The suburban citizen., 1902-04-12

Major Littleton w. I. Waller and
Lieutenant John H. A. Day We're court
martialed at Manila on a charge Of
killing two natives without trial on
the Island OF Samar
1t has been urged in eXculpation that
the horrors Of Il trip across Samar
drove Major Waller mad, and below is
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 so into
details, but he news of the affair is
contained in a report from Lieutenant
w. r. 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 q portion
Of the men, the report says:
Captain Porter and Lieutenant \. S.
Williams. in conversation. gave me
substantially the following account Of
yEair wanderiugs:
ION January l, 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 tie main
body,
ION the second a native came back
from Waller with 4 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 tie
entire party This Porter tried to do,
but failed to find wood THAI would
Goat.
1t was raining hard at this time,
( and the river was about ten feet above
/ its normal level and running with vio-
! Icnce. 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.
"On 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 &C.
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 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
riferihe. Nine of them had either gone
crazy or had fallen by the trail, hall
dead from starvation and exposure
1T had rained steadily for eighteer
days. Lieutenant A. S. Williams hat
made every effort to get them along
but had to abandon them. He could
only save the men who We're able Il
reach the boat by the river, the prob
able point Of arrival of the relief expe
dition.
He got there on the night of thC
sixteenth inst, his party having beer
without food, except roots, the pulp o.
plants, and very few sweet potatoes
for fifteen days.
'To further complicate matters thu
native bearers, about thirty in number
became sullly, practically refusing as
sistance to the white men. They woulC
build shacks as a protection from tht
continual downpour for themselves
only, and knowing the edible root
and plants were more skilful in oh
taining food.
"a time came when no white maj
could carry a rife, and those not los
were IN the hands Of the natives. Tn
der the altered condition it require,
considerable diplomacy on the part .
Lieutenant Williams to handle then
at all.
Just before reaching the river tw,
bearers tried to kill Williams, stabbin,
him about the chest with a bolo III
tried to shoot, but had not suficion
strength u pull the trigger
Then they tried to kill him wit,
his own pistol, but did not know how
to work the weapon Williams wa
rescued by few Of his mon who tol
tered up, armed with sticks, and tn,
natives took to the bush.
'No Filipinos were ceen in the re