The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1900-07-08
KILLING TEN TO ONE IN LUz0N
A SAVANNAH SOLDIERS DEsCRIP-
TIoN OF PHILIPPINE WARFARE.

Gives Account of Two Excur-
sions in which His Regiment Par
ticlpated The Reports simply
show the Sort of Guerilla Warfare
which stu Continues in the
Islands Filipinos Dug Bamboo
Pits for soIdiers-Over 200 of the
Brown Men Killed on One Expe-
dition.
Mr.. John ]. Cannon of this city received
few days ago a letter from his brother.
Private Joseph H. Cannon, of the Forty
seventh United States Infantry. now in
the Philippines. The letter was written
from Legaspi. several weeks ago. Besides
giving Information of personal interest to
his relatives here. Private Cannon gives
some account of the fighting in which the
troops of his regiment had been recently
engaged
Like former letters received from Pri-
vate Cannon and other soldiers in the
Philippines, this letter shows that the same
old bushwhacking tactics are being con-
tinued In the Philippines aud that while
the Americans are killing ten Filipihos 20
ono American, the Filipinos seem to be
able to stand the ratio. The fighting re-
ported occurred during February and
March. This is rather ancient news, but
1t is OF interest as showing the conditions
under which the Americans are doing their
work in the Philippines. Private Cannon
writes in part as follows:
I'm scouting from Albay to Daraga,
some thirty-five or forty shots were fired
at us, and the firing was kept up until
the outposts from Daraga and troops from
Albay came up and charged across a rice
paddy and drove them into the noun
tains. We had general scout of six COM
panies on the morning of the 9th, and went
out from Legaspi with three companies at
$50 a. m.-probably a thousand insurrec-
tors were seen during the morning and
number of Shots exchanged at long
range, but only at one point did they make
any stand. AT this point a lieutenant, with
one platoon of Company l., advanced upon
them across a wide and very muddy rice
paddy, on the other side of which they
had a well-constructed trench. Our ad-
vance was necessarily slow on account of
the mud, but we held their attention. In
the meantime two lieutenants, with the
other platoon. 1anlked the trench, and get
ting close up before being seen they kill
ed twenty-five, one of whom was an Off
GER. Having seen fires in both Daraga and
Albay in the early morning. and those
companies not having come out, we march
ed to those places and found they had
both been attacked the night previous by
men armed with both bolos and guns. At
Albay when we reached there, forty-four
| Filipinos had been collected to be buried
| in a trench they were digging.
THE colonel of the Fortieth Regiment
| her wi a
| his regiment, they were stationed at Da-
| raga and Albay; and the colonel having
| called in all the companies. we took the
ship he had come in, which lay idle in the
| har Dor and was a government transport,
10. led four companies and two pieces of
artillery, and at 10 p. m, Feb. 8. we sail
| ed for Tabaco. We landed the next morn
ing at O'Clock. all except the artillery.
The enemy opened fire on US just before
| the small boats reached the beach, but
without killing any of the troops. They
were driven out of their trenches on the
| left side of the town by our line ad-
vancing one-half at time across a rice
| field, without any loss to either side
far as known. A captain with his COM
pany, who was protecting our right flank.
charged a trench back of town, killing
six; another captain killed four more
after we had possession of the town on
! the road to the extreme right. A com
pany was then sent out to the left under
a lieutenant, and with another lieutenant.
surprised number in the trenches on the
road to Legaspi, killing between them
twenty-five, one an officer.
| THE insurrectoS had determined to burn
| Ts baeo, but our coming was surprise to
them, as they expected US overland. They
set fire to about twenty houses but we
succeeded In extinguishing the flames In
all the houses of any Importance except
\ fi-E1 p,rs -,
charge of large hemp interests, said that
| they had been carting away furniture for
two weeks, and that had we delayed much
longer the town would surely have been
burnt.
"On March IT, we left with all available
men from Legaspi. Albay and Daraga,
about 40 men, and one section of artil-
lery. We had for transportation one
fcur-mule army wagon, one ambulance an
imProvised four-pony wagon and some
old carromatas.
The troops from Legaspi marched at
a. M, March Il, 1900 the troops from AL
| bay and Daraga joining as the command
passed. except one company of the For
tieth Regiment Infantry, U. S. A, which
was ordered to occupy Malabog in the
early morning and hold it. From
this time until we took Guinoba-
tan, distance Of probably seven miles.
we had almost constant firing from parties
IN the hills: and in the woods this side
of Camakg, an earth trench or barricade
mad been built across the road at the en-
trance to the woods, two earth and henp
barricades had been put in where the
hemp ones were when we first took CANA
iig-the wings had been extended fifty or
sixty yards on each side of the road-the.
brush and underground had been cut down
and the place arranged in front with nit
falls, with sharpened bamboo upright in
them and the surface carefully conceal
ed. A corporal OF Company l. Fortv-
seventh Infantry, United States Volun-
teers, fell into one of these pitfalls and
was severely wounded-the bamboo pass
ed entirely through his hand and cloth
ing and obliQuely into his belly, penetrat-
ing at the naval making a wound three
inches long-another bamboo penetrated
his back
AT Camalig, about fifty rifemen fired
on the command while resting in the
churchyard, shots striking everywhere
among the men-some hitting the church
and some cutting off limbs from the trees
In front, but no one was hit. and the fire
was stopped by volleys from our men
from the opposite side Of the town and
from a 3-inch gun.
From there to Guinobatan the firing
was almost constant. but we were not
forced TO deploy, and only stopped a COM
pany now and then to fire a few volleys
whom fire.