapoint- 
 ment to many. I forgot to say that my Brother had arrived in San Juan, 
 a day or two previous, to our Genl leaving, all the soldiers who were 
 able to walk was marched from Rivas to Virgin Bay and from there 
 to Punta Arenas in Costa Rica, but my Brother told St" McCorckle the 
 I Lt of the St Mary, that he had a sister in San Juan, then he received 
 a permit to proceed to San Juan to join me.'" On Monday the nth of 
 May we all arose an hour earlier, to prepare for the journey. Chess 
 our slave, I could not find no where I looked every where that I thought 
 it possible he might be in; even sent aboard a small schooner, which was 
 expecting to leave for Panama, I suspicioned that he wanted leave, his 
 owner, who is my Brother. All [sic'] last I gave it up, at nine oclock we 
 all left for Virgin Bay : — Seeing a acquaintance at her door I beckoned to 
 her, and requested if she saw Chess to send him to me the following day 
 as an officer and his Lady were coming over 
 
 We reached Virgin Bay at 8 oclock that night, a distance of only 12 
 miles : — but the natives who were the drivers drove slow, to annoy us. 
 Tired and jaded almost to death I proceeded to Mrs. Walsh's an English 
 Lady, with whom I was acquainted in Grenada. _ She offered me a place 
 to lodge, and refreshments, during my stay which I thought would be 
 no longer, than the Steamer, could come down to take us to Greytown : — 
 which would be at the farthest on ihe 13th. After I had retired, a courier 
 arrived, from the Governor of San Juan, writing to me an order declar- 
 ing if I took that boy Chess, out of Nicaragua, I should suffer according 
 to military law. 
 
 W,hat could I do? it was all we had to fall back on. Some advised 
 me to go on, that they the remaining FiUbusters would see me through. 
 I was timid, and I knew if I did so 1 would not receive the protection 
 of my government, I am sor[r]y I did not do so. When the boy made his 
 appearance, with the officer, I was almost sorry, for I had given up the 
 hope of seeing him again, and was willing to see him suffer for his in- 
 gratitude. Others told me ere three months rolled past Walker would 
 return, and advised me to remain, and keep a eye on him." there all 
 my hopes of coming home were blasted ! I consulted with Mrs. Walsh. 
 She advised do as I thought best, if I staid her house was my home; if 
 I thought it best to leave of course I knew best; I concluded to remain 
 any way two or three months, to see if Walker did return. The Steamer 
 came and all left but my brother and self." We remained with Mrs. 
 Walsh. My brother doing what he could, and I also in the same capacity 
 doing her sewing and mending, for my board, and fortunate were we to 
 get this ; this I knew, and tried every way in my power to make myself 
 agreeable and I suffered many slights, at first from her daughter in law. 
 and her child, a Boy about 4 years; Mrs. W grand child, her only son's 
 
 «Lt. [Lieutenant]. , ^ ,, . , 
 
 <=After Walker and his sixteen officers boarded the St. Mary s they were taken 
 to Panama. The rest of his men were also sent there on another vessel. The 
 women, children, sick and wounded, however, were sent to Greytown. This arrange- 
 ment would have separated Miss Callahan from her brother, if he had not secured 
 the special permit here referred to. 
 
 *3The negro Chess. , ^ ^ , . , 
 
 *^There were thirteen women and five children who left for Greytown along with 
 
 the disabled combatants. The total number leaving was 142. From this port they 
 
 were taken to Aspinwall, and from there to New York on the United States frigate 
 
 Wabash. 
 
326 TENNESSEE HISTORICAL MAGAZINE 
 
 child, who had died in the a.d. 1854; but Mrs. Walsh was a perfect 
 Lady and christian. We lived there together, as one family, till August, 
 when as Mrs Walsh had a great quantity of dry goods, that she could not 
 sell, in Virgin Bay, and she thought she would do well to send her 
 daughter to San Jorge, a village about 9 miles from Virgin, accessible, 
 either by water or land, as it was situated on the Lake. She asked me 
 if I would go in Company to mitigate the lonesomeness of her feeUngs, 
 I consented to go also my brother. 
 
 I could not at that time speak a single word in Spanish, so I thought 
 too, I would have a fine chance of learning to speak the language, not 
 hearing nothing else, it was unavoidable. After I arrived in San Jorge 
 I was prevailed upon to take a class in EngHsh but you might as well 
 have tried to teach a brickbats as those numbskulls — besides being very 
 illiterate they are suspicious they wished to learn English in one month, 
 to write and to speak it fluently in the course of one month, they there- 
 fore cheated me out of my small pay : — and I had become so disgusted 
 with them, I was glad to play quits. 
 
 In the meantime, I had procured for my brother a situation on board 
 of one of the Lake Steamers as Steward to the Captain with the expec- 
 tation of a small pay. I thought it best to keep his mind and hands em- 
 ployed even at no pay, than to be idle, as "idleness is the mother of all 
 evil." He went aboard the Steamer 1st of September, the Steamer made 
 two or three trips to San Jorge afterwards, but toward the latter end 
 of October war broke out between Costa Rica and Nicaragua and all 
 communication was broke up between V. and San Juan del Norte, the 
 Steamer in which Miles was, was taken by the Costa Ricans, and of 
 course not permitted to return to her running ports.*' Therefore no 
 words can express the suspense my mind was undergoing at that time. 
 I thought of my brother only as one among the dead ; my own situation 
 was sufficiently unhappy; without having this miserable pain; not being 
 able to express myself sufficient to be understood in Spanish ; my actions 
 and words were misinterpreted, which led to harsh, feelings, I became 
 convinced the only remedy for this was to learn the language, I there- 
 fore commenced and in one months time I understood, and could con- 
 verse pretty well, from which I derived much pleasure, still I continued 
 to improve myself. On the morning of the 18 of Dec. 1857 we heard 
 that Gen. Walker himself was at Greytown,** that his men had come up 
 the River and taken possession of the fort Castillo, as well as the Steamer 
 Virgin (in which was my brother) Fort Castillo is renowned in history 
 as being the ground on which Lord Nelson once fought, it is situated 
 on a high hill, with a commanding view of many miles up and down the 
 River, at the time of the English War This fort was inhabitated by a 
 party of monks and nuns, who on seeing that the fort was taken rushed 
 to the subterrean \^sic'\ vaults, whereupon the English closed the entrance, 
 and there the poor wretches starved to death. 
 
 42 Americans with the gallant Col. Frank Anderson" took possession 
 
 ^''The war between Costa Rica and Nicaragua here referred to was largely one of 
 paper and ink. The boundary between the two countries had long been a matter of 
 dispute, and after Walker's withdrawal Costa Rica deemed the time opportune to make 
 good her claims, as Nicaragua was exhausted and was also under obligations to 
 Costa Rica for its aid in expelling the filibusters. Rumors of Walker's impending 
 return caused the two republics quickly to bury the hatchet and make common cause 
 against the dreaded HUhustero. 
 
 "After eluding the vigilance of the Federal authorities at Mobile, Walker had 
 landed at Greytown on November 24 with about 270 followers. 
 
 "Colonel Frank Anderson, of New York, had served with Walker throughout his 
 first campaign, and was one of the filibuster's most trusted officers. Before Walker 
 could reach the interior of Nicaragua it was necessary to recapture the river and lake 
 steamers, which were still in the hands of the Costa Ricans. Anderson was placed in 
 command of a picked company and was charged with this undertaking. He met with 
 success, but Walker and his followers were arrested by Commodore Hiram Paulding, 
 of the United States navy, before the steamers were brought down the river to Grey- 
 town. 
 
WITH WALKER IN NICARAGUA 327 
 
 of the fort, without a firing of a gun When this news was received at 
 Rivas, the city about 3 miles from San Jorge the Governor issued a de- 
 cree that all Americans male and female should present themselves to 
 the government at Rivas, within 3 days and if they did not do so they 
 could be dealt with accord [«V] to military law. I thought it best 
 to go, to avoid any unnecessary trouble. When I presented myself to 
 the Gov he gave me a receipt, stating that I had presented myself there- 
 fore was not liable to the law, from the effects of that walk I took a 
 fever, and my feet was so badly blistered, as to unable meto walk 4 or 
 five days : — Vyhen I returned from Rivas there was a courier in the vil- 
 lage who had just arrived stating that Walker was taken prisoner by the 
 U. S. What a death blow to all our hopes and expectation we were 
 anxiously expecting his arrival, then to hear this, was too much for poor 
 humanity to stand. When Genl Walker arrived at Greytown he sent a 
 party to take the Steamer Virgian** and to treat all on board as prison- 
 ers, he expecting to find deserters he wished to make them suffer for their 
 inconstancy, therefore my Brother being as he was on board was taken 
 prisoner, and marched to Greytown where he was released as soon as 
 they saw who he was. 
 
