The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1899-05-16
FROM THE PHILIPPINES.

Our Soldier Correspondent Writes En-
t~ertainingly of the Country and the In
surgents, Their Manner of Fighting,
Our Fighting Methods and the Span
iards' Way of Fighting.
Correspondence Of the Progressive Farmer.
JARo, Panay Island, P. |,
March 16. 1899.
Since my last letter there has been
only desultory firing between u boys
and the insurgents, until this morning,
when the enemy moved around to our
left flank, and about company Of
them fired on our outpost. No one on
u side was killed. Our boys returned
the fire, killing n Filipino soldier,
and wounding several others. We re-
ceived the orders to be ready to fall
in" at a moments notice, but waited in
vain. as the outpost succeeded in driv.
ing the enemy back. Whenever the
enemy hears a shot from u rifles,
they think there is q whole company
firing, az the sound made by the ball
going through the bamboo, is very rat
thing. When they fire "Mausers" at
US they sound as if they were fired just
where we are standing, as the sound
of the rifle goes with the bullet. If
thew were within one hundred yards
of us. the sound of the ball would be
the same as if it came from q mile
away. The Remington ball makes a
different sound as it passes over our
heards-sounds very much like a mad
honey bee when he tries to sting you.
If a Remington ball is nearly spent"
when it passes over us, the ball Wabbles
more than it would if it were going at
a greater velocity.
Several of my comrades and myself
went beyond our outpost, a few days
ago, and we saw many insurgents
picking beans, having their rifles close
to them. We heard that they are
short of provisions, and would o o be.
come starved into submission, but,
Judging from the amount Of tropical
fruits here, I think they can subsist
quite a white on them alone.
The cool nights are telling on the in
surgents, as they were never used to
sleeping outdoors; and they are very
thinly clad. They expected US to re
main in Iloilo, while they occupied
this town. They we're in the habit Of
fighting the Spaniards for two or three
hours, then retiring to camp, where
they would smoke and have a fine
time.
Insurgents say Americans mucho
combata; no eat, nc sleep, but fight all
the time Espanal mucho smoke, mucho
chow chow" Cooked food), meaning
the Spaniards took plenty OF time to
smoke and eat. Our style Of advancing
by rushes is something they don't
''savey" (understand).
When Soaniards fought these PEG
pie, they would send out a few men,
while the officers remained in quarters;
after the spaniards retreated, they
counted the cartridges they had shot,
and for every one shot, they counted
one killed insurgent, &C as they shot
many times they counted many killed,
when, perhaps, they killed noue. They
sent such reports to Madrid, Spain,
and when a regiment which had served
here four years returned to Spain, and
only 400 out of 1900 we're left, there
was much weeping by the relatives Of
the ones who died here. I trust such
will never be the fate Of any of Jul
boys.
At last accounts there was some
fighting at Manila; as Manila is As
hours by dispatch boat, from here, we
don't know what is occurring there.
MARCH, II.
An interruption was made in my
writing, yesterday, by the call to arms.
From the tower could be seen large
numbers of the enemy moving toward
our left, our weakest point. The al
tillery and seven companies Of my
regiment were soon On the move TO
ward the enemy. W. Don learned
that they made a bluff to draw our
forces in that direction, while the main
body of them moved around to our
right. We soon saw into their little
game, and moved around to the right,
and oon had them engaged.
The artillery remained in the rear,
while the infantry moved to within
300 yards of the enemy. Saell after
shell went screaming over our heade,
on their way to deal out death to the
insurgents. AS the artillery scattered
and put them on the run, the infantry