T  R  A  N  S  C  R  I  P  T  I  O  N

FROM: CAPTAIN AIKEN TUMA      11 March, 1928.
TO  : AREA COMMANDER C O THIRD BATTALION FIFTH REGIMENT
 
ARRIVED TUMA AT 1720 YESTERDAY PERIOD RETARD OF TRAVEL DUE TO HEAVY RAINS AND MOUNTAINS PERIOD UPON ARRIVAL TUMA SECURED FOLLOWING INFORMATION FROM YSEDRO MENDEEZA [Ysidoro Mendoza] CHIEF OF POLICE TUMA COMMA CORINTO AND COYOLAR SEMICOLON THAT ON SUNDAY FOURTH MARCH NINETEEN TWENTY EIGHT ONE OF HIS MEMBERS OF THE POLICE WHILE AT CORINTO SAW SANDINO WITH ABOUT FIFTY MEN SEMICOLON THAT HE UNDERSTOOD THEY WERE ENROUTE TO TUMA SEMICOLON THAT ON MONDAY FOLLOWING DAY WHILE SAID MEMBER WAS AT HIS HOME IN COYOLAR HE COMMA AGAIN SAW SANDINO AND MEN PASSING THROUGH COYOLAR AND THAT ONE OF THE BANDITS TOLD HIM THAT THE ROUTE TAKEN FROM CORINTO WAS CORINTO DASH LA TRAMPA COYOLAR AND THAT THEY WERE HEADED FOR JINOTEGA VIA BONETILLO CANTINA DASH LLANO GRANDE DASH JINOTEGA COMMA THAT SANDINO HAS NOT BEEN IN TUMA FOR A PERIOD OF TEN MONTHS SEMICOLON THAT THE TRAIL LA TRAMPA TO COYOLAR IS ONLY PASSABLE FOR MULES SEMICOLON THAT SANDINO HAS FIVE BANDS OPERATING OF FIFTY TO SIXTY MEN EACH SEMICOLON THAT WHEN HEADED FOR JINOTEGA OR FUNDADORA USUAL ROUTE TAKEN MANCOUTUL [Mancotal] PASO REAL DASH ROBLES DASH TRAIL NEAR DESERTED HOUSE NEAR RANCH RIO TUMA RUNNING FROM NORTHWEST DASH CUMPLEDA [Cumplida] DASH CUATRAS ESQUINAS DASH DARAILI DASH ARAN JUEZ DASH FUNDADORA SECMICOLON THAT WHEN BANDITS PLAN ATTACK OR FOR GENERAL ASSEMBLY COMMA BAND IN JINOTEGA ALL ASSEMBLED AT COYOLAR FIESTA FROM INFORMATION SECURED ON ROAD FROM RICHARDSONS TO TUMA SEMICOLON BUT ONE ROAD OR TRAIL LEADS FROM CUATROS ESQUINAS COMMA THE ROAD IS BEING IMPROVED FOR BULLCARTS AND WORK IS RAPIDLY PROGRESSING TUMA RIVER AT TUMA (CROSSING BY SMALL BOAT TO ROAD TO CORINTO) HAS A DEPTH OF ABOUT FOUR TO FIVE FEET WIDTH OF RIVER AT THIS POINT ABOUT SEVENTY FIVE YARDS PERIOD TUMA [ p. 2 ]

IS SITUATED IN A VALLEY COMMA APPROXIMATELY FIVE SMALL HOUSES SCATTERED COMPLETE THE TOWN PERIOD PEOPLE FRIENDLY ALL ARE CONSERVATIVE PERIOD NATIVES HERE FEEL SATISFIED THAT SANDINO WILL NOT MOLEST THEM PERIOD AT PRESENT FROM INFORMATION OBTAINED COMMA SANDINO AND HIS FORCE ARE IN THE JINOTEGA AREA PERIOD FOLLOWING MARCH OF YESTERDAY THE JINOTEGA DETAIL APPEARS RATHER FATIGUED SEVERAL HAVE BLISTERED FEET PERIOD MORALE VERY GOOD COMMA AEROPLANES NOT SEEN DURING MARCH TO TUMA PERIOD TRAIN HAS NOT AS YET ARRIVED WITH RATIONS PERIOD GENERAL IMPRESSION OF PEOPLE HERE COMMA IN REGARDS TO SANDINOS MOVE TO CORINTO COMMA IS THAT MANY MARINES ARE OPERATING IN AND AROUND SEGOVIA AND THAT SANDINO DOES NOT CARE TO FIGHT THEM PERIOD NOTHING ELSE TO REPORT AT THIS WRITING PERIOD AIKEN.

