The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-06-10

| the bridges, one, two or three companies
| at a place. These detachments are so
small that they have TO stand strictly on
the defensive. The country 10 the east of
| the railroad, until the trail-of-smoke ex-
| petition, had not been traversed by our
! troops, and was full of armed natives.
and is yet for that matter, -Four hundred
| of them made their headquarters at San
ia Maria. town in the forks of the Bo-
cave river and tributary, four miles from
| the station of Bocave and five miles from
Marilao. AT Bocave are stationed two
| Minnesota companies, one on each side of
the river, and nearly a mile apart, while
| TWO companies of the Oregon regiment
were half a mile from the road TO the
! rear. AT Marilao, four miles from Bo-
| cave, are three Oregon companies.
| From point mile east of the road,
clear back to the hills, the country was
| full of insurgents, active aids of the SOL
diers at Santa Maria. Little trenches are
| scattered all over that region, places
| where few men could open an uneXpect.
| ed and safe fire upon scouting parties ana
| bodies of troops. These are convenient
for the use of amigos living in adjacent
houses. Many soldiers have been fired
upon in this way, and some of them hit,
while still more would have been hit were
the Filipino not a remarkably poor marks
from the bush daily. On Monday April
! 10, small party secuted up the Mart
lao river, and was followed and fired upon
| repeatedly until within a mile of camp.
| This party observed a great movement
| of the population towards the hills. away
from the road. and the inference drawn
was that some active move was to be,
made by the insurgents, of which the peo-
pie were aware, and that they were get
ting out of the way. A few hours later
| proof of the correctness of this conclu-
| sion was given, for a concerted and we'll
planned attack was made upon the camp
at Marilao and Bocave by the soldiers of
Aguinaldo and the armed populace
Soon after midnight a party of natives
made a rush upon the BJcave bridge, driv-
| ing away the sentinels. This was imme-
diately followed by an attack upon the
camp of one of the Minnesota companies
thus cut off from help from the other SIDE
of the river
The captain, seeing that he was nearly
surrounded. after replying to the fire for
a time. quietly withdrew his company 10
another location and let the natives fire
into his empty camp. He secured a good
| location, and later had the pleasure of sur
prising them, and killing and woundins
quite number Meanwhile the other COM
pany endeavored to go 70 the aid of the
first one. When it approached the bridge
it was challenged in the regular American
way with Halt Who's tnere?" The cap
tain eplied, Company E, Thirteenth Min
nesota,' and instantly The command
'Fire!" was heard, and a volley was pour
ed into them from The bridge, several men
being wounded. There are among the Fill,
pinos, many officers who speak English,
and they have adopted the American words
of command for many things, for the pur-
pose of deceiving our troops in their night
attacks. All the common commands, such
as Load" Ready" Aim" Fire. >"
STEADY Come up on the l1ne," For
ward" Halt were distinctly heard Civ
en- by them several of our outposts that
were cut off that night, and were able to
secrete themselves very close to the Fill
Pine lines.
Surprised Natives.
The fight at the bridge continued till
daylight the enemy being on three sides
of the company A courier was sent
down the line for aid, and a telegraph
station was reached, but while the mes
sage was being sent the wires near Ma
rilao were cut by the force that made the
attack on the latter place However, the
sound of the firing was enough 10 warn
other companies of the attack. An arm
ored car containing rapid-fire gun was
on the track at the next station above.
There was no locomotive TO draw it, but
a detachment of about twenty men was
sent to push it down toward the bridge.
1t came in sight just at daylight, and
the natives must have mistaken it for a
car of ammunition for about 100 of them
made a rush in a body to capture it. The
rapid-fire gun was turned upon them, and
thirty of them were killed by the time he
CT ba1 cd in he
now the turn of the Americans. They
formed line at daylight and began to drive
the enemy back toward Santa Maria. fol-
lowing them two miles, and killing fifteen
during the fight. Not being equipped for
the work, the natives had not been able
10 do any serious damage to the steel
bridge, and retired with sever losses. af-
ter having accomplished nothing but the
killing of one man and wounded of half a
dozen more, and the capture of the cara
baos, carts and kitchen outfit of one OF
the Oregon companies stationed near Bo-
cave
The Attack on the Oregon Camp.
The attack on the Oregon camp al
Marilao was more elaborately MANNED
These three companies had no entrench-
menis, their tents being pitched near the
station building They maintained ont
posts of twelve men each on the track a
mile from camp, from which patrols were
sent out along the track to connect with
! like patrols from other stations The night
was dark pitch, and five companies Of
natives stole quietly through the wood
and across the rice fields in single file
| between the camp and the track outpost 8
| on both sides of the Mariao river, and
| formed skrmish line around
| il on three sides. They cut
the wires on both sides of the
camp, and each party sent up a co,ored
| light when in position. They then moved
| down towards The camp rapidly The
| cttting of the wires was known at cnc@
| by the operator al Marilao, and he had
Just reported il when track patrol came
IN breathlessly to say that he could hear
men on the track about a quarter of a
mile north tamperng with the wire. JUS
then an outpost discovered the line OF
trob9s advancing a double time, and
poured a volley into it.
Instantly it seemed as though he'll ha5
broken It's gates. Little flashes Of flame
burst out on three sides Of the camp, nc
companiod by The sharp pot Of the Mauser
ara the heavier report Of the Remington