Papers Relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States, Transmitted to Congress with the Annual Message of the President, December 4, 1871
Mr. Fish to Mr. Hurlbut.
Sir: I transmit a copy of dispatch. No. 102, of the 30th ultimo, addressed to this Department by Owen M. Long, esq., consul of the United States at Panama. It relates to recent revolutionary events in that state, and particularly to the seizure and detention of the steamer Montijo, belonging to citizens of the United States, by Thomas Herrera, the leader of the faction in opposition to the Colombian authorities. As the seizure is shown to have taken place before there was any organization of that faction, the members cannot, it is presumed, even under the constitution of Colombia, have been entitled to the rights of belligerents. The seizure was, therefore, a piratical act, for which it is expected that the authors will be held to be judicially accountable. The treaty stipulates that no such seizure shall be made, even by the Colombian authorities, without just compensation to the aggrieved parties. When, therefore, such an act is committed in the waters of that republic by unauthorized persons, the obligation of that government to make amends therefor may be regarded as unquestionable. You will accordingly apply for reparation in this case.
I am, &c.,
Mr. Long to Mr. Hunter.
Sir: Since my last, No. 101, the revolutionary troubles in this state have all quieted down, and peace once more prevails in all her borders. President Comoro, with a magnanimity unusual in Spanish America, and with a force three times as great as his opponents, has consented to an arrangement with Herrera, by which each party bears off some of the spoils of victory, and the citizens, including foreign merchants, have to foot the bill. After my return from my visit to Captain Selfridge, Colonel Ferrero, the commander of the Colombian or national troops in this state, determined he would send down to David a peace commission to obtain the release of two officers of the Pichincha battalion, stationed in Panama, and who had been captured by Herrera when he made the attempt and captured the suite of the President. I took the opportunity of forwarding the inclosed No. 1 to Captain Stevens, and under its cover the Inclosed No. 2 to Herrera; in inclosures Nos. 3 and 4 you will find his reply. Inclosure No. 5 is the sworn statement of Mr. John Schuber, which completely refutes Herrera’s charge of Mr. Schuber being in sympathy with the rebellion.
Herrera’s statements also of the Montijo having no papers to designate her nationality on board at the time of her capture are false, as the captain had with him my receipt for his register, and other papers belonging to the boat, said papers being in my office in Panama, The Montijo always, except when going out of the jurisdiction of this consulate, deposited her papers in this office and took my receipt for them. As the Montijo carried the mails and dispatches gratuitously between this port and David, she had permission from the state of Panama to run into all her ports and navigable waters without the payment of any fees whatever. His charge as to her having lost her nationality in her previous complicity with rebellions in this state cannot be sustained, as Mr. Schuber had a perfect right to charter his vessel to any party. While engaged in such contracts he, however, lost his protection as an American or neutral vessel. This Mr. Schuber well knew, and he chose to run the risk. The recent, case bears no analogy to the first. In the recent case Mr. John Schuber most positively refused, while in David, to charter his vessel to Herrera; he delayed his departure several days, and supposed that their intentions had been abandoned, when he concluded [Page 231] to leave for Panama. My entire action in this case has been based upon the following statements of facts, which are substantiated by the affidavits inclosed. I contend that, even allowing these adventurers the privileges of belligerents, they did not possess these rights till after some organization was made by which they became a power recognized by international law.
The constitution of Colombia, very unwisely, I think, recognizes the right of the citizens of the several states to rebel at any time and throw off the authority of the old state and organize a new one by force of arms. But does that fight give any authority to a few daring and adventurous spirits to collect a band or marauders and appropriate private property to their own uses? If that transaction had taken place in Panama, they could, with equal right, have walked into the office of the Pacific Mail Steamship Company, or into that of the Royal Mail Company, or the Pacific Steam Navigation Company’s office, and have demanded the treasure that is often found there, it being a very necessary sinew of war.
