The National tribune., 1903-08-13


last few weeks of the rainy season de
tracted nothing from the average rainfall
of the year. 1t was utterly impossible t,
keep dry while on duty. The heavy show
ers penetrated the thin ponchos issued b,
the Quartermaster, and he was indeed ;
fortunate fellow whose gun was free from
rust. Unfavorable weather was not TIL
only obstacle with which we had to con
tend The Insurgent army had committe,
no overt act of hostility. but we all coul,
see that trouble was brewing.
A BREWING STORM. .r
Every morning as the new guard march
ed through the Tondo District to the our
post they were subjugated to vile insult:
by the natives. He was fortunate who's,
knowledge of Tagalo was too slight tC
comprehend the epithets heaped on him
| Our little brown brothers were plainly il
4 most unfriendly mood. In passing oul
sentries he never failed to cast scowline
slances at the "muchomala Americana,
and muttered a curse against the hate
foreigners. Many of us were opposed t.
the policy of the Government, but we hat
as strong objection to having our throats
cut as the most ardent expansionists.
| The lnsurgent sentinels We're only {
| few hundred yards in advance of our line
| The road fOrked about half a mile nortl
of the blockhouse where our reserves were
stationed. The main lines of outpost were
stationed 10 the east and west of tn,
blockhOuse. At the fork our commanding
officer had established Il Cossack post OF
| II men and two nOn-cOmmlSSiOned officers
Owing to its isolation this advanced posi-
tion was in great danger if attacked. Ev
cry night two companies did outpost duty
together, one standing on guard six hours
from & o'clock to midnight, when it was
relieved by the company in reserve.
| On this Saturday night Co. |, command
ed by Capt. Creston, and Co. NJ, under
Capt Callahan, were on guard. | was Sc
nior Duty Sergeant in NJ, which had the
first part of the night. was detailed with
Il men and Corporal for the post at the
| forks. Several little occurrences had made
us apprehensive of trouble. Pepita, a ma
tive girl, who had n fruit stand across the
road from the blockhouse, left at sundowi
instead of at taps. as was her custom
Hundreds of people were going from the
city towards the InSurgent camp, and
very few returned by nightfall. The cara
| baOs, which usually graZed on the mead
Ows around us. had been driven away 10y
their owners during the afternoon. There
was presentiment of impending danger
in the air The Captain was uncommonly
grave and preoccupied.
| Just before the time for the details to
| fall in, he called the ''non-coms'' to his
tent, and said: "Men, want to impress
upon you the especial necessity of watch
fulness tonight. The field officer of the
day has wired me to be on the lookout. as
uncommon activity is reported in the In
surgent camps. They have received heavy
Ieinf0rcements to-day. and may be up to
mischief. This warning has been confirm
ed by several things | have noticed to-day.
The safety of the city may depend on your
cOolnesS and courage tonight ---
..You," he said, turning to me, Twill be
in the most dangerous place Of all
have confidence in you. Do all you can
to guard against a surprise. Don't waste
ammunition. If attacked, fall back as
slowly as possible. fire low, and don't get
excited. COrp'l Banks will 90 with You.
and relieve you of some of. the work.
Now, boys. we may have warm work to
night. Show the folks at home that the
Western miners are good soldiers"
1t was almost 6 o'clock when l ordered
the detachment to fall in. and we marched
to -0ur post. As we went forward through
the deepening twilight we noticed an un-
wOnted silence in the houses along the
way. We could not see the usual swarms
of pickaninnies playing about the road.
No 'hOmbres" watched us pass. Every
door and window was closed. A few yelp-
ing ours were the only living things we
encountered. | relieved Co. / Sergeant,
and he led his squad back to the block
house, after telling me to keep a sharp
outlook. / divided my men into three
reliefs of four men each. Banks placed
one man at q hundred yards down the La
Iona road, on the right. and | stationed
another in a similar position in the Ca
loocan road. on the left.
A POST OF DANGER
As soon as it was dark we placed two
more men about 70 yards west, under a
large tree. This post. No. -, was beside
a narrow footpath in the forest. We
wished to conceal its existence from the
| insurgents; and later events showed we
had been successful. Our men here guard
ed the only route by which the enemy
could flank us. In case of sudden attacl;
there was very little chance of escape, and
the privates had named the post the
| trap
! As / posted the couple as silently as
possible. | was impressed with the extreme
peril of the position. 1t could only be
reached by a winding track through the
jungle. In the inky darkness one could
not see a foot ahead. He must have iron
nerves who could be tranquil in such n
place. Every night noise of the forest
might pOrtend the approach of "A foe, and
| whenever a twig snapped one seemed to
hear stealthy footballs Of an assassin. We
could hear bugle calls i'll the native camps,
and occasionally the noise of cheering
would be borne to us on the lazy breeze.
The insurrectionists appeared to be unus-
ually excited for some reason.
| | waited there half an hour. and as
nothing happened went back to the road
/ found the boys talking in low tones.
None of them cared to sleep. and all ex-
pected some new development. visited
the sentries up the roads Neither had
any real cause for alarm. though both de.
clared they had heard low voices and foot
1 steps Il short distance i'll front of them
The time dragged slowly on till S o'c.ock.
when | posted the second relief. The brl-
giles We're sounding almost necessarily, and
their cheering grew louder
The Captain CAME up with the patrol
and said an attack was expected, and the
troops were ready in the city to reinforce
us if necessary. We talked a few minutes
and then he started back. | visited ! and
=, and was starting for No. 3. | had Just
looked at my watch, and seen that it was
n few minutes after ., when L heard Il shot
far off to the right. This was by no
means uncommon, and | paid slight at
tention to it. l had not taken many steps
when | heard several more reports in the
same quarter. BY the time | reached my
destination several vOlleys had been fired