The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-09-03

at the first discharge, owing to its being
reduced in strength. In the insurgent
quarters there are men who will devote
hours in packing a bullet with paper so as
to make the ball fit the cartridge. In al
most every bag of ammunition captured
from the belt OF a native soldier dozen or
more of these wadded or paper packed
bullets are found in shells which were
originally too large. In the battle Of Ba-
lantang, near Iloilo, several hundred rebels
fired upon the advancing troops from the
trenches. and if they had been supplied
with the proper cartridges they might have
killed or wounded a hundred Americans,
for they were directly in front of them
without any protection whatever. But, as
afterward aseertained, many of the insur-
gents had only reflIed cartridges, and the
bullets from most of these passed over the
heads of the Americans without doing any
harm.
There are brass bullets in the possession
Of the enemy, but not in any great num-
Der. In lot Of several hundreds of rounds
OF ammunition there viii be found perhaps
one brass bullet. These brass bullets are
imported from other countries and they
are rs well made as they are disastrous
in their effects when they strike anyone.
A form OF bullet is made By the ingenious
natives from pieces Of iron, forged out and
adjusted into a shell. This makes one of
the crudest sort of manufactured bullets,
and is used only when the better forms of
ammunition are exhausted.
The rebels do not hit the American
soldiers very often, and they frequently
waste many hundreds of hounds CT lead
before they kill anyone. But they want
every man they H. to die. They doctor
bullets in all manner of ways. In one in
had IN
spiked piece through the ball. This piece
was wire nail. One rebel lad twenty OF
these spiked balls in his bag. Most of
them seem to carry their cartridges in a
bag. instead Of a belt as Americans do.
The insurgents age well aware of the
deadly effects of anything brass which
enters the body. Consequently they are
always studying means to shoot brass
metal into the American troops. Ore
curious specimen shown the writer recent
ly was a fairly good ball of hard wound.
be placed in a cartridge. and the natives
idea was that the wire would uncoil and
produce no end of trouble for the I'M
fortunate who received it into his body.
The native is now working with the chain
gang. AMI his bullet is exhibited as
curiosit:. 1t is reported that he said lie
spent two days shaping the BALL having
rtSSeu up quite an eldBOI1a mS-n1D-Gdl
device for performing the operation. He
said if he could kill an American with it
he would be happy.
Another dangerous form of bullet is
sometimes seen here. 1t is made b;
growing the ball and winding the groove
with spring wire. The end Of the wire is
soldered down, and when the ball leaves
the shell the wire breaks away and gees
tearing into the object it hits, making a
bad wound
The process of splitting bullets is So
easily accomplished that a great proper
ton of these used by the insurgents are
split into halves or quarters. These balls
cause much trouble to the surgeons, as
often the pieces break CT and are difficult
TO find Bullets have BEEN taken from the
rebels on which fine spiral groove has
been cut. This spiral arrangement is sup
posed to increase the disastrous effects OF
the ball and also TO make it keep in @
straighter line in the air. peculiar spec
linen of bullet is penetrated sectionally