Before Aguinaldo's attempt to enter Manila the friendly natives outside
the city were suffering from a fatal epidemic of some character,
apparently so, judging by the number of caskets taken outside. This
continued for several days; one or two caskets every day were allowed to
pass out by the guards, although orders were issued to search all boxes,
trunks and baggage; yet these caskets were allowed to pass through
unmolested for about fifteen days. Finally the guard's suspicion was
aroused by these frequent burials and it was decided to open a casket,
which was packed full of Mauser rifles. This ended the funerals outside.
This demonstrates the trickery and smuggling schemes of these people.
I have known prisoners to escape by exchanging clothing with their
wives, who were permitted to visit their husbands in jail, the man
passing out and leaving the woman in prison. A great many prisoners
escaped in this way before the scheme was discovered.
Dummy guns and soldiers were placed in forts in a manner to deceive
Americans as to the strength of the works, but the Americans were not to
be bluffed so easily and this scheme was worthless.
Almost the whole American force was on the streets of Manila watching
and expecting an attack for two weeks before it was made. We were always
prepared to fight. We had to keep our clothes on all the time and our
guns and belts by our side. I did not have more than fifteen nights'
rest from the 20th of January to the 24th of May. Frequently we would
just get on our bunk when a call to arms would be given; every man would
rush out in a hurry and sometimes had to march four or five miles,
before stopping, through rain and wind, or whatever weather we might be
called out in. There we would stay the balance of the night. If we
wanted to lie down we only had one blanket to put on the wet ground.
Every man had to look out for himself and get the best place he could.
We would only be in a few hours from one march until orders would be
received to march to some other dangerous point; it appeared that we
were only marched back to the city to take a bath and change clothing,
which we needed.
I believe these marches in the night or day, in the hot climate of that
country, lying on the wet ground sometimes every night for two weeks,
has killed more men than were ever killed by the Filipinos. Those who
never died from the exposure died from the kind of rations they ate out
on the lines. It has been a mystery to me how I ever reached America
again. I have been through everything and have seen as hard service as
any soldier in the Philippines, and have eaten as hard grub as any of
them ever ate.
I believe the Twenty-third had call to arms no less than twenty-five
times. Every time we thought a fight was on hand and we would see some
fun with the Filipinos. Whenever we got them started to running, which
most always was easily done, then the fun was on. We were sent out a
great many times to guard some town from the enemy's torch.
Company "E," of the Twenty-third, was detailed to guard the first
reserve hospital in Manila and was on duty ten days. The officers feared
that enough of the enemy would slip through the lines to enter the
hospital and commit many depredations and kill the wounded Americans, so
we were detailed to guard it and walk the streets and hold up every
vehicle of the Filipinos and search them for arms and ammunition. This
holding up and searching gave the sentries all they wanted to do. All
the time we were there on duty we could not leave without permission. We
laid about in the hot sun in the day time and at night on the ground.
Some of the soldiers pulled grass and made beds to sleep on the side of
the streets.
The only thing to help pass the time while on this duty was to go
through the hospital and look at the wounded, some with arms off, others
with a leg gone, while there were men wounded in almost every imaginable
way to be living. Some would get well when it looked almost impossible
for them to recover. I have seen thirty to forty wounded piled in a box
car and sent into Manila, where they were put on a boat and carried up
the Pasig river to the hospital. They were taken from the boat and put
in a cold place till the doctor puts them on the operating table and
handles them like a butcher handling a beef. Almost every day women and
children were brought in with burned hands and feet, the Filipinos
burning every town which they thought was about to be captured, and the
women and children suffered; doubtless, many were burned to death.
Fire is a dangerous resort of the Filipino. About one hundred got
through the lines into Manila and made an effort to burn the city, but
the promptness of the Americans saved it, only five blocks being burned.
The soldiers were kept busy guarding the negroes and keeping them away
from the buildings. Big stores were burning and the fire department was
too poor to save them; the proprietors told the soldiers to go in and
get anything they wanted.
While the fire department was doing all it could to save the city and
sneaking Filipinos were hindering the department all they could by
cutting the hose. They would assemble in crowds and then the hose was
cut; every one caught in this act was shot down on the spot. Six or
seven were thus punished that night. It was an exciting time and looked
as if Manila would be burned in spite of all our efforts to save her.
