The free press. (Poplarville, Miss.) 1890-19??, 1900-05-31


tain Country Made Trail For the Kes-
cuers - The Lieutenant's Adventures.
u MONG the many adventures
N of the brave men in our army
~ and navy during the Spanish
war and the instruction in
the Philippines, none perhaps is more
thrilling than that which befell Lieu
tenant James G. Gilmore, of the York
town, and his boats crew, who fell into
Filipino ambush year ago and were
either captured or killed. The tale
is told most Interestingly by Lieuten-
ant Gilmore himself in Collier s
Weekly.
1t was on the morning of April 10,
1899, that Lieutenant Gilmore left
the Yorktown in the second cutter
with crew of fourteen men and two
passengers-an officer and a man
near the town of Baler, where they
were to try and discover the position
Of church in which it was said
party of Spanish were besieged by in
surgents. The meu were landed safe
~, but Gillmore's boat was discovered
by the enemy little later as he was
going back to the mouth of the river
which flows past Baler. TO throw off
suspicion as to the real purpose of his
trip, Gilmore began making sound
ings across the river, and sketches.
In doing this the boat was allowed to
approach close to the left bank of the
river where there was a swamp Gov
cred with tall marsh grass.
Gas I was about to give the order
10 return" Lieutenant Gillmore's
narrative says, 1--WE rounded a bend
and came full upon an outpost who
hailed us and fred shot. Before
could answer the hail volley was
fred at us at close range-about fifty
yards.
"The effect OF this volley was terri
BILE. Two men were killed instantly,
the brains of one being scattered over
the boat and crew. Another man had
the fingers cut off his left hand, but
still kept bravely to his post at the
starboard stroke oar. The starboard
oars were riddled and most of them
shattered. The boat was pierced by
the Remington balls and made water
fast. AS soon as possible after recov-
ering from the first shock we opened
fire with Colt and rifles. The ambush
was so complete that we could not see
at what to FIRE, not even the smoke.
The second volley threw the Colt out
of action by SCATTERING the box and
cutting the loading tape. The order
vas given to back oars, but as only
very few could beused, the tide drifted
us in on a sank bank. Three of the
men bravely jumped over to swim the
boat out but did not succeed, the tide
setting US in.
1.-The volleys were now poured in
on US from the left bank in quick sue
cession, MORALLY wounding two men
and seriously wounding three others,
and myself slightly. At this time I
was under the impression that most
Of the crew were either wounded or
killed, as the bodies of the men who
were killed and mortally wounded had
fallen on the slighter men in the boat,
in the bottom OF which they were
struggling. The boat was covered
with blood, presenting fearful sight.
| The cries of the mortally wounded,
asking me to shoot them and not allow
| them to fall into the hands of the
savages, were heartrendlng. Al the
same time there could be seen coming
| down the right bank band of savages
-bolo and spear men-with q few
Remington rifles. then gave the
order to hoist the white flag. This
was done by one Of the men, who re-
ceived a ball through the wrist and
dropped the flag.
"The firing from the enemy now
came faster, and L thought they in
| tended to massacre us, 50 continued
our fire. We were now hailed in
Spanish from the left bank by an Off
Ger, saying that if we did not cease
firing and surrender he would murder
US all. / then surrendered to him.
The savages on the right bank came
up, took Us out of the boat, robbed
us, tied our arms behind our backs
with bamboo thongs and lined US up
on the beach to be shot. [ protested
against being shot with my arms tied,
and this alteration, which lasted
about five minutes, probably saved
our lives. They loaded their rifles
and were all ready, when a Tagalog
officer came ont OF the brush and
ordered otherwise. We We're then
sent aboard the boat, and after stop
ping up the holes made by the rife
balls and pulling the boat out, pro-
ceeded up the river.
Two of the crew We're dead, two
MORALLY wounded and three seriously
wounded. The boat was run ashore
little way up the river. The dead
were left in it, the mortally wounded
put in the shade ashore and then the
rest OF the party were started for
Baler. There orders were received
from Aguinaldo to bring them TO the
capital, San Isidro; aud, leaving the
seriously wounded behind, they be-
gan long and weary march into the
interior over a country broken with
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