Evening Republican, Volume 16, Number 137, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 7 June 1912 — Looking FOR TROUBLE [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Looking FOR TROUBLE

\ BEING SOME BEAL STORIES FROM\THE t \IIFE OF A MASTER ADVENTURER; IB

CAPTAIN GEORGE B. BOYNTON

TJRING the Fran co-Prussian war, which ended in the capituB ■ lation of the French at Sedan, September 1. 1870, I had three y Ships busy with honest cargoes, \ but I did not set a chance to do A J any contraband running until Just before its close. Under file of the guns at Trieste I ran out a cargo of guns, which I delivered to the committee of safety at Bordeaux only a few days , before the battle of Sedan. Shortly after this I placed the Leckwith and my other ships in the hands of Nickell ft Co. for charter and sailed for New York. The first word that reached me on my arrival was that my wife, who had sailed ahead of me, was seriously ill at her old home in Illinois. I went to her at once and remained ait her side until the end, three weeks.later. When I returned to New York after the funeral I was greatly depressed and was in a mood for anything that offered excitement. A few days later I met Frank (Francis Lay) Norton. Knowing each other by reputation, we «oop became friends. Later we became partners in some of the most gloriously exciting exploits in which I have been fortunate enough to participate. Norton was a natural born pirate, and he looked the part. • When I first met him be was wild about the China sea, where he had spent several thrilling years and made several fortunes, but I heard so much of Venesuela and of Guzman Blanco that my heart was set on going there before I undertook to explore any other etrange lands. The upshot of our many discussions was that I sent .Norton to London to take command of the Leckwith until I was ready to Join him, when it was agreed we ehould go out in the yacht to his beloved China sea. ’ I • After Norton’s departure I bought the small fore-and-aft schooner-yacht Juliette, fitted her out at New London, Conn., for a six months’ cruise and started for Bermuda to test her sea--worthiness, with Lars Lorensen as sailing master, formerly of the Leckwith, and a brave* and loyal Norseman. Guzman Blanco was not *t St. Thomas, so we went on to Curacao, Always a revolutionary rendezvous, and there. In the latter part of December, I met Guzman and General Pulgar, his chief of staff. Guzman, after many exciting political and military ups and downs, was planning an invasion ot Venezuela against the Monagas faction, then in power. After he had studied me, asked all sorts of •questions and apparently satisfied himself that I could be relied on, Guzman told me, in A general way, of his plans and asked me to secure for him 8,000 old Remington rifles and £OO,OOO cartridges and deliver them as quickly as possible at Curacao. . Some two months later I arrived at Curacao,. where, instead of Guzman Blanco, I found General Ortega, who was with Guzman when I first -met him and seemed to be fully In his confidence. Ortega banded me a note, bearing what purported to be the signature of Gusman, which directed me to deliver the cargo at a plaoe to be Indicated by Ortega, and stated that payment for it would be made on my cabin table. I showed the signature to two men who knew Guzman well, and both pronounced it genuine. I had no suspicion that anything was wrong and took this precaution simply as a matter of ordinary business sense. Ortega directed me to deliver the cargo at Tucacas point, about one hundred miles west of La Guayra, and, on arriving, Ortega went ashore and returned with a request that I order off the hatches and start the unloading of the cargo in my boats and then go ashore with him and get my money. This was not In accord with my contract with Gusman or with the note Ortega had handed me, but I had great confidence in Guzman and did not wish to offend him. As soon as the unloading was well under way I Trent ashore with Ortega. We climbed the.bluff and walked half a mile inland to a mud-thatched hut before which a sentry was pacing. Ortega gave the countersign and we stepped Inside, to find General Pulgar, who was chief of staff for Guzman when 1 was Introduced to him, wrapped In a chlnchora and smoking in a hammock. He explained evasively that he was there instead of Gusman, but when I asked him for my money he smiled and straightened up. “J told Ortega to deliver that message to / you,” he said, "hut there is no use mincing words 'and I may as well tell you that you ere my prisoner. Your cargo is being taken care of and will be put to a very different purpose from that which you expected. As I have said, you are my prisoner, but I have an L offer to make you. It east make much differme. If you will join my forces I will make you a colonel and give you command of a battalion, and when the revolution Is over I wiO pay yon for your rifles. Just'as Gusman •greed to do." *¥> I again inquired where Gusman was, but a shrug of the shoulders was theonl7 answer I could get to questioning along that Una Not knowing so much about Venezuelan revolutions then as I did later, I could hot 'fathom this strange situation to my entire satisfaction, bnt It was my guess that In some way Pulgar bad beoome arrayed against Gusman, and ft turned out that I was right- - I told Pulgar that I would give him an answer in the morning, and spent the night , with Ortega, under guard. I tried to draw him out, but, evidently according to orders, be would set even talk about the weather.