Mr. Schuber’s boat was captured on the 6th of April, 1871, as proved in all the affidavits. Herrera, in his letter to me, says that the provisional government was not organized in David till the 8th of April, two days after wards, thus showing conclusively that, if he had rights after the 8th of April, in consequence of the organization of his government, he could have had no rights before that except what brute force gave him. I so represented the facts of the case to Commander Selfridgc, and he, I thought, entirely concurred with me in my view of the case; but in consequence of the near completion of his explorations, did not deem it advisable to withdraw the Resaca from the Luyn River, being apprehensive that if he did so he would not be able to resume his duties on account of the advent of the rainy season.
Revolutions in this entire country are gotten up in the same way; they are nothing but speculations upon the part of some daring and needy adventurers; and as they have nothing to lose and everything to gain, they commence by collecting a few followers, and then seize upon neutral property and levy heavy contributions upon money and subsistence of the inhabitants who have any means. If these men were once taught that such occurrences and spoliations upon American property would not be tolerated, but that all engaged in such piratical acts would be punished with the pains and penalties attached to such crimes, it would have a most excellent effect in checking that morbid tendency to get up these periodical disturbances.
I have on all occasions cautioned our American citizens to abstain from every act which might he considered as in violation of our neutrality.
When I visited Commander Selfridge I bore to him authority from President Comoro, and also from Colonel Ferrero, commanding the national forces in this state, and both acting as agents of the Colombian government, to visit any of the bays, harbors, and rivers in this state, in search of the Montijo, and to land forces, if necessary, to recapture her and restore her to her owners.
The Montijo has not yet been delivered up to the Messrs. Schubers, but was dispatched by President Comoro to convey the rebel troops back to David, in spite of representations made by me to him, based upon the affidavits of Captain Saunders and Chief Engineer Howard, which are herewith inclosed, (inclosures Nos. 6, 7, and 8.)
I have the honor to be, your obedient servant,
Inclosures
No. 1. Letter to Captain Stevens.
No. 2. Letter to Mr. Herrera.
No. 3. Letter from Mr. Herrera.
No. 4. Letter from Mr. Herrera.
No. 5. Affidavit of John Schuber.
No. 6. Affidavit of Robert Howard.
No. 7. Affidavit of Mrs. Hannah E. Saunders.
No. 8. Affidavit of Captain Saunders.
No. 1.
To Captain Stevens, Of the Panama Railroad Company’s steamer Winchester:
Sir: Understanding that the vessel which you command, belonging to the Panama Railroad Company, is about to embark for the ports in the upper part of this State, [Page 232] with peace commissioners and officers of the Colombian government, I would take this occasion to advise you of the delicate position you occupy, and warn you against any infraction of neutrality in the important domestic revolution which has recently occurred in this State. Bearing the flag of the United States, you will do all in your power to secure a cessation of hostilities, and, if it be possible, to secure a restoration to the Messrs. Schuber & Bro. of their steamer Montijo, which has been piratically seized, and is now in the possession of the revolutionary powers in the department of Chiriqui.
You are also empowered to inform those persons who now so unjustly detain and keep the Montijo from her proper owners, that if they do not immediately release the said vessel, that all the available forces of the United States in these waters will be employed in the recapture of the said steamer Montijo, and to all those found in resistance the pains and penalties of piracy will be inflicted.
In testimony whereof I have hereto set my hand and affixed the seal of this consulate at Panama, this day and date above written.
United States Consulate, Panama, May 29, 1871.
I, Owen M. Long, consul of the United States in and for the port of Panama and its dependencies, do certify that the foregoing is a true and literal copy of a letter from myself to Captain Stevens, forwarded to him on the 3d day of May, A. D. 1871, and recorded in my office in “book of letters,” sent as No.—.
In testimony whereof I have hereto set my hand and affixed the seal of the consulate, at Panama, day and date above written.
No. 2.
