April 15, 1899.]
their bullets passed overhead. To give an ides of the thickness of the fire would be hope less, but I remember dressing a sergeant whose left arm had been pierced by a Remington bullet close to the shoulder joint. We had a friendly tree between us and the enemy's fire, but twice the bark on the opposite half of the tree was ripped up
› by a ballet, and small branches overhead were severed and fell on the dressings. As he said, it was a tidy bit of a scrap; but I for one never expected to come out of the scrap alive!
Just then we heard a cheer to the west of the railway line; the Oregon regiment was advanc- ing upon the church. With a second cheer the 22nd and 3rd left the cover they were in and doubled across the valley and up to the church and village. Firing a parting volley, the rebels fled. The Americans lost not a man in the rush up to the church; one of them fell down with heat apoplexy and had to be removed, but that was their only loss.
One prisoner was captured in the village, The first thing he did was to light a cigarette. To the north-east of the church and village lay an open tract of country, Boross which the rebels were scampering in hundreds, with the object of reaching the woods that lay beyond. Several of them were shot as they ran and fell dead or wounded in the field. I found one Filipino captain shot through the head; his rifle had been carried off by another Filipino, but as he had fallen on to his cartridge bag, no time had been allowed to remove this in the general stampede. I appro- priated his cartridges, and later on in the day counted 130 rounds of ammunition (the brass bullet). I mention this fact to show how well these men are ar:ued. Further on I came across another poor fellow shot through the heart and lungs. Blood was welling up from his mouth and he was practically moribund. Not far from the latter I saw a struggling form endeavour- ing to conceal himself in the bush. Never shall I forget the look of terror in his eyes as I ran up to him; he thought he was about to be done away with. His left thigh had been pierced by a Craig-Jorgensen bullet. However, he calm- ed down when he found that my intentions were not murderous, and evinced every sign of gratitude when I proceeded to dress his wounds, even offering to go halves with the remainder of water in his bamboo water- carrier. I found his rifle, an 1896 Maüser, not far away, but the back had gone; he had thrown it away; and alternate coaxing and threatening on my part was futile in making him say what he had done with it or indicate where he had con- cealed it. Aguinaldo has issued orders that whenever a soldier feels himself to be mortally wounded or so wounded that he is rendered helpless and will probably fall into the bands of the enemy, he is immediately to conceal or destroy his arms and ammunition; on the other hand, should any soldier come across a dead comrade, he is to appropriate the arms and am- munition of the latter in order that they may not fall into the hands of the Americans,
In the woods around the open space (T) I counted over a dozen houses on fire. Why the rebels should ignite their own houses when they retreat is a conundrum difficult of solution is it more childish spite? As I write now, between Cavite and Malalos, it is possible to count over 200 columns of smoke, each one of them representing a burning house fired by the rebels.
Some field Artillery now came up from the east along the road leading to Malinta. Turning to the right at the village they proceeded along the road by the side of the railway-line to a spot (7) just beyond a railway station, now a mass of flames, and commenced shelling the woods, on the outside of which the rebels might be seen again lining up. The long, alim bamboo branches were mowed down by the shrapnel as corn by a soythe. To the extreme west the troops were advancing through the woods, and some heavy firing was going on. Here was that a sad in cident occurred. Prince Lowenstein and a com- rade (German) had been out with the American fighting line the greater part of the day; they had just sought a temporary shelter from the enemy's fire in one of the deserted Filipino huts, and were both dressed in white, contrary to the numberless orders and warnings issued by the American authorities: Some American sol- diers in the distance, seeing figures in white moving about inside the house, naturally mistook
CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORT.
807
what discomposed, and could not an involuntary ejaculation and start. Unfortun ately I tripped and fell over the camera soldiers seeing what had happened rushed up to » me thinking I was hit, and when they saw how matters stood they burst out into the most unceremonious laughter. Baid one of them : "Guess that was a sharpshooter who mistook© the spout of your picture machine for the muzzle ↑ of a diarrhoea gan." The latter I take to be the equivalent of a gatling gun.
them for insurgents and fired at them, killing the Prince and severely wounding his comrade.