The Twenty-third Regiment did guard duty all night on the west side of
the city. The enemy, failing to burn Manila, fired a little bamboo
village outside; the bursting bamboos could be easily heard by us. The
noise was just like that of guns and the Filipinos took advantage of
this noise to shoot at us in the city. They would get behind the light
of the burning village and when an American could be seen in the light
of the burning houses in Manila he was shot at. This was kept up all
night. Our great trouble was to distinguish between the noise of the
bursting bamboos and the report of a Mauser rifle. The noise of bursting
bamboos could be heard three and four miles, some of them not much
unlike a six-inch gun, and the reports from a burning bamboo village was
almost a reproduction of a battle and would last several hours.
After guarding the burning district of the city all night we returned to
guard duty at the hospital. Orders were received to march to the firing
line at San Pedro Macati. We marched there on the first day of March and
stayed till the tenth. We were in trenches at the front; our provisions
were more than half a mile at the rear and details were made out each
day to bring up provisions to the men in the works. These details were
fired at in going and coming by the Filipinos, but their fire was
ineffective, owing to their distance from us, until the detail neared
the trenches, where the distance was not so great, and it was very
dangerous. Some were wounded.
A man behind the works could not get out for a few minutes' exercise
without being fired at, and if he did not get under cover soon they
would get him. I have seen many men shot that way; they thought the
Filipinos could not shoot. I have seen some fine marksmen among them.
They could do some good shooting until they became excited and fled for
some place of safety.
I have seen squads of Filipinos come near our trenches and open fire on
us. A squad of Americans with their arms would jump out of the trenches
and start towards them and they would soon disappear like so many
frightened deer. I was in a squad of soldiers who ran three Filipinos
for two miles. They were shot at several times, but got away.
We were out ten days and had two engagements; we had a very hard time on
this excursion. Water was hauled two miles and a half on a two-wheeled
vehicle, in old vessels holding four or five gallons. By the time we
could get to the kitchens about half of it would be spilled.
Buffaloes were used like oxen in this country. They were much larger,
however, of a dark brown color and very easily frightened. When one
started to run away no man could hold it. I have seen them run as fast
as a good horse. Their horns were of immense size and flat, considerably
extended. They generally did not turn aside for smaller objects when
running away. On one occasion I saw one run against a stone building,
knocking himself down. He arose and ran on as fast as before. Those that
run at large will get in the water where it will cover them and stand
with their noses out for half a day.
The fourth day out at San Pedro Macati we had a bush skirmish and some
hard fighting for about two hours.
This was my first fighting and I have to confess to being a little
frightened this time, but kept my nerve on all other occasions. We ran
them back from the trenches and out of sight. They were not to be seen
even by the aid of field glasses any more that day. We could not
estimate the number of killed, as they left none on the field.
The first sergeant of my company was slightly wounded in the chest by a
spent ball, from which he recovered in a few days. I was near him and
heard the bullet strike him; it almost felled him. This was the first
soldier I saw wounded.
The way the bullets were coming I thought every one of us would be
killed, but no one was shot except the one just mentioned. Out-posts
were always stationed two hundred yards or more from camp every night,
or in front of our trenches, to prevent a night attack. If the enemy
started through our picket lines they were fired on by the pickets, who
would then rapidly fall back to our lines of trenches. This out-post
duty is very important and very dangerous, especially when the sneaking
Filipinos were in the community.
Many nights the Americans would be aroused from their slumbers by the
enemy's attacks and efforts to surprise them, and we would lie in our
trenches and fire on them till they left. The enemy would be stationed
on an opposite hill and they would sometimes get very close to our
out-posts, who could see them moving about and talking and hear them
walking in the leaves and underbrush. Our sentinels had orders not to
fire on them unless they made an attack, when the sentinels fired and
got back into the trenches as quickly as possible to escape being killed
by our own men.
They violated the custom of the white flag frequently. A party of six or
eight would leave their lines with a white flag and advance a little
and wave the flag. A party of Americans would start to meet them.
Every time the Americans stopped the Filipinos stopped. They tried to
get our men as near them as possible and when they thought they could
get our men no nearer they would seize their rifles, which they would
have concealed behind them, and fire on our soldiers. Their scheme
evidently was to kill all the officers they could, but they only
succeeded in killing two, as far as came to my knowledge. After a few
attempts of this kind they were fired on regardless of their white flag
scheme.
