The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1899-07-28
THELITTLE FILIPINOS
Peculiarities of the People Under
Aguinaldo.
odd Experiences of Uncle SANS Sol
diers with the willy Natives of
Luzon-Their style of
Fighting.


This little black man who is causing
us the same kind of trouble that the
boy experiences with a hornets nest
cannot be understood in a day. When
captured he acts as if his lot had fallen
among old friends. He grins and points
beyond our slGrmishers, seeming. to
think that the aspect of his fleeing coun-
trymen is a huge joke. The next min
ute, but give him the chance, he is likely
to send bullet into an Americans
back. For such an ofPense Maj. Gen.
Anderson once had Filipino strung
up to a tree on the spot, this being the
only American military execution thus
far recorded in the Philippines.
A giant private of the Montanas chose
a different method. When he was fred
on at a distance of about ten yards and
missed, he caught his enemy, took his
gun away from him and then laid him
across his knees. After he had vigor-
ously applied piece of bamboo he
seized the enemy by the seat of the
trousers and threw him toward the
rear.
"There!" he said Don't you let me
catch you playing with firearms again"
The little black mans confidence in
the European rife has waned. In the
beginning he thought that he had only
to discharge his mauser at white man
and the white man was dead. This led
to the firing from the houses and the
reckless chances which the Filipinos
q ~ II. ~s
great. Now they apparently are good"
after they are captured, and they do
not fire from houses. Most of whatever
their leaders know of military practice
they have learned from the Spaniards.
They are as facile in imitation as the
Chinese. Their buglers now do our calls
as well as their own. By watching us
they found out that they have been
firing too high, and now they are try
ing to fire low. They succeed until the
volleys from our skirmish line begin to
pour in. Then they cringe too much in
their trenches to aim on a level. Their
trenches (of the Spanish type) are built
under cover, at strategic points, which
admit of easy defense and retreat, with
the smallest possible exposure, once the
Americans advance. On a wall above
the line of one insurgent trench were
16 abrasures by bullets in space two
feet by one.
Such music as was played there is
disconcerting. The little black man will
not remain to hear it after our men are
within 200 yards. At running he is
easily the Americans superior. His
bare feet never get sore. He has no
clothing to impede his progress except
cotton shirt and trousers. He knows
the bypaths and the fords of the
streams. But he feels that it is very un-
fair of us to make him retreat. We are
not practicing warfare as he un-
derstands it at all. What is the use of
rifles that will shoot $500 yards if you
are going to try to catch the enemy with
your hands?
Aguinaldo's officers are highly in
censed about our artillery, it is said. If
they have no guns we ought to use
none, and if they have three or four or
five, we ought to use only three or four
or five, as the case may be. What has
happened, however, was to have been
expected after we refused to fire back
and forth between trenches in the
moonlight, which is the only kind and
generous method of making war in the
tropics.
In the march to Malolos our men
marched and fought all day under the
beating sun, slept on the ground, swan
rivers and did everything which it was
supposed by the natives that white men
could not do. They thought that we
would not attempt to drive them out
Of more than one of the intrench-
ments at time, and then rest at least
week after each effort A prisoner ex-
planned his feelings by saying:
"Thr-r-r-r-t!" and making a rapid
movement with his hands.-Frederick
Palmer, In Golfers Weekly.