The National tribune., 1902-09-18
If with all their preparatiop. with their

did not make a single serious advance or
determined effort to enter the city. and
gave way at all points before the assaults
of the Americans the next day; if then.
at the very apex of their military potency
and confidence. they could not assume a
genuine offensive, how could they ever
be expected to do so at any other time?
In fact, they never did. Beyond a few
night attacks of minor nature, the way
| laying of detachmentS and the ambushing
of scouting parties, they have never as
sumed the offensive, and at no time have
they demonstrated the capacity for as
sembling and handling n large force Of
! fensively. They have neither the discip-
| line nor the cohesive power necessary for
offensive warfare against n vigorous and
active enemy. There was. then, no neces-
| sity for such strong defense of the city
and this remaining on the defensive for
| rcinf0rcementS, except as it was the result
of lack of preparation for the campaign
and an undue fear for the safety of the
city and an exaggerated opinion of the of
| fensive capabilities of the FilipinOs.
| The inability of the Filipino to make Il
determined assault or to stand up against
one is racial and instructive and is the
result of hcredity. For generations un-
known his ancestors were jungle fighters.
where surprise, stealth. treachery. and
ability to deliver blow and get away
unhurt were the qualifications of sue
ccs;ful warrior. He stole up behind his
victim and struck him with Il poisoned
dart from blowgun; he shot an arrow
| into him from some perch behind the
screen of leaves of large tree, or he
| laid in wait by n trail ard Slashed him
with knife or pierced him with Il spear
as he EaSscd. He built pitfalls for him
in the trails. with slIarpened stakes at the
bottom. Having delivered a secret,
trcacherOus blow, he made haste to get
away before. he could be discovered OF q
blow struck in return. No wonder. then.
| that the Filipino of to-day is not an Of
fcnSlve fighter nor "A sturdy taker of
blows on the defensive; that his tactics are
| those of small forays by night. of ambush
of small parties. of the quickly-delivered
blow and the hasty run for shelter: that
he cannot fight in large combinations, and
| that i'll the moment of peril, when he
should stand shoulder to shoulder with
his fellows, he seeks his individual safety
in fight. How different this from the
fighting customs and instincts the Ameri-
can has inherited from his Saxon. Jute.
Dane, Norman and Tcuton ancestors.
those sturdy and unyiedins givers and
takers of blows.
This instinct of hiding and delivering
blows from positions of safety fully ac-
count for the fact that, lazy and averse to
| work as he is. the Filipino will work a
/ great deal harder throwing up intrench-
| ments than the American. The American
soldier is satisfied with ''any old thing
in the way of intIcnchmcnts. any mound
of dirt that will stop n bullet. and he does
not care-to have it more than breast high.
for he wants to see over it to shoot. Not
so the Filipino. He wants it wide and
high, and is willing to do the work neces-
sary. The inSurgent trenches were monu-
ments to the industry and skill as well as
| Al. L ~
| Them as they did. One captured at Ma
labon by the Oregon regiment may be
taken as typical of the best of them. 1t
was eight feet high and 15 feet thick at
| the base, tapering towards the crest, being
proof against shells from our field pieces.
A dirt cover supported on bamboo mat
| ting and posts extended over the heads
of the defenders, thus protecting them
| from shells and shrapnel bursting over
head. About three feet below the top
the trench was pierced with portfolios.
made by laying blocks of stone in such
way as to make a little tunnel, through
which the guns could be thrust for firing
1t was a fort rather than breastwork.
As we advanced upon this formidable
defense, the Filipinos poured a storm of
bullets in our direction, but not into us.
Many of them came among US, as our list
of dead and wounded shows, but most of
them went wild and far over our heads.
Had marksmen been behind such defenses
not man of us would have lived to reach
them. The German Consul visited the
battlefield the next day, and when he saw
the captured trenches and the wide. open
field we had to cross to reach them. and
was told that they had been captured by
an assault of infantry without the aid of
artillery he expressed his astonishment,
and said it was impossible. When also
informed that it was volunteers and not
| regulars who had done the work, he was
still more surprised. as Il volunteer in the
European mind is a new recruit, unframed
and undisciplined, while these volunteers
had received practically the training and
discipline of regulars and had heard bull
lets whistle before. What made the feat
possible was the care the FilipinOs took
of their individual safety. They never
put their faces in front Of the portfolios
| to take aim. but standing to one side they
| thrust out the gun and pulled the trigger,
letting the bullet wander into space at its
own sweet will. Otherwise we would
have all been dead, as the Montana Cor
pOral said the FilipinOs would be if they
attempted to enter the city where his resi
ment was stationed.
One more feature of this battle around
Manila must mention because it is so lit
tie understood. We who We're fighting
with inferior weapons were much amused
by cartoons we saw in papers that came
over to us, picturing the American soldier
with a gatling gun and the Filipino soldier
with bow and arrow. This makes it
necessary to relate the sad story of the
poor IgarrOtes who came down to help
drive the Americans into the sea with ar
rows and spears. AguinaldO had sue
ceeded i'll making these people believe that
an army of barbarians had landed on the
island and was going to enslave all the
inhabitants unless driven away. He had
been careful not to let them know who
the Americans We're; how they We're arm
ed and how they fought. Indeed, about
the latter he did not know himself till
afterwards. The IgarrOtes. it must be
explained, are a primitive race of people
living in the mountains north of Manila,
and are believed to be descendants of some
Chinese pirates of several centuries ago,
intermingled with the NigitOs, or primi-
tive black race which inhabited LuZOn
Island before the Malays took possession
of it. They are small of stature, go al
most naked, and as weapons have bows,
arrows and spears. Thus arrayed for bat
tie, with their skin or wooden shields, they
reported to Aguinaldo about 500 strong
about u week before the trouble began.
saw a copy of the Heraldo de Revolution,
the insurgent paper, a day or two before
the outbreak. telling of the arrival of their
brave allies from the mountains, and that
Ell Prcsidente Aguinaldo would honor
them by giving them Il place in the fore
front of the BATTLE AS this was printed
Al L.