Show SHOOT DOWN I II I I Even Eren Old American Officers De Dc Deplore the tIle Butchery I KILLING RABBITS I HOW HW OUR TROOPS CAPTURED TOWN OF OP LEGASP started Distorted Dist rt Shattered and ant Bloody Bodies of the Insurgents Could Be Bein BeSe Se Ly ng in i l Rows Bows on the thO Prin Streets Deadly Execution of f the War Vessels I Correspondence of t the As Associated Press Prese PressOn P POn On Board the Steamer Venus Legas Legaspi pi Luzon Jan Tan 23 2 Five companies of or orthO the thO F volunteer infantry aided by the gunboat Nashville today fought their way Into the native towns I of ot o esa Legaspi and Albay We had bad five men slightly wounded oundell dead FilU Fili Filipinos pinos had been counted by nightfall I and we nc are caring for a a dozen of o their wounded Shells from the Nashville ignited two warehouses W are filled with baled hemp These T hese fires doubt could not be e put out and 5 bales with a total tot l valuation of ere vere destroyed by nightfall After A fter the j fighting was over and men I had haa h ad time to talk taik an officer said I By God Got is this what Ive been wait walt I ing lIlE i id n thirty years to see seethe the shooting down d onn of black men as if It they were wee rabbits r The he distorted shattered and bloody bodies odies b of our former enemies lie in two rows r In L lA principal street two blazing b warehouses glare and roar In the darkness and the American sol aol diers d are stumbling through the village streets working to get settled for the night Companies H F G 0 t E and C of the I came back on the Han flats Hancock cock ock c from Manila to For conveyance c from to Legaspi these hese t companies were transferred to tc I I tl the t he local steamers Venus and a Castel I I lano l ano accompanying the expedition as I transports t and late yesterday after afternoon i 1 noon upon the tte two tuo vessels convoyed con by the S Nashville with General Genera Kobbe on or I board sailed sau ed from Iro m bay b ay for tor I Retreat treat of the Insurgents Is on the west and Legaspi Legasp I I Ion on the east ast side of ot the southern ex en of o Luzon island The run be I tween t the two ports is 15 about miles C j I by sea though not more than ten miles C overland So the insurgent nt soldiers I j I who abandoned aba to us three a days das ago have had ample time to come com a over oer to Legaspi and swell the ranks rank S I of the garrison here granting of a r course that they did not prefer the thi a greater security of or the mountains I Early this morning the Venus close ly followed by the Castellano with the tIn S an hour and a half halt behind bin I them steamed into Albay bay and off Legaspi waited walteq for the tIn S i warship Legaspi on the coast and am I Albay a mile and a half Inland are art areat a at the base of or the Mayan Mayou ayou volcano On Os t i the th southern edge of or Legaspi and at ato a t our or o r left It ft as the ships steam in there Is Isa 1 S 1 a tt steep hill bill used as a lookout station Here can be seen with the aid ate of or o ostrong i strong glasses a Filipino flag There Thee i j are no flags over oyer the warehouses of the tb e I I town and those two facts point to I ci probable resistance to our landing We W C I have heard that General a Chi nese nate commands here and an 1 1 i that he will fight t Trenches Well Manned At t the Nashville passed us and an I steamed close In to the beach She Sh e examined the shore and from the Ve Venus Venus nus flue we could see a long Ions line of o black blae it send trenches to the tIn right of ot the town I elm also between the stone warehouse in I Ithe a l I Ithe the center of the village there were wet other othe trenches and heavy stone walls The he trenches were crowded with men met I some with rifles and uniformed others other S I In white They watched the actions of c I L our bur vessels clo lr but no shot was wa s fired tired op On either side The Nashville inspection of DC Legaspi was long and an 1 careful l The English Englith gunboat Plover came in I n behind us this morning and followed 1 the Nashville close to the beach Her Herbig Herbig He r big white flag swung out In the breeze 5 5 telling those on shore she was not of or if I j our party but merely a neutral and an d i 1 Inactive spectator I At the th Nashville came alongside alo le the Venus and General Kobbe mega merra L phoned to Major Shipton commanding g the battalion n on board Move Moe your yot cc r ship In to the first wharf and land your yot er r I i men I There Is deep water off Legaspi and an 1 coasting steamers can swing awing their the ir J sterns into any of the several hundred d 1 docks In front of the hemp warehouses warehouse 5 But the captain c of the Venus demurred I He had seen the trenches lined with wit h 1 Filipinos he had seen galloping officers offices s giving orders concentrating their sol soldiers soldiers so diers diem into positions from which they the would have his vessel under a ross eros 3 tire fire if he landed at the wharf Was W Afraid to Land Laud LandH He H explained that it was Impossible e to get Into this dock with less than tha n one hours hout backing and haulm fur In further r ther that his stern lines had to be ta taken taken ti I ken ashore and made fast to anchors ancho rs well uell upon the