The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1899-03-14
Fighting ROUND MANILA
AN EYE WITNESS DESCRIBES
WHAT HE SAW.
Treachery of ilipinos-Strange Scenes
at Bridge Across Pasig-Blow Guns
on the Battlefield.

Special Correspondence of The Star.
MANILA, February 10.-The firing
began Saturday night, February 4th,
with individual shots, then volley fir
ing, then the Sixth artillery and the
Utah battery opened up. Then the
Charleston, Callao and Monadnock
started to shell the woods with ma
chine guns. These sound like horrible
tearing or rending. All night this
went on while the eight American war;
ships lit up the woods with their great
search lights All night they signalled
with the search lights. The Olympia
directed it. She would hold up the
point of her light on a cloud, while an
other ship would play the rays CT her
light to the right and left of the point,
like the signal corps do their flags.
At dawn the Charleston and Boston
opened with their broadside guns. and
last of all, about $3.50 the monitor Mo-
nadnock commenced with her ten and
twelve inch guns at the Filipino tren-
| ches. The Monadnock's big guns shook
! the city like an earthquake. We view
| ed the firing from the roof of our quar-
| tiers. The Monadnock was about two
miles away from us, and about 500
| yards from the shore. The smoke from
her guns went at least 100 yards tow
ard the shore, and the concussicn al
| most shook us off the roof. For row
seconds we could hear the shell Shrek
through the air, and then would come
the final terrific explosion.
We were called to arms five times
! during the night of February 4th and
| spent that night, the next day and the
next night and Monday on the street.
What sleep we got was with a cobble
stone or corduroy road for bed and
the sidewalk for a pillow.
The Oregon and Minnesota regiments
are the provost guards and with the
exception of one battalion at the wa
terworks none of us have been on the
firing line. My company was on guard
at the Agala bridge on Sunday, one Of
the three bridges spanning the Pasig
river, and the one furthest up the
stream. We We're about 1000 yards
from the firing line, and the natives
shot at us often from the near by cot
| tageS until two other squads of our
regiment went up there, killed twenty
natives, captured eighty and burned
the huts This firing on us, too. was
from huts that all had white flags out
over this bridge came the strangest
procession that ever crossed a stream
There We're army ambulances with
hundreds of American soldiers driving
before them Filipino prisoners, some of
whom went along holding each Others
hands, like Mary and John; crowds OF
natives, men, women and children
and Chinese coolies carrying their en-
tire household goods, and whatever ar
ticle of personal property they picked
up in the excitement of the moment
Going the other way were vehicles o!
all kinds carrying ammunition 10 the
firing line, the ponies at a gallon The
drivers were mostly white civilians
American and English. The English
and American newspaper correspond
ents hurried out to the firing line. am
many of them took a few shots az tho
FilipinOS. Hundreds of Spanish OIL
GERS and soldiers went back and .ortl
to the front, interested specta tors o
the fighting. 1t all seemed like {
mince pie dream.
Lots of bullets fell in our barrack!
in the walled city, some going through
the roofs.
A feature of Sundays fight was tho
humiliation of a party of 200 hill men
They wore long hair feather heaC
dresses, and We're armed with spears
wooden shields and blow guns. The
Tennessee regiment fired on them a!
they advanced and drove them towart
the Fourteenth regulars. Then the
Tennesseeans lay down on the grOunt
and the Fourteenth fired into them
This drove them back on the run tow
ard the TenneSseeans again, VINO be
gan vollying at them once more. The!
: were shot down like rabbits. I heard
! that only two of the two hundred go
away.
: CORPORAL ]. b. FINLEY,
COmDanV l. Second Oregon.