The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, May 27, 1900, Page 1

[ 4 f fire. They were met with NTING EXPEDITION THAT BROUGHT DEATH AND DISASTER TO AMERICAN LADS BUT SUMMARY VEMGEANCE ON MURDEROUS AND TREACHEROUS NATIVES. y HU 7~ i nd his ways with the gun n of Tawi T#wi had visited » the hunting trip of awary promised only pleas- rk on Sun- dark on Sun- when two proas comin toward the 1 where our pitghed camp. Dark- nged in quickly after were sighted, and - thought of mornins. ar hat all that saved ng to w £l¥ - when ten natives landed from 1 ats and’ came to visit nt, for they were only a curlous lot comé to wateh the people. It was their curiosit who ha ter: it when they it Stopping wi Tawi and joined them at he beach hunters to th atured They left itch tents, world t 1 to it as s By seemed SO friendly 1 this was ac- - tom of the Tawi Tawi The Dead Soldiers Avenged. h ' 'I!'\\ { 1 Fiight of the Murderers. people, who had always been neighborly. It was warm, and the soldlers loafed with the natives near by. The afternoon dragged out in soMier stories and a sohg or two and much warm laziness. The ten brown men squatted near by and talked In low, unknown word$ and eved the Americans with their crafty beast glances, but nobedy guessed that they meant Rarm. Why should they be sus- pected? The American soldier is an open- hearted fellow, as every ome of us Knows, and because his way of fighting is the honest way he s not quick to suspect an- other of treachery. And other natives of the island had been kind. o - Jhe Fight in the Jent. It was 6 o'clock when a whist kame was .arted:: Somehody hadwto be jeft out of he game. and that somebody happened ‘> belCorporal-Mygatt, who left the tent nd went off to the beachr for a swim: lergeant Egbert de Wolfe 5 Ma the pri- ates, Webster Gibbons, Willlam ' Carter . and John Greathouse, made up the game. ‘A’ shuffle, actit, a deal and- all's well. The four men were scated on the ground Inside the tent ‘and the cards flickered down on. ‘the earth. between them and could be heard. to fall, for the tent Was’ still. A low va!\ba!herml in four hearts and thie ace took four more, and then the ace’s owner forgot himself for the mo-° ment and led hedarts a third time with no purpose in.mind. He was not think- ing of the g~mie. because he was watch- ing one-of the natives who stood behind his partner. He thought that a queer lit- tle glance of meaning fiskhed from him to another. But while he was look! body’s word of wonder called him back to Lis foolish. play, and when he looked again the native was watching the board as if his one gbject was to learn whist All of the Tawi. Taw! men, in fact, séemed fascinated by the game. They stood in a sroup zround the players, and they fallowed the slip of the cards with- put ceasing. It was onl” a few miunutes after the game had begnn when Corporal Mygatt heard a scream followed by two shots. Then ‘he guessed in part, but it was all ‘worse than he guessed. He left the water and ran as he had never run before, and when he reached the woods he came upon John Greathouse. The sight of him was tomething that he will remeémber after the 7ictures that he knows of men shot in pen battle have grown dim. The other three men were at the tent. Before he entered it he had in mind the memory of the khaki-clad four gashered happily about the cards; and of the dark silent and watchful, above them. 8 very different now. On the ground lay Webster Gibbons. His death had been a horrible one. When the"native standing behind him drew his parang there was a sharp fight for a few moments, but it was ail to no purpose. The report runs in this wise: Private Gib- bons was struck on the side of the neck and head, making a hole through the skull five inches long, through which the brain oozed. He reached his gun and fired a. shot, but being virtually blind and staggering, it was without effect, and then began a terrible struggie for his gun. Private Gibbons couli. do no more than struggle barehanded for its posses- sion, while the three natives literally chopped him until he was helpless, when one of them got possession of the gun and shot him below the heart. ’ De Wolfe was the first vietim. The Moro standing behind him pulled a parang. None bad known that any of the men were armed. The parang is not especially different from a butcher’s cleaver and De Wolfe died instantly. The man bebind Webster Gibbons struck Town of the Water Dwellers: B man's stroke. The 1 fast. Jo 2 parang ing the external carotid artery and ex- posing the internal artery and spine. Wil- sle of Ham Carter made the longest st any. His assailant’s aim wa v, and the edge of the parang turned in its stroKe and only a wound in the neck resulted. He might have had no further troub he been -fairly matched, but ag murderers, what were his chances second Moro came to reinforce the first ana Carter received @ blow on the he from a heavy oar. A queer yellow light was before his eyes, flickering and blird- ing. He could not see or think, but in- stinet taught him to reach for his gun. A soiéier does that unknowingly. Still a third native joinéd fiendish slaughter, nd bis parang fell with perfect aim and A1l strength, striking into the back. His spine was injured. Still he keot up the fight. Half con- scious he ran as much as twenty vards to get an ax, and the hands that seized it were stiff and stained, but they held it tight. He gathered up all his strength to strike with the ax, but when he turned the men were making off and he dropped the .ax and staggered back against the tent. It was 8 o'clock next morning when Mysgatt reached Bongao with his burden. FTwo lonely burials took place near the It was plenty of talk g, and in ti ¢ prisc ing, plenty nd discovery. Th Ty « heir deat told in Cap- tain Cloman's report. “One of the mur- derers was th sent with a party to gl some weapo writes, “and the other nine were sent with a guard to get wood for cooking purposes. In a i heasd ing. 1 sent & e id they re- at soon after ers ha ving the fort the s an ill-advised attempt to escape, tunately had all been killed. T s who had accompanied treat the wounded, if Il dead when he on afterward the arty of soldiers and Moros re- turned with the news that the murderer in their charge had also been killed while attempting to escape.’” Corporal Mygatt wrote the story of the killing. “Take them out to work. We need wood for our fire. Do not let them escape.” These were the captain's or- ders. But the wood was lying cut and piled. The prisoners were led to it, and there, huddled in miserable fright, the bullets of Uncle Sam’s soldiers peited down upon them. “Not one was left alive,” runs the re- port. xpedi t but ' they wer the spot —_————— post on the same day, and then Colemaie Queen Victoria’s Crowns. made ready to find the murderers. It is a short story of revenge. Datto Fanton and Datto Sakilan led the faithful Morcs who helped to track down the ten. Forty-five men in all made up the party They reached Bilimbing the next after- nocn. There they had the villagers as- sembled and questioning began. The chiefs professed ignorance. They were astonished to hear of the slaughter; they could not imagine who the assassins had been. “If you cannot inform me who they were hy 8 to-morrow morning your town will be burned,” was Cloman’s short announcement. Quéen Victoria has three crowns, none of which is used except on extraordinary occaslons. Ihe crown which she wore In the last grand reception weighs eight ounces. It is of pure gold and set with 2673 dlamonds and with 32 rubies. The other two crowns are simple bands of gold, each set with gorgeous jewels. It is one of these latter erowns which is worn when the Queen opens Parliament. When she appears in the House of Lords the large crown is taken from its place among the crown jewels in the Tower of London and borne a velvet cushion ahead of the Queen.