To Thomas Herrera and all others whom it may concern:
Mr. Henry Schuber, of the firm of H. Schuber & Bro., of this city, both American citizens and owners of the steamer Montijo, an American vessel, duly registered in the proper office in New York, and whose papers are on file in this office, has entered his protest in the office of the United States consulate at Panama, that his vessel, the Montijo, in the lawful prosecution of her return trip from David to Panama, was captured and taken possession of by you and others, on the 6th day of April last, and that the said vessel is still detained and kept by you from his lawful possession and use: I therefore, as consul of the United States, do, in the name of the United States, demand and require the immediate restoration of the American steamer Montijo to her lawful owners, the Messrs. Schuber and Bro., under the pains and penalties usually inflicted upon those guilty of piratical acts.
In testimony whereof I have hereto subscribed my name and affixed the seal of the consulate at Panama, day and date above written.
[seal.] OWEN M. LONG, United States Consul.
I, Owen M. Long, consul of the United States at Panama, do hereby certify that the letter on the foregoing pages, written by myself, and forwarded to Thomas Herrera and all others whom it may concern, is a true and genuine copy from the original, recorded in my office as No. —, in book of letters sent.
In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the seal of the consulate at Panama, this 29th day of May, A. D. 1871, and the Independence of the United States the ninety-fifth.
No. 3.
United States of Colombia, executive power of the State of Panama, provisional government, presidency of the state, department of Coele, No. 2.
Mr. Consul of the United States of America:
Sir: In addressing you for the first time I am pleased at being able to inform you that the revolution which took place in the City of David on the 8th day of April last, [Page 233] and at the head of which the will of my fellow-citizens has placed me, now possesses the departments of Chiriqui, Beraguas, Los Santos, and Coele, where the populace acknowledge the new authorities and give them every class of assistance.
I am equally pleased to be able to inform you that you have nothing to fear for the security of your subjects, because in all places where the new government is recognized they enjoy, as foreigners, all the guarantees to which they have the right as such.
I expect soon to be in possession of the whole state, for I possess sufficient force to subdue the two departments which yet remain under the yoke of the few soldiers of the government which to-day succumbs before the uniform opinion of all the inhabitants of the Isthmus; and meanwhile I promise myself that the friendly relations will not suffer the least alteration which have existed up to now between the Government which you represent and that of our country.
With sentiments of the most distinguished consideration, Mr. Consul, I subscribe myself your attentive servant,
HERRERA.
United States Consulate, Panama, May 29, 1871.
I, Owen M. Long, consul of the United States at Panama, certify that the above letter is a true and correct translation of the original in Spanish, as recorded in my office in book of letters received.
In testimony whereof I have hereto set my hand and affixed the seal of the consulate at Panama, this 29th day of May, A. D. 1871.
No. 4.
United States of Colombia, executive power of the sovereign state of Panama, provisional government, presidency of the state, department of Coele No. 3.
Mr. Consul of the United States of America at Panama:
Sir: I have the honor to address you for the purpose of stating that I have seen with surprise in La Estrella de Panama of the 27th of April, of this year, that Commander Selfridge, commander of North American naval forces, is disposed to personally interfere with them, and to rescue (ransom) the steamer Montijo, and treat as pirates those who hold her, on the supposition that they have outraged the flag of the United States of America. You will allow me to declare the provisional government has never intended to outrage the North American flag, nor that of any other friendly nation, and if it has taken into its service the steamer Montijo, it has been for the following reasons:
1st. That this steamer, although she carries the North American flag, has no register or other document which proves her nationality.
2d. That, although his steamer were North American, she has lost her neutral character, because she has previously mixed in our political disputes.
3d. That the government is disposed, as it has offered to Mr. John Schuber, to pay for all the service the Montijo may render it.
To this may be added the fact that Mr. John Schuber recognizes and is in harmony with the provisional government, and that this has given him every guarantee he has solicited. I expect that the consul to whom I have the honor to address this will take into consideration the foregoing reasons, and that he will explain to Commander Selfridge that he has no right to interfere with the forces at his command to rescue the steamer Montijo, for all intervention he may exercise in favor of one of the belligerents must be considered as a violation of international law.
