Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-09-08

achs. Then. two men floating on the raft
ana the other two walking along the rivers
bank, they 3ourneyed on toward the Pa.
cine. once they shot and ate a monkey,
down.
'The men were nearly naked, the bushes
and briers of the jungle having ripped their
way through. Strains entire uniform con.
sisted now of a shirt and one boot. When
Strain saw that his watch had stopped. al
though he had been careful to wind II. he
was seized with a strange, superstitious
horror. for 1t seemed to him as IL time it,
self had refused to register the hours of
their terrible wanderings in the wilder
ness.
FINALLY on March o some fishermen from
the little village of Yavisa, down the stream
(Which proved to be the Chucunagua river.
came upon the distressed men and took
them to the settlement.
The Rescue Of Truxton.
STRAIN. with a rescue party. returned up
the river. and finally, on March %, he came
upon the remnants of Truxton's command.
They were in a pitiable condition. Four of
the party. including the two Colombian
commissioners. had died, and the next
morning three more were to be left to their
tate. The men were lying about almost
naked and changed to CHASTITY skeletons.
All the rescued men were light-headed,
and their demeanor was almost the exact
counterpart of that of the men rescued
with Greeley at Cape Sabine. Food was
given the starving men in small quantities
at first, as the least excess was liable to
prove fatal But Truxton, taking Strain
aside, said In confidential whisper: Your
restraining the men In their food, and even
Maury. Is very 5udicious; but with us off,
GERS 1t Is different. Give me a little meat
At Cape Sabine the same thing occurred.
Men would come up to Collwell and say:
You DO quite right, lieutenant, not to give
the others too much to eat at first; but I
| much IA
lieutenant, just give me one more biscuit
when Strain first reached Yavisa he was
unable to control his own craving for food;
ana while he refused to let the men with
him eat as much as they wanted to, SO that
Golden, who had been much weakened, sob
bed himself to sleep in a corner crying for
FOOD, the commander ate abundantly and,
as a result, was laid up for two days, suf-
Iering the most excruciating agonies.
How the Flag Was Saved.
''The rescuing expedition had gone up the
river as far as it could In small paddle
wheel steamer, making the rest of the way
up in canoes. AS the canoes approached
the steamer on the return down the river
with the rescued men. Strain asked IL the
flag with which the party had started on
their march had been saved. McGuinness,
a young sailor of the Cayane said that he
had 1t. 1t had been intrusted to him origi-,
nally and through all his hardshps he had
preserved it. He had carried Ii wrapped
around his breast and in spite of wounded
feet and fostering limbs that needed band
aging, in spite Of the fact that his clothing
had been torn from him until he was al
most Naked though blankets, haversacks
and even weapons had been thrown away.
the brave youth had refused to apply the
sacred piece of bunting to his own use or to
abandon it.
when Strain asked for the flag, Nc
Guinness said, with tears in his eyes, Cap
tain, have never parted with it second
since you intrusted it to my care on the At
lantic; don't take it from me now"
Nobody shall take 1t from you replied
Strain. Display it yourself And the youth
held aloft the tattered banner with his skel-
eton hands, while the skeleton survivors of
the expedition and their rescuers cheered
it."
Hail. Columbia!" cried the captain of the
marines, and here's to the memory of the
first martyrs Of the canal.' =.