THE INTEROCEANIC CANAL PROBLEM 165 



Mosquitia remained neutral, which in the estimation of 

 Nicaragua, claiming sovereignty over the reservation, was 

 nothing less than disloyalty. Accordingly Nicaraguan troops 

 swept into the reservation, seized and occupied Bluefields 

 (February, 1894) against the combined protests of the native 

 Indian Chief, Clarence, and his political supporter, the Brit- 

 ish Consul. The U. S. S. Kearsarge was wrecked while 

 hastening to the scene ; but -upon the arrival of a British 

 war vessel, and the landing of marines, the Nicaraguan 

 troops retired, leaving, however, a Nicaraguan commissioner 

 in the hands of the foreigners at Bluefields. This sudden 

 flurry at arms had a sobering effect upon the English authori- 

 ties, who, since the Austrian arbitration, had been inclined to 

 disregard in toto Nicaraguan claims to sovereignty over Mos- 

 quitia. The Nicaraguan commissioner was therefore accepted 

 as a factor in a new provisional government formed for Mos- 

 quitia. The infusion of the Nicaraguan element into the 

 governmental affairs of the reservation soon brought discon- 

 tent among the foreigners, which resulted in a nocturnal coup 

 d etat overthrowing the provisional government and again 

 placing Chief Clarence in control. In consequence of this, 

 Nicaraguan troops soon appeared near Bluefields, in fighting 

 array, and demanded the restoration of the Nicaraguan 

 authorities. 



Such was the crisis when the United States fully awoke to 

 the importance of events taking place in Central America. 

 Explanations were demanded; the Clayton-Bulwer treaty was 

 carefully reread at the State Department ; American citizens 

 in Bluefields were cautioned to take no part in acts violating 

 Nicaraguan sovereignty in Mosquitia, and Great Britain was 

 asked to withdraw her troops. England yielded, the marines 

 departed, and a deplorable condition of political confusion 

 resulted in Mosquitia. A resumption of Nicaraguan sov- 

 ereignty in Bluefields, with its attendant abuses and extor- 

 tions, soon brought about a second coup d'etat, in which 

 American, English, and Indians all combined to cast out the 

 intolerable rule of Nicaragua. The United States was thus 

 placed in the awkward position of favoring the legitimate 



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OP THK \ 



UNIVERSITY! 



