The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1902-04-10
WALLER'S AWFUL TRIP
EXPEDITION ACROSS sAMAR. p. h.
BY HUNcER.cRAzEo MARINES.
Living on Stray Dogs and Roots For Days
Made Insane by All the Misery of the
Adventure, the Major in Command
Killed Two Natives

1
Killed Two Natives.
Major Littleton w. II. Waller and
Lieutenant John II. A. Day were court
martialed at Manila on charge of
killing two natives without trial on
the Island of SamGr.
1t has been urged in exculpatlon that
the horrors of a trip across Samar
given the first official report of that
disastrous expedition.
The Eastern mail has brought the
report of Major Waller on the famous
expedition conducted by him across
the Island of Samar. Major Walters
reports are formal and do not go into
details, but The news of the affair is
contained in report from Lieutenant
w. Il. Shoemaker, U. S. ~. who con-
! Quoted the relief expedition that sue
cored the marines.
| After detailing the arrival in the
American lines of Captain Porter and
Lieutenant Williams, with a portion
of the men. the report says:
Captain Porter and Lieutenant A. s.
Williams, in conversation, gave me
substantially the following account of
| their wanderings:
"On January 1, being then on half
rations, with very little food left,
Major Waller decided to split the par
ty-he taking fifteen OF the strongest
men and pushing on for Basey, and
Captain Porter following his trail as
rapidly as possible with the main
body.
"On the second a native came back
! from Waller with note stating that
he. Waller, had given up the idea of
getting through and would return,
and directing Porter to make directly
for the river and build RATS for the
entire party. This Porter tried to do,
but failed to find wood that would
float.
at was raining hard at this time
and the river was about ten feet above
its normal level and running with vio-
lence. AS Major Waller did not ap-
pear, Porter sent Captain Bearss to
ascertain his plans, then return and re-
port. Bearss failed to return. but he
reached Waller and went on with him.
ION the third, think, Porter pushed
ahead to get assistance with eight of
the strongest men, leaving Williams to
follow with the crippled and lame as
far as the boat, secreted on the way up,
to be used in an emergency like the
| present.
Porter reached the boat, but found
she had been damaged and was unfit
for use. SO he started ON a twenty-five
mile hike for Lanang, reaching there
with three men on the afternoon of
the eleventh. Five men had given out,
but, living on two dogs that strayed
their way, they finally reached the
post.
''The relief expedition under Lieu
tenant Williams, First Infantry, on ac-
count Of the height of the river, was
unable to get away until the morning
of the fourteenth. Williams deserves
the highest praise for his twenty-five
miles fight against the current and up
the rapids, hauling his boats along by
hand a good part of the way.
1T was not until the morning of the
seventeenth that he reached the starv-
ing marines in their last stopping place
near the river. Their condition at the
time was terrible. For days no man
among them had strength to carry q
rifierlfle. Nine of them had either gone
crazy or had fallen by the trail, half
dead from starvation and exposure
ut had rained steadily for eighteen
days. Lieutenant A. s. Williams had
made every effort to get them along
but had to abandon them. He could
only save the men who We're able to
reach the boat by the river, the prob
able point of arrival of the relief expe
ditlon.
HE got there on the night of the
sixteenth inst, his party having been
without food, except roots, the pulp OF
plants, and very few sweet potatoes
for fifteen days.
ITO further complicate matters the
native bearers, about thirty in number
became sulky, practically refusing as
slstance to the white men. They would
! NNN 'NNNhS 90 q PAONNNAAOh llOlu liz
continual downpour for themselves
only, and knowing the edible roots
and plants We're more skilful in oh
tanning food.
"A time came when no white mar
could carry rifle and those not los
We're in the hands Of the natives. I'm
der the altered condition 1t required
considerable diplomacy on the part ol
Lieutenant Williams to handle then
at all.
Just before reaching the river tive
bearers tried to kill Williams, stabbinl
him about the chest with a bolo. HI
tried to shoot, but had not sutficien
strength TO pull the trigger.
Then they tried TO kill him will
his own pistol, but did not know how
to work the weapon. Williams wa
rescued by a few OF his men who tot
tered up, armed with sticks, and tn,
natives took to the bush.
mo Fllipnos were seen in the re
gion, there being no food The relic
party saw some coming from the di
rection of Hermane, so it is probabl
that the insurgents about there go
wind of the desperate condition of tn
marines and were hurrying nm TO TAX