While at San Pedro Macati the First Colorado Volunteers would go out and
sleep all night on the hill-top. Some one was killed, or wounded, every
night this was done. But few Americans were killed before the advance
was made on the enemy. A strong post was taken and many Filipinos killed
and captured. Ninety were captured in one little bamboo village of a
dozen houses. This was the morning of March tenth. That evening orders
were received to return to Manila. We had been in the trenches the
greater part of the ten days at San Pedro Macati, and had two
engagements, one the fourth and one the tenth of March.
We set out on the return to Manila late in the evening of March tenth.
We had a march of six miles to make. A heavy rain drenched the soldiers,
reaching the walled city of Manila about eleven o'clock that night.
After a few days' rest Company "E" of the Twenty-third went up the Pasig
river on cascos to Laguna de Bay, a distance of fifty miles from
Manila. This is a body of fresh water twenty miles wide and sixty miles
long, and deep enough to float a large steamer.
A gun boat, which stayed there in the bay, and of the same name, was
boarded by a part of our soldiers and steamed up the bay for the purpose
of capturing Santa Cruz. We had to go up in front of the town in full
view of the Filipinos, who saw the approach of the gun boat and left in
haste for the mountains.
Our boat grounded and we had to wade out a distance of two hundred
yards. The bottom of the lake was uneven and by the time land was
reached we were wet from running into holes of deep water. On reaching
land a line of skirmishers was formed and the town was entered without
any trouble. But one Filipino was seen. He was almost frightened to
death. With the aid of field glasses we could see Filipinos on the
mountains. When we left they returned, but before going we burned some
large buildings in which supplies were stored, mostly rice and sugar. We
returned to the gunboat and cascos late that evening.
Captain Grant, of the gunboat, wanted to go about thirty miles up the
bay from Santa Cruz. We made the run in three hours. It was a very
bright moonlight night. The objective point was reached about eight
o'clock. On getting very close to shore an old priest was seen on the
dock waving a big white flag, which he continued to wave until we
landed. Captain Pratt took an interpreter with him and learned from the
old man that everything there was all right. He informed Captain Pratt
that he thought the town would be bombarded if not surrendered without
it. There was a fine church at this place; the town was built of bamboo.
A few stores and about four hundred Filipinos were there. The Filipinos
had gone to the mountains while we were landing, but returned when the
old priest rang the church bell as a signal that all was well. We were
preparing to sleep in their bamboo houses, but Captain Pratt, fearing
some treachery, ordered us to the cascos and gunboat to sleep, but as we
were wet and muddy large camp fires were built where we could dry and
eat our salmon and hard tack before going on the boats.
We had had some hard service for four days and felt very much like
sleeping, but the boats rolled and plunged until we could not sleep. We
were in a dangerous place. Had all the Filipinos who came into that
place that night been around they could have given us a hard fight, and
possibly have killed us, but, fortunately, they did not appear to have
any arms. Next morning two cascos were loaded with captured wood and we
left this place to go down and across the lake to take another town.
Our boats were anchored two miles out and an armed detail sent out in a
small launch to reconnoitre. It was found to be too strong for our
forces. A strong fort and almost three thousand Filipinos were in the
town. We remained in front of this place until the next morning watching
for Aguinaldo's gunboats. He had four in the bay. One had been
captured. Just before dark one of these gunboats was sighted coming
around the point of an island. It was going into port, but seeing our
boats it turned back. We made no effort to pursue this vessel, as our
boat was slow of speed and night was coming on. Nothing more was seen
during the night and next morning we went down the lake to the Pasig
river, which is the lake's outlet. Going down the river about five miles
we awaited orders from Manila.
We were out on this expedition for ten days, part of this time on the
Laguna de Bay and the remainder in the Pasig river.
We had a good time after starting back towards Manila, but little to do
and less to care for. While awaiting orders on the river we consumed a
great deal of time hunting chickens and ducks. These were very plentiful
and easily caught. We fared well on these every day for a week. We also
killed all the hogs that were necessary to supply our wants, and there
were plenty of them. The first ones were killed by Lieutenant Franklin,
who took a rifle out one evening and was gone almost an hour. At last he
returned with two fat pigs which he had shot. We expected to enjoy
eating them the next morning as they had to be dressed and cooked. Next
morning our hopes and expectations of a good meal were exploded by
finding that the pigs were spoiled. After that we profited by that
experience and always ate our hogs as soon as they could be prepared.