Moreover, Mr. Consul, I must observe that the intervention of North American forces in the internal questions of our country will prolong the war, to the prejudice of foreigners.
The assistance which is wished to be given by Captain Selfridge to a government which cannot count upon public opinion and which seeks to sustain itself by foreign forces, although that to-day will not influence the result, will still be a shame for him who begs that assistance, which ought not to be given by the representative of the nation which is the most liberal and just on the face of the globe.
I am, &c.,
I, Owen M. Long, United States Consul for Panama and its dependencies, certify that the above is a true and correct copy of the translation of the letter received by me in Spanish from Herrera, word for word and figure for figure, as recorded in my book of letters received in my office.
No. 5.
I, John Schuber, of the firm of H. Schuber & Bro., of Panama, being duly sworn by the United States consul, at his office in Panama, on this 23d day of May, A. D. 1871, depose and say as follows, to wit:
My name is John Schuber; am 38 years of age; am an American citizen and a partner in the house of H. Schuber & Bro.; we are the owners of the steamship Montijo, running between the ports of Panama and David. Said steamer is an American vessel, duly registered in the proper office in the city of New York. I was on board of her when she was captured by Thomas Herrera and his party. Before she sailed from David for Panama, Thomas Herrera and Domingo Dias met me in the streets of David and proposed to hire or charter the steamer Montijo; I told them that I would not, under any circumstances, charter her to any party contemplating a political revolution, and if that was their object, I protested against chartering her to them or any other person for that purpose. I told them that I could not and would not do so for any money that they could pay me. This conversation was at night, on the 2d, 3d, or 4th of April.
The day after this conversation, Thomas Herrera came to me again and repeated the proposition. He told me that he would not take the steamer from me without my consent. On the morning of the 5th, we took on board our cattle and passengers, the general cargo having been brought on board before the 5th of April. We sailed from David that evening, hound for the city of Panama. We had a full passenger list, among whom were Thomas Herrera and Domingo Dias. I supposed that they were hound for Panama, and did not anticipate any attempt on their part to capture the boat. The Montijo sailed from David under the command of Captain James H. Saunders. We went down the river till near Boca Chico, where we were compelled to anchor and wait for the tide. As soon as the tide served we got up anchor, and were just getting under way, when the chief engineer reported to the captain that the tubes or flues in his boiler had given out, and we accordingly again cast our anchor and repaired our flues. As soon as the tide served the next day we got under way, and proceeded as far as the month of the river, when the engineer reported that another of the tubes was leaking, and that it would be dangerous to go to sea without repairing it. We again cast anchor, and at 4½ o’clock p. m., on the 6th of April, I being on deck forward, heard some of the passengers say a vessel was approaching us. As soon as Thomas Herrera saw the vessel, he came to me and asked me to hoist a signal, so that the vessel could come in. I refused to do so, and told him that I was not captain of the ship, and that he must go to the captain for any such orders. He went to the captain, and the captain came to me and said that they wanted him to hoist a signal, which was one of a very unusual character, namely, the ensign at the fore. He said he wanted it done so that the schooner might understand it and come in. I then told Captain Saunders that he was captain of the ship, and to do his duty. Thomas Herrera and party then demanded of the captain the flag, which he positively refused to give up. They then told him that if he did not give it up they would take it by force, which they proceeded to do with drawn revolvers, threatening the captain’s life. By force they took the flag from him and hoisted it at the fore. The schooner then immediately came in and anchored close to us. Manuel Dias and Colonel Paris then came on board from the schooner and joined the party that had taken possession of the Montijo.