 It seems that about this time Commodore Paulding interfered to pre- 
 vent Gen W. from landing. When he, the Gen, threw up barricades and 
 would have given battle, when on consideration he thought it _ best to 
 surrender. What a death blow to all Americans, when on hearing that 
 he was in the country everybody, was so dehghted, and had commenced 
 to raise many air castles, when they were completely overthrown by the 
 news that Gen W. had surrendered his title and claim, to Commodore 
 Paulding, what a downfall to all of our hopes.** 
 
 A merchant of Rivas called on me about the 18 of Jan. and told me 
 he was going to Greytown, and if I had any commands for that place. 
 I told him I had but one, which was if he saw my brother (or heard 
 anything of him to let me know) to bring him up, and he would be set- 
 tled with afterwards : — As there had been nothing like communication be- 
 tween St. George and Greytown, I had not heard anything of my Brother 
 since the October in the year preceding, and therefore when Mr. Canton 
 was ready to start home ward, he had not that facility of Telegraphing 
 or the speedy messenger by Rail Road, therefore I knew not if Miles 
 was coming to me, or if he had died, or perhaps had joined Walker to 
 return home, the thought was painful, agonizing, in the extreme, that per- 
 haps, he had left me alone, On the 5 of Feb 1858 I had concluded that I 
 must die, I had such a spell of sickness. Mrs. Walsh's daughter in law 
 had left St. George to proceed to Virgin Bay, on act. of her child being 
 so sick and consequently I was left in charge of everything until her re- 
 turn. When I was reclining on the couch such thought came in my 
 mind ; how sweet to die among kindred, to feel, and to know, that kind 
 friends will perform the last sad duties towards a beloved friend that 
 we will be missed from the fireside, from the table, and in every capacity, 
 to know they will remember us with affection, with kindness. In my 
 belief this knowledge will soothe the dying, but on the contrary to know 
 there is not one who would shed affections tears at your loss, or to per- 
 form those duties, which I regard sacred, such as putting away the dead, 
 so sacred were they, that I performed them frequently in regard to my 
 friends, them that I knew in other days or other climes, and when it 
 
 ^Virgin. 
 
 *^The author is wrong in stating that Walker threw up barricades and thought of 
 resisting the American commander. Three war vessels had trained their broadsides 
 on his camp, and he told his men that resistance would be the height of folly. It 
 is well to note that this demonstration of force by the American navy was made in 
 the port of a friendly foreign nation and therefore a technical violation of interna- 
 tional law. The government of Nicaragua, however, instead of complaining, officially 
 extended it thanks to Commodore Paulding for this forcible removal of an invader. 
 
328 TENNESSEE HISTORICAL MAGAZINE 
 
 feel [sicj to my lot to lose my sister and her child, (I had never but 
 once before witnessed death, that was many years before when my dear 
 Father was called home) then there was no willing hand to lend a aid 
 to assist the poor ignorant sister to perform those heart rendering serv- 
 ices, No all were afraid to come near the house on act of her dying 
 with cholera. I alone [had] done what I now have not the nerve to do; 
 the same with her child, and then I made it a point whenever I heard 
 of one of my own sex being sick or dying I always visited them to try 
 to relieve their wants for I felt I knew not how soon that this sad 
 ceremony would have to be performed for me and I would do to others 
 what I would wish they would do to me. As these thoughts passed 
 through my mind ; I heard some one call me at the front door, but being 
 so weak I made no attempts to answer the call, When again I was called 
 and told that my Brother was coming up the street, I was so astonished 
 at this I knew not what to think, as I had no intimation of his coming. 
 I started to proceed to the door when he came in, the excitement, the 
 joy, of seeing him kept be buoyed up, I felt weak, but not in a dying con- 
 dition as before, he remained with me full twenty four hours and then 
 proceeded to Virgin Bay to see Mrs. Walsh. Mrs. Walsh had always 
 been the mother, therefore he felt it a duty to see her as soon as possible, 
 a few days afterwards Don Anselmo Rivas was there on a business 
 visit, he proposed to Mrs. Walsh to take some child to learn them the 
 printing business, and to raise said child as his own, Mrs. W. told him 
 of a widowed Lady who had one, only, and she thought it would be 
 charity to take the child from its mother as she was so destitute as not 
 to have hardly the means of living, during the conversation my Brother 
 was present and Mrs Walsh proposed that if he v^as willing, and Mr 
 Rivas, that it would be an advantage to him, and until he learnt the busi- 
 ness he was to assist Mr. Rivas in teaching his junior class in English, 
 as at that time he had a fine school teaching English, French, and Span- 
 ish. When Mrs. Walsh wrote to me advising with me, I was truly glad 
 that there was something in which Miles could employ his time, as he 
 was so desponding, so thoughtful as to spend hours, after hours wrapt in 
 thought so contrary to his nature, about the 14th of March he left Virgin 
 Bay for Grenada, passing through St George to bid me Good Bye : — he 
 remained in Grenada about 14 months, and from there Mr Rivas estab- 
 lished a printing office in Managua, (the capital) to publish the Govern- 
 ment documents, My Brother being the best hand he had about him of 
 course he had to move with the office, he remained there up to the time 
 of our coming home. After his leaving St George, I had a spell of 
 sickness. When Mrs Walsh sent for me to come to Virgin Bay to change 
 the air when I proceeded to Virgin Bay I embarked in a canoe, knowing 
 if the wind was favorable I could reach there in two hours. We had 
 not proceeded far when a terrible wind blew up with rain, which is con- 
 sidered very dangerous,"" we were then a mile from the coast, and it 
 would be a hard pull to pull upon the coast but the wind favored us, and 
 almost dashed us to pieces on the rocks, when by skilful management we 
 landed I was wet to the skin. No house in four miles of us. So there- 
 fore I contented myself in drying "slowly but surely" I expected the rain 
 and wind would have subsided in a few hours the rain lasted about two 
 hours, but the wind there was no hope, for two days and two nights it 
 was excruating \_sic'\ to hear the wind whistle throng the water, and our 
 place of refuge was a shed by the wayside, which had once been a house, but 
 the walls had moldered with time, the place on which I laid for a bed, 
 was a stationary table about three feet long and the same width, had noth- 
 ing to eat for one whole day, and the second day Plantains and Beef 
 
 ""Lake Nicaragua is subject to sudden and very severe wind storms, and is 
 regarded as a very dangerous body for navigation by small boats. 
 
 /\ 
 
WITH WALKER IN NICARAGUA 329 
 
 boiled together, on the second morning at 4 oclock I was aroused by the 
 Captain telHng me to get ready that the wind was favorable : — and with 
 joy I made my preparations and at once embarked, again on the lake: — 
 I reached Virgin Bay at 7 o'clock much to the joy of Mrs. Walsh, who had 
 heard of my coming, and of my unfortunate trip, she was making prepara- 
 tions to send a horse for me, such were her kind feelings to me. I re- 
 mained in Virgin Bay from the 24th of July till the 24 of June of the 
 following year. Nothing particularly transpired, Mrs. Walsh would re- 
 main in her home in Virgin Bay a short time, and then visit her store in 
 St George, her time was divided, between the two places when she was 
 with me, it was very pleasant, and then when she would leave me, I would 
 feel so lonesome, when I had become weaned from her society, she would 
 return, and then I would miss her company doubly. However being so 
 entirely alone with only a servant I employed my time in reading, and 
 raising flowers, which employment I advise, I consider them types of 
 the human character and disposition, placed here by an All Wise Creator, 
 who it seems study, to please and gratify his creatures, and we are so 
 ungrateful, as to rebel against him, if misfortunes crowd upon us, such 
 as the death of a friend, loss of property or sickness. Oh talk of your 
 ingratitude to an earthly parent; but do you ever think of your ingrati- 
 tude, to your Almighty : I answer for you No, you do not. In Dec we 
 heard that Gen W had left New Orleans, with his forces, and then was 
 on his way to Nic We were hopeful, but alas, our hope was drowned 
 to disappointment In Jan 1859, the news was confirmed, that Col Frank 
 Anderson and his gallant band were taken by some British vessel oflf the 
 Balize and brought home:'*^ — we were truly rejoiced that "Uncle Billy"" -■ 
 was not with them, I shall now give a description of the country. The 
 climate is very mild, and with comfort you can sleep under a blanket. 
 There is only two seasons, the wet and the dry, the wet season resembling 
 our winter and the dry our summer. The winter or wet season, com- 
 mences the latter part of April or the i of May, continues till November, 
 when the Summer sets in and last[s] till April or May. Vegatison 
 [j'ic] is so very Rank, that is is almost impossible to keep the weeds from 
 growing in your doors, the soil is very grateful, anything you plant will 
 soon come to perfection The fruits adapted to the climate are oranges, 
 lemons, pine apple, cocoa nut, papaya, Nispero, mamya, Zapota, Banana 
 and various others, too numerous to mention, which at first all foreign- 
 ers indulge in, but soon do we long for our home fruits, such as apples, 
 peaches and pears The cause of so many of Walkers men dying, when 
 they first landed there was too frequent use of Aguadiente (or the native 
 Liquor) and these various fruits, if you place a Banana in a glass of 
 rum, the rum will turn like ink, and of course, that in the human system, 
 is perfect poison. It is the Garden of the world, if only in the hands 
 of an enlightened race, or a race who could and would appreciate the 
 advantages of their country. You can seldom find a pure Castilian, as 
 they are a people mixed with the Spanish, the Indian and negro : — Their 
 costumes and habits dates back coincident to the flood. The jars they 
 use for carrying water, are the same, which we see in representation of 
 the ancients carrying water on their heads in the Bible. They still use 
 sandals, and in the Bible where it is said, that "Two Women will be to- 
 gether grinding, one shall be taken and the other left," they still use the 
 grinding stone, to prepare their Tortillas, which is used as bread, and 
 prepared thus, the corn is boiled in lye, till the skin is ready to peal oflf, 
 