The trouble about keeping fresh meat there was the hot, moist climate.
This would soon spoil it, especially if not dressed immediately after
being killed.
On the ninth day of this expedition about twenty-five men went out on a
hunt for porkers. Six very good-sized ones were secured by this party,
to which I belonged. Another expedition went duck hunting and bagged
eighty fine ones. Great numbers of chickens were everywhere in the woods
and towns. They belonged to the natives. A party of soldiers caught
fifteen of these while the hogs and ducks were being secured. These
three parties returned about the same time loaded with the spoils of the
chase.
The cooks tried to please every one and set us at dressing our game.
They cooked every hog, chicken and duck for dinner that day. There were
about ninety men in this company. This was one of the last three days
out on this expedition of ten days. The other seven were very rough and
hard ones for us.
One night some of the men made a new arrangement about sleeping. The day
had been hot and clear and the open air was desirable to sleep in where
we could enjoy the full benefit of a nice cool breeze which was blowing.
The deck of the gunboat we thought an ideal place to spend the night. We
were very sleepy. This spot was free from mosquitoes and we were
preparing for a fine rest. Captain Grant looked out on deck at our
positions and said: "Boys, look out up there tonight. It rains here in
this country sometimes." The sky was almost cloudless and we thought
nothing of rain.
About two o'clock I awoke, thoroughly drenched, and the rain falling as
fast as I ever saw it in my life. Any one who has not seen it rain in a
hot country has an inadequate idea how hard a tropical rain really is.
My blanket was perfectly wet and the water was standing on one side of
me in a pool. It took me so by surprise that I was bewildered. Finally I
decided to leave that place and seek shelter. I wrung the water out of
my blanket and groped about in the inky darkness and went into the
engine room, where I stayed until morning. That drenching rain seemed to
affect all who were exposed to it and resulted in severe colds in every
instance. The twenty-fourth of March we were about fifteen miles from
Manila, up the Pasig river, awaiting orders. The Pasig river is deep and
wide, large steamers being able to traverse its waters. A strong under
current made swimming difficult and dangerous.
Observing some soldiers across the river at a deserted bamboo village I
decided to go over to them. I set out and swam till tired. Looking back
I discovered that I was about half way across the river. I swam until I
was almost too exhausted to raise one hand above the other. I could not
tell whether I was moving or not, except, perhaps, down stream.
I was in a critical condition, but did not give up nor get excited. Had
I done so I believe that I would have drowned. I know of about twenty
soldiers who were drowned while trying to swim across the Pasig river.
By struggling with all my strength I succeeded in getting across. I did
not know how I could get back without swimming and I decided not to try
that. I was very exhausted and rested and planned a long time. Finally I
found a piece of plank and getting on that I went across all right. This
experience was sufficient for me, and after that I never went into water
too deep to wade.
We left our river post and went into Manila. On the way down the river
we met with an accident that might have been fatal to about fifty men. A
casco had been captured in the Laguna de Bay, and about fifty men,
including myself, went on board the captured vessel and were being towed
into Manila by a launch. Our vessels had to pass under the Bridge of
Spain. The captured boat was too high and in attempting to pass under
the bridge the whole top of the casco was torn off, timbers and
fragments of the broken vessel were flying in every direction, and it
looked as if the men could not escape these missiles. I was in the stern
and thought that half of the men on deck would be knocked out into the
water and possibly drowned. Quicker than it takes to tell it, I was
lying on my back in a close, narrow place where there was just enough
room for me to wedge into. The casco was being pulled to pieces against
the bridge and as it went farther under the bridge the rudder beam was
pushed around over me with such force that it left grooves in a piece of
timber not more than an inch above my face. It was that piece of timber
that saved me from being crushed to death.
After the excitement had subsided a little I found that I had been
struck on one side and hurt, but only slightly. The launch tore loose
from the casco and before it could again be fastened another accident
threatened us. Several large sailing vessels lay at anchor along the
river and the casco was about to run into them. This accident was
avoided and we were landed and marched into the walled city of Manila.