Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1906-06-14
WAS A FILIPINO CAPTIVE
(From the Sioux City -ribune.)

COII.IIllSSlOi II titl' IN
ploye in a Sioux city wholesale house.
is Il part of the history of James n.
Snyder, who says he was born under i
lucky star.
Mr.. Snyder is a u man. barely
30 years of age. but his life has been an
interesting and eventful one. ana htied
with experiences which have not raj
len to the lot OF the average man. lie
enlisted in the regular army in April.
1897, and served a little over seven
years. being given an honorable dis
charge last October. asking for his dis
charge on the grounds OF disability, MS
health having been depleted BY his ser
vice in tropical climes and also by a
bullet which he carries in one leg.
Was Orderly to Shafter.
Mr.. Snyder enlisted and served the
first two years at the Columbus bar
racks In Ohio. being ordered with his
regiment to the Philippines in the sum-
mer OF 1899. His regiment was the GOTH
infantry. belonging TO thu Sth army
corps, and while e~rcamped i'm San
Francisco for the several months pre-
vious to sailing for the archipelago. he
! served as an orderly to General shat
ter.
In August the Goth infantry smiled FOR
Manila and on arriving in the islands.
the sergeant was detached from his
company and detailed on special scout
duty, serving in that capacity until the
following July. While on this duty he
had II company of ca native scouts un-
der him and during this eight or nine
months campaign. he naturally mad
some exciting experiences and tells
some interesting stories of occurrences
of those days.
Returning to Manila. Sergeant Sny-
der was placed in the secret service
detail, serving under the provost mar
shall general until the following FOB
ruary when he was relieved and allowed
to join his regiment in the northern
part of the island of I.uzon.
A Pretty Spanish Maiden.
Sergeant Snyder's regiment was sta
,sioned in the province of Ilocus Sur and
there he became enamored OF a pref
ty t'panish maiden. Gee, but she was
the soldiers had girls" II Snyder
prided himself on having the prettiest
one OF all. His senorita, with the musi-
cal name of Rita Armenia. LIVED about
a half mile from the village where the
'sergeant's company was quartered. and
1T was his custom to visit her home
nearly every evening and hold her hand
In his and while ava Il few pleasant
hours. the sergeant talking Spanish
quite fluently and the aid talking a
little English, 80 conversation was east
,ly carried on.
NV No AS was given dl CSpctIdI IL
vitation to the house by the Rita's
father. Lorenzo Armenia, to attend a
fiesta He naturally accepted.
Captured by Insurgents.
When h evening in question arrived
THE soldier donned his dress parade uni
form and repaired to the home of Rita
-Armienta. was received with open
arms by his sweetheart. AS the even
ling advanced the other guests began
to arrive. but Snyder noticed that each
had a mammoth bolo strapped to his
belt. an unusual accoutrement for a.
feast. AS each succeeding guest ar
rived, each with a bolo. the sergeant.
began to get suspicious and he went to
the door with the excuse to get a bit of
fresh air. and he then saw that the
house which was built on piles about
six feet from the ground. was sur
rounded by a company Of native SOL,
diers. Realizing that action must be
and ran. but the natives ran the faster
and he was taken prisoner.
Carried to the hills in the center Of
the island he was held a prisoner for
some time. though treated well by his
captors.
Offered a Commission.
Finally the reason for his imprison-
ment was made known to him by Lor-
EMO and Pedro Armienta, father and
brother of the senorita. the former be-
ing a major in the insurgent army and
the latter a recruiting officer. They
came to camp one day and offered the
United States soldier u commission in
the insurrectionist army with the rank
Of major general. The offer was made
as alluring as possible but Sergeant
Snyder Of course turned down their
propositions.
The insurgents told him that they
wanted him to join their army be-
cause he was we'll versed in military
tactics and could speak Spanish. but
t h glory OF a generals commission and
epaulets and the glittering gold that
was held out to him alike proved
fruitless. Nor did Rita influence him.
The sergeant was held a prisoner for
several weeks. but he finally escaped
and getting back to his company lines
and captured the whole OUTFIT the
pretty Spanish maiden's father and
brother being among those captured
and sentenced to imprisonment.
And Sergeant Snyder saw not his
pretty Rita Armienta any more
Was Reported az Dead.
The sergeant was shot three times
while In the Philippine service. twice
accidentally by his own men and once
In action by the natives. The time he
was shot by the natives on the field he
was reported dead and word was sent
to his parents in this country that their
boy had been killed in the defense of
his country's flag. This was in the
spring Of 1901 Int he was mourned by
his people In this country as one dead
for q year. Not being Of a communi-
cative nature the sergeant seldom
wrote home and III report sent by the
army officers was never denied.
/, In April. 1902. Sergeant Snyder was
granted a furlough and he went home
to see his ok at Sheldon. Mo. He
neither did he inform them that he
was In the land of the living, and when
he walked out to their farm one morn
Ing they naturally could not believe
their W eyes and the sergeant