 "The author here refers to Walker's thixd filibustering attempt upon Nicaragua. 
 On December 4 the vanguard of this thjrd expedition, 120 men under the command of 
 Anderson, sailed from Mobile without a clearance in the schooner Susan. On the 
 1 6th the vessel struck a coral reef about sixty miles from Belize. The men were 
 stranded on a small island, where they were rescued by the British sloop-of-war 
 Basilisk and taken back to Mobile. 
 
 *2"Uncle Billy" was Walker's nickname among his followers in Nicaragua. -+ 
 
330 TENNESSEE HISTORICAL MAGAZINE 
 
 then it is well washed, to take any taste of the ashes off, it is ground on 
 this stone till it becomes equivalent to our corn meal dough, it is then 
 baked in a stone bowl, very thin, when it is well made and baked it is 
 a good substitute for corn bread. Flour selling at the rate of 40$ a bar- 
 rel few of us could enjoy that great rarity bread. Rice, coffee, sugar, 
 cocoa or chocolate is grown there, indigo also, and if cultivated properly 
 the ground would yield ten times more than at present. You can raise 
 three crops of corn in the year, and as they cultivate it, with no trouble 
 They make an incision in the ground and there place five or six grains 
 of corn, that is all the work and trouble. They are a set so lazy that 
 it is an effort for them to breathe. Smoking is a habit with them, from 
 the little child three years old to the aged man and woman, it is a great 
 rarity to find a native woman that does not use the weed. With such 
 a country, our U. S. would have a "garden of Eden," As it is it is a 
 punishment for any enlightened person to be compelled to live there 
 not having the means to use, nor to have they must make "necessity 
 the Mother of invention." . . .^' 
 
 ^Miss Callahan, in 1859, established communication with relatives in the United 
 States, and through the assistance of General M. B. Lamar, American Minister to 
 Nicaragua, Governor I. G. Harris, of Tennessee, and others, was enabled to return 
 home. The remainder of the manuscript is of merely personal interest. 
 
II. 
 
 Walker-Heiss Papers. Some Diplomatic Correspondence 
 of the Walker Regime in Nicaragua. 
 
 (Reprinted from the Tennessee Historical Magazine, December, 1915.) 
 
 [trhe following documents are part of a collection of papers left by 
 Major John P. Heiss, long a resident of Nashville, Tennessee. For the 
 use of this collection the Society and the Magazine are under obligations 
 to Robert Lusk, Esq., of Nashville. 
 
 The papers now published are those which bear upon the Walker 
 Regime in Nicaragua, with which, as will appear below, Major Heiss was 
 intimately associated. Besides these manuscripts there are two large scrap 
 books filled with clippings collected by Major Heiss covering many phases 
 of the conplicated Latin-American relations of this period. 
 
 In future numbers of the Magazine there will be published other 
 selections from the Heiss Papers, which relate to earlier and later parts 
 of the active career of Major Heiss. 
 
 For the introduction and notes to the documents which follow the 
 Magazine is again indebted to Professor W. O. Scroggs. In the transla- 
 tion of the Spanish documents, Mr. G. P. Winton has given assistance.] 
 — Ed. 
 
 INTRODUCTION 
 
 Major John P. Heiss, from whose papers the following- 
 documents have been collected, may be appropriately desig- 
 nated as the Johannes Factotum of the filibuster government 
 in Nicaragua. His experience as editor of the Washington 
 Union during Polk's administration had given him a detailed 
 knowledge of public questions and a wide acquaintance and 
 friendship with men in public life. He possessed also first- 
 hand information concerning conditions in Nicaragua, hav- 
 ing been sent to that country in February, 1856, as bearer 
 of dispatches for the American State Department. He took 
 advantage of this mission to engage in a small business ven- 
 ture in that country, as the second document in the series 
 shows. When Major Heiss arrived in Nicaragua the coun- 
 try was under a provisional government with Patricio Rivas, 
 a man of neutral character, as president, and William 
 Walker, the filibuster leader, as commander-in-chief of the 
 army of the Republic. The real power lay in the hands of 
 Walker, and he succeeded in winning the enthusiastic sup- 
 port of Heiss, who was a former fellow townsman, and who 
 returned to the United States as a "naturalized" Nicaraguan 
 and devoted his energies to serving the filibuster cause. For 
 a short time he acted as charge d'affaires for the Nicaraguan 
 
332 TENNESSEE HISTORICAL MAGAZINE 
 
 legation in Washington, and in September, 1856, was 
 accredited by Walker, then claiming to be President of 
 Nicaragua, as a special commissioner to the United States 
 and Great Britain to adjust the controversy arising out of 
 the British claim to a protectorate over the Mosquito terri- 
 tory on the eastern coast of Nicaragua. As neither England 
 nor the United States at that time recognized Walker's claim 
 to the presidency, Heiss had no opportunity to exercise this 
 diplomatic function. He was able, however, to serve the 
 filibuster regime in a number of other ways. When Walker 
 needed newspaper publicity, or a defender against the 
 attacks of his critics, or a spokesman who could reach the 
 ear of the administration at Washington, he usually called 
 on Heiss. 
 
 The warmth of friendship between the two men, as 
 revealed in their correspondence as late as the autumn of 
 1857, tends to emphasize the absence of letters during the 
 remaining years of Walker's life (1858-60). It is likewise 
 worthy of note that in his book. The War in Nicaragua, pub- 
 lished in Mobile in 1860, Walker takes pains to recognize 
 the special services rendered him by his supporters, but is 
 ominously silent with regard to Heiss. A rupture in the 
 friendly relations of the two men is apparently indicated. 
 
 W. 0. SCROGGS. 
 Walker-Heiss Papers. 
 
 I. Official Recognition of JTeiss as Bearer of Dispatches for the 
 
 United States. 
 No. 416. 
 
 united states of AMERICA. 
 DEPARTMENT OF STATE. 
 
 To all to whom these presents shall come, Greeting: Know ye, that 
 the bearer hereof, John P. Heiss, Esquire, is proceeding to Granada, Nic- 
 aragua, bearing dispatches from this Department, to the Legation of the 
 United States there. 
 
 These are therefore to request all whom it may concern, to permit him 
 to pass freely without let or molestation, and to extend to him such 
 friendly aid and protection, as would be extended to Citizens and Sub- 
 jects of Foreign Countries, resorting to the United States bearing Des- 
 patches from their Governments. 
 
 In testimony whereof, I, William L. Marcy, Secretary of State of the 
 United States of America, have hereunto set my hand and caused the 
 seal of this Department to be affixed at Washington, this twenty-second 
 day of February, A. D. 1856, and of the Independence of the United 
 States the 80th. 
 
WALKER-HEISS PAPERS 333 
 
 2. A Business Contract. 
 
 [Copy] 
 
 John P. Heiss and Sam F. Butterworth have this day jointly pur- 
 chased from R. L. Allen & Co., of New York City, a bill of agricultural im- 
 plements consisting of two corn mills, horse power, sett of tools, etc., 
 etc., for which Butterworth has given his note payle at 4 months from 
 date. These articles are to be shipd to San Juan de Nicaragua in the 
 first vessel to J. P. Heiss, who will receive them and dispose of them 
 on joint account. These articles are bought on joint account each of us 
 to pay one half of their cost and all expenses and the proceeds of their 
 sale or use to be equally divided without charge on the part of either 
 for personal services connected therewith. This agreement shall apply to 
 all future purchases that may be made by us for that market. 
 Feb. 2Sth, 1856. 
 New York. 
 
