Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-05-30
TRIAL OF CAPT. MCGOWAN
CHARGES CONCERNING THE SHOOT
ING OF A FILIPINO.
Defendant Takes the Witness stand
and Relates Story of the
Affair.

The trial by court-martial of Captain
John MCGOWAN, U. 8. N. which was begun
yesterday at the navy yard, upon charges
in connection with the shooting of a Fill
pino on November n, 1899. in the harbor Of
Cebu, Philippine Islands. where the cap
tain was in command OF the Monadnock.
was continued today. The president of the
court, Rear Admiral Casey, presided.
Captain MCGOWAN went on the stand and
in response to questions by his counsel Mr..
J. H. Hayden. gave an account OF his duties
and the conditions prevailing while he was
In command of the Monadnock He stated
that he was also in command of the gun
boats detached for service, and went into
detail in regard to the Illicit traffic which
was carried on in favor of the insurgents.
and the efforts made under his direction to
suppress and check 1t. His evidence tend
ed to show disturbed and unsettled state
OF affairs, requiring his vessel to be kept
always in readiness for hostilities. Strin-
gent rules had to be enforced, the witness
said, regulating the approach to his ship
of native cascoes and other liquors. Liquors
and other articles. he said. were smugsled
aboard in spite of precautions.
The defendant then described the circum-
stances surrounding the event which Is the
subject of the court-ma rtial. He said that
when the native In question approached the
vessel in a canoe he gave warning. and it
was some ten minutes afterward that he
discharged his revolver toward the canoe.
When asked II the condition of the native
had any influence on the course OF the bull
let the witness said that was question
he could not answer. as the nature of such
influence was not known.
Climbed Aboard Unaided.
The native continued to paddle his canoe
until he came alongside, orders having been
given that the canoe should be oyerhauled
on account of Its suspicious character.
When the man climbed aboard, and he was
unassisted 1t was found for the first time
that he was wounded The witness spoke
Of the affair as an accident. and said he
had reported the matter to the military au-
thorities. the affair had occurred In the
harbor of Cebu. which was under martial
law He supposed If any action was to be
taken it would be by civil or shore author
tiles at Cebu, which at that time was su-
perseded by the military.
In reply to a question from the judge adj
vocate. Maj. Lauchheimer. as to why he did
not pursue the usual course and have the
boat overhauled, he said at that time the
men were at their MONDAY meal, and ne
did not wish to call them away He said
he did not know whether the boat was in
tending to engage in illicit traffic. or
whether it had a bomb on board. The oc-
cupant of the canoe showed that the wit
ness warning was understood, as the boat
moved away.
Gave Two Warnings.
The witness said that prior to firing he
warned the boat off twice. but used no
other means to keep the boat away. He
said in his opinion it was necessary to fire
at the boat, as he did, for the reason that
1t was probable more attention would be
paid to shot than to orders, which had
been previously disregarded.
On account of the fact that the vessel
had been in harbor for two months. the
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every boatman knew Of the regulations in
regard to the hours for approaching the
vessel and the proper side.
At noon the court adjourned for luncheon.
1t Is expected the hearing will be con-
cluded today.
Details the Circumstances.
At the hearing yesterday the government
put in evidence a. deposition by Captain
MCGOWAN, which had been read before the
court of inquiry detailing the circumstances
attending the shooting. 1t stated that
Capt MCGOWAN aimed at the water when
he fired his revolver, saying. as he did so,
This is warning shot" Shore boats
were permitted to approach the vessel aft
on the port side, but the boat or canoe con-
tanning the man who was shot attempted
to approach on the starboard side at the
bow. The ships surgeon reported the
mans injury to be serious, though not fatal.
and later he was moved to the shore hos
pital. in charge Of a Spanish doctor, which
the captain was informed offered the best
facilities for treatment.
The next day Capt. MCGOWAN reported
the matter to the military governor of
Cebu. who said he had done right, and
that nothing more would be heard of the
incident. The morning of the third day
word was received that the Filipino had
died, and a non-commissioner officer. who
had been sent ashore, told Capt. MCGOWAN
that when he visited the hospital nothing
had been done with the wounded man. and
that his wound had not even been cleansed.
The deposition further said that at the
time the shooting occurred there was great
activity among the insurgents in the vi
cinity of Cebu. which made 1t necessary
for commanding officers to take precau-
tions to see that no communications passed
between the people of Cebu and the enemy
Boats from the Monadnock had repeatedly
pursued native canoes and had found it
necessary to fire upon them at times. The
military authorities on shore also had found
it necessary to fire on the canoes.
Dispositions from a number of subordinate
officers of the vessel, the same in substance
as that OF Capt. MCGOWAN, were read.
GOES INTO EFFECT IN OCTOBER.
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