The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1898-07-29
PER1Ls OF WAR IN THE MOUNTAINS.
What Our Soldier Boys wn Have o Contend with in the Philippines
Something About Its Dangers.

The native following of an eastern
campaign has but little regard for
cleanliness, and, with the cramped
quarters of a mountain camp, it is alb
solutely necessary that the ground be
we'll aired daily and the sun allowed
to bask vigorously upon the earth on
which the men must sleep. With the
heavy prevalent dews and the least
restraint upon proper ventilation poi
sonous conditions at once arise, with
the disastrous consequences that have
been so many times marked in earlier
British campaigns in the Orient.
The matter of transportation is one
Of serious consideration in a region
that knows not the conveniences OF
railroads, and in which the beasts of
burden and the patient coolies are the
only means of bearing anything or
anybody owe the ways Of the interior
passage.
The Philippines boast a race of ma
tive horses-really the progeny of those
brought by the early Spanish
ors; but it Is almost certain that the
mule, that worldwide beast of burden,
and the coolie will have to do our bid
ding in those islands. The mule can
follow nearly any place a man can
cad him, up hill or down, and carry his
burden easily through all the hours
mis- m guide a Dear the strain.
The coolie is far from being so salts
factory, and it has been found by the
British in India hat for an expedi-
ton Of 1000 fighting men at least 1000
or 5000 coolies must be had to bear
the accompanying baggage.
With all the ills to which man is
prone menacing, with a disposition to
quit. but with an unfailing tendency
to eat at all times, the coolie train is
hardly a welcome charge for a COM
handing officer to contemplate.
Now, as ever, the victory will de-
pend upon the legs of the army" and
1t will be the trying task of the COM
handing officer to bring his men to the
enemy with the least tax upon their
vitality, n to have them ready to
bear the strain of a charge or to shoot
with that accuracy unknown to ex-
hausted muscles. The wisest kind of
generalship has got to be exercised,
and, at the same time, aggressive ac-
ton must be assured, for experience
has proved defensive tactics the cost
Hest Of meeting mountain foe
men, who gather strength and purpose
with every moments passive stand on
their enemy's part.
Night marching is a thing that must
certainly be counted upon, for then
only will the men be free from the
frightful, trying heat of the suns in
tense glare, not to mention the dan
gerous consequences Upon the eyes.
But at night there are other dangers,
such as venomous snakes, the giant
cayman in the marshes and streams,
and the foe, who knows so we'll how
to make the most of the over of these
6pnCo iI1no1nc vNoVYc ro,1ct h1 1,,k 49,
roads made ven before the troops
themselves can find a sure footing; and
the path must De wide enough to guard
against the heavy, dripping dew fall
ing upon the t~readway, for it has been
found to render the roads so slippery
that passage was next to impossible.
Yankee cunning is going to adapt
itself very quickly to the work of meet
ing these changed conditions, and the
important figure in most of our engi-
neering feats out there. Rats will be
made of it, defences made of it, and
quick and effective waterproof shelters
formed Of it, with the aid Of the ma
tive craftsman.
The rapid mountain streams, though
narrow, call for some very skillful en-
cheering to get a body of troops and
their animals safely across, and we
must expect to hear of suspension
bridges of bamboo n telegraph wire,
fashioned with experiences and expe-
dition, yet strong enough to bear the
burden of the heaviest of mountain
forces. Boats nay have to be built
to ferry these streams On short notice,
and we shall not be surprised to know
that a wagon cover of canvas or a
shelter tent or w fashioned upon a
framework of bamboo or saplings will
answer the purpose we'll enough to car
~ the first lines of a bridge across
these waterways. At almost every step
there will be some new obstacle or
some new condition to be met, and
these, though drains mostly upon in
genuity and skill, will tax the aptness
of our men even more than the work
of actually routing the enemy. Our
mountain forces, whether artillery or
infantry, will be hill climbers, Indian
fighters, engineers and pioneers, all
in the same breath; n we shall have
ample reason to be proud of their
achievements.
Signaling by the neliograph will form
a very conspicuous part of the mean
of visual communication among the
hills, for while the distance as the crow
flies may be short, the route by ever
foot or horseback would be long, tor
tuous n beset with the dangers of a
lurking foe. The suns Hastings will
speed our messages from crest to crest
with dextrous haste and certainty of
delivery, and beyond the reach of our
enemy's interruption, and at night a
lantern modification will stand us well
in stead.
Much Of the work of possible pacii-
cation will be hat of Furnishing re-
fractory natives, and our futile trial in
Formosa in 81 showed what really
adept s~trategists these eastern Indian
tribes and their mixtures are. 1t will
be necessary to strike them quickly