The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-04-02
AFTER TAKING CALOOCAN.
SCENES AND INCIDENTS ON THE
AMERICAN FIRING LINE.
Havoc Wrought by tho Monadnock's 49,
Inchers-Our Troops Making Use OF tho
RniIwny-Toy Guns of Wood Found In
Trenches Just Vacated by Filipinos.

throttles Of the engines OF the Manila and
Dagupan Railway. The United States now
have in their hands seven miles OF the 12u-
mile system. and are putting it TO good use in
making hourly trips to and from the firing line.
Just beyond Caloocan. for the purpose OF haul
ing commissary supplies and nccdtuls TO the
brave boys who sweltor in the hot sun all dav
and SILVER in the dews ~ night IA they guard
the territory and cut oil the insurgents ap-
proach to the city.
foot! toot!" goes the tiny locomotive
whistle. ard the half dozen English coaches
and cars. loaded iown with boxes Of cartridges.
canned beef. several sides OF fresh meat from
the refrigerator ship in the bay. and a score or
40 Of blue-shirted. brown-trousered warriors
on n few hours leave to WISH town for a change
OF socks and a bath. roll out OF the long station
at Manila and down the line.
Civ her the high ball" suggests some mis-
chievous passenger TO the begrimed engineer.
an American volunteer. and see what she
can make Caloocan in" Their are no Major
Generals on board. and the engineer takes the
dare. The natives In the suburbs are almost
frightened out OF their senses "a the little train
whoops past. and then they realize that II IL
the American way Of running trains. After
narrowly missing the corner OF a slow cd'dbdo
cart driven carelesslv across the road ahead OF
the train by a Chinaman. and hitting a curve
w lOlNC b'u u uIlA'N - J"A '"N ''Ne N'N
Of The fat car from their seats. the train stops
with a bang at the station OF Caloocan Just as
the traveller begins to think It ts the intention
of the engineer to run the insurgents lines.
II IL safe to say the awkward little engines
never realized what was In their Joints until an
American engineer. ont for army service.
opened up the steam valve.
Caloocan Is the first station out on the rail-
way. 1t formerly contained many thousand
Iylintp1 raaiInHta apl Itu thatrha1 luIlIipra
stretched for a quarter OF a mile along the
wagon road. To-day only charred spots and
broken crockery marx the places whore the
Philippine huts stood. and not q resident OF
the town rem aims to tell how it all happened.
In the centre Of the town. reeping above the
trees. stands a much battered church. sur
rounded by a still more battered stone wall.
The ravages o. cannon missiles and bursting
shells from Dewey's ships In the hay
appear almost everywhere. The monitor
Monadnock used the church for a tar
get for quite a while that Friday after
noon and dropped a 13-inch fellow sTuarely
through tho corner OF tho edi1ce into The in
terror. 1t made the church look as II 1t had
been taken up and shaken TO pieces. The In
habitants OF the city who were huddled within
who were not killed fastened to escape. II Is
said that shell was the prime mover for the
evacuation Of the city for regionsfurthe north.
L Tic hlfTS u tlt udy hIltdI Nlt'hHH IL NI'N5
nearby. hut it must have been fully two miles
to where they were daep enough to float the
navy bombariers. Tho altar OF the church and
all the decorations OF the interior are to-day a
wreck and the soldiers have cleared out several
corners In which to sleer during odd hours.
BY some strang &c foresight all the buildings Of
the railroad company. an English concern.
were saved. although they were hit several
times by the shells OF the bonn barding artillery.
! l. 49, -.lN - .tN - -. at~1b 80
Caloocan and the Americans captured most OF
It intact inside OF the large brick buildings.
The railway station. a two-story brick affair.
was also saved. Before fleeing for the back
country. the Filipinos. many OF them. fired
their houses to keep the United States soldiers
from having the pleasure OF doing so.
The town OF Malabon lies across a thous and
yards OF marsh. which Is daily soaked by ths
tides. and is accessible from the American lines
only by q long. narrow road. The insurgents
are able to enter the city from the rear. but
from all reports from scouting parties the
people OF Malabon are going the other way.
The town probably contains several thousand
inhabitants and much fine property. including.
OF course. a church and monastery. The place
is situated on a peninsula. and. lying directly on
the shore OF the bay. It is easy prey for the
guns OF the navy.
The Kan ,as men. who have charge Of the
inc WneEe IL strikes the pay, nave uldle tneH-
selves as comfortable as possible in their bur-
row-like intrenchments. which have been
thrown up across the Malabon road and paral-
lei to the woods on the mainland. a mile awav.
where thousands OF insurgents can be plainly
seen at intervals throughout the day con-
structing earthworks. At night the air Is
alive with the long-range bullets OF the FLINT
nos. but the Kan sans paw not the slightest at
tention. Instead they who roost aton OF their
breastworks smoke and chat and have as So
ciable q time generally as possible. The rail-
road passes through the lines and takes a long
shoot straight for the woods a mile away,
Plenty OF precautions have been taken TO pre-
vent the insurgents using the rolling stock at
their end OF the line to ride into Caloocan on.
by fixing the bridge a few hundred yards down
the line. This Job was done in the dead OF the
mig hit and consisted in removing a rail or two.
The len 9Th OF the present term OF inactivity
seems to be measured by the time it will taxi
achievements. now on the ocean. to arrive In
the bay. In the meantime the BOYS are doing
what they cal! campaigning proper. In ths
machine shops and roundhouse at CalOocan
mechanics OF the Engineer Corps are tinker
ing and menLing the locomotives they found
there. Telegraph lines have long ago connect
ell the various field stations OF the brigadier
officers. Old pieces OF tin roofing are gathered
10y the men in the trenches To place over bam-
boo cross poles resting on the earthbank 10
keep them from the glazing rays OF the sun In
the daytime and 10 afford shelter from the dew
and bullets at night. Company messcs are
cooked anywhere a few yards to tho rear OF
where each company is doing duty and are
served with ants and ashes.
The small dummy railroad which parallels
the Manila and Dagupan Railway rs far a-
Caloocan. and then branches of TO tho left to-
ward MaIahon. has been dubbed The Kansas
and Utah Short Line bytho enthusiastic fight
ers who patrOnize it daily to and from the city,
II is named in honor Of the Twentieth Kansas
Volunteer Regiment and the Utah Light
Artillery. Trench work at the left Of the stu
pendous firing line Of the Americans about
Manila UP to date has been decidedly easy
Withtwuiines o. railways connecting the camp1
with the city. and with all the labor ~ buffalo
cart Transportation OF Supplies removed. il
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