T R A N
S C R I P
T I O N
SPECIAL EXPEDITIONARY FORCE, THIRD
BATTALION, FIFTH REGIMENT
SAN ALBINO, NICARAGUA.
FEBRUARY 19, 1928.
From: |
First Lieutenant Everett H.
Clark, U.S.M.C. |
To: |
The Commanding Officer, Special
Expeditionary Force, Third
Battalion, Fifth Regiment, San
Albino, Nicaragua. |
Subject: |
Patrol Report. |
Inclosures: |
(2) Sketch of area patrolled and
prisoner's statement. |
1. In compliance with your
orders, I left San Albino at 1900,
February 15, 1928, and proceeded through
San Geronimo, Montañita, San Gregorio,
Murra, Grande, Ranacuajo, La Podrida,
Esperancia, El Tuebracho, Savana Grande,
and Jicaro. I had no contact with
bandits.
2. The attached sketch (A)
shows approximate location and distances
of places named. Trails are all well
worn and show foot prints. Trail from
Plantel, for a mile beyond La Paz fork,
is heavily ambushed, fox holes, log
firing emplacements, camouflaged sentry
posts, & pits being thickly located on
every frontal slope facing south. The La
Paz-Las Encinas trail goes over very
high jungle-topped mountains, and is
difficult to pass over, due to
ankle-deep mud, and interlaced roots. At
Las Encinas, which I entered on the
evening of February 16, I found George
Williams, the English miner, who
previously worked at San Albino, and who
is now caring for the Labern (of Labern
& Thompson, Managua) mining interests.
He flies a British flag day and night,
and is very familiar with bandit forces
who have not, so far, molested him. From
Williams, I gathered the following
information, which I classify as
semi-reliable:
Fernando Maradiaga and Masadoña Dias
[Macedonia Díaz], with 34 bandits, 18
rifles, one Thompson, several shotguns,
about nine rounds of ammuntion per man,
and many dynamite bombs, spent the night
of 15 February at Las Encinas, moving
east through La Paz, Oakland, and La
Corona, towards San Pedro or Rampajon
[Rempujon] (see "A") districts the
morning of the 16th. Maradiagas and Dias
presence in the vicinity is verified by
the attached statement ("B") of a
prisoner I captured at San Geronimo the
13th, and oral information from a Santa
Rosa inhabitant, who stated that
Maradiaga moved north from Chipote on
the 10th. I was in La Paz about noon the
16th, and found a fire still burning,
and other signs of recent occupation,
including freshly chewed sugar cane, at
a sentry post one half mile from La Paz.
I believe that I missed Maradiaga by
about three hours.
Maradiaga told Williams that he had come
from the other side of Chipote (probably
Mechones or Rampajon - see "A") on a
forage trip, because there was not
enough subsistence in that area.
Fernando Maradiaga and his unit were the
band defeated by Lt. Kenyon at Santa
Rosa, their strength having been about
20 at that time. Maradiaga was wounded
in the left forearm but is now
practically well. Carmen Torres came
into Las Encinas the evening of the 15th
alone, and conferred with Maradiaga,
saying that he had just been [ p. 2 ]
headed for Jalapa with about fifteen
men, but had turned back a few miles
from the town on finding it occupied by
Marines. He left his men in the hills
near Yauli and stopped a few miles from
Las Encinas, to kill two conservative
homesteaders. I heard a rumor at Arado
Grande that it was part of Torres band
which Lieutenant Waterman attacked the
night of 12 February, and that two more
had died of wounds in addition to the
five dead reported by Lieutenant
Waterman.
On the same day, the 15th, Seguiera
[Francisco Sequiera], with two aides,
passed through on his way to Mexico, to
get more for Sandino. Seguiera showed
Williams ten ten dollar Nicaraguan
bills, and asked for change in American
money. Williams said that about the
27th, Seguiera had passed through,
headed south and accompanied by Carleton
Beal [Beals], a newspaper correspondent
of "The Nation". Williams had Beal's
card which stated in the left hand
corner: Correspondent of the Review "The
Nation" of New York, or words to that
effect, in Spanish. Beal had met
Seguiera in Tegucigalpa, stated a desire
to interview Sandino, and was personally
conducted to his Headquarters. Seguiera
stating that they walked five days south
from Las Encinas before they arrived at
the outlaw's headquarters, near
Jinotega. Seguiera said that Beal left
via Jinotega or Matagalpa, and went
towards Managua. Seguiera passes freely
to and from Honduras, via Agua Caliente,
Limon, Santa Barbara, and Las Encinas
(O'Shea map).
Seguiera, Maradiaga, and Torres are
quoted as saying that Sandino left
Chipote about the 14th with sixty men,
leaving Galeano, Sanchez, and Montoya
with seventy five men to occupy the San
Lucas, San Juan, Guanacastilla, Barrial
(O'Shea map) district, and Salgado,
Tejado, Gonzales, and Coronado Maradiaga
and Ramon Maradiaga are supposed to be
with Sandino, who augmented his force of
sixty men from Jinotega district. All
are reported to be short of ammunition.
Juan Colindres is in Tamis (see "A")
with no troops.
Our Quilali detachment is hampering
Sandino's communications, being located
in the center of his forces. His line of
communication is through San Juan then
Buena Vista, Las Cruzas, El Golfo, Santa
Rosa or Barriol, Guanacastilla, Las
Vueltas, El Golfo, etc. (O'Shea map).
Many previous Sandinistas have left his
forces, and are living in the mountains,
fearing to return to their farms. Some
of these have rifles, and some still act
in the capacity of spies and informers.
Williams says there about fifty such
people in the hills immediately
surrounding Las Encinas. Sandino's men
believe that the Marines are about to
withdraw from Nicaragua. The leaders
keep setting dates - the last was
February 15, - telling the men that
after this time they will be free to
plunder as they please.
The 75 men in the San Juan (O'Shea map)
are supposed to be split up into several
groups, one at San Juan, one near
Barrial or Las Mesas, (a few miles north
of Barrial, not on map), one near Las
Vueltas, and one near Cerro Blanco. The
largest group is not stronger than
twenty five men.
/s/ Everett H. Clark
127/220/6
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