The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1901-02-18
GENERAL HALLS EXPEDITION
ACCOUNT OF A FEARFUL MARCH By
ONE OF THE PARTICIPANTS.
Capt. George w. Biegler Commended
by General Bates for Gall
Iantry in Action.

letter TO his friend Worth Merritt. of this
city. Lieutenant Thayer formerly resided
in Evansville, Ind, and attended De PAW
University, Greencastle. for two years.
Lieutenant Thayers letter, which was
written at Laoag, Ilocos Norte, Philippine
islands. Nov. %. 1900. reads in part as fol-
lows:
Matters have been reasonably quiet up
here most of the time since April. In Au-
there were strong indications of an upris-
ing such as We had in April. By active,
lively work on the part Of troops in the
way OF patrols and a little good fortune IN
the capture of papers belonging to insur
rectos enabling to fix upon many of the
leaders, we were able TO keep down the up
rising or to cause it's postponement. Many
of the officers would like to have seen the
inSurrectos concentrate and fight. l am
with the minority that believes in showing
such force as to prevent lighting and to
cause the enemy to scatter. About the
town of Badoc. In the lower part of the
province, there were several fights IN Sep
TENDER. In fact. for a time of about two
weeks every detachment thatwent along the
main road was attacked. General Tininos
lair was located and a force sent against
1t, causing his flight. Since then the road
has been reasonably clear and there have
been nc attacks in that section. About the
first of this month the little town of pasu-
quln, ten miles north of here, was attacked
by large force early in the morning,
about z o'clock. A detachment OF about
thirty men was there, under a sergeant.
The attack lasted about two hours, the
sergeant finally sending out a small patrol
to run off the stragglers Only one man of
our detachment was hurt, and he not Sc
riouSly. The enemy left seven dead and
five rifles. The latter is the biggest cap
ture of arms that has been made up here
in long time. Generally there are enough
bolo men around TO pick up all guns be-
longing to wounded and killed. This time,
doubtless because of the darkness, the
rifles were not seen and consequently were
not carried off by the bolo men.
MEN WAYLAID.
zone morning about the end of October
four men coming in from vintar, three and
half miles out from here, were waylaid
and fired upon where the road runs through
the hills, at distance of only two miles
from here. Troops were hurried out and
secured the country but could not find a
single man with a gun. 1t looked just be-
fore election as though we were going to
have trouble, but now things appear peace
full a graveyard. 1t may be the quiet
before the storm. We never can tell. We
have always TO be on our guard: Our gar
risons here are small, generally only
company or a part of company In
town, at the most hundred men In the
center of a population of fifteen or twenty
thousand people. The troop at Dingras,
with about one hundred men, is in the CEN
ter of a population of nearly $1,000 people,
and six miles from the nearest detachment
ten miles from this place, headquarters.
spent seven months out there and feel
have grown at least five years older.
"Up 10 within a very short time ago We
We're dreadfully handicapped, because we
could not get proof against men who were
crimes. Without practically absolute proofs
we could do nothing, because court must
find by the evidence. The officials In the
| towns have, most of them, assisted the in
| surrectos with information and have pro-
| tected them by neglecting to give us infor-
|! nation. We are almost at their mercy be-
| cause we do not know the language of the
| country and cannot understand them when
! they talk and the common people cannot
| understand us when we talk. Even those
| terpreter the greater part of the time, be-
| cause only small part of the natives know
| or understand Spanish The interpreters
| play us false and We cannot detect 1t.
1.-THE common 'hombre' is, / believe, a
| man easily handled and managed when he
| is under good officials. But Nthe authority
must be present in order TO be effective. II,
| for instance there is a body of our SOL
! diers in town the people of the town will
| be quiet, but just outside the line OF our
guards single 'hombre coming into a set
| Element or barrio with gun can turn out
| all the men in the place and can make them
do anything.
OLD FEUDAL SYSTEM.
1.-The system of government here is the
| old feudal system This country is in the
| same state that Europe was five hundred
| years ago. The common people are practi-
| cally slaves. Each town is divided into dis
| tricts called barrios, but by the people in
| Ilocano county they are known cabe-
| cerias or barangays. Each barrio has it's
| chief or cabeza. These were appointed, not
/ elected. The cabeZa turns out the men of
| his barrio whenever they are needed All
| orders relating to the barrio went through
| the cabeza. He was head in name and in
| fact. There were good cabecerias and bad
cabecerias. There were cabezas that were
/ good and cabezas that were bad. The ca
| beza received no pay. but the position has
| always been sought Why? Because the
| cabeza had a hundred men under his COM
| mand and control that would do his bid
| ding. If he needed cane or lumber for a
new house he ordered out his barrio to
/ bring IL in and build his house. If one of
| his ponies escaped he ordered some of his
| contribuyentes out to look for it, He was a
/ baron with his hundred or more followers.
| The gentry, as a rule. do not live in the
1 fields. They live In the towns. The fields are
| cultivated by tenants who are called in
/ quilinos.' The inquilinos plant on shares
/ and they receive their wages in kind and
not in money. An inquilino is slave in all
| but name. III the master wants any work
| done II Is done by his inquilino, almost in
| variably without pay, except the work done
| in the fields. from which the inqulino
| draws his fixed share
1.-THE taxes of the country were raised
principally from the common people. Each
| man between eighteen and sixty had to pay
two pesos a year for his cedula or paper
/ of registration. This was known as the per-
| sonal contribution. The cedulas were
| graded. depending upon the occupation of
| the person. Shop1eepers and others had to
| pay more for their ceduias than the labor
| ing class but the difference was always in
| favor of the landed gentry against the COM
mon people and against the commercial
| people. OF the latter there were very few.
THE AMERICAN IDEA.
This was the system of government
under the Spaniards and was the system
| OF government desired by the insurrectos.
| the only difference being that in the Fill
pino Republic the Offices were to be held
| by Filipinos. We have come in. Our ideas
| are that each man shall have his say In
| the government that the man with the
most property greatest income shall nav
! the most taxes. Our ideas are towards the
| elevation of all the people and not of n
| class. Our ideas run counter TO the pres
Ont well-being and prosperity of the upper
| classes and we have the enmity of all those
| OF the upper classes that are not inbred
with ideas of Improvement OF the country
and OF the people IN general. In this sec
| ton OF the country We have found that
against Us and have 70 be watched all the
| time They are treacher0us and will not
| tell the truth under any circumstances
! From the common people / for one do not
expect anything, because they know moth
| ing There may be a few men in the
| islands of superior education. but I have
yet TO encounter one OF them. Many in this
section went to school in Manila and grad
uated there. but their education was prac-
| tiea..y nothing. for they learned little or
nothing beyond the Spanish language. The