AVES ISLAND. 397 



[With Mr. Briceno's note of April.] 



Memoir justificatory of the conduct of the government of Venezuela on 

 the Ma de Aves question, presented to his excellency the Secretary of 

 State of the United States, hy the envoy extraordinary and minister 

 plenipotentiary of Venezuela, Doctor Mariano De Briceno. 



STATEMENTS. 



1854, June. — About the middle of the year, 1854, two mercantile 

 firms of Boston, Lang & Delano, and Sampson, Tappan & Shelton, 

 dispatched vessels for the purpose of^discovering guano on desert isl- 

 ands lying in the Caribbean sea, and taking possession thereof. The 

 vessels, which sailed clandestinely from Boston on the expedition, 

 were the John K. Dow and M. H. Comery, the former belonging to 

 Shelton & Co., and the latter to Lang & Delano. The fact of their 

 clandestine departure from Boston is clearly proven by the books of 

 the custom-house at that port. Other vessels sailed afterwards during 

 the same year from various ports of the United States for Isla de Aves. 



1854, July. — James Wheeler, agent of Lang & Delano, invaded Isla 

 de Aves. A few hours afterwards, William P. Gibbs, as the agent of 

 Shelton & Co., also arrived there. The island is situated in 15° 45' 

 north latitude, and 63° 35' west longitude from Greenwich, W. \ SE. 

 from the French island of Guadaloupe. Its dimensions are about 700 

 yards in length by 125 in breadth and 12 in height. It is liable to 

 be -overflown by fche sea during storms — waterless, and uninhabited. 

 The filibusters immediately employed themselves in the extraction of 

 the guano they found there, within the limits they prescribed for their 

 respective operations. 



1854, December 12. — The government of Venezuela^ on being in- 

 formed of the invasion of the island, dispatched thither a national 

 armed schooner, under the command of Colonel Dias, which arrived 

 at its destination on the evening of the above date. He met there 

 three vessels at anchor, ready to take cargoes of guano on board, one 

 of 800 tons, and another of 600 tons. The crev\^ of the Venezuelan 

 armed schooner consisted of 27 men ; her armament of 27 muskets, one 

 four-pounder, with a suitable quantity of munitions of war. The fili- 

 busters at Isla de Aves were 80 in number, armed with 50 pair of pis- 

 tols carrying ounce balls, about 40 muskets, boarding pikes and hatch- 

 ets, two six and eight pounders with a proportionate quantity of balls, 

 and about two quintals of powder. 



1854, December 13. — Colonel Dias being in the peaceful occupation 

 of the islands, ascertained from the said filibusters that they were • 

 engaged in clandestinely exporting the guano from Isla de Aves, and 

 other uninhabited islands belonging to Venezuela. 



1854, December 13. — At tho request of the filibusters. Colonel Dias, 

 as commissioner of Venezuela, gives permission at the island for three 

 American vessels to complete their cargoes without molestation from 

 any of the West India cruisers. By this permit, which was signed 

 by Colonel Dias and the two agents, Nathan P. Gribbs for Shelton & 



