Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1903-04-28
Insurgents Flogged by Band Of
Native Scouts.
LUNA WAS TORTURED AND BURNED
"eIenn's Brigade Said to Have Been
Moved From Place to Place to Ex-
tort Confessions From Natives
Sale of Rice to Inhabitants.

of the report of General Miles which
rciers to the misconduct of officers and
soldiers in the Philippines. Secretary
Root has received several requests for
this report, some OF these requests be-
ing from persons in Boston, who stated
that they understood that it contained
much matter that never had been
brought cut in the Investigations The
secretary has held that such reports
were confidential in order that the Off
Ger making them might be free to
make such comments as he desired but
as it was learned that General Miles
had no objection to the publication
of the report, it has been made public
with brief comment by General Da-
Wis, judge advocate general. who has
charge OF all matters pertaining TO the
subjects referred to in this portion of
the report. The statements by Gener-
al Miles are the result of his tour of in
spection in the Philippines last autumn
and winter.
Says Country Was Barren.
| General Miles report on his Philip
pine observations is dated February 10,
1903, and is addressed to the secretary
4 of war, He says that in going from
Caiamba to Batangas i'll November last
he noticed that the country appeared
devastated and that the people were
very much depressed. Stopping at
Lfpa he says party of citizens, head
| ed by the acting presidente, met him
and stated that they desired to make
complaint of harsh treatment of the
people of that community saying they
/ had been concentrated in towns and
hot
| fifteen of their people had been tor
| tured by what is known as the water
| torture, and that one man, a highly
respected citizen aged 65 years, named
Vincente Luna, while suffering from
/ the effects of the torture and uncon-
scious, was dragged from his house,
| which, had been set on fire, and was
! burned to death. They stated thaS
these atrocities were committed by
company of scouts under command of
4 Lieut.. Hennessey, and that their peo-s
| pie had been crowded into towns, 600
being confined in one building A doc
tor of the party said he was ready to
/ testify that some of the 600 died from
suffocation. General Miles says he
! looked at the building which was one
story in height, eighteen or twenty
feet wide and possibly sixty or seventy
fleet long. He asked for written
statement to be forwarded him at Ma.
nila but says ne never received it. and
! adds: Il have no reason to disbelieve
their statements; in fact the instances
of torture in the case of the man Luna
having been tortured and burned to
death are confirmed by other REPORTS"
Concerning the failure to receive the
4 statement General Miles says: "Whe-
ther any influence was brought. TO bear
to prevent their statement, either by
persuasion or coercion. | am not pre-
i pared to say at the present time.'
i On cebu Island.
4 General Miles then refers to other
cases. saying that on the island OF
Cebu it was reported and published in
November 1902. that two officers,
Captain Samuels. Forty-fourtii Infan-
try. United States Volunteers and
Lieutenant Feeter of the Nineteenth
4 Infantry had committed similar artoc-
tiles against the people of that island.
1t is also reported that at Laoag on
the island of Luzon, two natives were
whipped to death, AT Tacloban. Ley
i tie, it was reported that Major Glenn
: ordered Lieut. Caulfield, Philippine
scouts to take eight prisoners out in
; the country, and that if they did not
5 guide him to the camp of the insurgent
5 Quison,he was not to bring them back.
/. 1t was stated that the men were TAX
/ en- out and that they either did not
| or could not do as directed. One of the
men, who had a son among the scouts
was spared, but the others We're sep
arated into two parties, numbering
three or four respectively, and while
tied together, We're all murdered by
being shot or bayonetted to death,
some being in a kneeling position at
that time. The pretense was made that
, they were killed while attempting to
escape, but so far as | know no offici-
al report was ever made of the circum-
: Istance These facts have been report
ed by Major Watts, who investigated
the case. Besides Lieut.. Caulfield CT
william Scouts Ramos, Preston, Corn
and McKcen were participants.
Teeth Knocked Out.
j, 'At Calbayog, Samar, it was report
!, ed that several men in that district
! had been subjected to the water tor-