The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-05-04

feet and died. Only one mule has crossed
the island on foot. II was "A little. tiny
mule. not up To the standard al all, but
when all the other mules died IL was made
much Of. carrying the medicine chest ana
the laudanum bottles. which help the
wounded men to die.
been a butcher. and he skinned the dead
mules and made "A suit Of armOr out or
mule hide for the survivor. His hOofs were
worn down TO the quick from walking over
the pumice points. lifting them up or put
ting them down gave eXcruciating agony,
but soon the beneV client butcher had him a
pair-in fact, TWO pairs-Of army leggins
made out OF his dead companions hides,
and a chest protector that would stop a
spearhead ana protect MIN from the Drlars-
And so the little mule reached the racine.
Half a mile away from the coast there
T. not "A road on the island. Such paths as
exist were merely footpaths-sendas' as
they are called.
Every footpath leading into the interior
was fortified I'm "a way which. with the ma
terials at hand. a Brialmont or a TodleDen
coulc not have improved upon. These De
lenses and traps in Samar all go by the
name Of balatiks. OF them there is such an
infinite variety that I have only the space
70 describe a few.
zone and all. however. are effective. The
simplest are merely pitfalls dug In the path
or in the center of the dehle through which
the invader must come; deep, broad pits
covered and concealed by "a network of
slender tWigs or bamboo shoots. covered
with leaves and vegetation. all so artfully
arranged that none but the eye Of the eX-
perienced wOOdman could detect the hand
of man
SPEARHEADS IN a MANPIT.
"The bottom of the manpits or pitfalls
are planted with stout spearheads, hard
ened 10 an ironlike hardness over a slow
burning fire. And. as the clinical history
OF the wounds which they have inflicted
goes 10 show. in almost every instance
these spearheads have been smeared with
the poisonous juice of some native vegeta-
Bile, to which as yet no antidote has been
found. The only remedy lies in cauteriza-
tion and surgery.
We have lost many men in pitfalls such
as these, and learned TO avoid them. And
they can be avoided when the object which
the expedition has I'm view permits of a
slow, careful advance. Under these cir
cImstances a carabOa is driven at the head
OF the column. But this Unwieldy animal,
unfortunately, cannot be urged to greater
speed than a mile an hour. SO it is only on
rare occasions that this siow-mOving pilot
engsne can be availed of 10 draw the enc
my's fire. But the Samarites have another
traplike defense, from which nothing but
luck or Providence will save you.
Near an outlying post of our men or
upOn the line of march OF a flying column
on the top OF some steep hillside there sud-
denly appears. as though cOnJured out of
the ground. a large nipa shack. such as are
built for quartels or insurgent barracks and
storehOuses. Here there seems TO be an I'M
usual lack Of precautiOn. From the bamboo
HdEBtlC - ullluIleu the req anu WHITE nag
of the insurgents. with the single star that
makes IL look so much like the Cuban flag.
The men OF our column, who probably
nave not known dry clothing for a month,
for in Samar there Is no dry season, only
the wet and the rainy seasons, come stag
gering along. foOtsore and often shoeless.
But the sight of the enemy that has so
long evaded them and the flag spurs them
on. In a moment. well before the sharp re-
port OF the Krags awakens the slumbering
echoes OF the valley. the insurgents disap-
pear like snakes in the tall grass. But our
fellows charge up the brier-grown hillside
with an energy and a determination which
the sight Of the enemy never fails to in
spire. In and out among the alternating
punches of jungle and tall coarse grass,
lying harmlessly about as though placed
there by nature are long behoOker trailers
or vines. which grow so luxuriantly here.
The soldier new to Samar warfare thinks
what an opportunity the enemy has lost
here: of how had these trailers been raised
but waist high from the ground and tied
together they would prove as valuable a
defense as wire acknowledgements.
CRUEL TRAPS.
Suddenly a soldier OF the advancing coll
umn stumbles. His foot was caught in one
OF the idly trailing behOoker vines. He is
about 10 tOpple over TO go down under the
weight of his heavy equipment when sud-
denly a sapling. or the bough of a tree,
springs toward him with a force which no
human hand can stay. a sharp cryl The
soldier does not fall; ne does not stand; he
remains transfxed. and when the hospital
man, or one of his comrades comes along,
he finds out what has happened. The trailer
which his careless foot has drawn taut has
released a sapling. which then swings back
into its normal position with tremendous
force. To the boughs the hard wood spear
heads are tied with the little vines or with
hemp fiber, and they have gone through
the body of the soldier with tremendous
force.
II saw two victims of this kind Of trap in
the hospital at CalbayOc. They had been
wounded by the same tree. 10 which as
many as a dozen spearheads were attached,
and. 10 show the tremendous force with
which the sapling springs back into place,
In each instance the spearheads had gone
clean through the body of it's victim and
the tree had to be cut down before he could
be released. and in each instance the
wounds proved fatal.
There are a dozen other savage but eff
fective methods which the ingenious
Samarites have devised. but these. in de-
fault of space, must serve as examples.
. Not less effective is the way they fortify
the watercourses that lead right into the
heart OF this ocean island. These streams
are sometimes as still and silent as the
proverbial miilpond. and sometimes rushing
torrents sweep toward the sea with ire
sistible force. They are only navigable for
the captured dugouts, which our men have
learned TO use. The danger OF ascending
waters such as these TO men not brought
up as voyagers and without trustworthy
guides Is considerable. But even under
tneSe circumstances the NUMBER or deaths
from drowning reported by the brigade
commander in Samar is surprising.
Il will tell you how they have occurred,
for the most part. The Samar rivers are
stopped every few miles of their courses by
mountain barriers. They make as many
bends as did the classic Meander. In turn
ing sharply the rocky barriers that block
their course the rivers flow with such We
locity that the savage guardians of the
paths can tell TO an inch. so irresistible-i is
the current, where any approaching boat
must pass. And they make their prepare
tons.
ION the %frOwning headlands above the in
evitable places where the boats must pass
great grants powders are lOOsened from
their natural Judgement, great masses of
stone, such as figured in the CyclOpean
wars of old. held I'm position by the invalu-
aole trailerS. The savaCes await the mo-
Tlent when the solitary scout boat of the
.iotilla must pass directly beneath their
perch. Then a slash of the bolO across the
OBTAINING vine. a slight push and the great
powder falls upon the advancing nOtilla
with overwhelming force.
AT CLOSE QUARTERS.
1T is only fair 20 - every man and
officer who has served In Samar will say il
that when their natural d~efenses fail and
their wiles prove unavailing these savage
bolomen were not slow 10 fight it out man
for man, the crooked steel knife against
the rifle. always availing themselves, how
ever. as was their right. Of the advantage