The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1902-05-01
THE NATIONAL TRIBUNE: WASHINGTON THURSDAY, MAY 1902

a chance to cut Spanish throat, rs. per
hnps, many of them would now like TO
Gu: an American. The district is densely
populated. rs we had noticed the night
before There was q continuous success
sion of huts and small fields and yards,
each apparently growing enough to sup
port the family.
Pasig itself was q city OF 10000 peo-
pie. its streets rambling in an irregular
way and. as usual. fenced in on both
sides by bamboo palings. In the center
of the town were some wooden buildings.
including n few stores. market place
and the Administration Building. The
chief structure here, as il is in every Fill
Pine town. was the large stone church.
surrounded 10y a cement wall. As looked
at il | little dreamed that n few months
later | should spend the better part of
two days firing vOlleyS at ii with my
company in a vain effort to disl0dge sharp
shooters from its tower. nor that the day
following / should he able to pick up
Springfield bullets by The handful that had
fattened against its sides; but so it was.
WE START BACK.
About 10 o'clock. with the population OF
the town assembled in Il dense crowd TO
bid us good-by, we crossed the ferry and
started on our return journey. having
learned n great deal that was of practical
exact nature of the roads and the open
country between the bay and Pasig River
outside the Spanish lines, but what was
Of more importance, to my mind, we had
learned that the FiIipinos were making
no impression on the Spanish defense of
the city, and alone would not be able to
capture it in n thousand years. We had
discovered how utterly unSoldcrly they
were, and how their methods of fighting
were of no value whatever in offensive
work; that the Spaniards were holding a
strong defense line well beyond the city
limits in force, with plenty of field guns,
and that it was utterly impossible for an
enemy like the FiipinOs, who would not
expose themselves in an assault, to force
this line at any point. 1t was quite clear
to us that Manila would remain uncap-
tured until the Americans were ready to
take it.
Our delay in getting started made it 3
o'clock in the afternoon when we reached
the bay shore at Paranaque again. Here
we had an illustration of the 'manana
habit of the Filpinos, the spirit of no
hurry. Arevalo learned that Aguinaldo
had that day shifted his headquarters
from Cavite to Bal,ur, on the mainland
about 10 miles south Of Paranaque and
had sent orders for him to 90 there al
once. So he bade us a hasty adieu and
departed. This threw us upon our own
resources for getting boatmen to carry us
back to Cavite. Il distance of about five
miles. by water. Our Spanish was ex
tremely limited. Indeed. we did not ever
know the name for boat. and it took us
two mortal hours to get our wants fully
comprehended and acted upon. at least an
hour being consumed in getting action
after comprehension.
/ think it was too hot to please the
bOatmen until after . o'clock. AT al
events. we got started at that hour in
banca having two Oarsmen. making q
load of six persons in a shallow dugout
about two feet wide and fifteen long. This
cranky craft was prevented from turning
| turtle by Outriggers. These are bamboo
poles about the length Of the boat anC
| living parallel to it some six feet beyond
the gunwale. to which they are attached
| by other crosS-pieces. This gives the boat
balance in the water and prevents i
from capsizing. It was MI that saved
our lives, as it turned out.
| The outrigger is an Indispensable mart
of every banca that navigates anything
except the still inland rivers and sloughs
1t enables the dugouts to carry a little
| sail. Without the Outrigger the banca is as
cranky as n birch bark canoe, and only
an expert has any business to get into
one; vet | have seen long canoes by the
dozens in the Pasg and other rivers load
ed down to the guards with grass anG
crooks Of rice and oil. and have never
seen one of them swamped by a native
| bOatman.
When we nut out from Paranaque il
was bright and sunny, but a dark raiT
cloud was driving in from the ocean from
the direction of Corregidor Island. anC
we knew we We're in for it before We
could reach Cavite.
| AFLoAT IN A TYPHOON.