 John P. Heiss. 
 
 Sam F. Butterworth. 
 
 3. Chas. Morgan,^ New York, to John P. Heiss, 
 
 June 20th, 1856. 
 
 Your two favors of i8th and 19th. inst. I received this morning. I 
 immediately called on Mr. Randolph^ and gave him your letter. He is 
 quite unwell. I am to take the Padre^ to see him at 6 o'clock this even- 
 ing. Mr. Randolph agrees with me fully that you must take the charge 
 of Nicaragua Government aflfairs in Washington, I think the matter 
 will be settled this evening when we meet. 
 
 4. Father Vijil to the Secretary of State. 
 
 iCopy] 
 
 Legacion de Nicaragua 
 
 NuEVA York Junio 23 de 1856. 
 El infrascripto Enviado Extraordinario y Ministro Plenepotenciario 
 de Nicaragua cerca del Gobierno de loz Estados Unidos tiene el honor 
 de participas lsic'\ al Sr. Wm. L. Marcy Secretario Estado de dicho Gobier- 
 no que hallandose en la necesidad de ausentarse de esta pais debe nombrar 
 un Encargado de Negocios que atienda a los de Nicaragua durante la 
 ausencia del infrascripto, y nombra con tal caracter al Sr. Jno P. Heiss. 
 
 El infrascripto aprovecha esta oportunidad de ofrecer de nuevo sus 
 respecto [Jic] al Sr. Wm. L. Marcy. 
 
 AuGusTiN Vijil Isic"] 
 Al Sr. Wm. L. Marcy 
 Secre'o. de Estado de los Estados Unidos. 
 
 ^Charles Morgan (1795-1878) was a prominent American captain of industry of 
 the nineteenth century, and was especially active ir» promoting and managing coast- 
 wise steamship lines. The well-known "Morgan Line" of today perpetuates his name. 
 When Walker went to Nicaragua Morgan was interested in a steamship company 
 engaged in conveying passengers and freight between San Francisco and the Atlantic 
 ports by way of Nicaragua, and he was thus brought into close relations with the 
 filibuster leader. 
 
 ^Edmund Randolph (1819-61) was a grandson of the Virginia statesman of th« 
 same name. He and Walker had known each other as struggling young lawyers in 
 New Orleans, and when they met again in San Francisco their association was re- 
 newed. Randolph gave Walker much assistance in planning his expedition to Nica- 
 ragua and later secured for him many recruits in California. At the time this letter 
 was written Randolph was in New York in consultation with Charles Morgan, the 
 manager of the steamship company on whose boats recruits were being taken to 
 Nicarauga in large numbers. 
 
 ^Padre Augustin Vigil, Walker's minister to the United States. 
 
334 TENNESSEE HISTORICAL MAGAZINE 
 
 ^Translation] 
 
 NicARAGUAN Legation 
 
 New York June 23 1856 
 The undersigned Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary 
 of Nicaragua to the Government of the United States has the honor of 
 informing Mr. Wm. S. Marcy, Secretary of State of the said Govern- 
 ment, that having found it necessary to be absent from this country he is 
 obliged to name a charge d'affaires who may attend to those [affairs] 
 of Nicaragua during the absence of the undersigned, and names in such 
 a character Mr. Jno. P. Heiss. 
 
 The undersigned improves this opportunity of offering anew his re- 
 spects to Mr. Wm. L. Marcy. 
 
 To Mr. Wm. L. Marcy 
 
 Sec. of State of the United States. 
 
 AUGUSTIN VlJIL. 
 
 5. John P. Heiss, New York, to Hon. W. L. Marcy, Secretary of 
 
 State, 
 
 hCopy] 
 The accompanying communication will inform your Excellency, that 
 Don Augustin Vijil, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary 
 of the Republic of Nicaragua, to the United States, having necessarily 
 been compelled to absent himself for a time from this country, has com- 
 missioned the undersigned to represent the interests of Nicaragua at this 
 Government during the interum [..yic].* 
 
 6. Wm. Walker, Granada, to the Minister Plenipotentiary of Nic- 
 
 aragua, 
 
 June 29, 1856. 
 
 OFFICE OF THE COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF OF THE ARMY 
 OF THE REPUBLIC OF NICARAGUA. 
 
 [Copy] 
 
 I refer you to the letter which on the 21st inst. was addressed to your 
 Honor through Gen. Domingo de Goicouria,'' wherein an exact account of 
 the events of Nicaragua and of the reasons that caused the change of 
 the Provisional Administration of Senor Patricio Rivas is given. I now 
 think convenient to add by this opportunity that the two persons belong- 
 ing to that refractory Executive composed of Sres. President Rivas and 
 
 *Padre Vigil's stay in Washington was not an altogether pleasant experience. 
 Ministers from other Central American republics not only snvibbed him, but pro- 
 tested vigorously against his reception. His fellow clergymen in the United States 
 treated him coldly, even insulted him, and on June 23, less than six weeks after 
 his official reception, he took his departure for Nicaragua, leaving John P. Heiss as 
 citarge d'affaires. 
 
 ^Domingo de Goicouria was_ a wealthy Cuban, who' had been forced to leave his 
 native island on account of his liberal ideas. During his residence in the United 
 States he was a prominent member of the Cuban revolutionary junta in this country 
 and co-operated with Lopez in 1849-52 and with John A. Quitman in 1853 in raising 
 expeditions for the liberation of the island. In 1855 Walker and the Cuban revolu- 
 tionists in New York pooled their interests. The Cubans agreed to aid Walker in 
 pacifying Nicaragua, and after this was accomplished he was to assist them in behalf 
 of "Cuba and her freedom." Goicouria, in accordance with this agreement, arrived 
 in Nicaragua in March, 1856, and was commissioned as a brigadier-general in the 
 filibuster army. In June Wialker designated him as a special envoy to England. On 
 his way to London the Cuban stopped in New York to use his influence in securing 
 subscriptions to a Nicaraguan loan. While there he became embroiled in a quarrel 
 with Walker and severed his connection with the filibuster government. For full 
 details concerning Walker's relations with the Cuban revolutionists, the reader is 
 referred to the article, "William Walker's Designs on Cuba," in the Mississippi 
 Valley Historical Review, I., 198-211. 
 
WALKER-HEISS PAPERS 335 
 
 General Jerez have continued giving unequivocal proof of their treachery.' 
 These gentlemen, after having left open the western frontiers, and after 
 sending emissaries with the object of delivering Nicaragua into the hands 
 of the enemies of public liberty that are now in [^sic] the frontiers, still 
 remain in that Department' with the flattering illusion that they will be 
 protected by people upon whom they looked before as upon implacable 
 enemies, because in the Republic of Nicaragua their insidious object and 
 their perverse intentions do not find any support. The proof of this 
 assertion is found in the fact that when the American Detachment evac- 
 uated the city of Leon they in vain beat the general calling and resorted 
 to every artifice that could excite the people through fanatism [sic] and 
 calumny, because they did not succeed in gathering even the smallest force 
 in a people that was convinced that the contrary was the case, as well for 
 the good behavior of the American forces, as for the good services and 
 relevant patriotism of the Rev. Vicar General.** 
 
 Therefore the march of the present administration of Nicaragua will 
 be inalterable and the country shows itself in favor of maintaining order 
 and, public tranquility. There are only a few indications that are to be 
 made to your Honor in order that your Honor may present them as the 
 Representative of this Government near the Cabinet at Washington." 
 
 Your Honor must know that Senor Don Thomas Manny [Manning]'" 
 an English subject and Vice Consul of England claims against Nicaragua 
 the enormous sum of one hundred thousand dollars and upwards, for 
 which amount he thinks himself to be a creditor ; and that this sum has 
 been formed with several sums that had been acknowledged by this Gov- 
 ernment in different periods from the year 848 [sic] or thereabouts, as 
 for loans, merchandise, money, bonds and interests, which from time to 
 time have been included in the capital after the agreement to pay tzvo per 
 cent a month. ■ 
 
 I have private information through trustworthy persons that _Mr. 
 Manning intends claiming or has claimed the protection of the British 
 Government to compel Nicaragua to the payment of the sum that he 
 claims and pretends to receive. I presume that these steps are taken by 
 Mr. Manning in concert with the Ex-Government and with the object of 
 
 'Patricio Rivas, the provisional president, and Maximo Jerez, the minister of war, 
 in June, 1856, began to show signs of defection toward Walker, fearing that he had 
 designs on the presidency. They therefore circulated stories which roused the 
 populace against the Americans and also sent messengers to the neighboring republics 
 calling for their aid in driving out the filibusters. 
 
 'This is a reference to the Occidental Department, in northwestern Nicaragua. 
 
