, 1900-01-11
GILLMORE'S STORY.
SUFFERiNGS OF HIS MEN WHILE
PRISONERS.
Guard Was Ordered to Shoot Them, But
Turned Them Loose to starve-Narrow
Escape From Death,

Turned Them Loose to starve-Narrow
Escape From Death,
ManiIa. Jan. S.-Lieutenant J. C.
Gilmore. of the United States gun
boat Yorktown. who was "nntured by
the insurgents last April near Baler,
on the coast of Luzon. and rescued IA
few days ago by Colonel Luther K.
Hare of the Thirty-third volunteer in
fantry. sat to-day in the apartments
of his sister. Mrs. Major Price. ut the
Hotel Oricnte in Manila and told a re
markablc story of his eight months
captivity, ending with his dramatic
deliveraucc from death that seemed in
evitable.
The steamer Venus came into the
harbor last evening from h 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 n cane TO the Hotel Oricnte. where
American. officers and ladies We're
waltzing through the halls to the
strains of "Aguinaldo's March,
Although tanncd and ruddy from eXa
posture. he is weak and nervous, show
ing the results of long ha~rdships. He
speaks warmly of Aguinaldo and very
bitterly against General TinO. dcclar-
ing that while in the formers iurisdic-
ton he was treated splendidly. but
nftcr he fell into Tino's hands he suf-
fercd 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 hcndwaterS of the Abalut
river. after they had been abandoned
by the FillphsIs and We're expecting
death from the avage tribes around
them. When the rescuing force
reached them they We're nearly
starved, but were building RATS in
h hope of getting down the river to
II coast.
Lieutenant Gilmore made the fol
lowing statement:
The FilipinOS abandoned us on the
night of December 10th. We had reach.
ed the Abalut river near its source that
morning and the Filipinos RATED us
over. We then went down the stream
along a rough trail. guarded by n COM
pany of FilipinUS. That night we were
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: 4 have orders
from General limo TO shoot you all,
but my conscience forbidS. shall
leave you here.
Il begged him for W. rifles to pro
tect us from savngcs. adding that |
would give him letters to the Ameri-
cans who would pay him well and keep
him from all harm. He refused this,
however, saying he would not dare to
comply oon afterward he left with
his Ompan
w had seen some savageS in wal
paint around us and we prepared to
fight them with cObhlestones. the only
weapons that were available to us.
The next morning we followed the trail
of the Filipino soldiers. feeling that it
was better to stick To them than he
murdered by savagcS, but we could not
catch up with them. Then / ordered
the men TO build RATS in the hope of
tioating down the river. 1t was a for
lorn hope, but ! knew the river must
empty into the sea somewhere. | vas
so weak myself that | did not expect.
to get out, but | thought some of the
men could.
"On the morning of December 18th
while we were working on the RATS
the Americans came toward up yelling,
One of my men shouted: They are on
us He WIS flashing n raft of bam-
hoos. |, however. knew II was not the
yell of savnges but the yell of Ameri-
cans. The r%escuing troops thought we
had Filipino guards and called to us
in English TO lie down, so that they
could shoot the Filipinos- That was
the finest body of officers md men /
ever saw"
Lieutenant Gilmore could not speuk
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 10 Hive
through the "trip, bur there was no al
tentative. They shot many rapids. the
men losing all their effects. and Lieu
tenant Gilmore some valuable papers.
onlN fourteen ont Of thirty-seven RATS
urVlde the first experience and
eighty men We're practically unable 10
walk when Nigun WIS reached.
Describing the flight from Bpnguet
when the Americans approached. Lien
tenant Gilmore said:
THE Filipinos. completely terrified.
letl Benguet on December Tth. They
hurried the prisoners from town
TO town, often %rctracing 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. did not have Il full meal from
December 9TH until | reached Vigan.
Indeed, the rcscuing party lived large
~ upon rice. without salt. There was
ON" day when I was reduced to chevy
Ing grass and bark"