Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1906-06-24

depraved Of outlaws: not single redeem
ing feature 20 his utterly desplcabie char
acter with all their evil traits. he lacks
the courage Of the corsair, pirate and high
wayman: like a hyena or a coyote, he
prowls about the country preying on the
poor. weak and defenseless.
Mode of Operation.
The usual procedure Of the gang Is 10
proceed at night to the house Of their
victim. which they surround before arous-
ing the sleeping inmates. In ordinary rob
berries the bands seem to be extemporized
for the occasion, some local leader gather
Ing half a dozen followers from the baser
sort Of the population for the special oc-
casion. Antonio has grudge against
Nivodomos, who perhaps has asked him to
pay a debt, n sore affront to Antonio as
with most Filipinos. Nicodomos being
thrifty fellow has an extra oavan or two
OF rice In his house and possibly fifty
Mexican pesos hidden away In one OF the
bamboo joints of his house, so Antonio
can at the same time satisfy his revenge
and the cupidity of his followers by as
saulting and looting the dwelling of
Nicodomos. Juan, Pedro, Soterino, Igna-
cio Andrea, Rustico and Vupiano agree
to share in the enterprise and on the night
designated meet at the house of Antonio.
The molly crowd armed with bolos, spears,
and perhaps bows and arrows. which &C.
casionally constitute the weapons Of some
of the party, proceed to the residence of
their intended victim. The houses OF the
common people are build upon bamboo
poles some six or eight feet above the
ground. Nicodomos and his family are
asleep like ali Filipinos living In the coun-
try he fgbt
than their chickens go to roost The
family are rudely awakened by cries OF
come down; Nicodomos, come down; we
are constabuary,' as soon as he realizes
the situation the trembling Nicodomos
obeys the summons and is received
and Immediately bound by the ladrones,
who tie his elbows together behind
his back, then further secure him by
binding him to a betelnut tree, ] mention
| this particular species Of tree for the
reason that 1t figures so conspicuously in
| trials Of this character, the very frequent
testimony of the complaining witness, being
| they tied me to a betelnut tree" which
| statement is corroberated by the family
who liberate the husband or father after
the departure of the ladrones | suppose
this particular tree is selected for the
reason that it is straight, slim trunk make
It a most excellent hitching post.
Carrying on the Loot.
After securing the head Of the house.
the robbers proceed to ransack the prem
| ises, which is speedily done, the single room
of the nepa hut being stripped of it's scanty
contents which are put on the back OF
| the cariboa, this patient animal being gen.
orally found conveniently near, the space
under the house being the usual cariboa
yard. The ladrones depart driving the
caribao before them and sometimes drag.
ging Its owner after, whom they usually
leave at any convenient point to make hi,
way back to his family. Generally, how
ever, the master of the house Is put to nc
more serious inconvenience than to witnes.
the despoiling of his goods from his plac,
of confinement, being liberated from hi,
bonds by some member of the famil,
after the departure of the outlaws.
Unless he is suspected of possessin,
treasure which he conceals, or has game,
the ill-will Of the leader of the gang VIC
lence is rarely offered to the father or an,
member Of the family. Should he ,hay
money which he conceals and refuses T.
divulge Its hiding place. or be suspected O
posing hidden treasure he is liable to SUI
fer torture and death unless the money b
Forthcoming or the robbers become Statistic,
or Its nonexistence. In one case comini
under my personal observation the ladrone
bound the owner Of the house to a post an
applied a lighted torch to his naked body
then completed their work by draggin
their victim outside and putting him Z
death. In another case the leader of th
gang, after ransacking the house with tw
or his Followers approached the father o
the family who had been tied as usual I
convenient betelnut tree. and fell upo
him with their bolos. killing him in col
blood. The murder was witnessed by In
children OF the victim. will never forge
the dramatic air with which the little so
pointed his finger at the murderer when h
was on trial for the deed, exclaiming, ''Yo
killed father, you know you did IT," Tn
manner Of the child carried conviction O
the defendants guilt which, however. wa
fully established by other evidence in IN
case.
Brutal Crimes.
The murder of the Echeverria family 4
illustrates another phase of ladronism. har
PLY Of rare occurrence since the trouble
, some times of the instruction and the day
Immediately following The Echeverria
were a Spanish family living N one OF III
] small Visayan towns the family consiste
OF the parents and five children, one
whom was daughter. On the night OF III
, tragedy a guest spending the night wit
a them shared the tragical fate of the famil,