HELD BY BANDIES

Hokitika Guardian, 8 February 1928, Page 4

HELD BY BANDIES

AN ERIC ADVENTURE ESCAPE. SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 11. An adventure story of an American engineer and his faithful Mexican servant getting their bandit kidnappers drunk, killing four of them and then escaping, was related by Lyman 17.l 7 . Barber, the well-known Los Angeles mining Fngineer, upon his arrival in Alexico city after a remarkable escape from anticipated death. Weak and almost at the point of collapse. Barber related his story to friends who were authorised to pass it on to eager newspapermen. who were not allowed to enter the sickroom. Barber’s once powerful body— he is more than six feet tall—was a siin.ni.en mass from three weeks of von'’moment and hardships, and his face was so haggard and bearded that lie ap|>eared fifteen years older than his true age of 3d. He told his story in rambling. disconnected fashion, even c.m tradicting hinisell at times. He "as unable to talk long at a time or give a connected narrative of his exploits, because of the hardships he underwent. Earlier in the day Mrs Barber had refused to talk, because of a request by the Mexican Government that he not reveal anything which might he construed as military secrets, therein possibly handicapping Federal troons in efforts to catch the bandits. Later Barber himself gave the st rt,, v through intermediaries, of his a cl uture in killing four bandit guanos with stones and an old bottle. Pieced together and as telegraphed to San Francisco and Los Angeles. Barber’s story was: Saturday night my niozo (servant) Pedro, who w: s kidnapped with me from the Monte Carlo mines, near Zacuappam. on Pccomber 15, heard our guards talking among themselves around the campfire in the mountains where we were hold prisoner. He signalled rue, and we

overheard them say that their officers had decided Pedro and I would both he killed on the Tuesday unless our ransom was paid before that time. PLANS HIS BATTLE. “Six thousand pesos had already been paid—looo at one time and 500 P at another—and another 15.000 (about £1500) was being demanded. “When we heard this 1 told Ped'O we would have to make a final desperate effort to escape as soon as possible AA’e were doomed to die anyhow. and it was better to die figlr.'nj if wo had to. Pedro, always a faithful servant, agreed. “I had a bottle of cognac wh.cli had been smuggled to me bv couriers who, all during my imprisonment, went back and forth from the bandit camp to the mines to negotiate my ransom.

“I passed this bottle of cognac around among the four bandits or rebels who were guarding Pedro and me—others of our captors being some distance away wrapping themselves in blankets in preparation for sleep. AA'e sat around the campfire, the guards continuing to drink the cognac until finally all four were drunk. They completely passed out—-they lay hack on lhe ground and went to sleep. All this time I heard a horse walking a hunt among the dry stalks of an old cornfield near the camp, which was upon a mountainside. “Every step of the horse crushed the dry stalks, and they sounded to me like pistol shots. My idea was to get that horse as soon as we finished w.ih the guards.

“About 11 o’clock I signalled to Pedro to question whether he was ready, and he responded: ‘Yes.’ So we took the cognac bottle from which ihe guards had been drinking. and some large slones and pounded in their heads. AVe then rushed away into tli::cornfield. t’.olh Pedro and T jumped upon the horse’s hare hack and urged him away as last as possible. AA e were pursued by some of the hand from the camp, and some shots were fired at us, hut we were not hit. The horse blundered and stumbled about in fbe darkness, and we soon discovered that lie was blind; but we rode him as fast as we could go as long as possible. HOUSE FALLS AND DIES. “I do not know bow long, but if was several hours. Iho horse then tumbled into a ravine and died. AVe were shaken up. hut unhurt by that particular fall, although my eye was suffering from an injury received previously when thrown from a horse while moving with the bandits from one camp to another. “Alter losing the horse, Pedro and T tore along on foot as fast as wo could.

“AVe ran most of the remainder of the night, sometimes, when utterly exhausted. halting for breath. AA e reached an Indian village alter daylight, where we were treated kindly. AA'e rested a little, asked directions and started a-foot again towards Cuernavaca . AV e leached there on Sunday afternoon. 1 tried to telephone to Mexico City, hut failed. 1 then got an automobile, and PecTro and f came Oil to Mexico City, arriving on Sunday night.’’

All reference to camp localities and the number :.f rebels and bandits were omitted from the account transmitted to newspaper men because the Mexican (Jovorninent had requested Barber and bis wife not to reveal such dela Is. As a matter of fart Barber was very vague himself as io localities. lie knew only that, after be bad been kidnapped and shunted about from camp to camp in t lie mountains, he was aide to escape from sonic place not far from where he was kidnapped.