Hattiesburg daily progress. (Hattiesburg, Miss.) 18??-1909, 1903-12-07

A quiet, modest young native he
seems, but few of his fellow country
men have had a more strenuous life or
so brilliant career; certainly no other
| of his years. For this is the eX-insur-
| gent chief, the famous guerilla leader
| General Tino. who was Il Colonel at
eighteen, a General at nineteen, and
/ at twenty conquered Northern Luzon
from the Spaniards and brought it I'M
/ der native control.
This lad, also, for over year defied
| the new commander of the United
States Army, General S. B. NJ. Young,
when the latter was Military Governor
of Northern LuZon. No other insur-
gent leader gave General Young half
the trouble that this boy did.
Tino's character is a strange one.
His enemies among his own people are
numerous, some call him cruel and
bloOdthirsty, some weak and foolish,
and others denounce him as an I'M
scrupulous brigand.
His friends maintain that he has
within him all the possibilities OF a
Napoleon. Tino, at twenty-One, they
say. several times defeated a Spanish
army several times outnumbering his
own forces. while Napoleon was four
years older when he simply captured
fort. Napoleon, they further con-
tend. had behind him Europe's best SOL
diers; TinO fought with a ragged bat
talon of raw recruits who never be
fore had fired q gun. Napoleon was
trained tactician; Tino rose from civil
life. from the schOOlrOOm.
The most warlike of the FilipinOs
have been the Tagal0gs. This is not
because their natures are. more ag-
gressive. but because Manila, which
was the centre of Spanish tyranny, is
the heart of the TagalOg district. OPP
preston has made them what they are.
Tino is a Tagalog, born in the Prov
ince of Cavite, as was Agulnald0
When the first inSurrectiOn against the
Spaniards broke out, in 1897, limo, then
a mere schoolbOy, Joined the nSur-
gents, and so distinguished himself
for bravery and military skill that
AguinaldO. in rapid succession, raised
him to a Colonelcy and then conferred
on him the rank Of rigadier-General
and made him one of his personal ad-
ViSerS.
Later. when the TagalOg chief was
banished to Hong Kong, I-nO went
with him. Thus they became warm
personal friends.
When the Americans, in 1888 brought
Aguinaldo back to his native land limo
accompanied the chief, and Joined him
in conquering the Tagalog territory
from the Spaniards, whose garrisOns
were driven northward, where they
gathered into quite an army. Then,
when AguinaldO had established HIM
self in AIalolos, near Manila, he said to
Tino:
'Take 500 men and march north"
The boy General obeyed. Without
taking time to drill the 500 peasants
given him he struck out on his march,
fighting every day. beating back the
Spaniards and conQuering each town
he advanced on.
AS his soldiers fell he replaced them
with other peasants. recruited from
the country through which he marched.
The prisoners he took he sent back
south under escort of bolo men-n1ilita
armed only with long knives. At no
time did his army number over 800.
His march was unimpeded by any
serious resistance on the part of the
Standards until hereached the banks of
a large river that divides the Province
of Union from IlOcas Sur, over ZVo
miles north from Manila. Here the
Spaniards had determined to make one
last stand.
They numbered about 100, were
armed with modern MauSer rifles, ana
were under command Of old, expert
enced officers. Several companies OF
the Ninth Cazadores. Spain's finest
colonial troops. made up the force.
On the banks of this river stands the
town of Tagudin. There the river is
several hundred yards wide, and much
TOO deep to be forded. On the far
bank the Spaniards threw up earth
works that stretched half mile on
either side Of the ferry.
On came the boy General with his
mob of Filipino patriots armed with
rifles and less than a |
hundred captured Mausers. Arrived at |
the river. he was met by the yolieys |
Of the Spanish troops.
He knew that it was useless to make |
n frontal attack. In one night he |
marched up his side OF the river ten
miles, where he forded, and by dawn
next morning he fell on the left flank OF
the intrenched Spaniards and utterly
routed them. The Spanish command
ing officer deserted his men and escaped
off the coast in boat, leaving most OF
his force prisoners.
That was the last organized resist
anee made by the Spaniards against
limo. What was left Of their decl-
mated ranks retreated northward, with
Tino close on their heels, picking up
On August Is, 1898, the day the
American flag was hOisted in Manila,
limo entered the important northern
town of Vigan, next in size to Manila
On the Island of Luzon. The Spaniards
had passed through the day before,
taking with them the local garrison
and the Bishop of Vigan and his
the Bishop having under his |
care several carreton loads Of treasure
N silver dollars.
Tino raised the Einsurgent tricolor
over the Bishops palace, left small