 *The details of the incident in Leon to which Walker here refers were as fol- 
 lows: One of Walker's officers there had dismissed a guard of native soldiers sta- 
 tioned in the cathedral tower and replaced them with Americans. Jerez, the war 
 minister, then in Leon, countermanded the order. The officer refused to comply 
 without orders from Walker, who had left the city for Granada the day before, and 
 he prepared to hold the place by force. This threw the natives into great excitement, 
 and they thronged the plaza shouting, "Death to the Americans!" When word 
 reached Walker he ordered the American guard withdrawn, but the mischief had 
 already been done. 
 
 »It will be noted that Walker seeks to minimize the importance of his breach 
 with President Rivas and desires that Padre Vigil shall reassure the authorities at 
 Washington, who had doubtless heard rumors of serious trouble in Nicaragua. 
 
 I'Of Thomas Manning, who gave the filibuster government no little trouble, 
 Walker says, in his War in Nicaragua, pp. 170-71. that he belonged to a_ tvpe of 
 English merchants frequently found in Spanish-American states. "Arriving in 
 Nicaragua without means — a sailor, it is said, on a merchant vessel — he had married 
 a woman of the country and soon built the foundations of a fortune. Without any 
 education or any habit of regarding political events in the light of principle or fixed 
 policy, he yet had that keen instinct for property and his own interests which en- 
 abled him to use the British power to aid his trading ventures. He sometimes lent 
 money to the Republic, only, however, when it was in great straits and promised 
 extravagant interest, and when the principal and interest had accumulated to a 
 suitable sum, he would call on the British fleet to blockade the ports of the States 
 until the debt was paid." 
 
336 TENNESSEE HISTORICAL MAGAZINE 
 
 blockading the ports of this Republic, as has been the case before this 
 time in Central America with that Government. 
 
 It is therefore necessary that your Honor should address the Govern- 
 ment of the United States in order that, understanding: the possibility of 
 an undue British interference in favor of a private man, and which may 
 be accompanied with political objects, they may stretch their protecting 
 hands in favor of this friendly and sister Republic that is firmly for the 
 continental Cause. 
 
 7. J. A. Thomas^ Assistant Secretary, Department of State, Wash- 
 
 ington, TO John P. Heiss, Esquire, Etc. 
 
 July S, 1856. 
 I have to acknowledge the receipt of your communication of the 28th 
 ulto. announcing the return to Nicaragua of M. Vijil, the Minister of 
 that State, and enclosing his letter nominating you as Charge d'Affaires 
 during his absence. 
 
 8. A Land Warrant Issued by Walker. 
 Cei^tihco ; Que D. N. Ingraham. 
 
 6 su representante 6 cesionario tiene derecho a quinientos acres de 
 tierra en los realengos del Estado, conforme a las facultades dadas al 
 General William Walker por el Supremo Gobierno Provisional con fecha 
 de veinte y seis de Julio de 1855. 
 
 Firmado de mi mano y con el Sello de Estado de la Republica, hoi 29 
 Julio de 1856. 
 
 Wm. Walker 
 
 Presidente de Nicaragua 
 M. Carrascasa 
 
 Ministro del Credito Publico 
 
 [Translation] 
 
 I certify: 
 
 That D. N. Ingraham 
 or his representative or cessionary has a just claim to 500 acres of land in 
 the unappropriated [land] of this State, conforming to the powers given 
 to General William Walker by the Supreme Provisional Government on 
 the date of July 26, 1855." 
 
 Signed by my hand and with the seal of State of the Republic, today 
 July 29, 1856 
 
 Wm. Walker 
 
 President of Nicaragua 
 M. Carrascasa 
 
 Minister of Public Credit. 
 
 g. John P. Heiss, Washington, D. C, to President Franklin Pierce, 
 
 August 26th, 1856. 
 Enclosed please find a copy of the despatch recognizing me as Charge 
 d'Affaires of the Republic [of] Nicaragua during the absence of His Ex- 
 cellency Senor Don Augustin Vigil. 
 
 ^^The decree of July 26, 1855, was drawn up shortly after Walker's arrival in 
 Nicaragua. The original agreement with the leaders of the Democratic faction, under 
 which Walker and his followers had gone to Nicaragua, designated the filibusters as 
 "colonists." This was done to avoid the appearance of violating the neutrality laws 
 of the United States. Once in Nicaragua, however. Walker threw aside all pretence 
 of colonization and secured a new decree, as indicated above, authorizing him to 
 enlist 300 men for military service, who were to receive one hundred dollars a 
 month and 500 acres of land at the end of the campaign. See Walker, War in 
 Nicaragua, 75. 
 
WALKER-HEISS PAPERS 337 
 
 10. Ratification of the Proposed Treaty of 1855 by Nicaragua. 
 Republica de Nicaragua 
 
 SECRETARIA DE ESTADO 
 
 En el despacho de 
 
 RELACIONES EXTERIORES No. 5 1 
 
 Granada, Setiembre 27 de 1856 
 Al Senor John P. Heiss. 
 
 El S. P. E. se ha servldo dictar el decreto siguiente — 
 "El Presidente de la Republica de Nicaragua, a sus habitantes — 
 Conciderando que el tratado de amistad, comercio y navegacion hecho 
 en Granada el dia 20 de Junio del ano de 1855, requiere que las debidas 
 ratificaciones scan canjeadas en la Cuidad de Washington dentro del ter- 
 mino de dies y ocho meses despues de firmado, por tanto, en uso de sus 
 facultades. 
 
 DECEETA 
 
 Art. I Se ratifica y establece por este decreto, en todos sus condiciones, 
 el tratado de amistad, comercio y navegacion hecho en Granada el dia 
 20 de Junio del ano de 1855 entre Nicaragua y_ los EE. UU. de America. 
 
 Art. 2 Se autorisa el Senor John P. Heiss, ciudando debidamente 
 naturalisado de esta Republica, pa el canje de las ratificaciones de la misma 
 de parte de Nicaragua, conforme a las condiciones que establece el art. 
 17 de este tratado — 
 
 Art. 3 Communiquese a quienes corresponde-Dado en Granada a 27 de 
 Setiembre de 1856 — William Walker — Al Senor Secretario de Estado en 
 el despacho de Relaciones exteriores Licencia[do?] Don Fermin Ferrer. 
 
 Y de suprema orden lo comunico a V. para su inteligencia y efectos, 
 incluyendole una copia del tratado a q. se refiere este decreto; quedando 
 de V. atento serv. 
 
 F. Ferrer 
 
 \_Translation'\ 
 
 Republic of Nicaragua 
 
 DEPARTMENT OF STATE 
 
 In the office of 
 
 FOREIGN AFFAIRS 
 
 Granada, September 27 1856 
 To Mr. John P. Heiss 
 
 The Supreme Executive Power has seen fit to dictate the following 
 decree— 
 
 "The President of the Republic of Nicaragua to his people— Knowing 
 that the treaty of friendship, commerce and navigation made in Granada 
 on June 20, 1855," requires that the ratifications be exchanged in the 
 city of Washington within eighteen months after the signing; for such 
 reason, in exercise of his powers, 
 
 DECREES, 
 
 Art. I This decree ratifies and establishes in all its conditions the 
 treaty of friendship, commerce and navigation made in Granada June 20 
 1855 between Nicaragua and the United States of America. 
 
 Art. 2 Mr. John P. Heiss, a duly naturalized citizen of this Republic, 
 is hereby authorized to exchange ratifications of the same under the 
 
 "The convention of June 20, 1855, had been negotiated by the American min- 
 ister, John H. Wheeler, with the government then recognized by the United States. 
 This government had been overthrown by Walker's efforts in behalf of its opponents, 
 the Demorcrats, and for this reason the convention had not been ratified. In the 
 decree of September 27, 1856, Walker affirms the validity of this act of the defunct 
 government. 
 
338 TENNESSEE HISTORICAL MAGAZINE 
 
 terms of Article i" of the said treaty, on behalf of the republic of Nic- 
 aragua. 
 
 Art. 3 Let it be communicated to all concerned. — Given in Granada 
 September 27, 1855. William Walker. — To the Secretary of State, Fermin 
 Ferrer, Esq., in the Office of Foreign Relations. 
 
 And 
 
 By superior orders I communicate the same to you for your in- 
 formation and to be carried out, inclosing herewith a copy of the treaty 
 to which reference is made, remaining as ever 
 
 Your faithful servant, 
 
 F. Ferrer."^ 
 
 II. The Secretary of State of Nicaragua to the Secretary of State 
 OF Great Britain Authenticating the Appointment of Heiss. 
 