th beach that his crew w i i would be shot to pieces If he attempt attempted t ed to land Jana In short landing there and ar arthen ed 1 then was out of the question Meantime a boat from the Plover had hr Ld gone to the Nashville and from there thereto the re B to t the beach Her mission was to re remove re r rin e i imo move mo c any Englishmen who might be in inthe inthe 1 the town from front the danger of the tI ce B threatened fighting There were two tv 10 D i Englishmen in Legaspi but the ii I nos DOS declined to allow them to lens leave e When the Plovers boat returned and ac id during the subsequent fighting the Eng English En g I lish gunboat remained half hill a mile mUe out a ut I 1 of ot the bay Captain nuart of tha ti h a Hancock was on board the Nashville Lie e with General Kobbe He was sent to o the Venus to learn why that ship did d dhe id H not back into the dock as directed The T he e i Tx I Spanish captain of the Venus a ain ex explained explained e x 1 how h W long this operation would eId Id 3 j take and Captain Bradley Bradle went back to o the Nashville to report From him it was wa learned teamed that the Filipinos had re removed r moved moed the planking in the docks leav leay leavIng lea Ing only the bamboo stringers t this ti sin they had bad seen from the Nashville Soon Captain Bradley Bradler returned say so sa saI y ing I that the ui lauding landing would be made yat at ata a D point about half a mile down the tee t tad e I beach to the th north of Legaspi and a ad d j I about yards beyond the eM eld of ahe the he t e i heavy hean sand entrenchments that this U Uhe us s I landing party would advance da ce into the he t tild e I town and that the Nashville would wot ild d i shell works in front of our o omen ur men as they came along the th beach Slaking Making a Landing Then there was much bustle bustie and ac cc on nn board the Venus as details deta us Is of the th sharpshooters from each of the he I four Lour companies were loaded into our ear C CIvo I own three available boats and the two t Ivo boats sent tant ovex over from the Nashville to help in the landing Our men em embarked embarked e m barked from our starboard side the be I side of the ship exposed to the enem Iye ye trenches only yards away The enemy missed a splendid opportunity opportunIty oppi sr to do great feat execution to our sol soldiers soldiers a ol diers diets But they have hae missed many ma mais ny such first and last so we are accustomed acci is tomed to taking such risks Our land landing lax id ing party pulled away toward the Cas C is which had taken up a position pe al tion lion opposite O the point where the land laDd las lasala flu fps ipg pg was to be l Iem made m de Here our five boats bo ala ts I were ere Joined d by two from the Castella Castellated Lao 10 i and the landing party was composed compOs ted id 1 as follows j About A bout thirty men from H company Captain Cap tain Bentley Be commanding forty rt men from G company Captain Sim Simmons SImmons Sima mons mon a commanding twenty enen from F under Lieutenant Murphy fifteen from fro m E under Lieutenant and about abo ut sixty men from C under Captain BI BIla Bishop Bis hop Major Shipton commanded the la landing lau lauby ding party alid hd was accompanied by bj Captain Bradley and Lieutenants C Conroy Con roy and Gisser of the vc volunteer vol infantry Filipinos on the Move Nove At u A Afine t 1025 1026 10 It could be seen through the fine tIne rain that the seven land in Ing leg boats were close cl to the beach Then w wo te looked ashore to discover a numer nuttier numerous numerous 01 ous detachment of ot Filipinos moving to tl the north behind the trenches evi d dently den denof Intending to repel the advance of our landing party Into the town At that instant the Nashville Na opened fire on the trenches with shrapnel at yards range From F rom this time unfit the end endo of the fighting fig at 1015 p 11 m so the Nashville kept kep k pt t up an almost fusillade of shrapnel and rapid ra ld fire guns direct directed ed M against the trenches and fortified P points poi on shore Her gunnery was ex en excellent cel lent her shots always s falling failing Just in front fro nt of the advancing Americans and while Wh lie ile some came alarmingly close to our boys boy anions among the t warehouses no noS American was Wag as wounded by the fire She S he cleared out the thick trenches north no rth of ot the town before our men reached rea ched there th r and after aster all was over oCt she elevated her guns and dismounted two tw o insurgent cannons on a a hiM behind the town Her Het work was of ot the great est eat help In occupying Legaspi Lega pi Without her he r there would probably proba ly be a different tory Story Sto ry to telL tel Our O Omo ur landing party was under u er first fire the moment mo ment they struck the beach beech but as as Ul usual us ual the Filipinos aim was high Our men me n crossed a river nearly up to their a armpits and then formed In three col eel um as to enter the town It was the F Fo first engagement and they th ey showed the usual tendency of ot new troops tro ops to bunch bU h themselves when under fire fir e It was wag most difficult for the of cers s to direct them to deploy as skir ml Enter the Town Our men came cam into town t wn rapidly