d gone to the Philippines to sell liquor.

This fellow was captured by the Filipinos in the outskirts of Manila
while he was searching for a small boatload of stolen beer. He was the
life of the expedition. He took his captivity as a joke, told stories
to keep the prisoners good natured, and painted on ever boulder that
he passed the seemingly sacrilegious words, "Drink Blank's beer on
the road to H----." It was, however, this harmless practice that later
on enabled the American relief party to follow the prisoners' trail.

After reaching the western shore of Luzon, the party was marched
northward along the beach, another 100 miles, to the city of
Vigan. Here they were imprisoned for three months longer. The sudden
presence of an American war-ship in the harbor, off Vigan, caused the
natives to abandon that city and start inland with their prisoners
for some mountain fastness. The Americans were separated from the
rest of the prisoners whom they never saw again.

High up in the mountains of northern Luzon, two of the American boys
were taken sick with fever and fell down, exhausted. The Filipino
lieutenant who had charge of the prisoners, ordered them to go on;
they could not. He threatened to shoot them. Gilmore interceded for
them without avail. The Americans refused to leave their Anglo-Saxon
comrades and prepared to fight. At this moment the Filipino officer
himself was suddenly taken ill, and by the time he was able to advance,
the sick Americans were able to go along.

A few days later they struggled over the crest of the divide and came
upon the headwaters of a beautiful mountain torrent dancing down the
rocky ledges in its onward course to the sea. At a widened place in
the canon, the Filipinos withdrew from the Americans, and with guns
in hand took their positions on the rocks round-about and above them.

"Prepare to die," said Gilmore to his companions; "they are going to
shoot us." Calling the Filipino lieutenant to his side Gilmore asked
him why he did not shoot them on the opposite side of the mountains,
and not have made them make all of that hard climb for nothing.

The native officer said in reply: "My orders were to shoot all of
you when I got you up in the mountains, where, in all probability,
your bodies would be destroyed by wild animals and no trace of them
ever be found by your countrymen; but a few nights ago when you showed
me that crucifix tattooed on your chest while you were a midshipman