 Republica de Nicaragua 
 
 secretaria de estado 
 
 En el despacho de 
 
 RELACIONES EXTERIORES 
 
 Granada, Setiembre 29 de 1856 
 Al muy Honorable Conde de Clarendon 
 Secretario de Relaciones de S. M. B. 
 Sefior 
 Tengo orden de mi Gobierno para participar a V. E. que en esta 
 fecha ha sido nombrado comisionado especial cerca de los Gobiernos de 
 S. M. B. y los Estados Unidos de America, el Senor John P. Heiss con 
 el fin de arreglar definitivamente la cuestion pendiente respecto del terri- 
 torio de Mosquito, y asegurar la neutralidad del Ystmo en todos los casos 
 y sircumstancias, segun se impondra V. E. por el decreto que en copia 
 autorizada me hago el honor de acompanarle. 
 
 Esta occasion me proposiona el honor de ofrecer a V. E. mis respectos 
 y distinguida consideracion con que me suscribo su atento 
 
 Servidor 
 
 F. Ferrer 
 
 Secreto de Estado. 
 
 [Translation] 
 
 Republic of Nicaragua 
 
 department of state 
 
 In the office of 
 
 foreign relations 
 
 Granada, September 29 1856 
 To the very Honorable Earl of Clarendon 
 Secretary of Affairs of Her British Majesty 
 Sir 
 _ I am, ordered of my Government to inform Your Excellency that on 
 this date John P. Heiss has been named special commissioner to the 
 Governments of Her British Majesty and the United States of America 
 with the power of adjusting definitely the question pending in respect to the 
 mosquito territory" and assuring the neutrality of the Isthmus in all events 
 
 I'Fermin Ferrer, who became secretary of state after Walker's inauguration as 
 president, was one of the few natives of prominence who remained faithful to the 
 filibuster leader during his stay in Nicaragua. 
 
 "The so-called Mosquito territory, or shore, was originally a strip of coast about 
 200 miles long extending from Cape Gracias a Dios to the Bluefields Lagoon. Great 
 Britain's claim at this time to a protectorate over this region was' disputed by both 
 the United States and the Republic of Nicaragua. It is this dispute which Walker, 
 in his peculiarly Quixotic manner, commissions Heiss to settle. As the filibuster gov- 
 ernment was not then recognized by any foreign nation, the appointment of Heiss 
 was without result. 
 
WALKER-HEISS PAPERS 339 
 
 and circumstances, as Your Excellency is advised by the decree, an au- 
 thorized copy of which I have the honor to enclose. 
 
 This occasion afifords me the honor of offering to Your Excellency 
 my respects and distinguished consideration, with which 1 subscribe myself 
 your attentive Servant 
 
 F. Ferrer 
 
 Sec. of State 
 
 12. The Same, to the Secretary of State of the United States. 
 
 [Except for the substitution of the United States for Great Britain, 
 and of Marcy for Clarendon, this document is identical with ii.] 
 
 13. Commission of Heiss to Great Britain and the United States. 
 Copia No. 52 
 
 William Walker Presidente de la Republica de Nicaragua. Siendo de 
 suma importancia acreditar un comisionado especial cerca de los Gobiernos 
 de S. M. B. y de los Estados Unidos para tratar y arreglar con el primero 
 definitivamente la cuestion pendiente con esta Republica respecto del 
 territorio de Mosquito y asegurar con ambos la neutralidad del Ystmo 
 en todos los casos y sircumstancias ; En uso de sus facultades 
 
 Decreta 
 
 Art. I Nombrase con tal objecto comisionado especial del Gobiermo de 
 
 la Republica de Nicaragua el Senor John P. Heiss. 
 Art. 2. Comuniquese a quienes corresponde-Dado en Granada a 29 de 
 Setiembre de 1856. — Wiliam Walker. Al Senor Secretario de 
 Estado en el despacho de Relaciones exteriores Licdo don Fermin 
 Ferrer — 
 Es conforme, y en fe de ello la firmo y autorizo con el gran Sello de 
 la Republica — F. Ferrer 
 
 [seal] Secreto — de Estado 
 
 [Translation.] 
 
 Copy ' No 52 
 
 William Walker President of the Republic of Nicaragua. It being of 
 supreme importance to acredit a special commissioner to the Governments 
 of Her British Majesty and the United States to treat and adjust with 
 the first definitely the question pending with this Republic in respect to 
 the Mosquito territory and to insure to both the neutrality of the Isthmus 
 in all events and circumstances ; In the exercise of his powers 
 
 Decrees 
 
 Art. I With such object Mr. John P. Heiss is named special com- 
 missioner of the Republic of Nicaragua. 
 
 Art. 2 Let such be communicated to whom it concerns. 
 Given in Granada on September 29, 1856 
 
 William Walker 
 
 To the Secretary of State in the office of Foreign Affairs, Hon. Don 
 Fermin Ferrer 
 
 A correct copy and in witness thereof I sign and authorize it with the 
 Great Seal of the Republic— F. Ferrer 
 
 Sec. of State. 
 
340 TENNESSEE HISTORICAL MAGAZINE 
 
 14. The Secretary of State of Nicaragua to Heiss. 
 
 Republica de Nicaragua 
 secretaria de estado 
 En el despacho de 
 relaciones exteriores No. 52 
 
 Granada, Setiembre 29 de 1856. 
 Senor 
 
 El S. P. E. se ha servido dictar el decreto siguiente. 
 IThere follotvs the text of the preceding document (13), except the 
 last sentence. The document then continues'^ : 
 
 Y de orden suprema tango el honor de comunicarlo a V. para su in- 
 teligencia, y bien satisfecho de que tendra la clinnacion (inclinacion?) de 
 aceptar las confianzas del Supremo Gobierno, le acompano a este despacho 
 el titulo que acredita su nombramiento. 
 
 Sirvase admitir las seguridades de mi mas destinguida concideracion 
 y respecto con que me suscribo 
 
 Su atto. Servidor, 
 
 F. Ferrer, 
 Secreto. de Estado. 
 Granada, September 29 1856 
 
 ^Translation.^ 
 
 Sir : The Supreme Executive Power has seen fit to dictate the fol- 
 lowing decree : [See above."] 
 
 And I have the honor of communicating to you the supreme order for 
 your information, and as I feel fully satisfied that you will be inclined 
 to accept the confidence of the Supreme Government, the diploma which 
 certifies your nomination accompanies this dispatch. Please accept the 
 assurances of my most distinguished consideration and respect with which 
 I subscribe myself. Your attentive Servant 
 
 F. Ferrer, 
 Sec. of State. 
 
 15. Walker Wm., Granada, to Garrison, C. K.,^^ or Morgan, Charles; 
 
 October ist, 1856. 
 
 Major Heiss goes to Washington and probably to London on business 
 which he will explain to you. 
 
 Any receipts, due-bills or drafts made by Major Heiss in his capacity 
 as Special Commissioner will be duly acknowledged by the government 
 of Nicaragua. 
 
 16. Dallas," G. M., London England, te Heiss, John P., 
 
 November 17, 1856. 
 private 
 Your letter of the 29th ulto. has reached me. The object of your 
 writing is to get my view of the probability of the English Government 
 recognizing you, as a diplomatic representative under special powers, of 
 Nicaragua, as a party to the contemplated treaty upon Central American 
 Affairs. 
 
 I am a sincere well-wisher to the Government of which General Walker 
 
 "Cornelius K. Garrison (1809-85) was associated with Charles Morgan (see above, 
 note 6) in the steamship business. Walker's deals with Morgan and Garrison, where- 
 by large numbers of recruits were taken to Nicaragua on Morgan and Garrison's 
 steamers free of charge, proved to be one of the most important acts of his whole 
 career. For details, see the article, "William Walker and the Steamship Corporation 
 in Nicaragua," in the American Historical Review, X., 792-811. 
 
 '"George M. Dallas ha3 succeeded James Buchanan as minister to England in 
 February, 1856. 
 
WALKER-HEISS PAPERS 341 
 
 is the Chief: — and in the negotiations conducted and concluded here, I 
 have not withheld the expression of this sympathy, while shielding as far 
 as possible from even verbal invasion the sovereignty and rights of 
 Nicaragua. At the present moment, however, it would be a departure 
 from candour, were I to encourage the slightest belief of your being 
 recognized by this Government. I entertain not a particle of doubt that, 
 if General Walker maintains his present position, divests himself of the 
 appearance of a military dictator, and devotes his great mind and energies 
 to the peace and domestic prosperity of Nicaragua, his recognition by 
 England will promptly follow. The arrangement matured, if frankly and 
 cordially accepted and ratilied by him, will deprive England of every 
 pretext for continuing, like a dark cloud, to hover over the Central 
 American States ; and will leave them free to follow, in enlightened prog- 
 ress, the example of our own country. I hope for this soon, but it is 
 not yet. 
 
