Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-06-22
JUST AS WAS PLANNED
THE RECENT FIGHT AT LAKE
LANAO,
Stirring Description Written by Capt
John J. Pershing In a Letter
to q Friend Here.

Captain John J. Pershing, who was in
command of the troops at the fight at Lake
Lanao, in the Philippines, has written a
letter to a friend in the War Department
describing the battle. in which he says:
Il suppose your mail or the dispatches
have or will have brought you a full ac-
count of the Bacolod incident. in reality
the best fight of the Moro campaigns; not
SO many Moros killed as at Bayan or Pan
dapatan-one year ago-but fought accord
ing to some sort Of system. OF course
have worked on this fight, as foresaw
long ago that 1t must come and the whole
thing from the beginning worked out as
planned.
First, we got behind them. much to
their surprise, and could post our guns
above and drop projectiles down into their
was not all noise. We had some work and
some fighting to gain this position. Once
there 1t was only a question of sitting
down deliberately and waiting to see what
the place was invested thoroughly. The
fight began in flood Of rainstorm that
lasted till dark and accommodating was
difhcult. So we did not find all the avenues
OF escape until next day, and 1 am glad
now we didn't, as they had such confidence
In this fort that they have been construct
ing for a year that they took many wo-
men and children inside and these escaped
we held them fast, however, tried to get
them to surrender, had two talks under
flag of truce; no, they would fight it out
So there was then only to finish it. l called
my officers together and gave each one his
work.
Ditch to Be Crossed.
1.-THE main obstacle was deep ditch at
least thirty-five feet wide and forty feet
deep to be crossed. 1t was to be bridged
with fallen trees and over all a bamboo
bridge laid. Everything in readiness the
assault began. In the face of a heavy
Remington fire from the fort the lines ad-
vanced against two faces of the fort, put
ting out of business every Moro that ap-
peared. They could not use their port
holes as we had battered them to pieces,
although we could not with out field ar
tillery damage the earthwork The lines
up to within fifty yards the bridge was
completed by two companies detailed for
that purpose, the trees having been previ-
ously cut and hauled as near as could safe
ly be done. Thirty minutes when the as
saulting infantry swung across and formed
line on the bernie and clambered up nearly
IN line to the top of the parapet. Here
they were met with kampilan and kris, and
bloody hand-to-hand fight occurred one
solder against two Moros here, another
running his bayonet into a fanatic there,
Moros plunging headlong into the deep
ditch IN their impetuosity and impetus.
A Scene Never to Forget.
1t was as whole a scene never to for
get. Too much cannot be said of the
Valor, the bravery. the courage and cool
nerve of the American soldier. The ma
1ority of those left inside never reached
the top of the parapet. 1t was relief
to me that none of our men were killed.
Two will lose an arm EACH the rest will
recover with honorable scars but not
manned. 1t was the proudest day Of my
life. Cholera existed in all that section,
ana we did not examine the interior Of the
fort until after it was burned and wet
thoroughly through, for there were all
sorts of underground galleries and pass
ageways. Some officers in the assaulting
line counted sixty dead on one floor, and
MorOs say there were more than one hun
dred killed inside, while the list outside
has been growing ever since the battle, so
That l5O all told is conservative estimate.
Il have labored with these Bacolod Moros
for year, through other Moros, some of
them near relatives. trying to convince
them of their foolishness in thinking of
fighting us. but they have replied In in
sult1ng messages, and, in fact, the whole
Laguna de Lanao has anticipated reverse
for us. The lesson, of course, has been a
severe one for them. The old Panandun-
gan "a sort of Moro title, meaning chief
councillor or something of that kind-in
this case he had more power than the sui
tam lost his life. and the rest of them
that are left have sent word that they
want to be friends. We burned nothing
but this main Gotta and a few smaller
ones from which we were fired upon, and
l think the Moros all see that our pur-
pose Is to be humane as far as they will
permit U.s.
End Of the Troubles.
ITO my mind, this practically settles the
Lake Lanao troubles. We. Of course, must
explore the eastern portion Of the lake
for a distance that remains yet unex-
plored Of about ten miles, anticipate
little trouble, but there may be one or
two hard-headed old dattos who will put
up their red flags. The matter may now
be said to be settled There will never
again be any continued opposition nor
any general opposition. The sensible ones
see that 1t Is useless, and several of their
old panditas (priests) are now preaching
the universal brotherhood Of man"
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