The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1902-03-20
THE MARCH ACROSS sAMAR.
waller Describes the Terrible Experience on
That Ill-starred Expedition.
(By the Associated Press


Washington March 19.-The Navy De-
partment has made public another report
from Major Waller recounting in detail
the stirring events of his tragic effort
to cross the Island of Samar.
Major Waller begins with a statement
that Lieutenant Williams, Seventh infan-
try. who had just returned from a twelve
days trip in fruitless search for trail
and Captain Pickering urged him not to
make the attempt to cross Samar on ac
count OF the difficulties. But he decided
to make the attempt in view of the COM
manding generals evident desire tc find
the trai. and run a wire across, starting
with fifty men on December 26th for
Lanang.
The rivers were much swollen and il
TOOK a long time to get the boat through
the rapids. Trails were picked up only
TO be lost again and the rain came down
In torrential bursts. The river the men
were following curved almost to a circle
and the banks held no trails. The route
crossed and recrossed the river every few
minutes and the men began to develop
water sores and chafes. The knowledge
that they made four or five miles in drec-
tion for each twelve miles of march was
depressing. On the 30th reduced rations
! We're issued. No sign of human habita-
ton had been seen, except a lonely fish
ing shack There were not even birds
1t took the whole of the 31st to reach
the mountain pass. All the elements
seemed to be against the men. Descend
| ing the trail was again lost. The men
were suffering from sores, from cuts made
| by thorns and from fostering bites of
leeches. They could get no fire and ate
| raw bacon. A raft was built, but sank
with one man on it. Starting down the
river, word came to Waller that many
men could not keep up, so he decided to
| forge ahead for relief with thirteen of
| the strongest men, leaving Captain Potter
! in command of the main body. Another
effort to build floating raft failed. Wal
| Ter finally came upon a clearing where
he found shack and some growing vege-
| tables. The lenses of his field glass
started fire and two days supply of
| potatoes were cooked. Word from the
rear was that the men could make only
| three miles q dav. There was only
enough bacon to fry the potatoes. The
| natives We're reported to be threatening
| Porter. and altogether the expedition was
| in bad way. Two natives were cap
| tured and pressed into service as guides
| Finally the Spanish trail was found but
| simultaneously a large boat was discov-
| cred ard the start was made for Basey.
| The report says:
| THE men, realizing that all was over
and that they were safe and once near
| home, gave up, some quietly wept, others
laughed Historically. One sergeant turned
! to me and said: don't think we would
| show up well at a drawing room My
heart bled for these men when l looked
| at them. Most Of them had no shoes, cut,
| torn, bruised and dilapidated they had
| marched without murmur for twenty nine
days and had accomplished what no white
troops had done before, they thought
not on it, but of each other. They spoke
OF me, my age and to them, we'll known
injury to my foot, and they wondered
how l had stood it, My shirt was in
rags, my hat was hat by courtesy. Torn
as they were, with eyes Suffused with
leech bites. l felt that appearances made
no difference, we were through"
| At Basey Waller was taken sick with
fever and suffered also from his injured
ankle. He says that the expedition was
of no value except to show that the noun
tains can be penetrated and that there
are no insurgents there. Concluding Ma
jor Waller says that he was the only one
of his party able to move on February
Sth. Ten of the men died of exhaustion
and one in the hospital. All of the 9th
ers, except Captain Beares Lieutenant
Halford, Lieutenant Lyles, and Major
Waller himself, either were or had been
in the hospital at the date of the re-
pert. The length of his march was go
miles.