BoletiÌn mercantil de Puerto Rico. (San Juan, P.R.) 18??-1918, 1902-05-21
.FiipilO Massacre d
U|d|ed SI0|eS soldiers Tod.
w. j. Gibbs, Survivor of Balangiga
Slaughter, Gives a
Graphic Story.
American Soldiers Cut Down
At Table With Bolos.
Their Heads Cut Off as they Sat
Unarmed-Only>7 of u
Escaped Unhurt.

ESIdpCu OlllluIl.
One of the survivors of the Ba1angiga
William J. Gibbs, has CRAP
hically told the Philippines Committee
how his comrades of the Ninth Infantry
were killed by the natives. He served
three years in the Philippines with
Company c of the Ninth Infantry and
was honorably discharged.
After telling of the fears of Capt.
Connell, of that company, who was
killed in the massacre, of entering
Ba1angiga at night, he detailed the
efforts made by the American soldiers
to make the natives clean up the town.
This, he believes, was responsible main
1y for the uprising
The first thing the American soldiers
noticed, he said, was that the natives
did not associate with them as they had
previously done in other provinces. 1t
was thought that this was strange.
Capt Conne11 wanted the town clean
ed up, and ordered all the natives to
begin work The natives were reluctant,
but turned out and did a little work.
The next morning they refused sbsol-
utely to do anything. Capt. Connell,
the witness said, then sent soldier to
each native shack, and, by placing a
guard over the natives, compelled them
to work. These natives to the number
of ninety were then confined in 40
Sibley tents. Mr. Gibbs continued:
"On the morning of the massacre the
natives had been lined up and were
given their working bolos for cutting
underbrush, &c, and then all our men
went to their breakfast.
MaSsacred at Breakfast.
/ "The. orders were for our men not TO
take their arms unless they went NOR
than $50 yards from camp. So th".
morning every man went to breakfas
,ithout his arms. While the mec
were at breakfast, 'efeaseless, thos
natives stood behind them, waiting t.
be put TO work under guard.
Everything was going along al,
right, when sud denly the native chief
of police came over and began to pas
some hattering remarks about the food
All of sudden he let out yell, and
VIII he did the natives spread out il
all directions and cut the men down a.
the tables. did n 1t see exactly what
was done. Twas very close to my OWL
quarters and got there just as quick as
could.
NO signals were given by the ma
tives except that yell, that kaow of.
Some say the bells were ,olled, but ]
did not hear them. 1t seemed to me
that there were about four hundred
natives, they had surrounded the
town and the men who escaped from
the tables were boloed as they ran for
the shore 70 get in boats.
Il got cut twice, once in the cheek
and once in the ankle going to my
quarters. l got my gun and had my
belt on and, of course, was pretty
nearly safe then. The place was full
of natives and they were hacking up a
couple of men. Corporal Burke, Pri-
vate Clark and myself made a stand
Burke took a revolver and grabbed one
man and shot him.
when they heard the firing they
tried to jump from the windows. l
caught one fellow, took a gun away
from him and shot him. l shot two
or three more, but the shack was fired
and We had to get out We stood out.
side and shot the natives who were
getting out of the orderly room.
Only 7 of 72 Escaped.
"Of our force of seventy-two men but
seven escaped unhurt. The men were
killed by having their heads severed
from their bodies by bolo cuts. When
the head was cut off it fell down on the
table. All the cuts were in the necks
and backs as the men could not get up
quickly enough to save themselves.
I'm the case of Lieutenant Bumpus
they dug out his eye sockets and put
burned paper in them and stuck toy
flags and jam and other stuff in them.
They threw some of the men into wells
and cut their fingers off and mdtilated
other parts of tne body. Almost every
body had been hacked and Slashed"
The witness said that the native
chief of police, who was supposed to be
friendly, brought number of men
from the mountains to aid in cleaning
up the town. The soldiers believed it
to be part Of the prearranged plan to
massacre them he said.
Gibbs declared that the natives had
never appeared friendly to the Ameri-
can soldiers and that tney had stored
iarge quantities of rice which th y fur
.4ished to the insurgents. He saiu they
Complained to the soldiers that they
were being iIl-tr1ased, but that no a..
tention vas paid TO t1em.