Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1899-09-06
FILIPINO FIdn-iNd METHODS.
Why Our Soldiers Succeed In Capturing SO
Few Prisoners,


Pew Prisoners.
4 correspondent Of the New York
Evening Post who is soldier with. the
Eighth Brigade; how fighting Asuinal.
do in the Philippines; writes as' fol-
lows: ..,
When the situation is understood IT
will be seen that there has been but
little opportunity to take prisoners,
since IN nearly every encounter all un'
injured Filippfsh7s baye been able to
escape. We have not been able to cor
ner them and compel surrender at
any time, except in few isolated
cases. The largest number captured
at any one time was 374, sent IN Dy
the Washington regiment from Pasig
at the time Wheaton's flying column
swept through that region. These men
had no arms wien captured, and
claimed to be "amigos;" but their iden.
tity as soldiers was fully: established
by, the fact that they promptly fell IN
to line when ordered to do SO, the,n NON
commissioned officers in the. rear. They
/ We're sent to Manila and were subse-
quently released. Comparatively few
even of the wounded or dead. OF Tie,
enemy have fallen into our hanos, ow-
ing to- their custoGl Of carrying them
from the field as soon ds hit, their
work in this respect being even oe''er
than ouir. own. because their army IS
bettef Organized for that purpose.
The FillpinoS have not enough rifles
to arm the 10000 or mora men OF 'heir
rolls, and SO with each body fine'
men there goes body of ibo' mef:
The bolois,the genuine native 7feapon'
q long, wide-bladed knife, tapering to
a point and ground sharp on the edge.
It is carried in q leather or wooden
sheath at the side The natives are
quite. Skilled III It's use, and In hand
to.hand conflict or iii 4 street riot could
do much execution with5if. They orig,
inally expected these bolo men wouie
slaughter the Americans by the thou
sands, but in fact there have been out
few opportunities for them even to at
tempt the use of this ugly weapon.
They have too wholesome & fear Of
coming into close quarters with the
American soldiers, since their sad ex'
perience of the attack upon Manila,
To render. the, bolo a. practicable
weapoti III this war. h, However, use
less as these bolo meh ere for offensive
purposes, they are always on nand In
the trenches to carry the dead aud
wounded to the rear and to keep thefr
guns and ammunition fromffalling into
Sur hands. G,ri aE! $50;
As soon DIS d triah Is killed OF wound.
ed he is placed on bamboo litter, or
taken between two fh6n and carried at
once to the rear, while his gun and
cartridges are seized by a, bolo nant
who becomes at once transformed into
4 rifeman In this way Il regiment OF
a thousand t1iet1 With 'fusils" and 400
with bolos can keep a thousand rifles
in,action all the time, even after two or
three hundred men have been bit. TINS
accounts for the comparatively few
rifles we have captured and the really
small number Of wounded and dead
that full during the last minutes of o
fight. when the enemy is hastily fleeing
to places Of safety or to trenches far
ther back, IRE left, and ! have seen
] fleeing men stop and rush: back, to
j grasp the guns of men, who fell in these
headlong flights. and carry them away
in safety. 1t is easily seen. that but
few prisoners can be capture1' under
4 such circumstances, the enemy almost
Invariably desertihg their trenches be-
fore 6uf lines reich them, However
occasionally small groups have been
!. surprised and captured, and | have
never heard of a case OF this kind Kin
!: where the natives were killed i thes
offered to surrender. s..