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.

    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

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Ancillary Document:   Statement of Prisoner Jacinto Zeledón

 Memo to Lt Clark.
 
The prisoner states as follows —
 
Three days ago, about 20 men armed with rifles passed my house - The Jefe is named Maxidono Diaz and they went toward Murra — I have been to San Geronimo picking beans, but Jicaro is my home. The two fuses I found in the road near San Geronimo. I think they are used in the mines. They say that General Sandino went towards Matagalpa with 200 men the same day that the Americans attacked "El Chipote." He had about 300 pack animals, lightly loaded, in charge of Captain Monyoso. I was a prisoner on Chipote for 15 days last October because they - Sandino - thought that I was working for the Marines. General Sandino had four machine guns - two Brownings [ p. 2 ] and 2 Thompsons. I did not see any ammunition while I was a prisoner on Chipote. One day Colonel Lasrilado Palacio [Ladislao Palacios] captured six women prisoners and brought them to Chipote as cooks. They captured them at "Tierra Blanca." I do not know of any more armed bandidoes. I do not know of any communication or arms that might be concealed. What I have told you is the truth and is all that I know.

Jacinto Seledon [Jacinto Zeledon].
El Jicaro.

/s/ D. M McDonald.
Lt. G.N.

Colonel Simon Gonzalez was instructor and Jefe of the Macine guns and was a Honduran.
DMD
 
"B" - 2

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