As SS Venezuela, a merchant steamship, she was used for several years as a cargo freighter transporting bananas from Central and South America.

On 27 April 1898 the ship took aboard the First Marine battalion commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Robert W. Huntington in preparation for combat operations in Cuba, sailing from Brooklyn, New York just five days later.

[4] As the Panther was unarmed, it was forced to stop at Hampton Roads, Virginia to obtained an armed escort before steaming to Key West, Florida, to await orders while the Marines disembarked for battalion drills, rifle practice, and route marches.

Panther and other ships of the American fleet patrolled off that port until she steamed to Guantánamo with a battalion of 633 enlisted Marines and 24 officers commanded by Lt. Col. Robert W.

[4] He was overruled by another Navy Commander, Bowman H. McCalla, who instructed Reiter to give the Marine Lieutenant Colonel whatever he desired.

In 1902, disturbing conditions in the West Indies and Caribbean required the constant presence of U.S. ships to maintain order and preserve U.S. treaty rights.

In September 1902, Panther embarked a Marine battalion and departed for Caribbean waters to serve as a station ship to protect American interests during unrest in Honduras.