COPY

NEPTUNE PATROL
GUARDIA NACIONAL DE NICARAGUA
NEPTUNE MINE, NICARAGUA
29 May 1930

From: The Patrol Commander.
To:   Area Commander, Eastern Area, Guardia Nacional de Nicaragua.

Subject: Report.

1. In compliance with your orders dated May 19, 1930, this patrol cleared PRINZAPOLKA at 2115 May 22, 1930, and proceeded up the BANBANA RIVER, arriving at NEPTUNE at 1620 May 28, 1930. Nothing of importance was discovered en route.

2. Investigation here reveals the following:

(a) PEDRON ALTIMIRANO with between 150 and 200 bandits entered NEPTUNE by the back trail from the old BONANZA MINE at about 1530 May 12, 1930, and left at about 0600 May 15, 1930. The bandits had come from SIUNA, and their arrival was a complete surprise to all the inhabitants of this place, who were at work. The identified sub-jefes were GENERAL DIAZ, and COLONELS HERNANDEZ and VELASQUEZ, first names of each unknown.

(b) This group of bandits was not well organized. There was no particular unit to which each man was assigned, nor was there any organization within the three separate groups. The three groups were: an advance guard of between thirty and fifty men under command of VELASQUEZ, which remained in NEPTUNE, a main body of about one hundred men under command of DIAZ, which based at SAN PEDRO, and a rear guard under command of HERNANDEZ, which proceeded to LONESTAR HILL immediately after arrival in NEPTUNE and remained there until the band left.

(c) The bandits were armed with nondescript arms, varying from modern automatic pistols to Springfield rifles, but the majority carried useless pistols and muzzle loading shotguns. Ammunition was very scarce and PEDRON’S orders were that none was to be wasted. He said that if it became necessary to kill anyone, that a machete was the proper weapon to use. Six Thompson submachine guns, one Lewis machine gun and one Vickers machine gun were in the possession of the bandits. These arms were identified by ARTHUR PINEDA, and employee of the BONANZA MINES COMPANY, who served one enlistment in the U.S. CAVALRY.

p. 2

(d) GEORGE A. NAPOLEON, U.S. citizen, electrician at the mine, and ALFRED KIRKLAND, Nicaraguan, bookkeeper, were forced to open the safe and reveal the hiding place of the dynamite. There was about $250 in cash in the safe and ten cases of dynamite, about 3500 feet of fuse, and about 2000 dynamite caps in the hiding place. The dynamite was carried to SAN PEDRO and made into bombs in grapenut and sardine cans. NAPOLEON was forced to clean up what gold was in the zinc boxes, obtaining 113 ounces of very poor grade bullion, as the tanks had been cleaned up only three days before.

(e) Next to arms and ammunition, clothing was the main desire of the bandits, as they took all the clothing in NEPTUNE and SAN PEDRO, leaving only the clothing actually worn by the people. Upon their arrival in NEPTUNE the bandits were clad in ragged clothing, some wearing no shoes and about seventy five percent of them without shirts, but, after robbing the commissary of the BONANZA MINES COMPANY, and WANG SING, a Chinese merchant of SAN PEDRO, all left wearing new shoes, trousers and shirts. Foodstuffs did not appeal to them and they threw the commissary and the Chinaman’s store open to the public after they had removed the clothing. The natives helped themselves to all that was left. Both stores were absolutely cleaned out.

(f) PEDRON ordered that there be no drinking, and these orders were carried out almost to explicity. The liquor supply was confiscated and poured into the creek. No native was hurt, nor was any woman molested, strange as it may seem.

(g) The mill of the BONANZA MINES COMPANY was not damaged and could start work at once, if there were any dynamite here. PINEDA states that the value of the goods taken from the commissary is about $13,000, which was not insured. WANG SING states that the value of his merchandise was about $6000 and that it was insured for the full amount.

(h) There were several cases of measles among the bandits. When they left, two men were to be left behind for treatment, but they refused to take a chance with the natives and departed with the main body.

(i) The entire group left this vicinity about 0600 May 15, 1930, taking with them about fifty mules and horses from the district, making a total of about seventy mules in their possession. The bandits returned over the NEPTUNE-SIUNA trail as far as EL DORADO, where they took an old trail cut by mahogany workers twenty years or more ago which goes to ASA, GOLLONDRINA and GARROBO.

p. 3

(j) CANDILARIO ALTIMIRANO, PEDRON’S brother, who has made his home in NEPTUNE for the last seventeen years, was forced to accompany his brother. This statement is made by several natives who also state that he was tied to his mule when he left. CANDILARIO had pleaded with PEDRON to spare the lives of NAPOLEON, KIRKLAND, and the local Inspector of Police, MANUEL J. MENDOZA, who had been sentenced to death and for whom graves had been dug. PEDRON is reported to have said that his brother must have been keeping bad company, since he was so low as to speak for an American’s life, and stated that he would take CANDILARIO along and make a soldier out of him. Neither NAPOLEON, KIRKLAND, nor MENDOZA was killed.

3. It is believed that there were two spies in NEPTUNE up until about three days before the arrival of the bandits. They are: ANDRES LEIVA, of SUINA, formerly of NEPTUNE and now of parts unknown, and GERONIMO RUIZ, who was captured by the local INSPECTOR who will take him to BLUEFIELDS next week. It is my opinion that the spies had been here long enough to find out what time of the month there would usually be large amount of gold in the zinc boxes and that the raid was timed to catch a large amount of bullion. The mine cleaned up four days earlier than usual, and the bullion left here about four hours after the days work began. Had they arrived about six hours earlier, the bandits would now be richer by about $7500 worth of gold bullion.

4. On May 15, 1930, the day of departure, all natives were summoned to SAN PEDRO, where ALTIMIRANO read a manifesto purporting to be from SANDINO to the effect that: PRESIDENT MONCADA is a “machista” and is kept in office only by the backing of the U.S. Government. That the Marines were driven from NICARAGUA by the Army of Liberty after the Marines had suffered losses running into the thousands. That there is now only the Guardia Nacional standing between oppression and liberty. That SANDINO will return in August to personally lead the Army of Liberty in an attack on MANAGUA. And that all men are urged to join the Army of Liberty. Two men from here joined, HIPOLITO PICADO and OCTAVIANO ALVAREZ, both mozos in the mine.

5. I believe that PEDRON ALTIMIRANO and his bandits have cleared from the mining areas and returned from this section of the country to their hangouts in JINOTEGA and NUEVO SEGOVIA.

6. I also believe that a Guardia outpost should be established here at NEPTUNE. This subject will be dealt with in a later report.

/s/ W. W. Benson

W. W. BENSON

RG80, Sec. Navy Gen. Correspondence, 1925-40, EF-49, Box 2008.

Transcribed by Pleet Initiative-funded Lebanon Valley College student-researcher Nicholas J. Quadrini.