The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-05-04
Testimony OF n Former Volunteer Sol
der Before the Senate Commit
tee on the Philippines.
FATE OF PRIVATE O'HERNE
CAPTURED BY NATIVES, BOL0ED AND
SLOWLY ROASTED TO DEATH.
Crime So Horrible that Twelve Ma
tiyes Were Cnptured and Forced to =.
Confess by Means of the "Cure."

--
WASHINGTON, May al. z. Hallock,
of Boston, Mass, formerly a sergeant and
then a private in Company /, Twenty-sixth
Volunteer Infantry. testified to-day before
the Senate committee on the Philippines
concerning the practice of the water cure
in the Philippines archipelago. Mr.. Hallock
told Of the infliction of the water cure on
a dozen natives at the town of Leon, prov
ince of Panay. He said they were captured
and tortured in order to secure informa-
tion of the murder of Private O'Herne, Of
Company 1, who had been not only killed,
but roasted and otherwise tortured before
death ensued. Captain Glenn, in charge Of
a scouting party, had first secured a con-
fession of participation in this crime by
one native, who had implicated twelve
others. These were, the witness said, taken
to Leon, where his company went under
of Captain Gregg. On the 2lst
and again on the sd of August. 1900, the
cure was administered. the witness con-
tinued.
WHO inflicted the cure?"
of Company l."
"Were they ordered TO do SOP"
They were; by First Sergeant ]. R.
Manning, who is now in Boston,
Hallock added that he had witnessed the
torture. but had not participated in it, and
that while it was in progress Captain Gregg
was at company headquarters. less than
100 yards distant.
lid Captain Gregg know of the tor
tUTe?" Senator Rawlins asked.
AL the command knew it, and l don't
see how he could have helped knowing it. "
Going back to the capture of the native
who had given the rma as to the
identity OF the tOrturers of OHerne, the
witness said the names given were those of
natives living nVe or six miles from Leon.
The first administration of the cure on Aug.
L had not extended to all the natives, and
WnSn the punishment was resumed the sec
ond day il was extended TO others of the
party and repeated with some on the 2lst.
~ hat was the effect of punishment
The stomach will swell up, and in some
cases l witnessed blood come from the
mouth"
Asked what became of the Filipino pris-
oners TO whom the cure was administered
he replied that they were placed in a guard
house twenty by twenty-five feet in size, in
which there was one window, and in which
there were at times eighteen men confined
The twelve prisoners were kept for four or
] five months and they they tried to escape.
That cIlCrt had been successful on the part
OF some of them, but five or six fleeing pris-
oners were shot and killed. One Of them
had been killed while trying to get away
when the squad was taken to the river for
a bath. and the other when out at work, in
a general rush for liberty.
Were all the prisoners who did not es-
cape killed."
II think so, with one exception; 1 think
one was given his freedom"
Mr.. HallOck also stated that he had been
present when a village of 1900 or 1000 had
been burned and that the occupants of the
houses had not had time TO carry out the
furniture. He had known of three or four
other cases of such destruction of property,
but had not been an eyewitness.
In reply TO other questions, Mr.. Hallock
said the report was current among the sol
diers that the administration of the water
cure was common when they desired to Sc
cure information from natives. He also
said that during his entire service in the
Philippines he had known of the killing
probably Of two hundred or three hundred
natives. mostly in battle, and of the killing
of probably twenty Americans.
Senator Lodge brought out the details Of
the murder Of Private O'Herne. The wit
ness said that in June, 1900, O'Herne, with
two other members of the company. mad
been sent to Iloilo for mail. and that on
their return on June 80 they were am
pushed by 100 natives and OHerne's com
panions captured. O'Herne had made a
dash to get away and, after escaping from
the attacking party, had fallen in with
other natives supposed TO be friendly, but
that. instead OF proving TO be so, they had
devoted the entire next day TO his torture
and death, beginning at daylight by cutting
him with bolos and then roasting him all
day by a slow fire, not finishing up until
night. All those details had, the witness
said, been gathered from the confessions
of the men to whom they had given the
water cure. Replying TO other questions.
he said he did not know any one TO die
under the water cure. The prisoners were
generally fed on rice and coffee, with an
occasional meal of hard tack. He said
they were all fat" He also said he un-
derstood the orders TO be TO treat the ma
tives well.
Senator Patterson asked a number of
questions intended to develop the fact as
TO whether the native prisoners had been
| informed as 10 the character OF the 1n-
formation sought. but did not elicit any
thing important from the witness. He did,
however, succeed in causing Senator Beve-
ridge 10 make protest against his method of
inquiry, which brought on a collequy be-
tween the two senator's. Mr.. Beveridge de-
clared that In a trial court persistence In
such questions as Mr.. Patterson was put
ting would render an attorney liable TO a
fine for contempt of court, to which Mr..
Patterson replied that ''such interruptions
as those Of the senator from Indiana would
not only render him liable to a fine for con-
tempt, but also be the cause of sending
him TO jail"
To this exchange Mr.. Burrows added.
Jocularly: Sent to Jail or subjected to the
water cure"
In reply TO a question from Senator Bur
rows, Mr.. Hallock said he had seen the
bodies of four OF the native prisoners who
had been shot by the soldiers while trying
to make their escape. but that he had not
seen the actual shooting. He also said that
he had seen the bones of O'Herne when
termining that they were his, beyond the
confession OF the natives was a peculiar
tooth found with the bones which was
recognized as O'Herne's.
The committee then went into executive
session and Senator Lodge laid before IL
the cablegram from General Chahee con-
corning Major Gardener, which was later
read in the Senate. The committee decided
not 10 request the appearance of Major
Gardener pending the investigation in the
Philippines.