The Portland daily press., 1899-06-16
CAMPAIGNING IN LUzoN.


Tribune.
Army service In the Philippines, though
performed under conditions akin to those
met by our forces last year IN Cuba.
differs therefrom In certain PARTICULARS
that may be called local. 10 begin with,
comparison Of the terrain, always an
important factor In any military under
taking. is, so far as we may yet deter
mine, In favor CT those islands. The
operations Of our troops have been CON
fined to a section little out up by ravines,
and with only gentle elevations
Along the sea coast. or bay shore, nota-
bly, near Malabon, some swampy ground
exists, and the immediate vicinity Of
Laguna de Bay is also low. and inarshy.
But once back In the interior the soil is
of a sandy appearance, with an occasional
outeropping Of a CLOSE, gray, shaie-llke
rock, though believe the rock Is OF vol
canic origin. 1t is this underlying rock
bed that makes rice cultivation on the up
lands practicable, as 1t forms hard pan
to hold the surface water, and, as it lies
near the surface of the ieround. its effect
is to turn the fields into lakes when the
rainy season is on. The soil, though ap-
pearing sandy, is, however, of clay. and
when wet very liks the "gumbo" of the
Western States. Any one who has
marched or hunted over 'gumbo coun-
try" will recall that stiff, waxy mud That
the shoe gathered and that would not be
shaken of, rendering the march or tramp
almost doubly wearisome. There are
many thickets of bamboo that tears with
its keen curved thorns, but they aresof
limited extent and may with care be
worked through, especially when men
are excited
PLENTY OF OPEN GROUND.
In marked contrast TO the jungle around
Daiquiri, that seemed everywhere and
unending, is the amount Of open ground
here prevailing. The open places are de-
voted to rice, with occasional banana OF
pineapple gardens near the villages, and,
since the ground is seldom other than
sIoping, the surface is checkered with in
Vulnerable ridges from one to three feet
in height, everywhere winding and cross
ing. as the builders have. with wonderful
skill and immense labor, converted acres
aud acres of hillside and valley In to
dom of greater width than fifty yards,
with cross ridges at frequent intervals,
the whole making q movement over q
ricefleld one of the most leg weary ing
things imaginable. The height of the
ridges is such that an extra effort has al
ways to be made to carry the foot clear
of the obstruction. A night march over
such ground Is positively dangerous.
In the advanos on the insurgents
trenches near Las Iona Church, on
March 25, ricefleld some 1,2U0 yards
across was passed over by the troops.
The advance was made under fire, and
beginning in the gray of early morning,
occupied about twenty minutes. Over
those ridges man after man stumbled and
fell sprawling. only to rise and GU down
again few yards further on. Men UNI
der fire invariably grumble, and thsir
propensity to swear under such conditions
is we'll known. That mornings advance
was no exception to the traditions Of
lighting. And when, as slope bit
sleeper than ordinary was reached, the
ridges were SO near together that 1t
seemed at times as II half the company
was down.
HELPING OUT THE DRILL REGULA-
TIONS.
The drill regulations prescribe that a
certain portion of an advance should be
made Shy rushes from cover to cover, "
and these,ridges work out that idea to
perfection when going over level or
down hill, but are exaspsrating to a man
who wishes TO fire when the slope is ups
ward. Ezbeoause the upper-lying ridges
mask the crest somewhat from the lower
levels.
In Cuba we rarely found good road,
and it was seldom that even poor ones
existed; but.here. radiating from Manila,
are many broad, well-metalled communi-
cations. Some, indeed, lthat. pass through
low ground are built on the .extrayagant
but enduring Roman plan; large blocks
of stone, well fitted together and laid on
good foundation. AS the traffic has
| never been heavy. two wheeled bull carts
being the only heavy vehicles on the Is.
land. the surface of the roads Ia but little
worn. and troops and teams, even in
heavy weather, make good progress. The
country roads socn wear down to the tbed
rock and always give fair marching.
The Spanish seem to be race of build
ers Of sunken roads. At FL Caney the
Fourth marched up road sunk some
feet below the surrounding country, and
| from Manila northeast to San Francisco
dol Monte Is a rUad that was built by th Q
Spaniards in 1925. In places 1t is twenty
feet deep, and for nearly the whole dis
tance Its depth is such that completes cover
Is given by its banks to a marching col
umn. But its sides being vertical and OF
rock worn smooth by the heavy tropical
rains, it Is little used by our troops.
We have seen and known something OF
Apache canyons, andlthis war Is, in many
particulars, not unlike campaign in
Arizona. Apaches seldom, if ever, made
a stand-up fight; and these Hilipinos evil
IDENTIFY prefer intrenohen positions to the
open field. In nearly every engagement
our men have found them occupying
trenches. and have had to advance over
open ground. Only in two instances have
they fought in the open. Near Apolitl d
portion Of General MacArthur's division
did, indeed, find the insurgents in fair
field and deployed in modern formation
of three lines, but their attempt at attack
was faint.hearted. and they soon fell back
to the cover of their trenches.
s-KTAdALoG FIGHTING WAYS.
A striking thing is:their almost. uni