The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1900-01-02

river 1 dared not so ashore. but skuIked
along under the shadow OF the overhang-
ing palms. standing waist deep In water.
for the moon was coming up and knew
the woods were full OF the bloodthirsty
Filipino hounds hunting for me-
As I stood like this for hours in the
water watched the white shafts OF light
from the war ships.
On. how aggravating that wa-alrnost
within cover Of rous navy's guns and yet
liable 10 be caught any time BY those
savages. At daylight they got me again.
They thrashed me with sticks and led
me. sore and Iimping. back to the viIlige
There found wilander and Langford
They had tried to get away. but had been
nabhed. 1 guess the bandits thought they
could guard US all together better than
separately.
About ten days after that Commander
Pedro Heron. OF the Pulacan Indian
Company. came to the village or some
business. I managed to attract his at
tention and begged him to either have
US liberated of turned over as prisoners
of war to the regular insurgent author
tiles.
The next day half dozen bushwhack-
ers tied US three together like hounds
and out packs on our backs. They
would not tell us at first where we were
going. They drove Us like cattle They
considered US nothing more than slaves
For three weeks we tramped this way
over mountains and along rivers till We
came on the town of Turlac. It seemed
to US that we were getting so deep in the
tropical wilderness that We should never
get out.
We didn't know what fate was being
prepared for US. We half expected TO be
tortured and eaten. The only thing that
gave US any hope was that as we were
so lean and fever worn that our captors
would not think US Mt to eat.
You must remember that while we
were taking this trip drought the jungle
it was August, when the tropical heat
is the most scorching. We had but a
handful of rice a day apiece. which we
had 10 eat raw, with sometimes little
fish and bananas whenever we came up
on a clump of that kind Of trees.
While on this march we passed through
the towns Of San Miguel, Santa Rosa and
San Isidro.
At this last place we found the names
in the prison where we were kept over
night, of Lieutenant Gilmore and eight
other Americans who had been confined
there at some time.
We wrote our names on the walls, too.
in place Of hotel directory. to encourage
other poor fellow countrymen Of ours who
might be lodged there later.
think it was the first day OF Septem-
Der when we reached Tarlac This is
quite place, and here for the first time
we saw some OF the regular insurgent
officers and soldiers. They looked enough
sight better than our ragged. dirty bush
whackers.
We were taken on to Victoria. We
were put into a sort OF bull pen, and I
heard our captors pickering and quarrel
ing with the insurgent officers. The bush
whackers evidently wanted more bounty
for bringing US in than the insurgent
officers were willing to give.
The bandits got TO raving and cursIng
in regular Spanish style.
This sounded very much Ike auction
ing off slaves. for we had picked up
enough Spanish to understand about all
they said.
When the quarrel got hottest the lead
er of the bandits jerked open the door
of our pen and rushed in with his gun
raised 10 shoot II he couldn't sell his
prisoners for as much as he wanted he
was going to get even by shooting Us.
we-three men bound together by ropes
tying our arms together-stood Up against
the rice wall waiting to be shot down ike
dogs.
At that instant an insurgent officer
darted into the pen. sword in hand, and
with the slash Of a practiced fencer.
knocked the rife out OF the murderer's
hands
Senior. these are my men," he cried
out in Spanish.
That was Emilio AEuinaldo.
1 knew that a good deal has been said
against Aguinaldo. and 1 suppose he has
done d good deal OF wickedness. but we
three men looked upon him as a hero as
he dashed into that death pen and saved
our lives We knew him at the first
glance from the the pictures we had seen
of him.
Three Of Us colled out his name and
tried to thank him in very bad Spanish
wherever try TO talk Spanish ! get my
German mother tongue mixed up with j.
Aguinaldo smiled as he dropped his
sword back into It's sheath. He made a
polite bow 70 US Ike a Spanish officer.
and motioned one Of his aides 10 take
charge OF us.
From that moment our condition I'm
proved.
We were allowed to battle. and were
given clean white coats and trousers.
such as the best equipped insErgent
troops wear.
The officer in charge OF Us gave each
OF us peseta day 70 spend. This
means about ten cents in American mon
ey. With that we we're able 10 buy
fruit. tobacco and other little things. We
were well fed having bread. coffee. pork
and even chicken occasionally.
We were even given a ftir amount %
liberty in the village, although alwaTs
attended by a guard. We were told that
We could write letters 70 oar folks 8 We
chose and that General Aguinaido would
have them Forwarded 70 Manila
on September g. wrote letter 70 ny
brother IN New York and took = 20
AzuinaI5o myself One ~ Bis aides trans
lated Il 70 the General ard Aguiuaido
then O. K ed 81 hy writing he Initials. !
F. A. n big sc.locl-boE- letters o. I
one corner. Ha tnen gave it 70 an aide /
to pui with his own letters 70 g q I
Manila
A few days after this there Eas Dig /
gathering y igeurEent officials. They +
came r. from eli directions % AE1.as4- 4
dos headquartsrs.
found that these were the irs1rgsnt +
rerf,r. e4Hrsrr There uaz tae Esere- i