The times., 1898-08-14
BeIated Particulars of the Raid
on Cebu.
INSURGENTS LOOT A TOWN
The Attempt Of a Spanish Warship
10 Drive Them Away-Fine. Deter
niued-Iooking Chaps. Half or All
Naked and Armed to the Teeth.
Protection of the Germun Flag.

flct at CeDu nave Deen pnDlSneu, as lne
regular correspondents had only such in
formation as they could gather here and
there. Into the possession of the New
York Commercial Advertiser have come
several private letters. written by a Ger
man-Teinrich Schmitz-early in June
Although it is now ancient history. it is
stin very interesting history. He recites
that when the insurgents made their raid
the Cebu garrison consisted only of vol
unteers. The insurgents were hostile only
TO the Spaniards and priests. ''other for
eigners." he says, they treat with re-
spect, except. of course. when, as in the
case of Cebu, they descended upon
Spanish town for the purpose of looting
1t. In war individual rights amount 10 liz
tie AS ] viewed the rebel forces / could
not help admiring them: fine. determined
looking chaps, half or entirely naked, but
all armed to the teeth. They sang and
danced and snatched kisses from the
native women. who seemed only TOO glad
10 give them, and made an awful racket
on their primitive musical instruments. /
had hung my flag out of an upper win
stopped 10 inqu' re what il signifej- Ban
dera Alemana. correct or words TO that
effect Any foreign flag would do. l am
sure 80 per cent of the invaders had not
the slightest notion of Germany, its situ-
alton or Importance. Our house. then, was
10 be immune Dared We trust the prom
Use? We answered the question with a
caiegorie NO and kept on guard.
'An day Monday there were shooting
and fighting and hand-to-hand encounters
under our windows; bleeding men and
women crawling along the houses or cool
ing their wounds in the cutters: passing
troops of prisoners-Spanish, of course
and the incessant roar of artillery coming
from the direction of the harbor On
Tuesday afternoon a troop of Spanish
soldiers sought 10 place themselves under
the protection of the German flag by MAX
ing dash for our house Fortuna ely
the gates withstood their assault. II
they had got in. all of US would have
been massacred. As it was, the insur
gents poured volley after volley into our
residence so that the walls and window
sashes began 20 take on siegA-like ap-
pearance. The house would have surely
been fired. despite the black. white, and
red emblems. had not Spanish torpedo
boat begun operations just then. This
kESSel must nave pEtn EFIlcu Win a
gatiing gun. for, standing at the mouth
Of the harbor. il discharged into our
streets perfect torrents of bullets-travel-
ing in lunches if / may SO express my
self OF course. the insurgents ran, though
] suppose, the Spaniards suffered as much
as the rebels by the indiscriminate fire.
''On Wednesday the voluntarios made a
sortie and the road being clear, we left
our home TO take refuge with an Ameri-
can, Smith Bell, as that gentlemans res
idence, situated on the bay, was under
the protection of the gunboat. We were
comparatively safe there unless, as we
said to ourselves, the Spaniard finds out
who Smith Bell is and fires a few playful
shots into our abode. Mistakes will hap
pen, and everybody knows the Spaniards
are bad gunners.
"On Thursday a big Spanish man-of-
war steamed into the harbor, and all
the consuls were forthwith notified that
a bombardment would begin within three
hours. Thereupon we retreated 10 the
Gotta and had scarcely arrived there,
when dozens of grenades began to burst
over the unlucky city. Within two hours
after the arrival of the man-of-war the
Lutav (Chinese quarters) were burning.
The flames spread TO all sides, and pres
entity other buildings went up. for the
ings, smashing a turret here, burning q
church there. From the fortress We saw
scores of people killed as they fled, sin
gly or in small groups. The insurgents
were the last TO suffer. They are good
at maneuvering, and evacuated the town
very slowly. after dispensing in numerou:
detachments or running single file. The
mountains were their haven of safety, oi
course, and many Cebu families had pre-
ceded them there.
"on Friday afternoon it was given ou
that II would be safe to return TO oul
residences Many of US found but smok
ing heaps of ruins. The town locke,
as one devastated by an earthquake. Tn
poorer quarters We're razed to the ground
in the better residence and business street
more than a hundred buildings lay il
ashes, while others We're dilapidated, thei
balconies being rem by shot and thei
doors and windows smashed. The stencil
created by the hundreds of bodies lyinl
in the sun or smouldering in the ruins
was awful and we are still in fear O.
an epidemic.
BY a miracle my house had escaped
Spanish bullets, but the German flag hat
been no protection against looting rebels
We found the interior furnishings turne,
up side down and everything promisin.
comfort 10 man or beast gone. We ar,
of crucifixes. saints and statues and pic
lures about the house. All of then
had been mutiiated, dismembered or de
stroyed, while many had been misuse,
in quite indescribable fashion Still tn
priests say these rebels belong to tn
Roman Church. They profess TO do sc
but their hatred of the priests is create
than their love of Christ, and to get eve
with the Jesuits and their disciples the
destroy everything their former teacher
and torTnentors hold sacred.
"A still more serious aspect of tn
case: The native town population frater
nizes with the rebels wherever they ge
a chance to do so. In Cebu the colore
people focked TO the insurgents aid a
soon as the soldiery turned their back
on them. The townspeople showed III
rebels where money and food lay hidden
they pointed out TO them the houses o
rich Spaniards which. of course were tn
first to go up in flames. Hatred of tn
Spaniard is the commonest attribute O
every Philippine man. woman, and child
and every evidence of the bestia human
left by the raid emphasizes that obser
walton. My house and those of othe
foreigners were plundered-we could nc
expect anything else-but, as reported
only trinkets were destroyed. In tn
houses of Spaniards on the other hanC
everything had been smashed into smith
Greens, the furniture reduced 20 kindlin
wood. and bric-a-brac works of art, pi
ed high in the yards and burned.
"As already stated, no one here has
cent left What the insurgents did nC
carry off the town population took.
fact, the latter Joined the rebels in loo
ing the town as early as Tuesday morl