127/220/6

1000 12 March, 1928.

FROM: CAPTAIN AIKEN COYOLAR AT TUMA ROAD
TO  : COMMANDING OFFICER MATAGALPA
 
REFERENCE YOUR 0512 0400 UPON MY ARRIVAL AT CORINTO DASH TUMA ROAD DASH JUNCTION RIO TUMA AND RIO YUSICA OBSERVED LARGE BODY MOUNTED NATIVES COMMA APPROXIMATE NUMBER SIX TO EIGHT HUNDRED WITH PACK MULES AND ON ROAD AND TRAILS ON HIGH GROUND NORTHWEST OF MY POSITION PERIOD ABOUT ONE THOUSAND YARDS FROM MY POSITION MEN (NATIVES) WHERE TAKING UP A DEFENSIVE POSITION SEVEN HUNDRED YARDS MY POSITION TWO POSITIONS (AMBUSHES) CONTAINING ABOUT FIVE MEAN EACH AWAITED ARRIVAL OF OUR COLUMN PERIOD WHEN I WITHDREW POINT AND ADVANCED PARTY TO MY LOCATION THE MEN (NATIVES) IN AMBUSH PARTIES RETREATED COMMA THROUGH SMALL PATHS VISIBLE TO NAKED EYE TO HIGH GROUND TO OUR FRONT PERIOD CONSIDERING IT QUITE POSSIBLE THAT BANDITS MIGHT SEND A DETACHMENT TO ATTACK OUR POSITION FROM REAR OR WOULD ATTEMPT TO ATTACK OUR PACK TRAIN BY ROUTE ALONG TRAIL RIO TUMA DASH COYOLAR TUMA ROAD IMMEDIATE ACTION WAS ESSENTIAL IN GETTING

[ p. 3 ] THE INFORMATION TO LT MARSHALL I DESPATCHED VERBAL MESSAGE FOR THE REASON THAT I DID NOT WANT A MESSAGE CAPTURED WHICH WAS TO MARSHALL SETTING FORTH ANY INFORMATION OF VALUE WHEN I KNEW A VERBAL MESSAGE WOULD DO MOST SATISFACTORY IN THIS CASE PERIOD MESSENGER BEING A VERY INTELLIGENT PERSON PERIOD ENEMY WHEN SIGHTED WAS ON TUMA DASH CARATERA PUERTO CABESAS [Caraterra-Puerto Cabezas] ROAD AND TRAILS LEADING THERETO THE LENGTH OF ENEMY COLUMN MULES ETC AND MEN SCATTERED THROUGHOUT THE AREA RESULTED IN MY ESTIMATE OF BETWEEN SIX HUNDRED TO EIGHT HUNDRED MEN PERIOD ENEMY WAS ON NORTHEAST SIDE OF RIO TUMA AND RIO YUSICA HALTED PERIOD WITH FIELD GLASSES THERE ACTIVITIES COULD BE PLAINLY SEEN PERIOD AT ABOUT 1300 ENEMY WAS SEEN CLEARING TOWARD CARATERRA PENA BLANCA ALL INFORMATION RELATIVE TO TRAILS COMMA STREAMS COMMA ROADS ETC FROM TUMA ARE SET FORTH MAP IN POSSESSION OF LT MARSHALL WHO HAS BEEN DIRECTED TO REPORT TO YOU AND GIVE THE DETAILS OF SAME PERIOD PLANES REPORTED NO ENEMY PERIOD THE AREA IN WHICH ENEMY WAS SIGHTED IS THICKLY COVERED FROM AEROPLANE VIEW BY FOREST PERIOD AIKEN 1300