The rebels along the woods stood their ground bravely, but the Americans gradually drove them into the woods. As we passed through these woods I took the opportunity of going through several of the huts and houses, and it was sad to see the years of patient toil and labour so suddenly terminated. I was particularly struck with the appearance of one house. Outside it was a neat little vegetable garden, and beyond some paddy fields of rice. In one portion of the house With regard to the trenches, there is no the year's grain (chiefly rice) was carefully stored doubt but that those made by the rebels are away in sacks: hanging on the walls were some incomparably superior to the American One half-dozen of the characteristic Filipino grass- can walk behind the former in an upright cutters, consisting of a curved piece of wood, position with perfect impunity even as regards to gather the grass into a bundle, and a knife modern artillery; their one great and fatal fault set at right angles to the handle. There were is that they are not long enough and are desti. also fishing-nets and some long, thin barbed tute of lateral buttresses, being thus not ca pabl spears, evidently used for harpooning fish. A of protection from an enemy in the rear or fank fire was still burning in the grate; on the table With regard to the shooting of the rebels were the remains of some "chow," and on the can only describe it as accurately insou floor a box, opened, in the bottom of which were Their misailes always seem to pass 20 yards abor a few brass cartridges, some of which were lying the object they aim at. Were someone to lower on the floor around. The inmates had been sud their sights, or instruct them to aim at the denly surprised, their last act being to hurriedly ground some 30 yards in front of the enemy, fill their cartridge bags. In nearly all the houses their shooting would be deadly. They have a I found the remains of arms or ammunition, motley collection of arms and ammunition, which which proves that nearly every Filipino is a they have obtained from the Americans an warrior at this crisis. Just outside another Spaniards. The former gave them's considerable house a ghastly sight was seen. A pig had quantity of ammunition at the commencement his forefeet, head, and chest lying by the side of the Spanish-American war, bat latterly the of a food-trough; ten yards away his entrails Filipinos have been obtaining large amounts and the remainder of his body were stuck to through the agency of the Chinese. John the foot of a tree, a gash in the latter Chinaman is a kind of middleman between the revealing the passage of a shell. As it was now two foes; in the day-time he is with the Am- getting late and towards the expiration of ericans, smilingly driving their water buffaloss my leave, I had to reluctantly bid good-bye to for them, but surreptitiously gathering in- my American friends and wend my way back. formation with his ears and ammunition with About half way between the burning station his hands. At night-time he sneaks over to the and Malinta village I came upon a group of rebel lines and barters his pelf. I have seen American soldiers eating their meal of tinned Chinamen behind American trenches collecting corned beef. Having had nothing to eat myself sackloads of empty cartridge casos. I have since daybreak and it being now after 5 p.m. I found these as reloads in the cartridge-bags of gladly accepted the kind offer of a soldier to the rebels. The latter are only hard up for the share their none-too-plentiful food, especially cases; the lead and the ingredients for making as it afforded me an opportunity of doing some-gunpowder they have in stundance. · Only thin thing in return for their kindness. We were week I came across two Chinese prisoners, and discussing the fight, when two or three spent was told that they were caught in the set of bullets fell on the line not far from us. As far making away with a whole case of ammunition. as I could judge by the distance of the Ameri. However, it must not be imagined that all the can fighting line these bulleta must travelled Chinese here not in an inimical manner towards - over a mile. Unfortunately one of these struck the Americans; a great many of them have a soldier in the chest, entering his lung but not rendered invaluable service to the latter, lond. emerging. He was promptly treated, and we got ing their guns for them behind the trenches him on to a stretcher, but I am afraid the poor and cooking their food, eto. I have seen Chinese. fellow died, for on going over the Reserve Hos- coolies carrying wounded Americans from the“. pital two days later I could find no trace of fighting line amidst a rain of bulleta, dis... him.
playing the utmost indifference to the danger There is a great deal of difference between they themselves were in. For a day's work the American soldier and our own. As in of this kind John gets $1.50, with which dividuals, I look upon the former both he is more than satisfied. Some of them, physically and mentally as our superiors; however, appreciate danger, as the follow- collectively as distinctly inferior. Put in an ing incident proves. Wishing to obtain some other way, the American soldier is better, photographs of the action, I persuaded a China- probably, than the English, but an English man to accompany me and carry my osmors regiment is better than an American. A with the promise of a dollar at the end of the typical soldier should be, speaking broadly, a afternoon. We had proceeded some distance non-thinking unit of an organised whole; he with the troops, when a bullet or two whistled should be one of the wheels within wheels of a through the trees overhead, followed by the complicated machine, ready to obey in an in-distant reports of rifles. One of the Americans stant the order of the officer immediately over him, without any private opinion he himself may entertain as to the utility or inutility of that order. Now the American soldier is not this; he discusses and criticises the tactics of his general with as much freedom as he would the weather, Another point with which one is particularly struck is their absolute indiffer ence to danger, amounting at times to a callous recklessness. Before the line advanced from Caloocan the soldiers might have been seen playing base-ball, though fully exposed to the fire of the rebel trenches. Every two or three days a life was lost through more carelessness, On asking one of the men why he so exposed himself, he said: "Well, we've been in these trenches now for some six weeks and have got tired of dodging bullets." I was taking a photograph of a group of soldiers one day last week and was in the act of focussing on the ground glass, when a rebel fired at either me or the camera. The bullet went through the bush I was standing in, between the legs of the camera and into the earth just beyond. This being the first time I had experienced the whistle of a ballet within seven inches of my face, I am 'not' ashamed to confew that I yas some-"
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drow my attention to John; he had dropped my camera and was scuttling away, I called out after him and held up two dollars, but his only answer was "pong, pong, no wantches.”::k
Belonging to a neutral power my sympathies: are very much divided between the two foss figuring in this war, and no small share of. them goes to the so-called rebola. One cannot! help feeling deeply for these brave. Indiana, fighting to the fast gasp for the retention of their own lands; fighting, too, against awful; odds; for what oan a Mauser do against modern artillery? Can anyone imagine a sight more calculated to inspire pity than a couple of hundred Filipinos con" the sea-shore (within three inch gun endeavouring to ⠀ sink the Monadnock, an armoured: monitor with inch guns. Yet such might have been witzeg off Paranaquen few days ago. About four m ago I was stopping at a plaos culled Braml about 80 miles in the interior of this inland, was shown some of the home-made osa used by the Filipinos. They consisted of } water pipes about four to six inches in diame one and of which was closed with an block of wood; a hole bored through: served as a touch hole; these they :
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