T R A N
S C R I P
T I O N
SPECIAL EXPEDITIONARY FORCE, THIRD
BATTALION, FIFTH REGIMENT
SAN ALBINO, NICARAGUA
February 26, 1928.
From: |
First Lieutenant Everett H.
Chark, U.S. M.C. |
To: |
The Commanding Officer. |
Subject: |
Patrol Report. |
Enclosure |
1): Sketch. |
1. In accordance with your
orders I left Jicaro at 2300, February
23, 1928 and proceeded to Las Vueltas,
Guanacastillo, Barrial, Las Mesas,and
return.
2. Entering Las Vueltas at
dawn, Feb 24, I found it deserted except
for a few women, children, and one
invalid. Each gave approximately similar
information: that no outlaw forces had
passed thru nor occupied the town since
early January, that no courriers
[couriers] or small parties had passed
thru, that the previous inhabitants were
in the majority Honduranians and had
returned to Honduras, that the nearest
organized bandit force is at Barrial
under the four LOPEZ brothers [Reyes
Lopez], said band consisting of about 25
men, very few rifles, no rifle
ammunition, several shotguns, and many
machetes, and that this band does not
rove from its own immediate
neighborhood. No evidence of recent
bandit occupation or activity was found
in Las Vueltas.
3. I entered Guanacastillo
at sunset Feb. 24 and found it deserted
except for one woman operating a cane
mill south of town. She said that no
groups had been in town since last
December, that the inhabitants had moved
to the "mountains" or had joined the
Barrial [El Barillal] group, and the [that] the
Barrial group still existed.
4. I skirmished the heights
above Barrial just before dawn Feb. 25
and entered the north of the town at
dawn. The better class of houses were
unoccupied but were well supplied with
food and showed every sign of recent
occupation. The two hillside shacks that
were inhabited yielded information that
a group of about "100" were quartered in
town, led by the four LOPEZ brothers,
armed with shotguns and machetes but no
rifles; that they had been warned the
previous morning by mounted courrier
from San Juan that marines were near and
had consequently taken to the hills
southeast of town where they would
separate and be industriously engaged in
agricultural pursuits should marines
surprize them; that all the members of
this group of "Civicos" had previously
been members of the community and now
formed a sort of communist gathering,
living in turn in each other's houses
and farming each other's land when they
could force no non-member to do the work
for them; that they had committed no
murders or other major disorders
recently but were awaiting Sandino's
return. One of these Civicos appeared on
the horizon as we were going thru town.
He wore the red and black hat band but
apparently carried no arms. My guide's
shout of "Cinta roja" frightened him
before he could be captured or shot at.
Examination of [ p. 2 ] trails showed
the footprints of one man only and
effort to locate the main outlaw body,
failed.
5. At Guali I captured Jose
Rafael Marin, a murderer long wanted by
the Nicaraguan government, a well-known
Sandinisto [sic], and a previous leader
of bandit troops. He was armed with an
S&W .38 revolver but was scarcely able
to move at an ordinary rate of speed,
due to a 4 by 6 inch trench mortar or
grenade wound a month old and badly
infected besides several other minor
wounds, all infected. He barely survived
the trip to Jicaro, dying the evening of
Feb 25th before recovering sufficiently
do devulge any information.
6. Las Mesas is well
inhabited. Occupants have no knowledge
of any bandit activities and are
occupied with gathering fruit and other
produce for the Jicaro market.
7. REMARKS. I am convinced:
(1) That there is little menace from the
Barrial group, (2) Las Vueltas is not a
bandit roundevous, (3) Bandit
communication from San Juan ends at
Barrial. Communication, if any, between
San Juan and the Chipote area is
infrequent and does not include any
supply system to build up a reserve in
one area from the other, (4) Neither
Montoya, Galeano, nor Sanchez is in the
Barrial area.
There are not two Barrial's as shown on
the O'Shea map. The town consists of
some 30 houses scattered the length of a
two mile area. Much of O'Shea's data was
compiled by Mr. Bracken (Jicaro
interpreter) whose main interest is to
gather as many names as possible with
only secondary regard for distance or
direction and no regard at all for
ground forms.
/s/ E. H. CLARK
127/220/6
|