They then ordered the captain to have steam ready next morning at four o’clock. At four o’clock next morning we proceeded outside to hail a schooner that was in sight. We then returned to the mouth of the river and took the schooner that lay by us the night before in tow, and proceeded up the river some twelve or fifteen miles and came to anchor. The same day we took the arms and ammunition which were on board the schooner on board of the steamer. The boats of the steamer and the schooner were then sent up the stream some distance, and returned with some one hundred and twenty men, who were all embarked on board of the steamer. Some of those men that came on board had arms, others not; the unarmed men were all supplied. About three o’clock that evening we proceeded up to the port of Pedrigal, the port of David. All the men and officers on board of the steamer, with the exception of a guard of two officers and some ten or fifteen men, were disembarked and proceeded to the city of [Page 235] David, winch they captured without much opposition. As soon as the men were disembarked to take David, the captain was ordered to take the ship down the river near the mouth of the Chiriqui, where we came to anchor; he was ordered to remain there till further orders. Early in the morning of the 8th of April the captain was ordered to bring the boat up to Mangota, her usual port. We arrived there about five o’clock that evening, when I left the ship and went to David.
The cattle were now all landed, and the passengers who had been on board all this time, were now permitted to go ashore. After the town of David was captured, and not till then, was there any provisional government established or proclaimed by Thomas Herrera or any other persons. When we left David for Panama the state officers belonging to the government of President Comoro were in office, and forwarded their usual dispatches to the capital.
The Montijo was captured on the evening of the 6th of April; the city of David was captured on the night of the 7th of April, 1871. Next morning, the 8th, the provisional government was proclaimed in David, with Thomas Herrera as provisional president, and Domingo Obaldia was installed as prefect of the department of Chiriqui. We were all considered as prisoners, and none of us, including the captain and crew, were permitted to leave the boat till after the capture of David, when I, with the passengers, were permitted to go ashore. I had permission to leave David for Sona; here I was detained and prevented from leaving till about the 8th day of May, when I chartered a schooner and had to leave the place secretly. I reached Panama on the 17th day of May, 1871.
I, Owen M. Long, consul of the United States at Panama, certify that the above statement of facts by Mr. John Schuber is a true and correct copy of the original in my office, and recorded on pages 23, 24, 25, and 26, in the miscellaneous record book.
In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and attached my seal of office, at Panama, this 27th day of May, A. D. 1871, and the year of Independence of the United States the ninety-fifth.
No. 6.
Personally appeared before me at my office in Panama, on the 22d day of May, A. D. 1871, Robert Howard, chief engineer of the steamship Montijo, who, being duly sworn, makes the following statement of facts, to which he has subscribed his name in my presence:
My name is Robert Howard, 45 years of age; I have been chief engineer for the Montijo for the last 14 months; was acting as such at the time of her capture by the revolutionists at David. Have been on her ever since. She was captured on the 6th of April last, and has been under steam ever since; the engines have been very much injured in consequence of the want of proper oil; the boilers are in a very unfit condition to go to sea, and I consider the attempt to do so extremely hazardous to the safety of the boat and all on board, and, as chief engineer, I protest against being required to raise steam or set the engines in motion until her boilers and engines have been repaired.
Sworn to in presence of— Owen M. Long, United States Consul.
Lucius Crocker.
I, Owen M. Long, United States consul in and for Panama, do hereby certify that the above is a true and correct copy of the affidavit of Robert Howard, chief engineer of the steamship Montiji, as recorded on page 18 of miscellaneous record book in my office in Panama.
In testimony whereof I have hereto set my hand and attached my seal of office at Panama, this 29th day of May, A. D. 1871, and the Independence of the United States the ninety-fifth.
No. 7.
