The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1904-04-17
'UNEY The CHILDREN
REGARDED BILLY AT ALL
FANOQAR, -

ed mother from the door Of the hut.
But 1t was too late. With frantic
screams and wild gesticulations. the
delirious Perico ran down the road.
naked as he had come into the world.
down into the Gale de Santa Ignacia.
INTO the Escolta, the main street, and
turned up towards the plaza Women
screamed from windows and the side
walks, men shouted, but none dared to
seize the afflicted boy.
suddenly there was cOmmOtiOn
further down the EscoIta. The crowd
scattered, and through it's center old
Billy came pelttng, answering the boys
wild shouts with a succession of hoarse
Wh1nnieS. At the corner Of the Gale
del ObispO Perico turned down toward
the market, where the street ends, with
Billy pounding along not fifty yards
behind. Into the market gates the boy
disappeared, causing the widest con-
fusion among the throng of buyers
and sellers. The market is a square
walled in by stone, with a door on
each side of the quadrangle. The crazed
child shot into one gate and out OF
another, and fell in a fit in the street
beyond.
Billy burst into the crowded market
too late to see where his little cOmrade
had gone. For a moment he stood in
it's center under the tiled roof among
the baskets and tables loaded with
wares, while the people, American SOL
dierS and Filipino men and women
alike, poured out of the four gates. g..
Just what passed through Billy's
equine intellect at that moment will
never be known, but evidently he
hastily concluded that they were hid
ing Perico from him behind some OF
the baskets or stalls. He began Sys-
tematic search, Overturning and CRUSH.
ing earthenware jars, baskets of eggs
nit ini1 Of
racks of dry goods The vendors had
sense enough to get out and leave their
possessions to fate. Billy had the en-
tire market to himself; frantical1y he
pounded about among the obstacles.
Suddenly he paused. Above the roar 7
of the crowd outside he heard theode-4
lirious cries of the child he loved. 'tHea
stood still; his. ears pricked up his
nostrils dilated, quivering. Then he
made swift turn toward the eastern
gate, whence came the cries. In doing
so he upset and burst a large earthen-
ware jar of cocoanut oil, which spread
over the brick pavement BiIly's hoofs
slid, he slipped, fought desperately to
recover his footing but fell, rolling
heavily against big stone pillar. With
frantic screams he tried to rise, but
again he fell helplessly back s-9-
There remains little more to be told. -
The sergeant of Squadron A was de-
tailed to put him out of his misery.
The soldiers bare, brawny arm quiE--
cred a trife before he fired y.
All that afternoon the dead veteran
lay in the market square, while all
Vigan-soldiers, merchants, officers and
privates, women and children-passed
by to take a last look at his familiar
figure. That night the full moons
beams struggled through the broken
tiles of the roof and f1ecked the old
heap in the center remained in shadow.
and about it stood a circle of children
quiet, motionless, furtively clasping
each others hands.
Those who have been in the Philip
pines will never forget the chant OF
the sorrowful. The singer improvises
a line, which he half speaks, half sings.
beginning low and rising until the last
word is lost in long drawn out wall.
Then comes a pause of almost half a
minute, and the next line begins.
Thus did Billy's former playmates
chant dirge for him. A boy of six
teen composed the lines, and the rest
joined in the wall. The lines he i'm
provised in the native uOcano dialect.
when translated, went something like
this:
Good-by, oBilee. oh. good-by. oh. Billee
In the spirit land the great General
Americana oh-O-O-O-O-O-oh-o-o-o-
600
Shall ride you again; Binee, oh, 90
-O-oh-o-o-O-o-
And Perico shall give YOU sugar there.
Oh, Bnlee, oh-O-O-O-O-O-oh-O-o
Perico has gone there too. oh, Billee OH
O-O-O-O-O-oh
Good-by, Billee. oh. good-by. OH Billee
100000 O-oh-o o-o-o-o-
Copyright 1904. by Albert Sonnichsen)