Watermelon War - The Riot

The Riot

On April 15, 1856, morning the U.S. steamer John L. Stephens transported about 1,000 passengers to Panama City. However, the station was located at the waterfront and Panama City did not then have any wharfs where ships could dock. Therefore, ships like John L. Stephens had to dock on a surrounding island, in this case Taboga Island, and then be ferried to Panama City. The passengers could only be ferried during high tide and, on this particular day, the John L. Stephens arrived during low tide; therefore, the passengers had to sit and wait on high tide.

Most of the passengers were drunk by this time because many of them had visited the local cantinas before the trip. One American, Jack Oliver, walked around the station and encountered a vendor, José Manuel Luna, selling watermelon. Oliver grabbed a slice of the watermelon, which was priced at five cents per slice, and refused to pay for it. From here, accounts differ. The most accepted version states that the vendor yelled at Oliver and eventually pulled out a knife and threatened him. One of Oliver’s friends then tossed five cents at the vendor, but the vendor continued yelling at Oliver until Oliver pulled out a gun. At this point the vendor took off running, but another Panamanian, who saw the entire incident, grabbed Oliver’s arm and the two struggled for the gun. During this struggle, the gun went off and a bystander was wounded.

At this point, the riot was unavoidable as more Panamanians arrived and more shots began to be fired. Many Americans were beaten unmercifully, robbed, and many buildings were destroyed. When the police arrived later, one of them was hit by a bullet, which forced them to join in the riot. Everyone in the area, even the police and authority figures, were involved in the Watermelon War.

Finally, a train arrived filled with armed railroad men, who were led by Randolph Runnels. The railroad men then fired at the mob and most of them ran for cover. Runnels then shouted to the mob to put down the weapons and come out with their hands over their heads.

In the end, Governor Aniño, submitted an official report that stated 15 Americans were dead and 16 wounded, and 2 Panamanians were dead and 13 wounded.