* - ■—> ">iigpiu -any XNCINGR BEING SOME ZEAL SI LIFE OF A MASTER Al -T CAPTAIN GEORG ; At sunrise we went to see Pulgar. When asked for my decision I Inquired what the result would he if his revolution failed. . “Then I am sorry, my dear captain, but you will lose your cargo, while I will lose my life, which is Of infinitely more importance to me. But the revolution will not fail!” he vejte-. mently declared. - As though Impressed by his confidence, I announced that I would accept his offer, with a mental reservation to escape at the first opportunity, for I did not propose to fight against Guzman. . 7 V , “That Is excellent,’’ he said, with the suggestion of a bow. After coffee I went with him to Inspect bis troops. 1 was formally given command of a battalion of 300 men, and an Indian ‘ servant, who, I afterward found, had orders to shoot me if I attempted to escape, was assigned to me. I accompanied Pulgar back to his- headquarters, where I was given an old sword and the tarnished shoulder straps of a colonel, these constituting my uniform. “Now that you have allied yourself with my forces,” he then said, “you will have no use for your ship. You will therefore write a note to the officer In charge, directing him to proceed to Curacao and await orders. She will be safe there and,” with a quizzical smile, “you will be safe here." As there was nothing else for me to do. I complied with it at once. I had been trying for about a week to whip my lazy, ignorant troops into some sort of shape, when word was brought in one morning that "the enemy" was approaching. J/ Instead of allowing me to lead my battalion, Pulgar ordered me to remain with him a little knoll in the rear, from which he made a pretense of directing his forces. \ .y I will say for them, though, that they fought hard and stubbornly, but they were gradually driven back, and Pulgar, who ' bad a terrible temper, was furious. All at once the opposing troops were largely reinforced and came with a rush which quickly converted our orderly retreat Into a rout. Pulgar, cursing like a madman, dashed into the disorganized mass of his liberty-loving louts, with Ortega and the rest of his staff at his heels. I was left alone and was hesitating as to what I .should do, when my Indian servant tugged at my trousers-leg. ’ “Follow me, colonel!" he said. “I know where there is a boat” He started off at a run and covered ground -so fast that I had to gkllop my horse to keep up with him. He led the way to the beach near where my cargo had been landed and pushed a native boat from under a clump of mangrove trees. We jumped in and shoved off in a hurry, for Ortega and several of his . men had Just appeared on the bluff above and were making for us. We drifted around for three days and nights without so much as a glimpse of a distant sail and without an ounce of food or a mouthful of water, save only such as we were able to suck out of our clothes after a providential rain the second night. On the morning of the fourth day a fog lifted, and close to us was a fleet of fishermen from the ißland of Oruba, twenty miles to the westward of Curacao. They took us to their Island, and after we had rested and eaten for two days a fishing boat took us to Curacao. There I learned from Consul Faxon what had happened in Venezuela. Guzman’s plans had worked out more rapidly than he anticipated, and he landed In Venezuela early in February at the head of a small force, but with a large army waiting for him. With only slight resistance he entered Caracas and proclaimed himself dictator. His victory was so easily achieved and was so largely a personal one that he did not give to Pulgar the reward to which he considered himself entitled, and Pulgar Immediately started a new revolution. When I told Faxon bow I had been Imposed on and Impressed Into Pulgaris service he advised me to tell Guzman the whole story. I went on the next steamer, which also carried a letter from Faxon, In which he told Guzman the precautions I had taken to verify the signature to the order Ortega had given me. I called on Guzman after I knew he had received Faxon’s letter and was welcomed with marked cordiality. "Tell me your whole story," be said, "but let me assure you it is believed before it is told.” His faoe took on an ugly look when I told him how Ortega had tricked me with the forged order, and he interrupted me to say that he had sent an offloer to Curacao to await the Juliette and direct me to deliver the arms at La Guayra. This officer’s failure to get to me in advance of Ortega had not been satisfactorily explained and had, Guzman said, been severely punished, It was evident that he suspected collusion between his agent and Ortega. When I had finished Guzman told me be was surrounded by men whom heather suspected or hesitated to trust He wanted a man whom he could rely on implicitly to watch for evidences at treachery among those around him, and he #aa kind enough to say he thought I was the man he had been looking for. He asked ms to remain in Caracas for an Indefinite time, to mix freely with his followers and aaoertatn who could be trusted, f I had been with Gusman Blanco for about a year after he proclaimed himself dictator of Venezuela, .February 14, 1871, when I began to grow restless again. This was in no assise dee to any fault I had to find with Guzman. He had treated me with every mark of friendship and had proved, time and again, that I possessed his entire oonfidenoa Bnt wider his strong hand things were settling down to a humdrum, and with my whole nature clamoring for a change to mere strenuous scenes I put the situation up to Guzman and secured his permission to go away, on the promise that I would return within six months. I summoned the Juliette froa Curacao and set sail ing a cargo ot arms with which to add to the

