The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1902-03-18
THE WALLER EXPEDITION
FAMOUS MARCH or THE MARINES
ACROSS THE ISLAND OF SaMaR.
TERRIBLE SUFFERING OF THE MEN
Graphic Account OF their Priva-
lions by Two Of the Omcers-The
Men TO Depending on
Roots and Herbs for Subsistence.
Fifteen DAYS with Ne Other Food.
They Eat Two stray Dogs-Too
Weak to March, They Fall by the
Way-Treachery of heir uid

Way-Treachery of heir Guides.
Washington. March 1.-THE eastern
mail has brought the report of Major
Waller upon the famous expedition con-
Iducted by him across the island of Sa-
mar. resulting in the loss of a number
lof the marines and hardships and suf-
fering on the part of the others beyond
anything known before in the Philip
pine campaign. Major Walters reports
are formal and do lot go into the de-
tails of the movements of the marines,
but the news of the affair is contained
in a report form Lieutenant w. r.
shoemaker. United States navy, who
conducted the relief expedi ion that sue
Icored the marines. After detailing the
l%arrival into the American lines of Cap
tain Porter n Lieutenant Williams,
with a portion of the men. the report
Isays:
Captain Porter and Lieutenant A. S..
Williams. in conversation gave me sub
stantially the following account of their
wanderings:
ION January 1st, being then on half
Irations. with very little food left, Major
Waller decided to split the party-he
taking fifteen of the strongest men and
pushing on for Basey, and Captain Por-
ter following his trail as rapidly as pos
lsible with the main body.
. the End. a native came back from
waller with a note, stating that he.
waller, had given UP the idea OF getting
Through and would return, and direct
ing Porter to make directly for the riv-
ler and build RATS for the entire party.
IThlS Porter friPl tn do h,,f fa;1o1 -
hnd wood that would float. 1t was
raining hard at this time and the river
was o ten feet above it's normal
level and running with violence.
AS Major Waller did not appear, Por
ter sent Captain Bearss to him to as
certain his plans. then return and re-
port. Bearss failed to return, but he
reached Waller and went on with him.
ION the 3rd, I 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
limit for use. So he started on a 25-mile
bike for Lanang. reached there with
three men on the afternoon Of the 18th.
Five men had given out, but, living on
W dogs, that Strayed their way, they
finally reached the post.
THE relief expedition. under Lieuten-.
ant Williams. of the First infantry, on
account of the height of the river, was
unable to get away until the morning
of the 18th. Williams deserves the
highest praise for his 25-mile 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
18th that he reached the starving ma
rines 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 a rifle. Nine
lof them had either one crazy or had
fallen by the trail half dead from star
walton and exposure. 1t 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
were able to reach the boat by the
the relief expedition. He got there on
the night of the 18th instant, his party
having been without food, except roots,
the pulp Of plants and a yer few sweet
potatoes. for fifteen DAYS.
T further complicate matters. the
native bearers, about thirty in number,
became sulky. practically refusing as
sistance to the white men,. They would
build shacks as a protection from the
continual %downpour for themselves
and knowing the edible roots and
plants, were more skillful in obtaining
food.
"A time came when no white man
could carry a rifle and those not lost
were in the hands of the natives; and
in h altered condition, it required con-
diplomacy on the part Of Lieu
Tenant Williams tn handle xhQn AZ all
Just before reaching the river, two
bearers tried to kill Williams, stabbiug
about the chest with a bolo. He
tried to shoot, but had not sufficient
strength to pull the trigger. Then they
tried to kill him with his own pistol.
but Tic not know how to work the
Weapon. Williams was rescued by a
few of his men who tottered UP, armed
with sticks, and the natives took to the
bush. No FflipinoS were seen in tn.
region. there being nc food. The relief
party saw some coming from the direc-
ton of Hermane: so IT is possible that
the insurgents about there got wind OF
the desperate condition of the marines
and were hurrying up to take advan-
tage of it. Relief came just in time.
1T took practically all of January
18th to get the sufferers. thirty-one in
number, including two oficers-eighteen
in stretcherS unable to move-acrosS
the river and out through the surf to
the vessel. The job was finished at $50
d. m, and at ZOO o'clock we
for Tacloban direct. as an army
said at Lanang. that an hour
saved in transit might mean an arm or
a leg to some. We reached Tacloban at
s o'clock a. m. n the worst cases
were at once transferred to the hospit-
al. The others, including eight or ten
natives, not included in the above to-
tai of thirty-one, / transported to Ra-
sey. seeing Major Waller. His party
appears from the statements Of the Of
fcers, to have been reduced to nearly
the same extremity as the other. They
had practically given up hope when the
capture Of a small boy. the
only native seen. resulted in their get
ting through to the coast"