Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1899-08-04
Will Start Late In October
Month.
GROUND TO BE DEFENDED
FilipinOS Are Thick Around Manv of
the Towns But the Americans can
Keep Them in Check--The Fight
ing Continues Almost Daily.

Chicago Aug. 4.-The Tribune's spe-
clal correspondence from Manila. under
date Of June 26, says: The next cam
paign can hardly begin sooner than Mo-
Veh1oer' although the country may dry
up enough toward the middle of October
to permit the American troops to take the
held then. The American army. during
the rainy season, can hardly be expected
to do anything more than hold what it
mas gained and prepare for the next cam
paign.
The ground to defend is not very great.
On the south of Manila we have linus.
about Is miles away, where the Fourth
ana Fourteenth infantry. with several
guns from the Sixth artillery, are sta
toned. This territory was gained only
within the last two weeks by the hard
fghtins at Paranaque, at which even the
rattle of rifles can be heard in Manila.
We hold the road that runs to linus.
through Paranaque and Bacoor, every
inch of which was only gained by hard
fighting.
Northward the farthest point in the
", 4 L
| miles from Manila. on the railroad. The
railroad is l49 miles in length in ALL but
the insurgents control all the track be-
tween San Fernando and Dagupan, the
| northern terminal of the road. The
Americans hold Candaba, east of San
Fernando 10 miles They hold all the
towns along the railroad, Of course, to
San Fernando and Baliuag, seven miles
east of Pulitan.
Reports continually come from Baliua g
that the town is entirely surrounded by
, the enemy, and is about to be carried by
assault. But Colonel Page and the Third
infantry have so far driven the rebels
back with disastrous loss every time they
! have assaulted the town. and he declares
he can hold it for an indefinite time, al
| though his position there is by no means
an easy one. Supplies and mail can only
be carried to Baliuag from the railroad
under an escort of not less than $50 men,
who are invariably attacked somewhere
along the road, both going and coming.
At San Fernando two determined at
tacks along the whole rebel line were
made last week. The second engagement
, We're driven back with heavy losses. Bull
let's fly continually over both places, and
stray bullets frequently find victims.
Heavy shipments Of arms are said to be
constantly arriving from Japan and Aus
tralia, and, it is said, even from our own
country Cartridges picked up in the in
surgent trenches bear the trade mark of
big manufacturing firm in the United
States. The insurgents have three fac
tories, where they manufacture cartridges
| and other munitions of war. If they were
kept on the run they would have no time
so to equip themselves that they could
return after every defeat better able to
fight than they We're before.
They are learning things in every en-
counter with the Americans. The papers
in Manila have continually referred to
the fact that the rebels were prone to
shoot too high, and they seem finally to
have learned the lesson, and now they are
getting their shots well down and show
ing a great improvement in marksman-
ship The few Americans who came over
to Manila a week ago Tuesday on the
Esmeralda from Hong Kong We're aston
their ship had steamed out to quarantine
to hear heavy cannonading from the
monitor Monadnock, which was in plain
sight down the coast about five miles be-
low Manila. Some of the passengers
thought it was some sort of salute in
honor of the arrival Of some distinguished
naval or army hero, and they eagerly
questioned soldier who sat on the stern
of the health officers launch.
That" said the young man, "that's
nothing. That's just a battle" It was
some time before the passengers could
believe that the Americans and insurg-
ents were fighting within sight and sound
of Manila, where the war had started six
months before. The battle ragged all day,
and at o'clock in the afternoon the rat
tie of small arms could be distinctly heard
and late that evening the health officer
told us the fighting had been at Paran-
aQue.