, within me the gertn of his China sea insanity that it was taking root. We stopped at St Thomas, that haven of thieves, blacklegs and revolutionists, and there I met General Baez, brother and minister of war to Buenaventura Baez, the president of Santo Domingo, and one of the most Interesting characters the romantic West Indies have produced. .- - , . • He blew of my association with Guzman Blanco and at oncer approached me with a proposition that I go to Santo Domingo to aid. his brother In the troubles he foresaw. I told him that, if I could get an extension of leave from Guzman I would consider any practical - plan that promised excitement. We went on to London, where I learned that Norton was in the Mediterranean with the LeckWlth, Impatiently carrying general cargoes. I l«*ft word for him with Nickell ft Son that I expected soon ,to be ready to go out east with him, took on a cargo of arms and headed for Costa Rica, where I had Information that a revolution was hatching against General Tomaso Guardla. We ran Into bad weather in the Caribbean and were foroed to put in at Kingston, after all, leaking badly. When the repairs were completed the governor of the island refused to allow us to reload our cargo, as he had an intimation that Bhe ship was not what she pretended to be. Tbis hint, it developed later, came from Jimmy Donovan, a “sea lawyer,” whom I had shipped at the last minute in the hurry of getting away from London. He made what is known On the sea as a "pier-head Jump." On the fourth day I prevailed on the governor to allow us to take our cargo, but he Insisted that the ship must be held, with both anchors down, until further orders. I decided that we would go out that night. Knowing me as well as he did, Lorensen laughed incredulously, thinking I was joking, for the channel through the harbor was shaped like the letter S and commanded by a fort which could, as he said, blow us out of the water without half trying. “Just the same," I sold, "we are going to sea or to hell tonight.” Daring the evening he greased all of the blocks so we could start on our problematical journey without any noise. The moon went down at midnight, and before it was out of sight we had one anchor up, with a muffled capstan. We were getting up the other when the harbor policeman came along. A few Bank of England netor-blinded him and wegot under way, with two of the ship’s boats towing us and the tide helping us along. Evidently the fort had orders to look out for us, but "we caught them napping, apparently, for we were almost past It when we were hailed and ordered to stop. The next Instant, without giving us a decent chance to heave to, even had we been so inclined, they whanged away at us. The second shot went clear through us, just below the waterway, and Lorensen, who was with me at the wheel, exclaimed grimly, “Here we go, captain!” But he was mistaken, for in the darkness their gunnery was not up to the standard of British marksmanship. We were soon ’under cover of the Myrtle Bank hotel and after that two ships protected ub until we were far enough away so that only a chance shot could reach ns. ‘ The arms we carried were sold to the revolutionists in Costa Rica, being paid for partly in cash and partly iu coffee, which I sold at Curacao. From there I returned to Venezuela and reported to Guzman Blanco, after having been away only about four months. After Guzman’s successful campaign against the rebel, Pulido, in which I served on the staff, 1 received another letter from Baez, urging me to come to Santo Domingo. The same ipall brought a letter from Baez to Guzman, asking him to grant me leave ot absence for a few months to miter his service. Guzman was flattered by this request and with his permission I went to Santo Domingo City In the spring of 1878, on the Juliette. President Baez of Santo Domingo was short and thin and had a washed-out look, as though his skin had been faded by chemicals Instead of by a three-quarters admixture of white blood." I had heard of hfin only as a good fighter, but that reputation I became convinced, soon after my first visit to the "palaoe,” had hew earned for him by his former friends and supporters and was in no sense the work of his own sword, at least so tar as recent years were concerned. The “army” was, in reality, not much more than an unorganised body of densely ignorant natives, who, as practically the only compensation for their supposed loyalty, were allowed to carry guns which they did not know how to use. I taught them how to mart* without getting In each other's way, how to hauidlo their arms without shooting themselves, and as muoh discipline as they were amenable to, hut I fear my efforts did not go mm* beyond that, even though titer did effect a decided Improvement The revolutionary .. • w ‘ **. T-' ■ .

