The Cape Girardeau Democrat. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1876-1909, 1899-04-01
SEVENTY-TWO HOURS FIGHT.
Where Do the Rebels Get Their Sup.
p~lies-MOre Troops for the Phil
pines-Thc Casualties.

Washington. March 2S.-Tlle durl.
ton of the battle outside of Manila is
beginning to attract the attention of
army strategists, as it is Il very i'm
portant element in determining the
strength of the men, the supplies Of
ammunition and stores and the spirit
of the army. The first blow was struck
before daybreak last Saturday, and the
fighting continued all that lay. again
on Sunday, and now on Monday.
The reports show little night fight
ing, except in repulsing an i~nsurgent
attack Saturday night.
Sevcrty-Two Hours of Fighting.
With yesterday the fight had lasted
- hours. Judged by the standards Of
great battles. such as Waterloo. PIevna
and others mentioned by arInY author.
tiles, this is a long and intensely ardu.
Gus engagement.
But the fighting about Manila i
quite different from the Standards of
civilized armies, as II Is a running
brush conflict, with only occasional is.
sues between organized bodies of
troops.
Long Battles of the Civil War.
Some of the battles of the civil wal
lasted many days, notably the battle
Of the Wilderness and the fighting
ahcut Richmond.
In speaking of the element Of cndur.
ance Gen. ]Sternbcrg said yesterday
that he had gone for seven days in the
continuous fighting around Richmond,
without renewing the supplies origin
ally issued before the fighting began.
The main question in those loag-con-
tinuCd fights is to have ali supplies,
stores, etc. kept abreast OF The fight
ing force, so that there may nc no en-
l;aastion. In this respect all the re-
EOrJS of the fighting above Manila are
flCst gratifying to the authorities here
IN showing that the qUartrrInasttr,
coHuiSSary, medical and signal stores
are we'll up with our fighting lines.
supply os Ammunition.
The belief is expressed at tie wsr
department that the Filipinos are man.
ufacturing the ammunition thar is be-
ing used with such rcclIessrcsS.
When Gen.. Greene was in the Philin-
pines he went to the Filipino camps
and remained some time among them.
Ills report to the president shows that
the F%iiipinos obtained quite Il large
supply of arms and ammunition when
they captured Cavite, and they had
heretofore obtained Il supply of REM
in"ton and Nauscrs.
Gen. Greene also found that tire Fiji
Einos had established Il factory tor the
manufacture of ammunition for these
rifles. and this factory probably is still
IN operation and furnishing Il sufficient
supply to the insurgents.
Troops and Transports.
A short time a~o the /"allu,lia and
Puebia left san Francisco with tae
Smith infantry. hound Tor Mgniia. by
:hc first of April fuur transports are
expected To arrive at San Francisco.
from Manila. and they Will -r.l-n with
achievements for Otis ahout the
Eth of that month. The Hancock will
take the Twentv-frst ~infanrry; the
Warren, eight batteries Of the Sixth
artillery and recruits: the Newport.
go marines and recruits. and IN" Nor
gan City six companies OF the Thir-
teCrth infantry.
\ little later the Ohiow will arrive. and
return with the remainder of .;Ie Thir-
teenth infantry.
The Senator is also expected later in
the month, and can take 1.JO0 mcn.
The use of Chinese as l~itter-bcar.rs
is said to be n device to S.yc ONT o-;n
men for the more serious work. The
Chinese carry n light bamboo litter,
and being accustomed to the climate
they can travel twice as far as an un-
acclimated carrier. The mair point,
however, is that the tfghtin" force IL
kept intact.
The Casualty List Causes Regret.
While the casualty list is a source OF
profound regret in army quarters it
is said to be comparatively low con-
sidering the number of men engaged
and the duration of the action. This
is accounted for by the long range
shooting of the insurgents, who do not
shoot at a mark. but in the General di-
rection of our lines. While these stray
bullets do considerable hasnc in our
lines, it is far less than the results OF
close-range volleys from solid ranks
of insurgents in the open or from 3
considerable number of :'harpslIooters.
ENCJ ICuMEN ABE CJIPppIcEr