 Let me suggest to you, as expedient, that your representative power 
 to treat should be communicated to the Secretary of State, who may 
 possibly before long find cause to invoke its exercise. 
 
 17. Walker^ Wm., Rivas, to Heiss, John P., 
 
 December 22, 1856. 
 
 Your letters of last month were duly received; and I thank you for 
 the zeal and sagacity you have shown in breaking up the plots of Goicouria 
 and his associates. They may hereafter attempt to injure us; but I think 
 their efforts will only tend to their own injury." 
 
 I did not write to you by the last steamer because I was very much 
 occupied at the time she sailed. Genl. Henningsen was at that time shut 
 up in Granada ; and the remainder of the force was in a very bad state 
 owing to a variety of causes. On the morning of the 12th inst. Genl. Hen- 
 ningsen was relieved; and the details of the siege he underwent you will 
 learn from his report sent for; publication." The effect produced by the 
 burning of Granada and by the resistance of the garrison has been excel- 
 lent; and from all accounts the enemy is very much demoralized. Reports 
 indicate that the two old factions are quarreling openly and the several 
 foreign contingents take sides in the quarrel. 
 
 Sir Henry Huntly, who has been in California for several years, came 
 from San Francisco on the last steamer and has remained over for the 
 purpose of observing facts in Nicaragua. He seems desirous of aiding 
 to bring about diplomatic intercourse between England and Nicaragua and 
 it might be well for you to see him. He goes to England and by way of 
 New York; and I suppose he has facilities for ascertaining the ideas and 
 motives of many of the public men in London. You can readily meet 
 him through Mr. Harris" of the firm of Chas. Morgan and Sons. 
 
 The condition of the army is improving every day. Its health is very 
 much better than it could ever have been in Granada. In fact, even if 
 Granada had not been destroyed I could never have remained there, with 
 .any force, during the dry season. 
 
 ^''The "plots of Giocouria" were the outcome of the quarrel between him and 
 Walker already referred to. (See note i.) While Goicouria was in New York he 
 had busied himself with other matters than those entrusted to his care. Among 
 other things he sought to regain for the filibusters the good will of Cornelius Van- 
 derbilt. Walker had antagonized this financier by confiscating certain property be- 
 longing to a company in which Vanderbilt was interested. Walker bluntly censured 
 Goicouria for intermeddling, and the latter took oflFense and severed his connection 
 with the filibuster regime. An acrid newspaper controversy soon broke out between 
 Goicouria and Walker's two friends. Randolph and Heiss. In the above letter 
 Walker thanks Heiss for defending him against Goicouria's attacks in the press. 
 
 '^The details of the siege of Granada are given at some length in the foregoing 
 narrative by Mrs. Katterman. 
 
 "The man Harris here referred to was a son-in-law of Charles Morgan. 
 
342 TENNESSEE HISTORICAL MACA.^INE 
 
 So far as our neighbors are concerned, I think they have exerted them- 
 selves to the uttermost and have failed in their efforts. Costa Rica is pros- 
 trate and cannot send another man to Nicaragua. San Salvador and 
 Guatamala are very much in the same condition. Honduras, after a long 
 and strenuous effort, sent Jatruch [Xatruch] with 600 men to the aid of 
 the allies ; and they arrived just in time to be beaten by Col. Waters on 
 the night of the nth and morning of the 12th. 
 
 In a short time I shall occupy Chontales^" and shall then make efforts 
 to have that territory colonized. It must furnish us with the most of our 
 cattle, horses and mules for some time to come. 
 
 Hoping to hear from you by every opportunity, I remain, 
 
 18. Walker^ Wm., Mobile, to Heissi, John P., 
 
 July 2Sth, 1857.'' 
 
 I see it stated from Washington that I telegraphed my officers to 
 report for orders at New Orleans. All such reports are false. See, if 
 you please, that they do not create a false impression in important quar- 
 ters.'' 
 
 Affairs look well in this part of the country. We have done well in 
 the way of money at this place. The means will certainly be raised for 
 my return to Nicaragua; and when I go back I shall be much stronger 
 than ever before. 
 
 You may in advance contradict any statements which intimate a viola- 
 tion on my part of the neutrality laws. I know the Act of 1818 pretty 
 thoroughly and do not intend to violate its provisions. 
 
 Remember me to Mrs. Heiss, and believe me. 
 
 P. S. If convenient at any time let it be known through your paper 
 that Lockridge'^ has resigned and has forfeited entirely the confidence 
 I once had in him. 
 
 19. WAI.KER, Wm., New Orleans, to Heiss, John P., 
 
 September 24th, 1857. 
 
 I have written to you twice since the first of the month; but I suppose 
 you were absent and therefore have not received the letters in due course 
 of mail. 
 
 A telegraphic despatch to the N[ew] O.(rleans) Picayune states that 
 the C. A. States have addressed a note to the President requesting him 
 to avert any expedition from this country.'* Will you be so good as to 
 let me know the exact nature of the correspondence (if any) which has 
 occurred between the representatives of the C. A. governments and the 
 State Department? 
 
 Has Lockridge been in Washington again? He went, I think, to do 
 all the harm he could. 
 
 ^"Chontales is a hilly district on the east side of Lake Nicaragua and just north 
 of the San Juan River. It was at this time sparsely settled and for the most part 
 unexplored, and was thought to be rich in minerals. 
 
 ^^At the time this letter was written, Walker was in Mobile making' preparations 
 to return to Nicaragua. 
 
 _22This is a reference to the Buchanan administration, which, contrary to the 
 belief of many historians, manifested no sympathy with the Walker enterprise. 
 
 *'For further details concerning Lockridge, see note 24 to the Ratterman narrative 
 preceding these letters. In spite of the complete failure of his relief expedition on 
 the San Juan River, Lockridge for a time enjoyed the esteem and confidence of 
 Walker's officers after their return to the United States. Later, however, Lockridge 
 became disaffected, abandoned Walker, and sought, unsuccessfully, to conduct an 
 independent expedition into Mexico. 
 
 ^''Senor Louis Molina and Senor Antonio de Irisarri, the former representing Costa 
 Rica and the latter Guatemala and San Salvador, had just called the attention of 
 Secretary Cass to alleged preparations for another filibustering expedition, and had 
 asked that the American government use its naval forces to prevent a landing in any 
 Central American port in case the departure from the United States could not be 
 prevented. 
 
WALKER-HEISS PAPERS 343 
 
 20. J. L. Cole," Leon, Nicaragua, to Heiss, John P., Washington, 
 D. C, June 20, 1858. 
 
 Sir, I promised to write you on my return to Nicaragua. I arrived 
 here some two months since in company with some old friends whom I 
 met at Punta Arenas, Costa Rico, & who persuaded me to come here. 
 Gen. Jerez"" was one of them. I had scarcely reached this city before 
 Martinez sent an order to arrest me & send me out of the country."' The 
 Governador to whom I had a letter of introduction from Gen. Jerez, 
 who disembarked from the steamer at San Juan del Sur in company with 
 President Mora"* M. Belly"" Sr. Nagreti etc., replied that he deemed such 
 a course imprudent and calculated to injure the administration, for the 
 democrats here would consider it as an act of persecution. Subsequently 
 an order was issued by the president to prosecute all fillibusters as those 
 who had been with Walker The judge of the court here, a democrat, 
 replied that he did not find the crime of fillibusterisme defined in the 
 statutes & consequently it did not fall under his jurisdiction. The reply 
 was made some three weeks since & as yet I have heard nothing further 
 of the matter. I every where heare \_sic'\ an expression of regret that 
 Walker had not been more prudent & statesmanlike. The country is poor 
 and daily becoming worse. A few days since it was said that Gen. Hen- 
 ningsen was in San Juan del Norte with two thousand men. Several 
 officers who had previously fought against him, told me that they were 
 determined to join him. The Govt, said they can not get a dozen men 
 in this department & we are determined that we will not again be the 
 means of sacrificing our countrymen in a cause that we cannot defend. 
 After several days it was discovered that M. Belly, who had gone to San 
 Juan del Norte, had whilst at Castillo Viejo ordered the comandante 
 to put that place in order & had written to Gen. Martinez telling him that 
 he had found the place badly defended & that he had told the commander 
 to put it in a state of defense & also informed the president that an 
 expedition was preparing in the U. S. & that he ought to send a quantity 
 of provisions to the fort. Gen. Martinez ordered a quantity of corn & 
 beans sent from here & this fact gave rise to the belief that the fillibusters 
 were again on the River. 
 
