| Show 1 THE MASSACRE OF COMPANY C C. CA A TALE OF OP THE PHILIPPINES j. j t t Up in N N. II H. there is a aI young ma man n Vh who Is somewhat Jc reserved I hut but In other a ways s 's does docs n not t diner differ much Ii r front from om any Jn ono one of or a hundred other othe i young men In the town He lie Is known F as an un energetic young business man mai who Is rather rathor Inclined to keep to himself He lie Is outwardly calm good gooc 01 natured matured and happy but buL in his heathe heat heart ho he carries a memory such as would turn the hair hah of most men gray a gray a r 1 memory that should hould have ha furrowed his face deep with wrinkles wrinkles the the f memory of a few hours hoUtS on un the sinis- sinis K strand of or la when he fought naked handed against armed muted with long on knives es and ami 2 saw aw v al all j hut but eight of nun men cut down du like f A dumb brutes In a slaughter house A At times limes today the memory of this brings 1 the lie moisture to his brow and he lie does J not like to talk a about hou t IL it This man Is W IV J J. J Gibbs late lale of Com Company pan C Ninth United d States Slates In In- In rJ fantry Of this com company pan cl eight ht sur se- survived vh od the massacre and of oC these eight five have ha died d The fight I Is iss s without a n 1 In tho history of I modern warfare The he p of this small mall hand band of Americans on this thIs' r I 1 tropical island who not having ha heard from civilization for fOI two months month felt Celt that they had been lo lost t In n a military j shuffle who ho seated scaled at ant breakfast s without their thell arms arms- were CIC sullenly att at attacked attacked at- at tacked b by unknown t umbels numbers t n of oC brown brow n ii tr r men armed with long bolos typo ho fought the thc sharp bitter hitter fight with f naked hands against keen knives with are If the thc result of oC almost total annihilation t. t Is one of the mo most t dramatic in all nil history r. r x We Vc had Just returned from Crom roan China Chino said Id Mr or Gibbs and had had a serious 1 Y time of oC It there with the allied armies ar ar- mies in the relief of or tho Cho missionaries Our Out company was next to Balan Samar P. P I I. I with orders order to I keep ep this Y small port pOlL closed and to allow no tradIng trad tend ing Ing- in the tho We c took up our quarters c middle of the town as is usual and although h we wc had out pickets ets it U was impossible to guard er e every a avenue ue of or approach on account of oC the rambling nature of the buildings The Filipinos 7 appeared friendly but bul we knew that every Filipino was n n. always alwa's ready to Join every e band of insurgents and so gO took all precautions Our OUt company l kitchen as I is usual was some little distance from the quarters and it was customary for COl forus forus us to march down to grub In a body hody t. t In the peaceful towns such as 35 this a ae ajl jl e guard is left at tho the quarters quartel's with the a arms 1111 1 Thc They had done this every cry day fOld for fOl fora rt d a month without the suspicion of any lurking danger They had worried d less than limn usual about it for fOl a few days f because CI C every man in the company f had become depressed with with the the t terrible ter- ter I thought that In hi some seine military shuffle the they had become lost For eight t weeks they had he heard rd not a word from froni either cither superior officers or from I home They had come to this strange little port and civilization had shut I the door behind them as though for for- ever t. t t. t Day after day they hail scanned the thc t h ocean In the hope of oC seeing some r boat It bearing letters and sages messages es to them c a. a and anti day after day the sun had gone sone down and darkness s had come corne to shut t. t them then off orr more effectually than ever from the world without If Ie this tills island island and had sunk sulk to the bottom of the s sea they could not have been more utterly buried burled There was something t ominous about abouL it H. It pre preyed cd on their I minds until every cry man became worried wory wor wor- ried n and nel fretful y At length feeling the strain to be unbearable a lieutenant was vas detailed to row rot up the strait to tn une und and sec If IC either cither mail or orders orden were waitIng wait waft Ing log there for fOl forth tho 10 a company While he was teas away assay several e unusual things happened hap hap- at al An earthquake had destroyed several soy fie eral oral buildings In it the town and inJured In Injured Injured In- In many natives These were i deny cared for Cor b by Surgeon Griswold held In Inthe Following this meetings were I the town bells were frequently rung runs of and nn-I there seemed to be un unusual Sua ext ex ex- t Women were seen cen to be he 4 leaving the thc place an and many stran c strange rac faces were about The rhe barracks were reached and i fourteen teen men lost their theIL lives trying I to mount the stairs Five others tried to climb a bamboo la ladder der leading to tor r r the upper story but when almost within reach of the sill the lad ladder er broke and back they tumbled into a horde hordo of or men who soon goon had hael cut them Into little tittle bits The naU natives 8 crazed bv by their theIL success and blood hun hunger r hacked ed awa away nt at the bodies until the they were unrecognizable Gibbs vividly describes his own part In the tho bloody work worl He lIe says frays r 1 I was in ht barracks No 3 anti and there thele t 1 met the chile chief of police I 1 had hat found a a. bayonet but buL had hael Just t killed S one man maul and could not nol het ct the steel out of