Personally appeared before me Owen M. Long, United States consul for Panama, at my office, in Panama, day and date above written, Mrs. Hannah. Elizabeth Saunders, wife of Captain James H. Saunders, of the American steamer Montijo, the property of Messrs. Henry Schuber & Bro., American citizens now doing business in Panama, who, after being duly sworn to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, deposeth and saith as follows: I am the wife of Captain James H. Saunders, of the Montijo; I went on board of the Montijo at David, on the 5th of April, with the intention of coming to Panama. We left David on the evening of the 5th, and anchored, on account of the tide, at Boca St. Pedro, in the David River. Next morning, the 6th, we got up steam, raised our anchors, and proceeded on our voyage. We had hardly gone a ship’s length before two of the flues gave out and we were forced to cast our anchors again. In about four hours we succeeded in repairing the flues, so as to start for Boca Chica, the mouth of David River, where we arrived between 12 and 1 o’clock. At this point several more tubes in our boilers gave out, which required some three or four hours to repair. We were making preparations to go to sea when a schooner hove in sight. As soon as the schooner made its appearance, Thomas Herrera and Domingo Dias, with fifteen or twenty other persons who had embarked as passengers from David to Panama, suddenly and without any warning approached the captain and ordered him to hoist his United States flag at the fore. They were all well armed and presented their revolvers at him, and threatened to shoot him if he did not so hoist it. They forcibly took the flag, and he made an effort to retake it, but was met by drawn revolvers and machetes.
The flag was hoisted by them at the fore, when the schooner approached and was towed up the river some little distance, when the arms and ammunition on board of the schooner were transferred to the Montijo, after which the Montijo left and returned to David. She then disembarked the troops which she had received on board while lying in the river, and after she had got the arms and ammunition from the schooner. After sending the troops ashore, she proceeded down the river a short distance and remained there the till next afternoon’s tide, which was the 8th day of April. As soon as the tide served they came up the river to their old landing, and put all the cattle, arms, and ammunition ashore. The said cattle were embarked at David for Panama. We supposed that we would make a good trip, as she was full of passengers and freight. Mr. John Schuber, one of the owners of the Montijo, was on board, and refused to acquiesce in the seizure of the flag and boat, and, with Captain Saunders, protested against their acts. From the hoisting of the flag at the fore, they took possession of the ship, and she still remains in their possession till the present time.
Neither Herrera, or Dias, or any other person or persons ever proclaimed themselves as revolutionists, or as being in arms against the government of Panama, till after the capture of the Montijo. Captain Saunders and the entire crew of the Montijo were taken prisoners and have been forcibly detained on board till this present writing. They refused me the privilege of coming ashore here, but I insisted upon it, and, after much remonstrance, I was sent off from Toboga in a small-boat and reached Flamenca in time to take the tow-boat Panama to Panama. From the time of the capture of the Montijo till the present, Herrera and Diaz have been apprehensive of a rescue by the United States ship Resaca, and have always kept her in shallow water or up in small rivers to keep her out of the reach of the Resaca.
Witnesses: Owen M. Long, United States Consul.
Lucius Crooker.
Sworn and subscribed to before me, at my office in Panama, day and date above written. In testimony whereof I have hereto set my hand and attached my seal of office this day and date above written.
[seal.] OWEN M. LONG, United States Consul.
Recorded in miscellaneous record book, page 27.
No. 8.
Personally appeared before me at my office in Panama, this 22d day of May, A. D. 1871, James H. Saunders, master of the American steamer Montijo of New York, Who, being duly sworn, has made and subscribed to the following statement of facts, viz:
My name is James H. Saunders, master of the steamer Montijo, an American vessel registered in the port of New York. I was in command on the 6th day of April, 1871, when she was captured by Thomas Herrera and others. We left David on the 5th of April last, bound for Panama, and had proceeded as far as Boca Chica, at the [Page 237] mouth of the river David, when, in consequence of the bursting of the tubes in the boiler, we could not proceed to sea, and were compelled to cast anchor till our boilers were repaired. Before we were able to make the necessary repairs, at about 4½ o’clock, p. m., Thomas Herrera, with some nine others, who all of them had taken passage for Panama, having recognized a signal made by a schooner approaching us from the southwest, suddenly presented themselves to me, and with arms in their hands required me to hoist the American flag at the fore. This I refused to do, supposing it was a signal for the schooner to attack and capture the Montijo, never for a moment supposing that the party on board had any idea of capturing us.
