The Lelia Byrd affair told by the San Diego commandant

The Lelia Byrd affair told by the San Diego commandant; spans n256-n262, the longest single document in this run. Savage's rubric: 'Rodriguez a Arrillaga - Sobre lo acaecido con tripulantes de Fragata Lelia Bird, con motivo de compra de nutrias' [= on what happened with the crew of the frigate Lelia Bird over the purchase of otter skins]. Rodriguez reports an American frigate entering the port 'el 17 del anterior Marzo, entre cinco y seis de la tarde', out of Virginia 22 Oct. 1801 by way of Hamburg and the Sandwich Islands, 'segun me espuso su Cap. D. Guillermo Shaler, del porte de 210 toneladas, (sic) y con 17 hombres de tripulacion, inclusos dicho Cap. y dos pilotos' [Savage's own '(sic)' flags the clash with the 74 tons of the register]; her passport 'del Presidente de las Colonias' was produced. 'El arribo aqui es la causa de pretextar necesidad de viveres' [= the arrival is pretexted on need of provisions], so he relieved her with 4 cattle killed on the beach, 9 arrobas of flour, a fanega and a half of salt and 24 hens, and let the captain and men land only on that beach. To block all trade he sent 'al Sargto. Ygnn. Arce con 5 solds.' aboard with orders that nobody pass on board and that boat and launch be searched. On the night of the 21st the boat and launch came ashore anyway; they left at the battery of Punta de Guijarros '19 piezas de Bretana, anchas contrahechas, 1 de estopilla, y un retazo como de 6 varas de pano, en pago de 40 nutrias qe. pr. la tarde habian recibido alli' [= cloth paid for 40 otter skins]. Rodriguez rode out with the cadet and four soldiers, found the launch at the paraje called la Barraca, and caught the ship's calker 'contando el valor de 7 pieles de nutria qe. le compraba al Soldo. Carlos Rosa, quien echo a huir llevandose las nutrias' [= the soldier fled with the pelts]; he arrested three sailors, recovered the goods from the corporal's chest at the battery and deposited them in the presidio storehouse. Next morning the ship sent a boat with six men 'armados de pistolas' who 'se echaron sobre los tres soldados qe. custodiaban los presos poniendoles las pistolas a los pechos' and carried the prisoners off. The corporal of the battery then fired a warning gun and raised the flag, then ball; the frigate did not stop, and a second ball 'le dio pr. el lado de popa, al raz de la agua, sin hacerle dano'; the frigate, abreast of the harbour mouth, 'disparaba con metralla y bala a dcha. bateria', and the battery cut 'la jarcia del estay' and hulled her to starboard. 'Seis tiros tiro el referido buque a la esplanada, pero sin hacer estrago absolutamte. a cosa alguna, aunque no eran sus intenciones.' Rodriguez asks whether a causa should be formed, and states 'El comercio qe. el indicado hizo e intento, es el origen de este suceso', asking Arrillaga to send it up 'a la Superioridad' since 'aqui se carece de ordenes qe. puedan gobernar en ellos'. Signed San Diego 10 April 1803, Manuel Rodriguez; certified 'Es copia - Loreto, 12 Mayo de 1803 (Firmado) Arrillaga'.

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