I. C. Jamison, living to-day in Guthrie,
Oklahoma, was a captain under Walker. When war again came, as
it did within four months, these were the men who made Walker
President of Nicaragua.
During the four months in all but title he had been president, and
as such he was recognized and feared. It was against him, not
Rivas, that in February, 1856, the neighboring republic of Costa
Rica declared war. For three months this war continued with
varying fortunes until the Costa Ricans were driven across the
border.
In June of the same year Rivas called a general election for
president, announcing himself as the candidate of the Democrats.
Two other Democrats also presented themselves, Salazar and
Ferrer. The Legitimists, recognizing in their former enemy the real
ruler of the country, nominated Walker. By an overwhelming
majority he was elected, receiving 15,835 votes to 867 cast for
Rivas. Salazar received 2,087; Ferrer, 4,447.
Walker now was the legal as well as the actual ruler of the country,
and at no time in its history, as during Walker's administration,
was Nicaragua governed so justly, so wisely, and so well. But in
his success the neighboring republics saw a menace to their own
independence. To the four other republics of Central America the
five-pointed blood-red star on the flag of the filibusters bore a
sinister motto: "Five or None.
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