The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1899-07-21

(From a photo taken at Iloilo, u. ID
on earth this takes the bakery. II takes
an age to get anything here from Ma
Mia, and our mail is always a couple
of weeks late. We expect to receive
orders TO leave for home any day now.
Company l. seems to be ordered to
march all over the island from one end
to the other while the other companies
stay in camp or march five or six miles
and back again.
You know of course, that we are
here to protect the peaceful natives and
those who want good government from
the raids and murders of the renegade
priest and outlaw named Ignacio Pa
pei. So whenever word comes TO head
quarters that he is around any little
| village or sugar plantation We are
dispatched there Immediately. The 9TH
er night word came to us that Ignacio
was going to raid town called Castel-
llama, fifteen miles from here. So the
Captain picked out twenty of us and
sent us there Immediately to meet
him. We made the fifteen miles across
swamps and rivers in exactly four
hours on foot and reached there at
o'clock in the evening. We stayed
there fifteen days and during that time
| saw something that / have always
wanted to see and something that
seems so much more cruel and blood
thirsty than war. You can stand and
shoot down an opposing soldier be-
cause he has his gun pointed and you
shoot to save your life, but to- see an
execution of three men looks pretty
cold blooded and you must have pref
lty strong nerves To- stand il without
flinching.
You know the United States Gov
eminent here has enlisted about 100
natives as police. and they are gov
erned and ruled by a man named Gen
eral Ramos. n half-caste Spaniard.
Well these native soldiers are red hot
after this band of outlaws led by lgna-
clio. and in one of their raids against
him they captured three OF his men
They were tried and found guilty oi
being outlaws and aSsassins and sen
fenced 10 be shot. General Ramos had
told us that he would let us know when
the execution was to take place. 81
one morning he sent us word u come
!up to his headquarters, as the eNeCu'
ton was to take place then.
. The day was a beautiful one. ]!
was like our ideal days in Honolulu
The sun shone bright and gentle
wind was blowing. and everywhere
could he seen that quiet and peace
that tends to make life pleasure II
the tropics. We marched up To th'
!headouarters and waited a few mo
'ments. Then General Ramos came
down and picked out from among his
soldiers the best shots and made then
into the firing squad. Directly after
wards the three men came down tee
together and abreast of each other
They were dressed in dirty working
clothes. for according to a custom
among the natives that when man J.
sentenced to die he sends his hes
clothes and so forth to his nearest rel
. ative or friend-juSt the opposite 4
our ideas among criminals. ! honest!
affirm that. although the men were
,trifie pale about the face. they wer
: as cool as though they were on thei
way home. The crowd around Their
was much more affected. and many
boy in our squad was as white Ss
ghost. As for myself, l felt yer
lsQueamish The three men wcr
!! marched to their positions and the III
. ing squad took their places about thiI
" feet to the rear OF them. tThey a
wavs shoot their victims in the bac
in this country / watched the vie
Tins as they took their places. an
one of them. with all the GOODNESS
person could possibly have. reoche
down and pulled up his pants so as
enable him to kneel better. the sam
as I or any one would 90 If We wei
afraid of creaSing or bagginS our pant
lat the knees. Immediately on kneelin
|, they crossed and recrosSed themselN'
and said their prayers. having pr'