the hOtly body quick ruick enough to protect pro pro- 1 teet myself The chief was Willi armed d t It with a ba bayoneted rifle I 1 cloel dodged ed behind behind be be- hind a II partition and walled waited for him When he carne came Into lute the room I sprang upon upun his back and forced him hint into Inlo a 1 corner lie Ile was ws a larger I and more powerful man than halt I. I aria anil ana I 1 soon soot felt fell I b I I that I 1 was war losing ground It was wa a t tF F florce fierce wrestling mat match h we had there id tin li were vr 1 i n life T 1 as n. l a dog dOb fights biting lugging I wrenching foaming at the mouth Iy I y y Y I was crazy and knew only onh that thaL In some sone somei t i i way I must I must get set this man t to 1 tho the ground And when that hap bap- Encel I must be he on top That Thai Is 1 al l all allI I thought of of-l of I must be on top Finally I got sot m my lily arms about Hint him and with my last ounce of ot strength th e. e l i lifted He fell I was on top I x m my knee a again aln and a again into hi hiir his ir stomach Ho lie weakened and anda a was soon solln son j finished v When I got sot to my my y feet I saw Batt Coi Cor- Corporal Burke Burle with a man on OU the bed bcd t at his head hend Covered with wounds Gibbs seized v the cl chiefs chief's rifle and rushed out hit Into the lie open open There again it w was th the fight of or onto one nan against l a dozen Bi But Bul Bull l the few tew remaining were desperate i V- V The sight of oC tho wounded comrades comrade fc the realization of or what surrender t L' L 1 meant to them made them shoot ant and 5 hack long art after 1 the they ceased cased to kno know what they were about There wa was p only onh a scant dozen of or them who curs cur sur ur- ur s I S vl d this fir first t t attack but thc they fought fough like 1200 When rhen their ammunition save gave ave out they used their bayonets or 01 the wc weapons pons of or the natives themselves es el and in a wild frenzy cut them down b by th j dozen The natives b became came r I 1 awed Thieve There was something uncanny in the tho way this small group roup- of or men I 1 throated hoarse but yelling like deI dc- dc i mops mons covered with blood struggled I en a as aH thou though h they had ceased to tu be he bemen bemen hemen men und and had become avenging fiends Clench I I A single man mal would rush headlong I blind with blood Into a group roup of oC nf- nf teen armed natives and scatter cattel them themi i i in flight Their number shrank from fromi ii i twelve twelve to eleven from eleven cleven to ten o o lon long As ds a man could stand tand on his f feel t ho lu fought not nol In defense but hut a agy ag- ag y P th fl il a as though a n whole lc regiment w were loit at his heels heel Once a u mUll man lost t I his footing tootinG that was cud of him The next second he was a mutilated mass of ot flesh Je h. h b Al Another man fell and then another tJ l Finally there W were IC only eight of oC Company Company Company Com Com- pany C left Ifft All this his had taken place In III less Tess than half an un hour But the he natives had hind had enough of or It It Th They were wOre beginning to dl disappear Into Inlo the jun Jungle lc and behind the rice grass from which the they hind hall sprung Soon there therl was not a n brown blown men who dared to approach this his hardy blood besmeared group of el eight ht men mell gel Every man nian of was wounded and anel faint with loss of if blood Gibbs himself was nas suffering suffering suf suf- fering front from five cut cuts When lien at last these m men n were left 10 to 0 swab the line blood from flom out thC their eye eye- Yf they saw a 1 sight that took still sUIl more mon strength from front them About the mess table where a short hoi i while before a c up of oC soldiers ht had l hadIt l sal It ut waiting for the m mail which Ity 11 y beneath jeneath the body of the lie dead hii tenant there sat rot now a tow row of I x Many of the nice men wore were hoh d adi-d d others sat Soll as n though thought cau caught ht a as tiit th y tried to rise from the table Thur stood tho the food the tin Un coffer coffee suit nip 01 the lie forks and spoons In front of lit lita a aha n- n ghastly ha a hod body of diners as ever I h human hu hu- 11 man ninn eyes 1001 looked upon The he el eight ht all that lint was left lert of a company compall ran for Cor the boats Th took ook with them such of the wounded us ns were able to be bc dragged and antI pulled away awny from th the terrible shore One On nan put out in a boat boot by himself and find has las never r boon been heard of since But even C in the boats they W were le not safe j-afe The Thu wounded oarsmen pulled for their lives ives exhausted feeble as ns the they were and the line natives Ni followed shooting al ol them hem Two of the wounded d were wre shot In n Ills wa tray and two Iwo others died of oC theIr heir wounds All that thai night the tile men mt-II pulled those oars ars and as the salt sea washed into the lie frail Crall crafts ir It entered the wounds I anti and nd S set t them to burning afresh Yet I they hey thc never dated dared to stop When hen one nine man fainted the others pulled the harder ardor When the fainting man re revived re- re ived he took his place again There was vas always al a vacant seat scat at the oars In Iii n strange c sea In the dark Clark with nel erves nel wes tense because of or ignorance of how low closel closely thc they might be pursued pm the they hey stuck It out until daylight lIght and until Dase Basey the post of company G G. G was ras reached Where are the others others' screamed a company G man There are arc no others answered Chicago Ibbs Chicago Chronicle |
