Perth Amboy evening news., 1903-06-22
LAKE LANAO FIGHT.
Captain Pershing Tells of the
Bravery of His Soldiers.
ASSAULT MADE UNDER A HEAVY FIRE
Bridge Was BUILT In Face of the
Enemy After Thirty Minutes
Fighting MOrOs Were Overcome
by Hand to Hand EucOunter.


by Hand to Hand EncOunter.
WASHINGTON, June 22.-Captain
John ]. Pershing, who was in COM
mand of the troops at the fight at Lake
Lanao in the Philippines, has sent an
account of the battle. He says:
''IlI reality the battle of Bacolod was
the best fight of the Moro campaigns;
not so many Moros killed as at Bayan
or Pandapatan, but they fought accord
ing to some sort of system. OF course
l have worked on this fight, as fore
saw long ago that it 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 fort, so that
the artillery fire in this case was not
all noise. We had some work and some
fighting to gain this position. Once
there, it was only question of sitting
down deliberately and waiting to see
what the Moros would do. Many got
away before the place was invested
thoroughly.
'The fight began in food of rain
storm that lasted till dark, and recon
noitering was difficult. So we did not
find all the avenues of escape until
next day, and am glad now we didn't,
as they had such confidence in this
fort that they have been constructing
for year that they took many women
and children inside, and these escaped
during the night. The next day and
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.
"The main obstacle was a deep ditch
thirty-hve feet wide and forty feet
deep to be crossed. 1t was to be bridged
with fallen trees, and over all bam-
boo bridge was laid. Everything in
readiness, the assault began. In the
face of a heavy Remington fire from
the fort the lines advanced against two
faces of the fort, putting out of busi-
ness every Moro that appeared. They
could not use their portfolios, as we had
battered them to pieces although we
could not with our light field artillery
damage the earthworks.
"The lines up to within fifty yards,
the bridge was completed by two COM
panies detailed for that purpose, the
trees having been previously cut and
lhauled as near as could safely be done.
l t1o
| fantry sw ung across and formed line
on the berme and clambered up nearly
| in line to the top of the parapet. Here
they were met with Kampilan and
Kris, and a bloody hand to hand fight
occurred-one soldier against two Mo-
ros here, another running his bayonet
| into a fanatic there, Moros plunging
headIong into the deep ditch in their
| impetuosity and impetus. 1t was as
whole a scene never to forget. Too
much cannot be said of the yalor, the
bravery, the courage and cool nerve OF
the American soldier.
"The majority 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 honor
able scars, but not MANNED. 1t was the
proudest day of my life. Cholera exist
| I'd in all that section, and we did not
examine the interior of the. fort until
after it was burned and wet thorough
~ through, for there were all sorts Of
underground galleries and passage
ways. Some officers in the assaulting
line counted sixty dead on one floor,
and Moros say more than hundred
were killed inside, while the list out
side has been growing ever since the
oattle, so that 100 all told is conserva-
live estimate.
II 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 insulting messages, and. in
TACT the whole Laguna de Lanao has
anticipated a reverse for us"