The column col on the came down the beach be ach outsIde the trenches The lagoon I forced i ea the column on the right to Join joth with wi th the centre and nd together these two came ame ca me down donn the rood road between the Nipa Nips sidi si shacks hacks sh acks The es fire tire bad ld soot soon di dib driven dri ven the from the tr n has disi b but bu t some bad taken shelter in ln the si shacks sh acks along this road while others had ha d crossed the lagoon into inte the palms I a and an d all fired into our men as they ad va v need But they were driven out and the ony a avenue av of escape was us across the s swamps sw amps and into Int the palm groves Here ReTe H ere we killed ten as s they ran and I swam sw am over the lagoon Jagoon Advancing our ou men m en soon came to the stone warehouses warehouse of Legaspi the big go downs do where hemp he mp Is stored and here the fighting 3 v was w as hotter and the losses lomes of the Fil j nos greater During Daring the advance down th the thet beach the th e Venus had come into yards yard a r range ra and the men on oh board wes were w s sprawling rawling Sp on her decks and pouring a steady stead st eady rifle fire into the town Some times ti mes they could see the enemy enem some seem times ti mes it was only a scared dog do on the tIn sand sa nd that drew their fire As soon coon as s a our ou r men m 1 were seen to be In town the tb fire tir e from the Venus was stopped and asic f preparations pr were made to land the th C g soldiers so still on board In an open space about 0 y yards ya wide and yards deep running f from fr om the beach back to a stone wall wali wal a and an si flanked on either side by stone sLots y warehouses w running ng east and west the tb j insurgents Ins had constructed a II s sea se a and the two sides diverging to v wards ards w enclosing warehouses Had Rad Hard Bard righting Fighting The road down which our men inca were e a advancing a into the town runs rU 9 past the th e Inland In land or western end of or this space 3 The Tho Th e go down at the northern side the th e side from which r landing party part y approached a am j s t owr wr tf r y an English man m an the warehouse at dot the other side sifi sl e I is owned by a company The ware I house h ouse extends toward the theses sea Beyond j t the th e apex of the trench and aM the south I ern er a end ena of or the trench ti terminates five dv e 5 i yards y ards from the corner corne of the S warehouse w I It as in Its this enclosure we had our ou r I j hardest ardest h fighting fl Our men coming Comm g f down d own the road had a i view of the in I side si de of the trench tr as soon noon as they the y j i passed assed p the corner cor er at of the S warehouse w They saw the trench was wa f filled fi with Filipinos and to escape their the r 1 f fire ti re they dodged behind the English t mans m ans stone w naI l Then Th n part of these thee thea se I I men m en went aroun he be north side of the tie 5 t j E I warehouse and got sot on o a t the he t beach bench facing the apex of the tie se I trench rench t On the south side of the English I mans m ans warehouse Is an open corridor corrido t open o pen toward the trenches and at the tie r e sea s ea end of this house houge Jutting toward tower j I the t he apex of the trench Is a stone lum lun 1 j ber b en shed behind which our men on the tI I i beach b facing the trench were partly I c sheltered s This trench Is higher toward l j J the he t sea than toward the land But lit it i from f rom the land side It gives five litt feet fee t L of o f shelter H HIn In i the open corridor of t the English Englis 1 mans m ans warehouse and anti behind the ex et e tending ending t lumber shed abed there were wee e I r some thirty Filipinos From Fea n where sc here they were to the nearest part pa rt t of the trench rench was about a feet feeL I At Close Range I II I Our men entered the 3 a wo warehouse w broke open a wooden door doe opening pening o Into the corridor and promptly engaged e the Filipinos at the far end er of o f the corridor Here we got a hot hi a fire fi re In hi reply at very ery close range and andone at I one o ne of o our men was wounded But this move moe the Filipinos S out o ut of their shelter and they had to torun i I J run r un the feet In the open and dive die di j Into nto I the shelter of or the trench To do this his t they t e were exposed to a crossfire r e erom j from f rom our men at both ends of the En Es g warehouse and wd it was like lii e shooting hootIng s rabbits From the Venus we could see the t ta white figures dart d rt out nut from the side of the lumber shed we heard the inc shots shota alto ta from f rom our men and then saw sate sa the Fil F I pinos l drop Some lay still sitU othe El crawled c Into the trench while the re remainder r m apparently were ere not hit The soldiers In the trench fired upon ape I our o ot ur men man whenever they the could and at a the he t angle of the west wall wail Captain Bradley was wounded in the hand The T h e Filipinos in the trench saw their pos tion ion t was untenable and they would woe lii nave hae to vacate They began running 51 out o ut that end of or the trench nearest the t 0 comp c warehouse and farthest from f rom our soldiers and so around the t e western end nd of |