Evening star., 1899-02-11

hard fighting. too. but at last the Spanish
government succeeded in overcoming the
open resistance But the fire was not ex-
tinguished. A secret society. the 'kati
puma spread its membership over the
whole Island of LGzon, preparing another
surprise. The murdered poet had acquired
the fame of a national hero and martyr
and mysterious tales were told In all the
Tagale villages that he lived still in the in
terror up in the mountains to come down
at the right moment 10 take the leadership
or his people in the great fight for inde-
pendence.
And then the second insurrection began
The terrible scenes of cruelty were repeat
ed, but again without any deciding result.
A sort of armistice was arranged at the
end of 1897 between the young Tagal lead
er, Aguinaldo, and the Spaniards, and this
endured until the beginning of the last
meriean-Spanish war and the glorious bat
tie of Cavite.
r Strange tales, indeed, these time-black-
ened government buildings in Intra Muror
can tell. They know also many things
about a fourishing Japanese colony which
lived years ago in Manila town; 10000 in
dustrious japanese once filled the streets
of the old city, and the best regiments of
The Spanish government in those oiden
times We're composed of the japanese war
rlors. But the narrow-mindedness and in
tolerance of the Spanish rulers drove out
The followers of Buddha- The japanese
warriors, the Samurais and the industrious
and able workmen left this unfriendly and
inhospitable country at the same time and
SO another sleep of 800 years duration be-
gan IN the Filipino Islands finished at last
py the thunder of Admiral Dewey's guns!
But We will leave the old, haunted town.
Ii is an unwholesome place full of evil
spirits and bad historical dreams. We will
pass the Pasig river, with its resting block
AIDED ships, and enter the modern city of
Binando, fun of life, traffic and full OF
natives and Chinese and the great firms of
the white man.
THE streets are crowded with Snanish
Voluntarios, who volunteer very often, in
their swell uniforms, filling all the cafes
and beer houses, The Spanish volunteers
ion about their military duties than
that held by the Americans. The
former had refused with Indignation to do
duty In the trenches outside the town. They
nad declared 10 the captain general that
they were not willing to do such poor
plain, private soldiers work, and that they
preferred only to make the guard routine
in the interior of the city And with old
Castilian obstinacy they have done that
tiresome but rather safe work. The public
buildings In Binardo were occupied by
strong pickets of the well-dressed, we'll
nourished and well-armed young men. who
amused themselves through the hardships
OF the war by playing cards and smoking
lnnumerable cigarettes.
Another View.
I'VE will leave them in their innocent
and guiltless doings inside the town and
walk to the circle of the widely extended
suburbs of Ermita and Malate. The more
We advance the more the character of the.
streets change, No more that crowd of
people playing at soldier, no more the
symptoms of untroubled safety
The streets become absolutely empty
All the shutters of the houses are hermeti-
cally sealed, and the whistIing of passing
Mauser bullets can be already heard. Some
times they strike the walls of the brick
country houses of the wealthy Manila peo-
Wit ctn Il
half dozen of the miserable bamboo huts
OF the natives. The only living beings you
car see are small bodies of Spanish regu-
lars marching carelessly in the middle OF
the enfiladed road to the il-famed trenches.
They look haggard and worn out but they
are brave men, indeed, and do not care for
whistlng bullets
Silent dull ana hopeless as are these
poor unfortunate privates and their subal-
tern officers of the front they do their hard
duty courageously. For three months they
have lived in the trenches. They sleep
there, they eat there they fight there and
are extended round the suburbs of the
town in circle of sixteen miles No care
Iully regulated relief service is in opera
ton, and all military preparations give
the impression of improvisations But in
spite of that you can see the symptoms of
real mastership, the evidence of a ruler
everywhere, that dangerous dilettantism
which kills hundreds of brave men uselesSly
without glory and without victory
In the trenches it is still worse The
low ground prevented the making Of deep
dltches, as water appears at a depth of
from two TO three feet, and SO it was
necessary to bring out sand sacks and by
other artificial means to get the necessary
height of the covering breastworks.
Careless of the danger and the whstling
bullets, the Spanish soldiers lie in those
miserable entrenchments; apathetic every
where, no activity, not even the wish or the
will to improve the very imperfect shelter.
That was the general impression of mill
tary expert. And the tropical sun sends
down its fiery arrows to the marshy land,
to the nnmberless small creeks and water
bitches, and brews there the worst enemy
of the soldier-sickneSs"
In conclusion, the speaker said the coun-
try was an ideal ore for guerrilla fighting
but that it was next to impossible to oper-
bad roads.