 I have said that if the United States know how to take advantage of 
 circumstances, she could beat M. Belly & Co. at their own game. Let 
 her fall out with this government — surely pretexts are not wanting — and 
 send a ship of war to Realejo. This would throw the IMartinez govern- 
 ment, with its European tendencies,^" "higher nor a kite" and bring into 
 
 ^'Dr. J. L. Cole was an American physician who had married into a Nicaraguan 
 family living near Rivas. During the revolution that preceded Walker's arrival he 
 had taken sides with the Democratic faction, and when the region around Rivas had 
 fallen into the hands of the other party he fled to Costa Rica. Shortly after Walker's 
 arrival in Nicaragua he returned and served with the filibuster leader. At the first 
 battle of Rivas he acted as guide in the march of Walker's men from Granada to 
 that town. This letter throws interesting light on the treatment accorded to the 
 followers of Walker who remained in Nicaragua after his withdrawal. It will be 
 noted that the Martinez faction (Legitimist) was hostile to the ex-filibusters, while 
 the Jerez faction (Democratic), which had invited Walker to Nicaragua, was more 
 lenient. 
 
 ^''General Maximo Jerez, the most noted of the Democratic leaders in Nicaragua. 
 
 "General Martinez had become President of Nicaragua shortly after the ex- 
 pulsion of Walker in May, 1857. As head of the Legitimist party, he had always 
 been especially hostile to Americans. 
 
 2sjuan Rafael Mora, the President of Costa Rica. 
 
 28Felix Belly, a French adventurer, then in Nicaragua seeking to obtain conces- 
 sions from that State and Costa Rica for the construction of an intercoastal canal. 
 
 ^'This is a reference to an act of President Mora and Martinez, who on May i, 
 1858, at the instigation of M. Belly, then posing as an emissary of Napoleon III., 
 signed a joint declaration placing their countries under the protection of France, 
 England and Sardinia, without the knowledge of the European governments con- 
 cerned. It would be diflncult to find a more bizarre diplomatic document. See 
 British State Papers, XLVIIL, 695-96. 
 
344 TENNESSEE HISTORICAL MAGAZINE 
 
 power here a class of men now obscure who are in favor of the Ameri- 
 canization of the country. Then treaties could be made, first to put the 
 entire State under American protection next, and as soon as you in the 
 States were ready to receive it, annex it as a territory to the United States. 
 This plan was suggested to me by one who has been president & also 
 heald [«c] other important positions in the State. He solicited me to 
 oppose it to Gen. Cass," but as I have no acquaintance with him I turn 
 it over to you hoping that you may be able to suggest it to some one who 
 has influence in the government. It is the only way that our government 
 can compete with England, France & Spain here. This, too, is the 
 opinion of the gentlemen above spoken of. Gen. Lamar,^^ like his pre- 
 decessors, has allowed himself to be humbugged. Gary Jones^'' is the only 
 American agent since Mr. Squier's mission here that the politicians here 
 have not humbugged. Gary drank and appeared to get drunk with a cer- 
 tain class of politicians, but seems always to have kept in mind the latin 
 proverb "in vino Veritas." In this way he acquired a stock of political 
 knowledge, arrived at the general feelings & views of these politicians, 
 which he might in vain have sought for under any other circumstances. 
 If you write me, do so under cover & directed to J. J. Deshon, Realejo, 
 Nica, via Panama. 
 
 21. Jerez, M., to Heiss, J. P. 
 
 Leon, Junio 29, de 1859. 
 Muy apreciado Senor mio : 
 
 Tan luego que Llegue a esta Cuidad y escribi al Gobno. se ha dado el 
 decreto de convocatoria de que le remito un ejemplar para que pronto se 
 acaben de arreglar los asuntos pendientes con los Estados Unidos. Todas 
 las opiniones que hasta ahora he oido sonfavorables a mi programa, que 
 V. Sabe perfectam[ent]e. Espero que se allanaran algunas pequenas dific- 
 ultades que puedan presentarse en el embroUado asunto de transito. Por 
 lo que respeta al tratado, lo considero como ya concluido por parte de 
 Nicaragua, pues nadie habra que no este porque se quite el unico obice 
 que ha habido para su total aceptacion por el Gobierno de los Estados 
 Unidos. 
 
 Incluyo a V. un eiemplar de dicho Decreto de Convocatoria, y lan 
 niimero de la Gaceta oficial, en que hay un articulo contra los disparates 
 que ha estado haciendo Mr. Belly. 
 
 En union de su amable esposa, y con los mas agradecidos recuerdos de 
 mi amistad, me suscribo de V. Amo. 
 
 seguro servidor, 
 
 Maximo Jerez. 
 [fr?-ans!ation.] 
 
 Leon, 29 June 1859 
 Dear Sir : 
 
 As soon as I arrived in this city and had written to the Governor (or 
 goverriment) the decree of convocation was issued. I am sending you a 
 copy in order that as soon as possible the matters pending with the 
 United States may be settled. All the expressions which I have heard 
 up to the present are favorable to my program, which you understand 
 
 'iLewis Cass, the American Secretary of State. 
 
 ^''General Mirabeau B. Lamar, then minister to Nicaragua. 
 
 ^'After the overthrow of Walker the American State Department had sent William 
 Carey Jones to Nicaragua as its special agent to report on conditions and to learn 
 what steps should be taken to reopen the transit or interoceanic route through that 
 country by way of the San Juan river and Lake Nicaragua. During their war with 
 Walker the Costa Ricans had closed this route, calling it the "highway offilibus-/ 
 terism." If newspaper reports are correct, Jones, with his excessive conviviality, 
 made a sorry spectacle of himself and achieved no important results. The writer 
 of the above letter, however, seems to think that there was method in his drunken- 
 ness. 
 
WALKER-HEISS PAPERS 345 
 
 thoroughly. I hope that any slight difficulties which may present them- 
 selves will be easily cleared away as regards the thorny subject of the 
 transit. As regards the treaty, I consider that it is practically closed up, 
 so far as Nicaragua is concerned, since surely nobody will be found who 
 will not favor the removal of the only obstacle that has existed for its 
 complete acceptance by the United States. 
 
 I am inclosing a copy of the Decree of Convocation, and also a copy 
 of the Official Gazette, in the latter of which is an article answering the 
 foolish assertions which Mr. Belly has been making. 
 
 With regards to your wife and with the pleasantest recollections of our 
 friendship, I remain as ever, 
 
 Your affectionate friend and faithful servant, 
 
 Maximo Jerez 
 
 22. Wm. Henry Trescott, Acting Secretary of State, Washington, 
 
 D. C, TO John P. Heiss, Washington, 
 
 July 2, i860 
 
 Herewith you will receive despatches for Mr. Dimitry, our Minister 
 to Nicaragua and Costa Rica, which you will proceed to deliver to him 
 with all possible expedition. 
 
 Our last communications from him were dated, at San Jose, Costa 
 Rica, 31st May, and were received here on the 28th ultimo. Mr. Dimitry 
 is probably at this time at San Jose. Whether there, or in Nicaragua, your 
 most expeditious route for reaching him is via Aspinwall and Panama. 
 At the latter place you will probably learn in which capital he is. 
 
 The steamer "Columbus" plies regularly up and down the coast north 
 of Panama. If you find that her' next trip after your arrival there, will 
 be made very soon you will take passage in her, and land at Punta Arenas 
 or Realejo. You will after finding Mr. Dimitry, await his instructions 
 respecting your return. 
 
 Your compensation will be at the rate of six dollars per day, together 
 with your actual travelling expenses, which will not, however, include 
 your expenses whilst awaiting Mr. Dimitry's instructions. You will take 
 vouchers for your expenses wherever practicable. Your compensation will 
 commence on the day of receiving these despatches and will terminate on 
 your return to this city with Mr. Dimitry's. The sum of $500 is herewith 
 advanced to you on account. 
 
 I am, Sir, your obedient servant, 
 
 23. Official Recognition of Heiss as Bearer of Despatches for the 
 
 United 5tates. 
 No 
 
 UNITED states OF AMERICA. 
 
 Department of State. 
 
 To all to whom these presents shall come, Greeting : Know ye, that 
 the bearer hereof, John P. Heiss, is proceeding to Costa Rica and Nica- 
 ragua bearing Despatches from this Department to the Legations of the 
 United States there. 
 
 These are therefore to request all whom it may concern to permit him 
 to pass freely without let or molestation, and to extend to him such 
 friendly aid and protection, as would be extended to Citizens and Sub- 
 jects of Foreign Countries, resorting to the United States bearing Des- 
 patches from their Governments. 
 
 In testimony whereof, I, William Henry Trescot, Acting Secretary of 
 State of the United States of America, have hereunto set my hand and 
 caused the seal of this Department to be affixed at Washington, this third 
 day of July, A. D. i860 and of the Independence of the United States the 
 eighty-fourth. Wm. Henry Trescot 
 
 Acting Secretary of State. 
 
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