spirit seemingly having subsided with the improvement in the army, I took the Juliette to Halifax, N. 8., in the eummer of 1876, to have her decks strengthened and mounted with rapid-fire guns. We returned early in the fall to find that the smoldering revolution had burst into flame; and that a large force wae marching on Santo Domingo City. The president and his brother w£ro vehemently but vainly advising each other to be brave when I reached the palaoe. “What shall we do? What shall we do?** # demanded the president as I entered the door. “It strikes me that it might be a good - scheme to fight,” I replied, with no attempt to conceal my disgust at their attitude. They told me there were about 3,000 men in the attacking force. We had more than 4,000 men under arms. The city had no defenses worthy the name, and I insisted that the thing to do was to go outside and fight it out, in. the open. The president, who had apparently regained a little of his nerve, agreed with me and, against the contlnuedobjectlons of his brother, we went out to meet the attacking array. General Baez commanded our center and right, while I commanded our left flank. With the firing of the first gun he began to give way before a force that was inferior in both numbers and discipline, and fell back so rapidly that before I realized it my command was flanked and almost cut off, with the sea on one side of us and the enemy on two others and rapidly closing up the fourth. In a few minutes I was captured, along with about a hundred men who were so numbed by fear that they could neither run nor fight and had not enough discretion to join the enemy. I was furious over the cowardioe of Baez and put up the hardest fight 1 was capable of, with the satisfaction of putting six or eight blacks on a permanent peace basis, "but, with my revolver empty and my sword broken/ I was overwhelmed by the inky cloud. General Baez galloped back to the city, and be and his bewildered brother, the president, had barely time to board a small schooner and sail for Curacao before the capital v&aa in the hands of the rebels. General Ganier d’Aton, a tool of Pimeutal and Cabral, was fit ones proclaimed president end hailed by the populace with the customary acclaim. Instead of being killed at once, as I had egpeeled, I was taken to a small port on a hill near the town, where, on the altogether false charge ~lEat i had fomented trouble and brought on civil war, I was tried by drumhead court martial and sentenced to be shot at sunrise. The verdict was, of course, dictated by revenge, and execution of it was delayed because they wished to gloat over me for a while. This was a little the most serious predicament I had ever been in and, with the idea of taking every chanoe that was open to me, rather than with any distinct hope that it would be answered, I gave the grand hailing sign of a powerful secret order which I had joined while In Caracas. I thought I saw a sergeant raise his eyes, but, as be gave no further sign, I concluded- that If there had been any movement it had been one of surprise and not of recognition. I was placed In a large sala with windows opening on the courtyard, and blank walls on the three other sides. , Along abont three o’clock, Just as I had about made up my mind that in a couple of tymrs I should be due ,to start on an indefinite exploration, I heard a short scuffle at each end of the path the sentries were patrolling, and a gurgling noise as though a man were choking. The next moment Lorensen’s voice came softly through the door: “Are you In there, captain?” I assured him that I was. “Stand away from the door!” he said, and 1 obeyed the order with pleasurable alacrity. Three blows with a log of crutch mahogany, taken from a pile in the courtyard, smashed in the door. Lorensen seized ray arm and, led by the sergeant who had, after all, recognized the sign I had made, we climbed down a declivity back of the fort and made our way to the shore, where two boatd As soon as it was day I sailed dose in and bombarded the fort where my execution was to have taken place. - At Caracas I found Guzman had been elected president. He was inaugurating public improvements, and induced me tgjjjjgo upon a wonderful journey of exploretiou Up the Orinoco throng* the unmapped interior of Venezuela. After a six months’ river journey of 3,000 miles, we reached Mankos, Brazil, on the Amazon, that great river and the Orlnooo having a common source. From M&naos we sailed to Rio Janeiro and from there to England on the Elbe, commanded by Captain Moir, commander of , tse Trent when Mhson and Slidell were taken off. On the way ] wrote a full report to Guzman, promising tq return within a tew years. At London I joined Frank Norton to start for the China sea.

Captain George B. Boynton