I refused to do such an unusual thing, and told them so, at which they said they would hoist it themselves, and proceeded, forcibly and violently, to remove the flag from my possession. My life was threatened by them, and I was unwillingly forced to submit to have the flag hoisted at the fore. I was then told by Thomas Herrera that I must consider the Montijo as captured and in possession of themselves, and that I must also consider myself and crew as prisoners, and that they would not suffer us to leave or abandon the boat.
At the time of capture we had on board a full cargo, consisting of cattle, freight, and passengers, and were expecting to make a profitable trip.
The schooner had come close alongside of us and cast her anchor. On the evening of the 6th, Mr. Herrera ordered me to have steam up and be ready to sail by 4 o’clock next morning, the 7th of April. At 4 o’clock next morning we left our anchorage and proceeded out of the mouth of the river to sea, and hailed a small schooner, when we returned to our former anchorage and took in tow the schooner which had been lying alongside us.
We then took from the schooner all the arms and ammunition on board of said schooner. While we were engaged in taking on board the arms and ammunition from the schooner, Thomas Herrera ordered all the boats up the river, and in a short time the boats returned to the Montijo, filled with soldiers. They made some three trips up the river, returning each time with their boats filled with men, who were all put on board of the Montijo.
At 3 o’clock p. m. on the 7th of April, 1871, I was ordered to leave for Petrigall, the port of David, where we arrived at 5 o’clock p. m. The troops, with the exception of two officers and fifteen men, were then disembarked. These two officers and fifteen men were left on board as a guard. I was then ordered, by them, down the river about fifteen miles, where we came to anchor and lay till about 4 o’clock p. m. of the 8th. That morning, at 9 o’clock a. m., I received orders to take the boat to Mangota, the regular landing port of the boat. We arrived there at 5 o’clock p. m. the same day. About thirty men came on board and relieved the guard; we then hauled into the dock and landed all the cattle which had been kept on board till this time. The next morning all the arms and ammunition were landed. We lay here till the morning of the 12th of April. The guard on board were now relieved by some seventy-five or eighty men, in command of one Colonel Franchori and other officers. At 9.30 a. m. on the 12th, I was ordered to go to sea; after getting out to sea, I was ordered to proceed to Munche, the port of Los Tablas, where we arrived at 10 o’clock a. m. of the 13th, I now learned that the party which captured the steamer was in revolution against the regular and constitutional government, and that their object in going to Los Tablas was to capture the president, General Comoro.
When the steamer was first captured and taken possession of I protested against all such acts, and told them that I would do nothing except upon compulsion; to this they replied that was easy enough to do, and warned me against any refusal to do their orders. We reached Los Tablas on the 13th at 10 o’clock a. m. They then sent spies up to Los Tablas and found that the president, Comoro, was expected there that night. At 6 o’clock p. m. on the 13th, the troops on board were landed, leaving a guard of fifteen en on board, with one officer, who had charge of the boat. From this till the 22d day of May, 1871, I was forcibly detained on board and allowed no communication whatever with shore. At 10.30 o’clock a. m., the 22d day of May, I left and came ashore to make this my statement of the facts in this case.
The ship at this time was lying about five miles out from Panama. When I left the officer in charge protested against my leaving the ship; I would also give it as my decided opinion that in the present condition of the Montijo she is entirely unseaworthy, her boilers requiring repairs, and her machinery needing also many repairs. Sending her to sea in her present condition is a great risk.
Signed in presence of: Owen M. Long, United States Consul.
Lucius Crooker.
Sworn and subscribed to before me, this 22d day of May. A. D. 1871, at my office in Panama, and the Independence of the United States the 95th.
OWEN M. LONG, United States Consul.
[Untitled]
I, Owen M. Long, consul of the United States in and for Panama, that the above affidavit or statement of facts by Captain Saunders is a true and correct of the original, as recorded in my book of miscellaneous records, on pages 19, 20, 21, and 22.
In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the seal of the consulate at Panama, day and date above written.