The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-07-23
SCENES AT AND NEAs. MANILA.
Sunken Spanish Ships, BOyish Sol
diers and Beer-GuzzIing officers.

NotACopOHuciCc Oh the <ASSOCldleu GTSSS.
MANILA, May 29-The British gunboat
Swift arrived here few days ago from
Hong Kong with malls which it was
thought the American naval commander.
Rear Admiral Dewey, might not see his
way to pass for fear of technical breach of
the blockade, but he made no objection. So
all the mails went ashore and a blessing
they were to the poor blockaded Manila
residents There are business firms with
immense interests at stake all depending on
mail adyices, now that the telegraph cables
are cut. For few days the cable was used,
messages being forwarded BIZ boat to La
buan, but it did not last long, for the
Americans found out that the Spaniards
were communicating with their home gov
eminent on war matters, and so they stop
ped it, The last message said that squad
ron of four armored cruisers, accompanied
by coal ships and conveying torpedo boats
and troop ships, with ten thousand soldiers
on board. had left Spain for the Philippines.
Admiral Dewey has been most courteous
and obliging. He readily gave permission
to visit the arsenal at Cavite, where, how
ever, there was not much to be seen of in
terest. Cavite is on low, sandy spot about
eight miles from Manila as the crow flies,
but nearly thirty miles by road as there is
swampy for some distance inland. The
Cavite peninsula points in the direction of
Manila and is joined to the mainland by
low, narrow isthmus where in last years
rebellion, two bands of Spanish troops met
and mistook each other for rebels and prac-
tically annihiated each other, over thou
sand of the soldiers losing their lives
through the blunder. AT the end of the
peninsula are. two points-a large one out
side named Sangley a smaller one, Cayite
proper, on the inner side, jutting out be-
tween the upper and lower parts of Cavite
bay. On Sangley point is the slip way for
repairing ships and a small battery of two
Krupp fifteen-centimeter guns.
At Cavite arsenal several of the oldest
type of Armstrong Misunderstanding six-inch
guns are mounted, apparently for ornament,
with symmetrical mounds of round shot
alongside. In the arsenal machine sheds,
ammunition stores, ETC., plentiful The
engine shop is kept in good order by the
Americans. 1t is small but useful. The ma
chinery mostly bears the names of English
makers and has been maintained in a salts
factory state of repair All the rest
magazines, officers quarters, hospital and
barracks had been looted, first by the Span
iards, then by the rebels. Here and there
the buildings show a great shot hole, but
there was little Smelling of the place
The Spanish ships in the bay, however,
tell pltiable and terrible tale. The poor
old Castillo is the worst, though she shows
least, for she is now almost entirely sub
merged She was a wooden cruiser and all
her woodwork burned to the waters edge,
leaving only the metal skeleton, the ribs and
frames, tunnels, ventilators ash hoists and
gun shields, battered, perforated in a thou
sand spots and hammered and twisted out
OF position and almost out of recognition.
She is a wonderful, terrible testimony to the
9estIucIiVeneSs OF modern weapons Wen
lesson that the friends of peace could pos
sibly adduce-to picture number of men
and boys cooped up for ten hours on
floating target to be shot to bits with large
and small projectiles, mangling, mutilating
and numbering mercilessly. The Castillo
was so old that when she had perfOrce to
venture out of Manila bay to go only thirty
miles to Subig the working OF the propeller
shaft in the tube started the timbers and
she leaked too fast for the pumps to keep
her affoat. She had to be beached generally
at Subig until the leaky tube and timbers
could be patched up with cement. When
her guns were fired she again started to'fill
with water. 1t was an enormity crime
line. To make men fight in such q coffin
ship was simply diabolical.
The Reina Christina is less submerged
less burned, but shows more battering OF
her bridge only the starboard supports and
foot or TWO OF the bridge itself remain; the
rest evidently was blown into atoms With
all who stood there by a shell which y ent
on and struck the funnel near the baSe md,
apparently exploding inside, caused dread
ful havoc in the engine room.
1t is thought that unless peace is signed
without further delay Manila is doomed
city, for the insurgents are closing in rapid
battle than a house of cards could with
stand typhoon. Here is rich seaport, a
R6e CITY a4 s as aFge as re aer
highly inf1ammable type, fires are frequent
in ordinary times, and little Smelling would
burn the whole city to the ground. Here is
a population OF quarter of a million full
FLOODED Malays, ordinarily indolent, but in
tensely excitable on occasions and capable
or anything at such time as the StOrmng
of the city by their kinsmen. The Spaniards
are as desperately unyielding as the French
were IN 1870, as confident IN their unavail-
ing valor, as ignorant of the irresistible
forces they defy.
Every day and all day there is an exodus
from the city, stimulated every few days by
some new scare. Large, clumsy river boats,
towed by steam launches polled by ma
tives, swarm up the river conveying fam
lilies and goods and come down again for
more. Every road leading out of the city
is thronged day after day with similar
tTafic until the roads are one by one de-
clared unsafe beyond certain points on
count Of the insurgents.
The first news of Aguinaldo's advance on
the city increased the refugee movement,
but now he is reported within nine miles of
the city walls and complete panic prevails.
Soldiers are being hurried to the front and
are coming back horribly slashed with the
foresters knives of the natives. All day
long the wounded are filing. through the
cry and trumpeting that heralded their de-
parture. The careless swagger and the
naughty strut which characterized the
Spanish soldiery in the streets of Manila
have given place to a weary shuttle and
sullen trudge.
1t is pitiful to see so many schoolboys
valiantly taking part in the war and most
Of the men here have never been out OF
their native villages until now. The boyish
appearance is not lessened by the uniform,
which looks almost a buriesque-a light
straw hat high in the crown and wide in
the brim, like that of the typical stage
brigand blue striped cotton clothes, black
leather belt and foot gear of many sorts
Many of the poor fellows have no shoes at
ALL and they get their feet lacerated in the
country. II is said that over 60 per cent. of
the army hospital cases are feet fostering
from thorns
The Spanish army suggest comic opera.
There are burly FalstaH officers swarning
about the cafes and beer saloons. Spanish
officers might at any rate devote two or
three hours per day TO the question whether
there Is anything in the world worse than
an officer asleep on a beer shop lounge in
the forenoon when the enemy is at the gates
of the city. The rank and file can only be
pitied. There are whole regiments of strip
lings not long over from Spain pictureyquely
attired and willing to do everything and
never count the odds nor finch death. But
they cannot fight because they are not
trained and their leaders are incapable.
The Philippine native, like all the kindred
Malay races, cannot do any fighting, as q