The evening times., 1900-03-17


about as much.
II was discouraging 10 the major. after
he had carefully drilled his chorus and in
formed them who We were and whence We
came, TO have one of them point at him
as he walked away aud say I'm a bfeIthless
tone TO the other Igorr0tes about him,
"Aguinaldo.' Major March eApl5inei that
he was not Aguinaldo. but il did no good.
Only few had any clear IDEA OF who OF
what Aguiu3ldO was. and Mai r March
came as near realizing their ideal as any
body, So Jhey AT once applied Co him that
name
There was not much 20 eat in Bagnau.
The chief. and. in fact, about the olly. food
of the people seemed TO be a species OF
sweet potato. which was not sWest in spite
Of It's name but which the soldiers eagerly
bought as a welcome change from the ever
lasting rice.
The men made camp fires and crowded
about. for the evening was decidedly cool.
The IEOrrotes SAT stolidly huddled up IN
their blankets in the middle of the road
and everywhere else they could get that
was directly in the road. 10 was impos-
sible to step without walking over an
Igorrote. The soldiers wUuld scowI az
them 90 move out Of the way, but they
merely looked stupidity ahead and contin-
ucd 20 squat where they were.
Finally the eN8sperated soldiery. having
exhausted a vocabulary OF expletives thar
would have made an old and hardened
army mule fall on his knees iU repen aaee
and tears spoke no more TO the IgOrrOtc
brethren. If they wanted one 20 get Our
or the road they simply pushed him over
and rolled him down the trail, II they
wanted one to 90 20 the spring after water
they merely put a canteen in his hands.
pulled him 10 his feet turned his face to-
ward the spring and gave him kick The
momentum usually suffced 10 carry the
lgorrote TO the water and the alluriug
glare OF the camp fire brought him back. II
he forgot To get the water. two soldiers
would kick him al once and the increased
stock oi energy was generally sufficient 20
carry him 10 the spring and enable him 10
nm the canteeu before he ran down.
Major March and his officers took pos
session Of little building which the Span
ish friars had erected and used as mis-
sion and schoolhouse. There were great
cracks on the floor and the cold mountain
wind sw0oued into the room with roar.
70 was as cold as the lake winds in winter.
We tried 20 sleep. but the floor vas the
hardest ] had ever slept on. The wind
hovIed and shrieked and 30 was so cold
thar we would wake every now and then
with our teeth chaJteriug and our feet
and hands fairly numb.
Added to the cold were some 800 dis
firct and separate smells peculiar 10 Igor
rote towns Each different wind as 10
vhisrIed up through the hoies IN the floor
was laden with new and more appalling
smell We took the blankets from our
shiv,riug bodies and wrapped them about
our heads TO keep out the lsorrot1 Sdors
but those vigorous and perniciously active
smells would have gone through a brick
wall. aud all We could do was 20 Try TO
sleep
Many Of the soldiers. especially those
who had no blankets. sat all night CrOWded
around their camp fires. where the CbcCry
blaze and the fresh smell Of burning pine
kept away both the cold and the smells.
or course. they have their troubles. too
They would send Igorrotes after fresh wood
for the irc and the Igorrotes would never
come back They would simply move over
and squat down by the side of another FIRE
When The soldiers i'm despair would 20
themselves after the wood they would find
when they came back a dozen Igorrotes
their blankets over their heads sitting
like wooden images about the cheerful
blaze. and some of them fairly sitting on
top OF the glowing embers. The soldiers
would sadly turn the simple natives on
their sides and roll them down hill but
soon they would be back again.
We slept as long as We could in the mis-
sion house. and then. one by one during
the nigh we would steal out and sit for
a while at fire and then 20 back and
try TO sleep again.
Toward morning the soldiers began cook
ing breakfast Sergeant Major MacDougal
was at work boiling potatoes on a fireplace
in native shack. The fireplace was like
a big table covered with earth. on which
three or four fires could be made Never
was a more p>thetic figure seen than that
same Sergeant Major MacDOugaI as he
tended the fires with one hand and be-
labored the IgorrOtes who were squatting
on top of the table. with the other They
were not content to stand on the floor
as the soldiers did. They mounted the ia
bic itself and sat almost in the fire Not
one stick Of wood did they bring. nor did
they even offer to help put fresh fuel on
like frogs. and whenever the sergeant ma
ior would turn his back they would COM
pletely encircle the fires.
When the sergeant major returned with
new supply Of wood and fresh lot OF
invectives they would merely 1i nix 81 him
reproachfully.
We waited in the morning for the return
Of the two Igorrote runners whom Major
March had sent over to Bontoc the night
before. !hey leti az CLOCK al night and
returned before the next morning. hav-
ing covered the fourteen miles OF noun
/ tain trail to BOntoc and return in that
time Besides that they discovered tha,
| AguinaldO had left Bohtoc and taken a
i trail to the south and that further pur-
/ suit by our coldmn would be useless. TC
/ prove the truth OF their statements they
B brought notes written in Spanish by Span
/ ish prisoners in BOntOc and also by insur.
/ gent soldiers who offered to surrender il
/ our command would come to Bontoc
These two runners proved that there wa.
! some good in the Igorrotes after all. anC
the major paid them $50 Mexican apiec,
readily enough.
Besides the long journey the runners "a,
made they had fairly carried their live,
I in their hands as they were at the con
slant risk Of being killed by Tagal sym
pathizers. even If they were not discOvere,
/ by insurgent soldiers themselves.
So the major decided TO return TO Ger
vantes. We tried 10 hire the same cara
deros" we had brought from Cayen Il
carry our troops on the return. We sup
| posed they would be glad OF the opp0rtu