127/220/6

13 March, 1928. 1100

FROM: CAPTAIN AIKEN TUMA DASH COYOLAR DASH CORINTO ROADS
TO  : COMMANDING OFFICER MATAGALPA
 
FOLLOWING INFORMATION RECEIVED AT 0900 THIS DATE SEMICOLON FROM JEFE POLITICO COMMA MACARIO MARTINEZ COMMA OF TOWN GUASACA TOWN GUASACA BEING THREE MILES NORTH OF CARATERRA PERIOD TO JEFE POLITICO OF DISTRICT OF TUMA COMMA ISADORE MENDOZA THAT FOUR GROUPS OF BANDITS COMMA EACH GROUP ABOUT ONE HUNDRED FIFTY COMMA ARE IN VICINITY OF VALLEY LAS CUCHILLOS (NORTH OF CARATERRA) THAT THEY ARRIVED THERE EARLY MORNING OF TWELVE MARCH NINETEEN TWENTY EIGHT SEMICOLON THAT THEY RESTED AND OCCUPIED RANCH HOUSES OF RAMON VILLAGEO [Ramón Villegas] SANTA ELINA COMMA AND SANTA RIBERAS [Santos Rivera] ALL IN THE VALLEY OF LAS CUCHILLOS COMMA THAT WHEN BANDITS PASSED THROUGH GUASACA AUGUSTO GONZALES COMMA JEFE OF SANDINO COMMA AND PEDRO ALTA MARIANO [Pedro Altamirano] COMMA WERE

[ p. 4 ] RECOGNIZED FROM INFORMATION OBTAINED THAT BANDITS ARE IN LARGE NUMBERS IN PENA BLANCA PABONA [La Pavona] (THREE MILES NORTH OF PENA BLANCA) WITH MESSENGER PVTS JONES AND KEROVER I AM SENDING A RELIABLE PERSON COMMA CARLO HASTRAM [Carlos Haslam] COMMA OWNER OF COFFEE PLANTATION WHO HAS RELIABLE INFORMATION REGARDING PRESENT IN VICINITY OF GUASACA PERIOD I AM DIRECTING MESSENGER TO GO TO ARMOTS [Amort's] RANCH SECURE AUTOMOBILE AND MAKE HASTE WITH THIS INFORMATION TO YOU PERIOD. ESPECIALLY IN VIEW OF FACT BANDITS ARE DUE AT CARATERA ON FIFTEEN MARCH NINETEEN TWENTY EIGHT PERIOD WILL REMAIN AT PRESENT CAMP UNTIL FURTHER ORDERS PERIOD REQUEST RATION TRAIN LEAVE FOR THIS POINT TOMORROW EARLY AS POSSIBLE PERIOD IN ORDER THAT SERVICES OF MULES MAY BE AVAILABLE SHOULD WE MARCH ON CARATERA PERIOD AIKEN 1200

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

COMMANDING OFFICER MATAGALPA
 
THE BEARER IS FEREMIOS RIOS [Jerónimo Rios] COMMA A MERCHANT OF MATAGALPA COMMA PASSING THROUGH TUMA FROM WANY NIC (NEAR BLUEFIELDS) VALUABLE INFORMATION MAY BE OBTAINED FROM HIM RELATIVE TO CONDITIONS COMMA WATER COMMA FOOD COMMA FORAGE COMMA TERRAIN POPULATION COMMA CORINTO WANY [Wuani] TO TUMA ROUTE OF HIS TRAVELS ETC ALL NATIVES PASSING THROUGH TUMA TO MATAGALPA FROM EAST COAST WILL BE REQUESTED TO CARRY AN INTRODUCTORY MESSAGE AND ABOVE TO YOU PERIOD I AM SENDING A REPORT OF MY MARCH YESTERDAY BY NEXT PACK TRAIN AIKEN
 

127/220/6