The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1899-10-13

NglySaXIIA now may be
mNTaMMN@ pieced together
lIIThY from the state
ments of wit
nesses and participants. odd dispatches
and accounts, the details of the de-
Tense of Baiel-Baler. in Luzon.
On the I'd of September there was a
banquet and reception at Barcelona in
honor of 80 returning braves who had
held up the flag of Spain in the center
of the islarX for over a year. This
vas the last scene in the drama and
came upon the heels of the trial Of To-
raj and other generals for cowardice
in hastily surrendering Santiago. An
other scene was the ovation given in
Manila by S%paniards and Americans
alike to the troop Of barefooted boys
whom the insurgents, out of sheer adj
miration for bravery, had permitted to
march out from their bristling citadel
with the honors of war after a year Of
defense. Which had reduced the garri-
son from 55 to 81 men.
1t was two months after the victory
of Dewey over the Spanish navy and
while our w troops We're nearing the
Philippines to capture the cities and
towns that the insurgents in the Prin-
cipe province. in eastern Luzon. hoisted
the flag of defiance to Spain. There
were only 55 of the kings soldiers in
the province. They constituted a COM
pany under the lead of Captain Mo-
renas and four l%ieutenants. The only
%defensible building in the town is a
stone and brick church, and this Cap
tain Morenas converted into a fortress,
making it ready for a long siege. A
| Spanish flag was hoisted on the belfry,
and stores of rice and wood were laid
in. the wells and cisterns filed and
rain barrels placed to catch water from
the roof. Evidently the plucky officers
had q presentiment of the fate in store.
which was to be 337 days Of patient
waiting, arms in hand, i~nterspersed
with campaigns Of assault and Of gal
liant sorties for relief.
1t was well for Captain Morenas that
he acted with more than the usual
Spanish energy, not waiting the con-
%venient tomorrow. tomorrow" Of his
c%ountrymen, for just three days after
he barred the doors Of the church q
force of 500 of Aguinaldo's troops. un-
der General Ardez, marched upon
Baler. The first act was q bold de-
mand for the surrender Of the church,
and when that was refused the Fill
pinos tried to carry the citadel by
storm. The result was like that of
Santa Annals Mexican hordes assault
ing the Alamo, defended by the rifles
of the Texans under Travis, Crockett
and Bowie. The belfry, the windows
and the walls Of the church served as
coigns of vantage for the few riflemen,
and they were better marksmen than
the average Spaniard Of '9S. Aguinal-
dos men oon beat a retreat, leaving
dead and wounded behind them.
A siege was then begun in the hope
Of firing the S%paniards ont by frequent
attacks In superior force. Early in
August, the fifth week Of the siege, the
enemy made another attack on the
south side of the church. at the same
time attempting to scale the walls on
the north. Scaling ladders were brought
up. and the nimble natives began to
climb to the windows, 20 feet from
the ground. The cooks quarters were
on that side. and as there happened to
be plenty Of boiling water in the kettle
the assailants were deluged with it
and sent tumbling and bowling to the
ground. The cook then rallied some
soldiers and the ladders were thrown
down. The attack failed on both sides,
and the insurgents took refuge in
trenches. e
After wasting five weeks In vain eff
forts to wear out the garrison the enc
my sent three priests into the church
to prevail upon Captain Morenas to
surrender. The priests, however, join
ed fortunes with the Spaniards. nurs-
ing the wounded and even standing
as sentries to ward off surprise. On
Oct. 10 a new general came to the field,
bringing fresh troops and three cannon.
Demand for surrender was again
spurned, and the cannon opened for
the purpose Of razing the church. as
had been threatened in the demand
for surrender. One shell entered the
citadel, severely wounding the surgeon.
During the fight Lieutenant Martin,
second in command to Morenas, was
hit by bullets while he directed the
rifemen. Several insurgents were kill
ed around the guns. one of the cannon
burst and the affair ended in a general
stampede. The new general gave up
the task, turning the command over to
q colonel.
Two weeks after the attack with can.
non Captain Morenas died, as one ac-
count states, of fever. 1t is said also
that he was shot by Lieutenant Mar.
tin for attempting to surrender. Mar
tin was sick at the time with his
wounds and a fever. Lieutenant Zayas
took command meanwhile. but only
lived a month. Soldiers were dying OF
wounds and fever. Although a great
sufferer himself. Lieutenant Martin as
sumed command and quickly planned
relief. The church lacked ventilation
and the dead We're buried in the aisles