The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-08-20

do business where II was. It was a ine
cooling rain. and no doubt the country wa,
much in need Of 1t, but the soldiers lyina
there without shelter of any kind could
have got along very well without It, n
was as wet rain as could well be imagined
and there was a persistency about 1t WORTHY
Of a very much better cause. But like All
good things It ended at last, and Just as tho
last drops fell on us we heard the dogs
begin to bark in Las Pihas. That meant
some sort of unusual commotion, and wa
sat up at once to listen, for 1t was probably
the insurgents getting ready to quit. surs
enough that was It. Not ten minutes after
the rain was over we heard the high, shrlll
unmistakable notes of the Filipino bugle,
calling their men together. For FIVE or ten
minutes the calls continued. and then all
was still. The dogs quit barking, and tn,
camp went to sleep again.
In the morning we went through Para.
hague and into Las Pifas without opposi.
ton. The insurgents were gone. The padre in
the old church told us that two thousand
OF them had retreated during the night.
marching through from Parahaque and thai
they had gone down the road to Bacoor,
We missed an opportunity to trap some Of
them by not going on to the road that
night, but the men had done all that they
could do In one day It was beyond ths
possible for us to undertake 1t, although thu
Colorados were anxious to try II. What
might have happened II the permission had
been granted no one can tell. 1t might
have led to a big fight We might have
surprised and cut off a large force, and
on the other hand our force might have
been surprised and cut on In a fght
In the dark. the advantage would lie with
the insurgents, who were familiar with
the country. II pressed too hard, they
could escape far more easily than our men
could get out of q trap, and there was
far less danger of their shooting into theia
own men than there was on our side.
We went to bed. such as It was, without
taps. but We got up with the old 70.
veille very soon after daylight, and It vas
not very long before we wero hiking foz
Las Pinas.
Parahaque, and tho country along the bay
as far south as Las Pifas was opened ND
again for business. There were q great
many Of the inhabitants of both towns and
Of the intervening country who stayed in
their houses and greeted the Americans
with all sorts of assurances that they were
glad we had come. In Las Pihas there was
a suspiciously large number Of sturdy
young men who protested to be the best
kind OF dmi0os 1t seemed as II every ono
OF them had gun II we only knew where
to look for 1t, but you might as well look
for the traditional needle as to undertake
to search the Filipinos who stay in our
lines. Besides. Gen. Lawton believes that
a contehptuous indifference to their acs
lions SO long as they are not found with
arms Is the best course, and he seems to
be pretty well borne out. So no attention
was paid to the amigos in Las Pifas, ex-
cept to question them to see what they
would say about the insurgents who had
run away. They told all sorts OF stories
on that subject, and gave all sorts Of esti-
mates of the numbers OF the instrgent
forces. The padre in the old church told
Gen. Lawton that they had marched
through the town In very good order, and
had shown no evidences of haste or de-
moralization. There were more than 1000
men in the army OF Cavite province. he
said, and they would make determined
stand at the Zapote River. That was the
scene Of their greatest success against tho
Spaniards in the first rebellion, and they
had wiped out a battalion Of Spanish troops
numbering 300 there, capturing every man
who was not killed. Their leaders had
encouraged the belief that their positions
there were impregnable, and the whole
army of the province had sworn on tho
crucifx to die on the field rather than
surrender or retreat.
Plainly, II they stuck to that heroic
vow, there was the making OF a verp pretty
fight at the Zapote. But 1t would not come
that day or probably the next. Our fel-
lows would want a little rest and some
chance to recuperate before they went
against such q proposition as that. Gen.
Lawton came in to report to Gen. Otis.
and things quieted down on the south linz
for awhile.
THE REBEL TRENCHES AT PARANAoUB.
That gave us a chance to examine the
work the insurgents had done in preparing to
defend Parahaque. They are master builds
ers. Their Spanish instructors were experts
at the art Of trench constructing Most Of
the insurgents have served In the Spanish
army. and they have proHted very much By
"a
Spanish service had been up to the engineers
in proficiency they could have made very
much harder fight for their beloved Espaha
than they did. It was curious. however. that
the very vigorous and oft-repeatd Smelling OF
these trenches by our warships should have
done so little damage. The old church In
Parahaque looked like a sieve. Some chap
who had the patience and the curiosity to
count the hits found that there were ITO OF
them, some made by the big ten-inch guns
OF the Monadnock. One of the monitors
big shells had hit the corner of the bell
tower and knocked a chunk out Of 1t that
pretty nearly let the whole thing down. Bus
along the trenches there was little sign OF
damage. It might have been that repairs
were always made, but 1t seems more likely
that no great damage was done, for the rea-
son that the navy Is not supplied with the
proper ammunition for that sort of work. The