Adventure Magazine Cover — page 35: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

Looking for Trouble This was in no sense due 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 confidence. But under his strong hand things were settling down to a hum- drum, and with my whole nature clamoring for a change to more strenuous scenes I put the situation up to Guzman and se- cured his permission to go away, on the promise that I would return within six months. I summoned the Juwlietie from Curacao and set sail for England, for the double purpose of securing a cargo of arms with which to add to the joy of living in Central America, and of looking up Frank Norton, who had so well planted within me the germ of his China Sea insanity that it was taking root. With the good little ship heeled over to the steady trade winds that fanned my dusky cheeks lovingly, as I fancied in my enthusiasm, and with the waters that are nowhere else so blue mur- muring a welcome back to them, I was again a rover of the sea, and my exultant soul joined in the lyric chorus of the rigging. 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 ro- mantic West Indies have produced. It will be of interest to Americans that, in the latter part of 1869, when he happened to be president instead of exile, he signed two treaties with President Grant. One was for the cession of Samana Bay, which probably is the most beautiful harbor in the West Indies and was wanted by our Navy Department for years before these treaties were signed and for many years afterward. The other was for the annexa- tion of the whole island of Santo Domingo to the United States. The people of Santo Domingo approved both of these conven- tions at an election decreed by Baez in February, 1870, and held under the guns of an American warship, but the United States Senate refused to ratify either treaty. President Grant believed strongly in this annexation, wherein he showed his far- sightedness, and a commission which he sent to the island reported, in the Spring of 1871, in favor of the treaty, but sentiment in the Senate was decidedly against it and the measure was not pressed. 3 O99 The defeat of Grant’s annexation pro- ject gave Pimental and Cabral an excuse for starting a new revolution, and they were beginning to show their hand when I ran into General Baez at St. Thomas. He knew of my association with Guzman Blanco and at once 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 Leckwith, impatiently carrying general cargoes. I left word for him with Nickell & 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 hatch- ing against General Tomaso Guardia, who had recently come into power. For this trip, I remember, I took the name of Cap- tain John F. Kinnear. We had some trouble in getting away, for the British Government was still dead-set against filibustering, and in the hope of removing all suspicion I gave our destination as Kingston, Jamaica, though I had no idea of stopping there. I gave the ship a new set of papers, showing British registry, and was, of course, flying the British flag. We ran into bad weather in the Carib- bean and were forced to put In at Kingston, after all, leaking badly. The ship was so opened up, in fact, that she had to be re- calked and have a few new planks, which necessitated putting her in dry-dock and taking out our cargo. I had the work hur- ried with all possible speed, for the mail ship from England was due in nine days after our arrival and I was fearful that she would bring an order for our detention, which, as a matter of fact, she did, as I learned years afterward. When the repairs were completed the Governor of the Island refused to allow us to reload our cargo, as he had an intimation that the ship was not what she pretended to be. This hint, 1t 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 “nier-head jump.” On the fourth day I prevailed on the Governor to allow us to take on our cargo, but he insisted that the COMICLOOCKKS.ECO©