Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1906-03-14
MOR0S SLAUGHTERED
Six Hundred Of Them Die Rather:
Than Surrender in a Two
Days Fight.
BATTLE is FOUGHT IN A CRATER
Guns Taken to the Rim with the Aid
Of Block and Tackle.
Position Was Nearly Impregnable and
Our Force Loses Eighteen Killed
and Many Wounded-Cas.
ualty Lists.

Manila, March 9.--In one Of the
most heroically fought BATTLES in
which United States troops have ever
engaged. a band of GOO Moro outlaws
intrenched III a volcano . 100 feet high
near the town of Jolo, in the group of
island of that name. was eXterminated
to the last man after two days fight
ing. The Moros We're killed in the
crater of the volcano. The United
States forces lost eighteen killed and
fifty-two wounded, including Captain
Rivers, of the Fourth cavalry; Lieu
tenant Agnew, of the Sixth infantry;
Lieutenant Gordon Johnston, of the
signal corps; Ensign Cooke, command.
ing the Pampanga, and Captain White,
of the constabulary.
Two Days of Hot Work.
The fighting continued two days
among the lava ridges. which had been
strongly fortified by the Moros. Major
General Wood was present during the
fight, and in his report he says that
the action involved the capture of
Mount Daio, a lava cone 2,1OO feet
high. with n crater ut its summit and
extremely steep. The last 400 feet
were Mt an angle of 30 degrees and
there were fifty perpendicular ridges
covered with growth of timber,
strongly fortified and defended by an
invisible force of Moros.
Achievement of the Artillery.
In order to attack the AIoros with
artillery guns We're lifted by block and
tackle n distance of 300 feet into a
position on the lip of the crater. The
action resulted in the extinction of a
band of outlaws who, recognizing no
chief, had been raiding friendly Moros,
and owing to their defiance of the
United States authorities had stirred
up dangerous condition of affairs.
Advices on hand show that tie at
tack OIL Mount Dajo was a most notn-
bic one. Major General Wood directed
Colonel Joseph ". Duncan to attack
the Moros III the crater and capture or
kill them. This was accomplished aft.
or repeated demands TO surrender. 1t
is believed that no prisoners We're TAX
en-. The attack was made under the
most hazardous circumstances. Start
ing early in the afternoon of March 6
the assailants climbed for a distance
of 2.100 feet up lava cone, the thick
ly wooded ridges of which furnished
the only foothold. The last 500 feet
of the ascent was Mt an angle of GO
degrees. and the last fifty feet almost
perpendicular.
Hand.to.Han Conflict.
At the top We're GOO fanatlcal Moros
armed with rifles and knives, and sup
ported by native artillery. The forti-
fled crater was almost invisible and
seemingly. inaccessible. AT the. word
OF command the t..oops ruslrtl into the
crater and ha.a-to-1,and; encounter
followed. e.@s
The heavy mortality among the Mo.
ros engaged is probably explained by
their method of fighting. 1t would
have been impossible to have inflicted
the same loss on the northern Fill.
pinos. The latter have n way of dis
appearing before the troops i'll thn in
terstices Of the iungles and conducting
guerrilla warfare. But the Moros OF
the appearance of an enemy sound til,
alarm and gather everybody inside
their forts, where they will fight to til,
: ap1