Evening star., 1899-02-11

sea, patrolling the islands and visiting all
| the places which were said to be In immi-
nent danger by the Tagals. The two pow
ers at war-America and Spain-could not
| do that. The former had to remain In
| front of Manila in her full strength and
| could not make detachments for humani-
broken down by the fall of Cavite that she
| could hardly look after such matters.
| Another Reason.
But there was still another reason for
| concentrating the division of Admiral Won
| Diederichs In Manila bay, and would be
most thankful If my learned audience would
kindly look at it with special interest and
| consideration. It was the release of the
| crew of our east Asiatic squadron in the
| last days of June.
by the concentration of all the ships Of
I the division of Admiral Diederichs in one
| place on the quiet and well-protected
| waters of Marwetes bay, near Corregidor,
| and the release from the navy of more
| than L. 100 trained men from the different
| ships, the embarking and discharging of
necessary cargoes of ammunition and pro-
| visions for the men and officers could be
| easily done in a few days, whereas, with
out concentration, 1T would have taken
| many weeks. On the 10Th Of June, 1898. the
| German naval division of Admiral Dieder-
| ichs had finished that always troublesome
| and disagreeable work, the admiral had
| sent home LOO of his old, we.l-trained
| sailors and gunners; he had sent horie two
| thirds of his best and experienced men,
| non-commissioned and commissioned Of
| ficers. who had been with him three years
on the Asiatic station. Two-thirds of his
! command were recruits-men who had only
| three months of land drilling, who had
| never been on board of a man-Of-war be-
| FORE who had never fired a gun, who had
| to become sailors and gunners in the fol-
| lowing years, but who were Inexperienced
| at the critical time of Manila.
| "And now may l ask the question If any
| responsible high flag officer would or could
do that, if he had only the slightest idea. or
belief, or wish, or intention, or instructions,
| to meet an adversary in the neaG future?
| TT was tropical hot midday of June
| when I received my first impressions of
| Manila and Manila bay. On board of the
| German cruiser Princess Wilhelm we pass
| Island of Corregidor, which commands the
| two passages into the interior of the wide
| bay, and on the top of which powerful
| American fortifications may be erected in
| later days. Next the peninsula of Cavite
| on our right came nearer and nearer and
| soon the tops of the masts Of the American
| feet behind it became visible. But not
| only these; also the wrecks Of the sunken
| Spanish ships. The victorious American
| feet anchored on the wet battlefield, the
spoils of her glorious fighting between her
| and the shore
Squadron OF Neutrais.
"In the front, just before the city of
Manila, was a great squadron of neutral
ships There were three Germans, two
French, two English, and one japanese
men-of-war, while between them We're an
| chored chartered steamers full of refugees
| of the respective nationalities which Ad-
miral Dewey's humanitarian warfare and
observation-disclosures had allowed to be
| brought out of the besieged town, the only
condition being that the Spanish vessels
! had to fly the flag of the respective coun-
| tries which were responsible for their re-
| turn to the American authorities after the
surrender of the town.
| Behind the neutral fleet, whose size was
changed nearly every day by incoming or
| outgoing ships, the churches and towers of
| Manila, four miles away, rose one by one
out of the sea, and then the palm and the
| banana trees aud the bamboo jungles be-
came visible, which, like another green
! ocean, surrounded and covered the lower
| houses and buildings of the Spanish capital
| in the far east. Far away the delicate
| blue line of high ranges of hills bordered
| this wonderful tropic picture with its war
| like foreground.
| But peace seemed to rule everywhere on
| the beach. The steam launches of the
! neutral men-of-war rushed to and fro,
| carrying officers in white tropical dress
| who made or returned calls. Boat train
| ing to be sseen and the yards of the
! neutral ships were hung with the laundry
| of their crews.
Small Tagal sailing boats alongside the
men-of-war were bargaining with the mess
| presidents about the price of fruits and
| vegetables, and sometimes a vessel flying a
| strange, unknown, triangular flag crossed
| the waters of the bay from Cavite to Mala-
| ban, filled up with dark men, the Filipinos
| under their new colors When the moon
rose in her full tropical grandeur over the
| darkening sea, the electric lights shining
| here and there on the great iron and steel
| structures, which rocked quietly in the
| phosphorus waters of the bay like big
| whales, then flashed out the search lights
of the American fleet over from Cavite;
| then could you see, also, the dark, red
/ fire balls of exploding shells near Malate,
| and hear the continuous cracking of mus
kerry. Then you knew that there was war
| that another OF the Filipino night attacks
| was going on and that again dozen men
| had to lose their lives III the bamboo jun
! giles and rice fields round Manila.
! From the near refugee steamers, not
| more than 100 yards away, the sounds of
| the Spanish guitars swept over the quiet
| sea and slvery clear voices of girls could
| be heard and merry laughter; there they
danced their national dances. the Andalu-
siana and Castilana, on the dirty decks of
| the vessel lighted only by one smoky oil
lamp. while enterprising lieutenants of all
| the different nations formed the enthus-
| iastlc audience of the graceful performers.
! Such was the life in the bay-inside the
| lines of the neutral men-of-war.
The Scene Changes.
"Qute a different picture was to be seen
in the besieged town Manila itself The
general impression of the town is very
| well given in a bird s-eye sketch published
| some days ago in New York paper. The
| deep Pasig river running down from the
| large lake, Laguna de Bay, to the sea, di-
vides the town in two parts, very different
! in every way, in inhabitants, in buildings
| and in the character of the life. To the
| left of the river is the old Spaniard town.
| Tistra Muror. AS its name implies this
purely Spanish town is surrounded by the
walls of the fortress and covers a space
| of perhaps three-quarters of a mile square.
Here the coneuering Spaniards first set
tied 800 years ago. Large, massive stone
buildings, the government house, arch
bishops place, monasteries, cathedrals, line
| the narrow, dirty streets and squares in
which you met scarcely any one but monks
| soldiers and dark, proud looking officials
There Is no modern, quick running life
| in that medieval town. There are no
shops, no offices, there is no trade. One
| third of all the buildings is the property
| of the church or of orders of monks; an
other third is composed of the government
houses and military establishments, and
| only the last third belongs to private men,
Having crossed the dark fortress doors
| and the sleepy sentries before it, you feel
| In a quite foreign, long-ago past world.
1 h.