North Park union., 1900-01-19
G1LLMoRE's STORY.
sUFFERINos OF HIS MEN WHILE
PRISONERS.
Guard was Ordered to Shoot Them. But
Turned Them Loose to starve-Narrow
Escape From Death.

0..rd was Ordered to Shoot Them. But
Turned Them Loose to Starve-NArrow
Escape From Death.
Manila, Jan. S.-Lieutenant ]. G.
Gilmore, of the United States gun
boat Yorktown, who was captured BY
the insurgents last April near Baler,
on the coast of Luxon, and rescued a
few days ago by Colonel Luther X
Hare Of the Thirty-third volunteer In
fantry, sat to-day In the apartments
Hotel Oriente In Manila and told a re-
markable story of his eight months
captivity, ending with his dramatic
deliverance from death that seemed In
evitable
The steamer Venus came into the
harbOr last evening from the Nigan
province OF South Ilocos with Lieu
tenant Gilmore and nineteen other
American prisoners, including seven OF
his sailors from the Yorktown. Lieu
tenant Gilmore. after reporting. came
ashore and hobbled along. with the aid
of a cane, to the Hotel Oriente, where
American officers and ladies were
waltzing through the halls to the
strains of "Aguinaldos March,
Although tanned and ruddy from en-
pOsure. he Is weak and nervous, SHOW
ing the results of long hardships. He
speaks warmly of Aguinaldo and very
bitterly against General Tino. declnr-
ing that while in the formers jurisdic-
tiOn he was treated splendidly. but
after he fell into Tino's hands lie suf-
fered everything.
Colonel Hare and Lieutenant Colo
mel Howse the latter of the Thirty
fourth volunteer infantry. rescued
Gillmore's party on December 18TH
near the headwaters of the Abalut
river after they had been abandoned
by the Filiphr5s and We're expecting
death from the savage tribes around
them. When the rescUing force
reached them they We're nearly
starved but were building rafts In
the hope of getting down the river to
the coast.
Lieutenant Gilmore made the fol
lowing statement:
1.-THE FilipinOS abandoned us on the
night of December 10th. We had reach
ed the Abalut river near its source that
morning and the F'ilipinos RATED us
over. We then went down the stream
along Il rough trail. guarded by COM
pany OF Filipinos. That night we We're
separated from this guard and another
company. armed with Mausers. was
/! put In charge of us. | suspected some
thing, and questioned the lieutenant
In command. He said: 1 have orders
from General Tino TO shoot you all.
but my conscience forbids. l shall
leave you here
Il begged him for two rifles to pro-
tect lis from savnges. adding that l
would give him letters to the Ameri-
cans who would pay him well and keep
him from nll harm. He refused this.
however. saying he would not dare to
comply. Soon afterward he left with
his company.
I'VE had seen some savageS In war
paint around us and we prepared to
fight them with cobblestones, the only
weapons that We're available to lis.
The next morning we followed the trail
| of the Filipino soldiers. feeling that 1t
was better to stick to them than be
murdered by savages, but we could not
catch up with them. Then l ordered
the men to build RATS In the hope OF
| floating down the river. 1t was II for
lOrn hope. but l knew the river must
! empty Into the sea somewhere. l was
30 weak myself that l did not expect
to get out. but thought some of the
men could.
"On the morning Of December 18th
while we We're working on the RATS
the Americans came toward up yelling
Ohe VI NY heh uie oh
u.s. He was lashing n raft OF bam-
boos. I, however, knew 1t was not the
yell Of savages, but the yell Of Ameri-
cans. The rescuing troops thought we
had Filipino guards and called to us
in English to lie down. so that they
could shoot the Filipinos. That was
I the finest body of officers and men
ever saw"
Lieutenant Gilmore could not speak
enthusiastically enough about the 40
picked men who had rescued him and
his party.
The command spent the day in max
ing RATS. Colonel Hare thought Lieu
| tenant Gilmore too weak to live
/ tentative. They shot many rapids. the
men losing all their effects. and Lieu
| tenant Gilmore some valuable papers
Only fourteen out OF thirty-seven RATS
survided the first experience and
eighty men were practically unable to
walk when Vigun wns reached.
! Describing the flight from Benguet
| when the Americans approached, Lieu
| tenant Gilmore said:
7 1.-The Filipinos, completely terrified,
left Benguet on December 7th. They
hurried the prisoners from town
to town. often retracing the
trail. not knowing where the
| Americans would attack. After
being almost without food for three
days. they killed several horses and
we lived on horse flesh for several
! days. l did not have n full meal from
December Ith until reached Vigan.
Indeed the rescuing party lived large
| ly upon rice. without salt There was
one day when l was reduced to chew
ing grass and bark